The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, November 6, 1942, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1942 VOL. LX., NO. 9183. __ MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS_ PRICE TEN CENTS $250,000 FIRE HITS SITKA EARLY TODAY Axis Egyptian Forces Are In Complete Rout ! , ALLIES TO CLEAN UP NO. AFRICA German Commander of| Tank Corps Captured by British Units WIPE OUT ALL ENEMY FORCES IS WAR CRY Defense Lines-of Axis Are| Shattered — Germans | Abandon lfalians | BRITISH EIGHTH ARMY FIELD HEADQUARTERS, Egyp-| tian Desert, Nov. 6.—Lieut. Gen. B. L. Montgomery, Commander of the Eighth Army, announces that the forces under his command bat- | tling the Axis have achieved com-' plete and absolute victory and the enemy now is in full retreat. Axis forces left at the southern end of the El Alamein line face British troops, he said, but “they are in the bag.” Nazi Commander Caught Montgomery also announces the capture of Gen. Litter Von Thoma, Axis Africa Corps commander who was taken yesterday in tank ac- Stalin Says Lack of Second Front Opened Nazi Path fo Russia RUSSIANS BEAT BACK NAZI UNITS German Reserves Hurled Into Stalingrad Battle Are Repulsed KEAVY LOSSES OF ENEMY REPORTED Red Army—F;ges Ahead Taking Terrific Toll of Lives, Equipment RUSSIAN BEAT BACK ~spn MOSCOW, Nov. T—Wave after wave of attacking Germans - fal- tered and died on the rubble heaps of Stalingrad as the Red Army held firm the ground they gained yesterday in the battle of the Vol- MOSCOW, Nov. 6.—Premier Jo- ieph Stalin declared today that pecause of the lack of a second iront the Germans were able to oreak through the Russian lines in the west last summer in five months and advance about 300 miles. At the same time, however, the Soviet chief told those gathered for a special meeting to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Bolshe- vist revolution that never before has Russia been as strong and as well organized on the home front. The break-through on the west, ne said, came after the Red Army had routed the Germans on the approaches to Moscow last win- ter, but the Nazis are again being forced back as the Russians have seized the offensive for the second time. Nazis Concentrated Forces In connection with the second front, Stalin said that the Ger- mans Were able to concentrate on ne sector and take the initiative because the absence of a sec- ond front in Europe enabled them | to do it without risk to them- selves.”_ The Soviet leader asserted that the Russians recently won pos: sion of a German document sho ing a Nazi plan that was never ACTION IN SOLOMONS Hard-Pressed Americans| Find Japs Reinforced inRecent landings | 350 NIPPONS ARE | SLAIN IN FIGHT Night I.andifnvgfls November 3 and 4 Result in U. S. Repulse Later WASHINGTON, Nov. 6. ‘The hard-pressed American forces ‘stabbed at bolstered Jap troops on {Guadalcanal’s broadening battle- front in a two-pronged attack yes- terday. The Americans pierced deeper on {the flank and threatened another | sector to the west of the island |where the American-held airbase | |is being defended. Slay 350 Japs Marines and soldiers have made ! successful attacks on enemy posi- | tions. The Navy reports the slaying of 350 Japs and the capturing of 12 37mm artillery guns in and three field pieces and 30 ma- CONTINUING the fight | tion. Von Thoma spent the night o ad ga River city. in Brit " e SRSl Beaduua T, The Soviets also hold the “We will not stop fighting until ad- realized—to take Stalingrad by Ju]y‘chme guns also were captured in 25, Saratov by August 9, Kubyshev | the offensive drive November 3, by September 15, and Baku by“"’hwh gained the American troops we wipe out all of the Axis forces, in North Africa,” Montgomery said. (Continued on Page Two) Th;z Washifigtun Merry - Go- Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON — With elections| over, both political parties face a major problem of overhauling their high command. This will not bej easy—especially for the Democrats. | Here is the dilemma they face. | 1.—The President isn’t particular- | ly interested in politics, shouldn’t| be interested, needs to devote his; whole time to the war. Yet he; knows, and his party leaders know, | that elections are not won in the, last five minutes, but during months ' and years of advance preparation.| 2.---Meanwhile the President is| building up no No. 2 man to take' his place; the party machinery is| running down; patronage on which a party feeds has vanished; and most people believe Roosevelt could not be elected for a fourth term, even if he wants one, which close friends say he doesn't. i Most immediate of the reorgani- | zation problems is the selection of a new Democratic National Chair- man. Ed Flynn, ex-boss of the| Bronx, is not in good health, has the shadow of Belgian paving blocks over his shoulder, definitely will re- | sign whether he becomes U.S. Am- bassador to Mexico or not. To replace Flynn there has been ! some backstage talk of bringing back the old Jim Farley-Chip Ro- bert crowd, which saw its heyday | around 1936. But that seems out' of the question. Actually, Jim is 00 sore at the President, and vice | versa, for them to function to- gether in any manney, shape or, form—even though Jim was the' most efficient politico ever around the White House. Furthermore, Farley will be asked by New York Young Democratic leader Harold Moskovit to step out of the chairmanship of the Demo- ! cratic Party in New York State,| and give the state organization a' chunce to be revamped from the top down. A lot of people are urg- ing a similar organization for the ' Democratic Party nationally. | REPUBLICAN SPLITS Meanwhile, the Republicans are (Continued on Page Four) 4 vances made in the Caucasus. The Reds announced today that thus far the Germans have lost more than 100,000 men killed, 800 tanks and 1,000 planes in their fu- tile effort to subdue the Volga River city. Annihilate Reserves In official reports to Premier Josef Stalin, a communique told how the enemy repeatedly threw reserves into every attack, only to be repulsed with heavy losses in- (Continued on Page Five) ELGHTH ARMY NEAR MATRUH IN PURSUIT British Chase Axis 104 Miles West of El Ala- mein Battle Line (By Associated Press) Three fast armored divisions of the British Eighth Army, led by Lieut. Gen. Montgomery, have driven two wedges through Mar- shal Erwin Rommel’s forces and are fighting inside the enemy po- sitions, it is reported from Cairo in today’s, late afternoon commu- nigde. The Axis High Command con- ceded today that the Allied of- fensive is nearing Matruh, 104 miles west of the old El Alamein battle line. The British said officially, how- ever, that the battle has been car- ried “well west of Eldaba” which is 33 miles from El Alamein. Tanks are nipping at the heels of the Axis retreat in the Eldaba sector. The British communique said that portions of Rommel's armies have managed to escape the tank wedging and encirclement, and are said by Montgomery to be in full retreat. This situation of the deep tank thrusts and encirclement hammer- ing the enemy into pursuit sug- gested that the fate of the Ger- man and Italian north African Corps might be sealed before the surviving portions could retreat across the Egyptian-Libyan border | some 150 miles farther west. i September 29. He added, “the Germans are not strong enough to attack the south- west and the north at the same time like they did last summer, but they are 'still strong enough to launch a serious attack in one di- rection.” Replying to the rhetorical ques- tion of “Will there be a second (ONGRESS ' TALKS ON ELECTION { Demands 1<m_a)eal Wage- Hour Laws Come to Front Today WASHINGTON, Nov. 6.— Con- gressional demands to repeal the Wages and Hours and Wagner laws through a “real coalition” of Con- yress sounded today as Senators and Representatives expressed their interpretations of the Republican election gains. Senator -O'Daniel introduced a bill to suspend the 4C-hour work week for the war’s duration to “help solve our manpower prob- lem.” In the House, Representatives Rankin and Rich demanded a re- peal of the Wage-Hour Law and the Wagner Labor Relations Act, and both called upon the Admin- istration to oust the “Communists in key positions.” Senator Vandenberg said that the Republican gains represented a mandate by the people to pigeon- hole “New Dealism and all other politics” for the duration of the war, Senator Connally attributed Re- nublican gains to nublie im=atience over the prosecution of the war and resentment against the gov- 2rnment bureaus. Republican leader Senator Mec- Nary of Oregon agreed with Con- nally, saying, “no issue of patrio- tism or unity was raised in 'the campaign,” and asserting that “the Administration has made enough mistakes and errors’ to justify the people calling it to account. itwo miles of jungle. Americans Repulsed But a similar attempt to smash \enemy concentrations east of the i ! | |airfield on the following day was jrepulsed by Nipponese forces put ashore on the coast east of the | American base five days ago under the cover of darkness. They were reinforced by additional night land- | ings November 3 and 4. The Navy explains that it is {apparently this strengthened force | which the Americans attacked at| dawn November 4 and met what | the Navy termed “an initial re- pulse.” | The communique added that the! Marines are “pressing their attack | on these enemy troops.” PENEREI S5 AR HURLJAPS BACK FROM TWO AREAS Allied GroHForces Ad-; vance Beyond Kokoda- Also at Port Moresby MacARTHUR'S HEADQUAR- TERS IN AUSTRALIA, Nov. 6. —| Allied ground forces which on Sep- | tember 29 began hurling the Japs| from the approaches to within 32/ miles of Port Moresby, are con- | tinuing their advance beyond Ko-| koda toward the north New Guinea coast. Indicating that bitter fighting is| under way, the communique stated that the troops are advancing slowly. For the second straight day, Al- lied bombers struck the Jap occu- pied towns on Portuguese Timor. g fad BARANOF HOTEL " COFFEE SHOP STAFF Miss Viola Hanley and Miss| Lida Maseth have recently joined [the staff of the Baranof Hotel| | Coffee Shop. Miss Hanley arrived| |‘here last Saturday from Sitka anc Miss Maseth has been living here | e — CITY COUNCIL TONIGHT Juneau City Council will hold its regular meeting starting at 8 o'clock tonight in the Council Chambers. Routine business will be discussed | JOIN | 0 AKE Graphjc Aerial Glimpses {ro e Here are two spectacular radio soundphotos showing a flash of the action now ablaze along the Egyptian front. (Top) Beston bombers, accompanied by fighter planes, rake huge plumes of sand as they take off in unison on the desert for a raid on Rommel's supply lines. EMY TANKS FLEEING FROM THE ATTACK. (Lower) tanks huge craters open as the heavy bombs explode. O0SEVELT CONCERNED, WAR ONLY Tells Newsmen He Hopes!| New Congress Will Also Have His View WASHINGTON, Nov. 6-—Presi- dent Roosevelt told the newsmen at the conference today he as- sumed that Congress was interest- ed in winning the war just as he was, When asked whether the outcome of the balloting would make any difference in his attitude to Con- gress the President queried: “Why should it,” adding that he as- sumed Congress also wanted to win the war. His questioner went on to re- mark, however, what he wanted to know whether Roosevelt would now confer with both Republican and Democratic leaders about legisla- tive procedure. Roosevelt replied that been doing that. R he had FIREMEN CONDUCT ROUTINE BUSINESS AT MEETING Members of Jupeau Volunteer Fire Department held their regu- lar monthly meeting in the Fire Hall last night, discussing routine business and enjoying a feed after Jones averages: Industrials, 116.12; |with 200,000 people living on its . the business session. 220-208 Is Demo-GOP House Rafio Still Three Seats Undecid- ed-Senate Race 18 Re- publicans, 16 Demos (By Associated Press) ‘The Democrats today counted 16 Senators and 200 Representatives elected while the Republicans have 208 House members, and 18 Sena- tors. Contests for three House jare still undecided The sixteenth Democratic Sena- tor elected is incumbent James Murray of Montana, who defeated Wellington Rankin, Republican. > - STOCK QUOTATIONS | NEW YORK, Nov. 6. Closing | quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 2'4, American Can 68% Anagonda 27%, Bethlehem 8 60, Commonwealth and South ern 5/16, Curtiss Wright 8%, Inter- national Harvester 53';, Kennecott 317, New York Central 117%, North- ern Pacific 8%, United States Steel 517, Pound $4.04 seats DOW, JONES AVERAGES The following are today's Dow, rails, 2031; utilities, 14.24. im kg All around the scurrying German and Italian TWOLARGE BUILDINGS DESTROYED Blaze from Bu;ning Grease in Arcade Cafe Quick- ly Spreads 'THREE ORGANIZATIONS FIGHT SITKA FLAMES ;Surround_i_n_fi Buildings Menaced-Controlled After Three Hours yplian Front | Fire starting shortly before mid- | night last night in Sitka destroyed . the W. P, Mills Building, containing | stores with apartments above, and | also Prosper S. Ganty's new store bullding and warehouse on Lincoln | Street before it was brought under control after a hard fight of three hours by the combined City, Army and Navy fire departments. | The loss is estimated at $250,000, partially covered by insurance. In the W. P. Mills Building, a frame two-story structure, con- | structed years and years ago, wexe the Arcade Cafe, 5':;;| Pa'r?gl’\‘s. ;Qro- prietor, and C. E. Wortman's drug store. Apartments above were occupied by Lydia Tilson, Jack Gough, John~ ny Homethko and Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Wortman. Grease Fire The blaze started from a grease fire in the Arcade Cafe and the flames spread rapidly. The fire alarm was immediately sounded and members of the Sitka Fire Depart- ment were quickly at the scena. ‘The flames ate their way through the tinder-like frame W. P. Mills Building with a roar and soon at- tacked the Ganty Bullding. As the fire raged, Army and Navy fire departments hurried to the scene and bent every effort at con- trolling the flames and preventing them from spreading to the Sitka Hotel on one side, separated from the burning structures by a narrow !space and the building on the other Result of the raid. THE SPECKS (Continued on‘Pn’weil’lve) FDR SEES GraphicStory MAJOR WIN Of Sitka Fire INAFRICA s Told Here d Weary Firefig—hters Main- | fain All Night Vigil to Control Flames President S:y; All Unife Nations Heartened by Victory in Egypt TR Graphic account of the grim “ WASHINGTON, Nov. 6.—Presi- disaster which struck Sitka during |dent Franklin D. Roosevelt today the night when fire broke out at analyzed the Allied campaign in 11:40 p.m. in the business district North Africa as having the appear- and totally destroyed the Ganty ance of a victory in major propor- and w. P, Mills buildings before tions was controlled, was brought to it He told newsmen at a conference . Juneau today by returning plane that he thought the United btd!eh‘pa ngers. and all the United Nations have been | ** 0P/ = 4 i pretty much heartened at what looks emen. AR, FRRIARNIS, RARSIGY of Navy and Army, weary and to be a victory of major proportions = in the Egyptian and Libyan area, |dishevelled, were sull up at noon Things seem to be going extremely today after an all-night vigil dur- well, he said, adding that there is ing which untiring efforts prevent- not much news which has not ap- ed the blaze from extending beyond peared in the communiques already. the buildings destroyed. Firemen In replying to a question, he sald were still playing hoses on the ' that only a small part of the equip- charred ruins of two of the prin- ment used in the assault against cipal downtown blocks of the city Rommel’s forces is of American ot 1 o'clock today, Ice formed on origin : | neighboring buildings, wires and !{csponm‘ng to another inquiry c»n;wleh added to the desolateness of our upvrnuons' on Guadalcanal, he the scene, eye witnesses said. said it couldn’t be regarded as one Great © S of major proportions but the inport- | TP MoApara At ance of the operation couldn't neces- Complete coopers!lo_u of Army sarily be gauged by its extent and Navy personnel, with the Sitka RGO Fire Department and hundreds of residents combined to prevent the Barbados is one of the world’s fire from spreading. Pumps and a heavily populated areas, fire boat from Japonski Island, by most ; BPGE a | (Continued on Page Five) {166 square miles. |