Evening star. [volume], March 17, 1941, Image 1

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Two Extro Pages
In This Edition
Late news and sports are covered on Pages
1-X and 2-X of this edition of The Star, supple
menting the news of the regular home delivered
edition of The Star.
Closing N. Y. Markets—Sales, Page 20.
- ------ VP) Means Associated Press.
—89th YEAR. No. 3o,384.___ THREE CENTS.
Jj
J
M
“ — ' — —-—- •> -
240,000 Nazis Reported at Greek Border; British Pour in 300,000
Late News Bulletins
Imperiled Fishermen Reported Safe
L’ANSE. Mich. (A'i.—The Baraga County sheriff’s office
reported late today nearly a score of fishermen, swept into
Lake Superior yesterday on broken ice floes in subzero tem
peratures, are ‘‘safe and sound.” Five men reached shore
late last night; seven men and a woman drifted to the beach
near the Huron Mountains this morning, and they reported
to the Coast Guard that they saw five other men climbing
safely ashore on the Huron Islands.
(Earlier Story on Page A-4.)
Jockey Gruber Has 50-50 Chance
SAN DIEGO. Calif. </P>.—Hospital attendants reported as
unchanged today the condition of Jockey Willie Gruber. 18,
Chicago Heights, 111., who suffered a basal skull fracture
yesterday in a fall from his mount at Agua Caliente, Mexico.
Dr. E. H. Crabtree said his condition was serious, but that he
had a 50-50 chance of recovering.
Firemen Battle $500,000 Fire in High Wind
CHICAGO (/F).—Firemen fought in near-zero weather
and a strong w^est wind today wrhen flames swept a warehouse
and loading platform of the Monark Motor Freight System,
Inc., causing damage estimated at $500,000. A dozen huge
truck trailers, loaded with merchandise, were attacked by
the flames. The wind was so strong it blew water from
streams pumped by a fireboat away from the fire.
30 Entombed Alive Are Rescued
ANDREWS, S. C. (A*).-—Thirty workmen on the Nantahala
Light & Power Co.'s hydroelectric project near here were
rescued today after being entombed for nine hours by a
cave-in of stone at the entrance of a tunnel they were digging.
Minor Nazi Air Activity Over England Reported
LONDON (A5'.—Minor German air activity by daylight
against Britain was reported this evening by the Ministries
of Air and Home Security. A communique said, “A small
number of enemy aircraft crossed the coasts of Kent and
Northeast Scotland and penetrated a short distance inland,
but there are no reports of bombs having been dropped.
Superintendent Dies During Mill Fire
COVINGTON. Va. (A5).—J. E. Steely, superintendent of
the Kraft mill of the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. here,
died of a heart attack and a number of employes were over
come by smoke during a fire at the plant this afternoon. The
condition of one of those overcome, Walter F. Lunger, a de
partment head, was said to be serious.
James Roosevelt Goes Under Knife
SAN DIEGO, Calif. Capt. James Roosevelt, son of
the President, stationed with the Marine Corps here, has
undergone an operation at the Naval Hospital. Officers at
the hospital declined to discuss details.
Roosevelt Expected
To Appoint 11 for
Mediation Board
Will Select Group on
Labor Rows Tomorrow
Or Wednesday
(Earlier Story on Page A-13.)
B> tht Associated Press.
Secretary Perkins and Sidney
Hillman disclosed today that Presi
dent Roosevelt would appoint a me
diation board of 11 members to
handle defense labor disputes either
tomorrow or Wednesday.
The Labor Secretary and the as
sociate directors of the Office of
Production Management spent more
than an hour with the Chief Execu
tive. Miss Perkins said they were
talking about the form of the board,
very largely.”
They were silent as to personnel,
however, and said they did not
know whom the President would !
select as chairman.
They said it would be strictly a
mediation tribunal, indicating that
the President perhaps has changed
his mind about its character. Mr.
Rooeevelt originally said he was
considering establishing an agency
with broad powers not only to
adjust disputes but to plan ahead
for the disposition of labor after
the current emergency ends.
___
Community Chest Forum
Scheduled Tomorrow
“Human Welfare and National
Defense” will be discussed at a
Community Chest Federal Forum
at. 12:30 p.m. tomorrow in O'Don
nell’s Restaurant. 1221 E street N.W.
The speakers are Msgr. Lawrence
J. Shehan, director of Catholic
Charities, and Robert E. Bondy,
District director of public welfare.
40-Mile Wind Holds
Thermometer to 28;
'Worst Yet to Come'
Drop to 15 Is Forecast;
Emergency Airfield
Used by Planes
(Earlier Story on Page A-l.)
Whistling winds from the north
west—which blew in gusts that
reached 40 miles an hour—held the
mercury at around 28 degrees today
as the Weather Bureau warned that
the worst is yet to come.
The forerunner of the cold wave
which hit the north-midwest sec
tion of the Nation yesterday roared
into Washington early today, drop
ping the temperature to 26 at 9 a.m.
At 3 pm., the mercury had climbed
only two degrees. Tonight’s low will
be about 15. the forecaster said.
The high winds forced all incom
ing and outgoing planes, including
one bearing Wendell L. Willkie to
New York, to use the uncompleted
emergency airfield at Gravelly Point
Airport.
Eighteen planes had landed in
the east-west ’•unway at the un
completed airport by 2 pm. today,
while 16 had taken off since the
word was passed by the Waashing
ton Airport that high winds made
landing there unsafe.
At 8:42 a.m. the first plane landed
at the emergency field, a few min
utes before Engineer Office officials
received notification of the emer
gency schedule
Guards at Gravelly Point said it
was the sixth time this month that
plane flights had been ordered to
use the new field. Maintenance
crews gasoline trucks and movable
air-ccnditioning units kept an open
air vigil at the emergency field,
while Engineer Office guards
directed the treDled traffic in taxi
cabs and private autos which
thronged to the field.
U. S. Must See British Children's
Diet Is Kept Up, Dr. Eliot Says
Though there is little evidence
of gross malnutrition among Eng
lish children, the United States
must make certain that their diet
is kept up to its present standard,
through the shipment of the proper
foodstuffs. Dr. Martha M. Eliot,
assistant chief of the Children's
Bureau, said today on her arrival
in Washington following a month's
visit to Great Britain as a member
of the War Department's Civil De
fense Commission.
During her stay in England Dr.
Eliot spent much time visiting
rural area%, to which hundreds of
thousands of children from London
and other large cities have been
evacuated. She also visited Edin
burgh and Glasgow.
“The morale of the British people
te splendid.” Dr. Eliot said. "The
i i
English have done a fine job in
evacuating mothers and children
from the large cities, and the
women’s volunteer services have
made a tremendous contribution to
the civil defense program.”
In addition to looking into meth
ods used in evacuating children from
the cities and caring for them in
rural areas, Dr. Eliot also studied j
war-time maternity and child health
services in England, and the prob
lems and work of women in indus- *
trial defense.
Dr. Eliot, who returned to the
United States by clipper plane, will
help prepare the commission’s re
port, and will devote herself chiefly
to the sections relating to women
and children. Each member of the
commission, she pointed out, studied
a particular aspect of the problem
of civil defense in Great Britain.
1
D. C. Committee
Of Senate Asks
Overton Plan
Taxes in District
Are Not Lower,
Report Points Out
(Earlier Story on Page B-l.)
The Senate was urged today by
the District Committee to pass the
Overton bill providing a formula
for regulating the Federal share of
the cost of operating the municipal
government here.
The plea was contained in a for
mal report on the bill which the
committee Saturday voted to report
out favorably. The Senate is ex
pected to act on the matter this
week.
The formula is that the annual
payment of the United States to the
District shall bear the same ratio
to the total general fund appropria
tions as the land owned by the Fed
eral Government in the District
bears to the entire land area of the
District. Application of the formula
to the next fiscal year, the report
said, would result in a Federal pay
ment of $9,389,840.
Interminable Controversy.
“There has been an interminable
controversy throughout the years
from 1879 to the present in respect
both to the amount and method of
the Federal payments to the Dis
trict,” the report declared.
“The purpose of this bill is to
put an end to this controversy by
providing a fixed formula regulating
the payment.
“No formula of such payment will
prove satisfactory or successful or
serve the purpose intended unless
it is based upon the three follow
ing essentials:
"1. The factors of the formula
should be non-controversial, fixed,
certafh and self-operating.
“2. The factors should not be of
arbitrary selection, but should rest
upon reasonable and substantial
bases.
“3. The application of the factors
should result in equal justice being
done to both the National Govern
ment and the District government.
“In the opinion of the committee,
the formula proposed by S. 917
meets the above mentioned require
ments.”
Taxes Are Not Less.
The report pointed out that the
argument most frequently advanced
against the Federal payment is that
the burden of Federal taxation in
the District is light as compared
with sub-divisions of various State
governments. Then it said:
“The committee requested the
Bureau of the Census to make a
study and institute a comparison
between the tax burden in the city
of Washington and other compara
ble cities. The chief statistician,
Division of States and Cities, Bu
reau of the Census, reported that the
tax burden in the city of Washing
ton Is not less than the average of
other comparable cities.
“The funds for operating and de
veloping our National Capital are
inadequate and have been for a
number of years. It is the opinion
of the committee that the Federal
payment should rest upon a stable
basis, freed of uncertainty, bitter
controversy and ceaseless wrangle.”
Bethlehem Workers Begin
Walkout at Cambria Plant
By the Associated Press.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa„ March 17.—
James Gent, subregional director
of the C. I. O.'s Steel Workers Or
ganizing Committee, reported sev
eral hundred men had halted work
at the Bethlehem Steel Co.’s huge
Cambria works today in protest
against an employes’ election.
Mr. Gent said the election was
being held by the Employes Repre
sentation Plan, which he claimed
was ruled illegal and ordered dis
established by the National Labor
Relations Board in August, 1939, on
the grounds that it was a company
dominated union. The E. R. P.
has appealed the Labor Board de
cision.
The Cambria works, employing
about 15.000 men. shares in several
million dollars worth of defense
contracts held by the Bethlehem
firm. *
Mr. Gent reported that some of
the men who quit work had left
the plants and others had remained
until the steel now in preparation
has been completed.
Included in the units affected, he
said, were the plate, slab, bloom
ing and 34-inch mills, and all open
hearth furnaces in the Franklin
plant of the Cambria works; the
9 and 12-inch mills and laborers at
the Gautier plant; and the wire
mill. In addition, he said half the
crews of an inter-plant narrow
gauge railroad had quit and the re
mainder would leave their jobs later.
The management withheld com
ment on the situation. *
_ / •
House Passes Ship Bill
The House passed and sent to
the Senate today a bill giving the
Maritime Commission emergency
powers to negotiate contracts for
construction and chartering of mer
chant vessels. An amendment
limits all fees and bonuses to seven
per cent of construction eost.
M
More Germans
Declared Sped
From Austria
j Hitler Believed Caught
Unaware by Scope of
British Landings
BULLETIN.
MOSCOW, March 17 —
Turkish Ambassador Haidar Ak
lav conferred with Vice Commis
sar of Foreign Affairs Andrei
Wyshinskv Saturday, it was
learned in diplomatic quarters
today.
i Earlier Slorv on Page A-l.)
P? the Associated Press.
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia. March
17.—A military expert just arrived
from a tour of the Balkans esti
mated tonight that 16 Nazi divi
sions—perhaps 240.000 men—now are
massed or are within striking dis
tance of Bulgaria's frontier with
Greece.
These, he said, are In addition to
12 divisions—about 180,000 men—in
Nazi-occupied Rumania.
(Against these German forces
the British are said to be pouring
300.000 men into the Greek main
land and already to have disem
barked about 100,000 with fighting
equipment.)
This source said the Nazi forces
in Rumania are divided as follow's: j
Two divisions still actually in- i
structing the Rumanian Army or
defending strategic points;
Four on the Rumanian frontier
with Soviet Russia or moving in
that direction;
i»u neai Jugoslavia,
And four scattered along the Ger
man supply line ready to be moved
in any direction needed.
The expert said Nazi troops still
were pouring dowrn from Austria
through ‘ Hungary and Rumania
toward Greece, apparently to match
British preparations.
He said the nature of the military
activity indicated no attack was to
be expected within the next few;
days, at least, and that the Germans
apparently were preparing for a
large-scale Balkan battle in the hope
of dislodging the British from the
continent and to thwart anv Brit- :
ish plan to attack Germany through
her back door.
The sudden moving down of rein
forcements was an indication, he
said, that Germany had been caught
unaware last week by the scope of
the reliably reported British land- !
ings in Greece.
As soon as the disembarkation of
the first troops in Greece had been
reported to Berlin, the British had
reason to expect instant attack-by
the sizeable Nazi army along the
Greek frontier. Adolf Hitler him
self had issued such a warning.
The German hesitation, this mili- :
tar source said, is giving the British
an unexpecteded opportunity to
prepare for any attack.
Observers here expressed confi- |
dence that Turkey sooner or later j
would support any British-Greek!
effort against the Germans.
But the best they can hope for |
from Yugoslavia, these sources said, >
is that she will continue to refuse
to demobilize at Germany's behest
or permit passage of troops and war
supplies through her territory.
Racing Results
Rossvan's, Other Selections and
Entries for Tomorrow, Page 2-X.
Tropical Park
Bv th« Associated Press.
FIRST RACE—Purse. *1.000; claim
ing; maiden 3-year-olds. 6 furlongs
i chute).
Indignation (Meade) 7.70 3.90 3 50
Dogo (Bodioi;) 3.90 3.20
Patron Saint (Litzenberger) 6.60
Time. 1:12*4.
Also ran—Cavu. Kay's Pride. Tetranal.
Sunareve. Carlatone. Joe Pete, Shore
Leave, Bud B. and Rose Red.
SECOND RACE—Purse, *1.000; claim
ing: 4-year-olds and up; 6 furlongs (chute).
Alseleda (MacAndrewsi 23.20 10.70 7.40
Wise Counsel (Wholeyl 7.90 5.30
Miss Gallant (Connolly) 9.90
Time, l:ll*s.
Also ran—Askaris, Orchard Run. Val
dina Jack. Maecaro. Judfry. Sir Quest,
Eternal Wave, Grandstar and Yannie Sid.
(Daily Double paid $136.)
THIRD RACE—Purse. $1,000: allow
ances: 3-year-olds; 6 furlongs (out of
chute).
I?ttacairn (McCreary) 10.90 6.10 5.10
Blenweed (Anderson) 8.90 6.70
Waller (Caffarellai 14.90
Time. 1:10*4.
Also ran—Darby Desmond. Peep Show,
Ponty. Appointee. Version. Bad Cold, Top
Call, Gold Tower and Hornblende.
FOURTH RACE—Purse. $1,000: claim
ing: 4-year-olds and up; 6 furlongs
(chute)
Rifted Clouds (Vedder) 5.30 3.60 2.60
Highscope (Ryani 4.60 3.00
Calory (Atkinson) 2.80
Time. 1:105s.
Also ran—Espino Gold. Alhalon and
Scotch Trap.
FIFTH RACE—Purse $1,200; allowances:
4-year-olds and up; 1,', miles.
Sirasia (MacAndrewsi 66.60 17.50 8.50
Sickle T. (Seabo) 3.00 2.60
Votum (Robart) 6.90
Time, 1:435s.
Also ran—Harp Weaver. Doghouse.
Plowshare, Dunade, Bonzar and The Rage.
Oaklawn Park
By the Associated Press,
FIRST RACE—Purse. $600: claiming;
4-year-olds and up; 6 furlongs (out of
chute).
My Day (M ntgomery) 28.80 9.80 4.90
Sberab Jr (King) 4.00 2.90 I
Som-one Else (McCadden) 4.70
Time. 1:14.
Also ran—Almas Baby. Louisiana Dick,
f New Issue. Playline. Red Go. Bunting On.
f Termison and St. Moritz.
SECOND RACE—Purse. $600; maiden
3- year-olds: 6 furlongs ichute).
Poughkeepsie (Wallace! 15.40 7,80 5.00
Jump Bid (Oros) 10.70 6.40
Four Fifty (Loturco) 3.20
Time. 1:13.
Also ran—8iral. Carry Cash. Bubbles
M, Tarkio. High Plume Bardy. Penlene.
(Oaiiy Double Paid $155.90.)
THIRD RACE—Purse $600: claiming;
4- year-olds and up; 6 furlongs (ehute).
Vinum (Madden) 9.20 4.50 3.40
Sabariel (Perkins) 6.10 4.30
Shirley G. (Cole) 2.90
Time. 1:13.
Also ran—Zevson. Tllinoia Tom. Broiler.
Anabela Girl Tuleyrloa Lin and Princely
ANNIVERSARY AT THE WHITE HOUSE—These three who attended a wedding 36 years ago on
another St. Patrick's Day got together today to consider anniversary gifts—a potted plant of clover
and an Irish potato. With the President and Mrs. Roosevelt is James Sloan of the Secret Service,
who was President Theodore Roosevelt's bodyguard when he went to New York to give his niece
Eleanor in marriage. Mr. Sloan is still on duty at the White House. —A. P. Photo.
Two Montgomery Bills
Follow Suggestions
In Brookings Report
Liquor Board Transfer
And Full-Time County
Attorney Requested
(Earlier Storv on Page A-l.)
By BEN H. PEARSE,
Star Staff Correspondent.
ANNAPOLIS. Md.. March 17.—
Delegate Charles C. Jones of Rock
ville introduced three bills today
which would transfer the Liquor
Control Board to the Montgomery
County commissioners, create a full
time county attorney to the County
Board and abolish what remains of
the job of county press agent.
The measures were the first spon
sored by Mr. Jones this session and
those relating to the Liquor Board
and county attorney apparently were
inspired by the Brookings Institu
tion survey of Montgomery County's
government released for publication
yesterday.
The bill proposing to abolish the
Liquor Control Board and transfer
its duties to the Board of Commis
sioners follows a recommendation
of the Brookings report . It has also
been urged for several years by the
Montgomery County Civic Federa
tion.
The bill creating full-time county
attorney provides for a four-year
term and stipulates he shall be re
moved only for cause. The present
counsel to the county board, Joseph
A. Cantrel, is appointed at the
board's pleasure and devotes only
part of his time to the position.
The bill provides that the new
official will advise “all other gov
ernmental agencies” of the county
and devote his personal attention
“exclusively” to the duties of his
office.
me salary oi me county attorney
would be $5,000 per year under the
proposed bill and he would have a
secretary appointed by him, receiv
ing a salary of not more than $1,800
per year. In effect, the proposed
office would eliminate part-time at
torneys now advising the county
board, Liquor Board, Board of Ed
ucation. Board of Supervisors of
Elections, county treasurer and the
Maryland-National Capital Park
and Planning Commission with sal
aries ranging from $600 to $3,000 a
fear. This also was recommended in
the Brookings survey.
The third measure repeals a law
enacted at the 1939 session creating
the office of a secretary to the presi
dent of the Board of Commission
ers. This post was formerly held by
Ralph H. Chase, who received $2,700
per year.
Danes Protest Seizure
Of Steamer by Peru
Bv th» Associated Presa.
BERLIN, March 17.—The Danish
government has protested the seizure
of the 3.173-ton steamer Irland by
Peru, reports from Copenhagen said
today.
The Peruvian government took
over the steamer Saturday. She had
been in Callao Harbor sine* tne
German invasion of Norway.
I *
Jay Allen Put
Under Arrest
By Germans
JAY ALLEN.
By the Associated Preaa.
BERLIN. March 17.—A DNB <of
ficial German news agency) dispatch
from Paris today said that Jay Al-1
len. correspondent for the North
American Newspaper Alliance, had
been arrested by German military
officials.
The agency, without giving the
date of the arrest, said the charge!
was that he attempted to recross;
the demarcation line between Paris;
and unoccupied France without cor- j
rect papers. Another American,!
whose name was not given, was re
ported arrested with him.
(The N. A. N. A. office in New
York said the last it had heard
from Allen was a week or so ago
when he was at,Vichy, capital
of unoccupied France.)
DNB said that an official of the
United States Embassy at Paris,
after investigating the case, decided
not to take diplomatic steps.
Gypsy Rose Lee Wins
Divorce in Chicago
E* tbf Associated Press.
CHICAGO, March 17.—Gypsy
Rose Lee, the strip tease dancer,
obtained a divorce today from
Arnold R. Mizzy, a New York dental
supply manufacturer, to whom she
was married in 1937 in California.
Miss Lee filed the suit January
27, alleging cruelty. Superior
Judge Rudolph pesort took the
case under advisethent February 17 :
to study her residence qualifications.
Markets at a Glance
NEW YORK, March 17 (/P).
Stocks mixed; utility preferreds
higher. Bonds firm; United
States Governments and rails
advance. Foreign exchange quiet;
Far Eastern currencies dip.
Cotton heavy; Bombay, South
ern and commission house selling.
Sugar higher; firmness in raws
and freight market. Metals
steady; steel operations at record
high, lyool tops steady; trade
support, local selling.
CHICAGO.—Wheat lower; prof
it-taking. Corn steady; cold
weather helps feeding. Hogs ac
tive, 15*25 higher; top $8.20. Cat
tle steady to strong; steer top,
$15.00.
-J
Capital-Baltimore
Super-Highway Put
Before Congress
National Planning Board
Says Road May Be Most
Important in Country
(Earlier Story on Page A-l).
The National Resources Planning
Board recommended to Congress to
day as an urgently needed project
the construction of a superhighway
between Washington and Baltimore.
It also proposed construction of a
new highway between Washington
and Annapolis.
The proposed Washington-Balti
more superhighway, it was esti
mated, would cost about $7,000,000.
The board said it should have a 400
foot right of way. No estimate of
cast was given for the proposed new
highway between Washington and
Annapolis._
The Washington-Baltimore sec
tion would form a link in a proposed
Atlantic coastal highway, another
project recommended by the board,
which would connect Baltimore with
New York and extensions north into
the New England States,
"Because of the area to be served."
the board said, “this proposed high
way is likely to be the most im
portant ever to be built in this coun
«*»»• xu 10 umiiuiuv luuu lUi uuiil
peacetime and defense purposes.
Properly designed and properly
located, it will become the backbone
of the highway system of the East
Coast. As a facility for efficient
mobilization of military forces and
for the rapid movement of troops
and munitions, it would become in
dispensable.”
Much of the right-of-way of the
proposed super-highway between
Washington and Baltimore, the
board indicated, could be located on
Federal-owned property which would
reduce the cost to a minimum.
The board also recommended con
tinuation of the George Washington
Memorial Parkway from its present
projected terminus at Great Palls
to connect with the Blue Ridge
Parkway in the vicinity of Harpers
Ferry, W. Va.. and the extension of
the George Washington Memorial
Boulevard from Mount Vernon to
the Washington birthplace national
monument at Wakefield, Va.
The Resources Board report on
the highway was part of a six-year
"post-emergency” public work pro
gram submitted to Congress today.
Co-operative Peace Goal
After Warf Pepper Says
By the Associated Press.
TORONTO, March 17.—Senator
Pepper. Democrat, of Florida de
clared today the first task of "de
mocracy” is to "throw back the beast
who leaps at us all” and when that
is done "we shall have to think about
what we ought to do to encourage
co-operative peace and progress in
the world.” ,
He told the Canadian and Empire
Clubs that new structure could be
built upon “the principles of the good
neighbor policy which prevail with
us here,” needing no other founda
tion than “willingness to admit the
other man’s rights while you insist
upon your own.” *
Envoy Expects
Food Relief
Will Start Soon
Believes Roosevelt j
Has Agreement on
Relaxing Blockade
Arrangements are being worked
out by Prance to buy American
w heat here with some of her “frozen”
funds and ship it through the British
blockade for distribution in unor- *
cupied France under Red Cross su
pervision on a trial basis. Gaston
Henry-Haye, French Ambassador, —
reported after a conference with
President Roosevelt today.
“This is not definite yet, but it is '
a plan,” the Ambassador told re
porters as he left the White House. *
“From what I heard from the Presl
dent I expect some kind of relief will
start soon.”
“The President is realizing that we
have waited until we have reached
the limit of physical resistance," the
Ambassador said.
France has been seeking food relief
from this country for months, but .Ji
i has been balked by British reluc
< tance to allow shipment through
I the blockade of supplies which might
j indirectly aid Germany. Under an
| agreement with the British one ship
! load of American condensed milk, . d
j clothing and medicines for French
I children already has reached un
j occupied France and another Red
; Cross-chartered vessel sailed today
w’ith a similar cargo.
Believes Agreement Reached. j*
The French Ambassador said he
supposed from what Mr. Roosevelt
told him about the prospective ar
rangements today that British agree
ment had been obtained for further
relaxation of the blockade to per
mit shipment of other vital food
stuffs.
He said the major need was for —*
| wheat, because the bread ration in
I unoccupied France was getting less
; every day.
The Ambassador reported that he
| had agreed for the strictest kind of
I controls to be organized for super- “
j vising distribution of the American
| supplies so that no one could have
any fear about their ultimate des
j tination. He said the French gov
ernment was open to any suggestion
for effective controls.
He made clear that France was not
seeking a gift of wheat, but wanted
to use part of its funds which were
•frozen'’ in this country by execu
tive order when Frence surrendered
to Germany to buy whatever
amount was possible.
No quantities have been fixed Tor
the program as yet, he said. The
first shipment will be on a trial
basis, he indicated, and he expects
this to show that there is nothing *
to fear from the British viewpoint
in the arrangement so that the pro
1 gram will continue.
“I know the trial will be success
ful and properly handled." he added.
Asked if French ships might be
used to transport the supplies to
France, the Ambassador said such
details were to be worked out with
the Red Cross and he had not dis
cussed them with Red Cross Chair- J
man Norman H. Davis.
‘I'm expecting a quick solution.”
he said, "because in this time of ...
misery the old expression ‘to givs
quick is to give twice’ is truer than
ever.”
“I am very thankful to the Presi
dent,” he added, “who has shown
the greatest human sense, and I -fi*
want to express the gratitude of
the French women an children for
his understanding.”
American Liner Llears
With Food for France
JERSEY CITY. N. J„ March 17
The American liner Exmouth
cleared port today loaded to her top*
! decks with a $1,250,000 American Red
| Cross cargo of food, clothing and
1 medical supplies bound for Mar
seilles in unoccupied France jjt
Three hundred tons of oatmeal
and farina remained on the dork,
refused passage through the block- jit.
ade by the British government.
All space in the liner's hold and
six staterooms was utilized to carry Jfcj
12,000 pounds of evaporated and
powdered milk, 150.000 pieces of
clothing made by the 3.800 Red Jfr
Cross chapters in the United State*
and possessions. 50,000 units of in
sulin, 20,000 bottles of vitamin con- ;
centrates and surgical supplies.
The liner carried no passengers.
Clearance, granted by Germany
and England for March 7, was de
layed upon Italy's notification that
it needed more time to commuul- jj,
cate with naval units.
Viscount HalifaxSays *"
Hitler Cannot Stop Jgj
Supplies From U. S.
Viscount Halifax, British Am
bassador, said today that “Hit*
ler's threat that he can and will
stop all supplies to England
from America will be proved an
empty threat.” .
The Ambassador added In Jg
talking with reporters at the
State Department that he was
confident Germany “will not be J.
able to substantially interrupt
the steady flow” of supplies.
Lord Halifax described Presl- J
dent Roosevelt’s speech Satur
day night as “a magnificent
statement which put new heart. J
into all those countries of the
world that intend to remain free
or to become free again." ^
“I was particularly struck.”
he added, “with the emphasis
he laid on the vital urgency for
speed now.”