L.T. SDNOCO. WEDNESDAY. 0ct._213_19^2 GOOD EVENING,EVERYBODY: People who listened in to Field Marshal Smuts of South Africa on the radio today, heard one of the most impressive speeches broadcast in a long while. It was in every respect an historic affair. Though he snoke to almost a thousand members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, it was not technically a meeting of the British Legislature. For the rules of the Mother of Parliaments forbid the broadcasting of ■ihey met x, r , its proceedings. Nevertheless? together -- the Lords though we , . j , j and the Commons -- 'fchayxniRi^ are not told where. And for the first time in history they listened to an address from the Prime Minister of one of the Dominions. The meeting had been kept rigidly secret. Reporters were not even permitted to describe the surroundings for fear some clue might be given concerning the place where they met. And the people of Great Britain itself did not hear the speech; it was beamed outside the British Isles, to all the rest of the world. LEAD do secret were the arrangements for it^that one hour before the Prime Minister of South Africa went on the air, my phone rang and I. was urged to listen-in at eleven-thirty. I was not told why. In fact I was asked not »-e*^to reveal what little I had been ^ r told -- simply, listen in.1 So the effect was dramatic indeed. The event was remarkable also because of the clarity and vigor of the aged Field Marshals voice. Here was a man who, forty-two years ago, was one of the most troublesome enemy generals the British armies had to face -- in the Boer War. Today his appearance before a thousand of Britain's lawmakers was greeted with loud cheers both before he spoke, and after. He is now j seventy-two years old, but his voice sounded like that of a man of fifty. More important still, was what he had to say. For he intimated plainly that the time a as at hand for j the Allies to take the offensive. He used these words: "Once the time has come to strike while the iron is hot, it would be folly to delay, to over-prepnre LEAD - 3 and perhaps miss our opportunity. Nor are we likely to do so," he added. The {South African Premier th^n warned us that the war may continue till Nineteen Forty-Four. "Our manpower," he said, "is growing, while that of the enemy is becoming depleted. He is making ever heavier drafts on the suffering peoples he has conquered. We have much to be thankful for," he said, "but not the least for the colossal mistakes of our enemies." Then he asked: "Will the fourth blunder be committed? Will Japan, in spite of her treaty with Bussia, launch a treacherous attack against her also in Liberia? Time alone will show,"^hEizaidd-ffi. We should send help to Russia, he declared, "in the fullest measure and with the utmost speed." He expressed his belief that the Nazi army is bleeding to death on that Russian front. lead - A The Field Marshal and Prime Minister of South Africa made this address after two weeks of conferences with Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the British general staff in London. RUSSIA On the Stalingrad front, communiques from both sides report that the Bed Army^^ss^the offensive^ enooBerlin amiouBee^^ho4) the^ attacked ?%U ^ &Ce northwest of. m^r;.d between tne Don and Volga - A A jt4ver» with o t-ron# fresh infantry and tank forces. dd^m/hb^ The Nazi high command A A the attacks broke down with heavy casualties. The Germans also that Russian A /( attempts to cross the Don at other points were repelled by Italian and Rumanian divisions. But Moscow reports that Timoshenko’s regiments drove the Germans back through open country^ for 0 evcrai miles. A drenching rain was falling which hogged down the enemy’s communications. to say that some Of the hardest battles of the campaign «*-re being fought. on the open Steppes, for possession A / of water wells. The control of one single well otten gassiA_z-£ ico CL Kfo. ;aean|^ control ofof several hundred square miles because the water is an absolute necessity for tanks, cavalry and motor patrols. _____ —------ - -&U (in -lliu Ci4<3P' vf Stalingrad , the Germans \ A threw thirty thousand fresh storm troops and sixty tanks into the fight on a narrow sector. They are making a desperate effort to take the city before ^ — -------- — ------------- f { winter begins in earnest. The Red army claims to have repelled every German attack. Th^Russians also claim that the German troops are suffering from lack of icod ^w»»^he heavy rains have prevented the delivery of s u p p 1 i e s ^ In the Caucasus, continuous bad weather has put'tjt^fo operations in some places. JUGOSLAVIA A great battle is going on in the Balkans. y it is described as the greatest since the Nazis rampaged through Jugoslavia in the Spring of Nineteen A /I Forty-One. (a, battle between German, Croatian (3 (flu- 'Lute <r^ anT)ffiadiaaaytroops^aa^ the Chetniks under General idikhailovitchL the Jugoslav War Minister. The Germans and their vassals tried to recapture a couple of towns in southern Bosnia from Mikhailovitch. But the Chetniks were ready for them and drove the Axis army into retreat. The Axis losses were twelve hundred in killed alone, while Mikhailovitch lost between six hundred and nine hund'ed billed, wounded and captured. According to Allied r port , the recent fighting has considerably improved the position of Mikhailovitch in Bosnia raid § 3 pf plying fortresses have ^accooplis^h^d^ft successful raid on a Nazi position in France. They have bombed the German U-boat nest at Lorient, some fifty miles to the south and east fy-ea Brest. They also A raided an airdrome near Cherbourg. According to reports from the other side, their bombs were seen bursting on both targets. But three flying _fortresses did not return,•• and that'i 1 b the heaviest loss the great American bombers have suffered in fourteen raias. At the same time, light mosquito bombers of the British Boyal Air Force were raiding targets in western Germany and Holland. SOLOMONS Tne nens from the Solomons is rather sanguine tonight. We appear to be gaining control of the air over those islands. At any rate, the continuous bombing and strafing of Japanese warships and positions have stalled off the strong enemy offensive which has been expected from day to day. I N But Secretary of the Navy Knox warns us that the A Japanese have not yet launched their big attack. /T Large numbers of Jap warships and auxiliaries are concentrated^ a»eh ready to go into action. But^they have landed no more troops on Guadalcanal since last Thursday. They already have large numbers of^Japanes& on the island; but as yet they have not attacked. The air superiority ol the Allies is^due to the cooperation of General ilacArthur^ S* has assigned American and Australian planes to the rescue- md—tleen blasting at the Japanese air bc.se on Bougainville Island, also on enemy ships in the neighborhood. Here is a late bulletin with news that is not so good. We have lost two more destroyers. The U.S.S. MEPEDITH and the U.S.S. O'BRIEN have been sunk within the last few days as the result of enemy action^ in the Solomon , However, there is one consolation. The loss of life was not heavy. The Navy authorities believe that all the personnel of the O'BBIEN were rescued and many of those aboard the MEPEDIIH. For the rest, that late Navy communique repeats the story of the last few days. Large numbers of enemy ships continue to be sighted in the Solomons. Small units have been located and attacked in southern part of the islands. The »av, adds, that SOLOMONS_- 2 there has been no recent troop activity on Guadalcanal SOLOMON b _-_2 and our aircraft are continying to bomb the enemy nos itions . That sounds as though the Japs did not destroy Henderson Field on Guadalcanal after all. But of this we cannot be sure as the Navy gives us no positive information. SecretaryjKnox reported that the number of Navy land based planes aas increasing n steadily in the southwest Pacific. Wildcats shot down two Jap Zeros, and that one Wildcat was lost. During the late afternoon of October Nineteentt Douglas dive bombers attacked three enemy destroyers to the west of Guadalcanal. They damaged one of ih e Jap destroyers and shot down a 4? Jap seaplane that was escorting them. TWy^ight before last, na.al and ar.y raid^ craft attacked an enemy cruiser west of Guadalcanal. SOLOMONS..- 4 The cruiser was damaged and stopped by at least one bomb hit. TAX BILL President Roosevelt today signed the biggest tax bill in the history of the United States. It will/ increase Uncle Sam's income by nine billion, seven hundred and twenty-four million, two hundred thousand dollars a year. It will make every American pay an income tax who is earning more than six hundred and twenty-four dollars a year It is hoped that this tax bill will raise \ the total receipts of the Treasury next year to Twenty-four billion dollars, maybe even twenty-six billions. Bob tho Treasury bas for so., ti.e been at \ „ork on another bill .hich .ill r.iae at least six billions more. .hap theaia frX—Hre '4rfrbrrr ^ihwni~" r o I i-R^eynrs- ..a g a4^a t—^4 hbv . Philip Murray, President of the C.I.O., and John Green, President of the Marine and Shipbuilding Workers Union, have called upon the President to dismiss the Admiral |_ <swd _ as Chairman of the Maritime Commission and Warshipping A . * Administrator. Admiral Land that his "shot at A- /i sunrise" address has been a*smrMt£iy misinterpreted. The men he would like to see shot at sunrise, the n . . . , Admiral says, are organizers. meticulous } re raine from mentioning either the word "union or labor I But Philip Murray told Mr. Roosevelt today that it is impossible for the workers to continue any confidence in the administrative agencies of which fcfei* ^ head. PROHIBITION "Professor Lawrence Eldredge of the University of Pennsylvania points out today that the passage of what is known as the Josh Lee Amendment would clamp down prohibition on Washington, D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, and many other centers near military establishments. The Professor is President of what is called the Pennsylvania Alcohol Beverage Study, Incorporated. Majority Leader Senator Barkley, approached Oklahoma’s Senator Lee today, suggesting that he, Senator Lee, consent to the sale of three-point-two-percent-beer near army camps and navy bases.Senator Lee and those working with him refused flatly even fcaa to consider any compromise. So unless the bill fails to pass the House, or is vetoed by the President, prohibition may be just around the corner. Governor Edison of N'ew Jersey in a wire to the New Jersey delegation in Congress, said in part. "The method proposed in the Lee Amendment would disrupt the entire tax structure of New Jersey, and undoubtedly PROHIBI Tr3N_j:__2 other states. It would dry up New Jersey revenues used for enforcement of all laws, produce liquor booms in various areas not covered in the prohibition, and otherwise defeat the object sought to be obtained by the amendment. " Governor Edison added that the sale of liquor through^ around army camps is now well under control x'jpBMghfthe i cooperation of army and state agencies. The amendment is also opposed by Secretary of War Stimson, who wrote to Senator Reynolds, Chairman , of the Military Affairs Committee,that it would seriously undermine morale. The Secretary of War declared that prohibition nwould drive soldiers to the speakeasy md bootlegger outside the military reservation." MANPOWER A law drafting everybody for war work is inevitable. We hrve been hearing that for some time* tot today Manpower Commissioner Paul McNutt told it again to the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, He has a committee now at work drafting a bill which will be submitted shortly to the President. The question of timing, said McNutt, is up to Mr.Roosevext. McNutt pointed out that the draft boards have no authority to assign men to work in the factories. Their power is confined to inducting them into the armed services. Someone, said McNutt, ^aS direct the allocation of manpower to place^where^ Senator Austin of Vermont, the Republican Deputy Leader, has already offered a bill which would t +n cjpnd men to factories, give the draft boards power t . i xu„+ ■; r -right. The master plan, McNutt does not think that rig he said, should be made by the Manpower Commission jUNPOWER . 2 of which he is chairman. Incidentallj, he remarked that we /v need woman-power as well. He foreshadowed th£ powers which must be given to the board appointed to do the job. It must have authority to prevent the tra/tfufer of workers from a plant where they are needed to one where there is a need for workers caused solely by improper utilization of labor or a desire to hoard workers. ^It must also have authority to compel individuals to remain on the (U<- or to go from one factory to another. f Somebody asked Mcjjutt whether a worker ordered to a certain plant would have to join the union. That, he replied, is not a serious issue. fn ofTifrc-w-cnphc\ ?***«*z^r tf—the— t^a—nrena——i*—8-ueh -^dr -e-u<>h- »» n—&-1 &-o —tro—him election Only thirteen days to election, and the campaigns are beginning to warm up. Particularly in i*ew York, where Thomas E. Dewey is running as Republic Candidate for Governor against Democratic Attorney General John J. Bennett, the proteg^ of Jim Farley. Dewey has been charged with iu nning for Governor because he hopes to be President in Nineteen Forty-four. He repeated today a pledge that if elected, he would definitely serve out his full four-year term as governor. Political observers are speculating on what Tom Dewey will say tonight when he speaks at nine o'clock, in Albany. For, in recent years, Albany has been virtually a Democratic fortress run by an organization led by Dan (VConnell. So Tom Dewey will be speaking in the stamping ground of his enemies, for it is reported that the C^Connell family is not for Dewey. Governor Lehman will speak at Albany j.or Bennett on Friday night. |L|CTI 0 N _-_2 The state-wide straw poll which the New York Daily News is conducting now gives Dewey fifty-eight- point-seven-percent of the total vote. Bennett and the candidate of the American Labor Party between them, forty-one-point-three-percent. \ lA* —f ^ O'® (^0 “bp M