The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-04-23

MontpeNor, W, April ~. De-
elarlng that hitler has already tn
vaded New England 10 the extent
that IN army Of thieves, counter
letters and SAbOeeurS" has sprung up
n black markets, Regional OpA
Administrator Kenneth d, Back
man told governors Of the six states
N conference here today that civil.
iAns can kin black markets and ae
the same time save the lives Of
many Americans,
we. the people On the home
front, must refuse 10 participate Ia
their tgaitorous acts" Backman said.
Don't buy or accept ration coupons
that have not been issued 10 you
BY your local war price and ration
ing board, Don't pay higher than
legal prices, II you viii not do
these things, you win kin the black
markets and save the lives Of Amer
leans who are fighting 80 that YOU
and your children win remain free"
PrelOnglng War
The text Of his remarks follows;
Hitler has already invaded our
shores, Not with an army In uni
form, But an army Of thieves,
cuunterfeiterS, and SaboteurS,
Whether they are paid by Hitler or
whether their only motive Is per-
sonal financial profit, Is Of second
airy importance,
"oe primary importance TO every
man, woman, and child Is the In
disputNble fact that they are i'm
peding the winning Of the war,
They are making 1t last longer. Be-
cause OF them, more OF our boys
will come home wounded, more win
not come home.
"Tor today, right now, organized
gangs Of thieves and counterfeiters
are promoting "Blaek Markets.
enemies Of society before the war,
they are now traitors 10 their coun-
try. They are sabotaging ration
Ing, the only method by which any
nation Is able to supply Its armed
forces. Already they have reduced
our lighting efficiency,
mo nation can be properly equip.
ped 10 light unless supplies are ilrst
Nllocated to the armed forces and
The balance ratloned equitably
among civilians. "Black Markets"
prevent this,
A. 4. r. Growing
Our expeditionary forces grow
bigger and stronger each day, We
nope TO fight the wars on foreign
goils, But the problems are ire
men6ous, Many are inclined 10
think Of them In terms OF l9l7-l8.
But In loi7-ls, the problems
were relatively simple. There was
no war In the Pacific. The allied
navias conveyed our troops and sup
plies and, for all practical purposes
we had control In the Atlantic,
To-day we have wars In both the
Paciilc and Atlantic, and In many
other waters, We have few allies
with naval power. We have longer
lines Of communication e.g. twice
as long TO Australia than TO Europe,
snow have TO ship 10 Ia tons
Of equipment and supplies for every
man We send overseas. In the last
war, our allies, British, French, and
Belgian, supplied our troops with
equipment after they had landed In
europe, bringing with them but lit
tie more than clothing and rifles,
In this war we must supply our al
lies. as well as ourselves. Modern
methods Of mechanical warfare
have added TO transportation prob
lens.
"And supplies must be continuous.
When q four-motored bomber takes
of for an attack, 1t carries over
1000 gallons Of gasoline In Its tank
more than the number Of gallons Of
fuel oil It takes to heat the average
New England home for year.
Soldiers eat more, wear out more
clothing than civilians. They need
twice as much or more. For ex-
ample, there must be nine pairs OF
shoes for each man. The recruit
gets two pairs as q starter. Four
more pairs must be In depot for re-
placement and three are In process
Of manufacture or on order.
Adequate Supplies
This is the problem-to ade-
quately supply our armed forces so
they can keep the wars from our
own homes. villages, towns, and
cities so they can win the war.
ITO do this, Americans are being
killed, wounded. burned and blasted
into eternity with every passing
minute. We owe them a pledge-a
pledge TO the living and to the dead.
We owe q pledge that nothing we
do or leave undone will stop the
low Of supplies to win the wars
and IN the shortest possible time.
Every minute we can shorten the
lighting Is worth years of sacrifice