The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, April 8, 1944, Page 1

VOL. XLI, NO. 9621. U.S. NAVY FORCE Ml PLANEDOWN NEAR NOME; SIXKILLED SEATTLE, April 8.—Wreckage of a Pan American Airways plane, with six aboard, all dead, has been located ten miles east of Nome in the Airways Alaska sector, officials here announce. The plane was missing Thursday on a schduled flight on the Nome- Fairbanks air route. The dead are Capt. Robert Bullis, pilot; Flight mechanic Fred Moller, Theodore Seltenrich, Eric Koton- gen, Billy Murray and Rew Wilson. There are no other particulars. e GIRAUD-DEGAULLE IN HOT CONFERENCE ALGIERS, April 8.—Gen. Henri Giraud has refused to step down as Commander-in-Chief of the French armed forces and has challenged | Gen. DeGaulle to oust him. The 30-minute conference between the two is described as “disagreeable.” The Washingion Merry - Go- Round By DREW PEARSON (Lt. Col. Robert S. Allen now on active service with the Army.) WASHINGTON—This column re- cently reported certain flagrant cases of war plant loafing. It should also be pointed out that no- where has loafing become a finer art than in the Congress of the United States. In all fairness, it should be noted that this is not true of the great majority of Congressmen, who work | hard, earn more than their salaries,| and are a credit to the nation. But a rabid, rabble-rousing minority spoils the reputation of the ma- Jority. Also, there has developed more quibbling and dawdling over MAJOF], . giration headed by Harry Lucas| Army; Allen Shattuck of hie Amer. | issues than ever before in recenb ... .. . fine job for the city in|ican Red -Cross; Leonard Allen of, years. War bas speeded up the nation’s production but not its leg- islative machinery. For more than “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, SA DAY, APRIL 8, 1944 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS Hayes Takes | One of the largest groups in many years filled up the City Council chambers last night as in- terested Juneauites turned out to| see the retiring city administra-| tion hand over the jobs to the| Inewly elected officials. ‘ Mayor Harry I. Lucas called the| old council together for the last Over Mayor's | RAIDED BY _ChairHere, U.5.PLANES WAKDE ISLE Widely Separated Atfacks| Made on Bases and Enemy Shipping | ALLIED H;A;QUARTERS IN| THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, April 8.—Allied planes in widely separated time, heard reports on the Work of | g¢iqops sank an oil-laden enemy various departments and cleaned | yocce) set fire to a 7,000-ton mer- | up other routine business, then the | poytman, and hit Wakde Island | new officers stepped forward and peqr Hollandia for the first time,| were sworn in by City Magistrate General Douglas MacArthur an- M. E. Monagle and the new muyor}nounces today. and councilmen made their way to| The merchant ship suffered two, their chairs with handshakes all: direct hits and was last seen blazing around. fiercely in the Wewak area of the 3 STATEHOOD FOR ALASKA OPPOSED, 4 DEPARTMENTS War, Navy, Justice, Infer- ior Want No Action Un- til After Present War WASHINGTON, April 8.—Legis= lation to give Statehood to Alaska should be delayed until after the! war. Four Departments of the Gov~ ernment have made this report to Alaska Delegate A. J. Dimond, who' in turn has made the report pub- lic. The War, Navy, Justice and Interior Depgrtments have made res= ports on Dimand’s bill that would: add the Forty-Ninth Star to Old Glory by taking in Alaska as a state. 3 Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes said: “I believe statehood s} NEW BLOWS | Two Are Shotin AXIS FORCES STRUCKAT Head:Bodiesin ARE FLEEING BRUNSWICK Blasted - German | Radio Boasts ; LONDON, April 8—Strong for- mations of Fortresses, flying against the Germans for the first time in days, and Liberators, blasted air- eraft industries at Brunswick. The new blow at the enemy’s air German broadcast which said ‘heavy bombers attempted a raid on rlin in a pre-Easter blow " but “suffered one of their heaviest de- feats, and none of the formations was able to cross the Elbe.” 1esources was announced earlier by | Before Councilman Ralph Beist- line made the motion to adjourn the retiring council, Councilman Harry Lea paid a short tribute to the accomplishments of the outgo- ing administration, and then May- or Lucas expressed his appreciation | for the fine ccoperation of the members of the council and all city employees during his administra- tion. “I hope the incoming mayor will receive the same 100 percent cooperation I have received and I know his year will be an outstand- ing one,” said Lucas. Hayes Takes Chair Mayor A. B. Hayes called the new council to order and City Clerk Jack Kearney called the roll—Don Skuse, Oscar Harri, Dr. William M. Whitehead, Harry Lea, Ed Shaf- fer and Elroy Ninnis. A Mayor Hayes then asked if any- one in the audience wished to be heard, after giving a brief talk thanking the retiring officers for their work for Juneau and expres- sing a hope that “even though you are getting out of the harness, you will still be called on to promote the welfare of Juneau.” Ernie Parsons, former council- man, among those in the audience arose and spoke briefly. “I think we all feel,” he said, “that the ad- more than one respect. The new mayor has a job cut out for him {in an unsettled period and we have _1if§ Clare Hoffman of Michigan three months, the House and Sen ate hemmed and hawed over a tax Yill, only to bring forth a mouse. An almost equal amount of time| was frittered away in passing a sol- aders’ vote bill which did not give sétvice men as much voting privil- ege as they had before. "Walk into the gallery of the House | . Representatives almost any afternoon and you will find men and John Rankin of Mississippi bel- lowing by the hour on picayune po- litical matters far removed from, the issues for which U. S. troops @uerseas are giving their lives. (2] gl A SAMPLE AFTERNOON IN THE HOUSE }most any afternoon it is the same story. Take the afternoon of March 27. The House met that day at.12 noon and adjourned at 4:22 p.-m. During more than half of the four-hour and 22-minute ses- sion, members were forced to lis- ten to a gum-beating contest be- tween Representative Hoffman, who was delivering a tirade against Walter Winchell, and Representa- tive Ralph E. Church of Illinois, who was making a political stump speech against the Kelly Demo- cratic machine in Chicago. Several times, Herman Eberharter of Pennsylvania and Adolph Sabath of Illinois, chair- man of the Rules Committee, broke in with appeals to the chair and to Hoffman to desist. But Hoffman roared them down. “We are wasting the time of all members of this House on the floor, when important legislation is com- ing up,” Eberharter implored. “Why don't we get on with the business of the House " But Hoffman bellowed on. Time is no object to the jabbering Mich- igander, nor does he worry about the $45 a page paid by the taxpay- ers for printing his outbursts in the Congressional Record. Hardly had Hoffman finished, when his windy colleague, Con- gressman Church, took up the cud- gels. Church and Sabath clashed violently over whether the Kelly machine was “stealing pennies” (Continued on Page Four) ithat {all of the confidence in the world {in the new setup.” | Mayor Hayes then pointed out his administration expects criticism, that it is impossible to please all of the people, but that the council will do all it can for New Guinea coast, and the oil tanker | was sent to the bottom near Timor, | Dutch East Indies. Australian Beaufighters, in addi- tion, have sunk two barges, and fired two others. One of the Allied planes failed to return from this | attack. | Wakde is 110 miles west of Hol- landia. Twenty-nine tons of bom! plummeted on its airdrome, and !many explosions resulted. | Four enemy planes were seen in | the air during the Wakde raid, but refused to fight. | AID FOR SOLDIERS RETURNING HERE BEING DISCUSSED. Care of the returning soldier is| now-under discussion in Juneau and | has already resulted in two import- | |ant meetings being held. One meet- ing was held as a preliminary on/ April 3 and the second was held | yesterday at the local United States Employment Service office and was | attended by the following: George | Gullufsen, Al Zenger, and Waino | Hendickson of the American Legion; | Capt. T. J. Dyke of the Salvation | | the Office of Indian Affairs; John | McCormick of the Seletcive Service; | Russell G. Maynard of the Depart- | ment of Public Welfare; Dr. James | C. Ryan of the Territorial Depart- ment of Education; Hugh Wade of | the Social Security Board; A. A. Hedges of the War Manpower Com- | mission, and Jack Carvel of the U.| S. Employment Service. A brief account of what transpired 'of Alaska, however, there are sever- desirable and the ultimate stat This recalled a similar claim on Thursday when Fifteenth Air Force al reasons that I believe statehoodibombers based in Italy raided the is not appropriate at the presentiGerman held Croatian capitdl of time and for these reasons I recoms mend the bill be not enacted et this session of Congress.” Other Objections The Department of Justice sug- gested a change in the bill regard- ing the judicial setup provision re- quiring persons hold Federal court appointments be citizens of Alaska. The Department said such a provi- sion is not required in other judi- cial circuits. The Navy objects to turning over, all public unappropriated land 10 the state saying it will operate to make more costly the establishment of military and naval reservatioas and possibly affect the huge Naval oil reserves in the Territory. The War Department said it has no objection to the bill but asked| it be deferred until after the war. | Ickes Again Secretary Ickes said economy in| Alaska has not yet been firmly es-| tablished and added that before as-| suming statehood, the Territory should \be prepared to assume var-: ious governmental and financidl re- | sponsibilities. He objected particu-| larly to that section of the bill| that provides the proposed state re-| tain all public property and Alli vacant unappropriated land sec-| tions. He objects to turning over to| the state the tremendous natural| resources acquired by the United| Zagreb. German announcements boasted that their fighters inflicted Room in Hotel {Air Nests at Berlin Are'Tragedy in Fairbanks Re- vealed-Victims Are Man and Wife FAIRBANKS, Alaska, April 7.— Albert Fengstad. 87, trapper and fisherman, and Mrs. Julia Fengstad, his wife, were found shot in the | head yesterday afternoon in a local ' hotel. The woman was lying normally | in bed and the man's body was on the floor beside with a 22 pistol nearby. The bodies were discovered when a passing roomer glanced through; Ithe door, slightly ajar, and could| see part of the man's body on the floor beside the apparently sleeping | weman on the bed. Several roomers recalled hearing| shots about 2:30 o'clock yesten‘myJ morning and earlier sounds of an “one of the greatest strategical de- argumept had been heard. NATIS FLOOD feats suffered so far by the Allies.”| The Fengstads are reported io Returning crewmen reported only have been estranged. She has been moderate resistance. Sixteen were Working in the hotel here for the shot down and three bombers were past three weeks and he came here| lost. |from Anchorage on Thursday. Air Nests Bomber | ST - s TR American announcements disclos-| ed that the larger portion of the M AYOR OF 500 to 750 bombers slammed explo-' Frank Peratrovich, recently elect- | sives on the sprawling city 110 miles west of Berlin, and others, es-| ‘cd mayor of Klawock and candid- ate for the Territorial House of corted by hundred of fighters, aim-; | Representatives from the First Di- ed crippling blows at Nazi air nests| in Berlin. | The broadcasts described the, vision on the Democratic ticket, is 'now in Juneau on a pre-election trip throughout Southeast Alaska. reat air battles as extending from.. the German borders on into the | In addition to holding the may- ,or's chair at Klawock for many heart of the Reich. | Brunswick was last hit by Am-: erican heavies on March 23. | years, Peratrovich is also president of the AFL Alaska Purse Seiner's Union, a position which he has held for five years. This union is made up of resident fishermen. | States and held for the benefit of| LONDON, April 8.—A small sec- all its people. | tion of Flanders has been flooded by Ickes also objects to turning over| the Germans destroying the canal to the proposed state, control of me} banks, the Begian News Agency fisheries and suggested that beforo| Imbell reported, adding that the statehood, the Territory cooperate MaJor river and sea dikes have not with the Federal agencies program|Yet been breached to inundate really A veteran of World War I and member of the American Legion, Peratrovich is 40 years old. He is a graduate of Chemawa, Oregon,| school and also attended Haskell Institute in Kansas in addition to receiving a degree from business college in Salem, Oregon. i TA at the first meeting was read and| Luecas spoke b(iefly, telling of hu-|ater lengthy and interesting discus- morous incidents that had happen-|gion it was decided that the group ed in hi§ six years as mayor. should meet monthly and keep each Health Matter agency advised as to what the par- The new council received a letter |ticular plans are to aid returning from Dr. C. C. Carter, Territorial|veterans. Commissioner of Heaith, urging| One of the important problems that the city take action-to match |that was considered was vocational Territorial funds for the city’sprehabilitation. With this in mind, a nursing service by appropriating $1,600 for the year, the same as last year, for this purpose. Mayor Hayes said he would refer the matter to the Committee cn Finance as soon as it is appointed. The council also voted to provide Wfor the customary annual audit of could be started in the Territory at the municipal books, awarding the job to James C. Cooper for a jcharge of $350. committee consisting of Hugh Wade, Dr. Ryan, Claude Carnegie and R. E. Robertson was appointed to con- fer with the Governor's office and to investigate Public Law 16 of the 78th Congress as it applies to the Territory, with the hope that a con- structive rehabilitation program an early date. Each member was requested to take to the next meeting a sum- Representatives | |ALLIED LINE IS NOW The new council will meet again mary of just what their individual on April 21, at which time com-|nrograms are going to be. In the mittees will be appointed and all!meantime, the Selective Service will city employees hired. refer all returning veterans to the *|local U. S. Employment Service of- fice for interview and possible place- ment in productive industry. If the veteran is not employable the U.-S. Employment Service will confer with the American Legion or other IMPROVED;PATROL | 35iade GETS STRONGHOLD| ™™ == . — o ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NAPLES, April 8. — An American combat patrol, after a sharp clash with the Germans, established a new stronghold northwest of Padig- lione, slightly improving the Allied |line in the central sector of the beachhead below Rome. On the east flank of the beach- head, Allied artillery, mortars and tanks remained active and enemy buildings are gradually crumbling from repeated bombardment. The Nazis continue to pour a har- assing fire over the beachhead. The air forces have destroyed 31 planes against a small loss. Colorado, is an arrival here and has registered at the Baranof. | REV. WALSH HERE Registered at the Baranof, the Rev. Joseph T. Walsh is here from Anchorage. | MRS. IBACH HERE Here from Dundas Bay, Mrs. Hor- ace H. Ibach is a guest at the Bar- anof Hotel. —— ., Miss Lois M. Morey, with Libby, to develope and not divert Alas-| ka’s resources, | Delegate Dimond also made pub-| lic a telegram to Gov. Greuning| urging him to call a special session| to provide for soldiers voting in the| general election. | e = | | ARE EDMONTON, April 8.—Accidental | spilling by workmen of a few dropsi of gasoline on a hot electric light bulb started a fire which leveled the heavy equipment and repair| shop of the Northern Division of the U. S. Engineers. The loss is held at over one mil- lion dollars. Scores of heavy duzy‘»and will be under the supervision are qualified. vehicles, office equipment and rec- | ords were lost. BOAT LEAVES ON | FRIDAY WITH 11 BOUND FORSITKA | Passengers leaving for Sitka| aboard the vessel last night were| John Herman, Ed Einstoss, Mr. and | Mrs. W. K. Grasslee and son Fred,' Mr. and Mrs. James Reed, Grace Tringali, M. Lewis, R. M. Griffin, and R. M. Johnstgne. - e KARL DRAGER HERE Karl A. Drager, well known An- chorage attorney and candidate for Attorney General on the Democratic ticket, has arrived from the West- ward and is at the Baranof Fotel. e~ WITH SUNSET ELECTRIC McNeill & Libby, is here from An- chorage and has registered at the Baranof. Iand is at the Baranof Hotel, Virgil Baker, with the Sunset Electric Co., is here from Seattle great stretches of land, although, preparations are being made for such action the moment the Allies make landings. Rainbow Girls fo Hold Banquet at He has been a4 fisherman and a cannery worker, later in the fishing business for himself and now own- er of a store in his home communi- Ity, a busines which he has worked ‘up from scratch. | " Peratrovich said he is heartily in {favor of the anti-discrimination platform adopted”at the last Dem- ocratic Party Conyention in Fair- Temple A ril I banks, and if elected will support p the Democratic platform. This was 4 R - |the first time such a plank has| Reservations for the Rainbow been included in any party plat- Girls father-daughter banquet April form in Alaska. 15, are now open and may be made Since eight representatives will with Miss Erna Meier or by calling be elected from this division, Pera- Mrs. Dora Sweeney at Blue 247 or trovich said, he believes that it is Miss Doris McEachran at 126. |only fair and right that the Indian The affair will be held at the‘mflde!lt& of Alaska be represented Scottish Rite Temple at 6:30 o'cloczjin the House by their leaders who of the majority members. An ini- tiation in the lodge room will follow the dinner. ———eee ANNUAL CEREMONY AT SCOTTISH RITE TEMPLE TOMORROW The annual relighting ceremonies of the Alaska Chapter of Rose Croix, Scottish Rite Masons, will be held at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at the Scottish Rite Temple. The public is cordially invited to attend. STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, April 8. — Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock is 6%, American Can 88%, Anaconda 26%, Bethlehem Steel 58%, Curtiss-Wright 5'%, Interna- tional Harvester 71%, Kennecott 31%, North American Aviation 8%, U. 8. Steel 51%. U. 5. FORCES ARE T0 WORSHIP OVERSEAS AT EASTER RITES LONDON, April 8. — American armed forces will worship tomor- row in a series of sunrise Easter services from the front lines in Italy to London's Hyde Park. For thousands, this will be their second ' Easter overseas. The largest service will probably be at Hyde Park, where the Bishop of London will deliver the sermon which will be broadcast worldwide. In northern Ireland, Catholic services will be held at St. Bridges Church in Belfast. P Protestant troops of the Fifth Army in Italy will attend services within sound of the front line bat- tle. General Mark Clark will read the Easter story from scriptures. A Dow, Jones averages today are as follows: Industrials, 139.10; radls, 39.56; ntilities, 23.04. | second service will be held Sunday isnernoom FROM ODESSA Russian Forces Drawing Tight Ring Around Black Sea Port BULLETIN—London, April 8. —The Red Troops have reach- ed the Czechoslovak-Rumanian frontier and are rolling west- ward in the offensive, Stalin announced tonight in a special order of the day and are pur- suing the enemy. MOSCOW, April 8.—Germans and Rumanians are reported fleeing from Odessa as the Russian army drew a tight siege arc pressing as close as nine and a half miles northeast of the big Black Sea port, the scene of the long drawn Soviet resistance in 1941 The Red Star dispatch said one group of General Malinovsky's Third Army caught an enemy col- umn hurrying from the city along a narrow muddy road to the north- west of the port, and were so sur- prised they were unable to resist. The Russian cavalry tanks and infantry have broken one defense line after another. ‘ For the fifth day the Soviet High Command has failed to mention the 70-mile long Russian front in Ru- mania. GLENN ALLEN IS REELECTED HEAD OF MOOSE LODGE The following officers were elected at last night's meeting of the Moose Lodge at the club headquarters in the Seward Building: Glenn E. Allen, reelected as Governor; Oscar Hegstad, Junior Governor; Carl Lind, Prelate; John Pastl, Treas- urer, and Charles Miller, Trustee. Gov. Allen also has received a commission from Mooseheart as District Governor of the Legion of the Moose. Glen Abraham, in charge of the entertainment for the evening, serv- ed refreshments and managed the pinochle party which followed the election. The meeting was well attended. e - BRUNS - SMITH WEDDING WILL BE WEDNESDAY The marriage of Miss Dolores Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee H. Smith of this city, to Ser- geant Herbert Bruns, USA, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Bruns of Cold- water, Ohio, will be held Wednes- day morning at 8 o'clock in the Catholic Church of ' the Nativity. The mass will be read by the Rev. W. G. LeVasseur. Given in marriage by her father, the bride will have as.her only at- tendent, Mrs. Millle Marie Morgan. Lee Smith, brother of the bride, will act as best man for the groom. Following the ceremony at the church, a breakfast for members of the wedding party, will be held at the home of the bride's parents on Glacier Highway. No invitations have been issued by the couple, however all friends| of both the bride and groom are invited to attend the service at the church. y WILLKIE PLANS T0 WORRY COLLEAGUES THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE PRICE TEN CENTS e ——— | KS 28 ENEMY SHIPS et | WREAKHAVOC ON JAPANESE PACIFIC BASE Attack Only 600 Miles from Philippines-Jap Navy Fails to_S_how Up U. 8. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD- QUARTERS AT PEARL HARBOR April 8.—Unchallenged by the Jap- anese fleet, a strong American air- craft carrier force wreaked havoc for three days, less than 600 miles from the Philippines, sinking 28 enemy ships, damaging 18, bagging 160 to 214 planes, and spreading de- struction in the Palau Islands and adjacent bases, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz has disclosed. Hosts of American warships, op- jerating more than 4,500 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, emerged unscathed, and only 25 out of the hundreds of attacking carrier planes were lost, and 18 fliers perished in the attack, which failed to draw the Nippon's Navy. Jap Battlewagon Hit Admiral Richard A. Spruance’s fleet would have been contented with the two destroyers and one unidentified combat ship which were among the vessels sunk, the remainder being largely cargo ships and oilers, but a big Japanese bat- tleship was spotted the night of March 28, fleeing from the Palau region. An intercepting submarine rammed home a torpedo which caused “considerable damage.” The battle wagon however, limped away. Navy Is ! “There ‘was TI0 to, our surface vesels,” sald the commun- ique. The Japanese radio had claim- ed that two cruisers were sunk, and a battleship and at least two air- craft carriers demaged. Admiral Nimitz, breaking radio silence existing for 'more than a week, disclosed that Palau, known to be Japan's Singapore, bore thz brunt of the attack by the carrier planes, but Yap Ulithi and Woleal were also hit in the operations ex- tending from March 29 to 31. At Palau on the first two days 25 ships were sunk and the other: three definites were small ones which fell victim to the ship’s gun- fire. More than 60 buildings were wip- ed out at Palau, and the bulk of the enemy planes were encountered |at Palau, where 93 were shot down and 29 others probably downed. Thirty-nine were wiped out on the ground and 20 others probably. PlayBallOn | Paci_lic Coast | (By Associated Press) The Pacific Coast Baseball League opens the forty-second season today wrln the face of diminishing man- | power, increased amusement taxes |and uncertainty of war conditions but the outlook for the sport ap- pears brighter than it did a year 8g0. With relaxation of dimouts and the prospects of night games, it is Iexpemd that atténdance may tripled. Despite service inductions, club appears to be manned ficiently to provide interesting cotms Seattle, in third place at h-” of last season, looms as the big to boast about as the ve a veteran catching and 1§ staff. | The openers today are as follows: Los Angeles and Sacramento; Port- land and San Francisco; Seuttle and Hollywood:. Oakland and San |dell L. Willkie who accused some | Republican critics cf “talking too: BPW Club Is 'o Diego. WASHINGTON, April 8.—Wen-| much,” may give his worried Party colleagues the silent treatment. His aides said he will probably go to Rushville, Indiana, soon and take a rest. They said they will be surpris- ed if he makes known his future plans for many weeks to come. Senator Taft said he thought it logical that Willkie should continue to point out what he considers th Party faults and then work to cor- rect them. Meet On Mo A meeting, preceded by luck dinner, will be held night by the and | sional Women’s at the ment of Dr. lfimt‘hn % |the Blomgren ng. The dinner is uled at 6:30 o'clock and the lwfll follow.