WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1944
THE MICHIGAN fDAILY
PAGE THREE
Initial Resistance Fails To Materialize in Southern
rance
ndications
Of Struggle
Not Present
By KENNETH L. DIXON
Associated Press Correspondent
WITH ALLIED FORCES ATTACK-
ING SOUTHERN FRANCE, Aug. 15
-Until a few hours before troops
stormed ashore today in southern
France, the coastal defenses of the
underbelly of Hitler's Europe appear-
ed about twice as tough as those en-
countered in Normandy. But the
expected resistance failed to mater-
ialize.
I watched the landings from a
B-25 *Mitchell bomber 1,000 feet
above the beaches.
Signs Lacking
As far as twenty miles inland there
was a consistent lack of any sign of
struggle to mark the entire rugged
landscape. From my vantage point,
it appeared that the new Allied blows
to liberate France were meeting al-
most no resistance in the first stages.
Preliminary reconnaissance indi-
cated shore defenses would form a
hard shell, not too well supported
from behind. Twice during recent
days I have flown over those defen-
ses in reconnaissance planes. They
were bristling with guns behind
heavy emplacements. However, I
saw few indications of strong de-
fenses farther inland.I
It still seems incredible that wel
were not fired upon as we flew in
with the gliders and parachute
troops. It is also strange that the
naval ships and landing craft un-
loading their cargos of men and
equipment should not be showered1
with enemy fire.
Shore Defenses Neutralized
Apparently both the air forces and
navy did a powerful job of neutral-
izing those shore defenses during the
thundering three-hour bombardment
before the landing assault.
Along the entire coastal sector an-
ti-aircraft batteries were so densely.
packed a few days ago that planes1
officially recorded flak as "intense."
Yet no one aboard the plane from1
which I watched the assault saw a
single shot fired or any sign of
activity as the gliders landed.
Pilots who carried parachute troops,
over also reported they encountered2
no fire and all planes apparently re-
turned safely.1
Cracking of the outer shell was
impossible until a few hours beforei
the, actual landings started. Other-E
wise, the bombardment would havec
telegraphed the punch.R
V42 Men Asked To
Sign for Union Cards
Registration for Union membership1
will be held today for members of
V-12 on the halfdecks outside the
messhalls from 11:30 a. m. to 1 p. m.
today.
All men who have not yet received
their complementary cards of Union
membership are urged to register ati
this time.
ALLIES ENTER FLORENCE-Spearheaded by a S outh African tank unit of the Eighth Army, Allied
forces enter the Italian city of Florence on Aug. 14. Porta Romano is at left. This is a British official
photo.
ALLIED SPY NEST:
Street in Heart of Rome Is Used as Center
Of pyActivitly During Nazi Occupation
U.S. Bombers
Blast Nip Bases
In Kurile Isles
Shipping, Air Fields,
Defense Positions Hit J
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15-Pound-
ing the north Pacific Kurile Islands
on two consecutive days, American
bombers blasted shipping, airfield in-
stallations and defense positions on
Paramushiro, Shumushu and Araido
Islands Friday and Saturday, the
Navy reported today.
Shipping was struck near Para-
mushiro and Araido, northwest of
Paramushiro, on both days. A pa-
trol vessel was sunk by strafing
near Araido in the first reported
attack on the Japanese positions
there.
Between 15 and 20 enemy fighter
planes attempted to halt the 11th
Army Air Force Liberators carry-
ing out the Friday raids, but succeed-
ed in inflicting only minor damage
on two of the big bombers. The Navy
reported that three of the enemy
planes were shot down, five probably
shot down and two damaged.
Several enemy fighters also at-
tempted to intercept the Ventura
search planes which struck Araido
but did not press home their at-
tacks. Three Venturas were dam-
aged slightly.
The Navy also reported that an
"aggressive group" of enemy fighters
was encountered by another bomber
flight which struck far to the south
Sunday at Iwo Jima in the Volcano
Islands, about 700 miles south of
Tokyo.
Allies Hark Back
To Napoleon's Day
By The Associated Press
The Allies, in landing in southern
France, may be attempting a strategy
similar to that of Napoleon's.
Napoleon, escaping from a short
exile on the island of Elba, landed
with 1,000 men near Cannes on March
1, 1815, in the gulf now named for
him, and began the 100-day cam-
paign to reconquer the throne of
France.
Knowing his enemies would expect
him to take the easier path up the
narrow Rhone Valley, he deliberate-
ly struck across the difficult French
Alps. The French rallied to him and
he made speedy progress. The cam-
paign ended at Waterloo, north of
Paris.
A rarely publicized war is being
fought in the South Pacific theatre
against the 300,000 to 14,000,000 fun-
go which exist in every ounce of
surface soil, the millions in the air
and on materials. Valuable equip-
ment can easily be injured by the
growth of these microscopic but ever-
present plants, according to reports
from Army Ordnance Depot at Fort
Wayne, Michigan..
Fungi thrive in humid heat. Hence,
in the Pacific theatres where rain is
an almost daily occurrence, the hu-
midity is high, and the heat oppres-
Final Plans for
Semi-Formal
Being Made
Final plans for the semi-formal
dance to be held from 8:30 p. m. to
11:30 p. m. in the Union Ballroom
are now being made by the somber
Scholarship Committee, according to
Jim Plate, chairman.
Army and Navy men will be given
late permission to attend the dance
provided they purchase their tickets
in advance and can show them to
the officer granting permission. Tick-
ets will be on sale in front of the
general library today, tomorrow and
Friday. They may also be purchased
at the League. and Union. The Un-
ion sales will be conducted from 5
p. in. to 7 p. m. today and from 10
a. m. to" noon on Friday.
Ralph Wilson's "sweet and swing"
band will be on hand to play every-
one's favorite numbers. Jean Brooks
will do the vocals. Iced gingerale
will be sold by the Bomber Commit--
tee throughout the evening as well
as at intermission.
Members of the Junior Girl's Pro-
ject Central Committee, headed by
Jean Hotchkin, are assisting the
Bomber Committee. Other JGP
workers are Nora McLaughlin, Betty
Vaughn, Paula Brower, Joyce Sie-
gan, and Tady Martz.
All proceeds of the dance will. be
turned into war bonds which will be
converted to scholarships for return-
ing Michigan veterans. "The Bomb-
er fund is a student project," Plate
said.
"This dance is a means of support-
ing the fund and having an enjoy-
able evening at the same time," he'
added.
sive these minute spores will germi-
nate and. spread the. threads of the
fungus over the surface of sub-
stances-and sometimes through
them. The variety of organic acids
produced by fungi during their
growth can etch away the surface
of metals and may attack even such
inert material as glass. As for their
rotting, everyone is familiar with
their work on textiles, wood and
leather stored in a damp basement
here at home.
Fungi make no fine discriminations
as to the type of material they will
attack. They have impaired many
lenses used in optical instruments,
such as binoculars, range and height
finders, and other sighting equip-
ment. This material is waterproof
but not airtight. It expands in the
hot daylight hours, contracts dur-
ing the cool night. Moisture is suck-
ed into the optical instrument and
will carry with it many of these
microscopic forms of life, and the
moisture will furnish them with the
necessary nourishment, for their de-
velopment.
As the growth develops, the acids
produced may etch the surface of the
lens. Even when the fungous growth
is very carefully removed, the, lens
is often discolored,, and its usefulness
is greatly reduced if. not entir-ely de-
stroyed.
This phenomenon had been ob-
served years before by Philipino
teachers in these tropic areas, when
microseopes, in classrooms were at-
tacked by the fungi.
Much work has 'been done and re-
search is continually being pursued
by the Research and Development
Service of the Ordnance Depot
toward protecting material and sup-
plies in the tropics,
"Army Ordnance," said Colonel
Adamson of the Fort Wayne, Ord-
nance Depot," is making considerable
progress in the control and treat-
ment of fungous growths in optical
instruments and other items of Ord-
nance materials. The coxnplete solu-
tion of the problem has not. yet been
found.
OUR MILITARY STYLES
are designed to A.-youindividual
tastes and need. New students are
welcomed. Try our services.
THE DASCOLA BARBERS
Liberty off State
ANOTHER WAR:
American South Pacific Troops
Contantly Battle Against Fungi
By The Associated Press
ROME, Aug. 9 (Delayed)- Via
Margutta is a narrow little high-
walled tree-shaded street hidden in
the heart of Rome, a street of tiny
taverns, of shoemaker shops and
courtyards, shut off by huge gates
with iron grills.
Behind those gates and the stone
walls are homes, apartments terraced
one about another, flower gardens,
rambling paths and alleyways that
disappear into dim buildings farther
behind the trees and finally up into
the hills behind Rome.
The little street provides the per-
fect scene for the modern legend
which has sprung up about it.
English Predominates
"During the Nazi occupation," Ro-
mans tell you, "there was more Eng-
lish than Italian or German spoken
along the Via Margutta." And while
that undoubtedly is a slight exagger-
ation, still it is founded on fact, and
it typifies the cockeyed conditions of
espionage, counter - espionage and
double-barreled intrigue which has
been commonplace in Rome through-
out the war.
For years everyone has known that
the German Gestapo operated in
strength throughout the Italian cap-
ital-from its cafe society to its un-
derworld and sometimes the gap be-
tween them was not so large.
Germans Outwitted
For months reporters covering this
campaign have known that Allied
espionage experts were practically
commuting between the frontlines
and Rome. For that matter, the
Germans knew it too but either they
couldn't catch them or prove it when
they occasionally did get hold of one
of our topnotch spies.
I know of one such- spy who main-
tained an apartment in Rome and a.
couple of others who had difficulty
explaining-in. triplicate-under ex-
pense accounts why hotel rooms in
Rome cost more than those in Naples.
I know still another-who sat in
the bar of the Grand Hotel sipping
brandy and soda and yawning while'
high Nazi officers frantically packed
their bags and pulled out of Rome.
Used as Spy Nest
But still it is hard to believe such.
stories-unless you see the Via Mar-
gutta and its facilities for intrigue.
American and British spies, Italian
and Yugoslav Partisans, neutral
Swiss and anti-fascist Romans lived
here. There are a host of hideaways
in every house and almost every
building has several secret exists.
The apartment where Ed Kennedy,
A.P. bureau chief in Italy, now lives
while in Rome has an escape avenue
through the roof. It leads out over
other roofs and disappears in a maze
of tiled gables and concealing vines.
Gestapo Makes Raids
Also on Via Margutta, the building
where A. P. reporters George Tucker
and Lynn, Heinzerling make their
headquarters when in the capital
city is - similarly equipped for in-
trigue. The windows can be used
for lookouts covering every possible
public approach to the building or
for escape routes. The thick wooden
doors have little iron grilled windows
in them for identifying visitors-
reminiscent of prohibition speak-
easies.
The Germans knew about Via
Margutta. The Gestapo used to
shake the street down regularly and
stage "surprise" raids every now and
then, but the tip-off and lookout
systems usually worked. By the time
Himmler's hirelings got inside the
houses, everything was in order-not
a questionable character in sight.
But in between times the voice
which floated down from the win-
dows above Via Margutta's cobbled
street were as apt to be English as
Italian or German.
Engineers Will
Hold Election
Elections for class representatives
to the Engineering Council, student
government body of the School of
Engineering, will be held to'dy from
8 a. m. to 3:30 p. m. at polls located
under the Engine Arch..
Those council represenatives elect-
ed from the Freshman hand Sopho-
more classes will serve in office un-
til their graduation or for the dura-
tion. This new procedure which the
Council has adopted for the dura-
tion was made. necessary because of
the constant turnover in' the student
body of the school, according to
Council member Charles Walton.
Those seeking election of the
Sophomore ballot are Robert Dolph,
Fred Dyson, Bennet Housman, Rich-
ard Mixer and Jack Podliashek.
Freshman up for election next Wed-
nesday are Bruce Bugbee, Theodore
Wellerson, Richard Stewart, Walter
Bergner, Moose Dunne, and Arthur
Shef.
Speech Students
Will Be Cited
Students in the Department of
Speech who are applicants for de-
grees at the end of the present Sum-
mer Session or Summer Term will be
cited. at the assembly of the Depart-
ment at 3 p.m. today in the Rackham
Amphitheatre.
Prof. K. G. Hance, concentration
adviser in Speech, will present the
students who expect to receive the
bachelor's tiegree, and Professor L.M.
Eich, graduate adviser, the students
eligible for the master's degree.
A talk on the social aspects of
radio delivered by Robert L. Shayon.
Producer-Director of the Columbia
Broadcasting System will conclude
the program.
Michigan Strikes Show
Large Increase in July
LANSING, Aug. 15 - (.P) - The
number of strikes in Michigan indu-
stries increased from June to July
but fell far short of the Michigan
record set in May, the state labor
mediation board reported today.
The board said there were 57
strikes in July, involving 58,236 work-
ers.
In June, there were 40 strikes and
13,981 workers idle, while in May the
record number of 80 strikes and 71,-
062 persons idle was noted.
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