Evening star. [volume], February 08, 1940, Image 1

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

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Weather Forecast '
Fair, with lowest temperature about 33 .... ~
degrees tonight; tomorrow increasing CStODllSned 111 IojZ
cloudiness and warmer; rain by night.
Temperatures today—Highest. 43, at 1 Most people in Washington have The
p.m. lowest, 31, at 7:4S a.m. Star delivered to their homes every
From the United Bute* Weather Bureau report. evening and Sunday morning.
_rote N.W York Morirots, Peg. 18._ __w M..„. Pr„._
88th YEAR. No. 34,981. WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1940-FORTY-SIX PAGES. *»* K THREE CENTS.
1 —— " “ [----. " .. .. ' ’ ' 1 11 .. —--—■— .. ■ " -----
250,000 Reds
Repelled 7 th
Day, Say Finns
'Chute Troops in
Finnish Disguise
** Reported Taken
THIRD CANADIAN UNIT landed
in England under navy guard; new
contingent arrives unheralded;
troops go to training camps.
Page A-2
MORE BRITISH AID on way to
Finns. Chamberlain reveals; satis
fied with results of Balkan parley,
he tells Commons. Page A-2
NEW METHODS AND WEAPONS
slow to make appearance in pres
ent war, Maj. Eliot finds, in spite
of much technical development.
Page A-3
CANADIAN WAR UNITY "real”
election issue, Mackenzie King
says in election keynote speech on
radio. Page A-4
BALKAN COUNTRIES to have
armies on war footing next month;
six nations repeating 1939 military
concentrations. Page A-4
CHINESE PLANNING air raids on
Japan. Tokio navy spokesman
says; defense preparations taken
throughout Western Nippon.
Page A-6
By the Associated Press.
^ HELSINKI. Feb. 8.—A quarter of
a million fighters of the Red Army
have thrown themselves against the
ice-bound fronts of Finland in a
critical February offensive and for
. the seventh successive day have
fallen back, Finnish advices from
the front indicated today.
"Some thousands” of Russians
died two days ago in one sector on
the Karelian Isthmus, the high
command reported in a com
munique.
Fighting continued today but
Finnish military advices said the
offensive had fallen short though
the invaders were using every pos
sible weapon, including dropping of
patrols by parachute.
’Chute Troops Captured.
The communique said "several'’
Russian patrols dropped by para
:hute behind the lines had been cap
tured and that four more Soviet war
planes had been downed in aerial
fighting. The Russians were dis
guised in Finnish army uniforms for
operations behind the battle lines,
the announcement said.
Minor criticism of the Finnish ad
ministration meanwhile appeared
for the first time since the outbreak
_ of the conflict.
The conservative newspaper Aam
m Ulehti complained editorially that
there were some “men at the front
who have not received warm arti
cles of clothing relatives sent them
„ Jong ago. Faults are becoming so
glaring that in one way or the other
they must be corrected.”
The communique described fresh
Finnish successes against the in
vaders on the Karelian Isthmus,
northeast of Lake Ladoga and
further north along the Russian
frontier.
The Finnish command today re
ported a weakening of Russian at
tacks in the Summa sector on the
Karelian Isthmus, and declared that
two assaults had been thrown back,
with the destruction of four enemy
tanks.
The communique declared that
several Red Army divisions sup
ported by "abundant artillery" took
part in the assaults of Tuesday and
yesterday.
The pressure continued yester
day, the communique said, “but with
less power than on the previous day.”
250 Killed in Repulse.
A Russian attempt to cross -the
frontier south of Raate was re
pulsed in the Suomussalmi sector in
which "the enemy's losses were 250
killed" and large quantities of mil
itary equipment captured.
• Aircraft played a part in the
operations, the communique said,
reporting that Russian planes had
been repelled and enemy columns
bombed at several points where
"automobiles and other vehicles were
packed in traffic jams.”
Soviet planes appeared chiefly in
small fighter patrols, the Finns said,
and machine-gunned Finnish land
forces. Raids on the town of
Kajaani and rural communities were
reported.
“According to reports received so
far, two civilians were killed," the
communique said.
Reds Retreat Around Salla.
The Finns reported that Soviet
Russian forces on the Arctic Salla
front were in retreat.
In Russian air raids on cities of
the Finnish territory a prison full
of captive Russian troops was bom
barded.
The prisoners all were herded
tafelv to shelters yesterday during
the four-hour raid by 10 Russian
planes on the north central town of
Kajaani. Two Finns were killed
and many others injured.
m British Volunteers
To Leave This Week
LONDON, Feb. 8 (&).—The first
contingent of British volunteers may
be off to Finland next week. Unoffi
cial reports said “hundreds” of ap
plicants were being enrolled by the
Finnish Legation to leave as soon as
possible.
Only men over 27 years old—out
side the classes likely to be called
this year for Britain’s Army—are
free to go. The British government
has taken no formal part in the
work, which is being supervised by
Finns here.
British volunteers will be in addi
tion to warplanes and other ma
terial already on the way from
here to Finland.* Foreign Under
secretary R. A. Butler yesterday
affirmed in the House of Commons
that Britain, realizing "the urgency
of this matter,” was taking every
measure short of actual interven
tion to get material aid to the
.Finns quickly.
George Gordon Vereker, former
* counselor of the British Embassy
tn Moscow, was appointed British
Minister to Finland yesterday, suc
ceeding T. M. Snow.
French Turn Back
Russian Protest on
Paris Office Raid
Surrender of Documents
Seized by Police Is
Demanded by Moscow
By the Associated Press.
PARIS. Feb. 8.—The French
government was reliably reported
today to have refused to consider a
Soviet Russian protest against a po
lice raid Monday on the Russian
commercial office in Paris.
Sources close to the foreign of
fice said the protest lodged by So
viet Ambassador Jakob Surits could
not be entertained, as neither the
trade representatives nor the com
mercial offices had diplomatic im
munity.
Three Russian commercial agents
were held during the raid, foreign
office sources said, but later were
released.
It was disclosed that immediately
after the raid Surits demanded the
government release the agents and
return the seized documents.
Informed sources said the Soviet
envoy was told that diplomatic im
munity for the agents expired last
December 31 with the French-Rus
sian trade agreement and that the
offices, even under the agreement,
never had had extraterritorial priv
ileges.
The reason for the raid was not
disclosed officially, but some sources
said they believed the action to be
part of the government's campaign
to wipe out Communist propaganda
in France.
The cabinet last September 26
outlawed the Communist party in
France and forbade propaganda of
the Communist International.
Wide Police Raids
Charged by Russia
MOSCOW. Feb. 8 UP).—'The Soviet
Union has accused French police of
widespiead raids against Russians
and Russian agencies in Paris and
has demanded surrender of docu
ments allegedly seized from the
Soviet trade office there.
Tass, official Russian News Agency,
announced both the raids and a
resulting diplomatic protest in a
communique last night.
The communique charged that,
besides the raid on the trade of
fice, police also searched the prem
ises of Intourist, an organization
which assists foreign travel in Rus
sia, a former Soviet school, and
residences of certain members of
the trade mission.
Protest Lodged Monday.
Tass said the raids came last
Monday morning on “verbal instruc
tions of the prefect of police.”,The
Russian Ambassador to Paris, Jakob
Surits. lodged a protest with the
French foreign office Monday after
[ noon.
About 100 men in civilian attire
’ “rushed” into the office of the Rus
; sian trade representative, Tass de
clared. Members of the trade mis
sion who arrived for work in the
midst of the search were taken to
their homes, where searches also
were made. Filing cabinets and
safes were reported broken open
at the trade office.
inoo OrtlU
Surits, the envoy, demanded
through two staff members that
police clear out of the trade office
and return papers taken from places
of safe-keeping. The police, it was
said, refused.
Surits was reported to have sent
representatives to the place as soon
as he heard of the raid. He got
wind of it despite the raiders’ pre
caution of switching off the office’s
telephone service.
Recalls Arcos Incident.
The Soviet protest offers a strik
ing parallel to the sensational, but
now all-but-forgotten “Arcos inci
dent” which led to the severance of
diplomatic relations between Great
Britain and the U. S. S. R. on May
24, 1927.
On May 12, British police, under
orders from the late Sir William
Joynson-Hicks, then home secre
tary. raided the London headquar
ters of Arcos, Ltd., the Soviet trad
ing company, on a search for sub
versive documents. Sir William, who
died in 1932 as Viscount Brentford,
was administrator of the British de
fense-of-the-realm act at the time
of the raid.
No announcement was made of
the nature of what, if any, evidence
was seized. The U. S. S. R.’s great
est foreign trade in the preceding
year had been with Great Britain.
The raid touched off demonstra
tions in Moscow where paraders
carried caricatures of the late Sir
Austen Chamberlain, then British
foreign secretary and a half-brother
of the present British prime minister.
France Has 275,000
In Near East Army,
Paris Discloses
Gen. Weygand
Arrives in Egypt to
Inspect Defenses
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, Feb. 8 —Authorized French
sources disclosed today that France
has 275,000 troops concentrated in
the Near East under the command
of Gen. Maxime Weygand.
These sources said this figure com
pared with a German estimate of
150.000 and a Russian of 400.000.
Gen. Weygand. 72-year-old former
chief of the French general staff and
Marshal Foch's right-hand man in
later stages of the World War, is in
Egypt inspecting British and Egyp
tian defenses. Lt. Gen. Sir Archi
bald P. Wavell is the British com
mander in chief of “Middle Eastern”
forces.
Weygand to Head Allied Force.
Previous French statements have 1
made it clear that should the war
spread to the Near East Gen. Wey
gand would command the allied
forces. These presumably would in
clude In addition to the British
command of perhaps 100.000 men
the Turkish Army, already at a
strength of 200,000 and capable of
considerable expansion. Turkey has
mutual aid pacts with the allies.
Gen. Weygand arrived at Cairo
yesterday by air from Syria, where
most of his command is concen
trated. He was accompanied by Ad- j
miral Jean Esteva. commander in
chief of the French Mediterranean i
fleet. The French asserted their
visit had no special significance. j
Since the outbreak of the war
Egypt broke diplomatic relations
with Germany and has intensified
training an army begun three years
ago with the aid of a British mili
tary mission.
Prepare for Any Eventuality.
Confirmation that France and
Britain were preparing a powerful
army in the Near East was given
semi-offlcially in Paris January 29.
In terming Russian “guesses'’ that
400,000 men were concentrated in
Syria under Gen. Weygand “mani
festly exaggerations,” a statement
said:
“The allies will have in the Near
East at the necessary moment suf
ficient men to face any eventuality.”
French asserted the army was de
signed to cope with any German
thrust southeast into the Balkans.
Gen. Weygand only two weeks ago
conferred in Ankara on Turkish
collaboration with the allies.
Cruiser at Montevideo
MONTEVIDEO. Uruguary, Feb.’ 8
(A>).—The cruiser Shropshire of the
British South Atlantic squadron
arrived here today for a 24-hour
stay.
Hull Admits
Russia May Have
Violated Pact
Recognition, However,
Hinges Not Wholly
On It, He Asserts
The State Department admitted
in a letter to the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee today that this
Government has had several occa
sions since 1933 to believe that
Russia was not living up wholly to
obligations made when the Soviet
regime was recognized, but advised
the committee that maintaining
diplomatic relations is not "wholly
contingent on those obligations."
Secretary of State Hull was reply
ing to the committee's request for
his views on the Vandenberg resolu
tion, seeking to have the President
report to the Senate whether the
Soviet government has fulfilled the
agreements entered into at the time
it was recognized by the United
The letter contained arguments
for retaining diplomatic relations as
a means of seeking adjustment and
correction of agreements which this
country may feel have not been fully
kept. The following is a significant
excerpt:
“Although the agreements of!
November 16. 1933. between thej
two governments were concluded
simultaneously with the estab
lishment of diplomatic relations
between them, the maintenance
of diplomatic relations has not been
made 'wholly contingent,’ as the
wording of the resolution would ap
pear to indicate, on the fulfillment
by the Soviet government of the ob
ligations set forth in those agree
ments. Whenever this Government
has cause to believe that another
government has failed to live up to
agreements with it, it is accustomed
to make use of the very channels
which exist by virtue of diplomatic
relations, in order to bring this fail
ure to the attention of the other
government, to endeavor to effect
an adjustment of resultant diver
gencies of views and to attempt to
prevent similar differences from
taking place in the future.”
Vandenburg Cites Flint Case.
Senator Vandenburg. Republican,
of Michigan promptly issued a state
ment taking issue with the depart
ment's belief in the value of retain
ing diplomatic relations, and citing
the experience of the American Am
bassador in the case of the City of
Flint, the American merchant ves
sel which was taken into a Russian
port by a German prize crew and
taken out again before it was
finally returned to its own crew by
Norway.
"The State Department,” Sen
ator Vandenberg declared, “politely
convicts Moscow of two definite
breaches in the Litvinoff pledges
prior to the disclosures of the Dies
Committee and the Department of
(See RUSSIANTPage A-4J
Radio Pot o Gold
Faces Lottery
Investigation
The Federal Communications
Commission today sent to the De
partment of Justice a report on two
radio programs with the view to
having them tested in the courts to
decide whether they are lotteries.
One is the “Pot o’ Gold" program
which is broadcast on Tuesday eve
nings. The Communications Act
prohibits the broadcasting of any
advertising or information concern
ing a lottery.
The commission has been flooded
with a number of complaints against
the Pot o’ Gold program, which
awards a prize of $1,000 each week.
The winner is selected by spinning
a hand on a dial which selects a
telephone directory. Another spin
ning selects the page and another
the number on the page which
determines the name and the phone
number.
The other case which was sent to
the Justice Department involved a
program of a bakery at Wichita
Fills and Big Springs, both in Texas.
The latter case involved a so-called
mystery woman, who, it was an
nounced, would call at various
homes. If the householder called
upon was able to produce a loaf of
bread made by the bakery $5 would
be paid for it.
Former Ambassador
Dodd Is Critically III
At Round Hill Home
Historian in Coma From
Pneumonia; Oxygen
Is Administered
Dr. William Edward Dodd, his
torian and former Ambassador to
Germany, is critically ill at his
Round Hill (Va.) home, his daugh
ter, Mrs. Alfred Stern, disclosed to
day.
She said that he contracted pneu
monia last night and now is in
coma. A local physician, working
under direction of Dr. Theodore J.
Abernethy of Washington, has been
administering oxygen.
For the past year Dr. Dodd has
been suffering from paralysis of the
throat, she stated, but has not been
confined to his home.
At the bedside were the diplomat's
son, William E. Dodd, jr., and Mr.
and Mrs. Stern. They said that they
had little hope for his recovery’.
Dr. Dodd, a former president of
the American Historical Association,
has been engaged since his retire
ment as Ambassador in writing a
projected four-volume history of the
South. One volume has been pub
lished, but work on the second has
been delayed recently by his poor
health.
The educator s career as American
envoy to Berlin, from 1933 to 1937,
was stormy. He sailed for Germany
welcoming his assignment to do
“trying work.” He left Germany
with a chilly farewell.
After his return, German Ambas
sador Hans Dieckhoff protested that
Mr. Dodd had made “unheard-of
insults" to the Reich.
As Ambassador, he created a stir
by protesting, while on vacation
here, about the acceptance by his
Charge d’Affaires, Prtntiss Gilbert,
of an invitation to attend a Nazi
party congress.
From Berlin he warned of a
“dictatorship” plot in the United
States, backed by an unidentified
American millionaire.
Tweedsmuir's Condition
Causes Grave Anxiety
By the Auocleted Press.
OTTAWA, Feb. 8.—The condition
of Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor Gen
eral of Canada, is causing “grave
anxiety,” said a bulletin issued to
day from Government House.
Lord Tweelsmuir, 64, suffered a
concussion of the brain Tuesday
morning when he fell in his dressing
room.
Today’s bulletin said:
“His excellency spent a restless
night and his condition this morn
ing gives rise to grave anxiety on ac
count of his increasing weakness.”
The 'bulletin was signed by Dr,
Jonathan Meakins of Montreal, Dr.
Gordon Gunn of Ottawa, the Gov
ernor General's personal physician,
and Lt. Col. Colin Russel.
f
Reciprocal Trade j
Resolution Approved
By House Group
Vote on Controversial
Measure Is 14-10; Now
Ready for Consideration
Hi il.c Associated Press. >
The House Ways and Means Com
| mittee today approved a bill renew
I ing authority for the administration
to negotiate reciprocal trade agree
ments.
Members said the vote to report
1 the bill favorably was 14 to 10, with
one member voting "present.”
The committee's action makes the
measure—one of the session's most
controversial proposals—ready for
House consideration, but when it
will be taken up will depend on
the wishes of the leadership.
Authority under which the Presi
dent, through the State Depart
ment, now negotiates trade treaties
expires June 12. The pending meas
ure would extend it for three years
from that date.
The Ways ana Means committee
only recently completed its hearings
on the bill, which has aroused
strong Republican and some Demo
cratic opposition. Secretary Hull,
a leading exponent of the reciprocal
treaty method of lowering tariffs,
testified the system should be con
tinued both as an immediate help
to the development of international
commerce and as an eventual aid to
the creation of world peace.
Opponents included various trade,
labor and agriculture groups, which
argued that American markets were
adversely affected by lowering tariff
barriers.
The National Grange opposed and
the American Farm Bureau Federa
tion defended continuation of the
authority. Opponents said that if
they were unable to end trade agree
ments entirely they would attempt to
subject them to ratification by the
Senate.
Bullitt Leaves Lisbon
LISBON, Feb. 8 UP).—William C.
Bullitt, United States Ambassador
to Paris, left today for a brief trip
to the United States aboard a trans
Atlantic Clipper.
Jones Blames U. S.
In Default of Loans
By Foreign Nations
Tells Senate Committee
We Loaned More Money
Than They Could Pay
Foreign nations are in default on
their old war debts to this country
because the United States loaned
them more than it should have,
Federal Loan Administrator Jesse
Jones told the Senate Foreign Re
lations Committee in testimony
made public today on the bill to add
$100.00,000 to the lending ability
of the Export-Import Bank.
In response to questions, Mr. Jones
had been emphasizing that he would
only make loans to Finland or any
other borrower that he believed
could be repaid, and that all loans
would depend on the circumstances
at the time application was made.
Chance of Surviving Factor.
Senator Vandenberg, Republican,
of Michigan wanted to know if Fin
land s military status and her chance
of surviving would be one of the
circumstances considered.
“It would be taken into account,”
Mr. Jones replied. “It might not be
the controlling one. I believe Fin
land will pay her debts. The Fin
nish people always have, and I
think they always will.”
"If there is still a Finland,”
Senator Vandenberg interposed.
“If they are not able to pay now.
they will pay later. I believe," Mr.
Jones replied. "I would not want
to lend too much money. I think
all the defaults of the foreign
debtors to us were due to the fact
that we loaned more money than we
should have loaned, more money
than the countries could possibly
pay back, and we were as much at
fault for those defaults as the
countries themselves.”
It has been pointed throughout
discussion of the pending bill that
Finland has never defaulted, but
even met its December installment
to the Treasury despite the current
Russian invasion.
sympathetic to Finland.
During the hearings. Senator John
son. Republican, of California, who
voted for the bill in committee,
summed up his view of the pending
bill in these words:
"We are all sympathetic with Fin
land, we are all anxious to see Fin
land ‘whip the tar’ out of Russia,
if I may use that expression. We are
more sympathetic with our own
land than with any other. We do
not want to do anything which may
under any circumstances involve
this country in war. You have that
opinion, too, have you not?"
“I have.” Mr. Jones responded.
He assured the committee no loans
would be made for arms or imple
ments of war, nor would any credit
be advanced that would conflict with
the Johnson Act prohibiting loans
to nations in default on war debts.
Light Earthquake Alarms
Northern California
By the Associated Press.
SACRAMENTO. Feb. 8.—A light
earthquake at 12:08 a.m. shook win
dows and aroused hundreds of sleep
ers throughout Northern California,
but apparently caused no damage.
The shock was reported in all sec
tions of Sacramento and its suburbs,
n Grass Valley and Nevada City and
in a number of other cities in the
Sacramento Valley.
Sacramento hospital patients were
awakened, causing a brief flurry of
alarm. Downtown hotel guests also
were awakened.
Silver ShirtChief
Says His Legion
May 'Fold Up'
Dies Probe Ending
Need for Group,
Pelley Says
BACKGROUND—
William Dudley Pelley, Silver
Shirt leader, appeared unex
pectedly before Dies committee
Tuesday to deny charges of "col
lusion" between Chairman Dies
and himself. He had been sought
for many months to testify on
committee charges that his or
ganization is one of the largest
Fascist groups in United States.
By the Associated Press.
William Dudley Pelley testified
today that if the Dies committee
continued its investigations of un
American activities his Silver Shirt
Legion would "fold up.”
Pelley, whose group has been
called "Fascist” by the committee,
told the House investigators that
conditions, as far as un-American
activities were concerned, had im
proved in the last few years.
He attributed mucfi of the im
provement to the work of the Dies
committee.
“Do you mean that if the Dies
Committee continues its investiga
tion.” asked Representative Thomas,
Republican, of New Jersey, “that the
Silver Legion will fold up?”
"Yes, sir, and with my blessings,“
Pelley promptly replied. He had
testified yesterday that the aim of
the "silver shirts paralleled that of
the committee in that both were
against un-American activities.
“Very Much” Anti-Semitic.
Pelley later proclaimed that he
feels toward Jews in the United
States "exactly as the Nazi party”
does toward members of that race
in Germany.
He qualified this declaration,
however, by saying that it did not
mean he would "countenance all
the methods Mr. Hitler may have
| put in force.”
"Are you anti-Semitic?” asked
Representative Casey, Democrat, of
Massachusetts, a member of the
committee.
“I would call myself very much
I so." Pelley replied.
Pelley said the Silver Shirt Le
gion, with members in 22 States,
j was organized on a “military con
cept," used military titles and orders
and nad uniforms, but “there was
J no drilling and no guns.” It also
has a “metaphysical” side. Acting
Chairman Starnes, Democrat, of
Alabama brought out when he ques
tioned Pelley about a membership
blank request for the hour and
minute of an applicant’s birth.
The question, the witness ex
, plained, was asked for “metaphysi
1 cal” and not “political or economic”
I i v. aovuo.
Limited to Christians.
Peliey identified the blank as one
issued some years ago by his organi
j zation. As it showed, he said, the
! organization was limited to Chris
I tians.
“By elimination,” Peliey added,
"that would have a censorship on
; people of the Judaistic faith.”
Mr. Starnes quoted from a Peliey
publication which said that after
the World War armistice "we sud
denly found" that 4,000.000 Jews had
"infiltrated" into the United States.
Mr. Starnes inquired whether Pel
ley thought most of the 4.000.000
were sympathetic to communism.
“Unfortunately, that's been my
experience," Peliey sighed.
Representative Thomas wanted to
know whether the witness thought
Hitler was “subversive.”
“I can't see how Mr. Hitler was
subversive when he was put into
office by the lawful, legal President
of Germany,” Peliey shot back.
Mr. Starnes’ quotation was from
"The Hidden Empire" which Peliey
identified as one of his publications.
The witness said that most of the
editing of the pamphlet was done in
Lincoln, Nebr. The work was re
lated to a “bitter inter-church con
troversy" in that city in 1933 or
1934, he said, without further ex
planation.
Situation “Different Now.”
Peliey said the Silver Shirts was
organized to combat "subversive
forces” such as those which the Dies
Committee has looked into. In
1933, he said there was a situation
"entirely different from the one we
now enjoy in 1940.”
"We were looking at a condition
where there might be an overthrow
of the constitutional government of
the United States." he declared.
Starnes Explains Action.
Earlier. Acting Chairman Starnes
said that at yesterday's hearing he
had stopped a line of questioning
involving President 'Roosevelt be
cause he was afraid that Peliey might
use the occasion to “say something
personal" against Mr. Roosevelt.
Opening the second day of testi
(See UN-AMERICAN7Page A-6.)
Hine Junior High
Drama Club on Air
Members of The Stars and
Stooges Club of Hine Junior
High School will turn WMAL
studio* into drama workshops at
4 p.m. today. They will tell
listeners how they select and
write their school plays, con
struct the scenery and prepare
for final presentation in the
school auditorium. The value
of drama as a junior high ac
tivity will be-stressed.
This is another in a series of
educational features sponsored
by The Star with the co-opera
tion of the National Broadcast
ing Co. and the ^>ard of Edu
cation.
409 Allied and Neutral Ships
Sunk, Nazi Command Claims
354 Taken in for Prize Proceeding, Reich
Chiefs Say; Admit 42 German Vessels Lost
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN. Feb. 8. — Germany
acknowledged today the loss of
236,957 tons of shipping since the
beginning of the war, but declared
that her enemies and neutral coun
tries had lost 1,493,431 tons.
Germany's losses were given as
42 ships and enemy and neutral
losses as at least 409 ships sunk
up to the end of January.
In addition, 354 neutral merchant
men were taken to German ports to
be disposed of in prize court pro
ceedings, said a high command com
munique.
The high command said that all
354 ships had been brought into Ger
man ports, but that figures on how
many were later released "are not
readily available." Some were known
to have been freed.
Germany's losses were put at 13,
196 tons of shipping confiscated at
the outbreak of the war in enemy
ports; 82,236 tons seized and 141,
525 tons scuttled to avoid seizure.
The high command and other of
flcial sources, in reporting that al
lied and neutral merchant shipping
losses were approaching 1,500,000
tons, contended Germany’s counter
blockade effectively was tightening
up on Great Britain.
There was no comment, however,
on the fact that the British and'
French Navies largely had swept
German shipping from the high
seas while British ships were striv
ing to maintain commerce and that
consequently there were many more
targets for German submarines and
warplanes than for the allied navies.
German quarters, however, con
cluded from the announced figures
that the record established an in
creasing effectiveness on the part of
the German sea war.
• The German figures are
higher than from other sources.
An Associated Press survey
showed 928,104 tons of allied and
neutral merchant shipping were
sent to the bottom by mine, tor
pedo, shell or aerial bomb or
• See NAVAL, Page A-8.)
(Whothe \
vicE-pRcsioe«cy
l. HAS NOWfIGHT? J
x y^y
D. C. Job Insurance Amendment
Threatened From Two Sides
National Interests Hit Liberalization
Of Benefits; 'Looseness' in Bill Cited
BACKGROUND—
District Unemployment Com
pensation Board again this year
proposed a reduction in pay roll
taxes on Washington employers
to 2.7 per cent to conform, to
general Federal and State policy,
coupled with plan for raising
maximum benefits to jobless, as
the present 3 per cent pay roll
tax raised unused reserve in
Treasury to more than $16,000,
000. Approval in principle was
quickly given and prompt vote
was scheduled by House.
By DON S. WARREN.
Plans pending for liberalization
of the District's unemployment
compensation law—for the benefit of
both the taxpaying employer and
the recipient of jobless aid—face the
double-barreled threat of a clash
between national and District in
terests. and of objections to "loose
ness" in sections of the measure, The
Star learned today.
Among other developments was
the disclosure that representatives
' of powerful national business inter -
i ests had come to Washington pre
! pared to wage a fight against ap
proval of the bill, on the arguments
that the proposed new benefit pay
ment plan would be "too extreme”
and that its adoption might estab
lish it as a “model” which later
might be forced on the States.
Corrections in Prospect.
On the other hand, several key i
| officials—in sympathy with the j
move to extend much more liberal
benefits to the jobless—agreed nu
merous features of the bill were,
"loosely drawn” or needed “clarifi- .
cation.” or “might result in in- i
equities.” They voiced belief cor-1
rections could be made in the draft
without destroying desired objec
tives.
Acting independently of national
business interests, Lawrence E. Wil
liams. president of the Washington 1
Board of Trade, today requested i
delay in action on the bill to permit ■
(Continued on Page ^A-l3.)
Summary of Today's Star
Page. Page.
Amusements, obituary A-12
B-14-15 Radio . C-3
Comics . . C-8-9 Society — B-3
Editorials _ A-10 Spdrts ... C-l-3
Finance __ A-17 Woman’s Page,
Lost, Found C-5 C-4
Foreign
275.000 French troops in Near East,
Paris reveals. Page A-l
250.000 Reds beaten back for seventh
day, Finns report. Page A-l
France won’t consider Soviet protest
on office raid. Page A-l
Reich claims 409 allied and neutral
vessels sunk. Page A-l
Third Canadian unit landed in Eng
land under navy guard. Page A-2
More British aid on way to Finns,
Chamberlain reveals. Page A-2
Balkans to have armies on war foot
ing next month. Page A-4
National
House committee approves recip
rocal trade treaty bill Page A-l
Dies Committee split over question
ing of Pelley. Page A-l
War supplies sales believed topic at
White House parley. Page A-2
New methods slow to appear in war,
says Maj. Eliot Page A-J
Senate may approve loa nto Fin
land'tOBgy.-Page A-4
Bid conspiracy blamed on “labor
racketeering.” PageA-15
Washington and Vicinity
Former Ambassador Dodd critically
ill at Virginia home. Page A-l
I k
Schools may be used as depots for
milk distribution. Page B-l
Nichols to demand probe of inferior
gasoline selling. Page B-l
Hit-run driver believed responsible
for Arlington death. Page B-l
Mrs. Roosevelt testifies tomorrow on
Blue Plains needs Page B-l
Editorial and Comment
This and That. PageA-10
Answers to Questions. PageA-10
Letters to The Star. PageA-10
David Lawrence. Page A-ll
Alsop and Kintner. Page A-ll
G. Gould Lincoln. Page A-ll
Lemuel F. Parton. Page A-ll
Constantine Brown. Page A-ll
Sports
Chief betting is on how long Godoy
lasts with Louis. Page C-l
Hoyas may crack own relay mark in
meet Saturday. Page. C-l
American U., Wilson Teachers, Gal
laudet share basket stage.
Page C-2
Football receipts off, Princeton may
tax students. Page C-J
Miscellany
Bedtime Story. Page C-S
Cross-Word Puzzle. Page C-S
Letter-Out Page C-8
Winning Contract. Page C-9
Uncle* Ray’s Corner. • . . .Page _ C-9
After Dark. Page B-8
Vital Statistics. Page C-5
Service Orders. PageA-16
Nature's Children. Page C-10
City News in Brief. Page B-7
A
Rockville, Md., 'Scoops' Boston
On Emerson Stamp; War Is On
By the Associated Press.
A new stamp war broke out to
day involving Ralph Waldo Emer
son, Mark Twain, Postmaster Gen
eral Farley, a couple of Congress
members and six cities.
Take the affair Emerson first:
The 3-eent Emerson stamps were
sent to post offices throughout the
Nation with instructions that they
were not to go on sale until after
Boston started selling them on Feb
ruary 5.
That is the usual case with com
memorative stamps. Some city is
given the honor of selling them first
k
and philatelists value highly stamps
and letters from the "first day" post
offices.
But philatelists discovered to their
horror some of the Emerson stamps
in the mails before the sale started
in Boston.
They bore postmarks of Salt Lake
City, Harrisburg, Pa.; Rockville, Md.,
and Summerville, S. C.
“Bbotleg stamps,” shouted one
group of collectors.
"But valuable nevertheless,” said
another school.
While the Post Office Department
(See STAMPS, Page A-14.)
>