North Carolina Newspapers

HS] WUmittfltan Unrning ®tar [—] V£lil_76—N()- 2jj> __WILMINGTON, N. C., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29; IM3_FiNAL EP1T1QN — ESTABLISHED 1867 U. S. Is Using ANewWeapon In The Pacific Japs Being Driven Back By World’s Greatest Carrier Fleet DESTROYER IS SUNK Navy Has Not Been Idle In Arms Development, Knox Says WASHINGTON, Dec. 28.— UP) — American secret weapons, plus the world’s largest fleet of aircraft car riers, are driving the Japanese back from bases captured in the enemy's initial lunge out into the Pacific. This was disclosed today by Sec retary of the Navy Knox who re vealed at the same time that an American destroyer was sunk and a small coastal transport damaged by enemy bombs Sunday in the invasion of Cape Gloucester on New Britain island. That landing is part of the campaign to knock out Rabaul Japanese key base in the south Pacific. Ship Not Named The destroyei was not identified nor was Knox able to give the number of casualties. The sink ing of the destroyer brought to 134 the number of American naval craft lost since the war started. Knox provided little information on the secret weapon or weapons which he said the Navy has de veloped during the last year and put into service against the Nazis and the Japanese. ■•In the field of new weapons, or secret weapons,” he said in re viewing he year, “the Navy has by no means beer idle The Japa nese especially have felt the sting of weapons which although greatly improved, nevertheless are of con ventional types. Japanese and Nazi alike, however, also have felt de struction wi ought by weapons not known to them, and will continue to do so.” f Largest in World In discussing expansion of t h e fleet—to the largest in the world —Knox said that carriers, includ ing escorts, now total “six times as many in commission as there were when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.” At that time the Navy had seven carriers in serv ice, making the present total more than 42. Aboard those carriers, Knox said, (Continued on Page Five; Col. 3) \T .... I N. C. GAS SHORTAGE UNKNOWN TO PAW Officials Say Buying Spree Has Caused Stocks To Drop WASHINGTON. Dec. 28— (iP) — A petroleum Administration for War PAW spokesman today at tributed a reported gasoline short age in North Carolina to a rush of holiday buying and the recent scare brought on by rumors that a sales 'freeze” was planned. The PAW representative said of ficials here were not aware of a North Carolina gasoline shortage, but it one exists it should only be a temporary matter siqce we are meeting allocations to all east coast areas.” He explained that PAW was not denying a drought existed, but that spot shortages like this appears to be develop frequently and are often cleared up before we are ad vised.” The spokeman added that 'with I the small margin under which •Continued on Page Two; Col. 5) -V WEATHER FORECASTS NORTH CAROLINA: Cloudy and lightly colder Wednesday. Rain chang ■:;C to snow west portion, ending Wed nesday forenoon. Rain east portion end ing Wednesday afternoon. Colder Wed nesday night temperature 22-26 west 3«d 28-32 east portions. Thursday partly cloudy and continued cold. 1 Eastern Standard Time) , fBy IT. s. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7 ;;(J p_ m.t yesterday. , Temperature f:30 am. 46. 7:30 am. 45. 1:30 pm. 48 1 ;30 pm, 49. Maximum 51, Minimum 44, Mean 48, Normal 47. Humidity i;30 am, 96, 7:30 am, 100, 1:30 pm, 92, i :3° Pm, 96. Precipitation Total for the 24 hours ending 7 :30 pm, ®'ll inches. Total since the first of the month, “■24 inches. Tides For Today (From the Tide Tables published by c- S. Coast and Geodetic Survey) High Low Vtilmiiigton — 11:39a 6:30a ll:53p 6:52p A'asonboro Inlet - _ 9:24a 2:57a 9:41p , 3:44p Sunrise, 7:17 am, Sunset, 5:12 pm. Xioonrise, 9:27 a, Moonset, 8:13 p. ^Continued on Page Five; Col. 6) Fresh Ham Raised One Ration Point WASHINGTON, ^ec. 28. — (£>) — Fresh ham was boosted one point per pound in ration value today and other meat items in general were left unchanged for January in the face of a congressional move to take pork off the ration list entirely for a time to clear a market glut. The Office of Price Admin istration, in announcing next month’s few changes in meat and fat values, reported that movement of fresh hams has increased considerably since validation of spare stamp No. 1 in ration book 4 for five points on pork. For that rea son the current difference be tween ration point value of fresh and smoked hams was eliminated. Because of overcrowded cold storage facilities, another gen eral reduction of meat point values had been considered a possibility. Such a slash recent ly was applied to pork items to move a record production into consumption. Movement of some processed foods out of storage, however, is expected to provide addi tional space for meat. That movement at the same time in creases the likelihood of a re duction in processed food va (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) -V TWELVE JAPANESE SHIPS ARE SUNK One Destroyer And Other Vessels Destroyed By U. S. Subs WASHINGTON, Dec. 28. — (JP)~ Raiding Japanese supply lines ov er which the enemy is trying to supply bases in the South Pacific, American submarines have blasted a destroyer and 11 other vessels to bring to 536 the number of en emy craft sunk, probably sunk or damaged by the undersea arm of the Navy. This largest sinking report in recent months gave emphasis tq a recent statement by Secretary Knox that the submarines on their lonely patrols through the far Pa cific are doing “an excellent job.” No details were disclosed on the sinking of the destroyer, two large tankers, one large freighter, two medium transports and six medium freighters, which went down “somewhere in the Pacific.” All of the ships sunk were in the category of versels used to carry men and materials to the far flung Japanese bases. Presumably the destroyer was on convoy duty. The submarine damage, which with aerial bombing has forced the Japanese in some parts of the South Pacific to resort to use of barges for moving supplies, brought to 386 the number of en emy ships definitely sunk. In ad dition the Navy has announced probable sinking of 36 Japanese ships and damaging of 114 others. Marines Advancing ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD QUARTERS, New Guinea, Wednes day, Dec. 29. — (£>)— The United States Marines invading Cape Gloucester, New Britain, are with in a mile and a half of the enemy airdrome, Gen. Douglas MacArth ur’s communique said today. Thirty-seven Japanese planes were downed in heavy enemy raids on the Sixth Army’s positions at Arawe, 60 miles southeast of Cape Gloucester. The enemy again at tacked outposts there, but were repulsed as they were in previous attacks Sunday morning. The enemy showed fighting en ergy in opposition to the Marine landing forces at Cape Gloucester, setting off four stiff counterattacks against the Leathernecks east of the cape. All were beaten back, the communique said. The airdrome at Cape Gloucester is the prime objective of the Lea thernecks who established beach heads there in Sunday’s landings. Target Hill, a 450-foot elevation, fell to the Marines shortly after the landing, and this position is being used by Marine artillery to pound the enemy positions on and near the airdrome. Soviets Cross Teterev River In Fast Drive Red Troops Push South ward Toward Border Of Old Rumania KOROSTISHEV TAKEN Shock Force Beats Back 18 German Counter- At tacks LONDON. Wednesday, Dec. 29. —UP—The Soviet second Ukrainian army, sweeping through 60 more communities in its fast-moving winter offensive, has forced the Teterev river and captured Koro stishev, 16 miles east of Zhitomir, in fierce street fighting and at the same time is pushing south westward toward the border of Rumania, 115 miles away. Another important Russian shock force beat back 18 German counter-attacks and killed more than 1,200 Germans as it captured several populated places in north ern White Russia on the approach es to Vitebsk. Moscow reports said the Russians, who were bearing down toward this German fortress from the north anc. east, were five miles away in cne sector. Tense Engagement Far to the south, in the Dnieper bend, more than 33 German tanks and 1,000 men were destroyed af ter a tense engagement north of Kirovograd in which a German at tack with large forces of infantry and tanks cracked up against a deadly Russian artillery and mor tar barrage. The Moscow midnight communi que, recorded by the Soviet moni tor from a broadcast, said the Germans were forced to withdraw to their original positions in this area. In the Kiev area the Soviet of fensive, now in its sixth day, has wrested back fully half the ground the Germans had painfully won in six costly weeks of counter-offen sive. The Germans were falling back so rapidly they were forced to abandon 76 big guns, 10,000 mines, 30,000 shells, nearly a mil lion cartridges and 100 trucks to the Russians, who also took a con siderable number ct prisoners. Thirty-six German tanks and self propelled guns were destroyed and six were captured. Equipment Abandoned Moscow reports said the area was strewn with German dead and abandoned equipment as the Rus sians moved to within artillery range of the strategic rail junction of Zhitomir. The Moscow daily communique, reported at ieast two more towns captured in the fast-growing bulge to the south of this area where the" Russians appeared headed straight for Eerdichev and the Bes#arabian border. These were the Nekhvoroschch, 17 miles north east of Berdichev, and Pavoloch, 25 miles southwest of Fastov. The Russians had previously captured Vcheraisne, marking cut a 22-mile salient posing' an ultimate threat to Rumaria and an immediate threat to the Germans’ important east-west communications. When the Russians first swept out west of Kiev to capture Zhito mir on Nov. 14 the Germans held grimly against a southern push and maintained a line from Fastov west to Khorlyevka and Zhitomir This German-held “floor” on the Kiev bulge indicated Nazi fears against a southern push and was a prelude to their derct mined coun ter-attack that took back Zhitomir and rolled east to the leterev river. Now the Russians have broken through that floor and in addition to driving straight west for Zhito mir are pounding alon that rail line southwest to Kazatin, Vin nitsa and Zhrnerinka. This line, part of the hitomir-Odessa north south communications route, is an important Nazi feeder route for its southern front. German reports of fighting in this area said the Soviet “large scale attacks” continued with strong infantry and tank forces, but said tne Russians had been checked with the loss of 20 tanks. Tiny Island In Atlantic Aids Allied Movement Of Planes To Africa WASHINGTON, Dec. 28— UFl — A pinpoint of land in the South At lantic, less than 38 square miles in area, was disclosed by the Ar my today as one o! the most vi tal spots in Allied strategy. It has served as a funnel for shipping 5,000 planes to Africa. / The War Department lifted the veil of secrecy from the role play ed by tiny Ascension island, a d6t on the place ferry route between South America and Africa. Ascension is only one stop on one route which the Air Transport Command uses in its trans-Atlan tic operations, but the department declared that probably no base has such strategic significance. It was announced last April that Lockheed Lightning P-38’s, single seater fighter planes, were going to the wars under their own pow er. Ascension island was the key. Ascension, the War Department said, was one of the main gate ways through which the U. S. sent increasingly heavy air power ‘so important in driving the Axis out of North Africa and forcing the surrender of Italy.” Construction of wideawake field on Ascension was started March 30, 1943 when a detachment of Army engineers moved in and started working day and night on the pile (Continued on Page Five; Col, 7) V GOVERNMENT EXTENDS ITS CONTROL OF CARRIERS, TROOPS ARE READY; ¥ffr$ OF STEEL MEN RESUME WORK More lit, 25,000 Men Have Gone Back To Mill Jobs 125,000 TONS ARE LOST No Agreement Reached On Wage Dispute—Murray Is Silent PITTSBURGH, Dec. 28. —(IP)— Most of the more than 170,000 steel workers idle since midnight Dec. 24 returned to their jobs today, with some of their leaders claim ing victor in the first round in the battle of the CIO united steel workers union for a wage boost oi 17 cents an hour above the ceiling fixed y the “Little Steel” formu la. Reports from the nine states where scores of mills were closed showed more than 125,000 had re turned by nightfall with others ex pected back when operating condi tions permitted. The American Iron and Steel Institute in a tentative estimate said about 125,000 tons of steel was lost by the work stoppages. Murray Silent Philip Murray, president of the Union, maintained silence aboul the controversy and during the day joined his committee which is ne gotiating with subsidiaries of the U. S. Steel Corporation here foi a new contract. The “Big Steel” contract is ex pected to be the master plan foi others to be made with 500 con cerns. Neither side would give an estimate of just when this agree ment would be ready for the Wat Labor Board’s approval—or if a stalemate developed as in the re cent coal controversy, wTien it would go before the board for a directive. Attnougn a war La Dor aoara spokesman emphasized again today that wage agreements will be re troactive only so long as the in creases conform with the admin istration’s stabilization program, the feeling was growing in the in dustry that some way will be found to give steel workers a boost. “And I don’t think it will be by giving up our lunches,” chuckled one union leader, referring to the agreement between Secretary Ickes and John L. Lewis which cut IS minutes off the miners’ lunch per iod. He also said he considered the WLB directive of last night grant ing the retroactive pay agree ment a victory because it gave th. union a chance to prove its (Continued on Page Five; Col. 6) TT BOWLES ATTACKS PRESSURE GROUPS Says Their Voices Have Been ‘Too Loud’ For Good Of Nation WASHINGTON. Dec. 28— (<P) — The voices of ‘ profiteers, chisel ers, lobbyists and pressure groups have been altogether too loud and too insistent” for the good of a na tin at war, Price Administrator Chester Bowles said tonight. Expressing a hope that in 194-1 “we here at home can learn to work together in a greater spirit of cooperation and understanding than we nave in the last few months,” the OPA chief said in a radio address over the Blue net work: “Often I have been shocked, as I know you have been, by the self ish clamor of those who seek high er and still higher prices and prof its while the country as a wb#'V is fighting for its existence and its future.” DUWX» ctppeai vuwpcianuxjL on the home front followed a re view of the supply situation for January on each rationed product. He warned that meat points, to be held generally at current lev els during January, may have to be raised in February for some items, adding that “it seems most likely” there will be further in creases in subscaupnt months. Bowles said there would be “some changes” in canned and frozen food values for January, to be announced Thursday, but did not indicate whether they would be lowered or raised. The Administrator asserted that in many respects the truck tire situation constituted the most se rious shortage in the country to (Continued on Page Five; Co1 I Picket Line Thin At Republic Steel Plant I These few pickets showed up at the Dilley Road gate of the Republic Steel company's main plant in Cleveland', Ohio, Dec. 27, as 7,000 CIO United Steel Workers of America halted work after expiration of their contract. Nearly all of the 7,000 workers in this plant were idle. More than 100,000 workers were reported to have stopped work in the nation's steel-producing areas, despite President Roose velt’s appeal for peaceful settlement of a wage, controversy. (AP wirephoto). Nazis Throw Extra Men Into Bloody Italian Fight ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Algiers, Dec. 28.—(A3)— The Germans threw another fresh division into the mud and blood of the Italian front today in a desperate effort to halt relentless Allied attacks which are prying the Nazis loose from their grips on the road to Rome and on the __*4-. ,* „ ~ _ji j it --v SALERNO LANDING ON A SHOESTRING Army Discloses Fifth Had Only Three Divisions At Beginning ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Al giers. Dec. 28- i®' —Tb'’ TUl;a" campaign, now engaging hundreds of thousands of men, began with the Fifth Army strength amount ing to only three infantry divisions and the Eighth Army to little more than a corps it was revealed to day in an official review of the Italian campaign. The original landings at Salerno were made by one American and two Brit:sh divisions ;n a r'r"2*" military gamble because there was insufficient time after the end of the struggle in Sicily to prepare other forces for an amphibious op eration. The seriousness of the Allied po sition in the early stages of this battle and the developments in (Continued on Page Five; Col. 5) USE OF FUEL OIL MUST BE REDUCED OPA Says Many Persons Using More Than Their Allowances Fuel oil users are again warned by officials of the local War Price and Rationing board that they must stay within their allotment if they are to have sufficient oil to carry them through the winter. ‘They defnitely cannot get more oil,” officials said Tuesday. ‘They haven’t lived within their allow ance or this situation would not have arisen and we cannot do anything for them.” A large number of fuel oil users have visited the ration office this week to make a plea for more fuel because they have used more than thir allotment and now are short, due to this recent cold spell. Theodore Johnson, district direc tor, declares that there is a criti cal shortage of fuel oil due to the “overuse” of fuel by North Caro lina ration holders. Reports to the Raleigh OPA of fice indicate that in many areas of North Carolina fuel oil users have far surpassed their percent age consumption based on their annual ration already and unless the fuel use is cut the entire ratio will be used long before the ex piration of the ration period. i xiwiniiife, iiai/LCiiCU pui 1/ U± Ui" tona on the Adriatic sea. (Tuesday’s Germans communi que said Nazi troops had evacu ated the ruins of Ortona and had taken up new positions northwest of the town after inflicting heavy losses on attacking Canadian forces. Hours afterward there was no confirmation from Allied Head quarters. Fourteen German divisions (perhaps 200,000 men) now are known to be engaged in the fight ing across Italy. Yesterday the enemy employed great numbers of flame-throwers all along the Eighth Army front and literally established a wall of fire before Canadian infantry and tanks fight ing in the northern outskirts of Ortona. An Allied field dispatch said German troops still clung to a few buildings at the city’s edge after a solid week of house-to-house fighting, but were being gouged out methodically. Ortona. now a shambles, was a small town of 9, 000 before the war swept through its streets. It is 11 miles down the Adriatic coast from the Major port of Pescara, main objective of the Eighth Army’s drive up Italy’s east coast. American troops of Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark’s Fifth Army look ed down from the last dominating heights of the Samucro mountain range into the streets of the forti fied village of San Vittore, six miles east of Cassino, and pre pared for another vicious battle to wrest this key point on the Via Casilina from German hands. After ousting the Nazis from the last two peaks on Samucro and firmly consolidating their hold on this important feature, American patrols pushed down the southwest slopes to learn that San Vttore was elaborately defended from that side, as well as from its Liri valley approaches. The village must be taken before Clark’s troops can plunge on toward Cas (Continued on Page Five; Col. 2) MORE INVASION HEADS REVEALED Doolittle Is Named Com mander Of U. S. Air Force In Britain WASHINGTON. Dec. 28— (ffi — Maj. Gen. James H. Doolittle, whose strategic airforce slammed a gate across the enemy’s supply routes and smashed his bases be hind him to make Tunisia a trap for Nazi armies, is taking over direction of American airforces in Britain as the time for cross channel invasion approaches. The assignment was annouced by Presidet Roosevelt today along with other major shifts in the high command, including assign ment of Lieut. Gen. Jacob L. De vers, former American command er in the European theater, as commander of American forces in the • Mediterranean area and deputy to Sir Henry Maitland Wil son, over-all commander there. The precise complexion of the air command in Britain was lVt clarifed by the President, who an nounced only that Doolittle had been shifted to head of the 8th Aii* TPivo~ tVioro "Riit wtih Ampri can strategic bombing' of Ger many from Britain or any other base already assigned to Lieut. | Gen. Carl Spaatz, and over-all air command in the invasion from Britain in the hands of Air Mar shal Sir Arthur Tedder, the pros pect arose that Doolittle's chief as signment might be the tactical task of hammering out an inva j sion road barely ahead of the ! landing barges and holding an air umbrella over themf. Speculation on the tactical com mand for the cross-channel drive, however, had centered principal ly on Majj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton recently relieved from command cf the 9th Air Force in North Afri ca without an announced new as signment. The Doolittle appointment still could leave the tactical post to Brereton or someone else with Doolittle handling more gener alized duties. _ Events On Soviet Front Do Much To Support General ’s Prediction By KIRKE L. SIMPSON Associated Press War Analyst Events in Russia go far to sup port General Dwight D. Eisenhow er’s sober confidence that 1944 can be made the victory year in Eu rope under the Allied-Russian three way attack program mapped at Teheran. Eisenhower made his declaration in his farewell to his western Med iterranean command to take over the job of Anglo - American su preme commander in the west. It will now be his duty to* set in mo tion at the appointed time the west ern Jaw of the vast pincer attack agreed upon at Teheran. 8 i As the general spoke his mind, powerful Russian forces in the Kiev bulge again were driving for ward, battering their way toward severance of the only two rail lines still connecting German ar mies in southwestern Russia with Germany. Undeterred by the pro longed and bloody Nazi counter offensive that had held open that vital communications gateway for weeks, the Russians were on the move toward the Rumanian bor der. Berlin estimated the Russian forces into this resumed Red army offensive at 500,000 men, which (Continued on Page Twft; Col. 6) FDR IS HOPEFUL Says U. S. Will Surrender Control At End Of The Emergency UNDER STRIKE ACT - Plans To Name Group To Get Together On His FEPC Committee WASHINGTON, Dec. 28.— W — Hope that the railroads can be turned back to private operation soon was expressed by President Roosevelt today as the Army, on his orders, extended its control to all major carriers and prepared to use troops to un tains if nec essary. Mr. Roosevelt was not specific at his press-radio conference, how ever, as to the conditions under which government operation would be surrendered. Question Too Much He was asked if the carriers would be restored to private man agement if the three operating brotherhoods which had not done so agreed to arbitration of their wage dispute. The question was too iffy, he replied. “Will the government keep the railroads for the duration of the emergency?” another reporter ask ed. * Mr. Roosevelt said yes, but when meant the duration of the war or the strike threat, he replied that he wanted to turn the carriers back o private operation as soon as he could. Under Strike Act In response to another question, he said a rail strike would come under the Connally-Smith Act. This law makes it a criminal offense to conspire to strike, or encour age a strike, in a government operated war facility. Mr. Roosevelt also told the con ference he hoped to appoint a com mittee to get labor and railroad management together on the ques tion of an order from his Fair Employment Practices Committee, sonnel be without discrimination as to race. Seventeen Southern railroads and terminals replied that they were prevented by union contracts from complying with the order, and also challenged the authority of the FEPC. Question Brought Up A reporter brought up the case of the 15 non-operating railroad unions which agreed yesterday to accept a government award of 4 (Continued on Page Two; Col. 3) _IT_ PARTISANS PUSH THE NAZIS BACK Germans Forced To Re treat In One Section Of Croatia LONDON, Dec. 28.-German forces have been thrown back in one section of Croatia bv the Yugo Islav partisan army, and in Bosnia ! fighting has turned especially vio : lent as German reserves stream J up to the front. Marshal J o s i p j Broz’ headquarters announced to day. j German propaganda, now ac j knowledging the major nature of ! this action on the Balkan front, claimed through the Nazi-cotroll ed Hungarian news agency that four full Yugoslav briagades num bering in all about 4,500 men, had been “wiped out” in a single battle about Samaritza in Croatia. Broz’ communique said several hundred Germans were killed in the Livno-Duvno area of western Bosnia where the partisans repuls ed and threw back in disorder a column of Germans which sought to take Glamoc, 15 miles north of Livno. In all parts of eastern Bosnia the partisans were on the offen sive, battling Germans and Chet niks especially around the towns of Klad-nz and Zlv’n’zar. The Yugoslavs said they attack ed a p'rfie'd nea~ can:- • tal of Croatia, capturing 225 pris oners an-’ fak!n" - • o*y They asserted a large enemy camp at TuropoIJe in the same area was blown up as well as a bridge near by. Broz’ partisans clashed with Chetnik troops of Gen. Draja Mi hailovic near Novo Selo and routed them with heavy losses, the com munique said. The German news agency DNB asserted that in a large-scale op eration which lasted 12 days Ger man troops near Bania killed 670 partisans and took 136 prisoners.