Evening star. [volume], February 07, 1942, Page A-9, Image 11

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Victory Again
Put Above
Party
President's View
Corrects Flynn's
G. O. P. Innuendo
By DAVID LAWRENCE.
President Roosevelt is to be com
mended for repudiating that part of
the radio address by Chairman Flynn
of the Democratic National Commit
tee which im
plied that a Re
publican Con
gress should not
be elected next
autumn because
It supposedly
would be "hostile
to the Presi
dent."
Mr. Roosevelt
gave the impres
sion to the press
conference yes
terday that he
was not familiar
David Lawrence.
with the text of the Flynn speech
and also stated tlfat he thought
members loyal to the war program,
irrespective of party, should be
elected.
In fairness to Mr. Flynn, it is im
portant to reproduce verbatim that
part of his speech which dealt with
this phase of the coming campaign.
He said:
"I naturally feel that no misfor
tune except a major military defeat
could befall this country to the ex
tent involved in the election of a
Congress hostile to the President. I
do not mean by this that the Re
publican candidates for congres
sional seats have any lack of patri
otism, but I think we will all agree
that vast confusion would inevitably
result if we had a President of one
party and a House of Representa
tives, for example, of the opposition
party while we are carrying on the
worst war in history’-”
Both Parties Co-operating.
What the foregoing implies, of
course, is that Republicans would
put opposition to the President above
the voting of measures and funds
with which to win the war. Such an
Innuendo is unworthy of any one
who holds the position of chairman
of the Democratic National Commit
tee. It is an accusation that while
men are dying, the Republicans
would play politics. This has not
been true for a single minute since
Pearl Harbor happened. Both par
ties in Congress have co-operated.
If the people elected a Republican
Congress, they might have the added
advantage of a disinterested check
on the Executive on domestic policy,
which they cannot have through a
Democratic party that has gotten
so in the habit of rubber stamping
administration requests these past
eight years that it has not ventured
to act objectively.
There is no particular confusion in
having one party in control of Con
gress and another In charge of the
executive branch of the Government.
The only confusion might be suf
fered by the vast army of parasites
brought here under the New Deal
who are clogging the machinery of
Government In wartime. There
might be confusion in the ranks of
the radicals and the left wingers
who have made up their minds to
use the war emergency to build a
system of state socialism in America.
There might be confusion among
those who believe the Government
should always own everything and
operate everything and that the pri
vate enterprise system should be
strangled.
But all this is something the
American people will hear about
when tiie campaign starts. Mr.
Flynn's premise that a Republican
Congress should not be elected be
cause the legislative branch would
be of one political party while the
executive would be of another Is
equivalent to saying that no elec
tion should be held and that
America should go totalitarian on
the one-party idea, as have Ger
many and Italy. For if the Re
publicans are not to be given a
chance to exercise the powers of a
majority because change is not to
be welcomed In war time, it means
that the United States is not to
have the benefit of the only check
available to the American demo
cracy in time of war.
Slower Check Than Britain.
Prime Minister Churchill told the
United States Senate recently that
he can be removed the moment a
hostile majority appears In Parlia
ment. Under the American sys
tem of rigid tenure for the Execu
tive, the President as commander
in-chief of the United States Army
and Navy might be wholly well in
tentioned and conscientious and yet
might make a dozen major blunders
between now and January, 1945,
and there would be no way to re
move him and put somebody else
in the executive power. In answer
to this, students of government
have said that the Constitution pro
vides a check at least every two
years through the congressional
elections and that since Congress
possesses the purse strings and
since two-thirds of both houses can
repeal any law on the statute books
and put any new law there over
the objection of the Executive, the
American democracy possesses an
ample check.
But now Chairman Plynn of the
Democratic National Committee
argues that no such check would
be proper in war time and that the
Executive must be permitted to
operate as he pleases without check
of any kind through the constitu
tionally prescribed method of bien
nial elections. This Is neither demo
cracy nor representative govem
fovemment.
(Reproduction Right* Re»erved.)
Card Party Scheduled
A card party will be given at the
Oxon Hill (Md.) High School at 8:30
•'dock tonight i 1
The Political Mill
0. C. D. Salary Issue Dramatizes Public's Growing
Demand That Defense Funds Be Effectively Spent
By GOULD LINCOLN.
Just to say that money—public
money, out of the pockets of the
taxpayers or their savings—is
being expended for national de
fense is no longer enough. The
American people are going to de
mand the details. They are
going to demand an accounting.
All the more because of the
revelations in recent days of the
fantastic use of money by the
Civilian Defense setup, of the
staggering profits made on some
war contracts by those fortunate
enough to have them and of the
extravagant gains made by some
labor unions.
With March 15 and heavy in
come taxes staring them in the
face and every prospect of addi
tional taxes soon to be levied,
the men and women of this coun
try, who are perfectly willing to
put up their all to win this war,
are showing that they are not
willing to have their dollars
wasted or taken by profiteers,
whether the profiteers be man
agement and owners or labor.
No more money down the rat
hole is the slogan.
With a drive on to convince
the people that they should make
every possible sacrifice to win the
*"-v
*oy I
* HM M1'
war, including the purchase of
Defense stamps and bonds, the
publication of the fact that sal
aries ranging up to *8.000 are
being paid by the Office of Civil
ian Defense to moving picture
actors, dancers and others en
gaged in promotional programs
■that not by the widest stretch of
the imagination have to do with
gas masks, bombproof shelters
and Are fighting to protect the
civilian population in case of
attack by the enemy, is not going
to help. The people are begin
ning to feel that there is too
much attempt on the part of the
administration to stress the
movies, to spend money to Jazz
up the situation and to spend
money lavishly in so doing.
Resentment Grows.
A feeling of bewilderment—and
resentment — against such a
course is growing—not confined
to any particular group, nor to
Republicans or Democrats. The
people want to win this war.
They have sons, brothers, hus
bands engaged in it, or in the
armed forces ready to engage.
They are willing to go the limit
in their aid to the Government to
win the war. But they want to
know that the administration is
acting effectively.
This feeling is reflected In the
debate in the House yesterday on
the *100,000.000 appropriation for
the Civilian Defense office. There
was condemnation on both sides
of the chamber for the employ
ment of dancers, movie actors
and others in the “Volunteer
Participation" division of the
O. C. D„ headed by Mrs. Roose
velt, at considerable salaries. The
charge was made that this divi
sion was being used to pay polit
ical and social debts. It was
charged, too, that the kind of
work that was being done was
not for national defense against
enemy attack, but that it was just
another social experiment by the
New Dealers. It was not only to
the personnel that objection was
made, but to the character of
work which was being undertaken
—all In the name of national
defense.
These charges did not come
from only one side of the cham
ber. They were voiced both pub
licly and privately by Democratic
members. It is true that the
Office of Civilian Defense has
been under Are for months, In the
House as well as outside, which
may have been responsible for
the wholehearted way in which
the speakers yesterday attacked
tne conduct of the„ agency, or
at least the volunteer part of It
under the direction of Mrs.
Roosevelt. It has been urged for a
long time that both Mayor La
Guardia of New York and Mrs.
Roosevelt should disassociate
themselves from the organization
—the first Is its head and the
other, the second in command.
The Mayor has stated he would
resign from the O. C. D. within
a few days and give his whole
attention to running the affairs
of New York City—a consider
able job, for which he was re
elected last November. In the
House yesterday it was frankly
stated that Mr. La Guardia had
been unable to cope with his
assistant, Mrs. Roosevelt; that
she had made appointments to
her division and paid salaries to
persons the Mayor would not
have had on the rolls. Indeed, it
was declared that it was for such
reasons that the Mayor was really
taking himself out of the O. C. D.
Representative Marcantonio of
New York, who Is an affiliate of
the American Labor party, as Is
the Mayor, asserted on the floor
yesterday that the Mayor was in
no way responsible for the employ
ment of the dancer, Mayris
Chaney; the movie actor, Melvyn
Douglas, and others whose Jobs
with O. C. D. have brought so
much criticism.
Tribute Lacks Defense.
From a political point of view,
the Democrats felt that these
revelations have done them no
good. But entirely aside from
the political angle, the Demo
crats have resented the conduct
of affairs, just as everyday
American citizens.
Representative Cannon, Demo
crat, of Missouri, chairman of
the House Appropriations Com
mittee, paid Mrs. Roosevelt a
splendid tribute, for her cour
age, ability and devotion, and
spoke of her as one of the most
remarkable figures of these re
markable times. He did say,
however, that covering as much
territory as she does, interested
in a great variety of activities, it
was only natural she should oc
casionally do something that
would bring criticism.
He made no effort to defend
the employment of the persons
criticized and said that when
another appropriation bill comes
before his committee, the appro
priation for the Office of Emer
gency Management, out of which
these salaries are now paid, the
whole matter will be given most
careful scrutiny. Furthermore,
he offered and had adopted an
amendment which would prevent
the payment of these salaries out
of the appropriation carried in
the deficiency bill. All of which
speaks for Itself.
Sullivan Is Ousted
As Tammany Chief
By Only One Vote
Abandonment of Name
And Removal From Hall
May Be Outcome
Bj the Auociated Preu.
NEW YORK, Peb. 7.—Tammany
Hall has lost its No. 1 tiger, Chris
topher D. Sullivan, who guided the
city’s famous Democratic Commit
tee since 1937. He was ousted last
night by slightly less than a full
vote after a bitter battle.
The 72-year-old chieftain fought
his foes to the end. Then, when
the 121/12-to-ll% vote by the 25
member Executive Committee was
announced, he walked out with the
simple statement:
“It’s all right with me.”
Mr. Sullivan was the second lead
er to feel the ax since the Repub
lican-Pusion organization headed by
Mayor P. H. La Guardia swept the
once-mighty Tammany forces from
power eight years ago. John F.
Curry was the first.
Name May Be Abandoned.
Failure of the machine In recent
elections, plus Mr. Sullivan's In
ability to get patronage in Wash
ington or Albany, was blamed for
his downfall. His ouster probably
will mean abandonment of the 150
year-old name and removal of Man
hattan Democratic headquarters
from Tammany Hall.
Charles H. Hussey, chairman of
the Executive Committee, spill serve
as leader pending a meeting Febru
ary 27,
If the attempt to remove Mr. Sul
livan had failed, the Hussey faction
was expected to start an anti-Tam
many movement which would have
split the Democratic party in New
York—always a potent power in city,
State and national politics.
Walker Case Recalled.
Tammany Hall, for many years
the one and only controlling factor
in New York City politics, reached
the heights of power many times
during its long career. The most
recent peak came during the mayor
alty of James J. Walker, who re
signed while the then Governor of
New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
CHRISTOPHER D. SULLIVAN.
—A. P. Photo.
was considering evidence produced
by Special Investigator Samuel Sea
bury.
Mr. Sullivan, bom in New York,
now is 72. He first held public of
fice in 1906 when he was elected to
the State Senate, where he served
until 1916, at which time he went
to Washington as a representative of
the Lower Manhattan district.
Mr. Hussey, who is in his late 50s,
hag been an assistant clerk of the
City Court for a number of years.
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Star’s effort to give all sides of questions of interest to its
readers, although such opinions may be contradictory among
themselves and directly opposed to The Star’s.
I •
Australia Is Pacific Verdun
Observer Sees 'Down Under' Country as Main
Base for Offensive Against Far East
By COL. FREDERICK PALMER.
Two month* after the beginning
of the Pacific War, I review the re
sults and look to what we may ex
pect and what we shall have to do,
after counsel
with experts of B
sound opinion. Jr
Primarily, Ja- -
pan has fully f,j
disclosed her **
plan and objec- Y
tives. Attention *
centers on A us-1|
trails for the B
long pull against ■
Japan, and Rus- ■
sla in turnB
against the Eu- B
ropean Axis ™
powers. In ourcsi.
Frederick Palmer.
outlook, we do hot want to fool our
selves, as we have had a weakness
for doing In our military policy in
the past.
In this connection, I revert to a
talk which I had with Gen. Doug
las Mac Arthur in 1935, when he was
Army Chief of Staff. In answer to
a question, he said that he had not
30,000 men ready with ships avail
able for them for an overseas ex
pedition. He agreed with me that
we should fight overseas again if
and when we went to war.
Feared Arousing Congress.
When I suggested I was about to
advocate a cessation of plans for
hugging trenches in home defense
and actually preparing for an over
seas expedition, he said:
"Such talk will arouse congres
sional reaction that we aim at for
eign conquest. Just now I am workt
ing to get two divisions motorized
with enough tanks and planes to
be up to modern standards. The
only argument which will win ap
proval is that they are strictly to
repel invasion."
In February, 1942, some elements
inside and outside of Congress are
stiU subject to this tradition.
After the talk with Gen. Mae
Arthur I sought the view of some
key naval officers in war plans as
to the advisability of fortifying
Guam while we could and while
Japan was not ready for war. All
agreed that this would be invalu
able if the country expected the
Navy to carry the offensive beyond
the Hawaiian defense line.
But all also agreed that at the
time such a proposal would be re
jected by Congress as a threat to
Japan and just as prejudicial to
strengthening the Navy as preparing
for the eventuality of an overseas
expedition would be to strengthen
ing the Army.
I go further back to Lt. Gen.
Arthur MacArthur. the father of
Douglas, who won the Congressional
Medal of Honor and led his Mich
igan regiment in battle in the Civil
War before he was of age. I have a
youthful memory of his saying:
"Here we soldiers are fighting in
the Philippines to suppress a native
rebellion. We go where the country
sends us, and it is bound to send
us somewhere overseas. In peace we
are in defensive mood and remain
so for a period in war. Then, after
a setback, we settle down to business
to win the war with offensive blows."
Defensive Mood Clings.
After the Pearl Harbor setback, too
many of us have still held to the de
fensive mood. I don't think the peo
ple of the Pacific Coast are of the
scary kind. Left to themselves, they
would have accepted President
Roosevelt’s word that there might
be some suicidal bombing, but we
could take it.
Agitators, recruiting their cohorts
from the sons of gloom, pictured the
Pacific Coast as at the mercy of a
terrific Jap Luftwaffe. We rushed
troops to the Pacific Coast for local
defense, throwing war industrial
transport out of gear. We rushed
planes to the Pacific Coast and Ha
waii—planes which had better been
ftm the way to the Far East. Mean
while, the Jap aircraft carriers were
5,000, 6,000 or 7,000 miles away.
A few of our fighting planes,
which had to go by ship, have now
Joined our bombers In the Malayan
area. But are there enough, with
Gen. MacArthur's little army al
ready “contained” to prevent Singa
pore being contained in an equally
tight siege?
Enough to prevent the loss of the
Dutch East Indies by sinking Jap
transports? For among the huge
native population, few are armed
and trained as an auxiliary to the
meager Dutch garrison. Once the
Japanese can begin landing in large
numbers the little defensive force
will be overwhelmed.
China, whether the Burma road
is cut or not, is too short of arms to
immobilize more than a portion of
the whole Japanese Army. Support
China, defend to the limit the Ma
layan bases we still hold, but in the
long view Australia must be the
main base for future offensive op
erations in the Far East. Its part
will be that of “They shall not pass”
of Verdun, which held this rampart
as an aid for Allied drives of 1918,
which ended in the capitulation of
the German armies.
A Fighting People.
Australia has room and facilities
for a great base, and is inhabited,
1 not by such unarmed masses as
those of Java or Malaya but by a
fighting people. And in a glance
"down under” do not overlook New
Zealand in memory of the fact that
In World War I the New Zealand
division never failed to take an ob
jective.
Surely no one doubts that Russia
is the mighty European stronghold
for our side. The Russian Army has
been true to the faith of ‘They shall
not pass.” Hopefully, it has prevent- ]
ed a huge German offensive across
Arabia to the Suez Canal and on
west to India. Russia wants to know
that we are back of her in more than
lip service, or even arms, when she
hears that we are worried lest we be
bombed at our distance from enemy
bases.
It is armies, with adequate equip
ment, supported by huge naval and
air power, which will win this war.
Britain has not yet suffered one
sixth of the casualties 6he did for
the same period in World War I. Her
home army should not always be
immobilized by threats of invasion.
We are making a great army. It
is time for all of us to settle down
to business, as Gen. Mac Arthur has
on Bataan. Smile, since a sense of
humor goes with a sense of propor
tion, but smile with a glitter in the
eye in a fighting offensive spirit back
of every one of our soldiers, seamen
and airmen. •
U. S. Can Lose War,
Says Batt; Smugness
Called Unjustified
Foe's Steady Progress
Against Our Outposts
Is Emphasized
Bf th» Associated Press.
NEW YORK. Feb. 7.—William L.
Batt, chairman of the combined
Inter-Allied Raw Materials Board,
declared last night that the United
States had a chance of losing the
war and should not “kid” itself.
“I find all around me a smugness
and satisfaction which to my mind
are entirely unjustified,” Mr. Batt
asserted in an address before the
annual advertising award presenta
tions banquet here.
“America is engaged in a life-and
death war. This is nothing new for
us. But, not since the days of the
Revolution, have we ever had much
of a chance to loee a war.
“And we have a chance to loee
this one.”
Cites Foe’s Steady Progress.
Mr. Batt, director of the War Pro
duction Board’s materials division,
asserted that "It seems to me that
too much attention Is being paid to
minor air engagements in which
American flyers down two Jap
planes and lose one, and not enough
attention Is being paid to the en
emy’s steady progress against our
Vital outposts."
He made these observations:
"If Singapore goes down, the
whole Far Eastern theater may be
lost.”
Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur’s forces
In the Philippines are “desperately
outnumbered" and It will be “ex
tremely difficult" to relieve him.
“If the Burma road is dosed, it
will be next to impossible for us
to continue to help the Chineee;
the Nazis are on the offensive again
In North Africa; and, while Russia
has regained some ground, die still
has a long way to go.”
“Suppose we do lose the whole of
the Far East and all the critical sup
plies we need from that area," Mr.
Batt continued. “Suppose the Ger
mans finally succeed in Africa and
take Sues, which would be tanta
mount to taking the whole Middle
East Suppose Hitler does start a
new and successful offensive in Rus
sia In the spring. • * •
“Suppose all of these things hap
pen, and all of them can happen.
Where would we be? I do not like
to think about the answer to that
question. But I feel that I must
think about It. And so must every
other American. We must think
about It lest we loss sight of the
importance of seeing to it that we
□ever get in-that position.
“We must think about these things
so we don’t kid ourselves. This Is
no time for self-hypnotism. We’re
strong. We’re tough. Yes, but so
Is the other fellow.”
Paul West, president of the Asso
ciation of National Advertisers, New
York City, was awarded a gold
medal for distinguished service to
advertising at the dinner. Eighteen
bronze medals were awarded in
seven other claasiflcaitons.
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This Changing World
Allies Reconciled to Loss of Singapore;
Burma Held of Greater Strategic Value
By CONSTANTINE BROWN.
The commander In chief of
United Nations forces In the Far
East, Oen. Sir Archibald P.
Wavell, has far more serious
problems now than he had a year
ago when he was coping with
Italian-German forces In the
North African desert.
The major Japanese attack,
which the British believe will
start In the next few days, Is ex
pected to take place at two
equally vital points: Singapore
and Burma. While the assault on
the British Far Eastern Gibraltar
may be made principally with
planes, of which the Japanese
continue to have an overwhelm
ingly superior number, the drive
in Burma will see the deployment
of Important Japanese mechan
ised and foot forces. The British
Army in that region is inferior
to the Japanese both in numbers
and equipment.
A number of military experts
regard Burma, which contains
the only remaining road linking
China with the outside world, as
even more Important than Sing
apore. The Singapore naval base
has floating docks capable of re
pairing large ships, but It was
rendered useless as far as the
Allies are concerned when the
Japs conquered the Malay penin
sula and began to besiege Sing
apore Island.
The continued occupation of
Singapore by British and Imper
ial troops is of consequence only
in preventing Japanese use of it
as a base for their own battle
fleet, which for the time being
remains in its home ports, await
ing the fall of Singapore. When
Singapore falls the Japanese fleet
is expected to move into the base
and operate from there.
Chiang Concerned Over Burma.
Singapore also is important for
the defense of the Netherlands
Indies, but with fighting In the
Far East going as it is, the United
Nations high command has rec
onciled itself to the idea that
sooner or later the fortress-island
will fall into the hands of the
enemy.
The Allied command hopes to
hold Singapore for a while, but
preparations have been made to
render Its expensive establish
ments completely useless so that
during the time the Japs are re
pairing its facilities United Na
tions forces may attempt to re
capture it.
Burma 1* of even greater im
portance, however, both from the
strategic and political point of
view.
The Chinese government Is
firmly determined to play along
with its allies and Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek has not been
unduly worried over Brltish
American reverses in the Pacific.
He has the Chinese philosophy
that time is a great healer and
that in the end the forces of the
British Empire and United States
will get the better of the enemy.
He is greatly concerned, however,
over the fate of Burma.
Gen. Chiang has been worried
about China's lifeline ever since
the Jap attack on the United
States began. The Chinese gen
eralissimo, who has the best in
telligence service in the Par East
(he warned Washington of the
German attack on Russia five
weeks before it occurred, miss
ing the exact time of the attack
by wily a day), has known for
a long time that the Japanese
would make a major effort to
cut the lines of China’s com
munication with the western
world.
The very day Gen. Wavell was
appointed Allied commander in
chief in the Par East Gen. Chiang
offered him three Chinese army
corps for the defense of Burma.
It is true that the equipment of
these divisions was not what
modern armies consider neces
sary, but it was adequate.
The Chinese generalissimo, who
has been lighting the Japs for so
many years, believed numbers
would compensate for material
deficiency. Moreover, he hoped
that much of the material which
had reached Rangoon and other
points north, but had not yet been
delivered to China because of the
transportation bottleneck, could
be used by his three army corps
(about nine divisions) of good
fighters.
Resolved to Fight Japs.
Gen. Chlang’s surprise and
chagrin were great, however,
when, for undisclosed reasons,
Gen. Wavell thanked him for his
kind offer, but said he did not
need Chinese troops—yet. This
refusal, ctmpled with statements
in Washington in January that
Hitler was the principal enemy to
be defeated, created somewhat of
a depressing effect at the Chung
king headquarters.
Gen. Chiang is a determined
man, however, and has not been
deterred from his resolve to
fight the Japs to the bitter end.
But there were other other ele
ments in China who might have
been willing to lend a friendly
ear to the "peace and friendship”
whispers—official and otherwise—
from Tokio and Berlin. These
elements have now been elim
inated, but they gave some un
comfortable moments to British
and American diplomats and sol
diers stationed in China. The ex
planation from Washington that
/THAWS-/
Y£3&
wSZf _
by “Hitler” was meant the entire
Axis gang, coupled with a loan of
a half billion dollars, has some
what mended the situation.
The Chinese generalissimo is
still worried by the possibility of
the fall of Burma and an upris
ing of the Burmese. It seems to
be too late now, even if Gen.
Wavell accepted the Chinese offer,
for the Chinese divisions to reach
Burma in time to save the sit
uation. Upper Burma might be
saved, but Rangoon and its adja
cent territory must henceforth be
defended by imperial troops alone.
And military experts wonder
whether there are enough troops
there to meet the expected Jap
anese onslaught.
Wife Sues Capt. Boone
For Custody of Children
Capt. Daniel F. Boone, U. S. A.,
stationed in the quartermaster
general's office here, was sued in
District Court yesterday by his wife,
li-i. Martha Lightner Boone, Tryon,
N. C., who is seeking custody of
their two children.
Mrs. Boone told the court in a
habeas corpus petition that Capt.
Boone was holding their two chil
dren contrary to an order by a North
Carolina court giving her custody.
The two youngsters are Daniel L.
Boone, 6, and Martha Penelope
Boone, 3.
A hearing was set for Thursday.
'Nutrition' to Be Topic
Dr. Ernestine Becker, associate
professor of biology at Johns Hop
kins University, will discuss “Newer
Knowledge of Nutrition” at a din
ner meeting of the District Home
Economics Association at 6:45 p.m.
Tuesday in the Admiral Club, 1640
Rhode Island avenue N.W.
Repairing '
' Renovizing *
Modernizing Homes
Now’s the Time
With war conditions what they are, you’ll
probably have to continue to live in your
present house. You don’t have to deny
yourself the convenience of a modern home
however—but renovize and modernize so
that you’ll be perfectly comfortable.
An Eberly Plan Supervisor can work out
the details for you—even making the
transformation profitable, for if you have
surplus room, it can be converted into
income-producing apartments—for which
there is a growing demand. Don’t think it
intricate, or expensive. It won’t be, and being
all done by Eberly Plan master craftsmen,
there will be only ONE moderate overhead
and ONE responsibility—OURS.
This is worth serious consideration—
RIGHT NOW. Send for an Eberly Plan
Supervisor to consult with you.
The financing need not be of any
concern, for The Eberly Financing Plan
will adjust that to your convenience.
A. Eberly’s Sons
1108 K N.W. DI. 6557
Before You Invest—Investigate
McLemore—
F. B. I. Encouroging
Better Neighbors
LOS ANGET.ES, Calif.—The P. B.
I.—and In times like these we can
be thankful for every member of It,
from Chief J. Edgar Hoover to the
lowliest recruit
who still wears
his false beard
crooked —is do
ing this country
an awfully good
turn these days.
The F. B. I,
with occasional
help from the
police, Is pro
moting the
neighborly spirit
In America as it
has never been
promoted before.
Henry McLemore.
Here is how it works:
In their painstaking search for
subversive agents, the F. B. I. gum,
shoers refuse to overlook a single
lead or clue. They Investigate every
lead, no matter how remote 1J may
seem, track down every clue no mat
ter how old the trail may seem.
Bloodhounds go to them for lessons
in patience and stick-to-itlveness.
One of the first steps in an in
vestigation of a person who has
been mentioned as a possible agent
of an enemy country is to visit his
next door neighbors. I was visiting
a friend here the other afternoon
when an F. B. I. agent sent in his
card. He was disguised as a broker,
I presume, because he had on a’
double-breasted suit, a snappy pair
of brogues, and that look of resig
nation that brokers have worn for
the past few months.
He explained that the family
which lived next door to my friend
had been reported as friendly to
the enemy, and he would like to
know any and everything about the
members of it.
* * * ^
Here was a great chance for my
friend to lay it on to his neighbor
and I fully expected him to, because
I happened to know that the two
families had not gotten along any
too well, and that the fence between
the two houses was not so much a
property marker as it was a sort of
picket-referee that kept the respec
tive heads of the households from
having at one another.
He didn’t disappoint me. He
didn’t peg his neighbor as a spy,
because, as lie explained to the
agent, he didn’t know anything
about any such activities, but he
gave him the full works along other
lines.
He said to put his bones anywhere
but in the adjoining front yard. He
l sald he was a sinister character who
not only kept his radio on 20 hours
a day. but kept it tuned in so loud
that it shook the rafters of houses
a block away. He damned him for
not returning a rake he had bor
rowed three years before, and for
parking his car in front of the drive
way that wasn't his. He let him
have it for everything the poor
neighbor had done in the way of
petty annoyances for the past six
years.
He was still letting his neighbor
have the works when the agent got
up to leave.
"And he is the sort of man.” my
friend was saying as the agent
bounced down the front steps, “he is
the sort of man who leaves a light
on all night that shines in your
bedroom window, and who won't
take care of your cat when you go
away for the week end.”
* * * *
That doesn’t sound like a promo
tion of the neighborly spirit, does
it? But it is. You see, with rumors
and counterrumors as thick as they
are these days, any man is likely to
have his name given the F. B. I. as a
suspect of one sort or another, and
have an agent question his neighbors
about him. So, in order to get a good
report, he must work at being a bet
ter neighbor. Before this war is over,
citizens from Seattle to Savannah
will have learned to be better
neighbors.
There’ll be more cake swapping
and coffee and sugar swapping, more
“Let me help you clean the snow
off your sidewalk, old fellow” stuff
than there ever was before.
A fellow isn’t going to run the
risk of having a neighbor give him
a black eye with the F. B. I. Just
because he wouldn’t lend his garden
hose, or his telephone or a pound of
butter or a cupful of sugar.
When the neighbor's kid runs over
his rose bushes with his bicycle hell
curb his temper, resist the tempta
tion to whack the brat with a bras
sie, and say, "Nice riding, son. I
though for a moment you might fall
when you hit that first patch of
flowers."
When the neighbor returns horns
late at night and wakes up every
one in the block with his slamming
of garage doors, his neighbors will
forgive being awakened and hope
that ol’ Charley had a good time at
the poker game and won the money.
Speaking for myself, I know that
I am going to try to be a better
neighbor from now on. I don’t want
the finger put on me by the folks
next door who are tired of chasing
my chickens out of their yard and
listening to me practice the ac
cordion at midnight.
From now on. I’m practicing at
11, not midnight.
(DUtrlbuted by McNaught SyncUcat*. Xne.)
Seaman Commended
For Rescuing Another
Kenneth Lee Martin, seaman, first
class, who saved a fellow sailor from
drowning at Pearl Harbor 13
months ago. was formally com
mended yesterday by Secretary
Knox.
Seaman Martin leaped from a
dock to rescue William T. Hess,
seaman, second class, who had slip
ped from a gangplank and fallen
Into the water, striking his leg as
he fell. His rescuer supported the
injured man in the water and fixed
a rope about him so he could be
pulled to safety.
A native of Nebraska, Seaman
Martin is 21 years old. His action.
Secretary Knox said, was “In keep
tag with the beet traditions of the
naval service."