Served By Leased Wire Of The Dedicated To The Progress Of
ASSOCIATED PBESS WILMINGTON
With Complete Coverage of And Southeastern North
State and National News Carolina
VOLJ4—NO. 173_ WILMINGTON, N. C., SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 1941 _FINAL EDITION_ESTABLISHED 1867
Britain Seizes
Giarabub Oasis
And800Troops
long siege is ended
Australian Soldiers Take
Part in Capture of the
Hold-Out Garrison
HARGEISA is retaken
Royal Air Force Drops
Many Tons’ of Bombs on
Cheren Positions
CMKO. March 21.—W)—Giara
hl]b hold-out oasis in the desert
eastern Lybia. has been cap
led from the Italians. British
general headquarters announced
tonight.
The garrison commander and 800
soldiers were taken prisoner, it
was announced.
The oasis' stubborn garrison had
h„en reported under siege since
,,q December when the British
drove into Libya, but the com
munique tonight said it had only
been under observation while more
important operations were carried
on. ..
Australians AttacK
Recently, the British said, an
opportunity arose finally to clear
Z the situation,” so a detachment
of British and Australians attacked
Giarabub yesterday.
Capitulation came this afternoon.
(A likely reason for the British
handling of the Giarabub incident
is the fact that the oasis is a
minor Mohammedan shrine, the
burial place of the founder of the
Senussi brotherhood, a desert sect
with which the British have been
friendly in this war.)
The capture was the high-spot
01 *he varied developments in the
fa:flung African campaign.
Another Italian counter - attack
from British - besieged Cheren in
Eritrea cost the Fascists ‘‘serious
casualties and a number of pris
oners.” the British command an
nounced.
llargeisa Retaken
In British Somaliland, Hargeisa
was reported re-taken by the Brit
ish.
The operations at Cheren, un
der a British pounding by land
and air for weeks, “continue” to
the GHQ war bulletin added terse
lv.
The Italian counter-attack there
was the latest of a number at
tempted in recent days by the 35,
000 defenders of that key to As
mara. the colonial capital, and
Massaua, its chief seaport.
Completing the British - drawn
picture of the disintegration of It
aly’s East African empire, the
high command added:
“In central and southern Ethi
opia pressure in all areas is being
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 1)
CONGRESS GIVEN
WATERWAY AN
Approval of St. Lawrence
Project Is Predicted by
The Administration
WASHINGTON, March 2l.—151—
A giant multi-million dollar project
to harness the St. Lawrence river
s$ a great power producer and pro
vide- a deep sea traffic link between
the Great Lakes and the Atlantic
was laid before congress by Presi
dent Roosevelt today.
Presented as a Canadian-American
agreement rather than a treaty such
as that which the senate failed to
(Continued on Page Ten, Col. 5)
Destruction Of British
Ships Reported By Nazis
BERLIN, March 21.—W—The
German air force reported tonight
'■he destruction of two British ships
deluding a tanker, and probably
a third, in a strongly-guarded Brit
ish convoy plying the route of re
*forcement to Greece.
In the attack off the Island of
Gfeie, the report said a tanker of
10,000 to 12,000 tons was hit directly
and set fiercely ablaze, a freighter
°t about 8,000 tone was blasted in
w° and left in “a sinking condi
’ and another freighter of
about 0,000 tons was seen to be
‘sting amid clouds of smoke.
The Mediterranean attack was
“Ported on the heels of a hign
command claim that 69,000 tons of
fnerchant shipping had been sunk
y submarines in an attack on a
Br‘tish convoy off the West Coast
01 Africa.
At the same time Axis quarters
collected the forthcoming visit
Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke
Matsuoka with prospective moves
in “blitz diplomacy.”
Usually reliable J apanese
sources here said Matsuoka might
visit London while in Europe. They
were unable to say whether he
would be likely to visit the United
States, too, on his way home.
There was no discussion of the
possibility in other quarters, how
ever. (Authoritative quarters in
London said they had no knowledge
of an impending vi.it by Matsuo
ka.)
The attack on the England-bound
convoy in African watere was
made the subject of a “sonder
meldung”—a special report—which
is the ceremonial form of trans
mitting information which the high
command regards of great impor
tance to the German people.
The announcement caused great
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 1)
Worth Millions,
Gets $18 A Week
Willie Taylor, 24-year-old Semi
nole Indian, is in the bucks to the
extent of about $8,000,000. but works
as an attendant in a Tulsa, Okla.,
filling station because, says he, he
w?nts to “set an example for n*y
tribe.”
ROOSEVELT CRUISE
IS DELAYED AGAIN
Weather Clears, However,
And Voyage Expected to
Begin This Morning
ABOARD USS BENSON. Port
Everglades, Fla., March 21.—UP)
—President Roosevelt rode salt
water tonight but he was not get
ting far on a fishing trip.
The White House yacht Potomac
lay at anchor behind the harbor
breakwaters here, still waiting fa
vorable weather before nosing into
the open Atlantic.
She left her berth at slip One
this morning to let a car ferry
from Havana dock, but moved
only a few hundred yards.
A coast guard patrol boat was
sent out to test the sea and re
ported it rough. Fresh winds were
kicking up the waters, although
an early morning rain had stop
ped, and the sun apeared periodi
cally.
Navy officers late today contin
ued to say the sea was rough ou;
side the harbor, but to observers on
shore the weather did not appear
unduly bad. Small craft were leav
ing the harbor and freighters plied
the sea lanes outside.
The weather cleared consider
ably this afternoon and word came
from the Potomac tonight that un
less unforseen developments occur
the voyage will begin tomorrow
morning.
There was speculation whether
adverse weather was the only fac
tor delaying the start of the
cruise and whether the President
might have received word that
some development in the world sit
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 8)
B
B
A
$14,575,000 Appropria
tion Is Approved by House
And Sent to Senate
NO OBJECTIONS SEEN
Gen. Holcomb Says Base
Will Be More or Less Per
manent Establishment
WASHINGTON, March 21.—(A>)—
Without a dissenting voice, the
house today sped to the senate a
$14,575,000 appropriation for con
struction of an east coast Marine
training base on New river in
North Carolina.
The item included in a supple
mental defense appropriation bill,
was $25,000 less than the $15,000,
000 asked by the Marine Corps
but Representative Woodrum (D.
Va.), who handled the bill, ex
plained this was caused by a lower
limitation on the cost of housing
than had been requested.
No Objections Expected
Indications were the measure
would come before the senate next
week and observers said no ob
jection was foreseen there.
The North Carolina site was
chosen by the Marine Corps after
surveys from Norfolk, Va., to Cor
pus Christi, Tex., and was de
scribed in published hearings as
ideal for the purpose.
Already authorized by congress
it would be a complete combat
training center for a full division
of Marines, 14,500 men and 782 of
ficers.
There would be sufficient area
for all types of combat training
and four miles of surf for landing
operations and training in tactics
to resist landings.
The Marine Corps also contem
plates establishing a $25,000,000 air
training station about 40 miles
away on the Neuse river, but this
has not been authorized by con
gress.
To Urge Air Base
Representative Barden (D.-NC),,
in whose district the two Marin*
establishments would be located,
said he believed congress would be
asked shortly to authorize the air
base.
The house appropriations com
mittee recommended today that
congress grant the Navy’s request
for a $14,575,000 allocation to con
struct the Marine base.
Appropriation of the money
would pave the way for work to
begin on the training station which
the Navy has said would be one of
the principal Marine establish
ments of the nation.
The committee’s recommenda
tion, included in a favorable re
port to congress on a supplemental
(Continued on Page Ten, Col. 4)
M’RAEIS GRANTED
anti-road order
Prohibits Shew from Build
ing Passageway Across
Magnolia Place Lot
Hugh MacRae and Company, Inc.,
local real estate concern, was grant
ed a restraining order against Rich
ard A. Shew and wife by Judge \\ ■
H & Burgwyn prohibiting them
from building a street or road across
a lot at the Magnolia Place develop
ment, according to a complaint filed
yesterday with T. A. Henderson,
SUThe0comZintClsetated that the real
estate company began development
of Magnolia Place Cul-De-Sac sec
tion in 1938 and laid out lots- A
street was laid out, consisting of a
single avenue entering the subdivi
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 2)
WEATHER
FORECAST
.. ,v r'amiina and South Carolina.
PaRly cfoudy Saturday and Sunday,
slightly colder Saturday.
IBv u. s. Weather Bureau)
(Meteorological data for the .4 hours
ending 7:30 p. m. yesterday.)
Temperature
1:30 a. m. 55; 7:30 a. m. 54; 1:30 p. m.
64 - 7-30 p. m. 60; maximum 66, mini
mum 53; mean 60; normal 54.
Humidity
1-30 a. m. 72; 7:30 a. m. 78; 1:30 p. m.
52; 7:30 p. m. 62
Precipitation
Total for the 24 hours ending 7.30
p m 0.00 inches. Total since the first
of the month 1.82 inches.
Tides For Today
(From Tide Tables published by U. b.
Coast and Geodetic Surveyd^ L(JW
Wilmington
Masonboro Inlet
Sunrise 6:13a; sunset 6:25p; moonrise
2:58a; moonset l:53p.
Cape Fear river stage at Fayette
ville on March 21, at 8 a. m., 11
feet.
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 5)
fV Fight Boston Navy Yard Fire
Firemen don masks to battle a $15,00'! fire which threw Charlestown
Navy Yard, Boston, into a furore as explosions shook the area. The
blaze was caused by a short circuit in a tunnel'. Workmen rushed repairs
so defense contracts would not be delayed more than a day.
Wilmington’s Cooperation
In Camp Work Is Praised
- m
COOPER VISITS HERE
j
First Army’s Anti-Aircraft
Officer Is Pleased With
Camp Davis Project
High praise for the “splendid
spirit of cooperation” manifested
by tile people of Wilmington in
connection with the construction of'
Camp Davis was paid here yes
terday afternoon by Col. Avery J.
Cooper, anti-aircraft officer of the
First Army, making his first offi
cial inspection of army work in
this area.
‘‘It is evident that the people
of Wilmington are aware of the
problems of national defense, and
the splendid spirit of cooperation
they have demonstrated to our
staff here is most laudable,” Col.
Cooper said following his inspec
tion of Camp Davis.
On Drum s otafr
One of the veterans of anti-air
craft artillery, Col. Cooper is a
member of the staff of Lieut. Gen
eral Hugh A. Drum, commander
of the First Army. The colonel’s
visit to Wilmington was one of a
series of inspections he is con
ducting for Gen. Drum- of anti
aircraft camps and bases in the
First Army area.
Impressed with the progress of
Camp Davis—now more than 60
per cent complete — Col. Cooper
said that his report to General
Drum would be “most favorable.”
“This should be a most success
ful camp. It has the advantage of
an equitable, year-round climate
and an excellent^ locale for the job
it must do—train anti - aircraft
units,” Col. Cooper said.
The First Army anti - aircraft
chief was escorted to the camp
by Col. James B. Crawford, camp
commander, and toured through
the huge military reservation by
Capt. Karl W. Pattee, constructing
quartermaster.
The colonel said he was well
pleased with the staff work being
done preparatory to the opening of
the camp, and heaped praise on
Col. Crawford for what he de
scribed as "a mighty big job
mighty well done.”
Asked whether or not the Army
would have selective service draf
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 1)
Germans Blast Town
In Southwest England
A SOUTHWEST ENGLISH
COAST TOWN, March 22.—(Sat
urday) — (/Pi — Many business
houses and blocks of homes were
blasted by German bombers in a
continuous three-hour raid last
night and early today with eas
I ualties believed to be heavy.
Many persoffsr'were luiowH 16 tie
trapped in wreckage.
Air raid precautions workers
had to dynamite some buildings
which had been bombed.
A newspaper executive here
declared, “The raiders started
coming over in terrifying num
bers and dropping the heaviest
explosives this town has felt.”
GREEKS REPULSE
ITALIANTHRUST
Tank Drive in Central Sec
tor of Albanian Front
Is Driver. Back
ATHENS, March 22. < Saturday)—
(ff)—An Italian tank thrust in the
central sector of the Albanian front
was repulsed by Greek forces yes
terday, the Greek government
spokesman announced early today.
He said two tanks were hit and
the whole formation retreated. The
high command said one of the
tanks was destroyed.
Otherwise, action was restricted
to artillery fire and infantry pa
tions, causing “considerable dam
The spokesman credited • one
Greek patrol with capturing 15
prisoners, including an officer, in
a penetration of the Italian lines.
He said Greek artillery blew up
Italian munitions and benzine
dumps and shelled Italian posi
tions, causing “considerably dam
age.”
The Greek town of Preveza and
the Islands of Chios and Mytilene
(Lesbos) were bombed yesterday,
the Greeks announced, but damage
was , said to be slight, with only
one death. 5
One Killed And 16 Hurt
In School Bus Accident
RALEIGH, March 21.—(A>)—One
teen-aged school girl was killed and
16 other school children were in
jured, at least one seriously, in the
wreck of a school bus near Cary,
about 10 miles west of herg this
afternoon.
Coroner Roy M. Banks said Pat
sy Newman, 17-year-old high
school senior, was killed.
Ambulances brought 15 children
to Rex hospital here, and word
from the hospital was that one of
those injured was in grave condi
tion and was not expected to live.
Others apparently were hurt about
the head and seriousness of these
injuries could not be ascertained
immediately.
Banks said the bus was driven
by Cevil Sears, 19, of Morrisville.
Cause of the wreck was not
learned immediately. Banks sdid
the bus apparently left the road
and crashed into a tree, and he
•juoted witnesses as saying it was
not going fast. One witness. Banks
said, pointed out' hat the bus had
stopped about 200 yards from the
scene of the crash and had not had
time in which to gather much
speed.
The wreck occurred on the Keedy
Creek road about a mile and a half
from Cary.
The list of injured follows:
Elsie Williams 12; Harvey Sor
rell, 6; Rolleen Booth 16; Victoria
Johnson, 10; Weldon King, 16; La
Rue Booth, 12; Annie Mae Kel
braugh 7; Rommie Sorrell 11;
Esther Sorrell, 14; Bruce King, 10;
Howard Williams, 12; Pauline
Booth, 16; Leonard Marcom, 15;
Myrtle King, 14; Kenneth Smith;
and James Griffin 14.
Young Griffin was given first aid
and not brought to the hospital.
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 3)1
ArmsFund
Is Passed
By House
Approves $4,073,810,074
Appropriation to Speed
Up Defense Program
VOTE IS 327 TO 0
Plan to Ban Use of Money
To Convoy Materials
Abroad Is Defeated
By REG INGRAHAM
WASHINGTON, March 21.——
The house, maintaining the swift
tempo of its handling of defense
measures, approved with virtual
unanimity today a $4,073,810,074
appropriation to sp e e d up the
armament program and provide
sufficient new plants to supply a
4,000,000-man army “on a combat
status.”
Meanwhile the chamber was in
formed that the Army was plan
ning to ask funds for a huge ex
pansion of the Air corps. The aim
is to train 30,000 pilots a year, as
compared with the 12,000 a year
called for under a training pro
gram inaugurated last October.
Vote
Final passage of the huge fund,
which now goes to the senate,
came on a roll-call vote of 327 to 0,
but Rep. Marcantonio (A. L.-N.
Y.), sole opponent of numerous
other defense measures, announced
he was “paired” against the bill
and voted “present.”
Just before the ffinal vote, the
house rejected an amendment by
Rep. Case (R-SD.) which would
have prohibited the use of any of
the funds for convoying materials
to any foreign countries.' The meas
ure contained no allocation of
funds for such a purpose and Rep.
Woodrum (D.-Va.) appeared for
defeat of the amendment. He said
the house ought to quit trying to
revise the lend-lease law every
time it considered a bill.
Opening the debate, Woodrum
told the house the bill would in
crease to $25,182,674,015 the total
of appropriations, contract author
izations and pending budget esti
mates made for national defense
since Germany’s invasion of the
low countries. That stupendous
sum does not include the $7,000,
000,000 which the house voted two
days ago to finance the British
aid program.
Despite the lack of organized op
position to the newest outlay, Rep.
Bradley (R.-Mich.) expressed con
cern over the implications of a
$548,925,00 item for a new muni
tions plant capacity. Asserting he
understood an attacking f o r ce
should have a numerical superi
ority of four to one, Bradley said
he did not see any prospect of
this .country’s invasion by a 16,
000,000-man army and that, there
fore, preparations for a 4,000,000
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 6)
STUDDERT’S NAME '
IS NOT DISGUISED
Typographical Error in Re
port of Local Grand
Jury Is Explained
Inadvertently, Tuesday's Star and
News erred in quoting from a coun
ty grand jury report of an investi
gation into the matter of a WPA
foreman being paid by both the
Works Projects -Administration and
the city street department while em
ployed on a joint city-WPA street
improvement job during 1939 and
1940.
The error was not called to the
attention of the Star and News until
yesterday and both papers welcome
an opportunity to make a correction.
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 6)
Army Orders
WASHINGTON, March 21.—The War
Department released the following or
ders yesterday, dated March 19:
'LIEUTENANT COLONELS
Owens, A M„ Q. M. C., Ft. Jackson,
S C, to Headquarters, 1st Army Corps,
Columbia, S. C.j April 2.
Ellis, E. D., Q. M. C.. Columbia, S. C.,
to Quartermaster Replacement Cen
ter, Camp Lee, Va., April 2.
Malone, E. H., (Inf.), Q. M. C., Ft.
Moultrie, S. C.. to Headquarters. 8th
Div’n., Ft. Jackson, S. C., April 2.
Richmond, C. W„ Q M. C„ Baltimore,
Md., to Motor Transport School, Ft.
MeFlierson, Ga., April 2.
Barrett, D. D., (Inf.), C. W. S., Chung
king, China, to Arlington Canton
ment, Va., via temporary duty G-2,
Washington, D. C., to sail via Manila,
about May 24.
Freeman, H. L„ Eng’rs., Montgomery,
Ala., to Langley Field, Va.
Tierney, J. R„ (retired), Walla Walla,
Wash., relieved from active duty,
June 15.
Scott, J. L., Finance Ddpt., Chicago.
III. to Hawaii, via New York, June
21.
Hayes, F. H., (Chaplain), March FielC,
Calif, to Headquarters, Riverside,
Calif.
Streett, St. C„ Air Corps, Hawaii, or
ders to Wright Fh#d. Ohio, revoked.
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 7)
Serbs Protest
Yugoslav Move
To Enter Axis
Turk Radio Does Not
Believe Yugoslavia
Will Accept Demands
NEW YORK, March 21.—W)
The official Turkish radio at An
kara was quoted tonight by the
British radio as saying “We do
not believe that Yugoslavia will
accept the German demands in
part or as a whole.”
The British version of the re
port, recorded by CBS here, con
tinued: “Such an understanding,
lvhile it might not signify an un
conditional adherence to the tri
partitite pact, would oblige Yu
goslavia to collaborate with Ger
many against Britain. This
would be against Yugoslavia’s
firm will to continue her inde
pendent policy and maintain her
territorial integrity.”
PLYMOUTH BADLY
DAMAGED IN RAID
Prepares for Another Test
Of Flame and Blast at
Hands of Luftwaffe
PLYMOUTH, Eng., March 21.—
UP) — Bucked up by tireless little
Lady Astor, Plymouth piled high the
sandbags and manned the stirrup
pumps tonight, prepared for an
other test of flame and blast such
as it endured last night at the hands
of the Luftw-afee.
Many sections of this normally im
maculate southwestern port, the first
glimpse of England for many Amer
ican wayfarers, were without heat
and water as a result of the fierce
raid w-hich set fires officially de
scribed as serious and cost the lives
of uncounted men, women and
children.
The Virginia-born Nancy Astor,
who has sat in commons for the
Sutton division of Plymouth since
1919, directed fire-fighters at her
Plymouth home through the raid;
then took over the mayor’s post in
the absence of her husband, Lord
Astor,1 with influenza.
Today Lady Astor toured every
rest center in the city, among them
Virginia house, which accommodates
500 homeless persons and which she
and her husband established.
Eye-witnesses wo have seen the
condition of other English cities af
ter such raids as that of Thursday
night said Plymouth, a city of some
210,000, already had made an amaz
ing return to near-normal.
Plymouth had taken a lesson from
Portsmouth, Southampton and other
costal cities previously blitzed, i.nd
was well-prepared. Alert firewatch
ers prevented the spread of many
fires. In the narrow-, cobbled streets.
All the homeless were cared for
in the rest centers.
Grand Coulee Dam
To Begin Work Today
GRAND COULEE, Wash., March
21—(2P)—Grand Coulee dam—seven
years a-building and the biggest
thing ever made by man—will go
to work tomorrow.
In simple ceremonies, switches
will be thrown between 1 and 1:30
p. m. (PST) to start water wheels
of two 10,000-kilowatt turbines
churning the energy of falling water
into the first electric power from
this project.
As the first Grand Coulee elec
tricity energizes. the 235-mile trans
mission line to Bonneville, there will
come into being one of the largest
integrated power systems in the
west.
RULERS FACE CRISIS
Prince Paul and Premier
Fail in Effort to Form
Pro-Axis Cabinet
GERMANS ARE ANGRY
Premier and Foreign Min
ister Delay Plans to
Leave for Vienna
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, March
22.—(Saturday)—(iP)—Mfibilized Serb
soldiers singing American and
French World war songs paraded in
the provinces last night while Y'ugo
slav government heads vainly sought
to solve a crises arising from an at
tempt to put this Versailles treaty
built nation in the Axis fold.
Regent Prince Paul and his pre
mier, alive to the dangers of serious
internal disorders, still were unsuc
cessful early today in their attempt
to form quickly a completely pro
Axis cabinet that would approve the
plan of modified alliance with the
Axis. The Serb peasant party leaders
bitterly oppose the plan.
Students Sign
Here in the capital anti-Axis stu
dents met near the Royal Palace and
played "Tipperary,” the famous Brit
ish marching song of 25 years ago.
The uproar caused by grapevine
leakage of the government’s inten
tion, which was opposed vigorously
by three resigning cabinet ministers,
forced Premier Dragisa Cvetkovic
and Foreign Minister Alksandar Cin
car-Markovic to delay their scheduled
departure today for Vienna where
they had planned to sign an agree
ment with the Axis Sunday.
This hitch caused great indignation
in German circles.
• Government sources predicted it
would be impossible for the premier
and foreign minister to leave before
Monday or Tuesday.
Before going to bed early today
the premier ordered Dr. Ivkovic,
vice-governor of Croatia, to hurry
here from Zagreb. It was reported
Dr. Ivkovic would be offered one of
the cabinet posts.
Under the Yugoslav constitution
any agreement such as the proposal
to join the Axis must have unani
mous approval of the cabinet minis
ters. Customarily the ministerial va
cancies are filled with members of
the same party—but observers con
sidered it unlikely that any promi
nent member of the Serb peasant
party would join a pro-Axis cabinet.
British Take Heart
British circles took heart at the
anti-Axis manifestations of the Serbs.
The likelihood of delay—or of more
than mere delays—was raised by the
angry objections of three Serb cabi
net ministers who resigned today
(Continued on Page Three; Col. 5)
ITALIAN CABINET
MEMBER KILLED
Roberto Farinacci Is Slain
In Hand-to-Hand Fight
ing in Albania
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, March
21.—Roberto Farinacci, one of the
11 cabinet members and close associ
ates Premier Mussolini sent to the
front to set an example of Fascist
valor for his soldiers, has been killed
in hand-to-hand combat in Albania,
it was reported at the border today.
Farinacci was said to have met
death from a sniper as he led hi$
(Continued on Page Ten, Col. 5)
British Aid Fund Passed
By Senate Subcommittee
WASHINGTON. March 21.— UP)
—The proposed $7,000,000,000 appro
priation for the British aid program
won unanimous approval of a sen
ate appropriations subcommittee to
day with even Senator Nye (R-ND),
one of senate’s severest critics of
P.esident Roosevelt’s foreign policy,
voting for it.
Nye, in fact, was one of three
members of the subcommittee who
had voted against the lease lend bill,
but then today cast a ballot for the
record-breaking appropriation which
is intended to implement it. The
others were Senator Holman (R-Ore)
and Brooks (R-Ill).
Before the final vote, however,
Nye offered an amendnfent to cut
the amount of the appropriation to
half. Subcommittee members said
his was the only vote cast in favor
of the reduction. Then the appro
priation bill as a whole was put to
a voice vote and when it appeared
that there was no opposition, Senator
Byrnes (D-SC) asked for a show of
hands to demonstrate that the ac
tion was unanimous.
Nye said later that he was uncer
tain how he might vote on the bill
when it comes to a final ballot in
the senate on Monday or Tuesday.
He would, he added, offer his amend
ment to halve the amount again to
morrow when the full appropriations
committee takes up the bill.
Before the subcommittee acted to
day, it heard William S. Knudsen,
director of the office of production
management, testify that the full
amount of $7,000,000,000 would be
committed during the fiscal year
beginning in July.
“We may not be able to spend
the entire $7,000,000,000 in the year,
but we will make commitments for
it,” Knudsen told reporters in giv
ing them the gist of his testimony
at the closed committee session.
It was learned some senators ques
tioned Knudsen on the relations of
strikes to the progress of defense
production and were told that while
labor disputes had impeded the pro
gram to some extent, the problem
was being worked out and he expect
ed little trouble in the future, '