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Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Mar 23, 1945
Page
1
Berlin reports Montgomery ready for a grand crossing of the Lower Rhine on a 65 mile front from Duesseldorf to Arnhem. Fire and air strikes neglect German defenses as Allied forces advance on Rhine towns and fortifications.
Sixty thousand tank-supported Japanese troops opened a new campaign in Central China. Premier Gen. Koorders promised an offensive to recapture Iwo Jima Saipan and Guam. Allied pledges ignored losses of Guimaras. Australian amphibious advance in the Solomons reported. Japan’s new China offensive aims to raid wheat regions in Honan and Hupeh while countering U.S. and Allied actions.
The House overwhelmingly approved a one year extension of the draft beyond May 18 1945 with a near unanimous roll call. The measure, debated briefly, moves to the Senate as air bases and rail links in China deepen Japan’s supply challenges. Meanwhile Allied advances across the Pacific push toward Manchuria and the Philippines with fresh landings and naval actions.
Lexington reports the cigarette shortage is only apparent and should not last long. A University of Kentucky study says some will have more smokes while heavy smokers see fewer. The shortage danger is forestalled by large 1944 burley and flue cured crops and tobacco aging requirements. Marketing of the 1944 burley crop is just being completed.
Two year old twin girls Rozella and Priscilla Sparks died in a fire that destroyed the home of Rev and Mrs Ennis Sparks eight miles east of Chillicothe with eight others injured including five children. Coroner said fire started when minister tried to kindle a fire with kerosene. Nearby reports note SpainJapan relations strained over murders in Manila. In Columbus John W Wheeler 68 freight conductor for C&O Railroad died of heart attack.
Office of Price Administration lawyers will finish subpoenas for 18 renters of cold storage lockers as officials trace privately owned beef carcasses and other meat stored in six Northeastern Ohio cities. Samuel D. Katz says 34 writs were issued for renters at a Salem refrigeration house where private stock was found.
Col C W Goble says all Ohio local draft boards will reopen on or after April 1 for registrants aged 18 to 29 still in Class I A or II D with no deferment form filed. A new certification plan requires essential industry employers to request deferment for indispensable workers in this age group via a specific form. Prisoners at Columbus donated 40 pints of blood for wounded soldiers at Fletcher General Hospital.
Moscow reports Konev's First Ukrainian Army breaks toward Czechoslovakia from Prauge area. Soviet forces drive 80 miles into Southeastern Germany, capturing Neustadt and advancing near Neisse Ziegenhals Frankenstein and Ratibor while encircling large German forces. Neisse and Oppeln rail lines cut as Red Army nears Prague and Vienna.
Columbus Ohio. The new liquor enforcement chief Frank Kleinfelder says permit holders must follow regulations or lose permits. He adds three agents to staff and aims to reach 125 to ensure full compliance with state liquor laws. He believes about 95 percent run proper businesses, faulting a small violator minority.
Rep. Tom Jenkins of Iranian background will play a key role in a study of Social Security coverage and taxes. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee he helped authorize the survey. The panel is also likely to review Roosevelt’s proposal on ensuring year round pay and employment for wage earners.
Treasury agents led by Elmer Irey uncovered 50 000 in forgotten taxes in Miami as part of a nationwide probe into money flowing to resorts. Officials said the effort aims to ensure all income is reported and taxed, while distinguishing legitimate spending from black market activity.
London reports a massive Allied air offensive targeting Germany. Since the air blitz began three weeks ago bombers have dropped 274 tons per hour in places like Duesseldorf and Ruhr Valley, isolating industrial regions and paving the way for ground troops as Eisenhower notes the effort surpasses prior bombing.
London reports the largest air offensive since D-Day as 3,000 Allied aircraft strike Germany from west and south, targeting Ruhr area airbases and industrial towns. Night smoke blankets the Ruhr, ground targets hard to locate. German defenses around the Lower Rhine regroup after severe bombardment. Gen Henry Crerar returns to continental HQ after aLondon stay.
Paris UPI reports Germany nears the war’s end with oil production at its lowest level since Hitler’s forces began their campaign. The assessment came from supreme headquarters, signaling severe fuel shortages impacting the war effort.
About 850 Italian servicemen at the Rossford Ordnance Depot protested being treated as prisoners of war, demanding soldier status. Col. W George Devens noted they are technically prisoners in the eye of the law, while Weichel criticized OPA for gas use and lenient conditions for Italian prisoners amid wartime strain.
Ohio State University reports 14,332 graduates and students serving in World War II with 375 dead 89 missing and 83 prisoners. The program provides care for 2,608 crippled children, the highest total since 1942, reflecting the 1944 infantile paralysis epidemic that affected 1,171 residents in the state.
Washington reports total Army and Navy combat casualties since war began at 859587. Army losses 767680 and Navy 91057 as of March 14. The weekly increase is 19998. Ohio notes include casualties and missing persons figures while discussing livestock slaughtering and state inspection issues.
The United States First Army crossed the Rhine on March 22 in a delayed report. Allied troops seized a $1,000,000 underground Nazi factory carved from rock near Koenigswinter. It housed about 1,500 German civilians and 500 slave laborers and produced fuel pumps for heavy vehicles and Focke Wulf fighter bombers.
The War Manpower Commission asks producers and distributors to withhold films from Jack OConnell and his Loop theater in Toledo. OConnell cites contracts as he fights a curfew dispute, while WMC Director John L. Craig calls OConnell's refusal to close before 5 am damaging the industry, noting 85 other theaters are cooperating.
Washington lawmakers discuss pre discharge furloughs for service members with Rep J Harry McGregor proposing the plan. He argues a furlough would let veterans try civilian life and return to service if unsatisfied, offering flexibility before formal discharge.
Allied armies drove toward the Rhine as hundreds of Allied planes bombed German positions north and south of the Ruhr. The Ninth, Second, and First Armies massed along the lower Rhine with strong forces near Duesseldorf, Arnhem, and Wesel while Patton's Third Army prepared a potential Rhine crossing from the Palatinate. German claims of 127,905 Allied surrenderes in 11 days contrasted with rapid advances, town seizures, and the liberation of conscript laborers as sieges and riverbank advances continued.
Dr John A Toomey medical director at Cleveland City Hospital announced polio virus was found in a Perrysburg creek where Ohio 1944 poliomyelitis cases began. Perrysburg near Toledo reported 21 polio cases last summer.
In Washington a congressional committee backed a one year extension of the wartime draft. Army chiefs supported the move citing the streamlined training system that speeds raw recruits to combat in Europe and the Pacific. Some members urged caution, but a broad majority favored extending the law to ensure more than 405,000 inductions through July 1. The plan includes a point system for release, factoring length of service, overseas time, battles, decorations, and dependents.
Washington reports Labor Secretary Perkins may press for a soft coal contract settlement as negotiations stall between operators and John L. Lewis. Lewis insists on a ten cent per ton royalty to fund a miners health and welfare program for about 400,000 miners, bringing talks nearly to a standstill.
Rep. Jack Easton of Lake said a 21 member House Conservation Committee would inspect Ohio strip mining regions over a weekend starting in April. The tour will cover Harrison and Jackson counties and possibly Perry County to assess mining impacts.
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