Evening Star Newspaper, January 17, 1942, Page 2

Two Extra Pages In This Edition Late news and sports are covered on Pages 1-X and 2-X of this edition of The Star, supplementing the news of the regular home delivered edition. Closing N. Y. Markets—Sales, Page 6. @h ¢ Foeni WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION o Star Readers Prefer The Star The Star's afternoon and evening circulation is more than double that of any other Washington newspaper Its total circulation in Washington far exceeds that of any of its contem- poraries in the morning or on Sunday. “(F) Means Associated Press. 90th YEAR. No. 35,690. WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1942 THREE CENTS. aps 50 Miles From Singapore, M'Arthur Retreating, Tokio Says; Axis Stronghold of Halfaya Falls Australians’ Line Nipponese Claim BY the Associated Press. An official Tokio broadcast as- serted today that Japan's inva- sion armies had broken through Australian defense lines in the Batu Pahat sector, only 50 miles northwest of Singapore, and it was apparent that a crisis was near in the fate of Britain's $400,000,000 stronghold. Another Tokio broadcast, quoting dispatches datelined “With the Japanese Forces on Batan Penin- sula, Luzon Island,” declared that United States Regular Army de- fenders of the Philippines were in general retreat toward Manila Bay, apparently hoping to find shelter on Corregidor Island. The Tokio radio said Japanese observation planes reported Ameri- can and PFilipino artillerymen were abandoning battery positions and that large columns were joining in a general retreat toward Manila Bay and the west coast of Batan Peninsula. British Admit Advance. British headquarters in Singa- pore acknowledged that Japanese troops had gained a foothold on the south bank of the strategic Muar River, 90 miles north of Johore | Strait, which separates slngnpore} Island from the mainland. Singapore dispatches said a major battle was developing in the Ma- layan jungles to the northwest. Domel, the official Japanese news | agency, declared that Japanese troops reached the Batu Pahat sector at dawn today with a spear- head of mechanized forces striking down the west coast of Johore State from Malacca Straits settlement. In fighting near Gemas, north- east of Malacca, Domei sald Japa- nese troops had wiped out half of an Australian force of 1,000 men. Domei said Japanese troops “com- pletely occupied” the city of Malac- ca. capital of the Malacca settle- | ment. Retreat Not Confirmed. The report that Gen. MacArthur’s | troops had been forced to retreat was not confirmed here. A War Department communique said American-Filipino forces on Batan peninsula were stubbornly resisting a heavy Japanese attack against Gen. MacArthur’s right flank. “This attack is well supported by mircraft and artillery,” the com- munique said. “The assailants greatly outnum- ber the defenders. However, our | soldiers are stubbornly contesting the attempted advance.” Muar River Crossed By Japs, British Admit SINGAPORE, Jan. 17 (#).—Japa- nese soldiers pounding into Johore State toward a major battle for Singapore have gained a foothold on the south bank of the Muar River, 90 miles from Singapore Is- land. and have pushed forward ele- | ments to the junction city of Gemas, | the British acknowledged today. Far to the north, other Japanese | fnvasion columns were reported striking into British Burma—de- fended by mixed forces of American aviators, Chinese and British Im- perial troops—in an attempt to cut off China's back-door route of war supplies. The communique did not say where the Muar crossing was made | but it added that the British bombers dealt out devastation on troop-laden launches and barges near the mouth I of the stream, which empties 1ntoi Malacce. Strait about 100 miles | northwee of the city of Singapore. | (In London a military com- mentator said the Muar River crossing meant the Japanese had pushed a spearhead closer to Singapore than at any time since the invasion was launched. He emphasized this did not mean the Japanese were in control of the entire southern bank and in- dicated that the British were putting up stubborn resistance.) More than 70 Japanese planes raided the Singapore area in two | attacks and the Far East Command said preliminary reports showed civilian casualties amounted to about 150. One Japanese plane was reported shot down, two more prob- ably downed and two damaged. The communique also announced that British artillery was pounding Japanese forward elements in Gemas, 110 miles from Singapore in | Northern Johore. Little Activity in East. It said contact was slight on the | eastern part of the front, confined mainly to patrolling. It was in the section above Gemas, in the State of Negri Sembilan, that the British reported vesterday fresh Australian troops had blasted a col- umn of Japanese in their first action since the invasion began last month. Besides hitting at the Japanese swarming into the Muar River sec- tion, R. A. F. bombers were reported to have carried out more attacks against Japanese transport in the Gemas-Tampin area and destroyed a large number of vehicles -and damaged others. ‘The major battle for Singapore ap- pdrently was developing as the main ‘body of Japanese soldiers neared the Pownall line thrown up by the Aus- tralian, British and Imperial de- fenders of Singapore. Japs Thrust Into Burma. Far to the north of the Singapore Broadcast to Empire By the Associated Press. Churchill Returns to England In Malaya Broken,| After Flight Across Atlantic Prime Minister Is Cheered by Crowds; LONDON, Jan. 17.—Prime Minister Churchill stepped prosaic- | ® Expected Soon ally from a train this afternoon, home from a history-making | visit to the United States and Canada, after having flown 3,287 miles across the Atlantic from Bermuda to Plymouth in 18 hours. The Prime Minister and four of his<- | | | chief lieutenants made the long| | | formation of a non-detailed char- | officials are planning strong meas- over-water jump from the Western | ¥ould broadcast a report to the | Hemisphere in the four-engined fly- | ing boat Berwick of the British Air-| ways which was skippered by the| veteran pilot, Capt. J. C. Kelly| Rogers. The first to greet the Prime Min- | ister was his wife. They kissed affectionately. Mr. Churchill was wearing a nau- tical jacket, a yachting cap and a beaming smile. Cheered By Crowd. News of his arrival spread swiftly | through Paddington Station and the cheers of week-end crowds rose in ‘waves. Members of the United States Em- | bassy staff and the American naval | and military missions were out to| greet him along with high British | government officials. | It was expected that Mr. Churchill | | Empire | at Plymouth this morning. soon, possibly tomorrow | night. Departure Held Up. His departure from Plymouth was held up about 20 minutes until a | missing large black bag—contents secret—was found. The Prime Minister, returning from Washington and his talks with President Roosevelt, stepped ashore | He had reached Washington on December 22 after a secret trip from | London. The safe return of the Prime Min- ister was announced at his official residence, No. 10 Downing street. Text of Announcement. The text of the official announce- ment follows: . “The Prime Minister arrived at (See CHURCHILL, Page A-3) Facts on Production That Won't Aid Foe Promised to Public Restriction Placed on Publication of Sites Of War Industries BY the Associated Press. The American public was told to- day it would be given all the in- formation about war production that could be disclosed without aiding the enemy. | The announcement was made by | the Interdepartmental Committee ' on War Information, which at the | same time pointed out there would be difficulties in distinguishing be- tween information of value or non- value to the enemy. (< The committee said every effort should be made to resolve these by employing a form of publication “which will provide information helpful to our own people without providing information helpful to our enemies.” In that connection, a line was drawn between local and general publication about site locations of war industries. | The committee said such informa- | tion should be withheld from gen- | eral publication, but if the con-| struction was such that it would be- come generally known in the locality | where the work was being done “in- | acter may be published by local | newspapers and should be released by Government departments to in- terested members of Congress for | local use.” Archibald MacLeish, director of | the Office of Facts and Pigures, is the head of the committee. It in- cludes representatives of the State, Treasury, War, Navy and Justice departments, the Office of Govern- ment Reports, the Co-ordinator of Information, the Office for Emer- gency Management and the lease- lend administration. U. . Plans g;rong Drive On Vice in Army Areas B> the Associated Press. ORLANDO, Fla,, Jan. 17.—United States Surg. Gen. Thomas Par- ran said last night that Federal | ures against prostitution to control | a war-borne rise in venereal diseases. “The Federal Security adminis- trator authorizes me to say.” he told | the Florida State-wide Public Health Committee conference, “that com-| plete agreement has been reached | between him and the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Navy re- garding an accentuation of meas- ures which are to be taken to deal” with vice conditions. “The Federal agencies until re-| cently have been content to coax and cajole and persuade” local officials to clean up prostitution near military reservations, he said. Delivery of Night Final Edition The Night Final Edition of The Star, with two addi- tional pages of last-minute news, is delivered through- out Washington and nearby suburbs, together with The Sunday Star, ‘at 85c per month. This edition gives the ‘latest developments of the day in International, Na- tional and Local news, with complete Financial Reports. battlefront the Japanese made their expected stab into Burma, attempt- ing to drive across the narrow strip (See SINGAPORE, Page A-3) ’ Special delivery is made between 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. daily. Nazi Counferatfacks Repulsed on Central Front, Russians Say Bitter Efforts to Check Red Army’s Advance Declared Thwarted BY the Associated Press. | LONDON, Jan. 17.—Bitter but | fruitless German counuranncks; n the central front, paced by picked divisions from a 100,000- | man army marshaled at the tip | of the Mozhaisk salient, were in- | dicated by the Soviet Informa- tion Bureau today. All the efforts to check the Rus-| sian advance were made at a tre- mendous cost and all were repulsed, | the bureau declared. By direct as- sault combined with pincer actions, the Red Army is seeking to wipe out the invaders across the Moscow- Smolensk highway at a point 57| St;rrender Opens Coast Supply Line For Libyan Drive BY the Associated Press. CAIRO, Egypt, Jan. 17.—Hal- f faya Pass, Axis stronghold on the Egyptian-Libyan desert frontier, fell to Imperial siege troops this morning with the unconditional surrender of more than 5,500 of its hard-pressed garrison. Thus the British smashed a Ger- man-Italian attempt to parallel the British holdout stand at Tobruk —and thus, too, the British won access to the main coastal route of supply to their advance assault forces which have pursued the main | body of the Axis forces 300 miles farther west. Forced Long Detour. Axis control of the steep-sided pass, which the British dubbed “Hellfire,” had forced the British | to move their reinforcements and supplies over a tortuous desert de- tour almost 100 miles to the south. (In London, a British military commentator estimated that the surrender of the Halfaya gar- rison brought the total of Axis prisoners taken in the campaign to at least 31,000, with still more uncounted coming in from for- ward areas of fighting. (“This is the end of any hope the Axis command had left of getting back into Cirenaica,” the commentator added.) The British by-passed Halfaya last November 18 when they drove into Libya for a second test of | strength with the Axis desert forces. | The Axis garrison, which had forti- | fled the pass with artillery, trenches | and dugouts cut into the rock, with- | stood a battering for almost two months. Doomed by Fall of Salum. The fall of the stronghold, an- | nounced by the British Middle East General Headquarters, was the third time it had switched hands in the back-and-forth surge of African fighting. The British seized the pass De- cember 16, 1940, in their first drive into’ Libya. The Germans won it back April 14, 1941, in their swift counter offensive. For weeks before its final capitu- lation the Halfaya garrison had been blasted repeatedly from the air and attacked again and again by siege forces pressing in steadily from all sides. The final crack-up of the defense —originally estimated to number al- most 10.000—began last Tuesday when Imperial troops swept into nearby Salum, thereby cutting the D 7, /A 7 2 ./ l:k’;’ //// 747 North | miles west of the capital. | defenders of the pass off from water Russian parachute troops billowed |OF sea-borne supplies or reinforce- down behind the German lines in ment. The pass extends from near | the Mozhaisk sector to join guer- |Salum through the coastal escarp- | rilla bands for rearguard assaults| n;‘ent to the plateau land back from | co-ordinated with flerce pressure on | the sed. the front and flanks by Red Army| _Last Threat to Resr Ended. i Even before that there had been l:fisn{‘_"fiiiefi?,‘,,°’lo":5‘£§,,° u:,:?,:f | indications that supplies were dwind- | ing London. |ling fast in the caves and dugouts A dispatch of the Russian Army |°fpne besiesed gerrison. * From the front came one story | ngfi:“flifg‘j;z'bfi;‘fgrfi;; | that an Italian doctor under a white | Grmantilineslih [oneissctoriorite| Lo ook 8 wounded Belkeni s men | out through the siege line for medi- | central Moscow front, ere relent- | cq) treatment by .(he British and | lessly pressing the enemy and widen- | yo5 given in returfi medical supplies | ing the breach.” It acknowledged ywhich he said the garrison had ex- furious counterassaults. |'hausted Several Villages Reclaimed. | Military observers ex pressed ela- | The Soviet Information Bureau|jon gt the elimination of the last | | declared several villages and towns | threat to the British rear and de- on the central front had been re-|cjgred that now additional Imperial captured by Red Army troops in en- | forces would be released to move on gagements which cost the Germans | west and reinforce the drive toward about 800 dead. Tripolitania. The bureau said one Russian regu- | - The British communique said that lar, “pursuing a retreating enemy |in this area severe sandstorms and column, killed 10 enemy soldiers| heayy rain interfered with all opera- | with well-aimed rifle shots and de- | tions around El Agheila yesterday. Guam Fought Valiantly to Last, Japs Quote Governor as Saying (The following dispatch, broad- cast by Toki?,lpurpmts l:é)f a |the Japanese, and replied prison camp interview wit, apt. | “T was not. It is impossible to de- George J. McMillin, Governor of |fend a little island like Guam with Guam.) a small garrison composed of a | By the Associated Press. ‘ group of marines and police against TOKIO, Jan. 17 (Official Broad- |a strong attacking force.” cast).—Domei reported today that Domei said that in answer to other |it had interviewed Capt. George J.!questions Capt. McMillin said he | McMillin, Governor of Guam, at a| had not underestimated Japan's | prison camp on Shikoku Island, and | strength; that the Japanese were quoted him as expressing the wish | well prepared and equipped for their that President Roosevelt be in- | attack, and that his treatment as a formed that Guam's defenders prisoner at the hands of the Jap- fought valiantly to the last anese had been satisfactory. Domei said its correspondent| The Domei correspondent said asked Capt. McMillin whether he Capt. McMillin seemed “well and | had any message and was told | chipper” after a 2,000-mile trip to | “I want you to tell President Japan aboard a warship. | Roosevelt we of the American forces | The dispatch said the reporter no- | fought valiantly and defended our | ticed that the American used his left posts until the last.” Domei said the Governor of Guam was asked whether he had been con- | fident Guam could hold out against commented on this was told: “I kick with my left foot, too.” Commissioners Name 'Three Rent Examiners To Assist Cogswell Appointees Will Gather Evidence in Cases Where Conciliation Is Futile Stork Wins Race During Blackout Despite 17 Stops By the Associated Press. WAUKEGAN, Il Jan. 17— Robert Carlson wondered today how he lived through last night's Lake County practice blackout without blacking-out some defense warden’s eyes. He and his wife, Marie, start- ed from their home at Grays- lake, 20 miles away, for Wauke- gan when the arrival of the stork appeared imminent. Seventeen times along the way police and defense ward- ens stopped his automobile for ignoring the lights-out order. The Carlsons, however, won the race to the hospital, the ex- asperated husband in tears. Appointment of three rent ex- aminers to assist Rent Adminis- | trator Robert F. Cogswell was announced today by the Com- missioners. They will take office Monday. | Each of the three appointees will | hand to sign his name, and when he i {Indies Harbor Works | nese bombers caused slight dam- | | age today ?Maritime Commission Awards Contracts for 632 Merchant Ships |\ AlltoBe Completed by End | Of 1943; Fulfills Program | Set in Roosevelt Speech BY the Associated Press. The Maritime Commission an- | nounced today it had negotiated | contracts for construction of 632 additional merchant vessels. | These, it said, would bring its pro- | gram up to President Roosevelt's re- | quest for 8,000000 deadweight tons | of shipping this year and 10,000,000 | deadweight tons next year. Capt. Howard L. Vickery, a mem- | ber of the commission, estimated the _ 1632 vessels, all of the emergency | | type known as liberty ships, would | cost about $1,110,000.000. All the vessels will be completed by the end of 1943, Capt. Vickery said. “This will mean,” he explained, “American shipyards will turn out over 1900 vessels in the next two years, the greatest shipbuilding ef- fort in history. The ships newly contracted for represent over 5,000,- 000 deadweight tons and will give | the United States a total of 18,500,000 | tons of new maritime construction.” | Contracts for 110 of the ships went | to the Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyard | | at Baltimore. {16 Jap Bombers Damage By the Associated Press. BATAVIA, Netherlands Indies, | Jan. 17.—Sixteen high-flying Japa- | at the harbor works of Amboina, naval and air base in the Molucca group, and killed a civilian while machine-gunaing two places nearby, the Netherlands In- dies command said. “The attacking planes flew over in two waves of eight, keeping at a great altitude,” a communique said. The communique reported eight bombers escorted by three fighters took part in a raid on an airdrome in the Celebes and dropped eight bombs. be paid $3800 a year. They will be | assigned to take evidence in rent conciliation methods. Those named H d F enderson Frowns on Koy street N, a native of te Yoluntary Rent Control District and a graduate of George- class of 1915, who has been engaged ~ Leon Henderson, price admini-| in private law practice since grad- | strator, said yesterday experiences Julian Warren Wilson, 37, of 4832 | mittees “confirms us in a conviction” | Reservoir road N.W. a native of | that voluntary me e el 1916. He is a graduate of the Wash- ington College of Law and has en-{ areas, but must be strengthened by | 1936, and has had architectural and e " vi Mr. Henderson wrote Representa- | building business experience with tive Satterfield, Democrat, of Vir- | disputes which cannot be settled by Henry M. Fowler, 51, of 3506 Mc- town University law school in the BY the Associated Press. uation. of local voluntary “fair rent” com- | Richmond, Va, who came here ini e e L | gaged in private law practice since giatntory authority. | private firms and the municipal ginia, inclosing an exchange of cor- | stroyed six (supply) carts with hand grenades.” | Twelve German tanks, 22 fleld| guns and 173 machine guns were | listed among supplies ceptured in action on three sectors. “Prisoners also were taken,” it was said. Nazis Report 1,300 Slain. The German high command re- ported yesterday that more than 1,300 Russians were killed, and “an important locality” on the central sector was occupied, in an attack by a German infantry battalion | Tuesday. Perhaps referring to the same en- gagement, Red Star said: “One of our units had to with-| stand two counterattacks in two hours. Each attack was made by a battalion of infantry supported by a group of tanks. The attacks were repulsed. Our men continued their advance over the bodies of the | attackers.” Even while emphasis was placed on the central front developments, (See RUSSIAN, Page A-3) ‘Supply Ditficulties’ Admitted by Italians ROME, Jan. 17 (Official Broad- cast) (#).—The Italian high com- mand declared today that the Axis garrison isolated in the Salum Hal- | faya region on the Libyan-Egyptian frontier was facing growing supply difficulties, but said it still was offering flerce resistance to besieging British forces. The daily communique said the British fleet was bombarding the garrison from the sea with heavy guns and that the R. A. F. was bat- tering it from the air. - In the Agedabia region, more than 300 miles to the west, where*the main Axis forces now are concen- trated, the high command reported there had been intensified patrol activity. German and Italian planes were said to have repeatedly attacked British supply lines and bases in Africa yesterday and to have re- newed the assault on Malta. BY the Associated Press. LOUISVILLE, Ky., Jan. 17.—Two men posing as Secret Service agents took $590 from the Bank of Buechel, nearby village, “to have it inspected in the Louisville office”—and didn’t take it back. The Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion sought the men today after George W. Kimbler, president of the bank, reported the “inspection.” H. K. Moss, head of the Loulsville F. B. 1. office, gave" this account of the robbery as related by Mr. Kimbler: The pair, one dressed in a blue uniform with brass buttons and a Wednesday morning and asked to examine its currency. The man in uniform carried a brief case and dis- o 'Fake Federal Men Take $590 'From Bank for ’ Inspection’ played letters written on Secret Service stationery. “They fook a little of this and a little of that until they got $580,” the bank president related, adding that the men said they would have to take it to the Louisville office for closer inspection. . “After the men left, the more I thought about it the screwier it all seemed. So shortly before noon I tel- ephoned the F. B. I. office and they took over.” Mr. Kimbler said one of the men remarked that “you have very little working currency.” “We figure if the bank is ever vis- ited by robbers,” the bank official said he replied, “it would be early in the morning. Therefore, we have very little money here early in the morning. But we have more later in the day.” » architect's office. | Leonard S. Hayes, colored, 27, of 1614 S street N.W. a native of | | Philadelphia, who has resided here | | since 1920. He is a graduate of | Howard University, 1939 class, and | has been engaged in the practice of | law with the firm of Cobb, Howard | & Hayes. While recommending these ap- pointments, Mr. Cogswell also filed | | with Commissioner Mason rules | {and regulations to implement the | | Rent-Control Act, and these were |referred to Corporation Counsel | | Richmond B. Keech for review. It | was expected action may be taken | on them by the Commissioners next | week. The three rent examiners will be sworn in at 9:30 a.m. Monday in the office of Commissioner Mason. U. S. Considers Formation of . Foreign Legion By the Associated Press. Formation of an American foreign legion of soldiers of all nationalities to be known as the Liberty Legion was reported today to be under dis- | cussion in administration cireles. Advocates of the Liberty Legion plan said that although many for- eigners in America want to fight under the United States flag and although the Nation lists Lafayette, Pulaski and Von Steuben among its military heroes, an act ‘of Congress would be necessary to permit enlist- ment of aliens in the Army. Hundreds of anti-Nazi Germans, anti-Fascist Italians and Mexicans, French, Poles, Norwegians, Greeks, Czecho-Slovaks, Yugoslavs, Ruman- jans, Bulgarians, Estonians, Lat- vians and many Chinese are waiting for a chance to enlist in the Liberty S ryunisation by natonalities y nal would psovide companies for ad- vange Juards in landing operations in their homelands, it was pointed out. - respondence with a Richmonder who had complained to Mr. Hende:son ' about threatened rent increases in | the Virginia capital as a result of | defense activities and transfer of | the Patent Office there. | Mr. Satterfield's office did not make public the name of the Rich- mond writer. In forwarding the correspondence, Mr. Henderson said: “We have re- ceived similar complaints from de- fense areas throughout the country, which added to the statistical in- formation available indicates that this is a growing problem.” New Use for Parking Meters SPOKANE, Wash,, Jan. 17 (#).— The city revenue department, which collects an average of about $1 a week from its parking meters, has them in the wrong spots. The Athletic Roundtable, a Spokane club, installed one in its clubrooms and metered members for the privi- lege of parking near slot machines. The week’s collection of $20.50 went to the Red Cross. “Damage was slight and there are no killed or wounded to report,” it | was announced. Isolated Park Run—gers To Register by Radio BY the Associated Press. CHEYENNE, Wyo, Jan. 17—| | Rangers and keepers in snow bound and isolated areas of Yellowstone National Park will be allowed to register for the draft next month by shortwave radio or telephone. Asserting that the men would be‘ forced to ski from 60 to 100 miles to park headquarters to sign up Feb- ruary 16, Acting Park Supt. J. W. Emmett obtained approval of the| plan from Col. R. L. Esmay, Wyom- ing selective service director. Army Air Cadet Killed In lllinois Plane Crash By the Associated Press. EAST ST. LOUIS, Il Jan. 17— Aviation Cadet Robert H. Hornbeck, | 24, of Huron, S. Dak., was killed yes- terday in a crash of his plane while | on a routine training flight 4 miles east of Dupo, Ill. Maryland Loss on Auto Tax To Cut Outlays By the Associsted Press. ANNAPOLIS, Md., Jan. 17.—Act- ing quickly to offset anticipated re- ductions in automobile tax reve- nues, the Board of Public Works has voted to slice $506,150 from costs of State operations. Piscal experts have esfimated revenues from automobile titling taxes alone may be chopped by as much as $1,000,000 due to tire ra- tioning and the ban on new car sales. Estimated economies voted by the board are: Elimination of convention attend- ance expenses by departmental rep- resentatives, $30,000; elimination of printing annual reports, $11,000; by $506,150 curtailment of publicity and adver- tising, $17,000; reversions from the motor vehicle commissioner’s office, $50,000. Reversions from the Public Wel- fare Department, $219,000; savings in unfilled positions in various de- partments, $100,000; reduction in traveling expenses, $50,000; elimina- tion of the employment service as Knudsen Choice Seen Solving Major Problem New General Expected To Have Auto Plants Busy on Arms Soon BY the Associated Press. President Roosevelt's appoint- ment of William S. Knudsen as & lleutenant general in the Army was regarded here today as hav- ing finally solved the grave prob- lem of putting the entire auto- mobile industry to work on war production. As Donald M. Nelson formally took over the chairmanship of the new War Production Board, with the broadest powers to expedite the production of war material, com= mendation of Mr. Knudsen's sur- prise appointment rolled in from high officials. Secretary of War Stimson wel- comed “his great and unique talent as a master of production.” Gen. George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, declared “his experience will expedite the delivery of guns and equipment.” The President him- sslf termed Mr. Knudsen “one of the great production men of the world.” Marked Stepup Predicted. Armed with the military authority to get things done, Mr. Knudsen was expected to have America’s auto- mobile factories turning out planes, guns and tanks far quicker than could have been achieved through the conferences and committees which were developing under the old organization. Mr. Knudsen's production knowl- edge in the automotive industry re- turned him a total of $372,366 in 1939, Treasury reports showed. Of this amount, $150,000 was salary as president of General Motors, $205,192 represented bonuses. and the re- mainder came from miscellaneous sources. He severed his General Motors conection in 1940 to serve without compensation as a member of the National Defense Advisory Commis- sion, a forerunner to the O. P. M. As a lieutenant general. Mr. Knud- sen will receive a basic salary of $8.000 a vear. Allowances for quar- | ters and subsistence amount to more | than $1,000 additional. Knudsen Can Compel Compliance. | Failure of the administration to | obtain conversion of the automobile | industry to full war production un- | der the old O. P. M. was one of the | chief points of complaint in the Senate Investigating Committee's | report Thursday. Much of the lag has been attributed to division of duties among various agencies and the lack of a single head. As director-general of O. P. M., Mr. Knudsen could urge the Army to place orders and urge automobile manufacturers to meet them, but he had no compelling authority over either side. Under his new appoint- ment as production director for the War Department he will have broad powers within the Army itself and will be the voice of the Army in dealing with industry. War orders already have started piling up for automobile factories. Undersecretary of War Patterson announced last night that the de- " (See PRODUCTION, Page A-4) Nazis Claim Finn Gaihs, But Helsinki Does Not The Germans, who haven't bgen reporting much “annihila- tion” of Russian forces lately, credited the Finns today with de- struction of two Siberian bat- talions, but the Finns, in their own report, offered no support for the German claim. The respec- tive dispatches follow: By the Associated Press. HELSINKI, Jan. 17 (Official Ger- man Broadcast).—After having been en route to the battle front over a distance of 6.000 kilometers (3,730 miles), two Siberian battalions of the Soviets were annihilated within three hours on the Eastern Karelian front, where they made an attack on Finnish positions. In a front sector held by one Pinnish company 500 bodies of dead Siberians were counted, piled up and soon frozen over in the terrible cold. HELSINKI, Jan. 17 (# —Finland’s war communique today reported in- fantry fighting on the Leningrad front. where Finnish shells were said to have smashed a number of enemy positions. On the Aunus isthmus artillery duels were re- ported while on the eastern front there was patrol activity. Frances G fordrlr)‘orced From James H. Dunn BY the Associated Press. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17.—Movie Actress Frances Gifford obtained a divorce yesterday from Acter James H. Dunn, formerly of the films. She testified he used liquor to excess, was moody and unsociable and stayed away from home days at a time. The couple married Christ- mas Day, 1937, and separated Au- gust 23, 1940, Miss Gifford's com- plaint stated. Air-Raid Alarm The Office of Civilian Defense for the Metropolitan Area has, asked The Star to publish for the information of the public these air-raid signals for the a State agency, $29,150. Budget Director Walter N. Kirk- man was authorized to withhold purchase of articles not absolutely necessary to departmental opera- n. The board earlier cut $285,000 from the general bond issue by re- ducing the authorized January bond issue sale from $307,000 to $522,000. N entire region, including nearby Virginia and Maryland: Alarm—FPive short blasts at half-second intervals, sounded three consecutive times, a total’ each.