Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 February 1942 — Page 1

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FORECAST ‘Occasional light snow flurries; little change in temperature this afternoon and tonight.

lies

8 8

EW INVASION FLEET OVE JWARD JAVA

Biers Climax Is Is Near as Enemy Hurls Huge

Forces at British.

By JOE ALEX MORRIS ; = United Press Foreign Editor

The hattle for Burma neared a climax today and Japan's all-out attack upon Java was expected to be Jaung ed at any moment. “Only /in the Philippines where Gen. 1 D Yuglas MacArthur reported des fighting, . had the momentu Im 0 Japan's southwest. Pacific of pensive slowed down. » Japangse warplanes struck heavily a th 2 apparent softening up reparasior prepatslory. to inva-

‘Bombers Attack Java me hn Java, cluded | both low-level machine-gun st g and dive-bombing.

“The | facassar Straits fleet was

attacked by united nations’ planes hore 4 ANE

P resin!

Java.

/ As, ition in Burma grew]

| harbor ‘and airbase of | |

spantse air activity over} ly at Batavia, in-|

ab least three trans-| ply, the ships were}: J. reinforcements Tor hid

k WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1942

ink 3 J ap T ransports;

Bali Heroes Fought As Wounds Bled

Americans and Dutch Literally Hurl Their Ships "At Japs to Knock Them Out

By WILLIAM H. McDOUGALL United Press Staff Correspondent

N AVAL HEADQUARTERS IN JAVA, Feb. 25. — IThe héroic story of how American and Dutch naval officers

‘stood their

osts despite painful wounds and drove their

warships against the Japanese fleet off Bali with all guns blazing was

told today for the first time. Allizd cruisers and destroyers,

which aided in wiping out most

‘of the enemy invasion fleet off Bali, fought one of the greatest actions {of the war in darkness on the night of Feb. 19-20. They are believed

‘to have sunk two enemy cruisers, ” ” os

a d Japanese spearheads ate) tacked’ the flanks of the British| defense Sines along the Sitiang | fiver west bank, but the allied air eh oats near

other Japanese p were sho down. {

Brat Off 1

3 p air ‘attae on. Rangoon : were b aten off. New R. A. F. suc+

.. IMrs. Caroline G. Payne put her own

have ch invasion spokes!

“attempt - man said that ‘the Jap: now .are in possession: of Bali fad Sumati air bases strategically lo- | -cated for pounding the last East Indies stronghold of the united | natic Nd! . The gravity of Java's situation (Continued on Page Five) 8% 8 -

On the War Franks

WEST| COAST: U. S. anti-aireraft, guns fire at mystery aircraft over eles area.

JAVA: ‘Three Jap transports sunk \ straits; Jap planes blast ‘Batavia harbor and aire; Java defenders promise “the shall not pass.” .

BURMA: Powerful Jap forces attack| British lines falling back on it all civilians evacuated

Rangoon and city stripped i (0

KING: Japs establish subbase at Penang.

: Japs increase air pres-

4: Pn which D ly misses Nazi Amiazsagor.

jcourt here today.

|stand at the opening of the sixth |day of the trial,

|after an 18-year love affair, shot

_|stand today, diminished under the

fences with Mrs. Payne in the corri-

{meeting 11939,” she posed as Mr. Mattingly’s | wide and subjected him to a rigid | questioning as ‘to Mr. Mattingly’s

‘|| British government decision regarding India’s future will be ‘made shortly, Lord Privy Seal Sir Staf- |

ANTICS ToL

Put Price of $2500 on Love For Mattingly, Former. Official Testifies. By JOHN L, BOWEN

Times Staff Writer BLOOMINGTON, Ind, Feb. 25.—

price of $2500 on Charles Mattingly’s ' love, a witness told the jury trying her for murder in Monroe circuit

' The witness was Moie Cook, mem{ber of the Indiana public ‘service se {commission at the time Mr. Mattingly was attorney-examiner and at the time Mr. Mattingly was shot to death while visiting friends here July 5, 1941. Mr. Cook was one of two of Mr. Mattingly’s : associates’ to take the

Widow’s Testimony Delayed

‘ The state charges that the Bloomington business woman, angered by the loss of Mr, Mattingly’s affections

{him to death with five bullets from |” a .380 Colt automatic. The prospect that the state’s star witness; Mrs. Lurayne Oberholtzer Mattingly, would take the witness

lengthy cross-examination to which the public service commitssion witnesses were submitted. | Conley, commission member, testified to several stormy experi-

dor outside the commission offices ijand on Indianapolis streets. Says She Posed as Wife

Mr. Conley said that in his first with her " “sometime in

[private life. Mr. Conley quoted Mrs. Payne

|as saying: “‘Do you know that my husband (Continued on Page Ten)

EARLY DECISION ON

LONDON, Feb. 25 (U P).—A

ford Cripps said today in his first

INDIA IS PROMISED

two transports and several otner vessels, reported to be destroyers. U. S. Admiral William Glassford, who cited six destroyer commanders and two destroyer division leaders for the navy cross, was highly satisfied with the results when I talked with him this morning at his headquarters. The allied forces consisted of a Dutch flotilla leader followed by four United States “destroyers, which were the. spearhead of one phase of the battle; and of two Dutch cruisers and a destroyer

and two U. S. destroyers in a .

second phase of the engagement in Lombok strait.

Even Denied Wounds

OUTSTANDING in the battle was the action of one executive officer of an American cruiser who denied he had been injured when questioned by his commanding-of-ficer during the operations and remained at his post throughout the conflict despite severe -and pa ‘wounds, . | Here Is the story ‘of the greatest naval action yet. fought in the Pa~ cific war as ‘seen through the eyes of American officers and of the men who struck hard at the enemy as blinding searchlights, shell explosions and torpedo blasts lit the shores of Bali: “From the brilliancy and frequency of the flashes, the destroyer commanders deduced that the firing came from guns of ships more heavily armed than ours.

‘Fire as Possible’

“IT WAS BUT a mafter of seconds before the division commander received a report that several enemy ships had been sighted off the island. He gave the order: ‘Fire as possible.’ “The brilliance of enemy earchlights blinded the U., 8S. estroyer observers. They could not definitely identify the size or the exact. position of the enemy but the ships closed in and the action commenced. “The leading destroyer was the first to report she had fired her port side torpedoes. The next destroyer reported firing six port (Continued on Page Ten)

M’ARTHUR FORCES SCORE AGAINST JAPS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (U. P.).— General Douglas MacArthur’s troops have struck back at the Japanese forces in a series of “uniformly successful” attacks which broke three days of calm on the Bataan jungle battlefront in the Philippines, a war department communique said today. Over Java a squadron of Ameri-

two enemy planes, a bomber and a fighter, and boosted to 50° the number of Japanese planes destroyed "by the U, S. army air force on the Dutch East Indies front since Jan. 1.

Commo} : -Closi1 ‘wo days of debate said th

would not

Shecel; a Jeadey. of Yue House of

ns gent eed of

that in, the future the

can P-40 pursuit planes shot down |

S ANGELES FIRE!

Ass Matter at Postoftice, y except Sunday.

|! PRICE THREE CENTS |

6 SAVED AFTER SEEING 17 PALS

DIE IN LIFEBOAT

Survivors of Torpedoed Norse Ship Bare 66.

Hours of Agony at Sea.

BALTIMORE, Feb. 25 (U, P.).~— Six haggard survivors of the torpedoed Norwegian freighter Blink today told of their - superhuman efforts to make port alive in a harrowing, 66-hour lifeboat journey cn the Atlantic, during which 17 of their companions perished. | Sixty-six hours in a lifeboat waist deep with water, but not.4 drop to drink; 66 hours without food, but with sharks hungrily waiting for the next man to die; 64 hours in a lifeboat that capsized: twice and was righted by weakened men in a gale-torn sea; 66 hours witnout even an oar to row or steer the boat. Most men don’t live through such an ordeal. And only six out of 23 lived through this one—the most amazing tale of the seas to come out of the submarine warfare along the Atlantic coast.

24th Ship Attacked Torpedoing the Blink brought to 24 . the number of merchantmen attacked off the U. 8. Atlantic coast. : Her six survivors reached Baltimore Feb. 17 but it was not until today that jhey told their stories.|:

They have been at the U. S. Marine

hospital where they wpe. {treated for exposure and shock. The Blink was a 2701-fon tanker owned by the Manitowae* Shipping

1Co., Ltd., of Oslo, Norway. It was

built at Bristol, England, in 1920. Its home port was Oslo. The navy’s announcement did not disclose when or where the Blink was torpedoed. or whether it had been sunk. Death Ends Torture

There were 30 members of the Blink's crew. One of three torpedoes' that struck the boat killed three men in the engine room. Four men put out on a raft and presumably perished. The other 23 seamen, including the captain and the first mate, climbed into the only lifeboat not damaged by explosions.

along the Atlantic coast early one evening “recently.” The last of the 17 men who died

(Continued on Page Five)

EMBLEMS OF F. 0. P, WON'T BAR STICKERS

Board Suspends Policeman

In Parking Case.

There will be no more special privileges for owners of cars bearing the official looking emblem of the Fraternal Order of Police. This was made clear by Police Chief Morrissey and the safety board yesterday when Patrolman Sylvester J. Ahlering was suspended for 10 days for failure to put a traffic violation sticker on a car thus labeled. Chief Morrissey recommended the suspension after explaining that Patrolman Ahlering put stickers on all cars parked in a no-parking

zone but one bearing the emblem.

The officer is said to have let that

car “off” with a warning sticker,

CHICAGO, Feb. 25 (U. P)— Clarence MacDonald, 17, confessed today that he shot his 17-year-old sweetheart as he kissed her in the balcony shadows of a “Loop” movie where they and a thousand others were ‘watching— a gangster film, “Sealed Lips.” “I was kissing her as I shot her,” he said. “I had the gun in my inside coat

pocket and as I kissed her I reached | . "Mj

in and got the gun and shot her. “I wasn’t jealous. I just loved her and I shot her. That's all.” ] MacDonald, a slim youth wi

They pulled away | into mountainous seas somewhere |

Damage in Los Angeles Barrage

Acme Telephoto.

Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Landis are shown examining a hole blasted in their yard during an anti-air-craft barrage against unidentified planes early today. Note the holes punched in the garage walls.

URGES FARMERS T0 POOL LABOR

Townsend Tells Parley Here Blanket Deferments Are Unlikely.

Farm labor should be: granted no Thain déferment Trom armed service; M.. Clifford Townsend declared here today. The former Indiana governor, now U. S. director of agricultural defense relations, addressed ‘a meeting of Indiana -fayrm bureau women at Murat temple. A farm-owner himself, Mr. Townsend - asserted - that: “personal and emotional factors” must be considered in granting deferments ‘to laborers and that these factors. can best be. judged ‘by local boards— ‘meighbors and friends” of the persons involved. He said the real problem now was to. get farmers and laborers together, “since statistics prove there is no real shortage.”

Thinks Shortage Certain

He: warned the social and education department of the bureau that Indiana is ¢ertain, however, to feel the drain of labor from farms to war industries. But. he suggested that: ; 1. Farmers pool labor and ma-

. {chinery more effectively, eliminate

manpower waste and ‘employ the facilities of the U.S. employment service in obtaining farm hands. 2. Labor be guided from surplus to deficit areas. He termed such a movement “a. gigantic: task” and (Continued on Page Five)

[CLAIM 10-1 TOLL

FOR YANKS IN. CHINA

AMERICAN VOLUNTEER HEADQUARTERS, ' in Southwest China, Feb. 25 (U. P..—America’s volunteer air heroes have taken a 10-to-1 toll of Japanese planes and forced the invaders to abandon raids ‘over northern Burma and southern China, Col. Claire L. Chennault disclosed today. The lean, wiry commander of the American volunteer group said his

pilots definitely had proved their

aerial superiority, and he predicted a final allied victory “in the not-

~ handsome head of blond hair, made 5

_|too-distant future.”

with MacDonald until ‘they quarreled two weeks ago. Dorothy’s friends said she agreed

Runaway

Dick Gets Into Trouble But Mr. Sawyer Isn’t Angry.

MERIDIAN ST., WHERE horses “used fo be" as’ plentiful as the sawdust on barroom floors, saw another runaway today. “Dick,” blind 9-year-old coal wagon ‘horse, got ‘excited when left at the ‘curb by his master. He raced down the street, over the sidewalk and. crashed into a plate glass window of Efroymson’s Separtinta store, 918 S. Meridian

Ba “Dick” whirled back out in the street and finally came to a stop on the other side. His head was cut and the wagon was damaged a little. = » ” WHEN Hs MASTER, Ellis Sawyers, 1025 S. Senate ave., found him, “Dick” was trembling and still excited. Mr. Sawyer, who's had “Dick” for. three years, stroked his head, ‘mumbled a few words and led him home. Mr, Sawyer said it was the first time old “Dick” had ever got into trouble. But Mr. Sawyer wasn’t angry. He and “Dick” are pals.

U.S. KEEPS VIGIL ON HITLER SURPRISES

Events in France, Spain And Turkey Watched.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (U. P.). —American officials today studied developments in France, Turkey and Spain for clues to surprises Hitler may be planning for Europe this spring. 1 Officials were watching very closely events in Turkey where German Ambassador Franz von Papen yesterday narrowly - escaped death when a bomb exploded on® an Ankara street.

LONDON, Feb. 25 (U. P).—An alleged attempt to kill Baron Franz Von Papen, German ambassador to Turkey, coincided today with a new joint German-Italian diplomatic drive on the Turkish government which some diplomatic informants believed foretold a German’ drive through Turkey .to. the .Caucasus.

RUSSIANS KILL 44,000 NAZIS

Whole Front Exploding in Invaders’ Faces; Army

Trapped in North.

By WILLIAM H. STONEMAN

LONDON, Feb. 25, ~~. The whole Russian front seemed to ‘be exploding in the faces of the frost-bitten Nazis today as the ‘Red ‘army smashed at them in the north, center and south. The Russians, now engaged in a full-fledged offensive along almost the entire front, have’ slaughtered more than 44,000 Germans, official and unofficial reports said today. A communique announced that Soviet forces had encircled the German 16th army around Staraya Russa, 140 miles below Leningrad, and killed 12,000 Nazis. This was one of the hardest single blows the Russians have .dealt Generalissimo Adolf Hitler so far,

Attack Nazi Supply Line

“Our booty consists of 185 guns, 135 trench motars, 29 tanks, 340 machine guns, 4150 rifles, 450 vehicles, 320 motocycles, 560 bicycles, 15 tractors, 125 rail trucks, eight locomotives, 14,000 artillery shells, 9700 mines, 1,300,000 cartridges, 6350 grenades, 27 radio transmitters, 385 parachutes and-335 horses,” the communique said, * Following ‘their fierce assault in the Staraya Russa area, which cut the German 16th army to pieces, Lieut. Gen. ' Kurochkin’s : forces ‘were reported. this ‘morning to have driven on to the west, and to be engaging the Germans on or near the main Leningrad-Vitebsk railway, one of the main supply routes of the German armies operating north of Lake Ilmen.

Drive at Smolensk

If this drive can be continued the German armies before Leningrad, which have been heavily reinforced with parachutists and other shock troops, may be endangered. The most violent attacks by the Leningrad garrison have not suecceeded in dislodging these German forces in recent weeks. In the. center the Russians still are threatening the German forces at Rzhev and Vyazma and other

Police Capt. Thomas Duffy said MacDonald, prior to his formal confession, admitted that he had

“to make sure no one else would get Dorothy.” The youth gave a detailed account of making the date ay and going to the double feature, “Hell-

‘zapoppin” and “Sealed Lips.”

MacDonald said he and Dorothy sat in the supper balcony “because

. {that’s where we always sat,” and

told of embracing the girl several times during the movies..

points east of Smolensk.

Admits Killing Sweetheart While Kissing Her at Movie— ‘Sealed Lips’

l| planned the shooting for three days |

“We had no words,” he said. “We about * ]

ANTLAIRCRAFT GUNS BLAZE IN COAST ALARM

No Bombs Dropped by Unidentified Planes in 5-Hour Blackout.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25 (U. P.).—The fourth army announced today that the res ported approach of unidenti= fied airplanes.caused a blackout and precipitated “consid-

erable anti-aircraft firing” in

the Los Angeles area early today. No ‘bombs were dropped and 20 planes were shot down, the ane nouncement said. Text of the announcement fol lows: “Cities in the Los Angeles area were. blacked out (4:25 a. m. Indianapolis Time) at 2:25. a, m. today on orders from the fourth intercep« tor command when unidentified aire craft were reported in the area,

Coast Area Blacked Out

“Although reports are conflicting and every effort is being made to ascertain the facts, it is clear that no bombs were dropped and no planes were shot down, “There was a considerable of anti-aircraft Sa. “The. sll clear signal came at 2 a.m, Long Beach police reported une identified planes flew over ¢oastal Los Angeles county: ‘Anti-aircraft searchlights and guns were active . and the coast from Santa Monica to San Diego was blacked out,

Saw Unidentified Planes

The Long Beach police said they saw planes in the cone of army searchlight beams and that after penetrating a few miles inland from the ocean they veered to the south and disappeared. They said they saw eithe® two separate” flights, or the same one twice. Inglewood police said they too saw" unidentified planes in the searchlight beams as anti-aircraft fired over that southwest Los An geles suburb. Anti-aircraft ba ies along the Pacific ocean in a sustained barrage, and th bursts of fire could be seen in down town Los Angeles, approximately 15 miles away. An air raid warden at 10 miles southwest of Los said the activity appeared to . be concentrated on what he described as a “big bag that looked like a balloon.” He said he saw the bag, torn to shreds by the gun * fire, settle slowly to earth.

‘Shrapnel Like Rain’

Authorities at Los Angeles: mu nicipal airport told police that “shrapnel fell like rain” in that district. As far as police could learn, no bombs were dropped.

A shell, apparently fired from an anti-aircraft gun, exploded in the backyard of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Landis in the sduthwest, part of the city. The shell tore down telephone and light wires, broke ‘windows in the Landis home, and caused minor damage to the ‘house and nearby structures. Fifty pieces of shrapnel ppered a ‘bed in the Landis home Fe had been vacated a few moments before by Mrs. Landis’ sister, Blanche Sedgwick, and her niece,’ Josie Duffy, 14.

. Workers Late to Work

hour or more before they were to’ get transportation In the harbor district cars 1