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—«JI Slate and National News
V——-------WILMINGTON, N. C., THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1940_^^_^ ^ ESTABLISHED 1867.
NAZI FORCES SHIFT ATTACK
ARMY IS LAUDED BY HITLER;
BRITISH BOMB GERMAN LINES
THREAT IS GIVEN
Reich Says Belgians Must
Stop Military Activity
In Jheir Capital
AIR STORM HINTED
GERMANY
By LOUIS P. LOCHNER
BERLIN, May 15—(AP)
—The German army, ac
claimed by Adolf Hitler for
its swift conquest of the
Netherlands, tonight threat
ened to bomb Brussels, the
Belgian capital, and slashed
through French defenses
north of Sedan.
With his nazi forces ham
mering forwar din a resur
rection of the famed Von
Schlieffen plan for a drive
into France around the Allied
left flank — a plan which
failed in 1914 but which Ger
mans are confident will suc
ceed in 1940—Hitler in an
orde rof the day said “the
future will demonstrate the
military importance” of the
five-day Dutch conquest.
Threat Given
in a mreat similar to mat
which brought capitulation
of the Dutch, the German
high command declared that
if Belgian authorities wish to
save Brussels from nazi air
fury, they must cease all
military activity in the Bel
gian capital, already menaced
by German troops who ap
proached the Luvain “gate
way,” some 16 miles to the
east.
“The Belgian government
declared on May 10 through
its foreign minister in Brus
sels and likewise through
mediation of its diplomatic
intermediary, the United
States embassy in Berlin,
that Brussels is an open city,
that no troops were in Brus
sels, nor would they move
through the city,” a high
communique said.
“This statement of the Bel
gian government does not
correspond to the facts. Ger
man air reconnaissance dur
ing the last few" days has
established beyond doubt that
all kinds of military columns
are moving through Brus
(Continued on Page Sixteen; Col. 1)
' 1
Britain Claims German
Drive On Sedan Halted
BRITAIN |
LONDON, May 15—VP>— The
Biggest fleet of Allied bombers
massed for an attack in this war,
150 explosive-laden warplanes,
raked German lines converging
on the Meuse at Sedan with such
effect, the air ministry announc
ed today, that the first German
advance in that sector was halt
ed.
The result, said the ministry,
was that the French were en
abled to launch yesterday’s coun
terattack which drove the Ger
mans back south of Sedan just as
they were getting ready for a
supreme thrust into France.
(The Germans attacked again to
day north of Sedan.)
Dropping lo wover long col
umns of German soldiers, tanks,
guns and trucks, the Allied
bombers yesterday struck in
waves, destroying bridges,
blocking roads with wrecked war
machhiery, scattering marching
troops, and breaking up concen
trations behind the lines.
The bombers were accompanied
by pursuit planes which drove
off attacking German aviation.
The effectiveness of the Al
lied air counterattack was so
great that even the reported loss
of 35 French and British planes
was declared “not excessive.”
The planes often dropped to
as low as 100 feet, the British
said, then released “sticks” of
bombs which fell on the long,
narrow military columns.
Since the German offensive
started in Belgium, more than
147 German planes have been
brought down, the British said in
(Continued on Page 16; Col. 5)
Smashing German Drive,
English Force Collide
_ x
British In Louvain Section
Bomb Many Nazi Tanks
And Armored Cars
BELGIUM
By DREW MIDDLETON
WITH THE BRITISH EXPEDI
TIONARY FORCE IN BELGIUM,
May 15—(Passed by Field Censor)
—(iP)—The smashing German of
fensive aiming at Brussels and the
heart of Belgium through the Lou
vain "gate” clashed today with the
British expeditionary force, which
was heavily engaged throughout the
long, hot day.
The British, holding positions in
and around Louvain, threw' thou
sands of tons of high explosives
and metal into hundreds of Ger
man tanks and armored cars,
screening the advancing green-gray
columns on the roads of Belgium.
French Town Bombed
The operations opened last night
w'hen a French town well in the
rear was bombed heavily and scores
of civilians killed or wounded.
Louvain, a deserted city except
for the troops and refugees stream
ing through, contains the famous
University Library, rebuilt after the
last war by the pennies of millions
of American school children.
If the city is heavily shelled, the
library, a landmark for miles
around on the flat plain of Flan
iers, well may be demolished. When
C saw it yesterday it was stand
ing in all its grandeur, defiant
above the siricken city, on its walls
:he names of the American univer
sities and schools whose students
(Continued on Page Four)
Germans* Drives Boost
Allied Merchant Fleet
NEW YORK, May 15.—(AP)
Germany’s invasion of Nor
way, Denmark, Belgium and
The Netherlands increased the
Allied merchant fleet by 50
per cent and set the stage for
the worst disruption of trade
in the history of the world.
Roughly speaking, the Allies
were handed about 5,000 ships
with total gross tonnage of
around 10,000,000 tons. Before
the war France and England
had a combined merchant fleet
of about 10,200 ships of 23,000,
000 tons.
Their losses of approximately
250 ships have been offset by
new vessels, the purchasing of
old ships and the capture of
German ships.
ATTACK BY NAZIS
ON SWISS FEARED
Germans Roll Heavy Artil
lery Into Place Behind
Motorized Divisions
BASEL, Switzerland, May 15.—(iP)
—German artillery rolled into place
behind motorized divisions on the
German side of the Rhine from Basel
to Schaffhausen today, and by sun
down foreign military observers re
ported the Germans seemed ready to
move—if they plan an attack on
Switzerland.
The French also were ready with
(Continued on Page Sixteen; Col. 7)
YOUNG NEAPOLITANS REVIVE
EXHIBITIONS AGAINST ALLIES
ITALY
ROME, May 15.—WP)—Several
youthful Neapolitans revived an
ti-Aliied demonstrations tonight,
marching in the main street of
Naples shouting old cries for
French possessions.
They carried huge pictures of
Premier Mussolini and signs
saying “Mussolini is always
right,” “Chamberlain’s umbrella
leaks,’’ “djibuti, nice, Corsica,”
and “viva Italian Corsica.”
Earlier, police put a sudden
stop to suche demonstrations in
Rome.
Police dispersed about 10,000
.students and others who gather
ed in the Piazza Venezia for a ,
third day of parading and slo
gan-shouting.
Premier Mussolini failed to
show himself to the crowd this
morning, although yesterday he
took three salutes at his balcony.
Several hundred students were
reported to-have started a march
to the Yugoslav legation but were
dispersed after thoy threatened
to mob a restaurant proprietor
who advised them to “\uit
clowning and go back' to school.’’
Official . quarters could not
confirm Yugoslav reports of anti
Yugoslav demonstrations at
Flume, but informed observers
believed that if such demonstra
tions actually had taken place,
they were without official sanc
tion.
Italian soldiers continued to
guard the French and British
embassies as new posters were
plastered on nearby walls recall
ing that Germany supported but
France and Britain opposed Italy
during the Ethiopian war.
Lessening ol tension prompted
diplomatic observers to return to
their assumption that Premier
Mussolini would wait for a con- 1
elusive defeat of the Allies be
fore plunging Italy into war.
The belief that Italian entry
into the conflict was not immi
nent was strengthened by sailing
of the liner Conte Di Savoia with
1,000 passengers bound for -New
York.
Diplomatic quarters believed
that one reason why Italy might
prefer to wait before incurring
the heavy financial strain of
(Continued on Page Sixteen; Col. 3)
*
4
NAZIS USE TANKS
French Abandon War Of
Position And Begin Cam
paign Of Movement
SITUATION CONFUSED
FRANCE
By HENRY C. CASSIDY
PARIS, May 15— (AP)—
Charing German tanks tore
gaps in the Allied positions
on the Meuse today after
crossing the river at three
points along the 50-mile front
from Namur, Belgium, to
Sedan in northern France.
The Germans shifted their
assaults to this sector after
meeting strong French coun
ter-attacks in the Sedan re
gion just to the south, and
were reported to have “pene
trated to the interior of the
French dispositions.”
“War Of Movement”
“In the face of the serious
new situation, the French
comman dhas abandoned the
war of position and begun a
war of movement,” a war
ministry spokesman said.
“The high command has
regrouped and launched coun
ter-atacks, which are now
underway,” he said.
me cnange irom station
ary to mobile warfare meant
that the French had decided
to abandon their prepared
fortifications and fight the
battle of the Meuse in the
field to meet the Reichswehr
threat.
The sector in which the
Germans broke through was
defended by a line of con
crete pill-boxes built along
the Belgian border as a
northwesterly extension of
the Maginot line.
German tanks rumbling
through the valley and planes
roaring overhead advanced
deep into this field of forti
fications, defying French ma
chine-gun fire.
“Situation Confused”
Information received from French
general headquarters at 6 p. m.,
(noon, Eastern Standard Time)
said:
A general meiee oi r rencn ana
German infantry, tanks and aviation
is taking place . . . the situation
appears confused . .
Reichswehr infantry tried to fol
low the tanks through the French
lines north of Sedan, but the French
troops held their ground at first.
Once the tanks got through the
French lines, however, they spread
>ut in all directions, threatening the
French positions from the rear.
Then some French units had to re-,
ireat.
Both in the Sedan sector and <
ilong the Meuse to the north, the ,
lerinan assaults continued despit#
(Continued on Page Four)
Wilmington’s
Variety Store
3pen Day and Night
Offered each day in the col
umns of the Star and News
Want Ads are the greatest
bargains in and around Wil
mington. You owe it to your
self, if you haven’t been doing 1
so, to read the daily Want Ads.
In the course of a year you S'
will find that you have saved
many dollars by shopping th#
Want Ads before buying.
■” 1 . "
i
Greeks Boost
Forces Along
Albanian Line
Precautionary Seps Are Or
dered Within The Fron
tier Regions
PAPADEMAS IN CHARGE
Departure Of Allied Fleet
From Alexandria Causes
Much Uneasiness
ATHENS. May 16.—(Thursday)—
(.?_Greec rushed troop reinforce
ments to her frontier with Italian
occupied Albana shortly after mid
night this morning.
It was understood that precau
tionary measures had been ordered
along the frontier regions.
(Here the telephone line bettveen
Athens and Budapest, Hungarian
capital, by which the foregoing dis
patch was relayed, went dead. At
tempts were made at once to re
store communication.)
Line Restored
(Later the line was restored and
I the Mowing dispatch received:)
Colonel Papademas, undersecre
tary of war, arrived in the fron
tier region of Yanima, to take per
sonal charge of preparedness oper
ations, He is virtual head of
Greece's armed forces since the
war secretary is Premier John
Metaxas.
Announcement mat me rsriusn
and French fleet had taken to the
sea from Alexandria for maneu
vers caused uneasiness among
Greeks.
It was reported—but not confirm
ed—that British pressure was be
ing brought to bear upon Greece
to permit establishment of naval
bases for the British fleet on
Greek islands.
'Similar reports have been cir
culated previously. Some of them
have been attributed to German
sources.
(The Yanina district borders the
island of Corfu at the mouth of the
Adriatic, an object of Italian am
bitions for many years because of
its position dominating Otranto
Strait. Italy occupied the island
in 1923, out later vacated it.)
Given Assurances
Greece, along with other coun
tries in southeastern Europe, was
reported on May 2 to have been
given assurances by Italian and
German diplomats that it need not
tear invasion by the axis partners.
Germany was understood to
have made the point that she de
wed to keep these countries
Peaceful so that they could con
iine supplying needed raw ma
terials.
Jla'j was reported to have as
', e“. she had not intention of
angmg her "non-belligerency”
'atus for the present, and last
Wober, in an effort to win the
idence of Greece, drew her
^ ops back from the Albanian bor
vamuff nevertheless continued
u» m , Preparations. She called
cL°fclasses of reserve army offi
S for active duty that day.
VAXirn __
Lovnrvv ’ " SiAU
WUh^ ' Way 15-®~ Queen
‘MointeTp01 Ule Netherlands has
Sad as ^ear -Admiral Van Der
itarv a C,ommander of all Dutch mil
ince of”lnavaI forces in the prov
leaati Cland' the Netherlands
tWeen^herself°UnCed t0night- The
mem t„ 1 announced the appoint
forces by radio.
[weather I
. X«th r,.„,F0Rl!CAST
sllr«'ers1I!n:,.M'?stly c!°udy. scat
T er '» east ,St portlon> slightly
Tinirsdav ■ y.S an,d central portions
i ’ lll,ay fair.
B‘SiDT0f:3oOSICi'1 data for the 24 hours
a- i. yesterday).
a,1® a. m. wr'YZatnre
Jo; 7:30 „■ I-30 »• m. 07; 1:30 p.
tlnimum ot. p' ,n- '0; maximum 75;
mean 70; normal 71.
a. n, s.Han;'i<lity
' 07 : 7:30 p0,m‘:* a- m. 87; 1:30 p.
Total for .Precipitation
l!ei t0‘»l1i^?rf-e;dins 7:30 p. m„
'• inches. ce flrst of the month.
Tides For Today
'•mington High Low
k, - 4:4Sa -
'"“boro inief 5:29p I2:19p
i„„ . - 2:30a 9:00a
(."“Use 5:loa. R11„ . 3:19p. 9:34p
1:a6p: moonset ”Se41a7:07p: moo“
if'Ohtiuued
a °n age Four)
Artillery Smashes Path i <aP^anks
— _
. (NEA Radiophoto)
Heavy artillery in the rear of this German tank sends huge shells
crashing against Belgian defenses ahead of it—smoothing the way for
the nazi steamroller crushing its way into Belgium. Photo radioed to
U. S. from Berlin.
House Committee Okehs
$975,650,000 WPA Fund
VICTORY FOR F. D. R.
Money May Be Spent Dur
ing First Eight Months Of
Coming Fiscal Year
BY JOSEPH H. SHORT
WASHINGTON, May 15.—<£>>—To
an accompaniment of charges of
“scandalous” conditions within WPA,
President Roosevelt won house ap
propriations committee sanction to
day for a $975,650,000 WPA fund
which may be spent during the first
eight months of the coming fiscal
year.
The committee said in its report
to the house that the appropriation
would provide employment for an
average of 1,950,000 persons if spent
during eight months, or slightly
fewer than the 2,042,000 average for
the current year. This year’s appro
priation was $1,477,000,000.
Strong Condemnation
The most strongly-worded condem
nation of the relief setup came from
a minority of four republicans who
objected to the majority report. They
said an investigation by the WPA
appropriations sub-committee had
“served to re-emphasize certain fun
damental faults under the present
system of relief.”
“The investigation,” they added,
"has also disclosed incompetency,
graft and corruption ,the selling of
jobs and promotions, the diversion
of relief funds to private use, ruin
(Continued on Page Four)
American Ambulances
Damaged By Germans
NEW YORK, May 15.—(AP)
James Wood Johnson, head of
the American volunteer ambu
lance corps in France, said to
night he had been informed that
four of its ambulances on the
western front had been partial
ly destroyed by gunfire “di
rected” by a German airplane
in a “deliberate attempt to de
stroy them.”
Johnson said he was so noti
fied by the Paris head of the
corps, Dr. James V. Sparks.
The drivers were unhurt,
Johnson continued, presumably
because the ambulances, part
of the General Pershing unit,
were not in actual operation.
Drivers were Charles Willen of
New York City, a graduate of
Johns Hopkins university; Paul
Brooks Willis, a graduate of
Colorado college; Thomas G.
Esten, born in Boston, but a
resident of Paris, and John Cal
houn, also of Paris.
MARRY
BALTIMORE, May 15—<A>>—Hor
ace E. Dodge, Jr., automobile mil
lionarie of Detroit, and Miss Martha
Devine, 27, Dorchester, Mass., were
married tonight a few hours after
Judge J. Abner Saylor signed an
order waiving Maryland’s 48-hour
marriage license law. The ceremony
was performed by the Rev. Dr. John
Hen.y Day in the Seventh Baptist
church. The couple planned to take
an airplane immediately for Detroit.
Advancement Of South’s
Farm Progress Is Urged
BY BOB MATTHEWS
(Staff Writer)
INVERSHIEL, May 15.—The ad
vancement of agricultural progress
in the south through the further de
velopment of year-round grazing
programs for livestock was urged
by farm officials of the Carolinas
in addresses this afternoon at field
day exercises at Invershiel.
Speaker after speaker appealed
tor the rebuilding of agricultural
conditions throughout the southland
by turning to diversification of
crops, more efficient use of land,
and incr«a*« ih livestock.
•‘The south Will come into i ts own
when it* fields are green in win
ter,” declared farm specialists
from North "and South Carolina, |
I who called attention to the possi
bility of improving the economic
status of farmers by introduction
of methods found successful else
where.
A crisis for southern farmers,
created by the closing of foreign
markets to such cash crops as to
bacco and cotton, was cited by
farm officials, who ' called” for a
new era of happiness, prosperity
and economic stability for agricul
ture in the south by fostering
stream-lined farming methods.
The ball and chain method, prac
ticed by southern farmers for
years, in depending upon such main
cash crops as cotton and tobacco, :
(Continued on Page 13; Col. 1)
*T“
Roosevelt To
Give Defense
Flans Today
Chief Decides To Deliver
His Special Message To
Congress In Person
PLAN JOINT SESSION
Big Part Of Program To
Deal With Anti-Aircraft
Defense Expansion
WASHINGTON, May 15. — (*
President Roosevelt decided tonight
to deliver his special defense mes
sage to congress in person.
He will speak at 1 p. m. eastern
standard time Thursday. The ad
dress will be broadcast nationally
and perhaps internationally over
the NBC, CBS and MBS radio net
works.
Stephen Early, the President’s
press secretary, said that the ac
tion was taken on the advice and
recommendation of congressional
leaders. Both houses and senate
members will be in attendance.
Arrangements for the address
were started as soon as the Presi
dent made known his decision
shortly before 10 p. m. EST. Leg
islators expressed the belief that
the President was using this hneth
od of demonstrating the impor
tance of his message.
Joint Session Planned
Special details of policemen will
be assigned to the Capitol, and con
gressional leaders will put through
a resolution for a joint session as
soon as the senate and house con
vene.
Simultaneously it became known
that President Roosevelt, while
working on the message, has been
continuing orrespondence with for
eign governments, including Italy,
looking toward peace.
The President remained at his
desk until 2 a. m. today primarily
to draft his message, but it was
learned that he also was in tele
phonic communications with Secre
tary Hull at the state department
in connection with the foreign in
terchanges.
These were authoritatively de
scribed as representing no new
move but merely a continuation of
efforts along the line the President
has pursued for the last year.
Authorita tive congressional
sources disclosed that a substantial
part of the defense program would
be devoted to a tremendous expan
sion of anti-aircraft defenses and
private munitions industries.
Legislators in close touch with
the situation asserted that $63,
000,000 of the estimated $976,000,
000 armament program would be
earmarked for anti-aircraft guns
and ammunition for mobile regi
ments, fixed batteries and sea
coast defenses.
$44,000,000 For Plants
An additional $44,000,000, it was
learned, would go for the expan
sion and tooling of plants for the
manufacture of equipment such as
semi-automatic rifles, machine
guns, tanks and anti-tank guns.
House members explained that the
expansion of private facilities was
aimed at cutting down the time re
quired to produce the arms, now
estimated to range between one
and two years for many items.
The disclosures were made while
demands were heard in the senate
for an investigation of national de
fense. Senator Clark (D-Mo) shout
ed to the chamber that he was op
posed to “pouring any more bil
lions down the same rathole be
fore we find out what the brass
hats have done with $7,000,000,000
they’ve already received.”
President Roosevelt worked to
day on the defense program, which
he expects to send to congress to
morrow. The army is slated to get
$726,000,000 of the total and the
navy about $250,000,000, chiefly
to speed up construction of war
ships now on the ways.
A $23,000,000 slice of the funds,
informed sources said, would be
devoted to providing the army’s
warplanes with self-sealing gaso
line tanks and protective armor.
Other Expenditures
The program also calls for ex
penditure of about $80,000,000 for
!00 four-engined bombers, about
5265,000,000 for equipment for a
and force of 1,000,000 men, and
►8,000,000 for educational orders to
(Continued on Page Four)