The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, May 15, 1942, Page 1

[P ——— THE DAILY ALASKA “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” EMPIRE VOL. LIX., NO. 9035. JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1942 EMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS RUSSIAN ARMIES SMASHING NAZI FORCES British Retreat, Japs Moving Into India NIPPONS ARE NOW HEADING FOR CALCUTTA — Defenders in Burma With- draw After Enemy | Cuts Off Help 3 CLIMAX COMES T0 | FIVE MONTHS' FIGHT Invaders Advance Along | Bay of Bengal, Says French Rumors | (By Associated Press) | Climaxing a bloody, five months | battle against hopeless odds, the | last weary remnants of the British Army in Burma has crossed into: Manipur State in Eastern India, it is reported today. | The Vichy radio declared today | that Japanese troops are advancing | 80 miles into India along the Bay | of Bengal. The broadcast quoted vague and unconfirmed reports that | the invaders have reached a point | within 16 miles of Chittagong and only 210 miles from Calcutta. | The withdrawal of the last British | force from Burma, estimated at 5.- 000 men, followed a dogged retreat | from the bomb-ruined city of Man- | dalay. The Jap thrust has separa British from their Chinese allies commanded by American Lieut.- Gen. Joseph Stilwell. At last re- | ports, Stilwell's forces were stub- bornly resisting the Jap advance up the Burma Road some 125 miles into China proper. | Meanwhile, in India, Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell, Britain’s Com- mander there, was reported to have reorganized the three Indian mili- tary commands into powerful and competent mobile armies to meet land or sea attack from the Japan- ese on India. The Washington Merry- Eg -Round By DREW PEARSON— and ROBERT S. ALLEN WASHINGTON—AIll hands' are keeping quiet about it, but there was a hot fight in the closed-door session of the Senate Naval Af- fairs committee over the bill au- thorizing the Navy to acquire an| “unlimited number” of blimps for off-shore patrolling. 1 Secretary Frank Knox strongly | approved the measure. So did Navy | air chiefs and other experts. But| despite these endorsements and the | fact that the serious shipping toll| continues unabated, a clique of| non-air-minded brasshats fought | the bill so strenuously that they almost succeeded in wrecking it. The pattle raged around a brass- | hat-inspired amendment to limit | With a twe-to-one approval of an ted the | _ Goes to Reno 2 Myrna Loy the number of blimps the Navy ffhe off-again-on-again divorce of could acquire.. | Myrna Loy from her producer-hus- To the surprise of everyone the band Arthur Hornblow, Jr., is ap- amendment was offered by Sena- | proaching its final stages, according Jowa, who us- | U0 Screen actress Myrna Loy. The :::‘11;}‘:: S;llfl';;;;esw?oe ot ‘the | star has taken a residence in Reno, i where, she declared, she will part brasshats. But on this occasion he company from her husband. rushed into the secret meeting with 3 a breathless announcement that he f d with “some high had just conferred wil som g! {.I.OM MORGA" BA(K FROM ANCHORAGE Navy officers” who were of the opinion that blimps were ineffec-| tive against submarines. | These officers, Gillette continued, | felt that pending further study the | number of blimps should be Hm-ias ever, according to Tom Morgan, jted. This argument was immedi- : President of the Columbia Lumber ately recognized as an old brass- | Company, who returned today after hat dodge that has been repeatedly 2 week’s business trip to the West- used to block development of Navy | Ward city. air power. | The Navy has been experiment- ing with lighter-than-air ships for! many years and probably has the| Construction is going ahead in ism is evident among business peo- ple of the town, Morgan said. field. “Who are these high Navy offi- | cers to whom you refer?” Gillette | was asked. I Iowan hemmed and hawed (Continued on Page Four) ness man, who made the roundtrip by plane to confer with the An- Lumber Company. - BUY DEFENSE BONDS Canada’s Army C | Anchorage and a feeling of optim- chorage manager of the Columbia | » The Commander in Chief of Canadian forces in Great Britain, Gen. Andrew G. L. MeNaughton, wears goggles as he ridesin a Bren arvicr while taking part in the mateuvers of a Canadian armored divigion. overseas draft by Canada's votcrs. McNaughton will probably be joined soon by more Canadian force, ' exican Tanker Senf Down: Demands Made For Wa_r Declaration WASHINGTON MEXICO CITY, May 15— Amid calls for a declaration of war on | the Axis Nations, the Mexican Gov- ernment has addressed a note to Germany, Italy and Japan demand- ing complete satisfa¢tion for the submarine ng Wednesday night s of the ‘Mexican tanker Potrero rel Illano. The sinking is reported officially to have taken place off the coast of Florida. D gt All Airlines To Go Under ~ Army Control \President Asks Nation's| | Commercial Planes for Government Use WASHINGTON, May 15. — De- claring that more transport planes are needed, the President told the conference with newsmen today that we are getting into actual fighting more and more at more places at the same time. The President spoke on increased American fighting in various parts of the world during the discussion of his order permitting the War Department to take control of all planes and commercial airfields. “We need all the planes we can Anchorage is as brisk and busy get,” he said. Every kind is being| taken over, he added, including what he termed as puddle jumpers, one or two-man ships. He asserted that almost anything that can fly is useful to the Gov- ernment. The airline order means that do- mestic airline travel will be placed {on a full wartime basis in the near % week of wonderful weather was future, with the Army operating or | best experts in the world in this| . perenced by the Juneau busi-! 1 controlling the nation’s entire fleet of more than 300 transport planes. —r——— The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is limited to 800 fel- lows and 130 foreign honorary mem- J bers. ~ IN ARCTIC SAY NAZIS | Germans Claim Sinking of | War Vessels on Rus- sian Supply Line BERLIN, May 15.—The German | command has announced that its | | air force has been flung into the battle of the Arctic supply line to | Russia and has destroyed a United | | States cruiser and destroyers as well as a 3,000-ton icebreaker and | | 2,000-ton merchant vessel. | The special communique said also | that a 10,000-ton freighter had been i set afire from stem to stern con- | nected with the action while near a | southern English port, bombers and destroyers accounted for four Brit- ish merchant ships, totaling 7,500 tons. The communique said the cruiser is of the 9,100-ton Pensacola cl normally carrying 663 men. The patch identified the naval forma- tion as an American squadron op- | erating between North Cape, Nor- way, and the Arctic island of Spitz- | bergen in local action. | | | | i | | Apart from the German claims, ' which might have been drawn to | gain information on the disposition | 'of United States naval power; this | is the firsi indication that American fleet units are operating so deeply in the supply route to Murmansk and Archangel - GAS RATIONS FOR OREGON, Motorists Must Register on May 28-29 WASHINGTON, May 15. — Gas rationing will begin in the states of Washington and Oregon on June 1 {This is the official announcement of the Office of Price Administra- | tion. Approximately 700,000 auto own- ers in the two states will register May 28 and May 29. Cards of nonessential motorists will allow only 15 gallons the first month until July 1. 'MORE ENEMY PLANES NEAR ~ AUSTRALIA 'Increase in Land-based Air Strength Seen as Japs Raid Port Moresby ALLIED HEADUARTERS IN ‘\AUSTRALIA, May 15—A notable increase in Jap land-based air strength around New Guinea and | New Britain is indicated by the dis- | closure that 35 planes participated |in one of the two raids on Porl | Moresby yesterday. ‘The Allied attacks on Jap bas inlso are reported to be meeting | considerably stronger opposition In the raids on Port Moreshy the first found 13 fighter plane |overnead, then 26 bombers came %wlm 9 more fighters. It is d¢ |clared that they hit not one singl worthwhile objective, but the large ‘number of planes taken, indicate that the Japanese are willing to pay a high price to prevent juse of Port Moresby as an Allicd ‘alr base. | ——————— BUY DEFEN BONDS tne “ N e -y Pwo relief workers search through this rubble of what was cnce a hardware steve in the war-be ~r the disastrous tornado which swept through the town leaving a death toll of 70 Prycr, Okla., fello Betwee known and possibility that deaths might total 125 ar 150. pitalized and property damage was estimated at $2,000,000. b ‘- Boy Meets Aussie Girl A member of the Women’s Australian Auxiliary Air Force admiringly eyes a Yank flier as he prepares to go to work on a man-size steak in a Sydney, Australia, restaurant. Aussie girls and Amcrican soldiers found no difficulty in gettipg acquainted. Many Australian girls have married boye of the A.E.I. Vice- Wesi&ém (afl Throw Ball; He Proves It fo Eliyers and Fans BY JACK STINNETT |\\;nrl.\ second base, absent-mind- WASHINGTON, May 15 The edly shifting his weight first on apital in wartime: one foot and then the other Opening day of the American The Vice President let fly. Far lcague baseball season was a sad|out over the mass of hopping play- cocasion for Washington fans ers the ball arched-—out towards vankees 7, Senators goose egg), second base. And Husseil snagged but there was one sight that was it. well worth the price of adminis-| The | «of Alex Carrasquel ion Clark Griffith’s Venezuelan impor- It was Vice-President Wallace |tation, fell an inch, possibly two hrowing out the first ball. Mr.|inches His last feverich cry of Wallace was a last-minute sub-|“Pecch eet to me” died on his litute for President Roosevelt, who lips. With the rest of the players, cxplained that “war ard work” he trotted back to the lield. What ould keep him away from the he and the rest had forgotten was jamond for the first opening day that Mr. Wallace throws a boom- ince he has been in Washington. |erang in his spave time and has T developed quite a wing “Get back”, Mr. Walloce shouted Hussett wasn't hep to the hoom- ). the players gathered eagerly erang angle either. “I figured either round the Presidential box, like 1'd get it or I wouldn't get if, yridesmaids waiting starry-eyed 10 he explained simply. “1 didn't see iteh the bouquet any sense in getting caught in the None did. None, that is, excepl middle of that mob.” puddy Hassett, a Yankee utility infielder. Hassett stood far out to-| (Continued on Page Six) . Tornado Splinters Susiness Block in Pryor town of n 150 and 300 persons were hos- TOTRANSFER ALASKA JAP PROPERTIES WCCA Will Open Field Of- fice in Anchorage, Is Report Received SAN FRANC 15 Wartime Civil Control Admin- ctration announced today that the Division of the ad- has opened a special office at Anchorage | 1ge for the transfer to new op- | erators of Japanese farm lands and | equipment | The WCCA said it is estimated iLhuL 270 Japanese and. Japanese- | Americans, many of *hein farmers {will be the total evacuated from ! Alaska as a military precaution. It i expected that Filipinos, who are {wo.» numerous in the Territory |than Japanese, will take over some of the farms and otherwise meet the replacement need in part for agricultural labor | Charles M. Ross has been ap- pointed as field agent for the An- chorage ofice and will prepare a report on rae types ard sizes of Aluska farms and arrange for Farm Security Administration pro- duction loans fur ihe new opera- tors to the extent required. -e> - HOUSE GROUP REJECTS TAX SECURITIES Removal of Exemplions on State, Local Bonds Hit by Committee WASHINGTON, May 15 House Ways and Means Committee has rejected the Treasurv proposal to tax interest outstanding on state and local securities Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau has recommended the removal of the present tax exemp- tions feature such securities to raize 200 million dollars us & part of the big lax program being de- veloped i on NS il T BUY DEFENSE BONDS to help T FIGHTING CONTINUES - ATKHARKOV Soviets Claim Vidory Over | German - Occupied ‘, City Imminent 'HITLER TAKEN BACK BY UNEXPECTED POWER |Reported Feuhrer Making | Request that Japan Hit in Fighting | (By Associated Press) Led by American-made tanks, Marshal Timoshenko's armies in Russia are reported to have ad- | vanced seven miles beyond the Donets River in a big offensive against Kharkov, after smashing | more than 150 German tanks in two days in the Crimea. Hitler's headquarters assert that | Russian defenders one the Jeights | before Kereh, the short cut to the great Caucasus oil fields, have been driven back by German and Ru- | manian columns at the gates of the town. | The Nazi communique mentioned | tersely that fighting continues in | the battle of Kharkov. | Soviet front line dispatches say |that the Red Armies are steadily | pressing forward and crushing the Nazi counter-attacks, capturing a number of nearby communities and | advancing over roads littered with | hundreds of German bodies, smash- ed tanks and cannon. | The Red Star, the Russian Army paper, says that the battle is “an- other heavy defeat” of the Ger- mans, who have held Kharkov since last October. | | HITLER GETS SURPRISE | LONDON, May 15. — Sweeping facross the Donets River on a 50- {mile frout, Timoshenko's mechan- lized Red Army Is reported late | today to have crashed through the inner defenses of Kharkov in at least two places and are driving the Germans before them. Diplomatic sources in London said they have heard Hitler is so taken back by the unexpected power of the Soviet attack that he has in- structed his Ambassador in Tokyo to increase pressure on Japan to attack Russia. The argument to Japan is said to be that Russia has concentrated so much on the Euro- pean front she could offer little re- sistance in an attack on Siberia. — . — RECRUITING - OF WOMEN - WILL BEGIN 'Army Auxiliary Corps En- ' listments fo Open in Two Weeks | WASHINGTON, May 15 — Mrs. William Hobby of Housten, Texas, has been appointed Director of the | Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, by Secretary of War Henry L. Stim- son ‘The President has directed that new organization be limited c 000 members at this time. Stimson said that local recruit- offices are now being set up The! Wd Wil be ready in about two wecks to receive applications for the first Officers’ Training School in Fort DesMoines, Iowa, which will | probably open in about two months. - e CITY COUNCIL IS | MEETING TONIGHT The City Council will meet to- night at 8 o'clock in the Council |Chamber to carry on routine af- lairs cf cily adounisualia. - e BUY DEFENSE BONDS