i I r ' ~ /v ~ '~ If VY t.-t.s~ en-t ~ a t _ x t . h aadl-iee •st•, .. ..,_ __ One after another the reat strongholds gu rding Metz were taken J L ~ toda7 -- after the fall yesterday of Fort Laisne. - . Today, others were captured in steady succession. J . . , ~ The latest -- Fort L' Y / -w itb itre--,.e•uPful a.-yriu ■ ~ Er~•~ was given up by the Germana without fight as were others of the strong points guarding letz. ~etreating enemy forces established themselves on lines within the fortress ring -- perhaps for afast defense, or maybe for mere delaying acti~n. This latter suppoaition wouid seem to be the more yielding t• thex•iiii1~of the forts without probable -- after 'ff' a battle. In any ca s e, etz appears about to fall.•• Patt n's third aray scored advances up to four miles today, and at . a st reports,· forward American units were within three and a half miles of the city proper. 1t -- Metz, the city which had not been t a ken by storm since ~ -....J ~ . Attillal Huns seized it more than fifteen hundred years ago.b trhe F1ttne~eewa - wtU",i6«W Me~& was, s UBS!!! UTE..1h'.L~MQ.BU!i_ or i E c,TERN FRONT ___ , _ ______ __ The new offensive that tho British launched in eastern Bolland today is elo uently t i m ~ the ,( ,, ~ name given to it! - the twilight drive.~ In other words, the British Second Army launched its assault at dusk today - an assault preceded by a tour hundred gun boabardment. Massed batteries of Montgomery's cannon shattered the • German line, after which Britiah Second Army troops lunged forward into the light of the setting sun. Their purpose is to batter their way into the nearby Ruhr, Germany'• Number One industrial area - and at last reports they had gained seven mile, and were within seven miles of the German frontier. Twilight is supposed to be the placid hour, lyric 1 and poetic -a song of twilight, but today the uns thundered a deafening song of war at twilight. RUSSIA ------ Russian troops are closin g in on Budapest. ~oscow announces that the East bank bas been completely cleared of Nazi of the Danube force~*-the Budapest area, oviet troops pressed forward i ■ x for seven ~iles in a move to encircle the Hungarian capital. Berlin tells of violent street fighting in the suburbs of Budapest. TIRPITZ ----- S un ay 1 as a gr t day for British naval f o r c e s • T hey not on 1 y s an k the N a z i b · . t t 1 es hip T i r p it z ~ in the mornin , as was •disclosed y e sterday, but that •••• night they sma hed a German convoy off thP- / s admit that they ~ vessels• in 1' conv Ger ersion tion. of the bombing of the giant · arship. British airmen did it knowing it · as their last chance. F th or e Tirpitz TIRPITZ - 2 ------ · ----- was lying in a Norwegi a n fjord a bove the Arctic Circle, and the Arctic a."-~ ho~ darkness They lmd a mere night closin g down, the tienty-four that lasts through the winter. k short interval of light left this year, A end they made the best of using it. Tice previously during the summer they had made F ~ passes at t ~ r p i t z . ~ from a base in northern Ruasi~'16 failed both tiaes. Once the Tirpitz discharged a great smoke screen that•• hid the ship from the bombers. Another tim~ British airmen apparently had things right, v hen a big cloud blew over and hid the battleship from them. , This ti · e, however, their luck . as good, and in the l a st remains of Arctic light this year. the1 spotted the Tirpitz in the fjord, a clear mark for deadly bombing. British fliers ridicule stories told previously that the g reat azi battleship had been heavily damaged and put out of action. They s ay the Tirpitz was in first-class fightin g shape, and ex p laind why the Germans failed to put out a smoke screen for concealment • A violent wind as blowing tbrou h the fjord, and smoke would have been useless - - blowing a way.~ They ,, ,, smashed the monster with earthquake bombs -- '1te~..ing. -4ieadlJ hit. - &&a:ii aaitieMps oau£ed. ..ahat . seeaed to ~• •• expl.osi-oa of tile ••884-i--&e_..,. "~ great 1aal black pluae of smoke shot ~ h n d r e e fee• into the air," relates one of he RAF pilots, "and there was a blinding flash of white fire. " The Tirpitz was so shrouded by the smoke of explosions that they couldn't get a good look at the monster stricken_,,{'•••*•~, as they flew away. But one RAF pilot ~ turned back -- determined to have a look. Be~returned to the fjord, when hm rear gunner yelled: "Quick, S kipper! She's going!" And then the pilot saw the giant warship h d rolled over. looking like s o m e ~ prehistoric monster as she lay with her red-painted belly glistening in the Arctic sunlight. RITLE ---- rumor a b out 1 · ha t' s ha pp ene d to Hitler ~ ~ ~ story,l\that he~ been o perated on for a 1 e the late s t dan g erous tumor of the throat. T hi · account is attributed to a high German personality who arrived in Swit z erland today. states th a t Hitler has had throat trouble all along, a~d now has had to go under the knife. A lot of people would ka have no difficulty in Jr escribing what kind of • ~ operation to perform oifaitleJ\~· ...... ,,....~,......IM Another story is that Der Fuhrer is para11zed. Moscow quotes Swedish sources as saying that Bitler'9 had a stroke which ft1N paralized the right side of his body f■ z and all but deprived him of the power of speech -- power of speech having always been one of the principal things about Der Fuhrer. ( -r f{e; e ruiaers all , / / · d ~ ., bl. the Nazi Dictat6r has d1sappeare .,.,.. rom pu 1c / 7 /~ / b for some t im e. n d th a t on the recent / / / / / / er s a ry; ~ omebody e e read th /2 pe e ch att / ,,, GER ~ AN PABIC ----------- As if ene~y Germany were not h a ving enough trouble, that Nazi-ruled country ha~ now been having a financial panic, a run on banks. This is reported from Sweden, w hie h d ascribes the money er is is as follows: "A panic within German financial circles greater than the panic following the bank crash of Nineteen Thirty-one." he n e r ~ --;il or • The money crisis, w~ are told, resulted from the arrest of the heads of two of the most important German banks. They were grabbed by the Gestapo, and the r e a s ~ t h a t they refus8d to cash short-ter■ notes issued by the Bitler Government -- "thu s expre s si doubt in a German victory," say the Nazis. Well may they express the doubt - , but anothr •ereion t!1tp-1'&i:ne GERIIAN ~A!!IC_-2 the two big Uanc iera refu sect to th✓. t / I b ank iy to the up t / Tis Beil Hitler when the arrest of the managing directors of two of Geraany•s greatest banks becaae known, the panic was on. Q Stoc . kholm newspaper reports: •People stormed banks to withdraw their deposits, and big industries attempted to withdraw their accounts." la otheP wepcla.., a run ou tbe baDks, ia aclditioa t.o disasters on the war front ~ Ir land r e fuses to rromise not to g ive refuge - to war crimin ls. l• ■■ xNe•k~alxe ■ ax Other neutral countries have, but Dublin says •No• to a British inquiry. This was · disclosed in the London House of Commons today. The De..Yalera Gove~ ent says ~ it can gLv (" no assurance t h a t • w ~ ld preven it from ~ 0 rrcisi~g the right : r , sylua -- lt i a■tt••~ justic , charity o the honor o inter.eats 1' the nation Actually the Dublin reply is not so drastic as as it mig t sound, because,the Irish point out, since the beginnin g of the war they have refused to admit into their country, any alien •hose presence would not be in accord with Irish neutrality or would be an injury to friendly states. ~~n - ~ h ~na land, t.aey are • a - - ••parted •• :e.e a o · e • . That hu - be&a th IWn - - ' ~ov -...- · ains ~ i • • SUBSTITUTE PHILIPPI~ES ----------------- In the Philippines the word is - envelopment, two MacArthur columns swin g in g around in an encircling move that threatens to split the Japanese army i n ~ - .,_.. - the powerful enemy force.« Leyte Island, thirty-five thousand of which are reinforcements tail the Jape succeeded in landing. holding what the Japs call the Yaaashita Line, named after the arrogant commander wlro led the conquest ot Singapore, Batan and Corregidor early in the war~ The key to the Yamashita Line ls a valley le a ding to the p ort of Ormoc, the last base the Japs hold. And the American strategy apparently to is rip flankin moves into the va : ley, and outflank the ~~ Line. Today's news tells of.the Americ a n First Cavalry D ivision cr a shing through mount a ins to within eleven miles of Ormoc, the foremost of the cavalry units te a ching a peak named Mt. Laao, which dominates one ro·d into Oraoc Valley. And through other mountains the Sixty-linth Infantry Division is cutting its way and is now only fifteen miles froa a junction with the cavalry at Mt. Laao, threatening to complete the encirclement. All or which looks bad for th$Yaaashita Line - although the Japs, having been heavily reinforced, are in formidable strength. (~~een reporting heavy Aaerican air blows hurled at the lanila area, - a four hundred plane strike yesterday and another one of similar magnitude today. Hitherto there has been no confiraatl from ou~ side - until tonight. A late Navy bulletin gives confirmation, and more. It sta,es that planes from Americ a n carriers have struck devastating blows st Ja p anese ship !, in g in • - ia anila Bay. Two enemy destroyers wee sunk and a li g ht cruiser damaged. Eleven cargo vessels and oil tankers were either sunk or left blazing on the water of Manila Bay. Airfields and harbor structures were likewise hit hard. A big floating dock was blasted planes.~nty-eight Jap air battles. by projectiles froa torpedo pianes were shot down in BYR N ES - - The White Howe announce s th t W ar Mobilization ~ s will stay on the job until the end of the w ar with a z~ erm any. Often called "Th e A11iatant President," Byrnes will continue in his influential post. This represents a ch a ngff plan -- becaase the War Mobilisation Director had announced that he would resign hia post as soon as Congress returned fro■ its election vacation. Byrnes had inteaded to step out this week. The President, however. didn't wan~him to go, and now Jimmy Byrnes h a s reconsidered. Be has agreed to stay on as Mobilization Director until the Nazis have been eliminated from the war. IIAOGQR!.'!:1.Q! The Fourth Term inaugur a tion will not be staged ~ in the traditi nal fashion ~la the steps of the ~ l capitol. Inste a d,President R oos e velt will be inaugurated in the White House.if This was announced today with the explanation th a t the construction of the usual stands at the capitol would use up critical war ■aterial, and that crowds of visitors attending the public cereaony would be contrary to the principle of ainimizing travel during war time. o, instead of a big public show at the Capital there will be a s ■aller and more priv ~ te affair in the lhite Bouse. llJWE! The newe s t myster y is, wh a t did Governor Dewey write to Presi d ent Roosevelt? Today at the White Bouse the P resi d ent adaitted that he had receiven a post-election day com ■ unication, a letter of congratulations, fro ■ his rival for the presidency. Be wouldn't . tell what Dewey wrote.1f"Later on, at Sea Island, Georgia, where the lew York Governor is •acationing - Dewey said, Yes, he had written a letter of congratulations to the President. lhat had he said? The Dewey answer was - no comment. The great boy-an d -trunk prodigy at Long Beach, California, was exploded today, when David Bourbonnais, nine years old, admitted the truth. He's the lad who was found in the trunk of a trailer, and told a story ot how he had been locked for a week in a small constricted space. Be said be had been able to survive ~ because air caae through the cracks and some rain . trickled in, which kept hi• from dying of thirst. tllt~indly neighbors showered hi■ with cakes, ice cream cones and soda water, but the unsympathetic police noted that the trailer trunk was air-tight and 4'n water-tight, with no A--X to breath or water to drink. It was al·ogether too miraculous, end late word from Long Beach is that David bas admitted - th at he ran away, roamed around for d a ys, then sneaked home and era led into the trunk - where he remained until h • 18 cries attracted attention. [" f . n .,_ : _ _ So the extraordinary ordeal er+- the nine-year-old was just a whopper told by a runaway kid. .QIGARET At Chicago today they auctioned off cigarettes, the regular price of The price brought by • h i ch w a a ei g ht e en cents a pack. o ~ n the••* auction was eighty-eight cents a ' pack.The cigarettes ha• been ~ I\ left unclaimed llr parcel poet, and the purchaser~ A - - ~ .__...._ .... ~.,..,.•)(rug Coapany, a large retailer of 1aokes. Buying at eighty-eight cents a pack, for bow auch will the drug people ■ ell? How auch profit will they make? They ar ■ going to retail the cigarettes at the standard price of eighteen cents a pack. ' ! ' hey explain that they are taking a loss so as to keep the saokes off the black market. That's••* shortage has come. the extent to which the cigarette . Ii. United Press survey shows , that all over the country people · g e~ort>itl:rM b ack mar et price And in C ago off i a l " ~ th a t cturers to ret a il tores, esumab y into the black of t • CIGARETTES .:__2 a alh:,ya the eeunt•y peep~ are lining up in front of stores. Some with their pockets loaded with diaes are standing watch over empty vending aachines,read7 to go to work , as soon as t h ~ r e filled. And there's widespread hoarding. In many places workers are taking time off fro ■ war plants, in their hunt for cigarettes. And this is disrupting war p r o d u c t i o n . ~ i s , s are/o handicap dby cigaret e-absen In Los Angelee,war plants report an impairment of morale aaong armament workers, because they can•t get cigarettes~ In Chicago the retail druggists are asking the CPA to ration cigarettes. CPA officials indicate that this will nott be done -- no rationing. Because it would be too difficult to administer. The latest in the cigarette crisis is an order by the O.P.A. -•n order for a crack-down on the black market. This t. to begin in Detroit and linneapolia. ~ O. P. A · . DIR fight all over the country tgainst illicit sellers of cigarettes at xorbitant prices. People are urged to refuse to pay -t& thanAceiling ~ - and don't hoard. The e.P.A. a that-befause ot the ahortage scare, people are stock up, and it adds - •even some who don't buying for their saoker friends.• l RETAKE . ----lllili ....... 1111111111■■ a The l a test in the cigarette crisis is an order by the O.P.A. -An order for a crack-down on the b l ack mar k et. Thia ill to begin in Detroit and llioneepolia. aw. O. P. A · . alll fight all over the country tgainst illicit sellers of cigarettes at exorbitant prices. People are urged to refuse to pay -tG. aore thanAceiling 91~ua - and don't board. The 8.P.A. sa71 that_ befause of the shortage scare, people are . trying to stock up, and it adds - •even some who don't aaoke are buying for their s ■ oker friends.• At Taft, California, they've dug ju s t a b o ut the deepest • ■ ll hole in the world, and they are digging it deeper. It's an oil well being bored by t:a Standard OU Company of California, and right now they've driven down three miles, fifteen thousand, two hundred and nineteen fe t breaks whic~kau1~ the oil well record, breaks it by one hundred feet. It is tough going awa7 down there, as three ■iles of ahaft~ound and.round and gougea out the rock at the distant bott~~-fiie rock down there is 10ft -- not so bad. But when the grinding bit gouges into .... Ira," hard rock at a three-mile level, there's a toiling ~ ~ ~trail)\of machinery and metal. . Have they struck oil? ill they Not yet. , ■llJxs•■J strike oil? That's what they'd like to know. The biggest kind of gamble? It . sure is} But oil is needed for the war, and ~ndard of California is taking the gaable, iaaglA in the nation:s bid for victory. To d ay the ne stakes another smack at one of notion the most familiar of superstitions -- thetfii■a,Athat in war time an unusually large proportion of boys are born. The legend is that because w a r kills men, nature ■ates up for this by causing more boys to be born in war time. In Washington the cen9us bureau today gave figures for last year. And what do we find with the war in ful-r8'~ing? Y e a, aore boys were born than girls but that's the case . in any year, war time or not. Int e war year of Nineteen forty-three there were One t h ousand, fif't7-five boys born for every thousand girls. But 1that•s less than in ordinary peacetime.ye•~ Take Ninet~eb Twenty-five, wh e n the th~~sand •atio• was one thousand, sixty boys for ever~girl1. Figures are always disproving the old superstition, and they do once again this wartime year - JOYS - 2_ but maybe it won't aake much difference, for r-z--- superstitions have more lives than cats, and are Brooklyn · is up in arms aboat a book. t oday Congre ■ sman Samuel Dickstein announced that he will take measures to prevent the author of the book from coming to this country again -- Author Hoel Coward. ffDickatein is irked because Coward implied, in the Congress ■ an's words -- •that the boys in Brooklyn are • not as good as the boys in other parts of the country. The - ~ ~ n the loel i:0•11r~ th a t arouaea ea , 91scti~ indignatiDn is one that tells ah>ut ■ ilitar7 hospitals. The autborppeaks of what he calls -- there little Brooklyn boys living~s-■iz~ in tears with nothin aore than a bullet wound in the leg or a fractured ara.• cry, and country Brooklyn claims that its boys do not sob and Author Noel Coward won't get into ___ v ~ again ~Tcongressman Dickstein can ~ this help it.