Evening star. [volume], July 14, 1941, Image 2

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

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89th YEAR. No. 35,503. WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, JULY 14, 1941 K THREE CENTS.
’Our Turn Now', Churchill Warns
Hitler, Promising Greater Raids;
Kiev Heavily Bombed by Germans
■ - ■ ..— A - --. A -...
'No Truce' With
Fuehrer, Says
Prime Minister
B> 'he Associated Press.
LONDON, July 14. —Britain,
unshaken by 10 months of Ger
man air blows, has begun hitting
back with fearful might and still
Is only at the beginning of her
growing air power. Prime Min
lster Churchill told thunderously !
cheering civil defense workers
today.
The Prime Minister delivered
Virtually the same fighting message
twice—first to 6.000 clamoring vet
erans of the defense of London in
a great review in Hyde Park and
later to a luncheon of the capital s
organized civil defenders.
"It is time the Germans should
be made to suffer in their ow n home
land and cities something of the
torments they have twice in our
lifetime let loose upon their neigh
bors and upon the world," the Prime |
Minister exclaimed.
"We have now intensified for the
past month a systematic, scientific
and methodical bombing on a large
scale of German cities and industries
end other military objectives.
■ We believe it to be in our power
to keep this process going on a
steadily rising tide month after
month' year after year until the
Nazi regime is either extirpated by
us or. better still, torn to pieces
bv the German people them
selves. * * *
"We shall continue a remorseless
discharge of high explosive upon
Germany.”
"No Truce" With Hitler.
He declared there can be "no truce
or parley with Hitler or the grisly
gang who did Hitler's worst" and
forecast that Italy, too. would get
her share of the R. A. F.'s attention.
“As the nights grow longer." the
Prime Minister said, "that unhappy
province of Germany which used to
be called Italy will have its fair
share."
But he stressed London's need for
unrelaxed vigilance against new ter
ror from the skies and warned the
workers to prepare "for renewal of
your exertions.
• \Ve shall not turn from our pur- |
pose however somber the road, how
ever grievous the cost, because we
know that out of this time of trial
and tribulation will be born a new
freedom and glory for all man
kind.”
"Perhaps It Is Our Turn Now.” j
‘‘You do vour w-orst and we will do ,
our best,” Mr Churchill addressed
a remark to Hitler. "Peihaps it may
bp our turn soon. Perhaps it may be
our turn now."
The Prime Minister acknowledged
that when the Nazi air might first
fall in force on London he suffered
anxiety for its effect cn mo-ale, i
health' and necessary services but. |
he said. London responded with grit
which has been the rock that has
marie Britain "unconquerable.”
He forecast vehement German re
taliation, but now. he said. London
is ready and "London can take it.”
"Our methods of dealing with Ger
man night raiders have greatly im
proved.” he mentioned. "They no
longer relish their trips to our shores.
"It is not true to sav they did r.ot
come this last moon oecause .hey
were all engaged in Russia * * * I do
not know why thev did r.ot come,
but * * * it may be because they
were saving up.
"But even if it should be so, the j
very fact that they have to save'
tip should give us confidence by
revealing the truth of our steady
advance from an almost unarmed
position to a position at least of
equality and soon of superiority to
them in the air."
Americans Impressed.
At the luncheon. Mr. Churchill I
deplored that "we live in a terrible
epoch," but he told the men and
women of the civil defense services.
•‘We believe there is broad and
sure justice running through its
thpme.”
Britain's air blows now are strong
er than the Germans’ and will re- j
main so. he promised the outdoor :
throng, "until we have beaten down
this horrible tyranny.”
"The courage of Londoners un
der an unexampled strain.” he de
clared. "not only enabled us to come
through what many might have
thought a deadly peril, but im
pressed itself upon every country j
and gained us scores of millions of
fripnds in the United States"
"You have just come out of one
long, hard battle and may at any
moment enter upon another. For
the moment there is a lull, but we
must expect that before long the
enemy will renew his attacks
Upon us
‘‘I do not hesitate to say that an
enormous advance in the United
States toward making their con
tribution to British resistance thor
oughly effective has been largely
influenced by the conduct of
Londoners and of men and women
in our provincial cities in standing
up to the enemy’s bombardment."
The crowd laughed when the
Prime Minister said Hitler had “very
large < air > forces close at hand and
If he has not come to London re
cently it certainly is not because
he likes us better."
He pledged anew that "we shall
prosecute to the end this righteous
war for freedom and the future of
mankind." and said:
"We shall not turn from our pur
pose. but we can only achieve that
purpose if we have behind us a
nation sound to. the core and in
every fiber.”
Amid fire hoses spurting plumes
• See CHURCHILL, Page A-5.)
j
Main Front Positions Are Held
Without Change, Soviet Claims
Nazis Reported to Have Halted Heavy
Round-the-Clock Attacks on Stalin Line
By tha Associated Press.
MOSCOW. July 14—With Germany's second big offensive In
its third day and the war against Russia in its fourth week, the Red
Army declared today that it was holding the main front positions
without important change and actually belittled the German drive.
"Throughout the night of July 13-14 no large scale fighting
took place." said the morning communique, "and no significant
changes in the positions of the troops occurred."
Thus, the Red Army indicated that'
the Germans had halted tlie heavy
round-the-clock attacks which
marked the first stages of the inva
sion. It appears the Germans were
using their full loir? by day and
mostly resting at night t ow that
the period of the "white nights" are
ending and nights of real daikness
are setting in.
During the first offensive, when
light never really left the sky. the
Germans fought on a 24-hour
schedule This carried them through
the western border provinces—the
Five German Ships
Struck by Bombs,
London Reports
Two Hit in R. A. F. Sweep
Over Occupied France,
Three in North Sea
B5 the Associated Press.
LONDON, July 14—The RAF.
claimed hits on two 6.000-ton ships
in daylight sweeps over Nazi-occu
pied France today and hits on three
othei ships later in an aerial search j
for German shipping in the North
Sea.
Seven German fighting planes
were reported shot down in the two
morning raids which centered on
Cherbourg and Le Havre. An eighth
was destroyed near the Frisian Is-'
lands off the Dutch coast and a
bomber was shot down oS the coast j
of Wales. A tenth plane—a bomber j
—was brought down by anti-air
craft guns on the east coast of Scot
land.
The Air Ministry said the three
ships in the North Sea were of
6.000. 3.000 and 1.500 tons.
Escorted by Fighters.
The big bombers were escorted
by fighting planes as they swept
across the channel for the attacks
on France after night raids which
extended from the coast to indus
trial northwestern Germany.
The British acknowledged loss of
two of their bombers and four fight
ers in the engagement at Cherbourg.
They said that one of the 6.000-ton
ships was set on fire, and that bombs
also nit a railroad station south of
the docks, as well as locomotive
sheds and a factory.
The other 6.000-ton ship was hit
at Le Havre and afterward was
seen to be half submerged, the an
nouncement said.
Nazis Strike Across Channel.
Nazi daylight raider also strut*
across the Channel. Three soldiers
were reported wounded when a Ger
man olane machine-gunned a tram
in Southern England earlv this
min the British night raids, docks at
Amsterdam and Ostend were re
ported raided and targets as distant
as Bremen and Vegesack hit.
Weather again was reported un
favorable to night raldin£: but.
British said they scored hits which
started fires among the oil storage
tanks of Rotterdam.
Onp British plane was reported
missing in night sweeps over Ger
man-occupied Northern France.
The government acknowledged the
Nazi raiders had bombed a town
m the Midlands, another in the East
Anglia and various places along the
coast, but said damage was com
paratively light and casualties few.
i Two of the raiders were reported
! downed.
Germans Fire on Convoy.
i German long-range guns on the
French coast went into action short
I iy after dawn yesterday—apparently
firing at a convoy in Dover Strait.
During the day. the haze which
had blanketed the Channel for
i weeks lifted and disclosed that the
: Germans have been busy building
i new defense works in the Boulogne
Calais area.
Two Freighters Fired
By Planes, Nazis Claim
BERLIN. July 14 iA*i.—The Ger
i man high command claimed for its
1 i See RAIDsTPage A-3.)_
w
Baltic States and the Polish buffer
zone.
In the new offensive which began
Saturday P.>kov, Vitebsk and Novo
I grad Volynski remained as the
I centers of the main operations—
threats, respectively, to Leningrad.
Moscow and Kiev.
The Germans were reported forced
to adopt new tactics in deployment
of armored column' During the
first offensive the Reichswehr sent '
—iSee~MOSCOW. Page A-10.1
Welles Hints Action
By U. S. to Bar Axis
Seizure of Azores
Isles Must Remain
In Friendly Hands,
Portugal Is Warned
By GARNETT D. HORNER.
A new hint or possible military
action by this country if necessarv
to prevent Germany gaining control
of the Azores and Cape Verde
Islands was seen today in an ex- i
pression by Acting Secretary of
State Sumner Welles of this Gov
ernment's desire that Portuguese
sovereignty over those islands re
main intact.
The country's position was made
clear. Mr. Welles said at a press
conference, in President Roosevelt's
message to Congress concerning the
sending of naval forces to Iceland
and in a note from Secretary of
State Hull to the Portuguese Minis
ter here last month.
His comment was in response to
questions about the significance of
a statement made in New York Sat
urday by Dr. Joao Antonio de Bfan
chi. Portuguese Minister, that he
had received assurances that this
Government planned no move to
occupy the Azores or Cape Verde
Islands.
Must Be in Friendly Hands.
While emphasizing that his Gov
ernment desires to see Portuguese
sovereignty over its Atlantic islands
remain intact, Mr. Welles made clear
that it is essential to American
security for them to remain in
friendly hands—implying that the
United States would be prepared to
resist any attempt by Germany to
gain control of them.
Portuguese concern over main
tenance of her neutrality was
aroused by remarks made by Presi
dent Roosevelt on May 27. stressing
importance of the Azores and Cape
Verde Islands as strategic outposts
of defense of this hemisphere and
announcing a policy of active resist
ance to “every attempt by Hitler to
extend his Nazi domination to the
Western Hemisphere, or to threaten
it."
No Aggression Intentions.
The Portuguese Minister asked on
May 30 for clarification of references
to Portuguese islands in the At
lantic. declaring his government's
determination to “defend its neu
trality and sovereign rights against
any attack."
In reply Secretary Hull assured
him that the United States "har
bors no aggressive intentions
against the sovereignty or terri
torial integrity of any other coun
trybut emphasized that present
American policy is based upon “the
inalienable right of self defense.”
O'Daniel Plurality 1,311/
Official Canvass Shows
Bj the Associated Press.
AUSTIN. Tex.. July 14.—Gov. W.
Lee O'Daniel defeated Representa
tive Lyndon B. Johnson by 1.311
votes in the special senatorial elec
tion June 28. the official canvass
showed today.
The Governor will take the seat
long occupied bv Senator Sheppard,
who died in April. The term ex
' pires January 1. 1943.
McGuire Named D. C. Justice;
Gregory Hankin Renominated
Gregory Hankin. special counsel
for the Federal Power Commission,
whose nomination to the District
Public Utilities Commission on
March 3 was not acted on by the
Senate and expired June 30. again
was nominated for the post by
' President Roosevelt today.
The President also sent to the
Senate the nomination of Matthew
F. McGuire, assistant to the Attor
ney General, to be a justice of the
District Court, succeeding Justice
Pevton Gordon, who has retired.
Mr. Hankin was nominated in
, March to fill the unexpired term of
Richmond B. Keech, who left the
I
Public Utilities Commission to be
come corporation counsel. This
term expired June 30. The Hankin
nomination was referred to a Senate
subcommittee headed by Senator
McCarran, Democrat, of Navada,
now chairman of the District Com
mittee. The subcommittee failed to
make any recommendation.
Two places on the Utilities Com
mission have been vacant since the
death of Riley E. Eigen, and. with
the Engineer Commissioner the only
member, the commission could
transact no major business.
Mr. Hankin Is 46 and lives at 2009
(See APPOINTMENTS, Page A-3.)
1
Troops at City's
Gates, Nazis Say;
Fall Is Awaited
by the Associated Press.
BERLIN, July 14.—A heavy air
attack on Kiev, capital of the
Russian Ukraine, was reported
today by D.N.B.. official German
news agency, as the advance of
German. Hungarian and Ru
manian forces menaced that key
city on the southern flank of the
eastern front.
Kiev under air harassment and ‘
threat of direct ground attack. Len- .
ingrad squeezed from two sides in
the north and German tanks jab- i
bing toward Moscow in the center— j
such were the broad outlines of the 1
war against Russia presented by in
formed German sources.
A rain of bombs fell destrictively
on warehouses and hangars in Kiev,
D.N.B. said.
Although the German Army was
reported already at the gates of Kiev
and the nation waited expectantly to
hear that that gateway to the agri
cultural and industrial riches of the
Ukraine had been entered, the high ,
command reverted to its laconic
mood.
Finns Open Attack.
Ariolf Hitler's headquarters re
ported that "break-through oper
ations" against the Stalin Line con
tinued on schedule and that Finnish
froces had opened a two-point at
tack on Leningrad's northern flank,
but otherwise gave no details of the
battle on the vast line from the
Baltic to Black Sea.
<The Berlin radio said today
that German units advancing to
ward Leningrad gained additional
ground yesterday after overcom
ing Soviet bunker positions and
scattering Soviet troops)
"Finnish armed forces under the
supreme command of Field Marshal
iBaron> Mannerheim started an at
tack on both sides of Lake Ladoga,"
said the communique.
Two Russian patrol boats were
said by the high command to have
been sunk bv German destroyers.
'The communique did not say
where the patrol boats were sunk,
but the likeliest -spot would be
the Gulf of Finland. Baltic Sea
■approach to Leningrad.
'Leningrad, a center of Russian
war industries, lies at the head of
the gulf, west of the lower end
of Lake Ladoga and about 75
miles from the nearest Finnish
border.
'The frontal drive on Lenin
grad. with the latest official lo
cation of Panzer forces given as
east of Lake Peipus, had ap- j
proached to within 150 miles of
the city, according to the Ger
mans. while, according to Fin
nish dispatches, one arm of the
northern offensive was at Narva.
Estonia, 80 miles from Lenin
grad)
Advance Termed Relentless.
D.N.B said the Russians con
tinued yesterday to retreat from
their Stalin Line fortifications in
many sectors and that the dissolu
tion of some Soviet divisions gained
momentum.
In the sector facing Leningrad—
D.N.B reverted to the old Czarist
name of St. Petersburg—German
units won more terrain after re
ducing bunker positions and scat
tering Red troops, the agency says.
North of the Pinsk marshes the
Germans were reported in a relent
less advance on a broad front across
the Dnepr and upper Dvina Rivers
after penetration of the Stalin Line.
Retreating Russians. D.N B. said,
repeatedly tried to offer resistance
in various places in the Vitebsk
region yesterday. That city, on the
Dvina, was said to have been in
German hands since Friday. The
Germans threw the Red Army out
(See BERLIN, Page A-10.)
15 Norwegian Governors
Reported to Have Quit
B> the Associated Press.
STOCKHOLM. Sweden. July 14 -
Reports from Oslo said today that
all but three of Norway's 18 pro
vincial governors had submitted
their resignations to German Com
missioner Joseph Terboven.
I They were said to have declared
! they could not tolerate control of
civil service by Maj. Vidkin Quis
ling. Norwegian Nazi leader.
The reports from Oslo said two
governors had been arrested earlier,
i
Seven District Bills
Passed by House;
Three Sidetracked
New Recreation Setup,
Accident-Prevention
Measures Approved
By JAMES E. CHINN.
With comparatively little discus
sion, the House today passed and
sent to the Senate seven District
bills on Its calendar, the three most
important of which would:
1. Reorganize and co-ordinate rec
reational activities here.
2 Establish an industrial accident
prevention commission.
3. Allow minors 14 years of age
and over to participate in pro
fessional concerts and theatrical
productions for pay.
The other four measures would: ;
Tighten the restrictions placed on
the confidential records of the Board
of Public Welfare relating to appli- i
cants for public assistance.
Pipe Lines Authorized.
Authorized an increase In the cost
of the new building for the Recorder
of Deeds, now under sonstruction at
Sixth and D streets N.W., from $450.- ;
000 to $500,000.
Permit out-of-town sightseeing
buses to engage in "occasional” op
erations without paying the present
$100 annual license fee.
Authorize the L. P. Steuart Co. to
construct pipe lines for the carriage
of petroleum and petroleum prod
ucts in the vicinity of M and Thir
teenth streets S.E
The seven bills were rushed
through the House in 30 minutes.
Not more than 50 of the 435 mem
bers were on the floor at any cne
time as Chairman Randolph ex
plained the purpose of each.
Other Bills Sidetracked.
Three other District bills on the
calendar—all regarded as contro
versial—were sidetracked until the
(See HOUSErPage A-3.) I
Louisiana 'Blackouts’
Blamed on Sabotage
B* the Associated Press.
BATON ROUGE. La.. July 14
Ten Louisiana communities were
without electric power at varying
periods Saturday night and early
yesterday and the Gulf States Utili
ties Co. charged some of its equip
ment had been sabotaged.
State police and deputies were
placed on guard today to protect
transformer stations.
A strike against the company's
Louisiana division was called four
days ago by the International Broth
erhood of Electrical Workers <A. F.
L.t. but O. A. Walker, international
representative, declared all union
members had remained in the city
and "could not possibly” be respon
sible for the power interruptions.
The company serves huge gasoline
and synthetic rubber factories in the
Baton Rouge area.
Hal C. Leonard, vice president,
declared removal of a fuse which
caused oil to drain from a trans
former and subsequent explosion of
the transformer, was "definitely an
act of sabotage.” He offered a $500
reward for evidence leading to con
viction under the Federal Anti
Sabotage Act. Besides the trans
former-incident. barbed wire was
found across lines in two instances.
Summary of Today's Star
Page.
Amusements,
B-18
Comics. _B-16-17
Editorial_A-8
Financial...A-15
Legal Notices,
B-15
Lost. Found B-13
Page.
Obituary-.- A-10
Radio_B-18
Serial Story- B-7
Society-B-3
Sports .-A-12-14
Woman's Page.
B-8
Foreign.
Drive on Leningrad most danger
ous, British believe. Page A-6
Two vessels bombed in morning
raids, British claim. Page A-7
Notional.
Arnold pledges U. S. glider force
second to none. Page A-5
Minority Leader Martin calls for
defense speedup. Page A-6
Washington and Vicinity.
Rainy week end results in multiple
mishaps. Page B-l
.4
Editorial and Comment.
Editorial. Page A-S
This and That. Page A-8
Answers to Questions. Page A-S
David Lawrence. Page A-9
Prank Kent. Page A-9
Dorothy Thompson. Page A-9
Henry McLemore. Page A-9
Constantine Brown. Page A-9
Sports.
Pitchers enjoy banner day. but Di
Mag keeps on hitting. Page A-12
Southwest gridirons hard hit by
Uncle Sam’s draft. Page A-12
Nelson blames exhaustion for loss of
P. G. A. title to Ghezzi. Page A-13
U. S. champions stud card of Airport
swimming meet. Page A-14
Miscellaneous.
Uncle Ray s Corner. Page B-17
Nature's Children. Page B-12
Bedtime Stories. PageB-1*
Cross-Word Puzzle. . Page B-17
i Winning Contract. Page B-17
k
Sudden Insanity Blamed
For Girl Flyer's Suicide
By tn» Associated Press.
CHICAGO, July 14—A coroner*
jury decided today that Miss Dorothy
Powell. 24. pretty Wisconsin aviatrix
who drank poison last Thursday and
died yesterday, committed suicide
"while temporarily insane due to
despondency.”
Her lather. Robert Powell of La |
Crosse. Wis , testified at an inquest
conducted by Deputy Coroner E J
English that when his daughter, who
had been working in Milwaukee,
visited La Crosse two weeks ago she
appeared "very happv" and he
assumed she returned to Milwaukee
The body of Miss Powell, voted
Wisconsin's best woman fiver in 1939.
will be sent to La Crosse today for
burial.
Report on Police
Will Urge Naming
Of Larger Men
House Unit Will Call
For Medical Officer;
43 Privates Appointed
Appointment of larger and strong
er men to the Metropolitan Police ^
Department was one of the recom
mendations decided on today by the
House Subcommittee which last .
week completed an investigation of
the force. ,
Announctment of this and other j
recommendations came as the Com
j missioners. wasting no time fnllow
' ing close of the Congressional in
vestiagtion. named Assistant Fngi
| neer Commissioner Beverly C. Snow
chairman of the three-man Advi
! sory Committee assisting them in
their own investigation of the de
partment. and appointed 43 new
privates to the force.
Chairman Schulte of the House
subcommittee, in making public
some of its recommendations to be
embodied in a report being drafted,
said the group had decided some
of the men now on the force "are
entirely too small to be effective.”
He said a recommendation would
be made that herealter officers ap
pointed to the force be at l»ast 5
| feet 10 inches in height and weigh
at least 175 pounds.
Another recommendation decided
on by the subcommittee. Repre
sentative Schulte said, calls for abo
lition of the office of the coroner and
substitution of a full-time "medical
officer.” He made the announcement
at the end of a 90-minute executive
session at which the subcommittee
actually started to draft the report.
Mai. Snow, who with Budget Offi
cer Walter L. Fowler and Disbursing
Officer James R. Lusby. was named
earlier to aid the city heads in their
investigation, told reporters his
group will suspend action until it
has before it the recommendations
of the House subcommittee.
The report, he said, might be read
within the next fewr days, and added
that, after studying the suggestions
from the Capitol, some further in
vestigation might be necessary on
some points.
The newly-appointed chairman
agreed that the Detective Bureau
appeared the weakest link in the
department and could stand reor
ganization. He added that he. as
one member of the committee,
wanted to examine the curriculum
of the Police Training School.
Five of the new appointments to
<See POLICE, Page A-5.)
Senate Unit Reports
Representation Bill;
Asks Postponement
Declares Proposal
Would Give Virtual
Statehood to District
The Capper-Sumners bill gran'ing
national representation to the Dis
trict of Columbia was ordered re
ported to the Senate today by the
full Senate Judiciary Committee
with the recommendation that it
be indefinitely postponed.
This action places the bill on the
Senate calendar, with an adverse
| report from the committee The
parliamentary situation, however, is
that it may be called up for con
sideration and action in the Senate
1 itself.
Senator McCarran of Nevada.
I chairman of a subcommittee of the
Judiciary Committee, which held
hearings on the bill, made a verbal
report to the full committee at its
meeting today.
Statehood tor D. C. Feared.
A subcommittee of five previously
had voted unanimously against the
bill.
After the meeting of the full com
mittee. in executive session, mem- i
bers of the committee said that
practically all of them were desir
ous of giving the people in the Dis- j
trict the right to vote on their j
domestic affairs.
They objected to the Capper
Sumners bill on the ground that it
virtually set up a State, allowing the
District to elect Senators and Rep
resentatives in Congress, and to vote
for President and Vice President. .
Senator Kilgore of West Virginia. !
a member of the subcommittee
which passed the bill, said that he
feared that if this semi-statehood
was given to Washington. D. C,
See REPRESENTATION. Page A-6
Gibraltar Drives Off i
Two Italian Air Raiders j
B» the Associated Press.
GIBRALTAR. July 14—Gibral
tar's anti-aircraft guns drove off two
Italian planes which tried a hit
and-run attack on the rock strong
hold by moonlight early today.
No bombs were known to have
landed on Gibraltar, but Spanish
workers who arrived from nearby
La Linea said they heard two loud
: explosions from the vicinity of Cam
pamento. between La Linea and
Algeciras.
The sound of motors overhead
j caused alarm fn La Lirtea, where
1 bombs from unidentified planes
killed six persons last Saturday.
MADRID. July 14 i/Pi.—Two bombs
were reported to have been dropped
without damage near a group of
Spanish fishing boats before dawn
today off Punta Mala, a point divid
ing the coastal waters of Spain and
British-held Gibraltar.
British Put Italy's Loss
On Land at 582,000 Men
Bs the Associated Press.
LONDON. July 14.—Land opera
tions up to July 1 have cost the
Italians about 582.000 men in pris
oners and casualties, the British
Ministry of Information estimates.
Breaking down the figures, the
British said they took 120.000
Italians and 15.000 natives prisoner
in Libya. Casualties numbered 15.000.
including 5.000 natives.
East African figures were 96.000
Italians and 54.000 natives captured
and 25.000 Italians and 132.000 na
tives killed or wounded.
Former Miss Margaret Durand,
Wed Friday, Dies in Asheville
A former White House secretary
I died of tuberculosis in an Ashe
ville (N. C.) hospital this morning,
three days after she became the
bride of her lifelong sweetheart.
Soon after being informed of the
death of Mrs. A. C. Mills, the former
Miss Margaret Durand. White House
Secretary Stephen T. Early an
nounced at his press conference to
day that President Roosevelt would
write a note of sympathy to the
bride’s mother and planned to send
flowers to the funeral.
The former Miss Durand's White
House friends, who have kept in
close touch with her since she was
rushed to a hospital three years ago,
said she had been putting up a
wonderful fight and seemed to be
improving until a week ago. when
she had a hemorrhage. She was
given a blood transfusion and last
Wednesday she was put in an oxy
gen tent.
Hospital officials, meanwhile, had
sent for her fiance. A. C. Mills, who
came from her native Astoria. Long
Island, and had worked at her side
during the Presidential campaigns.
Mr. Mills, now employed with the
Inland Waterways Commission in
St. Louis, went to Asheville and the
marriage was performed while she
(See MRS. MILLS, Page A-7.)
*
White House
Studies Longer
Army Service
President Confers
With Leaders
In Congress
BACKGROUND—
Selective Service Act stipulates
that trainees may not be held
in service lor more than 12
months, unless Congress declares
the national interest is imperiled,
and bans use of selectees beyond
limits of Western Hemisphere
except in United States terri
tories and possessions. War De
partment proposals tor removing
these restrictions have stirred
storm of controversy in Congress.
Bs the Associated Pr*ss.
President Roosevelt todav dis
cussed with Democratic and Repub
lican leaders the controversial ques
tion of extending bevonri a year the
active service of selectees. Reserve
officers and National Guarrimen. and
permitting their assignment outside
the Western Hemisphere.
Considerable opposition has de
veloped in Congress to such a prc
: posal recently advanced bv Ger
; George C. Marshall, Army chief of
i staff.
In an effort to settle some of the
problems involved, the Chief Execu
tive met this morning with sever
Democratic and two Republican
members of the Senate and Housp
Gen. Marshall also was prpspn’
The conference took place short!'
after the President returned from
a week-end cruise on Chesapeake
Bay and the Potomac River.
Lawmakers at Conference.
The congressional members in
cluded Senate Majority Leader
Barkley. Chairman George of the
Senate Foreign Relations Commit
tee. Chairman Revnolds of the Sen
ate Military Affairs Committee, Sen
ator Hill of Alabama. Senate whip
and member of the Military Affairs
Committee: Senator Austin of Ver
mont. assistant minoritv leader and
member of the Military Affairs
Committee; Speaker Ra’ burn. House
Majority Leader McCormack. Chair
man May of the House Military Af
fairs Committee and Representative
Wadsworth, Republican, of New
York
The Chief Executive has sug
gested that it might be well to ex
tend the service period, particular!'
of men assigned to outlying post
such as thoce in Alaska. Hawaii
and in the Atlantic. Administra
, tion officials have taken the posi
I tion that maximum efficiency would
not be served if it were necessarv
continuously to replace portions of
troops on duty at distant stations.
Meanwhile, the Senate Military
Affairs Committee deferred for a'
week consideration of legislation
which would authorize the Presi
dent to requisition private property
for defense purposes.
Chandler Asked Delay.
The committee was scheduled to
take up the measure today, but
members said a postponement was
agreed upon at the request of Sena
tor Chandler. Democrat, of Ken
tucky. who was out of the city and
unable to attend the meeting
Although the bill is a modified
form of requisition legislation orig
inally sought by the War Depart
ment. it was expected to kick up
considerable controversy on the Sen
ate floor and Minority Leader Mr
Nary said Republicans generally
would oppose it.
Under it the Government would be
empowered to requisition private
property needed specifically for de
fense purposes. The first version
sponsored by the War Department
would have delegated power to take
over property for virtually any pur
pose the Government desired to
serve.
Senator Reynolds said he would
ask the Military Affairs Committee
to begin hearings Wednesday on
legislation to extend the active serv
ice of selectees and National Guards
men and remove restrictions on
where they may be sent.
Gen. Marshall recently advised
congressional leaders, it w as learned,
that unless selectees are held in the
Army more than a year, outlying de
fense bases cannot be adequately
manned. Citing Hawaii, he was
quoted as having said large numbers
of troops would have to be brought
back from there in August because
| of the approaching expiration of
I their year's service.
Such transfers of men and the
I dispatch of troops to replace them,
he declared, would reauire the
maintenance or a sort of shuttle
service between the continental
! United States and offshore bases.
Opponents of the bill were as out
I spoken as its advocates, however.
1 and Senator McNarv said it would
: encounter strong minority opposi
i tion. He predicted that if it finally
passed the provision to permit send
ing the men outside the Western
Hemisphere would first be elim
inated.
On the other hand. Senator Gur
ney. Republican, of South Dakota,
a member of the Military Affairs
Committee, said he thought speedy
enactment of the bill was necessary’.
Convinced Men Are Needed.
“I am convinced.-’ he told re
porters, “that it will be impossible
for the chief of staff to man our
outlying bases with trained men
without being able to keep our Na
tional Guard. Reserve officers and
selective service men on active duty
for more than a year.”
Norman Thomas. Socialist leader,
already has asked to testify and in
a statement today the Socialist
party contended enactment of the
legislation would be, in effect, “a
declaration of war.”
“They would sanction an A. E. F.
and entrance into actual shooting
by land, sea and air at any time
and at any place the President sees
fit." the statement added.
Talk of compromise centered
chiefly upon the point of service
duration and including some dis
cussion of incentives such as spe
cial pay by which selectees would
be encouraged to remain In uniform
(See CONGRESS.'Page A-4.'
4
)