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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1943)
Jap. Wewak Base Mailed. Advance Through Gabes Gap Allies Tighten Mac Arthur Promised Planes 3 Ships Bombed mr Mara ...... ... - Enemy Convoy Tries To Supply Troops .-j . In New Guinea . ALLIED - HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Friday April 1IMP)-A strong Japanese at tempt to supply and man . their base at Wewak, on the north toast of New Guinea, is under attack by General Douglas MacAr thur's bombers. ..." -' Today's communique , disclosed that an enemy convoy of six mer chant vessels arid three warships was sighted approaching Wewak and was bombed in mast-high at tack. Three of the merchantmen ivere hit heavily. ! An 8,000 ton ship was observes, sinking at the stern, another list- . LONDON, April 15.-UP)-" The Pally Mall said In an ed itorial Thursday that Austra lia was right in pushing its case " with persistence, but noted that There Is also some risk in over-emphasis" and recalled the story' of the boy who cried wolf too often. ed rapidly, leaving an oil slick , and a 5,000-ton ship was- forced shore and beached. . Wewak is some 450 miles northwest of the allied base of Port Moresby., Indications nave-: uf -tJt U...llJ 1L.I 111.. Japanese, after losing heavily 1b attempts to supply their llaoa ; gulf bases of Lac and ' JSalamaua directly by ship, have A. . 9 A . . .A turnea to wewax, anioaamgine applies there for overland " dang. - Other allied heavy bombers at tacked the airdrome at Rabaul, New Britai n, some 500 miles northeast of Port Moresby, Rabaul is a big airplane "and shipping base of the Japanese.-A spokesman for General Douglas MacArthur' said yesterday that -the enemy has a concentration of 250,000 tons of shipping in the region. :j . The Rabaul raiders caused large explosions and fires on the Lak linai airdrome at Rabaul. - General MaeArthur's spokes man disclosed today that the United States air and ground forces have sustained a total of 4,319 casualties dead, miss ing In action or wounded In the New Guinea campaign throufh March 31. Of this figure, 2,175 were list ed as killed or missing in action "under conditions presuming .death." - The airforce casualties repre sent a large proportion of these totals since the airmen were the first to see action in the ; New Guinea theater and . waged a fight f or-many . months before ; Amer ican infantry engaged the enemy. The warships escorting the merchantmen near Wewak were light cruiser, destroyer' and gunboat. ' ' ' '-: The attack on New " Britain's northern base of Rabaul was com plimented by an attack on an air drome at Gasmata on the south ern side. At Lae, direct hits were scored among grounded aircraft at the airdrome. ... f (Turn - to Page 2 Story A) : Russ. Troops , Kill 600 Nazis LONDON, April 16.-yP)-Rus-ian troops killed 600 - Germans and damaged or burned 13 tanks In a resumption of furious fight ing in the western Caucasus above the enemy bridgehead at Novor ossisk, Moscow announced early today. ' The midnight communique re corded by the Soviet Monitor said the Germans hurled 46 tanks and strong reinforcements' against red army troops menacing ; their positions in the Kuban valley, presumably ' ' tne ; ,Anastasevskaya sector SO miles north of Novoros eisk, but declared all the nazi counterattacks were smashed, j ; I The Russians said the German Counterattacks had followed their own ' ttiye operations"; in r this erea where the Germans still de tain a small foothold in the Cau casus. . . Chosen, t ' , ' - ' i ,1'; ?;"', - . ROY RICE i Roy Rice Gets County Post Named to Succeed R. A. Cirod, Called To SeaBee Duty Roy Rice, Roberts farmer and real estate man and active grange leader, was Thursday night named county commissioner pro tempore to replace Ralph A. Girod, whose call to duty with a navy con struction battalion 1 is dated April 23. j . : ? - , Rice, candidate for the repub lican nomination for commissioner last year who lost to Commis sioner Jim Smith, was named by Smith and Coonty Judge Grant Murphy and taes,1 office, at. noon April 423' . ; , , ......... ' Choice of the Roberts man makes the county court a temporary geo graphic triangle, since Smith is from St. Paul and Murphy from Stayton. . I Rice is president of the Marion c o u n t y fair board, state and county, grange deputy, former Pomona master here, member of the Masonic lodge and past presi dent of Marion and Polk county community clubs. He came to Salem in-1923 from Toledo, opera ted a store at Roberts for 10 years but has recently devoted (Turn to Page ,2 Story E) Marine's Statement Denied i ALBANY, Ore.,r April 15-JP) The possibility that, the knife slay er of Mrs. Richard F James of Norfolk, Va., could have been a white man was injected Thursday in the lower 13 murder trial of Robert E. Lee Folkes, Negro din ing car cook charged with mur der. : - . . A negro porter, H. M. Hughes, testified that he ; heard Harold Wilson, a marine1 corps private and one of the state's chief wit nesses, say that the man he saw dashing down the aisle of the death car after 1 Mrs. James screams awakened him was 'a white man. .; Hughes' statements came during cross : examination ; by LeRoy Lo max, ! Folkes . attorney. . : ; Wilson, occupant of upper 13, heard Mrs. J ames ' scream, peered from his berth to gee a man run ning toward the rear end of car 13. He testified Monday that he was unable to tell whether the man was white oc black.- He In sisted that he had never told any one that the, man j was white. Hughes said thai he and another porter, N. I Shaw," heard Wilson say definitely that the man - who fled from the car j was white. An attempt to introduce state ments ; admitting j the slaying, which Los: Angeles- police said Folkes made to them in that city, caused Circuit Judge Lewelling at 2 p.m. to dismiss the jury until Friday morning while arguments over admissibility were heard ' Mott Expected ; Home for Visit Due home Sunday for three-: day visit with his family here,' Congressman James W. Mott 'is; stopping between - inspection 'tJl coast fortifications andinavSl sta tions. Mrs. Mott is to mee5 him in - Eugene on Sunday. ;t 4 . Mott is ranking mirjority 'mem ber of the house naval , nffajrs committee, now in the rmtlst of it California coastal tour, Stimson Assures Relief Pacific Fliers to -Get Reinforced Air Strength WASHINGTON, April 15-(JP) Planes enough to 'counter" Japan's stepped-up air attack in the southwest Pacific will be forthcoming Secretary of War Stimson assured his weekly press conference Thursday. "We will keep our American and Australian fliers supplied with sufficient planes not only to re place our losses but to build up our aircraft to counter the in creasing enemy air strength," he said. "The needs of the southwest Pacific are being kept constantly in mind and there will be a con stantly increasing flow of military supplies, particularly aircraft, to that theatre." The war secretary spoke in di rect answers to the rising clamor from Australian public officials and others for more help to beat off the Japanese attacks and re tain the hard-won allied air initia tive in the Australian-Solomons theatre. General MacArthur lent powerful support to that plea in his recent statement .; warning of the gravity of the situation, and his high ranking officers, Aus tralian and American, have fol lowed f up, I ' President Manuel L. Quezon, refugee chief executive of the Philippines, added his voice to the concert during the day in formal statement expressing serious con cern over reported Japanese air concentrations "near Australia." Dr. H. V. Evatt, Australian min ister of external affairs, now in Washington on an official mission, renewed his plea for more and prompt air help in an address pre pared for broadcast over CBS. He gave a hint, too, of the actual size of the southwest Pacific airforce that has scored smashing victories against tremendous odds. "In the magnificent battle of the Bismarck sea the Japanese tried in vain to screen their ships with 150 zero fighters," Dr. Evatt said. "A fighter screen, mark you, of greater numerical strength than our entire bomber, fighter and reconnaissance force there as sembled to smash the convoy. "The heaviest attack yet made on Rabaul has consisted of 37 aircraft. The greatest weight' of bombs we , have dropped in any one raid has been 80 tons not very much compared with the 1,000 tons dropped with such reg ularity on German cities night aft er night." ; Lawyer Seeks Dismissal PORTLAND, Ore, April 15-ia5) Hearing of arguments on a Henry J. Kaiser motion to ! dismiss the "aid and assistance" portion of the national labor relations board complaint charging three Portland area Kaiser shipyards with unfair labor ,' practices was completed late Thursday. Trial Examiner Robert N. Den ham recessed the hearing until 10 aJ m. Saturday. 1 He said he hoped to rule on the motion then. A two-day session of leading Pacific coast AFL. chiefs will open here next Wednesday to make stra tegy for the remainder of the hearing. ; , OWPWarm.of: WASHINGTON, AprU 15 The office of war information Thursday "" night said American civilians; this year face various shortages--either occasionally se vere or continuous in a "serious food situation." - t - The OWI said this is the gen eral prospect governed bytmany factors not completely predictable for the year on the home front: More food produced than in record-breaking 1942 but less of it. for civilian - consumption. This is the picture: "Conservatively and roughly es timated, and ' assuming average weather, civilians will have about -'iff. -Vic ir.yJt'-.-iyi: r sr s British soldiers march In single file alongside rumbling - tanks and Utrongh Gabes gap in 'Tunisian after axis resistance there had This official British picture was sent frem Calre via radio. Trade Treaty Fight Flares State Department Man Calls Gearhart Speech Pro-Nazi WASHINGTON, April 15 -P) The house ways and means com mittee hearing on reciprocal trade extension was thrown into an up roar Thursday when Francis B. Sayre, state department represen tative, referred to a statement by Representative Gearhart (R Calif.) I as "very much like a pro German speech." j ' The flare-up came after the Californian accused the state de partment of "encircling Hitler by making trade treaties with stir rounding countries," and he asked "Who jean say this did not cause Hitler jto strike the first blow?' "Instead of Dromotine " neace ." Gearhart said, "this program has contributed to wr, Don'tccme here saying . they (trade pacts) will promote peace when they have brought us war." : ? Sayre, hlh commissioner ef the Philippines at the time ef the Japanese Invasion, and now assistant to Secretary of State Hall, I said, "That sounds very' much like a pro-German speech." I : Gearhart, a committee member, jumped to his feet and shouted, "Don'tj you or any other person dare say I am making a pro-Ger man speech. I at the outset de nounced Hitler as the most con temptible thing alive." He said his forefathers fought in the: armies of George Washing ton and that Captain Jacob Gear hart grossed the Delaware with Washington. Glaring at Sayre, he conclud ed: ' j (Turn to Page 2 Story C) Finns Rebel At Nazi Task STOCKHOLM, April lS-iiiPWn- creasihg'German pressure was re liably! reported Thursday night to have forced the government of Finland to a crisis last weekend amid j indications that a political shakeup, especially among pro- German officials, is pending In Helsinki, The most important of the shifts to be (made includes the removal or transfer of Secretary General Pakaslahti, who holds the posi tion, in the Finnish foreign office which Is comparable to that of the American - undersecretary of state.) He has been known as strongly pro-German, Workers Strike UNIVERSAL. Pa- Anril 15-UP) Workers of the . Universal Atlas Cement company, a United States Steelj corporation subsidiary, went on strike Thursday In protest against a war labor board . order limiting them to two cents an hour increase instead of the five and one-half cents recommended by a!' referee., . ...j-,.- S per cent more food than in the pre-war years but about ,6. per cent less than in 1942. "There will be little fancy food but there will be eaougfc ftt If It 1 fairly shared and conserved." : " -V . " .; ; The. report, months In prepara tion, f asserted its purpose was neither to "alarm nor reassure." It added: . , ' ' . 1 : iTiie food situation is not en tirely " predictable. Requirements vary J from, time to Itime.-Supplies at. any given place at any: given timej depend on varying factors. Production depends on , weather and other fluctuating influences. Shortages 1! - - - f... Vacation Gas Out, OPA Says PORTLAND. April 15 -JP)-No extra gasoline for vacations this sammer, the district OFA said Thursday. "Mileage rationing . regulations , designed to conserve rsbker make no specific provision for vacation or pleasure driving of ' any type," said Edmond W. Eg-, gen, district mileage rationing representative. "Ninety miles Is the only por-' Uon of the mileage allotment of A, B or C bookholders which la not intended for occupation driving, and even that is meant to be used for family necessity driving." Kiska Bombed Ten Times In One Day WASHINGTON, April 13.-03) -Army bombers, e scorted by swarms of fighter planes, plas tered Japanese "positions on Kis ka island Tuesday in an unpre cedented one-day series of ten raids. The attacks, apparently carried out on a dawn-to-dusk schedule since no night actions were speci fied in a navy communique, ex ceeded by one the total number of raids against Japan's Aleu tians outpost during the whole month of February. In that month of short days and bad weather, American planes struck at Kiska nine times, dropping 1,000 bombs. : Neither the number of bombs nor the total tonnage loosed in Tuesday's raids was given by the navy, but it seemed probably that the actions had broken all records for amounts of explosives drop ped there. The communique said "Many hits were scored and fires were started In the runway. and main camp area." While the bombers were about their work of destruction, the fighter planes strafed beached en emy floa type aircraft. The largest previous number of attacks in a single day was on April 2 when army bombers made eight raids. The size of that raid caused conjecture here as to whe ther 'an amphibious attempt to take Kiska might be in the mak ing. There still is not evidence one way or the other as to what the intentions 4 of- the American high command may be with re gard to Kiska. v- . State Student Wins Oratory C LOS ANGELES, April 15 -(ff) Harry Thurman of Oregon State college won first place in oratory Thursday In the finals of a three day speaking contest of the Paci fic forensic league. Robert Meyer of the University of Southern Cal ifornia won the extempore speak ing finals. t Speeches were on the theme, -America's Role in Post-War World Reconstruction." The result is constant change. "American civilians, there fore, must expect inconven iences from time to time and understanding ef this fact Is most Important In comprehend ing the feed situation." ; Elmer Davis, OWI director, told a press conference yesterday the food report had : been held up since January. He explained: r f "There were difference between two government (agriculture "de partment) agencies over J. what Were. the facts." ' Recently,, he said, he had held it tip so additional facts could be inserted. 5t S,V' 5 armored vehicles In the advance been broken by the Eighth army. Comity Drive Hits $700,000 Americans Urged to Buy "War Bonds for Hitler's Birthday PORTLAND, Ore., April 15 (P) Purchases . of war bonds In thelrst two days of the second war loan drive In Oregon totaled 112378.594, the state headquar ters staff reported Thursday night. War loan leaders urged Marion county citizens Thursday not to wait to be solicited during the current second bond drive as they reported that the county's sales outside of banks had reached the $700,000 mark. The goal for this part of the county's "sock Hitler" war chest is $2,500,000. "If you are not solicited to buy war . bonds, go to the nearest sales agency, bank or postof t ice," asked J. J. Gard,' second war loan chair man, for the county. "The county gets credit for all bonds purchased within the county, regardless of the agency .selling them." Gard said his committee was pleased with the public response to date but warned that with but two weeks to go, the county had more than half its quota yet to be filled. A spur of the moment bond signup .conducted at the Salem Lions club luncheon Thursday noon brought pledges aggregating $22,200, Secretary Harry W.Scott reported. Slightly less than one half the club's membership was represented, by pledges, because of low attendance, he said. The club plans .further aid to the offi cial - bond' selling organization through Its patriotic service com mittee headed by J. Fuhrer, with (Turn to Page 2 Story D) 7 Oregon Men Held by Japs WASHINGTON, April 15-P) Nineteen-northwest men and wo men were listed Thursday among civilian internees held by the Jap anese in ' the Philippine islands. Emergency addresses listed and the relationship where it - is of record are indicated with paren theses... :;-.' l , ' V ' ' ' ' ', """ J The names are, from! Oregonr - Long, Frank Eugene wife, Mrs. Margaret C. Long, 519 SE 27th avenue, Portland) :- ' -c- Lord, Montague (sister,'. Miss Elizabeth Lord, 545 Mission street, Salem). ", ' ' Lyman, George Glenn (Allen Bryan, 6211 SE 29th avenue, Port land). ,1 ' - . Meadows, Hyman; Martin Mead ows (brother, Morris R. Meadows, 219 Fitzpa trick building, Porfe land). - " '., Rankin, A. O.; Mrs. E. JL Rank in, R. M. Rankin (mother of Mrs. Rankin, Mrs. J, J. Rae, 8938 SW 28th avenue,' Portland ) Bellstrom, Leonard Olof, ma chinists mate, first class, (Mrs. Gala Duerst, mother, 5 3 3 3 SE Rhone street, Portland.) " Cyr, Clifford Charles, torpedo- man, first class, (Mrs. c.veua Broadkman Cyr, wife, 6108 North Denver street, Portland.) Quakes Shake Frisco Bay Area V OAKLAND, Calif:, April 15-(P) Sections of the San Francisco bay area, principally Alameda county, were shaken Thursday by a series of earthquakes, some of 'which were so severe they cracked plas ter walls and knocked dishes off shelves. ' Dr. Perry Byerly, University of California seismologist, placed the temblors' epicenter about 30 miles southeast of Berkeley, probably along the Hayward fault. 1 On- Rommel French Moroccans, British Tommies Storm 2 Heights; Nazi Unit Annihilated r LONDON, April 16 from north Africa today quoted French headquarters as saying that French troops, pushing against Field Mar- -shal Rommers defenses south ef Pont du Fahs, had cap- : .- itired more than 10Q0 . prisoners and killed nearly as . ; many ' more axis troops in f the latest fighting: on that front." v ;f ;: '''; ;' " I '' . " p"!" ;-: i!'. . -' ' .... . . By DANIEL DeLUC ! Vj f' ' ALLIED HEADQXJR ATERS IN NORTH AFRICA; April 15 V (PBritish and French troops in hand-to-hand fighting havf seized two valuable stretches of high ground and 600 more pri soners along the axis Tunisian siege line to boost the allied toll of enemy captives to more than 30,000 in less than four weeks, the high command announced Thursday. r ' j ; Allied airmen also punched additional holes in the enemy's sky armor Wednesday, destroying 21 planes at a cost of eight allied aircraft, and raining tons of explosives on the still 'strong Tunisian-Sicilian network of fields. i , 1 1 War Plants I Ri issians Hit From j East, British . From West LONpON, April 15 -(-Ger many's homeland war resources were dealt shattering aerial blows from east' and west Wednesday night, (with Russian planes raid ing thej Baltic supply ports of Dan zig and Koenigsberg and Britain's bombers blasting Industrial Stutt gart, j .: -Tremendous : fires were left In all objectives and fierce explo sions were observed, official ac counts reported. - ' Announcing- the Danzig- and Koenigsberg raid, the third by Russian planes on Germany J since Saturday, ' Moscow said ! Thursday night in a broadcast ; recorded by the soviet Monitor that "particularly fierce fires t and explosions broke eat . In the vicinity' of s Danxig ell reserf volr. ' I J Huge; fires likewise ' were ob served in Koenigsberg in the viW cinity of the harbor and -freight station- All Russian planes - re-t turned,! Moscow said. .-- - : Danzig and Koenigsberg are points 'on the eastern German sup ply route to the Leningrad front. Danzig is the former free city at the head of ' the Polish corridor. In ! Stuttgart, one of the ene my's most vital armament and , engineering centers, RAF bomb ers set big fires that sent dense smeke billewiar 14.S00 feet .highg;..- '.. Twenty-three of the planes that roared j 400 miles, across hostile territory to blast Stuttgart - were lost to anti-aircraft fire and nazi fighters. Ten of the missing planes were from Canadian squadrons, which took an important part in the raid. i At, least three German night fighters were shot down. -; Fighter planes of the Ameri can Eighth air force engaging in ; dosk sweeps ever France Thnrs- . day were reported to have de stroyed two enemy planes. Two . American aircraft were missing. RAF iVeatura bombers escorted by fighters attacked "shipping and id k s , at Cherboarg In In France, planted strings of bombs on Le Havre airfield and - scored direct bits en Gersaaa defense works under construc tion west of Freecamo. - Again throughout Thursday for-! mationa of Spitfire ; fighters streaked across the- channel ; to challenge the nazi air force and to shoot up enemy communica tions in northern France. Cannon - (Turn to Page 2 Story B) OP A Guards Finns WASHINGTON, April -JP) OPA announced Thursday that it had, incorporated in its meat rationing .. rules ' a " prohibition against independent "m i d d 1 e menV -r -r ' ; Thursday's amendment was" de scribed -y OPA as "emphasizing the principle of fair sharing" and requiring , that a "large meat es tablishment ;-. operating its own branch ' houses give ' the ' smaller middle man the same considera tion in the matter, f customary supplies that it gives to Its own business. Trap : (AP) A Reuters dispatch This powerful sky offensive has destroyed 459 : planes in combat since the Mareth offensive March 20, compared with 152 allied air craft missing. Officers also csti- mate that 150 or more German and Italian nlanes have' been de stroyed aground during a syste matic pounding, of axis air ter minals. ' ' ' British First! army infantry stormed and captured Djebel Ang, a mountain top eight miles above v r mi wm . m f ii a ivieajez-t.i-rau ana times wrti of Tunis . Wednesday, routing sirongiy-enirenuieu . unwn aiiu Austrian Alpine troops of whom 200 surrendered. ' These "enemy ;troops were dug in, as are other axis troops hold- . ing the mountain approaches to Tunis and Bizerte, for a fierce siege warfare. Their removal from . the high ground between Medjez-El-Bab and Mateur would facilitate a direct highway drive on 'Tunis by Lieut. Gen. K. A. N. Anderson's First army; On the southwestern rim of the axis lines French Moroccan gou miers seized Djebel Sefsouf, a hill line seven miles above the village of Kararhoun, A French commun ique said 400-enemy troops, mostly Italians, were captured, while a German infantry company which chose to fight it out was annihi-. lated. ' ' .. ,- v.-: - Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgoni-. ery's British Eighth army is probi ing axis strongpoints between Sef souf and the coast, j General Montgomery apparent ly still was bringing up his heavy artillery and reinforcements for a powerful effort to turn the ene my's coastal flank. J German Sub ed By Bomber .WASHINGTON, April .15 -(TP) A German submarine was depth charged and destroyed in the Caribeaii Sea several months ago when it was caught cruising on the surface . by an army heavy bomber on patrol the navy re ported Thursday , - " L ! One crew member from the submarine survived the attack and was picked up by a United States destroyer, the riavy said. This was the first time that an official release had disclosed the capture of a German U-boat crewman in American waters. r . t The army bomber, : piloted by Captain : Howard Burhanna, Jr of Philadelphia, sighted ,the sub at eight miles. The U-boat still was on the surface when the plane released its depth charges. Immediately after the depth- charges exploded, air and oil bubU bles blossomed over the surface - the men In the bomber spottet lare Volume nf nil anA b! breaking through the water. The oil .slick spread out 1 In a largfr circular area, and it apparently was on this evidence that the navy classed the submarine mi - des troyed. Members of , the plane's crew then- sighted a survivor of the attack swimming about in the oil. They dropped a life raft and vest to him. ' - l r' im'-; M every man, woman ana, I chad la the raited States lays I 4 aside fits the aggregate wial . be about JlS,C59,e39,CC3 r the j V f amount the Tretscry most ' ' 1- raise la Its EecotJ War Lozr, ' Destroy