Some of billion copies a year serve useful purpose; others required by law to inform taxpayers
By Robert Taylor, Press Washington correspondent
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Mediation authority not subject to review, Supreme Court rules
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Man… Americans must be confused as to which Indians it refers.
Not really. 
Most of the time (and in this article) for us, the term refers to American Indians.
So you mean knowing which indians it refers to is “Super easy, barely an inconvenience”.
Showdown, long sought by U.S. fleet, now possible
By Sandor S. Klein, United Press staff writer
Washington –
The U.S. invasion of the Gilbert Islands, the important outer link in Japan’s chain of Pacific defenses, was viewed by military experts today as the stroke that may finally force the Jap fleet out of hiding for a long-awaited showdown.
The weekend thrust at Tarawa and Makin in the Gilbert group, marking the first direct American attempt to seize enemy bases in the Central Pacific, represented a serious potential threat to the Philippines, heart of the powerful ring of defenses guarding the Jap homeland.
May push on Philippines
Military men here believed the Gilbert operations were preliminary moves toward eventual reconquest of the Philippines by a direct move across the Central Pacific. Thus, they declared, the Jap fleet may well find it time to ride out for the showdown which the U.S. Pacific Fleet has been seeking to provoke for months.
The move into the Gilberts also represented another important step in the general strategic pattern unfolding against Japan – the initial blow in the forging of a northern arm of an Allied pincer slowly closing in on Truk, Japan’s “Pearl Harbor.” Lying some 1,300 miles west of the Gilberts, Truk is also the ultimate objective of a southern arm being extended by Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s forces towards Rabaul in New Britain.
Seek air bases
In the short-range view, the immediate aim of the present Gilbert operations appeared to be acquisition of air bases from which to attack the adjacent Marshall Islands. The Marshalls, under Jap mandate for more than two decades, are heavily fortified, but they must be seized before any drive on the Philippines can be undertaken.
A corollary of the Gilberts action was expected to be an attempt to retake Wake Island, which the Japs captured from the small U.S. Marine garrison in the first few weeks of the war.
A bold attempt to retake the Philippines would shorten the war in the Pacific considerably because from those islands, the main enemy supply arteries to Burma, French Indochina and the Southwest Pacific could be cut. Japan herself could be brought within the scope of long-range bombers.
Strategy emphasized
High-ranking American officials, including President Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy Knox, have emphasized that an island-by-island drive toward Japan was not contemplated. Until U.S. forces moved into the Gilberts, the campaign had generally appeared to be based on an island-hopping strategy.
Military experts warned, however, that success in the Central Pacific did not mean an immediate or even early move on the Philippines. They explained the High Command would be faced with an exceedingly difficult supply problem. Only after the war is won in Europe will enough shipping for a major invasion in the Pacific be available.
Lt. Gen. George S. Patton
Allied HQ, Algiers, Algeria (UP) –
Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. is commanding the U.S. 7th Army and has command it since it was activated, an official announcement said today.
The statement said textually:
Gen. Patton is commanding the 7th Army, has commanded it since it was activated, and is continuing to command it.
No report has ever reached this headquarters of any soldier refusing to obey an order by Gen. Patton. Gen. Patton has never been reprimanded at any time by Gen. Eisenhower or by anybody else in this theater.
Washington (UP) –
Radio commentator Drew Pearson said last night in his broadcast that Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. 7th Army in the Sicilian campaign, had been “severely reprimanded” by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for mistreating an American soldier suffering from shock, or a nervous ailment, in a hospital in Sicily.
The War Department said it had “no information and no comment.” Mr. Pearson said, “I don’t think he [Gen. Patton] will be used in combat anymore.”
Mr. Pearson said:
Here is a story which I don’t like to tell, but in wartime we have to let the chips fall where they may. The lowly private who gets punishment for a mistake is not spared by his superior officers and so the general who makes a mistake should not be spared either.
A great mystery has surrounded the whereabouts of Gen. “Blood and Guts” Patton. His pearl-handled revolver, his picturesque language, made headlines in the Tunisian campaign but he has not been heard of since. Here is the reason.
Gen. Patton was going through a hospital in Sicily and inquired what was the matter with a fatigue patient. A fatigue patient is one suffering from shell shock or nerves. Gen. Patton apparently used his own judgment as to the soldier’s illness, ordered him up out of bed, and when he didn’t get up right away, pulled him up and struck him, knocking him down.
By this time, the doctor rushed up, told Gen. Patton that while the general was in command of his troops in the field, he, the doctor, was in command of his hospital. He ordered Patton not to interfere.
Patton started to draw his pearl-handled revolver but was disarmed. Gen. Eisenhower severely reprimanded Gen. Patton, I don’t think he will be used in combat anymore.
Gen. Patton has long been known as one of the most colorful and aggressive generals in the Army. His name has not figured in dispatches since the conclusion of the Sicilian campaign.
As a major general, he commanded the Western Task Force which was assigned to take Casablanca, Morocco, during the U.S. landings in Africa last year. He was promoted to lieutenant general for his success in that operation.
By Harold Kellock, editorial research reports
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Allies lack standard by which to judge enemy’s tenacity except suicidal battles on Attu, New Guinea
By A. T. Steele
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Planes support assault on Sattelberg, northwest of Finschhafen
By Brydon C. Taves, United Press staff writer
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First major hurdles are cleared in program to aid captive nations
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Both Congressmen among foes of New Deal’s favored anti-inflation weapon; action may be switched to new tax bill
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By Ernie Pyle
Ernie Pyle is describing his impressions of the home front is a short series of columns before shoving off again on assignment to the battlefronts.
Albuquerque, New Mexico –
One of the few souvenirs I brought back from the Mediterranean was a snappy German infantry cap I’d picked up in Sicily. It just happened to fit me perfectly.
So, I took to wearing it when I drove That Girl to work every day at Kirtland Field, the big Army air base here, and thought it might cause some amusement by befuddling the sentries at the gate. But nobody paid any attention to it; in fact, I guess nobody knew what it was. I was disappointed.
That went on for a couple of weeks, and then one evening as I was on the way in, the sentry, instead of smiling and waving me through as usual, said very severely:
Pull over to the side and park, sir.
I protested I’d be late to pick up That Girl, but he repeated his order, and I’ve been around the Army enough to know an order when I hear one. He took my pass, went into the booth, and had a long conversation on the telephone. When he came out, he said, “Come with me, sir.” I knew the sentry and he’d always been friendly, but now he was so official and firm he had me scared stiff.
We started for the provost marshal’s office. I got so weak I could hardly walk. I couldn’t imagine what I’d done, but there was no doubt in my mind that whatever crime I’d committed was plenty bad.
Just getting acquainted
We went into the big provost marshal’s building and were ushered right on through to the provost’s office, in a manner which indicated that my execution was to be immediate. And there sat the provost, laughing fit to kill.
He said:
I understand you’ve been going in and out of here wearing a German cap.
I said:
I sure have, but it took somebody around here a hell of a long time to recognize it.
The provost had authorized my pass originally, but we had never met. This was just his way of getting acquainted.
So, we all laughed, the sentry gave my pass back, a little of my strength returned, and I got back in the car swearing to wear only caps made in America, preferably by Indians, after this.
Provosts are good guys
I like provost marshals. I don’t know whether it’s because they’re usually nice guys, or whether it’s just because it’s a good idea to know them. But I do think I’m friends with the provost of every division and corps I ever served with. And while in Washington I got invited to lunch one day with the chief provost of all provosts – Maj. Gen. Allen Gullion.
I’ve had some nice experiences with provosts. For example, in Tunisia and Sicily there was a regulation that everybody had to wear his steel helmet and leggings at all times.
Now the steel helmet makes me top-heavy, and hurts my neck, and the wind blows through it and I can’t hear, so I never wear mine unless actually under fire. As for the leggings, I can’t stand them except in very cold weather.
Faces fines of $120
Just before the end of Sicily, while I was riding along gaily in a jeep, I was stopped and ticketed three times in one day for not wearing my helmet and leggings. The MP’s ticket you just like traffic cops, and the tickets go through channels to headquarters, and you’re called up and fined. Each count against me called for a $40 fine, which would have socked me $120 for my day’s misdemeanors.
I didn’t think anything about it for a couple of days, and then one evening an Army messenger rode up to our little camp in the woods, handed me an official-looking envelope, and rode off. The envelope was from the provost marshal.
My heart sank. I could hardly bear to open the envelope. Of course, I knew the provost marshal, but you never can tell.
Inside the envelope were the official conviction papers. The charges were typed out, and the MP’s tickets were clipped to it. And then I saw the sentence, and almost fainted with relief. It said:
You are hereby sentenced to recite 10 times a night for the next 30 nights, as follows:
I am a good soldier, and will try to conduct myself as such by wearing my helmet and leggings at all times.
JOHN HURLEY
Major – Provost Marshal