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About Roseburg news-review. (Roseburg, Or.) 1920-1948 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 1942)
"Watchful Waiting" Must Not be Matched by "Botch-ful" Waiting. Less Sharp Than a Cactus Would be Our Taxes if There Were More Attacks on the Axis. All-American Call EAST INDIES Tlie war situation, hitherto ap parently hopeless for the allies, takes on a brighter hue today, as hard smashes hit the Japs In the air and at sea off Java, as well as Burma. Follow up on tho news In the NEWS-REVIEW. tOS7Et(ES APE very wise- -when they give stamps fOf? THEf? e?D6E PGnE! fHE"D0lJGLR5 COUNTY QMS' VOL. XLVI NO. 275 OF ROSEBURG REVIEW ROSEBURG, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1942. VOL. XXX NO. 165 OF THE EVENING NEWS II .... - - - SOT GUNS m GtuDRNA II -- - AIJJED FUERS DESTROY 30 Burma Drive Halted; Land Army Braces Three Jap Ships Sunk Off Indies, Air Fleet Routed; . MacArthur Stymies Foe RANGOON, Burma, Feb. 25. (AP) American volunteer group fliers and RAF pilots struck one of their heaviest blows at Japan ese air strength over Burma to day, destroying 30 enemy planes and carrying out effective sweeps over enemy position:) along the Sittang river front. An army communique indicat- forces, pushed back to the west bank of the Sittang river some 70 miles from Rangoon, had been given a breathing spell after fac ing intensive Japanese pressure and were making the most of this opportunity to reorganize their defenses. The Sittang, which is the last natural obstacle of any size be Iween the Japanese and Rangoon, is 400 yards wide at this season. Some observers predicted that if the Japanese crossed the river In force Rangoon would fall in less time than Singauoore did. The Sittang river front is about GO miles from Rangoon. By ROGER D. GREENE (Associated Press War Editor) Allied warplanes blasting at Japan's sea-borne invaders were credited officially today with sink ing three big enemy transports in the critical battle for the Dutch East Indies, while a Tokyo spokes man acknowledged that 26 Japan ese transports had been sunk or damaged to date in the far Pa cific. The spokesman, Commander Tashiro of the naval press section, said Japan expected even heavier losses because the united nations (Continued on page 6) In the Day's News By FRANK JENKINS I ATE news Includes some signi " ficant fighting and some sig nificant talking. BOTH are important. rPHE fighting occurred around the island of Bali, at the eastern tip of Java, where Dutch and American warships and planes scattered and destroyed a Jap invasion fleet that had at tacked the island. The Dutch communique (issued at Batavia) says: "Not a single Jap warship remained near Bali to give the Jap troops support or supplies." (Before being scattered and de stroyed, the Jap fleet succeeded in landing troops on Bali who seized the airport at Denpasar.) Hope is expressed in the dis patches that these troops may be destroyed before they can be re inforced. F"ON'T do too much wishful thinking on the strength of this brilliant and locally success ful blow at the enemy. The combined Dutch and American navy in the East Indies, outnumbered and outweighed by the Jap navy, dares not risk a MAJOR battle and has to hit and run in narrow waters where the Japs can't bring their full strength to bear. In these heroic hit-andmn-fights it Is hoped to whittle down Japan's present superiority and to delay the Japanese advance until our ULTIMATELY OVER WHELMING strength can be brought to bear. We entered this Pacific war in- (Continued on page 2) China Cannot Be U.S. SR. 'v W I MONGOLIA J J I - NAMKIMCf""V SHANGHAI HANKOW - Vy ) PACIFIC r"v d 0CEAN f J Jft- .-SH9.9KONG JVhAILANdN o ISLANDS VnA ' L L ; Fall to the Japanese of the port city of Rangoon, terminus of the Burma road, would not cut off China from war supplies. The rbove, map shows three other routes converging rn Cltiungklnc. capital of China. One of these starts at Calcutta, India. The other two extend from the Siberian cities of Semipalatlnsk and Chita. County Tire Quota, Rationing of New Autos Are Fixed A total of 29 tires for passenger automobiles will be released in Douglas county during the month of March, according to Carl B. Cadwell, Portland, secretary of the Oregon Tire Rationing ad ministration. With the 29 tires, car owners will be able to secure 23 tubes. The allottment for trucks and busses provides for 94 tires, 40 tubes and 106 retreads. No passenger car tires can be retreaded or recapped in Oregon, during the month of March, ac cording to instructions received by the state administration. The freezing order on camelbacks, the rubber used in recapping, has been extended from March 1 to April 1, according to the notice received by the state administra tor. WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (AP) The nation-wide rationing of 145,500 new 1942 passenger auto mobiles to eligible buyers in March, April and May will begin March 2. The actual quotas for states total only 120,000 cars, the office of price administration disclosed today, but an additional 25,500 vehicles were placed in state and national "reserves" and a small number were released for sale in the territories. The new car quotas and reserv es, by states, Include: Oregon, 1,340 and 223. The county quotas in each state were arrived at largely on the basis of 1941 new car registra tions. The cars to be released amount to 43 per cent of the 340, 000 new vehicles to be sold to es sential users the next 12 months, and 30 per cent of the total sup ply of about 430,000 new cars left in the hands of manufacturers distributors, and dealers when the motor industry closed down for complete conversion to war pro duction. Heart Attack Fatal to Mayor of Prineville . BEND, Feb. 25. (API The mayor of Prineville, Dr. John Henry Rosenberg, 68, died here last night of a heart attack. He had been a physician in Prine ville since 1905. The widow survives. Isolated r ttc n "Work or Fight" Law to Keep Up Production Looms WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (AP) Drastic "work or fight" legisla tion may soon be sought by the administration to give the war labor board a strong nnnd in its task of eliminating all stoppages in arms production. An informed source predicted today that this request to con gress was likely, and indications were that it would command strong support especially since President Roosevelt called on Americans in his Monday night radio address not to stop work a single day. Proposals for such legislation were said to have originated with officials charged with responsi bility for all-out war production. President Roosevelt has repeated ly stressed the need for uninter rupted production in numerous speeches during the past year, but the arms program neverthe less has lost hundreds of thous ands of man-hours because of la bor managment, jurisdictional and other controversies. As outlined by one influential democratic senator, the legisla tion probably would include pro visions for the immediate shift ing into the armed forces of any striking worker who was subject to military service but who had received deferment because of employment In an essential war job. Under tentative plans, workers not subject to the selective ser vice who went on strike would be blacklisted and their employment banned for a period of time by any plant working on a govern ment contract. The president's call for unin terrupted war production brought predictions in congress, mean while, that if the war labor board failed to find a formula to. keep all the industrial wheels turning without stop, congress would act to see that the job was done. Father, Son Victims of Identical Accidents PENDLETON, Feb. 25. (AP) Three weeks ugo Dan McDe- vitt, Sr., crossed a Pendleton In tersection, was hit by a car, suf fered a fractured left leg. Over the weekend Dan Me Devitt, Jr., 12, crossed the same intersection, was struck by a car, had his left leg factured. Parity Price Battle Draws In Roosevelt President, in Protest to Senate, Brands Pending Measure as "Selfish" WASHINGTON, Feb. 25. (AP) President Roosevelt stepped di rectly into the senate dispute over farm prices today with a letter protesting that a pending bill rep resented "selfish interests" at a time the very existence of the country was at stake. The chief executive, in a letter read at the opening of the senate session, said that a proposal to restrict sales of government-held stocks of farm commodities would do "irreparable damage to the war effort and farmers of the country." Declaring that the' production of American foodstuffs was vital to allied nations, the president said that the two most important needs at this time were livestock and oil producing products. Would Impede Production. Expansion of production in these fields would be impeded by proposed res.U1ctions.oji the sale of corn, wheat and cotton off the market In past years in order to keep prices up and insure a fair return for the farmers. He said it was "generally under stood" that these stocks would be available in time of emergency. "That emergency is now upon us," he declared. The letter, directed to Vice- President Wallace opposed a pend ing bill that would prohibit any sales of government stocks now held by the commodity credit corporation at less than parity prices. Mr. Roosevelt said that, in or der to expand tho production of livestock and oil producing com modities, it would be necessary to maintain a favorable ratio of prices between feed and live stock. The good will created for the farmer in the past, the president said, "should not be shattered by grasping for a few dollars in the name of the farmer." Administration leaders have of fered a compromise to the farm bloc and called for a showdown vote. Protesting that the original bill (Continued on page 6) Seine Nets, Warehouses Prey of $500,000 Fire SEATTLE, Feb. 25 (AP) Hundreds of seine nets, valued up ot $4,000 each, were burned in a spectacular waterfront lire which destroyed two warehouses and damaged a third here last night. Estimates of the total damage ran up to a half million dollars because of the loss of the nets. A large number of fishing boats adjacent to the buildings were pulled to safety as the flames rag ed through the highly inflam mable articles. Firerrfen said gasoline used to thin preserva tives applied to the nets appar ently exploded and started the blaze. Fishermen expressed fear that damaged nets would be difficult to replace because of war de mands for other uses, and might result in a decrease In next year s salmon catch, they said. Silverton Policeman Dies of Heart Attack SILVERTON, Feb. 25. (API Harry Greenfield, 55, special Sil verton policeman, died last night, apparently of a heart attack, while discussing duties with Chief of Police Victor Gross nickle. i A son. Ted, was killed in the Dec. 7 attack at Pearl harbor. The widow and another son, Clar ence, survive. Axisll-Boats Add Norway Ship to Toll U. S. Tanker Torpedoing Also Increased as Raids In Atlantic Continue WASHINGTON, Feb. 25. (AP) Secretary of Navy : Knox reported today that dur. ; ing January and February 56 attacks had been made on en . emy submarines In the At lantic resulting In the sink ing of three and the damag ing of four. The secretary said that the only reports he had received of enemy aircraft activity in the Los An geles area last night were that it Ijas "just a false alarm." s "There were no planes over Los Angeles last night, at least, that's our understanding," Knox declared. "None have been found and a very wide reconnaissance has been carried on." BALTIMORE, Feb. 25. (AP) -Six men. Ihe nnlv known enr. vivors of the torpedoed Norwe gian ireigntcr Blink, whose sink ing was announced by the navy dlfnartmrnrfnfinv-' tnlrl haltlnolw of their 66-hour fight for life in a swamped lifeboat in rough, shark-infested seas. The 2.700-tnn freighter wne tnr. pedoed without warning off the Atlantic coast with a probable loss or Zi lives. The survivors believe the chief engineer, donkeyman and a fire man of tho 25-year-old ship were killed when two torpedoes ex ploded In the engine room. They believe four others were lost on a life raft. They watched 17 other crew (Continued on page 6) Dr. Futrelle Hods Vets Facility Temporarily Dr. W. C. Futrelle, chief medi cal officer at the U. S. veterans administration facility here, is acting as manager of the institu tion, pending formal annnlnt- ment of a manager to succeed the late Colonel E. F. T.-inrlv whn died last week after having serv ed as manager since the facility was opened here. Dr. Futrelle is expected to continue as manager until a successor to Colonel Tan-, dy has been named by the veter ans administration at Washing- ion, u. c Douglas County's First Air Raid Alert Gets Prompt Compliance; So Does West Roseburg Blackout Signal by Mistake Douglas county this morning had its first official air raid alert since the beginning of the war. The alert signal was received at the Roseburg control center at S 4:55 a. m., immediately follow ing the action In the Los Ange i les area, where shots were fired at an unidentified airplane. From ! the Roseburg control station the j warning was given to all Doug ; las county municipalities. Heads ! of civilian defense units were mobilized at headquarters, and all advance preparations were made for a blackout. The all clear signal, however, was given at 7:45 a. m. In West Roseburg, the black out signal was sounded through error, but the signal, given by a privately owned siren, was re called within a few minutes. Residents of that area, however, complied completely with the sig nal and air raid wardens went to their posts in accordance with In structions. Harry PInnlger, defense co ordinator, reported this morning that the county defense organiza tion functioned very well in con nection with this morning's alert, MS 12,000 Nazis Slain In New Russian Blow Base of Leningrad Siege Smashed; Hitler Boasts Of Spring Retaliation (By the Associated Press) Russia proclaimed n smn new victory over Adolf Hitler's battered invasion armies today even as the fuehrer announced that the bitter snows of winter were melting and that he had completed preparations for the nnai struggle" this spring. "SnOW and frost hmnnht In a temporary standstill the series of victories of tho the net-man ormu unique in history," Hitler declar- u in a message to nazi party fol lowers. "Our enemy then hoped to In flict on the German army the fate Of tho Nannleonie rntrnnt Thle attempt has collapsed miserably." In Moscow, Russians celebrat ed a communique reporting that uiu mumpnani red armies had crushed Germany's 10th field ar my, shattering three divisions and killing 12,000 troops In the Stara ya Russa sector, 140 miles below Leningrad. - - . Staraya Russa had been a key German base guarding the south ern flank of the nazi armies be fore Leningrad. A decisive break- through hv tile TvllRQlnnc wnillri gravely endunger the whole nor thern arm of the German Inva sion and nrosuiTmhlv force n hup. lied withdrawal of tho nazi siege forces around Leningrad. bovlet front line dispatches al- (Continued on page 6) Sabotage Suspected in Grain Elevator Fire IONA, Idaho, Feb. 25 (AP) Federal bureau of investigation agents were investigating today me explosion and fire which de stroyed the Sperry grain elevator and a large quantity of wheat yesterday. bheriff Harry Mepnen said sa botage is suspected because 100 gasoline saturated grain sacks were removed from tne ware house section of the elevator. David R. Clark, the operaior of the grain elevator and who suf fered a brain concussion and oth er injuries In th explosion, said 10,00? bushel:! of wheat and 15.000 sacks were destroye I. He placed the value of the building at S20,- 000. particularly In view of the fact that there has been no call since the practice blackouts which were hold ut the outbreak of the war. Only a part of the defense group wns not I find, ns the con trol center receives two alert sig nals prior to an actual blackout order. In connection with the first two calls, the heads of the defense units are notified and are called to the control station and other volunteers are not summoned until the final emer gency signal Is received. SALEM. Feb. 25. (AP) All western Oregon was ordered at 5:07 a. m. today to be on the alert against enemy attack, but the all-clear signal was given at 7:45 a. m. There was no explana tion for the alert, ordered by the fourth interceptor command. The "yellow alert" was trans mitted by the army to civilian de fense officials, heads of defense Industries, utilities, docks, police and fire departments and oil storage plants. These "yellow" messages nre sent as soon as there Is a possi bility ot raids. Nature of Target Reported in Motion in Los Angeles Area; Shrouded in Military Secrecy Balloon or Airplane Included in Variety of Guesses; No Bombings Occur, but Damage to Private Property Results From Barrage of Anti-Aircroft Shells. LOS ANGELES. Feb. 25. IAP) Anti-aircraft guns thun dered over the metropolitan area early today for the first time) in the war, but hours later what they were shooting at remained a military secret. ' A ! J 1?Z? I rn umaenriTiea ODGCT moving aiowiy ugwn inv coan Trum Santa Monica was variously reported as a balloon and an air plane. Some observers claimed to have seen two planes over Long Beach. ', Army intelligence, although uncommunicative, scoffed at re-' ports of civilian observers that as many as 200 planes were over the area. There were no reports of bombing, but several instances of. damaged property from anti-aircraft shells. A garage door was ripped off in a Los Angeles residential district and fragments shattered windows and tors into a bed where a few moments before Miss Blanche Sedgwick and her niece, Josie Duffy, had been sleeping. - " A Santa Monica bomb squad was dispatched to remove an unexploded anti-aircraft shell in a driveway there. Waste, Sports in Britain Must End, Cripps Declares LONDON, Feb. 25. (AP) Sir Stafford Cripps, lord privy seal in the revamped British cabinet, told the house of commons today the government would not per ;mit a "business' as usual or pleas ure as usual" attitude toward the war from now on. ,i Ho made this statement as1 gait-' rrnmnnt leader in the house when he rose to defend the Churchill cabinet toward the close of a two day delude on the conduct of the V. i! . Ho nnnounced that a govern ment decision would be given shortly on the problem of India. On the home front, Sir Staf ford said, steps will be taken to halt "dog racing and boxing dis plays" which he called "complete ly out of accord" with the "solid and serious intention of this coun try to achieve victory." Personal extravagance must be "eliminated altogether," as well as every form of wastage and un necessary expenditure, Sir Staf ford told a startled house, in or der to "key up the tempo of our war effort." He added that no "small or selfish" group must abuse the wishes of the majority of the people." 1 It is of "vital value" to the British empire that the Indian people "fight for the defense of their country and "act with us in repelling the axis, he said. "Blimpery" Is helping Britain lose "part of our colonial empire," Sir Stafford declared, adding that this can be regained "only on con dition that we hold It in the inter est of tho world and the people who live In those parts." "Blimpery" is a reference to cartoonist David Low's character "Colonel Blimp," who portrays the "reactionary forces in the fighting and colonial services.' Millikin, Devin Again Rivals for Mayor of Seattle SEATTLE, Feb. 25. (AP) The final lap In the race for may or o' Seattle was begun today by the two remaining candidates, Po lice Judge William F. Devin and Mayor Earl Millikin, who were selected In the city's municipal primary yesterday from a field of six candidates. Final unofficial returns gave Devin 27,940 votes, and Millikin 17,035. Councilman William Nor ton ran a distant third with 9,495. Devlu and Milikin will thus re sume a battle they fought a year ago when Millikin bested the po lice Judge In the campaign to fill the unexpired term of Governor Langlle. In the election a year ago Dovln had nearly twice the vote of Millikin In the primary but lost by a narrow margin in the finals. The final election will be March 10. -I I.. J AL- 1. t waning air raid sirens at a. m. (PWT) awakened most of the metropolitan area's three mil lion citizens. A few minutes lat er, they were treated to a gigan tic Fourth-of-July-lIke display as huge searchlights flashed along a 10-mile front to the south, con verging on a single spot high in the sky. Moments late the anti-aircraft guns opened up .throwing a sheet of steel skyward. Tracer bullets and exploding shells lit the heavens. Three Japanese Seized Three Jupanese, two men and a woman, were seized by police lit the beach clfy of Venice n suspicion of signalling with'flasfT1 lights near the pier. They were removed to FBI headquarters, where Richard B. Hood, local chief, said "at the request of ar. my authorities we have nothing to say." A Long Bench police sergeant, E. Larson, 59, was killed in a traffic accident while en route to an air raid post. Henry B. Ayers, 63-year-old state guardsman, died at the wheel of an ammunition truck during the blackout. Physicians said a heart uttack apparently was responsible. It was broad daylight before the all-clear sounded at 7:19 a. m. Late homegocrs and early workers, who had been flagged down by air raid wardens, started moving. Soon traffic was snarled. Thou sands of Angelenos were an hour or more late to their jobs. Blackout Partly Ignored The blackout was the first cov ering the metropolitan area since the first week of the war. There were isolated instances of failure to comply with blackout regulations. Neon signs were left glowing inside stores. Traffic signals continued to flash In some areas. Radio stations went off the air with the first alert, and were not (Continued on page 6) Boy Confesses He Slew Sweetheart CHICAGO, Feb. 25. (AP) A young boy friend confessed to day, Coroner A. L. Brodle said, that he fatally shot Dorothy Broz, 17, In the balcony of the down town Palace theater, a mystery that had been more baffling than the one being shown on the screen. Brodio named the slayer as Clarence McDonald, 17, of subur ban Berwyn. He was picked up after police questioned a girl friend of the victim. She told in vestigators she knew of a theater date Dorothy had with McDonald. Police had obtained only a vague description of the youth who stepped across Dorothy's bleeding body, sprinted up an aisle and escaped in the dark and confusion of the theater. Young McDonald said he had been going with Dorothy, aged 10, for about two years, that they had talked of man-Inge, but later had decided "to wait four years until she was a little older." He admitted, the officials said, that on a former occasion he had drawn a pistol on the girl while they were in an Ice cream parlor. 'but that he was Just "fooling." .