Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, December 07, 1944, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., December 07, 1944, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextBombing Of Manchuria Marks Pearl Harbor Anniversary Weather Forecast! Cloudy with drlixl nd tot tonliht and Friday; little chance In temperature. Temp. Highest yeiterday .... .. 40 Lowest thli morning 36 Preclp. Fuiday .02 Thirty-ninth Year WES PIERCE SIEGFRIED LINE FOR MILE GAIN Advanced Units Now Eight Miles Inside Germany Close In on Saarbrucken. Paris, Dec. 7 (U.R) American troops penetrated the Siegfried line .from a Saar river bridge head above Saarlautern today in a forward plunge of a mile which carried "advanced units eight miles inside Germany, the deepest invasion so far by the 3rd army. Brig. Gen. James A. Van Fleet'-s 90th infantry division drove the 3rd army's first wedge Into the 'vaunted nazi Westwall in an expansion of its bridge head across the Saar two and a half miles from Saarlautern. Clot On Saarbrucken - Other units of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's army were closing on Saarbrucken, industrial capital of the Saar basin. Ma, Gen. Stafford L. Irwin's Sth "Red Diamond" division, facing the converging move against Saar brucken, drove into Fursten hausen, three and a half miles to the west, after an advance of two miles. Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges' U. S. 1st army seized its first toehold on the Roer river, along which the German. defense line blocked the way to Cologne. The doughboys pushed eastward sev eral hundred yards from Berg stein,' below Duren, to the west bank of the Roer. The Bth army to the north was massed on the Roer along a broad front,, and 1st army units were near it along the entire stretch between Bergstein and the 9th army sector. United Press Correspondent Collie Small, in a dispatch from the: 3rd army front, said the ' first penetration of thi Siegfried fortifications was made by the 90th division elements after .a push into the Fachtener Buch wald forest northwest of Saar .lautern. Break Acknowledged The German radio acknowl edged earlier that 3rd army forces had broken into the West wall, Troops who had establish ed their bridgehead across the Saar in the Saarlautern area all were in contact with the outer defense works of the fortified belt, but today's dispatch des cribed the 90th's push as making "the first direct contact with the Siegfried line." ' Elsewhere In the 3rd army area, Fort Plappeville, two miles northwest of Metz, was captured along with 14 German officers and more than 200 men. Forts Driant and Jean D'Arc were the only two in the Metz fortress system still in German hands. E Dill TRIAL OF DORSEY Hollywood, Dec. 7 (U.PJ Superior Judge Arthur Crum to day ordered dismissal of assault charges against Tommy Dorsey, the bandleader whose birthday party started it all. his glamor ous wife, Pat Dane, and Gambler Allen Smiley. Actor Jon Hall, the alleged as saulted, was not in court when Judge Crum announced his de cision. The judge's action ended nine days of one of the most weira trials in Hollywood history, with witnesses who could not remem ber, with the central figure. Hall, not anxious for the prosecution to proceed, and the district at torney unwilling to continue the prosecution. SIDE GLANCES Bt TRIBUNE REPORTERS inff la a ha4 hahtt since it not only takes up much time but" is expensive as well. Joe Earlev admitting there Is something rotten not as far dis tant as Denmark. New California plantings for iruits and nuts were sdoui o,ou crei less in 1943 than in mm. Medford United Press Refuge in T i Is? sfPF W7 J 1 , , . . (Acm Telephoto) This refugee French mother end child, who fled from village ol Corcieux with other families 'when Nazis razed town during retreat, find refuge in this barn somewhere in Prance The sow seems to be taxing a curious look at the child. Signal Corps ohota. LITTLE "NUBBINS" DOING FINE AFTER L Denver, Colo., Dec. 7 (U.PJ Forrest "Nubbins" Hoffman to day apparently had won his hard-fought battle for life. The tousle-haired 3-year-old Cheyenne, Wyo., boy for whom a special Christmas was held 19 days" ago after" death had been termed only a matter of time, underwent an operation at Mercy hospital here early thts morning, and his physician reported that the child was "get ting along fine." "The only thing he Is com plaining about is that he didn't get any breakfast," the special ist said, as he reported that Nubbins was back in his bed within 15 minutes after sur gery. The doctor said that the diag nosis of, an obstruction at the neck of the bladder had proved correct, and that the operation of removing the growth was a simple one. At nuDDins Deasiae was nis mother, Mrs. Marshall H. Hoff man, who had nervously paced the corridor outside the oper ating room. "This is the happiest day of my life," said Mrs. Hoffman after she was informed of her son's condition. LOAD MORE FREIGHT Washington, Dec. 7 (U.PJ Loadings of revenue freight for the week ended December 2 to taled 808,260 cars, a gain of 3, 530 cars over the previous week when they reached a new low since July 8, the Association of American Railroads disclosed today. U. S. Starts Fourth Year of By Joseph L. Myler United Press Correspondent -Wahlnirtnn. Dee. 7 (U.PJ The - United States began its fourth year of war toaay. It was confident inai giganuc nffonoivpt nnw in rjroeress or preparation will produce vic tory but still did not know that victory will come in either major theater or how much more if will cost in Diooa and treasure. 125.000 Killed Th hinnri fnit thus far has been nearly 125,000 Americans killed and a total of approximate ly 550,000 U. S. combat casual ties. The cost 01 Treasure nas - ooo 3rr nno.OOO. the sum ucci, ' ' of defense and war spending from July 1, mw, inrougii nuv. 30, 1944. U. S. war leaders are agreed that 1945 should see Germany crushed. But they do not know n,h.n in 1045 the trlumDh will come; all they are certain of is that the United Nations lace a still deadly and fanatically de termined foe in Europe. Across the Pacific, -on battle lines 13.000 miles from the western front. Is an even more fanatical enemy. The consen sus among military men Is that Japan cannot be conquered Full Leased Wir. a Barn BRITISH BOMBERS PLASTER BERLIN London, Dec. 7 (U.PJ The Royal Air Force hurled 1,350 heavy bombers into its greatest strike of the - war last night, spreading fire and destruction through Berlin, two western railway centers and the giant Leuna oil works where Ameri can raiders only a few hours earlier had dropped their block busters by daylight. " " Swarms" of British intruders and night fighters ranged out over the -Reich on the flanks of the massive bombing fleet. bombing and strafing the Luft waffe's fighter fields in an at tempt to soften up the opposi tion, . v Nevertheless, the rfazls man aged to throw powerful fighter screens into the air and the air ministry reported that all four targets were ' strongly defended by aircraft and flak. London, Dec. 7 (U.R) Nine American fighter planes, in stead of the 22 previously an nounced, are missing as a result of the Tuesday attack on Berlin and Munster, a communique said today. VERONICA'S DIVORCE CLEARS WEDDING PATH Hollywood, Dec. 7 (U.PJ Veronica Lake today received her final decree of divorce from Ma. John Detlie, expected to clear the way for a marriage soon to Andre De Toth, writer and director. Her attorney, Morton Garbus, said she was anxious to get the final papers as soon as possible She previously had announced the date of her marriage as De cember 31. sooner than one and a half to two years after defeat of Ger many and it may be longer than that. Vast Outlay Remains However long It takes to beat Japan after Germany falls, it will cost this country alone $71,000,000,000 a year - to do the job, according to an esti mate by Lt. Gen. Brehon B. Somervell, chief of the army supply services. "Ultimate victory Is Inevita ble," President Roosevelt said in marking this day, "but In the meantime the American people must not relax for a moment their inflexible determination . , . everybody on a war job must stick to that Job." Three years after the Japa nese knocked out the backbone of the U. S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, the strategic out look for the United Nations is generally good. In the west, more than 1,000,000 Allied combat troops are pressing slowly Into Germany in one of the great offensives of all time while Red army hordes are driv ing upon the Reich from the east. Japanese Learning In the Pacific, Gen. Douglas MacArthur is back in the Phil MEDFORD, OREGON, THUP v DECEMBER 7, British War 'Hands Off Declaration by Stettinius Rankles REBELS STRAFED IN ARDITOS AREA Athens, Dec. 7 (U.PJ British artillery, tanks, planes, and troops smashed anew today at an estimated 10,000 ELAS left ists as the battle of Athens rag ed with mounting intensity. British Beaufightera swooped low over the ELAS forces hold ing out on Arditos hill, raking them with cannon and machine gun fire in the second aerial strafing of the anti-government rebels today. A pitched battle was raging at dusk in the stadium area ad jacent to the Arditos hill. Other British forces pushing 800 yards southwest of the Parthenon were trying at night fall to clear the 450-foot Lofoee Filopappou hill, where ,dug-in forces were firing mortars at the advancing British units. British paratroopers fighting as infantrymen were assaulting the hill position. British headquarters reported that Lt. Gen. Ronald Scobie's forces and the Greeks support ing Premier George Papandreou had cleaned up two more square miles of Athens. The Greek navy went into ac tion for the first time during the crisis. A destroyer in the harbor" at nearby Piraeus fired on a nnlice station cantured hv the ELAS forces," kilting 25 ill the leftists In the station." Athens, Dec. 7 (U.R) Pre mier George Papandreou said to day that as soon as the current disorders are ended, Greece will have a plebiscite on the type of government the people want. "Roosevelt has -promised the four freedoms to all the world, and that includes our people," Papandreou said at a press con ference. Youth Confesses Killing Child By Walking On Body Davenport, la., Dec. 7 (U.PJ Police Chief Reed Phillips said today that Robert Schlimmer, 20, had confessed killing two-year- old Jean Joyce Lastrieter by put ting her on the floor and walk ing on her "because she wouldn't stop crying." The bruised and broken body of the child was found yester day afternoon at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Henry Schlim mer, sister-in-law of the con fessed killer. , Jean's mother died when she was born and Mrs. Schlimmer has cared for her since that time. Yesterday afternoon she left the child in Schllmmer's care while she went down town. War Today Confident But ippines, the U. S. navy has avenged Pearl Harbor by crip pling the Japanese fleet, and Tokyo is learning from B-29 crews that war can be a flam ing hell. But there are dark spots In the picture, and a host of im ponderables making' uncertain the immediate future course of the war and clouding the face of the peace to come. They in clude: 1. A Japanese breakthrough in southeastern China which threatens both Chungking, the capital, and Kumning, the U. S. 14th air force's great base on the Chinese side of the Hima layan hump. 2. Allied supply problems, es pecially in the vast Pacific; manpower shortages and pro duction lags at home; and diffi culties inherent In trying to pre pare economically for peace while still fighting the war. 3. Internal discord in China and the liberated countries of Europe, taking in many In stances the form of an ideologi cal tug of war which conceiv ably could breed difficulties among the major Allies. . 27 D Days This Year But these difficulties could not obscure the brilliant Allied C& Greek Leftists Flares Official Count Completed On State Ballot Measures i Salem, Ore., Dec. 7 (U.R) The official canvass of votes for and against measures on the November 7 ballot was completed by the secretary of state today. The four constitutional amendments and two bills which were passed by the voters, including bill which limits the sale of wine liquor stores, will become effective probably late this afternoon, following the signing of proclamations to that effect by Gov. Snell and Secretary of State Robert S. The official vote follows: Measures passed Yes - No Bank Stockholders Liability 228,744 "'" 115,504 County Manager Amendment .. . . . 175,718 154,504 Veterans' Loan Fund . 190,520 178,581 Voting Privilege Restoration 183,855 158,219 Veterans' Educational Aid 238,350 135,317 Burke Wine Bill 228,953 180,158 Measures defeated: ' Sales Tax 96,697 . 269,276 School Support .. ,. . 177,153 186,976 Townsend Bill 180,691 219,981 E GIVE UP AFTER. Atlanta, Ga Dec. 7 (U.PJ Twenty-five desperate felons, who barricaded themselves in a prison building at Atlanta fed eral penitentiary Monday night, surrendered today, thus keeping faith with a newspaper column ist wha acted as a go-between. The teohvic'ts threw down tlielr straight-edged razors, knives and clubs, with which they had threatened four prison guards held as hostages, and filed quiet ly out three hours after Morgan Blake, of the Atlanta Journal, entered the prison with copies of today's paper In which be had recited complaints of the felons, told to him yesterday. . Prison authorities said the group's ring leaders gave up first and were followed out oi the barricaded building by the others and by the four guards, who were weary but apparently unharmed. Special prison cars, with po lice escort, took the guards home to their anxious families. Soldier Killed In Portland Street Portland, Ore., Dec. 7 U.R) Pvt. Wayne K. Jones. 30, of the 29th engineers, an army unit stationed in Portland, was killed when struck yesterday by an au tomobile driven by John J. Fre- born, 23, of McMinnville, ore., on a Portland street. Freeborn told officers he had been momentarily blinded by liKhts of oncoming traffic and was unable to see Jones, who was standing by the highway. Jones lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. successes of the recent past. In all, this year, there were "27 different D-Days each one," in the words of President Roosevelt, "a triumphant suc cess." Since Pearl Harbor the Unit ed States has built its army from 1,600,000 men to 8,000,000. of whom nearly 5,000,000 are overseas. Its navy has grown in personnel from 430,0000 to 3, 800,000, and in ships from 1,076 of all kinds displacing 1,875,000 tons to 56,270 aggregating 10, 486,184 tons. The United States has built 240,000 planes, 70,000 tanks, 2,800,000 big and medium guns, 1,800,000 trucks, 15,000,000 machine guns and rifles, '43, 000,000,000 rounds of ammuni tion, 43,400,000 bombs, and 4, 308 merchant ships totaling 44, 082,000 tons. Its 1944 food pro duction is expected to be 33 per cent above 1940'a. Despite the loss of nearly 230 ships since the war's start, the navy now has 23 battleships, at least 17 In the Pacific; about 100 aircraft carriers, making 2,000-plane assaults tactically feasible; and thousands of lesser craft. Japs Suffer In Year In three years, the navy, by RIBUNE United Press Full 1944 the controversial Burke wine over 14 per cent alcohol to state Farrell, Jr. BRITISH PURSUE NAZIS IN ITALY Rome, Dec 7 (U.R) British Eighth Army forces, pursuing German troops withdrawing from the Adriatic coastal sec tor, advanced seven miles north west of Ravenna to occupy the town of Mezzano on the Rimini- Ferrara railway, headquarters announced today. .The Germans blew up the main bridge over the Lamone diver at Mezzano but the British units continued in contact wth the enemy holding the far bank, Headquarters said capture of Mezzano virtually ended all en emy resistance east of the Lamone. American troops of the Fifth army on the eastern sector of their front below Bologna ham mered out small gains north of Casola-V a 1 s e n 1 o, nine miles southeast-of Imola while patrols made 'contact with enemy for ward positions in the central and west sectors. Commons Slates Debate On Poles London, Dec. 7 (U.PJ The en tire Polish question, presumably including the Russo-P o 1 1 s h boundary dispute, will be de bated in the house of commons on Friday, Dec. 15, Foreign Sec retary Anthony Eden announc ed today. Jackson County sales to date In the Sixth War Loan are "E" Bonds $337,406 Total Salei 81,584,714 With Victory Its own accounting, has "cleared the Japs from 'a Pacific area of 8,170,000 square miles," de convoyed an aggregate of 61, stroyed 10,000 enemy planes, 000 shifts, and landed on enemy beaches assault waves of 1,200, 000 troops. The navy and army together have sunk some 2,300 Japanese ships including nearly 400 warships. The army's growth Into one of history's greatest fighting machines was paced by expan sion of its air forces to an over seas strength of 1,000,000 men and 1,000 squadrons. Since Pearl Harbor, AAF planes have made 1,500,251 combat flights, 1,127,723 of them against the Germans, and 372,528 against the Japanese. They have shot down 27,000 enemy aircraft. Enemy casualties have been consistently higher than Allied. In western Europe alone, fqom D-Day through Nov. 30, the Allies captured 750,000 Ger mans, figure indicating total German casualties in that time and theater of 1,250,000. According to OWI, U. S. fighting men In the east have killed 27,000 Japanese at a cost of 21,000 American dead. And 250,000 Japanese have been ma rooned In isolated island, pock LmwI Wire NO. 219. Higher; FOREIGN OFFICE TELLS HALIFAX TO CONVEY PROTEST London, . Dec. 7 (U.R) T h e British government, it was re ported today, has instructed Lord Halifax, British ambassador to Washington, to report to Sec retary of State Edward Stettin ius the "unfavorable British re action" to Stettinius' "hands off declaration on Italy and liber ated Allied countries. The foreign office would neither confirm nor deny that such instructions had been given Halifax, but the Yorkshire Post, published by Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden's family, said the directive had already gone for ward. Churchill Criticised The barrage of criticism against Prime Minister Winston Churchill's - policy in Italy. Greece and Belgium was joined by Influential elements of the British press. The Yorkshire Post, however, came to the defense of the gov ernment with a stinging attack on the Stettinius" statement, par ticularly the manner in which it was made public instead of be ing conveyed to Britain through normal diplomatic channels. Washington, Dee. 7 (U.R) Secretary of State. Edward R. Stettinius, stressing this . coun try's hands off policy in the Greek political crisis, said today the situation In liberated Greece is one the British and Greeks should solve by , working to gether. Stettinius statement following the state department's reaffirma tion on Tuesday of Its belief that the Internal political affairs of liberated terrltoreff should be al lowed to run ther course with out foreign interference, was taken as notice that this coun try will adhere emphatically to this policy In the growing Greek crisis. It oame as signs indicated that the widely-divergent views of the United States, .Britain and Russia on political intervention in the liberated countries would be a top subject at the next Roosevelt-Stalin Churchill con ference. 359,247 Prisoners Of War In States Washington,' Dec. 7 U.PJ A total of 359,247 prisoners of war were held within the United States as of December 1, accord ing to the war department. The prisoners include 305,648 Germans, 51,156 Italians, and 2,443 Japanese. They are held at 130 base camps and 295 branch camps in all sections of the country. Date Obscure ets cut off by Allied offensives. Still Many Japs But the Japanese still have 4,-000,000 men in the field, the OWI said, and can comfortably equip and train another 2,000, 000. The United States has paid a a high price for its gains. For its victories, the navy gave up two battleships, nine carriers, 10 cruisers, 51 destroyers, five de stroyer escorts, 33 submarines, four fleet tankers, and 115 other craft The army, as of Oct. 2, had lost 42,000 planes, including 14,600 In combat, 17,500 In this country, and 9,900 overseas from other than combat causes. From September, 1939, to the end of 1943, Allied merchant aggregating 22,161,000 tons, ship losses totaled 5,758 vessels These losses Included 753 U. S. ships of 3,311,000 tons. U. S. war expenditures are continuing at $250,000,000 a day President Roosevelt's figure. And Somervell recently said that American soldiers current ly are shooting ammunition at the Germans faster than home industries are producing it and that war production "Is lagging on 40 per cent of the program."1 MUKDEN, DARIEN WAR PLANTS HIT BY B-29 FORCE ! Tokyo Also Reports "Few" Super-Forts Over Capital? Quake Reported in Pacifio Washington, Dec. 7 (U.R) Superfortresses smashed at an aircraft plant and other itra tegle targets at Mukden. Manchuria, today and return ing crews reported 26 Japa nes. fighters destroyed, 13 probably destroyed and 24 ' damaged In air battles, th. ; War Department announced.. One B-29 out of the large . attacking force was lost ta I enemy action, the War D , partment disclosed. By United Press The third anniversary nf Pearl Harbor was marked today for the Japanese by the crash ot American bombs falling on oo cupied Manchuria. At the same time. U. S. troooa on Leyte island crowded In trapped enemy garrison that Gen. Douglas MacArthur said has been cut off from all sea borne reinforcement or supply.' Quake Reported In New York and London. seismologists reported that one) of the most violent earthquakes ' of the century rocked the far Pacific early today centering possmiy in the Japanese homa Islands, the Kurlles, or in th. Aleutians. Tokyo broadcasts made no mention of the shock. -Washington announced that a big task foree of China-based Superfortresses pounded enemy war factories in Manchuria in daylight today. Enemy broad casts identified the objectives as) Mukden and Darien, and vol unteered the further informal ' Hon that a "few" B-29s front Salpan also were over Tokyo, setting a number of fires. Tha Japanese intimated the latter foray might be a reconnaissance mission to pave the way tor a full-strength anniversary raid later In the day. . Washington did not imme diately confirm the Tokyo re port, and gave no details of tha Manchurian attacks, which tha enemy said were carried out by about 70 planes. The Japaneaa claimed that 11 B-29s were shot , down over Manchuria and four more "probably" were destroyed. Crack Jap Line Tn r) PMIfrmlnM A map Mi,n4 InHiu nMV IkMnri. . uu.iu u. k ..a,wwu B 1 . a strong Japanese defensive Una1 along the Palanaa river about 10 . miles south of Ormoc, on tha west coast of Leyte. Aided by a favorable break In the weather, the Americans were reported using . their preponderant artil lery and air strength on tha pocketed enemy with increasing ly good effect. MacArthur's communique said U. S. naval and air forces now have established an air-tight blockade over the waters west of! Ormoc, center of the remaining Japanese resistance on Leyte. Tokyo reported without con firmation, however, that Japa nese paratroopers dropped on four of MacArthur's main air strips on Leyte last night In a full-scale attempt to destroy tha American air power on the is land. Fighting still was In prog ress on the field, the enemy ver sion said. Air Attacks Continue There was no let-up in tha tempo of American air attack throughout the Philippines and southern waters. MacArthur's fliers pounded enemy airdromea and shipping on a broad front, sinking five Japanese ships and destroying 20 planes eight of them coming from a force of ten bombers that attacked American shipping in Leyte gulf Tuesday. T IDL 'Washington, Dec. 7 U.B The war production board today " announced that newsprint In--ventory ceilings will be retained and "rigidly enforced" because of the tight newsprint supply and increasing military demands for paper. "Present newsprint Inventory ceilings fixed by newspaper limitation order 0-240 will not be removed at this time and newspaper publishers in tha United States must immediately reduce their December orders on Canadian and domestic mills to bring their inventories below these ceilings,' before Dec. 31. 1944, Col. J. Hale Stelnman, di rector of the war production board printing and publishing division, announced today," tha WPB announcement said In part.