The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, November 23, 1942, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. IX,, NO. 9197. “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY. NOVEN ER, 23, 1942 MEMBER ASSOCIA'I ED_ PRESS PRICE, TEN CENTS Alcan Military Highway Is Officially MacArthur Goes fo Front Lines RIBBON CUT, (Glenn Highway TUNNEL ON TRUCKS HIT Is Announced ALASKARR WHITE TRAIL i Anchorage ‘Now Has Con- Portage - Whittier Project! History for Northland Wri ten in Cold, Blizzard- Like Weather SSOCIATED PRESS) LAKE, Y.T, Nov. —21 — (Delayed) — In the glow of huge bonfires built in an attempt to keep them warm, 250 persons saw the Alcan Inter- national Highway to Alaska opened Friday. The cutting of the red, white and blue ribbon was the signal for the convoy of trucks, with warmed motors, to head northward to Alaska. Among the many Government and Military dignitaries, the ceremonies were attended by only two women at the scene, Mrs. C. M. Lee of Burwash Landing and Mrs. Mathew Wat- son of Carcross, Y.T. By WILLIAM R. CARTER SOLDIERS' SUMMIT, Y.T., Nov. 21-~(Delayed)—A few snow-streaked paths and a crude signpost last week were the only indications that such a place existed. Today, US.| Army trucks, loaded to capacity ! with supplies for war, are crunch- ing over the white trail of the Alcan Highway past Soldiers’ Summit on their way to Fairbanks, Alaska. The name of this lone- some stop on the new overland route toward Moscow, on the shore of Lake Kluane southwest of the Alaskan-Canadian border, now is history. It was here yesterday morning that the Alcan Highway, which may lead on to Nome in the near fu- ture, was formally opened. It was here that several hundred | Canadidn and American military and civilian officials stood for more than an hour in sub-zero| temperature while snow flecked the | red coats of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police guard of honor and American soldiers wiggled their aching toes in their boots while Canadian and American flags (Continued on Page Two) The Washington, Merry - Go- Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON Quietly but | firmly, administration leaders have stepped on the idea of a bxparusan committee of Democrats and R,epub- licans in Congress to advise with the President regarding the war. This was the plan put forward | by Michigan’s Senator Vandenberg and other Republicans immediately after the big GOP gains November 3. reported to favor the idea, but ad- ministration leaders used a very simple though effective remedy Lo! block it. | ‘They invoked the pride, power and | prestige of congressional committee chairmen. The chairmen of com- mittees in the House and Senate enjoy enviable positions. Their in- fluence with the executive branch of the government is great. They can call at the White House almost at will. The committees run Congress, | and to a considerable extent, the chairmen run the committees. So the last thing the chairmen want is to have their power side- tracked by a super-committee which would go over their heads and con- fer direct with the White House, State, War and Navy departments. To make sure the super war com- mittee idea was circumvented, Sen- ator Walsh of Massachusetts, Chair- man of the Naval Affairs Commit- tee, agreed with his committee mem- bers last week that he would demand a full report from Secretary Knox on the status of the navy since Pearl Harbor. Naval affairs com- mittee members said they were tired of getting information about the navy from Washington colum- (Conl.inued on Pue !bur) Some Democrats at first were | As Now Open nection Through fo Rich- ' ardson Road by Palmer | ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 21— ‘lDela)‘odvr—Alnska Army authori- }nes today permitted publication of |the fact that another important link in the Alaska transportation system has been open for time after secret building. | This is the Glenn Highway, con- |necting Anchorage with the Rich- ardson Highway via Palmer, and iknuwn locally as the Chilkaloon Highw | It was driven this summer across the passes and swamps ‘of a hither- to impassible route between the Cugach and Talkeetna mountains. | This gives Anchorage highway connection with both the coast and the interior for the first time in its history. Previously this city’s jonly such connection was the rail- lmud some | ... iAl(AN ROAD - ADVENTURE - ALL OVER {Troops Now Gel Getting Ready for Bitter Northern Winter SAM JACKSON Associated Press Correspondent ‘ WHITEHORSE, Y.T. Nov. 22 | (Delayed)—The glorious adventure fof pushing the Alaska Highway |through is over today and troops |along the. route braced themselves |for the bitter winter. Trucks have started rolling on | a 24-hour schedule, forming a mov- |ing belt from the heart of ‘indus- | | trial Ameérica ‘to her far-flung mili- |tary positions to the north. They \chugged up 12 percent grades, |hugged the dizzy edges of canyons | in the Canadian Rockies and plowed ‘through treacherous muskeg in the | Yukon, often skidding off on the ‘haxd packed snow and becoming | | temporarily stalled. When the road is really clicking, will be a glorified form f | pony express.” Every 50 miles there ' |will be stations where new drivers 'will take over. After the 50-mile |trek north, the driver will turn hls1 {truck over to a new driver and | take another truck southbound for | | {50 miles. This will keep them familiar with (their runs, and at each station, trucks will be inspected and ser- viced as needed. — e, WILLIE LANG IS ~ KILLED IN TRUCK . CRASH OFF RCAD {Well Known n Southeast Al- | aska Basketball Star Victim at Meflakatla KETCHIKAN, Alaska, Nov. Willie Lang, 39,, Metlakatla, well | |known former basketball star of | | Southeast Alaska, was killed when |a three-ton truck in which he was la passenger plunged from a slip- |pery road over a twelve-foot em- bankment near Metlakatla. Three others were slightly jured in the accident. Mr. Lang is survived by his wi- {dow and seven children, including a son, Leslie, who is at the Marine Barracks in San Diego, it i i 23.—| in- | way, {James O'Connor, IS OPENED Finished — To Cut 60 Miles from Haul By WILL] IA‘VI L WORDEN ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 20 (Delayed) —Coincidental with the formal opening of the Alcan High- another link in Alaska’s new j1sportation system reached its | climax with the holing | through the Portage-Whittier railroad tunnel here today. Crews working from two ends of the 13,000-foot bore, met in the middle, almost under the glacie covered mountain Civilians and Army engineers, | contractors and officials watched | the meeting and banqueted and | congratulated each other on reach- | ing the high point in wnmuumn} | | of well ahead of schedule May Be New Port The new tunnel will cut 60 miles | from the haul necessary on the | Alaska Railroad to get supplies to the Interior from the open sea } Incidentally, that 60 miles is a | very tough, twisting roadbed which | frequently caused the railroad lots of midwinter trouble. Incidentally, the tunnel will pro- | lml)l\ result in the -éstablishment a I\k’W Alaska port eity on! Whllllt’ Canal in Prince William Sound. It may also spell ihe com- mercial doom - of . Seward, which | has always been dependent princi-| pally on the longshore business | and railroad terminal for support j.-Gen. Simon B. Buckner, Jr. the switch setting off the | final blasts. He declared the tun- nel useful for “preventing the | enemy from knocking out the most important piece of transportation in Alaska.” Had Small Error The tunnel, which reduces to a | little over two miles a trip which | before, by any kind of level trans- portation over 100 miles, was | holed through with an error of only half an inch in elevation and | an eighth inch in line. ! The speakers declared that the pull(d (oontmued on Page Tv}o) ¥ DIMOND IN THANKS TO Delegate fo Congress| Writes Message to 0'Connor " WHITEHORSE, YT, Nov. 23— | In a letter received by Brig.-Gen. | Northwest Serv- ! ice Commander, Alaska delegate to | Congress Anthony J. Dimond sent | his congratulations on the open- | ing of the Alcan Highway last Fri- day. Delegate Dimond's letter “Dear General O’Connor: let me thank you for your graciou said: ! ent at the formal opening of the Highway to Alaska. To my great regret, it seems highly improbable that I _shall be able to be present for that occasion. “May I take this means of pay- ing my trust of thanks and admira- tion to all, soldiers and civilians, who participated in the construc- tion of the highway, for their mas- | sive combination of intelligence, en- | ergy and persevering labor which | has brought the road so far to- ward completion that it is usable even at this early date. “Sincerely yours, (Signed,) An-| thony J. Dimond, Delegate.” | FERIRHENS S PV Dl BUY DEFENSE BONDS |trains in northern France | assertion . Pushing through the New Guinea jungles in a jeep, General Douglas MacAfthur (nearest in front seat), ted United Nations forces which later pushed the Japs away from Port Moresby and back over the | In back seat behind driver is General Sir Thomas Blamey, commander of | inspec Owen Stanley Mountain R: Australian ground forees. e, STUTTGART AIRRAIDED, FIRES START {German h@;hial, Com- munication Center Under Attack LONDON, Nov. 23.—The German industrial and communicdtion cen- ter, Stuttgart, was atbacked last night by a strong force of British bombers, the Air Ministry said Low level observations showed the results were good but ‘‘ten of |our bombers are missing,” presum- {ably as the result of anti-aircraft combat engagements. also attacked fire or Aircraft freight and also dropped bombs on Axis supply cen ters. English Channel Canadians par- ticipated in the Stuttgart raid and 5 ALCAN WORK Sergeant Robert Donald, 11- gary, said the bombers gorgeous fire: of C started - (CONGRESS RILED AT GAS TAlK Representative Takes Of- fense af Rubber Admin- istrator’s Statement WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 mand for Rubber Admix Jeffers to “promptly clarify” his that opposition to na- tionwide gas rationing is financed “by people who should know better” arose in Congress today as the anti- lauomn;,r bloc laid plans to appeal |to President Franklin Roosevelt to postpone the order. “If you meant to assert that any | member of Congress opposing na- tionwide rationing of gasoline is re- ceiving financial consideration to ! support that opposition, then I must brand the insinuatiop as completely false,” declared Representative Lyle H. Boren ,of Oklahoma, in a tele- gram to Jeffers, RED ARMY SHOWS BIG OFFENSIVE | Russians Chasing German Divisions from Their Entrenchments MOSCOW, Nov. 23. ble Red Army force of A formida- infantry, | tanks and guns is pursuing broken German divisions through the mine fields and fortifications along the frosty steppes northwest and outhwe: of Stalingrad after mashing the eneamy lines in the greatest Russian offensive of this year's campaign, Already some have been killed 15,000 and Germans more than {13,000 captured. JapsSeem Undecided Over Aleutian Islands Adivity, Alaska Defense Com. Says By WILLIAM L. WORDEN HEADQUARTERS, ALASKA DE- FENSE COMMAND, Nov. 23.—The indecision of the Japanese com- mand and insufficient equipment ‘lm the Aleutian campaign are | clearly demonstrated in the recent activities in the Northern Island The Japanese, who made such o }bmvc showing last June, now are \uppmenuv unable to decide wheth- |er to hold even what they have. | Although many observers believed |at first that Kiska was only an uuLI)()sl. for main an activities in |t the Aleufidns, |, lopments | th \\\ ‘1.111 indieate m“ once decid- ‘tcl to center all activities there, even abandoning - Attu and the| other ‘island outposts to reinforce | much-bombed a. Attempted Reintorcements However, they might have lader changed their minds when they once made an attempt to rein- force Kiska by air via Attu, after all the Kiska planes had been knocked out of the skies by bomb- A war bulletin over the Berlin|er and fighter attacks radio broadcasts the statement that|States and Canadian airmen dur- German military quarters “have |ing September and early October abstained . from commenting so| The settling of eight Jap planes far regarding Soviet reports about [sighted at Holtz Bay on Attu Is- the situation of military nyw;m.m»“,md a couple of weeks ago, again in this sector.”, | centered attention on that first oc- dpigs Ly {cupied island. However, indecision was appar- lent even In that reinforcement at- | tempt, as only a, few planes were |sent in crates atop destroyer decks to be sighted {toward Kiska, only s ml sunk by American ; airmen. | | Again, only eight planes were, sent | u\«dl(l Kiska in the flight, .al- though our fighters had knocked | (ARIBBEAN iown six in a single day’s fighting ver Kiska Harbor. Offensives Patternless WASHIN(}T(;—NOI 2. Jap offensive attempts have been tary of State Cordell Hull day that a satisfactory agreement covering all French possessions imilarly patternless. The bombing of Dutch Harbor, the western hemisphere has reached with Admiral Robert instead of being followed immedi- ately by other bombings and land- ing attempts, was followed by French high commissioner of Mar- tinique. As .a | months when the Japanese tried | nothing offer When they Hull said, it is'not likely there will be any necessity for American oc- cupation of French Caribbean pos- | was with one in bombing sessions, AXIS GOING ON DEFENSE, STALINGRAD . Admits Trymg Desperately to Ward Off Soviet Attacks BERLIN, Nov. 2 Rumanian forces are heavy defensive battles” lingrad in a great loop River west of the city The German ccmmand ar an and Rumanian troops are borating strong forces with cl range anti-aircraft in order » ward off the Sovie German and fighting south of of the nounces Secre- did attack or again, it two planes at a the Andreanof result of the agreement,| ",th- bases. One of these bombings was by such a slow plane that it had to D | 1drnp its missiles far wide of the B BUY DEFENSE STAMPS mark in order to get away safely. |are | the \Spain and Perilous Position Since the Russians threw their ht into the drive the German siegers of Stalingrad have been m wed in a perilous position, and the German forces in the Caucasus being held to a standstill with bitter winter setting in. The Red offensive stretched two arms around the Germans still | holding positions at Stalingrad and placed the Russians astride two important railway lines used by the Germans to supply these forces. Red Army Offensive The Sovift offensive * dis patchegs saidl, jone howr after an artillery barrage so intense that whengeghety (ivigg geased, only ige- mummm\; #uns replied. 'The Army tanks then piled thfough the |German front line, driving through |the German_trench On_ 'the: open steppes; the' Ger- man liné was overwhelmed by the ferocity of the Russian offensive. Dispatches said that prisoners started pouring in, guns and mor tars piled up, as the Red Army car- ried its advances as far 45 miles in some plac .- COOKS HELD IN OREGON POISONING ‘Admit Sendin g Patient After Powdered Milk- in Tragedy SALEM, Oregon, Nov. 23.—State Police today arrested two cooks at the Oregon State Hospital for the insane where 47 patients died last | week from poisoning. Police are holding Mrs. Mary also placed A. B. McKillop in jail. ‘The cooks admitted that they sent patient George A. Nosen to a base- ment storeroom to get powdered milk. Nosen went into the wrong storeroom and brought back six pounds of roach pow(l(-‘ NEW GOVERNING BODY FOR SPAIN. MADRID, Nov 23. — General | Franco has dissolved the Falange ©Council, the National Government body and the only legal party in named 95 members to a new council. .- Rommel's Forces Wflhd;gw in Fight CAIRO, , Nov. 23-—The British Eighth Army is engaging remnants of Rommel’s retreating forces in the Agedavia region and forced them to ’wuhdraw - e H. B, FOSS LLAV S H. B. Foss, architect, left Sunday for a business trip to Ketchikan, nened 316 ATTACK RAGING NOW TWO PORTS Germans, Halians Putting Up Still Defense of Bizerte, Tunis LONDON, Nov. 23—The British ®irst Army with the support of Am- ricans and French is reported to have launched @ big attack against he German and Italian positions n the defense perimeter of Bizerte wnd Tunis where Marshal Erwin Rommel is now said to be in com- nand. According to the Allied radio, per- 1aps a part of his Africa Corps is in Tunis and Bizerte with him. Prisoners Reported The Morocco radio said that prisoners have aiready been brought in as a result of the British attack, which the Allies have been pre- paring for the last week. Berlin broadcasts hinted that Rommel has transferred his head- juarters and that perhaps some of the Libyan forces have arrived in T'unisia. British and American forces which streamed across North Afri- ca for a hundred miles in 4 race 10 get control of Tunisia’s middle Mediterranean bases are reported o have tested the defenses'at the Violent Attacks The radio il Morotco quoted Al+ attacks 'are ' growing occurred” 22 miles south’ of ' the' coast, but “remained indecisive.,” The Allied spokesman was quoted is admitting that the Germans ind Ttalians are well established with a strong air force in Bizerte and Tunis and it is apparent that the Axis is going to make a fight to retain dominance of the Sicilian Straits. JAPSLOSE DESTROYER, 19 PLANES. Allied Ground Forces Gel . ting Closer fo Buna, 1 New Guinea ALLIED , HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Nov. 23.—The Japan- | ese 1gst one destroyer, 19 planes and ‘lwo small landing craft Sunday in by United O'Mare, chief cook, in custody and & futile eleventh-hour effort to ‘brenk the stranglehold of the Allied !ground forces that was tightening | relentlessly around the weekend on the still hard hitting Nipponese on | the northeastern New Guinea coast. Latest reports, up to this Monday | morning, said the Allies were at- | tacking the Buna Mission, one mile » [from Buna, and the main landing [wld on the oul»klns of Buna. Filibusters in Victory On Poll Tax WASHINGTON, Nov. 23. — The Senate has shelved legislation call- ing for a ban on the collection of ipoll taxes as a requirement for vot- ing in PFederal elections. This ac- tion followed defeat by a vote of 30 ayes to 41 noes, a motion to end the filibuster on the bill N. A, McEACHRAN RETURNS N. A. McEachran, merchandise broker, returned Sunday from a 'short business trip to Skagway. i alp lied spokesmen as saying ‘that the "7 in violence. "' The broadcast sald that oiie clash’