The Butler County press. [volume], March 03, 1944, Image 1

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Red Cross Field Men Tackle
Yanks' Problems Overseas
One of the very important functions of the American Red Cross is the direct
communication it affords between the fighting man and his people back home.
Here Red Cross Field Director John L. Barnes (left), of White Plains, N. Y.,
gives a message to Sgt. William J. McDonald, Jr., of Mamaroneck, N. Y. Picture
On Masera Island, up In the Persian
Gulf, where there is not a single tree
standing and the wind blows across
the island ceaselessly. Red Cross field
men brought fishing tackle, books and
writing paper to service men. Most
welcome gift from the Red Cross was
clippers for hair cutting —the boys had
been without a barber for months.
In Persia, a Red Cross Field Direc
tor was able to locate a soldier's moth
er whom he hadn't seen for 25 years.
In Africa, Red Cross field men flew
111 Army planes, hitch-hiked in supply
trucks, bumped In jeeps
The officer asked the Red Cross
Field Director to see him. The Red
Cross man discovered a very worried
boy. His wife had not been receiving
his allotments, she wasn't well and
needed an operation. She thought the
soldier must have cancelled his allot
ments and a misunderstanding had
arisen between them so that she was
no longer writing him.
The field man got in touch with the
Red Cross chap'er in the boy's home
town Immediately. It took care of her,
NELSON PROMISES
SMALL BUSINESS
AID AFTER WAR
Washington, D. C. (ILNS). Ad
dressing regional directors of the
Smaller War Plants Corporation, Don
aid M. Nelson, War Production Board
chairman, voiced his determination to
protect small firms in the contest for
business in the postwar era.
He told the gathering that small in
dustries will be given the first oppor
tunity to reconvert to peacetime pro
duction and high priority on materials
not needed for the war.
"The most important single thing
we face is the future and fortune of
small business in America," Nelson
said. "Small business is more impor
tant to this nation today than ever
before in the history of our country."
In connection with Nelson's talk,
labor leaders recalled that the Ameri
can Federation of Labor has frequent
ly emphasized the importance of small
business in America's economic sys
tem and demanded that small concerns
be given war contracts, from the very
beginning of the defense and war pro
grams.
TVA Women Engineering Aides
Nashville, Tenn. After 4 months'
training in mathematics and element-
made in Sicily outside a straw Italian hutch with the rear headquarters
of the 1st Division near Mt. Etna.
OVPI
bombed
convoy routes, through blinding sand
Storms and glaring sun to help men
-with personal problems and emergency
communications, and to deliver maga
lines and books, cigarettes and choc
olate to Isolated posts and bases.
In Italy. Red Cros:. field men ac
companied the troops In on the inva
sion barges.
In India, a sergeant was sentenced
to the guard house for disorderly con
duct. His officer couldn't understand
the boy's behaviour. He was a nice kid
—he'd never gone to pieces before.
financed her operation and saw that
she had adequate funds to provide for
herself until the allotment again came
through.
When the Red Cross man explained
what had happened to the soldier's
Commanding Officer, the latter prompt
ly released the boy from the guard
house. From then on the boy was all
right. His worries were over, and the
Army had gained a good fighting man.
All over the world, in every thea
tre of war and active battle front go
the American Red Cross field men
helping soldiers with major and minor
personal problems, bringing them rec
reational items such as magazines,
books, comfort articles, athletic equip
ment, and re-establishing their contact
with home. These men share the con
ditions and hazards under which the
soldiers fight. They also share their
lives. They are on call day and night
whenever they are needed.
G.I.'s overseas have many problems.
Often home seems very, very far away.
With the Red Cross there at hand
wherever he may be, the soldier knows
he can always get in touch with home
—that he need never feel alone with
problems he doesn't know how to solve
himself. More than 3,000.000 service
men passed through Red Cross field
men's offices last year.
On the mud clogged roads of Italy,
through the far jungles of New Guinea,
on lonely desert posts, Red Cross field
men take your place beside your boy.
In order to continue this service, the
Red Cross urgently needs contributions
from the American people to its $200,*
000,000 War Fund drive this month.
ary hydraulic engineering, nine wom
en were certified by the Tennessee
Valley Authority for senior engineer
ing aide work. They spent 44 hours a
week on productive work assignments
and four hours a week in class work
and now work on multi-purpose water
control. Trainees were required to do
field work connected with collection of
data on stream flow and rainfall.
Remington Arms Plant
Elects AFL Affiliates
Kansas City, Mo.—AFL unions won
four collective bargaining elections at
the Lake City ordnance plant of the
Remington Arms Co. Victors were the
International Association of Machin
ists, United Brotherhood of Carpen
ters, International Brotherhood of
Firemen and Oilers, and United Asso
ciation of Plumbers and Steamfitters
Dutch Firemen Train in London
London. Members of the Nether
lands fire fighting forces have been
aiding London firemen to keep in
training for taking over similar duties
in disorganized cities in Holland after
the Allied invasion. Groups of Dutch
non-coms are training with British
civilian defense organizations. These
men are intended to aid any civilian
defense organizations which may be
still in existence n Holland after lib
eration.
David Webb & Sons
FUNERAL HOME
PHONES 48-78 ItOSS AT "D
0
I
(WNU Service)
THE BUTLER COUNTY PRESS.
VOL. XLIII. No. 48. HAMILTON, OHIO, FRIDAY MARCH 3,1944 ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR
Washington, D. C.—Text of the
joint letter sent to President Roose
velt by AFL Secretary-Treasurer
George Meany and R. J. Thomas of
the CIO, the labor members of the
President's Committee on the Cost of
Living, follows:
On November 5, 1943, you desig
nated a Cost of Living Committee and
charged it with the responsibility of
ascertaining the facts regarding the
actual rise of living costs during the
war period. The Committee so desig
nated was of a tripartite nature, con
sisting of William H. Davis, Chair
man of the National War Labor
Board, two industrial representatives
and two labor representatives of the
War Labor Board.
"On January 25, the Labor mem
bers presented to the full Committee
a comprehensive report on the actual
increase in the cost of living since
January, 1941. As of the present date,
no material has been presented or, as
far as we know, even prepaxed by the
remaining members of the Committee.
In view of the failure of the other
members to have made any investiga
tion since November 5th or to have
assembled any comprehensive data
pursuant to your instructions when
you designated the Committee and be
cause of our firm conviction that noth
ing further can be expected of this
Committee for some months to come,
we can not continue to sit by and
abide by this extraordinary delay in
the face of the facts which we have
found. Because of the intense public
interest that obtains regarding this
vital issue and the important policies
that are predicated thereon, we feel
compelled to transmit to you our re
port. We do not feel that we would be
meeting our obligations, as members
of the Committee or as representa
tives of employe organizations, if we
were not to transmit this report to you
at this time.
"The report which the Labor mem
bers have transmitted to your Com
mittee reveals a startling situation. In
lieu of the misleading figures of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics alleging a
rise in the cost of living of approxi
mately twenty-four (24%) per cent
since January, 1941 our data to the
contrary demonstrates conclusively
that there has been a rise in the actual
cost of living of at least forty-three
and one-half (43.5%) per cent during
the same period.
"Our report reveals that the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, with full under
standing, has permitted its index to
be used as a basis for measuring the
rise in the cost of living. The Bureau
of Labor Statistics is aware of the
fact that such use of its index reflecu*
the gravest type of injustice that
could possibly be perpetrated by it
upon the American people. The very
Busy Days On the Farm
Wages, Reduce Pr
yC
A Report To The President By AFL Secretary-Treasurer
George Meany and R. J. Thomas of the CIO On The
Cost of Living In The Different States In U. S.
failure of the Bureau of Labor Statis
tics to make clear that its index does
not adequately reflect the realistic
and actual rise in the cost of living
subjects the Bureau to very serious
charges. For instance, the index of the
Bureau does not purport to reflect
cost of living rises due to increases
in the price of foods not priced by the
Bureau, elimination of low-priced
goods, upgrading, deterioration of
quality standards or the rising cost
of restaurant meals.
"In all fairness to the American
people, we urgently request that there
be in intensive investigation of the
part that has been played by the Bu
reau of Labor Statistics in the publi
cation of an index which distorts the
basic facts of our war-time living
costs."
Radio Plea Follows Attack
On BLS Cost of Living
Figures
Washington, D. C.—AFL Secretary
Treasurer George Meany called upon
President Roosevelt to permit revision
of the "Little Steel" formula to allow
for increases in the cost of living and
urged the President to insist that
Congress authorize subsidies to hold
the line on prices of basic food com
modities.
In a nationally broadcast "Labor
For Victory" interview, Mr. Meany
said:
"Labor is confident that the Ameri
can people will support this fair and
just program which is vitally neces
sary to restore morale and to assure
•topmost efficiency in war production
At the same time, Mr. Meany joined
with R. J. Thomas of the CIO in a let
ter to the President charging that the
public and industry members of the
President's Committee on the Cost of
Living are stalling and have not at
tempted to make a real investigation
of mounting prices.
With their letter, Meany and
Thomas, the two labor members of the
committee, submitted a copy of their
report showing that the cost of living
had increased at least 43.5 per cent
since Pearl Harbor.
They charged that the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, which reports only a
24 per cent rise, "distorts the basic
facts of our war-time living costs."
Failure of the BLS to make clear that
its index does not adequately reflect
the realistic and actual rise in the cost
of living "subjects the Bureau to very
serious charges," the letter said.
In his radio talk, Mr. Meany de
clared that the remoresless squeeze of
increased living costs while wages are
frozen under the "Little Steel" for
mula has been "cruel and disastrous"
to the morale of workers.
RG 90
-A
He insisted that everyone else is not
making equal sacrifices, adding:
'Profits, even after taxes, are now
higher than ever before. Many corpo
rations made net profits in the year
1942 alone which were three to six
times greater than their entire orig
inal investment. Most farmers, store
keepers and industries are enjoying
unprecedented prosperity. Application
of the nation's economic stabilization
program has not halted profiteering.
But it has caught the nation's work
ers in an ever tightening vise."
Discussing the stabilization pro
gram, Mr. Meany pointed out that as
originally advanced by the President
it consisted of seven points, which the
President described as "indivisible."
Nevertheless, Congress kicked out of
the window such provisions as keeping
corporate and personal profits at a
"low level" through heavy taxes and a
limit on net incomes. It has refused to
authorize subsidies to enforce fixed
ceilings on prices and even rents have
gone up 15 per cent, he said.
Most people overlook the fact that
labor has exercised remarkable pati
ence, Mr. Meany remarked. Each time
labor appealed for relief, he said, it
was given new promises, each one just
as empty of fulfillment as its prede
cessor. He concluded:
"Is there anyone in America who
believes the cost of living has been
effectively controlled by the Govern
ment in the last two years? Is there
anyone so simple-minded as to believe
that price control as it now limps
along can be relied upon by the Amer
ican people to protect them?
"There are two things that must be
done. First, the President and the
War Labor Board should revise the
Little Steel formula to allow for the
increase in living costs since May
1942. Second, the President should in
sist that Congress authorize subsidies
to hold the line on prices for basic
food commodities, at least."
PETER ELLE RELECTED
TO BTEA PRESIDENCY
New York City.—Peter W. Eller
President of the Thompson-Starrett
Company, Inc., and National Referee
for the Building and Construction
Trades Department of the American
Federation of Labor, has been elected
President of the Building Trades Em
ployers' Association of New York.
Mr. Eller, whose labor record has
been so fine that he has been entrusted
with the responsibility of making final
decisions on jurisdictional disputes
among the building trades unions, is
also taking active part in the formula
tion of post-war building programs in
New York.
Old City Hall Into Dormitory
Portland, Ore.—The old city hall in
Astoria, Ore., has been remodeled into
a 67-bed dormitory for war workers
at a cost of $22,000.
THB
CHERRY TREE
Where with onr Little Hatchet wo tell
the truth mbout many things, sometimes
profoundly, sometime* flippantly, some
times recklessly.
There's a very homely old saying,
with the salty savor of Anglo Saxon,
which often is not the most delicate
of languages. It is: "Keep your nose
clean."
Never was there a more appropri
ate time for taking such advice.
Miami, Florida, has been held up to
more or less scolding and scorn be
cause a great many wealthy persons
are there to spend the winter, plus a
lot of money. Also because a lot of
Northern automobiles are in Miami,
burning up gasoline which obviously
is in excess of the average person's
puny three gallons per week. That's
all true and the gasoline wastage is
shocking.
But it might be a good idea to take
a look at Washington, D. C.
It would be difficult, in a day's walk,
to find a city in which there is more
ostentatious and blatant spending
than the capital of the nation.
Two tremendously big parties have
been given recently, one of them hav
ing a guest list of some 1,600 persons.
Food of the most expensive type
was served. Drinks were plentiful.
Perhaps those two feasts were out
standing. Probably so. But day in and
day out, the business of "entertain
ing" goes on, with prices high and
food extravagantly used and misused.
Plainly, it looks like hell in time of
war!
Mostly the splurging in Miami is
done by persons who are on vacation.
Some of the men playing along the
beaches have been driving themselves
for a year or two, until it's literally a
case of cut loose or bust. It's not that
way with all, by any means, but sure
ly it is with some.
The Washington "entertainment" is
not for relaxation, mostly.
Washington hotels are filled with
persons who are in Washington be
cause they want something which they
hope to obtain in Washington. Many
of these wants are genuine and legiti
mate. Frantic business and manufac
turing men are in town in the hope
of getting materials or work to keep
going.
Some of these visiting firemen be
lieve that a blow-out here and there
may help their chances. They may be
right, in part. So, they start with
cocktails at anywhere from 4 o'clock
on.
But that's not the evil thing, the
sinister thing.
Washington is unwilling host to a
lot of lobbyists who are in Washing
ton to promote plans and projects
which are wholly greedy and selfish.
Some are sinister. Some aim at se
curing legislation others aim at the
enormous piles or orders for a thou
sand things.
Back in depression New York had a
crowd of more or less small town so
licitors called "the Gimme Boys."
Washington has the Gimme Boys on
a grand scale. Some pretty filthy stuff
goes on.
If Mr. Morganthau could sell a $25
war bond for every $25 per capita
drink and dinner party given in Wash
ington he would have a steady income
of nice, fat proportions.
It isn't a question of whether a per
son has the right to spend his own
money foolishly if he wants to. No.
But in grim war time it is downright
offensive and nauseating to see money
used in such gobs for a night life,
some of which is pretty dirty and
messy, through some of it is just friv
olous and under-age.
Miami is getting some deserved
scolding even though most of it
ought to go to those who go from half
the states in the nation down to the
moonlight paradise, taking to that
point the wealth produced over many
states for a tour of the plush night
clubs and the well populated race
tracks.
But Washington is no better, no
cleaner, no more deserving of a clean
bill of health. It is a time for Ameri
cans to keep their noses clean. Really
clean and wholesome. How many men
died today in Italy and in the Paci
fic—CMW.
THE ARMY is turning in two
pounds of fat per man per month!
Civilian quota is just one pound per
month for a whole family. Save a
tablespoon of fat a day. Turn it in for
cash and extra ration points.
Read The Press.
life I