Show weekly news analysis russ break with japan chan changes 9 es entire war picture in pacific EDITORS NOTE NOT EWhen when opinions r pressed expressed e in ia these columns they are jr those ol of western newspaper union sews news analysts and not necessarily of 01 this anis newspaper TREATY russ break with japs when foreign commissar veache slav molotov curtly handed the jap jai ambassador a note denouncing rus sias neutrality pact with japan the th question of the soviet governments future course with nippon became i a matter of high importance in united nations chancelleries chancell eries speculation about marshal stalin s intentions was heightened in view oj of the close imminence of the world security conference in san fran MARSHAL STALIN more alore trouble for japan cisco two facts however were clear for the record the treaty ordinarily dina rily would have run until april 1946 yet russia decided to void it summarily marshal stalin publicly described japan as an aggressor nation the russian government moreover accused tokyo of helping the nazis germany the note recalled attacked the USSR japan ger banys ally has helped the latter in her war against the USSR observers were agreed that rus sias action meant a closer working cooperation between russia and her allies how soon that meant an open declaration of war by the reds on japan time would tell even as the bad news came from russia the japs got another rude reminder that the payoff of aggression was approaching pro aching when it was announced from washington that general of the army douglas macarthur had been chosen to lead all american army forces in the pacific and fleet admiral chester W nimitz had been selected to lead the naval forces in the final drive on the japanese homeland this appointment of macarthur has long been urged by members of congress and many military leaders when macarthur fulfilled his vow to return to the philippines and drive the japanese from manila in february he made it known that he was ready for a new assignment general of the army henry H arnold will command the Super forts air force and ancl will be in charge of all other aerial action in the sector the chiefs of staff will continue to direct the overall strategy and will give specific responsibility to macarthur MacArt bur or nimitz for particular operations in the pacific this extension of operational territory for the two leaders who have been carrying the war to japans doorstep indicated that the island hopping phase of the campaign was over ever and a new dew strategy involving a direct assault on the jap homeland was imminent GUERRILLA WAR forecast in europe the statement to Pros president ident roosevelt from general eisenhower Elsen hower forecasting extensive guerrilla warfare in europe was being borne out as allied armies ground their way through germany and her vanquished satellites unable to form a strong unified line to combat the allied smashes toward berlin the nazis command depended on a series of last man stands to delay extinction undeniably general Elsen Eisen howers allied armies on the west were cutting germany to pieces yet spots of resistance remained and each posed a cleanup problem to the allies the trap in the ruhr was an example of this trend over battlefields once reddened by the blood of soldiers who fell in the napoleonic wars american and british divisions smashed in their drive east to meet the russians an and d to bisect germany far forward in the vanguard of the race to berlin were armored units of general pattons Pat tons 3rd ard army pressing toward the strategic north sea ports of bremen and hamburg were the british forces of montgomery meanwhile lt gen james H doolittle was sowing destruction via warplanes war planes on the airfields rail yards and supply dumps in the munich area of southern germany where it was reported hitler was planning his last stand in the east russian forces had continued their pressure on berlin and to the south they cleared hungary of enemy forces capturing bratislava Brat islava in slovakia and pouring across the danube to vienna OKINAWA timetables ahead As military observers had expected japanese resistance on okinawa had stiffened after U S army troops had cut the island in two with the strategic airfields of the capital city of naha as the prize the army corps and the ath division fought fiercely against wellor well or jap units defending the southern areas of okinawa marine 3rd ard amphibious forces continued extension of their northern lines observers were werd of the belief that bitter battles would have to be fought and won before the southern portions of the island could be won in this area it was estimated that between and enemy troops were concentrated nevertheless th eless maj gen roy S geiger marine commander said the timetable was well ahead of schedule SUGAR less for U S warning that the sugar situation is fast becoming the most difficult of the war lt col R W olm stead 0 of the war food administration declared that prospective supplies tor for 1945 are 7 per cent below the 1944 level and 14 per cent less than the 1935 39 average each american will have 83 pounds of sugar this year ir colonel figures this is a little less than civilians in great britain are expected to have the british estimate is 86 pounds per capita or 23 per cent above last years average for canada the estimate is 83 pounds per capita this is 4 per cent below 1944 and 12 per cent below the 1934 38 average Post ivar freedom J A krug war production board chairman tempered a warning that while japan fights we will not enjoy anything like a free economy with the promise that the government would not attempt to shape the country count rys s postwar business structure the chairman made these disclosures in a statement outlining the governments program our plans do not contemplate any long range programming of this count rys industrial structure he declared the wartime controls were developed with the advice and counsel of management and labor in the various industries affected and this same advice and counsel is being sought in consi considering diring the timing of their relaxation and withdrawal WORLD TRADE A war preventive A significant prelude to the world security conference in san francisco was secretary of state address in chicago outlining plans for wider w world orld markets in which the industrial output of the united states would match other nations needs addressing the council on foreign relations gray thatched declared the united states would exert its full power to call a world conference of leading trading countries to stimulate international economic well being the secretary of state said our objective in all our relations with other nations is to prevent aggression abroad from again disturbing the peace of the united states and to develop those condi e SECRETARY A formula for peace eions of international life that will make it possible to maintain high levels of productive employment and farm income and steadily rising standards of living for all the american people highlights in the weeks news ART TREASURES hidden in a dank tunnel used by german civilians near the front priceless art treasures from france were found by units of the U S 1st ast army among the art found were works of rembrandt reubens van gogh and van dyke in addition there were original scores by ludwig van beethoven the composer taken from his birthplace in bonn 0 ROCKETS new postwar industries resulting from the enormous wartime artime development of jet propulsion and rocket power were predicted by G edward pendery Pen dary secretary of the american rocket society pendery forecast the use of gas turbines similar to the jet engine for driving postwar planes locomotives and electric generators SURPLUS GOODS A pre sale display of items of army surplus property drew dealers to philadelphia although the general public was not eligible to bid war veterans wishing to obtain stocks to go into business were allowed to submit orders sales were under the direction of E H mallory regional sales officer tor for the treasury departments surplus disposal branch JAP CABINET more woe ahead A steadily heavier burden of trouble was to be the fate ot of the new suzuki cabinet in japan that was unmistakably forecast in the tall fall of its predecessor the kaiso cabinet two major events had contributed to the japanese government crisis one was the successful progress of the american military advance on okinawa island only miles from the jap mainland the other was soviet dussias Rus sias action in denouncing noun cing the neutrality treaty with japan that still had a year to run ushered in as a rallying force against the allied march toward tokyo after the infamous tojo government had failed the cabinet of premier gen kunicki kaiso had encountered disaster after disaster in its eight and a half months of existence how long the new cabinet of 77 year beir old adm baron kantaro suzuki would last was open to speculation ARGENTINA probation ends argentinas Argen tinas probation period as the bad boy of the western hemisphere drew toward a close as the state department announced it was removing its special economic restrictions strict ions against the south american nation the new united states policy will put argentina on an equal footing with the rest of latin america when it asks to buy commodities in this country the state departments move was regarded as a reward for good conduct argentina had followed its recent declaration of war against the axis by signing the act of chagul tepee pledging in this hemisphere and had likewise begun an energetic purge of nazi spies POSTWAR JOBS baruch sees plenty postwar america as a land where jobs will be plentiful was envisioned by 75 year old bernard baruch adviser to president roosevelt in an interview published in the army newspaper stars and stripes on a mission to london where he conferred with prime minister churchill of great britain baruch asserted that servicemen would have nothing to worry about when they got home and that there will be more work in the united states than there will be hands with which to do it AIRPORTS the possibility of airports in operation within five years and the development of nationwide nation wide distribution and service facilities which would parallel pa ballel the present automotive industry were predicted by john L cohill president of the firestone aircraft company mr cohill said that the development of air transportation transport atio n 1 will carry the aviation industry into fields and volume of production undreamed of as recently as three years ago this meant a development of aviation all over rural america GRASS SKIRTS P ray flem fiem ing chief pharmacists mate on leave attributed his defeat in the nacona texas mayoralty elections i t to 0 a shortage of grass skirts he campaigned by distributing grass skirts to the ladies when the supply ran out he sent an appeal to his buddies in the pacific to send more skirts they arrive in time PRISONERS the war department reported that axis prisoners of war were held in this country april 1 among these were germans italians and japanese PACIFIC BASES U S must hold control of pacific bases paid tor for with american blood and the maintenance of a large postwar nav navy were urged by fleet adm i ernest J king commander of lt U S fleet failure to keep these bases now will mean that this country win will have to fight for them another day V tf ADMIRAL ERNEST KING Kee pour bases he declared in an address before the academy of political science in new york city rich as we are we do not have the human or physical resources to dissipate our patrimony generation after generation he declared in emphasizing that we cannot afford to continue a cycle of fighting and building and winning and giving away RAILROADS westward West ivard ho problems of the american railroads will not be solved by the termination of hostilities in europe col J monroe johnson director of declared the end of the german war will simply mean a reversal in the flow of traffic from east to west he told a meeting of executives of the association of american railroads in chicago carriers will be confronted with large amounts of troops and supplies that have to be mova moved across the cou country gitry colonel johnson pointed out that prosecution of the japanese war will be highly dependent upon shipping therefore vessels will have to be used with the greatest economy and railroads will have to continue th T 91 move overland traffic that went 15 t boat in prewar days the head took issue with charges that the railroads are not adequately moving the grain crop from western producing states to date more grain has been moved than in the same period of 1944 he declared another crop was starting and the railroads were ready DEBT LIMIT upped 40 billion As americans began assaying their family bankrolls ban krolls in preparation for the forthcoming seventh war loan drive the white house announced a that president roosevelt had approved legislation increasing the public debt limit from to fiscal experts believe this 3 30 limit will be reached ti about june 30 1946 the present debt in terms of maturity value the basis on which the statutory limit is set is about this means the old limit of would have been reached some time during the seventh war loan drive if that drive produces anything like the sales of the sixth war loan released by western newspaper union |