The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 4, 1943, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LX., NO. 9258. JUNI:AU ALASKA, THURSDAY F [ BRUARY 4 I‘M3 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS — 1 PRICE TEN CENTS 5 ALASKANS ALIVE AFTER PLANE CRASH AXIS AFRICA Lone U.S. Desiroyer Really Shot lts Way The Hell Outa’ There SUPPLY LINE IS SMASHED Announce Si—niing of 14,5 Perhaps 16 Enemy Transporis ‘ LONDON, Feb. 4—In sea and air, blows paving the way to a heavy land assault in North Africa | were announced today, along with | a report of the destruction of 14| and perhaps 16, Axis supply :hips; in the narrow mid-Mediterranean approaches to Tunisia, where the German-Ttalian defense line, test- | ed anew, showed weak spdts. British forces have captured the ' height known as “Hill 648" in the renewal of fighting six miles south- east of Bou Arada in the Jebel Mansour area, midway between Medjez el Bab and Robaa, an A)-i lied communique said. The report described the ;,am however, as a “limited succ Meanwhile field dispatches report- ed that an American striking force had captured Sened and dug in a mile east of the town, on the| rail line. through Maknassy to the | coast. Taken prisoner was one Italian general, according to the dispatch. | Port Gabes Attacked | Allied bombers have attacked | (Continued on Page Two) FINAND INTALK ONPEACE LONDON, Feb. 4—A Reuters dis- pdtch from Ankara, Turkey, quoted a Berlin report as saying that the Finnish minister has told the Ger-| mans that unless Finland gets u\-( gently needed food she will be ob-' liged to consider the possibility of making a separate peace with Rus- | sia. The Washmgton_ Merry-Go-Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) ‘ WASHINGTON.—Failure of the British and American navies to make any appreciable headway in ! combating the submarine, now the chief bottleneck of the war, has caused members of the Truman Committee to do some soul-probing among Navy and WPB chieftains. One handicap has been the dif- ficulty, so far, of doing damage to Nazi submarine yards. Hitler has taken such careful precautions to house his construetion yards un- der heavy concrete sheds, that he| must have planned long ago to make the submarine his chief wea- pon in his effort, to prevent an Allied victory. | These massive concrete tunnels, | not only are well camouflaged, but | are so heavily built that Allied | bombs can do little damage. Thus | submarine construction can proceed | without interruption during an' raids. * Meanwhile, Hitler is concentrat- | ing materials, labor and everything | he has on launching submarines | at terrific speed. In contrast, the | U, S. Navy has moved with snail-| like pace in building escort smbs to combat submarines. ARCHITECT GIBBS TO RESCUE‘ At first the Admirals were too intent on building bjg battleships to pay much attention to escort vessels. Then steel became scarce and it was a matter of choosing bétween heavy ships for offensive war, or light ships to defend| against submarines. This was a hard decision. In addition, the Navy had nbout' nine different types of escort ves-_' sels on paper, and the admirals| had difficulty making up thelr| minds which were the best. An es- : iContinued on Page Four), f GETS AWARD |the Col. Benjamin B. Talley, (pictured above) engineer officer in charge of all Army construction in Al- aska under the Alaska Defense Command, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by Col. Richard Park, Engineer Of- ficer for the Seattle district. Col. Talley was first assigned to Alaska in September, 1940, and since May, 1942, has been in charge of all engineering undertakings in Al- aska. Born in Oklahoma, he was | commissioned a second lieutenant in the Engineers’ Corp in 1926. He was sent to Nicaragua in 1929 to work on the canal there. Trans- ferred to New York City in 1931, he organized that metropolitan municipality’s fire control. Later | he served on Wright Field. The award was the first given an en- gineering officer in the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. OFFENSIVE IN SPRING FOR NAZIS Lo Treasury Hasn't Made Up, That Is What Dope from| Turkey Intimates- Move Made NEW YORK, Feb. 4—A broadcast from Ankara, as saying Nazi troops are moving eastward for a new spring offen-| sive pledged last Saturday by Pro- paganda Minister Goering. ‘The Turkish broadcast further said “it is even asserted that a great part of the transfer for the spring offensive has already been carried out and it is presumed the Ger- mans will go over on the offensive either by the end of March or be- | gmmng of April.” ——r P Grt— MAY FORM AMERICAN JAP UNIT WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 — Presi- dent Roosevelt has endorsed the Army’s plan to form a new mili- tary combat team made up of Am- erican citizens of Japanese descent, and the War Department is said to be calling for volunteers. ® o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 . WEATHER REPORT . (U. 8. Bureau) Temp. Wednesday, Feb. 3: Maximum 36, minimum 30. Precipitation—0.28. L Snow on ground 5.5 in. L4 ® 0o 0600 00 0.0 0 0 Turkey, picked up| here quoted well informed sources | P SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4 — An American destroyer, caught unex- pectedly in a ring of Jap warships cank an enemy destroyer and crui- ser and delivered the coup de grace to a battleship of the Konga class, it is disclosed here. The tale of this almost incredible exploit by the tiny craft was re- ported in the San Francisco Ex- aminer and later confirmed by the Twelfth Naval District. The Navy, | however, wouldn't make any official | announcement. The District said Jap losses in | this battle already have been re- | ported by the Navy, but had not previously been credited to a single ! destroyer. { Being Repaired The scene, time of action and the name of the destroyer have been withheld. The ship is undergoing repairs at a West Coast yard where feat was recognized by paint- ing miniatures of the three Jap ships destroyed on the bulkhead. The destroyer had sailed inad- vertently into the range of three Jap ships when the order to change its course failed to reach her. ! Her skipper said, “well, we're in here—so let's keep going and keep firing until they sink us or we shoot our way the hell out’a here.” So They Did | The Jap destroyer was the first |engaged and was left in flames as the American ship then turped its | attention and- guns on-a “Cruiser. The method of attack was un- | disclosed, but it is speculated that | torpedoes might have been used. Anyway, the cruiser exploded thortly, and then the big Jap bat- tleship got the range of the Am- | erican destroyer. But it was too (late for the enemy warship to avoid | taking torpedo hits and these sank | the Jap craft in short order. | The American ship was damaged, ! but sailed away under its own power. TAX PLAN Mind Yet, However, Is Report WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 — The j’rreasury Department disclosed to- day that it has given serious con- | sideration, without reaching a de- finite conclusion, to the possibility | of reverting the 1942 income taxes to the 1941 rates and exemptions taxpayers plan. If this procedure is adopted, it would relieve taxpayers with in- on a pay-as-you-go- as a possible expedient to put the ‘Snow Storm Tles Up Seaftle Traffic Seattle recently experienced one of the severest storms in many years (January 19-20) and traffic was brought almost to a complete standstill, department stores were closed and all outside work in shipyards was halted. On Seattle’s many hill (‘arr\lll[.'-(‘api\(‘ltv periods in the history of the transit system. Porfland Traffic Paraiyzed by Snow Storm and trackless lmll(—w and busses in Portland, () duction at war pllnts | NEW DRIVE ONEUROPE INDICATED | comes of less than $10,000 of some- | thing like half the tax liability| | which they now face on March 15. Discussing with reporters as to | what is likely to be the procedure,! | Randolph Paul, Treasury General | Counsel, emphasized that all tax- pavels will have to make 1er,urns |on March 15 if liable under | current law. Any overpayment, he sald, would be credited to the tax- | | payer on the 1943 income liability. He emphasized, however, that no conclusion has been reached. HITLER NOT MAKING ANY PEACE OFFER RIO DE JANERIO Brazil, Feb4— ‘The Spanish Embassy today issued an official note denying that Adolf | Hitler is planning a peace offer| | through the Spanish government, headed by Generalissimo Francisco Franco. ————— | BUY DEFENSE BONDS the | Pacific War Council Mem- bers Given Inside Dope on Campaigns WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—Walter Nash, Minister to the United States from New Zealand, said Roosevelt jand Churchill discussed at Casa- |blanca whether to strike Germany 'from the Mediterranean or from the whole of the Atlantic coast or from both of these regions. Nash Jalked to reporters after leaving the first meeting of the Pacific War Council since the Pre- sident returned. Nash said the time and place for invading Europe could not be published in. advance of course since it would be valuable informa- {tion for the enemy, but he could 'say that at the Casablanca meet- ine all possibilities of attacks were | discussed. Chinese Ambassador Wei Tao IMing said the Council received a [report on the Casablanca confer- | ence and it included a plan for the Pacific and from what he heard of this, it was very encouraging, he said. J Heavy snow «I.alled mterurbnn cars IS SEE N’New Personalmes " In Congress Make Interesting Lineup By JACK STINNETT WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—The 78th Congress is full of new and inter- esting personalities. To mention only a few, there is Homer Ferguson—Michigan's “one- i grand jury,” a sort of eldrrly Racket-Buster Thomas E. Dewey- who has vowed to bemme the sen- 1te’s chief “why-man.” And Albert W. Hawkes, who led New Jersey Republicans in a general defeat for Lemocratic “Boss” Hague’s machine There’s Sen. Kenneth Wherry, of Nebrasga, who will never have to Go another blessed thing to go down' in history. He's the man who de- feated the ancient and venetable George W. Norris. There’s ex-Gov. C. Douglas Buck of Delaware; and former Governors George Wilson of Towa and Harlan Bushfield of South Dakota, all of whom will serve in the Senate. On the House side there are Clare Boothe Luce, of Connecti- cut, the No. 1 glamour-lady in the new Congress; James M. Curley. who has been away for awhile, part of which time he spent being gover-| nor of Massachusetts; F. L. Sund- strom, whom Indiana U. remem- bers as one of its great all-American football stars, but who comes to the House from New Jersey as a Re- publican all-star; and LaVern Dil- veg, of Wisconsin, who not only was rated all-American at Mar-| que but went on to play pro- football with the then champion Green Bay Packers. Also on' the athletic side is Ar- kansas’ ew Rep. J. W. Fulbright who not only played football at the University of Arkansas, but as ¢ Rhodes scholar, was a member of (Co’nbn;med an'Page ;I'Ilrf’el X busses and trolleys were stalled in the midst of one of the highest ;um rom_s IN CAUCASUS THREATENED 'Being Driven fo Sea by Onrushing Russian ! Fighters (By Associated Press) The lasu Axis troops in the Cau- casus are reported being driven back toward the sea of Azov near a “Dunkerque” as the Red Army's tightening are around Rostov to-: day cut the only remaining railj line of escape toward Kuschevka,| where the shallow Yeya River wid- ens out to the sea. | | | that the f 2SURVIVORS OF MISSING OILLAM PLANE FOUND ALIVE; THREE OTHERS ARE NOW HUNTED; GIRL DEAD (NOTE: The finding and rescue of two survivors of the lost Harold ¢ following ¢ The dispatches are disconnected m plane and the search for three others is given in the atches to The Empire from the Ketchikan Chronicle. and garbled but it must be re- membered the interviews by the newspaperman and officials were obtained at intervals from two men who had suffered great hard- ships, and whose iminds wandered at times owing to their harrow- ing experiences and exposure in to noon teday as received by The bitter winter weather. The facts Empire are as follows: The plane crashed in the woods on Boca de Quadra, near the British Co- lumbia border after running out of gas. Six aboard the plane escaped with their lives. Two made their way out and were picked up by a Coast Guard vessel and taken to Ketchikan and hos- pitalized. A searching party is now hunting for three, the sixth person aboard the plane, a woman, died from injuries.) Searching Party Begins Hunt for Other Surviv- ors of Plane Crash BULLETIN—Ketchikan, Alas- ka, Feb. 4.—At least one of the three missing survivors on Bo- ca de Quadra Peninsula is alive. A plane pilot this fore- noon reported to the Coast Guard Headquarters here that he saw a man in a clearing four miles from the Smeaton Bay beach and dropped food and medicine to him. The man who is unidentified, appeared in good condition and waved to the plane. There was no sign of the other two men and no way of telling who the man on the ground is. A ground party is now on the way to the clear- ing which the plane pilot said is two miles north of the Gil- lam plane wreckage on a 2,800- foot mountain. KETCHIKAN, Alfl'sk‘l Feb. 4—In| carch for three men who may be till alive in the wilderness fast- nesses of the mountainous penin- sula between Smeaton Bay and Boca de Quadra, approximately 30| miles west of the British Columbia border, a rescue vessel set out late yesterday from Ketchikan with a| party including a physician and ex- perienced woodsmen to search the | area. At dawn today planes were also :cheduled to take off led by Ray Renshaw, pilot with the Alaska | Game Commission. Percy Cutting and Joseph Tippits, ' the two survivors found and brought “ere yesterdny afternoon, are in ex-/ ellent shape considering what they have passed through, according | to physicians. They were taken to the hospital where they were only nermitted to talk of the crash and give other particulars to officials | ind newsmen at intervals. They were ravenous and had lost quite a bit of weight but it is won-' derful how they came Lhrough the | ordeal. To Hit Up Trail The searching party was expect- d to reach the mouth of Smeaton Bay on Bahn Canal, 40 miles south f Ketchikan, early this morning |and head immediately up the trail Reports heard in London stated|from the spot where Cutting and Russian warships and | Tippits were discovered by a pa- planes are already pounding at the x'-“]l boat. fleets of German ships, hastily! Tippits said they blazed a trail massed in the Novorossisk area for three miles through the wild- from whieh the invader’s troops| rness from where the plane crash- might be ferried across the Strait of | -d to the open country. The plane Kerch to the Crimea. | was back about seven miles. Gebo Rostov itself is menaced ~‘|1I; ind Metzdorf were left at the plane. more sharply by another RuQmm Gebo and Metzdorf suffered bro- column thrust up the rail line at ken bones when the Gillam plane Salsk, which has captured Kagal- crashed., nitskaya, 30 miles southeast of Ros-| Bleeds to Death tov. Miss Susan Batzer, whose right | Red Army Offensive hand was amputated in the crash, To the north Red Army forces died from loss of blood before her lave pressed the offensive fiercely fellow companions regained con- to the w ., with gains shown north of Kursk at the approach ta Khar- kov and between Kharkov and Vor- oshilovgrad, A stepped-up Russian offensive between the Don River and the up- {per Donets was indicated A German communique broad- cast from Berlin said: “In an unceasing and heavy de- fensive of mobile. fighting against strong enemy formatigns which re- ceived further reinforcements of troops of army, supported by air forces, our forees repelled all out- | flanking attempts beiween the Don und the upper Donets.” sclousness, according to an official who interviewed the survivors here Gillam burt of all and volunteered to go or help with the understanding he | would return to the crash scene if he wilderness. Belief is expressed that Gillam, who the survivors said was in good condition, is possibly alive on the shores of Boca de Quadra Inlet. Two Planes in Search One of the planes in the search today will concentrate on the search (Continued on Page Two) was apparently the least| going proved too rough in the| o Percy Culiifi_and Joseph Tippits Rescued-Tak- to Kefchikan KETCHIKAN, Alaska, Feb. 4.— Two survivors of the Harold Gil- lam plane crash were brought to Ketchikan yesterday afternoon on a Coast Guard patrol boat. They are Percy Cutting of Hayward, Calif., and Joseph H. Tippits, of Anchorage. ‘They said two others aboard the plane, Robert. Gebo of Seattle, And Dewey = Metzdorf, of = Anchorage,’ were alive when last seen and were on the beach about two miles from where the survivors were rescued. The survivors said Pilot Gillam had not been seen since the crash when he left the others to get help. The sixth person on the plané, Susan Balzer, 23, CAA employee at Anchorage, died. ' | Immediately after the survivors l\wre brought here and taken to "me hospital, it was announced a Coast Guard plane or boat would {leave in an effort to find Gebo and | Metzdorf, also Gillam. | Disconnected stories were told by ithe two survivors, who had suf- fered much. | Cutting and Tippits said Gebo and Metzdorf were in “bad shape” when last seen a week ago. | Gillam left the plane January |10, five days after the crash. The girl died a “long time ago” the |survivors said, but Cutting was {unable to remember the date. The two survivors were uncertain |exactly as to where the plane crashed | Cutting and Tippits said they |left Gebo and Metzdorf about a | (week ago some seven miles from !where they were rescued. They !blazed a trail the first three miles for Gebo and Metzdorf to follow. {The rest of the way was not so I bad. Crash in Wilderness The plane is apparently seven !miles back in the wilderness from Smeaton Bay, Gillam, Metzdorf and Gebo were in fair condition when last, seen but were emaciated and with feet frostbitten, Cutting and Tippits were in an emaciated condition but quickly re- covered under treatment here. Cutting is returning to the scene of his rescue with Pilot Ray Renshaw of the Alaska Game Com- mission as guide, in an effort to find Gebo and Metzdorf who were two miles from the plane when last seen. 3 Better Description Collecting their senses under | reatment, Cutting and Tippits said the plane crashed seven miles east of Short Point on Boca de Quadra. Gillam, who survived the crash, left the scene in a southerly di- |rection in an effort to get help 'Connnued on Paze Ml CIC I ) e e & o 0 o o DIMOUT TIMES L] . Dimout begins tonight e (Thursday) at sunset at 5:26 e e o'clock. . Dimout ends tomorrow e (Friday) at sunrise at 8:56 e ® am. . |® Dimout begins Friday at e sunset at 5:30 p.m. . 00000000000