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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1944)
Yanks Drive Inland on All Sectors in Central Philippine Invasion Nazi Resistance In Aachen Area Comes to End Canadians Advance in Antwerp 7th Army Gains in Vosges By William Frye London, Oct. 21, W) Eight hundred German troops, the last eddefenders of wasted Aachen, - Surrendered unconditionally at Toon today and all resistance ended Inside and in the sub urbs of the first big German city to fall to American arms. Two thousand prisoners al ready had been taken by first army men who captured the medieval city 40 miles from Col ogne. In Hopeless Trap Despite Hitler's orders to re sist to death, the 800 enemy troops surrendered when Lt. Gen. Courtney Hodges' dough boys pressed them into hopeless traps at the fringe after taking the center of the city. Seventy miles to the north west, the Canadian first army pushed a three-pronged offens ive four miles nearer the Ger man strongholds of Rossendaal and Breda in battle carrying over rain-soaked fields above .ntwerp. British infantry and Canadi an tanks entered the road-junction of Wuestwezel, 13 miles north of Antwerp on the Antwerp-Breda highway, and sent patrols probing out a mile or two northwest of the town. Two other columns, in twin-drives up the roads to Roosendaal, seis ed Calmpthout and neared the Roosendaal canal. Antwerp Drive This offensive was the sec ond phase of the battle to win use of Antwerp port as a sup ply base. The first phase was drawing to an end west of Ant werp, with Canadians steadily closing In on the German pock et around Breskens below the schedule estuary. In eastern Holland, U. S. forc es pushed within 4,000 yards of a German communications srongpoint near the Maas riv--(r. British troops meanwhile consolidated positions southeast of Venray on the Dutch battle front. German communications far ther south were crippled when thunderbolts operating with the U. S. third army bombed and breached the Dieuze dam 25 miles northeast of Nancy, flood ing the town of Dieuze and the surrounding conutryside with a spreading shallow lake which covered the railroad and high ways with two feet of water. (Concluded on page 9. column 7) War Chest to Total $110,000 Contributions to the Salem War Chest for this year had .reached a total of $109,459 or M'17 percent of the quota Friday 'iiight, according to the report of auditors now at work on the ' tabulating funds derived from the drive ending a week ago. Totals of the various divisions are not as yet available as the various chairmen are still turn ing in money at the Chest office but the women's division headed by Miss Dorathea Steusloff still holds top honors in percentage of contributions made, with 142 percent of their total quota now recorded. Other divisions and their per centages to date include: auto motive and transportation, W. L. Phillips, 113 percent contract ors and builders.R. L. Elfstrom, 86 percent; educational, Carl E. Aschenbrenner, 107 percent; general gifts, Carl Hogg, 100 per tent plus; governmental, George Alexander, 95. percent; indus trial, A. C. Haag, 100 percent, plus; mercantile, F. G. Leserer, 118 percent; professional, Urlin Page. 98 percent; rural, Frank Doerfler, 113 percent; utilities, Ralph Johnson, 100 percent, plus, and West Salem, Guy New gent, 80 percent. Medford Doctor Guilty of Drug Sale Medford. Ore., Oct. 21, (IP) Dr. R. W. Clancy, Medford phy sician accused of dispensing drugs to addicts, awaited sent ence here today. A federal court jury convict ed him on four counts of an 11-count Indictment charging violation of the Harrison Nar cotics act. The Jury deliber aed four hours. C apital 56th Year, No. 252 Russians Drive Over 20 Miles In East Prussia London, Oct. 21 (UR) Berlin reported today that massive Russian armored columns had smashed over 20 miles into East Prussia and reached a road due south nf Gumbinnen, a town only 16 miles from the Instre burg rail and highway hub. Rominten Heath lies just be yond the Suwalki triangle which Adolf Hitler annexed in 1939. The nazi commentators did not specifically locate the most forward soviet penetra tion, but it appeared that the red army was at least 16 miles inside East Prussia on a front of 15 miles which was begin ning to mushroom. Drive on Insterburg The Russians apparently had one of their most powerful arm ored forces In operation. The nazis claimed they had knock ed out 463 Russian tanks in five days' fighting, 109 of them yes terday. The break-in by soviet tanks opened up the possibility of en velopment of the Insterburg rail hub which is only about 20 miles from the Russian spear head. Loss of this point would disrupt nazi defense maneuvers. German concern about East Russia was emphasized by the Voelkischcr Beobachter in an article entitled "East Prussia in Danger." The article told how Volsturm battalions are pre pared to "fight against the ruth less enemy who endangers our East Prussia."; Admits Belgrade Taken Acknowledging the loss ef Belgrade, the nazis claimed the Jugoslav capital was held as long as was necessary to evacu te their forces northward. Reports from M S. Handler, United Press staff correspond ent in Moscow, quoted the red army newspaper, Red Star, as reporting that nazi casualties in Belgrade were "very high" due to the stubborn resistance put up. Tn the final stage of the battle, Red Star said, a Danube flotilla of soviet and Jugoslav river craft shelled the city and river crossings. On 50-Mile Front Moscow communists still fail ed to confirm enemy reports of a big-scale soviet campaign against East Prussia, but the nazis claimed that Russian forces were attacking against the province both from the east and south. One uncredited Berlin report carried by the Daily Express said that the fighting was rag ing along a 50-mile front 15 miles inside East Prussia. The German transocean news agency reported that the first East Prussian volksturm (peo ple's battalion) had been plac ed in new defensive positions built by civilians in an effort to check the soviet drive. Moscow also failed to con firm a broadcast by Paris radio that Cossack vanguards had penetrated the outskirts of Bud apest, the immediate prime tar get of Russian forces in the Balkans. Kimmel Protests Holding-up Of Pearl Harbor Report Washington, Oct. 21 M"i Announcement that a completed "se cret" report on the navy's investigation of the Pearl Harbor attack is being reviewed prior to any publication today brought a protest from Rear Admiral Hus band E. Kimmel's lawyer that the procedure is "a specious pretext" to withhold the find ings until after the presidential election. Counsel for Kimmel, who commanded navy forces in Ha waii when the Japanese struck there, state; "He (Kimmel) is entitled to hear the verdict of the court promptly." Navy Secretary Forrestal yes terday turned the report over to Admiral Ernest J. King, navy commander in chief, for a deter mination of its effects on mili tary security. And in Boston, Charles B. Rugg. chief counsel for Kimmel, asserted that "Secretary For estall suggested procedure is a specious pretext to keep the truth of Pearl Harbor hidden from Dev. 7, 1941, until Nov. 7, 1944." (Date of the national election.) "The navy court has done its work," Rugg'j statement contin Inurtd u second clut mttur tt Silent. Oreion Churchill and Stalin Conclude Policy Parley Moscow, Oct. 21 Mos cow's press gave the Churchill Stalin negotiations profuse praise today, vividly mirroring the good which official Russia believes resulted from the long, numerous and friendly discus sions of the two leaders. Editorials said differences still existed between Great Brit ain and the soviet union on cer tain European questions but as serted the road appeared clear towards framing a firm hard peace. Important Progress A joint communique sum ming up the 10 day meeting was issued this morning. It said the two leaders made "important progress" toward settling the Polish dispute, reached an agreement on remaining points in the Bulgarian armistice terms and that their govern ments have decided to pursue a joint policy in Yugoslavia. Mil itary plans for the war also were reviewed. Agreements at the conference were said to have the full ap proval of the United States gov ernment, represented by Am bassador W. Averell Harriman. Moscow's morning press and radio gave smash play to the prime minister's departure and Stalin seeing him off at the Moscow airport. "The Moscow conferences show that the U.S.S.R. and Brit ain could find a common lan guage for the difficult Polish question," declared Izvestia. "This question has not been solved," the editorial continued, "but, judging from the commu nique, a considerable success was obtained and there are rea sons to believe the Polish prob lem will find a satisfactory solution in the near future." The editorial said that a unanimity of opinion was reach ed on questions concerning Ro mania, Yugoslavia and Greece at the conferences, and declared these agreements did not bring any menace to the small na tions of southeastern Europe. Jap Held Isles Bombarded With the Eastern Fleet, Oct. 19 (Delayed) lu.R) The eastern fleet, including battleships and aircraft carriers, today com pleted a three-day air and naval bombardment of the Japnese held Car Nicobar and Camota islands. The attack began three days ago with carrier-based planes strafing and bombing Car Nic obar, the most northern island of the group. A strong force followed up this attack, dropping more than 300 tons of high explosives on the seven by eight-mile island in two and one-half hours. Smoke quickly rose over the two airfields on the islands, the most advanced Japanese air bases in the Indian ocean. ued. "Its report has been sub mitted. Presumably it places the responsibility for the Pearl Harbor catastrophe. "Over a year ago, the late secretary of the navy, Col. Frank Knox, asked Admiral Kimmel to waive the statute of limitations. In his letter mak ing this request, Colonel Knox staled that the public interest and safety would then permit proceedings. "He added, however, that there would be a delay because of the difficulty of bringing witnesses before a court. "The present secretary of the navy raises the question of se crecy. "This inconsistent and dila tory procedure is hard to un derstand. "It is unjust to Admiral Kim mel. "He is entitled to hear the verdict of the court promptly." Salem, Oregon, Saturday, October T , , lw " V q? vitV . V Part of Philippines Invasion Armada (IP) Here is a portion at an undisclosed point, which took Gen. Doug las MacArthur's Philippine islands. (AP wirephoto from signal corps radio.) ClevelandFireDeathToll Expected to Exceed 100 Cleveland, Oct. 21 W.R The death toll in Cleveland's most devastating fire in history will "exceed 100," Coroner R. Gerber predicted today, as volunteers searched the smouldering, charred ruins of a 50-block industrial and residential area and uncovered 71 known dead. A total of 47 bodies were brought to the county -"T Thumbs Down On Civil Service Portland, Oct. 21, WP) A leg islative committee appointed to study a proposed civil service system for Oregon, turned thumbs down on tb plan by a 3-2 vote, the chairman said today. Rep. Leo Smith, Portland, said the majority opinion held that establishment of civil serv ice at the next legislative session might operate against men now in service, and would deprive state department heads of the privilege of choosing their own employes. The opinion was written by Sen. J. N. Jones, Juntura: Sen. Lew Wallace, Portland, and Rep. W. W. Chadwick, Salem. Smith, who with Rep. Earl Hill, Cushman, wrote the min ority opinion, asserted that civil service would end appointment of state employes through pol itical or personal reference. Japanese Say Invasion Bluff tBy the Associated Prejul The allied landings in the Philippines was termed nothing more than "a bluff" by Sadao Iguchi, spokesman for the Jap anese information board, in a propaganda radio broadcast to the Filipino people today. Another propaganda Droao- cast from Tokyo (both were re - corded by the federal commun ications commission) said the in vasion of Leyte island was of "no strategic consequence from (he standpoint of general de fense operations." Imperial Jap headquarters broadcast a rescript by Emperor Hirohito saying 'the war situa tion is daily becoming more pressing" and commending three high officers for their part in "defeating the enemy fleet off Formosa." Iguchi was quoted as saying the 'American claim of having effected the landings (in the Philippines) with an armada of 600 ships and 250,000 men was nothing more than a propaganda fantasy, totally out of propor tion to reality." He added the actual size and scale of the in vasion forces "are well known to us. We have the situation well in hand." The Jap spokesman said the Philippine operation was under taken to cover up what he claim ed was "the decisive defeat" of American task force 58 off For mosa and to bolster the "politi cal and strategic position of the United States both at home and abroad." The Weather Partly cloudy with nr scat tered showers tonight and 8un dv. Slightly cooled. Max. -67. min. 45. Rain O. River, 3.8 ft. Journal 21, 1944 morgue, while 24 other victims still lie in a virtually cremated state at the scene of the catas trophe. Police, meantime, reported 69 persons "missing" but indicated that many of them were pre sumed to be among the 54 uni dentified dead. Coroner Gerber made his pre diction of a "high death toll" as he surveyed the flame pocked area completely laid waste by the huge blaze. The fire accompanied explo sions of gas tanks at the plant of the East Ohio Gas Co. Detective Lt. Martin Cooney, head of the police department homicide squad said he believed that at least 100 persons, none of whose bodies have yet been recovered, were trapped in the 50-block east side area which was burned out by roaring flames. Eighty volunteer workers, di vided into groups of five under the supervision of Coroner Sam uel Gerber began a systematic search of the smouldering, ashy ruins shortly after dawn for bodies of victims virtually cre mated in the most devastating fire in Cleveland history. Rescue workers said there are "plenty of bodies lying around" in the 50-block area laid waste by the flaming holo caust, he pointed out that they couldn't be reached while the fire continued to burn with any intensity. Harriman Returns From Moscow Parley Washington, Oct. 21 lP) Am- 1 bassador W. Averell Harriman arrived from Moscow today with a first-hand report of the Stalin-Churchill conference for President Roosevelt. The statement department announced that he made the trip in 57 hours, completing it when his plane put down at a capital airport at 9 a.m. (EWT) today. The department said of the trip only that he had been call ed home for consultation and would report to Mr. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull during his stay. Admiral Horfhy Reported in Germany London. Oct. 21 Wt Adm. Nicholas Horthy, former Hun garian regent, is in Germany, Berlin's transocean news agencv. declared today. A dispatch of the German news agency DNB, said Horthy left Budapest in a special plane, accompanied by his family and by Lt. Field Marshal Vattay, former chief of the military chancellory, and Maj. Gen. Brunsik. Horthy's government fell and gave way to a more pro-German regime after he addressed an apnea! for an armistice to the allied governments last Sunday. Price Five Cents Sf io M' 1 of the invasion armada, shown troops to the invasion of the British Close In on Lamia Rome, Oct. 21, ) British patrols are closing in on the Greek town of Lamia about 100 miles northwest of Athens, al lied readquarters announced to day. German troops are believed to have withdrawn from the town. It is 65 miles beyond Thebes, which allied troops were reported yesterday to have occupied. Lamia is at the head of the Gulf of Lamia and beyond the historic Thermopylea pass where the British fought. a grim covering action for allied troops evacuating Greece after with drawal from the Mount Olym pus sector early in 1941. The Germans knocked the Tommies out of the pass late in April, 1941, but not without severe losses. Today, the Germans were traveling at a more accelerated pace in the opposite direction and the communique said Brit ish aircraft flying from newly occupied Greek airfields were harassing the retreat. Private Plane Ban May End Portland, Oct. 21 lP) A civil aeronautics administration of ficial was quoted today as pre dicting an end to the ban which prohibits private plans In a 150 mile strip down the Pacific coast. The Orcgonian said It was told by Paul Morris, regional CAA manager, that the western defense command pro b a b 1 y would permit student flying and certain essential civilian flying in the restricted area.' Both the CAA and the inter departmental air traffic control board approve the plan, Morris was quoted as saying. Roosevelt Tours New York On Behalf of Fourth Term New York, Oct. 21 'U.fii Drenched despite one change of cloth ing en route. President Roosevelt paraded in an open car through four boroughs of this rain-swept city today campaigning for New York state's 47 electoral . It was a 50-mile drive in bad weather. The president took the rain in his face and smiled. He waved his battered cam paign fedora and the raindrops swung from it in a dripping arc. Crowds varied with the na ture of the areas through which he passed. But populous Brook lyn and the midtown Broadway canyons turned out the biggest and noisiest throngs. Harlem, big negro district in upper Man hatton, lined the curbs two deep or more but as the parade wheeled from 1 10th street Into upper Broadway the citizens were six deep along the side walks and on both sides of the town's most famous street. Mayor F. H. La Guardia said that Deputy Police Inspector John J. O'Connor estimated that about 3,000,000 persons hud Capture of 2 Jap Airfields Near Despite Stiff Enemy Resistance Allied Casualties Said Light iders Attack Behind -oC-Road Junction of rt05 Defenses of Tacloban, Capit General MacArthur's Headquarters, Leyte, Oct. 21 UI The biggest American invasion army of the Pacific war, attacking behind tanks and flame throwers with the cry of "Remember Rataan," seized the road junction of Gulag and possibly two air fields on the cast coast of Leyte today against stiffening Jaipane.se resistance. At the northern end of Leyte, 6th army forces were storming the defenses of Tacloban, capital of Leyte and 350 miles southeast of Manila. Unconfirmed reports filtering through from the front said troops had raptured Tacloban airfield, on a peninsula three miles across a hay from the city. (A Mutual broadcast from Leyte said Taclohan airfield was in American hands.) Doughboys thrusting inland from the central beachhead seized Dutag, 20 miles south of Tacloban. There was no word on the fate of Dulag airfield, which was bombed heavily by Ameri can carrier planes on invasion day, but the lightness of ini tial opposition in the area indi cated that it, too,- may have been overrun. Two Airfields Menaced Occupation of the two air fields in the central Philippines would enable land-based fight ers to augment carrier-borne planes in constant patrols over the fighting area and would bring the entire Philippines within easy range of army bom bers. Tacloban airfield has sev eral 6,000 foot runways. (A Japanese communique acknowledged for the first time that American troops; which it was said were drawn from the 7th marine corps, had landed on Leyte. The communique said the Japanese were "cutting deep into the American beach heads, but acknowledged that the invaders were "headed to ward Tacloban.") Digging Japs Out The attacking doughboys were digging the Japanese out of their foxholes with bayon ets and blasting their strong points with fire, shells, bullets and' grenades, spurred by the knowledge that their opponents were from the hated 15th Jap anese division which tortured their buddies of Bataan during the notorious march of death two and a half years ago. Swarms of carrier bombers and fighters roared out ahead of the advance troops, strafing every possible target, while the big guns of the American bat tleships California and Penn sylvania damaged in the Jap anese Sncal attack on Pearl Harbor and other warships hurled thousands of tons of shells deep inland. Japanese resistance was in creasing as the enemy recov ered from the Iobaug Iddgock of the assault, but nowhere was it sufficient to stem the tidal wave of American troops and machines enveloping the island. Gen. Douglas McArthur, per sonally commanding the attack, estimated the enemy garrison a little more than a division 15.000 men whereas the in vading forces was placed at 100,000 to 250,000. Reinforcements of men and supplies continued to flow ashore in a steady stream ground forces consolidated their bridgeheads and struck inland. McArthur told correspondents that the operations were pro ceeding "according to plan." American casualties have been "exceedingly light" in the first phase of the invasion, Mc Arthur said. '' seen the president during his city tour. This was the last lap, down Broadway through Times Square, a jog west on 34th street to Fifth avenue and from there a short run to Washington square. The president rested this afternoon in the Washing square apartment of his wife. Tonight he makes the third of a series of formal campaign speeches with two more defi nitely scheduled and perhops three to come. Ho speaks to night before the foreign policy association at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel at 6:30 PWT (KGW and KEX). It was in the midtown gar ment workers' section, that the president got his greatest ova tion. The needle workers, cut ters, and others associated in the trade crowded the sidewalks. Tanks and Flame Throw- Gulag Seized 6th Army iral of Leyte Japs of Leyte Panic Stricken With American Troops on Leyte. Philippines, Oct. 21 IIP) In pan!c. Japanese defenders of the northernmost sector of the Leyte beachhead took to their heels as the first wave of am phibious troops hit the Philip pines shore. Battle-experienced veterans of the first cavalry division were amazed by the weak op position on this front. The tanks started inland through coconut trees, search ing for enemy positions, exactly one hour after the first assault wave struck. Barbed wire lines were overrun quickly. Behind the wire we found freshly dug trenches which had been aban doned. Only a few of our men were wounded. We found decapitated Japan ese behind the beach guns with unfired shells beside them. The first troops ashore found sev eral dugouts. Two hours after we hit the beach we still had encotintered no opposition. Cpl. Dale Davinger of Arl ington, Va., who was in the first wave of buffaloes (amphibious vehicles) said he saw some 25 Japanese running wildly back toward a stream. Some of them didn't run far. Pearl Harbor Ships Shell Japs Aboard Vice Admiral Kin kaid'; Confmand Ship off Leyte, Oct., 20. (delayed), UP Proud old battleships came back from iheir Pearl Harbor graves to lead the powerful units of the United States navy in the blis tering pro-landing bombard ment of eastern Leyte island in the central Philippines. For three days, big battle wagons which once were mis tresses of the sea, showed they are still dowager queens. Their 14 and 16 inch rifles, support ed by cruisers and destroyers, poured 8fl0 tons of exploding steel upon enemy positions from Tacloban to Abuyng, some 34 miles to the south. Perhaps the proudest ship of all was the West Virginia. Left a burning tangled wreck at Pearl Harbor December 7, 1041, she was refloated and rebuilt into a modern fighting machine. She fired her first great sal voes of the war in the prc bom ba rd men t of Ley t e. Her vengeance was magnificent to behold. Further to the smith another navy veteran, the California, once flagship of the fleet, loos ed her big guns on Cntmon hill, trouble point for the southern attack force. The California, too, was gravely damaged by Pearl Harbor. Other battleships which were severely damaged at Pearl Har bor also participated in the bombardment. Veteran Hospital Amputation Center Portland. Oct. 21. 1' The Veterans' hospital here will be the Pacific Northwest's center for pnipulalinn cases. Lt. Col. Paul I Carter, head of (he Port land medical and surgical cen ter, said I'tday. H reported that the Port- ' land hospital, already one of ' six centers in the nation doing I special work with tumor cases, will take care of amputation! ! for returning servicemen from ' Oregon. Washington, Idaho, i Montana, Nevada, and Alaska,
