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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Jul 27, 1944
Page
2
The local tire rationing board reports a severe shortage with over 500 passenger tire applications exceeding the August quota and 925 fewer large tires than July. Norman Olsen warns war demands keep supplies tight as boards issue the smallest August quota in 30 months.
Alabama health officials reported seven polio cases in the last week, one fewer than the previous week and within normal limits. The update indicates the North Carolina epidemic has not impacted Alabama's case count.
A Senate investigation headed by Senator Bankhead will study rayon challenges to cotton amid wartime demand. The probe will cover rayon use, costs, production, and government support, while cotton stockpiles hover near 10 million bales as mills race to meet Army and Navy orders.
Five cases on the city docket include assault fines and drunkenness penalties. Hospital notices report multiple medical patients. Births are announced at Decatur General Hospital. Local meetings and public notices cover the Wesleyan Service Guild American Legion Auxiliary and probation hearings.
New York markets eased with a light turnover as Wall Street retros pressed by heat. Cotton rallied late on mill buying with scant offerings and prices up to 70 cents from day lows, with Oct at 21.31 and Dec at 21.09.
Nashville market reports show scarce well finished cattle and varied weights as prices shift slightly. Vealers, calves and hogs range with steady beef demand. war updates mention Dutch East Indies bombardment, Palau tensions, and a possible MacArthur move with Philippines bombing slated from new bases.
The Woodruff children, six in number, join Delano Park as the latest pool regulars. H. R. Whitman of Los Angeles visits, praising parks for juvenile delinquency prevention. R. Whaley and B. Cox tend skinned knees with first aid kits. Visitors include Miss Mary Wallace Hogan and Miss Laura Mosley of Atlanta. Lt. and Mrs. Moore and son David from Muskegon stop by. Sandra Bowden and Walter Chenault are noted newcomers amid recent illness.
U S armored units push toward Canisy and St Gilles as eight miles from a key northward supply road. The St Lo sector sees renewed push with about 40,000 German troops in the area, including elite forces, blocking the Allied advance toward Paris.
Congressman John Sparkman of Alabama’s eighth district lauded Harry S. Truman at a Decatur Kiwanis convention review. He noted South support for the Roosevelt Truman ticket and highlighted platform gains on freight rates. Sparkman cited Farm Bureau activities and praised Senator Bankhead’s strong convention vote.
Leaved from a war notebook recounts Pvt John R Brewer of Trenton Tennessee using a bulldozer blade to clear a hedgerow and bury three German gun crews while American forces advance near St Lo. Staff Sgt Michael Gaydos and Pfc Forrest Jones pursue a sniper ring, with Jones shooting a German foe and Gaydos surviving a tense skirmish.
Lt E S Sledge of Mobile Alabama, tank platoon leader, lifted his head from the turret when a German explosive shell struck the helmet. The shell tore a jagged hole in the steel but did not pierce the leather headgear. It traveled inside the helmet and exited the back, with only a few small shrapnel bits reported.
Funeral services for Mrs. Lee Luker 66 of 1006 North Avenue will be held Friday at 4 p m at the Church of God in Hartselle with Rev A W Bennefield and Rev George Harrington. Interment at Moss Chapel cemetery Drinkard directing. Survived by husband one son Joseph Luker of Decatur six daughters including Mrs J A Travis and Mrs Nell Hancock of Decatur two brothers and one sister fifteen grandchildren and one great grandchild. Pallbearers listed. Born in Morgan county she lived locally all her life.
Plans for redecoration of the First Presbyterian church auditorium move forward with a joint elder and deacon committee led by Barrett Shelton. Members include E W McLeod C N Garrett A A Jones Ann Coleman and J Will Wyker. Work to start soon. Rev W W Glass will preach through August 13 before vacation and return September 10.
Los Angeles July 27 report on Martha Raye says the hospital says the 6 pound 6 ounce daughter Melodye was born last night. The name honors Raye’s sister who died about a year ago. Condos says they are very proud and happy their first child is a girl.
Allied ground troops and air forces pressed the battle, battering German positions and concentrations in war zones. Allied planes struck German trains and transportation networks over a wide arc from Ouai to Vendome.
Izvestia quotes underground reports that 91 000 evacuees left the city as Stalin orders 20 salvos from 224 guns. Russian forces reach the east bank on a 30 mile front while Polish troops push alongside the Red Army. Deblin is claimed as liberated and Warsaw ears distant artillery. Delaying near the Carpathians threatens Romania and Hungary.
Soviet forces broke the Narva defense line and pushed within 100 miles of Tallinn, with the Baltic front near Memel and Tilsit. The Leningrad group led by Mara Govorov seized Narva as German garrisons in Lwow Stanislawow Brest Litovsk and Kaunas faced siege, while Berlin touted Beck’s alleged plot and Nazi command casualties mounted.
Boll weevil infestation in Alabama cotton regions rose rapidly last week reaching 33 percent in Monroe County the state’s highest level and 27.4 percent in Greene County according to extension entomologist W A Ruffin.
Striking distance and easy across plains are made possible by the Red Army’s massed tanks cavalry and trucks aided partly by U S lend lease. Lodz Poland’s second city with 665000 residents lies 95 miles from the front. Krakow 254600 residents is equally distant Radom is 25 miles away and Warsaw faces threats from both the southeast and the east.
Wholesale meat and grocery dealers and their salesmen in Morgan and Limestone counties pledged support for OPA policies at a county meeting. Sam J. Watkins praised the program's success in holding living costs for 60 months of WWII, while local officials and traders urged full backing and cooperation with OPA officials to continue easing price pressures.
The report notes 5000 Marine wounded on Saipan and a Sabang raid mirrored earlier April action. Gen MacArthur’s forces press Japanese on Northwest New Guinea while US 14th Air Force fights over Hengyang Yochow and Myitkyina advances. Strategic efforts seek to halt enemy offensives and push toward Hankow Canton railway.
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