Served By Leased Wire Of The _ ASSOCIATED PRESS REMEMBER Wiih Complete Coverage Of P E A R I State and National News *■ - - HARBOR VOL. 75.—NO. 189. _ ~ -- -- ESTABLISHED 1867. U. S. Imposes I j rice Ceiling OnAppliances Forty-Four Electric House hold Devices Are Af fected By Order PLAN EFFECTIVE APR. 7 Officials Considering Price Freezing Plan For AH Consumer Goods WASHING ION .Apr.] 3.— (JPi— price ceiling- were imposed on 44 ],qj cho’ci elei trical appliances to njgr. while Office of Price Ad min: .(ration o.ficials disclosed the- nad under d'- cussitn a sweep ing price-freezing plan to, apply to all (onsumer get ds not already und i eding orders. The electrii al appliar.ee ceiling apu’ies to r-.ta’h who'esale and mat.faclurer...’ ices, nd freezes them at the .eve s ol March 30 I* covers electric toasters, waf fle ion shavers, cu-.'iing irons and virtually all other commonly used household electrical equip ment A.-mg Price Aamimstrator John E. Ilarrm said rahon.ng of the art’ties was r.i.t contemplated, the - being ufficient stocks on hand or in process oi manufacture , lift through most of this year ■ r -is action h- s beer, taken to in-event -unaway prices in view of the War Production Board’s order n ;arcn 30 ..aiting pi iduction of flies- and otter eiectrical ap pli ant- on May 31.'’ Hamm stated T'i p.re order is effective April T. imm sa d. anu will remain • 'ce unti: June 5 -unless sup crcrued earlier by a permanent ■ ch.-dulp of maximum ■ .-rices. Bianke' Plan Studried T s artior came as OPA oifi c.o eo ifirmcd that a proposal :,r vetica’ price celdngs on all i r.fume.- roods at both retail and --h iiesait levels was being stud ■?c\ They emphasized however, no such action had been ae ther upon final-y and that sev ers. othir plans to sharpen OPA’s ass ..at cp. tnilai on were under discussicn also. tirinci ail ne scnemes is a gen era' intent oi attaining more ef fective control loan the present technique of clamping price lids on e.'ch commodity one by one, as each soa,-s beyond reasonable level: One uggestion calls lor imp >sition of pmre ceilings by en tire groups of commodities, in stead of by ring e items; another Grosses arbitraly limitations on dea ers' mark-ups. It a decision finally ,s made in favor of the over-all ceiling, an OPA spokesman said, .t would be i a permanent one with maximum I Pci' i s pegged at the le vel of some ' atbi'uar.iy chosen date m the past Pr,J‘ fo the sharply iccelera'e'd Pr,f s movement of recent weeks. Opinion on whe.nei this or some other method was the proper ap proach was divided with OPA, it was said, and t"e view of Price Administrator l.eon Henderson, who returned to Washington from > vacation trip oniy yesterday could not be ascertained immedi ate!.; J. K. Galbrsith staff deputy ad min at rator ol OPA, said the over (Continued oil Page Two; Col. 5) RAF, NAZISSWAP DAMAGING BLOWS Air War Leaves Flame And Ruin From English South Coast To The Seine LONDON. Apr'i 3.—dR—The re awakened fury of the Western air war left flame and ruin tonight from the Heine to England’s staunchly guarded southern coast. O', i might patte and bombard ment in the Ugh*- of an April moon brought the riereest exchange of bio'--, in months as the RAF de livered its third assault on the Mavford truck plant in the Poissy suburb of Paris and the German sir free gave a south coast Brit ish center one of its worst raids of he war. A southeast English town also ’\a • hit. The Fngiish targets were him L.fied by the Germans as Port ions. (south coas( navai base adja ceni t0 Wevmouthi and Dover, soul,least England’s “hell corner’’ °n U;e narrow s*rait across from France. Po.tland is one of the bases from which the recent Bi itish com mai m raids on St Nuzaire and BrunevaJ. may have beer, launched. ard a German attack here could nienn the Germans are trying to stsvi off othex such invasion stabs irim France. 1 closely locked were the op h°smg ajr forces that German botnoers returning from England p6:; engaged =>.id damaged by n' b fighters hovering over air )— Commander Paul Talbot, who took part in the battle of Macassar strait, told today how four Ameri can destroyers made three forays in pitch dark into the midst of a convoy of nearly 40 Japanese ships and fired torpedoes at 500 yards pointblank range. Using only torpedoes to avoid giving away their position by gun flashes in the darkness, the Amer ican vessels went so close to the Jap ships, Talbot said, that his crew members told him they could hear Japanese soldiers erying from the water. The action took place on the night of January 23-24, when Com mander Talbot was leading de stroyer division 59 of the Asiatic fleet. Telling of it at a press con ference, Talbot related that on the morning of January 23 the four destroyers were cruising in the Flores sea when orders were re ceived fom Admiral Hart to be at Cape Monda by 8 p.m. that night stripped for action. “We started north at 25 knots in a heavy Monsoon that drenched many of our men,” he continued. “We entered Macassar strait at 6 p.m. and stripped for action. Ene my air patrols were active and we expected an attack so to de ceive them we headed into Man dar bay until darkness and then proceeded to Cape Mandar where we arrived at 8 p.m., on a dark night. “At 8 p.m. we proceeded to launch an attack and headed into Balikpapan at 27 knots planning to escape an enemy escort of 12 destroyers convoying Jap ships, “Bright flares on the horizon dead ahead worried us because we thought they were Jap search lights or star shells but it de veloped that they were explosions aboard a burning Jap ship which the Dutch had bombed. It was drifting and sending out a lot of smoke. “At 1 a.m. we sighted two more flares ahead which were coming from fires at Balikpapan where the Dutch were burning their oil. Failed to Fire “At 2:45 a.m. when we were neariflg Balikpapan a division of four Japanese destroyers loomed up dead ahead of us only 1,000 yards away. We altered our course to pass astern cf the Jap destroy (Conlinued on Page Two; Col. 6) LAEOLLETTE URGES MORE BARGAINING Penalties For Employer For ‘Anti-Union’ Prac tices Also Asked WASHINGTON, April 3 — Itf) — Urging .he extension of collective bargaining to an. war industries, Senaior LaFoi et’e (P.-Wis.) today introduced legislation to penalize emoioye's for ‘anti-union” prac tice.?. Only 30 to to per cent of war industry is unionized, La Folle'te said, and ‘‘those who sincerely wise to promote the war effort through a maximvm industrial pro duc'ron iree iron: worx stoppages caused by industrial disputes will favor a quick and vigorous exten sion of collect.ve bargaining to ail” the affected plants. M lanwhile. Senator George (D. Ga.' suggesteu r. solution for the coniinung codiroversy on overtime pay. In a lette" to president Roose veit he proposed that ‘abor work a sixth or “Victory Day” each week at regular, wages with the war industries rebating to the gov ernment the savings n. overtime pay “I don t think this is the tune for the enactmei” of vindictve la bor legislation,” lie told reporters. “Thj. country wants longer hours worked in war industries and it will achieve that purpose one way or another. If a voluntary agree ment of this natu-e couid be reach ed the country would he satisfied and labor still would retain its has-3 fo’'ty nour week after the war ends.” Noting the many pending pro posals for the suspension of the 40-hour week, LaFollette said labor needed assurance that the war emergency w ula not oe used to deprive it of its rights. And, he added, if ther’ is time tor the con sideration of such legislation, nis own bill should be “carefully weighed ” This would bst ‘ oppressive labor practises,” amo> g them the use of strike breakers, private armed guards, the possession or use of firearms or tear gas during labor cnees and interference with peaceful picketing Violations would be punishable by a fine of $10,f (,0 or six norths imprison ment. Two Killed As Retired Army Officers ‘Duel’ SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 3_(#)_Mrs. Evelyn Wenstrom, widowed in a blazing gun duel be tween two retired Army majors, died today of a bullet wound suf fered as an innocent bystander. Her husband, Maj. William H. Wenstrom, 45, was killed last night in the point blank exchange of shots with Maj. Buell Hammett, 44. He was shot six times with a .45 caliber automatic pistol. The gun-play, Police Chief Fred Hoelscher said, grew out of a quarrel dver whether the Santa Barbara home guard unit should be trained as a guerrilla force or k- - integrated into the state guard. -Mrs. Wenstroim mother of two children, suffered a head wound from which she failed to regain consciousness. Chief Hoelscher said it had not been determined from which gun it came. Hammett was shot in the hip, a .38 caliber bullet fracturing his pel vic bone. Physicians said he would recover. Decutv Dii-tricl Attorney David Licker, questioning Hammett in a hop'-tal, said the survivor of die duel told him Wenstrom fired first, (Continued on Page Two; Col. 8) •j I RECORD NUMBER ARRESTED HERE Total Of 1,415 Cases Made By Police During The Month Of March Another record breaking number of arrests—1.415—was made during March by city police, according to Chief C. H. Casteen's report sub mitted Friday to City Manager James G. Wallace. An increase of 31 arrests was made last month compared with, the 1,384 total for February, the previous high record for one month. Of the total number of arrests 1,109 were white persons agaipst 306 negroes. During February 1.065 white persons and 319 negroes were arrested. “Going out’’ radio calls handled during the month to taled 1,150. Of the arrests made in March 1,030 had to do with automobiles as violation of the traffic law, 893; speeding, 80; reckless operation of a motor vehicle with serious in jury, 2; reckless operation of a motor vehicle,. 14; passing school bus, 1: operating a motor vehicle intoxicated, 11; no chauffeur’s or operator’s license, 10; larceny of an automobile, 1; improper brakes, 1; improper state license, 1; hit and run driving, 7; failing to transfer auto title, 2, and anti noise law, 5. Ninety-one automobile accidents were reported during the month. Chief Casteen reported that 15 cars were stolen during March with an equal number being returned to owners while two automobiles were found burned or stripped. Twenty-one bicycles were report ed stolen, 15 returned to owners and four found wrecked or stripped. Chief Casteen reported 78 gallons of liquor seized, 74 1-2 gallons sent to court and four and a half gal lons “on hand.” Sixty-six arrests dealt with sex ual offenses which include bas tardy, 1; carnal knowledge, T; for nication aand adultery, 24; hotel registration. 12; indecent exposure, 3; prostitution, 17; rape, 8. Two persons were arrested on a charge o^ murder while 19 were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, 6 with assault with a dead ly weapon on a female, 5 with assault; 19 with assault on a fe male;^ with affray, 1 with car (Continued on Page Two; Col. fi) -v-— WEATHER FORECAST: NORTH CAROLINA — Contin ued mild Saturday with scattered thundershowers in mountains. SOUTH CAROLINA — Contin ued mild Saturday with slightly higher afternoon temperatures. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME) (Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m. yesterday): (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Temperature: 1:30 a. in. 51: 7:30 a. m. 50; 1:30 p. m. 71; 7:30 p. m. 81; maximum 71; minimum 4S; mean 60; normal 58. Humidity: 1:30 a. m. 82; 7:30 a. m. 62; 1:30 p. m. 32; 7:30 p. m. 45. Precipitation: Total for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m.. 0.00 inches: total since the first of the month, 0.00 inches. Tides For Today: (From Tide Tables published by U. S Coast and Geodetic Survey): High Low Wilmington -a. 0:38a 12:04p. 7:07p. Masonboro Inlet - 9:50a. ->:32a. 10:23p. 4 :01p. Sunrise 5:-55a; sunset 6:35p;; moon rise 10:17p; moonset 8:19a. Cape Fear river stage at Fayette ville at 8 a. m., April 8, 11.35 feet. (Continued on Page Two; Col, 4) Sliding Scale To Limit War Profit Okehed Ceiling Of Ten Per Cent Would Be Placed On Small Contracts LARGEST SET AT 2 PCT. Senator McKellar Says, However, ‘Entire Sub ject Is Up In Air’ » WASHINGTON, April 3.— (M-A sliding scale system of limiting war profits—ranging from a ceil ing of 10 per cent on small con tracts down to 2 per cent on the largest—was reported tonight to have tentative approval of a Sen ate Appropriations subcommittee. Senator Thomas (D.-Okla.l, au thor of the proposal, said it was “approved in principle’’ as the Senate subcommittee increased a pending War Department appro priation measure from $18.300,000,. 000, approved by the House, to more than $19,000,000,00. But Senator McKellar (D.-Tenn.) chairman of the subcommittee handling the big appropriation bill and profit limits rider, told re porters that the entire subject “is up in the air” until a full com mittee session tomorrow. Earlier McKellar had indicated that the group would accept a flexible profit limitation provision giving the secretary of war, sec retary of Navy, or chairman of the Maritime Commission authori ty to re-negctiate any contract be lieved to . involve excessive costs or unreasonable profits, 'without any specific percentage limit. Powers Planned Thomas said this power would be included in the new profit limit provision along with this gradu ated scale: a 1 per cent profit limit on contracts up to $100,000: 8 g^?' cent from $^00^900: to $500, t>00; 6 per cent from $500,000 to $1,000,000; 5 per cent from $1,000, 000 to $5,000,000: 4 per cent from $5,000,000 to $20,000,000; 3 per cent rfom $20,000,000 to $50,000,000; and 2 per cent on amounts above $50, 000.000. Officials would be authorized to withhold 20 per cent of payment due on war contracts until a cer tificate was filed shewing that con tractors had complied with the limitations, Thomas said. “Contracts could be re-negotiat ed upwards as well as down,” he said. “If a bidder showed that he had honestly lest money, then he could be paid up to actual costs, or possibly even a profit. We will have to work out a lot of these details.” Replaces Flat 6 Pet Any profit limitation approved by the full Senate committee would (Continued on Page Two; Col. 1) -V LUEBECK LAID WASTE BY RAF Germans Acknowledge Ut ter Destruction Left In Heaviest Raid % •_ gERN, April 3.—W—1The first published photographs of the dam age inflicted on Luebeck by the RAF last Saturday night show “without exaggeration that the ef fects were catastrophic.” the Ber lin correspondent of the ‘Tribune de Ger.eve reported today. ‘‘Some hundreds of properties were demolished like castles of cardboard and some streets were entirely blasted by explosions,” the correspondent wrote. “One sees everywhere men and women locking over the remains of their fuhiiture among the ruins.” The photographs confirmed ear lier leports »rom Berlin that the rastd was “the heaviest British air attack on German territory since the cegioning of tne war.” Over two hundred bodies have been recovered from the ruins, the correspondent said. “One fact must be "noted,” the correspondent of the Tribune de Geneve .said. “Only the city prop er was affected, while the outer districts did not receive a single bomb.” “By moonlight the Admirable Patrician Homes bf the Hanseatic City were easy objectives for the British pilots who, moreover, had to contend with a very feeble anti aircraft defense,” the dispatch said. The Tribune said that the total losses were not yet known, but that women and children must be evacuated from Luebeck. A Paris dispatch to the Tribune said last night’s RAF bombing of Poissy, Paris suburb where the Matford motor truck plant is lo cated, caused 300 casualties in cluding wounded. Heavy damage was caused, the dispatch said. 2 1 I THREE U. S. WARSHIPS SUNK IN THE PACIFIC WITH LOSS OF 700 MEN T Langley Smothered With Enemy Bombs By The Associated Press •JAN FRANCISCO, April 3. —'me United Sta'es Aircraft Tender Langley and the fleet taaker Pecos went down while fighting a 52-hour running bat tle with enemy bombing planes in the Indian ocean south of Java between Feb. 2T and M mch 1, th -ir commanding of ficers said tor ay. The La/'gley was literally smothered with bombs,” said Comdr R. P. McConnell, who to d the story upon his arri val in the United States. '• he Pecos, wnich was sunk wo:ie carrying the survivors of the Langley to safety was attacked by tnree formations of divt-borrbeis, tier skipper, Comdr E. P. Abernethy, re ported. Abernethy arrived in Sao Francisco with McConnell. •Hav'ng hod ,wo ships shot out from unaer them n a little more than two days, the sur vivors of tve 11 050 ion Lang ley spent between Sou and six ho irs tn the water A few had lilmoais. ‘We were carrying supplies in he combat zone,” said tall, blonde Commander McConnell, “w.ten were sighted uy a hos -til; observation pian° on the mi ning of Ffb. 27. "About noor. a formation of horizontal bombers were re ported and wc preoared for battle. They nu de a series of approaches, di opping bombs twee irom formations of nine pVmes earn aid from aboic 15,000 feet altitude Vety fciffectivc The second run • f bombs wa i very elective The Lang ley was practically smothered. We wo: e ir tfu- midst of the Salvo and me damage forced us to .eave tin ship. Our esc rt oestrozers per formed very -mmmendably in the ba tle as well as in rescu ing the Langlev survivors. Aft er the men had been picked up the destroyers nas.ened the sinking of he tender so that mc(er’al would not tall into enemy hancs.’: the Langley be;or, becom ing a tendtr was an aircraft carrier, and originally /was buiit to be a collier. She stin carried sec’ior.s of her flying dj’k but it was net ’sable as such. Mo picni-s were launched (Continued on Page Two; Col. R) Fortress Bombers Fire Jap Cruiser ---- Troopship Also Blasted Damaged Off India And Two Others Reported LONDON, Saturday, April 4.—(tf) —Huge Um’ed State? fortress bombers have spread heir wings over the Burma frort for the first tima and. tak ng c-ff from bases in India under toe versona command of Major General Lewis H. Brere ton. 1 ave set fire to on-- Japanese cruiser and a troopship and prob ably ’damaged two other ships in the tiay of Bengal. The action-the lirst uy this new outpost of American arms--took place at Port Blair in t'n= Andaman Islands, recently occup:ed by the Japanese as a base from vvh-ch to prev on the supply route to India and China. The first ctmmunique issued by the New De ni ner.dquarters of Gen. Brereton.. v'ho is commander of the U. S. Air Foices in India said one enemy fighter was en couvered by :he squadron ot Unit ed States bombers and that enemy anti aircraft fire was intense But all the American ships returned safely and without damage, ac cording vo the communique as pub lished today in the Daily Sketch here. Tnis f'rst act.v.ny of American heavy- tomb rs in this theater came as the Japanese were pres sing the British hard in Burma to the nortn. The tent of the communique: “Amencan flying fo -tresses of the United Suites ail forces made their first attack from India todiy. ‘ Led by Major General Lewis Bre-eton, commanding the United Stan s air for-'es in India, a squad ron of heavy 1 omoers attacked the enemy’s shipping at. Port Blair (Andaman island.-) setting fire to one Japanese ciuiser and one troopship ana probably damaging two othei shins. “At; enemy fightei was encoun tered and intense anii-a-rcraft fire but no oamasp ,- as sustained. All our aircraft returned safely.” 3 LOSES HIS CUFFS LOS ANGELES, April 3.—(iF)— Gov. Culbert L. Olson submitted to sartorial surgery today, giving up to a marine sergeant’s scissors the cuffs of his pants in the inter est of national defense. JAPS AGAIN FOILED IN BATAAN ATTACK Defenders Inflict Consider able Losses Upon The Enemy WASHINGTON, April 3 —(/PI—The defenders of bataan peninsula, aft er thwarting -yesterday'" major as sau'is by the Jr panes?, followed up their success by repelling sub sequent light attacks w th ‘cons;d erar’e” loss .o tne foe. the war department reported today. A reladve .ul! in the siege of Bataan and tne Manila Bay forts followed the bloody repulse of ves ter lay’s twir attacks, one of which tempora lly oreeohed he Ameri can P ilirrno lines. Sojqss' lignt attacks wei e launched last eight by the invaders at various points along the front lines held br Lieutenant Geneial Jonathan M. Wainwrigrt’s forces, but all were repelled, the com munique said Bombing ol fruit line-- continued meanwhile and Onregidor and out lying island 'orts were subjected to air raids for the eleventh con secutive day and to shelling from enemy b itteries on the -outh shore of the nay. the au raids were deso.ibert as 'igl:f, and the forts’ guns returned tn? Japanese ar'il lery fire The lull was viewed by official observers as a familial phase of the campaign of attrition waged for nearly two v eeks by the in vaders undet their new comman der, lieutenant General Tomoyuki Yarr.ashUa. and likely to be fol lowed shortly by another assault. Four > uccessiv> major atta :ks have been reyulsi d with heavy los ses beginning with an onslaui/ht Maivh 28 whi'h was checked com pletely by a f’our.ter-at'ack. Good Friday, the war depa-t menr said, was masked by reports of a Japanese air at’ack on a church i r the village of uliral, near Digof. The atter town is on the gulf of Davao more than 500 miles south of Bataan on the southern most island <1 Ltmaanao. Chiang Urges Indians To Accept Compromise NEW DELHI, India, April 3.—W —Generalissimo Ghiang Kai-Shek, leader of Free China, was under stood today to have appealed to India's leaders to reconsider he formula by which Britain is seek ing that subcontinent s full coop eration against tie Axis in return for Indian independence after the war. The precise nature of the gen era ksimo’s intervention was not known; specifically it was not dis closed whether re had urged In dia ‘ acceptance of the most con troversial point—Britain’s insist ence that she retain control of In dian deiense for the emergency period. At all events, however, he was said to have sent a special mes senger to Pandit Jawa'.arlal Neh ru, former president of the all India congress and perhaps :he most powerful figure on the Indi an side oi the tacle, and this alone threw the immense weight of nis influence behind *he hopes of ihe uncounted nulli'-ns among the United Nations that the conference not be torpedoed Chiang act'd at a critical mo (Continued on Fan* Two; ;Col, 4) \ \ircraft Tender Langley, Destroyer Peary, Tanker Pf ;os Destroyed VICTIMS OF BOMBERS Crew Of Peary Commend ed For Heroism In Fight ing Ship To The End Bv JOHN M. HIGHTOWER WASHINGTON, April 3.^ (/P) — Destruction of three United States naval vessels by Japanese aerial bombard ment with an estimated loss of more than 700 officers and men was disclosed by the Navy tonight in a tragic ac count of bitter battling against overwhelming enemy air superiority. The ships were: The historic, 11,050-ton air craft tender Langley, ones converted from a collier to become this country’s pioneer aircraft carrier, and recently converted into $ tender to serve sea as well as air planes; sunk off Java in late February. The 1,190-ton destroyer Peary, oft-bombed unit of the Asiatic fleet which was attacked in harbor at Darwin, Australia, about February 19, and fought by her men until her old-fashioned flush deck was awash. Loss of life was understood to be light. The 5,400 - ton tanker Pecos, which was heavily bombed and finally sunk early in March, a few days after the loss of the Langley, survivors of which she was carry ing to port. What made the loss ot the Pecos doubly b:tter was the fact that she was loaded with several hundred survivors of the Langley. The one time aircraft carrier, converted to a tender so that she could fuel and service seaplanes, had gone down with the loss of only 14 men. Destroyers picked up the hun dreds of others, and, presumably having combat duties ahead, ’ater transferred them to the Pecos and that vessel, normally employed in fueling fleet units in the south, western Pacific, then was attacked and sunk. Personnel losses when the tanker w'ent down were report ed at two thirds of the total per sonnel of the Langley and Pecos. Both the Peary and Langley were veterans of earlier engage ments in the Pacific war. In fact, by mid-January, the Japanese had thrice boasted that they had sunk the Langley, but Naval officials said that up to that time not a bomb had touched her. The Peary had been bombed in Manila Bay in the Philippines soon after war broke out, and had been repaired and given convoy duty and bombed again. But not until the violent attack at Port Darwin did she finally go down and then, the Navy said, gun crews fought (Continued on Page Two; Col. t) RED GUERILLAS CRIPPLE NAZIS Behind The Line Activities Inflict Heavy Losses Upon Germans By WILLIAM B. KINO LONDON, April 3.—Russian guerillas striking in the Smolensk sector 230 m'les west of Moscow were declared officially tonight to have inflicted heavy losses on Ger man troops, and to have destroyed 36 L> idges and vital equipment stores needed U r Adolf Hitler’s spring rush. Soviet annnum.emenls in Mos cow indicated 1hat the sharpest fighting along the from still was in the northwest A communique said one Red Army detachment killed more ’har. 450 Nazis in a single day’s LgH’ng in that area, presumably near Lake Ilmen. The Germans a’*so were report ed thrown ou of severa1 populated places along (he front, but these were not iden ified by the Russians who eariy today reported a 13-day toll of more thor. 25,0f0 German dead. Official announcements in Mos cow ana Berlin indicated onlv sharp patrol forays elsewhere alo. g the va.-.t iron! where both sides are gatoe'ing huge reserves for tne supreme 1942 test. The Russians said their guer rillas in the Smolensk sector killed 500 Nazis, captured 21, and de stroyed three German tanks and (Continued on Face Two; Col. 4}