Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980, August 08, 1942, Page 1, Image 1

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54th Year, No. 188 Sr..ir2 ' -Two 7 -t$ pages Salem, Oregon R Is. HI B Saturday, August 8.1942 Price Five Cents
Six of Eioot German SabotwTS E
;
American Naval
c Forces Attack
Japs at Kiska
Bombard Ships at Shore
Bases Also Join As
sault on Solomon Islands
Washington', Aug. 8 (IP)
Heavy attacks by United
i'- States naval forces on Japanese
installations in the Solomon iST
lands in the southwest Pacific
and in the Aleutian islands off
Alaska were announced today
by the navy.
Air and surface forces joined
in the assault on the enemy in
JTk the southeastern part of the Sol
omon islands. The navy empha
sized that the attack was in
"force" and that the battle was
continuing.
Referring to the Aleutians
where the Japanese have landed
on three islands the navy said its
forces bombarded enemy ships
and shore establishments at Kis
ka. Ships Played Fart
In this engagement also sur
face units played a major part.
Besides Kiska, the Japanese
are on Attu and Agattu islands.
The navy's communique, num
ber 101, follows:
"North and south Pacific
areas: .
"1. U. S. naval and other
forces have attacked enemy in
stallations in the sputheast part
of the Solomon islands in force
and the attacks ''are continuing.
4 "2. Simultaneously, ' U . S .
bT naval forces bombarded enemy
ships and shore establishments
at Kiska.
"3. No additional information
is available at the present."
The Solomon islands are lo
cated between the New Hebrides
and the Bismarck archipelago,
extending over an area 600 miles
long in a northwest and south
east direction and up to 100
miles wide.
iusi wnai, lsxanas in me group
were attacked, a navy official
said, was not known in Wash
ington. The Solomons last were men
tioned in the south Pacific cam
paign on June 12 when the navy
told the story of the battle of the
Coral sea. At that time it was
reported that army reconnais
sance planes had sighted the en
emy with transports and sup
porting forces preparing to ad
vance into the Solomon and
M- Louisiade islands in April.
The following month the ad
vances actually were made and
bases for land planes in the Sol
omon and Louisiade group were
seized by the Japanese. From
those bases enemy shore-based
aircraft operated prior to the
Coral sea engagement.
American Pilot
. Hero of Battle
London, Aug. 8 IJP) Sergeant
Pilot C. O. Snell, a Minnesotan,
was rescued from the English
channel after a 00-mile flight
across water .In a burning RAF
Spitfire which ended when he
balled out, the air minister news
service reported today.
Snell had been attacking ship
ping off the French coast with
other RAF fighter pilots when
an anti-aircraft shell explosion
bounced his plane on the water.
Snell pulled up quickly aid,
with machine gun fire, killed the
German gunner firing at his
flight commander, but the wing
of his plane hit a ship's mast.
Anti-air put holes In the hood,
wings, fuselage and gasoline
tanks of his plane and Snell
headed for home. His engine
caught fire four times, but each
time he extinguished the flames
by side-slipping.
With his own clothing soaked
with gasoline, he bailed out
when the engine caught fire for
,the fifth time. He came down
close to the English coast and
was picked up by a fishing boat
2U minutes later.
V ; " J Mahatma to Delay Civil fc. jOL ; J'd AA 1
Id Disobedience Campaign I U -J J 10
i To Negotiate JH fiO Wfhft I'W
ft New Delhi, Aug. 8 OT-The QMMP S cfejlKs MMlm
Ilk ' J government of India tonight de- -fTAJ V "i,i' A "V vX-AT if X'Mf f -Jl
I 1 IvTr clined to negotiate with the All- I Iff,' V S.'i f f4 V '1 CHiV
llj India congress party on the basis P'n AVI L ' M) V- Vl CV YJT ' 1'
of the party's Bombay resolu- I Jbj lltCl!r W I V- (I I 'I
cS. tion calling for immediate in- I jtt' JHffijr3siy V''"!!.! fl jtzjfr V
kmhhbmM dependence under threat of a
Commander C o 1 . Rdbert
T. Frederick (above), has
been named to command an
American-Canadian force of
super - commandos training
at Helena, Mont., and made
parachute and marine land
up of picked specialists in
ings. Associated Press
Photo. ,
Ration System
Contemplated
Washington, Aug. 8 VP) Uncle
Sam was paving the way today
for possible inauguration of a
universal rationing system un
der which the government could
determine the war-time allot
ments of all citizens for scarce
commodities and articles.
The office of price administra
tion disclosed it was preparing a
generaf ration book, applicable
to any article, which would en
able the start of rationing "al
most overnight."
Paul M. O'Leary, deputy OPA
administrator in charge of ra
tioning, explained the plan was
designed to put rationing into
operation immediately after the
need arose. He said machinery
was being set up for rationing
many commodities "in which
there is no present need for ra
tioning." "We're like the fire depart
ment," O'Leary said. "It gets
its fire fighting equipment
ahead of time so that when the
alarm sounds they don't have to
go shopping for a fire engine in
order to go to a fire.
OPA said the general ration
books were being designed "ex
perimentally" at the govern
ment printing office.
"If it can be made workable
we would have in our hands an
instrument that would enable
us to start a rationing program
almost overnight, instead of
having to take six to 10 weeks
as in the past when we have had
to let the emergencies wait
while we got scores of millions
of . coupon books printed,
O'Leary said.
New Postmaster
Washington, Aug. 8 W) Presi
dent Roosevelt has sent to the
senate the following Oregon
postmastership nominations:
Cloverdale, Clifford O. Dough
erty; Dallas, Tracy Savery; Sil
verton, Henry Aim; Stayton,
Grace E. Nelbcrt.
Say Japs and Reds
Already at War
Seattle, Aug. 8 W) Japan and Russia have been at war for
some time and the Japanese have already sunk several Russian
ships in the Pacific, according to
ington, D. C, Representative
Warren G. Magnuson (D.,
Wash.) said yesterday.
Magnuson, a member of the
house naval affairs committee,
who until recently was on ac
tive duty as a lieutenant-commander
in the U. S. navy, ar
rived from the national capital
en route to Alaska to inspect
territorial defenses.
The Japanese justify their
sinking of Russian ships on the
ground the Soviet vessels were
carrying American materials,
Magnuson said,
"War between Japan and
Russia started," Magnuson told
interviewers, "when the Japs
began strengthening their forces
in Manchuria and when they
I Indian Congress I Germans Strike
Adopts Gandhi s a S& At Approaches
civil disobedience campaign. I f ftWt H 1 X Sr1
Bombay, Aug. 8 U.fi The full
working committee of the all
India congress today approved
by an overwhelming vote Mo
handas K. Gandhi's call for mass
passive resistance, but Gandhi
said the start of the campaign
would be delayed until he has
conferred with the British vice
roy of India.
Thirteen of the committee's
360 members voted against the
resolution. '
"We shall make every effort
to see the viceroy before start
ing our movement," Gandhi
said.
Recedes Somewhat
Pandit Hawaharlal Nehru, in
fluential congress member who
introduced the resolution yester
day, said it was "not a threat"
to Britain.
Ending discussion which pre
ceded the vote, Nehru said the
resolution was a question of co
operation in the war.,effort con-,
ditioned on India's- independ
ence! : - - ,
Gandhi was reported to have
receded from his plan to deliver
a seven-day ultimatum to the
British government on inde
pendence and to have drafted a
most conciliatory letter to the
viceroy in a last-minute bid for
negotiations.
Step by Step
But quarters close to Gandhi
who is delegated to lead the dis
obedience campaign, said he not
only would act "step by step"
so that an all-embracing cam
paign would not be started at
once, but that in a letter alrea
dy drafted he addressed the
viceroy in "most conciliatory,
most friendly and pleading
terms."
It was expected the resolu
tion would be passed today or
tomorrow and Gandhi planned
to send his letter Monday.
At first he proposed to en
close with it the resolution call
ing for disobedience as the al
ternative to independence now.
But well informed sources
said today he now planned
merely to send the letter so
there would be no "impression
of a threat, or even intimation,
of a struggle."
To Avoid Break
"It is a letter from a sincere
friend to a sincere friend," an
informant said, and added it was
intended to avoid a catastrophe
in event the viceroy's reply was
unsatisfactory.
(Concluded on Page 9, Column 6)
"common knowledge" in Wash
seized Attu and Kiska Islands In
the Aleutians."
The congressman said it was
generally believed in Washing
ton the Japs occupied the west
ernmost Aleutian islands for
three reasons:
"First, they beat us to it
They knew we'd be there sooner
or later in offensive action
against the Japs' home islands.
"Secondly, they wanted wea
thcr information from that area
Because the weather moves from
northwest to southeast across
the continent from the north
Pacific, they are now In a post
tion to know what kind of wea
ther we're having along the west
(Concluded on Page V, Column I)
They Shot Down Japs at Wake Island Here is the crew 'of the army flying fortress
which shot down four out of six Jap fighters over Japanese-held Wake' island. They told
the story of the fight at an interview at the Hawaiian airforce headquarters. Standings left
to right): Bombardier Sgt. C. B. Phillips, Oneda, Term.; Lieut. C. B. Walker, Portland,
Ore.; Major G. B. Glober, San Angelo, Tex.; Lieut. H. W. Smith, Bangor, Me.; Asst. Radio
man J. F. Lillis, Williamsburg, la. Kneeling (L-R): Engineer R. A. Freis, Chambers
burg, Pa.; Gunner E. H. Caton, New Bedford, Mass.; Gunner Sgt. J. T.'Sanford, Long Is
land, N.Y.; Radioman R. L. Holliday, Milwaukee, Wis.; and Engineer Sgt. H. R. Inman,
Scranton, Pa. This photo radioed from Honolulu to San Francisco. Associated Press
Photo.
U.S. Airmen Raid
Chungking, Aug. 8 UP) United States army warplanes raided
the Canton area again early this morning, shot down two Japan
ese planes and destroyed several more on the ground, Lieut. Gen.
Joseph W. Stilwell's headquarters announced today. Still another
enemy aircraft was listed as probably shot down in combat, though
33 Dangerous
Aliens Seized
New York, Aug. 8 (U.R) Seiz
ure of 33 enemy aliens in the
New York metropolitan area, in
cluding one who was an instruc
tor in the national youth admin
istration, was announced today
by the federal bureau of investi
gation here.
All were described as "dan
gerous aliens" by P. E. Fox
worth, head of the FBI office
here.
Those seized and taken to Ellis
island for . hearings before an
enemy alien board included 24
German men and one woman,
six Italians, one Japanese and
one Hungarian.
Forworth said the Hungarian
was identified with the NYA in
New York. He t a u g h fc radio
which members of the army sig
nal corps reserve studied . un
der NYA.
Axis Subs Sink
3 More Ships
(By the United Prenn) '
The sinking of three more
merchant ships has been reveal
ed, raising the total lost to Axis
submarines and mines in the
western Atlantic since January
to 438.
One sinking was of a medium-
sizer Panamanian vessel, torpe
doed and shelled in the Gulf of
Mexico in June. One man was
lost.
Another June sinking was of
a medium-sized Norwegian ship,
sunk by an Italian submarine in
the Atlantic off the northern
coast of South America. Four
were missing.
A dispatch from Hamilton,
Bermuda, revealed a German
submarine torpedoed the neutral
Uruguayan ship Maldonado on
August 1, while It was enroute
to Montevideo to New York, and
kidnaped the captain. Thirteen
survivors were brought to Ber
muda by an American naval
vessel. Thirty-five more were
missing.
r ?nnmyi ""mi.i.iii f tria ,
. its destruction could not be con-
firmed.
The raid was the second on
the Japanese air base at Canton
in three days. Thursday Ameri
can fliers were credited official
ly with destroying 10 grounded
enemy planes in a surprise as
sault without loss to themselves.
(The Japanese in a broadcast
from Tokyo reported that five
American bombers accompanied
by fighting planes were chased
away from the Canton airfield
this morning. The Japanese
statement claimed two Ameri
can bombers were shot down
over Samshui, 30 miles west of
Canton, and other planes, un
able to reach their objectives,
dropped their bombs haphazard
ly near Lungtan.) '
Stilwel's communique said
extensive damage was done to
the "White Cloud" airdrome as
well. as to docks and harbor
buildings in this morning's raid,
in which the. American bombers
operated with a fighter escort.
At least nine Japanese fight
ers rose to challenge the raid
ers, but only after they had
dropped their cargoes of high
explosives in the target area,
Capt. Charles Sawyer was
credited with shooting down one
of the enemy fighters and Lieu
tenant Patrick H. Daniels an
otherboth new type planes. :
Aerial Gunner Cooning, a rear
gunner in one - of our bombers
hit and probably destroyed a
third Japanese fighter," - the
communique said.
Steel Rolling
Mill for Portland
Portland, Ore., Aug. 8 ttl.R)
Final approval for the construe
tion of a steel rolling mill here
has been given by the war pro
duction board and its plant site
division, Sen. Charles McNary
announced In a telegram.
Plans for the plant were sub
mitted by the Oregon Electric
Steel Rolling Mill, Inc., a year
ago and the Reconstruction Ft
nance corporation approved fi
nancing of the mill In April on
a 48-acre site beside the Willa
mette river,
Sen. McNary said the plant
woud have one electric furnace
with a capacity of 30,000 tons
of steel annually and that a
second furnace eventually would
be added.
Allied Convoy
I ',- Berlin (f roiri ' Germain
casts), Aug. 8 m The Herman
high command announced in a
special communique today that
an American destroyer and sev
en ships,, totalling 49,000 tons,
had been sunk from a convoy
in the North Atlantic.
The North Atlantic action was
described as a "difficult attack
on a strongly escorted convoy,"
the special communique said.
Eight other ships were sunk
in mid-Atlantic, in American
waters and off the harbors of
the West African coast, the
communique said. These ships
totaled 54,181 tons.
(There has been no confirma
tion of these reported sinkings
from any allied source. ) .
"Among the ships sunk (else
where than in the North Atlan
tic) was a largo vessel carrying
munitions and another ship la
den with tanks and aircraft
bound for Alexandria," the com
munique said.
The communique said Ger
man submarines in sinking the
15 cargo vessels listed in the
communique, had struck a "se
vere blow" to American supply
shipping.
Ex-Premier of Burma Dies
Tokyo (from Japanese broad
casts), Aug 8 (IP) A Miyako
dispatch quoting the Italian
News Agency Stefnni said to
day that U Saw, former premier
of Burma who was arrested by
the British several months ago
while en route homo from Eng
land, had died in prison in
Egypt. '
15 Tons of Bombs
Dropped on Rabaid
General MacArthur's Headquarters, Australia, Aug. 8 (IP)
Striking their mightiest blow yet at Japanese-held Rabnul, allied
airmen unloaded 15 tons of bombs on that New Britain Invasion
base yesterday and churned up
destruction at Lae, New Guinea
with 2,000-pound demolition
bombs.
Seven of 20 challenging Jap
anese Zero fighters were report
ed shot down over Rabaul at a
cost of only one allied plane, al
though other raiders were dam
aged and there were some cas
ualties. This daring and destructive
assault, by heavy bombers In
daylight, was aimed at Vunaka
nau airdrome, the main enemy
air base in New Britain, An al
lied communique said every one
of the bombs hit the target area.
Medium bombers carried out
Major Break Through
Defenses of Maikop
Edge Close to Stalingrad
(By the Associated Press)
Adolf Hitler's drive for the
black gold of the Caucasus near
ed its first major goal today as
the Germans smashed at the ap
proaches of the Maikop oil
fields, 10 miles south of Rostov,
while in the north the invaders
edged closer to the great steel
city of Stalingrad.
"The situation is very tense,"
soviet dispatches said referring
to the Caucasus.
For the first time, ihc Rus
sians acknowledged that the
Germans had lunged far down
the west side of the Caucasus
land bridge to the middle east
after a major break through red
army defenses.
Russian Admissions
Dispatches to r.ed Star, the
Russian army newspaper, said
Marshal Semeon Timoshenko's
armies had made a heroic but
unsuccessful attempt to stem the
nazi onslaught in the loop of
the Kuban river above Maikop
in the Armavir sector, 160 miles
south of Rostov, and I east of
Krasnodar.
The German, high command
said yesterday that nazi troops
had advanced within 30 miles p.
the Maikop t wolls, which pro
duce" seven piu-ccnt of- Russia's
oil. .. r
With the invaders so near,
soviet demolition engineers pre
sumably were ready to blow up
the big field.
Tanks and Planes Used
DNB, the official German
news agency, said nazi troops
had captured Kurgannaya, 30
miles east of Maikop. The town
is midway between Armavir and
Maikop.
Masses of German tanks were
reported thundering into action
across the sun-parched steppes,
while clouds of dive-bombers
hammered the soviet defenders.
British military sources said
the Germans were throwing two
panzer armies and two infantry
armies of 10 divisons each into
the drive. The two armored
armies totaled between 10 and
15 divisions with about 4,000
tanks, while the infantry armies
totaled approximately 300,0000
troops.
Bulk of Axis Army
"There is little doubt that the
bulk of the German armored
force in Russia is concentrated
on this (Caucasus) front," mili
tary experts said.
Red army headquarters said
the Russians fell back In the
Armavir sector after inflicting
bloody losses on the nazis. In
one sector alone, the Russians
said, 40 German tanks wore des
troyed and 1,000 Germans left
dead on the battlefield,
Stnlingrad Front
On the Stalingrad front, the
soviet command conceded fresh
(Concluded on Pago 10, Column 4)
the attack on Lae, also by day
light, and the communique's ref
erence to the use of 2,000-pound
bombs was the first disclosure
that such potent explosives were
being dropped on the Japanese.
Direct hits wore reported on
the Lne airdrome.
Activity in the northwestern
sector was limited to reconnais
sance activity on both sides.
Australian Army' Minister
Francis M. Forric said In a
speech today "we arc face to
face with a great crisis in our
history" and warned that the
Japanese would try to knock
Australia out of the war by invasion.
Other 2 Given
Life, 30 Year
Prison Terms
Burger and Dasch Spar
ed Because of Assistance
To Government
Washington, Aug. 8 (IP) The
White House announced today
that six of eight nazi saboteurs
had been executed today, the
first going to death by the elec
tric chair at noon.
The two saboteurs spared
were Ernest P. Burger, who was
given a life prison sentence at
hard labor and George John
Dasch, sentenced to 30 years at
hard labor.
These a White House state
ment said, had prison terms
granted them rather than death
sentences "because of their as
sistance to the government of
the United States in the appre
hension and conviction of the
others."
Electrocuted in Jail
The six who paid the death
penalty for coming to the United
States in nazi U-boats to burn
and blast vital war installations
were electrocuted in the District
of Columbia jail.
The executions were carried
out a month to the day after a
military commission began try
ing them on espionage and sa
botage charges. The eight men
came equipped with explosives
and materials .for incendiarism,
four landing in Florida and four
on iariff'-'ialand. . ' ' '
The text of the White House
announcement:
"The president completed his
review on the finding and sen
tences of the military commis
sion nrmnintnri hv him on .Tulv 2.
1942, which tried the eight nazi
saboteurs.
President's Statement
"The president approved the
judgment of the military com
mission that all of the prisoners
were guilty and that they be
given the death sentence by elec
trocution. ' "However, there was a unani
mous recommendation by the
commission, concurred in-by the
attorney general and the judge
advocate general of the army,
that the sentence of two of the
prisoners be commuted to life
imprisonment because of their
(Concluded on race 9, Column 8)
Kaiser Starts
Work on Planes
Washington, Aug. 8 (U.R) Hen
ry J. Kaiser, west coast "mir
acle" shipbuilder, today began
laying the groundwork for an
organization to construct 5 0 0
giant, cargo-carrying flying
boats to transport men and sup
plies into bnllln with the axis.
Having received a promise of
full support from War Produc
tion Director Donald M. Nelson,
Kaiser apparently was unwor-
ried by navy department reluc
tance to give its final approval.
Although the WPB chairman
declined to comment, it was
learned that the navy which
would use Kaiser's projected
flying boats has balked at
signing a letter of intent for their
construction. Nelson, it was said,
is prepared personally to com
mit the government to back the
program If the navy remains ad
amant. The west coast builder last
night left for New York, where
he will await the arrival of his
son, Edgar, from the west coast
for a discussion on organization
al details of the progrnm. He re
ceived Nelson's assurance of full
cooperation In an hour-long con
ference yesterday.
Nelson was represented as
feeling that the program should
bo pushed through even if he
must exercise the full authority
of his directive from President
Roosevelt giving him power to
order thu signing of contracts.
His only proviso was that pro
duction of combat planes should
not be interrupted.
i
t'