I; WEEKLY NEWS ANALYSIS
Costly Coal Strike Crimps U.S.;
Plan Further Feed Reductions
To Conserve Grain for Food
_____ Released by Western Newspaper Union.
■ EDITOR'S NOTE: When opinions are expressed In these columns .s
(Western Newspaper Union's news analysts and not necessarily ot r.)
111-fed and ill-clad, people in Italy clamber atop army truck as
it arrives at dump and seek to salvage scraps of food, discarded cloth
ing, cigarette butts and even cardboard boxes. Men, women and
children climb up even before G.l.s can unload refuse.
COAL STRIKE:
Costly Walkout
Though John L. Lewis ordered his
United Mine Workers back to the
pits under a two-week truce to re
lieve the critically low supply of
fuel, the 1946 coal strike promises
to be long remembered as one of
the most costly in history, with
th necessity for curbing fuel con
sumption resulting in serious re
strictions on public utilities, indus
try and transport.
Lewis acted as the widespread ef
fects of the walkout on the nation’s
economy led Senator Eastland
(Dem., Miss.) to rise to his feet in
the upper chamber to tell his col
leagues that as a result of limit
ing freight movements to essential
commodities “. . . the shipment of
embalming fluid has been embar
goed and we can’t bury the dead.”
Most spectacular figure in
the strike, of course, was the
burly, beetle - browed Lewis,
United Mine Worker chieftain,
who held out for the operators’
consideration of his proposal for
a health and welfare fund.
Holding fast in face of mount
ing public opposition and sena
torial fury, Lewis received the
backing of the American Fed
eration of Labor, to which his
UMW is affiliated.
John L.’s acceptance of a truce
to discuss the No. 1 issue of a
health and welfare fund came after
dwindling fuel supplies had led the
government to urge coal-burning
utilities east of the Mississippi and
in lowa, Minnesota and Missouri to
follow Chicago’s example in reduc
ing power consumption.
With industrial enterprises
limited to 24 hours per week
use of coal-burning power and
stores and movies opened only
several hours per day, Chicago,
HI., remained one of the hard
est hit of all the municipali
ties. Reduction in passenger
service and limiting of freight
shipments to essential com
modities, however, served to
bring home the strike to all
sections of the country.
CONGRESS:
Busy Solons
With the coal strike crippling the
economy, U. S. senators moved to
. o up restrictive labor legislation
in the face of public concern over
me prolonged walkout even as they
Were engaged in heated debate over
passage of the $3,750,000,000 loan to
Great Britain.
Though Democratic Majority
Leader Barkley sought to sidetrack
consideration 0 f labor measures
v. me feeling over the coal strike
at white heat, administration
°rces were compelled to surrender
congressional pressure for action,
rdmarily pro-labor, Senator Lucas
UJem., Hi.) i e d the fight for legis
,atlon which would give the Presi
dent power to assure continued oper
ation of essential industries in event
union disputes.
Passage of the $3,750,000,000 Brit- :
ISa l° an was assured with the re
sounding defeat of amendments
"“'ch would have limited the size
tfie advance, provided for expendi
ture of 90 per cent of the funds in
ie S., and extension of interest- 1
J? e > unsecured loans to veterans. ,
he solons also rejected the argu- 1
rnent of Senator Johnson (Dem.,
j O') that since the bill contem- 1
Plated the raising of money for the i
°an only the house, which directly 1
POLAND:
While many citizens of Poland re
sent the Russian occupation of their
country, the Polish peasants are
realizing a life-long ambition to own
their own land under the Soviet
animation, Dr. C. S. Anderson, pro
lessor of agricultural education at
the Pennsylvania State college,
9 'ano' arge esta tes, many of them
,000 acres or more, were taken
romi the wealthy landlords and now
are being divided among the peas
ants.
represents the people through indi
vidual districts, had the constitu
tional power to originate such legis
lation.
Pressed by the labor and loan
legislation, the senate voted for
temporary extension of the draft
until the decks are cleared for full
consideration of the question.
GRAIN:
Seek Feed Cut
Following the increase in the
price of corn, wheat, oats, barley
and rye, government officials con
templated a reduction in the ceilings
on heavy hogs and a cut in fall
breeding as further steps in the con
servation program designed to make
more grain available for food.
While initiation of the new price
program resulted in cancellation of
the 30 cents per bushel bonus pay
ment on corn, a similar premium,
plus the higher price, was retained
on wheat, which is most vitally
needed for foreign relief. As a re
sult of the price changes, corn was
boosted 25 cents a bushel, wheat 15
cents, rye 10 cents, barley 9 cents
and oats 5 cents.
With grain sales being made more
profitable than livestock feeding,
liquidation of hogs, cattle and poul
try was expected to result in in
creased supplies in the immediate
future but less meat later. Even
with reduced livestock production
growing out of the new price pro
gram and the other contemplated
government measures, the total sup
ply of meat, eggs and poultry will
be above prewar level#, it was said.
Food Prospect»
Though farm remains
high, heavy domestic demand and
relief needs abroad will out-balance
supply, the bureau of agricultural
economics reported. Indicative of
continued large output, farm income
for 1946 is expected to approach last
year’s record of nearly 21 billion dol
lars.
The bureau provided this picture
of the 1946 food situation:
• Livestock and meat production
will continue close to the 1945 level
but fall short of demand, with prices
of animals pressing against ceilings.
• Dairy products will remain be
low demand throughout the year,
with butter supplies short even dur
ing the flush season of milk produc
tion from May to August.
• Poultry and eggs will be in plenti
ful supply through most of the year,
with scarcities developing in the last
three months of 1946. Prices may be
moderately lower.
• Fats and vegetable oils may not
be in sufficient domestic supply be
cause of large export requirements
of lard, shortening and edible oils.
LEND-LEASE:
Make Returns
Over 10 Allied nations have re
turned approximately one-quarter
billion dollars of lend-lease goods
thus far and Turkey has become
the first country to settle its lend
lease account in full, the foreign
liquidation commission revealed.
Of the total returned by Belgium,
Brazil, the British empire, China,
Egypt, France, the Netherlands,
Russia and Yugoslavia, $796,000
worth was reissued to foreign gov
ernments under the lend-lease pro
gram and $697,000 was sold as sur
plus.
The first country to settle its lend
lease obligations in full, Turkey
agreed to pay the U. S. $4,500,000
within 30 days.
Corn Borer Hungry Pest
It cost the American farmer
nearly $37,000,000 last year to
feed the hungry mouths of the
European corn borer, but be
cause the estimates are consid
ered conservative in view of the
increased acreage and higher
yields during the past few years,
losses may be even higher.
Losses caused by the borer in
1944 were considered to be
about $22,700,000. _
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GEORGIA
BASEBALL:
Fight Pasquel s
At first laughed off by the power
ful major league magnates, the
Mexican baseball league finally
has been taken seriously with the
New York Yankees and Brooklyn
Dodgers seeking permanent court
injunctions against the Pasquel
brothers’ solicitations of topnotch
American performers to play south
of the border.
Both the Yankees and Dodgers
have received temporary injunc
tions against the gay grandees’ at
tempts to get U. S. stars to break
their American contracts for lucra
tive Mexican league offers. Grant
ing of permanent restraining or
ders against Pasquel’s agents in this
country would seriously crimp their
efforts to lure U. S. talent south
ward.
In going after the Pasquels,
Branch Rickey, president of the
Dodgers, sadly proclaimed: “ . . . I
consider the Pasquel league a tem
porary nuisance rather than a per
manent threat. It is economically un
sound. However, this year it could
cause irreparable damage to a pen
nant contender. ...”
RAILROADS:
Want Higher Rates
Railroad spokesmen pressed for a
25 per cent freight rate increase to
cover higher wages and operating
costs in hearings before the Inter
state Commerce commission in
Washington, D. C., while shippers
called for a thorough examination
of the whole tariff structure before
determination of permanent sched
ules.
Declaring wages have increased
$1,300,000,000 since 1941 and the car
riers will pay $500,000,000 more for
supplies, materials and fuel, Dr.
Julius H. Parmelee, railroad econo
mist, averred that the operators will
suffer a $345,000,000 deficit this year
at present rates.
Meeting in Chicago, the National
Industrial Traffic league, represent
ing 300,000 shippers, cautioned that
: higher tariffs may be disastrous to
individual industries or discrimina
tory against them. Asking the ICC
to deny the carriers’ petition for im
mediate raises, the organization de
clared any hearing should provide
opportunity for a fair development
and examination of facts to de
termine results.
Eats Meal From Dump
: < >•*?' A SB y.f.tiiit- : 1
JnSk! '
Seated in the house restaurant
in Washington, D. C., Representa
tive Norblad (Rep., Ore.) munched
on canned meat and cranberry
sauce and drank lemon juice which
he said the navy had dumped as
garbage in Astoria, Ore. While
none of his colleagues or newsmen
had the stomach to join him in his
repast, Norblad said friends of his
had also eaten the food without ill
effects and some Astorians had
done a brisk business selling some
of the discarded fare to restau
rants. On the spot, navy officials de
clared that the food had been
thrown away after some personnel
had contracted dysentery after eat
ing it.
MURDER:
Town Agog
If traveling through Texarkana,
Texas, one would have seen porch
lights burning all night, twinkling
bulbs hung out in back yards,
watchdogs all over town, and the
streets deserted. Further, one would
have found residents ready to pull
a deadly trigger with any false
move.
All Texarkana was on the alert
against the phantom killer who had
slain two couples at night and killed
one and wounded another of a pair.
Four of the victims were young
couples and the two others were eld
erly married people who had been
fired upon through the window of
their farm home. All were shot in
the head.
While the authorities told Texar
kanans to keep their guns at their
side and shoot to kill if assaulted,
the famed Texas rangers, state
highway patrolmen, sheriff’s depu
ties, city policemen and the FBI ■
threw out a dragnet for the mur
derer. They were joined by thou
sands of amateur detectives in the
search.
U. S. TREASURY:
With receipts for the first nine
months of this year already $33,148,-
000,000, the treasury department esti
mates receipts for the current fiscal
year ending June 30, 1946, will ex
ceed the budget estimate of $38,-
609,000,000, made in Jahuary, Be
cause of income tax returns, re
ceipts in March were the highest of
any month during the current year.
At the same time estimated ex*
penditures of $64,654,000,000 are now
expected to be lower than the figure
projected in January.
Columnist’s Thoughts Turn
To Squirrels —and Crabgrass
By BAUKHAGE
Netvs Analyst and Commentator.
WNIJ Service, 1616 Eye Street, N.W.,
Washington, D. C.
Summer was creeping toward the
Potomac, the flag over the White
House hung limp as a wilted petal,
a hot sun, burning through the in
frequent gaps in the heavy foliage,
made yellow patches on the lawn.
The fountain splashed faintly, fall
ing like warm, futile tears.
I moved slowly along the drive,
wondering if I could garner even a
modicum of answers to meet empti
ness left by the thousands of unan
swered questions the world is ask
ing.
I looked under the Japanese oaks
whose tightly laced leaves, only a
little above the ground, smother the
young grass, hopefully starting up
each spring, withering in the shad
ows before July. There, bored and
half asleep, I could make out the
form of the old gray squirrel.
Often this winter, he had come
to my rescue when other “depend
able sources” and “authoritative
quarters” refused to yield up their
secrets. But this time, he barely
nodded, and looked away, deep in
his meditations, probably a nuclear
problem of some sort.
A few moments later, I was tak
ing down notes at a not very news
ful press and radio conference. The
President, I feared, did not feel as
cheerful as he looked. The hand
kerchief in his breast pocket was
neatly folded in its customary three
flat, razor-sharp triangles. (Some
times his answers were almost as
sharp.) The great red carnations
on the table behind his desk, which
holds the photographs of members
of his family, were already droop
ing. The low hum of the mowing
machine came in the open windows
that look toward the Potomac.
Of what was said of import to
the nation and the world, you will
■' ■■ v -‘ •
Baukhage consults the old gray
squirrel,
have read by the time these lines
are printed. The rest was trivia.
We walked out of the executive of
fices. I glanced under the Japa
nese oaks, but my friend, the squir
rel, had gone, the vista looked very
bare and cheerless. So I went back
and talked about it.
As soon as mail could reach me
from Sturgeon Lake, Minn., I re--
ceived a letter and a package. The
writer said that as I had mentioned
that it seemed impossible to raise
grass on the shaded parts of the
White House grounds, I might be
interested in this sample of quack
grass which she offered, and she
wrote: “If it won’t grow there, I’ll
be glad to know there is some place
it won’t grow.”
The next day, I acknowledged the
gift, and opined that quack grass
must be another name for crabgrass
which I remembered as the bane
of my lawn-mowing experience.
Soon I received other communica
tions.
A landscape designer in Akron,
Ohio, informed me that “quack
grass is not crabgrass. The former
is a perennial; the latter is an
annual. Quack grass (agropyron
repens) propagates by seeds and
creeping rootstalks. Crabgrass re
seeds itself each year.”
Another letter came from Robert
L. (“Pop”) Davis, “Amateur Mulch
Gardener” of Thorsby, Ala. He re
ferred to my mention of crabgrass
as a pest, and then he went on:
. “Having spent years at my
hobby of looking for the most
useful plant for growing sum
mer mulch in my gardens, and
deciding that crabgrass was it,
I cannot resist a challenge.
BARBS • • • by B aukha ge
Musician Charles Guisikoft took
60 shirts with him when the Phila
delphia orchestra went on tour. The
tour lasts 42 days. I suppose they’re
stopped in Pittsburgh.
• « •
Inflation note from a reader who
sends me some of his 1940 bills.
Seems he paid $2.75 for CM floor
ing in 1940, and $12.00 last month
for same.
Even though millions of garden
ers agree with your remarks, I
still challenge them. At pres
ent, I have a spring garden
growing without any hoeing on
land covered with a thick lay
er of last year’s dead crab
grass.
“Scarcely a weed can grow
through it, not even this year’s
crabgrass.
“You see, I am ‘Pop,’ the
laziest gardener in the world,
and I refuse to gather, haul and
spread mulch when crabgrass
will do it for me, and do a bet
ter job of it. I make it mulch
the land for me by leaving it
strictly alone. I may even en
courage it with fertilizer. After
I have gathered my early spring
vegetables, I let the crabgrass
take over. In early fall, when
the crabgrass stops growing
here, I mow it down. I then
have that mulch gardener’s de
light, a mellow mulchy spot
where most anything can grow
without using spade or hoe. I
use a potato digger to dig
planting holes.”
But that is not all. “Pop” may
be the laziest gardener in the world,
but he is a vigorous poet. He en
closed a poem of which (alas) I
have room only for one verse and
refrain. Here it is:
“Bring me a hoe; pull ’em all up!
Chick weed, crabgrass, dig and
cut!
Stoop down low! Nothing but
trash,
Goosefoot, pigweed and Johns
ton grass;
Just no time to look at the sky,
Fleecy clouds a-floating by;
Work 'til you’ve such a crook
in the back
That gardening pleasure’s gone,
alack!
“Wisdom may have a foolish
sound;
Crabgrass mulch is good for the
ground,
Let the weeds grow! Bring me
a chair!
Crabgrass mulch is every
where,
Soft and thick and brown.”
* * *
Strategy Misfires
In Battle Over OP A
The battle over the OPA in the
senate has brought out some of the
good old axioms on how to bring
pressure on congress . . . and how
not to ... if you want to get your
favorite bill passed.
Anti-OPA strategy all along has
been to postpone action on OPA as
long as possible. Supporters have
fought for action. At this moment,
though some unforeseen event may
change the course, it looks as if
the odds favored postponement, but
not defeat.
It first appeared that ordinary con
ventional methods used by the pro
fessional lobbyists were going to kill
the bill. Then it looked as if spon
taneously written letters were going
to save it. In both cases, the effort
was overdone. There were too
many expensive advertisements in
the newspapers, sponsored by the
various business institutions fight
ing price control; too much money
easily identified as coming from
vested interests was being spent.
Then it was that John Q. Citizen
sat himself down, took up his pen,
or often his pencil, and wrote an
undictated letter because he (most
ly she) was really stirred up. Con
gress began to take heed of those
letters. They were obviously spon
taneous, they were written by men
and women who had made up their
own minds. They were voters with
convictions, and it was very likely
those convictions would be regis
tered at the polls.
But once more, Pelion was heaped
on Ossa. There was a nation-wide
organization by the labor people, the
veterans, the women’s clubs. The
mail and telegrams piled up, but
the senators weren’t too interested.
The letters were sincere enough. But
the majority revealed that they
were inspired, not by an inner urge,
a look into the pocketbook or pan
try, but by the persuasive voice over
the phone or at the front door. Do
what you will, the kind of communi
cation produced by these methods is
very likely to have a second
hand appearance which the experi
enced congressman can recognize.
That is why, despite the number
of letters and telegrams, the regi
mented telephone calls, senators
were content to discuss the British
loan, and even ponder such compli
cated matters as atomic energy,
before hastening to line up for OPA.
Seems there’s a special Josef
Stalin tulip named after the gen
eralissimo. Wonder if it’s red.
0 0 0
The coal industry is sick all right
* . . and some of its nurses are get
ting pretty superannuated.
• ♦ •
This spring weather would be fine
if it weren’t for an occasional flu in
the ointment.
Relensed by Western Newspaper Union.
By VIRGINIA VALE
MOTION picture versions ol
Shakespeare’s plays have
never been very successful, but
Laurence Olivier’s new produc
tion, the $2,000,000 technicolor
“Henry V,” is likely to break rec
ords. It introduces the Bard in
a new light—as an action writer
with a flair for the “boy meets girl”
theme. Henry was a madcap
youngster, a superb warrior, a
great lover and a conscientious king
what more could anyone ask,
especially with talented Olivier in
the role? Since England was at war
when the picture was made, the
terrific battle scenes were shot in
Ireland, where they wouldn’t have
to stop work every time a plane
roared overhead.
Did you know that Burgess Mere
dith has “the perfect American
voice”? According to more than 150
tests made by David O. Selznick,
: : feJt a
BURGESS MEREDITH
he has, so he’ll record the legend of
Pearl Chavez which is the five-min
ute prologue of “Duel in the Sun.”
It’s a United Artists release.
*
The movies are dickering with
Isabel Manning Herson regarding
a picture to be based on her Mutual
program, “Land of the Lost.” Re
garded as the finest show for chil
dren on the air lanes certainly
it’s one of the first five—it has
caught on so well that a comic book
in color based on it will appear next
month. Parents rest easy when
Junior’s listening to “Land of the
Lost.”
*
David Bruce, who played opposite
Deanna Durbin in “Lady on a
Train” and opposite Yvonne De
Carlo in “Salome,” has been signed
by Comet Productions to co-star
with Cieatus Caldwell, ex-wife of
Ken Murray, in “Miss Television.”
Mind you, Miss Caldwell is a “co
star,” despite the fact that “Miss
Television” marks her screen de
but! How times have changed!
Now that “Forever Amber” pro
duction has been postponed, we’re
likely to be involved once more in
a discussion of who’ll play “Am
ber.” Apparently the little English
girl, Peggy Cummins, isn’t right for
it after all. Right now a vote for
Paulette Goddard is registered. In
“Kitty,” which has a somewhat
similar story, she proved that she
could do right well by the role.
The picture based on the life of
Glenn Miller will get under way
late this summer. It’s said that Fred
Mac Murray won’t play Major Mill
er because of his resemblance
to band leader Tex Beneke, so why
not give Dick Powell the role?
*
“Hopalong Cassidy” Is getting
ready to ride again. After an ab
sence of two years from the screen
Bill Boyd’s readying “The Devil’s
Playground.” He’ll have a new
leading lady, Elaine Riley, a for
mer fashion model in New York;
she’s red headed and Irish as they
come. He’s borrowing her from
Paramount.
If you’re one of the many who
yearn to go to Mexico, don’t miss
the new March of Time, “Tomor
row’s Mexico.” Not only will you
see the gay night spots and the
fiestas and religious festivals; the
progress against illiteracy and the
political development of the coun
try are dramatized; the beautiful
modern cities are shown as the av
erage tourist might not see them.
A1 Schmid, blind ex-marine hero
of Guadalcanal, had never held a
golf club in his hands before he
worked in MGM’s Pete Specialty,
“Playing by Ear.” But after some
coaching by Bob Anderson he con
nected squarely with the ball on the
second swing.
* —
ODDS AND ENDS—“Tommy Riggs and
Betty Lou” lake over during the summer
months for the CBS “Ginny Simms
Shrnv.” . . . Gary Merrill of “The Right
to Happiness " has been given a new name
by his wife; she calls him the poor man’s
Humphrey Bogart. . . . Johnny Desmond,
NBC’s singing star, is still popular in
England though he hasn’t been heard
there for about a year; recently a British
press representative called him wanting
news—said his readers were demanding to
know what Desmond was doing now. . , ,
Milena Miller, singer on the show ropiao
ing the Bing Crosby program, is called the
most beautiful girl in rqdio, . .
