JNN
4
Weather
Slightly Warmer
VOL. LIV No. 40 ANN ARBOR, MICTITGAN SATUR1~DAY. DEC. 18, 1943
PRICE FIVEENTS
Marshall
*To Stay
in Capital
Army, Navy Register
Reports Eisenhower
As Invasion Leader
By The Associated Press-
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - In
a story credited to "well informed
sources," the Army and Navy Regis-
ter will say tomorrow that Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower will direct an
invasion from Britain and that Gen.
George C. Marshall will be retained
in Washington as Chief of Staff.
The Register, unofficial but usual-
ly authoritative service weekly, ob-
serves that "this is a reversal of the
previou intention to send him (Mar-
shall) to London, sometime this win-
ter, to take command of Allied forces
to' invade the continent of Europe
from the British Isles."
(Similar reports have been circu-
lating in Washington. However, a
careful check has failed thus far to
disclose any substantial basis.)
The Register's article says that the
same sources report that Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower will go to London to
assume command of the invasion for-
ces and "it is indicated that Gen. Sir
Harold Alexander of the British Ar-
my will succeed to command of the
Allied forces in the mid-Mediterran-
ean." Alexander has been Eisenhow-
er's deputy.
The story adds that shifts in the
High Command, both in the combat
theaters and in Washington, may be
expected after Marshall's return to
Washington.
Russians Gain
Ground in Fight
For Kirovo grad
Ay The asse t4Press
LONDON, ec. 18, Saturday-Rus-
sian forces locked in a swaying battle
for the Ukrainian industrial town' of
Kirovograd gained ground in one sec-
tor Friday and absorbed strong Ger-
man attacks in another, Moscow an-
nounced today, while GerIna reports
told of Soviet assaults in White Ru-
sia that imperilled the German hold
on the rail junction of Zhlobin and
gained ground in the Nevel area.
In an unusually short communique
limited only to the Kirovograd fight-
ing, IVoscow said the Germans at-
tacked in one area with two regi-
ments of infantry and 70 tanks. Fif-
teen tanks were lost but the Germans
broke through Russian lines. In the
depth of Russian defenses they were
attacked by Soviet tankmen from
ambush and thrown back with furth-
er losses of 12 tanks, six self-propell-
ed guns and 800 men.
Other Russian units improved their
positions and took prisoners and war
materials on another sector, the om-
munique, -recorded by the Soviet
monitor, said. Soviet planeswere ac-
tie despite poor weather, damaging
10 tanks and 150 trucks.
Berlin reported terrific battles in
White Russia, which, if they are on
the'scale described by the Germans,
are as important as any the Russian
front has seen in nonths-operations
which may be the beginning of a
Soviet winter offensive.
Lewis Signs
No-Strike Pact
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17. -(I)-
President John L. Lewis of the
United Mine Workers signed a two-
year, no-strike agreement today with
more than two-thirds of the soft
coal industry and submitted it to the
War Labor Board.
Lewis signed the document at his
home, where he is ill with a cold,
after' a joint conference of the union
and operators had approved it. It
provides that no strike- shall be
called-or-maintained during the peri-
od of the agreement. The base date
is last April 1, which means that the
agreement may be opened on March
31 next, the end of the first year, if
either party wishes to negotiate gen-
eral wage terms. It also may be re-
opened if "a significant change" oc-
curs in the government wage policy.
Tito Reports
Balkan Defeat
U. S.Bombs
Sever Nazi
Rail Lines
German Munitions Cut
From Troops ii Italy
In the Air...
By The Associated Press
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, AL-
GIERS, Dec. 17.-Heavy bombers of
the 15th American Strategic Air
Force have severed-temporarily, at
least-two more important rail links
between Germany's munition foun-
dries and her troops fighting on the
Italian front, it was announced to-
day.
Fighter-escorted Flying Fortresses
and Liberators loosed strings of high
explosives on rail yards at Padua,
ancient university city 18 miles west
of Venice, and on a railway tunnel
and bridge at Dogna, just south of
the Austrian border, about 25 miles
from Udine, in an attack yesterday
on Germar communications in nor-
thern Italy.
Lighter Allied aircraft also were
very active, their targets including
German positions, motor transport
and communications on both the
Fifth and Eighth Army fronts and
shipping off both coasts of Italy. The
harbor at Civitavecchia northwest of
Rome again was bombed and hits
scored on ships and warehouses.
Light bombers ranged across the
Adriatic in support of Marshal Josip
Broz's Yugoslav Partisans and made
attacks on Nazi communications in
the Sibenik and Dubrovnik areas.
In all the days operations 11 enemy
planes were destroyed.
On the Land ...
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS,, Al-
giers, Dec. 17.-(P)- For the first
time since Nov. 11, 1918, troops of the
four great Allies of the first World
War-America, Britain, France and
Italy - are fighting side by side
against the Germans, in the rugged
mountains of Italy.
Splendidly equipped with the most
modern American weapons, crack
fresh units trained in North Africa
have been in the battle line for some
time and have scored - outstanding
successes, capturing several import-
ant Nazi hill positions and seizing
prisoners, the Allied command an-
nounced today.
This first appearance of French
troops in European mainland fight-
ing since the fall of their homeland
in 1940 created a sensation among
the Italian peopele.
The quick, incisive successes scored
by the highly mobile French striking
force contrasted sharply with the de-
bacle . suffered recently by Italian
militia in its first offensive gesture in
the Mignano area. The French, how-
ever, are much more highly equipped
and trained than their new Italian
Allies.
U.S. Subs Sink
Eight Jap Ships
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.-()-
Eight more of the cargo ships which
Japan needs so badly to keep her
swollen empire a going concern have
been sunk by United States subma-
rines.
This was reported today by the Na-
vy in a brief communique which
brought the score of our submarines
in the Pacific to: Japanese ships
sunk 374, probably sunk 36 and da-
maged 114, a grand total of 524 as
against the announced loss of 15
subs.
I --mmmo
'Roosevelt Discloses Teheran Plot;
U S. Planes Repulse Jap Air Attacks
Airmen Down
14 Nipponese
At New Britain
By The Associated Press
GENERAL MacARTHUR'S HEAD-
QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA, Dec.
18, Saturday-Alert American planes,
providing all-important protection
for ground forces securing the inva-
sion beachhead on New Britain, have
broken up repeated enemy air at-
tacks, shooting down nine bombers
and five fighters, it was announced
today.
Patrols Ready for Retaliation
Ready for the expected retaliatory
air blows, which quickly followed the
smoothly won position Wednesday at
Arawe on the southwest coast, these
vigilant patrols took on the invaders
in a constant series of sky battles.
Three other raiders probably were
downed. No mention was made of
Allied air losses.
Beneath this effective air umbrella,
the peninsula, which was taken under
naval and plane bombardment at a
low cost of lives, was strengthened
against any counter move.
Today's communique made clear
that every position seized has been
retained, saying "territory won in our
landing operations is being consoli-
dated by our ground forces"-units of
the Sixth U.S. Army.
Cape Gloucester Bombed
At the same time the American
fighters were turning back the Jap-
anese airforce before Arawe, Liberat-
ors were making two heavy assaults
with 232 tons of explosives on Japan-
ese positions some 85 miles northwest
at Cape Gloucester. That position,
nearest to the New Guinea coast from
which the invasion of New Britain
was made, now has taken a pounding
by more than 1,100 tons of bombs
since late in 'ovember
At the invasion scene of Arawe,
which is 260 miles southwest of the
fortress of Rabaul on the same island,
the Yanks were reported to be hold-
ing almost all of the nearly three-
mile-long peninsula.
Prime Minister
Directs War
From Sick lBed
LONDON, Saturday, Dec. 18.-(RP)
-With the old tenacity that lifted
Britain from the brink of defeat to
an assurance of victory, Prime Min-
ister Churchill has insisted on direct-
ing the country's war effort from his
sick bed in the Middle East where he
is fighting lobar pneumonia, it was
reported today.
The Prime Minister has been in
communication with the war cabinet
since he became ill, the Daily Mail
said, and is keeping in closest touch
with the war situation and "trans-
acting urgent state business."
Official reports of the Prime Min-
ister's improvement cheered every-
one, but it is felt here that it will be
a few days before he passes the crisis.
Churchill was allowed to read im-
portant war dispatches, the Daily
Mail said, and "is said to have in-
sisted that nothing-least of all the
operation of agreed war plans-
should be delayed for one moment
by his illness."
Allied Ships Li, Aflame in Bari Harbor after German Attack
Allied vessels lie aflame in the Italian harbor o f Bari after a dawn raid by 30-odd German planes
Dec. 2. Secretary of War Stimson said the raid cost the Allies 17 ships, five of them American, and
1,000 men killed or wounded, including 37 American naval men. Any losses to the Nazi air force which
made the attack could not be determined, as Stimson's report dealt only with Allied losses. This is prob-
ably the greatest Allied shipping defeat suffered in a protective harbor, yet in the war.
Stalin Suspects
German Spies in
Iranian Capital
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.-Presi-
dent Roosevelt, just back from his
long journey to war talks in the Mid-
dle East, said at a press-radio con-
ference late today that in Teheran he
was told by Russian representatives
of a German plot and that at the in-
sistence of Premier Stalin he took up
quarters in the Russian compound.
He said personally he did not put
much stock in the reported plot. But
he added that he supposed there pro-
bably were hundreds of German spies
in the Iranian capital.
Plot Aimed at Big Three
Mr. Roosevelt did not say at whom
the plot was supposed to have been
aimed, but the inference was that it
was 'against any or all of the "Big
Three" conferees. (The third con-
feree was Prime Minister Churchill
of Great Britain.)
The President said the conference
area in the Middle East was within
range of German planes and that
air transports were like sitting ducks
on the water. It was in an air trans-
port that he journeyed to Teheran,
he said.
No Nazi Defeat Date Set
To a question whether it was the
"feeling at Teheran that it,w.uJldj.,e
possible to bring about the military
defeat of Gerany next year," the
President replied that he was not
setting any dates, but that all three
leaders present there were working
toward the defeat of Germany as
fast as it could be accomplished
Mr. Roosevelt said he would make
a radio address at 3 p.m. (E.W.T.) on
the day before Christmas, directed
primarily to men and women in the
armed forces around:the world. That
address, he said, will include a report
on his journey to the Middle East,
and whatever is left over about the
trip will be incorporated in. his ana
nual message to Congress early in
the new year.
He described as significant the
fact that between two-thirds and
three-fourths of the world's popula-
tion was represented at the Allied
war councils in the Middle East.
Army Offers
Health Course :
POST-WAR EDUCATION:
President Ruthven Announces
Discussion- of Lansing Meeting
Declaring that "we are determined
to give every service to returning ser-
vicemen in education and guidance,"
President Alexander G. Ruthven re-
ported last night the discussions he
had ywith Governor Kelly and a com-
mittee of educators in Lansing yes-
terday.
The meeting was called by Gover-
nor Kelly to marshall state efforts to
aid in t rehabilitation of discharged
servicemen now and those returning
after the war.
Educators Discuss Problem
The group included President
Ruthven, President John A. Hannah
of Michigan State College, Eugene B.
Elliot, Superintendent of Public In-
struction, the Governor and his aides.
Stating that "the problem would
be much more complicated than after
the last war," Presid'ent Ruthven
added, that it would not be true, as it
was before, "that there would be lit-
tle disruption of their careers."
Michigan has been investigating
the problem for several months, ac-
cording to Dr. Ruthven, and the
Board of Regents passed a resolutiony
at their last meeting advising the
"faculties of the University to inven-
tory their facilities now with a view4
to postwar aid."
According to Associated Press dis-
patches from Lansing, the group
agreed that the State of Michigan
would supplement any services ren-
dered by the federal government for
educating discharged men and wo-
men, and Dr. Elliot added "to do an
ad4quate job of education, we must
keep the channels open for all adults
to get additional training."
More Discharges Seen
Kelly said that "already 30,000
soldiers have been returned to civil-
ian life in Michigan and that a great-
er impact of such discharges can be
expected within 90 days."
Discussing the work of the commit-
tee Dr. Ruthven said that it will cor-
relate its findings and present any-
recommendations for legislative ac-
tion if that is necessary.
"No specific action is contemplated
at the moment," Dr. Ruthven said,
"but we shall continue to give
problem our attention."
the
Flu Epidemic
In Local Area
Is Moderate
Local doctors claim that the Mich-
igan influenza epidemic, which
health officers estimate has hit al-
most 20 percent of the state's popula-
tion, is only moderately severe in
Washtenaw County.
County Health Director, Otto K.
Engelke, said that there had been
many cases of flu of an unusually
mild form in the county. He did not
think, however, that it was necessary
to close the schools at this time.
City Health Officer, J. A. Wessing-
er, said that about 10 percent of the!
city has been effected, but that only
three or four pneumonia cases have
been reported so far. "The number
of patients appears to be on the
decrease," he said, "and we can
handle these cases without difficulty
if the present low temperatures keep
up.
"The epidemic has subsided consid-
erably in the last three or four days,"
he stated. "It is hoped that the con-
tinued cold weather will stave off
any additional cases. There have
been no fatalities in Ann Arbor to
date."
Dr. Warren Forsythe, Director of
University Health Service, in a warn-
ing to the students, said that the
symptoms resemble those of an or-
dinary cold, accompanied by temper-
ature and a persistent cough. He
suggests that all students suffering
from colds go to bed and drink plenty
of liquids. For those not yet affect-
ed. he recommended regular hours of
sleep and avoidance of crowds.
'Weather Causes
Accident Rise
Old Man Weather has been a lead-
ing contributor to the traffic-acci-
dent toll in Ann Arbor within the
last week.
City nolice authorities and the
Berlin Is Left
In Flames by
British Bombers
Fires Rage Throughout
Nazi Capital After RAF
Attack; 30 Planes Lost
By The Associated Press
LONDON, .Dec. 17.-Fires which
spread black choking smoke through
many quarters of Berlin gnawed at
Germany's crumbling capital tonight
in the wake of the latest RAF as-
sault which stunned Berliners with
1,500 long tons of explosives includ-
ing about 20 two-ton bombs.
The strong force of Lancasters that
hit the city last night in the sixth
major attack since the "Battle of
Berlin" began less than a month ago
swept over the cloud-covered capital
at the earliest hour they have yet at-
tacked the city-shortly before 7 p.m.
Thirty bombers-about average for
a mission of its size-failed to re-
turn, and at least five Nazi fighters
were shot from the flame-reddened
skies.
The.German communique acknow-
ledged that considerable damage had
been done the city scarred and black-!
ened by 40 previous raids this year.
The Spandau district, named in
reports to neutral capital as one area
particularly well plastered, is the site
of the immense Brandenburg aero-!
engine works as well as other im-
portant war industries.
The city's governmental district-
Germany's nerve center-was also re-
ported to have been hit hard.
For last night's attack the bomber
command must have sent its four-
engined aircraft into the skies short-
ly before nightfall, as most of them
had returned by midnight.
?esstah' Will
Be Tomorrow
The annual Christmas performance
of Handel's "Messiah," featuring four
guest artists and the 310 member
Choral Union chorus, will be given at
3 p.m. tomorrow in Hill Auditorium
under the direction of Hardin Van
Deursen, acting conductor of the Un-
iversity Musical Society.
Solosist will be Agnes Davis, so-
prano; Lillian Knowles, contralto;
William Miller, tenor, and Wellington
Ezekiel, bass; Palmer Christian, or-
ganist, and a special 50-piece or-
chestra will provide the accompani-
ment.
A limited number of tickets for the
"Messiah" are still available and will
be on sale until noon today at the
University Musical Society office in
Burton Memorial Tower and at 2 p.m.
tomorrow at Hill Auditorium.
j xpanaa e rogram: tor
Officers To Start Soon
In keeping with Michigan's leading
role in specialized training, an ex-
panded program in Public Healh Ad-
ministration for Army officers will
begin here soon, it was learned yes-
terday.
The new program is part of the
Civil Affairs Specialists training pro-
gram which has been in progress
here since mid-summer.
Michigan has been elected by the
Provost-Marshall General of the
United States Army as the second
university in the country to give this
type of training.
The facilities of Michigan's new
School of Public Health, the seventli
such school in the country, will :be
extensively used by the Army officer
administrators and all academic work
will be under the direction of Dr.
George Ramsey of the school.
Campus Sing
Will Be Held
The third annual all-campus carol
sing sponsored by the Student-Re-
ligious Association, will be held at
8 p.m. tomorrow on the library steps.
Leading -the sing this year will be
a group of the Navy choir. Music-will
be furnished by a brass quartet froul.
the Navy Band.
Sheets of printed carol words are
being furnished through the courtesy
of the Ann Arbor News. Following the
singing, refreshments will be served
at Lane Hall, headquarters of the As-
sociation.
Police Search for
ALIAS NORTH POLE:
Ann Arbor Santa Is Busy
By AGATHA MILLER
Santa Claus doesn't have to come
to Ann Arbor because he is already
here in the guise of a 54-year-old
slender, wiry man with gray hair and
sparkling eyes, better known to his
friends at Albert Warnhoff.
For the past 33 years, Mr. Warn-
hoff has been playing Santa Claus
to the crippled and handicapped
children of Washtenaw County. His
workshop isn't at the North Pole,
but in the basement of his home at
722 Packard, hemmed in between
the furnace and the washing mach-
ine.
med under the rafters, and crowding
the coal out of the bins.
Santa started his workshop 33 years
ago with a couple of hand saws, some
basswood, and a determined spirit.
He could only start by making a few
toys. "When I look back over all
my years as Santa Claus," he says
with modest pride, "I figure I've
made over 7,500 toys. This year alone
I made 376 different toys."
Santa's work starts right after
Christmas, and continues until the
following yuletide. All his time and
energy are given freely. His pet
neeve is having neople offer to pay
All Year
child, whom he happens to forget,
write to him ,and he will see to it that
there is something in his stocking at
Christmas time. All letters address-
ed to Santa will be forwarded to his
home by the post office.
Santa at North Pole has elves,
dwarfs and fairies helping him. Ann
Arbor's Santa has his helpers, too.
Friends have furnished him with
wood, screws and hardware. The ra-
tion board - is also cooperating, by
supplying Santa with sufficient gas
coupons to make his Yuletide deliv-
eries possible. The women of Ann
Arbor helped Santa secure dolls for
t