23 Apr 1944
Page 1
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Newspaper
Dothan Eagle
Location
Dothan, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Apr 23, 1944
Page
1
Fragmentary wartime note discusses German and Allied strengths in Europe. Mentions divisions, supply losses, and shifting front lines with references to Cassino and a June/May timeframe. Source text is garbled and partial, preserving only scattered names and numbers.
Dethan’s blood bank reports low donor turnout since its October opening at Fraiser- Bie Hospital under the Office of Civil Defense. About 150 donations have been recorded with only around 100 different donors, many giving multiple times. Officials urge local citizens to donate, noting plasma’s value for wounded soldiers and shock cases, and highlighting ongoing drives at Fraiser-Bie Hospital on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Moody Hospital by night.
AP reports Japanese shells and bombs strike suburbs of Chenghsien as Chinese High Command indicates a new offensive along the Yellow River corridor. The action involves battles near the Tanghe railway and a 28 mile stretch toward Chenghaten with forces estimated at up to 60,000.
Powerful American warships including a sizable carrier force operate in the Indian Ocean and join Allied units in a dawn attack on Sumatra. American pilots outnumber British two to one in the operation, which set large fires in the inner harbor at Babatg, as reported by AP correspondent Eugene Burns aboard an American carrier.
Prohibition bill to curb alcohol use to aid wartime efficiency faces likely stagnation in the House Judiciary Committee. Rep Bryson insisted hearings were needed, but absent witnesses and a busy election year reduce prospects for action. Critics say the measure is dead, with focus shifting to war manpower and productivity.
AP reports from New Orleans that three Navy blimps were destroyed and a fourth partially damaged when a Gulf storm struck during patrols off the Mississippi delta. One crewman, Ensign Thewes of Lakewood Ohio, was rescued after more than 34 hours in the water. nine of ten crew members remain unaccounted for as search efforts continue.
Senator Connally announced bipartisan committees of eight to confer with Secretary Hull on forming an international organization. The panel includes four Democrats three Republicans and a Progressive with liberal foreign policy views. Barkley will chair, joined by Gillette LaPolletta and George. First meeting with Hull planned for early next week.
Gladwin Bill London reports that German armor and devices for the initial assault are largely prepared and fortified, suggesting bombing alone cannot erase heavy defenses. The piece notes Cassino and Tarawa as warnings and cites opponents who fear high Allied casualties as speculative until battle day.
Delegates at United Mine Workers District 20 convention in Birmingham pledge to work for Negro coal miners to gain voting rights, citing the Constitution and a Supreme Court ruling. They urge white UMW members to meet poll tax requirements and vow to defeat James A Simpson, a Birmingham lawyer and state senator opposing Ben Later Hill in the U S Senate race.
The American Society of Newspaper Editors urged world freedom of press to be part of international agreements and peace treaties. A committee will work with groups to push for unrestricted news flow. President Joho Knight emphasized reporters’ right to uncensored dispatches as essential to an enlightened public and peaceful aims. A proposal by Neltash Poynter to seek congressional policy backing free information and reciprocal international agreements was referred to a committee.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved a tax amplification bill to remove the need for about 30 million of the 50 million individual taxpayers to file income tax returns. If enacted before June recess, the measure would eliminate the Victory tax, set new normal and surtax rates and exemptions, and shift to a simplified system with broader wage withholding starting next year.
Washington AP report says OWI outlines arrangements with Allied High Command and British officials to speed news from the invasion front to the American public. Censor delays abroad to be removed, with military censorship at origin for dispatches from beaches, ships, or planes. Transits in Britain will be treated as transit news.
In Kunming China on April 71 AP reports that Japan’s offensive into northeast India threatens the Simla corridor and could stall China’s long war effort. Analysts weigh the impact of a Balween river thrust and a westward push from Salween on shortening or extending the conflict. A major Japanese advance toward the Bengal Assam railroad and Brahmaputra river would likely prolong World War II.
Allied headquarters report continued pressure on Axis targets in the Balkans and Italy. RAF Liberators and Wellingtons joined American bombers in 24 hours of raids, hitting rail centers at Bucharest and Turnu Severin, bombed Italian ports Genoa and Livorno, and destroyed 43 enemy planes. Anzio harbor raids added to the aerial campaign as ground stalemate persists along the Italian front.
Cullman County business leaders heard State Senator Jim Simpson say with the May 2 Democratic primary only 10 days away he was trying to arrange a joint meeting with opponent Uv R Hill for a discussion of the nations issues in the current senatorial campaign. Simpson spoke at Selma Winfield and Grove Hill and noted Hill had not ac cepted the invitation. He had previously declined further response.
Soviet high command said nothing major happened on the eastern front Saturday as it refrained from detail. The message claimed Red Army forces are forming lines for a large offensive in Poland to coincide with an Allied invasion from the west.
Pearl Harbor reports heavy American air assaults on two Marianas bases near Guam and occupation of two Marshall atolls. Bombers from Pearl Harbor struck targets at Balpan and Tinian, with one enemy fighter down and another likely destroyed. Operations followed February 22 raids by Seventh Fleet aircraft, aiming at key Japanese strongholds as part of the Tokyo to southwest Pacific corridor campaign.
MOSCOW RP Andrai Vishinsky Soviet vice commissar of terr ain affairs said Finland rejected revised Soviet armistice terms after two months of talks. He noted the Finnish parliament found the Rue alan terms excessive and unimplementable for technical reasons. The plan demanded rupture with Germany and expulsion of enemy forces before April end, restoration of the 1940 Finnkaw-Sowiat treaty, and troop withdrawal to the 1849 Iron Tern.
London AP reports a massive Allied air offensive on Hamm and northern France, with 29,000 tons of explosives dropped over six days. Bombers and fighters from American and British forces targeted Hamm rail yards, airfields, and coastal fortifications while night raids extended into Belgium and Italy, aiming to disrupt Hitler's transport network before the expected invasion.
Special broadcast announced from Allied headquarters in New Gaies at 7 30 p m on all four networks CBS NBC MBS and Blee. Network reps said requests were urgent and time was requested. The announcement is expected to run for three minutes.
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