North Carolina Newspapers

sswss? Wtlmttmimt iUiinutui ^titr Bitfif — -J tftMtewaS NaUonlfwew VOL. 78—NO. 265.__WILT J* ^ON, N. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1945 , ’ ESTABLISHED 1867 — _ 1 ^.O' iL * ' 1 _____ ■__.__ ‘Butcher’ Penned 1 Infamous as “Butcher of War-* saw” and wanted in Europe for trial as a war criminal, former Gesiapo Col. Joseph Albert Meis jnger (above) sits meekly in a jeep on a road near Yokohama while Clark Lee of INS and two other war correspondents — his captors at a Japanese hide-away—fix a flat lire AAF photo. (International). RAINFALL RUINS FALL CROPS HERE County Agent Galphin Says Damage Reaches Near ly 100 Per Cent A nearly 100 per cent loss of fall crops including vegetables was forecast by R. W. Galphin, county agent, in an interview yesterday. Mr. Galphin said that the Wil mington area, which normally raises enough of the fall vege table crops to supply its own needs with the main part being .shipped to northern, markets, is in .a . posi tion now where the portion of the harvest not drowned out may be barely sufficient to fill local de mand if no further bad weather develcpes. In a tour of the county yester day morning to inspect crop pros pects a number of farmers were visited and the inspection shew ed that beans, com and sweet pota toes are the heaviest sufferers. At one farm, the owner had planted three separate bean crops in hopes of dry weather and had nothing to show for his labors. The bean crop in this area has been particularly hard hit and only a few bushels have been picked in the county, Mr. Galphin said. The land is drying off slowly,, he Stated, and some farmers have started plowing on high land which has good drainage, for the plant ing of late fall and winter crops,' He added, however, that the weather has slowed up the start of the late crops to such an extent that the shorter days and cooler nights may delay maturity until a killing frost occurs. One frost, which killed corn crops, has already been reported in the Mt. Mitchell area, he said, and the county is now in a position where even a little rain would be too much. "BLACK JACK” GETS BAUD SALUTE ON HIS 85TH ANNIVERSARY WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.—CU.R)— General of the Armies John J. Per shing, bed-ridden' much of the time (he past year, stood and saluted smartly today as an Army band seranaded him on his 85th birth ®ay anniversary. The AEF commander of World War I appeared on the balcony of hls Walter Reed hospital apart ment while on the lawn below the played “Happy Birthday To You.1 Then it brought back mem °r;es 0f other years with a medley World War I tunes. WEATHER (Eastern Standard Time) (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours • ding 7:30 p.m.* yesterday. Temperature . 1-30 a.m. 74; 7:30 a.m. 78; 1:30 p.m. 88; P-m. 81. Maximum 88; Minimum 74; Mean 81; Normal 74. Humidity 1:3° a.m. 94; 7:30 a.m. 85; 1:30 p.m. 56; ‘■30 p.m. 84. Precipitation urn a' lor 24 hours ending 7:30 p.m.— 0CI> inches. * Total since the first of the month— inches. Tides for Today (f rom the Tide Table# published by U • Coast and Geodetic Survey). w . High tow "Ummgton _ 2:48 a.m. 10:16 a.m ,, 3:35 p.m. 11:00 p.m “asonboro Inlet - 12:18 a.m. 6:35 a.m . 1:09 p.m. 7:34 p.m sunrise 5:54 a.m.; Sunset 6:2i p.m. Moonrise 1:07 p.m.; Moonset 1-1:17 p.m. River Stage at Fayetteville. N. C. a > m. “Thursday 13”, S-.t feet. (Continued on Page Four; Col. 2] EMPIRE SYSTEM ON PAN BRITISH BALKING Preference Policy Aband onment Demanded By United States By R. H. SHACKFORD United Press Staff Correspondent -WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 — Great Britain is balking at complete abandonment of her “empire pre ference” system of trade, one of the key U. S. demands in the cur rent Anglo-American economic talks, it was learned tonight. The British, here to get between three and six billion dollars of U. S. aid, have countered with a pro posal to do it on a selective basis. They are arguing that, under the reciprocal trade agreements act, the United States is not able to make across-the-boards tariff re ductions — but only cuts on select ed articles in return for compar able reductions by other countries. Therefore, the British thesis con tinues, Britain should not be called upon to adopt a policy differing from the American system. Under the British procedure, Bri tain’s dominions and colonies get favored trade treatment. It is a major issue among the conferees and one on which assis tant secretary of State William L. Clayton, head of the U. S. delega tion, feels very strongly. He wants empire preference abandoned s Q that the United States will be sure to benefit if it makes Britain a loan or grant. Earlier today, Acting Secretary of State Dean Acheson predicted that a recommendation for Ameri can financial assistance would emerge from the conference. His statement was made at a press conference a few hours be fore Lord Keynes, British econom ist and one of the British delegates, began outlining the British position to the conferees who met behind closed doors in the board room of the Federal Reserve building. Keynes promised the conference Tuesday that, at the end of his presentation, he woujd offer a Bri tish suggestion for solving Britain’s financial problem. He is expected, in effect, to call for an outright U. S. grant of between $3,000,000 000 and $6,000,000,000. Acheson said the whole broad field of international finances, com mercial poficies, and future trade arrangements would be surveyed, but that definitive agreements on most of those issues would come later. _ ., . Meanwhile charges that Britain is seeking American aid to finance a program of “socialization” were renewed in the house by Rep. Harold Knutson, R., Minn. A pre vious charge to that effect was des cribed by President Truman Wednesday as “perfectly silly.” Knutson, replying to Mr. Truman, recalled that a previous British La bor government under Ramsey MacDonald had repudiated Bri tain’s debt to the United States. “What one labor government has already done,” he said, “it is per fectly capable of doing again.”. AMPUTEE HAS WOODEN LEGS FOR ANY EVENT, testimony discloses WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.—(/P>— The case of an amputee who uses one set of artifical limbs while walking with his girl Iriend and another for skiing was related to day to the House sub-commit.ee on aid to the physically handi ^Charles McGonegal, American Legion field secretary, said the man first obtained a set of artifi dal limbs in October. 1944. but: “He met a girl, blond and nearly six feet tall, so he got a new set to make himself taller. ‘‘Then, he panted to continue his work as a ‘ professional skier, but the longer legs didn't balance right, so he got a third set, much shorter.’’ Shriners To Complete Ceremonial Day Plans Final plans and names of com mittee personnel to take, charge of arrangements for the annual fall ceremonial of Sudan Temple, to be held in Wilmington on No vember 7-8," will be announced at a Dutch supper meeting of Arab Shrine Club tonight at St. Paul s Parish House at 7 o’clock; accord ing to the chairman in charge. All activities in connection with the ceremonial will be held in the Cape Fear Armory on Market street, and tickets may be pur chased at the Jewel Box, Fu trel’s Drug Company, Wade Realty Company, the president, members and at the North Carolina Ship vard. Charles Seifert, Recorder and others are expected to attend the supper-meeting tonight. Japar/^ie To Arrest Own Suspects; G*. 4. Hodge Dismisses Hated Abe; Congress Pushes Truman Program - -X- X. 1 .I. . » Jobless Pay Bill, Given Approval FACE HARD FUTURE Army Tells Congress De mobilization Ahead Of Schedule By DOUGLAS B. CONNELL (Associated Press Staff Writer) WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.—W— Congress gave a big push today to two main points in President Tru man’s program for peacetime prosperity: jobs for everybody and longer jobless pay for people out of work. Both measures face a long, tough fight before they get clear through Congress. Today’s moves were the first steps in shoving them into the Senate floor for debate. The Senate Finance committee wrote okay on the unemployment pay measre. A Banking subcom mittee—the full committee now has to act—approved a “full employ-, ment” bill. Until they voted, the day was long on talk, short on action. But Army big shots told the Sen ate military committee the Army is ahead of schedule on discharges, is releasing nearly 10 men a min ute, and that 1,300,000 will go out of uniform between now and Christmas. That will be 2,000,000 since Ger many folded. And Congressmen also: 1. Made headway on a highway building measure. A house commit tee approved and ‘’started on its way a resolution to start a $1 J)00, 000,000 Federal-State program go ing. 2. Talked about spuds, artificial legs, a tall blonde, a Congress man’s almost-but-not-quite mar riage to another tall blonde. 3. Dipped deeper into financial deals of Elliott Roosevelt, son of the late President. But the House Ways and Means committee took no action. 4. Learned that the House com mittee investigating Unamerican activities suspects Japan’s Black (Continued on Page Four; Col. 1) POULTRY EXHIBIT TO BE HELD HERE __ RALEIGH, Sept. 13.—OP)—Three district and two county purebred poultry shows for 4-H Club mem bers will be held during the next few weeks at Asheboro, Greens boro, Winston-Salem, Goldsboro and Wilmington under supervision of the N. C. State College ex tension service. A total of 1,680 choice pullets from 14.000 purebred chickens are to be exhibited by 140 contes tants. The chickens will be judged in the shows and then sold at public auction. A $75 prize has been offered by each county in which the shows will be held. The Randolph county show at Asheboro and the Guilford county show at Greensboro, on Sept. 21 and 22, respectively, will have an exhibit of 120 choice pullets each. A district show at Winston Salem on Sept. 29 will draw con testants from Stokes, Surry, Yad kin, and Davie counties. Contes tants from Lenoir, Greene, John son, and Wayne counties will ex hibit at Goldsboro Oct. 6. The final district show will be at Wil mington on Oct. 13, with Onslow, Pender, Bladen and New Han over counties. entered. A series of egg shows is being planned for club members next spring. _ Devereux ‘Safe’ ■ 1 uni/ f According to reports from lib erated prisoners of war, Lt. Col. James P. Devereux, Marine com mander on Wake Island at the time it was taken by the Japs, is alive and in charge of one of the prisons of war camps in the Bibai area of Hokkaido Island. (International. BYRNES CONFERS WITH KING PETER Secretary Also Talks With Greek Regent; Calls In Advisors LONDON, Sept. 13— (#> —U. S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes summoned his southeast ern European experts tonight for an anticipated airing of the turbu lent Balkan political situation by the Big Five Council of Foreign Ministers. The disclosure that these key American representatives had been called to London was made by U. S. Embassy sources after Byrnes conferred with King Peter of Yugoslavia and the Greek Re gent Arch-Bishop Damaskinos. When the Council resumes its scheduled discussions tomorrow on the drafting of a peace settlement for Italy, Byrnes will have at hand Arthur Bliss Lane, Ambassador in Warsaw; Robert Patterson, Am bassador in Belgrade; Maynard Barnes, Minister in Sofia; and Burton Y. Berry, American repre sentative on the Allied Control Commission in Bucharest. They arrived by plane today. The potentially explosive Balkan situation was brought into the Eig Five discussions by American and British insistence that representa tive, Democratic regimes be es (Continued on Page Four; Col. 4) GIRL’S PLEA LEADS TO FINDING OF HER MOTHER’S DEAD FORM CRANSTON, R. I., Sept. 13— (A5)—A 12-year-old girl’s plea to police to find out what had hap pened to her mother led today to the discovery of Mrs. Mary Ann Newcomb’s body, buried in a garage, and to a confession by Gordon M. Newcomb, police said, that he had strangled his wife. Chief inspector Thomas F. Rat tigan of Providence said New comb had confessed and would be booked on a murder charge in court tomorrow. Rattigan said that the Provi dence oil dealer, after hours of steadfast denial of knowledge of the whereabouts of the 40-year-old mother of his daughters, 13 and 5, suddenly said early today that she (Continued on Page Four; Col. 2) Koreans Get Wish As New I^en Go In ARMY TAKES OVER American Officers To Head Police Activities In Seoul Area SEOUL, Korea, Sept. 12.—(De layed)—Lieut. Gen. John R. Hodge announced today the dismissal from office of Noboyuki Abe, gov ernor-general of this former Jap anese possession. The announcement was made by the general at a conference with about 1,000 delegates from 51 Kor ean groups, including 33 political or semi-political parties. He also told the assemblage of Koreans, many of whom had sharp ly criticized the continued use of Japanese functionaries, that he had removed Tadao Nishihiro, director of the Police Bureau of the Gov ernment General of Korea. Major Gen. A. V. Arnold, com mander of the Seventh Infantiy Division, which to date is the only one that has come ashore, will take over Abe’s functions, and the police director’s duties will be as sumed by Brig. Gen. L. E. Schick, Provost Marshal General for ' - United States forces in Korea, Gen eral Hodge announced. Both moves were hailed by the Koreans, who have charged that have used their positions since the occupation to further Japanese in terests at the expense of Koreans. The latter had been particularly critical of the continued use of armed Japanese police in Seoul. General Hodge only yesterday as sured the Korean newspapermen at another conference that he would reconstitute the police force as soon as possible. The Koreans hope his removal of Nishihiro will be followed immediately by the dis charge of other Japanese and Kor ean collaborators still holding po lice jobs. ■ BUS FIRE TAKES VETERANS LIVES AYER, MASS., Sept. 13 —(U.R) — Four overseas veterans enroute to Fort Devens for long-awaited fur loughs were burned to death in a bus accident today, a few hours after one of them had telephoned his mother from a New Jersey Army camp that he’d soon be home again. Some 35 other soldiers were in jured painfully when the crowded bus overturned and exploded in the center of Ayer. Shortly before the mishap, the troops had arrived here by train from Camp Kilmer, N. J.. where they were processed after their transport docked in New York earlier this week. The dead were listed as: Vincent J. Battle, 480 Elmwood Ave., Providence, R. 1. Charles W. Canino, 789 Saratoga St., East Bos ton. Two unidentified soldiers. Cpl. Canino, who had served 38 months- overseas, telephoned his mother last night: “It’s wonderful to know I’ll soon be home. I can’t say much else now because I’m so excited.” The. veterans were only two miles from their furlough point when the bus lurched out of control and ' overturned. As the soldiers clawed their way out of the wreck (Continued on Page Four; Col. 8) m Kept Tojo Alive Army Doctor Capt. James John son (above) of Newark, O., kept the in Gen. Hideki Tojo, 62, after the former Premier and No. 1 Jap war criminals shot himself in an attempt at suicide. Capt. Johnson administered blood plasma and got Tojo to a hospital. (International) (MANS HEAR COL. DYKE MEYER Former Bluethentha! Group Commander Speaks To Service Club Colonel Dyke Meyer, former commander of the 366th Fight v Group at Bluethenthal Field Air Base entertained members of the Wilmington Civitan club with an in formal talk on the operations of the U. S. in the latter days of the war in Europe. Stating that he felt privileged to have witnessed the power of Amer ican arms in action, Col. Mfeyer set the turning point in the air war, as well as the ground war, the first time the United States Air Forces were able to send bombers over Berlin with fighter escorts. No other country employs a i r power to the extent that we do, he said and the devastation in Ger many from bombings could not be realized from photographs, only from actually walking through the devastated areas. Almost every city in Germany the size of Wilmington or over, had lost its heart; its center laid waste and the people living on the fringes. Col. Meyer lent force to his state ment by recalling that when sta tioned in Brunswick, Germany, it took one week to find a house for the commanding general to live in. Answering a question, Col. Meyer explained that the non-fraterniza tion policy had, as its main pur pose, prevention of sabotage which had been anticipated. In a too friendly atmosphere, there might be leakages of information, he ex plained. When it was found that the German people were not inclined to sabotage as much as had been be lieved, restrictions were lifted. Generally good treatment was given to downed British and Amer ican airmen after they were placed in the hands of the German mili tary and most of the mistreatment was suffered at the hands of the civilians, he said. Dachau, the infamous prison camp, was exactly as described, Col. Meyer states, and no atrocity was too great to commit against the Russians, Poles or Jews. Commenting on the jet-propelled olanes which Germanv developed before the close of the war, Col. Meyer said that they would have (Continued on Page Four; Col. 7) Hitler Planned Arrest Of 2,300 Noted People If His Contemplated Invasion Of England Hit By DANIEL DELUCE . Associated .Press Staff Correspondent BERLIN, Sept. 13- (#) — Ger-' many’s elaborate plans to invade England in 1940 included the “au tomatic” arrest of 2,300 persons picked by the Gestapo, it was dis closed today. . A secret list which Allied inves tigators found at headquarters of Heinrich Himmler’s Rei^h Secur ity Police contained the names of- then Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his ministers, Brit ish industrial, labor and intellec tual leaders, officials of occupied countries, and many refugees from Nazi terror, prominent and obscure. That Adolf Hitler did not aban don his hopes of becoming the first continental conqueror successfully to invade England since the year 1066, (Date of the Norman Inva sion, was indicated by the fact that the list appeared to have been revised yearly, after its prepara tion in 1940. Several Americans were marked for seizure—if found in Britain. They included Paul Robeson, the singer, financier Bernard Beruch and three correspondents—M. W. Fodor of the Chicago Daily News, Donald Day, one time Baltic cor respondent, and the writer. The Gestapo listed me as "prob ably in England—active in Segrue Chrisoston circles.” That probably referred to my close friendship with John C. Segrue, London News Chronicle representative in Central Europe captured in the collapse of Yugoslavia and later reported to have died in an Austrian prison camp. We toured northern Slovak ia in the summer of 1939, and re ported Germany’s preparations % attack Poland. The thoroughness of the Gesta po’s work was evidenced by the feet that dossiers were kept for each of the more than 2,300 per sons singled out for arrest, and the number of the dossier entered opposite the name in the list. GRANTED TWO DAYS FOR JOB \ MacArthur Allows Request Of Leaders But Failure Will Bring Eighth Army; Into Picture As Hunters. TOKYO, Friday, Sept. 14.—(A1)—The Japanese government today asked and was given the job of arresting its own suspected war crim inals but was expected to get results within two days. Otherwise, XJ. S. Eighth Army headquarters intimated, the Ameri cans again will step in and corral the war-makers, Black Dragon Jingos and prison camp tyrants who face court martial as war cri minals. GOTHAM WELCOMES GEN. WAINWRIGHT Six Million Citizens Show er Hero With Tumul tuous Welcome NEW YORK. Sept. 13.—(A’)—1The acclaim of New York’s millions was heaped upon Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright today with a wel come so overpowering the hero of Corregidor found it “hard to take.” Along a 32-mile route from barge dotted East River, through a wild, paper-throwing financial district to swank Fifth Avenue, a police-esti mated crowd of 4,000,000 to 6,000 D00 persons roared a greeting to the 62-year-old Four Star General. At its conclusion, the man who made the last stand on Corregidor during the darkest days of the war and then spent 39 months in Jap anese prison camps, made no at tempt to conceal how deeply he was touched. “It was,’’ he said, “hard to take.” The magnitude of the ovation struck the tall, still-gaunt general with full force when he rode—at the dead of a 20-car motorcade—up the mile-long hero’s canyon amid one of the greatest paper showers the financial district ever has seen. Gay streamers, tictcer tape ana torn newspapers cascaded down in such volume that the general’s car at times virtually was hidden from view. A continuous roar rose from the jam-packed sidewalks. Smiling, but plainly surprised, Gen. Wainwright waved to the right and left and turned occasion ally to Mayor F. H. La Guardia, who rode at his side, as if to seek reassurance that everything was real. Close behind him in another car was his wife, “Kitty,” who until this week had not seen him for four years. A 17-gun salute, booming out from La Guardia Field upon the general’s arrival from Washing ton at 11 a.m. (EWT) signaled the start of activities. Escorted by 100 motorcycle po licemen, the motorcade crossed the rriborough bridge to Manhattan, moVed down the Franklin D. Roose velt drive then up lower Broadway to city hall, where Gen. Wainwright received the honorary citizenship of New York. From there the procession rolled up Fifth Avenue through another paper blizzard, then across town to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where Gen. Wainwright was guest of hon or tonight at dinner for 1,500 per sons. . WORKER TAKES OWN LIFE IN TRAILER HOME WITH GUN Charles Roderick Jason, 38-year old carpenter, of 918 South 2nd Street, who had been under the care of a doctor for several months, was found dead by of ficers called to his trailer house yesterday by neighbors, in a bed in the vehicle, according to police reports. Death was apparently the result of a bullet wound in the right temple. Investigating officers re ported that they found Jason with and old-type .38 caliber revolver in his right hand. A note on a dresser in the trailer said that “I am sorry that this happened but I just can't bear this illness any longer . . .” Police said that neighbors be came alarmed after seeing Jason go in to his trailer Wednesday af ternoon and fail to appear when time came for him to leave for ^ work yesterday. The Japanese asked permission to act after Hideko Tojo, the fallen war-time dictator, shot and seri ously wounded himself Tuesday when American troops came to ar rest him at his home in a Tokyo suburb. The request of the government ob viously was made to save “face,’* not only for those on the list rang ing from highest ranking officials to prison camp guards tut for the government itself. There was also the possibility that the Japanese thought they might be able to head off a hara kiri epidemic among the accused. The Japanese undertook to hand over every Japanese on General MacArthur’s list of “wanted” jnen who is not now in custody. That would include chief cabinet secretary Taketora Ogata, accused of being a member of the Black Dragon Society of super-patriots. Already the Japanese government had stripped Ogata of his position as president of the Board of In formation (propaganda) but for th# moment at least he clung to hi* cabinet position. The Japanese cabinet In special session was wrestling with the problem of what to do with ele ments within the government that may be unsavory to MacArthur.. (A high government authority in Washington declared the United States hoped for quick, vigorous action against Japanese war criminals similar to measures taken against Germany’s guilty.) Some Japanese sources, includ ing the superintendent of the Tokyo police, denied that Ogata belong ed to the Black Dragon Society of terrorists, as MacArthur’s head quarters charged in ordering his arrest. Prince jjumimaro ryunoye, vivo premier, conferred with Mac* Arthur at the Supreme Comman der’s headquarters yesterday. Earlier Konoye declared in an interview that as Premier just before Pearl Harbor, he had tried to head off war by arranging a meeting with President Roosevelt. He said his plans were frustrated by the militarists and Japan’s.own international reputation “as a liar.” The even tenor of occupation was maintained, meanwhile with the Japanese government announc ing the dissolution of two hotbeds of militarism and aggression. In accordance with MacArthur’s demands, Imperial headquarters was disbanded, and 15,220 students of the naval college—the Annapolis of Japan—were dismissed. Emperor Hirohito was advised of the dissolution of Imperial head quarters, set up in 1940 to co ordinate army and navy opera tions, by three of Japan’s top rank ing militarists. DANGEROUS STORM HEADS NORTHWARD MIAMI, FLA., Sept. 13— (U.R) — Residents ot southern Florida were alerted late today as a pow erful hurricane moved in toward the continent from the Atlantic, threatening to sweep across the Bahamas islands in the next 24 hours. The Weather Bureau here said the storm center was 800 mile* from Miami in the later afternoon, and that winds near the center were “well over 100 miles per hour.” An earlier advisory had es timated the winds at 135 m.p.h. No hurricane warning for Flori da was issued, but the Bureau in dicated that one may come tomor row if the storm continues its pres ent course. Text of the 5:30 p.m. CEWT) ad visory: “The hurricane is central near latitude 20.3 degrees north and longitude 68.2 degrees west, or about 800 miles southeast of Mi am\ moving west - northwestward 16 to 18 m.p.h.. attended by winds well over 100 m.p.h. near the cen (Continued on Page Poor; Col. 8) * /