The Key West Citizen Newspaper, August 19, 1941, Page 1

Duties Of Force Number-' ing One Hundred Able| Bodied Men To Remain| Secret County defense officials today | were ordered by Gov. Spessard| L, Holland to recruit a force of} 100 volunteers automobile drivers | ‘for duty the nature of which wilt! remain secret, 2 ‘Men accepted for the volunteer | Posts must be between the cecal of 18 and 45, weight more than 160 pounds and measure five feet, | 11 inches, or more, | They must be experienced, ' skillful drivers, able to answer a} call at any time, and of a high | type of character and reputation, | The men will be required, before | they are accepted, to pass a ver-/| bal examination before the de-' fense council, testing their loyalty | to the United States. } . Albert Mills, secretary of the, defense council, who received the | gubernatorial order, has request- | ed men who qualify to apply at! his office on the second floor of the courthouse. Peed Qualified men with their own! cars, or drivers who do not own cars will be accepted. PEACE JUSTICE TO HEAR CAS Hugo Hahn, charged with de-' frauding an innkeeper after he is alleged to have left the Bayview Apartments owing $14, will ap-| pear before Peace Justice Enri- que Esquinaldo today for a pre- liminary hearing. } Alex Borden, held on charges, of assault and drunkness after | his wife, Bertha Borden, accused , him of beating her, will appear: before Peace Justice Franklin! Arenberg this afternoon at 5 o'clock, i, | Sheriff's officers this morning | streets, Grimelli is there to help, GOMEZ ONE OF FIVE EX-LEGISLATORS NOW SERVING AS JUDGE (Special to The Citizen) TALLAHASSEE, Aug. 19. —Arthur Gomez, Key West. is one of the five ex-legislators in Flerida who now serves as a circuit judge. ami, A.D. McNeill of Jack- sonville,.A..O, Kanner of StuartwandeH. L. Sebring, ‘who was elected to the house, ‘but resigned before serving. CLD LDL SIDS SIS BUSINESS AGENT OF UNION VISITS HERE REGULARLY NARDIE GRIMELLI NUMBERS MANY FRIENDS AMONG 'work here through unreasonable |in the Regular Army last Sep- CARPENTERS: HAS HEAD- QUARTERS IN HOLLYWOOD High on the list of the laboring man’s friends Holiywoed: Carpenters’ Union, re- tired Chicago contractor and fre- quent visitor to Key West. Stocky, grey-haired, about 40, Grimelli interprets his _ business agent’s post as a roving commis- ‘sion to see that men go to work ; and keep on working. At least 60 Key West working men owe him their jobs. Grimelli, who comes here to fish and to keep an eye on the con- struction business, has his own rules for putting men to work,/ and they don’t include collecting a fee, He's glad to do it, and fre- quently digs into his pocket to tide one of his proteges over until a jobs opens up. If the work closes down and the man is again on the is Nardie F.! jGrimelli, business agent of the! LABOR TROUB CONSTRUCTION COMPANY SUPERINTENDENT CLAIMS HE WAS FORCED OFF OF JOB Charging Carpenters’ Union leaders with illegally forcing his ‘resignation from the Mackle Con- struction company, George Silver- berg, super- intendent, today, appealed to Gov. Spessard L. Holland fora full in- vestigation of loeal labor condi- tions. Silverberg, in.a letter to Gover- nor Holland, charged the former company car- not discharge him, as he had no | work permit. ‘The union leaders, he declared, {told him he was “finished” in Key ; West, and refused to adjust the verberg had signed a petition in ; which they said the charges were j untrue. Silverberg, in his letter to Gov- ‘ernor Holland, charged the unio: iwith obstructing construction jacts. The complaint against him, jhe said, was based on the ac- ‘eusation that he “hurried” the ! workmen and used laborers to do (carpenters’ work. Silverberg de- ‘nied both charges. Forced Into Union In order to work on the job, jemployment as superintendent, \he-paid the union $5 weekly for a ipermit, which was paid up until |Aug. 11, when Clarence Higgs, usiness agent of the union, re- fused to grant him permission to ‘continue working on the job. | Higgs told him, Silverberg said, ‘that there had been complaints against him by the carpenters, and | that he would not be permitted to continue his work. | After Higgs had refused to jgrant him a permit, Silverberg ‘said the company transferred him 'to the post of expediter, where he {would not be in direct contact with the carpenters. Due to un- 'desirable working conditions, the ' superintendent said it was “im- turned over to Pinellas County /him along until he finds another. | Possible to execute his duties un- Deputy Vic Bradford a youth} charged with breaking and en- | tering in St. But he draws some lines. Men who have “touched” him Petersburg. The once needn’t go back if he finds | Appealed To FBI youth, Dalton Williams, 19, was that their’pay went for liquor or|men with whom he was ac- arrested at the CCC camp at) West Summerland key, where he | was enrolled. gambling.'! And Grimelli‘is pretty likely to {Continued nn Page Four) Nazi Troops And Allied he went to Miami Thursday to ap- peal to the Federal Bureau of In- {vestigation and returned here to- {day, appealing to the navy de- partment. As a result of his conversatian Silverberg Forces Advance Steadily =. :"..c%3. 8" (By Associated Press) NEW YORK, Aug. 19.—German , troops, with their Hungarian and ,the north, attacking Leningrad | defenses both from the north and: Rumanian allies, have overrun all! of the Russian Ukraine west of | the Dnieper river, Adolf Hitler’s! headquarters in the field declared | today. Describing a swift series of at- | tacks by mechanized columns in| splitting the Russian units apart, the Nazi high command bulletin said Red resistance in the vast Soviet “bread basket” is at an end. . Red troops admittedly are hold- ing out at Odessa, but ; the ee. mans said they have” Bee Ah - lessly, tri out a vast pincer movement in south. } The Russians told of heavy fighting 75 miles southwest of | their second city, where Red troops are admitted in a slow re- | treat. London military experts heard reports that more than half of the Russian army in the south now has crossed the Dnieper to take up new defense lines. According to. the reports, about 300,000 to 400,000 men already are in the new positions, while. about an jual number are fighting a rear- ped and ng or the, i“ i A Gr j “guard: action against the oncom- choice of sur; ahi | a ing annihilation. * The area claimed by Germany, | and partially confirmed in Mos- cow, includes about 130,000; square miles, but does not in- | clude the richest wheat lands of the Ukraine, which are to the east of the Dnieper,..about 100 miles beyond the farthest point claimed by Berlin, Reds Admit Retreat { Moscow, admitting a general re- | treat, said the Russian troops are | g Nazis. a Trade Bombing Attacks Both Moscow and Berlin suf- fered bombing attacks during the night, but each capital claimed its defenses had prevented serious damage. Russian planes, cooperating with the British, were said in | Moscow to have carried out a de- structive raid on Berlin during the night. The RAF bombers op- ‘erated in the west, striking at drawing the German lines out de- Cologne, Dusseldoff and Dunkirk, liberately, and are inflicting enor- | ‘while the Reds struck directly at mous casualties in their planned jithe capital, withdrawal. Moscow admitted at the same time that German and Finnish troops are carrying Berlin claimed a powerful at- ck on Moscow, but minimized fe from the Russian British raids. ee land “IT have no intention of posing ‘as a martyr,” he told the gover- nor, “but. in the interests of na- tional defense and of Américan- ism, I do feel that there should be a‘ full investigation of illegal union activities here.” |‘STRANGLER’ LEWIS IN RESTAURANT BUSINESS “Strangler” Lewis, former champion wrestler, is now pro- prietor of one of the leading res- taurants in Los Angeles. OPIS DID ML, MAKE REPORT ON ‘LOSS OF suis (ty A led “am ' LONDON. Aug. 18-—Ger. many and her allies have Jost 4,000,008 tons of shipping since the war began. the ad- miralty announced in a bul- letin released today. figures, Germany 000,000 tons: Italy, 1,500,000 tons, and Finland has lost | about 500,000 tons. The admiralty said Ger- many suffered losses amount- | tain’s brother as he tried to es- ine fo C1608 a © the }cape. oe between P It was during Ficher 3 penters’ union with threatening; to call a strike if the company did} Silverberg said he was compelled ‘to join the union, and since | his * der such a terrific mental strain.” j Repeatedly warned by work-} quainted that he might be sub-} | jected to violence if he did not} leave Key West, Silverberg said | Asihcew Majack Mace: lusinicter THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S. A. KEY WEST, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1941 In United States Army (Speelal to The Citizen) FORT JACKSON, S. C., Aug.jion had been sent up ahead of} in-|the advancing French terview he has granted since re- where they contacted an Arab | turning to this country July of/force several times ' last year, ‘Pvt. Anarew Mejack, | strength. {now of the United States Army | Arabs beseiged the French forces here, recently told the absorbing | who were finally reduced to their 19.—In the first newspaper story of his 12-year service in the French Foreign Legion and French Army that carried him from the burning sands of the Saraha Desert to the wind-swept hills of Indo-China and back to service in the Maginot Line against Germany. | Tales of battle and torture. in the farthest reaches of Africa,’ long obscured by censorship and |poor communication. Stories of {attacks by roving bands of Chin- ese marauders in the interior of {Indo-China. First hand accounts; of the French’s relentless pursuit of Abd-el-Krim, Bel-Casen and | Richer in Morocco. Actual experi- jences in the Maginot Line under jthe fire of German bombess. All | those are but fragments of Me-} idier of fortune that started when | the was but 17 years old. / | Today, Pvt. Mejack is attach- ed to the 34th Infantry here at Fort Jackson where he was sent ‘immediately after his enlistment |tember. He is serving as a ‘scouting instructor for selectees,| giving them the benefit of know-/ ledge that was acquired in the} campaigns against Abd-el-Krim jin Morroceo where mistakes ; meant death. Better still, he is ‘teaching them the — science pregyat-day scouting, gained sergeant of a squad of the French Army skirmishes. with the enemy along the Maginot Line. Mejack, now 31 years old, was! born in Pittsburgh, Pa, one of} four sons of Czechoslovakian im-/ , migrant parents. His three broth- | ‘ers also have Army backgrounds. One is Staff Sgt. John W. Me-! jack, of the U. S. Army,now sta- | tioned at the Alleghany County Air Corps base near Pittsburgh, 'Pa. He has been in the Army | for 20 years. Another brother, | | Alexander, with nine years’ | | Army service, is attached to the; 64th Coast Artillery in Honolulu. The third brother, Michael, re-| jeently received his discharge; ‘after several years’ seryice with! jan anti-tank unit in the Philip-| pine Islands. In 1922, following the death of | her husband in the flu epidemic) of 1918, Mrs, Mejack returned to/ Europe, taking Andrew, now 14,; along with her. Thev spent some time in Bremen, Germany, | and then went on to a_ smallj town! near Prague, Mrs. Mejack’s} hirthplace. For three years. An- drew) worked on the family’s $5,- 000 fruit farm there. Then, at 17, he decided to look for ad- venture. Living on the proceeds of the fruit farm, he traveled ex- ; tensively through France, Poland and Italy. However, normal travels soon became too prosaic for the ad- venture-loving American _ boy and he decided to seek new lfields by joining the ever-entic- | ing French Foreign Legion. He signed up for a five-year enlist- ment at Nice, France, in 1926 at the age of 17. Sent to the Legion training | base at Sidi-bel-Abbes, Algeria, | he completed his basic training | course and then took further in- struction in the Army school) there that aualified him as a/ ROOSEVELT corporal. His first nt was to the garrison at Martackes, Morrocco, where his military ad- ventures began. For two and a half years, he took part in the Legion's relentless pursuit of the rebel ay Taiondine Abd-el- Krin and Ficher. During the chase, he was in| front line combat eight times as | the French and Arab main forces came to grips. After the capture of Abd-el-Krim in 1927, the Le- gion continued its pursuit of his j suecessor, the not Ficher. was one of a party of naires who killed the rebel chief- fortune For two days, Army | own { the! (last five rounds of ammunition. | | Mejack’s commanding officer had | ‘given the order to adjust bay-| enets for hand-to-hand fighting against the vastly superior forces of the enemy when six battalions ,of-Legionnaires arrived: on seene-of battle to rescue their leagured * unit, one place. ! 2 ‘ ts From Morrocco, jmatter after workmen under Sil-|Jack’s amazing career as a sol! ..1+ t the Saraha Desert where | he served with Mejack was the lerack “Regiment de March”, | was stationed at Colomb-Bechar, | tis now a French outpost—Jeoel- Esffes. After two and a half years in; jthe infantry, Mejack was trans- | jferred to a reconnaissance cav- | alry troop in which he saw serv- lice in the farthest reaches of) | Africa. { The troop was. constant- } ily on the move, never stopping for more than 24 hours in any; Legion’s | 800 miles from Sidi-bel-Abbes, | (but his unit covered the entire | State Conteh EAN jterritory, sometimes advancing | tosts as far as 1,500 miles from home base. the He: itS' that they will not permit . the} EXCITING SERVICE’ iN’ FOREIGN isan (a Mt Key West: On Entering Harbor This M t «By Associnted Press WASHINGTON, Aug. Sharp retaliation for Japa fusal to permit American citizens | }to leave the island empire today } appeared in prospect as state de-| partment officials said they are/ satisfied with the Japanese ex-! ‘planation, | Japan's refusal to permit the | », (liner President Coolidge to dock | 19, = jat a Japanese port is believed ee have caused pafticular resent: | iment on the part of Secretary of} Responding to American pro- the . Japanese announced | United States citizens. to leave; It was at Bidon Sinque, the Le-| i niess they are picked up. by at gion’s most remote outpost 1,500 ship sei |Mejack ha : pom kaggeomnge the Umited States, and that even| to-the-death fighting. One of 40! HE OUCH 8 Si 18 bent the Lapa ‘soldiers stationed there to pro- tect caravans moving across the | joave Sahara to the Belgian Congo,/ % Corp., Mejack was third iff com='tjnited States has no e jmant of his unit when it was at- | wishing the withdrawal of the en- tacked by an overwhelming force 'tir¢ American colony. in Japan. of Arabs. During the assault, 'Oyiginally, the Japanese contend, | which came at night, the com-j the United States usked only that’ manding officer and eight of the ‘99 officials be permitted to leave, | nt for that purpose from | {government will examine the ,ease of each of those wishing to Tomy ae suptended Wal, he 12-man machine gun squad were | and subsequent efforts to remove | | blackness of rifle. beat off the attack but not be- ‘threat against the Japanese em- fore they had suffered numerous casualities. Mejack’s tales of the torture ‘Josef Stalin has/massed)an army sweet, OOOO OOM OM A srish wii death His baie. og jen wieo delight in t victims. the night forced the French hold their bayonets until they a ' were close enough to distinguish | NOT INDIFFERENT TO H friend from foe by the only iden- | y, §,-RED PACT—TOKYO | tifying mark, their uniforms. i During the fight, Mejack en-| gaged in a fierce hand-to-hand | anese newspapers today . warned, battle with an Arab, finally kill-|that Tokyo cannot remain indif- ing him with the butt of his ferent to American aid for Rus- The Legionnaires - finally ' sia, which may constitute a direct) soldiers killed. Some of the Arabs broke |a1i Americans from J i, through the Legion defenses and rire pipiens re con: engaged the defenders in fierce}, sta, i hand-to-hand fighting that waa lgsiite. som te thea eins ten made more treacherous by the) American retaliation might take, | Sh but they admit the, situation is! and |. ‘id they have no idea what form! dangerous. ~ (Ry Axsoctated Press) NEW YORK, Ayg. 19.—Jap- pire, | Commenting on reports that inflicted on hapless Legionnaires of 1,000,000 men:-onithe! Siberia- caught by the Arabs are almost | Manchukuo)!bordet? the unbelievable: | When captured, | sai they. are turned over tb the wom- | not sit: by. while: the United) States 1s. Mejack told of ,actual | with supplies for wars 1 aie experiences where he, has, found’ - ee is companions with their eyes, it is-obvidus that J gouged out, stomachs sliced and entrails remoyed, Another fav- . orite Arab torture is to bury | their victim alive-up to his neck, cover the face and head with a|’ sticky substancee leave him to a slow death at the ‘hands of red ants and desert flies, 70”: t (To be Continued) ‘WOMAN FINED ON Americans To Leave Island mcune' Met WithSharp Retaliation Japan’s Refusal To Permit °##! Gesine POO ID MS s re-/ GUNNERS STILL WAIT the v. 8. desizoyers about 1 FOR FIRST SHOT AT TARGET UNDER TOW Gunners of the coast artil- lery battery at Fort Taylor today still were attempting to get in their first shot at a destroyer-drawn target after their new eight-inch hauser had proved no better than the old line yesterday. With Col. Raloh M, Mit- chell, commanding the Fourth Artillery District, here for the practice session, the hauser parted as soon as. the destroyer started to pull the target into line for the drill, this morning was ordered to pay acy. __ | \fine of $10 and costs when she ap- Key West, Florida, has most equable climate in the country; with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit © PRICE FIVE CEN’ : ed Shortly After val By Capt. And Mayor Albury Her light gray paint ¢ | ling oddly with the war |the Mexican transport \mosed into Key West ‘ morning for her last call