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Ont 8-mlnut blast on sirens and whistles
It the algnal (or a blackout in Klamath
Falls. Another long blast, during a black
out, li a signal (or all-cloar, In precau
tionary periods, watch your strati lights.
March SO High 48, Low 11
Precipitation as o( March 14, 114
Stream yaar to data ......IS.I'l
Last year 10.06 Normal 1.07
ASSOCIATED PRESS
IN THE SHASTA-CASCADE WONDERLAND
NEA FEATURES
PRICE FIVE CENTS
KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 81, 1948
Number 9759
fo)
jwuEL
El
9
T
'Major - Scale Battles
Lacking for
Week
By EDDY GILMORE
MOSCOW, Miirch 31 (li The
spreading spring thow hat
brought still worso weather con
dition to the long Ruiulnn front
and tha sovlot midday oommunl
quo today again opened with It
monotonous keynote: "No esson
tial change occurred on the
front."
Almost a week hat gone by
now that no mnjor-ucnlo acllvl
ties have been waged In the bat
tla areas, although there Mill are
repeated sharp clashes In various
lector.
Thrusts Repulsed
(Tha German high command
communique said Russian thrust
on the Kuban bridgehead and
touthweat of Vyazma were re
pulsed. South of Lake Ladoga,
successful defensive fighting con
tinued, the communique said. It
reported that two soviet battal
ions were annihilated and a num
ber of tanks destroyed In this
action.
(It aald that "south of Lnke
Ilmert a German offensive oper
ation made In ordor to shorten
the front reached pre-arranged
(Continued on Page Two)
Governor Signs
Measure Easing
Income Taxes
SPRING
I
HAMPERS RED
ARMY ATTACK
SALEM, March 31 (VP) Gov
ernor Earl Sncll signed two more
of the legislature' tax relief
measures lata yesterday, tho bills
providing for quarterly payment
of personal Income taxes and for
reduction of gift taxes to tha
jvols of Washington and Call
tarnta. The quarterly payment bill
sake the first Installment duo
April 18, Instead of April 1. Pay
ments formerly havo been al
lowed annually ro semi-annually.
lD lowed annually or semi-annually.
Itemised Statement '
bill to compel employers to give
employe Itemized statements of
calory deductions, such as thoso
for victory tax, war bond pur
chases, social security and for
insurance
He vetoed a bill reducing tho
tax on Imported bottled wines
undor 14 per cent alcohol from
30 to 10 cents, asserting the bill
violates fcdornl price regula
tions. 1 The controversial bill to class
ify chlckons, ducks, geeso and
rabbits as livestock in Washing
ton county also was vetoed, tho
governor asserting the bill is
"unconstitutional class legisla
tion." The bill was designed to
give poultry owners protection
against damngo caused by dogs.
Prominent Chicago Youths,
Girl Abducted; Three Held
CHICAGO, March 31 (P)
Two youth and a girl, mem-,
bers of wealthy, socially proml
nont families, were kidnaped
and robbed early today by five
young toughs, thrco of whom,
Police Chief Frank Tiffany of
Lake Forest said, had been cap
tured by police and identified
by the girl as among the abduc
tors. .
Victim of tha kidnaping
who were released ns police
from tha Indiana to tho Wis
consin stato lines entered the
hunt were:
Helen Prlobo, IB, heiress to
the bulk of an $800,000 coffee
fortune,
Thomas Stanton Armour, 18,
grandncphew of Ogdon Armour,
meat packing magnate, and son
of Lieut. Commr. Lester Ar
mour. Kont Clow Jr., 18, son of
Kent Clow Sr., wealthy plumb
ing supply manufacturer.
All - reside in Lake Forest,
April 1
11 1 v""
That's the deadline set by
bellowing, bushy-browed UMW
President John L. Lewis, after
which hit miners won't work
unless demands (or wage in
creases are met. And he indicat
ed he isn't April (oollng.
U. S. PLIES HIT
T
One Fortress Fails to
Return After
Raid
LONDON, March 31 OP)
American Flying Fortresses at
tacked shipping and shipbuild
ing yards at Rotterdam In Hol
land toduy and lost one bomber,
an olghth air force communique
announced,
"It Is announced .by the air
ministry and headquarters of
tho United States army that Fly
ing Fortresses (B-17's) of the
United States army eighth air
force attacked shipping and ship
building yards at Rotterdam In
daylight today," tho commun
ique said.
Allied Support
"RAF, Dominion and allied
fighters, supported the bombers
over tho target and carried out
diversionary sweeps.
"Bombs wcro seen to burst on
the target area but owing to
heavy cloud observation of the
results was difficult.
"The flak was heavy but ene
(Contlnucd on Page Two)
Man Found Dead
m
Beside Tracks
Near Dorris
DORRIS -A mun Identified as
John Robert Hugcrty, about 50,
was found dead beside the South
ern Pacific tracks four miles
south of hero early today. It Is
believed ho fell from a north
bound freight about 4 a. m.
Tho body wo seen by an en
gineer on an extra. Authorities
were notified and Coroner Jess
Trcadwoy of Mt. Shasta came
here to investigate.
lingcrty, Identified from pa
pers In his clothes as a former
worker In a Kaiser shipyard
somewhere, was a native of Il
linois. Llttlo else Is known about
him hero.
fashionable North Shore sub
urb near where their car was
curbed and they wore seized by
tho five abductors. Tho kid
naping occurred as Armour was
driving to Lako Forest from
Chicago where the young people
had attended a theatre and
night club.
Two of tho captured youths
wcro locked up at tho Chicago
dctcctivo bureau while, the third
accompanied a polico squad In
a hunt for tho two fugitives,
ono of whom, Tiffany said, was
believed to bo an ex-convict.
Tiffany said he would- pre
paro warrants charging kidnap
ing and robbery for the three
captives who ho said identified
themselves as Robert Kravlsh,
17, Richard Schonold, 10, and
Raymond Weglowski, 17, The
chief sulci ho would obtain John
Don warrants for tho two
youths still at large.
DAIRY WORKER
SHORTAGE TD
BR1DRAFT
Manpower Action Set
v For Relief of
Industry
By CHARLES MOLONY
WASHINGTON, March 31 UP)
Tens of thousands were brought
closer to military service today
under a seven-point, semi-compulsory
manpower action de
signed prlmorlly to relieve a
shortago of 80,000 dairy work
ers but capable of being extend
ed to all agriculture and es
sential industry.
The program, announced by
President Roosevelt late yester
day, hinted broadly at the pos
sible drafting of farm-experienced
men now deferred be
cause of age or minor physical
disabilities if they refuse dairy
ing Jobs.
Release Changed
It also changed the system of
releasing soldiers 38 years or
older so that in the future they
can be channeled Into and kept
at jobs In essential Industry and
agriculture, subject to recall by
tho army upon request of the
war manpower commission.
The president's announcement,
coming as draft boards were
poised to begin tomorrow the re
classification of registrant still
in non-dcfcrablo job, gave em
phasis to hi recent declaration
(Continued on page two)
Gen. De Gaulle,
Giraud Desire
French Unity
ALGIERS, Morch 31 (TP)
Gen. Georges Catroux, emissary
of Gen. Charles de Gaulle in his
negotiations with Gen, Henry
GIraud, for unification of the
French elements fighting the
axis, declared yesterday that
' Gen. Giraud as much as Gen.
De Gaullo wishes union of all
Frenchmen."
Catroux told a press confer
once that unification negotiations
were progressing, and that he
hoped to announce achievement
of the desired goal shortly,
though he might have to return
to London first for conferences
with De Gaulle.
Catroux said no' time had
been set as yet for De Gaulle's
proposed trip to North Africa
for talks with Giraud, but he
believed it would not be for sev
eral weeks.
Meantime, he reported, the
Do Gaulllst Intended to set up
a headquarters In Algiers "until
such tlmo as union make that
unnecessary." '
Mme. Chiang Gets
Welcome in Last '
Port of Call
LOS ANGELES, March 31 (IP)
Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek received
a tumultuous welcome today in
Los Angeles, her last port f
call before returning to her na
tive China.
Scores of thousands lined
downtown streets, cheering to
tho echo the American-educated
wife of China's general
issimo as her automobile tra
versed the parade route, guarded
all the way by FBI agents, po
lice and thousands of soldiers.
Spectators were obliged to keep
at least 18 feet from her car. -
Four British Subs
Damage Four, Sink
Six Nazi Vessels
LONDON, March ' 31 W
Four British submarines sank
six axis ships and damaged four
others on the supply route to Tu
nisia, tho admiralty announced
today,
Ono of the victims was a medium-sized
vessel carrying pe
troleum, it said. Another was a
large, fully-laden ship which was
picked off from a strongly es
corted convoy off northern Sic
In action close to the coast of Japan, an American submarine torpedoed and sank this Japa
nese cargo vessel, then took a picture of the stricken ship just before the stern went under.. The
peculiar lighting was not explained in the navy' caption. U. S. nary photo.
Pay-As -You -Go Tax
Fight Sleeping,
Not Dead
WASHINGTON, March 31 (IP)
Senate Majority Leader Barkley
talked today of a possible two
week recess for congress at Eas
ter, now that the tax situation
has become suddenly dormant.
The pay-as-you-go tax fight is
only sleeping not dead but
Barkley said after a general sur
voy of the legislative' picture, in
a White House conference that
if the situation permits, a recess
would be helpful in letting mem
bers of congress get in touch
with conditions back home.
QWI Conference
. Conditions at home and abroad
were topics at OWI Director El
mer Davis' press conference;
where he spoke encouragingly of
the fighting in Tunisia and also
predicted that meat supplies,
now rationed, will "be spread
more evenly about the country
within a very short time."
Other developments on a capi
tal day strangely quiet in com
parison with the uproar of house
debate in recent days on taxa
tion, which ended with defeat of
the Rurnl sklp-a-year plan and
recommittal of the whole tax bill
works to the house ways and
means committee, Included a
consumers' protest, against the
Pace farm parity bill and re
(Continued on Page Two)
Self Defense Seen
As Issue in Trial of
Kenneth Wall an
Self defense was apparently
going to be the plea of the de
fense attorneys at .the trial for
Kenneth Wallan, charged with
the second degree murder of
James Bowman, which got un
der way in circuit court Wed
nesday morning.
Acting for Wallan are Attor
neys Joseph C. O'Neill and
George Roberts of Medford.
Circuit Judge David R. Vanden
berg is presiding.
The defense attorneys, in
questioning prospective jurors,
asked repeatedly concerning
their attitude toward a plea of
self defense in a case of this na
ture. Bowman died after in
juries In an alleged fight on a
suburban street last Christmas
eve.
The jury was completed at
2:30 p. m. Members are R. C.
Woodruff, Alfred D. Smith,
Horry Wilson, Thomas Plcard,
M. E. Nlcodcmus, Victor O'Neill,
William Kunz, Joe Upton, Elton
Di3hcr, - George Denton, James
Kerns Jr, Robert Teater,
Governor Denies
Friction Reports
SALEM, March Si (P) Gov
ernor Earl Sncll denied -reports
today that friction is developing
between himself and Secretary
of State Robert S. Farrell Jr.
The givernor, with Farrell
and State Treasurer Leslie M.
Scott sitting beside him, made
the dcninl at today's board of
control meeting,.,," .
Japanese Cargo Ship Sinks After
z o o
Hull, Litvinoff
Conversations
By DOUGLAS B. CORNELL
WASHINGTON, March 31 (JP)
Following closely President
Roosevelt's prediction of an
early Russian-American confer
ence, Secretary of State Hull and
Soviet Ambassador Maxim Lit
vinoff met today to discuss their
separate conversations with Brit
ish Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden.
State department sources said
the object of the meeting was a
general exchange of information,
with particular reference to sub
jects both Hull and Litvinoff al
ready had taken up with Eden.
; .'Hull Confers ,
Latec4n the day Hull planned
to .confer with China's Foreign,
Minister T. V. Soong, who also
had several conversations with
Eden before the British states
man's departure for Canada yes
terday. Another state department
Lone Fortress
Sinks Jap Ship
Off New Guinea
By The Associated Press
A lone American Flying Fort
ress, attacking in pitch-black
night, was officially credited
today with probably sinking a
large Japanese destroyer and
putting three others to' flight
in the waters off northern New
Guinea,
"It" is believed that any at
tempt to deliver supplies fail
ed," Gen. Douglas MacArthur's
headquarters said, referring to
the exploit which occurred in
the area where allied fliers de
stroyed a 22-ship Japanese con
voy early in March.
. ' . Bases Pounded
Other allied warplanes pound
ed the Japanese bases at Lae,
Salamaua and Finschhafen in
New Guinea, and dropped 1000
pound bombs on the enemy
base ..at Gasmata, New Britain.
A single allied reconnaissance
plane, flying over the Bismarck
sea between New Guinea and
New Britain, was reported to
have "shot down four of nine
Japanese planes in a running
battle. The allied plane returned
safely.
On the Burma-India front,
RAF, fighter . planes were re
ported to have damaged 13 of
22 Japanese bombers and fight
ers attempting to attack an al
lied air base in Bengal province,
India.
Naples Ammunition .
Dump Explosion
Wounds Thousands
By The Associated Press
Tho Berlin radio broadcast a
report from Rome today that an
ammunition depot blew up in
Naples last Sunday, killing 72
and wounding 1179 civilians and
soldiers.
These casualties included
seven Germans killed and 31
Germans wounded, said the
broadcast recorded by The As
sociated Press. Admiral Domen
clo Cavagnari has been directed
to determine the cause of the ac
cident, the Berlin radio added.
ADVANCE NOTICE
LONDON, March 31 (P)
Inbel, Belgian news agency, re
ported today that nearly all pro
nazl Belgians In Brussels had
received printed funeral cards
announcing their own deaths,
Torpedoing
Discuss
With Eden
caller was Dr. Wellington Koo,
Chinese ambassador to Great
Britain who is en route to Lon
don after several months in
Chungking.
Mum on Russia
Mr. Roosevelt did not say
where -or when the Russian-
American ' conversations would
take plaee, nor who the prin
cipals would be.
Withholding all specific in
formation at a press conference
yesterday, Mr. Roosevelt turned
aside- with-noncommital answers
questions designed to bring out
whether he expected Premier
Stalin or ' Foreign Commissar
Molotov to come to this country.
- Eden Talk Help"' ' '
' But he made it clear that he
and Anthony Eden, in consulta
tions which ended yesterday, had
cut the pattern for additional
talks among various members of
the United Nations.
Puzzlement at ' what they
called comparative public apathy
toward post war' problems was
expressed by some members of
a senate foreign relations sub
committee as they assembled to
begin consideration of a half
dozen proposals for collective
action by the United Nations.
Mail Increase
While sponsors of some of the
proposals said - their mail was
increasing. Senator George (D
Ga.) told reporters he hardly
knew what to make of the fact
that despite wide newspaper and
radio discussion he had received
fewer than a dozen letters about
the problems involved.
Another member of the sub
committee. Democratic - Leader
Barkley of Kentucky, said he
had received only about 20 let
ters and ventured the observa
tion that the public doesn't seem
greatly excited about the ques
tion.
Davis Blames
Meat Pile-Up
For Shortage
WASHINGTON, March 31 (yP)
Elmer Davis, director of war in
formation, blamed the temporary
shortage of meat in most parts
of the country today on a pile-up
of meat in the middle west' but
predicted that various govern
mental actions "will cause sup
plies to be spread more evenly
about the country within a very
short time."
Davis 'distributed a prepared
statement at a press conference,
adding that part of the shortages
this week was due "to the buy
ing run last weekend when so
many of us went out whole hog
for that last steak."
Asserting the worst shortages
were on the Pacific, Atlantic and
Gulf coasts, he said they "have
been caused primarily by the
failure of meat to move out of
the middle west and because of
loss of local supplies to black
markets."
Kaiser Shipyard
Claims tyew Record
PORTLAND, Ore., March 31
(P) Henry Kaiser's shipbuilders
claimed a new launching record
today 17 ships in one month.
The Liberty freighter George
Flavel slid down the ways of
Oregon Shipbuilding corpora
tion shortly after noon to be
come the 17th. ,
British Capture
Sedjenane; Tanks
Move up on Flank
By EDWARD KENNEDY
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, March 31
(JP) British Eighth army veterans, pushing the defeated force
of Marshal Erwln Rommel relentlessly across an open and barren
plain under a fiery air attack, have seized Oudref directly in the
Gabes gap, the British first army in the north has captured
Sedjenane and Americans in the center have moved up a notch
on the enemy's flanks, it was announced today.
Capturing Metouia, eight miles north of Gabes, the eighth
army of Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery swung on to Oudref,
four miles farther along the road, and then continued to drive
northward with nothing to halt .
the onrush but hastily erected
defenses. Gen. Dwight D.-Eisen
howers headquarters said.
Goums Fight
British infantry and Moroccan
Goums of Lieut. Gen. K. A. N.
Anderson's first army took Sed
jenane, 40 miles west of Bizerte,
after an advance of about seven
mile from the Djebel Aboid
area.
Meanwhile the -forces of
Lieut Gen. George S. Patton
Jr, . made a slight advance
through dense minefields in the
scarred bill east of El Guetar.
The British in taking Oudref
and Metouia, however, had
seized the Junction of the road
leading from El Guetar and
Gafsa with the main coastal
highway, and the axis position
in front of Patton appeared to
be wholly untenable
Italian Encountered
The fact that the Americans
encountered . mostly Italian in
their advance was taken here
as. indicating that the axis chief
tain already had . pulled ; back
most of bis effectives, in an ef
fort to avoid being nailed on the
flank.
The eighth army's onrush and
the American' dogged hammer
ing 43 miles to the northwest
was squeezing Rommel's forces
farther back into a bottleneck
between small . salt marshes
(Continued on Page Two) :
, r.....
War Department
Lists Another
Local Prisoner
Another Klamath youth was
listed as a prisoner of war in
the Philippines, according to
word received here Wednesday
when the . name of Pvt. Gail
Beckham, was given out by the
war department.
Beckham, 29, made his home in
Klamath Falls with his brother
and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs.
William Beckham, 1943 Orchard
street. Beckham was born in
Riverside, Calif.-' He is the son
of Mrs. Marie Pryor of Los An
geles. For a time he was em
ployed at the Mt. Shasta, Calif.,
mill, but for three years prior
to his enlistment lived in this
city. He joined up in February,
1941, and was sent immediately
to Fort Mills, The - Philippines.
Relatives received a Christmas
card in December, 1941, the card
mailed in November. This was
the last word until they were
informed by the government of
his whereabouts. The youth's
brother is an employe of Lamm
Lumber company.
Newport Homes Totter on
Brink of Widening Crevice
NEWPORT, Ore., March 31 (P)
Mother Earth split a seam at the
edge of this Oregon coastal town,
dropping one house into a 23-foot
crevasse, leaving several others,
tottering on the brink and isolat
ing an entire block of homes. .
The cave-In started several
days ago and widened rapidly
this week to a width of 50 feet
and a depth of about 23. It oc
curred about three blocks from
the ocean and gave rise to fears
for an entire residential district
between it and the beach.
Investigators said today the
cause has not been determined
although a test drill showed a
shifting sand formation under
laying the entire area at a depth
of 30 to 40 feet. , .
No one was injured when the
Ben Cleland home suddenly set
tled about six feet as the fissure
opened. Later, as the earth break
widened, the house rolled down
ALLIES SMASH
ITALIANS ON
GABESIDAD
American Tanks Rock ,
Axis Back on
Heels
By HAROLD V. BOYLE
WITH U. S. FORCES AT EI
GUETAR, Tunisia, March 30 (De
layed) yP) United States in
fantry and armored forces, work'
ing smoothly a a team; rocked
the Italians back 'on their heel
In a smashing drive several miles
down the Gabes road today: Tha
advance was slowed only be
cause of dusk, and minefields.
The only reason: the AmerU
can did not smack the Germans
around was that the nazis pulled'
out in the night, leaving Musso
lini's men, holding the bag just
as they did at the Ousseltla val
ley and. Kasserine Gap battles.'
. Prisoners Taken
The story ean be told best by
these statistics: ; .
Yesterday the United State,
infantry brought in approximate,
ly 86 German prisoners; . today: .
they sent back between 1B0 and
200 prisoners and only 12 were
German the rest Italian, '
. One U. S. scout captured IS
Italians and was worrying what
to do, with them when one of
the prisoners said, "There are
..... (Continued on Page Two)
Ersatz Rubber
Turned Out by
Federal Plant
BATON ROUGE, La., March;
31 (P) An extensive new plant
built with skillful engineering
economy in strategic materials
turned out the government's first
synthetic rubber today in com
pact bales destined to keep allied:
war machines rolling to victory.:
With a 30,000-ton annual ca
pacity, enough rubber for some.
4,000,000 vehicle tires, it's the
first plant constructed by the
government under the Baruch ..
program to make synthetic rub-.
(Continued on Page Two): .
about 20 feet more and was bu
ried in debris.
Two other small houses were
hastily moved from the edge ot
the cave-in but larger homes,
which could not be easily, moved,
are still threatened.
The earth surface began to
sink several weeks ago at the
edge of Coast street, just north ,
of the Newport city limits. It
widened until it covered most of
the area between Coast street
and a row of houses about SO
feet toward the .beach,, Tha
yards of some of these homes al
ready have sunk away.
The break now parallels Coast
street for about two blocks, then
veers toward the ocean. It. al
ready has caused the 120-foot
Jump-off-Joe bluff north ot town
to slide seaward, covering the
beach with debris and rock. Resi
dents say tho chasm now is large'
enough to contain a block of two
story buildings. ;