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- ---WILMINGTON, N. C., FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 1941_FINAL EDITION_ESTABLISHED 1867
w 1 — --
WANTS $313,500,000
PROVIDED FOR WORK;
SUBCHASERS SOUGHT
MESSAGE PRESENTED
Establishments of Special
Building Ways Is Asked
By Chief Executive
400 WARBOATS ASKED
President Urges Fast Con
struction of 200 Proposed
Cargo Vessels
Text of President Koosevelt’s
message recommending shipbuild
ing program is on page 2.
By REG INGRAHAM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.—UP)—
Congress received a request from
President Roosevelt today for au
thority to proceed with immediate
“emergency” construction of 200
cargo ships, and a recommenda
tion from the house naval commit
tee that 400 subchasers and other
small craft be added to the fleet.
The 600 vessels would cost about
$800,000,000, and in addition would
require a vast expansion of ship
building facilities.
Sends Special Message
Mr. Roosevelt, who had disclosed
previously that the cargo ship pro
gram was being drafted, sent a
special message to the legislate, .
asserting he was “convinced th;
the national interest demands tn:
immediate steps be taken upon an
emergency basis to provide against
the effect upon the United States
of a possible world shortage” of
such vessels.
He asked for speedy provision of
$313,500,000 for the work, including
the establishment of special build
ing ways. An additional $36,500,
000, he explained, will be allocated
from emergency funds placed at
his disposal.
When the presidential message
was read, Representative Marcan
tonio (A. L.-N. Y.) arose in the
(Continued oil Page Ten; C'ol. 4)
MARTIN O’BRIEN
SUCCUMBS HERE
Retired Businessman Had
Been in Declining Health
Several Years
Martin O’Brien, 90, prominent
retired businessman of Wilming
ton, died at his home at 210 North
Third street early this morning
after having been in declining
health for three or four years.
He had been confined to his bed
for about a week.
Mr. O’Brien came to Wilmington
from Ireland when he was 21 years
of age and had lived in this city
since that time.
He was a former member of the
city board of aldermen, under the
old aldermanic system of govern
ment here and was at one time
mayor pro tern of Wilmington. He
was a prominent member of St.
Mary’s Catholic church.
Surviving are his wife and two
daughters, Mrs. Catherine Allen
and Miss Bridie O’Brien.
Funeral arrangements will be
announced later.
Reds, Rumania*#; ' ->sh On Border
-*. -& • _ +_
Nazis May Be
ReadyToTake
Over Rumania
Cancellation of Passenger
Rail Traffic in Hungary
Stirs Balkans
full control looms
Many Rumanian Guards
Being Killed Nightly On
Bessarabian Frontier
BV ROBERT ST. JOHN
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, Jan.
16-®)—Repeated border clashes
on the Russo-Rumanian frontiers,
cancellation of passenger rail traf
fic in Hungary and reports that
Germany would take over Rumania
formally combined tonight to keep
the Ba'.ltans in a state of disturb
ed anxiety.
An announcement in Budapest
that all traffic on Hungarian rail
roads. except international trains,
would be suspended at midnight
led to the supposition in diploma
iic circes here that the German
military command, whicn is now
running the Magyar railroads, had
found drastic steps necessary in
order to complete the projected
movement of 300,000 troops with
full motorized equipment during
January.
yiiijoslavia’s Trains Taken
Rumanian rail traffic, -except foi
the movement of German military
trains, already is virtually at a
standstill. Thirty per cent of Yugo
slavia's trains have been taken
off. presumably to accelerate the
shipment of supplies being de
manded by the reich.
Some diplomatic quarters sug
gested that Hitler wants to com
pletely control Rumania, which
the Nazis already have converted
into a military center.
It is generally believed that the
hew Nazi minister to Rumania,
Baron Manfred Von Killinger, will
be Gauleiter (Nazi district leader)
if a protectorate is in fact declar
ed.
Difficulties
Difficulties met by the Germans
in controlling the Rumanians, mov
ing military trains, billeting troops,
(Continued on Page Five; Col. 1)
BRITISH ATTACK
NAZI SEA BASES
Bomb Emden, Bremerhav
en, Leave Wilhelmshaven
‘A Waste Of Flame’
LONDON. Jan. 16—UP)—With a
bright moon and their first bombs
1,1 light the way, RAF crews bat
tered at German North Sea bases
overnight, the air ministry said to
day, bombing docks at Emden and
Eremerhaven and leaving Wilhelm
•haven “a waste of flame.”
For Wilhelmshaven, main base
the reich’s North Sea fleet, it
was called the 40th and greatest
British attack in this air war
V.'hich knows no fronts.
The air ministry news service
said the Wilhelmshaven raid was
carried out in two installments—
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 1)
^————— ■ -■ —
First U. S. Trotv Newfoundland
■ ■ —A --
Officer makes last-minute inspection of rifles, as the first group of U. S. troops, in fur helmets and
winter garb, sail from Brooklyn army base on the troop transport Edmund Alexander, outbound for New
foundland—first hemisphere defense base acquired from Great Britain in the destroyer deal actually to
be occupied.
-----. '■'yl
InfluenzaEpidemicGains
In Eastern Part Of State
_
MEETINGS RESTRICTED
Many Schools Shut Down
And Theatres Closed
In Hendersonville
RALEIGH, Jan. 16—(#)—1The In
fluenza epidemic which came out
of the west had spread today to
the easternmost parts of North
Carolina, causing the closing of
many schools, some restriction of
public gatherings, and loss to bisi
and other activities of hundreds of
workers.
There were no comprehensive
statistics on the incidence of the
disease in the state, health author
ities admitting that only a small
fraction of the cases were being
reported; but other reports from
individual cities and communities
indicated that the prevalence of in
fection was heavy.
In virtually every section of the
state some schools were being
closed and other precautions were
taken. Schools were closed today
in some of the mountain counties
as well as Manteo, and at othei1
points on the coast. And in between
there were scores of others.
At Hendersonville not only were
the schools ordered closed but the
theaters as well. Public gatherings
were resticted. Health officials at
Charlotte, where the schools were
closed yesterday estimated there
were 5,000 or more cases in the
state’s largest city.
In the Piedmont section the inci
dence seemed particularly heavy.
Today many more schools closed
in the eastern part of the state,
(Continued on Page Two; Col. D
Strike Of CIO Workers
At Plane Plant Slated
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 16.—(TP)—
A strike of CIO United Automobile
"wke a the Ryan Aeronautical
compa was s;;t for next Tuesday
after a of.ace meeting called today by
a fed al conciliator failed to effect
aattlenent of a wage dispute.
fhe .eadli .e” was announced by
>ich&Ki Era:ikensteen, chief CIO ne
8otia:or, who sai dthe date originally
la wen fix i(j for tomorrow night
I-fen deferred to permit “ac
> lv ■' from Washington, and be
Ca' of the inauguration of Presi
de t Roose-. elt.
^ i,: ry c. Malcom, conciliator, said
. ■ ?('tnpai y submitted a new coun
i 1 but that the offer was
Jt 4o . ihie to the union. The pro
posal, however, will form the basis
of a union reply tomorrow.
Malcolm said he would hold separ
ate meetings with the negotiators to
morrow and call a joint session if
there was any indication some com
mon ground hart been reached for
further discussion.
Frankensteen’s announcement of
the Tuesday deadline was made in a
telegram he said he had dispatched
to President Roosevelt.
He said the “Washington activity”
to which hreferred “could be plac
ing more money in the hopper.”
A controversy over the draft status
of Ryan workers, should the strike
materialize, developed during the
day.
| (Continued on Page 'Pen; Col,
Whiteville Students
III With Influenza
WHITEVILLE, Jan. 16.—G. O.
Rogers, principal, reported today
that 170 students of the White
ville high school and three mem
bers of the faculty are ill with
influenza.
Health authorities in the coun
ty admitted that the number of
cases of flu is steadily increas
ing. Reports from other sections
of the county indicate an in
crease in the number of cases
approaching the epidemic state.
H. D. Browning, county superin
tendent of schools, said there
would be no closing of schools of
Columbus unless the situation be
comes more aggravated than it
is at present.
TRAINING PROJECT
LEASE IS SIGNED
Board Takes Another Step
Looking To Establishment
Of NYA Center Here
The county commissioners yester
day gave the federal government
the "full speed ahead” signal on a
$32,500 NYA machine shop project
for Wilmington.
Addison Hewlett, chairman, report
ed he had signed, in behalf of the
(Continued on Page" Ten; Col. *1
WEATHER
FORECAST
North Carolina: Cloudy with oc
casional rain Friday probably ending
Saturday, somewhat warmer Friday,
colder Saturday or Saturday night.
(By V. S. Weather Bureau)
(Meteorological data for the 24 hours
ending 7:30 p. m, yesterday.)
Temperature
1:30 a. m. 50; 7:30 a. m. 55: 1:30 p. m.
53; 7:30 p. m. 46; maximum 55; mini
mum 46; mean 50; normal 46.
Humidity
1:30 a. m. 97; 7:30 a. m. 96; 1:30 p. m.
98; 7:30 p. m. 94.
Precipitation
Total for 24 hours ending 7:30 p m.
0 39 inches. Total since first of the
month 1.16 inches.
Tides For Today
(From Tide Tables published by D. S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey.)
High Low
Wilmington-l|:23a 7:28a
Masonboro Inlet-lO Joa 4 :21a
Sunrise -7:17a; sunset 5:28p; moon
rise 10:l|p ; pioonset 9:55a
Cape Fear rivet stage at Fayette
ville on Jan. 16, at 8 a. m., 10.45
feet.
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 3)
CAMP DAVIS ROAD
PARLEY SCHEDULED
Action On Proposed Im
provements To Be Taken
At Meeting On Jan. 21
Action on proposed improve
ments on highways leading from
Jacksonville to Wilmington and
Eurgaw will be taken at a confer
ence of highway officials and rep
resentatives of the three counties
most affected on Tuesday, Janu
ary 21, at Camp Davis at Holly
Ridge.
Action will be taken on requests
to widen immediately highway 17
from Jacksonville to Wilmington to
a sufficient width to adequately
take care of the present and future
traffic caused by the construction
of Camp Davis.
At the conference highway offi
cials will also take action on the
request that the hard surfacing of
highway 53 from Jacksonville to
Burgaw be completed immediately
to help divert some of the traffic
off highway 17.
Officials of Camp Davis, repre
sentatives from Onslow, Pender,
and New Hanover counties, T. T.
Betts, of Fayetteville, highway di
vision engineer, E. V. Webbs, of
Kinston, and A. F. Powell, of
Whiteville, district highway com
missioners, yesterday disclosed
plans to attend the meeting.
The following committee, which
was named recently to co-ordinate
the efforts of officials in the three
counties in dealing with the prob
lems and opportunities which are
expected to develop in the near fu
ture, will also attend:
From New Hanover county, Ad
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 5)
Stimson Sees
Possible Air
Drive On U. S.
Says America Would Be In
Danger Of Invasion If
Nazis Beat Britain
SECRETARY TESTIFIES
Hoover Advocates Giving
Great Britain ‘Every
Possible Aid’
By RICHARD L. TURNER
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16.——
Secretary of war Stimson asserted
today that if Britain should suc
cumb to the Nazis, America would
be in. danger of invasion from the
air, and he urged Congress not to
forbid President Roosevelt to trans
fer American warships to nations
battling the Axis.
“I can foresee conditions under
which the navy could be trans
ferred under conditions very ad
vantageous,” he said.
He made these statements as,
with grim earnestness, he testi
fied before the house foreign af
fairs committee in support of the
pending bill authorizing the Presi
dent to lend, lease or transfer
American-made fighting equipment
to England.
Fish Asks Question
rm_'ifnnpfnor'inrf r.
xne SUDjecx OI uailMCUUiS wax
ships came up when Rep. \Fish
(R.-NY.), committee member,
asked him whether he had any ob
jection to inserting in the pending
measure a clause forbidding the
President to give away naval ves
sels. The question, Stimson said,
was really one for the secretary
of the navy but for his part he
would not favor a ban on a trans
fer because he could foresee con
ditions which might make a trans
fer advantageous.
Meanwhile, Herbert Hoover, in
whose cabinet Stimson served as
secretary of state, made public in
New York a letter to Chairman
Bloom (D.-NY.) of the house com
mittee suggesting that “much con
troversy and bitterness” could be
eliminated by amendments giving
positive definitions of powers the
President is to have. He himself,
he said, favored “every practicable
aid, short of war, to Britain,” bf.t
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 4)
JAPS SEE THREAT
IN FLEET MASSING
Newspaper Advises Roose
velt To Withdraw The
Ships From Hawaii
TOKYO, Jan. 16—(2B—A news
paper controlled by the Japanese
foreign office today described Unit
ed States Pacific fleet concentra
tions as ‘‘a challenge and a threat”
and advised President Roosevelt to
withdraw the warships from Ha
waii as the best way to keep Ameri
can troops out of foreign wars.
This comment by the Japanese
Times came on a day which saw
intense activity at the government
bureau of information and a spat
tering of critical headlines as a re
sult of Secretary of State Hull’s
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 4)
Grand Jury Recommends
School Safety Measures
Provision of further safety meas
ures in county school buildings, a
number of which need immediate
repairs, and renovation of parts of
the courthouse building were rec
ommended by the grand jury in a
report submitted yesterday after
noon to Judge John J. Burney,
presiding over the January crimi
nal term of New Hanover superior
court.
The grand jury, in a report filed
by L. D. Latta, foreman, and
A. J. Humphrey, secretary, rec
ommended that appropriate steps
be taken immediately to safeguard
the lives of children from hazards
now existing in several of the
school buildings.
The grand jury considered a
wooden shack in J*»e rear of the
Isaac Bear school building a “men
ace” and recommended that it be
condemned and torn down as soon
as possible.
Removal of a 450 gallon capacity
gasoline storage tank located un
derground on the Sixth street side
of the Hemingway school building
to another location was also rec
ommended by the grand jury on
the grounds that such , a definite
hazard was intensified by the un
loading of tank wagons and the
“gassing” of busses.
The main doors to this school
building, the grand jury recom
mended, have locks which should
be replaced with some mechanical
device which will enable children
(Continued on Page Eleven; Col. 3)
Ferastron Will Supervise
Shipyard Operations Here
Karl D. Fernstron, pro
fessor in the department of
Business and Engineering Ad
ministration at Massachussetts
Institute of Technology, will be
in charge of operations of the
North Carolina Shipbuilding
company during the construc
tion of 24 cargo vessels in Wil
mington, Capt. Roger Williams,
vice president of the Newport
News Shipbuilding and Dry
dock company, announced last
night.
The North Carolina Shipbuild
ing company is a subsidiary of
the Newport News firm.
Capt. Williams said that Mr.
Fernstron has secured a leave
of absence from M. I. T. to
take charge of the shipbuild
ing program here. He will be
the resident manager of the
firm and will head up all op
erations put into force here.
“We are very fortunate in
securing Mr. Fernstron for the
job,” Capt. Williams said, “he
is a recognized specialist in the
field of organization and ship
building operations and was
formerly for a period of ten
years associated with the New
port News firm.”
Mr. Fernstros’s father was
a distinguished engineer, hav
ing built the Virginian railroad.
Capt. Williams, who arrived
here Wednesday night, said ne
gotiations for a site for the
shipyards are still under way
and that further developments
should arise in a few days.
He said that work of getting
the shipyards constructed
should be able to start in the
near future.
Officials of the Newport News
firm will work with Mr. Ferns
tron in the operation of the
shipyards here and Capt.
Williams expects to remain
here for a few days in order to
get final details worked out.
The Wilmington shipyards
will construct 24 cargo vessels
at an estimated cost of $1,750,
000 each, within 24 months after
the contracts for the work
have been signed.
At the peak of construction
it has been estimated that 4,
000 or more men will be em
ployed at the shipyards.
Germans Shower British
Towns With Fire Bombs
LIMIT LONDON RAIDS
England’s Effort to Reduce
Power of Night Attacks
Brings Rewards
LONDON, Jan. 16—(Friday)—IIP)
—German raiders showered two
West English towns with fire
bombs last \ night while limiting
their assaults on London to twc*
quick thrusts which drew inten
sive anti-aircraft fire in the capi
tal’s outskirts.
An East coast town also was
the target for incendiary bombs,
but there were no reports on dam
age or casualties.
Research Fruitful
These assaults came amid indi
cations that Britain’s constant re
search on the problem of night
defense aginst bombers had not,
in the word of air Minister Sir
Archibald Sinclair, “gone alto
gether unrewarded.”
“No decisive result can be ex
pected immediately,” he told a
Glasgow audience, and an air min
istry news service bulletin cau
tiously credited one of the increas
ing number of night fighter planes
being used with shooting down two
German bombers last night, one
over London and the other over
Essex.
(The German high command ac
knowledged no losses).
Two other problems in the de
fense of London received attention.
Malcolm MacDonald, Minister of
health, ordered compulsory remov
al from the entire metropolitan
(Continued on Page Five; Col. 3)
War
Interpretive
BY KIRKE L. SIMPSON
The British-Axis battle for con
trol of the central Mediterranean
gateway seems certain to bring
the war close home to southern
Italy.
The first blows of a probable Brit
ish air offensive to meet the Ger
man-Italian challenge have already
been struck in Sicily. By. every
indication, that will develop into a
full-scale air assault on southern
Italian areas. That part of Itly is
apt to learn soon at first hand
what England knows about air
warfare as the result of months
of German bombing.
Heavy Cost
The admitted loss of the heavy
British cruiser Southampton as a
result of the air-sea fight accents
the necessity for Britain to take
the initiative. While the British
fleet achieved its mission of shep
herding a Greece - bound convoy
through the Sicilian channel gate
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 2)
Nazis Claim Direct
Hits on Illustrious
BERLIN, Jan. 17.—(Friday)—
(/P)—Informed sources said early
today that German dive bombers
had attacked the British aircraft
carrier Illustrious for the second
time in six days Thursday, scor
ing three direct hits.
The same sources said the at
tack took place "in a British
naval fortress in the Mediterra
nean, where a number of bombs
were dropped.”
(The 23,000 -ton Illustrious
made port in the Mediterranean
under her own power Wednes
day, after being damaged In a
ferocious attack by German dive
bombers on January 10.
(Dispatches from Valetta, Mal
ta, told of a heavy raid by dive
bombers on that island naval
base Thursday, and presumably
this it. where the Illustrious was
attacked the second time.)
BURNEY REDUCES
CORBETT’S TERM
January Criminal Court Is
Closed After Lengthy
Docket Is Cleared
Judge John J. Burney closed the
January criminal term of New
Hanover superior court at 5 o'clock
yesterday afternoon after David
Sinclair, district. solicitor, had
cleared a heavy docket involving
minor infractions of the laws.
Judge Burney reduced the sen
tence of Alex Corbett, . convicted
of manslaughter in the death of
Demar Treadwell on November 16,
from 10-12 to six-eight years at
state prison.
(Continued on Page Five; Col. 4)
Legislative Committees
Continue Work On Budget
RALEIGH, Jan. 16.—OPI-Eleven
new bills were introduced in the
general assembly today, but the
spotlight remained on the joint fi
nance and appropriations commit
tees, which continued the tedious
task of whipping into shape a rec
ord-setting budget which will ap
proximate $163,000,000 for the 1941
43 biennium.
The appropriations committee
heard several state departments
request $13,865 more than the rec
ommended allocations of the ad
visory budget commission. The fi
nance group wrestled with various
methods of halting what was de
scribed as tax evasion.
Both the house and the senate
held short, routine sessions at noon, j
t
Only two bills were passed—the
house approved and sent to the sen
ate a bill authorizing the printing
of 2,000 copies of Governor Brough
ton’s inaugural address; the sen
ate approved and sent to the house
a bill to extend Lexington’s city
limits to include Erlanger.
Representative Weeks of Edge
combe introduced a measure to
modify the present law which re
quires that a person convicted oi
drunken driving have his driver’s
license revoked for a year. The
proposed change would allow a
first offender to retain his license,
providing the trial judge made
such a recommendation.
Weeks’ proposal also would pro
(Continued on Rage Ten; Col. j
A