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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 19, 1941
Page
1
Partly cloudy weather and a 66 degree high with no rain are reported as cotton sales show middling at 17.35 and strict middling at 17.60. Local events include movie listings at the Princess the Roxy and Capitol and church and community notices across Decatur Alabama with holiday greetings and planning sessions.
Reports from London claim Hong Kong British garrison holds out amid Japanese bombardment and ground attack while U S observers note increased enemy activity in the Philippines. A American woman is reported killed in the siege as Manila and Iloilo come under heavy bombing.
British announce that the Northern Malaya advance is stopped and Penang on the main island has been abandoned. Garrison withdrawal may allow Japanese domination of Penang’s 108 square miles and 240 000 people while British forces regroup about 300 miles from Singapore near the Krian river line to halt further incursions.
The War Department said there was nothing to report from other Pacific areas while the Navy announced two Japanese air attacks on Wake Island where U S Marines have held off assaults for two weeks. President Roosevelt nominated Lieut Gen Douglas MacArthur for full general. Hongkong battles grow fiercer as Japanese forces push toward the city. Sir Mark Young’s escape is reported but London denies a siege. Heavy fighting continues on the island with a small British Indian garrison defending.
Soviet dispatches report a major counteroffensive gaining ground on the central front as German forces withdraw from Finland. British radio claims Finnish lines shattered near Lake Onega and Ladoga. In North Africa, Derna Airport falls to British forces though Derna remains Axis held, with advances toward Bengasi. Mussolini’s air forces strike British cruisers while U boats sink a Leander-class cruiser. Spain maintains non-belligerency. Portugal and Azores rumors surface as Bern reports add context. Continued on Page Two.
President Roosevelt announced at a press conference that he has asked governors to transfer all state and territorial employment agencies to the federal employment service. He said governors are cooperating to maximize manpower for war production and cited a committee statement urging coordinated fiscal action, inflation combat, and postwar preparation.
Sixteen days of Christmas vacation began for city school students but warm weather ruled out a white Christmas. Riverside High pupils filled chapel with Rev. Lambuth Archibald leading carols and the Christmas Story. Superintendent 5S. E. Alveryson noted classes would resume January 5 with gift exchanges in some rooms.
U S government plans rapid TVA construction including Fontana Dam on the Holston and Watauga rivers and a new Watts Bar steam plant. The project promises the largest dam east of the Mississippi and boosts TVA capacity from 1,050,000 to over 2,600,000 kilowatts. Completion targeted in about 36 months with power ready by 1944.
About 100 State National Bank employees received a Christmas bonus equal to ten percent of their yearly salaries, bringing satisfaction to the staff as they were paid today.
The states of Alabama Kentucky Tennessee and Mississippi recorded a tuberculosis death rate of 6.24 per 1 000 last year, above the national average of 45.9 per 1 000, according to census bureau data released by state health departments.
Dewitt Mackenzie reports Hongkong under heavy Japanese assault with a landing and capture of part of the island. If the base falls it would strike a hard blow to Allied defense by shrinking a key position near Manila and raising Jap naval and air reach toward the Philippines.
A London source warned that a Japanese drive on Malaya and Britain's naval weakness threaten Singapore. The piece ponders whether the Philippines must be drawn into any British base defense and hints at possible American involvement, noting the situation remains unsettled.
A Senate House conference panel agreed to extend military training to men aged 20 to 44 and to require registration for 18 to 64. Debate over minimum induction age continued with House and Senate holding to 21 and 20 respectively before compromise. Senate action followed six hours of debate with broad support and limited opposition.
War bulletin from Chungking confirms Florence Webb of Shanghai was killed by shrapnel in the Hongkong assault. Embassy notified. her U.S. origins and residence prior to Shanghai unclear amid wartime dispatches.
T. R. Harrison chairman of the Morgan County Defense Council called a meeting of all Red Cross First Aid Instructors and others who will take part in the Defense program. The gathering will be Sunday at the courthouse at 2 30 in the afternoon. All instructors are urged to attend.
About 5,000 Italian sailors died December 12 when British forces sank two Italian cruisers a destroyer and three transports off Kelibia on Cape Bon. Roughly 1,000 Italians were rescued and treated for burns and other injuries in Tunisian coastal cities.
Preliminary organization of local tire rationing boards began in seven Southern states under the Office of Price Administration. Defenders will partner with state defense councils to process tire purchases as the rationing plan takes effect January 5. Alexander Harris and L L Gravely lead appointments covering Alabama Tennessee Kentucky and North Carolina South Carolina Georgia and Florida.
Donald B. Isom secretary of the Limestone County Conservation Association placed fifty bass in Elk River and nearby creeks. The bass were of good size unlike the usual small variety and more fish will be added before the next fishing season opens.
Macon Georgia reports A J Millirons of the police department has left his post to join the armed services. Millirons previously served in the Navy from 1910 to 1936.
Navy and War Department reports confirm two additional air strikes on Wake Island. The first attack late on the 17th 18th was light while the second on the 19th morning was heavier. Wake Island continues to counter the blows as air and ground activities rise in the Philippine area.
French circles in unoccupied territory denied any naval pact with the United States and rejected London’s claim that the St Denis sank by a presumed British submarine.
Reports describe heavy bombing over Manila and nearby areas as anti Axis powers coordinate plans. A London London source notes a supreme wartime council may be formed with the United States Great Britain and Soviet Russia taking the lead. Preliminary sessions could occur next month.
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