The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, March 23, 1943, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1943 VOL. LX., NO. 9298. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTY — | AMERICANS PLAN CUTTING AXIS LINES Soviets Push Back Nazis In Donets Sector U.5.TROOPS RED ARMY BATTLING BIG FORCE Hurl Off Superior Numbers | in Southern Area-Ad- vance, North Front MOSCOW, March 23. — Battling numerically superior forces front, long columns of the Red Army in the northern Donets Riv- er sector have pushed back every Nazi effort to cross the waterway.| On the Central front, the Red Army continues the drive on Smo- lensk. On the southern front the fight- ing continues violent especially in the Chuguev and Belgorod sectors. | in- | creasing numbers of infantry be-| The Germans are employing hind their mass tank and plane attacks, but no serious denting ‘of the Soviet line along the long river front has been made. The Soviets continue to hold sev- eral positions on the Western bank and the noon communique said Soviet artillery fire dispersed one enemy concentration in the Chu- guev area which is 20 miles south- east of Kharkov. “The Germans were hurled back | with heavy losses” the noon com- munique claims. - ALERT THURSDAY On Thursday evening at 7:15 o'- | clock there will be a practice alert, it was announced today by R. E Robertson, Director of Civilian De- fense. ———-e IMMUNIZATION CLINIC PLANNED FOR TOMORROW Immunization clinic—to be held tomorroy, Wednesday, at 10 am in the Health Center—will include vaccinations against smallpox and diphtheria. The Washington Merry -Go-Round | By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on sctive duty.) | his- | WASHINGTON. — Railroad 1 tory was recently made, largely ,as the result of a battle by a Mary- land farmer who exposed a deal;§ between J. P. Morgan and the many-times financed Erie Rail- | road to refinance it again without benefit of competitive bidding — | and without benefit to the stock- | holders. 1 Back in Civil War days the Erie was the object of a historic fin- ancial battle, when Jay Gould and | Daniel Drew stole its books, fled | to New Jersey, and proceeded to issue paper stock beyond the reach of the .stockholders. J. P. Morgan, the elder, and Commodore Vander- | bilt fought them in this deal. In World War II, the long bank- rupt Erie, put through several re- celvmhlpa. has been carrying rec- ord’ quantities of war goods and | making money hand over fist. So| Morgan, Stanley and Company (offshoot of J. P. Morgan) secret- | ly negotiated the refinancing of $14,000,000 of Erie bonds held by the RFC. i This time the battle was between | Morgan and midwest bankers who | were not allowed to bid. But Mor- gan’s chief opponent actually turned | out to be Eugene Casey, who owns | two farms near Washinzton which | i i he calls “New Deal Farm No. 1" and “New Deal Farm No. 2,” and who also happens to own some stock in the Erie Railroad Because of Casey’s loyalty to FDR he is on the White House | staff as farm adviser, but he| fought the Erie deal as a private | individual, and incidentally deliv- ered before the Interstate Com- | merce Commission one of the most scathing speeches since Roosevelt's “banking speech” March 4, 1933. “I hope,” he told the 1.C.C.’ “that S Ly 5 ST B RS (Continued on Page Four) the | Germans continue to pour on the| 1 | | AN ALASKAN OUTPOST is a pretty cold place for anyone, but when a } fellow comes from Texas it's even tougher on the teeth. Here's Marine Pyt. T. H. Bunn, of Laredo, scanning the horizon for enemy planes. He's standing beside the shield of an anti-aircraft gun. (International> Proposal for Bedrock Living Levels Bring Most Terrific Howls By HERMAN ALLEN A chorus of gasps went up from American throats with a “bedrock wartime economy plan” outlined by the WPB’s Office of Civilian Supply. It proposéd, tentatively, levels of civilian co !sumption of goods and services in the event of a long war. PERFECT WAAC | of | state of siege—just a long W The report ’ stated certain ]’)Pl- | centages of peacetime consumption, based on 1939 or 1941 in most cases. it sounded pretty grim, but OCS and Jimmy Byrnes' Office of Economic Stabilization, which asked OCS to prepare the report, and| they cleared up two important| things: 1. As it stands, the “plan” a plan at all, but a starting po for study which may finally lesult in a plan. It is not a recommend- ation for action. 2. If a “bedrock” plan ever is| put into effect, it probably will be a lot grimmer Al most respects than !the schedule now under consider- | ation. Proposals Devised Hurrledlv Actually, a good many of the provisions of the present proposal {already are in effect. is simple. m|l pretty much in the dark in some respects—and there wasn't time to! work out a really bedrock . figure| for all items. Nor was Byrnes really 1C0ncerned about getting an abso- |lutely final figure at that time. | “All we wanted,” a spokesman for {his office told me, “was something that we could pass around among all the agencies involved and say | ‘What do you think of this?’ Likely — |25 not, theyll disagree—but that’s | just what we want to know. | want to get them started thinking about it and working on it. We're Miss Jane A. Whiteman (above), 21, Fort Worth, Texas, met per- fectly with the WAAC physical specifications, the first woman enlisted at Dallas, Tex., to do so, army doctors said. Her height was given at 5 feet, 7 inches, weight 143 pounds and a perfect bust measurement of 36 inch CONFIRM APPOINTMENTS The Senate yesterday afternoon jconfirmed the Governor's appoint- ments of James C. Cooper of Ju- neau, and Marshall Crutcher of | Ketchikan as members of the Board of Accountancy. D ® 0000000000 WEATHER REPORT (U. 8. Bureau) Temp. Monday, March 22: Maximum 34, minimum 28. Snow on ground, 1 in. ® 0 9 % 9 0 0 ¢ for their figuring.” Manpower Considered In the case of non-durable toys and recreation equipment, for in- ance, the tentative bedrock esti- others. OCS just took the present situation, as reflected by WPB or- ders stoppmg or cutting pruducuan disclosure | Not an| invasion of the United States or a| talked with a couple of fellows in| The reason/ The plan was gotten up| in fairly ;much of a hurry—and| We | just giving them a starting poml' mate was more hasty than most: BOMBERS IN BIG SMASH, DAY, NIGHT British Hit Two Sections as U. S. Fliers Attack Wilhelmshaven LONDON, March 23.—Squadrons of the RAF's big bombers smashed the German submarine base at St. Nazaire last night in the wake of a heavy assault on Wilhelmshaven by Liberators during yesterday. British Whirlwind fighter bomb- ers also blasted the railway targets at Brittany during the night’s op- | erations at the cost of one plane, | the British Air Ministry announces. The assault on Wilhelmshaven is described as one of the heaviest! "md most accurate yet delivered by4 |the American fliers who have at-| l«\(‘l\('d the base twice before and | directed hits on shipping installa- | ‘Uun\ in the Luget area. JUNGLE UNITS ADVANCING IN NEW GUINEA Over 700 Japs Are Killed- Mambare River Area Now Occupied ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, March 23.— Today's | communique announces that Al- lied Jungle troops are advancing |slowly on the northern coast of |New Guinea and have already killed more than 700 Japs, completely accupying the Mambare River area less than 40 miles south of the Jap wlmnghold at Salamaua. “ The moves have taken the Amer- icans more than 40 miles beyond the Papuan Peninsula where 1,500 of the enemy was wiped out. Allied bombers and fighters yes- | terday, with the aid of long range | vighters, caused heavy damage In a coordinated attack on Gas- |mata, New Britain, three enemy H:lunes were shnt duwn ;FIRST LADY OF CHINAIN CHICAGO TALK ,Calls All to Support Men Who Fathered At- lantic Charter | CHICAGO, March 238. — Madame i Chiang Kai Shek declared here |that “we should all support the |men who fathered the Atlantic Charter,” after readihg British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's ‘%unday radio address. “We must think not only in terms of good ones for our own country {hut the good of other peoples,” the First Lady of China said addressing |a mass meeting at the Chicago | Stadium. Madame Chiang Kai Shek assert- jed that failure of the League of Nduons and other earlier groups of ‘pm‘ er “must not invalidate the pos- sibility and necessity of a concert- ed effort of the United Nations in |winning the present conflict and then preserving peace.” - - Factory inspection became a re- sponsibility of the British govern- ‘ment in 1833, American flying fortresses and | | | | % sition, to , buildings and other installations on | 1!Madang, Finsvhafen and Lae [ o o AFTER THE STORM_only the rounded tin roofs of Quonset huts, homes of U. S. Navy airmen, are visible after a three-day blizzard swept this air base in Alaska. (Governorls Handed $4,335,861 General Appropnahons The Governor eral appropriations bill yesterday afternoon, the House agreeing to concur in the amendments written in by the Senate after a short conference session. Mowing down the minority oppo- both Houses joined efforts to get the bill to the Governor by yesterday with an appropriation for the Department of Labor included in it, so that the bill will be due back in the House before the Leg- islature adjourns for good Thurs- day. The Senate started out at 5 a.m. vesterday on the bill after Senator by asking for H. H. McCutcheon, a reconsideration of his vote, hai held the bill in the Senate an extra | | the Territorial Treasurer day. When the House received the bill later, it refused to concur in the Senate amendments, and asked that the Senate recede. The Senate re- fused to recede and Speaker James V. Davis and President O. D. Coch- appointed members of a con- committee to settle the dif- Coffey, Hjalmar Nordale xecvwed the m’n- and N. R. Walker. House members ' were Leo Rogge, Harvey Smith,and! R. E. Hardcastle.' Short Conference The committee came back in |less than a half hour with the rec- ommendation that the House con- cur in the Senate amendments. The House did so. Another attempt to hold the bill another day then was made by | | Rep. Stanley J. McCutcheon, who | was ruled out of order by Speaker Davis and did not appeal the rul- ing. The amended bill now contains appropriations amounting to $4,- 335,861.39. Changes made by the | Senate are as follows s. Senate members were Ed- | Office of to carry into effect the School Tax Act Added $213,65¢ under Support of Added $500 under the Schools to allow for increases in teachers’ salaries Roads Cut Knocked $50,000 off of the ap- propriation for roads, making it $250,000. (Continued on Page Five) FDR Sefs Example on Rewriting of Leffers; Peity Tyrants Scored PACIFIC IS QUIET, BUT WATCH OUT WASHINGTON, March 23.—Sec- retary of Navy Frank Knox today caid the Pacific is very quiet at the moment but “this may be the calm before the storm. War is still on cut there, very much.” The subject of the Pacific came up when Secretary Knox was asked it a conference with the newsmen apout the fact the Navy casualty iist issued last night contained only nine names, The only direct comment on the list was “don’t make any deductions regarding that total. Casualties are changing constantly, as you know.” - - About 75 percent of the lawn mower industry has been converted 'to war production, By JACK INN T WASHINGTON, March 23. — This happened some time ago but the eflect of it is spreading. The conservationists in government jobs had been harping for weeks on the waste of manpower and paper resulting from the fact that petty tyrants in the government insist on having letters re-written if there is a single transposition of letters, one misspelled word, or an out-of- place comma. ‘The tirade had had little effect until President Roosevelt, writing to Congress withdrawing the nomi- nation of Ed Flynn as minister to Australia, wrote in ink “at his own request” over the typewritten lines. Some estimates are that there has been a 50 per cent decline in ‘write-this-over-again” orders since the President set that example. A sovernment supervisor told me re- ently that government bureaus in Washington alone could save 25,000 8-hour working days a year if ink- correctable letters didn’t have to be rewritten. Untold stories of Guadulcanal keep drifting back. This one comes «Continued on Page Five) '3 GOVERNORS HOLD HONORS WITH GOPERS Bn(ker Sallonstall Stas- sen Toplight Presdeni- | fial Candidates PHOENIX, Arizona, March 23.— |Gov. John W. Bricker, of Ohio is one of the “men to keep your eye on between now and the Republican | National Convention,” Bruce Bar- ton, former New York Congressman told GOP leaders at a meeting here. | . Barten listed Gov. Bricker, Gov. Leveret Saltonstall of Massachu- |setts, and Gov. Harold E. Stassen jof Minnesota as the topflight Re- | publican candidate possibilities. Wilkie's name was pointedly mis- ising from all conversation: > LEWIS NOT TO RETREAT - IN DEMANDS President of United Mine [ Workers States Posi- tion Emphahca!ly WASHINGTON, March 23.—Pres- ident John L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers today served a dual {notice on the Government that he | :ontemplates no retreat on the wage and stabilization front while the War Labor Board announced its rejection of the labor petition to lift the wage boost 15 percent as the living cost allowance. Lewis also served notice on the coal operators their dispute must be settled like any other dispute Lewis’ statement put a damper on spgculation that the Govern- ment might yield at least to the extent of appointing a agency to hear his case Lewis has been lambasting Chair- man Davis of the WLB and un- plied he will not submit the min- ers' demands to that agency be- cause Davis is absolutely prejudiced e FIRE IN WASTEPAPER BASKET CALLS FIREMEN Fire in a wastepaper basket in the apartment of Marie Weston in the Steinbeck apartments, that burst suddenly into flames, called out the Juneau Volunteer Fire De- partment shortly before 9 o'clock this morning. The blaze was quickly snuffed and the damage was slight, | special ‘d(-:pme a !the Axis TAKE OVER MAKNASSAY Capture 'C'iwrihen Move Gulfward-Montgomery Inside Mareth Line ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, March 23—~The American forces have ptured Maknassay and are now slashing toward the sed to cut the Axis com- munications, the official commun- ique says. Field reports also said parts of (the British Elghth Army have ‘:v«opt a wide arc around the Mar- eth lines and this forenoon were many miles inside the line. While the American forces un- | der Lieut. Gen. George Patton, Jr., stabbed less than 34 miles from the Gulf of Gabes, continuing east of Maknassay, other forces, including Montgomery's Eighth Army swung |a mighty frontal blow at Rommel's | Mareth Line. Today's communique says opera- tions are going ahead on schedule itter contest put up by orces yesterday which at- tempted a mighty counter-attack but was repulsed. Seventeen hun- d red Axis soldiers were taken pri- By ~weepmg around the south- west flank of the Mareth Line, the forces are facing strong German concentrations of tanks and artil- lery. Patton’s forces are moving along on the southerly road toward Mez- zouna. A complicated trench system Iis reported encountered by Montgom- forces which is supported by cross fire from machine guns. Maneuvering of fronts appear however to be directed at breaking the Axis forces into two or three pockets. KISKA HIT - BYBOMBS, 21STTIME One largerFiré Started in Sunday Raid But Other Results Unobserved WASHINGTON, March 23.—The Navy communique issued this after- noon says that on “March 21, two groups of Army Liberator heavy bombers and Mitchell medium bombers with fighter escort, at- tacked Jap positions at Kiska. Ex- cept for one large fire started other results were not observed.” The raids Sunday brought the total of American air attacks on Kiska, so far reported to a total of 21. > INDIAN RIVER TRAIL (LOSED TO CIVILIANS The United States Forest Service announces that, due to the present war emergency, the Indian River Irail in the vicinity of Sitka, is ne lenger open to civilian traffic. How- ever, the Mt. Verstovia, Heartlake ind Blue Lake trails, also in the vicinity of Sitka, remain open to hikers and recreationists. , This is the announcement made by John H. Brillhart, Acting Divis- ion Supervisor. l DIMOUT TIM Dimout begins tonight at sunset at 7:18 o'clock. Dimout ends- tomorrow at sunrise at 6:51 am. Dimout begins Wednesday at ® 720 am looooovoo,oot- . . B . . ° . ° i ] d g PR TSI TTDER 1 SRS B Do DA Sy S IonY