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ESTABLISHED 1896
Breslau Is
Talen by
Red Army
LONDON, May 7 (UP) Mar
shal Stalin announced tonight
that Marshal Ivan S. Konev's
First Ukrainian army had cap
tured long-besieged Breslau, capi
tal of Silesia and main industrial
city of eastern Germany.
The remnants of the Breslau
garrison surrendered, and more
than 40,000 prisoners were count
ed by 7 p.m., Stalin reported in
an order of the day broadcast
from Moscow.
Breslau had been isolated since
early in the' year when the great
Russian offensive that began at
the Vistula swept far beyond it.
The capture of Breslau, a city
with 000,000 inhabitants before
the war, was announced a few
hours after a German broadcast
reported the surrender of all re
maining German forces in Europe.
"Troops of the First Ukrain
ian front, as a result of a pro
longed siege, today captured the
town and fortress of Breslau,"
Stalin said.
"The garrison defending the
town, headed by the commander
of the fortress, Infantry General
Von Knikow, and his staff ceased
resistance,- laid down their arms
and surrendered."
A Moscow communique said
the First White Russian army
reached the Elbe north and south
cast of Magdeburg, capturing
Zerbst and several other towns.
The Fourth Ukrainian army in
JCachogJovakia. captured, several
towns and villages, the communi
que said.
Russians Seek
Positive Evidence
Of Hitler's Death
LONDON, May 7 (UP) Rus
sian conquerors of Berlin still
are searching for material evi
dence to confirm or disprove nazi
reports of Adolf Hitler's death,
the communist party organ Prav
da said in Moscow today.
Tacit Soviet admission that the
mystery of Hitler had not been
solved came as the nazi radio at
Plague said propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels, nazi party chief
Martin Bormann and other Ger
man officials died in the battle of
Berlin.
The British press association's
correspondent, E. C. Stackpoole,
said he learned in London that
the bodies of Gc-3bbels, his wife
and their children had been found
in Berlin. : He added that they
died from poison.
' "No body of Hitler or Goering
lias yet been tecovcred," he said.
"They may have escaped or
have been burnt beyond recogni
tion." 1
"We don't accept anybody's
word, and are investigating and
demanding material evidence thai
Corporal Shickelgruber hasn't
been turned into a vampire,"
Leonid Leonov wrote in Pravda.
A Berlin dispatch to the army
organ Red Star said the bodies
of many leading nazi war crim
inals, SS men and mombers of
the army headquarters staff had
been found in the courtyard of
Ihe chancellery.
All had committed suicide as
the Russians closed in, Red Star
said. No names were mentioned
in the dispatch.
County War Bond
Campaign to He
Laid Wednesday
Unio- Munty's ffort in the
all inurinai cAvnnth war loao
drive will b organized for an
all-out "canptriga Wednesday
nvgal. ftfey I, when members
of to wow fiat c committees
from all stctiofts of the county
meet ti t o'slock in the city
hall chambers.
u Final orpinizalibn plans will
O h made, quotas assigned and
instructions, as issued by the
treasury department, outlined.
w- C. Perkins, county chair
wan announced.
He urged every mcpoer of
the committee to be on hand,
declaring that with the eve of
victory at hand in Europe, suc
cess of lhc drive will bring
closer the .conclusion of the
entire war effort and victory in
lh D.:i:
LA GRANDE,
........ WtMUBt:.-
ONE MILLION GERMAN TROOPS SURRENDER tfO MARSHAL MONTGOMERY Marshal Sir
Ber.iard L. Montgomery (right) reads over surrender agreement a German officers wait for him
to sign document which guaranteed unconditional surronder of all enemy forces more than one mil
lion troops in Denmark, Holland and northwest Germany. German delegates (seated) are, left to
right, Rear Admiral Wagner, of Admiral Von Friedeberg's staff officers: and Admiral Von Friede
berg, commander i.i chief of German navy Signal Corps radio-lelephoto.
Sen. Zurcher Tells
Lions of Building,
School Proposals
State Senator C. H. Zurcher of
Enterprise was the speaker at the
Lions club luncheon meeting to
day in the Stein Cafe banquet
room.
He discussed two of the bills
that will appear on the ballot at
the special election in June, the
proposed tax levy for expansion
of ' the ..jdalft's -higher.;, education
plant, buildings and equipment,
to be distributed among the vari
ous state institutions at the dis
cretion of the stale board of con
trol. The second bill he spoke
about was the prcposed 2-cent
cigaret tax to support of the state
school systems.
The club voted to submit to the
board of directors the proposi
tion of sending a local boy to the
annual Beaver Boys State.
. President H. J. Nelson appoint
ed the following members to the
nominating committee: S. H. Wei
mer, chairman; C. M. Sherrill,
Guy L. Gregory, Jesse Rosen
baum, A. K. Parker, F. R. Milton
and Forrest Zirkle.
Pfc. Forrest Dial, La Grande
youth now in the U.S. Marines,
spoke briefly on his experiences
in the battle of Iwo Jima, and
on the aircraft carrier Saratoga.
Guests were C. L. Ready, of
Portland; Sen. C. H. Zurcher, of
Enterprise, and Forrest Dial.
48-Hour Week,
Labor Freeze to
Be Ended Soon
WASHINGTON. May 7 (UP)
,Soon after V-E day the 43-hour
week, will be suspenciea in piam
and areas where the labor mar
ket has "loosened up," it was
!oa'-ned today (from the war
manpower commission.
At the same lime WMC will
probably lift controls on work
ers who are "frozen" lo their
present jobs. Already such con
trols have been lifted on women
workers in nortern Indiana ana
'other scattered areas throughout
the country.
It is expected that within the
next six months 1,500,000 Avar
workers will be forced oct of
war jobs because of cut-backs in
war production programs. Dur
ing the same tirr.0 WMC antici
pates 000,000 war veterans will
ioin the labor force.
To meet this situation tht
United States employment ser
vice, now operating und-'r WMC,
is expanding its number of of
fices from 1.507 to 2.013 to meet
the job needs of returning ser
vicemen, and unemployed work
ers. Junior Chamber to
Meet Tuesday Mght
Members of Ly Grande junior
chamber of commerce will meet
n07,a) p.m. ..-Sclav in the Stein
Coffee Shop banquet room, for
the regular meeting. Ron Walk
is program chairman.
Wayne Murphy has been select
ed by thfMiirectors as secretary
of the organization to succeed
Howard Fisk who has been trans
ferred lo C'oqnille to serve there
umumnA
i;iHB.ia.M:IT:HH;i:nl:ni
Uni'oi end tfoowa Couefi'ti
OREGON MONDAY EVENING,
Music Week Observance is
Opened With Sacred Concert
The sacred music concert of National Music week was presented
yesterday afternoon by combined churches of La Grande at the Firs'.
Methodist church, under the supervision of Nephi Combs.
Featured were the combined choruses of the First Presbyterian,
First Methodist and Latter Day Saints churches with two numbers,
"Send Out Thy Light," by Gounod and "Oh Morn of Beauty," by
Sibelius. Dr. Henry Ehlers was director of the chorus and Mrs. Har
Denmark Seeks , .
Seat at Security
Conference Table
SAN FRANCISCO, May 7 (UP)
Norwegian Foreign Minister
Trygv-3 Lie has asked the state
department to invite newly-lib-crated
Denmark to attend the
United Nations conference on in
ternational organization, it was
revealed today.
His r-squesl was brought to
light coincident with disclosure
that Lie plans to leave here to
night to return to London. He
told the United Press he feels he
should be in the capital of his
government-in-exile because of
the proximity of his homeland's
liberation. Asked whether he
would go to Norway immediately
he said he did not know.
Amendments Approved
It was learned that Soviet Rus
sia has given its approval to two
amendments lo the Dumbarton
Oaks plan which the other mem
bcis of the big four already had
approved. The revisions wouio
give the assembly of the pro
posed world organization author
ity to recommend removal of
conditions which might lead to
See DENMARK . . . Page 5
Four Drown When
Thrown From Boat
SPOKANE, Wash., May 7
(UP) Two Ohio soldiers and
thc'Vr wives were drowned in
Liberty lake near here late yes
terday W'liCn ' they 'were thrown
from their speedboat which
crashed into a wave of its own
wake.
The dead are Pvt. Charles E.
N idhard, 20, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and his wife, Betty Loiraine. 22,
and Pfc. 'Clarence O'Brien, 20,
of Cleveland, Ohio, and his wife,
Geraldine, 30.
Witnesses told state patrol of
ficers that the couples wire seal
ed in the rearSnd of a 18-foot
speedboat and were cirling the
calm bay at high speed some
300 feet from iitiorc when the
boat hit a wave and threw them
about 20 feet.
Portal-to-Porlal
Mine Pay Upheld
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UP)
The supreme court ruled today
that th.- federal wage-hour law
Squires soft coal miners to be
paid portal-to-portal travel-time
wages.
Ihe court made the rulg in
a 5 to 4 dtcisioSMn the case of
the Jewell Riclgj Coal Corp., op
erator of two bituminous mines
in southwest Virginia. The firm
h-i annealed from a decision of
the fourth circuit court of appeals
i.nMinn that coal miners must be
I ivrlnl t" pnrtal
MAY 7, 194:
vey Carter was accompanist.
Invocation was given by Rev.
Irvin S Motz and benediction by
Rev. Floyd E. White. Beverly
Decker played the organ prelude
and Mrs. William Hamilton the
postlude.
Soloists were Mrs. Ivan French,
Mrs. Edith Worley, and Miss Shir
ley Miles. Directing the Metho
dist church choir was Mrs. El
mer Hansen, the Presbyterian, Dr.
Ehlers, and the LDS choir, Nephi
Combs.
Accompanists were Mrs. Nephi
Combs, Miss Fiorina Benson, Mrs.
Carter and Mrs. Hamilton.
Second event of the official ob
servance of music week under the
auspices of the Neighborhood club
will take place tomorrow night
when Eastern Oregon college mu
sicians and vocalists will be pre
sented in a concert at 8 p.m., in
the colege auditorium under the
direction of Dr. Henry Ehlers.
Australian, Dutch
Troops Storm Jap
Borneo Stronghold
MANILA, May 7 (UP) Aus
tralian and Dutch troops bottled
toward the rich Paomesian oil
fields on Tarakan island off Bor
neo today after capturing the pre
dominant hill in the center of
Tarakan town. The oil ficldc,
just east of the town, already
were burning from. Japanese de
molitions or shells from allied
destroyers which were bombard
ing the enemy position with day
and night barrages.
Using tanks, flame - throwers
and demolitions, the Austtalian
and Netherlands Indies native
troops stormed through an intri
cate system of pillboxes and in
terlinking tunnels to take Tara
kan hill in the heart of the city.
Two other Australian columns,
in converging drives from the
cast and west, captured the is
land's airfield three miles n:th
west of Taiakan.
The encircling movement drove
the Japanese from their mined
defenses around the airport and
Gen. Douglas MacArthul- said
that Australian engineering un
its already were repairing tht
field.
Allied bombers and fighters
continued the neutialization at
tacks on Borneo's airfields and
shipping lanes in support of the
i campaign on Tarakan. r iv c
coastal freighters, a river steamer
and a number of smaller craft
were sunKg and several other?
damaged.
Weather
for 24 hours to 7 a.m.
Data
May 7.
Temperature
Maximum
Minimum
74
. 40
tonicht and
Forecast: Clear
FIVE CENTS
Jap Shipping
Battered by
Navy Planes
GUAM, May 7 (UP) The
wreckage of more than 2(1
enemy merchant ships re
mained today as evidence of
a daring strike by U. S. navy
land-based planes on perhaps
Japan's most KiuU'rtiud sett
limes. . !
The ships, ranging from large
oilers to small cargo vessels, were
blasted by the navy bombers in
low level sweeps over Tsushima
and Korea Straits, between Korea
and Kyushu, and in the Yellow
sea off westel n Korea,
i.. ' Kyushu Bombed
A force of nearly 50 Super
fortresses struck near the same
area toduy in a new attack on
the Japanese suicide plane bases
on Kyushu. The targets were
Ihe airfields at Kunoya, Ibushi,
Oita and Usu. Enrly reports said
good results were obtained in the
raids.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz an
nounced that heavy units of the
V. S. Pacific fleet, in conjunction
with carrier planes and land
based aircraft, continued the bom
bardment of Okinawa, although
his communique gave no further
report of the 10th army drive on
Naha, capital of the island.
Jap Attack Repulsed
A front dispatch disclosed,
however, that three thousand
Japanese were killed Thursday
See U. S. NAVY . . . Page 5
Stockman to Name
Youths to Army;
Navy Academies
Congressman Lowell Stockman
announced tndnv that hf will
! have three vacancies in the Un
ited States military academy at
West Point, N. Y., and two to the
U.S. Naval Academy at Annapo
lis, Md., to fill for the classes be
ginning July 1, 1940.
Candidates for both academies
must be between 17 and 21 years
of age, and may be high school
seniors or graduates or college
students.
Rep. Stockman said the civil
service commission expects to
hold a competitive examination
July 28, next, to aid in the selec
tion of nominees for the acad
emies. Applicants must be resi
dents of the second congressional
district of Oregon and in perfect
physical condition.
Boys who are interested and
qualified should write immediate
ly to Congressman Lowell Stock
man, house office building, Wash
ington, D. C, for additional in
formation and to be admitted to
the examination.
Mystery Blast
Takes Six Lives
LAKEVIICW, Ore., May 7 (UP)
The sheriff's office at Lakeview
today was investigating the ex
plosion of an unidi ntified object
which late Saturday killed a
woman and five children some
15 miles east of Bly.
Those illed were Mrs. Archie
Mitchell of Lakeview; Sherman
Shoemaker, 12; Jay Gifford, 12;
Eddie Engen, 13; Joan Patzke,
11; and Dick Patzke, 13.
The Kev. Archie Mitchell, ac
companying his wif-3 and the
children on the outing, was a
slight distance away from the
others when the accident occur
red. He was uninjured.
Body of Missing
Pilot Is Recovered
McCHORD FIELD, Wash., May
7 (UP) One of the most inten
sive manhunts ever staged in the
area ended yesterday when
searchers found the body of Sec
ond Lt. Carl F. Schmitt, Rock
ville Center, N. Y., yesterday, 15
days after he parachuted into the
mountain wilderness near Fairfax,
Wash., with seven other bomber
crewmen.
Lieutenant Schmitt, co-pilot of
a B-24 Liberator, bailed out when
the ship developed engine trouble
during a routine flight from its
Walln Walla air base April 21.
Six of the other parachutists
returned safely to McChord Field
the day following the jump, and
the seventh, who was injured in
t)y 1
Germans Announce
White House Is
By United Pross . '
The British ministry . of information in London today nnnounced that tomorrow
be treated as victory in Europe day." "
The British announcement said Prime Minister Churchill will broadcast at 3 p.m.
double British summer time (6 a.m. PWT). .
The test of the ministry of information announcement: ",;
"It is understood that in accordance with arrangements between the three great,'w
powers an official announcement will be broadcast by prime minister at 3 p.m. to- ;;:
morrow, the eighth of May. - .m
"In view of this fact tomorrow, Tuesday, will be treated as victory in Europe day and
will be regarded as a holiday.
The announcement stud, King George will broadcast at noon 1'acitic time. . ,. .
German Surrender Told ' ; . ' ; :;'
Earlier the German , radio at Flensburg had broadcast that Admiral Karl Doenitz ha4:
surrendered till tlte remaining
radio identified himselt as Count fAinwig bchwerm von Krosigk, German foreign min
ter. ' yl'y
After. Edward Kennedy of the Associated Press had sent a dispatch from Reims, FrancJ,?
saying that Germany had surrendered unconditionally to the western allies and Rus8tar
allied supreme headquarters in Paris issued a statement which did not deny the AP story.,
The statement said:
"SI I AEF authorizes correspondents at A Mr p.m., Paris time, (7:t5 a.m. PWT) to state
that S1IAEF has made nowhere any official statement for publication up to that hoitr
concerning complete surrender of all German forces in Europe and no story to that effect
King George Lauds Yanks
For Annihilation of Nazis
LONDON, May 7 (UP) King George sent the following mes
sage tonight lo Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower:
"Eleven months ago you led the allied expeditionary force
across the English channel, carrying with you thu hopes and prayers
of millions of men and women of many nations.
"To you was entrusted the task of annihilating the Gorman
armies in western Europe and thus liberating the peoples whom
La Grande Stores
To Close V-E Day;
Services Planned
Plans for the observance of V-E
day ji La Grande were brought
to the forefront of public atten
tion today when reports indicat
ed announcement of the suspen
sion of hostilities in Europe were
expected momentarily.
Should the announcement come
tomorrow morning, before busi
ness houses open for the day, all
will remain closed throughout the
day. If the announcement comes
later in the morning they will
close in the afternoon, and in the
event of a late announcement the
stores will close the following day.
Ministerial association members
announced today that special ser
vices will be held in all Protest
ant churches at 8 p.m. of V-E
day. The Presbyterian church will
hold special services at 3 p.m.
of the day following the official
announcement, Rev. M. A. Talney
announced.
4,000,000 Deaths
Laid to German
Atrocity Prison
MOSCOW, May 7 (UP) Tlw
Russian slate atrocity commission
charged in an offi?ial report
today that more than 4,000,(100
allied nationals were murdered
by the nazis in the notorious Os
wiecim prison camp in Polish
Silesia.
The report, covering tho find
ings of an exhaustive investiga
tion by the commission, asserted
that the Oswiecim camp wa.
directed personally by Gestapo
Chief Heinrich Hi mm lor and de
scribed it as nazidom's laigest
"murder plant."
Photographs published in the
olfieial communist party organ
Pravda today showed heaps of
mutilated bodies found in Os
wiecim, where the nazis were
said to havj "processed" rough
ly 1,000,000 victims annually
since 1030.
The commission also charged
that Hiinmler selected Germany's
leading biologists, bio-chemists
and physicists to conduct "scien
tific experiments" on the live
bodies of lswi;cim prisoners.
Several surviving scientists
who were inmates of the camp
and were compelled to take part
in some of these experiments said
x-ray sterilization and castration
techniques were tested on the
helpless prisoners.
Former Austrian
Premier Liberated
ROME, May 7 (UP) Kurt
Schuschnigg, former premier of
Austria, has been liberated from
a German concentration camp, it
was disclosed today.
Schuschnigg's wife also was
rescued with him, along with For
mer French Premier Leon Blum
The following Wednesday,
German forces in Europe.
' v"'1
they had enslaved.
All the world now knows that
after fierce and continuous war
fure this force has accomplished
its mission with a flnulity achiev
ed by no other such expedition
In history.
"On behalf of all my people, I
ask that you, its supreme com
mander; will tell its' members how
deepy grateful wo am to them
and how unbounded is our ad
miration for the courage and de
termination which under wise
leadership have brought them to
the goal of complete and crush
ing victory.
"I would ask you also to con
vey a special message of. congrat
ulation to my own forces now
under your command. Through
out the campaign they have ac
quitted themselves in all services
with valor and distinction for
which their fellow countrymen
will forever hold them In honor."
Spain, Portugal
Break Relations
With Germany
MADRID, May 7 (UP) Spain
has severed diplomatic relations
with Germany, it was announced
today.
Official announcement of the
Spanish break with Germany fol
lowed by 24 hours Portugal's rup
ture with the beaten nazi govern
ment. LISBON, May 7 (UP) Portugal
withdrew its recognition of the
German government last nght
and took custody of all G-erman
properties, including the consul
ale. An announcement said the
properties will be held until an
inler-allied commission or any
other government thai is recog
nized by the allied nations is set
up in Germany.
The announcement said the ac
tion was taken because a central
government in Germany no long
er existed.
By United Press
The Tokyo press called today
See SPAIN . . . Page C
Prized Prisoners of Nazis Are
On Way Home After Liberation
PARIS, May 7 (UP) Some
of Germany's most prized pri
soners were on their way home
today.
First Lt. John G. Winant, jr.,
son of the American ambas
sador to Britain, was among a
batch of "name" prisoners who
reached the 103rd division com
mand post Saturday nfU'r an
85-mile drive In German cars
under Swiss protection. Win
ant, a Flying Fortress pilot,
was shot down over Germany
Oct. 10, 11143.
Others in the rjarty were
Gen. Todcusz Komorowski,
better known" ns Gen. Bor. who
led the Warsaw uprising; Capt.
am m. mm m mm p vi-iV."
iirrunriuri rw,
V aa ... l'YED
a. AT .ak . ILtU'.
'a 1 aaw ; en Wk
vi v Vmw m m - a mja a a mw-
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will I
May 9, will also be a holiday."!
The speaker on the Flensbuifgr-
is authorized. -' .,V
Supr-ume headquarters later
announced that filing facilities
for the Associated Press had been
suspended in the European thea
ter of operations. AP headquarr
tors in Now York hod no jnj
mediato statement to make din
cither the suspension or the
Reims dispatch. They said, ho-,
ever, that they still were recebt
ing news from London, but' not
from Paris or any continental
point. ; :
Truman Walls on Othtrs I-'.V
In Washington, President ' Trtiri
man issued this statement: '-' ''
"I have agreed with the eih
don and Moscow governments
that I will make no statement
with reference to the surrender
of the enemy forces in Europe ?r
elsewhere until a simultaneous
statement can be made by - the
three governments.
"Until then there is nothing
l ean 01 will wtty.'to'ywfft'flif
Jonathan Daniels,' Mr. 'Trili
man's press secretary, said'
White House had no comment Ipn.
th-3 British ministry of lnformi
tion statement. . ... ' ""'!!'';
CBS Correspondent Edward
Murrow broadcast from London
that President Truman and Prime
Minister Churchill had been pre
pared to broadcast the official
news of the German surrender at
8 a.m. PWT, but that they were
delayed because Premier Staliht
who was to speak at the same
time, was not roady. . Murrdw
said the Truman-Churchill state
ment has been postponed indef
initely pending word from Mos
cow that Premier Stalin is ready
with his statement. - . , i.'
Surrender Announced 'W
A speaker identified as Ger'
man Foreign Minister Count Lud
wig Sehwerin von Krosigk . an
nounced over the Flensburg radio
at 2:09 p.m. (5:09 a.m. PWT) that
the high command of the German
armed forces had surrendered un
conditionally all "fighting Ger
See V-E DAY . . . Page 5 V
Miners Ignore t
Ickes' Work Order
WILKES-BARRE, Pa., MayV.7
(UP) Pennsylvania's 72,000 an
thracite miners were idle today
in defiance of an order from Solid
Fuels Administrator Harold Ickes
that production at the government-seized
mines be resumed
this morning. r;.
Ickes' order, issued when 'Jie
took possession of the minesat
the direction of President Truman
last Thursday, set today as the
deadline for resumption of work.
It went unheeded as the miners
wailed word from United Mine
Workers' President John L. Lewis
on when they should resume pro
duction. - .''v
Queen Elizabeth of Englandi
1st Lt. Viscount Lascellei;'
nephew of King George VHt
1st Lt. Michael Alexander, 'U
relative of Field Marshal Sir
Harold Alexander; and 1st Lt,
Felix Dehamel, a relative Of
Prime Minister Churchill.,
Another p a rt y, Including
former French premiers fidou
ard Daladier and Paul Rey";
naud, was liberated after . S
brief, but bitter battle for the
castle where they were held.
With them were Gen. MaurictS
Gamelin, commander In chief
of the allied armies during th
11)40 debacle, tennis star Jeaij
Borotra, and Gen. M a x 1 m e
Weygand, former French com'
i- it .v l;i
J .. K
w ilh the state police