■Served By Leased Wire Of The _ - - ■
ASSOCIATED PRESS f I * * 4, Cy 4 REMEMBER
[’em tumngtim Mtenttuj ste -xr
— ------- W^^yrON, N. C., MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1942 FINAL EDITION ESTABLISHED 1867.
Nazis Drive
Wedges Into
Red Defense
Russians Admit Maneuver
gut Claim Tremendous
Enemy Losses
100,000 WIPED OUT
ports Surrounded; Hand
To Hand Fighting
At Points
MOSCOW, Monday, June 22.—ffl
-Beginning the second year of the
' r against the Axis with “no sur
render” resistance along the entire
.pOO-mile front, Russia acknowl
edged officially today that the en
emy had succeeded in driving a
wedge into the defenses of Sevas
topol although "at the cost of tre
mendous sacrifices.”
The price paid by the Axis was
indicated in newspaper dispatches
reporting that at least seven Axis
divisions — five German and two
Htimanian — totaling up to 100,000
men have been wiped out in the
■jitter battle for the Crimean port.
“During the course of June 21,
m the Sevastopol sector, our
-oops repelled constant fierce at
tacks of German Fascist troops,”
tie Soviet bureau of information
announced in the first communique
of the new year of war.
“The enemy at the cost of tre
mendous sacrifices succeeded in
driving a wedge in our defenses.”
Earlier newspaper dispatches
from the roaring battle front said
that the Germans, by dint of su
perior numbers and repeated at
tacks, forced the Red army back
to central defense lines in the
southern zone of the Sevastopol for
tifications yesterday.
Forts were surrounded in some
instances: there was hand-to-hand
fighting at many points.
Some of the fighting was report
ed to have gone underground when
German soldiers occupied the up
per stories of huge fortifications
and the Red army fought on from,
subterranean corridors and de
fenses.
On other sectors of the front, the
Soviet bureau of information said,
there were no substantial changes
-but unofficial reports told of local
engagements in the Ukraine, on
she central and northwestern fronts
and on up to the far north
The Russians said 264 Axis
planes were destroyed last week
while the Red air force lost 103.
Russian planes are playing a big
part in the defense of the Soviet
land, the communique indicated. It
announced that last Saturday the
air force in various areas of the
front destroyed or damaged 16
German tanks, 60 motor vehicles
'dh troops and war materials, two
8®s, 14 mortars, 20 anti-aircraft
(Continued on Pare Two; Col. 3)
-v
SUNDAY HOTTEST
DAY OF THE YEAR
Mercury Soars To 96 De
grees On First Sum
mer Day
Experiencing the hottest day oE
the year—the first day of summer
ai'd the longest day of the year—
'ulmingtonians were at the
Caches, at their homes scantily
dressed or moving wearily along
the streets when the mercury rose
to 96 degrees about 2 o’clock Sun
oa.v afternoon.
Many residents were heard com
plaining of the heat Saturday when
'he high was 93 degrees, and
“arching for air-cooled places.
E»Jy Sunday came remarks such
ss “today will top Saturday’s high”
and from new residents “is it al
^ys sticky here when the tem
perature rises?”
Sunday’s low reading was 77 de
with the mean being 86 de
S’ees compared with the normal of
18 degrees.
weather
‘K.v U. S. Weather Bureau)
.. Temperature:
«5; 80; 7:30 a. m. 81; 1:30 p. m
p. rn. 86; maximum 96; minimum
' 86: normal 78.
i,., Humidity:
ft.™ m. 90; 7:30 a. m. 78; 1:30 p. m
' P. in. 64.
y Precipitation:
oial for the 24 hours ending 7:30
ot iv" 1)00 in<-’hes: total since the first
'ne month. 2.54 inches.
,P„ TIDES FOB TODAY:
r, ,om ’fide Tables published by U. S
t and Geodetic Survey):
I:, . High Low
'imtngton _ 3:41a. 11:09a
Mas, c 4:28p. ll:41p
“sonboro Inlet_ 1:10a. 1:44a
s 2:02p. 8:33p.
1 Uinise 5:01a: sunset 727p; moonrisa
' ’P. moonset 12:35a.
IConlinued ou Page Two; Col. 1>
Pioneer’ — A New Super-Fighter i
This tough looking soldier with mud-smeared face,
carrying a machete (left) and a bush knife (right),
among other things, is one of the United States Army
Engineers’ new “Pioneer” group of super-fighting men.
They are in training at Fort Lewis, Wash. Some regard
them as more versatile than the famous British Com
mandos.
Chinese Repulse Japs !
North Of Yellow River
CHUNGKING, June 21.— (ff) —
Chinese troops, fighting with rocks,
hand grenades and machine-guns
against 10,000 Japanese troops sup
ported by planes and heavy guns,
have repulsed seven attempts of
the invaders to storm a mountain
pass in a bitter struggle along the
Honan-Shansi border north of the
yellow river, the Chinese high
command announced today.
This heroic stand was reported
as spokesmen claimed that the
Chinese still were holding a 50
mile gap along the Chekiang
Kiangsi railway in the area souti
of the Yangtze and were locked in
still indecisive combat at Kwang
feng where the Japanese had tried
to turn their Kiangsi offensive
southward toward Fukien province
on the eastern seaboard.
Opening a new offensive norln
of the Yellow river, the Japanese
drove northward from Linhsien, in
North Honan province 30 miles
west of the Peiping-Hakow rail
way, on June 11, the communique
said, and succeeded in driving the
Chinese back to the foothills of the
Taiheng mountain range.
There in a rugged pass, the
Chinese hurled back three attacks
on June 13 and 14 and four the
next day, rolling stones down upon
four attacking columns to supple
ment their concentrated machine
gun fire.
Although the Japanese suffered
heavy casualties, the fighting was
said to be continuing. The Japa
nese were said to have lost 1,200
men in the first day of the fight
ing. . ^
At Kwangfeng, in Eastern
Kiangsi, fighting was said to be
(Continued on Pate Two; Col. S)
-V
DROTTNINGHOLM
WILL SOON SAIL
949 North And South
Americans Wait For
Sailing
LISBON, Portugal, June 21—W—
The Swedish liner Drottingholm,
with 949 North and South Ameri
cans being repatriated from Axis
countries, awaited sailing orders
ht from the State Department
in Washington.
Passengers — many of whom
had come from German concen
ttation camps—spent Sunday impa
tiently on board. Under Portuguese
regulations, once aboard, they ccan
not disembark. They were not even
allowed to use a ship-to-shore tel
ephone.
One group sent a petition to port
authorities to allow them off, "un
der escort,” to go to a bullfight
but their request was refused.
Perhaps the most spectacular of
the passengers was Ruth Mitchell,
author, traveler and sister of the
late Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell, who
spent a year in a German inter
ment camp at Leibenau after her
capture while serving as a member
of the Chetniks or Comitadji, the
Yugoslav guerrillas.
Miss Mitchell said one woman,
an illiterate British subject from
Cyprus, went insane in the camp.
Therewere three deaths, including
(Continued on Page Bight; Col. 8)
NAZI POWER LOST,
DECLARES KALININ
Soviet Head Says Germans
Not Able To Repeat
Last Year’s Work
MOSCOW June 21.—MV-At the
close of the first year of war in
Russia President Michael Kalinin
declared today Hitler had lost his
power to launch a general offen
sive and cited American - British
aid as powerful factors which
would help the Red army to de
feat the Germans.
In a statement the white-beard
ed “peasant president” declared
the German invasion of the Soviet
union a year ago tomorrow mark
ed the turning point of the second
World War.
Although the Nazis still are cap
able of attacking in some sectors,
he said they no longer were able
to repeat last year’s mass on
slaught from the Arctic to the
Black Sea.
Help from American and British
allies and flourishing Soviet indus
try and agriculture, he asserted,
“provide full reason to be sure the
enemy will be defeated.”
The presidential statement was
published by the Soviet press along
with numerous other war anniver
sary articles.
Following the same line taken by
Kalinin, the army newspaper Red
Star declared:
“One thing is clear. There can be
no mention of an offensive by the
Germany army like the one last
year.”
While the anniversary was draw
ing much attention from Russians
more confident than ever of vic
tory, there was no formal obser
vance scheduled for tomorrow.
Kalinin in his statement pointed
out that the Germans had intended
to conquer Russia in three to four
months.
“The German plan to defeat our
army, seize our industrial centers
and thus bring the Soviet people
to their knees failed entirely,” he
said.
jnaer me diows oi our troops
the Germans’ conviction of the in
vincibility of their army first be
gan to tarnish and now is vanish
ing.
“The spring offensive advertised
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 3)
-v
Yugoslavian King
Now In Washington
WASHINGTON, June 21.—(/P)
—King Peter II of Yugoslavia
arrived in Washington by plane
this afternoon, the State de
partment announced, accom
panied by the Yugoslavian for
eign minister, M. Nitchich.
The 18-year-old monarch will
leave tomorrow “for a few
days in the country,” the an
nouncement said, and will
travel incognito until Wednes
day, when he returns to the
capital to begin his official pro
gram. King Peter came here
from England.
t
mdTISH ADMIT FALL OF TOBRUK;
* JAPANESE LAND ON KISKA ISLAND;
VANCOUVER IS SHELLED BY SUB
U. S. Bombers Sink Trans
port, Hit Cruiser; Some
Tents Set Up
MAY ESTABLISH BASE
Only 585 Miles From Dutch
Harbor; Has Fair
Terminal
WASHINGTON, June 21.— (JP) —
The Navy reported today that the
Japanese have put forces ashore
at Kiski Island and apparently are
attempting to establish some sort
of base on that Aleutian island
only 585 milss from the Navy’s
Dutch Harbor base.
This second enemy foothold in
the Western Hemisphere was made
known in a communique which said
that Army bombers, raiding the
harbor at Kiska, had sunk a trans
port and apparently hit a cruiser.
"Tents and minor temporary
structures were observed to have
been set up on land,” the com
munique said.
This indicated that the enemy
had made some progress since a
Navy communique on June 12 re
ported Japanese ships in the har
bor at Kiska and the landing of
small emimy forces at Attu. The
latter island is about 275 miles
west of Kiska in the Aleutian chain
which stretches out from Alaska
toward Japan.
In reporting the Army bombei
raid, the Navy’s communique—its
first in a week on developments in'
the Aleutians—observed that opera
tions of weather and great dis
tances.”
The raid by Army bombers was
made “within the last few days, '
the Navy said. Its results had not
been reported previously.
The hits on the cruiser and the
sinking of a transport raised the
officially announced total of enemy
vessels sunk or damaged in the
Aleutians to at least four cruisers,
a destroyer, a gunboat and two
transports.
In addition, there has been a
semi-official report of the sinking
of a cruiser and the damaging of
an aircraft carrier. This report
was made in a telegram from
Lieut. General H. H. Arnold, com
mander of the Army air forces, to
the Glenn L. Martin company
praising the performance of planes
built by the company.
The apparent attempt of the
Japanese to establish themselves
at Kiska was regarded as of
greater consequence than their
first landing at Attu.
Kiska not only is nearer Dutch
Harbor but also has a fair harbor,
the site of a former coaling station
for ships. Attu, on the other hand,
has poor harbor facilities for ships
of any size. At either place, it
was believed work would be re
quired to provide an air base of
any consequence.
A satisfactory temporary base
might be set up at Kiska, however,
by the use of steel landing mats.
Kiska island, about 20 miles long,
has a high mountain backbone
whose greatest elevation is a north
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 4)
-V
LARGE CARGO SUBS
THOUGHT FEASIBLE
—
Navy Considers Building
Of Undersea Carriers
Possible
WASHINGTON, June 21— UP) —
Declaring that construction of sub
marines capable of carrying 7,500
tons of cargo was considered fea
sible by the Navy Senator Hill
(D-Ala) urged today an immediate
program to build scores of these
undersea craft to carry military
supplies to United Nations forces
in all parts of the world.
“The answer to the submarine is
the submarine,” Hill told report
ers. “I see no reason why we can’t
build submarines to carry cargoes
as well as torpedoes. There may
be a question of obtaining the ma
terials but if there is a choice
between constructing surface car
go ships that may be sunk and
submarines that could get the sup
plies through. I think it ought to
be made in favor of the subma
rines.”
Hill disclosed that he had written
Secretary of Navy Knox, after con
ferences with Simon Lake, the in
ventor of the submarine, to ascer
tain the Navy’s view toward con
struction of the huge undersea
craft.
“The first question in your let
ter,” Knox replied, “is ’disregard
ing the angle of economy and
shortage of critical materials, do
you think it would be possible to
construct a submarine capable of
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 1)
SOLONS WANT
VACATION CAS
Extra Ration For Motorists
Traveling To Resorts
Recommended
WASHINGTON, June 21.— (fP) -
Supplemental gasoline rationing
books giving vacationists enough
fuel to go to and return from re
sorts were recommended to Price
Administrator Henderson today bv
eleven New England members of
Congress.
“We request that there be made
available to persons making bona
fide reservations for vacation pe
riods in the rationed areas a sup
plemental gasoline rationing book
the units of which would be ade
quate only for travel from the
home of the vacationists to the
place where his reservation ha
been made and return,” the eleven
—all Republicans—stated in a let
ter sent to Henderson.
“For the time spent at the place
pf a person’s vacation he would b?
dependent for gasoline solely upon
his regular rationing book,” the
letter explained.
“We make the same request with
reference to those having farms
and summer cottages in the ra
tioned area, whether their regular
places of residence are in that ra
tioned area or outside of it, and
with reference to those carrying
children to summer camps.”
The plan was offered, the New
Englanders said, to protect the
vacation industry which is the
means of livelihood of many resi
dents there and “a source of badly
needed revenue for the towns and
states.” Rail and bus facilities in
the rationed area, they said, al
ready are overcrowded.
The letter was signed by Senators
Bridges and Tobey, and Represen
tatives Jenks and Stearns; all of.
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 2)
cargFvessel
SUNK IN GULF
Torpedoed June Seven
teenth, With Loss Of
One Life
A GULF COAST PORT, June 21.
— (tfl —A small cargo vessel was
sunk in the Gulf of Mexico without
warning by an enemy submarine
June 17 with the loss of one life,
the Navy revealed today.
One torpedo struck it at 7 a. m.,
Central War Time, and ship was
fired on about 35 times from a
four-inch deck gun before finally
sinking.
The crew was composed of 17
Norwegians and two Swedes. One
Norwegian, Alf Christensen, whose
next of kin was unknown, was kill
ed and three others wounded
The survivors were brought to a
Gulf Coast port by the Coast Guard
June 18, and the injured men hos
pitalized.
ANNOUNCED BY NAVY
WASHINGTON, June 20.- (IP —
The Navy announced today that a
small Norwegian merchant vessel
had been torpedoed in the Gulf of
Mexico. Survivors have been land
ed at a Gulf Coast port.
Pumps Number Of Shells
At Estaven Point
Radio Station
PRESUMABLY JAPANESE
Fires For About Half-Hour
But Fails To Make Hit;
No Damage Done
VICTORIA, B. C., June 21— <A>>—
An enemy submarine prowling off
Canada’s Pacific coast made the
first attack of the war on Canadian
soil Saturday night by pumping a
number of shells at the Dominion
government radio station on Barren
Estevan point of Vancouver island,
it was announced today.
The submarine, presumably Jap
anese, shelled the radio station with
its deck guns for approximately half
an hour but failed to hit the build
ing and did no damage, Lt. Gen.
Kenneth Stuart, chief of the Cana
dian general staff, announced here
tonight.
The attack, disclosed officially by
Defense Minister Col. J. L. Ralston
in a brief announcement at Ottawa,
occurred at 10:35 p. m. Saturday
Pacific Time (1:35 a. m. Sunday, E.
W. T.)
The identity of the submarine, the
duration of the attack, and other
details w'ere not given.
Government Announcement
OTTAWA, June 21.— UP) —The
shelling by a submarine, presum
ably Japanese, of the Dominion gov
ernment telegraph station at Barren
(Continued on P»*e Two; Co!. 7)
BEACHESREPORT
HEAVY WEEK-END
Over 30 Thousand Visit
Carolina Resort; No
Accidents
Thousands of persons, probably
the largest number since last July
4 week-end, gathered at Carolina
and Wrightsville beaches for the
week-end for dips in the surf in
an effort to escape the first in
tense summer heat.
Between thirty and forty thou
sand, consisting of soldiers, ship
yard workers and visitors from
upstate, were cooling in the
breezes at Carolina Beach accord
ing to estimates. Although Wrights
ville’s attendance was termed ex
cellent, no estimate was made.
Despite the throngs at both
beaches, no accidents were re
ported at either 'place.
Visitors to Carolina Beach re
ported that all stands along the
board walk had sold out of drinks
by 10 o’clock Sunday morning.
Officials reported Sunday’s at
tendance as a fore-runner of what
was expected for the season and
said many upstate visitors had
saved their gasoline allotments in
order to be able to make the week
end trip.
When asked whether there had
been any accidents among the
enormous crowds, Carolina Beach
officials said there had been no
deaths by drowning or accidents
in the restricted bathing zone in
12 years. Although cne drowning
occurred at the beach last season,
officials said it happened a mile
south of the restricted zone.
House Group Lining Up
To Curb Leon Henderson
WASHINGTON, June 21.—Wl—A
strong Congressional bloc was re
ported authoritatively today to be
lining up for an effort to curb the
appointive powers of price admin
istrator Leon Henderson when his
request for OPA appropriations of
aproximately $161,000,000 reaches
the House floor.
One administration leader, ask
ing not to be quoted by name, said
that he “wouldn’t be a bit sur
prised” if Congress inserted a
clause giving the Senate power of
confirmation or rejection of ap
pointees to jobs above the $4,000
level.
The move was bi - partisan, he
said, and had grown out of Hender
son’s refusal to heed suggestions
from Congress for appointments to
state and regional jobs in the rap.
idly growing office of price admin
istration.
“Why,” he declared, “in one
case Leon appointed a republican
state committeeman to an impor
tant position when there were dem
ocrats just as well qualified for the
post. In another case, he picked
for a state director a republican
who ran two years ago against a
democratic senator.”
A
h
Henderson, indicating he believ
ed Congress was holding up the re
quested OPA appropriation be
cause of dissatisfaction with his ap
pointees, said yesterday that he
would resign if that was what the
legislators wanted a' a price for
voting funds for the agency.
He has called his policy one of
appointing the best available per
son to the job without regard for
politics.
There was no indication whether
the OPA appropriation would be
brought up this week
The House expecls to receive
early in the week a new Army ap
propriation bill of about forty bil
lion dollars. Before the week is out,
it may get the new $6,640,000,000
tax bill from its ways and means
committee.
The Senate will resume tomor
row its consideration of a broad
termed bill for government pay
ments to civilians suffering in
juries from enemy action, and to
the dependents of those killed or
captured. Senator George (D.-Ga.l
has served notice he will ask that
the measure be sent to the Finance
committee, of which he is chair
man, for s'jxdy. 3
ALEXANDRIA CALM
ON TOBRUK’S FALL
No Alarm Shown At Turn
Of Events In Libyan
Reversal
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt. June 21
—UP—Britons in Alexandria, the
second capital of Egypt, Britain’s
main Mediterranean base and one
of the richest prizes that ever could
fall into Nazi hands, are watching
the enemy’s moves m the Libyan
desert with interest but without
alarm.
Residents of this Europeanized
city of 750,000 express confidence
that although the Axis legions have
pushed eastward near the Egyp
tian frontier the British army will
sto pthem at the right time and
place.
Alexandria is some 300 miles
east of Bardia, Libyan port eight
miles from the Egyptian border
which the Axis claimed their
forces had occupied These were
the nearest Axis troops tonight.
Alexandrians dance on and are
well supplied with food and drink.
In the Greek colony, which op
erates most of the city’s business
es, there is calm confidence that
the tide will turn.
Air raid precaution authorities,
however, started the evacuation to
day of numbers of persons from
“danger zones.”
They said this had been decided
upon weeks ago as a measbre of
“rest for the population of cer
tain quarters of Alexandria more
exposed than others to the danger
of air raids,” and that the situa
tion in the desert had nothing to
do with the step.
Coastal defenses maintain a con
stant watch, ready instantly to give
Nazi bombers a taste of what has
been termed one of the heaviest
(Continued on Pare Two; Col. 2)
ITALIAN ADMIRAL
TELLS OF BATTLE
Admits Hits On Two Ships
But Claims Very Heavy
Loss To English
BERLIN (From German Broad
casts) June 21.— (B) —Admiral Al
berto Di. Zara, commander of the
Seventh division of the Italian Navy
told a German correspondent in an
interview today that the Italian
light cruisers Eugenio Di Savoia
and Raimondo Montecuccoli received
hits in the battle with a British con
voy last Monday off Pantelleria is
land in the Mediterranean.
In addition one destroyer was bad
ly damaged, he added, but the de
stroyer Lanzerotto Malocello “was
not damaged at all and neither was
one of the other two destroyers. (He
did not explain what happened to
the other destroyer of his flotilla,
which he said included two cruisers
and five destroyers.)
Describing damage done to the
British, the admiral said a British
cruiser of the Cardiff type and three
destroyers were sunk, and six trans
ports set afire by shellfire. The
transports burned all day, be said,
and planes had established that the
Cardiff went down in spite of the
fact the British surrounded the area
with a smoke screen.
One other British destroyer was
hit and another light cruiser or de
stroyer damaged, he declared.
The Eugenio Di Savoia, 7,383
(Contlnued on Page Two; Col. 3)
-v
Stalin g Song Honored
For Air Corps Service
MOSCOW, June 21.- UPI —Joseph
V. Stalin’s son, Vassily, today was
awarded the Order of the Red Ban
ner for his services a; a colonel in
the Russian air force.
The decoration awarded young
Stalin, who still is in his 20’s, was
in a long list announced on the eve
of the first anniversary of Ger
many’s invasion of the Soviet un
ion.
Another of Stal:n’s sons. Jacob
a lieutenant, was mentioned in dis
patches last Aug. 16 for fighting
with an artillery battery until his
last round of ammunition was fired.
(The Germans claimed the cap
ture of Jacob Stalin last July 21
and the Berlin radio subsequently
carried an interview purportedly
with him.)
Vassily’s citation said Stalin’s
son had “excellently carried out
military command projects in front
line battle with German aggressors
showing simultaneously bravery
and valor.”
This was the first disclosure that
Stalin’s second son was fighting at
the front. 3
* <
25,000 English Soldier#
And Several Generals /
Reported Captured jf
•4
SUPPLIES ARE TAKEN
Most Of Equipment Con
voyed To City A Few Day#
Ago Said To Be Lost
CAIRO, Egypt, June 21—till—The
“second siege’’ of Tobruk has end
ed abruptly in a short, overpower
ing assault which toppled that key
supply harbor into Axis hands and
advanced Nazi Marshal Erwin
Rommel’s armored hosts to the
borders of menaced Egypt, Ger
man and Italian communiques
claimed today.
Informed quarters at this British
headquarters city said they believ
ed the report was true although
it lacked official confirmation, for
Gen. Sir Claude Auchinleck’s com.
munique today admitted that the
enemy had penetrated the defenses
in a fierce, sharp action and oc
cupied a large area inside the
stronghold.
Several hours after the A x is
claims were broadcast, the situa
t'on of Tobruk was authoritatively
described as “precarious.”
Captured in the overwhelming
rush, said German and Italian
communiques, were 25,000 British
soldiers and several generals — al
most a duplication of the number
of Italians taken prisoner when
the town surrendered to the British
on January 22, 1941.
It was possible, too, that most
of the equipment convoyed to To
bruk by the British Navy at greai
cost only a few days ago had fal
len into Axis hands for the enemy
announcements claimed the cap
ture of vast stores.
With this thorn lemoved from
the side of the Axis coastal flank,
the Germans claimed to have
rushed on and seized Bir El Gobi,
a desert track crossing 40 miles
southeast which has been much
fought-over. and Bardia, only eight
miles from the Egyptian border.
Observers did not doubt these
claims, either, for it was not be
lieved these places were strongly
held.
There was no ready explanation
of the stunning blow that the Brit
ish thus apparently had suffered,
but it was feared that the British
had lost a large proportion of their
tanks and were unable to give bat
tle to the Axis armored columns
or they would not have surrender
ed so readily the fortress to which
they clung through thick and thin
in a siege last year.
Tobruk, the best deep harbor be
tween Alexandria and Triooli and
thus a key point in the vital prob
lem of supply in the desert, had
been British since January 2 2.
1941 when the British seized it
from the Italians in the first Liby
an offensive.
It was cut off on April 12 when
the Germans led the Axis rebound,
but for eight months the British
held on despite terrific dive bomb
(Continued on Page Two; Col. 6)
EDWARDRUTLEDGE
LAUNCHED SUNDAY
Is 16th Liberty Freighter
Buik By Local
Shipyard
Under threatening rain clouds
the Edward Rutledge, third Lib
erty freighter to be launched here
this month, and the sixteenth since
December 6, slid down the ways
at the North Carolina Shipbuilding
company at 5 o’clock Sunday after
noon into the waters of the Cape
Fear, soon to enter a fight for
freedom as did the Colonial hero,
in whose honor it was named,
nearly two centuries ago.
As a sudden rumbling began,
caused by laborers knocking the
blocks from under the Edward
Rutledge, Miss Anne Blake Rut
ledge, of Charleston the sponsor,
stood holding the bottle of cham
pagne anxiously awaiting the first
movement of the freighter down
the ways.
Several hundred spectators about
16 of them from Charleston, raised
on tiptoes when a siren sounded
and were peering along both sides
of the freighter when a second
siren whined, the Edward Rutledge
moved toward the Cape Fear and
the sponsor threw the bottle of
champagne against her bow.
Miss Ruthledge, a fifth genera
tion descendant of Hugh Rutledge,
brother of Edward, had as her
maids of honor, Miss Emmy Rut
ledge and Miss Eliza Huger Rut
ledge, both of Charleston.
As the freighter slid down the
ways and began rippling waves in
(Cratiaui on rife Two; CoL u
—m