Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 51, Decatur, Adams County, 1 March 1945 — Page 1

to DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

j XLHI. No. 51.

OOSEVELT REPORTS ON CRIMEA CONFAR

ankees Storm user Works Os ologne Today Armored Wedge Is Driven Mile Into Last-Ditch Defense , jris Mar. 1- (UP) -Three ieric'«n first army di J ionß rme( l the outer works of Cone today and drove a " •edge more than a mile into Germans' last-ditch defenses ely six miles from the Rhine r„ the northwest, the American ith army continued its power ve on the road to Dusseldorf j the Ruhr basin in the face stiffening but still fluid Gerin resistance. Headquarters said the ninth ay hammered out a general tance all along its front in the st 24 hours but the exact lotion of the Yank spearheads—tich SO hours ago had outflank-Muenchen-Gladbach and drivwithin 11 miles southwest of gseldorf - was hidden by a jd security blackout. Spokesmen at Gen. Dwight D. lenhower's headquarters said I blackout was concealing only jod news’’ and that the ninth my had not been halted anyiere. despite the arrival of Geea armored reserves on the periled front. Vanguards of the V. S. first ay's 104th and eighth infantry listens. along with an unidenti-, d armored force, were driving on Cologne on a six-mile front ter advancing as much as * iia from their three bridgeheads ross the Erst river. Field dispatches and German flitary broadcasts agreed that e battle for the Rhineland raply was approaching a decision, le Nazis asserted that the nericans had thrown in all their it and ninth army reserves in surprise bid for a break-through the Rhine. Bfrlin spokesmen said six armed and 12 infantry divisions ere engaged in the American ire. involving perhaps 220,000 ® They said thundering tank tiles were in progress all along e 50-mile front looping down att the Roermond area, around e western and eastern outskirts Jiuenchen-Gladbach. across the ft river to the Cologne apaches, and back to the Roer w south of Dueren. One Nazi spokesman said that f first army spearheads before logne had been “thrown back" 1 the Erst river, but he did not the clear whether the Amerias were supposed to have lost dr bridgeheads. Official Amerin reports said the bridgeheads tre firmly held by strong stilt forces. Mund them, a great array of l guns and armor was racing 1 *o join the battle, their pasts speeded enormously by the ■hire of two Erst river bridges Whle of handling the heaviest l «s and artillery. Ooughboys of the eighth infand '™' a “ Were out in front of on the southern flank Pag * 2 - Column 5) Merbqck Funeral Wurday Afternoon t”, services ,fo >' John A. J. died suddenly *>May. wiH ibe held at 2 o’oae J? 1 ’* 15 ’' afternoon at the dffistPh at 2:30 P ' m ’ at the Me ' fe« n“ v at Willshir e, O. Rev. 1 will bl° • ° {ficiatc an d hurey ■■ ** ln 'he Willshire ceme’wiV'l’L?' 11 be reinoved this to the arlck funera ) lire, o. he rfßlden ee, near WillOEMOCRat T t RE READ| NG •too a m T THERM °METER 1*00." 24 v 28 hoo P ; m lucre. WEATHER occasion; t *tai o«i 8B ? rth ,nd We,t

Auto Owners Continue Rush For New Plates Auto owners continued their rush to the license bureau in this city today to obtain the 1945 license plate. A number as cars were seen without the new plate. Yesterday was the deadline for obtaining them. Operating an automob.le without the new licence plate is in violation of the law, but up to noon no arrests had been reported locally. 0 Marines Shove Japanese Back On Iwo Island Fighting Advance Made By Troops On Strategic Island Guam, Mar. I—(UP1 —(UP) —Marines of the third division shoved des-perately-resisting Japanese back into rocky northern Iwo today in a fighting advance to within a mile and a quarter of the north coast. (The German Transocean agency reported from Tokyo that the marines had launched an all-out a’tack on Iwo and that shells from U. S. warships off shore were hitting the island at the rate of 500 an hour. I They already had encircled and perhaps captured the village of Motoyama. iwo’s administrative center and largest town, and were within a few yards of an uncompleted third airfield on the tiny" island only 750 miles south of Tokyo. (Radio Tokyo, in a broadcast recorded by the FCC, said Japanese pianes had made “violent attacks" today on a concentration of American warships in the vicinity of two and the Bonin islands, immediately north of Iwo.) The third division gained 700 to 800 yards—the biggest day's advance since the start of the invasion 10 days ago—at the center of the American line yesterday in the initial phases of a general assault. There seemed little doubt that Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith, commander of the expeditionary force, was bent on cleaning up Iwo as rapidly as possible for use as a base for fighters escorting superfortresses to Tokyo. Iwo also will be used as a staging base at which the giant B-29s can re-fuel and take on additional bombs for loads several times heavier than it now is possible to haul from the Marianas to the enemy capital. While the third division was wedging deeply into the center of the enemy line, the tank-led fifth division on the western flank (Turn To Page 2. Column 5) Annua! Assessing Starts In County Personal Property Will Be Assessed The township and city assessors started today on an $8,000,800 job, in the assessing of personal property owned by property owners in the county. The assessors met this morning with E. J. Worthman, county as-1 sessor and his deputy, Mrs. Vin-1 cent Bormann. They were given their supplies and last minute instructions of the schedules of values of cattle, livestock, hayy and grain, automobiles and trucks. ‘For passenger cars and trucks, the assessors will use the red book df values, as approved by the GPA ceiling price, less the discounts for respective years. The same policy will be followed largely by the assessors in arriving at. values of trucks and other motor equipment. -Generally the values are expected to be higher this year, .based on market prices, which are higher than a year ago. Will Winnes, Washington township assessor, estimated roughly that the. increase on improvements, which are aMo listed for assesment, will total about $50,000 or more in (Turn To PaSTo 2, Column 8)

Yank Conquest Os Corregidor Is Completed Great Manila Bay Is Opened Today To Allied Shipping ■Manila, .March I—(UP)—Virtually complete conquest of Corregidor opened Manila's great bay today for Allied shipping and a steady stream of supplies to American troops on Luzon. ('A Tokyo broadcast, recorded by FCC, said that approximately 3,000 American troops landed on Palawan island, .westernmost of the Philippines, Wednesday morning, Japanese time. : (The enemy report did not inI dicate where the invasion was made on Pala'wan, which stretches from Mindoro in the Philippines to Borneo in the Duch East Indies. The 275-m'ile long island is 750 miles i due east of French Indo-China.) I U. S. paratroopers and infantryI men annihilated practically the entire enemy garrison on Corregidor, killing Japanese at a rate of more than 30 to 1. The i2-day campaign to retake the Rocky fortress, which unlocked j Manila s 1,000 square miie bay, was one of the most heroic and skillful operations of the Pacific war. The American force of 3.038 paratroopers and infantrymen overcame an enemy garrison twice its size and killed moslt of the Japanese defenders. A communique said 4.215 Japanese bodies already have been counted and many hundreds of others were killed or hurried alive in Corregidor’s tunnels or died attempting to escape from the island. The American casualties were 136 killed, 531 wounded and eight missing. While wrecked docks and shore : facilities will- prevent full-scale use i of Manila’s pout, the communique ‘ said one allied cargo ship, loaded j with supplies, already had entered I the harbor. i Opening the shipping route to j Manila followed seizure of Capul i and Biri islands in San Bernardino (Turn To Page 2, Column 1) —————iO Gene Stratton Porter Park Here Defeated —— Lower House Votes For Noble County A resolution offered by Robert H. Heller, Democrat, representative in the state assembly from Adams and Wells counties, to establish a state park in this county in memory of Gene Stratton-Porter, the noted author who formerly lived in Geneva, and where she wrote ten of her most famous books, was defeated by the lower house in the state legislature Wednesday. The house of representatives voted in favor of designating Noble county as Mrs. Porter’s home. A resolution was passed favoring the latter county and-requesting that the state purchase the Porter Limberlost estate at Rome City as a state park. Mr. Heller made a gallant fight to maintain the identity of Adams county and the territory around Geneva, commonly known as the Lob, as the scene of Mrs. Porter’s writings. There she wrote the Girl o the Limberlost, The Harvester, Freckles and The Cardinal, all top ranking sellers. Several of the stories were filmed in Hollywood, where Mrs. Porter later moved. She was killed in an auto accident in Los Angeles 20 years ago. In 1925, Adams county erected Elephant Rock on the southeast corner of the court house grounds as a memorial to Mrs. Porter. It was appropriately dedicated with a bronze plaque on which is engraved the fame of the author of .the nature stories she wrote while a resident of this county. French Quinn, ardent enthusiast of maintaining the historical background of Mrs. Porter’s writings in this counity, was keenly disappointed over the turn of events, which deprives this county of becoming the site of a state park in honor of the noted author.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, March 1,1945.

General Watson And A Friend ..X a i f i * flUßUfll BOBBS? - * .. MAJ. GEN. EDWIN M. WATSON, 61. secretary and military aide to his close friend, President Roosevelt, is shown above in a familiar pose with FDR on his arm. Affectionately known to all as "Pa,” the general died of a cerebral hemorrhage while returning from the Yalta conference with the president aboard a U. S. cruiser, and was buried with full military honors at Arlingon National Memorial cemetery at Arlington, Va.

New Ration Point . Values For Meats Long-Forecast Meat Shortage 'Reality' Washington, March 1. — (UP) — The office of price administration today gave housewives both good news and bad —but mostly bad —in announcing" March ration values for meat. Point values for quality beef steaks and roasits were lowered. But values of pork and many presently low-point items were stepped up. And several point-free cuts were put back on the ration list. The changes go into effect Sunday. Price chief Chester Bowles took occasion to warn ithat the long-pre-dicted meat shortage was becoming a “reality” and that there was na prospect for improvement before July. “It is clear,” Bowles said, “that rationing of red-point foods for March will be the stiffest since rationing began.” Here is the major rationing news for March: 1. No change in point values for lamb. Mutton stays point free. 2. Porterhouse and T-bone steaks go down from 12 to nine points a pound. Other choice steaks and roasts go down by from two to three points. 3. Bacon and hamburger go up from four to six points a pound. 4. Chuck roasts (bone in) go up from three to six points and chuck roasts (boneless) go up from four to seven points. 5. End poirk chops gp up from five to six points. Boneless ham, whole or half, is raised from seven to eight points. Boneless ham slices remain at 10 points. Spare ribs go from three to tour. 6. Veal round steak (cutlet or roast) reduced from 13 to 10 points. All other veal points remain unchanged. 7. Such presently point-free products as variety meats and beef, veal, pork and lamb hearts, sweetbreads and 'tongues, lamb liver and some canned and ready-to-eat meats have new ration values ranging up to two points. 8. Pork sausage, frankfurters and some dry sausages such as salami go up on the average of (Turn Tb Pag<e 4, Column 6) O Two Traffic Wrecks Reported Wednesday Considerable property damage was done but no one was injured in two traffic accidents in Decatur during the noon hour Wednesday. Damage estimated at $225 was caused when an auto driven by Mis. Ollie CuJbertdon of Decatur route 6 collided with a G. E. truck driven by Adam Johnson, at the entrance to gate two at the GjE. plant. A car driven by Elton Thorndson, of Winchester street, sustained damages of SIOO in a collision with an A. C. Borgman & Sons truck of Fort Wayne, at the intersection of Monroe and Fifth streets. Decatur police Investigated both accidents.

Local Lady's Father Is Taken By Death Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p. m. Friday at Repulblic, 0., for Dr. N. S. Storer, father of Mrs. Roland Reppert off this city, who died at his home in that city Tuesday. Dr. and Mrs. Reppert are in Republic for the services. o •- / Combat Casualties Now Total 813,032 Italy Front Losses Over 100,000 Mark Washington, March 1. —(UP) — American comlbat casualties announced here today reached a total iof 813,032, an increase of 11.870 during the past week. Secretary oif War Henry L. Stimson also revealed that casualties in Italy have crossed the 100,OOb' mark. From the time of rhe first landings there on Sept. 9, 1943, he said, there were 19,889 killed, 70,402 wounded and 10,499 missing, for a total of 100,790. These figures include casualties announced here through Fefl). 25. • Army casualties in all theaters as compiled here through Feb. 21 totalled 722,695. These figures, Stimson added, reflected actual fighting through the latter part of January. This total included 140,366 killed, 430,757 wounded. eV.SSd prisoners and 91,037 missing. LA navy list released today showed (Turn To Pagie 6. Column 7) 0 Navy Ship Is Sunk, 200 Men Are Lost Two Other Vessels Also Reported Lost Washington. Mar. I—(UP) — The ammunition-laden naval cargo ship Serpens has been sunk, by the Japanese in the South Pacific area with the loss of all 200 men aboard, the navy announced today. The navy also announced loss of two other vessels. One of them, the small salvage ship Extractor, was mistakenly sunk by an American submarine. The other vessel was the large landing craft LCI 600, which went down after hitting a Japanese mine in the harbor of a central Pacific base. The 14.250 ton Serpens was manned by a coast guard crew. A few of the Serpen's crew happened to be left ashore when the The nature of the enemy action ship sailed and thus escaped, was not disclosed. The missing skipper of the Serpens was Lt. Cmdr. Perry L. Stinson of the coast guard, whose wife lives at Dermott, Ark. The sinking ot the Extractor (Turn To Pago 2, Column 7).

Big Three Conference Achieved ‘Good Start' Toward World Peace

Challenges Stale To Aid Veterans State Legislature Hears Vet's Appeal Indianapolis, Mar. I—(UP1 —(UP) —A Gibson county legislator, now deep in the heart of the Allied offensive in Europe, challenged the Indiana house of representatives’ today to prepare adequate laws benefiting war veterans. S/Sgt. Gene Eckerty, R., Princeton, the only member of the house who was forced to miss the entire 1945 session, appealed by letter for legislation “to aid the returning combat veteran in obtaining a new start in civilian life." Eckerty's letter, written from the European theater of operations on Jan. 8, four days after the legislature opened, was read by house speaker Hobart Creighton a day after the lower chamber passed a senate bill establishing a state department of veterans’ affairs. The assembly previously had passed numerous other “G. I.” bills. “I wish to assure the members of the house and the people of Indiana that our fighting men are making sacrifices of life, limb and physical and mental discomfort that are beyond the conception of the soldier or civilian who has not actually undergone such experiences,” Eckerty wrote. “Many a soldier who has faced enemy guns will return broken in spirit and body, without a suitable job, and with a heavy financial obligation to meet. I hrge I the assembly to enact legislation to aid him." The house passed another bill, shortly after Eckerty’s letter was read, which indirectly benefited veterans of World War 11. It was a senate measure' reducing the average work week of city firemen from 84 to 72 hours, and providing that veterans be given preference in employment, to fire departments where additional help would be required to comply with terms of the bill. Meanwhile, bills affecting state (Turn To Page 2. Column 5) O Four Youths Taken Into Custody Here Allegedly Stole Car In Cleveland, Ohio Four Cleveland, 0., youths, ranging in age from 14 to 17 years, are held in the Adams county jail, aw’aiting arrival of Cleveland and Ohio authorities for disposition of their case. The youths, Denver Gregory, 17, Jerry King, 15. Vance Cogar, 14, and Jack Russell, 14, were taken into custody about 6:30 o’clock Wednesday evening by city police, who found them in an auto parked on Thirteenth street at the Homewood addition. The auto, a 1940 Ford convertible coupe, was reported stolen in Cleveland February 18, local police were informed by authorities of the Ohio city. The youths when questioned by local police, said they took the car last Sunday, although the Cleveland police report said the theft occurred one week earlier. The youngsters were equipped, with a hoee, used apparently to siphon gasoline from other cars, by which method they seemingly were Obtaining fuel for the stolen auto. At the time they were taken into custody, the auto was out of gas, and the youths apparently were waiting for nightfall before obtaining more fuel. The lads had approximately $5 in total cash resources, but police found 28 packs of ergerettes in the glove compartment of the car, with (Turn To Page 2, Column 6)

Report Soviet Drive Renewed On Oder River German Broadcasts Attack Renewed On Oder River Front London, March 1. —(UP)—“Nazi broad'caetls reported today that the Red army has resumed its attack along the Oder river front 30-odd miles easlt of bomlbtbatiered BerI lin after a long lull. A Soviet attempt to break through the German defenses north ' of Frankfurt-on-Oder, 33 miles east of Berlin, failed the enemy reconiraiissance northwest of Kueetrin, 38 miles east, was bbaten back, Col. Ernst Von Hammer said in a German DNB commentary. He said fighting had increased sharply in intensity along a broad front stretching from Frankfurt to swamps northwest of Kuestrin, at one point only 31 miles northeast of Berlin. The German accounts suggested that Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's first Whi'te Russian army was probing Nazi defenses preparatory to a full-scale offensive aimed at Berlin i in conjunction with the Allied drive toward the Rhine in the west. Farther north, Von Hammer said, Zhukov's fortes intensified their attacks in an attempt to crush Pyritz, 24 miles southeast of Stettin, from the south and east. “The enemy troops were badly mauled and had to withdraw,” he said. ■Mosco dispatches reported that mechanized (Soviet cavalry had driven through Pomerania to within sight of Koeslin, key junction astride the last escape railway out of Danzig and northeast Germany (Turn To Page 4, Column S) — Red Cross War Fund Drive Opened Today National Campaign Is Also Underway The Red Cross war fund drive was underway in Decatur and throughout the county today, being launched simultaneously with the national campaign. At noon today meager reports began to filter in at the Red Cross home service office in charge of Mrs. Ruth Hollingsworth, indicative that the cause of the great service organization, “Keep your Red Cross at his side," was meeting popular favor. The first reports came from the rural sections, of which Lyman L. Hann is the chairman. Charles Shoaf, leader in section 32 of St. Mary's township, was credited with turning in the first report. In his mile-square 1 territory he obtained $7. Daniel Lantz of section 34. Kirkland township, w'ho was first in 1943 and 1944, came in second this year. He reported $47. an increase of sls over a year ago and $27 in 1943. Other contributions, including $25 from the Eastern Star of this city, boosted the total to $134.50, Mrs. Hollingsworth reported. They were, Benj. D. Mazelin, section 17. Monroe township. $33.50: John Schultz, section 18 Washington township, $22. No city contributions were reported by James Elberson. Decatur chairman, who announced that his district and group leaders were on the job and getting the drive underway. Clarence Ziner, county chairman, stated that the chairmen in all points in the county and the separate divisions were functioning and striving to complete the drive by March 15.

Price Four Cents.

Long Explanation Given At A Joint Meeting Os Solons In Congress Today Washington, March 1. — (UP) — President Roosevelt reported to congress today that the Crimea conference achieved “a good start on the road to a world of peace.” The time has come, he emphasized, when the United States can no longer avoid responsibility for political conditions in other parts of the world. A little more than 24 hours after his return from the big three meeting at Yalta, the president went before a joint session of the 'house and senate and gave a lengthy explanation of the meeting. It was I his first personal appearance beI tore congress in more than two ‘ years. r Mr. Roosevelt spoke for 55 minutes. Contrary to past custom, he sat down while reading i his address. He explained that i he did so because it “makes it . easier for me.” He departed from his prepared text, in defending the compromise Polish settlement by which Russia will get eastern Polish territory. and Poland will get German territory. “I didn't agree with all of it by any means." the president said. He explained that in some “areas" the agreement did not go as far as the British wanted; in some not as far as the Russians wanted, and in others not as far as he wanted. Under it. he said, most of East Prussia will go to Poland, with a small bit going to Russia. He added that he believed Danzig would he "a lot better off" as part as Poland. He stressed that Great Britain, ' Russia and this country were agreed unanimously to press the war against Germany in full force “until unconditional surrender.” He advised the German people and soldiers to realize that the sooner they surrender “the sooner their present agony will be over.” Looking forward to the April 25 United Nations conference in San Francisco, he said it will have a “definite charter of organization under which the peace of the world will be preserved.” In this connection again, he stressed the importance of this countiy concern? ing itself with the political problems of the rest of the world. “We shall have to take the responsibility for world collaboration, or we shall have to bear the responsibility for another world conflict,” he said. He reported “unanimous agreement” on “every point” of military and “vital political” problems which were put before the big three at Yalta. He listed the four major political problems in this manner: 1. The occupation and control of Germany after victory, the complete destruction of her military power, and assurance that Nazism and Prussian militarism will he ended for all time. 2. The settlement of “the few differences which remained among us” regarding the international security organization. 3. General political and economic problems common to all of the areas liberated from rhe Nazis. 4. Special problems created by Poland and Yugoslavia. Speaking from the well of the house chamber, the president said that in previous conferences —particularly the Tehran meeting late in 1943—n0 political agreements (Turn To Pagie 2, Column 4) LOOKING AHEAD.. We must keep your Red Cross at his side for a long, long time The wounded ... the discharged veterans •:. the men overseas, need Red Cross helpGIVE Jh GIVE