Evening star., 1943-12-19

AidgCl Adlly CIllldIlCtu ny IllC COllAcls
British Foreign Secretary. told the F
ference has cost the Allies the full serv-
ices Of Prime Minister Churchill for an
indefinite time. Mr.. Churchill, stricken
with pneumonia for the second time in
a year, is reported gaining, but there we're
some indications that the leader who
inspired England to more than her best
in the dark days following Dunkerque
may find it necessary to take some
rest to regain his strength.
The announcement that American
troops under command of Gen. Douglas
Macarthur had made a successful land
ing on New Britain Island and thus
paved the way for the eventual reduction
OF Rabaul, Japan's main base south of
Truk, bore out the confident statement
made recently by Gen Macarthur that
the backbone of Jap strength in the
Southwest Pacific had been broken.
However, lest the American people be-
come overjubilant at the success of the
landing, 1t. Gen. Vandergrift. newly ap-
pointed commandant of the Marine
Corps warned in a statement in WASH
ington that there is no royal road to
Toxic, that no foXholes are to be had
offshore.
Here in the Capital hundreds of
leaders in the field of aviation and many
high-ranking officers of the Army Navy
and Marine Corps and representatives
of our own and Allied governments met
on Friday evening at dinner to pay
tribute to Orville Wright on the 4Oth
anniversary of the first successful air
plane flight at KittyhaWk, N. C. Over
in Berlin, the populace still quaking
under the shock Of l,500-ton bombing
raid the night before which left the
German capital covered by a tremendous
blanket of smoke turned crimson by rag
ing fires still sweeping uncontrolled over
large areas in the city wondered
whether the Wright invention in its
present tremendous development will
spell the doom of all German cities.
Plane Production Up.
The Nazis will find no encouragement
In the announcement that aircraft pro-
duction in this country will reach the
9,000-plane mark this month and that
by spring it will level off at around
10000 planes per month. This huge out
put lent emphasis to a statement by
Rear Admiral Dewitt c. Ramsey, chief
OF the Nays Bureau of Aeronautics
that planes will carry the burden of the
attack to the Japs in the Central Pacific.
Rumors of peace gestures from Nazi
satellites continued throughout last
week. One dispatch from Cairo reports
that peace feelers were sent out by
Bulgaria separately to Russia, Great
Britain and the United States, the gov
ernment and people having become con-
vnced that only defeat lies ahead. Bull
garia, it was said, would be willing to
negotiate on the basis of the Atlantic
Charter, providing she should be al
lowed to keep those sections of Yugo-
slavia and Greece seized by her troops
1t was declared that the peace offer was
rejected unanimously.
Finland which a few days ago paid
its regular installment on the debt to
the United States arising out of the First
World War, was reported to have beamed
a radio discussion of peace to Russia in
which it was stated, "our country must
make every effort to have peace as
quickly as possible"
One serious blow was struck at the
Allies on December 2, it was revealed
last week when Secretary of War Stim-
son reported that surprise attack by
German planes on the harbor at Bari
on the Adriatic side of Italy had cost
II ships of which five were American.
About 1000 casualties of whom many
were killed, followed explosions and fires
which eliminated about half of the ship
ping in the harbor. Two ammunition
ships were hit and exploded spreading
fire and destruction.
The planes came in at dawn, flying
low and very swiftly to plant their
bombs in a complete surprise attack
which caught many of the ships before
vital supplies they carried had been
unloaded
Mr.. Stlmson also revealed that from
the start of the war through November
30, American casualties were 13l O9S.
The Arnly's losses were 1884 killed,
35,049 wounded, 23,725 missing and "a
486 prisoners. The Nays losses, con-
siderably fewer included 1888 killed,
1858 wounded, 8406 missing and 4,274
prisoners. More than half of the Army
wounded have returned to duty.