Evening Star Newspaper, January 25, 1942, Page 1

Weather Forecast Moderate temperatures today, with gen- tle to moderate winds. Temperatures yesterday—Highest, 64, at 4 p.m.; lowest, 32, at 4:50 a.m. Prom the United Btates Weather Burea: Tl Detae” on Pave Apnu report. ‘The Evening and Sunday Star is delivered in the city and suburbs at 75c per month, The Night Final Edition and Sunday Morning Star at 85¢ per month. No. 1922—No. 35,698, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 2, 1942—128 PAGES. s TEN CENTS T IMMEL, SHORT BLAMED FOR PEARL HARBOR —— e U.S. Flotilla Destroys Two Ships, Batters Others In Jap ‘Dereliction of Duty’ Charged By Roberts Commission, Citing Failure to Act on Warnings Non-Com Detected | H Planes’ Approach, <CODC’USIOHS Conclusions the President’ i igati NO Alert Ordered lusio of e President’s Commission investigating Convoy Off Borneo Peril Grows Worse As Warcraft Shells MacArthur's Forces By the Associated Press. . The United States Navy capped a day of victories for the - United Nations by announcing late yesterday that a flotilla of destroyers had blown up one enemy ship, sunk a second and battered others with torpedo and close-range gun hits o 2 inits § = Pearl Harbor attack follow in full. Other parts of the report (Text of Report on Page A 6-7.) By JOHN C. HENRY. An appalling “dereliction of | duty” on the part of the two, commanding officers of* Amer- ica’s Pacific defense forces, Ad- miral Husband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, was charged yesterday by President Roosevelt’'s special investigating commission in a report fixing responsibility for success of the shattering surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor on| December 7. Admiral Kimmel, who was commander of the Pacific Fleet and commander in chief of the| United States Fleet and Gen.| Short, who was commander of | the Hawaiian Department of the | Army, have been under suspen- | sion from their commands since Secretary of Navy Knox made a preliminary report in mid-| December that defense forces in Hawail were not “on the alert” | when the Jap assault came. Subsequently, the President named the investigating commission headed by Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts. Although not cited as an excusing circumstance, the Roberts commis- sion asserted pointedly in its 50- page report that the derelictions of these two officers stemmed largely from the false sense of security “due to the opinion prevalent in diplo- matic, military and naval circles, and in the public press, that any immediate attack by Japan would be in the Far East.” ‘Warnings Ignored. This sense of security revealed it- self in failure of the Army and Navy to maintain its agreed aviation pa- trols, despite adequate warnings Gen. Short Is Silent On Pearl Harbor Inquiry Report By the Associated Press. OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 24. —Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short to- night refused to comment on findings of the special com- mission which accused him and Admiral Husband E. Kimmel of dereliction of duty preceding the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Asked if he wished to make a statement, Gen. Short re- plied: “Not a word.” He and Mrs. Short, since their return from Hawail shortly after he was relieved as commanding general of the Hawalian Department, have been visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walter C. Dean of Oklahoma City. from Washington of the imminence of war, and of the Army to operate its plane detection devices at all times. Most ironical, however, of th2 fateful factors which immediately preceded the assault of 150 to 200 Japanese warplanes on peaceful Pearl Harbor at 7:55 o'clock that Sunday morning was the circum- stance that an ambitious non-com-~ missioned officer, who had requested extra training time, picked up on aircraft detection devices at 7:02 am, the sounds of an unidentified flight of planes proceeding toward Oahu and then about 130 miles distant. At 7:20, he reported this informa- tion to an unidentified and inex- perienced Army lieutenant at the (See PEARL HARBOR, Page A-5.) ’Bite’.in Report On Pearl Harbor Stirs Honolulu By the Associated Press. HONOLULU, Jan. 24—Honolulu was astonished by Justice Roberts’ special commission’s report, which was even stronger medicine than some of the wildest “rumors” con- cerning reasons why the Japanese caught Oahu flatfooted in the De- cember.7 raid. Intensely interested service men and civilians bought out newspaper | extras by the thousands. Particular amazement was caused by the revelation that although a Jap submarine was sunk off Pearl Harbor more than an hour before the raid no alarm was sounded. Besides verifying many rumors, the report brought out many facts ‘which had not even been widespread outside high offictal ecircles, appear on Pages A-6-7. 1. Effective utilization of the military power of the Nation is essential to success in war and requires: First, the co-ordination of the foreign and military pol- icles of the Nation: and, second, the co-ordination ‘of the opera- tions of the Army and Navy, 2. The Secretary of State ful- filled his obligations by keeping the War and Navy Departments in close touch with the interna- tional situation and fully ad- vising them respecting the course and probable termination of ne- gotiations with Japan. 3. The Secretary of War and ADMIRA HUSBAND E. KIMMEL. —A. P. Wirephoto, the Secretary of the Navy ful- filled their obligations by con- ferring frequently with the Secretary of State and with each other and by keeping the chief of staff and the chief of naval operations informed of the course of the negotiations with Japan and the significant implications thereof. 4. The chief of staff and the chief of naval operations fulfilled their obligations by consulting and co-operating with each other, and with their superiors, respecting the joint defense of the Hawaiian coastal frontier and each knew of and concurred in the warnings and orders sent by the other to the responsible commanders with respect to such defense. . 5. The chief of staff of the Army fulfilled his command re- sponsibility by issuing a direct order in connection with his warning of probable hostilities, in the following words: “Prior to hostile Japanese action you are directed to undertake such re- connaissance and other measures as you deem necessary.” 6. The chief of naval opera- tions fulfilled his command re- sponsibility by issuing a warning and by giving a direct order to the commander in chief, Pacific Fleet, in the following words: “This despatch is to be consid- ered a war warning”; and, “Exe- cute an appropriate defensive de- ployment preparatory to carry- ing out the tasks assigned.” 7. The responsible command- ers in the Hawaiian Ares, in ful- fillment of their obligation so to do, prepared plans which, if adapted to and used for the ex- isting emergency, would have been adequate. 8. In the circumstances the responsibility of these com- manders was to confer upon the question of putting into effect and adapting their joint defense plans. 9. These commanders failed to confer with respects to the warn- ings and orders issued on and after November 27, and to adapt and use existing plans to meet the emergency. 10. The order for alert No. 1 of the Army command in Hawaii was not adequate to meet the emergency envisaged in the warning messages. 11. The state of readiness of the naval forces on the morning of December 7 was not as was required to meet the emergency envisaged in the warning mes- sages. 12. Had orders issued by the chief of staff and the chief of naval “operations November 27, 1941, been complied with, the air- craft warning system of the Army should have been operat- ing; the distant reconnaissance of the Navy and the inshore sir patrol of the Army, should have been maintained; the anti-air- craft batteries of the Army and similar shore batteries of the Navy, as well as additional anti- aircraft artillery located on ves- sels of the fleet in Pear]l Harbor, should have been manned &nd supplied with ammunition; and a high state of readiness of air- craft should have been in effect. None of these conditions was in fact inaugurated or maintained for the reason that the respon- sible commanders failed to con- sult and co-operate as to neces- sary action based upon the warn- LT. GEN. WALTER C. SHORT. —Wide World Photo. ings and to adopt measures en- Jjoined by the orders given them by the chiefs of the Army and Navy commands in Washington. 13. There were deficiencies in personnel, weapons, equipment and facilities to maintain all the defenses on a war footing for ex- tended periods of time, but these deficiencies should not have affected the decision of the responsible commanders as to the state of readiness to be pre- scribed. 14. The warning message of December 7, intended to reach both commanders in the field at about 7 am. Hawaiian time, December 7, 1941, was but an added precaution, in view of the warnings and orders previously issued. If the message had reached its destination at the time intended, it would still have been too late to be of substantial use, in view of the fact that the commanders had failed to take measures and make dispositions prior to the time of its antici- pated receipt which would have been effective to warn of the attack or to meet it. 15. The failure of the officers in the War Department to ob- serve that Gen. Short, neither in his reply of November 27 to the chief of staff’s message of that date, nor otherwise, had reported the measures taken by him, and the transmission of two messages concerned chiefly with sabotage which warned him not to resort to illegal methods against sabo- tage or espionage, and not to take measures which would alarm the civil population, and the fail- ure to reply to his message of November 29 outlining in full all the actions he had taken against sabotage only, and referring to nothing else, tended to lead Gen. Short to believe that what he had done met the requirements of the warnings and orders received by him. 16. The failure of the com- manding geperal, Hawaiian De- partment, and the commander in chief, Pacific Fleet, to confer and co-operate with respect to the meaning of the warnings received and the measures necessary to comply with the orders given them under date of November 27, 1941, resulted largely from a sense of security due to the opin- ion prevalent in diplomatic, mil- itary and naval circles, and in the public press, that any im- mediate attack by -Japan would be in the Far East. The exist- ence of such a view, however prevalent, did not relieve the commanders of the respongibility for the security of the Pacific Fleet and our most important outpost. 17. In the light of the warn- ings and directions to take ap- \ R VS e - "hq 7 '/% Left at the Church lig s / 'To Congress for Aid As War Costs Mount Failing Federal Grants, Loans or Added Taxes Are Seen Necessary By DON S. WARREN. Faced with demands for nearly $13,000000 in wartime services beyond such outlays made in the past year, the District Commis- sioners yesterday considered the early application of one or more of these means of increasing District revenues: Additionsi grants by the United | States to enable the municipality | to meet its obligations; authority for the District to cantract increased | debt through loans from the| Federal Government; or increased taxation to be placed on residents of the District. Such a situation, District officials | emphasized, must be faced in view of Federal estimates that the pop- ulation of the National Capital will | be increased in future months by perhaps 250,000 persons, including Government workers and others| brought here as a result of the na- tional war effort. Committees Get Picture. Without having finally deter- mined the exact size of the District’s new wartime budget or means of financing it, a picture of the District of Columbia financial problem, drawn by District Budget Director ‘Walter L. Fowler, was ordered by the Commissioners to be sent to congressional appropriation and District committees for their ad- vance information. At the same time, attention was called to the fact that the Federal payment toward National Capital| expenses for the current fiscal yeAr,! and as proposed in the 1943 District | estimates now before the House,| was and is but $6,000,000, the same reduced sum that prevailed before the war emergency arose. The Commissioners have some hope of increased ‘Federa] grants or, failing that, Federal loans, but they have before them the fact that the Federal Budget Bureau | several times has rejected their pleas for contributions out of the | President’s emergency fund. Faci- | lities to augment the District fire | fighting forces to combat fires that may be caused by enemy bombing or sabotage are badly needed and the city heads seek $798,870 in emer- gency fire-fighting equipment, in- (See D. C. FINANCES, Page A-10) Thermometer Hits 64, Sets Record for Date ‘Washington experienced the warm- est January 24 on record yesterday when the thermometer went to 64 degrees at 4 pm. The former rec- ord was 63 degrees, set in 1932. Yesterday’s high was 24 degrees above the normal maximum for the day and 31 degrees above the nor- mal mean. The record high for the entire month is 76 degrees, a figure that has -been reached on three different days, the last time on January 9, 1937, Yesterday's low was 32 degrees; recorded at 4:50 am. Radio Programs Page E-4 District Heads Appeal | (Bee CONCLUBIONS, n‘ a5 | Complete Index "i;' A2 More U. S. Workers Begin Staggered Hours Tomorrow Many Government employes will go to work and leave their offices at a different time to- morrow. A revised schedule further staggering the hours of Federal employment is being put into effect coincident with establishment of the 44-hour week in most Governavent de- pertments and agencies. Details of the new work schedule, with the starting and quitting times for affected of- fices printed in tabular form, will be found on page A-8. Uruguay and Peru Break Relations With | Three Axis Powers Formal Action First After Rio Agreement; Others Expected (Text of Welles address on page A-19.) By the Associated Press. RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 24— Uruguay and Peru tonight sev- ered diplomatic relations with Germany, Italy and Japan, put- ting into swift and dramatic effect terms of a compromise anti-Axis agreement reached by all the Western Hemisphere re- publics at the Pan-American Conference here. The action of the Montevideo and | Lima governments was announced a few minutes before Sumner ‘Welles, United States Undersecre- tary of State, told the conference that “we have already met with the utmost measure of success in attaining the objectives we sought.” The two Latin American coun- tries thus gave pointed emphasis to Mr, Welles’ further declaration in an address to the conference that “we can truly say this has { been a meeting of deeds, not merely words.” Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Para- guay are expected to follow the lead of Uruguay and Peru, and observers here were predicting that by the end of next week Argentina and Chile would be the only Western Hemisphere countries maintaining diplomatic ties with the Axis powers. Had Awaited Conference. Uruguay’s decision to break with the Axis was announced by Foreign Minister Alberto Guani on receipt of word from President Alfredo Bal- domir at Montevideo. Peru’s action followed within a few minutes. “The Uruguayan government for a long time has felt that it ought to break relations with the coun- tries of the Axis,” he said. “We awaited this conference to take final action.” The Uruguayan cabinet will meet tomorrow morning to approve a formal decree. ~ Argentina, whose insistence re- sulted In the weakened compromise solution for a diplomatic rupture with the Axis, further emphasized her individualistic stand today by announcing she would flatly reguse to accord non-belligerent status to any of the United Nations except the United States. The Buenos Aires government on December 13 recognized the United States as s non-belligerent, thus Australia Mobilizing For Defense; Sends New Pleato U. §.- Feverish Preparations Begun as Japs Land On Nearby Isles Y the Associated Press. MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 24.—Australia, who has sent her sons to fight in Malaya, Libya and. England, sent a second urgent appeal to London and ‘Washington today for planes and ships and began mobilizing all able-bodied men for the possi- bility of “the battle of Australia being fought right on our beaches.” Australia’s feverish preparations | were begun as War Minister Francis M. Forde announced that Japanese forces had landed at Rabaul, in New Britain, at Kieta, on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, and had gained several footholds in New Guinea. ‘This string of islands is 300 to 900 miles northeast of Australia. (A London reception of a Tokio broadcast of Imperial headquar- ters announcements said Japa- nese forces landed at dawn Saturday near Rabaul, and also at Kavieng, New Ireland, to the north of New Britain, but made no mention of activities at New Guinea or Bougainville.) Drafting. Accelerated. Mr. Forde anndunced that home defense units were being mustered immediately throughout Australia and that the drafting of married men under 35 and unmarried men under 45 was being accelerated. “Immediate action must be taken to place every unit on a war footing at this time when the safety of the nation is paramount,” he declared. “Individual Australians who are pri pared for strong action will get it. Even aliens and refugees will be required to volunteer within two weeks or be drafted under forth- coming regulations, it was said. “Should Japanese aggression come to this country, Australia will duplicate the British policy of ‘every village a strong point, every town a fortress, and every man, women and child a sol- dier,”” Prime Minister Curtin de- clared in a broadcast heard by C. B. 8. in New York. The draft of a second urgent mes- sage to President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill was sent (See AUSTRALIA, Page A-4.) in the Southwest Pacific was the Japanese invasion fleet—possibly ad Pound-a-Week Sugar Ration Order Issued In Effect Next Month; Books to Be Printed; Hoarders Warned Sugar rationing of about a pound a week to eash person,| beginning early next month,| ‘was announced last night by the | Government,. | Recovery of hoarded stocks| also was planned as Price Ad- ministrator Leon Henderson, | who announced the rationing| | program, issued stern warning| that “those who have stocks on hand are advised to start using them now.” | The Nation's first food rationing 18 being undertaken “as a war meas- ure,” Mr. Henderson explained, and added that the Government plans to establish a system insuring “fair treatment for all” Mr. Henderson said an actual shortage of sugar, successes in Rangoon and Malaya. | Douglas MacArthur’s in a night attack on a convoy in the Macassar Straits, be- tween the Netherlands Indies islands of Borneo and Celebes. This latest proof of United States co-operation with the Allies climax to a rollcall of smashing blows which included a successful Dutch bombing attack on a the same—off Borneo and other O:er Rangoon, hard-bitten American and British pilots blasted an entire Japanese bomber formation and four of its escorting fighters out of the skies, to raise to 32 their two- day bag of raiding planes. Over Malaya, where British im- perial troops were making their de- fensive stand along a contracting front generally 70 miles from Singa- pore, R. A. F. squadrons struck at Japanese troop and transport con- centrations well beyond the battle line. There was one pessimistic note in yesferday’s news, however, as fight- ing in the Philippines reached a critical phase, with Japanese war- | ships off the China Sea coast of Batan Peninsula shelling Gen. defending forces and fresh enemy troops push- ing them back at a number of points. Not a Ship Lost in Raid. ‘The surprise raid on the convoy in the Macassar Straits was so suc- cessful that not a ship was lost. In | fact, the Navy said, only four men | were injured, and only one of | those seriously. Location of the action meant, ap- parently, that this Japanese invasion fleet was the same which Dutch Army planes have had under their bombsights twice in 48 hours. The latest Dutch attack, in which a large transport was capsized and two | rather than hoarding, has made | rationing necessary. 1 | Rationing books have been de- | signed and printing will start in a | | day or two. The over-all goal, Mr. | Henderson said, is to reduce con- | | sumption from an average of T4 pounds per capita in 1941 to about 50 pounds in 1942, or, in other words, | a general curtailment of both in- | | dustrial and household uses of about | | one-third. Spread of Purchases Expected. This means each member of the American family will be asked to consume only a pound of sugar a week this year as against a pound and a half a week average last year. | Arrangements are expected to be made, however, for housewives to buy larger quantities at longer in- tervals. Supplies also will be rationed to commercial users in an effort to reduce consumption averaging 40 pounds per capita in 1941 to 27 pounds this year, the price adminis- trator said. During the Pirst World War, the limit was fixed on a monthly basis | | of three pounds per person at first, but this was later reduced to two | pounds. On a monthly basis, the | present rationtg program would al- | (See SUGAR, Page A-8.) Malta Has 14 Alerts In 24 Hours; One Dead By the Associated Press. VALETTA, Malta, Jan. 24.—This | most bombed spot on earth had 14| alerts in the last 24 hours, but dur- ing the raids only one person was killed and some property damaged. Compulsory military service was | extended today to include men be- | tween 18 and 30 years. Compulsory labor service was ordered for cer- tain workers. Refused Prioriti Filatly disapproving construction of air-raid shelters, the Government announced yesterday that priorities assistance would be refused for ma- terials designed for such use. The announcement made it clear that the United States is “fighting a war to keep enemies away from American shores,” and that critical materials will be used for weapons to be sent to the field and not in home defense construction. That attitude was made public following conferences between offi- cials of the War Production Board and the Office of Civilian Defense and was based on an analysis of materials needed in construction of shelters and the quantities of such materials available. (Bee PAN-AMERICA, Page A-11) mupmnm:‘:-m.m F Air-Raid Shelter Materials es Ratings La Guardia, O. C. D. director, said | that “home defenses with huge quantities of steel take away what is needed for our own soldiers and sailors and weaken the arms of men now actively engaged in fighting the Axis forces.” “To use our critical materials at home will really make the ultimate danger greater,” he added. “Steel in guns and tanks and ships is bet- ter protection than steel in Amer- ican air-raid shelters.” An O. C. D. spokesman later said that “We are expecting only token bombings” and not waves of bomb- ers such as those which attacked Britain. “We've never put any emphasis on air-raid shelters,” he (8ee SHELTERS, Page A-3.) | War Department other ships were hit, made the score 11 ships hit without the loss of a single plane, and was one of a series of striking Allied aerial operations. The Macassar attack resulted in the greatest damage to enemy ves- sels since the Navy’s announcement on January 16 that units of the Asiatic fleet had sunk five vessels, Including two large cargo ships, two large transports and one medium- sized transport. The new action | brought to a total of at least 43 the number of enemy vessels listed as destroyed. As to the Philippine situation, the reported that under cover of the warships the Japanese were landing additional | troops on the western coast of Batan in an attempt to roll back the Amer- | ican-Filipino left flank and perhaps also to infiltrate behind the de- fenders’ main line, Jap Atrocities Charged. Despite this obviously perilous situation, Gen. MacArthur found time to forward the War Depart- ment advices of Japanese atrocities against prisoners, reporting specific- ally that a Filipino had been found with his hands bound and his body bayonetted. This, it was noted, was a flagrant violation of international agree- ments to which Japan is a party concerning treatment of prisoners, The War Department added: “However foully the enemy may act, the general states that he will abide by decent concepts of hu- manity and civilization.” Heavy losses on both sides were reported by the War Department in summing up the situation. And, it added that although fatigued from constant fighting, the Amer- ican and Pilipino soldiers continued a stubborn resistance, and, by fierce caunterattacks had recaptured IOP’II of their lost positions. But the enemy held to some points won from the defenders, and its numerical superiority was constant- ly increasing. Reinforcements were landing at Subic Bay, close by Gen. MacArthur’s left flank, where, the Army said, the Japanese attacks were heaviest., Grave Apprehension. All in all, the communique aroused grave apprehension here as to how long Gen. MacArthur’s men might be able to continue their resistance. The department’s. announcement contained no note of optimism, other than that “the enthusiasm, courage and devotion” of the men was “undiminished.” But in a war of machines, this is not enough, and the Capital was prepared for the worst. Conjecture grew, meanwhile, as to what the next move of Gen. Mac- Arthur might be. It was generally expected that he had a skillfull trick or two left. ‘When it became impossible o de- (See FAR EAST, Page A-4)