Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 52, Decatur, Adams County, 2 March 1945 — Page 1

tuLIII. No. 52.

AMERICANS CRASH THROUGH TO RHIHE

L' Stolen Lire Cut In Uy Yanks I Unopposed Landing I On Palawan Island I Cuts Japan Empire ■Manila. March (VP) Ainer ‘ ■ tlW ps. landing unopposed on island in the Philippines, Japan’s stolen empire ■ two today. ■Elements of the veteran 41st seized control of the 2<a- ■ t 'long island, fifth largest and ■siernmost of the Philippines, ■th the capture of Puerto PrinLand tlr.ee nearby airfields on Hr east coast. Ku. s , !( . ceas fu] invasion was tnp ■■' ;,y American forces in the ■ilippines. It enabled the AmerK, ls to throw an air and naval ■gi-uie across Japan s shipping to the south and opened the Kr for a two-way aerial assault ■ the Malaya peninsula. Allied ■ary bombers, including B-29’s, al■adyhave been attacking the pen■,:la from Burma and India in the ■gen. Douglas MacArthur’s com■iMiie noted significantly that ■ogressiv*' seizure of Philippines ■.. -rends to cut the enemy in ■oand condemn all his conquests ■ the south to recapture.” ■Tin troops, commanded by Brig, ■ti Harold J. Haney. Brazil. Ind., ■iln Wednesday on the beaches ■.- of Puerto Princesa after a Kry nomoaniment by cruisers ■ > destroyers laid waste the isl■d's capital and largest city. ■Amphibious tractors carried the Bitial waves ashore, but later ■arier landing craft moved into ■e abandoned Puerto Princesa ■rbor and unloaded at a freight ■r. ■ Tin- Japanese had installed pill■les arid emplacements in the ■vu and around the airfields, but ■andoiied them. Filipinos, warn- ■ by guerrillas, had completely ■iiiuieil 'the area. B American bombers hammered ■- capital city and the surround- ■ area for two days before the ■adiitgand the airstrips wre found ■erely scarred. ■The two airstrips, each with 5,■foot runways, north of Puerto ■ocesa and an emergency land- ■ field west of the harbor, formBan air base within easy bomber ■stance from the Japanese bases ■ Borneo and the entire Malaya ■nsinnh south to Singapore. ■At Puerto Prim-esa, the Amer■os were only 500 miles from ■nei bay and Tarakan on the ynh coast of Borneo and 750 miles Saigon, big naval base on the ■meh Into-China coast, ■ The invasion of Palawan was the ■eeternmost penetration of Amer- ■“ forces across the Pacific and ■ effect cut off large bodies of Japyfse 'roops in the Dutch East In■s from their homeland. like Point Values V Canned Fruits I Higher Point Value I Effective Monday ■ Washington, March 2. — (UP) — ■year. bg ve p!crity of calllle(] ■ti» iaUCe for f ° wer blue ■points K. “® ag March 4. But, on the ■V. nuts, it is another story. ■l? ce adn ’inistrator Chester KL revealeil a reduction tn Eire . o ‘ Canned apples nd apple■.U ” ■ neW ratio!l Pe, ‘ io<i an(l I fmite iacrease fw canned mixEd Wmatw a 8 CheS ’ pineapple ‘ P« ars values for the most com- ■ 4, Column ') I Jur,rl R * TURE READING | Emoc «atjhe rmometer ■ 8:oo a m 1I lain , W6a THER |S n ’'‘« t |iflht d Saturd ’ y ’ I *4ke u- u. ght snow near 1 * srm ‘r Saturda y- ■ *- P nfcar Lake I tQlder «*turday. ht ’ becomin 8

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Monthly Collection Os Waste Paper And Tin Cans Saturday The monthly collection of waste paper and tin cane (prepared), will ,be held in Decatur tomorrow morning. The city street department and .Boy Scouts will 'be in charge of the collection. iDecatur citizens are urged to Jiave their waste paper, bundled, and their prepared tin cane placed on the sidewalks to facilitate pickup of the salvage, which is so vital ■to tihe production of materials for the nation’® all-out war effort. . ‘ o Iwo Campaign Moving Toward Final Phases U. S. Marines Break Through Japanese Main Defense Line Guam, Mar. 2 — (UP) —U. S. marines broke through the enemy’s main defense belt in iwo in a hotly-contested advance to within 1,200 yards of the north coast today. “The Iwo campaign is moving into its last phases," United Press war correspondent Mac R. Johnson reported from the invasion flagship off Japan’s tiny front doorstep island. “The end of the campaign may come within three to four days if the marine tempo of 400 to 000 yard daily average advance is maintained." he said. The third marine division at the center of the front breached the enemy’s main defense line in an 800-yard advance that carried across the western end of Iwo’s third and last airfield. The breakthrough at the center threatened to split the surviving garrison of probably fewer than 10,000 Japanese in two for piecemeal annihilation. Both the eastern and western I flanks of the enemy line also | were under attack, but the fourth I and fifth marine divisions in I these sectors still have as much . as 2,500 yards to go to reach the j northern beaches. In the west, however, Maj. Gen. Keller E. Hockey’s fifth division seized hill 262, one of the highest observation posts' in the (Turn Te PagV 4, Column 6) O Sgt. Joe Hazelwood Destroys Jap Plane Shoots Down Plane At Nagoya, Japan Sgt. Joe Hazelwood, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Hazelwood of 504 Patterson street and husband of Mrs. Virginia Shady Hazelwood. of Bluffton, an aerial gunner on a B-29 superfortress, is credited with shooting down a Jap plane in an air fight over Nagoya. Japan. His plane, which was piloted by Capt. Phil Greene of Larchmont, N. Y„ was under attack from 20 to 25 Jap planes. The bombardier, Sec. Lt. Ben West of Sapulpa, Okla., also shot down a plane. Jap aerial fire struck ♦heir plane and tore off a propeller. which windmilled and flew off, shearing four inches from another propeller. A plane piloted by Lt. Floyd Tobey of Long Beach, Cal., came to their rescue and escorted the, damaged plane home in buddy fashion. Lt. Tobey is a brother-in-law of Glenden Borne, baker first class, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Borne of North Ninth street. Seaman Borne has been in the navy since 1939 and was home just prior to the outbreak of war in December, 1941. He married Sally Tobey of Long Beach. They have one child, a daughter. Sgt. Hazelwood is a 1941 graduate of Decatur high school and has been in the army since August of 1942. Last October he went overseas and is now stationed on Saipan, in the Pacific. He has more than six missions to his credit and has been over Tokyo at least three times.

Roosevelt Asks Support Os Peace Aims i ■ V - S Hbk i jIsI e H mW » < 1 i ipl m I REPORTING to Congress and the American people'on the Crimean conference at Yalta, President Roosevelt, in a speech before a joint session of Congress, asged support in negotiating a world peace “based on the sound and just principles of the Atlantic Charter." Above photo shows the president as he arrived by motor car at the Capitol to make his report. <

Wallace In Office As Commerce Secretary Committee Votes Against Williams ■ Washington, March 2. — (UP) —| Henry A. Wallace became secretary i of commerce today and immediate- ’ ly went to work on the problem of postwar jobs. The former vice-president, taking his third oath of office under the new deal, stepped into a job divorced by congress of the gigantic financial powers exercised by I his predecessor, Jesse H. Jones of ! Houston, Tex. In Uis first statement since the I senate confirmed his nomination j yesterday, Wallace said he was ' appointing a committeee to plan | i means for small business “to do I its full share in furnishing maxi- j mum employment” after the war. Wallace’s overall goal is 60,000.000 jobs. Shortly after President Roosevelt sent his nomination to the senate, precipitating a violent controversy which subsided only i yesterday, W’allace told the senate commerce committee that his, strongest desire was to assure jobs I for everyone who wants them when the fighting is over. The one-time secretary of agriculture was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black before a group of government offi cials. including most of the supreme court justices. As Wallace finished speaking the oath, Black clapped him on the back and said. “You’re in. ’ In a written statement, Wallace promised to do what he can to develop the fullest use of manpower, money, credit, and science toward a better peacetime world. Adverse Report Washington, March 2.—(UP) — 'j'tjo senate agriculture committee today voted 12 to S against approving the nomination of Aubrey William® to be head of the .rural electrification administration. Committee chairman Elmer! Thomas, I)., Okla., said the nomination will be submitted to the, senate next week with an "adverse ! report.” That was the way the sen-1 ate commerce committee submitted I the nomination of Henry A Wallace to be secretary of commerce j in January. Thomae declined to predict whether the full senate will agree (Turn To Page 4, Column 8) Musical Revue At School Next Month The Decatur junior-senior high school will present the musical revue, ‘lßing Up The Curtain,” at the high school auditorium April 19 and 20, school officials announced today. All departments of the school will partaoipate in the revue, which will feature parlor ballads, a minstrel find vaudeville. The cast of characters has (been completed and all members of the faculty are assisting in tha presentation.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, March 2,1945.

Willshire Soldier Is Killed In Action Pfc. Ervin Avery, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Avery of Willshire, Ohio, was killed in action in France on last January 16. Previously the parents had been advised that their son was missing , in action, the message from the ' war department dispelling the faint i hope held by them that he would j be returned to safety. Pfc. Avery was born in Willshire. He attended the high school there. He entered the army in October 1942 and for the first years of his service, was confined to a hospital at Camp Campbell, Ky., suffering from a fractured collar-bone and pneumonia. . O , Mighty Aerial Fleet Smashes At Germany Over 2,200 Heavy Bombers In Action London, March 2.—(UP)—More I than 2,200 American and British i heavy bombers swarmed into the | battle of Germany today. (Massive fleets of Flying Fortresses, Liberators, Lancasters and Halifaxes threaded the skies all across Germany. They speakheaded the Allied planes giving direct support to the Allied Armies fighting into the Reich from the west and the east. A thousand or more Royal Air donee heavies cascaded thousands oif tons of explosives into shellscarred Cologne. They struck directly ahead of the American trooips storming the Rhineland Citadel’s defenses. Multiple striking forces of U. S. eighth air force bombers swept across Germany to (blast and burn targets ’ lying a head' of "the" Red army. The Russian command, now revealed to be tn daily contact with the Allied commanders in the west, appeared to be ready to light the j fuse of a new offensive designed ! to overrun Berlin. j (Upwards of 1,200. flying fortresses ■ and Liberators bombed rail yards | ait Chemnitz and Dresden. Saxony I strong .holds before the Red Army in Silesia, an oil refinery Rositz south of Berlin, a tank factory at Magdeburg, and an oil plant south of Leipzig. More than 700 Mustang and (Turn To Page 4, Column 7) — t —o Hand Bayonet Sent By Son In Europe A. P. Boardman, of South First street, has received a hand bayonet sent to him by his son, Pvt. Robert C. Boardman, who is serving with the army in Belgium. The bayonet and holster formerly belonged to a German army officer, presumably killed on the 'battlefield. It is a ,wicked-looking dagger, made of steel, with a sharp point. The blade is about 14 Inches long, with a heavy metal handle.

Coal Miners Seek 10-Cents Royalty John Lewis Speaks At Wage Conference Washington, Mar. 2—(UP) — John L. Lewis today called on bituminous coal operators to I abandon what he termed their "dog in the manger” attitude in negotiating a new' contract. The United Mine Workers president spoke at the second day’s session of the 1945 joint j wage conference, continuing his j presentation of miners’ demands !in connection with a new conI tract. The present two-year pact I expires March 31. He repeated that his demand for a 10 cents a ton royalty on every ton of bituminous coal mined does not “conflict with any I policies of the government.” Neither the war labor board nor any other government agency has any authority “to interfere with the contract negotiated on such a premise.” he said. 1 Lewis attacked President Roosevelt, and leaders of the ; American federation of labor and the congress of industrial organi- ( zations in opening a discussion on | the bituminous coal industry's I ability to pay his demands and the government’s attempts to (Turn To Page 6, Column 2) o Criminal Charges Dropped By Judge Jury Indictment Is Continued In Force Judge W. IL Schannen of Fort Wayne, in assuming jurisdiction as special judge in the actions against Gerald Grandstaff in the Adams circuit court, dismissed three criminal charges against Grandstaff, assuming jurisdiction in the cause of reckless homicide, which was returned by the grand | jury last December. The cases dismissed were reckless homicide, filed April 14,1944; driving without a license and operating a motor vehicle when the license was revoked, filed. March 20, 1943; driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, filed March 6, 1943. Grandstaff, who was arrested last August on a charge of reckless homicide, following the death of Ruth Cooley of Dayton, Tenn., as a result of an auto collision on U. S. highway 27, north of Decatur, was later indicted by the grand jury on the same charge. In the latter case Judge Schannen retains jurisdiction. No further entry was made in the case. Judge Scha.men assumed jurisdiction in the cases late yesterday, having been named after Parrish and Parrish of Fort Wayne, attorneys for Grandstaff, filed a motion for a special judge.

Big Guns Duelling Across River With Detenders Os Stronghold OfDuesseldorf

Red Push Cuts Off Germans In North Pomerania Drive To Last Land Line Os Escape For 200,000 Nazi Troops London, Mar. 2—(UPl—The German high command said today that the Red army had plunged a spearhead through Pomerania to the Danzig-Stettin coastal railroad, the last land line of escape for an estimated 2007000 German troops. A Nazi communique reported I that Marshal Konstantin K. Ro- : kossovsky’s Red army cut the I road between Koes 1i n and : Schlawe. That 28-mile stretch of } the trunk line runs along the Baltic seven to 12 miles from the coast. The drive cut off all the German troops in northeastern Pomerania. the northern end of the old Polish corridor, and the Danzig tree state. Their only exit from these and Baltic pockets was a Dunkerque retreat by sea. The German command said Soviet tank spearheads, striking on a narrow front, advanced to the northwest in Pomerania and reached the Koeslin-Schlawe road. Earlier reports said the Rus- j sians were in sight of Koeslin, i a junction on the railroad. Ro-: kossovsky’s forces appeared to be moving against it in force and on the verge of throwing a strong barrier across Pomerania to the sea. The Nazi communique also acknowledged a penetration of “our main defense system" north of Arnswalde in the sector some 40 miles southeast of Stettin. The wedges were driven in from bridgeheads the Russians seized the day before across the Ihna (Turn To Pago fi, Column 7) O Special Session Os Legislature Likely Insurance Premium Tax Bill Withdrawn 'lndian'apolie, March 2 —(UP) Talk of a special session of t<he Indiana general aesembly within the next feiw months was given credence today whan the Republican legislative police committee sponsored the withdrawal of an inßuranlee premium lax bill. ißep. lEarl B. Teckemeyer, R., Indianapolis, withdrew the house bill which would levy a two per cent non-discriminatory tax on all insurance premiums sold in Indiana. (Explaining that his party's policy committee had decided to reverse 1 .passage of the 'bill, Teckemeyer j said: ‘■We are going to have a special session probably, and this matter Can string along .for nwo or three months.’’ Techemeyer told the house that there was same question as to whether passage of the measure would jeopardize the collection of state gross income taxes on insurance premiums. He said the GOP policy makers wished to delay further' consideration of their proposal until they could detennine the bill's effect. The measure withdrawn by Teckemeyer would have paved the way for collection of approximately $3,000.000 annually by the state, according to sponsors. 'There also was talk among representatives that the controversial election law recodification bill might fee held up until a special session of the assembly. (Turn To rage 6, Column 6)

Favors Using Nazi Vets To Repair Damage Roosevelt Agrees Use Os Ex-Soldiers To Fix War Damages Washington, March 2 — (UP) — ■President Roosevelt at his first news conference following his return from the Crimea agreed today with the idea that German ex-sol-diers should be used to repair war damage in the Soviet union. 'The President also said there ! would be a number of treaties to be , I submitted to the senate for ratification, in addition to the world securi ity charter which will be drawn up at the April 25 San Francisc con-1 ference. The President said these other treaties arising for decisions of the ■ big three at Yalta would deal mostly with what he described as small details. In his report to congress yesterday. Mr. Roosevelt said that the United States does not intend slavery for the Genman people. A questioner today pointed out that tihe Russian point or viow Is that Ger--1 many should provide labor to re . | build war-torn parts of the Soviet j | union. | i.Mr. Roosevelt said that he did not i ! think it as a bad idea —after what ! he had seen of German destruction I in the Crimea—-to get German exI soldiers and use them for rebuildI ing and repairs in the Soviet Union. The press conference discussion ! | did not go into the matter of | j whether German labor should also i be used to repair war damage in > other countries. The President would not say i whetiher the ceding of German ter-1 ritory to Poland would require a treaty such as the Versailles treaty of the last war. but said that he supposed we would have a German treaty some day. As to when and what, the President said these were “ify’ questions and that he was no crystal gazer and preferred to win the war (Turn To Page 6, Column 5) o Ronald Stucky Wins Rotary Discussion Represents Decatur In District Contest Ronald Stucky, student in the Decatur junior-senior high school, won the annual discussion con- : test,-sponsored -by— J the DeeaturRotary club, and held Thursday evening at the weekly meeting of the service club. Topic of the discussion, as de-1 termined by Rotary International i was "Peace in the Air AgeRotary’s Opportunity." Stinky. I by winning the local contest, will i represent the Decatur club in the | district, contest, to be held within ■ the next few weeks. Three contestants, all from the junior-senior high school, competed for the honor, with the judges declaring the three almost even in a blanket finish. William Bromer was adjudged second place winner and Everett Arthur third. Medals will lie presented to the first and second place winners. All three contestants are students in the speech class under the direction of Deane Dorwin, who was also a guest at. last night’s meeting. Leo Kirsch. Rotary president, conducted the meeting, and W. Guy Brown was chairman of the program. High school student members for the month are Robest Gillig of the Caholic high school and Barney Brooks of the public high school,

Price Four Cents.

Trier, Venlo And Krefeld, Big Nazi Strongholds, Fall To Yank Offensive Paris, Mar. 2—(UP)—American ninth army forces crashed through to the Rhine today and opened a big-gun duel across the river with the German defenders of Duesseldorf, key Ruhr stronghold of more than 500,000 inhabitants. The ancient city of Trier, citadel of the westernmost German bulge against Luxembourg, fell to the American third army manning the right wing of Gen. I Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grand offensive aimed at destroying all German forces west of the Rhine. The Allied left wing blazed into action witli (lie capture of the Dutch stronghold of Venlo. Nazi broadcasts said Eisenhower had sent the British second army in to the showdown battle of western Germany. Lt. Gen. William H. Simpson's I U. S. ninth army was setting the | pace foi the big push. It broke | through the last. German defenses I west of the Rhine, surged onto the bank of the river across from Duesseldorf, and dashed forward 16 miles under a security blackout to the outskirts of Krefeld. Riflemen of the 102nd infantry division finally wiped out all German resistance in Krefeld, a city of 165,000. after a six-hour street battle and pushed toward ■ the Rhine, a mile to the east. Units of the second armored I division also wore barely a mile I from the Rhine bank midway between Krefeld and Neuss, while almost 3Q miles to the west at the oppasite end of the Rhine-Maas corridor other American forces ; took Roermond. The. Canadian first army adj vanning southward through the corridor was reported barely 10 miles from American ninth army i forces moving north. and field said the German front I facing the Canadians also was breaking wide open. Simpson’s headquarters announced that his tanks and infantry rolled up substantial gains today in the payoff sweep toward the Rhine. Behind them big guns vital industrial targets beyond looseil a shattering barrage on the Rhine. About 1,000 British heavy bombers poured some 5,000 tons of bombs into Cologne. They leveled great patches of the Rhineland industrial capital as American first army shock troops fought to capture the city. United Press correspondent Clinton B. Conger accompanied the 83rd division of the ninth army in the drive to the Rhine. From a battalion command post, on the bank of the river this afternoon he watched the developing gun battle across the Rhine. The Yanks boiled out on the Rhine just south of Neuss, directly across the river from Duessel- - -corf. There fhre vangrraTrt'Trf'TlTe (Turn To Page 6, Column 3) 0 Cleveland Youths Are Returned Home ■ Four youths from Cleveland 0., I taken into 'custody by Decatur poI lice Wednesday in a parked car. which had been stolen in Cleveland Felbruary 18. were returned to that city today by the parents of one of the iboys. Their case will be turned over to juvenile authorities in the Ohio city. SUPPOSE THE RED CROSS HAD TO QUIT! How would YOU sleep tonight, H you’d made your Red Cross fail a lonely mao or war prisoner? Their Red Cross is YOU — it depends solely on YOUR gifts. Give more! GIVE JL GIVE