flUl Wilmington Horning &tar IsS
VQlTtG-—NO. 259 WILMINGTON, N. C., TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1943___FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867
Sforza Cheered In Naples
Standing in the midst of a group of Neapolitans, Count Carlo
siorza. who recently returned to Italy from the U. S. after a long
exile, drives home a point in his plans for the future of his native
land. It is reported that he may replace Badoglio as premier. (In
ternational Radiophoto).
SupremeCourtT oReview
Rent Control Regulations
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15.—</P)—The Supreme Court
| today decided to review the constitutionality of govern
ment rent control regulations applying to the homes of
more than 80,000,000 persons, and the issue of portal-to
portal pay for iron ore miners.
The rent control controversy reached the Tribunal on
a Justice Department appeal from the middle Georgia Fed
eral District Court decision that the office of Price Ad
: ,-ates an unconstitutional delega
';m of Congressional power.
" the same time the Court
without explanation declined to re
v,eir another decision upholding
the eonstitu! ionality of the rent
program. That ruling was made
ov the United States Emergency
lourt of Appeals on regulations
» the San Francisco area.
In acting on petitions for re
view, the Supreme Court does not
rule on the merits of the case.
Granting of a review means that
the case will be set for oral argu
rr.ent in a few weeks, after which
a tonnal opinion will be delivered
In the portal-to-portal pay case,
the Fifth Federal Circuit Court
u:ed that the ore miners are en
! titled to compensation under the
I Federal Wage-Hour Act for the.
time they spend in traveling from
the mine portal, or opening, to
their w skins olaces and back;
again. The decision was cited by]
.John L. Lewis’ United Mine Work
ers in demai ling portal-to-portalj
i„; nr tic nation's soft coal min
/• ers.
The challenge of th» rent regu
lations came from Mrs. Kate C.
i Willingham of Macon, Ga., who
was ordered io reduce rates on
dwellings which she was renting
for the first time.
In an opinion setting forth rea
5 ? for his decision, Judge Bas
c S. Deaver declared that ad
nuiistrative agencies “apparently
regard the constitution as an out
moded instrument. : Wartime con
ditions, he said, do not “enlarge
constitutional power."
“The act of the OPA adminis
i trator in designating the entire
i United States as defense - rental
areas afiords an illustration of the
! dangerous tendency to assume and
! exercise powers never intended by!
Congress to be granted or by the
Constitution to be exercised,” the
jurist said.
--V
I WEATHER i
FORECAST;
(^0iRth Carolina : slightly cooler
lEastern Standard Time)
ht d- Weather Bureau)
- S01^l°„gical data for the 24 hours
Endme ’:30 P. m„ yesterday.
, Temperature
66 7.J?-m- 4U' 7 ;30 a m„ 41, 1:30 p. m.
SB \iii,P 61 ■ Maximum 68, Minimum
’ ^‘ean o3, formal 56.
Toto! r . Precipitation
0 111 onn -heu24 hours endin8 7:30
u. 0.00 inches.
0Khiche™6 th<“ £irst o£ the raonth’
Tides For Todav
Wilmington .__ & ££
hilet _\o':25a 4:06a
lore’s Inlet__]°0f> ^
k'». r„ . . 10:57p 4:34p
■Ktoic'sf311 Inlet - 10:35a 4:7®a
-HI r” , - ll:02p 4:39p
Smi: 5 ll't,rn Standard)
KwnrUe’9M? 3' "Jv Sunset 5:08 p’ m”
Can. kr12 h " Moonset. 10:43 a.
o Rt1Ver sta8e at Fayetteville
--^a\, at 3 a. m., 915 feet.
FIRE DAMAGES
LOCAL GARAGE
Two Seashore Buses Con
siderably Burned In
Conflagration
A fire of undetermined origin
spread rapidly trough the stor
age and repair garage of the Sea
shore transportation company
shortly aftar noon Monday caus
ing considerable damage to two
buses and several stacks of tires.
Chester Hawkins, manager of
the company, said iate Monday
that the amount of damage had
nnt been estimated nor* an inven
tory made yet, but office records
and furniture were completely de
stroyed and one bus seriously
damaged. He expressed the be
lief, however, that the remaining
bus and tires might be salvaged.
He attributed the prompt work of
firemen to the prevention of seri
ous damages.
n-' • I.
x wu cuiujjaiiico nut vnuvu n/
the fire and were able to control
it in a short time without the use
of chemicals. Firemen said the
blaze may have been due to an
oil stove explosion because of the
rapidity with which the fire spread.
Eleven fire alarms were sound
ed over the week-end in Wilming
ton and Fire Chief Croom Monday
issued an urgent plea to residents
to take advantage of the present
moderate temperatures to inspect
and repair heating equipment.
During Fire Prevention Week is
October a complete survey of the
city was conducted and recommen
dations made in many instances
for repairs and corrections. Chief
Croom said Monday that many of
these corrections had never been
made in spite of urging on the
part of the fire department. He
called upon residents to cooperate
with the fire department for the
safety of their own and others’
individual property as well as in
the interest of public safety be
cause of crowded war time con
ditions.
Chief Croom also pointed out
that now was an opportune time
for business firms to inspect their
furnaces and heating devices and
if necessary replace rusted pipes
and make other repairs before
colder weather works a hardship.
All flues should be carefully check
ed.
Many times, the chief added, a
small effort at inspection with
consequent minor repairs will re
sult in preventing great loss from
fires. He also warned the public
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 6)
■ Blasting Of Sofia May Be Forerunner
Of Push Through Southern Europe
1J MKKE L. SIMPSON
- American bombing of Sofia,
” ?dliaD caPital, may be the
tenBr?rUc'e ’n a &wift Ameri
k;iockn |ShM USSian drive t0 deal
£ ■£ SraTeS
deadly n*16'c3t ^eaKt- iust as the
in the kT S°Vlet westward surge
cut t /Ti sentor bade fair to
enemy, flank of the
cape 'evr-ent lan llne off from es‘
wme m!P • Vla the Balkans. It
lePortin° ’ 1USt wRe,; BerHn was
thro'afih ’ir. e Russian break
-~-rLln t°rce in the Dnieper
bend north and northwest of the
Nazi anchor point of Krivoi Rog,
obviously increasing the peril of
all German forces east of that
point and in the Crimea.
The guns of Moscow may be
only waiting to boom out a new
victory salute, celebrating the en
trapment or destruction of a Nazi
army probably greater than was
lost at Stalingrad or in Tunisia.
There are no authoritative esti
mates ol the number of German
troops still in the Dnieper bend
pocket or in the Crimea. The ag
gregate cannot be less than half
e million, however, and probably
exceeds that figure.
In the circumstances, tne sur
prise mass air raid on Sofia can
not fail to increase apprehension
in' both Bulgaria ar.d Rumania.
The war is rolling close upon both,
upon Rumania from the east as
the German retreat into that coun
try from Russia to escape whole
sale entrapment is foreshadowed,
and upon Bulgaria from the west
by Allied action.
The synchronizing of the two
phases 'of the fight would over
come the obstacle tc joint Rus
sian-Allied action in the Balkan
theater raised by the fact that
Russia and Bulgaria are not at
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 6)
HULL ASKS ACCEPTANCE OF MOSCOW PACT;
RED,l ISOLA TE GERMAN FORCES A T GOMEL;
AFRICANS REPLUSE ENEMY NEAR M/GNANO
. —-—- * t _
NEAR _ Mm
Armored Unit Sent Streak
ing Toward Pre-War
Boundary
DRIVE ON KOROSTEN
Fall Of Vital Ukraine Rail
Bastion Expected At
Any Time
LONDON, Tuesday, Nov.
16.—(IP)—The Red army iso
lated the big German garri
son at Gomel in White Rus
sia yesterday, sent an armor
ed spearhead to within strik
ing distance of the pre-war
Polish border, and converged
on the northern Ukraine rail
bastion of Korosten, whose
fall is expected momentarily.
Berlin said nearly 500,000
Russians had punched out
initial gains near Krivoi Rog,
in the Dnieper bend, in an
effort to break through to
the Black Sea and trap enor
mous German forces. The Na
zi high command said a Ger
man counter-attack had stem
med the Russians, but Mos
cow remained silent for the
second day about this fight
entering its third day.
3,000 Germans Killed
Successfully outflanking Gomel,
the Russians killed 3,000 Germans
to seize 14 villages, including the
rail station of Demekhi, 34 miles
west of Gomel, and only eight
miles west of Rechitsa. said a mid
night Moscow broadcast bulletin
recorder by the Soviet monitor.
This action cut. the Gomel-Kalin
kovichi railway and highway. Leav
ing the Germans only one perilous
avenge of escape by railway,from
Gomel, the line running northwest
to Zhlomin. But that line already
is under Red artillery fire by Rus
sian troops drawn up north and
south of Gomel.
In addition to killing 3,000 Ger
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 8)
--.-—-1
Ohio Governor Says
He Will Run In '44;
Criticizes New Deal
COLUMBUS, O., Nov. 15—
i/pi—Gov. John W. Bricker,
saying that ‘confusion and
distrust reign throughout the
land,” asserted today the. na
tion needs “a change of phi
losphy of government” and an
nounced formally he was a
candidate for the Republican
presidential nomination in
1944.
The governor’s station said
he woifld enter the Ohio pri
maries and put his name “be
fore the Republican national
convention.” He told a press
conference he had received
much encouragement” from
states outside Ohio.
He renounced any bid for re
election to a fourth term and
washed his hands of the mixed
Republican gubernatorial pic
ture in Ohio by telling news
men, “I suppose the gover
nor’s race is wide open now—
it isn’t my problem any long
er.”
Bricker was critical of the
New Deal in his statement,
saying it had come to “the
j end of its service to the
1 people.”
“If* ■" ■ '■
German Labor Draft
Leaves North Italy
In State Of Chaos
ON THE GERMAN - SWISS
FRONTIER, Nov. 15 —W— Chaos
exists in northern Italy where the
Germans have failed in their ef
forts to conscript Italian men as
both soldiers and workers, a for
eign diplomat who left there Sun
day said today.
At the same time new stories of
harsh repressive measures used by
the Nazis against increasing sabo
tage and guerrilla resistance came
out of France, and from Germany
new accounts of Nazi measures
to stiffen their hold on the home
front were reported.
A Swiss telegraph agency dis
patch said four French Partisans
had been shot by Nazi authorities
in the Toulouse area in retaliation
for large-scale terrorizing of col
laborationists, of which 25 were
killed in the past ten days.
The diplomat who just returned
from northern Italy said youths
were growing beards and using
other disquises to make them ap
pear old so they could avoid Nazi
military or labor conscription.
_v_
SPECIAL PARLEY
URGED ON FOOD
Texan Denounces Subsi
dies As ‘Bribery And
Blackmail’
WASHINGTON. Nov. 15.—(ff)—A
New England governor who said
milk production has declined crit
ically appealed tonight for an
emergency conference on food
troubles, while a Texas leader oi
the livestock industry denounced
food subsidies as "bribery and
blackmail” smelling of dictator
ship.
The appeal came from Gover
nor Baldwin of Connecticut in a
telegram to Piesident Roosevelt,
disclosed by Senator Danaher (R.
Conn.). The denunciation was by
Joe Montague. Fort Worth lawyer.
Senator Aiken (R.-Vt.). respond
ed to Danaher's disclosure on the
Senate floor by declaring milk pro
duction was declining despite the
Federal dairy feed subsidy pro
gram inaugurated October 1. He
said he did not believe any con
ference of subordinate officials
would "do a bit of good because
I think they are all operating un
der directives from the White
House, and the president is the
only one whose mind has to be
changed.”
Delegations from many states,
including heads of state agricul
ture departments and spokesmei
for producers’ organizations, con
verged on the capital for the Sen
ate Agriculture committee’s heal
ings which were resumed tonighl
and will continue tomorrow.
Coupled with Montague's attack
on the $800,000,000 food subsidy pro
gram was a prediction by another
livestock spokesman, P. O. Wil
son of Chicago, that a continuation
of present price regulations will
bring about an acute beef short
age next year.
Montague and Wilson were the
first of a group of farm leaders
to testify before the Senate Agri
culture committee on proposals for
expanding the subsidy program,
which President Roosevelt has said
is necessary to check inflation.
Some infhience within the gov
ernment or "closely attached” tc
those in power, he declared, is
seeking to revolutionize the “so
cial, economic and political struc
ture of this country.”
i
FreshNaziTroops Hurled
BackThreeTimesBy U. S.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS
ALGIERS, Nov. 15 — OP) —
American troops in the moun
tains near Mignano have hurl
ed back three sharp counter
attacks by refreshed Nazi
troops making determined
stabs to wipe out the Allied
threat to their “winter line”
in Italy) Allied headquarters
disclosed today.
Generally, there was little
change around in Italy yes
terday.
The Nazi assaults against
Americans in the heights about
Mignano were thrown in by a
regiment of the 29th armored
grenadier division, recalled in
to battle after resting behind
the lines.
Three times the crack enemy
unit charged the slopes, and
three times it was driven
back by searing American
rifle, machinegun and artil
lery fire that left many dead
among the rocks and crags.
Prisoners were taken.
Otherwise the rainy, cold day
Other wise the rainy, cold day
duels and patrol activity. Near
the center of the front, Eighth
Army troops advanced north
ward of Rionero to occupy
some high ground. Both the
! (Continued on Page Eight; Col. 5)
SOFIA POUNDED j
IN HEAVY RAID
Two Waves Of American
I Bombers Smash Rail
Yards In Bulgaria
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS. AL
GIERS, Nov. 15.—(#)—Two waves
of American medium bombers es
corted by fighters smashed rail
way yards in the heart of Sofia,
Eulgana.. yesteroay in what an of
ficial Allied announcement termed
the ‘‘successful opening of the Bal
kan offensive.”
Official reports of the assault on
Sofia—the first direct blow at Bul
garia since that country declared
war on the United States Decern
her 13, 1941—described the homo
igag as “extremely accurate, ’ with,
the Mite;1 ells laying thousands of
pounds of explosives squarely on
locomotive repair shops, car as
isernbly snops, a main line depot
land me? of trackage.
The Ualy-based bombers and
their Lightning escorts shot down
nine of approximately 24 N a z 5
fighters that engaged them in a
fierce battle over the target. The
raid on the Bulgarian capital came
as the Germans were reported us
ing all available rail routes to rush
men and supplies south for the
fighting in the Dodecanese islands.
“Through this immensely impor
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 4)
-V
COUNTY APPROVES
RAT CONTROL PLAN
Health Department Will In
vestigate Infested
Buildings
---
Death warrants were served on
the rats of New Hanover county
Monday at the weekly meeting of
the New Hanover Board of Coun
ty Commissioners when the com
missioners agreed to pass the rat
control program which has been
in the offing for some months.
The program is county-wide and
is almost compulsory in its scope.
As it was explained by a repre
sentative of the Health Depart
ment, each rat-infested building
will be investigated and an esti
mate of extermination cost will be
presented to the building owner.
If the owner of the building does
not approve of the estimate or of
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 4)
Consoling Each Other I
t These two fellows have a lot in common. And most of it has to
do with “ill-treatment” in a country called Italy. The photo was
taken, says Berlin, when Mussolini (left) welcomed Marshal Rom
mel. commander in chief in North Italy, to his“ Headquarters.
CATROUX SEEKING
PEACE IN LEBANON
Trouble-Shooter Of Fight
ing French Arrives
In Beirut
CAIRO, Nov. 10.— un — Lienerai
Georges Catroux. ace trouble
shooter for the Fighting French,
arrived in Beirut tonight empower
ed to make peace with the Le
banese in the name of the French
Committee of National Liberation,
after being bluntly told by the
British to settle the dispute quick
ly.
While the French kept protest
ing that the situation was exag
gerated. the British made it clear
that they regarded the flare-up as
serious in an area militarily stra
tegic and Dolitically important in
view of the Arab situation.
Emile Eddeh, former Lebanese
president, was variously reported
to have farmed a temporary gov
ernment. but the Arab news agen
cy at Cairo said he had failed in
such an attempt.
(The London press adopted the
attitude that Britain had no de
sire to enter formally into the dis
pute, but would not hesitate if Ca
troux did not act immediately. Ca
troux, who played an important
part in bringing Generals Charles
de Gaulle and Henri Giraud to
gether, is highlj regarded in Lon
don both as an administrator and
as a person well acquainted with
the Moslem world.)
Expressions of teai that the out
break in Lebanon might spread to
adjoining Syria were heard, but a
French communique asserted that
an effort by Lebanese deputies to
have Syria intervene in their favor
had failed.
(IDn saua, King oi oauaia aiauw
and the most powerful of the Arab
leaders, sent Prime Minister
Churchill a message protesting the
French action in Lebanon which
he said ‘has created the worst
impression on the Arab peoples”
and he urged the prime minister
to use nis influence for the re
lease of the persons arrested by
the French. Similar messages
were reported sent by the Arab
leader to President Roosevelt and
Gen. de Gaulle.)
Curtis Ryan, controller of t h e
British Ministry of Information in
the Middle East, w h o returned
from Beirut, said the situation in
Lebanon was “potentially grave”
and that a real clash between na
tives and the French might come
at any lime—no one knows.” He
said casualties in the political con
troversy already have totalled 140,
including 10 or 12 dead.
Rumania Said Afraid
Of Russian Invasion
Within A Short Period
BERN, Switzerland, Nov. 15—
t?)—Influential military leaders at
Bucharest have urged the with
drawal of German and satellite
troops to the Bug river line for
a stronger defense against Soviet
armies, private advices from the
Rumanian capital said today. Some
Rumanians fear Russian invasion
of their territory may be only a
matter of days.
While these reports through a
diplomatic channel came in part
by way of Budapest and there
fore were subject to cautious ap
praisal, there was no doubt that
extreme nervousness existed in
the Rumanian capital. The ad
vices pictured this situation:
The Rumanian royal palace has
been placed und°r heavy guard
by political police to prevent op
position parties from getting the
ear of young King Mihai.
The organized evacuation of
Rumanians from Transnistria —
the territory across the Dniester,
pre-war frontier, which Germany
allotted to Rumania from her 1941
conquests—has extended to Bes
sarabia which Russia seized from
Rumania in August, 1940.
From Bessarabia peasants pour
ed into Bucharest, jamming the
capital. They came without direc
tion or general plan, individually
fleeing in front of the threatened
Red army advance.
-V
JAP CRUISER HIT
BY ALLIED BOMBS
Big Navy Catalinas Score
Direct Strike On En
emy Ship
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC ALLIED
HEADQUARTERS, Tuesday. Nov.
If). —OR)— A Japanese cruiser —
latest in a series of cruisers to be
smashed by Allied planes—has been
directly hit and severely damaged
by Catalinas off Rabaul, New Bri
tain.
Headquarters, in reporting the
air action today, also reported a
large merchantman bombed by the
Catalinas.
The cruiser was hit on the stern
by a 1,000 pound bomb A 500
pounder hit the merchantman a
midships. At Empress Augusta Bay
the American beachhead on the
west central coast of Bougainville
island in the northern Solomons,
the Marines and soldiers have
cJashed with Japanese patrols on
the flanks.
Coiron onomv nlonPc oftnolror)
tne American positions ai night,
causing minor casualties
Allied planes, attacking Japan
ese air bases at Buka, on Bou
gainville’s northern tip, dropped
51 tons of bombs and destroyed
four Zeros on the ground.
Since a 350-ton bombing attack
on Rabaul on October 12 touched
off the current operations in the
Bougainville-New Britain sector,
two cruisers have been sunk and
more than 10 damaged by Allied
planes at Rabaul.
The latest blows by the Catalina
ilying boats were scored Saturday
right and in the pre-dawn of Sun
day.
The cruiser was in a convoy
spotted 18 miles northwest of Ra
baul and coving toward that base.
The 1,000 pound bomb penetrated
the cruiser’s armament and ex
ploded inside. Anti aircraft fire on
the ships and enemy fighter planes
forced the Catalinas to leave before
tney could determine if the cruiser
sank.
IS FOREIGN PLAN
Secretary Of State Terms
Document Free Fron
Secrets
PEOPLE MUST ASSIST
Program Will Fall Througli
Unless Nations Give
Help
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15—
(TP) — Secretary of State Hull
asked Americans today to ac
cept as their non - political
foreign policy the charter of
international unity laid down
in the Moscow pact, a docu
ment he termed free from se
cret commitments.
’The people, he said at a
press conference in which he
made his first public report
on the Moscow meeting, must
carry forward the program of
international cooperation for
peace established at the Am
erican-British-Russian dis
cussions last month, or they
will have no program.
A reporter asked if he be
lieved foreign policy should
be taken out of politics, and
he replied affirmatively. For
a year, the secretary report
he has been working toward
a united foreign policy by
conferring with leaders of all
parties.
ui-i-arnsan approval «otea
There has been generally bi
partisan approval in Congress of
the Moscow agreement. Hull is
to address a joint session of the
House and Senate Thursday at
noon, and in commenting on this
today Senator Lucas CD-Ill) said,
“I think his appearance will dem
onstrate the solidarity of Amer
ican peace aims.” Lucas could
recall no other occasion in history
when a cabinet member was in
vited to make such an appear
ance.
Among other points mentioned
by Hull in his hour-long and un
usually informal meeting with the
press:
1. He is confident that the sound
view of the American public is
for creation of agencies to insure
national security and world oi'der
under law.
2. The war-and-peace unity de
claration of Moscow came about
(Continued on Page Eight; Col. 2)
■—-—
Community
War Chest Facts
The American friends of
Czechoslovakia sponsor the
United Chechoslovak Relief
Fund. Food, clothing, medical
supplies, nurseries, and health
clinics for refugees in Russia,
Switzerland, England, North
Africa, Spain. Tnr'-igal, Swed
en, and Mauritius are the pri
I mary objectives of this fine
organization. In addition, spec
ial kits and packages for mem
> bers of the Czechosloval- Army.
To jo Has Become National Jap Hero
And Unchallenged Dictatorial Chief
BY RUSSELL BRINES
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Nov.
14 —<iP>— Stern-faced Gen. Hideki
Tojo, Japan’s most active and most
publicized premier, has become the
empire’s outstanding war hero and
at least outwardly its unchalleng
ed dictatorial leader.
As a general and war-time pre
mier, Tojo escapes the criticism
the Japanese usually level against
their commoner rulers. An inten
sive press campaign is building
him up as a symbol of stern de
votion to duty and the frugal living
which the times demand of all sub
jects.
His outward power is tremen
dous, for he completely dominates
a cabinet which rules the country
firmly. Other cabinet members,
even the navy minister, are of re
latively little importance amid the
fanfare of the government-inspir
ed propaganda surrounding Tojo.
His picture is constantly in the
newspapers showing him visiting
wounded soldiers and sailors, ad
dressing factory workers, visiting
youthful war orphans.
Tojo is never shown smiling. He
always wears the same expression
— solemn and severe, with out
thrust jaw and squared shoulders,
accepting homage with condescen
sion and a brief salute.
Newsreels show him marching
briskly during reviews so that his
aids, some of whom are large
physically, have to step lively to
keep pace.
Some pictures of the premier
conferring with his subordinates
give the premier an expression of
hurried impatience. Other shots
show a striking similarity to the
emperor.
Japan’s war leader has traveled
widely in the past two years al
most always by air, so that he has
become Japan’s first premier to
fly while in office.
In addition to numerous trips to
(Continued on Page. Eight; Col. S)
11,000 War Chest Volunteer Workers Open $145,399 Campaign In City