Evening Star Newspaper, June 2, 1940, Page 4

Newest Batfleship Is Launched Amid Sirict Precautions Washiagton Is First - Link in Accelerated Program of Navy By the Associated Press. * PHILADELPHIA, June 1—Withj all the grace of its pretty 15-year- old sponsor, the 35000-ton battle- ship Washington slid down the ways of the Philadelphia Navy Yard today to make its maiden “curtsy” to the Delaware River as the first naval link in America’s accelerated rearmament program. ‘While 30,000 cheering spectators Jooked on, Mmss Virginia Marshall of Spokane shattered a bottle of champagne on the bow with one decisive brow and the gayly deco- rated “battle wagon” eased swiftly into the water. Miss Marshall is & lineal descendant of John Marshall, Chief Justice from 1801 to 1835. “It was a perfect launching,” commented one high-ranking naval | officer as the Washington's stern| turned downstream and a dozen| tugs churned up to lead the 565,-‘ 000,000 ship to a temporary berth. | Later it will be placed in drydock for completion. The newest and| largest addition to the Navy will not | Jjoin the fleet for more than a year. There was little to remind one of | r wartime restrictions dns ;he k;“gii : crowd milled around the glan vessel—only the entrances, where| PHILADELPHIA—U. S. credentials were inspected and Navy | airplanes and blimps circling the | g ton, first capital ship addition to the United States Fleet since 1921, is shown here yesterday as THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 2, ‘Mv—PART ONE. S 35,000-ton battleship Washing- yard gave evidence of the stringent precautions taken to guard the ship’s secrets. Shipping was halted on the river for four miles in the area of the yard. Chariman Walsh of the Senate Naval Affairs Committee described the launching in a speech as the “beginning of a renaissance of naval preparedness” that will make Amer- ica unassailable. “The American people,” he de- clared, “are determmed at all costs to prepare for any eventuality that may follow the European war.” Assistant Secretary of the Navy Lewis Compton called past American efforts to “encourage disarmament by example * * * sincere, however futile.” “But now.” he warned, “we are determined to build as many and as mighty men-of-war, planes and tanks and other ‘aggressor stoppers’ &s the situation demands.” The Washington, first capital ship to be launched since 1921 and first of the 68 ships the Navy is speeding to completion under Roosevelt’s preparedneess program, will carry nine 16-inch guns. The third naval vessel named for the State of Washington, she will have 1.450 officers and men and a cruising radius of 5,000 miles at a speed of 28 to 30 knots. Henry (Continued From First Page.) around St. Quentin and Peronne. It is not"exactly‘a eomfortable feel- ing to be sitting in a plane while the *poum-poums” burst aroeund. They explode on almost every side at almost the same moment that you see the flashes on the ground. Un- less they are very close they give only the sensation of a gigantic fire- works display. Undaunted by Shells. It takes a direct hit in a vital spot to disable one of these giant planes. Even a hit on the wings makes only a hole a foot square. The plane jolts slightly and then drones on its way. From the air at night the battle it leaves the Maginot Line, through Stenay, Attigny, Rethel, Neufcha- teau, Anizy, La Fere, Chauny, Ham and Amiens to Abbeville, on the Eng- lish Channel, shows as a scarcely defined line. If it were not for the Aisne and the Somme Rivers, which the line follows, it would be difficult to recognize. Apparently heavy fighting was going on in the Amiens-Albert re- gion, where the French seem to have driven a salient. There the flash of artillery was heavier than at any other part of the line and there we saw minute flames which the observation officer said were President | protection. Federal Works | (Continued From First Page.) | New Deal expansion in Washington, | the office would have the duty of | providing immediate rental space for the thousands of Federal workers who would be brought here. With rentable office space at a premium now, one of the first needs to be | met here in the event of mobiliza- | tion would be additional authoriza- | tipns for public buildings. All such | activities come within the range of | the Public Works Agency. As an indication of what public works expenditures have done for military preparedness .during the seven years, officials said Federal allotments had been made to the | Army and Navy totaling nearly three-quarters of a billon dollars. | Additional hundreds of millions have been spent for non-Federal construction such as airports, traf- fic highways, armories and hospi- tals, much of which would be of emergency service to the Nation in the event of wartime mobilization. Steps being taken now by Ad- ministrator Carmody to make per- | sonnel and records available for ‘possible use, are part of the pat- | tern for co-operation of all Federal | agencies with the national defense program. | Quasi-Military Jobs Put First. | Included in the directions was an | order giving priority to all F. W. A. | construction work now under way or about to be undertaken that would be of any possible military | use. Col. F. C. Harrington, Army- | trained commissioner of the Work Projects Administration, foresaw such a need several weeks ago. He directed then, on his own initiative, that priority be given to all work involving military purposes. According to an Associated Press | report, officials of the F. W. A. | said the lists of persons and proj- ects would be open to the public through the Civil Service Commis- sion and through William H. Mc- | Reynolds, secretary of the Presi- | line, running from Montmedy, where \ dent’s Advisory Committee on Na- | | | tional Defense. | The Public Works Administration, | which employed 10,000 trained per- | sonnel until recently, is now re- duced to mere skelton form. Its | construction program is nearing | completion and funds on hand are sufficient only to wind up the work. | As a result, hundreds of its en- | gineers, architects, attorneys and | some 7,000 more trained personmel who include technicians have been furloughed. \ Most of these could render ef- fective service in private industry. | Their names and records would be made available to industrial | concerns which may have to make she slid down the ways into the water. Note huge bulges on ship’s sides, part of her underwater [War Communiques | 4Many hits were made, followed by German BERLIN, June 1 (®.—A high command special communique said: Remnants of the defeated British Expeditionary Force today tried to use smaller boats to reach the war- ships and transports off the harbor of Dunkerque. Relays of attacks by the German air force made this impossible, Junker dive-bombers especially having attacked the war- ships and transports. According to reports received so far, three warships and eight trans- ports, totaling 40,000 tons, were sunk, four warships and 14 merchantmen were hit by medium and heavy bombs, set aflame and badly dam- aged. Forty English fighter planes which tried to protect the embarkation were shot down by the German air force. The German attacks continue and we await further successes. British | LONDON, June 1 (®—The text of the Air Ministry com- munique follows: Aircraft of the Royal Air Force coastal command carried out an- other successful attack on oil stor- age depots at Rotterdam yesterday. Further explosions and fires were caused. Today three planes of the coastal command were engaged by nine Messerschmitt fignters off the Bel- gian coast. In a running fight 50 feet above the sea two of the enemy were shot down, two were disabled and the rest flew away. Our air- craft returned safely. Last night aircraft of the bomber command carried out heavy bomb- —A. P, Wirephoto. fire and explosions. Medium bombers of the Royal Air Force and the fleet air arm have continued to support withdrawal operations of the B. E. F. through- out the day. Canal bridges, motor transports, railway junctions and troops have been repeatedly attacked. In the Dunkerque area today the number of enemy aircraft con- firmed as having been destroyed has already reached 40. Thirty-three others have been reported as having been- destroyed or severely dam- aged. Thirteen of our aircraft are reported missing. In the Narvik (Norway) area on May 29 our fighters destroyed two enemy aircraft and severely injured two others. French PARIS, June 1 (#).—The French night communigue said: In the north our troops continued to cover the embarkation (at Dun- | kerque) successfully, repelling the | renewed efforts of the enemy. Sustained activity on both sides of the Somme front. No incidents of importance on all the remainder of the front. On the afternoon of May 31 our bombers, in spite of the activity of enemy fighters, carried out in the north region massive attacks against enemy concentrations and convoys. long-distance reconnais- sances were made over the Meuse, Moselle and Rhine Rivers. During the afternoon of June 1 an enemy aircraft expedition was intercepted by our fighters in the valley of the Rhone. Several machines, the number not ing attacks on targets around Nieu- | port and on port facilities at Ostend. as yet ascertained, were brought down by us. BY the Associated Press. | The following “box score” lists | the 39th week of the war, from May Netherlands Sweden Norway Previously reported Grand total Losses in War at Sea : Planes. ‘Warships. Mines. 10 (X) Tonnage of two British ships unknown. sea warfare losses reported during 26 to June 1, inclusive: A 5 H Kl cl nknows Causes g Tonnage. X115 12110 (22411 3425 1316 1204 938 !l 8oocoocof 32,665 1974872 2,007,537 = - 19 182 4,106 | preparations to expand overnight. | Thousands of skilled workers em- | ployed by the P. W. A. and listed jon the records of other agencies |over a period of years, officials said yesterday, could be fitted into from machine gun fire. Our plane was scouting to learn the effect of the bombing of the other planes. ‘The squadron already had bombed (Z) Tonnage of one French ship unknown. (Y) Fourteen listed previously as missing were rescued. Losses by nations (includes naval vessels). Britain—279; France—26; Germany—58; Norway—67; Sweden—45; Netherlands—34; Denmark—30; Greece—22; Finland—13; Belgium—T7; the Cambrai Airport when we ar- rived over it. The southeast corner of the airport was in flames, indi- cating that a direct hit had been made either on gasoline tanks or stocks of incendiary bombs. ‘The squadron skirted the zone where British and French forces were almost cut off in Flanders. It was only a few hours before that we had learned there were Belgian troops still protecting their north fank. From a distance flames could be eeen raking the Channel ports which are the only means of supply and evacuation for the two embattled armies there. Convoys Discerned. As far inland as we were, it was difficult to establish the line of the seacoast, but flashes from what we believed were Allied warships indi- cated the fleet as supporting the Allled armies, Behind the German lines fast- moving convoys were outlined as dark blurs on the roads. Only at crossroads could their movement be distinguished. It was such a cross- road south of Abbeville that had been designated as the second objective of the squadron. From the air the effect of .the bombs’ dropping was almost undis- tinguishable. It may have been be- cause they were droped from another vlane, but the only noticeable effect was the blurring of an already ob- scure mass. Observers of the plane that dropped the bombs, however, re- ported direct hits. The return flight was uneventful except for the delicate task of setting the plane down on an almost darkened field. Even fully loaded bombers are given only a brief flash of light as they start to settle down. As fast as a plane landed it was taken in hand by expert crews who worked in darkness to refuel it and reload it with bombs for the next flight. The French are working at top efficiency in’ an effort to make up for their numerical inferiority to the Germans, s the defense program. They em- phasized the personnel rolls, how- | ever, would be used solely for vol- | untary serivce of the individual or | in industrial expansion. Available Buildings Listed. | Federal building officials have | listed every available building and |apartment house in Washington that could be utilized for office space. “We have not forgotten the mis- takes of the World War period,” one | of them said yesterday. “No official | order has been given to draw up an emergency housing program, but in anticipation of such an order we have been studying the situation in Washington and have two plans in mind.” These plans involve the removal from Washington of such agencies that could operate in the field with- out impairment to their efficiency. That would create vacancies in Government-owned and rented of- fices which emergency workers could utilize. It also was pointed out that study is being given to a new Fed- eral building program for Wash- ington. The drawing up of a building pro- gram would not be difficult in view of the continuous studies that over- crowding of Government buildings here has necessitated during the past seven years. Crowding at All-Time High. Some idea of the existing require- ments of Federal office space in the District may be obtained from the record figures as of May 1, repre- senting what is believed to be an all-time high. A total of 4,303,245 net square feet of office space in every available building is being rented now at a cost of $3,866,494 yearly. The amount of Government-owned space under control of the departments is 16,- 393,780 net square feet. Excluded from these figures are the Capitol, Library of Congress, Government Printing Office, Treasury and Bureau of Engraving and Printing, as well as the Senate and House Office Build- ings. v Scattered Offices a Handicap. The new Federal Office Building In the Southwest section will not he ) Italy—7; Estonia—6; Lithuania—3; tina—1; Poland—1; Rumania—1; Yugoslavia—2; Soviet—1; Argen- ‘Total—605. Japan—1; Latvia—1; Spain—1. completed until next January. No | building official here would predict{ what the Government’s housing | needs would be by then. ‘To accommodate any large per- | sonnel group of 3,000 or 4,000 workers, it was said, it would be necessary in the present circumstances to rent space in some 30 widely separated buildings, “The disadvantages of such a hodge-podge, especially for emergency work, are readily seen,” it was said. When the 1940 census is com- pleted, the new Census Building would be available to accommodate other Federal workers. This would ease the situation somewhat nor- mally, but would count for little under emergency conditions. President Roosevelt’s letter to Congress Friday requesting an ap- propriation of $1,060,000 to add a fourth story to the Navy and Muni- tions Building, it was pointed out, was required for the expected ex- pansion there. Athens (Continued From First Page.) held Albanian border, and establish more anti-aircraft defenses. Most Greeks declare they want to resist Italy, but that Gen. Metaxas fears Greece would suffer Holland’s PIANOS for RENT New full keyboard spin- o and small uprights, only $5 monthly. Grond pioncs, $9 monthly. AN the money you poy es National 4730 fate by an Italian blitzkrieg which would end his dictatorship with scant chance of restoration, irre- spective of the war’s outcome. Sale Brand New, Full 88 Note . . Spinet Pianos ey D, Standard size pianos made by Starr. A special lot of instru~ ments we bought at a very low figure from a dealer who re- cently closed his piano depart- . ment. They are factory priced ot $265, have a full keyboard and all good standard piano features. Plain case finished in mahogany. Easily the most out- standing value we have offered in @ long time. Number at this price limited, so don’t delay if you're interested in a. real bargain. Very easy terms. For details call NAtional 4730, Since 1872 the mame Starr on @ piano has meant that it is made of sturdy materials by master work- men who know how to build and tone good instruments. vental applies on the K l T T,s purchuse price if you docide to buy later. 1330 @ Street CKITT’S 1330 G Street Governors’ Conclave To Have Overfones 0f War and Election Items Not on Program Opening Tonight Loom As Large as Others By the Associated Press. DULUTH, Minn., June 1.—Echoes of European warfare and advance rumblings of the national election campaign today threatened to drown out the prepared chorus at the Na- tional Governor’s Conference open- ing here tomorrow night. As the State chieftains began ar- riving for the four-day session, a couple of items that were not on the regular program loomed large in the spotlight. One was‘ President Roosevelt’s recommendation that the Governors give some thought to the military defenses of the United States. ‘The official program of the con- ference contained no reference to the international situation, but Gov. Lloyd C. Stark of Missouri, chair- man of the conference Executive Committee, said Thursday night he would “bring the matter” of na- tional defense before the group Monday. Gov. Stark conferred with Mr. Roosevelt shortly before the Presi- dent made his suggestion to the con- ference. G. O. P. to Be Active. For the Republicans, the confer- ence promised to bring some im- portant backstage activity centering around the National Republican Convention at Philadelphia late this month, Gov. Harold E. Stassen, Minne- Communists (Continued From First Page.) not be to the best interests of the! public.” The National Broadcasting Co. and the Mutual Broadcasting System have scheduled broadcasts tomorrow of convention proceedings during which Browder will be nominated Communist candidate for President and James W. Ford, Negro, for Vice President. Browder, who is on bail following his conviction for passport fraud, is schedul-d to deliver his accept- ance speech tomorrow night over the Columbis Broadcasting System network. (The convention proceedings will be broadcast locally by WMAL and WOL from 12:30 to 1 pm. Browder’s speech will be broadcast by WJSV from 7 to 7:15 pm.) Revision of Law Urged. After protests against the broad- casts developed yesterday, the major radio chains announced that the Federal Communications Act com- pelled them to “treat all candidates for public office alike.” C. B. S. added that it believed the law should be revised “so that no broadcasting system is compelled to give time to the candidates of any political party if it is proved to be subservient to a foreign power.” Mutual amplified its statement by saying individual stations on its net- wark were not obligated to carry the broadcasts, while the national chain was. Another move to halt the Sun- day broadcasts was discontinued by John J. O’Connor, former N2w York Democratic Representative when he found he had insufficient time to obtain a court injunction against the programs. In Washington, the Federal Com- munications Commission said in an=- swer to protests that it had no au- thority to order the broadcasts can- RADIO PHONOGRAPHS Used on Display Only $45.00—RCA -Victor 1939 armchair model with all wave radio and automatic push button-tuning. Was $79.95. $58.00—Detrola 1940 model automatic record changing com- bination with all wave radio. Was $79.95. $49.75—RCA-Victor 1939 model combination that was $79.95. Has automatic phono- graph stop, push button tuning, 12-inch speaker. $119.50—RCA-Victor de luxe automatic record changing com- bination. Beautiful console case and all wave radio. List price, $149.95. $140.00—RCA-Victor de luxe 1940 model automatic record changing set with all wave radio, push button tuning and many other features. List price, $175. $99.95—Stewart Warner 1940 model automatic combination with all wave radio. Has all controls on front. Was $129.95. $140.00—Recordio, 1940 de luxe model. The combination recorder ,radio, phonograph and public address system all in one ®init. Complete with microphone. List price is $175. $795.00—Capehart de luxe S Sl portul il e . nger o powerful all wave radio. List price, $995. One display machine only at this price. Very Easy Terms - NATIONAL 3223 o 4 sota’s youthful chief executive, is to be temporary chairman and key- noter at the national convention and he has said freely that he will look to the Republican Governors attending the conference here for some suggestions and information before he writes the keynote speech. The conference opens Sunday night with a reception at the Hotel Duluth, conference headquarters, and gets down to its serious busi- ness Monday morning, with Gov, Stark presiding over the first ses- sion. Talks scheduled on the morning program are by Gov. James H. Price of Virginia, “Financial Planning and Budget Administration”; Gov. John W. Bricker of Ohio, “Organization and Operation of Public Se.vices,” and Gov, Leverett Saltonstall, Mas- sachusetts, “History of the Massa- chusetts Conciliation and Arbitra- tion Board.” Relief Problems Session. Monday afternoon Gov. George A. Wilson of Towa will preside over a session on relief problems, which will include a talk by Gov. Charles A. Sprague of Oregon, “Organiza- tion and Administration of Relief”; one by Maryland’s Gov. Herbert R. O’Conor, “Is the Present Relief Pro- gram Adequate and Effective?” and one by Gov. Eurith D. Rivers of Georgia, “The Problem of Taxation and the Problem of Relief.” Gov. Stassen, Gov. William H. Vanderbilt of Rhode Island, and Gov. Homer A. Holt of West Vir- ginia will give the speeches at a conference dinner Monday night. The conference will move to the Minnesota Iron Range Tuesday, with an executive session aboard a special train en route to Ely that morning. At a luncheon at Burnt- side Lodge, summer resort near Ely, Gov. Prentice Cooper of Tennesee will be the speaker. Tuesday afternoon the party will go to Virginia, Minn., and then to Hibbing, where the Governors will tour the world’s largest open pit iron mine, then be guests of Iron Range Chamber of Commerce at a dinner and ice show. Govs. Stassen, Stark and Harlan J. Bushfield, the latter of South Dakota, will speak at the dinner. Gov. Leahy Will Talk. Returning to Duluth, the confer- ence will resume its business ses- sions Wednesday morning, with Gov. Willlam D. Leahy of Puerto Rico presiding. Aiken of Vermont and Gov. Clifford Townsend of Indiana will lead a discussion of State develop- ment through land utilization, and Gov. Raymond E. Baldwin of Con- Gov. George D.| M. | necticut will speak on “The State and its Cities.” Gov. John Moses of North Dakato will preside over the final afternoon session, which will include talks by Gov. Paul B. Johnson of Mississippl, “The Wages and Hours Law and State Labor Standards,” and Gov. Robert L. Cochran of Nebrasks, “Eliminating Trade Barriers.” The conference will wind up ‘Wednesday night with a State din- ner at which each of the 25 Gov- ernors expected to attend will speak. A network of about 230 radio sta- tions will carry of the con- ference on two Nation-wide chains, with arrangements in progress to- day to add a third chain to the list. ‘The formal conference opening Monday morning will be carried by the N. B. C. blue network for 15 minutes beginning at 10 am. (C. 8. T.). The Mutual Broadcast- ing Co. will give a half-hour broad- cast, starting at 8:30 p.m. Wednes- day night, of the State dinner. Mrs. Bacon Urges Chains To Seek Communist Ban Mrs, Robert Low Bacon, promi- nent Washingtonian, last night wired the heads of four radio chains asking them to demand that the Government ban Communists fr use of the radio networks of the country. Three national chains are sched- uled to carry the proceedings of the American Communist party’s con- vention in New York City today. Earl Browder, general secretary of the party, is one of those scheduled to talk. Mrs. Bacon, in a statement, com- mended the Columbia Broadcast- ing Co. for its stand in urging re- vision of communication law re- quiring that all political parties be given equal radio facilities and | asked other systems to take a simi- lar stand. Mrs. Bacon's telegrams went to the National Broadcasting Co., the Mutual Broadcasting System, the | Yankee and Colonial Networks in | New England and the Don Lee Broadcasting System on the West | Coast. The latter system informed Mrs. Bacon of its co-operation. Vegetable Shortage Fought | Patches of the giant white rad- | ish known as daikon in Japan may | spring up shortly in the hearts| ot citles and barren spots near | suburban industrial plants, accord- | ing to a plan of the Welfare Min istry at Tokio to cope with the | vegetable shortage. Arts Club Elects Officers LEONARDTOWN, Md., June 1 (Special) —Edward Stokel has been elected president of the Arts and Crafts Club at Margaret Brent High School. 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