North Carolina Newspapers

jUSl ilmtngtmt fUnnting ^lar |~^5r -p^NO. 220 _WILMINGTON, N. C„ FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 1943___FINAL EDITION_ESTABLISHED 1867. lied Airmen ft M-l Win ^Japanese [jjnese Armies Sweep Foe prom Path Under Aerial Support EARING vital base angtze River Separates Victorious Troops From Ichang CHUNGKING, China, June __ m —Supported by an merican-Chinese air force hich dominated the central hina skies and was shooting ananese planes down at the K14 to 1, the Chinese rmies swept tonight to the U tank of the, Yangtze r] were separated only by at great river from the lain Japanese base of Ichang I, Hupeh province. _ Farther down the river, other jjnese troops were declared in special communique of Chiang ai-shek’s command to have trap ld 4000 of the Japanese invaders 30 000 of whom were officially dared already to have fallen casualties. In vet another drive in the coun r.' offensive now throwing the ipanese back all along the upper angtze front, Chinese columns ossed into Hupeh from Hunan wince, said the high command, id surrounded the Japanese po tion of Kungan, this some 70 ales southeast of Ichang. The main drive on Ichang, which li advanced 32 miles within less a a week, earlier had overrun ii reoccupied the towns of langyang and Chihkiang, respec neiy 12 and 35 miles south of lat base. So complete was American-<_m ise mastery aloft that in two lys Allied pilots had destroyed minimum of 23 Japanese planes, id probably 36, against two Al :d planes lost. American bomb 's got 29 Japanese planes in a ngle action. This air support, the most ef ■cfive ever given the Chinese rmies. was carried on to cut up te retreating invader. On a sin !e avenue of Japanese retreat, le road back from Changyang. hinese dispatches estimated that llied planes aione- had killed lore than 1.500 enemy troops Juggling on the ground. The enemy's behavior under this thal fire convinced Allied airmen lat this was his first real experi lce of heavy assault from the air. Japanese communications to ihang were in imminent danger; ie city itself appeared directly ireatcned. As dispatches from the front pic red unbroken Chinese successes this greatest victory of six years war in the China theater, the ifeman announced that 100,000 ipanese troops had been turned ick in the battle and that of us number 30,000 had fallen as 'sualties. He pointed out, however, that '’e Japanese divisions, previously ported to have been encircled, rd a Hne of retreat still open. ’The word encirclement has en interpreted in a liberal way. * Japanese were driven back ong an arcu shaped line. We did !i mean they were being an mlated. They are being cut up ® dispersed with smaller units :U1.£ liquidated. The enemy mov back in confusion and disor be said. He declared the Japanese cam n® bad utterly collapsed—the ts annihilating blow” having ^mued on Page Ten; Col. 1) Russian Army Huim New Drive Against Temryuk, Say Nazis Tass Reports Thousands Of Flights A Day By Air Forces Of Both Sides; Few Soviet Details On Land Fighting LONDON, Friday, June 4. The Red army has sprung a new offensive near Temryuk on the Sea of Azov in an effort to split German forces” clinging to the swampy Kuban bridgenead, but has not achieved any “lasting suc cess,” the Berlin radio said last night. A Tass report quoted front dis patches as saying ttjat air forces of both sides were making “thou sands of flights per day” in ac celerated sky fighting over the Caucasus, but there were few So viet details on the land struggle. Moscow’s midnight bulletin re corded early today by the Soviet monitor used the week-old phrase “fighting continued” to describe operations in the Taman peninsula between Novorossisk on the Black sea coast and Temryuk on the Sea of Azov. German broadcasts recorded by the Associated Press said the at tack on Temryuk, on the German left flank, was launched without any cessation in Red army at tacks on Krimskaya, a point be tween Temryuk and Novorossisk. “This is meant to be not only a diversion, but aims to split the German forces.” It is in this area that the Ger man radio 24 hours ago acknowl edged that “weak remnants” of Soviet forces had broken through to the Sea of Azov in an obvious effort to seize this important point near the Kerch strait across which German supplies are ferried from the Crimea. One German broadcast said So viet airmen were repeatedly at tacking the few supply roads lead ing back to the Kerch straight, and also were strafing German cargo boats in the strait. On land Russian equipment and men were said to be “ten times superior” to those of the Germans. Berlin has stressed this purported Russian superiority, along with German supply difficulties, ever ; since the announcement a week ago of a big Russian push. A Soviet noon communique yes terday said 37 German planes were shot down in the Kuban val ley, and a Pravda front corre spondent said the wreckage of doz ens of enemy planes littered the foothills near Novorossisk and the swamps to the north. But the heavy air action was not confined to the Caucasus. A Moscow broadcast said long-range (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 3) ALLIES RIP AXIS CONVOY TO SHREDS British And Greek De-: stroyers Attack Off ,j Cap Spartivento ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, June 3 — Striking at the heart of Italy’s sea communications, daring British and Greek destroyers attacked an enemy convoy off Cap Spartivento at the toe of the Italian boot Tu|s day night and ripped it to shrSus without themselves suffering ei ther casualties or damage. In defiance of the big guns of the Italian fleet, the straight-shoot ing Allied warships wiped out two Axis merchant vessels and an es corting torpedo boat and sent an enemy destroyer aground, burning fiercely. One Greek destroyer par ticipated in the attack. Smashing of the Italian coastal convoy, coming on the heels of two heavy bombardments of Pan telleria island by British warships,’ indicated that the Allies have gained naval supremacy in Italy’s southern waters to match their domination of the air over the Mediterranean. In raids on Pan telleria and the southwest coast of Sardinia yesterday American air forces from North Africa did not lose a single plane. Cap Spartivento, where the ene my convoy was ambush'ed, stands at the southern approach to the strait of Messina, the narrow pas sageway between Sicily and the Italian mainland through which all shipping between the Italian* east and west coasts must pass. Particulars of the one-sided en gagement remained to be told. A communique from the headquar ters of General Dwight D. Eisen hower disclosed only the extent of the enemy’s losses and the re markable fact that the victory was achieved without the loss of a ship or injury to an Allied crewman. One of the sunken Axis mer chant ships, the communique said, blew up after being set afire by guns of the Allied destroyers. (Continned on Page Ten; Col. 3) pailey Proposes Limit To Presidential Terms WASHINGTON, June 3—(5>)— *n tlle declaration that “this is Political gesture,” Senator '■•ey iD-NC) introduced in the ,f e today a resolution propos al ,c,on!;t;tutional amendment to em * tenure of future presi ‘ st t0 two terms. r |hlle Bailey, a Southern Demo , J°r conservative views, quick ie 'nted out that the resolution feiai ,med 35 not t0 affect a eu ,ie k*d by President Roose ;la, or a fourth term, other leg oiiti's, sa'd privately that great e ,,al significance is likely to re,. achfd to any action Con take upon it. Coliiti?. *hlrty minutes after the on nad been offered, Chair I man van Nuys' (D-Ind) "of the Ju diciary committee announced it had been assigned to a subcom mittee headed by Senator McCar ran (D-Nev), who in the past has been critical of some of Mr. Roosevelt’s policies. Other mem bers include Senators Connally of Texas and McFarland of Arizona, Democrats who ordinarily support Administration proposals, and Senators Austin of Vermont and Ferguson of Michigan, Republi cans. One Democratic supporter of thej resolution, who declined to be quoted by name, said there is nO| doubt a majority of the subcom mittee favors the measure, add (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 2) OPTIMISM NOTED ON AXIS DEFEAT Germans Reported Bolster ing Balkan Defenses Before Invasion LONDON, June 3.—UP)—New op timism that the next crucial months may speed the Axis down fall was expressed in Britain to day as Allied reports represented the Germans working to bolster Balkan defense walls weakened by the dynamite and rifles of guer rillas. “The end of the war may be much closer than some of us imagine,” the Earl of Selbome. minister of economic warfare, told a civic meeting at East Sheen. The war hinges on four issues which may be decided in the next four months, he said, and “if we do well in all of them” the war may end rapidly. The issues, he continued, were the Battle of the Atlantic, the “im pending German attack in Rus sia”, the Allied invasion of the continent and the Allied bombing offensive now underway. At the same time a warning to the French to be careful of in vasion rumors was broadcast by the BBC. A speaker identified only as a high British officer, advised the French that rumors of A 1 l'i e d landings “might deliberately be spread by the Germans in the hope that the elements of resistance would be disclosed.” “The day will come when the armies of liberation will need the active help of the French people,” he concluded. Meanwhile Axis concern with another sector of its defense ap peared in the Tass (Russian) re port that Field Marshal Gen. Sieg mund Wilhelm List, Nazi lightning (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 5) WEATHER FORECAST NORTH CAROLINA: Continued hot today. (Eastern Standard Time) (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p.m., yesterday. Temperature 1:36 a.m., 78; .7:30 a.m., 79; 1:30 p.m, 91; 7:30 p.m., 83. ' Maximum, 94; minimum, 74; mean, 83; normal, 75 Humidity 1:30 a.m., 81; 7:30 a.m., .70; 1:30 p.m, 47; 7:30 p.m., 69. Precipitation Total for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p.m., 0.00 inches. * Total since the first of the month, 3.55 inches. Tides For Today (From the Tide Tables published oy U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey). High Low High Low ll:12p 5.50p Masonboro Inlet-8:47a 2:45a Moore’s Inlet-■*£ Jjg* New Topsail Inlet - 8:56a 2:55a (Elmore’s) --- 9:1 --"P (All Times Eastern Standard) Sunrise, 5:01 a.m.; sunset 7:20 p. m.; moonrise, 6:29 a; moonset, 8:a0p. Cape Fear River stage at Fayette, ville on Thursday, at * a.m., 10.1U feet. (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 4) » Stimson Sees New Assaults Against Japs War Secretary Indicates Plans For Attack On Foe’s Homeland FURTHER MOPPING-UP Americans Continue Hunt ing Enemy On Attu; Bombard Kiska WASHINGTON, June 3.— (TP)—Secretary of War Stim son. gave an off-handed indi cation today of attacks to come on the territory of Ja pan proper, and the Navy emphasized it shortly after ward with a report of further mopping-up operations on At tu island in the Aleutians and an air attack on the now-iso lated Japanese base at Kiska. Secretary Stimson’s com ment, limited to the casual, matter-of-fact remark that the virtually-completed re capture of Attu puts Ameri can forces “in striking dis tance of Japanese territory,” came in his regular press conference. \ He would go no further, turn ing away requests for elaboration with the remark “it’s a pretty long distance’’ from the regained Am erican position in the western Aleutians to the Japanese bases in the Kuriles, some 800 miles away. Stimson said the Axis now holds 17,083 American prisoners official ly reported through the Interna tional Red Cross, with Japan hold ing 11,307, Germany 3,312 rnd Italy 2.464. There probably are many others not yet officially re ported by name. He told reporters that the Attu fighting passed its peak on May 28 and 29. with American seizure May 28 of positions overlooking Chichagof harbor and repulse the following day of a fierce counter attack that penetrated as far as the advance regimental command post and required use of Ameri can reserves. The Navy communique told of more aerial activity in the South Pacific as well as the raid on Kiska and cleaning out of small groups of Japanese on Attu. It said large fires were left burning at Tinpust harbor and Numa Nu ma horbor on Bougainville and two small ships were attacked, one of them being beached. Recounting actions of June i, the communique raised the count of known Japanese dead on Attu to 1,791 and reported that “Unit ed States Army troops, combed scattered areas and by noon had eliminated minor groups of Japa (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 5) frencTtFfight UNTIL WAR’S END Committee Formed To Pur * sue Conflict Even Against Japan ALGIERS, June 3. — (tfl — A “French committee of national lib eration” headed jointly by Gen erals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud was established formally today to “pursue the war at the side of the Allies until total vic tory over all enemy powers,” in cluding Japan. Formation of this strong .cen tral authority to oppose Pierre La val’s Axis-committed regime and to rally the French masses await ing an Allied invasion of Europe came after almost seven months’ patient effort to bring the two French groups under a single banner. ... Signs of tension began disappear ing here immediately, replaced by a new spirit of conciliation in all official quarters. Enthusiastic demonstrations occurred as the news spread. “A baby has been born,” ex claimed American Minister Rob ert Murphy. “I’m delighted with it. It fulfills all our hopes and there is no doubt that there is sincerity in all quarters.” The seven - man committee, which is to be expanded to nine, I will direct the French war effort I-(Continued on Page Ten; Col. 5) Orders Coal To Be Mined PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT ACL Is Not Affected By Coal Mine Strike The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad company has not been affected by the nation-wide coal strike because of the com pany’s long-standing policy of accumulating stocks of coal along its 5,000 miles of line, C. McD. Davis, president of the railroad, said Thursday in a statement issued prior to the announcement of President Roosevelt’s order to the, striking miners to return to work. Earlier Thursday, Coast Line officials had revealed that delivery of coal from cars in the yard^ of the railroad here NEW HOME AGENT NAMED FOR CITY Mrs. Fay Coleman Will Work With County Dem -> onstration Office Mrs. Fay T. Coleman, of War ren county, has been appointed city home agent, to work in con junction with Miss Ann Mason, county home agent, according to an announcement made Thursday by the city council ajid the State Agricultural extension division of Raleigh. Mrs. Coleman has already as sumed her duties here, and has set up headquarters in the county home agent’s office, room T31 in the customhouse. An - employe of the city, Mrs. Coleman plans to assist Wilming ton women with their problem^ of gardening and food conserva tion. Her program is scheduled to be in full swing by next week, and will be publicly announced. Mrs. Coleman was trained for her work at Woman’s college. For five years she taught home eco nomics, later taking the position of home agent for Warren county. The new city agent, the first for Wilmington, will be avaluable aid to all home programs for the community, it was pointed out. Especially in the field of food con servation, Mrs. Coleman expected to render needed assistance. Administration Forces Launch Drive To Pass Anti-Strike Measures WASHINGTON, June 3—(A5)— Administration forces launch ed a vigorous drive in the House today for enacement of legislation aimed primarily at halting the current coal strike and to sidetrack a more strin gent measure reported by the Military committee. Their drive was gaining im petus as the House put off. fur ther consideration of the legis lation until tomorrow after five hours of acrimonious debate had resulted in a complicated parliamentary tangle. Pending but unvoted on at adjournment were the military committee bill to outlaw strikes in government-operated plants and curb them in other indus tries; a substitute bill with many of the committee pro visions eliminated; and a batch of amendments to both the committee bill and the substi tute. to Wilmington coai uecucio been halted pending settlement of the strike. “It is my hope, of course, that negotiations now in progress be tween the Administration and lab or leaders will result in resump tion of mining before the suspen sion of coal has any far-reaching or serious effects upon the rail roads or upon other consumers,” Mr. Davis said. “Dealing specifically with the situation as it may affect the At lantic Coast Line Railroad, that railroad, with its 5,000 miles of railroad, does not reach any of the producing coal mines, and for that reason has for many years pursued a policy of accumulating its fuel coal in open storage piles and in bins at various locomotive coaling stations along its rail road. “Therefore, while no particular preparation has been made for an impending emergency which may result from the coal miners’ lead ers’ controversy, the Atlantic Coast Line has in storage piles and in bins a sufficient quantity of fuel coal to meet its require ments for several weeks. "In that respect, tne Atlantic Coast Line is porbably unlike many of those railroads which di rectly serve the coal mines and which, therefore, have doubtless had no occasion heretofore to ac cumulate fuel coal in quantities in storage piles. Such accumulation on the part of the Atlantic Coast Line results, as previously im plied, from pursuance of a policy of many years’ standing and not in anticipation of any present ces sation of -coal mining operations. “However, it is difficult to state the probable effect of the cessation of coal mining upon arfy one indi vidual railroad, for the. reason that in whatever measures may be taken to meet the emergency, the railroads will be governed by directives of their central organi zation at Washington. Association of American Railroads, supervis ed by the Office of Defense Trans portation. Mr. Eastman, and under the direction of the Coordinator of Solid Fuels, Mr. Ickes. “Accordingly, it is believed that whatever steps may be taken will affect all of the nations’ railroads alike, including the Atlantic Coast Line which accumlates its fuel coal in stock piles and, therefore, always maintains some advance supply, as well as those railroads which obtaiin their fuel coal direct (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 4) NOTICE! If your carrier fails to leave your copy of the Wil mington Morning Star, Phone 2-331.1 before 9:00 a. m. and one will be sent to you by special messenger. DRASTIC MEASURES MAY BE TAKEN TO INSURE PRODUCTION War Labor Board Backed To Limit By Chief Executive; Dispute To Be Settled When Strikers Resume Operations WASHINGTON, June 3.—(/P)—President Roosevelt, acting as war-time commander-in-chief, today flatly order ed some 500,000 striking mine workers to return to work Monday—and drastic measures were reported in store in case they disobey. Backing to the limit the War Labor Board which John L. Lewis has defied, Mr. Roosevelt said that when the miners return to their “war duties” the disposition of the dispute “will forthwith proceed, under the jurisdiction of MUCH COAL LOST ' DURING WALKOUT More Than 2 Million Tons Sacrificed Daily In Mines Of Country PITTSBURGH, June 3—Iff)—The three-day-old walkout of the na tion’s miners is causing a daily tonnage loss of more than 2,000,000 tons, unofficial reports from 18 coal producing states disclosed to day, as iijdustrial supplies dimin ished and curtailment of produc tion appeared probable in the fore most war metal—steel. The first blast furnace was shut down at Birmingham, Ala., by the Republic Steel corporation, whose officials notified the government the cause was an inadequate coal supply. Spokesmen for steelmakers in Pittsburgh said that even if coal digging is resumed Monday, pro duction would drop because of the fast-vanishing supplies. "in Chicago, a coal source said “loss of 10 days coal would cause spotty damage’’ in that great in dustrial area, “and by the end of next week the situation would be serious.” A survey showed the “no con tract, no work” slogan of the Unit ed Mine Workers in effect tighter than ever. Only in Kentucky and Illinois were there an appreciable number of men at work. A half million or more men remained idle. In Kentucky, 14,000 men, mostly non-union, were at their posts. In Illinois, stronghold of the AFL Pro gressive miners, the number work ing was estimated at 10,800. In West Virginia, biggest bitumi nous coal producing state, the first (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 5) PUPHSTOHOLD GRADUATION RITE Members Of Senior jflass At High School To Stage Exercises Commencement exercises in which the 305 graduation pupils, and not some visiting dignitary with words of wisdom, will hold the limelight, are scheduled 1 or 8-30 o’clock Friday night in the High school gymnasium. Departing from the usual in graduation programs, New Han over High will stage a unique and original play, “Light Around the Globe,” in which the seniors will have all the speaking parts. The glee club will assist. Following the play, Jean Clem mons will award the Amy Brad ley cup to the student attaining the highest scholarship record. Principal T. T. Hamilton, Jr., will (Continued on Page 11; Col. 1) the War Labor Board and In ac cordance with the customary and established procedures covering all cases of this sort.” The President made no mention of what he would do if the strike continued—in fact his terse state ment did not seem to recognize even a possibility that the order could be ignored. Responsible sources said he was ready to resort to use of troops, the draft laws and other measures if necesary. Moreover, it was stated on high authority that the government is considering seriously the question of whether men who have struck would be entitled to any retroac tive pay increase which might eventually be agreed upon. No decision has been reached on this point, but it may be referred to Attorney General Biddle for a ruling. Government officials are inclined to the view that miners who struck may have cancelled the promise of a retroactive fea ture in any new contract. The miners’ contract expired on April 1, and if a retroactive in crease were denied it would mean the loss of considerable money to the men. Early tonight the United Mine Workers policy committee adjourn ed a prolonged session without any action on the strike and union of ficials flatly declined to comment on the President’s back-to-work or der. Lewis attended the session ex cept for a short interval during which he left the hotel for an un disclosed purpose. Reporters in formed him of the President’s or der, but he said “No comment.” As the meeting ended, an offi cial UMW spokesman said "We won’t have any statement. Noth ing at all tonight.” The President’s order, issued late in the day, apparently usher ed in the long-awaited showdown with Lewis, who as president of the United Mine Workers, has re fused to recognize the War Labor Board’s jurisdiction and has call ed it “malignantly” prejudiced. The President was reported ready to back up his order by— 1. Reclassification under the Se lective Service act of those miners who disobey. 2. A rigid enforcement of all laws governing aliens. Many thou sands of the miners are aliens. 3. Widespread use of troops, if necessary. This was represented as the President’s program by trustwor thy sources not permitting identi fication by name. They also said former miners now in the armed service would be released for work in the mines if this became ad visable. The chief executive was repre sented as having decided there could be no compromise with John -t. Lewis, leader of the 500,000 striking miners, so long as the work stoppage, with all its inherent peril to the nation’s war-making capacity, persisted. His advisers were said to be convinced that the strike can be broken, and to feel that it would be better to forego two weeks or so of coal production than to give ground to Lewis. (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 3) Board Of Health Warns Public On Typhoid Risk Simultaneously with the an nouncement that free typhoid clin ics for the white and Negro popu lation of the city will be held here throughout June, Dr. A. H. Elliot warned Wilmington residents that “to be on the safe side, especially this summer, they had best take advantage of the opportunity to secure typhoid innoculations.” “The conglomerate population here, coming as it does from thou sands of communities all over the country, has heightened the hazard of typhoid,” Dr. Elliot said. “You can multiply the danger by the number of commfmities represent ed in Wilmington,” the city-county health officer emphasized. Dr. Elliot explained that typhoid shots before summer vacations con stitute a normal requirement, but that in the summer of 1943 they are more than ever important. Persons who had all three ty phoid innoculations last summer are advised to secure one innocu lation this summer, in order to keep themselves absolutely pro tected from the disease. For those who want the vaccinations admin istered by their own physicians, vaccine material may be seonred, free, from the Board of Health. At the clinics specified, city health nurses will administer innocula tions. The complete schedule of typhoid clinics is as follows: White clinic* —Monday, June 7, 14, 21 at Sun (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 4)