North Carolina Newspapers

_!■■■ II -- \ FORECAST - Served By Leased Wires ! of the -- UNITED PRESS and the Wilmington ‘ and vicinity: Clear to ICCAPI ATVIt PDfQC partly cloudy and slightly warmer to- v AOBUUAlIiU rtttOO day; Tuesday continued warm. With Complete Coverage of _____ State and National News VOL 80.—NO. 48.___ ESTABLISHED 1867 Russia Gains Small-Power Aid For India movement To Censure South Africa For Dis crimination Grows SHOWDOWN NEARING Philippines Delegate Calls Issue One Of Direct Human Morality NEW YORK, Dec. 8—(AP) -Russia bolstered the small power support of India’s move jn the United Nations assem bly Sunday night to censure the South African government for alleged racial discrimina tion. This development came as the 54-member assembly near ed a showdown vote on a South African amendment to turn the In dian question over to the Interna tional Court of justice for an ad visory opinion. The amendment seeks to defeat a resolution calling on India and South Africa to work out their dif ferences and report at next year’s session. India brought the matter before the assembly, charging the South African government with discrimination against Indian citi zens of South Africa. Vishinsky Opposes Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Vishinsky strongly opposed the South African amendment and declared that “the accused has no way ou;-” He cited a list of South African iaws which he said dis criminated against the Indians. He said this was not merely a domestic issue, as argued by South Africa, but “is most obviously an international question.” The Indian-South African battle highlighted the first two of three plenary sessions at Flushing Meadow Park Saturday and Sun See CENSURE Page 2; Col. * PATROL VESSEL DUE HERE TODAY Unfavorable Weather De lays Arrival Of Naval Reserve Ship Here The arrival of the USS RC 776, originally scheduled to dock at the local port yesterday afternoon, has been delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions, Lt. Bernard S. Solomon, executive officer of the Wilmington unit, U. S. Navy re serve, announced last night. The patrol craft is enroute from Charleston, S. C. and is expected to arrive in Wilmington around 10 o’clock today. The ship left Charleston at one o’clock Sunday afternoon and will make the trip via the inland waterway. Present plans call f0r docking the craft at the customhouse warf until mov ed to its permanent berth at the shipyard. Members of the local reserve tinit brought the ship from Charles ton under the command of Lt. Com wander John H. Wilson, and engag ed in extensive shake-down maneu Vers prior to departure for Wil nungton. Lt. Solomon announced that the regular meeting of the naval unit would be held Tuesday night at ,'™ aboard the ship instead of in "e Lake Forest recreation build ing. EAHBONE'S MEDITATIONS By Alley -- DE MAN WHUT TEAH down evWthi ne* iou B'UEVE5 MOU6HT JES' WELLTEK 'WA'f wo' °VERO)AT on a cold WlNTUH DM ON 'COUNT [NT'S TOO l! i* (Released by The Bell 8y« ><:9.JUV1 dicate, Inc.) Trade Mark Ret. U. 8. Pal. Oflk ) Record Throng Sees Yule Tree Lighting Parade Of Automobiles And Pedestrians Head For Hilton Park To View World’s Largest Christmas Tree The lights of the largest liv ing Christmas tree in the world went on again in Hilton park last night—and a throng of 20,000 was there to see the sight. Last night’s crowd was the largest ever to witness an at traction of this kind, said vet eran observers who were willing to wager that a good long time would pass before the mark was equaled. The parade of cars and pedestrians began before no V and at seven o’clock last r the streets were still r solid with autos moving t«, the site. Even at that, a gv < many hardy souls, glimpsing , the lines of cars going in both directions, turned to the right and to the left, and headed for home, content to hear about it from others rather than face the thousands ahead. See TREE Page 2; Col. S UNMASKED GUNMAN ROBS STORE HERE Downtown Drug Firm Hit By Robber Sunday Afternoon An armed and bare-faced bandit yesterday afternoon entered the Standard Pharmacy here, forced Proprietor William T. Glass to hand over nearly 250 grains of morphine, and dissappeared into a late Sunday afternoon Front Street crowd. The intruder, probably a narcotic addict, made his daring day-light raid after entering the closed store at 5 p. m. yesterdhy on the pretext of having a prescription filled, Glass told Wilmington police. It was the city’s third narcotics robbery in two months. The Stand ard Pharmacy was burgled and $75 worth of dope stolen late in October, and two weeks ago a gang of expert cracksmen broke into the Bellamy Drug company and made off with $5,000 in narcotics. Neither burglary has been solved so far. The gunman was reported to be a nervous, but soft-spoken man, weighing around 165 pounds, dres sed in a brown coat, brown hat, and grey suit, who held a small, nickel-plated pistol in front of him and told Glass, “I don’t want to do this but I’m got to have IT”,, , The stolen narcotics, we-i#h roughly $25 at retail but of in estimatable value on the morphine market, were in half-grain pills, in a 500-tablet bottle that had been barely used, Glass said. Glass was working alone in his store’s balcony office when the burglar entered. After the request for a prescription the proprietor gee GUNMAN Page 2; Col. 4 COOLER WEATHER DUE BY MID-WEEK Most Of South Basks In Mild Temperatures Yesterday By The Associated Press A cold wave sending Minnesota temperatures down to eight to 16 degrees below zero is expected in Canadian border states by Tues day morning but its effect on other parts of the nation will be only to lower unseasonably high readings. Federal forecasters in Chicago said the Minnesota cold wave, en tering the Northwest part of the state Monday, might extend to adjacent states in thp Northern border tier, and would make the weather decidedly colder general ly throughout the Midwest by Wednesday. It will be cooler in the East, too. Mild weather, general in the na tion the last few days and expect ed to continue in most states Mon day, sent the mercury to a record December 8 high of 63.8 degrees in Chicago Sunday. In St. Louis it reached 70. There were scattered showers from the Dakotas to Texas. By Wednesday Midwest tempera tures are expected to drop to around normal of 35 in the day and 18 to 20 at night. It was fair and mild in the South and Southeast. SEAL SALE DRIVE NEARS HALF MARK Total Of $4500 Raised By TB Association Cam paign To Date Returns from the New Hanover county Christmas Seal sale cam paign have so far reached $4500— less than half the drive goal set by the local Health and Tuber culosis association. Dr. John C. Wessell, campaign chairman, announced the results on the eve of December 9, the 39th anniversary of the sale of the first Christmas Seal sale for tubercular patients in the United States. “We had hoped to reach the half way point by today,” Dr. Wessell declared. “The drive is halfway over, and we should have at least 50 per cent of our quota by now.” Of the $4500 announced yester day, $2750 had been raised by the sale of tuberculosis bonds by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, he reported. The junior chamber campaign is still continuing. Dr. Wessell paid particular praise to the work of the volunteer committees in the campaign. In honor of today’s Christmas Seal Birthday, each sheet of 1947 seals carries a portrait of the four persons who sponsored the first sale for the benefit of tubercular patients in a small Delaware hos pital. They are: Ja.coh Riis, Dan ish-born American newspaperman, to whose articles inspiration for the sale is credited; Miss Emily P. Bissell, Wilmington, Del-, social worker, who launched the first sale; E. A. Van Valkenburg and Leigh Mitchell Hodges, of the Philadelphia North American, the newspaper which promoted it. In the 40 years since the first seal sale, New Hanovei; county and the nation have made giant strides iri controlling tuberculo sis, Dr. Wessell pointed out. “With a population of 21,620 in 1907, Wilmington had 70 deaths from tuberculosis, a rate of 287 per 100,000 population. So far this year we have had 27 deaths from tuberculosis, a rate of 37.5 per hundred thousand. But that is still aljove the state and natonal average. “We have come a long way since the first year of the seal sale. But we still have a long way to go. And, if efforts are relaxed now, we may expect to see our death rate rise again. Dr. Wessell pointed to the im portance of the tubercular as sociations as information agencies, See DRIVE Page 2; Col. 4 Currency Secure BERKELEY SPRINGS, W. Va., Dec. 8.—(>P)—The Citizens National bank here found its currency so secure Saturday—due to an acci dental overwinding of the time clock on the vault—that it ,had to borrow sufficient funds from a I/Iartinsburg bank to take care of business for the day. Cashier G. D. Rice, with a State police guard, met a messenger from the Martinsburg bank on the road and accepted a supply of sil ver and currency to meet the de mand. Within an hour business was going on as usual except that the safety deposit boxes, in the vault also, were not accessible. Today And Tomorrow By WALTER LIPPMANN It is quite true that the Franco regime will not disapear just be cause the United Nations adopt a resolution offered by this gov ernment. But it is less true that the Franco regime wil not dis appear if we all break off dip o matic relations with Spain. The difference between the two policies is not that one is mere ly verbal and the other substan tial and effctive. Each of the pro posals is only the first step. It is only when we visuilize the next steps that the real difference can be understood. If our first step is to break dip lomatic relations, then our second step—if Franco remains—would have to be a rupture of economic relations—a refusal to trade with Spaniards. If this does not work, the next step would have to be a blockade. The next step after that would have to be the creation of a Spanish government supported by troops of the United Nations. Now it would be a great mistake to take the first step on this path unless we are all united and pre pared to take all the others. If we were united and prepared to take all of them, then later perhaps— though even that is not certain— Franco would be forced out at some point in the series of steps. But if we are not united and pre See LIPPMANN Page 2; Col. 1 THOUSANDS OF MINERS TO RESUME m PITS OF NATION TODAY; TO SEEK RULING BY COURT 1 , _ British Warning May Bring Delay Congress Party Wants In terpretation Of Cabinet Mission Plan M. A. JINNAH SCORES London Note Says Moslems Must Be Included In Constitution Draft NEW DELHI, India, Dec. 8. — (/P) — Congress party sources predicted Sunday night that the Constituent as sembly, which opens here Monday to write a constitu tion, would ask the federal court to interpret disputed sections of the British Cabinet mission plan for India’s inde pendence. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, leading Congress party mem ber of the Interim government, de clined to comment, but reported to the Congress party’s working com mittee on the recent Indian con ference in London. It was believed probable that Nehru discussed Britain’s warning, Issued at -the condusk»~^*>-Ide conference,-that she would not rec ognize any constitution written without the Moslem league. The league, which represents some 90,000,000 Moslems, has boy cotted the assembly. The predominantly Hindu Con gress party, which speaks for the Hindu community of 250,000,000 and for some Moslems, will have 206 See INDIA Page t; Col. 4 UNION CHECKERS OKAY AGREEMENT Pugent Sound Shipping To Resume Today After Lengthy Strike SEATTLE, Dec. 8. —(A5)— Puget sound ports, strike - bound since October 1, will reopen Monday as the result of Sunday’s ratification of a new contract agreement by the AFL Checkers association, Local 38-36. Pape Crummer, busirfcss agent for the checkers who struck two weeks ago when other West coast maritime unions ended their walk out, announced this afternoon that members of his union voted over whelmingly to accept contract terms worked out in lengthy nego tiations directed by federal con ciliators. Details of the contract will not be disclosed until the new pact is • See UNION Page 2; Col. 1 First Photo Of Disastrous Atlanta Hotel Fire TAKEN AT THE HEIGHT OF THE FIRE in the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, da., this photo shows flames roaring through the upper floors. At least 120 persons, according to early reports, died in the c_flagration. The 350-room structure is located on famous Peachtree Street. (International Sonndphoto). Winecoff Death List Now Set At 116, Origin Hidden The Weather FORECAST: South Carolina and North Carolina: Clear' to partly cloudy, and slightly warmer Monday; continued warm Tues day. (Eastern Standard Time) (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m. yesterday. TEMPERATURES: 1:30 a. m. 49; 7:30 a. m. 46; 1:30 p. m. 61. 7:30 p. m. 56; maximum 65; min imum 44; mean 54; normal 50. HUMIDITY: 1:30 a. m. 96; 7:30 a. m. 99; 1:30 p. m. 61; 7:30 p. m. 79. TIDES FOR TODAY: (From the Tide Tables published by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey): « HIGH LOW Wilmington _10:16 a.m. 4:40 a.m. 10:35 p.m. 5 :30 p.m. Masonboro_ Inlet 7:55 a.m. 1:34 a.m. 10:16 p.m. 12:19 p.m. Sunrise 7:06; sunset. 5:03; moonrise 6:06 p; moonset 8:06a. Along The Cape Fear AIR TRAVEL — Current inter ests in the Port City’s develop ment as a Southeastern ari center strikes a familiar note with the days when Wilmingtonians were de termined to make our city the hub of an extensive railroad network. In addition to 1833 being the year of the “falling stars”, the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley railroad was projected. That strange phenomenon when all of the countryside was treat ed to great numbers of shooting stars was a period when interest in getting a railroad for Wilming ton ran at fever pitch. The spring of 1333 saw subscrip tions taken for the construction of the Cape Fear and Yadkin road but the project was abandoned and the subscribers had their money re funded to them. * * * RALEIGH NEXT — The resi dents of the banks of the Cape Fear were determined to have a rail road or bust, so during the summer of the same year a proposal was drawn up asking to amend the in corporation of the town to permit the city to issue bonds for a rail road. Our state solons thought differ ently, so during the following Jan uary while in session, the plan was turned down. But visions of railroads filled many a Wilmingtonian’s head and the refusal on the part of the state legislature did little to dampen the enthusiasm. The good folks here finally settl ed upon a plan which would have seen a railroad running from Wil mington to Raleigh. Once again the state legislature received an appeal from the Port City. This time however it was for a charter for a company to build the railroad and the request was granted in January 1834. * * * COLD,FEET — Just why we do not know, but the good people of Raleigh who wanted a railroad did not want to subscribe the money necessary, to construct the line. That fact altered the plans here The projected construction was changed at Goshen to head toward Weldon instead of Raleigh. An amendment to the charter to provide from the change route was made in December 1835. So instead of having a Wilming See CAFE FEAR Page 3; Col. 7 Charred Ruins Of Atlanta Hotel Hold Key To Disaster Cause ATLANTA, Dec. 8—<iP)—Charred, gaping wreckage of Atlanta’s Wine coff hotel resisted preliminary ef forts Sunday to determine origin of the frightful fire which Satur day killed at least 116 and injured more than 100 others in the worst hotel conflagration in U. S. history. While representatives of the fire marshal probed soggy remains of the presumably “fire resistant” 15 See Casualty List on Page 3 story building on Peachtree street. Red Cross casualty lists tabulated 111 identified dead, and 5 unidenti fied. The figures represented a downward revision from a high of 127 Saturday night, as inevitable duplications were weeded out. Relatives of missing guests tour ed morgues and mortuaries in sad procession, looking at those bodies which still are nameless. One or two may never be known. Meantime, there was city and See FIRE ’’age 2; Col. 7 TENANTS RECEIVE NEW ASSURANCES Sale Of Lake Forest Would Not Effect Present Oc cupants At Once Whoever purchases the 584 per manent units at Lake Forest, pre sent tenants of the development are assured of residence there until January 1, 1948, it was learn ed yesterday. Paragraph two of former United States Housing Expediter Wilson W. Wyatt’s order last week grant ing a cooperative of World War veterans first priority in purchas ing the project carries the provi sion that “the purchasing group shall not, before January 1, 1948, evict any present n°n-veteran resi dent of the project except for cause.’’ Text of the Wyatt order, avail able here for the first time this week-end, was brought to Wil mington by Brookes A. Broome,, chairman of the group of residents of Lake Forest which has fought its purchase by the ex-service men’s cooperative. Last night, Ken R. Noble, presi dent of the Veterans Homes, Inc., the top priority applicant for tl\e See TENANTS on Page 2; Col. 5 CLOSE MRP Party Wins Majority Of French Council Seats PARIS, Dec. 8.—(vP)—The Pop ular Republic movement (MRP) of Georges Bidault won a‘narrow victory over the French Commun ist party in Sunday’s electorial college balloting for seats in the council of the republic, upper chamber of the French parliament. Complete returns showed that the MRP won 62 of the 214 seats at stake, while the Communists captured 61. The figures included North African balloting. Leon Blum's Socialists gained 37 seats, the Radical Socialists (left ist rally) 25. The Republican party of liberty and its affiliated rightest parties 20, the Algerian Manifesto Union four, the Algerian Franco-Musulman union two and minor parties two. Of the 214 seats decided Sunday, the balloting by members of the electoral college decided which parties would receive 127 of them in continental France and 14 in North Africa. A special election commission assigned the remain ing 73 seats to the various parties on the basis of the total vote cast in the election for electoral col lege members two weeks ago. The Council of the republic has 315 members and of this number French colonies exclusive of North Africa will select 51 members. Curbs Lifted On Mailings, All Freight American Industry P r e pares To Resume Normal Business Quickly MINE CREWS BUSY Next Move In Labor Epic Up To United States Supreme Court PITTSBURGH, Dec. 8. — <7P)—The back-to-work move ment of the United Mine workers, after a 17-day walk out that spread slow paraly sis through a large part of the nation’s economic system, gained momentum Sunday night with many miners vot ing to resume their jobs Mon day. Union officials reported thousands of workers in the Western Pennsylvania fields, at meetings held Sunday afternoon expressed themselves in favor of resuming their jobs as directed by their leader, John L. Lewis. The calling off of the walkout, announced Saturday by the UMW chief at a news conference in Wash ington, put the brakes on the wave of idleness rolling over coal-depen dent industries and put the lights back on from main street to Broadway. A dim-out had been See COAL Page 2; Col. 2 ILLNESS FATAL TO E. G. BEERY Retired Insurance Execu tive And Yacht Club Of ficial Dies At Home Eugene M. Berry of 408 Market street died at his residence Sun day morning at 11 a. m. after a short illness. Mr. Berry was a director of the Carolina insurance company and until his retirement one year ago served as assistant secretary to the company for fifty years. He also served as secretary to the Carolina Yacht Club’for the past thirty years. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church, and a member of St. John’s Masonic Lodge No. 1, A. F. & A. M. He is survived by his wife, Jane Meares Berry; two daughters, Mrs. Louis E. Woodbury, Jr., and Mrs. Munroe Best of Goldsboro; one sister, Miss Lena Berry, of this city, and seven grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced later by the Ward Funeral home. And So To Bed Some idea of how many peo ple attended the lighting of the Christmas tree in Hilton Park last night may be derived from this: One man, having no idea that would-be spectators would be so numerous, started for the site at 7 o’clock from Third and Chestnut streets. At 7:45 he was only four blocks furth er along his way. He gave Tip; perferring to read about It in The Star. ———————————— / mm shopping \ (■■t PAYS LEFT I p. 0.