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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1940)
Meth """ueet An G aoita: Journal First in News Photos With the Associated Press Tele Mat service the Capital Journal Is enabled to present photos of world events within a tew hours of their occurrence. Also, the Capital Journal Weathet Partly cloudy tonight and Wed nesday with fogs on coast; temper ature above normal, gentle variable wind. Monday max. 74, mln. 47. Rain ,., , , r .ij- -K. . river -13 it. Northeast wind, clear. 52nd Year, No. 122 JST Salem, Oregon fl fejl . 1 B Tuesday, May 21, 1940 Price Three Cents ESSEUS? imm warn mm fsa sa ens bsi Eg goa sia ina eta raratmmmeiiBiffl esi eei em sag im bb sob csa eb iss rsa es rsi gn on ri m m Pinchers Closed t Order Warship A Ariz Cnoorlori Al Navy Yards Additional Shifts to Em ploy 15,000 President Consults Admirals Washington, May 21 (IP) Naval air strength of not less than 10,000 planes and 16,000 pilots to man them was pro posed in legislation introduced today by house and senate na val committee chairmen after a conference with President Roosevelt and ranking ad' mirals. Washington, May 21 (fP) All navy establishments were ordered today by Lewis Comp- ton. acting secretary, to speed up defense preparations by working additional shifts and by increasing civilian ship, building forces by at least 15,' 000 within three months. Compton sent a letter to the commandants of all naval districts, yards and stations, nil bureaus and offices of the navy department and to headquar- mjih ui Mio mature vviixi. The proposed Increase of 15,000 in shipbuilding forces, the navy said, would be distributed between the Portsmouth, New York City, Mare Island, Philadelphia, Boston, Charleston, Norfolk and Puget Sound navy yards. 66 Warships Building There are 66 warships under con struction or projected, including 8 battleships. Even as Compton's order was an nounced President Roosevelt con centrated on navy affairs, summon- lng ranking admirals and senate and house naval committee chairmen to a conference at which the effects of federal labor laws on ship building were expected to be discussed. The house committee approved a proposal to authorize the navy to dismiss, without regard to the civil service law, employes engaging In .subversive activities. The committee P'wlthheld final action on the legis lation, however, until Vinson could take to the White House a set of amendments designed to relax the labor laws, Mr. Roosevelt, Vinson said, had asked to see these amendments. This gave rise to speculation that the chief executive might turn (Concluded on pure 14, column 4) Germans Claim Berlin, May 21 OP) A battleship, probably of the 29,150-ton "Reso lution" class, was hit heavily twice near the forward turrets and heavy cruiser also hit with heavy bombs yesterday off Narvik, Nor way, the high command reported today in a special communique. (The class, which the British call composed of five dreadnoughts each of 28,150 tons with normal com plements of about 1100 officers and men. (One, the Royal Oak, was tor pedoed and sunk In Scapa Flow October 14, the only battleship the British have acknowledged losing, The, others are the Resolution. Royal Sovereign, Ram 11 les and Re venge. (All are World war veterans.) The text of the communique: "Fighting units of the air force near Narvik took effective part In surface engagements relieved our troops. "An attack against units of the British fleet operating off Narvik was highly successful. A battle ship probably of the 'Resolution' class received two heavy bomb hits near its forward turret, and a hea vy cruiser was hit between Its fight ing top and the forward funnel. "Heavy fire and explosions were observed on both warships. V"It can be assumed with the greatest probability that at least two other war vessels and three merchantmen were damaged by bomb hits." Reynaud A t Fifth Co lumn Premier Promises Punishment for French Officers' Conduct of Meuse Campaign Which He Says Badly Disorganized Still Paris, May 21 (U.R) France the "disaster" of a German ports, but Premier Paul Reynaud blaming the advance on unbelievable laults promised that the allies yet would conquer, even if a miracle is needed to save them. Promising punishment xor those iesponsibie for the German break through the River Meuse, Reynaud said that failure to blow up bridges had been partly responsible for the nazl suc cess and he charged that the army of Gen. Andre Corap failed to reach the river in time to oppose the Ger man Panzer (mechanized) division attacking defenders who were "bad ly officered, badly trained and thin ned out." The premier, addressing the sen ate, referred to the German advance in terms of "disaster" and admitted that the Important cities of Amiens and Arras as well as Peronne and Hamm on the River Somme, had been taken by the Germans. Referring to the "total disorgan ization" of the French armies de fending the Meuse in the Sedan sec tor, Reynaud said: "You now understand the disas ter. . . . This Is how the hinge of tne.Freneh front was broken. . . . "Yet, if tomorrow, someone came to me saying 'a miracle Is needed to save Prance' I would believe that a miracle would come because I be lieve In France. The two great peo ples of two great empires . . . can not be beaten. They will conquer." General Giraud Said Captured Berlin, May 21 (P) (via radio) The Berlin wireless broadcast a des cription today of the capture bv the Germans of "General Giraud," whom It identified as the newly transferred commander of a French army. (The high command said the gen eral and his staff, from the French seventh army, had been taken in action which "crushed" the ninth French army.) "His predecessor had been dis charged by order of the high com mand of allied troops and had al ready left his army," the wireless account said. "Shortly afterward the staff head quarters was overrun by German troops and the whole staff was cap tured. "The new army leader, General Giraud, entered the staff head quarters, unaware of what had hap ped, to take over command. He was received by German troops and ta ken prisoner." Nunes Called For London, May 21 MV-The health ministry today appealed for "every available nurse" in its program for building up a "hospital machine" to care for possible air raid casual ties on the home front as well as wounded from continental battle fields. Wounded soldiers now are arriving In convoys at English ports, Germans Again Burn Library of Louvain By Loull P. Lochner With The German Western Armies, May 21 (IP) An other World war tragedy has been repeated. The library of the University of Louvain, burned in 1914 and rebuilt in 1928 with American funds, Is charred wreckage once more. Flames have gutted the $500,000 structure, erected through public subscription In the United States, and have destroyed Its 700,000 rare volumes, collected from around the world and contributed to replace those lost in 1914. Loss of the new library was dis covered by American newspaper cor respondents visiting Louvain as guests of Adolf Hitler. No one seem ed to be able to say how the fire started. All floors had been swept by flames, and smoke still came from the basement as we looked at it late yesterday. Many American universities coop Hints Believes in Victory fought grimly todav against offensive toward the channel Spies Aid Nazis rive With the British Expeditionary Force in France, May 21 (ff) (De layed: passed by military censor) The German air orce, sowing death by day and night, has bombed ob jectives far behind the fighting lines in 72 hours of extensive operations. (Note: this dispatch was written before Middle ton returned to Lon don with other correspondents, on orders of the B. E. F.) At the same time, the raiding planes undoubtedly are aided by spies working with nazl parachute troops, who destroy communications lines, signal fliers at night, gather military information and encourage panto behind the line. by wild ru mors of defeat. Until the confused situation on the western front settles Into some form of stability such operations are expected to continue, with the allies taking what measures they can, where they can, to meet them. Here, as elsewhere, counter espionage Is handicapped by these surges of population. With the en tire nation on the move, all a para chutist needs to become a "refugee" Is a bicycle, tattered clothes and a forged Identification card. Rumors run through every town. There Is wild talk of revolution In Paris, breaks In the defense lines and the landings of German troops behind the lines. Arras, Amiens Masses of Ruins By Drew Middlcton London, May 21 (P) Arras, the birthplace of Robespierre, "is dead and burled" under the German on slaught In northern France, I was told this morning Just before re turning to London with other war correspondents who have been with the British expeditionary force. "Arras as we knew It last fall Is dead and burled," a British officer told me, "its buildings are demolish ed; Its people have fled and are dead." Amiens, when I saw It Fri day, was Jammed with pathetic refugees from France, Belgium and Holland. Now it has felt the weight of Mars' fist. A flying officer told me that Its cathedral had been shelled and bombed by Germans before they en tered the city. He did not know the extent of the damage. erated to erect the new building on Herbert Hoover square. In the Germans' World war ad vance through Belgium they occu pied Louvain on August 19, 1914. A week later the library was destroyed by fire, with thousands of books and manuscripts which could not be re placed. To help equip the new building, which was built after Cardinal Mer- cler, head of the university, had vis ited the United States and suggested aid for it, various governments con tributed a total of 350.000 volumes. Of these 30,000 came from Germany, 55.000 from Britain and 33,000 from France. Ground Allies French Admit Nazi Progress On Two Fronts Amiens and Arras Ablaze In German Hands Drive On Paris Stalled Paris, May 21 (IP) The Germans, striking with devas tating force, hurled their ar mored cars today almost to the English channel. Amiens and Arras, on the edge of the coastal plain, were ablaze and in German hands. Nazi motorcycle vanguards had reached the outer envir ons of Abbeville, 12 miles from the channel. (The Germans said they had taken Abbeville.) The French had withdrawn from Laon, on the southern edge of the nazl "bulge" Into France. Premier Reynaud warned France's anxious senate that "the fatherland is in danger." Drive to Channel The full might of the nazl power fell on the allied forces as the Ger man drive rushed toward Its goal possession of the channel and sep aration of the allied armies. The region immediately west of Cambral was described by an lnfor mation ministry spokesman as "completely in flames." The Germans, he said, systemati cally fired villages and hamlets. Some nazl troops carried flame throwers, he declared, while others descending from the sky, set blazes to railroad stations, postofllce and hotels. Desolate Area The destructive advance ot the Germans, the spokesman said, was "certainly not confined to military objectives, but objectives of all sorts were attacked and ruined." Laon, approximately 75 miles northeast of Paris, Is closer to the French capital than any other city which the French have acknow ledged abandoning. Heavy fighting continued north west of Laon. The southern end of the German pocket in France, the French spokes man said, now runs 35 miles along an almost straight line Just north of the Alsne river, a natural barrier to hinder a further advance south to ward Paris. While the melee continued on the World war battlefields of Plcardy, German bombers sped to attack channel ports. Little Progress Advance motorcyclists and other light armored units of the enemy pushed west and north of St. Quen tin to be met In violent combat In the Peronne-to-Cambrai region, which Is midway between the Meuse river and the English channel. However, the French spokesman drew a conclusion of "little appre ciable change" In the situation dur ing the last three days. German refueling was Interrupted vigorously, he said, by French bomb ers which caused "considerable dam age" on "magnificent objectives' formed by the enemy's rear line con centrattons of armored vehicles. German aerial losses now far sur pass the three-to-each - allied - one previously announced, the spokes man asserted. (Germans maintain they have the edge on a four-to-one basis.) Yugoslavia Border Closed by Italy Skoplje, Yugoslavia, May 21 (P) The frontier between Yugoslavia and Italian-held Albania was closed late today by Italian order. News of the border closing was received here shortly after the an nouncement in Rome that Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano was leaving for Tirana, cap! tal of Albania, now part of the Italian empire. Reports filtering across the fron tier to Yugoslav military quarters here said the Italian army had speeded up transport of large quan tities of war materials across the J Adriatic to the Albanian port of uurazzo. German Leader Confers With Aides At Front Fuehrer Adolf Hitler (left) with Relchminlster Her mann Goerlng (second from right), according to the- German approved caption to this radiophoto from Berlin, listens to a report being made by Adjutant Colonel Schmundt (right). The exact location was not disclosed. Associated Press Photo. President R iver-Harbor Bill ' Washington, May 21 (P) day a bill authorizing appropriations of $109,985,450 for river and harbor improvements and surveys. In a message to the house, he said he believed projects already authorized sup plied "a sufficient backlog" and that "regardless of every Dock Workers Resume Parley San Francisco, May 21 (JP) Nego tiations for a new Pacific coast longshore labor contract will be re sumed next Monday where they left off a month ago, Frank P. Folsle, president of the Waterfront Em ployers association, said today. A date for resuming negotiations was set at the request of Harry Bridges, president of the CIO In ternational longshoremen's and warehousemen's union. Folsle said the employers had al ways stood ready to resume discus sions for a contract to replace the old agreement which has been ex tended since its expiration last Sep tember. Negotiations had been Interrupted by the ILWU convention nearly a month ago. At the time they were dropped Bridges had proposed long-term contract based on seven fundamentals. These were accepted in principle by employers who coun tered with two fundamental de mands of their own guarantees the contract would be observed and that the stevedores would put In full day's work. Union negotiators rejected a system of fines attached to the employers' proposal. Indications were that negotiators would discuss these divergent basic proposals before again turning to longshore demands for higher wages and a unlvcral six-hour day. Balloon Barrage Volunteers Called London, May 21 (!) The air ministry called today for more men of 30 to 45 "for duties with the bar loon barrage," the system of bal loons attached to steel cables by which a defensive cordon has been placed around London and other cities and along Britain's coasts. The so-called balloon barrage, "floating In the air like mine fields In the ocean," is Intended to snare enemy bombers under conditions of poor visibility. Both Germany and England employ them. The balloons, strung several thou sand feet In the air on cables, with Inter-lacing wires to form a net' work, keeping raiding bombers high and affect their accuracy. The bar rage is useless in clear air. Martin Reappointed New York, May 20 (IF) The board of governors of the New York stock exchange today re-apnolnted Wil liam McChcsncy Martin, 32, presl dent of the exchange for a one-year term commencing June 1, Vetoes President Roosevelt vetoed to other consideration, It seems to be that the non-military activities of the war department should give way at this time to the need for military preparedness." About 17,750,000 worth of pro jects in Alaska, Oregon and Wash ington were involved in tne bill. The projects included: Columbia river at Camas, turning basin, $45, 000; Columbia river at Arlington, approach canal, (39,000; Tacoma harbor. Improve Wapato waterway. $160,000; Umpqua river and harbor channel, $55,000; Salmon river rock removal, $5000; Baker Bay, Colum bia river channel Improvement, $170,000; Willamette river channel Improvement, $3,600,000; bry cen ter channel, Wlllapa harbor, $30, 000; Olympla harbor channel Im provement, $88,000. Other projects were in Alaska. Crescent City Harbor, Calif., ex- tend breakwater, $1,610,000. Cotiullle river, Ore., provide for a channel 13 feet deep from the sea to a point one mile above the Co- quille river lighthouse, and for snagging to the state highway bridge at Coqullle City. Annual maintenance $2,000. No other costs. Columbia river at Bonneville, Ore., authorizes secretary of war to ac quire lands and provide facilities to replace Indian fishing grounds sub merged or destroyed as a result of construction of Bonneville dam. No amount specified. Big Guns Heard In English Towns London, May 21 WP) Heavy rumb ling like distant thunder was heard tonight in the cast coast towns of Great Yarmouth and Gorlcston, stirring speculation among res! dents that it was gunfire on the continent. Doors were shaken and crockery rattled on shelves in seashore homes Old-timers recalled they often heard continental artillery fire in the world war. More U. S. Warships In Portuguese Waters Lisbon, May 21 (Additional United States warships are expect ed In Portuguese waters, It was re ported here today. A new naval squadron, It was said, Is coming to replace the one now on the Tagus river, but both will be here for several weeks so "the United States may have number of units on the Tagus at the opening of centennial celebrations." The United States cruiser Omaha flagship of the new squadron, It was said, Is due next week. The cruiser Trenton is flagship of the squadron now stationed here. 033 WW im Belgium Britons Admit Cruiser's Loss London, May 21 () The 0550-ton British cruiser Effingham has betn lost after striking a rock off the Nor wegian coast, the admiralty on nounced today. She became a total loss, but all aboard were saved. The Effingham's normal complement was 749 officers and men. ! The admiralty communique: "The secretary of the admiralty regrets to announce that, as a result of damage sustained through strik ing an uncharted rock off the Nor wegian coast, H.M.S. Effingham has become a total loss. There were no casualties." The Rawalpindi, sunk November 25 by the German pocket battleship Deutschland off Iceland with the loss of 280 men, was a merchant steamer converted to an armed mer chant cruiser. Correspondents Called Back London, May 21 (fl1) American correspondents who had been with the British army in Belgium return ed today to London. Among them were Drew Middlcton of the Asso ciated Press and Arthur Mann of Mutual Broadcasting System. Messages reaching New York said it was believed that all correspond ents with the British troops on the continent had been ordered back. This was interpreted as an indi cation that the situation of the Brit lsh army of 300,000 men In Belgium had become extremely precarious as a result of the German army's great mechanized thrust toward the Eng lish channel. If that drive reaches the coast, said Berlin dispatches, the British army will be cut off from its French allies and penned between greatly superior numbers of Germans and the coast. Italy Preparing to Enter War with Nazis Rome, May 21 (P) Italy, Germany's non-belligerent ally, appeared today to be preparing to enter the war as she ordered black-outs and air raid drills in her chief industrial areas for a three-day test begin - nlng tonight. Speeches of Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano In Milan and Cremona, In which he said that Italy awaits only "the or der of the day" from Premier Mus solini "when he will have decided upon It," Increased the feeling am ong Italians that they might be called shortly to fight on one of their frontiers. Diplomatic circles attached signi ficance to an article by Giovanni Ansaldo, editor of Count Clano's newspnper II Telcgrafo, who wrote "the hour Is near when our In fluence on the course of events must be more active." CSS Nazis Within 15 Miles of Sea Coast French 9th Army Crush ed and General Captur ed Successes Claimed Berlin.May 21 (IP) In a lightning break through, the nazis declared today that they, had stormed to within 15 . miles of the English channel while their vanguards on the southern front pushed within sight of the Eiffel tower in Paris. The Germans reported these successes: 1. Capture of Abbeville. Amiens and Arras in the drive toward the English channel; 3. Crushing ot France's ninth army and the capture of a French commander, General Giraud, with, his staff; Rcthel Captured 3. Elimination of the last allied resistance in Rethel, the capture of Lano and an advance to the Alsne Olse canal on the southern edge of the "bulge" in northern France; 4. Capture of the last fort la Belgium's Namur fortifications, at tacks east of Ghent and frustration of an "enemy attempt to force a way out southward from Valencien nes": S. Heavy damage by air attack: to transports, merchantmen and war vessels on the French-Belgian coast; bomb hits on a British bat tleship and heavy cruiser off the Norwegian coast. The racing plunge to Abbeville, about midway between the French channel porta of Dieppe and Bou logne, was said by nazis to have put Adolf Hitler's army In position for a battle which might bring destruction to the British expedi tion In France as well as to a large segment on the Belgian- French defenses. Allies Cut-off Opposing the German march, nazis have estimated, are about 300,000 British, 250,000 Belgians and 1,000,000 French troops. In the drive westward, called by the Germans a march of unprece dented magnitude, the nazl armies apparently had succeeded In cut ting off the mass of allied troops fighting for the past 12 days on Belgian soil. They said the developments of the past 24 hours apparently carry ing the nazis farther at some points than the German armies pushed throughout the World war Indi cated the allies were on the verga of paralyzing losses in Belgium and northern France. The Germans seemed confident that they had bottled up the whole British expeditionary force. Say British Fleeing Acidly, these sources asserted that the English were fleeing to the channel ports to embark for home "In the century-old convic tion that the British Isles are in vincible." In the dozen days since crossing the Belgian border May 10, the Germans have raced a total of 240 miles, first toward Paris and then (ConrluilFil on pnse 13, cnlumn ) ' When Italy does move, he added, one of Its objectives will be "terri torial Increases." He declared that, although Bri tain and France undoubtedly would react differently now to Italian claims than they did 18 months ago, It would be "too late." Telephone connections between Rome and London, meanwhile, re mained suspended. The possibility of Italy's entrance Into the conflict in the Immediate future was indicated further by the air raid drills, which were the first ordered since the opening days of the war last September. )
