Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 April 1945 — Page 1

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uneral Train On Way To Washington

oy MERBIMAN He The cortege left the “Little White House” at 10:30 nite ens a orresponden 4 . . oF WARM SPRINGS, Ga., April 18. — The body of 2a Mm. (9:30 a. m. Indianapolis Time). Along the road Franklin D. Roosevelt today was borne from the “Little stood hundreds of residents of the President's “other White House” of Georgia to the roll of muffled drums, home.” They bared their heads and stood in silence as starting the long, last journey to Washington. the cortege passed. The tot. southern. sun Shone in. 4 blue sky as the First came the U. S. army band from Ft. Benning, funeral corvege left the green hills the President loved Ga. Th 1 of ied soft] 80 well. The procession slowly moved down the winding Hs e roll of its muffled drums carried softly over the countryside in the still, warm air,

mile-long road to Warm Springs station. Behind the band marched 1000 infantrymen, led by

In the distance a church bell pealed from some coun- : try steeple. three companies of carbine-carrying troops, followed by

SCRIPPS = HOWARD §

Roosevelt

VOLUME 56—NUMBER 29 FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 1945

Franklin D. Roosevelt, dressed in black, with a fur cape. She sat stiffly upright, outwardly composed, as she had been throughout. With - Mrs. Roosevelt rode Fala. He sat quietly at Mrs. Roosevelt's feet, apparently sensing that something was wrong—what, he could not quite know. Along the route, troops—overseas veterans—stood at

attention. Many of them cried openly as they stood rigidly presenting their arms.

The cortege wound through the pleasant grounds of (Continued on Page 4 —Coluinn 1)

riflemen. Their colors flew black streamers to signify the mourning of the nation. Then came the hearse bearing the President's body in a copper-lined, flag-draped mahogany casket. As ‘the troops reached the little station across the tracks from the Warm Springs hotel and the little row of Warm Springs stores and business buildings, they deployed into company front and presented their arms at the salute. Behind the hearse and at each flank was the honor pad .of high naval officers, afoot. Next came Mrs.

Report Yank L roops. 15 Miles F rom. Berlin

eA. in Tee A ora —

NAZI DEFENSE LINE APPEARS 10 BE BROKEN

Germany Virtually Cut in Two in Twin Drive by 1st And 2d. Armies.

BULLETINS LONDON, April 13 (U. P.).—Vienna has been-cap-tured by Marshal Feodor I. Tolbukhin’s 3d Ukrainian army and 130,000 prisoners have been, taken, Marshal Stalin announced in an order of the day.

WITH U. 8. 1ST ARMY IN GERMANY, April 13 (U. P)~— American 1st army troops rolled ahead as much as 25 miles today and drove to within seven ‘miles of Leipzig. ° By BOYD D. LEWIS United Press Staff Correspondent

PARIS, April 13.—American troops were reported unofficially only 15 to 16 miles from Berlin today.

wField dispatches said Ger-

man resistance appeared to have collapsed even on the last approaches to the wrecked capital. Far to the south, the American ist and 3d armies virtually cut Germany in two with parallel advances that carried almost two-

thirds of the way across the Reich and brought the great military base of Leipzig within artillery range. Leipzig is 115 miles from a junction. with the Red army. First army troops reached and perhaps entered Leipzig's eompanion stronghold of Halle, 15 miles to the northwest, and ‘ German spokesmen said other Yank columns were about 10 miles west and southwest/af Leipzig at Merseburg and Pegau, ¢ 2d Out in Front Flying tank columns of the 2d armored division officially were out in front of the U. 8. 9th army drive on Berlin after crossing the Elbe river near Magdeburg and pushing ahead more than five miles to positions 55 miles or less southwest of the capital this morning. Unconfirmed Radio Paris reports said, however, that American paratroops had dropped into Brandenburg province only 15 to 16 miles west of Berlin and linked up with the 2d armored division at an undisclosed point. At the same time, United Press War Correspondent "Robert Vermillion reported that the German defenders east of the Elbe were fighting no harder than those. over whelmed by the Americans west of the river—where resistance for three days has been almost negligible. Vermillion disclosed that strong infantry reinforcements . already were over the Elbe and moving up to join the battle for Berlin, with three more divisions at the west bank on a 75-mile front looping to within 45 miles of the city. Fighting in Magdeburg Stiff fighting continued in the Elbe fortress of Magdeburg, but the supporting divisions moving up to “Join the battle of Berlin advanced 87 to 60 miles in less than 24 hours in their breakthrough to the Elbe, The 2d armored division was under a military security blackout. But strong infantry forces already were ramming across the Elbe in the wake of the armored leaders to exploit the break-through effected 24 hours ago near Magdeburg, 60 miles southwest of the capital.

Others Reach Elbe

At the same time, three more 9th army divisions — the 5th armored, 83d infantry and -an unidentified armored unit—reached the Elbe at

(Continued on Page 6—Colunn 1)

TIMES INDEX

Amusements. , 14) Inside Indpls. 9 Eddie Ash... 16|Jane Jordan.,17 Business ..... 15|Movies ....... 14 Comics ......y 17| Ernie Pyle... 9 Crossword ... 9|Radio ........ 17 Editorials . tases 12 olde Glances. 12 Forum ...... 12 Wm. P. Simms 12 ‘Meta Given. . 13 Spo aisnane 16

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt

{DEATH TOLL 360 IN

fumnitiont ship explgsion in Bari r- yesterday, th of

"WITH WAR CHIERS, DECREES MOURNING

MOST STORES, OFFICES HERE T0 BE CLOSED

Gates Issues Proclamation Suspending Business in Honor of Roasevelt.

State, county and city offices and most downtown stores will be closed all*day tomorrow in observance of funeral services for President Roosevelt. Governor Gates today issued a proclamation suspending = business in all public offices, except the federal building, which is not under

WASHINGTON, April 13° (VU. P.). — President Truman today proclaimed Saturday as a day of mourning and prayer throughout the United States in respect to the late Franklin D. Roosevelt. Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius also ordered that: 1. Flags remain at half staff on all public buildings of the United States for one month—uniil th close of Monday, May 14.

2. All executive departments

and ;agencies of the government | be closed tomorrow afternoon— the day of the funeral. =

his jurisdiction, Postmaster Adolph Seidensticker said he had not yet received any authority to close the federal building. ‘All members of the Merchants’ association, including a majority of downtown stores, and all large department stores, will be closed all day.’

Indianapolis banks will remain open, declared Otto Frenzel, president of the Clearing House association.. He said they were unable to close because Governor Gates had not declared a legal holiday due to possible legal entanglements, More than a hundred arraignments scheduled in criminal court for tomorrow will be postponed until next Saturday, Judge William D. Bain announced...

INDIANA ACTIVITIES

CANCELED BY DEATH

State Mourns, iv -Fland Fly at Half Staff.

By UNITED PRESS Indiana mourned with the nation and the world today the death of President Roosevelt. Flags flew at halif staff. Activities in Hoosier government, business and political circles were curtailed as Governor Gates expressed shock and sorrow and prepared a proclamation calling for a period of mourning. Democrat party leaders, whose political organization the President headed and kept in national control of 16 years, canceled a series of nine Jefferson Day dinners scheduled for tonight in Hoosier

(Continued on Page 7—Column 3)

2 DEAD, 81 MISSING AFTER SHIPS COLLIDE

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. April “13 (U. P.).—Eighty-oné crew members of an American /freighter. and a Canadian tanker which collided and burned in Buzzard's Bay during a heavy fog were missing today. Two crew members were known dead and 52 others were hospitalized, three in serious cofidition.

~ ARMS SHIP BLAST BARI, Italy, -April “13 (U. P.).— Threé hundred and sixty persons were killed and 1730 injured in a

Pledges Speedy Victory, Firm Peace; Lunches With Congress Heads,

Plans Address Soon. WASHINGTON, April 13 (U. P.).—President Harry

S. Truman took the nation’s

helm today.

He summoned to the White House. the chiefs of waz

land foreign policy to pledge his determination to carry

forward President Roosevelt's objectives of speedy victory,

and firm peace.

- His first official act was to issue through Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius Jr. a proclamation of a month's

mourning for Mr. Roosevelt.

But already he had plunged deep into the monumental task of carrying on the national war effort, without pause or hesitation, both in the west and in the east. Lunches With Congressional Leaders Within three hours of his first working day as Presi. dent, Mr. Truman had shattered his first precedent.

After conferring at the

White House with military

and diplomatic chiefs, he drove to Capitol Hill for & luncheon conference in the office of Lester Biffle, secretary of the senate, with the leaders of congress. It. was also announced that he would address a joinf session of congress in the near future. Mr. Stettinius came to the White House for confirmation

of Mr. Truman’s pledge that

the San Francisco conference

shall bg held as planned and for affirmation of Mr, True

man’s hopegt that at San Franci

sco will be erected the foundae

tion stones of a permanent peace after the plans. long ad-

vanced by Mr. Roosevelt.

And to the White House came the 0p leaders of the

war effort to hear Mr. Truman implement the: pledge he

gave ‘he nation as he was sworn in last night to succeed

Mr. Roosevelt. The pledge prosecuted “on “both fronts,

was that tie war would be east and west, with all the

vigor we posses to a successful conclusion.” In the nation’s sorrowing capital leaders of all shades

of opinion promised to stand with Mr. Truman and the ‘nation in the sudden hour of tragedy. From the senate Republicans came a pledge of co-operation “for

the winning of the war and a successful peace at home and abroad.”

To which the Republican senators]

added an “expression of our faith and trust” in the man who until Jan. 20, 1945, had been their Demlocratic colleague from Missouri.

As MF, Truman entered-the- White

House with ‘a brisk step at 9 a. m. today and sat down at the President's desk—still littered with the jumble of knick-knacks and curios which was Mr. Roosevelt's joy—the | funeral cortege was forming up in the green Georgia hills at Warm Springs. Proclamation of Mourning

At the White House Mr. Truman plunged into work. He talked briefly with Mr, Stettinius who had already called in the representatives

of the Big Four for a noon confer- |

ence to affirm the pledge that the San Francisco conference would go| forward as planned. He arranged for issuance of the proclamation of mourning—30 days for the government and the nation and a half day closing tomorrow in { respect ‘ to- Mr. Roosevelt. Then he swung into his war duties. For 55 minutes he talked with the chiefs of the war effort-— Secretary of War Henry L. Stim son: Secretary of Navy James Forrestal; Admiral William D. Leahy, Gen. George C. Marshall and Adm. Ernest J. King, members of the joint chiefs of staff. Contrast in Backgrounds They left the conference grimlipped and silent. But there was no doubt of what they had told the new President—that the war in Europe stood at the verge of victorious conclusion and that the war in the Pacific was moving smoothly, if more slowly, toward the same end. It was a mellow day in Washington, soft with the” April sunshine. Outside the White House there was {little to indicate that the helm of the nation had changed hands at a critical moment in

history. . But inside, in the cool oval room where lor. 14 years, one month and | gighs days, Franklin D. :

in the world’s |

chief, once a Missouri farm boy and a man of background and career that could hardly have contrasted more vividly with that of the man whom he succeeds. War Study First Task

The new President gave no oute ward sign that his sudden respons sibilities gave him any pause. He strode into the White House springs ily, like a soldier summoned to » new command. His first task was to learn the top facts of a Tast-moving world situa= tion—a situation moving so rapidly on the European war front thal even the generals and high come manders could hardly keep abreast with the lightning pace of the American armored forces. In the international field his firsé task was to give reassurance to America’s shocked allies, numbed by the loss of Mr. Roosevelt and worried about the future. Already from London wherg

(Continued on Page 7—Column I}

Churchill Calls

Special Session

By PHIL AULT United Press Stat Correspondent LONDON, April 13.—Prime Mine

ister Churchill called the British cabinet into special session today to consider the effect of President Roosevelt's death, which many dip= lomats feared might have great ree percuséions on world security plans, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden will attend Mr. Roosevelt's funeral, it was announced officially. Churchill and King George led the British in paying tribute to Mr, Roosevelt. For the first time In history the house of commons ads