Evening star. [volume], February 03, 1940, Image 1

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

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Wfeather Forecast
Pair tonight and tomorrow, with slowly Fctflhlicheri in 1852
rising temperature; lowest tonight CSTODII5liea 111 I OJA,
about 25 degrees Temperatures today- Most peopj* ln Washington have The
' l am “ 1 Pm': l0WeSt’ 18’ Bt Star delivered to their homes every
Prom the United States Weather Bureau report. evening and Sunday morning
Pull details on Page A-2.
_Closing N. Y. Markets—Soles, Page 16._ _ _qp> Mean. A»»ociat.d Pros._
88th YEAR. No. 34,976. WASHINGTON, D. C.t SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1940—THIRTY PAGES. ** THREE CENTS.
1 l 1 11 1 T — i 1
British Down
2 Nazi Planes
Raiding Ships
Third Is Believed
Felled as Coast
* Battles Resume
RUMANIA WON'T GET German
• guarantee of territory, Berlin
sources say: Balkan statesmen still
seek anti-war program. Page A-2
JAPAN'S ARMY CHIEFS alarmed
by attack on policy in China; de
mands heard for expulsion of critic
from Diet. Page A-3
Ey the Associated Press.
LONDON. Feb. 3.—Fast, death
dealing British pursuit planes today j
shot down at least two and perhaps j
three German bombers which had
resumed the Nazi air force’s wide
spread raiding of shipping off Brit
ain’s coasts. ]
One Nazi bomber was downed 1
near a Yorkshire farmhouse 4 miles ]
southwest of Whitby after a battle t
with three British fighters over a
Yorkshire town.
The air ministry announced that
another raider was shot down off ,
• the mouth of the River Tyne.
A It reported that a third enemy ,
plane intercepted by British fighters I
off the Northumberland coast "was
very seriously damaged” and later
unofficial reports said it had crashed
into the sea. '
Two in Crew Lose Lives.
One of the crew of the plane
downed in Yorkshire was killed. An
other died after he and his two sur
viving comrades, all wounded, had
been taken to a hospital.
A Royal Air Force pilot was
quoted as saying admiringly of this
Nazi plaipr that the "landing was
carried out under control," although
the craft had been riddled by bullets.
The air ministry first reported
that a Nazi bomber intercepted off '
the Yorkshire Coast had been “shot 1
down in the sea" but later author
itative advices said the plane in \
question actually had been driven i
inland.
Plane Burns.
An authorized statement said the
Germans, although wounded, set fire (
to their plane. An unofficial ver- ,
sion said the plane was in flames (
when it came down. ^
An eyewitness of this fight said: .
"I first saw a German plane flying j
very low over the land with three
planes after it. As it passed over
* a town one fighter was firing at its
tail from below, another shooting 1
at it from above and a third circling IS
in front. I
■me uerman plane began to j
smoke, and eventually It crashed *
, about two miles from the town.” f
Another witness called this a
“Graf Spee battle of the air.” *
Account of Fight Off the Tyne. '
The air ministry gave this ac
count of the fight off the Tyne:
“A third successful interception
of enemy aircraft off the east coast
this morning is now reported. (En
counters with the two other German
bombers had previously been re- j
ported.) A Royal Air Force fighter t
command patrol shot down an ene- t
my aircraft off the Tyne shortly be- 1 c
fore 11 a m. A ship went to the 0
rescue of the crew.” j(
All the German planes were said ' t
to be Heinkel bombers. | r
Raiders were first reported off the t
Yorkshire coast, where two Heinkels i
machine-gunned a trawler, which
later was seen from the shore to be
in flames. | C
The third raider was intercepted 1 k
after it had dropped six bombs at -
a steamer off the Tyne. All the; e
bombs fell wide. The plane dis- 1 r
appeared in the clouds, but a little c
later an explosion was heard. This
was believed to be the accompani- t
ment of its crashing. C
No air-raid alarm was sounded in e
the Yorkshire town, where residents c
stood in the street watching the I
battle between the Heinkel and r
three British planes. r
_Later a witness said he went to £
(See PLANES, Page A-6.)
. ~ I . (
Isaac loans unchanged, i
Condition 'Still Grave' t
The condition of Isaac Gans was '
reported as unchanged but “still *
grave” at Emergency Hospital this .
morning. 1
Mr. Gans, who is 80 years old, was
taken to the hospital Wednesday
after a heart attack in his home at !
the Iowa Apartments. He was 5
stricken the day his resignation as 1
a member of the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board became effective. *
Germans Dash
Hopes of Remedy
To Save Child
The hopes of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie
Edward Ross that the life of their i
3-year-old daughter—believed to be ,
near death from leukemia—could be j
saved by a discovery in war-bound <■
Germany was dashed today by the c
State Department. I
The child, Leslie Lee Ross, is in j
Children's Hospital. The Rosses had s
heard of a cure supposedly developed
In Germany. £
Shortly before noon the following \
message was received in the wire- c
room of the State Department and
transmitted to the parents: t
“Regret that investigation shows r
there is no foundation for the re- p
port apparently current in the c
United States that Prof. Gansslen, 'a
director of the Medical Polyclinic
of the University of Frankfort, has a
discovered a cure for lymphatic c
leukemia. ]
“Prof. Gansslen is now in mili
tary service at the front, but his c
substitute authentically states that a
he knows of no cure having been a
perfected for the disease men
tioned.” s
At Children’s Hospital it was said p
that the child was a little stronger It
today. J
I
War Must Continue to Victory
And Peace, Lord Stanley Says
Germany's Military
Threat Must End,
He Says
Pv the Associated Press.
NEWCASTLE - ON - TYNE, Eng
and, Feb. 3.—The war cannot be
salted “at half-time’’ like a foot
sail game, but must go on until
Germany's threat as a military
sower is ended forever, War Secre
tary Oliver Stanley declared today.
His speech, fifth of a series by
sabinet members, was taken as a
reply to peace advocates generally
and was aimed directly at Gen.
J. B. M. Hertzog, former prime
minister of the Union of South
Africa, who has urged peace.
To stop now in the war that is
ive months old today, would bring
snly “a troubled truce,” Stanley
said. Instead, he asserted, it must
;o on "to victory and then peace”
limed at making the Germans
'peaceful and happy members of a
seaceful and happy Europe.”
He added with vehemence:
“But never again, under this
eader or any other leader, under
his regime or any other regime,
nust they have power to inflict upon
he world the misery and suffering
wiiivix iwivc xxx uui xxxc viit ^ ixavc
done.”
Lord Stanley was interrupted sev
eral times by hecklers, but he used
one disturbance to drive home a
point. What, he asked, would have
~ (See STANLEY7 Page~A~6J
LORD STANLEY.
200,000 Chinese
Caught in Pincers,
lapanese Report
Chinese Force in South
Thrown Into Perilous
Confusion, They Say
By the Associated Press.
HONG KONG. Feb. 3.—Japanese
■eported today more than 200,000
Chinese troops had been thrown
nto perilous confusion in Kwangsi
irovince by a gigantic pincer move
nent.
They said Japanese ground forces,
upported by warplanes attacking
n mass, were continuing a relent
ess onslaught along the entire front
n the province in China’s deep
outh.
Belated Chinese reports conceded
hat a Japanese column had
cached a point 31 miles northeast
if Nanning, the provincial capital,
n a drive to sever China's vital
inks with British Burma and
French Indo-China.
Advances Acknowledged.
Although acknowledging the Jap
nese advances, the Chinese de
Jared the invaders were being sub
sets tc "annihilating” attacks and
aid one Japanese warplane had :
een shot down by anti-aircraft
ire.
Chinese estimated reinforced Jap
nese strength in Kwangsi totaled
2 000 men.
All evidence pointed to the battle
s one of the severest in two and a
alf years of war, but foreign ob- j
jrvers doubted whether the Jap
nese would be able to crush Chi- i
ese resistance in the south.
Reports from Kunming said the
estruction Thursday by Japanese
ombers of a train and a tunnel on |
ie Hanoi-Kunming Railway—one
f China’s most vital links with the
utside world—had disrupted serv- .
:e completely, and that all essen
lal goods for China was being re
DUted via the Burma road at four
,mes the cost.
Five Occidentals Killed.
The Kunming dispatches said 5
iccidentals and 20 Chinese were
illed when the tunnel entrance col
ipsed on the train, with fire and |
scaping steam increasing the hor
Dr suffered by passengers in the '
rushed cars.
Other reports, unconfirmed, said
aere were about 100 casualties. At
'hungking, the Chinese seat of gov
rnment, it was said the injured in
luded 82 Chinese and 24 Annamese.
dentities of the Occidentals were
ot reported, and neither of these
sports distinguished between dead
nd wounded.
The railway, operated by the
French and linking French Indo
Ihina with Yunnan Province, em
ploys a number of Frenchmen.
The Kunming reports said the at
ack occurred just after the train
vas pushed across a bridge weak
ned by previous hits. Twenty
even planes were reported to have
larticipated in the bombing.
Bombarded Since November.
The railway has been bombarded
ince the Japanese started their
South China campaign late in No
ember.
A French protest to Tokio on
anuary 5 was rejected on the
rsee CHINA, Page A-6.)
Ambassador Johnson
Reported Under Fire
3y the Associated Press.
SHANGHAI. Feb. 3 —A Japanese
irmy spokesman said today that |
Chinese artillery fire along the
anks of the Yangtze River yester
ay had endangered the United ;
itates gunboat Luzon carrying Am
assador Nelson T. Johnson and ,
tear Admiral William Glassford
nd other American officials.
The incident occurred, the Jap
nse said, about 20 miles above ]
Vuhu. The gunboat was coming
own river from Hankow. ,
The Japanese said a Japanese
ransport was about 500 yards up the
iver from the Luzon and it was im- I
ossible to tell at which ship the l
hinese were firing as shrapnel fell
round both. ]
Mr. Johnson was returning from
visit to Hankow. Glassford is i
jmmander of the American
angtze patrol. 1
Others aboard the gunboat in
ched Maj. William Mayer, military
ttache, and Maj. James McHugh,
ssistant naval attache.
The Japanese declared the Chinese '
night to take advantage of the 1
resence of the American craft by
lunching a bombardment against ]
ipanese river traffic.
) i
Madden Urges Study
Of Proposed Change
In Wagner Act
Plan Would Remove
Board's Authority in
C. I. O.-A. F. L. Disputes
BACKGROUND—
Special House committee head
ed by Representative Smith of
Virginia has been investigating
National Labor Relations Board
since December. Evidence has
indicated dissension among board
members and alleged partiality
of certain field employes toward
C. I. o.
By CARTER BROOKE JONES.
Removal from the National Labor
Relations Board of authority to de
:ide disputes between the C. I. O.
ind the A. F. of L. is a matter which
'deserves careful study,” J. Warren
Madden, board chairman, told the
Rouse committee investitgating en
forcement of the Wagner Act. today.
In reply to a suggestion before the
committee yesterday by Lloyd K.
Garrison, chairman of the old Labor
Board under the N. R. A., that the
»ct be amended to eliminate this re
sponsibility from the board, Mr.
Madden said:
“I must confess that the board
las not succeeded in reaching anv
satisfactory formula in this regard.”
The board chairman said he
thought the reaction of labor
groups should be studied with in
terest. He added:
“Mr. Garrson may have the solu
tion which the congress would want
:o adopt.”
Attached by Both Factions.
Nobody has been satisfied with
the way in which the Labor Board
las decided inter-union quarrels,
Mr. Madden remarked. The board.
ie explained, has been attacked
dolently by both factions because
t had to decide these cases in
avor of either the Congress of In
iustrial Organizations or the Amer
:an Federation of Labor.
“The views of the three board
(See LABOR BC)ARD7 Page~A-6.f
jne-Day Clipper Service
To Europe Is Started
MIAMI, Fla., Feb. 3.—Pan Ameri
;an Airways, announced today it
was inaugurating one-day trans
atlantic plane service.
The American Clipper, which took
jff here at 4:43 a.m., and arrived
it Charleston, S. C., at 8:45 a.m.,
was due in Bermuda at noon and
it Lisbon, Portugal early tomorrow
morning.
The giant plane was serviced
here and took on passengers and
mail at Charleston. The Clippers
have been routed through the south
ern cities since northern airports
became icebound.
Previous flights to Europe, begun
last June, have required about 30
hours. Officials said they hoped to
maintain the one-day schedule per
manently.
Russian Planes
Resume Raids
Near Helsinki
City Under Alarm
An Hour; 19 Red
Ships Claimed
BULLETIN.
HELSINKI, Feb. 3 </F).—1The
capture of a number of Russian
strongholds northeast of Lake
Ladoga and smashing of Russian
attacks on the Karelian Isthmus
in which ‘the enemy suffered
great losses" were reported to
night by the Finnish high com
mand.
Ey the Associated Press.
HELSINKI, Feb. 3.—Russian air
raids near the Finnish capital kept
citizens in shelters today for an
hour.
Official sources estimated at least
12 Red Army warplanes were shot
down yesterday. Unconfirmed re
ports added seven more Russian
planes to official estimates.
Russian aircraft were unusually
active Friday night over Southwest
Finland, where alarms kept the
populace awake over a wide area.
Few bombs were dropped, however,
and observers regarded the raids as
intended to upset the nerves of the
populace and undermine Finnish
morale.
Incendiary bombs were dropped
haphazardly on blacked-out Hanko,
which has been the principal ob
jective of Russian air raids since
the war started because it is the
easiest target north of the Soviet's
Estonian air bases.
Air raid alarms sounded in the
capital today at 2 p.m. and the
alarm ended an hour later.
100 Civilians Reported Killed.
Nearly 100 Finnish civilians were
said to have been killed in Soviet
Russian air raids during the ninth
week of undeclared war.
The intensified Soviet air activity,
while Finnish defenders held against i
fierce Red Army attacks on the I
Karelian Isthmus, was reported to !
have taken at least 11 lives in yes- |
terday's bombings alone.
However, Finnish airmen struck
back at Russian bases on the Baltic, I
back at Russian bases on the Baltic. '
On the battlefronts, too, the Finns
said the invaders continued to suffer
heavy losses at the hands of white
clad riflemen despite their use of
parachute troops and tank-driven
steel sledges.
Red Army planes, raking western
coastal cities on the Gulf of Both- j
nia. were reported to have killed 10
persons and wounded dozens at
Fori. One person also was reported
killed at Rauma, about 28 miles
south.
Bomb Hits Red Cross Sign.
The Finns said one bomb fell
squarely on a Red Cross sign atop an ;
eight-story hospital in a suburb of
Pori. Patients were said to have
taken refuge in a basement bomb
shelter as a squadron of 18 Russian
planes pelted the site with bombs,
setting fire to a nurses’ dormitory
nearby.
Removal of Red Cross signs had
been ordered by Finnish officials. I
; who said they served as targets, but
hospital authorities were said to
| have awaited a decision of the Inter- j
j national Red Cross at Geneva be- :
! fore complying.
Reds Deny Finn Planes
Have Attacked Warships
MOSCOW. Feb. 3 (Fh—The head
quarters of the Leningrad military
area asserted today that Finns,
though equipped with “airplanes of
the most up-to-date designs from
Britain, France, the United States,
Sweden and Italy,” not only had not
attacked Russian warships in Kron
stadt and other Soviet objectives,
but were unable to protect their own
headquarters.
It also contended that instead of
a big offensive by the Russians on
the Karelian Isthmus and north of
Lake Ladoga, there were in "reality
only partial clashes” of several com
panies “of purely local nature.”
The headquarters’ announcement,
circulated by Tass. official news
agency, suggested that only in com
parison with “the microscopic scale
of operations on the western front”
could the clashes of several com
panies be considered a “big of
fensive.”
The Finnish Army communique
of_last Tuesday said Finnish planes
(See FINLAND7Page~A^6J
Summary of Today's Star
Page. Page.
Amusements. Obituary ...A-10
B-12 Radio B-6
Church News, Real Estate,
A-ll-13 B-l-5
Comics ..B-10-11 Society... A-7
Editorial-A-8 Sports...A-14-15
Finance A-16 Woman’s Pg., B-4
Lost, Found.. B-6
:oreign
Sritish shoot down two, perhaps
three, Nazi raiders. Page A-l
ielsinki citizens kept in shelters
hour by Red raid. Page A-l
rapanese report 200,000 Chinese
caught in pincers. Page A-l
War must go on to victory and peace,
Stanley declares. Page A-l
leich won’t guarantee Rumania,
Berlin sources say. Page A-2
Japanese Army chiefs alarmed by
China war criticism Page A-3
National
J. S. becoming haven for rare Chi
nese books. Page A-l
’ittman backs Harrison plan for sale
of Finnish bonds. Page A-l
imear Dies “plot” furor unabated on
Capitol Hill. Page A-l
iemocratic leaders plan House poll
on Trade Treaties Act. Page A-2
3enator Guffey fights effort by foes
to shelve him. Page A-3
Vashington and Vicinity
few electricity rates announced by
Utilities Commission. Page A-l
I’Alesandro finds abominable condi
tion at Blue Plains. Page A-3
P
r
Senate group to meet today on
Hatch Act extension. Page A-18
Bill to tax U. S. employes advanced
in Virginia House. Page A-18
Relief milk program mav follow
“stamp plan.” Page A-18
Soorts
C. U. Cards even in ring; Cavaliers
choice over Terps. PageA-14
Melio Bettinia beats Fred Apostoli
into retirement. PageA-14
Frick late with rules revision plea,
rival league claims. PageA-14
Nurmi to see stars seek his mark in
Millrose games. Page A-14
Patty Berg’s amazing golf defeats
Betty Jameson. Page A-14
Lax officiating mars hockey as Ca
nadians trim Eagles. Page A-15
Editorial and Comment.
This and That. PageA-8
Answers to Questions. PageA-8
Letters to The Star. Page A-8
David Lawrence. Page A-9
Alsop and Kintner. Page A-9
G. Gould Lincoln. Page A-9
Constantine Brown. Page A-9
Lemuel Parton. Page A-9
Miscellany.
Service Orders. Page B-5
Nature’s Children. Page A-7
Bedtime Story. Page B-10
Cross-word Puzzle. Page B-10
Letter-Out. Page B-10
Winning Contract. , Page B-ll
Uncle Ray’s Corner. Page B-ll
Vital Statistics. Page B-2
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Still Busy With Their Knitting
■N IN « /* I I 5—-- I III IN I • IN I
rower rare uii,
Averaging 10 Cents
A Month, Ordered
Slash to Be Effective
On All Bills Mailed
After February 1
Bv DON WARREN.
An order for a $555,029 reduction
in the consumer rates of the Po
tomac Electric Power Co. was issued
today by the Public Utilities Com
mission, which allocates $155,375 to
residential schedules and $419,912
to commercial customers.
The rate cut will be effective on
all bills rendered by the company
after February 1. It was estimated
by the commission that the rate
cut would mean a reduction of 10
cents a month on the bills of the
average domestic consumer.
At the same time an unofficial
comparison of the local power rates
with those of other communities of
the United States of more than
50,000 population, as reported last
year by the Federal Power Com
mission, for ‘‘average electric bills,"
showed that the District rates were
lower than the others—except in
the industrial bracket. Washington
has but little demand for industrial
schedules.
The rate reduction resulted from
operation of the sliding scale plan
for annual adjustment of the com
pany’s charges. This plan provides
a basic rate of return of 6 per cent
on an agreed valuation. The com
mission found that the weighted
rate base for the calendar year 1939
was $80,974,758.74 and that un
weighted rate base, as of December
31 last, was $82,527,937.86.
New Residential Schedule.
The new residential schedule
“A," which is available for electric
service furnished to individual resi
dences for any purpose, is as fol
lows:
For the first 40 kilowatt hours’
monthly consumption, 3.9 cents; for
the next 90 kilowatt hours, 1.75
cents, and for electricity consumed
monthly in excess of 130 kilowatt
hours, 1.5 cents.
These rates apply when monthly
bills are paid within 20 days from
date of rendition. If the bills are
not paid within 20 days, the rates
of charge are 10 per cent more. The
minimum charge will be 75 cents per
month for each meter installed, but
not less than $1.50 for the period
during which the service is fur
nished.
A new commercial schedule "D"
which is available for low-voltage
electric service used for general
lighting, power, industrial motors,
battery charging and other commer
cial purposes, is as follows:
For the first 80 kilowatt hours,
monthly consumption, 3.8 cents; for
the next 400 kilowatt hours, 2.3
cents, and for electricity consumed
monthly in excess of 480 kilowatt
hours, 2.1 cents.
Commercial Schedule.
The new commercial schedule "E,”
which is available for low-voltage
electric service used for general
lighting, power, industrial motors,
battery charging and other commer
cial purposes, and also is available
for primary service under certain
specifications, is as follows:
Energy charge:
For the first 70 kilowatt hours,
monthly consumption, 3.8 cents; for
the next 380 kilowatt hours, 2.2
cents; for the next 1,550 kilowatt
hours, 2.0 cents; for the next 23,000
kilowatt hours, 1.2 cents; for the
next 25,000 kilowatt hours, 1.1 cents;
for the next 150,000 kilowatt hours,
0.7 cent, and for any current in
excess of 200,000 kilowatt hours, 0.6
cent. The minimum energy charge
will be 75 cents per month for each
meter installed, but not less than
$1.50 for the period during which
the service is furnished.
Demand charge:
For the first 10 kilowatts of the
consumer’s monthly maximum de
mand, the charge is included in the
energy charge; for the next 15 kilo
watts of the consumer’s monthly
maximum demands, $1.75 per kilo
watt.
The above rates are applied to the
consumer’s maximum demands
which occurred during the billing
month irrespective of the time of
day at which it occurred, including
the peak period.
For the first 75 kilowatts of con
sumer’s monthly maximum peak
period demand in excess of 25 kilo
watts, $1.75 per kilowatt, and for
any excess over 100 kilowatts of the
consumer’s monthly maximum peak
period demand, $1 JO per kilowatt.
t
A
Washington Farm
Sold at Auction
For $25,000
Br a Staff Correspondent of The Star.
FREDERICKSBURG, Va„ Feb, 3.
—Ferry Farm, where George Wash
ington reputedly cut down a cherry
tree and later flung a silver dollar
: across the Rappahannock River,
! wr.s auctioned today for $25,000. Ap
j proximately $16,000 in mortgages
are involved.
The purchaser was Miss May
Belle Colbert, who has lived since
; 1920 in a house on the site of the
1 old Washington home, built partly
on its foundations. The only other
■ bidder was her uncle. Lucian Col
bert, local race horse owner, who bid
$20,000. Payment will go to the
| estate of Miss Colbert's father.
Representative Bloom. Democrat
of New York, today expressed the
opinion that the Government may
be willing to buy the 470 acres
estate “if the buyers don't do too
much flag-waving and charge four
or five times as much as it is worth”
j He explained that the Government
I could not appear at an auction,
i Miss Colbert deepered she would be
i willing to sell, "but would set no im
medate price.
The sole structure remaining
j from Washington's day is an old
! surveying office where Washington
j learned that craft.
IV11_l_J_
rmman muuiici
Harrison Plan for
Sale of Finns' Bonds
Senator Sees No Other
Way to Furnish Arms;_
Frank Asked to Testify
B> the AssocUted Press.
Chairman Pittman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee said
today that only by the sale of Fin
nish bonds in the United States
could the little Baltic country ob
tain the arms it needed to defend
itself against the Russians.
Disclosing that he had asked
Chairman Jerome N. Frank of the
Securities and Exchange Commis
sion to testify before the commit
tee Tuesday, Senator Pittman in
dorsed a proposal by Senator Har
rison, Democrat, of Mississippi that
Congress urge the commission to ex
pedite any application the Finns
may make to sell securities here.
At the same time Senator Pittman
said he did not think the Harrison
plan would conflict with pending
legislation, introduced by Senator
Brown, Democrat, of Michigan, to
increase the capital of the Export
Import Bank and make funds avail
able for a new non-military loan of
$20,000,000 to Finland.
"We know already,” Senator Pitt
man told reporters, “that the limi
tations of this bill prohibit much aid
to Finland of the character that it
needs most—arms, ammunition and
implements of war.
“Finland is practically out of con
sideration as far as this bill is con
cerned and the only real question is
whether our exports require a $100,
000,000 addition to the capitalization
of the Export-Import Bank. I think
that the testimony of Jesse Jones
concltteively sustains that neces
sity."
| nouse oouy 10 rrooe
License Procedure
Of A. B. C. Board
District Committee Calls
Members for Hearing
On Complaints
Members of the Alcoholic Bev
i erage Control Board of the District
have been summoned by Chairman
i Jennings Randolph of the House
' District Committee to appear for
j questioning before the committee
Monday at 10:30 am. The entire
procedure in granting licenses and
; the general conduct of their office
I is to be investigated.
Representative Ambrose Kennedy
! of Maryland, a member of the com
j mittee, instigated the inquiry. He
says he has many pertinent ques
tions to ask regarding complaints
about “high-handed” and “auto
cratic” proceedings and decisions.
Mr. Kennedy explained that he
i has become interested because ol
| complaints brought to his office.
He said he endeavored to adjust
them quietly, but did not receive
much co-operation from members
of the board.
He added that other members of
the District Committee have been
receiving an increasing number of
complaints. As a result he con
ferred with Chairman Randolph
and they agreed that the members
of the board should be asked to
make a full and detailed explana
tion to the committee.
The entire membership of the
board has been asked to attend
the hearing—Mrs. Agnes K. Mason.
Thomas E. Lodge and William P.
Meredith.
_
a < ■ ^ ■ a.
iiaiy nans to uouoie
Warplanes and Pilots
By the Associated Press.
ROME, Feb. 3,—Italy plans at
least to double the number of her
military planes and pilots this year,
Gen. Francesco Pricolo, undersecre- j
tary for aviation, announced today. \
The size of Italy's present air j
force is a secret but the number of i
planes has been estimated unoffi
cially to total 4.000 while pilots are :
variously estimated at 10.000 to
18.000.
Gen. Pricolo, writing in the avia- j
tion newspaper Le Vie dell'Aria,1
said the air force would be prepared
to carry out “all tasks which the re
quirements of the new destinies of
Italy might impose on it.”
“To that end,” he wrote, "a pro
gram has been provided for aug
menting manufacturing plants,
schools for pilots and the renewal of
flying equipment.”
Gen. Pricolo said that with ex
tremely fast fighting planes and
more modern bombers the air force
would be better able to ward off
attacks and reach its objectives.
Since speedier development of the
air force was essential, he said, fewer
efforts would be made to better
records.
Marshall to Fly to Canal
By the Associated Press.
Gen. George C. Marshall, Army
chief of staff, plans to leave tomor
row by plane to inspect Panama
Canal defenses, reinforced since the
European war broke out.
U. S. Libraries Become Haven
For Rare Chinese Books
Private Volumes, Some Never Opened,
Sold for Pittances by Owners
By THOMAS R. HENRY.
The United States has become
the haven of the earth’s oldest
extant civilization, otherwise threat
ened with destruction.
Thousands of volumes of Chinese
books and manuscripts, some of
them unique copies of the world’s
greatest literature which have re
mained obscure for centuries, now
are pouring into the United States
every month, says Dr. Arthur W.
Hummel, chief of the Oriental Di
vision of the Library of*Congress. '
They are being sold for pittances
by their owners, who hitherto have
regarded them as sacred trusts
passed on by their ancestors, to
1
prevent them from falling into
Japanese hands.
The Library of Congress, with
200,000 Chinese volumes already on
its shelves, is obtaining many of
them through its agent in China,
rhousands more are going to Amer
ican university libraries. Thus, Dr.
Hummel says, the mind and soul
pf the great China of the past will
Pe preserved regardless of what
Happens to the political China of
today. If it were not for this influx
)f books into the United States, Dr.
Hummel says, the situation in the
Par East would be comparable to
that in Europe following the fall of
(See BOOKS, Page A-6.)
«
Dies 'Plot' Furor
Unabated on
Capitol Hill
Starnes 'Clears' Four
House Members of
Smear Charge
By the Associated Press.
Four members of the House have
been exonerated of any complicity in
an alleged plot to kill the Dies Com
mittee, but the furor raised by pub
lication of letters purporting to link
Chairman Dies with the Silver
Shirts continued unabated on Cap
itol Hill today.
At the end of a late session of
the House last night. Representative
Starnes, Democrat, of Alabama, act
ing chairman of the committee,
arose to say that there had been
allegations of such a plot at a meet
ing attended by six House members,
but that such statements were
“wholly untrue and inaccurate” in
sofar as they pertained to four of
those named. Representative Starnes
did not include with them the other
two Representatives who he said
were at the meeting—Representa
tives Hook. Democrat, of Michigan
and Casey, Democrat, of Massachu
setts.
It was Mr. Hook who started the
controversy last week by publishing
in the Congressional Record the let
ters which purportedly were written
by William Dudley Pelley, Silver
Shirt leader. The committee con
tends that David Mayne of this city
has admitted forging the letters.
No Concerted Action.
In its investigation of the letters
the committee questioned Gardner
Jackson, legislative representative of
Labor’s Non-Partisan League. Six
House members attended a dinner
at Mr. Jackson's home January 9,
and Mr. Jackson told reporters that
the continuance of the Dies Com
mittee was discussed at that time.
In addition to Mr. Hook and Mr.
Casey. Representative Starnes ad- •
vised the House, those at the meet
ing in question were Representatives
Ramspeck, Democrat, of Georgia;
Lara bee. Democrat, of Indiana;
Coffee, Democrat, of Washington,
and Murdock. Democrat, of Utah.
Mr. Coffee, Mr. Larrabee and Mr.
Ramspeck appeared before the com
mittee at a closed session yesterday.
Mr. Murdock was out of the city.
They were the four whom Mr.
Starnes exonerated in his speech.
“The committee finds," Mr. Starnes
said, “that there was absolutely no
concerted action, collusion, under
standing or agreement by either of
the three who testified before us
today, or their colleague, Mr. Mur
dock. with reference to any concert
of actiap against the Dies Commit
tee or-yjae use of any of these docu
merfts*®fech have since been placed
in the record.”
Dies Expected Monday.
Mr. Hook told newsmen he had
refused for the second time to ap
pear before the committee in closed
session. He has stated repeatedly
that he would not appear before
the committee unless the meeting
was open and Chairman Dies was
presiding.
4
Mr. Dies is expected to return
here Monday from his home in
Orange. Tex.
A subcommittee of the Rules
Committee will meet Monday to
consider a resolution to censure Mr.
Hook for having placed the “Pelley”
letters in the record. The resolu
tion was proposed by Representative
Hoffman. Republican, of Michigan.
An influential member of the
Rules Committee said that the res
olution would be permitted to die
within committee if Mr. Hook would
declare publicly that the letters
were not genuine.
Representative Casey rose in the
House last night to make what he
called “a parliamentary inquiry.”
“I want to ask. Mr. Speaker, if in
future it will be necessary when a
gentleman is invited out to dinner
to obtain permission from the Com
mittee on Un-American Activities?”
he inquired.
Tne Speaker told him the question
“clearly is not a parliamentary in
quiry" and the House adjourned.
Sinking of German Sub
Reported by Trawler
By the Associated Press.
STAVANGER, Norway, Feb. 3 —
A depth charge from a British
trawler destroyed a German sub
marine after the submarine tor
pedoed the Swedish freighter Pa
jala. the freighter’s crew reported
today on arrival here.
The trawler was accompanying
the 6,873-ton Pajala to a contra
band station January 18 when the
fight occurred, they said.
The Danish steamer Hroar, which
brought the crew here, also brought
survivors of the Vidar, 1,353-ton
Danish freighter which struck a
mine two days ago and sank with
the loss of 15 of the crew of 23.
Know Your Money
A dramatization of the ways
and means of detecting counter
feit currency will be presented
over WMAL at 7:30 o'clock
tonight, under the auspices of
the United States Secret Serv
ice. The broadcast will feature
a cast of Cross Roads Theater
Players and Maurice R. Allen,
agent in charge of the Wash
ington Secret Service Field
Office
This will be another in the
junior high school series spon
sored by The Star with the co
operation of the ^ National
Broadcasting Co. and the Board
of Education.