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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1945)
Oh Th MAIL TRIBUNE Want Ad Way Quick Results At Small Cost Weather Forecasts Cloudy with ccutou- al rain ftuniUy. Temp. Highest yesterday . 6.o Lowest this morning ... 39.4 Precipitation - M Medford Tribune United Pi -full Utud Wlra United Pr Full LNnd Wlr Thirty-ninth Year MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 1945 NO. 243. 1 flfmn. ... I TO .. '. i . i ... '4 BAYS OF TA( PACIFIC AnACK KB JM III B-29's Hit Japan Mighty Fleet Pounds Iwo and China Coast. By United Press Japanese broadcasts Saturday hinted that an invasion of Luzon island, largest of the Philippines --group, was imminent as Fleet Admiral Chester NImitz an nounced that at least 83 enemy ships and 331 planes were de stroyed or damaged in four days of air and surf ace. bombardment of Japanese installations from the volcanoes to the coast of China. At the same time, new B-29 Superfortress strikes against the Japanese homeland were report ed as the Pacific war' reached its greatest offensive tempo. An aircraft plant and other targets at Omura, Japan, were hit by China-based B-29's, Wash ington announced, while Tokyo indicating growing fear of the stepped-up air and sea assault against her tottering island em pire reported new B-29 blows against Tokyo and Nanking. Gen. pouglas MacArthur re ported iro mtne Fnillppmes that his land-based bombers had blast ed the key railway yards at Los Banos, south of Manila, but gave no information on the large con voys of warships and transports which Tokyo suggested were headed for an Invasion of Luzon. Tokyo said that three U. S convoys were at sea and that their positions "point to a land ing on Luzon Island." Meanwhile, Nimitz disclosed that powerful Pacific fleet task forces, striking over a 1,300 mile stretch of the Pacific, had battered Formosa and Okinawa islands and swept a 450-mile area of the China coast Wednes day and Thursday. Warships and planes hit the Jap airbase island of Iwo for the 30th consecutive day Friday and moved north ward Saturday, to hammer Chichi and Haha in the Bonin group. . The Pacific fleet unleashed Its greatest display of surface and air power in three years of war to hurl great salvoes of shellfire into Jima while reDorts from the fleet revealed that carrier units had reached the China coast for the first time in the Pacific war. Enemy broadcasts renortins the presence of strong convoys off Luzon frankly admitted the possibility of landings on the large island, ' but MacArthur's communique merely reDorted de structive strikes at important ' railroad lines running south from Manila. One locomotive and 100 freight cars were de stroyed and three kev ratlrnnri bridges were wiped out or wrecked In the damaging at tacks. Nimitz also reported the oc cupation of the tiny atoll island of Fais (Tromelin), 950 miles east of the Philippines. Slight resistance was met in taking the small Carolines island. The communique said 111 Jap anese planes were destroyed and k. zzo damaged, with 25 ships sunk and 58 damaged by third fleet units. The high toll of ships and aircraft, taken largely around Formosa vital staging point to the Philippines indicated that the fast carrier forces might have . smashed a major enemy concen tration, possibly assembling for a counter-offensive against Mac Arthur s forces. The U. S. navy and marine air men swept the China coast from Foochow to Hong Kong and could have landed at U. S. 14th air force army bases tn China, dispatches from the fleet said. JAMES M. WALL DIES AFTER BRIEF ILLNESS James M. Walls, 78, of route 4, box 172, passed away in a local hospital Saturday evening after an illness of two weeks Funeral arrangements, which L. will be announced later, are In charge of Conger-Morris Funeral Home. San Francisco, Jan. 6 (U.R) The dairy market was un changed today. WAR BULLETINS Ankara. Jan. 5 (U.R) Tada hl Hurikara. Japan! am banador to Turkey, wai grant ed a week's exteniion on in lime limit of his deparitur Irom' Ankara today after 'conference with Turkish For eign Minister Hasan Sake. , London. Jan. 6 (U.R) Th admiralty announced today that the destroyer HMS Alden ham has been lost. ON SABOTAGE TRY STUDIED 8Y FBI Pittsburgh, Jan. 6 (U.R) The human bomb" death of a vet eran workman at the war-vital East Pittsburgh plant of the Westinghouse Electric & Manu facturing Co., tonight confront ed federal bureau of investiga tion agents with a mystery verg ing on a possible ingenious at tempt) at sabotage. There seemed no apparent ex planation for the sudden death of Rudolph Bogovich, a carpen ter, who "just seemed to dis integrate!' before the eyes of a fellow workman as he walked toward a storeroom for more material to be used in crating a machine. Bogovich. 50. a veteran of 20 years at the plant and the father of two soldier sons overseas, was almost disemboweled by the blast, which '.also blew off his left hand. Bits of his clothing were blown more than . 50 feet. No material damage resulted. Two twisted bits of wire,' a flake of what appeared to be zinc, a bit of waxed cardboard and the smell of gunpowder were the only clues left to in vestigators. -The FBI assigned two men to the case. , Belief was expressed that some sort of small bomb was re sponsible for Bogovich's deatn. The fragments could have been part of a vest-pocket bomb, it was said. CITIES London. Jan. 6. U.R) Near ly 1,400 U. S. 8th air force heavy bombers and fighters at tacked bridges and railyards at a half-dozen cities in western Germany today, and observers estimated that allied air fleets had dropped 10,000 tons of bombs on German industrial and communications centers in the 36 hours ended at 6 p. m. Between 750 and 1,000 RAF heavy bombers continued the offensive tonight, striking at targets in Germany, with their main objective the rail city of Hanau, 10 miles east of Frank furt. Escorted by some 550 Mus tang fighters, which dropped down to strafe ground targets when they found no airborne German fighters, more than 800 American heavy bombers at tacked the road and rail bridges over the Rhine at Cologne and Bonn, the freight yards at Co logne, Coblenz and Ludwigs hafen and the communications centers of Stuttgart and Wurz- burg. They were blasting at the routes to and from the German counteroffensive bulge into Bel gium and Luxembourg, and to the Rhine front where the Ger mans are pressing against the U. 5. 7th army. German broadcasts also re ported allied bombers over the Bay of Danzig. Official sources announced that in the past six days not including the attack on Hanau Saturday night the RAF had dropped some 15.680 tons of bombs on enemy targets. A U. S. communique said seven bombers and nine fight ers were missing from the Satur day daylight operations, al though some fighters apparently landed in friendly territory First Opens New Attack on German Lifelines PRESIDENT ASKS NATION'S SERVICE LAW BEPASSED Total Mobilization of Re sources Needed in Crisis, Congress Message Says Washington, Jan. 6. (U.R) President Roosevelt promised the American people tonight 8V4 hours after he called on congress' for a national service jaw that their sons and broth ers and loved ones on the fight ing fronts will receive "all the support of which this great na tion Is capable." In a 30-minute address over all major radio networks, Mr. Roosevelt summarized his 8,000 word annual message to con gress in which he had stated that "we have reached the most critical phase of the war." To the people he repeated: "Everything we are and have is at stake. Everything we are and have will be given." He told the people that he had asked congress for a na tional service law to bring about "total mobilization of all our human resources." He said he had asked legislation for utili zation of the nation's 4,000,000 4-F's in the war effort. He de clared that nothing must be per mitted to stand in the way of early establishment of "perma nent machinery for the mainte nance of peace. He said 1945 could bring victory in Europe, After promising all support to the nation's warriors, the presi dent added In his radio address that: "No matter how well they may be equipped with weapons and munitions, their magnifi cent fight will have been in vain if this war should end In the breaking of the unity of the united nations." He quoted from the army newspaper,' Stars and Stripes, this passage: "For the holy love of God let's listen to the dead. Let's learn from the living. Let's join ranks against the foe. The bugles of battle are heard again above the bickering." That," the president said, "is the demand of our fighting men, We cannot fail to heed it." Congress had received Mr. Roosevelt's message with every indication that his requests would receive prompt and care ful consideration. His state ments on foreign policy drew generally more favorable re sponses, however, than his rec ommendation for national ser vice legislation. Although some congressmen approved the proposal, others adopted a "wait and see" atti tude, mindful that the presi dent's similar but qualified pro posal a year ago was not fol lowed up by White House ef forts to get such legislation en acted. The American Federation of Labor announced continued op position to "compulsory ser vice." In his message to congress the president indicated that he hoped to submit this year an in ternational security agreement based on the Dumbarton Oaks conferences. REPORTED BETTER Condition of Circuit Judge H, K. Hanna seems to be showing slight improvement, according to a telephone call received Sat urday from Mrs. Hanna. He was conscious all day Thursday and Friday, took some food, and ap peared cheerful, Mrs. Hanna said. The Judge was stricken with an undiagnosed malady and tak en to local hospital Christmas day and was rushed to St. Vin cent's hospital In Portland by ambulance, on December 27. BULLETINS Moscow. Ida.,' Jan. 6 (U.R) University of Oregon Webfeet tonight turned back a second half rally by University of Idaho Vandals to defeat their confer ence basketball rivals 41 to 38 in a fast rough game, featured by two double fouls. Idaho led three times in the first half,-which ended in favor of Oregon by a 24-19 score. Ore gon piled up their biggest lead. of seven points, over Idaho s 19 in the first of the second half, but the Vandals remained a threat at 30 to 32 with 10 min utes left to play. Two Idaho starters were forc ed out of the game, Jeff Over-, holser on a foul and Len Pyne, by a Charley horse in the mid dle of a shot. Seattle, Jan. 6. (U.R) Rob bed of their height by flu and fouls Oregon State College bas ketball quintet crumbled under a powerful University of Wash ington second half drive to go down to a 42-22 defeat. Washington State 56, Eastern Wash. College of Education 49. Idaho 38, Oregon 41. 5-DAY NAZI TANK BUDAPEST HALTS London, Sunday, Jan. 7 U.R) The Hungarian command claim ed last night that Germany's five-day-old offensive to break through to encircled Budapest has smashed to within 15 to 18 miles to the Hungarian capital, but Moscow said that red army troops had held, in check wave after wave of attacking enemy panzers after a great five-hour tank battle. The soviet high command in directly confirmed the Hun garian report that German and Hungarian armored forces, at tacking in two sectors while German and Hungarian armored forces, attacking in two sectors while German parashutists land ed behind soviet lines, had pene trated some 12 to 15 miles into the red army's 31-mile wide wall west of Budapest. The Hungarians asserted that enemy speadheads were "stand ing before Bioske" only 15 miles west of Budapest. A few hours later, the soviet midnight com munique reported a bitter hand- to-hand battle in tne vertes mountains west of the Russian held stronghold. Soviet units in this sector. Moscow said, "held the assault of the numerically superior enemy and repelled his attacks, According to incomplete aaie, more than 1,000 German officers and men were killed in the area." VIEWS DIFFER ON L Washington, Jan. 6 (U.R) Congressmen generally mani fested the attitude tonight that both house and senate would give serious consideration to the recommendations and views ex pressed by President Roosevelt in his annual message. Chairman Tom Connally, D., Tex., of the senate foreign rela tions committee and Sen. War ren Austin. R.. Vt., a member, approved the president's state ments on foreign policy. t-on nally liked the message's em nhasls on a "people's peace,' and Austin said it proved "the validity of the Atlantic charter. Senate Republican Leader Wallace M. White. Jr., Me., re gretted that the message "did not in more direct fashion voice the disapproval of the American people of the invasion of Greece and Poland.' Sen. Robert A. Taft, R., O., said no one could disagree with "the president's ultimate aims of victory, peace and Utopia. He added, however, that "one may question whether the means he suggests are necessary. STETTINIUS SAYS HUN PEACE HOPE Unprecedented Statement Is Issued By State Dept. On Montanan's Attitude Washington, Jan. 6 (U.R) Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinlus, Jr., in an unusual statement today accused Sen. Burton K. Wheeler, D., Mont., of encouraging the enemy to hold out for a negotiated peace. Stettlnius issued an unsolicit ed statement, unprecedented in the state department during the Roosevelt . administration, de nouncing Wheeler for urging abandonment of what Wheeler, a leading pre-Pearl Harbor Iso lationist, termed the "brutal and costly" unconditional surrender principle. Wheeler retorted in the sen ate that he was "not for a ne gotiated peace." "I am simply for stating to the Germans," he said, "the terms they may expect when they are beaten, so that it may induce them to get rid of their nazi -leaders and surrender." "Of course," he added, "I don'tJspeak 'for all the American people. But I will venture the statement that I speak for more of them than Mr. Stettinlus does, for he has never faced a con stituency In an election. Pos sibly he does represent the big business interests which he has represented heretofore." ' Sen. Claude Pepper, D., Fla., remarked that "it is extremely unfortunate for anyone to ex press sentiments which might be interpreted as an .indication of possible weakening In our de termination to crush Germany and Japan." Wheeler replied that "lor any one in America to express criti cism is to 'disrupt the war ef fort and allied unity." RELOCAlfHEAD URGES HELP FOR San Francisco, Jan. 6 (U.R) Dillon S. Myer, national director of the war relocation authority, tonight called upon other fed eral agencies and private organi zations to help Japanese-Amer icans relocate on the west coast and thereby "save American lives on the battlefield.' "J a p a n e s e-Americans can make a substantial coniriouuon to the war effort," Myer said "if people will see that they get a chance, but WRA cannot do the whole Job. Gearing the re turning J a p a n e s e-Americans Into the war effort cans tor me services of other agencies, both federal and private." Myer, here to study problems incident to the return of Japanese- Americans, said that the war manpower commission, fed eral public housing aumoruy the department of agriculture and other agencies will assist in some phases of the relocation work. Meanwhile. It was announced todav that representatives of more than a score of organiza tions concerned with race mat ters in California, Washington nnrf Orenon. will meet here Jan 10 and 11 to evolve a co-ordinated postwar race relations nroeram for the Pacific coast, The conference, saia ur. mon roe E. Deutsch, member of the executive board of the com mittee on American principles and fair play, will deal with Filipino, Chinese, Negro and Japanese American promems, and attempt to Integrate the ac tivities of some 300 west coast groups concerned with race re- latlons. Hitler Examines War Ruins n l : IMS- . 9 . n -. ts V jj i Aetna Telephiitot K sad-faced Adolf Hitler, hat in hand, surveys ravages of war with un identified Nazi leaders in an undesignated German city. This picture was captured by U. 8. Signal Corps on western front but date it was taken is unknown. El WILL DOMINATE STATE ASSEMBLY Salem. Ore,- Jan. 6 (U.R) Oregon's capital city was crowd ed tonight with legislators and others connected with the 43rd annual session of the legislature, which opens Monday after in formal caucus meetings Sunday. Gov. Earl Snell will deliver his biennial message to the houses in joint session Monday afternoon. . Wartime issues will dominate the agenda, especially for the postwar period. Other major topics nlclude requests for ex panded educational support, building programs for state in stitutions, labor legislation, liquor laws, tax study, commun ity property law, health services, unemployment compensa 1 1 o n and many other issues. It was conceded that Sen Howard Belton, Canby republi can, would be president of the upper house and Rep, Eugene Marsh of McMinnvllle has enough pledges to head the lower chamber. Attaches and other employes will be chosen at the Sunday caucus and elected officially Monday morning. BLUEBEARD TRIES Paris, Jan. 6 (U.R) Dr. Mar cel Pctlot, alleged modern blue- beard charged with murdering scores of persons and chopping them up before burial in his Rue Lesueur cellar, attempted a new line of defense today when ho adopted all outward appear ances of insanity. Apparently deciding all pre vious protestations of member ship in underground resistance units had failed, the magnetic looking Pctlot burst into hys terics when called before an alienist commission for a routine examination. COACH TO ARMY San Francisco, Jan. 8 (U.R) Ed Storm, 240-pound former San Diego professional football coach and a star griddcr at Santa Clara college, was classified fit for "epnernl military service" at the Induction center here to- day, AIRCRAFT PLANT CITY, AND TOKYO Washington, Jan. 8 (U.R) A substantial force of Super fortresses blasted an aircraft plant and other targets at Omura, Japan, today as Tokyo reported new B-29 blows against Tokyo and Nanking, capital of Japanese-occupied China. One Superfortress is missing and presumed lost in the Omura attack, a 20th air force communi que said, adding that prelimin ary reports indicate one Japa nese fighter was destroyed, five probably destroyed and three damaged. The raid was carried out by China-based giants of Maj. Gen. Curtis E. Lemay's 20th bomber command. It was the sixth attack on Omura, industrial city on Kyu shu, southernmost Japanese home island. The communique said the bombing was accom plished with precision instru ments but that results were not observed. Enemy broadcasts recorded by the FCC said that three planes flying from Saipan had spilled incendiaries on Tokyo during the night and that a dozen oth ers had harassed Nanking, big Yangtze river port northwest of Shanghai, for more than seven hours today. LIS T: Erma Vendickson, 19, route 2, box 414, Medford, was ser iously but not critically injured in an auto accident at Eugene at 6:30 Saturday night, accord ing to a message received here. Surgery was anticipated on a badly injured shoulder, the mes sage said. Relatives of the injured wo man could not be immediately contacted for details. CARS TO MOVE Seattle, Jan. 8 (U.R) Union representatives of Seattle's 1.100 bus and trolley operators to night promised continuation of the city's six-day "slowdown strike," touched off by a wage dispute with the Seattle transit commission. FUNK OF ENEMY UNPREPARED FOR German Defenses Yield Battle of ' Bulge Sees Greatest Massing of Men Paris, Sunday, Jan. 7. (U.R) Veteran U. S. First army col umns opened a powerful new attack due south of Stavelot Saturday and smashed two miles through yielding German de fenses .while tanks in a similar advance to the west virtually severed the La Roche-St. Vith highway, one of two lifelines for thousands of Germans in the bottom of the Ardennes sack. The new drive carried down the east side of the Salm river and appeared to have caught the German flank unprepared after the enemy's main forces had shifted over to meet the tank-powered drive through tha center south of Grandmenil. The latter drive was being carried out by Maj. Gen. Ernest (Old Gravel Voice) Harmon's "hell on wheels" second armor ed division and the third tank division under Maj. Gen. Mau rice Rose. Odelgn Taken ' '. Pounding ahead In three col umns, the tanks captured Odei gne after a roaring 24-hour street battle and then plunged on two miles southeast through irostea lorest with their van guard reaching within 100 yards of the crossroads at Baraque de Fraiture, t'i miles southeast of Grandmenil on the St. Vith-La Roche road. Their guns already - were blockading with point-blank fire the vital highway at the point where it Intersects the Bastogne Llege road, main enemy north, south communications artery within the bulge. As the battle of the bulge en tered its fourth week with per haps the greatest concentration of arms in history locked In bat tle around the relatively small perimeter, the Germans were estimated already to have lost 100,000 men killed, wounded or captured in the struggle. Both sides still were hurling more men and weapons Into the vortex, with the entire winter campaign believed hinging on the outcome despite disquieting reports of German aggressive activity from other fronts, par ticularly the upper Hhine flank. U. S. Seventh army troops were said to have brought under control for the moment the most dangerous of the enemy's southern thrusts that seeking to get at Strasbourg from the west through the Saverne gap. But at the same time the enemy was reinforcing small groups which had crossed the Rhine northeast of Strasbourg and had relnvadcd Alsace through the Sissembourg gap to the northwest to a depth of five miles in a possible effort to link up with the Rhine bridgehead. from the south, the stubborn Colmar pocket on the west side of the Rhine had been expand ed py tne Germans to the Rhi nau area only 17 miles south of Strasbourg, thus placing the old Alsatian capital under a four way threat, remote as it may be regarded in some quarters. L,aie aispaicnes to allied bead. quarters said that the Ameri cans had surrounded the rem-, nants of two German battalions at Winen, on the Haguenau- saarDmcKcn highway where the enemy was probing toward tha saverne gap. Former Opera Star Perishes In Fire Muskegon, Mich., Jan. 6 (U.R) Firemen recovered the body of Mrs. Amelia Schwab, 77, for mer grand opera star, tonight from the smouldering debris of a general alarm fire which rav aged a hotel and eight business establishments and is believed to have cost the lives of at least two other persons. 1
