The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, June 5, 1944, Page 1

Y " Marine Corps officer who lost an .tial, which he did. The fact that & o & 12’.5. '.v S 2 YOL. XLILNO. 9670, 0 - oo T S — “THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” ——— JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1944 Ml-_MBhR ASSOC IATLD PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS ROME IS CAPTURED BY ALLIED FORCES 4 & o Eternal Clty Liberated from German Grasp COASTLINE OF FRANCE | POUNDED Powerful ATIE)d Assault! Concentrated on Invasion Area LONDON, June 5.—Approximately 1,250 American heavy bombers and | fighters, leading an Allied aerial as»‘ sault of powerful proportions | | ' against the fortified French coast, smashed military installations at‘ Boulonge and Calais with an esu-‘ mated 2,220 short tons of bombs. | The German radio in Paris as- | serted American bomber forma- | tions were over Paris at noon, and Berlin reported Russian planes were over Hungary last night. This is the fourth attack in a row (Continued on Page Two) The Washington Merry - Go- Round By DREW P’EARSON @t. Col. Robcn 8. Allen now on active service with the Army.) WASHINGTOK--On /QGctober 11, last year, this column reported that, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, oust-| ed commander at Pearl Harbor, had drafted a letter to Secretary of the Navy Knox demanding his trial immediately. This story met with immediate and categoric denial. Then, later, Secretary of the Navy Knox denied it, and Admiral Kimmel himself denied it. Now, eight months later, Senator Homer Ferguson of Michi- gan has made public a letter he has received from Admiral Kimmel confirming what was deniad last| October—namely, that Kimmel de- mands trial at the earliest practic- able date. It so happens that this writer saw a copy of Admiral Kimmel's draft letter to Secretary Knox last Oetober, so there was absolutely no question about his proposed plan. Also, the Admiral had discussed the matter with one of the best Navy lawyers in the country, Col. Harry Leonard (retired) scrappy arm in the Boxer Rebellion and was carried almost lifeless from the battlefield by the late Gen. Smed- ley Butler, then a lientenant. Later, Leonard had occasion to repay Butler when the latter was ordered court-martialed by Herbert Hoover for a speech in which he alleged that Mussolini had run over| a child and not even bothered to stop. Col. Leonard handled Gen. Butler's case so skillfully that the court-martial was dropped like a| hot potato before it even got started. Last autumn, Col. Leonard began work on Admir#} Kimmel's defense, causing the Navy Judge Advocate| General, Admiral Tommy Gatch, to remark privately, “We're in for a tough fight.” But after the publication of the October 11 Merry-Go-Round, ter- rific pressure was brought on Kim- mel by Navy friends to withdraw his demand for a early coun-mnr-‘ the Admiral was employed by a firm of consulting engineers work- ing on war orders and the fact that his- superiors were dependent on the Navy for contracts may have had something to do with his about- face. NOTE — Last October, Kimmel made the point that Pearl Harbor witnesses might die, that one was dead already, that with the lapse of time people’s memories became obscure, and that, while he had confidence in the fairness of Sec- retary Knox, he was not sure of any Secretary of the Navy who might follow Knox. Therefore, he asked for immediate access to the records of the Navy Department to prepare his case, and said: *“I can nJ longer bear the obloguy (Continued on Page Four) 1 ITALYKING 'First Cost of Living SurveyinA Been REDS SMASH GERMANS IN IASI SECTOR Nazis Afiemptmg fo Halt Soviet Preparations for Big Offensive LONDON, June 5. — Apparently‘ |attempting to smash Russian prep-v arations for a new offensive, the Germans continued their attack | yesterday north and northwest of | Jasi in Rumania, but were hurled | back with tremendous losses of men‘ and material, Moscow said. The Soviet communique dec]arcd‘ that in one sector alone 1,100 Nazis were killed and 30 tanks knocked |, out in the action. The bulletin in-/ | dicated that the fighting is on a ' cansiderable scale. saying:the have thrown large forces of both infantry and tanks into the fray. < ABDICATES HISTHRONE Ruler of Conquered Rome | Steps Down After 44 | Years as State Head — King Victor | NAPLES, June 5. Emmanuel signed a decree giving up his powers and turned it over to the Italian government, it is report- | ed tonight. i King Emmanuel, 74, ruled Italy for nearly 44 years, ascended the throne on July 29, 1900. He an- nounced on April 12 his “final and irrevocable” decision to withdraw | from public life “on the day in which the Allied troops enter Rome” and to turn his kingly powers over to Umberto as Lieutenant General of the realm RETREATING NAZIS UNDER BIG ATTACK ALLIED HEADQUARTERS N NAPLES. June 5.— Five hundred American heavy bombers, joined by lifter planes, are making smashing attacks on enemy communications north of Rome in an effort to snarl the German retreat from the capital city. SOLDIERS FROM 5TH ARMY HEAR POPE'S ADDRESS ROME, June 5—The Pope, ad- dressing a crowd at St. Peters Square, expressed thanks to God tonight that Rome had not been destroyed by war. The enormous crowd which gath- | ered before the balcony from which | the Pope spoke included many soldiers of the victorious Fifth Army. | since 1913. I |harassing the Japs without respite. Kuriles chain «avazis! May- Discuss Fall of Rome;: CLARKPAYS | King of Italy will now delegate his laska Has Ordered Taken SEATTLE, June 5—Plans to con- duct the first cost of living survey ever undertaken in Alaska is an- nounced by the Seattle Bureau of | Labor Statistics on orders of Re-| gional Director William A. Bledsoe | of ‘San Francisco. { The survey will be made under| the supervision of Ruth Sawyer fl the Seattle office, and will be taken | at Juneau and Anchorage. The results of the survey will |give the first basis of comparis of the living costs in Seattle and | Alaska. Similar surveys have been taken the continental | is in { PRESIDENT | BROADCASTS ° DURING P.M LA Efforts to Reassure | Italian Populace | WASHINGTON, June 5—Under | | Secretary of State Edward Stet-| tinius said today prompt measures‘ will be taken to relieve the food | | shortages in Rome and some un- | nouncements may be made about them later. This raised the possibility that | President Roosevelt might take oc- | casion in his 15-minute broadcast { this afternoon (4:30 o’clock Juneau i time) to discuss the fall of Rome‘ and reassure the people of that city about the Allied plans for their wel- fare and in respect to Rome for | military uses, also political implica- tions. Stettinius said that while he had no time table, it is understood the powers to Prince Umberto and step aside. e, SEEK FACIS ON SUDDEN CLOSING OF WAR PLANTS WASHINGTON, June 5.—Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan, mem- ber of the Truman Investigating Committee, said he is seeking to obtain from the Army and Navy lists of all plants whose war con- tracts may be terminated or cut back during the next six months as the result of the Navy Department’s sudden cancellation of fighter plane contracts. The Brewster Aeronautical Cor- poration is one of the large firms whose contracts have been can- celled. The cancellation came with practically no notice and thousands of employees will be without jobs. This policy, Ferguson said, will handicap orderly reconversion of civilians to other production lines. FOOD SHIPMENTS, U. 5. T0 BRITAIN, REACH BIG SUM LONDON, June 5.—Food ship- ments from the United States to Britain.under lend-lease now total 1,475,000 tons valued at $2,695,500,000 Food Administrator Lilewellin an- nounces. The shipments include half a million tons of canned meat and fish, the same amount of lard, 330,- 000 tons of bacon and some dried fruit. N - Baboons are the largest and fiercest of all monkeys. . JAP COLUMNS ARE MOVING ON CHANGSHA Hunan Capital Exposed fo Attack from Three Directions CHUNGKING, June 5.—Japanese, vanguards from the north struck lto within 25 miles tonight of the' |strategic city of Changsha, provin- clal capital of Hunan. Field dis- on 'Patches said this marked a 17- tacks, prompted mile advance from Sinshih. The United States 14th Air Force, giving strong support to the advance toward Changsha and! The dispatch said that a second Jap column which advanced 10 miles southwest of Sinshih had been driven back. The Japs made still further land- ings on the southern shore of Lake Tungting, the latest north of ¥i- yang, which is 50 miles northwest of Changsha. This exposed the city to attack from the northwest, north, and northeast. The Japs seemed to be trying to converge their col- ums, the lt'p()l' SAYS. TRIBUTE T0 FALLEN MEN | Assers Two German Arm- ies Smashed in Allied Drive Info Rome ROME, June 5.— Asserting that the major parts of two German armies have been smashed, Lt. !Gen. Mark Clark said the occupa- tion of Rome is a “great day for ithe Fifth Army.” Meeting his corps commanders on the city hall steps in a mili- tary huddle for future operations, Clark paid tribute to the “gallant men and women who made the su- | preme sacrifice” during the Itai- ian campaign to make tolay's oc- cupation possible. Looking oufy over thousands of cheering Italians, Clark lauded the French, British and American forces of the Fifth Army individ- ually. STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, June 5. — Closing quotation of American Can stock today is 89, Anaconda 25%, Beech Aircraft 8!, Bethlehem Steel 58, Curtiss - Wright 5, International Harvester 741, Kennecott 30, North American Aviation 7%, New York Central 17%, Northern Pacific 16, United States Steel 51%. Dow, Jones averages today are as follows: Industrials, 14162; rails, 39.95; utilities, 22.98. PRICES SATURDAY Alaska Juneau mine stock closed last Saturday at 5%, American Can 90%, Anaconda 25%, Beech Aircraft 8%, Bethlehem Steel 58%, Curtiss- Wright 5, International Harvester 75, Kennecott 30%, North American KURILES MAY BE NEXTTO ' Repeated BTO;IS on North Pacific Bases Seen as t Prelude fo Landing WASHINGTON, June 5.—Another bombing attack in the North Pa-| cific Kurile Islands by Aleutian: based American planes making the | fifth consecutive day of such at-| renewed specula- mon that the pos United States Chinese fighting to halt the enemy might b impending. vasion blow toward the Japanese homeland by the Aleutian route Everyone is certain that the of stepping stones from Russian Kamchatka to the main Nipponese islands will play an important part in the final en- circlement, sure to come before Japan is conquered, but whether the current raids represent a soft- ening up ahead of landing forces it not fully apparent. Two other major possibilities appear in explanation of the in- tensified action, one that the as- sault may mean only that ‘air |forces based in the Aleutians ar® 'takm advantage of weather breaks o h-’&m {he enemy bases; or two, that the attacks may be part of a broad general campaign to force | Japan back from bases in the Kur- iles. The action could be coordin- ated with an invasion of .Halma- hera, JusL south of the Philippines. HIGH COURT HANDS DOWN NEW RULING Decision Ha& Insurance Companies Subject to Sherman Adt WASHINGTON, June 5. — Over- ruling a decision which has stood for 75 years, the Supreme Court held that insurance is business in interstate commerce and subject to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Justice Black wrote the Court’s four to three decision, and Justice Stone wrote the dissenting opinion in which Justice Frankfurter con- curred. Justice Jackson also wrote an opinion in which he dissented lin part. Justices Roberts and Reed took no part in the case. The case specifically | | involved 196 stock and firg insurance com-| panies and 27 individuals connected | with the Southeasteyn Underwrit- ers Association in Florida, Ala- bama, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Anti-trust charges brought by the| Justice Department were dismissed by the Federal District Court at Atlanta, which held that the busi- ness of insurance is not commerce, hence the companies would not ke subject to the Sherman Act which prohibits combinations and con- spiracies td restrain interstate com- merce. | Added interest was given the case by the fact that legislation is pend- - BEINVADED - bility of an in-| .lap Down by Navy Flymg g Boal A Japanese bomber seen from the window of a Navy Coronado flying boat (upper), which surprised the Nipponese plane when it came out out of a cloud bank on the enemy’s tail somewhere in the Central Pacific. as the craft was mortally hit by fire from the flying boat. Then a sheet of flame spurts from the Jap bomber (center), Heavy black smoke on the water (lower), marks the pyre of the enemy plane. (Associated Press photo f from Navy) Silent Days of New By JACK STINNETT WASHINGTON, June o.—There are a few differences of opinion on the new Secretary of the Navy that might well be worth sticking away in the back of your head at this point. One s that his days of “reti- cence" and “passion for obscurity” may be over. The second is that some brass hats in the Navy probably aren't| as happy about the appointment 2s my recent column reported almost every one else was. ‘ James V. Forrestal rose to prom- inence, wealth and power in Wall Street, where silence is considered golden. When the President called him to Washington as one of those young men with “a pagsion for anonymity,” it was no greaj strain for “Jimmy” Forrestal to keep his mouth shut. When he was elevated w.o Under Secretary of the Navy, 'he had a boss, the late Frank Knox, who liked to make his own Aviation 7%, New York Central 17%, | jns pefore Congress to exenfpt in- announcements, Northern Pacific 16%, United States Steel 52%. Dow, Jones averages Saturday were as follows: Industrials, 142.34; rails, 40.19; utilities, 23.10. Treasury Plans fo Issue GI War Bonds WASHINGTON, June 5.— The Treasury Department has decided to create a ‘GI war bond costing $750 and paying off $10. The sale will only be for men and women in | the armed services. |surance companies from |anti-trust legislation and to leave‘ regulafion to the states. {GUERRIllAS BLOW UP R. R. BRIDGE ‘ ISTANBUL, June 5.—Greek guer- rillas have blown up a bridge on the Istanbul-Sofia railway, vital link between Turkey and the Balkans, according to passengers arriving here. The bridge is in Bulgarian | territory. federal | | Forrestal knew the value of sil- |ence. It was the kind of silence |that made much headway with his bosses. But, say those close to him, ‘mow days are gone forever. As Secretary of the Navy he will have to make public pronounce- ments from time to time. If he follows the precedent set by Knox and the President, he will hold | weekly press conferences. This doesn't mean that Sec. For- restal is expected to become vol- uble. If his statements before Con- gressional commiltees are any cri- terion, his press announcements | will Navy Chief Are Over; Forrestal Must Talk be as concise and staccato as ‘communiques from the front. Forrestal knows his Navy. Aside from being in it in World War T, he had been Under Secretary near- ly four years. No sooner had his appointment been announced than Navy men were thanking their lucky stars that they wouldn’t have to “break in” a landlubber in the midst of war, Their prayers of thanks are not unmixed with the hope that the new secretary won't be too tough. As Under Secretary, Forrestal tap- ped the noggins under a few brass hats on several occasions. Because he does know his Navy and be- cause he's a two-fisted, realistic business man, he won't stand any foolishness. Most gold-braiders respect him for it, because his devotion to the Navy bas been demonstrated nu- merous times, but there are die- hards who would rather have more freedom, especially when traditions are being tossed out the porthole for more modern ways of doing things. So far as blueprints and projec- tions go, our all-oceans Navy is already built or on paper. The two problems now are to keep it ahead in the race to meet the ex-| igencies of changing warfare (whole fleetd of plane carriers, for ex- ample, were only a dream a few years ago) and to see that it isn't sabotaged after the war. Navy men tell me that there are few men in government doing more (Continued o; _P;gé Two) FIFTH ARMY USES TANKS INBATILING Last German Rear Guards Beaten Back, Knocked [ Out, Chased Out TALIAN POPULACE JOINS IN FIGHTING \Pope Kept Prisoner Be- hind German Bayonets —~Allies Move North BULLETIN—ROME, June 5. —The Eternal City has been liberated by tanks and infantry troops of the Allied Fifth Army which battled the Germans to the edge of the ancient Forum in the city's heart and is the first European capital city fall- ing to the Allled troops. The occupation of the city was com- pleted Sunday at 12:15 P, M, Pacific Coast Time, and the last German rear guard units were ™ knocked out of the front bank in Italy. N _"'—' . N Pl!lfllll‘l‘ 0' onnuus ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN | NAPLES, June 5. — "The powerful | Fifth Army today thundered across the Tiber River toward northern | Italian horizons in pursuit of the |Tenth and Fourteenth German | armies, hardly taking a look at cap- tured Rome, seat of western civ- {flizatlion which has fallen a prize |to Allied troops after nine months of sacrifice. Bitter Clashes Last ditch German rear guards died within the shadow of the Roman Forum, and in the streets of the government quarters in bit- ter clashes with Itallan partisans, who, barechested, sweating, and with the hammer and sickle in- signa, fought hand-to-hand against (Continued on l:t;_ge Two) - DEMOLITIONS CARRIED OUT - BY GERMANS Much Wr@lge Left in Rome - Next Step Taken by Allies ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN ITALY, June 5—Although first re- ports from Rome are scanty cerning the number of de carried out by the Germans, the dispatches said that the Fiat fac- tory was the scene of one such demolition. The Germans apparently made a wreck of the gas, electric and water utilities. The Allied headquarters announc- ed at noon the occupation of Rome by the Fifth Army last night. Thus was realized one of the main ob- jectives of Gen. Alexander’s huge Allied offensive, started May 11. Another main objective, the de- struction of the German Tenth and Fourteenth armies, remains to be carried out and toward this ob- jective the Fifth and Eighth armies pressed on today. Fighters and bombers hammered away at the fleeing German col- umns, leaving congested highways in the north littered with dead, wounded and smashed vehicles. KING TO RESIGN ROME, June 5.—King Victor Em- manuel is expected to hand over his power and crown to Prince Umberto at a formal ceremony in keeping with his promise several months ago to act when the Allies entered Rome.