The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 3, 1943, Page 1

- THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LX., NO. 9257. JUNEAU, ALASKA, W'EDNFSDA\ FEBRUARY 3, 1943 MEMBFR ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENT CENTS e MAJOR BATTLLE RAGING IN SOLOMONS Last Of Nazi Units Surrender At Stalingrad BIG DRAFT mumoui Stalin Sends Message of | Congratulation fo Forces MOSCOW, Feb. 3—Joseph Stalin today congratulated the Red Army for its liquidation of the last of Hitler’s troops at Stalingrad. Suvlet‘ shock units, flushed with this greatest victory of the war over Germany, plunged ahead on all| fronts with the congratulations of their leader ringing in their ears. | The Soviet Information Bureau announced in a special dispatch that the 162-day siege of Stalin- | grad has ended. At the same time, | the German Command reported that the fighting at Stalingrad has' o , ending resistance by forces which a Nazi report issued Sun- day referred to as “an army of dead.” | 500,000 Casualties | More than 500000 men, the cream of the Nazi soldiery, are re-| ported to have been slain or cap-| tured at the scene of the Volga “Verdun.” Since the Russian winter offen- | stve, was launched on November 19, a thtal of 275000 Axis troops has been reported killed, 228,000 more | imprisoned. - Now the seasoned Red Army di-| visions are free to reinforce the' offensive in the North Caucasus. ' The complete capitulation of all surviving Axis troops and their general in the Stalingrad area was . (Continued on Page Three) The Washlngiun‘ Merry-Go-Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON.—Now that the anthracite miners have ended one of the most serious strikes since, Pearl Harbor, another coml strike may be just around the corner. It threatens in both the anthracite and bituminous coal fields when the United Mine Workers' contract with the bituminous coal operations expires on March 31, and the an- | thracite contract terminates one month later. John L. Lewis has let it be known that he would demand big| increases for both classes of min-| ers, and he plans to do this re-| gardless of the War Labor Board’ “Little Steel” formula, by whigh| e PREDICTION Ten Ouf of Every 14 Able- bodied Men, 18 to 38, Soon in Service Killed in Crash of Naval Air Transpor WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — Paul V. McNutt, of the War Manpower Board, told- the House Military Af- fairs Committee that “by the end!/ of this.year, 10 out of every 14 able- | bodied man between 18 and 38 will| be in the armed services.” McNutt spoke during a discus- sion of the college training program | being worked out by the armed ser- | | vices. In reply to questions, McNutt sti- pulated that men of the 18 to 38 |group will be serving as “fighting Robin Hood might have been a bener shot than these two Pomona College, Cal., lassies of the bow and arrow art, but gertainly not more eye-arresting than Miss Kitty Haskell (left) and’ Miss Christine Christensen, who are pictured as their distant target. The pair are they drew determined beads on in the midst of practicing for the semester’s first tournament in the most graceful of marksmanship sports. Aleutians Is Says Jap Offensive in | Greatest Flop, Amphibian Warfare PRESIDENT | TALKS ON | CONFERENCE Tells Reporiers Abou'ti Highlights of Afria Journey 1 WASHINGTON; Feb, s—Prest NEW YORK Feb 3—Capt. Le- land Lovette, Director of Navy Pub- lic Relations, described the Japan- ese offensive in the Aleutians as the | greatest failure in amphibian war-, fare. This was the statement made by Lovette before the annual meet- ing of the Foreign Press Associa- tion. Capt. Lovette tabulatéd the Jap losses in the Aleutian offensive as nine destroyers, one light cruiser or destroyer, two mine sweepers, cne transpori and one cargo vessel sunk; four cruisers, nine destroyers, five submarines, one gunboat, 18 transport supply vessels and approx- imately 50 airplanes damaged. Capt. Lovette said 650 Japanese have been killed or wounded on the ground exclusive of officers. American casualties were put ut‘ wage increases are limited to 15 dent Roosevelt said the ,asablancn‘fi killed, 49 wounded and 12 planes percent of what workers in an in- dustry were pah:l on, January 1, 1941, {to win the war and to fulfill conference with Churchill was one al of various types lost. | Secretary of Navy Frank Knox,| will time. He hinted strongly that these ‘expansions will eliminate depend- en” by the end of this year. McNutt explained his figures in- cluded however only “those who can pass the physical requirement | for the armed servic DEPENDEN(Y 'GOING TO-BE - KNOCKED OUT " New Draft Order Going| Into Effect on April 1, Says McNutt WASHINGTON, Feb. 3—Depen- dency in draft deferment, even for men with children, will be wiped out for countless thousands a new order issued by the under War Manpower Commission to Se- lective Service Bureaus and effect April 1. > The order is designed to impel transfer of draft eligibles from non- essential to essential work. The order departs completely from any issued heretofore and sets up a list of activities of jobs and occupations to be regardless of April 1 . Paul V. McNutt emphasized that the list “is just beginning” and be expanded from time dependents ency deferment altogether. THRUSTS OF RED ARMIE in “non-deferable” after to B ! &M‘ R i s | (COLOGNE IS SMASHED IN 'Rhmeland Industrial Cen-| | fer Heavily Bombed L for20 Mlnuies LONDON, Feb. 3—-A heavy force) {of RAF bombers last n'ght attacked | Cologne, the Rhinelana industrial center, dropping 100 two-ton bust- er bombs, an average of one every 12 seconds or less and scattering thousands of incendiaries. The entire load of explosives was dropped in less than 20 minutes. | The principal targets included factories that turn out diesel en- gines and batteries for submarines, the Humboldt Deutz Motor Works, and the Mauser Arms Plant. It was the 112th raid on the city which last May was the first German industrial center to feel! the weight of a 1,000-plane raid on a single night. —— - RADMAIN JAP CAMP, SOLOMONS Rabaul, New Britain, Base | for New Enemy NIGHT RAID } Among those killed on the naval air transport on a flight from Fearl Harbor to San Francisco were (left), ! Capt. Robert E. Thomas of Rockford, Ill, Lieut. (jg) Edna Owella Morrow of Pasadena, Calif., a nurse, and Capt. Rokert Smith (right), of Cambridge, Mass. Others aboard the transport were (left), commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Base, and Capt. Donald C. Godwin (right), attached to the 12th Naval District, San Wreckage of the burned plane was found in the moun- tains near Ukiah, California, all of the 19 aboard dead. Francisco. SEA, AIR FORCES IN BIG FIGHT Navy Rev;;is Mighty Struggle for Control of Islands Taking Place WASHINGTON, Feb. 3. — The American and Japanese sea and air forces are locked in a major new struggle for control of the Sol- omon Islands, the Navy reveals in a communique. The communique says the num- ber of surface and air actions oc- curred during the last several days, adding that “increased activity on the part of the Japanese indicated that a major effort is being made to regain control of the entire Solo- mons area. “Both the United States and Japanese forces have suffered some losses but to reveal at this time the details of these engagements will endanger success of future operations in this area.” The naval spokesman, amplifying the communique;, said previous Japanede claims “of the U. S.loss- es are grossly exaggerated and their own losses are not stated.” . PRSI On Monday, a radio broadeast from Tokyo said & new sea battle was raging in the Solomons and Japanese Navy Minister, Admiral Shimanda, declared that Japanese planes had sunk two enemy battle- ships and three cruisers, and dam- aged another battleship and cruis- ler. It was also stated the Japa- nese lost ten planes but made no reference to surface craft. Rear Admiral Robert H. Englilh KNOX MAKES STATEMENT WASHINGTON, Feb. 3—Secre- tary of Navy Frank Knox described the sea and air battle in progress off the Solomons as a “process of : feeling out both sides,” but said Pay- As-You-Go ‘TaxProposed;Demands Made for Legislation: WASHINGTON, Feb, 3—The en- actment of pay-as-you-go tax leg-| ! islation to provide for a 19 per cent withholding tax after deductions for millions of American income tax payers is urged by the Treasury, which is flatly opposed to the Ruml pl(xn to ckip one year's tax liability and make income tax payments urrent. Treasury officials proposed that {the new levy be in addition to the ‘there is no really pitched battle as | yet and nobody knows yet what the |n(ome . | immediate future holds, but any assumption in the Navy's commun- ique that a great battle is under- way is incorrect.” The statement was made by Knox {at a conference with the news- men this afternoon and he fur- ther stated that “no pitched battle going on, as yet” and further !denied that “both the U. 5. and |Japan have suffered losses.” Secretary Knox claimed that the fund unless used by the taxpayers Japanese reports are only a “fishing for certain purposes at the end ouexpcdmon" and then added: “In each tax year. |the Solomons area there is a long, Randolph Paul, Treasury General tough and hard fight ahead of us.” Counsel, stressed the importance of prompt action as he told the House Ways and Means Committee the 19| percent witholding tax was equiva- lent to the levy provided by the normal six percent income tax, plu5| the 13 percent surtax rate of !he. first bracket. He said it would sim- plify the collection problem und f{ive per cent Victory tax now he- ing withheld from paychecks, mak- |ing the total Federal withholding tax amount to 24 percent after de- ductions with a portion of the Vie- promise made in his annual mes-| telephoning from Washington to | sage to Congress—that the United those at the meeting said it is a! Nations would strike hard in Eu- | “long, long road to the battle front| rope. |but it is well paved and an end- | [ Speaking at a press conference, | less wagon train is moving out of ' avoid unnecessary refunds. The normal tax and the first| bracket of the surtax income in-| cludes the first $2,000 taxable in- come after deduction. Compared to various war time industries, the miners unquestiona- bly ~déserve rhore money. Their| wages are low compared with the Offensive ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN |AUSTRALIA, Feb. 3.—Gen. Doug- NAZI ORDERS boamlnj pay of shipyards and mu- | nitions' plants; also their work is hazardous. However, John L Lewis has an-| other reason for demanding siz- able wage increases. He has to build up the prestige hie lost dur- ing the anthracite strike, when several thousand of his own min- ers defied him and struck partly against the collection of larger union dues. This is the first time in the| history of the United Mine Work- ers, which John L. nursed and built up, that he has been defied by his own men. So, to emphasize his usefulness, he will now have to come through with large wage| increases—probably $1 a day for| bituminous and $2 a day for an- thracite miners. This is sure to cauyse a Jeadlock with the operators. They will not grant the increases on the ground that they would violate the War, Labor Board’s “Little Steel” for- mula. \ A strike over these new con- tracts would be highly disastrous, “(Continued on Page Four) the President said he thought the! highlight of the North African meeting was the formal re-empha- sis placed on the belief that there should be no negotiated peace — only an unconditional surrender by ' the Axis. Highlights There were two highlights of the trip, Roosevelt said. His stop on the way home to talk with Presi- dent Vargas of Brazil was one. The President explained the great- ly increased effort by Brazil in making combat subs. making to combat subs. Second, he said, was the agree- ment that when peace comes it must eliminate any future threat from the African coast tc that por- tion of this hemisphere lying clos- est to Africa. The President dwelt at some| length on the situation in French North Africa, especially on politi- ! cal problems. He said he thougm‘ things were going along pretty well. The problem in North Africa, he | said, is essentially a military one. Anyone who tries to stir up talk| (Continued on P-se Two) the distant frontiers to fight for| freedom. The going is hard and will be harder, but there are legions of ! ! herces out there, Americans, Aus-! tralians, Canadian and New Zea- landers, ashore and afloat and m the air. 8TH ARMY IS CLOSE T0 ROMMEL CAIRO, Feb. 3—The British | Eighth Army proper is within he-vy artillery range of the Tunisian frontier, long ago crossed by its armored patrols. A communique said Montgomery's men have occupied Zelten, less than! 20 miles from the border. Rommel's rear guard, in comtrast, is in the| vicinity of the hamlet of Pisida, only 12 miles from the Iropotier on the other side, |towns have been taken New Gains Reported To- | ward Rosfov-Advances in Western Caucasus MOSCOW, Feb. 3.— The Army troops have pushed Red one wedge of their arc around Rostov| to within 40 miles of the city by the capture of Zernovoy and are| |developing new thiusts against Kursk, Kharkov and Krasnodar. It is indicated also that more Voronezh by the army aiming at Kursk. Stubborn German resistance on| {the southern front has been broken | iand the Axis troops are retreating. c The armies in the western Cau- casus are reported closing in on Krasnodar, one of two main Ger- man bases left in the area and also on the naval base at Novoros-| sisk on the Black Sea Coast. Another Caucasus column drove up the railroad from Salsk through Mechetinskaya into the towns of Zernovoy and Verblyud on the krmd to Rostoy, west of | las MacArthur's communique dis- | d today that New Britain Is- \l.,nd possible base of the Japs’ lat- est Solomons offensive, was raided |by a single bomber, sweeping low fover the bay and causing consid- erable casualties in . troop-filled | launches. It was also the fourth straight |day of raids on Rabaul. The latest ‘v«aa concentrated on Vanakanau airdrome where the haze and fhvnrchligh'.s prevented detailed re-| ! ports of the results. At the same time, it is reported, 150 Jap stragglers were rounded up, shot or captured on Papuan Penin- sula on New Guinea Island where 15,000 Japs were recently destroyed or captured. In the raid on Rabaul harbor, a 3,000-ton Jap ship was hit amid- ships with a heavy bomib and when iast seen was lurching and head- ing for shore: One of two barges that were ‘being towed was sunk. —_————— One of the nations newest rail- roads is the 50-mile Claiborne and | Polk Military Railroad recently ‘completed in Louisiana, mry lLvy set asidc* for p«r»! -war re- Clare Boothe luce New Representative, Gels Off on Wrong Fool (composed entirely of the press. Tht' officers were shot on orders of Lieut. WASHINGTON, Feb, 3—The m.»n‘ person I would have expected (and perhaps you, too) to get off on the wrong foot in the 78th Congress was Rep. Clare Boothe Luce Being the wife of Publisher Henry Luce, Mrs. Luce was justifiably ex-| pected to know all about reporters Being a “journalist” herself, she chould have been familiar enough with reportorial routine not o have tripped over her own back- yard clothesline, but thats just what she did. When Congresswoman Luce ar- rived at Union Station here, she had a reception committee, It was' ‘Stories of German Prison- ers Are Confirmed- Bodies Found MOSCOW, Feb. 3—Stories of Ger- ,man prisoners, told on January 24, wrc confirmed by the Red Army Iforces that have entered Kochet- ovka. There were found the bodies ‘m Hungarian Army officers. The prisoners said 49 Hungarian train was 20 minutes late, which Col. Lentz, of the German Division !didn't upset “the pre: but ap-'when they tried to surrender last parently did Mrs. Luce. She ducked momh ‘The finding of the bodies out the other way xmd dashed to'confirms their storles. her hotel. “The press,” having but —————— one idea in mind—getting an ass-| ® ® 00 0 0 0 0 o 0 signment off its neck—followed. DIMOUT TIMES . At her hotel, Mrs. Luce, to say . the least, was inaccessible. The next Dimout begins tonight ® day, she explained that she was o (Wednesday) at sunset at 5:2¢ late for an appointment. had been g giclock. traveling for days, had to freshen Dimout ends tomorrow up a bit, and had no intention of (Thursday) at sunrise at 8:58 being rude. Py ¢ X Dimout begins Thursday at sunset at 5:26 p.m. ‘eoeeeoencece Let it .go at that. But there nev- lCm}l;\xpd on Page Two)