The White Falcon - 17.02.1945, Blaðsíða 2

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5; A scene in one of the editorial rooms af the Visir, daily afternoon paper of Reykjavik.«
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I he Icelandic Press
“No reform, no program
for improvement _of any
kind lias ever been
brought about in Iceland
without the backing of the
Icelandic press,” was a
statement made recently
;to a White Falcon report-
er by Bjarni Gudmunds-
.son, press liaison official
of the Icelandic Govern-
ment. “It is absolutely
impossible,” bo added,
“for any group here to ad-
vance successfully any
idea whatever without
press support.”
The influence of Ice-
landic newspapers on the
nation’s affairs is indeed
considerable in a country
whose people are among
the most avid readers in
the world. Free to print
and discuss what it wishes
— within necessary limit-
ations imposed by mili-
tary security and laws
pertaining to libel — it is
as representative of the
people as any free press
on earth.
As in the U.S., most Ice-
landic newspapers are pu-
blished in support of poli-
tical parties, although oc-
casionally they shift their
scxxxxxxxxxxxxxscxxx
allegiance. Of the weekl-
ies, of which there are
three in Reykjavik — the
Vikan (“The Week”), the
Fallunn (“Falcon”), and
Timirin (“Time”) — only
the Falkinn and Vikan
steer a neutral course in
politics. All the dailies
support one party or an-
other.
Reykjavik is the only
Icelandic city where daily
newspapers arp publish-
ed. It has four of them:
the MorgunhlafSiS (“Morn-
ing Paper”), 12 to 1(5 pag-
es, supporting the Inde-
pendence! Party (conserv-
ative); the AlJjySublaSiS
(“The Labor Journal”),
eight pages, which sup-
ports the Social Demo-
cratic Party (left-liberal);
and the BjoSviljann (“Pe-
ople’s Will”), eight pages,
which supports the Popul-
ar Front Party composed
of Communists and left-
wing socialists. The latter,
founded in 1936, is the
most recent of Iceland’s
dailies. The oldest — and
the only afternoon paper
— is the Visir (“Index”),
founded in 1910 (daily 8
pages). The weekly pap-
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ers, however, date hack to
the last century.
Icelandic papers carry
a few comics, hut noth-'
ing like the great profus-
ion of them,printed in Am-
erican papers. Sports —
like features on home-
making, shopping, etc. — x
are not handled by rcgul- «
ar staff writers hut bv B
part-time correspondents q
who are sufficiently int- a
erested in such matters to c;
write about them for pu- «
it
blication. Special featur- «
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X
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it
S
i
es of this nature usually
appear in Sunday suplc-
ments. .
Reader interest is dev-
oted respectively to: news,* jj
entertainment (such as
daily serials of popular
hooks, “gossip col-
umns,” comic, and politi-
cal commentaries.
The- average price of a
paper is 40 aurar — about
six cents.
The Stale Broadcasting
System maintains a news
room which has much the
same function, as those in
the U.S. In five daily _
broadcasts it disseminat- «
es the world’s news to cv--<f
erv corner of the Renu- x
WCTU LEADER SUGGESTS LIBERATORS
SHOULD CELEBRATE BY DRINKING TEA
—KING OF FBIs
(Continued from Page 1)
guest.
Among 51 others who re-
ceived FBI certificates from
the CG for 30 or more
months of service in the IBC
were T/Sgt. Edwin Robb,
S/Sgt. Orval R. Bardon, Cpl.
Kenneth Stark, Pvt. Anthony
Paolucci, S/Sgt. Albert Koz-
ak, Tec 4 Artenis Sergent,
. M/Sgt. Carl Schoenbrodl,
Pfc. Myles Tunnicliff, Pfc.
Albert Call and Cpl. Willie
. Fuson — all of whom arriv-
ed here in 1941.
Disapproving the manner
in which European hospitali-
ty is being extended to the
Allies, Dr. Ella Boole, head
of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union, stated
recently that the WCTU has
adopted- the motto: “Libera-
tion, not Libation.”
Dr. Boole released her
statement on the basis of in-
formation that Allied soldi-
ers were being greeted in
formerly occupied countries
by citizens who offered them
wine, beer and liquor.
She had words of praise,
however, for Field Marshal
Bernard L. Montgomery. “He
wins victories apd he wins
them with tea,” she said.
U.S. Subs Take Big Toll
Of Jap Ships In Pacific
Since war’s beginning, U.
S. submarines have sunk 989
Japanese ships.
(During the temporary absence of Pvt. Jack Gray, this
column is being written by Sgt. Bob Hill.)
IBC’s “King of the FBIs,” Cpl. Nicholas II. Collins, has
seen a lot of snow come and go since he set foot here
on August 7, 1941—way hack when things “were rug-
ged.” Busy unloading ships as they brought men and
supplies to establish this base, Nick reports that after
eight hours at the docks it was nothing to go back and
work “on our own time” for four or five hours build-
ing huts and setting up a camp. Biggest improvements
since those busy, hectic days of ’41 and ’42 have been
made along entertainment lines, Collins says. “We were
lucky if we saw a movie once a week. We didn’t have
any ARC clubs, either,” lie states. Recently returned from
a trip to his home at Barnwell, S.C., Collins hopes it
won’t be long before he can go home for good.... Gen.
Duncan and S/Sgt. Albert M. Basso broke into “Oh, What
A Beautiful Morning” at the presentation of the FBI
certificates Tuesday. .. .Dee Jungers soloed with “Rose
Marie” in fine fashion.
Comes a dispatch from the Ninth Army that Marlene
Dietrich (still on the same USO tour which brought her
to Iceland last September) is “very annoyed” with Holly-
wood stay-at-homes who, when they do come to enter-
tain troops, tour for “only four weeks- just enough to
water the mouths of many troops who hear they’re here
hut never see them.” Incidentally, Miss D. admitted to
the war correspondents attached to the Ninth that she’s
recovering from a case of the “GIs”—an Army ailment
common to generals and privates alike.
-GREENLAND STORY
(Continued from Page 1)
lish fortified bases in Greenland. Actually, three such
bases have been eliminated. The Navy, in its current re-
port, said that one German armed trawler was sunk,
another captured, a third was found abandoned; 60 pri-
soners were taken and a radio station was captured and
destroyed.
In addition, a German bomber attack was beaten off
in the series of actions which lasted from July to late
October,'last year. There of the Coast Guard cutters were
damaged by crushing ice packs; one, the Northland, had
to he towed 3,000 miles for repairs. The climax of the
* battle through the ice floes and along frozen shores
■ came Ocotber 16, when the cutters Eastwind and South-
wind captured the German armed trawler Externsteine
and its crew of four officers and 30 enlisted men.
Salvo after salvo of shells flashed across the ice packs
before the German craft was cornered in a pocket form-
ed by ice floes and forced to surrender. The Extern-
steine was brought from Greenland to Iceland, and the
prisoners were taken from here for detention, after inter-
rogation by military intelligence authorities of the U.S.
Army in Reykjavik. The Externsteine was a 500-ton
trawler, and prisoners interrogated here said it was mak-
ing its maiden voyage. Questioning of the prisoners re-
vealed that they had been well trained for their Arctic
mission, and that the group included qualified weather
experts.
Twelve days before the attack mentioned, two platoons
of Americans had been landed on little Koldewey Island,
800 miles from the North Pole. These landing parties,
making an attack before dawn, captured a German radio
and weather station, with its three officers and nine en-
listed men, and large quantities of scientific and weather
equipment. The earliest of what appear to have been
three such German expeditions sent to Greenland was
dealt with in U.S. operations from Iceland in the spring
and summer of 1943. A German weather base was then
bombed out, and two prisoners taken, both of them high-
ly trained meteorologists and Arctic explorers, were
brought to Iceland for questioning by American military
authorities.
The importance of weather information in modern
warfare is clearly evident. Loss of weather information
from the Greenland source should substantially handi-
cap the German war machine, since prevailing weather
conditions usually tend to move from Greenland across
Britain to the continent.