Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 1

DECATUR SUNDAY Editorials on Pagt 8 HERALD AND REVIEW Established Sept. 1, 1931 DECATUR HERALD, FOUNDED 1880 DECATUR REVIEW, FOUNDED 1871 Milwaukee Mayor Who Baker Was A on Surgeons? Fame Is Brief Hon. Ancestors. Please Help! 12 No. 51 DECATUR, ILLINOIS, SUNDAt, DECEMBER 20 1942.

44 Pages- Ten Ctnts Hung Swfet Wmm tab toi Frai Million Man British Indian Army Moves Into urma 60-Mile Breach In North Opened In LDav Driup RICKENBACKER REPORTS TO SECRETARY ST1MSON Snow FORECAST FOR ILLINOIS: Snow in south and east portions Sunday mixed with freezing rain or sleet south portion Sunday afternoon. Not quite so cold Sunday. Fresh to moderately strong winds Sunday afternoon. LOCAL WEATHER Sat. Fri.

Sat. Fri. 8 a. m. 17 26 Precip.

.16 1 p. m. 20 29 Mon. Sun. 8 p.

m. 21 29 Sun-Highest 30 37 Rises 8:15 8:14 Lowest 17 26 Sets 5:39 5:39 TEMPERATURES High Low 3 I Allies Capture New Guinea Post, Sink Jap Cruiser Allied Headquarters In Australia (Sunday) (AP) Allied shock troops, smashing through a belt of heavy field fortifications, have wrested the Cape Endaiadere area from the Japanese along the northeast coast of New Guinea, while heavy bombers sank a Japanese light cruiser far to the northwest. General MacAr-thur's headquarters reported today. (Capture of Cape Endaiadere, three miles southeast of Buna village which was taken by American troops Monday, pocketed Japanese troops at nearby Buna mission, and virtually ended the Allied Bu-na-Gona campaign. na-Gona campaign except for this enemy group and another group northwest of Buna at Cape Sanan-anda.

(The Japanese, otherwise, are firmly entrenched in New Guinea only at Lae and Salamaua, strong points farther up the coast northwest of Buna. Fan Mountains to Coast (In this campaign, personally directed by MacArthur, Allied troops have steadily pushed the Japanese back all the way from across the Owen Stanley mountains where they had threatened the Allied stronghold of Port Moresby on the southern coast to the sea on the opposite coast. The action saw the capture of Gona, then Buna, and now the enciFclement of remaining Japanese troops in the Buna Albuquerque 53 35 Atlanta 62 36 Bismarck 6 0 Cheyenne 52 37 Chicago 16 7 Columbus 22 20 Des Moines 15 12 Detroit 15 10 Kansas City 26 25 Miami 77 51 New Orleans 72 50 New York 24 13 St. Louis 26 26 St. Paul 1 -5 Washington 33 32 British Chase Rommel Forces West to Sirfe London (AP) The British Eighth army in swift pursuit of Marshal Erwin Rommel's remnants pushed its spearhead 120 miles west of El Agheila yesterday, some 35 miles behind the Germans and Italians whose main force reached the Sirte area.

240 miles short of Tripoli, despite intense bombing. In flight across Mussolini's last African colony the Africa corps abandoned Zauta en Nofilia. a natural defense position, without a fight but leaving thousands of mines and booby traps to slow the pace of Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgomery.

The Morocco radio said the most advanced elements of the Eighth army had reached a point 19 miles from Sirte. which is 155 miles beyond El Agheila. but there was no confirmation from any other source. The British made no mention of the Axis troops, said to number 10.000. reported trapped between Marble Arch and the Wadi (gulch) Matratin, indicating the Germans raight have broken 'the block and enabled at least some to continue their flight west with the main body of Rommel's force.

The Berlin radio declared that "Rommel's rear guard, in high fighting fettle, was linked up with the main body of the Axis army." Air Activity Continues U. S. heavy bombers, in another damaging raid on the big Tunisian naval base of Bizerte Friday, were reported to have hit an enemy warship and to have shot down three enemy fighters. At Axis-held Sousse. below Tunis on the eastern coast of Tunisia, other Allied craft scored hits on Please turn to page 7 "Africa" ed survey flight over the South Pacific.

Rickenbacker was given the secretary's chair to tell reporters the details of the ex Eddie Rickcnbacker was greeted with a smile and a warm handshake when he reported yesterday on his ill-fat Rickenbacker National Income 117 Billions Washington, D. C. (AP) Secretary of Commerce Jesse Jones estimated yesterday that this year's national income would exceed SI 17.000.000.000 nearly thive times the depression low and that next year it would climb to Part of the $22,000,000,000 gain over 1941 can be attributed to higher prices. Jones said in a state ment, the major share represents an increased volume of productive activity." The estimate for this year compares with the 1929 income of a record until last year, and the 1932 mark of $39,991,000,000. Tells Press Conference of Three Weeks on a First Step in Plan to Open Road to China icvv ifiiu.

iiiuia A part of the million-man army cf Gen. Sir Archibald P. Wavell has passed to the attack alter n-oruhs of preparations and has advanced about 40 miles into Burma in the first phase of an offensive to re-open the Burma road to China. A cautiously worded communi-Cf telling of this latest addition the list of world-wide United offensives said: "Du; ins 'he past few days some of our troops have advanced southward from the Arakan border into Western Burma and occupied the Maunadaw-Buthidaung area about 61 miles northwest of Akyab. Japs Don't Fight 'The enemy, who had been in fiocupation of this area since our Withdrawal from Burma and had prepared defenses, withdrew without offering opposition." Maungdaw and Buthidaung are sbout 40 miles south of the Indian border.

Akyab, a small seaport and air base on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, is to the south the Mayu river. While the restraint of the announcement save no hint as to scope of the offensive, observer? noted the reference to "some of our troops" and wondered if cher parts of the huge army ch General Wavrll has drilled tr.d equipped in India might not be ready to strike elsewhere. Ever since U. S. Lieut.

Gen. -eph Stilwell came out of Burrs at the head of a few score r. en and American officers from Ms Chinese army with the acknowledgement that he had taken a cf a beating." the recapture of Burma and the restoration of the supply link with China has been high on the list of objectives of United Nations strategists. Heavy Air Support T.e thrust down the difficult ur.uie shore of Northern Burma throush a land inhabited by Naga headhunters was accompanied, the communique said, by aerial sweeps in which the villa of Rathedaung. slightly more than half way between Maungdaw and Akyab.

was bombed and the Vayu river swept clear of Japanese boats and other craft. Akyab itself was bombed at night by big Wellington bombers. Fires nere left along the Rathedaung i waterfront, it was said. 9 Before the beginning of the offensive British and American planes carried out a series of intensive day and night bombings of j.r.erous objectives in the Arakan 'ea. and for many weeks have been hitting at railways, stations, bridges and airfields along the Mandalay line of communications, 'no docks, airports and barracks in the Akyab zone.

Japs Claim Much Damage In turn the Japanese claimed to rave sunk seven transports and et fire to four or five others in raids on Chittagong. Indian port 60 miles north of the Burma border, on Dec. 5 and 10. The British said only relatively minor damage was done in these Japanese attacks. The Japanese also attacked Fen-ty.

near Chittagong. last Wednesday and lost three of their planes. Four Eritish planes were lost in the combat. The push toward Akyab was retarded by observers as a logical following the inconspicuous but incessant camoaicn which American air forces commanded Kv" Brig. Gcu.

Clayton L. Bisscll and the R. A. F. have been wag-r2 against Japanese supply bases.

barracks and railways in Eurrna since the end of the Monsoon season about six weeks ago. Waited End of Rains As soon as the torrential rains. 'nich had kept the Burma front for six months, had end-'3 the R. A. F.

began a cam-. Paisn of night bombing and the Allies enjoyed an increasing edge over Japan's Burma air force. The new offensive, supplementing -'nited drives in French Africa, Libya, the Solomons and New Guinea, obviously gives 'he Japanese something to think about besides reinforcement of its kelcaaucred forces under attack by Americans at Guadalcanal and by III VUJ rlliv Moscow. Russia (Sunday) (AP) The third great Russian winter offensive within a month has struck deep into German defenses along the Don in the Voronezh area, and 20,000 Germans have been killed and 10,000 captured, the Soviet Information bureau said in a special communique today. Striking from the northwest four days ago, Russian forces southwest of Moscow opened a breach in German" lines 60 miles wide, while another army in the Voronezh Region chopped a hole 12 miles wide and advanced to the west.

The two spearheads advanced from 30 to 37 miles after the hardest fighting, capturing more than 200 populated places and a great array of enemy fighting equipment, the communique said. The new offensive patently threatened the extended German flank which has reached from the region of Kursk down to Stalingrad. Flank's Lower End Dented lower end of the flank already had been dented by a series of salients driven across the Don bend and from southwest of Stalingrad in the offensive launched Nov. 19. Now the Russians are striking at the upper flank, while continuing to bear down still farther north, in the Velikie Luki and Rzhev regions northwest of Moscow where a second offensive was started Nov.

25. In the three offensives, according to special announcements of the Soviet Information bureau. 189.000 German and satellite soldiers have been killed and 84,500 captured a total of 273,500, including the 30.000 killed and captured in the latest double-barreled thrust. Drive Two Ways "The offensive is in two directions," said the special communique, "from the northwest in the sector of Novaya Kalitva and Mon-astrischina and from the east in the area of Bakovskaya. "Havine rjierced mpmv Ho.

fenses in the sector of Novaya Ka- mva and Monastrischina over a distance of 60 miles and in the area of Bakovskaya over a distance of 12 miles, our troops in four days of tense fighting overcame enemy resistance and ad vanced a distance of 30 to 37 miles. Among the 200 Donulated nlarps captured, the announcement said. were tne towns of Novaya Kalitva, Kantemirovka, Boguchar and the district centers of Tali Tfarf- chenskoye and Bokovskaya. Boguchar is just south of the Don and is 130 miles southeast of Voronezh and about 100 miles northeast of Serafimovich where the Russians crossed the Don bend in their first offensive. Tali is 20 miles southeast of Boguchar.

Nazi Losses Heavy In the advance nine infantrv iHvi. sions and a brigade were shattered and thrown back in retreat, while four other infantry divisions and a tank division were severely mauled. Captured booty included 84 tanks 1.102 guns, 508 mortars and trucks, while destroyed equipment included 64 Dlanes. 88 tank and 120 guns, it was stated. The breakthrough was carried out by the forces of the southwest front under the command of CoL Gen.

and the forrps nf Voronezh front commanded by Lieut. Gen. Golikov," the communique said. Triumphantly, it concluded. "The offensive of our troops continues." Col.

Gen. N. Vatutin fought earlier in the war before Leningrad. Conferred With F. D.

R. Lieut. Gen. FiliD Golikov hparf- ed a Russian military mission to London and Washinzton shnrtlv aft. er the Russian-German war be gan.

While in Washington he conferred with President Roosevelt and American diplomatic and military chieftains. Later he returned to the Russian front and took part in the fighting in the south. Meanwhile on the central front where "General Frost" is becoming a more powerful ally of the Russians every day. the Russians cut tnrough barbed-wire entangle-rrfents and caDtured a fpw mn German advance lines. Embittered ngnting also took place southwest of Stalingrad.

On all these old fronts the Germans were attacking strongly with large groups of Please turn to Tugt 7 "Rusii" Suspend 190 Gas Dealers in East periences of his crew during the three weeks he and they drifted in a life raft. (AP WIREPHOTO) Raft ters from a hand grenade struck his face while he was leading a night patrol. But it was the story by Rickenbacker, of his 21 days in a rubber boat, that particularly gripped the score's of army officers and newspaper men who heard him. After his plane was forced down, Rickenbacker said the first food for him and his seven companions came from a seagull, which" perched on his head and was snared by careful movement. Parts of the gull were eaten, and other parts were used to bait two small fishing hooks, which enabled them- to obtain some more food.

Held Prayer Meetings On the second day after Rickenbacker and his companions were forced to take to the life rafts in their anxiety to get away from their sinking plane they had forgotten food and water one of the men on his raft took out a bible and "we organized little prayer meetings, evening and morning, taking turns about reading passages from the bible and humbly praying for delivery." The flier said if he did not have witnesses to support him, he would hesitate to describe one experience. "An hour after a prayer meeting." he said, "a seagull came in and landed on my head. You can imagine with what nervousness I reached up to catch it." Two fish were caught on bait which the gull's entrails provided, he related. They were divided equally and there was no waste "the head, the body, the bones are delicious." The first water, Rickenbacker said, came on their eighth day on the life raft, when they ran into a black squall, something ordinarily avoided, but this time highly welcome. Soaked up Rain Shirts, socks and handkerchiefs were used, to soak up the rainwater and squeeze it into containers.

Then the water was rationed "about two sips a day about half a jigger per man." Rickenbacker of taking off from Hickam field in Hawaii. There came the first difficulty on the ill-fated inspection trip. A hydraulic brake locked on the right wheel of the plane, and he said it "looked like we were going to take down all the hangars." After a ground loop, the men left the plane and shifted baggage, mail and all other materials to a ship which took off. several hours later. He described the ship as purring along beautifully at 6:30 the.

following morning, three hours before Turn to Pace 4 "Rickenbacker area with the taking of Cape Endaiadere.) To the left of Buna. Allied troops mopped up enemy remnants near the Amboga and Kumusi river mouths, 40 miles up the coas'l from Buna, the noon communique added, and "196 enemy dead have already been buried there by our troops and many more bodies await These Japanese troops have been landed Sunday despite heavy aerial attacks that took a heavy toll of enemy men and supplies. The cruiser sinking occurred off Madang, which is on the New Guinea coast above Lae and Salamaua. Jap Navy Active "The enemy's naval forces are active off the northern coast," General MacArthur reported. "Ne Vitiaz straits, several hundred miies northwest of Buna, our heavy bombers attacked an enemy-convoy of two merchant and five warships, scoring four direct hits on the deck of a light cruiser which sank following the explosion of its powder magazine.

"During the attacks, our planes shot down two Zero fighters. The enemy entered the harbors of Madang and Finschafen during the night and then departed to the northeast before morning." In the vicinity of Portuguese Timor, other Allied planes strafed and sank a small cargo ship. Lifeboats Sink, 17 Sailors Lost Norfolk, Va. (AP) Two lifeboats carrying 24 survivors of the sunken Menhaden trawler Parkins were swamped in heavy seas after they had been taken in tow by a coast guard rescue vesicl a mile and a half off the North Carolina coast Friday with the probable loss of 17 crewmen, the Navy disclosed yesterday. The bodies of 13 of the men washed ashore at Cape Lookout bight and Shackleford banks after seven others had battled successfully through the heavy surf.

Four were missing including the Parkins Negro master, Dwight W. Davis of Beaufort, N. C. The Parkins, carrying a crew of four more than usual because of the heavy run of Menhaden, sank in the heavy seas at 1:40 a. m.

Friday after putting out a distress call by radio and getting her two lifeboats away. Newspaperman Dies San Diego, Calif. (AP) Harry T. Martin, former city editor on newspapers in Urbana, 111., and Jackson, died yesterday. doing for us what they are putting up with I think they would lake this war more seriously." Rickenbacker added that he believed "if it wasn't for their tremendous successes in combat they couldn't possibly last, physically or mentally, very long.

But, due to the great stimulus of their successes they are all happy and anxious to keep going." Japanese ground troops, he said, are the hardest he had ever known "The Japs have no regard for their own lives. They won't be taken prisoner. If you want 'em you have to kill 'em and our boys are doing it very well." Saw Gen. MacArthur His inspection tour took him also to New Guinea where he found General Douglas MacArthur one of the greatest "enthusiasts for air I've ever known" and to Brisbane, Australia, where he visited Brigadier General Hanford MacNider who was in a hospital recovering from wounds suffered when splin- Poland Jewish Murder Center London, England (Sunday) (AP) The inter-Allied information committee declared today that Germans have transformed Poland "into one vast center for murdering Jews" by mass shooting, electrocutions and lethal gas poisoning and that 99 per cent of the Jews who lived in Yugoslavia or took refuge there are dead. The statement by the committee, which represents the Allied gov--ernments in London, gave a country-by-country resume of Nazi measures against Jews in occupied lands.

The Allied governments recently protested against crimes against the Jews and warned that those responsible would be punished. The committee's' statement repeated the estimate by Dr. Stephen S. Wise, American Jewish Congress president, that since 1939 000,000 Jews in Europe have been deported or have perished, and "another 5.000.000 are in danger of extermination." Greetings to Prisoners Washington (AP) Christmas greetings may be cabled to American prisoners of war and civilian internees in the Western Pacific, Germany and Italy through American Red Cross chapters. Chairman Norman H.

Davis announced By HAMILTON W. FARON Of the Associated Press Washington, D. C. Back from the South Pacific where a young soldier died in his arms, where he saw American soldiers in "hell holes of mud," where he had floated for 21 days On Army Hour Today Washington. D.

C. (AP) Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker is scheduled to appear on the Army Hour radio program Sunday afternoon. The program, heard over the NBC network from 2:30 to 3:30 p. Central War time each Sunday, is rebroadcast by shortwave to the fighting forces overseas.

in an open boat, Lieut. Col. Edward V. Rickenbacker declared today "objections to rubber and gasoline rationing seem ridiculous." Captain Eddy," as he prefers to be called, bronzed, slightly nervous and thin, talked swiftly and seriously at a press conference, calling for greater production of war supplies. "I hope our hardships will be a stimulus to the people back home to drive on to greater effort because without the materials they are producing those boys out there can't do their job," he said.

Given Seat of Honor Rickenbacker landed in Washington yesterday, met his wife for the first time since his rescue, and then saw newspapermen at Secretary of War Stimson's press conference. Given the seat of honor in the conference room the secretary moved back to a corner chair "Rick" told for the first time of the harrowing 21 days he and seven companions spent in rubber life boats after, their plane was forced down, out of gas, in the Pacific. He told also of an inspection trip through the South Pacific as representative of Stimson and of his personal conviction that the quality and experience of the Japanese pilts is "going down hill" while that of American flyers is increasing swiftly. "It is quite evident," he declared, "that the great majority of Japanese pilots are inexperienced and green." Stimulated in Successes Telling of Guadalcanal in the Solomons, where soldiers and marines have been battling the Japanese since August, he said: "If only the people back home could know-what those boys are the gasoline regulations, including, for the first time, a request that the petroleum industry be alert for suspicious transactions at every stage. Dislike Snooping Of 975 OPA inspectors in the eastern shortage area, he said, more than 800 are to be assignee at once to the task of "checking up to see that there are no leakages." He disliked "snooping," he added at a press conference, and OPA has done none of it, but: "I submit that the seriousness of the situation and the scrupulous attention which hundreds of thousands of people are giving to the gasoline regulations warrants an assist." A reporter asked whether the new plan was to be permanent, and Henderson quipped back that there was "no permanency in government." He pointed out that he was leaving the post of administrator soon and that his successor was in no way committed to follow his program.

West Virginia Out The new plan will replace a system which has been in effect since Friday at noon, under which the eastern holders of A. and cards are limited to the purchase of only so much gasoline as can be bought with a single ration book coupon three gallons in the case of A cars and four in those of and C. (In West Virginia, A cards also have been good for four gallons but will be trimmed there to three Monday.) This was done, Henderson said yesterday, to stop "runs" on fill ing stations and in view of an acute shortage in some areas due to military operations. Now' it is apparent, he said, that gasoline supplies will be sufficient for apportionment under the new rationing program. The reduction in the value of and coupons was made, he said, "because of the acute existing petroleum supply and in contemplation of a further reduction in daily consumption to 331.000 barrels daily in January as compared to barrels per day at present." Washington, D.

C. (AP) Price Administrator Leon Henderson announced yesterday that gasoline sales would be resumed in the East at 12:01 a. Monday, with the coupons of all and ration books good for three gallons. In the case of the and books this is a reduction of one gallon. At the same time, he reported a bootlegging and black market problem had arisen and promised to deal with it vigorously.

A total of 190 dealers have been suspended, ten of them Saturday, he said, and future deliberate violators will "get the limit" a suspension for the duration "which means they will be out of business." Byrnes Enters Picture Earlier. James F. Byrnes, the director of economic stabilization, stepped abruptly into the gasoline and fuel oil situation. He asked Henderson, Petroleum Administrator Ickes and Transportation Director Eastman to submit reports showing in what way present policies and machinery had proved inadequate, together with recommendations for remedial action. Byrnes said he would confer with the three Monday morning.

A i hrnucht action to relieve the plight of some householders who heat their homes with oil. OPA, announced that those who have exhausted their present ration could buy fuel oil with ration book coupons originally intended for redemption at a later period. Information Needed And from Chairman Francis Moloney (D-Conn) of the special Senate committee named to investigate the gasoline and fuel oil situation came an announcement that its inquiry will be resumed. Recent developments, he said, had shown "the necessity for a complete study -with the purpose of keening the nation informed of just what it must expect in the future." Henderson's announcement was made in a statement which also disclosed plans for tighter supervision and stricter enforcement of Turn to Page 7 "Burma Drive".