Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 41, Number 32, Decatur, Adams County, 6 February 1943 — Page 1

L f lse Is Chores!

K| XU No. 32.

RUSSIANS ARE CLOSING IN ON KHARKOV

Wni Fires Lin-Law In [bine! Shift ■Ciano Reported To ■Hove Agitated For ■Peace With Allies ■ fly United Pre** ■ >n ... r MiHM.lini. In hi* shake ■ (I J •!).- I <«binet, •» repost- ■ >uv<. -ma-bed a peace move- ■. by hi* son-in-law Count BL Mory ia told by diplomatic ■... In Sweden. These source* ■ 'j;,- i I a no. Count Dino Grandl. ■ nw »!i.<i Pietro Badogllo de■(H that Mussolini withdraw K a , v.. politic* so they could K |||« way for peace. a« cording io the StockK version. the German* threatE immediate military occupaK.4l:«|) unle** Musaollnl took Erol of the situation. Mnssl- ■ ou»(ed Ciano an foreign mlnE 4iid took over the pout him- ■ Ilf- threw out Grand! a* E P minister. and replaced ,»ix Er cabinet officer* aa well. Kdociifi already la in military ■y.- He uiied to be chief of ■ frncral *taff. ■b* story from Stockholm. of Ew. la unofficial and I* not Eirmed elsewhere. Esdnti observers no far have Ehed no conclusions on the Etpinr shakeup — eacept that E♦« -ome more major deEpaent* to follow. Ewfoiml now holdn Italy* forE ioltcy a* well aa the military Em in hi* own hand*, wince he E Ciano Hut moat well in' Krd quartern don't he-e mijeh Eiblli-y at the moment for the Etn dictator to make any open Em to cut loose from the Alin. Ey point out that he'« 100 thorEly entwined In the Nazi chitE for that. ■fereriheless. Germany, aa well ■ the re*: of the world, apparent- ■ va< caught unaware* by Musso■Ti sweeping clean-out of hl* Ear: which removed eight other Etter* in addition to Ciano. In ■t the Berlin radio aay* political Em In Borne Itself were «urEd Erki*h >ll*patchea say that ■many I* worried particularly Br- Mussolini's action In trending Matte R<h*o io Ankara a* amE-!'- Rosso ia considered MFasciti if not antl-Fascist. Iff* vat an ambassador In Wash■poa fur many years, and made It friendship of American ainbasItTir* To Pa«w 1. Column »> ed Cross Campaign bus Formulated Compaiqn To Open In County March 1 Fslter J. Krick, city superin•fest of schools, and Lyman L. ns. county •iiperlntendent of city and county chairman, ffsettvely, for the 1943 Red * roll call and war fund, are Wax on plans for launching •drive to raise fi1.700 nest He * county wide, house-to-house 39*Ua probably be made. * desire being to enrol! every * m the county, together with •vring additional donations to * the county's quota. plans also call for the namI «f Industrial chairmen In this r to conduct the campaign In II iadutriea. reaching the per- * thonsand wage earners who 1 *ll past •civic and patriotic J**m have generously contribut- ' “ the fund. , drive will bo launched 1 and It is the desire of * ch »irmea to raise the amount ' **kly aa possible. Last year *- ,h *n ||.M« was raised in * lr »' war appeal of the Red **• In addition to the roll call held a few months LmZ ,U ™ * wd<et ,nrladr ‘ ** for the Adamo county chapcarry on its activities In J**t of the war program and men j B t!le armed forces. NOON

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Detroit Man Must Pay Penalty For Treason Cincinnati. Feb. 6—(UP)- Max Stephan <>f Detroit must be hanged for treason In connection with the escape of a German aviato- from a Canadian prison camp. The U. S. circuit court of appeal* the morning upheld the sentence Imposed by a lower court. ■Date of the execution'will be set later. The previous execution date - -November IS. 1942 -*was postponed because of Stephan a appeal. The stocky restaurant owner was the first American citizen to be convicted of treason since the be- . ginning of the war. , Q Expect Pressure To Boost Wage Ceiling Labor Coalition Is Announced Friday Washington. Feb. 8 — (UP) — . New and powerful pressure may . be applied soon to boost the pres- . ent ceiling on wages by at least 10 . percent. The initial move is ex- . pected to be launched by the execu- , five board of the CIO at the clos- , Ing session today of a two-day meeting. Rut it probably will he , backed by coalition of labor organ- • izatlons representing some 13.(M)n.MO of the nation's workers. ’ The coalition, formed principalI ly to present a united front against anti-labor legislation in congress, i was announced yesterday by the i CIO president Philip Murray. It Includes the CIO. the AFL. the . railroad brotherhoods and the national farmer* union. The railroad brotherhood* al- ■ ready are asking for wage ini crease* far above the present cellI Ing a* set up under the war labor i board's so-called "little »teel” ■ formula. i However, leader* of the CIO and ■ the AFL have condemned the tor- ■ inula on the grounds that It ha* - been outmoded by Increased living coots since It was set up nearly a I year ago. A move also Is underwayio take the celling off altogether on in--1 come In the higher bracket s t hat la. the lifi.ooo salary limitation 1 imposeil by President Roosevelt. 1 Representative Gearhart of Call- ’ fornia. ha* announced he'll try to rescind the president'* order with an amendment to the bio for Increasing the national debt to 1 8210.000.000.000. ' The house way* and mean* com-, mittee. however, will hear the preaident'* side of the story, prob- ’ ably today. Chairman Doughton say* he may make public a letter giving the president's view* on why he want* the salary limltailon to be retained and extended to cover other income. Another measure which may get faster action from congress is the bill to exempt father* from the draft until the reservoir of single men and marled men without children ha* been exhausted. Chairman May of the house military affair* committee says he'll hold hearing* next week-and they'll lie short. He predict* the measure will be adopted The bill should shift the draft system from a local to a statewide hails. And it would require that 1 all eligible single men ire drafted ’ first, married men without children *econd. and father* last ■ without regard to whether they re working in war Industrie*. ' If adopted, the measure would cancel ifee teta»t edict "“ n power commission McNutt that ail men—fathers Included — face In--1 duction unless they get jobs in essential Industrie*. Guest Minister At Presbyterian Church ' — Dr. 1. Roby Oldham. D. D. Ph. D. at Washington Court House. Ohio will be the guest minister at the local Presbtyerian church Sunday. He to filling the pulpit «hile Rev. ' Walton to at Venedocia. Ohio, for the ministerial relation* committee of te Fort Wayne ProtMtytery. rffMMRATURff RCAOIMG OffMOCRAT THffRMOMffTffR : « 10:00 a. 40 11:«0 a- m- 34 WffATHffR Considerably colder tbl* afteroeew and towlffM; aeeaaion•l anew tturrts* iverth and central portions thto anorwoew.

MacArthur Air Force Blasting Japanese Bases Shattering Raids Are Laying Waste To Japanese Bases BULLETIN Washington, Feb. B—(UP) — Secretary of the navy Knox announce* that both American and Japanese force* have suffered moderate losses of ship* and plane* in recent air-sea action* in the Solomon* area. The action* ar* continuing. Knox *ay* there is “nothing significant — “Nothing of a major character” — in these losses. Hy United Pre** Shattering raid* by General MacArthur's air force are laying waste to Jap bases on the broad southwe»t Pacific front. The Jap* largest base In the entire Soiomonx-New Guinea theater. Rabaul on New Britain, was pounded for more than three hour* by flying fortre**e*. Fires that could be seen for 100 miles were I left in the city and its airfields. The raiders harried the Jap base In small group*, then a large force went over and plastered the city and the Vunakanau airport with tons of big bombs. Gaxmata on the south coast of New Guinea was attacked by our seaplane patrol Immber*. Illg fires also were started at flasmata. Hix ship* were sunk or damaged In Allied raids on the naval base of Amboina in the Ihttch Ea*t Indies and off the Admiralty tola nd*. A new squadron of Mitchell bomber* flown by Dutch pilots blew up building* and wharves at Dobo in the Aroe island*. In two big patrol skirmishes on New Guinea'* Huon gulf area. 129 Japs were killed. The German radio ha* started a chorus of support for Tokyo's claim that six big American warship* have been sunk in the air and sea skirmishing In the Solomons. Washington has said these claim* are “grossly” exaggerated. Delayed dispatches from an advanced base In the Pacific reveal that the sea and air skirmishing that ha* been raging in the SoloJ tuons area for the past week began with a Japanese torpeda plane attack on an American naval task (Turn To Page I, Column I) o Huge New Battleship Is Near Completion Vessel Will Match Any Ship Afloat By United Pres* Here* a timely warning to Hitler. Hirohito and company. Uncle Sam I* about to send a new battleship out to war—a vessel that can match any *hlp afloat, gun for gun and man for man. United Press correspondent Handor 8. Klein ha* been aboard the new ship on a training cruise. Klein says he can report that it will do the enemy no good to come within range of this vessel's nine iw-ineh guns. It's bad enough, he says, to be behind them when they fire. The battleship tips the scales at 11,000 ton* She's In commission and almost ready to join the U. 8. Klein say* that one day while he was aboard the ship, the gun* had been firing singly, and In pair* for several minutes. Then suddenly all nine of the big guns let go at once. Says the U. P. reporter: “The blast hit me with stunning force. My leg* buckled. Later, when I described my reaction* to an officer, he remarked, 'why. that was a mild blast. We didn’t fire a full charge'." The experts aboard told Klein that this new ship can hurl more steel at one time than any known vessel now in service. And any aircraft that may challenge her will run into a latticework of hot steel that no other ship ever before ha* been able to throw up. Her officers and men are cooff dent that wherever and whenever she meet* the enemy, he i» destined for an unpleasant surprise.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Saturday, February 6,1943.

Vandegrift Gets Highest Medal ■ ■.' Ar H K- / ISr S Hl *'* ■ ‘ For “outstanding and heroic accomplishment" Jn commanding the U. 8. Marine Corp* force* that landed on Guadalcanal last Auk. 7 and held the island against the Japs until relieved by army troops recently. Mj. Gen. Alexander A Vandegrift receive* the congressional medal ot honor, above, from President Roosevelt at the White House In Wa«hington. Behind the president and the general stand* Vandegrift'* s in. Maj. Alexander A. Vandegrift. Ji., also of the Marine*. iPhonephot.it

Gen. Brerelon Heads Middle East Forces Air Force Officer Heads U. S. Forces Cairo. Feb 6 — (UP) — Another air force officer, major general Lewis Brereton. will command American force* In the Middle East. Brereton was named to succeed lieutenant-general Andrew*, also an air officer, who wa* shifted to lamdon as commander of American forceu in the European theater. Brereton ha* been commanding American air forces in the Middle Earn and formerly was United States air chief in India. The appointment* of Andrew* and Brereton to commanding posts over all branches of the army re-, fleets the Allie*' increasing concentration on air power aa the key to victory. Brereton is literally a "flying general." He wa* awarded the distinguished flying cross last Octole-r for extraordinary achievement In leading an attack on Andaman Island in the bay of Bengal the pre vlou* April. He was credited with scoring two bomb hits on an enemy cruiser despite intensive antiaircraft fire and intercepting fighters. ■Brereton was born in Pittsburgh. Pa.. 52 year* ago. and graduated fro mthe naval academy at Anna polls In 1911. That same year he shifted to the army and wa* com missioned a second lieutenant. He began his flying training in 19112 and served oversea* with the ABF in World War 1. rlalng rapidly to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became chief cf staff of the air service group of armies and of the <Turn To Psge 3. Column »)

Physical Fitness Program In Full Swing At Schools

The physical fitness program. I (| r .i ordered by the WMC last | September and then carried on by the state education department, is In full swing at the Decatur juniorsenior high school, a survey dl» closed today. For weeks the boys in the junior and senior classes of the school who are affected by the order have been undergoing a rigid training program, highly comparable to that of commandos, marines and others of Uncle Sam's combat units. Steve Everhart, of the school'* physical education staff and county Boy Scout commissioner, ha* supervision over the program to equip the upperclassmen with strong bodies that will fit them for the nation's armed forcee or war plants. Among the more prominent ports of the physical fitness setup to the obstacle course-patterned after that used In basic training for tha fighting tercet. The course was eroctad at Worthman field under th* direction of Mr Everhart for the student* and the Boy Scouts. It to the type often seen in

British Printing Hitler Degth Report Tendon. Felt. 5 (UP) Brlttoh newspaper* are publtohlng report* of the speculation In the United State* that Adolf Hitler may be dead. A cartoon In Ihe Dully Mail show* Satan, surrounded by smoke and flame, talking on hl* telephone— Says be— “Hitler here? I think H's notwense. but 11! check up for you if you’ll wait u minute.” Mrs. Mary A. Moser Dies This Morning Wren Resident Dies After Short Illness Mr*. Mary Ann;* Moser, 78. a native of Adam* county, and widow of the late J. L. Moser, died shortly after midnight this morning at the home of a daughter. ('. Finkhousen. 526 Nuttinan avenue. Fort Wayne Death followed a short Illness of I cerebral hemorrhage She was born In Adam* county January 12. 1X65. the daughter of John and Catherine Smith Teeple. and had spent her entire married life In Wren. O. Her husband died in 1919. Surviving besides the daughter I* a brother. Zack Teeple of AshI ley. One daughter, one son, tw> , brother* and two sister* are deI ceased. Funeral aervice* will tie held at 1:30 p. m. (CWT) Monday at the Liberal U. B. church at Wren, with burial in the Wren mausoleum. The b*»dy will be removed to the residence at Wren from •he Zwlck funeral home Sunday morning.

I movies and newspaper photos be- ' Ing used hy the U. 8. combat unit*. First of all. the studenta using the course must walk or run down a 15-foot log. then he must crawl under a rack, which t* 15 inches high and ha* loose bar* aero** the lop Knocking off one of the bars will disqualify the runner. Then there to a balance rail to cro»». The rail to 12 feet long and only two inches wide. The rope hazard, one of Mr. Everhart's own Invention*. in which the runner may become entangled, follow*. The fifth obstacle Is a wall, seven feet high, to be scaled Then there are staggered stepping stones arrariged tn a 12 foot length A ditch, seven and onehalf feet long, must be hurdled One of the mo*t severe obstacle* to the overhead ladder The ladder runs from »even to nine feet in height and the participant must move band over hand the 24 feet length. A crawl through a 24-lncb culvert follow* and an eight-foot scaling ladder to the neat to the last obstacle. The final hurdle is (Twra T* Fag* », Column •)

Four-Way Russian Offensive Is Nearing Strategic City; Rostov Fall Believed Near

Nazi Attacks ' Force British Back In Africa Bad Weather Limits Air Activities Over Tunisian Battlefront (By United Press) The Allie* have suffered another reverse In Tunisia. An Allied communique reveal* that German counterattacks have forced British troops to withdraw from strategic Man-wur Hill. 75 mil * scuthwest of Tunis. The British had captured the position several day* ago. and had repulsed a number of heavy German counterattack* before they finally were forc<d to yield the commanding height*. An Allied beadquarters spokesman say* it was only a small-scale action. He scy* British troops still are In the area and sparring for the positkn to continuing, Bad weather ha* limited air activity over Tunisia in recent hours, but Allied bomber* smashed at the Axis naval base of Bizerte and and American P-40 tighter plane* strafed the German supply road leading Inland from Gabes. Today'.* Allied communique report* that four American planes, reported missing In aerial combats, have returned safely to their bases. That r«duces American losses In the action to only six planes. Fiftytwo Nazi planes were destroyed or crippled. Os the six American planes still missing, the crews of two are known to have balled out to safety. Radio Algiers declare* that American bombing attack* liave completely destroyed the Axis supply ports of Bfax. Scu»»e and Gabes, on the east coaat of Tunisia. That leaves the Nazis only Tunis and Bizerte through which to funnel supplies and ammunition to their African beachhead. Air activity also to increasing along the Libyan border, and Axis radio* de< lare that another fullHcale drive by the British eighth army Is In the making. Today's Cairo communique reports renewed air attack* on Axis transport in the frontier battle area, but says that ground activity to limited to patrolling, and that the mighty eighth army ha* not yet launched Its new drive to roll the Afrha corps back through the Mareth line. But thing* are anything but quiet In the council chambers of | (Turn To Psge I. Column 4) WLB Member Says Formula To Slick Opposes Efforts To Obtain Waqe Boosts Portland. Ore.. Feb. 6 (UP)— Wayne L. Morse. o( the war labor board, verves blunt notice that the “little steel' wage formula will not be broken—at least not under present condition*. Fpeaktng for public memtier* of the hoard. Morse declared: ‘•We do not favor any attempt to make wage* constantly match the rising eost of living, because these are the sacrifice* labor must make In this war to protect our domestic economy *’ Morse spoke at a forum on WLB policies He aald that the little steel formula may collapse — but only If other government agencies lose control of their portion* of the anti-inflation program There has been strong pressure from most labor leadbr. lately for a new policy to provide for wage increases beyond those allowed under the little steel formnla. which does not take Into account increases in living coats since tost May

Senate Sets Monday Deadline For Bills 64 New Measures Submitted Friday Indianapolis, Feb. 6 — (UP) No new bill* may be introduced In the Indiana state senate after Monday, which will be the 33rd day of the current general assembly. The deadline was set this morning by adoption of a motion which wa» prompted by the houxe of representative*' action in requiring introduction of legislative proposals to lie offered by yesterday. Leader* of the Republican majority «ay the time limit on introduction of measure* 1* Intended to strengthen efforts to end the session in advance of the 61-day limit. Republican senator Thurman Blddinger of Marion Introduced thi* morning'* motion which would require consent by two-third* of the member* before a new bill could be presented. Blddinger I* the majority floor leader. Sixty-four bill* were tossed into the legislative hopper in the house yesterday. A similar avalanche of new bill* I* anticipated in the senate on Monday. Thi* morning's senate session, which was the first Saturday meeting of the lawmaking body since the general assembly convened four weeks ago. was the occasion of n precedent-establish-ing event. Mrs Arcada Bal* of Indianapolis, who I* the flrst woman senator in Indiana's history, today made her first formal address to the upper chamber. The Republican legislator spoke In behalf of her bill which would license nursing homes. The bill was up for third reading in the (Turn To Psge J. Column 4) ——pEuropean Patriots Plan Aid To Allies Report Resistance Growing In Europe Lcndon. Feb. 8— (UP) —Patriot groiifw al! over Europe are reported to be planning a coordinated offensive to lie launched when the Allie* invatL Europe. The word ha* gone out to hardy guerrilla fighter* and anti Axis salHiteura everywhere that the time i* fast approaching when they can aid the Allies directly The Dutch I have been urged by radio to build up* their reslstame tactics, in the Balkans. Jugoslavia and Russia are said to be trying to roach an agree inent to combine Serb guerrilla* with communist iiartlsan* for a jcint offensive when the Allie* bit Europe. French underground leader* have been aaked to reorganize new guerrilla band* and to hide foodstuff*. The trend of event* already to shewing up in increasing resistsme to the Axis, in Poland, guerrilla fighter* are said to have engaged In several open clashes with the Germans recently. In Austria. 6.000 guerrilla bands are reported to lie operating B Igian patriot* are destroying < ommunlcation lines, power plant* and rail yards In the | biggest sabotage campaign of the Desperate Nazi repression effort* shew how strongly the tide to running. The German* have executed hundreds of person* tor »aho tage recently in Poland, Belgium. Holland. Czechoslovakia and other occupied countries. —M Solomon Lord Is Reported Better Solomon Lord, well known Decatur factory worker. wa» dismissed from the Adams countv memorial hospital today and removed to bto home Hi* condition wm reported a* much improved Mr. Lord ha* been sufferiM fro “t a heart ailment.

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Fourth Biggest City In Soviet Union Is Assoiled From Four Directions By Reds (By United Proas) A four-way Russian offensive l» cloning In on strategic Kharkov, fourth biggr st city in the Soviet union. . The drive* are northeast, east, southeast and south-southwest cf the great German bastion. Th*- column < uttlng in from the northeast is only 90 miles from I Kharkov itself. This l(u«.dan force has overrun (Tie rail town of Stary Oskol, killing or capturing the wh le German garrison. The Moscow noon communique say* that the enemy garrison battled for day* In a vain effort to break out of the trap. To the east, the Russians are advancing relentlessly only 48 mile* from Kharkov. At Kuypansk. j to the southeast, they're inly 65 | miles away. And still farther south, the Sovlet line* are swinging forward in . a giant arc aimed at enveloping Kharkov. The Ruhs Uni communique say* that one force In this area stormed and seized a big town I held by 1,000 German Infantrymen. ' EasJ of Kursk, another key German d> tense anchor 120 mile* north of Kharkov, the Russian* swept the Nazis from several village* in a night of furious fighting. Three-hundred German* were ' captured in one sector. Earlier, ’ the Russian* were reported to be * closing In on Kursk from three ’ directions, with one column only ' 21 mile* northeast of the city. On the R stov front, at the mouth of the Don. Nazi defensro (Turn To Page 1. Column St ( o — French Townsip Lad Released By Hospital Jerry Voder, three-year-old *on I of Mr. and Mtw. Aaron Yoder of French township, was dismissed today from the Adams county memorial hospital, where he has been confined with a head Injury. The lad wm removed to the home of his parent*. Hospital attaches reported that hto condition was considerably Improved. He suffered a severe head Injury when struck liy a piece of Ice. ■■■■ o —— — American Troops In Belgian Congo Ixmdon. Feb 6 lil’i American troop* have arived at Thy*vllle in the Belgian Congo. Thysville I* about 2M) mile* inland from th** Atlantic ocean. The Belgian Congo occupies an important strategic position in Africa. It touch*** British Rhodesia on the south. British Kenya and the Sudan on the east and northeast and French Equatorial Africa, which to in Degaullist hand*. Mrs. Holthouse Is Garden Chairman Victory Garden Head For City Os Decatur Mr*. Arthur R. Holthouse, women's division representative of the city civilian defense council. bA* been named ehairman of the Decatur victory garden campaign, it was announced today. The appointment wa* made by Cal E Peterson, city civilian defense chairman. Mr. Peterson and Mrs. Holthouse in the near future, will name one lady in each cky block a* a block leader, who will have charge of the campaign ia her respective area In cooperation with the stat* agriculture department, the leaders will be given training in their duties, which will Include relaying Instructions for proper participation In the rsmtwfgn Block leaders will also be asked to ascertain the need of seeds or garden plots in their districts and aid in making assignment of caused plots.