The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 13, 1937, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LI, NO. 7663. jUNE.AU ALASKA MONDAY DECEMBER 13, 1937 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS _ PRICE TEN CENTS MEMBER ASSOCIATLD PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS S BOMB, SINK U. S. GUNBOAT * L * * * * * * * * * * * * - - L * * * » * * - LY SCORE ARE BELIEVED KILLED GOVT. WINS IN FIGHT TO AVOID BONDINTEREST Supreme “Coint Upholds Treasury in Stopping Levy | on Called Gold Bonds 3 JUSTICES DISSENT, CHARGE REPUDIATION Cardozo, Slone and Black Write Majority Con- | | | | curring Opinion ’ WASHINGTON Dec. 13—The gu\'—! ernment has succeeded in its Su-| preme Court effort to escape pnymg‘ interest on gold bonds called for re-, demption in advance of maturity; date. Written decision was hand-| ed down today by the majority of | the High Court in favor of the| government. Justice Cardoza and Justices Stone and Black wrote sep- | arate concurring opinions in the case. { Justices Cardoza said the Secre-| tary of Treasury did not act in excess of lawful powers by issuing calls without further authority ‘of Congress than that conferred by| statutes under which the bonds were issued i The litigation was started by Rob- ert Taft, son of the late Presidem William Howard Taft, in the es tate of James Ransom of Des Moines Ia. Arthur Machen of Baltimore,| representing the government, con-’ tended decision against the govern-; men would have cost the Treasury| ten million in interest on seventy! millions in gold bonds called prior to maturity but still outstanding. Justice McReynolds joined Jus- tices Butler and Southerland in dis-) senting. The minority opinion said| “it gives effect to an act in bad| faith and upholds patent repudia-| tion.” NANKING IS '453 | rocky emands Made on Japan by U.SS. WASHINGTON, Dec. 13.—President Franklin D. Roosevelt has conveyed to the Emperor of Japan an expression of deep concern for the bombing of the United States gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River on Sunday an d simultaneously, the United States Government transmitted to the Japanese Government a demand for full compensation and apologies for the incident and positive guarantees against repetition of such attacks. The President’s expression was transmitted to Hirosi Saito, Japan: State Cordell Hull. Earlier the Japanese Envoy called on Secretary Hull o deliver foundest apologies at the sinking of the Panay. Secretary Hull informed Saito that the President was “deeply ese Ambassador, by Secretary of the Japanese Government's Pro- concerned at the news of the in- discriminate bombing of American and other non-Chinese vessels on the Yangtze River” and that he re- quested the Emperor be so advised. Ambassador Saito told the newsmen that the incident was a “great mistake, a great blunder and of course it was purely accidental as there was no reasen to attack an American ship. Chairman Pittman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of a series of incidents that are becoming “intolerdble,” and apparentl out of China. said the bombing was the climax y designed to frighten foreigners Senator William E. Borah, of Idaho, in a sharp debate on the Senate floor, said he was uncertain “whether the gunboat was removing American citizens or patrolling White house officials s with complete absence of pelitical consideration. for the Standard Oil.” id the Government’s policy will be decided on a national patriotic basis and Administration’s Aun to Cooperate with Utilities Ag(un Arouses Sen. Norris PRES. MKINLEY PICKS 453 FROM | ) 'dlsplkaaure out of the Whlte Housc Wrecked Doller Liner in!marches a string of utility officials beami. th confidence that their Serious Condition on e coLRe end is not yet and it is safe to be- Jagged Reef gin spending for expausion and bet- MANILA, Dec. 13. — The liner terment. Norris helped carry the torch for President McKinley has picked up stranded passengers from a island refuge off Formosa, where they were lightered when the | President Hoover struck a reef at} midmgm. last Friday. i By PRESTON GROVER WASHINGTON, Dec. 13—Sen- A[()l Norris of Nebraska is back on mp job and he is not in the slight- \est pleased by the Administration's| ‘Ll\DOilllCn to cooperate with the pubhc utilities. He- represents one phase of a bill of 1935 which decreed death to multiple holding companies by 1940. It is Norris who is (‘arrymg the torch for the 7-TVA bill under iwhich is proposed to set up re- {the public utility holding company The radio message from the Mc- Kinl(‘vs master, said 134 cabin pas- Com- sengers and 319 third class passen- H,ers were taken from two rocky {islets where they had been since early Saturday morning. Capt. E. Stebach, master of the SHANGHAI, Dec. 13.—The Jap-! |German freighter Preussen, which anese Military authorities officially Was the first” vessel to reach the announce the occupation of Nan- Wrecked $8,000,000 Dollar Line ship, king. |said the Hoover's condition was Bloody street fighting resulted in 'precarious. the battle after the gates of the! The Hoover’s situation, according| walled city had been accomplished. to Capt. Stebach is serious because | The Japanese admit the Chinese N€avy seas rush in with great force have contested every foot of the 8l this particular season where the Japanese Mlll tary mand Announces For- mer Captial Occupied Japanese advance with a resistance big.. Haee, ploughed i her.]ngLll ‘that has been remarkable. up-on & jagged shoal al midnight L SR e Friday in rough weather. | MURDERED ON et Rec DANCE FLOOR ")y g3jitarnia OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., Dec. . " 13—Detective Paul Jeter has said An Bl Ram Oscar Lee Riddle, 27, red haired er miner, has admitted the dance hall slaying of Willlam Calvin Nabors, 4 24 year old athlete. “I did it,” said Flood Danger Pasl n All Riddle, “because I figured he had B 0 S f done enough to me to be killed for.” ut ne eCthfl o Four hundred dancers in the Golden State downtown ballroom scene of the murder were thrown into horrified SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Dec. 13— contusion when three shots rang State and private relief agencies ?lut and Nabors slumped to the have counted four dead and dam- joor. He died on the way to the hos-|in flood ravaged northern Califor- pital in an ambulance. ‘ma R v o L TR | Aid was still being rushed to vic- JUNEAU COUPLE DIVORCED \ums in the stricken area, as waters p—— ireceded. Only one flood threat re- G. B. Leighton was granted 2 mains from the three days of tor-| divorce from Ethel Ada Leighton,| rential rain last week and is along| both of Juneau, Saturday in Federal District Court, the Sacramento River between Sac- ramento and Colusa. i gional authorities patterned after [the Tennessee Valley authority, power development and all. And Norris is a close friend of the Pres- ident. When Chairman Douglas of the |Securities and Exchange Commis- Ision, which administers the holding company bill, proposed to go slow for a time, Norris disapproved. He |blames the development of the holding company in the past 25 years for overcapitalization of the utilities industry. |NORRIS WOULDN'T FOLLOW 4 | . s “I have never yet seen anyone who could justify the existence of a holding company beyond the first degree,” he says. A holding company is a corpora- tion created to hold securities is- sued by other corporations, such as operating power and light compan- ies. Defenders of holding compan- ies insist they are useful to consol- idate management, to pool finan- ces, and to assure stability to oper- ating companies. But not even their defenders deny that holding com- panies have been used as means of bleeding operating companies by ex- tracting earnings which should have, been held back for plant improve- ment and rate reduction. Norris gave the Senate an exam- |ple of a utility system in which ‘holdmg companies were piled on 11 ! deep—holding companies holding| | other holding companies, which.held | |down the ladder until the operat- | |ing companies were SO burdened with upstairs issues of stock that |efficient management seemed im- | possible. And when Douglas proposed to ‘said he could not receive messages VGILLAM DOWN N FAR NORTH; DAMAGES PLANE Sends Message to Point Barrow for Wilkins to Go to His Aid BULLETIN — POINT BAR- ROW, Alaska, Deec. 13.—Sir Hu- bert Wilkins hopped off Sunday in an effort to rescue Harold Gillam but was forced back by a dense dark fog. He will try again when the weather clears. POINT BARROW, Alaska, Dec. forced landing at Cape Halkett, breaking his landing gear and on strut. He was not hurt and his} was Saturday afternoon. Sir Hubert Wilkins, now here| prepared for another search Iur! the six missing Soviet fliers, plan- ning to hop to Cape Halkett Sun-| day morning to rescue Gillam. Gillam, using his transmitter, and asked Wilkins to come to his aid. Gillam also radioed he would mark out a landing field on the fro- zen tundra for Wilkins. Gillam hopped off from Fuir—‘ banks last Friday morning with Christmas mail and radio equipment to assist Wilkins in his search for the Soviet fliers. Two hours af- ter taking off he was forced to land at Alatna because of high wind and| overcast skies over the Endicott mountain range. He hopped off again Saturday morning but was forced to land at Cape Halkett. ————— Earth Movement Felt at Hoonah The earth movement felt in Ju- neau last Saturday morning at 9:58 o'clock was felt t,l~e\\mn' in} this seetion. According to a radiogram re- ceived from Hoonah last Saturday evening, a slight quake was felt there at the same time as here— 9:50 o'clock. The quake lasted sev- |age estimated at millions of c:lonms,m.m holding companies, and so gnleml minutes and rocked buildings, but no damage has been remrtnd e S S LEGION MEETING TONIGHT Regular meeting of Alford John Bradford Post, American Legion go slow in dissolving such setups so (Continued on Page Two) will be held tonight in the Dugout starting at 8 o’clock. 13—Harold Gillam crashed in a| |preparing to punish those re_i | transmitter was not damaged. Thm‘m naturally known and they | inay, Guam, Tuturla, Oahu, is Partial List 0f Wounded on Panay Is Given Associated Pre%s Makes Official Report to State Dept. WASHINGTON, Dec. 15. — The Associated Press has advised the State Department that the follow- ing is the known list of wounded aboard the United States ship Pan-| ay up to noon today: Lieutenant Commander J. J.! Hughes, of the Panay. | Executive Officer A. F. Anders, also of the Panay. | George Atcheson, Secretary. BOMBING OF GUNBOAT IS WITH REGRET Japanese Naval Attache Makes Statement for His Government 3 ATTACKING PLANES COULD NOT SEE FLAGS| i | | {Identity of Aviators Are| Known — They Are to Be Punished SHANGHAI Dec. 13.—Im- imednately following the an-| cCapt. Frank Roberts, [nouncement the United Statefl“MiEl:im_lry uf,luc‘he.E - G |gunboat Panay had heenim;"g;mg;” B SmhamY e, | 0 |bombed and sunk by Japanese| petty Officer Vernon Puckett, of' |aireraft, the Japanese Navy Kerens, Texas. | i ibilit | Stoker William Hoyle. fdrllttEd 're.sponslb (4 anld Among those believed to have’ ;said the incident was deeply peen aboard the Panay but not re-! regretted. ported up to noon are: A Japanese Army com- James Marshall, of Seattle, Col- 3 id Chinese t s lier’s correspondent. munique sal inese {rooPs| goy gquires, Seattle, were retreating up river and;versny &1 ‘Washington foothalr Ithe American vessel was mis- er. ; i S 1t is also said there were two Ital- taken for a Chinese craft. lian correspontients abroad. Rear Admiral Tadao Honda, | |Japanese Naval attache in Jr., Embassy Assistant former Uni WOUNDED NAVY MAN phayel AMERICAN NAVY CRAFT SHELLED, TWO STANDARD OIL VESSELS ARE ALSO SENT DOWN, NIPPON PLANE Aflacks Made Sunday on Shlps in Yangtze River by Battling Invading Aircraft; Refugees Aboard Boats that Are Victims of Forelgn Firing; Japancse Government Immediately Accepts Responsibility ; Secretary of State Hull Prepares to Send Vigorous Note on Qutrage BULLETIN—SHANGHAI, Dec. 13.— The British gunboat Bee is reported late today to have rescued eight ‘Americans, seven of them seamen of the Panay. This brought to 61 the known survivors of the 72 reported to have been aboard the American gunboat at the time of the bombing and sinking. The Bee reported that two more Americans, not included in the 61, are said to be ashore and are safe. (BY ASSOCIATED PRESS) The United States gunboat Panay and two Standard Oil vessels have been blasted by Japanese bombs and sunk in the Yangtze l.lm about 25 miles above Nanking. The Japanese have immediately accepted responsibility for fiu sinking of the three United States ships with still an unknown cost of American lives. It is the gravest International incident that has yet arisen in the Far East as the result of the Sino-Japanese conflict, “Early this morning, In Washington, Secretary of Stale Cordell Hull prepared vigorous representations to be transmitted to the Jap- anese Government for the sinking of the Panay and went into con- ference with a group of advisers for Eastern affairs before dispatching the note. IS CLASSMATE OF |China, said three naval air- JUNEAU RESIDEN' craft participated in the at-| e Y Ot 3 | eutenant Commander J. J. tack on the Al.“e"c‘m g\mboat Hughes of the Panay is a classmate {Panay. He said the Japanese of J. Simpson MacKinnon of Ju-| |fliers who bombed the Panay neau. Hughes was in the graduating |class at Annapolis of 1919. Simpson and also Standard Oil boats| graduated with honors the next ’were unable to see the foreign yeqr Iflags and believed the craft| were Chinese and this result-! ed in a “terrible mistake for which the Japanese NavyI ‘feels the profoundest regret.”; Rear Admiral Honda laterf | is| BRITISH SHIP ALSO BOMBED, ISREPORTNOW Gunboat Lady Bird Fired On—Claim River Traf- | fic Warning Issued } | {said the Japanese Navy o sponsible. “The identity of the fher% i 'will be punished,” said Honda. | The Japanese official said | the fliers were aware that| | American and other foreign) LONDON, Dec. 13. — A Reuters Kv 5 ot aroin dispatch from Hankow, temporary craft were “somewhere in the 'seat of the Chinese government,! vicinity of Nanking” but were says the British authorities had been unaware of the specific loca- Warned that all Yangtze river traffic! tion lmuat come to a complete standstill 2 for three days or be fired on. WA The British today feel sharp ap- |prehension because of the Japanese ‘au.nck on the British gunboat Lady PANAY wAs IBird which apparently occurred sMALl BBAT about the same time as the attack on the American gunboat Panay, and Standard Oil ships. Alarm is also felt for the British gunbont Bee which is racing down the Yangtze River in the vicinity; lof Wuhu to aid the Panay's sur- poses — Armament Ivivors and were to land them at| | Hohslen, Province of Anhwel, a river of Craft Given !town which was then under attack. The United States gunboat Pan-' ay, sunk on the Yangtze River by sfifl" fluu FIHE Japanese bombs, was an American river gunboat, displacement 450 General Alarm Calls Out Hundreds of Fighters tons, standard; mean draught (fresh| water) 5% feet, freeboard, at side! Downtown Section the Pa- S main deck forward 7 feet 2 inches; amidships 3 feet 9% inches; aft 4 feet 6 inches. The Panay had triple expansxon engines, 2250 horsepower, speed 15 {knots (trial 17.73 knots) ; two 3-inch guns 50 calibre anti-aircraft and xol smaller guns. There were six gunboats, Luzon| WASHINGTON, Dec. 15—A gen- and Mindanao authorized as P. G. eral fire alarm caused damage, es- 43, 44, 45, 56, 47 and 48 laid down timated by Fire Department of-| in 1926 by the Kiangnan Dock and ficials, at half a million dollars in Engmeerlng Works, Shanghai. They|the congested business section. |were completed in 1927-1928. t Hundreds of firemen battled the The following characteristics were|flames in the William Hahn Com- common to all six—2 Thorneroft pany shore store. oil burning boilers and two screws,i Smoke and water also damaged et the Christmas stocks of the nearby The effect of a scorpion sting Goldenberg Company department seldom fatal to human beings. |store, Was Built for River Pur- Secretary Hull expected to confer with President Roosevelt before dispatching the note. FIRST REPORTS TELL OF INCIDENT g The first reports of the incident were sent out from Shanghai by the Associated Press with the brief announcement that the American gunboat Panay had been bombed and sunk in the Yangtze River, 25 miles from Nanking and the Japanese Navy accepted responsibility. Fifty four of the crew and civilians aboard were survivors. Sixty four are believed to have beéen aboard the Panay when the attack occurred. The next report was sent out from Shanghai stating that Rear Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, Commander of the United States Asiatic Fleet aboard the United States cruiser Augusta had received an aun- thentic report from the United States gunboat Luzon that the United States gunboat Panay had been bombed and sunk near Nanking with an unestimated loss of life. OFFICIAL REPORTS BEGIN TO FILTER THROUGH Official reports then began to be received in Washington, the first one that the gunboat Panay had been sunk and also several Standard Oil vessels, all with refugees aboard of whom there wn no report. The official reports differed somewhat from the first repq'ls concerning those aboard the United States gumboat Panay-—stating that of 72 persons aboard the Panay only 54 were known to have survived and 15 of them were wounded, several severely. One Ameri- can seaman aboard the Panay is known to be dead and 17 other persons are missing. The absence of word early this mérning from those missing on the Panay leads Rear Admiral Yarnell, aboard the Augusta to mean that these missing have been killed or drowned. BRIEF REPORT ON TRAGEDY—PANAY FIRES A brief report on the tragedy, received in Washington, said the. Panay fired several rounds from the anti-aircraft guns at the ate tacking Japanese plane but apparently without effect. Two of the gunboat’s officers, Lieutenant Commander J. J. Hughes and Execu- tive Officer A. F. Embers were wounded. Hughes suffered a broken leg. oy SURVIVORS ARE REPORTED SIGHTED Early morning reports, regarding the 17 as reported missing, said the British Gunboat Bee said 12 Europeans had been sighted on the Yangtze River shore and they possibly were survivors of the Panay but definite confirmation was not at once forthcoming. NAVY DEPARTMENT GIVEN REPORT The Navy Department at Washington received a report tllllln‘ the night that one sailor had been killed and two officers wounded when the Panay and three Standard Oil boats had been bombed and sunk. e The sailor had not at that time been identified but Lieutenant Commander J. J. Hughes and Lieutenant A. F. Anders, Executive officer, had been wounded. The Navy Department said Second Secretary George Atcheson, with 54 survivors had been transferred to the Hishien and 18 Ameri- cans were missing from the Panay. On the Panay when the bombing occurred were 72 persons, in- cluding the crew, 55 others, Embassy officials, newspapermen and businessmen who had taken refuge aboard the navy craft. The three Standard Oil boats, anchored mear the Panay, also had refugees aboard. These boats were the Meiping, Meisian and Mei: DAUGHTER OF MAAS Many friends have called at St.| Ann'’s Hmplln] to exhend congrulu-, !the birth of & daughl.er on Decem- ber 10. | Mr. Maas is a seaman aboard thel Game Commission boat Seal CHRISTMAS