Evening star. [volume], May 25, 1940, Image 1

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

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Weather Forecast f"—
Partly cloudy; lowest about 56 tonight; #FfOfH PreSS to Home
tomorrow cloudy, followed by light show riwm rren to ngme
ers; not much change in temperature.. Within the Hour*
Temperatures today—Highest, 63, at 1 wu
P-m.; lowest, 56, at 2 a.m. Most people in Washington have The
From the United states weather Bureau report. Star delivered to their homes every
_Ful1 dftail8 0t: Pw A-2-_ evening and Sunday morning.
Closing New York Markets—Sales, Page 15 1 ... I
"-■ W> A^ans Associated Press.
88th YEAR. No, 35,088,_ WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1940—THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. ** THREE CENTS.
NAZIS DIVE-BOMBING BRITISH AT 4 PORTS
Fresh Troops Arriving to Help Break Flanders Trap; French Squeezing Gap
Destruction of Surrounded Army
Within Week Forecast by Berlin
_ *___. #
Breach Now Only
20 Miles Wide,
Paris Says
BULLETIN.
BERLIN o*R.—German and
Allied troops fought today in
the streets of Calais, just 22
miles from England, while
Adolf Hitler’s dive bombers
rained destruction on four
Channel harbors, where the
British apparently are at
tempting to land reinforce
ments to break the trap
around Allied Armies in
Flanders.
“Stuka” dive bombers
dropped explosives on har
bors at Dieppe and Dun
kerque, France, and Ostend
and Blankenberghe, Belgium.
The last port is a famous sea
resort.
By thp Associated Press.
The French battled today to
close the German gap in Allied
lines in the Peronne-Bapaume
area as authorized German
sources said that the British
French-Belgian Armies, now
encircled in Northern France
and Belgium, would be “wiped
out” within a week.
The German high command
said the Allied Armies in Flan
ders had been completely encir
cled yesterday, and the author
ized Berlin sources said the
lightning stabs of Adolf Hitler’s
legions had reduced the area of
the Flanders battleground by
two-thirds in 48 hours.
The French said that the breach
in the Allied lines had been reduced
yesterday from 30 or 35 to about 20
miles in width, but admitted that
German units were still pouring
through to the coastal plain.
Nazi Advance Declared Checked.
The Nazi advance in the St. Amer
region has been checked, however,
a French military spokesman assert
ed. and the whole front is “without
change.” The situation at Boulogne
was termed “unchanged.”
Nazi forces driving through Flan
ders. it said, completed the encircle
ment operation yesterday, captured
the important English Channel port
of Boulogne, the Belgian cities of
Ghent and Courtrai and crossed the
L.vs River.
The British admitted that the
Allied outlook is growing darker.
The German gain means that the
Allied forces are isolated, with the
Germans stretched in an unbroken
line in front of them and the Eng
lish Channel at their backs. Unless
n corridor can be broken through to
them, it appears, they must sur
render, die or try to escape by water.
It puts the Germans another step
closer to position for an invasion of
England.
The British banned details of the
fighting in France, where they ad
mitted the peril of the British
expeditionary force in a “very grave
and very confused" situation.
Fight to Narrow Gap
PARIS, May 25 The French
fought desperately today to narrow
further the deadly 20-mile gap in
the Allied lines north of the Somme,
but "blitzkrieg'’ German units—
swift motorcyclists and armored
cars—were reported still moving
steadily through the breach to the
English Channel.
French troops in the Channel
coast region, according to a military
spokesman, were fighting off the
German advance guards and were
said to have checked the Nazi ad
vance in the St. Omer region.
The Peronne-Bapaume breach
yesterday was 30 to 35 miles wide,
but the dogged French, determined
to save their comrades in arms from
the Nazi pincer movement, declared
they had cut the distance to 20
miles.
Flanders Fight Continues.
In the St. Omer region, the
French military spokesman said,
the shifting warfare consisted main
ly of a series of localized combats
while the "Battle of Flanders” went
on in full course in the Cambrai
Valenciennes sector. St. Omer is
’ Tsee PARIS. Page A-37)
Beware of False
Orders, Reynaud
Tells French People
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, May ,25.—Premier
Reynaud cautioned the French
people today to beware of false
orders which, he said, German
agents are spreading by tele
phone and handbills with signa
tures of French officials—some
times even his own.
Warnings also were issued
against alleged German propa
ganda efforts to divide France
and Britain.
GERMANS TRY TO CLOSE AN IRON RING—German Armies
pointed north in France and west from Belgium today, trying
to complete an iron ring around Great Britain that begins in
Norway and continues down the North Sea coast. British
sought spies in Ireland (1) and watched the Irish Sea approach.
German planes bombed the Eastern English coast (2), and
sounds of battle were hegrd off Channel ports (3). The French
claimed advances in the Somme region (4). A thundering artil
lery battle was reported on the Rhine (5) only 5 miles from
the Swiss border. Italy was mobilized (6), but war remained a
Mussolini question mark. , —A. P. Wirephoto.
Can Still Retrieve
Situation, British
Say Worriedly
Ban Is Clamped on News
Of Fighting; Churchill
Emphasizes Gravity
By the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 25.—British mili
tary sources, asserting the position
of the Allied armies in Prance was
“very grave,” declared today that “a
co-ordinated Allied effort still can
retrieve the situation.”
"It should be remembered that
the form of warfare employed by
the Germans has its weaknesses as
well as its strength,” these sources
said.
“There is no reason for loss of
confidence.”
Britain clamped a firm ban on de
tails of the fighting in Prance where
the British expeditionary force was
struggling in "a very confused” po
sition.
Prime Minister Churchill, urging
the labor unions to a supreme effort
in behalf of the country, declared
the gravity of the situation was
deepening "hour by hour.”
Mr. Churchill said “The country’s
needs are imperative, inescapable
and imperious and we shall pay
dearly if we fail to meet them. We
can meet them now, as the govern
ment is founded upon a new unity
of national purpose and with the
creative energies of a people awak
ened to the magnitude of the task.
“We have the fullest confidence in
the readiness of organized workers
to accept obligations arising out of
(See LONDON, Page A-4.)
Two New Earth Tremors
Cause Panic in Peru
By the Associated Press.
LIMA, Peru, May 25.—Two slight
earth tremors brought new panic to
this section of Peru today, but added
little destruction and apparently no
new casualties to the 249 dead and
more than 3,000 injured in yester
day's earthquake. Most of the dead
were school children.
The government has approved
measures for maintenance of public
order, distribution of food and
clothing to the homeless, shelter for
the refugees and free burial for the
dead. •
Thousands were left homeless.
In the seaport of Callao, where
the death toll was put at 150,
scarcely a building escaped un
scatched. The seaside resort of
Chorillos, close by, also was devas
tated.
War Bulletin
ROME (TP).—Petru Giovaechini,
chief of Corsica’s irredentists,
issued a manifesto today to ‘'Cor
sican brothers living under op
pression” in that French insular
department, saying, "The mo
ment of redemption is near.”
A
Mother of Two Killed
By Train in Maryland
By the Asscci*ted Pres*.
FERNDALE. Md„ May 25.—Mrs.
Beatrice May Alton, mother of two
small children, was struck and killed
by a Baltimore & Annapolis elec
tric train at Jones Station last night.
The accident occurred before Hie
eyes of the young woman’s fathfei,;
Postmaster Henry Oaksmith of Se
vema Park.
Mr. Oaksmith was repairing an
automobile tire in front of a filling
station, and Mrs. Alton had been
talking with him.
She started across the railway
tracks and walked into the path of
the train, which was rounding a
curve.
Patrolman George Boln of Fem
j dale took Motorman W. J. Obery
into custody on a technical charge
I of manslaughter.
1 i •
I Emperor Penguin Dies, Huddling Close to Keeper Friend
By W. H. SHIPPEN, Jr.
Dugan died at the Zoo late yester
day, huddled close to his best friend,
like a child in distress.
For hours the big Emperor pen
guin had fought for breath. Fright
ened, he sought out his keeper,
Malcolm Davis, and leaned against
him, as if asking for help.
But there was little Mr. Davis
could do, although the two had been
through muc^i together—on a
blizzard-swept ice barrier in the
Antarctic last January, when Mr.
Davis captured the lone Emperor,
and later on the United States
Antarctic expedition’s supply ship
North Star, beating through a polar
storm to Valparaiso, Chile.
The tall Emperor penguins are
valuable birds which dwarf lesser
species and are almost unknown in
captivity. Rear Admiral Richard E.
Byrd brought a half a dozen back
from a previous expedition to the
Antarctic and all died shortly after
they were landed in this country.
Rare and highly-prized as the birds
are to zoologists, no one knows how
to treat their ailments.
Dugan yesterday was breathing
hard, his muscular white and
orange-feathered chest heaving,
and his long black beak gasping for
air. He apparently was suffering
from some fungus growth which was
closing his wind pipe. He kept
crowding closer to Mr. Davis, bury
ing his head against the keeper’s
chest, as if frightened that the
man would leave him. Dugan was
a great favorite with Zoo attendants,
who took turns feeding him by
hand—and with the public as well.
Word spread that the Emperor was
dying, and people were sorry to
see him go.
It was in hope of netting such a
specimen that Zoo Director William
M. Mann arranged to have Mr.
Davis accompany Admiral Byrd’s
men when they sailed for the Far
South last November. The first day
the North Star pulled in at the ice
barrier Mr. Davis noticed a small
dark object, like some lonely dwarf,
on the desolate expanse to the south.
Mr. Davis and a sailor friend
went over the side to investigate.
Little as the two amateur ex
A
made friends with them at once and
seemed to welcome captivity. Per
haps he had been lonely amid all
that snow and ice.
At any rate, he was the only
Emperor Mr. Davis and his mates
saw during weeks on the ice pack.
The two men had a thrill getting
their charge back to the ship, for a
sudden storm blotted out the coast
and the North Star pulled away to
a safer berth.
Safely aboard the ship several
hours later, Dugan learned to take
fish from Mr. Davis’ hands. There
after he insisted on being fed by
hand. Mr. Davis named the Em
Keeper Malcolm Davis and Dugan.
—Star Staff Photo.
plorers knew of Ice crevasses, sudden
blizzards and such, they managed
to scramble over the rough pack to
the side of the Emperor. They were
the first men Dugan ever saw. He
a
peror after a sailor with rolling gait,
expansive chest and dignified post
lire. Mr. Davis took Dugan, several
lesser penguins and some Antarctic
seals to Valpariso when the North
Star went there after stippljes.
Many of the specimens did not sur
vive a protracted storm which tossed
the ship on her beam ends during
the three-week journey North. But
Dugan, being a good sailor, came
through in good shape.
Mr. Davis put the big penguin
aboard a Grace Line ship for ^ie
States, along with minute instruc
tions as to feeding and care.
The ship’s officers took to Dugan,
and he got first-class accommoda
tions—meals at regular hours and a
special cabin in a big ice cooler when
the ship ran into tropical seas.
Meanwhile, Mr. Davis returned to
the ice barrier with the North Star
to search for additional specimens
for the Zoo. He kept worrying how
Dugan was getting along without
him. Too, Mr. Davis shared with
other members of the expedition a
certain anxiety about how thev were
going to find a suitable site for the
additional Antarctic base called for
in their orders During the long
days of the Antarctic summer Mr.
Davis’ mates dubbed him “Penguin
Pete.” An artist cartooned him
cramming penguins with fish, while
minnows, mackerel, shrimp and oth
er sea food bulged from his pockets
and festooned his ears.
Good news came for Mr. Davis,
by radio from Washington, on the
same day that clearing weather en
abled Admiral Byrd and his pilot to
make an aerial survey of the un
certain line of the barrier and locate
a site for the projected East base.
“Sparks” brought Mr. Davis the
word from the radio room:
"Emperor arrived in perfect con
dition.”
Mr. Davis’ ipates seized the op
portunity for a double celebration.
“Hooray for the East Base,” they
shouted, "long live the Emperor!”
The first thing Mr. Davis did on
his return to Washington a month
ago, after months In the Antarctic,
was to hurry out to the Zoo to
see how Dugan was getting along.
Dugan's loss came doubly hard
to Mr. Davis because he had to
go before Dr. Mann, who is in
Liberia collecting animals for the
Zoo, could get home to see him.
►
Ring Is Declared
Locked Tightly
On Half Million
i By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, May 25— Authoritative
German sources said tonight that
the Reich’s armies of the west had
reduced the Flanders battleground,
in which the Allied armies are en
circled, by two-thirds in the last 48
hours, and predicted the encom
passed units would be “wiped out’’
within a week.
The high command said the Ger
man ring was locked solidly now
around the Belgian Army, the main
body of the British expeditionary
force and parts of France's 1st, 7th
and 9th Armies.
“Weak” Allied attacks intended to
relieve these forces have been thrown
back, the army command stated.
An “increasjng” number of Allied
prisoners from this trapped force,
which has been estimated at be
tween 500,000 and 1.000.000 men. are
being engulfed in this major devel
opment, it was said, and “the
amount of booty cannot be esti
mated.”
The high command declared that
the Lys River, Belgium's last nat
ural line of defense, had been
crossed: Ghent and Courtrai. Bel
gium, captured: the French Chan
nel port of Boulogne wrested from
land and naval forces, and nearby
Calais encircled.
Vimy Ridge Captured.
Vimy Ridge, death-hallowed bat
tleground of Canadian and German
forces in the World War, was re
ported captured in the general ac
tion along the southern edge of the
German salient to the sea, where the
Germans said they had beaten back
i "weak enemy relief attacks.”
“Vimy Ridge between Lillers and
St. Omer up to Gravelines is in
German possession." said the daily
high command communique.
The capture of Boulogne and the
threat at the gates of Calais ad
vanced the threat of direct attack
on England, for they lie only 26 and
22 miles, respectively, from the
Folkestone-Dover coast.
Germans have said, however, that
occupation of the narrowing area of
Southwestern Belgium and North
western France—the sack of terri
tory upon which the Nazis are pull
ing the drawstring—is a necessary
'(See BERLIN, Page A-4.)
French Drop Crack Train
As Economy Measure
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, May 25.—The Simplon
Orient Express, one of Europe's
crack trains, running from Paris
through Switzerland to Italy, has
been canceled as an ‘‘economy meas
ure," the Ministry of Public Works
announced today.
It said this action was only tem
porary.
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I
Nazi Bombing Squads
Rain Missiles on
French Airports
Formations of 30 to 40
Dump Their Shells, Go
Back and Reload
By H. TAYLOR HENRY,
Assoetsted Pres« W»r Correspondent.
WITH THE ADVANCED
FRENCH AIR ARMY SOME
WHERE IN NORTHERN FRANCE,
May 24 (Delayed in Transit).—Ger
man bombing squadrons in massed
formations of 30 and 40 planes
rained bombs on French airports
in North Central France today in
an effort to halt the French pilots'
desperate campaign to cut down
Germany's admitted numerical su
periority in warplanes.
The heaviest raids, in which hun
dreds of bombs were dropped, came
during the early morning and just
before and after noon.
They were directed at the airports
supporting the land armies locked
in the battle for supremacy in
Northern France.
Pilots in the squadrons based on
these fields are almost literally
doing the work of three men. <22
words censored here.) Then they
return to their bases, reload and
are off again immediately.
French air forces said today the
initial Nazi advantage in the air
was being cut down, but they added
that even the experience and daring
of the French pilots has not been
(See HENRY, Page A-2.)
^ 1
Hull Silent on Report
British Have Seized
Embassy Employe
Secretary of State Hull today
declined to confirm or deny re
ports that an employe of the
American Embassy in London
had been arrested by British
authorities.
The Secretary told his press
conference there was nothing
he could say about the reported
arrest, referring back to that
statement when asked specific
ally if the employe involved was
an American citizen or a Brit
ish subject.
The arrest was reported in
news dispatches from London
which said the Embassy and
British authorities there refused
to discuss the matter.
(See earlier London story on
Page A-3.)
Vatican Offers Refuge
For War Diplomats
By the Associated Pres*.
VATICAN CITY, May 25.—Luigi
Cardinal Maglione. papal secretary
of state, today offered quarters in
Vatican City to diplomats accredited
to the Holy See who thought their
countries might become involved in
wwar with Italy. The diplomats or
dinarily live outside Vatican City,
in Rome or its environs.'
In a letter. Cardinal Maglione
asked these diplomats to advise
him whether they would return to
their native lands or accept the
proffered residence here.
Only the chiefs of diplomatic
missions and secretary of each
would be permitted to stay in the
Vatican, the letter said.
I
Barlow Bomb Fails
i To Kill Goats in
Demonstration i
i
/
Animals Merely Scared
In Test Made Before
Congressional Group
By ROBERT BRISK IN,
Star Staff Correspondent.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND,
Md.. May 25.—Bomb Inventor Lester i
P. Barlow confessed to a congres- !
sional delegation that he was the
“goat" today.
Detonation of his 1.000-pound
liquid oxygen-carbon bomb which he
predicted would revolutionize aerial
bombardment, only scared some 84
goats. Not one was even bruised.
The goats were tethered in six I
radial lines beginning 200 feet from
the post on which the bomb was
hung. The blast knocked a few off i
their feet, but before Army and
Navy medical examiners could rush
into the field, 2,500 yards from the
grandstand, all had resumed grazing.
Chairman Sheppard of the Sen- :
ate Military Affairs Committee in-1
dicated Mr. Barlow, who walked1
out on the members of Congress
May 16 because they were 10 min- \
utes late, might be given another
chance to demonstrate his bomb, j
Keeps Guests Waiting.
Although Mr. Barlow refused to
go through with the bombing May
16 because of the late arrival of his 1
guests, he kept them waiting today
for two hours and 20 minutes while
he puttered out in the field, gave
numerous orders for everyone to
protect themselves from the con- j
cussion 'and seemed terribly con-!
cerned that all newsreel and news-:
paper photographers should have
time to get as many pictures as they
wanted.
This afternoon the Army will de
tonate 1,000 pounds of T. N. T. with
84 other goats. Army officers ex
pressed distaste for the necessity
of harming goats but said they
were under orders to go through
with the experiment so that the
killing effect of the two types of
bombs could be demonstrated.
Mr. Barlow, excitable before the
explosion, seemed not at all de
pressed afterwards. A friend ex
pressed sympathy, saying, “Its a
damn shame.”
“No, it isn’t a damn shame,” Mr.
Barlow said. "It's the truth we
wanted to get. I still think I have
the most powerful explosive. This
only proved it didn't knock out
goats.
"I’ve been making bombs for 25
years and this is my biggest flop.
I'm disappointed. I'm surprised.”
No Complaints, He Says.
At the last attempted experi
ment, Mr. Barlow loudly accused
Army officers in general and Col.
Burton O. Lewis, officer in charge
of proofs at the grounds, in particu
lar. Today, Mr. Barlow declared
he had "no complaints against the
Army, they helped me in every way.”
“I’m still going ahead with this
explosive and develop it for military
purposes,” he said. "I hope I’m on
the track of what the Germans used
when they killed so many people in
Barcelona. I stUl think that this
(See BARLOW, Page A^6l
Half Million Nazis 'Lost'
In 10 Days, Radio Says
By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, May 25 —At least
half a million German soldiers have
been "lost” during the last 10 days,
a German-language short-wave
broadcast from London salt today.
The announcer, heard here by the
National Broadcasting Co., said the
estimate was made in Paris.
The broadcast said authoritative
English circles claim that the Ger
man division from Frankfort on
the Oder, which recently effected
the various attacks on the Aisne,
had been repulsed with the loss of
half the men.
x
Roosevelt Maps
New Defense
Organization
Setup to Include
Experts in Various
Fields
By JOHN C. HENRY.
President Roosevelt will create a
national defense emergency co-ordi
nating group, it was announced at
the White House today, to represent
a cross-section of all American In
terests in the mobilization program
now contemplated.
Substantiating, in effect, an As
sociated Press dispatch early today
that the administration contem
plated establishment of a national
defense council, official announce
ment of the President’s present plan
was made by Stephen T. Early, sec
retary.
The administration intention. Mr.
Early said, is to call in experts from
every' avenue of the Nation’s life,
including such as transportation,
communications, finance, agricul
ture, labor, consumer groups and
industry.
Details Not Decided.
Joining these authorities from pri
vate enterprise will be experts now
in Government service, the whole
to form a consulting and super
visory organization which will func
tion in conjunction with develop
ment of the defense program. Mr.
Early emphasized that it is noc
the President's plan to supersede
any existing Government machin
ery by this proposed co-ordinating
group, but rather to draw into a
more efficient performance all parts
of the mobilization machine.
Thus far, Mr. Early added, the
President has decided on the manner
in which he wants to approach the
problem, but has not fixed on the
details, the identities of those who
will be asked to participate, or
the titles to be involved. Through
out its operation, the plan Is to be
kept flexible and very elastic, Mr.
Early said, so that it may be adapted
to rapidly-changing conditions.
Memoranda on the project alreadv
are being prepared by the Presi
dent's governmental advisers and
likewise have been requested of out
side authorities.
Mr. Early stressed that the pri
mary objective of the plan is to
stabilize American life in the face
of extraordinary demands and con
ditions which may arise out of
Europe's war. In other words, the
secretary explained, with this Na
tion engaged in a major defense
effort, the President is anxious to
prevent prices from soaring, to as
sure producers of reasonable profits
and otherwise to forestall so far as
possible the highs and lows that
prevailed during the World War.
Through the proposed group. Mr.
Early concluded, the President
hopes to accomplish a complete co
ordination of Government and
American life.
Turns Attention to Address.
While this project is being slowly
shaped up in the minds of admin
istration advisers. President Roose
velt today turned his own attention
entirely to preparation of his radio
“fireside” address tomorrow night.
Scheduled for both domestic and
international broadcast at 9:30
o'clock, the speech will be Mr. Roose
velt's first such personal report to
the country since last September 3.
At that time, as Europe moved into
the war, the Chief Executive prom
ised the Nation there would be no
“blackout of peace” in America.
During the World War. a board of
six cabinet officers and seven civil
ian experts constituted a Council of
National Defense. Administration
aides are said to have been studying
an enabling statute, dating back to
1916, to determine what revisions
in it may be necessary to provide
for a similar group to co-ordinate
and speed up the Nation's present
extraordinary $3,297,011,352 defense
program.
The word that a defense council
was planned coincided with forewarn
ings of a Senate drive to expand the
Navy’s air arm far beyond the limits
suggested in President Roosevelt's
emergency preparedness program.
One avowed objective was a greater
armada of long-range planes, as the
"surest” guarantee against an in
vader’s attack.
•As the 24-year-old Defense Council
Act now stands, the council would be
headed by the Secretaries of War,
Navy, Interior, Agriculture, Com
(See DEFENSE,_Page *A-6.)
Jimmy Wasdell Sold
To Brooklyn Dodgers
Jimmy Wasdell, repeated failure
with the Nationals as first baseman,
was sold today by the Washington
Baseball Club to Brooklyn of the
National League, it was announced
by President Clark Griffith, who re
fused to divulge the purchase price.
Bulletin
ATLANTA, May 25 OP).—In an
unprecedented move aimed at
“fifth columnists,” Gov. E. D.
Rivers directed today that the
business, occupational and pro
fessional licensee of all Georgia
aliens be canceled June 1.