The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, June 24, 1944, Page 1

VOL. XLIL, NO. 9687. “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURDM JUNE 24, 1944 - THE DAILY ALASKA Ml'.MBER ASSOCIATED PRESS MPIRE —— ] PRICE TEN CENTS HAND TO HAND FIGHT RAGES, CHERBORG Scores Reported Killed By Furi Fllers Gel Acquamled DEATH TOLL MOUNTING, TWO STATES Terrific Twister Hits at Night Fall-Communi- ties Are Wrecked PITTSBURGH, Pa., June 24. Mounting reports of death and de- struction from a tornado which tore with ruinous fury through parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia sent the ,death toll to at least 130 and more victims are sought in wrecked communities. In West Virginia 95 are listed as dead with 35 dead in Pennsyl- vania. Hundreds have been injured and hundreds are homeless. The narrow twisting path mainly in rural areas. This morning the Maryland State Police reported that possibly 15 have been killed when the storm, which ‘broke at nightfall last night, also hit Garrett Coupty, just across the line from West Virginia. Landslides have hampered relief crews and Red Cross workers. The estimated property damage runs into the millions of dollars. Scores are reported missing from homes demolished by the sudden? deadly swirling . wind.. its fury on towns and villages in the farm and coal county outskirts| of Pittsburgh and swept more than 100 miles into West Virginia. —— P Liberty Ship Is Termed "Truck Horse of Sea” Senate Irum Committee Makes Its Long De- layed Report WASHINGTON, June 24. — The Senate Truman Committee praised the Liberty ship’s contribution to the war as a “truck horse of the sea,” but scored use as a troop carrier or hospital ship. In the long awaited report of the Maritime Commission’s merchant shippmg group, the com- mittee declared, “because of its slow speed, the necessity for convoy, and the possibility of damage at sea from fractures, the Liberty ship ought not to have been used as a carrier of troops or a hospital ship.” Reporting on an exhaustive in- quiry of crack and other damages to 510 of the 2,159 Liberties investigat- ed, the committee found in 240 cases only minor damages, corresponding “to a large degree with those that would be encountered in normal snip operation.” While only 103 could be considered “in a serious classi- fication,” improvement in the con- struction in the latter part of 1943 and the early part of 1044 “appar- ently reduced danger of structural damage.” The committee said it agreed with Admiral Land that available records indicate that “more riveted ships than Liberty ships completely failed structurally.” GESTAPO CHIEF. GISSLER CAUGHT, KILLED, REPORT LONDON, June 24—The French press service, quoting authoritative French sources, declares that Ges- tapo Chief Gissler has been executed by French patriots at Murat. — "!’« |Big Merchantman Sun k, {port in the harbor. terranean bases bombed Rumanian photo via radio from Moscow) Two Russian and two American fliers talk by an American plane at a base in Russia after Yanks had landed. The Americans from Medi- base in Russia, inaugurating a shuttle-bombing system. targets and then flew on to a new (AP Wire- French Underground | Is Adive in Diverfing . Movements of Nazis SORONG HARBOR BOMBED Many Nip Planes De- stroyed, Damaged { | ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD- QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA, June 24 —Striking again at Sorong Harbor, adjacent to Japan's last effective air base in New Guinea, Mitchell bombers added a 3,000-ton merchantman sunk and more than, 50 Nipponese craft either destroyedi or damaged in the week's aerial | prowling of the Dutch New Guinea’s northwestern coast. No mention is made of aerial op- | position from the once powerful | Sorong airdrome. ] In a surprise assault on Sorong earlier in the month, Mitchells de- stroyed 50 Japanese planes on the ground and in the air and sank two 3,000-ton merchant vessels, three smaller freighters and trans- —eto—— LIBERATORS, 'FORTRESSES IN ATTACKS ROME, June 24—American Lib-| erators today blasted the Ploesti| area and Fortresses attacked the' rail bridges on the Oltul River,| main line to Ploesti across Ru- mania in Central Europe. | -, | BASEBALL SUNDAY Weather permitting, there will be a league game of baseball played‘ tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock.| SHEAN IN TOWN A. P. Shean, of the Westing- house Electric Supply Company, is in Juneau and a guest at the Bar- anof Hotel. The schedule calls for a game be- tween the Dodgers and Sub-Ports as the game scheduled last night between Wildcats and Sub-Ports was rained out. | Headquarters pictures resistance as ’dlsrupted by other patriots, ‘Russian Shmopples-: murdered.” ‘injured trying .to reach the dock. HENRY B. JAMESON LAST NIGHT ~ || BOOTHS WILL BEOPERATED Total in Flfih War Loan Drive Now Stands at $133,010.25 Although the Fifth War Loan drive will not end until July 8, to- night will be the last time that the booths in the downtown section will be operated by the local or- ganizations. Taking over the sales tonight will be the Woman's Club, Townsend Club and Pioneers of Alaska. Last evening bond sales were made by the Alaska Territorial Guard and the CIO. A jump of over $20,000 was made in the sales last night and the all series total now stands at $133,- 010.25. The series E sales are $78- 360.25. The following is the result of the Miss Liberty contest: Betty Nordling 22,807 Betty Mill . ..20825 Ruth Kunnas . 17,701 Kathleen McAlister ...17,002 Betty Bonnett 15,425 Mary McCormack 12.55% Joyce Smith 10,798 Lila Sinclair . 9,241 Lois Allen ... 9,131 Betty Nordling, who believes in an. “up and up” campaign continues to 1 go up and up, and added 2,450 votes | since yesterday, glving her a lead of | 2,182 over Betty Mill, the runner-up. | Kathleen McAlister made a slight advance to_regain number three post Associated Press War Correspondent | | SUPREME HEADQUARTERS OF | THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY | FORCES, June 24—Large German | armored artillery and air forces | have been diverted from the in- | vasion front by fighting of the| French underground. The battles are raging in a large part of the countryside and a sys- tematic disorganization of the en- emy transport facilities has “con- tributed largely to Allied operations in Normandy,” says a Headquarters communique. A second special war bulletin from | reaching a full battle pitch as parti- sans harrassed and impeded the | | Nazis. Hundreds of German soldiers have | been killed in southern France. | Cable lines have been cut and The Germans are reported adopt- ing a subterfuge of peasant garb to ferret out patriotic groups. The underground forces have cut railroads and obstacles have been thrown into the highways hindering passage of German reinforcements to the beachheads. In this way two | armored divisions were seriously de- layed. el FREIGHTER CAPSIZES, DRYDOCK Woman Crew Member Believed Trapped | { PORTLAND, June 24—A Russian |freighter with a crew of 25, cap- |sized this morning in drydock, and a woman crew member is believed trapped in her quarters, Sgt. W. J. Blake, of the Harbor Patrol, has announced. Three members of the crew were Divers tried cutting with torches to reach the trapped woman, The freighter began listing when she was being moved to another part of the dock and was com- ,now held by Ruth Kunnas. pletely under water within 15 min- |utes. Betty | Bonnet is the only candidate who remaining stationary. Mary McCor- | mack and Joyce Smith stay in sixth and seventh position. Lila Sinclair who was at the bottom of the well exchanges places with Lois Allen, | who is now numbel nine. Fifty Allied Airmen Shot By Germans: Nazi Reporfinounced by Eden s Plain Murder of Captured Men LONDON, June 24—Foreign Sec- retary Anthony Eden, disclosing to an angry House of Commons the! official German report of the kill- ing of 50 Allied airmen after a prison camp break in Germany last March, lrejected the Nazi explanation jand branded the incment as mass | murder. Eden pledged that Britain will track down and. bring to justice the “foul criminals” involved. The German report said all nir- men were shot in resisting arr and ‘rying a new break after cap- ture. Rejecting the German claim, Eden said the most significant weakness of the German story is “there were no wounded as would have been in- evitable if the shootings had taken place in an attempt to resist capture and it is quite clear the airmen were \DR. LINDQUIST HAS BEEN CALLED SOUTH Dr. Paul A. Lindquist, Acting | Commissioner of Health, Territor- ial Department of Health, in charge of the department branch offices at Anchorage, has left for the States enroute to Kansas City, Missouri, where he has been called due to the illness of his father. Dr. Lindquist expects to return’to the Territory about the middle of July. S PR LESKO IN TOWN Paul Lesko, of Duquesne, Pa, is a guest at the Baranof Hotel. | Wirepholo from U. 8. Nnvv) VITEBSK I VIRTUALLY SURROUNDED Progress Reporfed by Rus- | sians on Finnish Front -Heavy Fighting MOSCOW, J;e—fl, — The Red| Army's new central front offensive, |an integral part of the Allied grand | strategy, rolled westward in spec- | {tacular fashion and has reached mmnts only 75 miles from the Lat- | he suvxeu battled swollen | streams and oconsiderable mud | northwest' of Vitebsk, which ~ap- peared to be outflanked so badly | that the big Nazi garrison has no railways from the city. On the Finnish front, reports saldf the new offensive has detracted nothing from the drive toward Hel- | sinki and the liberation of the [New Blowsfiuck at Owi, | tral Pacific are growing in intensity | | attacks on Owi and Jima, 800 miles Leningrad-Murmansk Railway. Pro- gress is reported from all the fight- | ing areas. The German radio said the Rus- sians are using 11 divisions, and that “heavy fighting is going on| as the Russians are attempting ml encircle the town” of Vitebsk. ——————— NORWEGIAN SUB TAKES TOLL OF NAZI SHIPPING AT A NORTHERN BRITISH| NAVAL BASE, June 23 (delayed)— Forty-two thousand tons of Ger-| man shipping and a 600-ton Ger-“ man naval vessel has been sunk| or damaged by the Norwegian sub- marine Ula in recent operations in| Norwegian waters. The captain made the announce- ment as he headed into base, cock- ily flying from the bridge the Jolly| Rogers of skull and cross bones| decorated with eight white stripes, denoting eight merchant ves.sels that it had sunk; a red stripe for| one naval vessel and two daggers,| indicating special secret operations. - - ® o o o o WEATHER REPORT (U. 8. Bureau) Tempt. for Friday, June 23. @ Maximum 55; minimum 51. @ Rain, 44. ® o 0 0000 0 0 0 - e - BUY WAR BONDS MAINTOWN idenl of talk of “rewarding” Bricker | with the nomunation as second man |Saipan’s east coast, and others| \pan, the island’s biggest town, vir- |most savage terrain in the Pacific |war since Attu. The Japs are still Low Tide Reveals Obsfacles on Beach Low tide on a Normandy beach of France reveals a long stretch of skeleton-like obstructions erected by the Germans in a vain attempt to prevent Allied landings. These structures are veiled by water at high tide and provide a menace to landing craft. Note bodies and wrecked AenaIWar Infensified In Padific Jima, Yap and Palau by Allied Planes (By Associated Press) A Domei broadcast said ‘“aerial battles in various areis in the cen- | in conjuncton with the furious bat- tle around Saipan Island.” ‘The broadcast reported new aerial | south of Tokyo. The report said that ' Yap and Palau west of Truk in the ! ‘Tobi Islands were also attacked yes- Allied vehicles on the beach. (AP IND PlA(E GOP TICKET IS BEGGING Governorsir—kker, Waf- ren Both Considered as P055|b|I|||es CHICAGO, IH June 24, — The Republican Vice Presidential nom- ination appears to be going tempor- arily begging. Two of the most discussed pos- | sibilities are Gov. John W. Bricker of Ohio and Gov. Earl Warren of California "but both are maintain- ing steadfastiy they are not ex- pecting to be considered. Strong preconvention hotel gos- terday. Other Jap orlgmntsd reports via the Berlin radio said two or more United States aircraft carriers were | heavily damaged off Saipan, and 15 of 60 U. S. carrier-based planes | | were shot down over- Guam yes- | terday. ! > ) ON SAIPAN 0CCUPIED Yanks Entefiirapan-Noh Much Opposition- | Rough Terrain ‘ By Richard W. Johnson Representing American Press ABOARD JOINT EXPEDITION-| ARY FLAGSHIP, Saipan, June 24.| —Invading American troops have ! reached the town of Laulau on probed into the suburbs of Gara-| tually without opposition. Around the volcanic Mt. Tapo-| tchau, the Yanks clawed their way| up the steep jungled cliffs, the' abandoning stores of food and am-| munition. el | /AT GIRL SCOUT CAMP |at 2 o'clock. {quotation of Alaska Juneau mine CARTER IN TOWN :them Pacific 17%, United States &in is still to the effect that Gov. Thomas E. Dewey has the inside Luck 10r the rwaldundal nomina- tion. Knots of delegates are spending much time discussing the lack of a hot Vice-Presidential contest. Gov. Warren is not due here un- til tomorrow and his friends still say he is not up for consideration | as a Vice-Presidential candidate. Alf Landon says there is a great on the ticket. The foreign plank is up for final consideration today before the Resolutions Committee. The Republican convention opens Monday. OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY Open house will be observed' to- morrow afternoon at the Eagle River Girl Scout camp beglnnlng‘ Parents and friends of the girls are. extended an invitation to visit | the camp and witness the many activities of the Scouts and Brownies. SRR ST B L STOCK QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, June 24. — Closing | stock today is 6%, American 88%, Anaconda 26%, Bethlehem Steel 61%, Curtiss Wright 5%, In- ternational Harvester 77'%4, Kenne- cott 31%, North American Aviation | |8%, New York Central 18%, Nor- Steel 57%. R. T. Carter, of the CAA, is a guest at the Juneau Hotel, having registered from Anchorage. Can | g “ ous Tornado DEFENSES REPORTED CRUMBLING Frantic Resistance Fails to Stop Doughboys Now Nearing Sea SUPREME HEADQUARTERS OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, June 24.—American doughboys, smashing yard by yard deep into the powerful outer shell of the Cherbourg line, drove this morning to within 2,000 yards of the port. On the south the “enemy defens- es showed signs of crumbling” and an American spearhead punctured the stubborn interlaced Nazi pill- box defenses southeast of Octeville fortress, which Is southwest of the city, after the pulverizing air and artillery bombardment, Don White- head, Assoclated Press correspon- dent, said. The dispatch was writ- ten at 12:15 am, Pacific War Time. Headquarters said the doughboy~ fought forward slowly and all but reached the sea on both sides Jf the port in a hand-to-hand strug- gle with the Germans, who are re- sisting frantically. The assault troops are battling “within sight of the docks.” wrote_that 1,200° pris- &"gg!%vo been taken during the last 24 hours, and the city is a death trap. At the eastern wing of the beachead Gen. B. L. Montgomery lashed out in a swift attack yes- terday at the outer’ perimeter of Caen'’s defenses. Twenty Nazi tanks | were wrecked or captured at” Ste. Honorine and La Chardonnerette. —————— BOAT'S (REW SENDS FUNDS TO STRIKERS NEW YORK, June 24.—An appeal ' to workers in war plants not to interrupt production of fighting im- plements by striking, accompanied by $412 in cash “to help pay the wage increase the money-hungry strikers are demanding” is contained in a communication received by the Assoclated Press marked as coming from “the crew of the U. 8. 8. Coos Bay,” a seaplane tender. Stamped “passed by naval censor” the communication, dated June 10, care of Fleet Post Office, San Fran- cisco, referred specifically to the “present strikers of the Wright Air- craft Corporation” and added: “Please implore them to end their strike and accept our offer to help pay their wage increase which they feel is more important than our lives,” referring to the strike which lasted from June 5 to 9 in the Lock- land, Ohio, plant of the Wright Aeronautical Corpoartion. * After béing shown by the Asso- ciated Press a copy of the Coos Bay letter, R. J. Thomas, President of the United Automobile Workers, said :“These men in the armed serv- ices have been propagandized. Our international office has done every- thing it possibly can and will con- tinue to do more to stop all such | strikes as the Wright strike where no wage issue was involved . It was an anti-Negro issue.” Navy Secretary James Forrestal, to whom the Associated Fress for- warded the currency accompanying the letter said, “No comment.” After noting a copy of the letter, Robert Spitzmiller, President of Lo- cal 647 UAW of the CIO, represent- ing the workers in the plant, issued a statement in Cincinnati, accusing “newspaper publisher in the Unit- ed States” of having “planned a campaign to create antagonism be- | tween labor and the armed forces.” He suggested the Associated Press use the money to “print certificates to be distributed among their mem- bers for the wonderful job they are Dow, Jones averages today are as follows: industrials- 14748, rails 41.56, utilities 23.86. doing in sowing hatred, intolerance and misunderstanding in the minds of Americans.”