Basketball
Scores appear first la Tho
Oregon Statesman. : While
yon sleep. Statesman report
era cover the games. Read
boat tbem over your break
fast. . .
. Weather
Unsettled with raia today,
ad Sunday; rala or snow
orer moan tains. Max. temp,'
Friday 51, mln. 4S. River
141 ft. South wind.
EIGHTY-NINTH YEAS
Salem, Oregon, Saturday Morning, December SO, 1939
Price 3e; Newsstands 5c'
No. 239
ykm EskcIi Other
Mmm
XL
JLiandis
Is: Not
Report Clears
CIO Leader of
Coast Charges
Dean of Harvard Law
School Finds no
Affiliation
"West Longshore Head
- Not to Be Deported
on Red Count
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19-iPy-James
M. Landls, Harvard law
school dean acting aa a special
labor department examiner, sub
mitted to Secretary Perkins" to
day a finding that Harry' Bridges,
West coast CIO leader, is neither
a member nor affiliated with the
communist party.
Landls' finding was set forth
In a letter to the labor secretary
transmitting his report on the de
portation proceedings Instituted
by the department against
Bridges, at which Landls presided.
He made no specific recommen
dation as to whether Bridges
should be deported although his
finding was negative on the prin
cipal grounds for deportation.
Landls Informed the secretary
that the evidence submitted "does
aot permit" a finding that the
CIO leader has communist affilia
tions. Deportation Proceeding- "
Began in March, 103S
- "Bridges has denied that he
was a commnnist.
The deportation proceedings
against Bridges were Instituted In
March, 1338, on the grounds
that he was a member of an or
ganization allegedly advocating
the overthrow of the government
by force and violence.
The 39-year old CIO leader,
who came into labor prominence
during the 1934 maritime strikes
en the west coast, is a native of
Australia. He came to the United
States In 1920.
The hearing afforded Bridges
an opportunity to show cause why
ho should not be deported and the
government was faced with the
obligation of proving two essen
tial points to win its case.
It was required to prove: first,
that Bridges was a member of the
party or affiliated with it at the
time -warrant was served upon
htm in March. 1938. Secondly,
the government was required to
prove that if Bridges was a mem
ber or was affiliated with the par
ty that the organisation advoca
ted the overthrow of the govern
ment by force and violence.
Object of Communists
Is Not Considered
In his report to Secretary Per
kins, Landls said he did not deem
It necessary to make a finding as
to whether the party "advocates,
advises or teaches the overthrow
of the government of the United
States byforce or violence. . . "
The next' step In the case ap
proval or rejection of the Landls
finding Is up to Secretary Per
kins. Legal experts said that if she
approved the finding her action
would cancel the warrant Issued
against Bridges and close the
case.
The Bridges proceedings have
been a subject of controversy In
and out of congress ever since the
department issued the warrant.
Most of the criticism waa aimed
at Miss Perkins because the hear
ing was not started soon after is
suance of the 1938 warrant. The
hearing was . convened in June,
1919.
She replied repeatedly that the
delay was unavoidable until the
supreme court could rule on a
somewhat similar deportation
ease involving the question of
communist party membership as
grounds -for deportation. . .
Membership Not Baals - '
For Deportation : " ' T '
The high , court In the other
ease Involving Joseph O. Streck
r of Hot Springs, Ark that an
alien could not be deported sole
ly because ho once held member
ship in the communist party. The
court did not rule directly on
whether a communist could be de
-ported.
Landls report was compiled
from an t,0 00-page record ac
cumulated during an '11 weeks
hearing at Angela island. San
Francisco.
The hearing ended September
14. His report running 78,000
words and covering 1S2 printed
pages, has not yet been made pub
lic by the labor derailment,
The text of Landls' letter out
lining his finding follows:
To the secretary of labor:
I have the honor to submit here
with my findings In the matter of
the deportation of Harry R.
Bridges.
. These findings are, perhaps, un
usually long and detailed but I
have thought it desirable to state
(Turn to Page 8, CoL 3.)
HI! ! fl 0' TTD Jl
Red Affiliate
'Stormy PetreF
Of Coast Clear
Object of a deportation attempt
begun! nearly two years ago,
Harry ! Bridges, west coast CIO
longshoremen's leader, last
night was cleared of charges of
communist affiliation In a re-
port to Secretary of Labor Per
kins made by Dean Landls of
the Harvard law school, who
heard the proceedings as judge.
It's a little late for her to be
about, but we ran into Mrs. Santa
Claus yesterday. She's the wife of
Mr. George wy
att, who has
been in the San
ta Claus business
In these ; parts
for nigh onto ten
years.
Mr. Santa Claus
(or Mr4 Wyatt
if you are one of
those unbeliev
ers) is the orig
inal Santa Claus
on Salem streets. Foi a. aauaer. it.
He started a long time ago as a
department store Claus and for
many years was a familiar Yule
tide figure, especially around the
Liberty street department stores.
We didn't see Mr. Wyatt In
action this year, because, great
ly to his disappointment, he was
able to ply his trade only two'
days. He was the Sears Santa
who got sick. And after the
Sears people made a special trip
to the coast, where he was liv
ing, to get him, too.
Mr. Wyatt-Claus in all these
years has played the part of S.
Nick up to the hilt. Purely on his
own time he has visited state in
stitutions, aged and sick persons
and many homes. Mrs. Wyatt has
been trying to carry on this year,
but it's quite a load and she has
n't yet completed the rounds.
Mr. Wyatt's greatest pride is
that his great white beard is the
real McCoy. Once when he visited
the children at the tuberculosis
hospital, Mrs. Wyatt says, one of
the kids asked if ho might tug
Santa's beard. Mr. Wyatt stooped
down and the little fellow tugged
and tugged. -'
"Gee," said the tot when ho
guve up, -They stay on. That
: other . Santa Clans' whiskers -"came
right off. -
, . -.. . : - ' "
Marvin Byers, president of the
Ton Can't Do That to Mo Twice
club, the sole aim of which is
death to the double feature, was
heard to remark yesterday of a
theatre manager whose cinema
palace has a predilection for B
pictures,' "Why 111 bet that guy
even takes Grade B milk at
(Turn to Page 1, CoL 8.)
i i rum 1 ii il l '
t " .: .. '
. ;
- tj " ?
if . i
, - v -
L- -fcO -
t
En toe Ear..
! -
Paul Hauser's Column
t . 4
7
New US Budget Is Expected j
To Contain Some Surprises
, WASHINGTON, Dec. H.-JPh
A' budget containing tome "sur
prises" .was predicted today, by a
treasury ! official while President
Roosevelt was telling correspond
ents ho had , arrived at a final
figure which ho called good.'!
What i the surprises might be
the official would not ' disclose,
nor. would Mr. Roosevelt reveal
his total budget figure. -
But reports of apparent authen
ticity .have placed the - budget's
total at about $9,250,000,000.
with a deficit in the neighborhood
of 13,000.000.000. Both figures
are smaller than the correspond
ing items ; for the current - fiscal
year. j '
' Tho budget, to be sent to con
gress Thursday, is the executive
department's outline of proposed
government expenditures in the
new fiscal year, beginning . next
July 1. A messenger will take it
from the White House to the cap
itoL but tho president will deliver
in person tho previous day Wed
nesday his annual messago on
the state of the nation. -,
imaar the thousands of fls-
res which comprise the budget.
Wheat Export
Subsidy Ended
ort
Payments Will Be Made
Only on Flour j for
Philippines
$33,000,000 "Bounty"
Paid out Since
Plan Started
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2
Prospects of a short crop and a
wide spread between domestic and
world price levels led the agri
culture department to abandon its
wheat export subsidy program to
day. Secretary Wallace announced
that after 11 a. m. (PST) next
Wednesday the agriculture de
partment would pay a subsidy
only on the export of flour from
Pacific coast ports to the Philip
pine Islands.
Since inauguration of the pro
gram in August, 1938, in an ef
fort to regain and hold the Unit
ed States' "fair share" of foreign
markets, the department has paid
a bounty on 128,250,000 bushels
of wheat at a cost of about 333,
000,000. The subsidy rate on some
recent sales was as high as 33
cents a bushel.
Unless there Is a drastic change
In the relation between Ameri
can, and foreign wheat prices, lit
tle or no additional wheat will
move abroad, officials said. Do
mestic prices have been running
between 30 and 38 cents a bush
el above world prices, thereby
placing American grain at it mar
ket disadvantage.
. Total exports for the season are
expected to be little more than
the 24,600,000 bushels. Including
flour, already sold under the sub
sidy, compared with total sales
of 118,054,000 bushels last season
and a long-time annual average of
70,000,000 bushels. This na
tion's "fair share" of foreign mar
kets has been placed at about
100,000,000 bushels by farm of
ficials. Officials have forecast that the
1940 wheat crop In view of the
drought, will bo only 600,000,000
bushels, or about 80,000,00
bushels below a normal season's
needs, 1 but Wallace emphasized
that the United States had ample
supplies.
He said that next year's crop
would bo supplemented with a
surplus of about 254.000,000
bushels of grain from 1 previous
years. It is the agriculture de
partment's policy to keep a re
serve of between 200,000,000 and
250.000,000 bushels at all times.
Wallace credited the subsidy
program and the government's
commodity loan policies with
preventing domestic prices , from
falling to the world level.- '
He said that farmers who co
operated with this year's farm
program were receiving about 90
cents a bushel for their wheat, In
cluding government subsidies. He
said this was still short of the
parity" or so-called ."fair" price
of 81.13 which growers should
receive.
. Woman Lucky
PORTLAND, Ore., Dee. 2 )--Jane
Saddler, Portland, figures
she is about the luckiest person
over to be robbed. Last week a
burglar stole household articles
worth 8114 and IIS in cash from
her home. Today the articles
were mailed back.
two are expected to stand out in
particular a recommendation
that about. $1,000,000,000 be ap
propriated for relief, and that na
tional defense expenditures bo in
creased , by $500,000,000 or to.
The billion-dollar relief figure
compares with a fund of about
$1,500,000,000, for the present
year. - ; V- .. ;
The president also-has been in
sisting that other department and
bureau heads hold, down the esti
mates of their needs and report
edly has been slashing their fig
ures right and left. - - - t
While the budget is essentially
a detailed estimate of how much
each .little or big branch' of . tho
federal "government will need to
keep it going in the next fiscal
year, it is accompanied by an es
timate, necessarily vague, of what
the government's Income may be
expected to be in the same period.
Tho budget has no binding ef
fect upon congress, being merely
a request for funds which con
gress may approve, increase, de
crease or reject. -
(Turn to Page 2. CoL 4.)
BySh
Crop
State Welfare
Heads Protest
Security Fiat
Submit "Unwillingly" to
Federal Board Merit
System Decree :
State's Right to Set up
Own Rules Reserved i
Budgets Okehed
PORTLAND, Dec. 29Hf)-The
state welfare commission "ac
cepted under protest" today the
social security board's order to
comply with the merit system In
personnel matters. '
The commission reserved the
right to establish its own rules
to put the standards into effect
pending a ruling by the attorney
general on the board's right to
enforce its order on Oregon.
550 Present Employes
Affected by Order
Under the board's order, 850
commission employes . would be
forced to take qualifying examina
tions to hold their jobs after hav
ing been employed two years un
der Oregon's own government-approved
merit syBtem, Administrat
or Elmer R. Goudy said.
However, unless Oregon com
plies, the federal board may
withhold relief funds from the
state.
A $35,000 revolving fund for
Multnomah county's food stamp
plan, to go into effect January
2, was approved by the commis
sion. Goudy said a larger fund
might be needed later for tho
business, which will allow relief
recipients to buy $1.60 worth
of merchandise, a third of its sur
plus commodities, for $1.
The plan will result In $1,250,
000 worth of new retail business
in Oregon in 1940, Chairman Jack
Lnlhn predicted. . t
(Turn to Paso , Column" IX;.
New US Citizens
Are Entertained
Smiles Light Faces of 66
Who Have Received
Final Papers
Smiles lit up the faces of the
members, of Marlon county's
newest group of American citizens
as they received, from County
Clerk U. G. Boyer, their final
papers during a reception given
in their honor by the Federated
Patriotic Societies of Salem last
night at the chamber of com
merce. Each of the members of the 88
pupil class granted final papers
beamed a smile of satisfaction as
he or she marched to tho front of
the room to receive them. One,
an Irisher for sure, held aloft the
small American flag given each
and cried out, "She's ours now,"
while the gathering applauded.
Dr. J. C. Harrison, pastor of
the First Methodist ehurch, told
the new citizens that America of
fers them faith in themselves,
faith in their country and faith
in their government.
"America offers you many
privileges," Dr. Harrison said,
"and in return it expects you to
give your best in character.
-Above all,' ho said,- "don't be
intolerant'
Glen Adams, president of the
Federation, welcomed the new
citizens, warning them that their
duties had Just begun. Bertha
(Turn to page 2, column 1)
Breakwater Asked
For Tort Oxford
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29-ff)S.
A. Lawrence, Port Orford record
er, was Informed by Senator
Charles McNary today that he
"had reason to believe" the army
eenglneers. had reported favorably
on need for a breakwater at Port
Orford.
Lawrence's letter to tho sena
tor said a breakwater would re
vive business, afford a safe har
bor during winter, storms and
bring new industry to the south
western Oregon section. ...
Lawrence added that the har
bor .was selected as a refuge in
1880 but nothing further was
done by the government. ,.- The
senator replied that the board
of army engineers would consider
a harbor survey on January 28
and "haul reason to believe
the recommendations were favor
able. -. . .
2 Sentenced for .
Tavern Robbery
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec X9-(ffj
i-Wilbur Brown, 24, jointly indict
ed with Oswald F. Hess. 19, on
a charge of burglary of a tavern
here . December 4, pleaded guilty
today and was sentenced by Cir
cuit Judge James V. Crawford to
two years In tho state prison.
Hess, shot by tho tavern owner
daring the holdup. Is still in a
hospital. . . - .
Agreement to Arbitrate
' Averts
Papers Signed;
6 Hours Ahead
Of Strike Call
Salem City Buses to
Continue Usual
Schedules
Wages Sole Question
for Discussion hy
Owners, Drivers
Strike of Oregon Motor Stages
drivers, mechanics and helpers
was averted by a six-hour margin
last night when employe and em
ployer representatives signed an
arbitration agreement in Port
land at 6:45 p. m.
The strike, called Thursday for
1 a. m. today, would have halted
city street bus service In Salem
and Eugene and interurban serv
ice to many Willamette valley
communities from Portland to Eu
gene and from the Cascades to
the coast.
The arbitration will be confined
to the question of wages, a point
demanded by the employes and
issue on which the strike call was
based Thursday.
Carried out under provisions
of the onion drivers' contract
which expired late In October, the
arbitration will be conducted by
one representative each named by
the employes and the employer
and a third who will bo selected
by these two, or If they can not
agree, picked by Judge John L.
Rand, chief justice of the supreme
court.
Wage Increase Asked
For All Drivers
The Salem and Eugene drivers
asked for an Increase in wages
from 62 cents to 78 cents per
hour and tho interurban drivers
sought a raise from 2.35 to 3.5
cents per mile. Oregon Motor Sta
ges mechanics also sought an
equalization of wages paid in the
Portland, Salem and Eugene
(Turn to Page 2, Col. 8)
State Forester's .
Name Is Withheld
Announcement of Nominee
Waits Confirmation
Expected Today
The state board of forestry late
yesterday afternoon appointed a
temporary state forester but with
held disclosure of his Identity
pending confirmation on his ac
ceptance. The. forester-elect -Is expected
to give his answer today. Gover
nor Charles A. Sprague, board
chairman, said.
The new man will fill the posi
tion from which J. W. Ferguson
recently resigned as of next Mon
day. The board declined to explain
details of the appointment, made
after a 3 H-hour session, most
of it closed, but an Informed
source said tenure of the tempor
ary forester was expected to ex
tend 'over a period of a few
months' to tire tho board more
time to - select a permanent for
ester. ,
Action on a letter recently pre
sented by the Marion - County
Taxpayers association asking ' for
an investigation of fiscal practices
of tho forestry department was
deferred by the board until it has
received a report from - a special
audit now In progress. The report
will be presented in mid-January.
Nut Control Board
WASHINGTON, Dec 29.-AV
Operating methods of tho walnut
control hoard drew ' a complaint
from Sam A. Holden of Newberg,
Ore., to Senator Charles L. Mc-
Nary (R-Ore) today. :
The walnut control board Is
the brain child of the California
Walnut association and it dictates
tho whole program," Holden said,
"The officials of tho Oregon coop
eratives arc the local puppets.
'Oregon walnut property is a
dead investment unless wo become
divorced from CaUfornla domina
tion. To be the tall of tho Cali
fornia kite is finis to our "hopes
of a change tor the better aa well
as our Investments." '
; The ''glutted." domestic nut
meat market was 'caused by the
walnut board cracking so much of
the crop and "destroying the mar
ket for nuts in the shell," Holden
asserted.
. Tho senator advised him that
officials here said 40 per cent of
tho crop handled by tho board was
exported and 60 per cent shelled-
Complain
Drivers
His Job to Name
Bus Line Arbiter
t - f V
Jndge John L. Rand, chief Justice
of the Oregon supreme court,
' whom Oregon Motor Stages
company and employe repre
sentatives last night designated
to name a third arbiter in their
wage dispute If their own ap
pointees are unable to agree on
a third man.
Quintet Narrowly
Escapes Disaster
Scio Mother, 4 Daughters
Nearly Asphixiated
by Car Fumes
A 27-year-old Scio mother and
four daughters narrowly escaped
asphyxiation from carbon monox
ide en route home from Silverton
in tho family automobile yester
day afternoon. Captain C. M.
Charlton, jr., of the Salem first
aid car staff, reported. '
Gilbert Calavan of Scio was
driving his family home on the
Silverton-Stayton - road when he
saw his 13-year-old daughter,
Jean, collapse. When he stopped,
Mrs. Calavan, their 4-year-old
twin daughters, Vivian and Vir
ginia, and another daughter, Jac
queline, 6, disembarked, only to
fall to the road, unconscious,
Charlton reported. Calavan called
for the first aid car from the
McElhaney ranch home nearby.
By the time the first aid crew
arrived, all but Jean had regained
full consciousness and she had
partially recovered. Mrs. Calavan
was suffering from shock. Oxy
gen was administered to all five.
Captain Charlton said all five
would get along "all right." Cala
van telephoned for a brother at
Scio to come after his family, in
another car. Neither - he nor a
nephew, of Silverton, Iras affect
ed by the gas. ; . '
Daughter Is Only
Survivor
NEW YORK, Dec 29--MIr-iam
Solovleff, an 18-year-old con
cert violinist, today was the only
surviving member of a family
which her father had sought to
bring together again and then,
falling, had destroyed.
During the day her mother,
Elizabeth, 88, and her sister, Vi
vienne, 12, died of the wounds
which Aaron Solovieft had In
flicted on them last night. He
fired at Miriam too twice, and
missed and then sent the fifth
bullet from his pistol Into his own
head.
Xl Or-
Shooting
Aero Board Seeks Effective,
Safe State Aviation Program
BY STEPHEN C. MERGLER l
Indlcatlng an intention to move
carefully and ' not hand out Jobs
merely, as political " plums, . tho
new. state board of aeronautics in
appointing Captain: Leo G. De
van ey as aeronautics director did
so on a probationary basis pro
bationary as to Its own program
of aviation development as much
as to Devaney as an individual.
. Captain Devaney has outlined a
program and so has the board.
Their plans will be tried out for
90 days before an effort Is made
to decide exactly what,' if ' any
thing, tho board should , do to
promote activity in the aviation
field in Oregon, according to Lee
U. Eyerly, Salem member of the
board, . . :. - ' . . v. ; .-
k Inspection of aircraft subject to
state authority will bo placed In
the hands of -federally licensed
mechanics and pilots and their
approval must be had before the
board will issue a certificate . of
airworthiness. - '
This constitutes a new Inspec
tion policy on - the - state's part,
Eyerly declared, and one believed
likely to produce a mora thor
ough job than in the past."
Strike
British Ship
Limps to
a
On O wn Steam
Battleship Crippled
in Attack by
U-Boat
First Land Casualty
; s Announced by
Officials LOXDOX, Dec. 30-(Saturday)
(TP) The London Daily
Herald disclosed today that'
Corporal Thomas Priday was
the first British soldier to be
killed in action during the war.
Priday was killed on Decem
ber 9 while on patrol duty be
tween German and British
lines on the western front.
LONDON, Dec. 29-()-The
British battleship torpedoed by a
German U-boat limped into port
under her own steam tonight, the
admiralty announced, with four
missing and one of the crew ser
iously wounded.
The missing men were believed
killed when the warship, one of
Britain's 11 battleships, was dam
aged by a German submarine in
the war at sea which thus far
has cost the British .14 naval
vessels.
Three Men ' Killed
In U-Boat Attack .
ho- admiralty issued - the fol
lowing communique after the Ger
man high command had an
nounced a British battleship of
the Queen Elizabeth class had
been torpedoed "west of Scot
land" by a German submarine:
"A 'torpedo attack has been
made on a British battleship by
a U-boat. Some damage was
caused - and three men were
killed." - 1
Subsequently an unofficial
statement : distributed by British
news agencies said "It has been
ascertained from inquiry at the
admiralty" that the battleship
(Turn to page 2, column 1)
Many Turks Face
Starvation, Col
Death Toll of Earthquake
Mounts Steadily at
Blizzards. Strike
"ANKARA, Dec 29.-AV-Hund-
reds of thousands of Turks to
night faced the possibility . . of
death from starvation, cold and
disease in quake-split Anatolia as
blizzards and wrecked or snow
blocked communication lines com
bined to hinder rescuers.
The death toll was mounting
hourly, and officials said It
might. reach S0.000.
..The number of persons injured
or suffering from exposure was
believed to be at least 30,000.
Adding further to the fears of
the populace was the prediction
of authorities that more shocks
might come in the next ten days.
Director Fatln of the Istanbul ob
servatory said that this week's
geological disturbance apparently
occurred 16 miles below the sur
face of the earth and covered a
wide area, and that as a result
further movements might be ex
pected before the strata settled.
(Turn to Page 2, Column 2)
O -
By way : of " aviation develop
ment, the board 'hopes to' assist
flying :" schools,' coordinate' inter
ests of state departments in aero
nautics, foster construction of air
ports along . highways, in remote
areas and-in towns and cities and
encourage-improvement of exist
ing fields. . '
Captain Devaney was selected
to oversee this program after
three applicants had been Inter
viewed Thursday and "as far aa
politics are concerned, there were
absolutely none involved In our
selection," Eyerly asserted, i
'While Governor Charles A.
Sprague told -his new board in
mid-November that he questioned
tho necessity of hiring a full-time
"aeronautics Inspector," he Is
willing to accept the board's de
cision that a director of Its activ
ities should be employed, ho indi
cated yesterday. ' j ;
, '"The employment of a state di
rector of aeronautics is purely a
board matter," the 'governor ex
plained. "It is apparent that his
services are necessary or Devaney
(Turn to Page 3, CoL. 5.) ;
30 Days' War
Shows Slight
Soviet Gains
Finnish Ski Scouts
Cut off 10,000
From Army
900 "Comrades" Die
in two Separate
Encounters
COPENHAGEN', Dec. SO
( Saturday )-;p)- Finnish kl
scouts have rut off 10,000
Russian troops from ronuusa)
cation with their base on the
central Finland border near
Salla, reports from Kemijarvl
indicated early today
The . reports indicated the
Finns under General Kurt ,'
Marttl AVallenius, commander
of the central front army, were
gathering a strong force to
surround this group of invad
ers effectively and force tbem
into a decisive action northeast
of Kemijarvj.
By LYNN HEINZERLIXG
HELSINKI, Dec. 29(JP)-FxitI-ous
fighting among the Russian
invaders with Red artillery and
planes shelling and bombing their
own men was reported in Fin
land tonight as the vast but vague
Russian offensive showed little '
progress at the, end of 30 days of
undeclared war.
Finns Announce 9O0
Killed In Two Battles
The Finnish command : mean
time announced that 900 Rus
sians had been kiljed in two
separate, unsuccessful thrusts on
the Karelian Isthmus and that
Finnish soldiers . had captured
quantities of war materials.
The . story of confusion and
deadly mistakes in Russian ranks
in the Salla sector of central Fin- -
land was told by the Finnish newi
agency, - ,;,.' -
First, new Russian guns were
brought into action in what waa
meant to be another drive through
the center of the little country.
But the attack bogged down when
soviet planes and the new cannon
rained death on their own infan
trymen. British reports also told or
bloody and unexplained fighting
between two Russian regiments in
the Salla area. It was believed.
however, that each regiment took
the other for a Finnish unit.
uiant iiun oucuicu
by Finn Aircraft (
Recent reports from unison
have told of a giant gun which
regularly dropped shells on the
Important port of Vitpuri. Thm
was reported silenced last night,
and the latest Finnish communi
que today showed that a Russian
attempt to capitalize on the long-
range shelling had been beaten off
after heavy fighting on tho lsta
mus. "On the (Karelian) isthmus,"
the high commsnd's communique
said, "the enemy again attacked
on December 28 at the northern
end of Lake Hatjalahden and east
of Summa. Both attacks were re
pulsed and altogether five enemy
tanks were destroyed In addition
to the two we captured. .
"The enemy also resumed bis
attack on Kelja but was beattn
off."
Russian Dead Left
Lying on Battlefield
The Finns said uv kubbums
dead were left in a battle at Kelja,
on the isthmus, between 8 p.m.
December 26 and noon of Decem
ber 27 and that 200 Jtnsslan cas
ualties were left on the field after
fighting on tho-Sysky lake sector
December 27, --
sMnnlah soldiers seized rifles.
automatic weapons and ammuni-'
tlon in both actions.
."In the Kuhmo sector," tao
communique said, "our troop
captured a tank and an anti-tank
gun destroyed a column of 46
pack horses.
"North of Suomussalmt a bat
tle around Lake Klanta continued
all day. Our troops destroyed a
enemy supply column and on
armored car and captured thre
tanks and two guns."
Russian .-Air. Force ,
Lashes ont Again -
f -The red air force again lashed
out-acrosa southwestern Finiaao,
tiona and sea coast towns during
the brief daylight hours, bur tt
still was not clear tonight wheth
er . there had beenvany serious
damage. In tho icy gloom of the Petsa-
mo area., iu aivuv muuu, vw
ing new has been reported sinco
tho Russians were observed try
ing to ' entrench themselves an-r
end a precipitate retreat. - '
- There were unconfirmed re
ports that Joseph Stalin was mov
ing ruthlessly to accelerate the
creeping -pace of the Russian at
tack. " '
Picked troops of Russian sharp
shooters accustomed to fighting
on skis were said to be en route
to the front from S3 far away as
Siberia. Other hard-bitten battal
ions, experienced In dealing n
guerrilla warfare now favored by
thOvFinns in some sectors, were
moving up from the Caucasus.'
Regiments of cossack cavalry
were being sent - to replace tfce
frosted tank battalions.