Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 December 1943 — Page 1

2 hy " 3 a iil

Suits for rt and

Wear!

eH

| SCRIPPS = | )

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18

VOLUME 54—NUMBER 242

(U. P.).—Service circles, in

a sudden change of opinion, agreed today that Gen. George C. Marshall will not go to London to assume command of allied forces for the invasion of Western Europe, but will remain here as army chief of staff. This was reflected in two usually well informed although unofficial service publications—the Army and

Navy Journal and the Army

even: pervisor Leona” Prankfort put up a Christmas tree yesterday for her canine guests, will be a bleak affair. That is, ‘compared to the. home where a

PRICE OF COAL HIKED 5 CENTS

Added Labor Costs Passed

On to Consumer by OPA Order.

The price of coal to the average user here and throughout Indiana

+ will be 5 cents more a ton by pro-

vision of an OPA ruling today. The OPA said the increase in the price of bituminous coal produced in Indiana was to take care of added labor - costs. H. A. Rogers, executive secretary of the Indianapolis Coal Merchants

, association, said that the price of

the No. 5 lump or egg coal, the kind used by most consumers, will rise 5 cents a ton at the mine and the increase will be passed along to the consumer. oo OPA at Washington said the only Indiana producers excluded from

"the price increase are those operat-

ing entirely handloading mines who participated in the general increases in coal ceilings granted Nov. 20 to. cover higher wage costs and who were then granted an increase af 20 cents a net ton in their ceilings. In another action concerning In-

same size sqld for locomotive

On this limited tonnage today's provision will produce an in ceilings of less than a t a ton on the average. Both Increases have been approved by Economic Stabilizer Director Fred M. Vinson and can be Pagsed on to the consumer at once.

————————— LOCAL TEMPERATURES 6am..... 27 Tam....28 lam... S8a.m....2 12 (noon).. 32 Sam... 27 lpm ...33

1

TIMES FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES

Amusements. 11|Kidney ...... 8 vd Millett

and Navy Register.

Lonely Hearts at Christmas T ime

care by young masters and mistresses. So Mrs, Frankfort is issuing another appeal for the $4 dogs, made famous by Author

. RENNERT, N. C, Dec. 18 (U.

to avert the wreck, Frank Belknap, 67, veteran of were no warning signals set up notify him of the earlier derail ment of the southbound West Coast Champion, three cars of which sprawled across the tracks of his speeding northbound train. ns Wrecking crews still were searching the twisted mass of steel cars, two of which still had not been pried apart more than 50 hours after the wreck, for the bodies of 10 WAVES listed as missing and believed pinioned in the wreckage. The * known victims™ included 51 servicemen and 21 civilians, including a month-and-half-old baby. Maj. 8. 8. Snider, Maxon air base officer who directed the recovery of servicem@h’s bodies, said he believed the 10 navy enlisted women had been trapped and killed in the two cars which were smashed into one tangled mass. ; Belknap, who gave his version of the accident at his home in Rocky

paralleling,

&

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1943

Report Marshall To Stay On Job In U. S.; Eisenhower—?.

There was varied opinion as to Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s future role in the war, however.

The Register suggested

that Eisenhower, now com-

mander-in-chief of the Western Mediterranean area, would go to London to take command of thé European invasion

forces.

The Journal said that the western and eastern commands of the Mediterranean would be consolidated and

AN

nt: ¢ i

dog at the downtown sales room located in Tomlinson Hall.

Engineer Claims No Warning Of Wreck Given; Toll Now 72

P.).—~The engineer of the Atlantic

Coast line's Tamiami East Coast Champion, who was ill with influenza when his train crashed into a sister train and killed at least 72 servicemen and civilians, said today that he did not have a “Chinaman’s chance”

46 years of railroading, said there

Mount, N. C., where he is ill with the flu, said he was unable to see the three derailed cars bécause of the glare of the other engine's headlight. “I did not know that part of No. 91. (the southbound train) had been derailed,” he said. “But when we passed the engine and got past the glare of the headlights, I suddenly saw a man near the tracks trying to flag me.

“I don't know why they didn’t

come down the tracks and put a flag ‘out to warn me. We have a 90-mile speed limit and I didn't have a Chinaman’s chance to stop” Belknap said he did not feel that he was in any way responsible for the crash. Belknap explained that his illness had kept him off of the job for a week, but that he was called back to work before he had recovered fully because of the manpower shortage.

LAST CHRISTMAS Pfc. Carl W, ‘ Peckinpaugh was on an invasion

of ' Africa. He was an untried soldier, anxious and ready for ac tion. His

drove his tank o

barge as it steamed along the coast

Christmas dinner was a greasy pork chop and a bottle of Christmas packages

A few days later Pfc. Peckin“of Al

[Tank Driver Chafing for Action Despite Wounds jo "ws" ree ve"

(List of Donors, Page Two)

{more than 48 hours after the Amer-

ALL JAPANESE LIQUIDATED IN ARAWE BATTLE

Yanks Now Slicing Across

Jungles in Move to Reach Rabaul.

By BRYDON C. TAVES United Press Staft Correspondent ADVANCED ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, New Guinea, Dec. 18. ~U. 8. invasion forces have annihilated the last enemy pockets on| {the Arawe peninsula in a three- | {mile advance that carried them to the neck of the narrow strip of land jutting out from the southwest coast of New Britain, an official spokesman announced today. Front reports said 6th army patrols already were thrusting ihto the jungle north of the peninsula in what appeared to be the prelude to an advance across the rugged back of New Britain to the north coast in an attempt to cut one of the few remaining supply lines to] Rabaul, keystone of Japan's .de- | fenses in the Southwest Pacific. , (A Japanese communique, issued

fcan invasion, acknowledged for the first time that the 6th army had established a bridgehead on New Britain and said that heavy fight. ing was raging. Japanese naval planes were credited by the communique with damaging a cruiser and sinking ave transports and at

on the invasion fleet.) wi tinin eB Holds. Peninsula

"A spokesman for Gen. Douglas MacArthur said Brig. Gen. Julian W. Cunningham's 6th army had reached the neck of the Arawe peninsula, three miles from the original beachhead on House Firemen beach, Friday. “The entire peninsula is now in| American hands,” he said. Japanese bombers and fighters tried . repeatedly Friday to break through the protective curtain of allied fighters to attack troops fighting their way up the Amalut plantation on the south shore of the peninsula, but each time were driven off. Initial reports indicated the 6th army suffered neither damage nor casualties, the spokesman said.

Australians Gain

The spokesman also revealed that Australian forces on New Guinea's Huon peninsula, some 90 miles southwest of Arawe, had forced the Sanga river and were engaging the Japanese on the north bank after capturing Lakona, 15 miles north of Finschafen. ' American invaders of New Britain, after clearing out troublesome snipers on Arawe peninsula, quickly threw. up fortifications and dug trenches and gun emplacements against any enemy counter-attack. Patrols fanned out over a network of native trails, the most important of which runs 40 miles across the rugged backbone of New Britain to Rein bay, one of the main transshipment points off the barge line from New Guinea to Rabaul, some 250 miiles northeast of the Arawe beachhead. Lightning and Thynderbolt fighters provided a protective cover over the. invasion army and beat off spasmodic Japanese air attacks designed to disrupt preparations for an advance. Nine Japanese bomb-

down. without American loss Thursday, the second day of the invasion. Striking at the source of the Jap-

anese raids, escorted American

(Continued on Page 2—~Column 7) # . tJ

On the War Fronts :’ (Dec. 18, 1943)

{ITALY —Americans a im ost en‘circle San Pietro, gateway of the 3 road to Rome, :

{RUSSIA—Red army reported pre- | paring to launch full-scale winter

[CHURCHILL DESCRIBED | AS OUT OF DANGER

LONDON, Dec. 18 (U. P) —Prime Churchill has passed point in his bout with pneu-

least 55 landing barges in attacks) - Harry Hopkins’ Enemies Ready

THE “HATE HARRY HOPKINS" group among the Democrats {s sharpening its knife (for probably the 50th time) Previously the bloc has always emerged from the encounter with a dulled blade. Look

States IVESIOR] “An ATab street

FORECAST: Partly cloudy tonight and tomorrow; slightly warmer tonight; little change in temperature

Entered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice Indianapolis, Ind., Issued daily except Sunday

tomorrow.

that Eisenhower “probably will be designated as the

supreme leader and director and the Balkans.”

of the operations in Italy

The Journal said without qualification That Marshall “is to remain as chief of staff of the United States army and member of the personal staff of the President and of the combined chiefs of staff, and will not go to London in command of the forces which will establish the second

~

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 ward Lord Mountbatten.

the grand strategy.

a stepped-up land campaign from

one or more South China ports.

toward the China ports. ports will open, squeezing the Japs . ® @ DON'T COUNT too heavily on

enough to mount a major offensive

the Japs will roll north. Betting here is that Russia is

corridor, and Memel, which Hitler out in Europe. o ” n

for a resolution to be presented at tee meeting here Jan. 22.

Hopkins’ real power comes from

to the Ukraine. An air of expectancy prevailed a lull in the fighting except in the Dnieper bend indicated that the Russian army was massing strength in key sectors for the first of massive blows promised “by President Roosevelt, Prime Minister Church{ll and Premier Stalin against Germany “from the east, west and south.” (German broadcasts continued to tell of strong Russian attacks and even limited break-throughs in the Leningrad area and near Nevel, 35 miles southwest of Velikie Luki on the central front. It appeared possible that the Russians already had

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Algiers, Dec. 18 (U. P.) —~Film badman Humphrey Bogart got caught in Algiers without his gat today and sorely in need of his mob. Bogart came to North Africa with the best of intense sw.» tions — to enter: tain the troops during a 12-week - tour of army rest camps — but his reputation as 8 screen killer preceded him. -

urchin proclaimed him as “youp blankety: blank : ganster.”” A : French waitress insulted his wife a mix-up over the language, and the U. 8. army lost all his baggage. “I -need the entire mob to straighten all this out,” Bogart snarled; “and I didn't even bring my gun, figuring it would be like bringing coals to Newcastle.” Bogart arrived with his wife, former film actress Mayo Methot, and]

ey a wi be £ [putting on thelr show at rest camps

A Weekly Sizeup by the Washington ‘Staff of the Scripps-Howard Newspapers

The curtain is ready to rise on his long-delayed show in Burma. Part of the prolog is over: MacArthur's attack on New Britain and the U. S. naval challenge to the Japs to steam out of Truk for a showdown fight were all part of Those thrusts keep: the Japs busy in the South Pacific, keep strong Jap naval units tied up. Next comes the real show, a two-pronged thrust: action, probably against the Andaman islands, off the Burma coest;

H empley Bogart in Algiers Needs His Gat and the Mob

~The spotlight swings to-

im PRICE FOUR CENTS

3

front.” It was just as positive in saying that Lt. Gen. Brehon Somervell will continue as chief of the army service forces and will not be assigned as supply officer of the European armies. “There is a rumor that Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Maitland Wilson or Sir Harold Alexander will be the commander (Continued on Page 3 —Column 1) }

—— rr ———————

F.D.R. CALLS CONFERENCE

British naval

across the Indian border, where

sporadic fighting has been under way constantly THE BRITISH seaborne action will come from Bengal, Madras and Ceylon, will have as its first objective Rangoon and South Burma. | This will cut supply lines for the Japs in Burma. But, in addition to the prerequisite taking of the Andamans, will

be a chunk of northern Sumatra. around Burma, seawise, up the coast of China in an attempt to win

Then Mountbatten will “#Wwing

If and when he gets the ports, the pincers will begin to pinch. Chinese land troops, plus British and Indians, will drive across Burma Simultaneously, the naval action against. the

from two sides. - » LJ the famed Burma road. At best

is can handle only 30,000 tons of supplies a month. That's [ar from . That's why a South China port must be grabbed. But once Mountbatten gets the road and a port,

pressuring Poland to concede its

eastern half to Russia in exchange for East Prussia, the Polish

seized just before the lights went

the Democratic national commit-

THE RESOLUTION will say, in effect, “Remove Harry Hopkins from public ofice—or else.” (Hopkins holds official positions as assistant to the President and chairman of the munitions assignment board, which parcels out war materiel among the united nations.)

his close friendship with F. D. R,

Removal from office would not interfere with that relationship, but the “Hate Hopkins" group wants to push him into the background as a pre-election maneuver. Anything discrediting Hopkins would be water on their wheel. (The group has another pet hate, David Niles,

(Continued on Page 2—Column nn

Freezing Weather Opens Way For Russian Drive to Balkans

MOSCOW, Dec. 18 (U. P.).—The long-anticipated Russian winter offensive, which military experts have predicted will roll the Germans back to the Baltic states, Poland and Rumania, was believed imminent today as snow and sub-freezing winds swept the front from Leningrad

in Moscow and official reports of

begun their winter off¢nsive, but were delaying any announcement until the success of the campaigns had been assured.) All Russian army soldiers have donned their winter kits and transport columns were - moving over snow-covered hills and plains on horse-drawn sledges. Roads in the northern Ukraine which only two weeks ago were an impassable quagmire of mud and slush havé hardened, facilitating tank operations and speeding the movement of supplies and reinforcements. :

But unless- their baggage catches up with them, the screen gangster will play the part in G. 1. clothing. Bogart feared that because his trunk bears the painted * word “Humphrey Bogart, seaman 2d class,” it- may have been turned over to the navy. . Bogart was a first class seaman in the last war. When he tried to inject some home-made gags In a show on a naval vessel recently, he was “demoted.” But the army clothing didn't keep the natives from Bo-

jaart. He and his wife were touring i |ancient Kasbah today when a na-|

tive woman stepped out of a doorway, cocked her arm as if to hold a tommygun, and screamed the Arabic equivalent of “rat tat tat tat». : Bogart playfully ducked into an-

in

Summons Heads of Operating Brotherhoods To Sunday Parley at The White House.

CLEVELAND, Dec. 18 (U. P.).—President Roosevelt ‘has summoned officials of the five operating railroad brother-

hoods to the White House for a conference tomorrow in an effort to stave off the threatened nation-wide strike set to begin Dec. 30, it was revealed today. The announcement came from Alvanley Johnston, head

of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, one of the five unions, who said the President had called the conference gar m———— for Sunday, 1 p. m. (Indian-

TR OP apolis time). | Johnston said he would be FIGHT IN ITALY io srosen by D. B. Robert-

ton, president of the Brotherhood ‘Nazis Fear New Soldiers;

of Locomotive Firemen and En. |ginemen; H. W. Fraser, president of 5th Faces Reserves From Russia.

the Order of Rallway Conductors; A. P. Whitney, president of the By REYNOLDS PACKARD | United Press Staff Correspondent | Report Spies ?

Brotherhood of Rallroad Trainmen, | i iQ; ’ with FRENCH Troops | Trailed ‘Big 3

land T. ©. Cashen, president of the {A. PF. of L's Switchmen's Union of | North America. a ITALY, Dec. 18.—Vengeance-bent| WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (U.P). Frenchmen drove the Germans) JeFAR Spies lope to hath : resident Roosevelt, Prime Minister from two mountain heights and * Winston Churchill and Premier small town today with Weapons jocet Stalin as they drove through given them by the United Stales|the streets of Tehran, according to for the long, fighting march information uncovered by Russian through Europe toward their home-| agents and relayed to the Rooseland. } . | velt party. It was their second straight day | Mr. Roosevelt first disclosed the of hard battle against the Nazi con-| plot to his news conference yes. querors of France and the second | terday. He sald he did not take day of success for French arms. |much stock in it, but Stalin himself Another peak had been captured | Warned him of a plot against the yesterday. “big three” That was why Mr, They wore American uniforms ex-| Roosevelt abruptly changed his cept for their helmets, but in every| quarters from the American legaofficer's duffelbag was a carefully) tion to the fortified Russian ems folded French uniform whieh willl bassy after one night in Tehran. be donned when the border of Meets Correspondents

France is crossed. . I watched the French, | The President met’ Washington sucoessfully in the mountainous correspondents yesterday for the sector of Italy, bring in their first | first time since Nov. 9. His oval two Nazi prisoners, | office was jammed with reporters The Germans — unlike those | hoping for a preview of the re. brought in by Americans and Brit-|Port he will give to congress next ish—were scared. They knew their Month on his historic trip, captors were French. But in addition to the assassination plot against the conferees, Mr, Roosevelt revealed only that: 1. He considers the Cairo-Tehran conferences a success in every way —~not only for the future conduct of the war but for progress toward establishing peace for this generation.

Report to Congress

2, He will spend Christmas at his Hyde Park, N. Y., home where on Christmas eve he will give part of his promised report on his trip in a radio broadcast. 3. He will report on his confers ences in full to congress when he makes his annual address at the opening of congress in January. 4. He will send a message to congress soon on the draft, setting forth ‘strenuous objections to seve eral provisions of the father-draft bill he signed while awey. ih

LUKAS-HAROLD GETS

ITALIAN. HOSPITAL ®,2 ev. avy 2 AWARD

Local Spldier Recovers racturers of the Norden pombeight , From Wounds.

fighting |

Allies Threaten

‘Anchor’ Towns ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Aigiers, Dec. 18 (U. P.).—Allied troops have fought their way into the outskirts of key German-held towns on both ends of the Italian front, it was announced today, and American capture of San Pietro, only a mile from the main road toward Rome, appeared imminent, An allied commentator disclosed that the Nazi 5th mountain division had been rushed to Italy from the Russian front and thrown into action against the 5th army.

Hoosier Heroes—

CPL. MAGEL LEAVES

Wounded CPL. HENRY E. MAGEL. who | “ag Henry Tisdale. ee and was listed today as wounded in E il a Italy Nov. 2 while serving with an anti-aircraft