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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1945)
- J h n ' ITTT' to cms o Yankees JJsps " ' ;-- .'if -v !.. i : e '.:.;. . -. j '.. r . s . ; . . . ; - . The text for this morning is: - "To the hills of Oregon I lift mine eyes - - and see the stumps." While we are turning here and there for postwar projects, while . cut tins; of virgin forests, while we . read with concern of the closing of sawmills . that have operated for well over-half a century, we are making only a feeble effort to tackle the big problem, and to seize the big opportunity that is visible, whenever we look at the cutover lands of Oregon. Some years ago I went on an airplane flight over northwest Oregon. Below was a' virtual ec onomic desert Only here and there "green Islands' of trees appeared In the midst of the grey waste of snags and stumps. One gets a good view i by driving over the Wolf - creek highway from Glenwood -west or over the Wilson river highway. CutoverT and burned- over forest lands which nature Is now healing with some cover of . bracken and slick-leaf brush reach ' for miles but forest reproduction is missing. . " v The axe and saw are steadily gnawing at the forests along the Cascades and Coast range and at : the pine forests of eastern Ore- gon. We can read the signs of the future in the abandoned logging . ' camps and ruins of mills in Co lumbia, Clatsop, Washington and Tillamook counties. But by intel ligent action and some display of courage we can avert the total disaster that is the ultimate re sult of Just "drifting" in the field of forestry. Fortunately a good start has been made. Legislative policy has i been ' - (Continued on , Editorial page) Patterson Asks Quick Passage Of Service Bill By Francis J. Kelly WASHINGTON, Feb. 6. (Jf)- Undersecretary of War Robert P. Patterson pleaded urgently today for passage of a manpower con trol bill,, telling senators "no one is entitled to a free ride in .this war." ' "Half hearted mobilization is not the way to bring about uncon ditional surrender at minimum cost in lives," he told the senate military affairs committee which began belated hearings today on the house-approved work-or-jail bill. " "The fighting men are doing the hard part, They should be given all-out support at home." Patterson's testimony was given behind closed doors, as was that of his chief, secretary of war Stim son, but later was made public by chairman Thomas (D-Utah). New Fighter Plane Looks All Backtvard NEW YORK, Feb. 6-P)-A fast, highly maneuverable fighter plane that appears to fly backward is being tested byj Curtiss, Wright ' Corp., C. W. Vaughan, president, announced today. J First flown in July, 1943, at Scott Field, 111., jthe odd-looking XP-55 airplane-iii-reverse devel oped at Curtiss-Wright's St. Louis plant early in the war has been cloaked in military secrecy until today. I The whole thing looks backward compared with conventional de sign: The 1275-horsepower Allison 'engine and the jftisher propeller are behind the pilot; the wings al so are near the rear; the elevator control surfaces found in the tail assembly of a present-day plane re forward; the rudders are mounted near the tips of wings which angle sharply from beneath the single-place cockpit Work or Jail Not PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 6-C-Oregon war manpower - director Lee C. Stoll declared today there is "no excuse for any talk at this time about 'work-or-fight' legisla tion" so far as Oregon is con cerned. , I Labor needs in the. -Portland area have "definitely eased" and will be drastically reduced by June 30, he told a businessman's club, adding that Oregon is no longer a "mecca for job seekers.1 ; "As to the Vork or fight bill,1 toll said, "there could be no more muddled mess accomplished than for the draft boards in the state of Oregon to freeze men in war plants based on their own judg ment ,7eather Tm Fraacisce i ujcen F&lera I'OltlMHt Max. Mia. Bala Necessary 43 JM .51 3S ..S 4 4 44 41 M f icftrtla , iJuunette rivtr J ft NINETY-FOURTH YEAR : : !;' "-'- - h- ' ' i:f. -- -:-' ! j. r ., . ; ' " I ! " - ... 1 ' ; ! : ! Reds Drive 1 TTk lies Fast! , 1 t J . f v ' : ' :' ' In Breslau Sector Germany Says Water Barrier Forded in Two Other Areas: Moscow Silent on-Zhukov Army - . By W. W. HERCHER " LONDON, Wdenesday, Feb. 7 (AP)--The red army has stormed across the Oder southeast of Breslau and pene trated 12 Yz miles beyond its west bank on a 50-mile front, Moscow announced last night, ; while German reports said the water barrier protecting Berlin and the heart of the reich had been crossed by the Russians ini two other sectors as well. " 'hi if 1 t"; ;' Broadcasts from Berlin, again rtportfyg soviet successes long before their confirmation by Moscow, placed red army units west of the Oder northeast of Berlin, perhaps less than 30 miles from the battered capi taL and northwest of Breslau in the area of Steinau, a.Silesian city which the Germans said they had evacuated. The announcement, of ' the Si lesian crossing, made first in an order of the day by Marshal Sta lin and repeated in the nightly communique broadcast from Mos cow, broke the silence that had blanketed operations H of Marshal Ivan S. Konev's First Ukraine army for several days. But as the spotlight returned to Konev's forces, Moscow fell silent regarding Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's first white Russian army deployed along the river farther north. General Captured The communique's only refer ence to this army was a statement that it had captured a Lt. Gen. Luebbe, commander of the 433rd German infantry. Konev's drive across the Oder, it said, captured Brieg, 24 miles southeast of Breslau; Ohlau, nine miles northwest of, Brieg and on the Oder's west bank; Grottkau, south of Brief and! 10 miles west of the Oder, and' Thomaskirch, southwest of Ohlauj and seven and one-half miles southwest of the river. i Also taken were Loewen and Schurgast, both approximately nine miles southeast of Brieg. Konev's front west of the Oder thus extended from captured Op- peln, capital of upper (southern) Silesia, northwest to-Breslau. His offensive had been reported earlier by Berlin commentators, who said it might indicate a drive on Dresden, 160 miles to the west, as well as a move to outflank Breslau. But German accounts stated this was not the only sector in which the Red army had crossed the Oder. Broadcasts from Berlin said the river had been forced at six. or more places in - i the Kustrian Frankfurt sector, northeast and di recti y east of Berlin. Nurse Shortage May Close Albany Hospital ALBANY, Feb. 6 -(JP) The Al bany General hospital faces clos ure because of the scarcity of nurses, Clara Feil, superintend ent, said today. The 52-bed hospital now has only three nurses and three nurses aides, she said in an appeal for volunteer workers. Hitler Preparing for Last Ditch Fight in Munich Area By Thomas F. Hawkins BERN, Feb. 6.-P)-New arriv als from Germany reported today that tremendous new stocks of supplies were being poured into mountain strongholds in the Mu nich "area, where Adolf Hitler Is preparing a last - ditch defense when Berlin and northern Ger many are conquered. . Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himm ler, these sources said, will join Hitler in his mountain-top strong hold at Berchtesgaden after he conducts the defense of Berlin. He will aid in the command of thous ands of fanatical cazis expected to fight to the last to defend the fuehrer. - These travelers from Berlin and other parts of the reich, who bring a fantastic array of rumors, re -' - i. s - - T - : 5 - .- - f - 1 - - - ' - f - ... - s 4 . ,j ! - " t : ! i I - i 10 PAGES a! AFL Council ry ges MIAMI, Flan Feb. 6 -(F)- The AFL executive council reported today, it found the war produc tion picture "excellent" despite "poor planning, and lack of fore sight by thej military authorities." I Labor and industry bad " re sponded "ini a remarkable way" to furnish tvar materials under the voluntary manpower controls now in effect, the council said. : Hitting efforts to enact work- or-jail legislation, the executive council, in Its ; second attack! on compulsory methods in as many days,! said "no law short of a magic wand ; could keep war wo duction in pace with schedules arrived at on such a basis" as military authorities had been using. 1 1 ; ; These plans and requirements have been changed "overnight,1 said the council, "then at attempt was . made to convince the public that lack of manpower was at the root of production difficulties and that the only solution was com pulsory national service." J Mott Naval Group ; Congressman James W. Mott, accompanied by some other mem bers of the 16-man naval affairs committee of the house of repre sentatives, is scheduled to come to Salem on Thursday. He will; stop here en route north after inspect ing a naval petroleum reserve in southern California and a refin ery near San Francisco, he has no tified Mrs. Mott ; In the group which came west from Washington are eight repub licans and , eight democrats, in' eluding Congressman Edward D. Zzac (d), chairman of the com mittee, who was a member of the subcommittee which last fall fame out to Tongue Point base, Astoria, and to Portland. Mott, a republi can, is ranking member of the na val affairs committee. ports,' facts and half-truths: said that some leading nazis were ex pec ted to flee or bargain for their freedom, but that preparation for the last stand Was going forward at top speed. Civilian transport around Munich has practically ceased and the normal food sup ply is disrupted; these sources said. One story Is that last week women formed a line across highway at Munich, stopped an army; truck and seized the food it contained, is , , ) i The mountain . defense ring Is being prepared both for a final stand against allied troops arid for the eventuality; that food riots, al ready reported In Berlin, should Care into revolt or chaos, it was said. " . I-.'.- E '?: . in r ; - - ' :.' r -i-ff u ' : .i KlVsOl .-I - I i.ii - . M 1 . !' i . :- : i Tt i" I . ' ' . " '. - Rap Coming Salem, Oregon, Wednesday Morning. February 7, 1943 iiirvey Of . Senate Also Re fuses to Change Aiiti-OPA Vote The Oregon senate was on rec ord today favoring a complete study f the state's tax structure by a group of "nationally-recog nized experts," as requested by Gov, Earli Snell in his biennial message. ' i The joint resolution (SJR 2) was almost identical with the pro posal turned down two weeks ago. It now goes to the house. The senate Tuesday also passed a bill lengthening the time be tween candidates' filings and elec tions (HB-2), to facilitate getting ballots to 1 service men, ; and re fused by a vote of 15 to 14 to reconsider its approval of a meas ure asking abolition of the OPA after the war. Memorial Defeated The house's major action Tues day constituted refusals (HJM 6) o petition congress for special consideration of draft-threatened Oregon! farm labor and (HQ 125 to pass- a special law compelling taverns! to keep fully lighted and dispense with screens or partitions. Introduced in the senate was a bill (SB 160) to compel all im ported jor brandy-fortified wines (except sacramental) to be sold in liquor stores. The lone new introduction in the house Tuesday was a bill (HB 346) providing for changes in laws specifying who may sign applications in regard to county roads. Troops Congratulated r Both the' senate and houst voted to congratulate Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur; and his men- on; their vic tories in the Philippines, Several liquor-control measures will be considered in the senate today, land; the controversial civil rights bill will ccne up at 10:30 a. m. 1 . ; a The house is scheduled to take final action on such measures as SB 24 j increasing front $3 to $4 a day the pay of election workers; HB 218 granting $100,000 for for est purchases;-HB 225, to? compel vitamii-enrichment of, flour; .HB 228, raising minimum . pay of teachers; HB 342, preferential hir ing of 1 veterans. ! (Legislative news on page 10). 1 " - Alan Iightner. SaidiMissing CpL' Alan Lightner, former Sa lem Senators, baseball player and Fort Lewis basketball star, has been missing in action - in the European theatre of operations since January 12, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Lightner, employes of the state hospital, were .noti tied Tuesday night Lightner, a brother of States man Sports Editor Al Lightner, was employed by army engineers at the Salem air base prior to entering the army.' He was a mem ber of the; 70th (Trailblazer) di vision The war department tele gram carried no details. " (Picture -on page 2.) Navy May Get. 18IiichGun WASHINGTON, Feb.. -(ffr The V. S. I fleet' may have some thing largear than VI 6-inch guns to blast the Japanese out of the Pa cific. I - i . . v.; -: .-;; The naval proving ground at nearby Dailgren, Va has under taken a new construction project which includes. Rep. Daughton (D-Va) aald today, a "gun em placement ;for an 18-inch caliber gun.i . The Information , was contained in f j routine . memorandum , to DaugHton from Vice Admiral Ben Morreell, ehiel of the bureau of Tax Favored ships and fdocks. ijapaneseiibandon Cruiser v 1 Japanese sailors go over the side for the bottom of the sea. off the attack jy American earrled-based planes. (AP wtrephoto) British Ixibor Leader Says Big 3 Adu 44- At Undisclosed Location j By t John A. . LONDON, Feb.;6-(P-It was the big three actually ar4 in conference, and the expectation was expressed in informed quarters velt Prime Minister; Churchill have tackled the thorny problem ! Sir Walter Citrine, 1 British why Prime Minister Churchill was not present to address today's op ening of the trades ! union con gress, announced that the British, American and Russian leaders were: meeting "at this very mo ment- ...';!" Citrine did not hint as to the lo cation. The German radio said the meeting was being held either y aboard a warship in the Black sea or at a Black sea port, while the r rench telegraph agency said u was being held at Sochi, ;on the Black sea' eastern shore at the foot of the Caucasus mountains. With indications that thecon-i f erence had been in progress" for some days, it seemed that - the more urgent problems of defeat ing Germany and controlling that nation might have been settled. This Would clear the ground for discussion of a future world ort ganization and the unanswered question "of "Dumbarton! Oaks, whether-a majority or unanimity would be required to determine ari aggressor. , i Portland Has $200,000 Fire PORTLAND,-Feb. e.P-Dam- age to a four - story mid - town business block was estiniated at $200,000 by firemen 'today after, they battled flames for two hours in a three-alarm blaze, j One fireman was cut; in the thigh while working in the base ment of the Fred Meyer store, where flames seemed! to have or iginated. The building Was oc cupied by five retail shops; Mike Cohen, manager of a '! second-floor furniture store, said his stock in ventory: of $20,000 was' damaged by smoke which' billowed Xrom the "structure. t ' - -Thousands of noon-hour spec tators - jammed the j vicinity of Yamhill: and SW 4th avenue. Storm Warning Still Up Along Pacific Coast SEATTLE, Feb. 6. iSf The weather bureau ordered storm warnings on the Washington coast from Tatooch to the mouth of the Columbia river change to whole gale warnings at 9 p. jn. Small craft warnings were ordered up for the inland waters of Washing ton. Southeast storm .warnings along the Oregon . coast and : the strait of Juan de Fuca were un changed. - - - - SM- ' Price- Sc i 1 -.1 , 4. " forward and ait as this cruiser beads French Indo-Chln coast after an Parris, Jr. disclosed definitely today that in London that President Roose and Premier Stalin might already of halting future aggression. trade union leader, explaining Nearly 4000 Allied Planes LONDON, Feb. 6.-PV-The Al lies hurled nearly 4000 warplanes Into t!e battle of Germany in clearing I weather today, even as Berlin still shuddered from ex plosion of delayed action bombs dropped in last Saturday's raid. - 1 More than 1300 American Fly ing Fortresses and Liberator bom bers hammered the key commun cations ' centers of Magdeburg, Leipzig and Chemnitz southeast of Berlin, while f ighterbombers, also concentrating chiefly on rail roads, ranged over Germany to withirr 39 miles of Schweinfurt and 100 miles of Berlin., . The American heavy: bombers split into three groups ! as .they roared over Germany from Hol land in an aerial procession 300 miles long. i Allies Open Big Push In Italy Sayg Berlin STOCKHOLM, Feb. 6. -(PV- A Berlin military . spokesman said today that, the Allies, mainly the British, opened a major offensive In Italy on Monday from Bologna to Faenza. the Dagens ; Nyheter Berlin correspondent reported. Ac cording to his dispatch,! the Ger mans suggested that Bologna was the Allies' immediate objective. . A " I sluS Germany Wallace Chances Brighten as House Group Okehs George Bill WASHI NGTON,' Feb. 6 Henry Wallace's prospect of be coming , secretary.! jof J commerce was brightened - today: by the house banking committee's unan imous approval of the senate passed George hill - The measure, which j divorces the reconstruction finance corpor ation and subsidiary lending ag encies from the commerce" depart ment, received favorable" action after democrats beat down a re publican attempt to repeal part of the president's war powers, v t The banking committee's action transferred to the house floor the battle, on the republican proposal No. 277 Geri ans U.S. Attacks Last Enemy Positions West of Roer By Austin Bealmear PARIS, Wednesday, Feb. 7.- -American troops fighting In or beyond the Siegfried line's main emplacements along a broad front in western Germany extended their operations northward yes terday with a two-direction attack against the last enemy positions west of the Roer guarding the riv er's important dams. (German commentators pre dicted last night that an immin ent allied offensive on the western front would come at a point not now active and termed the oper ations In the Roer sector diver sionary.'. They did not, however, predict where the blow would fall.) The US Third army advanced up to a mile and one-half on an eight-mile front, while the Amer ican First army pushed within a half-mile of the Siegfried line's pepnanenl fortiflcattons,w , , . On the1 Alsatian front French First army troops with American aid continued' cleaning, out the halved Colmar pocket of Germans while the Americans placed the fortress ity of- Neufbreisach un der siege. The British, Canadian and US Ninth and Seventh army fronts remained comparatively quiet At the exteme northern end of thf active American front inside Germany, .the First army's 78th division was . squeezing . the last Germans from the west bank of the Roer. This division advanced within1 1500 yards of the town of Schmidt, north of the dam net work that controls the Roer's headquarters. Blood Donors Give 200 Pints Tuesday Two hundred pints of blood, the maximum which can be taken by the Red. Cross mobile unit in any one day here, were contributed in Salem on Tuesday. - Thirteen donors were from Leb anon, 11 from Scio, 10 from Sweet Home, nine each from Al bany and Newport, five each from Silverton and Union vale and four from Jefferson. Nine donors were from .Willamette university and three from the house of repre sentatives. i- " . February Rainfall - Far Above Normal - . A total of two . and one-half inches of rainfall has been - re ported for Salem and vicinity dur ing the first six days of February by the U. S. Weather bureau at McNsiry field. -- - ; C R. Stearns, senior observer at the bureau, said that the normal amount for the same period in February was only 1.02 , inches. 4.16 inches rainfall is the normal amount for the whole month. to fence in the former vice presi dent further by repealing Presi dent Roosevelt's wartime author ity to reshuffle federal agencies. This probably will begin next week, I Committee democrats held their lines solid to defeat the proposal, 15 to 1L Rep. Wolcott (R-Mich) ranking . minority .'member, . an nounced , immediately he would carry the fight to the floor. House Republican Leader Mar tin of Massachusetts contended that 'without the amendment the president could fgive Wallace . 25 or 39 federal agencies other than the RFC.- ' Predict Big Blow M opping Up City ! 3 U. S. Columns Busy Liquidating Desperate Enemy By C Yates McDanie! MANILA, Wednesday, Feb. T (-Liberated Manila's business district was ablaze Monday from Japanese torches, "Gen. Douglas MacArthur announced today, but three American columns still were liquidating the 'desperate enemy in a tightening three-way trap. (CBS radio correspondent Wil liam Dunn reported today the fires had been burning 38 hours.) (Arthur Feldman of the Blue network said earth-shaking ex plosions were followed by sheets of flame Monday at sundown, and? the business area was soon a rag ing Inferno, i (He quoted j a disappointed' American' doughboy as saying; ''Well, , there goes our good time in Manila!") j Many Die in Fire , , 7 t Feldman " said the number of persons who died in the burning of Manila probably will never be known, but "undoubtedly many Filipinos 'were burned alive.") By yesterday morning the flames began to die down, but it ' still was impossible to assess the actual damage, i House to 'house fighting was in progress 'in' some sectors as the Yanks of the first cavalry, 37th infantry and eleventh airborne di visions closed in for the final mop up. j Wantonly Destroy ' "The trapped! and frustrated Japanese garrison has wantonly set fire to the downtown business district along 'the Escolta and is practicing general sabotage de struction which has no relation to the military operations," MacAr thur announced. I I MacArthur told his men in a general order that you have in flicted the greatest military defeat in its history on; your enemy. ; "You have redeemed a country's pledge to recapture its lost land," . he said. "You are restoring to the east its destiny, .You have ful filled the sacred mission for our. hallowed 'dead. cFor this we thank God." MacArthur requested that di vine services be held throughout the sea, land and air command. Hit-Run Victim Near Death, Driver Sought Jennie Michell, 64, resident of 1915 South Cottage street, lies in critical condition at Salem Dea coness hospital this morning. And city police are seeking clues which may lead to the arrest of the driv er of a dark sedan which struck Mrs. Michell, a pedestrian, to the paving at Cottage and Court " streets at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and then sped on into the rainy night. Mrs. Michell, who is said to have come here from Hubbard af ter the death of her only son a few months ago, taking , employ ment at the Deaconess. Cottage home to keep her mind off her grief, sustained severe bruises and abrasions and her left leg was broken. j One witness - has given police their only description of the hit run car. :' . ; : i .- ' Warren Won't Run in 1948 WASHINGTON, Feb. 6-MVN0 sooner had Governor Earl Warren of California declared today that he is not a presidential candidate than a supporter predicted his nomination in 1848. , T Warren made his disavowal of presidential -r aspirations at luncheon of the National" Press dub. .-. - - ..;. -i But Rep. Gearhart (R-Calif), one of his listeners, told" a re-r porter later at the capitol: "I don't think that is a matter for the governor to decide. The call for his nomination (on the republican ticket) will be so ut terly Irresistible when the .time arrives that he will not be able ' to say no. California will offer him proudly." ; Patrolman Blushes , PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. Special Patrolman W. C Stewart blushed in police headquarters to day when he told his story. He'd been strong-armed by thug and robbed, of his billfold 'and police commission. ., . Occasional Light Rain today with temperatures about the same in the mid-Willamette valley area,' predicts U. S, Weather bureau, McNary field, Salem, !