HE] Wlmuujtmt Mnrtting i>tar | “■ 243 1 . " ■" ■ ■■■■■■■ —■'■■'■ ■ ■ m VOL*L— ZZ—ZZ ZZZ-— -J&l. WILMINGTON, N. C., TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1944 PIN AT. EDITION NAZI LINES IN HOLLAND COLLAPSING _ - forM»» Admittedly Get ting Out 0f Trap ln Dordrecht Retreat LONDON, Oct. 30.—(/P)— rpeman positions m south tern Holland were break tmiiuht under tremendous from two Allied ar‘ £ which in gains of up to S miles squeezed an esti Sed 40,000 of the enemy Sa 40-mile strip along the £s ranging from 1 1-2 to nine miles deep. At the same time the enemy .trangiehold on the great harbor Antwerp was slipping fast, and bold German attempt to weaken be Allied offensive here by an at Jack ln east Holland collapsed. Gentian troops were pounded mercilessly from the sky as they streamed north to escape over the “i-as river by boat and ferry at Willemstad, by the long road and rail br'dges at Moerdijk, eight miles east, and by a third bridge liarth of Geert: uidenberg, a dozen m;!es farther east. BUt as night and the weather closed in, more and more Ger mans were getting across and re treating beyond to Dordrecht. 10 miles southeast of Rotterdam. A Ertish spoilsman admitted the ba'k probably would escape. The British, bursting through Kilting rearguards on the west flank, were only seven miles from Willemstad ferry, Americans to the e~st were but six miles from the vital Moerdijk bridges, and British tanks on the east flank were four miles from the Geertruidenberg crossing. In clear skies which once more loosed Allied air might, bombers dumped explosives on the Moer dijk bridges and stalked the air lanes over the highways, bombing and strafing. In the rush, the British captured Koosendaal, last major enemy stronghold south ct the Maas. There (Continued on Page Two; Col. 2) COUNTY BOARD ADJUSTS TAXES -!_ Several tax adjustments were made by the Board of County Com missioners in its weekly meeting yesterday and other tax complaints were referred to committees with power to act. The board voted to send repre sentatives to the meeting of the North Carolina Association of Tax Sraervisors in Chapel Hill on Nov. 13-16. The meeting will be held in con junction with the school for tax supervisors which is being arrang ed by the Institute of Government. A complete and thorough study i" all phases of listing and assess ing will be given and open discus sions of tax problems will be held *1 the meeting. Commissioner Louis Coleman “oved that the county take steps to bring T. P. Southerland, local “an who was let off in court last Soar on the condition that he pay is wife $10 weekly for the support « their two children, and who has a‘led to fulfill his obligation, back 0 ne county from the Navy yard " °.rtsmouth, Va. where he is now Working. Commissioner Geo. W. Trask “°'’ed that the board look into the of having the bad places “ streets in Sunset Park repaired, rw.-report of the Associated *or September was sub mitted to the board. -V Respondent Foresees pWS!a As The Dominant °Wer ‘fi Postwar Europe GREENSBORO, Oct. 30— ~ ‘ussia emerge as the 01«mant power in Europe aft he war, because the Rus "s are determined direct ! or indircetly to control the ciat”!en'' Larry Allen, Asso , P|'ess war correspon chartidcc ared here toniffht in Eurnn"^ ftbe "ext 25 years in le„t Pe ,or a Woman’s college l“ e course audience. “t'n.r • quarter century after Vs hound to be trouble tesnoJrOUble’” said the cor" ceiled "h° in 1942 re his onvthe Pul,‘zer Prize for l,eet in e^age of the British until i,- tl0 Mediterranean and had J! rei,atriation las! June and Prn 20 months in Italian camps.'erman war prisoner zith an tCes torita!tt emerging probaK *r emPire intact, and Il£„ l With 1 the Africa PasseTssi°«s in North wanting ”e Pnited States, not 'eases'on anyth’nK> may get keen it eilough bases to help ep ‘he peace, he believes. CLARK ANNOl ES COAST GUARD STAY The proposal to discontinue Coast Guard activities in Wilmington, re vealed at a meeting of the City council last Wednesday, has been ordered held in abeyance until Coast Guard officers can make an investigation, it was learned Mon day from Representative J. Bay ard Clark, of Fayetteville. Original plans, he said, were for closing of the activites tomorrow. The Seventh district representa tive added that ranking Coast Guard officers will be sent here from Washington to conduct the in vestigation relative to further need of the service in Wilmington. He is expected to be advised of the outcome of the study shortly after it is completed. Meantime, it is understood that all activities will continue on the same basis maintained since short ly after the war began. These will include the identification service and maintenance of watch and pro tection of various port facilities. Informed by City Manager A. C. Nichols in a statement to the coun cil that Coast Guard activities would be discontinued, Wilmington port interests immediately turned their attention to the matter and contacted Representative Clark. The services of the Coast Guard here have brought numerous com pliments and the council has voted to draft a formal resolution com mending it for iti work on the waterfront. _v_ INVASION JITTERS FOR NORWAY NAZIS LONDON, Oct. 30—(iP)—The Ger mans in Norway are experiencing invasion jitters, according to neu tral reports reaching London. Nazi forces manning the long west coast, Stockholm reports, have been alerted in fear of an Allied blow to merge with the Russians driving into the country from the northeast. While the Soviet communique made no ment’on tonight of op erations along this Arctic front, Britain’s “flying navy”—carrier borne planes operating from ships of the home fleet—struck a smash ing blow at the German escape route and sunk six enemy ships and damaged 22 others south of Narvik. -—V Harlan’s Marriage Is Finally Annulled LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30. — (JP)— Film Director Richard Harlan’s 13-year-old marriage to Rosita Har lan, Cuban dancer, was annulled today. Judge Carl A. Stutsman held there was “definite evidence of collusion” between the Harlans at the time she obtained a 1931 Mexican divorce from Karl Hugo Karlsson, Swedish match trust re presentative. Harlan, in his suit for annul ment, charged that neither the dancer nor Karlsson had gone to Sinaloa, Mexico, for their divorce. Mrs. Harlan, in a counter suit for separate maintenance, contended that Harlan induced her to obtain the decree. SURPLUS PLANE SALE BRINGS IN $30,000 DAYTON, O., Oct. 30. — (ff) — First public auction of surplus air planes at Patterson Field today brought approximately $30,000, with prices ranging from $10 to $7,500 each, officials of the defense plant corporation conducting the sale reported. Half of a group of 160 aircraft was sold today with nearly 1,100 buyers bidding. The remainder will be sold tomorrow.__ Reds Lai Great 1 On Bud ATTACK ACROSS TISZA Russian Offensive Is Head ed With Tanks, Massed For Weeks LONDON, Tuesday, Oct. 31 (/P)—The Red army, in a new major offensive aimed at Bud apest, attacked across the Tisza river at dawn yester day with masses of tanks, planes and artillery on a wide front 50 miles from the im perilled Hungarian capital, Berlin announced last night. Moscow was silent on the un folding operation, but German broadcasts said the roar of big Russian and German guns could be heard for 50 miles north and s outh of the threatened west bank Tisza stronghold of Szolnok, on the west bank of the Tisza at the center of the flaming front. For some time the Russfhns have been astride several all weather roads leading across the flat, sodden farmlands into Buda pest. j-iie i\usaians nave ueen mass ing men and material for weeks for the big push, Berlin said, and thousands of Hungarian civilians were reported throwing up breast works outside Budapest, a vul nerable city whose most important sections lie on the eastern side of the Danube. The Russian communique also did not mention the big Red army offensive in Western Latvia, where Berlin reported fresh Soviet gains, and for the third straight day Moscow was silent about gruelling operations in East Prussia. A Soviet military commentator, Colonel Voronin, said in a Mos cow broadcast last night that the Germans were fighting fanatical ly in East Prussia, and that the Russians had collided .with the strongest fortifications yet en countered in the east. Fourteen minor localities in Czechoslovakia and northeastern Hungary were taken during the day, Moscow said. In storming one Hungarian vil lage, Vasarosnameny, on the up per Tisza near the Czechoslovak border, the Russians pinned the enemy against the river, where many were drowned and 500 cap tured, Moscow said. A supplementary communique issued early today made a brief reference to the East Prussian front, saying that hundreds of Germans were killed in beating down two Nazi counterai cks. The Soviet bulletin said Gen. Ivan Petrov’s fourth Ukraine ar (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) -v BRAZILIANS SEE U.S. TRADE AHEAD CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Oct. 30. Cf>)—American aid in the indus trial development of Brazil would pay dividends through vastly in creased trade between Brazil and the United States, five represent atives of the South American gov ernment agreed tonight* in an in terview with The Times. The Brazilians are here on an inspection tour of the Tennessee Valley Authority installations, un der sponsorship of the co-ordinator of inter-American affairs. They were entertained tonight by the chamber of commerce at an in formal dinner. The visitors are Dr. Hildebran do de Goes, director of the depart ment of sanitation, fninistry of transportation and public works; Dr. Jaoa Maria Brochado, direc tor of the materials division, min istry of transportation and public works; Dr. Oswaldo Bittencourt Sampaio, chief of the American (Continued on Page Two; Col. 8) WANKEE TROOPS DRIVE SPEARHEAD f ON LEYTE IN TEETH OF TYPHOON; FIVE MORE JAP SHIPS KNOCKED OUT --M._ m 90 ENEMY PLANES ALSO DESTROYED Navy Air Arm Attacks With Good Results In Manila Bay U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEADQUARTERS, PEARL HARBOR, Oct. 30.— (/P) — American naval airmen heap ed new damage on the batter ed Japanese navy in weekend raids $>n Luzon island, in creasing to 60 the toll of ene my warships sunk or damag ed within a week in Philip pine waters. Adm. Chester W. Nimitz an nounced the new strikes today with the following results: One heavy cruiser probably sunk. Two cruisers damaged. One oil tanker damaged. Three coastal cargo vessels sunk. Ninety enemy planes destroyed. The three cruisers may have been fleeing to home waters from last week’s engagement off Samar island and in the Sibuyan sea, al though today’s communique did not say so. The Sibuyan engagement, part of which was fought in the dan gerous San Bernardina strait sep arating Samar and Luzon, was one of the three naval-air clashes last week in which the Japanese Navy lost 58 vessels. Twenty-four of these were sunk, 13 probably sunk and 21 damaged. These results were announced Sunday by Nim itz, who listed six American ships and a few lighter craft lost. The cruiser probably sunk and one of those damaged were caught in Manila bay. The third was se verely damaged by two 1,000-pound bombs at Cavite, the former Amer ican naval base across the bay from Manila. One heavy cruiser, previously damaged, was probably sunk and another damaged in Manila Bay. The third was severely damaged by two 1,000-pound bombs at Ca vite, the former American naval base across the bay from Manila. The three coastal vessels were sunk in a sweep over Cebu island, immediately west of Leyte, where American liberation forces hold two-thirds of the island. Nineteen enemy fighter planes which at tempted to interfere were shot down. The enemy airforce tried hard to get at Mitscher’s carriers, a part of Adm. William F. Halsey’s mighty Third fleet. Twelve Japa nese fighters and divebombers were shot down near the carriers Saturday and two more on Sunday. Airborne interception met the carrier planes when they appeared over Luzon and the Manila area Saturday. Forty-five enemy fight ers were shot from the skies and 12 destroyed on the ground of Ma nila airfields. The airfields were badly hit and fires raged. Nimitz also reported harassing and neutralizing raids from Oct. 24-28 against the Carolines, Mari anas, Bonins, Marshalls, Wake and Nauru. The Tokyo radio reported the? Luzon raids earlier today, assert ing 200 carrier-based planes took part. FCC recorded the broadcast. Tokyo also reported, without con firmation from any other quarter, that Japanese airmen were attack ing an American task force, in cluding four carriers, in Lamon bay, on the east coast of Luzon .about 100 miles from Manila. It was immediately north of La mon bay, just off the Polilio is lands, .that the powerful U. S. Third fleet and its air arm tangled with <^ie of the three Japanese fleet divisions moving toward Ley te isla^i where Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur’s liberation army had land I ed. • ____ Yanks Pour Ashore In Philippines American troops, from LSTs and LCMs, run through the surf toward Leyte Island as the invasion of the Philippines gets underway. This is one of the first original photos of the invasion received in this country. (AP Wirephoto.) 3,000 U.S., British War Planes Bomb Nazi Key-City Targets AT LAST, PATROL DRIVES JAPS OUT fey MERLIN SPENCER LEYTE, Philippines, Oct. 29.— (Delayed)—{/P)—For the first time in 27 months of covering the Southwest Pacific war, I watched American troops force the Japa nese into the open today and send them fleeing across a rice field, with shells and bullets spurring them on. As far as battles are concerned, this wasn’t much. But it was the answer to the general fighting prayer. Ever since the Ameri cans went into action at Buna, New Guinea, back in 1942, they have asked only one thing: “Just let. us get the Jap into the open.” And mat’s what happened today along the road to Jaro, in the broad fertile Leyte valley. The Japanese were flushed from their preferred underbrush habitat. The swiftly advancing 34th In fantry of the 4th Division caught the Nipponese, about a score of them, by surprise, and they hid in a native house 300 yards from the road. Infantrymen opened up with the light crack of their Carbines and the heavier crack of garands. But the Japanese refused to come out. Then a jeep came speeding down the MacAdam road, its horn blar ing demands for Clearance. Be hind it bounced a little 37mm an titank gun. In it were Privates John D. Rourke of Los Angeles, (Morning side Court). Joe Rizzo of Bayonne, N. J., (37 West 48th St.), Fred G. Nashawaty of West Roxbury, Mass, and Sgt. Peter Slavinsky ef Pasa dena. They jumped out and swung their gun into position. Within one minute they opened fire. The first shot was close, but the Japanese refused to come out. The second shot hit the house squarely, and it erupted Nippon ese. They almost leaped into the air as they tried to escape. One Jap anese had green leaves in his hel met, clearly visible through glass es. When the Japanese finally were in the open, riflemen closer to them, then the antitank gun open ed' up. The gun also fired. It was a strange sight to see the Japanese running, with both rifle and antitank fire blazing at them. Three fell, and the remain der gained cover in a coconut grove. '"That’s what we’ve been waiting for,”' smiled Corp. Maynard Hed quist of Deer River, Minn., as he picked up his pack and strolled down the road --V HARRIMAN TO SPEAK NEW YORK, Oct. 30. — (IP) — Business Men for Roosevelt, Inc., announced tonight that W. Averell Harriman, ambassador to the So viet Union, would make his only political speech of the campaign under its auspices Friday night over the NBC network from 10:45 to 11 p.m. (EWT). LONDON, Tuesday, Oct. 31.—(#>— More than 1,000 RAF heavy bomb ers plastered Cologne again last night alter 2,000 American planes had attacked Hamm, Munster, Harbsburg and Hamburg during the day. Berlin also was bombed lor the second consecutive night, an an nouncement by the air ministry said. The great industrial city ol Co logne now has been assaulted six times in 48 hours and last night’s raid brought the total'bomb load dropped on it during October to nearly 20,000 tons. v While Allied planes continued their methodical destruction ol Ger many’s industrial centers today, carrier - based aircralt ol t h e British home fleet attacked enemy shipping oil the Norwegian coast, sinking six enemy vessels. An Admiralty communique re ported that its planes also had dam aged and driven ashore a large U boat and had damaged 19 other enemy vessels. The naval planes, in addition, made successful attacks on land targets in the vicinity of Bodo, Nor way, including a U-boat depot, wireless stations, oil tanks, shore batteries and othei enemy instal lations. Five planes were missing from these operations. American airmen said they "sweat it out” most of the way over Europe because of thick clouds that made it difficult to keep formation. Flak wag intense in spots. Hamburg and Harburg are fat targets, having a combined oil pro duction of 80,000 tons monthly. One plant at Harburg is known to pro duce 33,000 tons and another 46,000. Exactly at noon. RAF Lancasters hit the union Rheinische synthetic oil plant at Wesseling, nine miles south of Cologne. Because of the lack of Luftwaffe opposition, the bombardiers were able to take their time in drooping their hou sands of explosives through the clouds. Two forces of Spitfires and Mus tangs escorting the bombers were spoiling for a fight and took It out on gun emplacements and defend ed positions on Walcheren island in the Schelde estuary. HALSEY DECLARES JAP FLEET ‘RUNT’ ABOARD FLAGSHIP, AMERI CAN THIRD FLEET, Oct. 26.— (Delayed)—(0)—(Via Navy radio) —The Japanese fleet has become a naval runt and will remain a runt in spite of everything the Japanese can do to recover from its newest defeats, Adm. William F. Halsey, Jr., said today. “The best information we 4 have,” the admiral told a press conference, “is that their ship repair facilities were taxed to the utmost before this catastro phic beating they took. “How or when they can repair the damaged ships of their Navy that may eventually reach port will be a very serious problem to solve. There’s many a head ache in Japan today. I am ex tremely glad I am not a senior officer in the Japanese navy. And I don’t mean this merely because I don’t like Japs.” Halsey's staff estimated that out of 55 ships that attempted a pincers movement against the Third and Seventh American fleets in the Philippines at least 30 were sunk and most of the remainder severely damaged. (In a communique Oct. 29, issued at Pearl Harbor, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz listed 58 enemy war ships sunk or damaged, with 24 definitely sunk.) All the Japanese naval forces involved were severely crippled, Halsey said, and in consequence will be incapable of anything ex cept suicidal action for months to come. That was all the navy Japan had, Halsey added, except “two or three more units we can take in our stride. The admiral expressed doubt that the enemy ever would admit the losses. “All Japanese are congenial liars from top to bottom,” Halsey said. “They will suppress all this they „„„ it can. 24,000 JAPANESE 1 DOWN IN 10 DAYS Enemy Lands Reinforce ments To The South; Jaro Captured General MacArthur’s Head quarters, Philippines, Tues day, Oct. 31—(IP)—American troops drove an iron-tipped spearhead across the north ern end of Leyte island today after capturing Jaro, a final mid-island Japanese strong hold, and a final showdown battle appeared 4 imminent along Carigara bay. While a 70-mile-an-hour typhoon roared across the Island, Maj. Gen Fred Irving’s 24th division pushed onward from Jaro in northwestern Leyta valley, seeking to close the 20-mile gap separating it f?om the 1st cavalry division on the bay. Sizable Japanese forces evident ly have reached the bay, cornered for a final battle. Japanese reinforcements have been landed farther south on the west coast, at Ormoc, the com munique reported today. Estimated Japanese casualties on Leyte and Samar totaled 24,000 for the first 10 days of the cam paign, against 706 Americans kill ed, 270 missing and 2,245 wound ed, the communique reported. The 24th division drove Japanese rear guards out of Jaro, after a 14-mile forced march, through wind and rain, from Pastrana, in central Leyte valley. The Nippon ese fought bitterly for Jaro, their last key strongpoint on the road toward the northwest coast. It is 12 miles by highway from Cari gara bay. The enemy brought up reinforce ments in the battle for Jaro, a mountain village. After bitter fight ing, the town was captured at 4 p.m. Sunday, by the armor-led 24th division. One Japanese escape route, to the hills, was blocked by numer ous Filipino guerrillas, who held high points above Jaro. First cavalry forces maintained tight pressure on the Japanese left flank by holding the only other road through the valley’s north western sweep—from Cavite to Ba rugo, on Carigara bay. Cavalrymen dug a strong per imeter at Barugo, within easy ac cess of heavy reinformements, af (Continued on Page Two; Col. 3) •XT EXTRA SESSION IN MISSISSIPPI JACKSON Miss., Oct. 30.—«P)— Gov. Thomas L. Bailey said to night an extraordinary session of the state legislature would be call ed this week to “amend the state election laws to force presidential electors to vote for the presiden tial nominee selected by their par. ty or face automatic disqualifica tion.” The governor said he would con vene the special session “probably Wednesday night” because of the ■“political uproar” resulting from the announcement of three demo cratic electors that, if elected, they would cast their electoral college votes for Sen. Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, Bailey said he had received tele grams and “numerous telephone calls from legislators” urging him to take “any steps nelessary t® get the state in line for Roose velt.” The governor said that a pro posed amendment to state election (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) Roosevelt, Dewey Leaders Plan Candidates* Closing Campaign’ By The Associated Press Gov. Dewey slated a fifth speech for the final campaign week yes terday (Monday) as sighs increas ed that President Roosevelt will fin ish his fourth term bid with only one more major address. The latest addition to Dewey’s heavy schedule is an appearance in Baltimore on Thursday. He speaks tonight at 9 p.m., in Buf falo, on Wednesday in Boston and Saturday in New York. A final ap peal for votes will be broadcast from a radio studio on election eve. As the White House worked out the final week’s schedule for Presi dent Roosevelt, it appeared that he will confine his stretch drive oratory to a Boston speech, prob-! ably next Saturday. And a talk to Duchess county, N. Y„ neighbors Monday. Such a schedule rules out a pre dicted pre - election appearance in Cleveland. Presidential Secretary Stephen Early said democratic • leaders wanted the President to speak in Ohio as well as in Boston., but had been told that the chief ; executive’s duties probably will not permit two appearances. Dewey spent yesterday in Albany where, at his request, a special: session of the New York legislature extended the closing hour for New York polls on Nov. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. JDewey’s runni.ig mate, Gov. | 'John W. Bricker, of Ohio, kept up his attack on the administration ia j Detroit last night, charging that I the ‘facts conclusively prove that j Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal are in the hands of the radl* j cals and communists.” Bricker i named seven federal employe* ha |said had ‘‘subversive records,” in j eluding a secretary to the Presi dent. Senator Harry S. Truman, demo , cratic vice presidential candidate ;War Mobilization Director James F Byrnes, and Sidney Hillman, chairman of the Political Action Committee, all assailed Dewey as | (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) w Informal City Extension Discussion Held At City Hall With J. Q. LeGrand City officials and representatives of a committee of citizens in the outlying areas of Wilmington, met with J. Q. LeGrand, democratic nominee to the state legislature at a meeting in the City Council chamber Iasi night to discuss plans for city extensi&i. No definite con clusions were readied, and anoth er conference to work out details of the proposed extension will be held in the near future, it was announced. Representing the outlying com munities involved in the plans were Alton Lennon, Fred Mathis and Hamilton Hicks. Representing the city during the informal dis cussion was the planning board, City Manager Nichols, Mayor W. Ronald Lane, and City Attorney W. B. Campbell. Although no detailed discussion of the plans took place, the ad vantages and disadvantages were considered, and a general discus sion was held to acquaint those present with the purpose and pro cedure of the project. A date for continution of discus sion of the extension plan has not been set, it is understood. The extended area, as proposed by the Planning board, encompass es 5,500 persons; 3.8 square miles; 1,028 buildings, total valuation of real and personal property $5,498, 245; and includes Love Grove, For est Hills, Mercer Place, Princess V Place, Colonial Village, Glen Ar den, Oleander, Country Club Pines. Highwocd Park, Longwood, Ken wood, Chestnut Heights. Brookwood and Greenbrook. The new extension plan, a modi fication of former proposals, is de scribed as a “pay-as-you-go plan,” by virtue of which the city will not annex those districts unless the project becomes financially self sustaining. It was explained that if the ex tension plan is decided upon, a bll will be presented to the 1945 Gen eral Assembly, asking for the right of municipal vote on extension. Then, if the vote is favorable, it will be 1945 before the new terri tory is entered on the city’s tax ,books.