Evening Star Newspaper, April 28, 1940, Page 1

Weather For ecast Fair today; tomorrow, increasing cloudi- ness and warmer, followed ers at night. by local show= Temperatures yesterday— Highest, 61, at 4 p.m.; lowest, 43, at 1:30 &m. From the United States Weathe; . P led States Weathe i "details on Page r Bureau repcrt A2 he et e e ————————— e No. 1,832—No. 35,061. G ) uu;.m = undi WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION Star WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 28, 1940.—130 PAGES. ermans Driving British Back Under Hot Fire Near Dombas; Bold Maneuver Menaces Allies Nazis Using Planes, ¢ Light Artillery, Machine Guns By GUNNAR KNUTSSON, Associated Press Foreign Correspondent. GRONG, Norway, via Gaddede, | Bweden, April 28 (Sunday).—British | troops attempting to block the ad- vance of the Germans up the Gudbrandsdalen south of Dombas were retreating early today under heavy machine gun and light artil- lery fire while attacking airplanes aided the German forces. A decisive struggle apparently had not yet been reached, however, and there were indications that the fast German advance had slowed tempo- rarily for reconnoitering. North of the Gudbrandsdalen, fighting in the Trondheim sector proper virtually has ceased except for occasional patrol activities. At Steinkjer, 50 miles northeast of Trondheim on Trondheim Fjord, no change was reported. Roros Still Nazi-Held. Indications are that German forces still held Roros, 55 miles southeast of Trondheim and only a score of miles from the Swedish border, and that there had been no organized Norwegian opposition to the occupation. The German advance up the Osterdalen (Eastern Valley) which roughly parallels the Gudbrands- dalen on the east, was reported con- tinuing toward Storen, a British concentration point 30 miles south of Trondheim. | British forces were not entirely successful in efforts to construct | floating air bases in some Norwegian | fjords because of their narrowness. Daring Adventures Told. Meanwhile, the war continues to| develop its tales of individual daring | adventures. I talked to some Swedish volun- teers who told how, under the lead- ership of a young Swedish count, they passed directly through Ger- | man lines east of Lillehammer in | search of weapons. Later they said they joined n‘ small Norwegian contingent and all | were surrounded by Germans. Dis-| covering an abandoned bus, how- ever, they mounted their confiscated | machine gun on the roof and shot their way clear in a wild ride to the safety of the Swedish frontier. This community of Grong is| about 30 miles east of Namsos, Brit- | ish landing point, and 45 miles west of the Swedish border. Allied Forces Prepare For Drive Southward LONDON, April 27 (#)—The allies, doggedly clinging to a foothold in Norway’s rocky midrift, tonight put British infantrymen and rugged French Alpine “Blue Devils” with light artillery and fighting planes to the tough task of securing bases and communications lines for coming re- inforcements before trying to fan out in a southward offensive. A week of tentative thrusts which saw British and Norwegian com- mands forced to pull back advance detachments under the deadly pounding of German mechanized forces and bombing planes ended with the situation resolved into a fighting race for advantage in Cen- trol Norway, in the sector around German-held Trondheim, west coast harbor. With no outward show of per- turbation, the British admitted, “we lost the first trick.” But the war office, today, offset continued reports of British inability to pierce the hard Geérman lines around Trondheim with these announcements: 1. The position around Steinkjer, 80 miles north of Trondheim, where early in the week British advance detachments had to retreat, is “un- changed,” and British patrols now have captured “some” German pris- oners. 2. Far down the Gudbrandsdalen, more than 100 miles below Trond- heim and some 30 miles south of the allied concentration point of Dom- bas, the allies in the Kvam area have driven off a heavy German at- tack “with considerable enemy loss.” German pressure at this point con- tinued, however, linked with air as- saults on the long allied communi- cation lines. Silence Around Narvik. ‘There was silence from British forces above the Arctic ore port of Narvik and a heavy snowstorm seemed still to be hampering opera- tions. The Allied Supreme War Council held its ninth meeting today in Lon- don and announced “unanimity” concerning war problems. “The council considered various situations that might arise in the near future and took note of meas- ures planned to meet those situa- tions,” a communique said. Prime Minister Chamberlain, Pre- (See NORWAY, Page A-7) Cave-In Kills 2 Miners 600 Feet Underground By the Associated Press. HAZLETON, Pa., April 27—A violent cave-in that ripped away props in a mine gangway killed two men 600 feet underground today. The bodies of George Wagner, 88, and Leroy Linderman, 52, both of Tomhicken, were removed to- night from the Tomhicken mine, near here, after hastily organized rescue crews had tunneled through tons of mud, rock and broken tim- bers. Physicians said the two men probably were killed instantly. . Mr. Linderman, father of five, and Mr. Wagner, father of four, had just descended to the second level when the collapse came. Radio Programs, Page F-5 | One Sunk, DNB Says BULLETIN STOCKHOLM, April 28.— (Sun- day) (P —Reports received here from Oslo early today said the Fornebu Airport had been badly damaged by British bombers and that all workers in the community had been ordered out to repair and enlarge the field, which al- ready had been found too small for heavy German transport planes, The Stockholm newspaper Dagens Nyheter said masses of weapons were being surrendered by the Oslo populace under Ger- man compulsion, with even the Norwegian police required to yield their weapons unless they were assigned to districts where order prevailed. | By the Associated Press, | STOCKHOLM, April 27.—Adolf IHitler's war machine, advancing Nazi Mechanized Unit Speeds 50 Miles Over Mountain Trails Column: Braves Perils of Ledge Roads To Threaten Two Sectors Near Storen steadily along the rocky roads of central Norway, was reported to- night to have sped a mechanized column 50 miles over steep moun- tain trails in an amazing flanking movement which threatened allied soldiers in two sectors of the front below important Trondheim, The fully equipped Nazi motor units, covering the 50 miles in less tains from Tynset, well south of the advance German column at Roros, and thrust northwestward to Kvikne and thence to Inset. This put them about 15 miles soutn of allied con- centrations at Storen. From Storen it is only 30 miles to German-oc- cupied Trondheim. Thus this column not only was in a position to cut the railroad from Storen south to Dombas, where there are other allied troops, but it appeared also to have outflanked (See STOCKHOLM, Page A-7) ‘Nazi Planes Bo_mb '3 Brifish Ships, Berlin Reporis 2 Cruisers Are Damaged, 2 Transports Fired and By the Associated Press. | BERLIN, April 27.—German bomb- | ing planes, in extensive forays over | Norwegian waters today, put one | British cruiser out of commission and damaged another, set afire two British transports and a sank a third, DNB, the German news agency, reported tonight. Earlier, the high command issued a communique claiming the caprure of some 400 British and Norwegian officers and men during the past five days’ campaigning, including an English staff. commander who was carrying “politically and militarily important Brftish operations orders and documents.” This was the first official word on recent land operations in Nor- way, kept secret until now for mili- | tary reasons. Cruiset Attacked off Andalsnes. The cruiser the Germans claimed | to have put out of commission was attacked off Andalsnes, allied troop landing port south of Trondheim. It was said to be carrying anti-air- craft guns. The other cruiser was declared hit off Narvik, ore port in Northern Norway which is being | held by a smali German force. One of the transports was said to be carrying a cargo of 40 tanks. The high command said the first encounter between German and British troops, at Lillehammer April 22-23, resulted in the capture of nearly 200 prisoners, among them the staff commander, and dispersal of the rest of the British force, whith “left arms and equipment behind.” In an engagement near Steinkjer Aprll 25, “another English landing detachment” was “thrust back” and two of its officers and 80 men taken captive, it declared. North of Narvik yesterday, German mountain troops were reported to have taken 144 prisoners while routing a Norwegian battalion. g Nazis' Presence “Concealed.” The communique claimed that British officers had “concealed” from the British detachment at Steinkjer the fact that German troops were in Norway. This captured detach- ment was said to include men from the royal regiment, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment, and the 4th Lincolnshire Regiment. The high command also reported damage inflicted on a British cruiser in Sogne Fjord yesterday, the down- ing of one British plane during a raid on Aalborg Airdrome in Den- mark, and the capture of 32 pris- oners in “lively” reconnaissance ac- tivity on the western front. Netherlands Trawlerv Feared Mine Victim By the Associated Press. LONDON, April 27.—The Nether- lands trawler Willy, 147 tons, is be- lieved to have been sunk by a mine 40 miles north of the Dutch island of Terschelling, Reuters, British news agency, reported tonight. Crews of other fishing boats said they saw an explosion in that area. The Willy, with her crew of nine, has been unreported since Thurs- day. Reuters reported tonight that an unidentified 3,000-ton ship- struck a mine and sank near Drogden lightship off the Danish coast this afternoon. Lightning Strikes Man And Breaks His Glasses By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, April 27—Light- ning struck Merlin Evertson, 27, in the face today as he viewed Kansas City from atop Liberty Memorial ‘Tower, opposite Union Station. The bolt rendered the -Carlton (Kans.) High School teacher un- conscious, clamped his jaws shut on hiz tongue and shattered his New U. S. Weapons Are Released, but Orders Are Few Allies Slow to Buy Latest Army Tanks, Guns and Other Goods By the Ansoctated Press. The War Department has released | | publican State chairmen, | that such a course be followed, has than 24 hours, climbed the moun- | {as permanent chairman. | vention. Pre-Convention Parley of 6.0.P. Seen Assured Committeemen And State Leaders Indorse Plan By G. GOULD LINCOLN, A meeting of the presumptive members of the Resolutions Com- mittee of the Republica National Convention to work on a draft of the party platform, several days in advance of the actual meeting of the convention, appeared virtually assured last night. National Committee committee members and to Re- urging received favorable replies from rep- resentatives of 22 States, the Dis- trict of Columbia and Hawail. All of the members of the committee or State chairmen replying praised the plan and agreed to co-operate. At the same time it was learned that Gov. Harold E. Stassen of Minnesota, selected to be the tem- porary chairman of the National convention, will come here tomorrow | to confer with Republican con-f gressional leaders on the keynote! speech he will deliver to the con- | vention. | Will Confer With Martin. | He will meet with mpresenutivc‘ Joseph W Martin, jr, of Massa- chusetts, the Republican House leader, at 10 am., and will have a | luncheon meeting with Senator Mc- Nary of Oregon, Republican leader of the Upper House. Senator Mc- Nary, who will be the luncheon host, is inviting a number of Sen- ators and Representatives, includ- ing Mr. Martin and Senator Austin of Vermont, assistant minority lead- | er in the Senate. Mr. Martin has been picked by | the Committee on Arrangements for the national convention to serve | He, too, | will deliver an address to the con- | It is understood that Gov Stassen is anxious to get the ideas of the designs of the Army's latest tanks, guns and other weapons for sale abroad, but officials reported yes-| terday that thus far there have been | few orders. Representatives of Great Britain, France and other governments, how- | ever, were said to be continuing | negotiations, looking large-scale orders for powder, shells | and weapons. | Officials said the release of Army | ordnance designs was in accord with a War Department policy of doing | all possible ‘to build up the Nation's | capacity to produce munitions in an | emergency. The same considera- | tions were involved in the decision | which Secretary Woodring explained to Congress last month to permit the allies to buy the latest model | | American military planes. The designs may be used, it was stressed, only if substantial’ orders | are given American plants. Some | weapons and devices classed as | secret have been withheld. | There were reports in industrial | circles yesterday that a foreign power had given an $8,000,000 muni- | tions contract to the American Car and Foundry Co., which is working at present on a $6,000,000 War De- partment order for 329 twelve-ton | Army light tanks. Whether the foreign contract also was for tanks was not disclosed, but officials said the War Depart- ment would gladly turn over the designs if a friendly foreign govern- ment agreec to place a large order in this country for the new Army weapon. Assistant Secretary Louis Johnson said there was no proposal to sur- render to the allies the Army’s tank contract, which was awarded last | October. | Up to the present, 95 per cent of | foreign orders for military supplies have been for airplanes and engines. Foreign munitions orders based on Army destgns include, however, some 81-millimeter trench mortar and 3-inch field artillery shells for Finland, and anti-aircraft search- lights for France. Great Britain, France and other governments have bought quantities of small arms and ammunition, in- cluding machine guns, from com- mercial designs. Their largest ord- nance contracts thus far have been for shell and gun forgings, copper strips for bullet jackets, machine tools and raw miaterials to be fabri- cated abroad. All foreign orders since January 1 for materials classifiad strictly as munitions, aside from warplanes and equipment have totalled about $66,000,000. Inquiries by foreign representatives indicated an inten- tion to contract in the near future for additional such material costing from $75,000,000 to $125,000,000. to possible | 3 | Ohio and Bridges of New Hamp- congressional leaders on such im- portant topics as America's foreign relations, the farm problem, unem- | ployment, reciprocal trade agree-| ments, the tarriff, labor and busi- ness legislation. As keynoter, he will | be expected to deal with these sub- | ects. | In a spirit of neutrality, on the | question of presidential candidates, | Senator McNary is not expected to invite senatorial aspirants for the | presidential nomination — Senators | Vandenberg of Michigan, Taft of shire. The Oregon Senator is him- self a favorite son candidate for the nomination, and Representative Martin is regarded as a leading “dark horse” choice. But they are | |leaders of the two houses and na- | turally Gov. Stassen feels it neces- sary to consult them. Wants Members Designated. It was Chairman Hamilton's sug- gestion that, wherever it was pos- | sible, the State delegations chosen to the national convention, either by poll or in actual meeting, name | their members to serve on the Reso- | lutions Committee so that they can attend the proposed meeting in Philadelphia in advance of the open- | ing of the convention June 24 It appears from replies received by Mr. Hamilton that delegations in a number of the States already are arranging to meet, and it is expected at that time they will choose their representatives to serve | on the Platform Committee. This " (See POLITICS, Page A. Infant Dies, Girl Burned As Fire Razes Cottage By the Associated Press. PASADENA, Md., April 27.—Seven- week-old Rohert G. Harrington was burned to death and his 2-year- old sister, Jean, was burned about the face today in a fire that razed their lake shore cottage home near Pasadena. Sergt. Whitney Johnson, Anne | Arundel County policeman, said the children’s grandmother, Mrs. Buelah Heiderick, 58, was also burned when she seized Jean and made a futile effort to save the baby, asleep in his crib. Clutching Jean, Mrs. Helderick ran from the house with her hair ablaze, Sergt. Johnson said. The children’s mother, Mrs. Ger- trude Harrington, gathering wood on a nearby hillside with her three sons, saw the cottage go up in flames. Jean and Mrs. Heiderick were treated for facial burns by Dr. Leo Briet. Cause of the firé was not determined. The 1940 Soap Box Derby—big- gest amateur event for boys in the world—will be held in Washington early in July. For the third consecutive year, The Star and the District depart- ment of the American Legion are co-operating to sponsor the event in which boys alone are allowed to compete in gravity-powered cars which must be boy-built. So, this summer some boy from ‘Washington or nearby Maryland or Virginia will . succeed 12-year-old Carl Cederstrand, jr., as Washing- ton Soap Box Derby champion, and| win the right to represent the Na- tign's Capital at the national finals spectacles. He suffered shock and Complete Index, Page A-2 I minor cuts and burns. A companion was not hit. kg at_Akron, Ohio, in August. This year the race is open to boys between 11 and 15. Lagt year boys This Year's Soap Box Derby To Be Held Early in July Race to Be Open to Boys 11 to 15; Other Rules Changed Somewhat 10 years old could race, but the 1940 rules raise the age limit to 11 as & safety measure. Zeb T. Hamilton, chairman of the Americanism Commission of the American Legion, will be Derby di- rector this year. Mr. Hamilton was assistant director last year. The announcement of where and when the Derby is to be held will be made later by the director. Rule books and entrance blanks for the 1940 Soap Box Derby are not quite ready yet. They are expected this week, however, and when they are ready for distribution an an- nouncement will be made in the columns of The Star, and over Sta- tion WMAL. A The chief change in the rules for Chairman | John Hamilton, who last Monday | made public letters he had sent to| (See SOAP Page A-9) 1 iy BRI ROV l‘;;‘.l§.l W delivered in Edition and The Fizzle That Was Heard Around the World! Labor Board Action In "Weak' Case Is Studied by Probers Hear of Settlement in Dispute N. L. R. B. Feared To Take Into Court BECKGROUND— Special House committee headed by Representative Smith, Democrat,.of Virginia, has been investigating National Labor Re- lations Board since early last fall, with hearings held at inter- vals since December. Majority of committee filed preliminary re- port recommending sweeping changes in Wagner Act. Bill to carry out these amendments is pending in House. Minority of committee made dissenting re- port, declaring Smith amend- ments would scrap law. By CARTER BROOKE JONES. How the National Labor Relations | Board engineered a settlement in a labor complaint case it had de- cided against the employer, yet re- garded as too weak to fight in court, was described yesterday to the Smith Investigating Committee of the House in a series of docu- ments taken from the board’s con- fidential files. The case was pressed by the C. I. O. The correspondence read into the record by Edmund M. Toland, com- mittee counsel, showed that in the | fall of 1937 Philip G. Phillips, re- | gional director at Cincinnati, wrote the board regarding a charge that the Dunbar (W. Va.) Glass Corp. had fired two men for union activity: “I recommend that a complaint be issued in the above-entitled mat- ter. While the case is a debatable one on its facts, it has become a cause celebre and the C. I. O. is extremely anxious that it be tried.” The case was tried, and on April 23, 1938, the board held the com- pany guilty of an unfair labor prac- tice, issued a “cease and desist” order and directed the reinstate- ment of Harold Preston Mains and Basil Spradling, with back pay. Told to Seek Settlement. After the board had considered going into the United States Cir- cuit Court of Appeals for an en- forcement order—the usual proced- ure—Robert B. Watts, associate gen- eral counsel, wrote Regional Direc- tor Phillips: “In view of the fact that Sprad- ling’s case is weak and Main's case is about hopeless it appears that the procedure would be to attempt to obtain a settlement. This should not be too difficult, since the re- spondent (the company) conceded the men were good workmeri and at one time was apparently willing to take them back. “Please go to Dunbar at your earliest convenience and attempt to reach a settlement, subject to my approval. Report to me the results of your efforts as soon as possible. You might inform respondent that this is the last effort at settlement prior to our petitioning the Circuit Court for enforcement of the board'’s order.” Mr. Phillips wrote the board April 3, 1939, that the company had agreed to comply with the board’'s order, except that it would pay each of the reinstated employes $250, amount- ing to about one-third of their back | pay. The regional director added that in view of the fact “the litiga- tion department does not feel this (See LABOR BOARD, Page A-4) Mackenzie King fo See Hull Here Tomorrow By the Associated Press. W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, arrived here late yesterday and will see Secretary Hull tomorrow. The Prime Minister is on a vaca- tion trip to the United States, and the Canadian Legation said his visit with Mr. Hull would be merely a private call on an old friend. Mr. Mackenzie King's visit with President Roosevelt at Warm Springs, Ga., this week was de- scribed similarly. % The Legation said it was ex- pected the Prime Mihister also would see Lord Lothian, the British Am- bassador, although they had no spe- cific business to transact. The Am- bassador discussed questions of interest to Great Britain and the United States for an hour with Sec- retary Hull yesterday, but neither would make any statement. b % U. S. Mail Ousts Archduke Otto From Clipper By the Associated Press NEW YORK, April 27.—Mail ac- cumulated during its nine-day wait | for favorable flying conditions forced | cancellation of 20 passenger reserva- tions when the Atlantic Clipper took off today for Herta and Lisbon. Only one passenger was permit- ted—former Gov. John G. Winant of New Hampshire, a director of the | International Labor Organization. Pan American Airways officials ex- plained that Government contracts provide that mail takes precedence | | over passengers. One of those left | behind was Archduke Otto, claimant | to the Austrian-Hungarian throne. The_ Clipper, delayed by weather | | since April 18, carried 7.061 pounds ;ol mail, believed to be the heaviest mail load ever carried out of this| country by plane. ‘Fede;a—l_lury Indicts Seattle Builders in Anti-Trust Drive Bid Control Is Charged To Nine Firms, Trade Body, Two Unions By the Associated Press. | SEATTLE, April 27—The Federal government's drive against the high cost of building hit this construc- tion-boom city today. grand jury indicted 29 individuals, trade association for conspiracy and anti-trust law violations dating as far back as 1936. “And it is only the beginning, we'll be here for many months,” said George R. Lunn, jr., head of the Justice Department’s anti-trust di- vision here. Bench warrants were issued for all defendants. Bail was set at $1,000 each. ‘The indictments, principally against heating, hardwood flooring and sheetmetal building construction industries, came as Seattle was ex- periencing the heaviest April build- ing irr more than a decade. The plumbing industry was charged with operating a highly or- ganized control system of prices and bids that contractors could quote to consumers, Contractors who refused to par- ticipate in the cost depository and bid control combine, named in the indictment as the Associated Plumb- ing and Heating Merchants of Se- attle, were eliminated from busi- (See ANTI-TRUST, Page A-7.) Ecuador Arrests Ei_ght As Revolutionaries By the Associated Press. QUITO, Ecuador, April 27.—The government announced tonight the arrest of eight persons who, it said, were holding a revolutionary meet- ing in a house belonging to Gen. Alberto Enriquez, provisional presi- 1937 and 1938. Gen. Enriquez himself is still at liberty, officials said, but his arrest has been ordered. Acting President Andres Cordova was absent from the capital, at- tending a convention in Cuenca, when the announcement was made. A Federal | nine companies, two unions and a| dent and dictator of Ecuador in President Returning To Face Three Months | Of Imporfant Work Fit and Rested, Roosevelt Is Confronted With 3 Broad-Gauge Problems By JOHN C. HENRY, Star Staff Correspondent. ON PRESIDENTIAL TRAIN EN | ROUTE TO WASHINGTON, April 27—President Roosevelt was headed back to Washington tonight, pre- pared for three months of hard work and keyed to make decisions which will be of momentous im- portance to this Nation and per-| haps to the world. | months past, the Chief Executive is facing the three following broad- to _come: First is the continuing task of keeping the United States out of war, a problem not superficially simple in the face of the rapid and irrational manner in which hostili- ties have flared in various parts of the world in the last eight months. As has been the case on most of his recent trips, Mr. Roosevelt expected Secretary of State Hull to meet him at Union Station to- morrow or to confer with him shortly afterward at the White House. Throughout his 10-day ab- sence from the Capital, the Presi- dent maintained frequent tele- | phonic contact with his foreign- affairs advisers and direct co | nections with his train were avail- | able at three points on the 22-hour trip northward. Neutrality Proclamations. In the direction of maintaining our neutrality, the President, during his stay in Warm Springs, signed three proclamations and one execu- tive order applying all the legal provisions of our policy to the cur- rent conflict between Norway and Germany. Although this Govern- ment has made manifest its disap- Scandinavian area, executive im- position of our neutrality statute is calculated to govern our con- duct in such fashion as to prevent any involvement. ‘With a further spread of the war to Sweden and perhaps to the Mediterranean area, Mr. Roosevelt and his foreign affairs “reporters” | whereby In better health than for several | gauge problems during the weeks | prova of Nazi aggression in the| The Evening and Sunday Star is the city and suburbs at 75c per month. The Night Final Sunday Morning Star at 85¢ per month. TEN' CENTS Roosevelt Plan Cuts D. C. Rate On P.W.A. Debt Proposal Would Save $3,500,000 On Interest _ BACKGROUND— Casting about last fall for methods of cutting down the Dis- trict budget for 1941 to avert a tar increase, officials conceived the plan of floating a refunding bond issue to slash the interest rate in repaying a loan of about $10,000,000 to the P. W. A. This tethod has been adopted in some other jurisdictions, where bank loans are negotiated for refund- ing P. W. A. debts. President Roosevelt yesterday paved the way for the District to effect a saving of approximately $3.500,000 in paying off its $9.982.- 500 debt to the Public Works Ad- | ministration. In a letter to Commissioner Mel- vin C. Hazen, the President an- nounced his approval of a plan existing agreements be- tween the District and W. P. A. would be amended to provide a sub- stantial reduction in the interest rate on the loan and permit the District to amortize its indebtedness over a period of 15 years. Mr. Roosevelt suggested this plan as a substitute for the Commis- sions’ proposal to authorize the District to sell bonds so that it might refund its loan at a rate of interest of approximately 2 per cent. In opposing this plan, the Presi- dent told the Commissioners he felt the bond igsue might mean the abandonmert of the pay-as-you-go principle to Which Congress has ad- hered since liquidation of the Dis= trict’s former indebtedness in 1891, and might also set a precedent«for financing of future construction pro= grams. i Low Rate in Prospect. The Commissioners were in- formed. however, that the Chief Executive believed the District should not be prevented from tak= ing advantage of a low rate of in= terest such as its municipal credit rating would justify. The District’s high credit rating would assure an interest rate as low as 2 per cent if the bond issue were permitted, the President is understood to have said. Mr. Roosevelt said he has re- quested Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau to study his suggestion and determine the rate of interest to be charged the District. It is expected that the existing agree- ments between P. W. A. and the District will be amended so that the rate of interest which the Dis- trict will be required to pay would be the rate that Secretary Mor- genthau determines as the rate that bonds of the District should bear were they to be offered for sale to the public. The bond issue was suggested by Col. David McCoach, jr., Engineer Commissioner, late last November, when he and Maj. Daniel J. Don- ovan, District auditor, voiced a be- lief that the District could save & considerable sum by obtaining loans | from banking interests at perhaps half the Federal 4 per cent interest charge. The District's P. W. A. program totaled $18,150,000, of which the loan portion (55 per cent) amounts to $9.982500. Under the present act, the loan was to be repaid in annual installments over a period of not over 25 years, with accrued interest at 4 per cent. The interest pay- ments, to begin with the new fiscal year, would total $5.609,875 under the 4 per cent rate. Over a 25-year period, the District thus would have been required to pay back a total of $15592,373 for a loan of a little less than $10,000.000. Under Col. McCoach’s plan, how- ever, the District would have saved approximately $1,000000 less than will be saved through the arrange- | ment suggested by the President. (See ROOSEVELT, Page A-19.) Plane Crash Kills Three; Two Are C. A. A. Aides | By the Associated Press. PORT WASHINGTON, N. Y, April 27—Three men were injured | fatally today in the dive of a two- motored amphibian plane into Long Island Sound about a mile and a half from shore. Eric Radke, a Civil Aeronautics Authority employe, believed to have been the pilot, went down with the ship as it sank. George Daufkirch, 40, an airplane broker, and William A. Bowerman, 35, C. A. A. inspector, were picked up by a power boat crew but both died of their injuries. Mr. Bowerman was married—his wife was the former Dorothy Dun- bar of Amarillo, Tex—and the father of a five-month-old daugh- ter. Mrs. Bowerman's parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Dunbar of Ama- rillo, were en route here tonight. Residents of Jefferson street in Georgetown—not to be confused 'with any . other Jefferson street, place, roadway, park or avenue— were marshaling their forces last night for a sequel to the battle of the cherry trees versus Thomas Jefferson. Trouble, it seems, finally has caught up with the street-naming authorities—whoéver they were— who chose the name of the third President when they christened a street in Georgetown, two others in Northwest Washington and a fourth in the Northeast section. The battle started yesterday when residents of Georgetown’s Jefferson street discovered that a plan was under way to change the name of their street to Thirtieth 4 Georgetown’s Jefferson street is ¢ Street Where Jefferson Lived - In Arms Against Name Change only two blocks long and runs north- south between K and M, Thirtieth and Thirty-first streets. It's not nearly as long as the Jefferson street between First and Fourteenth streets NNW. But the Georgetown residents are just as proud, if not prouder, of living on Jefferson street as any other resident of any other Jefferson street. In fact,*they’re ready to fight. So, when a policeman stopped by the home of Mrs. J. L. Goodman at 1071 Jefferson street (Georgetown) yesterday to ask what she thought of the name-changing idea, Mrs. Goodman got busy. She discovered that District Sur- veyor Frank F. Healy had proposed the change after a woman living on one of the other Jefferson thor- (See JEFFERSON, Page A-10.) Bucharest and Belgrade Cool on Danube Policing By the Associated Press. BUDAPEST, Hungary, April 27— A Hungarian proposal for joint policing of the “Iron Gate” section of the Danube by all the Danubian countries received a cold reception in Bucharest and Belgrade today. ‘The scheme for international con- trol of the vulnerable 75-mile stretch of the Danube, which Germany has accused the allies of attempting to block by dynamiting, was sent yes- terday to Yugoslavia, Rumania and Bulgaria. Yugoslavia and Rumania previ- ously refused German offers to police the section of the river where it forms their boundary between Mol- davia and Turnu-Severin. Hungary expressed willingness to permit Nazi gunboats to patrol the Danube. Today Rumania and Yugoslavia were reported to have turned down the Hungarian suggestion because they already have given assurances of their determination to prevent sabotage or shipping delays in their replies to the German proposal of April 15. Both in Bucharest and Belgrade it was felt that Budapest scheme would infringe on Rumanian and Yugoslav sovereignty as much as the Nazi policing plan, and since Germany is a Danubian country the proposal would mean participation of a belligerent in the international patrol. 2 Boys, 6, Throw Switch Under Train, Derail It By the Associated Press. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., April 21—Two 6-year-old boys threw a switch under a moving Yrei train last night, causing $1,000 da: age and delaying the crack Denver & Rio Grande Western train, the Flying Ute, five hours. Four freight cars wers derailed and 100 yards of track torn up.