Evening Star Newspaper, March 1, 1940, Page 1

Weather Forecast Cloudy tonight and tomorrow; rain to- morrow afternoon and night; not. much change in temperature; lowest tonight about 36. Temperatures today—High= est, 47, at 2 p.m.; lowes From the United St Full detail tes Weatner Bureau repert. s on Page A-2. Closing Nui York Markets, Fage 20. t, 39, at 7 am. 88th YEAR. No. 35,003. ch WASHINGTON, WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION D. C, German Planes Resume Raids On Ships as Britain Reports Widespread Flights Over Reich Convoy Attacked; Several Vessels Hit, Says Berlin KERMIT ROOSEVELT AWAITING ©O. K. on heading Finn volunteers; only King’s signing of resignation holds up departure. Page A-2 “PROHIBITION DAYS” thrice weekly are decreed for France; alconolic drinks banned on Tues- days, Thursdays and Saturdays. Page A-3 200,000 RUMANIANS answer call to join defense force; army is in-1 creased to 1,600,000 against war spread. Page A-6 By the Associated Press. LONDOCN, March 1.—Britain and Germany fought a bitter give-and- take air and sea warfare today, in which neutral vessels went down with those of the belligerents. ‘While Britain was announcing that her big reconnaissance planes had flown over Berlin and other German cities during the night in the most extensive scouting flight of the war, German bombers at- tacked shipping off Britain's east coast from Yorkshire to the Thames estuary. An authoritative source said a convoy had been attacked, but “no ships were hit.” It was understood the attack took place “some way out” over the sea—too far for British fighters to go into action effectively. Anti-aircraft batteries in the Amsterdam and Utrecht areas fired today at unidentified foreign planes, Dutch dispatches said. 7,418-Ton Liner Sunk. The British liner Pyrrhus, 7,418 tons, was reported sunk “by enemy action” off the west coast of Eng-| land with eight men lost. A lifeboat which had put out from the Yorkshire coast returned late today after an unsuccessful search for the Latvian steamer Katvaldis, 3.206 tons, which had reported that she was being bombed and machine- | gunned by two German planes. i (The official German news | agency, DNB, asserted that Ger- man bombers had attacked “numerous” British warships, convoys and armed merchant- men today, dispersing a convoy and sinking several large ships.) Caught in the bomb and machine- gun attacks on trawlers which the! British said were fishing craft was | the Norwegian steamer- Brott, 1,583 tons, bombed from the &ir and es- corted listing badly into an esst coast port. Six of her men were adrift on a raft, and two others were picked up. Norwegian Foreign Minister Halvdan Koht said only yesterday that Norway was protesting against German attacks on Norgegian vessels. The 5340-ton Italian steamer Mirella, plying normally between | Rotterdam and Italy, sank within two minutes after striking a raine| 14 miles off the Suffolk coast last | night, and today two of her life- | boats reached the coast, bearing 14| men suffering from exposure and | the body of one of their mates who | had died. Eleven other members of | the crew were missing. Thames Batteries in Action. The Nazi raids on the coast brought anti-aircraft guns on the Thames estuary into action, but at the moment that headlines in all | evening newspapers were telling of attacks there the air ministry de- nied there had been enemy activity in that region today. An officially approved statement said of the flights over Germany that they were the longest of the ‘war, ranging from 6 to 10 hours. All craft returned safely without en- countering enemy opposition “either in the air or on the ground,” the statement said. The captain of one plane reported that he had identified an “important railway junction” south of Berlin and dropped flares before continuing on to the capital. | Nazi planes attacked several boats | described as fishing trawlers off the | coast of Yorkshire. France was disclosed today to have | lost two cargo boats by German action in mid-February. They were the 3,754-ton P. L. M, torpedoed with a loss of 15 lives, and the 5,391- ton P. L. M., which sank with four men after striking a mine. Planes Driven Off. A British pursuit plane drove off planes which bombed and machine gunned the fishing boat Courage, British reports said. A trawler and a drifter went to the aid of a vessel which sent an BSOS and a Norwegian ship, badly damaged and listing heavily, man- aged to reach an east coast port after sending distress signals. She was believed damaged by German &ir attack. The attacks off Yorkshire came at daybreak. The skipper of one boat said a plane fired a burst while flying at 50 feet and later dropped a bomb which lifted the small craft out of :‘he water, although not damaging er. A distress call was picked up from another vessel eight miles offshore, and fishermen began a search for her. British fighter planes were seen over the coast for several hours. German Bases Scouted. Besides Berlin, the British flyers reconnoitered Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Kiel, Luebeck, Cuxhaven and Brunsbuettel and maintained patrols over Helgoland Bight, the air ministry said. The air ministry’s communique follows: “In the course of the night air- craft of the Royal Air Force carried out & series of successful ols and ¢ INot Ready to Talk About Peace, Nazis Reported Telling Welles Reds Close In Upon Viipuri Over Bay lce Big Air Offensive Supports Drive On Three Sides By the Associated Press. BERLIN—WELLES ARRIVES—Sumner Welles (left), President Roosevelt’s fact-finding emmissary, is shown as he arrived here today. He's seen leaving the Weizsaecker, secretary of state station with Baron Ernst von in the German foreign office. —Picture radioed from Berlin—A. P. Wirephoto, Britain f Start Coal - Tonight Reprisal for Temporary Difficulties With Italy Denied By the Associated Press. LONDON, March 1.—British de- tention of German coal exports to Italy will begin at midnight tonight, it was disclosed’ authoritatively to- day. Sources close to the ministry of economic warfare emphasized, how- ever, that it was “not’ in any way a reprisal for the temporary diffi- culties which have arisen in British- Italian commercial and financial talks in Rome.” Several Italian ships now ‘are in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, loading German coal and unless they sail | by midnight they will be detained by the British. . & 6,000,000 Tons Yearly Shipped. The usual route of German coal exports to Italy is down the Rhine to Rotterdam, thence to Genoa by ship. The sea-borne traffic amounts to about 6,000,000 tons a year and between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 tons more move by land. Circles close to the foreign office and the ministry of economic war- fare shortly emphasized that the [talian government had been warned that “German coal exports to Italy should be subjected to export con- trol” shortly after the order-in- council for the two-way blockade was | signed last November 27. Informed British sources said that interrupted war trade negotiations with Italy were continuing and that the coal ban might be lifted. Dur- ing the weeks of negotiations, Brit- ain had allowed Italy to import Ger- man coal. Snag Laid to Italy. The snag which resulted in the stoppage was said unofficially to have been Italy’s refusal to supply Britain with products of her heavy industries. In some quarters it was believed that Italy had declined a British offer to buy Italian arms and sell Italy more coal. The British decision to clamp down on German coal deliveries to Italy is in line with her blockade policy, which a few months ago was Three Appainted Trusfees For Associated Gas By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 1—Federal Judge Vincent Leibéll announced today the names of three trustees he will appoint in the reorganiza- tion proceedings involving Asso- clated Gas and Electric Corp. and Associated Gas and Electric Co. For the corporation they are Wil- lard L. Thorp, economist, of this city, now associated with Dun & Bradstreet and the Department of Commerce, and Denis J. Driscoll of St. Marys, Pa., chairman of the Public Utility Commission of the State of Pennsylvania. ‘Walter H. Pollak, attorney, of New York was the choice for the com- (See PLANES, Page A-¢.) pany. - By LOUIS P. LOCHNER, Associated Press Foreign Corraspondent, BERLIN, March 1.—Germsny is not prepared even to discuss peace funtixang f Britain’s “strangle- understood to have been the cen- tral thesis of the first talk today between Presjdent Roosevelt's fact- finding emissary and Adolf Hitler’s foreign minister, Moreover, Foreign Minister Joac- him von Ribbentrop is understood to have told Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles that until Britain's dominance is ended, Germany is un- ready to entertain Secretary Hull's ideas concerning elimination of autarchy, regimentation and totali- tarianism from the post-war eco- romic world. Sources in Von Ribbentrop’s con- fidence developed this idea so strongly to this correspondent that there can be little doubt that Rib- bentrop himself gave this line of talk to Mr. Welles, with whom he was closeted soon after the Amer- ican’s arrival this morning. The talk began at noon and lasted until 2:30° pm. after which Mr. Welles was escorted -back. to his hotel in a German foreign office car by one of Von Ribbentrop’s adju- tants. Then Mr. Welles and the United States Charge D'Affaires, Alexander Kirk, immediately went to the American delegation’s suite. Later Mr. Welles announced that his interview with Chancellor Hitler had been set for 11 a.m. tomorrow. The American was noncommittal on his talk with Von Ribbentrop but said “it was very interesting and I (See WELLES, Page A-3) Dublin Workers Strike DUBLIN, March 1 (®.—A strike of 2200 municipal workers tied up most of the city’s services today, in- cluding fire protection. The workers seek wage ' increases whi¢h. would hold on the ecolomic life of the | world” is broken—this, in effect, is | HELSINKI, March 1.—Russia’s Red Afmy closed in on shell-bat- tered, deserted Viipuri from three sides today, locking the city tighter in a pincer-like land grip while swarms of warplanes supported it with the greatest aerial offensive in days. ‘The Finnish command’s own com- munique showed the Russians mov- ing in from the southwest over the islands and ice of Viipuri Bay and from the south and east along three railway lines, forcing the Finns to make their stands ever closer to the city. (A Red Army communique to- day said the Russians were only & little more than a mile from Viipuri and were closing in trom the south and east in a “develop- ing” offensive. (In its advance, the commu- nique said. the Russian Army captured 270 more Finnish forti- fications—including 66 iron and concrete forts—and occupied Pero, a railroad station about 5 miles from Viipuri, Heinjoki and Ayrapaa, both on the Viipuri- Valkjarvi Railroad. Heinjoki is about 14 miles east of Viipuri and Ayrapaa about 12 miles further east.) The Russians and Finns, accord- ing to today’s high command com- munique, fought “fierce air battles” in which the defenders shot down 14 Russian planes and lost four themselves. The Finns said the Russians sent | “several hundred” planes over the home area in extensive bombing raids in which 14 civilians were | killed and 16 wounded. | Drive Extends to Taipale. | The Russian land drive against | the Mannerheim Line extended all | the way to Taipale, at the eastern | extremity. At some points the Rus- | sians dropped “a few parachute | trce” which were “all destroyed,” the communique said. The Finns said their air force car- ried out several reconnaissance flights “and bombed a certain air | base, a traffic junction, and enemy | trains.” | “Both in the home area and the| war zone there were numerous flerce air battles.” The Finns said that “ ‘hundred enemy planes the home area. “According to information avail- able so far,” said the communique, “an aggregate of 14 civilians were killed and 16 wounded.” The great- est loss of life was said to have oc- curred at Savonlinna. As the Russians approached Vii- puri the city was a deserted, bomb- shattered ghost port. A reinforced Red Army stepped up the pace of its onslaughts in an at- tempt to strike the knockout blow | of its month-long drive against Fin- |land's key city on the Karelian | Isthmus. ~ Some sources said the | Russians had sent fully 19 fresh di- visions, nearly 300,000 men ,into the isthmus fighting. The Finns fell back to stronger positions, mined Viipuri Bay and massed artillery in an attempt to stave off encirclement by preventing the Russians from crossing the ice from north of the Koivisto fortified area to the west and rear of Viipuri. Raids Hit Many Cities. While the Finns struggled to stem the Russian tide on the western side of the Karelian Isthmus, they coped with flames and casualties from air raids which struck many cities. Fleets of Russian bombing planes, which raided some cities in waves and appeared to have left almost (See FINLAND, Page A-4) Bulletin Jesse Jones, Federal loan ad- ministrator, announced today the Export-Import Bank has allo- cated $20,000,000 for an addi- tional loan to Finland, had made 4 $15,000,000 loan to Sweden, and also had made a $10,000,000 loan to Norway, which previously had total about $200,000 annuaily. Summary of Page. Page. Amuse- Obituary .._A-12 ments .A-16-17 | Radio ...._..C-6 ics ___C-6-7| Soclety . B-3 Editorials __A-10| Sports __._D-1-3 Finance ..__A-19| Woman's Lost, Found D-4! Page ______ C-5 Foreign British Navy to seize Nazi coal going to Italy. Page A-1 Nazi planes raid shipping off British coast. Page A-1 Russians closing in upon battered Viipuri. Page A-1 Not ready for peace, Nazis reported telling Welles. Page A-1 Kermit Roosevelt awaits O. K. on heading Finn force. Page A-2 France orders 3 “prohibition days” Weekly. Page A-3 National ‘Tobey includes divorce questions in attack on census plans. Page A-2 Four of five in auto swept away in flood found in tree. Page A-2 Roosevelt reaches port; to sign Finn loan bill. Page A-2 Cotton broker indorses trade agree- ments program. Page A-4 Roosevelt appeal for canal locks ex- pected at Capitol. Page A-20 Washington and Vicinity Commissioners sharply ecriticized at reorganization session. Page A-1 been tentatively announced. Today's Star Police jail 14 more robbery suspects; two confess. Page A-2 Jobless Act changes held not liberal enough. Page A-9 Cherry Blossom Festival scheduled for April 5 and 6. Page B-1 Editorial and Comment This and That. Answers to Questions, Letters to.The Star. Page A- David Lawrence. Page A-11 Alsop and Kintner. Page A-11 Frederic William Wile. Page A-11 Jay PFranklin, Page A-11 Charles G. Ross. Page A-11 B m Myers and West must fight for Nat berths. Page D-1 Page D-1 Star tourney berths at stake as school fives play. Page D-2 Miscellany Service Orders. Page A-7 Of Hearts and Song. Page B-13 Bedtime Story. Page C-6 Letter-Out. Page C-6 ‘Winning Contract. Page C-8 Uncle Ray’s Corner, Page C-7 Cross-Word Puzzle. Page C-7 Vital Statistics. f Page D-4 City News in Brief. Page D-4 Nature’s Children. * Psge D-¢4 ‘ 5 were estimated to have flown™ over | Senaior Reynois esiled tb him: ) WMNO Q! S TWO REPIN RerRs FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1940—FIFTY-EIGHT PAGES. *%x* [ WHO SAYS THE BUCKEYE'BRAND ISNT STRONGER THAN EVER ? Established in 1852 Most people in Washington have The Star delivered to their homes every evening and Sunday morning. e Foening Star (®) Means Associated P THREE CENTS. Allen Offers His Race Horse To Reynolds—and Is Taken Up ‘I'll Send You January Feed Bill,’ He Says; String Attached, He Reveals Later By J. A. O'LEARY. | Commissioner Allen and Senator | Reynolds, Democrat, of North Caro- | lina, stopped swapping opinions on | in the District long enough (odny‘ to swing a little horse deal between themselves. Mr. Allen and Commissioner | Hazen admitted before a Senate | subcommittee that they both owned | race horses and sometimes attended | the races, but stuck by their con- | tention that the District is no place for a track on the ground that pub- lic sentiment in Washington is against it. No sentiment, however, was ap- parent when Mr. Allen offered to give his racer Worthowning to Sen- ator Reynolds, sponsor of the racing bill, and the Senator promptly took him up. The committee room was thrown into constant laughter by the rapid- fire barrage of repartee between Mr. Allen and the Senator, and as “Don't forget that horse, George. “That horse is yours, Senator; ul B send you the January feed bill,” the | Commissioner responded, 88 he donned his hat and coat. String Attached to Offer. ‘When Commissioner Allen re- turned to the District Building it appeared there was a “string” at- tached to the offer to give the horse to Senator Reynolds, who is chair- man of the subcommittee. Mr. Allen said the offer was contingent on ac- ceptance by the Senator of paying all | Worthowning had won his last race | Worth- at Charles Town, W. Va. owning also won a race at Marlboro last August 29. Mr. Allen keeps the | the proposal to legalize horse racing | horse at Benning. The two Commissioners were in- vited today, COMMISSIONER ALLEN, yesterday that, while they opfose the. bill, they own horses them- selves. After Mr. Hazen had explained in a serious vein that the board’s unfavorable report was based on a public hearing two years ago at WORTHOWNING. the cost of the oats the horse has-| eaten since last December when Wogihowning appeared in his last race. It appeared also there may be another string attached to him, for ‘Worthowning is in the name of Mr. Allen’s wife, Mary. When this was SENATOR REYNOLDS. lled to Mr. Allen’s attention, he which "the testimony was almost unanimously in opposition to a similar measyre, Senator Reynolds asked the Commissioners to elab- orate on their personal as well as their official view of the sport. At this point Mr, Allen took the center of the stage and admitted at the outset he and his colleague may be a “little vulnerable” and con- tinued: “I love racing and I own a horse that I'd be glad to give you, Sen- ator—' “T'll take it,” broke in the chair- man, “And Td like to see you ride T (See RACING, Page A4) Allied Experis fo Aid - Blockade Talks in U. §. By the Associated Press. LONDON, March 1.—The sppoint- ment of special British and French economic Prance, have been chosen' for this ‘mission. The - announcement said they would “assist the Prench and Brit- ish Ambassadors in‘Washington in examining current problems with the various United States Govern- ment departments concerned” and would arrive by the liner ‘Washington “at an early date.” - 4 | D’ Alesandro Finds following testimony | A New Jail After \Tour of Old One ‘Contrasts’ Impress; Scents Tipoff On Inspection Trip By MIRIAM OTTENBERG. Reorganizaliond Witnesses Rap D. C. Heads Officials Take Little Interest in Welfare Agencies, Is Claim BACKGROUND— Congress for several sessions has been considering various suge gested plans for reorganizing Dis~ trict government. Griffenhagen Associates, appointed by Congress to make survey, recommended city manager, with Commis- sioners remaining as legislative body. Commissioners advanced another plan, featured by a citizens’ advisory council. By CARTER BROOKE JONES. As a House District subcommittee heard pleas for local suffrage today in the proposed reorganization of the District government, witnesses criticized the Commissioners sharp- ly for alleged lack of interest in welfare institutions and other pub- lic matters and for their pending plan broadening their legislative and administrative authority. The crowded committee room was thrown into gales of laughter when Mrs. Ruth Buchanan, a member of the Voteless League of Women voters and a widely-known welfare worker, described her impression of Commissioner George E. Allen. “He not in the city much.” she said, “and he is not interested in our instifutions.” “But he came here yesterday to urge reorganization of the District government,” said Representative Bates, Republican, of Massachusetts. “Mr. Allen,” retorted Mrs. Bu- chanan, “doesn’'t know anything | about reorganization.” She added that none of the Com- missioners had “set foot in” the Training School for Girls or other After spending more than an hour today finding fault with the old District Jail, Representative D’Ales- andro wgs surprised to learn his criticisms already had been swered in the new jail building. The chairman of the House sub- committee investigating District in- stitutions had not been informed that the old building was to be torn down within a few weeks. When he learned that the overcrowded, shabby institution was to go, de de- manded: “Then what am I doing here?” Ray L. Huff, superintendent of District penal institutions, who ac- companied him, said he thought he had told him in advance that he was showing him the old building merely for contrast. “I thought we had something here,” he told reporters regretfully. He spent only a few minutes hur- new plant and said, in conclusion: “It certainly is a great contrast.” Favors Better Hospitalization. He fastened on the only thing that was still to be done. This was a Hospital unit attached to the new administrative building, which was provided for in a $64,000 «deficiency appropriation which was not in- cluded in the deficiency appropria- tion reported Qut of committee dur- ing the past week. Breaking the rule that he has stood by throughout the entire in- vestigation—not to mention any ap- propriation—he specifically said that he would recommend passage of the $64,000 appropriation to provide facilities for the hospitalization of inmates. of the men’s dormitories when he saw two inmates lying in bed in the overpopulated room. One of the inmates confided to the Repre- sentative that he had “a touch of pneumonia.” Mr. D'Alesandro was later assured by the institution’s doctor that the man only has the grippe, but the Representative in- sisted that the patient be re- examined. Finds Only One Nurse. He also was amazed to learn that the entire institution with 436 oc- cupants today had only one nurse. He asked if the inmates were ex- amined at the time of admission and was told that was impossible, although both the doctor and jail superintendent, Thomas Rives, ad- mitted that examination should be made. They told him that if the new hospital unit was built, doctors from Gallinger would augment the medical service at the institution. Mr. D'Alesandro almost exchanged sharp words with Mr. Rives when the former asked if the inmates had been informed about the proposed visit. The question arose after Mr. D’Alesandro had strolled over to a group of women sewing in the white women’s ddrmitory and asked them if they had been told a Representa- tive was coming to see them. One woman, who appeared to be their spokesman, said: “We thought something was up but we didn’t know what” She added that she did not intend to “let the cat out of the bag,” but that' the food today was .better than usual. ‘When he turned to ask another woman some questions, she said, “I've got & long time in here so I'm not saying anything.” Mr. Rives denied he had been forewarned of the visit. A half hour before Mr. D’Alesandro made his trip, he had chided a reporter for calling the jail to find out when he was expected. Meanwhile, outlines of procedure and physical setup of the Receiving Home and a number of recom- mendations for improvements were submitted in the report on the chil- »| dren’s institution made after inspec- tions by Dr. Ella Oppenheimer, di- rector of maternal and child welfare for the Health Department; Dr. Carl C. Dauer, department epidemi- ologist, and Dr. Joseph A. Murphy, director of the department’s school inspection service. Crowded Quarters a Handicap. Crowded quarters on five different floor levels with no toilet facilities accessiblp to ipmates on the base- ment, first and second floors were an- | rying thr%ulh the as yet uru)ccm)iedL nl The Representative’s interest inl the hospital facilities began in one | | District institutions and knew noth- ing about them. Reorganization Plan Hit. ‘The opening witness today, Wilbur S. Finch, president of the District of Columbia Suffrage Association, at- | tacked the Commissioners’ plan of | reorganization—giving them wide legislative authority and creating a Citizens' Advisory Council appointed by them—and urged an executive | head of the local government and a icouncilmamc body elected by the | people. Mr. Finch referred to the so-called | Seal plan adopted by the Commis- | sioners as “the acme of perfection in hodgepodge government.” As she sketched her impressions | breezily, Mrs. Buchanan brought fre- quent laughter from committee members and spectators. Chairman Kennedy was kept rapping for order. ‘When she said, “Mr. Allen doesn't | know anything about reorganiza- tion,” the spectators applauded. Mrs. Buchanan said the League of Women Voters surveyed the Home | for the Aged and Infirm at Biue | Plains three years ago and “made | the same tragic report that Mrs. | Roosevelt made recently,” but no- | body paid any attention to the | group. “Wh; " suggested Representative Bates, “didn’t Mrs. Roosevelt speak { to the man whom her husband had | appointed?” The committee member referred | to Commissioner Allen, who is in | charge of welfare activities. “The Commissioners,” said Mrs. Buchanan, “never visit those insti- | tutions yet they come before you | gentlemen and presume to tell you | their needs.” Suffrage Plea. Another plea for local suffrage was made by Mrs. Joseph Low, pres- ident of the League of Women Voters. She urged the right of District citizens to elect municipal officers “who collect our money and spend it.” She added: “It seems incredible that any one who believes in our form of govern- ment could oppose that.” Mr. Finch, who also is chairman of the Reorganization Committee of the Federation of Citizens' Associa=- tions, sold the Kennedy subcom= mittee which is considering reor= ganization legislation: “We can never expect to have an alert, conscientious, efficient and economical city government so long as the citizens and taxpayers are permitted to participate in its con- trol enly insofar as they can grab the coattail of a Commissioner or a Congressman.” Citing decisions of the Supreme Court, Mr. Finch held that Congress clearly had a right to authorize for the District some form of repre- sentative local government, a coun- cilmanic or other municipal body elected by the people. Seal Plan Called No Help. He said of the so-called Seal plan, which the Commissioners have in- dorsed unanimously and which was presented to the subcommittee yes- terday: “Outside of creating a so-called citizens’ advisory council, members of which would be appointed and removed by the Commissioners, and glorifying the office of the secretary to the Roard of Commissioners by calling that official ‘administrative assistant,’ no change is made by the Commissioners plan in the top or- ganization of the District govern- ment.” $ Mr. Finch added later in his testi= mony: “The proposed creation of & so- called citizens’ advisory council un- der the complete domination and control of the Commissioners adds absolutely nothing to the Commis- sioners’ plan of government, except perhaps more confusion to an al- ready confused plan. “It would be no advantage to any- body except the Commissioners, who could find in it a place to repose all responsibility for matters of policy and legislation. “If such a council is created, whether it be elected or appointed, it would, so far as the citizens are concerned, be nothing more than a barrier between the citizens and the (8ee INBTITUTIONS, Page A-5) (8ee REORGANIZATION, Pg. A-5.) A