Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS texas explosion kills hundreds trouble breaks out anew in palestine moscow meeting a failure EDITORS NOTE when opinions in are expressed d in in these columns they jre are those hose t of western newspaper union new s analyses and sd not necessarily of this newspaper Bews TEXAS CITY BLAST chaos prevails the explosion of the french freighter grandchamp Gran dcamp in a slip in galveston bay texas city tex was followed in rather fast order by explosion of the freighter high flyer as well as other explosions both ships were laden with tons of ammonium nitrate it may be weeks before any reliable facts can be secured even as to thi the origin of the first blast hundreds lost their lives the injured may reach thousands and property damage of millions is certain the loss to the monsanto chemical plant in immediate vicinity of the initial explosion of the french vessel will reach 20 million dollars prompt assistance by state officials federal authorities and red cross units as well as houston galveston and other texas firefighters and police the cooperation of air lines railroads and doctors nurses and amb ambulance alance workers prevented the loss in life from reaching several hundred more A few hours after the first blast texas city was the scene of chaos ten fires sprang up within a few hours the concussion wrecked buildings in the center of town and fires completed the destruction of many sections of the industrial city the ne residential section was about the only section not leveled homes and buildings in houston galveston and other cities were thrown open to the es who wandered around in a daze the shock was felt 10 miles away and the fires could be seen for miles even airplanes exploded in the air one report was that a busload bus load of children had disappeared in explosion or lost in mad scramble to evacuate the city gas G as masks were rushed to the workers who remained in the city to recover the wounded and dead the danger from escaping gas was extremely serious PALESTINE reprisals expected underground organizations have threatened reprisals for the hanging hangin 9 of tour four of their number as terrorists some four hundred thousand jews are under house arrest in tel aviv jerusalem and haifa they are forced to remain indoors during the curfew period unless they have special permits the leumi organization has promised to hang 10 british for every levery jew executed british military authorities are bracing themselves for trouble that is bound to come when the curfew Is lifted jewish moderates are caught between the british mandated government which they consider illegal and the underground terrorist government also aso illegal the executions performed secretly and ahead of schedule tanned fanned shouldering ing bitterness following incidents on a refugee ship at haifa into flames only prompt imposition of the curfew and other stringent repressive measures have prevented riotous outbreaks british authorities said baruch urges 44 hour week A five and a half day work week of 44 hours is advocated by bernard baruch famous advisor to presidents he said in a recent speech that the world can only get going it men work if we expect to accept the challenge to preserve civilization it means greater effort than we exerted during the war besides the longer work week baruch urged that there be no strikes nor layoffs layoff s before january 1 1949 in order to increase production 4 AV QA 4 n v WA C 14 thick black smoke gushed from burning chemicals in the monsanto chemical company plant in texas city texas one of the first factories to be demolished by explosion and fire in the devastated city MOSCOW no agreement the conference between U S secretary of state marshall and premier stalin laas has achieved little or nothing in the opinion of american diplomats in moscow the deadlock between russian and united states delegations in the council of foreign ministers seems no nearer to solution basic disagreements on the german peace treaty are too great it is thought for any easy or rapid agreement this pessimistic view does not exclude the possibility that some minor concessions may be made by the russians for propaganda purposes it is not believed likely however that anything important will be achieved at this session hope that the austrian treaty would be completed has pretty well faded main stumbling block in all the treaty negotiations is the russian demand tor for huge reparations if the russians would retreat somewhat from their position some arrangement might be worked out it is admitted I 1 while there is considerable justification fi for calling Us this conference a failure american diplomats point out that certain fundamental issues have been aired and that secretary marshall has had an opportunity to present american policy to russia and the world fly killing wallpaper flies mosquitos and other insects die soon after they come in contact with a new DDT impregnated wallpaper the insecticide is mixed into the ink in which the design is printed effectiveness lasts for two years research chemists spent 27 months developing the insect killing wallpaper and another 17 in exhaustive hau stive tests it will be especially useful in dining rooms kitchens and nurseries where the problem of controlling flies is a constant one during the warm months CHINA new premier T V successor as premier of china is gen chang chun on taking office he promised to continue his strong communist anticommunist anti line and to work toward development of the country by peaceful industrialization dus he has been active on two committees seeking to end the civil war besides his military duties he was governor of szechwan Sze chwan province gen chiang kai shek virtual dictator of china has been grooming general chang for at least a year for the high post he now holds the change of premiers has been expected tor for some time some factions have been demanding removal since the government communist truce they claim soong was partially responsible for failure of the treaty JAPAN war dead 2 million official reports on japanese military losses place the dead at more than two million this Is exclusive of civilians killed on the home islands release of the figures comes as a shock to the japs who had no idea casualties would run so high A standard reference work gives as the number killed in battle scarcely a fourth of what now is considered the true toll jap army statistics admitted that were killed to this must be added an estimated long missing who are presumably dead making the ardys true loss men this later figure is more than 30 per cent of the men sent abroad nearly more died in eight years of sporadic fighting in china naval casualties account for the remainder of the two million dead the total is set at all but of whom were killed by american forces it also is estimated that U S army units killed of the jap army dead youthful leader ta 4 A 11 r although only 40 years old sir edwin noel plowden has been entrusted with the gigantic task of supervising britaina Brit ains recovery plans ile he has been a successful business executive and was in the ministry of economic warfare atomic control possible now article 51 of the united nations charter provides a basis for possible compromise on an atomic energy control plan which bypasses the veto problem dr william T R fox declares in a pamphlet entitled the struggle for atomic control it if it could be agreed that illicit production or storing of fissionable materials constitutes evidence of intent to commit armed attack then nations could automatically once a violation had been certified proceed to take enforcement action without waiting for explicit security council approval points out dr fox ANTARCTIC natural icebox rich mineral resources of the antarctic continent will be mined within 25 11 years predicts rear adm richard byrd commandant of the recent naval expedition to the south polar region coal is abundant the admiral said he also suggested that the dry cold air of the antarctic would serve to preserve food for long periods surplus farm output could be stored at little cost to await demand we brought back with us some of the food left in the 1933 35 little america camp to see whether it had lost any of its value in calories im fairly certain that the 13 or 14 years exposure done it any harm admiral byrd concluded DEWEY IN 48 favor him A poll a mong among members of the republican national committee state committee chairmen and vice chairmen reveals that gov thomas E dewey of new york is most popular choice as presidential candidate next year sen robert taft came in second harold stassen third and senator fourth the poll which was conducted by the chicago daily news was compared with votes at the republican convention in 1944 dewey is favored now in the same sections that he was then MISERS h fortunes fortunes in squalor chicago authorities are investigating the strange life history of august richter 79 and his sister amelia 89 the two old people have been living as recluses for many years in a basement flat death of august prompted a routine coroners inquiry the aged wo woman man blind and ill nourished was removed from the filthy litte littered red apartment and placed in a hospital police found that the miserly brother and sister had a fortune of considerable mystery surrounds the source of the wealth but it is thought that it was accumulated over many years of shrewd trading and stock market speculation in new york city a similar case m mystified police bodies of tw two 0 elderly brothers langley and homer collyer were found in their junk filled fifth avenue mansion securities and other property worth at least were discovered MEXICO hoof and mouth disease tank trucks livestock carriers cargo trucks work clothes hand tools water storage and purification equipment are being rushed to mexico by war assets administration to combat hoof and mouth disease vigorous efforts are being made to prevent the dread cattle malady from entering the united states AU all available surplus war material is being sent to the interior ot of mexico and to 50 camps along the border hundreds of trained men will patrol the long boundary I 1 wine sales croppi dropping 9 too high prices too large inventories and declining buying power among the lower income groups have combined to cause a decided slump in retail wine sales dealers say from 15 to 75 per cent less wine is being bought in 12 representative cities the price is the main objection dealers admit those who used to pay a quart now refuse to pay more than 80 cents natural gas two bills have been introduced into the house and two in the senate intended to relieve interstate distribution trib ution of natural gas from what is called oppressive restrictions by the federal power commission business groups which have developed natural gas as a byproduct by product of oil fields claim piping of natural gas to all parts of the country will break the th thralldom random in which strike ridden coal mines have held industry and the people HIGHER PRICES sloan says so still higher prices are coming soon according to one of the topflight business executives of the country alfred P sloan jr chairman of general motors corporation in a speech before the economic club of new york sloan blamed demands of union laborers for wage increases it is clear a new national w wage age pattern is being formed he said and that business cannot meet higher wages and make price reductions duct ions at the same time he admitted that thai lowering of prices is a badly needed change any enterprise that can absorb wage boosts without raising prices should don he advocated but he added th could do so burdensome tax taxes al b prevent substantial price reductions he said it is the price level of farm produce not of manufactured goods that is most out of line sloan declared in all likelihood he predicted consumer resistance to high price in the perishable goods lines particularly foods will bring a more or less serious decline in general business volume before final adjustment is made made in U S A 11 11 77 2 1 Z sn Z germans who were prisoners of war in the united states bought all the american goods they could with their earnings and had them shipped home when they returned to germany last november pictured is fritz grom with a package he has just received purchases included bicycles automobile tires and musical instruments all real treasures in goods hungry germany ONIONS sets rot in fields too high prices tor for onion sed P threatening the crop throughout nation according to members of the tri state onion set exchange this cooperative sales organization handles business for nearly 90 per cent of the count rys onion set raisers its members live in wisconsin illinois and indiana the cooperative fixes the market price which at present is per bushel up 40 cents from the january 15 figure this price say set raisers is out of line with demand and the business is all going to the 10 per cent of raisers who do not belong to the cooperative and can make their own deals one cooperative member reported that the return tor for the 1946 crop has been little more than 20 cents per bushel so far many raisers are dumping sets in the fi fiel confirmed bachelor hes been single for years and hes bes going to stay single that thai is uncle dan youngs reply to all the proposals hes been receiving from lonely women aged 42 to it all began when he jokingly remarked at his latest birthday party held in his home in south bend ind that he be would consider marriage if a woman of his own age came along since then in a three week period 26 proposals had come on in released by western newspaper union |