; ,-. , .. . . . - . : ! - - . ; oi ram n i aiii w ; . ( . By Trudl BfcCallooga ' ' V " TIIE NIGHT before Chrlsinus la 1S18, -Silent Nlfhfmmt beloved of Chrtat bui carols had not yet been composed. Bat on Christmas Day it was sung by : children la an Austrian village. ;J That Christinas Eve the Tillage priest, yeang Josef Mohr, sat reading, when a peasant woman knocked at the door,' - A child had been born in - one of the 'humble homes in the Alps. He went to -bless It and returned so filled with the meanlnr of the Christinas story that he sat down to write what he felt. The lines kept turning- into Night! Holy Night! An bright . . ." Frans G ruber, schoolmaster composed "Silent Night." later erroneously attri buted to Haydn. Next morning, with only a guitar to guide them, the village, children sang the song. The Journey of "Silent Night" had begun. - OtP The flutter of Christmas shop ping, the scramble for gifts from depleted stocks, the . hurry of crowds on downtown streets give a wrong impression of Christmas, 1944. The mood of the people is sober. A few weeks ago there was enthusiasm about Christmas, as folk looked forward to this as probably the last wartime Christ mas, as far as the war in Europe is concerned. There "was still a ray of hope that the bloody busi ness in Germany might be con eluded, perhaps by the year-end. The German counter-offensive quickly , cooled that enthusiasm. Deep concern, if not depression, replaced the buoyant optimism that had prevailed, since last sum mer. People realized that in the whirling maelstrom of battle at the junction of Germany and Bel gium and Luxembourg our , own men were fighting and dying, our own men were being engulfed in the rolling tide" of JGerman armor and infantry. There could be little lightness of heart in such a situa tion. " f While theTTVMrno lack of con- fidenc in ultimate victory, tne s fact suddenly dawned" on Ameri cans that the war was far from woii. There has been, in conse quence, . a great deal of self-re- croach over our complacency, our over-confidence, our "superiority complex," if you please. Now we feel like saying, with KjpUng: ' "For frantic boast and foolish 1 word v . Have mercy on thy people, . - -" lord." There is at home that guilty feel lng that somehow we have let our (Continued on editorial page; Delivery of All Parcels Today Postoff ice Plan All packages in the Salem post office will be delivered today, Postmaster Henry Crawford said Saturday night With the biggest L holiday season in its history be hind it, the Salem post olfice stall was ready - to observe the Christ mas holiday on Monday with all work cleared up. "- Only package received during the night Saturday or Sunday morning will bo left to deliver today, Crawford said. The work was all cleared up last night ex cept for misdirected packages. The post office will remain closed 11 day Sunday and Monday,, The expected drop In quantity of incoming mail did not hit the local office until Saturday noon, several .days later than usual, Postmaster. Crawford said. Berlin Brings White Christmas'" to Yanks SOMEWHERE IN NETHER tANDS, NEW GUINEA, Dec. 24 Irvingjv Berlin brought white Christmas' to American doughboys here last night with his unexpected appearance at a holiday party. v " .;' The song writer arrivedun- announced en route to join nis troupe of This Is the, Army w for a tour of the Pacific theatre, and obliged the GI's with piano num- Vlers and with some songs which r be helped make popular. H verse: "Silent is calm, all is li i ! fL Salem Churches Birthday of Priiice of Peace V i . -i' . t With Special Noel Services With prayer, music and lighted i candles, the birthday of the Prince : of Peace will be celebrated today and Monday in Salem churches. , - While regularly-scheduled Sun day services center about the hiumble nativity of the Babe of Bethlehem, several churches have planned special observances of the great feast of Christendom. Midnight Service t The midnight Christmas eve service will begin with a candle light procession at 11:00 p.m. Sun day night at Saint Paul's Episco pal church. The choir will sing Tours Communion, The Magnifi cat, and an off ertory, "The Sheep Lay White Around" by Sure. Or gan preludes will precede the ser vice. Special prayers will be of fered for the young men and wo men of the parish in the military service of their country. Seven Christmas Masses Seven Christmas masses will be celebrates in Salem's two Catholic churches Christmas day. The first will be a 6 o'clock high mass at St Vincent de Paul's church and the, last will also be a high mass at 11 o'clock at St Joseph's. ; Other high masses will be cele brated at 10:3d' at St ?Vmfcent' and the first mass at St. Joseph's will be a high mass at 7 o'clock. Low masses will be celebrated at 8:30 and 9:45 at St Joseph's and at 7:30 and 9 o'clock at St. Vin cent de Paul's. Christmas carols will be sung at all of the low masses and the choir will sing the high masses. St Michael's mission at Chemawa will have low; masses on Christmas at 7, 8 and 9 o'clock with carols sung by the students, First Baptist Chnrch The First Baptist church, will present a Christmas service 6 to 7 o'clock in the morning i Christmas day. Organ Christmas melodies will be played at 5:55 a.m. to open the meeting, followed by the singing- of a group of the old Christmas carols. . A mixed quartet will sing, "Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne," and "There's a Song in the Air." ' Miss Mabel E. Fox will sing a solo, "Cantique de Noel," by Adam. . "The Nativity scene,". "Holy Night" will be shown in pictures during the service. Dr. Irving A. Fox, pastor, will speak on the sub ject, "The Secret of a - Merry Christmas." 1 f Latheran Services " . " . ''' Christ's Lutheran church will hold a 10:30 Christmas day ser vice With a sermon by the pastor on "The Wonder Child in the Manger". Senators Work toGive U.S. Advantage From Air Bases By Jack BeU WASHINGTON, Dec. ' 22.(P) Senators -maneuvered today to provide an ace ; in the hole " for the state department when it sits in on the final determination of aviation rights. -: V Chairman Mead (D-NY) an nounced that - members Tunnell (D-Del) and Burton (R-Ohio) of the senate war, investigating com mittee have been instructed . to find out what has been done or will be done with American-constructed airports- when they make flying trip to north .Africa after Christmas. ' ,: Mead said the committee is de termined that Uncle Sam keep a string on . the world-wide system of ; landing fields, which military engineers ' have built in foreign , . .v --: JI. : - r i-m naurfi.niiii 1 f j-. to Celebrate Turkey Saves Self Urging Hungry to 'Buy War Bonds' TACOMA, Dec' 23-()-Major, a 37-pound turkey, weathered to day's last-minute frenzied Christ mas shopping by , strutting up ?nd down on the sidewalk in front ot Corbit's poultry market wearing a sign "Don't Buy Turkeys,. Buy war eonas." " Hundreds of Christmas shdo pers stopped to stare at the bird, 1 : t , ii .it x - m ai I. waica wim an 113 learners mi lled. aDDeared to enibv the sensa tion he created. Major has been working froni 8 a.m. to 6 pjn. the last few days, said F. A. Corb Greek Gvil War Spreads Over Entire Nation ATHENS, Dec. 23 (Jpy Fifteen thousand to 20,000 left-wing, Elas warriors stormed the " rightist guerilla stronghold in northwest ern? Greece today, spreading civil war clear across tne nation, as stiff fighting also erupted north of the Athens port of Piraeus, where British-Indian troops landed un der the support of naval guns and rocket-firing Beaufighters. British headquarters, which only last night received the Elas' reply to its cease-fire ultimatum, officially declared that the Elas assault on the right-wing strong hold around Ioannina was an "unprovoked attack" in violation of an agreement reached between the , rival factions at Caserta be fore the original British landing: in Greece. , While Lt Gen. Ronaold Sco- bie,' the British commander, and Harold McMillan, British resident general in the Middle East, con ferred on the situation, Indian troops battled the Elas members north of the main harbor basin of Piraeus, southwest of Athens. Weather JKaximnm temperature Sat rday 38 desrees, minimum J9 . degrees; no rain; river -2 ft 2 in. Partly cloudy Sunday with a few snow flurries in the southeast portion and showers In southwest; clear in north portion - Monday and partly cloudy In south; little change In temperature. . countries until it becomes certain that this country will : share in aviation rights in those countries. : ; Alongi with their clean shirts Tunnel and Burton will pack com mittee , instructions to check, .the coordination 'of American' civil, military and relief agencies abroad to inquire into the tapering off of lend-lease, to learn plans for the postwar disposition of facilities and to find out how much oil is coming out of the middle east for the fighting forces. , .m "We particularly want the state department to have a string at tached to that lineup of airfields from Casablanca to s Cairo when it goes into conference to deter mine landing rights all' over the world,! Mead told a reporter. VVBswMSmssvssHfStfMM1 M: W . i r t NINETY-FOURTH YEAR rn Pointless Articles Going Out Most Vegetables, Meat Will Cost Points Next Week . By Marvin L. Arrowsmith "WASHINGTON, Dec. 23;P Virtually all point-free meats and canned vegetables will be back on the ration list by the start of the new year, it was learned tonight The OPA, reliable sources said. is prepared to announce the dras tic move next Wednesday." New point values, now being discussedj probably will be effective De cember 31. Affects Many Items ' v " The decision is understood to affect practically all cuts of beef, veal, lamb and pork, as well as all major canned vegetables. The af fected foods have been ration free since last May. ! Because of continuing need for freezer space in warehouses for military commodities, frozen fruits and vegetables probably will stay point-free. Jams, jellies and preserves are not expected to be returned to the list Victory for OPA ; Restoration of points to , the wide variety of meat , .cuts an vegetables will be a major victory for OPA over the War Food ad ministration. For the last five months OPA has recommended that point-free meats and vegeta bles be put back under rationing. contending that spotty distribution and shortages-r-actual and poten tial warranted such a" move. .WFA, which has jurisdiction as to which commodities are ration ed, rejected the proposal each time it was submitted. The dis pute 'was climaxed last month when OPA appealed to Stabiliza tion Director Fred M. Vinson, ask ing that he act as arbitrator. Willamette to Share in Fund Okelied by ER WASHINGTON, Dec. 23JPh President ; Roosevelt's signature put a billion-dollar program of approved flood control projects on the nation's postwar books today. 1 But congress still must appro priate the money for the projects, which encompass not only flood checking works, but also reclama tion, hydroelectric power and sinv ilar developments. . ! PORTLAND, Dec. 23 (P A $20,000,000 appropriation to im prove the Willamette river basin by constructing five new dams at Dorena, Detroit, and three sites not yet chosen is authorized in the flood control bill signed today by President Roosevelt, ' Lookout Point on the middle fork of the Willamette, Quartz creek on the McKenzie river, and a . spot near Sweet Home on the Santiam river are tentative sites for the other dams, army engi neer's said. Oregon Sweeps Close To E Bond Goal . PORTLAND, Dec. 23.CP)-re-goa swept to 90.2 per cent of its $34,000,000 E bond goal today with sales of $30,685,429. Eight days remain to reach the mark. Overall sales, long past the $107,000,000 quota, reached $145, 291,130. Multnomah county,4, with only 79.1 per cent of $19,000, 000 E quota, still hung behind," - ,uy r ; f 24 PAGES lBB ft M Cracks Down VI w - J Byrnes, A 1 i rnes uraers Closure of All Racing WASHINGTON, Dec. 23-()-In its most drastic manpower moves of the war, the government today banned horse and dog racing and served notice that materials, fueT and transportation will be denied businesses which defy, manpower regulations. Selective service also was di rected to review the qualifications for military service of profession al athletes. J The actions capped a week of intensified endeavor to speed up the whole American war effort to the greater pace which the German counter - offensive has shown will be necessary for victory."- : .. -. Today's actions .were ordered directly by James F. Byrnes, di rector of war mobilization and re conversion. It 'was announces, however, that his request that all racing tracks close by January 3 was issued with President Roose velt's approval.. tvf ---;' 1 Glenn Miller Now Missing 2 DUARTE, Calif., Dec. 23.itf) Maj. Glenn Miller,' peacetime dance band . leader, is - reported missing in action in France, his wife's parents announced here to night .... ... - Mr. and Mrs.- Fred W. Burger said the word came by telephone from their daughter. " Mrs. ; Miller called from Tenafly, N. j where she had gone to accompany; a girl; recently adopted by the Millers, to California. ' " f ' (Irs. Miller said that the band leader had, been in England for some time, directing musicians' groups in an armed forces ! enter tainment program, and that he went to France about two; weeks a0. - i-: : s Ir 4 t j-v S Marine Senior Surgeon Dies at 57 in Geveland CLEVELAND ,Dec. 23 Dr, Stephan A. De Martini, 57, senior surgeon at the United States ma rine hospital here, died today. A native -of Portland, Ore,' Dr. De Martini was connected with the United States : public health ser vice for many years, serving in its hospital in Port ,Townsend, Wash. - ' -i Low Temperatures Predicted Christmas PORTLAND, Dec. 23-CflP)-The thermometer is expected to dive to 20 degrees the season's low- here Christmas eve- I ;y H. :1 James F. Fe PdUNDnD 1651 Salem. Oregon, Sunday Morning, 9 100 Jap anes Blasted Destruction of Nips iil Ormbc Area Completed By James Hutcheson r GENERAL Mac ARTHUR'S HEAD QUARTERS, Philippines, Sunday, Dec, 24 -P) Headquar ters today reported a smashing daylight air raid on Clark Field, near Manila, in which the' major ity of 100 grounded Japanese planes were destroyed, and said also that U Stroops had completed the destruction of Nipponese in the bloody OrmoC' corridor of Ley te island. , ! Liberator bombers operating from Leyte made the Clark Field raid Friday, Philippine time. Nips Surprised It was the first daylight Liber ator operation against that main Japanese air center in the Philip pines and an army spokesman said it was a first class surprise to the Nipponese, who got only nine of their fighters in the air to meet the assault ' ' Eight of the nine interceptors were shot down by . US Thunder bolts; The dispersal and taxi areas betweep Jtwpjotthe airstrips were lert enveloped m lire and smoke Liberator crews reported one tre mendous explosion from which i smoke column rose 5000 feet Jap Toll Mounts Yanks cleaning up Leyte's Or moc corridor and pocketed Japa nese to the east counted another 3788 enemy dead in one day. bringing the 8-day total to 18,661 The US 77th division, the com' munique said, is continuing to work its way westward from the corridor to the port of Palompon, last base of the remnants of en emy forces in that area. Participation of the 11th air borne division in the west Leyte fighting was disclosed for the first time. ' It is commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph M. Swing. It did much of the heavy fighting in the rugged mountainous terrain south east of Ormoc and east of the bat tlefront where the 77th and the 7th division closed a trap on the enemy's Yamashitaline and turn' ed the Leyte campaign toward i victorious end.: , Chief of Navy Chaplains To Be Rear Admiral WASHINGTON, Dec. 22-(JP) Legislation permitting the eleya tion of the chief of navy chaplains to the rank '. of rear admiral was signed today by President Roose velt " Airpl Soviets Report Nazis Killed 700,000 Persons, Including AmericanSyBritons, in Death Camps By Eddy GUmore : v MOSCOW, Dec. 23.-(P)-A So viet extraordinary state commis sion investigating war crimes re ported today that 700,000 persons' including an undetermined . num ber of citizens of the United States and Britain, . had been killed by the Germans in three camps in Lwow ' Province, Polarid. ' The report did not list the names of the Americans and Britons,-nor did it give " any further details concerning them. " The victims of all nationalities were said to in clude both civilians and prisoners of war. ; ' Writers, artists and musicians were made to wash the stairways of one seven-story building with their tongues, and then were , com pelled to pick-up v garbage with their, lips, the report said. i- In another incident, the report v4(V,, December 21. 1944 Allied Air Might Pours Destruction On German'Ranks Yank Relief Columns Bite Into : Southern Flank of Penetration By Enemy; Situation Improves PARIS, Sanday. Dec 24 (APV American relief col umns, swinging- up through Belgium in their first effective counteraction, have bitten into the southern flank of j the German penetration which i now has reached Libramont, only 23 miles northeast of his toric Sedan, allied headquarters disclosed last night JL With clearing skies the world's mightiest air. force also swung into action with 4500 invasion columns, cutting destructive swaths through their ranxs ana nammering tneir rear i Dases. . !-.'"- i Allied headquarters, lifting !a 48-hour time lag on front news, gave this report of the situation: Striking north of the city f Luxembourg and also, north of Arlon, 13 miles northwest of Lux embourg, American troops hate dented the German southern flank. ' Attack Located - , ' A front dispatch covering this action through Friday , morniig said the Luxembourg counterac tion was sprung north of Mersch, eight miles above Luxembourg viijr. Aimuugn uus aispaicn w iiiL t. it- . a m r censored it contained these haps significant words: "It is obvious that in the days since the Germans threw th dice in what probably is their last big gamble,' the Americans hae had time to reform their forcesr Halted in North. Encouraging news also came' from the northern flank, where Associated v Press V Correspondent Wes Gallagher said that Fiejd 1 V , tt -k . a . l j marsncu A.ari von nunasieat naa been forced to pull back one of hb crack SS (Elite) divisions because it was so badly mauled by hard fighting doughboys in the Mal medy sector. .i: j The Germans left more 5 thin 1000 dead in the snows below Malmedy, Gallagher said, and a hard freeze setting in had the Yanks grouped around small bon fires across the battle - ridden fields and cross-roads. Hundreds of 7 Hitler's . youthful troops are snow-covered lumps, dead in the No Man's Land between the lines in that area, the dispatch saidJ US Loses Stavelot The Americans, however, hae lost Stavelot, five miles southwest of Malmedy, headquarters dis closed, and also confirmed the German . announcement that : St. Vith, 12 miles southeast of Stave lot, had been taken by the Gerr mans. '. ; Masses of German armor wete reported- pushing the Americans back lowly from St Vith toward Vlelsalm, nine miles to the weft and seven miles south of Stavelojt. SHAEF described ' this action. where the Americans, werjyrfigt to prevent a ; link-up ; of maidr German columns, as one of the epic stands of the war. The Amer icans slugged it out toe to toe, and are still fighting with great cour age, but are slowly being pressed back by superior forces. related, the commander of one of the camps, the Yanov camp, threw two four-yearpld children int4 the air and shot them to amuse, his own,nine-year-old daughter. ? f The committee said it was also established that at the three campi Yanoy, Sitadel and Usenitz4 the gestapo devised the "humah icicle" treatment, which consisted of t putting bound prisoners Into; barrels of water and then placing the .barrels outside in below-zerc temperatures, with guards stand ing over them until they; became frozen, in ice. , . ' Nazi gestapo chief H el n r I e hi Himmler . was said to have : par-j ticipated . directly in the crimes,! visiting the camps' several times! for personal inspection. v"As a result of this,", the re port said, "the Lwow atrocities' of the German monsters- bear; the No. 233 Luxembourg and southeastern , sorties against the German - To Halt Nazis LONDON, Dec 23 -The might ot allied air power was thrown in today over the snow covered western front in an at . tempt to check the German drive into Belgium and Luxembourg as more than 400 heavy bombers and more' than 1000 fighter-bombers pounded Marshal Karl Von Rund stedt's lines. i .' In some of the fiercest air. bat tles of the war, 106 German Mes- ' serschmitt and Fockewulf iighters ; were shot down by rAmerican fighters and bombers 'which 4 es caped with much smaller losses. Three heavy bombftrjuAnd 13 fighters were reported missing by the U. E. Eighth, air force, based in Britain. , Three hundred planes of the U. S. Ninth air force based in France shot down at least 29 of the German fighters which rose, by the hundreds ; to protect the German supply lines. The Ninth's losses were not reported here. One Contest J Winner Found Names of one winner and of one possible winner in the Sixth War Loan Victory dream house contest were filed Saturday with Marion county war finance com mittee, although the first prize was yet unclaimed. ' . Theodore Rainwater, 1980 South Church street, will receive the $4000 worth ot war bonds should first place winner not file' his name with' the committee by FrK- day of 5 this week. Should the winner reoorL through a bank of Marion county, , or to Douglas Yea ter, committee chairman, then Rainwater .will be declared win ner of the two-acre tract, second prize. If Rainwater Is declared winner of first prize then G. A. Austin, 1535 State street,. will be awarded the tract of land. V, . -T mark of the personality of Him mler himself." v . - The German government, said the report, systematically sent to the Lwow camps prisoners of war and civilians of foreign states from concentration camps in Germany and then tortured and killed them. . . The victims were said to have included Ukrainians, Poles, Czech oslovaks, Yugoslavs, Americans, Britons,.' Netherlanders, Italians and citizens of other states, in cluding many Jews. The reports were confirmed the commission said, by numerous' statements ' of Soviet citizens and also by French : prisoners of war who had been confined in the camps and were liberated by the Red army. v;, The commission ' reported that "children were selected and given to detachments of the Hitler youth as targets for shooting, practice." 1 -.: . 5 . - V r. Pries) 5c Enter Effort