The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 31, 1942, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LX., NO. 9228. JUNEAU, ALASKA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1942 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS — ] PRICE TEN C=ENI'3 BOMBS ARE HAMMERED ON NIPPON SHIPS ARMIES OF SOVIETS IN | 4 ATTACKS Red Armiefiessing Re-| lentlessly Against Nazis on Various Fronts MOSCOW, Dec. 31.—Soviet armies are pressing relentlessly against the Germans today on four major war | fronts. The Red armies have of Stalingrad and captured at least a dozen districts, all centers of large | populated places and taken impor- tant stations. The official communique an- nounces new successes in the winter campaign as the right wing of the Soviet offensive upon Rostov moved siowly over German counter-attacks. The left wing, which smnshed Kotelnikovski, is continuing to smash southwestward along the railway w | the Black Steppe territory. The war report this morning said fighting is still going on in the fac- | tory area in Stalingrad with the| Soviets capturing 24 enemy block- houses and also dislodging the en- emy trom several blocks. NAZIS CLAIM AIR ATTACK, o CASABLANCA Economy Drive Hitting BERLIN, Dec. 81. German broadcasts said Nazi long-range bombers made a surprise raid yes- terday evening on Casablanca, Al-' lied Atlantic port of Morocco. The Germans also claimed Axis explo- sives sank three Allied transports from a convoy off Bengasi. The Washmgtun Merry - Go-Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert S. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON.—The sinking of the Army transport President Coo- lidge, probably by an American | mine, has brought into the open a discussion flourishing backstage for sometime as to whether the Army or the Navy should operate trans- ports. Some Army men have contend- ed that the Navy, while at home in handling fighting ships, was not familiar with passenger ves- sels. This point was first raised | after the burning of the Manhat- tan at sea enroute home ‘rom Europe. The Manhattan was being oper- | ated by the Navy and the cause of the fire still remains a mystery.| be. For! Probably it always will after the Manhattan was brought to port, the Navy did not permit the FBI or any other agency to interrogate those aboard. On the other hand, the sinking of several naval transports off the coast of North Africa, following the Navy landing operations, is not chalked up to carelessness or fault. It is true that most of the vessels had unloaded their human cargoes and had set out for home without | armed escorts. However, both the| Army and the Navy were anxious i get the transports out of the combat zone and it was decided that their speed was sufficient pro- tection against submarines. The destroyers and escort vessels, it was felt, were more needed along the pushed | deeper into the frozen area south | Thumbnail of War; Frontline Briefs By the Office o {f War Information Direct to The Empire NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAYGN— | At least three separate Allied col- | | umns in Central Tunisia are re- | ported to be striking . towards the | Tunisian coast. Some of Rommel’s | units are reported already in cen- {ual Tunisia and had engaged in | battle there with American and | French forecs, and lost. MOROCCO—Allied bombings have rendered the Tunis airdrome, the harbor merchant ship off Pantellaria Island LONDON—In a raid on the sub- marine base at Lorient, France, Al- lied airmen shot down 19 and pos- ‘slbly 24 Nazi fighter planes. ‘ NEW DELHI—American bombers | have scored direct hits on one Jap | | freighter Rangoon. and one Jap tanker at WASHINGTON — American mar- | |ines and Army troops, mopping up | ‘ scattered Japanese detachments on Guadalcanal, have killed at least 150 Nippons. Four Americans lost ‘thell‘ lives in the engagemmbs | NEW I)ELHI——RAF aircraft have struck at Monywa airdrome, held by ‘Japs in central Burma, and carried lout offensive patrols in the Mayu River district. The British lost two | planes in theqe widespread assaults, also | at Lagoulette useless. | Torpedo planes have sunk an Axis | MOSCOW Russian offensives south of Stalingrad have driven re- lentlessly forward with three ap- parent forks stabbing deep mta the Nazi-held territor; . WASHINGTON — A Navy com- munique reveals that American | planes have sunk two more Japan- ese cargo vessels in the New Georgia | group MOSCOW--Thirty Nazi transport | planes have been destroyed in the Stalingrad area. cities along the Volga have been recaptured. MacARTHUR’'S H EADQU All'l'- ERS—Allied troops in the Buna area | of New Guinea have split the Jap- | anese defense position into new pieces. Bomb hits are also reported on chant ships at Rabaul, New Britain. | Despite intense anti-aircraft fire all | American planes returned safely to | bases. | MOSCOW — Twenty-four block- | houses in Stalingrad, occupied by the Germans, have been recaptured. | Fifteen Nazi tanks have been de- stroyed. In an air combat, 28 Nazi planes were brought down over the middle Don River section. drive on Nazi fortified positions in the Don area is in progress. 1 "Non-Defense’ Agencies MANY LOSE HOMES IN BIG FLOOD Banks—Close Down Industries PITTSBURGH, Pa, Det. 31. — The worst flood since 1936 reached ia peak of 36'; feet today at the junction of the Ohio and Monon- |gahela and Allegheny rivers, more Ithan 11 feet above the flood stage. | Thousands were left homeless, street, rail and bus traffic was | disrupted, numerous plants near the streams were paralyzed and | many business firms closed. | The Red Cross is reported to be | caring for 7,500 in Allegheny Coun- ty alone. Only one life has been reported lost 50 far. The rivers started slowly to recede today. GIRLS FROM EAST - JOIN OPA OFFICE Four new employees of the Al- aska Office of Price Administra- tion arrived in Juneau by steamer yesterday and are now at work, all transfers from the OPA ranks in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Mildred Hermann, Admin- istrator, said three of the workers ‘Eastern Rivers Qverflow! African Coast. BATTLESHIP ON REEF In addition to these losses, the Navy had a big battleship go on a Williams. reef in the South Pacific. She has| Eleanor Stoddard is an addition now been repaired, so that kncw-;w the staff. She has been em- ledge of the accident can be of no|ployed as a Junior Economist in} value to the enemy. Nevertheless,|the Price Division. Army transport officers point out e that the Navy, though supposed to: KAKE POSTMASTER HERF be skilled in navigation, is not in- | Ernest Kirschberger, Kake post- | have taken stenographic positions vacated by recent resignations here. Hinkel, Ruth Cowger and Lillie fallible. The President Coolidge, on the other hand, was under the Army, | master and merchant, has arrived in Juneau for a few days' visit. He had planned to trave! south to * | missioner operated for a time by the War spend the holidays ‘ith his wife, Shipping Administration. Here but a 13-day delay in transporta- again, however, the Navy is get-/tion arrangements canceled ting some of the blame on the trip, Is Now Galhermg Steam By JACK thNNETT | WASHINGTON, Dec. 31.—There's {more to the abolishment of WPA han meets the eye. This $10,000,000,000 made work Xprogram——spawned in the depres- | sion—had dwindled to something around 300,000 -employees, a gener- {ocus percentage of them executives. Less than a year ago President Roosevelt asked Congress to con- tinue the program. The other day he signed its death warrant. Soon WPA will be no more. Long before rigor mortis set in on WPA, the story was out that W. Bruce MacNamee, director of tually asked for liquidation of his | agency. | On the heels of these two facv.a came rumors that the President’s| 1943-44 budget message will con- tain a lot of “eliminations” of ex- isting non-war agencies. The economy drive on fense” agencies has been gathering steam for months. n the spear- nead has been Senator Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, chairman of the joint committee on non-essential | Federal expenditures. The Congress, greatly increased in Re- publican strength, is going to ham- mer away on non-defense econo- mies and make a lot of todo about the “waste in Administration hand- ling of war contracts.” Administration is going board in getting rid of sentials.” In dollars and cents, all this probably won’t mean much to U. S. taxpayers, no matter who insti- gatés it. The WPA or what was| left of it, has been devoting its rime lately entirely to projects iden- | tifiable as national defense. Behind the scenes, war agencies are already scrapping to see who “nones- nel, tutored in the way of govern- ment operation, would be valuable to half a dozen bureaus. Some months ago, a Civil Serv- |1ce Commissioner told a Senate| | committee he would guarantee a job to any government employee who could demonstrate that the| | job he was holding should be abol- ished. Not only that, but the com- said he would guaran- tee that the new job wculd be a better one. the | | ) (Continued on Page Three) Many populated ‘ three Japanese medium mer- | A new | the U. S. Travel Bureau, had ac-| “non-de- | To beat them to the draw, the/ over-| ARREST12 | FRENCHMEN N ALGIERS | | ' Another Assa<smahon Plot Revealed by General Giraud ALGIERS, M Dec Gen. Henri Honore Giraud, French High Commissioner, \-munced today the arrest of 12 per- | sons to prevent “further assassina-| | tions.” | The arrest followed swiftly on | | the heels of the slaying of Admlmlv Jean Francois Dar Giraud's | predecessor who aided the Allied cccupation of French Africa. Dar-| {lan was killed by an assassin’s buls | jlet six days ago. | Giraud said “there must be com- | plete order behind the lines now,| and cannot be called complete when | a High Commissioner such as Dar- | lan can be murdered “That is why I took certain pre- | ventive measures—to prevent a re-| |currence of such a tragic event.” | | At the same time, correspondents | |for NBC and CBS broadcasting companies in Algiers reported that the assassination plot was direct- | ed at a number of high officials, inciuding Giraud and Robert Mur- i phy, President Roosevelt's Minister | |to” French Africa. Murphy paved | ‘the way for the occupation of |North Africa by American troops. Four of the 12 arrested, said/ Giraud, were police officers, “They | knew that Darlan was going to be murdered and did not warn| their superiors | “I have only one idea, to win the | !war. For that I must have order, without considering in any way the politics of one person or an- other.” Giraud also said that some of the men arrested were persons who had helped the Allied landing. Asked if the men would be shot, the General said: “Don't worry They won’t. I would rather prevent | than punish.” Giraud took advantage of the oc- casion to call for the unity of all Frenchmen, including the Fighting' French led by Gen. Charles De- | Gaulle. CURTIN SAYS AID DENIED, PACIFICWAR Australian ane Minister Wanfs More Support on This Side CANBERRA, Australia, Dec. 31 Prime Minister John Curtin said in a statement today that the United Nations in the Pacific area are being | denied aid for their total war effort |while Japan is building up its Istrength I “There is no doubt,” he said, “that Japan is consolidating gains made. | Delaying the offensive against her makes certain that this offensive, | (when undetraken, will experience greater resistance. “Meanwhile, the United Nations in | the Pacific area are being denied resources for their total war effort | | which is invaluable to them. The | resources are being reserved while‘ Japan is building her capacity not | ionly to wage war but to resist an | offensive.” | Curtin said he agreed with state- | menbs which he asserted had been 'published in the United States, that 31 0ceo, new after Buifalo Meat Becomes Popular in Seattle Harking back to covered wagon days these Seattleites showed up early one day recgntly to buy their first samples of buffalo meat, introduced as meat shortages became acute. mestic herd raised in eastern Washington. Vidory Tax Will Make GERMANY EXPRESSES NEW FEARS Surprising Statement Is- sued Regarding Stand of Neutral Nations BERN, Dec. 31--The spokesman for Berlin's Foreign Office has is- sued a surpri statement ing that Germany's only hope is that neutral nations will hold steadfastly to their neutrality po- sitions. The statement, reported by the official German News Agency, DNB, significantly came two v\nt-k~ the newspaper -Voelki Beobachter criticized Turkey the Turkish newspapers retorted 1sharply. There have been all sorts of re- ports that Turkey is seriously con- sidering siding with the Allied Na- tions. - e e MOOSE ARE T0 HOLD WATCH PARTY TONIGHT The annual Moose New Year’s Eve party for all members and their wives will start tonight at 8 o'clock and continue well into the New Year. The club is prepared for a large crowd and a good time has been arranged for all Moose in attend- ance. At the House Committee meeting Monday night, O. J. Downs was ap- pointed Chairman of the Entertain- ment Committee. He will be assist- ed by Fred Jacobsen and another active members to be named. A mumber of applications for membership have been received and indications are there will be a large class initiated at the first meeting | of the Moose in the new year which is to be held January 8. Among the candidates for initiation are Palmer B. Gaylard, of the Coast Guard patrol boat Cyane; Arnold Hildre, Earle G. Bland and Eric Conn e e STOCK OUOIAIIONS 31 Closing NEW YORK, De {The new stenographers are Jane|Will “take over” WPA. Its person- | the “Hitler first” policy is being quotation of Alaska Juneau mine overdone and that the United States stock at today's last session of the should send more land, naval and New York Stock Exchange this year \air strength to the Pacific. (was 3%, American Can 71%, Ana- He said these are the views which (conda 24%, Bethlehem Steel 56% ! the “Australian government has re- | Commonwealth and Southern 9/30, peatedly put to the leaders of Lhe Curtiu& Wright 6%, International 'Uniud Nations.” Harvester 59%, Kennecott 29, New e York Central 10%, Northern Pacific 7%, United S!a!.es Steel 47%, Pound MRS. MULVIHILL IS $4.04. RETURNING TO JUNEAU Mrs. V. W. Mulvihill is expected DOW, JONES A\kHA(nES to arrive in Juneau late this after- noon or evening, returning home after a visit of several weeks in the south. The following are today's Dow, Jones averages at the close of the year 1942: Industrials, 119.40; rails, 27.39; utilities, 14.54 D P v BUY oEFENSE BONDS I BUY DEFENSE STAMPS The buffalo meat came from a do- Pay Envelope Smaller As Treasury Gels 5% , WASHINGTON, Dec. 31.-—-Mil- hom of wage earners will find wom(‘thlnz missing from their pay lenvelopes beginning tomorrow. The [five percent Victery tax, which !Treasury Department officials es- !timate will bring two billion dol- lars to the government's revenues next year, must be withheld from every paycheck issued in 1943, re- mull.\m of when the income was rmed ELEVEN ARMY MEN KILLED Hymg Fortress Goes Down checks of the year early in Janu- ary will find that they have paid ~Burns in Mon- A Sk their 1942 in- tana Hills Employers will be required to withnold five percent of all wages MUSGELSHELL, Mont,, Dec. 31,[2nd salaries in excess of $13 a __Eleven Army fliers were killed in week. All other incomein excess of the crash of a Flylng Fortress near | $024 per year also is subject to thig central Montana village. the. dax. The four-motored bomber was on ‘The operation of the Victory tax, a routine training flight from its Treasury officlals believe, may sti- base at Great Falls. mulate demands which are grow- Tt Bhrned e oo ing for Congress to put all income wooded hill country taxes on o pay-as-you-go basis. - CHINESE MISSION QUITS .S, Important Military Organi- zation Leaving fo Re- port to General WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 Gen Hsiung Shihfei told President Roose- velt today the Chinese Military M sion to the United States, which he heads ,is leaving to make a report to Chiang Kai-Shek at Chungking Asked whether the mission has been recalled because of dissatisfac- & week, $12,‘the withholding deduc- tion as to the amount of Allied |Uon would be subtracted from $30 assistance to China, the General | and then five percent of the remain- | replied: “We shall never be satisfied |i§ $18 would be the amount of the | unless our enemy is completely de- | Victory Tax for that week. feated.” | Self-employed persons, those business for themselves, will puy their Victory tax in one chunk a the end of the year, and not quumvu ly as was believed to-be the case when the bill was being drafted Employers must Jssue statements, Form V. to employees when they terminate employment or at the end of the year in the case of permanent employees. a part of ing in the | TAX FURTHER EXPLAINED In Juneau today, Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue Wes Overby is- sued the following additional in- formation concerning the tax. Employers must collect the tax on ing the quarter. These returns should be made on Form V-1, a tax return statement. | The quarters end on March 31, June | quarter. Withholding deductions of the Victgry Tax are based on a deduc- tion of $624 a year. If employees _lare paid weekly, the deduction is | e | $12, bi-weekly $24, semi-. monthly $26, monthly $52, quarterly $156, semi- annually $312, and annualy $624. Thus, if a person's wage was 330 -+ | NO B. B. GAMES LAST EVENING The Douglas gymnasium was like an ice house last night and the members of the four teams sched- uled to play basketball decided it was too cold to disrobe and get in their suits and the games were post- poned. The next games scheduled doped for next Monday night, in Juneau and two in Douglas but as schools resume Monday, the gyms should be warm enough for play, tainable from the local office before the first quarter returns are due. .- Sgt. Francis S. Martin was an in- coming medical patient at St. Ann's Hospital yesterday > - DEFENSE BO! are two BUY wage | every paycheck. A record should be | kept of the deductions and the em- | ployers must turn over to the Col- | | lector of Internal Revenue quarterly | the withholding taxes collected dur- | 30, September 30, December 31. Re- | | turns should not be filed later than {one month after the end of each | These various forms will be ol;~! BIGATTACKIS 'MADE UPON PORTRABAUL Ground Troops in New Guinea Drive Wedge Into Jap Terrifory ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN | AUSTRALIA, Dec. 31.—Allied planes \ha\c bombed three more Japanese | ships in Rabaul harbor, New Britain | Island, as New Guinea troops in the | Buna Mission area drove their wedge through the enemy territory to the sea, splitting the thinning Jap de- | fense. | The newest ground advance has |cut the Buna Mission pocket off |from the main Jap sector, leaving | the enemy in that area unable to, escape except by the sea o AIRBLOWS SCORED IN SOLOMONS |American Kirfimen Destroy Five Jap Barges and Strafe Planes WASHINGTON, Dec. 31.—Amer- ican air forces battered at Japanese ground installations “dnd barges northwest of Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons, the Navy Department announced today. The communique said the air forces made several “harrassing” at- tacks on enemy installations in the Munda area of New Georgia Island | and later destroyed five enemy haruen and a large caliber enemy | gun. The American airmen also strafed and bombed three Jap planes in the Rekata Bay area of Santa Isabel Island, approximately 150 miles northwest ol Gu:dllcnml Island. STALINGRAD NAZIS ARE ~ WIPED OUT ‘Russians Claim Complete | Liquidation of Ger- mans There MOSCOW, Dec. 31.—A special Soviet communique reported late today that the German Army in Stalingrad had been “liquidated completely.” The announcement said 95,- 000 Germans have been exterm- | inated and 72,000 capatured. “In the course of battle our troops have completely destroyed the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Ru- | manian Infantry divisions,” the Soviets claimed. Another special communique | announced the Red Army has captured the railway station | Oblivskaya. The location was | net Immedlllely ‘Iven‘ SEABATTLEIS 'REPORTED OFF ENGLAND LONDON, Dec, 31.—The Ad- miralty announced tha. British warships made “contact with an enemy force in the north- ern waters” early today & ‘4 an enemy cruiser was damagew In the ensuing engagemenc, an enemy destroyer alio was “severely hit amd when last seen was in a sinking econdi- tion.” The Admiralty said | ‘tions continue.” [ “opera- .