Show WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS ANALYSES masaryk s death points up R ed menace as U S primes for action in war of nerves strikes cloud labor front EDITORS NOTE when opinions we are ex expressed presse d in the these columns they are those tho ol of western newspaper union analysis and not no necessarily ol of rk ewa chit his newspaper MASARYK death in prague whether jan masaryk czecho slovakian slova kias foreign minister took his own life or was liquidated by the communists really make any difference the communist government had announced that he had leaped to his death from a first second or third floor window U S newspaper readers could choose their own wn version ot of the foreign office in prague later reports by highly authoritative persons insisted that masaryk had bad been murdered by communists ts an alleged eyewitness testified that tha t he had seen mas alyks body after its reported tall fall to a concrete pavement and that it bore no evidence that the foreign minister had died in such a manner supporting the murder theory was the tact fact that masaryk was reported to have met president ident edouard benes the day before his death and the two were said to have planned something the communists wished to prevent unidentified czech officials who have escaped from prague reported also that president benes was a prisoner of the communist regime but whether jan masaryk masarik son of the founder of the czech czechoslovakian oslo republic had been murdered or goaded to suicide by his intolerable position one thing was certain communists had bad killed him just as surely as if they had put a pistol to his head bead and pulled the trigger if masaryk took his own life it was not just because he was seeking an escape but because it was the last service he could do tor for his bis country throwing light by his own destruct destruction i on on the terrible destructive force that is communism NERVES warlike the alternate ostentatious flexing of muscles by the united states and russia was it appeared shifting in status from a cold war to a war of ii nerves erves there were the unmistakable signs of the military preparing to reassert itself many reserve officers had received letters pointing out that although they were not being called to active duty immediately they would do well to prepare themselves for such a possible eventuality in the pentagon building in washington army planners were working late at their desks procurement cu officers were reported to be showing great interest in ce ment factories since cement is vital in building underground shelters and fortifications russian troops were said to be massing in eastern germany but no one would venture to say whether this was true bluff a threat of retaliation to the marshall plan and union of western europe or a show of force intended tended to influence the coming elections iri italy but president truman himself precipitated the worst outbreak of war jitters when he publicly proclaimed that his faith in rea real J world peace had been shaken in this crisis the U S government was stressing these points which embodied administration policy for meeting the situation the european recovery plan 1 should be carried out promptly the U S encourages formation 2 of what marshall called a political association in western europe as the first step tow toward lard restoring stability spread of communist govern 30 3 ments anywhere in the world including china is opposed by the american government which will do everything in its power to block communism the U S will continue to 4 work for world peace wherever possible finally any estimate of the situation must include this inescapable conclusion neither russia nor the U S wants war now and more important neither could af ford to fight one this particular decade continues to be a period worked by a shifting of forces and consolidation of strength where it will do the most good it if and when the real showdown comes STRIKES miners widespread strikes in the nations soft coal fields were touched off by john L lewis latest foray oray into the national scene a demand for a month pensions tor for his miners the united mine workers leader had asked rank and tile file reacts reaction to his charge that coal operators had bad dishonored the 1947 contract by failing to grant pensions and his miners produced the exact reaction he wanted as almost of them in 11 states quit to support lewis stand at the very outset of the difficulties it was not a strike in the technical sense of the word lewis in all his power simply had nodded his shaggy head ana his men quick to catch the signal walked away from their jobs the current mine contract does not expire until june 30 but it provides that the miners need work only as long lone as they are willing and able impact of the soft coal walkouts wal kouts showed first in the nations steel industry where output is threatened if the shutdowns continue for any length of time many of the closed c I 1 0 s le d mines in I 1 n e s are captives whose entire output goes to the steel companies packers fraught with an even greater immediacy than the mine walkout however was a nationwide strike for more pay by members of the CIO packing house workers the strike went oft off as scheduled despite an urgent request by president truman asking the packing companies and workers representatives to maintain the status quo without interrupting negotiations until april 1 at which time a board of inquiry was slated to report to him on conditions of the strike in reply to the president the union strike board rejected his proposal because it said the packing firms would not agree to placing even their wage proposals into effect during the negotiation As the strike began government records indicated that the entire nation would come to feel the curtailed meat supply after the first week with some areas more severely affected than others TREATY 50 years communist expansion sion was going to meet a roadblock if the nations of western europe had any voice in the matter britain france and the benelux belgium netherlands and luxembourg em bourg nations adopted a 50 year treaty for a political economic and military union of western europe europ in an out and out move to check the communism that threatens their independence delegates from the five countries completed their efforts after more than a week around the conference table the alliance was a direct outgrowth out cut growth of the union 0 of f western european n nations a t 1 0 n s suggested in january J a n u a r y by ernest bevin british foreign secretary the treaty was believed to bind the nations to mutual assistance in the face of aggression mutual aid in the economic field cooper co oper aaion in improving their I 1 living I 1 v I 1 n g standards and a measure of coordination of colonial resources it was just a beginning but a good one in the eyes of U S government leaders the alliance was not only a desirable but cesary element if the marshall plan for recovery is to work at all SAY UNCLE palestine people continue to ask the arabs and jews of palestine to stop their futile wrangling france china and the united states sent an appeal to the jews and arabs of palestine and also to the six arab state members of the unit united ed nations asking them to take steps to promote a truce in the holy land fighting there was no real confidence among delegates of the three nations that their request would be heeded russia the fourth country taking part in the big power talks on palestine refrained from joining in the appeal because the soviets have taken the typical stand that there is no need for the big powers to consult with the arabs and jews most observers t thought h 0 u g h t the truce appeal looked like wishful thinking for one thing no group among either arabs or jews in palestine is in a position to control its dissident members and thus guarantee a truce moreo moreover er the idea of a military truce does not bear upon the heart of the problem the united nations is still committed on paper to partition while the arabs adamantly continue to reject that proposal and the jews assert just as strongly that they will accept nothing else ACCIDENTS accident rate among girls and women has been reduced by about one half in the past 35 years as a result of modernization of the american home according to statistics compiled by metropolitan life insurance company illustrating the reduction in home hazards the statisticians said are the shift from oil lamps and gas for lighting to the electric light bulb replacing of the traditional coal stove by the modern gas ft or electric range and use of cantril central heating instead of stoves and fireplaces 48 CROPS goals coals set V U S farmers were more than a little worried that they were pushing the good earth too tar far too fast and the agriculture department agreed with them that fear that the soil Is being worked too hard led the department to make a slight downward revision of 1948 crop goals final goals tor for most crops call for or feed crops last november the department had suggested about million acres 0 y it was not a drastic cut 1 si 2 ver ever the administration was wed aware that U S food production must stay high if 11 the nations foreign policy is to keep on course revised goals for this year still remain bove above a the acres acre planted to the same crops last year most of the reductions from previous department recommendations were in corn grain sorg urns and soybeans all regarded as crops that take a lot of fertility out of soil the 1948 corn goal was w as set at million acres compared with the previous suggestion of million livestock goals remained virtually unchanged but the schedule calls for increases over 1947 in oats barely sorghums sorg hums rye flaxseed and dry beans goals WA continued at the maxi maximum murn t age feasible the agriculture 6 apartment part ment said government expensive total per capita cost of running the federal government for one year has zoomed since 1939 according to a report by the tax foundation it now is about a year compared with 69 in 1939 T total 0 t a I 1 estimated expenditures tor for the fiscal year 1948 1943 are 37 billion dollars war and its aftermath accounted for almost 23 billion of that in round numbers the budget increase will amount to two billion d 0 I 1 a a r s the remainder a little more than 15 billion covered the rest of our national expense account including social welfare health and security housing education agriculture development of natural resources transportation and communication finance commerce industry general government interest on the public debt refunds of receipts and reserve tor for contingencies |