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^'0Ljfi^O^285 WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1943 _FINAL EDITION_ ESTABLISHED 1867 _
“NO POWER O.N r.AKlil can prevent the destruction of the German Armies . . . and their war plants
from the air," read the proclamation of the Big Three at the Cairo conferences. Thus every industrial
area in the Reich becomes an automatic target for the Allied bombers as a prelude to the vast invasion
program blueprinted at Teheran. “The RAF will bomb every city in Germany by night and we will
by dav." adds Gen. Henry H. Arnold, U. S. Army Air forces chief. This map indicates the doomed
cities.-—i International)._
Wilmington Snowbound In Worst Cold
Of Winter; All Schools Closed Today
IIAFFITT POSTAL 1
SERVICE NEARS
dee Of Classified Type
[fill Be Ready For
Business Soon
The new post office which will
be opened in Maffitt Village some
time in January will be a classi
fied instead of a contract station
as formerly announced and plan
mi. according re information re
ceived late Wednesday by Wilbur
Cosher, postmaster.
A representative- from the Post
Ci'ice department, Washington,
I visited Wilmington several months
1 ago and recommended that a eon
I tract station be opened here. Bids
were received and sent to Wash
ington.
Several local persons wet e of the
opinion that a contract station
wouldn't be of sufficient service
to take care of the growing Maf
t" Village community and insisted
that a classified station be opened
instead. Another survey was made
ty federal post office officials and
i’e second representative agreed
with those in authority here that
5 -eQuote service couldn’t be ren
dered with the contract type and
lie recommended the classified
' in6', ^‘s was accepted and it
p ,je opened soon, perhaps early
in January.
The contract type post office
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 8)
-V
WEATHER
I FORECAST
CAROLINA: Fair and continu
ea cold tomorrow.
[ (Eastern Standard Time)
| v ■ . 1 • s* Weather Bureau)
_ ■ h -"roiQgi^i data for the 24 hours
;:1® 7:20 pm. 3'esterday.
Temperature
37, 7:30 am, 37; 1:30 pm, ?7,
«•«<) Pm, ?i.
*6> Minimum 21, Mean 34,
* ,.1f Humidity
•*.;5'- 7:30 am, *92, 1 ;30 pm, 94,
J Pm, 95.
Tnt.i , Precipitation
iy :l,r Ihe 24 hours ending 7:30 pm,
T >‘iChe-S'
i .J • hnce the first of the month,
<0 inches.
"0W: 5 inches at 7:10 pm.
p Tides For Today
V1 sonL the Tide Tables published by
r ‘ Coast and Geodetic Survey)
High Low
unungton --12:41a 7:48a
y.„r, \ 1:03p 8:30p
ribor° Inlet __* _ 10:32a 4:22a
* ll:0ip 4:59p
\r0nn .1Se 7;ll am, Sunset.- 5:05 pm;
1Se 9:42 pm, Muonset, 10548 am.
vin!Pe Fear R,’ver s'age at Fayette.
on l>ec. 15, at 8 am, 9.47 feet.
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 6)
swopping!
DAYS LEFT-I
-TO GET
v *roy
Sailboat
NEDDIE
ChnstmasSea/s
\
City Covered By 5 Inches
Before 8 O’CIock; Tem
perature Down To 18
Wilmington felt the impact of the
coldest weather of the season as
wintry blasts struck the city early
Wednesday afternoon.
The temperature was expected
to drop to 18 degrees before Thurs
day morning.
The Southern Bell Telephone and
Telegraph company reported at
midnight it had been unable to re
store disrupted service between
Wilmington, Goldsboro and Ral
eigh.
The interruption in its service af
fected all side connections out of
these cities.
Western Union declared its serv
ice uninterrupted.
By 8 o’clock more than five
inches of snow had fallen and flur
ries were still falling.
While the city remains in the
grip of the coldest, iciest winds
felt this winter the fuel oil sit
uation was described as "acute”
by local dealers. Many citizens
are said to posses empty oil tanks;
there is not enough oil to go around.
Police reported 18 wrecks had
occured before 10 o'clock Wednes
day night. Police Chief Casteen
said that the unusual weather had
caused a sharp increase in minor
traffic accidents. lie warned citi
zens to drive as little as possible
and when driving proceed with
extreme caution.
The fire department reported
one alarm in the middle of the
afternoon, with no' material dam
age resulting.
Highway patrolmen reported sev
eral highway accidents in the coun
ty, none serious, but many ve
hicles created hazards.
Fatrolmen have asked the public
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 2)
JAPANESE REFUSE
GAUGE OF BATTLE
Carrier Saratoga Skipper
Tells Of Challenge
Issued At Truk
___
j WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.—
'Literally daring the Japanese fleet
to come out of its great bastion
at Truk, and American carrier
task force sailed close to that
south Pacific island, but the Japs
refused to fight., it was revealed
today.
Capt. John N. Cassady, skipper
of the aircraft carrier Saratoga,
told a press conference:
“We were sent up on ‘Guinea
pig’ runs on Truk trying to get
the Japs to poke their nose out
but they stayed securely behind
their nets in the harbor.”
He declined to estimate how
close the Saratoga sailed to the
biggest Japanese base in the south
Pacific but said “we went into
areas where thev normally run air
searches, but I don’t believe we
were picked up ”
Tall, lean, tanned and a veteran
flier, Cassady predicted that if the
American campaign of pushing the
Japanese back from the south Pa
cific should be carried to Truk
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 5)
TREASURY WANTS
VICTORYTAX HELD
Says It Would Be Better
On Low Income Bracket
Than Substitute
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.—W—
The Treasury advised senators to
day to retain the 3 per cent victory
1ax in its present form rather than
undertake to substitute a new
minimupi tax” on persons in low
income brackets.
In a statement issued after the
f inance committee had over
whelmingly rejected an alternate
plan advanced by the treasury,
Randolph Paul, treasury general
counsel declared:
"The minimum tax endangers
the collection of more than $17,
000.000,000 from over 50.000,000
taxpayers throughout the income
scale.”
His argument was that the vic
tory tax is less complicated than
the minimum tax system voted by
the house; that the victory tax
returns will have to be made next
March anyway for 1943 income,
and that introduction of a new
type of levy applicable to 1944 ad
vance declarations would lead to
‘ confusion and misunderstanding”
among the taxpayers.
Declaring that “the minimum
tax in its proper perspective may
jeopardize the whole income tax
system,” Paul added:
“It is necessary to the survival
of a tax law affecting over 50.000.
000 people that the law be made
understandable to those people.”
The House solution of the prob
lem of integrating the victory tax
with the regular income tax levy
was to provide that no taxpayer
should pay less than 3 per cent
cn his net income in excess of a
special exemption. The exemption
would be $500 for a single person.
$700 for a married person, and
a $100 credit for each dependent.
The treasury clan was to lower
the married exemption from $1,200
to $1,100, cut the credit for de
pendents from $350 to $300, leave
the $500 single person’s exemption
untouched, and let the regular in
come tax rates prevail.
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 1)
U. S. FLIERS BOMB NAZI BASES IN GREECE;
8W WINS NEW ITALIAN BRIDGEHEAD;
N/M ANNOUNCE 2 NEW RED OFFENSIVES
& Jw .. _ +_ x —
Moscu Declares Drive
South Of Cherkesy
Is Successful
BOTH IN WHITE RUSSIA
Great Winter Thrust Is
Forecast By Soviet
Directed Radio
LONDON, Dec. 15. — (/Ph
Moscow announced tonight that
Red Army troops continued
their successful offensive to
day south and southeast of re
captured Cherkasy and a Reut
ers dispatch declared Soviet
forces in this sector had es
tablished contact with those
from the Kremenchug zone.
two urives
LONDON, Dec. 15. — (£>) — The
Germans announced today two
powerful Russian drives launched
in White Russia—possible harbing
ers of a thunderous winter offen
sive toward the Baltic and a link
with the Allies in the west—while
Moscow told of 16 more towns
captured in the Ukraine, where the
Soviet tide rolled from captured
Cherkasy to within five miles of
Smela.
The Russians also reported that
German forces counter-attacking
toward Kiev were rolled back from
several populated places south of
Malin while a Russian drive to
ward Kirovograd in the South Uk
raine gained improved positions.
A Reuters report that the Rus
sans had succeeded in linking their
Kremenchug and Cherkasy bridge
heads across the middle Dnieper
was not specifically confirmed by
the Moscow communique broadcast
recorded by the Soviet monitor.
However it said the town of Lomn
vatoe, 15 miles southeast of Cher
kasy and 20 miles east of Smelt
was captured, indicating that a
junction, if not made would not be
delayed.
The most important advance ui
the day recorded by the Soviet
bulletin was the capture of Byel
ozere a rail station five miles
northeast of Smela, an important
communications hub on the non”'
south railway in the Dnieper bend.
From Berlin came reports of
two Soviet drives which may prove
the most significant operations
now underway on the long Rus
sian front.
For the second day the Kus
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 5)
Blame For Brewster
Failure Is Placed On
3 Interests Involved
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15—<«—
A House naval sub committee
today blamed union chieftains,
management and the Navy
production failures at Brews
ter Aeronautical Corporation
and recommended criminal
prosecution of Tom de Loren
zo, whom it described as ^
“power drunk labor leader.
It said it had evidence that
De Lorenzo, president of local
3G5, United Automotive Work
ers (CIO), had made false
statements under oath.
The committee’s report gave
the Brewster firm another
chance to correct production
failures and end labor troubles
by recommending continuance
of its multi—billion dollar con
tract for naval planes. How
ever, it flatly declared that
the contract should be cancell
ed if production schedules are
unmet or “at the first out
break of labor difficulties in
the future'.”
Battle Of Kiev Bulge
Has Strategic Impact
By KIRKE L. SIMPSON
Associated Press War Analyst
Unequaled in its potential stra
tegic impact upon the war in Eur
ope bv any conflict in Russia
‘dnce Stalingrad, the battle of the
K;ev bulge is raging through its
fifth week with its outcome still
ir,As° at'Stalingrad, where a year
_„n the Nazi attack on Russia
reached its high-water mark, Rus
sian and German official reports
from the Kiev bulge front do more
fr ohscure the true situation than
to reveal significant battle trends
They leave no doubt, however, tha
the Kiev salient fight is the pivot
noon which events are turning in
to? east to shape f*ie strategy pat
tern of the struggle on all Euro
pean fronts next year, the year
of decision in Russian-Allied reck
oning.
EarlieV Moscow intimations that
the massive German counter of
fensive west of Kiev had been
stalled prove premature. Russian
surrender of the important high
way junction town of Radomysl on
the west bank of the Teterev river
represented a new dent in the So
viet defensive line. It did not,
however, imply a Nazi break
through or even a critical defeat
for Red troops. Moscow announce
ment of the evacuation of Ra
damysl suggests retirement to the
(Continued on Page Seven; Col. 4)
■ ■ ' ■ "ll
Model Kills Self I
BCUNUJS Catherine Cun old, 3a, a
former photographer’s model,
committed suicide in her New
York City apartment after brood
ing over the war. She wished to
see America win the war and yet
be able to see her two brothers,
Nazi soldiers, come out alive.—
(International).
TAFT ATTEMPTS
SUBSIDY PEACE
Offers Proposal To Break
Senate Deadlock With
Cut In Allowances
WASHINGTON. Dec. 15.—(A*)—
Senator Taft (R-Ohio) sought to
break the Senate deadlock on food
subsidies today through a com
promise bill which he said would
eliminate government payments
to roll back beef and butter prices
and the present milk subsidy, but
retain most other price controls.
The Taft amendment, proposing
to slash federal subsidy outlays
from their current SI .000,000,000 a
year level to $600,000,000 in 1944,
was offered formally in the Sen
ate after the Senate banking com
mittee put off until tomorrow a de
cisive vote on pending legislation
to repeal the entire subsidy pro
gram.
Taft expressed belief his pro
posal might be accepted by a ma
jority of the members of the bank
ing committee, even though con
ceding it was unacceptable either
to administration price control of
ficials or farm bloc spokesmen.
Under the taft plan the govern
ment would guarantee support
prices to farmers on selected com
modities to encourage production,
and pay subsidies to processors
and distributors where otherwise
it would be necessary for them to
raise retail prices. The guaran
teed prices would be supported by
direct government purchases
where necessary.
“The net effect would be to
eliminate the present $20,000,000
a 3'ear subsidy on beef and the
$200,000,000 milk subsidy in the
form of a dairy feed payment to
producers,” Taft said. “The but
ter rollback also would be elimi
nated but the same purpose could
be accomplished through a sup
ported price.
“Milk might go up a cent a
quart, and beef might go up but
generally speaking other prices
could be held stable and the ef
fect on the cost of living would
be negligible,” Taft added.
Existing subsidies which Taft
said wouid be retained under his
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 6)
_v
Franklin Junior On Way
From Charleston To D.C.
CHARLESTON, Dec. 15.—(AO—Lt.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., USNR,
has arrived here en route to Wash
ington, the Navy Yard public rela
tions office announced this after
noon.
Roosevelt stopped here in tne
hope of seeing a Baltimore sailor
whom he rescued from the bridge
of a warship off Italy several weeks
ago. The man had been under
treatment at the naval hospital
but was moved recently to Wash
ington for further treatment.
The public relations office said
young Roosevelt would leave to
night for Washington, but declined
to say immediately where he had
been or how he had arrived in the
United States.
SALDARI CAPTURED
Germans Complain Of
Having To Fight Tough
Men From Texas
200 PRISONERS TAKEN
Clark's Forces Relatively
Quiet; Battle On Adria
tic Front Heavy
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Al
giers, Dec. 15.-Indian and Ca
nadian troops of Gen. Sir Bernard
L. Montgomerys Eighth Army
have carved out a firm five-mile
wide bridgehead north of the Moro
river on the Italian Adriatic coast,
it was announced today, while the
Fifth Army front, relatively quiet
militarily, was marked by com
plaints by Nazi prisoners that they
were forced to fight against “tough
wild men from Texas.”
Caldari Captured
Veteran Indian troops, fighting
forward a few miles inland from
the Adriatic, captured the village
of Caldari, six miles from Ortona,
against fierce German resistance
and seized 200 prisoners. This
merged the Moro bridgehead forc
ed by the Indians several days
ago with that won by the Canadi
ans along the coast, making a solid
bieach in the enemy’s defenses
five miles wide and from one to
three miles deep.
It was disclosed that the ag
giessive Canadians, who have been
locked in desperate fighting around
the town of San Leonardo, 2 1-2
miles north of the Moro, for six
days, stager! a night ra'd o- the
viliage of Berrati in which they
captured nearly 150 German pris
oners, including the commanding
officer of the 361st - rmorc^ ■ rer
adier division. The Canadians re
tiled after the raid, taking all
equipment of value with them.
Berrati is about two miles south
of Ortona, coastal anchor of the
Nazis’ present defense line, upon
which the Canadians have been
slowly but steadily encroaching.
Ortona must be taken before Mont
gomery can proceed with his “back
acor” advance cn Rome
Among Canadian units revealed
to have been engaged in the Ital
ian fighting up to Dec. 1 were the
Fourth Princess Louise dragoon
guards.
The weather improved across the
front, but activity along the Fifth
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 7)
-V
Federal Grand Jury’s
Liquor Investigation
Is At Subpoena Stage
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.—UP)
—A federal grand jury inves
tigation was projected today
into practices in the nation’s
billion dollar liquor industry,
already under the scrutiny of
Justice department agents and
a special Senate committee.
Subpoenas were Issued for
records of the “big four” dis
tilleries, Hiram Walker &
Sons, Inc., Joseph E. Seagram
& Sons, Inc., National Distill
ers Products Corporation and
Schenley Distillers Corpora
tion, returnable Jan. 6 to the
regular District of Columbia
grand jury.
Wendell Berge, assistant at
torney general in charge of
the anti-trust division, disclos
ed a month ago that the de
partment had an inquiry un
der way.
The distilleries named in the
subpoenas were singled out
recently bv Chairman Van
Nuys (D-Ind) during hearings
by his special Senate commit
tee set up to inquire into the
liquor situation._._
Honors Hero Kin |]
READY to christen the destroyer
escort Garfield Thomas at the
Federal Shipyards in Newark, N.
J., is Lt. Betty K. Thomas of the
Army Medical Corps. The ship
was named for her brother, Lt.
William Garfield Thomas, who
lost his life in the Solomons in
’42.— (International).
BOUGAINVILLE AIR
BASE IS IN ACTION
Allies Enabled To Apply
Pincers On Both Ends
Of New Britain
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC ALLIED
HEADQUARTERS. Thursday, Dec.
1C.—(5*1—Lifting of adverse weath
er in the Solomons islands has
brought the new American air
play, resulting m the coordination
cf heavy air attacks on botli ends
of Japanese-held New Britain is
land.
The importance of this pincers
attack was brought out by Gen.
Douglas MacArtbur’s communique
yesterday which reported assaults
on all sides of New Britain, key
stone of Japan’s hold on the South
Pacific. The raids were the heav
iest and most widespread since
announcement lost week that the
Ailied airfield on Empress Augus
ta bay, on the west coast of Bou
gainville, was in operation. Stormy
weather had put a damper on air
operations in the Solomons for sev
eral days.
Some 1,400 miles to the north
east, Liberator bombers of the 7th
Army Air Free went into their
second month of sustained pound
ing of the Marshall islands. The
latest attack, on Monday, was on
Wotje atoll, site of one of several
Japanese air oases in those is
lands. Pacific fleet headquarters
announced the raid last night. It
said that one of the bombers was
damaged by am:-aircraft fire but
none of the crew was injured.
Jaluit. another Japanese air base
in the Marshalls, was nit by two
Liberators of the Pacific fleet air
y/ing on Sunday. Both planes were
damaged and one pilot wounded.
Army Liberators had assailed Ja
luit earlier in the day.
The Gasmata area, an enemy
supply center on the south cost
of New Britain, was the target of
the heaviest raid of the many re
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 1)
JIG OBJECTIVES HIT
ieavy Planes Open Olfenr
sive Foretold By Gen.
Henry H. Arnold
12 FOE SHIPS DOWNED
One Of 300 American
Ships Felled; Damage
Airdromes, Harbor
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS. Al
giers, Dec. 15.— W —More than
300 Flying Fortresses, Liberators
rnd escorting Lightnings of the
powerful new American 15th stra
tegic air force opened the winter
bombing offensive from Mediter
ranean bases yesterday with
smashing attacks on three big Na
zi military airdromes in the out
skirts of Athens and the harbor of
Piraeus, gateway to the Greed
capital.
It was the greatest aerial blow
yet struck at Hitler’s Balkan hold
ings and marked fulfillment of
last Sunday’s promise by Gen.
Henry H. Arnold, chief of U. S.
An Forces, that “terrible blows
would be launched from this area
at Germany and her satellites.
Damage Heavy
(Dispatches did not disclose
whether the bombers in Tuesday’s
raid took off from their old North
African bases or from fields new
ly prepared for them in southern
Italy.)
Returning fliers said heavy
damage was inflicted on Kalama
ki, Tatoi and Elevsis airfields and
cn merchant stopping in Piraeus
harbor. All four targets are with
in 10 miles of Athens and within
the vital area from Which the Ger
mans must support their tenacious
grip on the Aegean islands.
The big bombers directed their
heaviest smash at Kalamaki air
field, where they destroyed hang
ars, wiped out an anti-aircraft
battery and pitted the runways.
Smaller Fortress formations hit
the other two airfields and Pi
raeus harbor in what Col. K. K.
Compton of St. Joseph, Mo., fly
ing his 200th mission, called “a
perfectly co-ordinated blitz.’’
Compton led the famous raid on
the Ploesti oil fields in Rumania
last August.
About 35 German fighters zoom
ed up to challenge the raiders and
12 were destroyed by bomber gun
ners and the Lightnings One For
tress was lost on thee mission.
Several Yugoslav pilots were
among the Lightning escort, but
they failed to get into a fight.
Elevsis, Kalamaki and Tatoi
fields have been the Nazis’ princi
pal mainland air bases in the Ae
gean area, while Piraeus has been
their chief port for supplying the
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 4)
-v
Political Fires Break
Out Anew Over Soldier
Vote Bill In Senate
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.—Am
—The bitter political dispute
over the service vote bill flar
ed in the Senate again today,
with a Republican inviting
soutnern democrats to join
the G. O. P. in fighting a
fourth term and a wester*
democrat replying that tne
opposition is “afraid” of Pres
ident Roosevelt as a candidate.
Seventy-two-year-old Senator
i Moore of Oklahoma, a life long
j Democrat until he ran in 1!H*
as a Republican to defeat for
mer Senator Josh Lee, a New
dealer, touched a match t*
the powder keg by calling un
constitutional the administra
tion’s rejected plan for federal
supervision of absentee voting
by service personnel.
Railroad Brotherhoods bet Dec. 30
For Three-Day Progressive Strike
CLEVELAND Dec. 15.— Ilf) —
Setting a joint nation-wide walk
out date foi the third time in his
tory the operating railroad broth
erhoods today established Dec. 30
and the three succeeding days for
a “progressive strike which the
National Mediation Board immedi
ately sought to avert.
The board invited railroad offi
cials and leaders of the 350000
unionists—97.7 per cent of whom
voted for a walkout to enforce
demands for wage increases—to
meet Monday in Chicago. Presi
dents of the five brotherhoods de
claring this was “a strike against
inflation for the privileged few and
deflation for the many announc
ed they would attend
The brotherhoods asked pay
raises of 30 per cent in proceed
ngs which began last January and
object to an emergency boards
iward of increases of four cents
in hour under the “little steel
iormula which permits raises only
ip to 15 per cent above the Jan. 1
L941 level. The 15 non-operating
inions also have taken a strike
lallot but are awaiting final Con
gressional action on a resolution
which would jgiven them raise
if eight cents an hour—the same
imount vetoed by Stabilization Di
rector Vinson after it was recom
nended last May by an emergency
ioard.
Declaring they were “thorough
y aware of a strikes ~“immedi
ate effects” the brotherhood pres
idents contended “in the long run”
such action "will redound both t«
the military success of the war
fare of the common people of this
nation.”
The presidents are A. F. Whit
ney of the trainmen D. B. Rob
ertson of the firemen and engine
men Alvanley Johnston of the lo
comotive engineers H. 1~. Fraser
of the railway conductors and T. ,
C. Cashen of the switchmen.
“It is a strike against inflation
for the privileged few and defla
tion for the many they asserted
in a joint statement adding that
the railroad workers “do not be
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 1).