Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / May 8, 1942, edition 1 / Page 1
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Served By Leased Wire Of The - ASSOCIATED PRESS REMEMBER WIDE WORLD ppipt HARnnn Wiih Complete Coverage Of L ““BUU Slate and National News AND BATAAN I ---- ESTABLISHED 1867. 0. S. WINS MAJOR NAVAL ENGAGEMENT OVER JAPS British Field Marshal Rides Fort Bragp lep Field Marshal Sir John Dill, British representative with the United Nations' com bined chiefs of state, sits beside the driver as he rides a U. S. Army jeep for the first time during a tour of inspection at Fort Bragg, N. C. In the rear seat are Gen. Seorge C. Marshall (left), U. S. Army chief of staff, and Maj. Gen. Rene E‘. DeR. Hoyle if the U. S. Army. British Take Diego Suarez, Negotiate Surrender Terms Victors Hopeful Entire Island Will Capitulate Without Fight By NOLAND NORGAARD LONDON, May 7.—(A3)—British troops and warships took possession today of Madagascar’s great naval harbor of Diego Suarez after two days of brisk fighting and began negotiating the terms of a surrender by which they hoped to obtain the peaceful capitulation of all that yichy French island. This tough, quick occupation — accomplished in less than 48 hours latter the establishment of the first British bridgehead at a loss of around 1,000 of the British force— was announced in commons by Prime Minister Churchill, who ap pealed gravely to the French peo ple thus to consider the episode: ^ ! "... a recognizable fact jn-'the liberation of their country, includ big Alsace-Lorraine, from the Ger man yoke,'’ He told of the surrender of the French military and navy com manders, but there was no Immedi ate indication here as to whether the Vichy-controlled governor-gen eral of the island, Armand Annet, had himself joined in capitulating or whether he intended to try to organize some sort of guerrilla re s-stance in the interior. At all events, it was regarded most likely here that in view of spirited though brief defense ’oe great bulk of effective French ttoops had already been accounted for, Vichy Watched Bliat the Vichy government nould now do raised the most “tense interest, but late in the day mere had been no sign of action from that capital. Tonight Vichy announced capitu ,aUor‘ °f Biego Suarez, and Berlin toadeast a Vichy report that the Push naval units had entered the e'.°r at 3:30 p. m. Vichy, how er claimed resistance was continu nS elsewhere on the island. lle Oorman-controlled Paris ^'ess began calling for reprisals; ‘‘We was some speculation here ofl ^avai might take the excuse cf An<i °ver the Axis some form c ,nilVal aid — perhaps French Users and destroyers to the Ger toan fleet. W*? conquest of Diego Suarez, cl,U™ in tlle terminology of British j. . st;nids for the whole of the anti not merely the French . of that name, was ac jan’p 1Kbed by powerful British do« and naval forces — comman var-i •tnaiines’ regular infantry, ^ -'Ps, planes — in a great show ‘ .Slen?th which, Churchill said, blood ,leliberately intended to hold ^ ashed to a minimum. Us 'vas the sequence of events ar-110'inced in various official Quarters here. T,.,Neize Village j ’ 11 ® British warships held positions before the hay, tr.ovS * !an<i f°rces in converging bwmPrts seized the village of so, the chief town of the harbor (Gaitiuued QIl rage Three; Col. 4) STUTTGART RAIDED AGAIN BY BRITISH Continuous Offensive Car ried Out Against In dustrial Germany LONDON,' May 7. — '-T> — The southern German manufacturing city of Stuttgart was bombed by the RAF last night for the third successive night in a continuing offensive against the important aviation and electrical industries centered there. Dock and airports in German occupied territory also were attack ed during the nigh+, and by day light this afternoon squadrons of fighters escorted American-made Douglas bombers to the Belgian coastal cities of Ostend and Zee brugge. Docks were bombed at Os tend, and an industrial power plant was set afire at Zeebrugge. The third American Eagle squad ron which recently had been posted at Britain’s leading 'fighter station participated in its first operational flight on the Ostend raid, but the pilots expressed disappointment at the lack cf opposition. The British lost seven planes in (Continued on Page Three; Col. 5) City Air Raid Siren To Get Test At Noon Public Urged Not To Become Alarmed Over Sounding Blast The air raid alarm siren installed at the fire depart ment headquarters on Fourth street near Dock, will be tested at noon today. The Defense Council, through Louis Poisson, chairman, urges that the blast be not confused with an actual warn ing, and emphasizes that it is but a test to determine if it is in perfect order. He urges all who hear it to refrain from any form of demonstration and if any person forgets or does not know why the siren is blown and gives any sign of excite ment to restrain that person from calling out or otherwise provoking a disturbance. ALL PHILIPPINE FIGHTING HALTED Wainwright Reported To Have Acceeded To Japs At Corregidor Surrender BY WILLIAM F. FRYE WASHINGTON, May 7.—Iff)—An unofficial and unconfirmed report that the Japanese required sur render of the small units of Amer ican-Filipino forces still fighting bn various islands of the Archipel ago as a condition for ending their attacks on the Manila Bay forts was announced today by the war department. In a communique worded care fully to make clear the completely unofficial nature of the report,*the department said a broadcast from Japanese-controlled radio stations in Manila said that Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wainwright had acceded reluctantly to this con dition to avoid further sacrifice, and had issued appropriate orders to his field commanders. It was recalled immediately here that when resistance of the Ameri can-Filipino troops on Bataan Pen insula ceased April 9, there was a similar unconfirmed report that the Japanese had demanded the surrender of Corregidor and the other Manila Bay forts before they would cease their pounding of the collapsing defenders of the penin sula. If the Japanese high command in the Philippines did attempt to impose such a condition at that time, obviously it was not met, since the fortified islands contin ued to hold out against the invad ers for another month. (Continued on Page Three; Col. S) Move Opened For Building Drydock Here Representatives Clark And Hiers Press Matter Be fore Navy Department " COSTS $2,000,000 Lack Of It Prevents Local ly Built Ships From Leaving With Cargo By HOWARD SUTTLE (Star Washington Bureau) WASHINGTON, May 7. — Plans are underway whereby the Navy Department may soon authorize construction of a drydock at Wilmington to round out facilities that will enable loading in the New Hanover port of ships con structed by the North Caro lina Shipbuilding company. Representive J. Bayard Clark tonight revealed that a drydock is now the major impediment to a shipping program whereby the Port of Wilmington would receive a substantial increase in govern ment maritime business. His state ment followed a conference with navy and maritime commission of ficials in which J. T. Hiers, Wil mington Port official, participated. Explaining shipbuilding procedure to show the reason why vessels Constructed by the North Caro lina Shipbuilding Company may not now be loaded with their first cargoes at the Wilmington port, Representative Clark pointed out that, after a boat is launched, it must be equipped with machinery and placed in readiness for service. Final checkup after the mach inery is installed in a vessel must be made at a drydock, where a new coat of paint must be added, he continued. Because Wilmington has no drydock, most of the local shipyard’s boats are sent to diy dock at Charleston, Norfolk, or Philadelphia. Need Drydock “The maritime commission had line up some shipping business for the Port of Wilmington,” the congressman added. “ Safeguards were being taken for protection against submarine attacks. Then it was discovered that we had no drydock closer than Charleston and Norfolk.” Now our job is to ge tthis drydock as soon as poss ible. Mr. Hiers and I have dis cussed the matter with the navy’s bureau of yards and docks and feel encouraged that the interest shown by Admiral (Ben) Moreell, (Yards and Docks Chief) may re (Continued on Page Three; Col. 5) confessTonsread AT GODWIN TRIAL Four Youths Standing Trial At Whiteville For Murder Of Brunswick Merchant WHITEVILLE, May 7. — Testi mony on which the state expects to send the four confessed robber slayers of Ira L. Gowin Bruns wick, merchant, to the lethal gas chamber, was begun this morn ing as the most sensational trial this county has had in two de cades moved into its second day. The four defendants are F. C. Bonner, 19, and Lonnie Melton Todd, 28, Fort Bragg privates, Ol lin Fowler, Jr., 18, and Joe Mc Danial, 16, of Dufort, S. C. Evidence for the state was be gun when court convened at 9:30 o’clock this morning, with the testimony of Mrs. Godwin, widow of the murder - robbery victim. She related the details of what happened on the night her husband was slain, telling much the same story which she told at the cor oner’s inquest, that she left the store about 10 o’clock and went to the house nearby to give their two adopted children their baths for the night. She said that when her husband failed to return in about 30 minutes she went back to the store and found him lying under the counter, with six bullet holes in his body. Mrs. Godwin broke down when she was called upon by the state to identify the bloody shirt which her husband was wearing on the night he was (Continued on Face Two; Col. 5) . . , ... i Candidate For Governor Chauneey Sparks of Eufaula, one of five candidates for Democratic nomination for governor of Ala bama, listens to returns from the primary May 5. With the count incomplete, lie had a slight mar gin over his four opponents. Jim Folsom of Cullman, Chris Sher lock of Montgomery, H. .J. Carwile of Ashland, and W. 0. Broyles of Birmingham. BRITISH CRUISER EDINBURGH LOST Warship Sunk After Hits By Enemy Torpedoes In Attack On Convoy By The Associated Press LONDON, May 7—The 10,000-ton British cruiser Edinburgh was lost last week in German submarine, surface and air attacks on two British convoys plying the vital Arctic supply route to Russia, the admiralty announced tonight, but despite the severity of the assaults, spread over several days, the Brit ish accomplished their mission with relatively small loss among the other naval and merchant vessels. One attacking German destroyer was sunk and another was hit and severely damaged, and at least three Nazi bombers were destroyed. The Edinburgh was crippled by enemy torpedoes and had to be abandoned in tow and sunk by the British themselves while she was homeward bound with a convoy which already had delivered its goods. One convoyed vessel also was sunk. The second convoy attacked was a large string of ships carrying “important war supplies" to the bitterly-contested Russian front. Al though it was attacked by repeated waves of dive-bombers and torpedo carrying planes which sank three ships, the British nevertheless suc ceeded in delivering 9) per cent of their cargo, the admiralty stated. Assuming all of the convoy ships were of approximately the same size, this would indicate that the convoy originally was composed of about 30 ships. Casualties apparently were rela tively small, although it was not specifically so stated. Casualties (Continued on Page Four; Col. 4) WEATHER FORECAST NORTH CAROLINA — Slightly cooler east and central portions Fri day. SOUTH CAROLINA — Slightly cooler Friday. (EASTERN STANDARD TIME) (Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m. yesterday): (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Temperature: 1:30 a. m. 69; 7:30 a. m. 71; 1:30 p. m. 77; 7:30 p. m. 73; maximum 78; minimum 67; mean 72; normal 68. Humidty: 1:30 a. m. 93; 7:30 a. m. 84; 1:30 p. m. 58; 7:30 p. m. 59. Precipitation: Total for the* 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m., 0.00 inches; total since the first of the month, 0.75 inches. Tides For Today: (From Tide Tables published by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey): High Low Wilmington __4:Q6a. 11:20a. 4:36p. ll:47p. Masonboro Inlet- 2:07a. 8:24a. 2:38p. 8:48p. Sunrise 5:16a; sunset 7:01p; moonrise 1:35a; moonset 12:59p. Cape Fear river stage at Fayette ville on Thursday at 8 a. m., 10.05 feet. (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) U.S. To Ration TravelAboard Trains, Bases Cities Over 10,000 Gets Instruction On Efficient Use Of Transportation / SUNDAY RIDING GOING Motorists Having More Than Five Tires Asked To Sell Their Extras WASHINGTON, May 7.— (A5)—Rationing of passenger travel on railroads and buses was described officially today as “definitely in prospect” while the government sent every city of over 10,000 pop ulation a blue-print for effi cient use of public and private transportation. In addition, it planned an appeal to motorists having more than five tires to sell the extras to the government. • In a day which found Congress and government departments in creasingly concerned over the rubber and transportation situa tions, there were these develop ments: Robert Patterson, undersecretary of war, told a press conference that Americans must quit using their automobiles for “Sunday driv ingg, visits to Cousin Joe and pet ting parties” because their tires must be saved for possible war use. One of the officials who has en dorsed pending legislation which would authorize the government to requisition private automobiles, Patterson said an appeal was plan ned to motorists to sell to the gov ernment any tires they may pos sess beyond their fifth, or spare. Rubber Must Be Conserved Emphasizing that the “millions of tons of rubber now rolling on the highways” must be conserved, Patterson said “the time might come when some workers in war plants might have to have the ben efit of those tires.” Officials of the Office of Defense Transportation said rationing of passenger space on railroads and inter-city busses was in prospect within the next few months, but that no decisions had been reach ed on just how this would be done —by issuance of credentials to “es sential” travelers or some less for mal method. The ODT published a manual to be sent to every community over 10,000 outlining a system for stag gering hours and promoting group use of automobiles. Joseph B. Eastman, director, said the aim of staggering hours was t,o prevent peak loads of factory workers from using more transportation fa cilities at the same hours as school children, office workers and shop pers. The ODT manual, saying some workers would soon find them selves with only three usable tires, suggested fan exchange should therefore be setup which will provide the medium for get ting the tires from such automo biles into use on some other autos which have reached a similar state of tire wear.” The house committee on coinage, weights and measures decided to investigate “the various sources of rubber and rubber substitutes in the Western Hemisphere with the intent of determining whether or (Continued on Page Four; Col. 5) Eight Ships Sunk, Four Damaged Off Solomon Islands Subs Bag Three Other Jap Craft; Americans Lose Only Three Planes By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER WASHINGTON, May 7. — (/P) — An American naval force, intercepting a Japanese squadron apparently striking at the flank of the life line to Australia, sank eight enemy vessels, damaged four and destroyed six planes at a total United States cost of only three planes, the Navy announced today. The furious battle, authoritatively regarded here as possibly the first in which strictly American forces have engaged the Japs in a general naval encounter, occurred last Monday in the vicinity of the Solomon islands, lying northeast of Australia and northwest of the supply route bastions of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides islands. Spurned Testifying in Los Angeles, Mrs. Florence Gilbert Burroughs, wife of Tarzan’s papa, said that her author-husband, unlike his fic tional brainchild, preferred to live alone. A decree was granted. —(Central Press) E. W. CARR RESIGNS CIVIL SERVICE JOB Secretary Of Board Ten ders Resignation To Chief Casteen E. W. Carr, secretary of the Wil mington Civil Service Commission since its founding, resigned Thurs day morning from that body in a letter to Chief of Police Charles H. Casteen. The text of Mr. Carr’s letter follows: “I hereby submit my res ignation from the Civil Service Commission, effective'immediate ly. 8 It has been a pleasure to work with you and I appreciate the co operation you have shown me and the other members of the com mission.” ' Mr. Carr was selected by the city police department as its per sonal representative soon a f ter the commission came into being about two years ago. The civil service board consists of five members; one selected by (Continued on Page Four; Col. 5) The Naval communique report ing the results of the 'battle also disclosed that U. S. submarines operating in the Western Pacifio had sunk three more Japanese ships. Thus, the enemy’s total ship losses announced today were elev en sunk, including seven warships, and four damaged, as follows: The Toll In the Solomons: Sunk—one light cruiser, two de stroyers, four gun boats and one supply vessel. Damaged — one 9,000 ton sea plane tender, one light cruiser, one cargo vessel and one transport. In U. S. submarines operations: Sunk—one medium sized cargo ship, one medium sized tanker, and one small cargo ship. The sinkings raised the unoffi cially tabulated total of Japanese ship losses due to United Nations operations to 250, including 195 warships of all types and 55 com merical vessels. They also raised the bag of Japanese ships success fully attacked by far ranging U. S. undersea raiders to 39 sunk, 12 probably sunk and eleven damag ed. Not since the combined Austral ian-American bombing of an ene my ship concentration off Lee and Salamaua, New Guinea, had such a United States success been re ported by the Navy. That action, carried out mostly by American forces, resulted, the Navy announced March 18, in the sinking or damaging of 23 Japa nese ships including 12 war ves sels. The Solomon islands action com pensated to a considerable extent for the American-British-Dutch los ses in the great battle of the Java sea in late February when the Al lies lost 13 warships and the Jap anese had seven sunk or damaged. The exact nature of the battle in the Solomons was not shown by the Navy’s communique, which was restricted to a relation of re sults obtained. A fuller account, officers said, must await later re ports from the Pacific. Large Scale Battle But on the basis of what the communique indicated, Naval ex perts said that the Solomons action appeared to have been a large scale sea battle between strictly American and Japanese forces and since results were so clearly known to the Americans it may have occurred in daylight. The use of the term ‘‘Naval engagement,” it was said, definitely meant that American surface ships as well as aircraft had participated. The battle was regarded as hav ing high strategic importance be cause of its relation to the vital necessity of keeping open the sup (Continued on Page Three; Col. 2) Bulkeley Completes Mission; Toll Is Four Japanese Ships * Cruiser Among Victims Of Fleet Torpedo Boats Off Philippines SAN FRANCISCO, May 7.—(fP)—Lieut. John D. Bulke ley and three fellow torpedo boat officers, who spirited General Douglas MacArthur away from Corregidor, re ported in person today that their mission to the Philippines had been completed at a cost to Emperor Hirohito of four ships, including a cruiser, four planes and two armored landing boats. The Long Island City, N. Y. J hero of the dashing little PT boats related in a matter-of-fact way how on one occasion they came upon a heavily -armored cruiser in the dead of night. Results: “The ship sank completely in approximately 20 minutes.” The lethal boats found Japanese armored landing boats attempt ing to sneak up behind General Jonathan M. Wainwright’s men. Result: “We let 50 Japanese drown after one boat sank because they opened fire first and wounded one of our officers.” “We toog two prisoners, a Jap anese captain and a private. The [ captain was on his knees, his hands *■ in the air, crying: “Me surrender! me surrender!” Bulkeley did the reporting at a press conference with Lieut. Ro bert Kelly, New York city, Ensign George E. Cox, Watertown, N. Y., standing around him. The four, youthful appearing and tanned and hardened by their stren uous work in the Philippines, were flown to the United States. They left almost immediately for New York and Washington. The dark-haired, husky Bulkeley, commander of the speedboat squadron in the Philippines, said his mission had been to operate under MacArthur and “attack hos tile shipping in Philippine waters wherever we might find it.” * Mission Completed “When our usefulness was at an end and our mission completed, (Continued on P»*e Four; Col. f) •J
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
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May 8, 1942, edition 1
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