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| ssis 1 Umingfmt nntttuj ^tcu* ““““11 226 ^ —--1-—-__ _~ _ I —-; N- C» FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 1943 FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867. pother Coal line Walkout Is Threatened , l L. Lewis Denounces Decision Of Ickes To | fine Strikers 0 CHiEF IS ANGRY goss Of Workers Refrains From Saying What Ac tion To Be Taken WASHINGTON, June 10. 4^1—Another coal strike threatened tonight as John L. Le,vh angrily denounced what U called “a brutal applica tion of economic sanctions” jte decision by Secretary ues that bituminous miners who took part in the June 1-5 walkout will be fined $1 a Lewis himself refrained from saving what he would jo about'the action taken by Lie government boss of the coal mines, but some United Mine Workers officials m the ,oll fields warned of another part stoppage. Action Is Condemned “An unwarranted, illegal act,’ Lewis said in a staccato statement inlckes' decision. “An act which lakes nearly $3,000,000 worth of load from the fingers and mouths pi children of the mining camps— a brutal application of economic sanctions against free citizens, an Kher step toward political tyran p in America.” 'Clouding the outlook for peace j, the industry also were indica tes that the War Labor Board U not look favorably on $1.30 a fe; as pay for underground travel use. Lewis, leader of the United fee Workers, won agreement last tight of the central Pennsylvania producers association, employers of 65,000, to this payment. How ever, the figure is subject to WLB approval and pointed questions by members of the board at public hearings today suggested that it might be modified. What the miners’ reaction would be to such a board move was t-neculative. In the past, Lewis as roundly denounced the board >r what he termed its interfer nce mth collective bargaining, ind threatened to take to court barges that the board violates the hgser Labor Relations act guar feeing collective bargaining mgns. Secretary Ickes, who as fuel ad ministrator has operated the mines lor the government since their seizure May 1, told a press con ference he intended to invoke pro visions of the old contract provid fe? a penalty of $1 a day (in some area S2 a day) if a miner fails to work without good reason. This contract expired March 31. but the PW progressively extended it for pnef periods. • Lewis, in his statement today, wwever, contended that the con tract had expired at the time of te last work stoppage and “the rated Mine Workers cannot under hand how fines can be levied un ” the provisions of an expired contract.” tckes said the government had cmered the old contract extended indefinitely until a new agreement 'as reached, and that hence the Penalties applied. He declared. • I®,'hat penalties would be levied ■mere w'as any future walkout. ,::s UMW order ending the June walkout was made effective ny through June 20. n the mine fields there was "immediate outcry against Ickes’ jmouncement. A union official at irmont, W. Va.. asserted, “this a«s another walkout,” and one Harlan, Ky., where 1,350 min ts ^ ici,e “waiting for a con ic,, declared fines “will just - nmucd on Page Two; Col. 7), Senator Says Strike Bill Would Give WLB Power To Rule Labor WASHINGTON, June 10_ (Pi— Senator Danaher (R Conn) charged in the Senate today that a revised anti strike bill approved by a joint Senate-House committee would “give the War Labor Board overriding power actually to write labor contracts from one end of the country to another.” Danaher was on the com mittee but he said he would not sign its ’ eport. He com plained that the amended ver sion of the bill, which pre vously had passed both houses in different form, would freeze labor conditions in war plants where controversies threatened to bring about a strike and where the govern ment stepped in to take con trol of the facility. Furthermore, he said the bill pointed toward govern ment seizure of plants and mines as the only alternative when there is a labor dispute, without providing machinery lor settlement of such dis putes unless a majority of workers petition the War La bor Board (WLB). ICKES SEEKS GAS RATION POWER Interior Secretary Wants To Handle Disburse ment Of Supplies WASHINGTON, June 10.—UP>— Secretary Ickes disclosed today that he is seeking to obtain gaso line rationing powers now exercis ed by the Office of Price Admin istration (OPA), and in testimony before a Congressional committee also said: 1. East Coast residents 'who heat their homes with oil cannot look for any larger fuel supplies in the coming winter than they had in the last one. 2. The Eastern Seaboard gaso line famine would not be relieved by greater restrictions at present on use of motor fuel in the Mid west since the gasoline saved could not now be moved to the East by already over-taxed trans portation facilities. Ickes’ deputy as petroleum ad ministrator, Ralph K. Davies, told the committee that the Midwest would be safe from increased re strictions at least until August 1, when the Illinois-to-East Coast leg of the 24-inch oil pipeline is com pleted. In this connection, Ickes said later in a statement: “We are approaching the time when it is quite possible that we shall be able to move so much out of the Middle-West that great er civilian restrictions in that sec tion may be necessary in order to make sufficient products avail able. “When that time arrives, we shall without a momen’t hesita tion recommend the imposition of such additional restrictions, just as we have said time and again that we would.’’ Ickes also asserted that inven tories of petroleum products are “going down’’ in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida— the Eastern states exempted from the recent ban on pleasure driv ing—and a surplus there will not exist very long. As petroleum administrator, he testified before a special commit tee of legislators from Atlantic Coastal states. In connection with his statement that he had asked the War Production Board to take gasoline rationing from OPA and give it to him, other sources said Ickes felt that under the present system he “sets up the bank ac count and somebody else has the check book.” Ickes is empowered now to say where gasoline should be ration ed, but OPA determines the amount of the ration. These sources said Ickes also had asked authority to handle coal rationing,, should that become nec essary. Asked why he did not favor building up reserves in the Mid West through imposition imme diately of the same rationing as (Continued on Page Three; Col. 4) OP A Rationing Officer Favors ‘Meatless Days’ D . establishing meatless days in ’ ’ Hanover county, this area 77 'Tailing in line with the v;;on that other communities, s ■ e the meat shortage is less have taken,” D. J. Herrin, h^.onmg officer of OPA district Wr rters said Thursday in e]j 1.n® his support to the move to ont. ?dte meat consumption here day a week. iUfvr' Herrin, who conducted a whicd revealed that Wil cent nttu receiving only 35 Per Ped h the amount of meat ship ii:at a6'0 3 year ag0’ indicated iji'n ,,e ,s 'n favor of any meas faj,.p„ 7 would help bring about 4, distribution of the product, tii ■ is not here in quan * public may as well be I given to understand or what days a small amount can be purchas ed,” the rationing official com mented. He cited as other reasons for initiation of the meatless day pro gram: the good effect on public morale, and the assistance the program would offer merchants. “A housewife unable to find a piece of meat in the stores will naturally react favorably to plan that will keep restaurants from serving, for one day, the commod ity she herself cannot purchase. She will also be glad to know when a little meat is obtainable,” Mr. Herrin declared. “In addition, the plan will help (Continued on Page Three; Col. 6) New Tax Bill Is Approved By Roosevelt President Signs Pay-As You-Go-Revenue Meas ure; Is Now Law COMPROMISE METHOD Newest Addition To Na tion’s Statutes Worked Out By Solons WASHINGTON, June 10. —W—President Roosevelt signed the pay-as-you-go tax bill today, even as his aides conferred on a program to raise the $16,000,000,000 in additional savings and reve nue he has requested for this term. The measure approved by the President is the compro mise worked out by Senate and House after Mr. Roose velt announced he would not sign the Senate’s Ruml-like bill granting abatement of a full year’s taxes to virtually all of the nation’s 44,000,000 individual income taxpayers. The new law grants no relief from the quarterly tax installment due next Tuesday on 1942 tax liabi lities. It does, however, give 75 per cent to 100 per cent abatement on either 1942 or 1943 taxes, and sets up a 20 per cent withholding levy against wages and salaries, start ing July 1. The Treasury was reported to have presented to James F. Byrnes war mobilization director, a comprehensive program covering Mr. Roosevelt’s $16,000,000,000 re quest. Informants who did not wish to be identified said the program centers on a spending tax and in cludes new excise levies and sug gestions for increasing individual and corporation income taxes. Byrnes met with Randolf Paul, Treasury counsel; Harold D. Smith, (Continued on Page Two; CoL S) 21.H8PLEDGES MADE TO CHEST Analysis Of Campaign Re sults Is Announced By Secretary Stearns An estimate dtotal of 21,548 pled ges was made in the United Commu nity and War Chest campaign last fall, George Stearns, secretary of the chest, announced Thursday, .fol lowing the completion of an alysis of campaign results. These 21,548 persons gave a total of $110,592. By far the largest number of pledges were for amounts less than $5, this total representing an esti mated 18,880 donors giving $49,483, and amounting to 54.8 of the funds raised. Next came those who gave from $5 to $9; this group numbered 1,883. There were 494 persons to contrib ute $25 and over; 121 to give $50 and over; 138 who gave $100 and over. There were 25 persons who contributed more than $250; and five who gave between $1,00 and $5,000. The second highest percentage of money raised, next to that of the less than $5 group, was contributed by those who gave $25 and over, the figure being 37.5 of the total. The largest individual contributions, donations of $1,000 and more, ac counted for only six per cent of the entire fund. WEATHER FORECAST North Carolina: Little 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., 98; 7:30 a. m., 89; 1:30 p. m., 78; 7:30 p. m, 73; maximum, 77; minimum, 68; mean. 77; normal, 76 Humidity 1:30 a. m., 98; 7:;30 a. m., 89; 1:30 p. m., 73; 7:30 p. m, 86 Precipitation Total for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m., 0.09 inches. Total since the first of the month, 1.779 inches. Tides For Today (From the Tide Tables published by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey). High Low Wilmington-3:35a. 11:11a. 4:17p. 11:34p. Masonboro Inlet-10:4a. 7:41a. 1:54p. 8:09p. Moore’s Inlet-1:09a. 7:46p. l:59p. 8:14p. New Topsail Inlet- 1:14a. 7:51p. (Elmore’s) - 2:04p. 8:lSp. (All Times Eastern Standard) Sunrise, 5:00a; sunset, 7:23p; moon rise, 12:39p; moonset, 12:44a. Cape Fear'river stage at Fayette, ville on Thursday at 8 a. m., 9.65 feet. / (Continued on Page 2; Column 4) v y tnt Lays * entral Unit Victims Of War JGTON, June 10 _ draft agreement for -.od Nations relief and re^bilitation administration, a central agency to feed and otherwise assist war victims, was announced tonight by the State Department. Approved by the United States, Great Britain, Soviet Russia, and China, the docu ment was sent to the govern ments of all the 28 other Unit ed nations and the 11 nations associated with them in the war for their consideration. The French authorities at Al giers also were informed of it. The department expressed the hope that preliminary dis cussion of what it termed the tentatixe plan would “speed ily clear the way” for a con ference of all these nations to reach a definite agreement for joint action. Under the proposed agree ment, the nations would estab lish immediately the central agency, with a council, central committee and regional, as well as technical, standing committees. They would as sume responsibility for meet ing the basic needs of war victims, .particularly .peoples in areas liberated from Axis dominations. OPA WiLLPROBE SHORTAGE OF ICE State Headquarters Begins Investigation Of Con dition Here With a view to easing the gen eral ice shortage in Wilmington, state headquarters of the Office of Price Administration began a survey of the problem Thursday, according to an announcement made by OPA officials Thursday night. T. S. Johnson, director of OPA, declared that the seriousness of the local situation, necessitating shipments of ice from Philadel phia, had been brought to the at tention of the state office and was deserving of thorough study. Among the phases of the prob lem to be discussed, Johnson said, is the need for price adjustments to warrant the sale of foreign ice. The Office of Price Administra tion is one of several organizations attempting to bring relief to the city, after a week of ice shortage. Local ice firms, wholesale and re tail, the board of health, city and county governments, have entered into negotiations to lessen the hardship imposed by decreased supply. Promised shipments of ice from Philadelphia had not arrived late Thursday night, according to word from the Independent Ice compa ny, instrumental in importing the extra quantities. Considerable loss by melting was counted as a strong probability, even if the shipments should arrive by early Friday morning. The journey from Phila* delphia began at 3 p.m. Wednes day. More important than the ship ments from Philadelphia in the temporary relief of the situation was the encouragement of cooler weather, W. R. Eakins, of the In dependent firm said. The ice problem, scheduled for discussion in the meeting of the county Board of Health Thursday (Continued on Page Three; Col. 3) Big American Raids On Foe Are Forecast U. S. Airforce In Britain Rapidly Approaching RAF’s Strength HUGE ASSAULTS SEEN General Ira Eaker Predicts Many Attacks In Single Day LONDON, June 10.—(TP)— The strength of the Eighth United States Air Force, which is rapidly approaching parity with the RAF in Brit ain, will be used to hit the enemy in three, four, five or more places in a single day with bombing fleets capable of obliterating any normal in dustrial target, Maj. Gen. Ira C. Eaker disclosed today. Having doubled in size since March and growing at the rate of 15 to 30 per cent monthly, the U. S. Bomber Command was able to send nearly 300 of its heavyweights against St. Nazaire, Rennes and La Pallice in a three-way raid on May 29, the Eighth Air Force commander told a press conference. Separate Sorties Planned Separate, medium-sized bomber forces will be used in multiple raids against pinpoint targets in the future rather than concentrat ing a fleet of many hundreds over a single city as the RAF does in area bombing at night, Eaker in dicated. Eaker said that the forces such as the American command has been using recently “can be guar anteed to saturate and obliterate any normal industrial target. We have found also that a formation of this size can defend itself and will sustain normally losses of five per cent or less.” He added: "We shall, by and large, there fore launch as many such assaults on any favorable day as we have the overall force to effegt. The chief defensive advantage of these multiple raids is to pre vent the enemy from concentrat ing his defenses on a single fleet, which he has been able to do in the past when the Americans were able to send out only one force. Despite all handicaps. Eaker ex plained. losses on these small force raid have run less than four per cent since the American bomb ings began 10 months ago, and have shown no tendency to in crease with heavier operatios. In fact, he said, the record-breaking May operations have tended to prove that the “loss curve goes down as the forces go up.” Eaker recalled that a year ago British Chief Air Marshal A. T. Harris, answering those who said that mass bombings alone cannot win a war, said that it hadn’t been tried yet. and that Germany would make an interesting sub ject. He predicted at that time that joint British-American mass bombing of the Tteich could, and (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) Argentine Stops Axis Code Message Use Government Takes Step In Compliance With Resolution Adopted Against Espionage Activity By Foreign Ministers BUENOS AIRES, June 10.—UP— The Argentine government tonight cancelled facilities which have per mitted Axis embassies and nation als to transmit code messages to their capital. The government took this step in compliance with the resolution adopted in Rio de Janeiro by Amer ican foreign ministers against Axis espionage. Under the previous government, Axis embassies and nationals have been able to send 100-word code messages daily. Many observers held that the messages contain ed ship information which aided the Axis in its submarine war. This order by the new govern ment of President Pedro Ramirez apparently was the first of the “acts” with which it has announc ed it would show its Pan-American policy. The decree banning the mes sages — the first important step against the Axis taken by the gov ernment—said that “taking account of the convenience of continental security, coded, cipher or prear raged language on international radio-telephonic or radio-telegraph ic communications is suspended.” Radio is the only channel left for Axis communications since all cable companies in Argentina are controlled by the United Nations. The decree also said the action was taken “in view of the adher ence of the Argentine government to the resolution of the third con sultative meeting of the American republics at Rio de Janeiro.” Germany and Italy gave their recognition to the new Argentine government today in notifications delivered to the foreign office by their respective charges d’affaires, Erich Otto Meynen and Livio Gar baccio. This brought to nine the number of countries which thus far have recognized the administration of President Pedro Ramirez which overthrew the isolationist regime of Ramon S. Castillo last Friday. (In Washington, President Higi nio Morinigo of Paraguay, after a conference with Secretary of State Hull, said the United States would probably recognize the new regime tomorrow. Paraguay plans to take similar action, Morinigo said.) Vice - Admiral Segundo Storni, foreign minister, told a group of (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4). CONDEMNED GARRISON ON PANTELLERIA HIT AGAIN BY U. S. BOMBS Boy Masters Artillery Problems Francis N. Brngden, 15, astounded artillerymen by mastering the tough officer candidate gunnery course after a friendly officer invited him to sit on a class. Francis wants to be an artillery officer when he grows up. and was born on the Fort Sill (Okla.) post. With Fort Sill artillerymen gathered around, he demonstrates his ability. II Duce Seeks Bulwark Against Allied Attack LONDON, June 10.—-(IP)—The Allied air siege of Italy’s island bastions thundered on without interruption today whilp Mussolini, unhappily observing the third anniversary of his entry into war, sought to buttress his country against invasion by a shakeup of provincial governments. Pantelleria, the first island stepping stone for Allied invaders, shook under the impact of an aerial assault which has been going on for 18 days. Besieged from air and sea—by blockading naval fleets which have thrown in six devastating bombardments—the GERMANS CRACK RUSSIAN LINES Counterblow By Red Arsny Reported To Have Re stored Situation LONDON, Friday, June 11.— Thousands of Germans, supported by tanks and planes, cracked ad vance Russian lines yesterday in a sudden lunge toward the Caucasian gateway of Rostov, but a Red ar my counterblow restored the situa tion, Moscow announced early to day. The Germans used a full regi ment, from 3,000 to 5,000 men. in this attack which temporarily over ran ‘‘Soviet outpost detachments,” but the midnight communique re corded by the Soviet monitor said “they were later thrown back by a Red army counterblow” and lost 300 men, five tanks and two planes. There was no immediate indica tion whether this was a forerunner of the expected large-scale German summer offensive which is consid ered overdue. The action occurred somewhere between Rostov and Ta ganrog. 35 miles to the west. It is in this area that the Germans hold their deepest penetration inside Russia. The sector also is import ant as a supporting operation for those German troops still clinging to the' Kuban bridgehead of the Caucasus, across the sea of Azov from Taganrog. , , A German radio commentator, Lieut. Gen. Kurt Dietmar, said last night in a Berlin broadcast record ed by the Associated Press that German troop dispositions in Rus sia now offered a “platform for op erations of offensive tendency.” In this overdue hint that the (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) 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. island’s reduction was considered in some London quarters to be only a matter of time despite the garrison’s silence in the face of the Allied demand for surrender. From here it appeared that this Mediterranean fortress already had been effectively neutralized and that its occupation was im minent. Some observers consider ed the possibility that, since its defenses now were virtually use less, the island might be by-passed in the event of a great offenive move. However, it does have an airfield that might be useful. Mussolini’s frantic anti-invasion efforts were disclosed in sa Rome radio announcement of the mass firing and shifting of prefects in 29 provincial capitals up and down Italy and in Sardinia and Sicily. This announcement was broad cast between nervous trumpetings that “as each hour goes by we await the enemy” and by plain tive anniversary reminiscences on what might have been if Italy’s colonial ambitions had been re alized after the last war. All this was far removed from Mussolini’s bombast when he strut ted out on the balcony of the Pa lazzio Venezia three years ago to declare war, and to shout: “The time has come when Italy’s need for expansion is about to be realized.” The fever was rising elsewhere in Europe. Italy’s occupation army of 50,000 in Corsica was reported working (Continued on Page Two; Col. t) SICILY IS POUNDED 39-1 Aerial Victory Won Over Intercepting Axis Aircraft DEFENSE IS DEFEATED Tiny Island’s Defenders Try To Stem Tide Of Allied Might ALLIED HEADQUAR TERS IN NORTH AFRICA, June 10.—(/P)—American air men laid explosives 'across condemned Pantelleria’s scar red face again yesterday, tore up two Sicilian airfields near volcanic Mount Etna, and won a 39-to-l aerial victory at those invasion-jittery Italian outposts, it was disclosed of ficially today. Pantelleria, living with a noose around its neck since its refusal to surrender, put up a strong but futile fight er defense against the invas ion speerheads. Of the 20 German and Italian fighters arising from the little island, 12 were shot down at a cost of one Allied plane. Striking northeast of Pan telleria 50 U. S. Liberators from the Middle East Com mand destroyed 24 parker planes at Catania and Ger bini in Sicily, and shot down at least three of the 20 to 25 intervening Axis fighters. No American planes were lost in that twin stab. Photos Reveal Damage The terrific pounding of Pancel leria, roughly mid-way between Tunisia and Sicily, was illustrat ed vividly by aerial reconnais sance photos displayed here. One showed a five-mile-long pall of smoke and dust blanketing the northeastern shoreline which has been under almost ceaseless bom bardment by American airmen and British warships. Each day, and usually each night, this scene has been reen acted by what the Rome radio calls “forces of crushing superior ity”—an Axis phrase reminiscent of the days iust before Italian and German land armies collapsed in Tunisia. Bomb-carrying American Light nings participated in the Ameri can bomber assault on Pantel leria. The Lightning knocked down five Messerschmitt 109s, while other U. S. planes were cre dited with four Macchi-202s, two Me-109s, and one Focke Wulf-109 The size of the bombing force was not disclosed. A Cairo communique said the Liberator attack on Catania, on the Sicilian east coast, and at Gerbini, 13 miles inland, left "nu merous large fires with columns of black smoke rising from them.” More, than 250,000 pounds of de molition, fragmentation, and fire bombs were dropped. "Bombs were seen to burst in hangars and administration build ings and throughout dispersal ar eas at both airfields,” the com munique said. "At least two dozen enemy aircraft were seen to be destroyed on the ground. Many others were damaged.” In combat the Americans shot down three planes, probably des troyed two others, and damaged still more, without loss to them selves. (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) Former Wilmingtonian Describes Convoy Work Editor’s note: The follow ing story was written by John Stillman, formerly in the edi torial department of the Star News, now a purser in the American Merchant Marine. It has been passed by censor. By John Stillman, Jr. In convoy, somewhere in the Atlantic, a command from the bridge sent our vessel slow ahead, and we proceeded to sea from a port “somewhere on the east coast of the United States.” We moved through the calm water and finally reached open sea. The convoy was met late the same morning and formed at a prearranged rendezvous, Escort vessels combed the area continu ously. We got under way and pro ceeded on our course. We didn’t know where we were going, and could only guess ac cording to the elements. We would not be certain until our destina tion had been reached, and the command, “finished with en gines,” was given from our skip per. Early one morning, after we had been at sea for a few days, there was a terrific explosion, which brought me hurriedly from my bunk. I had the presence of mind to stick my feet in a pair of shoes with zipper laces, and grab a brief case containing ship's papers in my hurried exit to the boat deck. My station was up for ward at Number 2 lifeboat. We (Continued on Page Three; Col. 2J
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