The Daily Courier from Connellsville, Pennsylvania • Page 1

VOL. 43, NO. 91. CONNELLSVILLE, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1945. LAST EDITION Die Weekly Courier.

Founded July 17, 1879 The Dally Courier, Founded November 10. 1902. Merged July 18. 1029 EIGHT PAGES. FOUR CENTS Lt.

Howard R. Henry Dies in Plane Crash In Pacific Theater Confirmation of the death last December in the Pacific of Lieutenant Howard R. (Bud) Henry, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert E.

Henry of -East Murphy avenue, is contained in a letter from the lieutenant's commanding officer, Colonel Kelly ol the 494th Bombardment Group, to his widow, Mrs. Mary JJean Naff Henry of Portland, Arkansas. The parents and widow had been notified that Lieutenant Henry was missing as of December 13. Subsequently they received a letter from his tent mate saying he lost his life when the Liberator bomber on which he was returning to the Palau Islands from a mission to the Philippines crashed when near the home base and broke up. Lieutenant Henry was in the meteorological branch of the Air Service.

The the commander contains these excerpts: "Although Lieutenant Henry was not required to participate in aerial nights, he was uncommonly conscientious concerning his work as a group weather officer and sometimes accompanied a combat crew on a mission for the purpose of checking his forecasts and studying weather conditions. In so doing he was able to provide superior forecasts which are invaluable in the conduct of our operations. "While returning from such a mission the aircraft in which he was riding as a passenger was forced to make a water landing, due to mechanical difficulties. Due to the fact that the sea was very rough, the aircraft broken up at the time of the impact. Lieutenant Henry was injured about the head, but the extent ot the injury could not be determined by the survivor who reported the circumstances.

He was Jast seen frying to inflate a life raft, which, unfortunately, had been punctured ill the crash. "The conditions' of the sea were so adverse that it was impossible for the survivors to control rait -jn which they -were riding with sufficient dispatch to effect a rescue in time. They were on the opposite side o'f the wreck from Lieutenant Henry and eventually succeeded in. pulling themselves to his position by holding onto the aircraft, but he had disappeared before they could reach him. "Testimony of the survivors, plus information obtained by search, leaves no hope that he could have survived." As to th? lieutenant himself, the colonel wrote: "I write these facts to -you with deepest regrets.

Lieutenant Henry was one of the finest young officers it has been my privilege to know and his loss has been keenly felt throughout the group. He had earned the affection and of us all and his loyalty and attention to duty have served as an inspiration to every officer and man to carry on to a successful conclusion. The entire organization joins me in extending our deepest sympathy." Lieutenant Henry was 26 years old last May, having been born, In Connellsville, in 1919. He was graduated i rn Connellsville High School with the Class of 1936. In 1940 he was graduated from West Virginia University, having majored in chemistry.

At the tune the war broke out he a government inspector for the. National Munitions Company at Eldrcd. He October of 1942 and studied meteorology at New York University. He was sent overseas In June, 1944. The lieutenant was a member of the'Phi Kappa Tau fraternity at Morgantown and served as president of the organization.

He was a member of the Christian Church of ConnellsviUe. On April 28, 1944, Lieutenant Henry was married to Miss Mary Dean Naff of Portland, Ark. Besides bis wife and parents there survive four brothers: First Lieutenant Earl in the antiaircraft service in France; Second Lieutenant Paul at Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Glenn, an accountant in Pittsburgh, and Donald at home. Wounded Again 289 PORTS PROPOSED' IN STATE PFC. W.

E. SMITH, JR. Private First Class Walter E. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs.

Walter E. Smith of near'Leisen- ring No. 1, was injured in action in February in Luxembourg, according to a telegram received Wednesday by his mother from the War Department. Pfc. Smith, who is with the 702nd Tank Battalion of General Patton's Third Army, wrote his parents that he will be confined to the hospital for several months and that he doesn't have a permanent address.

He suffered a wound ol the foot. This was the second time that Smith was wounded in action, first being Seotember in France. He was hospitalized from that time until December 11 and returned to his outfit January 20. In his letter, he said: "You should thank God daily in your prayers that I am here at all." The Smiths have a son, James in Burma. "Sewer Rentals" May Be Added To Water Bill By International News Service.

HAERISBURG, Feb. citizen who uses water will help pay for cleaning up the State's streams, under terms of a post-war stream clearance program taking form here for consideration of the State Legislature. The payments will take the form of "sewer rentals" to be added to the household water bills. The consumption of water will be taken as a measure ot the amount discharged into municipal sewers by that particular household. In this manner, in accordance with Governor Edward M'artin's recommendation, sewage disposal authorities rfould be enabled to finance sewage disposal plants and facilities "on a commercial and self-sustaining basis." The plan was drafted to enable municipalities to treat their own sewage without boosting taxes or incurring large debts.

They could finance their plants by revenue bonds, to be redeemed through added water charges. The bill of sewage disposal authorities has not yet been introduced in the Legislature, but it is one of the chief points in the Administration Stream Clearance program now under discussion. Other parts of the program include enactment of the pending bill in the House to amend the Pure Streams Law of 1937 by adding sections to deal with mine wastes and State appropriations to the Forests and Waters and Health Dspartments for stream clearance and sanitation. Helen iSpishak, Army Nurse, Promoted Dr. R.

M. Butlarmore Becomes Major; Serving in France Dr. Ralph M. Buttermore of Bellevue, Pittsburgh, formerly of Connellsville, has been promoted to major, according to word recently received from him. Major Buttermore, a graduate of Connellsville High School and Bethany College where he starred in football, is serving with the 99th U.

S. General Hospital in France, doing surgery. Ho went overseas a year ago. He also was graduated from West Virginia University at Morgantown, W. and Medical College of Hich- mcnd, being commissioned first lieutenant upon completing his work at the latter school.

Miss Helen Spishak, with the Army Nurse Corps at the 27th General Hospital, New Guinea, was promoted from second to first lieutenant February 16, according to a letter written to her mother, Mrs. Paul Sishak of Race street, South Connellsville. She was overseas a year February 4. Buys Drug Store. Walter Bixler has purchased the former Warren Brooks drug store at Dawson and has already taken charge.

He had been a pharmacist at Bejghlcy's Pharmacy on the West Side. BULLETINS WASHINGTON, Feb. Rules Committee today approved the Norses Draft Bill, thus clearing away the last obstale to a vote in Congress, probably later this week, on precedent-breaking legislation toinduct women Into the armed forces. By News Service. HARRISBURG, establishment of a network of 289 airports at a cost of more than $34,000,000 serve an anticipated fleet of 20,000 civilian aircraft in the decade following the end of the war was proposed today by the Pennsylvania Aeronautics Commission, Specifically, the commission recommended improvements to 95 airports and the- construction of 148 landing fields at an estimated cost of $34,512,700.

The program, financed jointly by the Commonwealth and local governments, did not call for any improvements on 46 airports now in use. Three measures carrying out the proposed program wei introduced in the House Monday night In a lengthy report submitted to the General Assembly, the commission urged initial engineering surveys costing an estimated $1, 380,580 to pave the way for the long-range program and to provide for future expansion. "It is proposed in the forthcoming bicnnium that two-filths the State's share this money for preliminary cnginearing be appropriated together with two- tenths of the estimated as the State's share of the total estimated construction cost," the report stated. "In formulating Pennsylvania's airport, plan, it bas been the objective of the Pennsylvania Aeronautics Commission to dcx'elop a network of airports so that every Pennsylvania municipality of or more population will be within five miles of an airport facility that is capable of handling the municipality's needs," thn commission pointed out. "Many airports in plan will serve several municipalities," it was added.

"It is planned that this objective be accomplished in 10 years (sooner if Federal aid is made available) so that Pennsylvania may reap the benefits of this rapidly-advancing branch of commerce." To Speak Here Pittsburgh's Rivers Will Go Over Flood Stage By International News PITTSBURGH, Feb. rive -s were expected to climb five 01 six feet above nood stage, cresting between 30 and 31 feet tomorrow, "Weatherman W. S. Brotzman said. He stated this would back up many sewers and flood downtown cellars along the rivers.

He predicted the river would overflow its banks on the lower North Side. The water was rising six inches an hour at 8 A. M. at the Point, the bureau said. Most' of the danger was from the Monongahela Hiver which was swollen by as much as two inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

Plane Pilots Say Japs Preparing For Invasion By International News Service. NEW YORK, Feb. is "preparing for an invasion," Lend radio said today in a broadcast recorded at the CBS short wave listening station. Air pilots yesterday reported seeing trenches and anti-tank obstacles on the beaches north of Tokyo," BBC added. JAN HOLLANDER Escaping from occupied Holland and eventually landing in America, Jan Hollander, a former Dutch journalist, will speak Wednesday before a joint meeting of the Kiwanls and Rotary clubs.

lie has an eye-witness story to tell about the Germans and their practices. It is believed the largest attendance ever to mark a joint session of the two service clubs will be registered tomorrow. Indecision Causes Bogging In Legislature By JAMES H. SMITH I. N.

S. Staff Correspondent. HARRISBUHG, Feb. General Assembly was bogged down today by indecision resulting from the failure of leaders to mold an agreement on stream pollution and the tardiness of the Senate in speeding the four House approved special tax bills to Governor Edward Martin's desk. The majority and minority leaders from the House and Senate were scheduled to meet today to consider amendments to a bill banning silt pollution of watenvays but there was no indication House Leader Franklin H.

Llchtenwaltcr of Le- hlgh would give the signal for Initial consideration by the fun membership. Measures re-enacting special levies on gross receipts, cigarets, corporate net incomes and liquor were temporarily sidetracked in the upper chamber, to permit insertion of undisclosed amendments, according to Senator James A. Geltz, Republican, Allegheny, chairman of the Finance Committee. The House was scheduled to convene at 1 o'clock this afternoon and the Senate two hours later. In the Senate non-partisan legislation regulating strip mining was read for the second time and placed in position for final consideration today.

Senate Minority Leader John H. Dent of Westmoreland, one of the sponsors, said the measure would be amended in the House to boost the bond penalty to $250 and to provide for pre-license determination of whether voids should be refilled. Three House bills were passed finally and sent to the Senate for concurrence including a measure which would permit the operation of six horsepower motorboats on Pymatuning Lake on the Pennsylvania-Ohio boundary line. YANKS 10 FROM COLOGNE ROTARY SPEAKER SAYS ANZ ACS LOOK TO U. S.

TO WORLD TO SANITY To Outlaw Wire Tapping. HAERISBURG, Feb. 27. tapping" would be specifically banned under the pro- of a bill before the House today. The measure recommended a $1,000 fine or two years imprisonment for persons convicted tapping telephone or telegraph lines.

Australia 1 joks to the United States to lead the world "out of insanity into sanity, out of selfishness into unselfishness," Archibald Gilchri told an audience of several hu ndred persons Monday evening the High School in' the opening the Rotary Club's Institute of International Understanding. ou take the lead. The rest will follow you," he said in mcludmg an discussion Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific as a feature of the general their "New' Forces in World As to the British Common- tions, Australia adheres and 11 adhere firmly to its membership therein, said Mr. Gilchrist in isserting unadulterated loyalty the mother country. As to Aus ralia, Mr.

Gilchrist sees a great future in which Amer.ca will play a leading part. The future our great country" will not com 3 the United Kingdom, btt from the United Slates. He redicted a great influx of Ame icans mto the land "down under as a follow-up of the war. i American engineers will join wit Australians in development of the country. Australia and New Zealand, said the spe; ker, have laid their foundations the postwar era as follows: 1.

There i lust be a world authority to ta te the place of the League of tions. 2. There nust be a regional subsidiary fo the Southwest Pacific. 3. Whatcv happens, now or in time, the British Common- wealtn of Nations must continue.

There rnusi be no disintegration, he emphasut d. Speaking of Australia's forward positio i among the democracies, r. Gilchrist pointed to its introd iction of the secret ballot away ack in 1856; to the fact that thi American election system is bued on Australia's. Earlier the yjnerican system of voting was i iven the name, the Australian b. Uot.

An interes ing sidelight dealt with the Aus raliati poll tax. Thia is impobwl a a penalty for failure to vote, rather than as a requisite to he use of the ballot privilege. A result has been almost 100 per i ent turnout at elections. In Melbourne, his home, for example he reported 98 per cent. The people like it.

They prefer ballot' to bullets. The peo- pls demand emocratic privileges, he said, so he government sees that they ext rcise them. A penal- Continuet on Page Two. River Reselling After Reaching Near Flood Stage The Sfougl iogheny River rose within half foot of flood stage early thj's morning in the wake of the week-end precipitation but was receding at daybreak, according to Emeiy C. Stewart, local weather obsi rver.

The rainfall at 4 A. M. Monday measured .05 of an inch and five hours later in additional .78 of an inch came down while the rain and snow uj to 6 A. M. today amounted to .65 of an inch, making a total 1.48 inches of precipitation.

The rain rd snow on top of an additiona thaw over the weekend started the Youghiogheny Hiver on the uptrend. At 7 A. M. Monday, the river stage registered 5.51 feet while the crest was reached at 5 o'clock this morning with a reading feet but two hours Liter it showed 12.27 feet as the decline got under way. The flood sta jc here is 13 feet.

Futile to Resist Longer, Churchill Informs Germans By International News Service. LONDON, Feb. 27. Prime Minister Winston Churchill called upori the Nazis today to recognize the futile hope of dividing the Allies, promising that further resistance will only cause endless German suffering and declaring that nothing can avert Germany's utter defeat. The British leader's statement was made as he went before the of Commons to task a vote of confidence on the decisions reached by his government with the United States and Russia at the big three conference at Yalta.

Chrysler Workers Tie Up Output Of War Material By International News Service. DETROIT, Feb. 27. The Chrysler Corporation charged today that UAW-CIO representatives in two Chrysler plants which are not on strike refused to work with material brought in by the Army and Navy. The company spokesman also revealed that the U.

S. Army was forced to enter the strikebound Dodge main plant yesterday and remove a small truck load of emergency parts to be shipped overseas. At the same time, the Navy called on the Army to a truck to the Chrysler Plymouth plant to remove guns for firing test. The union knew of the Army's action and approved of it, it was learned. An overall total of 17,154 workers was reported idle at last count.

If the strike continues lothe end of the week, a company spokesman said, 100,000 120,000 Chrysler employes wil be made idle. Miners Serve Strike Notice; Seek Pay Hike By PHILIP J. PECK I. N. S.

Staff Correspondent. WASHINGTON, Feb. R. Burke, president of the Southern Coal Operators Association, today branded as "a complete fabrication" the United Mine Workers charge that the Government and the mine owners have conspired to sabotage the coal-wage negotiations opening Thursday. "That is a complete fabrication from start to finish," Burke declared.

"There is not a word of truth in it. The one purpose we have had and stUl have is to sit down on March 1, dispense with all unnecessary preliminaries, and try in the utmost good faith to negotiate an agreement." -In -letters -government agencies," Lewis, "militant chief of the UMW, accused the Government of inviting the operators to adopt "a do-nothing attitude" in the collective bargaining parley, maintain the status quo and simply await 'seizure of the mines when the present contract expires March 31. "It was very unwise for one of the partners to the collective bar- Continued on Page Two. LEE TELLS HOW "WHITE ANGEL" KILLED HIS SECOND AMERICAN BY BEHEADING HIM WITH MILITARY SWORD (Editor's Note: Following is the second ol four blunt, factual articles setting forth a documented and hitherto undisclosed example of unparalleled Japanese savagery the reatment 'of American prisoners of war during 29 months of incarcera- tloh at the Nichols Field slave camp near Manila. The story was discovered and verified by one of the oremost reporters of the day, Clark Lee, noted author and war correspondent of International News Service, one of the last Americans leave Bataan and among the first return with General Douglas MacArthur in the liberation).

By CLARK LEE I. N. S. Staff Correspondent. MANILA, Feb.

more a year, more than 600 Amer- ai Nichols Field prison project outside Manila were at the nercy of a gang of murderous, arutal Japanese naval landing party troops under a lieutenant name Moto-San, but nicknamed 'the white angel." Moto committed his first cold- blooded murder a helpless American with a pistol. For his second he used a sword, to behead an American Marine. The Marine endursd daily beatings for months, and then one day he made a break to escape. Five hours later the Japs found him in the long grass off the runway. Moto-San ordered his execution.

Again, an American officer was called upon as a witness. The Marine was taken outside the prisoners' barracks and forced to kneel. Steadily and unwaveringly he looked at White Angel as the Jap officer drew his sword and stepped forward. It wasn't or neat. It was a brutal hacking to death.

When the American was finally dead, a Jap firing squad fired a salute. After Moto had bathed and washed off the blood and changed to a clean, white uniform he lined up all prisoners outside the barracks and made a speech through a Filipino-Japanese interpreter known Lo the prisoners by a contemptuous--and unprintable--nickname. Moto was more than half drunk and ill a serious mood. "The American Marine Corps," he said, "should be proud of a man who died like--." Then he warned other would- be escapees that they would receive similar treatment. Even in eath, Moto couldn't leave the alone.

The white angel got in his car and went to Marila where he bought a white era and a bouquet ol flowers. He buried the Marine near the bar acks and placed the cross and flowers on the grave. Again he ummoned more than BOO America) i prisoners and made them march past the grave, while a photographer took pictures of thern and Moto, standing in a military pos" beside the cross. That was to show the world how well tl Japanese treated Americans ho were unfortunate enough to le of illness" in prison camps. The after loon of the parade past the grx ve, Moto summoned the America! camp captain and told him he was responsible for the Marine': attempted escape.

"I'll let in live until midnight," Mote told him. "This is the last day you'll see the sun." Th; captai i waited, but at midnight the wl ite angel was drunk and didn't i ppear. The next lay he told the captain, who id endured hours of living death "I'm not i oing to kill you yet. can still get work out of you." To prevent escapes, the Japanese installed a modified version of the "10 family system" that prevails in their country and hi conquered countries. The American prisoners were divided into groups of 10 and told that if one man escaped, and was not recaptured, the nine others would be shot.

Nevertheless, five men tried it. Four were retaken and brutally beaten until nearly dead, but the fifth got away. The remaining nine of his group were executed by a firing squad. Among the nine was his brother. Thereafter the A i a agreed among themselves not to try to escape.

Moto had other tricks 'beside cold-blooded murder. One favorite was to force prisoners who could hardly walk to double- time for three-quarters of an hour, running bare-footed on the gravel until their feet were gashed and bleeding and each step was a terrible torment. Anybody who fell down would be Continued on Page Six. J3y International News Service. The American First and Ninth armies rolled eastward from their Roer River bridgehead today and- seized positions only slightly more than 10 miles from the great German industrial city of Cologne and 15 miles from Duesseldorf.

The American First Army cuuved up artillery and started shelling Cologne, the fourth largest city of the Reich, as the Yank offensive clawed nearer the Rhine through gaps torn in the crumbling Nazi defense lines. Spearheads of Lieutenant General Courtney H. Pledges' First Army drove into Blatzheim, 12 miles from Cologne, cleared it of enemy forces, and Advanced almost two miles more along the highway to the great Rhine industrial centers. American artillerymen brought up their guns behind the armor and infantry advances and started throwing shells into the city, which for months has been within range only of Allied aircraft. Farther north the Ninth Army of Lieutenant General William H.

Simpson stabbed into the village of-Kirchherten, southeast of Erkelenz, and only 15 miles from the vital rail hub of Dusseldorf. South of the expanding Roer front the U. S. Third Army of Lieutenant General George S. Patton wrested gains of up to two miles along a 30-mile front.

The Fourth. Armored Division under Patton's command raced to within a mile of Bitburg, the next major goal of the Third Army. At the northern end of the Western. Front the hard-hitting Canadian First Army, bolstered with columns of British and Scottish troops, drove through the town of Uedem to within 1,000 yards of the Hochwald forest after crushing increasingly stubborn Nazi opposition. Between Uedem and the important Siegfried bastion of Calcar, the Dominion forces scored gains of three and one-half miles and entered Calcar itself.

The German radio again indicated that Allied bombers today had renewed their attacks against the Reich while the Air Ministry disclosed that RAF Mosquito bombers.had blasted Berlin for the seventh successive night. On the Eastern Front, the Russians were apparently consolidating their forces for new smashes against Berlin and Dresden as the First Ukrainian Army mounted a new threat against Saxony in an advance north of the Czechoslovak border. In the Pacific theater, three Marine divisions continued to battle the desperately-fighting Japs for Iwo Jiina, the strategically important Volcano island 750 miles south of Tokyo. Lieutenant General Holland M. (Howling Mad) Smith admitted that bitter fighting still faced his forces but ae confidently told John R.

Henry. International News correspondent, that "we expect to take this island in a lew days." In the Philippines General Douglas MacArthur announced a'new landing on Verde Island to remove lvi a threat from his supply lines and at last reports the enemy garrison had been compressed in a pocket along the eastern coast. Task Force 58 Spreads Disaster Among Japanese By News Service. ADVANCED PACIFIC FIJEET HEADQUARTERS, Guam, Feb. planes of the daring and powerful U.

S. Task Force 58, raiding the Tokyo area for the second time in little more than a week, destroyed or damaged at least 233 Jap aircraft and 31 enemy vessels, headquarters announced today. Fleet Adm. Chester M. Nimitz, in a special communique, told of the daring penetration of Japanese homewaters in which Vice Adm.

Marc A. Mitscher's airmen blasted enemy air, communications and industrial installations at the Nipponese capital as well, as on Hachijo Island, only 150 miles south of Tokyo bay. In the sti'l'es, American losses werp placed at nine jplanes and four pilots lost, while "minor damage" was suffered by two light units of thu task force -which again escaped "major" damage. Soldier Pro moled, Brother Commended Mrs. James Artis of 317 East Peach street, has received word from her son, James Russell Artis, that he has been promoted to the rank of sergeant.

He is somewhere in Germany. Another son, Roy who is somewhere in Belgium, has received a citation for his part in battling the flying bomb attack against England, which was accorded to his gun battalion in a letter received from Colonel R. W. Russell, commander of the British organization under which the unit worked. The gun battalion was praised for its defense against the V-l bombs.

Men 30-33 Face Call in Draft WASHINGTON, Feb. Service decreed induction for a considerable number of presently-deferred men in-the age through Heretofore industrial deferments have been granted men 30 24 who were "regularly engaged in" essential work. The new regulation means that physically-fit men in the 30 to 34 who do not meet the 'necessary to" test will face the prospect of induction. It ends the granting of deferment to physically-fit men in the age group who do not hold indis- ensable posts in war production or essential civilian activities. Selective Service told local wards that requirements of the armed forces ior combat replacements have "sharply Increased." It also says the supply of physically-'nt men in the age jroup 18 through 25 is "prac- ically exhausted." It also pointed out that the supply ot men 26 29 is "extremely limited." As for the 30-33 group, fathers will be given greater consideration than non-lathers in requests for occupational deferments.

Bury Marines at Sea. PEARL HARBOR, Feb. the guns roaring on Iwo as a background, wounded Marines who died after being taken aboard a transport were buried at sea with full military honors Quits Red Cross Post. Ann Pie has resigned as home service of Fayette County Chapter, American Red Cross, at Uniontown which she has ailed since last August. TJ.

C. Payments $410. Unemployment compensation payments in the Connellsville district amounted to $410 during the week ended IV'iruary 21. Registrants to Be Examined Tomorrow Registrants of Westmoreland County Local Draft Board No. 8 who have been ordered to report Wednesday for their pre-induction physical examinations at Pittsburgh include: Louis Carl Moore, Ruffsdale, R.

D. 2. John Richard Overly, Ruffs- dale, R. D. 1.

David Leonard Miller, New Slanton. Kenneth George Biggerstaff, Hunker. Samuel Allen VanDyke, Hunker, R. D. 1.

Wesley Eugene Trout, Hunker, R. D. 1. The Weather Occasional snow showers today and tonight, clearing tomorrow no change ir temperature is the forecast of the Connellsville Airport Weather Bureau. Maximum, today Minimum tonight Maximum Monday Minimum Monday Sunset-today 7:09 p.

Sunrise. Wednesday 7:55 A. M..