davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1944-11-30
Russian Supply Problem
By Maj. George Fielding Eliot

The Russian difficulties in Hungary
are almost entirely difficulties of supply,
q point which has been made previously
In these articles. Their line Of COM
munications is both long and circuitous.
Insofar as 1t depends on Black Sea
shipping from Odessa to Constanta and
the ports at the mouth of the Danube,
1t is subject to checks owing to q short
age of ships in the Black Sea, and to
the demolitions carried out by the Ger
mans on the Odessa docks. Insofar as
it depends on Romanian and Hungarian
railways, it is hampered by a lack of
locomotives and cars for these Standard
gauge lines.
In this respect the Russians have to
depend on captured equipment, and
despite the fact that their repair and
maintenance crews seem to have per-
formed a series of minor miracles 1t Is
no easy task, under these various con-
ditions of difficulty and with these nu-
merous rehandlings Of cargo, to MAIN
tain the supply of a group Of armies as
far away from its major bases as the
Russian army group now operating in
the Hungarian plain.
The reopening of the Trans-C -Carpa-
THAN line through Cop has certainly
produced some relief, especially as it
will be possible to relay some Of the
trackage of this line to the Russian
broad gauge. A considerable Russian
advance followed the fall of Cop. Now
the Russian pressure in Eastern Slo-
vakia is undoubtedly directed toward
obtaining possession Of yet another and
shorter line running direct from
Przemysl to Budapest via Miskolo.
Meanwhile the extension of the Rus
sian flank beyond the Danube, and the
capture of PEGS and Mohacs, provides q
ibiity Of Russian strategy. The Ger
mans, by Herculean efforts, have sue
ceeded in holding the Russians back
from Budapest for some weeks. To do
50 they expended q great deal Of their
armor; they took long chances. With
the situation in the west where Field
Marshal Won RundStedt must be
screaming for more armored divisions;
but at this price-and 1t would be DIM
cult to say that the price was too high
they have prevented the fall of Buda-
pest and the consequent Russian ad-
vance to the Moravian gate and up the
valley of the Danube toward Vienna.
Having 30 far failed to break into
Budapest from the northeast, the Rus
slams are now apparently going to try to
outnank the Hungarian capital on the
westAor it may be that they intend to
press on past Lake Baliton In direct
advance On Bratislava and Vienna.
4 But Ssach m ambitious program would
Evening star., 1944-11-30

war has been shown once again on the
western front In Europe. Whatever
mistakes the Nazis made in their effort
to prevent the landing of Allied forces
in France, they made no mistake in
their effectual destruction Of the ports
on the mainland through which supplies
and men must be landed. So efiectual
was this destruction that the Allied
commanders were forced-until sup
plies could reach them in adequate de-
gree-to halt their drive into Germany.
1t was not German resistance-no mat
ter how desperate-that called the halt.
Now that supplies are rolling In, the
drive has begun again on = huge scale.
There Is another reason for generous
contributions to the loan by all the
people. The loan comes at q time when
more people have more money than
ever before In the history of the coun-
try, with great employment and high
wages. In the long run thrift Is one Of
those things a country cannot do with
out. Nor can = people The bonds
which the people buy today in reality
represent the savings Of the people
savings which will stand them In good
stead.
Along with the need for money to
continue the war to victory is the need
for an intensidcation of war work.
There must be reversal Of the fiow Of
workers away from war plants and Ship
yards, . flow which has been marked
in recent months. The job is not I'm
ished. The very billions of dollars now
being subscribed will be Of no avail un-
less they can be translated into planes
and guns and ships for the fighting
forces.
There must be 4 complete cessation
OF work stoppages - strikes - in war
plants, or plants manufacturing es-
sentials for the war, until the victory
has been won. Labor today is better
paid than ever before. Its standard Of
living, even under war conditions, is
higher than at any time in the past.
Further, the machinery to settle labor
disputes in a manner fair to the work.
er has been erected. Generally speak
ing, labor's leadership has agreed to
the no-strike program for the war
days. It has not, however, been able to
blot out entirely these work stoppages,
Evening star., 1944-11-30

certainly be dificult until Budapest has
been taken and the center Of the Hun
garian rail and highway system thus
brought under Russian control.
While the Russians thus proceed with
the methodical solution of their stra-
tegic and logistical problems on the
Hungarian plain, the long pause in op-
erations farther north has caused that
part OF the front to be almost forgotten
amidst the thunder Of Allied guns in the
west. Yet it should be obvious that Moth
ing could help forward the Russian
advance in Hungary more than q Rus
sian advance In Central Poland and in
Czechoslovakia; and it should likewise
be obvious that q Russian advance in
Central Poland would be immensely
facilitated by Russian gains in East
Prussia: and finally it should be obvious
that an About attack on East Prussia
may present serious difficulties a long
as the German pocket Of resistance in
Eastern Latvia is not wiped out.
Thus general Russian advance all
along the line, or rather the series of
successive attacks at various parts Of
the front which has been the Russian
system IN the past, may well begin in
the north and gradually extend in vio-
lence southwark through Poland.
-
BY this time the Russians should have
overcome many of their supply troubles
along this whole northern sector Of the
front, and there Is some reason to believe
that they will shortly be in position to
launch series Of offensives which will
pose whole new set Of problems for the
harassed German high command.
Among these problems, it is quite pos
sible that the Germans may be called on
to deal with the threat, and perhaps the
actua1ty, OF Russian amphibious on
Grafton on grand scale directed against
the Baltic coast Of Germany. This
would bypass the heavily defended East
Prussian region. and If it could be given
adequate naval and air support it might
prove just too much for German de.
fensive resources.
In connection with the Baltic situa-
ton, the rising tide Of anti-Germau
feeling In Sweden should not be for
gotten. The Swedes are now in position
to intervene effectively In the war II
tney care to do so. Some Swedes In
influential quarters are said to feel that
the German scorched-earth policy in
Northern Norway points to the eventual
complete ruin Of Norway unless Swedish
military Intervention brings that policy
to an end.
Sweden could now, with some Allied
air and naval assistance, clear the Ger
mans out Of Norway II the swedish
people and government were to decide
this step 70 be IN SWedens interest.
t0sBVsaoAA 104A.1
Evening star., 1944-11-30
This and That
By Charles r. Trace,peu.

Mrs. Yolanda Bonifant Is not BY
nature worrying woman. She has
too many things on her mind to worry!
But the war does something to you,
no matter whether you realize 1t or
not, and Mrs. B. was no exception She
found herself jittery, and no wonder,
listening to the steady stream Of world
misery on the radio.
And then the kitchen ceiling cracked
wide open.
No plaster fell, but there was little
doubt that someday 1t would.
Believing in being ahead of trouble
rather than behind it, Yolanda Bonifant
set out to find plasterer.
Her husband, Jonas, she knew, was not
. plasterer.
If he started to fix the ceiling, he
probably would pull down the walls, too.
Mrs. Bonifant inquired OF her friends
about plasterers, and found that none
Of them knew one.
Ordinarily, one does not worry about
plasterers except once in q lifetime, on
the purchase Of ones first house.
After that. plastering Is taken for
granted.
Mrs. B. wondered why, after all these
centuries of house construction, they
had to use plaster, anyway
They know it will crack" she said,
80 why do they use it?"
Jonas Bonifant smiled cynically.
Maybe that is why" he growled.
Yolanda at last found a friend who
knew a plasterer.
And good one, too, she was informed.
So she made an engagement to show
him the ceiling.
Il see no leak up there" he proclaimed.
The thing to do is take down all the
old ceiling and put up new one"
The day came, and then came the
plasterer and his men.
They had enough equipment to plaster
the Washington Monument, it seemed
to Mrs. Bonifant, who went around
covering up furniture, books and phono-
graph albums in the other rooms.
Plaster dust flies So" she had been
told.
She had not been told half enough.
BY the time the old ceiling was down.
the house was covered with a fine dust.
Yolanda went around with the vacuum
cleaner at intervals.
The day went by, and at last came
evening-and new ceiling.
1t was smooth nice job, with no more
damage to the sidewalks than one would
expect.
Mr.. and Mrs. Bonifant surveyed the
ceiling with pleasure.
1t shouldn't ever worry them again,
If everything went well.
The next day, Mrs. B. went up the road
for groceries.
Heavily laden, she returned and rang
the door bell.
No answer. This was unusual, for
ordinarily Jonas waited by the window.
This time there was no answer. Sue
ceeding rings Of the bell brought no
response. Time after time she rang. She
suddenly thought he might have fallen
down the stairs, or in the bath tub
What had happened?
At last the door swung open.
There stood Jonas Bonifant in his
usual health.
II heard q funny noise" he said.
Il rang the bell . hundred times" !"
said she.
ut didn't ring, but heard this odd
noise"
Investigation showed that plaster dust
had fallen into the bell on the kitchen
wall, and clogged 1t. You never can
tell what = going to happen when you
! havs plastsring dons.
Evening star., 1944-11-30
To De-Solidify the South

To the Editor Of The Star:
Throughout the years much has been
said about the solid South, but little has
been said about the conditions that
caused the solidity Of the South nor
have many remedies been suggested to
change the condition.
The Civil War was the result Of
diametrically different ideologies, dating
back to the days Of Hamilton and JET
ferson. The Republicans formerly Fed
eralists) clung to the idea of . strong
centralized government and an insoluble
Union, while the party OF Jefferson
thought the States were sovereign and
only delegated to the Union powers to
protect the Union against foreign ag-
gression, and to regulate commerce be-
tween the States. Other questions like
slavery and the enactment Of progress
sive policies for the common man, in
cluding liberal education and extension
Of the suffrage, were merely incidental
to the fundamental differences. So it was
not slavery alone that caused the fra
tricidal strife.
When Lee surrendered at Appomattox
Court House, the South accepted the
result Of the war and its men were ex-
pecting to take the oath Of allegiance,
thus returning to the Union. Had
Lincoln (who was friendly to the South)
lived things would have been far differ
ent and the bitter feelings between the
two sections of our country forgotten
in q few years.
Unfortunately, after his death, Con-
gress got into the hands of South
haters and enacted such repressive and
burdensome laws as no civilized nation
had ever imposed upon a conquered foe
The very name Republican became
anathema to the people of the South.
And not much effort has been made to
eradicate the feeling. Even now it is an
unwritten law that no Southern man
ever can be President or Vice President
of the United States.
AS to the remedy! In my humble
opinion the old appellations should be
discarded and the country divided into
Liberals and Conservatives This would
tend to divide the country, not geo
graphically but as to issues. It also
might help to eliminate the electoral
college and let the people vote directly
for President and Vice President. The
South then would repeal the poll tax,
extend the suffrage and still retain its
relative strength In Congress.
WELLINGTON SMITH.
Evening star., 1944-11-30
A Great Achievement

Figures can sometimes be elo-
quent. Since the start of the war,
the United Kingdom has completed
naval construction totaling in the
neighborhood Of 100000 displace-
ment tons. It has built more than
100000 tons Of new merchant ship
ping. 1t has produced $4,000 tanks,
100000 planes, scores of thousands
OF guns, hundreds OF thousands of
wheeled vehicles and an astronem-
ical quantity Of all kinds of am
munition.
But production Is merely one part
OF the picture. In addition, hun
dreds OF thousands of persons Of
both sexes have been modified into
the full-time civil defense services.
And on top of this 100000 men are
IN the armed forces-more than half
the total called up from the British
Commonwealth and Empire as a
whole. All this the United Kingdom
has done out of its small population
OF 47,000,0 ,000-a population contain
ing fewer than 100000 males be-
tween the ages of IA and 64 years
and only bit more than 10000, 900
females aged from IA to So.
This great and shining achieve
ment, as set forth in the British
White Paper just issued on the sub
ject, seems the more remarkable
when We consider how adverse have
been the physical and psychological
conditions under which the people
of the United Kingdom have had to
operate. There were first the terrible
years of the Luftwaffe's blitz and the
strangling U-boat blockade. There
has been the long blackout, and with
1t the severest rationing. There has
been the strain of mass evacuation
and of the uprooting of whole towns
to provide for the billeting of SOL
diefs. And there has been the awful
ordeal-an ordeal now prolonged by
the flying bomb and the W. rocket
of seeing one out of every three
homes in the land being wrecked or
seriously damaged and of seeing
death strike suddenly from the air
against more than $1,000 civilians,
including over 1000 children.
And over and above all this, while
the home front has been suffering
and producing with magnificent
steadfastness, the armed forces Of
the United Kingdom have been
fighting and dying everywhere in
the world, and though happily not
so great as in the First World War,
their casualties so far have been
terrible enough-in excess of 176,-
900 killed, $4,000 missing and 1893, 900
wounded. And to these grim figures
must be added some 10000 men lost
with the 100000 tons of United
Kingdom shipping sunk by the
enemy.
The statistics in the British White
Paper thus speak pretty much for
themselves. They should be required
reading for any one who at any time
has questioned the magnitude and
the all-out character of the United
Kingdoms war effort. Proportion
ately, that effort quite clearly stands
with the best, and Britons have
right to be eternally proud of it.
Evening star., 1944-11-30
A Mothers Appreciation

To the Editor Of The Star:
I want to thank you for your wonder
full gift to our boys in uniform-the
Christmas Carol booklet. There Is 50
little we can do and your booklet will
add cheer to many lonely heart this
year.
My only son is Navy hyer-some-
where in the Pacific. have sent him 4
copy and know 1t will make his Christ
mas lot happier.
This II only one mothers thanks, but
am sure there are Thousands who feel
- I do.
ns. EsTAnR i. noDxsrcK.
Evening star., 1944-11-30
Letters to The Star
Discusses Indian Council Policy
in Relation to War
To the Editor Of The Star:

70 the Editor Of The Star:
As one Of the many Americans who
have sympathy with our British allies
in the difhculties which confront them
in finding solution for the Indian
problem, was glad to hear Sir Fred
erick Puckle explain ut the American
Forum of the Air" discussion at the
Shoreham Hotel one evening last week
the reasons for the internment OF the
leaders of the Congress Party, including
such men as Jawaharlal Nehru. The
imprisonment OF a man Of such great
character and eminence is a matter of
great concern to many people in this
country and was sorry that Sir Fred
ericks explanation was not broadcast
but given during the question period OF
the air.
He well might have gone further than
he did. He showed that the Congress
Party leaders were interned at a time
when the Japanese actually were at the
gate, when India stood practically de-
fenseless, and when those leaders had
demanded that the British forthwith
should withdraw or submit to civil re-
bellion, a threat tmperilling the whole
war effort In the Far East. He showed,
too, that the Viceroy, Lord Wavell re-
peatedly had stated that the political
internees had only to renounce their
Quit India" demand and agree to alb
stain from subversive action to gain
their freedom.
Sir Frederick did not explain-and
this Is the purpose of my letter-that
1t was not the British government in
London that interned the Congress
Party leaders, or the Governor General
in India, but the Executive Government
Of India, which is the Governor General
and his Council, which Council con-
tains q large majority OF Indians These
Indians may be called "stooges" or
henchmen Of the British, but they all
are men Of the highest eminence in
India. One Of them, DR.. Ambedkar, who
is the leader of nifty million "untouch-
ables," declared as recently as Septem-
Der 20, that he had no regret for having
put the QUIT men behind the
bars as he, along with his colleagues,
felt that they should maintain law and
order 50 long as the present government
continued in place Of a better one.
AN OBSERVER.
Evening star., 1944-01-04
Police BIome OPA for Losing
Vanished Gasoline Cache

Falls Church police charged to-
day that an once Of Price Admin
istration investigator left them
holding the bag" after police had
discovered a. 7o0-gallon cache OF
gasoline Sunday and placed n
clear-eut case in the OPA's lap"
Policeman L. 8. Murphy said that
after the misunderstanding of
four 5o-gallon, drums and twenty
25-gallon drums-was found Sun
day on vacant lot adjacent to
2o5 Forest drive, Falls Church, by
a group Of boys playing war, an
|OPA investigator left police guard
ing the lot and never returned.
Mr. Murphy said Alvin Fitzhugh.
an OPA investigator, first attempt
ed to obtain a Federal warrant from
the United States Commissioners at
Alexandria to allow removal of the
gasoline, but was informed that
Federal MARSHAL would have to
swear out the warrant, and no mar
shall could be located. : -.
Mr.. Fitzhugh then went to Fair
fax. Mr.. Murphy said, but refused
to sign a warrant as the complain
ant. He said Mr. Fitzhugh asked
police to swear out the warrant. but.
Evening star., 1944-01-04
Silver Spring Meeting
|Colled on Delinquency
By MIRIAM GUTENBERG.

Means Of combating juvenile de-
hnquency in Montgomery County
will be planned at a. meeting at Z
pm. tomorrow at the Silver Spring
intermediate School under the spon-
sorship OF the Boys and Girls Ac-
tivities Committee of the Lions Club.
j. Norman Mayberry will preside.
Mayor Oliver W.. Youngblood of
Takoma Park, pastors of churches in
the Silver Spring-Takoma Park area
and leaders Of civic and other groups
have been invited to participate:
A master, committee will be ap-
pointed by Mr.. Mayberry to formu-
late plans and develop 4 county
wide program Of activities. AL
Interested persons are invited.
Evening star., 1944-01-04
Idaho Convict
Held in Rockville Jail
Man Found in Hideout
With Younger Brother

A 21-year-old Montgomery County
man, wanted for kidnapping, bur-
glary, assault with a dangerous
weapon and escape from an Idaho
Jail. was being held in the Rockville
Jail today for return to Idaho. He
was arrested, Sunday by Federal
Bureau of Investigation agents and
county police at hideout near
Dickerson. .
FB1 agents said the man, George
Robert Catron, was captured in q
log cabin, where he was living with
his l3-year-old brother. The brothe,
was not arrested.
! according to the FBI, Catron had
provisions for several weeks. He wa.
unarmed. '''.,
(, The FBI said Catron is wanted by
Idaho authorities for the burglary
Of home at Grangeville. early ir
September. After the burglary
agents said, he is alleged to have
abducted a l4-year-old girl, who
was with him; when he was arrested
later at Midvale, Idaho.
The FBI said Catron, ESCAPED
from the, sheriff's car while being
driven. to Jail by knocking oil the
|ohicer's glasses. He, : was latel
caught. ,.On September IA he is al.
legged to have stolen =. .32-calibre
pistol from, an S0-year-old Idaho
jailer and have escaped after beat
ing the, jailer. ~.
Evening star., 1944-01-04
Peculiar Taste in Water
To Clear Up in "A Hours

, A peculiar taste in water which
residents Of several parts of the
Northwest section OF the city have
complained Of is expected to clear up
In the next "a hours, it was said
at the District Water Division last
night. '-'
It was pointed out that the rain
would wash away the woody sub
stance In the water, which, it was
said, had affected the taste. It was
emphasized that the water was ab-
solutely harmless regardless Of the
taste.
Meanwhile, the Commissioners
committee on water conservation
met yesterday to draw up plans for
program to eliminate waste Of
water. 1t was emphasized that there
was no impending water shortage
at this season and that a reduction
in. use below the volume required
for the maintenance of proper
health standards was not desirable.
q The committee was set up because
the War Production Board declared
that curtailment Of water 'eonsump-
ton would result in direct saving
IN fuel, electricity, chemicals and
manpover' needed. ter var. =, :.
Evening star., 1944-01-04

the owner is taken into court, where
he may be fined $50 for permitting
his dog to run at, large in violation
lot the quarantine, which expires
March l..
/ Mr.. Derrick said he had the cages
made, by Washington iron works
firm after recent visit to the HUI
name Society OF Baltimore County
which has had such traps in use
for several years
He said the cages were placed in
the Four Corners area because two
cases OF rabies had been reported
there in the last month. He re-
fused, however, to estimate the
number of stray dogs trapped in
the cages. .
I'VE would rather use such a
method for catching stray animals
than shoot Them Mr. Derrick said
He added that the cages will be
placed in other areas of the county
as the need arises.
Mr.. Derrick said that any dog
owner wishing to have his pet de-
stroyed should call him at Shepherd
5978. The dog will be picked up and
placed in the gas chamber at the
animal shelter.
Dr.. v. L. EIlicott, county health
officer. said approximately - rabid
animals, including a horse and a
COW bitten by rabid dogs, have been
reported in the county to date.
Evening star., 1944-01-04
Virginia Egg Prices
Show Sharp Drop .
Overflow Spreading
South rom New York
BY tbe. Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
RICHMOND. Jan. Am overflow
in egg, first noted about 10 days
ago in New York. already has caused
a swift fall in prices here. where
wholesalers are dumping their sup
plies on the market, J. H. Meek,
director of the State Division Of
Markets. said yesterday.
Virginia. major egg producing
State. normally ships much of its
output to Eastern metropolitan areas.
The situation. which will be pleas
ing to housewives, may bring
liqnida lion of laying flocks and
diversion Of eggs to the black mar
ket, Mr. Meeks warned.
E. v. Coville. market news super
visor Of the Division of Markets. said
grade A mediums are selling to
wholesalers in Richmond at 80 cents.
They were selling a week ago for
43 cents here. Mr.. Coville said the
wholesalers must be allowed a price
spread of about cents a dozen to
cover handling. Grating and shipping.
but thst the best they can get for
them IN Washington now is AZ cents
dozen. which gives the Richmond
wholesalers only a Scent spread for
that foreign market"