Altoona Tribune from Altoona, Pennsylvania • Page 1

THE WEATHER '43 BLAIR TRAFFIC TOLL '42 oil. Accidents 108 59 Injuml ....110 1 Ueud 16 Si Warmer Hi STAT: 7 1 43 CORNING, APRIL 15, 1943 THREE CENTS ten' mi 84 TO I mm SDKS GAEL'S Reported Missing Gen. Patton's Daughter Buys Bond Test Blackout I 1 rko ro Catches CountviJaPS OSe By Surprise pg jR 30 Raid A' ft XW War Bond Drive Nears Million Dollars 'They Give Their Lives, You Lend Your Money' Is Campaign Slogan AUoonans are responding to the call in the Second War Loan campaign by buying $950,500 of bonds during the first two days of the campaign, according to a report given yesterday by John Lloyd and Tom Raugh, co-chairman of the war finance committee in the county. One fourth of the $3,600,000 goal was purchased by individuals and business firms. The campaign continuing through April is stressing "They GIVE their lives you LEND your money." The committee reporting through Mr.

Lloyd and Mr. Raugh is as follows: Reporting Agencies: Altoona: First National Bank, Altoona $975,000 Altoona Trust company 60 000 Central Trust company 23.000 HoHiJaysburg: Hollidaysburs Trust On Milne Bay Enemy Pushes Offensive in Bid for Air Supremacy in Pacific ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Thursday, April 15 (AP) The Japanese lost 30 out of more than 80 planes they sent in Wednesday's raid on Milne bay, New Guinea, as they pressed their bid for the air supremacy which General 'Mac Arthur has said will decide the war in the western Pacific, the high command announced today. LA jg Ld Air Attacks Aimed At Isolating Axis Army Flying Fortresses Batter Rommel's Rear Bases in Sicily To Cut Enemy Supply Lines ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, April 11 (JP The Allied high command announced today a stunning; (ilto-S aerial victory which shredded Marshal Rommel's sky cover and further menaced his thin supply line on the eve of the climactic flglit for survival by his corner Tunisian troops. American Flying Fortresses led a tremendous assault on Rommel's rear bases in Sicily, destroying 77 planes. Seven more were shot down in other operations during yesterday.

Heavy German reliance on aerial transports Indicated the gravity of Rommel's supply problem as Allied ground troops closed on the enemy's last mountain bastions. ALLIES CLOSING IN The British Eighth army al-teady was probing the Enftdaville defenses 50 miles south of Tunl3; the British' First army was moving in from the west much nearer than that to tne Tunisian capital, and French and American troops were deploying in the southwest for coordinated blows that are ex Mrs. John K. Waters of Hamilton, daughter of Lieut. Gen.

George S. Patton, buys the first war bond in New Eng-land at the opening of the Second War Loan drive. W. V. Paddock, president of the Federal Reserve bank of Boston, is the salesman.

it Bomb School Attended IJere By Many "Blair county from an altitude of 30,000 feet is half the size of this auditorium. The network of historical highways, chain railroad tricks the famous Hoiae-shoe Curve and the dome of the Cathedral, however, are unmistakable guides tor enemy bombers." Lf Col. M. Resni Coff. at the Lincoln school auditorium last evening, told over 130 students representing railroads, public utilities, leading industries, city and county and state police, fire departments, public works, public institutions and CD officials of Blair and adjoining counties assembled to pursue a course of instruction in Bomb Reconnaissance.

Colonel Resnl Coff pointed out that "enemy objectives for aerial attack include facilities and establishments which support the operators of the armed forces such as textile, rayon and knitting mills, machine shops, radio tube plants, and railroad repair shops located in Altoona." Throughout the lectures and demonstrations, actual bombs, fuses, anti-aircraft shells, parachutes, incendiaries, booby traps and motion pictures are utilized. Subjects covered last night included: methods of reporting through channels unexploded and delayed-action high explosive bombs, various phases of bomb detection, reasons for evacuation of civilian personnel from the danger area, restriction of traffic to avoid loss of life and property damage, also precautionary measures to be taken in order to minimize possible destruction to essential equipment and public Utilities. Major General Milton A. Reck-ard, commanding general, Third Service Command, has announced (Continnrd on Tajte 9. Col.

5) Newry Lad Struck by Auto Paul Muri, 11, Newry, was admitted to the Mercy hospital last evening for injuries to the chest and brush burns suffered when he ran in front of an automobile driven by Roy Moyer, Puzzle-town. Moyer was attempting to park his automobile in front of St Patrick's Catholic church in Newry when the lad ran in front of the car and fell. One wheel passing over the boy's chest. The full extent of the lad's injuries will not be determined until some time today. He was an altar boy of St Patrick's church.

Rommel 'Great General But No Superman' ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, April 14. General Dwight D. Eisenhower calls Marshal Erwin Rommel "a gr. general" but "not a superman" and adds he is confident that the Axis leader and his troops, despite his eneralship, will be thrown out of Africa. The commander In chief of the Allied forces in north Africa made known these views in an interview with Philippe Soupalt for "France Afrique." the French news 'gency, wh'ch will be published tomorrow in the weekly Tarn." No Violations Reported, Rut Outlying Sections Report Signals Were Not Heard Some difficulties were encountered during last night's surprise air raid test, in that the sirens were almost inaudible throughout the Columbia Park, Allegheny Furnace, South Altoona and Eldorado sections and many air raid wardens throughout the city who are not called on the first or yellow signal, were unaware there was a test until the blue signal, which was the time the general public knew.

The lights in some of these sections did not go out until the second blue signal at which time the air raid wardens were able to inform the people there was an air raid test. NO VIOLATIONS In spite of these difficulties, however, there were no violations reported last night. No Incidents were staged. It was decided not to dispatch city equipment after the last test at which time a number of incidents were staged. However, there were control center exercises.

Roy Thompson, chief air raid warden, asks wardens not to stop curs hearing the official OCD pennants, which are to travel on both the blue and red signals with lights on low beam. The signals were received at city hall at the following time: Yellow at 8:45 p. m. Blue at 9 p. m.

Red at 9:10 p. m. Second blue at 9:20 p. m. White or all clear, at 9:30 p.

m. A full complement was on duty at the control center, with either the principal or his alternative present. They are as follows: AT CONTROL CENTER Dr. Guy S. Tippery, acted as commander in the absence of Mayor Rhodes; William "oush, executive chairman; George Jan-sen, assistant executive chairman: Lt.

L. W. F. Haberstroh, police; Roy Thompson, chief air raid warden; Dr. J.

D. Findley, medical; Clifford L. highways; John C. Calhoun, water; Charles E. Morrison, firemen, acted in this capacity in the absence of Jacob Weber; George Brisbin, utilities; Paul FUckinger, acting controller, and Charles Downes, communication chairman.

Also present at the control center were: George Burley, chief panel clerk; William Bashore, assistant chief air raid warden: Chalmers Barr, Red Cross; Mrs. Hazel Lucas, chief telephonist, and the four telephone operators, Captain Mrs. Bertha Baith, Mrs. Anna Wagner, Mrs. Edna McCartney and Mrs.

Thomas Shute. Lt. Haberstroh reported that there were four squads of auxiliary police. 650 auxiliary policemen, in addition to the entire regular force except those on vacation or ill, on duty. Mr.

Morrison reported there were 86 auxiliary firemen and 25 regular firemen in addition to the three city nurses and 10 men of (Continued on race 9. Col 1) Passengers Tell of 'Lower 13 Murder ALB ANT, April 14 (IP) Passengers who saw a man run away from the struggling blood-smeared form of Virginia Martha James in the aisle of a Pullman car contributed their stories to the lower berth 13 murder trial today. The state contends Robert E. Lee Folkes, 20 year old dining car cook was that man, and that he slashed the attractive young bride's throat when she resisted his advances. His murder trial, now in its second week, was resumed today with Leroy Lomax, Folke's attorney, evidently recovered from an attack of influenza nnd bronchitia It had been recess.J since Monday.

Ralph Conner a Seattle store manager, who was asleep in upper 9 as the Southern Pacific's west coast limited roared toward Eugene. Ore, before dawn on Janu-Konlinord 9. Col- -) WEAR SIMMS DLVMONDS AND a LIEUT. TOM HARMON Tom Harmon, Great Grid Hero, Missing ANN ARBOR, April 14. (JP) Lieut.

Thomas Dudley Harmon, football star at the University of Michigan in 1938, 1939 and 1940 and the greatest scorer in gridiron history, Is "missing li. the South American area," but his shocked parents were clinging staunchly tonight to the hope that he Is still alive. Faced with a terse telegram from the war department which expressed "deep regret'' that their pilot son had not been heard from since April 8, Tom's parents waited in the house he built for them here and voiced their faith that he would bob up before long "somewhere" and safe. "Tom is strong and knows how to take care of himself," said his father, Louis A. Harmon.

"We can only pray now." The 23-year old former All-American of 1939 and 1940 entered the army air forces a year ago. He received his silver wings as a twin-engine bomber pilot at Williams field, October 30, 1942. A fortnight ago, Tom's parents received a letter from him saying he was in the Caribbean area, out of the country for the first time. was dated April 4. Four days later he vanished.

Harmon left the country in a plane which bore the legend, "Old 98 Old Butch" after the number he carried to fame on the gridiron. "I'll get that first Jap for Michigan," he wrote a friend here recently. OPA May Order Lower Meat Prices WASHINGTON, April 14 (IP) OPA 'hinted strongly it will order lower retail prices for meat in suspending today until May 17 new dollar-and-cents ceilings on beef, veal, lamb and mutton, originally scheduled to become effective tomorrow In accompanying actions, the agency clamped ceilings on horse meat and approved corn transportation subsidies intended to hold down prices of dairy and poultry products and encourage increased production of them in areas where feed is short Price Administrator Prentiss Brown explained the delay would permit "a full reexamination of the ceilings to Insure they are in accord with the directive (from President Roosevelt requiring a tight holding of the line on cost of living items." It was indicated a revised order might widen the differential be tween chain and independent store prices. The original schedule permitted a differential of one to three cents per pound on meats, between chain and independent stores. When first announced, the order was described by OPA officials as effecting a material reduction, on the average.

In existing retail meat prices. Today, officials, unwilling to be quoted by name, said it appeared the reduction was more theoretical than real. They explained it reduced ceilings of small stores which were not selling much meat but apparently did not mean i lower prices on most of the meat i actually being sold The raiders, striking at the Allies base on the southeastern tip of the Papuan peninsula, hit three small Allied shops, one of which was beached. The Japanese losses brought to more than 100 the number of planes shot down since they launched their series of heavy assaults with a big raid on Oro bay Sunday, In that raid, and another Monday against Port Moresby, together with correlated opoations, the enemy had lost 76 planes out of approximately J00 they employed. Meanwhile, the Allies kept up their 0wn aerial offensive, Uiking a 6.000 ton cargo ship in Hansa bay, New Guinea, where a 10.000 ton and an 8,000 ton ship had been hit in a previous raid.

A light cruiser was damaged by Allied bombs in the Arafura sea. The employment, by the Japanese of more than 80 planes in the Milne bay raid in the face of their heavy losses earlier in the week indicated clearly their determination to seize the aerial initiative which long has been in Allied hands in the southwest Pacific. They previously had used 85 and 45 planes in separate assaults against Oro bay and approximately 100 asainst Port Moresby. "From 75 to 100 enemy aircraft, comprising 46 medium and dive bombers with fighter escort, raided the area at midday," the communique said of the Milne bay operations. "Damge to shore installations was negligible.

Our fighters and anti-aircraft batteries engaged the raiders and shot 30 enemy planes out of action. "Of these, 22 were bombers and eight fighters." Of the 30, the communique said 15 were seen to crash, nine were seen falling and six were seen to receive bursts. "It is unlikely that they were able to return to base," the communique said, adding that "our own fighter losses were moderate." Coal Operators Reject 6-Day Work Week NEW YORK, April 14 (P Southern soft coal operators rejected today a government proposal for an annual six-day work week guarantee as a basis for negotiating a new contract with the United Mine Workers and called again for certification of the dispute to the war labor board. Accepted by principle by John L. Lewis, president of the UMW, in lieu of a $2 a day wage Increase demand, the proposal was turned down yesterday by northern operators who today described it as "wholly Inaceeptable." The proposal, submitted by V.

S. Conciliation Chief John R. Steelman for Secretary of Labor Perkins, would provide a six-day week for the 450.000 miners with time and one-half guaranteed for the sixth day. Bituminous Coal Act Extended WASHINGTON, April 14. UP) The house ways and means committee approved 21 to 1 today a resolution to extend the bituminous coal act for four months beyond its April 26 expiration date.

The brief extension was agreed upon because pressure of other business in the committee hearings at this time on a proposal for a three-year continuance. It appeared, however, that when the measure comes to the house floor an effort will be made to t. te'- the administration of the act from Interior Secretary Ickes and place it in the hands of a three-man commission representing the coa miners and the public. Japs on Kiska Under All-Dav Air Attacks WASHINGTON, April 14 vP)-Aerial teams of swift medium bombers and high speed, heavily gunned fighters bombed and shot up the Japanese on Kiska island all day Monday, the navy reported today in the latest of a series of communiques telling of offensive blows at the enemy in the north Pacific. Six raids were made on Japanese installations in a single day, the communique said, and hits were scored on the runway, gun emplacements and the camp area.

Previously six raids in one day had been described by participants in the area as keeping the enemy under attack virtually from dawn to dark. Reporting also on action in the south the communlqua said that army Liberator heavy bombers raided the Japanese air base area at Munda, 190 miles northwest of Guadalcanal airfield, (Continnrd on Face 9. Col. 1) RAF Strikes Again at Axis Territory By ERNEST AGNEW LONDON, Thursday, April 15. (VP) Heavy RAF bombers, following up an attack Tuesday night on the Italian naval base of Spezia, winged across the Strait of Dover in great strength for an hour and half last night and early today.

Minutes after the first planes had crossed the channel, residents on the southeast coast heard a heavy roll of what was apparent ly intense anti-aircraft fire from the French coast. Then the Axis- trolled radic stations at Paris, Calais, the Deutschlandsender, Frankfurt and Breelau left the air. Zurici and Basel in Switzerland also were reported to have had alerts, possibly indicating another raid on Italian territory. Observers said the force of bombers, clearly visible in the bright moonlight, was "one of the largest which has crossed the strait in Lorn had its first night alert since March 8 with some planes reported over the far outlying srburbi. and some slight, scattered gunfire, but there were neither reports of bombs nor casualties.

The RAF had pounded Spezia with block-buster bombs Tuesday night, and the British Africa command announced yesterday that its bombers had showered explosives On Messina and Palermo in Sicily Monday night in an offensive w'-ich has caught vulnerable Italy in an aerial vise. Returning airmen said Italian defenses were "pathetic" during the raid, which was officially described as heavy, and they told of tremendous explosions being touched off and thick palls of smoke arUing over Spezia. One airman said he saw a large ship burning in the outer harbor." Fuel Administrator Mayor Charles E. Rhodes yes- terday appointed Councilman Chf-1 a i r- i trator under the OPA. McCarney will check fuel distribution of all oity equipment.

YOU WfcAB THE FINEST i Scrap Drive Total Reaches 45 Tons The district to be covered in today's collection of scrap embraces the Fifth, Ninth and Twelfth wards, beginning at Sixteenth street, south to Sixtieth street city line and from Tentli avenue to Thirtieth avenue city line. Collections are made on streets and avenues, not in alleys. Tin cans are not collected with the scrap, they will be collected May 5. Although weather conditions were far from favorable, 25 tons of scrap were collected This makes a total of 45 tons collected the first two days of the drive, which salvage officials consider a goodly amount However, this does not mean that residents of Altoona and Logan township should relax their efforts in accumulating and setting out their scrap. Lee J.

Buechele. chairman of the salvage committee, yesterday received a bulletin from Paul C. Cabot, W. P. B.

director of the salvage division at Harrisburg, 'n which Mr. Cabot stresses the great need for scrap. The bulletin reads in part: "Some 60 90 days ago, some steel mills indicated their unwillingness to buy high cost remote scrap although all were anxious to buy prepared scrap at local ceiling prices. This situation has changed completely in the last 30 days and these few individual mills are to date clamoring for allocations and are accepting such allocations from the most remote areas in the country. "The steel division of the W.

P. B. has revised the estimated needs for scrap in 1943, sharply upward. in the hands of consumers have declined in January and February, many dealers report to us that scrap flowing into their yards has decreased anywhere from 50 to 75 per cent. "The need for heavy scrap such as occurs on farms, business places and homes is particularly great Unless we continue our collection efforts with the cooperation of the people with the utmost determination, we are in (Continued on Page 9, Col.

3) Reporters Protest Gov't Restrictions WASHINGTON, -April 14. vP In a letter to President Roosevelt the committee on Washington correspondents said today that re; trictions placid on newspaper reporters at the forthcoming international food conference constitute "a denial of legitimate news to the American public and hence an abridgment of the freedom of tfie press." The committee, represents 560 American ad foreign correspondents with membership in the congressional press galleries, said It had beer, advised that newspaper reporters would be excluded from all contact with the delegates, and from all deliberations except for perfunctory opening and closing sessions, of the conference starting May IS at the Homestead hotel in Hot Springs, Va. The committee said it was "par- i ticularly concerned'' lest the ar- rang.ments for the food confer- ence form the pattern for press arrangements at future international conferences I company Citizens' National bank Roaring Spring: Roaring Spring Bank Tyrone S2.500 17.500 67,500 First County National Bank 100.000 Claysburg: First National bank 23.000 Total $950,500 "Every man, woman and child in Blair county should not only work for the success of the second war loan, but should make a personal sacrifice to purchase one of more of the securities offered, because there is one to fit every pocket-book." according to George P. Gable, president of the William F. Gable company and active in civic and welfare societies in the city and county.

"This is a season of sacrifice. Millions of our men in the armed forces are offering the supreme sacrifice, if necessary, to win this war. Men from this county are among them. It is the least we can do, to make some personal sacrifice now by buying bonds offered in the second war loan, to support their efforts, especially since we will be building-up a reserve purchasing power for tomorrow and get our money back with interest "But there is another vital reasonvital to every family in Blair county, why we should not only buy bonds during this drive ourselves, but do everything possible toward seeing that everyone else buys them. That reason is to ward off inflation.

"Money that is hoarded away whether it be in a bank account, in a safety deposit vault, in a teapot in the pantry or in your pocket is loose money, slacker money, that isn't doing you any good now. but which, added to all of the other demand money in the country, can and assuredly will contribute to inflation unless it is invested in government bonds or some other form of such as insurance. "Inflation is a vicious circle. Prices soar. money you are making today wouldn't meet the cost of living and.

as prices mounted, the ccst of living would mount until money, actuallv, would be worth nothing. It happened in Germany. It has happened, to a lesser, but no less uncomfortable, degree at times i.i this country. It would mean not only national bankruptcy but ruin for every individual family. "There is.

quite evidently, a lot of money here and everywhere else that should be Invested in this second war loan. People are simply not buying enough bonds. That is evidenced by figures released by the securities and exchange commission on the increase in individual cash holdings and deposits in checking accounts. "During. 1943.

these cash holdings and deposits in checking accounts the "loose money" in-(Continurd on Pase 9. 2) NOTICE Want to tell the world about something? The Tribune classified section will carry your message and deliver it promptly. PHONE 8181 Ak for Classified Dept. pected to pusli the of Rommel and Col. Gen Jurgen von Arnin into the Mediterranean.

A French communique said the mountains west and northwest of Kairouan had been cleaned out with 1,100 prisoners taken, 500 Axis dead counted, and 18 cannon captured. A junction also was reported made with the Eighth army north of Kairouan. Lieut. Gen. K.

A. N. Anderson's First army made further advances in its effort to clean out the mountains between Medjez-El-Bab and Mateur preliminary to a direct strike toward Tunis, which is only 35 air line miles from Medjez-El-Bab. "Air operations." said the Allied communique laconically, "were directed largely against enemy airfields" and it was left to a spokesman to tell the story of the greatest series of blows yet delivered from the sky in the north African theater. American Flying Fortresses yesterday thundered over the 'astelvetrano in Sicily, catching 112 big enemy air transports on the ground at the first and 106 Axis planes groimded at the second.

In sharp actions, 51 enemy transports wore de-strojed at Castlevetrano and many others badly damaged; at Mllit at least 22 enemy planes were smashed and fires from a hluzing gasoline dump were set leaping among others. The day was rounded off by the destruction of 11 more Axis planes for certain, four of them going down in flames under the gunfire of the fortresses coming back from Sicily. These attacks (which in all likelihood accounted for a total considerably greater than the minimum and certain figure of 84 enemy planes) were synchronized with assaults upon the surviving Axis airdromes in Tunisia itself Megrine at Fochville on the outskirts of Tunis and Oudna, south of Tunis (Not oniy the Tunisian Allied air forces but British home-based bombers and RAF planes under the middle east command were pounding violently at the Italian tase-land. It was announced In London that Spezia, the naval base In northern Italy below Genoa, and the Palermo and Messina harbors in Sicily had been heavily bombed. (The British air force based on Malta also was In the thick of what appeared to be an unprecedented effort to bomb the Axis clear out of the Mediterranean sea, a communique announcing successful attacks on enemy airdromes on Pantelleria island between Sicily and Tunisia and sweeps over Sicily itself.

'One of three Axis naval vessels attacked in these MalU-bsstd I sweeps was destroy edj I 4.