The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 18, 1939, Page 1

‘GRAF SPEE BLOWN UP, Terrific Battle Is Fought b THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1939. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS VOL. LV., NO. 8287. 34BRITISH PLANES ARE SHOT DOWN Two Thirds of Attacking Force Reported Lost in Engagement SUDDEN ASSAULT MADE ON GERMAN NAVAL BASE Wreckage, Bodies Being Washed Ashore After Today's Encounter BULLETIN — LONDON, Dec. 18.—The British Air Ministry announces that 12 German Messerschmidt fighting planes were shot dewn this afternoon and seven British bombers a “unaccounted for after fighting” over Helgoland BERLIN, De 18. — Thirty-four British bombers are said by Ger- man authorities to have been shot in a terrific air battle off North German coast in the of Helgoland this after- down the vieinity noon. Forty-four British planes are said to have participated in the attack ‘on the Helgoland German naval base island. German planes rose to the attack as soon as the British air fleet was sighted. The attackers comprised the largest unit yet used against Ger- many Naval authorities said the Ger- man planes, led by Capt. Schu- macher, succeeded in scattering the British air fleet. Two German planes were lost in the encounter, the crews es caping death however by the para- chute route and were picked up by German surface ships. Wreckage of many British planes and some bodies are being washed up on the German shores late this afternoon and evening. The first stories released indi- cate the battle was the biggest air engagement of the present war. The fighting was sharp over the sea and intensive anti-aircraft fire game from the land batteries. - eee (asualties Of Brifish, Sea Battle Seveniy-twfi illed, 30 Wounded in Engage- ment, Graf Spee LONDON, Dec. 18 .— The three| British cruisers which engaged the German sea raiding cruiser Admiral Graf Spee last Wednesday after- noon off the Uruguyan Coast, suf- fered 72 killed and 30 wounded, the | British Admiralty discloses. Sixty-one were killed and 23 woun- ded on the cruiser Exeter. Five officers were killed, three of- ficers were wounded and seven sea- men were killed aboard the Alax Four seamen were killed aboard the Achilles. The Exeter was the cruiser that the Admiral Spee opened full blast of fire on and gunfire also swept the Ajax and Achilles, which joined in the attack. The British Admiralty, by the re- port, shows that the German raider put up a fight before running into Montevideo to escape further rid- dling from the British cruisers. . KRAFT GOES SOUTH Edwin A. Kraft, owner of sta- tion KINY, left for the south aboard the Princess Norah after a brief business visit here, SUNK BY CREW Over North Sea Yacht Seized by Coast Guard N AZIS RAIN l‘ The yacht Lekala (above) was taken into custody mear Wilmington, N. C., by the United States Coast Guard patrol for investigation by the ‘Department of Justice. Captain Edward Kerling, of New York, is listed 1as skipper. The seizure is believed mitters of mysterious radio messages at sea. BY THEIR NICKNAMESYE W ALL OF THEM SHALL KNO MARKET STRIKES " NEW HiGH PEAK, " DECEMBER GAINS | NEW YORK, Dec. 18—Speculative | | commodity markets reached new | peaks today in the December up- |surge but near the close some re- | treated under active profit selling. | silk futures contributed another | spectacular upward swing in the De- | cember spurt, at one time holding | a gain of 35% cents a pound.. | Beveral other staples were moder- |ately strong in sympathy with the day's wide advance of wheat and other grains on the Chicago market. e - iSetreIary H. Ickes ' Is Best Man as His . Son Weds, Chicago | CHICAGO, Ill, Dec. 18.—Secre- | tary of Interior Harcld L. Ickes was |best man here Saturday night at the wedding of his son Raymond | Ickes who marched to the altar with | Miralotte Sauer. Young Ickes is an assistant Unit- |ed States Attorney in Chicago. | The bride is the daughter of Dr. |L. W. Sauer of Winnetka, this state and a graduate of Northwestern University. - ! ol Stock QUOTATIONS NEW YORK, Dec. 18. — Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine |stock today is 6%, American Can 112%, American Power and Light 4%, Anaconda 30%, Bethlehem Steel 83, Commonwealth and South- ern 1%, Curtiss Wright 10%, General Motors 53%, International Harvester 62% Kennecott 38 New York Central 18%, Northern Pacific 8%, United States Steel 67%, Pound $393%. DOW, JONES AVERAGES The following are today’s Dow, Jones averages: industrials 149.22, rails 31.53, utilities 24.86. B I HERE FROM HOONAH Mrs. A. G. Thompsen is in from Hoonah with her two children. She is a guest at the Gastineau Hotel.|™ 'BOMBSUPON MANY SHIPS ‘Berlin Claims Sinking of Four Merchantmen— Damage Warships 'BRITISH AVER SUB - SANK BIG CRUISER (Germans Deny Any U-boat Scored Viclory in Elbe River BERLIN, Dec. 18—The official news agency, DNB, that German bombers British merchantmen and damaged three warships yes- terday in an air attack Elaborating on a High Command communique, DNB said, “One van- guard ship” was sunk bomb. The news agency dec the German planes attacked a British convoy with bombs and machine |guns, Two of the ships mentioned were identified as the Pearl, and the Serenity. | Damage to the warships was proven, the agency asserted, b) their listing, and flames and smoke | while the crews allegedly took to the lifeboats. German re- ports today sank four connected with the hunt for trans- LONDCN ADMITS LONDON, Dec. 18—Three ships | were reported sunk by a heavy German bombing raid on North | Sea shipping last night and early today. By PRESTON GROVER | Two fishing trawlers and the WASHINGTON, Dec. 18. — You | 487-ton steamer Serenity were lost might as well be posted on the nick- | in the raids, it was announced. names attached to political stars| Bombing attacks were also made starlets because the campaigns are on other merchant ships, it was coming and both sides will want to | said. | humanize their proteges by “that| The acknowledgement of the air familiar touch.” raid losses followed a British Ad- Pre was called | miralty announcement that a sub- The Boss" by the late Louie Howe, marine had penetrated the Ger- his wise No. 1 secretary. He is call- man defenses at the mouth of the ed “Mr. Big,” fondly by his friends, |river Elbe and had sunk a 6,000 furiously by his foes. Vice-President| ton German cruiser. Garner calls him “The Captain ] Everybody knows him by his init- ials, FDR, just like this—Ef-Dee- BERLIN, Dec. 18.—Berlin sources Are. denied a British submarine had The runner-up Presidential can-|entered the Elbe River estuary and didates haven’t generated pet names' haq sunk a Nazi cruiser by tor- for themselves yet. When Hoover | pedo, was President he Was referred to -V as “The Chief.” His friends still | use the title. | General Hugh Johnson referred to| (Secretary Ickes as “Honest Harold.'| Mr. and Mrs. T. Garner left for 1t didn’t displace Washington's “Icky the south on the Princess Norah the 'ick.” But when Ickes, in re-|to spend the hPIidays in the turn, called the general “Old Iron States. i nwusevelt BERLIN DENIES g GARDNERS GO SOUTH Swedish Boy Scouts Prepare for Air Raids | ) | Steel-helmeted and carrying their gas masks in cases worn haversack fashion, Swedish Boy Scouts undergo | ambulance drill in Stockholm, where anti-air raid precautions are the order of the day. The boys are | carrying a “wounded” comrade to a dressing station. Sweden fears Russia’s invasion of Finland is part of a drive to obtain & port on the western coast of Europe. 'DEMOCRATS OF " FOURTH DIVISION HINE FINNS SHOOT DOWN 700 SOVIET SOLDIERMEN ON NORTHERN ENGAGEMENT beestes s for Hess for National Committeeman FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Dec. 18.— The Democrats of the Fourth Ju- dicial District in a Divisional Con- vention here, instructed their 20 delegates to the Territorial Conven- tion to be held in Juneau in Janu- ary, to vote for Luther C. Hess, of Fairbanks, for Alaska National Com- mitteeman. The convention adopted a resolu- tion favoring the policies of Presi- | dent Roosevelt and his administra- tion but defeated a motion for a party platform plank favoring the President for a third term. | BULLETIN — HELSINKI, Dec. 18.—~The Finnish High Command reports that the de- parls o e | fending forces have repulsed G 2 N' h| | Russian attacks and’ have de- stroyed 26 tanks, PARIS, Dec. 18—Paris is going to be Gay Paree again even Il JUst| g4 o nave killed 700 Russians in ior two nights. | an exposed highway position, | The curfew hour will be lifted for | pe exhausted Finnish soldiers, | the first time since the outbreak of | cyossing into Norway ,told how small the war to permit the celebration of | patrols equipped with light machine Christmas and New Years' Eve, & ouns and light field guns, are har- communique by the head of the gssing the Russian advance in the Paris police declare. North. All restaurants, cafes and night | The Pinn patrol group explained clubs will be permitted to remain the tremendous enemy loss in the open until two a. m. single engagement was because of = ey the fact the Russians were massed on a road exposed directly to Fin- nish guns in ambush. A Norwegian telegraph agency report from Svanvik, Norwegian town near the Finnish frontier, said |40 disarmed and interned soldiers | COPENHAGEN, Dec. 18 —Norweg- ian reports from northern Finland describe forest fighting in which a patrol of nine Finnish soldiers are adopted by the delegates attending | the convention, Sirovich Suddenly SOUTH ON BUSINESS south on a H. J. Neff left for the aboard the Princess Norah business and pleasure trip. Pant. that stuck. MORGENTHAU TOO The sad face of Secretary Mor- genthau prompted the President to call him “Henry the Morgue.” His | name helped a bit. Since then a! " half dozen parallels to that have grown up such “Harry the Hop” ’ for Secretary of Commerce Hopkins, | “Tommy the Cork” and “Benny the Cohen” for the redoubtable brain twins, | Don't overlook “Fanny the Psrk."“ the Secretary of Labor. It is also “Ma” Perkins. She doesn't like either one, | Estimating Juneau's population |within a single digit, two persons However, “Pa” has hung rz\mi)iar-‘“m for the first prize offered in I¥ to Brigadier-General Watson, the | The FEmpire census contest. The President’s Secretary, ever since his | COTTect figure, announced last week | West, Point days. by the Bureau of Census, was 5,748 Vice-President Garner has been | - A. Peterson, 117 Second Street, known as “Cactus Jack,” or “Tex-|thought the population would be as Jack,” for a generation. Post-|> 4/ Clay H. Bowmar, Box 452 | master General Farley is variously | thousht it would be 5,749. They arc | called entleman Jim,” "Sunny»'gbge awarded prizes of $10 cash |Jim” or “Big Jim.” Some call him| i @ A S “Ginral” with that Irish touch. | Three who tied just behind the Every boll weevil south of the Ma- | Winners were Elliott Fremming, An- son-Dixon Line knows Senator |GreW Bernsten and Ed Bowden, all Smith of Seuth Carolina as ‘Cot-|°f Whom thought the City’s popu- ton Ed" bni in the Senate gallery|lation would be 5750, ‘A $5 prize is Ihe often is called “Ipse Dixit.” He 0 Pe awarded each of these three uses it often in speeches to mean| . l::";;(;'v“edlv'fln:nl l_h'bt) i [that “the thing speaks for itsell.” . = bo ners, who left The nearest thing to a nickname|tDelr entries in the contest box at for Senator Carter Glass is the hope- | 80r8e Brothers. Pay'n Takit, are 3 8. " \men. This is surprising, for well | less effort of non-Virginians to im’ s tate his way of saying his own firs over half the entrants in the contest {name, Cyahteh. “Mr. Big” calls | Were women. All the above cash him “the unreconstructed rebel.” Vehers Speaks Hous 3 penkcer BanEheyd 0f tha. Houdo, Winners in the similar contest at " ; “Tal- sometimes is teasingly called “Tal the B. M. Behrends Company Store are Mrs. C. E. Carlson, 239 Main (Continued ;);Wi’iage?i"ive) % CENSUS CONTEST WINNERS ONE OF CORRECT NUMBER | prizes are provided by George Bro- | | said they had not slept in five days, | fighting steadily until their ammu-| | nition was gone. Five More Days EIo Pick Flowers {For Christmas Stricken Representam; Sirovich, Friend of Alaska, Dies in N_elfl_ York PAIR WITHIN Santa will be a sucker if he doesn’t schedule himself enough “ time in Juneau to pick a few flow- ‘S‘,"?:w_ ‘;gfifm D;:méa';:sx;;' ers for the winter-locked northern|p, 4 States | tmmrmP of _New \;orl;,xaged| :L'l 3 |years, physician an aywr 3 A week ago Juneau was mildly|qieq suclldem_v yesterday l;.s Ymegre- excited when John Newmarker g1t of an attack of the heart, picked a bouquet from his window | He was elected to the T0th, Tist will be given a Wilson Brothers shirt, | boxes out at Point Lena, and DnOw | 72nd, 73rd , 74th and 75th Congress, and Mrs, Lynch (who guessed 5731) [it s revealed that M James and re-elected to the 19th Congress is the winner of two pairs of Pheenix | Drake has been picking poppies,| girovich was a great friend of hose. These prizes are awarded by |daisies and other flora in her|Alaska and staunch supporter of the B. M. Behrends Co., Inc. | garden on the Fritz Cove road. measures proposed by Alaska Dele= Contests Separate | And, Mr, and Mrs. Harold Brown |gate Anthony J. Dimond The two contests were entirely sep- | were surprised yesterday at their | O Street; Glenn Edwards, Douglas, and Mrs. Martin Lynch, Glacier High- way. Mus. Carlson, who guessed 5,- 756, will be awarded two pottery vases; Edwards, (estimating 5,761) arate. Many entries at George Bro-| Auk Bay garden where brave pan- I.wo KlllED iN posted additional cash prizes so that| Five more shopping days until | well all entries were in the 7,000-t0-9,000 | southbound through Juneau from —Fred J. “Pat” Dangis, 37, national thers were closer to the population|sies, sweet william and daisies figure than the winners zt Beh- pushed smilingly through evergreen rends, but these do not qualify for|boughs which were placed over| In view of the ties, George Brothers | freezing, | <ol W all guessing alike could share equally. | Christmas! Who'll bring us home- Champlon Maratiion Run-| Of the many thousands of entries|grown flowers on Christmas Day? | . | made in the two contests, only a s | ner of Unifed Stafes small percentage were in the 5,000 HERE FROM OPHIR g |vegion. More than 8 percent of| Mr. and Mrs. Eric Hard, Is Victim known miners and freighters, are — class. Some estimates were as low BALTIMORE, Maryland, Dec. 18. as 3,000 and a few were in excess|Ophir. They flew ia with PAA and g : . of 100,000, Many were over 10,000.|are at the Gastineau. Oldtimer W.|champion marathon runner, and Prize-winners may claim their! M. Johnson, also of Ophir, is ac- Rchard John, pilot, were kme;i here awards at the two stores. companying them, late yesterday in an airplane crash, b IN CONVENTION A variety of resolutions were| TRAPPED WARSHIP SCUTILED German Pocket Battleship Goes fo Self-Chosen Watery Grave CREW ABANDONS VESSEL BEFORE CRAFT SENT DOWN Command Reported Issued by Hitler-Three Ex- plosions Occur MONTEVIDEO, Dec. 18. — The Admiral Graf Spee, German pocket battleship driven into this neutral port last Wednesday and trapped here by the British war- | ships, was blown up and sunk late yesterday by the Nazi crew. The Admiral Graf Spee sunk within three minutes after three explosions roared through the har- bor. ‘The battleship was sent to a self-chosen watery grave with the Nazi Swastika flying proudly from the masthead. The battleship lifted nachor and steamed slowly down the bay with a depleted crew standing by and this crew abandoned the vessel just a few minufes before the three ex- plosions occurred. The crew mem- bers were taken off the ship on two tugs and a barge. Hitler's Command It is reported in German sources here, that Commander Hans Langsdorff recelved a command from Chancellor Adolf Hitler to destroy the ship rather than sub- mit to internment or destruction by waiting Allied craft off shore. The Admiral Graf Spee sank in 25 feet of water and the upper works are still showing above the surface, Scuttled The German craft sang three miles off-shore just at sundown, forced out of her neutral anchor- age by the Uruguayan time limit, scuttled by her own crew. All during Saturday night, ac- tivity was seen aboard the Ad- miral Graf Spee which had an- chored in the harbor after leav- ing a dock, It was indicated that repairs were being made from the shelling received in the encounter with the British cruisers. A fog prevailed during the night and early Sunday morning and this gave rise to the belief that repairs were being made and a dash would be made for freedom although it was known that the Allied fleet was laying about 20 miles off-shore waiting for the expected dash. Time Limit Expires The Government of Uruguay re- fused Saturday night to extend the time allowed the German bat- tleship to remain in the harbor after 5 o'clock Sunday night and based. this decision on the opinion of Uruguayan naval experts re- garding the seaworthiness of the craft. CREW INTERNED BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Dec. 18.—A high Argentina official said that 1,039 crewmen of the scut- tled German sea raider Admiral Graf Spee will arrive here today to be interned. Officers of the battleship, the official said, will probably be re- leased on a personal pledge not to participate in the European war, The official recalled a similar case in 1914 when Argentina interned the crew of a German ship but released the officers. (Continued on Page Three) BUT WILL THEY’ SEND US O %