24 Dec 1942
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 31 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Dec 24, 1942
Page
1
Allied wire dispatch reports the Red Army pressed a middle Don operation, seizing Millerovo and Voloshina, with 44 000 German deaths and 37 600 taken prisoner in nine days as forces near Kharkov and Kamensk disrupt Axis lines.
American air, army and navy personnel arrive in Dakar to join French allies as part of a widening Allied base network in Africa. Admiral Glassford heads a team to evaluate airports and harbor to support anti U-boat and supply operations along the Atlantic coast.
New York report from Dun & Bradstreet indicates Americans spent more this holiday season than ever before. Higher prices reduced purchasing power, yet dollar volume rose 4 to 9 percent over 1941. Crowds filled stores and transport systems faced strain amid fuel and energy curtailments.
Washington Treasury says the victory loan drive surpassed its target by over 2.2 billion dollars. Undersecretary Daniel Bell announced preliminary subscriptions near 11.2 to 12 billion and all postmarked subscriptions by midnight will be accepted. The effort lasted 23 days and claims to be the largest wartime financing in history.
President Roosevelt signed a bill granting pay raises to about 1.5 million government employees and called it a major step toward solving the personnel situation. The act also ends the Saturday half holiday in government service, which he described as a peace time luxury.
Christmas paroles were granted to 212 inmates in Ohio penal institutions. Releases included 36 from Ohio Penitentiary 70 from London Prison Farm and 106 from Mansfield Reformatory.
Washington and Mexico sign a reciprocal wartime trade agreement to speed goods flow and remove barriers as both nations fight the Axis. Canberra reports the 938 ton corvette Armid was sunk by Japanese submarines.
Washington officials discuss a broad plan to curb living costs by cutting bread frills. The baking industry agrees to reduce manufacturing and service costs to prevent price increases while maintaining quality. The Office of Price Administration has authorized stores to drop wrapping credit deliveries and returns without lowering prices.
FBI arrest ends seven year chase for John Christopher Abele 40 linked to two Ohio bank robberies totaling $80,000. He had been seen as a respectable resident and dog fancier with a French bulldog Captain Beauvaire that won a 1935 Dayton Kennel Show ribbon.
President Roosevelt launches a wartime Christmas observance with a national tree ceremony at the White House and a broadcast after exchanging greetings with White House staff. War production slows for a Christmas holiday as plants pause to boost 1943 output, while troops abroad and at home share meals and gifts.
The Pope said the church would not join war and warned against a state subverting human law for politics. He urged internal peace within nations, unity and love, reaffirming the church’s stance against Marxist socialism in a Christmas message broadcast by Vatican Radio.
State Police guard all roads into Kishacoquillas Valley as officials isolate a smallpox outbreak in Mifflin County. Fourteen cases tied to an Amish wedding party. a Ohio guest is suspected carrier.
Ohio saw an early Christmas shopping surge as prepaid sales tax for the week ending December 12 rose to $175,137 above the same week in 1941. State Treasurer Don H. Ebright reported the seven day total since January 1 reached $51,655,946 versus $57,552,950 in the prior year.
Allied headquarters in Australia reportJapanese fortifications breached and their forces decimated in Buna New Guinea as Allied air and ground offensives press an extended assault. The noon communique notes heavy enemy casualties and a dire situation even as three U S generals earn awards for heroism during the Buna campaign.
Dewitt Mackenzie recounts visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem during Christmas season. He describes the ancient sites, the River Jordan, Dolorosa, and Holy Sepulchre, noting soldiers as modern pilgrims and the ongoing conflict testing peace on earth. He frames the soldiers as fighting for Christianity amid war.
Virtually final official figures show Republicans outvoting Democrats in the November 3 House races for the first time in 14 years. GOP totals 14,217,320 votes (50.6%), Democrats 13,331,245 (47.4%), others 563,018 (2.0%). In 1938 Republicans had a smaller share.
Akron officials warn bootleg meat may be of poor quality as health officials appeal for higher meat quotas. Authorities say farmers are butchering sick and lame animals and suspect tainted meat enters the city.
A Cleveland plant of Carey Machine Company halted operations after a jurisdictional dispute involving about 150 CIO United Steelworkers of America members. The facility had recently earned the Army-Navy E Award. The standstill affects production and worker status amid ongoing talks.
A freight train struck and killed George T. Hamilton, 61, a Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad telegrapher for nearly four decades, as he walked to work.
Fatal burns suffered when a trailer residence in Milan burned on December 4 claimed the life of Mrs. Charles Bair, 191, the widow.
Columbus reports the first holiday rest in a year for thousands of Ohio war workers as plants pause for Christmas. Officials expect the reduction to speed production later. service members and families flood trains and buses on the pre holiday travel rush.
The Agriculture Department reported that the combined 1942 spring and fall pig crops total 104,734,000 head, up 24 percent from the 1941 record. The fall crop is 43,721,000 head and the spring crop 61,916,000 head, with 1941 spring at 49,234,000.
Miss Adelaide C. Yost, an elderly retired teacher, delivered Christmas dollar bills to neighborhood children and was found dead at her Philadelphia home the following day. The eighties resident had begun her annual holiday visit earlier than usual.
The text describes fitting remaining units of the French fleet and facilities into a broader plan to speed up transport of men and material to Africa and to combat the submarine threat off the African coast.
Report notes broad French public approval of American forces while officials maintain dignity. British and Fighting French actions around Dakar attempt to secure the port. In Tunisia Giraud’s troops push Italians from Pont Du Fahs and Allied forces shell positions near Tunis and Bizerte. Rommel’s movement questions loom as Eighth Army nears Tripoli with options to advance, evacuate, or fight.
Chrysler asks the War Labor Board and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to approve $10 to $18 monthly raises for more than 12,000 salaried workers in 22 plants across Ohio Illinois Indiana and Michigan who earn $350 a month or less. The company also invited unions representing 500 salaried workers at the same pay level to join in the application.
In wartime Europe, Christmas charity and cheer fade as families endure cold, hunger, and separation. The piece notes widespread deportations, displaced children in Hungary, and scarce toys or food, with Santa arriving to find empty stockings. It highlights sorrow in Germany and occupied lands, where dialogue and letter travel are limited and everyday goods are scarce.
Ohio courts may delay civil trials involving foreign armed forces members as allowed by the Federal Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act. The Ohio Supreme Court upheld this when a Lucas County auto damage suit faced absence of defendant William E. Pollock of the Canadian Army.
Washington reports a new congress proposal would set the maximum penalty at life imprisonment or death for individuals who willfully manufacture and deliver inferior or defective materials to the armed forces. Rep Hobbs of Alabama stated the measure today.
Leonard J. Struffeler, 21, on a nine day Navy furlough, died when his car left Route 8 near Uniontown and struck a utility pole. The Navy cut WAVES and Coast Guard Reserve enlistment education to two years of high school.
Hartford reports its larceny sweepstakes for 1942 ends in a three way tie among offenders who stole an elevator a lie detector and 20 gallons of worms. Travelers Insurance names these individuals as leading pilferers in its annual roundup.
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