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Two Extra Pages In This Edition Late news and sports are covered on Pages 1-X and 3-X of thl* edition of The Star, supplementing the news of the regular home delivered edition. Closing N. Y. Morksts—Solos, Poge 16. Readers Prefer The Sta7 'The Star's afternoon and evening circulation is more than double that of any other Washington newspaper. Its total circulation in Washington far exceeds that of any of its contem poraries in the morning or on Sunday. tf) M«>n» A«»ocl«t>d Pr»»8. 90th YEAE. No. 35,777. WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1942 THREE CENTS. Petain Yields to Nazi Demands, Giving Laval High Cabinet Post; Riom War Guilt Trial Suspended -# . Axis Collaborator Expected to Be Government Chief * B' tH Auocitled Preu. French Chief of State Petain agreed under German pressure today to reorganize his Vichy government under pro-Axis Pierre Laval for renewed collab oration with the Nazis. Foreign diplomatic sources in Bern. Switzerland, who saw the possibility of a diplomatic break between the United Statas and V chy France, said Laval'would re; urn to the government Thursday wiih a new title, “chief of the gov ernment." Tills title will make him No. 2 man in the government under Mar shal Petain, who remains “chief of state," and enable him to inaugu rate full Axis collaboration, these sources said. At the same time the Vichy gov ernment suspended the Riom “war guilt” trials of France's republican leaders, to which Adolf Hitler had objected. Petain Becomes Figurehead. Under the prospective reorgani zation France would pass completely to the Axis sphere, aged Marshal Petain, although remaining "chief of state," would become a figure head and Vice Premier Admiral Jean Darlan would retain only his present post as Foreign Minister. The posts of premier and vice pre mier probably will be abolished in the new government, the Bern diplo matic sources said. Marshal Petain was reported as continuing to preside over the Coun cil of Ministers (the full cabinet and the chief of the state) without the technical title of premier. The Vichy announcement said Petain, Laval and Admiral Dar lan met today and decided on “the constitution of a government established on new foundations.” Their next meeting was set for Thursday when, presumably, the places of Laval and Admiral Darlan will be allotted. Trials’ Scope to Be Broadened. On the day the Riom trials were to have resumed after the Easter recess, a special law decreed their Indefinite suspension to permit broadening of their scope to include political as well as military “mis takes which led to war and defeat” for the Third Republic. The special law, signed by Marshal Petain, was based on a report to the chief of state by Admiral Darlan and Justice Minister Joseph Bartelemy, which said in part: “The responsibilities incurred from the fact of inadequacies in our national defense and of political and military mistakes which led to war and defeat art indivisible because they contributed to the same disaster.” Sees Darlan For Hour. Laval, who has taken part in numerous conferences in the past fortnight with leaders of the Vichy regime, first conferred for an hour today with Admiral Darlan at the Pavillion Sevigne, in Vichy. That meeting lasted from 10 to 11 a.m. Then he went to Marshal Petain’s private office at the Hotel du Parc, where he remained from 11:15 am. to 12:25 pm. The announcement was read to the press by Paul Marion, secre tary general for information, in the conference room of the information secretariat building. The conference was so hastily called that most of the foreign press missed it. Recess Taken April 2. The Riom trials recessed April 2, and there had been indications that the sessions would not be resumed, at least for the time being. The projected broadened scope of the trial would fit Germany’s poli tical purposes—to make its five de fendants, erstwhile leaders of the French republic, scapegoats not only for France’s defeat, but also for hav ing led her to war against Germany in the first place. The Riom decree was explained by D.N.B., official German news agency in Berlin, as meaning that “the question of responsibility for the war will be raised.” _ A report published in the official (See FRANCETPage A-3.) British War Minister Elected to Commons By the Associated Press. LONDON, April 14.—War Secre tary Sir James Grigg, who rose to cabinet rank from the civil service, was elected a member of the House of Commons from the Welsh port of Cardiff today. His election—by better than a 3-to-l margin—enabled him to ap pear on Parliament’s floor to answer questions concerning his depart ment. He was sponsored by the gov ernment for that purpose. Sih James polled 10.030 votes to 3,311 for A. Fenner Brockway, Inde pendent Labor party candidate. His constituency is East Cardiff. Shipbuilding Record Of 44 Days Is Set B> tfct A isedated Preaa. RICHMOND, CaUf., April 14.—A shipyard which was a barren mud flat only a year ago has halved the record for work on a merchant ship of the 10,000-ton Liberty class. The Richmond Shipbuilding Corp. was credited today by the Maritime Commission with commissioning of the S. S. Zachary Taylor 44 days after she was launched, just half the previous record of 88 days. Heavy Cebu Fighting Continues; Defenders Resist Stubbornly Japs Attack Corregidor Four More Times; Manila Bay Fortresses Are Pounded Heavy fighting still is in prog ress in the Philippine Island of Cebu, where outnumbered Amer ican-Filipino forces are stub bornly resisting Japanese inva sion, the War Department re ported this morning. The Cebu action was the heaviest noted in the Philippines as the em battled United States forces in all parts of the islands continued their last-ditch stand against the Japa nese. Plights of heavy bombers contin ued to hammer the defenders in four raids on Corregidor Island, while Japanese artillery battered the American fortresses in Manila Bay. The air raids caused some casual ties among the troops on Corregidor, but only slight damage to military installations. The morning communique, out lining the military situation as of 10 a m., also reported fighting in prog 13 Jap Flying Boats Smashed by Allies in Andaman Islands 10 Other Planes Reported Bagged in Recent Raids In Burma by A. V. G. B* the Associated Press. NEW DELHI, India, April 14.— American and British flyers have struck strong blows in the de fense of India, threatened by a Japanese fleet of three battle ships, five aircraft carries and other warships in the Bay of Bengal, smashing 13 big flying boats in the Andaman Islands and attacking an airdrome in Burma, it was announced today. Thirteen flying boats used by the Japanese for long-range scouting, patrol and bombing were sunk, set afire or damaged when the R. A. F. struck 800 miles across the Bay of Bengal and found them anchored in the harbor at Port Blair in the Andamans, potential springboard for an Indian invasion, the Brtlsh said. Another communique said the Japanese lost seven aircraft when the American Volunteer Group fiercely attacked Japanese raiding an A. V. G. airdrome in the north ern Shan States of Burma at low level Friday. Three more Japanese planes were said to have been de stroyed by the A. V. G. Sunday at Toungoo. At the same time the British an nounced for the first time in days extensive activity of their own avia tion in Burma. They said a heavy attack was made by their Blenheim bombers on Japanese forces in a village north of Prome Sunday, and that their bombers were working in close support of British land forces. The British troops in Burma under Gen. Harold Alexander, who with Chinese forces under United States Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, are fighting the battle for the land ap proaches to the Indian frontier, were still retreating, however. Japanese soldiers moving up the Irrawaddy River have occupied the village of Migyaungye—20 miles south of Magwe and 80 miles north of Prome—in heavy fighting, the British announced. Hard Fighting Continues. The British communique said hard fighting continued yesterday over the entire Burmese front. "The enemy succeeded in occupy ing the village of Migyaungye and is increasing pressure southwest of Taungdwingyi,” the communique said. Migyaungye is on the east bank of the Irrawaddy. Taungdwingyi is 90 miles north - (See BURMATPage A-3.) ress in the Digos area of the island of Mindanao. The American-Filipino forces are engaged in sharp skirmishes with the Japanese in that area. Word of the heavy fighting in Cebu was received at the War De partment this morning after com munication with that island, tempo rarily broken yesterday, were re established. A force of approxi mately 12,000 Japanese was reported to have landed on Cebu last week. The continuing attacks by the Japanese on the Manila Bay forts have not silenced the heavy guns of Corregidor and Fort Frank. The communique reported that the crack American artillerymen on those fortresses returned the fire from the Japanese on both sides of Manila Bay. Yesterday, Corregidor’s guns blasted two Jap tank and truck columns on Bataan and sank a me ~"”i 8ee PHILIPPINESrPage A-4.) Russians Reported Opening Big Drive On Central Front Siberian Unit and Entire Tank Division Declared Joining in Battle B» the Associated Press. LONDON, April 14.—Exchange Telegraph said today the Ger man radio had announced that six Soviet divisions, Including a Siberian division and an entire division of tanks, had launched an attack of extreme violence on the Central Russian front and that the battle still was in prog ress. The German broadcast was said to have acknowledged that the Rus sians dislocated Nazi lines at some points, but to have claimed that the attack was stemmed and the at tackers partly annihilated. It said other Russian attacks also were made against Rumanian and Italian positions in the Donets Basin to the south. Fighting in the region between Kursk and Kharkov has become much more intense in the last 24 hours, with Soviet pressure particu larly strong northeast of Belgorod, Reuters said in quoting the official Vichy news agency. Russian motorized forces were re ported attempting to cross the Donets near its source. “Violent fighting also is going on southeast of Belgorod,” the agency said. “The Russians have succeeded in infiltrating several advanced de-' tachments to within a short dis tance of an important arterial high way linking Central Russia with the Ukraine via Kursk, Kharkov and Dnieperopetrovsk.” Fighting also flared up again near Stalino, it was said. 9,000 Germans Are Slain In 10 Days, Reds Claim KUIBYSHEV, Russia, April 14 —Soviet forces have slain 9,000 Germans and destroyed 76 tanks on the Leningrad front from April 1 to 10 and levied fresh tolls on Nazi sea and air strength, the Rus sians said today. Recapture of a “locality of great importance on the northwestern front” and occupation of some addi tional communities were announced without detail in a communique broadcast by the Moscow radio. Another communique said a Kalinin front stronghold was seized by the Russians in fighting which cost the Germans 900 killed, 8 field guns, 15 machine guns, a mortar battery, 2 tanks and 8 pillboxes. Red Army men operating behind (See RUSSIA, Page A-4.) 153 Families Vacating Navy Yard Area to Use Trailers An order signed today by Chief Justice Edward C. Eicher in Dis trict Court requires about 600 resi dents of Southeast Washington to vacate their homes by May 15 Jo permit expansion of the Navy Yard and the Navy gun factory. The order further complicates the Capital’s already serious housing situation, and Chief Justice Eicher called in the Alley Dwelling Au thority for a solution to the prob lem. John Ihlder, executive officer of A. D. A., said fully-equipped trail ers probably will be provided for residents of the area until de mountable houses can be made available. There art 153 families, mostly col ored, in two blocks affected by the Navy Yard expansion, Mr. Ihlder said. The residents protested at a condemnation hearing yesterday be fore Chief Justice Eicher that they had been unable to find any other place to live. The formal hearing was continued until next Monday. Mr. Ihlder revealed that the problem of rehousing the families' to be dispossessed was discussed in his office several days ago attended by representatives of the Navy Yard, Washington Housing Aasochi tion, Urban League, Federal Public Housing Authority and the National Capital Park and Planning Commis sion. The best suggestion of the group, Mr. Ihlder said, was that trailers should be provided immediately with washrooms and other facilities. Then, demountable houses would be built and the families transferred later. He said the National Hous ing Agency had assured him that the trailers could be obtained before the May 15 deadline. The two blocks under condemna tion are adjacent to the Navy Yard property. Ths Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Co., under the terms of Chief Justice Etcher's order, may have the right to use, occupy and maintain its right-of-way through the property until the line is rerouted or abandoned. Representing the Government in the court proceedings were Alex ander H. Bell, Jr., principal attorney in the Lands Division of the Depart ment of Justice, and his associate, Henry F. Mooney. The Chief Jus tice’s order directed that if any property is vacated before May 15, the United States may immediately enter and take possession. Economic War Board to Do All Import Buying Roosevelt Shifts Task From Jones' R. F. C. To Wallace Unit By JOHN C. HENRY. President Roosevelt today placed in the Board of Economic Warfare the concentrated re sponsibility for purchasing and importing all materials consid ered essential to the war pro duction program. The action, taken by executive order, transfers from the Recon struction Finance Corp. and Federal Loan Administrator Jones and agencies under his supervision the basic authority for accumulating stock piles and vests this power in the board headed by Vice President Wallace and Executive Director Milo Perkins. Bitter controversy over responsi bility for critical shortages in such stock piles has been raging in re cent weeks, with Mr. Jones under fire for his policies with respect to purchasing natural rubber and financing of synthetic rubber man ufacture. The new setup, it was indicated by the order, will give the economic board direct and positive power to locate and to purchase essential materials abroad, rather than mere ly to recommend to other agencies that such purchases be made. The economic board will receive directives as to quantities, specifica tions and required delivery schedules for vital materials from Chairman Nelson of the War Production Board. The economic agency is then em powered to send agents to foreign sources of supply, and to finance the purchases either through exist ing subsidiaries of the Reconstruc tion Finance Corp. or through such newly-established corporations as may be necessary. The order makes clear that mate rials vital to civilian economy, as well as those marked for direct war usage, may be acquired through the board. "This order in effect will give us a checkbook and permit us to go out to world sources of supply and buy on the spot things that are neces sary,” a board official said. "Agents of Axis countries have been doing this for years past and beating us to the punch in many cases.” To Advise on Lease-Lend Payments. An added section of the sweeping order provides that the Board of Economic Warfare shall advise the State Department on terms and con ditions to be included in master agreements with nations receiving lease-lend aid. The special responsi bility of the board will be to ar range for receipt by the United States of reciprocal aid and bene fits other than arms or munitions. The economic board likewise is designated to represent the United States in dealing with other United Nations economic warfare agencies in integrating the economic efforts of the anti-Axis bloc. Heretofore most of the Govern ment Importation of essential war materials has been accomplished through the Rubber Reserve Co., the Metals Reserve Co. and the De fense Supplies Corp., all of which are subsidiaries of the R. F. C. Seven cabinet officers, Including Mr. Jones, who is also Secretary of Commerce, are members of the Board of Economic Warfare. The other department heads are those of State, Treasury, War, Justice, Navy and Agriculture. Nelson Rocke feller, Co-ordinator for Inter-Ameri can Affairs, also is a member of the board. Soviet Purchasing Agents Call at White House Indicating further intensification of efforts to rush war material to Russia, President Roosevelt today conferred with the newly arrived heads of the Russian Purchasing Mission. Accompanied by Maxim Litvinoff, Soviet Ambassador, the Russian agents conferring with the Presi dent were Maj. Gen. A. I. Belyaev and Rear Admiral M. I. Akulln. Mr. Litvinoff told reporters after the conference that “of course, it (Russian aid) will go on improving.” The White House consultation follows closely a meeting in Lon don between Harry L. Hopkins, who has been principal aide to the President on supply matters, and Soviet Ambassador to England Ivan Maisky. Also on the President’s engage ment schedule today were separate conferences with Lt. Gen. Henry H. Arnold, head of United States air forces; Admiral Ernest J. King, commander in chief of the fleet, and Undersecretary of Navy James V. Forrestal. Senator Wagner, Demo crat, of New York was another White House visitor. Thunderbolt Kills 18, Severely Burns 40 B> ttc Associated Press. > BOMBAY, India, April 14.—A thunderbolt which struck a church at Malayattur killed 18 Indian Christians and severely burned 40, a dispatch from the Cochin state city of Ernakulam said today. 'Where are you going, my pretty maid? To join John Lewis, sir,' she said. Motorists, Pedestrians Urged To 'Play Safe' in Blackout Public Warned to Take Shelter Tonight When Sirens Sound in City, Nearby Area A last-minute appeal for motorists and pedestrians to “play safe” during Washington’s first total blackout tonight was made by civilian defense officials today. The city and nearby counties will rehearse for an air raid sometime between 9 and 11:30 p.m. with air-raid sirens Sounding the warning for the public to take to shelter and motorists to pull over to the curb. < The sound of the sirens will also be the signal for the city to be darkened—every home and business, street and traffic lights. The raid test will last for an in definite period, defense officials said, but will not exceed half an hour. The total blackout may be in effect for only 15 or 20 minutes during the 9 to 11:30 ‘alert” period. Reminding that all traffic and street lights will be turned off. De fense Co-ordinator Young asked for patience and intelligent co-opera U. S. Wool Shortage / Equals Rubber Crisis, Guthrie Tells Probe Former W. P. B. Official Says Stocks Won't Last Beyond'1943 B> the Associated Press. Robert R. Guthrie, former War Production Board official, told Sen ate investigators today that reluc tance of certain W. P. B. officials to curtail civilian production had con fronted the Nation with a wool shortage similar to that existing in rubber. Testifying at hearings conducted by the committee on request of Donald M. Nelson, W. P. B. chair man, Mr. Guthrie said his resigna tion on March 14 as director of the textiles branch of the agency re sulted from a “basic disagreement’’ with other officials as to the speed with which civilian industry should be converted to war purposes. He asserted that since his resig nation Mr. Nelson had done a “com mendable job of • • * requiring the conversion of virtually all civilian durable goods industries to war work." “Unfortunately,” he added, “the consummation of the all-out pro gram which Mr. Nelson has an nounced rests in the hands of men who found it impossible to formu late such a policy themselves. Names Two Officials. “The type of thinking which al lowed pin ball and juke box manu facture to continue until May is not a Jap-stopping type of approach.” Mr. Guthrie named Philip Reed, chief of W. P. B.’s industry branches, and Kenneth Marrlner, whom he described as an officer and owner of a Boston wool firm and one of the directors of the W. P. B. wool program, as among those who op posed his policies. Contending that civilian uses of wool should have been restricted much earlier, Mr. Guthrie said that the direction of the wool program “remains in the hands of a man who has consistently opposed drastic ac tion to conserve wool, who stated in the presence of several members of the textiles branch that he was in Washington to represent his com pany and the woolen industry; who reported to a congressional commit tee only three weeks ago that a shortage of wool positively did not exist, despite the fact that, accord ing to his own testimony, our as sured supplies of wool will fully clothe an army no larger than 3,600,000 men, and only through 1943, without any allowance what ever for civilian requirements and without allowing a pound for the re quirements of our Allies.” Same Situation as Rubber. “This,” the witness added, "would leave civilians in the same position with respect to wool that they are in with respect to rubber. "Moreover, if a larger-sized army is to be supplied, Mr. Marrlner says, the military specifications for wool en fabrics will have to be adapted to the available wool and waste supply. » "This means shoddy garments for soldiers, while well-to-do civilians are allowed to buy unadulterated, 100 per cent virgin wool garments." > --- tion of every resident of the area “if we are to come through without unnecessary loss of life by acci dents." Commissioner Young, in a state ment issued this morning, remind ed District residents that tonight's test really is an exercise designed to prepare them for the time when bombs actually fall. “I have every confidence," he said, “that all of our citizens un derstand the purpose behind our 1 < See BLACKOUT, Page A-5l New Currency Made of Nylon Replaces Silk B' tbt AuocUted Press. Got any nylon money? Treasury officials disclosed today that currency printed on paper con taining nylon instead of silk was put in test circulation a few days ago but no one seems to have spotted it. The first batch of the 100 per cent homemade brand of American money was distributed through the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank as a test to determine whether it wore as well as the old kind. General circulation of the new brand, however, must wait until the stock of silk-threaded paper is used up. Secret Service agents doubt whether anything but a chemical analysis would show the difference between the new and the old. New Cub Scout, 11, Saves Sister, 2, From Flames By the Associate*1 Presi. • LOS ANGELES, April 14.—When Tommy Jack Rickords took the oath as a Cub Scout, he pledged him self to be brave. It was no empty pledge to Tommy Jack, 11. His parents were away when he smelled smoke. He saw flames pour ing from a closet. He couldn’t quench them, so he dashed upstairs with his brother Roy Richard, 7, to rescue their 2-year-old sister Marilyn Jeneane. He picked up the sleeping child and started down, but the stairs were in flames. Coolly he carried her through a window to a porch roof. Roy shinnied ' down to a fence and Tommy handed the baby to his brother. Then Tommy climbed down. The inside of the house was badly damaged. But the children were safe. Landslide Hits City LONDON, April 14 (/P).—The Vichy radio relayed a Bucharest report to iay that 300 buildings were destroyed by a landslide at the Rumanian city of Iasi, former capital of Moldavia. U. S. War Output Hit By G. E.-Krupp Pool, Senators Are Told Biddle Aide Cites Lack Of Metal Hardener as Patent Deal Example B» tb< Associated Press. A vast patent pool, described as linking the General Electric Co. in this country with Krupp inter ests in Germany, was pictured today as a war production bot tleneck by John Henry Lewin, special assistant to the Attorney General. The Government lawyer presented a mass of 124 exhibits from the Justice Department anti-trust files before the Senate Patents Commit tee to support his charges that General Electric and its subsidiaries had entered into a patent pool arrangement with the German in terests involving cemented tungsten carbide. This, Mr. Lewin told Senators, is a metal-hardening material vital to the machine-tool industry and pro duction of guns, shells, armor-plate, airplanes and many other munitions of war. U. S. Shortage “Notorious.” “In contrast with the situation in Germany, the present drastic short age of this essential material in this country is notorious,” Mr. Lewin said. “The need to produce it. to retool our manufacturing plants with it, and to instruct work men in the use of such tools had constituted one of the principal bottlenecks in our present produc tion program.” Mr. Lewin, appearing at public hearings on a bill that would per mit the Government to take or li cense any patents vital to the war effort, said his material was col lected for an anti-trust case re sulting in indictments in August. 1940, in the Southern District of New York. Earlier, Francis M. Shea, an As sistant Attorney General, testified that "short-sighted business ar rangements intended to secure higher profits” had appeared in many instances of the use of pat ents to have restricted capacity for war. "There appears to be substantial evidence that patents issued by the United States have, in some in stances, been used by our enemies as a means of restricting production vital to our security,” Mr. Shea testified. Cites O. F. F. Report. "A recent report by the Office of Facts and Figures concerning the defense program adverts to the manner in which our enemy by use of patents and cartel arrangements has worked for many years to weaken our military potential. “A serious injury to our indus trial and military strength can be, and in many instances appears to have been, caused by the restrictive use of patents in short-sighted busi ness arrangements intended to se cure higher profits from curtailed supply or monopoly, quite uncon scious of the damage to the Nation.” Mr. Shea told Senators that present patent laws and use of patents in time of war "appear to have curtailed our industrial ca pacity for the present war” and might prove dangerous unless cor rected. Summary of Today's Star Foreign Thirteen Jap flying boats smashed in Allied attack. Page A-l Russians reported opening big drive on central front. Page A-l 40,000 prisoners captured on Bataan, Japanese claim. > Page A-Z Iran breaks off diplomatic relations with Japan. Page A-Z Marshall confers with Mountbatten, Commandos’ chief. Page A-4 British report direct hits on Axis column in Libya. Page A-7 Allied War Council charged with talkipg, not acting. Page A-1Z National Roosevelt gives Economic War Board import buying Job. Page A-l House to hear Knox views on labor legislation today. Page A-l Administration frowns on drastic new tax increases. Page A-Z Illinois holds first primary since war’s start. Page A-Z U. S. Chamber proposes retail sales tax nearly 10 per cat. W * > Refugee ship torpedoed, 290 safe in Charleston. Page A-4 War Department asks pay Increase for officers and men. PageA-11 Sharp drop in output of phonograph records expected. Page B-9 Washington and Vicinity. Motorists and pedestrians asked to play safe in blackout. Page A-l New tax collection unit proposed for D. C. government. Page B-l Cab cost more than Income, hearing told. Page B-l Mahon expects D. C. realty tax to stand at $1.75. Page B-l Grand jury witness purges self of contempt. Page B-l Three deaths bring D. C. traffic toll to 40 for year. Page B-l Miscellany Nature’s Children. Page B-l Marriage Licenses. Page B-1S Births and Deaths. Page B-l* After Dark. . Page B-10 Knox Says Navy Sees No Need Of Labor Confrol 40-Hour Week Ban Would Bring Delay in Output, He Asserts i' the Associated Press. Secretary of the Navy Knox told the House Naval Affairs Committee today that suspension of the 40-hour-work-week law would result “only in confusion and delay.” He opposed a flat percentage limitation on war profits and urged a cessation of industrial disputes over the closed-shop issue. He said there was no need for labor legislation so far as the Navy was concerned. Secretary Knox told the commit tee flatly that he thought the mat ter of changing the 40-hour week was only a question of wages and would mean a 10 per cent cut in the income of workers. He urged for both industry and labor a “psychological appeal” to stimulate production through pa triotism, rather than having Con gress enact legislation, and ex pressed belief that the force of the profit motive was diminishing and “would further diminish as the war continued.” Favors Treasury Plan. Called to testify on the Smith - Vinson bill, which would put a 6 per cent limit on war profits and sus pend the 40-hour week law and freeze the closed shop status. Secre tary Knox said he thought the profits question could best be dealt with through the Treasury's plan for sharply increased excess profits taxes. He suggested a vigorous campaign to "arouse and acquaint” the work ers in war plants "that their own personal security rests upon the production of the tools of war.” He said that "the Nation needed they type of spirit engendered im mediately after Pearl Harbor,” add ing that a "considerable part” of that wave of enthusiasm still re mains. Production Loss “Negligible." Secretary Knox emphasized that the loss of production since Pearl Harbor was "practically negligible." Chairman Vinson of the commit tee submitted his new version of the Smith-Vinson bill. It would limit profits on large war contracts to *6,000 plus 8 per cent of the co6t of the contract. It would not apply to contracts under 8100,000, nor would it affect individuals or organizations per forming technical or professional services. Incentive to Small Contractors. The original bill proposed a 6 per cent profit limitation on Navy con tracts over *10,000. The revision, Mr. Vinson said, was intended to "offer an incentive to small con tractors to convert to war produc tion.” It applies to all war con tracts. Administration of the proposed legislation would be vested in the Treasury Department, which would have authority to exclude, in com puting profits, “improper elements” in construction costs. While proposing to abolish all double pay for overtime work, Mr. Vinson's new bill would provide payment of time and one-half for hours worked in excess of 48. It would freeze the closed shop as of last March 31, except as to renewals of existing contracts. Restrictions placed on labor in clude a limitation of union initiation fees in closed shop defense work to $5. with a maximum of *3 per month for dues and assessments, and a ban against denying union membership to any individual or discharging members for dues arrearage of less than two weeks. Production Bonuses. Partially to offset the loss of double time and other premium payments, the new legislation pro poses that the War Production Board but into operation a system of Government-financed production bonuses not to exceed a worker’s regular pay. This bonus system would be operated by the Navy, the War Department and the Maritime Commission in the case of Govern ment-operated plants such as ar senals. docks and shipyards. If approved in its present form, the new bill would lay down as a congressional policy that certain , practices are “inconsistent with the expeditious and successful prosecu tion of the present war and are prejudicial to those serving in the. armed forces.” Among these are the retention of ‘excessive profits,” the payment of overtime wages before a full six daya of work, the insertion in labor management contracts of clauses prohibiting the employment of any but union workers and the charging by unions of “excessive initiation fees, dues and other charges.” Coffee Rationing Is 'Possibility/ Official Says By the Associated Press. Rationing of coffee was described by a Price Administration spokesman today as a “possibility, in view of the shipping situation.” "Nothing has been decided yet,” the official declared, adding that "comparatively little thought has been given the subject In view of other more important matters.” It was reported that the National Coffee Association advised its mem bers yesterday that Government orders were pending which would restrict roasted coffee sales to SO per cent of those made last year. A War Production Board official, commenting on the report, said the association had acted independently “and not on the basis of any authori tative statement given out here.”