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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1942)
Dimcut J , Sunday's sunset 5:33 p. m. Monday' sunrise, 8:23 a. m. Weather: Friday's max. temp. 47. sain. 39. Hirer Sat. SJL Weather aU restricted by army request. ... . Complcto ToaH find ae newspaper can give more real satisfac tion than your local ! mora- to paper, with tts WORLD NEWS plus IlOMJE 11UMTY NEWS. COM- niNETY-SECOND YEAB Salam, Oregon. Sunday Morning; November 22, 1942 Prica Sc. No. 179 for IDiri Fattieimt Semit. to '-Cellar' Hospital , Prison MistiAeim ; Showdown Wif Rommel N ear z Coffee's : '3-Ti. Agheila Bizerte Positions Pounded Allied Troops Pour, in, Hope 1 To Clear Tunisia CAIRO, Nov. 21. (AP) Striking swiftly beyond newly-captured Bengasi, the Brit ish Eighth army squeezed Marshal Rommel's chastised Africa corps into' the. ap proaches of the El Agheila defile Saturday nig h t in a race to deliver a knockout to the hapless axis survivors be fore they could burrow into the natural defenses of that. 30-mile-wide Libyan coastal strip. British forward elements,1: now more than half way to Tunisia from their starting point at El Alamein in Egypt, caught up with the axis rearguard at Agedhbia. some 70 miles from El Agheila Friday. With the Eighth army maintaining its average advance of 30 miles a day, it appeared that the showdown clash on the here tofore unbreached El Agheila line was only a matter of hours away. ' By G A YIX TALBOT : .. AasociaUd Preu War Editor - ' Hard-driving allied armored - eolumns bent upon clearing Tu nisia of axis domination,, pounded German defensive position about 30 miles from Tunis and Bizerte today while strong British, Amer ican and French forces were i rushing to win all north Africa for the allies. The axis army, hastily reinforc ed by air and sea, was striving desperately to hold its grip on a corner of Tunisia and avert an "African-: Dunkerque " while to the east of Tripoli Marshal Erwin Rommel was reported, to be brac ing his shattered remnants for a stand at the narrow pass at El Agheila. J- . French troops were reported hurling -themselves upon German dugouts in Tunisia after Ameri can, British and Fighting French' men had snatched control of an i Important crossroad from nazi mechanized forces. . ' - From distant Casablanca on the Moroccan -coast, - American ; and British troops- were streaming eastward to aid the attack, indi . eating - the major push was on. Reports from allied headquarters aid French- troops controlled : Gabea - on the southern Tunisian - coast thus cutting off the nazis In- Tunisia from Rommel's sur iving Africa corps. French troops in Algeria were being instructed in the use of American-arms to assist in the assaulW: .- The German and Italian forces facing the British First army in Tunisia were dug in on a semi circular line "about 30 miles! out side the cities of Bizerte and Tunis on the northern tip of the protectorate, completely cut off v (Turn to Page 2) ; . One Escaped Con Caught 1 LA GRANDE, Ore., Nov. llHJPi State police pressed their hunt for 17-year-old Glenn Wilson Satur day night after capturing his bro ther, Truman, 18, here today.The youths, convicted of rape and rob bery escaped from the Oregon State penitentiary yesterday. State ' of ficers, following a tip from a Pendleton service station attendant who reported two youths driving a Washington-licensed au tomobile, picked up the Wilsons trail. The youths jumped from the moving car and began to run. Tru man was caught but Glenn reached the Union depot and disappeared ia the freight yards, : - f : ! VGlenn was sentenced to 10 years in prison, .Truman to seven for raping and robbing, two 17-year-dd girls in Portland last July. They made their escape from the prison by lowering themselves over the wall with a rope made cf towels. ' Tunis Adair Sergeant f ' I '': r :: I v - -T --1- f; V t I I i'Ji;-J , c fTi vr-r .... f . in n.i .mini win-i-niiiiniiMiiiiii-ii s iMmwrMMtu-iwtatMWi iitifttwrsnA- Sgt.1 Clarence D. Leach, left, being congratulated by his commanding officer, LCCoL VV. F. Sammet, f the Timber Welf Division artU lery. The serreant has been awarded the Soldier's Medal for his act In jumping into a truck and driving It out of danger, in an ail fire of September 19. (Public Relations photo.) Life Risked To Prevent Fire Spread - "(ft- CAMP ADAUt, Nev. tl Srt. Clarence D. Leach, in the artil lery of the Timber Wolf divi sion here, baa been awarded the soldier's medal for his act la lumping Into a truck and driv ing It out f the way of danger, in an ell fire of September 19. Word to that effect has come from Washington, DC. Five men were burned, one being the sergeant, who was ia the hospital for 29 days. A part ly filled barrel of waste oil had . exploded while : soldiers were spreading oil for the burning of an area near the incinerator. Pvt. William O. Skaags, who was burned slightly in beating out the fire in Leach's clothing, haa been promoted to be tech nician, fifth grade. Both men have Li. Cot W. P. Sammet as commanding officer. Sgt. Leach was an auto me chanic In Hamilton Texas, be fore entering the service ; in 194ft. The medal which will be formally presented later was ; established at the same time as the1 distinguished flying cross, in 1926. and was originally "in tended as a reward for heroism by members of the army during time f peace.1 The medal Is m bronze and Is suspended from a blue ribbon with sevea nar row stripes of white and six of red in the middle. Army Control Fought , WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 -(ff) Demands that control of indus trial manpower be retained in civilian hands instead of allowing it to pass to military authorities came from bi-partisan sources in congress Saturday. 'Never Doubted We'd .Be Rescued,' Says' Rick (Editor's note: Here, for the first time, w the story of the rescue of Eddie Kickenbacker. America's belov ed flying ace of World war I. from the waters of the South Pacific after pUne on which he was making a military trip was forced down. War Secretary Stimson announced after Rickenbacker wa found that the na tion must wait until Hickeo backer felt he Mfficientiv recovered from the ordeal to teU ef ivts experience. ) SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC Nov. 14 -(DelayedMiP) Capt. Eddie Ricken backer, famous American flier, upon setting foot on. this "atoll in the dark early morning hours yesterday, after 25 days lost at sea, said to Private John F. Bartek, one of bis com panions In the ordeal: f 5 r f "Yoad better thank God for your Testament, . son. - You see bow what faith can do for yoa.; ; Rickenbacker and seven com panions uying tne souin pacific were forced . down October 21 when their big army plane - ran Areas Aicarded Medal Japs9 Backs To Sea in Buna Area ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Sunday, Nov. 22 (vF)-Fierce fighting raged for the second day at Buna, New Guinea northeast port, between general Douglas MacArthur's advancing troops and Japanese forces with their backs to the sea, the high command reported today. The allied air force reentered the struggle after being check mated by bad weather Saturday, when the heavy fighting opened for the decision which might well be the most smashing land blow the Japs have suffered Japanese naval forces, still will ing to risk punishment despite this week's losses of a light cruiser and a destroyer which got under the bombsight of allied planes, were reported again maneuvering off the coast. Russians Nip Nazi Drives MOSCOW, Sunday, Nov. 22 (JP) German assaults intended to better the nazi . position ; in the Caucasus after the smashing Rus sian victory before Ordzhomkidze have been, consistently hurled back by Russian units and at least two companies and a battalion of the enemy have been annihilated or dispersed, the Russians report ed early Sunday. The soviet midnight communi que announced -mat. in the Moz- dok area (in the same general sector where the Germans were beaten) one soviet unit in one day repelled three enemy attacks, "an nihilating some two companies of enemy infantry." .. . .;. out of gas during an inspection flight . The flier, known almost as well for his many escape in air mis haps as for his record as Amer ica's premier ace of the last World war, talked more of other sub lects than of his . experiences on a tiny rubber life raft, from whkh he and tw companions were res cued by a navy flying boat. - r lie said he knew of the plan-' ned American landings In Jifri ea, which oecarred November 7 while Rickenbacker was float ing oa the sea, beeaase "my dear . friend Jimmy Doolittle was go ing to be In charge 'of . the air supporting forces.: "t At; this point a medical corps man who helped care for the six survivors one of the men hav ing: died before rescue - said that he'd heard that one evening while the men were on the raft a sea Axis Sub Mediterranean Menace Hit by Royal Navy ALLIED FORCE HEAD. QUARTERS IN NORTH AFRI CA, Nov. 21 (JP) During the past 48 hours there has been ia "definite slackening" of axis U-boat activity in the western Mediterranean, Admiral Sir Andrew Brown Cunningham, commander of the naval forces in North African operations, declared Saturday. He said that the Royal navy arid the RAF had given the German and Italian submarines a "good knock." In his first press conference since becoming naval commander of the allied North African opera tions, the British admiral said he thought there had been about 50 axis U-boats operating in the Mediterranean and in the Atlan tic just off Gibraltar. j Discussing the complete opera tion, he said that. in the ap proaching stage, the. losses of merchant; and navy ships were considerably below what :t ex pected and I don't think the los ses of ships were out of propor tion to the results obtained." j The admiral said he regarded the estimate of two million tons of merchant shipping to be saved 9 m m t ! ii ana wnen xne jaeaiierranean route was reopened as "conserva tive." If North Africa Is cleared of axis troops, the Mediterranean sea will be opened to fast con voys which could get by the Sardinia-Sicily bottleneck, but some ships will have to continue around the Cape of Good Hope, he said. The admiral expressed doubt that the French fleet at Toulon would ever join the allies. The commander of allied naval forces praised the Solomon is lands victory by. the. United States fleet as "a very fine show" and said that as a result of the American navy's efforts in the Pacific against, the Japanese and the obtaining of North ; African bases, "the allied naval situation is getting better every day, par ticularly in the Atlantic. Going 9 Going, Gone I For $12,500 Bid For Football ' BOISE, Idaho. Nov. if Jf) The football sed for Saturday's opening kickoff ia the Idaho Portland game ' was auctioned off .between halves It pur-: chases of war bonds. I High bidder was Bob Lees f Ontario, Ore, who bid f 12j S00 and got the pigskin. I ; Gov. Chase A Clark auto graphed the balL gull alighted on Rkkenbacker's head. :. . . All the survivors agreed that they found raw seagull very tasty, indeed. . .-v Rickenbacker corroborated, the seagull story, adding: . v . j 1 However, I didn't eat much of the raw bird, nor of the raw,fish we caught" -. , 4 r' He explained that Just the dis like for the taste of this raw meat kept him from eating much of it, and not the fear . that it might rmake him sick. . ' . . v ; i ' 4 -All the : others ate them when we eonld catch them, Rickenbacker said. "And they: "did not get skkv As a matter of fact there were no disturbed stomachs after the first two or three days. :The 'i' reason was simple enonxh. No one had any thing In his stomach. ' With Rickenbacker on the little raft were Cel. Hans C. Ademson Activities Knocked Sale Off For Week Limited Ration sJFor Butter and Cheese Talked : : 'f. ' y By STERLING P. GREEN WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (iT-rCoffee took: its place with sugar Saturday night on the list of foods restricted by' the war while ' rationing officials studied the status iof meats and butter. ' As coffee sales jwere halted for one week preliminary to the start of cup-aj-day ration ing, a spokesman for the office of price administration said that butter and. meat supplies were in "pretty bad shape" although but ter was not scarce enough yet to warrant immediate rationing. Meat Is to be rationed about Jan uary 15 when the niw "universal1 books are expected Meanwhile officials proceed ed with plans to ration gasoline throughout the country Decem ber 1 as a tire I conservation measure despite fresh .clamor in congress against; the program. A house committee questioned William M. Jeff era, rubber ad ministrator, during the day. For easterners, Saturday night brought a zero hour in the garage as well as the kitchen. The value of the basic "A" gasoline ration coupon was cut from four gallons to three in 16 east! coast, states' a : squeeze that took most of .' the "family driving". oUt of the gaso line lankr? -s r r . Forty per cent of the country's entire storage supply of -butter was frozen for military and lend- lease purchase Friday night. And OP A Saturday night notified boarding houses, restaurants, ho tels, hospitals and institutions that they must keep records of virtual ly all ""goods served . throughout the month of December. "Regardless of which food com modities are rationed or not ra tioned, the OPA needs the fullest possible information on the use (Turn to Pago 2) Lochner j Says Hitler Beaten , In Africa LEXINGTON, K; Nov. 2 l-yP) Louis P. Lochner, for 14 years chief of the Associated Press bu reau in Berlin, declared Saturday night that "the United Nations have beaten Hitler at his . own game in Africa." ! Speaking to a Lexington pub lic forum audience Lochner cited instances when Hitler focused the spotlight on one possible inva sion j point, as if he planned to strike there, and 'then unexpect edly j struck in another place. "Those who ' have been privi leged to see the Siegfried line and the fortifications along the coast of Europe," Lochner , continued, "know that! without a long soft-ening-up process, any large scale attack there must result , in the loss of an enormous number of lives!" - Lochner was one of three cor respondents allowed by the nazis to inspect the German west walL ! . - i of Washington, DCV and Bartek of Freehold, NJ. j With them had been Sgt Alex ander Kaczmarczyk of Torrington, Conn. who. died en the raft and wai buried at seavj , -, - ' - The navy announced that Capt William Cherry, jr, of Abilene, Tex4 was rescued from a raft and three others of - the 32-year-old Rickenbacker's party were found on e small island. .,' , j : , . The three on the island were Lieut James C Whitaker of Bur lingame Calif.; Xieut John J."De Angel is, Nesquehoning, PaV and SUff Sgt James Reynolds, : Fort Jones, Calif. i Their Ill-fated plane was tak ing Rickenbacker en aa inspee tion tour of the South Pacific war front a trip the ace was . snaking for. Secretary, of War Stimson. l In speaking of the raw fish and seagull diet Captain , Cherry ad- Ey Cook Adlmilts He Cot Into Wfob ContaiineF Clears Case A. B. .MeKlllep, assistant cook at the state hospital, who told state police Saturday night that be ' sent a patient to the cellar after powdered milk for the scram- bled egg4 disk served with fatal results 1st tear wards, the pa Uent, police coacluded, . acci dentally broaght-sksimua appearing roach poison Instead, Grid Scores Oregon State 39, Oregon Z. , Washington 19, UCLA 14. Portland 14. Idaho 21. WSC t. tad Air Force ft. Stanford 2ft, California 7. Army 49, Priaeetoa7. . Boston CoUege 27, Boston V. 9. Fordham 29, Missouri 12. Dartmouth 2ft, Colombia 12. Tale 7, Harvard S. . Notre Dame 27, Northwestern 29. Wisconsin 29, Minnesota ft. -Ohio SUte 21. Michigan 7. Seahawks 49. Nebraska 9. Indiana 29, Purdue 9. Tulsa S3, Creightoa 19. . Great Lakes Illinois 9. Baylor ft, SMU ft. r Rica 2ft, Texas Christian ; Micsv State 7, West Tlrginla 9. ' Auburn ' 27, Georgia ' IS. - - : Georgia Tech 29, Florida. 7. innesoeo- 2S, Keatacky 9. - Dake 47 North Carolina SUte 9, Alabama 27, VaiderbOt 7; s Young Cyclist Hurt Delbert Warren, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Warren, 162 West Lincoln street. . was taken to. the- Salem Deaconess hospital Satur day suffering a serious scalp wound and -a fractured leg. The boy was riding - his bicycle and had a collision with a truck. His condition was said to be fair.'-' monished Rickenbacker not to say that no one had anything in his stomach. .- : - - : "You know I ate that fish eye," Cherry said, laughing. : The survivors laughied, also, at this remark, and Cherry explain ed:, -. i ' " "We were going to use this fish eye for bait when somebody drop ped our last fishhook ' overboard. So X ate the eye, probably before the others thought of splitting It seven - ways." -C'i v '-. 'XT'-'V.- Rickenbacker deelared he never desbted for one moment that be and his companions ; weald, be-rescued. , - ' "I do have my wn.religion, he said "I hold to Ihe . golden rule and I believe most firmly that if a man just follows what he truly knows and feels in bis heart' -then he cannot go wrong, and i possessed of religion enough to : get by in ;any man's land ' . .r . " ... .. .. .... .. ... , - . -. ; t x Assistant Cook Reverses Earlier Statement, Says Afraid to Confess Error Mystery of the poison that killed 47 patients state hospital for the insane here last week was cleared Saturday night with C Evans, superintendent, that a patient at the institution had accidentally , substituted roach powder for powdered mUk.;?V:;;;.:;r.: . -j;. -,- A, B. McKillop, assistant cook at the hospital proper since last July, and for 18 months prior to that on the cook ing; staff at Cottage farm, in a statement to Capt. Walter Lansing of the state police, at 9:30 Saturday night reversed a previous statement and admitted having sent a patient to ', the cellar for the powdered milk to, be' used in the evening's meal of scrambled eggs. Dr. Evans said. The poison resembles powdered milk, and it was mixed in the eggs without detection, Evans said. :- "It was a terrible error," the superintendent said. ' t Within minutes more than 450 patients Were ill. Some died within the hour of the meal, and by the next day the toll was 47. Dr. Evans said recovery of all those ill seemed assured Saturday, Dr. Evans said that McKillop earlier had insisted he got the powdered milk out of the storeroom himself. The storerooms were' kept under lock, and only. McKillop 'and three other em ployes had keys. McKillop gave his to the patient he sent for the milk, Evans said. ' , ' i . ' Capt Walter Lansing said ihe patient, George A. Nosen, 27, Medford, Ore who voluntarily entered the hospital in August for treatment of epilepsy, also admitted the error after Question ing Saturday night ; i ' ; : '' I , Capt Lansing said McKillop and Mrs, Mary O'Hare deduced, after the poisoning,, that Nosen had brought up six pounds of poison instead of powdered znilk, but that they were, afraid. t Ulk,.bsy$ McKillop was not supposed td' allow patienis in the storerooms. ' ' , ' f.:; -;-u McKillop told him he only sent Nosen after the milk because he was rushed in his work. - Lansing continued his questioning late Saturday night . Dr. Evans said, -however, "it was not u criminal act so far as I can teU. V . ' " : The roach poison contained deadly sodium fluoride, which paralyzed its "victims within seconds. Their breathing - grew labored. Some were contorted -with 'pain. The lips of others turned blue with numbness. Still other retched blood. ; i Only one ward of the five in which the eggs were served escaped. .There Mrs. Allie Waasell, attendant in charge, tasted the eggs, and ordered her 63 patients to stop eating. She became violently ilL but will recover. u-rj 1 . i ' . - rt Many of the stricken patients, all of whom worked at Various essential tasks about the institution, were pegging to be permit ted to go back to their jobs Saturday,. Supt. Evans said. Few were allowed to, however, for fear .they had not regained suffi cient strength.- r Without his knowledge, the superintendent said, 40 of the paid non-patient employes went to work in the institution after hours last night 'to help catch up on much-needed operations there. . -' :." ' ."'."".. j ' ' ' ' .: . The Oregon state board of pharmacy 6nly Friday recom mended that coloring of sodium fluoride poisons be mandatory in the future to prevent them from being mistaken for powdered milk, salt or sugar. The hoard said the poison is commonly used by many hotels and restaiuaht'v.::.u' :.' ,'( -V That no powdered .milk was used in the egg mixture served Wednesday night was revealed early Saturday afternoon to the investigating officers by Dr. Joseph Beeman, director'of the state police crime laboratory. That statement' came in answer to a query from Gov.' Charles A. Sprague. ' 1 Police recalled Saturday night that when McKillop at the time Jhe was originally , questioned referred emphatically to a five-minute trip. to the cellar, for needed supplies, State Treasur er Leslie Scott cross-questioned because, he later declared, the story 'Va too patent! 'v' ; i',, . . " -McKillop's delayed "admission was corroborated by Nosen, officers said. -. At an early hour this morning they had hot finish ed interrogating Mrs. Mary O'Hare, head cook. 1 . , r -1 Both McKillop and Mrs, OUare knew Wednesday night what was the cause of the general illness, Dr. Evans said that McKillop had declared. , j "He broke a hospital rule In sending a patient to" get the milk, but he was busy, and I understand that this has happened before with other members of the staff and other patients. We cannot deny that we may have had to be niggardly in providing sufficient help." " . Had the knowledge possessed by two cooks been made avail able to the doctors Wednesday night, the results of the poisoning could have been little different, Evans' said. "We used the same methods in combatting the poison that would have been re quired for the sodium fluoride. he declared. Pure fright the superintendent and police captain agreed, evidently held back McKillop's Investigation into the poisoning should continue "lor evi dence that will be necessary to determine definitely from a legal standpoint whether or hot an actual crime has been committed," -District Attorney Miller JB.;Hayden declared early today. "I'm waiting until this investigation coroner, said. . s;. v . Briton Wins Battle 9 Jliles Up LONDON. Sunday, Nov. An amazing air battle nine miles above the Mediterranean which ended with a 48-year-old British test pilot in a special Spitfire shooting ' down . a . German high altitude Junkers-88, was report ed today by the air ministry news service. ; . t ; - - The pilot was , Flying Officer at the largely the announcement by Dr. John admission. is complete, Dr. L. E. Barrick, - ' Reynolds, of Kenya colony,- who went aloft from an Egyptian air drome after vapor trails, of the high-flying enemy craft had betn sighted. He climbed to 40500 fett, then .to 50,000 feet in e dizzy chase.-. ; , The temperature In the cockpit fell to 7 below zero and ail the , (Turn to Past 2) - - s f- 4: