The OIUIGOn CTATECMflJL Calem Oregon, Sunday Morning. December S3. 1312
'Rick' Depicts
Pacific Fight
Tells About Drifting ;
Says Soldiers Need
More Home Stimulus
. H (Continued from Page 1) H
of Japanese pilot are Inexper
ienced and green." '
Telling of Guadalcanal in the
: "Solomons, where soldier and ma
rines have been battling the -Japanese
since August, he said:
"If only the people back home
could know what those boys are
doing for us what they are put-
ting up with I think they would
take this war more seriously"
Rickenbacker added that be
lieved "If It wasn't far their
tremendous successes In combat
. t h e y couldn't possibly last,
physically or mentally, very
long. But, due to the great stim
ulus of their successes they are
all happy and anxious to keep
.going. ' - "
Japanese ground troops, he said,
are the hardest he had ever known
"The Japs have no regard for
their own lives. They won't be
taken prisoner. If you want 'em
you have to kill 'em and our boys
re doing it very well.
His inspection tour took him
also to New Guinea where he vis
ited Geh. Douglas MacArthur and
to Brisbane, Australia, where he
visited Brig. Gen. Hanford Mac
Nider, who was in a hospital re
covering from wounds suffered
when splinters from a hand gre
nade struck his face while he was
leading a night patrol.
But it was the story by Ricken
backer, of his 21 days in a rubber
boat, that particularly gripped the
cores of army officers and news
paper men who heard him.
"Frankly and humbly we prayed
, lor deliverance," he related.
NIghly and morning prayer
meetings were held- beginning
on the second of the 21 days
with each of the elgh men in
the rubber boats taking turns
reading- passages from a Bible
carried by a member of the
crew.
Four oranges provided food and
drink for their first eight days in
the boats (they had been forced
to abandon their plane so hur
riedly they left behind food and
water rations.)
RickenDacker told of cutting the
oranges into equal portions, divid
ing them carefully over the eight
days.
Then they prayed for food and
within an hour after prayer
meeting a sea gull came in and
landed on my head, and you can
Imagine my nervousness in trying
to turn around and get him, which
I did." Later they caught a little
mackerel and a small bass.
In beginning his story in as
, great detail as he could give with
out revealing military informa
tion, Rickenbacker paid high trib
ute to Capt William T. Cherry
for expert piloting the land-type
plane down into the trough of the
waves. They went down after
overshooting their island destina
tion in the Pacific, an error which
Rickenbacker said was the pos
sible result of a tail wind that
reached better than 30 miles an
hour instead of the 10-mile wind
that had been forecast. He also
said they had radio and compass
trouble.
It was on the 11th day afloat
mat he took into his arms Sgt
- Alexander Kaczmarczyk. The
youth had gone overboard when
'; one of the small boats had over
turned and had swallowed sea
water again when no one was
watching him. The sergeant be
came increasingly weaker.
"In spite of the fact that the
temperature was 78 to 80 and the
water was warm, the waves were
breaking over us continually, and
because of the; combination of
- wind it was like being doused
with ice water," Rickenbacker
, said. "So I moved him over from
the little boat into our boat and
cuddled him like mother trying
to give him the benefit of the
warmth of my body.
' The night he died, la the eve
aing, he wanted to get back into
the little boat, and we switched.
At about 1 a. as- I heard his
final gasp. In spite of the tact
that I had takes amen out of
burning race can and airplanes,
I have never, had that expert
eaee beforr and I - was afraid
to make any decision until day
light. Atla.rn.we pulled to
. .Xether. - I examined him thor
oughly sad pronounced him
. dead. I asked two of the boys
- to double check me, witness and
verify my decision. Wo lifted
him overboard gently sad he
disappeared. -"That
left -seven, of us..
Endless talk went on as.- the
j two boats, tied together drifted
across the Pacific
"I say to you that I know things
about these -men's lives that prob
ably no other living -ooul knows,"
Rickenbacker- told -the press -con-
ference. "Any sins of commission
or lomission were confessed. The
.; only thing that saved me was that
: I didn't get time to get started
on my own fSe or I would prob
ably be 'talking yet" "
Rickenbacker, accompanied by
bis- -wife- and-, two--children, Te
. turned to New York city by air
plane late Saturday. He was met
ty Mayor F.' H. LaGuardia end
' a host of employes -of Eastern
airlines, of which he is president.
Cozl 'line Repaired
LIARSIIFIZLD, Dec. 19 -P
. "ork cn the former James Flan-i-jt
ccJ mine south of here is
-: ri-vM ni te rrane is ex.
" ; i to reopen ia a few weeks.
No 1943-45 Tax Seen;
Budget Reveals Surplus
F (Continued from Page 1) F
child welfare. Administrative cost
of the welfare program is shown
at $1,963,950. -
All of the state's share in the
welfare program, for the current
biennium is being financed from
net profits of the state liquor com
mission, which this year has re
tired all certificates of indebted
ness. Of $2,343,000 provided in the
general fund budget two years ago
for welfare, $ L3 13,000 remains
unexpended and available to sup
plement liquor fund ' profits if
needed. ;.,!.. ,.
An estimated surplus of $11,
639,67131 in the income and ex
cise tax funds is also anticipat
ed as of June 30, 1943. This sum.
Gov.- Spragao will point out in
his legislative message. Is avail
able for future offset of proper
ty taxes.' School districts' taxes
would be offset by this part of
this surplus, under terms of an
initiative bill passed at the No
vember election.
Revenues available for legisla
tive appropriation are listed in
the budget as follows:
Income and excise taxes, $15,
053,002.21; unexpended balances,
$1,400,000; tithing funds, $207,
479.56; miscellaneous receipts,
$6,017,913.56, or a total of $22,
678,39533. -
The budget director said he had
eliminated $1,823,241.69 in appro
priation requests before arriving
at his $21,989,576.16 general bud
get. The latter sum includes the
$732,918.29 In deficits left by lack
of full appropriations by the 1941
legislature when the fiscal year
was changed and an extra six
months added in effect to the
"biennium.
On paper the director's gener
al fund estimates exceed the
$20,327,735.28 total la the 1941
43 burget by $928,922.46, but
actually,: he pouts out, propos-
Fifth Blast
Victim Dies
LONG BEACH, Calif., Dec. 19
VP) The death of John C.
Murdock, 22, a sailor from Ren
ton, Wash., brought to five Satur
day the victims of a freak high
way gasoline explosion early Fri
day in Compton.
Murdock succumbed in naval
hospital, where earlier his two
sailor companions, James Glen
non, 26, Dorchester, Mass., and
Ralpe W. Doe. jr.. Pelham. Mass-
had died of their burns.
The sailors were passengers in
a taxi which was seared by an ex
plosion as it passed a parked tank
trues; wi! which the driver was
trying to fix a leaky valve. A
spark, possibly from the taxi's ex
haust, ignited a pool of gasoline
which had run onto the road. Wit
nesses said flames flashed 100
feet in the air. Clothing of all
the victims was burned off.
The taxi driver, Lewis Thomas,
50, of Bell, Calif, and the tank
driver. Bud Benson. 21. of Santa
Ana, died of burns soon after the
blast
Questionnaires
To Be GijsrBed
WASHINGTON Dec. 19 -(JP)
Budget Director Harold D. Smith
created Saturday a censorship to
curb some of the complicated
questionnaires sent by federal
agencies to businessmen.
Smith said that after January 1,
no government agency will be
permitted; to send out a question
naire unless it has been approved
by the budget bureau, both as to
necessity and simplification. He
advised businessmen, before an
swering j government question
naires after January 1, to look for
budget bureau approval on the
quiz sheets.
Smith disclosed the system in a
letter to Erie A. Johnston, presi
dent of the United States chamber
of commerce.
Ship Launcher
Is Youngest
PORTLAND, OreDec 19
Ninryear-old , Marian Ann Rob
erts, youngest person ever to
break a champagne bottle over
the bow .of an Oregon-built Lib
erty ship, christened the SS Ezra
Meeker Saturday at a launching
honoring the pride of Washington
state's school scrap collectors.
Sharing the attention at the
ceremony sending the 112th Lib
erty built jbOregpn Shipbuild
ing corporation, were Richard Mc
Cully, 8," of Almota school, which
took first plaeetorjtheasjung
ton 'school' scrap drive, and Dar-
reU FbwJer, 13, from-Shaw. Island
school in thrf San Juans. . Marian
is from Fertile Valley, near New
port, Wash.
Oregon's Batter.
Supply Inadequate .
. PORTLAND, Dc 19; HP)- Ore
gon" butter' production Is inade
quate to supply ; the state's con
sumer - needs for the first time
sin eo 1320,- dairymen said "Satur
day, j tr r
They said the supply is being
drained to fill the army's needs
in this area and that mid-western
butter, mostly from Minnesota
and Nebraska, is appearing in lo
cal markets. . '
d 1943-45 expenditures are
$3272,753.45 greater. The reas
on is that $2,343,831 was appro- -priated
for public welfare from
the general fund for the present
biennium, while no general
funds are asked for the assist-,
ance program during the new
two-year period. . -
Breaking down state ' salaries
and wages in the budget reveals
that increases: already ; granted
average '11.5' per - cent and those
provided for in the new estimates
an additional 5 per cent. Individ
ual raises in pay vary from as
much as 40 per cent for some of
the extremely low brackets in
which attendants at the Eastern
Oregon state hospital fall, to only
2 per cent for the state engineer's
office.
Payroll increases for employes
in the mental hospitals, where
salaries have been equalized, ave
rage approximately 30 per cent,
The new budget also carries
$902,421 for the six-year state
building program, at present in
effect largely a sinking fund op
eration because limitations on use
of building materials j prevent
most structural v improvements.
The " fund includes $400,000 in
building improvements for ; the
state hospital in Salem, of which
$325,000 is the unexpended bal
ance from a - 1941-43 appropria
tion.' , ' ' f -'
Food, clothing, fuel and oth
er commodities purchased by
the state will cost 35 per cent
more during the next two years
than in the past two, the bud
get division was - informed ;, by
the state purchasing depart
ment. A law for the education of han
dicapped children, enacted by the
last legislature with the apparent
expectation that a -relatively
small sum of j money would be
needed, will actually I require
$651,186 during the next two
years, the budget points out.
The request is submitted with
the recommendation that the law
be revised, and that a definite
sum be appropriated for the in
itiation of this meritorious pro
gram," the budget division state
ment says.
Printing of the new budget is
now in progress.
USO to Help
At Christmas
National USO will help ten Ore
gon communities provide Christ
mas hospitality to soldiers and
sailors stationed in the state, it
was announced Saturday by Frank
Lonergan, state USO chairman.
USO clubs are now operating in
Portland, Salem, Medford, Alba
ny, Corvallis, Pendleton, Hermis
ton, Ashland, Astoria and Mon
mouth. In addition to these communi
ties in which national USO clubs
are being operated, a dozen other
local committees have established
servicemen's center and hospitali
ty houses under local auspices,
Lonergan said.
While the USO clubs and units
do not all provide sleeping accom
modations for men of, the armed
forces, recent reports show that
235 of the nation's USO units of
fer such accommodations and pro
vide sleeping accommodations for
approximately 250,000 men, a
month. .
During Christmas furloughs this
service will be. taxed to its capac
ity. In many instances USO club
directors are able to arrange with
private families to invite service
men as their overnight guests, and
in normal months an average of
12,000 men accept such hospitality
through the effort of the USO.
Murder Case
Principal Dies
f NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ, Dee 19
(fl3) Mrs. Frances Stevens Halt
the aristocratic principal of the
Hall-Mills murder case, one of
America's most celebrated crimes,
died Saturday She was ; 79. ,
' The- murder 20 years ago of
her husband the Rev Edward
Wheeler Hall, , and Mrs. Eleanor
Mills, attractive young choir sing
er in his fashionable New .Bruns
wick church, evoked . enormous
interest in the nation. The trial
four years later of Mrs. Hall and
her two brothers, Willie and Hen
ry Stevens, - was a sensation.
The three . were acquitted and
the Hall-Mills case remains one
of crime's major unsolved mys
teries. Soldiers . Allowed -To
Draw Savings
' WASHINGTON,. Dec; ,'19 CP)
President Roosevelt signed into
law. Saturday, a " bill permitting
soldiers who have deposited their
savings with the government to
withdraw them prior to final dis
charge from the army
' Under the old law money placed
in the deposit system, may not bo
withdrawn b the .soldier until his
final discharge. -'The - deposits
bear 4 per cent interest
Cathedral Dean Named
- PORTLAND, :Dec 19-()-Ap-pointment
of the Rev. Charles U.
GuHbert, vicar of St. James mis
sion of Coquille and other Coos
and Curry county missions of the
Episcopal church, as dean of "St
Stephen's cathedral hers was an
nounced Saturday. '
Wavell Enters
Burma 40 Miles
Japs Withdraw for 40
Miles; Offense Seen
Flanker. Advantage ;
G (Continued from Page 1) O
servers . noted the reference to
"some of our troops" and .won
dered if other parts of the huge
army which Gen. WaveU. has
drilled and equipped in India
might not be ready to strike else
where.
Ever since US Lt Gen. Joseph
Stilwell came out of Burma at
the head of a few score men and
American officers from his Chin
ese army with the acknowledge
ment that he had taken a "hell
of a beating," the recapture of
Burma and the restoration of the
supply link with China has been
high on the list of objectives of
United Nations strategists.
The thrust down the difficult
Jungle shore of northern Bur
ma through a land inhabited by
red-skinned Naga headhunters
was accompanied, the eommun
ique said, by aerial sweeps la
which the village of Rathe
daang, slightly more than half
way between Maungdaw and
.Akyab, was bombed and the
Maya river swept clear of Jap
' aneso boats and other craft.
Akyab itself was bombed at
night by big Wellington bombers.
Fires were left along the Rathe
daung waterfront, it was said.
Before the beginning of the of
fensive, British and American
planes carried out a series of in
tensive day and night bombings
of numerous objectives in the
Arakan area, and for many weeks
have been hitting at railways,
stations, bridges and airfields
along the Mandalay line of com
munications, and docks, airports
and barracks in the Akyab zone.
With the start of the Burma
campaign, a half moon of allied
positions around the vast con
quests of the Japanese was ex
erting steady, increasing pressure
against enemy outposts in the
first moves of a concerted allied
effort that one day will drive the
Japanese back to their home is
lands for final annihilation.
The extent of the Burma oper
ation was not immediately appar
ent for Gen. Sir Archibald P.
Wavell, the British commander in
India, said only a part of his million-man
army was used to thrust
within 60 miles of Akyab.
The Chinese long have insist
ed that the recapture of Barms
is essential to Japanese defeat
if for no other reason than to
reopen the Barms road through
which, weapons may be ' si
phoned to the valiant armies of
Chiang Kai-Shek.
Three important results could
be expected from the opening
British gambit however. -
1. Pressure probably would be
eased on the Chinese in Yunnan
Province where the Japanese
launched a faltering offensive last
week, which the Chinese thus far
have successfully stemmed.
2. The British had seized the
initiative and it was. the Japan
ese now who must wonder when
and where the next heavy blow
would be struck.
3. The inherent threat to In
dia itself, its unstable 390,000,
000 divided peoples and tho vital
ly important arsenal of Calcutta
was eased. -'
Moot of Wavell's army is oc
cupied within strif e-tora India
itself, bat sufficient striking
power has been earmarked for
the campaign la Burma. Tho
Japanese are believed to have
aboat six divisions of perhaps
12S.9Q0 men In that crown col
ony from which they drove tho
British Just before the ntonsooa
started six months ago. They
have six other divisions near
Tho mountainous terrain with
its poor roads and almost total
lack of railways posed a tremen
dous military task, but one for
which the reward was rich. Bur
ma in British hands againrwould
flank tho whole Japanese position
in Malaya, the treasure islands- of
the Dutch Indies south China and
the puppet states of Thailand and
French ' Indo-China. Many mili
tary men. consider Burma the key
to -the defeat of the Japanese. :
Johnson Declares
Draft Unbalanced
WASHINGTON. Dec. 19 -(J?)
Senator Johnson (D-Colo) said
Saturday night the nation was
"unbalanced" in building up the
armed forces and that it was un
necessary to draft men over 25
years of age..
: r!TWe .havo .too many men in the
armed forces, he said in an in
terview, "and not enough at home
to- take care of the farms and
the shops."
He added there were "plenty of
men" in other age groups without,
taking those over .the middle 20s
from industry and agriculture.
Coquille Man Dies
COQUTLLE, Dec. 19-GP-State
police Saturday night investigat
ed the death . of John Kenneth
Henninger, 23, Coquille grocer,
following - a bridge party Friday
night Sgt Irving Larson f the
state police said George Maynard,
43, a retired marine corps major,
was held in the Coos county-jail
but that no charge had been filed.
US Discloses 1919 Proposal
To Deal for Pacific Islands
B (Continued from Page 1) B .
Nations mandate with the under
standing that i Japan . would not
fortify them an . understanding
which Japan violated.
The two volumes include hun
dreds of other documents, many
of them never before published,
shedding light on various phases
of the preparations for the peace
conference. x , t
Letters and cables disclose how
some of President Woodrow Wil
son's advisors tried to persuade
him not to sit in person - at the
peace table. C6L Edward M.
House wired the ' president No
vember 14, 1918:
"Americans here (in Paris)
whose opinions are of value 'are
practically unanimous in the be
lief that it would be unwise for
ON the HOME FRONT
By DAETL CmLW
Here's a chance for some of us
late Christmas shoppers to make
the yule bells ring:
Says R. R. , "Bob" Boardman,
genial director of the Salem USO,
"There will be a number of boys
at Camp Adair, who because of
Christmas mail rushes, distance
from home, sudden moves or just
because they have no close fam
ilies, will not receive a Christmas
gift of any size on the tree at
Adair Service club No. 2." Small
items, whether useful or merely
funny knick-knacks, Christmas
wrapped, could lend much' joy
on that occasion.
So, hie yourself to tho 10-cent
store and pick up some attractive
toy or gadget (pay for it of
course! but don't pay a great deal
because the USO isn't asking for
expensive gifts to outshine the
simple presents other lads may
receive).
Organizations may send the
gifts from the Christmas parties;
individuals may purchase two or
three and who doesn't like to
buy little things! Take 'em to the
USO, ; Cottage and Chemeketa
streets, before Thursday and
they'll be sent to Camp Adair to
what may thus become a festive
occasion. '
My suggestion is that you gift
wrap the items yourself. You see,
the USO has 15 girls working
daylight hours, had seven on duty
last night gift-wrapping and
wrapping for mailing, weighing,
figuring insurance, etc., for men
from . the camp. The Job saves
the postoffice, local stores and
the men, themselves, consider
able confusion.
Girl Acquitted
Of Murder
BISBEE, Arts, Dec 19 -VP)
Margaret Herlihy was acquitted
Saturday night of the murder of
Capt David D. Carr, 27 -year-old
Fort Huachuca antitank officer,
who was fatally shot in the girl's
home last August 14.
The jury of miners and ranch
ers was out only 37 minutes.
The 21-year-old defendant
daughter of Lt Cot Edward G.
Herlihy of Fort Benning, Ga and
a former commander of infantry
at Fort Huachuca, where he was
Carr's superior officer, waited in
the courtroom, surrounded by
members of her family and army
officers. '
Negroes Flay
Auxiliary Plan
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec, 19 (Pi
Spokesmen for 150 negro ship
yard workers at Vancouver,
Wash, Saturday charged a pro
posed AFL bailermakers auxili
ary union for negroes was "down
right open discrimination..
"We will not have any part of
it", seven of the negroes, most of
whom were hired in New York,
told Tom Ray, union secretary, in
a letter that said they believed
membership in tho proposed aux
iliary would bar further promo
tion. , They added they were forming
a council to combat formation of
the auxiliary, and would call all
negro employes of the Henry J.
Kaiser shipyard : to a meeting
Wednesday. A demand for mem
bership on an equal basis - with
white workers was repeated.
The auxiliary was proposed by
Ray following a recent conference
of shipyard, union and federal of
ficials, ;-- who i announced there
would be no discrimination at
the yard.
Sweden, Germany
Sign for Trade
STOCKHOLM, Dec. 19-VP)
Sweden ' and Germany concluded
a new trade agreement for 1943
Saturday after negotiations lasting
two months.
Germany, largely cut off from
her normal sources of supply, is
most interested in Sweden's high
grade iron: ore- and wood pulp,
while -the Swedes need German
coal, chemicals, structural steel
and asLficial fibers for making
clothes. '-' ".
you to sit in the peace conference.
They fear that it would involves
loss of dignity and - your . com
manding position."
The next day the late Sen. Key
Pittman warned him of "grave
diversity of opinion" In the senate
regarding the advisability of his
attending.
On November 18 the president
replied to House: . .
I infer that French aad En---
llah. leaders desire - to exclude
me from the conference for
; fear I might there lead the
weaker nations against them
Some ' of - the - documents echo
the long-vanished! enthusiasms of
the first Armistice . day. Ironic
among these is the congratulatory
message of Japan's foreign min
ister to Secretary of State Lan
sing:
"Accept my heartiest and wann
est congratulations on the trium
phant conclusion of an armistice
which ; we trust will lead to a
peace, glorious for the forces of
human civilization and :; fraught
with happiness to the world. . . .'
Contrasting with these are doc
uments which might have been
written today.; November 8, 1918,
House cabled the president:
"Probably the greatest prob
lem which will be presented to
us upon the cessation of hostili
ties is the furnishing of food
and other essential supplies to
, the civilian populations of Ser
via, Austria, Bohemia, Ger
many, Belrium and northern
France. This relief work, to
. gether with tho reconstruction
of devastated regions, will have
to be done almost entirely
through American effort and
with the use of American food
raw materials, aad finished
products. Difficult Questions of
priority and tho allocation of
tonnage will bo presented."
The two volumes will be fol
lowed by others covering all
phases and problems of the peace
conference, economic as well as
political. Publication of such doc
uments at this time Is justified, a
state department commentary as
serts, by "the realization that any
intelligent approach to another
world settlement must take into
consideration the errors and suc
cesses of the last" ,
Guinea Cape
Taken, Allies
D (Continued from Page 1) D
with the taking of Cape Endaia
dere.) ' "
To tho left of Buna.' Allied
troops mopped up enemy remnants
near the Amboga and Kumusi
river, mouths, 40 miles up the
coast from Buna, the noon com
munique added, and "198 enemy
dead have already been buried
there by our troops and many
more bodies await burial."
These Japanese trooDS were
landed last Sunday despite heavy
aerial attacks that took a heavy
toll of enemy men and supplies.
The cruiser sinking occurred, off
Madang. which is on the New
Guinea coast above Lae and Sala
maua. "The enemy's naval forces are
active off the northern coast Gen.
MacArthur reported.
"Near Yitias straits.; severs!
hundred miles northwest of
Bans our heavy bombers at- :
tacked aa enemy convoy of two
merchant and five warships,
scoring four direct hits on the
deck of a light cruiser which
sank following the explosion of
its powder mars sloe.
"During the attacks, our Diane
shot down two Zero fighters. - The
enemy entered the harbors of Ma
dang and Finschafen during the
night and then departed to the
northeast before morning.
In the vicinity of Portuguese
Timor, other Allied planes strafed
and sank a small cargo ship.
Doolittle Confers
Air Decorations
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS TV
NORTH AFRICA. Dec lfWTV.
layed) -fcP)- Three distinguished
xrymg crosses, two silver stars and
79, other awards' were conferred
on airmen of the 12th US air force
today by Maj.-Gen. James H. Doo
little for outstanding perform
ances in the North African com.
paign.
Cot Paul L. Williams of An.
geles. . Calif., and CoL John w
Hawkins of San Antonio, -Tex,
were among those decorated with
tho DFC by Gen. Doolittle nn Ha.
half of Lt-Gen. Dwight D. Eisen
hower, Allied commander-in-
chief.
Forty-three nflots and rmmun
of the . troop-carrying planes also
were given air medals f or rw
formance of an extremely hazard
ous ozxensive in the transportation
of paratroops Into Tunisia Novem
ber 23.". .. . ..
El Strike Canceled -
'CHICAGO." Deev la-f3 wn.
liamr, Levander announced Sat
urday night that his union of ele
vated railroad workers had called
off a strike that would have crin-
pled Chicago's transportation sys
tem at one minute after midnight
7riter Succumbs :
PORTLAND, Ore- Dec 19 -UP)
James G. Duff, 32 Portland free
lance writer, died Friday of pneu
monia at a hospital here. He had
been ill a short tizne.
? -.
BritisH Troops
Pass Agheila
By 120 Mfles
C (Continued from Page- 1) C
ber 10,000 reported trapped be
tween " Marble Arch and ; the
Wadi (gulch) Matratin indicat
ing the Germans - might have
broken the block and enabled at
least some : to continue -' their
flight west with the main body
, of Rommel's force. , .
' Reuters, quoting a radio oberv
er in Cairo, said some of Rom
mel's rearguard broke out of the
net by means of superior weight
of armor. e--H'K
- The observer said the Germans
already, were ploughing up their
airfields far to the west of the
advancing British.
The Berlin radio declared that
"Rommel's - rearguard, in high
fighting fettle, has linked up with
the main body of the axis army."
US heavy bombers, in another
damaging raid on the big Tunisian
naval base of Bizerte Friday, were
reported to' have hit an enemy
warship and to have shot down
three, enemy fighters.
At axis-held Sousse, bel
Tunis, oa the eastern coast of
Tunisia, other allied craft scored
; hits on a railroad station and
. other targets. Ia all five axis
fighters, and an Italian bomber
were reported destroyed ia the
day's operations, as against the
. loss of four allied planes.
British submarines, continuing
their ceaseless warfare against the
nazi supply line from Italy, were
credited by the - admiralty with
-sinking three more axis vessels on
the Tunisian sea route and dam
aging another. Adm. Sir Andrew
Browne Cunningham, allied na
val chief in north Africa, declared
that the enemy is losing an aver
age of a ship a day in desperate
efforts to bolster forces in Tunisia
and Libya. .
Rent Control
Slices Costs
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19-(P)
The federal bureau of labor sta
tistics asserted Saturday that the
practical effect of federal rent
control had been not only to sta
bilize rents, but in fact had re
duced rents in western areas. The
bureau said it had just finished
a survey. ;
for quick action in stabilizing the
rent situation, had already proved
its value despite the short time
it has been in effect" the bureau
said in a statement released by
the OPA.
"In the Seattle area rents have
dropped 9.4 per cent since rent
control went into effect last June,
while the survey in Portland
showed a reduction of 0 .2 per
cent for the short period rent con
trol has been in effect in that
area.
"San Francisco, however, has
generally had a lower rental lev
el than the other regions."
Poland Called
Death to Jews
LONDON, Sunday, Dec 20-JP)
The inter-allied information com
mittee declared Sunday that : the
Germans have transformed Poland
"into one vast center for murder
ing Jews" by mass shootings, elec
trocutions and lethal gas poison
ing and that 99 per cent of the
Jews who lived in Yugoslavia or
took refuge there are dead.
The statement by the commit
tee, which represents the allied
governments in London gave a
country-by-country r e s u m - of
nazi measures against Jews in oc
cupied lands. The allied govern
ments - recently protested against
crimes against the Jews and
warned: that those responsible
would bo punished. .
The committee's statement re
peated tho estimate by Dr. Steph
en 3. Wise American Jewish con
gress president that since 1939
2,000,000 Jews In Europe have
been deported or have perished,
and "another 5,000,000 are in dan
ger of extermination. .
Greetings Allowed
WASHINGTON Dec 19
Christmas greetings may be ca
bled to American prisoners of
war and civilian internees in the
western Pacific, Germany and
Italy through American Red Cross
chapters, , Chairman Norman H.
Davis announced Saturday,
All you
circlo around your HOTEL
1 w
r-. . -
Mrs. George
Pedrce Dies
A (Continued from Page 1) A
Paul Wallace and the late Joseph
H. Albert she was a member of
the building committee of three
under whose supervision the Pres
byterian i church structure was
erected at Winter and Chemeketa
streets in; 1927 and 1928, '
- Survivors include, besides tha
two daughters, widely known in
the Salem rea, where Dr. Helen
Pearce is a Willamette university
professor, . and Miss Dorothy
Pearce teacher of piano, a sister,
Mrs. A. S. Brasfield of Berkeley.
Calif.; nephews,' Clifford A. Bras
field of Portland and Robert R.
Brasfield of California. !
For many years she had been a
member f of the Presbyterian
church here, active in other phases
of its work besides the business
imtuuu. .u. i itc iiciu mem
bership also in the Thursday club.
Leisure Hour club and Town and
Gown club.
Services are to be held Tuesday,
December 22, at 1 p. m., at the
First Presbyterian church, Rev. W.
Irvin Williams officiating, and W.
T. Rigdon company directing ar-t
rangements. Concluding services'
are to be at the I OOF cemetery.
Eatern Gas
Rations Cut
E (Continued from : Page 1) E
shown "the necessityj for a com
plete study ' with the purpose of
keeping the nation informed i of
just what lt must expect in the
future." I ,
Henderson's announcement was
made in a statement which also
disclosed plans 'for tighter super
vision and stricter enforcement
of the gasoline regulations, ' in
cluding, for the first time, a re
quest that the petroleum Industry
be alert for suspicious transac
tions at every stage.
A reporter asked whether tho
new plan was to be permanent
and Henderson quipped back that
there was "no permanency in ,
government," He pointed out that
he was leaving the ( post of ad
ministrator soon and that his suc
cessor was In no way committed
to folloWhis program. ;
Bolivia Holds
Rebel Plotters
LA PAZ, Bolivia Dec. 20
VP) The government held several
leaders of the- leftist revolution
ary party in custody Sunday and j
announced that a plot designed
to culminate i in revolution" had
been frustrated. i -
Other leaders of theL party are
being sought the announcement
said. :.. ...- - J m . :
Those held, the communique
said, included Fernando Sinani.
leader of the party; Moises 'Alco
ba, president of the federation of
syndical workers, and , Waldo Al
varez. :-;Vi , ;
The government said it i had
found in Sinanfs possession tho
text of an agreement reached by
the party's recent congress, cal
ling1 for a series of strikes and
demonstrations! "to culminate in
revolution" , against the Bolivian
government
The J party planned to scatter
the Bolivian army into ' many.
groups by strikes and other activ
ities in mining and agricultural
centers to facilitate the revolution,
the communique said. V
NW Aceess
Roads Many
SEATTLE, Dec 19-Ws)-William
H. Lynch, district engineer of the
public roads administration, re-t
ported Saturday that access roads
costing a total of nearly $2,000,000
are being built in the Pacific
northwest to tap new mineral and
timber resources.
He advised I L. R. Durkee, as
sistant regional director of " tho
federal works sgency, that seven
timber access projects are being
pushed to completion in Washing
ton, Oregon and Montana. Total
ing about 100 miles in length, they
will cost more than half a million.
He said one-way roads with
turnouts are being built to 38 min
eral deposits in Washington, Ore
gon. oMntana and northern Cali
fornia, totaling 379 miles at a
cost of close to $1,400,000.
want in a small
Tho mnj thooghtful. services of a
hotel relax yoa after trip. Comfort,
safety, aed reliable ioformatioa put
yoa at esse. Hotel "ceatralacss" saves
steps, enables yoa to see more do
more, and enjoy more on font vacs-'
Cioa or trip. Good food and a sense
rtf -HlLhiin Mrk TOO ut- t
AMI SIC AN HOTIl ASSOCIATION
X .iti',-'?! .cart' VV:-)
jvh' f :...nq,