J
ijunAiLLm"nfvw" ------- - ------- "i-i-fi-i-i-n-yi-wvM
On 9-mlnute blast on ilrani and whlillu
I It the signal lor blackout In Klamath
.' Falls. Anothar long bint, during a black-
March 19 High 43, Low 18
Praclpltation as of March 13, 1943
Straam year to data .........13.4B
Last Yaar 10.00 Normal 8.39
" out. li a signal lor all-claar. In precau
tionary parlods, watch your atraat llghti.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IN THE SHASTA-CASCADE WONDERLAND
NEA FEATURES
PRICE FIVE CENTS
KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1943
Number 9750
M
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fP.A in
D D"
uu
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By FRANK JENKINS
QN the European ilda of tho
war, ffio new today li edited
by tha weather.
TN northern Tunisia continuing
torrentlnt rainstorms hnvo
turned the airfields Into sloppy
trips of muck and tho flat plains
Into ftlcky bogs too aoft for
tanks.
In the south, DUST STORMS
are holding Montgomery mora
or less motionless before the
IkMareth line, Mony of Rommel'a
m desert-ranging tanks are stuck
in the sand and our planes are
hunting thorn down as well as
they can In the swirling fogs of
sand.
(Ohce a tank Is stuck It Is out
of luck. It has to keep moving
to keep out of trouble.)
TN the far Tunisian north, west
A of Blzerte, Von Arnlm Is
hitting the British hard in order
to take the pressure off Rommel
in the south.
(Creating a second front, that
Is, for Rommel's benefit.)
(GENERAL GIRAUD Is said by
the Algiers radio (run by our
side) to have been present when
Gafna was taken and to have re
marked;; ; : ,:, .
"I am convinced that Gafna
- Marks the beginning of an of.
tensive that will go on as far as
Berlin."
i ,
MOTE, please, that this Isn't
nan,i Tt l h,Ana rfnnrla IVl
' must always differentiate be-
. tween them.
Glraud's remark Is Intended to
' reassure us that everything Is
going well and to make the
Germans nervous.
The use of propaganda In war
Is legitimate enough, but back
, hero on tho home front we must
- be careful to ldontlfy It for
what it really-is. If wo get It
mixed up with NEWS we'll bo
misled.
.
"THE Russians, wollowing
. through quagmires of deep
'.'black mud, are still pushing
' toward Smolensk. Tholr winter
1 fighters are reported to bo oban-
doning their skis in the face of
'the spring thaw.
Today's dispatches say the
tlmw.li nrocrcMlim at such a
' 'rate that soon only the nlr forces
. on both sides will be able to
;, operate.
V
' 'THE Germans are stilt throw
: ing fresh masses of tanks,
troops and planes into the Khar
kov fighting.
, . Whether they have crossed tho
Donets is pot disclosed in today's
dispatches, The Russians hold
at least some advanced position
ion tho west bank of tho river,
; and from the cast bank aro tnk-
Ing a heavy toll of the Germans
' who try to cross on the thin Ice.
j 'THE Germans claim today to
' ' hnvo sunk 32 ships out of an
i allied convoy In tho Atlantic.
This claim, of course, is sub-
Ject to heavy discount, but the
: fact remains that tho submarine
: campaign. Is worrying us con
; sldcrably,
i Wo'ro getting a fnlrly big force
: ' on tho othor sldo of the Atlantic,
. and it has to bo supplied by
' ships,
' CPEAKING of submarines, our
I plnncs catch a Jnp sub UN
LOADING CARGO at Lno, In
' (Continued on Pogo Four)
Rationing Board
Changes Hours to
Benefit Workers
A change In the hours at ra
tioning board headquarters, 434
Main strcot, has beon announced
by Don R. Drury, ohnlrmnn of
the board, in order to glvo furth
er benefits to those working six
days a week.
Hours at tho present time are
0:30 a. m. to 4:30 p. m and these
' have beon. changed from 10:30
1 a. m. to B p, m, Tho extra half
hour will bo of special value lo
.the. mill workors. Change goes
'totofiaot Monday, Crunr atatad.
T
m ships
SLUG JAPS IN
Fires Rage in Enemy
Shore Positions
In Burma '
By The Associated Prass
British warships laid down a
fire-netting barrage of Japanese
positions yesterday in the Don
balk area in Burma, a commun
ique said today, and vanguards
of Field Marshal Sir Archibald
P. Wavcll's forces driving down
the coast "made progress" to
ward the town of Donbaik it
self. Donbnlk lies near the tip of
the Mayu ponlnsula, just north
of tho big Japanese base at Ak
yob on the bay of Bengal.
Flru Started
British headquarters said nu
merous fires were started in the
naval bombardment and de
clared that Japanese shore bat
teries Inflicted "neither damage
nor casualties" in attempting to
break up the assault.
"East of tho Moyu river, our
positions have been maintained
and in the past 24 hours there
has been no Important change
In the situation," the British
command said. -i .
Japs Infiltrate
Japanese Infiltration tactics
east of, the Mayu river,: which
separates the peninsula from
the mainland, had - previously
forced the British to withdraw
north of Rathedaung, 28 miles
above Akyab, and threatened to
cut off British forward troops
along tho coast.
In the southwest Pacific,
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's
headquarters reported continu
ing allied aerial attacks against
a 2000-mile arc of Japanese
(Continued on Page Four)
Nazi Submarines
Claim Sinking of
U, S. Convoy
By Tha Associated Press
A DNB dispatch broadcast by
the Berlin radio and recorded
by The Associated Press declared
today that nazl submarines had
sunk 32 cargo ships and. a de
stroyer in . a prolonged attack
against an caatbound allied con
voy In tho Atlantic-
Thorc was no confirmation
from allied sources.
Tho Gorman dispatch, de
scribed tho action as the "great
est and most successful" 'in tho
history of U-boat warfare. It
said the 32 cargo vessels sunk
totaled 204,000 tons.
Friday's German communique
had reported that a fierce con
tinuing fight was in progress be
tween U-boats and an allied con
voy over a largo area in the At
lantic. Todoy'a announcement said
tho German submarines had
pressed homo tholr successful at
tack in the face of a formidable
defenso thrown around the con-
voy by destroyers, corvettes and
planes. I
DOli AREA
House Farm Bloc Speeds
Parity Bill to President
By WILLIAM F. ARBOGABT
WASHINGTON, M a r c h 20
(AP) The houso farm bloc
that caught the. "city fellers"
napping yesterday looked with
confidence today to the senate
to speed to tho White Houso
and posalbly veto legislation
requiring tho inclusion of labor
costs in determining parity.
Parity Is a technical and In
langlblo price calculated to give
farmers a share of current na
tional Income and purchasing
power proportionate to that
they enjoyed in the base porlod
from 1000 to 1014.
Surprise Maneuver
In a surprise maneuver that
caught oppononls off-guard, the
farm bloc succeeded in passing
through tho house on a voice
vote tho bill ot Representative
Paoa (D-GaJ to amend tha basic
Collegiate
VIJ'UI" . f ' V .,' if,
Virginia Howard, daughter
East Main straet, wst elected Emerald '."Cover Girl" , and candi
date for the University of Oregon In the national collegiate bond
queen contest - Virginia graduated from tha Klamath Union high
school in 1941 and la now a freshman at the university.
SKIP-A-YEAR TUXES
Report Sees Tough
Fight Over Ruml '
Proposal
WASHINGTON, March 20
(AP) The house ways and
means committee, in a major
ity report outlining the admin
istration's new. tax collection
plan, today sharply criticized
the counter proposal for skip
ping 1942 levies as "like rob
bing Peter to pay a bonus to
Paul."
"To forgive any taxpayer's
one year's taxes means that the
debt which he has already in
curred and owes to the govern
ment must be borne by some
other taxpayer, who may . in
some-Instances be -loss ablo to
pay than the taxpayer whoso
(Continued on Page Four)
Jack Sorenson
Gets Ci faff on
' Jack Wallace Sorenson of
Klamath Falls, radioman third
class, United States navy, was
among the naval airmen to re
ceive citations for' bravery - un
der fire and devotion to duty
at ceremonies, at the Whidby
island air station, Washington,
late Friday. t
Tho citations were earned
In aerial combat : against the
Japanese at Kiska-harbor in the
Aleutian islands.. -
The name of young Sorenson
was not listed among those who
havo gone from Klamath Falls
recruiting station, nor does his
name appear on school records
here. ,
farm law to require that the
Increase in farm : labor costs
since the base period be con
sidered In computing parity.'
This increase, Pace told tho
house,' amounts to $1.41 per
day, or tho difference between
$1.42. paid in the 1009-1914 per
iod and $2.83 paid on January
1 on the basis- of agrlculturo
department surveys. Tho legislation-
requires that the calcu
lation take into consideration
tho work of hired helpers, farm
operators and members of op
erators', families actually en
gaged In farm work.
Efforts Shouted Down
Efforts to restrict the bill
only to the labor ot hired work
ers, and' to make it effective
only for tho duration ot the
war, were shouted down as the
(Continued on fas fout)
"Cover Girl'
!, tljf rS',
ol .Mrs. Bonn! Howard, 189
Navy Reports
Aerial Attacks
On Kiska Japs'
WASHINGTON, March 20 VP)
New aerial attacks on the Japan
ese bases at. Kiska in the North
Pacific and Munda in the South
Pacific were reported today by
the navy.
. Navy communique No. 318
said: :
"North Pacific:
, "1. On March 18th Kiska was
attacked twice by army Libera
tor (Consolidated B-24) and
Mitchell (North" American B-25)
bombers, with Lightnings (Lock
heed P-38) as escorts. Results
were not observed. All United
States planes returned.
"South Pacific (all dates are
East Longitude.)
"2. On March 20, a force of
Wildcat fighters strafed Japan
ese positions on Munda, New
Georgia. All planes returned."
The raid on Munda was the
96th against . that base in the
central Solomons, 180 nautical
miles from Guadalcanal air field.
The two attacks on Kiska were
the 18th and 19th delivered
against that Aleutians outpost of
the enemy this month.
Government Report
On Farm Plan Eases
Shortage Concern
WASHINGTON. March 20
(AP) A government report
that farmers plan to plant more
food and livestock feed crops
this year today lightened con
cern over threatened shortages,
but failed to indicate any eas
ing of existing and proposed
consumer restrictions.
Such was the consensus of
sources close to Secretary of
Agriculture Wickard as they
sized up a survey of tho fed
eral crop reporting board show
ing ' that the total prospective
acreage of major crops was
about 3.3 per cent larger than a
year ago when the nation's food
output reached a record level.
Gen. Griswold Named
Fort Lewis Chief
FORT LEWIS, March 20 (IP)
Gen, O. W. Griswold has been
named commander of tho army
ground forces at Fort Lewis, suc
ceeding Maj. Gen. Charles H.
White, who has been transferred
to .another station, it was an
nounced today by Col. Ralph K.
Glass, post commander.
i RANDALL LEAVES
Two navy planes, piloted by
Lieutenant Commander William
Randall and an accompanying
ensign, circled over town Sat
urday afternoon before taking
off northward. They have been
held here several days await
ing arrival of a tire for the
plane piloted by Randall, form
er manager of the local airport.
Reds Struggle to
Hold Defenses in
Donets River Area
Br EDDY GILMORE -
MOSCOW, March 20 (AP) The red army still struggled to
day to hold its defense lines along the twisting northern Donets
river east and southeast of Kharkov against the increasing num
ber ot German tanks, men and planes being poured into this
area, many of. them apparently being brought up through
Kharkov. ' .
Despite unfavorable weather conditions, however, the Rus
sians said they had driven steadily forward in the offensive for
. Smolensk and had gained an
JAP SUB
UNLOADING IN
Enemy Bombs Dock
In Daylight Air '
Assault
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS
IN AUSTRALIA, March 20 VP)
Allied aircraft ranging over New
Guinea caught a Japanese sub
marine unloading cargo in. Lae
harbor last night and destroyed
it with four direct bomb, hits,
headquarters announced today
in a -communique; which de
scribed aerial " action', along; tha
2000-mile Japanese-held strip
above Australia, '
A Japanese daylight assault on
Porlock harbor, on the. north
east coast of New Guinea near
Tufi, 80 miles below Buna,
damaged a wharf and a . launch
but there were no casualties, the
communique said.
Japs Bomb Harbor
Eighteen Japanese bombers
and an escort of 32 fighters came
in over the harbor. Without allied
interception, it' was reported,
arid dropped 70 bombs.
Allied planes flew 500 miles
north of Port Moresby to machine-gun
an enemy carao vessel
in the Admiralty islands harbor
of Lorengau, and enemy shipping
(Continued on Page Four)
Gangster Ends
Life by Suicide
When Indicted
CHICAGO, March 20 ()
Death by suicide . has ended
Frank Nittl's gangster-studded
career. .,'
The chief of the Capone syndi
cate, ruler qf the city's, under
world and acknowledged
"brains" of one ot the. nation's
major gangs, shot and killed him
self yesterday, only a few hours
after he learned he was one of
nine men Indicted by a New
York federal grand jury on
charges of extortion.
The 86-year-old gang boss,
known as "The Enforcer" by vir
tue of his authority in racketeer
ing, went to his death by his own
hand near a railroad embank
ment in suburban Riverside,
only a short distance from his
home. -
Three members of a railroad
freight crew saw Nittl die by fir
ing two bullets Into his head, Po
lice Sergeant William Crowe re
ported. An attorney for the slain gang
leader told police that Nitti had
consulted him earlier yesterday
and was advised of the indict
ments In Now York. He said Nit
ti, who had promised to come
to his office later, did not appear
to be distressed when he was
given the news of the indictment.
Tho New York indictments
charged Nitti and six other Chi
cagoans on federal charges of
violating the -anti-racketeeering
act, and of mail fraud and con
spiracy. The nine men, includ
ing two fro? New York who fed
eral officials said were allied
with the Nittl gang, were
charged in the indictments with
extorting more than one million
dollars from movie firms and a
labor union. The indictments
were tho largest legal blow ever
aimed at the gang-and federal
officials here promised further
developments. r
other town after vicious street
fighting in the Staraya Russa
area. ....
Dnieper River Clear
' Dispatches to - Pravda, the
communist party newspaper, de
clared that advances along the
Dnieper river . front now had
virtually cleared the enemy out
of every sector along the river
from its source down toward
the Vyazma-Smolensk railway
and that, driven westward, the
Germans now were laying mines
over a wide area to stem the
red army push.
With spring mud bogging
down the entire area, however
it , was thought that soon . only
air forces Would be able to func
tion -normally.
Thin Ice
. The aoviet noon communique
did not disclose whether the
Germans had been able to cross
the upper Donets where the
Russians still held some posi
tions on the western shore. But
as the red army continued its
slaughter- of German infantry
men and rapid-fire riflemen who
charge across the thin ice ot the
still-frozen Donets, the.. Germans
Drougnt more ana more men to
the battle line, it was reported.
: The German death toll was
said to be mounting steadily. -.
Both sides are aided in the
night fighting by the, present
full moon.
At one unidentified place on
the northern Donets, the Ger
mans grouped 25 tanks with a
large infantry unit to force the
Russians to withdraw. The. noon
communique said that the soviet
troops managed to re-form their
lines and counterattack, hurling
the nazis back to previous posi
tions. The midnight communique
had acknowledged that two vil
lages were lost to a numerically
superior enemy force "at the
cost of heavy losses."
- Germans Repulsed
Southeast - of Kharkov, the
noon war bulletin said, the red
army continued to repulse at
tacks of large forces of enemy
tanks and . Infantry, attacking
along the upper Donets river
line.
More -Russian successes were
detailed 1 n . the drive for
Staraya Russa with a company
of Germany infantry extermin
ated, the communique said, in
street battles that followed the
storming of one - settlement
south of Lake Ilmen..
Angell Describes
Bonneville for
House Committee
WASHINGTON, March 20 ()
Half the total electric power of
the United States will be pro
duced by the Bonneville and
Grand Coulee dams on the Co
lumbia river, Rep. Angell (R
Ore.) told the house appropria
tions committee during hearings
on the war department civil
functions bill.
Testimony on the hearing,
made public yesterday, also dis
closed that the army engineer
corps had asked for an addition
al $500,000 appropriation to com
plete work on the Bonneville
dam this year. ,
The urgency for electric pow
er necessitated a speedup in the
building program, resulting in
increased costs above the cur
rent $4,166,000 Bonneville ap
propriation, the engineers ex
plained. ; .
Maj. Gen. Eugene Reybold,
chief of the engineers, said earl
ier difficulties in securing labor
and materials had been overcome
since a "high priority rating"
was assigned the project.
Angell told the committee that
because ot the priority delays
work at Bonneville was 90 days
behind schedule last July, but
the time had been made up
through bonuses and other , in
Party Leader Dies
Jl
Frank O. Lowdes, 82, World
war governor of Illinois - and
leader of the republican party,
died today in Tucson, Aris.
FRANK Q. LDWDEHf
Pheufnonia Fatal to
Aged Republican
Leader
TUCSON. Ariz, March 20 UP)
Frank O. Lowden, 82 years old.
World war governor of Illinois,
died today at . El Conquistador
hotel where he. waa a winter
visitor.-'-- - ".. ;..
Tired anil feeble when he ar
rived, the elder statesman of. the
republican party suffered an at
tack of pneumonia -two weeks
ago. He gradually grew worse
until his death.
Sees Reporters
Lowden arrived here a few
days before his 82nd birthday,
January 26 intending to spend
the remainder of the winter.: -
As soon as he had rested from
the train trip,-he agreed to see
a reporter for the annual inter
view he had given The Associat
ed Press in recent years.
He refused to comment on con
troversial questions regarding
Continued on Page Four)
German Agency
Claims Russian
City for Nazis
By The Associated Press
DNB,- official German news
agency, said in a broadcast rec
orded by The Associated Press
today that Chuguev, 22 miles
southeast of Kharkov, in the Uk
raine, "is firmly in German
hands."
The town of Sevsk, 170 miles
northwest of Kharkov, also was
taken by storm, the agency de
clared. The broadcast claimed that the
Upper Donets had been crossed
at several places and said the
town of Tomarovka, about 15
miles northwest of Belgorod, had
fallen to German arms.
"In the whole area west and
northwest of Kursk the German
march to the east Is continuing,','
tho agency, declared.
Eden Focuses Attention on
Soviet-American Relations
By WADE WERNER
WASHINGTON, March. -20
(AP) British' Foreign Secre
tary Anthony Eden's week of
Washington conferences today
appeared to have focused diplo
matic attention on Soviet-American
relations with particular
reference to the Anglo-Russian
pact he negotiated last year. ;
.The question, generally posed
is whether similar pacts -avoiding
precise blueprint of
post-war borders are in the
offing between all the western
democracies and Russia.
Wallace Warning
' Eden arrived here just after
Vice President Wallace had
warned that without a "satis
factory understanding" between
the western democracies and
Russia a third world - war
would be Inevitable. With the
diplomat was . William Strang,
assistant undersecretary of state
H. S. TROOPS
ORGANIZE NEW
SnTJPES
Rain, Sandstorms Bog
' Airfields, Halt
Planes
By DANIEL DE LUCE
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS
IN NORTH AFRICA, March 20
W) American infantry and ar
mor organized their positions at
Gafsa and El Guetar, only 60
miles from Marshal Erwin Rom
mel's coastal road lifeline, and
set the stage for what may be one
of the biggest battles of the Tu
nisian campaign today. '
A March downpour which
turned the plains into sticky bogs
too soft for tanks kept motion
less, however, the forces of
Lieut-Gen. George S. Patton Jr.,
and dust storms at the southern
end of the front where Gen. Sir
Bernard L. Montgomery's eighth
army was poised before the Mar
eth line held activities at a mini
mum there.
Continuing storms which turn
ed northern airfields Into sloppy
strips and dust storms in the
south also, prevented the allied
air forces, now welded Into a
mighty weapon under one com
mander and one . headquarters,
from striking the crushing blows
of which they are capable. -;
, r . - . No Enemy. Planes .
. Such sweeps as' were made irt '
the north,, today's allied head
quarters communique said, were
carried out by allied fliers with
out meeting a single enemy
, .(Continued on Pge Four) .
Coal Operators
Ponder Of fer to
Extend Contract ;
" NEW YORK,1 March 20 (AP)
Northern Appalachian Bitumin
ous coal operators have sent
telegram to the White ' House,
but a spokesman declined to
say today whether an appeal
had been made to President
Roosevelt to intervene in nego
tiations here with the ' United
Mine Workers for a new con
tract. " , :
NEW YORK, March 20 (AP)
The; negotiating committee of
the United Mine Workers of
America offered today to ex
tend until May 1 negotiations
for a new contract in the north
ern and southern Appalachian
soft coal areas, provided any
agreement reached would be re
troactive to April 1.
The present contract expire
March 31. "V
The proposal, signed by John
L. Lewis, UMW president, was
described by a union spokes
man as a move to avert a stoppage-
of mining should no
agreement , be reached before
March 31. ' '
The northern and southern .
operators made no . immediate
reply to the proposal, and ad
(Continued on P; ge Four) ,
and one of Britain's foremost
experts on Russia. 4
Immediate interest in tha
pact signed by Eden and soviet
Foreign Minister Molotov 10
months ago. was heightened by
London commentators who sug
gested the former might find
opportunity In Washington -to
promote closer - relations be
tween . Russia and the United
States. ,
- Editorial Intarprstation
i Attracting even more diplo
matic attention than Eden's
subsequent . conference hart
with soviet Ambassador Max
im Lltvlnoff was the delayed
publication in the United States
ot a London Times editorial in
terpreting the "sense and sig
nificance of the Edcn-Molotov"
treaty. v . .; .
"The iscue ot security in Eu
rope," said this week-old Times
(Continued on Page Four),