The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-01-04

cate scheduling of supply and the most detailed operational scheming. All must be temporarily held in suspense while the Army moves in to buck up a broken-down civilian economy and stop the threat of a strike
 Secretary Stimson's conference was symbolic of this whole dis graceful business. The secretary had called no press conference. h. stead, a conference had been ar ranged by the Army Air Force for Ma jor- General Frederick L. Ander- son, Jr, head of the American Eighth Bomber Command in Eng land.
 DRAMATIC DISCLOSURE General Anderson was to be in Washington only few hours. He was authorized to reveal one of the most dramatic disclosures of the war - how, in the last two months, in spite of bad weather, the Eighth Bomber Command had dropped nearly 16,000 tons of high eXplo- sives on German targets drop ping them sometime through clouds 5000 feet thick, but with every as- surance that those bombs were hit ting their targets with accuracy be- cause of newly developed navigation techniques.
 General Anderson could not re- veal how this precision navigation was done, but the bare statement that it was being done at all was disclosure to thrill anyone at home. Yes, anyone. Even striking rail roader or steelworker. Heretofore, precision bombing from high alti- tudes could be done only in daylight and under perfect weather permit ting perfect observation. But now now they could drop 'em down that rainbarrel even through 25,000 feet of overcast. This was an important contribution to the winning of the war. This was news.
 Halfway through his recital, General Anderson was Interrupted. One colonel came in a back door of the conference room and walked forward to whisper in the ear of couple of other colonels. All three colonels left the room in hurry. Then much running around and dispatching of majors and lieuten- ant colonels hither and yon, ere ating the impression that vsome- thing terrible had happened.
 BOMBSHELL,
 DOMESTIC TYPE
 The door of the conference room flew open. everybody stood up, and in walked Secretary Stimson, fol- lowed by Lieutenant-G General Bre- hon Somervell, to tell the story of how the Army had moved in to take over the railraods in g min utes after the President has issued his order for government seizure The story of how the war in the air was being won could wait. The whole war could wait.
 The important thing was to tell how the Army was having to take over the railroads because civilians were threatening to lay down on their jobs. It was the most dis graceful admission of dereliction of duty since Pearl Harbor. The much vaunted civilian economy that the boys are fighting to save had been spotlighted with it's pants around it's ankles.
 When Secretary Stimson and General Somervell were through with their announcements, General Anderson took the floor again for few closing remarks. The troops at the front all keep their eyes on the home front" he said. and I'm glad to be able to go back and tell them how well this situation was hand led
 With all due respect to you and your Eighth Bomber Command, General Anderson, nuts. Go back and tell your brave young bombers that a bunch of quitters was all ready to let them down would have let them down if the Army had not diverted its energies away from the war front to save the home front from collapse. This is nothing to be proud about This calls for sackcloth and ashes, for penance and for tears.