The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, June 01, 1945, Image 2
THE NEWBERRY SUN. NEWBERRY, S. C.
Washington, D. C.
STRATEGY AGAINST JAPAN
Back in 1937-38, Adm. William
Leahy, now chief of staff to the
White House, devised a strategy
against Japan, which, if put into ef
fect, might have prevented Pearl
Harbor and even World War II.
Today, the old Leahy strategy is
being dusted off, especially on Capi
tol Hill, as the best means of finish
ing the war with Japan. It would
save thousands of American lives,
its proponents claim, and would
serve as an example of how wars
can be won—or prevented—by naval
blockade.
The proposals made by Ad
miral Leahy constitnte one of
the most important and unwrit
ten chapters in the history of
what happened shortly before
the war began. Leahy, then
chief of naval operations and
one of the best strategists the
navy has seen in years, saw all
too clearly what was coming
both in Europe and Asia. At
that time, 1937, Japan had just
begun her full-scale invasion of
China, and it was Leahy’s idea
to make an example of Nippon
which would show Hitler and
Mussolini — then feeling their
oats — that the United States
meant business and would stand
four-square behind the peace
machinery of the world.
Therefore, he proposed to Roose
velt a naval blockade of Japan in
cooperation with the British fleet,
using the peace machinery of the
League of Nations and the nine-
power pact which guarantees the
sovereignty of China.
Leahy argued that by keeping
the U. S. Navy in the Philippines
and the British fleet at Singapore,
we could cut off all oil, scrap iron,
copper, cotton and other war ma
terials from Japan. Without these,
he argued, the Japanese war ma
chine would be powerless and would
fold up in six months. Leahy fig
ured that the United States would
lose its gunboats on the Yangtze
river, but that aside from this the
main U. S. fleet would not have to
fire a single shot.
British Start Blockade.
President Roosevelt agreed. So
did the British. And in the late sum
mer of 1937, the British actually de
tailed 6 battleships, 12 cruisers and
20 destroyers to leave British home
waters for Singapore. Just at that
moment, however, the axis capi
tals apparently got wind of what was
happening, and Mussolini started his
unofficial submarine campaign off
the coast of Spain which detained
the British fleet at Gibraltar.
The Panay Incident.
At any rate, the plan to blockade
Japan, following the failure of the
Brussels conference in October,
1937, was dropped. But Admiral
Leahy revived it again a year later,
when, in December, 1938, the Japs
sank the U. S. Gunboat Panay and
the British Gunboat Ladybird.
Leahy recognized this for what
it was, a deliberate attempt by
the Jap war lords to test out how
much insult the United States would
take, and to make Britain and the
USA lose face with the Chinese. Ac
cordingly he rushed to the state
department and all one Sunday
afternoon, December 13, 1938, one
day after the sinking of the Panay,
he urged Cordell Hull to seize this
psychological moment to put the
blockade of Japan into effect.
The British were also willing to
cooperate. And, Leahy pointed out,
in another year, war, inevitably
breaking out in Europe, would tie
up the British fleet and they could
not possibly help us in the Pacific.
Russia, he also pointed out, had
60 submarines at Vladivostok, ready
to help us cut off all scrap iron, all
oil, all cotton and copper from
Japan. Without these, he argued,
the Japanese war machine would be
paralyzed.
Pacing the floor of Hull’* office
with Leahy was Hugh Wilson, ex
ambassador to Germany and one of
the state department’s foremost ap
peasers. He opposed Leahy at ev
ery turn, finally convinced cautious
Cordell Hull that Leahy was too vig
orous, that it was best to appease
Japan.
Less than one year later, Hitler
had invaded Poland, the British fleet
was desperately needed to defend
British home waters, and the fat
was in the fire. From that point on
there was no possible way the
United States could blockade Japan
—though many people have never
understood why we went to the op
posite extreme and increased our
shipments of oil and scrap iron to
Japan so that she laid in tremendous
reserves before Pearl Harbor.
Japan Can Be Starved.
But beginning with V-E Day, the
possibility of blockading Japan for
the first time since 1939 was com
pletely reversed. Since V-E Day, the
British fleet is entirely free to oper
ate in the Pacific. So are Russian
submarines. So is the whole might
of the U. S. Navy, now no longer
needed to watch for submarines in
the Caribbean or the Atlantic.
Today it is possible to throw up
such a naval blockade around the
main Jap islands, augmented by air
patrols, that hardly a ton of raw
materials could reach Jap factories.
Notes of a New Yorker:
An Argentine official was address
ing a gathering of Col. Peron’s offi
cers clique. He shouted: “The pluto
crats who are responsible for this
war must not go unpunished! The
Yankee and British imperialists who
are trying to squeeze our beloved
Argentina to the wall attempted to
do the same to Germany. That is
is why the German nation under
Hitler struck back at their enemies.
Nor can we allow the Jewish-Bol-
shevik alliance (which emanates
from Moscow) to hem us in. We,
too, must try to 'save the world
from the Red menace!’ ”
At that moment a messenger
placed a slip of paper into the speak
er’s hand. He glanced at it and
read, “Argentina invited to World
Security Conference.”
Startled, the official cleared his
throat and resumed: “And so, in
conclusion, gentlemen, I say, ‘Long
live Democracy!”
Eat-Your-Own-Words Dep’t: Ed
ward R. Stettinius, in a letter to
Rep. Jack Anderson of California
(dated January 28, 1945) wrote that
the U. S. “should net enter into
normal diplomatic relations with the
Fascist military clique which is in
control of Argentina.”
A couple of dainty debs tripped
into a swank bar. “I never drink in
the afternoon,” said the first, expert
ly settling herself on the stool, "but
I’m simply beat. Gotta have some
thing to pep me up.”
“Me, too,” moaned her friend.
“What were you doing?”
“Oh, gahd,” was the reply, “I
just came from the most awful cock
tail party.”
At the Metropole Cafe folks dis
cussing the pro-and-conference news
mentioned that "Frisco” isn’t the
term San Franciscans prefer when
referring to that great city.
“Hmmmm,” remarked a wag,
“whaddaya hear from Joe San
Francisco lately?”
A San Francisco gazette of the
crime - ridden Gold Rush period
carried this item: “Some contend
that there are really no laws in
force here but the divine law and
the law of nature; while others
are of the opinion that there are
laws in force here, if they could only
be found” . . . Newspaper men of
that day hurled insults both verbally
and in print. Some wrote satiri
cal verse. They took sides in
political quarrels to the point of fist
fights and duels.
One editor hung a placard over
his desk, reading: “Subscriptions re
ceived from 9 to 4; challenges from
11 to 12 only.”
In the course of one of his lec
ture tours, Mark Twain made a
stopover at a small California town.
Before dinner he visited the barber
shop for a shave. . . . “You’re a
stranger in town, aren’t you?” quer
ied the barber.
“Yes,” Twain replied. “This is my
first time here.”
“You chose a good time to come,”
the barber continued. “Mark Twain
is going to lecture tonight. Think
you’ll be going?”
“Oh, I guess so.”
“Have you bought your ticket? If
you haven’t, you’ll have to stand,
’cause everything is sold out,”
warned the barber.
“Doggone!” cussed Twain. “I
never saw such confounded luck!
Every time that fellow lectures, I
have to stand!”
A west coast war plant has
discovered a unique way of
checking absenteeism. A labor-
management committee investi
gates all employes who do not
report for work. If it is found
that an individual has been
needlessly absent, the follow
ing payday he receives some
Jap currency in his envelope
and a note which reads: “The
extra money is a bonus sent
by the Mikado. It is Hirohito’s
personal regard for your fail
ure to report for work. He was
glad to pay you for not mak
ing the war materials our sol
diers need.”
The mother of a bobbysoxer had
a rude awakening the other day.
She learned her daughter was no
longer a child. The daughter’s
friend had planned a gathering for
a group of youthful sailors, just re
cently pressed into the service.
When the teen-ager was leaving
the house, the mother said, “Have
a good time at the party, dear, and
be a good girl.”
To which daughter quipped: “Oh,
mother, make up your mind!”
Gelett Burgess edited a magazine
called “The Lark” in the 90s. One
of its famous contributors of non
sense verse was Carolyn Wells. It
was in “The Lark” that Burgess’
classic, “The Purple Cow,” ap
peared. and also this one: “I love
to go to lectures, and make the audi
ence stare, by walking ’round upon
their heads an dspoiling people’s
hair!”
Burgess was wise. He ditched the
magazine while it was still thriving,
explaining “I wanted it to die young
and in its freshness.”
Gen. Omar Bradley of the 12th U. S. army group, left, and Russian
Marshal Ivan S. Konev clink glasses as they toast victory over the Nazis
at a banquet given shortly before V-E Day, at a country house near
Berlin. Not long after the German military machine was utterly crushed,
and Europe was free again.
Dons Civvies for First Time in 8 Years
Pvt. Wesley WUson of Johnson City, Tenn., purple heart wearer, and
who rates 115 points under the new point system, dons a civilian coat for
the first time in almost eight years, as buddies at Fort Dix, N. J., look
on. Wilson is leaving the army for good.
All Is Not Fighting on Okinawa
There is work for young and old alike on Okinawa island and this
young native (below) is proud to do his share. And an important task
it is, lugging water to other natives near Kim. Upper left: Marine Clar
ence J. McFarland, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, amuses native boys as a basket
porter. Horseplay of this type has won friends for the marines among the
island folks. Upper right: No red points needed for this Okinawa pig,
killed by shellfire (it says here). Leathernecks are, Corp. P. E. Allen
(left). Lake View, Ore., and Corp. Victor Howard, Philadelphia, Pa.
President Truman’s Mother Arrives by Plane
The 92-year-old mother of President Truman is shown, center, as she
arrived in Washington from Kansas City to visit her famous son. At the
left is Miss Mary Truman, the President’s sister, who accompanied her
•nother on the trip. President Truman, right, greeted them at the Wash
ington airport.
Rattler Surrenders
In command of escort carrier USS
Guadalcanal, which attacked and
captured U-boat 505, was Capt. Dan
iel Gallery of Chicago, shown here
on conning tower of the sub. The
carrier is known as the “Can Do”
ship.
Doolittle Knighted
Y/UTHAT game is played more
’ ' throughout the world than any
other? This is one of the queries
you get from servicemen billeted in
Europe and the South Pacific. And
then they lead you on to a compari
son of tennis and golf. This includes
courses, courts and all other in
gredients that make up an argu
ment. I put this debate up to one
of our leading tennis statisticians
and here are the facts:
“Why compare tennis with golf?
Why not compare tennis with any
other national or
International sport?
You won’t find any
other game even
Close, in an interna
tional way.
“Here’s something
that may shock na
tional and interna
tional sport follow
ers. In 1939, just
before the recent
world war broke
out, the Internation
al Lawn Tennis as
sociation had a membership of 59
nations, beaded for the Davis cup.
No other sport has even come close
to this mark.
“This entry list embraced every
continent and every civilized coun
try from the U. S. to Kenya and
China. And each of these 59 nations
GrantlandRlce
King George of England presents
the “Knight Commander of the
Bath” award to Lt. Gen. James H.
Doolittle, commander of the U. S.
8th air force, which played a major
role in hammering Germany to her
knees.
Hero ‘Objector’
Pfc. Desmond T. Doss, 26, of Nor
folk, Va., and his wife. Doss, a con
scientious objector, who spends his
Saturdays reading the Bible, is the
new hero of Okinawa, after saving
75 lives. When heavy losses devel
oped on a Jap position Doss climbed
an escarpment and stayed until he
had lowered all the wounded men
to safety.
Cocky Cockerel
Here is Chanticleer II, perched
grimly on the undercarriage of a
railroad coach. The chicken enjoyed
the doubtful distinction of being the
only “hobo” ever to carry a comb.
has a tennis governing body.
“Without any argument, the most
famous international sporting trophy
is the Davis cup, donated in 1900 by
Dwight Davis from St. Louis. No
other international cup is in the
same class.
“Fifty-nine nations — what other
sport can equal that? Or even come
close, including soccer, golf, basket
ball, or track and field?
“Strangely enough the two most
famous cups — the Davis cup for
tennis and the Walker cup for golf
came from two famous St. Louis
sportsmen — Dwight Davis and
George Herbert Walker. Dwight
Davis and Bert Walker, both from
inland St. Louis, were main factors
in putting tennis and golf on the
international sporting map.
“There may have been two finer
sportsmen, but I can’t recall their
names. Their international appeal
reached to more than millions — it
moved close to the billion mark.”
15,000 Tennis Courts
Our tennis expert then began to
get eloquent. “As you may know,”
he said, “there are about 5,000 golf
courses in the country. But don’t
forget there are 14,800 municipal ten
nis courts in 983 towns and cities of
the U. S. There are 2,300 municipal
courts located in as few as 10 cities,
and New York isn’t one of them.
There are 706 tennis clubs, mem
bers of U.S.L.T.A., and 777 others
! not members. And this doesn’t in-
: elude the enormous number of ten
nis courts at private homes.
“Golf claims around 3,000,000
! players in the U. S. We happen
I to know that tennis can claim
around 5,000,000 players — possibly
more. After all, golf requires from
100 to 130 acres for a course. Tennis
requires far less.”
The main point is that tennis
and golf belong largely to competi
tors, not to spectators. And that’s
the way it should be. We have had
entirely to many spectators in this
country and far too few actual play
ers or competitors. This goes espe
cially for football, baseball and box
ing. These are largely spectator
games. But these conditions may
also change later on. Millions of
spectators only mean box office re
ceipts. They mean nothing in the
way of physical cr 'dition.
Now back to tei^.is. Our expert
continues—“Tennis is the only sport
played in countries all over the
world under the same rules and
regulations. Tennis is an internation
al matter, not a local affair. Ve
figure there are something like 40,-
000,000 tennis players in the world,
men and women. No other sport
can even approach this mark. Be
fore the war we had something like
800,000 tennis rackets turned out
each year. This will be doubled after
the war. Tennis will be one of our
greatest games. It takes up far less
space and gives far more action
than golf.”
To forestall any wild squawks
from bowlers, softball players and
basketball players, we’d like to
step aside on this part of the argu
ment. The bowlers and the basket
ball players claim around 20,000,000.
The softball players over 30,000,-
000. We’ll let them fight this out.
But people don’t read so much
about their stars or their teams.
The four major reading sports in the
United States are baseball, football,
boxing and racing—with golf next.
The Best Golf Swing
Craig Wood reopened a hot argu
ment a few days back:
“The biggest improvement in golf,
one of the reasons the leaders give
you those record scores is this—they
use the squared-face on the back-
swing and keep the squared-face
working through the downswing.
“This means less pivot, less body
turn. It means more hand control.
You should take the club head away
squarely from the ball and keep it
in this position so you can bring it-
back squarely to the ball.”
CLASSIFIED
DEPARTMENT
INSTRUCTION
“SOIL SAVING PLANS.** $1.00
New booklet describes and illustrates vari
ous simple and economical plans for control
of terrace outlets, draws and ditches. Also
details for surveying and building terraces.
Money back guarantee enclosed. Send
check or money order to JOHN A. Me-
FARLAND. Box 152, Greenville, Texas.
Books—Encyclopedia of American, English
Law on law and procedure, on evidence.
Corpus Juris, American bankrup. reports,
lawyers’ reports (annotated), fed, reporter.
Georgia reports. We buy old books. Book
Shop, 415 Broadway. Maeon, Ga. Ph. 7887.
MISCELLANEOUS
Rid-o-Roach formula guaranteed to elimi
nate roaches in 24 hrs. or money refunded.
Lifetime service. Simple! Safe! Sore! Send
25c (coin). Formula lor eliminating house
flies-mosquitos-bedbugs, free. Send name
and address with 25c (coin) to Pest Con
trol, Drawer H H, Vero Beach, Florida.
SAVE YOUR SCRAP
TO HELP GAIN
'ICTORY
Old METAL, RAGS,
RUBBER and PAPER
MINOR SKIN IRRITATIONS
LOWER WINDOW
SHADES NEARLY
THE SOX, PLACE
TANGLEFOOT
FLY PAPER WHERE
EARLY MORNING
LIGHT WILL
ATTRACT FUES
to rr.
WORKS UKE
A CHARM
TanglefooT
I FLYPAPER I
1t*s tho old roliablo that navar fails.
Economical, not rationed. For tale of
hardware, drug and grocery stores.
CATCHkS THi Of RM AS Will AS 7Mf PiF
THE TANGLEFOOT COMPANY. Grand Rapwh 4, Mkk
B-L
CONSTIPATION
Take
No matter how many medicines
you have tried for constipation,
we urge you to try B-L with the
understanding that B-L must
bring you excellent results or
your money back. Caution: Use
only as directed.
Toteee* By-Products 1
A Ch—wlool Corp. 1
Incorporated If
LoutaHHo 2. Kowtuofcy |
Moisture Needed
Fertilizers are of no value to the
plant unless the soil contains ample
moisture and air. Fertilizers should
not be applied to dry soil; so, dur
ing periods of drouth, artificial
watering should be practiced. On
soils known to be highly acid or de
ficient in calcium this condition
can be corrected by applying agri
cultural ground limestone or hy
drated lime at a rate of 50 to 70
pounds per 1,000 square feet. The
rate of application of lime should
he based on soil tests, and lime
should be applied only if analysis
shows it is necessary
WNU—7
21—41
Kidneys Must
Work Well"
For You To Feel Well
24 hours every day. 7 days every
week, never stopping, the kidneys filter
waste matter from the blood.
If more people were aware of how the
kidneys must constantly remove sur
plus fluid, excess adds and other waste
matter that cannot stay in the blood
without injury to health, there would
be better understanding of why the
whole system is upset when kidneys fall
to function properly.
Burning, scanty or too frequent urina
tion sometimes warns that something
is wrong. You may suffer nagging back
ache, headaches, dizziness, rheumatic
pains, getting up at nights, swelling.
Wh^ not try Doan’a Pills! You will
be using a medicine recommended, the
countrv over. Doan’s stimulate the func
tion of the kidneys snd help them to
flush out poisonous waste from ths
blood. They contain nothing harmfuL
Get Doan’s today. Use with confidence.
At all drug stores.
Doans Pills
/