davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1942-02-08
ocAtur Men Fight United Nations Plight in Far East Grows Gove

ported the Dutch interceptor planes suf-
fered very considerable losses, but the
raid damage to military objectives was
negligible. A naval base workshop was
damaged, two naval employees killed and
IS houses in the city were demolished,
with 81 persons killed and 139 injured.
The weeks end brought silence from
the Dutch defenders at Amboina, north
and east Of Java in the Moluccas, second
most important Dutch naval base, where
Allied troops had been trying to repel
japanese landing force. The Dutch
commander at Balik Papan, on Borneos
east coast, escaped with part Of his gar
rison after destroying oil properties in
that area. The Japanese planes attacked
Dutch Timor, south and east of Java.
One Japanese plane raided Port Moseby,
Papua, New Guinea. Australians raided
Rabaul, Japanese-held port on New
Britain island. At the weeks beginning
the American Navy cut down Japan's
strength in the general Rabaul region
by . raid against the Marshall and Gil
bert Islands The first islands were
given Japan in trust at the Versailles
Conference. The second the Japanese
took from England in December.
Evening star., 1942-02-08
ChiIds
Continued From Page BID

determined to crush the last vestige of
Chinese resistance.
MANY of the moves were secret and
many were delayed, waiting for an op-
perfume moment" says Mr.. Grow of the
years since the document was first given
publicity. But there has been no de-
Walton from the plan. Every action Of
the Japanese militarists and every state
ment by the Japanese diplomats has
been along the lines set by Baron
Tanaka. A great deal Of his program
has already been accomplished. If
Japan should conquer China, she would
then be in control of one-third Of the
population of the world and well on her
way toward her goal Of world donhna-
ton"
Ambition Three Centuries Old.
Moreover, as Mr.. Grow points out, the
historical chain goes back much further
than the Tanaka Memorial. 1t runs to
the great Hideyoshi, national hero Of
Japan, who conquered Tarea and went
on to take China and the rest of the
world. The exploits of this conqueror
who believed, in 1892, that the Jap
anese Emperor would sit on the throne
Of the world, have been glorified in song
and story for more than three centuries.
Lord Hotta, the Prime Minister when
the first American treaty with Japan
was negotiated in 1858, was the author
Of q memorial that has the same tone
a that supposedly written By Baron
TAnAkA.
Evening star., 1942-02-08

months to knock the British out Of North
Africa, close the Suez Canal and-if they
have enough strength-attack the United
Nation forces in the Near East and oc-
cupy Iraq.
Tho Axis apparently believes the
United Nations cannot meet q deter
mined attack in force on two fronts, the
European Mediterranean and the Far
East. Any relaxation of our vigilance
in the Pacific may have disastrous re-
suits as far as Australia and the Indian
Ocean are concerned. Hence, we must
reserve large part Of our production
and our military strength for that war
area. This will leave only minor por-
ton Of our present war effort for other
theaters of operations.
sNazis Don't Fear British.
There seems to be belief in Maitland
that the Germans can handle the British
without much trouble. 1t is true that
the British have proved to be tough op-
ponents when they are on the defensive
in their own island. Thousands of Ger
mans are still recuperating in Switzer-
land from the burns they received in the
September, 1910, attempt to invade the
British Isles. But the Nazis feel conf
dent that If American forces can be kept
in the Pacific or Western Hemisphere
and the Australians are persuaded to
stay home to meet Japanese invasion,
they will not have great difficulty dis
lodging the British from North Africa
and the Near East.
Hence, 1t Is held in military and naYal
circles, major German offensive in the
Mediterranean combined with demon
stration-perhaps only feint-against
the British Isles from Norway must be
expected shortly. Meanwhile, the jap
anese will relentlessly pursue their Of
fensive, unless confronted with a real
United Nations force.
Available reports indicate that the
Japanese are throwing every naval, mill
tary and air unit they possess into the
great Pacific gamble, on the success of
Which depends the achievement of their
objective. The Japanese Army has suf-
fered heavily since the beginning OF the
campaign, but the air force has lost COM
paratively little and, compared to the
losses of the British and United States
fleets, the navy has suffered even less.
Thus the Japanese still possess degree
Of striking power which cannot be met
by half-measures or by spectacular but
innocuous demonstrations in strategi-
caIly unimportant areas.
There seems to be little doubt that the
months between now and summer will
witness embittered and frantic efforts on
the part Of the Nazis and japanese to
obtain If not decision, which seems un-
likely, at least strong strategic advan-
tage to enable them to carry on the war
when the odds pile up against them In
l043.
Evening star., 1942-02-08
Botoon Front

Where is the poet who will record In
unforgettable meter the exploits Of the
men OF Gen. Douglas Macarthur so that
men forever and ever will know about
them? He and his men on the Bataan
Peninsula are falling back slowly, but
they are taking the attention OF several
thousand, perhaps hundred thousands,
Japanese troops while they do it, and
they may be at it for weeks yet. They
last week defeated q Japanese attempt
to hurry the job by landing more troops
In the Philippines.
They twice prevented the Japanese
from rushing their lines in an attempt
to overwhelm them and
MocArthur's have it over with. The
FxnIoitx guns Of the rocky fortress
of Corregidor, guarding
the entrance to Manila Bay, prevented
japanese ships from entering the bay
Troops and ships that could be helping
the japanese cause at the Johore Straits
are tied up by Macarthur at the Philip
pines.
Fortunately there Is a chronicler with
the Macarthur forces. Daily in The Star
readers see the dispatches Of Clark Lee.
He gives the human side Of heroism on
Bataan. For instance:
"Hitch-hiking around Bataan, I have
encountered a number Of soldiers from
the sidewalks of New York doing military
police duty. They are not worried much
about the war, but they dislike sleeping
out of doors The chatter of monkeys
which abound in the woods bothers them
more than the chatter of machine guns.
Then there are the pythons. These
usually are about 8 feet long. An ofacer
shot one 32-footer the other day.
"Bull's-eye shooting by the artillery
men Of the United States armed forces
Evening star., 1942-02-08
Americo's 9th Week of War
(127th Week of World War III
By Blair BoHes.

Bright
I'VE will hold question it." So
Percva the imperial forces beseged
Maaya mile Singapore
dominate Southwest
major ambitions the
Japanese
spirit the Allied needed the strong refreshing tea Of
at the gates Of Singapore
forces Of Gen. Macarthur
Philippines.
the japanese lnoa
the British Lbya whose desert waste changes hands
under Gen.
month than
fight almost back again at
the against the
question he RUSSIAN campaign
IN h important
whole concevape
United Nations If they never won
major of Allied and resources Will tell the
hpyards But those factories
victory
being shaped the United Nations problem
TO BerHn or
to nTokio"
Evening star., 1942-02-08

pore fortress would be launched soon
according to q careful plan. soon" has
not yet arrived.
Military casualties suffered from the
Japanese air raid were slight in number,
the British communique said. The is
lands defenders agreed upon daring
policy. Instead of holding Singapore's
air strength over the island, planes were
sent forth up the Malayan Peninsula to
bomb Japanese strongholds and inter-
fere with the movements Of troops SOUTH
ward for the unfolding Of the great plan
mentioned by the spokesman In Toxic.
American bombers participated in the
attacks on Japanese holdings in Malaga,
at Kuala Lumpur, 200 miles north of
Singapore, and at Kuantan, both on the
Malay west coast. During the week
American planes also engaged with Japa-
nese near Macassar Straits, where the
Japanese lost nine planes and the Amer
leans one, and over Java, where Amer
ican P-4O fighters attacked a force of
japanese bombers. They shot down one
Japanese bomber and one japanese pur-
suit ship.
Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell, Allied mill
tary leader In the Southwest Pacific, on
Wednesday called for heroism at Singa-
pore. What he said was q paraphrase
of the American Commodore Lawrence's
great remark: Don't give up the ship"
Gen. Waven in effect asked: Don't
rive lin the fort /" He said.
The Japanese are straining every
nerve to keep the advantage gained by
their initial surprise and
WoveIi's to gain a quick success.
Message Once their impetus is
thwarted they will soon be
discouraged. Our part is to stop them
Evening star., 1942-02-08

battle without further thought of re-
treat"
So begins the siege Of Singapore.
The pilot Of plane flying north and
q bit westerly from Singapore for 1,150
miles would see the wild Salween River
tumbling into the Gulf Of Mataban. To
the west Of this formidable natural OBJ
and Japanese patrols. operating from
the Japanese post in Moulmein, Burma.
were seen last week to the west Of the
Salween. The invaders are pushing to-
ward the Irawsddy River and the rail-
road along 1t which connects Rangoon
with the Burma road. This Is a unique
operation in the Eastern war, because it
Is q land tactic in no way dependent on
naval support. All the other Japanese
Pacific adventures since December 7 have
been combined sea-land operations.
However, patrols are not fighting
forces. The Japanese desire to take
the town Of Martaban from the British
remains frustrated. The Selween River
is a trial for the most ingenious Of
tacticians
Java, the pearl Of the Indies, south
and east of Singapore, was treated to
considerable "softening- u p"
Jovo's bombing last week by the
Peril Japanese. The attack on Java
might have been far more
severe had the Japanese not suffered
great losses in the battle Of Macassar
Straits. The bombing objective in Java
Is Soerabaja, strong naval base at the
eastern end Of Java, protected from the
open Java Sea by the little island OF
Modura.
The first visit to Soerabaja, which was
the first visit to Java during the war
(Which yesterday was two months ODD /.
was paid by the japanese Monday.
Twenty-six bombers brought the Japa-
nese sky tourists for peek at the island
which would be the universal choice If
one were told he could have any Pacific
island he wanted. They lost one bomber
and several escorting fighters. They
caused some damage to shore posts and
to a few aircraft lying on the water.
Wednesday the visitors were back again
this time with 10 or 80 bombers.
From 1910 am. to 1890 pm. Soerabaja
Evening star., 1942-02-08
AXIS MEDITERRANEAN DRIVE EXPECTED
Smash Seen synchonous With jap Thrust Indies
ByCon Brovn

The strategy board Of the United
Nations expects q German drive in the
Mediterranean in the next two or three
weeks, and there is every indication that
Q desperate attempt will be made by
the Nazis and Fascists to break the
deadlock from Gibraltar to Suez rs soon
rs weather conditions permit.
william c. Bullitt, former American
Ambassador to France, who has just re-
turned from an extensive trip through
the battle areas of the Mediterranean
and Near East as a special investigator
for President Roosevelt, seems to share
the opinion Of all other observers on
the spot and in Washington. He is re-
ported to believe that the Nazi attempt
to dislodge the British from the Mediter-
ranean will be on the same scale as the
drive into France in 1910, and that we
must be prepared for very hard knocks
In coming months.
This comedies with the many reports
received in Washington since the end
of December. They indicate large con-
centrations of enemy aircraft along the
northern shores of the Mediterranean,
with an assembly of special invasion
troops" in Greece and Italy.
United States Planes Superior.
The Germans, according to reliable in
telligence, have retooled their plane fac
tories for the production Of new types
For several months they relied almost
exclusively on French, Belgian, Dutch,
Czech and Polish plants to replace the
Luftwaffes losses in Russia. The new
models only recently have begun to
leave the assembly lines Of Reich fac
tories and are supposed to be OF type
designed especially for warfare in hot
climates. How much greater range and
speed they have will be seen when they
get into action.
The NaN high command is said to
have decided to put new models into
production in order to Offset the ad-
vantage of the British, whose air force
proved superior in the Libyan campaign,
thanks to its American planes.
Information from Greece, Yugoslavia
and other countries indicates beyond
doubt that large concentrations Of armed
forces have been taking place for the
last two months and have now reached
the point where we may momentarily
expect action.
Gen. Erwin Rommels offensive against
the British in Libya is considered in
many military quarters as test of the
new German war material which was
brought across the Mediterranean into
Tripolitania Or Tunisia. 1t is not ex-
pected that the NaI general In North
Africa will make any serious effort to
push his advantage much further at
this time.
If our reading Of Axis plans Is correct,
the Nazi-Japanese calculations are about
as follows:
Evening star., 1942-02-08
Eastern War

Each development in the war in the
Pacific and in Asia is related to all the
developments, since Japan is carrying the
war according to Japan's plan. The key
point is Singapore. AS long as the Japa-
nese are not the masters Of Singapore,
the Japanese will not be masters Of the
Southwest Pacific. The japanese ac-
complished little In the first week OF
their siege of the island, although the
Allies begin the siege inferior in air
power over Singapore to the besieging
Japanese.
Singapore put its chief reliance for
defense on artillery fire, directed at the
Japanese forces easily
Sindopore visible across Johore
Reinforced Strait. The polyglot
citizens of Singapore
crowded the ways along the strait in
order to get a glimpse OF the enemy.
The British, Australian and Indian troops
defending the post were reinforced early
In the battle. The japanese lack naval
strength around Southern Malaga enough
to besiege Singapore from the sea as we'll
as from the land. Troops and supplies
still can move into Singapore from the
Dutch Indies, across Malacca Strait.
Wave after wave of Japanese bombers
hurled high explosives at the great Eng
lish bastion on Tuesday while the Japa-
nese continued to concentrate more
troops at the tip Of Malaga in Johore
for an attempt to storm the invaluable
island. In Toxic the Japanese military
spokesman. whose observations are scat
tered to the world by the Japanese radio,
said q general offensive against Singa-
Evening star., 1942-02-08

What ever happened to the A. A. A.7'
The city man, riding the bus home
from work, folded his paper and turned
to his neighbor for an answer.
The other man shook his head indif-
ferently:
II don't know, but it looks to me like
the A. A. A. is one agency the Govern
ment doesn't need now"
The headlines had told how the Agri-
culture Department was asking farmers
for a record production of food for the
war.
Like many urban Americans, these
men thought of the Agricultural Adjust
ment Administration as restricting farm
production, particularly in cotton, corn,
wheat and tobacco.
Perhaps they remembered how, within
the last year, farmers had protested
against paying q penalty Of around 30
cents q bushel for selling 'too much"
wheat.
Certainly they recalled the earlier days
when A. A. A. sponsored . httle-pig
killing program to cut down on the pro-
duction of pork and boost farm prices,
promoted q cotton plow-up program
and distributed hundreds Of millions OF
dollars annually among farmers for
growing less?
The bus-riding, consumer
citizens probably recalled these high
points in the life of the A. A. A. as they
read Of this latest development along
the agricultural front.
Farmers Given go" Sign.
But now that the Government had
given farmers the go" sign on produc-
ton, Is the A. A. A. needed any longer?
Having overheard the discussion on
the bus, I went in search Of an answer.
The search led through the endless cor
ridors of the big Agriculture Department
Building to the ONCE Of the boss of the
A. A. A. Along many Of these corridors
were long rows of omces occupied by
A. A. A. employees.
The name on the door was r. M.
Evans. The title, "A. A. A. Admins
TRAITOR" 1t was late Saturday afternoon
and most Government workers had left
for the week end. Mr.. Evans was busy
at his desk He is q youthful-appearing.
business-executive type OF man OF 81
years.
When I asked my question, he smiled
broadly and leaned back in his chair.
1t was easy to see that he welcomed the
query. He acknowledged that perhaps
many people had the idea crop-control
programs (he prefers to call them ad-
justment programO had no place in the
present emergency.
Believe it or not" he added, "the
A. A. A. now has the biggest Job it has
ever had" That was only his opening
statement.
Educated - Civil Engineer.
A native of Iowa's tall corn country.
Mr.. Evans has been q most Jealous ad-
vocate of the A. A. A. He has been con-
nected with it ofhcially since late in
1898. He never turns down an oppor-
tunity to tell its story.
Although educated to be . civil engi-
neer, Mr.. Evans took up farming in Iowa
after returning from overseas service in
the First World War. Like millions Of
other farmers, he had felt the pinch OF
the severe farm depression Of the
early 3cG.
Evening star., 1942-02-08
By Constantine Br0Un.

The Japanese had to make q success
full surprise attack against Pearl Harbor,
the Philippines and Malaga in order to
reduce the offensive power of the United
States and Britain in the Pacific. This,
unfortunately for us, was successful, and
while the japanese have been exploiting
their success the Germans were retreat
ing from Moscow. Meanwhile, they have
concentrated their forces in the Mediter-
ranean basin.
The German Calculation.
The threat to Burma, India, the Meth
erlands Indies and Australia has brought
the United Nations to the realization Of
the importance OF the Pacific war zone.
While it is true that the American war
potential has greatly increased since we
entered the war, it is equally true that
it will take some time before our produc-
ton is in full swing. In the meantime
the Nazis want to press their advantage.
They know that regardless Of how much
we may have increased production in
the last few weeks, the imperative neces-
sity of preventing the Japanese from
gaining further advantages in the Pa
cific will compel us to send large pro-
portion of our manufactured war ma
terial-especially planes-to the hard
pressed armies of the Pacific.
Berlin calculates-and the Nazis have
had ample time to study carefully our
war industrial strength-that they and
their brown brothers must move fast be-
tween now and next summer, when the
balance Of power will begin to lean in
our favor. Hence, they must make =
desperate effort In the intervening
Evening star., 1942-02-08
A. A. A. NOW w. P. B. FOR AGRICULTURE
Concentrating countys Needs for War Effort
b.


and oil crops In the countrys history.
The national goals are being divided
among 5000 900 individual farms Each
farmer will know Just what Is expected
of him. There will be no guesswork.
Few people realize" Mr.. Evans said.
what a job farmers face. It's going to
be hard for many to reach their goals,
because there's going to be shortages Of
labor, farm machinery, fertilizer and
other materials. So it's up to the A. A. A.
and its committeeman to help see to 1t
that nothing is wasted in producing
crops that are not needed"
Evans emphasized, however, that just
setting up goals was not enough. 1t has
been necessary, he said, to provide farm
programs which assure the producer that
there will be a market for his increased
output at fair prices. Otherwise, the
farmer might hesitate to enlarge his out
put, fearing depressed prices.
Would Curb Surplus Crops.
Mr.. Evans cited the A. A. A. hog pro-
gram. If corn and other feed prices are
high in relation to pork prices, the
farmer is apt to reduce rather than In
crease his hog production. Wanting
more hogs, the A. A. A. has taken steps to
stabilize corn and feed prices at a level
which will make it profitable for the
farmer to produce more hogs.
The same action has been taken in
dairy and poultry programs.
"A. A. A. machinery must be used
again this year." Mr.. Evans continued,
ito prevent unnecessary production and
marketing of the surplus crops-cotton.
wheat and tobacco. This is being done
BY means of acreage allotments and mar
keting quotas"
The A. A. A. chief advanced other rea-
sons why he thought his agency still
was necessary now.
do you remember the duststorms OF
other years?" he asked. well, we don't
want another siege Of them. Well get
them, though, If we permit our pastures
and grasslands to be plowed up again as
we did in the First World War"
One of the A. A. AS principal jobs has
been to promote the use Of soil-conserv-
ing and soil-building farming practices.
1t is authorized to pay cash benefits to
farmers who employ such practices.
Challenges Scarcity" Illusion.
An allusion to the A. A. A. az q scar
city agency" was quickly challenged by
the administrator.
"It certainly is not that" he said. 'The
fact that we have surpluses Of many
crops proves that 1t promotes abundance
rather than scarcity"
Mr.. Evans explained how reserves Of
corn four times as great as normally car
ried had been accumulated under the
lever normal gransry" phase Of the A.
A. A. program. Those reserves. envis-
ioned for use In event Of drought, are
coming in handy now. Without them,
he said. 1t would not be possible to ex-
pand production Of livestock, poultry
and dairy products to the extent needed.
when Henry Wallace first proposed
the ever-normal granary, many people
laughed. They called him . dreamer
and mystic. Those same people should
now thank their stars for 1t. without Il,
we might have rationing of meats, but
ter, milk and eggs" 3.
The goal Of the A. A. A.. Mr.. Evarn
concluded. is balanced aburdance."
Evening star., 1942-02-08

to gain time for the great reinforcements
which we and our American allies are
sending to the Eastern theater. We are
in similar position to the original Brit
ish expeditionary force which stopped
the Germans and saved Europe in the
first battle of Ypres.
1--WE must be worthy successors Of them
and save Asia by fighting these Japanese.
They have now reached an area where
we cannot be constantly outfanked and
where the enemy cannot exploit superior
mobility. You must yield no strip Of
ground without fighting hard, and must
leave nothing behind undestroyed that
would be of the least service to the
enemy. look to you all to fight this
Evening star., 1942-02-08

of the Far East is teaching the Japanese
Q healthy respect for 155-mm. field pieces.
Artillery officers told how their mems &C
curate fire has repeatedly broken up
thrusts against the American and Fill
pino lines. When I visited this front q
single Japanese 105-mm. gun was firing.
Battery commanders said they had ST.
fenced many of the japanese batteries
in the last few days, bringing welcome
relief to the troops. Japanese aerial
activity also has lessened."