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Show Calls Miners Back To Work VOL. 24, NO. 28 Ki 110 15 -Story Hotel Transformed Into Searing Furnace Toll Of Dead Expected To Increase When Official Report Is Gathered; Blackened Ruins Searched For Clues To The Cause By BURNS BENNETT United Press Staff Correspondent ATLANTA, Ga., Dec. 7 (U.R) A roaring holocaust, kindled in the heart of the Winecoff Hotel before dawn today, to-day, transformed the 15-story building into a searing furnace that killed 120 persons in the nation's worst hotel fire. Terror-stricken guests, pleading for help, fell from window ledges or were burned to death as flames which started in an unknown manner shot 'through the brick structure. Worst In U. S. History The toll of dead was expected to increase when an official of-ficial report is gathered from the numerous hospitals and Pearl Harbor Remembered Today! HONOLULU. Dec. 7 (U.R) Pearl Harbor remembered today. The American flag that was tattered hy Japananr hnmlrr was raised at nearby Hickam field at 7:55 a. m. The moment, five years ago, when Japanese Zeroes made their "sneak" attack on this naval base. Military personnel, only one-fifth one-fifth of its war-time peak, walked walk-ed in the sunshine along the harbor and saw the battered hulks of the battleships Oklahoma Oklaho-ma and Arizona, grim reminders that the United States was not always prepared. A crowd of 25,000 filled Hono lulu stadium for war memorial services, followed by the Shrine ...... . . . i. Denem Aiona dowi looiDaii gameijammea wun aoout ZHO guests! between the universues oi i9iUnHN,V9rb At the Hickham field eere-! - i vrt " Tt. ll commanding general of U. S. for-, r. in the miH-Pacif ic. said Dec.: " . V, 7 . . wcic regisifiiu ai uic no-1 trnmi. thorp nrt nnw is In ihfl ......0 1 1941 should be remembered ;tel. Their clsi meeting hadlj unknown LLat'cs hav'!Miaral' Fla- where he wil1 receivc ?davoafyD0r dearnH,gaSW ellaSibe P13"" lor thuis corning; Tun 'into Z ? mnfinSr a ontf-month -Sr, itt hone that theiand. m ot them tukd retired j Premier Stalin told United Pi'ps i ' Jave for bursitis, an ailment of Its my fervent nope mat ine,eariv. Thpn the nidhtmaro nt h.i ;J . it...l oo the shoulder joints. i.ui.i Iao ,,,(11 :V" :r Ti r: ni that th.v must remain I basically and mentally alert " he said. "That the vast distances' that once were a luiiipicit. jruw-iuuiii. to our nation are no longer a complete barrier to attack. It was just five years ago that Lt. Charles E. Dunn, officer of the day, reported: "3:40 a. m., supervised raising of the flag. "6:00 a. m., checked floodlights. flood-lights. "Following items are reported: Japanese pursuit and bombardment bombard-ment aviation attacked this field t approximately 7:55 a. m." Pearl Harbor remembered. UN Assembly In Plenary Session UN ASSEMBLY HALL, Flushing.. Flush-ing.. N. Y., Dec. 7 (U.R) The United Nations general assembly met in plenary session here tonight to-night as delegates went on a virtual virt-ual round-the-clock schedule to wind up their business within a week and get home by Christ' mas. Top matters of business were the adoption of a resolution calling call-ing for a census of the armed forces of all members and an other asking the governments of Sduth Africa and India to get to gether to better the conditions of Indians living in South Africa.. The resolutions already had been approved by committees made up of delegates from all 54 member nations, but Britain was ready to start a. new fight on the troop census proposal by pushing an amendment for an inspection system to guarantee the accuracy of the figures supplied sup-plied to UN. The U. S. is opposed to' that. South Africa also threatened to j-.tart a floor fight over the treatment treat-ment of Indians on its territory b proposing an amendment to hae the matter submitted to the international court of justice to determine whether UN had any, jurisdiction in the dispute. i morgues within a 20-mile radius which sent all available ambu- lances and hearses to the scene of horror. It was the worst hotel fire in the nation's history, coming only! six months after th lsaiip ftftt.i! fire in Chicago last June when 61 died. Before embers of the debris de-bris had cooled, investigators from the fire marshall's office were searching the blackened ruins of what had been one of the city's finest hotels for evidence of the cause. The hotel was said to be fireproof, fire-proof, but even the concrete floors and walls could not withstand with-stand the intense heat. An unidentified lireman said he felt certain some type of gas I had exploded in the interior of the building and fed the flames that flashed skvward as if uushed ; by a giant blast. . - ' The Winecoff, located on At lanta's famous Peachtree street- in the heart of the citv, was: I. . ... . w na-,wno nad come to town for a gayi lv,.i.tiH, ur.pK.nH nt shopping and for conventions. : M the George stalo Youth confer-! ... " , ... . . :. ------ :llre slruck aDout 3:30 Tne ljr,al meeting of the as-; t semblv was held on schedule, but j lu as ur,JJd into a memorial ;to be dead and the 25 still listed! u ok :n Mt i as missing. Five others were in ; denly the others of Big Four were hospital beds, their bodies scar-j not prepared to comment on i red by burns and broken by falls; at once, except that Russian Fore-from Fore-from the flaming building. , ign Minister V. M. Molotov said Hospitals ieceived emergency il would be difficult to talk about supplies of plasma to treat thejK hei'e because of lack of time injured, but even as nurses car ried it into operating rooms,, doc tors sent out a caU for whole blood pints and quarts of it. Lines of donors began forming at city's principal hospitals inlWifU 1Q Ahoflrd onse Jo radio appeals for!TT,m 17 MUUaru the response The fire started between 3 and ; ? a inf.IOU"n "oorjan nope nas been abandoned for " ",c "",ccu"' ai,u mumemi12 occupants of submarine No. ?I!nf,e. ."?esuvv,re biUowing up uic vievaiur snails ana Siairways. Frames shot out from dozens of windows. The fire was discovered by a negro elevator girl, Rosita. who ran to night, manager Comer L. Rown with "vord thi't she smeiied smoke. ean coast gave Hge to the belief Rowan sent her away for the j the submarine might have struck bellhops while he jumped for;a mjne torn from its mooring by for the telephone switchboard recent storms, and began phoning the rooms. wih winHc 4v. In the next few minutes, the first screams of the trapped (Continued on Face Two) Atlanta Fire, Worst Hotel Disaster In U. S. History By UNITED PRESS The Winecoff Hotel fire at Atlanta. Ga., today, which took 122 lives, was the worst hotel disaster in the nation's history and the fourth hotel fire this year. Other hotel fires this year: La Salle, Chicago, June 5, 61 died. Canfield Hotel, Dubuque, Iowa. June 9, 18.dead. Baker Hotel, Dallas, Tex., June 21, 8 dead. Earlier Hotel Fires: Gul Hotel, Houston, Tex., Sept- 7, 1933 54 dead. Kerns Hotel, Lansing, Mich., Dec. 11, 1934 32 dead. Victoria Mansion, Lakewood, N. J., Feb. 12 1936 16 dead. Terminal Hotel, Atlanta, Ga., May 16,? 1938 35 dead. Amsterdam Hotel, San Francisco, March 27, 1944 22 dead. General Clark Hotel, Chicago, Jan. 16, 1945 14 dead. PROVO, UTAH COUNTY, mi Byrnes Ms . Cut In Troops For Occupation Reduction Of Occupation Force In Europe to 620,000 By April Asked By CHARLES M. McCANN United Press Staff Correspondent NEW YORK, Dec. 70J.R) The United States today asked ask-ed the Big Four powers to reduce their occupation troops in Europe to a total of 620000 men by April 1, 1947, and to make a further reduction of 25 to 33 v8 per cent by April 1, 1948. Secretary ofc State James F. Byrnes submitted the American proposal a bold move to start 11 of occupied Europe back toward to-ward normal at a meeting of the Big Four foreign ministers at; which preliminary talks were started on future German peace treaty, The German talk brought an immediate deadlock between Russia and the western powers on whether Big Four deputies: 'should start actual work on the German treaty now or wait until next spring and thus delay th eventual signing for months. The American troop proposal, pro-posal, which assumes that it will be possible to withdraw American and British troops from Italy by next April 1, asks that as of that date allied occupation troops shall number: num-ber: I In Germany 550,000 men com-! com-! prising: Russia 200,000; United I y- a r i a. i 1 rt ,i ""J" em w.in i.vuv each France ''000' in Au"-?u 000 Km"Knco1m: Psing 10,000 for each of the Big! r our. t In Poland 20,000, all Russian, UB ,? . nua,mi1 ot" vach, , a I Kusslan. This wniilrl nnnn Russian rw- t t . i r : ";.". . " " , ' 711ZY irrv; ri - , . 240,000 men m Germany, Poland., ""'"1"UI -d,'u How man v Russian occuDatiori'prepraons for the "supei-blitz now manj nussian occupation, ., Kfn. ia..,;ns nniht inesiuem xiukii muic uii wi. o , Uhat Russian occupation forces numbered 00 divisions, most of them not in full strength, and that this total would be reduced to 40 Byrnes' proposal came so sud- d i i (Continued on l'age Two) Submarine Lost I PARIS roo 7 (U.R)- A navy ministry ' spokesman' said today !2326, which is more- than 48 hours! loverdue . itg b- t,t cruise. 1 The underseas vessel left the naval base at Toulon several days ago to undergo deep water tests, .rrlLha!afL!l.b!en;a coast forcing postponement to-j das, o the search for the subma- i rine. UTAH, SUNDAY, Revealed Talk JL ff f!S Ruth M. Briggs, former WAC captain and now secretary to Lt. Gen. W. Bedell Smith, ambassador am-bassador to Soviet Russia, is reported to be the one who revealed details of Elliott Roosevelt's informal talk in which he is said to have condemned con-demned American policy and praised that of the Soviet. Miss Briggs was once rumored engaged en-gaged to Elliot . -A Defense Plan WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (U.R) Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, army chief of staff, said today that the country's high military command is studying plans to " " ill l l mniiKirv iiumitivi iivi i l if- ition in a sudden "super-blitz' bombing attack. - The plans, he said at a press conference would involve "dis- - , , persion, concealment, and pos siDly underground lactones. One of the first questions asked him wai whether there was any truth in reports that this country has given atomic bombs to Great Britain. The staff chief would not answer that one without consulting higher authority. He Went into another room, talked briefly with Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, returned re-turned and said: "The British do not have the bomb. You may quote Secretary Patterson that no bomb and no fissionable material (from which atomic bombs are made) have been sent to Great Britain or any other country." Eisenhower will receive treatment treat-ment at Pratt General hospital iirr)aifl ha ttrill gnnn1 h i a t t rK e "Don't give the people the idea that I'm hearieri for Arlinofnn Cemetery." he said. "I never felt better in my life except for this pain in liny arms," 1 1 -1 A Jf PPOsal by Sen. Elmer Thomas, Ciisennower wouia not discuss D., Okla.. that the Democrats run him for president in 1948 if President Truman decides not to be a candidate. He indicated he would stay in his present job as long as Mr. Truman wanted him. Eight Leap To ire EASTON, Pa., Dec. 7 (Uift) Eight persons, including three children, leaped to safety from second-floor windows today when fire destroyed, the Jacksonville hotel; eight miles from here. The eight, only occupants of the two-story hotel, were unin jured. Among those saved were two couples who owned the hoteL They were Mr. and. Mrs. Milton Kuchinos and Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mauser. The couples dropped the children and then jumped. A guest also leaped to safety. Loss waa estimated at $25,000. Supe Safety in F It's Time to Do Something! (Editorial) The end of the coal strike Saturday saved Provo, Springville and Spanish" Fork from a situation that could and might have reached disaster proportions. Only 'a mild spell prevented widespread actual suffering in the three cities when 1300 homes lost their regular means of heat, and 2350 water heaters were cut off. It is not pleasant to contemplate what would have happened if the weather had been consistently consist-ently near zero, or even much below freezing. Nearly 12,000 students were out of school for periods ranging from eight days to 15 days, all of which must be made up. All this will end in a few days, and things will go back to normal, but Unless something is done about it by the Mountain Fuel Supply company, the same thing can and probably prob-ably will happen again. John L. Lewis ordered the miners back to work until March 31. After that, another an-other gas shortage in central and southern Utah county is just as possible as the past two which have closed schools and caused untold discomfort and inconvenience inconveni-ence in the three cities on both occasions. The Herald firmly believes it is time the Mountain Fuel Supply company did one of two things: Either bring natural gas from Pleasant Grove, to the three affected cities, or tell the people frankly that it does not intend to do so, and let the people themselves take whatever steps they wish to avoid being caught in another an-other gas shortage. The people of central and southern Utah county have a right to know whether they can expect sustained sus-tained gas sen-ice necessary to the health and welfare of a large part of thetatizenry, or whether they cannot. They have a right foknow whether natural gas is coming, com-ing, if for nothiarwore tliafi i stahdby, or whethef From all appearances, nothing was "done by the Mountain Fuel Supply &ftpany following last spring's gas curtailment to prevent a recurrence. When the same thing happened again, the company and the people peo-ple it served were just as unprepared, only at a worse time of the year. The Herald fully recognizes" the value of the Iron-ton Iron-ton plant of the Geneva Steel company. It certainly does not wish to advocate anything that would seriously seri-ously curtail the plant's earnings or jeopardize it in any way. But witn the national coal situation as it is, and if people in Provo, Springville and Spanish Fork are to continue to use gas, something must be done to supplement the present arrangement. Perhaps a plan could be worked out whereby the natural line could be used only as a supplement to prevent situations like the one now on us, but certainly something must be done. The Herald believes the Mountain Fuel Supply company has an obligation to continue a dependable gas service to this region. It was instrumental in "selling" gas and gas appliances, to thousands 0f people in the three cities. These appliances and installations represent a considerable investment and it would work a severe financial hardship if the consumer had to junk them for some other form of heating. Natural gas is within eight and a half miles of Provo. The Herald believes the Mountain Fuel Supply company should do something about bringing it all the way. - Utah County Towns Rejoice To Hear Coal Strike Is Over j Central and southern Utah I county breathed a collective sigh of relief Saturday, and hoped it could soon relinquish its dubious claim to fame as one of the hardest hard-est hit spots in the natiqi by the coai siriKe. Workers of the Mountain Fuel Supply company were scheduled to begin turning on gas hot water heaters and furnaces today, "in the order they were turned, off. Gas company officials safcf it would probably require about the same amount of time to get the 1300 furnaces and 2350 hot water heaters back on again as it took to turn them off, which was three days. They will be turned back on as fast as gas can be built up at the Ironton coke ovens, it was indicated. Geneva Steel company officials said gas output at the Ironton ovens would be boosted as fast as possible. They had no announcement an-nouncement concerning the Monday's School Schedule On Page 4 Geneva plant until Monday, con' centrating all their attention on the Ironton situation. Before tne strike was called off. the Geneva slab mill was scheduled to shuti down Saturday night. The strike was called .off Just as three carloads of Utah county men were struggling through blizzard in Spanish Fork canyon' on their way to Price for. another attempt at getting coat for the Ironton ovens. Two of the. cars were forced back by the blizzard at Soldier Summit, and did not know the strike had ended until they returned to Provo. It was PRICE FIVE CENTS fore believed Saturday night that the the other twe fand made it throueb oPerato on March 31 whethei The Tri-state industrial asso-to asso-to Pri 'in agreement had been reached elation, which represents steel The strike's close found Provo in the midst of plans to start community kitchens in the case 2600 homes and restaurants in the city lost their cooking gas. Mayor Mark AnJerson indicated indi-cated today that the emergency organization set up by the city-would city-would not be entirely abandoned. Most of the records can be filed and used in a similar emergency, he said. The mayor paid tribute (Continued on Page Two) Two Writers Make $100,000 Killing At Las Vegas Casino LAS VEGAS, Nev., Dec. 7 (U.PJt Two bleary -eyed roulette play-1 era who "worked a system" for: two days before plunging for, all-or-nothing-at-all" said today they had collected $100,000 at the! Hotel El Rancho Vegas' tables. Their pockets bulging with money, Hollywood writers Enjation of a system Scofield studied Scofield, 30, arid Sam Taylor el - bowed through an all night crowd at ivti a. m. ana saio mey were through. The hotel confirmed that they had made 'a killing, despite su - aplcion that the "killing" was an' elaborate publicity stunt. Scofield and Taylor said they came here to get color for a screen play with gambling se quences. Until March .31 Truman Cancels Sunday Night Broadcast; Dim-outs, Railroad Curbs Called Off; Lewis Wants To, Ease Pressure On Court By CHARLES II. IIERROLD United Press Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (U.R) John L. Lewis surrendered surren-dered dramatically today in his coal strike fight with the government. He called off the crippling 17-day walkout and sent his United Mine Workers back to the pits until March 31 on the government's terms. Lewis announced at a suddenly-summoned news conference con-ference that the 400,000 soft coal miners will return to work Monday under terms of the Krug-Lewis agreement negotiated nego-tiated last May the contract he terminated last Nov. 21. It has been the government's position throughout the strike that there could be no dealing with Lewis until the miners honored that contract. The government acted quickly to cancel the drastic restrictions re-strictions imposed during the strike. The civilian production produc-tion administration called off the 31-state dimout, the office of defense transportation removed freight and pas senger rail restrictions, and the postoffice lifted limitations on: size of parcel post packages. . Lewis' surrender came while! the Supreme Court deliberated! o ffnvarnmAnt MAilact fftr mwj i f 1 t , and final decision on U)e conviction convic-tion of Lewis and the UMW fori contempt of court in failing to prevent the strike. The district court here fined Lewis $10,000 and the union $3,500,000. The UMW chief said he was calling off the strike to enable the Supreme Court could considei the contempt case "free from public pressure superinduced by the hysteria and frenzy of an economic crisis" because "public necessity requires" thai coal be produced while the final outcome is awaited. Coal operators estimated they would be in full production by Tuesday. Lewis said the UMW "will be willing to negotiate a new wage agreement for the bituminous industry" in-dustry" with anyone who shows authority to do so a govern-. ment agency or the private soft coal operators. President Truman cancelled a nationwide radio address he was preparing to deliver tomorrow night. The president had intended to appeal over Lewis' head to the miners to go back to work and save the nation from eco- nomic collapse. This was the third time in recent years that a cripplin; strike has been called off as a President of the United States prepared to take his cause to the people on the radio. JThe railroad strike last spring was called off whue Mr. Truman was delivering Deiore a joint ses J jl.1 lstion. a t irAi r ff . "rr "" strike about 30 minutes before the late President Roosevelt was to go on the air in circumstances similar to those today And in 1919, Lewis also called t rational ooai .trik after off a national coal strike after the government got an injunction against him. Ills announcement today caught government officials by surprise. Secretary of Interior In-terior J A. Krug was at the White House conferring with Mr. Truman about the president's presi-dent's speech. Industry sources expected the government probably would attempt at-tempt now to bring Lewis and the private operators together to negotiate a new agreement. Some believed that after the Christmas holidays, the government might set a date for resumption of con ferences and announce that the mines would be returned to the or not. Industry sources expected th tempt now to bring Lewis and! backs because of the rail embar-the embar-the private operators together to 'go. But a spokesman said the i negotiate a new agreement. Some believed that after tne Christmas holidays, the government might set a date for resumption of con- j ferences and announce that thei mines would be returned to thei operators on March ' 1 whether an agreement had be r reached or not. The strike took a big bite out (Continued on Page Two) "Sure We wanted publicity for our work," Scofield said. "But now the gag has paid off. . "Our only reaction is-very, tired.' They started playing two days iago for small stakes and hit f $20 ,000 last night. Using a vari- ; in France from professionals be-; would be paid into the union's fore the war, they plunged themedical and hospital fund, which money, a cruwa gauierea, in-i j eluding Sheriff Glen Jones oft t Clark, county and actor Andy iDevine. "We wore out three dealers and that's when we started to get; hot," Scofield said. Asked for a description of the system, Scofield grinned wearily: "It's a secret." , U. S. Industries Gear To Step Up Production By JT. ROBERT SHUBERT United Press Staff Correspondent PITTSBURGH, Dec. 7- (U.PJ The nation's industries geared tonight for a production produc-tion snapback. With the soft coal miners back in the pits and rail em-bargos em-bargos lifted, near-normal operations were predicted for most strike-curtailed plants within with-in a few days. Employment, which had dropped drop-ped by more than 888,000 as a result of the United Mine Workers Work-ers walkout, will climb quickly. A Pittsburgh coal company spokesman predicted most of the 400,000 striking miners will return re-turn immediately- UMW President Presi-dent John L. Lewis ordered "no hesitation" in calling off the walkout todav. And time worked before Dec. 15 will be included in Christmas pay checks. An office of defense transportation trans-portation spokesman said rail passenger traffic should be normal by Monday and freight hauling "pretty near normal." That means work for most of 150,000 furlough -ed rail workers. Steel producers faced a more UllllLUll U1UUJCIU UCUIUBC HUM- '.-"Idreda'of blast and open hearth difficult problem because hun- fumartOB rtof hoon tnnlArl ann lAQl : , . V'"; reserves aepieuru ay inaiiiieimiice requirements. But many opera- tors maintained high levels of op eration in a "gamble" that the strike would end. tuY""Z 1 , "ST IUuiois Steel Corp., largest subsi- diary of U. S. Steel, had announced an-nounced 20,000 workers would be furloughed this week end in the Blast furnace operations were to be cut to four of 24 and open hearths to 17 of 129. Company officials of-ficials pushed a survey of conditions condi-tions to determine what schedule changes can be made. Republic Steel reported it had planned drastic cuts for next week, but in view of the end of the coal walkout, would continue its present rate. Jones & Laughlin Steel, Big Pittsburgh independent, had dropped only 1,200 of its 20,000 employes and was reported in "good shape." The Tri-State Industrial asso- fabricators employing 200,000 in 1 Pennsylvania, Ohio and West 'members now were ready for normal operations Monday. Five hundred workers were notified to report for work tomorrow at three rolling (Continued on Page Two) No Action May Be Taken On Fines WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (UJ9 . The federal coai mines administration adminis-tration probably will take no action to collect fines of $1 and $2 a day on striking individual miners, a spokesman said tonight. The coal mines administrator "u"h "Vr Tim uh. fInM A. nrnvMei in th icW. Lewis agreement. The money would come out of the first pay check that, the miners received after thv i-otiirnoH trt work It operates Independently of the five-cents ton health and welfare wel-fare fund. r ' ' . - The spokesman for the coal mines administration said , that it whether to collect the fMes but added that as a practical matter it would be almost impossible to collect the assessments. !. |