The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, June 15, 1940, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” — VOL. LVI., NO. 8441. JUNEAU, ALAKA, SATURDAY JUNE 15, 1940. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS GERMANS ARE SMASHING MAGINOT LINE (4 04 04 Forts Being Shelled By Planes and Artlllery Alaska "Queens” Thrilled CLIPPER GREETED BY (ROWD Survey Flia_ht_with Giant | Flying Boat Is Pro- nounced Success Four big three-bladed pmpv]ler.a,i whirling with the impetus of 3,400 horsepower generated by a quartet of Pratt-Whitney engines, roared smoothly over Juneau last night and Capt. S. E. Robbins, vet-l eran Alaska flier, brought gently to rest on a calm Auk Bay, the| Alaska Clipper, biggest flying boat | Afaska has ever seen. The giant craft, ending a lei- | surely survey flight from Seattle with Pan American Airways offici- als and representatives of the Army and Navy and other branches of the Government service, appeared over Auk Bay at 7:20 in the eve- ning, flew on to circle Skagway and Haines, and settled down smoothly at Auk Bay an hour and‘ ten minutes later. Brought tc Fioat Executing a wide turn, the clip- per was brought down off the| south end of Spuhn Island, going with a gentle south by west breeze to taxi into the triangle of moor: ing floats off the Forest Service | float at the Auk Bay Airport. A} bowline was secured and another | line made fast to_the tail, whence | " the ship was pulled manually bv the tail to the landing ramp and passengers and crew stepped ashore, ! One of the first to step ashore from the exit hatch of the Alaska Clipper was husky Joe Crosson, probably the most popular figure in Alaska's flying world, and an individual to whom may be hand- ed the bulk of the credit for the inauguration of Alaska to the States| plane service—the last link in air connection between the mainland United States and its farflung ter- ritories and possessions. Joe, who flew when planes com- peted with dogs in Alaska, and| whose driving energy has built the Alaska system of PAA to one of | the finest organizations in avia-| tion, typically didn’t want to make | speeches, but he said volumes when he answered a spectator’s observa- | tion of the Alaska Clipper as “some | ship,” by replying with a boyish grin, “Isn't she swell-—huh?” The name “Alaska Clipper,” ap- propriate enough in consideration of the area in which the big boat will operate, is more significant when one notes the passenger 1m of that ship. Crosson headed the group. wm\ him were the two Captains of th Miss Minnie Motschman (left) amn as they arrived at Seattle June 13 nd Miss Margaret Scott are shown (Thursday, two days ago), aboard | the steamship Aleutian, enroute to Washington, D. C., and the New | York world’s fair. Miss Motschman of Fairbanks, “Miss Alaska,” and Miss Scott, who is “Miss Nome,” went on a shopping spree soon after they disembarked. ~Associated Press photo via PAA Clipper to Juneau. | Air Fleld Wireless Slahon Army Officer Sees His New Flying Zones Lieut. CoIoHeT Smith De- clares Alaska Must Be Defended One of the most observing pas- engers aboard the Alaska Clipper 3‘;.':2:’ viw:‘;n """’fly‘l’:";s ;‘;‘:fis"‘:fixwmn it flew north yesterday from| sy i S0 Alaskanswho'smmp was ~ Lieutenant Colonel e A s it | Lotha Smilh of March Field, slated | ‘IVC ]B "h orth |y, command the 28th Composite| de wviflf x\:xm::s L doing :“PP"; Squadron of the Army Air Corps, | uty out of Mial Bermuda and | gestined to come to Alaska on com- South America. Also aboard were|iation of the Anchorage air base. Third and Fourth Officers, respec- tively, Murray Stuart and Gemne Meyring, two more Pacific Alaska Airways veterans who can't count| their friends and whose experience | in Southeast Alaska flying will be. invaluable to the clipper service. Engineering Officer Jack Eagan | a Fairbanks boy, and Alaskan by | residence for many years is Bob Gleason, Superintendent of Com- ' munications, another who was busy greeting friends whernys he disem- barked. JBut homecoming .joy was defin- itely lacking in the face of bust- | ling Carl Anderson, PAA publicity man, “Worried” Reception Anderson was worried over the| reception the clipper would be given, for when the ship first flew over the bay at 7:20 o’clock, nearly a thousand mosquito - slapping Channelites awaiting the arrival of the much publicized clipper were | shocked to receive news the cnp.‘ per would fly on to Skagway and Haines to return in a little mnre; than an hour. The message, transmitted from the clipper to the PAA patrol Jaunch and thence to the waiting hundreds, sent dozens of discour- monfinued to_Page 'l‘hrae) | clared, * Colonel Smith, on his arrival, de- but you've got to have real landing fields before we bring such planes as- the flying fortresses here.” When the Anchorage base has| been completed, Lt. Col. Smith sald | he would bring north an indefinite | number of planes, one of the 48,000 pound Boeing “flyin% fortress” bomber type, the squadron to be ! made up of from eight to thirteen planes, one squadron of the medium | bomber type, weighing approximate- ly, 21,000 pounds, about eight to thirteen planes, one squadron of in-.; terceptor fighting planes, the P-40| Curtiss ship which does 400 miles | per hour, 27 of these, and a head- quarters squadron of staff planes. There will also be an additional | 400 men to make up the/base force, bringing the estimated total of ser-| vice men going to Anchorage to about 2,000. A winter test group of planes will be picked from the Anchorage planes to make up a composite squadron for Fairbanks. Colonel Smith said he did not know when he would bring his squadron north, but declared he ex- | pects to fly a bomber north some- time this summer on survey (Continued on Page Five) ou've got a lovely coun-| \try for scenery—T'll grant you that, | - BeingConsfruded, Russian Island Off Coast of Alaska g, ;i ., . roges NOME, Alaska, June 15. — Thcj Nome Daily Nugget quotes a re- | liable source reporting a crew of| | about 25 Russians and several Rus- | | sian-Eskimo families currently busy | constructing an air field and wire- | less station on the Soviet-owned Big Diomede Island, about two miles from the International boun- dary. | The Nugget says it has been in- formed the wireless station will be | |used the year round for weather | | report and broadcast. Only one or two Eskimo fami-| | lies usually live on Big Diomede Island during the winter. The reported increase in the| )mpunuun is believed due to the | annual summer migration from Si- | beria. The Big Diomede is about four miles from Little Diomede Island, ‘uvumd hv the Umu,-d States. AMERICAN OFFICIAL IS KILLED |Courier Attached fo Amer- | can legation, Helskini, 3 Dies in Crash HELSINKI, Finland, June 15— |Henry W. Antheill, Jr., of Trenton, New Jersey, attached to the Amer- ican Legation in Helsinki, was killed 1in a mysterious explosion aboard a ‘F'mnl.sh airliner yesterday in which |10 others lost their lives. | The spokesman said Antheill was |on “courier service,” but hé had no ‘ant.hority to state whether he was ‘acung as a courier or carrying any special documents. An investigation t6 = determin~ { whether sabotage is invelved has | been started. The plane was bound from Tal- linl Estonia, to Helsinki. ————————— | Church memberships in the U.S. number ahout 52,000,000 persons. | dred Soviet |close check on the adequacy” SCREWS ARE 'PLACEDUPON LITHUANIANS Soviet Demands for Occu- | pation Granted-Offic- ial fo Be Tried LONDON, June 15.—A Moscow radio this merning announced that Lithunia has accepted the Soviet ultimatum giving Russia the right to occupy Lithunian territory “with sufficient forc- The demands also included placing the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior M. Skucas before a court for trial as responsible for provocative acts against the present Soviet garrison. iR COUNTRY BERLIN, June 15. — Two hun- tanks have already taken Kusas, Lithuania's Capital, in the new expansion of the Rus- sian military power while the main | | force of the armored division ar- nved in the Capital City itself. | The German radio broadcast says the cars of the Red Army are stationed at all public -buildings and food stores and the populace |is in a pamL | Checkls -~ Ordered TANKS ENT fo Meet National Defense Needs ; WASHINGTON, Junue 15.—Presi- dent Roosevelt today instructed the Federal Power Commission to “keep of the electric supply to meet the Na- tional Defense needs. Pro - Fascist Adivity Now Being Probed Italian Consular Officials| Are Being Quiefly Investigated WASHINGTON, June 15.—Secre- tary of State Cordell Hull disclos-| ed the Government is investigat- ing reports bearing upon the con- duct of Italian consular officials in the United States. The Secretary of State made Lhc disclosure at a conference with newsmen this afternoon when ask- | ed to comment on objections reg- istered with him by the Ttalian| Ambassador against reports of con- sular officials engaging in pro- Fascist acflvity TAX BILL IS GIVEN APPROVAL WASHINGTON, June 15. — The Senate Finance Committee has unanimously approved of the $1,700- 000,000 emergency tax bill design- ed to finance defense program over| the next five years, Canadian ‘Minute Men’ Canada, as a nation at war, is taking no chances with “Fifth Columnists” and has arranged a compre- hensive plan for combatting enemy activity within the Dominion truck crews settting up their machine guns on the ground near Windsor, Ont., sounded as they drilled themselves In home defense Allies Blast Their Bridgvs The French-censored description of these pictures said they show how the Allies destroy bridges to impede the German advance. ently they were made in Flanders. Below: Allies hoped this wreckage would slow .O.he Ger- Photo from Paramount News). the bridge. man sweep. (Associated P Dewey's Possibilities as Presidential | By JACK STINNETT | WASHINGTON, June 15. — An- swering the mail orders: LN.K., Yonkers, N. Y.—To sum lup In a sentence or even in a | brace of columns what Washington thinks of Thomas E. Dewey as a potential presidential candidate is “a pretty big order. | Pirst, you must realize that Wash- | ington is predominantly Democrat- |e; that its Republican contingent |15 predominantly in the column of veterans; that there is a disposition | (amounting almost to a tradition) | for the Washington “ins"—whether | Democrats or Republicans — to | throw their loyalty to persons whom they have worked with; and that there is a tendency to look witn contempt on men who have not |served some apprenticeship in ‘Washington. Hence it would be unfair to toss| off a few paragraphs and say: That’s what Washington thinks of | | Mr. Dewey. | The New Yorker has both friends | and scorners here, Even the latter Given; Quesfions Answer»ed‘ y it for Fifth Columnists | The picture above shows part of the where a call has been \ the duties with which they are charged as part of the Canadian TWOENYOYS | CONFERRING WITHE.D. R. f 1Sevenly Mmute Talk with | British, French Am- | bassadors Today | ./*Ml 1 | WASHINGTON, June 15.—Presi- dent Roosevelt arranged early this morning to receive the British and | French Ambassadors. The ap- pointment was made at the request of the envoys according to Secre- tary Stephen Early of the White| | House. { | Early would not discuss the pur-| | pose of the conference. CONFERENCE HELD WASHINGTON, June 15—British |and French Ambassadors announc- {ed after a 70 minute conference | with President Roosevelt today that certain matters were ‘“cleared up,” but no decisions were arrived at | concerning future aid to the Allies | by the Ullned States. U.S.Refugees (ommg Home ~ From Ireland |Over 1700 Aboard Wash- infon - 4000 More Wait Passage Appar- | At top: two blasts are wrecking | | (andidate Is | respect his record and his vote-| getting ability—and there are very United States liner Washington few of the former who do not ad-|headed westward into stormy seas mit his lack of experience in na-|today for New York from here bear- tional and international affairs is ing 1768 American refugees, mostly a handicap. women and children. It is understood here that the | liner Manhattan will arrive at some Mass. — Now, | European port within the next 12 1 go writing days to take home more than 4,000 things about your Tercentenary? | American citizens who Hhave fled This column appears in a lot uf‘fmm Paris, cities and first thing you know,| all 'd be writing about would be | STRANDED IN NICE these historical celebrations. But| NICE, June 15.—More than 50 I can wish you and that Cobblers’'| Americans seeking to return home | Paradise a heap of luck. Anyare virtually stranded in Nice be- town that can glorify “The Bare-|cause of difficulty .in’ obtaining foot Boy” and its shoe industry|Spanish or Portuguese visas. Many all in one breath deserves a bigger |of the Americans still in Nice exposition than both the World's| booked passage on the American Fairs rolled into one. Clipper, but are unable to proceed G.B.S.,. Minneapolis, Minn, —to Lisbon because of the inabiltiy There's nothing I would like wflw obtain necessary consent of the ter than to fill this pillar of words| Portuguese congular authorities. with items on the brighter, hap- \ The stranded Americans have ap- T.A.D., Haverhill, Mr. D, how can VERDUN IS SAID TO BE TAKEN NOW Famous: Forfress Falls as Charge Is Made on Broad Front FRENCH FORCES ARE NOW FACING CRISIS “Peace Offensive” Is Pres dicted-Hitler fo Enter " Paris on Friday gl BULLETIN — BORDEAUX, June 15. — The, French High Command acknowledges the Germans have crossed the Rhine in Alsace on the Maginot front: and penetrated into Centrat France as far south as Chau- mont, 140 miles east of Paris. BULLETIN—LONDON, June 15—~A Reuters dispatch from Tours says that “during tae next 24 to 48 hours the battle of France may reach a culminat- ing point, .It_is. admitted the tatigued French forces are meet- ing with heavy losses.” 1 BERLIN, June 15. — German troops are reported to have pene- trated the fortifications of the Ma- ginot Line on the Saar fromt in & bold smash aimed at crumbling of France's bastions, As Nazi flags flew over the Pal- ace at Versallles, CGerman boots echoed in the strects of Paris as the drive on the Mazinot Line thun- dered for the second day German Stukas dived down on the steel and concrete f(orts and show- ered them with bombs and artillery poured tons of shells on the forts, hour after hour. VERDUN IS CAPTURED | BERLIN, June 15—The capture of Verdun, where the French in the World War shouted “They Shall Not Pass,” has broken the Maginet Line on a “broad front” south &f Saarbrucken, announces the Ger- man High Commend. o Despite the loss of mousand.s'}i men, the Germans never captured Verdun during the World War. The German announcement both the town and the famed Ver- dun fortress have fallen. Verdun lies about 135 miles west of Paris and about 25 miles south of Montmedy, the northern anchor of the Maginot Line which has al- ready fallen into German hands. - (By ASSOCIATED PRESS)¥ The ardent Nazis are expec! the early surrender of the Freénch and are envisioning ‘the triumphal entry of Hitler into Paris next Fri- day on the twenty-first anniversary of Germany's reluctant acceptance of the Versailles treaty. Crisis Faces France . The French Army is now facing the problem of how to fight, now thati the mM\ Channel Cm’ GALWAY, Ireland, June 15.—The| —— BRITISH CALYPSO IS SUNK ' Anfi-Aircraft Cruiser Sent Down by Halian Sub-~ marine-lIs Official LONDON, June 15—The British Admiralty announces the Calypso, anti-aircraft cruiser, has been sunk in the Mediterranean waters by an Itallan submarine. One officer and thirty-eight men |pier side of Washington life. | pealed to United States authorities There's humor here—but not mu.wrequesflnz that diplomatic action lbe taken in Washington to facili- (Connnuéd im Pl(e Five) tate the issuance of vises. are reported missing. The normal complement of the Calypso is 437 officers and men, E