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FORECAST ^ ^ ilmtitgtmt iluirmng mux \0Lj]^2.L_-_ WILMINGTON, N. C„ TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1944 FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867 Sanitorium Is Issue Again |t Board Meet HATTER unsettled Gardner Says About 90 Per £ent Of The People Here Favor Hospital _ -be Tubercular sanitorium was _.ade an issue again at the weekly meeting of the Board of County Commissioners yesterday after ,.or„ However, no action was yken by the group, and the matter ,:|l remains unsettled. S \ letter 'vas received from the r-vitan Club, which asked for re p-t’ideration of the matter of a public election. • commissioner George Trask said took the floor and said that it was opinion that approximately 90 'e; cent ot the people appeared ,G be in favcr of a new institution, snd he thought they should be dven the opportunity to say one way or the other. Commissioner Geroge Trask said jbat he did not believe that the people would be in favor of the new hospital at the present time. ■The war isn't going to last for frer'’ he said "And in not too long! we will be able to build our rp\v hospital with half the costs.” Gardner was of the opinion that the public, which was being repre sented by the letters from the various civic ciubs and the medical society, should have a chance to vote on the matter. Commissioner Lewis Coleman disclosed in an interview the fact that he believed no man on the board wanted to see action taken or, the ma*ter any more than him SfIf. But he has been opposed to the government of New Hanover county builn.ng a hospital, and tak ing care of the obligations of the surrounding counties. Mr. Coleman states: "I have always been in favor of building a Tubercular sanitorium to take care of the needs of New Hanover county. And I am still of that opinion. 1 believe that the plans and specifications for a hospital should be prepared only to take care of sufficient needs of this county. "When the plans and specifica tions are prepared, and the ap proximate costs has been submit ted to this board by the architect, (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 5) WILLKIE FACING ! A‘VITAL TEST | By The Associated Press The vote-laden farm belt of the Midwest became the No. 1 pre convention political stage for Re publicans and Democrats alike lost 'Monday) night Wisconsin’s voters were all set lor Tuesday's preferential prim srv. called “vital’’ by Wendell L. Wilkie and obviously significant to all Republican Presidential pos sibilities With an obvious eye on Novem ber farm votes, Republican agri cultural leaders — five governors and four Congressmen — met in Chicago to draft a GOP farm blank lor the fall campaign. Gov. Bourke S' Hickenlooper of Iowa opened he meeting with the declaration: "Political exploitation of the far mer must stop.” Wisconsin’s voters will pick 24 delegates to the Republican Na tional convention today in the first dear cut test of Willkie’s cam paign strength. However the elec tion goes the result may be a baro meter to Republican sentiment in other farm states. There is a full Willkie slate on the ballot but supporters of oth er Republicans—Lt. Com. Harold E Stassen, Gov. Thomas E. Dewey ”cd Gen. Douglas MacArthur—all have delegate candidates. Willkie, "ho stumped the state for his 0"'n ticket, went on to Nebraska lesterday where Republican voters "ill choose between him and Stas !en in a primary next week. rr Chinese Government Denies Their Troops Violated Red Border CHUNGKING, April 3.—UP>—The Chinese government denied in ar 0*!;c;al statement today that Chi ?ese troops from Sinkiang had vio ‘5ted the border of the Mongolian peoples Republic and that Chinese flanes shot up Kazakhs fleeing fr?m Sinkiang. lfte statement said: “The con r‘ s of a Tass dispatch of April i IhT Urga (Ulan Bator) alleging -‘Chinese troops stationed ir ‘‘‘Kiang had crossed into Outei Dfng°*!a 'the Mongolian People: taa iv ' and opened fire witl ttitii * guns from airplanes ari at variance with th< Uavis Red Cross Drive Progresses CAMP DAVIS, April 3 —as the Red Cross War Fund drive goes into its final week, ending April 5, results from approximately one fourth of military and civilian personnel at Camp Davis show contributions of $4,814.00. Figures show contributions to be $1,025. commissioned military personnel XT°‘ o3™’ and enRsted personnel No. 3.397. Contributions are solicited from civilians and officers and are voluntary among enlisted person nel. A donation of one dollar en titles a soldier to membership in the Red Cross. Already many bat teries have 100 per cent member ship according to A. T. Shumaker, Red Cross Field Director, who pre dicts a successful drive. --V IKJBUNAL RULES IN VOTING CASE Upsets Decision Of 9 Years’ Standing In Texas Election WASHINGTON. April 3.—OP)—The Supreme Court today upset a de cision of nine years’ standing and ruled that Negroes have the right to vote in Texas Democratic Pri mary elections, prompting Justice Roberts to protest that the trib unal’s opinions are getting to be like a railroad ticket good only for one day in one train. The eight-to-one decision, stating that “the great privilege of choos ing his rulers may not be denied a man by the State because of his color,” overturned the court’s unanimous opinion in 1935 sustain ing the exclusion of Negroes from participation in a Texas Democrat ic Primary. The decision has far-reaching implications for the South, where success in a primary usually is tantamount to election, but wheth er it will lead to any great in crease immediately in the number of Negro voters is considered doubtful. The decision does not touch upon other barriers existing in various parts of the South, such as poll taxes, educational tests, etc. Specifically involved in today’s litigation was Lonnie E. Smith, a Negro who contended he was de nied the right to vote in a 1940 primary by Houston, Tex., election judges. There are an estimated 571,000 Negroes of voting age in Texas. Of the present members of the court, only Chief Justice Stone and Justice Roberts were on the bench at the time of the earlier decision. Justice Roberts, sole dissenter in today’s decision, protested that the court’s present policy “indicates an intolerance” for the conscien tious and deliberate opinions of for mer justices and “involves an as sumption that knowledge and wis dom reside in us which was denied to our predecessors.” Amplifying his complaint that to day’s ruling tends “to bring ad judications of this tribunal into the same class as a restricted rail road ticket, good for this day and train only,” Roberts said: “I have no assurance in view of current' decisions that the opinion may not shortly be repudiated and overruled by justices who deem they have new light on the sub ject.” The court’s earlier decision was based on the ground that Negroes were excluded from the primary because a Democratic party con vention had refused them party ((Continued on Page Seven Col. 3) _ WAC HEAD LAUDS WOMEN MARINES CAMP LEJEUNE. April 3.—® American women in the battle zones are showing “the greatest courage I have ever seen.” Col. Oveta Culp Hobby, WAC head, told a women’s Marine officers gradu ating class here today. Recently returned from a 39.000 mile tour of three war theaters, Mrs. Hobby paid high tribute tc Army, Navy and Red Cross nurses. 1 stressing their courage in the Ital ian campaign. Flanked by high-ranking officers of the Marine Corps and the Ma rine Corps Women’s Reserve, sht told the graduates that no mattei what they were doing the Axis hac their opposite number doing the 1 same job. “It is up to you,” sh« said, “to do a better job than you: opposite number among the Axi: nations.” t , , She pointed to the highest stand ards and traditions set by the Ma rine Corps and asked her audience to live up to them. “There is no job connected witr the war that is insignificant, Col Hobby said. She said that the spirit of km ship among the various women’: auxiliaries both here and abroac had reached a new high and tha “our women’s setup was given t< the French and the Netherland: governments for use in training thi women in those countries.” U. S. Forces Occupy Ten More Atolls In IVf^rshalls; Truk Is Bombed Twice; Sc/C-fts Strike 13 Miles Into Rumania ■** . £ -—-* ^ 'Tethod of Fighting Plane Fires Demonstrating a new method of fighting plane fires, Army firemen operating two huge tank trucks at Jacksonville, Fla., extinguished in two and one-half minutes an obsolete bomber which had been drenched with gasoline and fuel oil and set ablaze. One truck (left) spews carbon dioxide and the other (not shown) sprays water under tremendous pressure. STEWART LAUDS SALVAGE DRIVE Says City Has Second Larg est Highest Amount Of Fats In The State “Wilmington has salvaged the second largest amount of fats in the State,” William A. Stewart, chairman of the County Salvage Committee declared yesterday. Due to the efforts of G. C. Gor man, who has been in charge of collecting fats, working from 15 20 hours a day in this effort, Wil mington has shipped over 50,000 lbs. of fat every two weeks. This amount could be greatly increased, he added, if citizens were more cooperative. “There is still a small group of housewives who sabotage the campaign by putting sand and water at the bottom of their cans, and a very small amount of fat on top. The poundage, lost through this is considerable”. Stewart observed that the amount of fats collected from restaurants had decreased since the owners have taken over the collection and sale of fats. He be lieves tha tthe help should do this work as it would mean more men in each establishment working at • this and hence greater efficiency and output. _ Since January 1, 1944, 1,260,600 lbs. of paper has been salvaged. This amount could be increased 75 per cent if people would only tie up paper that can be used. Too many people are saving paper spoiled by garbage and of no use to the Salvage Committee. Mr Stewart urged that people with small bundles of paper bring them to the Salvage Committee Head quarters at the Boys Brigade second and Church Street, instead of asking the truck to call for them. The total for the collection oi scrap metal is unattainable as many concerns, such as the Ship yard, ship the metal out them selves and have no records avail able. Since January 1, the Atlantic (Continued on Page Three; Col. 6) Draft Directors Excuse Physical Or Induction On Religious Holidays WASHINGTON, April 3.—C3P)— State draft directors have been in structed to excuse Christian regis trants, on request, from taking physical examinations or being in ducted on Good Friday, April 7 Selective Service said today. Jewish registrants who requesl i it will be excused on April 8 and . April 15, the first and last day: ; of the Passover, under an ar i rangement last week. In each case some other day wil ; be set for examination or induc tion. Secretary Ickes Sees No Extra Gas For Civilians WASHINGTON, April 3.—(/P)—Secretary Ickes said fcnight that “Contrary to the impression held in some quarters,” there is no possibility at this time of increasing civilian gasoline rations in any section of the country. “De spite any statements made by so-called ‘informed sources,’ _w elnpL'c of ffdcolinfl for* oixrili on nco TRIAL OF THREE OFFICERS OPENS CINCINATI, April 3 —— A public court martial started today to determine whether three Air Force officers neglected their duties, conspired to let quantity override quality in aircraft engine production at the Wright Aero nautical Corp. plant in Lockland, j and gave false testimony to a Tru man committee member, as charg ; ed. The defendants, Lt. Col. F. C. greulich and Major Walter A. Ryan of Detroit and Major William Bruckmann of Cincinnati, pleaded mnbcent when arraigned before an 11-member court headed by Brig. Gen. Lehman H Miller, command er of Camp Sutton, N. C. Col. Greulicn was chief of the inspection section of the AAF materiel command at Wright Field Dayton, O., Major Ryan district inspector, and Major Bruckmann resident inspector at the Wright plant. ■r-» _2-nil nti rf rtn T\/T Olrtn J. V-A OVAA J ~ ./ --J Henry C. Clausen, trial judge ad vocate, (prosecution) removed Col. Clarence E. Partridge of the office of chief of ordnance and Col. George W. Easterday, professor of military science at Lehigh Univer s;ty, from the original tentative panel of 13 ofifcers. The defense, led by Col. Park Holland of Albany, N. Y., lost two preliminary skirmishes with the prosecution. Col. Philip J. McCook, law member of the court and for mer associate justice of the New York Supreme Court, refused to grant either a continuance or separate trials Major Clausen, former district attorney in San Francisco, declar ed in his opening statement that in addition to failing in their in spection duties up to April 1943, the three offceis cooperated in a company policy of making “pro duction ovetride inspection.” “Company men, in their blind allegiance to the company, foster ed this idea,” Major Clausen said. “The more stuff shoved out, the more the company made because of fixed price contracts.” Major Clausen asserted that Major Bruckmann, former presi dent of a big Cincinnati brewery, granted the plant an “A” control rating undei which fewer govern ment inspectors were stationed there. Clausen charged that the officers knew of conditions at the plant as early as November, 1942, but noth ing was done are tight all over the country,” said Ickes, who is Petroleum Ad ministrator for War, in a state ment. “Stocks of total crude petroleum and products in the United States are at the lowest level they have been in the last 20 years. The al locations for the second quarter of 1944 have been made to the Of fice of Price Administration. It is not expected that these will be changed.” Deputy PAW Chief Ralph K. Davies, in a supplemental state ment. said that East Coast petro leum supplies are generally in a better position than thev were last year but “this does not mean that there is an abundance of gasoline supplies. We are merely in a bet ter working position in this area now, and thus may be able to avoid the serious shortages that constantly plagued us all last sum mer ” Davies said PAW does not fore see any substantial easing of the (Continued on Page Three; Col. 2) _-IT_ COAL MINING NOT DEFERRABLE JOB WASHINGTON, April 3.—UB— Coal mining has been tentatively ruled out of the list of “draft de ferrable activities’’ for men under 26, despite warnings that it might close 15,000,000 tons of coal in the next year, it was reliably reported tonight. The decision was made by the inter-agency committee of man power claimants. It could be re versed or modified, however, in formed sources said, by a con trary decision of the War Manpow er Commission, headed by Paul V. McNutt, or through administrative action by the Selective Service Sys tem. The issue of coal mine defer ments, rated the hottest question before the committee, was decid ed negatively by a majority vote to strike out the entire request of the Solid Fuels Administration. The decision was not officially announced. After the closed con ference of military and civilian agency spokesmen, the WMC is sued a brief statement saying the committee had “tentatively com pleted one third of its task, that of selecting the activities which are to be included in the final group” entitled to deferment con sideration. “This list cannot be regarded as final until there is further infor (Continued on Page Three; Col. 2) NET CLOSES ON IASI Claim 208,000 Axis Troops Slain Or Cap tured In Polish Drive LONDON, Tuesday, April 4.—UP) —The Moscow radio, in a broad cast in the name of the Soviet government, called on the Ruma nian people today to abandon the Germans and “capitulate at once.” The broadcast, recorded by the London Daily Mail, said' “Unless you (Rumanians) do so, the whole of your country will become a battlefield and your towns and vil lages a heap of ruins.” The call went out while the bat tle for Rumania was approaching a climax with the spearheads of the Red army already well beyond the Prut River. REDS FORGE AHEAD LONDON, Tuesday, April 4.—(TP) —Russia’s Second Ukraine Army, striking 13 miles into Rumania, has captured 50 villages and driv en to within nine miles of the rail city of Iasi, a Moscow com munique announced last night, while to the north the First Army was credited with killing or cap turing 208,260 Axis troops and en circling the remnants of 15 divis ions in a still-rolling offensive near the borders of German-occu pied Poland and Czecho-Slovakia. Marshal Ivan S# Konev’s Second Army, attacking on a 70-mile front inside Rumania, cut the 50-mile railway linking Dorohoi and Iasi at the village of Dengeni (Denz heny), on the east bank of the Ji jia River 13 miles west of the Prut River border, said the daily soviet bulletin. Dengeni is 25 miles southwest of Dorohoi. A special announcement issued a short time later told of the stag gering losses suffered by the Ger mans in a 28-day period last month — a total of 183,310 Ger mans killed and 24,950 captured on a single front. On the basis of Russian an nouncements, this boosted to 537, 160 the number of Germans and satellite troops killed or captured in nine major offensives which be gan in the winter snows of Russia and rolled on westward despite the coming of spring floods until today the Red army is attacking inside Axis territory for the first time in the war. The remnants of 15 German di visions, originally between 150, (Continued on Page Three; Col. 1) •xr ACTOR’S LAWYER DELIVERS PLEA LOS ANGELES, April 3.—(A5— Declaring “there is no more evi dence of Mann Act violation here than there is evidence of mur der,” Attorney Jerry Giesler con cluded an impassioned 2 1-2-hour plea this afternoon for Charlie Chaplin’s acquittal of the charge. “The fate of the defendant will be placed in your hands tomor row.” Giesler told the jury of seven women and five men. “I ask you to judge him as you yourselves would want to be judged, without fear or favor, without bias or prej udice.” Of the government charges that the comedian transported 24-year old Joan Berry to New York and back here in 1942 with immoral intent, Giesler said: “He has been publicly pilloried, scorched and burned. The word wide pubicity is far beyond re call. But he has not sullied Miss Berry's name and if her name has been sullied, it was only through her own actions and associations of her own choosing.” Shouting, Giesler told the jury that Chaplin had spent money to have Joan’s teeth fixed for movie work, made 4,500 feet of film test shots of her, risked $500,000 on a proposed film starring her and— “He wouldn’t have had to spend all that to have her sexually. After he stopped having intercourse with her he was willing to keep her on because he believed she had the qualifications of an actress. If she had only kept up her work under his tutelage, who knows what a great star she might have become?” After the conclusion of Giesler’s final arguments late this after noon, U. S. Attorney Charles H. Carr had another hour for his re buttal argument. Previously, Giesler declared Miss Berry and the 54-year-old (Continued on Page Three; C4. 6) Major Mix-Up Just recommended at Camp Da vis, N. C., for promotion to major, “Captain” John H. Walker (above) of Wilmington, N. C., learned that he has held the higher rank since leaving Ft. Bliss, Texas, a year ago. He failed to receive a copy of his promotion order last April. BUDAPEST BOMBED FOR FIRST TIME New Night Thrust Into Hungary Is Reported By Nazi Agency LONDON, Tuesday, April 4. —{/pi—Allied bombers were re ported in a Berlin broadcast early today to have made a night thrust into Hungary fol lowing up the heavy daylight raid upon Budapest yesterday by Italy-based U. S. fleets. Soon after midnight, the Ger man station said a “small number of planes” was ap proaching the Hungarian capi tal. Earlier, it had warned of sin gle enemy aircraft approach ing southeast Germany, sug gesting a foray by British Mos quitos, which lately have been dropping 4,000-pound blockbus ters. BUDAPEST BOMBED ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Na ples, April 3.— UP) —U. S. heavy bomber fleets bombed Budapest for the first time today, smashing hard at railroads linking Germany with the Balkan front already punctured by Russian armies, and at an aircraft factory making Messerschmitts for the Luftwaffe. A great force of four-engined bombers made the round trip of nearly 1,000 miles from Italy to strike at the Nazi war machine in the Hungarian capital astride the (Continued on Page Three; Col. 2) _v. ENEMY CUTS OFF BIG IMPHAL BASE NEW DELHI, April 3.—(if)—Jap anese invasion forces have cut sup ply roads into the big Allied base at Imphal, capital of Manipur state in eastern India, it was disclosed today as fighting raged in the wild hills of the Naga headhunters east of Kohima, 60 miles north of Im phal. An Allied spokesman, while con ceding that Imphal had been tem porarily isolated by main road, de clared the crisis would be over come shortly and that there would be no necessity for supplying the great advance base by air. A full-scale battle had been joined east of Kohima, where a Japanese column was driving de terminedly toward Dimapur on the Assam-Burma railway lifeline to Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell’s Chi nese and American forces in north ern Burma. Dimapur is 44 miles across the Naga hills from Kohi ma. A second Japanese force thrust ing toward Imphal from the Chind win River area to the east, was reported thrown back by defend ing British and Indian troops. Southeast of Imphal, near the low er end of the 200-mile invasion front, Japanese artillery continued to shell the Tamu-Palel road. 14 NOW HELD BY U.S. fwo More Islands In Ad miralty Group Are In vaded By Americans j By LEONARD MILLIMAN Associated Press War Editor United States forces have occu 3ied ten more atolls in the Central Pacific Marshall islands, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz announced last night. The American flag now flies over 14 of these Japanese-mandated atolls. Four others — Jaluit, Mili. Maloelap and Wotje — are still held by the enemy and are under daily bombardment by Army, Na vy and Marine planes. All of the Balik or western chain of the Marshalls, except Jaluit, is now occupied by American forces. Little or no resistance was encoun tered by reconnoitering forces which landed and established sov ereignty over the ten new atolls —Ujae, Lae, Lib, Namu, Ailing lapalap, Namorik, Ebon, Kili, Arno and Bikini. Kwajalein, the first atoll to come under American rule, was invaded January 31 and since then the conquest of Eniwetok, Majuro and Wotho was previously an nounced. Majuro and Arno are adjacent atolls in fie eastern chain be tween Mil/ and Maloelap, the most important of that group. Seizure of two more islands in the Admiralty group in the South west Pacific was announced today (Tuesday) by General Douglas MacArthur. They are Koruniat and Ndrilo, lying between American held Los Negros and Hauwei off the northeast coast of Manus. Two more raids on Truk, mak ing ten bombing attacks within ten days, were announced. Nimitz reported all Army Libeiators re turned to their Central Pacific bases after a raid on Truk’s Dub Ion island Sunday night (Saturday U. S. time) and MacArthur told of a dawn attack by South Pacific bombers that started big fires. Other South Pacific aircraft car ried out round-the-clock raids on Rabaul, reporting one huge explo sion. Southwest Pacific bombers de stroyed 13 barges at the crippled Japanese base of Wewak on New Guinea and poured 128 tons of explosives on nearby Hansa Bay. Possibility that Japanese Bou* (Continued on Page Three; Col. 5) _\7_— FINNS POSTPONE ‘ PEACE DECISION STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 8 —(#1—A decision on Finland’s peace crisis appeared to have bee* post poned tonight until after Easter, while some pessimism prevailed in Helsinki on the country’s chances of finding a way out of the war with Russia. Finnish political quarters here said that while there were re ports of some modification in the Russian armistice terms following Dr. Juho K. Paasikivi’s trip to Moscow, the belief now prevails that the terms are as harsh as ever and even more precise. The earlier reports had said the Russians made some frontier con cessions, but placed high repara tions demands on the Finns. In political circles in Helsinki, it was presumed the peace ques tion hardly can be solved within the next few days. Although some clarification of the situation had been expected to night when parliament met, it was declared semi - officially that “nothing special happened’’ at the session. A similar convocation is to be held tomorrow morning before the members adjourn for Easter. Nimitz Awarded DSM By Act Of Congress; President Signs Bill WASHINGTON. April 3.—W Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, com mander-in-chief of the Pacific fleet, became today one of the few men in history to receive an award of the Distinguished Service Medal by an act of Congress. President Roosevelt signed a bill malting the award. Such awards usually are left in the hands of the Army and Navy. In some cases, however, Congress takes especial note of an award by authorizing the President t.o present the medal in the name of [ Congress. ri
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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April 4, 1944, edition 1
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