Newspaper Page Text
Washington, D. C.
AUTO CUT
That fanfared OPM cut of 26%
,per cent in auto production drew no
(cheers from war department chiefs.
!To them it was a big disappoint
ment.
First of all the cut looks a lot
bigger than it actually is. For one
thing the OPM carefully did not re
veal in its hoopla press releases
was the fact that even with this
curtailment auto production still
will be 10 per cent greater than in
1938 and 1939,
In other words, notwithstanding
the increasing shortage of strategic
raw materials, such as steel, rub
ber, alloys and other metals, auto
production is to continue at levels
higher than in the peaceful years of
’3B and '39.
Another reason for the army
gloom was that it wanted an imme
diate cut of at least 50 per cent.
For months war department heads
pleaded and argued with OPM mo
guls for drastic curtailment, on the
ground that the material going into
pleasure cars are desperately need
ed for planes, tanks, ships, guns and
other vital armaments. But for
months the OPM masterminds did
absolutely nothing.
Finally, in July, scrappy OPACS
Director Leon Henderson, who has
seen eye-to-eye with the army on
this issue from the start, took the
bull by the horns and “ordered”
a 50 per cent slash.
OPM’s reaction was to hit the ceil
ing. It refused to accept the ruling.
And while OPM battled behind the
scenes with OPACS, autos continued
to roll off assembly lines in record
breaking numbers. However, Hen
derson’s bare-knuekling finally took
effect. The 26% per cent cut is a
little less than half of what the army
and Henderspn wanted, but it is 6%
per cent more than OPM’s original
figure.
♦ * *
TANKS FOR BRITAIN
Spme time ago the Merry-Go-
Round revealed that a chief objec
tive of Lord Beaverbrook’s visit was
to got more tanks—tanks for Iran;
tanks for Egypt, tanks eventually
for an invasion of the continent.
Beaverbrook particularly wanted the
new powerful 32 tonners that soon
will roll off the Chrysler assembly
line at the rate of 450 a month.
It can now be revealed that the
British supply minister will not go
home empty handed. He will take
back with him very cheering assur
ances regarding the division of these
tanks between the U. S. and British
armed forces. But that isn’t the end
of his tank problem.
Allotting tanks to the British in
this country is one thing, but deliv
ering them across the Atlantic is
another.
In fact, the problem of transport
ing large numbers of 32-ton tanks
is the toughest shipping problem
maritime experts have faced since
the magnetic mine, which ravaged
shipping until the de-magnetizing de
vices were evolved.
In a nutshell here is the problem:
For every shipload of light 12 ton
tanks sent to England or Africa, the
same ship plus nearly three-fourths
of another ship would be required to
transport the same number of 32-
ton tanks. In other words, they are
bigger. Translated into specific fig
ures—that 26-ship convoy which
landed 560 light tanks at Alexandria
three months ago would have had
to consist of 44 vessels to carry
the same number of medium tanks.
With shipping scarcer than hen’s
teeth, a difference of 18 ships is an
extremely important factor. Also,
the necessity of traveling in slow
convoys further reduces the amount
Ttf shipping available. Some experts
estimated this reduction as high as
per cent. In addition the British
sometimes take an excessively long
time to unload cargoes.
So the tank problem thus also be
comes an acute shipping problem.
One bright spot in the situation is
the great reduction in ship losses in
the last 60 days since the extension
of the U. S. neutrality patrols. But
the basic problem of securing more
cargo bottoms still remains.
Note; Since January 1, U. S. ship
yards have turned eut a total of 56
cargo vessels.
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Army officers are singing the
praises of 20th Century-Fox’s Darryl
Zanuck and many movie moguls
for their big job in filming 100 reels
of army training films. This was
the first time training films have
ever been taken, and Hollywood did
them for 40 per cent of what it would
have cost Hollywood itself to do the
job. In other words, the army only
had to pay union labor and cost of
film, Hollywood supplying the stu
dios, production, overhead and ev
erything else.
The Washington Diplomatic corps
is goggle-eyed over Mrs. Warren
Pierson’s new book, “The Good
Neighbor Murder.” Her husband is
head of the Export-Import Bank
which loans millions to the Good
Neighbors.
Dr. I. Lubin, brilliant White House
defense expert, is the most "officed”
official in Washington. He has an
office in the White House, another
in the labor department as head of
the bureau of labor statistics, A
third in the labor division of OPM
and a fourth in the treasury as an
adviser to Secretary Morgenthau.
Kathleen Norris Says;
The Stepmother Problem Still Exists
(BeU Syndicate—WNU Service.)
Diana's mother lets her do anything she likes; go out with hoys; use make-up;
drink a cocktail now and then and smoke. The girl buys extravagant cloth, s and
wastes the allowance her grandmother gives her.
By KATHLEEN NORRIS
IN THESE days of easy di
vorces, when so many other
wise sensible men and
women are convinced that the
kindest thing which can be done
for children is to break up homes
and substitute strangers for
Daddy and Mummy, there is a
heavy crop of stepmothers.
The stepmother used to come
into the picture only when the
mother died. The motherless or
fatherless child in those days
was always heartily pitied. The
term “cruel stepmother” was
proverbial. To say “stepmoth
er” at all was almost to say
“unjust.”
Well, that is changed now, thank
God.
The little writhing hands of First
Reader classes are not struck with
rulers, in school; babies’ mouths
are not washed out with yellow
soap; boys are not flogged, thrashed,
caned; the rod and the whip are not
terms used in general conversation.
The Problem Still Exists.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t
a stepmother problem, and Aimee,
a 24-year-old Virginia wife, writes
me of hers.
“Lloyd and I fell in love with each
other while I was working in his
office,” she writes. “He is 19 years
older than I am. In every way he
seems to me today only more won
derful than he used to seem in those
old days; handsome, devoted, clev
er, popular, and able to give me the
beautiful home of which all girls
dream. „
“Lloyd's wife and he had been
living apart for months before he
asked her for a divorce. She is a
very rich woman, travels from Palm
Beach to Coronado, from Hawaii to
Newport; he had had no home life
and no affection from her for years.
“She did not object to the divorce,
and agreed that Diana, their daugh
ter, should be with us in the school
months and go to her mother in the
summer. However, Sally’s travels
and visits have been such that she
has had Diana only for seven weeks
out of the 15 months we have been
married. This delights Lloyd, who
adores hjs daughter. Di is now 14,
a poor scholar, but a very hand
some, developed girl, precocious in
her tastes.
“Her mother lets her do anything
she likes, go about with boys, use
make-up, drink a cocktail now and
then, smoke. She buys extrava
gant and unsuitable clothes and
wastes the allowance her mother’s
mother gives her. When she is with
us of course Diana expects to do
the same. I know she lies to her
father; I know she is going to get
herself into trouble, but I am help
less.
“Lloyd merely asks me to give
the kid a break, and Diana glares
at me. Her other grandmother
wants her, and Lloyd would con
sent to this arrangement because he
lunches downtown every day in his
mother’s apartment, but what sort
of a life would that be for a girl
I that age? A sophisticated, worldly,
J bridge-playing woman who is 68 and
| looks about 50; a daily governess or
| companion to take Di about and help
I her with lessons, no control at all,
I and the feeling that she has tri
i umphed over her father and me and
| escaped from home influences.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GEORGIA
SPOILED DARLING
From the depths of her fright
ened and aching heart, this step
mother cries out to Miss Norris
for aid in solving a problem only
too common in this modern
world. Marrying a man nearly a
score of years her senior, she con
fidently undertook to squeeze in
his daughter s affections, to com
plete a happy triangle. The
daughter, at 14 years, developed
beyond her years, beautiful and
with money flowing to her liber
ally, takes the natural path of
youth with all those advantages.
Parties, cocktails and make-up
become almost daily diversions
for this young girl. She flirts
with romantic dangers while her
stepmother looks on helplessly.
The husband senses discord and
their relations become strained.
Kathleen Norris absorbs the de
tails of the situation and answers
the troubled wife in a manner
most surprising, probably, to the
wife, and with great interest to
readers having a similar prob
lem.
“This is far from what I planned
when first I thought of marrying
Lloyd, and making a harmonious,
happy home for him and his little
girl. I began by showing Di nothing
but big-sisterly affection and sym
pathy; I invited her friends to the
house, tried to become her confi
dante and pal.
Relationship Strained.
“It seems to me now that we are
all in a mess, and for the first time
I feel a nervous and critical ele
ment in the relationship between my
husband and myself. . Diana was a
quiet, sweet, shy little girl when
first I met her. Can you sup
ply me with some argument that
will convince him that I am the
best person to handle his child, and
that eventually we can work it out
here?”
But my dear Aimee, I am obliged
to say in reply, I am far from con
vinced you are the best person to
handle the situation, even if you had
decent material with which to deal,
which you obviously have not. Di
ana is evidently a girl who grew
too rapidly from childhood into ma
turity. She ought to have a smooth
running home at this time, and the
affectionate, not-too-pressing help
and companionship of both father
and mother.
Instead she finds an attractive
new wife absorbing her father’s
love, and her mother wandering
about from place to place to find
amusement for herself, quite un
concerned as to the welfare of her
child. The two grandmothers and
the aunts and uncles are doing their
share to demoralize her, and the
fact that there is enough money on
all sides to make constant experi
ments and changes possible, adds
the last element to her mental and
moral upset. My advice would be
for you to discipline yourself stern- i
ly to keep hands off. If she will go to
the worldly grandmother, let her go
by all means. She won’t like it there;
the company of an old person is in
finitely boring to a girl that age;
she won’t like the clothes her grand
mother suggests, nor the amuse
ments, nor the constant tiresome
repetitive talk of an old lady.
Keep friendly with all, and wdi
come Diana when she drops in.
SARATOGA, N. Y.—Ben Jones,
Warren Wright’s able trainer for
| the Calumet stable, has directed the
racing destinies of many thorough
breds. But from the long parade
trainer Jones has never known a
I horse that intrigued him half as
much as Whirlaway.
It isn’t so much that Whirlaway
has picked up more than his share
Sof important stakes
—including the Ken
tucky Derby, the
Preakness and the
Belmont.
These have paid
for a lot of hay. The
true answer is that
Whirlaway is a
strange, odd sort of
an animal that no
one can ever quite
figure out.
Grantland Rice The horse that has
won as many major
stakes as Whirlaway has won should
never have been beaten as many
times as the Wright Flyer has taken
the count. That’s what makes him
interesting to figure out.
“He’s a funny horse,” Ben Jones
tells you. “He is fast and strong
and game—but he also wants to
have his own way. You can never
quite figure him out. He can be as
quiet and relaxed as a plow horse,
or he can be as nervous as a caged
panther.
“You may remember before the
Derby that I told you at times I
thought Whirlaway was half-witted.
Either he was or I was. I was
WHIRLAWAY
Whirlaway (left) enjoys a banquet
of grass as Trainer Ben Jones on
the white pony looks on. On Whirly’s
back is Pinky Brown, exercise boy.
wrong about Whirlaway, anyway.
He just happens to have a mind end
a personality of his own.”
The Nerve Wrecker
“1 don’t believe many people know
the care and the worry that Ben
Jones has used up on Whirlaway,”
John Partridge says. J. Partridge
is another well-known owner and
trainer who is one of Ben’s best pals.
“Many a time Ben has gone to
the barn after midnight just to see
how Whirlaway was getting along—
whether he was sleeping or whether
he was restless. Ben always knew
he had a great horse—but also a
strange horse that had to be han
dled differently from other horses.
Just think of all that happened up
to the Derby. In one race Whirl
away would look like a world beat
er. In his next race he wouldn’t
run or something would happen to
him. Maybe he’d bear out—or sud
denly, decide he was through run
ning for that day. But Ben knew
what Whirlaway had. I don’t be
lieve I’ve ever seen anyone use as
much patience as Ben Jones has
yiven this horse.
“Many things also happen to
Whirlaway. Arcaro was set to ride
him in the Arlington Classic. Ar
caro is set down, the one rider who
can handle all his whims. Then
Whirlaway takes a flying clod in
the eye and that never helped any
horse win a race. It might have
been he wouldn’t have beaten At
tention under any conditions. But
losing Arcaro and taking that wal
lop in the eye certainly didn’t help.”
Both Warren Wright and Ben
Jones hope to see Whirlaway rack
up the all-time winning mark.
“He is a horse that likes to keep
racing,” Ben Jones says. “Whirl
away isn’t a big horse but he has a
lot of stamina. He could run two
miles, if he had to. He never wants
to be hurried from the start. He
likes to take his time—and then
make his move. When he does I
I don’t have to tell anybody how fast
i he can travel. He should be good
, for quite a while if something un
| expected doesn’t happen to him.
j Horses change from two-year-olds
to three-year-olds. Later on they
can get much better, or show lit
tle. Man o’ War cleaned up as a
j two-year-old and a three-year-old.
Then he was retired. Seabiscuit
I wasn’t much until he reached or
passed the four-year-old spot.
“My guess is that Whirlaway will
be even better as an older horse.
He has been a better three-year
old than he was as a two-year-old.
He may be a tunny horse at times—
but he still has the two main things
a big winner needs—that’s speed
and stamina.”
jvbtWMM
emmm
One Too Many
! Young Alec was watching a
house painter at work. Presently
he asked:
“How many coats of paint do
you give a door?”
“Two, my boy,” was the reply.
“Then if yon give it three
coats,” said the lad brightly, “it
would be an over-coat?”
“No, my lad,” retorted the
painter grimly, “it would be a
waste coat.”
SOMETHING ELSE
Pop—So your engagement to
that rich deb is off. I thought you
said she doted on you?
Son—She did; but her father
proved to be an antidote.
While Iron Is Hot
“I hear your new lodger is a
Very impetuous fellow. Does ev
erything in the heat of the mo
ment.”
“Yes, it’s his job. He is a black
smith.”
Why Tell It?
It teas a very wet night when Jones
knocked at the door of his friend
Watts.
“Hallo!” exclaimed Watts. “I’m glad
to see you. Come in!”
“I don’t think I dare,” Jones protest
ed. “My feet are very dirty.”
“That doesn’t matter. Just keep your
boots on.”
No Sale
Lawyer—That’ll be $lO, please.
Client—What for?
“My advice!”
“But I’m not taking it.”
“In any kind of weather it’s the
\ S^ andsU6a | fQOO OiWGXI
WlSs
\ —"*—*** Copr. 1941 by Kellogg Company
Using Our Abilities esteem, and often confers more
The art of being able to make a reputation than greater real merit,
good use of modern abilities wins —Rochefoucould.
| ~ 9 ' ~ —;•
BEACONS OF SAFETY
Like a beacon light on the height the advertise
ments in newspapers direct you to newer, belter
and easier ways of providing the things needed or
desired. It shines, this beacon of newspaper adver
tising and it will be to your advantage to fol
low it whenever you make a purchase.
i L —*
CHOICE Qb .
Good Breeding
The first word of the law of good
breeding, as the last, is kindness
The Golden Rule contains the last
word on manners, as it does on
most other laws of living.—Thom
as Nelson Page.
YOU BUY
INOCULATION
ON FAITH
Field tests have shown a big difference
In the quality of inoculator brands on the
market. You cannot see the legume bar
teria you purchase. Immediate demon
stration is impossible. What is the rcmi
tation and experience behind the inocti
lation you buy?
• NITRAGIN is the ORIGINAL LEG
UME INOCULATOR, having served
the farmers for over forty years, it
won a GOLD MEDAL at the World's
Fair, St. Louis, 1004.
• NITRAGIN is made in the most com
plete and modern laboratory of its
kind in the world.
• NITRAGIN is the leader in its field
by a big margin. NITRAGIN demand
in the South has rapidly increased
year after year. During the fall of
1040 the Southern shipments of
NITRAGIN were for more than 45
million pounds of VETCH and WIN
TER PEAS. This large demand Is
due to manyfleld tests carried onyear
after year. We prove by these tests
that NITRAGIN is a good product.
Send for our booklet “Plant Legumes to
Prosper,” showing pictures of field testa
and how NITRAGIN is made. The book
let also gives you valuable information
regarding the inoculation of legumes.
If your dealer does not have NITRAGIN
in stock, have him get it for you. Insist
on NITRAGIN inoculation.
3750 No. Booth SL Milwaukee, Wit.
Happiness to Others
Happiness is watching others
drink from springs which we have
caused to rise in the desert.—
B. H. Metson.
