The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 17, 1945, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LXIV., NO. 9888 AMERICAN FORCES LAND ON IWQ JIMA JUNEAU, ALASKA, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1945 THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERIAL RECORD "PRG " 1945 (1 S — MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS Bataan Peninsula Is Recaptured By Yanks RUSSIANS | PRESS ONTO BERLINNOW All Armies Driving Toward Nazi Capital from Many Directions | LONDON, Feb, 17—Russian troops closed in on shell-ripped Guben, 50 miles southeast of Berlin, today and hdmmered toward Cottbus, the sec- ond gateway to the fortress city on the Spree River, 47 miles from the Nazi capital. A Moscow dispatch said armored units of Marshal Konev's Army is,| perhaps, within 35 miles of Berlin. The Germans rushed heavy armor and huge infantry reinforcements into the spreading, intense battle southeast of Berlin. Soviet planes topk a heavy toll on the crowded highways. Guben, one the Neisse River, is under an artillery barrage. Saviet troops fought toward it from e sides. ' “The Berlin radio said the Russians were within 12 miles of Cottbus, sothwest of Guben. A Russian dispatch from Konev's front declared the River Neisse was stormed and another stream beyond was forded. The Russians are re- ported to be in sight of the Spree River, the last natural defense line beiore Berlin. The German High Command an- nounced Konev's men had pene- trited into, Breslau, the surrounded ahmn capital, and also indicated e fall of Poznan, the great holdout sttong ipoint: in Poland by sayiig street fighting raged in’the heart of the city. R & GARDEN SCHOOL TO MEET ON MONDAY Ted Carter announces that an- other Garden School session will be held Monday night in the Grade School Auditorium starting at 8 oclock. The subject wilil be, “In- sects and Their Diseases and Their Control.” The public is invited. The Washington W, ) al a W] Sesatiet Vg ably not' pass "¢kcept in a highly Y. 22, and’ thus “gheir per dient for HOUSING ACT - IS APPROVED BY SENATORS Four Measures Are Passed | Along fo House in Fri- day Affernoon Meet ‘Without opposition, also without enthusiasm, the Alaska Housing Authority Law was passed yester- day afternoon by the Territorial Senate. The measure, Senate Bill No. 21, was shifted to the top of the calendar and carried unani- mously, including an emergency provisions effective immediately, when and if it shall pass the House and receive the approval of Gover- nor Ernest Gruening. The apathetic attitude of several Senators toward the bill was aptly illustrated by the attitude of Sen- ator O. D. Cochran, who offered the only remarks preceding its pas- sage. Said he: “It is conceivable that this measure may be of some good in isolated instances,” but it is unlikely to be of much benefit to the Territory as a whole. However, the Territory is amply protected in the bill and “I cannot see that harm can come of its passage. For that reason I intend to vote for it.” Quick Action Action was taken on the Housing bill immediately after it had been reported back by the Engrossment Committee, following the noon re- cess, in order to accommodate the Northwest Regional Council for the Federal Public Housing Authority, Stanley A. Purman, who had in- dicated his desire to return to his Seattle headquarters, and who has been in Juneau expressly -to.frame the measure and facilitate its en- actment. Mr. Fufman outlinkd the provisions of the bill before the ¢ Senate T'hyrsdam' : - One o ke s‘l{‘ < teceived speedy mi%‘»'br ie‘ “Senate yesterday, Senate Bill No. 26, which was accerded gk by the body wlflgyw of its introduc- tidh Cothran. Under suspended rules and without refer- ence to committee, it sprinted through the procedure without question, and was carried unani- mously with the emergency clause. Legislators Get Paid Senate Bill No. 26 provides for payment of a total of $165 to three members of the Legislature who were unavoidably delayed from reaching Juneau for the convening of the Legislative session on Janu- Tfssed out on the days they ere »absenti By ' ‘the' 'provisions of the bill, the Territory will , pay b1to:Sémator Don ‘Carlos Brown- fov! sevefr days’missed, and $30 elich- ito Representatives Walter E. Huntley-and 6. A, Pollard for two < jofzimbsénce:” Sénator Brownell , ex¢ased from” voting on pas- ¢ (of>the bill. e The other measures ‘were passed INTRODUCE " PROPERTY © TAXBILL \WALLED (ITY OF MANILA IS UNDER ATTACK Jap Defenders Refuse MARSHALL AGAIN IS (Convention Will Wind Up ATFL HEAD Tokyo Air Raided for Secflld Day Powerhouse Assault on U. 5. FORCES LAND, KEEP DRIVING ON - Honorable Surrender- Representatives Fred Hanford, | Maurice Johnson, Stanley McCut- GUHS Bel(h Ou' cheon and Warren Taylor this mor- ning introduced a bill which would) MANILA, Feb. 17.—American |tanks and guns have renewed the |assault on the ancient' walled city in the Territory. This is the limit al- Manila after the Jap defenders lowed by the Territory’s Organic Act. ignored the offer of Corps Comman- The measure would carry out onelder Maj, Gen. Oscar Griswold for an of the tax proposals made by Gov‘ihonorable surrender and safe con- Ernest Gruening in his message miduct for several thousand civilians, place a real and personal property tax of 1 per cent on all property in !Trap Clamped on Several Thousand Disorgan- ized Jap Troops MANILA, ren. 1i.—Recapture of historic Bataan Peninsula is pro- | claimed today as the Eleventh Corps [ With Grand Ball . Tonight Frank Marshall,” AFL organizer {for Alaskay was re-elected Presi- dent of the Alaska Territorial Fed- Jap Industrial Sections Is Continuing UNITED STATES PACIFIC FLEET HEADQUARTERS, Guam, Peb, 17.—Tokyo is undergoing a oowerhouse assault of more than the Legislature several weeks ago.| The offer was made at 8 o'clock It also sets up a tax commission. last night and was unanswered at An equally important measure’ the end of the four hour limit. The was introduced by Representative message was broadcast by radio and R ‘MANY DEAD pils from outside of the cities. wolves and coyotes. | eration of Labor Iate yesterday afternoon as the convention wound up its business for this session. On the agenda for today was less work and more pleasure, with sightseeing scheduled for both ‘[mommg and afternoon, then a banquet at 7 p. m. in the Gold| 'Room at the Baranof Hotel and a | Grand Ball honoring delegates in | the Elks Ballroom, starting at 10| p. m. The ball is open to the public and is sponsored by the Juneau Central Labor Council. Named as Vice-Presidents yester- day were O. Paxton of Sitka, Dick Harris of Juneau, Dale Kamm of | Ketchikan, Pearl - Gibson of An-| of Yanks landed on the south tip diluted form is some back-stage yj i without: active ‘opposition. Senate personal by-play and h}wr-CEbme"lBiu No. 13, relating to the practice throat-cutting. ‘‘fof law, and framed by Senator When the Work-or-Fight bill Was cochran to permit U. S. Commis- and the only reasonable, ‘approach to the problem and that such a report. Joe Krause and would grant all|lour speakers. Territorial employees at 25 per cent | S B o i T o] Representatives Paterson and Gill came up with a bill which would have the Territory pay to schools in ¢ cities $7 a month for tuition of pu- | Representative McCutcheon in- M I Ss l N G l “ troduced a measure which would al-| y: low the Treasurer to straighten out| some accounts due on bounties for ——e—— ! \ i TAXBILLIS | | o TOSSED BACK- | INTO SENATE | Finance quilmittee Brings Out:Measure Under - Though they were unable to carry | their point, by vote, yesterday, that half of the members of the Terri-| torial Senate favoring recall of the Net Income Tax Bill from the Finance Committee, today had their desires fulfilled—by commit- tee action. Senate Bill No. 12 was this morning turned back to the Senate by the Finance Committee, accom- panied by the following report: “We have had Senate; Bill No. 12 in gur possessian fof 'a' period\started the blaze: of time ordinarily considered, suf- ficient to ensbje’ a”'committes. to make a report. | “We have ecarrled. on) considera- tion of this bill in connection with its relation to the need for addi-| tional revenue as determined by an examination, as far as possible, of the financial requirgments of the| Territory for the coming biennium.| We felt this to be our responsibility. logical the Senate had a right to expect TACOMAFIRE |chorage, and Charles Skinner of Thursday under Corregidor’s silenced guns, and seized Mariveles Harbor and airdrome and clamped the trap on several thousand disorganized Japanese troops. Protected by guns of the Seventh Fleet, which shelled Corregidor fort- ress and by planes of the Far East Task Force, the Americans swung around from Alongapo Naval Base on Subic Bay to establish a 500-yard beachhead on Mariveles Harbor. American losses were light. The Sixth Division, mpeanwhile, has been thrown into the raging battle for Manila and thus the re- inforced Fourteenth Corps drove to the bay front on an 800-yard front . |Kodiak, WI"Be ManyHourSBEfOI'e, Mr:. Fern Williams was namec | Secretary-Treasurer. | Wreckage Can Be En- | *Eatiier i the ctternoon, tne fel'ed Says Chief * |delegates heard an address by to reduce the Japanese holdings on che triangle of the city’s heart by about 2,000 to 3,000 yard, the Nips resisting bitterly. b On Bataan, the Americans drove 1500 carrier based planes today for he second straight day. The American Fifth Fleet, the trength of like which the world 1as never seen before, is remaining within 300 miles of Japan, apparent- ly still unchallenged by Nippon’s Home Defense Fleet. “Carrier aircraft of the Fifth Fleet is continuing the attack on he Tokyo area and preliminary re- ports indicate substantial damage has been inflicted,” reports Admir- 1l Chester W. Nimitz. Smoke is billowing thousand of cet high along the entire stretch ‘rom Tokyo to Yokohama, team{- ing to thé terrific power of the raid gainst one of Japan’s prime ndus- rial sections. The socond day raid began Satur- day morning and three waves of raiders were greeted by interceptors nd anti-aircraft fire, passed by the House and got to the. Senate Military Affairs Com- mitfee, a meeting of inter-Cabinet nrruenhflvu was held in the office of Gen. Lucius Clay, assistant | to; War ' Mobilizer Byrnes. And it' was ‘agreed that all members at-| tending the meeting should write to-the Senate Military Af. fairs Committee, recommending that the Work-or-Fight bill be amended, giving Justice Byrnes the | power .of. . administration. meant that Byrnes would put things - in the hdnds of Paul McNutt’s War Manpower Commis- sion, rather than under Gen. Lewis Hershey's Selective Service as or- iginally specified in the House hm.( It was also agreed that each member at the meeting would show other members a carbon copy of the letter he wrote, in order that there might be no crossed wires. However, Under-Sécretary of War Bob Patterson wrote a milk-and- water letter, which proved not to be a very vigorous endorsement of the sentiments adopted at the meeting in favor of the Byrnes amendment. P . McNUTT VERSUS PATTERSON ‘Whereupon War Manpower Com- missioner McNutt called Patterson and told him that if he didn't write a stronger letter he, McNutt, would tell the Senate committee what he really thought about the (Continued on Page Four) sioners who may not be members of the bar to certify to abstracts of title, carried unanimously with the emergency clause. The measure to increase to $125 the maximum payment permitted for the burial of an indigent, Sen- ate Bill No. 11, introduced by Sen- ator ‘Andy Gundersen, received 15 yea votes. Senator Brownell, who had previously attempted unsuc- cessfully to amend certain support | provisions in the bill, opposed its! passage. ——— ROTARIANS. INVITE JUNEAQ SERVICEMEN . TO TUESDAY LUNCH The Rotary Club anncounced to- day that all Juneau and Douglas boys in the Armed Forces, who are {now enjoying furlougs are to be itm::r guests at the regular weekly {luncheon in the Baranof Hotel Gold ‘u can intelligently pass upon the lterday oh “As the Journal will show, we have announced many meetings and we have had almost as many additional meetings as are shown in the Journal. We have been con- fined in our inquiries to regular working hours because most of our investigations have been done in offices open only during those hours. “We felt that, except for those who advocate taxing without re- gard to the need; the investigation | we are making must, be completed | and presented to the Senate before | bill in question. “However, since by the vote yes- the question of calling! the bill out of committee, half of | the members indicated a desire to have it put on the calendar and| since retention of the bill longer| in committee might have given rise to the suspicion that it was being held for other motives than those for which it was held, the committee decided it could report {Harry B. DeLand, Field Auditor TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 17.—Fire Chief C. J. Eisenbacher said he.ex- pected at least 10 perished when | fire, of undetermined . origin, de- | stroyed the four-story Mayfair | Apartment, in the business district, pending in the housing 75, mostly war. workers and servicemen’s wives and families. One s known to be dead and one missing. 4 i ‘Thirteen were treated for burns and_injuries incurred while leaping from windows and the roof of the flaming structure. The fire chief said he believed it 1o be the city’s worst blaze. It will be hours before they can enter the wreckage to search for bodies. The first alarms were turned in at 2 o’clock this morning and six hours |later the fire was still blazing. The loss is estimated at $50,000. It is believed several were trapped in the rear apartments. It is be- lieved that an explosion in a candy | factory in the basement might have BILL TO CANCEL WRANGELL BONDS W Senate Bill«No. 18 "and 'Senate Joint Memoridls ‘Nos, 3'and 4 were this morning passed by the upper house of the Territorial Legislature. Ali carried unanimously. Senate Joint Resolution No. 4, in- troduced by Senator Andy Gunder- esn by request of the Wrangell City Council, was defeated by a 7 to 9 vote, after considerable discussion. ‘Wrangell School Bonds which are held by the Territorial Treasury. The bill' that passed, No. 18, by Senator Frank *Whaley, empowers It would have cancelled $20,000 in| the Territorial Highway Zngineer to| for the Alaska Unemployment Com- pensation Commission, who ex- plained how. the commission worked and answered questions. DeLand urged the delegates to take ‘an interest in the bill now Territorial Legis- | lature which would widen the cov- | {erage-of the present act to lnc_lur}e‘ all workers, excepting a few speci- | fied types. The :opposition Which Was ‘offéered | ‘to the bill in the Senaté i 'defense of the small businessman, he said, | {was more anti-labor and political than anything else.’ DeLand said also that legisla- tion is being prepared which would raise the maximum benefits under | the law from the present $16 for 16 weeks. He pointed out that aithough there is now $7,000,000 in the fund, the commission, after careful study, | does not feel that this is too much. Payments should be increased rather. than;taxes reduced, he sald, because the employer would not| benefit anyway sinee he-would still, |have to pay the .« The A ference, he' poin f, md ld that the “ Fed “Government | would gepgthe fgily3 perycent, in-{* stead of} thé g)ury,-g'qz 2T |per cent”and the Federal Goyerns ‘ment’ @ pbr! dent, us is the |case now: ! " fo AT . i Earlier business of the conven-| tion included action condemning Representative Almer J. Peurson's} House Bill No. 46, amending the| liquor laws, on the charge that the law would bring back the local| | bootlegger. * | | The delegates ‘also amended their constitution to set up an Alaska Fish Industry Labor Department for the purpose of promoting the |organization of workers in the fish- \ing industry. |* Another memorial, passed by the ‘convenuon, urged the Territorial i Legislature to take some action to have all labor contracts and agree- /ments in the Territory approved by construct and maintain shelter cab- iris ‘and -comfort stations on air- ports of the Territory. It carries stiff penalties for defacing or other- wisé misusing them. Memorial No. 3, by Senator Gun- dersen, is addressed to Congress, the an agenéy of the Territorial Gov- |ernment before going into effect, giving' whenever possible, preference |and attention to organizations in {Alaska and laboring people who are uflslden&s of the Territory. AMERICANS ‘Both. Airborne and Sea-. swiftly inland to close the 18-mile gap between them and the strong | U. 8. forge moving down Manila Bay | shofe*t¥"thé peninsula from the | north. “We have captured Bataan” said five-star; Gep. Douglas MacArthur: as hetiqnflfi e victory of thé ¢am- paign ot g little more than two weeks that took-the Japs more than three months to, m in u‘z Shattuck HiitsBack ~ "AtRoden Representative Curtis Shattuck ! spoke for a half-hour in the House this morning in defense of his| House Bfll 1, a measure liberaliz- | ing the Workman's Compensation i |Act by extending coverage of its |benetits to all workers and creating | It second injury funa, along with other minor changes. ‘ An allempt, however, to pass the bill through second reading without | amendment failed by a 18 to 11 vote shortly before, the House re- cessed for lunch. ¢ i ! =wattuck, in his talk, explained the bill in brief, then stated:that aulnorivies for fthe measure dn- cluded V. A. Zimmer, Director of the Division of Labor Standards of the U. S. Department of Labor, |land questioned @Attorney General Henry Roden’'s ives in the at- borne Troops Put on South Shore By Associated Press American paratroopers and sea- borne troops landed on Corregidor, in a two-way assault today. den torney general’s’discussion of the Tokyo radio reported they im-, mediately engaged the Japanese bill yesterday. He accused Roden lof confining himself to a “casti- garrison in “flerce battles” for the! fortress guarding the approaches to gation of the bill, ridiculing the Manila Bay. The: Tokyo broadcast said “this morning enemy airborne troops attempts of its author and stating that it was very loosely drawn but probably was as good as could be expected.” Furthermore, Shattuck said, he was prepared to make a sworn statement to the effect that a “cerain member of he House” said one reason he was trying to stop the bill was to “get even with Walter Sharpe, Commissioner of Labor, because of something Mr. Sharpe had done in the past.” COAST GUARD CHAPLAIN T0 landed on the island, The enemy also launched landings with assault landing barges. Fierce battles now are raging on the southern shore of Corregidor. Control of both Bataan and Corregidor would re-open Ma- nila Bay and the Cavite Naval Base, to the United States fleet. Drew Pearson Suing Pegler, Secretary of War and Delegate E. L.| Bartlett; it asks construction of a“ breakwater and improvement of | harbor faciiliies at Tenakee, The other Memorial passed, No. 4, by Senator Edward D. Coffey, is direct- Seilalor Magnuson Libel Charge NEW YORK, Feb. 17. — Drew HOLD SERVICE Lt. Clarence E. Davison, Protest- ant Chaplain for the U. 8. Coasj Guard in Alaska, is now in Juneau on a trip connected with his regular Rooms next Tuesday noon. \only as it does,—without recom- Ernie Parsons said efforts were Mmendation” being made to contact as many of | (Signed) the boys as possible but even if a ALLEN SHATTUCK, Chairman, Rotarian did not issue ® personal| FRANK WHALEY, invitation, the club wants all the|l ~EDWARD D. COFFEY, ‘ boys there. LEO W. ROGGE. OB P 5 0 ———o—— ed to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress. It asks extension to Alaska of provisions of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1944. Similar measures were be- fore the last session of Congress. e Alum root is the name of two en- tirely different plants that grow in the United States. Experimentation with rockets has| Before the war, Bratislava was been going on in the United States Czechoslovakia’s third city, with a since 1910. population of 160,000, . ————————— In seven generations of the Bach family there were 49 musicians. Federal Highway acts, particularly| Keeps Boosfing for nghwilo Alaska WASHINGTON, Feb. 17.—Senator | Warren G. Magnuson has introduced a bill to reestablish the Interna- 1‘ tional Highway Commission to study plans for the construction and fi- !nancing of the coast highway from | the Pacific Northwest to Alaska. —_— e+ —— Pearson, of the Washington Merry- duties. It is announced by the Go-Round, has brought suit against | Office of the Captain of the Port, ‘Westbrook Pegler in a $25,000 libel | that Chaplain Davison will hold action filed in the New York County | services here Sunday morning in the Supreme Court and the Bell Syndi- | Coast Guard Chapel. The services cate, distributors of Pearson’s col-will be open to all other military umn, also ask $25,000. personnel in Juneau. It is alleged Pegler injured Pear- | Chaplain Davison is making a tour son’s “name, fame and credit as a| of all Coast Guard stations in news reporter,” in his column of | Alaska, including lighthouse sta- January 30. tions. e - e — TELLEFSEN HERE C.)Tellefsen of Anchorage, is a guest'at the Gastineau Hotel. FROM ANCHORAGE Breslau is’ the largest and most Mike Jacejko, of Anchorage, is important city of Germany’s eastern staying at the Gastineau Hotel. border region. JAPS (LAIM INVASION OF ONE ISLAND Declare Yank Forces Re- pulsed Attempling to Capture Big Base By Associated Press American amphibious troops land- led on Iwo Jima Isle, big Japanese South Pacific base, on the road to Japan today, the Japanese broad- casts report. The Japanese Domei News Agency ' dispatches said the Yank assault forces landed on two beaches on the southern shores of Iwo Jima but within 10 minutes were being repul- sed. At the same time the Tokyo radio poured out warnings that Japan it- self might be invaded any minute. The Tokyo newspaper Asahi to- day ediforialized that heavy carrier- borne air raids around the Capitol City of the Japanese Empire may be “preparatory to the enemy's land- ing scHeme on the homeland.” Another leading newspaper is quoted as saying amphibious forces, backed the American _Fifth Fleet “might strike directly at the homeland and effect landings.” The Tokyo radio reports the in- vagion.of Iwo Jima followed a thun- derous air and naval bombardment backed by guns of a. Task Force which the Japanese - claimed in- cluded 30 warships. e Domei ‘claims that at least thfee’ American warships were sunk off. Two, also er B it ¢ {3 esp : We sta¥ perdtidns tat- cune Beach, the southwestern part of the island about 10:30 a. m. Sat- nrday, but our garrison troops opromptly = counter-attacked and rompletely smashed the enemy and about 10 miriutes later another at- tempt was made.to land on Kamiy- 2ma Beach at the southeastern tip of the island, but our garrison troops uccessfully repulsed them.” BY EPIDEMIC Influenza Spreads South from Barrow Where Nine Have Died The influenza epidemic that has involved the total population of Point Barrow for the past week has now spread south to the village of Wainwright, the Office of Indian Affairs Medical Division announced today. Alma Carlson, OIA Field Nurse, has been detailed to fly to Wain- | wright to assist in control of the epidemic and two other nurses are to be flown into Barrow to assist in control of the epidemic there, which has already taken a toll of nine lives. Also being flown in are large quantities of sulfa drugs and peni- cillin. Some of these medicines will be flown ‘into Wainwright also, it was announced. » Leon 8. Vincent, teacher at Bar- row, gave 3,00 tablets of sulfa drug to the stricken Eskimos and | staff members of the OIA hospital at Barrow. He was assisted by the third grade teacher, Rusty Hurlene Arky. The Medical Division said all ef- forts were being made to get in enough medical aid and enough drugs to check the epidemic and prevent E more dea Bratislava was Hungary’s capital until Czechoslovakia was bora .t the end of World War I.