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WEATHER. * --- • (0 8 Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair and continued cold, temperature TVlP rmlv evantnn __ tonight .bout 18 degrees; tomorrow in- • ii/ff ®VeninB. Paper creasing cloudiness, followed by snow at in Washington With the right. Temperatures today—Highest. 86, A<mnr>iafpri P™ot! at midnight; lowest, 22, at 7:45 a m.: 34 at ASSOCiaieO rreSS NeWS 2 p.m. Fyn reijort on page A-2. and Wirephoto Services. Closing New York Markets, Page 20 1 OP) Means Associated Preee. TWO CENTS MURDERER OF FIVE ADMITS RE KIELED AMERICAN DANCER Jean De Koven’s Body Lo cated Under Porch of Villa Near Paris. GERMAN CONFESSES KIDNAPING WOMAN Ransom Demanded When Brook lyn Resident Vanished With out Trace Last July, Bt the Associated Press. VERSAILLES. France, Dec. 9.—,The body of pretty 22-year-old Jean De Koven. Brooklyn dancer, missing since last July, was found today buried un der the porch of a St. Cloud villa, to which police were directed by a 29-vear-old German emigre. The emigre, police said, confessed slaying her and four men because he needed money. . The body of Miss De Koven was found under water in 2 feet of hard clay. Diggers first found a white leather pocketbook, half open, and from which protruded a fountain pen and pencil and some letters, all de scribed as having belonged to the victim. The police said the confessed slayer was Eugene Weidmann, who had com% to France last March to escape Ger man military service. He led investi gators to the suburban villa outside Paris, saying that two of his men • Victims also were buried there. Miss De Koven's body, fully clothed, was doubled up and completely in cased in red clay. Medical examiners began an autopsy. second Body hound. Police found a second body in a shallow gra\e in the cellar. It was identified as that of Arthur Frommer, » one-time friend of the confessed slayer. Magistrate Georges Berry, who iden tified both bodies, said Weidmann told police he strangled the American dancer shortly after sharing a bottle of milk with her. Berry said Weidmann related how both he and the dancer were hungry and the only food they could find in the villa was the milk. The German had kidnaped Miss De Koven the day before—last July 23— and taken her to the villa, police said. Weidmann listed as the men vic . tims. beside Frommer. a rental broker named Raymond Lesobre. found dead 10 days ago in the St. Cloud villa; a young man named Roger Leblond and a taxi driver named Couffy. Arrested After Gun Battle. Weidmann was arrested at the St. Cloud villa yesterday after a gun fight with police. He admitted the slayings, police said, after long questioning. The strange disappearance of Miss De Koven created a major mystery which baffled French investigators for months. She was last seen alive walk ing out of the Studio Hotel in the Rue Vieux Colombier, where she lived with , her aunt. Mrs. Ida Sackheim. Police, tracing the slimmest of clues, learned she had spent $300 in travel ers checks. The hunt was confused later by demands for her ransom, but police never succeeded in finding the •ender of these ransom demands. It was the discovery of the rental agent's body in a cellar of the villa last month that led investigators into the baffling De Koven case. That gruesome find put authorities on the trail of a German who had made an appointment with the rental agent at the St. Cloud villa, which the German had rented. It was a rendezvous with violent death for the rental agent. Detectives finally located the Ger man, living in St. Cloud. Three de tectives were dispatched yesterday aft ernoon to arrest him. Wounds Two Officers. He put up a struggle. There was a short pistol duel in which two of the officers were wounded. They overpowered Weidmann, however, and took him to headquarters for ques tioning in connection with the dis covery of the rental agent’s body. The prisoner confessed last eve ning, the Investigators said, to killing the real estate man. "I shot him because I needed money,” Weidmann was quoted. That did not close the interrogation of the prisoner. For 18 hours the officers kept him under a crossfire of questions in connection with other crimes. __After a night of questioning at the (See~ MURDER 7 Page ~A-47) AMERICAN COUPLE MISSING IN RUSSIA TT. S. Embassy Probes Disappear 4 ance of New Yorkers. Investigators Baffled. By the Associated Press. MOSCOW, Dec. 9.—The mysterious disappearance of an American couple, who were named as Mr. and Mrs. Don ald L. Robinson of New York, was reported today to the United States Embassy. , The disappearance was reported un der circumstances which investigators found baffling. Acquaintances learned , last night that Mr. Robinson was missing. Mrs. Robinson told them her husband disappeared December 2, but she was not alarmed. Officials of the hotel where they were staying had told her, she said, her husband had been taken to a hospital, where he had developed pneumonia and had been placed in an "iron lung.” Both Mrs. Robinson and hotel offi cials. however, said they did not know the name of the hospital. The hotel officials declined to discuss the « case and said they were unable to locate the only person at the hotel who knew about it. This morning callers found that Mrs. Robinson also had left the hotel. Jiotel officials disclaimed any knowlw ^T^ge of the whereabouts of the eouplsc Kidnaped and Slain in Paris JEAN DE KOVEN. NEW TAX PLANS | Wide Attention Is Drawn to Various Proposals for Revision. By the Associated Press. New proposals for tax revision re ceived the attention today of Con gress members and other Government officials in discussions of the busi ness situation. These developments were noted: 1. Congressional leaders expressed approval of a suggestion by Marriner S. Eccles, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, that the way to halt the business recession is to balance industrial and agricultural prices. 2. Senator Minton, Democrat, of Indiana proposed enactment of a gross income tax. with virtually no exemptions, to balance the Federal budget. 3. A House Tax Subcommittee pro ceeded with its efforts to lighten the undistributed profits levy, it ignored a suggestion from the Brookings In stitution that the tax be. abolished i altogether. A nknim.x U Taxao fa/ 4 U fa ' Reconstruction Finance Corp. said ; after a White House conference that j the railroads have “got to have in- j creased rggenues, or be subsidized.” 5. Secretary of Commerce Roper re- j ported 1937 foreign trade would total i *6.500.000,000. almost a third better j than 1936 and 118 per cent above 1932. He said he expected a favorable trade balance of *100.000.000, three times that of last year. "Leveling Off” Declared Necessary. Chairman Eccles' diagnosis, given yesterday to the Senate Banking Com mittee, was that the business slump would continue until there was a “leveling off” of prices. This would be necessary, he said, so income of un organized workers, farmers and Gov ernment employes would more nearly equal the income of organized workers and operators in the industrial field. "That is just what we are trying to do,” said Senator Pope, Democrat, of Idaho, co-author of the Senate farm bill. “We are trying to raise the price of farm products to parity." Chairman Harrison of the Senate Finance Committee agreed that un balanced prices “Probably are one of the reasons for this slump.” He added that better farm prices, passage of housing legislation and tax revision “will aid, too." Senator Lodge, Republican, of Massachusetts indicated he agreed generally with Mr. Eccles’ thesis, but added: “A large share of these high wages for industrial workers are on paper only.” Mr. Eccles said the recession would “Make budget balancing Impossible” if it continued. Senator Minton, however, declared (See TAX, Page A-6.) I WAGE-HOUR PACT ATTEMPT FAILURE House Committee Dead locked—75 Representa tives at Another Session. BACKGROUND— Legislation to establish labor standards was sponsored by Admin istration last session, but became jammed in House Rules Commit tee when Southern bloc refused to allow it to reach floor. In call for special session. President Roosevelt listed it as one of objectives. Labor has blown hot and cold on bill, both John L. Lewis and William Green indorsing it first with Qualifications and Green more recently with drawing his approval. Bs the Associated Press. The House Labor Committee failed today to reach an agreement On pro posed sweeping changes in admin istrative provisions of the wage and hour bill. committee members said the group was "all split up," but would resume consideration later in the day of the proposed changes which would substi tute a single administrator for the present flve-member independent board. Coincident with the committee meeting, about 75 House members at tended a private session of an un official Steering Committee supporting the bill and heard Speaker Bankhead and Majority Leader Rayburn urge them to “stand by the administra tion.” Legislators who attended said the consensus was the group would sup port the leadership and the Labor Committee, and some of them said it was understood the "objectionable” features in the measure would be ironed out in subsequent conferences with the Senate. Much of the controversy In the Labor Committee centered on whether there should be voluntary boards to assist the Labor Department admin istrator. Chairman Norton proposed such boards to investigate complaints in each industry and make recom mendations with regard to wages and hours. Representative Ramspeck, Demo crat, of Georgia, second ranking ma jority member of the committee, said the administrator would be powerless to fix wage-hour standards unless he accepted the findings of the boards. -.-*« Injured in Paris. B? the Associated Press. PARIS, Dec. 9 —A French engineer gave police Information today which indicated that Dorothy Mildred Bourek, American girl found uncon scious last night in her locked apart ment, apparently had been hurt in an automobile accident. For a Happier Christmas— Secretary of Interior Indorses The Star?s Campaign. "The spirit of charity toward others stands today, as ever, among the fundamental characteristics of the people of tins rxauun, wnuoe uuiuage, SLain ina and resourcefulness have enabled them to cope successfully with every problem. “As we approach what for many persons will be the merriest Christmas let us not forget that £ there are thousands who will be a without cheer on Christmas Day 1 unless that charitable spirit which ’ prevailed throughout the darker , , hours of our history is reasserted to the fullest extent at this holi- A day season. ■ “I urge every one to give to ■ The Star’s Christmas Campaign » the most generous support.they I can afford and to encourage sim- ■ ilar donations from their fellow residents in the District of Columbia. Secretary lekea. “HAROLD L. ICKES, “Secretary of the Interior.” (Details of The Star-Warner Bros.-N. B. C. Christmas campaign are on , Page AS.) \\ a£ Estimates for 1939 Fiscal Year $1,800,000 Above Present Figure. $1,900,000 IS SLASHED FROM AMOUNT SOUGHT Only $3,100,000 ' in Additional Taxes Would Be Necessary Under New Total. By JAMES E. CHINN. Approved Budget Bureau estimates for the District for the 1939 fiscal year call for appropriations totaling about $47,800,000, an increase of $1,800,000 over current appropriations, it was learned today from an authori tative source. The Commissioners had recom mended a budget totaling $49,700,000. The figures show the Budget Bureau slashed about $1,900,000 from their estimates. Guarded with utmost secrecy, the estimates are now in the possession of Representative Collins. Democrat, of Mississippi, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Appropriations that will frame the District supply bill for the next fiscal year. These esti mates will form the basis of hearings scheduled to start before the subcom mittee Monday as a prelude to the actual drafting of the new appropria tion bill. C? in. Ann *~ n_ v_i.J The $49,700,000 budget of the Commissioners was predicated on new tax legislation that would raise $5, 000,000 in additional revenue in the coming fiscal year to balance it. The $1,900,000 cut made by the Budget Bureau, it was indicated, I would necessitate a tax program de ! signed to raise only $3,100,000 in ! additional revenue I The approved $47,800,000 budget ! is higher than a number of civic and business organizations in the District previously indorsed for the coming fiscal year. These organizations adopted resolutions opposing any in crease above the current $46,000,000 appropriation. Details of the budget estimates will I not be disclosed until early in January j when President Roosevelt transmits the national budget to Congress. I Copies in possession of Mr. Collins i for the use of his subcommittee are labeled ‘‘confidential." Observe^ Traffic Conditions. Continuing its pre-budget hearing investigation, the subcommittee today observed traffic conditions at Dupont Circle and plans developed by the Highway Department to Improve them through construction of a subway that will carry Massachusetts avenue traf fic under the circle. Tha ciihrcimmitton al.-o in«j > number of streets in the downtown section slated for widening or im provements. In addition it studied | conditions along K street N.W. from Twenty-sixth street to Key Bridge, ! where it is proposed to erect Rn ele vated highway to by-pass traffic ' through Georgetown. Other Streets Inspected. A number of other streets which the Highway Department plans to im- i prove in the next fiscal year, and the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River, which has been recommended for replacement, were inspected by the subcommittee yes terday. A brief visit also was made to the National Training School for Girls, scene of recent riots among the inmates. Chairman Collins indicated that probably more revenue than ever before would be available in the coming fiscal year for street and highway improve ments as a result of the imposition of the weight tax on motor vehicles. He pointed out, however, it would not be necessary to spend so much next year on new streets in newly developed sections because of a recession in building activities. ARMY FLYER KILLED Lieutenant's Plane Crashes and Bums at San Antonio. SAN-ANTONIO, Tex., Dec. 9 (>P).— Lieut. Edward P. Burke, 24, was killed today when his Army plane crashed and burned as he completed a weather observation flight. Burke was a graduate of West Point and a native of Helena, Mont. Mr president, "lip f prosperity is JUST I AROUND THE CORNER ,f~= I IF WE CAN ONLY LOCATE fek rWTHE CORKIERU^ HIS RESIGNATION U. S. Attorney to Retire From Office Dec. 31—Pine May Get Post. Leslie C. Garnett today submitted to Attorney General Cummings his resignation as United States attorney for the District of Columbia, effective on expiration of his present term of office, December 31. He plan.? to re-enter private prac tice of law. but it was indicated at the Department of Justice he may be asked to serve as a special assistant to the Attorney General after his re tirement from the courthouse post. Mr. Garnett took his letter of resig nation in person to the Department of Justice. He had discussed his plans previously with the Attorney Genera! Speculation arose immediately as to a successor. If Mr. Cummings should not act promptly in recom mending to the President a new occu pant. the vacancy could be filled by an acting incumbent designated by the justices of the District Court pend ing action by the President. Former United States Attorney Leo A. Rover was named as acting prosecutor under this statutory prerogative of the court, later to be regularly appointed by the President. David A. Pine, first assistant to Mr. Garnett, would be in line for elevation to acting district attorney. Pine May Be Named. Mr. Garnett came to the Depart ment of Justice at 12:30 p.m. and presented his letter first to Special j Assistant Matthew McGuire, in the office o( Assistant Attorney General Joseph B. Keenan, who is out of the city. Mr. McGuire escorted the District attorney to Attorney General Cummings' office, where the latter re ceived the resignation and personally expressed his regrets to Mr. Garnett, j Mr. Cummings immediately pro-1 cceded to dictate a formal letter of acceptance, which will be released later, along with Mr. Garnett's letter of resignation. It was indicated the Attorney Gen eral would lose little time in sending to the White House his recommenda tion for appointment of a new Dis trict attorney. It was reliably reported that First Assistant District Attorney Pine has excellent chances of being nominated for this post. HUNGARIANS QUIT WORK IN MOCK PLANE ATTACK By the Associated Press. BUDAPEST, Dec. 9.—Residents of Budapest and 23 other Hungarian communitias dropped all work and scurried to basements today when ‘ enemy'' airplanes roared overhead for four hours in make-believe air at tacks. Budapest traffic was tied ur dur ing the large scale air defense drill, which was directed by soldiers, police, firemen and Boy Scouts. BULLETIN The Association of American Railroads today petitioned the In terstate Commerce Commission for an immediate Increase of 15 per cent in freight rates and an in crease from 2 to 2'2 cents per mile on passenger fares in the Eastern territory. Economy Perils %> New Bock Fence At White House The White House may have to struggle along without a new back fence for a while longer—for reasons of economy. For some time now. the Fine Arts Commission has been after the Ex ecutive Mansion to have a higher fence erected around the rear grounds '—the idea being that the present fence isn't nearly so attractive as the one at the front. The new fence was j I to have been of iron of a somewhat more ornate design than the present one, and the White House finally gave in. When bids were opened a few days ago, however, it was found that the lowest estimate was for $44,400—or about 25 per cent more than the Ex ecutive Mansion had figured on pay ing. Final decision in the matter will be left to President Roosevelt, but it was felt at the White House that the improvement would be postponed , for some time at least. —- — 0 Truck Driver Killed, Helper Critically Hurt in Accident at College Park. (Picture on Page B-l.) B, a Staff Correspondent ot The Star. COLLEGE PARK. Md„ Dec. 9 —One man was decapitated and another probably fatally injured today when the truck in which they were riding was demolished by a fast New York-to Washington passenger train of the Bal timore & Ohio Railroad on the cross ing here. John Willie Durham. 29. colored, driver of the truck, was killed and his helped. Vanderbilt Harrison, colored, of 1256 New Jersey avenue N.W., Washington, was taken to Casualty Hospital In a Prince Georges County rescue ambulance and was not expect ed to live. The truck was loaded with cement. Station Agent R. G. Keys, who was standing inside the window of his station, narrowly escaped injury when a cement block was hurled through the window, narrowly miss ing his head. Durham had just left the Engineer ing Supply Co. yards a short distance away and drove into the tracks.-evi dently not seeing the fast passenger train. The body was turned over to the Gasch funeral home. TENEMENT BLAZE COSTS NINE LIVES Seven of Victims in Knoxville Are Children—House Called “Fire Trap.” Br the Associated Press. KNOXVILLE. Tenn.. Dec. 9 — Fire men dug the bodies of nine victims— seven of them children—from the ruins of a flame-razed tenement house early today. A long search of the ruins failed to reveal any other victims in the old, two-story structure described by Fire Chief C. M. Johnson as a ' fire trap.” The dead: Mrs. McKinley Connatser, 35. and three of her children. Virginia, 6, Vallee, 4, and Luther, 12. Mrs.. Cora Tate, 56; her son, Eugene Tate, 17, and her three grandsons. R. L. Melton. 12; Junior Melton, 6, and James Earl Melton, 9. Flames Sweep Building. Fire swept the building shortly after midnight and trapped the victims as they slept. Twenty-two other occu pants, most of them children, ran or jumped to safety. Gordon Tate, 22. son of Mrs. Tate, said from a hospital bed that he es caped by jumping from a second-story window. He received only minor bruises. i ne umers were u> nave louowea me.” he sobbed. “I jumped and thought they were coming, but they didn't. They must have been trapped before they could get to the window.” The blaze apparently started on the second floor, possibly from a defective flue, firemen said. Jumps From Window. McKinley Connatser. 34. husband and father of four victims, seized his 5-month-old son. R. C. Connatser, and jumped from a second-story window'. "I screamed for my wife to follow me. Connatser. a newspaper vender, said. "But she couldn't get to the window with the other children, I suppose. "I kept waiting for them to jump. It was terrible." Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wright and their children. Lucille. 3. and Frank lin, 1, were injured and wer^ taken to a hospital, but they were not be lieved badly hurt. Chief Johnson said the old build ing was a "Are trap,” but City Build ing Inspector Walter Smith said it never had been officially condemned. Chief Johnson said the flames were out of control when the firemen ar rived. Says Families Ordered Out. He also declared the families had been ordered a short time ago to get out of the house, but said they had been reluctant to leave. “There were little old stoves all over the place.” the chief said. "It was old and weak, of wood throughout and had been cut up into apartments. “The people on the second floor who died never had a chance to get out. My guess is tha‘ either a faulty flue or a stove caused the fire. “We had no chance to rescue any body. In fact, those that died had already been burned to death before we even got there.” No announcement was forthcoming from city officials concerning a pos sible investigation. Summary of Today's Star Page. Page. Amusements C-4-5 Lost & Pound D-5 Christmas Story Obituary_A-12 C-3 Radio _D-8 Comics -C-6-7 Society.. B-3 Editorials_A-10 Sports_D-l-3 Financial_A-19 Woman’s Pg. D-4 FOREIGN. Japan threatens Nanking horrors un less it yields. Page A-l New regime imminent for North China. Page A-4 Soong sees Japan headed for bank ruptcy. Page A-4 Vital decision is forecast in Italy Saturday. Page A-4 NATIONAL. Joseph P. Kennedy believed named envoy to England. Page A-l New tax revision proposals now center of attention. Page A-l Housing legislation to follow farm bill in Congress. Page A-3 Mayor Hague replies to Congressmen’s labor query. Page A-3 Ickes calls ‘'Fascist-minded men” chief U. S. peril. Page A-5 Straus determined to keep rents down to low level. Page A-8 Hamilton seeking head for Republican Program Committee. Page A-1S WASHINGTON AND NEARBY. Garnett hands in resignation as U. s. attorney. Page A-l Temperature of 18 degree^precaat for tonight. jg Pam A-3 Priest, noted as language professor, killed in auto mishap. Page B-l Freeing of known criminals on bond is hit. * Page B-l Hazen says most D. C. residents prefer sales tax. Page B-l SPORTS. / v Redskins again in position to upset dope against Bears. Page D-l Kllraln's illness recalls his days of ring greatness Page D-2 Collins rolls 700 set in Star tourney preliminary. Page D-3 EDITORIAL AND COMMENT. Editorials. Page A-10 This and That. Page A-10 Answers to Questions. Page A-10 Stars and Atoms. Page A-10 David Lawrence. Page A-ll The Capital Parade. Page A-ll Mark Sullivan. Page A-ll Jay Franklin. Page A-ll Delia Pynchon. Page A-ll MISCELLANY, City News in Brief. Page A-13 Shipping News. Page B-12 Nature’s Children. Page C-8 Dorothy Dix. Page D-4 Betsy Caswell. Page D-4 Cross-word Puzzle. Page C-8 Letter-Out. Page C-8 Winning Contract. Page C-7 Bedtime Story. Page C-2 After Dark. * Page B-18 Vital Statistics. ^ Page B-8 Service Orders. Page B-2 Suspect in Burglary Is Caught As He Sticks Fast in Chimney It was a burglar suspect and not Santa Claus who tried to climb down a smoking chimney at 618 D street S.E. early today while police, taxi drivers find aroused residents clamored in pursuit. The chase ended on a second-story roof top about 1:30 a.m. when two brawny policemen hauled Sam Thomp son, colored, 21, from th‘e hot chim ney top into which he had lowered his body to the armpits. It began 15 minutes earlier in a men’s clothing store at«dl7 Pennsyl vania avenue S.E. after Policemen William T. Hayden and Henry W. Whitlow of No. 5 precinct looked through a window and saw a burglar filling a suit case. • The store had been robbed several weeks ago and the patrolmen looked it over as they were passing. They saw a colored man stuffing ties, shirts and suits of clothing into a traveling case by the light of an electric lamp the store proprietor had left burning as a precaution against burglars. The officers drew their guns and yelled for the burglar to come out and surrender. Instead; the intruder seized a hammer from the floor beside him and threw It at the electric light. His, aim was so perfect It spoiled Officer Hayden's. The policeman shot through the plate glass into the darkened interior as Pvt. Whitlow dashed toward an alley to cover the rear of the store. Meanwhile, the officers yelled to a passing taxicab driver to get help from the precinct. The burglar had fled through a rear window before Officer Whitlow could stop him. When the hacker returned he had not only collected the police reserves, but a number of his fellow drivers anxious to be of assistance. The taxi drivers and police sur rounded the block. Their cries aroused residents, who issued in pa jamas and bath robes. A policeman heard running feet on the roof tops above his head. He climbed to the roof himself and other officers fol lowed. Thompson was being held for in vestigation today. In the store was found a suitcase crammed with cloth ing. The suit case had been taken from the storA stock. JAPAN THREATENS NANKING HORRORS UNLESS IT YIELDS Matsui’s Ultimatum De mands Surrender by 11 P.M. Tonight. THREE U. S. DIPLOMATS QUIT NANKING EMBASSY Take Refuge on Gunboat Panay After Providing Maximum Safety for Americans Left. BACKGROUND— Preparations for showdown bat tle at Nanking hare gone forward, since completion of Japan’s Shang hai campaign nearly month ago. Japanese troops hare followed re treating Chinese to the so-called “Hindenburg" line, which was ex pected to stabilize warfare, and now are storming gates of capital, evac uated several weeks ago by the gov ernment. By the Associated Press. SHANGHAI. Dec. 9.—The Japanese command issued an ultimatum toda\ demanding the surrender of China’.' abandoned capital, Nanking, by noor Friday (11 p.m., Thursday, E. S. T.) and threatening that otherwise the city “will become the scene of the horrors of war.” The ultimatum was issued by Gen Iwane Matsui, commander of the Jap anese forces in the Shanghai-Nanking area, to the Chinese commander, Gen. Tang Seng-chi. A Japanese warplane dropped a further communication to Nanking. "Abandonment of resistance will spare the city, its historic relics and spots of beauty,” it promised. a aim* nrjAMien in capital. Japanese tanks were reported to have entered the southeast gate of Nanking, and the Japanese Army spokesman pre dicted capture of the city within 24 hours. The spokesman declared Chinese still were resisting and added that there would be a major battle if the resistance continued. Domei (Japanese! News Agency said observers in airplanes saw the tanks ' entering the southeast city gate. Domei also said Japanese had entered Wuhu, Yangtze River port 60 miles upstream L from Nanking. i Simultaneous reports from Nan king said Chinese still held posi tions around the city in spite of day-long Japanese aerial bombard ment.) (The three remaining members of the American embassy staff at Nanking took refuge last night aboard the gunboat Panay in the Yantze River.) Chinese artillery firing from strongly fortified Purple Mountain, which over looks Nanking, kept Japanese from a frontal attack on the eastern wall of the city, where latest reports were that 14 Americans remained. Shanghai Again Hears Firing. Shanghai itself heard the boom of anti-aircraft guns after days of quiet. The Japanese flagship Idzumo fired 25 shells into overcast skies. Japanese and foreign reports were that two Chinese planes had flown over the ship. Japanese said their army and navy air forces made heavy attacks on Nan king and surrounding territory throughout the day to back up Jap anese armies encircling the city. Army flyers were said to have raided Nan chang, w'here Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was reported in residence. Wuhu had been the object of Jap anese attacks for 24 hours. Many fires were reported raging there. Main Japanese forces were said to be about 5 miles south and east. Chinese said spirited battles along the defense ring around the capital had cost Japanese 2.400 casualties and loss of the village of Shangchousu. Two Chinese regiments, Chinese said, fought their way out of surround ing Japanese forces at Kuyung and Joined the Nanking defenders. Nanking Gate Reported Taken. Japanese military authorities de clared one of their columns had cap tured the Chiltn (Unicorn) gate in an outer wall, but the report was not confirmed. Independent foreign sources told of seeing a Japanese warship flotilla (See SHANGHAI, Page A-4.) LOYALISTS REPORT REBELS REPULSED Insurgent In/antry Attacks Are Launched on Madrid and Aragon Fronts. By the Associated Press. MADRID. Dec. 9.—Fierce insurgent infantry attacks that shattered weeks of comparative quiet on the Aragon and Madrid fronts were reported to day by government military authori ties to have been beaten back. Dispatches from the Aragon re gion of the northeast, where govern ment armies have been arrayed for weeks to block an insurgent big push toward the Mediterranean, told of des perate fighting from the Ebro River to Martin del Rio. A half hour of pitched hand-to hand combat at Monte Sillero and on a road between Mediana and Pueb la de Alborton in the Ebro River valley about 15 miles southeast of Za ragoza ended in an insurgent rout. Later insurgent field guns blasted at government positions at Zapatero. Insurgent positions along the Ebro River were menaced by floods. Ninety minutes of severe fighting which brought machine guns, gre nades and artillery into play yester day on a government salient near Qul Joma, about 15 miles west of Madrid, the former republican capital, broke the lull on Ihe central front.