The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 19, 1945, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIR “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1945 YOL. LXIV., NO. 9889 THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SERIAL RECORD 1945 no MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS T NIP’S MAINLAND BLASTED TWICE TODAY Stepping Stone to Japan Secured RESISTENCE STIFFENS ON EASTFRONT Counter Blows of Natzis Fail to Stop Advance- of Red Army | LONDON, Feb. 19. — The Red| Army 'today battled sharp German countergttacks in some sectors, up and down the ice-covered Eastern Front, but they continued to forge ahead toward Dresden and on Ber- 1in’g southeastern flank. I ‘While Moscow dispatches said the | Geérman counter stabs were not in proportion to a counteroffensive, théy were mounted by veterans of the German reular army and Himm- | ler's home army in the greatest numbers yet seen. They are pnr-‘ ticularly strong in Pomerania and Silesih where the Germans are en- trenched in artillery positions dug in | the frozen earth. Nazis Rush Up Reserves Despite fierce hammering of their crowded communication lines by Al- lied planes last week the Germans were able to rush reserves to the front. | A German communique said Kon- | ev’s Pirst Ukrainian Army is forging ahead, however, compelling the Ger- mans to engage “in violent defensive fighiting” all the way from the Czech * hordet’ to the Oder Bend. ' Southeast of Berlin, Konev's tanks reached .an area south of Lauban, on' the Quels River, 62 miles i Dresden. A communiGue sald Lau- barij eight miles s t of Naum- befg, was captu ians yesterday. It elist “of | Goerlitz on the Neisse ich Mos- cow dispatches last week, said were reached. by advanced , spearheads. The town is only nine miles from the Czech border, on Konev's right wing Bridgehead on Oder Zhukov's First White Russian} Army hammered out a bridgehead over the ‘Oder, near Crossen. 64 fniles south and east of Berlin, Kon- ev and Khukov are linking up for a smash toward the Nazi strongpoint of Gubkn, on the Neisse, 42 miles from Berlin and the apex of the vital defense triangle, guarding the southeastérn approach fo. the capital. e 2 The W ash;“ng.'tld};i Merry - Go-Round setvice with the'Army.) . WASHINGTON — Hard-bailed menibers of the Diplomatic Corps, accustomed to judging international conferences : by - what- goes -on ~bes hind the scenes rather.tnhan by or- ficial communiques, are reserving final: décision on the “Big Three” Conference. However, their .imme- diate reaction is that Roosevelt got mafi.t&-::[ they expected, perhaps’ better 50 per_cent. . A Tol gét the true perspective of what' ‘Roobevelt achieved, it is necéssity to remember what he was " with—which, .in the -7 seasoned diplomats, wasn’t, miseh. ;. § In 'the .first place, this' was the one of he few conferences in 400 years when the British Prime Min- ister did not have at his call the greatest navy in the world, For four centuries the British, sitting at in- ternational conferences, could say: “If you don’t agree, we can bottle up your ports.” Just one century kefore, the British fleet had carried 200,000 Prench and British troops across the Black Sea to the Crimea—to the approximate spot where the “Big Three” conferred—in a bold move to. block the Czar from moving down to the.Dardenelles. For 100 years since -then, the British fleet, sometimes with help from their one-time Japanese ally, have kept the vast area of land- locked Russia’ with no warm water outlet to the sea. . s STALIN'S GOODWILL This time, however, Churehill had (Continued on Page M\ Arom |port, ! ROAD CENTER OF GOCH IS | TAKENTODAY Canadians—ATe 25 Miles from Duisburg, Gate- way fo Ruhr BULLETIN—PARIS, Feb. 19 —Scottish Infantry and tanks mopped up two-thirds of the strategic Siegfried ~Line de« fense hub of Gotch tonight after a surprise attack caught the German commander and his staff in bed. At bayonet-point the Scots rooted out savagely-fighting Germans who were fighting from the ceHars and rubble heaps of the ruined stronghold where eight military highways meet. Casualties were heavy on both sides. To the east, on the churning, 17 - mile Kvele - Gotch front, British Empire troops are fight- ing within 25 miles of the great Ruhr Valley inland port of Duisberg. They are within 16 miles of Wesel, the nearest Ruhr railhead. PARIS, Feb. 19 — Kilted Scots fought into the center of the heavily-fortified road center of| Goch today as the Canadian First Army advanced t6 within 25 miles of Duisberg, worlds largest inland| ort, mpd western portal of the| rich Ruhr arsenal. priush and Canadian _troops fought to within a mile of Clarcar, | llike Goch an impoéftant front-line road center. They pushed stoutly- | resisting Germans to the southern edge of the .Moyland woods. Cas- ualties were heavy on both sides. | The forest extends almost to the edge of Clarcar. i Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery | is said, by the Germans, to have| committed his British Second Army | to intensifying the battle between | the Meuse and the flooded Rhine | front, on which the northern end of the ofiginal Siegfried Line has been run through. Last Round of Battle The Battle for Gérmany. The _enemy going toreceive ‘gfl Kout | It will' be 4 's0me 5 4 e ‘than 1t ‘witl be' delivere®f iff one direction,” he said, American Gen"aboi B ton wideled: His ‘Third 'Afriy; frén§) in Westérn ‘Germany 'to 32 “mifes “and captured numdrous towns in the Eiffel Mountains, some within se: miles of the important! rosti cenv«?fl of ' Bitburg! b ‘Further South,” 'Gen. Patch’s; Seventh Army fought back two. iniles into the German Saar Basin, capturing 1,000 prisoners, and Auersmacher, six miles southeast of Saarbrucken. Supreme Head- quarters .said Patton’s objectives were limited. The American First and Ninth Armies, and perhaps other forma- tions, are still inactive along the Roer River facing Cologne, Bonn and Dusseldorf. It is in this sector, least of Aachen, that the Germans predicted a rear-battle decision. GERMANS ARE PULLING OUT, NORTH ITALY BERN, Switzerland, Feb. 19.—The ewspaper Der Bund reported from {Chiasso that Hitler ordered Marshal Kesselering to evacuate Northern Italy. The withdrawal is in progress. The newspaper said Italian Fas- cists, whom it said were in panic,| were seeking to mediate for their! own safety. Der Bund said four| British, Mar 1 sald’ it was the last% dl%rfr!fn%f’ WILL BE BUILT THIS SPRING IN JUNEAU A A — A e e e e e e e e e e A e e e N M S BUILDING *FOR *JUNEAU*COLD*STORAGE *CO.sINC. *=+-~THE *AUSTIN*COENGINEERS § BUILDERS Shown above is the engineer’s sketch of the new Juneau Cold Stcrage Company plant with the addition which will be built this spring, expanding the storage capacity to seven millian pounds. The new struc- ture will tie in with the old on the second floor, th'e present alleyway through to the dock front being kept. It is Juneau's first major construction job since pre-war days. RED CROSS MEETING 1S N TUESDAY that. seems .t hava appeal; of -4k Will. he: i LT the presé: the people of Juneau. Al xgmmumty mass meeting, is Tu fealled for 8 o'clock; Tuesday, ghtfn the Council Chamber, of the City Hall to, er., the 1945 needs of the American Red Cross. organize’ to’ meet,, these, . meeds. countless services to our people everywhere, that the raising of funds this. year ought. not to be difficult. With such a large num- ber of /local men and women who will. directly benefit from the Red Cross wherever they may be, Ju- neau and Douglas now have a di- rect interest in its activities as never before. “The .only serious problem we face in this drive seems to be the one of organization. A large at- tendance tomorrow night should \insure the solution of that prob- lem.” Chairman Webb has already re- ceived assurance from many per- sons that they will be present at the mass meeting. It is hoped that it will be, in every sense of the phrase, truly a community-wide affair, ————— TENAKEE SENDS IN IS MARCH OF DIMES Tenakee has contributed the sum of $23.75 to the March of Dimes, a check for that amount having been received by B. D. Stewart from A. Dermott O'Toole. e e divisions were already leaving by way of the Brenner Pass. Heavy equipment was being sent by train to Graz, Austria, FROM KETCHIKAN Frank Lloyd, Ketchikan, is a guest at the Baranof, Bigger Beter Cold Sforage Plant Will ' 7/ . Be(onsiruciedSoon ‘again - tomorraw; night o, The fole.qrder of business is fo, ’ The first of numerous proposed major industrial expansions in Juneau will become a reality this spring with the construction of a three-story reinforced concrete ad- dition to “the present Juneau Cold Storage Company plant, increasing the storage capacity of the concern (from four million to seven million pounds. tract let and the War Pro- duction. Board 2 AIRLINES 'APPEARING: ‘BEFORELAB 'Northwest and Pan Amer- ican Give Facts - Routes fo Alaska, Orient WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 — The Northwest Airlines’ economist told the CAB hearing here that the company’s vast wartime experience + ! Alaska and the United States, Orient. H. C. Timberland told the CAB|ing of, has given thelexaminers his company has flown| Such:e project a green|more miles over military routes of M‘uik in Pearl Harbor and MARINES LAND ON IWO JIMA Large Airdrome Can Now Be Used by Bombers to Hit at Japan U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD- By Yanks 'Wanion Slaying Priests, Wafin, Children Massacred-Mutilated Remains Evidence MANILA, Feb. 19—The wanton |SUPERS MAKE DOUBLE RAID Targefs Are Also Blasted on Malay'Peninsula by Giwanes WASHINGTON, Feb. 19. — The QUARTERS, GUAM, Feb. “"“""mymg of at least 60 priests and|Japanese mainland was blasted crican Marines, their path cleared by the most intensive neutraliza- son campaign in the Pacific WAl jote pigrict, by Japanese soldiers|dustrial targets of women and children refugees at La Salle College, in Manila’s Ma- again today by Superforts of the Twentleth Air Forge, bombing in- the homeland have landed on Iwo Jima, one of .o jevealed with the recovery of |island of Honshu. There is no im- he Volcano Islands 675 miles south of the Japanese homeland, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz announces in a special communique, This development of the fast- moving action in the Pacific war placed the American troops on the logical stepping-stone to Japan. Iwo Jima is so close to Tokyo that rule there has been admin- istered by the Tokyo prefecture. American fighters and medium bombers can now be based on Iwo Jima’s large airdrome and they will be within land-based striking range of Tokyo for the first time. Beachhead Established Tonight, Adm. Nimitz announced that the invading American Marines established a secure beachhead on Iwo Jima island and fought their {way to one of the island’s leading airfields and penetrated its defenses. The veteran Fifth Corps of Ma- rines, Amerjca’s 5t 8l bious | outfit, established ! yard | beachhead to a depth of 500 yards and drove iniand to the edge of the ;fi-‘?ielnrunderbincmm Japanese tagtillery and mortar fire. ‘Supers Pave Way The advance upits of the attack- ters, reached the southern end of the /alxdield angl penetrated the defenses (east of the airstrip, The beach- |head extends nearly two and one- half miles northward from the vol- {cano at the southern tip of the air- base on the island, Nimitz says. Credit is given the Superforts and submarines in helping to pave the way for the landing of the Marines. Destruction At Tokyo up the air offensive against Tokyo where the Fifth Air Fleet and Army destroyed or damaged 36 ships and Wallis S. George, General Man-!giyes the Northwest top listing as 57 planes in two days before wifh- ager for the company, announced g Alaskan air carrier, Supporting drawing. today - thatplans -have been cOm- the Northwest's application to pro< | pleted, the.con- vige an air ‘service between : thelsouthern Iwo Jima beaches climax< ling a Meavy naval bombardment, Thousands of rockets raked the Nimitz states,, which included blast- nt battleships as the light. The new canada, Alaska and the Aleutian iresurrectedl, Helped pave the way plant will be constructed on . the present site Wallis S. George of the Snow Dock and Storage Company, George reported. The new cold storage building will be tied in with the ‘present modern building on the second floor. The property for the struc- ture was acquired by the cold storage company more than a year with the expansion program ago, lin mind. ! 5 Plans Made George revealed that his com- pany has» had an option on the laundry property for two years, and in November, 1943, the engin-| eering of the new addition was bégun when refrigeration and con- struction engineers from the Austin! Company of Seattle visited Juneau.. Since that time work has been continuous in completing plans for the new addition which were sub- mitted to and ratified by the com- | pany directors in Seattle in No- ‘vember; later approved in Juneau by stockholders. “It is with much pride and pleasure that our company an-| nounces that actual construction will begin this coming spring, and the, new building will be compleud‘ and ready for use six months after commencement of construction,” George stated. “We have received authorization from the War Pro- duction Board to commence work, which releases all building materials, machinery and equip- (Continued on Page Five) Islands than any other operator.. “The fact is, Northwest Airline {has flown more miles in these Op- ierations—and gained more experi- Robert O. Bullwinkel, /Assistant to the President of the Northwest Airlines, and in charge of traffic, estimated the company would carry a minimum of 7,280 passengers be- tween the United States and the Orient during' the first year of op- eration. PAA To Be Heard The spokesman for Pan American Airways will be heard during today, 'and PAA officials said they contem- plate an investment of $30,000,000 for equipment for postwar air ser- vice over the Pacific. The company proposes to use (Continued on Page Five) MANY RAIL CENTERS HIT BYBOMBERS | LONDON, Feb. 19.—A dozen rail {centers and industrial targets in |Western Germany, including big | | for the, it of the stepping y o " " Marine casualties weré - “moder- ate,” Nimitz states, as the heavy “So.vast_is the present scope of White Laundry, and a new, modern, ence—than all other operators.com- |supporting fleet of more than 800 the work of the Red Cross all over reinforced concrete structure Wwill pined, and surely such a record is ships neared the fsland and the the world,” said the Rev. W. be erected at the same time for 5 true test of fitness and ability | invasion was started. Robert Webb, chairman of the the laundry concern on the Erick-ito perform the service under CO““was light but Jap counterfire, at local drive, “and so moving are its son property, opposite the Alaska|gsideration,” said Timberland. | Resistance |first sporadic, steadily intensified as |the Marines smashed against the ;enemy in entrenched ridges, then {burned them out of pill boxes by flame throwers. Warships encircled the island and |furnished artillery support while swarms of carrier planes dived on the Japs in front of the path of the Marines. o ‘Held Up for (igarettes, Not Money WILMINGTON, Del, Feb. 19— !George Lawson told police that |“last night a man pushed a gun in my face. I reached for mv wnlle¢ and offered it to him. He declined the wallet, muttering ‘let’s have the cigarettes’ He took the pack of cigarettes and walked off.” S, —— WOMEN OF THE MOOSE The Women of the Moose held their monthly social meeting on Sat- urday evening. Business was quicky attended to and one new member initiated into the order. The remainder of the evening was spent in playing games and prizes were awarded. The next business meeting will be The seizure of Iwo Jima will step some of the mutilated remains. | Of 70 persons caught in the |College, only eight survived, said one of them, the Rev. Francis J. Coédgrave, 47, Redemptionist priest from Sydney, Australia. The Rev. Cosgrave is recovering from two bayonet wounds in Santo Tomas Hospital. He filled in the |details of that terrible afternoon, ‘last Monday. One Japanese officer and 20 en- listed men shot and bayoneted American, Fillpino, German, Irish and Spanish religious brothers and refugees. The bodies, serving as ghastly evidence, were discovered today when 148th Infantry troops cap- tured the college area. Cosgrave escaped, when, after the first attack, he found himself under two or three bodies of the others, He remained wuntil . 10 soclock. that pight and then, when all was qulet, he crawled upstairs into ‘the chapel where he hid be- ineath the altar. Bayonetted Twice Bayonetted twice in the chest, he remained beneath the chapel for a week, living on water drained from flower vases and wafers used in Holy Communion. S He sald on that Monday, the {Japanese stormed the priest’s room. An officer screamed something and |then fired at him point-blank with !a pistol. Then the Japanese charged {the terrified, sobbing throng of victims, firing guns and slashing right and left with bayonets. Today, the bodies lle as they fell in the blood-smeared interior. BARTLEIT IS - SEEKINGTWO AIR ROUTES Says Dev.eTopme\nl of Northern Country Hinges on Transporfation WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.—Devel- opment of Alaska hinges on trans- portation facilities, Delegate from Alaska E. L. Bartlett, told the Civil Aeronautics Board at the hearings on applications of airlines-to operate in to the Territory. He said the war had brought a fine system of civillan aviation *| facilities and he complimented the services for operating in the Terri< tory while doing wartime work. “The tools for aviation develpp- ment are available. ‘The next thi to do is to utilize them,” he said. The applicatiohs confirm the com- munity of interest between the Uniit- ed States and Alaska and suggésted there be no fear of inadequate | business in the Territory, citing the probability of further expenditures by the armed forces even after the war, and evidence that many war workers and soldiers will settle in the North, he stated. will be served if the applications are | granted for both inland and coastal routes. He said “the overwhelming ' number” of Alaskans would perfer competition.” - e - SPECIAL MISSION MEETINGS Special meetings are being held freight . yards at Muenster, Asna- held on the evening of March 3 at at Juneau City Mission by Evan- ibrueck, »Rheine and BSiegen were bombed today by a force of 1100 American heavy bombers. 8 o'clock. Prior to the meeting an executive session will be held. ‘ officers are urged to attend. gelist Charlie M. Yadon, Services and everyone is invited to attend, ‘The best interests of the Territory | mediate indication whether Tokyo was among the objectives. ‘The attack on Honshu Island was the second of the day, Japanese targets, military com- munications and facilities on Malay Peninsula were bombed by Super- forts winging from India bases. The Supers, of the Twentieth Air Force, under command of Brig. Gen. Ramey, also bombed the main- land island prior to the raid on the Malay Peninsula. The Tokyo broadcast says 80 Sup- ers, presumably from bases on Sai- tacked the homeland following sweeping raids made earlier by car- rier-based planes. Americans Fight Way 16 Hospital Area, Also Into Corregidor By C. YA;&DANEL (AP War Correspondent) MANILA, Feb. 19 — American "|troops battled on the. rocky* slopes and in the tunnels of Corregidor, mopping up the Japanese pockets as, Gen. Douglas MacArthur' dis- closed a new draématic chapter in liberation, freeinng 7,000 enemy hostages, at least 100 of them Americans, in | Manila. Americans, 1! 1 st « by~ cans, fi?fl)b”' street. ..in. wa battled into ti h Philippine “?ummm 3 ricans General Hospi thousands - of 1 and other nationals from .under Japanese gunfire, while Gther Am- ericans, dug the Japatese:defenders from the tunnels of Fort Corregidor in Manila Bay, and also captured Manila Hill. United States Seventh Fleet units have shelled the Cavite shoreline south of Corregidor to clear the Manila Bay entrance of enemy guns, y East of Manila, a convoy of-21 Japanese trucks filled with Jap troops were wiped out in sharp patrol clashes in the Slerra Madre foothills. | Nearby, PT boats, operating in the Manila Bay area, sank five small enemy craft, A, J. SEEKS MORE " ROCK DUMPING " SPACE, CHANNEL SEATTLE, Feb. 19.—The Alaska Ju- neau, Gold. Mining Company has requuted permission to dump waste Tock below the depth of 60 feet mean low water in Gastineau Channel, south of Juneau, the Seattle Army Engineers office reports. Any objections from the stand- point of navigation must be receiv- ed by March 15. ————— PIGGLY WIGGLY STORE HAS ITS FACE LIFTED Over the weekend Piggly Wiggly had its face lifted . A force of paint- ers completely re-did the store in bright and shining paint, working All will be held every night at 8 o'clock | eXtra hard so the store could re- open for business this morning. By Japs) TOKYO ISLE pan and Tinian in the Marians, at-