1
WEATHER
Low 18
PRECIPITATION
Seaaon to dato 8.68
Normal precipitation 4.21
Lift year to date ,...w 3.97
to our reodori and
frlondi everywhere.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IN THE SHASTA-CASCADE WONDERLAND
UNITED PRESS
'RICE KIVE CENTS
KLAMATH FALLS, ORROON, WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 31, 1941
Number 9472
COLDE
fill
I
mil m mM m mm
' - ; .
In the
DayV
News
By FRANK JENKINS
1UVATE dispatches received
In Now Yurk today Indicate
that tlio full of Manila la Immlii-cnt-
- . . '
A HM
Philippine" rrKrt tliut Mac
Arthur'i forces. DKSI'KKATrXY
OUTNUMHKUtU. uru foiling
hack under Uio aanaull of Jup
unro Infuntry, tanks and dive
bombers.
The Jupa apparently linvc
complete control of llio air over
Luzon.
Tho U. S. army ! utlenipling
to evacuate 30(1 seriously wound
ed Americana by aen from Luzon
laland. Success or (allure of the
attempt t not apparent at tlieae
words are written.
EEP thla In mind (to aleady
your nervea):
American war plana have
never called for permanont de
tente of the Philippines. Now.
projected auddenly Into a world
war. It la too lalo to change.
or
N London today a Urillah
authority" aaya:
"Allied atratcuy calla for do
fenae of Singapore WITH ALL
THE MEANS AT OUR DIS
POSAL In order that It may
become the bane for the offenalva
to be launched In tho Pacific
arte."
WfE thua have before in today
the probable picture of
event! to come.
Manila will probably have to
bo tllvcn up. Attempting to de
fend It would bo too dangcroua.
Jap command of the air can't be
dlaregardcd.
Tho American Asiatic fleet
will doubtloai bo baaed on Sing
apore, and both defensive and
offenalve opcratlona conducted
from there.
TPAKE a look horc at your map.
It will convince you quick
ly enough of tho auprcmu Im
portance of Singapore. With
hsingaporo gone, the Jupa would
not only have the oil and rubber
of the Dutch Ku.it Indies, but the
way would bo cleared for them
to attack the British In tho rear
in the Middlu East.
If audi an attack ahould be
made nnd ahould be successful. It
would reacuo Hitler from the
worst of his difflcultlea.
A THOUGHT at thla point for
tonight's New Year's Eve
celebrants:
With your country confronted
by the gravest emergency In its
history, be serious rather than
frivolous.
Take it easy. Be moderate!
A next morning headache
never holpcd anybody's cf
n flclcncy. National efficiency is
what wo need ABOVE ALL
ELSE.
i
A YEAR ago today Hitler, in a
New Year's measago to his
troops, said:
."Tho year 1041 will BRING
COMPLETION of tho grcntest
Vvlctory In our history,"
' Today, speaking again to his
soldiers In a Now Year's order
of tho day, ho snys:
"1941 HAS BEEN a year of
heaviest decisions and most
sanguinary fighting but WILL
BE known In history as the year
of our greatest victories of all
times."
Ho adds that Russian power
must bo definitely smashed.
WHILE Hitler was thus ad
dressing his pcoplu and his
soldiers, tho Kuibyshev (Russian)
radio was broadcasting:
"In 1042, wo shall chase every
German out of Russia and score
final victory."
Remember that It will be
DEEDS, not words, that will lick
Hitler.
QN tho fnvornblo side, the
Russlnns rucross tho Kerch
Witralt, retake tho town of Kerch,
press on to the west and give
cvory proof of possession of suf
ficient power to throw tho Ger
mans out of the Crimean penln-
(Continued on Pago Two)
E
L
Stalin Urges Troops
To Clean Crimea
Of Germans
MOSCOW, Thursday, Jan. 1
(H'l The red army lias captured
the Important center of Kaluga
on thr Moscow front, a communi
que wild early today.
Kaluga, mil center of the Oka
river. Is somewhat more than
100 miles south of Moscow. It
has been one of the main objects
of the Russian Oka river counter-offensive.
The railway Junction of Novy
Klriskl and a number of other
points were also reMrlcd rcoc
cupled. MOSCOW, Dec-31 (P)
Soviet fighting men who smash
ed axis troops In tho Crimean
panhandle during a 48 hour but
tle, recapturing two cities, were
exhorted by Premier Joseph
Stalin today to rid the whole
peninsula of the Germans "and
their Rumanian and Italian un
derlings." Lifting of tho six-week siege
of Soviutoool, the soviet Wmk
sea naval base, obviously was an
Intermediate objective.
The fortified city of Kerch, a
potential gateway to the oil
Caucasus on the narrow strait
linking the Azov and Black sea
port of Feodosiya, 55 miles to
tho southwest, were regained
yesterday, the government an
nounced. "Retreating on both these sec
tors, the enemy Is being pursued
by our units, the soviet infor
mation bureau said.
Red army and navy forces
"valiant troops x x x and glor
ious seamen" in (he words of
Premier Stalin cooperated in
tho counter-invasion, striking
hard and swiftly against Kerch
from the cast and Feodosiya from
the south.
Mercury Slides
To 13 Degrees on
Last Day of Year
A rush on tire chains and
other cold weather equipment
was felt by automohilo accessory
shops as Old Man Winter main
tained his scat on tho Klamath
hills and watched tho mercury
slldo to a new low for the year.
Minlmu m tcmperaturo In
Klamath Falls early Wednesday
morning, last day of tho year,
fell to 13 degrees, coldest day of
1041. It was 33 degrees maxi
mum on Tuesday, tho US weath
er bureau stated.
Sand creek residents shivered
In a two degrees above zero tem
perature at 8 o'clock Wednesday
morning, and at Chcmult a min
imum of 10 degrees above was
reported to the state highway de
partment. Roads were In excel
lent winter driving condition
and well sanded, It was said.
REDS CAPTUR
CENTER
GAPTAL
Contributions Received By Red
Cross in War Relief Campaign
Contributlona previous
ly acknowledged $4058.88
Contributions received
Wednesday 188.50
Total $4227.38
Plnns for awakening Klam
ath's business and Industrial in
terests to the necessity of mak
ing si .cable contributions to the
Red Cross war relief fund were
discussed at the Red Cross
board meeting Tuesday.
Small contributions nro com
ing in steadily nnd satisfactorily,
It was pointed out, but Klamath
cannot hope to fill in its $10,
000 quota without immediate
and heavy response from the
business district. Such responses
havo bcon few and far between
to (late.
It was noted with some hu-
mlllnllnn 4hnt tun counties .
Lane and Deschutes have - al
Two Mysteries, ,
Flood Top Local
News for 1941
Airport Development
Leading Story
Of Progress
By ARTHUR BREMER
"War Declurcd!" transcended
all local news as the year 104)
drew to a close, but war's black
outs and threats of stern sacrifice
failed to obscure entirely a hand
ful of local events that splashed
tho front page earlier in the
year.
In contrast to other recent
years, however, when more than
10 events clamored for places,
the selection of 1041's "Big Ten"
developed Into a struggle to find
even 10 stories that were out
standing. Included In this year's top 10
storlei are violent death, flood
and fire, as well as community
progress end noteworthy Im
provements, but high on the list
are headings that denote accumu
lated stories and not single, ban
ner line events. It was not a year
that could be called dull from a
news standpoint, but there was
a lack of "hot" stories.
Vying for leadership, on the
basis of impact and lasting In
terest, were two stories of violent
doalhj Both hacj, ttiarelcment of
myslcry required to leaven the
reader's disgust -at the facts
themselves and both entailed
considerable detective work and
astute deduction, but the death
of Marie Russell took precedence
over the Buffalo Lunch robbery
slaying. It struck deeper.
Miss Russell, a 17-ycar-old
Soons 4gree
On President's
War Spending
WASHINGTON. Dec. 31 W)
Congressional leaders agreed en
thusiastically today to President
Roosevelt's program for channel
ing half the national income into
the war effort In the next fiscal
year.
Democrats and republicans
alike declared there was not the
slightest doubt that congress
would honor every qualified re
quest for funds to building up
tho nation's fighting power.
The only question that bother
ed any of them was whether ma
chines and manpower were avail
able to absorb the 50 odd billions
of dollars to be poured into the
industrial military structure.
As to that, however, Senator
Austin (R-Vt.), the assistant re
publican leader, said that the
president obviously was thor
oughly informed on the indus
trial situation and knew what
could bo done before approving
such a vast projected outlay.
"Our expenditures are going
to be limited only by our capa
city In Industrial facilities and
In trained manpower," Austin
told reporters. "Thcro will be
no question about congress ap
propriating the necessary funds."
ready completed their quotas
with plenty to spare. This leaves
Klamath in an unfamiliar posi
tion at tho rear, with over $5000
yet to go before tho quota is
met.
The board urged immediate
and generous response from
large firms, as well as from In
dividuals who have not yet
made their contribution and
emphasized that it is tho Red
Cross that must undertake re
lief if tho blow should fnll'on
tho U. S. mainland, in addition
to aid being given to tho armed
forces. .
The following contributions
had been received by Wednes
day noon:
Rudolph Sostak, Malln $2.50
Fred H. Barlow, Malln ...... 1.00
Ivan Ottoman, Malln 1.00
Monte English; Malln ....... 1.00
Mrs. Rajnus, Malln 1.00
(Continued orf Pass Two)
The Big Ten
Here In order are the ten
rants that made the biggest
nowa atorloa of 1941 in Klam
ath) 1. Marie Ruaaell Caae.
2. Buffalo Lunch Robbery
Slaying. 3. Flaah Flood In Auguat.
4. Airport Development.
5. Ewauna Lumber Fire.
6. Defense ActWItlea.
7. Labor Organisation
Drive.
8. School Admlniatration
Change.
B. Traffic Lights.
10. Cannalonga Wreck.
high school girl, was found un
conscious and fatally injured on
The Dalles-California highway
north of Wocus. Four days later
she died and officers announced
that Eugene Smith was under
arrest after his license number.
Jotted down by Fire Chief Keith
Ambrose at the time Miss Russell
entered Smith's car, had been
traced to Medford. Smith plead
ed guilty? told how Miss Russell
Jumped from his car, and was
sentenced to five years for fail
ing to stop at the scene of an
accident. Although this formally
(Continued on Page Six)
IVi
Heavy Loss Inflicted
In Stopping Nazi
Escape in Libya
CAIRO, Egypt, Dec. 31 OP)
Heavy fighting took place south
of Adcgabia yesterday and con
siderable damage was done to
the armored forces of German
Gen. Erwin Rommel, the British
announced today.
Rommel used the full strength
of his tank forces and strong in
fantry elements in a determined
effort to prevent a British sweep
around his southern flank, to
day's communique said.
A heavy engagement resulted.
Many of the German tanks were
smashed and much motor trans
port was shot up.
In the same general area the
day before, when the British
claimed to have destroyed 22
German tanks and crippled 20
others, British losses amounted
to 14 tanks, the communique
said. Tho Germans and Italians
had claimed the destruction of
74 British tanks on that day and
the previous one.
British artillery shelled Bar
dia in the frontier area and sank
a small vessel in the harbor, the
communique added.
Many Injured in
Ecuador. Quake
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Dec.
31 (I1) Many persons were in
jured and several old buildings
shaken down by a strong earth
quake which shook the Guay
aquil area shortly after noon to
day. The main shock was felt for
almost a minute.
From newer buildings in the
central part of the city facades,
cornices and plaster fell Into
tho streets.
Cold Wave Hits
Southeast Europe
NEW YORK, Dee. 31 (P) A
Toulouse radio broadcast report
ed today a wave of cold and
snowstorms over southeastern
Europe, with 25 peasants said to
have frozen to death in southern
Thrace.
n Sofia, Bulgaria, tho tem
perature dropped to 13 degrees
below zero Monday night, it said.
CBS heard the broadcast.
DIPLOMATIC BREAK
CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec.
31 (P) Venezuela severed dip
lomatic relations with Germany,
Italy and Japan today.
HIRER SAYS
FORCES ILL
S
New Year Talk Calls
1941 Year of
'Victories'
BERLIN, Dec. 31 (Official
Broadcast Recorded by AP)
Adolt Hitler, in a New Year's
order to his troops, declared to
day that the Russian winter
counter attack "must and will
be frustrated" and that the year
1942 would see the soviet pow
er broken completely.
Addressing his troops on the
eastern from, the fuehrer as
serted that "Germany does not
want and can not afford to be
involved in battle again every
25 years . . . and engage in a
new war for 'to be or not to be.'
End of War
"Also Europe can not eternal
ly continue to lacerate itself
merely that the gang of Anglo
American and Jewish conspira
tors may satisfy itself by its
selfish machinations.
'The blood which has been
spilled in this war shall be, we
hope, the last to be spilled in
Europe for generations.
Promise Recalled
His final words were these:
"We all shall therefore ask God
Almigftty- 1hat-the- year 1942
will bring the decision for the
rescue of our people and of the
nations allied with us.
(In his speech last New Year's
Hitler declared flatly "the year
1941 will bring completion of
the greatest victory of our his
tory"). Hitler's order of the day,
broadcast by the Berlin radio,
said 1941 "was a year of heavi
est decisions and the most san
guinary fighting" but predicted
that "it will be known in his
tory as the year of the greatest
victories of all times."
"The enemy's attempt during
the winter of 1941-1942 to again
avert his fate by attacking us
again must and will be frustrat
ed. Yes, on the contrary, in the
year 1942 wc shall again get
hold of this enemy of mankind
(Continued on Page Two)
Japs Claim
Damage Done
In Singapore
SINGAPORE, Dec. 31 (VP)
British headquarters said today
that "offensive actions have been
taken with good results" by Brit
ish patrols against some of the
Japanese invaders of Malaya and
that pressure on the Perak front
was slight.
TOKYO, Dec. 31 (Official
broadcast recorded by AP) The
naval section of imperial head
quarters said today that Britain's
Far Eastern military headquar
ters and other military and naval
establishments were severely
damaged in a mass raid on Sing
apore Monday night.
Not until the dawn Tuesday
did Japanese naval fliers cease
pounding the British base at the
tip of Malaya, a communique
declared. Huge fires were said
to have been caused. The com
munique said the Sclcta and
Kran air fields were demolished.
I "All planes returned safely de
spite heavy enemy anti-aircraft
fire," tho Japanese reported.
Nimitz Assumes
Fleet Command
HONOLULU, Dec. 31 (P)
Admiral Chester W. Nlmltz,
strict 56-ycar-old Texan, took
command of the United States
Pacific fleet today in a simple
ceremony befitting a war-struck
land.
"I have Just assumed a great
responsibility and obligation
which I shall do my utmost to
discharge," he told interviewers
after the Pearl Harbor ceremony,
attended by high-ranking officers.
MAS
Gross Income Here
Hits Peak in 1941,
But Future Clouded
The Klamath country has just come through one of
the most profitable gross-income years in its history, ac.
cording to Mitchell Tillotson and G. C. Blohm, local bank
managers. While the future of business is clouded with
uncertainty, Klamath can look forward to the post-war
years with an optimism not possible in many communities
where war activities have been pronounced.
While curtailment of production, restrictions on sales,
reduction in tourist travel and movement of labor to de
fense areas somewhat darkens the picture, both bankers
agreed that the rise of prices generally in the United
States indicate a good volume of business for 1942, and
perhaps for several years.
Their reviews follow.
By MITCHELL TILLOTSON
Manager, Klamath Branch,
First National Bank
Klamath county has just com
pleted one of the most profit
able years In its history. This
is particularly true with ref
erence to gross income. To
November of 1941 farm prices
generally throughout the Unit
ed States had increased an aver
age of thirty-five per cent.
While Klamath county did not
feel the full effect of this rise
in agricultural prices the gross
income of farmers and live
stock men generally has been
much in excess of immediately
prior years.
Commodities which have re
flected the highest percentage
of price increase have been
dairy products,,, eggs, . .poultry,
cotton, livestock and wool Up
to November 1 prices of grains,
hay and potatoes had not shown
correspondent increases relative
to other agricultural products,
but increases in prices of these
commodities since that dale
have been satisfactory and gen
erally in line with price rises
in farm commodities through
out the country.
The prices for pine lumber
and pine boxes have been gen
erally satisfactory for the year
particularly in the last half.
These factors have been re
sponsible for high gross income
on the average throughout the
country. It must be remem
bered, however, that this is only
a part of the picture and thai
under war conditions the re
lationship of gross Income to
net return is badly distorted as
compared with peacetime opera
tion. Net return after taxes
will therefore be comparative
ly small when considered in the
light of the high gross returns
received. The factors which
contribute to the radical reduc
tion of this differential are well
known to us all. These factors
are, of course, increased cost of
Continued on Page Two)
Traffic Fatality
Record Totters
On Brink Tonight
CHICAGO, Dec. 31 (To
night's observance of traffic
laws, the National" Safety council
says, may determine whether the
nation will escape an all-time
record of almost 40,000 motor
vehicle deaths in a single year.
The council urged motorists
and pedestrians to be extremely
careful in seeing in the new year
after reporting 35,690 persons
were killed in traffic accidents
during the first 11 months of
1941.
The total was almost 1200
greater than for all 1940 and
only 3953 below the 1937 record
high of 39,643.
"If the December toll this year
is more than 6 per cent higher
than last year, 1941 will bring
a new all-time high of almost
40,000 traffic deaths," the coun
cil calculated.
The November toll of 4050
was the highest of the -year. It
was the fourth month in history
in which more than 4000 fatal
ities were recorded.
Churchill Puffs on
Lit End of Cigar
OTTAWA, Dec. 31 (P) Even
prime ministers get flustered.
When Canadian newspaper
men presented Prime Minister
Churchill with a sealskin fur hat
today he laid down his torpedo
shaped cigar to try the hat on.
Then, when he stuck his cigar
back in his mouth, he used the
wrong end, and was forced hast
ily to brush away the ashes and
rub the momentary burn.
By G. C. BLOHM
Manager, Klamath Branch, U. S.
National Bank
In appraising the welfare of
Klamath basin during the past
year, we are impressed with the
fact that we live in a community
that continues to be favored.
While we have not shared direct
ly in the income from defense
activities, indirectly the increase
for the year Jn volume and prices
of our basic resources has been
gratifying.
Lumber, which represents
roughly 50 per cent of our an
nual income, has experienced a
(Continued on Page Two)
British Base Will Be
Defended to Limit,
Says Informant
LONDON, Dec. 31 (P) Allied
strategy calls for defense of
Singapore "with all the means
at our disposal" in order that it
may become the base for the of
fensive to be launched in the
Pacific area, a British authority
said today.
Japanese are in full control
of the western Pacific area, he
said, and British forces are built
up to regain control."
A serious threat to Singapore
may develop if the Japanese es
tablish strong air forces on the
Japanese-occupied island of Pen
ang, off the Malayan west coast,
this source declared, and such a
force would be able to "exer
cise a certain amount of con
trol over traffic in the Strait of
Malacca."
Reviewing this naval year,
this source commented that "de
spite heavy fighting and some
losses, our naval position, ex
cept in the Far East, is much
better than might be expected."
He said control of the Atlan
tic had been established so that
operations could be carried out
(Continued on Page Two)
Blackout Threats Show No Sign
Of Dampening New Year Gayety
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31 (P)
War, threat of blackouts, subma
rines off the coast and warnings
of army and police officers show
ed scant signs today of dampen
ing the Pacific coast's celebration
of New Year's eve in traditional
fashion.
Street crowds will be thinner.
City officials, army officers and
pplice frowned on them. The din
from sirens and whistles won't
help announce the birth of 1942.
They sound too much like an air
raid warning.
Otherwise it will be a merry
makers' night as usual. Night
clubs wilfbe at full blast, bright
ly lighted behind blacked out
windows reminiscent of the
speakeasy days. Prices are high
er $18.25 a person at one Los.
Angeles hotel but club oper
ators reported the demand for
reservations as great, or greater,
than ever.
"There's more life to it than
usual," said one happy San Fran
cisco night club proprietor with
virtually every table reserved
long in advance.
Perhaps the coastwide warn
STIFF BATTLE
TO SAVE GITY
STILL RAGING
Ship Taking Wounded
Americans . to ;
Australia -
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (P)-.
General Douglas MacArthur said
today the defense of Manila was
continuing stubbornly and that
wounded of the American and
Philippine army have been evac
uated on a hospital ship.
The war department, in a Iai
day communique, said Mac
Arthur had reported the wound
ed would be taken to Australia;
The communique, number 38,
gave the situation as of 2 p. m.
PST. .- ., , .... . .. , ...
By The Associated Press , -
American and Filipino troops,
battling against apparently hope
less odds, were reported still of
fering "strong resistance, inflict
ing heavy losses on the enemy"
today after executing further ad
justment of their lines.
While the fall of Manila ap
peared imminent and the army
attempted to evacuate 300 ser
iously wounded Americans from
Luzon island, a war department
communique indicated, that tha
25-day-ol(F"jrruggle was not yet '
ended. - '' -
Heavy Pressure
. "The enemy continues to exert
heavy pressure on all fronts with
extensive use of dive bombers
and armored units," the com
munique said.
The war department's bulletin
covered the military situation aa
of 6:30 a. m., PST., (11:30 p. m.,
Manila Time) Indicating that
the Japanese invasion hordes had
exactly 30 minutes in which to
make good their original boast
that they would take Manila "be
fore New Year's."
Almost an hour later, the navy
department announced it was
still in communication with the
city.
Falling Back
U. S. army headquarters in
the Philippines reported that
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's
forces, desperately out-numbered,
were falling back north and
south of Manila under the as
sault of Japanese infantry, tanks
and dive bombers.
Late news from Manila battle
front reached the United States
only through official channels.
Commercial c o m m u n ications)
companies announced they would
not accept messages for Manila
for the time being.
At 1 p. m., PST., The Associat
ed Press in New York had re
ceived no dispatches from its
Manila bureau for 12 hours. '
Simultaneously, an Associated
Press correspondent reported
that the southern battle line was
a bare 30-minute drive by auto
i (Continued On Page Two)
ing of mayors and police chiefs
to "get off the streets" was drlv
ing celebrants into night clubs,
and stimulating an increase in
home parties.
- The possibility of blackouts,
familiar now to all the west
coast, with the possibility of traf
fic jams and hysteria among
celebrants caught on crowded
streets, was responsible for tha
request to remain Inside.
Mayor Earl Riley ordered all
Portland (Ore.) celebrants to stay
indoors, and banned unnecessary
noise, lights or crowds outdoors.
Year-End ,
News Index
Accidents ......... Page
Agriculture ..... ....... Page
Births and Deaths Page
Building Page
Chamber of Commerce . Page
Labor Activities Page
Marriage-Divorce ...Page
Pictures .... .....Page 12
Police Page 7
Postal Figures Page 3
Prominent Deaths ,...Page 7
Sports ................ V...Pge 4)