Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1942, Page 6

A—4 ®% Striking Welders Chart Secret Course, Leader Reveals Back-to-Work Move Reported by Employers After Criticism in Capital By the Associated Press. TACOMA, Wash, Feb. 3.—Wi employers reporting a back-to-work move under way, idle welders of the Puget Sound area announced today they would pursue an undisclosed new course in their rebellion against compulsory membership in A. F. L. unions, The change in tactics, which Shelly Knutson, new welders’ leader at Seattle, said he could not reveal yet, followed a stinging indictment by war leaders of the welders’ walk- out in Seattle and Tacoma ship- yards. The statement issued yesterday by War Production Director Donald | Nelson, Secretary of War Stimson, | Secretary of the Navy Knox and Maritime Commission Chairman Emory 8. Land branded the walkout a3 “an attempted impairment of the war effort.” Silent on Picketing. Mr. Knutson issued the following statement late last night after a Beattle welders’ meeting: “The members of the United | Brotherhood of Welders, Cutters and | Helpers of America, once more in the face of public opinion, to prove the instability of the American Federa- | tion of Labor, are forced in all fu- | ture business to follow an entirely new course. “We are launching a new strategy | to prove our points on this jurisdic- | tional question.” He would not say whether picket- ing would be continued, pending de- velopment of the new strategy, or whether the welders would remain away from work. The current stoppage was pre- cipitated by the dischargs of nine welders in the Seattle-Tacoma ship- yards here for failure to pay dues | in the A. F. L. Boilermakers' Union. | Under the A. F. L. Metal Trades contract with shipyards of the re-! gion, good standing in A. F. L.| unions is necessary. | Controversy Over Cards. The original complaint of the welders was that they had to carry | cards in more than one union. The statement issued by the war | heads at Washington asserted: “Through processes of orderly ad- | Justment this complaint was settled | to the satisfaction of a substantial | majority. Today no welder in the West Coast shipwards or aireraft in- dustry is required to carry more | than one card.” Mr. Knutson denied that that con- dition existed. “If & welder has a machinists’ union card, for example,” Mr. Knutson said, “he still has to get a boilermakers’ card to work.” Asked to Repudiate Leaders. The Government war leaders called upon welders in their state- ment “to repudiate the leadership which has eacouraged a reckless dis- | regard of the-needs-of the-country.” Em| the AZX.L. and.welders’ leaders disagreed over the extent of the back-to-work movement. A. F. L. officials contended about 400 welders had reported to work in ths. .Tacoma . planty” Thirles Brinkerhoff, leader of the 1,180 welders.. who began the Tacoma walkout Friday, said only 15 were | Eicher Is Sworn In To District Court Post By Justice Douglas Friends of New Jurist And Leaders of Bar Witness Ceremony Edward C. Eicher of Iowa, former chairman of the Securities and Ex- change Commission, was sworn in | today as chief justice of District | Court, * The simple ceremonies at the Dis- trict Court Building were witnessed | by the new chief justice’s friends and by those prominent in legal| circles here. | Associate Justice Willlam O. Douglas of the United States Sufl preme Court administered the oath | of office. Attorney General Biddle sat at the right hand of the new chief justice. Bailey Reads Commission. Justice Jennings Bailey of District Court, who has had nearly 25 vears of service on the bench here and who has been acting as chief justice since the retirement of Justice Al- fred A. Wheat, read the commission which appointed Mr. Eicher to the Judiciary When the oath had been admin- istered, Chief Justice Eicher put on his judicial robes and signed the oath. Then Justice Bailey welcomed him to the judicial ranks, saying: “I hope you will be with us for many years and find satisfaction in your work.” . ! 1s Felde A" reception in Justiée Eicher's Many of the jurist's old colléagues at the S. E. C. and in Congress, where he ‘had sétved, were. 19 to wish him well. Mrs. Eicher was in the audience which witnessed the swearing in, as chambers followed the ceremony. | CONGRATULATES SUCCESSOR—Former Chief Justice ‘Alfred A. Wheat of District Court, who retired January 1, pictured to- day as he shook hands with the new Chief Justice, Edward C. Eicher, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Com- mission, after the swearing-in ceremony. —Star Staff Photo. e S ‘Taking Over Schools For Government Use Hit by Ciizens Georgetown Progressive Group Hears of Plans For Salvage Program ‘The Salvage for Victory program was outlined to members of the| Progressive Citizens’ Association of | Georgetown last night by Horace | ‘Walker, executive secretary of the District Salvage Committee. The association in its business | meeting adopted resolutions pro- testing the requisition of the Kramer Junior High School in Ana- costia for Government offices, favor- ing the sale of streetcar tokens at three for 25 cents and opposing the Schulte bill prohibiting advertise- ment of liquor prices. | Mr. Walker called for the citizens’ help in the salvage program by set- ting up collection depots for the 50 per cent of the people who, he said, do not have enough material to warrant pickup service by dealers and charity agencies. He stressed that the work was not a campaign or drive, but a program, vital in pro- duction of war materials. Funds from sale of the material could also be & valuable help in purchasing defense equipment for the local units, he suggested, or the material might be turned over to charities. | Six resolutions were presented by Mrs. Oscar Kuldell, chairman of the Education Committee of the group, alP'6f which were accepted.’ . Besides e - to thesKramer School, one resolution applied the same policy in all similar cases, | charging that “the education of the children of defense workers in this clity 187Rlsa & defense project.” Other recommendations were for appropriations for school repairs, to | provide additional clerks in the counted by his observers at the | were his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth | school system and for transporta- plant entrance. A group of approximately 50 welders who had been mingling with pickets outside the corpora- | tion's Seattle plant, entered the ! plant in a body late yesterday. | Company officials said thev raise the total to 328, only about 70 short | He told newspapermen that he and | of a normal crew. Plundering, CruéWlaid To Japanese in Indies By the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3.—Jap-| anese were accused of plundering | Culligan; his niece, Mrs. Hanna Bailey, and his cousin, Mrs. George Gallup of Princeton, N. J., wife of the public opinion analyst. Chief Justice Eicher brought with him to his new work his secretary at the S. E. C., Miss Elsie M. Garrity. Justice F. Dickinson Letts of District Court were both born in the same county in Iowa and were old friends. New Comet Discovéred; Will Be Visible Soon Br the Associated Press. and cruelty in a broadcast by Gov.- CAMBRIDGE. Mass., Feb. 3.—A new comet, which will become al- Gen. van Stackenborgh Stachouwer most visible to the unaided eye early of the Netheslands Indies, heard yes- in March, was announced by the terday by t . B. 5. Harvard College Observatory today. | terday by he C. B. 5. short Wa¥e| “The discovery, by Dr. Fred L.| i R nE 2 ‘Whipple, was made on photographic | There is no reason to hide the | plates recorded by Harvard patrol fact that, by purposely uprooting cameras. A fairly small object—now authority. plundering and cruelty, a hundred million miles distant, ac- | unmentionable suffering is added cording to computations by R. N.| unnecessarily to the mental distress | Thomas of the Harvard astronomical } already brought on by the occupa- | staff—the comet is expected to come | tion of sections of Netherlands |within 60,000,000 miles of the earth | India,” he said. | at its closest approach in March. By “Occupying troops and their com- | comparison, the sun is 93,000,000 | tion and special educational facil- ities for crippled and blind children. Mrs. Joseph L. Goodman intro- duced the motion on streetcar tokens. The new proposal is now under consideration by the District Public Utilities Commission. The Schulte bill, recently passed by the House, was attacked of grounds that the new law would de- prive liquor dealers of their “nat- ural right.” | 0 5 |Japs’ Purchases in U. S. Seen Prolonging War Because “we have furnished Japan | with 80 per cent of her war ma- | terials,” the war will continue for at least two or three years, Frederick Snyder, news commentator, yester- day told the annual meeting of the Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers Association at the Seco Theater in Silver Spring. The following directors of the as- sociation were re-elected to three- year terms: Frank S. Walker, Orange, Va.; E. L. Popkins, Alexandria; Victor Harding, Ashburn, Va.; Grover Greer, Bel Air, Md.; Ronald Kling, Frederick, Md.; M. E. Remsburg, ¢ Roving British Units Fight fo Hold Route Across Libyan Bulge Fourth Indian Division Slowly Retreats Under Heavy Axis Pressure By the Associated Press. CAIRO, Egypt, Feb. 3.—Roving British armored columis fought on the offensive northeast of Msus today in a dogged effort to hold the inland shortcut which dominates the bulging North African shoreline, while the 4th Indian Division slowly retreated through the Gebel El Achdar coastal range. The British Near East commu- nique said this division was under heavy pressure of enemy forces, which apparently had beef rein- forced. The extent of the with- drawal was not given, but yester- day this division was said to be just east of Slonta, about 240 miles from the Egyptian border and 100 miles northeast of Bengasi. (The Italians said they had passed Cirene, ancient seat of Greek culture, just to the north and slightly east of Slonta.) Msus is 80 miles south of Slonta and slightly east. Thus while giving way along the coast, the British were endeavoring to hold their posi- tions on the inland route along which they have twice slashed in previous campaigns to cut off Bengasi. ' Effort to Stabilize Front. The air force, particularly fighter patrols, was giving close and effec- tive support to the Indians and also to the roving mobile forces attempt- ing to counteract the coastal ad- vance, the communique said. in the Msus area was being fought in the hope of stabilizing a front | across the North African coastal bulge by threatening German Mar- shal Erwin Rommel’s extended flank. It was obvious that enforced evacuation of Bengasi and the area to the east had rendered futile any hope of smashing Marshal Rom- mel's offensive by a counterattack aimed at his left flank. Caught Unawares, In view of this situation, British strategy appeared to call for a gen- eral withdrawal which would stretch Marshal Rommel's vital lines of communication and finally force a showdown on ground suited to a | strong defense, There was no disposition here to deny that the British had been caught unawares by the ability of the Germans and Italians to rein- force their North African armies with armored units and transport |in & short time. 3 Columns Operate East Of Cirene, Italians Say ROME, Feb. 3 (#.—An advance of more than 110 miles beyond the newly recaptured base at Bengasi was indicated by an Italian high command declaration that three otorized ;cOMITTIS Were opére ‘m u:o tl:e' eastward of Cirene.-o; e n Tuitip & few raled | from the Mediterranean. Retreating British Brought lTo Battle, Germans Say . | BERLIN (From German Broad- casts), Feb. 3 (#).—German and Italian forces advancing eastward across Libya have again brought re- treating British forces to battle and have inflicted heavy losses on them in men and material, the Nazi high command said today. Gen. Pratt Will Command All Forces in Trinidad By the Associated Press ‘ PORT OF SPAIN. Trinidad. Feb. | 3—Maj. Gen. Henry Pratt of the ‘Unlbed States Army will be in su- | preme command of all forces in Trinidad in case hostilities touch this British colony directly, Gov. Sir Apparently, the rearguard action | D. C. Auto Rafioning Is Placed in Hands Of Leary's Board Those Who Contracted For Cars Before Jan. 1 May Have to Apply The District Commissioners today assigned automobile rationing to the District Rationing Board, headed by ‘Whitney Leary, which heretofore has received general regulations from the Office of Price Administra- tion but that he has not had time for a detailed study of them. However, he sald it appeared it would be necessary for either the buyer or the dealer involved in sale ofr~automobiles contracted for prior to January 1, to submit an applica- tion to the District Rationing Board to permit a check of the contract date. Such cars may.be released be- tween February 12 and February 26, if the contracts were signed prior to the January 1 freezing order. The District Rationing Board now consists of seven members on an executive board headed by Mr. Leary, and threée subordinate boards which deal with applications for re- tioning of tires and tubes for the several specialized classes of eli- gibles. Mr. Leary said one or more boards would be named to deal spe- cifically with rationing of auto- mobiles. Maximum Prices Set. In the national situation, after setting maximum wholesale and retail prices for new passenger cars to be sold under the rationing pro- gram, the O, P. A, was reported about ready to place in effect a rationing plan for retreaded or re- capped tires, Administrator Leon Henderson announced these automobile price ceilings yesterday: Wholesale, not to exceed the highest prices charged between last October 1 and 15; re- G STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1942. 3 The Rev. Claude L. Pickens, " Jr, imprisoned by Japs at Hankow. | ‘The Rev. Henry Pickens. He is either in the Philippines or tafl, to iriclude as markups from| list price the Federal excise tax, the actual rail freight charge, 5 per| cent of the list price plus the trans- | portation allowance, or $75, which- | | ever is lower, and a 1 per cent | storage allowance per month. | Meanwhile, Government spokes- men sald that only delays in de-| ciding on the final fomn of the | program was holding up the ration- ing of retreads. There were indi- | cations that the plan would be an- {nounced this week, effective next Monday or the week following. 400,600-Ton Total Is No camelback, the crude rubber | | Reported; 56 Ships Australia. Nazis Claim Sinking 0f 63 Merchantmen During January material used in retreading, will be | allocated for passenger car tires this month, officials announced yes- terday, because the entire supply for the period is needed for military orders and in reconditioning truck tires deemed necessary to keep in- dustrial and commercial vehicles rolling. Last month only 300 tons of camel- back were allocated by the Govern- | ment for passenger car tire re- treading—enough to supply only a small percentage of the demand— and officials then hinted that ra- tioning seemed the sole answer to , the problem. o e 0. 'P: A, mq Cu. s;the O. P. A, 1% in permitting a This action was taken | said. the in response to pleas by dealers that | destrpyers, one submarine .and & sermon will follow t &/ daily mass and will | allowance. losses were being incurred by hold- tol ing new.-cars on Sheir-floorswhiie ¢ ‘Lfo ihe rationing progrimi drawn up. | permit dealers to add each month | to the maximum price 1 per cent of the list price, or $15, whichever was lower. | Mr. Henderson sald tha¥ the price | schedule, effective today, “sets maxi- | mum prices that give dealers a re- sonable profit and provides for spe- | cial compensation to offset the deal- | ers’ cost of storing cars against re- lease to eligible buyers.” He estimated that there were in excess of 500,000 new cars in deal- ers’ and distributors hands, includ- ing those on hand when sales were frozen January 1 and those produced during January before complete con- version of auto plants to war pro- duction was started. | Of these, the price administrator WS il The allowance - wouid a8 | Credited'to Subs (This dispatch was sent from an enemy country, whose motive in ny sources.) By the Associated Press. | | | | 1925-6 he was pastor of Holy Com- | Associated Press their messages said: WANTED 1940 PONTIAC WILL PAY HIGH PRICE FLOOD PONTIAC 4221 Conn. Ave. WOodley 8400 Oidest Pontiac_Dealer in D.C. Disirict Missionary | Japanese Prisoner At Hankow, China Parents Here'Still Have | No News From Eight Other | Relatives in War Zone A telephone jangled at 133 Web- ster street N.W. in the early hours this morning, and Claude L. Pick-| ens, sr, was informed that his son, | the Rev. Claude Pickens, jr., has| been imprisoned by the Japanese | at Hankow, China. ! ¥ | It was the first news Mr. and Mrs. Pickens have received from eight | relatives in the war zone. Still un- accounted for are: Mrs. Elizabeth Pickens, wife of Claude, jr., and their five children. | They had been working and study- | ing at Chefoo, in the qmn Inland Mission School. ‘The Rev. Henry Pickeps, a second | missionary son, who landed in Manila on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. He homeward bound from his China fnissioh sta- tion at the time, but? ediately was ordered to war duty in St Luke’s Hospital, Manila, It is not known whether he still is in the Philippines or sailed south to Aus- tralia on one of the ships evacuat- ing the wounded. D. C. High Schoel Graduate, Claude, 42, and Henry, 33, are graduates of McKinley High School | here. The elder graduated from the University of Michigan in 1923 and studied three years at Episcopal Seminary in Alexandria. During THE R H BOGLE (¢ ALEXAN DK PHILADELPHIA NEN YORK FAST and FREQUENT SERVICE Phone District 3300 forter Episcopal Church here. His brother attended George Washington University and gradu- ted from the Alexandria seminary in 1937. Henry's wife, Mrs. Berkeley | Pickens, returned to Washington a | year ago with their baby, now 2| years old, and they are waiting word of him at 1474 Columbia road N.W. | Their last message was a cable on | #°% Christmas Day. | ¥ Kept Apart by Japs. The Rev. Henry Pickens had been on duty at Anking. only 100 miles from his brother’s station, but Jap- anese restrictions on their move- ments had been so severe that they had not seen each other in four years, their father reported. Word from eight members of the Episcopal mission staff interned in Hankow and Wuchang, who had not been heard from directly since No- vember, was received, vesterday at New York by the office of Bishop Henry St. George Tucker. Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Among the captives is Bishop Alfred A. Gilman of Hankow, originally from Nebraska. According to the “Greetings from eight happy pris- oners.” BERLIN (From German Broad- | rvice 138 casts), Feb. 3—Wide-ranging Ger- _— | Round-'h““"‘k ’: o3 from man warplanes and submarines de- | . deportur stroyed 63 enemy merchant ships Rev. Gerard Keefe ‘ :onvgmon'“ :h' totaling 400,600 tons during January, ; ing fill night- the German high command de- TO PreOCh at NOVENG Gl ,,Chu\and) clared today. Beginning today, the Rev. Gerard ' (via PCA Of the total, submarines were Keefe, C. S. S. R., will preach at Lines cre wil . 96, 8IDs AggLe- ) novena, services to Our Lady of Air gatil I g:«»«un»:« St Lourdes at-the~Church of the Im- - UN|1ED st N.We I sal 3 [naclats Conception, Eighth and N T'; . 808155k 56 T Navy lost three|streets N.W. Novepa prayers and Republic 56 mot rpedo boat. In additiony u: : 4 4 min a bomb ‘or torp ity | The high command said the fig- | ures for enemy shipping losses dur- | ing the month did not include Soviet 1 losses. | German bombers were credited by | the high command today with sink- ing three freighters totaling 10,000 tons and an escort vessel in recent attacks on well protected convoys off the southeast coast of Britain The high command also reported that another merchant ship had been badly damaged by bomb at- tacks in British waters and said German scout planes had raided an industrial center on the Scottish east coast yesterday with good ef- fect, | German fighter planes-shot down three British planes yesterday over Hubert Young has informed Trini- $aid about one-fourth were being| German-occupied territory on the dad volunteer forces. He compared the situation here stockpiled” for sale in 1943 and later. An undetermined number will be released beginning February 12 with that in the Pacific, saying Brit- ish and American authorities were working in closest co-operation. to persons who had purchased them before January 1. | L o “The remainder,” Mr. Henderson | Gen. Pratt until recently was com- | added, “will be sold during the cur- | manding general of .tne Army’s 3d | Tent year to eligible civilian buyers | Corps Area, with headquarters in|against certificates issued by local Baltimore. rationing boards and to categories Early in January Gen. Pratt was| Of buyers, such as the Army and | relieved from the 3d Corps Area by | Navy, who are not obliged to obtain Maj. Gen. Milton A. Reckord, who | Purchase certificates.” was commander of the 29th Division. A week later he was assigned to Red Cross Official Dies f= continent, the communique added. Defense Stamp Buyers Ask Only 10 Per Cent Cash Less than 10 per cent of Defense stamp sales in Washington is being redeemed for cash instead of bonds, Postmaster Vincent C. Burke said ay. manders did not even follow, in the cases which have become known to ug, the simple rules of order andfP‘?flf-‘ in the morning sky, just b*"} | fore dawn, almost overhead in the | civilization.” The Governor General's broadcast gave no details of the asserted bar- barity. miles distant. Dr. Whipple said that it now ap- constellation Coma Berenices. Its motion in the sky will bring it far- ther southward and westward each | night, and it will move south of the Luckle:Z Cfird}];yer Wins Judge’s Sympathy By the Associated Press NEW YORK —Although he had | $106 when he hoarded the New York- | bound Empire Express at Albany. N. Y.. Emile La Diberte, 57, of East Hampton, Mass.. couldn't pay the! $2.99 fare when the train conductor | appeared. | He said he had lost every cent in | | 8 card game. That explanation was | teer and R. A. F. pilots in defense | to Magistrate of Burma have been praised as | s0 understandable Raphael P. Koenig that he sus pended sentence on the luckless| card player's promise to scrape up the money and pay the railroad. Delivery of Night Final Edition The Night Pinal Edition of The Star, wkh two addi- tional pages of last-minute news, is delivered through- out Washington and nearby suburbs, together with The Sunday Star, at 85c per month. This edition gives the latest developments of the day in International, Na- tional and Local news, with complete Financial Reports. Special delivery is made between 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. daily. Equator in March. Dr. Whipple said that after the middle of Februray the comet, now of the 10th magni- tude. should be visible to amateur observers using small telescopes. U.S. andR. A. F. Pilofs Win Churchill Praise in Burma By the Associated Press. RANGOON, Burma, Feb. 3.—The achievements of American volun- “magnificent” in a message from Prime Minister Churchill, who de- clared: “The victories they have won in the air over the paddy fields of Burma may well prove comparable in character if not in scale with those won over the orchards and hop fields of Kent in the battle of Britain.” “To these brave men the thanks of all the United Nations are due,” the Prime Minister said in his mes- sage to Maj. Sir Reginald Hugh Dorman-Smith, governor of Burma. Their defense of Rangoon, he added, is a fight for “the vital gate- way not only to Burma itself but not less to our brave Chinese allies who rely for reinforcements which we mean to send them in steadily increasing measure.” Sir Reginald replied that “we know the tide soon will turn and we look forward with confidence to passing in a little time from our present defensive role to vigorous offensive against the marauders who temporarily occupy our Tenassarim towns and villages.” ‘West. Virginia has a town named Sodd and Tennessee has one named Soddy. A | Keetysville, W. Va,, and L. R. Sabine, i Gaithersburg, Md. Kalorama area defense head- quarters announced todav that 723 air-raid wardens had been sworn in. It also was disclosed that 804 citi- zens of the community had com- | pleted or were taking courses in va- rious phases of civilian defense. Furthermore, William T. Kruglak, deputy warden for the area, an- | nounced, two casualty clearing sta- tions have been designated, four emergency first-aid stations named and manned and three emergency feeding stations and a number of smaller soup kitchens set up in the 13 zones of the district. Emergency housing arrangements rapidly are | being completed. Mr. Kruglak thus, with good-na- tured rivalry, disputes the claim of Georgetown to be the best organized area in the city. Kalorama's civilian defense head- quarters in the John Quincy Adams School, is open 24 hours a day, he pointed out. It is staffed from 9 am. to 11 p.m. by 50 volunteers, who work in three-hour shifts. Auxiliary policemen take the night watches. Volunteers from the warden’s service are executive assistants. The post also has on call a large force of vol- unteer stenographers, typists and messengers. Mr. Kruglak challenges any other area to match Kalorama's organiza- tion record. Reports on the progress of de- fense in the Dupont Circle area will be made at a meeting at 8 pm. Thursday at the Covenant-First Presbyterian Church, Eighteenth and N streets NW. Chairmen of the various activities will speak, in- cluding Mrs. Arthur MacArthur, housing; Mrs. Lester Buchanan, feeding; the Rev. Dr. A. J. McCart- head the Army's Trinidad base com- mand in the Caribbean. Defense Sidelights Kalorama Area Challenges All D. C. | To Match Its Organization Record | ney, public meetings, and F. Moran McConihe, deputy warden for the area. Citizens will be given an op- portunity to sign up for volunteer service with their zone wardens. A defense meeting for the com- | munities of Redfern Gardens, Over- | lea Knolls and Highland Park, in Arlington County, will be held at 8:15 o'cloek tonight in the Claude Swanson Junior High School, Arl- ington. The principal speaker will |be A. H. Le Cheminant of the British Purchasing Commission. | Three films will be shown—“Guard- | ing Military Information,” “Women in Defense” and “Fighting the Fire | Bombs.” There will be representa- | tives from the Arlington County ‘Warden Service, the County School Board, the Red Cross and the American Legion. The first class in decontamina- tion under the District civilian de- fense program will meet at 8 o'clock | tonight at 1341 Maryland avenue NE. ‘The class will be under Capt. Walter Roberts, who has general charge of the decontamination pro- gram. It will meet Tuesdays, Thurs- days and Saturdays until the course is completed, when its members will 1becom: teachers. ‘Two separate groups of 26 per- | sons each will be instructed in the | elements of gas detection and pro- tection. One, divided equally among men and women, will learn to man a degassing station. The other group of 26 men will study for field work, which ‘involves getting gas victims to the degassing stations. The entire deconiamination pro- gram contemplates 35 field squads and 10 degassing stationss. 2 {In Indies Plane Crash | BY Radio to The Star. | SINGAPORE, Feb. 3 (NANA) — Basil Burdett. British and Austra- lian Red Cross commissioner in Malay, was killed in a plane crash in the Netherlands Indies, it was learned here last nignt. A former Melbourne journalist and art critic, Mr. Burdett was making a two-day survey flight in connection with Red Cross work in the Indies after removing hundreds of tons of | medical supplies from northern Ma- laya before it fell to the Japanese invaders. able. Numbers Game Hard Hit as 209 (Auto Tax) Wins mobiles hit Washington “numbers” operators a heavy blow yesterday. It seems that scores of players, for reasons of their own, put their money on 209, or rather on $2.09, the amount marked on new wind- shield stamps. ‘When the mutuel totals on which the winning number is based came in from Hialeah race track, the pays off figure was 209. THis spread joy among a lot of players with fortitutie enough to try to collect on a Federal tax total. The grapevine, which extends from the back doors of housewives to the guarded interiors of great Federal departments, says the big plenty. Sadly enough, some of the smaller fry “bookies” were missing today from their usual haunts. Players holding “209” slips hun}ed them in vain. 2 ‘The big shots, according to the grapevine, have a protection pool for just such an emergency. ¢ The $2.00 Federal levy hit the hard, it was pointed out, but the ought to save a lot on their income taxes. e A b/ No details of the crash were avail- | The new Federal tax on auto-| Maryland backers are paying off | ur Defense stamp sales in Jan- | » he stated. “amounted to $760,567. While the January figures have not been analyzed, the De- cember totals reflect local trends. Only $51,043 was redeemed for cash during December out of $580,368 total stamp sales.” As long as this ratio of approxi- mately 90 per cent stamp conversion into bonds is maintained, the two- fort and encouraging _individual thrift will be achieved, Postmaster Burke said. Told that Northeastern Ohio stamp conversion into bonds averaged only 44 per cent, Mr. Burke emphasized that no such condition existed in the Nation's Capital. “We are greatly encouraged over the patriotic responsé elicited here,” he said. “It is true that any large- | scale conversion of stamps into cash instead of bonds would prove an added expense instead of help to the Nation’s war financing. Today the average citizen knows his stamp contribution, however small, is help- ing to win the war.” ' House Commitfee Pf&bing Engel Contract Charges By the Associated Press. Chairman Faddis told the House an investigation of charges by Rep- resentative Engel, Republican, of Michigan that Lt. Gov. Frank Mur- | defense contracts. Earlier, Mr. Engel had said he was referring the matter to a Senate investigating committee because the House committee had disregarded his demand for an inquiry. “This magjter,” said Representa- tive Faddis, “will receive the same || careful and conscientious investiga- tion given all matters before the deelared committee.”: ~ He that “someone must be using this matter to furnish publicity for themselves or to satisty & political grudge.” ) yesterday that a special Military Affairs Subcommittee had started phy of Michigan sought fees {m’l SABy1 of | fold purpose of aiding the war ef-| 12:15 pm hotels delivered at Vieanat 7:45 3 [ — ETORCAEWID tlose on the feast | Ourlady of Lourdes February 11. or travel ogents: ot | 8 The Railroad Lincoln Planned to Connect the East wi!h the West for National Unity and Defense ...was then—is now The Shalegic Middle Route * * * ek - UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD Washington, D. C. c 0600