Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              A Paper Fof The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
The Weather
Cloudy, a little cooler, scattered thunderstorms; Monday   fair  and   cooler.
B9TH YEAR, NO. ZS — 40 PAGES
WiM New* ••rrte*
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 1945
PRICE TEN CENTS
Dominating Okinawa Hills Captured; British Task Force Bombards Truk Atoll
f
Miners'
Contract
Approved
$700,000 Due In Retroactive Pay; Retail Coal Price Goes up $1 per Ton
BUblliMtloii Director Willtam H. Davis hu approved the (l.ST'.ii wage increase for hard eoal min¬ ers, with a $1 per ton boost In the retail prica ceiling of household anthracite alio authorlMd.
Davis elso approved a calling price increase of 25 to BO centa > ton in anthracite for Induatrial uieri, thua making the average rnnsumer price boost 76 centa a ton. Anthracite operatora pressed fnr a flat $1 per ton increase, had hoped to get an 80 cent allowance. The prire boost allowed will com¬ pensate producers for higher costs. Price inereasei become effective tomorrow. |7eo,00e Eitra Pay Due
Approval of the tl.STH dally wage boost for the minera and the increase in prices will make It pos¬ sible for operatora to release aome itTOO.OOO in extra wagea earned by the men from May 21 to 81 but not paid thc last pay period. The extra wages provided by the new contract were frozen, pending final approval of the atabilizatlon di¬ rector.
The 72.000 hard coal minera of Northeastern Pennsylvania earned spproximately |!».fl9 earh during the last nine working days of May but the amount waa withheld from pays the past aeveral days. Wage j«yni"nts are retroactive, however, snd the accrued wagea will bc added to the next pay. The in¬ creaae authorized on the price of roal Is not retroactive alnce aales made between May -21 and June 16 were on a cash  basis.
Some roal companiea of the val¬ ley Included the new rontract wages on the men's duebills but did not actually pay them. It was explained to the respective mine eommlttees that the new wage scale could not be applied iintU approved In full by the federal government. Turn Down  Malnlenanee  Men
The War Labor Board has ruled out an extra hour's pay for maln¬ lenanee men who had been work¬ ing eight hours before the new rontract took eftert. Men emplov¬ ed on the "around thc clock" shift will reieive a wage increase siml- Isr to those on other jobs but will not receive time-and-one-hnlf rate for the eighth hour, despite the fart that the new contract speci¬ fies a seven-hour work day. Main¬ tensnce men. such as pump run¬ ners and engineers, will receive the differential of four rents per hour on the afternoon shift pjid six cents on  the   night shift.
Davis approved the wage agree¬ ment hetween anthracite operators snd the ITnlted Mine Workers ex¬ actly as It was approved bv thr War I..abor  Board on June «.
The final agreement was reaehed sfter a three-week strike which cost .l.fiOO.OOO tons of anthrarite. The price increases were aufhor- \7.ri after studies by the Offlce of I'rice   Administration.
jGaaeu
tiAlfAS
tKon UAM
SURPLUSES FROM '98 STILL UP FOR SALE
Wa>hington,    June    lfi,     (UP)— Kpeaking of government surpluses, do   you   want   to   buy   some   IBth ¦^•entury   horse-drawn   hearses?   or somc ancient saddles and  bridles? They're   leftovers   from   the I   Rpanish-Amerlcan  War,  still  wait¬ ing  for  buyers.
RAISE mmn
OF URDANDOILS
Go from 10 to 12; Butter, Margarine Are Left Unchanged
Washington. Junc 16. fUP)—The Office of Price Administration to¬ night raised the point value of lard, shortening and oils from 10 to 12 points, effective at midnight
Point values of butter and mar¬ garine remained unchanged at 24 I>oints a pound for butter and 12 pointa a pound for margarine.
The increases became necessary. OPA explained, because the War Food Adminiatration sharply re¬ duced civilians' allocation of lard, shortening and oils for the third quarter in the face of a short world supply and large demand. Tneven Distribution
OPA aaid also that many areas reported an uneven distribution of these products fof rivilian use.
The reduced civilian allocation which necessitated the Increase in point values was T."-. 1,900,000 poundf^ as compared with 814,200,000 pounds allocated during the second quar¬ ter. ,    ,
OPA explained that todays ac¬ tion was Intended to place all con¬ sumers - the food manufacturer, the resUurant operator and the household user -on approximately the same  basis.
OPA also announced a cut—ex¬ cept for pharmaceutical manufac¬ turers—in the industrial use of these products, effective for the third quarter beginning July 1. (Continued on  Page A-lSi
Japanese PrepareWomen For Front Line Service
Washington, June 16. (UP) — Japanese women were told today that they would be required to fight In the front lines in case of an invasion of the homeland.
Women and aged persons, plus all male civilians, will be expected to hurl themselves against Allied Invaders, Lt. Gen. Sanetsune Ushijima of thc "Civilian 'Volun¬ teer Corps said in a broadcaht over the Tokvo domestic radio. Talks oi 20.Year War
A 20-ycar war on home soil may be necessary to "wear down" Anglo-American invaders, Kuma- toro Hondo, veteran diplomat and lormer ambassador to Germany, Warned in a Tokyo newspaper. His gloomy forecast wa.s beamed by radio to the United States.
Tokyo   said   vice   ministers   as-
tn Today's Issue
nassined          A—!•
Kditorlal     C—J
.     Movies A—18
Social    B—8
gporta  B—l
Radio    _ A—18
Outdoor  >.«.. ,      ff—t
sembled today in an "emergency meeting" at the official residence of Premier Kantaro Suzuko on "various   problems."
Ushijima spoke at one of a num¬ ber of ceremonies to expand the membership of Japan's civilian volunteer corps. He urged upon women the example of women on Okinawa who, he said, "fought val¬ iantly at the front lines *'ith their babies in thcU- arms." Hints Combat Training
Combat training for the rivilian corps is necessary, he said, al¬ though in "ordinary time.s" thc members will bc required to fight only at their posts on __the "in¬ creased  production  front."
"Women will not only fulfill their rearguard duties as nurses and such but, when circumstances war¬ rant, they will immfidiatcly take up arms."
Hondo, now an fcdviser to the foreign office, emphasized the necessity of maintaining neutrality with Soviet Russia "to preclude anv possibility of undesirable change in thia reapect."
1
Gandhi to Hear Britiah Propoaed
London, June 16. (UP)—Mohan¬ das K. Gandhi, Indian national¬ ist leader, may attend the Simla conference of Indian leadera on June 25 to consider Britain's pro¬ posala for giving India a greater degree of self-government, Bom¬ bay dispatches said tonight
Reports from PanchganI, where Gandhi has been living, aaid he may attend at lea.it in a per¬ sonal capacity. A United Presa Bombay dispatch said Gandhi had received a telegram from Field Marshal Viscount Wavell, Viceroy of India, asking Gandhi's help despite any technicalities which might stand in the way of his acceptance.
Informed sources said it was possible Wavell might invite Mau- lana Abul Kalam Azad, president of the All-India Congress, to the Simla conference and that Azad then might ask Gandhi to repre- Eent the congress.
GEN. EISENHOWER ON HIS WAY HOME IN F.D.R.'S PLANE
Receptions Ready in Washington, New Yorl< And Abilene, Kansas
By  FRED SCHERFF
Washington,   June   16.
(UP)-A
Hammer By-Passed AMI Wifh Ships and Planes
Attack Meets Little Opposition From 100,000 Trapped Japanese; U. S. Planes Sweep ^^ ide Area
,V5-year-old Texas-born Kansan who|°' ^y"*""
By £DWARD U THO.MAS
Guam, Sunday, June 17. (UP)—A British Pacific Fleet carrier task force blasted military targets cn by-passed Truk Atool with aerial bombing and naval gunfire Thursday and Friday, it was announced today.
Land-based Marine and Army figiiters of the tactical air forces teamed for a sweep against airfields, barracks, radio stations, harbor facilities and otlicr installations in thc Amami grnup. 2,S0 miles south
Flames and Cuns Pour Death into Japs' Last Stand
Hold but 9 Square Miles; Surrenders, Suitides Increase; Hit New Island Nearer Japan
By WILLIAM F. TYREE
Guam. Sunday. June 17. (UP)—Anierican 10th Army forces captured three dominating heights on Yaeju-Daiie plateau .Saturday and whittled the la.st enemy position to an area of less than nine ttquare miles as the iieaten, frenzied Japanese committed suicide and nurrendered in ever-increa»> ing numbers.
The U. S. Infantry and Marines snia.<!hed fonvard with tanks and flame-throwers into the enemy'.s dwindling "Fort¬ ress of Deatii." They stormed three key heights which brin^ every Japanese defense area under domination.
Even aa the bloody 78-day atruggle neared Its end. Tokyo reported poaslble preparations for new Invasions In the Ryukyus. American land-based and carrier-based aircraft joined for a heavy strike against the Amami Islands north of Okinawa and only la.*! miles south of Japan proper. Tokyo said 'fully-laden cargo ships and landing craft" have been assembled in the Okinawa area.
Roll ever Burned Japs
Squeezing the last Japanesa into a death trap on southern Okinawa the 1st and 96th infantry division swarming across Yaeju-Dake pla¬ teau drove to the summits of the major heights in the area.
Striking   behind   flame-throwini tanks which wiped out fleeing Jap
and  perhaps  thousands  have  been slaughtered      hy      flame-throwera, grenades  and  bayonets  in  the  rfr> lentless U. S.  advance. Suicide In Variety.
Front    dispatches     said     many
Japanese soldiers, abandoning hope,
blew themselves up with dynamite.
anese by the dozens and  rolled on Othera  silt their  throats or stom-
PROTEST AHACK
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz WM  ^"hii"'wky ¦honre""t'omghT'to|'-'"«"-'ed    a    seriea    of    Amcricaii
accept   the   Uibute   of   a   grateful »«':"''  »'"''*•¦' «f»'"f » YJ'"^' °^ nation | objectives,  ranging  from the Caro-
„    ¦        ...,.,. ,  ¦ , lines to the sea lanes off the Japa-
Having   ta^ed   tJie   acclaim   of  ,„, ^omc islands. London and Paris, Gen. Dwight D.'     ..   „,.  „_ . ...  .,
Eisenhower will receive the plaudits I ""« **" "»y •'"» ^'«"' of   the   capital   on   Monday.   Newj    The   British   as.-.ault   against   the York   on   Tuesday,    and   Abilene,; once-mighty  bastion  of Truk   was
E
By W. R. HI001>B0THA>I
London. June 18 (UP)—Spain todav protested vigorously to Gcn. Charles de Gaulle the attack yes¬ terday at Chambery by French resistance members on a sealed train carrying Spanish repatriates from Switzerland toward their homeland.
Earlv dispatches from Chambery indicated the French mob believed the train was carrying former members of the Spanish Blue Divi¬ sion, which fought with the Wehr¬ macht on the Eastern Front, but an official statement In Paris to¬ night revealed the passengers were civilian workers, plus two diplo¬ mats returning to their homeland. Fatalitlea Denied
The French offirial Information service flatly dented reports that the Spaniards were former mem¬ bers of the anti-Communist Blue Division and also said there had been no fatalities when the mob rushed the train as it pulled Into the station.
The first report from Chambery said that 12 of the Spaniards had been killed and approximately 100 injured in a one-hour pitched battle; These dbpatch's ss.ld It was believed there were 1,000 members of the Blue Division aboard the train.
The Swiss radio, quoting Paris sources, said that 23 persons, in¬ cluding two diplomats, were "mias- ing" after the fray and that a number of Injured were now in the Geneva hospital, where they were brought when the train turned back. These reports were uncon¬ firmed but it wns fairly certain a number of pa-saengers had been In¬ jured. _ , , Had French Permission
The offlclal French statement ad¬ mitted that the government had agreed to the passage through France of the Spanish workers, (Continued on Paga A-IS)
Kan., his home town, on Thursday The capital planned to give the balding five-star general the biggest reception ever accorded a returning hero. Upwards of half a million persons — a sizable crowd here -were exi>ected to see him dur¬ ing the crowded day planned for the man whose Anglo-American armies smashed Germany from the west.
The city has declared time-out for "Eisenhower Day." Stores and schools will be closed for the parade, and all federal employees who can be apared from their jobs will be permitted a glimpse at the general.
With Eisenhower will be !« other homecoming heroes — 27 offlcers and 28 enlisted men, including 21 sergeants and one private first class. The partyi which left Paris (Ckintinued on  Page A-15)
hcavy blow.   Carrier aircraft and warships pounded the atoll day and
force.      However,    since    January, 1944, Truk  has   been   under  almnst continuous  neutralizing attacks  by U.S. aircraft. Raid Palau and Yap
Marine aircraft joined in the foray against almost forgotten targets in the Caroline.^. Military installations on the Palaus and Yap were attacked yesterday, while Venturas   destroyed   barracks   and
night, hitting airfields, dock facili-1 weather  installations on  Lamotrek tics,    harbor    craft,   towns,    radio Ha'and, 370 miles west of Truk. stations and  gun   emplacements.     I    Liberators    and    Privateers    on
The communique said onlv Thursday sank six small cargo negligible shore batlerv f i re ships and damaged three yard craft answered the Royal Navy's bom- «t Kozu island south of the bay.of bardment, and attacking aircraft To'*}''', and another cargo ahlp oflf reported moderate anti-aircraft fire, 'be southern coast of Honshu. Two enemy planes were deitroyed i It sweeps over Korean waters, on the ground. None were air- Marines of Floet Airwing One sank borne. One British Scafire fighter three luggers and a large junk: was missing, i and   damaged    three   small   cargo
It is believed as many as 100.000 i»'"P' «"d » lugger Friday. South Japanese still are holed up on Truk of the Japaneie island of Shikouku. Isolated from their homeland. Truk I Marines damaged a small coastal ia 2,100 miles from Tokvo, 840 miles ['-••"¦go ship and destroyed two southeast of Guam, and 2,100 miles ]'U8K"s in the Yellow Sea. cast of Manila. B-29'k .Mine Ship Ijinea
It was the first large-scale car-1 Tokyo said Superfortresses mined rier-bascd raid on Truk since April,hipping lanes off Honshu and 29-.10, 1944. when Vice Admiral Marc I Kyushu. The Japaneae radio said C. Mltscher's Fifth Fleet struck in'one   flight  of   B-298   sowed   mines
off   Niigata,   160   miles   north
over their bodies, the 98th Division in the center of the line moved to the top of Yuza Holi (Hill 167),
Heavy opposition met the drive. But by niglitfall the 96th was bottling on the southwestern slopes of the hill In a push threatening to cut the plateau in half. The geth was only a mile and a quarter east of the 1st Marines on Kunishi Ridge, on the western edge of the plateau. 7th Scorea Breakthrough
Another mile and a quarter to the southeast, thc 7th Infantry Ui%-ision broke through Japanese positiona northwest of Nakaza town and captured Hill 153 in an advance of 800 yarda on the pla¬ teau's southern side.
Other elements of the Tth, press¬ ing their advance along the south¬ eastern coast, stormed Into Hill 115, southwest of Nakaza.
The   7th   struck   northward   and swept back from  the western side of the 4fl-foot hill. Japs Badly Tricked
The bewildered Japanese, caught off balance by the maneuvering, were so confused they thought the Americans liad captured thc peak while the infantrymen were still fighting up its approaches. Thc en
achs. Hundreds preferred to dia bv enemy lire. Banding together In groups ranging from 100 to 300, tliey hurled themselves at the ftf.th and Tth Army and 1st Marina divisions, yelling and screaming. They were slaughtered in the withering fire of American flame¬ throwers, machine guns and tanks.
One Japanese stepped out in front of U. S. troops and an¬ nounced in English: "Look out— lm  going  to  blow  my  head  off."
He pulled the pin from a gren¬ ade and proceeded to do just that.
U. S. officers said final victory may come this weekend and cer¬ tainly within a week. Thc knock¬ out punch was being delivered In a   lO-square-mile   area.
"There are so many targeta we cannot kill all thc enemy we find cxposed."a 7th Division staff offlrer told Unled Press War Correspond- end E. G. Valens. Starting to Surrender
Reports of Japanese surrender* Increased. It was predicted hun¬ dreds snd perhaps thousands of enemy troops may be taken allvo when the battle reaches thfe end of the trail along the southern shore¬ line.
The 7th and 96th divisions   after
emy hurled heav.v shellfire Into the hammering out new gains that put summit- blasting their own troops, half of Yaeju-Dakc plateau in When the.v realized their mistake. American possession, pressed on- they withheld fire while the 7th ward across the plateau's flatland. surged up thc slopes and closed to{u. S. tanks rolled onto maneuver- about 200 yards. At that range the able ground. Yanks   and   Japanese   battled   fur-]    Infantrymen   of  the   7th   snaked
iouslv until the enemy was thrown off the hlll at nightfall. Near Juncture
The 7lh was driving steadily for¬ ward toward the First Marines on the western flank. The leather¬ necks, holding KunlshI Ridge in one of their toughest battles, con¬ tinued to meet hcavy artillery flre. Varioua   heavy  machineguns.  mor-
thelr long, ."SOO-foot fUme. tniowln^ hoses among the crags and caves, scorrhing to death hundreds and P Eslhly thousands of entrenchel Japanese.
Brig. Gcn. Leroy J. Stewart, Tth Division artillery rommander, said his big guns were dug In for tha last time, now they were sweeping the   entire   southern   end   of   tho
tars and small arms were directed i.sland. in co-ordlnatinn wifh naval ngalnst the Marine positions by | gunfire and ceaseless aerial bomb- Japanese soldiers around Yuza Hill I ing.
and  south of Kunishi. i    Front     dispatches     called     tho
Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimltz i island's tip a "Fortress of Death." announced that more than 1.100: American officers estimated there Japanese have been killed In the were thousands of enemy dead or past week during attempts to In- dying In Japanese territory, vlc- filtrate  American  lines.    Hundreds'tlnis of V. S. long-range weapons.
Aussies Cain in Borneo; Japs Worry About Fleet
B.V DON c;aswell
Manila, Sunday, June 17.  (UP) Australian ground forces in north-
160 miles north of Tokyo, in what may have beenj their deepest penetration of Japan. [ .N'iiguta lies on the north coast of
Honshu,    main    home    island.     A By Rl SSEIX ANNABEL round   trip   flight   from   Saipan  to     Guam.  Sunday,  June   17. Niigata  would   be  3,000  miles.        i B'leet    Adm.    Chester   W. Superfortresses mined waters off! sharply   refused    criticism • Satsuma    peninsula,    in    southern Okinawa   campaign
Nimitz Refutes Critics Of Army on Okinawa
[Lawrence said that this had re- (UP)--'suited in men afloat suffering cas Nimltz {ualtics   unprecedented   in   ratio
to
of   the,those suffered by ground forces.
'oHLauiiiH     pciiiiiBuiH,    111    BuuLucrii — "     •     ""' I -1 #    A    AoiiiiMi ;\s*y %.asuniHes
advanced two jnilcs along the road  Kyushu,   concentrating  on   Hakata press conference today and aerena-,    .c-ugnaities   ashore   were   normal
without much  opposition Japanese  piancs   continued   their
western Borneo liavc advanced four^ttempts^ to attark  thc Australian milea along the road leading south west   of   Brunei   cit.v   toward   the coastal village of Tutong, an Allied
communique     announced     t o d a y.ilire. Tokyo broadcasta told of an Allied — fleet   approaching   Balikpapan   on the   eastern   Borneo   coast.
G^n. Douglas MacArthur's com¬ munique gave no verification of the Japanese reports of AKied nava! forces near Balikpapan, rich oil port some 435 niiles across Borneo from Brunei.
It reported that bombers and fighters bombed gun positions there in a continuation of the raids whiih have been levelled against Baiikpupan for man.v weeks. "KliiiiinaUng   Eneniy"
The Australians are "eliminating scattered enemy parties" in the Brunei Bay area the communique said.
Their advance toward the coa.st from Brunei city has taken them stx miles southwest of their start-
Brunei Bay bases at night. Four Japanese piancs rame over and one  was   downed   by   anti-aircraft
Yank Planes Attark
Gen.   Ueorge   C   Kenney's   Far! Eastern Air F'orce planes also were j hammering the Japanese along the Borneo western  coast,  where  they V. recked a freighter and fo'Jr Jap I anese   patrol   craft. |
Airfields and supply and person-! nei areas on Celebes, below Borneo, | were bombed and Japanese ship- j ping was harassed in the Moluccas 1 and lesser Sundas.
Japanese    efforts    to    halt    the drive have boen "ineffective," Mac- Arthur's communique said. Fighting on I.,uzon
American Sixth Division troops on Luzon, operating north of Baga¬ bag, to the west of the forces at Echague, made a mile-and-a-half advance after pushing back a counterattack from the strong Jap
A
ing point. Yesterdav the Austral-1 anese forces gathered In that area ians, membera of Maj. On. George! MacArthur disclosed Filipino Frederick Wootten'a veteran 9ih; guerrillaa also were continuing at- Divlalon,   were   rwported   to   have|        (Continued on Page A-IS)
1
IContinued   on  Page  A-15i
Valley Swelters; Storm Helps Some
Wyoming Valley again swel¬ tered yesterday, but it was a few degrees cooler than the pre¬ ceding   day.
With the aid of a heavy storm, the Icmperatuie diopped ficni 93 to 70 Friday night and to 64 by this morning. Then began a steady climb until the evening when thermometers registered a shade above 90 degrees. A flash storm last night again brought relief with the mercury falling to a  comfortable  76.
Thc weekend heat wave vas felt in most Eastern and Middle West big cities, where readings were between 81 and 97 at tlie peak. Low mark during th<! day in those .sections was 85 degrees.
Western States had a rooler spell and on Frida.v Northern Colorado reported eight inches of snow. It was like that in Wyoming and Montana where mercury  dropped  to 21  degrees.
ed  the  operation  conducted  by  U. .^^ ^^is type of operation." Nlmltx Gen.   Simon   Bolivar   Buckner   Jr.. | ^p^j^^jj    ..^^^^   j   ^^^^   ^^^^^  ^^^^^^
commander of the U. S. 10th Army, j^hose   afloat   were   higher   than   I
In  the  first  press  conference  of had  expected to  receive." ita   kind   ever  held   in  the  Pacific. |    Lawrence's   article,   NimiU   said.
j Nimitz told 76 press correspondents j that officers  in  i-hargc of the Oki- ! nawa campaign had been rcsponsi- I ble  for moving  forces to their  In- jnrr  approaches   of   Japan,   despite I limited   resources. ; Bungling Cliarged I     His   snarp   attack   was   directed against    thc    criticism    of 'Lawrence  in  a   Washington
could not "in justice to the offlcera and men who have been fighting on Okinawa, bc permitted to paaa without correction."
He  aaid  the  article  "showa that the  author  haa   been  badly misin¬ formed, so badly as to give the im¬ pression   that   lie   iias   been   made David use  of for purposes which are not news-1 in the best interesU of the United
I paper.     Lawrence   had   charged   InjStates." an   article   that   the   Army   com-     Repeating that Lawrence had re- niander.s bungled in failing to takcUpived    information    from    sourcea lair bases fast enough ao that  the'not having the best interests of tho Navy could go about landing men.nj^ion ;„ n,ind, Nimiti said: ,and supplies. |    -i     jon't      know     yet     whero
I    Nimitz said the military and tac- Lawrence got his information, but itical decisions of the Okinawa cam- it mu.'-t  have been  from somebody puign were mude bv General Buck- with  an  axe  to  grind." jner, but that they had his (Nimitz) ,    "This conference is the best way I concurrence. jl know to refute this unwarranted
I    Lawrence  had  also charged  that j attack   on   responsible   leaders   of the Army commanders misused the ithe   Okinawa   operation." Marines on Okinawa, hurling them  .Mud Was Worat Enemy against   thc   tough   Shuri  Line   in-1    The   admiral   said   the   Okinawa I stead  of  making  "end   run"   plays'operation had heen slowed by mu4 Iwith   a  landing   behind   the  lints.'        (Continued on Page A-iS)
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