. - . i
J . ; . . ' . , . :
' - . ' s - - ' i -
r
: , 7cstLer
v - " Monday maxiamnt tem-
, Elver t.$ feet.
Fair "Tuesday sad TTed-
y aesday; continued eolA at
i T . eJsht; warmer . east pertlea
Wednesday.
POUNDDD 1651
1 -f I I I N 1 I
' Tbi other day ; Guy Hickok of
i the' first National bank handed
me a copy of report prepared by
the statistical department of his
4 bank covering , the 'cattle and
sheep population in tregon. This
I report showed that the number of
e cattle " in Oregon had increased
f from 575,683 bead in 1938 to
788,327 in 1943, gain of 36.6.
For the United States the gain was
j 15.9. In the case of sheep there
; was a -decrease in Oregon of
I 15.6 representing liquidation of
' flocks and adjustment under the
. Taylor grazing act
With this marked increase in
: cattle the question arises over' the
: wisdom of relaxing slaughtering
- Quotas and even of meat ration
ing. The Bend Bulletin editorial
. izes on these statistics and later
. figures and offers the opinion that
t meat . rationing might well be
v suspended. Very recently OPA
t did ' relax its ration points on
meats. "
i : The. balancing of prices and of
i requirements which will permit
i the regular flow of livestock from
breeding through feeding and fat-
i tening . and . marketing is a most
- difficult ' task." The government
undertook only part of the job,
-1 and . sometimes . feeders . were
, caught .with, high" feed costs and
' rigid selling . prices so they, lost
money.. As a result it seems-that
' a lot of unfinished stock is either
being kept on the range or else
, . has gone to the slaughter pens
without being fattened. This re-
suits, in lessened weight and in
ferior quality of meat. .
. - i There are three simple, work
able procedures according, to Mr.
Hickok that would help the situ
v ation:
1. Discontinuance of slaughter
quotas in government licensed
, packing plants.
-.2. Radical reduction in p o 1 n t
rationing of beef products.
3. Guaranty of floor and ceiling
prices on meat and meat animals,
" such floor and telling prices to be
. : somewhere in line with the ones
. " now in (Continued on Editorial
Page)
Road in Burma
Falls to AlUes
After 2 Years
' .. By PRESTON GROVER
NEW" DELHI, March i 13-(Pl
The inland part of ' the Buthe-
daung-Maungdaw road, necessary
for an offensive on Akyab, Burma
port 55 . miles to the south, has
- been taken with the capture of
"Buthedaung after two years of
fighting by British and Indian
troops, it was announced today.
The British drove past the road
In their abortive offensive in Ar
akan last year, but had to give it
up when the Japanese suddenly
emerged from the jungle to the
north and cut across their rear.
"British and American , airmen
flew a record number of sorties
in excess of 500 over all the
battle fronts without losing a sin-
gle plane. r-f-J
- Admiral Lord Louis Mountbat-
ten's southeast Asia command said
the enemy was driven oft a domi
r riant hill at Htindaw and other
high positions west - of Buthe
daung, from hilltops to the- south
. and southwest of Buthedaung and
; from other positions around Raza
bil to the north.
West Africans, who had . out
flanked Buthedaung by taking
Xyauktaw. across ' the Mawdok
range to the southeast, also occu
pied enemy posts on high ground
to the northwest of that, village,
while along the cwampy, creek
laced Bay of Bengal coast south
of Maungdaw the British carried
r out another of their commando
like raids against surprised Japa
nese.. ".: A ;-. '"- A .
In the north Burma theatre of
the Hukawng valley the Chinese
nd American force of Lt Gen
; Joseph W, SUlwell was able to
: make a gain of only two miles
in 24 hours of fighting.
Here the allies were five miles
- south of Chanma, or about seven
miles south of Walawbum where
"Maj. Gen. Frank Merrill's Amer
: lean marauders sprang their trap
on the enemy last week, and were
in i position to drive into the
Mogaung valley where they could
threaten the Myitkyina railway,
chief Japanese base in north
, Burma. .
Strike Paralyzes
Mexican Phones
MEXICO CITY, March 13-P)
A strike of 1751 employes of the
Mexican .Telephone company to
day paralyzed service to some 80,-
000 telephones . in - Mexico. , The
other two . companies in Mexico
continued to give service.-"-- -
The employes demanded a flat
15 per cent raise. The company
offered 15 per cent, plus any in
crease already given under a gov
ernment decree raising wages on
a sliding scale. The union repre-
mting the workers said this in
crerre would average about. 3&
rr cent - .. t
IIDIETY-THISD TEAB
RAF, US -
Aeain Hit
Continep
French Inv?
Coast Boir4;
No Nazi F ters
By AUSTIN .BEALMEAR
LONDONrTuesday, March 14
(JPy- RAF bombers crossed the
southeast coast late last-night
for another blow at the con-.
tnent after. US bombers blast
ed by daylight at German posi
tions in the French coastal area.,
US Flying Fortresses in small
force smashed yesterday at Gerj
man forward positions in northern
France target of an estimated
15,000 sorties in the last three
months as the time for a newly
intensified, and perhaps decisive,
period of the air war approached
with the waning moon..
-Acain the Germans failed to
send p a single fighter te de
fend this sector, closest to Bri- 4
tain, where the enemy is known
to have emplaced rocket guns,
robot planes, and anti-invasion
weapons.
But two of the B-17's which
crossed the channel under a Thun
derbolt i escort failed to return,
victims either of anti-aircraft fire
or mechanical failures.
US ninth! air force Marauders
struck the same area in the after
noon, escorted by RAF, Dominion
and allied Spitfires. Mosquito
bombers staged " a third attack,
losing one plane. . -
J Thls battered strip of north
ern France new has .been.' st
acked 5S times in the last's :
: ine uajruAfc oiow jvuuwcu
raids on western Germany last
night by RAF. Mosquitos, none of
which was lost V ;
Bright ' moonlight of recent
nights has limited the RAF to low
level precision' bombing by rela
tively small forces, .but within a
few more nights the moon which
has saved the Germans from sat
uration night assaults will be gone.
; Meanwhile it was learned that
the US. air force ' has given' top
(Turn to Page 2 Story D)
Partisans Gain
Hold on Island
In Adriatic Sea
L By EDWARD D. BALL
LONDON, March 13.-(P)-Led
by an, unidentified American of
ficer, a Yugoslav partisan force
has seized a foothold on Brae is
land in the Adriatic, a rocky sen
tihen athwart the entrance to the
German-held port of . Split, the
Yugoslav army of liberation de
clared today.; 1 "
The t port of Pucisce on the
northeast of Brae was occupied,
the broadcast communique said.
The operation presumably was
part of the continuing allied ef
fort to broaden and safeguard the
Adriatic supply route to Marshal
Tito (Josip Broz) and might be
the prelude to an attack upon
Split itself, the finest Yugoslav
harbor.
Another possibility was that the
allies were seeking to break up
German coast-wise shipping,
which - increased noticeably after
the nazis seized Italian naval ves
sels at Flume when Italy surrendered.'-
u . - ;.-..4-v
The Cairo radio broadcast un
confirmed reports that the allies
had sunk six German troop trans
ports off Zara vp the coast from
Split '- v-;
On the Yugoslav mainland, Ti
to'p ' operations in the north were
posing m major threat to Field
Marshal Gen. Albert Kesselring's
supply lines particularly the
Trieste - Zagreb railway feed
(Turn to Page 2 Story E) '
Fate of Family Sugar ;
Rations Still Uncertain
WASHINGTON, March IS.-T)
-Whether family sugar rations
eventually will be cut ls not
known at this time," the office of
price atinimistration (OPA) said
today in ordering a curtailment of
most industrial uses of sugar.
OPA promised, in any case that
the value of five pounds each for
sugar stamp 30, now valid, and
stamp 31, which becomes valid
April L wul not be cut down.
(5, c'f
9 I
ij::;tlFAGES:
ion
Doomed Plane
A two-motored German
fighter
plane is bit by an
American
fighter craft ever Europe (top),
begins; to trail smoke i(eenter)
and appears te be in ruinous
flame (below) as black smoke
indicates burnisg oil or gas. US
bombers, to the right, mean
while, continue on their mission.
(AP.JVlrephote from army "alrl
forces)
f4
Italian Mud
: .L.-.j-.M'lUa
Stalls Ground
Operations
By EDWARD KENNEDY
A LLIED HEADQUARTERS,
Naples, March 13-(F)-rdund op
erations in Italy have come to an
almost complete standstill, with
both t sides so deeply, mired in
clinging Italian mud that only the
opposing artillery is able to main
tain the battle.
' Allied! artillery put in a heavy
day yesterday - shelling German
troop concentrations and "gun po
sitions around the rim of the An-
zio beachhead, - considerably in
creasing ; its; volume of fire, bu
otherwise action w a s limited
strictly to : ! the aerial campaign
against Field Marshal Albert Kes
selling's supply lines.
British Beaufighters hit two
German :: supply "ships off the
Spanish coast,- beaching one and
leaving the other in sinking con
dition, an announcement said. -
(A German broadcast , termed
this attack "a violation of interna
tional law," and : identified the
sunken vessel -as .the 3700-ton
German refrigerator ship Kirissi.
It said 10 crewmen were killed
and 15 wounded.)
: Allied naval forces in the Adri
atic were reported to have sunk
two enemy-vessels last Friday and
Saturday nights. -
In "flail, the allied force flew
some 1300 sorties yesterday with
out losing a plane. One German
plane ) was destroyed.
Barkeley Calls
OiiJ Roosevelt
WASHINGTON, March 13 -IF)
Senator Barkley, democratic lead
er of the senate, called on Presi
dent; Roosevelt today for the first
time 'since bis - break with the
White house over the president's
tax veto, and reported a most
agreeable session.
Then he went up Pennsylvania
avenue to the senate and blocked
for the time at least considera
tion of as resolution, which would
have; given the judiciary commit
tee the right to survey all presi
dential executive orders, , "with
particular regard to ' the j source
of constitutional or executive au
thority.
.Barkley said he wanted to stu
dy it Some more.' fc w
The democratic - leader! joined
other icongressional chiefs in the
regular Monday legislative con
ference with the president. It was
the first White house visit since
he arose in the senate, accused the
president of a "calculated assault
on the legislative intesrityV cf
congress and cast'cfl the leader.
I ship to oppose the tax veto.
Salem. Ortgon.
JJ?-; SL II li S S;
Eire's -
Border ;
To Close
British-Irish .
Travel Barrier ;
: To Be Extended.
DUBLIN, March lZ(JPh A
high authority said tonight that
the border between neutral Eire.
and northern Ireland would be
closed. Even while this infor
mation indicated a drastic ex-
ension of the British-Irish tra
vel ban, it was said that there
would be no immediate formal
sanctions against Eire by the al
lies. '
The -authority, who cannot be
dentified by name, indicated that
any hopes the neutral Irish might
have that the decision on stopping
traffic across the 200-mile border
might be left to the Belfast (Uu
ster) government were unfounded.
There was no evidence of any
passionate , feeling toward , Eire,
who own press as well as that of
Britain : was avoiding any high
tone of anger. But it was clear
that the supreme allied leader
ship - was determined to " deal
quickly and thoroughly with the
whole problem of the presence of
enemy informers in Eire. "
American and British action al
ready taken, as well as that prob
ably contemplated, was flavored
more with the military considera
tions of the forthcoming opening
of the western front than with
any diplomatic or political consid
era tions.. This first was suggested
by the official British statement
itself, which in effect promised
removal of the restrictions when
the military would permit.
The British home office order
last night suspended alt travel, ex
cept in. cases of greatest urgency,
between Britain and Ireland, both
northern Ireland and Eire. It was
made just two days after Prime
Minister Eamon De Valera made
known his refusal to agree, to the
request of the United States that
Japanese and German legations in
Eire be closed.
Travel on Belfast-Dublin trains
was restricted during the day al
most wholly to- soldiers and sail
ors in mufti returning from leave.
There was almost a total absence
of ordinary traffic.
One Dublin hotel had only three
cross -1 r i s h - s e a - reservations
against its -normal 200 to 400
week.-
Eire Ban Hits
British Farms
DUBLIN. March 13 -(-Considerable
anxiety was expressed
tonight ever the possibility that
the British -" Irish travel baa
might be extended te movements
between Eire and northern Ire-
: While travel across the Irish
sea Involves about 300.000 trips
a year, 'suspensei ef cress-border
communications weald af
fect about LZ50,C0a trips.
There was some question as
to whether the British will per
mit farm labor to eome under
the urgent work . classification
exempt! from the ban. If net
the baa will hit British farmers,
it was pointed out, since the an
nual migratory exodus of Irish
farm laborers has barely started.
Mrs. Roosevelt
In Dutch Guiana
PARAMARIBO, Surinam, March
13 Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevel
arrived today at an airfield in
Surinam ' (Dutch Guiana) on her
tour of United States bases in the
Caribbean areal '
s She was accompanied by Lt.
John Bracken. USNR, represent-
in- the Caribbean - sea frontier
command, 'and by -Miss Malvina
Thompson, her secretary.
Mrs! Roosevelt expressed regre
that in : passing ? through Miami,
Fla- she had "just missed"' Fnn
cess Juliana of the "Netherlands,
who was returning from a visit
to the Caribbean area.
Asked by a reporter whether
she was not tired from her exer
tions during the current strenuous
tour, she rentied: "No. I believe
you get stronger as you get older
Tuesday Morning. , March 14.
Mm
Peace Envoy
From Rumania
Off for Cairo
LONDON, March IS -UPV-
Prince Barbs Stirbey was de
clared in a Daily Mail dispatch
from Ankara today to have left
Istanbul for Cairo In the role
of Romanian peace envoy to
continue conversations with al-
JUed authorities. '
The former Rumanian prem
ier holds a special pass which
will enable him to enter allied
territory, the dispatch said, and
added that the very fact the
pass was Issued indicated that
his mission was receiving ser
ious attention of British author
ities. ' t '
-. Stirbey Is a bitter opponent ef
former t King Carol, who once
exiled bins to Switzerland. The
Daily Mail dispatch said he had
talked with both Americans and
British In Anakara. r
Desperate Jap
Attack Turned
Back by Allies
By ROBERT EUNSON
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS,
Southwest Pacific, Tuesday, Mar.
l-i)-A desperate attack by
three to four thousand Japanese
on American positions at Empress
Augusta bay on Bougainville isl
and in the Solomons was turned
back Saturday, with about one
third of the attacking force killed,
the allied communique said to
day. . !
All the Japanese ' who suc
ceeded fcn getting through the
defenders barbed wire were
-wiped eut.before nightfall -
Nearly , 150 American nayy
bombers ! Supported ; the ground
troops by smashing enemy infan
try, artillery and machinegun po
sitions and support troops. "It
was a well-organized attack,"
headquarters spokesman said of
the Japanese thrust. . ",'' v;
; Concentration : of Japanese
troops , ; around ' the beachhead
northeast of Cape Torokina, where
the - allies have : two airfields,
had been noted for several days.
Last Thursday the Japanese made
an attack which cost them 100
dead, and the following day al
lied bombers and "American de
stroyers : hammered '.the enemy's
artillery positions, from which be
was throwing artillery shells onto
the airfields.'
.' Troopers of the first cavalry di
vision moved from their well es
tablished invasion positions on
Los Negros island in the Admir
alties to occupy two small islands
on Seadler. harbor; The . islets,
Hauwei and ButJo""'Luo, were
hammered by American artillery
firing '. from Los Negros and
' (Turn to Page 2 Story C)
Canada Refuses
To Plead for Eire
OTTAWA, March 13-P-Prime
Minister W. L. MacKenzie King
said today Canada had rejected a
suggestion from Prime Minister
Eamon De Valera that she use her
influence to have withdrawn the
United States' notes requesting the
closing of German and Japanese
diplomatic and consular, office in
Eire.
The Canadian government was
in full sympathy with the Wash
ington request, King told the
house of commons. .'; - " .
Gas Ration for A9 Cards
May Be Cut to Two Gallons
WASHINGTON, March
A gasoline ration cut for "A" card
holders in the west and midwest
appeared as a possibility - tonight,
holding mem down to the ' two
weekly gallons allowed motorists
on the eastern seaboard. - j -:
; Western and ' midwest drivers
now can get three gallons a week
with'their A" ration, i H -W.
CoL Bryan Houston, deputy- ad
ministrator of the office cf price
administration, said the cut has
been advocated by the petroleum
administration for war and may be
announced when the new fuel al
lotments are set by law, -possibly
tomorrow;
If the cut is ordered it prob
ably will be accomplished by
stretching out the valid period of
"A" coupons to threa months In
stead of the present two. ' '
1344
TED-
Reds Give
Finland
Fev Days
Last Chance
Said Offered
For Armistice
By JOHN H. COLBURN. 'A
STOCKHOLM, Tuesday, Mar.
14 -JPh Soviet Russia was un
derstood today," to have given
Finland a few more days ta ac
cept her armistice terms in a
stern i answer to . the week-old
Finnish request, for an oppor
tunity to negotiate conditions
under which Finland would
quit the war. ,
A heavily censored .message
from Edwin Shanke, Associated
Press correspondent in Helsinki,
hinted at "dramatic developments"
within the next few days and sug
gested" that 'the Finnish govern
ment ; must make a decision
quickly possibly at a scheduled
parliamentary session today or
face severe consequences. , . " !
The exact nature ef the reply
Moscow made yesterday to the
Finnish counter proposals is un
known bat lt was strongly Indi
cated that KussU stood to aU
purposes ea its original princi
pal demands that Finland intern
German troops ia the country,
withdraw to her 194 borders
and repatriate Russian prison-
Russia's reply "was believed to
have - offered Finland one last
chance to quit the war on condi
tions Substantial! the sam
those tendered the Pinna atnheir
request about three weeks ago.
The peace crisis was described
in informed quarters here as "getr
ting tougher" for Finland every
hour. ; :u-r
. Neither - government, -. however,
was believed to have closed the
door to eventual agreement
Home Safety
Up to Nazis, :
Hull Declares
WASHINGTON, March ' 13.-P)
-The United- States served notice
tonight that! if Rome becomes a
battleground and treasured relics
of Christianity there are destroyed
the' blame will be upon the Ger
mans, -i-i.-;-'-,-' -"
Secretary Of State Hull declared
that German soldiers have entren
ched .themselves in Italian shrines
and monuments ; and that . allied
military authorities ."are dealing
primarily with considerations of
military necessity." ' ' ;.
This statement was in response
to. Pope Pius XII's appeal yester
day to .allied and German leaders
to spare nazi-occupied Rome "So
that they may be remembered In
benediction and not malediction.M
Hull 'made: no promise to spare
Rome, although he stressed the
desire of the allied authorities to
avoid destruction of holy and his
toric places, and human lives, "to
the extent humanly possible." -
The secretary of state was ques
tioned about; the pope's appeal at
a press conference, and issued a
formal answer to the queries later
In the day. Added weight at
tached to his 'words because of the
fact that correspondents were per
mitted totjuote them directly, a
somewhat unusual procedure. -
prastie, nation-wide restrictions
on the use of "R" gasoline cou
ponsIntended for off - highway
vehicles such as farm implements
will be put into effect by the
OPA April 1 In an effort to dry
up a gasoline black market that
has grown out of their use.
Each coupon is good- for
five gallons and OPA said they
were issued liberally -with the re
sult that many users got more gas
oline than they needed. The sur
plus has been finding its way into
automobile gas tanks.
To restrict their use OPA an
no u h e e d that, beginning next
month "R coupons WEI not be
good at regular retail filling sta
tions. (They will be exchangeable
only at bulk plants cr -at gasoline
stbrase plants.
Pr!e Sc
i-
ture
Wav ;to
New Thrust
Puts Soviets
.Black
;" J 'f i ..i " '.!
o . . i , - ,
Cap
By TOM YARBROUGH;
LONDON, Tuesday, March 14(AP)Gen. Rodk)n:T,
Malinovsky'g Stalingrad veterans wiped out a panic-stricken
German garrison at Kherson yesterday, capturing. that bi
axis Black sea base at the mouth of the. Dnieper river and
boosting the toll of German dead and captured to 75,000 in
10 day, Moscow announced at midnight. 5 - ' '
V ..Striking. with crashing; speed 22 miles down the west
bank of the Dnieper river; the third Ukraine army chased,
the Germans, "who fled in panic" into ! Kherson. Then
breaking into the strategic city "on the heels of the retreat
ins Germans? the soviet soldiers quickly slaughtered thos
who sought to make a stand, said the bulletin recorded by
the Soviet Monitor.
1 ! O Other unit t under - Maliaevakr
Russia, Italy
To Exchange
rs
By RICHARD G. MASSOCK
NAPLES, March 13-F)-Soviet
Russia , and Italy are exchanging
ambassadors, ' the ' government of
Pietro . Badoglio announced to
night, marking the first diploma
tic recognition by any of the unit
ed nations of the Badoglio regime.
The : Soviet ' action ' apparently
was taken without consultation
with " - other allied - governments,
which ' also have Badoglio's re
quests for exchanges of diplomats.
. A British diplomatic official
here yesterday professed lack . of
any knowledge of the step; ' al
though Italian communist leaders
said they knew a week ago it was
impending.
On the' other hand, American
officials here were understood to
have had advance knowledge of
it, although none would comment
on the matter which, it was said,
concerned only the - Italian and
Soviet governments. i
Diplomatic ' relations ' between
Italy and Russia were severed
June 22, 1941, when Benito Mus
solini declared war on the Soviet
nation," the day his axis' partner
Adolf Hitler invaded Russia.
While Russia has not yet accep
(Turn to Page 2 Story B) ;
Navy Bombers
Attack Wake
US PACIFIC FLEET HEAD
QUARTERS, Pearl Harbor, Mar.
13-F5-Big Liberator bombers of
the seventh army airforce and the
navy's fleet air wing two gave
little Wake isbmd a 50-ton bomb
ing 4 Saturday without ! losing a
plane. ? '
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, - the
central Pacific commander, said
in his press release today that oth
er American bombers hit Nauru
island, just southwest of the Gil
berts, and three Japanese bases in
the eastern Marshall. It was the
14th raid of the war on Nauru. -'
The attack on Wake, which was
captured by the Japanese only
after a historic fight shortly after
Pearl Harbor, was the eighth this
year. .The last previous; bombing
was on January SO when 21 tons
of explosives were dropped. It was
hit hard In two-day carrier plane
and surface bombardment last Oc
tober. : .;.- Yj.-; v 0
Wake is 20 statute miles north
of the Marshall and 2300 west of
Hawaii.
70,000 Still Opt
In British Strike .
LONDON, March IS-Cffy-Only
39,000 of Britain's striking coal
miners returned to work today
while 70,000 others. Ignored the
appeals of the government and
their own - union leaders alike . as
the strike: went into its second
week.--,;ifiT".-.'-;.r.;:':;;A i
- In VTales dorens of the biggest
pits in the country some of them
almost in ; sisht of army : camps
where American doughboys are
training for the invasion remain
ed Idle in the dispute i which; Is
costirj th country at least 250,
CC3 tons of coal a week. T i,
Ambassado
Wo,
m rrrn
1 N DlVjR&
Sea Ba6
Opens
Odessa
Past : Tambpol
Near Riunania
captured Galganevka an the Ing
alets river Just S5 miles east ef
Nikolaev, the next big abjective
In his troops. Nikolaev is 35 miles
northwest ef KersoaJ and alse Is
threatened by soviet forces last
reported only ZS miles north of the
City."-.;.-:;;: -j, ,.". :: " .v.4. ' ' -' T '-v
Moscow dispatches said the Ger
mans were even throwing away
their light packs In flight, j ' -
The Russian communique, said
Malinovsky's t roops alone ; had
killed 20,000 Germans and captur
ed 2500 in a week, not. counting
the axis troops cut down at Kher
son. Great quantities of equip
ment also wera aized.j '(
I Far Wvthe' northwest bj ld y
roland a 'new ' Sassiaa thrust
southeast of Tarnopol foaad red -army
troop reaching a. yoLat
about 5 miles from the Kamast
- tan frontier and about II mOes
from the eastern tip ef the eld ,
Csecho-Slovaklan ' border.' Net
yet able te take Tarnopol front
ally the Rassians appeared te be
resorting te their favorite de
vice of speeding areond their
geaL "; .""' . " '
' ' Kherson fell after a sharp street
fight and Premier-Marshal Joseph
Stalin's order of the day termed
lt "a large Junction of rail and
water communications and an im
portant strongpoint in German de
fenses at the mouth of the River
Dnieper.1 . ; - "j
The capture of Kherson, taken
by the Germans In the fall of 1941
a few months after they attacked
Russia, opened the way for o-.
ordinated red army drives on the
next big Black sea objectives, the
ports of Nikolaev, SS miles north- ;
west of Kherson, and Odessa, M -
miles west of Kherson. ?
t i - .....
Other Russian units already are
within 30 miles of Nikolaev on
the north, moving down both sides
of the Ingul river. Odessa, the ul
timate major prize, is the funnel
through which the Germans must
retreat along the Black sea coast
into Rumania over inferior rail
routes' unless they can stop the
soviet juggernaut." '
' Sixty-five miles southeast of
captured Kherson lies the Crim
ean peninsula, isolated by th
Russian mainland ' advance last
fan. Presumably the German gar- .
risons there have been left to wi
ther .although soviet amphibious
forces hold 'toeholds,, near Kerch
on the eastern end '.of the penin
sula. '
Stalin especially praised pon
toon bridge builders in his com
mendation of the victorious red
army units. .These soviet engineers
spanned the wide lower vDniepey
river last Friday near Berislav, al
lowing assault forces to cross, cap
ture Berislav on Saturday, 'and
then smash, on down to the west
bank of the, river 44 miles, into
Kherson. Stalin ordered 20 sal
voes from 224 Moscow cannon to ,
celebrate the fall of the two cities, .'
. A short time after Stalin's or
der of the day was issued, the reg
ular Russian broadcast-communique
recorded by this soviet, moni-
tor announced that Russia's three
southern armies , had fwpt
timwgh320 more towns inA24
hours and were poised . within SO
miles of Rumania's frontiers-, at
three widely separated points. .
At three points the Rosslans "
were threatening the approach
es to Rumania at ;newly-eap- -tared
Ekalat, 23 cl!cs southeast
"ef Tarsc-l It. the southeast- ,
era corner cf cU Febind. sooth
af ProskuroT rail jonction in
the west LTtralae, and at Galv-
(Turn to Pace 2 Story A) . t