La Grande evening observer., March 26, 1945, Image 3

O
Ruhr is Heart of Hitler's Fortress
War Industries Concentrated in Area Now Under Allied Attack
Ptrhaps Hie simplest way for i ' v.: ."
an American to visualize the
Ruhr basin is to imagine the war
plants of ' Pittsburgh, Detroit,
C 1 e v e 1 a h fl.' und Youniistown
crowded into; an area of about
35 by 40 miis. alont! with those
cities' transpoitntion systems and
the best cool mines of Pennsyl
vania and West Virginia.
Then he might run the Ohio
V, river north and south along the
western boundary of that area
and place an' enemy army on t,ho
opposite bank. He would then
have a fair idea of the German
state of mind as the American
ninth and Canadian first armies
advance toward the industrial
heart of the embattled and dwin
dling reich.
Duesseldorf, shattered by allied
bombs and' American artillery,
and Wesel, irgel of the Canadian
d i i v e, are ; the southern ' and
north-Tn Rhine gates to the Ruhr,
site of one of the largest and best
coal fields in Europe.
Between these cities lies the
greaP inland port of Duisburg.
and beyond itre Oborhausen,
Muelhcim, the HCrfipp city of
Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund,
Uagen and Wuppertal, forming an
almost unlwkon chain of cities
around the river in whoso valley
lies the best lemaining source of
Qyrmeliy's industrial power.
The Ruhr's industrial history
begin with Fricdrich Krupp who,
T in 181 5,. turned ouj, his first ingot
of cast steel from a little forge in
Ksscn.o A contury later Kyypp's
foige had become the world's
greatest arms futtory, employing
more than lUO.onO workers. ,
Jtuhx, is Battlefield
Ruhr coal and or made Krupp
and Essen, and the surrounding
cities. The Rhin-3 and the canal
.from Dortmund to the, Ems river
,ind the N o r t li Sea brought
Swedish and Spunish ore to their
furnaces. These waterways and
notworkof railroads carried Ruhr
products'ali Over Europe and trie
world.
The Ruhr has seen war before
Napoleon marched his iirmics in
triumph through its townsJ A
short, but bloody fight broke out
w hen Gentian communists seized
the Esson factories in 1 !'?. A
cur lajtcr "the French moved in
and took over to enforce theiu
' claims for defaulted war repara
tions. ,
Tile French occupation 'lasted
three yoai'S, and was marked by
iMilh aclive and passive lesistance.
The allies who occupy the Ruhr
this time will not find all of the
industry that attracted the French
hern Z years ago. Whole' fac
tn'ien have been evacuated east
m unt, ancHiidiioA underground or
in -fon sts. Hut Hitler can't move
the coal mims, no mailer how
much Ol llieir piiMliei m- ".r
. have stored away. And without
V them thi war-miiking power is
uriously wiakintd.
Ho needs the quantity of their
output. When the wur bec.oi) the
axis held 20 per cunt of the
world's coal. Conquest !!atly
increased these holdings. Now
even the Silesian fields, Hitler's
other 'sizable source of supply.
' are jone. All that remains of
much importance are the mines
KATION
CALENDAR J
Pronned Foods:
Book Blue stamps X5
o throujh B2 valid through March
31. Blue stamps C2 through .102
valid Ihrouglf April 28. Blue
0siamps Ha through M2 y.ilid
IhruUgh JurVb 2. Blue (flumps N2
through J?- valid fliriiugD June
(J)
Haul, minor, ram. ncesc:
B"unkU'l Ited stamps Q5
through S5 valid through
' March 31. Red iifiimps To,
tnrousjk 9S3 tQrougn npru q.q
tried stamps' vo inroucn Ui vanu
Through Jui 2. ReiViftainjps E2
n throuat. J2 valid (through J'gje ty.
!r SugaB --
J Book '1 ugar Oanip 35 valid
IhrouglPJune 2. O
O Shocss Loose sta.ps invilid.
BookQ Airplane stamps 1-2-3
.nCValid.
Colinc: Coupons ncOvalid un-
",..(3: .s. , ,,
" ' "-""i',""" -'
Stoves: q
oApply local Bciird for oil
gas
stove certificates.
Vfoofl, Coal. Sawdust:
Deliwry by priorities based
on needs. Q
Fuel Oil:
Pciiod 1-2-1-4-5 coupons valid
ll-.rouch August lil Not more
than 7!1 per cent of season's ra
tions shouldhave g'en used to
date. "
Watte Paper:
Bundles Jp newspapers and
magazines niay be left at the
storage depot. ilDO Jefferson avc
BOHNENKAMP'S
I
r,
DUESSELDORF modern
ESSEN capital of the
ef noithern Italy and the Ruhr.
Tim, loss of quality is equally
important. The coking properties
of Ruhr coal were superior to
anything else that Hitler held or
acquired. But even if Hitler could
still make steel without this su
perior fuel, he would be hard put
to continue long without its other
Tokyo Says U. S.
Assault Opened On
Okinawa Island
(Continued from Page 1) '
with a terrific air and naval bom
bardment that began Friday, Jap
ancre broadcasts said.
The troups "attempted" to land
from 100 invasion barges on To
koshika and Aka, four and five
miles respectively west of the
.'outhern "end of the air-naval
base island of Okinawa itself at
7;.'I0 a. m. (T'rkyi time) Sunday.
Tokyo said.
o
" Tokyo radio announced today
a M'iies,A)f emeigetiey measures
have been instituted bv the pov-
errrmrtil in order to enHbU1 the .'
Japanese people to defend then
hoint'lanrl in the event of possibli
invasi(n.
The measures included forcing
nun between 21 and (ia and
wiiiiu n from 12 to 45 years of agi
to"-" join a "geople's .volunt.'er
corns." Members of I he corps
w ill not be armed like "regular
soldiers, 'IWkyo said, but will "be
pained in such a way so thai
they maybe able to take up their
poeJs immediately as defenders
of the falhtVland."
Diet Members Worried
o Members of the Japanese diet
concluded their 8(ith session to
day with gISomy forebiSlings of
aio American invasion oT tl:e
;,,i,,ri " o
Tadahiko Okaila, speaker of the
ImO'i' house, declared in an in
ti rviow afli; the cl(psi9,g that it
u as
OainesTly desired that the
uovernmenl put into piaetic J
powerful policy to surmount the
national Qisis."
"The situaQon r quires us to
sit and think deeply to ponder
the enemy's successes and his
new undoubted attempts at in
vacliirt ouP sacred mainland,"
Okada said. O
'(jever before in history have
we faced a (like) situation. The
days abi'ad have no pa-it prece-
tv
ent afrl A1' most find our own
r;,y out.
Tokyo radio, heaid by United
Press in ban Francisco, said the
diet expi essedpj'in behalf of the
piople a firmdi termination to
repel any enemy attempt at in
vading the homeland."
Addressing the closing session
of the hour.' of representatives
of the dut. Premier Koiso pre
dicted that Japan wilVbe turned
into a battlefield. This, he add
'H "would romplt to the struc
lure iiwwluch we will bj ready
U'r aneventuahty."
Beware Coughs
from common colds
That Hang Onj
C'rmnnil' inn Mievrs promptly br- i
..'isr it cors riuht to hf of tti !
irnublr tn hHp lowrn nnd pxpl
rrrtn lurirn phloem, and a:d nature ;
lo v-nthn and Jir.il raw. tender, in- j
flamed bronchial mucous mem
branes. Toil your drticKist to .vi you
a bottle nf CreomuiHon with the un
derstancJir.R you rnu.'t like the way it
quickly allays the couph or you are
io hr.r vr-'ir money bark.
CREOMULSION
for Coughs, Chest Colds, Bronchitis I
ife f Jill
! ' .
industrial city of the Rhine.
Krupp munitions empire.
uses.
For coal was the chief souice of
Cermany's synthetic oil, gasoline
and rubber. And although loss of
the rich prize of the Ruhr may
not mean Germany's immediate
rli.fopt it ii-ill nil,b'"' te d"'1
m which the Luftwaffe can fly
and the panzers can roll.
BOUNCING BAdY Influence
of American India.! isn't entire
ly passe. Mrs. Jesse B. Hub
bard, Washington, D. C. car
Pies G-months-old son, Robert
Oliver, through the shopping
district a-la-oaooose. Contriv
once was built by a friend.
Man's Church Views
A re Divorce Subject
Hetty Kilbern has filed suit
ofor divorce from Harney Kil-
born, on grounds of cruel and
inhuman treatment. O
She charges he objected to her
eh,,reh and her church
Ttii, -
ectivities. She seeks custody of fluenee with the Danube. Forg
Un ii two minor children and ing of the Hron would"on the
money for their support. They j wajfor an attack on Komarom,
urn man"'"-! Uctober 12, l.li!),
lit Weiser, Idaho.
O 0-
(J It K V
Sacajawea
ss 01 M K P 1 A S
Rlllu7
I T -T rT 1MB S- u MP' JO M-d OudT AjrsXM MtVlV
C(.v-.j ti uniON rACinc siaoi; mz.
German Defenses
Collapse Under
Great Allied Drve
(Continued from Page 1)
and found the city practically
empty.
Other reliable quarters report
ed that some units of Pulton's
forcer, had raced.. 'forward 11 8fj
miles ,by highway from the-Rhino
bridgehead to a point near
Wucrzburg. That wbtild repre-'
sent a gain of 37 miles to the
southeast from the last reported,
positions at Aschiiffcriburg on'
the Main. ' ' '
Wiesbaden Entered
Radio Paris said Patton's ad
vance elements also penetrated
to the outskirts of Wiesbaden,
about five miles north ol"Mainz
on the north ba.nk of the Main
river.
While the reports of the sensa
tional Third army gains still
lacked official confirmation they
were in line with the free-swinging
advance by Patton's tankers
who had been running wild in
the German rear ever since the
hard crust of nazi resistance was
broken.
The exact location of the First
army break-through was not ini1
mediately specified. A 22-mlle
advance would place the First
army spearhead in a position to
threaten or flank Li I burg, 22
miles east of Coblenz.
Resistance Called "Spotty"
A report from the British Sec
ond army front said .that 11
whole German Rhine defense
system appeared to be collapsing,
This correspondent said there
were indications that the Ger
mans had given tip efforts to
maintain a coherent defense sys
tem but were trying separately
to contain the numerous allied
bridgeheads.
Tonight, front dispatches from
the northern end of the front re
ported, there are four separate
British and two American Ninth
army spearheads probing west
ward from the new West Rhine
positions.
All along the line from north
to south reports of German re
sistance were spotty. One bat
talion or company would encoun
ter tough going while the units
on its flanks would move ahead
virtually unopposed.
The whole allied assault line
was on the move into Germany's
lost-ditch defenses beyond the
great flhinc barrier, advancing
with gathering speed and power
against an enemy apparently
stunned by the greatest aerial
bombardment in history.
U. S. Nintli army forces drove
12 miles bevond the Rhine on
the southern wing of the four
army assault line to capture
Guillen,' 3Vi miles west of Dnr-
I sten and less than .15 miles due
north of the Ruhr city, of Essen,
Germany's largest war produc
tion center.
Front dispatches said the
Americans had lost all contact
wilh the fleeing enemy in that
sector. Forward elements south
west of Gahlen were entering
the suburbs of Duisburg and the
fall of thai great Ruii" City ap
peared imminent. 1 '"'
Red Army Cracks
Austrian Defense
(Continued from Page 1)
nazi plans for a last stand in the
Bavaiian and Austrian Alps be
yond Vienna.
Berlin acknowledged that Die
Russians had forced the I Iron on
a wide front in the new attack
north of the Danube river, but
Ssserlcd that apart from a "nar
row bridgehead," souhvest of
I.e'O'. they had been unable to
obtain a "firm foothold" on the
u est bank.
"The small bridgehead is ex
posed to heavy (krman ailillery
fire and attacks," the nzis said.
Leva lies on Hie Hungarian
Plovakian border some .iU miles
j up the Hron river from ils coll
zonules lo tne wesi. one ol tne
I main strongholds on the trunk
II O l.r N I) li U S I) K I
II. A. Decker, Agent
O T
I'lionu
Annex
v
..".'..JM
SEABEES MAKE A MINE-SPANKER The spider-like attach
ment oi the U. S, marine tank above, it the SeaBees' answer to the
peril of enemy-sown minet. Tubular hunt, from which chain
tipped f.ails hang, revolve rapidly, whirling the flails to they lash
the ground, detonating contact mines which may be in the tank'l
path. They also tet up an electrical field which explodes magnetic
mines.
Women of Union
County Sought As
WAC Technicians
(Continued from Page I)
al WACs to serve in the army
hospitals, Maj. Gen. Norman T.
Kirk, surgeon general of the
army, said there is a critical
need for WAC medical techni
cians due to the shortage of
nurses, and that they must be
recruited immediately to provide
adeouate care for 30,000 wound
1 service men who are being
returned to the hospitals in the
United States every month.
Upon completion of their train
ine thev will receive the rating
of technician fifth grade,
Willi
j base pay of $00 a month. ;
. Mrs. Trollinger said qualified
applicants may call at the chain
bet of commerce office, where
further details and application
blanks will bo supplied. ;
The WAC recruiting service In
Portland today announced the
acceptance of Mrs. Beatrice
Berry as the (jitest La Grande
resident to enlist in the medical
department of the corps.
She has been sent to Fort Des
Moinc, Iowa, for her preliminary
training as a surgical technician.
She is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Henry G. Stockhoff of La
Grande.
Hospital Notes
St. Joseph's hospital: ,
Admitted Mi's. Albert' Rose,
Enterprise, Mrs. French Brooks,
Paul Lamm, . Wallowa, Carroll
Perry, La Grande, Mrs. Marion
Wagner, Summorvillc,' medical;
Alice Templeton, La Grande, x
ray; Sue Brock, La Grande,- lab
oratory. Discharged Martha Swart,'
Mrs. Nathan Parks, Mrs. Oscar
Melzker, all La Grande; Arthur
Fields, Wallowa; Frank ' Wade,
Elgin; Mrs. Wayne Standluy and
daughter, La Grande; Mrs. "Al
ford Hartley and daughter, Cove;
Mis. Gordon Gorhain and son,
North Powder.
Grande Rondo hospital:
Admitted Mrs. Pearl
La Grande surgery. '
.Secly,
Discharged, Baby John Thom
as Kemp, Hermiston; Victor
Young, La Grande; Betty Jean
Witty and Baby Bonita Wade,
Elgin.
, o
railway fiom Budapest to Vienna.
Far to the north, othe Russian
siege of Danzig and Gdynia, twin
German-held ports on the Baltic,
appeared to be entering its last
days. i
Soviet forces captured suburbs
within a mile anil a half north-
Luest and two and a half south
and southwest of IJonzig anq
within a anile and a half south
west and two miles south of Gdy
nia yesterday. They also widen
ed their wedge between the two
lirls to seven miles.
COATS - Sl.QTS
DKKrKS - SWKA1KKS
SlJVCK SUITS - HMUJSKS
Easter Togs that are new
styles and better made al
lower prices.
NORTON'S
1114 Adams
e &.-r-
(jrc arc fightinQhis war so that we
can have pcactUrfibt for just a iittle
while but for kgpps! Siflet's all keep
on our war jobs kc on saving tin
and paper kecg) on buying War
Bonds to keep.
Ride on the buses if it will hcln win
the war that's our job.'-lf it worrt
please don'makc non-essential trips.
0
Social Calendar
MONDAY .-
7 p. ni. . Royal Neighbors of
America, IOOF hall.
' 7:30 p. m. Union county his
torical society, Sacajawea hotel.
7:30 p. in. St. Mail's Altar so
ciety, USO center,
8 p. ni.' High school P-TA
Dads', night, high school music
room. .
TUESDAY . .
(1:30 p.m. Friendly club, Pres
byterian church, putluck and pro
gram, church recreation rooms.
WEDNESDAY
2 p. m. Eagles auxiliary sew
ing club, lodge hall. :
8 p. n Hope c! spier, OES,
Masonic l.till, 1
M rs. Harry Cleaver
1 8 Hostess to Art
Research Group
Mrs, Harry Cleaver was host
ess Saturday afternoon lo mem
bers of Art Research, with Mrs.
Glen Thompson as the program
chairman. '
Mrs. Lylo Johnson told of the
life of Vachel Lindscy, and Mrs.
B. B. Johnson spoke on Carl
Sand berg. . Mrs. George McDon
ald reviewed the ilfi' of William
Rose Bcnct and his book, Riptide.
The history of the development
of ceramics was the subject of
Mrs. Harry Zurbrick;
, The hostess served refresh
ments and the next meeting was
announced for April 14, when
Mrs. Ed Jasper . will be the host
ess. '
Hope Coined u Is
Produced in Color
"The Princess and the Pirate,"
slariipgBob Hope and Virginia
Mayo, showing currently at 'the
Liberty theater, has as one of its
highlights, elaborate settings and
costumiiig, which are enhanced
by technicolor. .
The story is laid in the middle
of the 'Ulth century, with Hope
as a braggart thespiau, whose
self-asserted bravery is put to
the test when the ship on which
he is traveling is captured by
pirates. Victor McLaglen ap
pears as the pirate leader and
Walter Slezak and Walter Bron
nan have other leading support
ing roles.
GET
POINTS
FOR MlXTRA CHOP.'
IUr WAR IONDS
jsktjs wma mm, m
0
LA GRANDE EVENING. OltSEKVEH
Phone
News and
Engagements
Social
Monday, March 2(i, 1915
Society Briefs
Mrs. Jerry KiiiOmell and lief
daughter, Gene Goaiinc Kim
mell, are in La Grande visiting
friends. The Kimmells, residents
of La Grande for ninny years,
are now residing in Portland.
r
Miss Margie Folsom arrived
Saturday from the University of
Oregon at Eugene to spend the.
spring vacation with hor par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fol
som. Altar Society To
Meet Tonight
St. Mary's Altar society will
meet at 7:30 o'clock tonight In
the USO center to work on af
ghans for the veterans' hospit
als. All Catholic women are in
vited to attend.
Mrs.' Ray Ragslalo and Mrs.
Arnold Gerber will be the lion
esses and will serve refreshments
after the work session.
" you must wcoc.n s ma g
1 vIRv
. Mr ' 1
s h mm
"i you mui wco0c'n s uza A
o - '
Arl'ulically deiigntcobri'ci fay lh lamout s
Aithut Wuciar . . . lothionid wilh typical Young
0 v,wpoi'nl jngtnvily (o tlim and Holler tht $JJ)
' jlSrltr woman of Mltr proportions.
M Y to 24 Y and Y mons Young
Ann Johnson
"Collect Appiuul for Women"
600
Activities
. . . Weddings
Events : '
Page 3
Royal Neighbors .
To Meet Tonight '
Tim Royal Neighbors of Amer
ica will meet tonight at' 7:30
o'clock in the IOOF hall. Mrs.
Melba Metsker's team will - bo
the hostesses and will serve re
freshments. "' ' ' ; "
State Leader Will :,
Visit Eastern Star T:
Hope chapter, Order of Eastern
Star, will meet at 8 p. m., Wed
nesday in the Masonic hall. Mrs.
Catherine Felger, associate grand
conductress of the grand chap
ter of Oregon, Will conduct a
school of instruction. .' '
Refreshments will be served.
SEWING CLUB TO MEET -
' The Eagles auxiliary sewing
club will meet at 2 p. m. Wednes
day, in the lodge hall. Each
member is asked to take a gift
for a miscellaneous shower.
FOREMOST FABRIC DESI6NMS
makes a ,
FINE ART
I PRINTS
but won't wear womsn'i slfltsf