G aipital
Weather
Partly cloudy tonight and Satur
day, occasional light rain, little
change In temperature, east to north t
wind. .
Thursday max. 60, mln. 29 (last
13 hours). Rain 0. River -.4 ft. N.W.
wind, clear.
2 p. m. in Salem
Ij 11 p. m. In Vienna and Athens;
10 p. m. In London. Paris and Ber
lin; 13 a. m In Cairo. That's why
you get European war news first
In the Capital Journal hours
ahead.
53rd Year, No. 45 SSTVSSA Two Sections-18 pages Salem, Oregon
Friday, February 21, 1941
11 Price Three Cents
On Trains and News
stands pit Onu
Nazi Army Crossing Daoy be olb
Ill III TvTITI rVO
& n :
ii wmEsa .1 11 B
Bulgaria
House Passes
,BiII to Curb
Auto Accidents
Compels Drivers Involved
In Crashes to Carry In
surance or Lose License
The house passed and sent
to the senate today, by a 51 to
8 vote, a bill to provide that
owners and drivers of auto
mobiles involved in automo
bile accidents should have
their drivers' licenses and 11
cense plates suspendid until
they prove their nnancial re
sponsibility. The bill would affect all per
sons involved in accidents, re
gardless of whether they are
In hlnnta nn. 1.1 tns4tiar1 V,,, ,hn
house Insurance committee.
The effect of the bill, opponents
charged, would be to force every car
owner to carry liability insurance.
Rep. E. C. Frlsbie (R., Baker)
chairman of the committee, said the
bill would reduce the number of ac
cidents and reduce insurance rates.
He said that in New Hampshire,
which has a similar law, the number
of traffic fatalities has been reduced
by 50 percent In three years, insur
ance rates have dropped 30 percent,
and that 80 percent of the car own
ers now are protected by liability
Insurance.
Frlsbie said that in Oregon, own
ers have one chance in six each year
of being involved In accidents, 74,000
of Oregon's 477,000 licensed drivers
having been Involved last year.
No Penalty Now
"Today, If the reckless driver is
caught, we fine him and let him go
on his reckless way," Frlsbie said. "If
this hill Is nnnspri it. wnnlrt ririvi snme
of them off the highways and give
the public protection against the
rest."
Rep. George R. Duncan (R., Mar
lon) said the bill would drive many
cars off the road and work a hard
ship against indigent car owners who
could not afford insurance. He sug
gested an outright compulsory in
surance law.
Rep. Phil Brady (R., Mult.) said
150,000 Portland laboring men who
drive to work each day would be
(Concluded on paee 11, column 8)
Swansea Again
Bombers' Target
London, Feb. 21 VP) Swansea
bore the brunt of German air at
tacks last night for the second night
In succession.
by high explosive bombs and casu
alties.
London Itself had three raid al
arms before dawn today.
Belatedly the admiralty reported
destruction by the minesweeper
Bramble of one of two German
warplanes which attacked her sim
ultaneously yesterday. '
The plane, It said, was . seen to
dive Into the sea and exploded un
der water. There were no surviv
ors and the Bramble suffered no
casualties.
The press association reported that
there was "extensive" damage In
Swansea among commercial build
lngs and business premises.
"A big crater in one street was
caused by a high explosive bomb
which wrecked fronts of buildings
containing shops below and offices
above and the Ghops on the oppo
site side of the street suffered badly,'
the agency said.
"In another part of the town a
whole row of workmen's dwellings
were set alight by Incendiary bombs
but the flreflghting services extin
guished most of the outbreaks be
fore the fires got complete control."
U-Boafs Preparing
For Big Offensive
Berlin, Feb. 21 (Ft Dienst Aus
Deutschland. a source close to Ger
man officialdom, said today that
nazl submarines were sinking com
paratively few British ships because
"many of the (U-boat) crews now
are engaged In preparation for the
big offensive which Hitler proclaim,
ed."
(The commentary's reference ap
parently was to the fuehrer's Janu
ary 30 speech on the eighth annl-
VAna r-o tit hi Hea In nnrr UIHal
said:
("At sea, U-boat warfare will be
gin this spring, and our opponent
will realize there also that we
haven't slept." 1
Bill to Place
'Private Clubs'
Under Control
Boivin Measure Puts
Speakeasies Under State
Liquor Board License
By Harry Craln
The way of the speakeasies
disguised as "private clubs,"
such as the recently deceased
Webfoot club of Salem, which
survived three successful
raids by state liquor agents
only to succumb to a fourth,
would be made difficult by a
bill Rep. Harry Boivin, chair
man of the house alcoholic
control committee, today an
nounced he would offer for
introduction.
Coupled with Rep. John Steelham
mer's pending bill to abolish the
present system of liquor deliveries
by messenger by state stores, Boi
vln's proposed bill would make it
hazardous if not impossible for
"clubs" serving liquor and mixed
drinks to "members" from their
"own bottles" to operate very long.
Special Licenses
Boivin would require these places
to secure special club licenses from
the liquor control commission, which
could be suspended or revoked by
the commission at will, thus pro
viding the commission with a much
less cumbersome method of dealing
with club law violators than raid
ing, - prosecuting and convicting
those who violate the laws relative
to the sale of hard liquors.
Rep. Steelhammer's bill, which
has been slumbering in committee
for several weeks, would prevent
pseudo clubs from so readily secur
ing hard liquor for their "mem
bers" from state liquor stores by
messenger.
Emergency Clause
Boivin's bill is similar in prlnci-.
pie to the club license bill passed by
the last legislature, against which
a successful referendum was Invoked
by Common Sense, Inc., which also
for the very important purpose of
confusing the voters sponsored an
initiative measure to repeal the
Knox liquor control law. Both ap
peared on the ballot at the last gen
eral election with the result that
the cautious and uninformed voters
gave "no" majorities to both bills.
Boivin would guard against an
other such mix-up to defeat the will
of the legislature by attaching the
emergency clause to his bill, ele
vating it beyond the reach of those
who would protect the unlawful
clubs through another referendum
attack.
The bill has the endorsement of
the liquor control commission, In
principle.
Barbers' Bill Fought
Boivin said that he would seek
to have the measure Introduced as
a committee bill, and that he and
the liquor commission were not en
tirely agreed as to details of the
licensing system to be set up. He
said he favors adequate protection
for those clubs which operate legi
timately in providing mixers and
service for bona fide club members
who provide their own liquor, and
that his plan is aimed at the boot
leggers and speakeasies.
Braving the threat of stiff fines
for violating the by-laws of the
Barbers' International union, which
forbids lobbying against a bill spon
sored by a local union, independent
barbers of the state are neverthe
less making known their opposition
(Concluded nn page 11, column fl) '
Nazi Troops in Spain
To Aid Relief Work
Madrid, Feb. 21 (U.R) German troops reported to be
only five small detachments marched into Spain today. The
German troops were said to be on a completely peaceful mis
sion lor tne purpose or aiding Span
ish reconstruction as a result of the
devastation of last week's hurri
cane.
It was said here that the troops
constituted only five small detach
ment from the German occupa
tional army in France.
It was said here that the troops
would proceed to Santander to aid
In the reconstruction of that city
which was damaged by the hurri
cane and a fire which followed.
It was said that the troops were
sent across the border after Foreign
Minister Ramon Serrano Suner ac
cepted the offer of Germany for
aid in reconstruction work.
The units which crossed the bor
Maxim M. Lltvlnoff
Stalin Purges
Max Litvinoff
Moscow, Feb. 21 () The com
munist party removed Former For
eign Commissar Maxim Litvinoff
and three others from the party's
central committee today for "fail
ing their duties" and warned the
heads of seven commissariats that
similar action would be taken
against them unless their work
"Improves."
Paulina Karpovskaya Zhemchuz
hina, wife of Premier-Foreign Com
missar Vyacheslaff Molotoff, was
dropped as a candidate for the cen
tral committee. She formerly was
commissar of ie fish Industry and
vice-uuHumasar oi ;uie iuuu uiuua-
try. f
(Litvinoff, a supporter of the lea
gue of nations and collective secur
ity, was supplanted on May 3,
1939, by premier Vyacheslaff Molo
toff, who subsequently negotiated
the Russian non-aggression pact
with Germany.) .
'The party congress; now -In -session
here, served notice on M. M.
Kaganovich, former head of the
aviation industry, that "unless his
work improves In his new post and
he fulfills the tasks entrusted to
him by the party government, he
will be removed from membership in
the central committee and from re
sponsible posts."
Similar warning was given to M.
F. Denlsoff, commissar of the che
mistry Industry; I. P. Sergueyeff,
munitions; S. S. Dukelsky, sea trans
port; Z. A. Shashkoff, river trans
port; A. A. Ishkoff, fisheries, and
V. V. Bogatlreff, electrical Indus
tries.
Fly Bombers
Coast to Orient
Washington, Feb. 21 IF) The
British embassy announced today
that "aircraft are being flown" to
its forces In the far east from the
west coast of the United States.
Although indicating that power
ful bomber reinforcements were be
ing sent to the British at Singa
pore, the embassy declined to give
any further details.
"We can say nothing about the
numbers, types, or routes of these
aircraft," an official said.
The embassy statement followed
reports that Consolidated and Lock
heed bombers were being flown
from San Diego to Singapore via
Hawaii.
Some officials indicated the flight
of Consolidated bombers was likely
because they are large, long range
ships, but Lockheed spokesmen
doubted whether their ships had
enough for the long over-water
hops.
The British long ago disclosed they
were buying four-motored Consoli
dated ships for long range bomb
ing duty.
der were said to comprise members
of a field hospital detachment, a
company of -ambulance troops, a
company of technicians, a company
of sappers and a motorized column.
The motorized column, it was
said, was brought In to aid in Span
ish transport work. It was said to
be equipped with a field kitchen
with which to distribute 30,000 ra
tions dally.
These rations, It was emphasized,
were for distribution to Spaniards
in need, rather than to Oerman
troops.
The offer to send German troops
to aid in hurricane reconstruction
work was made by German ambas
sador Eberhard von Stohrer.
Roosevelt Raps
Publication of
Defense News
Question of Ethics, Mor
als, Patriotism Raised by
Printing Testimony
Washington, Feb. 21 (VP)
President Roosevelt said to
day he considered the disclo
sure of what was intended to
be secret testimony before a
senate committee yesterday
by General George C. Mar
shal, army chief of staff, as
hurtful to national defense.
The president told a press
conference that it raised a
question of ethics, morals
and patriotism on the part of
committee members ana eauors.
publishers, and broadcasters who
printed reports of Marshall's test!
mony.
The chief executive said it was a
question for the American people to
consider. At the conclusion of
lengthy questioning on the subject
he said it was purely a voluntary
matter, that he was not thinking
about censorship, but that he was
merely putting it up to the people
as a nice question to think about.
Senators Talked
(Information about General Mar
shall's testimony jlesterday was giv
en to the Associated Press by mem
bers of the senate military commit
tee before whom he testified.)
Marshall was reported by some
members of the committee as having
said that the Pacific fleet was be
ing .bolstered -with, .an, lunspeelfied
number of army and navy planes
and as having described the Pacific
situation as serious
Asked to clarify the accounts on
Marshall's testimony, the president
said he read them in the newspapers
at breakfast this morning.
Question of Ethics
Then, with a warning to reporters
not to say that he was angry or
that a raised eyebrow Indicated re
sentment, Mr, Roosevelt said he was
Interested In the problem of ethics
and he thought that the American
people should be interested for the
same reason.
In times of world upheaval, he
added, there were certain things re
garding the defense of the United
States that it was advisable to keep
secret.
He emphasized it was only occa
sionally that It became necessary
for defense officials, in the Interest
of national safety, to appear In a
confidential capacity before con
gressional committees.
Held Confidential
He said there was not much new
in such appearances, as the prac
tice had been going on since 1776,
but that4he problem of keeping this
testimony from the public still lived.
The president said that there were
various stories on what Marshall
was supposed to have said, but that
they all differed from a memoran
dum he had on his desk from the
chief of staff as to what actually
was told the committee.
Mr. Roosevelt refused, In response
to further questions, to disclose the
actual testimony saying with a
smile that would be compounding a
felony.
Asserting he was not criticizing
reporters for trying to get the Btory
because that was part of their Job,
the president did say that he ques
tioned the ethics of editors and pub
lishers in printing such Information.
Broadcasters Added
He added broadcasters to the list,
in answer to a query.
The whole matter, Mr. Roosevelt
said, Involved the question whether
committee members ought to dis
close to anybody what is said in a
secret session. If they do disclose It,
either under the sail of secrecy or
not, Mr. Roosevelt said it was per
fectly all right for a reporter to take
his Information to his office. But
printing the story presented a diffi
cult problem, he added.
He asked whether an owner, man
ager, managing editor, or head of a
Washington press association office
was not under the same moral, eth
ical, or patriotic duty not to print
such a story, as committee members
are.
NLRB Orders Ford
To Reinstate 142
Washington. Feb. 21 (U.R) The
national labor relations board today
ordered the Ford Motor company
to reinstate 142 employes at its
Richmond, Calif., plant and to
award them back pay for the period
of their alleged discriminatory discharges.
4
ulM s , ...V. ''-Sg
" 1 1 i - -
Cutter Collects Heavy Ice Coat Members of the Coast Guard cut
ter Escanaba began removal of a heavy coating of Ice the vessel
collected during a Lake Michigan crossing from Grand Haven,
Mich., in a gale and subzero temperatures, to Chicago. Associ
ated Press Photo.
Senators Attack
British Aid Bill
. Washington, Feb.. 21 (P) Carrying on the fight against
the British aid. bilL-Senator Brooks (R.-I1U declared todeV
that it yepresentfidleap ,toward.dictfttorship". which would
"involve us in active, personal, lighting participation in war"
Brooks, in an address prepared for senate delivery, said that
senators could not snirK ineir re-
sponsibilitles by giving President
Roosevelt the powers contained In
the legislation.
"The blood of American boys will
be on your hands," he asserted, i
"The blood of America belongs to
America, and to her defense to the
last drop."
Senator Gillette (D la.), also
opposing the bill, told the senar
that United States defenses now are
"so inadequate that only by the tit
most exertion and use of all our
resources and ingenuity can . we
prepare for the future."
The British aid bill, he contended,
would "further deplete" these de
fenses by permitting the transfer
of existing war equipment and by
channeling new production toward
Britain and her allies.
Brooks, making his first formal
speech in the senate, said he fa
vored helping Britain "by giving
them whatever we can spare out of
our present production from now on
short of war." He said he would
not "dissipate another ounce of the
present inadequate defense of
America.'
RAF Bombs
Albanian Bases
Athens, Feb. 21 (P) Seven axis
fighting planes were reported by
the RAP today to have been shot
down by the fighter escorts of Brit
ish bombers which raided Berati
and Tepelenl, in Italian-held Al
bania yesterday. The British said
they lost none.
Severe damage resulted from the
raids, the dally communique said.
"A particularly heavy raid was
made on Berati where barracks were
badly damaged and a number of
fires started, followed by explosions,"
it said. "At Tepelenl enemy stores
and troop concentrations were suc
cessfully attacked and much dam
age and confusion was caused.
"Our bombers were escorted by
fighters on these raids and In en
gagements with the enemy seven of
their fighters were shot down with
out loss to our aircraft and other
enemy aircraft were severely dam
aged." Alfonso's Condition
Growing Worse
Rome, Feb. 21 MP) Doctors de
scribed the condition of Former
King Alfonso XIII of Spain as grave
today. They said he spent a restless
night during which he suffered an
other heart attack.
The doctors' bulletin said:
"yesterday evening serious at
tacks of failure In heart and res
piratory system arose, which became
more marked during the night."
The former king was reported to
have been stricken Feb. 13.
Matsuoka Warns
Americans
Tokyo, Feb. 21 (IP) Foreign Min
ister Yosuke Matsuoka told Japan
ese newspapermen today that con
tinued defense preparations by Bri
tain and the United States in the
south Pacific would produce a situ
ation "attended by considerable
danger."
Domel. Japanese news agency,
quoted the foreign minister as ex
pressing hope in a lengthy Inter
view that "the Anglo-Saxons" would
refrain from "taking any measures
tending to excite Japanese public
opinion."
Simultaneously he reiterated
denial that he had sent an offer of
European mediation to London, He
said he merely dispatched a com
munication to British Foreign Sec
retary Anthony Eden In which he
gave a "very frank reply" to ques
tions Eden had asked through the
Japanese ambassador to London,
Mamoru Shlgemitsu.
"There Is no need of Anglo
American defense preparations in
the south seas because Japan has
taken no action which should cause
Britain or the United States to feel
uneasiness," Matsuoka said.
"I consider it not only unneces
sary but regrettable that there
should be any such action on the
part of Britain which would en
dorse the British propaganda cry
of Wolf, when no wolf Is at the door.'
Australia Ready
To Defend Singapore
London, Feb. 21 (VP) Prime Minister Robert G. Menzics
of Australia warned Britain today of "elements of danger" in
the Pacific and declared no nation must think that Australia
is "unwilling or Incapable of de-
fending herself.
Japan now has "obligations to
those who are at present our en
emies," declared Menzles, who ar
rived here from Lisbon yesterday
after inspecting Australian troops In
Africa.
He asserted that Australia had
'accepted specific responsibilities
for a share in the defense of Sin
gapore." "Whether In relation to troops,
aircraft or ships we pursue a policy
of defending ourselves In an area
where there are elements of danger
in 1(41," the' prime minister said
with emphasis.
Making what he called "a report
on Australia." Menzles disclosed the
magnitude of the commonwealth's
war effort.
This year, he said, 51 warships will
be built there, 24.000 pilots and gun
ners will be trained and the Aus
British Drives
Extended Far
In East Africa
Military Council Held at
Cairo to Plan Middle
East Campaign
Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 21 ()
British general headquarters
announced today its forces in
vading Italian Somaliland had
forced a new crossing of the
Juba river north of the orig
inal bridgehead.
The Juba river had been the
chief line of Italian resistance
to the British offensive into
this southernmost of Italy's
east African holdings.
The communique also an
nounced capture of 5,576 Italian co
lonial troops and 745 Italian regu
lars on the Erltrean front In the
last month.
Prisoners Taken
"In addition many prisoners have
been taken In the areas of the Blue
Nile, the Upper Mile and in the
Gojjam," the communique said.
These areas are in Ethiopia.
One hundred and seven medium
Italian tanks were reported cap
tured or destroyed in the recent bat
tle south of Bengasi, in Libya hun
dreds of miles northwest of the east
African front. Little activity has
been reported lately from Libya.
The inventory of captured mater
ial still is unfinished. -.
"Our troops have again success
fully forced the river Juba north of
the ; original grossing," the com
munlqtie said of the Somaliland of
fensive: .-v v :
War Policies Planned
The river traverses the westorn
end of Italian Somaliland from
north to south, the mouth at Chlsi
mald which now Is in British hands.
The first crossing took place near
Oelib, north of Chlsimaio.
Far reaching decisions on British
war policy were forecast as Foreign
Secretary Anthony Eden and Gen
eral Sir John DU1, chief of the im
perial general staff, began a first
hand survey of the situation In the
middle east.
Informed sources attached the
greatest significance to the arrival
of the two British leaders here yes
terday when developments In both
the Balkans and Africa appear to be
nearlng a crucial stage.
The presence of the British offi
cials all but pvershadowed reports
of current activities on the African
war fronts.
Nazis Claim Blasting
Of British Shipping
Berlin, Feb. 21 (IP) About 45,000
tons of British shipping were blasted
by Oerman air raiders yesterday, In
formed nazls reported today.
Ten ships were said to have been
affected, three of which the high
command reported sunk. These, the
daily communique said, totalled 11,
500 tons.
DNB, official German news ag
ency, added a fourth vessel to this
toll, saying a merchantman of 3000
to 4000 tons was hit off the British
east coast by a plane whose crew
watched the vessel sink.
tralian Imperial force will be In
creased to a full army corps of four
infantry divisions plus one armored
division.
"We are not doing this out of be
nevolence nor because of a detached
feeling of Judgment in the Justice of
our cause," Menzles commented.
"We are one family of Brltlsh
peaklng people and when the fam
ily fights everyone chips In."
"Everything Australia has, we
venture in this fight."
He cited a defense budget of 188,
000.000 pounds (about $744,000,000)
which he said had brought rising
taxes.
"But we are all agreed It is better
to come out of this shooting match
broke than conquered," he said.
Menzles said he probably would
return to Australia via the United
States and reiterated an invitation
to Wendell Wtllkle to visit the commonwealth.
Motorized Corps
Moving South
From Rumania
Danube, Free from Ice,'
Crossed at 17 Points by
German Forces
Budapest, Feb. 21 (U.R)
Unconfirmed reports- reach
ing here from Belgrade today
said that German troops had
been crossing the Danube
from Rumania into Bulgaria
at 17 points since noon. These
troops were reported concen
trating on the Bulgarian side
of the river.
It was reported, also with
out confirmation, that Bul
garia had called an additional
100,000 troops to the colors.
Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Feb.
21(P) Nazi pontoon bridges
in considerable number al
ready span the Danube be
tween Rumania and Bulgaria,
a leading Balkan diplomat
said today, and the passage of
troops and equipment south
"is a matter of days, if not ;
hours."
The river was virtually ice
free and the nazi motorized '
expeditionary force on the Ru-
manlan side showed every evidence,
of getting ready for a move intor
Bulgaria. ;'
Columns of these troops are mov-y ,-
ing south through Rumania toward' -;
the river border, military dispatches' -said,
... ... :
Foreign legations In Sofia heard
reports tonight that Soviet Russia
was making a last minute effort to
forestall a German entry into Bul
garia, but there was no confirma
tion in official quarters of the
countries chiefly concerned.
Legation Prepares
The United States legation In So
fia had a number of placards print
ed in English, Bulgarian and Ger
man, saying "Tills building is prop
erty of the United States" and dis
playing the American flag and seal.
Simultaneously, the general staff
of Germany's Balkan army was said
to have moved from Bucharest to
(Concluded nn pnse 11, column 4)
Britain Moving
Air Force Units
London, Feb. 21 (P) Britain was
reported today to be moving addi
tional air force units to Africa,
Greece and the far east to counter
Oerman aerial assistance to Italy
and asserted Japanese threats In
the Pacific.
New contingents of pilots from
empire training centers and new
reserves of bombers and fighters
coming from the United States were
said to be making this diversion of
a portion of Britain's air strength
possible.
There was speculation that this
re-shuffling of the air force was
made possible by continued bad
weather over the continent which
had kept British bomber commands
Idle recently.
The British air force Is known to
be slightly overmanned with fighter
as compared with bomber pilots, due
to the rush last summer and fall to
get defensive planes In the air to
counter Intensive Oerman air at
tacks on the island. Lately the em
phasis has been on increasing the
bomber force.
Russia Continues
Aid to Chungking
Chungking. Feb. 21 U.R China's
foreign minister Wang Chung Hill
declared today that Russia's aid U
General Chiang Kai-Shek Is ex
pected to continue at full strength,
and expressed doubt that Russia
and Japan will sign any non- ag
gression agreement in the near fu
ture. Russia, he said, prefers to main
tain her present "favorable posi
tion" In the far oast and henco
an agreement with Japan which
would modify the soviet relations
with China docs not seem likely.
Wang reiterated Chinese denials
that the soviet has presented any
demands to the government of Gen
eral Chiang Kai-Shek concerning
the relations between the central
government and Chinese commu
nist groups.
)