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Newspaper
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Location
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 13, 1941
Page
3
Batavia reports Dutch submarines destroyed about four thousand Japanese troops and four transports as reinforcements moved toward Malaya. A separate action on Borneo’s east coast neutralized a Japanese settlement and seized motor launches. Mobilization in NEI proceeds smoothly despite the strikes.
Brig Gen Lewis Hershey told the House Military Affairs Committee that expanding the draft to include men aged 19 to 44 could yield an active duty force of about 7.5 million. Secretary Stimson urged rapid action to back victory, while calls for aviation and ground service volunteers intensified as hearings began on a bill mandating nationwide registration of males 18 to 64.
United Press dispatch notes Japan tacitly acknowledged on Saturday that a heroic American marine detachment aided by construction workers and Pan American Airways personnel still held Wake Island. Tokyo claimed heavy damage to military objectives from a Thursday raid and reported Japanese advances in Hong Kong and Luzon with further airfield losses for the Allies.
The nation’s railroads ask the Interstate Commerce Commission for roughly 356.5 million dollars more yearly by boosting passenger fares 10 percent with military fare exemptions, and freight rates 10 percent except some coal and ore shipments with tiered gains for anthracite and bituminous coal, plus regional differences west of Chicago and Milwaukee.
Cedar Rapids area weather shows fair conditions tonight and Sunday with a drop in temperatures. After a high near 30 degrees around noon Saturday, readings fell a few degrees by mid afternoon and again by morning, with humidity around 65 percent at 2:00.
Moscow proclaimed a sweeping defeat of a 750,000 strong German force as Russian counteroffensives recaptured 400 towns from north to south of Moscow. Britain sent aerial reinforcements to the Middle East while Bulgaria declared war on Britain and the United States. Germany reportedly withdrew to new defense lines in Russia and considered moves toward the Middle East. Signposts suggested Hitler might pivot toward Bulgaria Turkey and the Middle East as the war dragged on.
Fourteen individuals were convicted in Brooklyn after a nine hour jury deliberation for transmitting defense information to Germany and failing to register as foreign agents. Federal Judge Mortimer W. Byers remanded them to jail until Monday for sentencing, with a maximum penalty of 22 years each.
Washington AP dispatch reports Maxim Litvinoff the Russian ambassador calling Japan the common enemy and axis gangsters. He said complete understanding exists or will be arrived at among forces opposing Axis aggression.
Tokyo via Japanese radio claims the United States battleship Arizona was sunk by Japanese forces, marking a third American battleship reported sunk since the Pacific war began. The U S S Arizona, launched in 1915, normally housed about 1,358 men. The report faces skepticism as independent confirmation is lacking.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, age 61 and famed Arctic explorer, disclosed on Saturday that his marriage last April was to Evelyn Schwartz Baird, a 28-year-old librarian.
The United States gears for total war with manpower expansion and higher taxes. Congress moves to draft 40 million men ages 19 to 44 while noncombatant duties cover others. A $10.57 billion defense program funds weapons, plus a naval expansion exceeding $3 billion.
Burlington officials said the Yowa ordnance plant blast Friday killed four identified workers and one hospitalized man while eight others remained missing. More than 40 injured, with some in serious condition, as investigators emphasize sound construction and safety measures.
British and Dutch destroyers struck before dawn in the central Mediterranean destroying two cruisers a torpedo boat and a motor speed boat of an Italian squadron. Porto Rico issued its first air raid alert but no planes were seen over San Juan. The RAF announced immediate reinforcements to Malaya and the Near East. Domei reported six air raids on Honolulu since Secretary Know arrived.
Arden C Jordan of Des Moines was found not guilty by a 12 member jury after nearly 19 hours of deliberation in Cedar Rapids. The riotous conduct charge stemmed from a strike riot at the Wilson produce plant on September 15. Judge J E Heiserman presided after the verdict was reached around 11:15 AM following final arguments by defense attorney Guy Linville and County Attorney W W Crissman.
The Burlington shell loading plant explosion left 20 hospitalized with multiple injuries. Notables include Wilbur Tock with a skull fracture in Oakville Iowa and Sherman Mullilin in Keokuk Iowa suffering skull and back lacerations. Other patients include Kenneth Sparrow of Burlington and C R Sullivan also of Burlington, plus Edwin Seitz and Elmer Guick among others. Lowell Boyer of Mt. Vernon is listed but reported in serious condition.
The United States seized the Swedish motor ship Kungsholm, a luxury liner once crossing the Atlantic and lately on Caribbean pleasure trips, as announced by the state department on Saturday. London watchers report unconfirmed tensions around Vichy with feared German attack on Gibraltar and hints of French fleet shifts to the Axis amid sinking claims in the Mediterranean.
The navy said it cannot communicate with Guam by radio or cable and that its capture by Japan was probable. Fewer than 400 naval personnel and 155 marines defended Guam, which had been bombed and where Japanese troops landed at several points. Wake and Midway were said to resist, while U S forces fought to hold the Lingayen coast and other Philippine positions as Japanese advances were checked. The report notes Guam’s strategic role in air routes and potential use as a bomber base.
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