Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, March 30, 1945, Image 1

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Medford mail tribune., March 30, 1945, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextYankee Naval Task Forces Invade Japan's Home Waters 3 Weather force ait: Fair tonight and Sat urday. Little change In tem perature. Temp. lgheit yerterday 4 Loweit thli morning )g PraclplUtlon to a a. hl, noA Fortieth Year Germans Stasre Wholesale Surrencr: Reds 18 MILES OF BIG Capture of Wiener Neustadt Would Cut Rails Supply ing Nazi Forces in South. London, March 30 (U.R) The red army today was reported driving on Vienna along five highways south of the Danube and was only 30 miles from the Austrian capital at Sopron, which was reported besieged. The German high command admitted the fall of Danzig and Gdynia. The Germans, however, claimed the soviet drive into Austria had been halted. Near Wiener Neustadt At Sopron the Russians were only 18 miles from the huge Austrian manufacturing and war center of Wiener Neustadt, often a target for American heavy bombers and the rail lines unit ing Austria with the south. The rail lines are also vita! to the supply of the German forces till holding out in northern Yugoslavia. The Germans were reported massing troops along the Leite river line lust a few mues in ad vance of soviet spearheads for a last stand to save Vienna. Flanking Threat One soviet column threatened to flank Vienna from the south. North of the Danube, the red army forced the Hron and Nitra rivers on a broad front and ad vanced 37 miles to within 48 miles of Bratislava, capital of the puppet state of Slovakia. Vienna lies 30 miles west of Bratislava. LEER. FATALLY INJURED Lee Roy Dodgers, 46, route 2, box 69, Berrydale avenue, was M killed Wednesday night when a truck he was driving, belonging to Tru-Mix Cement company of MpHfnrd. left the road on Green sDrine mountain and plunged about 150 yards down the can von. accordine to Deputy Cor- . nner C. M. Litwiller. Ashland The accident happened about 1V4 miles below the Summitt ranch on highway 66, and was not found until 3:45 p. m. Thurs day. The Tru-Mix officials said to day Rodgers was hauling a drag line bucket to Klamath Falls for work on the naval program there. They said the equipment was in good shape and the truck was not overloaded. Rodgers was an exceptionally careful driver, according to company spokesmen. Litwiller estimated the time " of the accident as 9:37 p. m. Wednesday since Rodgers' watch had stopped at that time. The watch had been broken in the accident, Litwiller said. The truck burned after rol ling down the embankment, ac cording to Litwiller, who said the body was found about six feet in front of the wreck. Lit wilier said there was no known cause of the accident, but said it was foggy on the mountain Wednesday night Lawrence E. Nash, formerly of Medford but now Uving in Klamath Falls, found the wreck. Me was on his way from Med ford to his home when his car became overheated. He stopped to allow it to cool and saw the wreck in the canyon. It had rusty appearance from the road way due to the fire, Litwiller ( said Nash told him, but went to ' Investigate when he noticed tires and wheels scattered down the hillside. Rodgers is survived by his wife and two children in Med ford, Litwiller said. Medford United Fnu-Full Drive On Vienna On Five Roads Giant U. imnijiinntMinnnul ssygiOLCTliNyf fK"h" ' C V EA5T ir. J.;: viL- "''" .TjI 'omwakia iAr,w " 1 LsJAj1! 'X POLAND ""sNML tAxnJf''", JV! . RUSSIA .JfT' wS) Ci U,,VV a c f,lm ) V T n : eSTUTTCAW - W i" -A f SL6VAKIA , . .,1. F WURTTEMBERG IAVARIA; NJ "?0-i J I , FRANCE it VyTtZ T" VKINZ ,J'S-' Clwr ,. T A.9ilM.rj J?" ,-VINNAVJk,fBRATISLAVA ! (Acme lelephoto) Giant strides were taken by Allied Armies on both west and east fronts. XT. B. First and Third Armies linked up after reaching Rauschenberg, were believed pushing toward Leipzig. To the south, another Third Army's spearhead passed Gemuenden and was headed for pos sible Juncture with Russians who were reported across Austria border and within 40 miles of Vienna. Soviet forces also were said to have taken Zehden, last Nazi hold east of Oder and a juncture may be ahead with B ritish and American Armies roaring east north of Ruhr. BIG THREE AGREE ON VOTE SET-UP FOR CONFERENCE Washington, . Mar. 30. flJ.B The big three have agreed that Russia and the United States should ask for three votes apiece on the assembly to be set up within the proposed United Na tions security organization, the White House revealed today. Russian spokesmen at the Yalta conference indicated they would request three votes on the assembly when the San Fran cisco conference convenes April 25, the announcement said. American represen t a 1 1 v e s agreed to this, with the provis ion that the United Nations or ganization also would give three votes to the United States and its possessions, the White House said. Russians Agreeable The Russians will ask specifi cally for extra votes on the as sembly for the Ukrainian Soviet Republic and the White Hussian Soviet Republic. The White House announce ment added that both the British and Russians at the Crimea con ference said "they would have no objection to the United States having three votes in the assem bly" if Russia gets three votes, The White House announce ment came less than two hours after Sen. Arthur H. Vanden- berg. R.. Mich., who will be a member of the United States delegation to the San Francisco conference which starts April 25. had said he would be un alterably opposed to any plan to revise the voting setup drafted at Dumbarton Oaks. One Vote Each Planned That plan called for every member nation: of the proposed world organization to have one vote on the assembly. The big five nations, plus six smaller members chosen on a rotating basis, would have one vole each on the organization's council under the Dumbarton Oaks plan. The British empire would have six votes on the assembly under the Dumbarton Oaks set upone vote for the United Kingdom and one each for the five British dominions. Russia was reported to be dls satisfied with this bloc of British votes. She also was understood to be dissatisfied with having only one vote in view of the western hemisphere bloc of 20 or 21 votes on the assembly. Uwd Wire MEDFOED, OREGON, FRIDAY, MARCH 30, S.-Russian Blows Hammer Germany 336 Liberees Made Welcome un Arrival rrom rniuppines San Francisco, March 30 U.R Three hundred and thirty-six American civilians rescued from the Japanese by Gen. Douglas MacArthur's troops set foot on their home soil for the first time in more than three years today. Their reactions as the navy transport which returned them from the Philippines slid into a pier here varied from tears to cheers and sheer disbelief. Some, like Mrs. Nezzie D. Meng of Denver, and Mrs. Elsie M. Parks of Hibbing, Minn., said they had been so numbed by the 61 ENLIST IN NAVY Six Jackson county men were inducted into the navy at the USNRS, Seattle, recently. Delbert William Clark, Her bert Wilson Gifford, Wayne Kenneth Dye, and George Pres ton Goolsby were inducted March 24 through Jackson coun ty board No. 2. John Sheldon Wood and Frank Edward Hall registered with Jackson county board No. 1, were Inducted March 26. Wilson, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Gifford, South Oakdale, Is stationed at San Diego, where he is studying radar. DOUBLE DEATH Philadelphia, March 30. U.PJ Mrs. Frances Wadja, 68, was killed yesterday in an automo bile accident while on her way to make funeral arrangements for her husband, Leon, who died Tuesday. SIDE GLANCES By TRIBUNE REPORTERS Harry Young opining that this is a difficult season of the year, as far as the consumption of beverages is concerned. Pete Naumes industriously giving hit lawn an early spring mowing. A weatherman declaring that he knows it's spring since the sunlight reflected off the win dows of the junior high school building wakes him up mornings Seth Bullis tipping a friend off to the bargains to be found t a rummage sale. tragic things they had witnessed that even their homecoming could not thrill them. Mrs. Meng has not heard from her husband. Paul, an airlines official, since she left their home at lloilo on Luzon Dec. 1, 1941, for a vacation at Baguio. She fears that he is dead. Mrs. Parks, a missionary, said she could not recount the hor rible sights she had seen. Curtis and Bernard Brooks, 16, twin brothers, came back without their parents. Their father. Bernard, died of mal nutrition in Santo Tomas only a few days before American sol diers crashed through the gates. Their mother, Emily, was killed when the Japanese shelled the camp four days after the libera tion. "I would rather not talk about it," said the Rev. Raymond D. Abbitt of Victoria, Va., who was rector of an Episcopalian church on Mindanao. "After you haven't seen the American flag for three years, you realize how wonder ful it is." LT. NI0N TUCKER, JR. KILLED ON IW0 JIMA Prospect, March 29. Lt. Nion Tucker, Jr., died of wounds shortly after a major battle on Iwo Jima, according to word re ceived here from Mr. and Mrs. Nion Tucker of San Francisco, the marine officer's parents. "Buddy" Tucker, as he was known here, spent several weeks each summer at his parents' summer home "Rogue's Roost", near here. SECRETARY TO F.R. Washington, Mar. 30. (U.PJ Jonathan Daniels, former editor of the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer, was sworn in today as President Roosevelt s press sec retary. Fair Weather Is Easter Forecast, Say Weathermen The valley's feminine church-goers may wear their new Easter bonnets Sunday without fear of rain. Ac cording to the five-day fore cast of federal weather bu reau workers In this district, Suncity is expected to be fair. Forecast for Saturday is fair with little change in temperature. However, Monday and Tuesday of next week will probably bring a change, the weathermen say, with cloud iness and showers forecast for that time. o DISPIRITED NAZIS QUITTING AT RATE Bag of 70,000 Chalked Up By Allies in 48 Hours Enemy Lines Chopped Up Paris, March 30.-rflJ.R) Whole sale surrenders were reported spreading through the German ranks in the west today as two American tank armies careened within 180-odd miles of Berlin In a twin drive to envelop the Ruhr and outflank the Weser river line in central Germany. Unconfirmed reports broad cast by the London radio said beaten, disspirited Germans were surrendering at the rate of 2,000 an hour today. Coupled with the capture of more than 33,000 Nazis by the U. S. first and third armies alone yesterday, tljnt indicated a bag of perhaps 70,000 enemy troops by all allied armies in 48 hours and the break-up of Ger many's armies in the west. Enemy Lines Chopped Virtually all the western front was under a military security blackout, but field dispatches filtered through, the censorship made it clear that the greatest break-through of the western war was" tearing the German lines apart. The American first army was loose on a wide front east of the Ruhr valley and racing north toward an imminent juncture with British second army forces on the Westphalian plain. Vanguards of the British force were reported in the West phalian capital of Muenster, 227 miles from Berlin, and fanning out to the northwest toward Bre men and Hannover. The advance was going ahead so rapidly that at one point dramatic "hold your fire" order was flashed to RAF fliers swarming out to pound the Ger mans fleeing road columns. Close On Enemy Heels British tank forces were so close on the heels of the retreat ing enemy that the air attacks had to be called off for a time to avoid hitting allied troops. In the Muenster area, the Brit ish were less than 40 miles from a juncture with U. S. first army tanks, last reported at Pader born, 190 miles southwest of the German capital. The Yanks were ranging out almost unopposed to the north and east of that road center after a sensational 100-mile flanking sweep from the Giessen area. On the first army's right flank the American third army's plunging tank columns were plowing northeast and east from Giessen at a mile-an-hour clip striking along the main Frank furt-Berlin superhighway. The German high command said third army forces were at Bad Wildungen, 186 mile southwest of Berlin and 19 miles southwest of the Hessian capital of Kassel. Kassel, keystone of the Germans' Weser river line, was being outflanked from the southwest and southeast. Its fall would break the enemy'i last major water line short of the Elbe and Berlin. LISTED MISSING Pvt. Rodney A. Witham, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Witham of 1428 East Main street, has been reported missing In action In the European theater according to Information received by his par ents. Pvt. Witham had been scrv Ing with the 94th Infantry Divl slon of Gen. Patton's Third army The soldier, a graduate ol Medford high school and a for mer student at the University oi Oregon, had been overseas since last July. 1945 Tribune United Prai Full OF Sale of Canadian Aluminum to United States Is At tacked by Oregon Senator Washington, March 30-jOJ.R) Sen. Guy Cordon (R., Ore.), to day asked the senate small busi ness committee to make a com plete investigation of what he said was a "hush-hush deal" be tween U. S. government agencies and the Aluminum Company of Canada. He said the deal provides for the sale of "billions of pounds of Canadian aluminum" to this country. Cordon said the most recent contract for Canadian aluminum was between Alcan and the Metals Reserve Corp. He said it calls for deliveries of 250,000,- 000 pounds of aluminum to be gin July 1, 1B45. U. S. Coin In Alcan The Defense Plants Corp. by 1942 had put $68,500,000 into the construction of the . Alcan plant near Arvida, Quebec, he said. This plant is beyond U. S. control and taxation," Cordon testified. "Profits remain with Alcan." Four contracts over a period of two years were negotiated be tween war production Board ana the state department providing for the delivery of the "billions of nounds of Canadian alum inum" to this government, he said. He fadded that all the ne- eotiationsl "were kept secret Cordon; said he wantea to find out why the government was , . interested . in advancing money to j he Canadian company arch. 1943, projects to when in I build alun lnum plants near ine Shasta, alif.: Grand couiee, Wash., and Big Thompson, Colo., dams were turned down Dy WPB. Cheaoer Her At the same time, he said, the aluminum plant at Troutdaie, Ore., beean ODerations in 1943 only "after public opinion forced action." He said he had "personal knowledge" that aluminum can be produced In the northwest United States for less than the 15 cents a pound which is to be paid to Alcan. r-nrrinn Rdlfl Yfa nas reueunj closed down or reduced output of several plants in the north west because "aluminum is run ning out of our ears. Ho unirt he nooea u iuii mo- closure of the Alcan deals would lead to a congressional declara tion of policy to provide an ade quate stockpile of strategic ma terials. "finlv that wav." he added "will we never again be caught with aluminum running out of our ears at one time and noming at all the next time." federaOIeau OF WILL MOVE HERE Onpratlnu office headquar ters for the Federal Bureau of Reclamation for southwestern Oreeon are to be moved from Grants Pass to Medford accord ing to Information supplied the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce by F. H. Hart, re- clammatlon engineer in charge of the office. The bureau is engaged In the analysis of soil, conservation of wildlife, irrigation, flood con trol and recreation and has for a period of some years been compiling a complete analysis of the Rogue River basin. Both the Chamber of Commerce and the Rogue River water commit tee have been cooperating with the bureau for some time with the objective of determining the best use of water and land with in the county. Hart has conferred with Frank DeSouza, Medford post master, concerning the possibil ity of securing office space In the federal building and through the cooperation of E. P. Leavitt, superlnten dent of Crater Lake Nntional Park, may have temporary quarters In the office suite of the park head quarters. Leased Wire NO. 7. 98 NEW LAWS ON OREGON STATUTE BOOKS IN EFFECT Bills Cover Wide Variety of Subjects Which Are Put Into Immediate Effect. Salem, Ore., Mar. 80 U.R) Ninety-eight new laws are now on Oregon's statute books and in full effect this week, following the 43rd session of the legisla ture which passed them. Ordinarily bills do not become law for 90 days after their signature by the governor, but these 98 bills carried the emerg ency clause, making them in full force and effect" after their signature, Of these 30 were senate bills, 68 were house bills. Cover Wide Range The new laws cover a whole variety of subjects from appro priating millions of dollars to granting claims against the state for less than $500, and from making administrative changes in the unemployment compensa tion law to accepting a new den tal school for the state. The emergency clause which caused the most furor in the re cent session was the one attach ed to senate bill 62, the "PUD" bill, designed to prevent the pur chase by people s utility districts of outlying facilities. Opponents thought that the emergency clause was tacked on to prevent a referendum of the measure to a vote of the people. The clause prevents referen dum, and it is unquestioned that in some Instances the clause i used for that purpose, but ordi narily it is placed on a bill for the reason its name implies that an emergency does exist and the law is needed, and right now. Money Bills Needed Among the bills which carried the clause, and are now part of Oregon s law, are the appropri ation bills; laws raising either permanently or temporarily the salaries of county officials in many counties; bills appropriat ing money to finance interim committees and the bill authoriz ing a special election on June 22, This last bill needed the clause so that preparation for the elec tion could proceed. Other new laws Include a number of changes In the admin istrative procedure in a number of departments, particularly the compensation commission money for forest land acquisi tion and the eradication of pests authorization for the fish and game commissions to propagate wildlife, place screens on irriga tion ditches, and change the fish ing season in many places: auth orizing the destruction of useless papers by county courts; chang ing the bounty laws; authorizing loans to veterans and funds for the burial and relief of indigent veterans, and creating a director of apprenticeship. TO BERLIN By United Press The nearest distances to Berlin from advanced allied lines today: Eastern front 31 miles (from Zaeckerlck.) Western front 188 miles (from south of Paderborn). Italian front 524 miles (from Po Dl Prlmaro river). Many Soldiers To Observe Easter Rites In Holy Land Jerusalem, March 30 (U.PJ Msgr, Lulgl Barlassina, Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land, en tered the gate of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher this morn ing, followed by hundreds of pilgrims along the "way of the cross," to start Easter services. The sun shone on the old city's streets. Throngs of civil ian and uniformed pilgrims came to the Holy City to cele brate Easter. Among them were hundreds of British and American sol diers, some of whom came from as far as Morocco' and Burma. Four special planes brought 112 American Jewish soldiers OF IN EIGHTH DAIS, Japs Report 150 TO 2,000 Ships Engaged In Blast ing Broad Installation Guam, Saturday, March 31 U.R) American naval task forces have invaded the ooastal waters of Japan's home islands, approaching within a few miles of the enemy's "sacred soil," Tokyo reported today. One U. S. naval force ap peared near Ashlzurl Zaml, at the southern tip of Shikoku island, on Thursday, Tokyo re ported. It was on Shikoku that Japan first established its major prisoner-of-war camps. Some Near Tanega "Part of the enemy task forcet made its appearance near Tan ega Shlma," Tokyo said. Tanega is only 25 miles from the coast of Japan. Ashizuri Zakl liea across the Bungo channel from Kyushu, site of some of Japan's biggest Industries and naval bases. The enemy said the task force! off Ashizuri Zaki "has made it retreat." There was no refer ence to a bombardment or of any counter-measures. Japanese forces." said Tokyo, "are still hunting down the enemy task forces in th neighboring waters of the Jap anese homeland." The enemy, reported at least four allied task forces, includ ing 17 battleships, were blast ing away at Japan's southern approachei for the eighth straight day in preparation for an invasion of Okinawa island in trie Hyuyus. Big Force Seen Japanese estimates of thm task forces which the said has been hitting Installa tions au me way from Japan proper to the Sakishimas, 600 miles to the southwest, ranged from 150 surface ships to 2,000, inuiuuing transports and land ing craft. One Tokyo broadcast said "aW most the entire American Pa clfic ' fleet", was .mobilized for the assault. (A German transocean dii patch recorded by the United Press in London said 150 Amer. lean Superfortresses raided Tokyo this morning with new type incendiary bombs and caused fires at several places.) IN AUTO ACCIDENT Kenneth Llndley, 16, received severe head injuries late yesteri day afternoon when a model A Ford he was driving hit a sot shoulder at the corner of East Jackson boulevard and Haw thorne avenue and overturned. Larry Coates, 15, only passen ger, was uninjured. Llndley was taken to Community Hospi tal by the Perl ambulance and his attending physician stated today that he was being allowed to rest before x-rays were taken. According to police records the youth, who was driving a car belonging to Carl Anderson, 419 Pearl street, was driving at a high rate of speed on the wrong side of the road when the accident occurred. Reports to police earlier in the afternoon were to the effect that the car was being recklessly driven in the vicinity of the high school. Llndley Is the son of Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Llndley, Spring street, and young Coates resides at 1307 Reddy avenue. to Palestine Wednesday for Passover Eve and then returned them to their mid-east camp, making the trip back to Jeru salem with Christian soldiers who are spending Easter here. Special services have been ar ranged in the various holy places for the pilgrims. Many of them walked the Via Dolor osa early this morning. Others went to Gethsemane and Beth lehem. The traditional music of th "Crucifixion" will be sung to night by the choir of Christ Church and members of the armed forces. An Easter broad cast (NBC) to New York will be transmitted from the Jersu salem YMCA Sunday afternoon.