Bradford Evening Star and The Bradford Daily Record from Bradford, Pennsylvania • Page 1

FORD TAR WEATHER: Sunny but cool, clear and continued cold tonight. Bradford, Wednesday Evening, May 9, 1945. Associated Press Vol. XXXVII. No.

70. NEA Features Four Cents BRAD EVEN NG Km pacing- FSgjIniGniragj- on BUD 'Coming Events tms Unconfirmed Report States Germans Bomb Prague; May Be Trick Against Yanks BULLETIN London, May S-itf'i-Premier-Marshal Stalin tonight announced the liberation of Prague. To Argentina Oil Action Is Effective Today; However, ODT Restrictions On Horse Shipment Still On Washington, May 9 -(AP)- Immediate lifting of the midnight entertainment curfew and the ban on horse and dog racing was announced today. Fred M. Vinson, director of war mobilization and reconversion, said that the action was effective as of today and quipped: "The curfew shall not ring tonight." He toid a news conference that the lifting of the ban on race meets did not affect restrictions of the Office of Defense Transportation on the shipment of race horses, and referred inquiries respecting these restrictions to ODT officials.

By BOMXEV WHEELER London, May 9-(AP)-A station calling itself the Prague i radio said today Russian troops had entered the Czecho-; Slovakia capital and that German planes bombed the city and three other points in the republic shortly afterward. A Hostilities Europe officially ended at 12:01 a. m. battlefront time. At about the same time the Germans surrendered the three French Atlantic ports and U-boat bases of Lorient.

St. Nazaire and La Rochelle. A French communique said they had been occupied. The only Germans remaining unsurrendered on French soil were some 12,000 at Dunkerque, the channel port through which the British Expeditionary Force escaped in 1940. About 79,000 Germans were be- The Yank fighting man has already cast the shadow of defeat over Japan, but (riving substance to the shadow will require long months of hard fighting by him and bard work by the home front.

The photo above is a poster displayed in all hotels of the Army Ground and Service Forces Redistribution where veterans of the European war will be reprocessed for new service In the Pacific. THE WAR TODAY By DeWitt MacKenzie Associated Press Wat Analyst Germany's capitulation will release a tornado of military power against the remaining world enemy Japan. Japan yesterday received stern warning from both President Truman and British Prime Minister Churchill of the storm which will rend her until she surrenders unconditionally. Mr. Truman, however, injected a significant note which is receiving wide attention.

He held up to the Japanese people the advantages of capitulation, and concluded a statement to the press with this: "It (unconditional surrender) 26 Minor U. S. Fleet Units Sunk by Japs Says Nimitz Guam, May 9-(AP) -Twenty-six minor U. S. fleet units, ranking from ammunition ships to landing craft, have been sunk by Japanese aerial attacks during the Okinawa operation "but these losses have not slowed up the Pacific campaign," Fleet Adm.

Chester W. Nimitz said today. "I don't think the results they (the Japanese) are achieving compensate for the losses they are taking," the Admiral told correspondents at a press conference. Soms 3,000 enemy aircraft have been destroyed since start of the Ryukyus campaign March 18. He described Okinawa as the largest and closest "rung in the Island ladder approach to Japan." It is 1.11 most important objective American forces have attempted to take in the Pacific.

Japan's expenditure of Its remaining air forces in persistent suicide attacks on American shipping off Okinawa is proof it regards Okinawa as highly important, and is "making sacrifices to defeat us there," he said. "I hope they are shooting the works and we find fewer planes at other places." Nimitz held his press conference shortly after issuing today's communique reporting that Navy planes sank or damaged 18 Japanese ships and smaller craft off Korea and Honshu and that Army Mitchells damaged another off Honshu. For a third straight day, battleships and cruisers heavily bombarded Japanese fortifications in the southern Okinawa line Tuesday and fired hundreds of illuminating shells by night to "effectively reduce the enemy's attempts at infiltration." Adverse weather held American ground forces to no substantial gains. Associated Press Correspondent Vern Haugland reported from Okinawa that heavy rain bogged down roads. Manila, May 9 -iP- Japanese troops, in their first show of strength on Mindanao since the April 17 invasion, penetrated American lines near captured Davao City and virtually isolated one Yank battalion, field dispatches reported today.

This battalion, which had seized Continued on Page Twelve) Restaurant Owners, Track Operators, Thanked by WMC Philadelphia, May 9-P)-Restaur-ant proprietors, race track operators, labor and whole communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware were thanked today by Paul C. Lewis, regional director. War Manpower Commission, for "their almost 100 per cent cooperation with provisions of the curfew and race track ban." "The willingness of proprietors, employes and the public to go along showed that communities in our states overwhelmingly believed that the war should come first," Lewis said following announcement that the curfew and racing bans have been lifted. Committee Requests Store Closing Tonight The V-E Day committee this afternoon issued a request asking all places of business to close their doors between the hours of 8 and 9 o'clock tonight when the patriotic religious program is underway at the Public Square. Spraille Braden, above, of New "York, is the new United States ambassador to Argentina.

Braden, i one-time ambassador to Colombia i and to Cuba, has many years of experience In Latin-American affairs in both business and diplo- i matic fields. Europe Marks Second Day of Celebrations London. May 9 -Of'- Buoyant merrymakers in this British capital emarked today on their second V-E Day celebration, while parading Soviet citizens in the streets of Moscow held their first rejoicings over the tidings of peace. There was frolicking in the streets of Paris, Brussels. Amsterdam, Copenhagen and other cities to which peace had come after long tribula tion.

I In Oslo, capital of Norway, armed German soldiers strolled about the i streets watching the jubilant Nor- wegian celebrants. That curious V-E Day situation, duplicated in other Norwegian towns, was due to the fact that Allied authorities had not yet been able to collect enemy arms, Street fighting between Danish troops and former Nazi collaborators as well as Germans marred the celebration in Copenhagen. The unrestrained marathon celebration that started in Paris Monday continued in unflagging fashion. Paris and London's non-stop observances set the pace for other European cities. Despite three earlier talks Prime Minister Churchill appeared on the balcony of the Ministry of Health at Whitehall last night and exchanged repartee with thousands jam-packed into that section.

He reminded the British that "one deadly foe has been cast on the ground and awaits our judgment and our mercy. But there is another foe who occupies large portions of the British empire a foe stained with cruelty and greed the Japanese." Cheering crowds at Buckingham Palace brought King George and Queen Elizabeth out to greet them at midnight for a seventh time. The Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret slipped out of th? palace, and accompanied by guards and officers, mingled with the throng. The mysterious wartime buildings on Hampstead Heath went up in flames, making the biggest V-Day bonfh-e of them all. They were largely a collection of Imitation bungalows forming a fake village, built in 1941 and intended apparently as a decoy for German raiders.

Thousands of Londoners never got home last night. With the holiday- i curtailed transportation jammed hopelessly with skylarking human- ity, many bedded down uncomplain- ingly on benches, open places in Leicester Square and the doorways of Piccadilly. Hundreds spent the night, in Hyde Park. The victory of the United Nations also was observed in some of Europe's neutral capitals. In Lisbon Portuguese Premier Dr.

Antonio de Oliveira Salazar led the celebration with a toast "let's welcome victory." The Swiss were happy over the advent of peace, but President Edward de Steiger cautioned his people "we cannot figure on normal times yet-Allied flags with the exception of Soviet Russia's fluttered from buildings in Madrid, but there were no public demonstrations in the i Spanish capital. At ODT. It was stated that the lifting of the racing ban will be followed up by an order from ODT permitting the shipment of horses, but it was emphasized that travel restrictions in effect prior to the ban will continue. "The set-up will be just the same as before the ban," an ODT official said. This means that race tracks will be expected to cooperate in keep- ing such major events as the Ken- tucky Derby on a "trolley-car" basis, with no special trains or extra equipment authorized.

The agency said special trains could not be authorized because of the general transportation system. Because of the re-deployment of troops from Europe to the war in Asia, ODT predicts that the travel situation in the next 12 to 15 months will be the most critical so far. Today's action means that racing's "triple crown" the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Bel- bont stakes will be run this spring and summer. ThA rierhv. nrohahlv will bp held June 2 or 9 with the Preakness the next Saturday and the Belmont stakes two weeks later.

Racing people were prepared for Vinson's "immediate" removal of the prohibition. One problem remained. Racing officials said that easing of the War Manpower Commission's ceiling on employment will be needed in order to operate the tracks properly. Vinson's announcement restored to a nearly normal position the one sport that had been completely shut down in wartime. James F.

Byrnes, former mobi-lizer and the man who shut the tracks down last Jan. 3, recommended before his resignation that racing be allowed to resume operations after V-fc Day. Turf officials said that preliminary preparations were well under ways for re-opening of the tracks in about two weeks after the ban is lifted. Schedules have been drawn tenta- tlvely with the Kentucky Derby set for early in June and the Preakness and Belmont stakes following in their regular order. Meanwhile, the War Department suspended indefinitely a regulation requiring review of all cases of professional athletes rejected in the draft.

Goering Captured By U. S. 7th Army Says Radio Report An- NBC New York, May 9 -(VPi- broadcast from Paris today said Hermann Goering had been captured by the U. S. Seventh Army.

Captured with Goering was Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, said NBS's Correspondent Stanley Richardson. Richardson said Goering told his captors he had been sentenced to death by Hitler, but that he had escaped and had been in the area of his capture since last March. Philadelphia Cops Called Out for V-E Day Celebration Philadelphia. May 9 Rain washed away the early celebrations yesterday in the downtown district of Philadelphia but light hearted citizens and service men and women rejoiced over the victory in Europe with double enthusiasm last night. i I I I i i i Truman's Talk Eases Way for Jap Surrender Washington, May Truman's on unconditional surrender for Japan was widely viewed in Congress today as easing the way for the Japanese to Vleir futile struggle.

Some legis lators interpreted it too as lending credence to rumors of peace over, tures from Tokjo. Senator Johnson Colo.i said ne rcgarcicd it as "confirmation" of peace feeler reports. "But you can expect peace overtures at all times in war." he commented to reporters. "They rre a part of psychological warfare." Similarly. Senator O'Mahoney Wyo.) said he would "not be sur- prised" if there have been peace feelers, adding: "I think there is a distinct possibility the Japanese will not insist upon destruction of Japan to the extent Hitler insisted upon the destruction of Germany." The President's issued along with his V-E proclamation yesterday reiterated this country's insistence on unconditional surrender by the Japanese military and naval forces.

But Mr. Truman then asked what unconditional surrender means for the Japanese people and supplied this answer: "It means the end of the war. "It means the termination of the influence of the military leaders who have brought Japan to the present, brink of disaster. "It means provision for the return of soldiers and sailors to their families, their farms, their jobs. "It means not prolonging the present agony and suffering of the Japanese in the vain hope of vic- tory.

"Unconditional surrender does not mean the extermination or enslavement of the Japanese people." Allegiance Pledge Has No Official Status Says Morgan Washington, May 9-(4VThere is no official pledge of allegiance to the flag. The familiar "I pledge allegiance 10 the flag of tiie United States and to the republic for which it stands. one nation individible, with liberty and justice for all" has no official status. That's the opinion of Gerald D. Morgan, whose office helps members of the House draft legislation.

Morgan told Rep. Eberharter Pa.) that Congress never has passed a law making the pledge official. It's just like the "Star Spangled Banner," he said. It had no legal standing either until Congress passed special legislation several years ago designating it the official national anthem. BLOOD CENTER CLOSES Pittsburgh, May 9 -iP- With war in Europe at an end.

the American Red Cross is closing its blood donor center here May 19. Roy G. Bost-wick, chairman of the center, said today. This is part of a move to close 9 of the 30 blood donor serv- ices now in operation. Land Control Agreement Is Sought by U.

S. United Nations today. Committees continue work on Dumbarton Oaks amendments behind closed doors. San Francisco, May 9 The United States is seeking an agreement on control of lands seized in both world wars which will allow the Army and Navy to set up bases at any point in the world considered vital to United States security. Tlie question involved Labeled here one of trusteeship of territory seized from the enemy, mandated after the first World War or incapable of self government is still a point of controversy between the Big-Five powers.

It is one of the two most critical issues remaining before the United Nations conference upon the departure today of Soviet Foreign Commissar V. M. Molotov. The other issue is how to dovetail the Pan-American security system, recently worked out at Mexico City, into the security council of the proposed world organization. The American delegation is sharply divided on this question at the moment.

Some members favor giving the Pan-American set up no special treatment, but strong opinion appears to be developing for a proposal that the council be given supreme authority over the Pan- Continued on Page Twelve) Russia Celebrates End of War; Mobs Swarm Red Square Moscow, May 9-W)-Thousands of Russians swarmed through Red Square shouting "Long live Stalin" and "Hurrah for victory" as the Soviet capital turned out to the last man, woman and child today to celebrate the end of the European war. In the center of the cheering, singing throng a group of American G.I.'s attached to the U. S. Military Mission in Moscow danced across the cobblestones with girls from the factories, which had shut down for the celebration. The immediate reaction to the stirring event was typically Slavic.

It was 1:10 a. m. when Levltan star announcer for the Moscow radio and the man who has broadcast all of Premier Marshal Stalin's orders of the day came on the air with the glad tidings. Most of Moscow's residents were asleep, but the announcement acted like an alarm clock. Thousands poured into the streets some still clad in pajamas and nightgowns.

Many wept openly, some fell on heir knees in prayer. Everywhere people were shaking hands, embracing and kissing one another on tear-wet cheeks. lieved to have yielded in the three surrendered ports all important submarine bases when German undersea raiders threatened Allied victory. Russia joyously proclaimed the unconditional surrender of Germans before dawn, 10 hours after Presi dent Truman and Prime Minister Churchill proclaimed V-E Day fol- I lowing Germany's capitulation at! Ccn. Eisenhower's advanced quarters at Reims in France early I Monday.

A formal ratification of the surrender took place in Berlin yesterday. Actions such as the reported last gasps at Prague are outlawed under surrender edicts, and German participants may be treated as francs- tireurs subject to summary execu- i tion. The unconfirmed Czechoslovak broadcast said Prague and three 1 other points in Czechoslovakia were attacked by air. Melnik, Kralupy I and a Jewish concentration camp at Terezin, 40 miles north of Prague, were said to have teen bombed. The station did not say where the German planes came from.

The possibility was not overlooked that the entire situation might be a German trick in an attempt to get the Western Allies to attack the Russians. The patriot radio earlier had said last-ditch Nazi SS fanatics reopened fire at 1:50 a. m. (7:50 p. Eastern War Time Tuesday), almost two hours after the agreed deadline for cessation of hostilities.

The final humiliation was delivered yesterday to the Nazi regime. No more striking evidence of the totality of German defeat could have been conceived than the ceremony amid the wreckage of Berlin, where the surrender was ratified. There Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, chief of the German general staff, arjcl his aides met with Allied and Russian representatives Air Continued on Page Twelve) Selective Service Bill Signed by President Truman Washington, May O-'-President Truman today signed legislation extending the Selective Service act as a "compelling necessity in the continuance of military operations against Japan." The President said he signed the bill extending the military draft a year from May 15 (or until the war has ended on all fronts) with reluctance because he did not wish his action to be interpreted as expressing concurrence with a section of the legislation- placing "added restrictions on the War and Navy Departments in their management of the fighting forces." The measure, as passed by Congress, prohibits the use of 18-year olds In combat unless they have had at least six months of training. 4,000 TONS COAL SAVED Pittsburgh, May 9 iJP) The golden triangle glowed again last night as the government lifted its ban on window illumination and outdoor lighting. The Duquesne Light Co.

estimated the "brownout" which began Feb. 1 saved 3,000 to I 4.000 tons of coal here. means not prolonging the present agony and suffering of the Japanese in the vain hope of victory. "Unconditional surrender does not mean the extermination or enslave- ment of the Japanese people." i Many congressmen looked on this statement as making it easier for the Japs to quit their suicide war. i Some legislators also thought it lent support to rumors of Nipponese 1 peace overtures.

Well, it's legitimate for us to con- sider the possibilities of an early surrender, if we do so cautiously, The Japanese leaders already know they're beaten, and on this basis the. more moderate element might force a lermuiauuii ui me coniiict as a matter of horse-sense. However, we shall be foolish if we don't follow the lead of our high command, which may recognize this possibility but most certainly doesn't accept it as a probability. We are going right ahead with all-out war, Continued on Page Twelve) GOP Senate Majority Blocks Teacher Raise Says Rep. S.

A. Weiss Washington, May 9 (JP) The Republican majority in the Penn sylvania Senate blocked "adequate" pay raises for reachers. Rep. Samuel A. Weiss (D-Pa.) said yesterday in urging federal aid to "every state unable to pay its teachers decent salary standards." Weiss said: "Some states are raising salaries thus tackling the most serious phase of our educational problem.

I sincerely regret to state that a Republican Senate majority in Pennsylvania was responsible for the failure to pass an adequate pay proposal advocated by Democratic legislators." Weiss, who lives at Glassport, said a survey showed 45 out of 48 Allegheny county districts "pay average elementary school teachers less than the average school Censorship Code Revised By War's End Washington, May 9 -JP- News censorship will continue under relaxed restrictions resulting from the end of the European war. Censorship Director Byron Price ast night announced elimination or modification of several sections of the voluntary code that has. governed publication of war news in the United States since January 15, 1942. The code soon will be rewritten in shorter form. Basic military information still is subject to authorization by competent authorities.

Price said "the end of German resistance alters security requirements materially although it by no means erases the need for, or importance of, voluntary censorship." Provisions dealing with information on attacks by air, weather reports and sabotage were eliminated. Rules on publication of information about war prisoners, internees and civilian prisoners were relaxed to a prohibition against "information as to arrival, movements, confinement or identity of military prisoners from war zones'' unless given out by competent authority. The regulation on damage caused in the United States by enemy action was revised but still prohibits use of "information about actual or impending enemy attacks on the continental United States." Prohibitions against publication of information on war material production were relaxed to cover only secret or new weapons, designs, formulas, processes or experiments, to materiel used for "specialized military' operations" and to actual Continued on Page Twelve).