Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 104, Decatur, Adams County, 2 May 1945 — Page 1

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I XL III. No. 104.

ILL GERMAH FORCES IN ITALY SURRENDER

fcfZe/s Death thought Caused By Hemorrhage

CKenernl Eisenhower JKtatement First By Official On Of Death iilxHndon, Jay 2- (UP) -Gen. is, i) Eisenhower said today was some evidence that jiitler had died of a brain :ob^H, rrtia ge instead of a hero’s in hattie as the Nazis by Eisenhower f>r st from any Allied w shed light on the mysHitter'S reported death. ißsenhower said the ene m y ».MV that Hitter died fighting in Berlin was "in of facts" given by Himmler at a conferwjl!l (' oll nt Folke Bernadotte l! at Luebeck eight days and a General Schilwho accompanied him to said Hitler had a hemorrhage and might not I hours, Eisenhower said in issued through suK headquarters in France. SAen though this version of ISei's death was based oh Nazi IKination. it had the merit of to Eisenhower through I a neutral. Observers I inclined to put more credIgSt in the Himmler version than £» llle melodramatic account IK<kas! by the Hamburg radio ■erday. «Bi high British source at the Francisco conference told United Press Saturday that j|Her had suffered a stroke and £Bd not live more than 24 That raised the possibilHitler's death might have covered up by the Nazis for or three days to give them to build up a legend of a MB's death.) | admitted that Ger- * was finished, Eisenhower SB m me official confirmation Luebeck conference. Bersaid in Stockholm yes--101! that he could make no disof his activity as the reintermediary in Nazinegotiations. ||Bisenhower said the radio by Admiral Karl Doeannouncing Hitler’s death mBI Proclaiming himself as his 3B et “ Sor ’ represented an attempt a wedge between the and Anglo-Americans, was doomed to fail-, ■B' be said, because “nothing change the agreed operations le Allied armies.” was re Ported already ousl «d Joachim von Ribas foreign minister in ma!r ' ,e the first move to,r f ln S to save Germany rur ther battering. Hf the same time, London 'cirjo * ilh excellent sources circuif Jl Pa£ '‘’ 3- c °lumn 6) To Two For Navy M?u Aliams county selective serIB rnm'' annoance(l today that of iKtinn • sentf ent sent ' f° r aci tive inIKL i,”, 1 n . tile nation ’ s armed y ’ 11 are assigned navy U y and tIWO are aes 'gned assigne d to the navy K? K ; dric En - ip The 11 s ' ven army Meh, E /.^ arl George Fuhrman, »Hal heet8 ’ Geopffe Waeh- ■#> Lee Der|B»va] T 0„ M Anfill Scheiderer, 4 w attax ’ Weldon Loris BfranbeJ uui p artin Buke ’ |0 8 Re Puert, Howlb Lester Koene■EtSpSU h b e p rmomete r S ? T RE Reading ■ o:o °a.m " 43 10S 46 S 2'--- 56 ■ «»Wly W f ATHE R Thursdaytunjßht * tr ’ north por- ' Continued cooi.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Takes Over Germany £ ■ Jw Bl ' -1 a |||||J| JR HERE IS Grand Admiral Karl ttoenitz of the German navy who has taken over as “Fuehrer” in Germany following the reported death of Adolf Hitler in Berlin.

Nazis Open Holland To Allied Food Aid Hundreds Os Allied Trucks Carry Food , Paris, May 2 —(UP)—The Germans opened Holland to Allied food trucks and ships today under a mysteriously-arranged truce agreed upon by both sides to provide immediate relief for the famine-ridden Dutch people. Hundreds of Allied trucks, piled high with food and relief supplies, began rolling through the Canadian first army lines into German-occupied western Holland at seven a. m 7 today, when the local truce went into effect. The convoy brought in an esti- , mated 1,000 tons of food to be distributed by Dutch authorities without interference from the Germans. Official spokesmen said ft was hoped to maintain this tonnage daily by road, augmented by whatever food could be dispatched to Holland by sea and air delivery. Dispatches from Canadian first army headquarters said the first Allied relief ship is now enroute and is expected to reach Rotterdam shortly. At the same time. 25 Allied medical teams were standing by behind the Canadian lines, ready to enter Holland immediately with equipment for scientific feeding if necessary to aid those Hollanders in advanced stages of starvation. . The truce, promising immediate help for some 3,500,000 Dutch men, women and children in Imminent danger of death from starvation, was agreed upon at a hitherto-secret meeting of high Allied and enemy officers Mon(Turn To Page 2. Column 5) ( o Railroad Official Lions Club Speaker R. R. Smith, an Erie railroad official from Huntington, was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Decatur Lions club Tuesday evening, discussing “Oligations to returning veterans.” A number at other railroad men and traffic department employes of the General Electric Co. and Central Soya Co. were also guests. W. M. Bumgerdner was chairman of the meeting. The club also decided to sell the Scout cabin in Hanna-Nuttman park and will take blds for its purchase.

Tokyo Reports Second Allied Borneo Landing British Invasion Forces Storminq Ashore In Burma Manila. May 2.— (UP) — Tokyo radio reported today that about 5,000 Allied troops had landed on Tarakan island off the east coast of Borneo in what may be the second invasion of that area. The enemy broadcast said the troops landed at Lingkae on Tarakan early Tuesday, about 12 hours after Allied assault forces were said to have invaded Borneo itself. Gen. Douglas MacArthur did not confirm either of the reported landings although an official Australian announcement yesterday said that Australian troops had taken part in a landing on the east coast of Borneo, world’s third largest island. Tokyo said the troops went ashore on Tarakan, an important oil center, at 6:30 a. m. yesterday after three cruisers and 13 destroyers had bombarded the island consistently since last Friday. The broadcast claimed the Japanese forces on the island were “holding secure to their positions, obstructing the enemy’s advance.” There was no further Japanese comment, however, on the reported landing on Borneo in the Tarakan area. Tokyo said the Allied forces on Tarakan were epearheaded by seven tanks and that 10 planes were on constant patrol covering the landing operations. It claimed the Japanese garrison on the island was “exacting a heavy toll” of the Allied forces. Near Rangoon Calcutta. May 2.—(UP)—British invasion forces stormed ashore in southern Burma, only 20 miles south of Rangoon, capital of the occupied British colony, today. The landing clamped a three-way pincers on Rangoon and brought the liberation of Burma and its supply roads to China to the climactic stage. The troops went ashore on both sides of the mouth of the Rangoon river in a daring amphibious thrust (Turn To Pag» 2. Column 4)

Big Tax Payment Mailed To County Hammond, Ind., May 2— (UP) County .treasurere were scheduled to receive today the property tax paymnta of on of Indiana's biggest taxpayers. Checks ‘totaling $7130,717.89 for the spring installment of local taxes have been mailed to 2 counties by the northern Indiana public service company, according to President Dean 11. Mitchell. The payments included: Adams County $1,531.51. o Miss Fern Bierly Is Named Deputy Clerk Mrs. Arthur Beeler Resigns Position Miss Fern Bierly, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Rpmy Bierly of this city, has been appointed deputy county clerk by Clyde O. Troutner, county clerk, to succeed Mrs. Arthur Beeler, who resigned. Mrs. Beeler tendered her resignation because she is moving out of the county to live with her husband, Pharmacist’s Mate 2/c Arthur Beeler, a veteran of two years service in the Pacific war theater, who will be assigned to a station in .the Great Lakes naval district. Mrs. Beeler became an office assistant in the clerk’s office in July, 1940, and later was named deputy. Miss Bierly is a former deputy clerk, serving in that capacity when her father was county clerk. She recently returned from Corpus Christi, Texas, where she was employed in the health record department of the U. S. Naval station in tjiat city. Miss Eleanora Morrison, an assistant in the office, is the official registration clerk.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday, May 2, 1945.

Tokyo Reports Borneo Invasion r— —— t...w.i!iaw4— —— ii i — ML 9 ' .’ i;' " * CHINA ' . H 1 j.: *7 BORNEO , ..;W. L- fl J. »t»HONc , ,/7 ■ ■ ctunt ’ t’OBMOe* J ’ • JUu!a«AN L »M C Borneo. X f rl ■==- SOUTH ’ / >/ f I ~~~~ * china -* 'A'”- ~~v*rc<’- ;• k ’« z >1 MA I. HA X- st * / / A A, . ‘’ J? * jcELEfay ffiSlgfiTE - •: •: -St MATKA-ayt.'Jfe '.• •• f —f t - fc „ fat g ~ A LANDING by Allied amphibious forces on the Netherlands “Kast Indies island of Borneo has been reported by the Tokyo radio, with (I. S. troops going ashore in the Tarakan area on the northeast coast, a point not far from Allied-secured Tawi-Tawi island. Rich oil fields are located in this area as well as at Balikpapan, the source of a major portion of the Nippons’ fuel supply.

Reports Bond Sales For Month Os April $127,689.25 Total Bought During Month ’ War bond sales in April in Adams county totaled $127,689.25, the local chairmen reported today. Last month’s purchases apply on the county’s seventh war loan quota and represent about one-fourth of the E bond allotment for the drive, which officially gets underway on May 14. Decatur investors bought more than SIOO,OOO worth of bonds last month. Sales reported from the various issuing points in the county during April are: Decatur, $104,*795.50; Berne, $20,012.50; Geneva. $725; Monroe, sl,237.50; Pleasant Mills, $56.25 and Preble. $862.50. The majority of the bonds purchased in Decatur were through ‘he payroll deduction plan, the chairmen explained. The county’s quota in the mighty seventh is $1,294,900. of which $866,300 is allotted for individual buyers and the balance from corporations and other investors. The quota (for E bonds is $441,000, Earl Caston, co-chairman of the bond staff announced.

Gen. Von Runsledt Taken By Americans Nazi Field Marshal Is Taken Prisoner With Seventh Army in Germany. May 2— (UP)—An American tank crew surprised Field Marshal Karl Von Rundstedt at his dinner table and captured the man who had battled the Allies from Normandy to the Rhine, it was announced today. Von Rundstedt, twice commander of the German armies in the west since the Allied invasion, was taken at_lo p. m. last night at Bad Tolz, a resort town south of Munich. He was having dinner with his wife and son, Hans Gerd, when a tank commanded by Lt. Joseph Burke (home town unknown) rumbled into the hospital grounds at Bad Tolz. Von Rundstedt, who was taking a health treatment, was living in a house attached to the hospital. Von Rundstedt sdid he had not expected the Americans until the next morning. He told his captors he last saw Adolf Hitler on March 12th. Pfc. Herman Jobe, Warrensburg, Ind., who drove Von Rundstedt and his family to the prisoner of war cage, said, “he seemed ready to surrender.” The units which took Von Rundstedt were attached to the 36th division’s 141st regiment, commanded by Col. Charles Owens. Yesterday the seventh army cap(Turn To Page >, Column $)

Local Man's Nephew Missing In Action ‘Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Schumm, of Willshire, 0.. have been notified that their son, S/lE'gt. Milton M. iSchumm, 23, has been listed as missing in action in Germany since April 13. He was with the 'B4th division of the Ninth army along the Elbe river when reported missing. .The missing sergeant, nephew of Phil Sauer of this city, entered the army June 1, 1943. He was a graduate of Giffin college, Van Went. €)., and was a student at Huntington college when he entere.l service. ——o—■■ — Americans Advance On Okinawa Island Punch Nearer Naha, Capital Os Island Guam, May 2—CUP)—American armored forces punched through strong Japanese defenders on southern Okinawa today to within a mile and a half of Naha, capital of the island. The drive southward along the west coast by the 27th division paced a general advance on American troops on a five-mile across the island. 'On the east coast, seventh div sion troops pushed to the northern end of strategic Yonabaru airfield and other elements of the same division stormed into Kuhazu village on a hill overlooking the coastal side of the airfield. ‘At 'the same time tank units of the 9i6th division, moving down the center of the island, approached Shuri Okinawa's second city three miles northeast of Naha. While naval guns, ground artillery and planes continued the unprecedented ‘bombardment of Japanese defenses on Okinawa, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz’ aerial forces raided enemy installations in the Sakishima islands, southwes of Okinawa, and in the northern Ryukyu s. The Sakishimas were hit both Sunday and (Monday by carrier planes which exploded ammunition dumps, wrecked radio facilities and destroyed several Japanese aircraft on the ground. (lA Tokyo broadcast, recorded by FCC, claimed that a Japanese “submarine unit” sank two unidentified Allied warships yesterday south of Okino Daito, about 125 miles southeast of Okinawa.) O r— Engineer Is Killed As Train Leaves Track Rochester. N. Y., May 2. —(UP) —The locomotive and eight cars of the New York Central’s crack passenger train “Wolverine” left the track on a curve here today killing the engineer and injuring 45 persons. The eastbound Chicago-to-New York train was rounding a curve at an overhead bridge near Oik street when the locomotive tore loose and plunged down a 20-foot embankment into a house.

Truman Announces End Os Nazi Resistance; Crushing Aids Defeat

Defenders Os Berlin Split In Fragments More Than 120,000 Germans Taken As Pocket Liquidated London, May 2 — (UP) —Marshal Stalin announced tonight that Red armies had captured more than 120,000 German prisoners in the liquidation of a pocket southeast of Berlin, created by the Soviet drive into the capital from the south. Inside Berlin, Russian forces were storming the ramparts of the relchschancellery. where the Nazis said Adolf Hitler died yesterday and where evidence of the accuracy of the report might be found. The German high command admitted that the handful of survivors in Berlin’s garrison had been broken into isolated fragments in the government district. Stalin’s announcement of the mopun of the pocket southeast of Berlin was made in a special order of the day broadcast from Moscow. Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov's first White Russian army and Marshal Ivan S. Konevs first Ukrainian army “completed the liquidation of the German grouping encircled southeast of Berlin,” the order said. “During the battles from April 24 to May 2, the armies captured more than 120,000 Germans,” Stalin added. Konev's army struck from the Neisse river line well below Berlin and tore into the city from the south shortly after Zhukov’s forces entered from the east. The brevity and despair of a German communique's report on Berlin indicated the Nazi command might be about ready to write off the capital. It said: “Remnants of the brave garrison of Berlin continue to fight doggedly in the government district, split up in isolated battle groups.” Northwest of Berlin in Meckburg, the German command (Turn To Page 4, Column 5)

Jury Disagrees In Estate Claim Case Jury Disagreement Reported To Judge The jury which heard the case of Jesse O. Tricker vs the Eli W. Steele estate, suit on note for SI,OOO filed as a claim against the estate, ended its deliberations in disagreement, when it reported to Judge J. Fred Fruchte in Adams circuit court at 10 o’clock last night. The trial opened Monday morning. Evidence was introduced anti several witnesses were heard. The jury took the case late yesterday afternoon and after taking several ballots, reported to the court that it was in disagreement. William Faurote, one of the jurors, was the foreman. The plaintiff's demand was for $3,178, which included interest on the note dated May 27, 1912. It was signed, “Willard Steele, whose true Christian name was Eli Willard Steele, Mr. Steele died in April, 1941, and the claim was filed against the estate in March, 1942. It was not learned if the plaintiff would seek a new trial. Eugene Runyon is administrator of the Steele estate, the great, er portion of which was bequeath(Turn. To Page 1, Column 1)

Daily Bible School Planned In Decatur The Decatur ministerial association will conduct a daily vacation Bible school at the Lincoln school, from May 28 to June 10, it was announced today. Mrs. Russell Owens will be dean of the school. _______ o Nazi Ports Os Hamburg, Kiel Are Isolated British Slash To Baltic Sea, Near Link With Russians Paris, May 2.— (UP) — British Second army troops were reported to have slashed to the Baltic at Wiemar today, isolating the great ports of Hamburg and Kiel and reaching within some 30 miles of a junction with Russian forces sweeping westward along the coast. Lightning advances by both British and Russian troops appeared to have undermined the entire position of the Nazis in northern Germany where Admiral Karl Doenitz, the new self-proclaimed fuehrer, and the German high command were believed holed up. A United Press dispatch from the Canadian First army front quoted a German prisoner as saying Doenitz had oi‘dered the German forces to cease fighting the western Allies and “withdraw eastward." The apparent colapse of the German [rocket in the north coincided with the onrush of two U. S. armies wedging deep into the Bavarian sack and racing over the last 40mile stretch before Berchtesgaden against only spasmodic resistance. The British Second army thrust, a spearhead to the Baltic in a lightning spurt of 30-odd miles, sealing off Denmark and the Schleswighclstein finger of Germany, a British (Turn To Page 3, Column 3) Cleanup Week Opens Here Nexl Monday

City Street Head To Direct Cleanup May 7 to 12 was officially designated as CLEAN UP WEEK in Decatur, by the city council last evening, the drive being under the supervision of Phil Sauer, street commissioner. ‘ Commissioner Sauer stated that the clean up drive might extend into the second week of May, because of the labor shortage. He asked full cooperation from residents of the city. i The city trucks will be used and the workmen will start the cleanup drive from a point in the north part of town, working toward the center and south end of the city limits, including the Homesteads division. A petition from Bag Service, Inc., the Central Soya Co., and the Acker Cement Works to extend the city water main on North Second etreet and locate a fire hydrant near the Bag Service, Inc., building, was filed and referred to the water works committee. A petition to have a curb constructed on the north side of Studabaker street, between Line and Winchester streets, was filed by Harold E. Thieme and other property owners. It was referred to the street committee and city engineer. The request of Lester Pettibone, superintendent of the city plant, to purchase an air compressor for the plant, was referred to the board of public works and safety. Bills were allowed by the council and the session adjourned.

Buy War Savings Bonds And Stamps

Price Four Cents.

Surrender Affects More Than 600,000 Men Commanded By Germans In Italy Washington. May 2. — (UP) — President Truman declared today that the unconditonal surrender of German forces in Italy was “but a part of the general triumph we are expectantly awaiting on the whole continent of Europe.” At the same time he called upon Japan as well as Germany to “understand the meaning of these events.” Mr. Truman said “only folly and chaos can now delay the general capitulation of the everywhere defeated German armies.” And the Japanese, too, he added, “must recognize the meaning of the increasing, swifter-moving power now ready for the capitulation or the destruction of the co recently arrogant enemies of mankind." The president's was the first announcement in this country or abroad of the German surrender in Italy. A United Press war correspondent’s dispatch from Caserta, Italy, soon brought the details of the surrender.

I Acting Secretary of State Joseph C. Grew said the German surrender in Italy would greatly reduce “the possibility of prolonged resistance” in southern Germany and Austria. "The road to the invasion of Austria and southern Germany is now cleared of all opposition.” he said, “The crushing defeat of the Ger. man armies in Italy, so effectively aided by the energy, courage and spirit of responsibility of Italian patriots, brings with it the liberation of northern Italy.” Grew declared. “Italy, which has been fighting the common enemy since 1943 is now rid of the German yoke and soon will be a nation united in fact, as well as in purpose under the democratic government of free Italy.” The president immediately sent messages to Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander and Gen. Mark Clark, congratulating them for the “complete defeat of the Germans in Italy.” At the same time he warned Japan to understand the full meaning of these events. “Unless they are lost in fanaticism or determined upon suicide,” he said of the Japanese as well aS the Germane,” they must recognize the meaning of the increasing, swifter-moving power now ready for the capitulation or the destruction of the so-reCently arrogant, enemies of mankind.” Formal Surrender Royal Palace at Caserta, near Naples. May 2.— (UP) —The German armies of northern Italy and western Austria formally surrendered to the Allies today, effective at 7 a. m. CWT. The surrender affects between I (’,00.000 and 900.000 men commanded by Col. Gen. Heinrich Von Vietinghoff and Gen. Kart Wolff, chief of police and security for northern Italy and western Austria. Lieut. Gen. W. I). Morgan, of the British army, who negotiated in behalf of Field Marshal Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, supreme commander in the Mediterranean theater. said the terms “in effect are complete and unconditional surrender." The documents were signed in the royal palace here on Sunday by Morgan and two German officers, one of whom represented Von Viet* inghoff and the other Wolff. The surrender will permit the Allies to make an unhindered advance to within 10 miles of Adolf Hitler’s former country home at Berchtesgaden. It also uncovers the flank of Col. Gen. Von Lehr, commanding, enemy troops in the Trieste area. The surrender documents wore signed in the presence of a groun Os Allied officers which included Russians. Secret negotiations for the surrender have heen going on for several days. The terms are the immediate immobilization and disarmament of enemy ground, sea and air forces.