' iii 4 I I l 4i Y it mint 4 titl Weather Continued Warm and Humid VOL. IIV No. 150 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1944 Americans Are in Sightof Hly PRICE FIVE CENTS Aty Swift Action Is Predicted By Stimson Army Poised for 'ecisive' Period By The Associated Press I WASHINGTON, June 1.-The "pe- riod of decisive action," against the Axis powers is at hand, Secretary of War Stimson asserted today, with nearly half the Army's total strength in action against the enemy or poised in combat zones for new offensives. Disclosing that 3,657,000 soldiers are now deployed outside continental United States, Stimson told a news conference the overseas strength of air and service forces is virtually at its peak, while the movement of ground troops-more than half of which already are overseas-is in- creasing at a rate which will lift the overseas deploymnent total to more than 5,000,000 men by the year's end. Shifts Necessary Indicating that the greater part of this huge force is concentrated against Germany, Stimson said devel- opments will make it necessary to shift portions of the overseas strength from one part of the world to another fle as the Allied grand strategy unfolds. OU~ Minutely detailed plans of the U.S. th1 Joint chiefs of staff have governed the troop movements, he said, begin-2 ning with the decision on the size of 2, the Armny-7,700,000 men-and the order of its use to implement the strtgi decisions of the Allies. 4.asualties Listed . The air forces, he said, have nearly half their total of 2,357,000 men and more than half of their 34,000 combat planes already overseas, forming "the LC world' most formidable aeriald strik- frm ingfocein oit f ize and fire- fiht power." Cha Stlmson also disclosed that Arm- coast erican Army casualties in Italy heav were 9,686 killed, 36,910 wounded and strat 8,554 missing. The total of 55,150 ters. was an increase of 16,092 since the Mi Secretary last reported on March 23, held when his figures were 5,749 killed, boun 23,035 wounded and 10,274 missing. day 1 _____________________of f 1 Feg P 7 FrTh Is PJstone Event Is Scheduled Thursday Afternooii "Rainy weather necessitated post- poning the University clean-up hour ~ scheduled for yesterday until 3:45 L p.m. Thursday," Pat Coulter, pub- licity chairman, said yesterday. The clean-up hour, sponsored by I members of the Women's War Coun- cil and the Union Staff will endeavor to rid the campus of all debris ac- cumulated during the year. Approxi- Pri' mately 400 students have volunteered "husi to work with the War Council, the Lieut Union and ,the '47 Corps foreman to dlare make the project a success. that The campus has been divided into ont nine zones. A runner will report to acter the microphone which will be set up catio in front of the library when eachpri zone is cleaned.- Cokes and dough- prs nuts will be supplied for everyone. Th Foremen and workers are to meet B., 9 in front of the main library to receive paignr instructions. Implements and waste brask~ containers will be placed in the zones stant ______ ___- - ______________________ ____ - IE IIYED IN THE PATH OF WAR-An aged Italian woman who d the battle zone around Minturno and returned when the Allies had sted the Germans, gnaws at a piece of white bread--food supplied by e Allied Military Government organization. 0 TONS DROPPED: French Transportation Centers H iein Heavy RAFN ight Raid . __ _ _ _- -- INDON, June 1. --(P)- Strong ations of medium bombers and ter struck out across the English nel toward the French invasion late this afternoon after a y RAF night assault on three egic French transportation cen- urky weather over the channel the Allied daylight forces land- d during the early part of the but cleared in time for aseries ights against the Nazis' already battered tactical targets. ht Yards Targets e RAF opened the month of with an attack which made it oters Lack P1uulis Uninformed Attitude Is Deplored By The Associated Press otesting against what he called --a-bye" politics, a supporter of . Comdr. Harold E. Stassen de- d last night it is "lamentable" many people are better informed he activities of comic strip char- s than they are on "the qualifi- ns and opinions of all possible dential candidates." e complaint was voiced by John Quinn, who managed the cam- in which Stassen won the Ne- :a preferential primary. A sub- ial write-in vote was recorded Gov. Thomas E. Dewey in that est. idates Silent jinn said that either because of cal expediency or of necessity, majority of the principal presi- al contenders do not talk about cal subjects. his creates an unusual situation eini the public, generally speak- is inadequately informed," he in a statement issued in Wash- n. y Supported v. John W. Bricker of Ohio, an unced presidential aspirant, de- d at the Hershey, Pa., Governor's erence this week that all candi- ought to make their position n and speak out on the issues, atement generally looked upon direct challenge to Governor nas E. Dewey of New York. Most blican governors left the con- ce expressing the conviction that y will win top place on their 's ticket, with Gov. Earl Warren clear that the "Battle of the Rail- roads" had not ended. A strong force of about 500 night bombers dropped probably more than 2,200 tons of bombs on freight yards in Trappes, Tergnier and Saumer, French centers vital to the Germans for routing sup- plies to their coastal armies. Unspecified military objectives along the French coast also were hit in the night's operations, during which the RAF lost eight planes. The noise of the bombardment got Englishmen up out of their beds. Virtually the entire blow was delivered in 15 min- utes. Danube Canal Blasted The British airmen spread out over a 200-mile front of interior France to hit the rail centers, rated as three of the biggest being used for supply- ing the German invasion front. In another night operation the Al- lied Meditrranean air forces sent out Liberators which bombed the rail- road tow tracks alongside the Dan- ube River's iron gate canal oh the Romanian-Yugoslav border. Dislocation Likely The month of June may see a com- plete dislocation of the Nazis' mili- tary transportation system in occu- pied France, Belgium and Holland if the Allied air forces maintain their overwhelming assault on the railroad targets behind the Atlantic Wall. Since the all-out campaign to dis- rupt communications in western Eur- ope began early in March, American and British planes have carried out 246 attacks on 94 railroad targets, some in great strength. Most of these raids were concentrated in France, Belgium and Holland, but some were made on points as deep as Bruns- wick, Germany, 400 miles from the channel coast. Mercker Will Make Adress Tonge COil Banuet Is Set for Thursday "The Story Behind the Medicine Chest" will be the subject of an ad- dress by Harvey M. Mercker, manu- facturing superintendent of - Parke, Davis and Company, at the 15th An- nual Tongue Oil Banquet of the en- gineering and architectural schools at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, in the Michigan Union. Mercker, who is also the superin- tendent of the Parke Davis Labora- tory Division, received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University in 1909. In 1940 an hon- Yank Advance Is Reported By MacArthur Reinforcemnents Pour Onto Biak as Aussies Close In on Japanese By The Associated Press A resurgence of Allied advances against by-passed Japanese in the Southern Pacific was reported today by Gen. Douglas MacArthur a few hours after amphibious Japanese troops swept across Tungting Lake in a growing Central China offensive. Reinforcements poured onto Biak Island in the Schouten group where Americah infantrymen were halted temporarily by fixed enemy defenses. Two hundred miles eastward on New Guinea's coast infantry patrols ran the number of Japanese dead in the Wake-Sarmi sector up to 1,453. Yanks Land on Bougainville Far to the southeast Austrialians, pressing up Alexishafen, closed tight- er a vise on thousands of isolated Japanese. The Aussies advanced to Guru, midway between Alexishafen and the enemy strongpoint at Hansa Bay. On the long quiet Solomons front Alied amphibious troops made an- other landing on Bougainville island seven miles southeast of Torokina River in a sudden expansion of their Empress Augusta Bay beachhead. Japs Threaten Changsha The Japanese amphibious action on the continent carried them into the heart of Central China's rice bowl and threatened the stronghold of Changsha from a third side. The operation by-passed Changteh, scene of the bloodiest fighting in last fall's rice bowl battle. It represented a 35-mile advance for the western column of the massive three-pronged drive southward. It brought the three spearheads on an even line along a 100-mi' front. Strikles Crippale Transportation In Three Cities By The Associated Press Strikes crippled transportation in three cities yesterday. Several hundred thousand residents of St. Louis were forced to travel by private automobiles, rucks and bi- cycles or on foot in the wake of a surprise walkout of 3,500 AFL bus and streetcar operators. The action was unauthorized, and Mayor Aloys P. Kaufmann reported a union chief agreed to notify the men to ~etrn to their jobs. Busmen Quit Two hundred emuloyes of the East St. Louis Il1.) bus lines also left their posts. Approximnately 175 conductors, shopmen, and linemen stayed away from work in Tampa, Fla., demand- ing a signed contract, All but nine of the 100 street cars were out of service, but extra bus runs handled most of the normal trolley ~oad. 27,000 Idle The St. Louis disagreement was over interpretation of overtime pay provisions, while the East St. Louis trouble stemmed from a dispute in- volving a night superintendent afd a worker. Fresh controversies developed dur- ing the day and others were adjusted, while the net number of idle declined to aproximately 27,000. Detroit Dispute Ended The last major strike in war-busy Detroit was terminated when 1,900 workers who engaged in a nine-day strike at Parke, Davis and Company, producer of medical supplies, voted to resume their tasks after hearing appeals of CIO union leaders. The lumber and logging industry in the Pacific Northwest went back into partial production, although it was indicated a minority of about 15,000 men were still away from their jobs. U* S. May Blacklist Finnish Companies WASHINGTON, June 1.-(VP)-The Y e Tvi u .' - - s - a .r1 fn ir By Te Associated Press WASHINGTO7N, June 1..- In a statement of potentially explosive significance for colonial empires such as those of the British and the Dutch, Secretary of State Cordell Hull de- clared today that the United States is a champion of liberty for everybody and virtually promised recognition to any peoples who assert their free- dom effectively. At the same time, he expanded his recent declarations on creation of a post-war world organization to give assurance to small nations, such as the Dutch, the Belgians and the Poles, that the United States intends they should be treated equally with the great powers on matters of com- mon concern in the organization. Statement Incomplete It was, in fact, a question about the rights of small nations which touched off the secretary's statement about liberty at a news conference shortly after noon. He gave permis- sion for the statement to be made public verbatim, specifying only that since it was extemporaneous his aides should edit it so it would read smoothly. The statement was still in progress of editing, however, in late afternoon and only indirect attribution to the secretary was possible up to that time. The secretary was asked whether there was anything he could say to reassure small nations about their security in the post-war period. The questioner had reference to the warning issued in London yesterday Hull Declares U.S. Is 'Champion of Liberty' Pronises Recognition for All Free Peoples; Expands Declaration on World Organization by the Netherlands foreign minister, Eelco Van Kleff ens, that the small nations would not be able to support any world organization dominated by a Big Four of the United States, Russia, Britain and China. To this the secretary replied that the welfare of each nation in the future depends upon the welfare of GOP Agrees with Hull . . WASHINGTON, June 1,- (.F)- Agreeing with Secretary Hull that foreign policy discussions with other nations should be non-partisan, Sen- ator Vandenberg (Rep., Mich.) pre- dicted tonight the Republican plat- form will parallel the party's Mack- inac Island declaration for "respon- sible participation" by this country in post-war cooperation to preserve peace. all or, he added, most all. The latter evidently was a reference to the immediate post-war condition of Germany. Philippines Cited He said that as far as this govern- ment was concerned, all of his dec- larations and those of the President have assured small nations of a posi- tion of equality with all other nations in every practical way. Hull declared that, "We have en- couraged all nations to aspire to lib- erty, and to enjoy it. Our attitude toward the Philippines is a striking example. Nobody had to put us on the witness stand to know what we were doing for them." HOPWOOD LECTURE: Loisogn.oSpa Ax' Louise Bogan, poetry critic of the New Yorker magazine, will deliver the annual Hopwood lecture on "Popular° and Unpopular Poetry," at 4:15 today in the Rackham Amphitheatre. Miss Bogan is recognized not only as one of America's outstanding crit- ics, but as an outstanding poet in her own right. She is a native of Maine and first had her work pub- lished in "The New Republic." In addition to her work on the New Yorker, Miss Bogan also has pub- lished several books of verse, Winners To Be Announced Following her address, the 1944 winners of major and minor Hop- wood awards will be announced. Awards, which are given annually, were provided for in the will of the late Avery Hopwood, '05. It is spe- cified that the interest from one- fifth of his estate be used for annual awards for the best creative writing at the University in the field of dram- atic writing, the essay, fiction and poetry. Editors or writers of national rep- utation are selected annually to judge the manuscripts, and the names of those who made the 1944 selections will also be announced after the lec- ture. Editors To Be Present Former Hopwood winners and rep- resentatives of major publishing com- panies will be present to hear Miss Russi an A rmy Kills 800 Nazis LONDON, June 2, Friday-(P)- The Red Army, launching successful counterattacks yesterday against the German drive north of Iasi in the Moldavian province of Romania, killed 800 Nazi soldiers and knocked out 18 tanks, Moscow announced early today as the battle went into its fourth day. The broadcast Russian communi- que, recorded by the Soviet Monitor, indicated that the action was on a smaller scale than in the two previous days, saying that 18 German tanks and 15 planes were destroyed during the day. This contrasted with what the communique called "precise data" of the fighting May 30 and 31, in which 148 German tanks were declared dis- o.h r - Am.c,+,.rnvyrA - .n 17 O'7 Bogan's lecture. Among the Hop- wood winners will be Dorothy Tyler, editor of the University of Minnesota Press, and Iola Fuller, author of "Loon Feather" which won the 1939 major award in fictions Publishers' repre- sentatives will include Harry E. Key Base Of Velleti Encirled Albaii Hills Ridge Captured b y Yans By The Associated Press ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN NAPLES, June 1.-American troops in spectacular, danger-fraught night' time advance have pierced the Ger- mans' powerful defense line before Rome, encircling the enemy strong- hold of Velletri and capturing a tow- ering ridge of the Alban Hills from which they could see the dome of St. Peter's. Kenneth Dixon, Associated Press field correspondent who accompanied the Yanks in a moonlit "sneak" onto 3,000-foot heights behind the Nazis' main defenses, said in a delayed dis- patch: Hundreds of Prisoners Taken "All day long soldiers have been delousing -these heights, cleaning out >nipers, machine-gunners and fluid enemy patrols which already ae frantically trying to fight their way out of the trap. Already hundreds of prisoners have, been taken and it looks from here like encircled Vel- letri is soon due to fall to Fifth Army troops." The bitterly-resisting garrison of Velletri was caught between the doughboy raiders holding Monte Ar- temisio, two miles north and north- west of the town, and the main Allied striking force fighting its way into the tottering bastion from the south and east. Heights Seized Between Velletri and Valmontone, another principal bulwark of the en- emy's defense wall before the Eternial City, American troops had plunged almost two miles up the volcanic slopes and seized a point on Mount Peschio ridge, highest feature of the Alban Hills. Both Yank spearheads were within 15 miles of Rome's an- cient city wall. "From these heights," wrote Asso- ciated Press correspondent Edward Kennedy from the front, "the dough-' boys got their first glimpses of Rome -a hazy mass of buildings in the distance from the midst of which rose the dome of St. Peter's, its lines just barely visible." The nocturnal stab through the Nazis' elaborate defenses- possibly the decisive "break" in what had threatened to become a protracted struggle for the Alban Hills-was accomplished without a shot being fired. Rumor HasIts' To Be Presented The second performance of "Ru- mor Has It," Co. D's original musical comedy, will be given at 8:30 p.m. today in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. As all the tickets have been sold out a capacity audience is expected for the show according to director Pfc. Arty Fischer, Judy Chayes and Staff Sgt. Henry Schneidewind are playing the lead roles. Other leads are Sylia Nycamp opposite Pfc. Joe Sutton and Luille Genuit opposite Pfc. Charles DeBare, Pfc. Richard Pratt also has a fea- tured role., The quintet for the show is com- posed of Pat DuPont and Pfc.'s Phil Brancucci, Paul Brazda, Gordon Clarke 'and Jerry McCroskey. The book for the show was written by Pfc.'s Oscar Shefler, Dannie Gil- man and Stanley Krenitz. The songs for the show were composed by Pfc.'s Jim Rhind and Ken Pierson. Pfc, Dick Thomas and Pfc. Bob Comman- day have arranged all the choral and orchestral music. Dorothy Murzek has been in charge of dance direction and choreography. Nazi.Puppet Regime Set Up in Bulgaria LONDON, June 1 -(A)--Bulgaria and a truck will be available move the collected waste. to re-j 300 Af fected by Chlorine Gas NEW YORK, June 1.-()-Escap- ing chlorine gas felled more than 300 persons at 8 busy intersection in Brooklyn today. Most of those overcome were re- moved to hospitals, some in seriousl condition. No fatalities were report- ed. The gas, leaking from a tank being transported in a truck to a Brooklyn pier, spread about two blocks in every direction. Men, women and high school students on their way home began to cough, vomit, stagger and then fall flat, creating a scene resem- bling pictures from the war. The gas, heavier than air, descend- ed through ventilators into the sub- for C conlte: Cand QuI politi the rx dentin politic "TI where ing, said ingto Dewe Go anno' clared Conf dates know a sta as a Thom Repu feren Dewe party LOUISE BOGAN will speak today Maule, editor of Random House; Jane Lawson, editor of Knopf; Ed- ward Weeks, editor of Atlantic Monthly magazine; John Tebbel of Duttons; and A. J. Putnam of Mc- Millan's. Miss Bogan will be ti~e guest of the University Hopwood. 'ommittee at a private dinner following the lecture, and all 1944 contestants are invited to a reception to be. given in her honor at 7:30 p.m. today in the Grand Rapids Room of the League. LONDON, June 1.-(P)-A German military commentator declared today that 15 Allied divisions-150,000 to 2000,000 men were massed in North Africa, ready to strike at the French or Italian Riviera when the signal for the invasion from the west is given in Britain. The Germans were aware of plans for notentially nowerfi1 nffensives