Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS americas fi set up defense treaty corn crop estimate lowered plan new war frauds probe EDITORS NOTE when opinions are expressed in these columns they are those ol of western newspaper union news analysts and not cot necessarily of this newspaper POLE TO POLE mutual defense james monroe fifth president of s united U e d states had bail his say in spirit jr jf east east at the inter american defense akk ference at petropolis brazil in august 1947 when the conference agreed on a mutual aid treaty for north and south america and their territorial waters and set up a vast north pole south pole hemispheric security zone the celebrated monroe doctrine was developed to its log ical conclusion years after its inception this was the burden of the monroe doctrine in 1823 it is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparations tor for our defense in this hemisphere today the americas are making preparations for hemispheric defense in advance of any menace or invasion of their rights the mu defense treaty embodies three cal in points 1 in the case of armed attack from outside the hemisphere all nations have the automatic right to meet the attack with military measures 2 if military attack occurs inside the hemisphere american nations may go voluntarily to the aid of the victim with consultations to follow 3 if attacks occur both inside the hemisphere and outside the security region immediate consultations will be called thus despite the opposition of some latin american nations to the U S espoused monroe it appeared certain that the hands off the americas policy was in for a big revival in the atomic age TORRID ZONE corn declines thermometer happy americans struggling feebly in the moisi moist clutches of a record heal hea wave could take cold comfort from the tact fact that temperatures were being exceeded in height only by the price df at corn with abnormally hot weather pre bains ailing over most of the nation grains continued to deteriorate from lack of moisture and prices of both corn and oats hit new record highs 3 september corn was selling at a bushel and september oats boomed to breaking a record rd for oats futures set in may 1920 the grain market prices went brough the roof following a department of agriculture report that the heat seared corn crop would produce only Dus bushels hels a million bushel drop rom the august 1 I estimate although agriculture department officials had hoped earlier this pear fear tor for a 3 billion bushel corn rop to keep food production high beeks of hot dry winds shrivelled shrivel led hat hope and the corn crops of ya wa and illinois major producing chions continued to decline stead ly t silent popcorn bag civilization has advanced at least ne me pace with the invention by irvng M levin san francisco theater lanager na nager of a noiseless bag tor for pop orn he describes it as the answer 0 theatergoers theater goers prayers the lamination cuts out the craa a ackle he claims which elways swells to a crescendo just ahen charles boyer b begins e g I 1 n s cherie 1 I Mi divest clillie 1 c R A M M sister elizabeth kenny is pictured as she dedicated the sister elizabeth kenny clinic for infantile paralysis lysis at centralia ill III the first such institute to be established outside of minneapolis minn alinn clinic was made possible by popular subscription of FASCISM acting at home doctrine of fascism officially defeated in world war II 11 remains as a possible danger both in the united states and abroad that was the gist of a congressional survey fascism in action compiled by the legislative reference service of the library of congress and released to the public only after months of altercation and controversy while the main body of the bulky report dealt with fascism abroad rep wright patman dem tex in a foreword to the document said bluntly that there are many strong symptoms of fascism in our own democratic society although they may masquerade under less odious names correctly denning defining fascism as a philosophy and a way of life which requires that its followers serve the state with an unwavering faith patman asserted that the best weapons with which to combat it are education full employment increased income and an alert organized labor movement he might have added also that it is a state of mind which flourishes in many homes and neighborhoods as a result of powerful environmental influences arising from ignorance bigotry and race hatred PER CAPITA income leaps per capita income of americans hit a new peak of 1200 in 1946 with a gain being registered in almost every state the de department part ment of commerce has reported that average is more than double the income per man woman and child in 1940 and is 9 per cent higher than in 1945 total income paid to individuals last year was a neat billion dollars the 1945 total was billion dollars gains of 10 to 12 per cent over 1945 were shown in the new england central middle east and northwestern rn regions iowa montana minnesota wyoming north carolina and missouri had the greatest percentage increases in 1946 most strikingly revealed the report said is the concentration of low income states in the south is was the lowest per capita income in the nation and all 15 of the southern states were among the 16 states with the lowest i averages FRAUD new probe all is not quiet on the war contract front and the intermission which followed the petering out of the hughes investigation is just about over chang charging ing that fraud and over its millions of payments pa vin involving dollars 0 ars have been found in war contracts rep george H bender rep ohio announced bravely that his house subcommittee sub committee on expenditures tures will investigate for his opening barrage bender sighted on the justice department which he said has failed to prosecute 93 fraud cases referred to it first witness scheduled to appear as benders group prepared to open public hearings was lindsay C warren comptroller general who will testify concerning evidence discovered by the general accounting office that fraud and overpayment existed in more than 5 per cent of all the cases which it has audited under the contract settlement act the hearings probably will not turn into another three ring circus like the hughes affair although anything can happen sen owen Brew war investigating committee has nothing to do with this one VOTED DOWN bilbo dies theodore G bilbo of mississippi raucous politician master of the congressional filibuster was shouted down in debate with death at the age of 69 he died in a new orleans hospital of progressive heart failure without ever having taken his seat as pis senior senator to which he was elected in 1946 on a platform of white supremacy bilbo was refused admittance to the senate chamber when the congress convened because bilbo of charges by a senate arsenate investigating committee that he had accepted bribes from war contractors con tracton tor for procuring them southern airfield construction jobs he denied the accusation to the end and carried with him to the grave his determination to sit in the congress and as the body of theodore bilbo was laid to rest in Pol arville miss many americans perceived the irony which accompanied the impressive funeral cortege like a shadow that the champion of white supremacy at last should be stilled only by the universal leveler goodby good by private there will be no more privates corporals or sergeants in the U S army air forces by 1949 if present plans are realized A new system of ratings will be established when the air force gains autonomy under the new national military establishment giving all enlisted me men n and warrant officers the ranks of airmen senior airmen and chief airmen pay will be based on individual technical skills under the plan there would be six classes of airmen ranging in pay from a privates 75 a month to a technical sergeants node none would have any more authority in in the army than a buck private the difference in pay would result from differences in technical skills there would be three grades of senior airmen corresponding in pay to technical sergeant master sergeant and junior warrant officer on the top level the chief airman would correspond to the ardys chief warrant off officer teer RUSSIAN RUSSIA 14 w how much chaff russia has been bragging about its heavy wheat crop this year and boasting of a surplus for export but U S grain experts believe that t there i is s c considerable on sid erable chaff chael in the lovie S soviet et c claims la im s actually they point out the ukraine dussias Rus sias chief wheat pro section was hit by the same adverse weather which damaged other european grain areas last may and machinery shortages helped any specific crop figures in russia are carefully guarded secrets but soviet newspapers have printed glowing generalized accounts of record crops extolling the toilers boilers of the fields for fulfilling state grain quotas there are no reports in tons or bushels of wheat heat and drouth that cut russian yields were followed by heavy rains which undoubtedly destroyed much more grain before it could be threshed or harvested secretaries unified defense president truman has named W stuart symington to the post of secretary of the department of the air forces newly created under the unified national defense system symington had been assistant secretary of war for air under secretary of war kenneth royall royall meanwhile was appointed as secretary secretary of the department of the army losing his cabinet membership in the shift secretary of the navy department will be john L sullivan formerly undersecretary of the navy james forrestal previously named as secretary of the unified department of national defense is is the only armed forces representative in the cabinet SECRETS bomb cellars it may or may not be true that huge atomic bomb underground storage dumps are being constructed near albuquerque N M and chances are that the U S public will not know for sure lor for a long time maybe never it if all goes well the war department neither confirming nor denying reports of such construction said nevertheless that the information falls in the category of restricted data under the atomic act of 1946 rumors have persisted that the army is digging atomic bomb assembly plants and storage dumps near albuquerque possibly in conjunction with the sandia N M armed forces special weapons project headliners HEAD LINERS k Z IN washington john sampson kirby 69 above of tennessee was placed under observation after police had nabbed him packing a pistol in the capitol build building i ng and declaiming loudly that he had just been elected president of the united states IN NEW YORK virginia walton brooks 14 just returned from an african hunting trip with her parents proudly revealed that she had shot not only an elephant and a lion but also such esoteric creatures as a kongo nl nf two gere geremias gerenuks an oryx a bat eared fox an impala two dik diks and a IN CHICAGO mrs anna metzger 47 had had a pain in her leg for 40 years finally became curious pressed the irritated area and pulled out a two inch sewing needle DEW CREDIT rain was made there was no wind in the wi windy city ity and the heat was holding on like grim death somebody do s something et h n g tea D definitely 1 y yes said col robert R micks chicago tribune stepping mightily into the breach and vowing that the self styled worlds greatest newspaper would not stand by and watch loyal chicagoans bake the tribune would make it rain by sowing dry ice into a cumulus cloud forthwith on a torrid afternoon the tribune plane went aloft threw some dry ice into a cloud and claimed that it had rained somewhere for 40 minutes the colonel reared back to rest on his laurels 11 later developed that ram rain had fallen on micks experimental farm near wheaton aton III next day william R hearses He arsts herald american seizing opportunity by the forelock announced that it too would rend the heavens with a batch of dry ice first hearstean Hear stian try ended in ignominy there any cumulus clouds or any clouds over chicago the second attempt however hit the jackpot it rained like everything and cooled off a little possibly it was coincidental that natural thundershowers thunder showers arrived the same afternoon but the herald american generously conceded that part of the credit should go to natural laws it was an interesting contest while it lasted in chicago but out in arizona a group of hopi indians dancing with snakes outdid both newspapers they said they worked up a cloudburst SAY UNCLE ford gives up abandoning his laudable if nonconforming efforts to stabilize automobile prices henry ford II 11 announced that prices on most models of ford passenger cars and an all truck models would be boosted from 20 to 97 effective immediately it was an average increase of 42 per cent the announcement said the rise being dictated by the simple simpie necessity of keeping ford motor company on a sound economic basis the action following price increases by virtually every other automotive to manufacturer marked the defeat of fords lonely stand against the forces of inflation all this gave rise to a disturbing question if the ford dynasty is unable to hold the line against inflation what if anything can WHAT PRICE FORD on march 1 31 1932 list price of the ford eight cylinder super deluxe tudor sedan was today it is 1295 in the past 15 years the list price of that model has been raised 16 times and lowered four times for an overall increase of about per cent THE SWIFT oysters lose oysters simply arent fast enough to get away from predatory snails whose pace has been clocked officially at miles an hour plodding along on a treadmill at the university of maryland fish and wildlife laboratory a test snail covered 22 feet and vt inch in 11 hours and 30 minutes a pace swift enough at least to overtake an oyster released by western newspaper union |