Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, March 18, 1945, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., March 18, 1945, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextWeather forecast: Sunday, mostly cloudy with rain showers In valley; snow In mountains Temp. Highest yesterday , .. 48 Lowest this morning 41 Precipitation .07 Use The MU Tribune Want Ad Way Quick Results At Small Coit TRIBUNE FORD United PrMi Full Lund Wire rated Press Full Leased Wlra Thirty-ninth Year MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 1945 NO. 302. MED , i B-29 RAIDS BURN 28 TO 36 NL IN 4 MAINJP CITIES f Kobe, Chief Port, Aflame Iwo Jima Battle Won, Costly To Marines' .Br United Freti Fleets of U. S. B-29s burned out from 28 to 36 square miles of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe in four obliteration as saults against Japan's war in dustries in the past week, it was announced Saturday. Smoke still obscured Kobe ATTACK RENEWED Washington. March 17 (U.PJ A fleet of "enemy carrier-borne planes" are attacking southern Kyushu and southern Shikoku, in the Japanese home islands, and an "enemy task force" has been sighted in waters south of Kyushu, enemy broadcasts said tonight. The broadcast, heard by the FCC, said the attack began at S a. m. Sunday (Japanese time). The dispatch was recorded at 9:50 p. m. EWT which would be 10:50 Sunday Japanese time, in dicating that the attack still was continuing after more than five hours. The attack, not confirmed by any allied source. after a record load of 2,500 tons of fire bombs cascaded into the heart of Japan's chief port. From nine to 12 miles of Kobe were aflame, observers said, but "in conclusive" official reports claimed only two square miles j destroyed until complete photo- graphs can be obtained. In Osaka 7.86 square miles were left in ruins Wednesday. Seventeen square miles in Tokyo and two miles in Nagoya were blackened, burned-out testimony in thp rviwpr nf this R-2Q hnmhor force. The official total of 28.86 square miles destroyed in the four cities was expected to be re vised upwards when details of the Kobe strike are known. The battle against Japan con . tinued on the ground. American troops in the Philippines drove ahead on three Luzon fronts, on the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao and landed forces on Basilan 24th of the islands to be invaded. Troops on Luzon pushed south nn d north of Manila to wipe out , the last Japanese. A general ad vance was made on Zamboanga. The two-months one-week old Luzon campaign has cost the enemy approximately 145,000 kmen, Gen. Douglas MacArthur "said. A total of 137.000 Japanese losses on other islands make a total of 282.000 enemy casualties in the past five months. The liberation of Luzon has taken 3.813 American lives, with 14,570 wounded and 196 miss ing a total of 18.579. In the central Pacific, at the nearest American base to Japan, ' the battle of Iwo was over. Mopping up operations were con tinuing as casualty figures show ed that approximately one of every three Americans who set foot on Iwo was killed or wounded in the most costly bat tle in marine corps history. Two of Iwo's airfields were Jn operation no and Pacific fleet surface units moved north of Japan to bombard Matsuwa is land in the Kuriles, 940 miles above Tokyo. But the price for the growing base at Iwo was 19,938 men killed, wounded or missing. Japanese dead totaled over 21.000 in the bloody 26-day ; campaign. k British and Indian troops in ManrlalaV wh ittled down the Jap pocket inside the town and other forces cut me mam nai.gu.. Mandalay highway. India-based c,mr(nHs 4ninpH the Burma of fensive with their fourth raid on Rangoon, large Jap supply case WARSfSlLAST Guam, Sunday, March 18 (U.PJ It was announced today, U. S. warships bombarded Matsuwa island In the Kuriles, 480 miles north of Japan. There were no details of the Pacific fleet's surface strike against Matsuwa. Explosions and I firec on the island, attacked sev cral limes previously by air and fleet units, were rerjorted. Jap anese shore batteries answered the warships but no damage was caused to the American vessels, u was announced. -iberated Prisoners - tAcme Telepkoto) Marine TBgt. Paul J. Wells of Ven ice. Calif, and "Soochow." canine mascot of the old Fourth Marine Regiment, arrive In San Francisco after almost three years spent as prisoners of the Japanese In the Philippines. Wells was taken prisi tner near Manila. "Soochow". on Corregldor. MEAT SUPPLY OP LAND, LEND-LEASE; SLASHED BY WFA Washington, March 17 (U.R) The government tonight told a public already hungry for beef and pork that it would have to get along with 12 per cent less meat in the next three months. Reasons: the worst meat fa mine since the drought-and-dust storm bright of 10 years ago; a four per cent increase in army and navy requirements; a six per cent drop in the U. S. meat supply from the first quarter of the year. Six government agencies are rushing along as rapidly as possi ble emergency measures to im prove the supply and assure equitable distribution. But, the war food administration said bluntly, there is no reason to be lieve the civilian supply picture will be any better in the third quarter than it will be in the April-May-June period. Not until the fall livestock' marketing season, the WFA said, will there be any substantial improvement in the picture, if then. Meanwhile, the shortage is so serious that there will be a "sub stantial" reduction in lend-lease shipments of meat as well as in supplies for U. S. civilians. Only Russia and the United Kingdom will receive any lend-lease meal in the next three months. A survey last week disclosed that meat supplies in stores al ready were at their lowest level since the start of the war. The 12 per cent cut is an over all reduction. Civilians will get more veal, lamb, and mutton in the quarter starting on April Fool's day. But they will get enough less beef and pork, al ready scarce, to offset the in creased supplies of veal, lamb. and mutton and still leave a 23 per cent cut. Not even the government be lieves the dwindling meat sup plies can be evenly distributed at first. All agencies concerned are working on a plan for equi trble geographical distribution but "some time" may elapse be fore the plan can prdouce re suits, it was said. Meanwhile, the Office of Price Administration was authorized to Issue new distribution regu lations to slaughterers and to make meat subsidy adjustments, effective April 1, designed to stimulate movement . of cattle and hogs to market. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Seattle, March 17 (U.PJ Nary a kernel of rice could be found in the Seattle home of Mrs. E. O. Englin tonight. Her son, Sgt Milton Englin. was home after 33 miserable, starving months in a Japanese prison camp on Lu zon. As soon as he arrived home, the marine started hunting down packages of rice. IRISH ON PARADE New York, March 17 (U.PJ It was the best day for the Irish in New York In 10 years. More than 1,000,000 persons turned out today to see the St. Patrick's day parade as it rolled up Fifth avenue under the first March 17 balmy breezes and spring sun - shine In a decade OREGON DEFEATS TO Webfeet Surge To 39-37 Victory In Last Half, After Lagging Eugene, Ore., March 17 (U.PJ The University of Oregon Webfeet battled their way to the Northern Division Title in ' the Pacific Coast Conference basket ball race here Saturday night with a 39 to 37 win over the Cougars of Washington State in the third and final game of their post-season playoff. Gathering fire as the game progressed, the Oregon, team surged to the victory with a typi cal Webfoot rally. Shackled and hounded by Vince Hanson, tall Cougar- center, and his team mates in the first half, the Web feet left the battje scene on the short end of a 21 to 15 score and that margin loomed large to everyone but the undiscouraged Webfeet. The six-point deficit was shaved exactly in half in only four minutes as the systematic Oregon team gathered speed and confidence. Contrary to their efforts in the first half, they didn t waste a shot in the sec ond half and they made every basket attempt count. Midway of the third quarter, the Oregon team surged ahead as Del Smith tossed in a long one from the side, and 6,000 fans went wild as the home team went into the lead by a 26 to 25 score. Bob Hamilton, Oregon guard, collected a free throw and the Oregon players were on their way. Another basket by Dick Wilkins gave them a three-point bulge, 29 to 26. The Cougars fought back to tie the score at 31-31. However, Oregon went ahead on baskets by Bartelt, Wilkins, Hamilton put the game on ice for the new champions. The Webfeet will leave Sun day night for Kansas City, Mo., where they are slated to play in the western finals of, the NCAA meet. Tall Vlnce Hanson had an other one of his big nights with 17 points added to his 26 scored last night. For Oregon, Dick Wilkins with 12 points and Jim Bartelt with 10 points were high point scorers and also the most consistent players on the floor Captain Bob Hamilton, with his leadership and six points in the scoring column, was a factor in the success of the Oregon team. STEALS CAR, BABY Concord, Mass., March 17 (U.R) A two-year-old baby had a joyride today with an escaped convict from the Concord re formatory. The child, Roger Mattison, son of a Brookline society girl was found unharmed when the convict abandoned the Mattison car at Cambridge, 15 miles east of here. Police said 18-year-old Robert St. Laurent walked away from a work squad removing ash cans from the homes of reformatory guards under cover of a thick foe. He walked a half-mile to West Concord where he stole the se dan which Mrs. Elizabeth Matti son had narked outside a store while she shopped, leaving her baby on the back seat. STATE TOGA 51-41 Salem, Ore., March 17 U.PJ The rangy Washington Colonials of Portland tonight annexed the Oregon state high school basket ball championship by tipping the Oregon City Pioneers, 51 to 41 In a fast final game of the 1945 tournament at the Willamette university gym here. BANDIT WOUNDS COP San Francisco, March 17 (U.PJ Sgt. William Albrecht of the San Francisco police force was shot through the head and ser tously wounded tonight when he attemoted to arrest a hold-up 1 suspect near the Bay bridge I ramp. ESCAPED CONVICT WASHINGTON WAR BULLETINS London. March 17 (U.PJ V-Bombs fall on nuthern Eng land durina the past 24 hours. but censorship did not permit disclosure of whether or not any had hit London. It was revealed Friday .for the first time that V-2 bombs had been hitting London. Mandalay, March 17 (U.PJ British and Indian troops squeesed Japanese forces into a pocket (lightly southeast of Fort Dufferin today as other emoire lrooos a few miles to the south cut the main Ran? goon-Mandalay highway. By United Press Chinest troops, gaining 18 miles in the past 24 hours. have advanced to the suburbs of Kanh Sien. former Ameri can airbase city of Kiangsi province, a Chinese communi que announced Saturday. Rome, March 17 (U.PJ Ar mored columns of the 5th army were hurled back from the northeastern approaches to Vergato by a vicious Ger man counterthrust that also cost the Americans the village of Salvaro, it was announced today. . ASHORE IN DALE COOS BAY COAST Crew of 31 Miracuously Saved From Sea By Coast Guardsmen Coos Bay, Ore.. March 17 (U.PJ Miraculous rescue of 31 seamen from the wrecked coastal steamer was completed at 9:20 tonight when the last 13 of the crew arrived safely on shore near Houser, Ore., aboard a life raft. Eighteen others had reach ed shore two hours earlier in the last life boat on the ship. Coos Bay, Ore.; March 17 (U.R) A I. S. Coast Guard res cue crew tonight reported no signs of life aboard a small coast al steamer which was aground and battered on the Oregon coast north of Coos Bay. . . A raging gale which this af ternoon reached a velocity of nearly 100 miles an hour had tempered some tonight and al though there was little hope for the lives of the crew of 30 men the Coast Guardsmen continued efforts to find and save the sea men. Meanwhile, it was disclosed that the ship belonged to the Olympic Steamship Company of San Francisco and that the skip per of the vessel was a Seattle, Wash., man. but names were withheld by request of the utn Naval District. Coast Guardsmen who were unable to put out rescue boats because of the fierce gale, were unsuccessful in attempts to throw lines to the vessel. Each time the lines missed or were swept from the deck by the heavy seas. Visibility was still very poor tonight and it was difficult to tell the condition of the ship. Crewmen had tossed nearly 1,- 000,000 board feet of lumber overboard in an effort to lighten the load. The lumber and wreckage is cluttering the Oregon beach in the vicinity of the wreck, but no bodies of crewmen have Been found despite the belief that many of the men might have been swent overboard in me wreck and the gale. BY SENATE SEEN Washington, March 17 (U.PJ Sen. John H. Bankhead, D., Ala., predicted tonight that the nomination oi Aubrey Williams to be REA administrator will come before the Senate Monday and will be beaten. Bankhead, sponsor of a reso lution to displace temporarily the pending Mexican Water Treaty and consider the contro versial Williams nomination, said In an Interview that the Williams opponents have enough votes to keep the former NYA head out of the REA post. It is "obvious" Bankhead said that Williams' supporters are do ing everything they can to delay a vote in the hope that aouDiiui senators may swing over In sufli cient numbers to cr.flrm the "leU of center" New Dealer, OF LEGISLATURE IS TERMINATED iremen's Pension Act Fails Publio Health Bill Changes Passed Salem, Ore., March 17 (U.PJ Ending a record session, the Oregon State Legislature ad journed for another two years tonight. The House broke up amid cheers and singing at 5:48 p. m. and the Senate followed at 6:C4. The House was in recess dur ing most of the afternoon as it waited for the Upper House to finish up the last odds and ends The House rushed through its last business in a 10-minute ses sion while the Senate dragged out its last brief meeting for nearly half an hour. Repeated salvage attempts tailed when sponsors of a Fire men's Pension Bill (HB207) suc cessfully resisted a "do not pass" committee report, but lacked the required majority to suspend the rules for final passage. The Issue has grown intense in re cent days as paid and volunteer firemen sought the disability and pension benefits under the bill. Opponents said a General Public Employes Retirement Bill recently enacted would help them adequately, and the Fire men s Bill was unsound. With a revamped Public Health Department Measure (SB89) stymied In House commit tee, the Senate gave final pas sage to a resolution (H.1IU7) to extract from it several provi sions for strengthening industrial hygiene protection. The House killed two Senate bills (SB333-334) to Increase the state's "take" from racing. The Legislature adjourned w'th a record number of 69 days devoted .t working over Ore gon s laws and passing ana re jecting new ones. GLEEFULLY TELLS Little Rock, Ark., March 17 (U.R) James W. Hall, 24-year-old taxicab driver and confessed slayer of six persons, laughling- ly led officers tonight to the de serted country spot where he said he choked and beat his wife to death "on a dark night" last August. Hall, "strutting like a proud turkey gobbler," displayed no emotion but high glee, the offi cers said, when they found Mrs. Hall's red dress, belt buckle and shoes, as well as the pile of bones that were her remains. It was on the farm of C. Fos ter, overlooking the winding Arkansas river, where Hall stop ped in a ravine and pointed out the spot. In Foster's farm home, some distance away, the officers re covered a skull which Hall Iden tified as that of his wife. Hall told the officers, "Yep. that's her! See the crooked teeth That's herl Foster said his children had made a plaything of the skull. He said tie had not reported the finding of the skull because he thought it was "some foreigner who'd drowned in the Arkansas and washed up on my place maybe a German prisoner of war." Hall told amazed officers that he drove with his wife into the country "on a dark night last August," led her up the road and down Into the ravine and choked ana beat her to death. State pclice and city and coun ty officers meanwhile studied details of his confession to the series of hitchhike murders and attempted to decide In which of four counties they would charge him with first degree murder. CRASH INJURES 23 Providence, R. I., March. 17 (U.PJ Some 23 passengers were Injured and a score more shaken tonight when a United Electric Railway Co. bus failed to ne gotiate a turn and crashed into an overpass upright. NEW HOUSING PROJECT Washington, March 17 U.R) The National Housing Agency to day authorized programs for the construction of new family hous- intf nnlf in vfn t IMm. Inrllld- I ing 1,000 units for Seattle, Wash. TAXIGAB DRIVER n Captives eg r- w v.- wf - v.v vo()ie- 4;:; Vi-VMv Ker minnitk K 1 iff : r- P 4 - , ' - N ' L- is. (Acma Ruiio-Telephoto) German prisoners of war. bagged when Americans burst across the Rhine, are marched throunh Remagen on their way back to prisoner of wai enclosures. They showed little regret that the war, for them, la over. Signal Corps radlo-telephoto. S SPLIT OF BALTIC PORTS London, Sunday, March 18 (U.PJ The red army, whittling down the Germans' Oder bridge head opposite Stettin to 30 square miles, yesterday seized the eastern end of the Autobahn bridge south of the blazing port on a six-lane, high-speed high way to Berlin, Moscow an nounced last night. The Germans undoubtedly had blasted the structure, but the Russians are known as the world's fastest bridge -restorers. Moscow dispatches said huge soviet forces were passing be fore the crossing site as well as along the Oder estuary north of Stettin for an outflanking drive on the reich capital. While Marshal Gregory - K. Zhukog's first White Russian army stormed Stettin's dockslde suburb, Altdamm, other soviet troops were reported by un official Moscow sources to have smashed to the sea between Gdynia and Danzig, splitting the defenders of those Baltic ports. ' The Soviets apparently reached Danzig bay In the area of Zoppot, a peace-time gambling resort be tween Danzig and Gdynia, a Moscow dispatch . said. Other Russians stormed suburban Alt damm across the Oder mouth from burning Stettin and it ap peared that all three ports might be in soviet hands In a matter of days if not of hours. The soviet high command clamped a news blackout on the 200-mile crucial sector Between Stettin and the Sudeten foothills, but a Moscow dispatch said: "There is reason to expect sig nificant events in the very near future." . i RHINE CITIES TD London, March 17 (U.PJ A spokesman for Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower broadcast a warn ing over the British radio to night to civilians and workers in Frankfurt on the Main and the twin Rhine cities of Ludwigs hafen and Mannheim that those points would be bombarded mer cilessly by the Allies. The broad cast advised civilians to move to safe places outside those combat areas. Woman Prisoner Is Mother Second Time Jefferson City, Mo March 17 (U.PJ Authorities at the Mis souri state penitentiary said to day that Mis Clara Fish, 32- year-old Inmate serving a term for murder, had given girth to a nine-pound boy. It was the second time sna has become a mother since she entered the prison in 1932. In March, 1936, she became the mother of a child but lt died at birth. The red-haired woman re vealed her pregnancy to prison officials last Sept. 13. She charg ed that a convict attacked hrr In the women's dormitory In June. The convict denied the charge. of Rhine Battle v i . -1 Washington, March 17 (U.PJ The office of price administra tion took another big slice out of civilian tire quotas tonight and, in addition, ordered old pur chase certificates cancelled. The agency said that in April the civilian passenger tire allo cation will be only 1,000,000 tires, a cut of 37 Vi per cent from the March quota" of 1,600,000. This bad news came shortly after War Production Chief J A. Krug said tires would remain one of the most critical pro grams "as long as the war lasts." Under the reduced quotas, only the most essential types of drivers will be granted pur chase certificates. Outstanding certificates dated before December 1, 1944, will be cancelled by April 1, the OPA said, to eliminate the threat that these certificates estimated to number 2,000,000 would pre sent to the drastically reduced supply. A shortage of carbon black, an essential ingredient In tire man ufacture, was blamed by OPA for the April cut, Krug said new facilities to in crease carbon black production are being rushed into operation But he warned that "however much production is stepped up military demands will continue to be heavy." AT MEET Chicago, March 17 (U.R) Ap proval of liquor and entertain ment appropriation for the San rrancisco United Nations con ference means that "John Bar leycorn instead of the churches' will sit at the peace and post war conference table, the Wom en's Christian Temperance Un ion said today. Mrs. D. Leigh Colvln. presi dent of the WCTU, said house approval in Washington of a $585,000 appropriation for the state department should be con demned. She urged that Its fur thcr progress be opposed by all cicar-thlnking Americans." Former Duce Ai3e Held War Criminal By United Press The British radio said Satur day that a warrant hat been Is sued for , the arrest of Dino Grandl, former Italian fascist foreign minister and ambassador to Britain, by the Rome Com mission In charge of punishing Fascist war criminals. The broadcast, heard by the FCC, said Grand! had fled to Portu gal. SAYS RED WILLING Seattle, March 17 (U.PJ Rus sia will enter actively Into a world organization of nations if lt Is convinced that organization can maintain peace, David M. Nochol, war correspondent for the Chicago Daily News, said here today. OPA ORDERS CUT IN APRIL QUOTA CIVILIAN TIRES COBLENZ TOPPLES, TANKS DRIVE FOR RICH SAARjASIN Patton Near Junction With Seventh Army Nazi Re-', treat Balked Paris, Sunday, March-18 (U.PJ Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's 3d army captured the major Rhine. land city of Coblenz yesterday while three of his tank divisions were enveloping the rich Saaf basin and approaching a Junct ure with the U. S. 7th army, less than 50 miles away. Three 3d army tank divisions, plus other . tank battalions at tached to infantry, already were) 40 miles south of Coblenz In tha swiftest power drive of the war. They reached the Nahe river and were threatening the 11-day road and rail junction of Bad Kreuznach, the transportation key to the Saar basin. Authoritative sources at Gen. Omar N. Bradley's 12th army group headquarters said the Ger mans had waited -too long to ef fect a successful withdrawal from the Saar to the east bank of the Rhine and would elect to stand and fight with the rem nants of their 1st and 7th armies rather than attempt a last-minute helter-skelter retreat.. But Allied airmen spotted large scale withdrawals from the closing Saar trap, and it seemed evident that the Ger mans were attempting to salvaga what they could to fight another day on the east bank of tha Rhine. They spotted many columns of trucks and horse-drawn vehi cles tieeing south and southeast before Patton's armored col umns, trying to reach the rail roads running east to the Rhino . 1. ...... V. .. -i thence 'to safety across tha Rhine. Third army spokesmen said the speed of the drive 33 miles in less than 48 hours caught the Germans flat-footed and pre vented them offering -coherent resistance. The drives of the tank col umns were cloaked In a security blackout, but German dispatches said massed tank formations of the 4th armored division had reached the area of Bab Kreuz nach, major transit hub 40 miles south of Boblenz and nine miles south of the big bend of tha Rhine at Bingen. At Bab Kreuznach they were) only 50 miles from a junction with the 7th army's 63d division at Ommensheim and 55 miles from the 100th division at Bitche. To the east and south east it is 22 miles to Oppenheim on the Rhine and 26 miles to tha great Rhine center of Worms. Late front dispatches disclosed that the 10th and 11th armored divisions were racing south parallel with the 4th to trap the remnants of two German armies against the Rhine and be tween the tank columns and tha U. S. 7th army. Portland, Ore., March 17 U.R) Oregon has liquor on hand to avert any cutting of rations for the next several months. Chair man Hugh R. Kirkpatrick of tha state liquor control commission said today. The state Is In better condition than any other, from a drinkers' point of view, Kirkpatrick said in reporting on a national sur vey. Six of the 17 states in which liquor Is sold by the package rather than by the drink, have been forced to cut rations since February 10. The Burke bill to regulate tha sale of fortified wine apparently has caused the sale of sweet wines to drop In Oregon. Grant Union Wins Third Place Spot Salem, Ore., March 17 (U.R) A foul shot In the last 30 sec onds of play by Glen Eddy of Grant Union high gave his team a 28 to 27 triumph over Arling ton and third place in the state high school basketball tourna ment's "B" division. The winners came from be hind in the first quarter to tie Arlington 13-13 at the halfway mark and then went on to nab a 22 to 18 lead at the end of the third quarter.