1 i . .- if? if 7 i'ti M M--- KniETTFOUBTH YEAR SdecC Orecjoa Sunday Morning, December 31 1314 Prica 5c No. 24S M; A" S) n u 7'- V - . . . h- - J- OTP SMDQS i me onjy prediction It seems ate to mapce for 1945 is that there will be to eclipses of the! sun and two of the moon, and I bor row this from ' the astronomers. Ail else Is vague, the crystal: ball rlniiilv SI '" cloudy. i . Astronomers can chart the course of the stars and date the w-rising of the sun or the coming of an eclipse to a second. Perhaps among celestial ' bodies which made ancients seek in the stars clue to the course of human events. In fact, astrology became a misbegotten child of astronomy. trology, man is less constant than J upiter or Saturn. Homer called him "the fool of fate." His natural endowment of ability to think and xreeaom ox conduct roaxes man himself a Variable. That is why prophecy in the "field of human af fairs is so risky; and the outlook lor 1945 is so uncertain that a prophet must hedge his forecasts .with 4he double talk of a Greek oracle. Nevertheless, I make bold to set: down what seems in pros- 1 Pct as the new year drives the 3944 greybeard off the stage. far: Instead of speculating on date the war will end the American people . are going toj . . , a i n - I piunge in seriously w win me war, The "fright', stage which followed Pearl Harbor Is over; the "soft" stage of easy going is ended; the tough stage is at hand, : V (Continued on editorial page) Watch Night Parlies5 Set J Many Salem people will observe the old year out and the new year in at Watch Night parties sched-r tiled In a score of Salem churches! Most of the other churches are narking the endof 1944 with yearend sermons scheduled "for the morning services. . Among the j churches which have scheduled watch night ser vices from 8 or 9 o'clock until rnidnight are Bethel Baptist, Cal vary Baptist, First Baptist, First Christian church. South Salem Friends, St. John's Lutheran; iUennonite Brethren in West Sa lem, First Church of God, Engle .wood Church of United Brethren, Salvation Army, and the Christian 'and Missionary Alliance, Marion's Tin Goal ll5 Tons Per Month - . r, ' A monthly quota of 15 tons of salvaged tin has been set for Mar lon county for the first quarter Df ; 1945, . Claud Seranous, state alvage committee chairman,! Sat urday j notified Gardner Knapp, Marion' committee head. The set Ling of ' quotas in tin salvage, a new system "designed to effect necessary increases," was decided upon because "America's shortage of tin is a real, not an imaginative rendition," Seranous declared. feather 1 - ; , I . Maximami temperature Sat ' tirday 47 derrees, mlnlmnm 32 degrees; ne rain; river -.14 ft. Cloudy Sunday and Monday with liaht rain an coast and llrht snow north portion. IJttle csre in temperature. mD era Fall of Budapest Ne;ar; Red Term ! Shoe -Leather Steak Royal Welcome Frorii Silverton Man SILyERTON, Dec. SO-(Speclal) Pfc. Arlo .Bolme has written bis father Oluf Bolme, that he re tasted beefsteak for the cently first t me in many months. ; He added that it was; as tough as shoe leather, , but none of the men mind ed-so Song as it was meat." Pri vato East Bolme has been in the Dutch indies for some time. . He has been Overseas for It months, k Marion Share J In Red Gross Set at $73,500 Marion county's share of the national ' Red Cross coal in the annual fund raising campaign set for next , March is to be $73,500, F. C. Leserer. chaDter war fund chairman, was notified Saturday. or Marion's quota, $33,500. will Co to extensive Red Ctas mwa. tiona carried on at home, and the remainder will go to the national Red -Cross so that Red Cross over seas and national program may be inanced and expended. Verne iSimmons, manager of Pacific area neaaquaners, nas written to Les erer.'- . ... The i important i thine to" re member in regard jto the coming appeal for funds," j declares Jus .tice George Rossman, Marion chapter chairman.! "is that the money you give td the American ttea cross is returned to the peo ple in the form of Red Cross serv ices: . Blood plasma to wounded soldiers, food packages to prison ers of war, advice and friendli ness by specialized persons to servicemen away from home, pa tients in hospitals and persons af flicted by sudden disaster. Panama Head Won't Resign ! BALBOA, Panama Canal Zone, Dec. 30.-(if)-President Richardo Adolfo de la Guardia of Panama declined tonight to resign as de manded by a groupbf political leaders, lawyers and business men known as the "jula de notables." Earlier the president's brother-in-law, Augusto - Boyd, had said that del la Guardia was readv to resign if that were the only means of returning the .'country to nor- malcy, I -o:.: ' However, de la Guardia told the Junta de notables that unless all political parties ibacking his ad ministration r demanded - that he quit, he intended to remain in of fice until June 15. ? vi K Labor Asked to Slay On Job New Year's Day f WASHINGTON, Dec. 20-JPf- Tbe leaders of the AFL and the CIO today asked organized labor to stay on the job in the nation's war plants New Year's day, ' William Green, president of the American Federation of La bor, and. Philip Murray, president of the Congress of Industrial Or ganizations, urged all members of their organization to forego the customary holiday observance.. earfers Killed Annihilation of Budapest Enemy Near Final Stage By Richard Kasischke LONDON, Sunday, Dec. 31 -( The hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded German garrison in Budapest's battle-torn streets has refused a Russian surrender ulti matum, killing two red army emissaries carrying a white flag, and . the, annihilation of a . group originally estimated at " nearly 100,000 men now is in its final stage, Moscow announced last night. ; (. , , Smash From East ' The German refusal occurred Friday arid Moscow announced that soviet! troops yesterday had smashed into the eastern side of the city for the first time. Soviet dispatches said they, had linked up with the western invasion wing on Danube islands in the heart of the burning Hungarian capital. :....;.:;.'.:'. .. Moscow also announced that the new soviet-sponsored Hungar ian government headed by Pre mier General Bela Miklos had declared war on tJermany, The declaration, issued by a regime set up In Debrechen in eastern Hungary and dated Thursday, said .that Germany , forced Hun gary into the war against Russia and "attacked and occupied" Hun gary March 19, 1944, imposing a nazi regime on the country. Vinson Okehs Pay Increase For Steel Men WASHINGTON, Dec. 30- -Steelworkers received an okay from Stabilization Director Fred Vinson tonight for war f labor board-approved wage , increases estimated to average 5 to 7 cents an hqur. t Announcing his decision, Vin son said the office of price admin istration had advised that this boost ; for the more than 400,000 workersin the iron and steel In dustry, would not necessitate gen eral increases in prices of steel products. OPA did advise,- Vinson said. that an increase in price of some steel products was overdue and would have to be made. Salem Restaurants Will Be Open New Year's Day Capital, city hotel patrons who ate apples In lieu of Christmas dinner need not suffer from lack of Nejr Year's day dinners! Most restaurants in 2aiem will be open and will serve holiday fare both today 'and tomorrow, a survey re veals. Last week's long weekend left employesilling and ready to work, one restaurateur declared. Bus Ends Up in Train ' - Depot Full of Candy ALBANY, Dec. 30 P)- Police are still trying to figure out why a missing 25-passenger bus, found parked in a train depot, had candy all over the floor. They looked for the bus twea hours after it had disappeared from a garejt here. Corridor Hit'From All Sides f Americans Harii ; mer Heavily on ; Enemy 'Bulge' -i -' : i ;" " "!' ' '. -. '- By Edward Kennedy PARIS, Snnday, Dee. J1.-V Three German divisions have been hurled by Field Marshal Karl Von Itundstedt at both aides of the Bastorne corridor held by Lt Gen. George S. Patton's US Third army, a field dispatch reported last night as American troops hammered heavily all along the shrinking perimeter of the German bodge. The hard-wen corridor supply ing Bastorne Was hit' by two of Von Rundstedt's divisions from the west ind by a third from1 thef east w hile! In Bastorne Itself US artil lerymen poured withering shell fire Into the 16-mile-wide escape gap if the : Germans honr-rlass shaped front and blasted areas where the Germans, haye been gathering for new thrusts? The renewed attaeks--4reaking a four-day lall came as'tLt Gen. George 8. Patton's hard-driving forces broadened their front along the south of the German balge to nearly 51 miles, struck west of Bastorne, sheared supply roads and threatened to eat off an en emy armor thrust U within 23 milef of Sedan at Ubramont. i American counterblows had re won nearly" one-third of the ter ritory ; overrun; in , the Germans' surprise counteroffensive, badly narrowing the maneuvering ground for Von Rundstedt's three armies. Progress of the new bat tle was not at once disclosed, nor was the time at which it broke. -Drive Into Moirey ' Previously, supreme headquar ters had reported under the 36 hour security blackout that by yesterday morning one Third ar my force drove into Moirey, 11 miles east of Bastogne and but four and, a half miles southeast of St Hubert, where another Amer ican garrison has been making a small-scale Bastogne -like stand and holding off far large? forces. Von ; Rundstedt's westernmost positions were being assailed by Lt Gen. Courtney H. Hodges' re surgent First army, which fought in the streets of Rochefort, 24 miles northwest of Bastogne, and plastered - the German lines with shells.. .... Enemy Fights Back As the battle rose in- fury the enemy fought back with mortars and artillery, bent on holding the town to the last. ' ' . - Necessity for action was multi plied by the American artillery commanding his east-west routes of supply or retreat j High British Source Says Hess9 Flight Was Entirely Without Knowledge of Nazi Fuehrer 1 '" ' m. . V - U3T (When Ruaoa Hess mad his sensa tional flight from Germany to Britain in 1941, Louis Lochner was chief of the Associated Press bureau in Ber lin. Now In London. Lochner has assayed the story anew, ajainit the background of Information h had at th time but was prevented from re porting by German censorship.) HBy Leois P. Lochner LONDON, Dee. 30 Rudolf Hess came to Britain on a self style ' "mission . of humanity' on May 10, 1941 without the know ledge or approval of Adolf Hitler : This came categorically and un equivocally, from a high British government source. A comparison of data avail able further es tablished that Hitler's long time secretary and Jater dep uty fuehrer was Inspired :; and backed by Prof. Karl Von Hau shofer, an ex pert on . geo politics and r 1 '1 L ! f. UOtnef Willy Meser schmitt, builder of Germany's best fighter planes. The ministry . cf informticn Salem Residents Experience Driest Year in 7 Years r Salem residents in 1944 exper ienced the driest year for the past seven years, with only 25.13 inches rainfall registered, at the airport weathef bureau. However, 5 27 inches fell in January and. 4 JO inches in November. This com parj ith an all time average precipitation for Salem and vi-i cinity of 36.13 inches-per! year, n I Coldest days in 1944 were Jan uary 9 and December 14 land 15 when . minimum temperatures of 20 degrees were registered. : j Warmest day was on Septem ber 5, with a maximum reading of 103 degrees. This was the high est maximum temperature in the past two years. . i i Manchuria Nips Used in Effort To Hlt Yanks ' - - ! GEN. MacARTHUR'S HEAD QUARTERS, Philippines, Sunday Dec.5 Sl-iJfy-Gen, Douglas Mac Arthur disclosed today, While a n e w Mindoro - bound eon voy pressed on under Japanese attack to reinforce his conquering forces, that the enemy had drawn troops from. Manchuria in an effort to slop him on Leyte island.fci. The American commander's communique said Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita had lost in the futile defense of Leyte four army divi sions and the elements of two more, besides . a naval brigade and other special forces. Total Japanese losses, including 601 more killed in recent mop ping up operations, reached 116, 770, the communique said. I . ' In a "historical resume" of the J apanese forces of ,v Yamashita's, 35th army, destroyed on Leyte MacArthur said One division, the 16th, had participated in the battle of Bataan against 'him early Jn the war. ' : War Year 1944 Takes Big Toll Service Men The stepped-uo temDO of War was reflected in a recapitulation of deaths of men from the mid Willamette valley area today. I For 1941, the Oregon States man's rbll of i honor holds T 10 names: for 1942. 19: for 1943. 3S. And for "me year ending tonight 135 service men already have been reported dead from illness,7 acci dents or combat action and the figures since the recent upsurge! of European fighting have not yet arrived. : ' ' f " The total now is 219 from a Ira. dius of 25 to 35 miles of Salem. first met my request to clarify whether or not Hess came as Hit ler's agent with, 'what difference does it make?". i . - I pointed out that everyone who was in Germany at the time of Hess flight is asked "what about Hess? Was lie sent by Hitler?" - 4 also pointed out that when we presented our circumstantial evi dence of Hitler's lack of knowledge of his deputy's plan, most persons were not convinced. The MOt of ficial now grew interested. What was , that evidence? -Since German censorship at the time prevented my reporting that evidence, I ' incorporate it here. The belief that Hitler had nothing to do with Hess flight rested on these considerations: First, Hitler placed, a high yaiue on the lives of his most intimate followers and would not have per mitted Hess to go on a solo flight. . -.jj-jji Second, if Hitler had not been caught off guard, he would not have issued the silly story!, that Hess was subject to mental abre rations. -.- '- f - Third, HiUer's treatment of the Hess case from the party stand pointindicated' that his deputy had acted without Us approval George II Finally , Gives-Up! Monarch Won't Return to Athens Unless. Called h . By John A. Parris, Jr. i'. v LONDON, Dec. 30 VP) -King ueorge 11 01 ureece tonight an nounced1 appointment of Arch bishop Damaskinos of Athens as regent of his strife-torn country, taking a step ( generally regarded nere as tanumount to relinquish ment of his throne. The 54-year-old monarch's road has been rocky for years and most observers in London's diplomatic Quarters believe the Greek people, who are swinging to the! left would vote against a monarchy In a plett iscite which is expected to be held. Royal Proclamation - j j " -; Appointment of the regent was tion issued after a statement in Athens that the archbishop prob-; anty wouia assume his duties as regent tomorrow. '5s ' 1 -1 . - -. The proclamation, stating that the king had deeply considered the terrible situation" into which Greece had fallen, said he had re solved not to return to the country "unless summoned by a free and fair expression of. national will" and authorized . Damaskinos.. to "take all steps necessary to re store order and tranquility .n .. . ChurchiU Covincea The kinc reDorted to have on- posed the regency, was believed to have been convinced of the neces sity of the measure bv Prime Min ister ChurchiU, who had just re turned from Athens. Reliable sources said Churchill told the Greek king that a regency would be established by the government In Athens regardless of his con sent. -v-: : K v. ,-.. .... Establishment of a regency had been unanimously agreed upon by the all-party conference convened by ChurchiU and Foreign Secre taryAnthony Eden last Tuesday In an effort to restore peace In Greece. Australia Will Play Vital Role in Philippine War CANBERRA, Australia, Dec 30 -(V-Acting Prime Minister Fran cis Forde in a New Year's state ment today said Australian fight ing forces in 1945 would "play a vital part in the Philippines oper ations. I Australia must plan for at "least two more years of ardu ous 'warfare against Japan," he said. Hitler ordered Hess' name wiped out from, the party records. At that point, the ministry of in formation officer now changed tact "Your, deductions are absolutely right," he told me, "from an Hess said and revealed our government is firmly convinced that the deputy fuehrer came without Hitler's knowledge and approvaL, It was known that Hess had a deep affection for, and faith . in Von Haushofer who in talks with friendahad opined that Germany could Snot afford , 4 twtf-front major conflict. ; - , k v l;-H Through vHesa, be? must have known the attack on Russia was only five weeks offfor even we correspondents knew it, Another, man "in the. know! was Meserschmitt, a crony of both Von Haushofer ;- and Hess. Messer schmitt, wh6 at the time was re ported reliably as warning that uermany had not sufficient air potentialty to fight east, west and south, could have notified all anti aircraft posts and air patrols that a test pilotmeaning Hess-- was about " to ' Dy . over the Reich's boundaries. .This would explain wny juess could leave Germany Blue Lake Plant Razed in Hoiir: Cause Not Known Midnight Blaze Threatens Rluch j Of Town as Embers, Shower on ; Homes; Canned Goods Explode ! More than a half 'million dollars went op in flanjes wnicn razed the frame buildings' of Blue Lake. Producers canning plant in West Salem in 60 short minutes this morn ing. Great emjbers dropped on frame residences over an area of sereral blocks and threatened the entire northeast section of West Salem. I Oririn of the blaze was as! last the jgrjeat timber Regent i. ... Archbishop Damaskinos High Command Shake-up Due Report ers LONDON, Dec 30 -m- Reports that a shake-up in the allied com mand on "the western front was imminent were displayed promi nently today by the London after noon press. j One military commentator de clared that an official statement covering some aspects of the re grouping of the allied commands and armies was expected shortly. The reports, the publication of which coincided "with a definite improvement of the allied posi tion on. the western front were without any official confirmation. The London Evening News de clared - flatly that "important changes in the organization of the allied 'supreme command on the western front are j imminent." If listed the present commanders without speculating what the changes might be HoJidayCalm Over Ward's ! CHICAGO. Decj S0. T-(ffv- A New Year's holiday calm settled over Montgomery Ward and com pany today, k : : . The; army which seized com pany properties in seven cities Thursday under presidential order consolidated its position by raving office facilities installed. The com pany stood on its refusal to recog nize validity of the seizure, ap parently ; awaiting! federal court determination of the issues. ' ' f The union Involved In the labor dispute awaited armr action tn. Belgian- Army Battalions Join Allies on Front LONDON. Dee. 30-4n-The Luxembourg radio a a 1 d tonight that the first battalions oK the newly-formed Belgian army has joined . the allied 'armies on the western front. The broadcast was recorded by the Associated Press. -j M V ran ' ,. , ; 1 1 . still undetermined at 1 -fin m' was falling into the artillery bf expioaing canned goodsJ,.Butl a night watchman who discovered: the first smoke at 12:30 said it was rolling over the office, cop-j ug apparently from the boiler room. ,' ' : . ;. lit Idle Friday and Saturday, ex cept for a labeling crew, the group of buildings mushrooming over; a territory larger than an average city block were pra :tically with out heat, plant executives de dared. . : Ji j j . Third Big Fire jj ' . Third fire in West Salem' within a three-weeks' period, second can nery blaze in the Salem district and third industrial loss of mora f than $100,000 in recent months, the ' blaze brough siiggesHons ;6f incendiarism from Towds who ' lined streets of We t Salem and downtown' Salem to 'view the spectacle. :;(,; .fi;:r, ... Owned by a producers coopera tive association since 1938. the) cannery from 1932 to 1938 was owned and operated by the Hill man Packing company, of which G rover Hillman, Salem, was pres ident Expansion Planned Extensive plans for expansion of operations had been made, a plant executiver'said, and consid erable new equipment secured even in wartime, under war food prioriUes. . -Vi.rv-v .'; ;,-v: - The two-year-old brick, and tflav dehydration plant at " the' south end of the cannery, though an oven early today, could not be greatly damaged byf fire, Charle -Martin, president of the Blue m a . - . 1," ,. . " i . -. . uie associauon, said. . ' Salem fire department Joined West Salem fire fighters in what onlookers maintained t to be - a, hopeless task even before tha hoses had been laid. In the almost windless night, the glow amok spired high over the fire befora the flames had leapt above sur rounding rooftops. -T": Directly east of the, plant, the old and now idle Portland Gen- ' eral Electric substation loomed, still comparatively undamaged at 2 ajn. .1 .-. r-s-'v-- In Salem, where a half dozen large dancing parties were giving , an early welcome to the new year, formally-clad merrymakers left ' ballrooms to watch the fire. Yank Planes Pound Eneirijt LONDON. Dec . 3C than 2000 British-based American uviuucia a u u ugnungj pianes pierced through fog today and pounded German supply'" lines to 1 the western front for theieighth consecutive day. . ; I ; ; ' - Eight bombers and thre fight rs were reported mlssirig "from." these operations. ' , 5 . WhUe the German- irforca stuck to Jts bases for a third day, more than, 1300 Flying Fortresses and Liberators of the U.S. eighth airforce, escorted by approxi mately - 700 Thunderbolts r and Mustangs, struck - unmolested at railroad bridges on lines leading; directly from Berlin and at freight yards at Mannheim, Kaiserlautern and KasseL ' ' M Freight Car. Bum Following Derailment i GUYMON, Okla;-Dec. 30.-P)-. Sheriff W. T. Bratton said tha Rock Island railway was blocked about five miles northeast of here tonight following derailment and burning" of 23 freight cars. . Bratton said fire from a ship ment of gasoline spread over tha remaining - cars involved and de bris wax piled up for about SOO feet alor.2 the lice.-