Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 64, Decatur, Adams County, 16 March 1945 — Page 1

U\ DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY f -

XLIII. No. 64.

SPLIT GERMAN DEFENSES

|iiin Reports |w Offensives Lied By Reds Lunch New Drives L Both Wings Os front Before Berlin Lon, Mar. 16. —(UP)—Nazi K s said today that Red arftiies ■opened violent new offensives Lib wings of the Berlin front, Jlosia and before Stettin, to set ■stage for the grand assault on ■menaced capital. Krlin broadcasts reported that Khali Ivan S. Konev’s first Kinian army attacked on a K arc south and southwest of Klatt and that Marshall Greg|K. Zhukov’s first White RusBarmy stormed the Nazi bridgeK across the lower Oder from Hill. ■redly before Berlin, Soviet K's were reported pouring across ■Oder into a growing bridgehead |e 30 miles east of the capital ■he final push forecast for some | by both Berlin and unofficial ■cow dispatches. Ke battle of the Baltic coast I drawing to a close, with Rus- | armies clamping a new as|t arc on the East Prussian capilof Koenigsberg and storming ■outposts of Danzig and Gdynia. 11l signs from Berlin and MosI indicated that Zhukov was ■it ready to light the fuse of his Lared explosion against Berlin, Kch the Soviets have predicted ■Mentally will end with the Red Iner flying over the heart of lidom. trust Von Hammer, Nazi com-; Itator who reflects the word of I German high command, said lev launched “violent breaklugh attempts” in the Oder ■gehead north of Ratibor and ■th of Breslau yesterday. It the same time, Von Hammer B, the roar of Soviet guns openla new battle along the Glatzer Isse river, which angles across ■them Silesia some 40 miles ■th and southwest of Breslau. It least 125 Soviet tanks were ■own into the attack, the Ger- ■ said. Their alarmed reports I the violence of the onslaught Rested that Konev was pound- | the German positions in conIrable strength. Before Stettin, at the opposite lot the overall Berlin front, the ksiaiis struck in the predawn Ikness yesterday, Berlin said. I violent artillery barrage her|ed the attack, and “many tank hs" swarmed into a concentric knit on the Nazi foothold east I Stettin. The Russians have hued out most of the lower F r valltey east of .the river, and rared to be storming Altdamm, F bank suburb of Stettin. — O |ozi Headquarters Blasted By Fleet Os U. S. Bombers pmdnn, March 16.—(UP)—Milir &Wervens said today that the jsting of German supreme comN headquarters by 700 Amerin bomibers yesterday may have *" designed to pave the way for ' victory'’ offensives on the "Wu and western front!. _■ e flying fortresses and llberdeluged headquarters build•s &t Zossen. 20 m ii ea south of i'n, with, 1.760 tons Os explosdemolition bombs and • incendiaries. Crewpien said 1(1(1., Sl>raR g up sending smoke f eet in the air. n ° f on!y was tlle nerveof the hard-pressed German lado’uaM 1 als ° may have becn partem of Adolf Hitler him--B!rX« Cent , ly 38 Monda y’ ne «‘ hk h ® Hitler was living teutlv Visits He at leaßt fre * w y isit Sd the army headquar°2£t ture reao, *g Boo°? Rat thermometer poJoo a ; :• - 56 i Noo n - — 6 9 Part! WEat HER h«ioudysi? y 2 onl ® ht bec ® m * r’ in yßatur ’*®y with nhowkiiia Continued

Output Os Civilian Shoes Is Reduced Washington, March 16. —(UP) —' 'Production of shoes for civilians during the first six months of 1945 .may be as much as 40 per cent below producton during the last half of 1944, informed officials said today. The curtailment probalbly will 'have greatest e'ffeot on men’s shoes and on some types of juvenile footwear it was said. o Coal Operators Reject Lewis' Union Demands Counterproposals Offered To Wage Contract Demands Washington, Mar. 16—(UP) — Soft coal mine operators today formally Rejected the 18 wage contract demands of the United Mine Workers. But they offered counterproposals on six of the demands which they said would add $1.69 a week to miners’ basic earnings. The operators presented their answer to the union demands at a morning session of the joint wage conference which is seeking to draft a new contract to replace the one which expires March 31. The conference immediately adjourned until tomorrow. Both sides went into individual sessions to plan for continued negotiations tomorrow. The operators flatly rejected the union’s demand for a 10 cents a ton royalty which would be used for an insurance and hospitalization fund under the union's jurisdiction. The operators charged that this proposal presented an entirely “new social theory, and philosophy” which would affect every industry in America. “As such Ait) must be considered and acted* upon as a national problem and not as one relating to the coal industry alone,” the operators said. “And in the judgment of the committee, we repeat, it is one to be considered by public legislative bodies.” The counterproposals offered by the operators were: 1. To the union’s demand that the new contract have no expiration date but be subject to cancellation on 20 days’ notice by either party —operators suggested a two-year contract subject to cancellation on 60 days’ notice (V'urn To Page 5. Column 4) 0 Nalion Now Facing Shortage Os Eggs Supply Insufficient To Equal Demands Washington, Mar. 16. — (UP) — Prospects of a nationwide egg shortage were increasing today and government food officials Were more than , red-faced about the whole thing. For months, housewives have been to substitute eggs for feat on the family menu because of the government’s fear of an egg surplus equal to the one last year. As recently as a month ago, the war food administration, custodian of the nation’s food supply, promised that while egg production “may decrease eight to 10 percent, civilian supplies will still be plentiful." But the WFA, it appears, was too optimistic. This week’s government survey of 13 metropolitan markets showed that egg supplies were not sufficient to meet demands. And the scarcity pushed prices to ceiling levels everywhere. Civilian consumption of eggs, accelerated by growing shortages of meats and other foods, has zoomed to new heights. Last year, the average American ate 350 eggs 50 more tnan in peace time. During January and February, however, consumption was at the rate of 400 eggs a year, according to WFA. • Food officials said these factors were responsible for the abrupt (Turn To Page 2, Column 4)

Speedy Construction Means Speedy Advance ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS for the rapid advance into Germany is the lightning-speed construction of pontoon bridges by the U. S. engineers. From little streams to the great Rhine, the might of Yank troops depends on the bridges set up for them by the in-front-of-the-“front” engineers. Here, a rising, swift-moving river adds to the complications of building under fire on the Sure river in Germany, but the GI construction crew extends their pneumatic span and traffic rolls on in chase of the Nazis.

Ll. Brandyberry Is Rotary Club Speaker Veteran Army Nurse Telis Experiences Lt. Marcella Brandyberry, army nurse who underwent the Japs’ sneak attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Deeatur Rotary club Thursday evening. Lt. Brandyberry, who has been in the service more than four years, is spending a leave at. her home in this city. The veteran army nurse related her experiences during the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and nearby Hickman field, telling of the indescribable horror of a peaceful Sunday morning shattered by the fiendish raids of the Japs. Lt. Brandyberry expressed the highest praise for the courage of Hie American soldiers, who despite the severity of their wounds, insisted on treatment first for their buddies and also gave all possible aid to the overworked nurses and doctors. Warfare in the Pacific is far different than on the European battlefronts, the nurse jsaid, further expressing her belief that the war with Japan will not be ended for many months after the cessation of hostilities in Europe. Three films which Lt. Brandyberry acquired during her nearly four years at Pearl Harbor were shown by Lowell Smith. One, in color, was of a Hawaiian festival and the hula dance, and the other two showed scenes in and around Pearl Harbor before and after the Japs bombed the place, and scenes in Honolulu and on the island. Felix Maier was chairman of the program. — —o — —l—- — Keller To Head Decafur Elks Annual Election Is Held Last Evening iFlorian Keller, a foreman at the General Electric plant, was elected exalted ruler of Deeatur lodge 993 of the B. P. O. Elks at the annual meeting of the members last evening. iMr. Keller succeeds Lloyd Baker. He will be installed April 5. Other officers elected are: Harold Grant, esteemed leading knight; George IRoop, esteemed loyal knight; L. R. Zintsmaster, esteemed lecturing knight; R. C. Ehinger, secretary, re-elected Hugh Holthouse, treasurer; Carl Sheets, tiler; Carl- Gattshall, trustee. The two other trustees are Bernard Clark and Roy Johnson. The lodge voted in favor of f a “stag night” program for the two meetings during the month and affirmed its vote of $llOO to the Red Cross war fund.

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, March 16, 1945.

Red Cross Fund County’s quota $16,700.00 Donated to date. $11,814.06 Turn to page 4 for list of section reports. o Bergman And Crosby Win Major 'Oscars' — 'Going My Way' Is Top Movie Os Year Hollywood, Mar. 16. — (UP) —lngrid Bergman, all choked up, Bing Crosby, all grins, and “Going My Way” all powerful, today walked off with almost every major “Oscar” at the movie makers’ 17th annual award presentation. “Going My Way,” Paramount’s picture about two Catholic priests, dragged down seven awards — including four of the six top honors. “Wilson,” 20th Century Fox Studio’s story of the World War I president, followed with six—all technical citations. Miss Bergman, who just missed getting an Oscar for her role in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” last year, took top honors for her work in “Gaslight,” opposite Charles Boyer. Crosby’s awand was for his role in “Going My Way.” Approximately 2,000 persons, including movie celebrities and every fan who could afford a> ticket jammed Grauman’s Chinese theater to witness the presentations. Leo McCarey, who produced, directed, and wrote “Going My Way,” was high point man for the evening. Twice he dashed down the aisle .to grab one of the plastic (gold sprayed) statues —one for the best direction and another for the best original story, Barry Fitzgerald, be-spectacled priest of “Going My Way” who also was nominated for the best actor award, picked up his “Oscar” for the best supporting role. Ethel Barrymore, first lady of the American stage, topped the list as the best supporting actress. She wasn’t there, so Charles Koerner, RKO chief, accepted the award for her. Bob Hope kept the presentations hopping along at a merry clip and even got an award for himself —a life membership on the board of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences. “Every year they slip me a consolation prize,” he said sadly. “I wondered what excuse they’d think np this time.” Hope was the chief heckler when Crosby bounded up on the stage to receive his statue. “I hardly know what to say . . ." (Turn To Page 3, Column 3) —. 0 ———• Legion's Birthday Committee Reports The committee in charge of the birthday party Saturday evening at Adams post 43, American Legion, announced today that "It may be impossible to serve those who have not returned reservations. For ithis reason, the committee requests those attending not to bring any guests.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Is Killed In Action Infantry Commander Dies In Philippines iMan-ila, March 16-— (U*P)— Maij. Gen. D. Patrick, 50-year-01/i commander of the U. S. sixtlj infantry division, died yesterday of wounds received during an inspection of the front lines east of Manila, it was disclosed today. (Patrick, a native of Tell City, Ind., was bit in the abdomen by enemy machine-un fire when he visited the forward American positions in the Wa'Wa sector, 15 miles northeast of Manila, Wednesday. A Japanese machine-gunner, who had remained in hiding behind the American lines, fired from a positon only 75 yards from Patrick’s foxhole. One bullet passed through the General’s aibdomen. . He died at 5:45 p. m. yesterday. Funeral services were held today at the U. S. army cemetery near the Bonifacio monument in Manila. Patrick served in the Vosges, St. Mihiel and Meuse Argonne campaigns in the first»world war. From December, 1942, to June, 1943, he served with the war plans section of Admiral William F. Halsey's South Pacific staff and later became chief of staff of the sixth army. He commanded the 15<8th regimental comlbat team from May to August, 1944, and took command of the sixth division last September. The sixth has been waging one of the heaviest fights of the Luzon campaign, battling against the strongly-defended Japanese line east of Manila. Pfc. Alva Myers Is Killed In Germany Adams County Youth Is Killed In Action Another Adams county soldier has been killed on the battlefield in Germany. Pfc. Alva Myers, 19-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Myers of Decatur route six, near Pleasant Mills, was killed in action in Germany on March 3, the war department notified the parents last evening. The young infantryman was Inducted into the army a year ago and went overseas last September. He was awarded the combat infantry man’s badge. He had attended the Pleasant Mills high school and was employed at the Decatur Casting company just prior to joining the armed forces. The boy’s father is employed at the above plant. Besides the parents, Pfc. Myers is survived by the following brothers and sisters, Georgia, Edna, Minnie, John, David and Judith. He was the oldest member ot the family.

EAST OF RHINE

Break-Through Across Superhighway In Two Places Splits Lines

Decatur Welcomes Warm Spring Weather Warm spring weather greeted the community today. The temperature climlbed to the sixties before noon. Ffa'h worms came up above the ground and lawns turned green over night. Spring will be officially ushered in next Thursday. — 0 Marines Squeeze Iwo Japs In One Pocket Handful Os Japanese Fighting To Death Guam, March 16 —(UP) —Marines of the Fifth division squeezed the last fanatically-restating Japanese on Iwo into a pocket less than a quarter mile square on the north coast today. Only a handful of the enemy remained, but they were well organized and were fighting to the ijeath with mortars and small arms from a maze of heavy defenses. Their backs were against a precipitous cliff and the eea. Japanese fire still tvas taking a toll of marines, but front dispatches indicated that American dead in the eampagin would total fewer than 4,000 against more than 20,000 enemy troops killed. CA Japanese broadcast communique, recorded by the FCC, claimed that Marine casualties on Iwo totaled 25,800.) iLt. Gen. Holland M. Smith, commander of fleet marine forces, told United 'Press war correspondent Lisel Shoemaker aiboard the invasion flagship off Iwo that the marine motto of semper fidelis—always faithful — never before had been challenged or tried as it was in the attack on that island. “We knew from the start of the operation that there was only one (Turn To Page 3. Column 5) O Payroll Plan For Seventh War Loan Deduction Plan To Start On April 1 The U. S. Treasury has announced that there will be only TWO war loan drives this year. A payroll savings plan for the purchase of bonds in the seventh war loan drive over a 12-week period, including the months of April, May and June, will be launched in .this city and county, representatives of industry, banking and the county bond staff decided last evening. Although the national drive for the seventh war loan will not. be launched until May 14, extending to June 30, the payroll deduction plan will get started on April 1, and purchase of bonds by employes will be spread over a 12-week period. The national quota is 14 billion dollars. Os this amount, seven billion dollars has been allocated to individuals, the other half coming from non-banking investors. The payroll plan was explained by Theodore F. Graliker and Earl Caston, co-chairmen of the bond staff, and Harry Neil, chairman of the payroll division. Employers are asked by the chairmen, and w’ll ‘ later .receive a letter from state headquarters, outlining the plan, to adopt it in their organization. A large increase is expected in ■the purchase of bonds from persons on a regular payroll. As an example, a person earning $250 and up per month, is expected to purchase a $250 ($187.50 cash value) during 'the 12 weeks. In the $l4O to SIBO bracket, his purchase is expected to be a SIOO bond. Under SIOO per month, he or she is (Turn T o Page 3, Column 6>

Yanks Pursue Japs Inland On Mindanao 28-Mile Beachhead Around Zamboanga Secured By Yanks Manila, Mar. 16. —(UP) —Amer ican troops firmly secured a 28-mile long beachhead around Zamboanga on the southwestern tip of Milldanao today and were pursuing the Japanese more than five miles inland. Gen. Douglas MacArthur's communique also disclosed that other U. S. forces smashed a Japanese attempt to land approximately 100 men on Luzon’s Batangas bay, while American bombers delivered another heavy attack on Formosa. Sixteen more villages were seized by 41st division as they fanned out east, west, and north from Zamboanga’s administrative city. The drive pushed the beachhead 14 miles westward to the San Ramon river and a similar distance eastward' to the Manicahan river, opposite Sacol island. The thrust into the hills north of Zamboanga, which swept through Pasananca five miles above the city, was meeting increasingly stiff resistance. Front reports said tho Japanese in that area had begun using artillery, together with machine guns and mortars in an attempt to halt the American advances. Troops of the 158th regiment, working with the 11th airborne division in clearing Batangas bay in southern Luzon, nipped a Japanese attempt to land at 8010 on the north shore four and a half miles northwest of Batangas. All the barges were destroyed, a communique said, and the Japanese not killed in the initial attack were dispersed. Although the number of barges used by the enemy was not disclosed, headquarters estimated that they carried a total (Turn To Page 2. Column 3) 0 Confirm Nazi Peace Feelers In Sweden British Press Says Nazis Asked Terms London, Mar. 16. — (UP) —The British press association today quoted authoritative London sources as confirming that Nazi envoys put out peace feelers to representatives of the British government in Stockholm early this month. The association, in a dispatch by its diplomatic correspondent, said all information regarding the German approach was communicated immediately to the United States and Russia. The correspondent said the German approach was regarded in London as a typical instance of German efforts to sow dissension among the Allies, and it was “firmly ignored." The association said “it is authoritatively stated in London” that the Nazi feeler was made “at the beginning of March” along the lines of Swedish newspaper reports. They said a Nazi envoy tried to get in touch with a junior member of the British legation in Stockholm. The press association’s report circulated soon after a German forein office spokesman termed the Swedish reports as “just a plain swindle.” No Information Washinton, Mar. 16. —(UP) — President Roosevelt said today that neither this country nor Great Britain had any information to back up rumors that the Germans have ((Turn To Pafe. 5, Column 4).

Price Four Cents.

Open Way For Yankee Armored Sweep Down Highway; Nutcracker Ofensive On Saar IParis, March 16-<(U.P)—Ameri-can troops split the German defenses on the east hank of the Rhine today with a break-through across the Rhine-Ruhr-Berlin superhighway in two places seven miles northeast of the Remagen bridgehead. 'The breaks, opening the way for an American armored sweep down the six-lane highway into the exposed southern flank of the Ruhr valley, came as the U. S. third and seventh armies to the south started a nutcracker offensive against the industrial Saar basin. Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s third army columns on the Saar front were across the Moselle in force south of Coblenz and raced ahead at a mil-an-hour clip in a bid to envelop and destroy Germany’s last two field armies west of the Rhine. Doughboys of an unidentified American infantry division severed the Rhine-Ruhr-ißerlin speedway with a rapid-fire advance into and through the village of Hovel, seven miles northeast o«f Remagen. The Yanks swept out of the •woods north and south of Hovel and across the roadway into the shelter of another wooded cluster on t'he east side of the highway. Nazi rear guards fell back before the American attack, and field dispatches said German villages east of the Yank battle lines were festooned with white flags. American pressure all around the bridgehead perimeter was beginning to tell on the German defenders after 10 days of closein fighting. Hoenningen, southern anchor of the German defense line five miles southeast of Remagen, was captured and United Press war correpondent John McDermott reported that the Yank salient now measured 13 miles in length and as much as seven miles deep —an area of 91 square miles. That represented an advance of a hal'Lmile inland in the last 24 hours. (Unconfirmed reports said third army troops were storming the. Rhine city of Colblenz, and German commentators said the whple Rhine front northward to the Dutch border was stirring. The Nazis were alent against an attempted crossing of the rtiver opposite the Ruhr valley. The Nazis said yesterday that U. S. ninth army troops attempted to cross opposite Duislburg Ibut that (Turn To Page 3, Column 4) o Late Bulletins Havana, Mar. 16—(UP) — A conspiracy against the Cuban government has been put down and 80 persons have been arrested, the presidential palace announced today. Col. Jose Eleuterio Pedraza, who was chief of the national police during president Fulgencio Batista’s government, was among those arrested, the palace announcement said. ) London, Mar. 16—(UP) — Censorship permitted the first disclosure today that hundreds of Londoners have been killed or wounded by German V-2 stratosphere rockets. It had been permissable only to say that V-2 bombs fell in “Southern England.” Washington. Mar. 16—(UP) —President Roosevelt today vigorously defended the administration's policy of having this country help feed other less fortunate nations. He told a news conference he was aware of some opposition to reducing American consumption of certain items so that people in other nations do not starve. But it is a matter of national decency that this nation help feed those who do not have enough to eat, he said.