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Allied Military Victory No Longer In Doubt Says Churchill The Weather Very Cold Tonight (Nl Weather Report Pifi 8) TM Mawrbnrg Mmoicmjl ******* Bvry IrtalBf at li grand HfHt WtUrbiry. Rnltrtd m »•<*- .d data Matter at Post Office at Waterbary. Conn. Under the Act of March I. 1171) Home, Final Edition Late Sport News Late News Flashes ESTABLISHED 1881 VOL. LXHI, NO. 15 WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1945 SIXTEEN PAGES PRICE 4 CENTS AMERICANS CLOSING IN ON ST. VITH W arsaw Liberation Foreshadows Early Berlin Fall To Reds BY BRUCE W. MUNN London, January 18. — (UP) — Moscow reports said today that the Red Army was believed to have smashed across the Polish frontier into Germany in an unchecked invasion surging to within less than 50 miles of Breslau, Silesian capital, 225 miles southeast of Berlin. Marshal Ivan S. Konev’s First Ukrainian Army, spear heading the Soviet offensive that is pushing the Germans westward at a mile an hour clip, was reported unofficially to have crossed the border west of captured Czestochowa. * »■ muDWH uio^aitu vi me CA* change Telegraph said Konev's vanguard was believed to be within 50 miles of Breslau, industrial and communitions center of all Silesia, the “Ruhr of the east'1 and prime source of supply for the German war machine. United Press Report from Moscow said Konev’s advance on the Silesian frontier had cut the lateral corn munitions between the German armies in the Krakow area and these fleeing Marshall Gregory K. Zhukov’s first White Russian Army to the north. Berlin acknlowcdged the loss of Czestochowa and saild the Runsian captors were advancing due west, but a Nazi military spokesman claimed the Russians ’’will find that their offensive will become entirely difffferent at the German border.” The pessimism of German reports picturing the Red Army offensive as an irresistible Juggernaut crunch ing westward on the “entire eastern front” accentuated the jubilant confidence of Soviet accounts of the offensive. On-to-Berlin Push Russian writers and commentators were freely calling the offensive an on-to-Berlin pash aimed at bringing the war to an early end. All of Central and Northwestern Poland lay exposed to Zhukov’s was moving armored forces. Northwest of fallen Warsaw, Marshal Stal in's armies were wheel up toward the Baltic in a drive to slice off East Prussia, where bitter German re sistance was reported holding up a Soviet offensive still unannounced by Moscow. At the center, other mobile col umns raced over the approaches to Lodz, Poland’s second city and im portant center of transport and in dustry, •'The battle in the big bend of the Vistula continues with unabated fury,” the German high command (Continued on Page 4; Says Ur A A Nuisance . By FREDERICK C. OTHMAN Washington, Jan. 18 — (U.P.) — 1 can report today that Mrs. Frank lin D. Roosevelt does not wear cot ton stockings, that Senator Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota is a first class dentist, and that sometimes the OPA is a doggone nuisance. My sources, for these statements of fact are Anton Ettesvold, the hest farmer in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minn esota, and his wife. And especially his wife. Radio Station WNAX of Yankton, S. D., held a contest for champion farmer, chose Ettesvold from 8,700 rivals and awarded him and tire Missus a free trip to Washington to witness the inauguration of Pres ident Roosevelt. I dropped in on the Ettesvolds at the Statler Hotel, where they were admiring the modernistic furniture and waiting for Saturday’s festiv ities at the White House. We got to talking about one thing and an other and it turned out that their troubles began in Minneapolis, where the governor of Minnesota made a speech and presented them with a newfangld, 1945-model trac tor. The 67-year-old Ettesvold, gray haired, gray-mustached and clear of eye, decided if this machine was to be any use on his 333 acres, he’d have to learn how to run it. It takes gasoline to demonstrate a trac tor. The reception committee rush ed to the OPA, put up an argument and got some gasoline; one gallon This barely wet the bottom of the tank; when the engine wheezed its last, Ettesvold had only a sketchy idea of what levers to pull. The Ettesvolds entrained then for Washington, with the motherly looking Mrs. E. keeping clearly in (Continued on Page 4) College Imposes Ski-Pants Ban Burlington, Vt„ Jan. 18.—<UP>— A ski-pants ban was imposed today on the 600 co-eds at the University of Vermont. With more than 15 inches of snow blanketting the campus, the wo men's student union at the Uni versity ruled that tire girls may wear skl-pnnts while skiing to classes, but must change to skirts before entering classrooms. President Shirley Needham of the student union explained that girls are gawky in ski pants while in (.lasses and "throw their legs all around." "It’s also to protect their health." she added. "When they wear pants one day and skirts the next, they're likely to catch cold." Bills Flood Legislature At Hartford Hartford, Conn., Jan. 18.—<UPi — Bills of every description rolled into tile hoppers today as the General Assembly met in brief session before its weekend recess. Among the first to be offered in the Senate were bills to restore the forfeited rights of John J. Crary and Thomas A. Shanahan, two of tlie more than score persons con victed in the notorious Waterbury municipal graft scandal of 1939. Both served jail terms for their part in the conspiracy to defraud the city of nearly $3,500,000 thorugh rigged contracts, overpayments for services and bookkeeping manipula tions. Restoration of forfeited rights also was asked for Joseph A. Rose man, Greenwich, Stewart F. Ander son, Meriden, and George A. Proc tor, New Britain. A bill clarifying a previous bill relating to the budgeting and fi nancing of the town of Grenwich was introduced to define the words "yield” and “income”. One of the first war-connected measures to come before the legis lature was filed by Sen. Matthew J. Avitabile, D., New Britain. It would provide free licenses for all dogs honorably discharged from military service. Sen. Vincent Giampietro, R., Stam ford, proposed that motor vehicles taxed by the town of Stamford be exempt from taxation by the city of Stamford. In the House, on motion of Re publican leader Herbert Wanderer, Bethel, it was voted to delay ap pointment of members of the legis ltalve council until the first Wed nesday in May to give members an opportunity to show their metal be fore being named to the important advisory group. Ordinarily the ap pointments would be made the 15th day of the session. House bills provided: Establishment of a five-member adult probation board, apointed ly judges of the superior court. Appointment of F’-ed W. Beach and William N. Derosier as judges of (Continued on Page 4i High Priority Cargo Scored Antioch Cal., Jan. 18—(UPV-T Sgt. Dave Aks today confirmed an Antioch, Cal., sailor’s story that Col. Elliott Roosevelt’s dog was given preference over them and another service man, as yet unidentified, on an Army cargo plane. Aks, an overseas veteran, arrived home at Riverside, Cal., last night to visit his ailing wife after consid erable delay caused by Army offi cers ordering the three servicemen off the plane at Memphis, Tenn., to make room for high priority cargo. The sergeant’s story was the same in detail as that of Seaman 1-C Leon Leroy who first revealed the Incident when he arrived at Antioch Ia tiieii. Vtle nUinrr onrl ttriHntirnrl mother. Leroy and Ills mother sought seclusion today to avoid the sudden publicity caused by the story. The dog, sent by Roosevelt to his wife, was in a Hollywood kennel. Leroy revealed that his emergency leave had been extended five days to Jan. 27, making up all but 48 hours of the time lost when he was ordered off the plane at Memphis, Tenn. His mother, griving over the re cent death of her husband, A1 Leroy, well known police chief, didn't like the publicity brought by the inci dent. "We’ve found ourselves on too many newscasts,” she said. They turned the family radio off “till it’s all over.” Aks said there were 22 aboard the plane when it left New York, "and when we got to Dayton, O., (Patterson Field) a dog was put on (Continued on Page 4) Crawford Predicts Spring Tire Boom Washington, Jan. 18—(UP)—The tire situation is improving rapidly, according to Fred C. Crawford of the National Association of Manu facturers. Testifying before a congressional committee on manpower, Crawford said the tire shortage was due large ly to lack of machines to make them, especially large tires, "but that Is coming along.” "I predict we’ll be flooded with tires this spring,” he said. Russians Advance On Eastern Front "TT-T ■rTr-rr-mjw'.» i jijimji (NEA Telephoto) Soviet guardsmen are shown as they storm the outskirts of a village on the Eastern Front. By lightning* like action such as this the whole Soviet front below Warsaw has moved westward in giant strides. U. S. Ardennes Losses 60 Times Those Of Britain Jones May Be Retired From Commerce BY LYLE C. WILSON Washington, Jan. 18.—(UP)— Some of Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones, best congressional friends are swinging reluctantly to day to the belief that President Roosevelt intends to retire him from the cabinet next week to make a place for Henry A. Wallace. Wallace’s term as vice president ends at noon, Saturday. Mr. Roose velt waived on Wallace's further services as vice president at the Democratic national convention in order to placate conservative ele ments of the party with Sen. Harry E. Truman, D., Mo. There is no confirmation from the White House or elsewhere that Jones is to make way for Wallace. If the move is made, however, it would be witli instructions from Mr. Roosevelt to his new cabinet mem ber to go ahead with the job of setting up 60,000,000 postwar jobs, which were set as a goal during the presidential campaign. Wal lace also would be responsible for aid to small business. Some persons here would regard nomination of Wallace to be sec retary of commerce as a move to give him thhe opportunity to build toward the Democratic presidential nomination in 1948. The commerce department was not inert in iur thering the presidential ambitions of Herbert C. Hoover when he held that cabinet past. One of the most significant bureaus of the depart ment deals with foreign and domes tic commerce. In connection with its domestic responsibilities, that bureau has 29 offices in 19 states, most of them in areas of major political as werl as business importance Wallace is understood to have put in a bid for the commerce depart ment. He would get considerable re venge along with cabinet rank if (Continued on Page 4) Killed In Action •-! San Antonio. Texas, Jan. 18.— (IIP)—Major Thomas B. McGuire, leading active southwest Pacific air ace with 39 Jap planes to his credit, has been killed in action, his wife was infornK'd today in a letter from his command gen eral. Major McGuire was a na tive of Ridgewood. N. J„ and had topped the combat record of Major Richard I. Bong to become the No. 1 U. S. combat pilot. By rHIL AULT London, Jan. 18—-(UP)—Prime Minister Churchill declared today that the Ardennes battle had been turned into “an ever-famous Amer ican victory” which he believed "is more likely to shorten this war than lengthen it.” Churchill told tire House o! Com mons that American losses in repel ling Field Marshal Karl Von Rund stedt’s counter-offensive had been 60 to 80 times those of the British and that the engagement was "The greatest American battle of the war.” Revealing that Britain has 67 di visions at tile front—between 670,000 to 700,000 troops—he declared that the United States has put twice as many troops into the field against the Germans, presumably between 1,300,000 and 1,400.000 men. “I do not hesitate today to give my own opinion,” Churchill said, "that the decisive breaking of the German offensive in the west is more likely to shorten this war than to lengthen it. Speaking before the House of Com mons, Churchill called upon Ger many and Japan to abandon the war unconditionally, reitering the unconditional formula, and said (Continued on Page 4) Joe Del Gobbo Flees Prison State and local police today com menced an intensive hunt for Jo seph DelGobbo, 22, 091 Washington avenue, Waterbury, who escaped at 9 o’clock this morning from the state prison at Wethersfield where he was serving an indefinite term for robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. It was the first succssful escape from the inside of the state prison since 1928. • DelGobbo. who also goes by the name of Janauskas, made good his escape over the east wall of the pri son and through an unused prison cannery by means of a 30 foot rope made from pieces of clothing he had smuggled out of the prison laundry where he worked, James J. Mcllduff, Wethersfield parole officer reported. Mr. Mcllduff said no other prison er was involved in the break, which had obviously been very thoroughly planned. He said it must have taken Del Gobbo a number of weeks to smug gle out of the laundry sufficient clothes to make the 30-foot rope. At 9 o’clock this morning Mr. Mcllduff said, DolBobbo slipped away unnoticed from the laundry, and walked 75 yards to the corner of (Continued on Page 2.1 Too-Long Front Duty By GI’s Hit By Luce BY DOROTHY WILLIAMS Washington, Jan. 18.—(UP)—Rep. Clare Boothe Luce, R., Conn., today denounced the Army’s policy of keeping divisions “almost continu ally" in the front lines and urged that ground soldiers be assured re lief after a "fixed tour of duty un der fire." Calling special attention to con ditions on tlie "forgotten front” in Italy, the playwright congress woman, who recently loured the Eu ropean war zones, declared in a speech prepared lor House deliv ery that the 34th Division of Lieut. Gen. Mark W. Clark's Fifth Army nad seen more than 400 combat days. Mrs. Luce warned that too-long front Hue duty threatened to bring "demoralization" both to the av-| erage GI and his family or sweet heart at home. As it is, she said, many soldiers are getting bitter, too often feeling that their only hope of escape from battle is “to be re placed—which generally means killed or wounded." She reminded the House that the American casualties in the Italian campaign have totaled 98,360, and said that though the War Depart ment declined to divulge the per centage of these sustained by infan try she had been told that it wt s 99 per cent In Italy. "The time lias come," she de clared, “to apply to ground troops the tame policy now in effect ui the air corps of a limited number of battle missions which any pilot in any given theater shall be re quired to endure." U. S. Ground Forces Lose 332,912 Men Washington, Jan. 18—fUPt—Sec retary of War Henry L. Stimson announced today that U. S. ground forces alone suffered 332,912 cas ualties on the western front from D-day on June 6 to Jan. 1. This total, which includes losses during the most severe period of lighting in the Germans’ Ardennes offensive, represents 54,562 killed, 232,672 wounded and 45,678 missing, Stimson told a news conference. Stimson said the Germans have suffered great losses in the past week as the First and Third U. S. Armies and British troops pressed them back in the Ardennes bulge. The Allied pincers have cut off large numbers of Germans swelling the number of prisoners of war taken in this battle, he said. Allied artillery nammertng the roads have destroyed whole columns of enemy troops while Allied planes which operated when weather permitted took a heavy toll. Stimson said the Allies had the satisfaction of knowing they had taken the hardest blow which the enemy could deliver and turned it to his disadvantage. He said the breakthrough was a desperate effort by a hard-pressed enemy and had ended quite unsuc cessfully. U. S. ground force losses for the month of December on the western front, Stimson said, were 74,788. These Included 10,419 killed. 43,r>r>4 wounded and 20,815 missing. He added that mast of the missing probably had been captured. (Continued on Page 4) 100 Flying Forts Bomb Rail Yards London, Jan. 18—(UP i—A small force of Plying Portresses escorted by Mustang fighters today attacked railyards at Kaiserlautcrn, Sanr lnnd industrial and transport center 38 miles northeast of Saarbrucken. An official announcement of the daylight attack, following a Brltsh night raid on the rail center of Magdeburg, said about 100 Plying Portresses of the Eighth Air Force were engaged, with a like number of fighters. Royal Air Force bombers, guided by fires set in a raid the night be fore, hit Magdeburg, southwest of Berlin, at 5 a. m., the Air Ministry reported. Concerted Drive Set To Force Nazis Back To Siegfried Lines F. T. Maloney Rites Friday Morning AtlO J. Francis Smith of Water bury has been named an usher to act at tomorrow's funeral services in Mer iden for the late United States Sen ator Francis T. Maloney (D.). Mayor John S. Monagan and other city officials and those close to the de ceased as personal friends will at tend. Funeral services will be held at 10 a. in. Governor Raymond E. Baldwin Will head the delegation of national and state officials, of governmental and civic affairs who will attend tomorrow’s services. Special dele gates from both the U. S. Congress and the Connecticut General As sembly will be among the groups attending to pay respect to the highly admired and respected late senator. Tributes to the late legislator's high degree of integrity and moral courage continued to pour into his home at Meriden the latest coming from his friend and colleague In Washington former U. S. Senator John A. Danaher who although a Republican was a staunch admirer of the late senator. Senator Danaher said: "Frank Maloney and I grew up together in Meriden. We lived on the same street afew houses apart. We were interested in public affairs and good government. I shared his Just pride in his many accomplish ments, as mayor of Meriden, a§ man and finally as United States Senator. “It was my rare privilege to work with him these last six years. Des (Continued on Page 4) Japs Expect Manila Fall BY WILLIAM B. DICKINSON General MacArthur’s Headquar ters, Luzon, Jan. 18— (UP)—Field reports indicated today that the Japanese have begun evacuating key personnel by air from Manila to Northern Luzon and possibly even Formosa in anticipation of the early fall of the Philippine capital. (A Japanese Domei dispatch rec orded by the FCC claimed that, a Japanese unit had landed “from the sea to the rear” ol American posi tions in the Lingayen Gulf Tuesday night and "heavily blasted and set ablaze enemy munitions stored in native houses and trucks assem bled along the coastal highway.”) News of furtive northward flights by enemy transport planes reached headquarters as American forces massed strength a few miles above Tarlac, 65 miles north of Manila, for a new southward lunge that was expected to carry all the way to the great Clark air center, 25 miles away. Other forces widened the Amer- ; ican beachhead on the Lingayen Gulf north of Tarlac to 65 miles with a 17-mile advance which sealed off the Pangasinan Peninsula and secured the western flank against ; the possibility of a Japanese coun ter-attack. Striking northwest from Alami- ! nos, the western column pushed ! through clear to the northern tip of the peninsula at Bolinao in the j face of only negligible resistance , from scattered Japanese stragglers. ‘ At lust erports, the Americans were J advancing down the west coast of j the peninsula toward Dasol Bay, 15 j 1 (Continued on Page 4> Envoy to Turkey i t < Edwin C. Wilson, left. 51- y year-old career diplomat, has : been named l’. 8. Ambassador to i s Turkey by President Itoosevelt. c One time ambassador to Pan- a ama. he has been nervine in the a Slate Department Office of Spe- f rial Political Affair*. ti 24 More Jap Vessels Sunk By U. S. Subs Washington, Jan. 18 (UP)—U. S. submarines have sunk 24 more Jap anese, ships, including four combat vessels, the Navy announced today. The four warshlips were a de stroyer and three escort vessels. The others included three transports, five tankers and 12 cargo vessels. These sinkings raised to 958 the total of Japanese ships sent to the bottom by American submarines. The maintenance of the high rate of sinkings evidence the advantages derived from American seizure of bases closer to the enemy’s home land its lines of supply to its pur lloned empire. The loss of cargo vessels is a severe blow to the Japanese because it im pairs their efforts to transport sup plies to troops and to haul raw ma terials for their war industries. De struction of tankers hits them in an even more vulnerable spot. The coasistent loss of tankers seriously affects naval and air operations, which are great oil and gas con sumers. So far in this war, U. S. submarines alone have accounted for 94 Japanese tankers. American undersea craft have sunk a total of 103 Japanese com batant ships, including 40 destroyers, 14 cruisers and an aircraft carrier. Tokyo, Korea Raided Again Pearl Harbor, Jan, 18—(UP)—New B-29 nuisance raids on Tokyo, the O.saka-Kobe area and Korea were reported by the Japanese today, while the American Third Fleet maneuvered behind a curtain of radio silence for another strike at the enemy's battered defenses far ther south. Radio Tokyo said single B-29 Sup erfortresses flew over Tokyo at 11 p. m. (Japanese time) yesterday, over the Osaka-Kobe industrial area at 10 a. m. today and over northern and central Korea about 11:50 a. m., apparently on reconnaissance. No bombs were reported dropj>ed. The Third Fleet, which has wrecked nearly 400 ships in carrier proper to French Indo-Ohina since | Jail. 2, has been under radio silence since its aircraft attacked Formosa and the China coast Tuesday. Superfortresses attacked Formosa , in strength yesterday ano Tokyo said 300 of the Third Fleet's planes simultaneously hit Hong Kong, Canton and Hainan island, carry ing their assault on the China coast, , into its fourth straight day, but the > latter was not confirmed immedl- , ately. Long-range patrol planes from Gen. Douglas MacArthur's command also attacked Formosa, harrasslng , Okayama at night, a Luzon com munique said. $60 A Gallon Paid For Gas ■ Paris, Jan 18—iUP) - Five Amer- i lean soldiers who stole ‘'huge quan- j titles’ of gasoline from the Army, sold it on the Paris black market for as much as $60 a gallon and lived in luxury on the profits have been sentenced to death, the Army announced today. Col. Clarence Brand, staff judge j advocate of the Seine section, said ihe death sentences—first meted out in the Army black market scandal —were handed down by a general :ourt martial on specific charges Df desertion in time of war and con spiracy to steal Army gasoline. Brand refused to reveal names md addresses of the condemned nen. Other members of the gang will be tried this week, he said, j while Army undercover agents in- j ensify their drive to round up the I emaindor of the offenders. One of the condemned men. Brand I said, had "two apartments and sev- i sral mistresses." Another broke I rut of military custody after his i rrrest and stole 29,000 francs < $400 • from a cafe owner who was among Us former black market customers. iraiio, oanuai) io. - ^ur; — American Third Army Forces crashed into the southeastern shoulder of the deflated Ardennes bulge today in a new attack across the Sure river in the area of Diekirch, 15 miles north of Luxembourg city. Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s attack in northeastern Lux embourg some five miles from the German border brought virtually all of the thin Nazi crescent in the Ardennes under the fire of the American First and Third Armies. To the northwest, the British Sec ond Army broke Into Germany at a new point. Lt. Gen. Sir Miles C. Dempsey's troops, stepping up the pressure on the German pocket west of the Roer, gained up to two and a half miles and seized Susteren and Echt above Sittard. They stabbed across the border directly east of Susteren. Elements of Maj. Gen. Raymond O- Barton’s Fourth division and Maj. Gen. Stafford Irwin’s "Red Dia mond'’ Fifth Division Jumped off at 4 .a m. toda yin the new Luxem bourg attack. They forced the Sure river defense line from the south somewhere near Diekirch and beat forward in the teeth of a storm of German mortar, machine gun and small arms fire. Squeeze Play On the opposite shoulder of the salient, other American troops put a squeeze on St. Vlth In the con certed effort by the First and Third armies to Jolt the Germans back to the starting line of their winter of fensive. Closing In on the town which la the anchor point of the German penetration Into Belgium, American columns had St. Vlth two-thirds en circled from the north, west and southwest at distances ranging from five to eight miles The Germans were fighting stub bornly ;.gainst the persistent Ameri can effort to drive them back Into their Siegfried line positions. At the same time. British Second army forces in Holland stepped up their attack against the German salient west of the Roer river, ad vancing about two to 2% miles on a mile-wide front to take Susteren and Echt, five and seven miles north of Sittard. The Tommies broke across the German frontier directly east of Susteren but the extent of their pen etration was not immediately dis closed. Sleet Slows Drive Front dispatches said the British drive, while still on a localized scale, (Continued on Page 4) May Bill Due For Approval BY DEAN W. DITTMER Washington, January 18. — (UP> — Tlie House Military Affairs Com nlttee today began whipping Into Inal shape the bill to make an estimated 18,800,000 men between 8 and 45 available as needed for var industry and the Armed Forces. Chairman Andrew J. May, D., ■Cy., author of '.he bill, said the •'inmittee was determined to ap jrove the measure within a day or wo so that the House could begin vork on it next week. The measure in its present form :alls for induction into Army work lattal'ons of all men in the 18-45 ige bracket, including 4-F’s who re use to get esesntial Jobs or stick to hose they have, May said, however, that its work >r-flght character may be changed >y substituting for the induction .revisions the civil penalties fixed or violation of the Selective Service let—prison terms of up to five years >r fines of up to $10,000 or both. President Roosevelt emphasized in i special manpower message to Jay s oommit.tee yesterday that con sideration of technicalities should lot be allowed to stand in way of i measure urgently needed to nako