N U iom go , grim I Ia I VOL. LI No. 122 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1943 PRICE FIVE CENTS i Russians Capture Nazi Stronghold In Smolensk Drive Red Troops Repulse German Efforts To Crack Defensive Kharkov Line; More Villages Taken on Central Front By The Associated Press LONDON, March 26 (Friday)- Russian troops have overpowered another German strongpoint and captured additional villages in the central front drive toward Smolensk while repulsing Akis efforts to crack their defensive line east of Kharkov in the Ukraine, Moscow announced early today. One Soviet column pushing on Smolensk was near Dukhovschino, 32 miles northeast of the central front SCHOLARS CONVENE: Michigan Academy To open Session Today American Troo s Take Last Mountain Obstacle anchor, and another was operating mear Dorogobuzh, 50 miles east of the big base, but the midnight communi- que did not locate the areas in which the villages were seized. The bulletin, recorded by the Sov- iet Monitor, said one Soviet unit out- flanked a Nazi strongpoint, knocking out its garrison in a short skirmish which ended in the capture of an undisclosed number of prisoners, an ammunition dump, three guns, and a quantity of rifles and hand gren- ades. German Attacks Collapse In the Belgorod-Chuguev sectors above and below Nazi-held Khar- kov, the Russians said German at- tacks had collapsed. Around Belgorod, 50 miles north of -Kharkov, the communique sai&d more than 100 German automatic riflemen were - killed when a Nazi company of' them attempted to cross a water barrier. Soviet artillery also disabled five tanks, five anti-tank guns, and dispersed and annihilated part of-an enemy infantry battalion. Nazi Tanks Lost North of Cbuguev, 22 miles south- east of Kharkov along the Russian- held Donets River defense line, the RussiaZs %id tho mortars disabled or set afire seven Nazi tanks - five self-propelled guns when the Germana threw 20 tanks and a regi- ment of infantry into an attack. "Our troops repelled the eneoiy attk and held their positions," the The noon communique yesterday hadannounced the capture f sev- eral more charred settlements on the central front, one a strongly fotified village where the Germans left 100 dead on the field after hand-to-hand fighting. Colorado Halts Army, Inductiont Of Farm Labor Showdown Foreseen By Gov. Vivian over Labor Shortage Issue DENVER , March 25.- 0)- Colo- rado's Republican Governor, John C. Vivian, projected a showdown in the farm labor shortage question today by ordering immediate halt to military induction of Colorado men actually engaged in farming, stock raising and dairying. The governor, who recently blamed government "procrastination, inefficiency and corifusion" for an "alarming and critical" farm labor shortage in Colorado and the nation, cited as the basis for his action a line in the national Selective Service Act which reads: "The governor of each state shall have charge of the administration of the selective ser- vice law in his state." Vivian, a World War I Marine, di- rected Brig. Gen. H. H. Richardson, Colorado selective service director, "to notify all draft boards of Colo- rado to immediately cease ordering to duty boys actually engaged in. farming, stock raising or dairying." General Richardson was not im- mediately available for comment. Washington Selective Service and War Manpower Commission head- quarters also had no immediate com- ment. Some Selective Service attaches in Washington, however, said a gover- nor could give orders so long as he did not interfere with National head- quarters directives to local boards. They added that local boards had been told earlier this month that Congress had provided for deferment of registrants engaged in agricul- tural occupations or endeavor essen- Al lied Airmen Blast Two Jap, Cargo Vessels Liberators Rain Tons Of Bombs on-Rabaul, Amboina in'Two Raids, By The Associated Press A .LIED .HADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, March 26. (Friday)- Allied aimen attacking two oif the stron'gest Japanee basesinthe southwest Pacific scored hits on two enemy cargo ships-at*Ambbina, and dumped a'. great, weight of explosiv es, includingIone-ton bombs, on Rabaul where six hours later smoke. plumes were still-rising 3,000 feet above the burning wreckage, theAllied com- mand announced today. tibrators were u asd in both at- tacks, and thesmash at Rabaul dfound the four-motored bombers raining explosives on the base fr two hours ithout encountering any fighter intercetiton although an- ti-aircraft fire was intense. "arge firesand heavy explosives Were seen ralsgthe northern Short of the, harbor 'the communique said of this raid. "Six hours later one of our recon- naissanceplanes over the area ob- served smoke and flames from water- frontI ires rising to 3,000 feet." The New Britain base of Rabaul northeast of Australia was the target for a mass raid three days ago when 54 tons of bombs were dropped on 250 Japanese planes found parked on three" airdromes there." A substantial number of the planes were believed to have been destroyed or damager in that raid. A At Ubili, New Britain, a heavy bomber harrassed the area at night for three hours and at Gasmata, on New Britian's south coast, direct hits were scored on the wharf and adja- cent buildings. What are the ruling values of our society and -what method can be employed to discover them? These questions and related topics will be explored in a panel discussion at 10 a.m. tomorrow in 225 Angel Hall as part of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters whose two day session opens today. The panel is the feature event on the program of the Literature and Language division of the Academy. Prof. Julio del Toro of the Romance Languge department, the division's chairman, explained that "this panel is especially timely since we are now fighting for our American culture." "We must be aware of what we are fighting for to make our battle a successful one. If we don't realize what our culture is, its moral and ethical bases, we shall be fighting blindly." This discussion will be the first of its kind in the 48 year history of the Academy and was organized on an interdepartmental basis by the lan- guage, psychology, sociology, English' and anthropology departments. Professors del Toro, Burton Thuma, Richard Fuller, Louis Bred- void and Mischa Titiev of their re- spestive departments will present the opening arguments in the panel. All meetings of the Language and Literature division of Academy will be held in 225 Angell Hall, not in 2029 as the program indicates. This panel will feature the Satur- day session of the Academy which Japs Russians Agree to New Fishing Pact Protocol Will 0Increase Nipponese Rights; Both Nations Still Friendly By The Associated Press LONDON, March 26 (Friday)- Japan an jd Russia, not at war against each other but fighting on opposite sides in. the world struggle, have signed an agreement extending Japanese fishing privileges in Soviet Far Eastern waters, it was an- nounced today. A Moscow broadcast recorded by the Soviet Monitor said, however, that Japanese fishing companies must pay between four and five per cent more than during last year. The payments are to be in gold as before. Under the 1942 agreement which ended last Dec. 31 the Russians had exacted a 20 per cent increase in rentals over the price paid by the Japanese the previous year. S. A. Lozovsky, vice-commissar for Soviet Foreign affairs, and Naotake Sato, Japanese ambassador to Rus- sia, signed the 1943 protocol in Kuib- yshev yesterday, the Moscow broad- cast said. is holding its 48th annual meeting here. Scholars from all over the state of Michigan have come to Ann Arbor to focus attention on the latest de- velopments in the fields of science and letters. Dr. H. R. Hunt, chairman of the zoology department of Michigan State College will deliver the presi- dential address to the delegates and public at 8 p.m. today in the Ampi- theatre of the Rackham. His topic will be "Population and Peace." More than 250 specially prepared papers will be presented at 17 dif- ferent sectional meetings covering the fields of anthropology, economics, fine Arts, forestry, geography, geolo- gy, history and political science, phil- osphy, psychology, sociology, and zo- ology. (Schedule of Meetings on Page 6.) FDR APpoints Chester avis New Food Czar Move Made in Reply To Attacks on Present War Food Program By The Assdciated Press WASHINGTON, March 25.-Pres-. ident Roosevelt today drafted Ches- ter C. Davis, 55-year-old Federal Reserve banker with an agricultural background, to head a new food pro- duction and distribution set-up in what was widely interpreted as a reply to charges of confusion in the wartime food program. In another farm move, Price Ad- ministrator Prentiss M. Brown un- dertook to halt the movement -in Congress for higher farm prices, de- claring that enactment of the Bank- head and Pace bill would send food prices up 17 to 18 per cent, cost con- sumers $3,750,000,000 and destroy the anti-inflation program by com- pelling relaxation of wage controls. Both measures are aimed at increas- ing farm prices. Pace Bill Debated The measure by Rep. Pace (Dem.- Ga.) to include labor costs when fig-. uring parity prices for farm crops came up for debate in the Senate to- day where Senator Lucas (Dem.-Ill.) read Brown's declaration, made in a letter to congressional leaders. Lucas moved to send the measure back to the agriculture committee for hear- ings, and after lengthy debate a vote on this motion was deferred until tomorrow. I The President established the new farm agency within the agriculture department as the "Administration of Food Production and Distribu- tion." The White' House announced that all food production and distri- bution activities would be centered in it, including the agricultural ad- justment administration and food distribution powers and farm labor recruitment activities transferred from the War Production Board and the War Manpower Commission. Davis Starts Monday "The President announced that he had drafted Mr. Chester C. Davis to serve as administrator," the White House statement said. Davis, presi- dent of the Federal Reserve Bank at St. Louis, will take a leave of absence from that post and begin his new duties on Monday. At St. Louis Davis said his new task is going to be a "tough assign- ment." "I would a whole lot rather be tackling it as of two years ago than now," he said. "A fellow had a clean sheet of paper to write on then. Now there are so many complications that teamwork will be quite a job." Davis was noncommital as to his food production policies or what he hoped to do with the problem of farm labor supply. He said he had not seen the executive order creating the administration. Congress Proposes To Swap Ceilings WASHINGTON, March 25.-(P)- Congress figured today to swap ceil- ings with Franklin D. Roosevelt. In effect, it told the President that it would lift the national debt ceiling if he would forget his executive order for a $25,000 net salary ceiling. The deal was up to the President after the Senate passed a tandem measure lifting the national debt ceiling to $210,000,000,000 from $125,- In Drive Japanese Destroyer Dodges Bombs An already damaged Jap destroyer tries unsuccessfully to dodge bombs bursting at her bow during ihe battle of the Bismarck Sea, leav- ing "ong " oil slick (left) 'in her wake. FROM COVERT TO KHAKI* Advanced ROTC Unit Returns To Campus as Army Students J. Towards Coast MICHIGAN VARIETIES: 'Most Outstanding Array of Talent' Presented in 'M Night' By MARGARET FRANK Special To The Daily DETROI, March 25.- Michigan Alumni acclaimed the annual "U of Md Night" program presented last night in the Masonic Temple "the most outstanding array of talent ever seen in a University show." Bill Sawyer, director of the show, recalled nostalgic memories to the former students out front with his opening fanfare on themes from "Varsity" which set the stags and acclimated the audience for the col- legiate program to follow. 'Terrific' MAedley Masquerading under the simple title "The Yellow and Blue, Dec. 7, 1941," Sawyer's orchestra played the most bombastic medley of Michigan tunes so combined as to show the chaotic state of campus since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The audi- ence called the number "terrific" as tune followed tune, and sometimes melody overlapped melody. Al Burt, '42, arranged the score for this num- ber. The Woman's Glee Club provided a nice contrast to the intense num- bers on the program with their more classical selections: Ferde Grofe's "On the Trail" and a series of relig- ious numbers.. Judged to be one of 44-.a finocfn r.An n' &1 a n. 4in .hp~ particularly well received by the audience. After winning fame on its own account the Glee Club allowed itself to be joined by a select chorus of Michigan. men. These combined By STAN WALLACE Men who were civilian students in the Advanced Corps of the ROTC one week ago returned to campus yester- day as soldier students. The unit, 168 strong, was ordered to Fort Custer seven days ago to be inducted into the regular Army. They left and were -processed and the only part of their civilian life that remains is their individual academic pro- grams. But this is not the whole story. Processing Difficult Processing and living in an induc- tion center is not a simple process, the boys will tell you. Physical ex- aminations and medical examinations and mechanical aptitude tests form- ed the major part of the first few days' activity. Then came the real chores, clean- ing the barracks and cleaning the Change in Point Values To Be Given S unday, WASHINGTON, March 25.-P)- The Office of Price Administration announced tonight that a new table of point values for processed fruits and vegetables-believed substantial- ly lower than present coupon costs- will be announced in Sunday morning newspapers. The disclosure was made in a statement advising storekeepers, wholesalers and others in the food business to apply at their post offices Monday morning for copies of the new chart, which will go into effect April 1. While OPA officials declined to discuss just what changes have been made, they indicated that numerous reductions will be made in the point values of various kinds of cans, bot- tles and packages- especially fruits and large sizes of other products. Engineering Collge Elections Are Today Elections for senior class officers in the College of Engineering will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 and from 1 to 3 p.m. today over the Arch in the West Engineering Building. Since-there are only three candi- dates for the senior offices, Robert grounds and the Army's pet joy for all its men-KP. Te Advanced ROTC company -is no longer a group of college students. They were in the Ariny and they did their KP. Most of the men did their share. They were roused from bed at 3 a.m. .- cooked, served, washed dishes, cleaned, and fifty other things made up their day which ended at 9 p.m. There were 18 hours of hard work for the boys, but it was all right with them. One new soldier said last night that "the work was tough, but we didn't find it to be as bad as every- one seems to think it is." Now that the men are back on campus, they will be barracked in the Allen-Rumsey House of the West Quadrangle. They will live under strictmilitary discipline and study under supervision. Routine Army Life Life in the barracks will follow that of any Army post. First call is at 6 a.m. and reveille sounds at 6:15 a.m. These men started Army life at 6 a.m. this morning. Definite plans as to former campus life have not completely developed, Captain Roland Kolb, their com- manding officer, said yesterday. Ac- cording to present plans the upper- classmen will be permitted to con- tinue their extra-curricular activities within specified liberty hours. These hours willube arranged according to the schedule of each soldier. The men will be allowed weekend liberty beginning at 3 p.m. Saturdays until 7 p.m. Sundays. One week has changed 168 Univer- sity students into 168 Army men in training for war. House Leader Blasts Rumi Plan; Calls It 'Super Monstrosity' WASHINGTON, March 25.-()- The battle of the Ruml plan opened on the House floor today in a storm of adjectives and invective, with the skip-a-tax-year proposal alternately praised as the only "fair and practic- able" pay-as-you-go plan and con- demned as an immoral "tax heresy." Rep. Doughten (Dem.-N. C.), 79- year-old chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, lambasted the Ruml proposal for two hours with all the words and wit at his command, at one time calling it a "super-super monstrous monstrosity." It bears the same relation to sound tax policy, he British Forces Fight Artillery Duel With Axis In Mareth Line By The Associated Press ALLIED HEADQUART E R S IN NORTH AFRICA, March 25--A"eri- can troops throwing a cordon, around Marshal Rommel's besieged Maret Line forces were reported today 'lo have won control of the last mountaii barrier overlooking the Axis coastal lifeline only 28 miles awy. Field dispatches said the troops of Lieut.-Gen. George S. Patton Jr., were fanning out on both sides of the highway a few miles short of Mezzouna, whose airfield already has LONDON, March 26 (Fridy)-- ()- On the eve of the battle now surging along the Mareth Lne, General Sir Bernard L. Montgoni- ery sent a message to his Eighti Army troops declaring that the action about to begin would-"mark the close of the campaign In No0th Africa," Reuters repoted. togy. "We will not stop nor let' YA until Tunis has been captiged and the enemy ether hawVIVenipli struggle or been pushed into'4the sea," Montgomery was quoted -a saying. . been pounded by American Toms," the 155-rnillimetr rifles. Seventy-five - miles- to ut- east in the Mareth Line, Axis J- lery was duelling -with British Army guns in an apparents, after German- troop - wip a large part of earl tions of an offensive begun lasts Urday night. On Monday German tanks'and - fantrymen launthed a powerti4 colla terattack w*hichb Ten&YhW erased a 100-yard Briih r thrown across the Wadi igzg5U it the eastern end of the I4f.yetl Lie delayed dispatch from -Dn White head, Associated Press Correslod with the British, disclosed tha setback had prevented the:) Army from exploiting its breach into the Mareth fortllicati ' Axis Retreat . (The Vichy radio quoted Berlin r- ports late tonight admitting an o retreat at an unspecified poin$ say- ing the Germans were then attacke by British forces "coming frohe etle desert." This announcen1ntjp -yre- fer to the El Hanmmansectr ' re northwest of the Wdi g- where one British column h o flanked the lower end of the Mare Line. (This broadcast recorded by. the Associated Press said American troops also had penetrated Nazi po- sitions in the Maknassy region, bt claimed Axis counterattacks rewoi the lost ground.) Coal Subsidence Destroys Schol Four Block Area Hit; No Casualties Known PITTSTON, Pa., March 25.(i4)- A four-block mine subsidence-wr t disturbance of its kind ii years i the Pennsylvania anthracite feld&,. stopped today after causing 4l loss of a $400,000 high school bUildiig damaging 80 to 90 homes and ul- ling streethpavements ands With the four-block' Ae oi1d by Broad, Fulton, Carroll and q I, streets roped off by police a i ith several deep cave-ins' grin evide of the mine "squeeze" that startedat 7:30 p.m. last night, Mayor ,e ilt Reilly and the school board stiAtid an investigation "so that the trtie conditions may be brought to:lght." "We intend to see," declated Thomas J. Hennigan, secretary-(C) of the Pittston School Board, ii. statement, "that reckless ,minin h any coal company shall never, ocbur again. The people of Pittston hhve been very patient. Their homes churches and schools . have bien damaged. But that patience has nio* been exhausted." BILL SAWYER groups sang for the first time in its