- ——
timmgtmt iHnnfttuj ii’tcur
_ WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY. JANUARY 11, 1945 ! FINAL EDITION
Americans Hold 'Mile Beachhead On Luzon;
And Take Fou* rft owns; Big Battle Is Looming;
Tip Of Nazi Ardennes Salient Is Crumbling
Draft Quotas
To Rise Fast
Before July 1
900,000 Needed For Mili
tary; 700,000 Want
ed For Industry
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.—
(AP)—Draft quotas will rise
sharply in the next, six
months, government officials
disclosed today in urging
“work or fight” legislation to
fill resultant gaps in war pro
duction ranks.
The Government proposes to ex
tract some 200,000 of the 900,000
men needed for the armed forces
from occupationally - deferred
workers, aged 26 through 29, In
war-essential industries.
And only through National Serv
ice legislation channeling every
able-bodied person into the -war ef
fort, said Undersecretary of War
Patterson, can the 900.000 men be
furnished to the Army and Navy
and 700,000 workers be provided
for industry before July 1.
Patterson informed the House
Military Committe of the Army’s
and Navy’s plan for the step-up
in inductions, which would boost
draft calls from the present 110,
000 a month to about 150,000.
At the same time. War Mobili
zation Director Byrnes reportedly
was winding up a series of con
ferences with top W’ar officials to
revise the list of essential indus
tries so as to protect the most im
portant factories from the draft in
roads.
In turn, some 40 members of the
House agreed to ask Byrnes to
meet with them to explain the nec
essity for inducting additional de
ferred farm youths, the largest
group of young men now avail
able for military duty. The farm
group session was called by Heps,
i.emke (R-ND), White (D-Ida'no)
•nd Horan (R-Wash).
Rep, Anderson (R-M'nn.) said
that "there is hoarding of labor
in all war plants of tire country’
and added that “you could take
25 per cent of such employes and
not reduce production.’
"Why," asked Rep. Knutson (R
Minn> "have 11.500,000 men in the
armed forces when there are two
vast reservoirs of men virtually
untouched in Asia—India and Chi
na. We’re just saps.”
Amid these developments, the
War Manpower Commission re
ported an apparent “marked in
crease in men seeking war job.
Evidently as a result of recent
government moves toward the
"ork or fight” principle. In
some cities gains of from 50 to
100 per cent were recorded and
E es formed at employment of
f cet. WMC said. No national es
timate was available.
Patterson’s estimate that 700,000
"others will be needed for war
production and war-supporting ac
juties is a dratic increase over
ue previous highest six-mongh es
hrnate 0f about 300,000. Patterson
toted, however, that it would be
necessary to add to the earlier
needs a considerable number of
.en to replace those drafted from
ndustry for the fighting force*.
■-v_
Servicemen, Civilians
Killed In Flaming Crash
Of Airliner On Mountain
LOS ANGELES. Jan. 10.—(UP)
A passenger liner of the Ameri
fan Airlines, en route from New
i ork to Los Angeles, crashed in
* heavy fog five miles from the
Burbank airport today and burst
’’■to flames, killing the 4 persons
• Board—18 soldiers, three sailors
*nd three crew members.
1 tie big plane crashed against
:ie s‘de a small canyon near
tle Bin-bank city limits after
fnximg the Burbank air terminal
01 minutes, unable to land be
cause of a fog which limited visi
bility and held the flight ceiling
to 700 feet.
Sheriff’s deputies, Red Cross
"oikerg and airport rescue squads,
1 !;:ch reached the wreckage as
e fog lifted, reported that all 24
'rae dead when they arrived.
flames of the service men pas
Sfuigers were withheld pending
notification of kin.
Byrnes Orders Heat
Cut To 68 Degrees
Partial Blackout On Display Lighting Also
Planned To Conserve Nation’s Supply
Of Coal And Avoid Rationing
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.—(UP)—War Mobilization Di
rector Janies F. Byrnes tonight called for a 68-degree max
imum temperature in all the Nation’s homes and office
buildings and ordered a partial blackout of display lighting
------Mi i ,
VANDENBERG ASKS
ALLIED ALLIANCE
Senator Ends Isolationist
Past With Call For
Pact
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.—(UP1 —
Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg, (R.
Mich.), No. 1 Republican foreign
affairs spokesman in Congress,
broke completely with the isolation
ist pact today by urging the Unit
ed States to make an immediate
“hard and fast” alliance with
Russia, Britain. France and China
to assure permanent demilitariza
tion of the Axis powers.
This should be done without
waiting for determination of oth
er postwar relationships, he said,
because it would eliminate the
root of many Allied frictions over
current political developments in
Europe—unilateral and bilateral
actions stemming from fear of
reborn German aggression.
His treaty proposal was the
major point of a three-point war
and peace program he set forth
in an historic speech initiating
a full-dress Senate debate on
American foreign policy. The oth
er points:
1— A United Nations security or
ganization, such as proposed in
the Dumbarton Oaks proposal,
should be formed immediately with
a specific proviso calling for ulti
mate review of protested injustices
in the eventual peace terms. He
said this reservation would “at
least partially nullify the argu
ment that we are asked to put a
blank-check warrant behind a fu
ture status quo which is unknown
to us and which we might be
unwilling to defend.”
2— Utmost candor in all foreign
relations, not only between the
Roosevelt Administration and the
people but among all Allies and
with the enemy as well. Without
suggesting appeasement, this
might give Axis peoples some in
centive to desert their present
leaders if they knew what the
price of unconditional surrender
will be cheaper the sooner it
comes.
to have 16,000,000 tons of coal an
nually and avoid possible rationing.
Intensifying his efforts to con
serve every material and human
resource for successful prosecution
of the war, he also directed the
Office of Defense Transportation to
eliminate all special and excursion
trains and to prevent any increase
in passenger schedules to resort
areas.
Outlining his coal curtailment or
der, he warned of “an impending
shortage” due to a falling produc
tion that has drained stockpiles.
He estimated that a 10 per cent
reduction in heating of buildings
would save approximately 14,000,
000 tons a year and that 2.000,000
tons more could be saved by a
plan on outdoor lighting except
where other fuel is used.
“Therefore,” ne said, “the man
agement of all office buildings, ho
tels, apartments stores and other
establishments are urged to take
immediate measures to maintain a
temperature of 68 degrees in their
buildings. . .
“I have asked the War Produc
tion Board to issue heat requisite
orders to prohibit all outdoor ad
vertising, ornamental and display
lighting, except in those areas
where flush gas and hydro - elect
ric power can be shown to be avail
able without drawing on the coal
supply.”
He hoped that rationing could be
avoided because of unwieldy ad
ministrative problems and the cur
rent manpower shortage, and add
ed:
“I am certain the public will sup
port wholeheartedly a coal conser
vation program which will assure
the coal essential for war pur
poses. I believe this action will
give us the savings that now seem
imperative if our full war effort
is to be maintained.”
Byrnes’ announcement, issued
after a meeting of his WMR ad
visory council, said Solid Fuels
Administrator Harold L. Ickes es
timated that an over - all reduc
tion of 25,000,000 tons in consump
tion of coal would be necessary
this year. A further cut would be
necessary, he reported, if there is
any interruption to production
growing out of negotiation of a new
mine workers contract after the
present agreement expires March
31.
Balanced Budget, Stable
Tax Law Asked By Cherry
RALEIGH, Jan. 10.—<£)—In com
pany' with record-breaking appro
priation and finance bills, Gover
nor Cherry sent to the Legislature
today a recommendation that
North Carolina’s balanced budget
be continued and no major tax
changes be adopted.
The Advisory Budget Commis
sion, of which former Governor
Broughton was a member, sub
mitted a proposed budget calling
for the appropriation of $220,081,
434 for 1945-47, exclusive of $$51,
585,079 which the Assembly set
aside today for retirement of the
General Fund debt. The 1943-45
appropriation was $178,505,823.
Governor Cherry’s budget mes
sage paralleled the revnue and
appropriations bills introduced to
day simultaneously in both
branches of the Assembly and
referred to the money commit
tees.
Changes proposed in the con
tinuing revenue act were mostly
administrative, with the excep
tion of a proposed three per cent
tax on admissions to moving pic
ture shows. The levy was lifted
in 1943.
The Governor said in this re
spect:
“I make no recommendation to
increase oi decrease tax returns
to this General Assembly, unless
in your wisdom, it should be de
cided that the necessary services
of the State can only be met by
the levy of some new tax. In my
opinion, the appropriations call
ed for in the budget can be met
from anticipated revenues pro
vided by the present revenue laws,
i further recommend that no tax
reductions be considered, except
by way of minor changes so that
those who are unjustly burdened
may have relief by way of ad
justments or credits.”
High in his message, as in his
inaugural address, he placed his
recommendation that the State
debt be retired. Before legisla
tors concluded their session, both
branches had passed such a
measure and it probably will be
ratified into law tomorrow.
The Budget Commission de
parted from tradition and placed
the teacher salary schedule in
the appropriations bill. Hereto
fore, that has been left ot State
education officials and the State
Board of Education. Under the
proposal, and in accordance with
the Governor’s suggestion, the
starting salary for certificate
“A” holders would be $125 a
month, and increments would be
granted with experience. The pay
for non-standard teacher ratings
would be $75 a month and that
for ”3-11” ratings—carried by
holders of master’s degrees who
have. 11 years teaching experience
—would be $179, or the top.
i
Three Yankee
Warships Are
Lost In Storm
Pacific Typhoon Swallows
Destroyers; Loss
Is High
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10—
(AP)—Three destroyers of
the Pacific Fleet were lost
during a severe typhoon in
the Western Pacific, the Na
vy announced today.
The vessels were the Hull,
the Spence and the Monaghan.
■At the same time, the Navy an
nounced the loss as the result of
enemy action in the Pacific of four
landing craft (LST), a motor tor
pedo boat, a small submarine
chaser and a small auxiliary ves
sel.
The Hull and Monaghan had nor
mal complements of about 150
men each and the Spence about
220. The commanding officer, four
other officers and 49 men of the
Hull were rescued. Survivors of
the Spence totalled 24, including
one officer of the supply corps,
and six of the personnel of the
Monaghan were rescued.
The Hull was skippered by Lt.
Comdr. James Alexander Marks cf
Chevy Chase, Md.; the Sper.ce by
Lt. Comdr. James Paul Andrea of
Alexandria, Va., and the Monag
han by Lt. Comdr. Floyd Bruce
Garrett. Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
The Navy said the disaster oc
curred while the vessels were tak
ing part in recent combat opera
tions in the Western Pacific. In
addition to the three destroyers.
a number or vessels sunerea dam
age during the severe typhoon.
Next of kin of casualties of the
Hull and Monaghan have been no
tified and those of the Spence will
be notified as soon as possible.
A court of inquiry headed by
Vice Admiral J. H. Hoover was
convened, the Navy said, by Fleet
Admiral Chester Nimitz to inves
tigate the circustances.
No information was available as
to the identity of the small craft
reported lost to enemy action.
The Monaghan was built at the
Boston Navy Yard and commis
sioned April 19, 1935. The Hull was
built at the New York Navy Yard
and commissioned January 11,
1935. The Spence was built at the
Bath Iron Works, Bath, Me., and
commissioned January 8, 1943.
The textx of Navy communique
No. 567:
Pacific Area:
The following craft have been
lost in the Pacific area recently
as a result of enemy action:
Four landing craft (LST), one
motor torpedo boat, one small sub
marine chaser, one small auxili
ary vessel.
The above, in addition to the
loss of the destroyers USS Hull,
USS Monaghan and USS Spence
announced in a Navy Department
press release today, together with
losses previously announced in
communiques and press releases,
cover all losses of surface craft
during the Philippine campaign up
to December 31, 1944.
f
Germans Quit
St. Hubert In
Quick Retreat
Most Of Enemy Apparent
ly Shifted To East
Side Of Bulge
PARIS, Thursday. Jan. 11.
(AP)—The western end of
the Germans’ Ardennes sali
ent—carved out in their cost
ly December counteroffen
sive—appeared today to be
caving under Allied pressure
from three sides.
There were indications that
German Field Marshal von
Rundstedt already had shift
ed most of his forces to the
eastern end of the wedge in
Belgium.
The Germans acknowledged quit
ting St. Hubert, southwestern an
chor town of the salient. Although
his report was without Allied con
firmation, the German radio said
St. Hubert, 14 miles west of Bas
togne, was evacuated before the
Americans entered it.
La Roche, another communica
tions hub on the north side of the
salient, was being mopped up rap
idly after having been by-passed
by American armor and infantry
in a general advance, and front
line correspondents said the main
German force had abandoned that
town as well as others on the north
and west.
Another reverse for the Germans
was an advance by the American
Seventh Army to the south where
the Germans began counterattack
ing when it was apparent that their
Belgian offensive had bogged down.
The Americans pushed ahead a
mile in a sector seven miles
southwest of Saarbrucken, a field
dispatch said.
Von Rundstedt appeared to have
effected an orderly withdrawal in
the Belgian bulge under cover of
the same foul weather that shroud
ed the mid - December westward
plunge of his armies and deprived
the Allies of support of their tac
tical airforces.
The U. S. First and Third Ar
mies, now less than nine miles
apart at the waist of the salient
after a day of battering advances
through ice and snow, thus faced
the prospect of finding the pocket
empty when they eventually come
together north of E'astogne.
More than 1,000 American heavy
bombers pounded at the rear of
the withdrawing enemy, bombard
ing bridges, road junctions, air
fields at the base of the bulge.
Some of the Nazi airfields had
been constructed in recent weeks
for close support of von Rund
stedt’s drive. Only 300 fighters es
corted the big ships in their daring
attack.
After 30 hours of violent armoied
battle, American forces swept
through the fiercely - defended
road junction of Samree on the
northern flank of the salient and
drove on more than a mile south
ward.
Shipyard Union President
Describes Body’s Revival
The complete text of P. F.
Halsey’s statement on the North
Carolina Shipbuilding Co.’s la
bor policy will be found on page
10.
Jesse A. Purvis, of 106 South
Sixth street, president of the
United Shipbuilders of America,
Inc., an independent union, fol
lowed P. F. Halsey, general man
ager of the shipyard, on the wit
ness stand yesterday afternoon
in the National Labor Board hear
ing in the customhouse Federal
courtroom. His testimony describ
ed the revival of the U. S. A., Inc.,
when interruption of the C. I. O.
into the local picture at the ship
yard became imminent in April,
1944.
Mr. Halsey had finished his evi
dence during the forenoon by pro
ducing for the record a complete
description of the overall labor
policy of tiie shipbuiling company,
the eventual object of attack by
the proponents in the case. He list
ed changeovers in ship models,
alterations in Navy requirements,
shortages in critical materials
and refinements in technique as
dominant factors in the company's
handling ow wartime ebployment.
Purivs’ union is involved in the
litigation through a petition to
intervene filed by their attorneys,
Robert M. Kermon and David
Sinclair. He testified after ob
jections by shipyard counsel had
been raised to the introduction of
a deposition by Harley Batson,
ex-shipyard employe now work
ing in a Colifornia plant. The
Batson deposition was permitted
as evidence by Trial Examiner
J. J. Fitzpatrick, but assurance
was given Maj. L. P. McLendon,
company attorney, and Mr. Ker
mon that time would be allowed
for their perusal of the document
and, if necessary, the taking of
counter-depositions.
Objections to specific items in
(Continued on Page Seven; Col. *) 1
\
.— —1- __ ★
Mercy for the Fallen Foe
American medics treat a nasty wound in the arm of a German
paratrooper, who was wounded in the fighting at Bastogne.
1,000 Blocks In Budapest
Fall To Russian Advance
LONDON, Thursday, Jan. 11.— (AP)—Three-fourths
of devastated Budapest now is in Russian hands, repeated
German counterattacks northwest of the flaming capital
have been smashed, and Soviet forces moving westward
north of the Danube to outflank the Nazis have driven
-^within a mile and a quarter of
NORWEGIAN UNITS
INVADE HOMELAND,
SEVER NAZI LINES
LONDON, Jan. 10.—(^—Norwe
gian parachute troops have invad
ed their homeland and cut the
Germans’ main railway for trans
port of Nazi troops to Germany
the Norwegian government-in-ex
ile announced today.
Wearing white parkas to camou
flage themselves against Norway’s
snowy backgrounds, the Norwe
gian troops destroyed sections of
two main railways in what a
spokesman described as a “good
sized operation.” The daring op
eration was carried out between
Trondheim and Oslo, one of the
cut railways running through the
Dovie mountains and the other
through Osterdal.
In announcing the blow to pre
vent the transfer of German troops
from Norway to Field Marshal von
Rundstedt’s Western Front ranks,
the government spokesman dis
closed that Norwegian parachu
tists had carried out other opera
tions in Norway, but he declined
to give the dates or locales.
The Norwegian parachutists who
returned to their Nazi-occupied
homeland had been in training in
Britain for three years.
Komarom, Moscow announced last
night.
Rail traffic out of Kormarom,
strategic railroad and communica
tions center on the Danube 40
miles northwest of Budapest, al
ready has been blocked by Red
Army artillery, dispatches from
the Soviet capital said.
The Soviet forward surge in Bu
dapest also has resulted in the
capture of practically all the in
dustrial eastern suburb, the com
munique broadcast from Moscow
said.
A thousand blocks of buildings,
almost half as many as Soviet
storm troops had gained in two
previous weeks of fighting, were
taken Wednesday, and the Soviet
command early today stated that
many factories, quantities of mili
tary equipment and thousands of
prisoners also were captured. The
Russians now control 3.300 of Bu
dapest’s estimated 4,500 blocks.
Fresh motorized corps were
thrown against the Nazi relief ex
pedition w'hich has been battering
at Russian lines 15 miles west and
northw’est of Budapest for eight
days in an attempt to break
through to the beleaguered city.
The supplemental communique
said 27 more German tanks had
been destroyed and 1,200 of the
enemy killed in this area Wednes
day. Thus, the Nazi command has
sacrificed 625 tanks and more than
14,700 men in trying to reach its
trapped garrison in Budapest, ac
cording to Russian accounts.
___
Argentina Cuts Last Tie
With Nations OfAmerica j
BUENOS AIRS, Jan. 10. — (/P) —
Argentina severed her last con
nection with the American na
tions as a group today—temporari
ly at least—by announcing that
she would not participate in fu
ture meetings of the Pan-Ameri
can Union because her rights had
been ignored and the union’s con
sultative procedure had been alter
ed.
(A dispatch from Santiago, Chile,
said diplomatic observers there
regarded the Argentine move as a
mistaken one, cracking wide open
the division between Argentina and
other nations of the Hemisphere.
(Argentina’s self-isolation, these
observers said, gives other Ameri
can nations no recourse but to
leave Argentina out of their coun
cils. The Chilean dispatch added
that it was felt in many quarters
that Argentina's withdrawal boded
ill for continental peace in South
America.)
The announcement followed the
Pan-American Union's decision
Monday to postpone consideration
I of Argentina’s request for a con
sultative meeting to discuss her
relations with other nations of
North and South America.
Foe Rushing
Troops From
Manila Area
Fliers Pounding Highways
To Stem Enemy Re- -
inf orcement 3 f i
_ ' '■"-'S.
GENERAL MacARTHUR’S
HEADQUARTERS, LUZON,
Thursday, Jan. 11.— (AP)—«
Under the impetus of Tues
day morning’s power-packed
landing, American troops by
mid-day Wednesday had carv
ed out a Luzon beachhead 15
miles wide and an average of
four miles deep, still finding
little or no opposition. They
captured four key towns and
an airstrip less than 120
miles north of Manila.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s com
munique today, the second issued
from his Luzon headquarters, an
nounced the four separate beach
heads along Lingayen Gulf had
been consolidated in the first 24
hours of almost bloodless invasion
from San Fabian to Lingayen.
MacArthur said the enemy
“completely deceived” by the
landing at his rear, was bringing
up reinforcements from the south
ern part of the island. This pres
aged an early opening of the real
battle for Luzon.
Three key rail and highway
bridges at Calumpit, 25 miles
northwest of Manila, were de
stroyed in the aerial blasting of
all Luzon in support of the inva
It was around Calumpit in tha
dark days of late 1941 that Mac
Arthur’s American and Filipino
forces fought a bitter delaying ac*
tion. This prevented the Japanese,
who had landed at Antimonan on
the east coast, from plunging
straight toward Manila before the
American commander had time to
pull in his advanced scattered
forces in the converging with*
drawal that ended on Bataan pe*
ninsula.
Virtually isolated as were the
Americans on Luzon three years
ago, the Japanese on the island
are forced to call upon dispersed
garrisons to meet the formidable,
tank-led American Sixth Army
driving south from Lingayen
Gulf.
Somewhere south of Lingayen,
Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japa*
nese commander in the Philip*
pines, must make a stand. How
much of a stand will depend on
how quickly and successfully h«
succeeds in bringing troops from
the central Luzon plain in the
face of day and night U. S. ait
assaults.
The Americans crossed most of
the swamps and "fish pond” areas,
which posed the chief terrain ob*
stacle, in their spectacular and
virtually bloodless drive inland.
(Broadcasts from the scene said
some Yank columns were consid*
erably beyond the four mile av*
erage announced officially. Wealh*
er was described as stormy, with
(Continued on Page Seven; Col. 5)'
XT
Less Than 2,000 Heroes
Of Bataan Expected To
Be Found By Americans
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10.—CUP) —
Fewer than 2,000 of the 16,827 cap
tured American heroes of Bataan
are likely to be found by liberat
ing U. S. forces on Luzon, it wa*
estimated today, because death
long since has ended the agony
of more than half of them and
a majority of the survivors are
in forced labor camps in Japan,
Formosa and occupied China.
American civilian iternees in the
Philippines have fared compara
tively better at the hands of their
Japanese captors, and it is esti
mated that 6,000 will be liberated
when the enemy is driven out tf
the archipelago.
While the fate of m^iy of the
captured defenders of Bataan and
Corregidor has been obscured by
time and the inscrutabliity of the
Japanese, even much less is known
of the 14.933 American-Filipjno sol
diers reported missing when Cor
regidor fell May 6. 1942, Most art
presumed to be dead.