The Courier News from Blytheville, Arkansas • Page 10

(AM.) ooijRiEtt Niwg WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, IfM Major Objective of 40-Day-Old Seige At Dien Bien Phu Is Political, NotMilitary of a F. AT Newt (AP) For 40 toys and nights of French Union wntktg a new page of with tbek blood. Ye UK fewfwl of Dien Bien is more for political ob tiwn military. Dim Bien Piw, once not even a on like map "of northwest Indo- NKkteoi? became one of tbe Mttowa names. When the Viet- CoflMnuniftte decided to attack TMrnti If, they brought home to war.

inpaot, the gravity of the Southeast Asia, to be a major mJMtary PO of the seven-year-old Tfce Commafiists desperately te inflict a crushing blow. French equally needed a victory the political line were to be But the French were in an posit-ion. They could lose fee battle but it was difficult to see how they could win a clear-cut de- cMott, since they were holding up MI immobile behind fortifications WO mijtes from the nearest French base. They might inflict frightful cMttaltiae on the enemy as lone- as he attacked en masse, but he remained there continuing the seige. "Wt must wis this one," said Gen.

Cogny. French commander in north Indochina. He seemed to consider, the battle would be won if iihe aft-ottt attack, were repulsed. TFAe monsoon raids were due soon, to bog down military operations. would hurt Vietmkih supply Tkt Brave New World-Swap Out At Lot Vt gas YEGAS, Nev.

(ft It was a-H yea? friendly as two Pomona, couples got divorces here. together to get riiarriage li- oeneec and tne-n were'wedded to eaefe other's former spouses by the justice at the same time. aMftT-d D. Platt. 35, was divorced Attene Platt, 36, on grounds of And Claude Fowler, was divorced by Vivian Fowler, on grounds of extremely MM license bureau Itotf trjjft a clerk, "We are aM very and aa-id tfcey wouid return to Pomona together Hoc the ceremonies acted as for Man Hat PWfcACHBLPHIA James coltepsed on a North sidewalk Monday.

at Mahettwmn Hospital Tie was suffering from "a se- Ytfe case of malnutrition." Laier police found $1,158. mostty to. fiQ bate, in the pocket of his iwrtbfccoat. He said he was saving Hie money for a "rainy day." but it also would hinder the air force's job of supplying and reinforcing and fortress. SO BADLY did the Communists want that Russian-made Molotov trucks brought in a steady stream of heavy weapons and munitions and possibly as many as 6,000 Chinese advisers and technicians were overseeing from the Vietminh's transition war fare to mass attack.

the troops of Communist Ho CM Minh sought military victory alone, tifce price would be too great. Wiping out the fortress and its de- feeders would be a great military victory but the CommunistvS are not excfciftivety concerned with that. Vietmtnh already has suffered thousands of casualties in the gamble. Why? Capitalking on Paris' weariness and impatience hoped to convince France that her position in Indochina was hopeless. The Communists hoped to cause the fall of the French government, to be succeeded by one eager to negotiate with Ho and get out of Indochina.

The Communists also expected to make the voice of Ho heard at the Geneva conference opening Monday. The prize sought was negotiated agreement which would leave the Vietmmh, strongest political force in the country, ready to step in the vacuum if and when the French withdrew their troops. The effect of that on aB Southeast Asia would be normous. The how and why of Dien Bien Phu is confusing to many. Why did Gen.

Henri Navarre, French commander in chief, choose such a spot to make a fateful stand? It is a plain of red dust in a sweltering valley surrounded by commending hills which permit fire to be poured down upon it. The defenders have no rear-the nearest French forces are 180 miles east. There is on place to faH back. It was matter of stand or be massacred. fHE IMMJT explanation I could get: Dien Bien Phu had been a cluster oC mud and straw huts perched and poles.

Last fall the French cleared away the villagers, cut down trees and began The reason building fortifications, many men land oAtside the fortress area and face death or capture and 1 that the French were developing among friendly, anti- Communist Thai tribesmen a type of tare waged by the Maquis guerillas in France in World War II. The Vietminh sent its Division to clean out the Thais. The French flew more troops to Dien Bien Phu to protect guerrilla activities. The French kept reinforcing Dien Bien Phu, building itrong- pomts barbed Jan. 1 plex 6 and setting up seas of wire barricades, until by it a formidable corn- by 4 miles, encircled by thickly forested The entrance was protected by eight hill strong- points.

The command post complex was made up of underground positions, well-bunkered and encircled with more barbed wire. Two hili positions feM to the Vietminh in early assaults. The Vietminh dug in behind protecting hills and trees on the approaches to the fortifications. Likely Navarre did not expect the Vietminh to come up with heavy artillery or shift over to mass attack tactics. His supporters say the original strategic purpose was co bar a Vietminh drive into Laos.

Ttie Communists, however, did send a division into northern Laos in January, bypassing Dien Bien Phu. That turned out to be a diversion. The Vietminh was not primarily interested in grabbing territory but in a war of attrition against the French and Vietnamese. It fairly apparent in Hanoi that Navarre's views of Dien Bien Phu were not shared unanimously by his officers. Americans and even some French fretted at what they considered static defense thinking.

The French gravely lack mobility. "They go further back than a Maginot Line complex," said one observer. "They seem to have Verdun 1 Night and day since the battle began, transport planes, supplied by the United States, have taken, off with men and American supplies. The men are dropped only by night into the lighted fortress complex. If conditions are poor too USED AUTO PARTS Radiators Generators and Starters Batteries Tires HESTERS COAL ft SALVAGE YARD Hiwoy 61 TAILOR MADE Auto Truck Seat Covers Any Kind All Prices We Have It Convertible Tope Gilbert's Auto Upholstery North Mffeway 61 Phom J-8T4X Work Done At Night By Appointment How to take the work out of housework by JOAN QHJEft TO eONQMft Hut cleansers, polish, brushes, cloths, in one handy basket to carry from room to room as you work.

And use hot water to make the job go faster. (Always plenty of hot water on tap with an electric water heater! The cost? Pennies a day.) ILANKETS WILL WASH beautifully in your automatic washing machine with the "soak" method: soak blanket, set dial for short wash period, mild soap, lukewarm water, remove while very damp, stretch to shape. (It costs only of a cent in electricity to wash a blanket in your washing CHINA COMES CLEAN of shelf dust without hours of drudgery. An electric dishwasher will do it ftll well as vases, glass bookends, trivets, ceramic decorations, and you never touch a hand to water! (Your electric dishwasher-will do sit loads of dithet for of MENACE TO MOTHS- that handy spray attachment of your vacuum cleaner! Uae it to spray moth preventative in cracks and corners of closets as well as on ths themselvei. (Your vacuum cleantr will run for two solid, hours for just penny in ALL IN A DAY when you wash mattress pads and then dry them in your electric dryer.

Even the heaviest pads come out fluffy-dry, soft as new, ready to put right back on the bed! (An electric dryer will dry all your mattress pads for just a few pennies electricity!) NO In the midst of when you have that miracle of convenience food freezerl Simply prepare double quantities for ft meal some day before, store extra half in freezer. Heat and eat any time! (It costs only pennies day in electricity to run big, handy food frtucrl) Ark-Mo Power Co about 40 per cent of the supplies are lost. If conditions are good, supply lowee are kept to about 10 per cent. The French say they don't have support. But the French lack pilots in Indochina.

Gen. Cogny said he could scrape up pilots for about 100 more planes. Including a transport, a fighter and perhaps two bomber squadrons but even this teemed optimiitic. Where are the In Paris, the French point respect to NATO. The enemy it luttering perhaps live the casualties of the French casualties in the 7V a years of war have, been costly, more in quality than in quantity.

The French have lost about 16,000 Frenchmen, all noncoms and 'officers, and 'about 40,000 French Union including North Africans in the Foreign Legion and Vietnamese with the French Union forces. "We are losing officers- and noncoms at the rate of one St. Cyr (the French West Point) class a year," Gen. Cogny told me. An officer remarked: "We' were beaten by the Germans in 1940 because we lost so many officers in the first world war.

Now, if there is a third world war, we may be beaten because so many officers have been lost in Indochina." Tomorrow; Ho Chi Minh and Moscow. Mississippi Seeks to Curb 'Quickie 1 Lows JACKSON, Miss, "Quickie" marriages for teenagers, long a sore spot with many Mississippi legislators, appear on the way out. A bill, which has passed the House. 102-15, would require a three-day waiting period for anyone under legal age after application for a marriage license is made. "The marriage situation is a racket in the border counties." Rep.

C. C. Allen of Desoto County said. Rep. Ed White of Holmes County said the marriage situation "is bringing a lot of bad publicity to this state Under the new law, the Circuit Court would require proof of age.

Anyone under age 18 for females and 21 for males would have to be accompanied by their parents. CE fro Fight A Mock Flood VICKSBURG, Miss. Corps of Engineers UPl The and Levee Board members in the lower Mississippi River Valley fight an imaginary flood April 21 and 22 as part of a nation-wide exercise in flood fighting techniques. The two-day exercise will be conducted on a compressed time scale with one hour representing one day. The office of Brig.

Gen. John R. Hardin, president of the Mississippi River Commission, will supply the district engineers and local group with developments "'during the flodo. The plans call for an actual flood fight to be simulated in detail. Man and Wife Deprived Of Docs ST.

LOUIS Of) Mr. and Mrs. John Driscoll lived in a two-room house with 34 dogs until Monday. Now they have four. The Animal Protective Assn.

of Missouri and St. Louis County authorities, acting on the complaints of neighbors, found the dogs in the suburban Creve Coeur home. They took 30 away. About four years ago the association forced the Driscolls to give up 37 dogs. The couple said they couldn't bear the thought of dogs being used for medical research so opened their home to any strays they found.

Pony Express To Run Again ASHLAND, Kaji. (A Saddle Club members are going to that the pony express could carry mail from here to Dodge City faster than the modern postal system does. Although these southwestern Kansas towns are only 40 miles apart, a letter posted here is routed to eastern Kansas and gets back to Dcdge City the next day. The Saddle Club riders expect to make the trip in 4 hours and 15 minutes April 28 pony express styte. in ARKANSAS RESULTS true story of product.

And PROFITABLE RESULTS have told story of growth, by state. Nation In Your State, in corn growing State, Big Swing is to DaKalb. More and more farmers each year are finding DEPENDABILITY, NEW PROFITS, and SECURITY with DCKALB CORN. For 14 straight years, MORE farmers have planted DEKALB than ANY other Seed Corn. DeKalb Dealers are always glad to help you with your Corn and Chix problems.

Your DeKalb dealer is listed below. delay. Ashcraft Feeders Supply Store, Blytheville Milligan Ridge Co-Op, Manila, Ark. Hardy Sales Service, Blytheville, Ark. PLANTED BY MORE.fARMERS THAN ANY OTHER SIfcP CORN FOR 14 STRAIGHT YEARS North Little Rock Girl Wins WO Lion Oil 18 a r-OW Mo- I- Ent.r; 15 Oth.r Arkon.a, Winn.r, High School reatoed to enter ma(Je a Patsy is active in work She is state treasurer chairman of the Student Society; school paper, of America; assembly porter for the National presi dent a girls' "RrwV Mlrfl.

SlXSttdB S.DUU Oflfll Oil vXJrTKSBlw GO.V^IA subjects are announced. yw tel Dinner, Mn. ABbrif" 1 a rsi for tu.6 SCIMJUl DUVlvo Tennessee Boy, Mississippi Girl Are Winners in Zones and Alex C. Wade IV, 14-year-old freshman at Hillsboro High School, Nashville, is the first freshman and the youngest student ever to win a major Lion Oil Scholarship Award. He heard about the contest on Lion Oil's pepular "Sunday Down radio program.

He plans to attend Vanderbilt University at Nashville, where he wants to study television. Dickie Anderson, junior at Sunflower Agricultural High School, Moorhead, won a $1,000 scholarship on her first try. She is secretary of her class, secretary of the Methodist Youth Fellowship, has twice been queen of the school Halloween Carnival. She plans to attend Mississippi State College for Women. Merit Award Winners STUDENT TEACHER Shirley Been Mrs.

Bee Cotton Thomas Kock Central High School Patricia Greenwood Mrs. Virginia Ragan Wation High School (Pine Bluff) Jim Mac Bridges Mrs. Watt Houser Parii High School Ann Stewart Miss Haxei Presson Fort Smith Senior High School Marlene Benton Mrs. Dudley Huckabee NorphUt High School Jerry Camp Mrs. McLean Moflnolio High School Phyllis Goett Mrs.

Auburn Wood Stuttgart High School Grover Zinn, Jr. Mrs. W. E. Dorrert El Dorado High School Mary Louise Maxwell Everett Maxwell Morv.ll High School Gloria Polk Mrs.

Georgia Reichardt Central High School (Helena) Francis Aileen Shea Mrs. Elza T. Housley Hot Springs High School Kay Simmons Mrs. Lillian Bjork Arkontat High School (Texarkana) Carlton Stogsdill Miss Lois Bradley High School Beverly Thompson Sister M. Agnes, O.S.B.

St. Paul High School (Pocahontai) Lucy Vanhook Miss Delia M. Beeler High School Judgw of the contest were: Dr. Horace E. Thomjwon, President; Dr.

B. J. Fletcher, Chairman of the division of and Literature; and Dr. Gene Andrews, Asftociate.Professor of English, all of Arkanaaa A. A M.

College. College Aikaniwt. PATSY LAMB (RIGHT) AND MRS. B. f.

AUNI6HT, Hit TfACHCt-SPONSOt Last Contest of This School Year This is the final contest in the series of Lion Oil Scholarship Awards for the current school year. We at Lion Oil express our thanks to the thousands of Southern students, teachers and educators who did so much to make the 1953-54 Scholarship Program a success. The contests in this seriqs brought more entries and created more enthusiasm than ever before in the program's history. Why Scholarship Fund Was Established Lion Oil Company is an integral part of the South, employing more than 2,700 persons, who receive annually over' $16,000,000 in wages and benefits. Lion manufactures more than 60 petroleum products which keep the wheels of Southern industry, transportation and agriculture spinning.

Lion's nitrogen fertilizers enrich the soil of Southern farms help Southern farmers produce more and better crops. The Scholarship Fund is Lion Oil Company's way of saying, "We believe in the South are eager to assist its sons and daughters our good neighbors. We're proud to be MJOY A HALF HOUR OF MUSK ANP PUM ON "WNOAY DOWN SOVTH" IVIRY SUNDAY f. M. OVIR TMI DON RADIO NITWOUK LION OIL EL DORADO COMPANY ARKANSAS HOOD SAVf A IIFEI.