Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 March 1943 — Page 1

Entered 85 Secondi-Ciass MASE st’ Postomite. Indianapolis, Ind. Issued daily except Sunday.

MONDAY, MARCH Bu.

Financial .... A

“Gar dens %

Yes, We Have No Mea

We Have Ba SEs

"Yes. we Have: seme bananas,” mltored. the doleful John Smith: Bulchar oF Unis refiat 27 5. Tlinols ot. Hada, Shut that's ‘all.

Take your red coupons and go away. Look at: those shelves."

The equally -sad locking ‘gentleman in. the - background is Richard - Uhl,

owner of the Store, Those emply shelves are fyviea of hundreds of ocfrigell stores on 1 Hhis, the f rst day of meat rationing.

OSTROM BLASTS TYNDALL POHGY

Ends Political Silence to Assail Mayor’s Stand

On Dispensing Jobs.

By ROBERT W. BLOEM The political breach between Marion County Republican Chair-. man Henry E. Ostrom and Mayor Tyndall over the city ' patronage _ guestion broke into the open today as Mr. Ostrom berated the mayor's methods in filing city jobs. Charging that Mayor went “too far” in a press conference explanation of the city’s new patronage setup last week, the county chairman let loose- his first major public blast against the

“This is it,” Mr. Ostrom declared. “I've been trying for weeks to keep

this patronage fight as quiet as pos-|

sible, hoping it could be ironed out ‘without injuring party . unity, but ‘after the interview last week, I have to say something in defense of the county committee.” He referred to reports of March 26 in which Mayor ‘Tyndall was

quoted as saying that the county|

committee had not been recom(Continued on Page Five)

IT’S ABOUT TIME

If you've been wondering if it’s ever going to get warmer around here, the weather bureau says “Yes,” tonight and tomorrow morning.

LOCAL TEMPERATURES 6am ...32 10am ... 4 Tam... 3 Nam ...45 8a m ...3¢ 12 (noon).. 49

cupboard.

Mrs. R. Raps Rush on Food

‘Read “My Day,” Page 9

WASHINGTON, : March 29 (U.P.).—Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt severely criticized the lastminute meat-buying splurge in her daily newspaper column today. “ «oc All Of US, s . need to release our energies for total war,” she wrote. “If we realized this, people wouldn't just before meat rationing starts, | storm the butcher shops until the shelves are bare. “What is the matter with us ‘1 all? There is enough food to go round, none of us are going hungry. If we can't always have our choice we can find substitutes. But we shall have to find them more readily and happily before we can say our whole energies as a nation are released for total war.”

ASSESSORS’ OFFICE RAISES MAY BE CUT

Council Hints 0. K. on Half - Of $24,000 Sought.

9a m ...38 1pm... 5

J FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES

Tv — « 4! Inside Indpls.. 9 Ash ........s. TjJane Jordan .13( = evs een 9 Kidney Sesre 10 Comics ......16| Livestock : “e+.16/ Men in Service 11 .10| Millett

sanseas 1

Radio n 3} Mis. - Roosevelt 9 Forum ....... 10 Side; ‘Glances. .10 Freckles swe IB - y wilh 13

wave 8

Sessenne 10 X 10 Movies sessanen ‘4 110 Obifuaties ses 8.

Requests of township assessors for wage increases for: their deputies—totalling $24,000—may be cut in half, county councilmen ‘indi cated today. Reduction of the requests was discussed by councilmen despite by assessors that the tax system in the county may collapse unless more money is made avail-

Market Shelves Here Bare As New Rationing Starts

By ROSEMARY REDDING Meat counters were as. bare ‘this morning as Mother Hubbard's

And whether mother would even be able to get her dog a bone this afternoon was as much of a mystery to the butcher as to the housewife. Even though the chief cook and bottle washer had her coupons it didn’t mean a thing. She couldn't spend ‘em.

Meat counters were completely “cleaned out” during last week and over the week-end as Indianapolis, like other cities over the nation, went: on one of the wildest meatbuying sprees in history. Up to a late hour this morning, there: had ‘been no deliveries to replenish supplies. The grocers who had meat were those who had gotten up in the wee hours and camped on the doorsteps of packers. Even then, the orders weren't filled to satisfaction, the retailers said. One grocer had & small meat supply only because he had cached it away to have something to start with this morning.

5 Situation Is Confused “Meanwhile, the butcher and the

§ Bots were squarely in the middle of ‘a confused situation as

to future prospects for alleviating the situation. Will there be enough meat for

3 every rationistamp? Well, the de‘I'partment of agriculture says i| while the OPA verges on a gloomy

“yes”

“no. » Gea officials are of the opinion t a considerable period of time will be required before the meat situation adjusts itself and that the housewife may turn up with excess ~ (Continued on Page Five)

By UNITED PRESS More vigorous action in the united nation’s Pacific war against Japan was believed 10 be foreshad-

The, conferences were attended by officers: from the Hawaiian, South

Pacific. and Southwestern Pacific

commands, the war department said, ‘were

ST. NAZAIRE 1S NEWEST TARGET

Air Offensive Blasts Berlin, Rouen and Duisberg in Three Days.

LONDON, March 29 (U. P)— Hundreds of Britain’s biggest bombers shattered. German : U-boat installations at St. Nazaire. on the French Atlantic coast last night in a heavy and concentrated raid that carried the terrific new allied aerial offensive through its third night. The powerful force of four-en-gined Stirling, Lancaster and Halifax bombers struck at the submarine pens, repair facilities and crew barracks at St. Nazaire while fires still were smouldering in Berlin from the heaviest raid of the war on the German capital, Only 2 Bombers Lost The air ministry’s announcement that the St. Nazaire attack was “heavy and concentrated” indicated that the tonnage of bombs dropped may have approached ' the nearly 1000 tons dumped on Berlin Saturday night. Four-ton super block busters were believed to have been among ‘the cargo dropped on the French port, which lies at the northern end of the Bay of Biscay. The raid was a major blow at Germany's: submarine warfare campaign, which is delaying the opening of an allied second front in Europe. Only two bombers were lost out

.(Continued ‘on ‘Page: Five)

Gen. Millard Harmon, army. com- |cific mander in the South Pacific; and

BLACK iE

GETS FIFTH OF

NATION'S MEAT

Million Pounds a Day Sold

Illegally, U. S. Official

Declares.

By CHARLES T. LUCEY Times Special Writer

WASHINGTON, March 29. — An|.

agriculture department report on a “huge black market in meats, so ex-

tensive it has disrupted normal meat supply and distribution machinery,” was disclosed today as U. S. housewives, for the first time in history, did business with the butcher on & ration-coupon basis.

(New point values for canned goods, which go into effect today, will be found on Page Two.)

The report cited unofficial estimates that as much as 20 per cent of the country’s meat supply is going into. the black market, and said so much is being diverted from legal trade that army buyers “have been unable to obtain all the meat they want for our fighting men here and abroad.” “Small wonder,” it commented, “that civilians have had difficulty in obtaining meat supplies.”

Three Cities Cited The report sited New York, Cleve-

per: cent above ‘authorized ceiling

prices. “Over and above the actual meat which has been lost to legal trade, great quantities of strategic byproducts have been forever lost,” the report said, “Potential surgical sutures, adrenalin, insulin, gelatin

for military photographic film, hides for leather, tankage, fertilizers and

bone meal—as well as hearts, livers |

and other edible meats—are but a few of the items lost when black marketeers operate, because they keep only the primal (big) cuts and throw away the rest.”

"Estimate May Be Low The study reported that “motorized rustlers travel the range lands at night, shooting animals where they find them, dressing them on the spot and driving away with the carcasses in the rear of the truck. Shady buyers travel the byways of more settled country, buying live animals from farm to farm at over market ‘prices. | They then dispose of them to illegal butchers, or set up in business for themselves.” One agriculture department official said today that 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 pounds a day is going into black market sales, but he added that “this may be low.” The production goal for meat this (Continued on Page Five)

On the War Fronts| (March 29, 1943) .

TUNISIA—-British flanking movement forces Rommel to give up Mareth, Toujane aud Matmata captured,

RUSSIA = Flooded streams slow fighting; Germans claim Sevsk.

AIR WAR—Third day of new aerial offensive sees St. Nazaire bombed.

PACIFIC—U. 8. holds Pacific strat-

egy conference. Jap flotilla turned back from Aleutians. ‘Twenty-five

‘planes raid New Guinea shore.

Generals Map U.S. Strategy i in Pacific As Activity Increases at Both Ends of Front™

commanders, however, have contended ‘that mere defensive action against Japan is not sufficient. oe

Col, B. Wen SCouk

H. WEIR COOK PLANE VICTIM

Headed Air Fields in the - Pacific; Meeting With Rick Recalled.

Col. Harvey Weir Cook, who emerged from world war I as an ace in Eddie Rickenbacker’s air squadron, has lost his life in an airplane crash in the South Pa-

-|cific battle zode.

The war department yesterday advised his wife, Mrs. Katherine V.

Cook, 3445 Birchwood aye. of his

0. details were given. His Weir Cook Jr. is an cadet at Miami, : - Col. Cook had been in charge of several army air fields in the South Pacific. Capt. Rickenbacker wrote Mrs. Cook several weeks ago, telling her about meeting her husband soon after his rescue from the rubber life boat he drifted on for weeks. Credited with downing seven enemy planes in the first war, Cook was a captain gt the war's end. He re-entered the service two years ago when the Indiana national guard was mobilized. Given the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was sent to Camp Shelby, Miss., but was transferred several weeks later to Wright field, Dayton, O.. There

' |he was assistant to the-air forces

(Continued on Page Five)

DAVIS TAKES OFFICE, STUDIES LAND ARMY

Wickard ‘Won't Comment

On Food Envoy Rumor.

" WASHINGTON, March 29 (U.P). —Chester C. Davis took office today as war food administrator and immediately began : conferences on plans for organization of a land army to meet urgent demands of farmers for help in producing food. Mr. Davis called agricultural labor administratior officials into conference shortly after he took the oath of office. ~ President Roosevelt said last ‘week that Mr: Davis’ first task would be

ditional farm workers this year.

Claude R. Wickard, whom Mr

comment on reports and the White House cautioned Seana “going out

GRIM DAYS UE AHEAD—

A heartbreaking phase of . preparation still lies ahead of us ‘before we can take the offen. sive in the Far East. A. T. Steele, for The Indiansps Times and |

- ANKS CAPTORE

AXIS RETREA

BULLETINS ALLIED HEADQUARTERS; North Africa, March 29 ‘(U. P.).—Allied arships have joined in the battle of Tunisia, subjecting the Gabes area to a heavy shelling as the land forces pressed in toward the base from the sou and west, it was revealed today.

WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES BEYOND EL GUETTAR, March 29 (10:50 a. m.) (U. P.).—American infantry, in a night attack, has captured the strong enemy

position of Djebel Mcheltat.

By VIRGIL PINKLEY United Press Staff Correspondent

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, North Africa, March 2 —Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Mareth line defenses have fall apart and today the allied armies surged ahead in a gra scale effort to complete the conquest of Tunisia. The pressure of an allied flanking movement behin the Mareth line forced Rommel to abandon his defense hind tions there and the British eighth army, smashing through the fortifications, rolled on to capture Matmata, only 22 miles from the important axis base of Gabes.

All along the Tunisian

battlefront, even in the far

north where the British first army has been biding its time, the allies were on the march. American forces continu to advance eastward from El Guettar, and, altogether, the were six columns pressing, the. Afrika. Korps: rele entl

oward the sea.

Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montabuiory's eighth army erans, after chipping away at the Mareth line for 10 da; under the protection of & mighty aerial umbrella, fing broke through the north-central section of the fortificas tions. By yesterday the eighth army had increased the total

of its prisoners to 6000.

Rommel in Full Retreat

The towns of Mareth, Toujane and Matmata, all on roa leading to Gabes, fell to Montgomery. ~ Capture of the three towns by Montgomery's: forced Rommel to give up the entire Mareth line positio

and fortifications.

But a flanking column, which Montgomery sent swing= ing around the southern end of the Mareth line more thas a week ago, claimed a lion's share of the victory.

It was this threat to his rear as much as the pressure of the eighth army in frontal assault, that caused Rommel to decide to withdraw. At present he is in full retreat toward the 12mile bottle-neck above Gabes where Chott Djerid (salt lake) thrusts. a long arm toward the sea. Thus a race developed between the retreating German-Italian forces and American columns pressing eastward in central Tunisia. The Americans were attempting to jam a stopper in the bottle-neck

before Rommel could get his armor - 8 -

Mr. Wickard, however, declined to}

and infantry through it and res treat on northward for a juncture with the forces of Col Gen. Jure gen von Arnim, who holds thi bridgé-head at Tunis and Bizerte, Axis losses in tanks, guns, vehiec and men were heavy. Rommel pul up a stern fight against the Britis flanking column, which slugged way through rough terraim'! against strongly-emplaced artillery. The progress has k slow for a week, but the steady p sure finally broke Rommel’s (Continued on Page Five) # 2

Jel.