The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

CINCINNATI ENQUIRER FINAL EDITION WEATHER CINCINNATI AND VICINITY: Showers Today, Ending Tonight; Continued Cold. Predicted High, 60; Low Tonight, 42. Temperatures Yesterday: High, 62; Low, 48; Mean Humidity, 72.5. VOL. CIV.

NO. 18-DAILY THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 27, 1944 20 PAGES ETITTT? PtPVPG Bsmlltm fl 1 1 7 anil TfTT, fTVTS rUUft LJUi. IkJ Campbell ul Keataa CoantlM ELSEWHiRB Pin TO STUDY A 4 Federal Troops Seize Mail Order Plant- TP HI "IF OFFICERS VERDICT JJ DISMISSED FROM SERVICE SEIZED PLANT PLACARDED FLEETS TORN. DISMISSAL ESSEN STRUCK FEl HEAD Yields To Army, But Defies President And U. S.

Marshals. -y. iiMiiMiiii mm Ik 1 jr I two Associated Press Wirephoto. Sergeant Ralph Lontkowski, left, and Lieutenant Ludwig Fincura, members of the United States Army detail from Camp Skokie Valley yesterday posted on a plant door a placard signed by Jesse Jones, Secretary of Commerce, after his department took over the operation of the Montgomery Ward and Company plant at Chicago with the backing of armed soldiers. Dismissal from service was the sentence meted to these three Army Air Force officers yesterday by a court-martial which found them guilty of neglect of duty in inspection of aircraft engines at the Wright Aeronautical Corporation's Lock-land plant in the year ended March 30, 1943.

They are, left to right. Major William Bruckmann, Lieutenant Colonel Frank C. Greulich and Major Walter A. Ryan. President's Powers Upheld By Biddle In Army Seizure Of Ward Firm Orville Wright Flies Again! Pilots Plane With Wing Span Greater Than Distance He Flew In Man's First Flight.

built as a luxury air liner for Is Penalty Drawn By Three Involved In Wright Inspections. Vindication Of Character And Honesty Is Claimed By Their Counsel. BY BRADY BLACK. Standing rigidly at attention, their faces paling slightly, three Army Air Force officers heard themselves ordered dismissed from the service yesterday upon findings by a court-martial that they wera guilty of neglect of duty in inspection of aircraft engines at the Lock land plant of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. The sentences are not to be effective unless upheld after review by Major General James L.

Collins, Fifth Service Command Commanding General, Fort Hayes, Columbus, and Major General Myron C. Cramer, Judge Advocate General, Washington. This procedure is expected to take three or four months. The reviewing officers could reduce, but not increase, the penalties imposed. COUNSEL SEE VINDICATION.

Substance of statements by counsel for the accused was that they regarded findings of the court complete vindication of three officers' "character, decency, honesty and sincerity." The officers were found not guilty of charges that they conspired among tnemseives, and with seven civilians who were named and others unnamed, to subvert government inspection, and that they made false statements to members of tho Senate Truman War Production Investigating Committee. The officers accused were Lieu tenant Colonel Frank C. Greulich, Dayton, Ohio, former chief of the inspection section of the Materiel Command; Major Walter A. Ryan. Detroit, former chief inspection of ficer of the Central Procurement District, and Major William Bruck mann, Cincinnati, former resident representative at the Lockland plant.

INTERRUPTED BUT ONCE. The court, which began delibera tions at 9:16 o'clock yesterday morning, interrupted its ponder-ings but once to return to the courtroom at 12:32 o'clock to hear a reading of the personal records of the accused and-to hear that none of the three had been convicted previously. At 1:15 o'clock tha court called in a court reporter to record its findings. Twenty-four minutes later the 11 officers of the court marched in and the court President, Brigadier General Lehman W. Miller, read tha individual findings and sentences voted by secret ballot of at least two-thirds of the court first to Colonel Greulich, then to Major Ryan and finally to Major Bruckmann.

Thus ended a case which, in tha memory of military counsel who participated, was the second longest in the history of Army court-martials and one of the most important war production cases in military history. BEGAN APRIL 3. The case, which began April brought forth admissions by an AAF civilian advisor on Wright engines that he was discharged after being "wined and dined" by company officials; by company tech nicians that they falsified labora tory tests upon orders of a company supervisor and that Army inspectors passed engine parts they believed to be defective. Major Henry C. Clausen, Trial Judge Advocate, declared, in his closing summation, that the "Army Washington, April 26 (AP) President Roosevelt said he based his right to seize Montgomery Ward and Company's Chicago plant today on the powers and authority granted to the President under the Constitution 'and laws of the country.

These, Francis Biddle, Attorney General, said in an opinion prepared for Mr. Roosevelt, include the power conferred on the President by Section 3 of the War Labor Disputes Act and "an aggregate of powers" derived from the Constitution and various laws enacted "for the purpose of carrying on the war." Section 3 of the Labor Disputes Act provides as follows for government seizure and operation of "any plant, mine, or facility equipped for the manufacture, production or mining of any articles or materials which may be required for the war effort or which may be used in connection therewith: "Such power and authority may be exercised by the President through such department or agency of the government as he may designate, and may be exercised with respect to any such plant, mine, or Dayton, Ohio, April 26 (AP) Orville Wright, first man to fly a heavier-than-air machine, piloted the world's-' newest' and biggest transport plane over Wright Field for a few minutes today. Wright's turn at the controls of the Lockheed "Constellation" was his first spell of piloting in 25 years, his 50-minute flight was his first trip aloft since June, 1939, and it all, he said was "wonderful." The seventy-three-year-old veteran of aviation took the demonstration hop in the mammoth transport with newsmen and Wright Field Army officials after the big ship had flown in from Washington, by way of New York and Paterson, N. in two hours and four minutes. When Wright de-cended he said: "I enjoyed every minute of it." And, he gloated, "I guess I ran the whole plane for a minute, but I let the machine take care of itself.

I always said airplanes would fly themselves if you left them alone." The four-motored Constellation, Five Ships Sunk, Two Damaged, By Red Fliers At Sevastopol. Four German Transports, In Barents Sea Convoy, Also Sent To Bottom. London, April 26 (AP) Blasting at an Axis fleet presumably at tempting to evacuate large numbers of the besieged forces at Sevastopol, the Russians have sunk five Ger man and Romanian transports and damaged two more in the last 24 hours, Moscow announced tonight. The Soviet daily communique re ported once again that "there were no essential changes at the front' during the day, but official German and Romanian announcements said the Red Army had broken the land lull by opening a large-scale often sive yesterday on the Romanian scoring local break-throughs which were sealed off. In addition to the action off Sevastopol, the Russians announced that in the Barents Sea in the Arc tic, Soviet aircraft had encountered 'a large group of German trans ports sailing under convoy of war ships, cutters and fighters" and that, despite bad visibility, the Russian airmen sank four transports totaling 20,000 tons.

The Russians did not say which way this convoy was moving. 2,000 MILES APART. In the two naval-air clashes 2,000 miles apart the Russians reported a total of nine German transports totaling 33,000 tons sunk, with nu merous smaller vesels sunk and damaged. Soviet planes and warships of the. Black Sea fleet cooperated to rip apart the Axis vessels off Sevas- topal, Moscow said.

The air force during the night bombed Axis ships and stores in the port of Sevastopol and in Kazachya Bay a few miles to the south, starting fires and ex plosions, "including two of enor mous strength." The five enemy transports, with a total displacement of 13,000 tons, a barge and two patrol ships were sunk along the Axis lines of com munication farther out at sea. Two other transports were declared to have been damaged badly. CONVOY TAKES POUNDING. The Barents Sea action began with finding of the convoy several days ago, the Soviet communique said. The Russian pilots "made five consecutive low-level bombing and torpedo attacks on the enemy ships," and in addition to the four transports, two partol ships and a patrol cutter also were sunk, it said.

Two transports were declared damaged seriously. Ten German planes were shot down and six Rus sian planes were lost, Moscow said. Although the Russians reported no ground changes the intensity of the sparring for each small position all along the front was indi cated by the Moscow communique's statement that 62 German tanks were destroyed or disabled on all fronts' Tuesday and 79 enemy airplanes shot down. German and Romanian announcements said the Russian of fensive was opened in the lower Dnestr area and aimed at the capital of Chisinau and the Galati Gap between the Carpa thians and the Danube, control of which would wrest most of the Balkans from the Axis. The Russians said nothing of such action, confining their bare dispatches to the siege of Sevastopol, the slowly developing final battle in the Crimea.

Moscow said six-engined transports were attempting to rescue the stragglers in the Black Sea naval base. STEEL FIRM'S OFFICE BURNS. Pittsburgh, April 26 (AP) Fire ripped through the block-long build ing housing the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation offices in Mun- hall today, causing damage estimated by firemen at $100,000 and forcing scores of employees to flee to the streets. Company records were carried to safety by employees just before the second-floor roof collapsed. weight lambs because of drought conditions.

Veal points remain the same and pork about the same as for April. Lowering tkjk point value for butter is possible because of seasonally increased production which is at the best level since last September, Bowles said. The anticipated meat supply for civilians in May is 1,414,296,000 pounds compared with 1,233,900,000 pounds in April. Most steak goes up a point a pound because of demands. Flank steak, however, will be reduced from 12 points to 10.

Rib round tip and rump (bone in) beef roasts, go up one point a pound, but rump boneless roasts will be two points higher. Hamburger will stay at six points, To Start 13th Day Of Aerial Drive After U. S. Fleet Returns. Americans Blast Brunswick Without Losing Bomber In 1,000 -Plane Armada.

London, April 27 (Thursday) (AP) Heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force carried the Allied air offensive against German Europe into its 13th consecutive day today, striking with massive force by moonlight at the German arma ments city of Essen and elsewhere in a methodical follow-up to a American daylight raid on Brunswick and other targets. The Americans lost not a single bomber, but six fighters failed to return from the widespread and diversified daylight operations. Details of the RAF night attack were not available, but it was stated authoritatively that the big bombers were out "in great strength." Essen, a frequent target, last was subjected to a heavy' raid by more than 750 RAF four-engined bomb ers on March 26, and was hit by Mosquito bombers April 8. It has been called the Pittsburgh of Ger many. SKY FREE OF NAZIS.

The major American daylight raid did not encounter any fighter opposition. Between 250 500 Fortresses and Liberators made the 900-mile round trip to Brunswick, dumping 1,500 tons of bombs. A communique said the escort of from 500 to 750 Mustangs, Lightnings and Tunderbolts made no contact with German interceptors. Other aircraft hammered Hitler's European fortress at many points. A supper-time fleet of light bombers, escorted by Thunderbolts and Spitfires, plastered military ob jectives in Northern France and Belgium.

A direct hit on a shelter in a south coast town in England during a German air raid early today caused many casualties. The raid was brief. Extremely cloudy weather over Germany was a factor in the ab sence of defense today, but the overcast did not prevent the bombers from finding their targets and scientifically covering them with explosives. "BARGAIN" MISSION. Brunswick, 110 miles west of Ber lin, has been one of the costliest targets on the American list.

Sixty bombers were lost on a daylight attack on Brunswick and other Central German targets January 11, when 152 Nazi fighters were de stroyed. Thus today's "bargain" mission showed to a certain extent how the Allies have won air superiority over Europe. In the last 12 days more than 34,000 individual offensive flights have been flown and more than 50,000 tons of bombs strewn over Hitler's occupied Europe. The main mission today against Brunswick was believed to be only the second time the United States Army Air Force in Europe has been able to penetrate Germany on a major daylight operation without loss. On March 11 Fortresses bombed Munster without loss, but Brunswick is 125 miles farther in side the Reich.

American fighters also attacked Nazi airdromes in occupied France, destroying enemy aircraft on the ground. Six fighters failed to return from all operations. INCLINE Would Be Taken Over By City Railway Company Under Recommendation Of Council Committee Voting 3-1. A soecial committee of four Councilmen voted 3-1 late yesterday recommend that Council asK tne Cincinnati Street Railway Com- nanv to acauire the Price Hill in cline and put it in good operating condition. Councilmen Edward N.

Wald- vogel, Russell Wilson, and John M. Molloy voted in-favor or the recommendation, which was embodied in a motion prepared by Wald- vogel. Councilman Jesse Locker 'no." exnlaininir that he voted thought it would Interfere with the franchise agreement between the street railway company and the city and because he doubted that critical materials needed for repairs could i obtained. Action on the recommendation will not be taken by Council until next Wednesday. In the event that the Street Railway refuses, a majority of the committee having a "junk price appraisal made or tne property as a preliminary to negotiations toward its purchase by the city.

Edo-ar Dow Oilman. Public Utili ties Director, estimated that the incline was worth about $10,000 as junk, exclusive of land values. Montgomery Ward Forced To Surrender Business In Fight With Union. Chicago, April 26 (UP) Sewell Avery, President of Montgomery Ward and Company, tonight bowed before a Presidential Executive order, backed up by three truck-loads of military police, and relinquished possession of the mail Order concern to the Department of Commerce. The troops, fully equipped with field packs, rifles and small machine guns, arrived at the company's main office shortly' after p.

m. and were dispatched Immediately to Avery's office, where Wayne C. Taylor, Undersecretary of Commerce, had twice unsuccessfully attempted to serve the President's orders on the Montgomery Ward executive. President Roosevelt ordered transfer of the company'3 control from Avery to the Department of Commerce today on the grounds the company had failed to carry out a War Labor Board directive to recognize the Congress of Industrial Organization United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Employees' Union as tle bargaining agent for 5,000 workers pending a National Labor Relations Board election. AVERY LEAVES OFFICE.

Avery, recognizing the govern ment meant business, left his office shortly after the arrival of the troops, using a rear exit. His departure automatically, and without the forceful measures that were predicted, left control of the com pany In the hands of Taylor. Avery made no statement, either to the press or to Taylor, before leaving. The troops, called by Taylor to support the government's demands on the company, were called after Avery twice Informed Taylor neither the Department of Commerce or President Roosevelt had the right, either from the Constitution or from Congress, to take possession of the company's property. Taylor received Avery's first re fusal at their initial meeting shortly before noon.

After leaving the offices, Taylor conferrred with Ugo Carusi, Assistant United States Attorney, and J. Albert Woll, District Attorney. Together they held a lengthy telephone conversation with Jesse Jones, Secretary of Commerce. MARSHALS ARE DEFIED. As a result of their decisions, Taylor again returned to Avery's office, this time accompanied by nine United States Marshals.

Avery again refused to accept the govern ment order, and challenged the Mar shal's civil right to remove him by force. Acting on a prearranged plan, Carusi telephoned to Woll, who in turn notified the Sixth Service Command that troops would be needed to force the company's compliance. The Military Police platoon was ordered from Camp Skokie Valley and arrived at the company offices an hour later. Soldiers with fixed bayonets stood guard at the entrance while a squad, with rifles at the ready, went directly to Avery's office. Avery received Taylor for the third time, and listened while the Undersecretary reread the President's executive order.

Lieutenant Ludwig Pincura, in charge 6f the troops, informed Avery he had taken possession of the property. The company executive said he did not recognize the Army's authority, but would leave the building. The company's refusal to relinquish control to the government was understood to be a move to compel forcible seizure, so it would have a complete record of noncon-sent with which to appear in Federal Court and sue for an injunction to retain possession of the properties. THE WEATHER Washington, April 26 (AP) Ohio: Rain Thursday and continued mild. Kentucky Showers and scattered thundershowers east portion Thursday morning, cooler.

Indiana Showers and thunder. Btormg Thursday forenoon, becom ing partly cloudy to cloudy in afternoon. Fresh to occasionally atrong winds. Cincinnati Weather Bureau Airport Office record for April 26: Temp. Hum.

Prec. 8:30 a.m 52 81 0 8:30 p.m 59 61- 0 lf44. '43. '42. Nl.

Highest temperature. 62 72 80 66 Lowest 48 54 57 46 0 0 T. TodaySunrlse 5:45 a.m. Sunset 7:26 p.m. TWENTY YEARS AGO.

Temperature, 73-67. Partly cloudy, FIFTY YEARS AGO. Temperature, 78-56. Clear. whenever tha President finds, after investigation, and proclaims that there is an interruption of the operation of such plant, mine, or facility as a result of a strike or other labor disturbance, that the war effort will be Unduly impeded or delayed by such inter-- ruptlon, and that the exercise-of such power and authority is necessary to insure the operation of such plant, mine or facility in the interest of the war effort Even without Section 3, the President still had the power to act, Biddle said, asserting the "aggregate of powers" vested in the President as commander in chief "includes authority to take reasonable steps to prevent nation-wide labor disturbances that threaten to interfere seriously" with the conduct of the war.

fact that the initial impact of these disturbances is on the production or distribution of essential civilian goods is not a reason for denying the Chief Executive and the commander in chief of the Army and Navy the power to take steps to protect the nation's war effort," Biddle said. "In modern war the maintenance of a healthy, orderly and stable civilian economy is essential to successful military effort." south, other Allied bombers con-1 centrated on coastal defense guns in the heaviest bombardment In two months of daily raids on the Marshall Islands. Five islands in the strongly fortified Truk lagoon were bombed by planes ranging half the length of the Caroline Island system. In Southeast Asia, Japanese troops were reported "mowed down in a desperate attack to break road blocks clamped on Central Burmese communications by airborne Allied Chindits. Light tanks, artillery and mortar fire, Bangalores and Banzai charges were employed by the Japanese in futile attempts to crack the irregular 100-mile front of the Chindits.

Machine guns and the air commando force of Colonel Philip Cochran smashed the attacks. Japanese grave-diggers were found dead beside half-completed graves dug for their slain companions. Most Employees Affected By Extended Work Week; M'Arthur Seizes Airdromes; Australians Capture Madang; Japs Mowed Down In Burma Few Exceptions To Order Transcontinental and Western Air, has been taken over by the Army, It was designed to carry 57 pas sengers, but Wright Field officials said it'easily could carry 97 fully equipped soldiers. It was flown here to undergo "accellerated serv ice tests" at the Dayton Army air base at near-by Vandalia, Ohio. Its pilot on most of the demonstration trip over Dayton today was Lieutenant Colonel George A.

Hatcher, materiel command project engineer at Wright Field. For much of the 50 minutes the Constellation was in the air, Wright sat in the copilot's seat. Brigadier General F. Carroll, head of the materiel com mand engineering division at the field, also took a turn at the controls. Until today Orville Wright's last flight had been in the sensational DC-4 transport from Wright Field in June, 1939.

His first flight the first in history was made at Kit- tyhawk, N. December 17, 1903, when he flew less distance than is covered by the wing span of the ship he piloted today. IT'S WRONG NUMBER Swamped with calls concerning the 48-hour work-week order, the Office of Emergency Management, Union Trust Building, explained yesterday that such calls were meant for the War Man-Power Commission, Parkway 5145, Elm Street and Central Parkway. The OEM and WMC formerly occupied the same building. might be exempt because it would be foolish to compel them to operate 48 hours a week." The order provides that employ ers who believe themselves eligible for exemption must file applica tions with the area WMC director before May 18.

"I certainly don expect many applications under this provision," Baker said. "I hope employers understand that their strict compliance with the order as it stands is the only practical way Cincinnati has of avoiding being placed in a labor stringency classification. We are hopeful that the order will result in the release of 7,500 workers who will be used immediately to fill jobs that must be filled." Baker advised employers who must release workers because of the order to guarantee job security to workers so released. "We simply must face the fact that this is a part of winning the war," he said. "The order is all-inclusive.

I certainly believe, how ever, that any employer who is forced to release workers because of the order should give them a positive guarantee that their jobs will be open. That is the only fair and patriotic thing to do." Emphasizing the need for the co operation of employers, Baker explained that "the WMC has certain drastic measures which can be taken in the cases of firms which fail to comply with the order. "But we are not thinking of weapons in this matter, he added. "Instead, we are appealing to the Continued On Page 5, Column 5. is cleaning its house and others wilfcp' clean their houses, too." Predicting "There will be very few excep tions to the application of the man datory 48-hour work-week order," John M.

Baker, Area Director of the War Man-Power Commission, said yesterday. Baker made the statement after a meeting of the WMC's area com mittee, composed of representatives of management and labor and WMC officials, at which problems arising from the new order were discussed. "The committee not only endorsed the order," Baker said, "but recommended that all applications for exemption from it be carefully scrutinized. The order is mandatory on employers of eight or more per sons. It includes all types of businesses, including stores, theaters, restaurants and newspapers, as well as factories.

It includes the city, also, since the city is included in the WMC's wage stabilization plan." Baker explained that the few exceptions probably would be made in the cases of employers who should show that a 48-hour week was not expedient in their businesses. "For instance," he said, "certain types of amusement businesses DAY'S WAR HEROES WOUNDED IN ACTION CUNEO, Private First Class Fred erick, 34, 1435 Vine Street. BOONE, Corporal H. Wayne, JO, 1716 Queen City Avenue. PRISONER OF GERMANS ABNEY, Sergeant Lonnle 114 West Seventh Street HARRIS, Private First Class Ralph, 4634 Smith Road, Norwood, MISSING IN ACTION rOHLMEYER, Sergeant Robert 20, Montgomery.

FRANKLAND, Staff Sergeant Gregory, 24, 3561 Raymar Drive, Hda Park. (BY ASSOCIATED PRESS) American infantrymen captured two Japanese airdromes on Dutch New Guinea, within bombing range of the Philippines, General Doug las MacArthur announced today, as 500 miles to the southeast Australians swept into the town of Madang. The Sentani and Cyclops air dromes in the Hollandia area of Northern New Guinea were seized by United States forces on the fourth day of their invasion. The nutcracker drive was closing in on the Hollandia airdrome, the third and largest in the sector. The two columns, which hit the beach 34 miles apart, were approaching a juncture in a battle against mud and hills where the Japanese strangely were absent.

Enemy resistance folded up in the Aitape sector, 150 miles to the east, where the captured Tadji airdrome is being used by Allied bombers and fighters. Only a short skirmish preceded occupation of Aitape village. At Madang, too, the enemy fled before the advancing Australians, who found quantities of abandoned supplies and ammunition when they occupied the once strong for tress. Strongest air resistance yet In the renewed New Guinea fighting was an attack by 12 torpedo planes on an American destroyer at Hol landia. MacArthur said they did no Twenty-three Japanese planes were destroyed in a raid on Kamlri airfield.

400 miles northwest of Hollandia. American bombers returned to the attack along the northern invasion route to Tokyo and intensified their offensive on Japan's mandated Central Pacific island, Admiral Chester W. Nlmitz announced. Aleutian-based bombers flew to within 500 miles of Japan proper to make six strikes at the Northern Kurlle Islands Sunday and Monday nights. Three i thousand miles to the that repercussions would be heard far beyond the confines of Cincinnati, he noted that civil and criminal actions are yet to come.

Major Edward F. Cavanagh, counsel for Major Ryan, called tha falsifying of laboratory tests "sabotage." Colonel Park Holland, counsel for Colonel Greulich, said evidence showed that production had overridden inspection, but only because Army directives wera stressing production. Before he read the court's find ings and sentences, General Miller ordered all persons who wished to leave the room to do so immediate ly. After a half dozen had slipped Continued On Page 5, Column 3. IN THE ENQUIRER Point Reductions Scheduled On Butter And Many Meats Washington, April 26 (AP) Butter will be reduced to 12 ration points a pound effective Sunday, through June 3, Price Administrator Chester Bowles announced tonight.

Butter has been 16 points since October. The same order cut the ration price of margarine from 6 to 2 red points, also effectiv Sunday. Point value for farm or country butter will be reduced to 8 points per pound and processed butter from 6 points to 4. Shortening, -salad and cooking oils continue point free in May. Points for choice cuts of beef go up slightly next month, but lamb and mutton points will be reduced 50 per cent to permit quicker distribution of shipments of light Paqa Pto, Amusement 1-9 Journay' End 14 Classified 14-18 Kent Comic 19 Lippmann 4 Court New 10 Military 7 Cross-Word 17 Radio I Danny Dumm 12 Rationing .4 Editorial 4 Real Estate 14 Eliot 4 Sarial Story 4 Finance 14-15 Society New II Food New 4 Sports 12-13 Gallup 4 Suianna 4 Grapavina 10 Vital Statistic 14 H.

skins p. A. 19 Wineh.ll .2 Hsrs Sense 18 Woman' Clubs. 1 1 Jamas 4 Woman's Pag 4.