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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1944)
V am o) d) 0) i KI o)fo)(g m y Weather yorecait! Gltartr tonlcht and Thursday, but foi jy (n morn ing; cold tonight; slightly warmer Thursday afternoon. Temp. Highest yeitorday 48 Lowest this morning 22 , Thirty-ninth Year Yanks Storm Last GEI DESPERATE FIGHT Last Mile Promises To Be Tough, Bloody . As De fenders Throw In Troops v '. Paris, Nov. 15 U.R) Amer Y lean troops today stormed a spiny ridge 2000 yards south of 'Metz, the last natural defense line before : the city, and the Germans threw reinforcements Into desperate action to stave off the fall of the massive fort ess as long as possible. Uniter Press correspondent Collie Small reported from out side 'Metz that the Americans were so close to Metz on the south this evening that they could hear its five o'clock fac tory whistles. i Last Mil Tough -The last mile to Metz, how , ever, promised to be tough and bloody, Small - reported, since truckloads of German troops came out of Metz to the perl meter defenses under cover of a swirling fog and joined the showdown battle. After Lt. Gen. George S. Fat ton's forces had seized three more major outposts of Metz and i narrowed the Nazi escape cor- ridor to seven miles, a 7:30 p. m.' report from the front said the situation was "generally un changed." ' To the north the British 2nd army advanced five miles from its starting line In the new of fensive in southeast Holland. The British found only light resistance as -the Germans fell back to the last canal line cov ering the approaches - to ' the Maas and the German frontier. . Withdrawal Seen At supreme headqquarters it began to appear, that Gen. D wight D. Eisenhower's mount ing winter offensive had moti vated a German withdrawal to the Siegfried defence zone along a 200-mile front from Weert in Holland to the Vosges. Troops of the 10th infantry regiment of MaJ. Gen. Stafford L. Irwin's 5th division .tangled with the Germans on' the ridge a little more than a mile below Metz. The Germans were de fending it from an intricate system of machine gun nests. "This afternoon I drove into the village of Pouilly, south of Metz, by mistake, and found myself looking down into the smoky city," Small reported. "A few hundred yards ahead of Pouilly,. which was captured yesterday but cleaned out com pletely only this morning, Amer ican shells pumped into a con' verted factory serving as a Ger man barracks and a strong point holding up our advance." Meanest Man Gives False Death Notice Evansville, Ind., Nov. 15 U,R) The meanest man in the world was sought .here today. He is the practical joker who telephoned parents of service men that their sons were re ported missing or killed in ac tion. .... The hoax was - discovered. Western 'Union Manager Walter Schuler reported, when one of the victims called the company to see if there were any addi tional details. , SIDE GLANCES By , TRIBUNE REPORTERS Gladys Rice deciding not to ask any more questions about ar ticles in antique shops. Cole Holmes solving the dg aret shortage by hunting up a long-unused pipe, but wishing someone else would smoke it so he could enjoy the smell of the smoke. Maurice Spatx, the fruit ty coon, revealing a hidden chapter in his paw: (He was a newspaper man in his younger days J - Medford United Planfull Uwd Wire Closing the . liiaiiilMMcMf i w 74 amL MehUMJAAItlUCKIM )) -Mmflf XJ- GERMANY j tJM s' si Jf iyifcj; ( FRANCE j rf'" U. S. Third Army troops narrowed German escape corridor from Metz to 12 miles or less and ripped another bole In Nazi's Moselle River line. Yanks are reported to have captured tint of .Mets torts rimming city. Berlin savs Yanks have driven to Thlonvule, by-passed stronghold oa west bank of Mosella. KILLED IN LEYTE Allied Headquarters, Philip pines, Nov. 15-U.R) Frank Prist, Jr., war correspondent for Acme News Pictures, Inc.,, and one :of .the .first. J 8. .newspaper men to arrive in the southwest Pacific . area from the United States after Pearl Harbor, was killed instantly Sunday by. a Japanese sniper bullet through his heart. Prist, who had covered almost every campaign in this theater and who had photographed Gen. Douglas MacArthur more often than any other camera man. had gone into the front lines in west ern Leyte to picture the advance of the 24th division south along the Pinamopoan-Ormoc road. After taking a series of photo graphs, he climbed into his jeep narked beside the road oniy about 300 yards behind Ameri can forward elements and start ed the engine to return to Mac- Arthur's headquarters. A single shot rang out and Prist crumpled over the wheel, -the jeep turn ing backward into a muddy ditch. BOL " Rome, Nov. 15 (U.R) British troops of the 8th army battled through increasing German op position today to reach within five and a half miles of Faenza, the next important junction point on the main highway to Bologna. The British were moving on both sides of the highway in a converging drive on Faenza and a communique noted that the Germans were putting up stiff resistance as they backed to ward the road Junction, 30 miles east of Bologna. Convention Seeks .Establishment Of , Irrigation Policy Denver, Nov. 15 U.FD The 13th annual convention of the National Reclamation association here was asked today to esiao lish a sound policy that would ha "eaually applicable" to all reclamation projects throughout the west. The reauest was made by F. O. Hagie, secretary-manager of the association, after ne poimea out that a "difficult" technical question had developed on the Central Valley reclamation pro ject in California. Hagle told the convention that the question was whether the 16 acre land limitation clause of the federal reclamation act should apply to supplemental water projects in areas where farm pattern nas long been established. MEDFORD, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1944 Ridge Before Metz Circle . MANfcHEIM (Acme Telephoto) Herder Grabs Tail Of Cougar; Lives To Tell About It Riggins, Ida., Nov. 15 ttl.R) Harvey Arbuckle grabbed a cougar by the tail and lived to tell the tale. A sheepherder on a ranch in the wild Salmon river coun try, Arbuckle came upon the cougar unexpectedly and shot 4t three times. Thinking it was. dead, he grabbed his axe and prepared to skin the critter. But it turned on him, knocked the axe from his hands and battled the sheepherder until he regained the axe for the knockout, blow. The hide brought a $15 bounty. . TO BUY SANELY Washington, Nov. 15 (U.R) Government officials, dismissing as "completely impractical" the rationing of cigarets, today urg ed harried smokers to "buy sanely"' and help assure more equitable distribution of short civilian supplies. - OPA Chief Chester Bowles said that "scare reports" of short ages, rather than an actual scar city, were largely responsible for the dearth of cigarets that is reaching alarming proportions in many sections of the country, Washington, Nov. 15 (U.R) Adm. Jonas H. Ingram today re lieved Adm. Royal E. Ingersoll as commander-in-chief of the U. S. Atlantic fleet in a ceremony at the Washington navy yard. Ingersoll has been appointed commander of the western, sea frontier. Decision Expected Soon On Trials For Kimmel, Short Washington, Nov. 15 4U.R) Rear Admiral Husband E. Kim mel and MaJ. Gen. Walter C. Short either will be cleared of charges in connection with the Pearl Harbor disaster or ordered to face a court-martial some time before December 7, relia ble congressional sources said today. - Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Secretary of Navy James V. Forrestal already have received detailed repore from boards and, according to au thoritative information, will be ready to announce a decision in the next few weeks. The decision, it was said, either will order court-martial trials for Kimmel and Short or clear them of any responsibil ity for failure to take proper precaution in the attack which cost 3000 lives and severe losses to the American fleet ' - In either case it might be unnecessary for congress to ex tend the time limitation under which . tha two officers, who E SOFTEN! Carrier Planes Destroy 14 Jap Vessels And Many Planes In Latest Bombing By United Press Another major blow In a ! campaign to soften up Luzon for ultimate American invasion was seen today in a carrier aircraft raid which destroyed 14 Japan ese vessels and 158 to 168 enemy planes in the Manila area. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz an nounced that fighters, torpedo planes and dlvebombers from Pacific fleet task forces struck at the main Japanese base in the Philippines Sunday, blowing up two destroyers and leaving 11 cargo vessels a n d oil tankers sinking or aflame. . Tokyo Unconfirmed ' Tokyo reported that American carrier planes attacked the Ma nila area again Monday, but there was no official confirma tion'. American invasion forces In the central Philippines 350 miles to the south threatened to en velope 35,000 desperately resist ing Japanese troops on north west Leyte with .a pincers drive about the enaW's ; sea ButiaiX base of Ormoc. - The task force raid on Manila was the second this month and presumably others will follow on a mounting scale as the in vasion draws nearer. In addition to -destroying the ships, the attackers torpedoed a floating drydock and scored hits On docks in Manila and at the Cavite navy yard. Impress Civilians Tokyo, recognizing that Luzon soon may become a battle ground, announced that all Ma nila residents between 18 and 50 years would be compelled to de fend Japanese military installa tions, harbors, roads and fac tories in the capital area when the "necessity arises." Gen. Douglas MacArthur's air forces set fire to a 4,000 -ton freighter northwest of Minda nao, started fires at Cebu and droDDed 36 tons of bombs on an airfield on Negros island. Other American planes sank a small vessel in the northern Palaus, bombed a Yap airstrip and raid ed the Bonin islands. SHAKESPEARES DIVORCED Reno. Nev. 15 (U.R) William Shakespeare was divorced in the Washoe county court here today but records failed to reveal where there was any connec tion, other than similarity of names, with the bard oi Avon Mrs. Dorothea Shakespeare was granted the Nevada decree on the ground of extreme cruelty. were in command at Pearl Har bor when the Japanese struck, may be ordered held for trial. The present extension of the statue of limitations In their cases expires December 7 and a renewal had been looked upon as one of the "must" pieces of legislation to be considered in the short congressional session opening yesterday. .Prior to adjournment in Sep tember, Republican house mem bers charged on the floor that the administration was afraid to make -public the whole story of the disastrous attack because President Roosevelt was to blame. They declared that Kim mel and Short either should be vindicated or tried. In almost dally speeches, Re publicans demanded that the story of Pearl Harbor be brought out and the blame fixed. Sev eral charges were made that Mr. Roosevelt would not be elected to a fourth, term if the people knew what had hap pened. , - Lad Admits Trunk Story 7 , David Bourbonnals, 8 (left) Is shown In a Long Beach hospital following 'zeleaia from a trailer trunk In which ha claimed ha was locked for seven days by a playmate. Ha later ad mitted his story was a hoax to cover up his "bumming around" arid abience from school. Oh right, little James Bourbonnals crawls Into the trunk showing how his brother was sup posedly confined. i. German Reins Hitler Raving "London' Nbv'.IS-ttm Re ports from the continent said to day that .Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler had become undisputed leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler was a raving madman at Berch- tesgaden, and an incipient anti war revolt had been halted at Cologne. '-' ' - Informed . sources in Madrid said Himmler apparently had seized the nazi party reins from the hands of Hitler, who was given to pacing the floors of his Berchtesgaden retreat "like mad lion," ranting with tear-filled eyes that "Germany will win the war," " Nerves Shot Non-Spanish diplomatic sources in Madrid believed Hit ler's mind was gone and his nerves shot as a result of the crisis in the war and the report ed rise of Himmler to power. A welling tide of reports re garding Hitler's infirmities and the change in leadership of the nazi party lacked official con firmation . and German propa gandists gave no definite hint of crucial developments in the reich. Travelers reaching , Switzfer- FATAL FOR BOY New York, Nov. 15 (U.R) A 2V4-year-old boy died early to day as a result of what police said was a brutal pummeling last night from his father, an A. W. O. L. sailor, who told de tectives he was annoyed because the child "dirtied" the floor. Police said the sailor, Leon Youkowskl, 27, first told them the child had fallen through manhole, but later signed statement that he had beaten him with his fist and thrown him in a closet. The child, Francis, was one of two children by Youkowski's common law wife. Betty, 25, who was held as a materail wit ness. LANCASTERS PLASTER SYNTHETIC OIL PLANT London, Nov. 15 (U.R) A force of British Lancasters bombers attacked a synthetic oil plant at Dortmund In Germany i Ruhr valley today. RECORD SALMON RUN Sacramento, Cal., Nov, 15 (U.P.) Officials of the U. S. bu reau of reclamation today re ported a record salmon run in the Sacramento river with ' a total value of (1,400,000. Tribute United Press Full Now in Himmler's Hands. Madman, Travelers Declare iand-fronv "Germany- said' that part of the residents of heavily bombed Cologne came out pub licly, against Germany continu ing the war. The gestapo struck swiftly, and hanged 21 persons "yesterday alone" as a warning. The Swiss dispatches said the entire Rhineland was in a state of dangerous tension, with its transport system in "complete chaos" and workers getting out of hand. Control Chang Seen The authoritative British Press Association said official circles in London were convinced that control of Germany had slipped from Hitler's faltering hands into those of Himmler with the result Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 15 (U.R) Nine-year-old David Bour bonnals was a fallen hero today, his story of having been locked in a narrow trailer trunk for seven days without food or water an admitted hoax. . But the true story of how he spent the week "bumming around" was almost as incredi ble as the fiction he Invented about his ordeal Inside the trunk. He spent the seven days In the vicinity of his home in the Los Cerrltos trailer camp, vlr- tually.under the nose of tne navy patrols, police and Boy Scouts who were searching for him, he said. They thought maybe I'd been drowned," he said at Seaside hospital naval clinic where he's still living in the lap oi luxury. But his 48 hours of glory was over and Juvenile authorities had only the problem of a reprimand. Couple Had Power To Cast Deciding Ballot At Mariel Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pad dock, now visiting in Medford, had the power to swing the presidential election in Mariel, isolated settlement on the Lower Rogue River, a precinct of twenty-two voters. Instead, they chose to cancel each others' vote.' leaving the i results the same, with Roose velt winning by one vote. The final count was Roosevelt 10, Dewey 9. There were three non voters. Mr. and Mn. Paddock are visiting Mrs. Pansy Calder of 107 King street. Uuid Wiit - 1.0. 201. Invented Mem. Telephoto) that the yelcb, will fight to the "last gasp, regnrcuess oi me cost. Officials who have sifted all reliable evidence reaching Brit ain from Germany see little or no chance of a revolution with in the country and no prospect of an early surrender, such as oc curred in 1918, to preserve the reich from destruction, Frank King, the agency's diplomatic correspondent, said. The diplomatic correspondent of the Time, frequently used as a- sounding board for govern ment opinion, also said there "no longer seems any doubt" that Himmler is acting leader of Germany. "Hitler has been shut off from active work through illness," the Times said, "and Himmler has extended his great power and now there is none to challenge him." The Times said Roichsmarshal Hermann Goerlng, Hitler's desig nated successor, also may be' ill, John Dallaire Wins Promotion On Battlefield John Dallaire, son of Mr. and Mrs. Adalard Dallaire, 926 Park avenue, has received a battle field promotion from 1st sergeant to second lieutenant, according to word received here. Lt. Dal laire, an artilleryman in the 91st division, was promoted for put ting in a battalion survey while under fire of enemy small arms and self-propelled guns. He has been in Italy for the past six months and took part in the cap ture of Rome. Lt. Dallaire was employed at the First National Bank in Med ford, prior to entering the serv Ice. He was stationed at Camp wnite when the 91st division was in training there. High School Boy Gridiron Victim Rock Island, 111., Nov, 15 (U.R) Don Gregg, 17, died today of injuries received in a football game Monday between the re serve teams of Rock Island and Davenport, la., high schools. Gregg, an end, was carried irom tne Held after he was struck in the stomach during the opening play of the game. British Submarines Get 24 Jap Vessels London, Nov. 15 (U.R) Brit ish submarines have sunk 23 Ja panese supply ships and an anti submarine vessel in far eastern wators, the admiralty announced today. CAPITAL'S DAYS Germans Reported Resisting Frantically Baltio ' Rem nants Being Finished Off London, Nov. 15 (U.R) Tha Soviet high command report ed tonight that Marshal Re dion Y. Mallnovsky's forces had captured Jassbereny, big rail and highway center 31 miles east of Budapest. Bulgarian and Yugoslav troops captured Skoplje, main transport hub in southern Yugoslavia 95 miles south of Nii, a Moscow communique reported. London, Nov. 15 (U.R) Rus' slan storm troops drove into tha southern suburbs of Budapest today and Moscow dispatches said the assault on the Hungar ian capital appeared to have en tered its final, decisive stage. Soviet front reports said Mar shal Rodion . Y. Mallnovsky's forces were pushing In over the northern and eastern approaches of Budapest to Join in the siege and were in full control of tha entire corridor between tha Danube and Tisza south of tha capital. ' Swarm" Across Danube The Russians were reported swarming across the Danube be low Budapest to Invest the city from the west, Moscow reported, adding that "the days of Buda pest again seem numbered." A front line dispatch relayed by Moscow reported the resump tion of violent fighting in East Prussia, where "the earth is quaking from explosions and tha sky is. aflame." The red army is marching forward to raise the victory ban ner over Berlin," the dispatch said. The Germans were report ed resisting fanatically, but there were signs of softening of re sistance in some sectors. Farther north, the soviet gov ernment newspaper Izvcstia re ported, the remnants of SO Ger man divisions pinned against tha Baltic in Latvia and Lithuania were being finished off-rapidly. Laggards Sabered Soviet accounts of the closa In on Budapest said Cossacks of the Don and Kuban Steppes ham mered at the heels of routed enemy units, chopping down tha laggards with sabers and throw ing the survivors into the Dan ube, already swollen with tha bodies of hundreds of Germans and Hungarians who sought to escape to the west. Dispatches told of Cossacks dismounting at the water's edge and sheltering behind their horses which were trained to lie down as their riders machine gunned foemen trying to swim across the Danube, STAINLESS STEEL Washington, Nov. 15 (U.R) An indictment charging 18 ma jor steel producers with con spiring to monopolize the na tion's $175,000,000-a-year stain less steel industry was returned today by a Trenton, N. J., fed eral grand Jury, the justice de partment announced. Six steel industry executives also were named defendants and eight organizations and one in dividual were named co-conspirators, the department said. The defendants included tha Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, a subsidiary of tha United States Steel Corp.; Alle gheny Ludlum Steel - Corp, Brackenrldge, Pa.; C r uclble Steel Co. of America, New York; Republic Steel Corp., Cleveland, and Bethlehem Steel Co., Beth lehem, Pa. Manufacturer Taken In Heavy Dice Game New York, Nov. 15 (U.R) A dice game early this year in the apartment of Leo (Lippy) Durocher, Brooklyn D o dger manager, in which an airplane parts manufacturer lost $18,500 to a top flight movie star Is un der investigation by District At torney Frank S. Hogan, it was learned today. The inquiry was started when the wife of ona of the players told Martin Shurin, Jr., presi dent of Hudson Aircraft com pany," that the screen star had swindled him on an unusual run of 13 straight passes with load ed dlca
