The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, March 18, 1944, Page 1

VOL. XLI., NO. 9604. “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1944 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS == o ———— ] TWO WINS SCORED, SOUTHWEST PACIFIC Paratroopers L JAPS CAUGHT BY SURPRISE, LATESTMOVE Jackie Coogan, GliderJ Pilot, Is First Man fo | Alight in Attack INDIA-BURMA FRONTIER,| March 18.—Briush parachute troop- | ers were dropped behind the linesi in the developing offensive in Nor- thern Burma, where the forces of Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell are| moving to clean the Japanese from | all the territory menacing the Ledo supply road to China. The landing of the paratroopers put the Allied forces a step closer to Myitkyina, hub of the Japanese! defense system in rugged northel‘M Burma. As it now stands, the Japs| are being attacked on five separate fronts in Burma. | (Continued on Page Two) | fe oo | The Washington' Merr Y £ G 0 . Round | nnciu'uu fr om service _dot:\ors, C({asf Guard p»hom. Mayor Lucas Announces Candidafe For April 4 By DREW PEARSON (Lt. Col. Robert S. Allen now on active ! service with the Army.) 1 WASHINGTON — The same old debate over Government-made fer- tilizer which featured the Coolidge and Hoover Administrations is bemfl fought all over again behind the scenes in Washington. In the Hoover and Coolidge Ad- | ministrations, the fight was over the Tennessee Valley power project and the Government nitrate plant there. Today the fight is over the| many nitrate piants which the War Department has erected to make explosives, | Then Tennessee Valley nitrate plant, erected during the last war to make explosives, remained com- pletely equipped to make nitrates for farm fertilizers. tilizer companies, in cooperation with the lobby of the private power companies, fought the operation of a Government nitrate plant tooth and nail. Not until Roosevelt took office in 1933 did the now famous TVA comes into being. Today, the Army has overbuilt its nitrate plants and they face either dismantling or conversion to fer- | tilizer production. The fertilizer lobby already has swung into action and wants the plants dismantled. The farm lobbies have not become | active yet, but farm experts in ‘Washington point out that farmers could use many times as much fer- tilizer as they do now, with great benefit to the farms. These experts urge that demonstrations be held throughout the country to show how farm production can be in- creased by using more fertilizer. TVA has already held demonstra-’ tions in twenty-nine states through the land grant colleges. However, the fertilizer industry remains unconvinced, fearing that tremendous amounts of fertilized will be dumped on the market, lowering prices. They don} even want to take over the Government nitrate plants and operate them for themselves on a private-industry basis, NOTE—Since the post-war dis- posal of Government war plants has| been placed under Will Clayton, ex-member of the Liberty League and world’s biggest cotton king; it is a fairly safe bet that the fer- tilizer industry will have its way. WINE SHORTAGE The liquor shortage has created a tremendous demand for wines. But few people realize that domestic wine production, instead of sky- rocketing, as might be expected, is actually falling off. Total U. S. wine production in 1942 was 112.- 000,000 gallons. In 1943, it fell off to 92,000,000. And 1944 production will be little better. Reason is the Government’s di- version of grapes from wine to (Continued on Page Four) But the fer-| CHILDREN’S HOUR IN THE MARSHALLS rp r THE BATTLE OVER, Coast Guardsman Joe Baldwin, Jr,, Washington, D. devotes his time to making friends with three natives of the Mar- shalls. The children were wounded during our invasion and received (International) He Is Not IN PHOTO FLIGHT i lwith my fellow officers and work- War situation, says a Japanese vic- { |er Credit for the success of the Ma- rine reconnaissance flight which paved the way for the attack on Truk is given to the navigation of Lieut Richard Starnes, above, of Chicago, by Maj James R. Christianson of Salt Lake City, leader of mission. BIGSMASH MADETODAY, U. 5. FORCES BULLETIN — London, March 18.—Very strong forces of Am- erican heavy bombers smashed through German fighter opposi- tion today to attack targets in Southern Germany. The phase indicated that from 700 to 1,000 Fortresses and Liberators were engaged in the smash, Election | Harry 1. Lucas, Mayor and strong Iman cf Juneau’s city government ;101' the last six years, last night {announced his withdrawal from an| |active part im city government. | The announcement came as the I1ast order of business shortly before | the closing of the last council meet- | ling for the 1943-44 administration, | following Mayor Lucas’' report on the activities of his administration | |since 1938. | “I wish to state at this time,” he/ |said, “that I am not a candidate for re-election as Mayor. | " | “I have enjoyed being associated | ALLIES ARE MOPPING UP AT CASSINO | Germans Still Holding Out| ! in Rubble and Caves of Hillside ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN |NAPLES, March 18.—Allied troops jare driving the Germans from one }stl‘ong point after another in the |southwest corner of devastated Cas- |sino and from the rugged hills ex- tending from the town to the mor- astery above. | The Germans continued to hold lout in one corner of the town against the closely coordinated Ail- {lied infantry, tank, and air attacks. | Fluid fighting raged around the| peaks an dridges of the hills west | of the town, the Allies losing one | \height by a German coum,er-anack.i |Indian troops, however, firmly held | | : ‘ | IT PAYS TO BE | i gun can be swung into position trol. It's just too bad for any K \Lhr‘ two others captured. | Newr Zealanders and Indians are |reducing one by one the German | positions in the rubble and caves inf the hillsides. Only patrol activity was reported from the Anzio beachhead. | | Prisoners said that during the terrific bombing on Wednesday, the |Germans took refuge-deep in shel- ters prepared extensively under the town, but that casualties were se- | vere. | SAYSNIPPON YICTORY IS "IMPOSSIBLE SovieHradeJt‘)urnaI‘ Makes Frank, Bold Discussion of War MOSCOW, March 18—The Soviet | Trade Journal, publication of the working classes, in the frankest and | beldest discussion of the Japanese Yank spotted the sick mule on a doctored him back to health. Now MEET THE M-16-Uncle Sam’s new four-barrelled anti-aircraft gun mounted on a half-track. The gun can fire 2,000 .50-caliber missiles (better than 330 a second) at a single target. Motor operated, the at almost any angle almost instantaneously with aid of a single con- enemy the aircraft Yank gunner gets in his sights. (International) IND TO'ANlMA‘ :" R[D TROOPS " WITHIN VIEW OF RUMANIA ‘Soulhern Ukraine Offens- ive Still Unchecked~ Troops Pour In MOSCQW, March 18. — Massed cavalry, infantry and tanks of Mar-| shal Konev's army are pouring deep into the valley of the Dniester across the flocded streams and fields, and are within sight of Bes- |carabia, the latest Soviet commun- ique said. and Behind on Burma Front _NEW FOUR-BARRELLED A. A. GUN HiTs HARD, OFTEN || ORENGAU AIRDROME CAPTURED Two Pronged Attack by Cavalry Division Made | on Manus_ Island 'NIPPONS ARE ROUTED, BOUGAINVILLE ATTACK Liberators Make Surprise Night Raid on Java- Bali Airdrome Hit | ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, March 18. ]~The capture of Lorengau air- |drome on the newly invaded Manus {Island in the Admiralties, and a complete breakdown of the enemy’s counter-offensive at Empress Au- gusta Bay on Bougainville Island in the Solomons, twin triumphs over the Japanese, are announced in Gen. Douglas MacArthur's com- munique today. ' ‘The Lorengau airstrip fell Thurs- day, a two pronged attack from the north apd, west ;Lruopers of the First sion. } American destroyers contributed broadsides to the job, then the trocpers tcok the airstrip and (pressed southward to the town of {Lorengau, eliminating strong enemy ‘pm boxes, mortar and tank fire, | On Bougainville The final rout of the enemy on | Bougainville was achieved Tues- day when the enemy made a strong bé;v-lry Divi- and desperate bid for victory and were successfully and decisively de- feated and beaten back. Only rem- nants remain to be cleaned up. Java Attacked Liberator heavy bombers, probab- | most faithful mule on the pack trail. | PVT. ROBERT STEINMETZ of Pittsburgh, Pa., is proud of his private pack mule “Red,” who hauls supplies to U. S. troops on the Italian front. The farm and bought him for $5, then he boasts of the hardest working and (International) “ion from Dubno in eastern Poland| The Red Army has smashed for-|]y Australian based, surprised the ward to within seven miles of “‘BJJ:’IDMN‘N‘ invaders on Java in a Dniester, the prewar boundary into njght raid especially directed as | Rumania, in an unchecked "“E“'Jsoembajm The lights were still on | sive. |when the big planes were over the | In one sector units captured\wm“ but they were soon extin- {Tomashpol and drove to Within 12|, sheq ana antiaircraft went into {miles of a good highway which ex-) 5o, “No planes were damaged as |tends northeastward to the north- o ae: s getaway after drop- jern end of the Ukrainian front. | ping bornbs, | arshal Shukov's new drive swept | Libiritoke - abioo hic the B and feel that we have accom-| plished and done a great deal for| !the people of Juneau. | “I feel sure that most of the| | people appreciate the good work | that has been done by this and; jother councils in the past. I want {to thank eévery member of the {council for their untiring efforts in | helping to make our-administration a success. | "I do not hesitate in stating that |T am proud of our record. I will jdo all T can to assist the new coun- icil in any way I can to promote the ‘welfare of our city. | “I shall continue to live here and| to work for the betterment of the City of Juneau.” i | Report Given { In a detailed report, Mayor Lucas summed up the accomplishments land record of the administration [which he has headed for the six years. Valuations of property in 1937, be- (fore Mayor Lucas became mayor, were $5,683,683. eLast year’s valua- tions stood at $7,552,160, an increase of real and personal property. In! 1937 with the tax rate at 18 mills,| the city’s tax income was $102,306, and last year, with the tax rate at 17% mills, the income was $132,162,| a large increase even though the| tax rate was lowered. | In 1937 the city had a bonded in- debtedness of $210,000, and in 1933/ another $141400 in bonds were is-| sued for paving of streets and side- walks, sewer construction and the boat harbor work. ! Since 1938 some $89,400 in bonds have been redeemed and the in- debtedness now stands at $262,000. (Continued on Page Two) |Japanese fleet does “not dare to of almost $2,000,000 in the values|, tory is “impossible.” The Trade Journal also says the begin active operations anymore.” The magazine also says the “spirit of the Japanese people is sinking"” and declared great alarm has been caused in the country by the offic- ial declaration that plane produc- tion rate in the United States is phenomenal. RUSSIANS MOVING UP FINN AREA Truckloads of Troops and Material Heading fo | ™%, b0 bernard sarucn, New Fron" Repon {failure to prepare for peace might ieven be more catastrophic than fail- . jure to prepare for an inevitable 'KHOLM, March 18—Heavy yqp here jsn't much disagreement Russian troop movements in the ” vicinity of Kandalaksha, bebind the PeT¢ OR that score. The proviecs northern Finnish front, is reported are already with us. Thousands of in a Berlin dispatch to the news- men in the military forces are be- paper Svenska Dagbladet. |ing discharged monthly. Many of The dispatch' said truckloads ()‘!,them are partially dnsgbled and all troops and material have been|Of them have to have jobs or othe: heading to the Russian front in a|¥ise be reinducted into normal civ- steady stream in recent weeks. tilian life. Scores of plants produc- ——— ing military supplies are being e o o o o WEATHER REPORT (U. 8. Bureau) . Of Baruch BY JACK STINNETT WASHINGTON, March 18. — In lcoming months, you are going to hear a good deal more about the Baruch-Hancock reconversion re- port. In spite of criticisms from James G. Patton, president of the Nation- al Farmer’s union, and other quar- ters and a good deal of grumbling {from the still rebellious Congress, |the general feeling here is that it is 8 good blueprint for preparation for peace on the home front. . o |anticipation of early victory, but o {Recause war needs have changed or o|8tocks on hand have exceeded the o | Wildest estimates of future needs. . ° Temp. Friday, March 17 Maximum 44; Minimum 38 ® o o 0 0 When the war ends, about $35- Reconversion Repori Cause Lot of Dispufes o|closed down-—not. because of any, |threatening the large area east of jthe headwaters of the Bug River. | The troops are less than 60 miles |miles from the Curzon line, and spreading in several directions, There s bad weather, and the igrraz wheat fields are knee deep in MORERAIDS BEING MADE IN PACIFIC Bases in Carolines, Marsh- alls Are Hit at Low Hancock fo MORE 000,000,000 in contracts will have to| {be cancelled tmmediately. On hand| J‘there may be 20 or 30,000,000,000 dollars of surplus supplies to dis- pose of. In less than a year, five or six million .men will be dumped ( {on the labor market. | The argument now—and it’s go- !ing to get pretty stormy as llmel |goes on—is over the methods of| |settling all these problems. { The principal controversy, as t| generally is, is between Congress, and the White House. Baruch and mi !John M. Hancock were appoim(-'d; levels' Says Nlm"z by the President to make their re-| port. War Mobilizer James F,|] UNITED STATES PACIFIC Byrnes, acting on the report im- FLEET HEADQUARTERS IN | mediately after it was made, ap- PEARL HARBOR, March 18— !pointed William L. Clayton, Texas Army, Navy and Marine fliers con- cotton exporter, generally considered ‘inued low level attacks on Japan- |“a Jesse Jones man,” as coordina- ©5¢ holdings in the Central Pacific tor of surplus property dlsposnls;}hwd‘:?sg‘n‘;; ;;:’:dg"x:";:a;“:z‘;‘;d and Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines,| o head of the Veterans' Administra- POr. Made in Friday's communique. tion, as coordinator of reemploy-| ;lavy wmc,h platien bogibed. Bin» ment and retraining. |gelap and Ofoluk Islands, the east- |ern approaches to Truk, marking | g ithe third strike at Oroluk. | Congress immediately got its! Mitchell bombers, dive bombers back up. Legislation to handle the and Hellcat fighters teamed up in | whole reconversion program already POunding three enemy bases in the was on file. Most important was the eastern Marshalls. {btlt proposed by Bem. Waitér P.| Admiral Chester W. Nimitz wos |able to say again that all planes returned safely to bases. (Continued on Page Two) | |at Bali, and explosions followed. | In both attacks the planes made |a 2,000 mile trip without loss, the | communique states. YANKPLANES OVER REICH, NOON TODAY \Varied Raids on Europe | Made by Britain and ltaly-tgased Craft | LONDON, March 18.—American’ |and British planies were thrown against the continent in an aerial {offensive with renewed force today. Berlin broadcasts said that strong | American bomber ' {ormations were | roaring over southwestern Germany |at noon. The forays followed night blows {by Royal Air Force Mosquitoes against unnamed targets. The Berlin broadcast said the American bomb~ (€rs were éscorted by fighters which engaged in violent battles with strong forces of the German air defense. An air raid alert sounded at Basle, Switzerland, was followed up yester- day by far flung blows by Italy- based American heavies against Vienna. | British-based planes attacked communications in France and Hol- {land. The Vichy radio said 22 bomb- ers and 12 fighters were lost in the Vienna attack.