The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1943-07-15
HUMANE BOMBING

to merciful ending.
High ranking officers of the air
forces are urging that we conduct
our bombing operations in such a
way that unnecessary destruction
of enemy life and property shall be
held to a minimum.
This is part of their thesis in
favor Of precision, or "pin-point"
bombing, as contrasted with the
"area" bombing Of the Raj. The
precision bombing, carried on in
daylight, is able to pick out the pre-
else military target, and destroy that
without laying waste to an entire
city. or killing helpless civilians.
These air forces officers speak of
the postwar attitude of nations to-
ward each other, emphasizing that
careless bombing would intensity the
hatreds of war, and make it more
difficult to build a peaceful world.
Somebody will have to rebuild the
broken cities of Europe. World ties
are now so close that no great areas
of destruction can be allowed to re-
main; rebuilding will have to be
done, and only the victors will have
the power to do the work.
Therefore, say these opponents of
precision bombing, let US have no
indiscriminate bombing, but only
precision job, which spares the life
and property of the enemy as much
as possible.
CHURCHILL THE PROPHET
Students of air power have dug up
an old statement Of Winston Church
ills, written in 1917, which reveals
an amazing foresight in the posi-
bilities and limitations of aerial
bombing.
AS everybody knows, the Nazi
blitz against England, intended to
terrorize the people, failed in its OBJ
jective. On the other hand, the
more scientific bombing of the con-
tinent by the Raj and AAF-stra-
tegic bombing-is now expected to
bring Hitler to his knees.
Churchill seemed to foresee both
of these developments when he said
in paper on Air Power, written
in 1917, that nothing we know about
warfare can lead US to believe
that bombing for terror alone can
cause such morale collapse as to
force a major nation to sue for
peace.
Churchill emphasized that air
power must single out and attack
transportation. factories, and other
enemy installations, upon which the
enemy war-making ability depends.
England's survived of the blitz
gives dramatic support to the first
part of that statement, and Allied
air power is now proving the sec.
ond part.
INSTALLMENT BUYING
Business is usually squawking
about government regulation, but
here is one case where merchants
want it continued after the war.
They want to cherish and preserve
Regulation w.
This is the regulation requiring
heavy down payments on consumer
purchases. For example, the down
payment on a 5000 refrigerator to-
day-if you could get one-would be
about $50, compared with three or
four dollars before the war.
Wartime purpose of this regulation
is to curb buying and thus reduce in
flation. But retail merchants like it
for other reasons. It saves them
bookkeeping expenses, avoids the
nuisance of dunning, and provides
cash.
CAPITOL CHAFF
q Most carefully guarded targets
in all Germany are the synthetic gas
oline and synthetic oil works of
Blechhammer and Bruex. If they
could be knocked out, Germany
would be pretty well out of the war.
U. S. airmen are itching to get at
them.
q The Japanese embassy and
grounds are being carefully cared
for by the neutral Spanish embassy.
q Manpower shortage has caused
substitution Of women for men al
The switchboard Of the FBI.