The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 20, 1943, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” —_—— | VOL. LX., NO. 9272. JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1943 'MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTJ — THRUST OF OMMEL CRUSHED BY ALLIES Jap’s Vital Marine AMERICAN FOUR (ARGO SSELS ARE | SET ABLAZE Five Hundred Pound Ex- | plosives Are Dropped —Air Battle Reported ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Feb. 20—Striking at Japan's vital merchant marine off | Buin in the Solomon’s, MacArthur’s heavy bombers yesterday damaged four cargo ships aggregating 27,000 tons. Two of the vessels, one 9,000 tons, | the other 7,000, were left blazing from the shattering force of 500- pound bombs. i Two others, 5,000-ton ships, and ! a small troop transport were at-| tacked off Gasmata in the face of a Jap fighter escort, by a single B-25 heavy bomber and also sef afire. | Twelve Zeros jumped on the Am-| erican bomber and in the fight which ensued, two Zeros were seen falling in flames, and a third was believed to be downed. ‘ The bomber returned safely Lo, its home base The Washington Merry - Go-Roun By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert S. Allen on active duty.) | RAF MAKES SECOND RAID WASHINGTON. — Vice Admiral Fred Horne, assistant chief of Nav- | al Operations, has been holding | some quiet blackboard talks with! the House and Senate Naval Affairs Committees, and these talks have been a real step toward Congres- | sional-Executive cooperation. Horne, by his frankness and willingness to admit Navy mistakes, made a bet- ter impression than any other Navy man appearing before Congress. | Horne was high in his praise of our naval officers and men, but frankly admitted that the Navy was caught off guard in the Savo TIsland battle of August 9, just after dropped = another heavy load of the Marines landed at Guadalcanal, |bombs on Wilhelmshaven and other He said there was no excuse for objectives in western Germany last Again Last Night by Heavy Bombs this defeat; that a board of in- | night. ; quiry was now investigating; and‘ Planes also attacked electric there probably would be heavy pen- transformer stations in France last ight alties for the guilty. night. t 2 | Army bombers joined in:the raids d that he Horne sai apparently the YistLpight: captains of the cruisers sunk had | not ordered their men to battle! stations, He also revealed that an| Australian admiral that night was in command of the “screening force” of cruisers and destroyers supposed to be protecting the main task force. Horne admitted that the Austral-\ ian officer and Admiral Kelly Tur-| ner, chief of the Allied task force, | knew & Jap scouting fleet was in the vflcmiw. but. didn't figure lt‘ would visk an attack. The cam-‘ mantiéts - calculated that the earli-| est ‘possible. time the Japs could | reach Savo Island was after day- break “next morning. Therefore the Australian admiral left his flagship, the Canberra,and | spent the night on Admiral Tur-| ner’s flagship 25 miles from the| scene of battle. No orders were given meanwhile to Australian and American officers under Turner and ‘The attack on Wilhelmshaven was the second night raid in a row. ROBINSON STARTS ON (OMEBACK |Beals Calif(ml_ian on Points, in Ten-Rounder Last Night NEW YORK, Feb. 20.—Sugar Ray | Robinson started his comeback trail She’s “Swim for Health” Girl selected the 1943 “Swim for Health Week” girl. wears a smart new two-piece floral acetate jersey bathing et 700 FRENCH ONGERMANY Wilhelmshaven Smashed State of Siege Proclaimed | i LONDON, Feb. 20—RAF bombers A 19-YEAR-OLD Powers model, Patricia Fitzgerald, above, has been Miss Fitzgerald ARE TAKEN INTOULON —May Remove Civil- ians Soon 5 NEW YORK, Feb. 20—A state of | siege has been proclaimed in thei German-occupied French naval city of Toulon on the Mediterranean coast, a Russian broadcast declared | last night. & A Moscow broadcast picked up by the Federal Communications Commission from the Dakar radio said that 700 persons were arrested by the Gestapo and Vichy police during Thursday night and “Ger- man authorities are preparing for \ civil evacuation of the town and port,” the radio report stated. The Vichy radio reported that the Spanish frontier has been made a special zone where no travel isj allowed except by special penmt‘ This section apparently is part| of the German defense plan against the threat of Allied invasion. - | ALASKA HIGHWAY | OPENS NEW LAND FOR PROSPECTING OTTAWA, Feb. 20 — Areas pre- viously unexplored have now been made accessible through' the con- struction of the Alaska Highway |barded Jap positions on Holtz Bay‘ |attack U. |ern Aleutians. No damage was suf- | bombardment |clarified by naval authorities. They | |said they would not comment in| |the absence of additional infor- | ation | This concentration of nearl The fact that the results were| piiain was attacked by U | thern |Conference race last night by de- | beating the Beavers 42-38. {Lions from Alameda to a 33 to 23 | mission was introduced in the House i | | WARSHS HIT ATTU Naval Surface Unit Gives| Aleutian Island Base | Bombardment ‘ WASHINGTON, Feb. 20. — The | Navy reported that American war- | |ships have bombarded Jap positions | on Attu Island, the first report of | any action. by surface units in the Aleutians for many months, The Navy said that on “Febru- ary 18, U. 8. surface forces bom- and Chichagof Harbor on Attu Is-| land but results were not observed. U. S. aircraft shot down two Jap‘ float planes which attempted to S. positions in the wesz-‘l fered to American positions.” The significance of the surface | of Attu was not| not observed was an indication the raid was carried out under cover of fog. One of the main questions went unanswered was the size ofv the American surfa(,e force in the South Pacific. uls steam to fash for safety. “FIRSTSTORY COUGARS IN - OF SINKING LEAD -- BEAT u OF lDAHo Helpless Cruiser Attacked by Five Torpedoes- Down in 19 Minutes By CHARLES McMURTY (Associated Press Correspondent) FROM AN ADVANCE BASE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC, Feb. 10— (Delayed) — This is the first de- {ailed story of the sinking of the cruiser Chicago. (. (By Associated Press) Washington State took a narrow lead over Washington in the Nor- Division Coast Basketball feating Idaho, 53-33. Oregon, meanwhile, Oregon State from the eliminated | race by Halftime scores were Washington State 23, Idaho 19; Oregon 23, Ore- | The crulser Chicago, already pow- gon State 21. crless from two torpedo hits of the Southern California won its 15th | njght before, was being towed slow- straight game by disposing of |y and never had a chance as Jap- Stanford, 67 to 49 in a victory anese torpedo planes attacked that assured the Trojans no worse again on the afternoon of Januaty than a tie for first place for the 30. Eleven planes concentrated on Southern Division. | the cruiser. In another California game, big Five torpedoes headed right for Jim Pollard, former Stanford ace, us. W2 sat there knowing that at led the U. S. Coast Guard’s Sea lcast three or four would hit us” id Lieut. Edward Jarman, 25, of unton, Penn., Air Defense Offi- victory over California in a non- conference tilt. r It was still a minuter or more Lefore they hit. One hit the forward magazine which was already flood- |over to the starboard side. She went {down fast but smooth in 19 min- lutes.” Despite the concentrated attack, PEPTCR w I p E o u T the Chicago lost only six officers and 56 men. TER. AGENCY ¢rpure passes BILL TO LOWER A Dbill to abolish the Alaska Aer-| onautics and Communications Com- vesterday afternon by Rep. Leo OF CHICAGO |ed. Thrge struck aft and she laid SEAL BOUNTIES the Australian, and caught completely off base when the Japs struck at about 1:50 a.m, JAPS CORNERED IN ALEUTIANS On the more optimistic side, Ad- miral Horne reported the United States had sunk a great many Jap | cruisers, and that despite the de- feat at Savo Island we had been cefinitely superior in operauonnl strategy. In the Aleutians the Japs are so completely bottled up, Horne reported, that we probably could wipe them out at any time. Our submarine patrol has been especi- ally effective in these waters, with the result that the Japs are des- . fContinued on Page Four) they were | and these areas will be prospected for oil this summer, geology of- ficials of the Mines and Resources Department announce. - > Japs Claim 3 Sinkings towdrd avenging the only defeat of his career by outpointing Cali- fornia Jackie Wilson in 10 rounds !here last night. | Block-buster Robinson scaled at 142, Wilson at 142%. Although he | ‘nooxed the Californian in the| fourth, Robinson had to go all out |to grab the decision. Associated Press gave Robinson five rounds, Wilson four, one even. | More than 16,000 contributed more | ’l)mn $47,000, the Infantile Paraly- | sis Fund xecewmg a share. « D broadcast picked up here told of a Japanese Navy high command com- munique which claimed that Jap- anese navy planes sank two des- troyers and a large transport in an, attack Wednesday on éscorted con- | PASTOR INSTALLED The Rev. H. Rolland Armstrong was recently installed as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Anchorage. Island, southeast of Guadalcanal, Rogge. ‘The bill proposes that all money, beoks, records and other property |of the Commission be turned over |to the Highway Engineer and also | provides that the duties and func- |tions exercised by the Commission {be vested in the office of the High- |way Engineer. The measure was re- |ferred to the Committee on Roads and Highways. A resolution introduced by Speak- |er James V. Davis, would turn over Ketchikan, Anchorage, College and Nome to the U. 8. Bureau of Mines, together with all equipment, for a period ending April 1, 1945. Rep. Joseph W. Kehoe, ‘dut.ed another bill calling for a com- intro- ling $25000 for this purpose. J The Senate yesterday afternoon passed a bill lowering the bounty on.hair seal to $2 from $3, but ex- panding the area in which the seal may be tdken. Author of the bill is ator Stewart L. Stangroom, The bill will probably be trans- mitted to the House today. It was kept in the Senate yesterday when it was decided that mo bills would be sent tq the House until it agreed o accept the eagle bounty repeal LONDON, Feb. 20—A Tokyo radio Territorially owned assay offices at bill ——e———— LARGEST OFFICE BUILDING The War Department’s new Pen- tagon Building in Washington biggest office building in the world is so large that' four bus stops voys in the area of San Crmobgupuguon of Alaska laws, appropriat- are needed on a road that encircles an inner court, ine Smashed By Bombs mo Jap ships, riding at anchor in the Jap base in the harbor of Rabaul, New | Rommel’s . bombers in another of a series of air blows being dealt against enemy bases White drcles in water show bomb bursts. smnkr frpm craft lmllcnte ships getting $. Air Forces photyy™< By JACK STINNETT | | WASHINGTON, Feb. 20—So f‘dr.‘ full the gray hairs acquired in the | 78th Congress have sprouted on Democratic heads in House and | Senate. | | Whether you belong to either| party—or none at all—I think your| | sympathies should be with the Dem- | ,ocrats. They are having the touzh-' est kind of sledding. The Republi-| cans, for the most part, have noth-| ing *to do but hold their sides in |silent laughter and caution a few of their more verbal confreres to pipe down and let nature take its course. Here are a few outstanding ex- amples: | (1) Nobody had to wait for the vote on Ed Flynn as Minister to Australia to define the predica- mwent of the Senatorial majority Confirmation of Flynn was simply opening the door to the kind of criticism Congress has been sub- ected to for a year or more. It was the “Congressicnal pension case” all over again. In other words they were wrong if they did and wrong if they didn't. To confirm his ap- pointment was to prove that they | were more interested in politics l'yhan the best interests of a na- Jdon in all-out warfare. (At least, bey were assured that would be ‘e way most voters would look at t.) To deny his appointment was 10t _only to go against the Presi- lent’s nomination (which has been lone before) but to tar their own party’s national committee chair- man as unfit personally or pol- ‘tically for foreign serv (2) Without any particular en- ouragement from the Republican ide, the Democrats also have split ver the poll tax issue: the size of the Army; the Federal Communi- ation, sponsored by a Democratic ation Commission investigation sponsored by a Democratic congressman from Georgia; the promised battle over upping the | parity prices on farm products; the new taxes (over which party mem- bers and the Administration are not yet in agreement): continud- tion of the Dies Committee (which G.O.P. members have managed to pass on to the Democrats as their problem) ; and, to some extent, the criticized measures in conduct of the war. The Republican political strat- I (Continued éi\ Page Three) Republicans Giving Democrats the Rope Until Voting Tim REDARMYIS 1. 5. Bombers Atfack JapShlp(oncenlrahon ’TIDE TURNS " INFIGHTING . ~NO. AFRICA iMouniam Defenses Hold Out Against Attacks— Nazi Losses ALLIED HEADQUARTEES IN NORTH AFRICA, Feb. 20—United States and British troops guarding a stabilized mountain line in cen- tral Tunisia, crushed an attempt by Marshal Erwin Rommel’s forces to thrust again toward the Alger- ian base of Tebessa through the passes above Sheitla and Kasserine. | The American tank unit is now at Tabessa. A strong German patrol lost six tanks and six self-propelled guns when it clashed with an Allied bri- gade near Shiba, 20 miles north of Bbeitla. Nazi losses were even heavier as a result of an attack against Am- !erican combat troops at Kasserine | Gap, according to an Allied spokes- | man. | As a result of the setbacks to forces, Allied military | authorities agreed that ‘“the tide | has turned” and the Axis Tunisian {offensive will probably be lmited hereafter to tentative jabs at the Allles’ new mountain line in search | of weak spots. An Allled communique also re- vealed that all American, British and French troops have been with- 'drawn from forward positions in |the Ousseltia Valley running be- {tween mountain chains extending 150 miles southwest of the air base !Pont Du Fahs. This is apparently a limited man- euver and movement from the east- lern to the western line of hills. | A German communique broadcast from Berlin said that nearly 3,000 prisoners, almost all of them Amer- icans, had been captured in the | central Tunisian fighting. ‘The DNB agency broadcast, pick- led up, said that the Americans lost /125 heavy tanks, 50 big gunsand (more than 40 armored cars. ‘The communique also said that ! General sir Harold Alexander, for- mer commander of the British Elgmh Army in the Near East, has assumed personal command of all Allied ground forces in Tunisia un- der the supreme leadership of Gen- |eral Dwight G. Eisenhower, the Allied Headquarters announced. Generals Alexander and Eisen- Along Southern Front to Nonhern Sedors hower have begun shaping plans |for an offensive, although the loss MOSCOW, Feb. 20—Thusting for-of American equipment during the ward along the southern Russian past week is expected to throw the front, the Red Army is today ex- alljed Mmelable off schedule. panding the mains to the north- end sectors along the Kharkov- Kursk railway aiming at both the German held strong-point of Orel to the north and westward to the Dniper industrial valley. This is the brief official com-| munique lssued at noon Loday - JUST BUSINESS DUBOIS, Pa.—"“My people fought‘ under terrible handicaps — fighting for Uncle Sam should be a picnic!” That's what Jack Malamas, 43- year-old Greek confectioner preprietor here 17 years, said when he left to be drafted. And Malamas confident he’s coming back and reluctant to sell his business-—made this deal with his landlord: He'll pay half of his Army salary as rent for the store. If he doesn't survive the war, the owner of the building gets the bu’iill('\'.‘i - STOCK QUOTATIONS o ADVANCING NEW LINE Russian Forces Expanding BIRTH BILL - VETOED BY GOVERNOR Gov. Ernest Gruening this morn- ing vetoed a House bill which pro- vided for the establishment of date and place of birth by hearings be- fore U.S. Commissioners. The House sustained the veto ac- ition, the first of the session by an 8-7 vote, one absent. The Governor said the bill would practically grant citizenship to persons in some cases without these persons having lived up to the regular Federal requirements and he thought the bill dangerous at Qb this time NEW YORK, Feb. 20 Closing = pice: quotation of Alaska Juneau mine ® ® © © ® 9 @ o o o o stock today is 3%, American Can e DIMUGUT TIMES L 81, Anaconda 27'%, Bethlehem Steel @ . 61, Commonwealth and Southern ¢ Dimout begins tonight e 13/16, Curtiss Wright 8, General ® at sunset at 6:05 o’clock. . Motors 477, International H e Dimout ends tomorrow & ter 60%, Kennecott 31%, New Yul)f ® at sunrise at 8:17 am. . Central 13, Northern Pacific 9%, ® Dimout begins Sunday at e United States Steel 52%, Pound e sunset at 6:08 p.m. . $4.04. ® Dimout ends Monday at e * DOW, JONES AVERAGES ® sunrise at 8:14 am. s The following are today's Dow, ® Dimout begins at sunset e Jones averages: industrials 127.80,| e Monday at 6:10 p.m. . rails 2092, utilities 17.02 ‘e o000 00000000