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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1944)
What kind of Christmas was this which OPA save the country? Certainly not a Santa Claus Christmas. Instead of opening its pack' and' distributing' sugar and t-bone steaks and butter with lav ish hand OPA used the holiday to announce a reduction in the val tie of ration coupons. It even de clared null and void the Ted and blue stamps that were valid be fore December 1. This last was a sad blow to many a housewife. observed Mehi table poring rue fully over her ration books, and mourning the loss of her unused reds and' blues. It gave her a touch of the blues to reflect on Vanished chances to buy rationed meats and butter and cheese. - : But, said I, with little offer of comfort, what have we lost? We have, had plenty to eat, and we have presently valid coupons to provide for current, needs, so wherein do we suffer? That may have been good reasoning, but it wasn't at all comforting. To Me hitable It seemed as though her food bank, where she had accum ttlated a few credits for future use, had suddenly gone bust right in her face. Undoubtedly, there are many Mehi tables in the same Snood. .. i 7 In the Tuesday mail came a letter from Chester Bowles, head of OPA, calling for editorial as sistance to justify OPA's action to the housewives f America. Bowles wanted it explained that his reversal of ; ; . - , (Continued on Editorial Page) Aslts Allies to Htna I ni-f-rif-T-cr LONDON, Dec. 2&HJPy-An im mediate allied invasion of Nor way from the west as a means of breaking Hitler's power in the north and saving the country from total destruction was urged tonight by Norwegian Prime Min ister Johan Nygaardsvold. Calling ipon every . Norwegian to hamper in some way the nazis northern garrison, he warned that every German soldier who es caped to the south would help lengthen, the. war..; ..; dJ -i - Nygaar d s v o 1 d ' , broadcasting S Christmas message to his home land, declared that the Germans tnay attempt -to transfer some di visions from - the north to other fronts where they are sorely seeded. '-, - 1 The Tforwegian leader disclosed that his government already had pointed out to allied leaders ar- fiments. favoring an aUied was a definite necessity for ' it now. v ' Allied Places Carry Attack Into 4th Day . LONDON, Dec. 26.iiP)-American and British bombers and fighters today hit communication and supply lines and attacked Ger man troop concentrations partici pating In the Nazi offensive, car drying all-out aerial support of the Allied ground armies into the fourth straight day. A force of 150 heavy bombers of the U. S. Eighth air force struck the Coblenz area and returned without a loss. A communique said most of the 300 escorting fighters encountered no enemy planes, but one Thunderbolt ' group battled bout 20 Messerschmitts northeast if Malmedy. Reports on this skir mish were incomplete tonight An other Mustang group met four German interceptors "near Bonn and shot down three.. ; f : ' After American planes had at tacked behind the lines, RAF Lan caster and Halifax bombers in the afternoon flew to the St. Vith area where, : escorted by tactical air force Spitfires, they dropped high explosives on exenterations of Ger man troops arid armor Randall Wins Dream House9 f Joe Randall, , operator of the Golden Pheasant restaurant, Sa lem, was Tuesday declared win- M ri o: il. nr.. nr oi waiiuu vuuuij omul war Loan $4000 Victory "dream house." Bonds with maturity value of $4000 in lieu of a new resi . dence, for which building mate rials proved :- difficult to obtain. were provided by contributions from" building materials, dealers , and other organizations and indi viduals. T '.L'-"'i ,". Theodore Rainwater, stated for estry protection assistant, Is to re ceive the second award, his choice ef several two-acre tracts of land, upon which it Is stipulated he must build a home within one year . from date of the end of this war. (More ajbout Sixth War Loan prizes page 3). Norway Chief Asks For Early End Of Strife British Leader Outlines Policy Of f His; Country By Stephen Barber ' ." : ATHENS, Wednesday, .Dec. 27 (JPf-ln a dramatic 4-hour meet ing closely guarded against" con tinuing violence ! outside, ' repre sentatives of the. major Greek do litical parties heard. Prime Minis ter Churchill make a personal ap peal last -night for a quick end to the political strife which ' has shaken the country. . British troops came to : Greece "with the knowledge and approv al" of President Roosevelt and Premier Stalin and , in the belief they had an ! Invitation from all Greeks, including the commander of the elas army, Churchill assert ed. Situation Changes He said there were Germans to throw out' at that time and the. situation is different now, then continued: "Why Is it we cannot leave? Since we've been here the most violent, unexpected troubles have arisen and we have become in volved in them to, doing what we believed wai our dutyr This duty we shall discharge faithfully until the end." ' l: - ', Greeks to Decide ! ' He added, Whether Greece Is a monarchy or a republic is ' a matter for the Greeks and the Greeks alone to decide. All we wish you is good and good for alL' r . The meeting was held in an at mosphere so tense that even gen iwa-Jerals had to give up their erals had to give up their side arms before entering the cold, dimly - lighted conference i room. The sound of gunfire echoed out side the windows during the ses sion and only a short time before it started dynamite had been. dis covered in sewers near one of the capital's leading hotels, the great Bretagne.. Eyes on Table "The eyes of the world are upon this table, the British prime min ister declared in a pointed 15 minute speech asking the assem bled party representatives to solve their differences. ' The conference was held at an undisclosed location and their was no apparent indication , that the carefully : layed dynamite found near the grand Bretaene hotel rep resented a plot against the -lives of Churchill and Toreim Secre tary Anthony Eden,, whose arrival was a complete surprise even in usually well-informed British quarters. New X-Ray TakAs Picture In IMillionth of Second BALTIMORE,. Dec, fidalS 'of the Westihghouse l3ec trie and Manufacturing company, Baltimore, .disclosed today the de velopment of an X-ray machine which takes a picture In a mil lionth of a second. ; '. Officials Report Racing Ban Won't Affect State Budget : Although the general fund of the state of Oregon benefitted . td the extent of $49,090 from horse and dog racing receipts in 1944," state budget department Officials declared here Tuesday that toey were little concerned over the re cent order of the federal mobili- ration : director placing a ban oh racing within the United . States after. January 3. - -' " ';'&.', .The state received, in alL $361, 737 as its three per cent share of pari-mutuel Wfgers i aggregating $1133,000 - during the year - that is closing. With theejtception of that earmarked for -the general fund, most of this money was dis tributed among state expositions, shows and county fairs. Officials pointed out that with the exception of racing receipts going into the general fund all of Makes Plea TVlnston Churchill ers t Pour 44 Tons On dark Field GENERAL MAC, ARTHUR'S HEADQUARTERS, Phillip in es, Wednesday, Dec. 27.-JP)-'H.eavy bombers escorted by fighter planes hit Clark field at Manila Christmas day (Manila time) with 44 tons of bombs in the sustained aerial offensive to knock out Japanese air based planes, on Luzon island. The attack was announced in Gen. Douglas MacArthur's com munique today and followed his Christmas Lay announcement that the Leyte , island campaign had been completed with capture, of the west coast port of Ralompon. The American fighters in the Manila raid downed 39 of 50. Jap anese interceptors over Clark field, for a two-day-total of 72.' . - As the mopup of shattered 'en emy units on Leyte continued, 899 more Japanese dead were counted. Fourteen more prisoners were taken. This brought the total -en: emy casualties for the campaign to-ll4,l2ovf - - Bored Tunnel 200 Feet Long PHOENIX, Ariz Dec. Individual Nazi prisoners worked many months boring in rock a 200-foot tunnel through which 25 Germans escaped from the Papag park camp during the past week end, Col. William A. Holder com mandant, said today. v Only ' six of the escapees, all submarine personnel, have been apprehended since Sunday night In an ever-widening search. Navy Capt Jurgen Wittenberg, 43, is the ranking member of the 19 . at large which includes 11 other navy officers, 'many . of Whom, are lin guists Holden said the tunnel, large enough only for a man to crawl through,; started . underneath. - an outdoor, coal. box and went from 12 to 15 feet beTow the ground sur face. ' : -v-zVP :' ''V .; The bore passed under an irriga tion C ana 1 paralleling the . east fence and the exit was near a second canal " i r . v the racing revenues were distrib uted J among . so-called .non-essential .enterprises which; could . be suspended for -the duration. " For instance,' this year the state fair received $35,000, used for upkeep of the grounds here and set aside in a fund for' further work when the war is over.' r The last state fair was held in 1941. i - - "If . the county fairs, and other shows (Pacific International Live stock exposit! on, Pendleton Roundup i - and Eastern , . Oregon Livestock show) - receiving racing 1 funds desire to continue or renew their events in 1945 they appar ently will have to depend largely upon gate receipts and concession revenues, one official declared, - This seme official said the ban on dog and horse racing would not materially affect the state budget for tie next bienniun.1 " '- " ' ' ' . - , ' - ' " " 4 - . n i - - - t . a ' '- "- ;' X' Bomb Escapee Budapest Circled By Reds ; Russian Forces Drive 2 Miles By. W. W. Hercher : , 1 LONDON, Dec. 26.-(ff)-The Jted army ; today- completed -t h en circlement of-Budapest and drove' two 'miles - inside ; the city 'limits from' the . west, dooming 'the Ger man and Hungarian garrison which originally numbered an es timated 100,000 men. Marshal Feodor L ,Tolbukhin's third Ikraine army troops thrust to the Danube both above -and below Budapest and seized at least nine of the Hungarian capital's solidly - built - up suburbs,-pene trating the city limits at numerous points. One of these, Lipotmezo, was Only two and one-half miles west of the Danube where the river bisects the city. , How many of the enemy garri son .remained alive after months of attrition during the seige was a question, but death or capture were their only alternatives now, with the scanty possibility that a few top men might yet flee by air. ' ..' The Moscow communique dis closed that in fighting Monday on the front west of Budapest alone 2340 Germans and Hungarians were captuTedrTh!s brought the bag for Tolbukhin's men alone to more than '7800 'since December 21, with: more-than 14,000 of the enemy listed as slain in that same period. ' 'IX'" . " . Below-Zero Weather Moves Eastward From Middle West t".,";-.- .. , . , By the Associated Press - - " Eastern states .were on the receiving end last night of a cold wave which pushed the mercury as deep as 24 degrees below zero in the midwest yesterday. -; ' Chicago weather bureau forecasters said intensity of the cold was dimirushing as it moved eastward; Upper New York state,- however, was prepared for 10 below zero early today and Pennsylvania bun dled up for zero readings. ';. - ' Tt una Mmp In mnc nf tVi fnl zone: ' Rapid Recovery Many midwest sections had a rapid recovery from frigid mini mums to above zero levels by yes terday 'afternoon. Temperatures rere due to drop to chilling ranges againt early today, but not as low as "iearly. yesterday. Jacksonvillje, HL, evidently was the nation's oldest point ryester day with 24 below. Extent of re lief from the " bitter cold during the day was. .shown by these typi cal .comparisons, the first figure being .the minimum' and the sec ond, the mldafternoon. tempera? ture: ,.,'.' ,- , - - . '. Wide Range ;. ' ' Bemidji, Minn; -23 - and ' 11; Rockford, HL, -22 and 8; Madison, Wis-, -16 ' and. 11; Minneapolis-St PauV Minrt, -8 and 18; - Mason Cityi Ia -16 and 6; Springfield, HL, -15 and 11; Milwaukee, Wis4 1 and.8.U";;iv;v"':-v '"j.,r'v. : Subzero weather -covered the Dakotas, . Minnesota,- Nebraska, Wisconsin, ' Iowa, . northern - and central Illinois,' northern. Indiana upper. Michigan and, parts of Ohia Chicago had its season's lowest,. 7 below, and. so did Iowa,' 22 below at Decorah. Crawfordsville, JjkL, reported 12 below. , t The cold checked a rise of the rivers at Pittsburgh, after an all day Christmas rain, and they Were expected -to . crest short -of flood stage. Northwestern Pennsylvania had -'four- more inches .of snow, with" ' traffic . already impeded by snowfalls of the last 10 days. Ice coated ' highways after Christmas rains caused . many accidents- in New- York -state. ".,t- -) Salem ITas Coldipst -; lIaxiinuin of ihlcr " :' Salem .experienced, the coldest day J time, temperature, in over .a year - Tuesday , with' a v maximum reading of 34 degrees registered at the. airport weather bareau. Low est previous maximum tempera ture was 34 degrees registered on Dec 14, 1943. - Minimum tempera ture was 23 degrees Tuesday No precipitation t was reported. ' Stork Has Busy V Day; Here .With 2 Sets of Twins Two sets of - twins were born: at Salem General hospital Tues day just' four minutes apart " ' First set ' of twins, a son and daughter, was born at 11:33 aon. to Mr, and Mrs. Lawrence Shaw, 650 .Marion street, '. ... .' The second set arrived at 11:37, both daughters, to Mr. and Mrs. Irwin E. Burk, route five, Salem. Experts T " WASHINGTON, ' Dec" 2.P) Unfolding German strategy, in the opinion of military men here, in dicates the enemy's cdunterbffen sive is aimed at the cannel ports, probably Antwerp. ', ' J " . - Success , would snap Allied sup ply lines from the coast and throw a huge noose around the armies on the northern sector of the west ern front. The objective of the German drive has been a mystery since it was launched 10 days ago.- One German prisoner suggested that Paris was the goal. . : But on the basis of the latest news .from the front, military spokesmen said the Germans evi dently : are going to try to cross the Meuse river in the area from Kamur south to a point west of BoShefort, then swing to: th e northeast and northwest. ' -. Here along the Meuse the great est battle in the offensive possib ly the most decisive' battle of the ) observers say.' - " " ..' Big Postwar ; Gar Market Seen, in State : Nearly 200,000 automobiles now in operation in Oregon -will have after the war ends, a survey made through the combined operations of chambers of commerce, special agencies and the state postwar de velopment and readjustment com mission reported Tuesday to Gov. Earl SneUv ' " a 1 "3 T Another survey. Indicated that $14,000,000 "would-be spent for such household eqaipmeht- as ' re frigerators, vacuum cleaners, -sewing machines, electrical appliances and; other similar articles.' Most of this equipment IS manufactured outside of Oregon but win result in heavy business for local dealers and distributors - when"' the; war production board ' authorities re lease of materials for the. f ac toriesj the report'said.- ; : - , A third report: indicated strtK stan tial purchases of new furni ture which may total $7,000,0001 Estimates of the home bufldlng program-were placed at 350,000, 000. AH figures were conservative, the commission stressed. ' ; ' Iwrence WeHon Is Killed in Action $ PFC JLawrence Weldon, . who was stationed .with the 96th divi sion at Camp Adair, was killed in action November ,20 on Leyte, Ms wife Mrs, -Mary - Weldon, .779 Breys avenue, has been informed. Weldon' parents live at Clencofc Okia,- v :; J. i:x 4 Mrs. Weldon; the former Mary Lamb, Jives iat the home -'of .Mr, and Mr. Marion . Curry -and is employed at the California Pack ing company. She was at the home of her parents, between CorvaHis and Albany,. when the word of her husband's, death was received here. . , .'t Ports 5tbTime By;:E-2$'s; , Industries- Chief Yank Target in Daylight Attack WASHINGTON,' Dec 27.-(Wed-; nesday) - (ff) -Superfortresses - of the 21st bomber command flying fromrbaies on Sal pan island bombed Tokyo' industrial targets In a daylight attack today. - : ;The announcement of the attack by Gen. H. H. Arnold, command ing general of the 26th air force,' said a communiqu e would be Is sued when .operational reports are received in Washington from Brig. Gen; H. S. HanselL commanding general of the 21st bomber com mand. .... - . - - - . . - r . Fifth Attack ' ; : . . The jraid was . the fifth of the war by the big B-29's on Tokyo. The lajst visit paid Tokyo by the superfortresses was on December .3 when a force described as "sub stantial" hit the Japanese capital. ' The text of today's commun ique: - - -.. Communique Given . , "Superfortresses of t h e 21st bomber command bombed Indus trial targets in the Tokyo-area in a daylight attack today, Wednes day, December 27, Japanese cal endar, Gen. .H, H.' Arnold, com manding general,:. 20th air force, announced at the war department A .communique, wfll : be Issued when operational reports , are re ceived in Washington from Brig. Gen. H. S. Hansel!, commanding general of the 21st bomber com mand.? ; -i V i; .. No -indication was. given fas to the-size of he . striking-, force of B-29's. . Previous; attacking forces flying the.round-4rip of-over 3, 000 from the Saipan bases to To kyo haveranged from upwards of on o iw pianes. Toward -. ROME, Dec 2.:-:nadian, British; and New Zealand troops moved forward, toward the Senio river line on, the Adriatic end of the Italian front today after. Ca nadian troops captured hotly con tested Rosette, 10 miles northwest of Allied-held Ravenna.' . I Enemy rear guards in the salient northeast of Faenza, the last rem nant of the Lamone river line on which the ' Nazis had hoped to stabilize their front in the Po val ley, have been mopped up, the Anted command announced. The Germans were pushed . from' all positions east of the Canale" Naig- Uo. Army Rejiorta Victory;." CfycV.TrencH Fobt , ; : ,WASHINGTON; iec -28 - (ff) The armytoday;Teported a-west ern front -victory overtrench foot a disease' thai can knock a Spl- dier.out' of combat as effectively as ; a buliet. 0 uS .V-t At one timer the disease reached D.82 men out of .every. 1000 on the western front This has been 'cut 75 per cent i ;. ;.v - i Thousands of Ration Points : Fimi WWfcMy Food Shops - Ration points by the thousands,' both the outmoded and the cur rent "variety, poured into mid WQlametta valley , f ood markets Tuesday. Housewives who. sought to make the most of. their saved-! up coupons before they expired or before point values were raised faced disappointment hi a majori ty of stores In this Salem vicinity, a hast checkup revealed,;, v; - Although stores had not received official notification of new. valua tions for "processed foods and but ter which went into effect Tues day, most - cf them attempted to make Tj the . proper ration , "oint charge. In some food markets The Statesman's chart of new valua tions from Tuesday morning's pa per was prominently displayed. Merchants found that many of their sheppers carried it in clip- Bel2iu f " Njizis Renew Attack After Two T. Day Lull,! iPound Within 4 Rifles V Of flleiwej Use Two Full Armies -.'.- v By EDWARD KENNEDY .: PARIS, Deci 264AP-Paris nnderwenttn air raid tonIs:htits first since just after' the liberation last August as awed headquarters announced that the German conn ter-offensive bad smashed 11 a two-day ;luIL . ;. v ; Vhile ihi smaD were not identified, attfei v "'. ntmiDer The latest battlefield information available at - allied headnnartersi. "48 hntrrs nM U.S; Wins Fight WASHINGTON, Ded. 28- -The United States ha succeeded in the second phase of the naval campaign for the Philippines the battle with enemy land-based air craft," Secretary of the Navy For restal said today, ;' Reviewing the recent months of the Pacific" war in a statement, With Nip La BasedPlanes Forrestal. sad ; tina aejeond. phttwman'. armies, itod jprobabft Ju,thir4 bpehed'rthe-tistung defeat of Japanese naval forces late in October. i. '' .' : "Having. driven .thai, Japanese fteet from the Philippine rea,M,1he said, "the United States navy in the phases of the campaign since October 25 has been jpitted, not against enemy, naval-forces pri marily, but against enemy, land based air forces. - We shave suc ceeded In this latter "phase of the naval : campaign' for tte - Philip pines Just as we succeeded m the cfeeond battle of - the Philippine sea." ' Forrestal acknowledged that the American" forces ' havej ; suffered damage, not yet" reported in detail, in this second ' phase'hnt sald it was' not sufficient to disrupt plans for continued heavy off ensives. j- 25 Nip Planes Blast Saipan . U.S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD QUARTERS, Pearl Harbor, . Dec 26-(j'P)-Between 16 and) 25 Japa nese planes raided the airstrips on Saipan. island, in the j Marianas, Christmas eve in : an. attempt to cripple, the base, used by. US Su perfortresses in their raids against .. Three of . the Nipponese planes were 'shot down by Yank fighter planes, said Adm. " Chester Nimitz in reporting the attack to day, ' A fourth was brought down by.antf-alrcrait fire.' . j. ' .'J. 1, : Ubne Amwcan plane was de stroyed on the ground and several others damaged. : Six inen , were injured , in - the 1 night's!. bombihfi one of the first raids against Sai pan reported' since the" 10-plane raid of Dec . 1 - ping form- to protect themselves from overcharges. '"vT vT:' : 'Xy Because they had not received official notification, approximate ly 20 per cent of the food. mer chants of the area kept to their former point system pending its arrival. Statesman "shoppers and homemakers whom, they inter viewed revealed.? -f i'- V : : Although some starii, in the lat ter category reported persons with well oyer 1000 points among their customers, those which) established the new system Immediately were not without buyers. One large downtown store reported a ;"un', on canned fruits ' and vegetables and on coffee, for which no P value has been established and which, ,so far as'nyj anncu W - ant stewards were fine! $500 each meht has been made, is not to be j by US "District Judfe Ben Ilarrl leturned to the ration lists. (Addi- j son, and three wal-rt, "r9 fined tional details on page 12.) ' '$250 each. - - . m in -jurive miles deeper into Befsium after of planes that bombed Paris they werV not beUeVed to hare been aaiil ihm ni'iHlhTi, umm tuivcu wiunn - lour, nuies ox , the Meuse river, south ' of Namur and were beinf encaged by allied troops 50. miles inside Belgium. So far as was known' here,1 the Germans had not yet reached the Meuse tonight . ! i - The bombing of Paris was by a few unidentified -planes which coasted in over the capital to drop their loads. The fact that there were few of '.be attacking planes virtually , precluded any. chance that -the bombs may have - been dropped by allied aircraft through accident as happened shortly after the liberation of the city, Twe.IU Arsnlea -The news of - the' i new, German punch deeper . Into . Belgium was coupled! with tha'4iaclosure that Von Rundstedt has tw uH Ger- employed in hil offensive The American Salient - at : St Vith near the, northern end of the HtjJe line had. been wiped out and the GenoanS held a 'solid 35- mile, assault front cross Belgium, At CeUes, a village 10 miles north west -of Rochefort, Von Runstedt's forces were only eight miles from the French, frontier. ; Threw Heavy Punch The :naxis threw, their new punch after furious 'American' re sistance aided -by bludgeoning' aur power virtually had hdd the en emy to a standstill for two days. " Two columns strucs! from, the area between Rochefort and Mar che, at the extreme 'point of the enemy's ' penetration ; of Belgium. One force .shot west and a little north to reach Ciney, nine miles from the Meuse. The other drove due' west to the vicinity of Calles, ' four miles from the city of Dinant on the Meuse. - , f - - ' Nothing was available at allied neadquarters on what progress the. nazis mignt nave made since Sun day night, in keeping .with , the time lag Imposed on news from the front. - m'kV'' Tanks Hold Oat" . .- ! . j : Several thousand Yank troops encircled at the Important: Bel gian road hub of Bastogne on the enemy's : southern flank ! continr ued to hold, out valiantly; against . tVrarprfiil ftrman rvrniM vrhn an American relief fbrce.driving m finah iVim smith tvTt1 viin only 4-and Vh from the dty. . . :-"!u.:rJ''' Heavy righting was In progress southeast of Bastogne in the VI dnity i of Arsdori : "and . Xschdorf, and American troops were report ed to have ' gained ' some ground including heights, west of EpperW dorf, four and a half miles south east of Diekirch and three, miles from ft German-Belgium border.-- ' '--4 1 '. : 5 Although the weather v deterior ated somewhat today, swarms of allied planes again were out Over the battle area, blasting at enemy armor and troops and engaging in swirling dogfights with the hift waffe. .Up to jxooa planes of the Ninth tactical air force had 'de stroyed: six tanks, six other ar mored, vehicles . and - 23? ; motor transport, while shooting down 22 na4 craft ' -. 2 K ; j C9250 in Fines LeTied ! Against UP. Stewards UOS ; ANGUS, XJeC. 20 - VT) Fines totaling $9230 were Imposed upon 20 stewards, assistant stew ards and waiters of Union Pacific trains today after they pleaded no contest to charges that they con spired to commit- theft nV inter stato commerce. r--;.: -.r; . Seventeen stewards , and assist-