The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 1, 1942, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LX., NO. 9203. “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1942 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS ALLIES SPLIT AXIS FORCES IN AFRICA Alaska Censorship to Get Senate Pr Hardy Yanks Search for Japs in B GOVERNOR'S PROTEST 10 GET RESULTS Private Letters Scrambled by Staff in Seattle Is Charge WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.—Investi- gation into the operation of wartime censorship is projected by the Sénate Judiciary Committee as the result of complaints made by Gov. Ernest Gruening of Alaska. Senator Frederick Van Nuys, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the reporters that | Gov. Gruening complained at a clos- ed committee session that the cen- sorship office in Seattle was de- leting material in private mail that had no connection in the war effort. “The Governor's protests are not 50 much against the censorship itself but the way it is being applied,” Senator Van Nuys said, and added tha he and other committee mem- bers desired to “see how the whole censorship setup was working.”. Excepts Only Sent Senator George W. Norris said the committee has been informed the Seattle censorship staff often sent excepts from mail read there. ‘The list of those who have sent these excerpted letters to the com- mittee includes people-of- all walks of life as well as over 35 officials | and the people might be interested to know why this is being done. Principles Violated “This violates all forms of Am- | None of it is erican principles. (Continued on Page Five) The Washingtoh By DREW PEARSON (Malor Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON~U.S. experts who have studied the successes and shortcomings of the British Army find that its greatest defect is a dearth of good officers between the ages of 45 to 60. This is the age bracket from which commanding officers are drawn, and a com- manding officer can lose or win a battle. Reason for this deficiency is the fact that in 1914 the cream of Britain's youth went singing into battle, to be slaughtered in Flan- ders Fields. It is estimated that a good part of one generation was wiped out in those early days of the last war. Now that our Congress has re- sponded quickly and efficiently to the national need by voting the ‘teen-age draft act, some Army leaders believe that the Army should reciprocate the trust that has been placed in its hands by working out a careful system for thorough training of these 18-19 year olds. There is unanimity of opinion in the Army and also on Capitol Hill that it would have been a mis- take to have tied the War Depart- ment’s hands regarding the exact time necessary to train these men for battle. But now that a vote of confidence has been given the Army, there is increasing opinion among high Army leaders that the Army must be extremely careful not to violate that confidence. As a result, various plans have been advanced whereby the 18-19 year olds would be trained as a group unit, not mixed with older men and sent off to battle in three or four months. In England, the British Armqy has adopted the system of training its younger men in one group. This, it has been found, gives more esprit de corps, and increases figh(.-; ing efficiency when the group fin-{ ally gets into action. MINIATURE WEST POINTS One provisional plan at first| proposed by some Army men was| to draft the 18-19 year olds imme- diately. Then out of the total of (Continued on me‘;o;u') husband. ITALIANS ARE CRYING FOR PEACE |Lausanne Newspaper Says People Are Wearied of Struggle | BERN, Dec. 1. — Methodical de- | istruction of Italy’s industrial cities by Royal Air Force raids has cre- | ated an “immense desire for peace” | by the Italian masses, the Tribune, | Lausanne newspaper, said today. The newspaper further quotes re- cent reports that when the Italian King and Queen visited Genoa after | that port’s first bombing the people { greeted the rulers with cries of | “Peace, Peace!” | Churchill’s “invitation” to , the | | Italians, broadcast on Sunday, for | that nation to pull out of the war, | the newspaper Tribune also says, | {was made because it was learned in London that the Italian people “possibly more than others” were | wearied of the struggle. iy ! | PERRY HUFF HERE | ON WAY WESTWARD Perry Huff, wellknown insurance adjuster of Seattle, is at the Bar- anof and will be here for several { days. Mr. Huff has just arrived here from Sitka where he was called as the result of the recent fires there. He will go westward to Seward. then to Fairbanks and before re- |turning to his Seattle headquarters may go to Skagway. ! to Alaska on insurance adjusting. | NEW -Now There's Lady Santfa The manpower shortage has even caught up with old Saint Nick. This lady Santa Claus turned up—all dressed up like Mr. Claus, except for the whiskers—in a Chicago department store, and youngsters scemed just as happy about telling her what gifts they wished for. Mrs. Santa Claus promised to pass the children’s wishes on to her overworked The Washin dAflme'rican Sub Sihrk'sfl erry-Go-Roun | Eighl Vessels Righl 0ff Japanese Coast PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii, Dec. 1.—Lieut. Commdr. Burton Klark- ing reports today that an Ameri- can submarine sank eight Jap ships totalling 70,000 tons, most of them within sight of Japanese shores, in recent actions. Four other Nippon ships were damaged by the sub whieh Klarking commanded, and a tfansport was sunk in a Jap harbor entrance. Klarking is to receive the Navy Cross for bagging four of the ships in one hour, picking them out of an enemy convoy off the Jap coast - GUINEA FIGHT NOW MORE FIERC Aussies Wim 900 Yards of Gona-Allied War Planes Aftack ALLIED HEADQUARTERS ‘IN AUSTRALIA, Dec. 1.—The fighting on New Guinea is growing more intense, the High Command reports today, as Aussie jungle fighters pierced the 20-mile strip of land held by the Japs only 900 yards east of Gona. Allied air fighters strong support to the knocking down seven out of a flight of 12 Zeros and blocking out Jap raid attempts. Flying Fortresses blasted at the Gona area with 1,000-pound bombs and scored hits also on Jap de- stroyers near New Britain. — e United States civilian auto tires are ol rubber. giving | new drive, | VITAL RUSS CITY NEARS | - RECAPTURE [Hitler NowVWorried About| Threatened Loss of Rzhev Outpost (By Associated Press) Hitler’'s own appeal today ported spurring the Nazis' des- perate but unsuccessful fight to recapture the railway lines south of Rzhev, southwest of Velikie Luki | on the Central Russian Front west | of Moscow. | Rzhev is so vital to the Germans’ vast network of communications, the | Soviet newspaper Red Star said, that Hitler telegraphed his commander there, emphasizing the threat and warning that the “loss of Rzhev is re- Page Five) GAS RATION OVER NATION (Confinued on On a dangerous hunt for Jap “nuisance forces” too small to spot from the air, members of a U. S. patrol put ashore in a small boat on one of the barren and isolated islands in the Aleutians. The patrols keep a constant check on hundreds of these bleak islands for signs of the enemy. IS STARTED' uic s Attied Convoy Heading for Africa Underse(relarf of War Has Retort fo Protesting Drivers WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.—Approxi- mately 27,000,000 passenger cars and 5,000,000 commercial vehicles went on a mileage reduction diet today as nation-wide gas rationing set in & with the accompaniment of both praise and protest. More than 90 percent of the driv- ers in the rationed area now have _their basic A ration cards, the Of- ice of Price Administration estimat- ed, entitling them to four gallons a week. In the eastern zone, with the exception of West Virginia, drivers will get only three gallons per week. Opposition to the gasoline control, imposed to save rubber, not gasoline, brought the following retort from Undersecretary of War Robert Pat- terson: “We cannot and will not deny ow soldiers the finest equipment in order to cater to the whims of those who don’t seem to realize that their country is at war!” ————— OFFICES GAS This is an -official RAF rial view of the Allied convoy as it plowed through heavy seas with troops and equipment for the occupation of French North Afric:. Picture radioed from London to New York. 'RATIONS ARE Both Polifical Parties ‘Drivers Riot in Albuquer- que, New Mexico, ? Over Blunder | ALBUQUERQUE, N.M, Dec. 1.— | Special police details struggled to- | day with 'an angry, shouting crowd estimated at more than a . thou- {980 e WHo | surged outside | “rppore have been landslides before ;the offices of the Gas Rationing |, .q there will be again. But the | Board, trying to get basic or SUP-|,14 hosses around here can't remem- plemental books. | ber one that caught the politicians The majority of the ration book |themselves farther off base. Re- | seekers were those denied books | publican Leader Joe Martin and his |during the regular registration cohorts, having their sweetest Epeflod because they didn't have dreams, didn't see anything like certificates of motor registration. that. Sen. Alben Barkley and hi This requirement had been since boys had nightmares, perhaps, but waived, a development not adding |they didn't go as far as what hap- to the temper of the crowd. The pened. line started before daybreak. So, Now, it comes down to taking great was the push that some of |stock, and when it comes to that the the board employces were unable oldtimers aren’t much better off Ito enter their offices which didn't than they were on that Wednesday { open until nearly 10 am., two hours morning when the returns rolled in By JACK STINNETT | WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 capital political observers are just now dusting themselves off and get- | ting back on their feet. That elec- tion knocked them for a ground- late. Cne applicant horse-and-buggy drove rig, in a driver up the There are, however, several sub- jects that keep cropping up in any Mr. Huff has made several trips represent about one million torls hopped down, said: “I .ad to get discussion. here some way." No. 1 is what effect this is going The | UNDER SIEGE In Awful Mess Regarding tin (ampaign Comingin 1944 IStflSIER\‘ to have on 1944. To try to predict at this time is a waste of words The or at its worst in 1944. happens will change the situatior But one tHing is belng repeated constantly around Washington to Both parties are in a mess. GOP, for all its staggering day The gains, is looking right down both parrels of @ hair-trigger gun. One is named Thomas E. Dewey and he other Wendell L. Willkie. Some- ime between now and the next lection, they are goinhg to have tc luck one or the other.. Will it be willkie and the impressive vote he olled up two years ago against the -getter the country ha or will it be Dewey, whe reatest vo ver seen? wset s dash vew York? How will third-term Governor 3ricker, of Ohio, and two-time No, 1 for the governorship of Villkie man nto the picture? Dewey’s preced- (Continued on Page Five) the Democratic applecart in T JAP FORCE ATTU ISLE, [Navy Secretary Professes war can be over, at its best,| ‘Whatever | Ignorance of New Enemy Move w HINGTON, Dee. 1.—See- retary of the Navy Frank Knox, asked today about Sunday's \| disclosure in a Navy dispatch that the Japs have reopened their base on Attu Island on the tip of the Aleutians, said that he was unaware of the size of the enemy force there. - The questioner asked whether the Japs who reoccupied. Attu were heavily pounded by Army bombers from the Andreanof Islands, and Knox said hé didn’t know the answer to that question. st S T R Governor Stassen, fit The climate of the Fiji Islands i { unusually mild for the tropics; thz| temperature seldom rises above 90 l degrees. - B} obe Now cak Aleutians CLOSING ON 'ROUTES T0 ENEMY BASES 'May ShearvBizerte-Tunis- | Tripoli land Com- munications BRITISH-AMERICAN AIR POWER GROWING Fightin g-Fr—ench Forces Take Pont Du Fahs, Is Report | LONDON, De¢. 1.—Allied columns are striking across Tunisia today under skies that are being rapidly cleared of the enemy air force. The Allies are steadily lengthening their two wedges aimed at separat- ing the Axis forces at Tunis and Bizerte and cutting the enemy off from the last available land route | to, Tripoli. | Allied headquarters announce that one British-American force is stab- | bing close to the north coast, only |a few miles short of its goal of | severing the last highway com- ;municntlon left to the enemy be- [tween Tunis and Bigerte. - -- French Helping At the same time, another force of Americans and Free Frenchmon are plunging toward the coast farth- er to the south in a race to selze the Tunis to Tripoli road. This force is skirting the Meriterranean shore east of Tunisia. | The Allied air strength is mount- ing hour by hour, and it is reported authoritatively that the German Air Force has been declared on the down-grade after being soundly thrashed thus far by Allied airmen. | Despite the growing Allied com- mand of the air, this source could ! not be identified by name. | Big Fight Expected } It is stressed in today's report |that much bitter fighting is still | expected before the Germans and ¢ | Italians are thrown out of North | Africa. | A late | Fighting French announces communique from the that ® | French forces have entered Pont | Du Fahs, about 30 miles southwest |of Tunis on the inland railroad, " | and are advancing toward the coast. A ALY , 449 DEAD INBOSTON (LUB FIRE BOSTON, Mass.,, Dec. 1. — The Committee on Public Safety an- | nounces this afternoon that the death toM in the Cocoanut Grove ‘mgm club fire of early Sunday | morning has been placed at 449. This is given out as a recheck of | the dead was made. All but five victims have been identified. It is also announced that Charles “'Buck" Jones, screen cowboy, has died as the result of burns and ‘umer injuries. | i e U.S. AIRMEN BOMB NIPPON CHINA PORT WITH AMERICAN FORCES IN CHINA, Dec. 1.—American bomb- ers and fighters Sunday demolished the dock, power plant and mines in the big Jap storage center of mphoport. There was no Jap aerial opposition. - — BUY DEFENSE BONDS