Evening star. [volume], February 27, 1945, Image 1

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Weather Forecast
Cloudy, near 40 today; near freezing
tonight. Tomorrow cloudy, rather cold.
Temperatures today—Highest, 63, at
4:15 a.m.; lowest, 43, at 10 a.m.; 45 at
1:30 pjn. Yesterday—Highest, 61, at
11:55 p.m.; lowest, 41, at 1:40 a.m.
Late New York Markets, Page A-13.
Guide for Reade
Page
After Dark.B-6
Amusements ...A-9
Comics.B-10-11
Editorial .A-6
Edit! Articles - A-7
Finance .A-13
Lost and ;
Obituary .A-8
Radio .B-ll
Society .B-3
Sports .A-10-J1
Woman's Page B-4
An Associated Press Newspaper
93d YEAE. No. 36,824.
• WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1945—TWENTY-SIX PAGES. ★★★★
City Home Delivery. Daily and Sunday
80e a Month. When 6 Sundays. SI.00.
5 CENTS.
YANKS BREACH COLOGNE'S OUTER DEFENSES
City Shelled by Heavy Artillery;
Churchill Defends Polish Division
U. S. 9th Army
2Vi Miles From
Ruhr Basin
BULLETINS.
ERKELENZ, Germany (£*>.—
For the first time in this war,
in the west, thousands of Ger
man civilian refugees crowded
highways as the United States
9th Army smashed ahead.
German soldiers guarding the
Ruhr’s approaches gave up in
bunches, including officers,
talking freely of Germany’s
defeat.
PARIS oP).—American tanks
and truck-riding infantry to
day broke completely through
German defenses in the Rhine
Valley in a racing 10-mile ad
vance into Konigshoven, 15
miles southwest of Dussel
dorf and a mile from the Erft
River.
(Map on Page A-3.)
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, Feb. 27.—American 1st
Army tanks burst into the out
lying defenses of Cologne today
as heavy artillery shelled the
great cathedral city, while just
to the north the 9th Army broke
loose in a 5-mile advance and
drove to within 2 >/2 miles of the
Ruhr basin.
First Army tanks and infantry
smashed another mile down the
main highway from Dueren to
Cologne through Blatzheim into
Bergerhausen. They drove on be
yond and still were unchecked at
last reports.
(A Berlin broadcast late today
said the Americans had reached
the Erft River, wrhich flows
within 8 miles of Cologne.).
A ridge guarding the Erft River
now was less than 3 miles ahead of
the assault spearheads of Lt. Gen.
Courtney H. Hodges. Unless the
Wehrmacht was able to hold the
ridge, a break-through to the Rhine
could be expected quickly.
Crash Into Rheindahlen.
Flame-throwing tanks of Lt. Gen.
William H. Simpson’s 9th Army
crashed Into Rheindahlen, 17 miles
southwest of the Rhine city of Dues
seldorf and 14 miles from Neuss,
which lies on the west bank of the
Rhine across from the city.
Rheindahlen is 5 miles ^.in of:
Erkelenz and within %*sy cannon;
shot of the first cbyhneys of the1
Ruhr war industries
The swift pace /f Gen. Eisenhow
er's drive indicp/ed that the Amer
icans would standing watch on
the Rhine r/il within a fortnight.
Half the d ytance from the pulver
ized Roe' .-'River line to the Rhine
has bee/covered in the first five
days oylhe onslaught.
Fie’/ Marshal von Rundstedt
thre/ parts of his 9th and 11th
Ta Jr Divisions into the outer ring
o' defenses guarding both Cologne
and Duesseldorf. Although some of
these panzer units have been en
gaged, there was no reported at
tempt to deliver a counterblow, if,
indeed, they were strong enough.
Canadians Also Advance.
Canadians to the north advanced
5 miles, capturing the strategic
road center of Uedem. and reached
outer defenses of the Hochwald de
fense line guarding the northwest
corner of the Ruhr, less than 15
miles away.
The American 3d Army to the
south captured high ground over
looking the Kyll River, moved to
within a mile of Strategic Bitburg
and swept up nine towns in the
Eifels along a 30-mile front which
was pressed 2 miles deeper toward
the middle Rhine and Coblenz.
All along the 200-mile assault
front from Emmerich on the Lower
Rhine to the now solid bridgehead
across the Saar River 6 miles east
of Saarburg, the thinly spread Ger
man defenses were splitting at the
seams. Spokesmen for both the
9th and 3d Armies expressed belief
that cleancut breakthroughs had
been achieved.
Prisoners captured in February
alone passed 80,000; the total since
D day approached 930.000. And yet
only a fraction of Gen. Eisenhower’s
79 known divisions had been identi
fied in the great battle of annihila
tion to clear all Germany west of
the Rhine..
The Canadian advance carried to
One additional man from
the District area has been
reported killed in this war. See
"On the Honor Roll,” Page A-2.
(See WESTERN FRONT, Page A-3)
I
I
Gen. Watson Reported Dead
Returning From Yalta
MaJ. Gen. Edwin M. Watson,
military aide and secretary to
President Roosevelt, died a week
ago en route home from the
Crimean conference, according
to rumors in Washington today.
The White House would neither"
confirm nor deny the report.
Big. jovial ‘Pa” Watson, as the
| President always called him, was
| the buffer between the busy Chief
■ Executive and hundreds of impor
jtant people who wished to see him.
! In a job demanding endless tact, as
j well as a knowledge of just whom
' the President should receive, Gen.
| Watson made a remarkable success.
iEven those not admitted to the
President's inner sanctum were
made to feel the warmth of Gen.
Watson's personality and assured
that only a drastic schedule of work
kept them from Mr. Roosevelt.
The President's military aide, from !
the time Mr. Roosevelt entered the|
White House until 1939. Gen. Watson
from that time on also servpd as
one of three secretaries. He not only
enjoyed Mr. Roosevelt's full confi
dence and respect, but was one of
his favorite companions on fishing
trips. Neither an outstanding
angler, they joked frequently about
| their skill*with rod and reel.
Since the days when the Presi
dent's elder son, James, left the
White House, Gen. Watson hasten
Mr. Roosevelt's constant companion
at public appearances. Movie-going
America was accustomed to see the
President leaning on the arm of his
powerful aide whenever he was
photographed.
MAJ. GEN. EDWIN M.
WATSON.
—Harris-Ewing Photo.
Gen. Watson, however was not,
only a convivial aide, but a military
man of sound experience and judg
ment who, particularly before the
naming of Fleet Admiral William
D. Leahy as White House Chief of
Staff, was the President's liaison
with the Army.
He was well know-n in official
circles. Several years ago the gen
eral and his wife, known profes
sionally as Frances Nash, the mu
sician, bought a comfortable country
home near Charlottesville, Va. Be
i See W ATSON, Page A^37>
Capture of Iwo Jima ;
|
In 'Few Days' Seen
By Gen. Holland Smith
Important Hill Seized;
Planes Operate From
Main Airfield
By the Associated Press.
PACIFIC FLEET HEADQUAR
TERS. Guam, Feb. 27.—Capture;
nf iwo Jima “in a few more
uays” was predicted today by
Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith after
his marines won a critically im
portant hill in the central
plateau during a 400-yard ad
vance through provably the
heaviest fire of the bitter cam
paign.
As American planes flew from
Iwo’s main airfield for the first time,
the top Marine commander in the
Pacific told newsmen that heavy
fighting was ahead of the Devildogs
on Northern Iwo, but “we expect to
take this island in a few more days.”
The general estimated that nearly
half of the 5-mile-long island was
in American hands at the start of
the second week of the battle.
Progress “Satisfactory."
"I consider that progress is satis
factory,” Gen. Smith said. The
Marine commander reported the
Yanks were becoming more battle
wise “and casualties are relatively
smaller each day.”
1
Motoyama Airdrome No. 1 on
\ Southern Iwo was put to use for the
first time yesterday as Marine artil
lery spotter planes, little two-seaters,
came down on runways being put
into shape for fighters and bombers.
The field is 750 miles south of Tokyo.
Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine’s 3d
Marines, in the center of the Amer
ican battle line, captured Hill 382
just east of the central airfield for
a military triumph as significant as
the earlier seizure of Mount Suri
<See IWO, Page A-3.)
Navy Driver Is Killed
By Wheels of Own Truck
The driver of a Navy Yard truck
was killed instantly today in a freak
accident in which he apparently was
run over by his own truck on the
Marlboro pike near the entrance to
Andrews Field, formerly the Camp
Springs Army Airfield.
Prince Georges County police said
the driver, identified from cards in
his pockets as Earl H. Newberry,
about 32, apparently jumped from
the truck as it started to skid. He
fell on the soft shoulder adjacent
to the road and the rear wheel of
the truck passed over his head, po
lice said. The truck came to rest
in a ditch alongside the road.
There were no witnesses to the
accident and police were notified
by occupants of a passing bus.
26 Leftists Executed
By Madrid Falangists
By tbe Associated Press.
MADRID, Feb. 27.—Two Falangist
officials have been assassinated and
26 Leftists have been executed to
meet what the Madrid Falange re
gards as a challenge by the Spanish
Underground of the Left.
Ten Leftists were hanged Satur
day night as the result of military
court sentences.
Sunday night a group of unidenti
fied men lured Martin Mora, secre
tary of the Falange of the Cuatro
Caminos district of Madrid, to his
headquarters where they killed him
and his assistant.
At dawn yesterday 16 Communists
were executed. %
’> a
Reds Gain 30 Miles
In Drive to Cut Off
Danzig and Gdynia
Move Within 28 Miles
Of Baltic; Tank Battles
Raging Below Berlin
Ey the Associated Press
LONDON. Feb. 27.—The Red
Army, breaking through for 30
miles in Pomerania in a bid to
slice Danzig and Gdynia from
the Reich, has thrust to Bublitz
and Rummelsburg, 28 and 36
miles from the Baltic, the Ger
man high command said today.
A Berlin broadcast said the Soviets
had forged even beyond Rummels
burg on the military highway run
ning 31 miles north to Stolp,' a
communications junction 62 miles
east of Danzig.
The German communique said the
Russians had thrown bridgeheads
over the Neisse River 50 to 60 miles
southeast of Berlin, but that these
had been knocked back.
Nazi reports of tank battles raging
along the Oder-Neisse River sug
gested the 1st White Russian and
(1st Ukrainian Armies might have
opened an offensive to topple Berlin,
j The Germans located the Neisse
bridgeheads between Guben and
Forst, 51 and 57 miles southeast of
the capital, and southeast of Forst.
j This might indicate Soviet attempts
(to outflank the river bastions of
(Guben and Forst.
| Moscow remained silent on ac
| tivities at this gate to Berlin.
German accounts placed Russian
(motorized infantry in Pomerania 30
(miles beyond their last positions in
the Baltic push.
One Berlin broadcaster said the
Red Army was pounding a triple
drive toward Stettin. Kolberg on
the Baltic, 65 miles farther north
(See RUSSIA, Page A-8.)
March Automobile Tire
Quotas Remain at 4,435
March passenger car tire quotas
for B and C ration holders will be
the same as those for February, the
Office of Price Administration an
nounced today. Washington has
been allotted 4,435 grade 1 passenger
tires. .
OPA indicated that there* may be
no increase in quotas in the spring
and summer months even though
consumer demand rises. A ration
holders were given no hope for new
tires.
Plan Won't Sow
Seeds of Future
Wars, He Says
Ey the Associated Press.
LONDON, Feb. 27.—Prime Min
ister Churchill declared today
the great powers were completely
prepared for the collapse of
Germany, asserted the proposed
Polish frontier would “not sow
the seeds of future wars,” and
gave his personal assurance of
Russia’s good faith in plans for
the peace.
The British leader demanded a
vote of confidence from Commons I
on the Crimea plans for a peaceful
world, challenging particularly i
those who have criticized the Polish j
decisions.
He promised drastic and effective
steps "to render offensive action by
Germany utterly impossible for gen
erations to come," and called on
Germany again to surrender.
Mr. Churchill said the United
States would play "a vitally impor
tant part" in a new, far stronger
world security league “which will
not shrink from establishing its will j
against the evil-doer” by force of
arms.
Called Fairest Division.
Giving the first public account
by one of the principals at the mo
mentous Crimea Conference, he
termed the proposed Polish bound
ary "the fairest division which can
be made between the two countries."
Premier Stalin has given “the most
solemn declarations” that Poland's;
sovereignty and independence would;
be maintained, he said, and “this:
decision has now been joined in both1
by Great Britain and by the United
States."
Then Mr. Churchill added:
"The impression I brought back
from Crimea and from all my other i
contacts is that Marshal Stalin and
the Soviet leaders wish to live in
honorable friendship and equality
with the western democracies. I
feel also that their word Is their
bond. I know of no government
which stands on its obligations more
solidly than the Soviet government."
He declared the objective of the
great powers was "to save the
world—not to rule it,” and that “the
world organization cannot be based
upon the dictatorship of the great
powers.”
Mr. Churchill interrupted his ad
dress an hour for luncheon.
At one point the Prime Minister
delivered a passage which indicated
that the question of Russian par
ticipation in the war with Japan
may have been at least raised at
the Yalta conference.
Question Is Raised.
He said the San Francisco world
security conference opening April
25 would bring together “all those
representatives of the United Na
tions who have declared war upon
Germany and Japan by the 1st
of March, 1945. and who have
signed the United Nations confer
ence declaration."
Among diplomatic and parlia
mentary observers the question was
immediately raised of whether Mr.
Churchill meant that Russia might
declare war on Japan by March 1—
the day after tomorrow—or whether
he merely was referring to the
tickets of admission to San Fran
cisco for several smaller powers.
The British Press Association,
semiofficial reporter of the Com
mons proceedings, first gave the
Prime Minister’s words as “Germany
and Japan.”
In a later version of the text itself,
the words were “Germany or Japan.”
Then, in response to a query, the
Press Association corrected the text
to the original version, leaving it
stand at “Germany and Japan.”
Mr. Churchill announced for the
first time that Foreign Secretary
Anthony Eden and Deputy Prime
Minister Clement Attlee would
represent Britain at San Francisco.
Drastic Steps Promised.
In shaping the new peace, “we
intend to take steps far more drastic
and effective than those which fol
lowed the last war so as to render
offensive action by Germany utterly
impossible for generations to come,”
the British leader said.
“If we were confronted tomorrow
with a collapse of the German
forces, there is nothing that has not
been foreseen and arranged before
hand by the European Advisory
Commission,” he said.
The Prime Minister gave no hint
as to when he believed that collapse
would come, although he did 6ay
that the war in Europe had been
(Continued on Page A-3, Column I.)
12 Jap Peace Offers Rejected
By Chiang, W. H. Donald Says
By RUSSELL BRINES,
Associated Press War Correspondent.
FORTY-FIRST FIELD HOS
PITAL, Luzon, P. I., Feb. 25. (De
layed).—Generalissimo Chiang Kai
shek indignantly turned down at
least 12 Japanese peace offers from
1938 to 1940, W. H. Donald, the Chi
nese generalissimo’s Australian ad
viser, said here today.
Mr. Donald said in an interview
that his three years of internment
in the Philippines at Santo Tomas
and Los Banos civilian concentra
tion camps isolated him from Chi
nese affairs.
“I am convinced the generalissimo
is genuinely fighting a sincere and
determined war against Japan,” Mr.
Donald said. “He refused to even
consider any peace offer although
the Japanese proposed favorable
terms which he could have accepted
if he was primarily interested in
political power.
“The Japanese sent 12 peace feel
ers to the generalissimo through
neutral ambassadors and prominent
individuals. The terms—Chinese rec
ognition of Japan’s conquest of
Manchuria, granting certain eco
nomic and exploitation rights in
North China, political adjustment of
Inner Mongolia to prevent any ex
tension of Russian influence there
from Outer Mongolia.”
The Japanese made no territorial
demands in these offers, Mr. Donald
said.
The adviser, rescued last week
from Los Banos, said Chiang’s at
titude was typified by his refusal
of one offer—“there will be no peace
(See DONALD, Page Arl2.)
* »
, COMING BACK TO YOU
'■-—<«9i_
JA£'A30k,4
' X
Nurse Draft Clears
House Rules Group;
Early Action Certain
Measure May Reach
Floor Tomorrow; Debate
Limited to Two Hours
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.
The House Rules Committee
cleared the nurse draft bill to-;
day for immediate consideration
in the House.
The measure may reach the floor
tomorrow or may be delayed until
Monday, depending on whether the
House takes up the deficiency ap
propriation bill tomorrow. The spe
cial rule which the committee
adopted on the nurse bill limits de
bate to two hours and makes all
pertinent amendments Ih order.
The Rules Committee, taking up
the bill again after deferring action
on it Saturday, held an open meet
ing before going into executive ses
sion and again heard Chairman May
of the House Military Affairs Com
mittee. author of the bill. Mr. May
renewed his plea for speedy action
in the face of a critical shortage of
Army nurses and mounting casual
ties on all battle fronts.
Cites Marriage Clause.
The Military Affairs Committee
approved the measure almost unani
mously, and several members, in
addition to the chairman, came be
fore the Rules Committee today to
urge that the House be given a
chance to consider it at once.
Representative Brown, Republic
an, of Ohio, a member of the Rules
Committee, remarked that under the
bill “all a nurse who wants to get
out of the draft has to do is to get
married.”
Mr. May conceded that the way
the committee had written the bill
"if a woman gets married and she’s
a nurse she’s exempt.”
Representative Sparkman. Demo
crat. of Alabama, a member of the
Military Affairs Committee, said he
thought the committee made a mis
take in exempting all married
women and should have excepted
from induction only those with small
children.
Urges Family Nursing.
Acting Chairman Cox of the Rules
Committee asked whether civilians
could not go back to family nursing,
as people had done for generations,
so that the Army could have all the
nurses it needed. Mr. May said he
personally was for that.
Representative Smith, Democrat,
of Virginia pointed out that selec
tive service “has taken plenty of
men by the scrufT of the neck and
put them in the Army—why not
women?’’
Chairman McNutt of the War
Manpower Commission disclosed to
day that about 25,000 private-duty
nurses have been classified as avail
able for military service. This was
revealed when Mr. McNutt made an
appeal to hospitals and physicians
to limit private nursing to persons
acutely ill.
WMC Recruiting Plans.
At the same time WMC announced
plans, through its Procurement and
Assignment Service, to obtain for
the Army or Navy as many as pos
sible from the reserve of civilian
nurses whose present work is not
considered essential to the public
welfare.
Mr. McNutt said WMC would ex
pect that those private-duty nurses
who could pass the physical exami
nation would go into the military
service. He also said a letter had
been sent to Dr. Donald C. Smelzer,
president of the Ameriean Hospital
Association, asking the association
to recommend to its members that
nurses classified as available for
military duty not be used in private
duty nursing; that only the acutely
ill in hospitals receive private nurs
ing, and that hospitals encourage
the utilization of private nurses
wherever possible in group nursing,
in which one nurse cares for two
or more patients.
A similar letter was sent to Dr.
Olin West, secretary and general
manager of the American Medical
Association, urging the association
to request its members to reduce
their calls for private nurses to a
minimum.
Late Bulletins
Nazi Rail Centers Raided
LONDON <JP).—A fleet of !
1,100 American bombers to
day feinted another attack on
Berlin, where fires still burned
from yesterday’s record blow,
then swerved s o n t h and
pounded the big railroad cen
ters of Leipzig and Halle. The
giant bomber traih, protected
by 700 long - range fighters,
stretched for 150 miles as it
flew to the targets 90 to 100
miles southwest of Berlin.
(Early Story on Page A-2.)
Taft Again Hits Training
Senator Taft, Republican,
of Ohio today carried to the
Senate floor h i s protest
against placing 18-year-old
soldiers in the front lines
within six or seven months
after their induction. Senator
Taft said that as far as he
can find out, “the practice
now is to give these boys 13
weeks of basic training and
then ship them directly to the
front.”
Committee Approves
Deficiency Measure
Of $2,453,177,125
More Than Two-Thirds
Of Supply Bill Is
Earmarked for Navy
By the Associated Press.
A $2,453,177,125 deficiency sup
ply bill, more than two-thirds of
it for the Navy, was approved
today by the House Appropria
tions Committee.
It makes the deficiencies in funds
previously supplied miscellaneous
agencies for the fiscal year ending
next June 30. In addition it finances
a stepped-up veterans’ placement
program contemplating an Army
discharge rate of from 200,000 to
250,000 men a month after Ger
many’s defeat.
In a report transmitting. the big
measure to the House floor, the
committee went out of its way to
compliment the once roundly-criti
cized Office of Price Administration
for ’‘performing a most difficult and
herculean task in a very praise
worthy manner.” The committee
offered its comment in approving
an additional (6,235,000 for the
agency, to bring its appropriation
for the year to more than (185,000,
000.
No Philippine Commissioner Fund.
Stricken from the bill on the
grounds it had not been requested
by the War Department was a
(40,000 request for re-establishment
of the office of High Commissioner
of the Philippines. The office has
been vacant since shortly after the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The committee also turned down
a request of (256,764,881 to restore
the impairment of capital stock of
the Commodity Credit Corp. The
committee said it was waiting the
(See APPROPRIATIONS, Pg. A^12>
Bailey Predicts Senate
Will Finally Approve
'Better' Work Bill
Debate on Measure
May Be Continued
Into Next Week
By J. A. O’LEARY.
Senator Bailey, Democrat, of
North Carolina, leading the
fight for the House compulsory
work bill, predicted today the
Senate finally will pass “a better
bill” than the Military Affairs
: Committee substitute, which
\ merely strengthens existing War
‘ Manpower Commission job con
| trols.
The North Carolinian was not cer
tain he would take the floor today,
however, and there were some indi
cations the manpower debate may
run on Into next week. The man
power issue will be laid aside after
torhorrow for a day and possibly two
days to make way for action on the
nomination of Henry A. Wallace to
be Secretary of Commerce.
Senator Bailey will base his fight
for the House bill on the ground
that military leaders have asked for
it. and that Congress cannot afford
to place civilian judgment above the
opinion of those responsible for win
ning the war.
Would Channel Workers.
Although the House bill is limited
to men between 18 and 45, it enables
local draft boards to direct these
registrants to remain in or go to es
sential jobs. The Senate committee
substitute is designed to divert work
ers, regardless of age or sex. from
nonessential to war industries by the
use of labor ceilings, but seeks to ac
complish it by penalizing employers
only, except certain farm workers,
who would be subject to $10,000 fine
or five years’ imprisonment if they
leave agricultural jobs after being
turned down by the Army.
Some of the committee members
who favor the WMC job-control sys
tem are opposed to the criminal
penalties and the first test vote may
come on a move to eliminate both
the employer penalty and the spe
cial farm penal provision.
One Democratic group, headed by
Senators Kilgore of West Virginia,
O'Mahoney of Wyoming and Thom
as of Utah, opened the debate yes
terday with appeals for passage of
the Military Affairs Committee sub
stitute.
Still others, notably Senator
Chandler, Democrat, of Kentucky,
doubt the need for any legisla
tion and probably will support
amendments to draw some of the
teeth from the committee substitute.
Test May Come Today.
Senator Johnson. Democrat, of
Colorado, also a member of the
committee that handled the subject,
said he would not venture a guess
as to the final outcome, but
summed up the situation by pre
dicting that "if all of the opponents
of separate sections of the bill ever
get together, it will be lights out
for the bill.”
Senators Kilgore and Chandler
have moved to cut out the $10,090
(See MANPOWER. Page A-4.)
Funds for Full U. S. Role
In War Crimes Board Voted
Bj the Associated Press.
A State Department request for
$25,000 to provide full American
participation in the United Nations
War Crimes Commission was ap
proved today by the House Appro
priations Committee.
The money would allow the
United States to return a civilian
to the commission. Late last year
the committee rejected a $30,000
request for salary and expenses for
Herbert C. Pell, American member
of the commission, and his staff
over a six-month period.
Acting Secretary of State Grew
announced January 29 that Mr. Pell
would not return to London, where
the commission meets, but that the
United States would be represented
by an Army colonel. Mr. Grew
blamed the department’s failure to
get the appropriattai.
Later Mr. Pell said some one was
dissatisfied with his work. He add
ed there were indications of a pol
icy split between him and the de
partment on legal issues rafted by
his insistence that the Nazis be
tried for / atrocities against their
own Jewish citizens as well as for
crimes against citizens of other
countries.
Green Hackworth, legal adviser to
the State Department, testified be
fore the Appropriations Committee
that the $25,000 is needed “to en
able us to be represented on the
War Crimes Commission in the
same way that we were during the
past year.”
Chairman Cannon of the com
mittee told Mr. Hackworth he is in
complete accord that the United
States “should be fully and amply
represented.” —
Coal Men Assail
Lewis' Charges
As 'Fabrication'
Mine Owners Meet
To Map Strategy for
Contract Negotiations
By JAMES Y. NEWTON.
Edward R. Burke, president of
the Southern Coal Producers’
Association, today termed a
"complete fabrication from start
to finish” the charge of John L.
Lewis in requesting a strike vote
for his United Mine Workers
that threat of Federal seizure
of coal mines was used to en
courage a "do-nothing attitude”
among operators in contract ne
gotiations.
Mr. Burke, former Nebraska Sen
ator, answered some of Mr. Lewis’
strike vote reauest charges as all the
bituminous operators met to plan
their strategy for the new contract
negotiations, which begin Thursday
at the Shoreham Hotel.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the In
terior Ickes entered the tense pic
ture, saying that a 50,000,000-ton
coal deficit is inescapable this year—
even with continued full production
—if the war in Europe lasts through
1945. Production is diminishing,
though requirements hold to peak
levels, Mr. Ickes reported to the War
Production Board in his role as solid
fuels administrator.
Contract Expires March 31.
Mr. Lewis yesterday served 30
days’ notice to the Government un
der the Smith-Connally Act that
the UMW Policy Committee, meet
ing to formulate new wage demands,
wanted a strike vote taken. He
said a "dispute” with mine opera
tors already existed because “in
spired" Government statements had
prejudiced the miners’ case in ad
vance of contract negotiations.
The miners’ present contract,
worked out late in 1943 after four
major strikes, expires March 31.
Mr. Lewis* strategy in asking a
strike vote now, a labor official said,
was to place the miners in the same
bargaining position they would have
if there were no Smith-Conna 11 y
Act. The miners have an unwritten
law of "no work contract (April
no work.”
Mr. Lewis blasted away at the
Smith-Connally Act, which was
passed over the President's veto two
years ago principally to forestall
the miners, as "that grotesque slave
statute. * He stressed that the
miners desired no work stoppage,
although he admitted that strike
vote procedure of the act encouraged
strikes.
In answer to Mr. Lewis’ charge
that Government seizure of mines
was "a mere shadow boxing" pro
cedure, which mine operators were
satisfied to accept rather than to
bargain genuinely, Mr. Burke said:
"That's a complete fabrication
from start to finish. There is not
a word of truth in it. The one pur
pose we have had and still have is
to sit down on March 1, dispense
with all unnecessary preliminaries,
and try in the utmost good faith to
negotiate an agreement which will
be fair to the employes, the com
panies and the public.
Lewis’ Action Assailed.
"It was very unwise for one of the
partners to the collective bargaining
to go off on a tangent this way.
Every one recognizes that Mr. Lewis
likes the dramatic. Whether he
means all he says or not, it still is
disturbing to have him serve a
strike notice. It may—if he is
serious—call for governmental
action, congressional action. If he
is just talking to please some of his
followers, it may be ignored.”
Mr. Burke added that "Govern
ment seizure is a very poor, incom
plete and inadequate weapon.” He
admitted that Federal seizure was
not too bad a condition for opera
tors^ but said there was no oc
(See MINERS, Page A-8.i
Acquitted Major Testifies
For Defense in Rail Looting
Ey the Associated Press.
PARIS. Feb. 27.—Maj. Walter H.
Marlin, who was acquitted last week
of a charge of neglect of duty in
connection with the pilfering of sup
plies from Army trains, testified to
day in defense of Capt. William P.
Olson, one of his company com
manders in the 716th Railway Bat
talion.
Capt. Olson is charged with con
spiracy to defraud the United
States, wrongfully receiving Govern
i ment property and neglect of duty.
Maj. Marlin told the general court
martial that Olson was an excellent
railroadman, had worked hard at his
job of moving supply trains and had
little time for military inspections
such as the prosecution contends
might have prevented the stealing.
Other officers called to the stand
by the defense testified in a similar
vein.
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