davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
CORRECTION, NOT
RECRlMINATION

Representative Melvin J. Mas. Z.
Michigan, ranking minority member of
the house military affairs committee.
Just returned from active duty as a Mar
inc Corps colonel in the South Pacific.
has made the gravest charges against
the u. S Navy since the Pearl Harbor
debacle.
He declares that:
The navy department in Washington
has represented major defeats as major
victories, and withheld from the American
public news of disasters which everyone
else" knows.
Divided command in the South Pacific
must be corrected before we can begin
to win the war there, but divided COM
mand in Washington must be corrected
before the situation in the South Pacific
can be remedied.
Those are his principal charges. They
must be considered seriously for two reas-
ons: l. AS an outstanding member Of
the house military affairs committee. he
is supposed to be little above the aver
age armchair Strategist," and, ,. As
Marine Corps colonel just back from
the combat area, it is safe to assume that
he has more than the ordinary amount
of information upon which to base his
charges. He could not divulge this in
formation in detail, it is evident. because
to do so would be contrary to his orders
as Marine officer.
Mas charges were not the shock they
might have been under other circumstans-
es. They merely served, in fact, to bring
to head a growing public opinion based
largely upon the official run-around that
has been given Gen. Douglas Macarthur,
about whom so much red tape has been
wound that he cannot move outside of
the continental limits Of Australia and
New Guinea.
The public has seen more than one
indication, too that the censors were
not playing fair. The Tokyo bombing
raid was one; we were told at the time
that all filters were safe, and discovered
later that they weren't The sinkings of
some of our capital ships, news of which
was withheld long past what seemed a
necessary time, were others
But recriminations among ourselves
cannot win this war. Criticism in times
like this should serve only one purpose
to correct bad situation and help to-
ward victory. If Mas charges are justi-
fled, the situation certainly needs correct
ing, and that quickly Evidently it can
be corrected only by congress; nobody
else has shown any inclination to move
ahead.
The sooner these charges are aired in
full, and disposed of by whatever action
is found to be necessary, the sooner we
will be all out for victory.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15

I them to fil,ai debacle.
Todays communique of the Brit
ish Middle Eastern command and
Royal Air Force in Cairo said long
range fighters attacked 60 Axis
planes flying northwards toward
Sicily destroyed seven large ones,
badly damaged six. The word
large suggested that they were
troop carrying planes like the six
loaded with troops which were re-
ported shot down yesterday while
flying 'northWard away from Af-
RIGA.
The communique also reported a
further blasting of the air field at
TuniS which German parachutiSts
had captured Thursday night Gas
oline dumps, workshops, and air.
planes were destroyed
The success of all air operations
was indicated in the surprisingly
small Allied losses. The planes op-
Grating under the RATS Middle
East command lost only three of
their number in all operations. The
giant bombers which flew over the
Alps last night to blast Genoa re-
turned to Britain without loss.
The confidence of Allied leaders
that the decisive battle for Africa
would end quickly in complete vic
tory was reflected in an order of
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Warship Building
Time Cut in Half

NEW YORK, Nov. 14-UP.--
Adm. William d. Bcahy, chief of
staff 10 President Roosevelt, said
last night that the United States
was building submarines and air.
craft carricra twice as fast as be-
fore the war.
Aircraft carriers, he said, were
now being built in II months; bat
tleships, that used TO take five years,
in about three; submarines in lit
tie more than a year Modern de-
stroyers were being turned out in
six months, a third of the time it
formerly took, he said.
Aircraft carriers, large and small,
escort vessels, landing boats and
ether kinds of naval units, now
we're about 10 be built with a tim
ing almost equal TO the pre-war
MASS production OF motor ears" hc
said
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Japs Claim Seven
U.S.. warships Sunk
Near GUadaIcanaI

TOKYO, Nov. 14.-(U.Pg-(Jap-
anese broadcast recorded my UP.
in New Yorkl-Thc Domei News
agency today quoted an imperial
headquarters ccmmunique that
japanese air and naval units in a
battle near Guadalcanal island in
the Solomons sank six American
cruisers, one destroyer and shot
down 10 American planes.
Fighting is still in progress the
communicate said. reporting that
two American cruisers and three de-
Stroyers were damaged and three
transports were set afire.
OWN LOSSES LISTED
japanese losses comprised one
battleship damaged, two destroy
crS sunk and 10 aircraft missing,
the cOmmunique said.
The Japanese were said to have
attacked American naval craft and
transports off Guadalcanal drj'-
ing daylight Wednesday, sinking
two American cruisers. firing three
transports and shooting down 10
planes.
In another attack at night, it
was said, four more cruisers and a
destroyer we're sunk and two cruiS-
ers and three deStroyers damaged.
The Japanese were said to have
penetrated deep into the enemy"
and destroyed more than half the
entire enemy naval craft and trans
ports there"
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
STATE SECRETS
{ Riverside PreSs)

President Coolidge's private secretary,
the late Edward T. Clark, was previously
secretary to Massachusetts isoatonist
secretary of 20 years ago, the elder Henry
Cabot Lodge. In both positions he must
have met interesting people and learned
important facts BY his will his papers
have just been turned over to the Library
of Congress, to be kept sealed for a period
of years, presumably until the chief per-
sons mentioned in them have died.
This practice is not new Our national
library has many such collections, kept
under strict seal until the time comes to
reveal their secrets. The most interest
ing example is the Lincoln manuscripts
left by the Presidents son, Robert T. Lin
s0ln. These will be available for use in
only three more years.
Historians mouths must water as they
count the days before they can see these
priceless documents. Everyone else will
be interested, too, particularly if they
bear out or refute the sensational rumOrs
about their contents. One such, improb-
able enough but still intriguing, is that
Lincoln found member of his own cabi-
net to be a traitor.
To have access to an uneXplOred mine
Of information like this must be a histor-
an's idea of heaven.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15

fortress of Malta and possibly Ital-
ian Libya, and American planes
from French North Africa blasted
German and italian troops in Tuni"
sia and Genoa, the Italian port
which is the source of their sup
plies and reinforcements.
As the British eighth army, still
in untiring pursuit of Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel's beaten Afrika
Korps. reached Gazala, in Libya,
cnly 700 miles east of Tunisia there
was chance that American and
British parachute troops had been
dropped from planes ranging ahead
OF the Allied army closing in from
the west.
AS the Axis position in both Libya
and Tunisia grew increasingly more
desperate, there was a new sug-
gestion in an official communique
that Adolf Hitler was evacuating
his men by air rather than submit
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
A PATRIOTIC
PROGRAM
tSt. Louis PoSt-Dispatch)

tSt Louis Post-DiSpatch)
The platform adopted by the house
Republican delegation Is fine, vigorous
statement of war and domestic aims, but
there isn't more than an ounce of con-
troverSy in it, The program is made up
of essential principles on which all loyal
citizens can and do agree. Democrats
can indorse it Just as fully as Republi-
cans. once few antiquities of definition
are cleared up.
Such truiSmS as the following are not
debatable: The war must be prosecuted
relentleSSly until victory is won. No
peace terms are acceptable that do not
mean complete victory for the United
Nations. America must Join in praserV-
ing world peace after the war, but safe
guard its independence The President
must utilize the best leaders available
for winning the war Unity is essential.
There must be no unnecessary censorship.
The burdens of war must be fairly dis
trlbuted. Normal governmental function
ing must be restored after the war. Re-
duce non-defenSe spending to essentials
There must be no unWarranted encroach-
mentS on free enterprise. And so on.
Of course, it is possible to get up an
argument on just what free enterprise
means, and how far the government
should regulate business. One can also
argue over what constitutes "so-called
social and governmental reforms" but
the COP program warns only against
pushing these "at the expense of our war
effort. By and large, however. the state
ment is non-controvcrsial, nOn-partiSan
and brings up non Of the principles which
have tradition&Ily marked the difference
between the Republican and Democratic
parties.
The statement is a fine demonstration
of the patriotism and unity which Amer
lea needs in war effort of such unprec-
edented magnitude.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
FROGS FROM HEAVEN

British Information Service in
Washington was faced with a pretty
problem recently when a woman
from Arkansas wrote in for proof
that it sometimes rained frogs in
heavy thundershowers
It seems that this woman had
adopted two British children for
the duration Riding home in the
family car one evening they ran
into an unusually heavy rainstorm.
with clouds blacker than they had
ever seen and water coming down
in buckets. Then a few little
white objects began to pelt the car.
They thought they must be hail
stones, but when they looked closer,
it developed there were frogs pour
ing out of the sky. II was wonder
full. and American sure was a great
country.
Next day i'm school the British
children, all excited. told about
this truly great experience they had
been through. But instead of being
heroes, the poor British youngsters
got nothing but the razzbcrY
Teachers and their schOOlmatCS all
pooh -pOOhcd such nonsense.
The British children came home
to their adopted mother in tears
That's what started the Arkansas
woman TO writing letters TO Wash
ington to see if something couldn't
be done to restore her charges spir-
its
B. l. S. called up some scientists
in Washington and sure enough
they did find scientific proof that
sometimes when the Sun was suck
ing up water real hard, it did suck
some shallow ponds dry, frogs and
all. And they could never prove,
they said, that sometimes these
frogs came down in transforms.
That's what they wrote the Ar
kansas women, anyway, and they
hope it will help keep the United
Nations united,
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
BY EDWARD W. BEATTIE

LONDON. Nov. 14-tUPl-Great
fleets OF Allied planes struck at
AXIS forces in Tunisia and their in
sasion base in Italy from all di-
fecticnS today as a vast American
ana British army was believed
crossing the frontier from Algeria
British press reports said the great
Allied army perhaps numbering up
wards of 100000 men with armored
divisions and a great umbrella of
planes. had poured over the border
at dawn. Though they were Off
eially reported only 80 miles from
the border yesterday, an Allied
spokesman here refused to confirm
that they already were in Tunisia.
Aiding douhty French garrisons
II Tunis and the important naval
base at Bizerte believed to have
oeen holding out against Axis in
,aders for almost a week, British
lanes based on Britain, the island
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Three Jap Ships
Blasted byPIanes
From Australia
BY GRYDON TAVES

GEN MacARTHUR'S H E A d =
QUARTERS, Somewhere in Aus
tralia. Nov. P0-TWo Jap
anese light cruisers suffered direct
bomb hits and a destroyer and an
8000-ton troop transport were be-
lieved damaged by very near
misses when American Flying
Fortresses for the third successive
day attacked the enemy's BUM
Faisi naval base in the Northern
Solomons, Gen. Douglas MacAr-
thur announced today.
While some of MacArthUr's air
strength was diverted to support
Vice Admiral William F. HalSey'S
defense of American-held territory
in the Southern SolomonS, Austria
liam troops in New Guinea pushed
TWO and one-half miles closer to
the japanese coastal stronghold at
Buna
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Worshi ps Shell
Jups on Island

WASHINGTON, Nov. IA UP)-
Main japanese positions on north
western Guadalcanal today were be-
lieved to have been softened up for
further advances by American
forces following a Furnishing lO-hour
daylight bombarGment by U. S. war
ships.
Possibility that a japanese carrier
force may be in the vicinity of
the southeastern Solomons was
suggested by the fact that a large
force of enemy torpedo bomberS was
sent against the American warshipS
"a move proving costly TO the at
tackerS.
Torpedo planes usually are carrier
borne. But on a few occasions in
the earlier stages of the Pacific war,
the japanese were believed to have
operated such craft from land bases.
so SHOT DOWN
AT any rae, tiio Japanese paid
heavily for their interruption of the
naval bombardment. Out of the at
tacking force of % torpedo bombers
anu 1iSlIO HClO OO WClC ollOJ
down. Only one managed to escape
the vengeance of American fighter
pilots and antiaircraft gunnerS.
This engagement followed by only
"a hours another air fight in which
II Jap planes we're destroyed.
Two of the american Warships
were damaged, but apparently not
seriously. The 10000-ton heavy cruis-
CT San Francisco was slightly"
damaged when a disabled, burning
japanese plane crashed into the
ship. The destroyer Buchanan was
hit by a five-inch shell from
shore battery.
CASUALTIES LIGHT
The Navy said 80 men were killed
on the San Francisco while five
Buchanan crewmen lost their lives.
Apparently thousands of shells
were hurled into the Jap positions
near TasSafaronga, 20 miles to the
westward of Henderson field. The
Navy thus repaid in kind for Japan's
furious naval bombardment of the
American beachhead late in October.
The American gUnners destroyed
30 of rs large landing boats, which
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Veterinarian
Opens Hospital

The Fl Centre Veterinary hos
pital at 422 South Fourth street
which was closed when DR.. r. F..
Bolenbaker entered military service,
is open again in charge Of DR.. Har-
old William Wood of Escondido.
DR.. Wood is graduate of the
Texas A. & NJ veterinary college,
one of the largest in the United
States. He will be assisted by John
Rosant and plans to do both large
and small animal work.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

The way the WAVES-the lad,
SailorS-are taking over the Nav
Department is one of the current
/ sensations in Washington. It's &
regular occurrence now for Somt
salty, wind-blown old desk admiral
who previously had viewed with
horror the idea of women in the
Navy to come around and requisi-
ton several hundred or a thousand
WAVES for this or that depart
ment.
One reason the admirals are
learning 10 like the WAVES is
that they are selected with more
care and higher qualifications
than the girls offered by Civil
Service. More important is the
fact that the WAVES. being i'm
the Navy, can be boSsed around
better and can be disciplined
when they don't obey orders.
Credit Dr. Morris FiShbein, edi-
tor of the Journal of the American
Medical association, with one of
the neateSt slips of the tongue on
record. The voluble doctor was tes-
tifying before Senator ClaCde E.
Pepper of Florida, inveStigatlEg
the shortage of medical men in
war production centers and the ac-
tivities of the Procurement and As
signment Service which has been
recruiting doctors for the armed SER
ives. Said Dr. Fishbein, Il always
believe in obeying the laws and
orders of the United States gov
ernment wherever possible Then
he caught himself and asked that
the last two words be struck from
the record.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15

u
modern weapons, would help the
! French clear out the axis air-bornc
! troops and tanks until Gen. x. A. N.
AnderSons powerful British and
American army driving from the
west could arrive and insure Allied
control of Tunisia.
LAND ARMY NEAR
AnderSon'S force, including the
crack British first army of prob
ably 10000 men, was probably on
the Tunisian border, although no
report had been received here since
he passed through Bone, so miles
from the border.
He was advancing at great speed
under an umbrella of planes more
than able to cope with anything
the axis yet had put into the air.
The Germans, nevertheless, des-
peratelT tried to stop AnderSon's
drive with their planes. Eleven were
shot down by the Royal air force
over Bougie, to the west of Bone.
A communiquc of the British Middle
Eastern command yesterday had
disclosed the shooting down of six
Italian troop carrying planes.
ROMMEL IN PINCERS
The German air force was being
roughly handled by the Allies from
both east and west.
Apparently the jaws of the Allied
nutcracker were about equidiStant-
$50 miles-from the nut the rem
nants of Field Marshal Erwin Rom
mel's Afrika Korps fleeing at rec
ord breaking speed across Libya,
with Anderson closing in from the
west, and the British eighth army
from the east.
The allies were taking the strong
est steps in eastern Algeria and the
Oran area to meet axis paratroop
action, which could be expected to
follow an invasion of TuniSia.
COAST GUARDED
The Americans unloaded arms,
munitions and supplies at top speed
along the entire North African coast
from Casablanca east of Algiers
AS precaution, the Americans
planted special troops all along the
coast to guard communications and
other vital installations, but no in
dication of sabotage was even hint
ed.
On the contrary, the entire popu-
lation. native French, soldiery and
constabulary, was cooperating whole
heartedly. AS rapidly as occupations
were consolidated, local authorities
quickly took control and a quiet,
calm atmosphere prevailed every
where.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
ABOUT BARUCH

Most encouraging development of
the week on the manpoWer situation
is the fact that Bernard M. Baruch
is working on it for the President
For a short time Baruch had an
office along the "parlor bedroom
and bath" row of War Production
Board headquarters. But it was too
public, so he moved out and is
again operating principally from
his hotel room.
Gradually the administration of
war production has been shifting
into line with more and more of
the recommendations which Ba-
ruch had made throughout the
l930S when the various Army NJ
day mobilization plans were being
drafted. Baruch Strengthened out
rubber. Baruch's ideas on price
control finally came to be adopt
ed, Baruch's ideas are reflected
in WPB's new Controlled Mate
rials Plan.
If Baruch's ideas on manpoWer
could be put over. some of the
present confusion on that subject
might be eliminated.
Wars hardest hit spot under the
US flag is Puerto Rico. Tipoff
on that is the tremendous increase
in WPA rolls on this island terri
tory, now running at $4,000. Only
two US. states have larger WPA
rolls today New York and Penn
sylvania. Illinois has only $4,000
In fact, the WPA situation in
Puerto Rico is just exactly oppo-
site to the situation on the MAIN
land While the war has steadily
dropped WPA rolls in the states,
they have been steadily increased
on the island Lack of shipping to
haul Puerto Rican exports-prin-
cipally sugar and rum-to the
mainland and haul machinery and
other supplies to the island has
been the cause of its economic near
collapse.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
JAPS ENCIRCLED

Again employing enclrclement
tactics. the AussieS surrounded an
enemy force near the village OF
IlimoW,a bout AZ miles southwest
of Buna. In the jungles around
Gorari, frcm which the Australians
advanced after Wiping out Japanese
resistance, the bodies OF five Jap
anese officers and more than 800
mena lready have been found,
Macarthur reported.
In the raid on Buin-FalSl, on
the southern extremity of Bougan-
Vile island and from where the
Japanese apparently have been try
ing to send fresh troops and equip
ment to Guadalcanal island, 800
miles to the SOUTH the Fortresses
penetrated a hail of anti-aircraft
shells to attack from as low as 1000
feet. The transport later was OBJ
served burning, the communique
said. TWenty-four hours earlier,
a Fortress formation had blasted
four loaded transports in the har-
Dor
ALL PLANES SAFE
The big bombers also attacked
the nearby Kahili airdromc, landing
bombs on the runway and plane
dispersal area. All the American
planes returned 10 the base, the
commUniquc said.
Although natural obstacles Of
fcrcd by tic difficult New Guinea
Jungle terrain made a lightning
advance impossible, the Australians
steadily were forcing the enemy
back along the main trail to Buna
They were within two and one-half
miles of Wairopi which, with its
bridege across the Kumusi river
already has been battered repeated
ly by Allied aircraft.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15

the enemy apparently had used to
reinforce its troops on the north
western end of the island Several
others were damaged. Shore batter
les were Silenced and large fires
started, presumably among supply
dumps. There was no way of deter
mining what personnel losses the
japanese suffered.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
CURRENT QUOTATIONS

The torches of freedom which are being
lit in these mountains represent the SYM
Dol of our indomitable spirit.-Gen. Draja
Mikhailovich, YugOslavan guerilla chief
tain
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
Editorials and Comment

EDITORS NOTE: The folloptno edit.
OHdis are presented as interesting opin-
ions UOiced bg editors eiseIchere. They
do not necessarily reflect the opinion Of
this paper.
Imperial Valley press., 1942-11-15
ParotrooIps Meet
Ncxis i'm TuniSio.

ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
FRENCH NORTH AFRICA, Nov. Ia.
CUP The Allies today were believ-
ed rushing parachute troops to Tuni-
sia to wipe out axis air-borne forces
fighting with the French for control
CT Bizerte and TuniS.
This axis forces were preparing
the way for an axis invasion armada,
said to be on its way across the Med
iterranean. Big Junkers transport
planes had brought II to IS ton
light tanks to the Germans, who
already had seized control of the air
fields at Bizerte and TuniS.
FRENCH FIGHTESG
Allied reconnaissance fliers saw
heavy ground fighting going on,
machine guns, artillery and anti
aircraft guns firing. Obviously, the
French at Bizerte. a formidable
naval base and one of the best ports
of the Mediterranean, and at Tunis,
capital of Tunisia, were putting up
stiff resistance.
American and British parachutists,
some of the toughest fighting men
Evening star., 1942-01-04
Mrs E. B. Hutchison
Will Entertain at
Bridge Luncheon

HERNDON, Va, Jan. 3.-Mrs. f
Barbour Hutchison will entertain
16 guests Monday at bridge
luncheon at her home, the Oaks
Cadet E. Barbour HutchiSon, jr.
has returned to the Virginia Poly
technic Institute after spending the
holiday season with his parents.
Mr.. and Mrs Arthur Hyde Buell.
were hosts last evening at four
tables of bridge Mr.. and Mrs. Buell.
have as their house guests for sew
eral months the latter's sister and
niece. Mrs. William McLendon and
Miss Sally McLendon of Panama.
Mr.. and Mrs. Thomas Kite have
been the guests this week Of the
latter's parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Will
liam H. Dawson.
Miss Anne V. Hutchinson and Miss
Willie Kirk have taken an apart
ment in Washington for the winter
months.
Mr.. and Mrs Russell Gillette en-
tertained New Year Day for large
group of the younger set.
Mr.. Joseph Linkins of Pittsburgh
has been the guest for several days
of his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. J. K.
Linkins.