The Daily Alaska empire. [volume], March 06, 1945, Image 1

About The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964

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THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE
“ALL THE NEW S ALL THE TIME”
VOL. LXIV., NO. 9902
JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY. MARCH 6, 1945
MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
PRICE TEN CENTS
Russians Make Big Gains Toward Baltic Sea
RED ARMY
CLOSES IN
ON STETTIN
Naugard Reported Captur
ed, Also Greifenhagen
Taken by Soviets
BULLETIN—LONDON, March
6.—Stalin announces the capture
of Grudziadz, and the town has
been cleared of the Germans in
block to block fighting:. The cap
ture of the town, 55 miles south
of Danzig, clears the road for
communications and feeding of
troops with military require
ments.
LONDON, March 6.—The Russian
troops are closing in on Stettin and
have reached the Oder River near
Greifenhagen, 11 miles south of the
port, Moscow dispatches state.
The Germans declared the Soviets
have thrust to within 13 miles of
Stettin and 35 miles of the U-boat
base at Swinemuende.
The Red Army artillery Is shelling
Stettin port.
The German communique says
Marshal Zhukov's army is wheeling
westward on a 40-mile front from
Stargard to Greifenhagen, the latter
town 14 miles from the Baltic coast.
Naugard has been captured, the
German Command states, and also
says Zhukov's spearhead has been
stopped northeast of Gollnow.
The Berlin radio asserts Khukov
has massed five infantry and two
tank armies in the central sector
for a push westward of Berlin.
Zhukov’s and Rokossovsky’s arm
ies seized a total of 230 towns and
villages yesterday and gains aver
aged 10 miles.
NOMINATION OF
VINSON OKEHED
WASHINGTON, March 6— The
President's nomination of Judge
Fred Vinson, to be Federal Loan Ad
ministrator, has been approved un
animously by the Senate Banking
Committee without any hearings.
The Washington
Merry-Go-Round
By DREW PEARSON
ILt. Col. Robert 8. Alien now on settee
service with the Army.'
WASHINGTON—President Roflse
velt got back from his notable
achievements at Yalta to find seri
ous problems awaiting him at home,
particularly on the labor front.
Some of his advisers felt, however,
that these problems, especially the
coal crisis, could have been averted
by beginning to prepare for it
earlier and by appointing a new
Secretary of Labor.
The President left for Yalta al
most immediately after his in
auguration. And, up until a day
or two before his inauguration, he
had not made up his mind what to
do about appointing a new Sec
letary of Labor. In the end, he did
nothing and Miss Perkins con
tinued, despite her very firm desire
to resign.
Meanwhile, various moves could
have been made to head off the
coal crisis. One of them, discussed
in the background but never
brought forward, is an annual
wage for miners. If the miners
knew they would be able to work
all the year around, especially in
peace times when they have been
laid off for about one-third of the
time, they might forego’ wage in
creases now.
Another move, proposed back
stage, was to appoint coal mine
representatives on local O P A
boards to make sure the cost of
living did not go up, or if so, under
circumstances they understood.
But the most important move was
to have appointed a new Secretary
of Labor, with a new, fresh out
look, untarnished prestige, who
could have tackled the job first
hand, and, if necessary, gone out
to the mining areas to meet with
(Continued on Page Pour)
NOW THERE'S FUN IN BIUBID
BORN BEHIND BARS, these innocents knew nothing but life in jail with
their parents—till MacArthur’s men shattered the gates of Bilibid
prison in Manila, and, liberating everybody, made fun with games like
this in which little Konnie Barz wears the helmet of Pfc. H. C. Coxen of
! Marion, Ohio. Signal Corps photo. 'International Soundphoto)
Target for Today
I
i 1
| HERE'S ONE of the prettiest targets
, a bombardier or gunner ever drew
! a bead on. She's Ardis Sheffer, St.
j Petersburg, Fla., who posed in this
attractive fashion for returned
! combat fliers at the Don Ce-Sar
| Convalescent Center. To tell the
i truth, the boys twanged their bows
I from one inch range to avoid injury
. to their target. (International)
'CHURCHILL
ON VISIT
TO FRONT
—
! LONDON, March 6— Prime Min
ister Winston Churchill has re
turned to London after a visit to
jthe battle front, where he con
ferred with Gen. Dwight D. Eisen
jhower and Field Marshal Mont
gomery, and covered a considerable
1 part of German territory in his
| tour.
| Churchill, with his chief mili
tary adviser, Gen. Sir Hastings Is
may, spent the weekend at Allied
Headquarters with Eisenhower and
Montgomery ‘'for the purpose of
discussing with them 'and other
j Allied Commanders a wide field of
(military matters," the announce
ment said.
The Premier also visited troops
of the First Canadian Army units
and the United States Ninth Army
taking part in the drive on the
Rhine.
BIG BLOW
IWO JIMA
Marines Are Preparing for
Final Assault as Sup
lies Landed
BULLETIN — NEW YORK,
March 6. — A Tokyo broadcast
picked up here by the FCC de
clares the American Marines on
Iwo Jima “launched a violent
attack on the Japanese lines and
fighting has reached A most de
cisive stage.”
U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD
QUARTERS, GUAM, March 6 — A
clincher blow in the 16-day-old
battle for little Iwo Jima, where,
hundreds of Marines have died
while killing more than 12,000
Japs, poised today while more
power ( from supplies poured ashore
on the east and west coasts.
There were no appreciable
changes in the lines yesterday as
the Leathernecks, holding more
than two-thirds of the island, built
up positions for a grand-scale as
sault on the defenses of the rocky
north end.
MARINES PRAISED
WASHINGTON, March 6—James
V.'ForreStal, Secretary of the Navy,
who returned yesterday after a trip
in the Pacific war zone, said the
loss of Marine lives on the island,
is not out of proportion to the
importance of taking Iwo Jima, as'
it is needed to put the American i
fighter planes and Liberator bomb-;
ers within range of Japan.
Forrestal gave no figures on the |
wounded and missing in the Iwoj
Jima campaign, but praised the i
three Marine Divisions. He said i
the Japs on the island were much j
stronger than was expected, and I
made good use of their weapons. |
STOCK QUOTATIONS
NEW YORK, March 6 — Closing
quotation of Alaska-Juneau Mine
stock today is 7%, American Can
93:'i, Anaconda 34 %, Beech Air
craft 12%, Bethlehem Steel 76‘4,
Curtiss-Wright 6%, International
Harvester 81>£, Kennecott 39*4,
North American Aviation 11, New
York Central 24%, Northern Pacific
227s, U. S. Steel 66H.
Dow, Jones averages today are
as follows: Industrials, 161.50; rails,
52.51; utilities. 28.38.
BARANOF GUEST
Jeannette T. Davenport, register
ing from Anchorage, is a guest at
the Barauof Hotel,
GEMMILL
TRIAL IS
UNDERWAY
Jury of Ten Men and Two
Women Is Selected
Testimony Starts
SEATTLE, March 6— (Special to
Empire) — The Lynn J. Gemmill
trial opened at 10 a. m. today in
the court of District Judge John
C. Bowen.
U. S. Prosecuting Attorney J.
Charles Dennis and Defense At
torney Will G. Beardslee selected a
jury of 10 men and two women to
hear the testimony, which starts
this afternoon.
Gemmill, United States Attorney
for the First Division, Alaska, is
charged with soliciting $3,000 and
accepting $1,500 from Cleo Patricia
Wilkins, one of the defendants in a
larceny case pending in the District
Court in Juneau.
FBI agents who were connected
with the arrest of Gemmill In a
Seattle hotel room November 4 of
last year, have resigned.
United States Attorney Dennis
asserted at the opening of the trial
that Gemmill is charged with
bribery, that he told Mrs. Wilkins
he would recommend a suspended
sentence in her grand larceny case
if she would pay him $3,000. The
conversation took place over four
bottles of beer in Gemmils hotel
room here last November.
Dennis said Gemmill, former
Wenatchee, Washington attorney,
was indicted on charges of solicit
ing a $3,000 bribe’ and accepting
$1,500.
Dennis, in relating the caf said
in December, 1943, a trunk con
taining money and jewelry was
stolen from the owner of a house
of ill-fame in Sitka, Alaska.
Mrs. Wilkins was identified by
Dennis as the woman employed in
the house, and was subpoenaed
last October to appear before a
grand jury. She, another girl and
two soldiers were indicted. Her
bail was set at $3,000, which she
deposited in cash.
Dennis said the Government will
prove that when she learned she
had been indicted, she talked with
Gemmill and he said he‘ would
recommend a suspended sentence
if she would testify against the
others and she "would have nothing
to worry about.”
Subsequently, Dennis said, she
came here and met Gemmill. She
notified the Secret Service, who in
turn notified the FBI agents and
they were in a nearby room when
the money transaction occurred.
The FBI agents entered the room
and arrested Gemmill.
JAP LINES
IN INDIA
CUT NOW
—
Entire Enemy Position Is
Threatened by Decisive
Move of British
By FRANK L. MARTIN
(AP War Correspondent)
CALCUTTA, March 6 — British
armored units, cutting across the
Irrawaddy River Valley in an 85
mile dash, have severed the main j
Japanese land, air and water lines
between Mandalay and Rangoon,
and have seriously threatened the
entire enemy position, Allied Head
quarters said.
With the aid of British air- j
borne infantry flown in at the
climax of the operation, the ar-.
mored column seized the airdromes'
intact, killed more than 1,600 Japs,:
captured 40 guns and destroyed
enough enemy supplies to feed a
Japanese division for 10 days. Thej
important communications center
Of Meiktila, 70 miles south of Man
dalay, was also captured.
JAP PRISONERS AND DISLOYAL FILIPINOS INTERNED
WITH PART OF THE BEAUTIFUL city of Manila still smouldering .and Jap and American soldiers fight-,
ing in the streets, these* Japanese prisoners and Filipino collaborationists march through one of the
^main city streets to a stockade^under guard of UL S^soldiersj Signal Corps photo. (International)
MINUS EVERYTHING-BUT HIS LIFE
mi * ■
THE FIGHT FOR COMPLETE liberation in the Philippine capital city of
' , Manila continues as doughboys engage in house to house street fight- |
, ing in their effort to push the Japs from the burning metropolis, j
Above, one of the few Japs taken prisoner is escorted to jail where
| h« will be Questioned by U S intelligence officers. <International)
Rich Takes Hard Rap
At Congressmen Who
Change Record Talk
By JACK STINNETT
WASHINGTON, March 6.—When
we finally get down to the business
of “streamlining” Congress (if we
ever do) give a hand to Rep. Robert;
F. Rich, of Pennsylvania. Con-!
gressman Rich would like to see the j
Congressional Record, supposedly the j
accurate report of everything that i
goes on verbally in Congress be just j
exactly that and nothing more. Few j
people who see the Congressional1
Record ever realize it, but there of- |
ten are occasions when the Record '■
is about as accurate as a kinder- !
gartner’s blueprint for a skyscraper.
The reason is that somewhere
along the line, members of Congress
got in the habit of asking “unani- j
mous consent to revise and extend i
my remarks." Students of legislative I
procedure say this was started as a!
time-saver, so that colleagues of
long-winded members who were j
making speeches purely “for the j
Record" could be spared some bore-j
dom. Members discovered, however,'
that they could virtually re-write
their speeches.
Rich says: I believe that when a'
man stands on the floor of the;
House the might have added that,
the same thing is true in the Senate) |
and makes a statement condemning |
a 'measure as being unsound and un- ,
sensible, and then adds that he is
going to vote for it, he should not be
permitted to delete those remarks
from the Record.
"If we make an error, correct it,
but I personally want my people to
know just how I talk. I want them
to know exactly how I feel about
legislation."
It may be appended right heie
that Rich has about as much chance \
of getting his suggestion into the1
(Continued on Page Six)
FOUR BLASTS
SHAKE SHIP,
VANCOUVER
Several Believed Dead
and Scores Injured
Windows Broken
VANCOUVER, B. C., March 6 —
Several men are believed to have
been killed and scores were injured
at noon today when four heavy
blasts shook a ship at the CPR
docks near Vancouver's downtown
district.
The Vancouver Sun said it learn
ed about 150 men were aboard the
vessel, Greenhill Park, a 10,000-ton
freighter, when the explosions »oc
curred. About 45 minutes after the
blast the ship, operated by the Do
minion Government and owned by
Park Steamship Ltd., was towed to
Burradd Inlet. It was reported there
were fears there might be other ex
plosions if the flames reached other
holgs.
Michael Giraud, Canadian Press,
reporter, said a guard told him |
several men were still trapped in the
vessel, including the chef and the;
chief engineer. He added it is not
known immediately how many are;
still in the ship.
The outlines of the freighter
could be seen through the dense!
smoke and haze. It is several hun- i
dred yards out in the inlet. A small- I
er vessel, possibly about 2,000 tons, j
is burning nearby. It appeared it I
is planned to let the smaller vessel j
burn and sink. I
The other, a 10,000 tonner, was,
hauled into the inlet from the CPR
docks and appeared out of danger.
Hundreds of plate glass windows
and thousands of office windows
were* broken in the downtown busi
ness section as the explosions rocked
the central section of Vancouver
about the time the streets began to
gat crowded in the noon hour.
Officials of the Canada Shipping |
Company, agents for the vessel, I
said it was not an ammunition ship.
They did not know what caused the |
blasts.
FAIRBANKS MAN
DIES SUDDENLY
ON SEATTLE TRIP[
SEATTLE, March 6 — Peter S.;
Malone, Fairbanks store owner,'
aged about 50, collapsed and died!
Monday a few blocks from the
hotel at which he was a guest.
Malone only arrived here Saturday j
via Panair.
The coroner said apparently Ma
lone suffered a sudden heart at
tack.
FROM HOONAH
M. Hegeberg, registering from
Hoonah, is now at the Baranof.
DEFENDERS
OF COLOGNE
FORCED BACK
Three Other American Di
visions Are Closing in
on Rhine Areas
BULLETIN — PARIS, March
6.—American forces fought their
way through Cologne to the
Rhine tonight and in the south
the V. S. Third Army spurted 25
miles toward the Rhine in the
Coblenz area.
The American First Army
tanks and troops fought their
way past the the famous Cologne
Cathedral.
A front line dispatch tonight
declared that "Cologne, to ail
military purposes, has fallen."
PARIS, March 6.—The American
troops captured at least one-third
of Cologne by mid - morning and
forced the German oefenders back
to the old city section around the
heart of the devastated metropolis.
Three divisions, the Thrd Armor
ed, Eighth and 104th Infantry have
reached Ringstrasse against surpris
ingly little opposition.
The Qermuu fought in what was
| once the walled section of Cologne,
by far the greatest traffic center in
western Germany.
To the north, Simpson’s Ninth
Army wiped out all but one small
pocket on the Rhine south of Dues
seldorf, in the suburb of Neuss.
The Canadians have driven into
Wesel, a pocket farther down the
Rhine.
The First Army has driven swiftly
to the middle of the Rhine and
have struck within six miles of the
river center city of Bonn.
Patton’s Third Army, according
to a German communique broadcast,
has made a deep breach in the
Nazi lines northeast of Kyllburg.
Patton’s movements are largely
blacked out, similar to the great
secrecy prevailing during the great
Rhine breakthrough. His nearest
official* reported distance from Cob
lenz is 44 mites.
FORCES OF
NIPS BEING
BOTTLED UP
Remnants on Luzon Attack
ed from Ground, Air
90,000 Japs Killed
By C. YATES McDANIEL
, <AP War Correspondent)
MANILA, March 6—Six Japanese
divisions, perhaps 90,000 troops, of
10 divisions defending Luzon, have
been destroyed, together with con
siderable war material, and the re
maining forces are bottled up In
the mountains and are under con
tinuous attack by forces and from
the air, Gen. Douglas MacArthur
announces.
Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita's
forces are still on this largest is
land of the Philippines, but are
split into a number of different
groups and all of their positions
are critical.
Only yesterday, MacArthur an
nounced. thousands of Japs have
been cleaned out of Ilocos Norte
Province, in Luzon’s northwest
corner by guerrillas operating
under American Army Officer Col.
R. W. Volckman.
On bloody Leyte, south of Luzon,
more than 125,000 Japs were killed
and this makes a total on the two
islands alone of more than 215,000
Japanese troops killed, including
some of the Japanese Empires beat.
The largest single engagement In
which the enemy sustained heavy
losses, was the three-week-old
battle of Manila.
Slow enveloping movements
against the Japanese mountain
positions are reported.