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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1945)
OTP 8QQOCD0 wd cms t '-. Two statements made in recent days are of real interest to the vest. One was by Benjamin H. Fairless, president of US Steel, that his corporation was Interest ed in bidding for the big new steel plant built by the Defense Plant corporation at Geneva, Utah, and now being operated by Big Steel for the government, also that it was planning on putting in a bid for the Kaiser Fontana steel plant rear Los Angeles. This drew a re joinder from Henry ' Kaiser who said that the Fontana plant was not a. DFC enterprise, but his own, and that he was letting aside as sets to pay about one-third of the $100,006,000 which Fontana cost. Kaiser added that he would be fntAtvsted in bidding for the Ge neva plant; and intimated thaf in financing thesedeals he might re sort to public issuance of securt ties. The west can view these devel opments with real satisfaction. As the February number of Fortune magazine points out, the west feels that it .must have cheaper basic metals to promote its industrial ization. Heretofore,, aside from a small steel plant at Pittsburgh, Calif., steel used in the west has come from the Chicago-Pittsburgh . district or the Birmingham district In Alabama. The freight rates have been high, thus cutting the ability of western manufacturers to com pete in the national . market for finished goods. If we have per manent steel mills in the west, ' und freight rates are not too bur densome, and then if we can de velop our light metal industry into - permanent, large-scale operation the west can really forge ahead in peacetime production. i The recent great i increase in population on this coast (Califor nia now claims to be third largest state in the country) helps over come another handicap the west has labored under lack of a large consuming marker. While the west . will still be thinly populated, its growth by expanding local con sumption help local industries to grow. x You have to give full credit to Henry Kaiser to being an indus trialist of vision. He isn't disposed to sit down on hid war profits and call it a day. He is ready to throw his war profits into the pot in the gamble for postwar business. His example might well inspire others who talk glibly about the virtue ' of private enterprise but are so ' cautious they are unwilling to t make any real adventure in fi nance. There must first be EN TERPRISE if private enterprise is to live. I , Jet Propelled Nazi Fighters Attack Heavies IX)NDON. Feb. 8-(A)-A mighty force of 1300 American heavy 'bombers guarded by almost 900 fighters faced the greatest chal lenge of German jet planes today land escaped with a loss of 19 bombers and three fighters. '. Baffled gunners aboard the Fly ing Fortresses and Liberators failed to shoot down any of these attackers, flying at a speed of 10 miles a minute, but escorting Mus tang pilots knocked down five of the jets. Eighteen ordinary-type Messer fcbmitt and Focke Wulf fighters also were blasted from the sky and 41 German planes were de stroyed on the ground. Despite the resistance of the German luftwaffe, the American armada drove through to a suc - cessful completion of its objective, ' (lunging 4000 tons of explosives n the synthetic oil refinery at Lutzkendorf, factories at Weimar and railway yards at Magdeburg. New England Storm Brings Death to 18 - -BOSTON, Feb. 9-(P)-With a death toll . of 18 and damage . mounting into the millions,' New England .tonight was digging itself out of hs worst blizzard since the Valentine s day storm of 1940. A record fall of snow, ranging tip to 17 inches in Boston, clamped shut stores and schools and left most war plants limping on sparse manpower. Transportation, virtually para lyzed for 24 hour?, was wheezing along in low gear. Highways were flecked with stalled automobiles. abandoned by their owners. Sol diera answered a railroad appeal to shovel out switches. Thousands of commuters trekked wearily homeward after 'spending last night in police stations, railroad termains and hotel lobbies. Partly Cloudy with morning valley fog today In the mid-Willamette valley area, with somewhat warmer temperatures, predicts U.S. weather bureau "vat McNary field, Salem. - - NINETY-FOUBTH YEAB M Narrow- r;: v.; - ' . ! i i - In Vote C -H North End Ballot Heavy Opposing Bush Tract Buy The city of Salem turned thumbs down Friday on propos als to acquire the remaining por tion of Bush pasture and to grant a franchise to the Salem Electric cooperative. The plan to purchase 47 acres of the Bush tract for $173,000, adjoining the 53 acres the city already has by grant, was defeat ed 2567 to 2110. The proposal to grant a fran chise to Salem Electric was beat en 23CS to t 2283. " Approximately SO per cent of the city's 14,079 registered voters turned out for the special elec tion. . The vote by wards: Bash Salem rastnr Electric Ward Yes No Vh N 1 J2S S4 SM a 34 287 29 337 S 17S 17S 177 172 4 m m 27 iss 5 27 2 Ml 4M Ml 499 M. 42 7 42 HI fi, ,! . Total 2S7 223 tM j The Bush purchase carried In three wards, but - lost heavily in ward 5 (North Salem) and was defeated in the east ward t(6), north-central (1) and in the ward which includes a portion of the tract itself (4). The franchise plan also carried but three wards the downtown district (3), and wards 4 .and 5 but its total vote was closer than on the other issue. RAF Hammers Verona, Nazi Supply Town ROME, Feb. 9-(P)-Railyards at Verona, the crossroads of all-important lines supplying German armies in northern Italy, smoul dered today after a massive over night attack by RAF heavy bom' bers. Swarms of American medium Domners and lighter-bombers had spent yesterday blasting new gaps in the battered communications which the nazis must keep open for supplies or for eventual escape from Italy. The Americans were credited with cutting tracks at 55 places and destroying or damaging 34 locomotives, 100 rail cars and 107 other vehicles. 13,600 Workers Idle In Detroit Strikes DETROIT, Feb. 9-()-Some 13,600 workers were idle tonight as the result of strikes in plants of the Briggs Manufacturing Co. and the Square D Co. The Briggs walkout, involving an estimated 12,500 employes, started Tuesday over a dispute concerning job assignments in the Mack avenue plant and has spread to four other plants here. Observers Keep Close Watch For Fleeing War Criminals WASHI NGTON, Feb. 9 -P) American observers in Spain and Portugal are keeping a sharp lookout these days for fleeing nazi war criminals, Acting Secre tary of State Grew disclosed to day. ' ' At the same time he called in directly for 'definite assurances from neutral countries that they will cot harbor axis; ring leaders who escape from Germany. The subject came i up for a thorough airing at Crew's news conference, in connection with re ports that Britain and Argentina made a secret agreement last summer by which the Argentines 10 PAGES mm Manila in Iwtc :t V' "" t" ) ' ffl ri i - Tir jiiiiir n ii i Trnrrr'iri 1 rioit "wtnaT'inipasaa p n t - - r w - , JL t I F-- -.? u"- - 3 Raging fires started by Jap demolition charges and IT. S. mortar fire : barn in the enemy-held ares of This is the first photo of Manila photo from signal corps radio) Big 3 Believed Whipping PUmslInto Shape to Occupy Reich at 1 ' ' M ' jBy John A. ij LONDON, Feb. 9-(fP)-The big three, realizing the possibility of a sudden collapse of military and civilian resistance in huge areas of Germany under pressure of the joint Allied offensive, are believed whipping plans into! shape for occupying the reich at a moment's notice;. j ! Well-informed quarters here Roosevelt, Prime - Minister Churchill and Premier, Stalin pos sibly are preparing two occupa tion plans, under the first of which specialized! forces are being alerted now for femergency duty. The: second plan would provide forces for long-term assignment. There are indications that spe cialized troops already are being concentrated on the ! fringes of Germany! to take , over quickly when all! or part of the country collapses.; This force includes civil affairs experts and "teams" of the United Nations relief and rehabili tation administration. ;; With Nazi military forces being withdrawn to the south and south east, British officials, said northern Germanyj might collapse at any time. They based this belief ion reports from inside the reich that many sections of northern Ger many already are showing signs of progressive deay. j III any event, the big; three prob ably will shape their plans to the extent they will! not be caught napping by any development. t Three Valley Men Included oh ; Wounded :List ! i The names of ' three mid-Willamette valley men were includ ed today in a Bst of 2374! an nounced as wounded In action in the European theater of war: 1 Pic Wendell E. toe, son of Emil O. jLoe, route 1, ' box ! 187, Silverton; CpL William R-llMc-Knight, husband of Mrs. Zella L. McKnigfi 608 Baker street, Al bany; St Sgt Ffederick J. Sny der, son of Omar S. Snyder, of Turner, j I s i pledged themselves to shut their doors against Hitler and his ilk. ; The agreement was revealed In Buenos Aires after Lord Vansit- tart had criticized Argentina land other neutrals in? a speech in the house of Xords at London three days ago. j ' ?. . ; The Argentines were reported as saying! that tHia constituted a violation of the agreement; ; that amain nad promised to refrain from such; criticism in return for the ! assurances. Britaui Informed the United States off toe corre spondencei That was the only part Washington had in this particular phase of war criminal precautions. Solam. Oregon. Saturday Morning; February 10. 1945 Flames Manila, capital of the Philippines. under battle conditions. (AP wire ' Mii . Moment's Notice t Parrii, Jr. ' - suggested today that President ges Friendliness To (Jermanv ! u i LONDON, Feb, 9j-;P)-The Bi shop of Birmingham advocated "a new friendliness" toward Germa ny and : abandonment of harsh peace! terms today, while the world! trade union cpnference re ceived proposals for economic subjugation of the reich and wholesale transfer of workers and industries elsewhere. Dr. Ernest William Barnes, 70 year-old Church of England scho lar who! has been Bishop of Bir mingham since 1924J told the Na tional Peace councils that a peace based on maintenance of military force would fail, and that he be lieved; hard surrender " terms would! only hasten a new war. "The significant people in cen tral Europe when! hospitalities have ended will still be Germans," the churchman declared. "By rea son of their good qualities the Germans became strong; for the same reason they will again be come i strong, whatever - peace terms are enforced.' Canadians Cross Rhine Reports Berlin' Radio LONDON, Feb. Berlin broadcast 'said tonight; Canadian assault forces had crossed the Rhine j at Erlecom, east of Nij megen, and were being sealed off "and- subjected to heavy concen trated fire." .;. s;t- t ( - ; The crossings were made in 20 assault boats, the broadcast de clared,' eight of which were sunk. Norwejgian Neurologist Executed by Germans NEW YORK, Feb. j 9 1- (P) - The Royal Norwegian information ser vice said! today that; Dr. Haakon Saethre. ! internationally known neurologist, was one of 19 Nor wegians executed lnj Oslo . Thurs day nigh j within a few-hours after Karl Marth insert, head : of the Quisling pstapo, was: assassinated. Italy Asks Big jThrec For Easier Armistice ROME,! Feb. 9 - ffi - Premier Ivanoe Bonomi has' telegraphed the "big Jhree" conference asking that the allied armistice terms for Italy be i relaxed, it twas learned Bishop authoritatively tonight.; 'Gigantic' Red Push ed Russians Sweep Closer to Stettin x On Baltic Coast By W. W. Hereher LONDON, Saturday, Feb. 10 : (fl-The Red army swept to with in 29 miles of Berlin's Baltic port of Stettin yesterday in its swift drive to seal off all northeastern Germany, and ; the enemy an nounced that a new "gigantic" Soviet southern "offensive had deeply outflanked Breslau by roll ing 35 miles west of that SUesian capital.- - On the Berlin front the Rus- sions were said by the Germans r"t" JtZ? X? " ! to have crossed the Oder and cut direct north - south communica tions between Kuestrin, Frank furt' and Fuerstenberg at points within 35 miles of imperilled Ber lin. ' These three fortresses are Berlin's major shields and the Russians were trying to encircle them. New Red Armies Used German broadcasts said . that several Russian armies had been hurled into the swelling Silesian drive that sent Soviet spearheads to the edge of XJegnitz, big transit center and manufacturing city of 76.000 astride the direct Berlin- Breslau communication lines, i Breslau's garrison on the upper Oder miles east of Liegnitz was threatened with imminent encir clement, only a 32-mile gap still being left open west of the city. The Russians simultaneously were threatening to break open the door into German Saxony in a wide flankinc move through Liegnitz, which is 135 miles south west of Berlin. Etbing Surrounded In East Prussia the Russians drove new spearheads to the Bal tic coast and surrounded the har bor city of Elbing, between Koe nigsberg and Danzig territory, thus dimming further the escape possibilities of the remnants of 200,000 to 250,000 Germans orig inally trapped in a pocket below Koenigsberg. -, Moscow dispatches said Mar shal j Gregory K. Zhukov's First White Russian army was 'laying down one of the heaviest artillery barrages of the war on German lines between the Oder and Ber lin. ; (There was no further mention of the German-language broad cast j from Moscow which last night placed the Russians 74 miles from Berlin.) 800 on Strike At Todd Yards SEATTLE, Feb. 9 P Eight hundred welders voted late today, with only two dissenting voices, to "stand pat" in the strike which began this morning at the Todd Pacific shipyards and Todd dry docks, and J. B. Bart, organizer for the - United Brotherhood Of Welders, . Cutters and Helpers. (Ind.) predicted the navy. would take over the two yards "within a few days." ' k The walkout climaxed a three year feud between the independ ent union and the welders local of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (AFL). The im mediate cause of the strike was the discharge of six welders due to their suspension by the Amer ican Federation of Labor, which has a contract with the yards and docks calling for such action. , They Usually Obey. This Yank Private1 FORT LEWIS, Wash. - - An unusual name can be a handy thing! sometimes. , Pvt. Colonel Underwood of the engineers, doesn't use the ; word "private" ., when " calling for hotel reservations while on leave. "This . is Colonel ? Underwood speaking," he says. It usually Claim I works. -. . , emorial Revived OnDijaft 4BigTruclBill Passed; Salary Increases lAsked - I - i Big trucks will slide over Ore gon's highways at least two more years, chickens no longer will be the fair game of dogs unless the latters owner pays the price, and any district attorney in Oregon can try to pu the stop-light on initiatives and! referendums un der legislation adopted Friday. The big truck bill ( goes to the house with the 18 toj 10 blessing of the state senate. The. chickens-are-livestock measurej was a house bill and the senate's approval Fri day was the final step. Bill Sent to Senate . j The other measure,! which if in effect would have permitted Dis trict Attorney T. Lester Johnson of Sherman county to challenge the Townsend initiative when he sought to do so last year, was passed to the house land sent to the senate without argument i a bill (SB 88) 'to validate the in I . . C 71 . . vurvvs vm. ursuia r tun otherwise might be questioned be cause of state residence. It was designed to clarify the status of service wives. ! j; New introductions l in the sen ate included proposals to raise Marion county officers' salaries 15 per cent; increase the salaries of circuit court judges to $6000, and permit the board of barber examiners to fix minimum prices.-, The house , spent !a compara tively quiet day, pissing seven measures, but found a considera ble point of controversy in a me mortal (HJM 6) to petition con gress for consideration of Ore gon's farm labor shortage, In re gard to the draft The memorial was given hew life by a vote to reconsider. It was beaten Tues day 29 "yes" to 25 "ho" (needing 31 to pass), but went back to committee Friday after a 36 to 21 ballot approving -its revival. ; First Veto Arrives The first gubernatorial veto of the session was attached to HB 70, returned Friday to the house. The bill would provide lump sum payments to minors, n regard to workmen's compensation, and was vetoed because! by title "it would change the age; of majority Fur ther action was postponed indef inite, j Both the senate and house will take up at 9 -JO jn.j today. (Legislative hews page 3.) China Adviser Is Liberated ' - -I' ! -SYDNEY, Australia, Feb. 9-P) -W. H. Donald, famous adviser to China's Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, has been liberated from a Manila internment camp after a three - year masquerade during which the Japanese vainly sought him so they could kill him, it was disclosed here today. v Donald, an Australian, went to China in 1904 as a correspondent for the old New York Herald, Then he became secretary to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, first president of the Chinese republic,' and finally the most trusted foreign confi dant and counselor of Chiang. M S.Pe Obtains Transfer of Spur Track Suit to Federal Court Judge E. M. Page, I acting on a petition of the Southern Pacific company Issued an order Friday transferring to; the tJS district court, district of! Oregon, the pend ing suit of Bertha B. McMahan against that company in which the plaintiff complains against pro posed construction of m spur track for the Western Paper Converting company on North Front street Petition for removal of the suit to the US court waa filed at 11 am. Friday and parties Involved In the suit notified that an action would be heard before Judge Page at 2 pm. At 2:l?;p4tt. the order approving the bond of $500 of the Southern Pacific and j the removal of the case was filed in the county clerk's office."" f i . -; f Defendant in Its petition cited that the complaint asked that the railroad . be perpetually restrain ed and enjoined from! constructing a spur track, which! when con Prlc Se nn Free Again I V - $ f JUL Edith Corns, Jap prisoner In Afanila for three years, has been rescued in the Yank drive on the picturesque port the Paslg. Her heme la in Loa An geles. (International Soond photo) 1 Yanks Clearing Southern Half Of Manila Gty MANILA. Saturday, Feb. 10 (iT American infantrymen, driv ing down mined streets against pillboxes and mortars firing from the upper stories of office build ings, gained. 2000 yards (toward Manila's prized dock area ' yester day. It was dear the trapped Ja panese defenders would : contest every yard' f ground. j - Gen, Douglas. MacArthur, de- ribintenemy'a resistance day house-to-house fighting was "of the fiercest" j . . - - - Enemy-se fires still were burn ing in three sections of Manila, but appeared to be diminishing. Maj. Cen. Oscar W. Griswold, commander of the 14th corps, told Associated Press Correspondent Fred Hampson. that "a lot of this destruction is wanton and of no military purpose." Griswold said the Americans were virtually powerless to stop the enemy demolition crews who have turned much of Manila's heart into blackened ruins. Chinese Miake Counterblows CHUNGKING, Feb. 9-(P)-Suc-cessf ul Chinese counter-attacks in three provinces were reported by the high command tonight as pre parations for a Chinese-Allied of fensive against the Japanese were announced by Maj. Gen.! Kung Chi-Kuang. ( Chinese forces struck back at the invading Japanese In Hunan, Kiangsi and Kwangtung provinc es. They were reported to have recaptured Chihing, 30 miles east of . Japanese - occupied Kukong, which lies on the Canton-Hankow railroad in Kwangtung. River Recedes Here After 15.6 Ft. Crest ' The Willamette river reached a crest of 15.6 feet at Salem Friday afternoon and started to recede. The Santiam river reached a crest of 16 feet Thursday night at Jef ferson and was going down Fri day, reports from the i Salem weather bureau indicated, j structed and completed will be used as a public team track; that the loss to! the defendant,! if the i . - . - . 4'- relief prayed for be granted, win be approximately $23,000 a year; so that the amount in dispute In the suit, insofar as the defendant is concerned, is more than; $3000, exclusive of Interest and j costs." (A federal cout suit must involve in excess of $3000). - ; - : v ' il Holding that the defendant company is a foreign corporation, being incorporated under the laws of the state of Kentucky, the de fendant cited that the suit; is be tween citizens of different; states. The petition asked that removal be had before the trial and within 30 days from . time of filing ;of the petition. . " - v'- The railroad company was rep resented by Alfred A. Hampson and James C. Dezendorf, of Port' land. '' t 71 No. 280 Fury Of Assault Mi Monty's Forces Within 4 Miles Of Vital Kleve . i By Anstin Bealmear PARIS, Feb. -(P)-Tne Canad ian army broadened . the front of its big new offensive to almost 10 miles today after sweeping up 14 towns in gains of nearly five miles, and drove to within four miles of flaming Kleve, imperiled northern fortress of western Germany's de fenses. . . The fury of the assault from the west mounted on a 200-mile front as Gen. H.D.G. Crerar s Canadian and British forces battered east- ward between the Rhine and Maaa rivers '27 miles from Wesel, at the northwest corner of the Ruhr val ley last great source of the en emy's war potential. .... The US first army 85 miles to the south outflanked . the giant Schwammenauel ' dam, whose pent-up waters could be unloosed to crush and British and American drive on the Ruhr from their springboard positions north ' and east of Aacheq. ' EUsenfeld FaUa Striking behind one Of the heav iest barrages ever laid down - by First arrpy guns, the Americans seized Hasenfeld, less than a mil, east of the dam, and brought the structure, itself within" range ' of machineguns. Farther' south, the US . Third army was hammering at the Ger man defenders of the Eif el moun tain stronghold of Proem from po sitions three-quarters of a t mil northwest of the city. The enemy fought furjously to, hold the im portant communication .center. Less than six miles to the north, doughboys already eight miles in- Side the reich threatened to out flank Pruem by forcing two cross ings of the river of the same name. They were within four miles of the main road east out of the city, Naxis Wiped Out In southern Alsace, all enemy resistance was wiped out, an of ficial announcement said, and vic tory flags flew over the city of Colmar. The only Germans re maining on French soil were in northern Alsace, where they were, dug in for nothing more than a defensive stand.. Field Marshal Montgomery threw reinforcements into thv mountain battle at the northern hinge of the western front, where Canadians and Tommies were' slogging through , the mud against still relatively light resistance about 360 miles from the Russians on the eastern front. Subs Torpedo Allied Warship, Five Vessels HALIFAX, Feb. 9 - tP) - Long- range German submarines, sniping at allied convoys bound into and out of Canadian ports this winter, torpedoed a Canadian warship and five merchantmen within one pe riod of 22 days off the Nova Sco tia coast, it was disclosed tonight. The enemy underseas craft ap parently were making a desperate attempt to cut the allied north Atlantic supply line at its west ern anchor.. J The sinkings included the Ca nadian minesweeper Clayoquot, a Canadian merchant ship, and four vessels of other nationalities. . A total of 36 men, eight navy men and the rest merchant seamen, lost their lives In the six sinkings. . Due for Cut WASHINGTON, Feb. The war production board tonight ordered most of the civilian sup ply of cotton fabrics channelled: into moderately priced clothing. 1 The action is effective March 1. , . It Is title first major step uvthe joint WPB-OPA program to cut clothing costs 6 to 7 per cent and to replenish dealers' supplies of Inexpensive garments. ; -The consumer should feel the effect of the order's provisions hy early summer," said Kenneth W. Marriner, director of the WPB textile, clothing and leather bu reau. ' ' , ounting Qotliing Costs