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Weather
FORECAST: Intermittent rain
tonight and Thurtday. LUtU
chug in temperature.
Temp.
HI f heat Yeiterday ,..,, ,
Lowest thU Morning: 42
Precipitation past 24 hr& Trace
Thirty-ninth Year
TThird
CROSS SURE AND
OUR RIVERS IN 10
PLACES FOR GAINS
Four Divisions Strike On
Long Front Into Germany
Patton Leads.
' Paris, Feb. 7 U.R) Ameri
can 3rd army troops struck
across the Luxembourg border
Into Germany for general gains
of more than a mile today in a
new offensive along a 220 mile
front.
The four-division offensive
carried across the Sure and Our
rivers at 10 places in the area
between Echternach and a point
five and a half miles northeast
of Clervaux, late front dis
patches reported.
The new attack extended the
active 3rd army front from
Echternac-: to the area north
west of Pruem, about 35 miles.
Gains in the previously active
northern wing ranged around a
mile for the day.
"wv Lt- Gen- George S. Patton's
troops.-plunging across the Our
"and Sure rivers, were reported
steadily deepening their pene
trations of Germany against stif
fening resistance.
North of the new offensive
front,- other- units of-the 3rd
army captured three towns in a
drive through the eastern crust
of the Siegfried line on a 1,000
yard front three miles north
west of Pruem.
The U. S. 1st army's 78th di
vision late today pushed within
500 yardf of Schmidt, 10 miles
southwest of Dueren on high
ground dominating the vital
Roer river dams,
i Two of the Roer dams already
were in American hands, and a
front dispatch said the town of
Schmidt, which- the 1st army
held for a single day last No
vember, might be won again
within 24 hours.
The 309th regiment of the
78th division brought increasing
pressure on Schmidt by taking
vCle village of Kommerscheid,
' 1,000 yards to the northwest. In
the Roer lake region the 78th
cleaned out 159 German pill
boxes, most of them fully man
ned. '
The new drive brought Ger
many's buckling Siegfried line
under direct assault by the
American 3rd and 1st armies
all along a 70-mile front extend
ing northward from the Ech
ternach area to the headwaters
of the Roer river.
t It came as German military
spokesmen were trumpeting
anxious warnings of an immi
nent full-scale offensive by the
American 9th and British 2nd
armies massed along the Roer
river east and northeast of
Aachen. ,
Lt. Gen. "George S. Patton s
3rd army forces already had
breached the Siegfried wall at
one point above the new attack
front, and the 1st army farther
to the north was plowing slow-
v ly through stilf opposition into
the chain of dams cnotrolling
''the level of the Roer river along
its entire length.
ITALIAN SECTOR
Rome, Feb. 7. (U.PJ Fifth
army troops occupied Monte
Bono and Renaiao on their west
flank east of the Serchio river
and strengthened their position
south of Bologna with a limited
advance northeast of Castel Vec
chio as activity increased all
along the line today.
Fighting continued on the
right flank as fifth army units
battled to hold positions won in
early stages oi an auac laum-u-ed
Monday.
The Germans shelled tne
vArcmann area nnth of Bologna
with more than 400 rounds of
artillery and 200 rounds of mor
tar fire in period of two hours
and 40 minutes.
MEDFORDJlilM
United Pint Full Leased Wire
Army Opens New Reich Offensive
ft 1r ' ' r
iAcm Telephoto)
Pvt. Henry Weber (left), 27, former Vancouver, Wash, shipyard foreman and logger, sentenced to death at
Camp Roberts, Calif., court martial for refusal to obe y order of his commanding officer to drill His wife end
four-year-old son, Wayne, are pictured in their Vancouver home as Mrs. Weber told reporters she had re
ceived no official notification of her husband's death se ntence, that Weber has held to his belief that killing
In war can not be justified at inns as she had known him.
Camp Roberts, Calif.. Feb. 7. offense previously, Weber said I society In which we how live.
(U.PJ Pvt. Henry F. Weber. he had asked army authorities
. i7-n.,- w-.fc .kirli. .,i - '. -!
Willie anvuuvbii it aoiiii kk
yara worxef unaer semence oi
death- for refusing an off leer's
order to drill, told a reporter to-
day he was "willing to do any
thing to get the war over, as
long as I do not have to kill
other people."
Revealing he had been court
martialed and sentenced to six
months hard labor for a similar!
SENATE DEFEATS
EXPLOSIVE CIVIL
RIGHTS ACT. 24
Salem. Ore., Feb. 1til.R)
The Oregon senate today defeat
ed, 24 to 6, the controversial
"civil rights" bill.
The bill is the one which
would prohibit the barring of
any person from a place of pub
lic accommodation because of
race, color or creed.
Only senators voting for the
measure were Sens. Lew Wal
lace, Coe A. McKenna, and
Thomas Mahoney, all Portland
and sponsors of the bill, and
Sens. Wi'liam Strayer, Baker,
and Rex Ellis, Pendleton, and
William A. Moser, Grants Pass.
Argument was led by Ma
honey, who said unlike southern
states, Oregon had insufficient
facilities for persons of the col
ored race and this would aid
such minority groups. He cited
"Injustices" whioh would break
the heart of any other race"
and added that Negro spokes
men felt it did not go far enough
but were satisfied that lt was
all- that could be expected at
this time
"No law has more force than
public opinion and no one will
be hurt by such a law," Ma
honey said. "Eighteen northern
states have similar laws."
McKenna described lack of
hospital care, hotel facilities and
eating opportunities for Negroes
as an argument for the bill.
Prior to the civil rights vote,
the senate refused by a 16 to 13
vote to reconsider the passage J
yesterday of an elections cm
whicn prohibited the use of mo
bile nvistiatlon booths and pro
vided fcr "ample" facilities.
Sen. McKenna sought reconsid
eration on grounds the word
"a m p 1 e"- was not definite
enough.' .
NEW SERGEANT RANK
Long Beach, Calif., Feb. 7
(U.R) S'Sgt. Horace C. Boren, a
former Dallas, Tex., newspaper
man, today awaited official reac
tion to his proposal of an addi
tional sergeant's rank as the en
listed man's answer to the new
five-star general.
MEDFORD, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY f 45
Death Sentence for refusal to
41 v ant aw a MDiiMt w
....... -
comoaiani uui-y inree or tour
j days before he refused, to. drill
here. A general court martial
last Friday sentenced Weber to
be hanged for willful disobedi
ence of an officer.
"I have a revolutionary mind"
said Weber, a member of the
ultra-left wing socialist labor
party. "Wars are caused by the
NEWSPAPERS GIVE
HIGH ASSISTANCE
Washington, Feb. 7. U.R)
Chairman Frank E. Triff of the
allied newspaper council report
ed today that the nation's news
papers contributed some $24,
000,000 worth of space to the
sixth war loan $8,000,000 of it
in advertising and the rest in
news and editorial support "fig
ured at newspaper reader rates."
Ted R. Gamble, national direc
tor of . the war finance division
of the treasury, joined Triff in
praising the press for Its "mag
nificent support of tne vital war
financing program."
Total value of newspaper ad
vertising for the entire war
financing program so far has
amounted to more than $88,000,
000, Triff reported. Of this sum
$34,000,000 was donated to the
fourth, fifth and sixth war loan
drives, all occurring in 1944.
He said news and editorial
support for the fourth, fifth and
sixth war loans totaled 128.000,
000 agate lines, while the figure
for the first three drives was
100,000,000 aate lines.
BELG lUMTFRANCE
WANT RHINE CUT
Paris, Feb. 7 (U.R) Strong
opposition to Gen. Charles De
Gaulle's proposal for French
military control of the Rhine
land after the war was reported
developing In Belgium, the
Netherlands, and Luxembourg
today.
Representatives of the three
small states are expected in
Paris shortly to press their de
mand for an equal share in the
post-war occupation of the
Rhineland, on the grounds that
their Interests In the German
border district are no leu vijal
than those of France.
Drill
I That society can't prevent a
third world war.
i . , , , , . , , .
"I am interested In a world In
which all men can live peace
ably, but to ba a good soldier
vou have to learn to hate and
kill, and I do not feel it Is right
to kill other people.
"With a revolutionary mind
you . cannot hate and kill."
Weber said the socialist-labor
party aimed at "peaceful revolu-
tion."
AT BOSTON LINK
TO SECURE SPIES
New York, Feb. 7 (U.PJ
The German consulate at Boston-,
with the help of German ship
crews, brazenly recruited Amer
icans, to serve as Nazi spies in
1940, a secret military commis
sion was informed today at the
trial of two alleged spies.
One of the men on trial, Wil
liam C. Colepaugh of Connecti
cut, said the Germans entertain
ed him at beer parties, invited
him aboard their ships and "dis
cussed with me the possibility of
my going to Germany."
Colepaugh made his statement
to the Federal Bureau of Inves
tigation soon after his arrest and
it was offered in evidence today
against him and Erich Gimpel,
the other prisoner. Gimpel is a
native of Germany. The two al
legedly "invaded" the United
States from a Nazi submarine
last Dec. 29, bent on espionage
and sabotage.
The report on Colepaugh's
statement, relayed by army pub
lic relations officers from the
Star Chamber trial, indicated
that the trip to Germany was of
fered Colepaugh so he could
study at the Nazi marine Engi
neering schools.
Colepaugh said he dealt with
Rudolph Lohrengel, secretary to
the Consul, Herbert Scholz, re
putedly one of the most Import
ant Nazis in the United States,
and often mentioned as chief of
of the German spy ring here.
CIVIlMYING
ON COAST FEB. 10
San Francisco, Feb. 7. (U.R)
Maj. Gen. H. C. Pratt, command
ing general of the western de
fense command, today issued a
proclamation permitting re
sumption of limited civilian fly
ing within the western air de
fense zone beginning Feb. 10.
ZHUKOV POISED
TO TAKTBERLIN
German Postion Serious as
Oder Crossed Bridge
heads Widened.
London, Feb. 7 (U.R) Rus
sian troops were reported un
officially from Moscow today to
have broken across the Oder
river - before Berlin, and the
Red army's official organ said
the "complete destruction of
Nazi Germany is very near."
The German High Command
reported that Marshal Gregory
K. Zhukov's First White Rus
sian army had expanded its
bridgehead across the Oder in
the Kuestrin area 30-odd miles
east of Berlin one of a num
ber the Nazis said the Soviets
had thrown across the last nat
ural barrier before the capital.
Moscow dispatches and vari
ous broadcasts from the Russian
capital contained guarded but
unmistakable reports that Zhu
kov had stormed beyond the
Oder and achieved at least tem
porary successes in nailing
down bridgeheads.
One broadcast from Moscow
by an American correspondent
said two -Red armies stood
"poised to leap upon - Berlin.
The last natural barrier before
Berlin - and central Germany,
the Oder, has been stormed and
captured. The .situation this
morning is altogether too wildly
promising for speculation."
Another said the position of
the Germans had "really be
come serious to the point of des
peration" and "it now looks
as though the drive for the Ger
man capital is really on."
The German High Com
mand's only reference to the sit
uation before Berlin' in its daily
war communique said that "on
the Oder front the enemy was
able to widen slightly his
bridgeheads north of Ratibor,
at Brieg, and at Kuestrin."
Red Star, the Soviet army
organ, published dispatches de
scribing the battle of the Oder
and said editorially:
"Surpassing all precedents
and possibilities in modern
campaigns, the Red army's pres
sure not only Is not weakening,
but is gaining strength daily.
Its objective,, the complete de
struction of Nazi Germany, is
very near."
NO F.D.R. TRIP TO
London, Feb. 7 (U.R) Visits
by President Roosevelt to Lon
don and Paris following the Big
Three conference appeared un
likely today.
Well-informed sources said
Mr. Roosevelt had declined an
invitation from King George
and Queen Elizabeth to be a
guest with Mrs. Roosevelt at
Buckingham Palace.
The President was understood
to have pleaded that the pres
sure of business awaiting him in
Washington would not permit
him to visit London at this
time.
High French and Allied diplo
matic sources in Paris believed
there also was no basis for re
ports that the President would
visit the French capital.
With the Franch smarting at
being left out of the Big Three
talks, this would be tho worst
possible psychological moment
for the President to visit Paris,
informants said.
RAZOR BATTLE FATAL
Arlington, Ore., Feb. 7. (U.R)
As aftermath of a razor battle
on a crowded Union Pacific bus
among three negroes recently
discharged from the Bremerton
Wash., navy yard, one was dead
today, another was near death
and a third was held in jail here.
Tribune
United Press Full
LABOR SHORTAGE
FOR NAVY CLAIM
Washington, Feb. 7 (U.PJ
As high navy leaders tried to
convince the senate military af
fairs committee that a labor
draft is urgently necessary, it
was learned today that manpow
er shortages are holding up
completion of many warships
desired for coming operations.
Secretary of Navy James V.
Forrestal told the committee,
which is studying a bill to make
every male from 18 to 45 sub
ject to draft for essential civil
ian Jobs as well as combat serv
ice, that 'time is the essence"
of the situation.
"We have the momentum go
ing," he said. "We should keep
it going." . '
Committee Chairman Elbert
D. Thomas, (D., Utah) said For
restal and Undersecretary of
Navy Ralph Bard presented
tables showing labor needs and
illustrating labor turnover.
From other sources lt was
learned that the navy considers
its labor turnover problem un
controllable by any presently
available means. In 1944, two of
every five navy yard workers
quit their 1obs, and in tne past
18 months the navy has hired
270,000 workmen only to end up
with a net loss of 11,000.
The result - has been - "an
alarmine rate of slippage" in
deliveries of combat ships.
IF WILLIAMS IS
E
Washington, Feb. 7 (U.R)
Sen. Kenneth McKellar, D.,
Tenn., took up his cudgel against
confirmation of Aubrey W. Wil
liams, former head of the Na
tional Youth Administration, as
rural electrification administra
tor. McKellar, who led the 1943
fight that resulted in ultimate
elimination of NYA, went before
the senate agriculture committee
to argue that Williams, by tem
perament, philosophy and exper
ience, was unqualified to head
REA.
Williams told the committee
yesterday there was no truth to
charges he was a communist, and
defeatd an effort by Sen. Harlan
J. Bushfield, R., S. D to get him
to admit he favored "redistribu
tion of wealth."
Sen. Guy Cordon, R., Ore.,
asked Williams whether he
would approach the REA admin
istratorship, If confirmed, "as an
administrator or as an evangel
1st" Williams replied that he
could answer best by referring
to his work as NYA head.
"I wasn't an evangelist there
and I certainly wouldn't be in
REA," he declared.
NEAR GOLD BEACH
San Francisco, Feb. 7 (U.PJ
A missing navy Catalina plane,
last heard from Wednesday
while en route to Seattle from
here, has been sighted in Oregon
just beyond the California bor
der, Western Sea Frontier head
quarters announced today.
A search party led by Com
mander Herbert S. Woodman left
the Areata Naval Auxiliary Air
Station, Calif., at 4 a. m. today,
headed for Gold Beach, Ore., to
pick up a pack train.
The spot where the PBY was
sighted by a search plane late
yesterday evening .Is approxi
mately 12 miles inland from the
coastal town of Brookings, Ore.
The plane was on a routine
ferry flight with eight crew
members aboard when first miss
ed. No names have been releas-
Leased Wire
NO. 270.
BIG THREE MEET
BLACK SEA AREA,
SAYS WASHINGTON
Official Word Given Dis
, cuss Joint Control of Ger
many and Lasting Peace.
Washington, Feb. . 7 (U.R)
The White House announced to
day that President Roosevelt,
Premier Josef Stalin, and Prime
Minister Winston Churchill are
conferring "In the Black Sea
area" on plans for the final de
feat of nazidom, joint occupa
tion of Germany, and "firm
foundations for a lasting peace."
"There is complete agree
ment," the announcement said,
"for join military operations in
the final phase of the war
against Nazi Germany."
The conference started with
military discussions, the White
House said, and then went into
plans not only for joint control
of defeated Germany but also
into "political and economic
problemr of liberated Europe."
High on the agenda, the an
nouncement said, were discus
sions looking toward "the earl
iest possible establishment of a
permanent International organi
zation to maintain peace."
The White House did not say
when the three war leaders, ac
companied by their foreign sec
retaries and staff chiefs, started
their meeting. Nor did it indi
cate the place except to say that
lt was in the Black sea area.
. The announcement said, how
ever, that "meetings are pro
ceeding continuously," It added
that a communique will be Is
sued at the conclusion of the
conference.
The statement actually con
tained little that the world had
not known or guessed In recent
days.
The meeting place "In the
Black sea area" had been print
ed and broadcast widely from
Europe, but- American censor
ship prohibited stories to this
effect in this country unless
they came from or were at
tributed -to foreign sources.
MANPOlTDRAFT
BILL URGED BY
ARMY EDITORIAL
Paris, Feb. 7 (U.PJ The U.
S. army newspaper Stars and
Stripes came out editorially to
day for passage of the May
Bailey act under which Ameri
can manpower could be drafted
for war work.
"Victory depends on blood,
not Ire," the army publication
said. "That's why for our money
the really good news in the pa
per was the squib on the man
power bill."
The editorial endorsed Under
Secretary of War Robert Pat
terson's statement that the man
power draft would boost morale
on the fighting fronts and con
vince thi troops that they would
get the weapons and supplies
they need.
"You can say that again, Mr.
Patterson,' Stars and Stripes'
editors said. "This war won't be
won by good news; by optimism;
by headlines; by wishful think
ing. "Take lt from the writer of
this editorial, Mr. Patterson. He
has fought In the mud and blood
of the Roer. What the front
needs is men and more men:
weapons and more weapons:
supplies and more supplies;
everything and 11 that Ameri
can manpower and Industry can
feed It. ..."
"They call the proposed man
power law the May bill. That
name ought to be changed
There can't be any 'may' about
lt. 'Must li the word."
The Stars and Stripes editor
ial was believed to mark the
first time that any army news
paper, at least In the European
theater, has taken sides in the
manpower debate.
Chicago, Feb. 7. (U.R) Grain
futures opened steady to frac
tionally lower today.
INTERNEE CAMPS
BOMBED BY FOE;
FIRE UK HIGH
General Visits Freed War
Prisoners, Cheered
Mop-Up Continues.
Manila, Feb. 7. (U.PJ Gen.
Douglas MacArthur returned to
liberated Manila today, touring
the city under bursting mortar
and shellfire.
MacArthur began his Inspec
tion of the capital of the Philip
pines, to which he had pledged
his return, at Bonlfacla monu
ment. '
He was met there by Ma,
Gen. Oscar W. Griswold, conv
mander of the 14th corps, Maj.
Gen, Vern D. Muge and Brig.
Gen. Wllllaim C. Chase of the
1st cavalry and Maj. Gen. Rob
ert S. Beightler of the 37th divi
sion. MacArthur shook hands with
Chase and told him he was mak
ing him a major-general.
He then proceeded to inspect :
the city, visiting both the Santa -Tomas
university camp and Bill-
bid prison, where he was cheer
ed by the liberated internees and
embraced by many of the wom
en prisoners.
Both Santo Tomas and Billbld
were under intermittent fire
from the Japanese when Mao
Arthur made his tour. Three
mortar shells hit a university
building just before MacArthur
arrived.
Fires were still burning near
tho waterfront and south of the
Pasig river in the heart of the
city.
It was estimated that Manila
suffered $2,000,000,000 damage
due to battle, bombings and de
molitions. At Santo Tomas. MacArthur
was embraced by Mrs. Carl
Seals, wife of Brig. Gen. Seal
who was . with . MacArthur . on
Corregidor and was shot down
attempting to evacuate by plane.
He now is a prisoner of war.
"I'm a little late," MacArthur
told her, "but we finally came."
Bombardment of the camp
continued sporadically through
out the day.
The internee and prisoner!
had remained in the two camps
pending completion of the mop-
up of Japanese resistance inside
the city of Manila.
In mldafternoon, the Japanese
scored at least four direct hita
on the main university building
at Santo Tomas. A shell dropped
directly in front of the entrance
of the main building at Billbld.
Santo Tomas was under fire,
probably from mortars, Intermit
tently throughout the day.
Gen. MacArthur visited in
ternees at both camps today but
luckily escaped enemy fire.
NAZIilORDS
T
London, Feb. 7 (O.PJ The
Nazi rulers of Germany served
grim warnings today that civil
servants as well as soldiers who
falter In the path of the Red
army would be executed or im
prisoned.
The Nazi overlords obviously
were embarking on a ruthless
campaign to stamp out the slight
est signs of defeatism as the war
reaches Its climax.
German home broadcasts for
the first time told of the execu
tion of a member of the civilian
administration of a German city
for neglect of duty and being
"devoid of honor." Details of the
charge were not given.
The civilian official executed
as the police president of Byd
goszcz (Bromberg), which was
captured by the Russians last
month. Three other officials of
Bydgoszcz, including the provin
cial president and the mayor,
were ousted from office, and put
in a "correctional battalion,"
German home broadcasts said.
The three men will be given
"partclularly ardous and hazar
dous tasks," the broadcasts said.
The deputy burgomaster of
Breslau was executed week
ago, but news of the incident was
broadcast only over the German
armed forces radio network.
Washington, Feb. 7. (U.PJ
The office of price administra
tion today set selling prices on
all types of fire wood sold by
farmers.
4