Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 182, Decatur, Adams County, 3 August 1945 — Page 1

i Adust Win the War! ■// Else Is Chores!

XLIII. No. 182.

CONFERENCE MAY BRING RUSSIA INTO WAR

Mock Shipping unm Asia To an Homeland JJSclcntlcss Aerial ; ? T Offensive Carried Against Japan offinsive against JaI red around tin- clock I ■ and tin- 2"th air force anI , !{ K,..i ihat B-29's have comj .K} blockaded shipping beI ;«iK :i,. Japanese home islands p Asia. I Kry harbor of any conse--1 mJ*- oil Die Japanese homeland I >j.K) sown with mines, the I y<Kiir force reported, as have I harbor from Korea to the . Mamdmkuo border. hundreds of thousands f !«<■<"' Japanese shipping have I '‘“B s "" k by Illl ' Se n,lnes and ‘E raßs from Okinawa said that -Kipanese on Kytlf -lißw. ie Direalened. witli addilll::,s!,r as typhoons lashed further isolating *-trout vital mainland supK K-ssive disintegration of homeland was in- ■ (■Bed by attacks on rail transwhich, began to sever KtiiHit.il arteries on which Jap- > aqK ‘'hies depend for food and war industries depend ■ of supplies. | w- mine-laying program •“■■escribed as "the greatest in K nHy' alul a spokesman said are now- no major ■ ports or harbors remainoffer safety to Japanese Tokyo reported that 100 I AsOcuii fighter-bombers carried SMB I I I ille t’olotttless assault, Ej^K ll " u P military targets in the E Tokyo area only a few IMB aller Manila and Guam EMgHuuiques tallied up the re- | ‘uMof three more attacks on the ■•fiKese islands. | K- v " saill 1,15 mustangs, preI from Iwo, had attacked | ■ u'Koniiya. Omiya, Maebashi I MB aI ' :,sa ''i in two waves about I It'Hni. Al! four cities lie on the I ri| u of the greater Tokyo I ®<‘c of tlie raiders were shot h 3,1,1 t "’° others heavily I (, d, Tokyo claimed. F | ®[i" Osaka confessed that | B strafing raids had inter- | W -Japanese train schedules ■ ’—■created considerable confuI Doni ,\ n emergency meeting of | personel has been held to I means of coping with the | :i! B on ’ Tokyo said. t ■'Bough silent on the »enemy I :;i B- of today's fighter-bomber | -"lied headquarters at | fes® a!1( ' Manila announced ■MB results for three earlier | ■">” Tokyo area Monday — Planes of Die third fleet I ''K*''' 1 or damaged 27S Japanand nc s]liph(i indud- ' I warships. Kobe-Nagoya area ThursEaSEB 139 Iwo-based mustangs f 1 11 enem y ships, knocked aircraft and blasted in | B^' n To Pag« 5. Column 4) I ~w9e Auer Named jj On Plant Head w. Auer, former plan!t!Bns ’ neer at the Decatur Genworks, has been namj , J ■’“Gntendent of the new G. ■ ’ at Tiffin ’ Ohio > Manlp y E- | ■manager of the Fort Wayne | ‘th'tounced today. I O Auer lived here until 1941, «f| 3Hl ~p moved back to Fort tel a »d whs employed in the )#■ 'EBjPtaats in that city. tIIHK ijOlcl al3 ° announcetl that I ' 111-T kad been selected as a new G. E. plant to be | F ‘ Oswalt of Fort I ,'*,?B w ’ll be the superintendent I P la ht. f ■? CRAT THERMOMETER I SB MPERa TURE reading I a -m. 66 ? a - n ’> -■ ... 70 IB - - - 76 IMBi - 84 ’ B . WE *THER lllll ‘ gl *t and Saturday, coolP ol ’ti° a tonight. 1 I

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DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Jap Commander In Philippines Killed Airplanes Support Aussies On Borneo Manila, Aug. 3—(UP)—American units on northern Luzon received unconfirmed reports from natives today that Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, commander of all Japanese forces in the Philippines, was killed a month ago during a bombing raid. United Press war correspondent Ralph Teatsorth, reporting from 14th corps headquarters, said native Ifugao spearmen told officers of the sixth infantry division that Yamashita was believed to have been killed in the Hapao sector of the Cordeliera mountains. These spearmen said the “Butcher of Bataan” was destroyed by bombs or machine gun fire from low-diving American planes.. Balanced against this report, however, was a Japanese prisoner’s statement that he saw Yamashita alive on July 5. On Borneo, Australian bombers and fighters supported ground operations yesterday with savage attacks that covered the entire island. The planes burned many enemy-held buildings, and disrupted communications. U. S. navy search planes sank a freighter and damaged shipyards at Kuching, on Borneo’s west coast, while light naval surface craft patrolled the coastal sectors. Striking the Asiatic coast from Korea south to the Malay peninsula, seventh air force and seventh fleet reconnaissance bombers hit Tighai airdrome in the Shanghai area and destroyed or damaged five enemy cargo vessels along the South China coast. They also attacked enemy motor transport, barracks, and harbor defenses along the South China coast and on Hainan island. In the Indo-China area a freighter was left burning and 15 troopcarrying junks were attacked, with many of the personnel killed. It was impossible to determine in which direction the junks were moving. Several barges also were damaged. Other planes off Malaya destroyed a freighter and four smaller vessels. In the East Indies, Australian heavy bombers, escorted by lighters, attacked enemy installations in the Celebes, damaging a bridge, and strafed grounded planes in the Halmalteras. Numerous fires were set at Maomere in the lesser Sundas. Dutch East Indies pilots attacked Manokwari, in northwestern New Guinea, while Australian bombers raided enemy headquarters and supply dumps in the Wewak sector.

Annual 4-H Exhibit Closes This Evening Dress Revue Tonight Closes Annual Show The annual Adams county 4-H club exhibit will end tonight with the dress revile, which will be held in the Berne band shell. The exhibit has been on display at the community auditorium in Berne for the past two days and has drawn widespread attention. The 4-H garden and eoil conservation projects were judged Thursday, with the following results: Gardening: first, Evelyn Gerke, Union; second, Arvada Schaefer, French; third, Randle Walcho, Preble; fourth, Melvin Werling, Preble; and fifth, Darlene Bultemeier, St. John’s, Preble. The following state fair entries were selected: potatoes, Evelyn Gerke; beans, Evelyn Gerke; sweet peppers, Arvada Schaefer; hot peppers. Shirley Striker; cabbage, Randle Walcbe; carrots, Darlene Bultemeier; beets, Evelyn Gerke; onions, Mary Schroeder, St. John’s; sliced cucumbers, Evelyn Gerke; and cucumber pickles, Robert Gallmeyer, Preble. In the soil conservation project Melvin Werling, of Preble, received first place, Dallis Walche, of Preble, second place, and Randle Walche of Preble, third place.

Pierre Laval Testifies In Petain Trial Reports Urging That Great Britain Make Deal With Germany Paris, Aug. 3.—(UP) Pierre Laval was charged today with exclaiming “there goes the republic" when he affixed his signature at Vichy to the new French constitution. In a dramatic interpellation cf Laval’s own testimony in the trial of Marshal Henri Philippe Petain on a charge of treason the man who was called France’s “evil genius” was said to have proclaimed the end of republican France when he signed the constitutional documents. Laval, fire flashing from his dark eyes, angrily turned on his accuser, Pierre de la Pomeraye, former secretary general of the French senate. “I am not a Fascist,” he shouted in a cracked voice. “I am not a Nazi. I love the republic.” The court room rocked with sardonic laughter. Enraged, Laval turned to the spectators and shouted: “You can laugh!" Laval insisted he did not remember making any such remark but Pomeraye insisted that he had sat at the table in the hall of the majestic hotel in Vichy where Laval signed the three acts of the constitution. “As you signed them,” Pomeraye said solemnly, “you said: ‘There goes the republic!’” The charge that Laval had signed the constitution in full knowledg that he was affixing his name to the death warrant of the third republic came in the midst of a lengthy story by Laval of his prewa r diplomatic maneuverings which he insisted was motivated by a desire for “peace.” When he said: "I hate war. 1 loathe war. War does not pay, even when you are victorious,” the jurors at the Petain trial jeered openly at him. In his diplomatic searchings for peace, Laval said, he went to the Duke of Windsor, then the Prince of Wales’, and urged that Britain make a deal with Germany similar to the one Laval had made with Italy at the time of the Hoare-La-(Turn To Page 2, Column 6) 0 May Cancel Shipping Os Coal To Europe

Big Three Decisions May Eliminate Need Washington, Aug. 3 — (UP) — High supply officials predicted today that the big three decisions on German economy may eliminate the need for this country to send 6,000,000 tons of ; coal to Europe this winter. They pointed especially to the decision to treat occupied Germany as a single economic unit and the statement that measures would be “promptly taken!’ to enlarge coal production. “That’s the best news we’ve had in a long time,” deputy fuel administrator C. J. Potter told the United Press. Potter recently completed a survey of the European coal picture together with British coal expert Lord Hyndley. They called for speedy Allied action to exploit the rich mining areas of the Ruhr. "It looks as though this is it,” Potter declared. The decision to treat Germany as a unit, economically, was expected to mean for example that food and clothing needed for coal miners in the Ruhr, which is in the British zone, would be supplied from the American, French and Russian zones. It would probably also mean additional labor from other zones. Officials here also believe th?t U. S. mining “know-how,” which helped restore production in Belgium and French mines, would be made available to the British In the Ruhr. These sources believed that (Turn To Pigi 5, Column 2)

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur Indiana, Friday, August 3, 1945.

Angry Crowds Greet Laval In Paris ’ T—i ■ Ml 1 awarW * * HL • - vk * B -jj rH Jr'l K ’ kobk UK? iKBsBBjBBI PIERRE LAVAL, premier of France during Nazi occupation, indicated by arrow, arrives by plane at Paris where he will go on trial for his life as France’s arch traitor. Crowds at the heavily-guarded airport milled around the dark little man, shouting to Laval!” The Vichy premier, who surrendered himself to the U. S. army in Austria after expulsion from Spain, was flown to Paris with his wife.

Li. Staub's Plane Crashed At Emden Crash Is Described By Fellow Officer First Lt. Fred Staub, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Staub, 107 N. Fifth street, met his death when his plane crashed in Emden Harbor, Germany on July 7, 1944, a fellow officer, Lt. Ralph McGuire, now in Dexter, New Mexico, has written the Decatur officer’s parents. Lt. McGuire describes the fatal mission as follows: “We were to bomb a target near Leipsig. Fred was our pilot- navigator, assigned to our crew liecause we were to be deputy lead that day. About 30 minutes before we reached our target one of our engines quit. Due to our loss we left the formation to return to England. Tlie drag of the engine forced us to a low altitude, making us a perfect target. We flew at 6,000 feet for an hour or so. Passing over tlie Rhine valley we were fired upon by tho enemy. This caused little damage, but scared us a lot. After an hour we thought we sighted Amsterdam, Holland, and Prepared to sneak out of enemy territory. We had flown back on three engines before and there seemed to lie no danger this time. But instead of Amsterdam, had sighted Emden Harbor, Germany, unknowingly. We had dropped down to 2.000 feet for safety and started across the harbor. About midharbor the enemy started shooting at us. Our controls were shot away and the whole plane was a flaming inferno. “The bail out order was given. Lt. Walker was in the nose with Fred and Lt. Wall. They were prepared to jump. Lt. Walker was the first one out, Fred and Wall to follow. For some unknown reason Fred and Wall did not jump. They crashed with Lt. Larson, Gilbert, Butsch and I. The others had been able to jump. They were Sgt. Dedrickson, Hamilton, Hall, Rolfe and Lt. Walker. The plane tore to pieces when It crashed. Lt. Larson and I were the only ones to get out of the plane. Lt. Larson was drowned a few seconds after surfacing because his injuries prevented him from inflating his life vest. I was unable to get to him due to a iractured pelvis and other injuries I received. By some miracle I was the only one saved in the crash. The others were killed in the crash by impact or drowned. I lost very good friends. I shall (Turn To Page 2, Column 6)

Blue Creek Teaching Staff Is Announced W. 11. Patterson, Blue Creek township trustee, today announced the township teaching staff for the 1945-46 school year. Schools will open Tuesday, September 4. The teachers are as follows: Leia Chamness and Rhea Strayer, Lincoln; Edith Morrison and Anna Belle Sautbinc, Kimsey school, the latter replacing Mrs. Everett Rice. More Beef Supplies Promised Civilians Outlook For Other Foods Not Bright Washingion, Aug. 3.—(UP) —Secretary of agriculture Clinton P. Anderson today offered civilians tho cheering news that beef steaks and roasts are “coming back” this fall and winter. Writing in the current issue of American Magazine, Anderson said there should be “appreciably more” beef on the market soon. He listed prospects of increased production, cut-backs in military purchases and better distribution as the reasons. ’"Your butcher should be back at work this fall and winter,” he said. Anderson warned, however, that the outlook for other foods is not so bright. “As things look now,” he said, “we’re going to be short of eggs, pork, lard, butter, sugar and even soap, as well as chickens, until the spring of 1946 at least.” Anderson disclosed that at tha peak of the black market this spring fully one-half of the civilian supply of top-quality beef and almost 75 percent of the chickens were being sold at illegal prices. He expressed the belief that recent government steps were slowly choking the black market to death. The nation's food boss said the fear o* being caught with food surpluses on V-J day was the “basic cause” of present shortages. The farmer is "hesitant to .produce’” after his experience in 1944 with market gluts in pork and eggs, Anderson said, and his confidence must be strengthened with price support. Anderson disclosed that more U. S. butter than ever now is being shipped to “our allies” under “some new supply arrangements necessary to the strategy of the war.” “I am not privileged to reveal the facts of the case, bnt, believe me. the end is worth the price,” he said. (Turn To Pago 3 Column 3)

Declaration Os Potsdam Spurs Speculation Over Russian Entry Into War

Leading Senators Approve Big Three Restoration Plans In Ravaged Europe Washington. Aug. 3 —(UP) —Big Three plans for restoring order to war-devastated Europe and reducing Germany to a nation of farms and peaceful, domestic industries were generally approved today by prominent U. S. Senators. Only one critical note was Immediately forthcoming from the body which eventually must ratify the peace treaties. Sen. Robert A. Taft, R„ 0., thought the proposal to give Poland a large chunk of Eastern Germany contained “the seed of another war.” President Truman, aboard the cruiser Augusta en route home from his first Big Three meeting, is preparing a personal report on the conference. He will deliver it to the nation by radio and may be prepared to give more details of the decisions reached —and of the many unmentioned issues. The major unanswered question is what role does Russia plan to play in the closing days of the war against Japan? Few had anticipated that the Big Three communique would give more than a hint on an issue of such tremendous import, so that lack of specific mention of it was not a surprise here. But there was little doubt that “the military matters of common interest” discussed by the chiefs of staff of the United States, Britain and Russia involved Japan. It was also noted that. Generalissimo Stalin had signed a communique which praised Italy for at least joining tlie Allies in the struggle against Japan—notice that that the Russians no longer aro concerned about offending the Japanese. Most officials here expect Russia to be in on the final stages of the Japanese war. But one Senator —tWarren Magnuson, D., Wash, — predicted that unless Russian help was "absolutely necessary” she would not become a belligerent. Tlie Senate had recessed for two months 24 hours before the results of the Big Three meeting were announced. But members still here generally were enthusiastic about the plans for removing forever the threat o f German aggression. Those who noted the absence of (Turn To Pagre 6, Column 7) Group Ordered For Induction Aug. 30 15 Men Will Leave For Armed Services The Adams county selective service board has issued notices to 15 men to report for active induction into the nation's armed forces on Thursday, August 30. Two of those ordered to report are transfers form other boards. These men will be assigned to the various branches of service after taking final examinations at the induction center. Those ordered to report August 30 are: Arley Dale Sprunger, Philip W. Piety, Roy Elbert Strickler, Edwin Charles DeLong, Ralph Du‘Bois Maby, Bruce E. Bricker, Dale Lucian Brandt, Chalmer Knittie, Doyle Homer Krick, Jerry Joseph Leitz, James Carroll Eichhorn, Ralph Leland Merriman. John H. Sprunger, Leland E. Miller (transferred from Cando, N. Dak.), Joseph Glenn Jaggers (transferred from Rockville.) The local board has also been notified that four men of the preInduction contingent of July 30 have been accepted for military service. They are: Doyle Homer Krick, Ralph Leland Merriman, John H. Sprunger and James William Striker. Two conscientious objectors, Bernard Milton Mazelin and Henry J. Shetler, were also accepted for duty at a work camp.

Big Three Deadlines Washington, Aug. 3. —(UP)—The shape of things to come—future deadlines laid down by the Big Three at Berlin: Sept. 1, 1945—First meeting of the new council for foreign ministers. Sept. 1, 1945 —Publication of the fii»t list of defendants in the war criminal trials. Feb. 2, 1946—Amount of German industrial equipment to be removed from the western zones of occupaton must be determined. Aug. 2, 1947 —Removal of German industrial equipment from the western zones of occupation must be determined. Aug. 2, 1947—Removal of -German industrial equipment from the western zones must be completed. Aug. 2, 1950—Russia must complete payment, in goods, for threefifths of the equipment transferred to her from the western occupation zones. “First among the immediate Im portant tasks”—a peace treaty with Italy. “In the near future”—Peace treaties with Finland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. In the indefinite future—A peace treaty for Germany. 0 Peacetime Draft Is Opposed By Gillie Congressman Speaks At Rotary Meeting Congressman George W. Gillie of Fort Wayne drew a line of difference between peacetime compulsory and voluntary, or college military training, and condemned compulsory training as undemocratic, in a written speech before the Decatur Rotary club last evening. The fourth district congressional representative did not hesitate to state that he was opposed to compulsory military ideas and that he would vote against the proposed bill when it came up in congress. “I am opposed to compulsory military training in peacetime for the reasons: it is contrary to the common moral sense of most Americans; it is undemocratic; it is unnecessary as a means of obtaining the objectives sought and it is a substitution of one of the Old World’s methods for the American way,” Mr. Gillie stated. “I wish it understood, however, that I am not opposed to military training nor am I opposed to building our national defenses to the strongest point possible as long as this can be done without violating fundamental rights of citizens,” the congressman explained. Before stating his approval of a voluntary or college military training program for the country, Mr. Gillie charged “it is my opint >n that compulsory military training is desired in this country for several reasons, other than those stated. There are some who are making a private career of the profession of arms and want that profession aggrandized by the means of compulsory military training as an opportunity for the indoctrination into the minds of American youth of the European principle of exaggerated stattem. I have been an advocate of widespread military training and for years was an active reserve officer in the U. S. army. So none of my opposition to compulsory military training stems from any pacifistic sentimente.” Outlining a substitute for compulsory training, Mr. Gillie advanced the thought, “I believe that we can assure our defense strength and development to keep in stride with the rest of the world in a democratic and voluntary way. Without question, the full utilization of our service schools. . . the naval and military academies . . . the R. O.T.C. in the land-grand colleges and universities, and the continuation and possible expansion of the national guard will provide for suf(Tura .To Pace «. Column 6).

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Russia Joining In Military Matters Discussion Leads To War Speculation BULLETIN Aboard USS Augusta with President Truman, Aug. 3 —(UP) — President Truman said flatly today. after publication of the Berlin conference communique, that “there are no secret agreements of any kind” resulting from the Big Three meeting. London, Aug. 3 — (UP) —The Potsdam declaration spurred speculation today that Russia may enter the Pacific war and the western Allies may break diplomatic relations with Spain. While Japan was not mentioned in the big three communique, the fact that Russia joined in conferences on “military matters of common interest” although the European war was over suggested that the Pacific conflict had been discussed. Charles Arnot, United Press correspondent at Potsdam, radioed that significance also was seen in the fact that Premier Stalin saw fit to sign a declaration obliquely complimenting Italy for joining the. war against Japan. This might indicate that the military matters under discussion by the big three included future Russian assistance, if not participation, in the far eastern war, Arnot said. (CBS correspondent Edward Murrow broadcast from London tliat it had become clear during the Potsdam conference that “it is the purpose of Generalissimo Stalin to enter the war” against Japan.) William Ridsdale, head of tha British foreign office press section, declined at a press conference to answer questions regarding the nature of the military matters mentioned in the communique. Almost in the same breath, however, he conceded that Admiral Lord Louis Mountbattitfi. supreme Allied commander in southeast Asia, “happened” to return to Britain on leave by a roundabout route through Potsdam during the big three session. Radio Tokyo hopefully noted in its first comment on the Potsdam declaration that the big three, “conspicuously failed to make any reference to the Pacific or the war against Japan. Tokyo broadcast the communique's reference to military discussions without comment. Spanish exile sources hailed the big three's blunt denunciation of Spain as a death blow to the Franco government. Madrid dispatches said the warning had brought uneasiness, though not panic, in responsible Spanish circles. Ralph Forte, United Press correspondent in Madrid, cabled that millions of Spaniards were wondering whether the declaration would be followed by restrictions on exports to Spain and severance of relations. Luis Araquistain, London delegate of the Anti-Franco Spanish Junta, flatly predicted that the United States and Britain will break relations with Spain. Russia never has recognized • the Franco government. Diplomatic circles said the declaration went as far ,as it could in denouncing Franco. If the statement had been any stronger, they said, the Allies would have exposed themselves to charges of meddling in Spanish internal affairs. French resistance groups, Paris dispatches reported, said the overthrow of the Franco government could not long be delayed. Labor's victory in the British election was believed pactly responsible for the tone of the reference to Spain. Whereas the Churchill cabinet had been inclined to appease the Franco government, laborites had advocated (Turn To Page 5, Column t).