The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 26, 1939, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. LV., NO. 8293. JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1939. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS RUSSIAN GUNS FIRE FINNISH SEAPCRI HITLER HAS HOLIDAY AT WEST WALL Walks on French Seil for First Time in Twenty- one Years GOES ALL THE WAY 10 FRONT TRENCHES Nazi leade?WouId Have Been Fine Targef, Berliners Say BERLIN, Dec. 26.—Authoritative sources reported today that Adolf Hitler walked across the frontier into France while he was spending Christmas with the German forces in the West Wall fortifications. This is the first time since 1918 that Hitler has set foot on French soil, informants said, and that was when he was Corporal of the 16th Bavarian Reserves. With orderlies carrying gift pack- ages, Hitler crossed the frontier, now No-Maw's Lanf, but which until a few weeks ago was occupied by the French. He spent some time in the vicinity of Spicheren Heights between Saarbruecken and For- bach. Hitler was led by a Captain com- manding that section. With him he visited the concrete dugouts left by the French and then walked through the woods to the extreme front of the line. Informants said he made an easy target for French gums. Hitler reportedly promoted his Captain guide to the rank of Major. INAUGURAL ELIGHT IS FATAL ONE Plane Crashes, Killing Sev- Violent Storm on Black Sea en, First Trip, Haly 1o South America ROME, Dec. 26—Italian authori- ties announce that the air mail ser- vice between Italy and South Amer- jca will be continued on a regular schedule despite the plane crash a violent Black Sea hurricane and | in which seven persons were killed on Sunday during the inaugural flight. The plane was carrying the first load of mail for South America and crashed near Mogador, French Mor- | ang a check is being made by ma-| occo. Authorities said Pilot Rapp ap- parently tried to fly through & jno craft have been lost with all| sterm rather than delay the first trip. —— GERMAN VESSELS ORDERED T0 RUN FOR HOME PORTS Capt. Stengler Admits He Was Making Dash When Chased FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, Dec. 26—The Daily News says Capt. Frederick Stengler, of the Nazi freighter Aracua, acknowledges that all German ships have received or- ders to reach Reich ports. Capt. Stengler said his ship and also the liner Columbus were at- tempting ' to obey the order when | they were intercepted by British ‘warships. The Columbus was scuttled at sea and the Aracua ran into the Ameri- can port when chased by a British warcraft. S ee- SUNDAY FLIGH' Sunday afternoon, John Amund- sen flew the Lockheed to the is- lands with Joe Hill for Chichagof, returning with Mr. and Mrs. Joe Perpich from Hirst. | A Swedish machine gunner, his winter uniform is shown in action in the north, where the n: centrated to guard against a surpri front of him is a signaling device. enemy VET Many Vessels Are Missing In Hurricane | Sends Ships Down ‘ with Crews ISTANBUL, Dec. 26. — Turkish freighter Kizlirmak, 2700 tons, struck the rocks near Sinope last night in went down with the entire crew of 24 men. | Scores of trawlers and other craft were this morning reported missing following abatement of the storm rine authorities. Tt is feared that many of the miss- hands. Lifeboats are making a search of the coastal waters for possible sur- vivors and watches are being main- tained on shore for possible signs of wreckage which might have sur- vivors. SEN. NORRIS 1S QUITTING PUBLIC LIFE Reelection When Term Expires in 1943 WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.—Senator George W. Norris, of Nebraska, to- day said he will never seek public office again when his present term expires in 1943. Senator Norris is now 78. In an interview, Senator Norris said that after 37 years in Con- gress, “my work is done and my friends will understand and they will not ask me to run again.” I Sweden Ready for War ERAN ALASKA FLIER HANS MIROW, PASSENGER BYSTEDT . E. Alaska REKILLED INCRASH {Nebraskan Will Not Seek| including snow glasses, | ation’s army is reported con- | se invasion by Russia. The gadget in The gun is mounted for use against aircraft. OF PLANE | | | | ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Dec. 26— | The bodies of Hans Mirow, Nome airline operator, and Peter Bystedt, ;a passenger, were found late Sunday |in wreckage of their airplane, 12| | miles from Kaltag on the Unalaska- | | Nulato route. [ ‘ Mirow and his plane had been | missing for five days since he took | off from Nome on a search for an-| other distressed anrplane, that i loted by Fred Chambers, with three passengers, later found and rescued. | | Sighted From Air | Mirow's plane was sighted from | |the air at 11 o'clock last Sunday | | morning by Civil Aeronautics In-| spector Burnett and a few hours la- ter, a dog sled summoned by radio| |from the plane, reached the scene | of the crash. The bodies were| | found inside the plane which had crashed nose down into a clearing. | Killed Instantly Both Mirow and Bystead had ap- parently been killed instantly. | The bodies were taken to Kaltag | from where Mirow’s was to be flown | (to Nome and Bystedt’s to Anchor- | | Mirow was a veteran Alaska flier and is survived by his wife, Made- line, and two daughters, Anne aged |5 years and Carol Joyce, aged six | months, residing at Nome. } Bystedt was an Anchorage youth and had never been out of Alaska. | He is survived by his father, a mar- |ried sister at Seldovia, and two brothers in Anchorage, Theodore and James. Bystedt had been a mechanic for the Star Airlines for a number of years and had only received his CAA | | Mechanics’s Certificate two weeks.i | He then went to Nome to work for Mirow. Mirow is said to have taken By- |stedt along with him on the fatal mercy flight for companionship. | i MIROW WELL KNOWN | PORTLAND, Oregon, Dec. 26.— Hans Mirow was well known in this section where he at one time oper- ated a flying school. He was a Ger- man and served his apprenticeship |as a seaman on a German freight- er until he reached here in 1926. He studied flying and later became a co-pilot on a West €Coast Air Transport plane. In 1930 he went to Alaska and shortly before going north was awarded the first air- worthy certificate, approved by the Oregon Board of Aeronautics. | | WELL KNOWN HERE Hans Mirow was a member of the Scottish Rite, officers of the lodge said here today. Al Monsen, Chief Pilot and Oper- ations Manager for Pacific Alaska Airways, shocked at Mirow’s death, (Continued on Page Eight) l DEATH TAKES NO HOLIDAY; | 526 PASS ON Traffic Accidents During Holiday Responsible, Many Fafalities (By Associated Press) The Christmas holiday brought violent death to at least 526 persons | in the United States. | The death toll included 350 traffic | victims with Tllinois leading the | 'i { i mortality lists with 53 deaths. i In Illinois, six persons died in! Christmas slayings, 26 in traffic ac- cidents, and six in train deaths. California reported 41 deaths, New York, 39, Michigan 32, Pennsylvania 28 and Washington had 16 deaths, | all from traffic accidents. TOLL MOUNTING | CHICAGO, Ill, Dec. 26—Fatali- | ties over the holiday mounted early | this afternoon as the Associated | Press received more reports i The death list now stands at 633, | traffic accidents claiming 418 vic- | tims. | b e Sania (laus Goes Modern | Bob Ellis Distributes Gifts! fo Children, West Coast ‘ KETCHIKAN, Alaska, Dec. 26— Santa Claus went modern for towns on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. | Pilot Bob Ellis, last Saturday,| donned a Santa costume and took | gifts for “every child on the West! Coast,” mostly Indians. He also| carried 800 pounds of express, in-| cluding Christmas films for the the- atres, ice cream and flowers. On Friday, Pilot Ellis took 400 pounds to the west coast. . JOSEPHDAVIES NOW ADDEDTO | DEPT. OF STATE [ Ambassador fo Belgium Receives Official Ap- | pointmentfromFDR | WASHINGTON, Dec. .26.—Presi- | dent Roosevelt today designated Jos- | eph Davies, American Ambassador to | Film actress Binnje Barnes has ap- POPE Belgium as Special Assistant Secre- peared with a huge diamond on the | to deal with war | ring finger of her left hand, and told } tary of State, emergency problems and Interna-| tional trade negotiations. | No indication is made as to his successor to be assigned to Bel-| gium, Davies only recently returned from | Brussels to report to the State De- | partment. Hun garian Actress Dies in 10-Story Plunge Part of her filmy black evening dress draped from the marquee, where she plunged to her death, the body of Actress Lola Laszlo, 21 vear-old Hungarian actress is shown being covered by New York policemen. The daughter of the Hungarian composer plunged from the 10th floor apartment of Baron Frederick von Oppenheim where they had been celebrating the Baron's planned departure dor Calif | and finally Germany. At right is a picture of the actre ROOSEVELT NAMES SPECIAL DERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE T0 VATICAN; FORMER ALASKA CANNERYMAN 15 DEAD IN SEATTLE Andrew Hamilton, Veteran Fish Broker, Passes Away-lll Year SEATTLE, Dec. 26 —Andrew Ham- ilton, veteran fish broker and can- nery operator, died yesterday after an illness of one ye He was 65 years old. Hamilton formerly operated the Hamilton Packing Company at Hood Bay, Alaska, but retired in 1934. |AMOND RING ON HER RIGHT FINGER HOLLYWOOD, Cal, Dec. 26. — friends that it was the Christmas gift of Sports Announcer Mike Frankovitch. Miss Barnes said that she and Fran%ovitch will be married next September 26, the day after his di- vorce from his former wife becomes final. U. S. LAW WORK WAY: WONDERS PERFORMED § IN MYSTERY PSSR By PRESTON GROVER | | WASHINGTON, Dec. 26. — The | law works in mysterious ways its | ways to perform. ‘ Take the case of Fritz Kuhn. He and his German-American Bund have been the target for public as- saults, criticism, mass demonstra- tions, picketings and even a Con-| was. He was accused of larceny and found guilty by a jury. Even the presiding judge suspect- ed the jury was likely to smack him down because they thought it might be a good idea on general princi ples. So he cautioned carefull; against it. No matter what the jury might think of the Bund and its German connection, and Fritz Kuhn | | POPE ACCEPTS WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.—Presi- dent Roosevelt yesterday announced | his decision to send a personal rep- | resentative to Vatican City to aid |in common peace moves. | The announcement of the ap- pointment of Myron Taylor, as his personal representative, was made known yesterday. The proposal was made in an unusual Christmastime letter to the Pope. | The President made it clear he had no specific program, however, | he would like Taylor to be stationed lin Vatican City so “our paralleled endeavors for peace and alleviation of suffering may be assisted.” President Roosevelt also asked Dr. George Buttrick, President of the Federal Council of Church in Christ, and Rabbi Cyrus Adler, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary in America, to discuss international problems with him, from time to | time. | Dr. Buttrick, in accepting, said: “We share the President’s confidence of men and women in every land | that. have the basic faith in God, | therefore in human Brotherhood, even in the present chaos of dark- ness, and we are all preparing for a better day.” 1 ACKNOWLEDGES NAMING OF TAYLOR | VATICAN CITY, Dec. 26.—Pope Pius has informally acknowledged | President Roosevelt’s appointment of Myron Taylor as his personal representative in Vatican City. The Pope described the move as a “powerful contribution to a just |and durable peace and alleviation |of the sufferings of war.” The Pope also said he “expressed heartfelt gratitude” to President Roosevelt for his “Christmas mes- sage which could not have been more welcome to us.” Peace Proposals It has been revealed that Pope Pius addressed twenty - five Car- |dinals Sunday on a peace program | and expressed belief that when the occasion presents itself sane states- | men would consider it. | The Pope mentioned several |points including a guarantee that | every nation, large or small, should have the right to live independent, free of world slavery; creation of ‘[ntcnmnonal organizations to solve the world’s problems peacefully, | study demands of minorities and gressional investigation at the hands | in particular, the jurist counselled ‘ provide observance by statesmen of the Dies committee. He was|that Kuhn was charged only with [and peoples of Christian princi- plugging for a form of government |larceny of Bund funds and should | ples. that most people consider funda- mentally contrary to the Constitu- |did its duty according to its Igihts, | tion and a jeopardy to the liberties | upon which the country prides n,_\ self. A lot of people thought some- | thing out to be done about it. It be judged on that alone. The jury IT IS—BUT IT AIN'T Legally it is a kind of spinner play, (Continued on Fage Five) EXPRESS GRATITUDE WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.—Repre- sentatives of Protestant, Jewish and Catholic churches today acknow- J (Continued on Page Five) the Orient in dancing costume. U. 5. COMMANDER TURNS DEAF EAR T0 NAZI PLAINT Gives British-Taken Ship| (learance from Canal Zone COLON, Panama, Dec. 26.—De- spite a German diplomatic protest, a British prize crew is in control of the captive 4,900-ton German freighter Dusseldorf, and the vessel is today guaranteed clearance to a British port by the United States Army command for the Canal Zone. | The protest of German Consul Walter Schmidt, “has not been en- tertained,” said Major General Da- vid Stone, Canal Zone commandant. ‘The freighter, now free to pro- ceed to sea, was captured December 15, off the Chilean coast by the British cruiser Dispatch, two days after leaving Valparaiso. BSAEAERITI SHIP SENT DOWN WITH NO WARNING Brifish Vessel Torpedoed Two Hours After Leav- ing English Port LONDON, Dec. 26.—British steam- er Stanholme, 2400 tons, is reported | to have been torpedoed and sent down with a loss of 14 lives off the West Coast of England. Survivors said the ship was tor-| pedoed without warning on cnrm-l mas Day when most of the crew members were below decks en]oymg‘, the festivities, A terrific explosion sank the ship | only two hours after the vessel left port. | Only the uninjured managed to| escape from the sinking steamer in| lifeboats, The Captain was umong1 the survivors as he was the only man in the pilot house. A Norwegian steamer heard the explosion, rushed to the scene and | picked up the survivors, | . eee PLANNING COUNCIL IN SESSION TODAY Juneau members of the Alaska Planning Council held an informal session today at the office of Chairman Tke P. Taylor. The planners paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Ernest Gruening, ex- officio Chairman, BOLD DRIVE ONRAILWAY ISREPORTED Finns Atléffii.fiting to. Cut Line fo Murmansk, Vital Red Artery DEFENDERS CAPTURE 50 SOVIET SOLDIERS Bitter Battle on Isthmus Gives Finland Air Victories By Associated Press) Advices from Finland today said long range artillery shelis burst throughout the night in the seacoast city of Viipuri, starting numerous fires in homes of the southeast sec< tion of the city, but causing com- paratively slight damage. Casualties were unreported, bu Viipuri had been previously aban- doned by most of its citizens. Russian forces appeared to be concentrating their attack in this area with long range hammering and air railds today, as the Finns took the Soviet war of invasion to Soviet soil in another sector. Well trained Finnish soldiers are driving a sharp wedge in the Rus~ sian ' lines, driving towards the Murmansk railroad, Russia's vital main supply line to the far north. Viipuri firemen were kept on con- stal vig!! fighting flames started by shells apparently fired from bat- teries, 256 miles away. Russian artillery emplacements are known to be about 18 miles within Finnish territory on the Ka- relian Isthmus, Helsinki military sources report- ed the capture of quantities of So- viet arms, 50 Russian prisoners and the disabling of two Red Army tanks in describing a bitter battle on the Karelian Isthmus, Eleven Soviet planes were said to have been shot down with only small losses to Finland's air force, Heliinfi* Is Raided Christmas |Warning Sirens Drown Oul Church Bells as Planes Drop Bombs HELSINKI, Dec. 26.—Howling of air raid sirens drowned out the Christmas bells of Finland's Capital City on Christmas Day and the sound of distant detonations indi- cated the suburbs were hit by the raiders. There was one air raid alarm after another yesterday and drove Helsinki residents to cover for a period of nearly five hours. Apparently no bombs fell inside the city. | VIIPURI AIR RAIDED VIIPURI, Dec. 26—Two women and one girl were injured as Rus- sian bombers cruised over this his- toric seaport for more than four hours yesterday, Christmas day. Bombs were dropped in the work- ers' section and over one dozen houses were destroyed by the air raiders. Many places were set afire by the bombs, PRISONERS STAGE RIOT 'FOR 5 HOURS LONDONDERRY, Northern Ire- land, Dec. 26. — Approximately 60 prisoners, all suspected of member- ship in the outlawed Irish Republi~ can Army, locked their wardens in a cell yesterday and rioted for five hours before being subdued.