The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, April 17, 1940, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” — ] VOL. LV., NO. 8390. JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1940. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS NAZI BOMBS SINK BRITISH CRUISER Floy ENGINEER'S BODYFOUND NEAR HOME Early Morning Tragedy Is| Disclosed-Motive for | Act Unknown CORONER'S JURY | NOW IN SESSION Death Shocks Many Friends' of Longtime Resident | " of Juneau | G. Beiw, 57, Cadastral En- with the Public Survey Of- for the past 20 years, killed himself early this g in the woods near his on the Glacier Highway four es from Juneau A coroner’s inquest was to be held at 3:30 o'clock this afternoon S. Commissioner Felix Gray, but e indication was that the ""Nor”t S Atlantic Ocean 1CELAND 4 GREAT ' BRITAIN gineer fice here shot mor ho! I by N SPITSBERGEN DISCOVERED, ~ CALIFORNIA Robbery, Mizder, Alleged -3 Men, 2 Women Facing Charges SACRAMENTT, Cal., April 17— Investigating two recent slayings, Police Sergeant Gamble announced that murder charges probably will be filed against three men and two women, all alleged members of a| robbery gang. State ballistics experts reported that the bullet from the body of Leland Cash, San Francisco barbe- cue stand attendant, who was slain in a holdup on April 8 was fired from a gun belonging to Mrs. Juan- | ita Spinelli, fifty. It was reported that she is the leader of the gang | who is known as the “Duchess,” and she handled the money and took possession of the guns after each | robbery | Officers said Albert Ives, 23, ad- mitted shooting Cash Both Ives and the woman admit- - Sweden Geatred to Resist Blitzkrieg death was a suicide. Friends are unable to advance a motive for tne act, which has shocked all who knew him. He left no note. Mrs, Betts called on a neighbor, Mrs. Fred Crowell, at 7 o'clock this President Roosevelt, in a sweeping move to insulate the United States from the struggle in Scandinavia, proclaimed a vast combat area embracing all of northern Europe and forbade American ships and passengers to enter it. The solid line on the above map indicates the combat area designated at the beginning of the war; dotted line shows ted the slaying of Robert Sherrod, 19, member of the gang whose body was recovered from the Sacramento River yesterday. The youth was| slain because of the fear of his| “squealing.” - merning and told her Floyd had leit the house an hour before and that a gun was also missing. Neighbor Heard Shot According to Mrs. Crowell's ac- count to Deputy U. S. Marshal Sid Thempson, Mrs. Betts, told her her husband had appeared unwell recently and had acted strangely. She said that yesterday at the same time he had arisen, dressed in old clothing and started out into the woods, but that she had sensed something was wrong and talked him into returning to the house. When Mrs. Betts told Mrs. Crow- ell about the gun being missing, the latter was alarmed, for she had heard a shot at 6:30 o'clock this morning. | 2 Not telling Mrs. Betts of her! o smSIna e fears, Mrs. Crowell called Jay Wil-| liams to make a search. | with Ken Nelsun, who stopped Shot Fired at Henrich Him- mler While Inspecting at Copenhagen addition to it. at the Betts home every morning to drive the Cadastral Engineer o work, Williams scouted the ter-| ritory near the Betts house and/ found the Engineer's body several hundred yards from the house. Beits was lying on his back' about 300 feet from the Glacier! Highway. A single shot from a 30-' 40 calibre Springfield rifle which lay at his side had torn a great, hole in his head. | . Williams noted that only one LONDON, April 17—The London set of tracks, Betts' own, led from Daily Mail reports without confir- the house to the body. | mation that the Chief of the Ger- Powder Burns man secret police, Henrich Him-| Reconstructing the tragedy, it mler, has been wounded by a appeared that Betts had placed the would-be assassin in Copenhagen, rifle against a tree root and, hold- ' Denmark, ! ing it with his left hand, pulled| Himmler is said to have been the trigger with the right. He fell riding in an automobile when l.e; over backwards, the gun falling was fired upon. with- him. The head was badly' The bullet is reported to have powder-burned. Betts' hat lay on struck the secret Nazi police chief a stump a few feet away. ;in the face. ¥ | Williams and Nelson returned to| Himmler as head of the German Juneau and summoned Deputy Gestapo evidently had gone to the Thompson, Commissioner Gray, |Danish capital to supervise the Dr. W. P. Blanton and Don Skuse. | cocrdination of German police con- One empty shell was found in'trol of civilian Danish life under the rifle chamber. No others were | the Nazi occupation. Strict Ger- found. | man censorship prevailing at Cop- Betts, the senior engineer on the enhagen prevented a confirmation Public Survey staff here, was to Of the report which reached the have gone to the Westward next outside world by way of Stockholm Tuesday at the head of a survey|and thence to London, crew which will work on the Kenai AN oo AL Peninsula all summer. He workea 11 the Kenaji last MURDER SUSPE(I year and was a great lover of the outdoors and of field work. He had traveled over Alaska from the BEAIS juSTI(E farthest Aleutians and Point Bar- row to the Canadian boundary. | Besides the widow here, he is| HOLLYWOOD, Cal, April 17— survived by his gnother and other i & h held i latives in Oregon and Califor- An 88-year-old rancher, held as = £ murder suspect is dead as result| nip. Thets: &78. £ SUINEED. of a heart attack. The victim was| Betts was born March 6, 1887, Charles Stalker. at Custer, Neb. He was a member 3 1 of the Elks Lodge, having joined| Stalker and several companions| in 1931, He was also a member were arrested for questioning in of the Eleven O'Clock Club. connection with the death of) The body #5 at the Charles W. Cashius Foster, a salesman, who Carter mortuary. was found dead at Stalker’s home. RIFLE INVENTOR SHOOTS ' AWAY "RED-TAPE” OF AN ORDNANCE OF U. S. ARMY By JACK S%INNETT WASHINGTON, April 17. — Note to Readers: No city in America, not even New York, presents such personalities as the Nation’s capital. Senators, Ambassadors, cabbage - heads and kings; thugs, bums, lugs and ministers, and princesses and queens; soldiers, sailors, D.A.R.; lobbyists, lawyers, lit- erati; rogues, ranchers, Presi- dents and spies—all are here. To know them all, to under- stand them all, would be to know what makes the wheels of Washington go 'round. Per- haps it can’t be done, but let’s try. Melvin Johnson . . . feet-4 . part-time lecturer in law at Boston University . . . for- mer member and coach of the Har- vard crew . is inventor, pat- entee, and head man of the com- pany that makes the Johnson | semi-autoinatic rifle, which threat- | ens to explode in the middle of the congressional fight about the 1941 appropriation for arms for the U. S. Army. A handsome, voluble, 200- pound giant, Mel shot his first deer in Maine, when only a spindl! youth of 12 . ., . with one of the army’s famous old Springfield rifles. He never got over the thrill of it. Before he was well into his ’teens, he was an expert skeet shooter . . . trick shot with a rifle . . . and a few years later. captain of both the Harvard rifle and gun teams. An ace of- ficer of the Harvard R.O.T.C. field artillery, he progressed from reserve marinc corps lieutenant in 1936 to captain in 1938. He became a life mem- ber of the National Rifle Asso- ciation, His 26th year (1935 found him poring over blueprints for a blow- back type semi-automatic rifle. It was a flop. But a year later, he| was dodging out of the Boston courtrooms at the first hint of re- cess . . . to work half the night on his “short recoil” semi-auto- matic rifle which basically is the Johnson rifle of today. In the last year or so, he has (Continued on page Six) Mrs, Spinelli's daughter Lorraine, | Gordon Hawkins, Mike Simeone, | and others are members of the| gang. - JOHNCAGETAKES | " OFFICE AS MAYOR | T IN KANSAS €TV ‘Seven Councilmen Elected | onClean-up Pledge | 1 Also Inducted | KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 17.— Bands blared as Mayor John Gage, 53, a Democrat and attorney, with seven Councilmen elected on a| clean-up pledge, took office, rr‘,pluc-‘ ling the Tom Pendergast’s Demo- | | cratic machine at the City Hall| ,under which a $20.000,000 gambling racket and $12,000,000 narcotics ring flourished. ~ BASEBALL 31 and 6-| Only one game was played this | afternoon in either the American or National leagues and that was an American leaguer which resulted in New York winning from Philadel- phia by a score of 4 to 1. The other games were postponed on account of rain or cold. In the New York-Philadelphia game, Monte Pearson of the Yankees, allowed only four hits, Charley Keller accounted for two of the runs with a homer and a single, | \Turns Down Offer fo Seek! Profection of Fran- | co-British | BRUSSELS, April 17. — Foreign Minister Spaak told the Senate today that Belgium must not de- |part from a course of complete |neutrality. His statement was re- jecting Allied suggestions that small neutrals seek Franco-British | protection before it is too late. | Spaak said that the government will not accept any suggestion | which would . entail abandonmem\ of the route which the government has chosen, neutrality. ; Sweden oric Legatior AIR RAIDED BY BRITISH Airdrome Is Successfully Bombed - Large Fire Reported Starfed LONDON, April 17.—The British Air Ministry announces that Brit- ish warplanes carried out bombing attacks on the German held port of Trondheim and also the seaplane bases nearby. The attack was made last night and the “Trondheim airdrome was successfully bombed and a large fire was seen to break out.” Be Neutral 4 Halibufers Sell, Seatfle SEATTLE April 17—Halibuters arriving and selling here today were all from the western banks as follows: Northern 40,000 pounds, 87; and 8% cents; Sea Bird 28,000 pounds, 9c and 8'%; Tongass 36000 pounds, 9% and 8% cents; Seymour 40,000 pounds, 8% cents a pound straight. PRICES ELSEWHERE At ‘Prince Rupert today 138,000 pounds of halibut were sold for 870 to 9 and 6.50 cents a pound. At Ketchikan the day's price is 7.80 and 5 and 6 and 5 cents, Preiidehlifil Primaries This Year Proving fo Be Of Political Im@rlame TRONDHEIM | | i | | neral mobilization following German invasion of Scandinavia, according to the Swedish Pop are some of Sweden’s crack infantrymen on the march near Stockholm. Lower cdish artillery, rated among the best in the world. Lower right is General 0. G. Thor- uell, chief of the Swedish general staff, STAVANGER AIRDROME IS BOMBE d Betts Ends Life With Rifle Shot F.D.R. Extends “Combat Zone”g(RlME GANG DESTROYER ALSO SENT T0BOTTOM Transport Is Reported fo Have Been Hit with Heaviest of Shells GERMANS REPORTED ROUTED AT NARVIK Nazi Official Statements Claim More Troops Are Landed in Norway (By Associated Press) The German High Command to- day officially reports that a British cruiser was hit squarely by the heaviest type of air bomb, and was sunk; a transport was also hit and a destroyer was sunk by German bombers on the Norwegian south- west coast while on reconnoitering flights. Later the official report said the destroyer was sunk off the Shetland Islands by a submarine. Germans Routed Norwegian forces in north Norway are reported to have routed the Ger- man detachments there and bhave taken absolute control of the ore- carrying railroad from Narvik. More Reinforcements The Germans claim that more re- inforcements have been landed at varjous Norwegian Jocalities, all from transports, and under convoy. Thistle Is Sunk The British Admiralty practically admits the loss of the destroyer Thistle, which was of 1575 tons and normally carried a crew of 53 of- ficers and men. The statement said the craft “is overdue and must be considered lost.” Silent on Cruiser The British Admiralty remained silent on a cruiser being bombed and sunk by German aircraft, declining | By MORGAN M. BEATTY B ' h 0" “ A to issue any denials. Sk SR Troops on Move AP Feature Service writer DIINIS vy nnounte‘ Observers. believed that the Brit- | LS | A"a(k on German 0[- ish forces landed at Narvik are mov- % | ing south toward the German Army | WASHINGTON, April 17. — The cupied Base which is reported moving north { Presidential primaries this year are from Oslo. generating political oomph be-|* e Describes Bombing cause for the first time in year: LONDON, April 17.—The British| The DNB, in an official statement, they are big nmews. That’s bocause Admiralty announced tonight that!said the British cruiser which sank they are making clear-cut decis- British warships bombarded Sta-|yesterday, was hit by bombs of the jons between men and issues de- vanger airdrome for one hour and heaviest type and went down im- pite the fog of confusion that 20 minutes early this morning and | mediately. usually shrouds them. added that “while these forces| The DNB also asserts that two To you and me and the mm‘werc returning, one cruiser was |other cruisers were hit also by the who' put the news in the news- Bit by a German bomb and re- | heavy calibre bombs and with such papers, these decisions are news Celved some damage but continued |serious damage that “presumably and nothing more. | But to candidates they look like| scmething e To candidates they | re precious advertising—free ad- vertising that can’t be bought with money. And it is the kind of advertis- ing that has been turned into votes in the home stretch, too. ; It's this way: | The Presidential primary has! been law in some states for a lit-| tle over 30 years. In that time we| bave held eight Presidential elez- | tions. In five of those elections the{ primaries had no more to do with; picking the Presidential candidates' than the village half-wit. | i ROOSEVELT I The first was 1908, when every- body knew Teddy Roosevelt wss‘\ going to pick the Republican can-f didate and his man would win, That's the way it turned out. The! | primaries had nothing at all to do with it. It was a convention | job. : | | Came 1912. The primaries had a chance for the first time to | register a clear-cut decision. And they did. Teddy Roosevelt whipped his former protege, Taft, in the! primaries, and Wilson had the edge | |on the Democratic side of the! fence. But the Republican convention| ignored the primary decision,| picked Taft, Roosevelt, encouraged by the showing and the advertis-, ing he got in the primaries, ran| 'as an independent. Fhat won for (Contiaued on Page Six) on her course to her base.” The announcement also states it is believed that great damage was done to the Stavanger airdrome and German planes there were seen in flames S Taku Is Now Juneau Bound SEATTLE, April 17. — Steamer Taku is now enroute to Juneau and waypor with freight and passenger A. M. McDougall is the only passenger aboard booked for Juncau -~ they were unable to return to Brit- ish harbors.” —————————— Pacific Blockade Forecast Great Britain_May Begin System of Navicerts at Coast Ports WASHINGTON, April 17.—An in- creased blockade of Pacific Coast | ‘ StocK QUOTATIONS | NEW YORK, April 17. — Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 6 American Can |115%, Anaconda 30% wealth and Southern 1'%, Curtiss Wright 10%, General Motors 53%, International Harvester 56%, Ken- necott 36%, New York Central 16%, Northern Pacific 8%, United States Steel 61'%, Pound $3.48. AVERAGES The following are today’s Dow, Jones averages: industrials 14835, rails 30.59, utilities 24.86. DOW, JON shipments from the United States and other countries to Asiatic Rus- sia is forecast by British Ambassa- dor Lothian. He told the newsmen at a conference that “there seems to be no doubt supplies are going actoss Russia to Germany on the Common- | pons Siverian railroad. We shall have to adopt the same procedure we adopted on the Atlantic, that of stopping ships to see whether they are carrying contraband destined for Germany. This probably means the beginning of a system of navicerts on the Pacific.” Navicerts are certificates that in- section has been approved by British spection has been approved by British band is aboard a neutral ship.