Evening Star Newspaper, May 12, 1940, Page 1

Weather Forecast Fair and slightly warmer Tow, increasing cloudiness today; tomor- and warmer. Temperatures yesterday—Highest, 70, at 12:30 pm.; lowest, 49, at 4 am, From the United States Weather Bury rt. mfleufll on PlnrA-EA'-“ ot —— " No. 1834—No. 35,075. (#) Means Asmociated Press. he 3 WASHINGTON, D. C., MAY 12, 1940—130 PAGES. unday Star WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION ok delivered in Edition and The Evening and Sunday Star is the city and suburbs at 75¢ per month. ' The Night Final Sunday Morning Star at 85¢ per month. TEN CENTS FRENCH HALT GERMANS; ESSEN IS BO Liege Fort and 1,000 Men Taken!| WiillSef:re’r Entire Division Stopped East Of Luxembourg 85 the Associated Press. PARIS, May 11.—Seasoned French troops in the Sierck region of the Moselle River valley today beat off the largest German attack on the Maginot Line since the war started, military sources reported. An en- tire German division of 14,000 men was said to have been halted in its tracks. The Nazi movement just east of Luxembourg reportedly was crushed from the strongly fortified front- line positions to which outpost units withdrew yesterday at the first assault by Nazi advance guards. Additional forces quartered in the subterranean Maginot Line sup- ported the battle squads with artillery and machine-gun fire and tonight the military spokesman here said the battle area was quieting down. At the same time, a French high command communique said the Ger- | mans had lost heavily 1n fighting in | the southern part of Luxembourg. Aim to Divert Allies. In the Maginot Line fighting the | Germans apparently were attempt- | ing to divert military forces from a series of sharp engagements inside Luxembourg. French outposts east of the Mo- gelle took the full brunt of the pre- liminary offensive launched by the Germans. Under a long-prepared plan, French advance guards swept the attackers with a crumbling cross- fire while sending the alarm back to sector headquarters. The outnumbered outpost units then withdrew slow maintaining their fire while the French batteries spat shells into the ranks of the advancing Germans. The net result, based on prelin- inary French reports while the bat- tle continued, was that the French | had withdrawn from a few out- posts while the Germans had gained control of only a limited area be- tween established front lines. Meanwhile, Germany's “Blitzkrieg” | troops were said by French military sources to have driven across the Maas River in Southern Holland, occupying the city of Maastricht, on the Belgian frontier, and to have oc- cupied the town of Arnhem, in East Central Holland. (The censor de- leted four words in this dispatch, ap- parently relating to towns being occupied.) Allies Rushing Aid. The allies were rushing troops to the aid of the low countries, the French communique revealed. “Our troops continued their ad- vance across Belgium, aiding their allied troops at various points by the action of their advance groups,” \ the high command reported. “The | advance is going on rapidly. German troop landings on beaches in the vicinity of The Hague have caused a “troubled” situation in Hol- land, military authorities said. Dutch troops are reported resisting the new threat with the aid of British aviation. The Germans first began to land troops yesterday as their motorized forces were crossing the Eastern Dutch frontier. British planes bombed and strafed the beaches yesterday while the Dutch troops attacked German units. The landings began again today, and this afternoon military spokesmen said the situation was uncertain, although the Dutch de- tachments were reported to be in control. Some British troops have moved up to reinforce Belgian forces, a military source said, while others are advancing northward to sup- port the Dutch. He indicated prepa- rations were going ahead for large- scale fighting which forecasters have said might result in the “most gi- gantic battle of ail times.” Drive to Cut Armies. A military spokesman said the Germans appeared to be throwing their principal weight in the rttack on Holland and DBelgium against. the center or point of liaison of the Dutch and Belgian A°mies. This would be 1n the Maastricht area and northward, the attacks ex- tending to around Arnhem, north of the Rhine. Fighting along Belgium's Albert Canal was reported hourly increas- ing in intensity. On the soil of the little grand (See PARIS, Page A-4) Doctor Brings Triplets And Twinsin 12 Hours ‘Within 12 hours yesterday, Dr. Willilam Arthur Shannon delivered five healthy babies to only two mothers. Boy and girl twins were born to Mrs. Russell Smith, 623 Longfellow street N.W., at Sibley Hospital, with Dr. Shannon officiating. Mother and twins are doing well. Not many hours later Dr. Shan- non hurried out to Washington Sanitarium, Takoma Park, Md., to co-operate with the stork on triplets. ‘Two girls and a boy were born to Mrs. Belma Winegar of Takoma Park, Md. The three infants, all weighing about four pounds, spent last night in the incubator but, ac- cording to the hospital, are “just fine, thank you.” Radio Programs, Page F-5 Complete Index, Page A-2 British Flyers Hurl Destruction W eapon, Nazis Claim T Reich’s Troops On Advancing Nazi Columns Airmen, Swooping Low Over Refugee Lines, Leave Truck Lines Masses of Wreckage By the Associated Press. WITH THE BRITISH EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, SOME- WHERE IN BELGIUM, May 11.—Motorized British units pounded across the French-Belgian frontier tonight in a rumbling stream that already has lasted for 24 hours, while British flyers hurled destruction from the skies on German columns moving through Luxembourg toward the French British Tommies, cheered by the®- populace, already guarded every bridge and railway crossing on the 250-mile motor route. Anti-aircraft batteries dotted the fields, and dis- patch riders on motorcycles sped past the artillery carriers, tanks and troop-laden lorries that kicked up dusty spirals on the roads. The German mechanized units coming up from the other side were struck by low-swooping British planes which loosed showers of and Belgian borders. A | small bombs and sprays of machine- gun bullets. Skipping over the swarm of refu- gees who preceded the German line of march, the British airmen | returned to the attack again and | again, and bombs fell amid lines of 40 and 50 German motor trucks | which piled up in heaps of smoking wreckage, Other British squadrons rained bombs on a German column at the T (See ®. E. F, Page A5) ‘Brussels Is Bombed Again; Casualties 0f Civilians Heavier Liege Blasted, but Nazis Sustain Big Losses, Belgians Declare BULLETIN. \ NEW YORK, May 12 (Sun- day) (#.—A Brussels broad- cast, picked up by N. B. C,, said the Belgian capital had undergone two more German n'i_rv raids this morning. By the Associated Press. BRUSSELS, May 11.—This Bel- gian capital was bombed from the air again tonight. Heavy detona- tions resounded in the center of the city, and an air-raid alarm was in effect from 6:20 pm. to 7 pm. Civilian casualties in today's bombings were said authoritatively to be higher than those of yester- day, first day of the German invasion. The city of Liege also was heavily bombed. Supported by planes and armored cars, powerful German forces won a foothold in Belgian defense posi- tions near the Netherlands city of Maastricht today. But a government communique tonight reported the Nazis had sustained “heavy -losses” in . at- tacks on Belgian fortifications, and claimed “our positions remained intact” around the fortified town of Liege. Text of Communique. Tonight’s communique said: “During the day important enemy forces, with the aid of incessant bombardments carried out by pow- erful aerial units and supported by (See BRUSSELS, Page A-3.) Francis Powers Dies SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 11 (®)—Francis Powers, 74, pioneer motion picture director and writer, died at his home yesterday. Dutch Retake Town In 4-Hour Battle; Smash Nazi Train Netherlands Troops Fall Back to Permit Land To Be Flooded BULLETIN. AMSTERDAM, May 12 (Sunday) (#.—At least 20 per- sons were reported killed to- day when four bombs fell in the heart of the city. Ry the Associated Press. AMSTERDAM, May 11.—Nether- officially tonight to have recaptured one town ‘from the main German invading forces in a four-hour counter-attack and to have killed every soldier in a German armored train, more parachute troops and they, for the mosi part, were destroyed. But with German bombs killing at least & score of persons in the first air raid on Amsterdam, the country's largest city, the defending army and police ran into new troubles. Germans in civilian garb tried in vain to capture police headquarters at The Hague and sniped at soldiers and policemen from the roofs of houses. Dutch military units sped to South Amsterdam early today to search for German parachute troops reported to have entered that sec- tion of the city after landing outside nearby Haarlem. The Netherlands Air Ministry radio service announced that several German planes had been sighted over Gertruidenberg, east of Rotterdam, flying westward, a dispatch from London said. Germans Cross River. ‘While first line Dutch troops, for the most part, were falling back according to plan from the eastern frontier nter_lnying waste to means (See AMSTERDAM, Page A $10,000 in Prizes Offered Amateur Camera Fans . Star to Make Weekly Awards in Contest Starting Today In a competition opening today more than $10,000 in local and national prizes is being offered amateur camera fans in the sixth annual Newspaper National Amateur Snapshot Contest, sponsored in Washington by The Star. Any pictures made-from now until the closing date, September: 7—a& 17-week period—may be entered for a grand prize of $1,500. So get out your cameras today and go to it! It doesn’t matter what kind of a camera or make of film is used, and a participant does not have to bet a photography ex- pert. Entries will be judged only on their “appeal and general interest.” Good photographic quality will be helpful, but the judges are mainly Interested in “appealing” pictures. Either small prints or enlarge- ments up to 10 inches may be en- tered, ahd printing and developing may be done either by yourself or by a phote finisher. Regardless of size, however, each picture will re- ceive due consideration from the Judges. So begin shooting early—capture some of the charm of spring in this city of wonderful picture possibili- pictures will appear each week in the Sunday rotogravure section from June 23 to September 7. The Star will pay '$5 each week for the best photograph and $2 for each picture gubllshed in the rotogravure sec- ion. At the end of the contest period, all the weekly first prize winners are judged for four local grand prizes of $25 each, so you may have a chance for more prize money there. Beautiful exhibition en- largements are made from these four best shots, and they are en- tered to compete in the national awards in Explorers’ Hall of the National Geographic Society here. National awards will be made in the fall. In the final contest the grand prize is $1,000, plus a class prize of $500, or a total of $1500 for one snapshot. There are other prizes of $500, $250, $100 and $50—in all, 125 individual prizes totaling $10,000. The entries are to be into fou classes: Babies and chil- dren, young people and adults, scenes and still life and animal and wild- life. Rules in the contest are pub- lished elsewhere in The Star to- ties. Send your Jrint or prints of as many pictures as you desire to it.he ’IAhm‘gvur hslnnpxhop Contest Editor, The Evening Star, W - ton, D. C. g i The Star will start publication of pictures and award weekly prizes on June 23. A full page of the best day, and.a reproduction of the grand prize winner of last year's contest appears in an advertise- ment. ' The picture, which won $1,- | sliced through the Dutch appendix | | province of southern Limburg, seized | lands border troops were reported | &N announcement they stormed ‘Liege to above Maastricht, thence In the interior, the Dutch high | command said, the Germans dropped | northeast and north. ‘tween Calais and Dunkerque. Also Occupy Maastricht By LOUIS P. LOCHNER, Associated Press Poreign Correspondent. BERLIN, May 11.—A “new type of weapon” enabled the armies of Adolf Hitler to capture Eben Emael, described as the strongest fortress in Belgium's Liege defenses, the German high command announced tonight. The fort's commander and 1,000 men surrendered, the announce- ment said. (A German radio broadcast heard in London said Essen, where the great German Krupp arms works are located, and two other German towns had been bombed by allied planes.) A picked air force detachment, in a slanting attack from above, already had put the Eben Emael Fort out of action yesterday, the command said, and held its garri- son in check with the new weapon until an army unit attacking from the north arrived and forced the surrender. “Further and more precise details must of course be kept in the dark,” authorities said of the new weapon. It was a matter of speculation | whether this was the weapon which Hitler mentioned in a speech at Danzig last year and which has had experts guessing at its nature ever since. (There also has been spec- ulation whether it was the magnetic mine.) . Second Fort Claimed Taken. Eben Emael was the second fort claimed to have been taken in the Liege fortified zone, where the im- perial German steamroller was stalled for a week of frontal assault in 1914, This time the German armies Maastricht, on the border between | the western edge of Dutch Limburg and Belgium, and captured the vital bridges over the Maas River and the Albert Canal in Maastricht and to the west of it. Then, according to the official Ger- Fort Eben Emael, ,which controls | these crossings, and it surrendered this afternoon. The scene of this action: is some 15 miles north of Liege proper. The new Albert Canal ruus north from west to Antwerp, and, with its cor- related fortresses, is Belgium's | shield against invasion from the | German Comununique, The text of the German com- munique follows: “The strongest fort of the fortress of Liege, Eben Emael. which com- mands the crossing over the Maas (River) and the Albert Canal at and west of Maastricht, sur-endered this afternoon. 1,000 men were taken prisoners. “The fort was already put out of action May 10 and the garrison was kept in check by & picked ce- tachment of the air force under the | leadership of Lt. Witzig and by the use of a new type of weapon. When the unit of the army attacking from the north successfully established contact with the Witzig detachment after a hard fight the garrison gave up.” Authorities were extremely secre- tive about the new weapon, refusing to tip their, hand by giving details. DNB, official news agency, said the fort taken yesterday in the Liege area was made “completely defense- Iss” by German planes. Authorized sources said Germsn troops who occupied Belgian and Netherlands airports yesterday still held them today, but were ‘fighting with Belgian and Dutch troops.” Germany’s cautiously worded communique, however, claimed be- tween 300 and 400 enemy planes were destroyed on' the ground and 23 shot down in air fights yesterday. The Germans said they lost 11 and 15 were missing. The high command also reported the sinking of one enemy submarine by a Nazi submarine, the sinking of an enemy destroyer by a Nazi Speed- boat and the sinking of two mer- chantships of 5,000 and 2,000 tons, respectively, by aerial bombs be- On the far north Norwegian front, which has settled into an allied siege of a German garrison at the ore port of Narvik, the high command said bombs of various calibers had hit a The commander and |' British battleship and one cruiser off Narvik. German officials explained that the actual spot news on develop- ments in the latest war arena was meager because details might prove valuable to the enemy. D. N. Bs account of the of the Belgian fort said that the (Bee BERLIN, Page A-6) Studio Will Not Renew Shirley Temple Contract By the Associated Press. -HOLLYWOOD, May 11.—Twen- tieth Century Fox Studio will not renew its contract with Shirl Temple, juvenile film star who was the world’s top-ranking box office attraction for 4 consecutive years. Amicable settiement of the 7-year- old contract, which expires July 1, announced pleted at Twentieth Century Fox, where she skyrocketed to mmmunmamm. MBED Just Watching—While Horses Are Changed in Midstream "Hands-O0ff' Warning On Dutch East Indies Repeated by Hull 4 Blunt Statement ‘Assumes’ Each Nation Will Keep Commitments (Story on U. S.-East Indies Trade on Page A-10.) American insistence that Japan as | well as other powers keep “hlnds: off” the Netherlands East Indies| ifim again by Secretary of State Hull yesterday that the JuPanese cabinet reaffirmed its con- cern over ble effect of war developments on the rich Dutch colonial empire in the South Pacific. Pointing. out that Japan had|. joined the United States and other nations in commitments to respect |. the status quo of the islands, Mr. Hull declared bluntly that “this Government assumes that each of the governments which has made commitments will continue to.abide by those commitments.” His statement was interpreted as | indicating official apprehension that Japan might attempt to occupy the strategic Dutch territory while the home country is fighting for its life against German ‘invasion. The United States fleet is believed to have been kept in Hawaiian waters to guard against such a move. Japanese spokesmen have insisted, however, that there is no divergence between the views of this Govern- ment and Japan regarding the im- portance of maintaining the status quo of the Netherlands East Indies. (See HULL, Page A-16) Armed Force Command Unified in Rumania By the Associated Press. BUCHAREST, May 11.—Having given command of Rumania’s army, air force and navy to a single cabi- net minister, Premier George Tata- rescu tonight promised the country that his new government would “guard the frontiers: with greater vigilance than ever.” Gen. Ion Ilcuzu, considereéd the country’s c'everest strategist, emerg- ed from the one-day cabinet shake- up with unprecedented powers to unite the ministries of war, air and marine under his leadership. Tatarescu, who resigned today and then reformed his government at King Carol’s command with Grigore Gafency retained as foreign minis- ter, declared: “Rumania will observe the strict- est neutrality in all circumstances and will not lend herself to foreign interests.” Nazis Say British Move Affects Monroe Doctrine By the Associated Press. & BERLIN, May 11—By landing military forces in the Netherlands West Indies, the newspaper Na- tionsl Zeitung said tonight the Brit- ish “carried the war into territory which comes within the scope of the Monroe Doctrine.” Every in this area “is an affair which is of interest for all American states,” it continued. “Of specigl interesti however, is the occupation of Curacso .., implrtant tegic :-%m to the Panama Canal.” Swiss Order Aliens To Surrender Arms By the Associated Press. 1 BERN, May 11—The Swiss Fed- eral Council tonight ordered all for- eigners possessing firearms to sur- throughout 8wi have been closed for at least a week fame|and the buildings have been turned over to mobilized troops. y War Bulletins LONDON, May 12 (Sunday) (#).—The Brussels radio re- ported at 7:03 a.m. today (1:03 am. ES.T.) that 10 German planes had been sighted over the city and 10 minutes later the station went off the air. Several hours earlier the sta- tion had announced that 31 Nazi bombers had flown over Acht at a height of 12,000 feet. LONDON, May 12 (Sunday) () ~The Dutch Air Ministry broadcast repeated warnings this merning of the presence of Ger- man airplanes over many locali- . ties in Holland, Reuters réporied. Most of the planes were said to be flying in a northwesterly di- rection, Dutiful Sentry Bags a General In Maneuvers By the Associated Press. CAMP BEAUREGARD, La., May 11.—A cautious “Blue” Army sen- try “killed” the commander of all forces engaged in the Army’s war Lt.| games today—but the officer, Gen. Stanley D. Embick, refused to be dead. Mistaking the general's flag of red with three white stars for a banner of the invading “Red” Army, the sentry opened fire. “Youre shot. Youre out,” he shouted against the roar of the blank cartridges. “I'm the general,” asserted Gen. Embick, ordering his aide to drive on. “I've got to pass.” “You can’t. I've got orders,” in- sisted the soldier. “Nobody with red showing can get through,” and he pointed to the general's flag. Gen. Embick explained the flag, but the sentry still was hesitant. “You might be & Red general,” he insisted. “You're shot.” “But I'm general of all these forces,” the officer replied. “Not to me,” declared the sentry. It took a bit more of such unmili- tary argument before the sentry finally- permitted the official car to pass. | Puts Hopes of U. S. Openly With Allies Note Sent to Leopold As Neutrality Act Is Extended By GARNETT D. HORNER. President Roosevelt last night put - | American hopes openly on the side of the allies in their war against German domination. ‘This was the effect of a warm per- Imn-l message to King Leopold of { Belgium, in which the President assured him: . “The people of the United States | hope, as I do, that policies which seek to dominate peaceful and inde- pendent peoples through force and military aggression may be arrested, and that the government and people | rity and their freedom.” | reply to a cablegram from King Leo- | pold, declaring that Belgium had been “brutally attacked by Ger- many” and appealing for support |of the President's moral authority in her battle “against the invader.” The exchange of cablegrams was made public at the State Depart- ment along with presidential proc- lamations applying the Neutrality Act to Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg. Surprisingly Frank Stand. Coupling of the surprisingly frank pronouncement of American hopes with the formal proclamation of neutrality was in line with Mr. Roosevelt’s dgclaration at the out- break of war last September that “this Nation will remain a neutral nation, but I cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought as well.” His message to the Belgian King climaxed a long series of statements aligning this country against Nazi policies. Less than a month on April 13—the President ter- ated ‘“disapprobation of such un- lawful exercise of force” as involved in the German invasion of Denmark and Norway. Similarly, when Russia invaded Finland last December, he condemned “this new resort to mili- tary force as the arbiter of inter- national differences.” Mr. Roosevelt reiterated to King i~ (See ROOSEVELT, Page A-5) 3 5',600 See Bimelech Take Preakness by Two Lengths Pays. $3.80; Mioland Second; Gallahadion ‘An Outrun Third By FRANCIS E. STAN, Star Btaft Correspondent. BALTIMORE, Md., May 11-Big Bimmy, the dusky colt which broke Kentucky, reimbursed the . Blue Grass today. By a margin of more than two lengths, Bimelech won the golden jubilee Pearkness and vindicated himself, his ailing, derby-hatted old owner, Col. Edward R. Bradley, and the 100-pound Cuban dwarf, Freddy Smith, who shared the criticism when the pride of the Idle Hour Farm failed to win the Derby a week ago. Thirty-five thousand spectators, and | one of the greatest throngs in the annals of historic Pimlico - track, came to find out if Bimelech, called by his owner “my greatest horse,” ‘was & real champion or merely an- other 2-year-old flash. In convinc- ing fashion Bimelech convinced them. Backed down to 4-to-5 on the twin electric odds boards, the son of Black Toney-La Trolenne won way & good race horse wins. He took the lead at the start and made every pole a winning one. At the finish Bimmy was more than two lengths ahead of Mioland, pride of thé Far West and Charles S. Howard. Bradley, owner of four Derby win- ners in'the past, didn’t see the 66th A BIMELECH. ¥ —A. P. Photo. Derby last week, but his physician allowed him to make the trip from Kentucky to Maryland and the néar- octogenarian, sitting unnoticed in a lower box near the finish line, o e et by, (Continued on Page E-1, Column 8.) 2 Roosevelt Message | Churchill Forms New Cabinet of All Parties 5-Man War Group Includes Attlee And Chamberlain By the Assbciated Press. LONDON, May 11.—With charac- teristic speed, Winston Churchill to- night formed a new British govern- ment of all parties and gathered around himself a new streamlined, five-man war cabinet while allied forces raced against time for vantage points in the Low Countries and swapped blows from the air with German warplanes. The war cabinet, replacing the old eight-man board of strategy of Neville Chamberlain, includes Mr. Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, foreign secretary under the resigned Prime Minister, and the Labor party lead- ers, Clement R. Attlee and Arthur Greenwood. Its formation was announced. as British and French troops sped to positions alongside. their new Dutch and Belgian allies, Royal Air Force planes blasted away at German con- centrations and communications in the Rhineland and British naval | planes gave Adolf Hitler a dose of his own surprise strategy with sud- den stabs against German-occupied Bergen, on Norway's west coast. In addition to the premiership, Mr. Churchill retained the portfolio of defense minister and designated Mr. Chamberlain Lord President of the Council; Mr. Attlee, Lord Privy Seal; Mr. Greenwood, minister with- out portfolio, and kept Lord Halifax in his old foreign post. | Eden in War Office. In appointments outside the war cabinet, he handed over his former of Belgium may preserve their integ- | Mr. Roosevelt’s message was in | job of Pirst Lord of the Admiralty |to A. V. Alexander, Laborite, who |held the post in Ramsay MacDon- |ald’s government in 1929-31, and appointed Anthony Eden, Conserva= | tive, minister of war, and Sir Archi- | bald Sinclair, Liberal leader, air minister. Mr. Churchill expects to announce other cabinet appointments Mon- day or Tuesday. There were no immediate indica- tions who will be Chancellor of the Exchequer or whether Sir John Simon is being replaced in this post. It is regarded now as unlikely that Lloyd George, World War Pre- mier and chief critic of Mr. Cham- berlain, will be included in the Churchill cabinet. Handsome, assertive Eden, former Foreign Secretary under Mr. Cham- | berlain and later Dominions Secre- | tary, supplants Oliver Stanley, whose replacement of popular Leslie Hore- | Belisha in the war Ministry last January caused sharp critcism. Mr. Attlee, chief of the Labor upposition, who helped bring Cham- berlain’s downfall, replaces Sir Kingsley Wood. Sir Samuel Hoare is supplanted by Sir Archibald, Liberal opposi- tion spokesman, and Mr. Green- wood, deputy Labor leader, takes over the post formerly held by Lord Hankey. Heads Privy Council As Lord President of the council, Mr. Chamberlain is presiding mem- ber of the Privy Council, a position not formerly included in the war cabinet but listed in tonight's an- nouncement as second only to Mr. Churchill's post. The smaller war cabinet meets the demands of numerous members of Parliament for a less wieldy body to facilitate quick decisions. Its duty is to step up the British war effort unhampered by depart- mental red tape. Mr. Chamberlain in his new post is expected to be able to take over a >at deal of the House of Commons work formerly falli g on the Prime Minister, thus freeing Mr. Churchill for the big job of running the war. Some criticism of this appointe ment was heard in the lobby on the ground that it gives the former Prime Minister too, much author- ity in the government. Reconstruction of the war cabi- net leaves out the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the three serv~ ice ministers. One of the criti- cisms of Mr. Chamberlain’s war cabinet was that it included serv- ice ministers. Mr. Churchill, who succeeded Mr. Chamberlain -last night as Prime Minister, strove through Saturday conferences to hasten the reorgani- zation of the government. Men he consulted included Mr. Chamberlain, Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax and two leaders of the Labor party, Mr. Attlee and Mr. Greenwood. Development of the day included: 1. An announcement that new classes of conscripts up to the age (See CHURCHILL, Page A-4) Aunt of D. C. Publisher Suffocafes in Fire at Home Ry the Associated Press. SAN JOSE, Calif., May 11.—Mrs. Mary Patterson, 70, widow of Ray- mond Patterson, one-time dean of ‘Washington (D. C.) newspaper cor- respondents, suffocated today in a fire at her Saratoga home. She came to California 10 years ago from Washington. Her hus- band, writer for the Chicago Tri- bune, died in 1908. Mrs. Patterson was the aunt of Joseph Patterson, publisher of the New York Daily News, and of Eleanor Patterson, publisher of the Washington Times-Herald. flrAn overheated stove caused the e. She is survived by a son, Robert Patterson, San Prancisco attorney, and a daughter, Ruth Wallace of Darien, Conn,