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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1945)
Turner Blames It immal fnr Harbor Losses Says Admiral Did Not Comply With Entirely Clear Orders Washington, Dec. 21 (IP) Acini. R. K. Turner asserted to day that Adm. Husband E. Kimmel did not comply with "entirely clear" orders and ex pressed the opinion that if Kim mel had done so losses at Pearl Harbor would have been cut "materially." Turner also told a senate house committee investigating the December 7, 1941, disaster that the Pacific fleet under Kimmel had been prepared for "just such an attack" and was "ready for war." , The navy department, Turner said, had given Kimmel "per fectly specific and entirely clear" orders to take the nec essary measures against a Jap anese attack. Did Not Comply "Did Kimmel comply, in your vopinion?" asked Vice Chairman JCooper (D., Tenn.). V "He did not, in my opinion, L said Turner. Turner, as chief of the navy war plans division had prepar ed a November 27, 1941, "war warning" message for Pacific vjcommanders. J If Kimmel had complied, pur sued Cooper, "would the disas trous effects not have occured or have been materially reduc ed?" "I think they would have been materially reduced," Tur ner replied, "and there was a good chance we could have in flicted considerable damage on the Japanese fleet." Plenty of Aircraft "We know now from experi ence." Turner added, "that a carrier based attack is difficult to stop, and a considerable por tion of the attack might have gotten in. But it could have been broken up and have had considerably less effect.1 " (The Japanese bombers and torpedo bombers sank or badly damaged all the major units in the fleet at Pearl Harbor.) "We had there a total of 185 fighter aircraft. The Japanese had, according to my informa tion, 112 and a portion of these and a portion of their reconnais sance planes were maintained over the carrier group as pro tection. "Even if only a considerable portoin of our fighters had been in the air ... I believe the Jap- anese attack would have been ihuch less severe in its results." Warning Adequate Also, Turner noted, there were some land-based bombers available to the defenders of Pearl Harbor. Turner upheld his warning message of Nov. 27 as entirely adequate. He said it was not necessary to send anything ad ditional to Kimmel. Turner said he had had "the utmost respect for his (Kim mel's) ability", and added that he believed this estimate of Kimmel was shared throughout the navy. 90 Deaths Due To Cold Wave fBy the Associated Press) Relief from the season's first cold weather, which has touch ed nearly every section of the country in the last two weeks, was in prospect for the south today, but sub-zero tempera tures continued to chill parts of the northern plains and northeastern states. Federal forecasters in Chicago said chilly weather prevailed over most of the southern states early today and temperatures of near freezing and below were reported in widely scattered areas except in Texas and Flor ida. Miami's early morning reading, however, was under 50 as compared to a high of 68 yes terday. The current cold wave has caused at least 90 deaths in 18 states. Forecasters said temperatures in the south would moderate "quite rapidly" today, espe cially over the western half of the Gulf states and over the re mainder of the area tonight and tomorrow. Readings were ex pected to be back around nor mal over the southern tier of states by tomorrow. No such relief, however, was In the immediate offing for the country's cold belt. Early morn ing temperatures in the Da kotas and Minnesota, as for the past several days, remained be low zero. The Weather (Released by -'the United States Weather Bureau) Forecast for Salem and vicin ity: Cloudy with frequent light rains tonight and Saturday. Lowest tonight. 35. Little change Saturday. Max. yester day. 34. Min. today. 32. Mean temperature yesterday, 30. which was 11 below normal. Total 24 hour precipitation to 11:30 a m. today. .51. Total precipitation for the month. 2.81. which Is 121 inches below normal. Wil lamette river height, J IU 57th Year, No. 302 Protest Against Soviet Denied By MacArthur Tokyo, Dec. 21 (U.R) Gen. Douglas MacArthur denied to day a radio report that he had threatened to resign if he was not "let alone" in Japan. (An American Broadcasting company broadcast from Tokyo yesterday reported that Mac Arthur had disagreed with the Soviets over which Japanese home island they should occupy and that he had notified the state department he would quit if he was not let alone and if the Russians were allowed fur ther participation in occupation affairs.) He declared today that the question of Russian participa tion is "matter for other deci sion than my own." In a formal statement deny ing the radio broadcast report, he said: Formal Statement "The statement purported to have been made by Larry Tighe of the American Broadcasting corporation has absolutely no basis in fact. "For the second time in re cent weeks, it becomes neces sary for me to deny the alle gation that I have threatened to resign. "I am here to serve, not hin der or obstruct the American government. It is my full pur pose to see the thing through. The question of Russian partici pation is a matter for other de cision than my own. "If Tighe made the statement he is alleged to have broadcast from Tokyo, someone must have been feeding him a funny type of 'hooch' being peddled around Tokyo on the black market.". (In a broadcast after Mac Arthur's denial, Tighe said: Tighe Sticks by Story ("I received this information from a reliable and honest source, and I still consider it both reliable and honest. "The word 'MacArthur' has come to be regarded as a word denoting authoritative state ments from his headquarters rather than from him person ally. ("I did not imply that the su preme commander, himself, in dulged in name calling and re criminations with the Russians. However, I reaffirm the story which I previously broadcast that the express desire of the commander of this area is that Russian troops not be allowed to take over the Japanese island of Hokkaido.") $12f000aYear Salary for Eleanor Washilngton, Dec. 21 (IP) Rep. Bennett (R., Mo) empha sizing that he was not speaking sarcastically, remarked today that Mrs .Eleanor Roosevelt apparently will be well taken care of by the government. Commenting on her selection to the United States delegation to the United Nations organiza tion, Bennett told a reporter that like other delegates, she will draw $12,000 a year sal ary and receive expenses and allowances. He said that congress has given her the right to frank mail, postage free, and in addi tion predicted that congress would approve a $5,000 a year pension for her as it had for widows of other presidents in the last 40 years. Bennett said that on the whole, he thought the ' UNO delegates were good appoint ments. " Woman Assists in Robbery of Second Taxi Driver by 'Fares' Twice in two nights drivers for the Salem Taxi Service have been held up and robbed by their "fares," and a net take to the robbers of around $50 and a taxicab which was soon recovered. The two crimes were not com-3- mitted by the same heisters, the first having been pulled by two men and the second, between 2 and 3 o'clock Friday morning, by a man and a woman. At 2:15 Friday morning Ralph Colvin, cab driver, was cruis ing west on State street, when, at Church street, he was hailed by the man and woman. They asked to be driven to Fair grounds road. Both were in the rear seat. At Smith street, in the 2400 block on Fairgrounds, the man told Colvin to turn into Smith. As they approached the South ern Pacific grade crossing the man told Colvin to turn around. , "This isn't where we want to go," he said. As the driver was turning the man put a gun to his back. "This is it," he said. He demanded Colvin i wallet. apital rso" Salem, Oregon, Friday, December Housing Plans To Go in Effect On January 15 Washington, Dec. 21 (IP) The government's program to spur home construction will go into effect Jan. 15, John D. Small announced today. The chief of the civilian production adminis tration ordered that dwellings costing $10,000 or less be of fered first to veterans and told a news conference that the top rent on these dwellings will be $80 a month. Small estimated that at least 400,000 homes will be built un der the program in 1946. "We expect," he added, "that a substantial number of these will sell at considerably less than $10,000." This means, Small said, that a great many of the new dwell ings will rent for under $80 a month. Priorities Restored The OPA chief outlined a new regulation restoring 10 kinds of critically scarce building mate rials to a priority system and announced that the federal hous ing administration will handle applications for these through its 52 field offices. Beginning Jan. 15. home builders who qualify will be as signed a so-called "H.H." ra ting for these materials. Ratings will be awarded eith er to individual veterans who wish to build for themselves, or to builders desiring to erect one or more buildings. Housing already under way may be brought within the pro gram, Small said, if It meets the $10,000 price limit, is offered first to veterans, and meets other standards outlined in the reg ulation. To Favor Veterans All applicants for priorities assistance in obtaining materi als must agree to make the housing available to veterans during the period of construc tion and for 30 days there after. At the conclusion of that pe riod it may be sold or rented to a non-veteran at the same sale price or rental applicable to veterans. Valley Escapes Silver Thaw Portland, Ore., Dec. 21 (IP) A solid sheet of ice, increasing with more freezing rain, cov ered the Columbia rivar gorge today, but western Oregon val leys gained a respite from the cold spell. Only an occasional chain equipped truck was able to move along the glassy Columbia river highway. The Washington side of the highway was closed beyond Washougal, delaying stages for hours. A bus due here at 11:25 last night finally rolled in at 8 this morning. Stages were arriving on time through the Willamette valley, however, where rising tempera tures melted ice. Some trains were coming in far behind sche dule. Freezing rain was reported east of here to The Dalles, and several county schools closed in the face of impassable roads. The sheriff's office reported several cars in ditches. A num ber of Portlanders slipped on icy streets and were taken to hospitals. In Portland, where ice still sheathed higher levels, the wea ther bureau forecast steadily rising temperatures. The mer cury is expected to reach 36 to day, remain above freezing throughout the night, and hit 39 tomorrow. "I haven't got one," said Col vin. "Quit your stalling," the girl put in. "Hand it over." Colvin handed his wallet to the girl. She went through it, removing the money and leav ing the purse on the seat. The man ordered Colvin to return to Fairgrounds road. At the Smith street intersection Colvin observed a coupe parked with motor idling and lights out. It moved away. "Follow that car," the robber ordered Colvin. With the coupe a hundred feet ahead they drove north to Highland, west across the city to Front, then south. "Turn here," said the rob ber as they reached Gaines. Colvin turned, but the coupe ahead went on to Market where (Concluded on Page 12, Column 6) They May Not Be Home for Christmas (IP) Pacific veterans jam the USS Leonard Wood in San Francisco typical of scenes aboard troop ships arriving as "Operation Santa Claus" hits a critical peak with thousands of soldiers apparently not destined to be home for Christmas because of transportation problems. Vets Stranded at Ports Voice Disappointment San Francisco, Dec. 21 IIP) "It's the same old army," said Corporal A. L. Holzman, of Long Island, N. Y. "Hurry up and wait." Holzman was one of nearly 100,000 veterans from the Pacific who today appeared likely to be stranded at west coast ports on Christmas day because of lack of transportation. Nearly lzu.uuu veterans were stymied" at the ports today, and ships were scheduled to dump an ad ditional 15,000 more daily on harassed army and navy trans portation officials, a far larger number than they expected to have transportation for. "We had hopes of getting home by Christmas," said Pfc. Julius P. Brenner, of Hudson, N. Y. "Nobody promised us we would. We just hoped we would. I've been overseas only 25 months. Lots of these fel longer." Brenner sent a telegram to hi? i parents: . ... , ' - '.:' "Living aboard ship because of transportation tieup. Have no idea when I'll get home." Men required to stay aboard ship there were four "float ing barracks" here today were given an information sheet explaining the reason for the delay. The paper also listed en tertainment and sightseeing possibilities in San Francisco. "Sure, this is good," said Sergeant Louis Jaffe of New York City, a ship-bound vet eran of 20 months in the west ern Pacific. "No mud, no filth, no duties but it isn't home." A spokesman from the office of Major General Homer Gro ninger, commander of the port of embarkation here, said: "Our 'Operation Santa Claus' (the name the army gave its plan for handling returning ve erans) has been too successful. We've brought back more men than the railroads can handle." Wit hmore than 51,000 un happy servicemen on their hands, army and navy authori ties at San Francisco were lib eral with leave passes. Sight seeing tours were organized and port officers planned Christ mas parties with Red Cross bags of gifts. Barbey Sent to Atlantic Post Shanghai, Dec. 21 UP) Vice Adm. Daniel E. Barbey, com mander of the U. S. Seventh fleet, announced today that he has been named commander of Atlantic amphibious forces and will leave Shanghai early in January. His headquarters will be somewhere American east coast, probably on the he said. Adm. C. M. Cook will succeed him as commander of the Seventh fleet. Barbey added that about Dec. 22, the famed Seventh amphi bious force, which under his command landed approximately 1,000,000 men in nearly 60 war time invasions, will go out of existence. It will cease to exist, he said, when ships of the old Seventh amphibious force pass through the Panama Canal into the At lantic to become part of the new Atlantic amphibious force. Russians Hang 6 Nazis Moscow, Dec. 21 (IP) Seven German S.S. (elite guard) mem bers were hanged yesterday at Smolensk following their con viction as war criminals. Three others received prison terms ranging from 12 to 20 years for atrocities committed against re sidents of Smolensk. Journal 21, 1945 Xmas Parties For Veterans Seattle, Dec. 21 (IP) The army, civic officials and home owners joined efforts . today to offer as merry a Christmas as possible to the thousands of war veterans who will be "stranded" in the Pacific north west over the holiday. In response to a radio appeal last night, several hundred calls were received in the first hour this morning by homeowners who will take men into their homes, the Seattle civilian war conynission said. A Christmas party will be held at pier 39 at 11 a. m. Christmas day for soldiers aboard ship there, with music, refreshments and a bag of pre sents for every man, Brig. Gen. Eley P. Denson, commanding general of the Seattle port of embarkation, announced. That afternoon, the hugh state ar mory will be thrown open for a party at which USO enter tainers from Los Angeles will appear, followed by a dance at night. Churches will hold special service Christmas Eve and will be open all day Christmas. A community sing will be held at Victory Square Christmas Eve and theaters are offering thou sands of free complimentary tickets to service men Christ mas day. General Denson estimated 50,000 men, unable to get trans portation east, will spend the day here, at Tacoma and Fort Lewis. 2 Crippled Ships Being Towed to Port San Francisco, Dec. 21 (IP) Two crippled ships were report ed by coast guard headquarters off the California coast today, one of them under tow by a coast guard cutter. The army transport Imperial, which left here yesterday bound for Seattle, was reported with out power off Cape Mendocino and being towed to San Fran cisco by the cutter, Shawnee. The coast guard said she was not in danger. She carried army troops. LST 224, which nearly floun dered late yesterday 33 "4 miles west of the Golden Gate, was also reported out of danger. Mexico Finds Charges Against U. S. False Mexico City. Dec. 21 (IP) Foreign Minister Francisco Castillo Najera said yesterday that Labor Leader Vincente Lombardo Toledano had failed to substantiate his charges that United States "imperialists" were passing weapons across the border to foment a revolution. As a result, the foreign min ister said, the Mexican govern ment would take no further cog nizance of the charges. The war department also said Lombardo Toledano's assertion apparently was without foundation. Price Five Cents Optimism Rules Big affss-s -"oAWft GlSV io M3 ' ' - r Conv Moscow, Dec. 21 (IP) The ex ploratory conversations of the foreign ministers of .Britain, Russia and the United States appear to have brought the three countries closer together than they were before the meeting, informed foreign quarters said today. Certain suspicions are believ ed to have a good chance of be ing dispelled, it was reported. On the sixth day of the big three foreign ministers' meeting and the 66th birthday of Gener alissimo Stalin, this appeared to be the situation on the basis of reports from Informed foreign quarters: Some Results Certain There is a strong feeling that some results will come from the meeting and these results may be better than originally ex pected, but every difference among the three is not likely to be settled at this meeting. Byrnes and Bevin are believ ed anxious not to raise the hopes and expectations of the Ameri can and British people too much. The foreign ministers of the big three have no desire or in tention of dominating the Unit ed Nations Organization or of bypassing it. UNO Collaboration However, big three collabora tion was applauded during the war and considerable good can be accomplished through such collaboration. If the United Na tions Organization was expect ed to handle all matters there would be no need for the nations to have ambassadors and for eign ministers. As a result of the current con ference the big three foreign ministers probably will meet in Washington in the spring, as suggested by Byrnes. Stalin, tanned and rested after his long vacation, was re ported to be spending the day at his desk in the Kremlin, ac cording to his custom of pur suing his regular schedule on his birthday. Chinese Reds Ask Armistice Chungking. Dec. 21 (IP) A Chinese communist spokesman at Chungking today asserted his party would put officially into writing its proposal for an immediate, unconditional armis tice in China's internal war, with both sides "frozen" in their present positions. His assertion followed gov ernment comments that the pro posal was merely "propaganda" because it had been made ver bally at a social function. The red spokesman, voicing surprise at this, declared that Gen. Chou En-Lai of the Chin ese red delegation had formally requested that the truce propo sal be forwarded to Generalis simo Chiang Kai-Shek. Chou made the proposal to Shao Li Tzu, member of the government delegation to the forthcoming unity conference. "We want an armistice," the communist spokesman said. "We considered our proposal as of ficial and formal, but as the government wants it in writing, we are going to oblige." The verbal proposal was an nounced by communists at the very moment General Marshall, the peacemaker, stepped from his plane at Shanghai yesterday, and there were indications that both sides are prepared to make genuine concessions in efforts to end the strife. Supreme Court Upholds Short Form of Income Tax Returns Oregon citizens next year will be able to use the simplified slate income tax returns provided by the 1945 legislature, the state supreme court ruling, 5 to 2, today that the law calling for the new forms is valid. The suit against the state tax commis sion was filed by F. H. Young, Portland, manager of Oregon Business and Tax Research, Inc., who contended that the law was invalid because a legislative committee inserted the wrong amendments in the bill. Hence, Young argued, the law is not the same as that passed by the legislature. The majority opinion, by Jus tice J. O. Bailey, denied Young's contention, asserting that the senate and house jour nals did not show affirmatively that any mistake had been made. The majority, which upheld Circuit Judge George R. Dun can of Marion county, said that a bill signed by the presiding officers of both houses and signed by the governor is pre sumed to be valid, unless it General Patfon Dies from Injuries Received in Traffic Accident As Heart Weakens from Pneumonia Brilliant American Combat Leader of Third Army, Who Served As Acting Commander of Occupation Forces, Passes Dozen Days After Crash Heidelberg, Dec. 21 (IP) Hard - Jr., died peacefully in a hospital . . .. . . accident which he described as "a hell of a way to die." He died in his sleep from a blood clot. The 60-year-old former cavalry officer who became one of thtt most brilliant exponents of armored warfare the world has known was injured 12 days ago when his sedan collided with an army truck on one of the superhighways Hitler built for conquest. Patton was going pheasant shooting. He complained at the time of who lifted him into the ambulance: "This is a hell of a way to die." The most skilled army surgeons in Europe found that his neck was broken. His body was paralyzed from the shoulders down. But the same indomitable spirit which led him and his famous 3rd army on the victorious dash from Normandy across the Rhine and Germany into Czech oslovakia seemed at first to be beating away the death that came at 5:50 p.m. (8:50 a.m. PST). Wife at Bedside His wife was at the bedside when death came. It was only yesterday that he took his first turn for the worse. Pulmonary complications devel oped which today weakened his heart. Patton at once was one of the most successful military leaders and one of the most con troversial. His swashbuckling campaigns in Africa and Sicily first brought him to world at tention. But in the heart of the Sicil ian campaign, he slapped a hos pitalized soldier, and then pub licly apologized to all units in his command. Gen. Eisenhower still believ ed in the two-gunned comman der, and when Gen. Omar Brad ley's First army broke through German lines in Normandy, Patton was placed In command of the famous Third army which poured through the breach, set up the capture of Paris and the liberation of France and drove straight up to the Siegfried line. Battle of Bulge One of Patton's greatest tri umphs occurred almost exactly a year before his death. When the Germans made their last bid for victory in the Ardennes breakthrough, Patton's army was thrown into the gap and it was largely Third army pressure on the south side of the bulge which drove the Germans back. When the final campaign of j later, he led his Third army across the Rhine and advanced virtually at will through the de caving German armies. Col. R. G. Spurling, war de partment medical specialist, said the medical facts of the case were ehese: Bronchial Trouble "Until the morning of Dec. 19, Patton made very satisfac tory progress. His general con dition was good and he was con fident he would recover. "The first untoward sign was when he had difficulty raising secretions, from his bronchial tubes. (Concluded on Palte 11, Column 5) Many Vets to Spend Xmas in Hospitals Washington, Dec. 21 (IP) More veterans will spend this Christmas in hospital beds than ever before in American his tory and the capacity for car ing for them has reached a near crisis. Maj. Gen. Paul R. Mawley, acting surgeon general of the veterans' administration, told I reDorter today there are approx imatciv 00,000 veterans, of all wars, under treatment in hos pitals or at homes. The peak of World war I vet erans is expected within a year or two. The peak of World war II will not be reached until 11)75 experts have predicted. They say as many as 250.000 veterans may become patients. appears from the legisative journals that the legislature has not complied with the state constitution. In a similar case a few months ago, the supreme court threw out the 1943 local bud get law on grounds of a legis lative error. Justices Percy R. Kelly and James T. Brand, who wrote sop arate dissenting opinions, said they failed to see the differ ence between the budget case and the tax case, so that the tax law should be thrown out, too. Both Justices said the court's action in today's case is contradictory and inconsistent. The court rushed its decision to enable the tax commission to prepare and distribute the new short forms, which will be used for 1948 tax payments on incomes earned in 1945. George S. Pattnn, from an automobile an injured neck and told soldiers - This portrait of General George S. Patton, Jr., wearing his 4-starred helmet and cam paign ribbons was made at his last press conference in the ETO. Indonesian War Continuing Batavia, Java, Dec. 21 WV- British Lt. Gen. Sir Miles C Dempsey and Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park made a flying visit to Batavia today as Brit ish forces campaigned against Indonesian troops east of Ban-, doeng, the summer capital. Dempsey is the allied ground forces commander and Park the chief allied air officer for the southeast Asia theater. They took off again only a few hours later and nothing authotitativa could be learned about the pur pose of their trip. The Dutch news agency Aneta speculated that they were to discuss with Lt. Gen. Sir Philip Christison, nllied commander in the Netherlands Indies, the decisions reached at the recent conference of British and Dutch leaders in Singapore. High scources in Batavia said December 8 that the British had decided to move in whatever reinforcements were necessary to restore order and guarantee Dutch sovereignty in the East Indies. (J. H. A. Logemann, Nether lands minister for overseas ter ritory, told the lower house of the Dutch parliament at The Hague today that full use will be made of Netherlands troops in the Islands.) Nine Batavia-b a s e d RAF planes blasted roadblocks and nationalist strongpoints east of Bandoeng to clear the line of march for British ground troops. Belgian Cross for Ninth Air Force Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 21 (IP) The Belgian Croix de Guerre will be pinned tomorrow to the colors of the Ninth tacti cal command of the Ninth air force, constituting one of the largest mass decorations in his tory. The ceremony commemor al;s events one year ago when Belgian skies cleared and the airmen launched their famous attack on nazi armored columns that had broken through the Ardennes. Ail men in the com mand at that time will be en titled to wear the green and red decoration on their shoul ders. Cancer Toll Above War Washington, Dec. 21 )IP Thd census bureau said today nearly twice as many persons died of cancer in this country during 1942-43-44 as the armed ser vices lost by enemy action in World War II. Cancer deaths in the period totaled 501,419, the bureau said, while recent army and navy figures placed combat losses at 273,000. BUY SEALS fighting Gen. bed tonight fi ... .. . ; vf,. 'J tj H ?1 , I P :Slj& Ifljji V
