pedicaied To The Progress Of f
$!LMINGT0N Served by Leased Wire of lhe
^nd Southeastern North ASSOCIATED PRESS
Carolina With Complete Coverage of
—---- State and National News
' , 'V—NO. 192 ~ ---- -—
’---------WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1940 * * ESTABLISHED 1867
ENGLISH LANDING PARTIES
TAKE BERGEN, TRONDHEIM;
FOUR NAZI CRUISERS SUNK
REICH MAKES CLAIMS
Says At Least Three Brit
ish Destroyers Destroy
ed In Narvik Battle
BOMBERS ARE ACTIVE
Reports ‘Order Reigns Su
preme’ In Denmark; Nor
wegians Resit invasion
BERLIN, April 10.—(AP)
Nazi Germany, fighting fu
riously with her fleet to keep
Allied men o’ war from the
Norwegian coast, proclaimed
tonight the destruction of at
least three British destroyers
in the battle of Narvik, Nor
way, conceded the loss of
two big cruisers to the fire
of Norwegian coastal guns
and strove systematically to
get her bearings in the two
Scandinavian countries which
Adolf Hitler is “protecting”
orromcf fVicnv Airill
A fourth British destroyer
was damaged and is unfit
for battle, the German high
command stated, as a result
of the engagement at the en
trance to the north Norway
ore port where, as a com
munique put it, “English na
val forces attempted to en
ter Narvik by force.”
Attack Fought Off
“The attack was fought
off by units of our navy
which are stationed there,
with heavy damage and loss
es for the English,” said the
communique. “Three British
destroyers were destroyed.
The British admiralty ad
mits an additional destroyer
was badly damaged and is
unfit for battle. On Monday,
a British destroyer was sunk
on another occasion.”
Tonight then, the German
battle-score in the new the
ater of sea and air war
stood:
Four British destroyers
sunk; four British battle
ships, two battle cruisers,
three heav^ cruisers and two
transports badly damaged
(mainly by air bombing.)
Two German cruisers, the
(Continued on Page Four, Col. 5)
DEFENSE OF FAROE
ISLANDS PLANNED
Allies Take Steps To Pre
vent Germany From Tak
ing Important Isles
LONDON, April 10.—<-T>—The Al
lies, it was learned tonight, already
have taken what they regard as
adequate measures to prevent the
tiny but strategically important
Faroe islands from falling into the
hands of Germany.
These islands, between Scotland
and Iceland, belong to Denmark.
A spokesman said there were no
indications of any German attempt
to land on the Faroes or on Iceland,
which is under the Danish crown
and from, which German bombers
theoretically could raid Canada,
“Indeed the Allies intend to see
that they do not land there,” the
spokesman said. “You may be
quite sure of that.”
The Faroes, 22 hilly little islands
only 200 miles northwest of Brit
ain’s Shetland islands, are assumed
to present a tempting prize to the
Germans as a base for their air
and sea raiders
'l
► ---■
BRITISH ENTER FJORD
Extensive Battles Which
May Hold Key To Fate
Of European War
TRANSPORTS ARE SUNK
British Also Sink German
Destroyer In Engagement
Deep In Skagerrak
LONDON, April 11.—
(Thursday) — (AP) —An un
confirmed report from Stock
holm, circulated by the Reu
ter, (British) news agency,
early today placed the Ger
man losses in last night’s
Skagerrak naval battle at
four cruisers and two or
three large troop transports.
This report also said the
5,400-ton German cruiser Em
den was believed to be the
German warship which was
sunk in Oslo fjord by the
Norwegian cruiser Olaf
Tryggvason. This ship was
identified first as a German
destroyer, and later as a war
ship of the Deutschland
....
N/J.CIOO*
BRITISH POUND
INVADERS
LONDON, April 10—(AP)
British warships, pounding
again and again at the Ger
man invaders of Norway,
were reported tonight in
dispatches from the north to
have pointed their big guns
(Continued on Page Four, Col. 6)
NAZI MOVE T ro
BALKANS FEARED
Allies Admit Near East
Forces Powerless To Of
fer Real Resistance
BY EDWARD KENNEDY
ISTANBUL, April 10.— UP) —Fear
that Germany may move into south
eastern Europe to secure vital oil
and food supplies, freely expressed
throughout the Balkans, was height
ened tonight by the frank admission
of numerous British and French of
ficials in the Near East that the
Allied forces there are powerless—
at the present—to offer efective re
sistance.
These officials, whom I encount
ered on a S,000-mile trip through the
Near East, say their army is far
from ready.
These reasons are given here for
the gravity with which the Allies
(Continued on Page Six; Col. 8)
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Still For Rent?
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ple . . . and the best w?ay
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pear in both papers for
single price.
CALL 2800 TO
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Norse Port Retaken By British
Here is a view of file beautiful city of Trondheim on the east
j coast of central Norway, which is reported to have been recaptured
from file invading Germans by British landing parties yesterday. It
I was one of tile first cities to fall to Germany in its lightning invasion
! of Scandinavia.
Norway Slated T o Affirm
Plans To Resist Germany
- +
KING TO TAKE ACTION
Expected To Proclaim In
tention To Fight Side By
Side With Allies
LONDON, April 11—(Thursday)—
UP)—A report that King Haakon of
Norway will today proclaim the in
tention of the Norwegian govern
ment to fight side by side with the
Allies against Germany, without
capitulation to the Reich, was dis
tributed today by Reuter, the Brit
ish news agency, in a dispatch from
Stockholm.
The news agency said Norway’s
determination to resist would be re
affirmed also by Carl J. Hambro,
president of the Norwegian parlia
ment, in a speech to the Norwegian
nation over the Swedish radio.
It was learned in Stockholm,
meanwhile, Reuters added, that the
German attacks against Norwegian
forces yesterday at Elverum, 75
miles north of Oslo, were repulsed
“all along the lone” and that there
had been no further clashes for
more than eight hours.
The Norwegian government and
army general staff were reported o
have taken all their archives Intact
from Oslo to Elverum. The Bank of
Norway was reported also to have
got all its gold and bank notes out
safely.
DENIES REPORT
LONDON, April 10.— W —The
British Broadcasting corporation de
nied tonight that it had broadcast a
report that the German cruiser Era
den had been sunk. It said it had,
however, repeated an unconfirmed
rumor of the sinking of the German
liner Bremen, on its German trans
mission.
All Reserves Ordered
Mobilized In Sweden
NEW YORK, April 10.—(/P)—
A British broadcasting company
broadcast at 1:10 p. m. (E. S. T-)
today said the Swedish govern
ment had moved army reservists
to northern and southern pro
vinces, and ordered all reserves
mobilized.
The anouiiceiiient, heard by a
IBS short wave monitor, said a
state of partial air defense was
in operation. Air raid precau
tion units have been strength
ened and preparations are being
made to impose a blackout
throughout (lie country if neces
sary.
Swedish ships ii. ports of Eire
(Ireland) and oil the Pacific coast
of the United States have been
ordered to remain where they
are lunti further notice, the
broadcast said.
REYNAUDASSERTS
ALLIES WILL WIN
Says Nazis’ Move Into Nor
way To Save Ore Route
Doomed To Failure
PARIS, April 10. — t® — Premier
Paul Reynaud told a tense French
senate today that Germany’s “horse
of Troy” move into Norway to save
the Nazi's vital iron ore route from
northern Scandinavia was doomed
to failure.
The senators, many of whom
came to sit in secret judgment of
(Continued oil Page Five; Col. 4)
Republicans Show Signs
Of Gains In Illinois Vote
CHICAGO, April 10.— (JP) —The
thumping endorsement of a third
term for President Roosevelt by
Illinois democrats shared interest
tonight with signs of republican
gains in the state’s primary elec
tions.
The scope of the chief executive’s
triumph over Vice President Garner
in yesterday’s democratic presiden
tial preference poll was measured
by his 6 to 1 margin.
Projections indicated Roosevelt’s
total would approximate 1,160,000
compared with 193,000 for Garner
and 977,000 for Thomas E. Dewey,
who displayed vote-pulling power
while running unopposed on the re
publican side.
These figures, if confirmed by the
official canvass, would give Dewey
and Garner a combined total slight
ly larger than Roosevelt’s.
The President was easily the top
man in Cook county (Chicago)—a
democratic stronghold—but Dewey
paced the presidential field in the
republican territory downstate.
Political handicappers, looking
ahead to the November battle in this
(Continued on Page Si.\; Col. 7)
I
11 Protects
Scandinavian
Funds In U. S.
Blocks German Confisca
tion Of Norwegian And
Danish Monies
WAR ZONE EXTENDED
Scandinavian Coast Is Pro
hibited To American Ves
sels And Passengers
-Hi NOTON. April 10.—C2P>—
Itoosevelt. in sweeping
i; blocked German con
' Danish, wealth in this
.] banned American
. new war zone.
- lented executive or
ted, except after
... m the treasury.
", .nj money or oth
, m this country be
■ - n-ernments or citi
. :. . k and Norway,
i ''.. .- p he removed any
,r the attitude of this
II ...... by which Germany stiz
, ff0ld and other interna
... . : le when she
:..\e,i Austria, Czechoslovakia
Polish Money Saved
I in some of
I Europe but in
as learned for the
sht, the treasury
, ., ., in.i: irrangements with
j i ■ i<'- to double-check
, v claims on the
. . .. o ■ untries after Ger
. ;;i over. Thus, the
I refugef P - vernment, now in
I still holds title to Folish
I in New Turk.
" of:: ::d said formal action,
than :nformal, was taken in
: cam ■: Norway and Denmark
(Continued on Page Five; Col. H
I PROBE OF KIRTON
DEATH RE-OPENED
Action Follows Appeal Of
Columbus County Au
thorities To Maybank
CHADBOURN, April 10.—An ap
p ■; (' C:mbus county authori
[ tics r Maybank of South
Carolina ir day brought about a re
open;:.: oi the investigation into
at Murrell’s Inlet, S. C..
Monday of Ford Kirton, 45-year-old
Word war veteran of Chadbourn.
Kirton was found dead near a
hou.se where he spent the night
!v unday. about noon Tuesday.
Georgetown, S. C., county authori
"■fs’, after a preliminary investiga
that death was appar
6r‘,‘1y from a heart attack and that
mqiH-st would be neia.
Th< !•• was brought here today
: w wives, suspecting foul play.
' w. to Sheriff Stanley of Col*
flinty, to make a further
investigation.
r,‘1 ; • vn county officials de
ever, to re-open the case
' * riif Stanley called Governor
with the request that they
<'jiiiii|ii|.(| on page Six; Col. 5)
[weather
FORECAST
„ Carolina: Cloudy, showers
night west portion Thurs
i* j-.i east portion Thursday
cloudy, probably show
' i portion, cooler west por
, 1 -logical data for the 24 hours
1,1'4 wjij p. m. yesterday).
Temperature
! jn. 51 ; 7:30 a. in. 46; 1:30 p.
1 p. m. 55; maximum 62;
41; mean 53; normal 60.
H u midity
, “. 59; 7:30 a. m. 70; 1:30 P
"■: • ;i) p. in. 70.
Precipitation
,r -1 hours ending 7:30 p. m.,
1 since first of the month.
Tides For Today
High Low
- *n __7:29a
l\ . ,, 12 :t4p 6:43p
1 ; • Inlet _ 9:47a 3:58a
10:04p 4 :04p
i1( :b>a; sunset 6:40p; moon
moon set ]0:19p.
s,ase at yajr*
Copenhagen-T '^^nds
--—
Here is a view looking along the Verterbrogaile toward City Hall
in the business section of Copenhagen, the beautiful capital of Den
mark. The city is now the scene of Nazi operations following new
blitzkrieg which extended the war into the heart of the Scandinavian
countries.
Nazis Lose Four Planes
In Raid On Scapa Flow
LOSSES ARE COSTLY
Germans Stage Raid On
Base While Allied Fleet
Fighting Off Norway
LONDON, April 11.—(Thursday)—
(JP)—Waves of German bombers last
night attacked Scapa Flow in wha*
observers described as the "most
murderous raid yet made” on that
great British naval base, but the
raiders officially were reported beat
en off with costly losses.
Four big black warplanes were
shot down, the British said, and two
others were so riddled that they
probably failed to get home.
Others Shot Down
Previously two Heinkel bombers
officially were reported shot down
in Moray Firth, extreme north
Scotland, in an attempted attack on
a convoy. Two others may have been
destroyed in the same engagement,
bringing the possible German losses
over Britain to ten during the day.
The Germans staged their attack
on Scapa Flow in force while the
Allied fleet was spreadeagling Ger
man naval units in Scandinavian
waters.
FLORISTS OF N. C.
PLAN BEACH MEET
Association To Hold An
nual Session At Wrights
ville On 'August 7-8
The North Carolina State Florist
association will hold its annual con
vention at the Ocean Terrace hotel,
Wrig'htsville Beach, on August t
and 8, Will Rehder, Wilmington
florist, who attended a meeting of
the board of directors in Greensboro
yesterday, advised the chamber of
commerce here last night.
The invitation to meet at Wil
mington or one of the nearby re
sorts was extended by Mr. Rehdei
at the session yesterday afternoon
Meeting at the same time as the
florists will be the Florists Tele
graph Delivery association.
Germany May Place
Gunboats On Danube
BUDAPEST, April 10.—(/P>—
Usually responsible sources
said today that Germany is ex
pected to send gunboats down
the Danube in the near future
to protect the Reich’s vital
river traffic against "sabotage”
in neutral southeastern Europe.
The German action, it was
understood here, would be ex
plained by the Nazis as neces
sary to strengthening local po
lice on the international water
way—with or without mutual
agreement with the countries
involved.
The Nazi’s sense of discre
tion, these sources said, could
be relied on to order the gun
boats to pass through Buda
pest at night.
TRIBUNAL UPHOLDS
N. C. HOUSING ACT
Supports Dismissal Of In
junction Brought Against
Kinston Project
HALEIGH, April 10— <2P) —The
legislature may delegate to munici
palities powers referring to housing
and slum clearance and the creation
of commissions for such purposes,
the state supreme court ruled today
in again holding the state's housing
act constitutional.
The tribunal upheld a dismissal of
an injunction action brought by
Kinston tax payers to block Kins
ton’s slum clearance project and the
construction of low-cost houses.
The plaintiffs had alleged the
Kinston Housing Authority’s action
would result in a municipal liability
for which there was no lawful au
thority, that a large part of taxable
property would be removed from the
tax books, and that the Housing Act
was unconstitutional because it
“creates no municipal corporations,
is not in furtherance of any public
purpose, delegates to the groups
(Continued on Page Four, Col. 4)
r 1
Oslo Citizens
Flee In Face
OfNewThreat
Thousands Leave As Brit
ish Threaten To Shell
Nazi Invaders Out
USES AUTOS, TRAINS
Entry Of British Into Oslo
Fjord Follows Long Bat
tle At Its Entrance
STOCKHOLM, April 10— UP) —
Panic-stricken residents of Oslo, the
Norwegian capital occupied but yes
terday by the Germans, fled by every
available conveyance today after
British warships were reported to
have forced the rocky Oslo Fjord
and threatened to bombard the city
unless it was surrendered within a
few hours by its nazi masters.
The city was ordered emptied of
its population at 11:15 a. m. (5:15
a. m., E. S. T.)
The British, said delayed dis
patches reaching here by way of the
Swedish-Norwegian frontier town of
Charlottenberg, threatened to start
shelling the town at 1 p. m., but
whether the bombardment actually
took place was not known.
Civilians Leave
Long columns of cars, trucks and
busses began taking the civilians
still in Oslo from the city.
The crowds at railway stations
were so great it was almost impos
sible to push up to the gates.
Mothers, with children in their
arms, fainted in the crush.
About half the 250,000 population
had left before the nazis occupied
the city.
The entry of the British into Oslo
Fjord wrs reported to have followed
a long battle at the Fjord entrance,
in which the Germans were belived
to have lost 40,000 tons of warships,
including one vessel of the Deutsch
land class, in contacts with both
British guns and the navy and
coastal artillery of the Norwegians.
But this battle was only one piece
of a giant jig-saw puzzle of sea ac
tion today that ranged from north
ern Norway at Narvik, to within
sight of the Swedish shore at the
juncture of Skagerrak and Katte
gat.
One unit of the British navy
plunged into the mined Skagerrak
and broke up a fleet of ten German
troop transports in a three-hour bat
tle tonight within sight of the Swed
ish coast, sinking two of the trans
ports and a destroyer.
MILLfcK IKiUMrHS
IN SUPREME COURT
Gives Legal Sanction To His
Right To Georgia High
way Chairmanship
ATLANTA, April 10. — W— Tile
Georgia supreme court gave sweep
ing legal sanction today to W. L.
Miller’s right to the state highway
chairmanship from which Governor
E. D. Rivers evicted him four
months ago.
Making no immediate move to dis
solve his martial law lookout against
Miller, Rivers withheld comment
(Continued on Page Five; Col. 5)
Recommendations Urging Correction
Of Thalian Hall Defects Presented
Recommendations that “serious
consideration’’ be given to correct
ing the defects in Thalian Hall were
presented to the board of city com
missioners yesterday by O. G. Foard,
architect, and J. A. Loughlin, city
engineer.
In submitting a report on the con
dition of the structure, Foard and
Lougblin said that the city should
take steps to repair the building or
secure the necessary work through
a WPA project so that the struc
ture might be made serviceable for
public use.
A further report will be filed in
j eluding eg estimate on treating the
building for the elimination of ter
mites, James E. L. Wade, commis
sioner of public works, said.
The recommendations of Foard
and Loughlin were formally receiv
ed by the city board, taken under
advisement, and will be acted upon
at a future meeting, W. Louis Fish
er, commissioner of finance, said.
Recommendations were as fol
lows- termites, there are several
places that show signs of termite in
festation; a complete survey of this
condition has not been completed
and a further report will be made
*■* .
on this and an estimate of the cost
of replac ments and treating
against further destruction from
th’; u re.
Walls, the walls are in a much
safer condition than when the build
ing was inspected previously; "tee]
has been placed in the stage area,
thereby strengthening the rear wall
and the steel placed in the city hall
has strengthened the west wall;
bricking up the windows has mate
rially strengthened the side walls;
though they are not as sound as
would be if reinforced with a steel
frame work as originally proposed.