November quota set for new, recap tires
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Poll tax ban approved
Washington –
The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved, 13–5, a bill to outlaw the payment of poll taxes as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections. The House has already passed similar legislation.
Price chiefs and farm bloc battle again
Senators see ‘deception;’ Henderson flays plan to ‘sabotage’ OPA
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OPA to tighten eligibility for C gas rations
New list to eliminate all types of salesmen in preferred group
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Lost with Rickenbacker –
Eight on board missing plane
Hunt continues for craft in Pacific area
Washington (UP) –
The War Department revealed that seven Army officers and men accompanied Capt. E. V. (Eddie) Rickenbacker, foremost American ace of World War I, in the big Army plane that disappeared during a secret Pacific flight.
The names of Capt. Rickenbacker’s companions were disclosed as all available Army and Navy air and sea forces in the Hawaiian area continued to search for a trace of the plane and its occupants.
The ship, believed to be a four-motored bomber, was on a flight from Hawaii to an undisclosed island in the Pacific. Those aboard besides Capt. Rickenbacker were:
- Col. Hans C. Adamson, Washington, a passenger;
- Capt. William T. Cherry Jr., pilot, Fort Worth, Texas;
- 2nd Lt. James C. Whittaker, Burlingame, California;
- 2nd Lt. John J. De Angelis, Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania;
- Sgt. James W. Reynolds, Fort Jones, California;
- Sgt. Alexander T. Kaczmarczyk, Torrington, Connecticut;
- Pvt. John F. Bartek, Freehold, New Jersey.
The disappearance of Pvt. Bartek, 23, is the second tragedy to strike his parents within a month. John’s sister, Ruth, 17, dropped dead on her way to school recently.
Officials here clung to the hope that Capt. Rickenbacker and his companions are still alive, possibly awaiting rescue on rubber life rafts or on some island.
Capt. Rickenbacker was surveying military installations in the Pacific area on behalf of Lt. Gen. Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the Army Air Forces. He only recently returned from a similar tour in Great Britain.
Accused German spy aides begin court fight for life
Jury selection opens trial of relatives and friends of executed Nazi saboteur, Herbert Haupt
Chicago, Illinois (UP) –
Three men in manacles and their wives, German-born naturalized U.S. citizens charged with the highest crime against their adopted land, filed into a tiny courtroom today to go on trial for alleged treasonable aid to a Nazi sabotage mission.
The scene – a tightly-packed federal court chamber accommodating 100 persons, including FBI guards – was another in the Gestapo-planned fiasco which began last June with the landing of eight saboteurs by submarine from Germany.
The indictment, which Judge William J. Campbell read to the accused, asking each to stand and identify himself for the benefit of the 50 prospective jurors in the first venire, specifically charged the defendants with helping Herbert Hans Haupt, former Chicago schoolboy and one of the six executed as a member of the sabotage mission.
Jury panel questioned
J. Albert Woll, U.S. District Attorney, immediately began questioning a panel of 12 veniremen in the jury box. He asked for positive answers to these questions:
Do you believe every citizen should do his utmost for his country in time of war?
Do you think every citizen should do everything against his country’s enemies in time of war?
The first four jurors to answer were natives of small Illinois towns, to housewives, a paint and varnish businessman and a laborer, all born in the United States. They answered Mr. Woll in the affirmative and said they had no prejudices against German nationals and had never held memberships in any German-American organization.
Mrs. Haupt depressed
The 50 veniremen, entirely filling the small space allotted to the public in the small chamber, were two-thirds women and Mr. Woll said this ratio would hold for the other 100 veniremen on call.
Mrs. Hans Max Haupt appeared more depressed than the other defendants. It was her first public appearance since she learned that her son, Herbert, the convicted saboteur, had been electrocuted. She wore black.
The other defendants were her husband, Hans Max Haupt; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Fröhling, aunt and uncle of Herbert Haupt; and Mr. and Mrs. Otto Richard Wergin, friends and neighbors of Herbert and his parents.
Variety of charges
The indictment said the defendants gave Haupt shelter, fed and transported him, gave false information to government agents, secreted “large sums” of money for him and purchased him an auto:
…in full knowledge of his mission against the United States and for the German Reich.
U.S. District Judge William J. Campbell will preside at the trial, expected to last a month or more.
More than 140 witnesses will testify against the six defendants. They will include federal agents, one of the two saboteurs not sentenced to death, and Mrs. Gerda Melind, widow, who was Haupt’s fiancée. Mrs. Melind testified against Haupt during his trial in Washington.
Spy to testify
Ernst Peter Burger, Nazi agent sentenced to life imprisonment after he reportedly testified for the government during the Washington trial, will be brought here for the trial. It was understood the government would not offer testimony of George John Dasch, the other saboteur who escaped death.
The prosecution staff will attempt to prove the defendants knew the younger Haupt had returned from Berlin on a sabotage mission. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of death and a minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
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Coast gets warning on saboteur landings
San Francisco, California (UP) –
The Army warned Pacific Coast residents today to be on the alert for possible landings of Axis saboteurs.
Lt. Gen. John J. Dewitt, of the Western Defense Command, urged residents to maintain “constant and unrelaxed vigilance” against both coastal landings and fifth-column activities.
Gen. Dewitt said:
Our enemies are certain to increase their attempts to sabotage… as the war progresses and our production of war materials increases.
Time is an important element. Delay in reporting suspicious persons or incidents may prevent interception of enemy agents before they have reached the comparative safety of the interior.
Clean house for scrap, Nelson urges industries
Washington (UP) –
War Production Chief Donald M. Nelson today asked all business and industrial concerns to undergo “a thorough, old-fashioned housecleaning” to uncover more scrap metal for war industries.
He said:
It is the job of every president, every purchasing agent, every salvage manager, every plant superintendent, every shop foreman and every workman to dig deep and then even deeper for dormant as well as production scrap.
10 Jap fighter planes downed –
U.S. fliers raid Hong Kong twice, also bomb Canton
By George Wang, United Press staff writer
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Day-by-day account of Solomons action
Washington (UP) –
A review of action in the Solomon Islands for the last eight days during which the Japanese have begun their all-out counteroffensive:
All dates Solomon Islands Time, one day later than Pittsburgh.
Oct. 18, Sunday
Japanese raided Guadalcanal airfield, losing eight out of 20 bombers and 11 out of 20 Zero fighters. Two American fighter planes lost. American aircraft bombed enemy troop and supply concentrations on Guadalcanal “throughout the day.”
Oct. 19, Monday
The Navy announced that the enemy was disposed for a “strong assault” on Guadalcanal. Japanese attacked airfield, losing two fighter planes; one American plane lost. American aircraft continued attacks on enemy concentrations.
Army Flying Fortresses attacked enemy base at Rekata Bay, starting fires, and Douglas “Dauntless” dive bombers attacked three enemy destroyers west of Guadalcanal, damaging one and destroying an escorting seaplane. During the night, naval aircraft attacked an enemy cruiser west of Guadalcanal and “stopped” it by at least one bomb hit.
Oct. 20, Tuesday
Japanese sent 30 Zeros and 16 bombers over Guadalcanal airfield; American fighters shot down two bombers and seven Zeros and lost only two planes. During the night, an enemy reconnaissance bomber was shot down.
American aircraft again bombed enemy supply dumps and positions on Guadalcanal. A “minor” enemy thrust – first land offensive – against western flank of American line was repulsed.
Oct. 21, Wednesday
Japanese aircraft again raided airfield, losing one bomber and six fighters; two American fighter planes lost. Naval aircraft attacked enemy position on Russell Islands, 30 miles northwest of Guadalcanal. American troops repulsed second “feeler attack” on west flank on Guadalcanal.
Oct. 22, Thursday
The Navy in Washington announced the loss “within the last few days” of the destroyers Meredith and O’Brien. Japanese aircraft raided Guadalcanal airfield, losing five bombers.
During the night, American long-range aircraft attacked enemy ships in Shortland Island area, damaging one heavy cruiser or battleship, one light cruiser and one destroyer without losing any American planes.
Oct. 23, Friday
Japanese attacked Guadalcanal airfield with 16 bombers and 20 Zeros; American aviators shot down one bomber, damaged three others and “destroyed entire [20] fighter escort.” Japanese troops attacked west flank of Guadalcanal line four times during night, using tanks and a heavy artillery barrage; all attacks were repulsed and five enemy tanks were destroyed.
Oct. 24, Saturday
Japanese troops made another attack on west flank and were repulsed by American aircraft and artillery. During the night, American aircraft attacked an enemy surface force about 300 miles northeast of Guadalcanal and probably damaged one cruiser by a torpedo.
Oct. 25, Sunday
Enemy begins landing reserves on Guadalcanal. Douglas dive bombers make three attacks on enemy surface force, damaging a cruiser and causing force to withdraw.
U.S. flier hits first Jap plane over India
New Delhi, India (UP) –
An American Army fighter pilot battled and probably destroyed the first Jap planes ever intercepted by Allied aircraft over India, U.S. Army Headquarters announced today.
Attacking from such close range that the windshield of his plane was splattered with oil from the enemy’s aircraft’s engines, the pilot intercepted a two-motored Jap plane in northern Assam Province Oct. 18 and scored a number of hits.
Both engines of the Jap plane were smoking badly when it escaped into a cloud bank, the communiqué said, and it was considered improbable that it reached base.
Convoys free Caribbean Sea of sub menace
Elaborate pattern followed when sound devices give alarm
By Brodie Burnham, United Press staff writer
Aboard a U.S. destroyer at sea in the Caribbean –
Ships, laden with military supplies and civilian necessities, consigned to Panama and the Canal Zone, are coming through again in safety under the protection of the Navy’s convoy system.
The destroyers and fast 173-foot PC-boats that guard these convoys, supplemented by wide-ranging aerial patrols, have destroyed the Axis submarine packs that for a time made the Caribbean probably the world’s most dangerous waters for merchantmen, or they have driven the undersea craft off to other waters.
A perfect score
Every one of the vessels in the convoy that I accompanied aboard this warship arrived safely and on schedule. Not one was attacked, and it is probable that no enemy submarine was within hundreds of miles of our course, so well have the Navy’s ships and planes scoured these seas.
However, day and night, the Navy’s vigilance was never relaxed for a moment, and on a few occasions during this voyage, the warships went into prompt action on indications that submarines were lurking or moving in our vicinity.
No chances are taken
Complex and secret listening devices pick up all sounds, and on occasions the sound that brings the vessel into action is made by a whale, a school of large fish, or even a freak rip current beneath the surface. But the Navy takes no chances.
The ship surges to full speed and swerves around to a course calculated to bring it over the suspected object. At the correct instant, depth charges roll over the stern, and “K-guns” hurl other “cans” over each side, forming a scientific pattern. The warship moves back and forth over a geometrically calculated course and the sea is blasted by explosions in an attack no submarine would be likely to weather.
Ruse is threatened
There was a time when, after depth charge attacks, Axis submarine commanders blew oil and jetsam out of their torpedo tubs for the purpose of misleading the attacker to believe that the submarine had been destroyed, but this ruse no longer works as attacks are continued until it is believed certain that no submarine could survive.
Convoy escort sailors feel that they have sunk more submarines than they have been credited with, but there is no complaint. For them, it is the sinking that counts.
Kaiser steel plant expansion approved
Washington –
The War Production Board today formally announced approval of a $26-million addition to the steel plant facilities being built at Fontana, California, by the Kaiser Co., Inc.
The new facilities, WPB said, will add about 225,000 tons of steel ingots, or 158,000 tons of finished products to the capacity of the plant. Facilities already under construction and scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 1943, will have a capacity of 450,000 tons of ingots, or 300,000 tons of steel plates.
U.S. Navy Department (October 27, 1942)
Communiqué No. 170
North Pacific.
On October 23, Army “Liberator” bombers, accompanied by Lockheed “Lightning” fighters, dropped 18 tons of bombs on the camp area and submarine base at Kiska.
On October 24, Army “Flying Fortresses” raided Kiska and dropped bombs in the vicinity of the submarine base.
During the above raids Japanese anti-aircraft shore batteries were active, but no enemy planes were seen. A number of hits in the target areas were observed, but the extent of damage could not be determined.
Communiqué No. 171
South Pacific.
The following reports of action in the Solomon Islands area have been received:
On October 25:
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During the morning, a Japanese destroyer sank the USS Seminole (fleet tug) and a small harbor patrol boat near the Island of Tulagi. Our shore batteries opened fire on the destroyer and scored three hits. Grumman “Wildcats” from Guadalcanal strafed and further damaged the destroyer.
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During the morning, an Army “Flying Fortress” on a search mission was attacked by six “Zero” fighters. One “Zero” was shot down and the “Fortress” returned safely.
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Two U. S. minesweepers engaged three enemy destroyers near Guadalcanal. Navy and Marine Corps dive bombers joined in the action and sank two of the enemy destroyers.
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During the night of October 25-26, enemy troops were active on Guadalcanal and succeeded in piercing our lines on the south side of the airfield. Army troops threw back the attack and regained their positions. Marine troops were active on the western flank and reported small gains in heavy fighting.
On October 26:
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During the morning, U.S. bombers and fighters from Guadalcanal again attacked the enemy cruisers and destroyers which were attacked twice on October 25 (as announced in Communiqué No. 169). One direct hit was scored on an enemy cruiser.
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During the night of October 26-27, Navy Consolidated “Catalinas” attacked an enemy force 400 miles northeast of Guadalcanal. One enemy carrier was hit by a torpedo and an enemy cruiser received two bomb hits. Heavy anti-aircraft fire was encountered and one of our planes was damaged.
Further reports on the naval air battle which was fought to the eastward of the Stewart Islands, on October 26, reveal that:
- One enemy carrier was badly damaged.
- A second enemy carrier was damaged.
- One enemy cruiser was badly damaged.
- One battleship was hit.
The above action was first reported in Navy Department Communiqué No. 169.
President Roosevelt’s tribute on Navy Day
October 27, 1942
This is the first Navy Day ever to be observed with the United States at war. As such it is the most significant celebration of its kind since Navy Day was first inaugurated in 1922.
As I salute the Navy, in company with 130,000,000 other patriotic American citizens, I am deeply proud of its heroic accomplishments in this war. I am proud not only because of my own long and happy associations with the service but also because as its Commander-in-Chief I am acutely aware of the tremendous role it is playing in the preservation of freedom and human decency.
When I greeted you just one year ago the Navy was on defense duty, a symbol of our hope that we could remain isolated and inviolable in a world where tyranny raged unchecked. As I greet you today the Navy is fighting hard in every corner of the globe to bring victory to our cause.
On this occasion I need not ask the people of the United States to pay tribute to our Navy, for I am sure that there is not a man, woman, or child in the land who has not been thrilled by its triumphs and inspired by its indomitable courage. They know that their Navy is doing the biggest job any navy has ever been called upon to do and doing it superbly.
They have the most profound faith in their Navy’s ability to sweep our enemies from the seas and in conjunction with the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard preserve America’s place of honor in the community of nations.