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Aide Says Mihailovich Has 30,000 Chetniks Ready to Aid Allies »r the Associated Press. LONDON, Mar. 25.—Maj. VoLslav Lukatchevic, a commander in the Yugoslav army, said in an inter view today that Gen. Draja Mihailo vich has 30,000 troops in the moun tains of Serbia ready to strike at a signal from the Allies to clear a path for invasion. The statement coincided with an nouncement by the Yugoslav gov ernment-in-exile that Gen. Mihailo vich’s Chetniks recently had pressed an offensive to “the very getas” of Belgrade. “These troops have only limited ammunition and equipment,” said the major, who is in London to seek Allied aid for Gen. Mihailovich. “That is why they haven’t been fighting. We figure it is better to make big offensive than waste our bullets in smaller actions. We are ready to clear any given area for an Allied invasion landing on short notice.” Allies Supporting Tito. Both Britain and the United States have been giving their main support in Yugoslavia to the men of Marshal Tito, Gen. Mihailovich’s rival, on the ground they were do ing most of the fighting against the Germans. Maj. Lukatchevic said Gen. Mi hailovich also had 150,000 more men organized who could be sent into ac tion if equipped. Gen. Mihailovich’s last offensive carried to the coast of Montenegro about the time the Allies struck in Italy, the major said, but the Yugo slav army flank was attacked, he asserted, by forcfes of Marshal Tito. Maj. Lukatchevio minimized the achievements of Marshal Tito’s forces, and claimed the Partisan leader had fewer than 10.000 sol diers. He contended that many towns which Marshal Tito claimed to have captured never existed. Some reports have estimated the Tito forces at 250.000 or more. Was With U. S. Mission. The major said he left Serbia a month ago with two members of an American military mission who now are in Washington. Asked whether the welding of the Xito and Mihailovich units was pos sible, the major replied yes, but said it would “be difficult.’’ In Cairo the Yugoslav goVern ment-in-exile said the Germans were arresting and deporting thou sands of persons in Belgrade after an attack by Mihailovich forces “at the very gates” of that city, and that the Nazis had sent 7,000 men against the Yugoslavs below Bel grade. i ito Keports Germans Stopped in Bosnia Battle LONDON, Mar. 25 (/P).—A com munique broadcast tonight from Marshal Tito's Yugoslav Partisan headquarters said a German ad vance in the Bjelina sector of Bosnia north of Sarajevo had been stopped and a counterattack by units of the 16th and 37th Partisan Divisions now was in progress. In Slavonia, the communique said. Partisans are attacking German troops moving toward Hungary, causing heavy lasses. A train on the Bosanski-Novi rail way has been blown up, it was add ed, while more than 250 Germans have been killed in battles in the mountains. 60,000 British Strikers Expected to Return to Pits By the Associated Pres*. LONDON, Mar. 25.—J. A. Hall, president of the Yorkshire Mine Workers’ Association, said today he expected all the 60,000 miners out in the Yorkshire coal fields to be back at work Monday. Another 25,000 are away from the pits in the Don caster area. Mr. Hall, in a letter to local branches, called for resumption of work under the wage agreement reached yesterday by representatives of the mine owners and the miners’ leaders, which provides a wage dif ferential for skilled workers. Ministry of Fuel officials and Yorkshire mine owners have agreed that no deductions would be made from the minimum wage of miners for coal the miners take to heat their own homes, and that deduc tions already made would be re funded. 37th Suspect Arrested In Sparrows Point Fraud Ej the Associated Press. BALTIMORE. Mar. 25.—The Fed eral Bureau of Investigation an nounced today the arrest of the 37th person charged with falsifying weld ing work records at the Bethlehem Steel Co.’s Sparrows Point ship yard. John W. Vincent, special agent in qharge of the Baltimore FBI office, said William J. Wertman, now of Altoona, Pa., had been apprehended in Altoona and would be returned to Baltimore. ; One other person wanted in con nection with the alleged $1,000,000 a-year fraud was still being sought, Mr. Vincent said. Wertman probably will be ar raigned Thursday; the date set for a hearing for the 36 previously ar rested, Mr. Vincent said. FEEDING REFUGEES FROM VESUVIUS—Italian civilians, fleeing from the path of the Mount Vesuvius l^va flow in the San Sebastiano area, are fed at soup kitchens set up by the Allied Military Government. .—A. P. Wirephoto by OWI Radio. _ ♦ ------ Vesuvius Afire Again; 21 Die as Ash-Laden Roofs Collapse By the Associated Press. NAPLES, Mar. 25.—Roofs col lapsing under the weight of dust apd ashes thrown up by Mount Ve suvius have? killed 21 persons, Al lied Military Government officials announced today, bringing the total number of deaths in the current eruption to 26. The crater began hurling off greater smoke and ashes this after noon, after a 12-hour lull, and Prof. Imbro, director of the Royal Italian Observatory on Vesuvius, told AMG officials that he could "only say that Mount Vesuvius is still, ab normal.” Damage Runs Into Millions. The lava flows had ceased al most entirely, but Prof. Imbro re fused to speculate when all danger from the present eruption would end. The eruption has caused dam age unofficially estimated at from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000. Reports to AMG officials told of 12 persons killed in Nocema, province of Salerno, and 9 at Paganl, in the same province. Two children had been killed when an underground cistern, overheated by lava, exploded. Three other persons were killed by falling brimstone at Terzigno, according to reports re ceived by Lt. Col. James L. Cincaid, Naples provincial AMG commis sioner. The roofs of 15 houses in the region of San Giuseppe Vesuviano, east of Vesuvius, including the vil lage of Terzigno, fell in under the burden of a 4-inch blanket of ashes, a United States Army officer said. Allied authorities were recruiting Italian workers to clear the ash from roofs and streets, and were rushing in food for livestock as well as inhabitants in the devastated area because fields and pastures were under a thick cover of the ashes and dust. United States Army with bulldozers. engineers were clearing highways West Virginia Reduces Basic Whisky Ration BJ the Associated Press. CHARLESTON, W. Va„ Mar. 25.— West Virginians’ basic monthly ration of two pints will be stretched over a six-week period beginning April 1, but the State Liquor Con trol Commission said a bonus of wine and rum would be allowed through the same period. Coupons 17 and 18 will be valid through May 15 for two pints, or a fifth of whisky and a bottle of wine, while coupons 31 and 32 may be exchanged for four bottles of im ported or domestic wines in fifths and coupons 33 and 34 for four bottles of rum in fifths. The commission said the action was necessary because distillers were reducing their allotmetns in an attempt to extend the supply. [APRIL FOOL TRICKS and JOKES GARRISON'S 1215 E St. N.W. Nazis Put 3 More Tanks in Lobby \0f Cassino Hotel to Hold Town By LYNN HEINZERLING, Associated Press War Correspondent. ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, Na ples, March 25.—Very few hotels in the world have endured the violent days and nights which have fallen on Cassino's Continental Hotel, which now has three fresh German tanks in its lobby and a new con tingent of snipers in its windows overlooking Highway 6 and the for bidding sides of Monastery Hill. The hotel probably has the worst commercial situation imaginable— on the high road to Rome between the German and Allied armies. Only its sturdy stone construction and the fact it is somewhat protected in the lee of Monastery Hill have saved it from being reduced to dust and rubble like most other buildings in Cassino. Somehow the hundreds of bombs dropped on Cassino March 15 left four walls of the Continental still standing. The building did not be come important until several days after the New Zealanders attacked. Then the Germans opened up sud denly through the front windows of the lobby with the heavy guns of two tanks which had been run inside. New Zealanders Mowed Down. Snipers drifted before its windows to fire with devastating effect. One sniper, either in the hotel or the im mediate vicinity, was reported by the New Zealanders to have hit 30 men. At Cassino for the bombardment and the fighting which followed, I saw the hotel become dreadfully im portant. It was the center of a fortress-like area which stood athwart Highway 6 at a point where the road comes up to the bottom of Monastery Hill from the east, then turns sharply south around the hill. It is extremely important because it permits the Germans to sweep the entire road angle with their guns. The only other position in the immediate area that is in a com parable position is Castle Hill, which actually is a part of the town, al though the castle on. its crest seems to be isolated some 600 feet above the main part of Cassino. The hill dominates almost every part of the community and it is in Allied hands. Hotel Once In Allies’ Grasp. The fighting for the hotel never reached the stage where the Ger j mans and New Zealanders were In the building together. While Ger man tanks weer still in the lobby, New Zealand tanks did manage to push within 30 yards of the hotel. The two enemy tanks eventually were put out of business, and the New Zealanders said the Germans raised a white flag, A fairly large number from the hotel vicinity then surrendered and later that night marched down Highway 6 into Allied lines. But the New Zealanders did not hold the upper hand for long, and the Germans worked their way back into the building and. as now dis closed, moved three more tanks into the lobby to replace the two de stroyed. The Germans back up their de fense of the hotel from caves in the side of Monastery Hill and burled dugouts all along Highway 6 as it runs out of town. Well on the outskirts of the town they are dug into the coliseum and amphitheater on the west side of the road and the Duke’s Palace on the east side. While these buildings have been subjected to heavy gun fire, they are still in use and are still formidable barriers along the road to Rome. Service Chaplains Here To Attend Church Supper Protestant chaplains from the Military District of Washington and the Potomac River Naval Command will attend the first of a series of monthly fellowship suppers tomor row at 6 p.m. at the Foundry Meth odist Church, Sixteenth and P streets N. W. Dr. Frederick Brown Harris, chap lain of the Senate, will be host pas tor for the initial supper, and Donald F. Bautz, director of the De fense Commission of the Washing ton Federation of Churches, will assist in greeting the service chaplains. Mrs. Somervell Tells Duties of Army Wives' Advisory Committee “Helping the wives and families of wounded and disabled soldiers maintain a proper attitude toward them, one that will help build up morale,” is one of the most im portant tasks of a newly-organized Women’s Advisory Committee func tioning under the War Department, Mrs. Brehon B. Somervell said yesterday. By a proper atttitude. Mrs. Somervell explained, she means the sympathy and understanding that are so essential in dealing with re turned soldiers physically and men tally maimed and requiring reha bilitation to fit them again for civilian life. Headed by Mrs. Somervell, wife of the commanding general of the Army Service Forces, this committee of Army wives has been set up to co-operate with the comparatively new Personal Affairs Division. Col. F. Granville Munson, director of the division, explained at a press con ference that its purpose is to serve as a “clearing house” for the per sonal affairs of both officers and soldiers in the Ground Forces and the Service Forces. A Steering Committee. “Our great duty is to get the soldier and his dependent steered to the right office for help as quickly as possible,” he explained. Mrs. Somervell said the Head quarters Committee would formulate policy for volunteer women’s groups that are to be set up in Army camps and communities for the purpose of helping in personal problems when help is most needed. Her 27 assistants are the wives of prominent officials and Army gen erals and include Mrs. Robert P. Patterson, Mrs. George C. Marshall, Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mrs. H. H. Arnold, Mrs. Mark Clark and Mrs. Leslie McNair. The husbands of many of the Army wives on the committee are overseas and greatly concerned with the welfare of men hospitalized in this country and with their personal family problems. Committee Won’t Overlap. Col. Munson, in explaining how the committee will function, empha sized that it will co-operate with but not infringe upon any other existing organization, such as the Red Cross or the Army Emergency Relief. The work laid out for the volun teer committees that are to be set up takes in practically everything touching on the needs of servicemen and their dependents. It is not a charity organization, having no funds of its own. Mrs. Somervell said there will be no “overlapping” — I ——— ■ —— — MIAMI.—BABY LIVES AFTER 8-STORY FALL—Eight-month- | old Bryce L. Taylor, jr., son of First Lt. and Mrs. Taylor of Miller, Nebr., has nothing worse than a broken leg to show for a fall from the eighth floor of an Army hotel here Monday. The baby is being treated at an Army hospital. With him is Lt. vera Brown, ms nurse. ^ —A. P. Wirephoto From Army j Air Forces. with relief work done by other or ganizations. She said it would mean a great deal to the overseas men to real ize there are sympathetic women who will see that their families get their allotments and are directed to the proper agencies for relief and assistance. Col. Munson pointed out that many soliders’ wives are on public rebel because some of them don’t even know that they have allot ments due them. Specializing in Perfect DIAMONDS And complete line of standard and all-American made watches. *< Shop at the friendly store— you're always greeted with *« ' Oeiile—with no obligation to bipj e Account! Invited child Gets Close Haircut BUHL, Idaho OP)Thr*«-yeer-eld Larry Tepley Is minus about 5 Inches of curls. He tried to stick his head Into hia mother’s electric miser. HEARING She bad s serious hearing prob lem. After careful teat, analysis and actual trial ihe bought a Western Electric Hearing Aid. 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