The times-news. [volume], October 25, 1938, Image 1

About The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current

Image provided by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, Chapel Hill, NC

                
WEATHER
Fair Tu«»day night and Wed
temperature®.
(Liu* Wvms -fc
Largest Daily Circulation of Any Newspaper in North Carolina in Proportion to Population
GOOD AFTERNOON
When the Nazis come again, the
Vienna cardinal'* butler will tay,
"Innitzer is out, sir."
rOL. 57—No. 255
HENDERSONVILLE, N. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1938
SINGLE COPIES, FIVE CENTS
HANKOW IN FLAMES; CHINA BATTLES ON
I *** *** * * * *** *** ***
[ioey Opens Democratic Drive Here
ADDS PARTY
'OR CREATING
ERA OF FAITH
lairman Redden Declares
County Issue Economy
and Efficiency
IYS REPUBLICANS
SUPPORTING TICKET
led by Governor Clyde R.
Henderson county Democ
;• >tu>;ed a great mass meeting
t r ;$cht at the courthouse to
formally its campaign
r N vember election. In his
Governor Hoey mention
the outset his pleasure at
? >uu*::.e:u made by Chairman
M i,e ;den of the assured suc
s- of ti.f county Democratic
kit r'oi election next month;
surance civen that Ben Prince
11 be the next senator from
our and my district," and his
11 confluence in the forthcom
f success .it the noils for United
Mte> Senator Robert K. Key
Ids
Gi'Vei rio: Hoey dealt lengthily
tn the h.story, growth and
i:ieveM)< r.ts of the Democratic
r*y ::i trie nation and state and,
t analysis of taxes and the
i" - economy, he closed with a
«..:::e of the humanitarian work
re I : its less fortunate citi
r.-> through state agencies, in
iu:n< that for the crippled,
ii'.d, and other handicapped peo
mentions of candidacies
■f'l a cordial round of applause.
■ of the9* was when Mr. Red
B. bespeaking the candidacies of
Bunty Democrats referred to
Beriff Will Davijj as having been
I highly efficient law officer
Bough his training "under that
Ble officer of the law, Chief of
Blice Powers," and when Gov
Bnor Hoey declared of Congress
B. Zebulon Weaver, who was
B neat near the speaker's stand,
■ know you will return him to
■rice."
■CONOMY, EFFICIENCY
Bade county issue
I Chairman Redden, opening the
Beting, declared that "we face
Be issue, shall economy and effi
Bency in county government be
Bntinoed for Henderson county?"
■e pointed to the state adminis
I as a guiding star in these
Bvemmental virtues and said
But Henderson county is under a
democratic administration which
: been elected to office by the
Belp of 'our Republican friends."
Bear.time, he said, since the last
Biniary, approximately 300 Re
ft. iicans have changed their r^g
l n to align with the Demo
I itic party and that more re
lently. uver 100 more Republi
cans have pledged to vote the,
WMentie ticket. "I wonder," he
I- . "if the election day in No
vember won't be just one great
Bemocratie celebration." and he
I eted Democratic majorities
wi the county rangintr up to 2,000
votes.
[ Mrs. H. Walter Fuller, chair
pan of the woman's division of
Ihe county executive committee,
Fas next introduced. She referred
lo many of the assets of the en
cumbent administration, the fact
me party couia iook on tneni
*ith pride, and declared that "we
going to keeD hold of what
we have," the county is not goin?
to give up this excellent admin
istration.
Thomas H. Franks, on whom it
devolved to introduce Governor
Hoey, devoted his talk to two
subjects. He jjave an extensive
view of the proofs of the fineness
of the present county administra
tion, declaring he did so volun
tarily. and then gave an apt ap
preciation of Governor Hoey,
whom he said he would not at
tempt to introduce, since he be
lieved the governor was better
known than he to the mass of vot
present last night.
Basing his statement on his
(Continued on page six)
REPUBLICANS PLAN
PLATFORM SESSION
Republicans of Henderson coun
ty will gather tonight at the call
°f James J. Pace, chairman of the
fountv executive committee, to
formulate a platform for candi
dates seeking office in the election
°f November 8.
BAD LONDON FOG
LONDON", Oct. 25. (UP)—
^er.se fog blanketed London and
south England yesterday, result'
m at least five deaths in traf
v accidents and paralyzing ship
in the Thames.
(
Must Answer 45,000 Questions
Showing the strain he has undergone in getting the new wages-and- |
hours-law into operation—ho was bombarded with 25,000 mailed, !
15,000 telephoned and 5,000 personal requests for information
about the law—Klmer F. Andrews, administrator of the wages-and
hours division,.is pictured above as he relaxed in his office in Wash
ington. To inquiring reporters, Andrew® declared the law would
be no "lash over industry• ■" • "i
RUMRICH SPIED
ON U. S. TO GET
'LINE ON NAZIS'|
Testifies U. S. Agents Left
Out This Part of This
Confession
NEW YORK. Oct. 25. (UP) — !
Guenther Gustave Rumrich, for
mer army sergeant and confessed
spy, testified yesterday that fed
eral agents had left out of his
confession a statement that he
joined a ring of supposed German
secret agents in order to "get a
line" on activities of Nazi spies.
Rumrich, a government witness
in the case against three alleged
German spies, said on cross exam
ination that th:s was known to the
federal authorities who arrested
him but had been ignored. He has
pleaded guilty to espionage.
The former army sergeant told
a rambling story about supplying
German secret agents »vith incon
sequential details about American
military and naval defenses, and
under cross-examination by Ben
jamin Matthews, defense counsel,
insisted he actually was a counter
espionage agent.
"Why didn't you tell the gov
ernment agents after your arrest
that your purpose was to expose
the German espionage system?"
Matthews asked.
(Continued on pagre three)
SMATHERS AND
MOSER RETAIN
FORMER POSTS
One - Time Pastors Here
Both Continued as Pre
siding Elders
Two former pastors of the First
Methodist church here were reap
pointed as presiding1 elders and a
third was returned to the charge
which he held last year, the com
plete list of appointments made
by Bishop Clare Purcell at the
closing session of the Western
North Carolina conference in
Charlotte yesterday, reveals.
The Rev. M. T. Smathers \vas
returned to Asheville as presiding
elder of this district, the Rev. C.
H. Moser was continued as pre
siding elder of the Gastonia dis
trict, and the Rev. E. K. McLarty
was reappointed pastor of Central
church at Concord.
As reported yesterday, Dr. Gil
bert R. Combs goes to Central
church in Monroe; the Rev. D. E.
Camak comes to Hendersonville
from Canton; the Rev. R. M. Var
ner returns to the Flat Rock
charge, from which Balfour was
removed; the Rev. Geo. F. Hood
was appointed to the Saluda-Try
on charge; the Rev. H. E. Jones
was sent to Mills Piver, and the
Rev. H. E. Bolick was assigned to
Fletcher, which charge wiH also
(Continued on page three)
- /vwrnn
BRITONS WOULD HAND OVtR
PALESTINE MANDATE TO U. S.,
WITH THANKS, PRESS SAYS
LONDON, Oct. 25. (UP).—The
Evening News offered yesterday,
in an editorial on President Roose
veJt's declaration regarding Pales
tine, to give the country to the
i United States "tied up in a blue
t ribbon."
"The United States can ask th®
League of Nations to transfer the
Palestine mandate to them and
our government, if not entirely
bereft of its senses, will hand it
over tied up with blue ribbon and
a courteous note of thanks for
favors rendered," the newspaper
1 said.
"Meanwhile, Britain and not
America is saddled with the thank
i less job of administering the man
| date, costing millions of pounds
and many valuable British lives in
addition to losing this country a
lot of loyalty and prestige among
60,000,000 Moslem citizens of the
empire. While we continue to hold
the mandate we must reserve the
right to handle it the way it seems
i to us best, although we are always
ready to receive any practical au
vice and assistance other govern
ments decide to offer."
ROOSEVELT WRITES
ROGERS ON HOLY LAND
LOWELL, Mass.. Oct. 25. (CP).
President Roosevelt believes this
country is unable to prevent modi
fication in the Palestine mandate.
Writing: to Representative Edith
Nourse Rogers, R., Mass., yester
day, the president said that at the
most this country can decline to
accept as applicable to American
interests "any modification af
fecting such interests unless we
have given our assent to them."
The congresswoman had written
to him in protest against any
move that might destroy the Jew
ish national home in Palestine.
He said he understood that
"under the terms with our con
vention with Great Britain re
garding the Palestine mandate
we are unable to prevent modifi
cation in the mandate."
SOUTH AND WEST FEEL NEW
INDUSTRIAL PINCH AS WAGE
LAW ADDED TO FREIGHT RATE
LABOR DEPT.
SCENE HECTIC
AS UNDER NRA
Wage Administrator Says
Local Charities Should
Help Jobless
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25. (UP).
Scattered shutdowns in low-wage
industries, a "slow-down protest"
in communications, and unsettled
demands for exemptions today
faced the administrators of the
new wage-hour law.
Despite difficulties, Administra
tor Andrews is confident that the
law will become a national co-op
erative movement benefitting in
dustry, labor and the public gen
erally.
Postal telegraph announced a
layoff of 1000 messengers.
Postal also was faced with «i
"slow-down protest" by telegraph
operators because of alleged
"chiseling"" under the hours pro
visions.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25. (UP)
Employers, workers, state offi
cials, labor organizations and th^
general public joined witm """tmr
federal government yesterday in
applying for the first time the
Fair Labor Standards act to 11,
000,000 men and women employ
ed in interstate industry.
From governors of ten states—
five in the south—came pledges
they would cooperate with Wage
Hour Administrator Elmer F. An
drews in enforcing the statute
which fixes an immediate 25
cents an hour minimum wage and
provides for payment in cash at
a rate of time and one-half for
all work in excess of 44 hours a
week.
President William Green an
nounced that the American Fed
eration of Labor had established
a nationwide network of educa
tional and enforcement agencies
in 520 cities to make the new law
effective. Similar agencies, or
committees, were being formed in
about 300 other communities, he
said.
Scattered reports from the
south and west showed that sev
eral firms closed after the act be
came effective at 12:01 a. m. The
most serious suspension was in
the pecan shelling industry which
employs from 30,000 to 50,000
workers. Shutdown of virtually all
shelling plants was announced by
Julius Seligman of San Antonio,
Tex., president of the National
Pecan Shellers of America, after
Deputy Wage-Hour Administra
tor Paul Sifton ruled that the in
dustry's employes are covered by
the statute.
Andrews at a press conference
said there were about 30,000
workers in the pecan industry and
that many of them in Texas re
ceive only eight or 10 cents an
hour. Seligman contended that
50,000 would be idle and said
that wages ranged from eight to
15 cents an hour.
He revealed that the American
Bankers' association was seeking
an exemption for bank employes
on grounds that banks are local
service institutions. Pending a
ruling on the question, he said,
the ABA had agreed to advise its
members to comply with the act.
Andrews intimated that he
(Continued on page three)
Calvary Baptist
S. S. Headed By
Collins Again
Calvary Baptist church at a
business conference Sunday elect
ed C. C. Collins* superintendent of
the Sunday school for the year
1939. Mr. Collins and the pastor,
the Rev. George Pennell, will pre
pare a list of other Sunday school
workers and recommend to the
congregation for approval at an
early date.
Mr. Collins is now finishing his
first year as superintendent, as
suming office with about 68 in at
tendance soon after the organiza
tion of the church. The attend
ance last Sunday was 308. The
largest number recently f°r an>'
day other than a special event was
346.
>
Pecan Industry, Stove and
Shirt Factories in Mis
souri Idle
MAI-DEN, Mo., Oct. 25. (UP)
Three more factories in southeast
Missouri and northeast Arkansas
ceased operations yesterday as
the result of the waee-hour law,
throwing 06O persons out of em
ployment.
The Reid Manufacturing com
pany here and the Popular Bluff
Stave company, operating mills
here and at Pocahontas, Ark.,
shut down.
M. Jaffee, of the Reid com
pany, said 300 were out of em
ployment here because of sus
pended operations at the shirt
factory. He said freight rates
from points west of the Mississip
pi made it impossible for factories
in the midwest to compete with
eastern factories.
"It costs approximately three
times as much for freight to ship
raw materials out of the east to
western mijls as from mills in
eastern states and five times as
mueh to ship the finished product
I back as it costs from eastern
mills when they all come under
the same wage-hour provision,"
■ Jaffee said.
W. H. Spencer, oi tne siave
company, said 60 workers were
out of jobs because of the clos
ing of his two mills. He also
blamed the wage-hour bill and
^discriminatory freight rates."
svt4tf**a]ly all the products of the
stave mills are shipped to distant
states.
NUTS TO COST 60c
PER POUND, SAID
SAN ANTONIO, Tex., Oct. 25.
(UP)—More than 15,000 workers
in San Antonio, scene of frequent
labor disputes, were reported last
night to have lost their jobs be
i cause of the new wage-hour law.
Hardest hit was the pepan shell
' ing industry, in which all 60
plants in the city closed their
1 doors. Owners contended they do
not earn enough to meet the min
imum wages demanded by the
law. Garment factories also were
affected.
! J. T. Watts, manager of the
Springer Pecan company, said the
present wholesale price of shelled
i pecans was 38 to 40 cents a pound
| and that if the plants paid wages
I required by the law the price
j would have to be hiked to 60
cents a pound.
"We hope that the National Pe
can Shellers of America will be
able to secure an exemption,"
Watts said.
The industry employes from
30,000 to 50,000 workers in Tex
as.
Watts said the shellers worked
on a piece work basis of six and
a half cents per pound.
COLUMBIA COTTON
MILL WORKERS OUT
COLUMBIA, S. C„ Oct. 25.—
! (UP)—The 100 workers of the
Glencoe Cotton mill yesterday
walked out when the management
! refused to meet demands for a
i wage increase of three cents an
' hour—from 27 to 30 cents.
There was no disorder. B. A.
Knowlton, general manager of
the mill which specializes in man
ufacture of cotton yarn twine and
rope, would not comment.
South Carolina Commissioner
of Labor John Nates appointed
one of his department's inspec
tors, I. J. Via, conciliator in the
dispute.
500 sawmilTmen
IDLE IN GEORGIA
MACON, Ga., Oct. 26. (UP)—
E. G. Jeffreys, of the Jeffreys
McElrath Manufacturing com
pany here, yesterday said be
tween 300 and 500 employes had
been thrown out of work when
20 small saw mills in middle Geor
gia closed yesterday rather than
comply with the wage-hour law.
MONDAY
Maximum temperature—63 de
grees. Minimum — 47 degrees.
Mean—55 degrees. Rainfall—.23
inch.
Normal mean temperature for
October—56.4 degrees. Rainfall
to date—.28 inch. Normal rain
1 fall—4.36 inches.
Held in Brooklyn
Police Scandal
Arrested in New York's most
sensational police scandal in
years, Lieut. Cuthbert J. Behan,
above, an honor man in the de
partment, was charged by Po
lice Commissioner Lewis J. Val
, entine, police head, with having
, stolen the records of 7200 ar
I rests made in Brooklyn.. Thesa
records are believed to deal with
bail bonds and related matters.
The theft of the records and
Behan's arrest are by-product*
of a current investigation into
; official corruption in Brooklyn.
C OF C. PLANS
1-DAY DRIVE
FOR MEMBERS
Budget of $7387 Is Set
for Activities of
Coming Year
i
The annual chamber of com- [
merce membership drive will get
i underway tomorrow morning at
10 o'clock when directors and oth
ers taking part will meet at the
chamber of commerce office for
; final instructions.
Every member of the organiza
tion and many non-members will
be visited during this drive. The ]
new application aard reads: "This
subscription to be automatically
renewed at the end of each year
until notice is given to the con
trary." This will eliminate the ne
cessity of calling on all of the
members each year, it was pointed
out.
Last year's expenditures were
$7,378.08 against a budget of
$7,410.95. Quite a number of
special donations were received
last year, however, and it is the
aim of the present board of di
rectors to guarantee this year's
budget of $7,387 with income
from memberships.
In order to do this, all business 1
firms, professional men and wo
men, and operators of hotels and
boarding houses will be asked to |
carry at least two memberships.
This, it is felt, will not work a1
hardship on anyone and will more j
(Continued on page three) I
CHAOS RULING
CANTON;ARSON
SQUADS ACTIVE
Chiang Said at Front Be
fore Hankow, After
City Abandoned
BRITONS PROTEST TO
BOMBING GUNBOAT
CHUNGKING, China, Oct. 25.
(UP)—This city was announced
officially as the new emergency
capital of the Chinese government
and it was said today that Gener
alissimo Chiang Kai-shek is at the
front v/est of Hankow with the
Chinese army and has decided to
fight on.
Chiang, with his wife, high of
ficers and government officials left
Hankow this morning by airplane
after ordering the city abandoned.
MUCH OF THREE-CITY
AREA IN FLAMES
Br ROBERT BELLAIRE
United Press Staff Correspondent
SHANGHAI, Oct. 25. (UP) —
Japan today again defied Britain
and tho United States to stop her
conquest of China and intensified
her attacks on China's provisional
national capital in Hankow, which
was expected to be captured by
nightfall.
The Japanese were confident
that major Chinese oreran:zed re-;
istance had broken and that they
need only to deliver final knock-j
out blows to win a clear-cut vie-1
tory in their 15-months-old war,
with Nationalist China.
Events crowding fast on one an
other included:
1. It was persistently reported
in Shanghai, Hong Kong and else
where tnat China's war-t:me dic
tator, GancraUssimo Chiang Kai
shek, either had or was about to:
resign and that the Chinese Na
tionalist government wottld be re
organized under men with whom
the Japanese would be content to
make peace.
Z. Britain delivered vigorous
protests to the Japanese against;
yesterday's bombing of the British
gunboat Sandpiper, near Chang
sha, south of Hankow, while Japa-1
nese planes were attacking junks
on which Chinese soldiers were re
treating from the Hankow front.
The Japanese, however, showed
no disposition to make hasty apol-1
ogies and offer indemnities such
as they paid when they sank the
U. S. gunboat Panay last Decem
ber. British naval authorities as
serted the Sandpiper was attacked
deliberately but the Japanese de
nied this and were "investigating."
3. The U. S. Dollar line steam«r
President Coolidge was sailing for
the United States after the Japa
nese had forced unloading of a
shipment of silver valued at $4,
500,000 consigned to New York
through the National City Bank
of New York's Shanghai branch
by the Chinese Nationalists. The
case had been referred to Wash
ington but there was every indica
tion that the Japanese-controlled
Central China government in Nan
king would enforce its regulations
against silver exports and claim
the big shipment as "the property
of the Chinese people."
4. The situation in the great
South China metropolis of Can
ton, captured by the Japanese last
week, was chaotic. Chinese arson-1
ists still wandered through the j
city starting fires to fulfill the
Chinese "scorched earth" policy!
which calls for destruction of
everything in the path of the in
vaders. Great areas of the city
already had been burned and
(Continued on page six).
LORD HALIFAX SAYS MUNICH
PEACE PART OF PROGRAM FOR
VERSAILLES PACT REVISION
EDINBURGH, Oct. 25. (UP)—
Viscount Halifax, British foreign
secretary, declared last night In a
speech defending the Munich four- ;
power agreement that an under
stands between Great Britain
and Germany would be the
"strongest agreement that could
be devised" to prevent a Euro
| pean war.
I Halifax made the statement be
fore a mass meeting of the con
servative party in which he sup
ported not only the "peace of Mu
nich" but the general program of
"rectification of frontiers" along
ranal lines. ,
He described the current fron
tier revisions in Centrol Europe
I as a "revision of the Treaty of
, Versailles, for which provision
' was made in the league covenant."
| He encouraged by inference Hun
gary's claims against Czechoslo
I vakia.
| "I do not hesitate to say that
if the German and British nations
could really succeed in reaching
an understanding it would be the
i strongest guarantee that could bei
devised against dangers to which
the world was brought ao close," |
he said.
"I hope indeed that the rectifi
cation of frontiers according to
racial distribution of population
which is now taking place in cen
tral and southeastern Europe may
contribute to stability and peace.
"What we are now witnessing
is revision of the Treaty of Ver
sailles for which provision was
made in the covenant of the
league but which never until now
was made effective. The Hunga
rian government now is negotiat
ing with the Czechoslovak govern
ment and we hope they may reach
an equitable solution which will
remove or lessen racial griev-i
ances.
"We recognize that Hungary
had legitimate claims and we
trust that means may be found to
meet them."
Referring to Britain's huge re
armament program he said:
"If this country is to play a full
part with others in securing peace 1
(Continued on page five)
HANKOW LEFT
WRECKED FOR
JAPS TO HOLD
Public Buildings, Key Fac
tories, Airports Are
Dynamited
U. S. MARINES HELP
GUARD FOREIGNERS
HANKOW, Oct. 25. (UP) —
Japanese troop* today inarched in
to Hankow and began the occupa
tion of the Chinee* government's
emergency capital.
Japanese marched in witho.it
meeting resistance after the Chi
nese army abandoned the city .is
the invaders marched down the
last miles of the Yangtse.
Before the Chinese abandn toJ
the emergency capital and com*
mercial heart of Central Chi-ie,
they burned or dynamited the
public buildings, key factories and
airports under the "scorcltcd
earth" policy of leaving nothing
of military value for the con
querors.
A landing party of American
bluejackets was ordered ashore to
aid guarding foreigners.
Terrorized Chinese clamorpd at
barricades of foreign areas as
flames advanced through the three
sister cities.
Among the foreigners there
were 125 Americans.
Japanese artillery blasted a
path for tanks and motorized in
fantry as the advance guard
moved into the city.
By F. M. FISHER
United Press Staff Corespondent
HANKOW, Oct. 25. (UP).—
American bluejackets were pre
paring to land in Hankow to pro
tect United States interests as
Japanase armies battered their
war into the doomed Chinese pro
visional capital.
The last members of the Chi
nese government had fled and at
9 a. m. fires were spreading in
the former Japanese concession
where Chinese "destruction units"
were touching off mines they had
planted under Japanese-owned
buildings.
At 10 a. m. the Japanese van
guard was reported in Hunating
suburb within five miles of Han
kow proper.
Eight Americans, three Swedes
and two Britons were marooned in
Wuchang when a Chinese launch
they had chartered failed to ar
rive.
Dr. Logan Roots ,an American
missionary from Little Rock, Ark.,
telephoned the United Press that
Chinese soldiers systematically
were destroying all public build
ings in Wuchang.
Foreigners reaching the capital
from Hwangpei said that Japanese
planes were diving on highways
jammed with refugees and ma
chine-gunning scattered groups of
Thirty American blue-jackets
were drawn from the crews of the
U. S. gunboats Guam and Luzon
for the landing party.
umcers saia mey woum ko
ashore "whenever necessary."
The factory district of the tri
city area was afire and Chinese
units were setting off land-mines
to destroy their air fields.
China's war-time dictator, Gen
eralissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, and
bis beautiful American-educated
wife, the former Meiling Soong,
were the first to leave.
They took off from the mili
tary airdrome in Wuchang shortly
after midnight and were believ d
flying to Chungking, second <>f
China's provisional capitals, in t ie
western province of Szechuan.
Five other planes followed the
generalissimo's big silver Douglas
monoplane at half hour intervals,
[t was understood they contained
(Continued on n*ge three)
Charlotte Man Is
New Governor of
Carolina Kiwanis
Hendersonville delegate* return
ing today from the annual Caro
linas district Kiwanis convention
at SpTrtanburg, S. C., reported
that Rjchard E. Thigpen of Char
lotte was elected district governor
to succeed Ames Haltiwange* of
Columbia, S. C., and that John
McDow of Asheville was elected
lieutenant-governor of division
No. 1. including Hender=onvfl!e.
Raleigh was selected as the ne xt
convention city.
The banquet last night, a fea
ture of the convention, was at
tended by 532 persons. Conven
tion delegates numbered 376, in
cluding Dr. J. G. Bennett, Georgo
M. Flanagan and A. F. P*>rlv>r of
Hendersonville. Dr. Joseph R. Fe
vier, immediate past governor,
was on the official program. Mrs.
Sevier and Mrs. Barber also at
tended.