Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 33, Decatur, Adams County, 8 February 1945 — Page 1

i/e&tWintheWar! MBse Is Chores!

STpll. No. 33.

16 THREE AGREE ON MILITARY STRATEGY

jjKeep Up M In South MOI Manila • jKs Kill Off Last . Wyese Resistance . ffl|orthern Manila BULLETIN wJHngton, Feb. B—(UP) —SeJHary of War Henry L. told a press conferencfeSday that Manila harbor iH'i will be reopened to shipping. s <I'I’I American >-><>ps ■< off the last Japanese in northern Manila tok.iv aiiHooseJ a heavy artillery the surviving enemy • ni> ,lle ,)lackell ”' l ’ i,urbW.Bth< :n half of the* capital the 11th way «)<■>' o'o the Japanese rear ii-c-fn but the main Am-k-rfeuS ■j-e< were stalled tempo: - fll,! t' ol ' lll bank ot t,le i’;W which bisects Manila frnftffiMto west. hopes for a quick the river to wipe out enemy were dashed when a party of Jan;::ssr. Si'cr., blew up the last of r.'iß'. ■ bridges the Jolies span iHiiig into the old walled TadStiray nullified the work of r. fo4*!«W American naval officer ite'i'B hours Earlier had dash-c-l a hail of gunfire to :e---’r,ftre '’w spluttering demolition the bridge. all supply and rein:,lP •Japanese still we e defiantly in the southienMHflkif 'he c >ty, battlihg desnold the 11th airborne ■ hurling artillery and .-noHKHe across the Pasig river Manila. SeniMf the enemy shells were file Santo Tomas uniwhere thousands <4'iMt. d American internees W'MBame time. Japanese dem.witieaMiads were roving wantonly ■f-mngMie southern city, dynamit-b-t aMnirning home and wate”t s-t ■ftal'.ations, even in the itiwßt'.’e fires set by the enemy in tb® northern section were wiiiigißnm r control by American* Uth ■Bnuy and first cavalty .m'amKin their street-to-street that half of the capital. just east of Manila ?"op!g®so was cleared of its last siiicl^®a panese defenders. Tfeßth and first cavalry was along the north bank th®asig. but the wide and ‘iw i tf«'4®im river was under heavy and it was believed d.elyßkt the Japanese would be : '' e W !l1 out until the 11th airinto their main posi- • the rear. -:w.®ouglas MacArthur’s com- . “"iSifflß indicated that the 11th iri'-borj® still was some distance river hank Tuesday, and of the 11th still were, resistance from by’TwßToPajje?. Column 2) K~ 0 Oreyo/mson Is W en To Prison, I Starts Life Term Leo Gillig today deliver- " Johnson, confessed killer ■'■ ■W»wife. Mary E. Johnson, to ' f |, UsOll at Michigan City, ■'n«r?gh ns()n i )e gj ns serving hie “HNeriff was accompanied by Gillig. They left De- " o'clock and the sheriff • W SO ” were expected home . t®kfternoon. ■ . W 1 was sentenced to life im- ;? U ® n B nt ' by J“dse J. Fted ;‘® i ®W-in 'Adams circuit court ' morning on his plea of ■p lui ’der in the second deRATURE reading , W CRAT thermometer .: ; W- m 28 m. 28 Tw- 28 ™ —- -- 23 . WEATHER j. *JW ea, ' n fl cloudiness and ~JB tOn ' ah ’~’ Fr 'day partly wjß* Rls ' n 9 temperatures MflSortion,

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Consolidate Gains On Italian Front ‘ Rome, Feb. B'.—(UP)—Fifth army troops repulsed a number o£ strong enemy counterattacks to defend and consolidate recent gains in the Serchfo valley on the Ligurian coast, headquarters said today. Increased fighting developed on other sectors. Colle Hamle, a quarter of a mile south of Reppignana was occupied against resistance. In the central sector south of Bologna, American units were forced to fall back under a strong counterattack a mile north of Cartel Vecchio but they later routed the attackers and regained the ground. o Vets' Bonus Bill Killed In Senate Senate Recommits Bill To Committee Indinapalis, Fdb. 7 —(UP) —The Indiana senate technically killed a war veterans’ $40,000,000 (M) bonus bill sponsored by Democrats, and the house of representatives passed a controversial measure branded by the minority bloc as jeopardising the merit system. Alfter heated debate, the bonus bill was recommitted to the senate finance committee, thereby ehelving it possibly for t'he remainder of the assembly session. IHouße Republicans dominated a 66-23 approval of a GOP measure authorizing the state personel board to bypass eligible and hire persons with minimum qualifieatons for state jobs during the labor shortage. Sen. Leo J. Stemle, D., Jasper, cosponsor ot the bonus measure, charged that it whs being recommitted to save “the majority senators from being emlltarrassed by a vote.” “My guess is that this bill will never see ttie light of day again,” Stemle said. Asserting that the Republican party “always has taken care of the soldiers,” Sen. Elgar I. Higgs, R„ Connersville, denounced the bill as “a political attempt to embarrass the Republican party.” “If I had the power, I would cram it down the authors' throats,” Higgs shouted. The bill would give Hoosier servicemen SIOO rehabilitation payments. It w’as introduced by Stemle and Sen. Charles F. Fleming, D„ (Turn To Pagie 2. Column 4) 0 I Annual Corn Club Banquet Tuesday Four Organizations Will Participate The annual five acre/ corn club banquet will be held at 6:30 p. m. Tuesday at the K. of P. home, Decatur. This year the organizations taking part are the fiveacre corn club. dairy herd improvement association, AAA chairmen and the Lions club. The speaker will be George ID. Scarseth of Lafayette. Mr. Scaiseth was head of the Purdue agronomy department and is now chairman of the farm research committee. The subject of his talk is “The Soil Makes the Man”. Edwin Rei'feteck, president of the corn club, will be chairman. Stanley Arnold, president of the D. H. I. A., will present the dairy awards. E. W. Baumgartner will award the corn club winnings. The corn club trophy and other corn club awards are made by the First State Bank of Berne. The 1944 corn club membership is: Lester Adler, Edward Arnold, Stanley Arnold, Henry Aschlieman, Frank Bailey, Albert Beineke. Albert Bieberick, Alton Bittner, Theodore tßleeke, Victor Blceke, Leßoy Boehm, Harvey Bucher, Robert Bucher, E. W. Busche, Clarence Busick, Victory Byerly, John Eicher, Menno P. Eicher, Herman Beimer, Benj. Gerke, Reuben Gerke, Winfred Gerke, Martin Graber, Dan Habegger. Sylvan Habegger, John Heiman. Otto Hoile, Harve Ineichen, Joe L. Isch, Ezra Kaehr, Herman Kipfer, Martin Kipfer, S. S. Landis, Verl Lautzenheiser, Edison Lehman and Floyd Liby. Clifford Mann Benj. D. Mazelm, Richaid Meshberger, Charles Myers. Wm. Neadstine, Weldon Neuenech'wander, M. A. Noble and Son, Carl Nussbaum, Milo Nussbaum, Reulpen Nussbaum, Junior Ray, Os- | {Turn Column 6>'

Siegfried Line Bastion Falls To Americans American Armies On Move Along Front Os 75 Miles Or More Paris, Feb. B—(UP8 —(UP) —American tanks and infantrymen overran the Siegfried line bastion of Schmidt today. The surge of power threatened to engulf the Roer river dams and clear the way for a general Allied offensive against the German Ruhr and Rhineland to the north. On a front of more than 75 miles the .American first and third armies were on the move, ripping into or through the German west wall at a score of points. Alarmed German spokesmen said the long-dormant American ninth and British second army fronts also were stirring to life in the opening stages of a new offensive. The Nazi fears were pointed up by an RAF assault last night on German troops, supply centers and communications lines in the path of the second and ninth armies. More than 700 British heavy bombers led off the night strike, dropping a great weight of high explosives and fragmentation bombs on concentrations of Nazi troops and equipment massed behind the northern corner of the Siegfried line between Cleve and Goch. RAF mosquito raiders followed through with punishing attacks on Kassel, Mainz. Coblenz, Hannover, Duesseldorf and Duisburg, as well as the central German city of Magdenburg. Allied he’adquarters remained silent on German reports that a big offensive in the north was imminent. One enemy version said an Allied airborne attack on the Arnhem scale was brewing. At the northern end of the first army front, however, Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges’ troops were slowly winning control of- the mighty Roer dams, possession of which would be almost essential to the launching of an offensive across the Roer to the north. In German control, the dams could be operated to spill an 18foot tidal wave down on any Allied troops that attempted to cross the Roer in the Dueren or Roermond sectors where the British. second and American ninth armies have been massed for months. Infantrymen of the 78th division, suported for the first time last night and were believed in by tanks, broke into Schmidt full control of the town early today, carrying them within two miles northwest of the Schwam(Turn To Page 2, Column 3) 0 McCann Purchases Mill Al Madison Soya Co. Manager To Enter Business Eugene V. McCann, plant manager of the Central Soya .company, has purchased the Madison (Indiana) Flour Mills company from John T. Pritchard, and beginning March 1, will operate the business under the name of Clifty Falls Mills. Last. November Mr. McCann made known his intention of resigning his position with the Central Soya company and entering the feed mill business. His resignation becomes effective March 1, be said. In addition to the flour mill, Mr. McCann will expand his business and include a feed mill, which will manufacture all brands of feed from Master Mix concentrates. Mr. McCann came to Decatur in 1933 from Chicago, when Dale W. McMillen purchased the sugar factory. In 1934 he became associated with the Central Soya company, was promoted to office manager and in 1942 was appointed plant manager. The family will move to Madison as soon as a house can bo obtained, Mr, McCann said.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, February 8,1945.

Returned From Guerrilla Life AMERICAN LEADER of the Filipino guerrillas, Naj. Claude E. Fertig is shown above with his wife at LaJunta. Colo., where he has arrived to spend a 30-day leave. Mrs. Fertig remained with her husband in the Philippines when the islands were seized by the Japs and Was secretly returned to this country only four months ago. While with the guerillas, Mrs. Fertig gave birth to a baby daughter, now 13 months old, being attended by native Filipinos.

Sees Committee OK Os Manpower Bill Committee Leaders Predict Approval Washington. Feb. B—(UP)—8 —(UP)— Two leading members of the senate military affairs committee today predicted ultimate committee approval Os pending work-or-else manpower legislation. Chairman Elbert D. Thomas. D., Utah, told reporters he expects favorable ■committee action but not before the end of next week. Sen. Warren R. Austin, R., Vt. ranking Republican member, alsq expected approval, although he declined to set any deadline on when it might come. (Neither ruled out the possibility of some amendments to the houseapproved measure. Both expected, however, that it would retain the basic provision of making all males from 18 through 45 subject to draft for essential civilian jobs. Meanwhile, the committee entered the third day of sc-called “limited executive hearings” to hear war production chief J. A. Krug, selective service director Lewis B. Hershey and president Ira Mosher of the national association of manufacturers. Thomas, summarizing the first two days of testimony during which the committee heard army and navy officials and war manpower commissioner Paul V. McNutt, told reporters that although the present voluntary system of manpower recruitment has been successful, there still are two major reasons why the legislation is needed. “The first is the question of mor(Turn To Page 2, Column 1)

Stringent Conditions Are Set Forth In Italian Armistice

(Editor’s Note: The world has eagerly awaited announcement of the closely-guarded Allied armistice terms for Italy as a gauge to the penalties the Axis nations must pay for precipiating world war 11. The following United Press dispatch indicates for the first time the stringent conditions set forth in the Italian armistice? Washington, Feb. 8. — (UP) —A congressional source said today that the Italian armistice terms call upon Italy to give up all her colonies, turn over the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria to Great Britain, and possibly cede the Adriatic port, of Triests to Yugoslavia. The armistice terms, signed on Sept. 3, 1943, have never been made public despite considerable agitation in this country and in Italy. The White House, state department and war department have repeatedly declined to do so on grounds of military security. The controversy over the Italian armistice terms is based on charges that they are too harsh, and Italian sources have felt that is why the Allies have never made them public. The armistice terms signed with Axis sateUities—Fin-

Britons Flying To Conference Killed London. Feb. 8 — (UP) — A shortage of gasoline was blamed today for the crash of a transport plane in which 20 Britons flying to the big three conference were killed or injured on Feb. 1. Ten persons were known dead five missing and believed dead, and five injured. Aboard the plane were six members of the foreign office, five members of the war office, two royal air force fliers and seven crewmen. 0 Petroleum Rations May Be Cut Further Military Demands May Cause Slash Washington, Feb. B—(UP8 —(UP) —Substantial increases in military demands for gasoline, fuel oil and other petroleum products-may necessitate further cuts in the civilian ration of those products, the petroleum administration for war warned today. Even without a larger military take, however, PAW said the end of the war in Europe probably will not 'bring relief for users of fuel oil. ‘(Already most of such oil diverted to the military is used in Pacific fighting,” the PAW said, “And when the war in Europe ends, the forces consuming it in that theater riiay be shifted to the Pacific.” Petroleum saved by rationing has. been “by no means” sufficient to meet military demands and the armed forces have not only taken all saved in this way but also every (Turn To Pagfc? 2, Column 4)

land, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary—were made public immediately. Italy was a full-filedged Axis member. The congressional source said that the terms were so harsh that Italian Premier Ivanoe Bonami sent President Roosevelt a 100-page letter last September listing specific grievances. “The armistice terms for Italy could have been no stronger had they been for Germany,” the congressional source told the United Press. ' “The only saving clause was one that provided for amendment of final peace terms in accordance with the extent Italy 'fought against the Axis.” This source, however, claimed that such a promise of relaxed terms was ineffective because the armistice terms limited the Italian army to 11.000 men and overlooked the contribution of 300,000 Italian partisans fighting behind Axis lines. The economic parts of the armistice, this source said, are so harsn that Italy could not fulfill them in many years. They led Bonomi to appeal for easing of the financial terms on Jan. 31, asserting that i(Turi> To Page 2, Column 7),

Peace Time Future Os Europe Seen Hinging On Allied Conference

865,000 Nazis Taken Prisoner Since D-Day U. S. Casualties Total 764,832 Washington, Feb. 9. —(UP) —Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson announced today that 865,000 Germans have been captured in the European theater since the Allied invasion of Ftance on June 6. Meanwhile, a compilation of U. S. combat casualties officially announced here showed that the total since Pearl Harbor has reached 764,832. This was 27,490 more than the total in the last overall compilation made Feb. 2. The new total included 676,796 army casualties, an increase of 26,376 since last Friday, and 88,036 navy casualties, an increase of 1,114 in the same period. The army figure included 130,266 killed, 396,176 wounded, 58,878 prisoners of war, and 91,476 missing. The navy total included 33,228 dead, 40,356 wounded, 9,977 missing, and 4,475 prisoners of war. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson explained that the army total included all theater casualties compiled here through Jan. 28. He added, however, that they reflect battle losses only through December. The total of army killed, Stimson said’ included 4,522 previously listed as missing but now declared dead. Os the army wounded, 191,439 have returned to duty, he said. —o Ernst Tumbleson Quits County Job Ernst Tumbleson, well known farmer and road supervisor of district one, is planning to move from his farm and resign his county post. Mr. Tumbleson satted that he had been ofifered a job with the state highway crew in this city and that he was planning to begin work with the department albout March 1. o Says Japan Forced To Shift Strategy Allies Force Japs' Shift To Defensive Chunking. Feb. B—(UP) —Maj. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer, commander of U. S. army forces in China, said today Allied successes in the Philippines and Burma have forced the Japanese to shift from offensive to defensive strategy throughout China. “Our operations on Luzon already have affected Japanese troop dispositions in China,” Gen. Wedemeyer told a press conference. “The Japanese now are feverishly rushing defensive preparations which had been delayed because they previously thought they had time for offensives against Kunming, Chungking and other places.” Wedemeyer said everything the Japanese do from now on will be governed by strategic defensive considerations. He emphasized, however, that this “doesn’t preclude possible limited offensive operations.” Wedemeyer said the Japanese in China were beginning to feel the. pinch of disrupted supply lines as the 14th AAF continued to make shattering attacks on enemy railway transport and other communications. These attacks. he believed, will hamper Japanese operations increasingly. Other sources here believe American successes in the Philippines have cost Japan her chance to-«pen a decisive battle on the China mainland. As it stands now, Japan must attempt to create a strong defense the entire length of China's 4,000-mile coastline, which the conquest ot the Philippines has (Turn To Page 5, Column 4$

Reds Seeking To Isolate Key Nazi Bastion Develop Flanking Drive Against Key City Os Frankfurt London, Feb. B—(UP)—(Moscow dispatches said today that Russian forces waging a violent battle of the bridgeheads across the Oder before Berlin were developing a flanking drive to cut the Frank-furt-ißerlin road and isolate the key bastion on the west bank of the river. The German high command said Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's assault troops had established an unspecified number of footholds on the west bank of the Oder along a 35-mile arc facing Berlin, and supplementary Nazi broadcasts reported that the Soviet bridgeheads had been widened. Zhukov’s armored vanguards were reported by Moscow to have ripped into the northern and suburbs of Kuestrin and into -the eastern fringe of Frankfurt, while massive infantry formations Bulged up to the Oder and stamped out virtually all of the German toeholds on the east bank. “The battle for the Soviet bridgeheads on the west bank of the Oder raged unalbatediy, with the Russians developing a drive to cut t'he Frankfurt-Berlin road and isolate the bastion city,” United Press correspondent Henry Shapiro reported from Moscow. Although the Red army command had not yet confirmed tlte reported crossing of the Oder a little more than 30 miles east of Berlin, the Moscow: dispatch reporting the flanking drive, together with the Nazi acknowledgement of new Soviet gains beyond the river, indicated that Zhukov had solidified his crossing sufficiently to renew his push toward Berlin. Frankfurt lies on the west bank of the Oder 33 miles from the city limits of Berlin. Sufficient Russian progress for a swing in behind this key city would rase the possibility (Turn To Pagie 2. Column 4) O — F.D.R. And Churchill First At Conference Town Formerly Held By German Soldiers Cairo, Feb. B—(UlP)—(President Roosevelt, prime minister •Churchill, and premier Stalin opened their conference Monday at a town somewhere in the Black Sea area which earlier in the war teemed with German troops, it was reported today. (Mr. Roosevelt and Churchill reached the rendezvous first, and ■ worked like beavers while waiting for Stalin's arrival some time Sunday afternoon, according to reliable reports here. Five-star American generals, British field marshals and Soviet military leaders were believed to have started their conferences six days ago as a prelude to the second meeting o f Mr. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. The first phase of the conference was entirely military. Later the ' diplomats joined in the talks. Some of t.he greatest military figure of ' the war got together and spent long hours in discussions carried out in ' a cordial atmosphere, according to reports. One of the most striking features ; of the conference was said to be ■ the way the Russians were taking ; no chances with the security of the : Allied Ibaders. Troops guarded a : wide area surrounding the scene , of the conference, allowing none ] but authorized persons within the i perimeter of security. ,

Hay War Savings Bonds And Stamps

Price Four Cents.

Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill Agree On Military Strategy To Defeat Germany BULLETIN London, Feb. 8 — (UP) — Diplomatic quarters believed today that one of the momentous decisions to be announced at the end of the big three conference may be the formation of a military board by the United States, Britain, and Russia to deal the death blow to the German army. Washington, Feb. 8 — (UP) —■ Announcement of the big three conference raised great hope here today that the meeting in tha Black Sea area is reaching real agreement on Europe’s peace time future and the style of Germany's post-surrender straightjacket. President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Premier Josef V. Stalin have agreed on the strategy to insure Germany’s military defeat. Now they have begun political and economic talks. These latter are the key to the future, perhaps the most important conversations in the memory of any living person. The world will pay for any mistakes made on the Black Sea shores and benefit from all wise decisions. Mr. Roosevelt is believed to have told Churchill and Stalin that the United States prefers not to participate in the ultimate, long-term policing of Germany. It is understood that task is to Ira assigned to Great Britain and (life Soviet Union with the possible assistance of France. We would participate directly in postwar occupation, but for a limited time only. Compromises by all three toward mutual over-all agreements generally are expected. Assurances that United States troops would not be among the semipermanent European police detail could count heavily toward winning American acceptance of such compromises as the president may have to make. Both Mr. Roosevelt and Churchill are reported planning to speed directly home from the conference to rally public support. Tentatively scheduled side trips apparently have been abandoned. Official announcement that the Roosevelt -"Stalin - Churchill meeting was taking place was made simultaneously yesterday in London, Moscow and Washington, Berlin already had accurately broken the news of time and place. Tlie announcement said the three men with their foreign ministers, chiefs of staff and advisers—probably Harry L. Hopkins for the president—were meeting in the Black Sea area. The big three have completed their military discussion and the staff chiefs are working out details for Germany’s early defeat. In search of “firm foundations for a lasting peace.” the conferees now have begun the other phase (Turn To Paste 2. Column 4) O Katherine Fuelling Dies This Morning Katherine Louise Fuelling, infant daughter of Paul and Marie Goeglein-Fuelling. died at 7 o’clock this morning at the Adams county memorial hospital. She had been ill since birth December 24. Surviving are the parents, four brothers, Franklin, George, Clinton and Donald, and the grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Goeglein of route nine, Fort Wayne. Funeral services will be held at 1 p. m. Saturday at the home, five miles north of Decatur, and at 1:30 o’clock at the St. Peter’s Lutheran church, Rev. Karl Hofmann officiating. Burial in the church cemetery. The body will be removed from the Zwick funeral home to the residence this evening,