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[Served By Leased Wire Of The -- ASSOCIATED PRESS RFMFMRrB HEWS AND FEATURES ntPILFIBLn With Complete Coverage Of PEARL HARBOR State And National News AND BATAAN V0L^J9-~N°- 115_____ WILMINGTON, N. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1943 __FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867. Party Split Observed On Tax Measure Democratic Leadership In Douse Cracks On Abate ment Issue CONFLICT IN ACTION Majority Leader Acts In Contrast To Members Of Committee WASHINGTON, April 1.— (jP)_The Democratic leader ship the House split apart tonight on the issue of tax abatement, with Majority Leader McCormack (D-Mass) calling for quick action to skip part of 1942’s income taxes, and Chairman Dough ton (D-NC) of the Ways and Weans committee sharply brushing aside the sugges tion. . , Compromise Irgeu During the day McCormack had issued a statement calling for a quick pay-as-you-go compromise abating part, but not all. of 1942 taxes. He said a pay-as-you-go measure with a withholding levy on wages and salaries, should be come effective July 1. The Democratic leader s action directly conflicted with the stand of a majority of his party’s Ways and Means members who opposed anv tax abatement, and he drew a sound rebuff from the 79-year old committee chairman. "I did not have any advance information about Mr. McCor mack's statement regarding tax matters." Poughton said in a for mal statement. "He did not con sult me as chairman of the com mittee on Ways and Means. Nei ther, so fai as I know, did he consult any majority member of the committee before issuing his statement" The chairman announced tnat the committee, before turning again to (ax matters, would con sider measures to continue the bi tuminous coal act and to extend reciprocal trade agreements. Indi cations were, he said, that pay-as you-go would not come up again until the committee begins con sideration, probably in late spring or summer, of a new general tax measure, pursuant to President Eoosevelt's recent recommenda tion that $16,000,000,000 additional be raised through new levies and compulsory savings. These developments came short ly after nine Republican Ways and Mean' members issued a state ment demanding immediate recon sideration of pay-as-you-go legis lation. ina gave notice they would continue to battle for the Ruml skipa-year plan, rejected by the House Tuesday. Earlier, Treasury Secretary Mor genthau expressed doubt that a 20 per cent withholding levy against the taxable portions of wages and salaries could be made operative before January 1. Morgenthau said he was hopeful a “new and com plete' tax measure, embracing both additional revenue and a withholding plan, could be enacted by fall. After lunching with president Roosevelt, Sen. George (D.-Ga.), chairman of the Senate Finance committee, said he thought the Ways and Means committee would tackle the tax program as a whole and "not try to divide it up as it did before, for understandable and proper reasons.” Meanwhile, a division also ap peared to be developing Within Republican ranks. Rep Knutson (.R-Minn.>, who directed the unsuccessful floor bat tle tor the Ruml plan, voiced the opinion that the Republicans might lmc up behind a compromise, Mong tire lines of the proposal by Rep Robertson (D.-Va.) to abate the 6 per cent normal and 13 per first bracket surtax on the 142 income of all taxpayers, eras ™e entire liability on last - ar s income for about 90 per C ontinued on Page Three; Col. 1' Induction OfFath May Begin By J /j ■ Selective Service Head Expresses Wit Jf Delaying Draft But Feels Desire Is ‘Largely Sentimental’ WASHINGTON, April l.—(A>)—Se lective Service Director Lewis B. Hershey said today he would like to postpone induction of fathers as long as possible, but acknowledged that calling them is likely to begin about July 1. Hershey told a press conference his desire to put off drafting fathers was largely "sentimental.” He said the ban against their induction would be lifted in advance of the time they actually would have to be called up in order to meet quotas. Asked about reports that present draft classifications might be over hauled, Hershey said the subject was "currently and perpetually” un der consideration but no changes have been ordered thus far, at least. Reports, emanating from inform ed sources who declined to be nam ed, had said strong attention was being directed to revising the classi fications so that: All the childless married men would be reclassified out of 3-A and 3-B to 1-A (available for induction when their order numbers are reach ed) except those “individually essen tial” in their present jobs or those whose induction would mean undue hardship on dependents. The 3-B classification, which now includes both fathers and childless married men engaged in essential activities regardless of whether they are “essential individuals,” would be eliminated. The 3-A classification, now in-! eluding fathers and childless mar ried men in activities not listed on either the “essential” or "non-de-| ferrable” list, would be reserved ex clusively for fathers, including those formerly in 3-B. The 2-A and 2-B classifications, which cover men individually essen tial in essential activity, regardless of whether or not they have de pendents would be retained, and persons who meet that standard but are now in other classifications such as 3-B, would be transferred to 2-A or 2-B. A new classification would be created for men whose induction would impose undue hardship upon (Continued on Pare Three; Col. 3) SOLDIER IS HELD FOR AUTO THEFT 21 Year Old Air Base Man Wrecks Car After Lar ceny In City State highway patrolmen swore out a warrant for Merle H. Red mond, 21 - year - old Wilmington Army Air Base soldier, Thursday afternoon on charges of larceny of an automobile after Redmond allegedly stole the vehicle herj Wednesday night and wrecked it in a collision involving a freight train and two other automobiles on the Market street road. Redmond, reported under guard at the air base, will presumably be given a hearing before Re corder H Winfield Smith, Friday morning. Investigating patrolmen said Redmond stole the automobile, be longing to R. M. Cowan of Harbor Island, from Fourth and Princess streets at approximately 11:40 p.m. Shortly afterwards, the stolen j car crashed into the rear of a two-automobile line waiting for an Atlantic Coast Line freight train to pass over a road crossing on the Market street road near Riggs Service station The impact sent the second car in the line, driven by Lieut. Wilbur Ronald Hyatt of Camp Davis, into the next automobile in the line, driven by Fred G. Ansley of Hamp (Continued on Page Three; Col. 3) Highway Patrol Finds 72 Men Without Draft Registration Papers State highway patrolmen op erating a standard checking sta tion for highway violations near Rocky Point last week discover ed 72 men, either drivers or passengers in the vehicles halt ed in the course of the day, were not carrying their Selective Ser vice registration cards and their notices of classification as is re | quired by the Selective Service act, Sgt. J. R. Smith, head of the state highway patrol here, re vealed Thursday. He said the names of the 72 men were turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be checked. The act requires that all reg istrants under Selective Service carry the two cards with them at all times. Focal law enforcement officers said Thursday that the U. S. Attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina woiuld prosecute future violators of the regulation if persistant abuses continue. The majority of the 72 found without cards last week were em ployes of the North Carolina Shipbuilding company, patrolmen said. _ U. S. POST WAR AIMS DOUBTED Sumner Welles Says Policy Proving Source Of Mis trust In World NEW YORK, April 1.—(Y1)—-Un dersecretary of State Sumner Welles today termed the post-war policy of; the United States a source of “one; of the gravest doubts that exists in: the minds of the United Nations.”; In an address before the cham ber of commerce of the state of New York, broadcast hy NBC, Welles said thus nation's allies recall that after the victory of ISIS the United States "withdrew from almost every form of practical cooperation” in reconstruction tasks and "made no effort to win the peace.” “Our allies are asking themselves now whether we will again follow that same course” Welles said. “In a very real sense the decision that will be made with regard to the re newal of the trade agreements act will be regarded by peoples through out the world as an acid test of our future intentions. “They will see in that decision a clear indications as to whether the people of the United States have determined upon a policy of inter national cooperation for the future, or whether they will once more turn back to that road of isolation which leades to inevitable disaster.” Creation of a reliable and perma nent peace is the greatest single ob jective of the nation, Welles said, but added that “one of the gravest doubts that exists in the minds of the partners of the United Nations today is the doubt as to what the policy of the United States will be when the victory is '.von.” He said he was convinced that “unless the American people are willing to assume their fair share of responsibility for the mainten ance of peace in the world of the future, by joining in the exercise of police powers when that may be determined by international agree ment to be necessary and by partici pating in such other forms of in ternational cooperation as may ef fectively prevent the rise of econ omic or political dangers, the peace of the world cannot be maintain ed.’’ It will be necessary for this coun try to aid those made destitute by the war "not only for humanitarian reasons but for reasons of purest self-interest,” Welles said. Urging that devastated nations be placed on "a self-reliant and a self sustaining basis as rapidly as poss ible,” he added: "From this standpoint, wise trade policies are essential. Foreign coun tries can attain a self-sustaining basis only if there are markets for their products. Full employment of our men and resources can be main tained only if there are markets for our products. In a larger sense, also, sound international trade poli cies are essential in relation to our vital interests.” —------1 2,454 Persons Placed In Employment! Here Last Month By U. S. Job Service % se^ding 2,454 persons to jobs nj.ing March, the local branch of J-e United States Employment ‘--l ice marked up one of the in ^ rn,ontnly Placement records rmr.S history. Felix A. Scroggs, Thur'-dT °f the office’ announced ]y^°"L sl"ce the days when Camp Cn ,JS construction activity ac ourned for heavy traffic at Em jlp?rrjent Service headquarters y,. !;,Vf so many persons found M' p-'0ugh the local agency. cn ;'lso represented the best 1hr, r<nen; month experienced by service since Mr. Scroggs came to Wilmington in August, 1942 to assume managership of the employment office. By far the largest number of p’acements were made in the field of manufacturing, Mr. Scroggs ex plained. (The classification of manufacturing embraces ship an boat building and other types of manufacturing.) Contract con struction absorbed 359 persons, and regular government claimed 359 workers Included in the schedule of placements were: service in dustries 13: private household, 18: special government, 59; transport tation and communication, 21; I wholesale and retail trade, 90; and agricultural, 37. According to the employment of ficial, 481 women were sent to jobs. 446 of whom were white and 35 Negro. The majority of the white women placed entered jobs in tne classification of ship and boat building. Work was found for 20 individu als with physical handicaps, and 30 war veterans were placed. New applications for work re ceived at the Employment Serv ice numbered 96, with 46 renew als of applications reported. New claims for unemployment compen sation were filed by 57 individuals. .1 /NEMY MAKING DESPERA TE EFFORT TO AID ROMMEL BY FLYING MEN INTO TUNISIA UNDER RAF ATTACK FOE STRIKES BACK Nazis Attack British East Of Sedjenane In Count er Drive MUCH MATERIAL HELD Axis May Be Trying To Reclaim Huge Stores Left In Flight ON THE NORTHERN TUNISIAN FRONT, 10:55 A. M., April 1.—(JP)—Axis troops attacked British positions a few miles east of Sedjenane early today after being thrown into a precipitate flight yesterday and losing huge quantities of equipment. The scale of the fighting was not immediately report ed. It appeared to be an at tempt by the German and Italian troops to retrieve big stores of material they had abandoned in a little mining town near Sedjenane. Moving to New Position After being hurled out of Sed jenane the Axis troops had been observed moving yesterday toward previous positions 10 miles east of Sedjenane. so rapidly that con tact with them was lost temporar ily by their British and Frencli pursuers Sedjenane itself is about 40 miles southwest of Bizerte. big Axis-held naval base, and Mateur is an in tervening point on the road to that port. In an apparent effort to create a diversion to permit more time for flight, along the main roads, some German forces attacked the Allied flank yesterday. But the attack made no progress, and the force broke off the engagement i to join in the retreat of other units. i Meanwhile Allied troops mopped up isolated enemy units in the rugged hills and valley west and south of Seajenane on Wednesday, moving through roads and tracks littered with abandoned enemy ammunition and material to con solidate new positions east of Sed jenane. The 20-mile-long winding valley between Djebel Abiod, where the (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 1) Motorists Warned On Yellow Traffic Light During Fire I_ - I- — I A flashing amber light on any city traffic signal is a sign j to all motorists to pull over to the curb and stop to clear the street for Fire Department trucks, Lieut. John Davis said Thursday In commenting that a number of motorists failed to heed the warning Thursday af ternoon when the department answered an alarm in the 200 block of North Front street. The alarm was turned in for a trash fire back of the Peo ple's Furniture store which damaged a corner of Hyman’s warehouse slightly. The time of the fire was fi:05 p. m. The department answered two other alarms, both occas ioned by sparks on the roof, Thursday. The first was to the home of Annie Huggins at 414 Harnett and the second to the home of Willy Davis in Love’s grove. WEATHER FORECAST North Carolina: No change In tem perature. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME) (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m., yesterday. Temperature 1:30 a. m., 62; 7:30 a. m.. 60; 1:30 p. m., 75; 7:30 p. m., 67. Maximum, 77; minimum, 59; mean, 68; normal, 58. Humidity 1:30 a. m., 53; 7:30 a. m., 74; 1:30 p. m., 47; 7:30 p. m., 62. Precipitation Total for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m., 0.00 inches. Total since the first of the month, 5.89 inches. Tides For Today (From the Tide Tables published by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.* High Low Wilmington - 7:49a 2:25a 8:13p 2:50p Masonboro Inet_ 5:44a -p 6:04p 11:56p Moore’s Inlet - 5:49a-p 6:09p 12 :01p New Topsail Inlet - 5:64a-p (Elmore’s) - 6:14p 12:06p (All times Eastern Standard) Sunrise, 5:58 a. m.; sunset, 6:33 p. m.; moonrise, 4:43a. m.; moonset, 4:21 p. m. ” Cape Fear river stage at Fayette ville on Thursday, at 8 a. m., 10:30 feet. (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 2) U. S. Tank Destroyer s On Rommel’s Trail f While on the lookout for some of Rommel’s retr eating tanks, crew members of these M-10 tank de stroyers rolling through an Arab farm in Tunisia d o some rubbernecking. The M-lO’s large g,uns are turned to the rear and cannot be seen. These destroy ers are knocking out Rommel’s tanks. (International) Reds Report Successes On 3 Big Battlefronts LONDON, Friday, April 2.—(7P)—Russian troops have captured several more areas in the continuing drive to wipe out the bridgehead at Novorossisk, have reduced another stronghold on the Smolensk front, and held firmly on their Donets river defense line, Moscow announced early today. The midnight communique also reported that German troops had penetrated to the western outskirts of one popu lated place in the Sevsk area, 170 miles northwest of Nazi WAR IS COMING NOME TO ITALY Preparations For Military Rule In Country Bring Struggle Closer BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Berlin radio asserted last (Thursday) night that preparations i for setting up military rule in | Italy had “a decidedly favorable! echo” among all citizens and said that Italians realize that "the whole of Italy now is a war zone.” The broadcast, quoting a Trans ocean correspondent in Rome, was recorded by the Associated Press. “Up to now,” the report said, "there still were groups in Italy believing the war was being waged a long distance away from Italian soil.” Apparently referring to the steady Allied advances in Tunisia and the probability that Axis forces must soon withdraw from their last African stronghold, the broadcast declared that "this ap proach of war on Italy itself failed to bring about any panicky atti tude among the Italian people.” The radio report pointed out that Italy’s new military law, the text of which was disseminated through the country Wednesday, will place civilian groups, both men and wom en, “under military law the same as soldiers at the front.” One of the factors tending to induce the populace of Italy to accept the law, the broadcast said, was the report made by Aldo Vidussoni, secretary of the Fascist party, that every city and town in Sicily has been converted into "a fort” against the threat of in vasion from Tunisia. A further suggestion' that the Italians have accepted the fact that the war is coming home to them was contained in a Tass dis patch from Lausanne, Switzerland, broadcast by the Moscow radio The Tass report said transport and hospital ships and railway trains have been concentrated in southern Italian ports, indicating “that Italian authorities are pre paring for mass evacuation of Axis troops from Tunisia.” Emergency roops from Tunisia.” Emergency hospitals have been set up in Na ples, the report added. The Berlin radio, quoting the Transocean Rome correspondent in another broadcast, said withdrawal of Axis troops from the el Hamma and Gabes areas of Tunisia “was (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 2) NOTICE! If your carrier fails to leave your copy of the Wil mington Morning Star, Phone 2-3311 before 9:00 a. m. and one will be sent to you by special messenger. Kharkov, but said a Russian counterattack threw back the en emy and killed 200 Germans. The Germans announced the capture of Sevsk, 80 miles be low Bryansk, sometime ago. The resumed Russian Caucasian drive presumably was in the area of captured Andstasevskaya, 33 miles north of Jvovorossisk. The communique recorded by the So viet monitor said five enemy guns, 19 maciiineguns, eight mortars, 13 supply-laden trucks and other booty had been captured yesterday. Anastasevskaya, only 10 miles from a road junction connecting Novorossisk on the Black Sea with Nazi forces holding the western tip of the Taman peninsula opposite the Crimea, fell to the Russians Wednesday. The Red army push there threatens to trap the ene my troops holding Novorossisk. Other Russian units operating in the Abinskaya area are only 20 miles northeast of the former So viet Black Sea fleet base. South of Bely on the central front, the Russians said, one of their units forced a German garri son into a hasty retreat after threatening to encircle it. The Ger mans nevertheless left 150 dead in their wake, the bulletin said. Soviet artillery also supported an infantry operation which toppled another stronghold on the same front, and the communique said German officers taken prisoners reported that many formations of the 367th Nazi infantry division had lost 70 or 80 per cent of their men in recent fighting on the ex hausting front where heavy rain and mud has hampered the Red army advance. In the sector east of Axis-held Kharkov the Russians continued to hold their defense line along the upper Donets river. The commu nique said one German infantry company had been wiped out by Soviet mortar gunners and snipers during the day in this positional warfare where artillery duels are frequent. EVACUATION PLANNED MOSCOW, April 1 —M>)_ A Tass dispatch from Lausanne, Switzerland, broadcast today by the Moscow radio, said that concentrations of transport and hospital ships and railway trains had been observed in ports of southern Italy. USAAF HAS HEAVY MONTH IN ENGLAND March Was Eighth Air Force’s Busiest Period In 8 Months AT UNITED STATES EIGHTH AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND. April 1.——March was the Eighth Air Force’s busiest and most suc cessful month in its eight months of bombing Europe with a record of more raids, the biggest weight of bombs dropped in any one raid, more targets hit and nearly twice as many enemy planes brought down. The month’s nine raids topped by one the total made last August, the busiest previous month. The March raids covered 15 targets, four of which —- Amiens, Abbeville. Longeau and Poix — were bombed on the March 13 raid alone. Flying Fortresses and Liberators dropped the U. S. Army Air For ces’ record weight of bombs on the U-boat yards at Vegesack on March 18. The weight of the bombs dropped has not been speci fied, but during the raid 52 enemy planes were knocked down, which was four more than the total Axis losses in the 117 bomber raid on Lille on October 9, 1942. During March Germany lost 112 fighter planes as against 75 losses last October which was the pre vious high month. Nineteen American bombers were lost last month. This was one less than the total for the five raids conducted in February. The operations during the last eight months have cost the U. S. Air Force nearly 1,000 men killed or missing. Over this period some 60 targets were bombed in 53 raids. The March 8 raid on the Rennes railroad yards was called by trans portation experts the best opera tion of its kind in the whole war. The most pounded target last month was Rouen, railroad junc tion for the east-west lines feed ing France, Holland and northern Germany which was attacked three times, bringing the total Am erican assaults on it since the first fortress raid of August 28, 1942 to six. The port or Rotterdam, with its big Wilton shipyards serving ene my surface craft, was hit twice in March. The U-boat bases at Brest and Lorient and the Wilhelshaven naval base also were attacked last month. The Allied Spitfire escort, which up to March had not been so ef fective, suddenly started clicking. It knocked the Berman fightdr de fense for a loop in three success ive raids over France in a week. The month brought a declaration (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 5) PRISONERS TAKEN New Reinforcements Re veal Only Few Days Presence In Africa CAGLIARI IS SMASHED Allies Ruin Big Axis Base On Sardinia To Fore stall Evacuation ALLIED HEADQUAR. TERS IN NORTH AFRICA, April 1.—(/P)—The Axis is desperately flying fresh troops into Tunisia, it was disclosed today, and the Al lies have thrown a mighty, overpowering aerial fleet into a campaign, to forestall such reinforcement, to wipe the enemy from Africa and to de stroy his potential means of escape. The presence of air-borne reinforcements for Marshal Erwin Rommel’s hard-press ed troops was revealed with the capture of more than 700 Italians and German grena diers during a renewed Amer ican push east of el Guetar to ward the coast. Some of the prisoners said they had been in Africa fewer than 10 days. 100 Flying torlresses Hit Nearly 100 Flying Fortresses, the greatest force of the big four motored bombers ever massed for a war operation, bashed the im portant Axis supply base at Cagli ari on Sardinia yesterday. Seri ously crippling its usefulness to the enemy, while swarms of other American and British planes turn ed Rommel's retreat up the east ern Tunisian coast into a night mare of destruction. Telling of the great blow at Cagliari, an American pilot said: “If there was anything we did not hit then it must have been buried.” “I saw thousands of bombs burst ing,” said another. “They seemed to be exploding on every hit of the harbor.” Any hopes the Axis might have entertained of using Cagliari as the base for a “Dunkerque” evac uation of divisions now enclosed in a great Allied trap, apparently were wiped out by the concen trated assault of the Fortresses, which hit five merchant ships and 21 smaller craft, damaged or de stroyed 71 enemy planes aground and in the air, and spread acres of fire across the city’s port area. Not a Fortress or an escorting Lightning fighter was lost from the raid—adequate proof of the Al lies’ control of the air over North Africa and the Mediterranean. The bulk of Rommel’s forces trying to beat their way north for a junction with Col. Gen. Jurgen von Armm’s troops were reported today continuing their tortured re treat under a rain of bombs and bullets while a rear guard dug in about 24 miles north of Gabes on the coastal highway in an effort to fend off the pursuing British Eighth Army. The new German line was said here Jo be about 12 miles north of nepdy-captured Oudref and well ab ye the Gabes bottleneck. Eighth Army patrols were reported al ready engaging in preliminary skirmishes with this protective Axis force. Although slowed down by thou sands of mines strewn by the re treating enemy, armored Ameri can units of Lieut.-Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. were reported pushing steadily eastward from El Gue taria pass for an imminent junc tion with Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery’s Eighth Army forces. The British First Army in the north, aided by French troops, was (Continued on Page Three; Col. 4) RAF Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary By Blasting Two West German Sectors LONDON, April 1.— UP)—1The RAF celebrated its 25th anniversary to day by attacking two towns in western Germany where startled Germans stood gaping in the streets at swift British Mosquito bombers which dipped as low as 10 feet to plant their delayed-ac tion explosives on industrial objec tives. Squadrons of fighters also at tacked railways and other Axis held transportation in France and Belgium by daylight, the Air Min istry reported. The Mosquitos, the RAF's fast est bombers, which twice have at-1 tacked Berlin by daylight, blasted j a power station and important rail- j way workshops at Trier and Eh rang near the German-Luxembourg frontier. With bombs fused to explode a few seconds after the Mosquitos were safely away, the airmen at tacked at altitudes from SO to 200 feet. At Trier the pilots saw their - bombs smash into the roof of a; railway workshop, and debris from the explosion was thrown j high into the air. The Trier power, station also was bombed. At Ehrang the crews reported; r their bombs caused a “terrific ex plosion,” and it was believed a gasoline dump was hit. The pilots told how they saw the surprised Germans looking up in the streets as they streaked across the towns, and Nazi anti aircraft gunners apparently also were caught flat-footed, because none of the planes was lost and only two German fighters were sighted. Four British planes were miss ing from the sweeps over France and Belgiunv and a fifth plane (Continued on Page Three; Col. 6)
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