Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 March 1944 — Page 1

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~ FORECAST: Cloudy: and- colder tonight: -and tomorrow with light rain tonight; lowest tempergture 3 about. 36.

VOLUME 35 NUMBER 4 4

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THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1944

Entered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice = Indianapolis 9, Ind. Issued daily except Sunday

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PRICE FOUR CENTS

ecret Service Sleuths Join Gas Black Market War Here By SHERLEY UHL ; U.S. sezel service agents, counted among the government’s ace counterfeiting sleuths, joined OPA investigators in Indianapolis today in the gasoline black market war. “Our staff is co-operating 100 per cent with OPA to the extent of giving advice on counterfeit detection cases,” R. A. Horton, chief of the secret service bureau here, said. That some of the old currency counterfeiting veterans

DISPUTE OVER SOLDIER VOTE DUE IN STATE

Schricker, G. 0. P. Leaders’

Disagree on Legalizing Federal Ballot.

By EARL RICHERT A fight between Governor Schricker and the G. O. P.-con-trolled legislature .over permitting the counting of federal ballots in Indiana loomed today.

The governor, in replying to al

telegram from President Roosevelt, said he intended to recommend to the coming special session that federal ballots be legalized in the state, (He is expected to issue a call for a special session shortly after the president acts on: the compromise soldier vote bill now before him.) The Republican leadership generally is opposed to permitting the counting of federal ballots, contending that they are unconstitutional and that the Hoosier soldiers and sailors overseas will, with army and navy co-operation, have plenty of time to get the state ballots, vote them and get them back.

U. §. Ballot Overlooked .

The Republicans expressed their attitude on the federal ballot by drafting a bill for submission to the special session which contains no provision for the counting of the federal ballot in Indiana, This tentative bill has been approved by the G, O. P. state committee and by the Republican legisiators, . Gen. James Smment, who helped draft the tentative measure and upon whom the Republican Jeadership leans for legal advice,

said today that he didn't think the | 8

Republicans “would permit a drum-

head election” such as it would be

{f federal ballots were legalized. *The federal ballot,” he said, “is 8 return to the dark ages. It vio« lates all the principles of the Australian ballot. The voters on the federal ballot must write in the names of their choices and anyone can identify the handwriting. “I feel very strongly about this matter,” he added, The compromise meastre now before the President provides that the soldiers and sailors must make their own applications for state ballots which the armed services will expedite to them and that the federal ballot can be used only if those applying do not get the state ballots in time.

Dawson Undecided Republican Lt. Gov. Charles Daw-

son, presiding officer of the state}

senate, said that he would confer with Republican congressmen before making a decision in his own mind as to whether the state ghotild legalize the federal ballots. “The danger as I see it,” he said, “4s that with the delivery being in the hands of the administration the state ballots will not reach the soldiers and sailors in time, thus forcing them to use the federal ballots. “The Republicans want the men to vote for all offices, not just for president and congressmen.” In his telegram of reply to the ‘President on the question of whether state laws permit the use of federal ballots or whether the

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the picture.

‘Dandy’ Goering Is Bedecked in Paris Spangles

JERSEY CITY, N. J, March 16 (U. P.).—Air Marshal Herman Goering has purchased so much Parisian finery that French wits have dubbed him “God's gift to France,” passengers on the exchange liner ‘Gripsholm related today. Ignoring Nazi bans on French fashions, repatriates said, Goering has spent millions of francs during each of his Parisian visits, shipping home gowns and fabrics, furniture and jewelry by the carload for himself and his wife. ss = = Parisian dressmakers, who refused to transfer the world center to Berlin after the aby pation, have been in disfavor wi

photographers and magazines from the French capital have been banned, But the Nazi luftwaffe chief has continued his personal patronage of the most exclusive houses.

LaFollette Switches, Backs Compromise Soldier Vofe

By DANIEL M. KIovEr Times Special Writer WASHINGTON, March 16.—Hoogler G. O. P. congressmen are happy today. 3 - Rep. Charles M, LaFollette, Evans-

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TIMES FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES

Jane Jordan ..18 Ruth Millett. . 16 Movies ..... Music ........20 Obituaries ....24 Ernie Pyle-...15 Radio Ration Dates, .11 Earl Richert ..21 Mrs. Roosevelt 15 Side Glances..16 Sports . 2.22 State Deaths. 26 Henry Taylor..15 War Living ..10 3| Al ‘Williams...18

Amusements ++20/

Women's News 48] (C

ville Republican, joined their ranks and that of Rep. John Rankin (D. Miss.) in voting for the soldier vote compromise which passed the house 273 to 111. Indiana's two Democratic congressmen, Rep. Louis Ludlow, Indianapolis, and Rep. Ray Madden, Gary, voted against adcepting the conference report. They said it provides a method of preventing soldiers from voting rather than one to facilitate it. But Mr. LaFollette, who previously supported the federal ballot plan, sald he thinks this will let more soldiers vote than the 1942 law suspending poll tax and registration requirements. -

repeals the lifting of the poll-tax and registration as some contend,” he said.

can vote under this measure than | the 1942 law. Should the President veto the bill I shall vote to over-

the Nazi war lords. Fashiony]

“I do not believe that this bil

“I also believe that more soldiers]

{in Indiana had assumed state cofitiol of the fake gasoline coupon racket, was suggested by Chief Horton on the basis of fluoroscopic studies made of bogus ration stamp

samples.

The expert artistry of the accomplished counterfeiter is évident in difficult reproductions of water marks and threads included in genuine stamps for detection purposes,

the secret service boss implied.

Second Wife Sues Elliott Roosevelt

Acme Telephoto,

Col. Elliott Rovgevelt is shown here on his last visit with his family before he left for active service in the European theater. and Mrs. Roosevelt and two of their three children, Tony and Chandler, are seen. David Boynston Roosevelt, the third child, is not in

Col.

DIVORCE ACTION FILED IN TEXAS

Cites Mental Cruelty but Mentions No Specific

Misconduct.

FT. WORTH, Tex., March 16 (U. P.).—Mrs. Elliott Roosevelt, wife of the President's second son, filed suit for divorce today. Mrs. Roosevelt's petition charged Col. Roosevelt with mental cruelty, and asked custody of their three children and one-half of their community property. The petition stated that = Mrs. Roosevelt, the former Ruth Googins nd the Presidents son were marBurlington, Iowa, July 22, -ahd separated Oct. 1, 1943. specific case of misconduct on velt's behalf was charged, and cotmiupity property was listed as including 1300 acres of ranch land near Fi. Worth, 400 head of cattle, houledold furnishings, stocks, bonds and personal property, Mrs, Roosevelt did not ask for alimony. The petition also stated that Mrs.

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BLUE THROWS HAT IN PROSECUTOR RAGE

5-Point Platform.

One of the most heated races in the primary campaign, the G. 0. P. prosecutor nomination, was on in full force today with the announcement of Prosecutor Sherwood Blue that he would seek renomination for a third term. Since Municipal Judge John Niblack, backed by the city hall victory organization, also- is seeking the = prosecutor nomination, this race will offer a clear-cut test of strength between the two G. O. P. factions here. It was made clear that Prosecutor Blue has the backing of the regular organization. He made his announcement address at a dinner|. last night at the Columbia club

{Russia—

Seeks Third Term Upon,

Speedy Russ Force 28 Miles From Rumania.

MOSCOW, March 16 (U. P.).—Russian' mobile forces swept through a 62-mile break in the Bug river line today

mania, in a drive which sealed the i fate of Vinnitsa and opened the way for a southward push against Odessa. Any hope the Nazis may have

the Bug, the last natural defense barrier in the Ukraine, was shattered by Marshal Ivan S. Konev’s smash across the river. German resistance melted under the relentless blows of the stampeding Russians. The Nazis strove in vain to break off contact with the Soviet vanguard in order to gain breathing space for the next stand expected to be undertaken along the Dniester. To the southeast, other Russian units were closing in on Nikolaev, last major German-held Black sea port east of Odessa, which was believed untenable as a result of the trapping of several Nazi divisions to the east. Acknowledge Retreat (A German communique -acknowledged continued Nazi retreat — which it screened with the propaganda language of “disengaging movements”"—on both sides of the Ingul river, which runs southward through Nikolaev, and west of Kirovograd.) Front dispatches said the Germans “suffered a heavy defeat” at the hands of Konev's men who forced the Bug. They reported that

LONDON, March 16 (U. P.).— Soviet troops have broken across the main Odessa-Zhmerinka railroad line, capturing the junction town of Yapnyarka and cutting the vital supply line for the German armies in the Seuthern Ukraine,

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the Soviets struck across the river without waiting for the complete liquidation of German resistance on the east bank. As the Soviet armed forces swept toward Rumania, the army organ Red Star published a bristling attack on “Rumanian brigands” for alleged atrocities against the Russians, charging that they were carried out by order of the Rumanian supreme command. The same lot of slave labor, hun~ ger and disease said to be taking off hundreds of Russian prisoners working in Rumania was imposed by the Rumanians on allied airmen who fell into Rumanian hands after the bombing of the Ploesti oil fields, the official journal said. After fercing the Bug, the second Ukranian army raced on another 20 miles to the approaches of the Dniester, Russian’ sources predicted the breakthrough, one of the most decisive of the war, will force the German command to give the longdelayed order for withdrawal from the entire southern Ukraine, from the approaches to Poland to the Black sea.

ESTABLISH BRANCH REGISTRATION POSTS

Branch offices for the registration of voters for the May 2 primary election will be open today and tomorrow from 10 a, m. to 8 p. m. at: Lawrence grade school, Warren Central high school, Decatur Central high school and New Bethel school. The main registration office in the courthouse will be open daily from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m. and 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. Sundays. The deadline for registration is April 3, * New voters, those who failed to cast ballots in either of the 1942 elections or those who have moved

out of their old’ precincts, must register, ;

LOCAL TEMPERATURES 6am ..4 10am .. 55 am ..48 11am... 58 $a.m,,. 5 12 (noon) . 58 pees 3am, 52 1pm... 5

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to within less than 28 miles of . the Dniester, border of Ru- g£

held for an effective stand along] 1

It was learned that the secret service here had offered OPA advice-giving assistance following disclosure by The

Times yesterday that nearly line had been poured into the

100 million gallons of gaso-

Indiana black market during

1943. The estimation was based on a comparison of actual OPA coupon allotments with gasoline tax receipt figures

compiled by the state.

An alarming boom in the coupon

counterfeiting racket is believed to be the chief black

'| Sat at the Ringside of Cassino Hell

By EDWARD P. MORGAN Times Foreign Correspondent ON THE 5TH ARMY FRONT BEFORE CASSINO, Wednesday, March 15 (Delayed).—Dawn came clean and clear to this sector of

the Italian front today. After five days of wretched rain, d the town of Cassino offered an inviting sight beyond the curve of the River Rapido. As it lay there sprawled against the rocky slopes of Monte C a s sino hill and bathed in the brightMr. Morgan ness of the morning sun, it looked, not like the grim enemy stronghold which it really was, but like the peaceful

town it used to be before war |

came.

td » - But that was at 8:20 a. m.,, not 10 minutes later, and today was not_the day for a tour of the Italian mountains with a Baedekér's guide. The whole scene changed in an instant at 8:30 and that is how the story of the mightiest tactical bombardment in the history of air warfare thunderously begins. It was then that the first wave of American 15th air force bombers struck. Mitchell B-25 mediums, they were. They came roaring in from the east in formations as trim as a drill team and dropped their sticks over the heart of Cassino. From then on until noon

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F. D. R. RENEWS FINN PRESSURE

Expresses Hope Nation Will Disassociate Itself From

Germany.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (U. P.).—President Roosevelt today put new pressure on Finland to withdraw from her “lLateful partnership” with Nazi Germany, Mr, Roosevelt issued a statement voicing the sincere “hope Finland will now take the opportunity to disassociate herself from Germany.”

STOCKHOLM, March 16 (U, P.). —Finland still pondered her reply today to Russia's latest armistice note, which was reported reliably to offer three concessions from the original Soviet demands. Helsinki dispatches said the Finnish government was not expected to make its final decision until today despite earlier reports the government had rejected the Soviet note, ending all possibility of peace discussions.

1200 JAPS SLAIN ON BOUGAINVILLE ISLE

Yanks Shoot Down 73 More Planes at Wewak.

By UNITED PRESS More ‘than 1200 Japanese have been slaughtered in a fruitless, sixday counter-attack against’ the American beachhead on Bougainville island, it was disclosed "today, while U, S. airmen were credited with destroying at least 73 enemy planes in a four-day sweep over Japan's northern New Guinea base at Wewak. Allied spokesmen revealed that troops of the 37th infantry division smashed the latest Japanese counter-attack on Bougainville Monday and moved forward to win control of Cannon ridge, on the northwestern rim of the Empress Augusta bay beachhead. Uncounted scores of Japanese were killed by American bombs and,

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of Cassino today and official [reports said allied tanks, in-

{ the kill, fierce fighting exploded on | the Anzio beachhead 40 miles to the north, where American shock troops

| said

battle spectacle in history, replete

was designed as a military opera-

of bombers to achieve exict precision in attacking small targets in daylight and without opposition, it was, In the opiniolt of your cor

Cassino—

Fanatical Germans Creep Back to

Town.

ALLIED- HEADQUARTERS, Naples, March 16 (U. P.).—A savage battle raged ‘through the blackened ruins

fantrymen and artillery were slowly crushing a fanatical band of German gunners who crept back last night to defend the shell-torn wreckage of their mountain stronghold. As the allied armor closed in for

lashed out in a sudden attack southeast of Aprilia.

The German beachhead . lines

swayed perilously under the fury of |

the American assault, and observers speculated that the doughboys might have launched a major drive to coincide with the big push at Cassino.

Germans Fight Desperately

On both fronts, however, the Germans were battling desperately fo prevent an allied break-through that might collapse their defense structure in southern Italy and lay open the invasion roads to Rome. Beaten into rubble yesterday by the greatest aerial and artillery bombardment in history, Cassine remained a battleground today and all reports indicated that the Germanc had rushed in strong reinforcements to defend its ruins to the death. German infantrymen and mortar crews swarmed back into the twisted heaps that remained of .the ancient stone town and fought back stoutly under a merciless rain of shellfire from the surrounding hills and the raking blasts of the attacking allied armored forces,

Heavy Rains Begin

(The German DNB news agency the allied attack “collapsed completely” under the fire of the German defenders.) Front reports said the allied tanks and assault troops were forcing the Germans slowly out of the town, with sappers working frantically to clear away the Wreckage that blocked their path. Heavy rains which began at 9 p: m. yesterday continued through the night and added to the difficulties of the attacking allied troops. The Germans, apparently reinforced by fresh units rushed into the battle during the night, fought back viciously with gunfire, hand grenades and their - “screaming meemies” — multi-barreled trench mortars. While the battle raged inside the ruins of Cassino under clearing skies, other allied forces pushed forward into- hills to the northwest, threatening to cut off the Germans in the town. An allied communique said bitter skirmishing also took place on the 8th army front yesterday, and spokesmen said the Germans had stepped up the tempo of their artillery fire in that sector, particularly along the coastal highway. All reports indicated that the Nazi high command regarded the

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market supply source.

Phony C2 tickets, which comprise

the bulk of the counterfeit coupon output, are undetectable. by the naked eye, Mr. Horton revealed. The government's efforts to foil counterfeiters by decorating coupons with” ielaborate water mark patterns visible only under the. fluorescope soon, were parried by underworld professionals who traced convincing copies of the water mark engravings.

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Enlisted on | 3th, Killed | OnFlight 13

Indianapolis gunner who enlisted on Priday the 13th, because he thought 13 was his lucky number, was killed over Germany in what _ was believed his 13th mis-

sion. But before the young airman went down, he sent his mother, Mrs. Alice Duncan, 2111 Napoleon st.,, the last of his sentimental

S. Sgt. Robert L. Zahn .-. . he ““went down on his 13th mission,

song titles, “I Love You Truly”. designating that he had completed his 11th mission successfully. Mrs. Duncan, who learned by the song titles each time her son had finished another mission, believes Sgt. Zahn didn’t have time to write about the 12th and wasn't there to tell of the 13th,

A tail gunner and armorer on a Flying Fortress, the 19-year-old flier wrote “Over the Seas,” “Let's Go Men” and “I'll Be Coming Back to You Some Sunny Day” when he went overseas Dec. 21. Then when he came back after his first mission, he wrote “I Miss, You." And next came “Sunday, Monday and Always,” for his second, and “Don't Get Around Much Anymbdre,” “You're a Sweetheart,” “I'll See You in My Dreams,” “You Are Always in My Heart,” “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi,” “Girl of My Dreams,” “You'll Never

‘Hoosier Heroes—

3 NEW CASUALTIES OF WAR LISTED HERE

Two Missing in Europe, One In Central Pacific.

THREE INDIANAPOLIS army air force members are missing following action in the Central Pacific and the European war zones. They are: First Lt, Robert L. Galloway, 655 N. Parker ave. ; T. - Sgt. William J. McAllister, 5021 Guilford ave. S. Sgt. Charles R. Harris, 25 S. Harris ave.

FIRST LT. ROBERT L. GALLOWAY, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold

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Cassino Was a.Good Show.

But Nazis

By WILLIAM H. STONEMAN Times Foreign Correspendent NEAR CASSINO, March 15 (Delayed)—As an extravaganza the battering of Cassino by air and artillery today ranks as the greatest

with violence and ear-splitting sound effects. As a military operation—and it tlon—its success was equivocal, =~ | As a demonstration. of the ability

Are Still There

respondent, frankly disappointing. As a military operation and a clear-cut exhibition of bombing, it will deserve serious study by thé planners of the second front and it is fortunate that many of our highest-ranking local generals were on the spot to witness it. The all-important and decisive fact in connection with the operation is that we dumped 1400 tons of bombs, and some 70,000 rounds of artillery onto Cassino in the space

of Spposimately five hours; if ges XU

| | 8. SGT. ROBERT L. ZAHN, | i

| P.) —Powerful fleets

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YANKS, R.A.F. BATTER GERMANY; BATTLE RAGES IN CASINO RUINS

Air War—

Big Air Armadas Blo Raid on

Stuttgart. LONDON, March 16 (U. of {American planes smashed at {southern Germany today in ‘the wake of British bombers

‘which strewed “more than 3300 tons of explosives across the {Reich and occupied territory {ast i 3 Wr 4 |night in the heaviest aerial assault ; J - L lof all time.

United States army headquarters

{said the armada of heavy bombers

which struck at south Germany by daylight was “very strong,” a description heretofore applied only to the maximum mobilization of warplanes in the heaviest attacks of the war. Official reports indicated Amer ican and British forces had delivered their most destructive one-two punch: The focal point of both

many, the R. A. P. having dropped 2800 tons of bombs on the big air-

gart alone, Weather Worse

American and allied fighters in “great strength” escorted the U. 8. bombers, the preliminary announcement said. The official use of the words “very strong” indicated the daylight ate tacked involved more heavy bombers than those in recent “strong forces” which were known to number around 800. German broadcasts indicated that the weather probably was worse than it was in the Brunswick raid yesterday, and may have: prevented the big scale fighting which Lt. Gen. Car} A. Spaatz is seeking in order to eliminate the German air force. The American bomber force was so big it took an hour to cross the British coast on the ' outbound flight. Hint Air Battles

The German DNB agency said in a Berlin broadcast that the American daylight forays had touched off violent battles between U. S. bombers and Nazi fighters over western Germany and northeern France. Unfavorable weather, including snow and thick clouds handicapped German planes in their: takeoff, DNB said, but they were engaging the American bombers and their fighter escort “successfully.” Only vesterday, American Flying Fortresses and Liberators raided Bruns wick in central Germany. Drop 3300-Bombs Tons The record formations of R. A. F. four-engined bombers dropped 2800 tons of bombs alone on the . great aircraft engine center and communications hub of Stuttgart in southwest Germany, and distributed the remaining 500 tons among Munich, unspecified targets in northwest Germany and the French “western front” railway junction at Amiens. Weather prevented immediate ob servation of results of the heavy attack on Stuttgart, but the air ministry said the glow of huge fires could be seen through the clouds toward the end of the raid. Stuttgart has been bombed heavily by day and night three times since Feb. 20 and it may be that last night's attack was designed as a knockout blow. One source estie mated that some 2200 tons of bombs were- dropped on Stuttgart alone last night. The raids on Munich and North. :

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On the War Fronts.

March 16, 1944

AIR Wakao Sap AH ASRE “heavy bombers raid Singer Americans raid Reich. a

ITALY—Savage battle rages ruins of Cassino as

mighty assaults was southern Ger.

craft and. transport center of Stub -

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