The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-10-22
BY UNCENSORED

1
The seven members of the House
: subcommittee ON appropriations who
heard in executive and in open session
the testimony of the administration
on the pending lend-lease bill were
each furnished with little blue book
marked secret and confidential
which contained explanations of the
sums requested in the proposed APP
preparation. These members were
mot supposed to reveal what the little
book contained, but some of its con-
tents have become known.
One of the items, according to the
little blue book, provides s10,0O0,0O0
for construction of British naval bases
| in Iceland These bases will be To-
Gated near the U. S. base and near
u. S. soldiers and marines. President
Roosevelts occupation of Iceland was
accompanied by explanations that U.
S. troops would replace British troops
needed elsewhere. 1t has since been
admitted that a considerable British
force is still in Iceland. The pro-
posed appropriation indicates that
there is not now and probably never
was any intention of replacing the
| British.
Another S10,000,000 item would pro-
vide agricultural equipment for Bri-
tain. With this equipment, it is ex-
planned, the British could put into
cultivation during the coming three
years about IL million acres, which
would nearly double the acreage I'M
der cultivation. Meanwhile American
farmers are being encouraged to grow
certain crops to aid Britain and the
British are being given machinery to
expand their own production of the
same crops. Some agricultural econ
omists are wondering what will hap
pen to the American farmer and ex-
porter of farm products when the
British attain enough production to
free themselves of these American
importations.
AT one of the subcommittee closed
sessions, OPM director Knudsen re-
vealed that the defense administration
intended to put 60 percent of all us. |
production into the production of |
arms. This is a far greater proper
ton than has been announced pub |
licly; it even exceeds the percentage |
of arms production in Britain. Knud |
sen also explained that the reason for
industrial shutdowns, curtailment and |
other results of the priorities program
was not so much to conserve raw
materials as to force firing into de-
Tense production.
Mr.. Fixit
The frenzied activities of Wendell
Willkie, the rejected messiah, are not
confined to playing straight man at
entertainments for the benefit of the
far-flung freedoms. When the saliva
ton of civilization requires a little
behind-the-scenes finagling, Mr.. Will
kie is equally ready to give. Recent
ly, a national magazine with millions
of readers prepared an article on the
exact status of the U. S. armament
program The magazines research
ers secured Washington for material.
They obtained information from the
general staff. The process of fact
gathering involved a conference with
the President himself.
Then Wendell Willkie found out
about it. He got in touch with the
editor of the magazine He protested
against publication of the
article on the grounds that it would
hurt national morale. To clinch his
case for suppression, Willkie declared
that he had succeeded in killing a
similar article which was to have APP
peared in Life. Willkie claimed that
he had visited his good friend, Henry
Luce, head man of e-Life-Fortune,