i . i
i, . - - !
Vim out ) i
I i --3.' ;:.
JSaL sunset 7i04
Sun. sunrise 7:39
! Weather on page 9)
Today
Forget Your Points
And Eat Anyway
(See story on this page)
t r
KDirTT-ETCOKD TEAR
-I
Satan, Orogon-Saturday Morning, March 9. 1943
J Price 5c
No. 253
i'OMf ! : W UN i-fi ffl
M - :'.iA:v.-r.
j ' J
1-
Little . ;
Taxpayer
Favored -
Table below shows how fa
mine tax redaction plans being
threshed out In conference cena-
mlttee at the legislature this
morning would compare with
. present payments required of a
married man without children,
ignoring deductions other than
the $1599 marriage exemption:
Snyder- Walker
Gru Present McKtm Plan
Income Tax Tax -Tax .
$ 2,909. f It. f t. $ .
2,500. 25. ft. 15.
1,599. 95. . 25. . It.
4,500. 115. 55.- Ct.
1,500. ITS. 95. 195.
rM9.-- 5. 145. 147.
11,500. . StS. U5.4 57.
21,504, wts its. ni:
Modified Walker
Plan Expected Out
This Morning
- By STEPHEN C. MERGLER
- A-third of the income tax-
papers of Oregon would receive
an 80 per cent cut in their tax
next year, a few who pay this
' year would have nothing to pay
, next and the remainder would
receive reductions ranging from
31 per cent upward under the
compromise senate-house plan
that appeared Friday night to car
ry most favor with the conference
committee named to iron out dif
ferences between the two houses
of the legislature on the tax pro-
' gram.
. The conference committee is to
meet at 9 a. m. today with the
anticipation of reaching an early
agreement to report out a modi-
t fication of the Walker plan which
the senate approved 24 to 6 Thurs
day afternoon. Rep. John H. Hall
may bring in a minority report
holding out for a reduction in in
come taxes payable in ,1943 as
.well as in 1944..,-1 . ;.. iA h
Named Friday afternoon as sen
ate members of the conference
committee, Sens. Den Walker, In-
dependence, and Coe A. McKen
. na, Portland, had already met
with the house members, Reps.
Burt K. Snyder, Lakeview, and
Hall, and asked tax experts to
work out details of the compro
mise plan.
The new '- plan would hand
back , approximately the same
amount of surplus from the In
, come tax fund as the Walker
plan but would favor the small
ever the big taxpayer, a pro
posal advocated by Rep. Snyder
and adopted by Sen. McKenna.
It .would retain the section of
the Walker plan that calls for
reservtns; a 55,000,009 cushion
fnnd for future property tax re-
faction, alonr with $9,509,000 to
" offset s t a te and elementary
j school taxes and $4,990,999 to
offset school district levies, or a
I total of $18,590,000.
The Snyder-McKenna plan pro
vides that for each $2,000,000 in
Income tax surplus existing above
this sum, the taxpayer would re
ceive a one-half of 1 per cent
- (Turn to Page 2, Story C)
Nazi Warships
Said Grouped
p- Off Norway
LONDON, March 5-(JP-London
newspapers published dispatches
Friday saying a powerful concen
tration of German warships has
been assembled in the Trondheim
area of Norway.
The stories carried in the Eve
ning Standard and Daily Tele
. graph, without giving the source
: of their information, declared the
concentration included the battle
ship Tirpitz, 35,000-ton sister of
the lost Bismarck, at least two
- cruisers of the 10,000-ton Hipper
u class and a number of fast de-
stroyers. h ;
: The .aircraft carrier Graf Zep
pelin, which was laid down in
1938, also was reported to be in
the group, along with the 28,000
ton battleship Scharnhorst, which
was reported in the Skagerrack
between Nonway and Denmark
three weeks ago. ;
.. The. articles stirred immediate
speculation - over the possibility
.that the German fleet was pre-
- paring to make a forceful attempt
to attack, the allied supply route
to Russia. ; t
V Such a breakout, unofficial
-v sources pointed out, probably
would involve'' the British home
' fleet in a hunt greater than that
- for the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen
' early in the war and the , possi-
, ' bility of a major naval engage
rnent in northern waters. -
Unofficial' naval sources said
yi there was a possibility the Ger
man fleet was concentrating "for
one big fight against heavy odds
rather than face scuttling as did
the high seas fleets to 1918."
Hole Russian Forces Wound Rostov
Residents of Rostov; so about their work near the wreckage of the jbuildlng which housed the executive
committee of the jsetlet deputies or the working'; people. The bultding was described as "blown up by
the Germans.' Soviet troops took the key city en the Don river February 14. This picture was seat
treat Moscow to the United States by radio. Associated Press TelemaU
Adiou
mment
House Denies Jlevole .
On Wine's Sales ;
Bills Conflict!
By RALPH C.
CURTIS
Roaring ahead on the overdrive
toward a sine , die adjournment
goal, Oregon's lawmaking machine
burned out 0 bearing Friday night
and it was a widely jield opinion
that the mishap wrecked whatever
chance there may have been for
sine die adjournment at a theo
retical with the clocks stopped
11:59 p. m. tonight.
The house of representatives
earlier Friday had adopted a con
current resolution' providing for a
windup at that hour, j The senate,
working hard but in no such haste.
had scheduled measures as "spe-
LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR
Third readings Saturday:
In Senate: SB 275. 297. 298. 300.
303 255. HB 23, 209, 264, 291,
365, 392, 397, 391,(320.
In House: HB 89 197. 223. 229.
244, 252, 372, 381, 384, 399, 401,
402, 403, 404, 405j 406, 407, 408,
409, 410, 411, 412j 413, 414, 415,
417. SB 12, 23, 59, 74, 94, 95, 96,
103, 108, 117, 179 181, 185, 191,
211 223, 230, 238j 241, 242, 256,
257, 267, 271, 286 292, 299.
cial order" for Monday. President
W. H. Steiwer said it was "up to
the members" but j he held out
slight hope of ending the session
tonight.
Bnt the larboard--honse mo
tor already was j smoking from
the friction of dally battles on
major issues. The breakdown
came half an hour after the
night session opened when: Rep.
A. W. Meyers, Irked by a dais
ling series of ! parliamentary
moves whereby Speaker William
M. McAllister sought to expe
dite bills onto the Saturday cal
endar, demanded jMcall of the
house." Several members were
missing so the house adjourned
for the night. Even so, its cal
endar contains 55 bills and sev
eral memorials and resolutions.
The house disposed, beyond rea
sonable expectation jof reversal, of
the fortified wine ?ssue when it
refused by a 30-30 vote to re
consider its earlier! approval of the
bill placing these wines exclusive
ly in the state liquor stores. Of
(Turn to Page; 2 Story A)
3 Marion Men
War Prisoners
WASHINGTON March 5-OP
Names of 471 United States sol
diers held prisoners of war i by
the Japanese in thi Philippinetis
lands were announced Friday! by
the war department.
The next of kin have been noti
fied by the war department. Other
lists ,will be issued, later.
Friday's list included:
- Oregon:
Pvt. Lyle E. Lee:
ther, Mrs.
Flora Lee, 1985
Maple street.
Sales
i
Pvt George Linsen; mother' Mrs.
Jean Linsen, Portland. ' !
Pvt. AloysJus ! F. Kktliag;
mother, Mrs. Mathilda NleUing,
route one. box four, Sublimity.
Pvt. Bill Peat; mother, Mrs.
Katie Peart, Coquille. j j
Pvt. Lloyd S. Pollock; mother,
Mrs. Mamie Pollock, Woodburn.
. Pvt. James A.Sapp; father, D.
A. Sapp, route ne, Portland. -
Pvt Gerald L. ;Sherrett; mother,
Mrs. Anna Sherrett, Eugene, f ' 5
: Pvt. William A. Southall; moth
er, Mrs. Clara Southall, La Grande.
Pvt. Willis Ci Vincent; uncle,
Walter W. Vincent, Malin. . i .
PlansAwry
&&
'
(if-
Science Fools I
'Brick Feet9
PORT BENNING. Ga March
5 - (P) - You may fool the top
Jksck. .but yon ant . fool science
and so the army's j "gold
bricks," who would avoid work
by pleadlnr sore feet, are right
back on active duty.
It's done at the Fort Benning
station hospital, when the moan-and-groan
crew shows up with
minor foot ailments calculated
te gain relief from work. And
experts of the orthopedic sec
tion say the object lesson is
rentle but effective. The geld
bricks merely are shown a plas
ter of parts reproduction of a
pair of feet.
One of the feet has only three
toes. The other has but four.
The whole structure - of each
foot differs so from an ordinary
foot that the malingerer won
ders - bow: they could be used
effectively for walking.
"That man." says the! expert,
holding up Urn easts, the one
who ha those jTeet, is eapable
of a 19-mile march. He still is
in the army and doing Import
ant work, because he feels it is
his Job to serve his country in
this service."
Usual result, reports the or
thopedic section, is that the
foldbricks turn brick red.
Most frequent sources of the
injuries treated are parachute
Jumping-, obstacle course run
nine; and automobile accidents.
Raver Calls
PGE Rates
Profiteering
PORTLAND, March 5-jP)-Bonneville
Administrator1 Paul J.
Raver testified at Friday's SEC
hearing into the Portland Electric
Power company's reorganization
that rates of Portland General
Electric company, a subsidiary,
were below average but he i be
lieved the company still was
profiteering.
He was convinced, he said, that
PGE was making more than 6
per cent of investment
Referring to a $750,000 Irate
reduction offered by PGE if
Bonneville would grant it a pow
er contract for the war's duration,
Raver said Ormond RBean, state
public utilities commiss loner,
told me he was going to make the
reduction regardless of a Icon
tract" . :
"I asked Bean why he didn't
order it before the" hear-in ! and
he replied he was afraid it would
throw a monkey wrench into the
proceedings. I told him he ought
to make it right away."
Raver testified that a misunder-'
standing resulted in an editorial
in Former Gov. Charles; A.
Sprague's Salem newsnaoer which
asserted that he had opposed the
cut because Bonneville wanted to
acquire PGE properties land
wanted them as debt-free as pos
sible, j j
"I have the highest respect for
Sprague," Raver -said, "I am
sure Mr. Bean would not have
given any misinformation ,. . .
there was some misunderstand.
ing. Bonneville is not ! interested
in buying this property unless the
public wants to buy it": i
1 i
New Ship Astoria
To Slide Today
WASHINGTON, DC,! March 5
(A3)- Oregon congressional delega
tion will travel with a navyj party
to. Philadelphia Saturday to wit
ness the launching of the new
cruiser Astoria. j j -
The ''; vessel will be ; christened
by Mrs. Robert W. Lucas, As
toria, Ore., daughter of Oregon
State Sen. Merle B. Chessman. ;
Soviets Sweep
For Smolensk
100 Localities Freed;
Nazis Clinging to
Some Sectors
By The Associated Press
LONDON, Saturday, March 8 f
Smashing stubborn nazi resistance
southwest of Rzhev in the central
front sweep toward the enemy an
chor at Smolensk, the Russians
have freed more than 100 locali
ties in two days, a midnight Soviet
communique disclosed Saturday. I
Fresh raids also were reported
on the southern front where a 50-mile-wide
red army salient was
being driven westward to cut the
Bryansk-Kiev railway in the sec
tor between recaptured Lgov and
Sevskv This maneuver, also was
aimed at turning German defenses
hinged on Bryansk and Orel to the
north and northeast - 1 ; '
Approximately 2000 Germans
were reported killed - and 1145;
captured daring Friday's opera
tions, but the Russians' did not
claim any advances in the Don
ets basin, where the Germans
for days now have told of suc
cessful counter-attacks that have
reralned Kramatorsk, Slavyansk
and Lisle hansk in the sector
north of Satlino.
The German high command de
clared Friday that the Russian
Third army was encircled south of
Kharkov and about to be wiped
out.
The Russians also were silent
about further operations in the
western Caucasus where the Ger
mans still are clinging to posi
tions pivoting on Novorossisk,
Black sea port
A new Russian attempt to land
from the sea at that port was re
pulsed by German coastal , bat
teries, the Berlin radio said Fri
day night in a broadcast recorded
by Reuters. . j
On the central front the imme
diate Russian goals appeared to
be Vyazma, 80 miles south of
Rzhev, and Gzhatsk, 60 miles to
the southeast Although the Rus
sians gave no indication as to how
close their armies were to these
points, the general direction of the
Soviet drive made it likely that
they intend to strike behind Vyaz
ma between .there and Smolensk.
The latter point is 230 miles west
Of Moscow. "I I
"The Germans are displaying
stubborn resistance, throwing injto
the battle infantry, tanks and ar
tillery," the communique said.
"Our troops are smashing the en
emy "defenses without giving them
the opportunity to entrench on
convenient positions. I
This central front push has
(Turn to Page 2, Story D)
Folkes Trial
Set April 7
ALBANY, Ore, March fM)
Trial of Robert E. Lee Folkes for
the "lower 13 slaying of Mrs.
Martha Virginia James was set
for' April 7 Friday after the 30-year-old
Los Angeles negro en
tered a plea of innocent before
Circuit Judge L. G: Lewellingj of
Linn county. j j
The former dining car cook! is
under indictment on aTcharge of
knifing Mrs. James to death as
she lay in berth lower 13 ; of a
limited train January 23. - :
Leroy Lomax, Portland attor
ney representing Folkes hinted; at
the -trend the ; defense will take
when he asked permission of the
court to read the alleged confes
sion Folkes made to Los Angeles
authorities; , . f .
"As you know, the Los Angeles
police .are, under investigation 'for
brutality of ; methods," Lomax
remarked. ; j . i ' 1 '
.Plaiiies'Fj
Im BisiimaFck.
Blast at Coast-
Dunkerque
Believed
Target
- Berlin Radio Silent ;
Explosions Rattle
. English Windows
By Tho Associated Press
LONDON, Saturday, March 6
-The RAF sent its big bombers
on their tenth consecutive night
raid over the continent during
the night and repeated; blasts
along the French coast were
heard on thiazide of the chanf
nel. :
Huge flashes, apparently the
result of the explosions, also
could be seen shortly after the
bombers crossed the channel.
The explosions were so terrific
that residents reports they rattled
windows in buildings on the
British side. The roar across the
channel was in the direction of
Dunkerque which had been at
tacked several times recently.
Many European radio sta
tions were silent Friday nbjht
including the Berlin radio. It
went off the air at 9:15 p. m.
about the same time It was
i closed last Monday when the
nasi capital get Hs heaviest
pounding of the war.
' RAF bombers carried their as
sault on .the continent through
the ninth straight night Thursday
night laying mines in enemy wat
ers and attacking targets in the
industrial area of western Ger
manyC " ( '
The Air Ministry New service
said Typhoons and Spitfires of
the-Fighter-command returned to
the attack Friday and made a day
light sweep over the Netherlands
coast on which they sank two
small enemy torpedo boats and
heavily , damaged two others.
Black Market
Hit in Control
Of Slaughter
WASHINGTON, March 5-P)
Strict controls over the slaughter
of livestock and the sale of meat
designed to stamp out black mar
ket operations, will go into effect
April 1.
Secy, of Agriculture Wickard,
announcing them Friday, said he
did not regard the controls as a
"cure-all for the defects in the
present meat situation," but part
of a broad program which includes
consumer rationing and uniform
retail price ceilings.
One order requires all livestock
slaughterers who sell meat in-
f eluding farmers and local butch
ers, to operate under a permit sys
tem. As an aid to enforcement
each wholesale cut of meat must
be stamped at least once with the
permit number. 1
Livestock dealers also must ob
tain permits to buy and sell live
stock and keep complete records
of their transactions. While farm
ers need not obtain permits, they
were asked to keep records of
their purchases and sales. -
Uniform ceiling - schedules, ef
fective April 1, were issued for
pork, and OPA said similar maxi
mums would be 'worked out f or
beef, veaL lamb and mutton.
Luncheon Without Rationed Foods
Served in Red Cross
By MAXINE BUREN
There was no point at all te
the luncheon served to Red Cross
workers at the chamber ef com
merce Friday noon, but there was
plenty of point to reportaof suc
cess of the war fund campaign,
given during the meeting that fol
lowed the meaL -
, Members of the nutrition and
canteen committees of the Marion
Total t - funds:" gathered In
Marion county's Red Cross war
fund - campaign according ! to
Friday ! reports, is fl2,2M.
Minimum goal fa $42,f99. ; r 7
county chapter, headed , by Mrs.
Bjame Erickson, served a lunch
eon which cost not a single food
-r ' v.'
"1' ,-" I ,
By July 1 Approved;
By
SubcdrtiiMiiee
By FRANCIS
WASHINGTON, March 5tVA-pay-a-you-go plan f or all
44,000,000 of the incorne taxryers the wage'e
led man, the farmer, the baker and the candlestick rnaker-was
approved tentatively Friday by
committee, to be effective July
The subcommittee skipped
unisia
ressure
Patrols" Said Active
In North; 8th Army
Feels Out Enemy
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NORTH AFRICA, March S-(ff)l
Enemy forces in northern Tunisia
kept up their pressure in the face
of stiff allied resistance . Friday
while advices reaching here from
the southern sector reported that
the British Eighth army in its
first feeler brush with axis troops
Thursday inflicted on the Ger
mans "very heavy losses heavy
enough to remember." i
, American patrols clung to Sidi
Bouzie, about 25 miles south of
Faid pass where the withdrawing
nazis hold hill positions overlook
ing the valley.
Keperte lasC-frUay UW
"said American; troops arei near
the western end of the pass but
their location was not given.
The ; Germans still held on. to
Gafsa in the south and Hadjeb Et
Aioun, about 22 miles northeast
of Sbeitla, where French patrols
had contacted them.
French patrols pushed to a point
a few miles west of Pichon In the
central sector and in the far south
other advanced . French elements
continued to" move forward east'
of Nefta. These units were "con
tinuing their action in an easterly
direction," a French communi
que said.
Tank forces of the British First
army were said officially to have
beaten off violent German attacks
in the streets of the highway junc
tion town of Sedjenane, along the
Mateur-Tabarka road in northern
Tunisia.
Germans attacking down the
road 1 gained a foothold In the
village Wednesday and remain
there through the night Then
40-ton Churchill tanks and in
fantry drove them out in a
fierce dawn attack Thursday,'
front dispatches said.
.An allied communique said that
axis activity was intensified "all
along! the Mareth line Thursday
and that allied patrols in that
sector were -"very active."
Canned Goods Now
Take Stamps, Ugh!
REDMOND, i March: 5
Making her periodic visit to a
Redmond grocery store Friday,
a squaw from : the 'Warm
Springs Indian reservation or
dered her usual supply of can
ned coeds.
"Ughr she, said, when the
grocer took all but one stamp :
from her ration book.
ration point, yet brought most of
the guests back for "seconds." ;
' Crisp carrot and apple salad,
ntaearoni and cheese, bread,
butter, tea with cream but no
surar, and apple pie. made up
tho menu. The dessert, the com-:
mlttee explained, was subsU
tuted for a reUttae-frult mix
ture previously planned, - enly
because some ef the men on the;
Red . Cross committee Insisted
that "fcucar r j ne sugar, . the
great American dessert Is al
ways lnarder. . '
The luncheon, although proving
that i a - mixed crowd can eat an
un-rationed meal and like It and
even clear off f the- table for
volunteer v kitchen workers, - was
primarily, planned for checking
on progress made toward collec
tions for the war fund drive. .
Heavy r
Camp
VQV: I
- f
ori Temtlhi Ni
: . i i
M. LE MAY t
4i 1
the house ways and means sub
1. - ' r i I
.over the baffling choice among
tht- Ruml plan to cancel a year's
taxes-and the I various proposals
for amaller amounts of abatement
tossing this problem back to- the
full committee1 ... T " j
Carman D o u g htsv i (D-NC)
called the fuU) committee j to meet
Monday ' and laid be was elated
over the . prospeet9Mf" speedy , ac
tion.:- .J. I J
- Under thef plan tentatively
approved all taxpayers niust file
their tut returns and pay the
first 4 a r r installment by
. March! 15 and the second by
June 15. As for taxes after July
1, Chairmanf Cooper (D-Tenn)
of the . subcommittee utlined
the prbposalS as follows! ' j
1. Wige and salary eprner-rAjl
withholding levy of 20 jper cent
would be imposed on the taxable!
portion of wages . and salaries
through weekly, semi-monthly or
monthly deductions from pay en 4
velopes and fjsalary checks.. Thisi
covering bothj income and Victory
taves, Would"; not be an Additional
tax but would be applied to taxes
duo on the basis of computations
to be made at the year end at ttie
statutory v?tes , and . eernptipnsi
The ' wage and .salary earners
would file. Returns the following
March! 15 asi usual.
2. Men in jthe-armed forces, d
mestici
servants in the home and
agricu
would
tiiral J labor these classes
be exempt from the,20er
(Turn to 3 Page 2 Story
.1
Naval Board ;
Inpejts:Uj
For Training j
A survey of Willamette univer
sity and related city facilities was
conducted here Friday by a board
from ijthe 13th naval district in
accordance vith naval bureau of
personnel instruction with a view
to possible establishment of a basic
training coitrse here for; approxi
mately 400 iew class It students,
Capt f- riedrick, who beaded the
surveying group, told ljie States
man Friday! riight , j :;,
Findings pf his beard, he said,
would be given to the bureau and
any announcement as to the j rU
sults Ivoulct come front it
I The training course hich may
come jto Willamette woiuld be fr
officer: i candidates, with trainees
enrolled for a minimum of four
i 6-week periods, it is Understood
here. J j V ' ' .1
" Willamette was the past week
listed among 238 colleges and juni
versities approved byj the jwfir
manpower jcommission jfor use by
irmy iaiid iiiavy in basic and spe
cialized war training programs. '-.
The! survey here included! not
only" , educational . facilities I but
housiogr. recreational facilities,
wateri supply and similar features
of the cityj
!
aign
i
Tbe; women's teams,
headed by
Mrs. Charles A. Sprague and di
rected by j Mrs. Douglas McKay,
Mrs. William M. Hamilton, Mrs.
Ev M. Page 'and Miss - Dors then
Steuslbff; reported ;- ever $6000
collected f romr the residential dis
trict,! topping their quota by $3000.
They jesthnate that another $1000
may j be collected during the re
miuider o the. week wVp.;
Men's teams reported less com
plete I results, - but all speakers
were; confident of their success in
collecting pieir quota. j
Further : interest was given to
the luncheon when Judge George
Rossman, chairman ot the Marion
County Red Cross for! the past IS
yearst presented William M. Ham
ilton ' charier membeir and active
worker, with a boquet of red car
nations on'; his "40th't birthday. .
1
i
Stevivoirs:
Mitt
Jap
Lifehoats
Sunk; Enemy
Bases Raided
i .'SearAiely Survivor'.
Said Remaining in '
. Reinforcement Try ':
By The AaaociaUd Ptmo
ALLHSD HEADQUARTERS
IN AUSTRALIA, Saturday,
March 6-An allied airman saw
200 Japanese troops . in three
lifeboats-all that remained of
15,000 spilled into the Bismarck
sea by in sinking of a 22-hip
convoydropped his bombs
and messaged his base:, "No sur
vivors.
' That - ended -one of the most
brilliant -aerial strokes by Ameri
can and allied fliers in the south
west Pacific, a spokesman said
Saturday . in commenting on the
high command communique an
nouncing "there . was , scarcely
survivor." r
The final score: i"
For Japan Ten Japanese war
ships, cruisers ' and - destroyers,
sunk; 12 merchantmen, transports
and cargo ships sunk; more than
80 enemy planes destroyed or put
out of commission; and the troops,
estimated at 15,000, which the
Japanese were hurrying to their
threatened foothold in the Lae
Salamaua . sector . of ' upper '.. New
Guinea. - -. ; .
For tho allies only one bomber
and three fighters lost
The mopping up of the surviv- .
tors off the New Culnea coast waa -carried
out methodically Friday by
allied bombers and long-range
fighters sweeping the sea. t " " '
More than 499 Japaaese per
ished In the final operations in
an area from 29 to 75 miles off
the New Guinea coast in Huon
gulf. Barges. lifeboats and rough '
log rafts to which the enemy
troops were clinging were torn
up by high explosives or ripped
apart by the fighters' machine- .
guns.
By nightfall only small bits of
wreckage and on slicks were all
that remained to mark the grave
of the Japanese. armada that had!
set out from Raba'ul, New Britain,
"Our long-range fighters and
bomber units swept the entire
area (of the Huon gulf) complet
ing mopping up of barges, life
boats and rafts from sunken ships
of the Bismarck sea convoy," the
noon communique of Gen. Douglas
MacArthur reported.
"Efforts at escape were largely
fruitless and practically all were
destroyed. There was scarcely, a
survivor so far as was vknown.7
The convoy of 10 warships and
12 transports was sunk in a three-
day attack, beginning Tuesday, aij
tne Japs sought, to send badly
needed reinforcements to its gar
rison at Lae, New Guinea. '
At Lae, seising upon the op
portunity presented by the dis-
ruptioa of the Jap, planes, Mac
Arthur's ' planes for the second
straight day gave that Iluon gulf
bise .a terrific pounding.
. "A series of coordinated attacks
by all categories of our air force
were made on the airdrome snd
adjacent installations through the
day."; the communique said.
"Fires were started which were
visible for 40 miles. Weak enemy
forces attempted interception but
were dispersed by our cover. Three
enemy planes r were shot down."
' Mention ef the weak Intercep
tion appeared highly significant
in view of the fact that in .
Thursday's4 stepped-up aerial
operations at Lae. allied planes
had to battle more than a score
of Jape, shooting down , 17 In
addition to blasting six which
were on the ground refueling.
Boston . bombers, ' Beaufightera
and Warhawks raked Lae while
Flying Fortresses bombed and
strafed Gasmata, in New Britain.
Liberator bombers bombed Saum
lakl in Tanimbar island in the
northwestern sector above Aus
tralia.
Sea Lane Geared -
BALBOA, CZ, March 5
Rear Adm. C. E. Van Hook, "com- "
mander of the Panama sea fron
tier, declared Friday that the sea
lanes between Panama and the
United States had been cleared cf
U-boats as the result of an effi
cient anti-submarine campaign
plus the , enemy's necessity for
using the submarines elsewhere-.