La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959, April 18, 1945, Image 1

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La Grande evening observer., April 18, 1945, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Textaw Sight f . - ,- , , ., . i Hint Hoe jo. O Weather Data for 24 hours to 7 a. m., April 18: , Temperatures: Maximum 63 Minimum 31 Precipitation 02 Forecast: Unsettled, probable showers, tonight and Thursday. ESTABLISHED 1S9G U.S. Ernie Pyle Being Mistaken For Admiral Provides Laugh By ERNIE PYLE (Editor's note: With the death of Ernie Pyle today in the Pacific war zoie. this prob ably is one of the last columns he will write on his experienc es with the American forces.) OKINAWA (By Navy Radio) After a couple of days witli the headquarters of the marine regi ment I moved to a company and lived and marched with them for several days. The company is a part of the first marine division. At first. I introduced myself to the company commander and he took me on a half hour's walking trip around the company area be fore turning me loose with the men. They had turned in for the night and put out perimeter de fenses so no infiltrating Japs could get through and any big attack could be dealt with. The company was on a hill about 3000 yards long and about 100 yards wide. The men were dug in down the sides of the hill. There was a mortar platoon at the foot of the hill, all set up to throw mortars any direction. Our part- of Ihe-island had not yet beci declared "se cured," and we had eve.i re ceived warning of possible at tacks from sea that night. So nobody was taking any chanc es. "This is the most perfect de fensive position we'v-e ever had in our lives," the company corn See PYLE . . . Page 6 Boy Is Seriously Injured as Car, Truck Collide James Sams, 18, of La Grande, incurred severe scalp and facial injuries yesterday afternoon . when an automobile in which he was riding with Ernest Simonis, . 17, of Rl. 1, La Grande, collided with a tank truck at Jefferson end Fir streets. The youth was given first aid lieatment by Dr. A. L. Richard son and sent to the Grande Rondo hospital for surgical attention. Dr. Richardson said Sams' in juries ale serious but not critical. Thirty stitches were required to suture a long scalp wound which severed the temporal art ery, and an injured eyelid. Reports of the drivers to the city police said the vehicles ap proached lb? intersection at right angles to one another and neither saw the other vehicle in time to ".vert the collision. The passen ger vehicle was badly damaged but no damage was 'reported by Hie truck driver, Raymond W. Pructt, 27, of Baker. In another accident yesterday afternoon cars driven bv Pvt. John Eldridge, 22, and "v. M. f'arlson were involved in a minor accident at Depot and Washing ton streets. Farm Labor Off ice Will Open Monday ine union county farm labor office will onen Mondav. Anril 23, at a new location, that form- ' Dumhart..n Oaks pro erly occupied by the Draper 1 Psais and outlining the import School of Commerce on Jeffer- I !'"co in international affaits and son streefc, jln.the future of every individual ine oince. under lITe suoervi- sion of R. W. Schaar). county agent, will be for the use of ail farmers in the county who n-.-ed additional labor during the crop season. Mrs. Lois Ferguson will be in charge f the office and a field man will be engaged soon to contact farmers and survey their r.ocds. Until Monday (aVplicatio for ' workers (Tuay be mafe at the I county agent'Ooffiee. I The office will be opon UV..m 30 a m until s nm Vlaitv i v-' eept Saturday when the offirf,4Pa "eW taken ov(r) Aug 23. will elor? at noon, except during- tlie critical labor periods. mm Forces Cross Czech Border Ernie Pyle Is Killed by Jap Machine Gun Bullets GUAM, April 18 (UP) Ernie Pyle, America's Rrentost frontline war reporter, was killed today. He died as he has lived most of the past three years in the front lines with the troops he wrote about and glorified. A brief message from Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Tur ner, commander of amphibious forces in the Pacific, disclosed that Pyle wax killed outright about 10:15 a.m. under Japanese machine gun fire on the outskirts of the town of le on the island of Ie, four miles west of Okinawa. Pyle was standing, with the . regimental commanding officer I of headquarters troops on t"he I outskirts of the town when a ' Japanese machine gun opened up in surprise attack. I The fumed correspondent was shut three times through the temple, Correspondent Jack Hoo- ley broadcast from Ie Shima Pyle was headed for the front line lighting with Lt. Col. Joseph Coolidge of Arkansas when a sudden burst of fire sent them scrambling from their jeep into a ditch beside a narrow coral load, Ilooley said. Officer Escapes After a few minutes they peer ed over the edge of the ditch and the gun rattled again. Cco lidge ducked back to lind Pyle dead beside him. Coolidge finally crawled to safety and three tanks moved up to rescue Pylc's body. . Steady machine gun fire pinned the men inside the tanks and finally Cpl. Alexander Roberts of New 'York City volunteered go alene. - He found Pyle, his face peace ful in dcMh underneath his hel met, and the marine fatigue cap he wore "in safe places" was clutched in his hand. A chaplain and litter bearer came forward and aided in bringing the body within the American lines, Hoo lcy said. The last reports from Ie Shima showed that our front lines ex tended through the town. Shortly before he left the Ie invasion he told a correspondent heie that he nidn't want to go. But he said the GI's didn't want to to there either, and that he was going along until the shoot ing was finished. Admiral iNimitz privately ex pressed deep sadness. Pyle had come close to death countless limes be fore in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Fiance. Before he left Kurope he had a premonition of death. He wrote that he thought he'd had enough. See ERNIE PYLE . . . Page 3 Educator Tells Students of World Peace Programs Thp forlhcominj: Sun Francisco international conf.'i cniv and, the Dumbarton Oaks pi-nci' proposals were the subjects of a di scission this afternoon before the La Grande high school student body of Dr. Goorpe Peavy, prf:ssor emeritus of Oregon State college, makmg-a lour undi r the auspices of the college extension .service. Dr. Peavy will talk" tomorrow :.lternoon at 1 o'clock before the student body of tin;, Elgin high seiiool on the same, topic. tomorrow, Thursday t veiling, i he will addioss the meeting of the Union county faim bureau j at 7:30 o'clock. This meeting is tentatively scheduled to lj at the Christian church. Dr. Peavy is making his wide tour in the int -test held ! louainting citizens with tlv provi- iciuzin oi iiw rapioiy nppinacn- ing San Fr;inc.co eonl. jwh' Anlhriici&e Mines Returned to OuWirs WASilQciON'. April 1(1 (UPApril 13 (UP) The sea ap--Thc Envorr.meet has r -turned ! pj,, aches P-deaux were virtu nthracite mines "f the Philadel- i pv clear todav as French fojees pl.GDand Reading Coal Co . to ll'ir owners 'al.ti iq mm e tharj(mans figlA'ng a the mouth seven nrrnjVi of govei nn- nt I n( the CnriTie estuary on the (operation. -() The mines, near Shenandoah. 1.!H4. on a pic si'.leiitiai onler fol-' iwing a loi-al s,:,l: LA ;UANL)E, OREGON WEDNESDAY EVENING, APRIL IS, :lir i jr yej v ; MX , I i y JAP'S VICTIM Ernie Pyle, famous correspondent, who was killed today on the Japanese island of Ie, off Oki.iawa, by a Jap machi.ie gunner's bullets. Fight Is Launched On State Milk Control Statutes SAl.RM fin. Anril IB (IIP! I Pi ..limtnarv t'pfnt'fndnm . nnti- tions designed to repeal the so called "milk control" laws of the recent legislature, were filed with the secretary of stale today. The petitions were signed by sven members of the dairy indus try, most of them ofliliated with the Oregon dairy alliance, ol Portland. The laws (house bills 234-370-371) provide for the compulsory pasteurization of all milk except that from certified disease-free heids, for the grading of food products and for the fixing o( standards for fluid milk and cream by the department of agri- culture. , ! The preliminary petitions now go to the attorney general who I has 10 days in which to prepare ballot titles. Petitions bearing 14,442 signa tures must be filed by June 15 to put the measures' on the l!)4(i general election, ballot. Hayes Luncheon Reservations Set Reservations for the Sam Hayes luncheon whicn will be hcldat the Elks club on Friday, May 4, will go. on sale at the offices of the chamber of com- I lnercc April 25, Charles Reinstate- eWs, member of the governor's )f ae'! committee on Living War me- iorials and in charge of the haves meeting, announced today. H.-ivrc: 2th ri'iional director tor the national committee on ' Living War memorials, is mating a tour fc'f western areas in behalf of the national program. Sea Approaches to I liordeimx Cleaned i ATI AVTir FSfti.'T Fr.inrc. mopped up the ren.iing Tt'W ! Atlantic coast. 0 2 'OnhO hw enemy forces rill iVi Id out m3)ic small pocket at the noithern tip of the Hoyan pt-nimiila. lllUIUIilllUHHIUIHHH Unioi and Wallowa Ceuofiti 3rd Army Drives to Join Russ WITH U. S. NINTH ARMY, Germany, April 18 (UP) The Magdeburg branch of the reichtbank. containing $70,000. 000 in reichimarki and silver coin, wai captured today by troops oi the 30th division. The vault containing the sil ver and currency also con tained pictures and antique furniture from the Magdeburg municipal museum placed in the bank's vaults tor air raid protection. PARIS, April 18 (UP) Lt. Gen. George S. Pattern's American third army broke across the, German border in to Czechoslovakia today and pushed on to within 100 miles nr Pi-.iniia U a Itirt in filf fiff til l l.lfut ill .i um ... . 4-1. !..( f n..nn.n frn. lin 1 Ulli IUSL 1IIIC Ul CBlfllJC Vl nn- nazi forces fleeing suothward into the Bavarian redoubt. . Tanks and armored troop car riers of Patton's floth infantry division cracked through the Ger man border defenses near the village ot Kaiserhammes, eight miles east of Hof, and pushed three miles into the enslaved re public against stiff opposition, United Press War Correspond ent Reynolds Packard, first American reporter to enter 'Czechoslovakia, reported that the doughboys were fanninE out southeastward on the main high ways to Rossbach and Ashe, the latter only 98 miles due west of Prague. Defences Are Crushed German tanks and infantry forces fought bock savagely be hind road blocks and from im provised machine gun nests set up in Czech farmhouses along the border, but Packard reported that they were being driven steadily eastward. Gottmannsgruen, two miles in side Czechoslovakia and six miles See THIRD ARMY . . . Page 5 Committees Are Named for Junior Chamber Projects rnmrniflcnc 1, enrtr., in uMiiov ing the 1D45 objectives of tho La ! e ranae junior chamber of com-1 merce were ernntnH nl n mnntint? of the directors last night, when plans and projects for the year also were outlined. Committees were named as fol lows to assist . President Price Schrocder in the numerous activ- ities of the organization: the " hairman being the first named: ' MembcrshiD Tom Harnci- and V rn Van Vranken. I Educational Dale Standley. n..l.!l:i.. , . , . . . I i uunciiv uun r Knnrrh jtno Gordon Capps. . Program Ron Walk and Wil liam Hamilton. Finance Al Long, Treasurer "vlark Cunningham. Put Piivii-r- ald and Leighton Johnston. j Projects Alio Nfivns ;inr! Har old England. I Paper drive Dennis Miller. State awards Ned Jones. Civic affairs Miller. Veterans' nrninnts rVuillo Trump. . I Entertainment Erriie Hoff- Army Starts Shift To Pacific Area WASHINGTON, ApriyB (LP) The army already has begun the job of shifting men and equipment from (Bjropc to the Far East. w Authoritative quarters dis closed today that the onnal schedule for deple ng U. S. mili tary might from Europe against Japan has been advanced about four months d to the rapid eiumhling of German strength. Ke y service forces peisonr '1 are being sent to the Pacific to build and care for bases that will be needed when full army strength is transferred to the east. mimr " ' L" "k - x - VIOLIN VIRTUOSO Louis Kaufman, noted concert and motion picture violinist, who will appsar in La Grande next Monday eve ning ia the final concert of the Civic Music association season. He is shown with his wife, An.iotle, who is his accompanist. Noted Violinist Will Be Heard In Concert Here Monday Night Louis Kaufman, Hollywood's ambassador of music, will present tho final ccicerl of tho Union county civic music association's win ter season, Monday night, April 23, at the La Grando high school auditorium, association officers announced today. The violin virtuoso will come to La Grande as part of his cur rent tour of fifty concerts which will take him to all parts of the nation. Accompanied by his pianist wile, Annette, Kaufman has tak en a leave of absence from the motion picture studios where his violin has been heard in more than 300 pictures. -' A firm believer in American music, Kaufman is the only vio linist who features an all-Anier-ican group by outstanding com posers, including Copland, Ben nett, Still and Briggs. The violinist is a native of Ore pen, born in Portland. Educat ed in Portland and New York, he became interested in music at the age of five, when he was in Rumania with his parents. A young lady next door to the family in Bucharest was study ing violin and began to teach him when she noted his avid in terest in the instrument. When only 13 years old, he toured the country as a prodigy and continued .his studies wilh Franz. Kneisrl at the musical art. inslili'l- Allies Make New Advances m Italy ROMK, April 1(1 (UP) Kifihth army forces drove within ten milrs of P.nlotfnn from the Mittth i j.st lodny iind another column,, outflanked the city from, the northeast. American Fifth army units cleared the rucd qpeaks of Ml. Moscoso and Mt. D a v i y o, 2 miles soulhwe.st of the city. liiiti.-h troops surround kid Ar penta, 24 miles to the northeast, erealiiiL! a new thieat lo the Ilo l'Hitia (i,fi,nders, already raciiiu drives from soulh, southeast and southwest. Mexican Water Treaty Approved WASHINGTON, April 111 (UP) The senate today ratified th Mexican wate-r treaty. The vote was 70 to 10. well ex ceeding lb twei-thireis majority necessary for ratification. The? tre-aly guarantee's Mi'Xico 1,500.000 acre feet of water annu ally from the Color ado l iver anil gives the United States an esti mated 350.000 acre feet annually from the Rio Grande beluw Ft. Quitman, Tex. FIVE CENTS Iiurglar Romantic, Also Mercenary . SEATTLE, Anril IB (UP) Pretty Frances Keller reported to police today that a burglar rifled her apartment of $118 last night and thai just bofore ho loft ho awakened her with a kiso, affecticnaie and lingcr i'Ct. Fitzgerald Again Elected Head ot County War Chest .Jack Kitztferald of Elfjin has heen reelected chairman of the Union county war chest commit tee during a meeting of the group held this week, it was announc ed this morning.' Homer I.effel of La Grande has heen' named to the vice-chairmanship' aivl the post of secre tary -ti casurer will he held by Trcve Lumsden. (I. f. Mess of Union has been appoinUd to serve ,on the gen c i al county committee. The meeting was preliminary ;to or ganization ot" the drive and held' for the purpose of electing offi- ( i s for suljmission to state head quarters at Salem. The quota for the drivv. which vill start in October, lias not been set. 'Loyal Opposition' Calls On President WASHINGTON'. April 18 (UP) Kight republican senators call eel on Presieli'iil Truman today to express their good wishes and :f f er to 1'onfer wilh him al any t inn- as his "loyal opposition." The delegation was headed by Sen. Robert A. Talt, H p., who :-:a id the republicans offered Pi vsident Truman tile opporlun- ily lo deal with them directly through their nate leade9iiio as a means of avoieling as many legislative1 battles between the two parties as possible. Others in the group were Wal lace II. White-, Me.; K . nneth S. Wherry, Neb.; Wefiyn R. Austin, Vt.; Harlan J Biriifield, S. IX; Kugene D. Miliikin. Colo.; Style's Budges, N. II.; and C. WVyland Itrooks, 111. Reds Move to 17 Miles of Capital 5 With Tank Charge LONDON, April 18 (UP) Moscow said the RussiaffS1 were fisrhtinff in sight of burning lierlin today, and the naziB reported that a charge of 250 Soviet tanks opened a new breach in line through Seiversdorf, 17 miles east of the capital. ; ' Late German broadcasts admitted that a Russian armored onslaught carried across the Alt Oder, or old course of the river, in the area southeast of Wriezen. The Russians reach ed Wulkow-Sieversdorf line in what Berlin called extremely Meyers Resigns As Chairman of Rationing Board J. Donald Meyers, chairman of the Union county war price and rationing board, has submitted his resignation to the Portland office of OPA, effective April 21, it was announced here today. Meyers hus served with the board for two years and one month, accepting the position of chairman soon after the resigna tion of C. W. Bunting of Lu Grande who served as chairmnn from its inception for 18 months. The resignation has been ac cepted, but no successor to Mey ers in the post hus been named. He has been asked by the Port land office to continue to over see the operation of the office here until May 1, when Portland officials will be on hand. Interviewed today, Meyers said : "Press of personal business has made it netvssary for me to re sign at this time. I fuel that the program is important to the wel fare of the people and do not re gret the time I have spent in at tempting to do my share in mak ing rat inning operate in this county." Union County to Get 31.79 Miles Post-War Roads Unioli county will receive 31.79 niles of new county roads as part of the state highway commis sion's post-war program, it was announced through United Press Uiday. The announcement was re ceived hero without comment, because of lack of full informa tion on the commission's an nouncement. Charles H. Ri'ynolds, chairman of the chamber of commerce highway committee, said he had no explanatory Information in his possession and therefore could not comment on the re lease. Lane, Clackamas, Marion and Malheur counties will receive the longest- lengths of hew county roads, when post-war' construc tion plans for 1,719 road miles, within the proposed scope of 5,01!' miles of stale primary and sec ondary highway comes, come to fruition. A pro-rata basis of al location was used, according to the report. Lane county will get 97.9!) mnes, uiacKamas, iio.ou miles, Marion. 9:t.UII; and Malheur, 89.7(1. Othe is are: Baker 37.94; Bcntem, 25,92; Clatsop, 20.54; Columbia, 34.07; Cos, 39.1)0; Crook, 32.78; Curry, 15.711; Deschutes, 44.49; Harney, 7fi.:i0; Hood River, 17.37; Jackson, 02.41; Jefferson, 18.00;. Josephine, 31.07; Klamath 77.33; Lake, 00.48; Lincoln 30.00. Linn, 00.43 Morrow, 23.30; Multnomah, 70.47; Polk, 34.14; Sherman, 11.02; Tillamook, 25.01; Umatilla, "00.95; Wallowa, 39.09; Wasco 30.87; Washington, 72.40; Wheeler, 21.23, and Yamhill 49.25. Pulp Mill Waste To Become Rubber SEATTLE, April 18 (UP) Two University of Washington chemists today announced the discovery of a process by which waste sulphite liquor from pulp mills can be converted" cheaply into butyl alcohol, a basic ingred ient of high grade synthetic rub bc r. Dr. Bror L. Grondal, professor ef forest products, and a consult !np chemist, Maj. Henry W. lierger, perfected the process eiuring two years of research. It was hailed as one of the most important developments in the history of forest industries. j HOKE NAMED OPA AIDE I PENDLETON. April 18 (UP) ' r ti..i. i . : i iKi.it nimi, iiiuK-iiiiic weiui grower has been named to the national OPA aelviseiry committee to rep lecnt lamb producers. The Pendleton sheepman has be'en active in the industry ns president of the Oregon Wool I Growers association. violent fighting. Marshal Ivan S. Konev's first Ukrainian army was reported 'W have broken into Foist, strategic base on the west bank of the Neisse river 68 miles southeDt, ot Berlin and 02 miles northeast of Dresden. Armored superiority enabled the Russians to smash across thft Alt Oder at several points. Gains were run up in the urea of Frein wulde, 25 miles northeast of BWr lin, and southeast of Wriezen the Soviets slugged ahead in bloody fighting around Neutrebbin, '35 miles from the city line, and Kunersdorf Heights, 23 miles' from Berlin. Berlin also revealed that th Red army also had linked up all of its Oder river bridgeheadsl form a solid 45-mile front east of Berlin and had all but isolated . Frankfurt, the capitals marrr outer defense bastion. '. To the south, the Germans saicf, other Russion forces stormed nine miles beyond the Neisse river, u tributary of the Oder, to the Ncisky area, 45 miles north cast of Dresden and possibly 45 miles from a junction with the American third army. Russian-Yank Drive on Berlin em Is Anyone's Race, , PARIS, April 18 (UP) the next few days of operations :'IH, Germany, it appears today, wi)I; reveal whether the Americans or' the Russians will take Berlin, -a ' The swift advance of the IT. 3. " Ninth army.had.-giyenyise to,bf liet the Americans would be the first to march down Unter: den Linden. But with the opening of the Red army offensive the opin ion in many quarters was that tho Russians will take the relch capital. There is considerable mystery regarding the nature and extent pf tho liaison between Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Russian high command. - Supreme allied headquartErj has just reissued Eisenhower's statement at a press conference last February that liaison with the Russians is as good as he could wish for. At the same time a more definite statement en the subject has been given lor the information only of cOr resopndenls. It has been revealed that On operational boundary line exists, dividing the zones of American and Russian operations. But where that line has been drawn lias not been made public. Manairer Named, New Elgin Bank x To Open May 1 George H. Wahlcr, of Mehtji, ' Minn., has been appointed cosh icr-manager of the Elgin State bunk, the opening date of which has been definitely set for Tues day, May 1, Jesse Crum, vice president of the new county in-' stilution, announced today in the absence of F. B. Emery, presi dent, who is at present in the Ciist on a business trip. ' Wahlcr is at present ih Seat tle, where he is completing per sonal business arrangements. He will return to Englin next Mon day to assist in making the bank ready for business. ' Wahler has had considerable experience as a banker, Crum said, having spent several years with financial institutions , in Minnepota. Baseball Results AMERICAN LEAGUE - Chicago at Cleveland, post poned, cold weather. Boston 2 5 0 Nov York 6 8 4 Wilson, Terry (3), Woods (8) and Walters; Borowy and Gar bark. , NATIONAL LEAGUE ' Philadelphia 8 , 8 j Brooklyn 2 7 "I Barrett and Mancuso; Chap man, Lombardi (6), Nicholas (8) and Owen. New York 8 10 1 Boston 4 10 I Mungo, Adams (8) and Lom bardi; Andrews, Wallace (9), C'ardonl (!)) and Klutz; Workman (Bos. 1), Gillenwater (Bos. 8)."