British Drop 5040 Tons of Bombs on Major Nazi Rail Centers
Russians Repel
Nazi Assaults
In Narva Sector
German Stand at Se
vastopol in Final Hour
As Reds Sink Ships
Moscow, April 21 U. The
German command hurled
hordes of tanks and tens of
thousands of Infantrymen today
against soviet forces massing In
Estonia and old Poland for
snring and summer offensives,
klit the Russians held firm and
were reported officially to be
"slaughtering" the attackers.
The Increasingly heavy Ger
man "preventive" attacks indi
cated that red armies may be
preparing to strike next in the
Narva sector of Estonia in the
Baltic states and on the Stanis
lawow front in the Carpathians
as soon as they complete the
liberation of Sevastopol, last
nazi toehold in the Crimea.
The German stand in Sevas
topol, Russia's biggest naval
base was believed in its final
hours as two Russian armies
slowly pressed the doomed gar
rison back through the streets
of the city. Soviet planes block
ading the approaches to the port
in 24 hours alone sank an en
emy destroyer and four trans
ports totalling 15,000 tons, some
oi them loaded to capacity with
fleeing German and Romanian
troops.
(A British broadcast recorded
by CBS said a heavy Russian
cruiser, standing off Sevastopol
harbor, was shelling the docks
in the German-held city.)
Tanks Repulsed
The Germans launched their
heavy attack against the soviet
bSdgehead on the west bank
of the Narva river southwest of
the Estonian railway junction
of the same name after a fierce
90-minute artillery barrage.
As the curtain of fire lifted,
large forces of tanks, self-propelled
guns, and infantry moved
forward, "apparently counting
on routing our defense by one
blow," the soviet communique
said.
Instead, a hail of soviet rifle,
machine-gun artillery, and
trench motar fire forced the en
emy to turn and flee, but later
lirports said the attacks were
orontinuing on a heavy scale,
though without success. Some
2,000 Germans were killed in
the initial battles.
Supporting the red army, so
viet planes bombed concentra
tions of military trains at the
Latvian railway centers of Re-
zene and Gulbene. Many fires
and explosions were touched
off. A slate refinery at Kivihli,
45 miles west of Narva, also was
raided, and the communique re
ported that "almost the entire
area of the plant" was left en
veloped in flames.
Mystery Veils
War Project
Richland, Benton County,
Wash., April 21 Pi A full
fledged city has arisen in this
area of central Washington
'sagebrush desert and rolling
hills under the impetus of a
mystery-shrouded war project.
Normally a town of about 150
residents, the boom has boosted
the population many times over.
Now, following a war produc
tion board appeal at Washington
two days ago for several thou
sand more construction workers
to go to an "important war proj
ect, near Pasco, Wash.," the area
will grow more. A city of 15,
000 population is expected.
Many barracks and scores of
attractive houses, in no way a
war housing development, have
arisen. Some are. one-story
bungalows and others are two
story duplexes. They, are on
well laid-out circular, winding
streets.
, A high school was opened last
jfceek and five modern grade
schools are being planned. The
hotel is modern and a new hos
pital, service buildings and
other civic structures are aris
ing. The new motion picture
house already is open.
Prefabricated houses, blocks
of them, built at Toledo, Ore.,
are arriving by truck and train.
They are set up in a few hours.
Richland is 10 miles from
Pasco, where the Yakima and
Columbia rivers meet. The big
project is officially known as
the Hanford Engine works. The
area, under complete supervi
sion of the army engineers, cov
ers more than 15 townships and
half a million acres in Benton,
Grant and Franklin counties.
The Weather
k Partly cloudy tonlsht. Lisht
uns Saturday. Slightly warm
er Max. 55. min. 36. Rain,
trace. River, 4.8 ft.
Capital 4 Journal ft
56th Year, No. 96 SiM.TS'S.Sr Salem, Oregon, Friday, April 21, 1944 Pru 9?!ttS
Jap Life Lines
In Pacific Snap
Says Admiral
San Francisco, April 21 UP!
"The lifelines of the Japanese
Pacific empire are stretching
and snapping one by one."
That was the way Vice Adm.
David W. Bagley, commander
of the western sea frontier, to
day described the trend of
events in the Pacific war.
'We have demonstrated our
superiority over the Japanese
amphibious warfare," Ad
miral Bagley told the San Fran
cisco Commonwealth club. "Our
maturing experience and offen
sive power permit broader and
bolder operations."
Nearing Power Peak
He said, too, that "our na
tion is approaching the peak of
its belligerent power," which
he defined as "the sum of its
sea, land and air . power used
collectively and in true coopera
tion, plus its civil power." '
For, the admiral declared,
our Pacific war will not be
won by the army, the navy or
the air force. It will be won by.
all three jointly, backed to the
hilt by our home front produc
tion of supplies and fighting
equipment, with all allegiances
merged into a dynamic patrio
tism." Fighting an Empire
As to the extent of Japanese
conquest, Admiral Bagley said,
"we are not fighting an over
populated and fantastically am
bitious country of about the
size of California. We are fight
ing an Asiatic empire with a
land area almost as great as that
of our own continental United
States."
The future of America in the
Pacific was at stake, he declar
ed, in the great battle of Mid
way in June, 1942. He called
that "an ultimate testing ground
for the Japanese concept of an
invasion force, with that force
operating under conditions more
favorable than ever again are
likely to be vouchsafed to our
enemies."
Out of the U. S. victory at
Midway the Admiral concluded,
came an axiom of naval war
fare that command of the sea
is essential to invasion opera
tions. "Japan most prematurely
presumed such command and
supremacy at Midway," he said,
"and gambled away an empire
in an attempted short-cut to
conquest."
As a consequence of a subse
quent campaign of bleeding the
enemy of strength by constant
and wearing attrition, Admiral
Bagley suggested "it is possible.
if improbably, that the imperial
fleet may eventually be scut
tled to preserve the quaint
myth of its invincibility."
Bagley cautioned that "we
must not match the enemy's
folly in over-extending lines of
communication to the breaking
point."
Victory Ship Launched
Richmond, Calif., April 21 (U.R)
S. S. Ethiopia Victroy, first of
77 contracted Victory ships, was
launched yesterday by the Per
manente Metals Corp. shipyards.
Mrs. M. F. Novak, Seattle,
Wash., was sponsor.
Japs Aim to Seize Crops
In Hunon to Starve Chinese
Chungking, April 21 (IP) A new threat to China, including the
possibility of a man-made famine affecting 20.000,000 civilians
and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, developed today as strong
Japanese forces drove across the-Peiping-Hankow
railway in
northern Honan province.
A Chinese army spokesman
said the Japanese offensive, em
bracing between 50,000 and 60,
000 troops, was spearheaded by
contingents from Manchuria
where until now Japan has kept
the flower of her army even
through the seven years war
with China.
The Chinese surmised, the
spokesman said, that the Japa
nese were making a bid to
smash the Chinese grip on 150
miles of the Peiping-Hankow
railway which would permit the
enemy to link his north and
central forces in China.
After being rebuilt the rail
way would provide an over
land communications route, in
dependent of menaced sea
routes, either for offensive ac
tion or to withdraw troops south
of the Langtze in event of a suc
cessful American landing in
south China.
Raids on Jap
Pacific Island
Bases Continue
Washington, April 21 UP)
American bombers hitting Wake
island in the mid-Pacific for the
second time in as many days
dumped 30 tons of bombs there
Wednesday night, the navy re
ported today.
Only moderate anti-aircraft
fire was encountered by the Li
berator bombers which made
the 19th raid on that little is
land taken by the Japanese
early in the war.
On the same day, the navy
reported, other bombers roar
ed down on Ponape, which
flanks the eastern approaches
to Truk in the Caroline islands,
to hit the air field and adjacent
buildings. These army bombers
encountered only weak anti
aircraft fire.
The enemy's isolated positions
in the eastern Marshall islands
also were hit again in what has
come to be a day-to-day bomb
ing assault. Army, marine and
navy planes joined in the at
tack on unidentified Marshall is
land positions blasting barracks,
gun positions, air strips and oth
er facilities with 50 tons of
bombs.
For three consecutive days,
enemy plane installation at Wo
leai island, in the western Caro
lines, and Satawan island, 150
miles southeast of the key Ja
panese base at Truk, have trem
bled under bombs laid by Mac
Arthur's Liberator squadrons.
From Both Directions
The south Pacific fliers are
lending a potent helping hand
to American bombers which
strike the Carolines from their
central Pacific bases in the Mar
shall and Gilbert islands. Army,
navy and marine corps aircraft
arc doing the slugging from
both directions.
Since Sunday, Adm. Chester
W. Nimitz' central Pacific fliers
and MacArthur's bomb-layers
have hit the Caroline bases in
23 raids. Their explosives have
raised smoke pillars on islands
from Woleai eastward 1150 stat
ute miles to Pingelap.
Some of these blows were hit-and-run
smacks by navy search
planes; others were heavy at
tacks, considering the vast over-water
stretches, like the 46
ton blasting given Truk Wednes
day night and Thursday morn
ing, Carolines time, by army
bombers in Nimitz' command.
0PA Wants More
Help from Labor
Portland, April 21 (IP) The
OPA would like more help from
labor organizations in price con
trol problems, Leo Gentner, San
Francisco, regional OPA admin
istrator, said here today.
He told a meeting of the Ore
gon labor advisory board that
unions of this district have been
asked to select their own repre
sentatives to assist in the fight
to control inflation, but .response
has been unsatisfactory. One of
the toughest local problems is
control of restaurant prices, the
meeting was told.
Fanning out in three main col
umns in an offensive launched
April 18, the Japanese evident
ly were aiming at throwing a
strong cordon about Chenghs
licn (Chengchow), a former
strategic junction of the Peiping-Hankow
line running south
and the Lunghai railway run
ning cast and west just south
of the Yellow river.
One column, striking from
Chungmow, on the Lunghai to
the east, reached a village eight
miles southeast of Shenghsien,
and two others crossed the rail
way about 20 miles south of
Chenghsien.
Meanwhile about 10.000 Ja
panese who had massed in a
bridgehead on the south side of
the Yellow river struck south
ward and were within six miles
of the Lunghai railway.
A later Chinese communique
said the Japanese who crossed
the Peiping-Hankow railway
from the east had advanced to a
(Concluded on page 11, column 6)
IL v ' Tiiri'hi
ffttlllt sisA "mltumm . i -mrm '
Great Britain's "Human Torpedo" UP) Two men in diving suits
revealed weapons, the "human torpedo." London announces this device, used against the enemy
base at Palermo, Sicily, in January of 1943, is ridden by two men who guide it near its target,
set off the explosive charge with a time fuse and then ride the propulsive part to safety. (AP
wirephoto via radio from London.)
New Italian Government
Includes Count Sforza
Naples, April 21 (IP) Marshal Pietro Badoglio today announced
the formation of a new Italian war government with himself as
premier and foreign minister. The men who held the war, navy
and air ministries in the old cabinet remained at their posts in
the new government, as did the technician whom Badoglio had
Strike Closes
Bolivian Mines
La Paz, Bolivia, "April 21 VP)
The Bolivian government,
having yielded to the pressure
of a nationwide tin strike by
returning former Interior Min
ister Pedro Siltfeti Arce to cus
tody, sought today to bring a
quick end to the walkout that
closed every tin mine in the
country Wednesday.
The strike, of vital concern to
the allies because of Bolivia's
role as the principal war-time
supplier of tin, harked back to
the disorders at Catavi in De
cember, 1942, when 19 persons
were killed and 30 wounded in
clashes between military au
thorities and striking tin miners.
A government statement said
the workers quit in protest
against the release by a habeus
corpus action of Silveti Arce
and other former ministers ac
cused of responsibility in the
Catavi shootings. The statement
declared the former officials
had been returned to custody
in view of "the necessity to
guarantee the security of the
state and to insure the protec
tion of the accused ministers
themselves from intimidation by
the aroused populace."
The government added that
"the president of the republic
(Maj. Gualbcrto Villarroel) has
requested the miners to return
peacefully to their labors."
General Paffon
Arrives in Britain
London, April 21 UP) Pistol-packing
Lt. Gen. George S.
Patton, Jr., who commanded the
American 7th army in Sicily,
has arrived in the European the
ater of operations for duty, it
was announced officially to
day. The general had last been re
ported in Cairo where it was ru
mored months ago, he was to
lead an invasion of the Balkans.
He had dropped from the spot
light, however, following the
victory in Sicily and after the
soldier slapping incident was
disclosed last November. This
incident involved the punish
ment of a shell-shocked soldier
and Patton later publicly apol
ogized to the seventh army.
Patton stepped into the lime
light with the landing of his
troops at Casablanca in Novem
ber, 1942, when, with pearl
handled pistols slapping at each
hip, he went ashore with an ul
timatum for the surrender of
the French forces.
Hnlman Protests Ration
Washington, April 21 UP
Rationing plans for civil avia
tion gasoline was protested to
day by Senator Rufus Holman
(R., Ore.) who told an OPA
hearing that Oregon groups be
lieve such action will slow the
war effort.
chosen to head the finance min
istry. The other posts were
divided among Italy's six poli
tical parties of the liberation
junta and some independents.
Badoglio submitted the new
list to King Vittorio Emanuelc
following the gareement of the
actionist party, the last of the
holdout parties, to participate
along with the other five of the
junta in the new union govern
ment. - - ;
Five outstanding' figures were
made ministers without port
folio. They were Count Carlo
Sforza, one-time Italian foreign
minister who led the anti-fascist
movement abroad; Benedet
to Croce, philosopher and for
mer senator; Guilio Rodino,
leader of the Christian demo
crats, and Palmiro Togliatti,
communist leader who in many
years in Russia under the name
of Ercoie Ercoli was attached
to the third international. Tog
liatti recently returned from
Moscow to take the lead in urg
ing cooperation with Badoglio
in formation of a new govern
ment, and Pietro Mancini, so
cialist. Others heading ministries are:
Gen. Taddeo Orlando, war; Ad
miral Raffaele De Courten,
navy; Gen. Renato, Sandalli, air;
Quinto Quintieri, president of
the Bank of Calabria, finance;
Salvatore Aldisio, Christian
democrat and former deputy
from Sicily, interior; Vincenzo
Arangio-Ruiz, liberal party
leader, justice; Fausto Gullo,
communist, lawyer and ex-dep-uty
of Salerno, agriculture. Atti
lio Dinapolis socialist, labor;
Francesco Cernaboni, labor-democracy,
communications; Prof.
Adolfo Omedo, actionist and
rector of the University of
Naples, public instruction; Al
berto Tarchiani, actionist, pub
lic works.
Monetary Program
Announced Tonight
Washingon, April 21 (IP)
Secretary of the Treasury Mor
genthati announced today that a
joint statement outlining a pre
liminary agreement on a pro
gram for international monetary
cooperation will be made public
simultaneously at 5 p.m. (PWT)
tonight here and in other United
Nations capitals.
Morgcnthau went to the capi
lol today for a conference with
interested congressional com
mittees. The lawmakers ex
pected to get some idea of the
opinions of 30 of the United Na
tions toward a new concept in
world banking ideas which
have been gathered by U. S.
representatives in a long series
of conferences.
500 Workers for
Project Approved
Washington, April 21 UP'
Employment of 500 workers on
the Deschutes irrigation project
has been authorized by the war1
production board, Senator Guy
Cordon said today. A labor lim
itation previously has restricted
the number to 100.
ride one of Britain's newly-
Elite Troops
On West Wall
London, April 21 (U.R) The
German radio said today that
the greatest concentration of
shipping since the Dunkerque
evacuation has been assembled
in British waters, presumably
for an invasion of western Eu
rope. The royal navy is being con
centrated in home waters, along
with units of the American,
French and Italian fleets, the
broadcast said.
"Troops are leaving London,"
it added. "Every day now,
troop trains are leaving London
stations taking men to ports."
Germany has moved rein
forcements of crack SS elite
guards into her Atlantic wall
defenses, said a Stockholm dis
patch, and nazi broadcasts re
ported that 300,000 men now
stood ready to repel any allied
invasion.
"All preparations to counter
the invasion have been conclud
ed, and all defenses are ready
for the enemy," radio Berlin
said.
The Stockholm newspaper
Tidningen reported from Berlin
that the newly-arrived SS
troops "are considerably more
strictly disciplined and much
better equipped than other line
troops."
Federal Hearing
On Umatilla Island
The federal interior depart
ment will conduct a hearing at
The Dalles May 4 to determine
whether the state or the federal
government owns an island in
the Columbia river between
Umatilla and Umatilla Rapids.
The state last year leased the
island for 20 years to the In
land Navigation company,
which is using it as a supply
base to provide oil to the Pen
dleton army airbase.
After the lease was signed,
the federal government claim
ed ownership or the island, on
which more than 20 oil storage
tanks and other equipment arc
located.
The state attorney general's
office will uphold the state's
claim at the hearing.
Stassen Rescued at Sea
By Crew of Sub Chaser
Madison, Wis., April 21 UP) "We may have rescued the next
president," a Wisconsin sailor wrote his parents in a letter de
scribing the rescue at sea of an officer he identified as Lt. Cmrir.
Harold E. Stassen, former Min
nesota governor and republi
can presidential possibility. The
navy department said it had no
confirmation of the incident.
But at South St. Paul, Minn.,
Mrs. Slasscn, wife of the 37-year-old
flag officer in Admiral
William D. Halsey's south I'a
ficic fleet, said she had "heard
something about it."
"I just had a letter from Har
old a few days ago and he did
say that he had had some inter
esting experiences hut he didn't
tell me anything aboul the res
cue," Mrs. Stassen asid, She
added that she believed he did
not mention the rescue for fear
it would cause her to worry.
William Bormett, a former
University of Wisconsin athlete,
Cologne, Berlin ,
In Record Pre-lnvasion Assault;
nks Raid Balkans from Italy
Massive Aerial Campaign Roars Through Fifth
Straight Day Bucharest Attacked and Badly
Damaged Targets in Northern France Also Hit
London, April 21 W' The German radio reported a major at
tack today on southeastern Kuropc by American heavy bombers,
and the air ministry announced the RAF last night dropped the
heaviest bomb load of the war more than 5040 tons on four
railroad centers in Germany and occupied countries.
A German broadcast said Bucharest was attacked by the Ameri
can bombers, apparently from bases in Italy.
More than 1000 bombers the greatest force of these pianos
ever dispatched by the RAF took part in last night's smash
against Cologne and other centers.
This was the second time within four days that the RAF had
broken the record for bomb tonnage. More than 4480 tons were
cascaded Tuesday night upon four other railroad centers.
Only 16 bombers were lost in the tremendous night operations,
Including a Mosquito raid on Berlin, which quickly followed
yesterday's dusk attack on Adolf
Hitler's Atlantic wall by a fleet
of 750 to 1000 Flying Fortresses.
An air ministry communique i
said a great weight of bombs
was dropped in the four-ply as
sault, suggesting that it might
have exceeded the 4480 tons
deposited on French rail targets
by a 1000-bomber fleet Tuesday
night when the RAF marked up
a record up to that time in bomb
tonnage.
American Marauders and
Havocs with an escort of RAF,
Dominion and allied Spitfires
hammered military objectives in
northern France today.
In less than 72 hours allied
air invasion forces in Britain
had sent over 9000 planes roar
ing against the European fort
ress with close ot 15,000 mixed
tons of explosives on rail junc
tions which tie the invasion
coast with the reich, defending
air fields, plane factories and
coastal defense installations
an unprecedented pattern of de
struction obviously designed to
flatten a path for Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower's troops.
Pattern Continued
The pattern was continued to
day as bomber formations, in
cluding American Marauders,
skipped across the channel, con
tinental radio stations closed
down, and Spitfires harrasscd
the military objectives in north
ern France that were hit by
2500 tons of explosives by the
Americans yesterday.
In addition to Cologne, rail
targets hit in the RAF assault
last night were Otlignies, 15
miles southeast of Brussels,
Lens in the Pas-de-Calais area of
France, and La Chappelle on the
outskirts of Paris where a ring
of rail junctions had been at
tacked in recent raids.
In addition to these strikes,
the RAF's fleet of minelayers
also went out.
Dutch Coast Forays
Beaufighters of the coastal
command also made a foray
against shipping off the Dutch
coast, hitting one large escort
vessel with a torpedo and dam
aging two smaller ones.
Although Cologne was
bombed through clouds with the
aid of both ground and sky
markers dropped by pathfind
ers, the communique said the
clusters of bombs were well
bunched.
Cologne was riddled by Bri
Iain's first 1000-bombor assault
on May 30, 1942, but the city
still is Germany's third largest
and the air ministry explained
that its railways, now largely
repaired, were still vital to the
German war effort.
Its industries have been re
duced to comparative impo
tence, however.
Bolivian Censorship
La Paz, Bolivia, April 21 'U.R)
The Bolivian government i
nouneed last night that it had
established censorship of the
press.
who is a sound man aboard a
subchaser, mentioned the inci
dent in three letters.
In a letter to his parents, he
said:
"The other day something
happened that I think you might
be interested in. Just a few
weeks ago we were patrolling
In front of one of these islands
when somebody saw a small
boat ahead. We came close and
noticed that they were having
engine trouble. We look the
passengers aboard and one of
them was Stassen. I've read
where 'he's being wanted as a
candidate for president. We!!,
maybe we saved the next on?"
Describing the fi-fect-plus.
200-pound Stassen. he wrote:
"Boy, he sure is a big man."
Paris Blasted
Bomb Targets
In Northern Italy
Allied Headquarters, Naples,
April 21 )IP Allied warplanes,
diverted temporarily from as
sulis on Balkan rail targets,
smashed at German communi
cations in Italy yesterday, with
U. S. heavy bombers blasting
Venice harbor and pounding
other targets from Ancona to
Trieste. The big bombers were
hampered by clouds, but ex
plosives fell close to a merchant
vessel in Venice harbor and
other undisclosed targets were
hit, headquarters said. The
Monfalcone shipyards near Tri
este and the port of Livorno
(Leghorn) also were attacked.
In all. allied planes flew more
than 2000 sorties yesterday, de
stroying 10 German craft for a
loss of eight of their own.
On the ground, meanwhile,
German troops on the right
flank of the Anzio beachhead
were observed taking up both
their own and allied mines. Al
though the front there has gen
erally been quiet, the Germans
have been reacting sharply to
every allied move, apparently
apprehensive of an attack. One
such allied movement Wodnes
daynight drew a heavy concen
tration of artillery fire.
On the same night an Amer
ican destroyer, patrolling off
(he beachhead, intercepted four
E-boats, probably sending one
of them to the bottom and prob
ably damaging another.
The Germans shelled Orlona
heavily and threw a harassing
fire over other sectors of the
Adriatic front. A number of new
German gun pits northeast of
Tollo were discovered by pat
rols, who killed two sentries
and returned to their lines.
Heavy artillery duels raged
again in the Cassino area where
patrols also were very active.
About 60 German planes were
observed over the battlctronts
yesterday.
Churchill Cites
Empire's Stand
London, April 21 WiPrime
Minister Churchill told com
mons today that the British
American mutual assistance
agreement was reached in 1042
with assurance from President
Roosevelt that "we were no
more committed to abolition ot
imperial preference than the
American government was com
mitted to abolition of their pro
tective tariff."
Winding up the empire de
bate in commons, Churchill
said:
"At my first meeting with the
president of the United States
in Newfoundland at the time of
the so-called Atlantic charter,
and before the United States
had entered the war a meet
ing on very anxious and critical
mattcrs 1 asked for insertion
of the following words In tho
Atlantic charter which can be
rend in that document:
" 'With due respect for their
existing obligations . . .'
"These are the limiting words
and they were inserted for the
express purpose of retaining to
this house and to the dominions
the fullest possible rights and
liberties over the question of
imperial preference.
"The agreement for discuss
ing as to how a greater volunm
of trade and a more harmonious
flow of trade can be created in
the Immediate post-war years
leaves us In every respect, so
lar as ret one is concerned, pcr
frctlv free." Churchill said.
"How could it otherwise bn
when parliament itself would
not only have to debate the mat
ters but would have to legislate
upon them when they were
brought before lt?