Evening star. [volume], September 16, 1939, Page A-7, Image 7

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Russo-Japanese Pact
Seen Blow to U. S.
Position in East
Non-Aggression Accord
Also Would Affect
War in China
By the Associated Press.
* MOSCOW. Sept. 16—An armis
tice today in the Far Eastern fight
ing between Soviet Russia and
Japan was stipulated in an agree
ment. which diplomatic quarters saw
as forshadowing a possible non
aggression pact between those tra
ditional enemies.
Moscow observers said the
rumored non-aggression pact would
be a blow to the British position
in East Asia and possibly to Far
Eastern interests of the United
States.
It would have an even greater
effect on the Japanese campaign in
China. Russia has given more or
less open material aid to General
issimo Chiang Kai-shek in his fight
against Japan.
Throughout the Japanese-Chinese
conflict reliable sources have re
’ ported that the flower of Japan's
military forces have been concen
trated in Manehukuo in readiness
for any major move by the Soviet
Union in the region.
, Germany Urged Pact.
A reconciliation between Moscow
and Tokio has been one of Ger
many's aims since the Soviet-Ger
man pact was signed and would con
stitute a diplomatic triumph for
Adolf Hitler.
Nazi officials have been strenu
ously active trying to stave off what
they feared were British efforts to
reach an understanding wdth Japan.
The official Soviet news agency,
Tass, said the armistice, announced
last night, would go into effect at
2 p.m. <6 a.m., E. S. T.) today.
Military forces of the two powers,
who have been fighting intermit
tently for four months on the fron
A tier of Sovietized Outer Mongolia
and Japanese-dominated Manchu
kuo. would maintain positions which
they held at 1 p.m. yesterday.
The armistice culminated nego
tiations started not long after Soviet
Russia on August 24 signed a non
aggression pact with Germany, Ja
pans partner in the anti-comin
tern agreement. The discusisons of
long-troubled Soviet-Japanese re
• lations were carried out by Premier
Foreign Commissar Vvacheslaff
Molotoff and Japanese Ambassador
Shigenori Togo.
The most recent hostilities on me
Manchukuo frontier started May 11.
and at times reached great intensity
as aerial and mechanized forces
, were brought into play. The out
break was only one. however, of a
series of difficulties the two nations
have had along 1.000 miles of their
twisting frontier in the Far East.
The Tass announcement said a
commission of two Soviet-Mongolian
and two Japanese-Manchukuan rep
resentatives would be organized "at
the earliest possible date" to deter
mine the boundary.
Within a few hours after an
nouncement of the armistice, Russia
named a new Ambassador to Japan,
Constantin Smetanin, who had
served as charge d'affaires in Tokio j
since June 5, 1938. when former Am
basasdor Mikhail Mikhailovitch
Slavutsky returned to Moscow.
A Japanese communique an
nouncing the armistice said pris
oners and dead of the four-month
conflict would be exchanged while
arrangements are completed to
establish the exact Manchukuo
Mongolia boundary.
The army section of the Japanese
Imperial headquarters declared both
sides had suffered “considerable
* damage" during an outburst of bit
ter fighting between August 20 and
September 1. No details were made
ki.dwn, however.
London
<Continued From First Page.)
„ Greek steamer Atlanticos and
brought ashore on the south coast
Of England.
One of the passengers, an uniden
tified woman from New York, was
taken to a hotel w’ith several ribs
broken, he said.
Two Other British Ships Sunk.
The other British vessels sunk were
the 5.200-ton cargo boat Fanad Head
and the 291-ton trawler Davara.
They were the nineteenth and twen
tieth British ships sunk since Brit
ain declared war on Germany two
weeks ago tomorrow.
Seven nations have felt the ef
■» feet of sea warfare. Besides Brit
ain's 21 last ships. France has lost
one and Germany nine, not includ
ing the submarines Britain says has
been destroyed.
Among neutrals, the Netherlands
has lost two vessels and Finland.
Greece and Belgium one each, mak
ing the total number of ships lost
BO far 36.
The latest sinkings followed by a
few hours a government announce
ment that "a number of U-boats”
had been destroyed by war vessels
and planes and that the British
were stepping up preparations for a
protracted war.
Enemy Violation Claimed.
The ministry of information said
the Alex Van Opstal was either
"torpedoed or, as her master be
lieves, struck a mine.”
The statement argued that the
mine—if that was the cause of the
sinking—must have been laid by the
enemy because of the assertion that
at no time have the British laid
mines in the vicinity of the sinking.
The communique said “by either
method of sinking the enemy has
violated international law."
"If the cause of the sinking was
a mine.” it continued, "the mine
field had not been notified, and if a
torpedo, the act was an infraction
, of the submarine protocol to which
Germany had adhered.”
No Panic, Woman Says.
One of the vessel's passengers, an
American-born Frenchwomen who
said she was going to France as a
nurse, declared she was thrown off
her feet by the explosion.
“There was no panic,” she said.
“The lifeboats were lowered wfithout
delay and we were taken aboard the
Atlanticos. * * * The captain and
the officers were keeping a sharp
lookout and we were on the normal
chipping route.”
British naval experts said their
losses at sea were not exceedingly
great in view of the large number
of unprotected British vessels on
the seas when war was declared.
On the whole, they said, naval
activity so far has been heavily
in Britain's favor. The following
reasons were cited:
1. Britain’s drive against sub
marines has been much more ef
fective than during the first
two weeks of the World War,
when only one U-boat was sunk.
2 Britain already has driven
virtually all German shipping
off the seas and during the first
week of the war seized more
than 76.000 tons of contraband
cargo bound for Germany on
neutral vessels.
These experts said losses of Brit
ish vessels would diminish rapidly
after the convoy system came fully
into operation and that German
submarines should not be a serious
threat to British shipping.
Press Seeks More News.
The British press gave prominence
to the announcement that “a num
ber of U-boats” had been destroyed
by the navy, but commented editori
ally the government still was too
grudging in giving out news of its
operations.
"This is the first time that the
authorities have alluded publicly to
the success of operations against
the submarine menace,” the Daily
Sketch said. “Even now the claim
is modest enough, but reading be
tween the lines we can see that al
ready within a fortnight from the
beginning of the war, the U-boat as
a weapon has been paralyzed.”
The Daily Mail said: “The ad
miralty at last admits what Fleet
Street has known for some time.
'A number of German U-boats have
been destroyed.’ Even now the an
nouncement is grudging in charac
ter. We are not told how many."
The Daily Telegraph described the
announcement as “a laconic but
cheering message,” and said that
“for the first time a positive re
sponse has been officially made to
public concern with this question.”
Only Sketchy News Released.
The pressure of the press and the
opposition leaders in Parliament,
however, still has failed to bring
from the ministry of information
anything but the scantiest of news
on the activities of the army and
air .force.
C* „ fr.*. nil 4 Yl O f VlQC hpPfl Q -
nounced officially is that British
troops have landed in France and
that the air force is operating from
French soil.
It is known, however, that thous
ands of British troops already have
taken positions on the western
front and military experts expect
them to join immediately in the
French drive against Germany's
Siegfried Line.
The Ministry of Information dis
closed that military organization
was progressing ‘‘much faster"
than in 1914 and that mobiliza
tion of the nation's industries for
a long war was proceeding rapidly.
70 Vessels Under Guard.
It also was disclosed, in line
with Britain’s war time policy of
detaining merchant ships to search
for contraband cargo, that 70 ves
sels were being held under guard
off the southeast coast.
Nearly every maritime nation In
the world was represented in the
fleet of detained vessels riding at
anchor in a wide arc from Broad
stairs to Dover.
Aboard each ship was a guard of
A
British seamen under a junior of
ficer. Two gray British escort ships
lay anchored at strategic points
among the merchantmen.
Patroling the roadstead were two
slim British destroyers and one of
France's powerful new gungoats. At
an 8-knot speed, the patrols steamed
steadily back and forth in front of
the detained ships.
The patrol/ it was explained, was
keeping a lookout for enemy sub
marines as w;ell as guarding against
a possible getaway by any of the
“captive” merchantmen.
Out in the channel, yet within
sight of the gray chalk cliffs of
Calais, other British warships stand
guard to protect the vital sea lane
to France. Fencing the lane is a
barrier of mine fields.
Eight Passengers Aboard
Sunken Belgian Ship
NEW YORK, Sept. 16 UP).—'The
Alex Van Opstal, Belgian motorship
sunk in the English Channel near
Weymouth, left New York Septem
ber 6 for Antwerp with eight pas
sengers and 3.400 tons of grain.
J. A. Nash <fc Co., agents here for
the Belgian Line, said ‘the follow
ing passengers were aboard:
Miss Germaine Fulchiron. Tena
fly, N. J.; Marcel Harpe, an Esto
nian living in New York; Jules
Derodeck, Armand Rotsaert, Mr.
and Mrs. August Andre and Mrs.
Youri Smirnow, all Belgian tourists,
and Patrick Droughton, British
tourist.
London reports said the passen
gers and crew were rescued by a
Greek steamer and taken to the
southern coast of Ireland.
The Belgian vessel, regularly in
cargo service between New York and
Antwerp, with occasional calls at
Albany, N. Y., carried a crew of 60.
In addition to the grain, she car
ried 1,000 tons of general cargo.
Neutrality
(Continued From First Page/)_
! might have meant that the Gov
I ernment intended to do its best to
! protect American interests no matter
i how far out they were.
Col. Lindbergh, who on Thursday
concluded five months of service at
the War Department, spoke from
his Carlton Hotel room. Grouped
about him were Mrs. Lindbergh and
a handful of radio technicians.
After the broadcast, his first in
eight years, the colonel and Mrs.
Lindbergh left their hotel room and
walked a block to a radio studio to
hear a transcription of the address.
A small crowd tagged along behind
the couple during their jaunt.
‘‘We must either keep out of Euro
pean wars entirely or stay in Euro
pean affairs permanently,” Col. Lind
bergh said. “* * * Our safety does
not lie in fighting European wars. It
lies in our own internal strength, in
the character of the American people
and of American institutions. As
long as we maintain an army, a
navy and an air force worthy of
the name; as long as America does
not decay within, we need fear no
invasion of this country.”
Warning against making any mis
take about the cost of entering the
war. Col. Lindbergh said:
“If we take part successfully, we
l
must throw the resources of our
entire Nation into the conflict. Mu
nitions alone will not be enough.
We cannot count on victory mere
ly by shipping abroad several
thousand airplanes and cannon. We
are likely to lose a million men.
possibly several million—the best
American youth.”
Warns of Propaganda.
At another point, the flyer said:
"We will be deluged with propa
ganda. both foreign and domestic—
some obvious, some insidious. Much
of our news is already colored,
i Every incident and every accident
| will be seized upon to influence
; us. And in a modern war there are
bound to be plenty of both.
“We must learn to look behind
every article we read and every
speech we hear. We must not only
inquire about the writer and the
speaker—about his personal in
terests and his nationality, but we
must ask who owns and who in
fluences the newspaper, the news
picture and the radio station.
‘‘If our people know the truth,
if they are fully and accurately in
formed, if they are not misled by
propaganda, this country is not
likely to enter the war now going
on in Europe.”
Holt, Back in U. 5., Hits
Neutrality Revision
PORTLAND, Me., Sept, 16 UP).—
With the assertion “a vote for revi
sion of the United States neutrality
law is a vote for war,” Senator Holt,
Democrat, of West Virginia reached
this port today on the American mo
torship Mormachawk, carrying 126
passengers from war-torn Europe.
Senator Holt, an anti-New Dealer,
declared the administration’s neu
trality policy ‘‘will lead us directly
into war,” and added ‘‘there are
those in Europe who want us in
volved and would be glad to see such
revision of the present law.” The
Senator attended an international
conference at Oslo, Norway.
Ships
(Continued From First Page.)
agreed to protest to Mr. Kennedy
the tone of the message.
Mr. Kennedy replied that he was
sorry he had caused any alarm, but
that he felt constrained to warn the
passengers.
Six Leave Ship.
Sir Ashley Sparks, resident direc
tor in New York of the Cunard
White Star Line, said he thought
the Ambassador’s message “was per
fectly all right from the Ambassa
dor’s point of view, but I certainly
think it disturbed the people who
had to sail.”
He said he believed only six pas
sengers left the ship after the mes
sage was read.
Meanwhile the departure of three
American ships, ordered by the
State Department to pick up
stranded Americans in Europe, was
held up by a strike of seamen de
manding a cash bonus for entering
war zones.
The ships affected were the Scan
states of the American-Scantic Line,
and the United States liners Ameri
can Traveler and the American
P*
Trader with 39 and 53 passengers,
respectively, most of them Britons.
The last two liners were scheduled
to sail last night for English ports,
and the Scanstates for Oslo and
Copenhagen.
Gangplanks had been pulled in
and the crew demanded a bonus of
$250 a man for running through
I submarine-infested waters.
Rex Brings 1,820.
The Italian liner Rex, first Italian
vessel to sail into New York Har
bor since the war began, arrived
carrying 1.820 passengers, 1,454 ol
them Americans.
Among the passengers were James
H. R. Cromwell and his wife, the
former Doris Duke; Archbishop;
Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland; j
Giovanni Martinelli, the operatic
tenor; Monsignor Alexander Syski,
a professor at the Polish Seminary,
Orchard Lakes, Mich., and 12
Chester Hale girls—members of a
dancing troupe which was stranded
for a while on the Riviera.
The Rex sailed from Genoa Sep
tember 8 and from Naples the fol
lowing day. Many of the passengers
complained about the increased
travel rates. Cromwell said he
figured he paid almost the double
rate, paying about $2,000 for ac
comodations of two rooms for him
self, his wife, and her maid.
Cromwell said he thought “the
United States will be dragged into
war.”
“We haven't missed yet,” he said.
“We have to carry on our com
merce with the rest of the world,
and I don’t see how that can be
done without running afoul bf Ger
man submarines.”
Nieuw Amsterdam Released,
Reaches Home Port
ROTTERDAM, Sept. 16 UP).—'The
Holland-America liner Nieuw Ams
terdam arrived last night with 250
passengers from New York after be
ing released by the British admi
ralty, which held the vessel for three
days in the Downs, off the Southeast
English Coast.
* Capt. Byl reported that the Brit
ish removed three German passen
gers and 16 German crew members
for further investigation. Fiftv Ger
man passengers were allowed to re
main aboard.
Inspection for contraband showed
the cargo in order.
The Nieuw Amsterdam, booked to
take 1,200 passengers back to New
York, is expected to sail Monday or
Tuesday. The Netherlands freighter
Zaandam is to sail for New York
Sunday with 125 or more passen
gers.
New Stamp to Carry
Relief Map of States
Bj the Associated Press.
A relief map of North Dakota,
South Dakota, Montana and Wash
ington will be the central design
of a 3-cent stamp to be issued this
fall in commemoration of the 50th
anniversary of admission of the
four States to the Union.
The Postofflce Department an
nounced the central design yester
day, but said the date and place of
first-day sale of the stamp had not
been decided.
i
Text of Lindbergh's Address on Neutrality
The text of Col. Charles A. Lind
bergh's radio address last night
follows:
In times of great emergency men
of the same belief must gather to
gether for mutual council and ac
tion. If they fail to do this all
that they stand for will be lost. I
speak tonight to those people in
the United States of America who
feel that the destiny of this coun
try does not call for our involve
ment in European wars.
We must band together to pre
vent the loss of more American
lives in these internal struggles of
Europe. We must keep foreign
propaganda from pushing our coun
try blindly into another war. Mod
ern war with all its consequences is
too tragic and too devastating to
be approached from anything but
a purely American standpoint. We
should never enter a war unless it
is absolutely essential to the future
welfare of our Nation.
This country was colonized by
men and women from Europe. The
hatreds, the persecutions, the in
trigues they left behind gave them
courage to cross the Atlantic Ocean
to a new land. They preferred the
wilderness and the Indians to the
problems of Europe. They weighed
the cost of freedom from those prob
lems, and they paid the price. In
this country they eventually found
a means of living peacefully to
gether—the same nationalities that
are fighting abroad today. The
quarrels of Europe faded out from
American life as generations passed.
Instead of wars between the Eng
lish, French and Germans, it be
came a struggle of the New World
for freedom from the old—a strug
gle for the right of America to find
her own destiny. The colonization
of this country grew from Eu
ropean troubles, and our freedom
sprang from European war, for we
won independence from England
while she was fighting France.
Washington Saw Danger.
No one foresaw the danger ahead
of us more clearly than George
Washington. He solemnly warned
the people of America against be
coming entangled in European al
liances. For over 100 years his ad
vice was followed. We established
the Monroe Doctrine for America.
We let other nations fight among
themselves. Then, in 1917, we en
tered a European war. This time
we were on England's side, and so
were France and Russia. Friends
and enemies reverse as decades
pass—as political doctrines rise and
fall.
The great war ended before our
full force had reached the field.
We escaped with the loss of rela
tively few soldiers. We measured
our dead in thousands. Europe
measured hers in millions. Europe
has not yet recovered from the
effects of this war. and she has
already entered another. A gen
eration has passed since the armis
tice of 1918, but even in America
we are still paying for our part in
that victory—and we will continue
to pay for another generation. Eu
ropean countries W’ere both un
able and unwilling to pay their
debts to us.
Now that war has broken out
again we in America have a de
cision to make on which the destiny
of our Nation depends. We must
decide whether or not we intend
to become forever involved in this
age-old struggle between the na
tions of Europe. Let us not delude
ourselves. If we enter the quarrels
of Europe during war vCe must stay
in them in time of peace as well.
It is madness to send our soldiers
to be killed, as we did in the last
war, if we turn the course of peace
over to the greed, the fear and the
intrigue of European nations. We
must either keep out of European
wars entirely or stay in European
affairs permanently.
No Defense Against Invasion.
In making our decision this point
should be clear: These wars in Eu
rope are not wars in which our
civilization is defending itself
against some Asiatic intruder.
There is no Genghis Kahn or
Xerxes marching against our West
ern nations. This is not a question
of banding together to defend the
| white race against foreign invasion.
This is simply one more of those
age-old quarrels within our own
family of nations—a quarrel arising
from the errors of the last war—
from the failure of the victors of
that war to follow a consistent
policy either of fairness or of force.
Arbitrary boundaries can only be
maintained by strength of arms.
The Treaty of Versailles either had
to be revised as time passed or Eng
land and France, to be successful,
had to keep Germany weak by
force. Neither policy was followed.
Europe wavered back and forth be
tween the two. As a result an
other war has begun, a war which
is likely to be far more prostrating
than the last, a war which will
again kill off the youth of Europe,
a war which may even lead to the
end of our Western civilization.
We must not permit our senti
ment, our pity or our personal feel
ings of sympathy to obscure the
issue to affect our children's lives.
! We must be as impersonal as a
| surgeon with his knift. Let us make
( no mistake about the cost of enter
' ing this war. If we take part suc
cessfully we must throw the re
sources of our entire Nation into
the conflict. Munitions alone will
not be enough. We cannot count on
victory merely by shipping abroad
several thousand airplanes and can
non. We are likely to lose a mil
lion men, possibly several million—
the best of American youth. We
will be staggering under the burden
of recovery during the rest of our
lives. And our children will be for
tunate if they see the end in their
lives, even If by some unlikely
chance we do not pass on another
Polish Corridor to them. Democracy
itself may not survive. If we enter
fighting for democracy abroad, we
may end by losing it at home.
Little to Be Gained.
America has little to gain by tak
ing part in another European war.
We must not be misguided by this
foreign propaganda to the effect that
our frontiers lie in Europe. One
need only glance at a map to see
where our true frontiers lie. What
more could we ask than the At
lantic Ocean on the east and the
Pacific on the west? No, our in
terests in Europe need not be from
the standpoint of defense. Our own
natural frontiers are enough for
that. If we extend them to the
center of Europe we might as well
extend them around the earth. An
ocean is a formidable barrier even
for modem aircraft. Our safety
does not lie in fighting European
wars. It lies in our internal
strength, in the character of the
American people and of American
institutions. As long as we maintain
an Army, a Navy and an air force
worthy of the name, as long as
America does not decay within, we
need fear no invasion of this coun
try.
Again I address those among you
who agree with this stand. Our
future and our children's future
depends upon the action we take.
It is essentia) to think clearly and
to act quickly in the days which
are to come. We will be deluged
with propaganda, both foreign and
domestic—some obvious, some in
sidious. Much of our news is al
ready colored. Every incident and
every accident will be seized upon
to influence us. And in a modern
war there are bound to be plenty
of both. We must not only inquire
about the writer and the speaker—
about his personal interests and his
nationality, but we must ask who
owns and who Influences the news- i
paper, the news picture and the 1
radio station. If our people know
the truth, if they are fully and ac
curately informed, if they are not
misled by propaganda, this country
is not likely to enter the war now
going on in Europe.
Hope Lies in America.
And if Europe is again prostrated
by war, as she has been so often
in the past, then the greatest hope
for our western civilization lies in
America. By staying out of war
ourselves we may even bring peace
to Europe more quickly. Let us
look to our own defenses and to
our own character. If we attend
to them we have no need to fear
what happens elsewhere. If we do
not attend to them nothing can
save us.
If war brings more Dark Ages to
Europe we can better preserve those
things which we love and which
we mourn the passing of in Europe
today by preserving them here, by
strengthening them here, rather
\ than by hurling ourselves thought
lessly to their defense over there
and thus destroying all in the con
flagragtion. The German genius
for science and organization, the
English genius for government and
commerce, the French genius for
living and the understanding of
life—they must not go down here
as well as on the other side. Here
in America they can be blended to
form the greatest genius of all.
I The gift of civilized life must
still be carried on. It is more im
portant than the sympathies, the
friendships, the desires of any sin
gle generation. This is the test be
fore America now. This is the
challenge—to carry on western civ
; ilization.
MORAL SUPPORT—Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh, the former Anne
Morrow, sat close by her illustrious husband as he made a radio
broadcast to the Nation last night. Later she accompanied him
from the Carlton Hotel, where the broadcast was made, to a
radio studio to hear a transcription of the address. They are
shown here near the studio. Accompanying them is Fulton
Lewis, jr., radio announcer. —A. P. Photo.
Polish Officials Plan
Flight to Paris and
Continuance of Efforts
Object to Offered Refuge
In Rumania, Guarded
To Stop Their Activities
I
By the Associated Press.
CERNAUTI, Rumania, Sept. 1«.
—Diplomatic circles reported today
that Polish government officials
plan to circle to Paris, if they are
forced to flee from their country,
rather than remain in Rumania
and halt all political activity. Some
minor officials were said to be al
ready on the way.
Most of the officials were ex
pected to remain in Poland as
long as possible. Permission would
be sought to travel across Ru
mania.
Polish President Ignace Mosckickl
and other officials were notified they
must remain under surveillance and
stay at selected places if they en
tered Rumania. Even then they
would be urged to leave the coun
try as quickly as possible.
Foreign Diplomats Go Back.
Many of the officials were re
ported residing in a little village
just across the Dniester River from
the Rumanian frontier.
At the same time, many foreign
diplomats who came here iast night
with their families and staffs, in
cluding United States Ambassador
Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, jr„ re
turned to the Polish government seat
at Zaleszczyki, presumably for the
day only.
The Rumanian envoys were in
structed to tell Polish officials that
Polish children and wounded would
be given shelter upon crossing the
border. Polish troops will be dis
armed and placed in internment
camps for the duration of the war.
"Those who have political occupa
tions,” the order said, "will be bound
to occupy guarded domiciles and
agree to shun politics.”
Many Child Refugee* Arrive.
Large numbers of Polish child
refugees arrived here under supervi
sion of Polish diplomatic authorities.
An unconfirmed report persisted
here, despite denials from the Polish
Legation, that Moscicki already had
crossed the frontier secretly, but
there were no signs of such a flight.
Another report was circulated that
the British government asked Ru
mania to allow 45,000 Polish Jews to
pass through the country to Pales
tine. This report said the British
had agreed to allow them to enter
Palestine. It could not be verified
immediately.
Germany Denies Dropping
Bombs on Biddle's Villa
BERLIN, Sept. 16 f/43).—The semi
official commentary Deutsche Dienst
last night ridiculed reports by An
thony J. D. Biddle, jr„ United States
Ambassador to Poland, that German
planes dropped bombs near his War
saw home.
Mr. Biddle reported a German
plane bombed the vicinity of his
villa September 3.
"The fact is the German air force
aims at objects of military signifi
cance, not the fair head of the young
Ambassador,” said the commentary.
Red Cross and Shipping
Heads See President
Wartime marine and relief
problems were expected to be dis
cussed at two White House con
ferences scheduled by President
Roosevelt today.
First of his meetings was to be
with Norman Davis, chairman of
the American Red Cross, and the
second with Chairman Emory Land
and Vice Chairman Thomas M.
Woodward of the Maritime Com
mission.
The American Red Cross already
has requested the International Red
Cross at Geneva, Switzerland, to
advise it what assistance might be
extended by the organization here.
Regarding the conference with
Maritime Commission officers, White
House officials said the meeting
had been requested by Chairman
Land and it was believed further
disposition of American shipping
during the war emergency would
be discussed. It was expected also
that there would be consideration
given the problem of war risk ma
rine Insurance for which the Com- i
mission had asked greater statutory
authority last spring. Congress did
not act on the request at that time.
Mr. Roosevelt also planned to
see Federal Loan Administrator
Jesse H. Jones and Assistant Secre
tary of State Henry F. Grady dur
ing the morning. He decided to
forego a week-end cruise on the Po
tomac River.
Mrs. Walter Sues in Reno
Among the divorce suits filed yes
terday in Reno, Nev., was that of
Mary S. Walter against Ferdinand
E. Walter of Washington, according j
to the Associated Press. They were
married in Ellicott City, Md., No
vember 21, 1931. The charges are
cruelty.
Roosevelt Book
Is Relegated to
Cut-Rate Shelf
By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Sept. 16.—President
Roosevelt’s five-volume "Public Pa
pers and Addresses.” which, his pub
lisher charged, some booksellers
tried to "sabotage,” today went on
the cut-rate shelves.
The publishing firm, Random
House, disclosed that while 3,000 of
the 8,000 sets published in April,
1938, had sold for the list price of
$15, the 5,000 others had been turned
over to a book dealer as "remainders
at a little below what they cost us.”
The Hyde Park l'brary project, to
which the President assigned the
proceeds of the book, will net about
$100,000, however—about $6,750 on
the book royalties and the rest from
the previous sale of newspaper serial
rights and two magazine articles,
said Bennett Cerf, president of Ran
dom House.
A month after the set was pub
lished, Mr. Cerf declared that some
Df the Nation s leading book sellers,
including "several big department
stores,” had "deliberately tried to
sabotage” the work. Mr. Cerf pre
dicted then, however, that a second
printing would be called for before
the end of the year.
The 5,000 unsold sets were bought
by Robert Franklin, who said he
would distribute them through trade
unions and other organizations.
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Canada Sending
Loring Christie
As Envoy to U. S.
LORING C. CHRISTIE.
OTTAWA, Sept. 16 (Canadian
Press).—Canada’s new minister to
the United States, Loring C. Chris
tie, will proceed at once to Wash
ington to take over the Canadian
Legation.
The 54-year-old Mr. Christie was
named last night by Prime Minister
W. L. Mackenzie King to succeed
Sir Herbert Marler, who resigned
earlier in the week because of ill
health. Mr. Christie has been serv
ing as counselor to the external
affairs department and will take
over his new duties at once, the
Prime Minister announced.
Wide German Attack
Reported Denting
French Gains in West
Planes Take Heavy Toll
On 60-Mile Front; Nazi
Fierce Offensive Rages
By the Associated Press.
BASEL, Switzerland, Sept. 16 —
German troops were reported today
to be fiercely counterattacking
against newly-won French positions
along a 60-mile front between the
Moselle River and the foothills of
the Vosges.
The reports indicated the assault
was the most extended yet under
taken on the Western front by the
German high command. Previously
the German defenders have con
fined their counterattacks mostly to
sharp local thrusts.
Results of the German offensive,
which began last night and was con
tinuing this morning, were not clear
here. It was reported, however, that
the French had lost ground on their
right flank in the Vosges Forests
northeast of Bitche.
Germans Open Plane Offensive.
During the fighting the Germans
for the first time made use of war
planes based in underground han
gars behind the Siegfried line.
Fast fighters were said to have
approached the . lines in formation
and roared low over the French
forceg between the Saar and Vosges,
where comparatively level ground
afforded the French little protection
from strafing.
Despite heavy fire from French
anti-aircraft batteries, the German
planes were reported to have caused
heavy casualties, particularly among
French troops moving up as re
inforcements.
German bombers also participated
in air attacks in the Saar sector,
where the French previously had
occupied Nazi advance fortified po
sitions. However, anti-aircraft fire
was reported to have forced them
to fly at too high an altitude to
drop their bombs with any degree
of accuracy.
British Planes Reported Active.
Swiss reports also said a number
of British Royal Air Force planes
had participated in air battles in
the Palatinate, east of the Saar.
Numerical superiority of the Ger
man planes over the combined
French and British air force now
engaged in action was believed by
Swiss observers to account for the
plan of attack mapped out by Gen.
Maurice Gustave Gamelin, com
mander of the allied troops.
Despite geographical difficulties
facing ground troops in the Saar
and in the Vosges foothills, Gen.
Gamelin apparently chose to stab
at points where forests and hills
made German air attack most dif
ficult and protection easiest, they
said.
To meet the German air power,
both the French and British were
reported, not only increasing their
own plane production, but increas
ing anti-aircraft artillery as well.
Nine Hazards Reported Removed.
French officers were said to be
jubilant over the ease with which
scouting parties and artillery had
removed the hazard of mine fields
on which the Germans had counted
heavily to protect the outlying de
fenses of the strongly fortified Sieg
fried Line.
Positions of most of the mine
fields, it w-as said, were known to the
French before the war began.
Some of the mines were exploded
by heavy shelling. Others were re
ported to have been set off by
French scouts working by night un
der cover of artillery barrages.
German patrols captured in night
attacks by the French were said to
have given additional information
on the location of mine fields by
citing areas they had been ordered
to avoid.
Skunk Caused Trouble
MOUNT CARROLL, 111, Sept. 16
(/P).—The mercury soared into the
upper 90s, the boys and girls wished
vacation time were here again, and
yesterday was the 125th anniversary
of the composition of the “Star
Spangled Banner.”
But none of these was the reason
why Mount Carroll pupils enjoyed a
vacation.
A skunk crawled into the school
building ventilator—and classes were
dismissed for the day.
Drill at Lincoln Memorial
The Drum and Bugle Corps and
Drill Team of the James Reese
Europe Post, No. 5, American
Legion, will perform at the Lincoln
Memorial tomorrow at 4 p.m, it
was announced yesterday. There
will also be an inspection of the
groups in their new uniforms.
Hoover Urges Civilian
Treatment in War
Be Investigated
Belligerents Should
Let Neutrals Report
Facts, He Declares
By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. Sept. 1«.—Former
President Herbert Hoover proposed
yesterday that North European neu
tral countries create an international
commission to "observe and report’*
facts concerning "incidents of war
! fare upon civilian populations.”
He said “the belligerent countries
should be asked to give agents of
this commission free movement
within their borders.”
"The purpose of this commission
through these agents would be to
determine where, and when, and
whether these undertakings not to
war on Innocent men and women
and children have been intention
ally violated.”
I In his formal statement, he sug
gested the commission "could well
; be organized by the Northern Euro
! pean neutral nations—Sweden, Nor
1 way, Denmark, Finland, Holland
and Belgium. I believe it would
be accepted by the countries at war.
: I believe it would be supported by
all the other neutral countries.”
Elimination of propaganda and
presentation of facts, he believed,
would "aid in keeping other nations
out of this war.” He termed the
commission a "protection” to gov
ernments whose "intentions are
honestly carried out within the
limits of human fallibility.”
“Of far more importance,” he
added, "such independent inspection
; will be a real deterrent on deliberate
1 infraction of this undertaking. Such
a determination of guilt would carry
| final conviction to the neutral world."
Daladier Bars Raising
Of Prices by Business
Sped*! Dispatch to Th* Star.
PARIS, Sept. 16.—A decree by
Premier Daladier today prohibited
raising wholesale or retail prices
on merchandise or foodstuffs dur
ing the war without official au
thrization.
The law' provided penalties of 100
francs <*2 19• to 10.000 francs ($19)
for infractions of the wholesale re
strictions and from 16 francs (35
cents) to 500 francs ($11) for re
tailers.
Requests for price increases must
be submitted in advance to the
government.
International Parley
Seeks Bomb-Safe Zones
By the Associated Press.
GENEVA. Sept. 16—The Inter
national Committee of “white zones"
met with International Red Cross
officials today to discuss their plans
for neutral areas in all belligerent
nations where women, the aged,
infirm and children might be con
centrated under a guarantee against
bombing.
Red Cross officials said they had
agreed to support the plans by ask
ing national Red Cross units to
establish headquarters in the pro
posed zones.
Berlin
<Continued From First Page.)
sources say German has scored tell
ing points by persuading Rumania
to remain neutral, by the seeming
reluctance of Turkey to become In
volved in the conflict and by arous
ing the smaller neutrals to protest
against the sweeping character of
Britain's blockade.
Another diplomatic triumph from
the German viewpoint was the ap
parently increasing friendliness of
Soviet Russia.
Talk of possible peace efforts by
Premier Mussolini was given impetus
by the return to Berlin of the Italian
Ambassador. Bernardo Attolico. who
earlier in the week made a flying
visit to Rome after conferring with
Nazi State Secretary Baron Ernest
von Weizsaecker.
While official quarters made no
comment, the informed news serv
! ice. Dienst Aus Deutschland, said
“Berlin political circles are noting
with interest the fact that the inter
national press is again discussing the
possibility of peace.”
Some diplomats expressed belief
“something was in the wind,” but
saw small hope for success of any
peace move at the present time.
On Economic Front.
On the economic front the Reich
was taking energetic measures to
offset the British blockade. Some
military leaders said flatly “the
blockade is licked.” They argued
that with the acquisition of the
Polish mining region Germany be
comes Europe's greatest coal pro
ducer and in the whole world is ex
ceeded only by the United States.
With Poiish naval resistance shat
tered, they said, the Baltic was fast
becoming a German lake over which
essential ores might be brought in
from the northern states and the
blockade, consequently, could be no
major disaster.
Vast reorganization is under way
at Hamburg, Germany's world port,
to replace by trade with the Baltic
states and the east the traffic being
Navy.
It was indicated Russia would
provide a land outlet for commerce
vital to Germany. That shipperi
regarded this outlet safe was indi
cated by the fact that insurance
rates which were raised at the
outset of the war to 1 per cent of
the value of cargoes were slashed
today to one-fourth of 1 per cent.
On Propaganda Front.
On the propaganda front a mighty
effort to keep on good terms with
the United States and persuade all
independent nations of the Western
Hemisphere to remain neutral was
apparent.
Newspapers have been playing up
Senator William E. Borah's stand
against change in the United States
neutrality law. Reports of polls in
the United States indicating a senti
ment for neutrality attracted wide
interest and pleased comment.
What is in the mind of the Ger
man public and what it is talking
about is best shown by the con
trolled press.
Hitler's Voelkischer Beobachter
today printed on page 1 a picture
of German troops entering Gdynia
and a photograph of Winston
Churchill, British first lord of tha
admiralty, smoking a cigar, accom
panied by a blistering article on bis
political career.
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