The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 19, 1941, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPLRG VOL. LVIIL, NO. 8909. “ALL THE NEWS JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1941 ALL THE TIME” SR = MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTY BOMBING ACTION RAGES IN PHILIPPINES BLACKOUT OF UNITED STATES CAPITOL 15 MILLIONS IS SETUP FOR | POSSESSIONS' Establishment of Backlog | Defense Materials for Al- aska Is Contemplated WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. A Presidential request for a $15,000,- 000 appropriation for relief and civilian defense needs for Alaska, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico was approved today by the House Appropriations Subcommittee. It is estimated that $12,500,000 of the money will be used in Puerto Rico alone. The President said the funds are | needed for purchase, storage and distribution cf food, drugs, hospital . supplies and other materials “for use in the event of actual war op- erations” affecting the possessions. The President said it is proposed to have the articles available prin- cipally for sales to merchants en- gaged in normal trade for replen- | ishment of melr stocks. THOUSAND Ready to Defend Los Angeles “It can’t happen here,” t but if it can, the U. S. is prepared to defend its Pacific coastline from enemy attackers. Army sources con- firmed that two squadrons of hostile planes crossed the coastline west of San Jose, Cal, and reconnoitered the San Francisco bay arca and other sections of California. In Los Angeles, anti-aircraft guns alny nly are in place, pu‘tured above, and ready if attack comes. Third Wave of Jap Bombers INTERNED On Hawaiian Base Given Most Devastating Barrage SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 19 —One thousand Germans and Ital-| ians considered dangerous to this Nation, have been rounded up and —— they have been taken to the intern- ment camp at Missoula, Montana, where they will be under guard for the duration of .the war. ————— JESTA YOUNG LEAVES Jesta Young, employed in the Territorial Department of Liquor Enforcement, has left for Ket- chikan. She will return to Juneau after the holiday season. WASHINGTON. —Behind the scenes, Roosevelt already has taken steps for a wartime censor with sweeping powers to dictate what war news shall be published or not published in the newspapers, | over radios and news distributors. | Already he has appointed a com- | mittee of ' three—Vice Presidemi Wallace, Postmaster General Walk- | er and Attorney General Biddle to| recommend a censor and draw up| legislation giving authority to cen-) sor the press. { Actually, the censor won't be| called by that name. His omciali title will be Director of Public In- formatjon. But his function will bey to supervise all reports of military | operations and other information deemed of military significance. At present, official reports on military events are issued in the| form of communiques by the War and Navy Departments and by the | commanding officers of units and areas. The White House also gives out frequent announcements, and the various defense agencies do likewise. There is no one central super- visory and distributing agency, as the British have in their Ministry of Information. As originally pro- posed, the Office of the Coordina- tor of Information, headed by able Colonel William Donovan, was to do this job. But the Army and Navy, jealous of their bureaucratic powers, objected so vehemently thac the plan was dropped, and Donovan was given the task of waging the short-wave counter-propaganda war against the Axis. In this work his organization has been extremely ef- Coast Defender Maj. Gen. John L. DeWitt Maj. Gen. John L. DeWitt, above, | is commander of the Fourth army (west coast area) and the west~ ern defense command. It was he who informed the war department in Washington of the sighting of hostile airplanes over the San Francisco bay area. The army officer said that the interceptor command tracked the planes, but was unable to follow them back to the carrier. It was believed the planes came from a carrier. AGE LIMIT AGREEMENT FOR DRAFT WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — A joint Senate-House conference committee today agreed to make all men from 22 through 44 years of age subject to compul- sory military training and to re- quire the registration of all men ANNAPOLIS, Dec. 19. — Secre- tary of Navy Frank Knox, asserting that a 30-minute warning of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor | “would have made all the difference |in the world,” disclosed that the | third and final wave of enemy | bombers met such a devastating | barrage that they turned away with- ;out hitting a single objective. To (anvass Food Supply, Profiteering {Gov. Gruemng Asks Citi- | zen Committee fo Check . on Grocery Situation | A canvass of food supplies in Ju=- neau and an investigation to see | i that no profiteering on food is being indulged in by local merchants was | | ordered in a letter received today by | Mayor Harry I. Lucas from Gov. | | Ernest Gruening { | Because of disrupted shipping | schedules, a check-up on existing food supplies is being called for in | every Alaska community, the letter | | stated. The Governor asked Mayor | Lucas to appoint “an able and en- ergetic citizen or committee of citi- zens for the community to gather | | this information.” | Referring to possible increases in food prices, the Gov- | ernor said: 1 | ! | 4 | | | unmerited | | “Likewise I would like to know whether there has been any markeq | increase in prices of essentials since | the outbreak of the war. Such in- | crease is unnecessary and should be discountenanced by official protest. If this proves ineffective action may | be necessary. Nothing could be less | excusable at this time than taking | advantage of the national peril and possible resulting shortages to pro- fiteer at the public expense.” It was not known whether this matter will be taken up at a meeting of the City Council tonight. One | matter to come before the meeting it was reported, will be considera- tion of a proposed tunnel to be driven through the hill behind the Juneau schools, into Evergreen Bow! and to be used as a shelter in event of a possible air raid. Axis Forces Secretary Knox, speaker at the, ‘gradumion exercises of the Naval| | Academy’s class of 42, said Japan’s | assault on the Hawaiian base was a Flee From. “damning account of the infamous treachery such as has never been recorded in the history of Lhe world.” Vichy Denies Knowledge of Pad with U.S. : Washingtor?frw_sisis Agree- ment to Preserve Neu- frality Is Effected VICHY, Dec. 19, French circles today said they have no knowledge of a naval agreement reached between the French High Commissioner of Martinique and the United States. | The Vichy government issued a ! denial of London’s announcement that the French government has withdrawn its accusation that a submarine which sank the French merchantman S¢. Denis recently off the Balearic Islands “presumably | was British.” | ot | NO CHANGE IN STATUS | WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. ~Author- itative circles today reported an | | agreement had been reached with | omrmls of the Vichy French gov- | ernmem at Martinique under which | the neutral status of that and other | French possessions in the Western Hemlsphere will remain unchanged - STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, «Dec, 19. +:Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine | |stock today is 1%, |64%, Anaconda 26%, Bethlehem | Steel 59%, Commonwealth and | Southern %, Curtiss Wright 8, In- American Can Authorized | Desert War British Oif_ic—ially Report Capture of Derna Air- pori-Enemy on Run (By Associated Press) On the Libyan battlefield today British troops officially were report- 'ed to have captured Derna airport, 1100 miles northwest of Tobruk. | Derna itself was said still to be |in Axis hands. British forces were | reported advancing in all directions from the west and nofth on Mekils, 40 miles below Derna. Germans and Italians were said to be fleeing in two directions, one | group moving toward Derna and the other toward Bengasi on, the Gulf of Sirte. B — MARTHUR T0 BE PROMOTED FULL GENERAL Commander—o_f American ‘ Army in Far East Is | Rewarded | WASHINGTON, Dec. 19— Lieu- | tenant General MacArthur, com- | mander of the United States Army of the Far East, today was nomin- |ated by President Roocsevelt to be la full general. It generally was agreed the pro- | motion comes as a reward for the | vigorous job MacArthur is doing lin the defense of the Philippines. BABY GRAVES DIES < goundpheto above depicts the dome of the United Stutes Capitol in Washingsi D20 ddrifig a p fiv1 time in history that lights in uy ficance in the picture blackout in the natien’s capital. dome were extinguished. Observers This foun ipito] DUTCHBOMB Disfurbance JAP TROOPS ATSARAWAK Rising-Sun mps Slowing Down Advance Down Malayan Peninsula (By Associated Press) Dutch bombers smashed Japanese invasicn forces today in the “White | Rajah” Kkingdom of Sarawak on North Borneo, sharply contesting the Japanese thrust for oil in the rich domain in the South British Meanwhile, reports said the Japanese advance down the Ma- | layan Peninsula toward ngapore had slowed desnite the isclation of Penang Island, off the north Ma- lavan coast, and the capture of the mainiand province of Welleslev The British garrison at Penang _ was evacuated safely, it was an-| nounced in Londnn STRATEGY ON OFFENSIVETO BE REACHED Allied Powers fo Hold Im-| portant Conference in Washington N LONDON, Dec. 19.—Allied Pover. are rushing plans for the Washing- ton conference to map strategy in a world-wide offensive against the Axis. The United States, Great Britain and Russia, it is authoritatively re- ported here, are taking the lead in China | By Blackouis ToBe (urbed Necessity of Non-Inter- ference with Business t in case of actual emer- blackouts will be held only nce or twice a month in Juneau, Civilian Defen; Council de- at a lengthy meeting at the City Hall last night. Mayor H. I. Lucas, Defense Di- :tor Frank Metealf and other de- ense council leaders stressed the leffort of the council to avoid in- | terfering with the normal business and social life of the community as much as possible. The discussicn de | animous belief by the membe: while occasional kouts of a few moments duration may | prove necessary, they nevertheless hould be held nct more than once lor twice a menth “and then only after publicity has been given so the townspeople will know when | practices are scheduled.” | R. E. "Robertsop, spokesman for |the council, said present plans do not contemplate any' trial blackout |until scme time after Christmas. | However, coordination and prep- {aration of defense activities will be | presecuted as fast as possible so that the declaration of an actual special emergency or blackout can be met immediately if the war sit- uation demands such action. i Lucas and | i | | Exi ey, | the cids oped an un- that { e council reque IMetcalf to communicate immed- intely with Gen. John L. DeWitt, lemmandant of the west coast de- ithoritie It was P auth tion ted out that blackout hould come from military sour thus avolding th pessibility of a blackou ed unlese actually duml\l I | HONGKONG IMMINENT Defense Coundil Stresses Japanese Soldcers, Blue- jackets Make Landing- Half of Island Seized (By Associated Press) The fall of Britain’s great Far East stronghold of Hongkong, a city of a million population and fortified at a cost of $40,000,000, appeared imminent today as Tokyo reported Japanese troops in a violent night assault captured half of the 32- square-mile island. A Berlin broadcast said Sir Mark Young, Governor and Commander- in-Chief of Hongkong, escaped from the colony to an unknown destina- tion. Tokyo reports broadcast by Domei, Japanese news agency, said the Brit- ish resistance at Hongkong had col- lapsed and capture of the city, Britain’s second citadel in the Orient, was only a matter of hours. | The Coloniel Office in London de- nied Sir Mark had fled, declaring it was “in telegraphic communica~- tion with the Governor this morn- ing.” Only a comparatively small gar- rison of British and imperial and Indian troops was reported defend- Domei said Japanese soldiers and bluejackets in a swift three-point invasion captured Jerines Hill, which rises 1420 feet at the center of the island, after two and one-half hours of fighting. It reported Japanese planes and guns “are furiously bat- tering the enemy.” PR e FRED EASTAUGH {SFERRED TO ! SEATTLE OFFICE rsthaugh, a member of the raffic staff of the Juneau Pan INCREASE INGROUND, AIR MOVES 'Invaders Atfack Manila, Also lloilo-Wake Island Is Assaulted Twice BULLETIN—WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.~The War Department announces “there is a marked increase in enemy air and ground activities” in the Philippine area during the past 24 hours. The War Department com- munique said: “There has been heavy bombing over Manila and also over the city of Iloilo on the Island of Panay, south of Luzon, but there is nothing to report regarding the other areas.” BULLETIN—WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.—~The Navy Department announced this afternoon that two additional enemy air attacks have been made on Wake Island. One of the attacks is described as “comparatively light” while the other.was “in greater force.” The defenders, the announce- ment said, were equal to the at- tacks and repulsed them. In the regular afternoon com- munique, the Navy Department said there are no new develop- ments to report on the Atlantic, Eastern Pacific or Far East. Mazis Desert vinns as Soviel ien Advance German Troops in Mass Retreat from Russia-Fin- land Is Abandoned (By Associated Press) Hitler’s battered invasion armies, : reeling in retreat from Russia, today were reported to have abandoned their Finnish allies as Soviet dis- patches announced hiuge new gains in a counter-offensive on the Cen- tral Front. The British radio declared “re- ports from Helsinki this morning isny all German troops have been | withdrawn from Finland in a great hurry.” The broadcast said the Finnish lines have been shattered between Lakes Oenga and Lagoda by a Red Army drive in the vicinity of the Leningrad-Murmansk railroad. ITALIANS LOSE TWO CRUISERS, FRENCH REPORT British Attack on Convoy off Tunisian Coast Sinks Warships, Transporis TUNIS, French Tunisia, Dec. 15. | —(Delayed)—Some thousand Ital- | ians today were reported rescued ing the 100-year-old crown colony, |%10R8 the Tunisian coast from & convoy attacked by the British in which two Italian cruisers were de- | stroyed and three transports sunk, causing a total of 5,000 Italian vic- ims. The Italian cruisers reported sunk were the 5000-ton Buiussiano and Barbiao. Some 1200 Fascist sailors were lost on the warships and others died aboard the three de- stroyed transports. 54&/1714): fba} 4 4 14// C/ 'ldf&nui 18 thr 64. 4 ough ternational Harvester 45%, Ken- the Washington conference to be ry by the army. American fective. The three-man cabinet commit- | tee asked by the President to se- lect a censor have under considera- tion the following: Harold Ickes, hard-boiled Secretary of the In-| terior; Colonel Donovan; Archibald e e (Continued on Page Four) GOES TO FDR WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. — The Senate has passed and sent to the, White House legislation requiring | | registration of g1l men 18 through 64 years and making compulsory | for military service those from 20| J through 44 years. 1 {necott 35, New York Central 7%, Northern Pacific 414, United States Steel 51%, Pound $4.04. DOW, JONES AVERAGES The following are today’s Dow, Jones averages: industrials 108.29, rails 24.68, utilities 13.51, Janet Graves, 6 month old daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Graves, passed away at 10:30 this morning at St. Ann's Hospital. The infant is swrvived by three brothers, Billy, David, and George, and one sister, Doris. Remains are at the Charles W. Carter Mortuary, ‘ held shortly but all countries able to take active part in the fighting may also be represemed > BRUNOS GO SOUTH Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bruno have left for the south for the holiday season. Other action at the meeting in- cluded the appomtment of John tnn('d\' to coordinate the plan- vg and’ location of alr raid shel- ve 2 s tunnels for shelters. office for the past year. Juneau soon for Seattle he has been assigned to the at Boeing PField. been residing in tine il 1e where PAA. r»f!k‘e Fastk ok Coaper Ap: BUY DEFENSE BONDS