Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / Dec. 7, 1941, edition 1 / Page 1
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PR0 GRESS_ ■ ■■■■ ^ a mm Served by Leased Wire of the Of Wilmington and F^ llfif Fi ASSOCIATED PRESS Southeastern N. C. v _ —.. J~W PuaiWHCh’iN* II | H HHli If W ^BP With Complete Coverage of — .. ic®3iM!I ^@®T etS’V.@FP»@«BK«a AM® IS>IUSA8MG)l?>hi- Stale and National N.W. VoTm-NO. 6. '‘ ■ --:-----I M -_:__ ' ' ■■ ■ ' ■ ■ »■ ■ - ■_ WjgfeigN. C., SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1941 _ PRICE FIVE CENTS SMASH! T Mrs. J M. Broughton smashed a bottle of champagne against the sturdy side of the Zefyulon B. Vance Saturday at noon and a moment later the ship slid down the ways into the Cape Fear river.'The champagne and the launching followed a short ceremony during which speeches were made by Homer L. Ferguson, president of the Newport News Shipbuilding company and chairman of the board of the North Carolina firm, Governor Broughton, and Capt. Edward Macauley, mem ber of the U. S. Maritime commission. (Star-News Photo.) F. R. Addresi " WP To Japanese Emperor Am War Clouds .... W ■ ■ .... . . T: - ■ ■ ■ ... ■ ■ ■ A. SEEN AS LAST RESORT 125,000 Japanese Troops Reported Massing In The Indo-China Section WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.— <-T) — President Roosevelt has dispatched a persona! message to Emperor Hiro h'to ot Japan in the midst of darken ing war clouds in the Far East, it "'as disclosed by the State depart ment tonight. Pie President’s direct message to •lie emperor, who is regarded as di vme by the Japanese, was immed ■ately interpreted in well-informed Quarters as a reflection of his dis satisfaction with the explanation made by Premier To jo of Japan •'rough the Japanese envoys here as to the reason for Japanese troop concentrations in French Indo-China. Last Resort message also was viewed as Possibly a step of last resort to *Jwt an open p,reak with Japan !™ce was considered unlikely that • Roosevelt would communicate Erectly with the emperor unless vir 113 5 all hope had been abandoned (Continued on Page Seven; Col. «> [Britain Formally Goes j | To War Against Finland] LONDON, Sunday, Dec. 7.—UR— The British quietly and formally went to war against Finland, Hun gary and Rumania this morning because they were fighting on Ger many’s side against Soviet Russia. The zero hour, one minute after midnight Greenwich time, or 1:01 a.m. London time, passed almost unnoticed in blacked-out London. Newspapers gave it scant atten tion and the Dispatch even criti cized the British foreign office for waiting so long to comply with the Russian request. Even before the zero hour of a British declarati 1 of war against three of Germany’s allies against Russia—Finland, Hungary and Ru mania—Scotland Yard operatives moved swiftly against newly-desig nated “enemy aliens.” More than 200 persons were ar rested, including 150 Finns, who will be removed later to concen tration camps. Newly designated “enemy diplomats” prepared to leave London. Each of the German satellite states had refused ultimatums that they halt hostilities against Rus sia, Britain’s ally Finland turned down the British demand with a reply which was termed “entirely unsatisfactory.” Hungary and Rumania did not an swer. The British said the declaration will not materially change the pres ent military situation. The chief difference, they said, would be that the Finns. Hungarians and Ruman ians will be sitting “on the other side’’ at a peace conference table. The association of Hungarians in Great Britain, in a statement affirming their solidarity with the British, said “British victory alone can free Hungaiy of its present shame and servitude.” The Czechs and Slovaks in Lon don, already allied with Britain against Germany, extended their cooperation to include the new “enemies.” RYTI BREAKS NEWS HELSINKI, Dec. 6.—President Risto Ryti broke to the Finns on their Independence Day today the (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) PRESS FLAYS F. D. R. Singapore’s Defenses In State Of Readiness As Soldiers Recalled TOKYO, Dec. 6.—(A>)—The Ja panese press, accusing President Roosevelt of insincerity and stall ing in talks of peace, sounded a keynote tonight that Washington has turned completely from ap peasement to an offensive attitude that would find all East Asia at arms in case of aggression. In the midst of these renewed blasts at the United States, ‘ Domei said it understood Premier Gen eral Hideki To jo, Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo and Navy Minis ter Vice-Admiral Shigetaro Shima da would “speak the whole truth about the current international sit uation as well as the J'.panese American talks” in speeches Mon day before a council of the Im perial Rule Assistance Associa tion. Old Policy Out Dr. Morinosuki Kashima, Asahi’s foreign commentator, asserted that gone is the “former negative de (Continued on Page Bight; Col. 2) ZEBULON VANCE LAUNCHED BEFORE CROWD OF 13,000; BROUGHTON, OTHERS SPEAK •- «_:___ _* -: MAY GET CARGO HERE Broughton, Others Ask Maritime Commission To Order Loading Here OUTLOOK IS GOOD Rep. Clark Says ‘There Is Good Chance’ Proposal Mrfy Be Developed Following the launching of the Zebulon B. Vance Saturday noon, Governor J. Melville' Broughton, Mayor. Hargrove Bellamy and C. D. Hogue, chairman of the Wil mington port commission, immed iately asked the Maritime com mission to direct that the first cargo to be taken aboard the ves sel be loaded at the Port of Wil mington. The step was in keeping with the efforts of Wilmington interests to have the freighter transport the first lease-lend cargo to be moved through this port. Write Robson In a letter to H H. Robson, of the division of Emergency ship ping, Maritime commission, the Governor and the local officials said: “We hereby respectfully request that your commission direct that the first cargo to be taken by the Ship ‘Zebulon B. Vance’ be loaded at Wilmington, North Carolina. “We suggest, with deference, that it would be iminently fitting that this boat, built and launched at Wilmington and named for one fit the most distinguished sons of the North State, be loaded at the place of its birth.’' Earlier in the day, Governor Broughton said he believed that (Continued on Pate Four; Col. 2) EMPTY STOCKING NEEDS DONATIONS Closes Second Week Far Behind Total For Compar able Period Last Year Pennies, nickels, dimes and dollars are needed immediately for the Star News Empty Stocking fund which closed its second week Saturday Jar behind its total for a comparable period in 1940. Many demands are being made upon the fund and if all are to be answered more contributions—many more—will be needed. Do your part today by contribut ing as much as you can as soon as you can. Here’s an important message: Parents of children who have written to the Fund for aid are requested to call at the Star-News offices and get cards which must be taken to the school teacher, Sun day school teacher, or minister of their church for certification. When the card is certified and returned to the Star-News, half of the card ■will (Continued on Page Eight; Col. 2) SPEAKERS 1-fere are the speakers on Saturday’s launching ceremony at the shipbuilding yards here. At left is Governor J. M. Broughton, whose wife christened the Zebulon Vance; center is Homer Ferguson, president of the parent Newport News Shipbuilding company and chairman of the board of the North Carolina firm; and at left is Edward Marauley, mein ber of the United States Maritime commision. (Star-News photo.) Army Bomber Adds Color To Zeb V ance Launching . ______ W 1 — -——.. - ZOOMS ACROSS SHIP Rep. Bland Praises North Carolina Shipbuilding Co. For Fast Construction Material symbol of the function for. which the Zebulon B. Vance was created, an Army B-18 bomb er, its camouflaged fuselage glis tening in the sun, zoomed across the ship as it lay on the ways just as Governor Broughton proph esied the part the “Liberty” vessel will play in the democracies’ fight against aggression. The Governor said: “The launching of this ship and those which shall follow it is a sign to all the world of the ulti mate defeat of the aggressor na tions that seek to dominate the earth.” The bomber appeared from the south, flew low over the Zebulon B. Vance, and continued on its way up the Cape Fear river. None of the Army officers in the stands (Continued on Page Seven; Col. 4) WELDERS INTEND TO STRIKE SOON Walkout Of 75,000 Men In Shipyards And On Other Projects Slated Tuesday MORGANTOWN, W. Va., Dec. 6. —UP)—A nation-wide walkout of welders, which had its beginning? in a jurisdictional strike of 67 men on a $40,000,000 ordnance plant, today was called for Tues day unless there is government in tervention. At odds with the American Fed eration of Labor over rejection of demands for a separate union, the United Brotherhood of Welders, Cutters and Helpers, announced the strike would be ' effective throughout the country Tuesday morning. Lloyd Payne, Brotherhood secre tary ,in announcing the executive board’s decision in Washington, (Continued on Page Eight: Col. 1) U. S. Takes Over Finnish Ships In American Ports WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.—I®—The United States tonight ordered Finn ish ships in American ports put under protective custody — finally and reluctantly taking the view that her one-time close international friend was now part and parcel of the Axis. Announcement of the action was made through the Navy department which said it had instructed the Coastguard to take over Finnish merchantmen tied up in ports of this country. The order was timed to fit the hour at which Great Brit ain formally declared herself at war with Finland, Hungary and Rumania —one minute after midnight. British time. Hjalmar Procope, the Finnish minister, had called at the State de partment a few hours earlier and presumably the decision was made known to him at that time. The Navy announcement listed six ships known to be in American ports at this time. While the Navy department’s an (Continued on Page Two; Col. 5) TERMED ‘PROUD DAY/ Governor Welcomes Re vival Of Shipbuilding In dustry In Wilmington WORKERS ARE PRAISED Mrs. Broughton Christen! First Of 37 Liberty Ships To Be Built Here rr/a' Shipbuilding in Wilmington came of age for the second time Saturday at noon when an estimated 13,000 people were thrilled by the spectacle of the Zebulon B. Vance slid ing gracefully into the Cape Fear river. The culmination of 10 months of advance work and planning, the expenditure of many millions of dollars and the toil of thousands of men and women, the launching and all preceding ceremony were executed with split-sec ond precision. Exactly at 12 o’clock the Vance slid into the river with hardly a ripple, slowly righted itself and was caught by waiting tugboats and lashed to a nearby ^jier. Spectacular Event Described by Governor J. M. Broughton as a “proud and sig nificant day,” the launching was one of the most colorful and spec tacular affairs in Wilmington’s . Is tory. From early Saturday morning until a short while before noon, endless streams of people and au tomobiles filed toward the ship yards. At the hour of the christen ing by Mrs. Broughton, thousands of upturned faces surrounded the launching stand on every side. “I’ve always wanted to build ship in my native state cf Nor' Carolina, and now we’ve done it..' That is what Homer L. Ferguson, president of the Newport News Shipbuilding company, parent of the North Carolina company, told the crowds when he opened the speaking exercises. “Up in Newport News we had about 3,000 shipbuilders from North Carolina. Now we’ve just sent some cf them back home. “We selected Wilmington as the best place for these yards because of the Cape Fear river, because of the housing available, because of the labor available, and be cause of the plentiful quantity of power. Thanks Workers "We want to thank those per sons from North Carolina and Vir ginia who have done the work on this ship and the eight others be ing built beside it. You can be sure they will be as good as any liberty ships built in any yards in ;his country.” Immediately after Mr. Fergu son’s statements, Governor 3roughton stepped up to “welcome (Continued on Fare Two! Col, S) LIBERTY SHIP IS BORN AT NORTH CAROLINA YARDS HERE (We are four photographs showing progressive stages of the launching of the Zebulon B. Vance at noon Saturday. At left is Willie Rattley, veteran employe of the Newport News Shipbuilding company who has “pushed off” scores of ships tie 33 years of service with the firm. The company sends Willie and his wife to each launching ceremony to perform his “pushing off” ritual. He points to his necktie, embroidered with red battleships, and says “that’s my launching ' sire* a^vvays wear it.” Second from left is the Zeb Vance a few seconds after it started its graceful slide down to the river. It set up a mighty groan as its great weight floated along the tallow covered ways. This, accompanied by shrieking rrrans ancl the wild cheers of 13,000 spectators, made an impressively beautiful spectacle. Third from left is the ship at the moment it struck the muddy water of the Cape Fear river. Shortly after floating out into the river, it righted itself cetully and began to drift upstream with the current. A hawser was attached to its stern and it was later tied to the shore. Within an hour, waiting tugs (right) had lashed onto the Vance and had it tied up to a waiting dock ere outfitting will begin. (Star-News Photos.) - j ......
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Dec. 7, 1941, edition 1
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