gis Wtlmtmjtmt Hiirtmuj Star Sr
VQL. 49--NO. 59___________WILMINGTON„.N. C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1943 ESTABLISHED 1867.
BRITISH 8TH ARMY
SWEEPS CLOSER TO
MARETH UNE AREA
ROMMEL BRACING
Axis Declares Impending
Multi-Bladed Assault
Sighted
ALLIES CAPTURE ZAUIA
Fighting French Take Over
Mopping Up Job In
* Tripoli
LONDON. Jan. 26.—The
British Eighth Army swept
closer today to Tunisia’s Ma
reth line, where Field Marsh
al Erwin Rommel’s retreat
in c weary forces were report
ed bracing for what the Ax
is itself said was an impend
ing multi-bladed Allied as-i
sault. j
The capture of Zauia by
den. Sir Bernard L. Mont
gomery’s men brought them
half way from Tripoli to Zu
ara, a port on the coastal
road leading to the Axis for
tifications in Tunisia. Zauia
is about 30 miles west of Tri
poli.
French Enter Tripoli
Behind in Trip i, Brig. - Gen.
leClerc s Fighting French troops
entered the city after a 1,500-mile
trek from the Lake Chad region
and will aid in mopping-up oper
ations there, treeing seasoned em
pire troops to continue the west
ward drive.
From Axis radios came nervous
reports that the Allies were plan
ning to fail upon Rommel and Col
Gen. Jurgen von Amim, com
mander of the Axis Tunisian for
ces. from different directions.
The Berlin radio said the Amer
icans were organizing a thrust to
ward the coast, probably in the
area between Sfax and Gabes.
A Vichy broadcast told of other
Allied preparations for an offen
sive move to the coast further
above Bou Arada, about 65 miles
west ol the coastal town of Ham
mamet.
Day and night Allied air attacks
on the enemy base of Medenine
indicated that this strong cover
ing point for the Mareth line had
become one of the centers of Axis
resistance.
Dispatches from the Tunisian j
front said Allied patrols in the
central area made substantial ad
vances over the valley areas from
which von Armm now has appar
ently withdrawn most of his forces.
Activity still centered in a tri
angb formed by Pont du Fahs,
Bou Arada and Ousseltia.
Meanwhile, an Allied communi
que declared "our forces contin
ued to operate toward the north
in the Ousseltia valley,” but a
spokesman said heavy rains had
limited all activity in Tunisia, by
both the Allies and Germans, to
patrol operations in the battle
area, H miles northeast of Oussel
tia.
American and French forces!
contacted enemy patrols on the
s°uth side of the road running |
»(Continued on Page Five; Col. 2) j
WEATHER
(EArJT,ERN STANDARD TIME)
Metenrnin i" s' "rather Bureau)
ending 7 !??cal da‘a for the 24 hours
' ° PT m-. yesterday.
1 -30 » Temperature
P. m , 76 4 '7-30 7:30 a' m" 57'9: 1:30
776- rninimnm'3?,p- m- 6354 ™a™ium’
4E, mu™' S7-6; mean, 67.6; normal,
1'30 a m H“mi'>ity
te nr,.'-1.’, •' -• 7:30 a. m„ 999; 1-30 p.
l-J0 P. m.. 92.
Total Precipitation
m1 i0P ,he 24 hours ending 7:30
j1' vf ,, !|iches. Total since the
| ot the month, 3.37 inches.
Wjimino1 1,des for ToTday
340,1 1:38a S.46a
hssor.bor,, i i l:35p !):19p
0010 T;ilet _ 11:17a " :26a
* oore's ini-, P '.47p
,\>u. T p 5 52p
lf'l!'W-eval Inlet- 11:27a 'r,'36a
«I- tim ' r V-p 5;57p
Sim," Eastern Standard)
MSu"l,s»- 7,73 a- m.; sunset. S;3? a.
moonrisc. 11:33; moonset, 10:47
Continued on Page Two; Col. 1)
U. S PUSHES FOE
BACK JH PACIFIC
Relentlessly W i p i n g Out
Japs On Guadalcanal
Island
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.—W—Re
lentlessly wiping out the Japanese
and pushing survivors back toward
their beachheads on the northern
tip of Guadalcanal, American for
ces have consolidated their posi
tions in Kokumbona and killed 293
more of the enemy despite strong
resistance, the Navy reported to
day.
The consolidation of positions in
the little village brought complete
mastery of that territory and the
beach to the eastward — toward
j Henderson air field—by American
troops.
It was in the vicinity of Kokum
bona that the Japanese presum
ably made many of their landings,
under cover of darkness, to keep
troops and equipment on Guadal
1 _1. _XT V. n
canal tnrougn monins oi Darning.
The village was recognized as an
enemy headquarters on Guadal
canal. Its capture was announced
yesterday by the Navy.
Troops which first moved into
the village took a large quantity
of enemy supplies and equipment
there. Today, the Navy said the
original units had been joined by
another which moved in from an
opposite direction.
“The maneuver,” the Navy said
in a communique, “resulted in
giving United States forces unre
stricted us<* of Kokumbona and the
beach base to the east.”
A new attempt by the Japanese
to bring groups of bombing planes
into the Guadalcanal battle was
frustrated in one of the fights for
control of the Solomons, which in
turn offord control of shipping
lanes to New Guinea, Australia,
and the South Pacific.
Dive bombers, twin engined
bombers and fighting planes all
were in an aerial task force speed
ing toward the island. But they
were intercepted by American
fighting planes and did not drop
a .single bomb on United States
positions. Four enemy "Zeros”
were shot. down. No American
planes were lost. This brings to
781 the Japanese planes shot down
in the Solomons since American
Marines lecaptured Guadalcanal
last August.
The latest action on Guadalcana
the Navy said, also resulted in
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 2)
_v_
PULLMAN SLAYER
IS RIGHT HANDED
Investigators Report On
Findings In Navy
Bride Death
ALBANY, Ore., Jan. 26.—UP>—'The
killer who slashed the throat of an
i attractive young Navy bride in
lower 13 cf a West Coast limited
sleeping car, was right handed and
probably escaped from the berth
with little blood on his clothing,
investigators reported today.
District Attorney Harlow L.
Weinrick said examinations have
disclosed that Mrs. Martha Vir
ginia Brinson James, 21-year-old
member of a prominent Norfolk,
Va., family was killed early last
Saturday morning by a sharp
knife, perhaps a pc-ket knife.
A right-handed man slashed the
knife downward in fon- directions
from the back of her left ear tt>
the front ot her neck, driving the
blade in with such force that it
reached a bone at the end of the
slash.
The position of Mrs. James body
in the berth, Weinrick said, prob
ably saved the killer from being
spattered by much, if any. of her
blood. N
Linn county sheriff’s officers,
Oregon state police, and Southern
Pacific special agents gathered
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 4)
12,000 Nazi
Troops Left
At Stalingrad
Practically All Of Hitler's
Crack Forces Now
Annihilated
2 SMALL UNITS REMAIN
Russians Say Both Groups
Doomed; Question Of
Few Days *
LONDON, Jan. 26.—Rus
sian troops have killed or cap
tured all but 12,000 German
troops of the huge forces
trapped at Stalingrad and
freed the three main railways
radiating westward for the
continuing offensive that has
carried the Red army forward
245 miles, Moscow announc
ed tonight in a special com
munique recorded by the So
viet monitor here.
"me History oi wars nas
never known the encirclement
and annihilation of such large
numbers of regular troops
saturated to the limit with
modern equipment," the com
munique said.
40,000 Germans Killed
Since last November, the Rus
sians said, they had killed more
than 40,000 Germans and captured
28,000,leaving 12,000split there in
two pockets yet to be liquidated.
“We have not yet liquidated two
small enemy groups, separated and
isolated from each other, totalling
in all no more than 12,000 men, one
to the north of Stalingrad and the
other nearer to the central part
of the town,” the communique con
tinued.
Both these groups are doomed
and their liquidation is only a
question of two to three days.”
Twenty-two Nazis divisions of
some 220,000 men had been re
ported encircled in the Don-Volga
(Continued on Page Five; Col. 1)
BETTnWORD
IS DISPUTED
Errol Flynn’s Friend, Fred
McEvoy, Says Actor
With Him
LOS ANGELES, Xan. 26—W
Fred McEvoy. host at the dinner
party in the fashionable Bel Air
home where blond Betty Hansen
charges Erroy Flynn raped her,
testified today the actor was al
most constantly in his company
that evening.
McEvoy said that at no time
did Flynn go to the upstairs bed
room where Betty says the al
leged offense occurred.
Flynn is on trial charged with
the statutory rape of Miss Han
sen, 17, and another ’teen age girl.
The bedroom — the so-called
“blue room”—is his own sleeping
quarters, McEvoy testified. And
when McEvoy retired for the
night, he declared, there was no
disarrangement of the bed on
(Continued on P~ge Two; Col. 2)
Churchill and Roose
velt have met again, this
time in Casablanca, where
discussions of vast im
portance have taken
place.
CITY EXPANSION
DISCUSSION HELD
Suburban Representatives
Meet With Council
On Question
Meeting in the city manager’s
office with representative citizens
living outside the city limits, city
officials Tuesday night answered
questions regarding every angle
of the proposed city extension pro
gram—from the cost of the project
to the ability of the city to secure
necessary material® Jo provide
the facilities promiesd.
In opening the meeting, Mayor
Edgar L. Yow pointed out that the
problem was not one of personali
ties, and that the situation was not
one arising since establishment of
the shipyard near Wilmington; but
that the matter had been under
consideration for two years.
“The present council,” the mayor
explained, “ has reached the con
clusion that extension must take
place in order that the city might
nomally expand. We are interest
ed in getting information that will
assist us in finding a propre solu
tion to this whole problem.”
City Attorney William B. Camp
bell declared that the council had
taken into consideration, as it
studied the extension proposition,
what could reasohably be consider
ed a feasible task, and what actual
cost of installation and operation
of the new facilities in the added
district would involve.
Mr. Campbell told the group that
the extension program would cost
the city $624,025 and that the city
already has on hand, for possible
use in the program, $146,499.00.
The officials pointed out that
bonds floated for the needed
amount to cover the expenes would
find a ready sale—that the credit
of the City of Wilmington, and the
fact that the city population will
have increased appreciably will be
(Continued on Page Tow; Col. 8)
Crises Mark Meetings
Of Roosevelt - Churchill
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.—(fP)—Crises mark the meet
ings of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.
Such momentous developments as the Atlantic Charter
and the North African follow them.
But the ‘‘offensive campaigns of 1943” to be launch
ed as a result of their conference at Casablanca promise to
be even more sensational and far-reaching than the devel
opments which ensued from tnein
three official meetings previously.
Both men are confirmed breakers
of precedent, and both departed
from tradition when they met first
as national leaders on th^ decks of
the cruiser Augusta off the fog
shouded Newfoundland coast Au
gust 9, 1941, to map the strategy of
the United Nations to be.
The stage was the whole world,
set by the terrifying events of that
summer as Germany assaulted Rus
sia after devouring western Europe
and Japan moved into French Indo
china to gain bases and materials
for still further conquest.
We were not yet in the war. but
Mr. Roosevelt and countless others
had repeatedly made plain their at
titude toward the Axis. Against
the promised "new orders” of Hit
ler and the Japanese Mr. Roi sevelt
had proposed four freedoms for the
human race — freedom of speech
and religion, freedom from want and
fear.
So it was that when Mr. Roose
velt and Mr. Churchill met in the
Atlantic they believed the time was
ripe for a plan, and for a declara
tion. The plan was increased aid to
Russia in her fight against the Na
zis (.with whom there was to be no
compromise) and concerted vigi
lance against the Japanese in east
Asia!
The declaration was the Atlantic
Charter. It was signed in the At
lantic and was thus named, but in
repeated statements later Mr. Roos
evelt applied its outlines to the
whole world.
The prime minister, who had ar
rived on the new battleship Prince
of Wales, returned to England
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 6)
250 MARSEILLE
RESIDENTS SHOT
80 Women Reported In
Latest Mass Murder
By Germans
LONDON, Jan. 26.— W —Two
hundred and fifty French inhab
itants of Marseille — including 80
women—were reported tonight to
have been shot during the state
of siege ordered by the Nazis to
clear 40,000 persons from the laby
rinths of the city’s historic port
district:
A dispatch to the Swiss Journal
de Geneve, quoted by Reuters, im
plied Nazi guns were turned on
violators of an order making the
steep, dark, narrow streets of the
port a forbidden area.
The Nazi-controlled Vichy radio
claimed that 40,000 were moved
out of the port last night and
said that under martial law the
death penalty would be imposed
on any attempting to return to j
their slum homes.
Clearing of Frenchmen from
France’s largest Mediterranean
port was interpreted in London
circles as a sign of • Nazi jitters
heightened by reports that an
nouncements soon would come of
“momentous decisions” of grand
Allied war strategy.
A Fighting French spokesman
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 4)
Congressional Investigation Is Ordered\
On Military Relations To War Production
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.— UP] —A
Congressional investigation of
Army and Navy relations to War
Production was ordered today as
a result of the charges by Hubber
Administrator William M. Jeffers
that “loafers” they sent to plants
retarded output.
The House Naval committee, on
motion of Chairman Vinson (D.
Ga.), first approved the inquiry
and then invited the Military Af
fairs committee to make it a joint
one. Chairman May (D.-Ky.) of
the latter group agreed.
Vinson appointed to a subcom
mittee to make the investigation
Representatives Sasscer (D.-Md.),
Harris (D.-Va.), Fogarty (D.-R.I.),
Mott (R.-Ore.) and Grant (R.-Ind).
May said Representative Thoma
son iD.-Tex.) would head the Mil
itary subcommittee, and that he
would name the others tomorrow.
The two chairmen said they ex
pected the investigation would be
gin as soon as the joint committee
could organize. Whether it will
be public will depend upon the de
cision of the committeemen, but
May said he thought it would be.
Jeffers’ accusation was made at
a round table conference of the
Council of State governments in
Baltimore yesterday. He said he
thought the "failure” to get “even
adequate production” was due in
part to “too many so-called ex
pediters in these big plants, Army
and Navy men, commissioned of
ficers.” he added:
“If we can keep the Army and
Navy and these loafers out of
these plants, -let these men who
are in charge of these plants run
them, have somebody tell them
what is first and mean what he
says, we will get the production
out of the plants.”
Jeffers has been involved for
weeks in a controversy with the |
•
armed services over what allot- j
ment of certain scarce items
should be made for the synthetic
rubber program.
Army and Navy advisers have
favored holding back the construc
tion of some synthetic rubber
plants so that valves, heat ex
changers and other materials
which would go into them could
be used instead for high octane
gasoline plants, merchant ships
and anti-submarine vessels.
Chairman Donald M. Nelson of
the War Production Board dis
continued on Page Five; Col. 6) |
ALLIED CHIEFS SET
PRECEDENT IN MOST
MOMENTOUS MEETING
MET JANUARY 14
Combined Staffs In Con
stant Session For
10 Days
STALIN WAS INVITED
Russian Premier Fully In
formed Of AH Trans
actions
CASABLANCA, French
Morocco, January 26. —
Here is the text o fthe official
communique on the confer
ence of President Roosevelt
and Prime Minister Chur
chill :
The President of the Unit
ed States and the Prime Min
ister of Great Britain have
been in conference near Cas
ablanca since January 14.
Many Dignataries Present
They were accompanied by the
combined chiefs-of-staff of the two
countries; namely, for the United
Sfttes:
Gen. George C. Marshall, chief
of-staff of the U. S. Army, Ad
miral Ernest J. King, comman
dei-in-chief of the U. S. Navy;
Lieut Gen. H; H. Arnold, com
manding the U. S. Army Air For
ces.
And for Great Britain:
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley
Pound, first sea lord; General Sir
Alan Brooke, chief of the Imperial
General Staff, and Air Chief Mar
shal Sir Charles Portal, chief. of
the Air Staff.
They were assisted by:
Lieut. General B. B. Sommer
vell, commanding general of the
Services of Supply, U. S. Army;
Field Marshal Sir John Dill, head
of the British joint staff mission
in Washington; Vice-Admiral Lord
Louis Mountbatten, chief of com
bined operations; Leut. Gen. Sir
Hastings Ismay, chief-of-staff to
the Office of Minister of Defense,
together with a number of staff of
ficers of both countries.
They have received visits from
Mr. Murphy (Robert Murphy. U.
S. minister to French North Afri
ca) and Mr. MacMillan (Harold
MacMillan, British resident min
ister for Allied Headquarters in
North Africa); from Lieut. Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, comman
der-in-chief of the Allied Expedi
tionary Force in North Africa;
from Admiral of the Fleet Sir An
drew Cunningham, naval com
mander of the Allied Expedition
ary Force in North Africa; from
Maj. Gen. Carl Spaatz, air com
mander of the Allied Expedit on
ary Force in North Africa; from
Lieut. Gen. Mark. W. Clark, U. S.
Army (commander of the U S.
Filth Army in Tunisia) and from
Middle East headquarters from
Gen. Sir Harold Alexander, Air
Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder
and Lieut. Gen. F. M. Andrews,
U. H. Army.
The President was accompanied
by Harry Hopkins (chairman of
the British-American Munitions As
signment Board) and was joined by
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 3)
Axis Broadcasters
Wrong Again After
Fishing For News
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.—WP)
The Axis radio was wrong
again.
Only three hours before to
night’s announcement of the
Roosevelt-Churchill conference,
the radio station at Calais
said: |
“Churchill, who as is well
known at present is staying in
Washington, has been confront
ed by the Americans with new
territorial demands in Trini
cad and Jamaica—as a result
of which Halifax has tendered
his resignation as British am
bassador. After the conslusion
of his visit to Washington
Churchill will proceed to Mns- j
cow.” |
COMPLETE ACCORD
Leaders Map Strategy For
Prosecution Of War
Over Globe
HIGH OFFICIALS THERE
De Gaulle And Giraud
Meet; Military Heads
Discuss Plans
CASABLANCA, French
Morocco, January 26. —
President Roosevelt and
Prime Minister Churchill, in
the most unprecdented and
momentous meeting of the
century, have reached “com
plete agreement” on war
plans for 1943 designed to
bring about the “uncondition
al surrender” of Germany, It
aly, and Japan, it was disclos
ed today.
Defying every tradition,
the President of the United
States flew across 5,000 miles
of the Atlantic ocean for a 10
day meeting with Winston
Churchill which saw the lead
ers of the two nations bring
General Charles de Gaulle
and Gen. Henri Honore Gi
raud together for the first
time in a little villa just out
side this city.
Virtually the entire war
staffs of both nations parti
cipated in day and night dis
cussions which ended Sunday
afternoon with a press con
ference before a group of
war correspondents flown se
cretly from Allied headquar
ters halfway across North
Africa.
May Decide World’* Fate
These are the high spots of the
conference, which Roosevelt and
Churchill agreed was unprecedent
ed in history and may decide the
fatae of the world for generations
to come:
One—the leaders of America and
Britain, both military and civil,
have agreed on a war plan for
1943 designed to maintain the in
itiative in every theater of the
war;
Two — Churchill and Roosevelt
agreed that peace can come only
through “unconditional surrender’’
of Germany, Italy, and Japan;
Three—generals Giraud and de
Gaulle, meeting for the first time
under sponsorship of the president
and prime minister, are negotiat
ing for a United French move
ment designed to put French
armies, a navy and an airforce
again into the field against the
Axis:
Four—Premier Joseph stalm of
Russia was kept informed of the
results of the conferences. In
fact. Churchill and Roosevelt of
fered to meet Stalin "very much
farther to the east,,” but the Rus
sian chief was unable to leave
the U. S. S. R., due to the need
of his directing the present Red
army offensives.
The president and prime minis
ter also have been in communi
cation with Generalissimo Chiang
kai-Shek and ‘‘have apprised him
of 1he measures which they are
taking to assist him in China’s
magnificent and unrelaxing strug
gle for the common cause.”
Five—maximum material aid to
Russia and China will be one of
the prims aims of the U. S. and
Britain.
Six—Roosevelt visited American
(Continned on Page Five; Col. 3)
NOTICE!
If your carrier falls to
leave your copy of the Wil
mington Morning Star,
Phone 3311 before 9:00 a.
m. and one will be sent to
you by special messenger.