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U l]p OT Uttnttfllmt Star Published Daily Except Sunday By The Wilmington Star-News At The Murchison Building R. B. Page, Owner and Publisher Telephone All Departments DIAL 3311 Entered as Second Class Matter at Wilming ton, N. C-, Postoffice Under Act of Congress of March 3, 1878 _ SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY CARRIER Payable Weekly or in Advance Combina Star News tion 1 Week ..$ .20 8 15 8 30 3 Months :.. £ Jg » News rates entitle”subscriber to Sunday issue of Star-News _ " ' BY MAIL Payable Strictly in Advance Combina Star News tion 1 Month .* 75 5 8 -90 3 Months . 2 °9 6 Months . 4 00 3-°° ^.50 ! year . 8 00 6 00 ia00 News rates entitle subscriber to Sunday issue of Star-News (Daily Without Sunday) 1 Month . 8 -50 6 Months ....$3.00 3 Months . 1-50 12 Year . 6.00 (Sunday Only' 1 Montn . $ .20 6 Months .$1.2;, 3 Months . 65 1 Year . 5.00 Card ot Thanks charged for at the rate ot 25 cents per line. Count five words to line. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS is entitled to the exclusive use of all news stories appearing in The Wilmington Star FRIDAY. OCTOBER 29. 1940 Star-News Program Consolidated City-County Government under Council-Manager Administration. Public Port Terminals. Perfected Truck and Berry Preserving md Marketing Facilities. Arena for Sports and Industrial Shows. Seaside Highway from Wright sville Beach to Bald Head Island. Extension of City Limits. 35-Foot Cape Fear River channel, wid er Turning Basin, with ship lanes into industrial sites along Eastern bank south of Wilmington. Paved River Road to Southport, via Orton Plantation. Development of Pulp Wood Produc tion through sustained-yield methods throughout Southeastern North Carolina. Unified Industrial and Resort Pro motional Agency, supported by one county-wide tax. Shipyards and Drydock. Negro Health Center for Southeastern North Carolina, developed around the Community Hospital. Adequate hospital facilities for whites. Junior High School. Tobacco Warehouse for Export Buyers. Development of native grape growing throughout Southeastern North Carolina. Modern Tuberculosis Sanatorium. TOP 0’ THE MORNING It is easy to find reasons for not doing what wc should do, for holding on to this or that bad habit, for neglecting our religious duties. Bui God sees throdgh our excuses. They may blind us; they can never blind him. —••FORWARD." — The French Situation As heavy a fog as often hides the English channel covers the negotiations between the Vichy government on the one hand and Ger many and Italy on the other. We hear that the effort is to drive the French into open declaration of war 'against Britain and also that the effort is restricted to naval and air bases in all France and the French posses sions. Marshal Petain, premier of unoccupied France, is variously reported opposed to the whole proposition and soon to visit Paris to sign either one or the other proposal. As so often has happened in this war, all that ob servers can be sure of is that Hitler, balked in his air campaign as a preliminary to in vasion, is trying to effect some sort of agree ment with “Free” France to bolster h i s chances of ultimate victory—chances which are growing slimmer as winter nears. It is a sad thing to have to say, but it is probably true that there are men in the Vichy government who would be willing to accept the bait dangled before them. These men ' have worked hand in hand with Hitler; they care no more for Britain than the Nazis them selves; they have no scruples about stabbing their former ally. For the sake of the present advantage they might well accept whatever Hitler offers, regardless of the fact that the only hope for the liberation of France lies, in a British victory. What such false leaders plot, however, is less important than the way in which the mass of Frenchmen, and particularly those in the colonies out of reach of the Nazi mili tary machine, would react to such a program. What is primarily at stake is not the portion of France and the French empire completely under the Nazi thumb, but the French troops and colonies still loyal to the Vichy govern ment. Britain was seriously endangered by the French collapse; her plight would be more desperate still if such units as the French army in Syria openly joined arms with the Nazis, or if Hitler actually gained naval and air stations in strategic French colonies. ; The revelation that these negotiations are under way heightens the significance of the | speech which Prime Minister Churchill ad ' t ' ---- , dressed recently to the French people. Mr. Churchill’s plea was not meant for the men at Vichy. It was an attempt to reach the people of France themselves, not only in France but in the French colonies, to restore in some measure their hope and courage, to point out again the stake they have in British victory. How effective it was we cannot tell. But it is difficult to believe that Frenchmen who have followed the Vichy government so far would obey its dictates to the point of making war on England or helping England’s foe. That could be nothing less than a be trayal of France itself and its hopes of sur ; vival as a free and independent nation. Act Today The city commission is scheduled to meet again today. Inevitably the water situation will be on the agenda. For this reason the eyes of all Wilming tonians are directed toward the city hall. Every person in the city expects toe commis sion to take definite action—not at a later meeting, but today. The time for adjourn jments is past. The time for action is here. ! The question of salt water in city water ; mains has gone unanswered long enough. For years there has been no satisfactory answer. : For years toe people of Wilmington have been subjected to the same trouble. Now, they demand that the commission do something about it—today. It is not a question of what the commission feels it can afford to do, but what toe city can’t afford to do without. There are financial obligations involved, to be sure. But they will not be as great, what ever total they reach, as Wilmington’s losses if a permanent supply of fresh, pure water is longer withheld. Wilmington’s business firms and home dwel lers have already lost thousands upon thou sands of dollars in the past three weeks be cause of salt water in toe city’s mains. These losses must be stopped. The distressed citizens of Wilrr.’ngton must be given relief—not merely temporary relief, but permanent relief. And today is the day that the decision must be made at the city hall. Mr, Roosevelt Speaks President Roosevelt’s address at Convention hall in Philadelphia, where he had been nom inated for the second time by the Democratic convention of 1936, was announced as a po litical speech—the first of five he will make as the present campaign nears the home stretch. But we believe the people of America ' will view it more as a declaration of his prim cipies in a great national emergency than as the utterance of a political candidate. Thus, when he gave “solemn assurance” that the United States has no secret agree ment with any foreign power concerning American participation in any war, we may be sure it was the President speaking, and not a candidate. It is important that this portion of Mr. Roosevelt’s text be studied carefully. Declar ing that he and “your great secretary of state” are following the road to peace, he de clared: “There is no secret treaty, no secret obligation, no secret commitment, no secret understanding in any shape or form, direct or indirect, with any other government, or any other nation in any part of the world, to involve this nation in any war or for any other purpose.” Here is a pledge, the sincerity of which can not be brought into doubt. For emphasis, the President added: “It is for peace I have labored; and it is for peace I shall labor all the days of my life ” We will not, he de clared, participate in foreign wars nor send our army, naval or air forces to fight in for eign lands “outside of the Americas” except in case of attack. There should be no doubt in any mind that the administration’s course had been wholly directed toward peace, Mr. Roosevelt traced the steps that led up to the rearma ment effort. During the last eight years his “every thought” has been directed to "pre serving the peace of the world and more par ticularly the peace of the United States—the peace of the Western Hemisphere.” Fore seeing the war’s approach, he explained, he employed the full power of his office to pre vent its arrival. When war came he used the same power to prevent it from spreading to other countries. When that effort failed, he “called upon congress and upon the nation to build the strong defenses that would be our best guarantee of peace and security.” He denied that he had phoned Mussolini or Hitler to “sell Czechoslovakia down the river” or that the unemployed are to be driven into concentration camps. The whole tenor of the President’s Philadel phia speech was above politics. Japan And Russia Japanese eagerness for an understanding with Russia may be responsible for the report from Tokyo that Soviet authorities will speed up the formalities attendant on the arrival of the new Japanese ambassador to Moscow to day. Whether the Russians are actually as ready to deal as the Japanese hope is some thing Josef Stalin alone can say. Very possibly the Kremlin would welcome an assurance of quiet in the Far East at this time—if the price is not too high. The Japanese are ready to offer a good deal. They are wil ling to recognize Outer Mongolia as part of the Soviet system if the Russians will do the same for them in respect to Manchukuo. They are prepared to allow the Russians to establish a legation at Hsinking in return for the right to establish a Japanese legation at Ulan Bator. They will even go so far as to recognize Russian interests as predominant in the Chinese province of Singkiang. Should this prove satisfactory, both sides would withdraw their troops from the Man chukuoan frontier. Thus the Japanese would be free to use their forces in China and the Russians could send their border army to the Black sea area. There are advantages to both parties in such a settlement, particularly as the Rus sians would not be asked to stop sending help to China. But Stalin may prove suspicious. It is difficult to understnad how he can see in the Japanese offer any permanent advantage to Russia, knowing as he does that Tokyo is associated with Berlin and Rome and that sooner or later he may have to resist Ger man - Italian encroachments on Russia’s sphere Clark Doubly Welcome Rep. J. Bayard Clark’s visit to Wilmington and his two addresses, before the Kiwanis club and at a meeting in the High school audi torium sponsored by the local American Le gion post, gain significance by the fact that there was no political motive involved. Mr. Clark came in response to an invitation from the Legion primarily to help the post in its membership campaign, which is meeting with excellent success. His assurance that he has the pledge of the Washington authorities that the Wilmington area will be adequately provided with de fenses is reassuring. We could wish, of course, that he had been able to announce one or more major defense projects for the area. But it is gratifying to the people of Wilming ton to know that he is exerting his influence for them. The explanation that no further commit ments will be made until after the election in vites the question why it is considered neces sary to postpone decisions which must be rhade in any event, especially as speed is the keynote of defense. But it is something to know that after November 5 Wilmington will have a place on the defense map. And he left no one who heard him in doubt on that matter. WASHINGTON DAYBOOK BY JACK STINNETT WASHINGTON, Oct. 24.—It may be just a little election-time political twister, as some observers here insist, but if those are real straws that I see in the wind, certain poli ticians are in for a tornado of trouble after November 5. Why AFTER November 5? That’s a good Republican question in some quarters, but the Democratic answer is that, except for the primaries held in recent months, there have been no elections to investigate since 1938 and it would have been utterly impossible to complete sleuthing and prepare indictments before election. Even if they could have got the cases ready, no court could have moved fast enough to try them. Suppose the persons charged were in nocent. Think what injustice would have been done then to persons running on the party ticket of those who had been charged. * * * COMMITTEES BUSY That’s the explanation given, but to get back to those straws. 1. A Senate campaign investigating sub committee, with Senator Adams (D.-Colo.) as chairman, heard testimony in Jersey City, N. J., where Mayor Hague’s Hudson county political machine has been on the griddle for years. 2. Another Senate subcommittee, with Sen ator Hill (D.-Ala.) as chairman, heard testi mony in Chicago, where the Kelly-Nash ma chine, captained by Mayor Edward J. Kelly, has also been under a crossfire of charges from big political guns. 3. Numerous complaints of violations of the Hatch act, the Corrupt Practices act, and civil rights statutes have been filed with the Department of Justice. These are purported to run the whole gamut of election and cam paign violations, from minor infringements which might result in Federal employes’ los ing their jobs to the outright stealing of elec tions , by means that could send offenders to the penitentiary. 4. Attorney General Robert H. Jackson has publicly declared an out-in-the-open war on election frauds and all violations of the voting and campaign statutes now on the books, and backed it up by appointing Maurice M. Milli gan, U. S. district attorney at Kansas City, Mo., as field general for the drive. Milli gan is the 55-year-old attorney—who prosecuted Tom Pendergast and sent that long-time boss of Kansas City politics to the penitentiary. Sixty-three other defendants who stood trial were convicted; 36 others pleaded guilty and 169 threw themselves on the mercy of the court. Some administration critics say this is just pre-election window-dressing—front to offset charges that machine politics really aren’t frowned upon. I wouldn’t know about that, but it certainly is a fair guess that even if the tempest is started in the political teapot, it has a chance of getting out of hand and becoming a good stiff blow, if not a tornado. CALL IT WINDOW-DRESSING In the first place, on those Senate commit tees both the Republican and Democratic par ties are represented. If charges against the persons investigated are substantiated, they’re not BOTH going to sit quietly by and let the breeze die down. In the second, if those complaints filed with the Department of Justice are verified, they are matters for the courts, and the Federa courts don’t hold their sessions and deliver their verdicts behind closed doors. In the third, Mr. Milligan has tasted blood, is ambitious (he ran for the Senate but was defeated for the nomination by the incum bent, Senator Truman, in a stiff three-cor nered battle), and is considered by friends not to be the kind who would take his appoint ment lightly. 1 We have enough scientific information about children, enough skill in dealing with them, and enough experience to eliminate the "re peater” in juvenile court if the community wishes to —Carl R. Rodgers, clinical psychol ogy professor at Ohio State. The Editor’* LETTER BOX The editor doe* not necessarily endorse * n y article appearing in this department They represent the views of the individual readers. Cor respondents are warnid that all communications must contain the correct name and address for our records, though the latter may be signed as the writer sees fit The Star-News reserves the right to alter any text that for any reason is ob jections ble. Letters on controversial (objects will not be published. To The Star: I have been very much interested in the various comments from time to time regarding the water situa tion. The fact is that we do have a situation that we must remedy, and I believe the best way to go about this is to appoint a citizens com mittee, who in conjunction with the present Army engineer, and the several engineers locally could de termine whether the best place to secure our water supply should be Castle Hayne, or up the Cape Pear river beyond the locks. This, it seems to me, is the only matter of important consideration. Without condemning our commis sioners, let’s work with them to bring about a satisfactory solution to this bad situation that will prove satisfactory to us and pleasing to future generations. WILMINGTONIAN. MORE ON SALT To The Star: I read an ad in a New York paper the other day About hotels and it went on to say That only with a wish and a twist of the arm You could stop into a tub of surf water nice and warm. They thought they had something in this ad, But when I read it, I suddenly grew mad To think with all the salt water, to them it’s so rare And they have to pay to take a bath in it there, While we down here are floating in brine But still continue to grumble and whine. We have the advantage over those folks by a long shot Why, down here we have salt water to fill our coffee pot! We have it to drink and have it to spare For washing our linens and washing our hair. We have it for dishes and washing our food And yet it still puts us into an awful mood. The people up North don’t go into a wrath; In fact, they’re tickled over a nice ocean bath, But like a child who has too much candy to eat, He soon becomes tired and sick of the sweet. The candy is alright, he decides, in a store But for his stomach he wants no more. Salt water, we agree, is fine for a seashore, But for our faucets we want no more. Ingratitude I guess might be the word to use For all this salt water that we sorely abuse, But it also goes to show that New York with its glamor and fuss When it comes to salt water has Nothing on us! A CITIZEN. Fair Enough BY WESTBROOK PEGLER The Star wishes its readers to know that views and opin ions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not always harmonize with its position.—The Editor. NEW YORK. October 24.—I have to take this day out to pet the dear feelings of two of my colleagues who protest that they were mis represented by my interpretation of a circular which they distrib uted to members of the New York Newspaper guild. These two are George Britt of the World-Tele gram and Lewis Gannett of the Herald Tribune. Among others, they signed an appeal to their fel low-members to turn out for meet ings and to insist that the dele gates to the representative assem bly also attend regularly, to pre vent “unrepresentative” decisions. Just as all of us, until a few years age, referred to venereal maladies as “social” diseases, there are still those in the labor movement who refuse to call com munism by name, and Mr. Gannett is one of them. Mr. Britt has his naughty moments when he will call a bolo in private, but he is still too bashful to use such words in public, and that is the cause of our little trouble. Send Telegram The pair of them sent me a long telegram claiming that I misused iu61/ ®ppeal to support my charge that the guild is rotten with com munism. Gannett says he has nev er identified as communism the influence which has created a cri sis within the guild, driven out many American members and caused the establishment of new rival unions of journalists under charters from the A. F. of L He never did so identify this influence, and I never ?®ld he did. I never said Britt sn identified it, although he did I sn identified this influence on my own . responsibility, and Z also takeTe i sponsibility for diviging the guild , into two elements, the Americans and the Muscovites. But when Britt and Gannett col laborated in their telegram of pro test Britt withheld from Gannett the fact that he (Britt) in a private telephone conversation with me did. distinctly and without reser vation, identify the guild’s internal enemy as the communist element. Gannett seemed surprised when I told him that Britt had done this. Britt then admitted that he had identified communism as the evil influence and had resented the guild’s adherence to the Moscow party line in voting against con scription in a trick meeting. He insisted, however, that he had been unguarded and had not thor oughly covered the subject. But he admitted that I did not hurry him in this original discussion and that he had had an opportunity to express any reservations which he might have had in mind. Twofold Purpose My purpose in phoning Britt, in the first place, was twofold. First, I wanted to make sure that he and Gannett had signed the ap peal—in other words, that it was not a fake. I also wanted to ask Britt, as one of the signatories and a man of position in New York journalism and the guild if he believed the communists were responsible for the crisis men tioned in the appeal. Britt flatly expressed this belief with no discount. Three times he said the communists were respon sible for the unrepresentative vote against conscription, using the term ’'party line” each time. I asked these questions to ascertain whether a prominent non-commu nist in the guild now agreed with my contention that the commu nists wield control. He thus con firmed my own conviction, but it was agreed that he would not be quoted, and he wasn't. aaui wnen ne uemauuea uiai i “clarify" the record he wanted to conceal that part of the record which he had already concealed from Gannett.' To this I replied with equal insistence that we must deal with all of the record. He has finally agreed to this, and that is how it comes that I am able now to reveal our private discussion which fortified my own conviction that communism was the guild’s trouble. Now, by way of reservation, he wants to say that there are others than com munists who disbelieve in conscrip tion and to repudiate the distinc tion between Americans and Mus covites—which never was attrib uted to him, anyway. That distinc tion is my own, and I don’t want to share it with anyone. I think it is pretty good, and I know it drives the Bolos crazy. I believe this does clarify the record except on one point.' The appeal, admitting “disaffec ;ion” in the guild, said the work ers on the Chicago Herald-Ameri :an voted, 4 to 1, to be represent ed by a “company-sponsored” un on. I asked both of these men low they dared smear this legiti mate 4-to-l choice as a “company sponsored” union. The Herald-American people re pudiated the guild in rebellion against that which Britt identified as communist control and adher ence to the Moscow party line, rhe phrase “company-sponsored" eonveys the suggestion that these journalists are rats, scabs and links, in the polite language of the 5uild. It indicates the actual de ;ree of respect for the free choice >f free men which exists in the lewspaper guild when any decision foes against it. 1 r j Some Roses For Remembrance F ^l STILL REMEMBER T«e EFFECT I PRODUCED ON A SMALL GROUP OF GALL A TRIBESMEN... I PROPPED AN AERIAL TORPEDO RIGHT IN THE CENTER, AND THE GROUP OPENED UP LIKE A FLOWERING ROSE. IT WAS MOST ENTERTAINING. — Srrrcxz/o MOssoL/A/t • | AFre/z Trie coA/ooesr op erri/op/A. KU Serv«t, lv. , BAPTISTS ADOPT,, MORALS REPORT Report On Temperance Pre sented At Annual Session Of Wilmington Body A report on “Temperance and Public Morals" was presented to the Wilmington Baptist association’s an nual session at the Gibson Avenue church this week by the Rev. R. H. Satterfield, pastor of the Winter Park and Masonboro Baptist churches. The association adopted the report as presented with the request that it be published. It follows: No subject has been so clouded with prejudice, distorted by passion, sometimes uninformed, sometimes designed to mislead. Today there is confusion, or indifference, or blind acquiescence on the part of other wise good citizens and Christians. In view of these facts there are two or three suggestions that should be made. First, we should ask what is the motivating power—the' driving force —back of the liquor traffic? If his torical data prove anything they prove that blind greed for gold is the motivating power back of the manufacturer and producer and that an uncontrolled appetite is the driv ing force back of the consumer. Say what we will about the motive of control, saving youth from the boot legger, and decent drinking. All of us know that there are not the real motives A second suggestion has to do with the results of alcohol and the liquor traffic. Here a^ain we can cut through all the confusion and prop aganda with one word, namely, cor ruption. The individual who drinks is corrupted in his body, his social relationships, and his spiritual life. An eminent specialist In the field of social disease stated some months ago that drinking was the major contributing factor in at least ninety per cent of all social disease. In this age of high-powered ears one’s social responsibility becomes very acute on the highways of the nation. Today unprejudiced reports reveal the fact that the majority of highway fatal ities rae traceable to "drinking driv ers." The drinker also falls short of his social responsibility in the home. The havoc wrought in the home by alcohol is simply beyond the power to describe. The min ister and the physician, the social worker and the relief agent all testify to these facts. The most dangerous corruption, however, results from the blind greed of the manufacturer. There is nothing that he will not do to con fuse. mislead and blind the public, rhe German propaganda minister is the essence of stupidity in compari son with the astute propagandist em ployed by the liquor forces of Ameri pa- Politicians are the first victims pf the trade. Laws must be made, legislatures must be influenced, city government must be handled, and all opposition must be silenced by fair pieans or foul. This pressure is felt tlso in the field of religion. More than one minister In this country tas lost his life because his lips ;ould not be silenced otherwise. \nd every means possible is used :o humiliate, misinterpret, and dam ige the minister who is consistent n his preaching with regard to the iquor traffic. But there is hope. First of all ve live in a moral universe in which natural laws are administered with, out fear or favor. The natural kw of centrifugal force will turn a speeding car over on the curve i/: withstanding the fact that the driver bought his liquor at the legalized liquor store. The law of economics will function in the home where the father spends his money for legal liquor just the same as it does in the home where monkey rum is tee beverage; and the resultant cost on society to care for the wreckage will be the same. The ravages of social disease are just as great on the so cial drinker as they are on the debauchee. An ever greater number of our people are beginning to see the workings of this unbiased natural law, and are beginning to realize that it cannot be violated wither, desperate, tragic results both to individual and to society. The smoke screen of prejudice and propagan-.;: are being recognized for what they are. and as a result a great mas of our people will vote in a very different fashion from what they did a few years ago. LABOR BILL HEARINGS MAY BE HELD IN N. C. Members Of State Commission In vite Trade Associations, Others To Appear RALEIGH. Oct. 94.— CT> — Ope hearings probably will be held "ex' month on the possibility of drafni% a state wage-hour bill for presenta tion to the 1941 general assembly, a legislative commission on fair lai-G standards announced today. Members of*the commission, meet ing in the office tf Labor Commi. sioner Forrest IT. Shuford. invite! trade associations, unions and ' ness to file briefs, and to appear at the hearings. At present. North Carolina has -.» minimum wage law. and its mum hours laws are honor with exemptions. Whereas North Carolina onr .'V in interstate industries ar- i-v-. by the federal wage-hour la", m North Carolinans in intrastoic dustries come under no such me“ sure. Building Equipment Is Reported Stolen J. E. Newton reported sheriff's office yesterdaj !■- ' ] the night someone broke tool house at the project m he is contractor in Sunset la took a large power saw. o: ' 1 y tionary variety, several liana i‘' j several smoothing planes. ' braces and bits, three or foui ■ ets and other tools. FREED MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 24- 1 district court jury today freec* J . Leschsin, 58-year-old ur.c:.. ■-• elevator operator, who testify - ^ ing his trial on a murder ' “.e that he killed his 67-year-o. “because she was always nw, ^ me.” He also pleaded seh saying he shot her in their h( n’e March 20, when she attacked with a knife. HOEY MAKES RECORDING RALEIGH. Oct. 24.— nor Hoey today made a 10 “’“‘..j. -ecording on the importatn w tenship duties. The record ^ played in Charlotte at a 1 ^.hanl* program sponsored by the R-v ;lub