America at war! (1941--) -- Part 2

121

AP correspondents congratulated on war reports

Cooper, general manager of news agency, cites home front benefits

New York (AP) –
Associated Press war correspondents covering the global war on land and sea and in the air were told yesterday by Kent Cooper, general manager, that:

…never before has a war been so thoroughly, so truthfully and so colorfully reported.

In a shortwave Christmas broadcast to the men he said were sharing "the risks and the experiences of the fighters in the front lines,” Mr. Cooper said:

Dispatches from the battlefront are doing many things that you may not realize.

Your stories are breaking down the fearful suspense of waiting mothers. They have put iron into the veins of a fighting people. The morale of entire communities has been raised by your words of how their husbands and sons have fought gallantly, or even how they have died bravely.

You have broken down the great bugaboo of those who stay at home – no news.

Asserting that the war correspondents “have the toughest, most dangerous – yet the most cherished jobs in AP,” the general manager said:

I certainly do wish you all the best and happiest Christmas that is possible under the circumstances in which you find yourselves. I hope what I have said will convince you that you are in our thoughts and in our hearts. Perhaps that will help. I hope so.

Mr. Cooper’s greetings, which carried congratulatory messages from many newspaper members of the Associated Press throughout the United States, also included a brief message in Spanish to newspapermen of La Prensa Asociada, AP subsidiary, in Latin America.

It was carried by NBC over shortwave transmission stations WRCA, WNBI, WCW, WGEO, WBOS, WGEA and WRUW.

122

Jap base in Burma raided in surprise night attack

With the USAAF, China – (Dec. 24, delayed)
In a surprise night raid, U.S. bombers operating from bases in China blasted the Japanese base at Lashio in eastern Burma Tuesday for the second time since Sunday.

Strings of incendiaries were reported to have started fires in a big warehouse concentration in the center of the city. Tons of fragmentation bombs also blasted enemy barracks and the airdrome.

The night raid was the first ordered by Brig. Gen. Claire L. Chennault since the attack Ion Hong Kong Oct. 29. The assault was made in bright moonlight, but apparently caught the Japanese by surprise.

New Delhi, India (AP) –
For the second day in succession, RAF fighters yesterday attacked the Japanese airdrome at Magwe in Burma, strafing the field from a low level and engaging in sharp fights with Japanese planes which rose to challenge them, a British communiqué announced today.

A small number of Japanese planes made another raid on Calcutta during the night, the bulletin said.

123

Five, adrift for days after vessel burns, finally reach shore

Crewmen in lifeboat swept to sea twice when land was near

Key West, Florida (AP) –
Five survivors of the small American-owned motorship Flying Coot, which was destroyed by fire in the Gulf of Mexico last Friday, arrived here yesterday after a terrific struggle against wind and fire.

The men were rescued after they had drifted helplessly for days, had been capsized by high winds and watched three comrades swept to their death from the overturned lifeboat.

The ship was on its way from Havana to an East Coast U.S. port when fire broke out in the engine room. In a few minutes, the ship was an inferno, and the crew took to the lifeboats.

Capt. Albert Shippe of Miami set course for Rebecca Light, only 15 miles away. But with three oars, the crew could not make headway against high winds and seas, and course was changed to Havana. Again, with the light of the Cuban coast visible, the ship was beaten back by the seas.

For two days, the eight men drifted in the Gulf Stream. On the third, 45-foot waves capsized the frail craft. The eight men were unable to right it.

Three men, weakened by the struggle, gave up and sank. All natives of Spain, they were Juan Gayes and Vicennte Casas, seamen, and Raymon Gonzalez, cook.

Finally, the five survivors did right the boat and drifted until they were rescued Wednesday by an American vessel. They were landed here yesterday.

In addition to Capt. Shippe, survivors were: Raymond B. Yates Jr„ chief engineer, and John E. Abbott, second engineer, both of British West Indies; Jesus Infante, native of Spain, acting first mate, and Manuel Canoser, seaman, of Havana.

124

Editorial: Christmas

President Roosevelt, in a message to the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States, has declared:

The star of Christmas again shines brightly in a world black with war and hate. Never has mankind yearned more for what that star signifies – for peace and honor to men of goodwill.

This sentiment, however, is not put forward alone. It is the judgment of the leader of the American people that:

This is a happier Christmas than last year in the sense that the forces of darkness stand against us with less confidence in the success of their evil ways.

Taken together, the two expressions here reproduced form a philosophy of inspiration and courage which a vast public will be proud and glad to share. There can be no reasonable doubt of the reality, the sincerity, the profound integrity of the longing of millions of the citizens of the Axis countries as well as the United Nations for a universal civilization worthy of the name. The anniversary of the birth of the Holy Child of Bethlehem represents in its traditional customs an instinct for love and fellowship which humanity naturally feels. Compared to the number who must suffer, only a few perverse and wicked individuals are responsible for the disasters by which the race is afflicted.

Certainly, it does not follow that the majority of the people every where are exempt from blame for the present conflict or from a compelling duty to correct those conditions which brought it about. The masses too often have permitted themselves to be deceived and misdirected by tyrants, and they must be wiser, less fearful, more discriminating in that respect in the future. Pope Pius XII, in his Christmas address, warned against the danger of:

…the subordination of everything to politics and the heresy of a national state which subordinates all to human law.

The holy father also insisted that “internal peace” is as imperative as “external peace." If harmony is to rule in the world, he said:

Inside each nation there must be unity and love.

In other words, the spirit of Christmas is the solvent for the sins and the sorrows of the human family. Every reasonable and honorable person, without regard to any arbitrary limitation, appreciates the value of the teachings of Christ. No one denies the merit of mercy and tolerance, righteousness and justice, mutuality and cooperation. For nearly 2,000 years, the power of the idealism of Jesus, exemplified in His own career from the manger to the empty tomb, has been growing in its influence. No other doctrine is possessed of such magnetic appeal. The problem is to make its impact effective.

President Roosevelt testifies that: "The way we must travel is yet long” and “when the war is won” there will remain “the hard task of building a better and a freer world.”

Pope Pius, in similar vein, proclaims:

My blessing goes out to all those who, like the Crusaders, will fight for this and for a better Christian world.

The Chief Executive and the Pontiff are agreed and those for whom and to whom they speak are as one in the hope and the determination to make the meaning of Christmas apply to all other days. Toil and the sacrifice of precious lives are involved in the task, but the alternative is the destruction of everything which Christianity and democracy connote.

125

Pershing’s third choice as World War hero dies

Walla Walla, Washington (AP) –
Thomas C. Neibaur, 44, rated by Gen. John J. Pershing as third among American heroes in the last war died Wednesday in a veterans’ hospital.

His decorations included the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the French Croix de Guerre and Legion of Honor, the Italian Merit of War Medal and the Montenegro Silver Medal.

126

108 WAACs promoted to first and second officers’ rank

Advances given at Daytona Beach post; group celebrates

Daytona Beach, Florida (AP) –
History was made in the WAAC organization yesterday when 108 women were given Christmas Eve promotions to the rank of first and second officers, corresponding to captain and first lieutenants, respectively, in the Regular Army.

Previously, all WAAC officers held the rank of third officer, the rating given them when they were commissioned at the officers’ training school, Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

The promotions were awarded after each officer showed outstanding ability in carrying out the duties of her office in the women’s Army.

The new ratings will allow WAAC first officers to wear the silver bars of a captain in the Regular Army, while second officers will wear the insignia of a first lieutenant.

The promotions were announced by Brig. Gen. Don C. Faith, commandant of the second training center here. Thirty-three WAACs were promoted to the rank of first officer and 75 to the rank of second officer.

Hanging tinsel on palm trees and planning beach parties, the WAACs were in a merry mood as they greeted their first Christmas under semi-tropical skies.

They clustered around barracks to sing Yule carols, hung G.I. (Government issue) stockings on lines strung across their rooms and accepted invitations to dinners in private homes.

127

GOP unlikely to back labor law changes, Ramspeck declares

Says they may prefer to preserve issue for 1944 campaign
By the Associated Press

A contention that the sharply-bolstered Republican minority in Congress would decline to support any proposals for drastic changes in federal labor legislation was advanced today by Rep. Ramspeck (D-GA), Democratic House Whip.

He expressed belief in an interview that the Republican Party would prefer to save the issue for the 1944 presidential campaign, although acknowledging that the minority-plus a bloc of Southern Democrats – could push a program of labor curbs through the House.

Mr. Ramspeck’s remarks came after it was reported authoritatively that a far-reaching program of labor legislation, including abolition of the standard 40-hour work week, already had been drafted tentatively for introduction early next month.

Doubts employer backing

He said that the question of changing the standard work week hinged on these two factors:

  1. Whether the Republicans, as a party, would rather change the labor legislation, or keep the issue alive for the 1944 election.

  2. Whether employers engaged in war production want it changed, realizing as they must that the present average weekly wage of workers must be retained at its present level and that, consequently, the average hourly wage would have to be raised.

Favors present system

He said that both factors probably would work against Congressional approval of an amendment to the wages and hours law, but expressed belief the first would probably prove the more dominant.

Mr. Ramspeck said that he “personally” would like to see the hours of work increased above the present average of 43 a week in order to speed war production, but expressed belief that the average could be increased under the present system requiring time and one half pay for work in excess of 40 hours.

Mr. Ramspeck argued that manufacturers engaged in war production were not particularly anxious to see a change, because overtime now is paid by the government eventually and – if the hourly wage rate was increased – they would be confronted with the problem of attempting to lower it after the war.

He said that he had already suggested to Chairman Norton of the House Labor Committee, that she conduct public hearings next year on the general labor situation:

…to clear the air and give the public a comprehensive picture.

128

Edison, in 1927, forecast war and rubber lack

West Orange, New Jersey (AP) –
The late Thomas Alva Edison was a prophet as well as a great inventor, his son, Governor Charles Edison, has learned.

A magazine article quoting the inventor as predicting the war and the rubber shortage was received by the Governor from a friend.

The article, written in 1927, stated:

The United States never has had and never will have on hand enough rubber to run the country for more than a year.

Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and I have been considering what this country would do in case of a war which would cut off our rubber supply.

Don’t make any mistake about that war. It will come. We may run along for a good many years without it, but sooner or later nations of Europe and Asia will combine against the United States. The first thing they will do will be to cut off our rubber supply.

So, the thing for us to do is to find a source of rubber for war emergency purposes, so that we can produce it quickly right here at home.

129

Ceremony at Capitol by women to honor Lucretia Mott

Speakers to be heard Jan. 2 in tribute to pioneer in suffrage

The sesquicentennial of the birth of Lucretia Mott, famous 19th-century woman leader, will be celebrated by the National Woman’s Party and the World Woman’s Party for Equal Rights in the crypt of the Capitol, Jan. 2, at 2:15 p.m.

Mrs. Mott, who, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were the pioneer woman suffrage champions of this country, will be honored by members of Congress and prominent women from this nation and abroad.

Mme. Dreyfus Barney, former French member of the League of Nations Committee for Intellectual Cooperation, and member of the board of the International Council of Women, will speak.

Other speakers at the celebration will be Lena Madesin Phillips, president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women; Señorita Minerva Bernardino, vice chairman of the Inter-American Commission of Women, and leader of the suffrage movement in the Dominican Republic; Mme. Anka Soubbotitch of Yugoslavia, vice president of the World Women’s Party; Dr. Catherine Macfarlane, vice president of the Medical Women’s International Association, and Miss Jeannette Marks, author of The Barrett Family.

The National Woman’s Party announces that as soon as the new Congress convenes in January, the “Equal Rights” Amendment will be introduced once more by Senator Gillette (D-IA) and Reps. Ludlow (D-IN) and Guyer (R-KS).

130

U.S. War Department (December 25, 1942)

Communiqué No. 276

North Africa.
Units of our advanced forces, after beating off enemy counterattacks, occupied a position six miles north northeast of Medjez-el-Bab. Patrols are operating in other sectors.

Adverse weather conditions yesterday restricted air operations, but a patrol of our fighters attacked enemy ground targets in the forward area. One enemy bomber was shot down.

131

U.S. Navy Department (December 26, 1942)

Communiqué No. 230

South Pacific.
On December 25, a flight of Army “Flying Fortresses” from the airfield at Guadalcanal bombed enemy shipping in the harbor of Rabaul on the island of New Britain. Three direct hits were scored on a large transport (or cargo ship) and several near hits fell close to three small cargo ships. A force of enemy fighters took off but did not attack our bombers.

132

The Pittsburgh Press (December 26, 1942)

Darlan’s assassin executed

Frenchman, son of Italian, shot; Giraud may not succeed admiral

London, England (UP) –
The youthful Frenchman who assassinated Adm. Jean François Darlan was executed at dawn in compliance with the orders of a court-martial, Radio Algiers reported today.

The execution occurred as the French Imperial Council was preparing to meet to choose a successor to Darlan.

Reports from North Africa said Gen. Henri Giraud, who escaped from a German prison camp, would probably be named, but some persons believed Gen. Giraud’s distaste for politics would cause him to refuse and devote all his energies to heading the French fighting forces.

The identity of Darlan’s assassin was still unknown to the general public, although it was said he had made a full confession and had stated that he had no accomplices. His mother is living in Italy.

Darlan was given a military funeral in Algiers with Allied leaders in attendance. Large crowds watched in silence as the coffin was carried into the Algiers cathedral which was decorated with French, British and U.S. flags.

North African broadcasts, describing the scene in the cathedral, said French officials sat on the right side of the center aisle.

On the left side of the aisle were Allied officials including Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, Adm. Sir Andrew B. Cunningham, United Nations naval commander in North Africa, U.S. Consul-General Hamilton Wiley and Robert Murphy, U.S. diplomatic officials who attended in the capacity of President Roosevelt’s personal representative.

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133

North Africans mourn Darlan

By C. R. Cunningham, United Press staff writer

Allied HQ, North Africa –
Adm. Jean François Darlan’s murderer, a French citizen whose Italian mother lives in Italy, was to die at dawn today before a French Army firing squad approximately 40 hours after the No. 1 political assassination of World War II.

The French Imperial Council of which Darlan was High Commissioner announced that the assassin had been convicted and sentenced by a court-martial of the French 19th Military District which met at 6 p.m. yesterday.

Today, the council meets to name a successor to Darlan.

Giraud seen as successor

Gen. Henri Honoré Giraud, Commander-in-Chief of the French African fighting forces, was the man of the hour and it was accepted that all he had to do to take leadership – in which he undoubtedly would have the full support of Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s Fighting French who considered Darlan a traitor to France – was to say the word.

But there were strong indications that Giraud, a soldier with an abhorrence of politics, would elect to retain military leadership without the complications of other office.

Most prominent among others mentioned for leadership were Gen. Auguste Noguès, Governor-General of Morocco, one of the earliest North African adherents to the Allied cause, and Governor-General Pierre Boisson of French West Africa, the Dakar area, who was a close associate of Darlan.

Allied authorities ordered Darlan’s body taken during the night from the Government General Building at Algiers, where it lay in state yesterday, to the cathedral for a state funeral, after which it will be taken, probably this afternoon, to the summer palace to remain until a decision has been made on a final burial place.

French council meets

Thousands of Frenchmen, whose Christmas had been turned into a day of mourning, filed past Darlan’s casket throughout yesterday along with thousands of U.S. and British soldiers.

The French Imperial Council, whose members, including Gen. Giraud, assembled at Algiers by airplane from all over French Africa, held a preliminary meeting last night on the successful problem as the court-martial condemned Darlan’s assassin to death.

In its communiqué announcing the sentence the council said textually:

A court-martial of the 19th Military District met today [Friday] at 6 p.m. to try the assassin of Adm. Darlan.

The court-martial condemned the assassin to death and the sentence will be carried out tomorrow morning.

The assassin, who was caught in the act, made a complete confession. He insisted he acted without accomplices.

The assassin, whose name is being kept secret for reasons of military security, was of French nationality. Inquiry revealed that his mother is Italian and is now living in Italy.

Several letters between the assassin and his mother were seized but their contents threw no light on the case or the actual circumstances of the crime.

Eisenhower gives statement

The council’s statement was issued from the headquarters of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces, who returned to Algiers from a tour of the front as soon as he learned of Darlan’s death.

Gen. Eisenhower authorized the following statement:

Gen. Eisenhower has conveyed his deepest sympathies and regrets to Madame Darlan. As soon as Gen. George C. Marshall, Chief of the General Staff of the U.S. Army, had been advised [in Washington] of the assault on Adm. Darlan and prior to hearing of his death, he had promptly cabled that he was grieved and shocked by the news and said that Adm. Darlan had rendered services of vast importance to our Armed Forces.

Dies of two wounds

Darlan died of two wounds, one in the mouth, the other in a lung, caused by bullets from a .25-caliber pistol which the assassin fired in a corridor of the government building as Darlan was about to enter his office at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Gen. Giraud was advised while ion an inspection trip[ of the French Army in Tunisia as he arriv ed in Algiers, and at once assumed responsibility for maintenance of order.

Spanish advices from Algiers, giving new details of Darlan’s death in a purported eyewitness story, said Darlan, in admiral’s uniform, was walking briskly along the dark corridor toward his office, after spending some time at the summer palace overlooking Algiers Bay, when the shots were fired.

Darlan had to pass a waiting room, the door of which was closed, to get to his office, As Darlan passed, the waiting room door opened and the youthful assassin came out, Madrid said.

The assassin opened fire with an automatic pistol. As the first bullet hit Darlan in the mouth, the advices reported. Darlan lunged at the assassin, but a second shot sent him plunging to the floor, blood covering his face and uniform.

The murderer leaped over Darlan’s body and dashed toward the outer door, shooting and wounding the admiral’s aide de camp. But he was seized by other officers.

Madrid reported that the assassin was a member of the French fascist militia of the Paris collaborationist leader, Jacques Doriot.

Yves Chatel, Governor-General of Algeria, assumed charge at Algiers pending Gen. Giraud’s arrival.

Gen. Noguès, Governor-General Boisson and other leaders arrived by plane.

Sultan offers condolences

As soon as they arrived, a series of conferences was started in which Gen. Eisenhower joined.

The Sultan of Morocco sent Gen. Noguès a message:

On learning of the painful news of the assassination of Adm. Darlan, we addressed to you very sad condolences, which we ask that you also convey to Gen. Bergeret.

Gen. Jean-Marie Bergeret, former Vichy Air Minister, who escaped to North Africa, was Darlan’s aide.

Gen. Giraud visited the flag-draped casket in the Government House chapel.

Allied soldiers file past

He snapped to salute before the casket, in which lay Darlan’s admiral’s hat, beneath the tricolor, then knelt in prayer and laid a wreath before the casket.

Four guards, representing the French fighting services, stood round the casket with drawn swords all day.

So dense was the crowd before and in Government House that the removal of Darlan’s body to the cathedral was postponed until last night.

Mass was celebrated at the cathedral at 9 a.m. today and afterward the casket was to be placed in front of the Church of St. Marie de Mustafa while French land, sea and air detachments filed past, followed by U.S. and British Army detachments.

While Darlan’s body lay in state at Government House, his aide, Gen. Bergeret, issued the statement:

Adm. Darlan has fallen at his post, victim of an attempt inspired by those who would not forgive him for responding to the wishes of the French people by taking up arms again by the side of the Allies against Germany.

In an earlier statement, Gen. Bergeret said:

The designs of our enemies will be foiled. This crime will not weaken our determination to liberate our country by force of arms. On the contrary, it commands us to gather all our strength for the only fight that matters today – the one which will free France.

In his capacity as Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Giraud assumed responsibility for maintaining order.

All attempts to create disunity will be mercilessly crushed.

Gen. Bergeret signed the statement in his capacity as Deputy High Commissioner.

Crowds cheer Giraud

It was announced that the first concrete token of Allied determination to aid French Africa had arrived at African ports in the form of a 12,000-ton cargo of milk, sugar, flour, potatoes and other foodstuffs for the civil population.

A United Press canvass showed that high-ranking French officials agreed that all Gen. Giraud had to do was ask for leadership if he wanted it.

Gen. Giraud was slated for leadership when the Allies first came to Africa, but he stepped aside in Darlan’s favor to assume command of the Armed Forces.

His popularity was made evident from the moment of his arrival in Algiers yesterday when crowds cheered him enthusiastically wherever he went.

134

Giraud pledges big army and de Gaulle cooperation

By Walter Logan, United Press staff writer

About the time Adm. Jean François Darlan was assassinated Christmas Eve, Gen. Henri Honoré Giraud, Commander-in-Chief of the French fighting forces in North Africa, gave a United Press correspondent an exclusive interview pledging cooperation or actual consolidation with the Fighting French. With Darlan’s death, Gen. Giraud became French leader in Africa.

Allied HQ, North Africa – (Dec. 24, delayed)
Gen. Henri Honoré Giraud, heroic leader of the French fighting forces in North Africa, pledged himself today to work for cooperation or consolidation with the Fighting French.

He promised the Allies a French African army of 300,000 men and a fleet which would include the squadrons at Alexandria, Egypt, and elsewhere.

Gen. Giraud said he expected by January to be receiving from the United States the planes and tanks which the French need above all to take their full part in a fight in which he proposes to take his army along with those of the Allies into Europe for final victory.

Asked if there was any comment he would like to make regarding the political situation in France or Africa, he replied:

I am a soldier.

Then in a special message to America, he appealed for the arms which France “so desperately” needs and said that America would be shown that the French Army, using those arms, would be able to advance the day of Allied victory.

He said:

France has the fullest confidence in America. I pray that America will have the same confidence in France.

Gen. Giraud took out time from his endless military duties, which include not only the active direction of the French forces now fighting beside the Allies in Tunisia but the organization of a new and powerful army, to write down himself in blue pencil the answers to questions submitted by the United Press.

Replies to questions

The questions and Gen. Giraud’s replies follow:

Is the spirit of the French troops in North Africa as high as it always has been in the past – and in the war of 1914?

Yes.

How many French troops can Northwest Africa put into action?

300,000.

Are French troops coming from the Dakar region as well as North Africa and other parts of the world?

Reply reserved [Gen. Giraud wrote a question mark beside this question].

How soon do you expect equipment from the United States and what type of equipment is preferred?

January – Airplanes and tanks.

The French Army has always been famous for its artillery. Is artillery a prime requisite and are not the French in Tunisia now using their artillery to exceedingly good advantage?

Yes.

How about fighting planes? We saw the Lafayette Escadrille flying [American Curtiss] P-40 planes. Are they pleased with the performance of these planes? Are important French flying units at present in action or do they expect to be soon?

Most certainly. We shall appreciate still more of the newest types of fighters.

Will the French forces be ready to fight beside the Allies in the invasion of Europe?

Yes.

Regarding strategy, without revealing military information, can you say whether it would please the troops more to invade Italy or France? In the event of an invasion of France would you not expect full cooperation from the people of France? How about the people of Italy?

Reply reserved [Gen. Giraud wrote another question mark opposite this question].

Do your plans call for cooperation with or consolidation with the forces of Gen. Charles de Gaulle?

Most certainly.

The process of obtaining the interview left no room for doubt that it had the full authority of Allied leaders. The questions were first referred to the French intelligence, which in turn submitted them to Gen. Giraud’s close collaborators.

The collaborators ordered the intelligence to examine the authenticity of my credentials. Then Gen. Giraud sat down and wrote his replies. He submitted his replies to his aides, who submitted them to the intelligence. Then U.S. and British censors were called in to approve them, and the interview was issued through Allied headquarters.

135

Americans aim at Buna wedge

Jap forces may be split by new advance
By Brydon Taves, United Press staff writer

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136

Allies drive through mud toward Tunis

Libyan army pushes nearer Tripoli; attacks repelled, Nazis say
By Edward W. Beattie, United Press staff writer

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137

RAF attacks airport near Bengal Bay

Wavell’s drive from India believed widened; bigger armies promised
By Darrell Berrigan, United Press staff writer

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138

Rabaul raided by Fortresses

Planes fly 560 miles from Guadalcanal base

…

139

Gas dealers given 3¢ profit edge

OPA acts to offset cut in sales; fuel oil price boosted

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140

Abbott and Costello tops at box office

Hollywood, California (UP) –
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who went before movie cameras for the first time two years ago, have displaced Mickey Rooney, four-time box office champion, as the movies’ biggest moneymakers’ polls of exhibitors disclosed today.

The polls were made by the Motion Picture Herald and the Showman’s Trade Review. Both placed Clark Gable, now in the Army Air Force, in second place.

The Herald listed the next eight according to box office drawing power in this order: Gary Cooper, Rooney, Bob Hope, James Cagney, Gene Autry, Betty Grable, Greer Garson and Spencer Tracy.