Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1942-09-10
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page II

SHOCK, IOr aItOugh ne pro-
ceeded something like ten miles
into the vicinity of Ell Alamein,
he evidently had not fOreseen
the presence and the activity
of American bombers who treated
him most numerically.
The joint resistance of the British
and the Americans appears to have
at least checked the ambitious axis
general for the time being, and the
Suez canal is as far off as it was
when he began his brief Information
about couple of months ago.
This: Not SO Good, Either!
On the other side of the earth, the
japanese ally of Germany and Italy
also ran into rather unpleasant sur
prises, for in the provinces of Che
kiang and Kiangsi the Chinese forces
astounded the troops of the Mikado
with some immense resistance, and
made it necessary for them to re-
treat from territory they had won
at such tremendous cost only a few
weeks ago.
There is no doubt that the
Chinese fighting has become in
tensified, but the high command
of Chang Kai-shek'S forces still
suggests that the principal rea-
son for the enemy's retreat is
the possible fact that he may
want to attack India or Siberia.
We know nothing certain about
that, and to date there has been no
actual hint that a conflict may be
brewing between, for instance, Rus
STA and Japan, or Japan and India.
1t may come. But-we don't know.
In the Pacific.
To make japanese humiliation
more profound than it has been in
China, American and Australian
forces in the southwest Pacific have
heaped new defeats on them and
made it extremely improbable that
the enemy will have the courage to
attack the Australian mainland now.
While we are still lacking Of
fetal reports from Washington to
the effect that the American
forces have won an unquestion-
able victory in the Solomon
Islands, the triumph is, unof-
ficially, taken for granted. And
in the Milne Bay in the island of
New Guinea the japanese re-
ceived rather heavy punishment,
with the result-as it seems like
ly to be now today-that they
will think more than twice be-
fore getting up sufficient auda-
city to tackle Australia.
The last few days may have been
pretty good for the Germans in Rus
sia-in spite of the delay they have
had to face, but it has been a bad
period for the Germans and the
Italians in Egypt, and for the Jap
anese in China, on the Solomon Is
lands, and on the island of New
Guinea it has been nothing but dis
aster and disappointment.
Political Moves.
At the present stage of world
war which has just entered its fourth
year, military events, of course, are
in the limelight. But there have
been some political ones, too, and,
in the long run, they may deeply
influence the military developments
of the war.
In Japan, Foreign Minister Shi-
genori Togo resigned, whether be-
cause of i'll health or under pressure
is not definitely known. His post
was taken over by Premier TOTO
This change may mean-we
don't know yet-that the Tokyo
cabinet will become even more
bellicose and aggressive than be-
fore, and it may be that it is
paving the way for an attack on
Siberia.
Togo was the last remaining nom
militaristic member of the Mikado's
cabinet, and his withdrawal from the
post of foreign minister may indi-
cate that he had been told to quit.
The fact that the reason for his res
ignation was given officially as ill
health doesn't necessarily mean any
thing.
Spanish Upset.
The second major political upset
of the last few days occurred in
Spain where Francisco Franco, die
tator of the country, dismissed his
brother-in-law, Suner, from the post
of foreign minister; this may mean
that he wanted to remove himself
a step from the axis powers, for
Suner was, it appears, an even more
enthusiastic admirer of Hitler and
Mussolini than Franco himself is.
For the moment, the most con-
spicuous indication is that the Span
ish government wants to preserve its
neutrality, with-possibly-
leanings toward the United Nations.
1t may mean, too, that Franco be-
gins to feel convinced that the war
will not be won by the axis.
Carlson and Marie Morris were sup