Evening Star Newspaper, April 16, 1942, Page 6

To Learn Spanish as Hemisphere Tie South American Diplomats Hear President of Rotary International Members of the Washington Ro- tary Club were challenged yesterday at a luncheon in observance of Pan- American day the Spanish language “as the greatest contribu- tion that could be made toward so- Lidifying the Western Hemisphere ” Tom J Buite, Mont,, president of Rotary International, told the audience of 350, including most of the Ambassadors and Minis- ters from Soutp American countries, that residents of this country are making a “grave mistake in not learning the language so that ideas could be freely exchanged Mr. Davis, who just returned from A tour of SBouth America. sald people there “marvel at our inability to speak another language ” It is not uncommon, he said, to find men there who speak five and six lan- ruages = Cites Hostile Minority. Warning that there is a small group in South America which is definitely hostile to the attitude of the United States, the speaker said it 18 composed of those who believe this country's only interest in South America is exploitation and the profit that may be made off that continent’s vast resources Criticizing those who call them- selves “experts” on South America after making & superficial survey of the land, Mr. Davis said these, who sometimes write books or newspaper or magazine articles, are “doing more harm than any other influ- ence " He sald he found three separate groups with different viewpoints to- ward the United States. The first, a very large percentage of the peo- ple, “love the United States because of its ideals” he said. The second, which includes a smaller number 1s composed of hard-headed realists who know it's better to do business with this country than any other The third, a small minority, is defi- nitely hostile toward this country, he sald, and openly favors the Axis Sees Common Heritage. “But we must remember that nearly all of us have the common heritage of a love of liberty and a love of religious freedom,” he said He foresaw the Pan-American highway as a potent factor in bet- tering relations between the two continents. Algernon P. Reeves, president of the Washington club, presided. Besides the diplomatic representa- tives, the guests included Chairman Bloom of the House Foreign Affairs | Committee, Dr. Leo 8. Rowe, direc- tor general of the Pan-American Union; Philip W. Bonsal, chief of | the Division of American Republics, State Department, and William R.| Vallance, assistant to the legal ad- viser, State Department. The Juncheon was held at Willard Hotel. Bases (Continued From First Page) to learr Davis of the Royal Australian Air Force dropped high explosives on an airdrome, but | “other detalls of the attack have not yet been received,” a communi- que said. The Sunday and Monday opera- tions in the Philippines cost the raiding force no casualties and no damage, except for loss of the B-17 fortress craft and many a hole in one of its two mates and one of the 10 B-25 medium bombers. One Killed in Accident. “One man, not a member of our party, was killed in action con- nected with our flight,” Gen. Royce said. “A fellow named Burns Jumped in a fighter when he heard the Japanese and started to take off. He got off the punway, but the plane burned up. It was & takeoff accident only The anese had nothing to do with it.” So extraordinary was the conduct of the bomber force that the Mac- Arthur command hadn't enough medals to go round. In the semi-floom of a huge han- gar here, Maj. Gen. Rush Lincoln, commanding American airmen un- der Lt. Gen. George H. Brett, the Allied air commander for the South- west Pacific, conferred Distin- guished Service Crosses on Gen Royce, Lt. Col. John Hubert Davies of Pledmont. Calif., and Capt Frank P. Bostrom, a native of Maine and alumnus of the Univer- sity of Maine. Capt. Bostrom was not present for the ceremony QGen. Lincoln first pinned a Dis- guished Flying Cross on Gen Royce's shirt and a few nds later his mistake, took red the D. 8. C Royce's cap Was at a jaunty angle and he was smiling To Get Medals Later. While the honors were bestowed on Col. Davies and at the same cer actually receive efr & new supply arrives Three cabinet officers s note that the havoc anese the P it was, counte more as promise for the future of a mighty counteroffensive born wings Army Minis PAN-AMERICAN LUNCHEON—The Wnsnawn Rotary Club yesterday pald tribute to ship existing between this country and those of Latin America THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ( \ the friend- Shown at the observance at the Willard Hotel yesterday are (left to right) M. X. Wilberding, vice president of the club; Dr. Fran- clsco Castillo Najera, Mexican Algernon P. Reeves, Backes, chief of the Philippine Army Air Corps; Col. Fisher, U. S, A, who WAS assigned o headquarters, Philippines ment; Lt. Col W. B. Kinna Joseph Moore, Capt. Henry Thorne, Capt. Harvey Whitfield, Lt. Wienart, Lt. Thonas Gerrity and Lt. Conley The others were enlisted men— bombardiers, navigators and non- commissioned officers—whose names have not yet been issued Gen. Royce called Burma the vital spot for hitting at the Japanese. He said it was his opinton that if the United Natlons were able to get sufficient planes to Burmese bases and to strike across China, they could cut the Japanese trail south- ward from the Philippines with long-range bombers. Raiders’ Achievements. A recapitulation showed these echievements for the relatively small aerial striking force Four enemy centers raided; Four enemy transporis sunk, four others hit, including one probably sunk Troop concentrations bombarded; Docks and warehouses damaged; An enemy-held airfield—Nichols, near Manila—heavily bombed Five enemy planes, including a bomber and a seaplane, destroyed; others damaged Fifty -year-old Gen. Royce, declared that the raid demonstrated | how heavily and how widely the United Nations could strike back | with sufficient planes based on Aus- | tralia He said it demonstrated also that it was essential to prevent the Jap- anese from setting up bases in this zone. At Canberra, Baron van Aerssen Beyeren van Voshol, the first Neth- erlands Minister to Australia, pre- sented letters of credence today to Ambassador president of the Washington club, who presided Bataan Usually Had Only One or rTwo Plafies, Tom J. Davis, president of Rotary International, and --Star Staff Photo. | THURSDAY, Word Still Awaited By MacArthur on Extent of Powers Melbourne Press Makes Appeal That Issues Be Clarified Ey (he Associated Press U. 8. ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, April 16.—A spokesman at Gen. Douglas Mac- Arthur’s headquarters said today the general still had not received a directive from Washington for- mally defining the scope and powers of the supreme command {in the Southwest Pacific war zone. (In Washington representatives of the United States, Australia and New Zealand said after a Pacific War Council meeting yes- terday that there was absolutely no hitch to Gen. MacArthur's command, and reiterated Presi- dent Roosevelt's statement that Gen. MacArthur was in supreme command.) Prime Minister Curtin said last night that ever since Gen. Mac- Arthur arrived in Australia the com- | monwealth government had regard- ' With Never More Than Six After January 1 Air support for the beleaguered peared in a surprsiing, smashing raid on Japanese bases in the defenders of Corregidor has ap- Philippines by American bombers Clark Lee, Associated Press and Wide World correspondent who covered the battle of Luzon and most of the siege of Bataan be- fore going to Australia, describes here the difficulties the defenders faced before the air support was revived By CLARK LEI Wide World New MELBOURNE, April 16—The American air force on Bataan usu- ally consisted of one or two combat planes in flyable condition—on good days, that is, Often there was none The most airplanes Gen. Douglas MacArthur ever had at his dis posal simultaneously after January 1 were five pursuit ships and one observation plane His bombers which survived the attack on Clark Field still were operating from Filippine bases for ‘| several weeks after January 1 but were under orders of the Allied high command then headed by Gen. Sir | Archibald P. Wavell. On at least two occasions when the Bataan front lines were hard- | pressed, Gen. MacArthur asked for bomber support for one day but never got it Planes Hidden in Woods. Army fiyers brought approximate- | ly a dozen pursuit ships into Bataan | at the time of the withdrawal but | they were lost, one by one Officers who left Corregidor on Governor General Lord Gowrie with | March 15 report that at that time the pledge that “on land, at sea and in the air Netherlands forces are fighting side by side with the gal- lant Australians * * * and they are determined to continue the fight | until final victory will be achieved.” | ‘When the planes got back to their hidden rendezvous Sunday evening, at the end of the first day, Gen. Royce said, “we worked on them all night and got them out again in the | morning.” He disclosed that one plane “was shot up somewhat and flew all the way home on three engines.” The bomber lost, he said, was on the ground having an engine changed. Japanese bombers came | over 13 times—five on Sunday eve- ning and eight more Monday—but scored only one direct hit, the bomber bursting into flames. One of the Americans’ attacks on Davao was synchronized with an attack by American land forces on the island and the airmen suc- ceeded in dropping many bombs amid Japanese troop concentra- tions, he said Fully Justified, Royce Says. Gen. Royce said he regarded the reid as fully justified under exist- ing circumstances. It was carried out in perfect weather. Only one plane was damaged in flight, and that from but a few thousand feet Gen. Royce praised the pilots performance as excellent and cited one captain who took a place as bombardier in another plane when his own was out of commission It was the first use of the B-25s on an extensive scale and the me- dium bombers’ impressive perform- ance made him plan to send a mes- sage can plane. € Anti-nircraft fire was heavi frc Davao than from Mind but was generally heavy "he most important milit f ies of raids wa effect on the mor: nese and is a “helluva fine he Ph The raids defenders know p have rot for are doing their best to help.” to their makers—North Ameri- | was one pursuit plane left | and“that a féw days later it was lost, so that in the face of the final overwhelming Japanese drive the American and Filiping forces were without air support Mechanics worked wonders with limited supplies to keep the few | airplanes flyable, Pilots fought an | epic battle and took a heavy toil of the enemy despite their lack of equipment. The pursuit planes were hidden in the woods adjoining two run- ways at the southeastern tip of Bataan and all work was done out- doors. During January and February Japanese dive bombers concentrated their attention on these runways. Three to six Japanese planes cus- tomarily came over about 7:30 am. to drop about 12 bombs each on the runways and then strafe them from | a fairly high altitude. | Again just as the sun was setting | in the China Sea, the Japanese | bombers would return to plaster the | runways. Usually they missed, but | sometimes bomb fragments would damage a plane beyond repair and there would be one less. Used for Reconnaissance. Gen. MacArthur used the air force principally for reconnaissance, ordering the pilots to avold combat | in order to save their planes The information they gzathered was invaluable in enabling Gen MacArthur to move his ulender forces from one sector of tue front to another At least once, late in January the air force saved Bataan Mechanics made a device whereby two 300-pound bombs could be at- tached to the wings and released by pulling a wire. Three pur: ships, thus loaded, took off at night and bombed ar strafed enemy g boats attempting 0 rein- force infan parties which had landed on the west coast of Bataan Fach plane made three trins that taking off without mway s. 8 1 of the pilots had flown at night before ter, the mechanics imp:oved bombing mechanism. extending cks so the planes could carry pound bombs and dive bomb th the 3¢ Continuation of The | bombed and machine gunned the | without having the projectiles hit their propellers. With thesz new releasing methods, the pilots devas- tatingly attacked Japanese shipping in Subic Bay late in February Accounted for Dive Bombers. Meantime, planes on reconnais sance were accounting for an aver- age of one Japanese dive bomber daily. Once while protecting Capt. Jesus Villamor, who was on a re- | connaissance mission in an ancient trainer, five pursuit ships fought and downed six Japanese Zeros. The reaction of the young Amer- | ican pilots to the bombing and strafing they underwent daily was development of a bitter hatred for | the Japanese. They wanted to fight back, but had nothing to fight with | except on rare occasions. Most of all they sympathized with | the Filipino soldiers and American officers at the front lines, with the artillerymen who had to fight enemy planes as well as enemy artillery, and with the forces of Corregidor who underwent frequent aerial at-| tacks without means of reprisal. | The pilots were determined to | strike a blow at the Japanese. One | night late in January they raided! Japanese airports on the outskirts | of Manila The attack took the Japanese | completely by surprise as the Ameri- ] cans swooped out of the night and flelds from which they had been | flying only a few weeks prevxouslyAi American agents who were in Ma- | nila reported afterward that at least 26 Japanese planes were set on fire on the ground on Nichols, Neilson and Zablan Fields. Spiritual Uplift to Manila. “In Manila there was a tremen- dous spiritual uplift which can scarcely be. imagined,” an agent | sald. “The Japanese proved to be cow- | ards. Sentries threw away their | guns and ran into private Filipino | homes and cowered under tables and | beds. Even high officers scurried frantically for cover. “Loyal Filipinos believed that at last America was striking back. Many of them dug up buried rifles and unsheathed bolos and went CHASE & Compare our high- SANBORN est quality with regular prices; then you'll know why smart host- esses shop at Ma- gruder’s. CHEESES in WINE Fancy Pots N Y RESH 1 Lb. Wheels looking for Japanese. People stood in the streets cheering and praym” for more bombs to fall—the same people who had trembled under | Japanese bombs the month previ- ously. “Hundreds of Americans interned | | in Santo Tomas also cheered wildly, believing the day of deliverance from the horrors of Japanese im- | prisonment was near.” | However, that was two and a half months ago. Armed Only With Rifle. | To me one of the heroes of Bataan | | was Lt. Col. Reginald Vance, now | stationed in Australia. | A tall, taciturn Southerner, Col. | Vance reached Manila with his dive | bomber squadron a few days before | the war. Their planes, which could | have disrupted Japanese hndinns} on Luzon, were on another ship which never reached the Philippines. | Every evening Col. Vance used to fiy an antiquated Philippine Army tratning plane from Corregidor to | Bataan carrying official communi- | cations. For armament he held a 30-caliber rifle across his knees. In addition ‘to those pilots ac- tually flying pursuit ships on Ba- | taan, there were hundreds of air- force personnel, pilots and mechan- ics, accustomed to flying America's | latest planes but now without any | planes. | These men were given rifles and Placed in the front lines and given | some of the toughest jobs on Bataan. | Many crack fighter pilots died there without ever having a chance to fight the Japanese in the air. ]William Hoster Dies; Former Newspaperman William Hoster, 68, of New York City, onetime head of the Washing- ton bureau of the old New York American, died of pneumonia in Co- lumbia, S. C., yesterday, the Asso- | ciated Press reported He was associated with the Amer- ican from 1903 to 1917. From 1919 |to 1938 he was a publicity repre- sentative of the Episcopal Church’'s National Council. APRIL 16, 19 ed him as supreme commander of Allied forces in the Sputhwest Pa- cific Mr. Curtin disclosed that on April 3 Herbert V. Evatt, Australian Min- ister of External Affairs, cabled the Australian government from Wash- ington a directive for the supreme commander. Mr. Curtin said he discussed this cable with Australian chiefs of staff and on April 7 in- formed Mr. Evatt that the Austral- jan government approved the di- rective. The Premier sald Mr. Evatt replied April 12 that he had conveyed the Australian approval to the United States chief of stafl The Melbourne Herald appealed in an editorial for clarification of the issues, which it said were “so serious as to be dangerous to allow any un- certainty to persist.” The editorial said Washington must make the “decisions necessary to remove any doubt as to what is expected of the supreme com- mander,” and added i “The supreme commander is a symbol of American commitment t¢ the defense of Australia. Any at- tempt in Washington to restrict his | discretionary powers or cramp his freedom of judgment would have an unfortunate effect here and weaken the fine spirit of unity and resolu- tion created here by Gen. Mac- Arthur's arrival.” MacArthur Has Full Power, Anzac Envoys Agree Diplomatic representatives of the Australian and New Zealand gov- | ernments were on record here tod: as in full agreement with this Gov- ernment on exact nature and extent of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's com- mand in the Southwest Pacific On several occasions President Roosevelt has declared that Gen. MacArthur was in command of all REpublic 6212 Choose from a very large selec- tion of spinets, consoles, small uprights and grands. Or, if you think you may buy later you can obtain one on our special pur- chase rental plan. Evening ap- pointments arranged. KITT’S 1330 G Street (Middie of the Bleck ) PURE CHIPSO | romaTo COFFEE | FLAKES | *juioE lg. pkg. & 26|46 - 19¢ Have you tried cheese in wine> It's an ad- venture for the tongue, a new treat you'll_remember. FR & VEGETABLES Wool is ammunition, too. much more wool than civilians, United Nations forces—land, air and naval—in that area. White House Secretary Stephen Early said yesterday that he believed there was no real uncertainty out- side of the press, and that in any event Gen. MacArthur is in com- munication with the War Depart. ment and the Chief of Staff here Any confusion can be cleared up that way,” Mr. Early said, “not by me to you to him.” The question evidently was dis- cussed at some length in yester- afternoon’s session of the Pa- cific War Council, and it was after this that Australian and New Zea- land representatives voiced their agreement with this Government Australla’s Council member, Her- bert V. Evatt, who is also Minister of External Affairs, told reporters “There is no hitch whatever in Gen. MacArthur's command. Any suggestion to the contrary has no authority whatever. The jurisdic- tion of Gen. MacArthur was settled | in the course of a few hours by the United States and Australian gov- | ernments.” Walter Nash, New Zealand Min- | ister to the United States and a council member, said this question likewise was adjusted between his government and the United States in a similarly short period and he added that “we are all in complete agreement, the United States, Aus- tralia and New Zealand." The implication was that the agreement was reached some time {ago. Mr. Evatt said the President might issue a ‘further statement on | Gen. MacArthur's position, but Mr. | Early said none was contemplated “The President said all be had to say yvesterday,” he informed news- | papermen last night. “There is complete unity in Australia and that was amply demonstrated by what ' WE WILL was done in the Philippines today * He referred to a bombing attack against Japanese positions in the islands by planes based on Australia. Symphony Drive fo Get First Reports Tomorrow First reports on the National Symphony Orchestra’s campaign to raise $104#00 in this area to finance its program will be made by 800 volunteer workers at a luncheon tomorrow at the Mayflower Hotel. England furnishes America an example of how music during war eases aching hearts and iessens nerve strain, Maj. Howard C. Bron- son of the War Department'’s spe- cial services branch asserted ves- terday as he urged the 800 volun- teer workers to make known to potential subscribers the advantages to Washington provided by the Na- tionul Symphony Orchestra. Ca: paign headquarters are in room 111 of the Woodward Building, Fifteenth and H streets NW In a radio address last night in behalf of the fund, Mrs. Walter Bruce Howe said England’s experi- ence proves that persons huddled in shelters during bombing raids will sing. 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