FORECAST: Wilmington and vicinity: Considerable cloudiness and warmer today, occasion al showers tonight; Friday, cloudy and warm with showers. VOL. 80—NO. 214 ^ ——— ” ■■■ Served By Leased Wires ol the ASSOCIATED PRESS and the UNITED PRESS With Complete Coverage of State and National New* EST ABL ISHED~136r British Close Up Jerusalem Mysterious Power Failure Plunges City Into Pitch Black Darkness JERUSALEM, Palestine, April 13— (U.R) —A mysterious power fail ure plunged Jerusalem into pitch black darkness tonight, and Brit ish military authorities, fearing an all-out Jewish underground attack, ordered all the city’s gates closed. Police and military forces im mediately were alerted, to repel my assault. The sudden and unexplained blackout came shortly after the outlawed Irgun Zvai Leumi’s an nouncement that it was setting up Irgun “military” courts to try al: British prisoners that the Irgun captured. The Irgun said all Brit ons condemned to death by these Jewish courts would be executed by Irgun hangmen or firing squads. Ship Towed In During the day, a 300-ton Jew ish refugee ship was towed into Haifa harbor with 12 wounded aboard—nine Jews and three Brit ish Navy men—as the result of a fierce fight between the Jews and i navy boarding party. Tire Irgun announced the setting lip of its “military” courts over the secret Irgun radio, “Fighting Zion.” It listed a series of ■‘charges” on which Britons would be tried, and for which the death penalty presumably would be ap licable. The “charges” were: associa tion with the British army, which v.as “illegal” in Palestine; “ille gal” entry into Palestine; “Il legal” possession of arms and the “illegal” use of arms against the Jewish populace. Under such “charges,” nearly any Briton in the Holy Land could be killed by the Irgun, after ap pearing before its “courts.” The Irgun radio said sentences would be imposed without right of ap peal. Admit Train Blast In the same broadcast, the Ir gunists announced that it was they »ho blew up the Egypt-Palestine (Continued on Page Two, Col. 5) PARENT-TEACHERS TO ELECT TODAY Installation Of Officers, Address To Wind Up 27 th Annual Tfteet ASHEVILLE, April 23— UP) — Election of a president and second vice-president and installation of newly-elected officers will feature final sessions tomorrow of the 27th annual convention of the North Carolina Congress of Parents and Teachers being held here. Mrs. E. B. Hunter of Charlotte, was nominated for president by the committee, and Mrs. Maude Baynor Foy was nominated from the floor during the business ses sion today. Mrs. Mayon Parker of Ahoskie is candidate for the vice president’s office. Featured during the afternoon session will be an address by Mrs. Camille McGee Kelley, juvenile court judge of Memphis, Tenn., and a discussion group lead by Dr. Mildred I. Morgan, coordina tor of the family life program in the Asheville city schools. Directors will report at the morning session, awards will be made, and Miss Agnes Samuelson, national P-TA representative, will present a blueprint for action. A state chairmen’s conference is scheduled for 8:30 until 9:30 o'clock, prior to the morning meeting. Keynote Address The final general session will be held in the city auditorium tomor row night. Officers will be install ed and Dr- c- Charles Burl‘ ingame, chairman, committee on public education. American Psy chiatric association, will deliver the keynote address. The convention banquet is set for 6 p.m. at the George Vander bilt hotel. The keynote address of the sec ond general session of the confer ence this afternoon was made by Dr. E. B. Norton, deputy commis sioner, U. S. Office of education. Dr. Norton advocated federal aid to education on the grounds that many states with less taxable wealth have larger percentages of children in the population. To pro vide adequate educational advan tages for these children, the fed ((ontinued on Page Two, Col. V The Weather FORECAST: South and North Carolina—Consider able cloudiness and wanner Thursday, ■howers beginning in mountains Thurs day evening, occasional showers and warmer Thursday night. Friday cloudy and w rm with showers, becoming cool er in mountains. (Eastern Standard Time) (Bv V. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours •Tiding 7:30 r> n ve terdav. TEMPERATURES 1:30 a. m. 48: 7:30 a. m. 46: 1:30 P- tn 7:30 p." m. 60: Maximum 68. Mini mum 44- Mean Normal 64. HUMIDITY 1:30 a. m. 83: 7-30 a. m. 95: 1:30 p. m. » 55; 7:30 p. m. 83. PRECIPITATION Total for 24 hours ending 7:30 p. m. • 00 inches. Total since the first of the month 3.72 inches. TIDES FOR TODAY •From the Tide Tablss published by U. Coast and Geodetic Survey). High Low Wilmington _12:14 a.m. 7:20 a.m. - p.m. 7:10 p.m. Masonboro _10:04 a.m. 4:08 a.m. 10:32 p.m. 4:12 p.m. Sunrise 5:30; Sunset 6:50;- Moon rise ®:04a; Moonset ll:07p. River stage at Fayetteville, N. C. at 8 a tn. Wednesday 13.7 feet. More Weather On Paie Two ANDREW J. MAY, former Democratic Congressman from Kentucky, who will take the stand in District Court in Washington in his own defense on charges of conspiring to defraud the government in war contract dealings. — (AP Wirephoto). MAY TO TESTIFY IN OWN DEFENSE Former Congressman Will Deny He Took Bribes, Attorney Declares WASHINGTON, April 23 - (tP)— Andrew J. May, wartime chair man of the House Military com mittee, plans to take the stand in federal district court to deny that he took bribes to obtain munitions contracts. His lawyer Sawyer Smith, told the court today that it is untrue that the 71-year old Kentucky politican profited from deals be tween the Garsson munitions com bine and the Cumberland Lumber Co. “Andrew J. May will take the witness stand and explain to you how every dollar of that money was spent, and how not, one cent went to Andrew J. May,” Smith told the jury. May is on trial with three co defendants accused of war fraud charges in connection with the $75,000,000 Garsson combine. William A. Paisley, special as sistant attorney general, charged that May served as proprietor of the lumber firm, and that it re ceived more than $50,000 in Gars son firm orders but failed to de liver a “stick of lumber” in re turn. In fact, Paisley told the jury, May and his friends tried to “cover up” deals late in 1945 after discovering that the gov ernment was investigating them. Garssons’ Charged On trial with May are Henry and Murray Garsson, brothers, heads of the war syndicate, and Joseph F. Freeman, Washington agent for the Garssons. Lawyers for the other three waived prelim inary statements at this time. May succeeded in selling the lumber to a friend, A. J. Brown, for $40,000 and used the money to repay Erie and Batavia Metal Products companies — two Gars son firms — for part of advances he had received from them. Paisley told the jury he expects to show that the Erie firm pre pared false invoices in its Chicago office designed to show May had intended to ship lumber to Erie. The government prosecutor said the invoices mentioned Southern yellow pine, but there was no such type on May’s Kentucky tract. The prosecutor said, too, that th" FBI had found a typewriter in Erie’s Chicago offices which was used in preparing the in voices, whereas the papers were dated in Prestonburg, Ky., May’s home town. The government contended that (Continued on Page Two, Col. 5) PRESIDENTPLANS VISIT TO CANADA Jaunt To Princeton Uni versity, Kansas Trip Also On Summer Schedule WASHINGTON, April 23. — (£>)— President Truman’s summer trav el itinerary broadened today to include definite trips to Canada and Princeton university with per haps a visit to Kansas City and possibly Alaska. Canadian Prime Minister Wil liam L. McKenzie King paid a 30 minute call on Mr. Truman at the White House, and later told report ers that the Chief Executive plans to visit Canada “very shortly.” I MacKenzie King expressed “de light” at the President’s prospec tive trip. He said Mr. Truman will visit Ottawa, and the Canadian capital, and possibly make shoil side trips from there. The ex pected date is June 10. To Get Degree White House Secretary Charles ■G. Ross told newsmen that the President’s trip to Canada and a visit to Princeton. N. J., on June 16 to receive a degree are the only definite travel plans at this time. Asked about a possible summei visit to Alaska, Ross said: “All reports on the subject are extremely tenuous and highly spec ulative.” In addition. Mr. Truman is known to be considering a trip to Kansas City about June 5 for a meeting of the 35th Division, with which he served in World War I. i 100 Jurymen Receive Call Extra Venire^ Summoned For PossiblT Duty At Grissett Trial Today One hundred additional juryme will appear in Superior court day at 9:30 a.m., at the d ^ tion of Judge Clawson L. W’ of Sanford, presiding jur’ ^S. yesterday turned down r the removal of the R' ^ tV 6 sett trial to another Following argume mer policeman’s attoi Frink, Elbert Brown „ L. Henry, an The names of the’ prospective jurors in the Grissett trial were drawn from the jury box in open court by J .F. Flowers, Jr., young son of the state patrolman. County Resident Attaches of Sheriff Porter Davis’ office were busy late yes terday afternoon and last night notifying the new group of jury men. All of the hundred must be non-residents of the city of Wilmington and cannot be among the jurors who served or were even called for jury duty during the last term of Superior court here when Grissett was cleared of a similar charge of larceny and receiving. With four charges of storebreak ing, larceny and receiving facing him, Grissett has added Ozmer L. Henry of Lumberton to his legal staff of defenders while the state will be aided by Emmett Bellamy, who d,id not figure in the first trial here. Solicitor Moore expressed con fidence last night that a jury would be selected from the new venire and that the trial would get underway this morning. Acquittal Hearing Frink revealed that the first order of business facing the court when it reconvenes at 9:30 a.m., will be a hearing on his plea for formal acquittal as Grissett has already been cleared of a sim ilar charge during the February term of court here. H. L. Gurley, another former member of the local police de partment, may be tried today on three charges of storebreaking, larceny and receiving. However, the Grissett trial will probably consumer the full day thus de (Continued on Page Two, Col. Z) ratehTke urged AT ICC HEARING Boyd Says Local Port Will Dry Up Unless Com mission Acts Morning Star Washington Bureau WASHINGTON, April 23. — The Port of Wilmington, will be “dried up” if intercoastal water carriers are not granted higher rates. Col onel H. E. Boyd of the Wilmington Port-Traffic Association told the Interstate Commerce Commission today. Colonel Boyd urged that the do mestic shipping companies raise the rates about 15 per cent and that competitive transcontinental rail road freight rates be boosted about 25 per cent so that the water car riers could have enough income to stay solvent and yet would not lose their business to the trains. President Truman has asked the ICC to rule on the rate case be fore June 30, when the federal subsidy to the intercoastal water carriers expires, Colonel Boyd said. The Navy and the maritime com mission want an adequate mer chant marine to stay afloat as a defense measure, he added. If the shippers do not receive relief in the present case, the re sult will be “drying up the port of Wilmington, destroying inter coastal water service and causing great financial loss to terminals at the port of Wilmington,” he told the ICC. Boyd filed a lengthy brief with statistics of rates to support his view. Lower Price Battle Wins New Recruits Over Nation Along The Cape Fear INTERESTING CITIZEN— More than a hundred years ago the Port City acquired a citizen who could have supplied the an swer to one of the most perplex ing riddles facing American his - torians. Did Marsha] Michael Ney. Na poleon’s great military officer, spend the last days of his life in the Tar Heel state? One person who should have been able to end the dispute existing to the present day was a resident of Wilmington for a four year period. He was Pasqual Luciani, him • self a veteran of the wars of Na poleon and the famous Battle of Waterloo, who came here in 1843. For several years he was in business as a produce merchant before going north just out hun dred years ago. * * * FAMOUS SHIPMATE - When I coming to America where h. landed at Charleston, SX.. Luciani was accompanied by one Peter Stuart Ney, whom many be lieve was no other than the dis tinguished Marshal Ney. Alter landing in Charleston , Ney traveled to the Middle West before settling down in the west ern section of this state as a school teacher. In Charleston,- Luciani separat ed from his distinguished ship mate and came here to enter business. * * * HISTORY CONTENDS — Most authorities on French history tell us that Marshal Ney was shot for treason following the Battle of Waterloo. However tradition has a much more exciting tale to tell. It con tends that Marshal Ney, almost as great an idol of the French troops as Napoleon himself, was spared. His former comrades in arms (Continued on Page Two, CoL $ Soap Manufacturers Join Ranks Of Those Making 10 Per Cent Cut NEW YORK, April 23—(/P)—The battle for lower prices found new recruits today in the ranks of makers of soap, fats, oils, chemi cals, wire and cables, music rec ords and producers of Broadway plays. Retailers concentrated attention on the embattled housewives of New England, who were reported hastening to take advantage of the 10-day Newburyport, Mass., 10 percent retail price cut, which had spread to nearby commu nities. But across the nation, buyers cheered recent cuts at wholesale levels of fats, oils, soap, butter, pork and beef prices, which they hope to see soon on shelves of retailers who have not yet an nounced reductions. There remained a strong warn ing, however, from manufacturers I (Continued on Page Two, CoL 3} FOREIGN MINISTERS WILL WIND UP HECTIC MOSCOW CONFERENCE TODAY; PHONE FIRMS CHARGE LINE CUTTING --i-—_ Government Undertakes Task Of Again Attempt ing To Settle Strike WASHINGTON, April 23—(IP)— Reports of sabotage of some long distance cables came from tele phone company officials ' .day, while the government undertook again to settle the country-wide phone strike. The new settlement approach is to revive peace talks in Washing ton between the striking telephone workers and three strategic parts of t-ie Bell systei the long lines division, the Western Electric com pany and the Southwestern Bell Telephone company. At Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Telephone company announced an offer of a $1,000 reward for in formation leading to the arrest ‘ of persons who cut long distance cables” linking Milwaukee and Ap pleton. At Louisville, J. C. McAllister, Kentucky manager of the South ern Bell Telephone company, an nounced a $1,000 reward for in formation leading to the arrest and conviction of cable cutters. He said an important line between Louisville and Nashville, Tenn., was cut, as well as a lesser one between Russellville and Guthrie, Ky. At Detroit, the Michigan Bell Telephone company reported nu merous instances of cut wires and cable tampering, calling it ‘‘van dalism or sabotage.” Union Offers Reward The Michigan company and the striking union there each offered $500 rewards for locating those responsible. The union said it “unequivocally condemns” such action. San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego company officials like wise reported the cutting of some lines, including a break in one |Los Angeles' cable 15 feet above the ground. A $500 reward was posted at Columbia,' S. C., for conviction of those responsible for what the (Continued on Page Two, Col. 7) FINANCIER JAILED AS DRAFT DODGER Judge Also Imposes $50, 000 Fine On Serge Ru binstein At New York NEW YORK, April 23. — (TP)— Serge Rubinstein, 39-year-old Rus sian-born financier who has had a dazzling career in several coun tries, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and was fined $50,000 to day in the most prominent draft evasion case growing out of World War II. Federal Judge J. F. T. O’Con nor suspended sentences of two years and $10,000 fines each for Rubinstein’s co-defendants, Allen Gordon Foster, New York, former director of the Panhandle Produc ing and Refining Co., and James C. Hart of Lee, Mass., former presi dent of the Taylorcraft Aviation corp. of Alliance, Ohio. Foster and Hart were placed on probation. The three were convicted last night after a seven-week trial on charges of filing false statements as to Rubinstein’s liability for mili tary service and conspiracy to file such statements. The government contended in Rubinstein’s trial that he falsified his draft status by maintaining that his business activities were vital to the war effort and his induction would leave his dependents without financial support. ..—.— i ■ ii‘BJ-vaeDvaa THE REV. JAMES W. COURTNEY (left), 46-ye ar-old Catholic priest, was stabbed four times and seriously wounded as he bent over to administe r the Holy Communion to a man kneeling in the Jesuits Church of the Immaculate Conception at New Orleans. Right: The assailant sits silently in New Orleans police headquarters after he was subdued in the church by worshippers and placed under arrest. Police identified him as » on Louis Laurentz, 27, of Honston and Beanmont, Tex. He ignored questions ■ about the attack,—(AP Wirephoto). County Must Make Suggested School Repairs, Roland Says MASK GROWS HAIR FORT WAYNE, Ind., April 33 — (U.R) — Police experts studied the plaster death mask of an executed man today to deter mine whether it was growing hair. The mask was sent to the po lice department shortly after the electrocution in 1939 of Adrian H. Miller, 31, at the In diana state prison. Miller, a former Wisconsin farm boy, was executed for the sex mur der of Alice May Girton, 18. A few hairs from Miller’s forehead had stuck to the cast and became rooted in the hardened plaster. The mask was stored in the Bureau of identification files. Each time the mask was brought out, little hairs appear ed to be growing over the fore head. GROUP SUPPORTS BUS ROUTE PLAN City, County Officials Tes tfy In Behalf Of Caro lina Coach Petition Testimony supporting a petition of the Carolina Coach company to operate an added bus route through Wilmington was offered at an Interstate Commerce com mission hearing in Raleigh yes - terday by four city and county of ficials. City Manager J. R. Benson, Harry Gardner, member of the board of county commissioners, James E. L. Wade, city council man, and John H. Farrell, city industrial agent, appeared oefore the ICC in support of the coach’ company’s request for the operat ing franchise. The four officials returned to Wilmington last night. According to the plans of the bus firm, direct service, now fur nished from Norfolk to Jackson - ville, N. C., would be extended to include Wilmington on the route (Continued on Page Two, Col. 6) NBC ENDS BATTLE ON RADIO GAGMEN Allen, Benny And Skelton Can Air Views On Vice - Presidents HOLLYWOOD, April 23 —)— The Foreign Ministers council neared the break up of its longest and per haps most hectic conference to night with major issues unsolved. The ministers agreed to try to wind up their Moscow meeting to morrow. In a session which was delayed two hours in starting, U. S. Sec retary of State Marshall caustically charged the Soviet Union with blocking action on the treaty for Austria and declared the United States favored referring the whole problem to the United Nations as sembly if a treaty is not complet ed by the time the assembly meets in September. Marshall also charged Russia with blocking the American-pro posed four-power pact to keep Ger many demilitarized. Pointing out that on the four power pact and essentia! clauses in the Austrian treaty the three West ern nations were lined up three to one against the Soviet Union, the American secretary of state de clared Molotov had rejected the four power pact by introducing in the form of Amendments “nearly every important difference which exists between the four powers on the subject of Germany.” “I will only state that the United States government regards very seriously what in effect is virtual ly a rejection of this treaty by the Soviet government,” he added. Molotov Curt In a reply as curt, Molotov de clared the United States was try ing to force other powers to sign its draft without amendment. “If it is the intention of the United States delegation to substi tute a new and narrower agree ment for Potsdam and Yalta it would be better to say so,” the (Continued on Page Two, Col. 3) OPA WILL WARBLE SWAN SONG JUNE 1 President Abolishes Price, Two Other Major War time Agencies WASHINGTON, April 23—Presi dent Truman today abolished OPA and two other major wartime agencies effective June 1 and or dered most of their remaining functions. Including rent controls transferred to other departments on May 4. The executive orders wipe out, besideg OPA, the Civilian Produc tion administration and the Office of War Mobilization and reconver sion. ^ Along with them goes the Oifice of Temporary controls which was set up last December to start the liquidation process. The orders direct the transfer of these functions: 1. Rent controls from OPA to the Federal Housing expediter. 2. Price control over rice from OPA to the Agriculture depart ment. . OPA activities relating to claims and overpayments on sub sidies and price adjustments, to the Reconstruction Finance coipo ration. 4. OPA liquidation activities and OWMR functions relating chiefly to premium payments on copper, lead and zinc production from marginal mines, to the Commerce department—June 1. 5. CPA controls over rubber, hard cordage fibers, tin, anti mony, cinchona and streptomycin, to the Commerce department. Congress extended rubber controls until next March 1, the others until June 30. Along with the transfer of func tions, the Commerce department will get 1,200 employes from OPA; about 550 from CPA, and about 100 from OWMR. The Housing ex pediter will get about 6,100 em ployes from OPA’s rent division Another 125 OPA employes will go to RFC. And So To Bed City police had visions of nabbing the now ill-famed Catman last night but the vision had faded before the im pact of reality. A Wilmington resident called police headquarters shortly aft er nine o’clock, saying there was a prowler on her porch. Realizing the intruder might be the Catman and taking no chances that he might escape, three cars were rushed to the scene and six police officers cautiously approached the porch of the house with re volvers drawn. But the visions of the cap tured Catman faded swiftly as a very drunk tnan who had lost his way stggered out into the yard with his hands up , raised, _