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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1942)
Let fOUH Answer to Bembt be BONDSI Bar Defvaae Bond! eat tamp TOUA Cenlrlbete te tii slrvngth of roor aatloa. Patriot Urn. year awm eelf-pro-lectlon. tfrmaadt that 1'OU do your part NOW I Quickest Way rha roa hare aomathlng yes flak la all, trade, ar reatT Thea the aulrk-at way t find yoar pro pacta la throngs, the Want Ad la the Mail Tribune. The elf aorprta la tbey coat ae Utile. Try them. Medford Tribune Full Associated Praaa United Praaa Thirty-seventh Year. MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, AFRIL 5, 1942. NO. 12. BOTH! News Behind The News By Paul Mallon Washington, April 4. They aaid when France fell, the day of the fortress was dead, but Corregidor and Malta are still standing against the most ter rific air-DomD-ing attacks the mechani cal mind of man has been able to devise. TV. lBt..t 3 J Japanese can- k a r i in the I At 1 Philippines, IAv atl I ,. fMtk)g General Yam- raui Maiion ashita, storm ed Corregidor . for days with everything he had t in the air shortly after he took command. Thereafter he sent over only two or three bombers a day, indicating he had reach ed the same conclusion as his suiciding predecessor. The British dot of Malta, south of Sicily, has been sub jected to the unbelievable total of more than 1,600 air attacks since the war began, without appreciable result (which may explain why the nazis have not fooled with Gibraltar). The explanation - Is clear. Anti-aircraft fire from a small prepared rocky fort apparently can make it impregnable. The rocky formations permit build ing of safe bomb shelters, be yond reach of the thousand- pounders. Large three-Inch anti-aircraft guns can erert impenetrable a walls of fire in a defensive cir " cle above the fort. The bomb ers are thus forced so high their chance of hitting their target is virtually nil, and most of their bombs are wasted. Unfortunately ships at sea and cities cannot maintain such defenses. Only the larger ships can carry 3-inch A-A's and their aim is hindered by the motion of the vessels. Cities have their valuables above ground and are generally built on earth where bomb shelters 60 feet deep would be needed for such complete protection. a COMMUNIQUES have been speaking tersely of night as saults by the Japs against Wain Wright's line in Bataan, hinting at a new wrinkle in warfare, stolen from the Russian book. There are new wrinkles but not very well pressed. As the a Japs use them, they are Just P glorified raids against outposts, organized more extensively than usual, so they can em ploy artillery and mortars in the dark. In preparation for the night attack, aerial photographs are made of certain American po sitions. The guns are set and when darkness falls, the blaze away at the fixed invisible point. Generally this night artillery barrage prepares the way for Infantry assault against machine gun nests, the locations of which are plotted out on paper In daylight. Fortunately most of Bataan Is a Jungle so deep and dark It can hardly be penetrated in daylight. The Japs, therefore, have concentrated their night attacks generally on the Abucay I plain, an open level space near the east end of Wainwright's line, where a stream falls Into rice paddies. Wainwright does the same thing to the Japs, but only as far as his daytime vision per mits planning, because he has no aerial reconnaissance. (Continued on P ") NO SALVACC Seattle, April 4 W) The 13th naval district said toda efforts to salvage the naw patrol bomber which crashed into the Columbia river near the Tongue Point naval air station March 8 with the loss of eight lives has been discon tinued. Seattle. April 4 (4') Third of a fleet of destroyers to be launched at the Harbor Island plant of the Seattle-Taroma l Shipbuilding corporation, the U. S. S. Endicott will slide down the ways tomorrow night. It will be Seattle's first night launching of the wax. raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa a a (. m m m mmmwm M B fj . I if :4 sitana. . H UNIItU'NAIIUNu I ER MOUNT on auf ronts News From India Cheering Fortresses Bomb And aman Ships Torpedoed. By the Associated Prats The United States navy, al ready mightily strengthened since the attack on Pearl Harbor, added seven more Japanese ships last (Sat.) night to the unceasing tell which its surface and under sea craft are taking of enemy vessels in Far Pacific and East Indies waters. The navy announced that American submarines had sunk one light cruiser and probably sent another to the bottom, dam aged two seaplane tenders and scored torpedo hits on the other ships all in actions not previ ously reported in Washington communiques. Thus was furnished the climax to a day which, on the whole, was one of encouragement for the fighters against the axis on all of the world's many and united battlef ronts. These straws in the wind of the event ual victory came from east and west, north and south, from such widely-separated yet inevit ably allied fronts as: India Still the highlight In the military news was the word that U. S. army Flying Fort resses, which already have prov- ed potent poison to the Japanese over the Dutch Indies and Aus tralia's outer islands, had fired a Japanese cruiser and a trans port in an 800-mile foray from their Indian base to the enemy held Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal; on the political side was the cheering prospect that entry of Gen. Sir Archibald P. Wavell into the discussions, an nounced during the day, may swing India's leaders to accep tance of British proposals for post-war freedom. Australia U. S. and Australl "one great army", an army an troops are being forged into which, true to the code of its leader, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, will be committed irrevocably to a policy of attack. The allied air strength, credited with at least 10 Japanese planes destroyed in its latest raids on enemy bases, now is established so firmly that it can supply ample warning should the enemy set in motion any direct invasion thrust. Britain The RAF, lashing out In its own spring campaign with increasing forces of bombers and fighters, hinted broadly that the past weeks' assaults on nazi in dustries and key defenses are merely a beginning. Even in day light yesterday British squadrons roared across the channel in sky darkening swarms, losing 11 fighters in bitter dogfights but taking a toll of at least five nazi aircraft in fulfilling the objec tives of their raids. The torpedoing of three mer chant ships by axis submarines one in the Atlantic and two In the Caribbean was announced yesterday (Sat.) by the naw. bringing to 20 the official score of ships sunk off the United States east coast in the week nf March 29 through April 4. Losses since Fearl Harbor in that area total 114. Seattle, April 4 (AP) The Washington state defense coun cil today adopted a series of res olutions designed to alleviate farm labor and equipment prob lems during the war harvests Introduced by John G. Kelly, walla Walla, chairman of the agricultural advisory committee, the resolutions proposed federal maintenance of mobile migra tory labor camps of the farm security administration, urged more rationing of trucks to far mers and asked parents and em ployers to furnish selective ser vice boards with information Justifying deferment of farm la borer Japs Reported on West Coast of Burma v i l V1J 7 7h l ,l INDIA Mil f ifuKt .r txa jovtoungoo. 'J Bengal II " JUpegui K a- ' J RANGOON- IGu.ofS j 5551 J : Chungking reported tea-borne Japanese troops with a strong warship atcort had landed at Akyab (1) (black arrow), chief weitern Burma port, only 350 milat from Calcutta. Akyab landing would threaten rear of Brltith-Chlneie forces In Central Burma (broken line), now guarding Prome and holding line north of Toungoo (2). WAR PRODUCTION EM NEARJELSON America 'Doing Impossible' War Chief Says Record Since Pearl Harbor Cited. New York, April 4. m Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the war production board, as serted tonight that "America's industrial plant is really begin ning to roll" and "a new era of management-labor cooperation Is developing, which will prove of Immense value to the entire nation." Although he admonished that "this is no time for easy opti mism," Nelson asserted in a pre pared address at an Army day banquet of the military order of the World war that "we have not yet done the Impossible but we are doing it." In a detailed review of the progress of the nation's war ef fort. Nelson stressed that its re lative success thus far was still dwarfed by the fact that "it is the biggest Job, bar done, that this or any other country ever tackled at any time in history It is so huge that we can break every record we ever made and still fall short of the need." Then he called the roll of achievement since Pearl Harbor: 'The airplane production pro gram adopted after Pearl Har bor was presumed by practically everyone to be bigger than could possibly be attained. It was 'im possible program if there ever was one. We met our schedules in January and we made 23 per cent more planes than we had made in December. We exceeded our schedules in February which. of course, called for an increase over January. In March again we met the schedule." With regard to tanks: "We are ahead of schedule on tank production." Ships: "Our production of merchant shipping is rising rap idly we should meet this year's schedule." Anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns: 'The same is true." He declared that no American need fear that the nation's sol diers were going into battle with inferior weapons, asserting: "Our planes have turned In outstanding performance records all over the world in the Far East, in North Africa with the British, and on all other battle fronts. . . . Every American can be proud, not only of the heroic men who are flying those planes, but also of the men In the army and In our aviation industry who designed and built them." Ottawa, April 4 CP) Prime Minister W. L. MacKenzie King is considering making a trip to Washington late next week to at tend a meeting of the Pacific council. M Jvll GAY EASTER Will E FORECAST TODAY Parade of Finery After Church On Fifth Avenue Men To Wear Solid Colors. New York, April 4 (AP) A multi-million dollar fashion show up and down Fifth and Park Avenues tomorrow was predict ed by the sartorial soothsayers; the U. S. dept. of commerce says Easter merchandise is "up" 25 per cent over last year. So it's up to the women and the weather. Hats will be tilted at Jaunty angles and colors will run to all shades in defiance of the grim war overtones cast by the pres ence of the heaviest police guard for the parade in many years and the metal signs along Fifth Ave nue with instructions for behav ior in case of an air raid. Flanking the flowery hats, mink furs and orchids will be the military khaki and navy blue, by necessity the leading fashion note for the man of to day. In the city's humble churches and great cathedrals the faith ful will gather to hear again the old, old Easter story. Church out, the parade of finery starts. Malcolm Butt, New York tail- o. and president of the Master Tailors Council of America, pre dicted tomorrow's well-dressed man would wear sharkskin fab ric in solid color as mean as the "nailhead" with stripes. IS AT EUGENE MEET Eugene, Ore., April 4. (JPt Ned Liebman, Medford, won the extempore speaking contest to day at the annual Oregon high school speech tournament. John Brown, Salem, was sec ond and Robert Sayre, Beaver ton, third. Sayre won the public discus sion contest, and Brown and Leroy Dillon, Hillsboro, tied for second. Kenneth Brown, Salem, won the after-dinner trophy. Richard Smurthwaite, Beaverton, was second, and Vivian Miller, Rose burg, third. In the radio speaking division Margaret Thompson, Roseburg, was first, and three were tied for second, Lee Chase, Medford: Harold Laduke, OakridRe, and Richard Smurthwaite, Beaverton. IN BATTLE AHEAD Confidence' Mounts As United Nations Gird For Offensive Air Power Up United States Army Head quarters In Australia, April 4 (P) Gen. Douglas MacArthur bespoke Easter-tide divine guid ance "in the great struggle that looms ahead today as confi dence mounted in allied quar ters that the united nations will be able to defend this Australian springboard for an eventual of fensive in the southwest Pacific Much of this confidence, it was disclosed, sprang from steady aerial reinforcements now mak ing possible an air patrol of Australia's approaches so com prehenslve that it should give three or four days advance warning of the appearance of Japanese Invasion forces. Allied aviation continued to dominate the skies, shooting down at least 10 Japanese planes and orobably 12. Six were destroyed In a raid on Koepang, Dutch Timor and four others bombers were shot down In breaking up a raid on Darwin, where anti aircraft bagged two and fight ing planes two. Two Japanese fighting planes also were listed as probably destroyed. The few bombs dropped at Darwin killed two civilians, but caused no damage, said a com munique General MacArthur, an Epis copalian from Little Rock, Ark., Introduced the religious note In his military preparations In reply to a radiogram from W. P. Witsell, director of Little Rock's Christ church, who said, "the church of your baptism sends Eastei greetings and expression of faith and loving pride In you." In answer Gen. MacArthur messaged: "At the altar where I first Joined the sanctuary ot God, I ask that you seek divine guidance for me In the great struggle that looms ahead." War Bulletins Lltbon, April 4 O A British bomber made a forced landing tonight on the beach at Cotta Decaparlca. 10 mile southwest of Lisbon. The four man craw fired the craft, dined at a nearby hotel, than surrendered for Internment. London, April 4. Mande la y. storied city In eastern Burma toward which the Japanese have pointed an In vasion army, was heavily bombed yesterday by the Japanese air force but no military damage was done, the British reported today. T01AL WAR' DAY PARADE AT 7:15 Army Officers And Civic Leaders To Talk Other Cities To Participate. Jackson county's observation of Army day as 'Total War" day, will center In Medford Mon day with a monster parade, starting at 7:15 and followed by a defense demonstration and talks by army officers and civil defense leaders at the senior high school football field. "Total War" day has been pro claimed by President Roosevelt, Governor Charles A. Spreague and Mayor H. S. Deuel, as a time for appropriate demonstra tions In honor ot the men of the United States army in action overseas and in training at home. Mayor Deuel has asked that business establishments of the city close at 5 p. m. so that personnel may take part In or witness the program. Ashland and other neighbor ing cities will join in the obser vance here. The parade will form on North Bartlett street in the vicinity of Sixth and Fourth streets and will move promptly at 7:15 p. m. The line of march will be south on Bartlett to Main, west on Main to Oakdale and south on Oakdale to the senior school football field. Upon arrival at the field the parade will break ranks and, as soon as the throng has found vantage places. Mayor Deuel will speak briefly on, the signi ficance of the day and then in troduce Mayor Thornton Wiley of Ashland. Lleut.-Col. George C. Ferch, commanding corps area service unit, Camp White and training aids officer, will then be intro duced and will deliver the ad dress of the evening. Major Theron W. Bean, area engineer for Medford and vicinity, is also to be Introduced and will be fol lowed by Captain Joseph K, Carson, Jr., United States army engineers, and state commander of the American Legion. John C. Boyle, chairman of Jackson county civil defense, W. A. Gates, Jackson county chair man for sale of defense stamps and bonds, and R. G. Fowler, chairman of the Jackson county salvage committee, will also be Introduced and will speak briefly. Following the speaking pro gram, a house specially con structed on the field for the purpose, will be set afire with magnesium bombs for a demons tration of sand and water control methods. First aid demonstrations will wind up the evening. This phase Is expected to be especially in teresting as the civilian defense with the Red Cross has trainea over 2,000 civilians In first aid. FREE FRENCH IN AFRICA GRANTED Washington, April 4. & The United State gave formal recognition today to General Charles de Gaulle's control over French Equatorial West Africa and the French Cameroons, strategic territory along the supply route to the Middle East and India. The action, bringing closer ties between this country and the Free French, came In the announcement of the establish ment of a consulate general In Brazzaville, capital of the French possession directly across the Atlantic from Natal Brazil, and taken "In view of the importance of French Equa torial Africa in the united war effort." Recognition of the African Free French territory came month after similar approval of the de Gaulle authority over New Caledonia, strategic Island off the western coast ot Aus tralia, valuable also for Its large deposits of nickel. RECOGNITION FOR Interpreting The War News By Kirks L. Simpson (Wide World War Analyst) As April, the historical war month, opens a new chapter of somber significance in the axis allied struggle, there is a baf fling babble of prediction about where its -main scene will be laid. A new and gTevlous disaster In Burma for the united na tions the loss of another great oil reservoir seems to Impend, but there are brightening skies on the Australian flank of the Pacific-Indian ocean war front. The first meeting of the Pacific war council in Washington with President Roosevelt pre siding revealed nothing of its deliberations of planning; but following it was a wave of ris ing optimism over American- Australian ability to hold the Japanese at bay and prepare a counter-attack In Australia. That confidence strongly un derscores every Washington de velopment, to give a silver tinge to otherwise dark war clouds to westward. General MacArthur shares It. If he didn't, he would not have assented to his assignment as supreme commander in Aus tralia. None who know him could doubt that he would have preferred otherwise to stay with his gallant American-Filipino troops. In Europe, except for prob ably premature demands in Britain for an immediate coun ter-offensive against Hitler by land as well as by sea and air, the Initiative rests with the nazi warlord. Hope Is waning that Russian armies can decis ively clinch their winter gains by capturing key points still in German hands. Moscow still forecasts en larged victories. Hitler's own terse war bulletins are the best possible evidence that Red army elan is undiminished. The Rus sians are still on the attack all along the front, nibbling at nazi reserves, threatening nazi strong points. Yet the Red army seems now waging a war of at trition rather than fighting to ward definite strategic goals. And the effect of that attrition campaign on Hitler's resources. the degree to which it may have sapped . the striking power of his armies, cannot be measured until they strike. The question, then. Is both where and when Hitler will hstrike as April restores at least some degree of mobility to his armored battering-rams, the panzer units. Hampered by mud, snow, sub-zero temperatures and now mud and flood again, tanks have been of very limited value to either side since late fall. This April, nevertheless, seems certain to see the prelude of an attempted final nazi victory drive. It Is a favored Hitler month for the attack and In southern Russia, in the Ukraine and Crimea, weather conditions should permit major operations before the end of April. FIGHTER-PLANES AND PILOTS LOST Seattle, April 4 (AP Two army fighter planes carried their pilots to death In separate crashes in western Washington late this afternoon. One, P-38 from McChord field, swooped low over Olym pia, Wash., with its motors stut tering, managed to maintain alti tude until it had cleared the downtown section of the city and then crashed into house in East Olympia. Near Edmonds, Wash., anoth er army plane, this one from Paine field, at Everett, exploded In mid air, falling into the wa ters of Puget sound. Witnesses said the ship was in three dis tinct pieces as it hit the water. The body of the pilot was not Immediately recovered. LIST MACHINERY POOL Pendleton, Ore., April 4. () All industrial equipment in the Pendleton area. Including Rieth and Pilot Rock, was listed today by Guy V. Llntner of Port land as the first step in a plan to pool machinery here for war production board contracts. - PS fU TO CRUSH NAZIS Millions Ready To Throttle Spring Offensive No Changes In Land Battles, London, April 4. WV-The first of several million Red army reserves, freshly trained and brought from every part of the Soviet Union, were mov ing into the line from Lenin grad to Taganrog on the Black sea tonight on a plan designed to throttle the German spring offensive with a total force of 7,000,000 Russians. Russians here said the rein forced Red army had no Inten tion of relinquishing the initi ative which has carried it west ward since early December, al though it was apparent the Soviet counter-offensive had lost momentum In recent weeks. While the midnight com munique, as heard here over the Moscow radio, again said there had been "no substantial changes" in the land fighting. it reported destruction of 23 nazi planes on Friday, to Rus sian losses of only three, and the sinking of two enemy trans ports, one of 7,000 tons, by Sov iet warships In the Barents tea. Soviet dispatches reaching London said reinforcements had been moved into the Leningrad garrison over a double-track railway laid cross the ice of Lake Ladoga. " On the Leningrad front, said supplement to the midnight war bulletin, 3,400 German of. fleers and men were killed in the last three days. Besides capturing another populated center in this area, the Russians were described aa steadily advancing In the Kal inin region northwest of Mos cow, making continued cavalry sorties that cost the Germans dearly. One cavalry unit in two days of fighting on this front was said to have put out ot action 1,630 nazi officers and troops while artillery fire destroyed six enemy tanks and 37 trucks. On the central front the Ger mans were counter-attacking near Bryansk with tanks. In fantry and artillery. In one nar row sector where the Germans used two regiments of infantry and 29 tanks, the Russians said the counter-thrust was beaten off with more than 1,000 Ger man bodies left on the battle field and 18 tanks damaged. NIPS DROP HUGE Washington, April 4. Corregidor's unerring gunners parried a new Japanese air weapon, exploding incendiary bombs, by shooting down two enemy planes over the Philip. pine Island fortress, and prob ably damaging two others, the war department reported today. Frustrated in 12 days of In tensive aerial attacks with usual type bombs, the Japanese raid ers dropped bombs which burst In the air with huge flames. The new tactics failed. Lieuten ant General Jonathan M. Wain wright advising that no damage resulted. By downing two additional bombers, the anti-aircraft gun ners swelled their score to 17 officially reported to have been destroyed since the latest phase of the hammering ot the Man ila bay forts opened on March 24. On the nearby Bataan penln aula, the American-Filipino forces braced for a renewal ot the Japanese offensive amid signs that another savage attack was Imminent. Portland, April 4. OP) rtro early today destroyed the main building of the Portland Ship building company which holds government contracts for sea-going barges.
