The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, November 28, 1941, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LVIL, NO. 8891. JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1941 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS NO U. S.-JAPANESE COMPROMISE AFRICAN BATTLE NOW RAGES WITH FURY ITALIAN DIVISION ISKILLED British Mechanized Col- umns Moving Westward Against Axis Troops MAIN ARMY CONTACTS For GARRISON OF TOBRUK Fighting Pro_gresses with Intensity - Losses on Both Sides Heavy LONDON, Nov. 28—On the Afri- can front the British report is that the imperial mechanized columns are “forging their way westward” to Rezegh, the new battle zone south of Tobruk. * The battle on the North African front, according to advices, continues to rage with unabated fury, marked by heavy losses on both sides. The British spokesman says that nearly the entire Italian Bologna divisions, about 15,000 troops, have been wiped out. The British spokesman also says the junction between the main Brit- ish armies and the Tobruk garrison has now been completed. A communication from Cairo, re- ceived in London late last night, said the British and New Zealand troops “made direct contact south- west of Tobruk, slowly beating the Germans and Italian back, in a drive apparently aimed at extending com- munications and supplies through | Tobruk itself. - ent for the past 21 years, was third | WASHINGTON—If John L. Lewis has any illusions on what is in store for him on Capitol Hill, he should have been present when the House Labor Committee met be- hind, closed doors to consider legis- lation to put an end to stoppages in defense industries. Composed of congressmen with strong labor leanings, this commit- tee long has been the miner fueh- rer's private rooting section. But there were few signs of such de- votion the other day. Member after member condemned Lewis in scathing terms. “Defying the government,” “playing into Hitler’s hands,” and “undoing la- bor’s gains” were some of the bit- ter remarks. One of the most significant things about the explosion was that it was led by one of labor’s staunch- est supporters in Congress—able, liberal Representative Bob Rams- peck of Georgia. He voiced his vigorous views after Mary Norton had explained her bill to revamp the National De- fense Mediation Board into an agency with statutory powers. Mrs. Norton contended that her measure would prevent future strikes in defense industries with- out sacrificing any of the rights won by labor under the New Deal. “In my opinion,” said Ramspeck, “your bill doesn't answer the pur- pose at all. It improves the per- sonnel of the Board and gives it some additional authority. But it won't prevent strikes any more than the present machinery does. “Our problem is to deal with la- bor leaders who put their own in- terests ahead of the defense pro- Chairman | ! In memory of Joseph C. Polizzi, of Detroit, seaman who lost his life in the torpedoing of the U. S. destroyer Reuben James, a floral anchor is dropped over the rail of the Belle Isle bridge by a sailor friend. The mother of Polizzi was present at the memorial service. == Libby Maine Sinking Is 'Third Mate on Tongass Was First Man Rescued from lll-fated Steamer The first eye-witness account of | the tragic sinking of the Libby Maine to be related along the Gas- | tineau Channel waterfront yester- | | day evening brought a salty yarn) of tropical hurricane and man-eal-‘, ing sharks to Juneau as vivid| | contrast to the white blanket of snow and near-zero temperatures which shrouded the Capital City. The man who told the tale was Francis E. Holmes, in port as third ! mate on the Tongass. Holmes, who has sailed to Alaska and the Ori- | mate on the Libby Maine until the eventful morning of Septem- ber 25, when the former cannery ship was engulfed in the hurricane which wreaked havoc the length of the Caribbean Sea. That disaster left its . mark on| Holmes. Never to be blotted from ’hls memory are those 40 hours on 'a piece of wreckage, tossed about | the tropic sea. Always to mark his |face are scars received when the bridge on the steamer carried away and sent him almost to the bot- jtom of the Caribbean. His ankle which was broken in the same crash has just knit and he believes he is the first of the 13 survivors of that ill-fated craft to return to a job at sea. Had Been Warned But let him tell the story: “We hit the center of that hur- ricane about 9 a.m., September 25. We were in the Caribbean Sea, about 275 miles south of Puerto| Rico, with a load of steel rails for| Vieques Island. We'd been warned in advance about the hurricane, but the Old Man thought we would miss the storm. I guess the blow didn't follow the course that was laid out for it. “I was on duty and I remem- ber well what happened between | 9 a.m., when we first hit the hur-; ricane, and 10 am., when I saw/ the last of the Libby Maine. First, the steering engine went haywire. | We shifted to hand steering gear,' but before we could bring the old girl around to go with the storm,! the chief engineer came (o the bridge and said the water was| |coming in too fast to take care of with the pumps. “It was 9:18 a.m. when the steer- Told of Here | within 16 miles of Moscow but that |~ TERR Lovd One o« SMASHING AT | SEA W DEFENSE ARC AT MOSCOW | | | Russian Red]my Spokes- ‘} man Acknowledges Grave Threat INVADERS PUSHING | - DOWNFROM NORTH Soviel Munfi)ns Center at | TulaUnder Attackby | Nazi Forces (By Associated Press) | The spokesman for the Russian Red Armies today acknowledged a | grave threat on Moscow is being | made from the north. | Soviet dispatches acknowledged German troops are smashing the | center of Moscow’s defense arc at Mozhaisk, only 36 miles from the | ‘ capital. This is the closest approach | ton the Moscow front, due west, so | far admitted by the Russians. | A Vichy radio broadcast, several | days ago, reported the Nazis were | | report is the only one received, no | statements have been made to that effect from Berlin or Moscow. | In the south, the Russians sai | today the Nazi troops are attempting | to encircle the key munitions center | jof Tula, 100 miles below Moscow, | | while heavy German artillery and trench mortars bombarded a town and nearby village, identified only as “N,” said to have finally fallen into the hands of the invaders. R gl 100 MARINES LEAVE CHINA, MORE LATER Remaining D etachments| Will Sail Soon for Un- known Destination SHANGHALI, Nov. 28.—The steam- ér President Harding- sailed from port today carrying 700 American Marines to an unannounced destina- tion, leaving less than 200 of their comrades in all China, ending a 14-year sojourn of the Fourth U. S. Marines in Shanghai. The Americans were given a tear- ful sendoff by Shanghai residents. Remaining detachments at Peip- ing and Tientsin are expected to sail soon from Ching Wang Tao, a North China port. LAST ALIAN EAST AFRICAN FORT GIVES UP I0bservers Say af Least 10,000 Men Surrender fo Two-Way Attack NAIROBI, Nov. 28.—The moun- tainous stronghold of Gondar, last bastion of Mussolini’s East African empire surrendered tonight after a hard driven two-way attack by im- perial troops, British East African headquarters announced. Military observers said the Gon- dar garrison was believed to exceed gram. I have always been a loyal ing engine went bad. At 9:40 am. 10000 men, at least half of them friend and supporter of labor, but the Old Man told me to go aft Italians. ! ;&ml-u\ued on Page Pom;) ¥ (Continued on Page Five) 1 i BUY DEFENSE STAMPS g - AR CLAIMS AMERICAN SHIP ---- LEHIGH TORPEDOED e In this striking picture, the U. S.-owned freighter Lehigh, with more than half her length submerged, 1ifts her bow. Pulling away from the stricken ship are the No. 1 and No. 2 lifebeats, last to leave the ship. The vessel went under 34 minutes after her crew cleared the side. James Earle, Second Engineer, took these exclusive pictures. The Lehigh was torpedoed by a submarine October 19. The vessel sank one hour and 29 minutes after being hit, 75 miles off Freetown, Africa. Two of the 44 men aboard wgre injured. Al members of the erew, in lifeboats, were rescued by November 22, IN ATTACKS, USEPOWDER Assaulls Are Made by Dyn- | amite-Train Also Re- ported Derailed VICHY, Nov. 28— The German |controlled newspapers report a new |series of Terrorist attacks in oc- cupied territory, including derail- ment of a train near Abbeville and dynamite attacks near the Capital. Col. Gen. Ernest von Schaunberg, | German Commander of the Paris | region, announces the city has |been fined one million francs for bombing a Nazi requisitioned res- taurant., SR 2R NAVY SECRETARY CAN'T GET OWN | MAN INTO SITKA |Casey, Reporter for Knox's Chicago Newspaper, Fails fo See Base Col. Frank Knox may own The Chicago Daily News but thatdidn’t help Robert J. Casey, correspondent for the newspaper, when he want- ed to visit the naval base at Sit- ka, Casey revealed today when he returned from a trip to the de- fense city. Before leaving Juneau last week Casey sent a telegram to his man- aging editor, suggesting Knox be asked to facilitate Casey's inspec- tion tour. As Secretary of the Navy, Knox ought to be able to help one of his own reporters, Casey rea- soned. But in Sitka, Casey received sad news fromg his managing editor Knox has refused so many other requests for permission to Visil Alaska naval bases that he felt he couldn’t very well clear the decks for one of his own employees Casey came back to Juneau sail south on the Columbia MOITOW. | will to- —_—— BUY DEFENSE BO! ORISTS "Urgent” Defense Highway British vessels and thers Srought back to the United States by an American vessel wlhiich only arrived in New York last Saturday, S”Irike' Bill -~ Bill Still Is Before Senale; Compulsion - Democracy Grinding Along IdeaRemoved By JACK STINNETT WASHINGTON, Nov. 28. — De- mocracy works in strange ways but [none is stranger 'perhaps Umn} what has happened to the defense | highway bill, 1 Almost a year ago, the Works Agency and the Public| Roads Administration, with thel help of the Army and Navy, draft- ed a report to the President on “the absolute minimum necessities” for new and improved highways in national defense areas. With some revisions, the Presi- dent made his recommendations to Congress, pressed upon them the necessity for speed, since some bridges already were collapsing and some roads being churned into successions of sink-holes by the Army's new motorized and tank equipment (just light tanks, mind you—none of those 60-ton- ners has yet had a chance at mak- ing soup out of our super high- ways). Congress was amenable. Along A | ] Federal | GALE KILLS 13, INJURES MANY, JAPAN TOKYO, Nov. 28.—Thirteen per- sons were killed and many more wounded in Hashi, Japan, when a terrific cyclone demolished more than 250 hous Domef, Japanese news agency, reported. | More than 3,500 houses in Tokyo are under water due to the gale. i Py 70 o (Continued on Page Six) LUCASES ON YUKON Mayor and Mrs. Harry I. Lucas are returning to Juneau on the steamer Yukon following a trip to the East coast, where Mrs. Lucas was sponsor of the new cruiser Juneau. e i BUY DEFENSE STAMPS Yukon Is Now JuneauBound SEATTLE, Nov. 28—Steamer Yu- kon sailed at 6 o'clock last night for Alaska ports with 279 passen- gers, including 39 steerage passen- gers. Juneau passengers aboard the Yukon, including those transferred from the Aleutian, are as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Mundinger, Mr. and Mrs. Harry I. Lucas, Mr. and Mrs, I. P. Taylor, Willlam Turnbew. William Riese and wife, M. F. Benediet and family, Walt Engle- harto, Mrs. Everett Wrede and child, Mrs. W. G. Beard, Joe Transel, Mrs, Jal Kane and son, Mrs. George Simpkins. | NOPLANES ARE ALOFT | Winter spread a zero-zero blanket of ice and wind across all airways in Southeastern Alaska, the south- ern Yukon and northern British Columbia today and all planes re- mained on the ground Neither Pan American nor Al- aska Coastal Airways chips moved in or out of Juneau. Future move- ments must await improvea weather conditions. “ £ BB Sh o FORESTER HELD UP The Forest Service boat Forester is riding out today’s Taku blow at the mouth of the Chilkat River, near Haines, it was reported at the Forest Service office here. The Forester has an anchor and two shore lines out. B BEN BELLAMYS HERE Ben Bellamy, Alaska broker with ! headquarters in Juneau, and Mrs. | Bellamy returned to Juneau today on the motorship Northland from Sitka. |Senator Her?fig Tells Sen- ate Labor Committee Bill . Approved by Knudsen WASHINGTON, Nov. 28. — The House Labor Committee today aban- doned at least temporarily the idea of compulsion as part of proposed legislation to end defense strikes. Simultaneously, the Senate Judi- ciary Subcommittee approved a measure to permti seizure of strike- bound defense plants. The Senate Labor Committee, also rushing anti-strike legislation, was told by Senator Clyde L. Herring, of Iowa, that the proposal he is | spensoring, which would make it a !crime to call a defense strike, has | been approved by Willlam Knudsen, Director of Defense Production. | The decision of the House group to drop compulsory arbitration pro- posals was made at the direct re- |quest of the administration, mem- | bers said, BAD WEATHER KEEPS COMMISSION MEMBER FROM FLYING HERE Harry Phillips, recently appointed chairman of the Territorial Un- employment Compensation missicn, wired the office of Gov. Ernest Gruening here today that he| had a reservation on a Pan Amer- jcan Airways plane leaving FPair- banks today, bound for Juneau. + Bad flying weather, kept the PAA ship on the ground at the Interior city today, thus fur- | ther delaying a continuation of the annual meeting of the commission ! here, originally scheduled to get under way Tuesday. Meantime, Mrs. Mildred Her- mann, local attorney and also a vecent appointee to the commission, held a one-member meeting again this morning in the commission office. -oo TONGASS PAYS CALL T. Casey returned to Juneau yes- terday on the steamer Tongass of the Alaska Transportation Company. The vessel sailed south at 9 o’clock last night with no passengers. ) com- | however, | ENVOY TOLD - CHINA WAR ~ MUST STOP Peace Neaat?ations Are Not Yet Broken Down, Diplomats Declare MERCHANT SHIPS IN | PACIFIC MAY ARM Jap Military—A—divily Near ' Thailand Border Is 1‘ Unabated WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 — The | American government, it was | learned on best available sources in | Washington today, has ruled out |any possibility of a compromise {with Japan on the Chinese issue, and has raised the possibility that American merchant ships in the \Pncim: may soon be armed. While it was reported on the | nighest authority that negotiations 'looklng toward peace in the Pa- |cific and Par East have not brok- |en down, the U, S. diplomatic | circles here today were inclined to |view the present situation as ex- | tremely serious. ! Official Statement | An official White House an- | nouncement concerning the mer- |chantmen said these vessels, sail- ing Pacific routes, “are not to be | armed under existing circumstanc- es.” When President Roosevelt was |asked at a press conference how |long he thought those circum- |stances may prevail, he said he |thought that question might bet- It,er be asked of Tokyo. Also asked whether there was |anything he might say on negotia~ tions with Japan's envoys to this country, the President replied that he thought it better not to say anything yet. He conceded news of the negotiations, based largely on dispatches from Tokyo, to be true. President’s Declaration President Roosevelt declared the reason for this American policy of “infinite patience” is because it is learned on best authority that the current situation in the Far East is regarded as serious principally because of American desires that there be peace in the Pacific, while at the same time this nation is taking no steps which would alter prospects for peace. Meantime, reports of unabated Japanese military activity near the {border of Thailand brought new |concern to the capital. > > 'NATIONAL PARK CHIEF IS STORMBOUND HERE A stormbound visitor in Juneau today was Ben C. Miller, superin- tendent of Sitka and Glacier Bay National Monuments, in the Na- tional Park Systems under the De- partment of the Interior. When a break in the weather | permits, Miller plans to board the | Game Commission boat Grizzly ‘»Bear for an inspection trip to the Glacier Bay Park. | S, /za/»fu}u; fbatfd i Lll Chiristmad | |