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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1944)
Mb I MIT m)& InJiyJN fi MEDFORD United Press Thirty-ninth Year Bradley's Yanks Open RAIL JUNCTION OF AIL TAKEN Advances to Northwest Al most Complete Encircle ment of LaHaye-DuPuits . Allied Supreme Headquarters, London, July 7 (U.R) Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley started a new American offensive on the mid Normandy front north of St. Lo today where his assault forces . ured t"- rail June" n of Airel and stormed across the Vire r'ver for advances of more than a mile. Other American forces to the northwest almost completed the encirclement of La Haye-du Puits, narrowing to two and a half miles the gap between the t -ngs of an enveloping arc, and a headquarters spokesman said it is "now only a matter of time" until the town falls. At the eastern end of the French battlefront, British pa tiols thrust Into the dock area of Caen and found it deserted, giving rise to speculation that the Germans might be with drawing from the great inland port, the most stubbornly de fended objective of the Norman dy campaign so far. The new United States offen sive some eight miles above St. Lo was aimed squarely at the highway hub of St. Jean-de Daye, some two miles west of the Vire. Front dispatches re ported violent fighting at close quarters in the vicinity of the town. Hjnr T. Gorrell, United Press correspondent on the new ly opened front, said the offen sive was launched at dawn after the greatest artillery barrage of the French campaign had dazed the Germans and eased the Job of doughboys who swarmed across the river in collapsible boats. v Gorrell said the troops were "making good progress in the region of St. Jean" at mldafter noon. They were supported strongly by allied planes and artillery hammering the Ger man positions in their path. TO VHERANSJARTY A real, old-fashinned hay ride party is the special treat ihis evening for a group of men from the Western Personnel Reassign ment Center Camp White, and topping this Is the promise of an lntrodu'-tion to the glamorous movie star, Ginger Rogers, for the ride is to end with a camp fire supper at the Rogers' ranch above Eagle Point. Miss Rogers has been at the ranch for the part twi weeks for a rest and is leaving tomorrow to return to southern California. The hay ride, on wagons loaned by C-. C. Hoover. Rt. .4. has been arranged for 50 men. ail recently returned from over seas duly, and they will have as partners 50 voung women of the valley. Guita's. accordions and other musical Instruments will provide a background for songs and a very gala evening is antici pated bv the party. Miss Rogers has promised to Join the group for a time during the evening. The star, accompanied by her secretarv. Miss Penny Pascoe, arrived at the ranch two weeks ago in order that Miss Rogers might rest after completing ' Double Furlough" lor ScUoick. Full Leased Wire Holman Weds Lundeen's Widow I. wmm Mrs Norma Ward Lundeen, widow of V. S. Senator Ernest Lundecn of Minnesota, and Senator Rutus C. Holman (R., Ore.), pictured after their wedding in Minneapolis. They plan to proceed to Oregon by auto. Pathway to Life Offered Japs Still on Saipan Isle FATHER TO DIE SAME DEATH HE VISITED ON SON Pittsfield, Mass., July 7 (U.R) Still protesting his innocence, Socialite John F. Noxon. Jr., was sentenced today to die in the electric chair the same form of death which he dealt to his six-month-old imbecile son Lawrence last Sept. 22. No date was set for the ex ecution. The crippled Noxon, 47, standing with the support of two canes, flushed as Lourt Clerk Irene Mason, whom he had known since childhood, asked if there was any reason why the mandatory sentence of death should not be im posed. Firmly and stolidly, noxon answered: "I want to repeat again what I said on the witness stand: I did not kill my son, I am Inno cent of this terrible charge." In convicting the lawyer-de fendant, the Jury rejected his explanation of Baby Lawrence's electrocution as an accident, In favor of the prosecution's charge that Noxon deliberately killed the mentally-defective child on an improvised electric chair rigged up with a metal sandwich tray and a trouble cord In the library of his $45,000 home in suburban Pittsfield last Sept. 22. U. A. L. MAN HERE W P. Mclntvre. United Air lines station manager at Salem, is in Medford today on business, conferring with Jack Myers, local United Airlines manager. Mclntyre expects to leave to morrow. SIDE GLANCES Br TRIBUNE REPORTERS Main street motorists wishing some city employee would notice that the traffic signals are "off schedule." Eva Segessman offering to buy a lollypop for a kind ration board worker. State Police Sarge Willard Ruch receiving some good news for none in return, . MEDFORD, OREGON, A, m Talanhntnl By Rembert James Representing the Combined Allied Press. Distributed by United Press. Aboard Joint Expeditionary Force Flagship pff Saipan, July 7. (East Longitude Time) (U.R) (Via Navy Radio American military forces opened a path way to life today for the ten to fifteen thousand Japanese civil ians still hiding out on Saipan Island, while American troops I moved ahead to deliver the leath Llow to the shattered and bat'.lc-bcnumbed Jap garrison. By declaration of American commanders, a single highway was designated as the road to .urrender for civilians, almost 7000 of whom already have been i terned. The rest, including Saipan business owners, insular govern ment officials and white collar workers with their families, ha.e cowered in hiding places in the hills and cancbrakes on northern Siipan. By word of mouth, and by pamphlets dropped from air p!. nes and shot from mortars, the Americans offered water, fcod and complete safety to thos who accept. Marines Push On Meantime, marines and army forces pushed In to destroy the remnants of the defending forces under circumstances in which none could doubt that the em' of military operations was !n sight. The Japanese were penned 1 to the space at the northern tip of the Island extending roughly two miles In each direc tion except for a slim area from Marpl Point at the northern end down the western coast toward Tanapag harbor. The Japanese already had lost everything of value on Saipan except the Marpl Point airfield, where most of their troops ap parently have chosen to die at the base of a sheer cliff 600 feet high with saw-toothed edges a rugged and weird setting for their doomsday. laps Hold Pocket Today .hey still held an en trenched pocket on the west coast, but were under heavy at tack by 27th army division troops there, while marines pushed on northward. The Americans on the other hand held probably nine-tenths of the island, Including the im- Iportant Iscly (formerly Aslito) airport, the town of Garapan and the harbor of Tanapag, as well as the island's highest peak Mt. Tapotchau. FRIDAY, JULY 7, 1944. Drive North of 24 KILLED WHEN IS E Six Cars Plunge Down 150 Foot Bank in Tennessee; Flames Consume 2 Cars. Jellico, Tenn.. July 7 (U.R) Rescue workers, cutting with welding torches into one of six coaches of a speeding troop train which spilled into a mountain gorge 12 miles north of here last night, reported today that they could see "seven or eight" life less forms inside the car, Indi cating that the death toll would go to at least 24. Six cars of the Louisville and Nashville sleeper plunged from the tails Just after rounding a curve and hurtled headlong down the sheer 150-foot bank of the canyon. Seventeen previous deaths were announced 15 sol diers and two trainmen -rand over 100 were- injured, many critically. Coaches Hold Dead Every Implement from weld ing torches and heavy equipment to old-fashioned cold chisels was being utilized in an effort to pry open the steel coach in which the other bodies were said to be located. ... Some of those killed were at dinner, others were sleeping or preparing for bed in the train's washroom. Scattered clothing made identification difficult. The train was reportedly carrying 1,000 troops who had Just completed basic training and were en route from Cincin nati to Knoxville 70 miles south of the wreck. One soldier said he had just finished eating when the crash came. He thought that the fire that had consumed the diner started in the kitchen. The bag gage car also was consumed by flames which gave rescuers their first light to work by. In the eerie light doctors and nurses passed among the injured, ad ministering precious blood plasma to the most seriously hurt. Two soldiers were pinned In a car, one of whom kept scream ing: "Please get me out or let me die." London, July 7 (U.R) The Berlin radio said today that Rus sian troops scored a break through below Kowel In lower Poland In powerful thrusts de scribed by the Nazis as likely to foreshadow a major Red army offensive on the southern front. Ernst Von Hammer, DNB radio commentator, In acknowl edging the Soviet break-through west of Luck, which Is 42 miles southeast of Kowel, added the customary propaganda claim that the wedge was "eliminated by counterattack." Fighting was widespread In the Kowel-Luck-Tarnopol area of lower Poland, the Berlin broadcast said, and of such an intensity as to indicate a brew ing general offensive. Other Nazi broadcasts ack nowledged major reverses In the main sectors of the eastern battlefront. They admitted that the Russians had driven to the outskirts of Barnowicze in a drive against the strategic gap In the westward Invasion route, and said the Germans had pulled back to new positions before Wilno. Tribune United Press Gov.' Dewey Opens Conferences With Congress Leaders Albany, N. Y., July 7 (U.R) Governor Thomas E. Dewey be gan s seri-!s -f conferences with Republican congress' mal lead ei today to discuss the issues of his campaign for the presi dency. The governor said he plans to c'jta'n the views of as many R3publican congressmen as pos sible and, at the same time, offer his Jvn ideas on important problems fa(' g the country. Dewey talked with Senator Arthur Vandenbcrg of Michigan on foreign policy for two hours at the executive mansion last night, Indicating that interna ls nal -ffalrs will play an im port mt part in his drive to oust ihe Democratic administration in Washington. Vandnberg, Republican ex pert on foreign policy, said he and the governor were in com plete accord and that the GOP porition c uld be stated In 10 words: "We intend t preserve Amer ica nd cooperate with the world." JAPAN TO FACE mini UC IDLU, By United Press Harder blows against Japan's Inner defenses and along the road back to the Philippines were disclosed today as British Prime Minister Win-Jon Church ill and MaJ. Gen; Claire L. Chen nault, .ommander of the 14th U. S. air force in China, pro mised the full might of the Unit ed Nations will - be turned aga'ist the Japanese after the war in Europe. Admiral Chester W. Nlmitz. in a revised report of U. S. task force strikes into the Bonin end Volcano Islands, 650 miles from Tokyo, announced Ameri can airmen probably sank 12 Japanese vessels and destroyed of damaged 113 planes Monday and Tuesday. Nlmitz disclosed for he first time that Chichi Jiml In the Uonins was among the targets blasted. Two task force air groups raided Chichi Jiml, one attacking the Island proper and the other raiding Japanese ship ping 80 miles northwest of the it land. Roosevelt Fends Questions On Political Expectations Washington, July 7 -J(U.R) President Roosevelt was pep pered with political questions at his news conference today, but wouldn't give any Information. He said the answers probably would be evident some time around next November or may bo this month (the democratic convention meets July 19.) Meeting for the first time with reporters since the republican party nominated Thomas E. Dewey of New York for presi dent, Mr. Roosevelt faced a bar rage of political questions. "Have you found a candidate for vice-president yet?" he was asked. This, the president said, sound ed like an unfriendly question. He declined with a smile to an swer it. He then was asked whether he had reached the point In his political plans where he could say something definite about re ports that he would make a statement before the democratic convention opens. The president said he did not have the faintest Idea, that he had not thought of it. Another reporter wanted to know what views Mr. Roosevelt, Full Leased Wire NO. 90. St. Lo CONFERENCE OF F. R..DEGAULLE Talks Expected to Produce Friendly Working Under standing With French. Washington. July 7 U.R) President Roosevelt and Gen. Charles De Gaulle began a se ries of business talks today In an atmosphere of harmony which officials hoped would produce j a friendly and efficient working understanding between this country and the French commit tee of national liberation. Mr. Roosevelt earlier hadi ruled out any discussion of Al lied recognition of De Gualle's committee as the provisional government of France. But he told his news conference that the heretofore controversial question of government In liber ated areas of France would be taken up frankly. . Victory Seen in '44 The limitation on the scope of their talks appeared to be agreeable to De Gaulle or at least he was Reconciled to It. In a morning round of activities he did not refer to his committee as the . provisional government of France but did stress American French interdependence and the aid this country has provided In arming and equipping French soldiers. At receptions given him by French missions here, De Gaulle disclosed that "the French army; will participate soon in new battles" and predicted that the Germans would be defeated in France by the end of this year. He said American assistance would be needed in the recon struction of France after the Nazis are beaten. BASEBALL American Detroit 19 1 New York 3 8 0 ( Overmire, Gentry and Swift; Bonnam ana uaroarn. Most of America's rubber Is actually stored In the nation's garages over a million tons of it. "as head of the democratic party," had about the 1944 plat form as to what it should contain and whether It should be short or long. The president replied that he was not writing any platforms. The question, "Would you care to say whether you think Gov. Dewey will be a strong op ponent?" produced a roar of laughter In which the chief ex ecutive Joined. Instead of answering, he said he was making notes for history on the procedure and methods of White House correspondents. He said he wanted to know how the reporters worked out the method of asking him questions of this type, and whether they draw lots. I "Do you mean you don't want to answer the question?" the re porter persisted. The president shook his head, chiding the reporter, a woman, for being a I'ollyanna and a cheerful little girl. "When, sir, do you think we will get the answer to questions of this type?" he was asked again. The president grinned and said probably some time around November. Sasebo, Arsenal Site, Yawata Steel Center, Are Bomber Targets Washington, July 7. (U.R) American superfortresses today blasted at the great Japanese home naval base of Sasebo and for the second time hit Industrial plants at Yawata, target of the first B-29 attack on Japan three weeks ago. The war department in a brief communique said the giant bombers of the 20th air force "attacked naval installations at Sasebo" and added later that "bombs were dropped also on In dustrial objectives at Yawata." Both targets are on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's major home Islnds. Sasebo is reputedly the third greatest naval arsenal and base in the Japanese homeland, and Yawata Is the site of the empire's biggest steel mills. Bombed Three Weeks Ago The attack reported today came Just three weeks and a day after the June 29 attack which left large portions of the Imperial Iron and steel works at Yawata a smoking ruin. From that first raid, four superfortresses failed to return. Two were lost because of accidents, one was shot down by enemy antiaircraft fire, and a fourth was reported missing. Today's communique did not mention U. S. losses, if any. The planes probably were still over Japan, in fact, when the communi que was issued. The attack on Sasebo was designed as a powerful thrust at one of the great sources of Japanese naval strength at a time when U. S. sea forces have been giving many of its elements a severe battering and daring the whole enemy fleet to come out and fight. This is undoubtedly a period when Japan sorely needs her fleet repair facilities. The raid also was timed as American marines and soldiers are completing the conquest of Saipan island in a flank attack de signed ultimately to threaten the Japanese homeland itself. Task Forces Hammering Bases Powerful U. S. naval task forces have been hammering at Japanese air and sea strength in the western Pacific and only re cently chased a powerful unit of the enemy's grand fleet back Into the relative safety of Philippine waters after Inflicting heavy air and surface craft losses upon it. Sasebo Is about 30 miles north of the port and shipbuilding city of Nagasaki, a U. S. naval publication In 1930 described It as a closed port and naval station with a dockyard, drydocks, repair basins, arsenal and moorings for a large fleet. The war department's communique, as revised to Include the second attack on Yawata, follows: "B-29 superfortresses of the 20th bomber command attacked naval Installations at Sasebo, Japan, tonight. Industrial Objectives Are Hit "Bombs were dropped also on industrial objectives at Yawata, target of the superfortresses' June 15 assault on Japan. Both cities are on the Island of Kyushu." Further details of the new attack were expected after the giant bombers return to their bases. It was presumed the new raids were carried out by superfort resses based in western China, as was the case with the first raid last month. The bombers took off and landed by daylight, but were over me target auring darkness in the first raid, and that probably was the case again. On the June 15 raid the big American bombers were opposed both by night fighters and anti-aircraft fire. It was reasonable to assume that greater opposition might be encountered In this In stance, both because the Japanese were forewarned by the first raid and because the attack was directed at a military Installation. Jap Coast In Three Naval Districts The Japanese coast Is divided Into three naval districts, each having its naval port. One Is Sasebo and the others are Yokosuka and Kure, At each of these ports there is an arsenal and the general equip ment of a naval base. The Japanese army likewise has Its own air service and shore base at Sasebo. Marx Law has filed on 123 placer claims In the Woodruff Meadows area of the Prospect district, according to the rec ords of the county clerk's office. The filings embrace 32.000 acres, including a portion of the Crater Lake highway and tlm ber lands. Forty tons of min ing equipment have been trans ported to Prospect from Reno, and as much more will bo shipped In, according to tlestnn Grieve of Prospect. The equip ment, he said, Is stored at Pros pect. It Is proposed to mine for gold, platinum, and other min erals. Karl L. Janouch, supervisor of Rogue Nntlonal Forest re ports some of the filings were made several years ago, and re newed recently along with some new ones. There Is flake gold in the area, according to Janouch, but he said a mineral ogist report to the forest serv ice shows it is not in paying quantities. RETURN EXPECTED Albany, Cal., July 7 (U.R) Clarence Ford, 26, and George Crawford, 34. ex-convicts, es caped yesterday from Albany Jail, but left note asking that their mall be held for them at the Jail. !E) IN NAZI CELLAR Rome, July 7 flJ.R) Allied military authorities today per mitted the disclosure that a huge cache of explosives has been dis covered in a secret cellar on the grounds of the German embassy In Rome. The explosives apparently were being used by Nazi sabo teurs who remained in the cap ital after the German evacuation to attack Allied military instal lations. Between June 8 and 23, lt wai disclosed, 1400 pounds of plas tic explosives, a large quantity of other explosives and material for five radio transmitters were removed from the embassy In the presence of a representative of the Swiys minister. BOMBERS ATTACK HEART! REICH London, July 7 (U.R) Fleets of American heavy bombers es timated at more than 1,500 strong made a two-way attack on the heart of Germany today from bases in the British Isles and Italy, setting off wild aerial battles in which Eighth Air Force fighters destroyed 79 enemy planes.
