Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, January 18, 1942, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., January 18, 1942, Page 1, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThey Are Willing Cma yam bm ran of itachlaf 1.00 aomea la uj her way at mt of Ue thaa th Want A4 Wit- cmalnlv, two eea Ml. Oln tune mil Ad s chance to kelp joa. They an Willing. Keep 'Em Flying Buy Dtfenic Stamps er Bonds from your bank, ftorea, paper carrier.1, or post office. San and aid. Medford Tribune Full Associated Press United Ptmi Thirty-sixth Year MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 1942. NO. 257. V J uuj WW i News Behind The News by Paul Mallon Washington, Jan. 17. Don ald Nelson had no idea be was to be made the Ion? fought single head of America I pri mary war ef 1 o r t produc tion. At noon that day he re ceived word he would be wanted at the White House some time that night or next day. About 3 Paul Mallon p. m. he was Jphoned and told to come over that night. Not until he walked in with Vice President Wal lace, was he aware he had been chosen. Mr. Roosevelt's decision ap parently was so hastily made, he did not have the customary executive order prepared car rying out his decision. Next day his secretary, Steve Early, in dicated Nelson would be allow ed to write his own order. P D R. had been working on the reorganization question about three weeks. He had been closeted with Lord Beaver brook on the subject for several whole days. Beaverbrook and Kelson had been in to see him the night before the decision was made. The town had been full of planted pressure stories favor ing one man or another for the Job the usual sign that the president is cogitating an Im portant appointment. Friends nt Supreme Court Justice Wil 'iiam Douglas were passing around the suggestion he had been chosen an apparently in- dispensible part of all presiden tial cogitations. Mr. Wallace, the V. P., was pressuring a plan whereby his friend and former secretary, Milo Perkins, would get half of another two-headed OPM, with Nelson the other half, one to handle production, the other materials. This, too, had been printed. Yet Wallace was not disap pointed with the choice of Nel son. No one could be. Nearly everyone else wanted one-man control and everyone agreed Nelson had more experience for the task than any man in the country. 7HA1 7HAT caused Mr. Roosevelt " to rush his decision is not entirely clear. Most government associates suspect he suddenly said "to heck with the prob lem," and decided to act. Some outsiders believe he wanted to smother a speech Wendell (Continued on Paj Nine) E PENDLETON AREA Fort George Wright, Wash., Jan. 17. (JPy An army bomb ing plane crashed in the rolling country 2'.i miles north of the Pendleton, Ore., air base today, killing its crew of three officers .and five enlisted men. ' Second air force headquarters aid little information was avail able on the accident, other than it occurred at 11:30 a. m. and crews from the Pendleton base were sent to the scene. The f.ead all were Identified but their home addresses, and in some cases the full names were lacking. ONE SlPAFIRE, Washington, Jan. 17. (AP) Two American freighters collid ed off the New Jersey coast to night, the navy department an nounced, one of them sinking tnd the other catching afire. The United Fruit steamer San Jose, of 3.358 gross tons, was sunk. The 7,600-ton Santa Elisa of the Grace Line, built only last year, was ablaze off Atlantic City, N. J. v 1 vlt t 10 E On Land Battles In Philip pines and Malaya Reach Critical Stages. By Associated Prats A United States submarine has carried the war to . the stronghold of the enemy and, in the fleet's most audacious oper ation of the war to date, has sunk three Japanese merchant ships off Tokyo bay, the navy department announced last (Sat urday) night. Coming on the heels of the report on Thursday that an American undersea craft had torpedoed a 17,000-ton enemy liner and yesterday's reported sinking of three transports and two cargo ships, this raised to 27 the total of Japanese ships sunk by U. S. naval or marine action since the attack on Pearl harbor. The navy's communique gave no details of this 'latest blow at Japanese shipping, first to see the United States take the war into enemy coastal waters. But it was perhaps no coinci. dence that in the same com. munique Washington disclosed officially that Admiral Thomas C. Hart has assumed command of all allied naval forces in the southwest Pacific. The fact that the navy said the submarines successful at tacks took place "off" Tokyo bay was taken as an indication the vessel had been dperating within striking distance of the Japanese capital itself. For it Is navy custom to locate any such action by the nearest port. Try Flanking Movement Word of this newest smash at the Japanese on the sea lanes came at a moment when, in the land of fighting, the armies of the rising sun were forcing the battle of Malaya and the Phil ippines into new and more crit ical stages. The war department told of the Japanese onslaught against General Douglas - MacArthur's forces in the Philippines, an attack, which was encountering stubborn resistance. Aircraft and artillery are supporting the assault which it was believed here is aimed at turning the flank of the out numbered American-Filipino troops and preventing any eventual retreat to Corregidor fortress. Tokyo radio broadcasts, sub ject of course to discount, said MacArthur's men were finally retreating down the peninsula. There was, however, no con firmation of this here. The British command in Sing apore acknowledged that on the western flank the Japanese had broken through to establish a foothold on the south shore of the Muar river, some 90 miles northwest of the island base. A Tokyo broadcast placed this spearhead well past the river, in the Batu Pahat area, and declared the invaders would be "knocking at the gates" of Singapore within 24 hours. Jap Lines Blasted Even the Japanese, however, were forced to admit "surpris ing resistance" farther east, where the bulk of the battle hungry Australians had been pitched into the fight. Along the Gemas-Tampln rail way line, 110 to 120 miles north west of Johore strait, British bombers blasted troop concen trations and trains while fighter planes, roaring down on a two mile long truck convoy, strafed it from end to end. At the same time other RAF units rained destruction on troop-laden barges and small ships near the mouth of the Muar river. But Singapore itself suffered its heaviest blows of the air war. Two flights of Japanese bombers seventy In all rock ed the island base throughout its length and took their heav iest toll of civilian casualties, with at least 150 civilians either killed or wounded. Portland, Jan. 17. W The demand was active for carrots on the East Side Fanners' whole sale market today. Carol Lombard. 15 Army This Type Jap Ship Sunk -- -M.t jf-"'-m ! This is the Japanese llntr Yawata Maru, owned and operated by the Nippon Yuten Kaiaha lines and probably convertible into an aircraft carrier. The U. S. navy announced that a 17,000-ton Japanese merchant liner of the Yawata class had bean sunk by an American submarine. CHURCHILL HOME, E Premier Uses Flying Boat For Return British Irked By Far East Reverses. - By the Associated Prase London, Jan. ! 17. W Win ston Churchill came safely home by flying boat today from his historic trip to the new world, and the happy cries of "Good old Winnie" which welcomed him subdued, for the moment at least, British recrimination over Singapore's plight. It was apparent that - the prime minister would lose no time in moving to assuage the distress of both nation and par liament over the humiliating defeats in Malaya. Most of the newspapers looked for some sort of a cabinet reconstruction, but their speculation as to its nature was very vague. Churchill and his entourage Arrived by train from Plymouth, the terminus of his flight, in an American-made flying boat. from Bermuda. Week-e n d i n g travelers at once spotted Churchill's famil iar reefer Jacket and nautical cap and descended upon mm with un-British abandon. The official welcoming party had to form a bodyguard to clear a path through the cheering crowd, and black hats went fly ing from ministerial heads in the cheery jostling. Manchester. England, Jan. 17, (IP) Declaring that Britain has been "caught napping in every theatre of war" so far, Emanuel ShinwelL labor mem ber of the house of commons, told an audience today: "We are watching the British empire breaking up before our eyes, yet the men responsible remain in power and we have no guarantee that worse will not befall us." Shlnwell's speech coincided with reports that a drastic cab inet shakeup was Imminent be cause of dissatisfaction caused by British reverses in Malaya For Art's Sake Portland, Jan. 17 APV Charles Voorhles, Portland art museum instructor, who had only a few hours left In which to enter a drawing in a contest, set to work tn the early morning on a waterfront scene. "Sketching factories, eh" asked a passerby. "Yep," said Voorhles. The passerby, a civilian air raid warden, called cop and the next thing Voorhles knew he was en route to police headquarters where lengthy explanations won his freedom. Charles Voorhles is the son of Mrs. Gordon Voorhles of this city, who Is now visiting her son in Portland, and the brother of Mrs. Sprague RelM. nan iimn.iiM.tVr Interpreting The War News By Klrke L. Simpson Wide World War Analyst Six weeks from its grim open ing in the Pacific, that war area still grips major American at tention; but the most important and possibly decisive front of the axis-allied conflict still Is in Rus sia. The Red armies opened a new and little publicized offensive on a wide front northwest of the Moscow sector last week which could prove more disastrous for Hitler than any other phase of his great winter retreat. His whole grip on northwestern Rus sia, from the great bend of the Dnieper west of Smolensk to the Baltic, 1 menaced by Russian thrusts. Lake Ilmen, southwest of Len ingrad, the Valdai Plateau, south of the lake, and the springs of the Volga river on the southern slopes of the plateau, are vital strong points for the whole northern flank of the German winter line. Down the Volga the northern flank merges with the Moscow central sector in the Rzhev region. That upper sector, from Rzhev to the Volkhov river north of Lake Ilmen, is the most rugged and difficult for military opera tions in all western Russia. De spite that and the added handi cap of a Russian winter, Red armies have developed within the last week attacks of even greater strategic potentialities than the grinding battle of the Mozhaisk bulge before Moscow. A deep Russian break-through either above or below Lake Il men,. down the Lovat valley south of the lake, or along the southern flank of the Valdai plat eau would leave the whole Ger man line about Leningrad up In the air. It could force nazi re treat from all northwestern Rus sia Into Esthonia through the narrow land corridor between Lake Peipus and the Baltic at the Russian-Esthonian border. The first Russian step in a northern offensive of still undis closed scope was a drive down the Volkhov toward Novgorod, near the north rim of Lake Il men. A companion drive from the Msta river, due east of Nov gorod, is also Indicated. The east bank of the Volkhov is now re ported cleared of Germans and Russian crossings of the river make the nazi hold on Novgorod insecure. South of Lake Ilmen but north of the Valdai hills, the Russians have surged westward to Invest If they have not taken Staraya Russa, where they suffered a crushing defeat last September, They are also reported swinging aloVig the Lovat toward Kholm from east of Staraya Russa. With Kholm retaken they would be within striking distance of Ve- likie Luki and Nevel. From the Volkhov front and the Staraya Russa drive. Red forces appear converging on Shlmsk, Junction west of Lake Ilmen, or in a position to by-pass it to the south toward Pskov, 100 miles or so westward. i Whether these complex opera i tloJ are a full scale offensive or designed primarily to exert add : ed pressure on the Mozhaisk bulge is not clear. It Is certain, : however, that they imply an even ' greater threat to the German I winter line program than do those operations farther south. by U. S. Sub - ";ll . , - raj TOF WILL GET RELIEF 'resident To Send Message To Congress Soon On New Problem. Washington, Jan. 17. IP) Planrfof fe $400,000,000 to $000,- 000,000 relief appropriation for workers temporarily displaced by the shift to war time produc tion came out of a White House conference today, while plans progressed for expediting the conversion process. - President Roosevelt discussed the relief problem with congres sional leaders and obtained their agreement with apparent ease. The shift to war produc tion, it was estimated, would throw 4,000,000 men out of work for varying periods of time. While they are laid off they will receive 60 per cent of their normal salaries, to a maximum of $24.00 weekly. If they re ceive state unemployment com pensation, the government is to make up the difference between that and the 60 per cent of sal ary standard. To be eligible for the payments, displaced work ers will have to enroll for train ing in needed new skills. Mr. Roosevelt, it was said, will transmit a message to congress on the subject next week, and legislation, originating in the house appropriations committee, will be Introduced and pushed through as swiftly as possible. GUILD CONTRACT Portland, Jan. 17, ;P -The Portland chapter of the Ameri can Newspaper guild yesterday signed an IB-month contract with the Oregonian, calling for a 10 per cent payroll increase. The contract alio provides a five-day week, cash payment at time and one-half for overtime and a maximum of 28 weeks severance pay. LADY SWINDLER PLEADS Newark, N. J., Jan. 17. OP Prosecutor William A. Wachen- feld said today Mrs. Amelia Mildred Carr, whom he has identified as a million-dollar swindler, had waived Jury trial and offered to throw herself on the mercy of the court on a charge of obtaining $4,700 un der false pretenses. COAL NEEDS SURVEY Salem, Jan. 17. Of) Gov. Charles A. Sprague asked Roy Mills, manager of state institu tions, today to make a survey of Oregon governmental units' requirements of coal and coke, If any, at the request of Secre tary of the Interior Ickes, na tional solid fuels coordinator. Pilots Die in Plane Crash LEWIS PROPOSES A.F.L.-C.I.0. UNITY FOR WAR EFFORT Green Agrees To Peace Talk To Adjust ences Between Rivals. By James J. Streeblg Washington, Jan. 17. (AP John L. Lewis called tonight for a joining of the CIO and the AFL under "unified and competent leadership" and met a ready re sponse from President William Green of the AFL. In an open letter to Green and President Philip Murray of the CIO, Lewis said, "labor Impera tively requires coherency In or der to give maximum assistance to the nation in its war effort to defend American liberties and American institutions." He proposed a resumption of the negotiations between stand ing committees of the CIO and the AFL which he himself caus ed to be broken off in April, 1939. "Our peace committee stands ready to meet with a committee from the CIO at any time," Green replied In a statement. "We regard Mr. Lewis' letter as a partial response, at least, to the ..repeated appeals we have made tlnce 1939 for resumption of conference to adjust differ ences between the CIO and AFL. There was no Immediate state ment from Murray, but since he Is vice president of Lewis Uni ted Mine workers and relations between the two men are close it was believed probable he had given his approval in advance. E TROOPS CUT OFF E (By The Associated Press) London, Jan. 17. Striking hard at both the rear and flanks of imperilled Germans before Moscow, the Russians were re ported dropping clouds of para chute trooos behind the Mozh aisk wedge tonight as red forces surged forward in a new and smashing gain' northwest of the capital. The parachutists were de clared to have virtually cut off the nazi forces perhaps 100,000 men holding Mozhaisk, 87 miles west of Moscow. German lines on both sides of this sali ent have been bent far back, ex posing this last remaining ad vance position which has held out against the soviet onslaught. Northwest of Moscow, the Rus sians announced their forces have smashed German counter attacks and recaptured Lata shlno In an advance that car ried almor,t to Rzhev, German strongpolnt on the north shore of the Volga. Latashlno Is some 130 miles northwest of Moscow on the high road to Rzhev. Shakhovskaya, another region al center on the Moscow front, was declared also liberated along the numerous other populated centers. To the south, heavy fighting was reported continuing around Kursk, Kharkov and Taganrog with the Russians driving hard to win back the important indus trial districts of the Donets basin. War Bulletins Chunking, Jan. 17. UP) American pilots, guarding the vital Burma Read, wiped eat force el three Japanese war plana today la a dog fight ever Mengtsa In southeast Yunnan previa. Dies in Crash t w :- It A t - Carole Lombard Indianapolis, Jan. 17. UP) "Carole, don't take that plane." Those were the words Mr. and Mrs. James C. Todd of Indian apolis heard Movie Star Carole Lombard's mother say to her at the Indianapolis municipal air port early yesterday morning. The blonde screen actress boarded the plane, however, and she and her mother, Mrs. Eliza beth Peters, presumably rode to their death in a crash la the Nevada mountains. LATIN AMERICAS AXIS RELATIONS Hope To Complete Deal Monday Argentina Ready Enter Agreement. Rio De Janeiro, Jan. 17. (IP) Brazilian Foreign Minister Os- waldo Aranha said tonight that the conference of American foreign ministers was "near agrement" on accepting . the proposal for severance of lations Including diplomatic with the axis.. A proposal to this effect of fered by Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela has been opposed by Argentina. Aranha, who la chairman of the Pan American conference, told the Associated Press he was surprised the proposal had been published. "I hope to have statement Monday," he said. "I am not sure we will succeed by Mon day but we hope to put It through." (Acting President Ramon S. Castillo of Argentina told the Associated Press in Buenos Aires last night that Argentina was prepared to impose rigid restrictions upon axis nationals and diplomatic representatives to prevent their sabotaging the American war effort. (He said his government was ready to subscribe to "any agreement to safeguard the common interests tn America. Many private talks outside the conference rooms were di rected toward swinging Argen tina to approving severance of diplomatic relations. Earlier, Chile appeared veer ing toward Argentina's previous stand against a complete break, OREGON FIRST TO TOP RED I QUOTA San Francisco, Jan. 17. (TV Oregon today became the first state In the Pacific area and the second state in the nation to ex ceed its American Red Cross war fund campaign quota, A. L. Schafer, Red Cross area man ager, announced. Oregonlans contributed $393 089 In the current Red Cross drive to exceed the quota of $381,750 allotted to their sUte when the drive opened, Decem ber 12. E Skyllner Hit At Full Speed- No Comment On Causal Army Takes Charge, By the Associated Press Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 17, Blonde, carefree Screen Actress) ' Carole Lombard, her mother and 20 other occupants of a luxurious TWA Skysleeper crashed to flaming death last night on 8,500 foot Table Mountain, 33 miles) southwest of here. Searchers on horseback reach ed the scene today, nearly 18 hours later, and found the shat tered wreckage, with bodies scat tered for hundreds of yards up the mountain's face. Undersheriff Glenn Jones re ported from Jean, Nev., that th big 21-passenger craft apparent ly hit at full speed. Many of the) victims were burned beyond rec ognition. Thus ended the idyuie mar rlage of the actress and Claris Gable, idol of thousands of fern lnlne moviegoers. When word came, a distraught Gable was on his way Into the mountalna taj Join personally in the search. Because 13 army pilots were) aboard, army guards were sent to the scene to take charge, A patrol also barred the highway Into the mountalna to sightseers. Pending on the spot lnvestlga tiona by army and coroner's of fleers, there was no indication) how or when the bodies would be brought out. A gruelling, 11 mile hike to Goodsprtngs, at the base of the mountain, would be) necessary to bring the victims to) hearses. Gable Distraught For hours Gable had paced hotel room, refusing to be con soled by friends. Soon after noon) he announced he could wait no longer. He and Sheriff M. E. Ward headed into the mountalna, His face was drawn and lined. Dark glasses hid bloodshot eyes. Accompanying him were How ard Strickling. publicity chief at his studio, M-G-ld, and A. T. G., Steffes, Las Vegas attorney. Gable, who learned of the crash as he waited for his wife) to return from an eastern de fense bond-selling trip, had flown here early today today from Hollywood. Aboard the west-bound craft. which left Las Vegas at 7:07 p.m., were three civilian passen gers beside Miss Lombard, IS soldiers attached to the army fer ry command, and three crew members. With Miss Lombard were her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth K. Pe ters, and Otto Winkler, M-O-M publicity man and close friend of the Gables. Winkler drove the couple to Kingman, Ariz., to be married two years ago. The air corps ferry command at Long Beach, Calif., said the soldiers were returning to the coast for new assignments. All boarded the plane at Albuquer que, N. M., where four civilian left th plane to make room for the military party. - rilm Queea Popular Miss Lombard, 32, one of the. most popular and successful ac tresses in Hollywood, was re turning from a defense bond sales trip to Indianapolis. The former Jane Peters of Fort Wayne, Ind., had sold nearly $1, 300,000 worth of bonds Thurs day. From scanty repo-ta reaching! hero, the big 21-passenger Douglas-built liner apparently crash ed in snow at an elevation eg about 8,000 feet on Table Moun tain. Neither TWA, army or civilian aeronautics authorities would comment on the cause of the probable explosion, A veteran pilot, CapL Wayne Williams, 41, was in charge. Hla co-pllot was Morgan A. Gillette, 29. Alice Gets, 23, was steward ess. The other passenger was Mrs. Lois Hamilton of Lincoln Park, Mich., a Detroit suburb, enrout to visit her husband, Lieut. Al D. Hamilton, in California.