The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 26, 1941, Page 1

VA THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LVIIL, NO. 8915. — “ALL THE NEW'S JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, l)li(?l{MB—ER ALL THE TIME” 26, 1941 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS U. S. ASIATIC FLEET SINKS ENEMY CRAFT CHURCHILL ADDRESSES CONGRESS Shade Axis’ Output in Year or 18 Months | WASHINGTO Dec. 26—Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston | Churchill today predicted before a joint session of the United States | Congress that the United States and | Great Britain will be produrmg; within a year or eighteen months| “results in war power beyond any- thing ever seen by the Axis states.” The youth of Germany, Italy and | Japan has been taught, the Brit-| isher said, that aggressive warfare | is a duty of every citizen and should | begin as soon as the weapons are available. | “They plotted and planned the war,” he charged | Churchill asserted he found Washington “inflexible in its pur- pose” and indicated this nation is “well grounded in confidence in| the final outcome” of the war. | Standing with his hands on his | bips on the Senate rostrum,| Churchhill told the American law- | makers that while in his country the House of Commons could by a simple vote turn him out of office at any moment, he wasn't “worry- ing about it very much.” “As a matter of fact,” Church-| ill added, “I am sure they approved very highly of this trip I made in order to meet the President of the United States and arrange with him all mapping of military plans. All| those' intimate meetings between high officers of the armed services of both countries are so indispen- sable to the successful conduct of the war.” DESTROYEROF | JAPAN SHELLED, SUNK BY DUTCH BATAVIA, Dec. 26—The news agency Aneta says a Japanese de-| stroyer of the 2,100-ton class has been torpedoed and sunk by a Dutch submarine which escaped | depth charges sent down by an-| other Japanese destroyer. ‘60" | | Prarsy | WASHINGTON — Most interest- ing but least known Embassy in Washington is that of Nazi Ger- many, which for approximately three -years has gone its own way, practically ostracized, almost iso- lated, watching its country drift nearer and nearer war with the United States—but powerless to pre- | vent it. It is important to note, and may be indicative of real public opin- ion inside Germany, that recent envoys to the United States, and even part of the German Embassy today, have not been particularly sympathetic with Hitler. The blue - blooded Count von Pritwitz, Ambassador during Hoo- ver’s day, was ousted by Hitler and now lives in seclusion in Berlin Hans Luther, who followed him, was made Ambassador in Wash- ington because Hitler wanted to get him out of the Reichsbank Luther had been Chancellor and Finance Minister in the days of the Republic and Hitler sent him to relative exile in the US.A. Luther was followed by Dr. Hans Dieckhoff, a very able diplomat who, when recalled in 1937, spent nine months trying to see Hitler to warn him the United States would not remain neutral if Ger- many went to war in Europe. How- ever, Foreign Minister von Ribben- trop stood in the way of this warn- ing until 1938, by which time the die was cast. | Today, the man who runs the German Embassy, Hans Thomsen, (Continued on Page Four) ;igns with Angry Pen i His teeth clinched, President Roosevell’s pen scratched angrily as he signed a declaration of war against Germany. Observing are (left to right Vice-Pi ator Warren Austin (R.-Vt,); Sen. John W. McCormack (D-Mass.); Alben W. Barkley (D.-Ky.) (bel (D.-Tex.) dent Henry A. Wallace, Speaker Sam Rayburn, Sen- Charles L. McNary (R.-Ore.) ; Rep. Sen. Carter (D.-Va.); Sen. hind Glass), Tom ss Sen. Connally Hongkong Surrenders To Japanese Affer 11 Days of Bloo!j Siege MANY AXIS SOLDIERS CAPTURED Heavy Losses Inflicted on Gen. Rommel’s Forces in Refreat Action CAIRO, Dec. 26— British head- quarters today reported more than 13,000 Axis priscners already have| been moved to the rear as British troops are inflicting heavy losses on General Rommel’s Nazi forces attempting a retreat near Agedabia. Sixty miles south of Agedebia the British ‘captured Bengasi and Cairo observers said most of the lanks in Rommel's fleeing armies aiready have been wiped out. Heavy battles marked the 340- mile sweep of Britain's desert s Lib, armies ac BENGASI TAKENBY BRITISH Chief Axis SE[EIY Cenfer in East Tripoli Is Captured After 34Q-hflle Sweep LONDON, Dec. 26.—Great Bri- tain's desert armies have officially reported the capture of Bengasi, the chief Axis supply port in East Tripoli, after three 40-mile sweeps icross the Libyan desert since Nu- vember 18. The port had been fortified by the Italians at a cost of millions of dollars. Bengasi, the provincial capital of Libya; is the second ‘argest city in the fast dwindling Fascist North African Empire and ies on the gulf of Sirte The German armored legions heading the flight of the Axis armies back to Tripolitania are re- ported cut off south of Bengasi b - BUY DEFENSE STAMPS L e e e L e e b s [ | TOKYO, Dec. 26—The Imperial | Headquarters announce that the | British garrison at Hongkong sur- | rendered at 12:55 o'clock Christmas |day morning after 11 days of i‘bloody siege. | SURRENDER CONFIRMED LONDON, Dec. 26.—The British Colenial office makes an official | announcement that Hongkong's re- | sistance has ended. Commanders |of the garrison notified the British lCm\\'n Colony Governor, Sir Mark | Young, that no further effective | resistance was possible. The garrison was hopelessly out- |numbered by Japanese. Twice the |demand for surrender was rejected The island citadel of Hongkong ihas a population of more than 1,- 1000,000. The fall of the colony was |anticipated and is a serious but |not fatal blow to Great Britain's |Far East defenses. Hongkong, | however, gives the Japanese a new base of operations only 750 miles | from Manila. | Goebbels " Talks fo Germans‘ ' Broadcasts fo Nationals in | Foreign Lands-Makes w Declaration | BERLIN, Decc. 2 Nazi Propa- ganda Minister Goebbels declared in a radio broadcast that Germany will hold out until victory is won. Goebbels in his broadcast ad- dressed all Germans abroad anrd aid: “You often live completely in strange not to say hostile world. It is not surprising you are no‘ Ivery popular outside of your own |country for Germany is fighting {for her vital rights.” CHUNGKING RAID " IS-BEATEN OFF U BY U, S, AIRMEN | LONDON, Dec. 26. — A radio broadcast from Singapore, picked up here, declares that American fliers fighting for the Chinese forces, drove off 61 Japanese planes to bomb Chungking. | attempting PRACTICE BLACKOUT TOMORROW Darkness fo Reign for 15 Minutes When City Tests Air Raid Precautions | will undergo a practice blackout tomorrow evening from 7 o'clock to 7:15 o'clock, the Civilian Defense Board announced teday. | | { Juneau The Beard urged citizens to co- operate in the test and to observe| the blackout as rizidly as though it were an actual emergency 1 The fire whistle signai will be used. One blast followed by two| blasts | Home Guard units will report to their stations and maintain their patrol for the duration of the black- out | Meanwhile, the Board empha- | sized that the war situation does| not permit any let-down in precau- | tions. All advertising, Christmas decoraticn and other outside light- ing should be turned off at midnight | cach night and householders should form the habit of drawing their| window shades when interior lights are burning Arrangements for| blacking out windows should be| made permanent so that no light! will radiate to the exterior when the blackout signal sounds. Air Raid Shelters In another field of air raid pre- cautions the defense board will survey the city to locate suitable ites for air raid shelters for emer-| genecy use of persons caught on the streets during blackouts or raids. Although present structures may nct be bombproof, they will provide some shelters against machine guns, shrapnel and other barrage missies. shelters being Elk's bowling room of the Ameng tentative considered are the alleys, the display Southeast Alaska Fair Building, and the basements of the B. M Behrends Bank Building, the Twen- tieth Century Building, Alaska Electric Light & Power Company:* Northern Light Presbyterian Church, Baranof Hotel and the A B. Hall. Owners of huildings will be con- tacted th ascertairy under what conditions their buildings may be used for shelters EVACUEES FROM ALASKA REACH SOUTHERN PORT SEATTLE, Dec. 26.—The second large ship bringing evacuees from Alaska points, most of them fami- lies of service men or civilian em- ployees working on defense pro- jects in the north, have arrived here, the Thirteenth Naval District announces. Most of the 724 evacuees brought south are women and children. - OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY Dr. and Mrs. A. C. Rowland will be hosts at an open house in their home in the Twentieth Century Apartments on Sunday. Guests have been invited to call between the hours of 2 and 6 p. m President Roosevelt and the Pre journey to the United States for a Churchill in a car at a carby encompass “the defeat of Hitlerism. Russ Army ENEMYSUB * SENT DOWN OFF COAST dent’s naval aide, Capt. John rother history-making conference w They were closeted at the White House to talk war plans to Associated Press telemat airmailed to The Empire, port.” - Churdhill in U. 5. fo Help Plan Axis Defeat ster Winston Offensive Sweeps On Churehill arrived R. Beardall, after his daring and secret al the White House with h Roosevell, The President met LONG RANGE Japanese Inte JAP U-BOATS PROWL OCEAN American Army Bomber GermansDiE?yThousands Enemy Believed fo Have Makes Successful Aftack on Undersea Craft IN, Dec. 26.—An American Army bomber has sunk enemy submarine off the California coast. This is the official announce- ment made by the War De- partment and the report was made by the Western Defense Command headed by Licut. Gen. John L. DeWitt. - Mariupol. €ea of Azov port changed hand. 21 times during the Russian civil war but was fi- nially taken by the Red forces in 1920. ALASK A AND THE WAR s [/( NORTHERN FRONTIER of the United States is Alaska, next door to Asia and closer to Japan than Honolulu. She will play a vital role for North American na-’ tionsat war. Toget the facts on Alaska, Sam Jackson of the Associated Press Feature Service came north for a careful survey. He gives you the full story in a series starting MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, in The Empire. |battle at the approaches to Se ! cifie at Sebastopol and Other Areas LONDON, Dec. 26—Hitler's Crim- ean armies loday were orted to have lost 20,000 killed in a six-day as- topol, long besieged Russian naval base. Soviet hes said an addi- ticnal r were slain on other Russian battlefields during the Christmas I ays, with the team Red army counter of- ciy seping cn unchecked reaching London said the Rus:iens recaptired the strategic Oka Riv city ¢f Kaluga, 110 mile: outhwest of Moscow and Kalut, 65 miles northeast Tula, where the Germans for weeks attempted to break through to Moscow - T0 AFTACK JAPANESE, OFFENSIVE Allied Powers Lining Up Plan, Australian Of- ficial Indicales SYDNEY, Dec. 26 Australia’s Prime Minister John Curtin hinted today that momentous counter measures are underway by the Unit- ed States and Great Britain as well as other Alliled powers to reverse the Japanese offensive in the Pa- rtin said he cannot disclose the pres form of the new Allied movement, that is already launched but declared he is greatly encour- se laged by growing reinforcements Fleet of 40 Submarines for Distant Work SHINGTON, Dec. 26.—Raiding W Japanese submarines in the Pacific are out to accomplish what the Ger- man U-boats failed t0 do in the Atlantic in 1918 Japan is believed to have a much larger fleet of long range submar- ines than Germany had in the first World War with about 40 of the Nipponese subs capable of operat- ing off the coast The objectives of both the old campaign and the present one are the diversion of naval units me from combat duty with the fleet for defense disruption strictly and the shipping patrol of operatjons American .o GLOOMY MESSAGE IS BROADCAST BY MARSHAL PETAIN Declares "“Peace Is Farther | Off than Ever'-Talks fo "Prisoners”’ VICHY, Dec. 26.—~In a pessimis- ic message Lo those of his cG juered nation, Marshal Petain de lared that “peace is farther off an ever Petain said the families of { France are still broken up by the rmans and many are held as prisoners of war in detention camps. | Pelain’s message was addressed principally to those French pris- oners of war resulting further by xlension of the outbreak of hos- ilitles in the Far East between Japan and the United States and | Britain | Great | LARGE JAP TRANSPORT SENT DOWN Other Vessglr{ljeslroyed Is Official Report of Navy Dept. BULLETIN — Washington, Dec. ~The Navy Depart- ment late this afterncon an- neunces the Asiatic Fleet has sunk one large enemy transport loaded with soldiers, a mine sweeper and probably an addi- tional transport and a mea- plane tender. The information came dispatch in a Admiral Hart, from i the Asiatic of The location of the attack, with good results, is not given. The Navy Department also announces that naval opera- tions against cnemy submarines s being vigorously prosecuted in the Eastern Pacific. Several large Japancse sub- marines have been sent down, two by Army planes and three by the Asiatic fleet, but defin- ite information is withheld. The Asiatic Fleet is maneu- vering quietly but effectively, the Navy Department announc- s, although admitting it is outnumbered. TANK FIGHTS ARE RAGING, PHILIPPINES —_— nsive As- saulfs in Section South of Nation’s Cgpital SOLDIERS, MARINES GO OUT OF MANILA Nippon Attacks on Lingay- en Gulf Successfully Beaten Off (BY -ASSOCIATED PRESS) Violent tank battles are raging southeast of Manila and Japan's invasion armies now ar ebringing “very heavy pressure” against the American and Pilipino defense, United States Army Headquarters reported today. The Army’s announcement re- porting heavy hostilities on hoth sides indicated a grave turn in the situation. An earlier communique declared the Battle of the Philippines was “geing well on all fronts.” An army ommunique at 5:50 p. m. (Manila time) sald the Japanese were strik- ing with peak fury from the Lamon Bay beachhead 55 to 75 miles south ol the capital Manila Is “Open” All American soldiers and Mar- imes were removed [rom Manila this afterncon, dispatches said, in ac- cordance with the announcement that the city is “open” and un- defended Unmecvable military stores have been destroyed. The forts in the urrounding territory will be de- tended A War Department bulletin painted a brighter picture nerth of Manila, declaring repeated Jap- anese assaults on the min Amei- jcan fighting line near Linggayen Gulf, 110 miles above Manila, have been beaten off. The communique MacArthur has reor iened defense positions in tor, while the Japanese also were reported tq be reinforcing their troops heavily. Heavy artil- lery duels are in progress. id General ganized and CRITICAL' FIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY WASHINGTON, Dec. 26. — The communique from the Philippines yesterday said in the critical bat- tle in the Islands. Christmas morn- (Continued on Page Two)