Weather
forvcMt: Cloudy with occasion
al Ufht rain Sunday and Moo
day. bUfhtiy cooler Monday.
Temp.
Highest Friday . AO
Lowest Saturday morning.. U
Precipitation past 24 bra. ,
Uh The
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United Press full Lund Win
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Thirty-eighth Year
MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1943.
No. 229.
Med
GERMAN RETREAT
ON NEVEL FRONT
. TOLD BYjERLIN
Russian Massive Attack
Gains Moscow Silent on
Winter Offensive.
( London, Dec. 18 (U.R) Ger-
man sources admitted tonight
that Nazi troops had gone into
retreat on the Nevel front in
White Russia before the pressure
of a massive Red army attack
that concentrated nearly 300,000
men in a narrow sector.
Ernst von Hammer, military
commentator for the official
German DNB news agency, said
the Soviets had thrown 14 in
fantry divisions, two complete
tank corps, two cavalry divisions
and an artillery division into at
tacks in the winter-swept Nevel
sector, and had "forced a short
ening of the German front."
"The Soviets attempting a
major break through and using
superior forces, broke into the
German defense system which
was threatened until the front
Vwas shortened," he said.
The German-controlled Vichy
radio, supporting Hammer s an
nouncement, said the Nazis were
forced to retreat both southwest
and north of Nevel.
This was the most concrete
news of Soviet success in the
campaign which Berlin has re
ported for a week in the Nevel
"Sector and which Moscow con
sistently has ignored. Observers
were not discounting Germany's
reports, however, inasmuch as
Moscow customarily withholds
news of new offensives until the
Soviet command can announce
a major victory. Many felt it
probable that the Nazi reports
of fighting around Nevel marked
the start of the expected Red
army winter offensive.
Frigid Winds Blow "i
At Expectancy prevailed here and
' in Moscow that the winter of
fensive was about to start, with
snow blanketing the Soviet front
from White Russia deep into the
Ukraine, frigid winds sweeping
the steppes and the Red army,
equipped with winter outfits.
using horse-drawn sleds to bring
up its supplies.
Hammer said a 13-below-zero
temperature covered the south
ern and central sector of the
Soviet front, partly freezing the
iTipet and Dnieper rivers and
enabling land forces to cross
wide stretches of the Pripet
marshes. The temperature was
several degrees higher in the
northern sector, the German
broadcaster said.
Front reports added nothing
f to the Soviet command's briefest
"7 ' communique In weeks, which
reported no change except in
the Kirovograd sector of the
Ukraine where Gen. Ivan S.
Konev's troops gradually Im
proved their positions in their
drive to outflank that industrial
city and major Nazi operational
base 62 miles southwest of Kre-
menchug.
Moscow's broadcast operational
war bulletin said the Germans
were dislodged from several for
tified defense points today. It
said the enemy repeatedly at
tempted counterattacks to check
the Red army drive on Kirovo
grad but was repulsed with
heavy losses.
FLU NORMAL, BUT
BERLIN IS 'BLUE
Madrid, Dec. 18 (U.R) The
Berlin correspondent of the
newspaper Madrid reported that
influenza cases in tne oerman
caDital were not above normal
for this time of year, but that
another illness was afflicting the
citv. namely "sui generis," which
Berliners have named "melan-
. cholly over ruins."
It was explained that the mal
ady consisted of an affliction of
the spirit from contemplating the
vast ruin spread by tne iuu .
Fancy Shooting
Ibis, Cal., Dec. 18 (U.R)
Pfc. Ira L Waldrip, of Col
lins, Ark., told his 41st tank
battalion buddies they might
try his old "squirrel-sniffing"
technique on the battlefield:
"Back in Drew county. Ar
kansas, I aimed lust ahead
of the squirrel's nose. The
vacuum caused by the bul
let's flight took the sauirrel's
breath away and suffocated
him."
' Nazis Stopped
I Cr iLATVui yUe.
-v RUMANIA ' r 5fifii.. I
"thiusts
NAZI THRUSTS
i 1 Alf A MILD
'.-J
I ST NAZIS
' (Menu 7 tit photo)
Map shows area west of Kiev where Red Annies apparently have stopped
the Nazis' all-out onslaught on that vital city. Farther south, Russian
forces striking west from Kremenchug, to support bridgehead In the
Cherkasl area, captured Cherkesl. last German base on the west bank ol
the Dnieper Rirer.
E
E
Advanced Allied Headquar
ters, New Guinea, Sunday Dec.
19 (U.R) Troops of the Amer
ican Sixth army drove one mile
east from the neck of the Arawe
peninsula 'on southeastern New
Britain island to seize Umtinga
lu village from Japariese forces
and capture enemy equipment
and field guns, it was announced
today.
A spokesman for Gen. Doug
las MacArthur . announced the
continued expansion of . Amer
ican positions as the - Yanks
pushed forward to move their
advanced lines three miles from
the original landing . point on
the Housefireman beach. -
Japanese . forces, putting up
some resistance," finally aban
doned the village and much
equipment, including three 75
millimeter field guns which
were apparently used to break
up the commando landing near
Arawe Wednesday, ' preceding
Itiie main invasion thrust.
As the Sixth army moved
ahead, proceeding over native
trails crossing New Britain isl
and, U. S. army and marine
troops in the northern Solomons
started a push to extend their
lines on Bougainville island.
south Pacific reports disclosed.
A spokesman for Adm. Wil
liam F. Halsey announced that
the troops began pushing east
ward and northwestward of Em
press Augusta bay positions
Wednesday, moving across the
Torokima river with the support
of artillery, air and light naval
units.
2 DIE, 5 INJURED,
Roseburg, Ore., Dec. 18. (U.R)
A fire at the Lang hotel In
nearby Sutherlin today killed
two persons and injured five
others, but at least 14 persons
leaped from windows to safety.
The dead were Mrs. H. F.
Rich, 26, and her mother. Mrs.
Annie Faisley, 64, both of Suth
erlin. Injured were Russell Ander
son, 33. his wife, Agnes, 31 their
son, William, 12; J. W. Lang, 65
owner of the hotel, and Frank
Bilyeu, 32.
Lang and Bilyeu are In criti
cal condition, while the others
are expected to recover.
The fire spread rapidly from
an overheated stove in the lob
by and most of the guests had
to flee in their night clothing.
First aid was administered by
candlelight when power lines
were short circuited by the fire.
PILOT AVERTS CRASH
Portland, Ore., Dec. 18 (U.R)
T)i skill nt Pantain ftAnrfffi
Dn.trnp amm uroH i t ctfi fnitov oith I
averting a serious accident when
a United Airlines plane bound
from Seattle to Los Angeles
landed at Portland and the land
ing gear failed to function prop
lerlv.
Russians Go
L
GIVES BIRTH TO
SIX LB. BABY BOY
Portland, Ore., Dec. 18. (U.R)
A fine healthy boy was born
today to Mrs. Carolyn Davis
Wilson, 20-year-old mother who
was removed from an "iron
lung" respirator to permit nor
mal delivery of the baby.
Attending physicians said the
condition of the plucky young
mother was only "fair." She
Was. returned to. the- respirator,
where she has been for nearly
three weeks. Her husband, Air
Forces Corporal Marvin Wilson,
21, flew -halfway around the
world from India to be at her
side.
After debating several days
on how to administer anasthesia
to help her through the ordeal,
the physicians said they ad
ministered a little gas. She was
not out of the respirator very
long before the baby arrived
shortly before 2 p. m. The
baby weighed six pounds 10V4
ounces. "
The chief worry was whether
Mrs. Wilson would catch cold
or suffer a relapse. Her physi
cians were hopeful she would
pull through. They praised her
demeanor and confident spirit
through the painful days and
weeks since she contracted the
paralysis. She even tried to
shield her condition from her
army husband but the Ameri
can Red Cross arranged his
emergency furlough when her
condition made it necessary for
her to enter the "Iron lung" at
Portland's Hahnemann hospital.
Buoyed up by his arrival, she
was able ,to be out of the re
spirator for as long as seven
hours on some days but the in
tervals grew shorter as the time
for childbirth approached, She
was out only an hour yesterday
and probably could not have
survived if the birth of the baby
had required her to be outside
very long. . .
LETTERSREVEAL
'PEACE NOW' MOVE
Washington, Dec. 18. (U.R)
An apparently organized cam
paign for a negotiated peace
which would save Germany and
Japan from the consequences of
Allied Invasions has been
launched in letters to congress
men signed by George W. Hart
mann, chairman of the "Peace
Now Movement," it was dis
closed tonight.
House members who received
the letters and accompanying
literature almost unanimously
denounced the movement as
"misguided" or "playing into
the enemy's hands."
COL. NICHOLSON PASSES
Vancouver, Wash., Dec. 18.
(U.R) Col. Alexander M. Nichol
son, 49-year-old quartermaster
at Pendleton Field. Ore., died
today from a chronic skin con
dition. A former resident of
San Antonio. Tex., Colonel
Nicholson had been at Pendle
ton 13 nontni.
E
CONFER WITH F.R.
ON STRIKE TODAY
President Intervenes In
Move to Ward Off Rail
Walkout ,;
Washington. Dee. 18 (U.R)
President Roosevelt today called
representatives of the nation s
railroads and of the me operat
ing railroad brotherhoods to con
fer with him at the White House
tomorrow in an effort to ward
off a strike scheduled to start
Dec. 30.
The White House, announcing
Mr. Roosevelt's action, said the
meeting would be held at 2:30
p. m., EWT. Spokesmen for the
brotherhoods had revealed earli
er In Cleveland that they had
been called to the executive
offices.
The national mediation board
cancelled a meeting it had sched
tiled with union and manage
ment representatives at Chicago
Monday. It indicated it might
offer its services again if no basis
for settlement is found at the
conference tomorrow.
The 350,000 members of the
operating brotherhoods have vot
ed to strike Dec. SO in protest
against an emergency board
award approved by Economic
Stabilization Director Fred M
Vinson of a four cents an hour
wage increase. They are de
manding a $3 a day boost of
tneir basic wages.
Meanwhile,' officials of the
15 non-operating brotherhoods
whose case is linked closely with
that of the operating brother
hoods were reportedly maneu
vering in an effort to . force
prompt house action on the sen
ate-approved Truman resolution
which would legalize the agree
ment they reached last August
with the railroads for an eight
cents an hour wage increase.
Vinson refused to approve that
agreement on grounds lf: would
be an out and out violation of
the little steel fromula and would
go far toward breaking down
the administrations' stabilization
program.
LI
ON SALE JAN. 3
Portland, Ore., Dec. IS 0J.B
New cards for purchases at state
liauor control commission stores
to be validated through use of
ration book No. 4 will be
placed on sale Jan. 3, commis
sion officials announced today,
Jack Holden, supervisor of
personnel and sales, said the per
mit applicant must present an
identification along with the
book, as well as his address and
signature.
' The new procedure will be lit
tle different for civilians .than
at present, although persons in
the armed services will obtain
their new cards on a slightly dif
ferent basis.
WILLKIE BUTTONS
SENT TO SOLDIER
Montclalr, N. J., Dee. 18 (U.R)
Pfc. Edward Meyerson in the
South Pacific-has the 500 Willkie
buttons he wrote his family for
but his parents are still "hop
ping mad" that a censor's scis
sors cut out of his letter the
reason he wanted them.
The letter asking for the but
tons ran: "I want them to
and the rest of the sentence was
deleted.
"First, we want to know why
his reason was censored, Meyer-
son senior said today. "And
then, well, we still want to know
why he wanted the buttons.
LOS ANGELES HIT
Los Angeles. Dec. 18 U.R
Southern California was In for a
little more of the same in the
way of weather during the week
end after a 24-hour storm had
deposited .82 of an inch of mois
ture by 6 o'clock tonight, the
weather bureau announced.
Precipitation for tha current
storm brought to 3.61 inches the
season's rainfall total for Los
Angeles, compared with 1.06
inches to toe tame data last year.
FIRST NAZI WAR
CRIMINALS FACE
HANGINGDEATHS
Three Gestapo and Russian
Traitor Doomed For Khar
kov Atrocities.
London, Sunday, Dec, 19.
(U.R) A Russian military tri
bunal condemned three German
soldiers and a Russian traitor
to death on the gallows for par
ticipating In the massacre of
soviet civilians and war prison
ers during the Nazi occupation
of Kharkov, radio Moscow an
nounced today.
All four defendants pleaded
guilty to a long list of atrocity
charges, including the machine
gunning of Russian children and
the asphyxiation of scores of per
sons in mobile gas chambers
which the Nazis had mounted on
trucks.
Radio Moscow announced that
the death sentences were passed
in Kharkov at 11:40 p. m. Sat
urday night (Kharkov time) con
cluding a three-day public trial.
The condemned Germans were
Pvt. Reinhard Retzlav, a mem
ber of the 560th group of the
German secret police; Lt. Hans
Ritz, 24, of the Nazi SS elite
guards; and Capt. Wilhelm Lang-
held, 52, a captain in the Nazi
counter-espionage service.
Sentenced to die with them
was 26-year-old Mikhail Bulva
nov, who was accused of acting
as chauffeur for one of the "mur
der wagons" used by the Ges
tapo for its lethal gas execu
tions.
It was the first formal convic
tion of Nazi war criminals ac
cused of committing atrocities
against the population of occu
pied territories and apparently
foreshadowed similar grim Jus
tice for other Gestapo hangmen
and atrocity mongers captured
by the red army.
London newspapers attached
great significance to the Khar
kov trial, and the Sunday Dis
patch asserted that the Russians
would be Justified in executing
every one of the 700,000 mem
bers of the Nazi elite guard or
ganization whom they may cap
ture. London, Dec. 18.--U.R) The
Soviet Union, through the of
ficial Tass news agency, denied
tonight that Bulgaria had ap
proached Moscow with peace
proposals under which it would
quit the war but retain Mace
donia and western Thrace.
In a Radio Moscow broadcast,
the Soviet news agency said:
"Several British newspapers
several days ago printed a re
port from New York that Bul
garia, through mediation with
the Union of Socialist Soviet Re
publics, put forward peace pro
posals so as to quit the war
under the condition that lt would
retain Macedonia and western
Thrace.
"Tass has been authorized to
state that this statement is ob
viously untrue and not based on
any foundation whatsoever."
L
LEADERS-JAILED
Algiers, Dec. 18 (U.R) The
French National Committee of
Liberation has Jailed two prom
inent French colonial adminis
trators on charges of collaborat
ing with the Nazis before the Al
lied occupation of North Africa,
and Is expected to announce
shortly the arrest of Pierre Etl
enne Flandin. former French
premier, lt was learned tonight
The arrested men were Pierre
Boisson, former governor-gen
eral of French West Afrlct, and
Marcel Peyrouton, former polit
ical deputy of French North Af
rica, both of whom had been un
der "house arrest" for some time.
WILLKIE VISIT TOLD
Caracas, Dec. 18. (U.R) The
newspaper Ultimas Notlciaj.
quoting usually well-informed
sources, said today that Wen
deU Willkie would visit Venezu-
ela In the near future. No other
detallf were given.
"When iny
bi w P aw
rnm. HA Hi. innnm
Roosevelt takes lt literally. During
greeted her Maori guide with the traditional nose-ruoDing
it the Maori custara of greeting. (Copyright, 1943, by Look Magazlnt
from Acme telephotoj
T
T
L
Rennert, N. -C, Dec. 18 U.R
Workers manning giant cranes
and using acetylene torches cut
their way inch-by-inch tonight
into the wreckage of three twist
ed coaches believed to hold the
last unrecovered bodies of vic
tims of the double wreck of two
Atlantic Coast Line New York
Florida trains which killed 72
and possibly 82 pre-hollday trav
elers and injured nearly 150.
The 72 known dead Included
51 members of the armed serv
ices and 21 civilians, of whom 14
had .been identified some 65
hours after the wreck.
In addition, Major F. F. Sny
der, Maxton army air base of-
ficer in charge of military casu-
alties, said 10 WAVE enlisted
women known to have been on
the train were unaccounted for
and believed trapped In the three
coaches that had not been
worked on before today,
It was expected to be some
time tomorrow before wrecking
crews made enough progress to
locate and extricate any victims
whose bodies may be in the un
opened coaches.
London, Dec. 19. (U.R) The
Sunday Dispatch said today that
President Roosevelt Is expected
to come to London for his next
conference with Prime Minister
Churchill, in order to spare the
ailing British leader the strain
of further travel.
The report printed on the
newspaper s front page, was
based on a dispatch from its
New York correspondent
War Bulletins
London, Dec. 18.' (U.R)
The German-controlled Paris
radio went off lh air shortly
after 5 tonight. Indicating pos
sible air raids on the conti
nent. RAF coastal command Beau
fighters, escorted by Typhoon
fightars, attacked a large Gar
man supply ship off the coast
of Brittany by daylight to
day. Two hits were scored
with torpedoes and the ship
was left afire. All planes re
turned. London, Dec. 11 (U.R) An
air alarm sounded In the Lon
don area tonight at 10:45 p. m.
All-clear sounded shortly after
ward and no Incidents were
reported.
'Chungking, Dec. It. (U.R)
Chinese forces have recap
tured more than 10 strategic
villages .In the "rice bowl"
area of central China and
smashed a Japanese counter
attack northeast of Changteh,
killing more than 400 enemy
troops, the Chinese high com
mand announced tonight.
The communique said fierce
fighting was continuing In the
outskirts of Ansiang and Nan
shien, Japanese strongholds on
the northwest shore ot Lake
Tungtlng.
tAcmm Teleohoto)
da. men tha old saying, and Mrt
her recent tour of New Zealand shi.
Stockholm, Dec. 18 (U.R)
The Swedish government an
nounced today that lt had for
mally warned Germany that
further deterioration" in the
relations between the two coun
tries "cannot be avoided" unless
the Reich abandoned its plan to
deport 1200 interned Oslo uni
versity students and professors
to Germany. Dispatches from
Norway indicated that Berlin
was backing down.
The Swedish communique, re-
emphasizing Stockholm's natur
al concern over Nazi actions in
Scandinavia, said the note in
which Is replied to German For
eign Minister Joachim von Rib-
(AnfMMa kmantia rfnmnnrl tt
Ibentrop's brusque demand of
uec. o mat Etweaen cease inter-
fcring in German-Norwegian af
fairs, was sent last Thursday.
Possibility that the Swedish
stand may have forced Ger
many's hand was seen In
Swedish dispatch from Oslo yes
terday reporting that 600 of the
arrested university students
have been released from the
Stavern concentration camp.
The dispatch quoted well-in
formed sources In Oslo as saying
that It was expected that almost
all of those Interned after a fire
Nov. 27 in the university assem
bly hall, which the Germans
charged was sabotage, would be
freed before Christmas,
IS LABORS' PLAN
London. Dec. 18 (U.R) The
governing body of the Interna-
tional Labor Organization, to an
accompaniment of reminders of
world hopes pinned on the Unit
ed Nations' post-war social bet
terment plans, today arranged
the agenda for next year's ILO
conference at which a "social
mandate" will be laid down.
At the same time, Chinese
government representatives ini
tiated a movement to have So
viet Russia, which has been ex
cluded from the ILO since lt
withdrew from the League of
Nations, brought back into the
organization in time for the con
ference, The Belgian delegates
enthusiastically applauded the
suggestion.
(By United Press)
' Nazi propaganda minister Jos
eph Goebbels, attempting to re
vive his old theme of divide and
conquer, says In the current Is
sue of Das Reich that President
Roosevelt, unlike Wood row Wil
son, "will not let the British out-
maneuver him," and that the
British empire will crumb!
with the U, S. and soviet Rus
sia gobbling up the pieces.
According to a Berlin broad
cast of the article titled "The
Phony Colossus," recorded In
New York by tha United Press,
even England itself will be "In
herited later on" by the U. S.
ALLIES PIERCE
OF ITALIAN LINE
Heavy Battle Raging to
Force Germans to New
Defense Positions.
Allied Headauarters. Algiers. -
Dec. 18. (U.PJ Allied troops, in
fierce armored and street bat
tles, have smashed into the out
skirts of key Nazi defense
strongholds on both sides of
the Italian front, it was an
nounced today as the Germans
threw reinforcements from Rus
sia into their sagging lines.
bpearheaded by American
shock troops, Lt. Gen. Mark W,
Clark's Fifth army broke into
the thick defenses of San Pietro
Just north of the Rome road,
and Gen. Sir B. L. Montgomery's
New Zealanders battled into Or
sogna'a streets on the Adriatic
front after knocking out 13
Nazi tanks.
Heavy fighting was reported
still raging for both towns, Al
lied capture of which would al- .
most certainly force the Ger
mans to fall back to new defense
positions on each sector. .
Eight miles north of San
Pietro, another American spear
head captured the mountain
village of Lagone, situated at
2,000 feet two miles west of
Filignano, after beating off
sharp counterattacks.
Only In the center of tha
front did the Nazis' desperate
resistance pay off when Ameri
can troops made slight with
drawals in the area of San Vln '
cento, six miles below Alfedena,
under the pressure of heavy and
sustained counterblows.
With their defenses thus be
ing systematically undermined,
the Germans sent into action
new division, the Fifth Moun
tain. division, which ' arrived
only recently in Italy from Rus
sia and is the 14th enemy out. ,
fit to be Identified In the Italian
fighting. '
Members of tha -new German
division were captured in. the.
fighting for San Pietro, which
now was virtually surrounded
by American troops who at
tacked relentlessly from tha
south, east and north.
London, Dee. 18. (U.R)
Prime Minister Winston Churc
hill's temperature and lung ln-
flammatlon are subsiding, an of
ficial bulletin said tonight IndU
eating that the British war lead
er had passed the crisis in hit
fight against pneumonia some
where In the middle east.
A statement Issued by No. 10
Downlg street, the prime mini
ster's official residence, at 3:30
p. m. said:
"There has been some irregu
larity of pulse but the tempera-,
ture Is subisiding and the pneu
monia resolving."
Most authorities were encour
aged by the optimistic tone of
the bedside bulletin, agreeing
that it mean Churchill had
passed the crisis and might be
an '.'ambulatory patient" within
a week or so.
YULE VACATION
Washington, Dec. 18 (U.R)
Congress In a last-minute burst
of speed cleared away its most
pressing emergency legislation
today and voted to adjourn for
Christmas on Tuesday until Jan
uary 10.
As members scrambled on to
the vacation bandwagon, Rep.
Hatton W. Sumners, D.t Tex,
urged them In a floor speech to
remind the folks back home dur
ing the holidays that "there la
only one Job facing the nation
to win the war."
In an unusual Saturday ses
sion, the house and senate sent
to the White House legislation
temporarily extending food sub
sidies until Feb. 17 and passed
a 8200,000.000 deficiency appro
priation bill.
NO PAPER DEC. 28
In order to conserve paper
under the government's ra
tioning program, the Mail
Tribune will not publish on
Sunday, December 26.