Evening Star Newspaper, March 20, 1940, Page 3

Brifain fo Fight ‘War in Own Way, Stanley Tells Critics War Secretary Lashes Out at Neutrals Who Deplore War Conduct By the Associated Press. LONDON, March 20.—War Secre- tary Oliver Stanley bluntly replied to critics of Britain’s war effort in the United States and other neutral countries by declaring to a luncheon audience today that “we intend to fight in our own way and not in their way.” Mr. Stanley said that the foreign press had criticized Britain for a ‘lack of enterprise and initiative. “This is a dangerous lesson for neutrals to teach,” he said, adding that “we are mow learning that per- sons who ignore the rights of neu- trals” receive their admiration. Lashes Out at Critics. ! Mr, Stanley, addressing the Na- | tional Defense Society, lashed out | at those who call this, n language | culled from the ringside, a phoney | war.” | This is a phrase, said the war minister, used by people who, after | a good dinner, sit down and urge| two fighters to tear each other to pieces. | His statement that *“a nation <h ignores the rights of neutrals” | their admiration was inter- preted by many to mean Britain m—“ tends to clamp down tighter on the | imports of small nations contiguous | to Germany whose imports from the United States have swelled since the | war. | Speaking of “Germany’s chal| lenge,” Mr. Stanley said that people across the ocean are thinking “how are we going to keep out of it, but | they're in it.” “No one can remain indifferent to the result of the struggle,” he| said. “Do they (neutrals) really| think that if we lose, life can go| on as they know it?"” | Fighting German Ideals. ' - “An ocean,” Mr. Stanley warned, “may be a good barrier to aircraft, *but it's no barrier to ideas.” i Mr. Stanley said Britain was| fighting for an end of Gfirmanf ideals—"those of Attila the Hun.” | He said that if Britain had not| gone to war the people in the| United States would have said.| “Why aren’t you fighting?” | Today people in the United States are saying, according to Mr. S‘an-! ley, “We can't understand the war.” | None can remain indifferent to the result of the struggle,” he said. “They may be lucky. We may fight their battles for them.” Satisfied With U. S. Relations. | The British government is *“so satisfied with relations with the | United States” that it is directing | no special questions to America con- | cerning the significance of Sumner‘ Welles’ European tour but is “re]_\'-‘ ing on their courtesy to keep us in- formed,” Foreign Undersecretary R. A. Butler told the House of Com- mons today. Replying to a Conservative sug- gestion that British purchases of | American aircraft be discontinued, Air Minister Sir Kingsley Wood told the House that negotiations for fur- ther purchases “are proceeding nor- mally.” Mr. Butler reiterated the govern- ment’s determination not to publish its projected white paper on the pre- +war negotiations with Soviet Russia which broke down when the Rus- slan-German accord was reached This decision, he said, holds. in spite of the ending of the Russian-Fin- nish war. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, assured the House that “very good arrangements exist” for the defense of Scapa Flow, the naval base in the Orkneys which was raid- ed by German warplanes Saturday. Mr. Churchill, who recently made | &n inspection of the base, character- ized as significant and encouraging THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1920. oy WAVES OF BRITISH PLANES DUMP BOMBS ON GERMAN BASE—British bombers, in repeated waves, dumped scores of bombs last night on the German island seaplane base of Sylt, in the biggest aerial action of the war. flight, shows the seaplane base at List, on the Island of Sylt. This Royal Air Force photograph, taken on a reconnaissance Points shown are: A, wireless station; B, hangar; C, seaplanes; D, crane for lifting aircraft; E, aircraft; F, cranes; G, harbor; H, repair hangar; I, motor vehicles; J, barracks; K, men; L, motor transport sheds; M, building under construction. \ (é’.é NSLEOLANQ 5 (g o N Map showing location of Sylt. LEPZIG Ll | —A. P. Wirephotos. Raids ‘ (Continued From First Page.) Strabolgi told the upper house: “I have made a rough calculation since this news was given and my reckoningi$ that more bombs were [ beneath their feet undoutedly were direct Hits on great munitions stores. | ;. pi¢ committee planned an “in- Four Danish towns suffered from | the bombing, the Exchange Tele- parently was being bombarded all |dropped in this raid than in all the | graph agency reported, but the only over again. The public and press exhausted | superlatives in praise of the biggest | raid of the war, carried out by a; fleet authoritatively estimated at war.” A plane believed by witnesses to be German visited the Shetland Is- lands today, north of Scapa Flow, | raids on!London during, the great|damage was to windows. | Danish coast residents told de- tailed stories. The British bombers | came in relays, they said, and dived | E headlong from low clouds. Releasing | between 30 and 50 fast bombers, | but was- driven off. A raid warning | their bombs in power dives, the raid- only one of which, according to the | was in effect for 30 minutes, but no | ers zoomed upward and took cover | British, failed to return. | The big rald was staged just a| few hours after Prime Minister Chamberlain had told the House of Commons that “we intend to fight” and hinted that Britain was about | to avenge the German raid Satur- day upon the British North Sea fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow. | As the smashing raid got well un- | der way. Prime Minister Chamber- | lain announced the action, which was Britain’s most spectacular use of her air armade in the 200 days of war. “the effort of the enemy to portray a | A grim smile played about his face petty. ill-directed raid as an impor- | as he received the word in a wire- | tant military affair.” ; less message from one of the raiders | The British asserted only one war- | and made it public last night before | ship was damaged in the raid; the |a Parliament which had been call- Germans reported three battleships ting for more energetic prosecution | and one cruiser hit. { Malcolm MacDonald, colonial sec- | retary, said an inquiry had not pro- | duced proof that there were German | spies among the illegal Jewish im- migrants entering Palestine, al- | though strong suspicion in some | cases bad brought the detention of | suspects. The government is taking various | steps to suppress illegal immigration, he said, and “some hundreds” have | been detained. Silver (Continued From First Page.) members, Senators Byrnes, Demo- crat, of South Carolina and Downey, Democrat, of California, did not vote. In addition to banning Treasury buying of foreign silver, the Town- send bill would remove the existing 50 per cent transfer tax intended to | eliminate speculation in the white | metal. | One of the effects of the Townsend | bill would be to stop Treasury buy- ing of Mexican silver. A "special‘ arrangement” for purchases of such silver was terminated March 31, 1938, after Mexico had expropriated American-owned oil properties, but since then Mexican silver has been purchased with that from other | countries under the continuing gen- eral polic; ur heating problems! L. Stevart & Bro. will install fiuid heat now, with no_interest or pay- ments until fall. No inconveniences or lack of heat' during our one-day Installation. Full allowance for 7 r coal. Call us today for a free heat- ing survey. L. P. Steuart & Bro. INCORPORATED 139 12th St. N.E. Lincoln 4300 of the war. Air Minister Sir Kingsley Wood, | in telling the House of Commons of | the raid today, said that hangars)| and oil storage tanks were set afire, and that “many hits” were made on the jetty, light railway and other | parts of the big German base. Today's reconnaissance fligh!si confirmed the success of las* night’s operation, Wood said. The attack, he continued, was | concentrated for six hours on Hohnum, the island’s big seaplane base, from which the air minister said German planes have been flying to drop mines along the British coast and attack British shipping. Draws Cheers. The air minister drew cheers by saying: “This action has once more demonstrated the fighting snirit and skill of our captains and crews, and their willingness and readiness to meet the cail.” Air Ministry sources saiad this aft- ernocn that all British planes had returned “hours ago” from this morning’s photographing flight and | that there was no action against Sylt this afternoon. The opposition in both houses, which yesterday clamored for a more active war policy on the part of Britain, praised the raid. Lord Open Evenings, Thurs., bombs were dropped. The bright, thunderous crash of bombs, earth-shaking roars that signified destroyed arsenals, and the leaping red flare of burning hangars and shops gave Britain's reply through the night to Saturday's German raid on Scapa Flow. From 8 pm. untii after 3 am.| the smashing attack continued. The bark of anti-aircraft guns, the fret- work of tracer bullets and the blue- white glare of searchlights manned by Sylt's defenders contributed to the nether-world scene. . “Direct hits on hangars housing seaplanes which have raided the British coast were claimed by crews of several aircraft,” the Air Ministry reported in its summation of the results. “Railway lines and barrack blocks were reported hit. One bomber crew saw a line of four or five bombs dropped by aircraft ahead of them burst just inland of a jetty. “Another crew reported two hangars burning fiercely as they left the island. Other fires were also seen to break out following the explosion of a number of bombs near a seaplane slipway (ramp from | water to hangars). “Though the weather was fine and visibility good, little opposition was encountered from enemy fighters. Ground defenses, however, were con- tinuously alive. Anti-aircraft bat- teries in many parts of the island sent up a heavy barrage of fire. “Shells exploded in multi-colored bursts of flame, Around the sea- plane base itself a semi-circle of searchlights came into action as our aircraft approached. “In the earlier phase of the attack, dropping of bombs was followed by intense light anti-aircraft fire from batteries within the target area. “The last of the British raiders to leave the scene of attack landed back in England at 6:30 am.” Residents on the nearby Danish coast, who had impromptu ringside seats, counted at least 82 bomb blasts and said four terrific explo- sions which made the earth quake T ——————— # i Fri., Sat., Till 9 P.M. | in the clouds again. | Informed sources, disagreeing with ithe Danish_witnesses, said that the | attack could not bombing." be called “dive Woodring Suddenly Delays Testimony On Plane Sales Postponement Attributed To Desire to Make Ideas Jibe With Roosevelt’s By BLAIR BOLLES, Secretary of War Woodring today hastily decided to postpone his ap- pearance before the House Military Affairs Committee, which had in- vited him to explain the War De- partment’s policy in permitting the British and the French to buy late- | model American-made warplanes for use on the western front. Mr. WoBdring's decision was announced to the commiitee and a group of expectant spectators in the commit- tee room by Chairman May, Demo- crat, of Kentucky. ‘The sudden change in plans was attributed unofficially to a desire on th: War Department to have whatever testimony it might present Jjibe with the remarks made yester- day on the subject by President Roosevelt at his press conference. The President said it was sheer | “bunk” to contend that United States military secrets were being divulged through the plane sales. He defended the sales policy on the ground it has been responsible for an expansion of our aircraft in- | Jdustry Disclosures to Be Made Public. Mr. May named no date on which | the Secretary of War would appear, | although he said that whatever dis- | closures Mr. Woodring made to the committee would be made in public. At once his committee colleague, | Representative Harter, Democrat, of | Ohio who has been in disagreement with Mr. May over the conduct of | the projected inquiry, urged that the | Secretary of War appear “promptly” because “there is confusion in the minds of the public and in the mind | oof Congress” on the implications for the United States of the foreign airplane sales. Mr. May said there were “late developments” in the plane sale| matter on which Mr. Woodring | wished to gather complete informa- | tion for the committee. He quoted the Secretary as desirous of pre- | senting the whole picture to the committee at one sitting rather than spreading it out piecemeal. The original intention to call Mr. Wood- ring was announced last week. Mr. Harter at first planned to have his subcommittee of the Military Af- fairs Committee question Mr. Wood- |ring. Later Mr. May decided it | should he a matter for the full com- | mittee to consider. | Not Suspicious, May Says. | “Nobody on this committee, so far | as I know, that there the War said is anything wrong in Department,” Mr. May “Our only purpose was get- which has to do with the natipnal defense.” The chairman was careful to say | quiry” and not an “investigation.” In answer to a question from Rep- resentative Harter, Mr. May said | the Secretary of War, when he did testify, would touch on more mat- ters than the question of airplane sales. When he had completed his an- nouncement, which, he said. he made for the “benefit of the public,” Chairman May announced the com- | mittee was going into executive session on an unnamed matter. However, Mr. May hinted he would take up his disagreement with Rep- There was an incessant chatter of | anti-aircraft batteries. A cafe keeper at Havenby, on the Danish 1sland of Romoe, related: “I saw two foreign planes come diving down through the clouds with | crazy speed in the direction of Syit. They dropped eight bombs. I saw great pillars of fire. “Later I heard an explosion from | gunner of the first bomber it at- tacked.” The Nazi base, however, was well protected with anti-aircraft guns, | larger than Britain's 3.7-inch can- non, which have an effective range of 25000 feet. Strength of these | batteries dictated the one-and-two- | at-a-time assault tactics. | uspected in the slightest | | ting information for this committee | a single bomb, and a few seconds ! 4 : afterward an explosion came which | Nazis Challenge Claim changed the sk ver Sylt into | . fe. Thore was ove iowo 2 %22 | Raids Were Success | of fire. There was one explosion after another. A bomb undoubtedly BERLIN, March 20 (#) —Informed | hit an ammunition depot. | “All the anti-aircraft of Sylt then opened up; tracer bullets streaked across the heavens in all directions ... A wall of fire sprang up along the whole of the long island.” The Danish mainland City of Tonder, about 25 miles from Sylt, felt the concussion from one big blast, and it was a sleepless night for all the coastal region. Claim Bombing Accurate. The British flyers, who returned early this morning, said that they had done some “accurate bombing.” They said the fires started by the first bombs guided the remainder of the raiders accurately to the ob- jective. Bright moonlight and the cloud-flecked skies were of great aid, they said. A distinctive feature of the attack was that the bombers droned over one or two at a time, “flying at medium altitude,” reliable sources said, in a continual stream. They declared there was only one defending German pursuit plane, “which was beaten off by the rear SAVOIA MAR.30 siso April 27, May 25 REX..APR. 13 alse May 11, June 8 to Azores, Lisbon, Gibraltor, Genoa, Naples, Patras, Trieste: VULCANIA..APR. 4 alse May 4, June 13 SATURNIA..APR. 20 also June 1, July 11 PREPAID PASSAGES FROM EUROPE to North America, Central America, South America and other world ports may be ar- ranged in U.S. Frequent sall- Ingsfrom ttaly. Ask fordetalls. Apply 1 10U vocar ““Favel " “Acents ITALIAN lll: German sources today challenged the British announcement that last night's raid on the German Island of Sylt was a big success, but ad- mitted that it lasted from 8 pm.| till 2:40 am. DNB, the official German news | agency, described the British an- | nouncements as “propaganda action | aimed at erasing the pervading im- pression that the German raids on | | Scapa Flow (last Saturday) made , not only on neutral countries but also in Great Britain.” The DNB report said the British | had made no mention of violating | Danish territory and dropping in- | cendiary bombs over that country. The German high command an- nounced today that only a “house” was hit in the British raid on Ger- many’s Sylt Island base. One Brit- ish plane was said to have been shot down. OUR SIX ® 8h ond CREDIT INSURANCE CAN SUBSTITUTE FOR CO-MAKERS Fhe ¢l | WE CAN ELP YOU EAR PERSONAL - LOANS Yeap 10 ® INQUME AT ANY OF ® 10th & Pa. Ave. N.W. ® 9t & Mass. Ave. Nw, ©® 3808 Go. Ave. ® 3401 Comn. Ave. NW. ® %h & E Capitol Sts resentative Harter during the ex- ecutive session. ° May Criticize Harter. Mr. Harter completed arrange- ments last week for his subcommit- tee to hear testimony from the War Department officials today. On the eve of that inquiry, Mr, May called the full committee to meet at the same time for the same purpose and in response to questions, was sharply critical of Mr. Harter for “butting in” on matters which Mr. May said had not been referred to the subcommittee. The Kentuckian contended the full committee already had been questioning Maj. Gen. H. H. Arnold, chief of the Army Air Corps, on the whole question of national defense and that tomorrow's session was “just a continuation.” | There were indications that the two representatives were split also on the question of whether the proj- ected inquiry should be held behind closed doors. The notice sent by Mr. May for the full committee meeting said the session would be secret. Later Mr. May told newsmen at least part of the testimony would be open. Mr. Harter told reporters he had planed to have the entire hearing open. | Roosevelt Defends Buying. President Roosevelt took an indi- rect hand in the plane purchase con- | troversy when he upheld the legiti- Earliest Easter Since 1913 Easter comes earlier this year than it has since 1913. But an early Easter dogsn’t necessarily mean an early Spring! Prepare for chilly days ahead—with Marlow’s Famous Reading Anthracite the low ash hard coal. Learn the ECONOMY and comfort of this genuine laundered hard coa! that gives you “premium coal” performance, yet costs not a penny extra. Marlow Coal Co. 811 E Street N.W. National 0311 In Business 82 Years Our Coal and Service Must Be Good for EASTER macy of foreign buying at his press | conference late yesterday. The ex- | pansion it made necessary, he sald.] was the most significant contribu- | tion to this country’s national de- | fense in the last year. The Presi- | dent said the question of divulging | military secrets was not involved | because designs of the planes are not secret. Mr. Roosevelt, discussing the ad- ministration’s attitude toward re-| lease of planes and armament to! foreign nations, said it was difficult to lay down a hard and fast rule because individual cases must be decided on individual facts. The President asserted that capacity could not have been in- creased if the manufacturers had | been unable to sell foreign buyers the planes which they wanted. | Accokeek Firemen to Elect The annual election of officers of the Accokeek (Md.) Volunteer Fire Department will be held in the company’s hall tomorrow, accord- ing to an announcement by G. E. Wilscn, president. Bring us your Gold, Silver or Diamonds. We Pay Highest Prices Our New Address is 903 F St. N.W. KAHN-OPPENHEIMER, Inc. v v PIANOS for RENT New full keyboard spin- s and small uprights, only $5 monthly. Grand pianos, $9 monthly. 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