it r trn" 4a VOL. LIH No. 98 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 1943 PRICE FIVE CENTS Rommel Army Thrown into Full Retreat Refusal of Funds Threatens MeNutt; Rebuff Executive Ration '2' Employment Service Salaries Too Low, C ' Department of Labor, NRPB Requests Are Held Back by House WMC Chief Claims By CHARLES MOLONY Associated less Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.-Paul V. McNutt's future as War Manpower Commissioner was imperiled today as the House Appropriations Commit- tee refused his request for $2,454,000 which he had proclaimed essential for his agency to discharge its duties. The turndown, coming while Mc- Nutt was under fire in some Congres- sional quarters, virtually challenged him to battle for continuance in the post he has held for ten months. McNutt has declared his organiza- tion needs strengthening to perform difficult tasks just ahead. One of these deals with the transfer of workers from jobs aclassed as non- essential to war work. He has decreed that by April 1: WMC Gives Decrees 1. Men in work called "non-defer- rable" must have registered for war jobs or, regardless of dependent wives and children, risk speedy induction into the armed forces if they are of draft age and physically fit. 2. Employers in 32 areas of "criti- cal labor shortage" must gear opera- tions to a 48-hour minimum work week so they can get along with few- er workers and release some of their employes for war jobs. Because he grounded these orders on the necessity for providing man- power to meet the labor needs of war industry, McNutt will be under tre- mendous pressure to place in war jobs all those displaced from their old jobs as a result of his orders. The turnownf h received from the House Committee means that, unless he can win a reversal, he must face this problem with his job-place- ment unit, the U.S. Employment Ser- vice, in what he considers doubtful shape to handle the task. No Money Given The committee refused to give the USES any of the $2,454,000 McNutt had told it he must have to lift salar- ies of its personnel ,to the Federal wage scale through next June and stop a wave of job-quitting which, his aides said, has sapped the unit's morale. It is the third time McNutt has been rebuffed by Congress in a re- quest of this kind, and it came in the face of a hint McNutt gave the com- mittee that he would blame Congress if the USES failed in its job. "If we are crippled and do not meet the problem, then I will feel it in- cumbent upon me at least to say where I think the reason is-one of the reasons," he said. ** * Perkins Gets 'Frank Talk' from House WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.- (P)-_ Secretary of Labor Perkins, asking the House Appropriations Committee without success for $337,000 to com- bat absenteeism, came in for some frank talk, it was disclosed today, with one member saying a great many citizens feel she is "more con- cerned about 'social gains' than win- ning the war." The Secretary's testimony a week ago was made public today when the Committee reported a deficiency ap- propriation bill without including the fund she had asked. She said she proposed to spend the money on "advisory services" to labor and management in war industries with the view particularly of curbing absenteeism. In some cases, she said, absenteeism is due to poor working conditions which can be improved if the government gives proper guid- ance. Bombers Blast Two Jap Ships, Drive One Aground ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN AUSTRALIA, Feb. 25, Thursday-(P) -A Japanese warship, fleeing fran- tically from attacks of American Fly- By WILLIAM T. PEACOCK Associated Press Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.- The House Appropriations Committee sharply rebuffed the Administration today by denying a series of request- ed appropriations. In reporting a $6,298,530,435 defi- ciency appropriation bill, chiefly for merchant ship construction, the committee refused: $2,454,000 which Paul V. McNutt had proclaimed is essential if the War Manpower Commission is to dis- charge its duties. $337,000 asked by Secretary of La- bor Perkins for work in curbing ab- senteeism in war factories and im- proving Working conditions. $200,000 requested by the National Resources Planning Board, headed by Frederic A. Delano, the President's uncle. The Planning Board had sought the money for expenditure between now and next June 30 when the cur- rent fiscal year ends. Reporting an- other measure earlier this month, the Committee had refused a request for $1,400,000 to finance the board in the new fiscal year. At the time of the earlier fund rejection, Mr. Roosevelt told a press conference the Board's planning to meet post-war problems might save billions and that legisla- tors opposing long-range planning might turn out to be the real spend,- thrifts. At the capitol, there were re- plies from some legislators that Con- gress should do the planning. * * * GOP Supports Ruml Proposal WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.- ()- Advocates of the Ruml Plan were cheered today as strong Republican support appeared to be gathering be- hind the proposal to abate all of one year's individual income taxes to put taxpayers on a pay-as-you-go basis. An informed Capitol Hill source said that when the House Ways and Means Committee passed on a modi- fied form of the plan originated by Beardsley Ruml, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, all 10 Republican committeemen voted for it. However, the plan was put aside for the time being when the 15 Dem- ocrats on the committee voted against it. The vote was taken last Friday in a secret session but not disclosed until today. The committee rejected all pend- m ing pay-as-you-go proposals, includ- ing the modified Ruml Plan, and turned over to a sub-committee the job of drafting a compromise. Rep. Carlson (Rep. - Kas) has modified the Rumi proposal to pro- vide that each taxpayer would remit on the one of the two years, 1942 or 1943,bin which he had the largest taxable income. Gandhi Likely To Recover By The Associated Press NEW DELHI, Feb. 24.-Prime Min- ister Churchill made it clear today that the India Government would continue to hold in confinement Mohandas K. Gandhi, who now is expected by his doctors at Poona to live through his 21-day hunger strike against detention. It was a matter of one eminent in- valid dealing with the case of an- other. Churchill's message apparently came from his sickbed. (It was an- nounced in London that he has been suffering from pneumonia but is im- proving.) Churchill, in a message support- ing the India Government's determ- ination to keep the Nationalist leader under detention during wartime, stressed security as a prime consid- eration and said that India "still Registering Ends Today Deadline at 9 Tonight; Only Half of Campus Houses Have Applied Long rows of residence hall and boarding house students sat arm and arm with Ann Arbor housewives yes- terday, waiting at City schools for War Ration Book No. 2. Busy volunteer rationing workers who yesterday registered more than half of the campus independent stu- dents at seven city schools, antici- pate an even bigger rush today as students crowd in to beat the dead- line tonight at 9 o'clock. The seven local schools near the campus will be open today for late registrants from 1 to 5 and 6 to 9. Rationing headquarters warned stu- dents to bring their No. 1 book with them. Only about half of the campus sororities, fraternities and Coopera- tives, registering under a simplified University plan at Room 2, Univer- sity Hall have had applications pro- cessed, Assistant Dean of Students Walter B. Rea said last night. House managers and stewards have until this afternoon to register for their organizations by bringing to University Hall signatures, number 1 books and numbers of the books of all members according to Dean Rea. Advice to the fraternity, sorority and cooperative groups was to apply early today to beat last minute reg- istrants, and advice to the independ- ents was to go to the nearest school gt night from 6 to 9 to avoid conges- tion with Ann Arbor townspeople. The seven schools available to dor- mitory and boarding house students are: Bach, on Jefferson; Perry on Packard; Tappan on Welles; Angell on UniversitY; Jones on North Divi- sion; North Side on Pontiac Road, and Mack on Miller Avenue. Soviets Drive Closer to Nazi Dnieper Line Ukraine Rail Centers Captured as Russians Trap Two Battalions By The Associated Press LONDON, Feb. 25, Thursday- The Red Army surging westward over a 300-mile front in a race against spring mud was reported early today to have toppled several more Axis strongholds in the drive toward Pol- tava and Konotop, Ukraine rail junc- tions guarding the approaches to the Nazi Dnieper River line. The regular midnight Moscow Communique recorded by the Soviet Monitor said another large populated place west of Kharkov had fallen, re- ported fresh gains in the effort to encircle Orel, hinge of the southern and central fronts, and told of the trapping of two German battalions (approximately 1,600 men) in the western Caucasus. The Russians said those two bat- talions now were being annihilated after refusing to surrender. Heavy German counterattacks with tank and plane support were acknowledged in the Donets Basin. While claiming the repulse of most of these, the Russians admitted Ger- man units had driven a wedge into their lines southwest of Kramatorsk. This town is about 50 miles above Stalino whence the Nazi escape rail- way runs out of the Donets Basin. Thirteen German tanks were de- stroyed in the fighting, but the bulle- tin did not tell of the final outcome. The locality seized west of Khar- kov was not identified. The commu- nique said 200 German bodies were counted, and large quantities of war material captured. This Soviet col- umn was within 50 miles of Poltava on the basis of Soviet dispatches, and another operating from Krasnograd to the south was at least 10 miles nearer. Very Large 1 Campus Vote Fills Posts Swander, Borman,j Seltzer Elected to Three Board Jobs Homer Swander, '43, former man- aging editor of The Daily, Hoe Selt- zer, '45M, incumbent, and Marvin Borman, '44, Manpower Corps head, were elected student members of the Board in Control of Student Publi- cations yesterday. The balloting, which was termed unexpectedly high in view of the evi- dent lack of campaigning on the part of all candidates, gave Swander 452 votes, Borman 415 and Seltzer 298. Stan Wallace, '45. and Edna Sott, '46, were elected co-chairmen of the combined soph-frosh class dance.I Wallace received a total of 86 votes while Miss Sott polled 124. Dance Committee Elected Ten other students were elected to the dance committee. They include: literary college sophomores - Selig Estroff, Larry Loftus and Ruth Ma- loney; literary college freshmen- Rosemary Klein and Elanor Mc- Laughlin. (The exact number of votes for these and the majority of other can- didates was not released by the Ju- diciary Council.) In the freshman class the engi- neering school elected Harry Scott, and Allan Daskal to the committee. Don Granger and Joe Warner were chosen to represent the sophomore class in the engineering school. Because her petition was uncon- tested, Catherin Sauer of the archi- tecture school was automatically de- clared a committee member last week by the Men's Judiciary Council. Union Vice-Presidents Chosen Balloting in the third of yester- day's elections was for six men to fill vice-president positions in the Michigan Union. Those elected are: literary college, George Ceithaml, '43; engineering college, Art Geib, '44; medical school, Robert Taylor, '43; dental school, Howard O'Dell, '44; law school, Bill Aigler, '43; other schools, Robert Schwyn, '43BAd. Bill Sessions, '43E, released the election results last night and stated, "The unexpectedly large turnout is gratifying, especially concerning the Board and Union elections. This may mean a reawakened student interest in campus affairs." Eligibility cards of all candidates may be obtained any afternoon in the Union Student Offices. Restaurants May Serve Without Ration Coupons WASHINGTON, Feb. 24.- (P)- You can eat at restaurants without ration coupons, the OPA said to- day, but the restaurants will serve only about half as much canned and other processed foods as they had last year. Rationing allotments for res- taurants will be determined by a separate formula, but OPA intends to restrict consumption by their patrons "on about the same basis that the individual is restricted on his meals at home." The home ration of processed foods has been described by OPA head Prentiss M. Brown as "less than half" of last year. -'50 .^M° '"FfArada ont «« du Fahsj sSTATUTE MILES :.ArsPbKasserane Feriana SFAX y lt ea t . Nogrine 7' ed Redeyef T saU N S IA - ~ , STozeur - ht Neft Pass---=s's 'd; German drives in Tunisia (black arrows) were sharply turned yes- terday as the Allies put Rommel's armies into full retreat after a three- day battle. Broken line is approximate point of furthest Nazi advance against American, British and French troops. Ruthren Conan Arcss Rede . fsa T UN 1 I *k * * * * Kumnven peaKs ior Preservation of Values Special to The Daily LANSING, Feb. 24.-President Al- exander G. Ruthven, speaking at the dedication of J. W. Sexton High School here, pointed out the conflict between vocational and traditional education in time of war and called on educators to avoid both extremes to preserve human values. . . . our educators may reason- ably be expected to show us how to maintain an industrial society and at the same time win a war which calls for the services of many special- ists, without permanently sacrificing for any generation all of the train- ing which makes possible our way of life," President Ruthven said. Must Face Realty ". . . While we do not know the formula for success in providing a sound education, it is the business of our teachers to find it. The responsi- bi~ty is a very heavy one, but it can- not be shirked if our instructors really believe in education as the sure foundation of the democratic state," President Ruthven said. President Ruthven also renewed his attack on "those who, in the spirit of defeatism, advocate deferment of the study of the humanities until later life," declaring: "These propo- nents of so-called cpractical educa- tion'-a curious phrase-should be reminded that 'man shall not live by bread alone'; that old dogs are not likely to learn new tricks, and old brains tend to become schlerotic. Dangers Need Recognition "At the same time, the danger in rearing even one generation without opportunities for free and well-in- formed thought upon the great issues -religious, political, social and eco- nomic-should be fully appreciated. The men and women who must fight the battles will lose all for which they are fighting unless they are broadly enough educated to understand the background and issues of the war and to attack intelligently the problems of the post-war world," he said. President Ruthven called liberal education as important a factor in winning the world's conflicts as tech- nical education, because the liberal arts define the issues which must be settled in the post-war period. But the conflicting views are "a dilemma which has disaster at the tips of both horns," he said. Survival After War Foreseen by Conant President James B. Conant of Hardvard University has decisively taken issue with educators who fear that the radical dislocation of aca- demic life now under way jeopardizes the future of the liberal arts. . "Personally," he wrote in a special article in The New York Times, "I have not the slightest doubt that the study of the liberal arts will not only survive this war but prosper in the days of peace. I cannot imagine that this repub- lie could reject the tradition of the liberal arts." Asserting that the problem cen- ters around a "long overdue" adap- tation of a "venerable tradition in education to our modern age," Dr. Conant said the period of stress which we are now entering "may well prove to be beneficial. Institutions Need Jolt "Academic institutions are among the most conservative in human his- tory," he said. "An occasional jolt may be wholesome; it forces adjust- ment to meet new needs of society." Dr. Conant predicted that the present fighting generation and the boys in school-"tired of even hear- ing the names of science and technol- ogy"-will "inevitably" react toward studies of a different type, and he foresaw a resurgence of "deep in- terest" in the liberal arts among stu- dents themselves. Selected Leadership Criticized Human and emotional factors fig- ured prominently also in Dr. Conant's criticism of the suggestion that cer- tain groups of students, carefully se- lected for their intelligence and char- acter, should be reserved for the study of the liberal arts and educated " 'for leadership in the post-war world.'" He flatly declared that such schemes, fostered by persons who fear "the stripping of our colleges of young men for the armed forces and the necessary emphasis on science and engineering, fail to take into account the emotional situation cre- ated by the war and goes to pieces" Turn to Page 6, Col. 4 Danes Report Parachutists LONDON, Feb. 25, Thursday.-(JP) The Danish Radio reported early to- day that "a number of parachutists" had been dropped in Denmark, but gave no indication of their national- ity or whether they had been cap- tured or interned. The statement, broadcast from German-occupied Copenhagen an recorded here by the British Ministry of Information, said that some Dan- ish residents had sheltered the para- chutists, provided facilities for erect- ing radio transmitters, and supplied money and information to the agents. The radio linked Christmas Moel- ler, former Danish Commerce Minis- ter who escaped to Britain last year Receiving First Loss In Tunisia Axis Positions near Kasserine Pass Hit By Tons of Bombs From Allied Planes By WES GALLAGHER Associated Press Correspondent ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, Feb. 24.-Com- bined British and American forces threw Field Marshal Rommel's tank columns into full retreat from the outskirts of Thala today, handing them their first defeat in Tunisia, and tonight Allied artillery lobbed tons of explosive steel into German positions in the narrow Kasserine Pass and on the beaten rear-guard columns withdrawing through it. The big guns were giving the Ger- man tank columns, twisting through the pass, no chance to rest and re- form, and hundreds of Allied planes racing overhead left a trail of smok- ing Axis transport and dying German soldiers all the way from Thala's ap- proaches todFeriana far south of the opposite end of Kasserine Pass. Retreat Through Pass (Reuters reported in London that latest information indicated the bulk of enemy forces were retreating through the Pass, with only a rear- guard left to hold the mouth of the gap against furious continuing Al- lied attacks. The British News Agency also said increasing numbers of fighting units were now reaching the British Eighth Army before the Mareth defenses in southern Tunisia, and that supply was. the main preoccupation at the moment.) Hundreds of Allied planes Mnd Allied ground forces began hitting Marshal Rommel yesterday morn- ing, inflicting the first major set- back on the Axis troops since they lashed out on their offensive 11 days ago. Artillery Hits Running Mazes The American-British aerial smash far overwhelmed the initial German Stuka efforts in the recent fight at Faid, and was continuing. Rommel's retreat-and it was by field accounts a full retreat-began yesterday and by today at least 300 Axis prisoners and large quantities of German material had fallen into Allied hands. This, however, was believed to rep- resent only a small part of the Nazi casualties and losses of equipment inflicted when almost every Allied bomber and fighter on the front splashed tons of high explosives on Turn to Page 6, Col. 5 AFRAID? Hitler Hints At Long Whar, Final Victory LONDON, Feb. 24.-(P)-Reassert- ing his confidence in victory, Adolf Hitler today promised a "mobiliza- tion of the spiritual and material val- ues of Europe" such as never before witnessed for war, but hinted that the struggle might continue for years and that there still were difficulties on the home front. He asserted that "the gigantic mass of the German people is standing be- hind the new Reich and the national socialist world of thought which is inspiring it," but indicated that all was not well within Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, that the Nazi party must "break terror with ten- fold terror. The Fuehrer addressed a 1,000- word proclamation to a Munich meet- ing of party followers. It was read for him for he was still "with the German soldiers fighting in the east because it is there that the fate of Germany and Europe will be decided -a decision which must and will end in our victory." Hitler asserted that "the German people will mobilize and use their forces to an extent exceeding that Alec Templeton Will Appear in Musical Society Concert Today 4 Long noted for his mastery of im- provisations and mimicking, Alec Templeton will be presented for his second concert in Ann Arbor by the University Musical Society at 8:30 p.m. today in Hill Auditorium. Templeton will open his concert with a group of classical numbers.. This group will include such selec- tions as the "Sonata in F-sharp maj- or" of Beethoven, "Warum-Aufsch- wung" by Schumann and the "Inter- mezzo in E-flat" of Brahms. Compo- sitions by Bach, Liadov, Chasins and -~ d'