Th OREGON STATESMAN, Salsa Oraoon. Tuesday Morning. Juna IB. 1912
PAGE TWO
Kumsinia-Hungary Frontier Dispute' Flares
Kallay Pledges
Death Defense
Hungarians in Border
Area Said Robbed
Of Food Cards
BERN, Switzerland, June 15-(JP)
The old enmity between Hungary
and Rumania flared up again
Monday when the Hungarian pre
mier, Nicholas Kallay, replied to
new anti-Hungarian measures in
Rumania with a warning Hungary
would defend her present fron
tiers "to the death."
Kallay spoke near the Rumanian
forntie in Hungarian Transyl
vania . t the same time the Hun
garian press published reports the
Rumanians were forcing the Hun
garian minority to leave the Ru
manian Transylvania by confis
cating their foodstuffs and refus
ing to give them ration cards.
These reports said Rumanian
soldiers, descending In force,
broke into homes and took even
the current day's food supply
from the Hungarians who were
riven exit visas to cross to their
homeland on foot.
This was the first use of force
reported in the intermittent dis
pute between the two axis satel
lites over the question of Transyl
vania and the Vienna award which
gave the northern part of this ter
ritory to Hungary in 1940.
Reliable Hungarian quarters
said this was one of the subjects
discussed during Kallay's recent
talks with Adolph Hitler, and that
Hitler refused to give assurances
that the Vienna award would
Stand. According to these quar
ters, Kallay was told new adjust
ments would be undertaken when
the war ended.
This apparently upheld Ru
mania's contention that she was
entitled to consideration because
she had given troops for Hitler's
Russian campaign much more
liberally than Hungary. It also
gave Rumania an opportunity to
demonstrate her feelings by action
against the Hungarian minority.
Both Hungary and Romania,
despite German pressure, have
' kept large forces along their re
spective borders, each fearing
the other mlrht strike tf an on-
opportunity presented itself.
Kallay told Transylvanian vil
lagers that Hungary considered
watching over them as "the first
duty" of the nation and the army.
He referred to the belief of
"another power" that it could es
tablish itself there and declared
"the territory o f Hungarian
Transylvania will be defended, if
need be, to the death."
V. A. Douglas
Changes Task
County Health Officer
Commissioned, Takes
Civil Defense Post
(Continued From Page 1)
officer he will coordinate with
jJocal medical civilian defense
'agencies in the state and coun
ty and ueal with inter-state
problems.
Dr. Douglas entered the public
health work in Marion county in
1926 as Salem and count; health
officer. He is a graduate of the
University of Oregon and Uni
versity of Oregon Medical school.
He attended the University of
Grenoble in France and took
post graduate , work in public
health at Harvard university in
1936-37. He is a member of the
American Legion. Rotary club,
American Public Health associa
tion. American Medical associa
tion and Oregon State Medical
lociety.
At a meeting of the executive
board of the Marion county de
partment of health Monday, Dr.
Douglas was granted a leave - of
absence for the duration. His
successor has not yet been offi
cially named. .
Martin Kaiser
D Sundav
MT. ANGEL Martin Kaiser,
85 years old, died at his farm
home northeast cf Mt. Angel Sun
day. He had been ill for two and
a ha'f years. Funeral services
will be held at 9 o'clock Wed
nesday morning from St. Mary's
church in Mt Angel and burial
will be made in Calvary ceme
tery. Mr. Kaiser came to Mt. Angel
58 years ago and had lived on
his farm near there ever since.
He was born in Germany in
1857 and came to the United
States when a young man. He
was married to Miss Mary Le
hardts at San Jose, Calif. She
died in 1941.
Seven children survive. They
art: Mrs. Mary Doelansky, Mil
waukee; Mrs. Genevieve Wenger,
Dallas; Mrs. Barbara Sha ether,
Mt. Angel; Sister Mary Martina:
OSB; Sister Mary Delores, OSB,
Mt Angel; Josephine Kaiser,
Port Angeles, Wash.; Joseph
Kaiser, Mt AngeL Eleven grand
children $lso Sxrnrive.
Gets Scholarship
PORTLAND, June 15-P)-Mon-na
' Ma Shell er, C a n b y, was
among recipients of Reed college'
scholarships swarded Monday to
outstanding high school seniors.
Library Receives Flag
... - J h
r ; rV If
t v "a - I
m.: jiA If-L-
J4?rrtr T I ... II
it Hit ' U 1 ' " V" 18 ' 1
i . moAi
As American flag was presented to Salem pnblic library by Salem
American Legion auxiliary members in observance of Flag week.
Pictured, from left, are Librarian Hugh Morrow, Mrs. Frank Mar
shall, president. Capital unit auxiliary, and Mrs. Phil Shobar, the
unit's community service chairman. Photo by Hugh LovelL
Oregon Garden Clubs Convene
Here Today; Business Slated
Fifteenth annual convention of the Oregon Federation of
Garden clubs will open here today at the American Legion hall.
Over 150 delegates are expected from all over the state and
Mrs. Daniel Heffner of Portland, state president, will conduct
Airmen Sink
Jap Cruiser
7 Warships Damaged
In Blows Against
Aleutian Base
(Continued From Page IV
chunk of land with a small and
treacherous harbor which lies
769 nautical miles west of the
base at Dutch Harbor. It was also
disclosed that enemy ships had
slipped into the harbor at Kiska.
But authorities said that
American aircraft had driven
the landing party away from
the only populated place on
Attu, and had forced them to
flee out of the Kiska harbor.
Presumably, the Japanese did
not know the strength of the
forces which could be brought
against them in the remote sec
tion where they might have ex
pected relatively light resistance.
Monday's announcement show
ed that they had not withdrawn
before the full force of available
American air power could be
brought to bear.
They might well have remem
bered what happened to them in
the Coral sea and off Midway,
however. A careful compilation
of their total losses in those two
engagements the first of which
secured the approaches to Aus
tralia and the second the ap
proaches to vital Pearl Harber
shows that they had 18 ships
sunk, including four cruisers and
three aircraft carriers; 27 dam
aged, including three battleships,
three cruisers and three carriers;
three probably sunk, including
one cruiser and one carrier; and
three probably damaged, includ
ing two cruisers and one carrier.
Monday's reports, including the
successful attacks reported by
General Arnold, raised the grand
total of ships which the Japa- j
nese have had put out of action
in their attempts to crack the
American defense line in the Pa
cific to 59, including eight air
craft carriers.
The report by General Ar
nold was made In ihe form of
a congratulatory telegram to
the Glenn L. Martin company,
Baltimore aircraft manufactur
ers, whose planes include the
B-26 medium bomber.
- Arnold's telegram to the com
pany said that B-26 planes car
rying torpedoes had sunk one
cruiser and damaged an aircraft
carrier.
This report was not formally
confirmed by the navy commun
ique which simply did not men
tion the ships Arnold had enum
erated. Naval authorities said in
explanation only that the com
munique contained the latest in
formation Available to them.
This was the second time that
B-26 bombers have struck smash
ing blows against Japan's war
ships. Four participated in the
Midway battle, also as torpedo
bombers. Two failed to return
to their base, but the officers of
the other two reported they had
scored direct hits on Japanese
carriers. Officials said that the
Midway engagement saw the
first use of army bombers as tor
pedo planes in act-tal combat
I
the sessions.
Registration will begin at 9
ajn. with the opening meeting
slated for 10 o'clock. Addresses
of welcome will be given by May
or W. W. Chadwick and Miss Edith
Schryver, president of the Salem
Garden club.
- Speaker at a luncheon will be
Miss Eleanor Stephens, state li
brarian. Business sessions will be
resumed in the afternoon to be
followed by a garden tour and tea
at the home of Miss Elizabeth
Lord and Miss Schryver.
A banquet will be held tonight
at 7 o'clock at the Marion hotel
and speakers will be Lynn Crone
miller, who will talk on "Con
servation in Oregon," and Edgar
L. Kline, whose subject is "Lilies
in Oregon."
Slated for Wednesday is the
president's breakfast at the Mar
ion hotel, business sessions, elec
tion of officers and luncheon with
adjournment at 3:30 p.m.
Oregon Labor
Said Example
State Federation Opens
Annual Meet; Salem
Men Elected
(Continued From Page 1)
workers to obtain their employ
ment through public employment
bureaus necessarily brings ap
prehension."
David B. Simpson, director of
the Portland chamber of com
merce and first Portland chamber
representative invited to attend
the convention, praised Oregon
labor's record of no time lost by
strikes in war industries.
He credited the federation with
devising and carrying out a round
table plan of settling disputes, and
pledged the Portland chamber to
meet labor "half-way."
MARSHFIELD, June 15.-(JP)
The A FX, Oregon Building and
Construction Trades council
proposed Sunday that all em
ployers be covered by state In
dustrial accident Insurance.
Volney P. Martin, Portland, was
elected president; C W. Crary,
Salem, vice-president; and John
O'Neill, Portland, secretary.
Lew Harkins, Salem: R. A. Mc
Innis, Eugene, and Earl K. Edsall,
Klamath Falls, were named to the
executive board.
The council's next semi-annual
meeting will be held at Salem
December 12-13.
91st Division Plans
Annual Meeting
Oliver Huston, president of the
Salem chapter of the 91st Division
association, announced that the
annual meeting will be at his resi
dence, 2515 North River road at
8 p.m. Thursday.
Salem Heights
Holds Election
SALEM HEIGHTS At a meet
ing of the Salem Heights school
district Monday night Hubert
Dunu was reelected school clerk
and Hobert Smith was named a.
director. -'"k-. -
The budget for the next fiscal
year was also approved by the
meeting.
Salem Council
Elects Member
Budget Bill Receives
Two Readings, New
Amendments Slated
(Continued from Page 1)
dared. Rigdon, appointed last
week by Mayor W. W. Chadwick
to work with the county court in
securing rooms for rationers, was
instructed to carry on.
The $40,000 issue of refunding
improvement bonds was sold to
Atkinson, Jones & Co., to mature
in $4000 lots annually for the next
10 years, those maturing from
1943 to 1947 to draw 1 per cent
interest, those from 1948 to 1952
to draw IVi per cent, at an 11
cent premium on each $100 par
value. The money, with more than
$8000 now held for that purpose,
is to be utilized in retiring Febru
ary, 1938, improvement bonds
drawing a higher rate of inter
est A resolution establishing a grass
cutting fund and taking from the
emergency fund $250 for that pur
pose was passed, confiming ver
bal action of a fortnight ago.
Gadwa, defeated by Clark in
the May elections, was nomi
nated by Alderman C. F.
French, also of the seventh
ward. Voting against Alderman
E. B. Perrine's motion to close
nominations and cast a unani
mous ballot, were Alderman J.
H. Nicholson, Frank Marshall,
L. F. LeGarie, Claude Jorgen
sen and Tom Armstrong. A rep
resentative of the group later
declared that the name of at
least one other nominee was to
have been placed before the
council.
An ordinance to give the title
of building inspector to the city
engineer, providing to him au
thority as executive over all em
ployes in engineering and building
inspection office, now jointly op
erated, drew from Marshall i
motion to kill, which he later re
scinded. Listed among the spon
sors of the measure, Perrine de
clared he had not understood
that the ordinance would make
such drastic changes. The ordi
nance committee was instructed
to study the measure and to com
pare it with systems in vogue in
cities of similar size before the
next session.
Jap Columns
Near function
Chinese Cities Raided
In Search for Base
Of Yank Raiders
CHUNGKING. June 15 -(JP)
Two powerful Japanese columns.
applying a nutcracker squeeze on
the ill-equipped Chinese troops in
Chekiang and Kiangsi provinces
had driven Monday night to with
in 75 or 100 miles of a junction on
the vital Nanchang-Hangchow
railway.
One column of perhaps 50,
000 men. which overran north
ern Chekiang province south of
Shanghai last month, has made
steady progress into bordering
Kiangsi province, a Chinese
communique acknowledged.
"Heavy fighting is in progress
on the Chekiang-Kiangsi border
in the areas south of Kiangshan
southwest of Yushan, and at the
outskirts of Kwangfeng," the
communique said. Street fight
ing, in which both sides suffered
heavy casualties, was said to be
raging within Kwangbeng. which
the Japane? entered Saturday
night.
Another column believed to be
of about equal strength has driv
en southeast from Nanchang,
Japan's Kiangsi base, at least as
far as Teng-pu, 100 miles from
Nanchang and about the same
distance from Kwangfeng.
Monday night's Chinese com
munique reported a further ad- j
vance for this column. After fail- '
ing Friday and Saturday in at-'
tempts to cross a river at Teng-pu
(Tengchiatu), it said, the Japa
nese made their crossing Sunday
and advanced several miles east
ward to a point where it ran into
determined Chinese and heavy
fighting followed.
(The Japanese Monday assert
ed their westbound column had
occupied Shan Jao, 25 miles
west of Kwangfeng. If true,
this would narrow the gap be
tween the Japanese columns to
less than 75 miles.)
Shang Jao, some 50 miles in
side Kiangsi province, was raided
by "scores of airplanes' operating
in relays, the communique said.
Several fires were set.
Much-bombed Yushan, a sham
bles just within Kiangsi, has
fallen to the Japanese. Yushan
and Shang Jao have been the
most heavily bombed points - in
eastern China since Brig. Gen.
James Doolittle led his US army
planes over Tokyo and three oth
er Japanese cities in a destruc
tive raid April 18. (The Japanese
apparently were striving to find
and destroy the "Shangri-la-bases
from which the US planes
operated.)
Buckeroo Canceled :
MOLALLA, June 15Hffy-The
annual Molalla Bucks roo he? been
canceled because of war condi
tions. L. u
Italians Claim Sea Battle;
Hitler Armies in Big Effort
(Continued From Page 1)
Erwin Rommel's armored forces.
Some London quarters held
the outcome of the Libyan cam
paign depended on develop
ments of the next 48 hours. The
capture of Tobruk is part of the
German plan which aims at a
descent Into Egypt and a north
eastern drive on Iraq. Without
possession of Tobruk as well as
Bengasi, a port which the Ger
mans hold, such an advance
would be Impossible.
Far to the north, German forces
under General Fedor Von Bock
hurled themselves at Soviet lines
in the first of two anticipated
thrusts toward Stalingrad and the
approaches to the Caucasus.
The Black sea fleet normally
based on Sevastopol but now
probably driven from that strong
est of Crimean fortresses by the
intensity of German bombers and
artillery, was reported to have
blasted great gaps in the massed
ranks of attacking axis troops in a
barrage laid down on the siege
lines.
(The Berlin radio said the so
viet fleet attempted to approach
the western Crimean coast near
Yevpatoriya in an attack "obvi
ously intended to divert attention
from Sevastopol." German coastal
artillery was said to have hit sev
eral warships, forcing the naval
force to withdraw.)
Four-motored bombers bear
27 Bombers
Raid Darwin
Six Escort Fighters
Shot Down Monday;
Allies Lose Two
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
AUSTRALIA, Tuesday, June 16
fVP)-Six Japanese fighters escort
ing 27 bombers which attacked the
northern Australian city of Dar
win Monday for the third time in
three days were shot down by
allied fighters, Gen. Douglas Mac
Arthur's headquarters announced
Tuesday. Two of our fighters were
lost.
Twenty seven Japanese bomb
ers participated in tha attack on
both residential areas and the port
of Darwin. They were escorted
by 15 naval fighting planes, a
communique said.
Allied interceptor planes, rising
to meet the raiders, shot down six
of them. Two allied planes were
lost.
Material damage and casualties
were slight, the communique said.
Four of the 18 to 25 raiders
which came Sunday were shot
down and one was felled Satur
day. The allies lost a single plane
on each previous raid.
Bomb fragments hit some
houses, most of them empty.
The nearest known Japanese
base is on the Dutch-Portuguese
island of Timor, some 400 miles to
the northwest. The reason for
their preoccupation with Darwin
was not immediately apparent
Legionnaires
Close Post
Nominations
Capital post No. 9, American
Legion, had its second and final
nomination meeting Monday night
in the Legion hall and all officers
nominated on the first meeting
night went unopposed.
Nominations for all offices,
committees, delegations and alter
nates were closed.
The post will hold its election
on Monday night, July 6.
Those officers up for election
who were unopposed Monday
night are Ira O. Pilcher, com
mander; John Olsen. first vice
commander; Stanley Krueger,
second vice-commander; Mem
Pearce, adjutant; C. V. Richard
son, chaplain; ban Mcbnerry,
historian; Ide Bacon, sergeant-st-arms.
Nominated for the building
committee were E. Q, "Mose"
Palmateer and John TeSelle. EI
wood Phillips was nominated and
unopposed for the office of quar
termaster.
The executive committee is as
follows: Rex Kimmell, B. E.
"Kelly" Owens, Fred Gahlsdorf,
William Hardy, Fred Paulus, Don
Madison, John TeSelle.
Guy Weaver was nominated for
finance officer.
Delegates and alternates for the
Legion convention are Earl Mc
Sherry, George Avei.t. Jim Gar.
son, John Olsen, - B. E. Kelly"
Owens, Ray Stumbo, Douglas Mc
Kay, Mem Pearce, Rex Kimmell,
A. M. Johnson, Oliver Huston,
Dr. J. O. Van Winkle, Chester
Zumwalt, A. S. Tussing, Ethan
Grant, H. B. Pearson, Stanley
Krueger, Waldo Mais and Dr. V.
E. Hockett
The cemetery committee is
made up of Stanley Krueger and
Don Madison.
Fractures Ankle
Mrs. Johanna Byrd, 297 North
14th street, was treated at the
Salem General hospital Monday
night for a fractured ankle re
ceived when she accidentally
stepped Into an open furnace
register in her home. . . . .
ing the stars of the United
States air force were reported
to have swept far behind the
German lines in raids upon the
Rumanian oil fields, chief
source of Hitler's present fuel
supply In one phase of the
American-British efforts to aid
Russia.
The giant Ploestl fields were
believed to have been targets of
these bombers, some of which
made forced landings in Turkey
last week. These Rumanian re
fineries feed oil to the German
armored divisions attacking in
Russia, and telling blows against
them would be of immense help
to the soviet defenders.
As the war ringed the middle
east, with the United States play
ing an increasingly important
role, military experts in London
declared a German blow through
Turkey to supplement offensives
already under way was unlikely.
"There are no German troops
massing on the Turkish frontier
or in the Balkans," said one in
formant. "There is some evidence
Hitler contemplated this move but
demands on his manpower and
machines made by the Russian
and Libyan fronts made it im
possible." But, this source said, failure on
the Russian front may yet force
the Germans to attempt a move
through Turkey.
"This would be a much more
difficult operation than a year
ago," he added, "for the Ger
mans would encounter not only
a re-equipped Turkish army but
the British armies In Syria
would come to Turkey's aid."
BERLIN (From German Broad
casts) -June 15-(P)-The German
radio, broadcasting a report from
Istanbul, asserted Monday night
that two of the American bomber
flight operating over the Black
sea had been shot down by Ger
man fighters.
NEW YORK, June 15-P)
The British radio said Monday
night that information from
enemy sources said German and
Italian troops had launched a
new offensive by land and sea
on long-besieged Leningrad.
'The enemy even claims to have
succeeded in landing some troops
behind the soviet lines in barges,"
the BBC as heard here by CBS
said. The attack was said to be
supported by artillery and bomb
ers.
Scrap Rubber
Starts Trek
Most Adults Refuse
Payment; Basements
Yield War Material
(Continued From Page 1)
new, profitless but patriotic,
roles of rubber buyers Monday,
many even though their oil sup
pliers had not yet been able to
get word to them of how the
collections of scrap called for by
President Roosevelt were to be
gathered up and shipped to re
claiming plants.
Many stations reported that
citizens, on learning that the pro
prietors were making no money
out of the rubber collection, re
fused to accept the prescribed
penny-a-pound payment, saying
they preferred to donate their old
tires, garden hose, overshoes and
other scrap "to the cause."
City police were brought into
the picture late Monday by re
quests from early-closing stations
for the officers to keep an eye
on piles of rubber collected dur
ing the day.
One operator strung the equiv
alent of a clothes line around his
station and hung up representa
tive samples of rubber scrap
brought In by "customers" to show
the passing public the kind of
articles that were acceptable
children's discarded rubber toys,
rubber girdles, rubber boots, tires
from broken scooters, and rain
coats. The state office of the Oregon
salvage committee here Issued
a statement saying it received
calls from would-be doners of
rubber within a few minutes af
ter President Roosevelt con
cluded the speech Saturday In
which the rubber collection pro
gram was announced.
Nearly 2000 tons of scrap rub
ber had been contributed in Ore
gon to war production before the
new drive began, the statement
pointed out, adding that 48,000
tons of scrap iron and steel also
had been gathered up since Janu
ary 1.'
Local district salvage commit
tees were asked by C W. Paulus,
Marion county chairman, to call
meetings and distribute informa
tional statements concerning the
rubber drive.
Cherrians Consider
Circus Sponsoring
To swell funds for entertain
ment of service men, Salem Cher
rians may sponsor the Pollock
circus at Waters field June 25.
28. and 27 without expecting to
pay or to have the circus pay
the usual city license fee, dry
eouncilmen vated Monday night -
By KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Wide World War Analyst
Fot Th Statesman
On the heels' of a disclosure
that American long-range bomb
ing planes are taking a hand in
the Mediterranean war theatre
come Italian reports that heav
ily guarded British convoys
have been spotted and bombed
while moving eastward in that
sea.
Taken together, these reports
create an impression that some
sort of allied nutcracker opera
tion fraught with second-front
possibilities might be shaping
up against the axis in the east
as well as the West.
Forced landing of some of
the American army planes In
Turkey for internment reveal
ed their presence. Nothing Is
known as to their actual mis
sion, the bases from which
they operated or the sice- of
Vessel in Gulf
Victim of Subs
5 Reported Sinkings
, Boost Atlantic Toll
Of War to 270
(Continued From Page 1)
cuers to wave them out of the dan
ger area. Fifty three men then
made port in .two lifeboats. Sec
ond mate William J. McCarthy of
New York City said both attempt
ed rescues were made by Brazil
ian ships but that the men finally
convinced the two to get out of
the danger zone. Two seamen were
killed in the stoking.
Argentine maritime police re
ported the torpedoing of the 9234-
ton South Africa and said that 23
survivors refused rescue by an
Argentine tanker which sighted
their lifeboat off northeast coast
of South America. An official an
nouncement said the men were
given food but declined to board
the passing vessel.
From an east coast Canadian
port came word of the landing of
tt5 sTTrvivors of a ship sunk in the
Atlantic. Three women were re
ported in the group.
Meanwhile, 13 seamen from a
medium-sized freighter whose
sinking was announced last
Thursday landed at an eastern
port and told how the subma
rine's crew apologized for kil
ling some of the freighter crew.
One of the TJ -boat's officers also
told the survivors that "Ger
many and America should not
be fighting each other." Be
fore submerring his craft, the
officer discussed the merits of
American and German beer with
the victims.
From Bogota, Colombia, came
word that 26 survivors of a Unit
ea siaies mercnant ship were
picked up from a lifeboat off San
Andres island. It was not made
clear whether the sinking had
been announced previously.
All crewmen reached safety
when an axis submarine shelled
and sank a 73-ton British schoon
er, laden with salt, off Saint Lu
cia, British West Indies.
Beaver Boys
Form Gties
CORVALLIS, Ore., June 15.-(&)
Beaver Boys State, annual meet
ing for high school youths spon
sored by the American Legion,
opened Monday with election of
officers for fictional cities.
Those elected included:
Bill Patton, Salem, councilman,
Modoc City; Clint Mason, Salem,
councilman, Jefferson City; Bill
Ransom, Salem, councilman, San
tiam City; Don Sheeler, Salem
councilman, Cascade City.
Defense Group
Helps Ration
Members of the staff corps of
the Marion county civilian de
fense office are not to attend their
regularly scheduled class tonight
in chamber of commerce rooms,
but instead are to report to the
office of the city-county rationina
board in the council chambers of
the city halL the defense office
announced Monday night.
By order of County Chairman
Douglas McKay and Coordinator
Bryan H. Conley, the class has
been postponed, but not canceled,
it was' declared at defense head
quarters.. Staff members have
been requested to assist with sugar
rationing records and are to re
port to Mrs.. Kenneth BelL who
is In charge of that work, it was
said. i
Inmate Apprehended
Harold Bowers, inmate of the
Oregon state hospital who escap
ed Sunday,- was apprehended late
Monday by Portland police. He
will be returned to the institu
!. Hon .probably today,
the force. From any British
held area In the eastern Med
iterranean, however, ships of
their fuel and bomb load ca
pacity are a grave menace to
Germany's TiUl ell resources
la Kumanla.
leged to have been Intercepted
rcepted
In th
and badly knocked about
mediterranean wiuuine area
go, the impressive aspect of th
Italian reports is the stated sizi
and composition of the naval
escort. Damage to British bat
tleships and plane carriers ai
well as cruisers and destroyers
was recounted by Rome. Twin
flotillas, strongly flanked bj
warcraft, were said to have beer
spotted moving eastward
through relatively narrow and
dangerous waters somewher
in the triangle formed by Sar
dinia. Sicily and French Tunisia
Only a major movement
would seem to justify naval
protection of that character.
Just why heavy convoys of
British troops or supplies should
be traveling eastbound in those
waters is difficult to see in any
case. The Italian claim that the
action took place on the Italian
side of the Mediterranean
waistline, between Sardinia and
Sicily, instead of off the African
coast, makes it all the more
difficult to explain.
The Sicilian straits, which
have been sufficiently dominat
ed by axis air power to be used
to ferry reinforcements to Libya
for Rommel's new offensive,
would not seem to be the logical
route for bolstering imperial
forces in eastern Libya. It seems
hardly possible that as huge a
sea movement as Rome indi
cates could have been expected
to slip through undetected.
There Is no doubt, however,
that a furious sea-air battle
of some sort has been fouxht
in Italian waters, so to speak.
Rome admits the loss of 21
planes, while claiming 15
British aircraft downed, sev
en British naval and supply
ships sunk and many other
vessels badly damaged.
There is at least a suggestion
of a British attempt to seize a
or possibly to land forces in
western Libya in rear of Rom
mel's fully engaged axis armies
rrymg to DreaK uirougn to lo
bruk, hundreds of miles to the
east. Success in either case
would virtually cut Rommel off
from his supply lines since the
British navy and air force con
trol the eastern Mediterranean.
Fire Destroys
Tacoma Mill
Power Plant Blast
Starts Blaze in
Lumber Company
TACOMA, June 15 -MV Thf
main plant of the big Henry Mill
and Timber company on the wat
erfront was destroyed by fire
early .Monday night and an ex
plosion soon after the outbreak
ui lire wrecuca uie rompanj
power plant.
A. W. Stone, company office
manager, estimated the loss
around $300,000. partly covered
by insurance.
Stone said the fire mysteriously
started on the side next to the
water and that by the time the
night watchman turned in the
alarm the power plant blew up,
spreading the flames through the
entire structure.
Nine fire fighting companies
and a fire boat were called out
to fight the flames. No one ap
narently was injured In the fire
The day shift had Just gone off
duty. Firemen saved adjoining
warehouses.
The company had been work
ing on thousands of dollars worth
of defense contracts but most of
this material was in a pre-fabri-cation
plant and another adjoin
ing new building. Stone said h
II ii nni niivp .nrr nil iiit utr
-i j i i . i
. 1 1 i iin 1 1 1 1 winiin rM 1 1 r i i ,
since It consisted lareeiy or pre
fabricated material.
It was the second disastrous
fire in Tacoma this month; twe
weeks ago a big lumber and dooi
plant at nearby Day island wai
destroyed with a loss of $200,000
Building Head
Opens Office
Preparing for construction 9t
buildings which are to house the
Salem air base and for which
bids are to be opened Wednesday
in Portland, E. A. Hill, superin.
tendent of the. project, is tp ope
his offices at the airport hanga
building this morning.
Staking of sites for the build
ings, which are to include bar
racks for airmen and grourW
mot
a
forces, is to commence today,
port officials understand.
Hill and his family have, taka
a residence at 2 5 J North 13tl
street. i ..