Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-22
U-Boa+s' Toll
In Atlantic
Believed Cut
Bombing Of Japan Seen
as Attack on Morale
BY PAUL MALLON

w news has been good news
from the Atlantic lately. Re-
ports of Nazi sinkings dropped
off nearly to zero after peak
about three weeks back.
Permanent conclusions are
not warranted because announce
ments of both our losses and
German claims are ordinarily
delayed a week or two. Yet
there are many stories in cir
culation in shipping quarters
wholly unofficial, of course
suggesting the navy has accom-
plished decisive results.
One is that 30 German and
Italian subs have been sunk by
us in the last two weeks. Not
many more than this number
could have been involved at the
peak of the attack.
THERE is another story
l. about the bodies of % Axis
Sesnen retrieved from the wa
tiers of the sea and brought for
burial TO special plot near one
of our Atlantic ports.
Still another (this one is more
unofficiaD suggests an Ameri-
can fishing vessel. hard at work
offshore was suddenly con-
fronted by a rising Nazi peris-
cope.
The fishermen expected the
worst and were getting ready
for il when a German voice.
from the now risen coming
tower, asked if they had any
fish for sale.
While negotiations were in
progress. under the duress of an
imminent torpedo. the Nazis got
some fish they did not expect,
flying fish. A patrol plane
spotted the sub and sank it.
THE painful silence of the
L navy and army after the
bombing of Japan was not pain
full around headquarters. The
authorities here enjoyed their
best laughs of the war listening
to the Toxic radio.
Obviously the Japs never
knew what hit them. First they
said the planes were BPS me-
dunn Martins, then B-25 North
Americans, and on both occasions
they acted like they had just
seized possession of a hot new
secret ship.
Those two planes may be
secrets to them, but they are
not new. They have been in
service long time. Perhaps the
Japs just did not know they had
such range.
Anyway, they first announced
the planes came from carriers,
then from the Aleutians, next
from the Philippines. The only
thing they were clear about was
that they came from the skies.
Three days later they did not
appear to know whether the
planes were navy or army.
Part of this ethereal fulminat-
ing may have been put on to
smoke us out, but it was too
ALFRED serious 10 be anything
except confession of a break
in morale-which, Of course, was
the purpose of the bombing.
MR.. ROOSEVELT is displaying
A'A new interest in semantics.
First he wanted a new descrip-
tive phrase for the war, then he
wanted another word for in
flation.
1t is safe TO say the search for
an adequate adjective for the
war did not work out altogether
sensationally. The Survival
War" does not dramatic the
whole case. nor does any of the
others offered.
Phonetically as good as any
was one coined by Mort. J.
Donaghue. a California publicity
expert. to whom il seemed to be
War for World Freedom" but
that may not fully dramatic
Russia's interest in it or China's.
II is just too far-fung for ade-
quate pin-pointed description.
But the news that FDR is
searching for a substitute for
the word initiation, just before
sending message TO Congress
TO stop it, has aroused more
than photographic interest. The
idea suggests FDR has found
and is preparing the way for an
entirely new conception of what
we have ana what should be
done about it.
Common speech and common
thought is along the line that
rising prices and economic fac
tors mean initiation and that il
should be met by stopping those
economic factors arbitrarily. If
the President wants to call IL
something new. he must want to
do something new about it.
I EON HENDERSON'S organi-
~ zation is known TO have
prepared an order to freeze
prices at the highest levels be-
tween February % and March
IS This period was selected TO
nip few smart fellows who
started increasing their prices
after March 25 to beat the game.
Both wholesale and retail prices
/ Il a Il