A 1 te bulle in from the Wester~ Front stat~ •The American Fir t and Third Armies linked armored spearhea d s ne ar G ies s en o day.w This represents a forwar surge of twenty-seven miles during a day of dizzy a d vances. And the junction of the First and Third Armies at Giessen would seem to give some eloquent indication of Allied strategy in the invasion of the heart of Germany. The drive to the city d Ge.ll"Mll- represents a push to the northeast by General Patton's Third Army, .. and a thrust east by Bodges's First Army. In other words, axg•• the general direction is toward north-central Germany - the direction of Berlin. We've been hearing about Patton's forces •••~••••i · ~ approaching Nuremberg, which is"on the road~ sout ern Germ a ny. And one wondered whether the Patton st rate&1 was to cut across the enemy country in that direction. On the th o er ban , the plan might be to swine around northw ard , cutting ~to the re a r of the retreating German armie s . An the First a n d 1 hird Army junction at Giessen w ould fit th a t pattern perfectly. -rh.. UJ- 4 , µ ") ~ /\.~ c..r- - -i Jl ~ 6 "-~ - Anoth er l ate disp a tch tells of a swift advance further north, where the British-Canadians~ " American Ninth Ar my are. Ra d io Luxembourg reports that an American column is approaching the City of Muenster, -to- and that's on the road to Hannover - alsoABerlin. It represents the swiftest kind of lunge for miles, and cuts across the northern - edge of the Ruhr basin.~ 1fcerman troops are represented as putting up a desperate fight for that great industrial Ruhr, and only small Allied advances a re reported in the principal areas of thfi maze of war factori€~ and coal mines. However, the }... Ruhr · d b th nort'"' and south . - with the 1s being flanke on o 1• drive to Muenster threatening a quick encirclement. The Ruhr is the only sector in which real German resist a nce is r ported. E l s h th re, e news tells of continuing Ger ma n demoralization. One bulletin describes the front in these words: "the mos fluid imaginable." Meaning th a t the Germ a n s have been unable to establish any kind of defensive line. Officially, the farthest point of Allied advance is sixty-nine miles beyond the Rhine - but this may be ancient history. In fact, everything ttra:t we have just heard may become ancient history at any time - with a bulletin today stating that great and sensational advances will be disclosed as soon as the news blackout is lifted. The security blackout is hiding the extent of the latest Allied drives - sensational, they are called. And United Press i ■zz••J•• x Correspondent Robert Richards cables: •It won't be too d b f Our Sher man tank gunfire will many ays or weeks e ore be heard in Berlin." Aaerican troops beyond the Rhine have reached first prison hospital to be captured bY, the Allies, what they found enraged them. The hospital, in the Geraan town of Beppenheia, is described by today's dispatch as, •a living hell of starvation, filth and aedical negl~e~c~t~-~•:_ ________________________ .J An American major, who had supervised other Aaerican prisoners, told of a caricature-type Prusaiaa lazi commander, who was filled with a neurotic hatred for Aaericans, and who bad violated every rule of the Geneva Convention for the treataent of prisoners of war. Three hundred and nine prisoners had been adaitted to hospital, and of these fifty-f:llree bad died of atarvation, infection, and lack of aedical care. The re ■ainder were walking skeleton&. The daily hospital ration was sheer starvation,, and the wounds of the prisoners bad not been treated for two weeks. All this, in contrast to the way the Allies take c a re of prisoners of war,giving the~tthe full - ~ - ~enefit of the Geneva Convention, afid bet er. There we r e instant angry reactions in Congress, with demands for retribution a g ainst the Nazis. However, officials in W · • s hington who are familiar with the state / of affairs in German prison camps say the hospital / atrocity at Beppen h ei m seems to be an exception to the rule. They declare that American prisoners of war in Germany have in gener a l been treated in accordance with ~ - the Geneva~mfis A The big complaint has been insufficient food, especially s1nce food shortages have developed in Germany. Also, the flow of Red Cross pa!ages to American prisoners has been halted by the ... disrupt ion of the German t ranaportat i on system under Allied bombs. PRISO N E RS ---- It may seem like a reference to a war of centuries past, to talk of soldiers keeping in line-- under fire. M aintaining a perfect formation in a hail of bullets. That's the way the British ledcoats charged up Bunker Bill. The story that comes along today has other turns of strangeness. The soldiers, lined up in perfect formation, had their shirts off, and were ai ■ 1111•ci stooped over - - with their bare backs facing the sk7. We hear about this from a wounded American lieutenant on tile Western Front. Be tells how he was one of a thousand prisoners of war held by tke • Germans. A swift Allied advance •1111z•• approached the camp where the7 were kept, ana the Geraans ordered them out -- put them into a train of freight cars, which thereupon started eastward. The train was spotted by American strafing planes, which swooped down with ·· blazing guns __ shooting up the train. American bullets killed several of t be prisoners, and the Geraan trainmen and guards ran awa7. \ The prisoners forced their way out of the freight CC\ra, whereupon the A11erican planes dived down at them taking them for German soldiers. It looked s if the prisoners would be •t,alili wiped out by their own countrymen. Then their officers hit upon an idea. lhe7 ordered the thousand men to take off their abirts and line up in a formation that spelled P-0-W - - - - prisoners of war. And steop over with their oare backs to the sky, the rows of white backs to make the message visible to the planes overhead -- f-Q-!• Bullets were hitting all around, as the men toot their positions. A formation of planes came swooping. Their guna were blazing, and b•llets came streaming down. Several men in the lines on the . ground were hit -- the lieutenant who tells the story was wounded. But still the soldiers •*•J stooped over, with bare backs, held their positions. Out of a thousand, only one ran away __ his nerves unable to endut-e the terrifying ordeal of holding that strange line under Then the planes stopped shooting. They detected the symbolism - f-Q-!. They got the idea, and the prisoners saw wings dipped in recognition -- and the planes flew off. Shortly afterward American tanks caught up with the prisoners of war-- who told how they had saved their lives by lining up in a formation hitherto unheaid of in the history of war. In the London House of Commons, the followin1 hypothesis was considered today - Suppose that a British Tommy should seize BitlerY What should he do? The hypothesis was presented in a bit of parliamentary dialo1ue. An M. P ., addressing foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, asked: "Would it be the duty of a British ioldier who finds Bitler to shoot hi• or try to bring bia back alive?• The Foreign Secretary responded: •I a■ very · confident to leave that to the judgaent of any British soldier." So there was official permission, given by Bia J Majest1's foreign lecretar1, to an1 To■■Y in the ranks - c:v, permission to shoot Bitler if he catches hi■;(Jtl 4 - f e ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ c h ~ H o.he old Hne aboet. pa,t.ill!l 1-d' oe. Yoscow announces the capture of Gdynia, the Polish port on the Baltic ay,which was built as a coap~nion harbor to Danzig. And this apparentl7 not only cost the Nazis another city - but also a battleship. One report is that the German battleship GREISREAU was in port at Gdynia. The German garrison in the city surrendered - and, before doing so, blew up th• Gl!ISl!AU. at- Ja the southern end of the long and windilll A front, Soviet troops are continuing their push Russian toward Vienna. Today they captured two fortresses, guarding the corridor through which the Danube flows, ~nd at last reports were within ten ailes of th• Austrian border - and forty-eight ailes of Vienna. In the Philippin s -- the city of Cebu has been captured. Gene al MacArthur reports that the place was taken with only slight casualties. The city, capital of Cebu Island, has the second best port in the Philippines. The Jape did a lot of destruction, setting fires and blowing up buildings but the Taluable port••• of Cebu was taken almost intact. PACIFIC .,,,,,..----- ~e sti 1 hav no Americ n word of th invasion o of the Ryukyu Island - which i at the outh ~ rn doorst of : b~ . ain islan~ of Japan. Tokyo c o t in ues to tell o American 1 ndin s and fierce fighting, ith a great Amee - can battl9 fle t striking tiwlk with heavy air blows all along the 1·ne of th yukyus, right up to Japan itself. ewtnfi.&Z Tonight's late navy b u l l e t i n ~ u s aa I I on of bl.& lap e-.,, 1f i a 1 1 ~ tells merely of violent air acti n, in which American carrie • planes blasted the submarine pens of the Japs on Okinawa Island. Nor does the dispatch from Admiral Rimitz give any hint of Japanese intimations that units of the ~ikado's battered flEt have been in action against the big American task force. l!IPOWER ,,.,....------ Presiden~ hoosevelt asks the Senate to okay the Manpower Bill, which h a s already been voted by the lower Bouse. Be declares that the manpower situation ia - still serious. A Senate failure to pass the bill would, in the President's words - •haaper the successful conduct of the war." Doesn't the way things are going in Europe make any difference? - the collapse of Nazi araiea on the Western Front? Many thinl there'll be a quick end of ~ the European war, and this should alter the manpower ,A 4.. picture. The President takes apparent notice of X"9 po11ible early end of the European war by saying: 'In the days ahead of ue there will be great teaptation for workers to leave war plants." The soft oal ine rs of Pennsylvania and West Virginia have voted -- to strike. The7a11, a 1l lig91 ■ e ,ere polled today on the question of whether or not they ,ere in favor of a walkout, if the demands of tu• their union were not granted by Saturday night. The indications were that they would vote -- yes, ,tDd this is borne out by the result -- an overwhelming vote -- to strike. a root - It i a1 " ounc d in Was h ington that the United states and Great Britain have decided to reappraise the entire food situation. The two govern■ ents are going to survey all requir e ments for foods, and the supplies available - reestimating the amounts that are n eded and the amounts that are to be had. This - in the light of what the announceaent ~ in Washington called, •an increaaingl7 critical food situation.• l ■■i It is didclosed now that these two London Cabinet members were sent to this country by Pri ■e Minister Win ton hurchill at the invitation of President Roosevelt - in an attempt to settl e British-A ■ erican problems of food. It is announced in Washington that the United State• and Great Britain have decided to reappraise the entire foo~ situation. The two governments are going to aur••1 ~ requirements tor roods, and the aQpplie■ aYailable - reestimating the aaounts that are needed and the amount• that are to be had. Thia - in the light of what the announcement in Washington called, •an increasingly critical food aituation.• tall i i ta: WUAbiU\liF . , . , , 6 ••• ~ ll lz1llin1t •• V,.l\e 9rltlB!I ilniltef' of Prodtitttoa aai lin1►i•r ol ANZ ;;.._ W ~ a_) ',t- c:._ Food~disclosed now that these two 1,opdon Cabinet aeabers were sent to this country by Pri•• Minister Winston Churchill at the invitation of tt mp t to aettl• ~ President Roosevelt - in an a e B~itish-Ame r ic a n p roblems of food. Meanwhile,----0<>n1:ress i.-looki•B ia\o \he prHiea - There are new complications to tangle the Bollywood strike still farther -- and it is alreadJ complicated enough. Today a committee of 11111bers of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees distributed handbills before t~e big studios, haalbilla stating that the President · of the I.!.T.S.E. has been, ., in the words of the handbill, ~x pushing Onion ae■bers ,, around. The strike, which is a fight between unions, bas been opposed by I.A.T.S.E. that organization has come out in though one branch of ~ support of• walkout. " _ __, A new uproar flared in Congress today __ c,ncerning an event staged for British A ■bassador Lord Halifax and Lady Halifax down in Oklahoma. They were guests of Gov e rnor Ierr, and I sappose the Oklaho ■ ana figured that Lord and Lady Halifax were accustomed to a.... toxhunts, and so would appreciate W.. southwestern A. Tersion of that British institution. An7way, the7 staged a coyote hunt. The uproar coaes ~bout because of the fact that, in pursuit of the coyotes, airplanes were used. Today in it Congress, Representative Schwabe of Utlahoma declared that eleven planes flew far and wide to spot the prairie wolves, and the Congress ■an thinks that ai servicemen and warworkers aay be irked upon hearing of aircraft being used in warti■e for such a aere social purpose __ not to ~ention the consumption of gasoline. As for the coyote hunt · itself we•ve often heard unfavorable remarks about British foxhunting as a sport, and I wonder what Lord•~• and Lady Halifax ~QRD HALIFAX =-2 thought of th Oklahoma verson, with prairie wolves? The Congressman describes it as follows: I( •Apparently,w says he, ~few, perhaps three or four, saall prairie wolves were turned loose in front of two hundred or more dogs fro ■ Arkansas, Texas, Ianaas, and Oklahoma -- said to bethe largest asseably of ft•• II highly trained hounds in the annuls of coyote buntin~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~,~, You'd think that two hundred a« such foraidable dogs would have been enough -- in•••• pursuit of three or f o u ~ p • ~ - But tile Congressman continua11 'Ele•en airplanes were used as spotters to show the hunting part7 the direction in which the coyotes were purauera.• tra•eling in their attempts to eTade their~••••*•• I don't know how badly annoyed \•e serviceaen ~ and warworkera will be about the use of the planes and 11: gasoline, but I should think they'd be enraged by what seems to be a horrible reflection on American dogs_..- ~ . . . , . . ) ~ The coal miners today were taking a atrike vote_ four hundred thousand diggers of aoft coal casting their ballots to decide whether or not to etage a walkout if the demands of their union are not aet by Saturday night. J. The po~s will cloae at eight o'clock thi1 ••ening, but it seems as if · we could announce the general result right now. Apparently, it's a foregone conclusion, the miners voting - Jes. All account, indicate that in the ballotin&, •hich 1• ,t~ll 1oin1 on, they are voting overwhel■ ingly to 10 on atrike unless the union demands are conceded by Saturday nieht. In fact, there was a foretaste of a strike todaJ - work stoppa g es, as the soft c-oal.,('::::;c-"' went to Tote. They took time off fro• working hours, and cQa~ di&gin~ stopped, while they cast their strike ballots.