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THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY. S. C. UNDER THE DOME WASHINGTON.—Busy Tom Cor coran, the ex-braintruster, has been promoting his law partner, ex-Sena- tor D. Worth Clark of Idaho, to re place Harold Ickes when and if the latter resigns as secretary of the in terior. Clark, a former die-hard iso lationist, is not likely to get the job. ... An off-the-record quote from President Truman: “A lot of people used to accuse President Roosevelt bf being a liar—especially on Capi tol Hill. But having been in this job for a few months myself, it’s hard to know how anyone could be President of the United States with out occasionally being a liar.” . . . Boss of the Bronx Ed Flynn, close friend of FDR and former Demo cratic chairman, is in for tough political sledding. Hard-hitting Con gressman James Roe, leader of Queens county, who spearheaded Mayor DaGuardia’s victory, is out to replace Flynn as Democratic na tional committeeman from New York. ... Ed Flynn, always more interested in the coveted field of diplomacy, plans to leave for Mos cow this winter to try patching up relations between the Kremlin and the Vatican. . . . Some senators who backed Cordell Hull in ousting Sum ner Welles, have now become strong Wellesian rooters since his master ful testimony before the Pearl Har bor committee. . . . The demagogue business must be picking up. . . . Gerald Winrod, race-baiting editor of "The Defender” and under indict ment for sedition, has moved from a modest dwelling on North Green street to a pretentious home on Broadview street, the exclusive sec tion of Wichita, Kans. * * * SOL BLOOM SLIPS Congressman Sol Bloom of New York, who imported the “Salome dance” from Egypt to the Chicago World’s fair many years ago, nearly . got away with a fast one during a secret session of the house rules committee called to consider the UNRRA appropriation bill. Bloom, who is chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, at tended the rules committee meet ing as its guest. He was not sup posed to vote. Congressman Charles Eaton of New J rsey, ranking mi nority member of the foreign affairs committee, also was a guest and supported UNRRA generally. How ever, he began to tell the rules com mittee of his strong conviction that a “freedom of the press” amend ment should be included in the bill. Anxious to avoid more argu ment over this. Bloom, though not a member of the rules com mittee, shouted, “I move the previous question!” Rules Committee Chairman Adolph Sabath of Illinois banged his gavel and remarked, “The question is called." Members of the rules committee then prepared to vote. Not so Representative Clarence Brown, Ohio Republican. Turning to Bloom, Brown asked: “Sol, how long have you been a member of the rules committee?” Bloom flushed, while other mem bers of the rules committee grinned sheepishly, realizing they had been' taken in. “I just thought if I could get away with it, I would,” Bloom replied. He did get a rule to put the UNRRA appropriation be fore the house, but not without a good deal more discussion. * • • CAPITAL CHAFF ’ G.I.s in India report the U. S. army, fearing the British may be faced with revolt, has issued rifles, bayonets, and ammunition to Amer ican G.I.s. Many American soldiers in India never had weapons in their bands during the war, but now get weapons after the war. . . . Secre tary of State Byrnes has offered Ken Galbraith, former OPA executive and editor of Fortune magazine, an important job to help run peacetime Germany. . . . American members of the Anglo-American Palestine commission will begin hearings in Washington on January 10. . . . As sistant Secretary of State Jimmy Dunn is leaving for London to help complete the peace treaties for Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Italy. . . . Floyd B. Olson was a famous governor of Minnesota. But Congressman Havenner of Califor nia is probing charges that the U. S. ship named for him has been forced to carry a cargo of sick Japanese from Pacific islands to the Japa nese mainland. Nearly all the pa tients had communicable diseases, and two of the 60 tuberculosis pa tients died during the voyage. Most controversial subject that has hit the Truman cabinet ! n weeks is the Moscow agreement. * • • MERRY-GO-ROUND Maury Maverick, who had the smaller War Plants corporation knocked out from under him while he was in the Far East, reports that General MacArthur is doing an A-l job in Japan. ... If the Russians want to make a hit with G.I. Joes, they could loosen up their absurd policy of not permitting Korean coal from the Russian zone to be shipped to the American zone a few miles south. As a result, ships which might be used for hauling G.I.s, now carry coal to Korea. R&pjViten in WASHINGTON By Walter Shead WNU Corrttpondtnt J " The Muddle in War Surplus Sales WNU Washington Bureau, If IS Eye St.. N. W. T HE whole machinery of Surplus War Property has broken down and the entire s.' .uation surrounding the disposal of more than a hundred billion dollars worth of surplus war material is a confused, disorganized mess. This is the conclusion of your Home Town Reporter after an in vestigation, made because we have received scores of letters from vet erans asking how they can obtain surplus war properties. There have been more than 280,000 applications from war veterans during the past six months, all wanting to buy sur plus property, mostly trucks, jeeps and automobiles. Only in rare in stances have they been able to do so. Here’s the situation about surplus property. It is now scattered among eight governmental agencies at 100 different points in the country—Re construction Finance corporation for consumer goods, producers’ goods, war plants and aircraft; U. S. Mari time Commission for marine prop erty; the state department for goods overseas; the department of agri culture for food ' and agricrHural products; the Federal Works admin istration for community facilities such as sewers and utilities; the Federal Housing authority for hous ing; and the department of the in terior for grazing and mineral lands and all surplus goods in Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Then there is the Surplus Property administra tion presided over by W. Stuart Symington, who, as administrator makes policy, but who has absolute ly no authority over any of the oth er agencies selling the property. War Asseta Corp. Formed And to make the confusion more complete. President Truman, back in mid-October announced the for mation of the War Assets corpora tion to be headed by Lt. Gen. Ed mund B. Gregory, the quartermas ter-general of the army, to take over all surplus property from the other agencies, except the state depart ment, on November 5. Then this was postponed until December 1, then to January 1, and now to Feb ruary 1. The transfer may take place February 1 under the powers the President has under the new governmental reorganization act. But still there will be divided au thority, with General Gregory acting as sales manager and Symington as policy head, but with absolutely no authority over what Gregory or any one else does with War Assets cor poration. Reason for much of the confusion and misunderstanding is this divid ed authority, and the fact that no where is there an inventory of the property which is declared surplus. Whenever, in the opinion of the army or the navy, property is no longer needed, it is turned over to the various agencies as surplus. The agencies then put it up for sale. What happens when a veteran goes to buy surplus war property? Say he is in the Philadelphia area. He travels 50 or 100 miles to Phila delphia to buy a truck, a camera and another gadget. First thing he finds out is that some municipality has priority over him and has taken all the trucks fit to use. Then he finds out that there are a hundred other veterans there ahead of him bent on the same mission, and fur ther, that what he expected to buy for ten cents or less on the dollar is much higher and is being sold on a ceiling price fixed by OPA. Central Authority Needed All this after he has been shunted around between the Smaller War Plants corporation, the RFC Dis posal agency, the department of commerce, and the navy material Redistribution office. And he comes away sore. Everybody he deals with is mad and dissatisfied. Very likely he returns empty-handed. Whether moving all these sales agencies into War Assets corpora tion will be a help is a matter of conjecture. Personnel of RFC will still operate the War Assets cor poration, and apparently General Gregory is none too sanguine about the success, for he is merely on loan from the army. What is apparently necessary is a merger of Surplus Property ad ministration and War Assets corpo ration. Symington, if he stays as administrator, would be policy-mak ing head, and Gregory or someone else would be sales manager, but with the administrator in complete charge for centralized authority. As a matter of fact, surplus prop erty is a war baby that no govern mental agency wants. Remembering the scandals in surplus property aft er World War I, the whole procedure has been bound up in red tape by the officials, for nobody wants to go to jail as a result of “errors” in surplus property sales this time. It seems to this reporter it is time for the President to make this centralized authority come true, or else surplus war property will be a continual headache for everybody. The government will lose out and so will the veteran. * St i A- A .v ' ' ' LAD HELPS TO MOW DOWN POLIO . . . Here is little Donald Anderson, five, Prineville, Ore., the spirited youngster who is inspiring victory over infantile paralysis as he keynotes the 1946 “March of Dimes” campaign. Donald stands in front of the poster, showing him during and after his battle with the dread disease. He holds a toy gun as if be would like to meet the polio enemy in mortal combat and beat it for all other kids. '* ■■ \ ''J ■ . ' ' ' ".I HENRY J. KAISER’S NEW “PACKAGED” POWER ... The new Kaiser car, first of American low-priced autos to have front wheel drive. It is also first mass production passenger car in America to have independent “torsionetic suspension” on all four wheels. The body and chassis form a single unit of the type knowt as “monocoque” construction. The new Kaiser was designed by Howard A. Darrin, with pressure-chamber ven tilating system. HERO’S BROTHER JOINS AIR FORCE . . . Carl Bong, brother of the late Richard Bong, Poplar, Wis., is pictured checking in at army recruit ing office, Milwaukee, where he enlisted in air corps. Maj. S. T. Holzman, in charge of the office, is shown at right. Young Bong, 19, was sent to Fort Sheridan, to await assignment to some regular air force train ing camp. Like his late brother, he plans to become a star of the skies. “LES MISERABLES” RE-ENACTED IN BUFFALO . . . This invitation on the bulletin board of Central Church of Christ in Buffalo, put there by the Rev. Harry T. Birdwell, in hopes that the thief who robbed the church of a candle from the Christmas altar. FROM CAPT. TO SGT. . . . John Richard Scbader, .Yonkers, N. Y., who came up the hard way from enlisted man in army air force to captain, re-enlisted as a master sergeant. He is shown sewing on his sergeant stripes. CURLEY RETURNS ... For the fourth time in over 50 years oi active political life, James Michael Curley is sworn in as mayor oi Boston. At 71 he becomes the 40tb .wayor of Massachusetts city. CHURCHILL’S HOST . . . Frank W. Clark, Miami Beach, Fla., host to Winston Churchill, Britain’s war time prime minister, for the win ter. Churchill will continue his paintings, some of which were re cently published in U. S. WOMAN SCIENTIST ... Dr. Flor ence B. Seibert, University of Penn sylvania biochemist, world - re nowned for her work in isolating substance used to diagnose tuber culosis, was awarded the Gimble prize for her work. CONN TRAINS . . . Billy Conn, heavyweight contender from Pitts burgh, pedals the exercise bike as he trains for his bout with Joe Louis. His work-out is taking place at Hot Springs, Ark., where he will train until his championship bout. Y’ OU learn a little as the years pass by. Not much. Just a little. One of the few things I’ve learned this season, meaning 1945, is that the word “greatest” doesn’t belong in sport. There is no such word. There never was and never will be a “greatest” football or baseball team— a “greatest” golfer or “greatest” pitch er or “greatest” anything. The word is simply too big for the human race to handle. The word “good” is different. Even the word “great” in sport has been overused. Look over the list—Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth in baseball—Jim Thorpe, Pudge Hsffelfinger, Bronko Nagur- ski, Red Grange, and 20 others in football. Among the pitchers—Cy Young, Mathewson, Johnson, Alexander, on and on. Among the golfers—Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Harry Vardon. Among the fighters or boxers— Dempsey, Jeffries, Louis. I can give you 10 more. Among the greatest college foot ball teams—Army 1945, Notre Dame 1943, Notre Dame 1930, Minnesota, Southern California, Pittsburgh, Al abama 1935, Michigan and Yale in the old days. All good, maybe great. But none of them the greatest. Baseball teams—The Cubs of 1906- 1910, the Athletics of 1910-1913. The Yankees at various stages. All good—few great—none the greatest. Who Is Football’s Greatest? Is Doc Blanchard greater than Bronko Nagurski? Certainly not. Not yet. In fact Minnesota and Michigan camp followers will tell you that fast 230-pound Bill Daly is a greater offensive back than either Nagurski or Blanchard. And they can be right. I can name you more than a few backs that might be more valuable to a team than either Nagurski or Blanchard. The greatest passer or the great est pass receiver? Sammy Baugh or Don Hutson. Maybe. But Greasy Neale says he would rather have Sid Luckman than Baugh and Hut son combined. Maybe Greasy is wrong. Maybe he isn’t. Who is going to know? Greasy would rath er have Van Buren than any back he ever saw. Bert Bell of the Steel- ers would rather have Bill Dudley for all-around value. I think Clint Frank of Yale is more valuable than either. I put this complicated problem up to Greasy Neale. “Maybe I’d rath er have Clint Frank,” he said. “I mean taken every way.” As fine as Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis are, I don’t think either can do all the things that Clint Frank could do. We can move into other fields to prove there is no such word as “greatest.” Man o’ War or Exterminator? Man o’ War quit as a 3-year-old. Man o’ War is the symbol of rac ing greatness. But Exterminator ran and won for many years—from six furlongs to two miles—from 120 pounds to 140 pounds. As we move along I still say there is no greatest. There is neither an individual star, a team or a horse that any one can put above all oth ers in competition. Although Pudge Heffelfinger had one unchallenged football record at least. He was an All-America in 1889 and just as good 30 years later when he was 53. Who can say whether Bobby Jones, Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen or Byron Nelson was the greater golfer? Hagen beat Jones 12 and 11 in a 72-hole match. But Jones beat Hagen 10 straight years in the U. S. Open, where the blue chips were down. Modern Advantages Only yesterday I ran across an old-timer who had run the 100-yard dash against Arthur Duffy and Ber- nie Wefers, in the fast time of 9.6. “Don’t forget,” he said, “this time was over a slow track with bad running shoes. Under modern con ditions either Duffy or Wefers could have beaten Jesse Owen, Paddock or any other modem sprinter. So, again, who is the greatest sprinter? The answer is nobody. Games are played under different conditions, where the modem bunch have all the better of the breaks in every way. They get the faster tracks, the better equipment, the better groomed and easier goll courses, the better coaching and training in every form of sport, the better chance to improve. There isn’t a man connected with sport for the last 50 years, or a team, that could be called “the greatest.” There "has never been a greatest football player, a greatest baseball player, or a greatest anything else. In other words, sport has known no superman, and neither has the hu man race in any other form of exist ence. Unknown thousands with the same break could have surpassed famous names. This outburst is a part answer to those who keep writ ing in asking about “the greatest” in various lines. It is still worth while just to be good ■High Energy^ Great for All Ages! Recommended by Many DOCTORS TTplnc 1 SCOTT'S EMULSION cb1»t\*M0R0UNE VALUE \ QUALITY PETROLEUM |||4 I \ JELLY — MtO n/AM J CMttCIUS Child-, Mild MUSTER0LE Grandma SPEARIN'.. 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