Evening Star Newspaper, January 20, 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, supplement the regular home d Closing N. Y. Markets—Sales, Page 14. 90th YEAR. No. 356 ing the news of elivered edition. 93. Che WASHINGTON, Foen WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION DG TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, ny Star 1942 K Readers P Its total cirer poraries in the ‘P) Means The Star’s afternoon and evening circulation is more than double that of any other Washington newspaper: far exceeds that of any of its contem- refer The Star ulation in Washington morning or on Sunday. Associated Press. THREE CENTS. 6 Army Bombers Sink Jap Cruiser, Leave Tanker Burning in Far East: Foe Now 60 Miles From Si Troops Continue Mindanao Fight, MacArthur Says Six American Army bombers sank a Japanese cruiser and left a large enemy tanker in flames 100 miles off the Island of Jolo, the War Department annour}ced in its Far East communique today. i Gen. Douglas MacArthur in his report of the military situation up to 9:30 am. said several direct hits | were scored on the two vessels, but made no mention of the exact loca- tion. Jolo is an island in the Sulu archipelago about, 50 miles south- west of the Island of Mindanao. In the same communique, renewed attacks were reported on the Amer- ican and Philippine troops on the Batan Peninsula, where three enemy airplanes were shot down during the | past 24 hours. Still Fight in Mindanao. At the same time, the first indi- | cation for many days that the Jap- anese were still opposed by Amer- ican forces on the island of Min- danao came in a report from Gen. MacArthur that sharp fighting was in progress between Philippine troops and a Japanese force about 35 miles north of Davao, which is on the southern end of Mindanao. Japanese troops landed at Davao in the first few days of the war and reinforcements have been landed since that time, according to reports received here. American bombers have made several attacks on Japanese troop transports and naval craft in the Japs' Control of Air Gives Invaders Advantage, but Americans’ Courage Offsets It By CLARK LEE, Associated Press War Correspondent. WITH THE U. S. A.F. F. E. | (Delayed).—Filipino and Americ ON BATAN PENINSULA, Jan. 19 an artillerymen are more than i holding their own in bitter day-and-night death dueling with | Japanese gunners, despite severe handicaps and hardships im- | posed by lack of aerial support. | vation, plus the powerful weapo! | But the defenders of these island. by courage and resourcefulness. Equipment on both sides appears about equal. Both the Filipino and | American defenders and the Japa- nese are using 75-mm. guns at close | range and 155s against more distant | targets. The Japanese also are equipped | with 105s, believed supplied by Ger- many. American 75s mounted on “half | tracks” have proved extremely ef- | fective. | Most of the artillery action at L | The Japanese have an edge on experience and aerial obser- | ns of air bombing and straflng.‘ s have offset these disadvantages | Batan is taking place along the | American right flank, where United States guns last week checked Japa- nese attempts at a break-through and paved the way for a successful infantry counterattack. Japanese observation planes fly over almost incessantly. When they discover an American position they summon dive bombers and use tracer bullets to point out United States gun positions. At the same time Churchill Anxious Over Pacific War, But Sees Victory Grants Three-Day Debate vicinity of Jolo and Mindanao,| And Offers to Submit which have been used as bases for | Japanese naval forces, reports here To Confidence Vote indicated. The report on Mindanao was the By the Associated Press. first indication for many days that, LONDON, Jan. 20.—Prime Min- Japanese were still being opposed ;o0 Chyurchill, confronting a there. z Toll Raised to 40. ‘restlve House of Commons, in- Sinking of the cruiser raised to 40 | formed its members today that the total of Japanese war craft and he shared their anxiety about| th Is sunk by United States 2 g:ilft;:;fzs; rsmva] a)cuon. operations in the Pacific, but told The Navy had previously reported them he had “growing confi- the sinking of 29 vessels including a S light cruis%r destroyed by the Ma- dence” in eventual victory there. rines at Wake Island, and also four | Announcing that a three-day de- destroyers, four submarines, eight bate would be held soon on the war transports, five cargo vessels, three | Situation. the Prime Minister also merchantmen and one each of the showed evidence of equal confidence | following—gunboat, supply vessel and liner. The Army had announced the de- struction of the battleship Haruna, four vessels engaged in Japanese landing operations off Davao in the Philippines and also two destroyers, one submarine and two transports. Nine Planes Downed. Five American Army bombers downed nine Japanese interceptor planes in an aerial dogfight in the Indies, the War Department an- nounced last night. The bombers, the War Department said, had attacked an enemy airfield at Menado in Northeast Celebes, with undetermined results before they tangled with the numerically superi- or enemy fighters. Two United States bombers did not return to their secret base from the engagement, so the victory price came high for an air arm that must husband its lim- ited planes and personnel carefully for the present. United States Army air activity on the Malay Peninsula was dis- closed for the first time in the same communique, which said that de- Javed advices established that Army bombers had blasted the important Japanese airdrome at Sungei Pa- tani. putting the hangar area in mine sweeper, in his personal strength.” Addressing Parliament for the first | time since his return from the his- toric conferences in Washington and Ottawa, the Prime Minister offered to call for a vote of confidence if Daylight-Saving Bill Is Signed; In Effect Feb. 9 President Roosevelt today signed legislation applying daylight saving | to the Nation, effective on nbm-‘ Farther north in the Japanese- ary 9. ‘The measure provides that on the | effective date the official time for | the country will be advanced one | hour. The White House said that | clocks should be set forward at 2 | am. on the effective date. Imposition of a one-hour Nation- wide daylige® saving program lsi expected to bring a saving of ap- | proximately 500,000 kilowatts of electrical energy in normal usage during a year. | President Roosevelt jabbed the | pen he used in signing the bill through a square of yellow paper, attached it to the legislation and directed that it be sent tc Robert Garland of Pittsburgh, who headed a national committee that appeared at hearings on the legislation and urged its enactment. The law will become inoperative six months after the war ends, un- less Congress votes to terminate it before then. | the debate should disclose any chal- | lenge to his government. Wins Initial Victory. Mr. Churchill won an initial vie- | tory against a threat to force his| hand and obtain an immediate dis- | cussion of the defense of Malaya. As promised, Liberal National| Member Edgar Granville moved | that the House adjourn—a parlia- | mentary device that would enable | the members to “estion at once| the adequacy of British strength guarding threatened Singapore. Mr. Churchili prevailed, however, | when the speaker refused to enter- tain the motion. No member rose | to support Mr. Granville and the | matter was dropped. Such a motion | requires the support of at least 40 | members. Hoarse-voiced and suffering from a cold, Mr. Churchill was loudly | cheered when he entered the| chamber. | When asked if he were prepared | | to make a statement to allay mem- | | BY the Associated Press. | the air force and foresters, mechan- | bers’ anxieties, the Prime Minister flames and starting three large fires among enemy aircraft caught on | the ground. All the bombers re- turned undamaged. In the Philippines Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s indomitables braced themselves for the inevitable fresh Japanese attack on their Batan | Peninsula positions, and from the | Netherland Indies came renewed ap- | peals for reinforcements in air, land and sea forces so that the United Nations may hold the best base for | the counteroffensive against Nippon. Italians Report Hits On Troop Transport By the Associated Press. | ROME, Jan. 20 (Official Broad- | cast.)—The Italian high command | announced today that Italian planes had scored torpedo hits on a 5,000- | ton transport loaded with troops in the Eastern Mediterranean. The transport was traveling in a strongly escorted convoy, the daily war bulletin said. f———e You and ~An Air Raid A new supply of this infor- mative pamphlet—containing The Star’s recent series of articles on air-raid precau- tions, complete with illustra- tions—now is available at The Star counter and by mail. The great demand for the pamphlet exhausted the first printing of 10,000 copies with- in 24 hours and printers rushed to turn out additional copies. Copies may be obtained at The Star counter for 2 cents each. By mail, 5 cents each. Address mail requests to “You and an Air Raid” Editor. replied: “I naturally share the anxieties that are felt on the war in the Far East. But I also share a growing confidence, which I think might also be justified, in the eventual outcome of this struggle.” Asks Talks Be Recorded. In winning a postponement— which will enable him to consult advisers inaccessible to him during his absence in America—the Prime Minister proposed that his war re- view and any future major state- | ments be recorded during delivery | for subsequent broadcast. There never has been a broadcast from the halls of Parliament, nor a recording of the debate on its floor, and there was such a variety of opinion on Mr. Churchill's sug- Full-Scale Air Aflacl(Begun On Isle North of Australia By the Associated Press. MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 20.— A full-scale air attack on Rabaul, in Australian-mandated New Brit- ain, north of Australia, was launched today by Japanese bombers escorted by fighters, an official announcement said today. The announcement said the raid- ers presumably were striking from | an aircraft carrier. The attack marked an extension of Japanese activity to an area 3,500 miles east of Singapore and about 4,000 southwest ot Honolulu. Rabaul, 300 miles below the equator, is New Britain’s major city. Neighboring islands are New Guinea on the west, the Solomons on the east. The attack was announced by Air Minister A. S. Drakeford, who said it was launched about midday with waves of planes bombing the air base. Installations on it and other mili- tary objectives were damaged, he acknowledged, but no details were divulged. He said his own informa- tion was meager but that further reports were expected later. Thousands of Airmen Are Landed in Brifain A BRITISH PORT, Jan. 20— Thousands of Canadian airmen, one of the largest contingents to reach Britain since the start of the war, disembarked here today from a con- | voy which also brought further rein- forcements for Canadian troops in | England. It was the first troop convoy to ar- rive from Canada this year. Aboard | its big vessels were pilots and nav- igators as well as ground crews, wire- less operators and mechanics for ics, ordnance, infantry, artillery and service corps men for the ground | forces. | There also were more men for | “the Free Czech Army and one Nor- wegian nurse. Naval vessels escorted them across the ocean and left them only at the entrance to this harbor, teeming| with wartime shipping. | The fiyers and soldiers were dis- | persed among reception centers in Southern England where they will spend a short time becoming ac- climated before being posted to| army units and air squadrons throughout Britain. | Some bomber pilots will complete their training at operational train- | ing units. Earthquake Recorded Off Mexican Coast By the Associated Press. PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 20.—The California Institute of Technology seismograph recorded a moderate severe earthquake at 10:30.11 o'clock last night. From comparison with records at Fordham University, observers placed its location at about 1,400 miles from here, off the west coast of Mexico. While sufficiently strong to have been damaging on land, it was described as probably harmless d U.S. Artillery Holding Its Own’ In Batan Despite Lack of Planes ngapore Patrols, Landing Parties Attack In West Malaya By the Associated Prese. Japanese invasion troops, at-! tacking only 60 miles north of Singapore, were officially re- | ported exerting “heavy pressure on the entire front” in Western Malaya today, and a crisis in the defense of Britain’s $400,000,000 stronghold was apparently immi- | nent as sea-borne Japanese forces cut in below the main | battle line. | Domei, official Japanese news agency, said Japanese vanguards late yesterday had advanced within | 18 miles of the causeway across | Johore Strait to Singapore Island. | Official dispatches said ananese‘ patrols and landing parties were ! swarming along a 30-mile coastal belt in Western Malaya—from the Muar River, 90 miles north of Singapore, | to Batu Pahat, barely 60 miles away. On the Malayan east coast, Jap- anese forces were reported to have reached the Endau area, 75 miles | north of Johore Strait. British headquarters said R. A. F ‘nghters machine - gunned enemy | barges at the mouth of the Muar | River in the Malacca Straits settle- | ment, where British, Australian and | Indian troops were striving to sta- | bilize the front. | It was on the west coast that the | | main thrust continued. There, the | British reported bombing and ma- | | chine-gunning engagements by their air force. | | occupied rubber center of Kuala | Lumpur, British bombers swooped | down in an effort to knock out part | of the Japanese air force on a field. | Positive results were not reported, | however, | The communique said bombs * | | | | pear to have been dropped indis- criminately, falling to a large extent in residentital areas” when Jap- anese warplanes roared over Singa- pore this morning after yesterday's respite. The British admitted that some | military damage, aside from res)-l dential damage, was done. Mersing, on the east coast, also was raided by Japanese. ‘The British said that altogether | six Japanese planes, including a navy plane and a bomber in the Singa- pore raid, were shot down and that they had lost two fighters them- selves. Some of the losses were in an air fight when the British at- tacked Muar landing operations. 20,000 Declared Trapped. A Japanese column which reached the Yongpeng sector on the Central Johore Railway has cut off 20.000 Australians, a Domei report said. The Japanese news agency said that the Australians were caught in the Segamat sector, about 95 miles north of Singapore Island, by flank- ing movements along the east and west coast, and that artillery was taking an important part in the “inclosing operations.” (This roundup of Malayan dis- patches includes some sent from enemy capitals, whose motive in broadcasting news is apt to be propaganda. Axis claims should be credited only when confirmed by American or Allied sources.) An official German broadcast, quoting Tokio dispatches, said the trapped forces had launched re- peated attacks to cut their way out of the trap, but without success. The broadcast said R. A. F. flyers were trying desperately to aid the beleaguered imperials to reach Sirgapore, which otherwise would have a skeleton force of 10,000 men | to defend the island fortress. Failure of the British efforts to escape the encirclement resulted in collapse of British resistance at sev- eral places, the radio said. Without confirmation elsewhere, (See MALAYA, Page A-4.) Senoté Confirms Eicher For District Court Post The Senate today confirmed nomination of Edward C. Eicher, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as chief jus- tice of District Court. Mr. Eicher, an Iowan and former member of Congress, succeeds Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat, who retired. ‘The Judiciary Commitee approved the appointment yesterday. U.S. Diplomats Reach Lisbon | LISBON, Portugal, Jan. 20 (#).—| Herbert Claiborne Pell, former Unit- ed States Minister to Hungary, and members of his staff arrived here by special train today en route to the at sea. Summary of Foreign. Hungary reported persuaded to boost Axis aid in Russia. Page A-2 Japanese cut off Burma’s panhandle in drive to Tavoy. Page A-4 Nationai. Wrecked airliner was seven miles off course. Page A-5 Rivers and harbors defense projects to be expedited. Page A-6| War Production Board to hold first meeting today. Page A-15 Conferees agree to raise price con- troller’s salary. Page A-2 Washington and Vicinity. Justice Department seeks to delay Viereck trial. Page A-1 Mrs. Roosevelt visits stricken chil- dren at D, C. hospital. Page A-2 A United States. Today's Star Tests on Union Station rats show | typhus carriers. Page A-3 Ferry pllots killed in crash called “cream of crop.” Page A-5 Government officials speak in sup-| port of Mile o' Dimes. Page A-7 Downtown private offices urged to stagger hours. Page B-1 Third rent examiner to be appointed this week. Page B-1 18 boys escape from Industrial Home School. B-1 ‘Young asks reduction in D. C. fire insurance rates. Page B-1 ‘Woman indicted for manslaughter in trafic death. Page B-1 Air and steam alarms to be added to D. C. raid signals. Page B-1 b1 \! A} ‘\) i) \I\\ /‘/;\ L\ { | 14 ) 77 ( N 0 1,000 Rubber Cuspidor Mats Ordered by Army, Senate Told For "Semi-Indigent’ B: the Associated Press. Senator Vandenberg, Repub- lican, of Michigan protested in the Senate today that the War Department was buying 1.000 rubber cuspidor mats, requiring a ton and a half of rubber. while officials were banning all civilian rubber products. “I agree with my constituent that we better give War Depart- ment officers a course in straight spitting,” Senator Vandenberg said, adding that he had asked the special Senate committee in- vestigating national defense under Chairman Truman to look into the rubber cuspidor mats. Senator Vandenberg quoted a letter from Frank C. Morse of the Browne-Morse Co., Muskegon, Mich., which said that the War Department would open bids January 20 on 1,000 rubber cus- pidor mats, each weighing 3 pounds. The incident, the Sen- ator said, showed the country needed “rubber economy inside as well as outside the defense machine.” ] | Fig_ht fo lielay Trial 0f Viereck Going To Appeals Court Government Will Seek Writ to Disqualify Justice Goldsborough Backing up the Government’s | charges of a personal prejudice and bias filed yesterday against District Judge T. Alan Golds- | borough, the Justice Department prepared today to ask the Court of Appeals to prevent Justice Goldsborough from going ahead tomorrow with the trial of George Sylvester Viereck, widely known Nazi publicist, who is ac- cused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by filing incomplete registration state- ments with the State Depart- ment. After a conference at the Justice Department this morning it was decided that Solicitor General Fahy | would ask the Court of Appeals for | writs of prohibition and mandamus requiring Judge Goldsborough tc | disqualify himself from presiding at the trial. The department expected to ap- ply for the writs directly to Chief | Justice D. Lawrence Groner, but it | was possible that another member (of the appellate body would act | on the case. There were three pos- | tion, it was said at the department. The writs may be granted imme- | diately, they may be denied or they may be set down for hearing by the Court of Appeals. If a hearing were ordered, a tem- porary stay of the Viereck trial would be directed also pending final action on the Justice Department's application. If Justice Goldsborough were im- mediately disqualified, the Viereck trial might go on tomorrow, but! that point was not definitely de- | cided. William Power Maloney, special assistant to the Attorney General, who is representing the Government | in the Viereck prosecution, filed the charges against Judge Goldsborough late yesterday when the jurist an- nounced his intention of going ahead with the trial tomorrow despite the contention of the Government that | its case had not been adequately prepared. The Government had not expected the Viereck trial would come up until next month. Claims Attitudé “Arbitrary.” Claiming that Justice Goldsbor- ough's attitude in his chambers on January 15, when Government counsel called upon him, was “arbi- trary, tyrannical and unreasonable,” | Mr. Maloney filed the afdavit of | 'Delano Would Bar Downtown To Autos Carrying Less Than 3 prejudice against the jurist as he was about to hear defense motions to suppress evidence. Mr. Maloney asserted in his afi- (See VIERECK, Page A-5. Exchange of Citizens With Japs Being Mapped By the Associated Press. BERLIN, Jan. 20 (Official Broad- cast). — Negotiations for the ex- change of American diplomats and citizens in Japan for Japanese dip- lomats and nationals in the United States were reported today to be progressing satisfactorily through the medium of the Chilean govern- ment. The Japanese Minister to Chile, Yoshii Yamagata, was said to have conferred on the matter last night with officials of the Chilean foreign Miscellany. office in Santiago, and completion Army Orders. Page B-8!of all arrangements was expected | Nature’s Children. Page B-9| shartly. L | sible developments out of this ac- | [Murray Discounts Lewis Moves for Labor Peace By the Associated Press NEW YORK, Jan. 20.—With an allusion to the peace negotiations which ended at Pearl Harbor, C. I.| O. President Philip Murray yester- day passed on to the C. I. O. Execu- tive Board the proposal of John L. Lewis for a resumption of C. I. O.- A. F. L. peace conferences. “If a peace conference should en- sue,” Mr. Murray told newsmen, “there should be no Pearl Harbor in the interim in the labor move- ment.” Making it clear that he and not Mr. Lewis, who is president of the United Mine Workers of America, was head of the C. 1. O., Mr. Mur- ray declared that any negotiations looking toward an end of labor strife would “necessarily have to be initiated through the office of the president of the Congress of Indus- trial Organizations.” The Lewis proposal for a reunion in labor's family was directed to both Mr. Murray and William Green, A. F. L. president, in letters made public last Saturday. Mr. Green already has said that the A. F. L. Peace Committee stood ready to meet with a similar com- mittee from the C. I. O. at any time. Doris trfilffihlfls $13,834,924 Tax Claim By the Associated Press. SOMERVILLE. N. J. Jan. 20— Mrs. Doris Duke Cromwell said today her estranged husband, James H. R. Cromwell, changed his mind about | making his permanent residence in Hawaii because he had *“political ambitions in New Jersey.” She had not changed her mind. she testified in a tax dispute hear- ing before Abraham Seigel, master in chancery, but returned to the United States to be with her hus- band. Mr. Cromwell was former Minister to Canada and Democratic candi- date for the Senate in 1940. In re- sponse to an inquiry by Harry E.| ‘Walburg, counsel for Hmsboroughl‘ ‘Township, Mrs. Cromwell said she was separated from Mr. Cromwell | in May, 1940. but had discussed the | matter with him in January, 1940. ‘The tobacco heiress is asking to have voided a tax claim of $13.823.- | 924 levied by the township against | her intangible property for 1939 and 1940. Mead Ball Club Official BUFFALO, N. Y., Jan. 20 (P.— Senator Mead of New York was| elected a vice president of the Buf-| falo International League baseball club by stockholders and directors last night. | subsidies for private institution. Hospital Facilifies Urged by Mason Commissioner Sees Subsidies as Only Other Solution Commissioner Mason told the House District Committee the city heads have arrived at the opinion that new hospital facili- ties for the “semi-indigent” or s are the only solutions to an ex- isting shortage of hospital beds here. | Maury Maverick, chief of the gov- ernmental requirements branch, Office of Production Management, | later recommended both expedients. ‘The expressions came as hearings were held on a bill introduced by Chairman Randolph authorizing construction of temporary build- ings with a total of 1,000 beds at Gallinger Hospital and the Glenn Dale Tuberculosis Sanitoria. “The Commissioners realize that there is an in-between field here,” Mr. Mason said. He called attention to persons earning $1.500, $1,800 or $2.000 a year who “cannot pay a minimum charge of $4 a day or on up to $6 a day for treatment.” Hospital Site Offered. Officials of private hospitals who took the stand later agreed, in general, that they were in need of help because their institutions were unable financially to undertake ex- pansion. Dr. Cloyd Heck Marvin, president of George Washington University, introduced Dr. Walter A. Bloedorn, dean of the medical school and su- perintendent of the Univrsity Hos- pital, who said he was authorized to offer for hospital construction approximately four-fifths of a city block at Twenty-third and G streets W. N The site could accommodate a hospital of 250 to 500 beds, depend- ing on height of the building. The Rev Dr. David B. McCauley, lean of the medical school of Georgetown University, said that institution probably could provide land if money for construction were made available. Dr. McCauley and B. B. Sandidge, superintendent of Emergency Hos- pital, agreed that any proposal for pay care in Government facilities should be examined very carefully before a decision is reached. Mr. Sandidge called it “treading on dan- gerous grounds.” Commissioner Mason pointed out Eddie'Shoreisuspended From Hockey League By tke Associated Press. NEW HAVEN, Conn.. Jan. 20— The suspension of Eddie Shore | “from any participation as player, | coach or manager in any Springfield games at home or abroad until fur- ther notice,” was anounced today by President Maurice Podoloff of the American Hockey League. Shore, who also owns the Spring- field club which is leading’ the cir- | cuit’s Eastern division, attacked ref- eree Eddie Kuntz on the ice and later resumed the quarrel in the official’s dressing room here Sunday night. Mr. Podoloff was present at the game. A proposal that no automobile be allowed to enter the downtown taxi- cab zone unless it carries three passengers was advanced today by Frederic A. Delano, chairman of | the National Capital Park and Plan- | ning Commission. In a letter to the District Com- missioners, Mr. Delano urged that no car “public, private or official shall be permitted to enter or leave Zone 1 which does not carry at least three passengers.” | Mr. Delano suggested that the Public Utilities Commission set fares which may be charged for transporting passengers into the Zone 1 area. The zone he refers to is the exten- sive area now established as the 30-cent zone for taxicabs. Mr. Delano recommended that the zone be made smaller than it is at present and that the fare in taxis be reduced to 25 cents. In explaining the reasons for the recommendations, he wrote: “It must be admitted that the transportation problem is becoming more difficult all the time and that there are far too many cars, public or private, carrying only one pas- senger, thus adding to the hazard without assisting to solve the prob- lem.” Continuing, Mr. Delano suggested the reduction of the area of taxi zone 1 and of the fare in that zone; the regulation forcing private cars to carry three ers into the zone; the establishment of certain express thoroughfare on which all parking would be prohibited, and the establishment of charges for cars carrying passengers into zone 1. ¢ U. S. Intensifies Hunt for U-Boats Off East Coast Torpedoed Tanker Escapes; More Rail Shipping Urged By the Associated Press. The sudden death of depth | bombs made Atlantic coastal wa- ters an unhealthy hunting ground today for Axis subma- rine raiders, but the Navy was keeping silent for the present on | the subject of enemy mortality. Despite the character of the enemy effort, one informed source remarked that the known results to date were likely to fall short of Axis expectations. The latest submarine attack to be announced was not as successful as its three predecessors, for the raider failed to make the kili. The raider torpedoed and shelled the 8.206-ton Malay yesterday, but she managed to stay afloat and limped into port, with & casualty list of five killed out of a crew of 34. ‘Tankers Favorite Target. Like the three ships which torpe- does have sunk since last Wednes- day, the Malay was a tanker but there was no disposition here to draw conclusions on that account. While it is true that tankers have been a favorite target, it is also | true that they are normally more numerous in Atlantic Coast shipping lanes because of the East's heavy | dependence on tanker-borne petro- | leum supplies. | Nevertheless, as a precautionary | measure the Government recom- |mended to the big oil companies | that they increase the use of rail- | road tank cars for transporting their | products to both coasts. The re- quest noted that, beside the tankers torpedoed in East and West Coast runs, others had been taken out of regular service for military duty. Petroleum likewise was a major consideration in another of last night's moves. United States war- planes were dispatched to the Dutch islands of Aruba and Curacao, off | the coast of Venezuela, to co-operate / with the forces of the Netherlands ,/ government in protecting "lh07 vitally important oil centers.” The aerial reinforcements wde insurance against a sutprise gunfire or demolition party attack on the islands by some enemy underseas raider. Convoy Losses Reduced. Sensational as have been the Axis submarine operations in Atlantic coastal waters, the Capital was not losing sight of the main change in | the battle of the Atlantic—the sup- ply line to Britain. The enemy submarines sent to prey on Ameri- can coastal shipping mean so many less to attack the Britain-bound | convoys laden with the important | materials of war. And even before the present underseas campaign be- gan over here, there had been a sharp reduction in convoy tonnage losses, as even official Nazi claims acknowledged. While the problems involved are vastly more complicated than a quarter of a century ago, it was recalled that as soon as the British and United States Navies began joint co-ordinated operations in the last war, the German submarine losses rose steeply. In 1916, for example, the number of U-boats destroyed was 25, just one more than in the entire period from the outbreak of the war to the end of 1915. In 1917, however, the total jumped to 66 after less than nine months of American par- ticipation. And in 1918, it was 88 for a little over 10 months. The United States Navy already lists 14 U-boats as “destroyed or dam- aged” by American action alone in its last accounting on the present war issued a month ago. Six Days of Attacks. The submarine attacks on the tankers have continued for six days. The Allan Jackson was torpedoed without warning off the North Caro- " (See HOSPITALS, Page A-5) | (See SUBMARINE, Page A-4) 112,000 Women Needed By Army, House Unit Told By the Associated Press. The Army needs about 12.000 ‘women at once, a congressional com« | mittee was told today, for use in the } airplane interceptor service and | other Army branches. | Lt. Col. Ira Swift of the General Staff told the House Military Af- | fairs Committee there were certain | jobs, such as the vitally important | telephone operators in air-raid spot- | ting organizations, which women | could do better than men. The officer said the Army now was using about 6.000 volunteer un- paid women, but it was believed the service would be more efficient if there was a control of attendance and turnover in personnel. He es- timated it would cost about $10.- 000,000 a year to uniform, house and train the 12,000 needed and said about 10,000 would be put in inter- ceptor command work. Chairman May read a letter from Gen. George C. Marshall, Army chief of staff, adding his approval of the bill to establish a voluntary women's auxiliary corps to that al- ready given by Secretary of War Stimson. |Since November 2 By the Associated Press. HELSINKI, Jan. 20.—A lone Rus- slan bomber dropped 10 small ex- plosives in the western end of Hel« sinki this afternoon in the first air attack on the Finnish capital since November 2. One person was killed and five | were wounded, but material damage was slight. ll