CUN CLUE N MURDER
WITNESSES IN HOOPER KILLING
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Tlnm Photo
Two witnesses, both of Springport, r the highway only a few minutes before
Ethan B. Allen (left) and George C. Me- the fire started, waiting to be questioned
Donald, who saw Senator Hooper’s ear on in the prosecutor’* office in Jackson.
Nimitz Blasts
Jap Convoys
PEARL HARBOR, Jan. 13
(INS) Destruction of six
fully loaded enemy troop
transports off the French
Indo-China coast in the flam
ing carrier-based aircraft
strike on four Jap convoys
bound for the Philippines
with reinforcements for (»en.
Yamashita on Luzon was dis
closed today bv Fleet Com
mander Chester W. Nimitz.
I.OADED WITH TROOPS
The transport*, loaded to ’he
gunwale* with Jap tiooj>* were
*ent to the bottom of the South
f'hina Sea, along with 1H other
enemy vessel* including a light
(iuimt and several destroyers or
destroyer escorts In addition, the
communique said .that 1.1 other
»hij>s were “heavily damaged
L i A Tokyo broadcast heard in
"London said some 9<) B-29 Su
perfortress*- aKo attacked Sai
gon last night, hut there was no
confirmation from American
sources that land-hascd lomh
ets had joined in the attack )
NO r. S LOSSES
Last-minute reports on the con
tinuing battle near Saigon indi
cated none of nur surface craft
was damaged in this fust phase
of the all-out drive by Adm. Hal
sey to keen the Nips off the neck
of Gen. Mac Arthur as he drives
toward Manila.
The communique also revealed
Ihat the Jap battleship Musashi.
displacing 45.000 ton- and *»ne of
the most jaiwerlul units in the
imperial fleet had ix*en flnven
to the bottom under a hail of
American bombs Oet 24
Paulette Improved
HOLLYWOOD. Jan 13 HNS)
—Condition of screen star Paul
ette Goddard was described today
as slightly improved after a num
ber of blood transfusions at St.
John's Hospital. Santa Motlll >
HOLLYWOOD. Jan 13 <
—Condition of screen star
ettc Goddard was described
as slightly improved after a
ber of blood transfusions a
John’s Hospital. Santa Mon
Filipinos Get Even
Willi Detested Spies
MANGALDEN. Luzon. Jan 13
(INS) The little peoph d
Luzon «i»* already beginning to
gain Vengeance for iheir three
years ol suffering under the Jap**
just as the little |M*ople of all
conquered lands are yarning ven
geance.
Already the jicnple «>i Mangal
drn have turned in two of their
one Jap soldier in civil
ian clothes and one Filipino em
ploye of the Jap secret military
police.
Lt. Bill Hartnett of Fulton, N.
Y.. had hardly set up his office
before a Filipino rushed up on a
bicycle shouting. ‘There's • Jap
In the house:"
Hartnett was busy and short
handed so he asked the Filipino
if he could bring the Jap to him.
The Filipino went away with a
fnj of other Filipinos and in a
short time returned leading a
sleepy Jnp who had been napping
in an empty palm hut.
Nazi Loss Heavy
As Attack Fails
FARLS, Jan 13 (INS) —German armies in the Bclgian-
Luxembourg bulge and southeastward along the American
Seventh Army front were reported today to be suffering
continued severe losses in futile battles against the Allies.
As
Reds Launch
2 New Drives
LONDON. Jan. 13 (UP)
Berlin said today that the
Red army had unleashed tft'o
more winter
second and third in 24 hours
—with powerful attacks in
East Prussia and along the
Hungarian - Czecho - Slovak
border.
The offensive got under vva>
from the narrow ea*tern -alicnt
of East Prussia which the Red
army seized in a brief spurt last
October. The attack was locu*ed
lalong the northern side of the
Komgsberg-Kauna.* railwav.
Simultaneously, the Berlin radio
said, Soviet force* 500 mile* to
the south attacked along an Ho
mile front »>n the Hungarian-
Czecho-Slovak border between
Losonc tLucenec) and a point
»outh of Kassa (Ko.-nicei with
seven to eight divisions.
The southern offensive appeared
designed to crumple the German
client in eastern Czecho-Slovakia
Jittery Berlin broadcasts said
heavv fighting had develop'd bo
|r»r the Red army's Sandemierz
'bridgehead on the west hank of
'the Vistula River in Southern
Poland.
.Moscow said that the Red aim>
had beaten off new German coun
terattacks wr-t and northwest of
Budapest and mopped up another
135 blocks in the battle-torn
capital.
The Jap was dressed in white
and blue stnjied trousers beneath
which he wore a belt “of thousand
stitches."
The Jap s«id he and three
others, including on** officer, just
got tired of the lousy Jap army
food and decided to fend foi
l hemselves
Under international law he is
subject to court martial as a spy.
But the Jap soldier fared much
better than a hated German-
Filipino informer.
He was pretty badly beaten by
the tim* the Filipinos turned him
over to the Americans.
The little people of this Filipino
town knew* he had been on the
regular secret police salary as a
fingerman spying on guerillas,
some of whom were arrested on
his information.
He had a swollen jaw and his
crippled right arm wav badly hint
before the American authorities
got him.
A front dispatch estimated that
[ the Allied armies had Cut The
Ardenne* salient down to approxi
mately half the size it was at the
height of the German offensive.
The bulge was reported continu
ing to *hrmk fast
On all but one sector that in
the Hagenau Forest area wh/re
the Sixth Armv group suffered a
slight setback, the Germans wore
mauled. They were subjected to
particularly heavv losses in men
and equipment when Yank force
smashed futile counterattack*.
RAC K ?X MILES
In the Belgian battle area, the
Nazis were sina-hcnl hack to a
line JR miles east of their west
ernmost point of penetration as
three Allied armies hammered
forward in the final assault to
eliminate the bulge and drove
ahead toward the heart of the
salient.
The American First Army,
driving southeast of Bihain to
take Langlir. met strong resist
ance from the Germans seeking
to hold open the e*capc routes
east of St. Vith.
Several local Nazi counterat
tacks were quelled, and in these
engagements heavy losses were
inflicted, headquarters ieported.
HEAVY NAZI LOSSES
The American Seventh Army,
holding positions northwest of the
Hagenau Forest, inflicted addi
tional heavy losses on the Ger
mans w-hrn the Yank* smashed a
German break-through attempt
into Allied-held Maginot Line posi
tion*.
The sole setback to th»* Allies
came when the German* in the
Hagenau Forest area retook the
town of Oeting. Seventh Army
troop* nevertheless hung on to
surrounding terrain dominating
the town.
The costly German counterat
tack wa* made m the Bitche sali
ent. northeast of Wildenguth
De Gaulle Saves Author
PARIS. Jan. 13 <UP) Gen. Do
Gaulle has commuted the death
sentence imposed by a treason
court on Henri Beraud celebrated
French journalist and author, to
hard labor for life.
THE WEATHER
NOI Ml r TIMr»KVII Ml *
11 frl<l SO 4 i m 31 P » m ?S
lam ZM S • m 3*> «* • id i‘>
I a m J» « a m Z« 1"» in *’•
.lam « 7am 2 • 11am it
Tli’* aim • 111 mi at *> 24 p m tuday nuo
riat lotmxro* at 8 .>8 a. m.
“T» Htrwann
Cotring:
'Grittlng» and
complications
an your
lid birthday.’"
FORECAST:
Cloudy and
warmer tonight
with lowest
about ?fl;
ffft
rather rold with unnw tturrte*
tomorrow.
Quake Hits Japan
Power Strike Ends
Army Halls
Shutdown
In Cleveland
CLEVELAND. Jan 11 (UP>—
Striking employe* of the Cleve
land Electric Illuminating Co.
were returning to their jobs to-
under army orders to “work
or be fired,” and company offi
cials indicated that power serv
ice would be restored to normal
shortly.
The strikers, who walked off
the tob yesterday, were ordered
to terminate their wildcat walk
out after President Roosevelt di
rected the army to take over the
company's facilities to prevent
further curtailment of war pro
duction depending on electric
power from the CEI
Mr. Roosevelt acted faster than
he has ever done before in any
seizure case as the strike cur
tailed production in at least 40
war plants and threatened to shut
off power to homes hospitals,
transportation facilities, street
lights and other electric - using
service*
FIRST SHIFT RETtRNS
The first hand of returning
strikers reported at 7 a. m. in
the company’s generating plants,
which have been kept in opera-i
tion during the dispute by skele
ton crews. Other shifts were to
rejiort at later hours.
Col E. A Lvnn of the army
ordnance department, accom
panied by a staff of eight officer*
and carrying an American flag
entered the CEl's downtown of
fice and took possession of the
struck facilities at 4.15 a m.
Lynn immediately called on all
employes to return to work
“Any employe who does not
report at the beginning of his
next regular ahlft will he *ub-
Ject to Immediate discharge,”
Lvnn said. Any who hesitated,
he -aid, would be "immediately
referred to the state director
of selective service for reclassi
fication in event he holds an
occupational deferment ”
Finn Itifl
Aoar Fml !
WASHINGTON. Jan 13 (t’P)
The I'nited State- i* expected
to begin preparation* soon for re
sumption of full diplomatic iela
tion* with Finland alter a six
month break.
The actual restoration of nor
mal relations and exchange of
ministers plenipotentiary may be
several months away, but the
first step in that direction was
taken yesterday with assignment
of two American foreign service
officers to establish an American
mission in Helsinki
I’pon their first reports prob
ably will depend the decision
whether to invitr Finland to send
Mmilar representatives to ihis
country preliminary to establish
ment of formal relation*.
Frances Farmer Lost
And Found in Reno
RENO, Jan. 13 (UP)-France*
Farmer, former movie actress,
was back home today with her
aunt, Mrs. Edith Castlings, who
had reported her missing from her
Yerrington, Nev., home Thursday.
The blond ex-movie star w’as
returned home by Reno police
yesterday after she was discov
ered in a movie theater. It was
the second time she had disap
peared from home within the last
year. *•
On/v Detroit Nrwipgper Carrying Both Interngtioml News Service end United Press
45th Year, No. 107
Quake
Roeks
Japan
B> International Nn*i Btftlig
The main Japanese home
island of Honshu was rocked
early today by an earthquake,
the second to hit central
Japan in little more than a
month, the Jap Domei agency
reported.
The temblor struck in the cen
tral area of Honshu at 3:55 a. m.
<2:55 p. m. Friday Detroit time),
according to Domei. which admit
ted that damage had resulted.
IMMAGE REPORTED
“A little damage to a small
number of houses was caused,”
Domei reported in the wireless
• transmission recorded by the
FC’C.
The affected area was identi
fied a* the Chubu district, that
portion of Hon-hu running trom
the north to the south coa.-t in a
beJl west and south ol the Kanto.
or Tokyo, district.
LAST QLAKE DEC. 1
The Tokyo region and the Shi
zuoka and Hamamatsu district*
were shaken last Dec. 7 in a
quake which resulted in tideTi
w aves.
Seismograph* in England. New
York and India recorded that
disturbance and some seismologists
declared that the December quake
was probably the mo*t severe
suffered by Japan in a number of
years.
Polio Programs
Begin Monday
Radio station* CKLW and
WXYZ. in co-operation with The
Detroit Time* Monday will pre
*ent outstanding programs inaug
urating the 1945 campaign to aid
the National Foundation for In
fantile Paralysis.
Stars of the spoils and enter
tainment world will he heard at
11:15 p m Monday and there
after on The Detroit Times-
CKLW program
Michigan civic leaders will he
featured in thh Times-W'XYZ pro
gram at 1:15 p m Monday. Orig
inating from the Mil** o' Dime.-
booth in Grand Circu* Park, the
program will he broadcast «*v*"
the Michigan Radio Network to
all major cities in the -tau
Navy Honors .Husband
Of Gertrude Lawrence
NEW YORK. Jan 13 HNSt
Third Naval District headquarters
announced today that Lt Comdr
Richard S. Aldrich. USNR. noted
play producer and hu*hand of ac
tress Gertrude Lawrence, has
been awarded the U. S Navy com
mendation ribbon
s<*al|»< k r Willi a lloarl
Arrested Willi Tipper
NEW YORK. Jan. 13 (INS)
Philip Glasser, 34-year-old gar
ment salesman, took pride in the
elaborate system he had perfected
to get train reservations to
Florida for his friends.
But the FBI nailed Glasser
today as he attempted to pick up
reservations at the Pennsylvania
Station he represented himself as
the true owner of the tiekets. He
was charged with illegal -ale of
railroad ticket* and hi* alleged
accomplice, Mrs. Rose Mane Im
C Detroit 31, Mich., Monday, Jan. 15, 1945
46 Jap Ships
Hit Sneaking
Aid to Luzon
GEN. MacARTHUR’S HQ.,
LUZON. Jan. 13 (INS)—
Japan’s first attempt to
push through supplies and
reinforcements by sea to
beleaguered forces on Luzon
was disclosed today to have
been smashed by naval action
as Sixth Army Yanks pushed
12 miles inland on the central
road to Manila.
< Radio Tokyo, heard by NBC.
said that a British fleet task
force was operating in the
| Philippines.)
j • The British fleet, under
Adm. Sir Bruce Fraser, arrived
recently in the Pacific to join
Adm. Nimitz’ U. S. Pacific fleet
in the campaign against Japan.)
Forty-six -mall Japanese
freighters, first detected by naval
airmen trying to unload at San
Fernando, at the northeast en
trance 10 Lingayen Gulf, were
sunk or heavily damaged by war
ship- ot the Seventh Fleet.
SHELLS SAN FERNANDO
Ship* of the Jap convoy, rang
ing variously between 100 and
1.250 tons, were blasted while
othei guns of Vice Adm. Kinkaid’s
force poured shells against San
Fernando's port facilities and
blew up three huge ammunition
dumps.
Personnel and ships of the Sev
enth fleet came through the blaz
ing action unscathed.
Railroad facilities and road
points were particularly hard hit
with more than 200 vehicles and
over 150 freight cars and loco
motive- destroyed. The entire
road south to Lingayen from San
Fernando has been smashed.
ALL TRAFFIC STRAFED
All moving motor traffic on
nearby' Luzon roads was ham
mered by low flying planes, straf
ing and bombing the speeding tar
gets Other planes ojx*rating in
conjunction with Filipino guerillas
on the ground kept the Japs from
slipping into defense position.
Two of our planes were lost in
(Continued on Page 3, Col. 4)
WAR Fliovr*
CHINA—Six loaded Jap
transports sent to bottom
in battle raging off Indo-
China coast. < Page 1.1
PHILIPPINES-Japs repott
British fleet task force
operating in Philippines.
(Page 1.)
RlSSlA—Berlin reports big
Russian winter offensive
on. ( Page 2.)
FRANCE Germans taking
heavy losses as Yanks
smash counterattacks in
Belgian-Luxembourg bulge.
(Page I.'
perato. a reservation agent, was
charged with conspiracy.
The G-men reported that
Glasser resold the tickets, not for
profit but to uphold his pride and
reputation He was a scalper with
a heart. They said he paid Mrs.
Imperato SIOO out of hi* own
pocket to tip him off to the name
of person* holding reservations
which had not been picked tip on
certain train* and then he would
collect the tiekets by represent
ing himself as the original pur
chaser.
5 Cents
Cheek Hooper
Confession 9
By FRANK MORRIS
JACKSON, Jan. 13— Without discounting the possi
bility that hired killers took Senator Warren G. Hooper for
an old-fashioned gangster “ride,” Grand Jury Prosecutor
Kim Sigler was reported today to be checking the activities
of all who might suffer through Hooper’s testimony.
Sigler has described Hooper as his key witness in the
bribe conspiracy case against Frank D. McKay, the former
Republican boss, and two others.
His further statement • that the 40-year-old senator
made a “full confession” to the grand jury might Indicat#
Hooper was a key witness in more than one of the many
matters oeing investigated by the grand jury.
Former Gangsters Seen in Albion
The theory of hired killers gained adherents with the
! report that two former Detroit gangsters had visited
Albion within the last week.
A member of the old Purple gang was seen in Albion
the day before Hooper w r as shot to death. Albion Police
Chief Harry McAulifTe said another figure of the Detroit
underworld had stopped in the city only a few days
previously, ostensibly to have his car repaired.
Another clue collapsed when John Mimachod informed
state police here that he and his son had made the telephone
calls which the senator’s widow had believed were con
nected with his death.
Mimachod, who speaks with an Austrian accent, said
the calls had been merely to inquire about the fate of a
liquor license application. Mimachod said he and his son
had called several times during the week and that it was
his son w ho made two calls police were attempting to trace.
Sigler Checks Legislators
While Sigler was reported checking his list of lawmakers,
lobbyists and others for whom Hooper’s story of graft was to
have been “a neat little package of dynamite,” policy proceeded
with a methodical check of the circumstances of the senator's
roadside slaying Thursday.
Scores of state police and grand jury investigators fanned
out through the state, running down every clue.
Hooper's home was placed under guard and. in Lansing,
Grand Jury Judge Leland W. Carr said officers would be assigned
other grand jury witnesses “whenever necessary.” He refused
to say whether he would accept a guard for himself, as fjiends
urged.
Carr declared:
“The killing, one of the mn>t vicious in Michigan crimes,
will only spur our people onward and arouse Michigan’s law
abiding citizen*.”
Members of the Legislature echoed his belief. Senator Ben
Carj>entrr said he would ask the lawmakers to post a SIO,OOO
reward for the killer or killers when they reconvene Monday
night.
Hooper No. I Graft Witness
So far Sigler has revealed only that Hooper was his No. 1
witness in the indictment of McKay, promoter Floyd Fitz
simmons of Benton Harbor, and former Rep. William Green of
Hillman.
The senator’s death resulted in a 30-day postponement of
their hearing, scheduled for Monday, on a charge that they
engaged in a bribe conspiracy to kill a bill changing the tax
system at the Detroit race track and compelling the Detroit
Racing Association to install a totalizator.
L’ntil the murder, Judge Carr and Sigler had taken special
precautions to conceal the name of their main witness. Carr’a
statement that the killers had nothing to gain indicated, however,
that the case did not collapse when Senator Hooper slumped life
less in the seat of his automobile.
State police today are conducting a house-to-house check of
the farm* between Springport and Lansing. Hooper waa
|en route from the capital to his home m Albjon when he waa
slain. His body, three bullet wounds in the head, was found In
his burning car beside highway M-99, four miles north of Spring-'
port.
Sigler and State Police Commissioner Oscar Olander have
set up headquarters in Jackson from which they are directing
the investigation. Under Olander is Capt. William Hansen, in
|charge of the state police post in Jackson.
State police detectives heading the details who are inter*
viewing neighbors are Lts. Lyle Morse and Ed Cooper and Sgta.
Edward Johnston and Bion Hoeg.
After many hours in the neighborhood of the crime, Sigler
(( on tinned os Page 2, Col. 2)
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