WEATHER
Rain tonight and Friday prob
ably mixed with mow. Colder
Friday.
GOOD AFTERNOON
. »
BnraM« ihidnb on, itrikt
squat aroand (OT«rm«nt build
ing! at Rangoon. "5quat-do*rn"
strike eli?
Largest Daily Circulation of Any Newspaper in North Carolina in Proportion to Population
VOL. 57—No. 310
HENDERSONVILLE, N. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1938
SINGLE COPIES, FIVE CENTS
NEW DEALERS SEE NEW YEAR PROSPERITY
— — — — — — — — « u u u O V U ' Y V V i
•f* •¥ *!* T T T T T *i* *»" *•* t -• -r m
Rebels Smashing Into Catalonia Front
^ J *
iWARPLANES
BOMB LOYAL
ARMY'S BASE
Rebel Artillery Concentra
tion Declared Heaviest
Of The War
SAY LOYALIST 5TH
ARMY IS WIPED OUT
HEXDAYE, Franco - Spanish
Frontier, Dec. 29. (UP)—Spanish
rationalists, usin*c the heaviest
concentration of artillery since
the beginning of the civil war,
.-cashed into loyalists in the Bal
asruer sector of the Catalonian
front to open the second phase
vf the mass offensive.
According to nationalists, hun
dreds of loyalists surrendered,
while loyalists asserted that their
lines are holding.
Generalissimo Francisco Fran
co's bombing planes and siege
jruns last night poured tons of
explosives into two fortified
towns where . loyalist resistance
blocked the converging paths of
a double-pronged insurgent drive
on Barcelona.
A fleet of 30 warplanes bomb
ed and machine-gunned the loyal
ist base of Artesa de Segre, 65
miles northwest of Barcelona,
while Xavarrese-Galician columns
locked in hand-to-hand struggle
with loyalist defenders to the
north and west.
Twenty-nine miles to the south.
Franco's guns and planes blasted
Borjas Blancas along the main
highly juvd Pt&gadL irom Len
ds eastward to the Mediterranean
coast.. 4 '
Loss of the two gateway towns,
which Franco was attempting to
seise in preparation for a junc
ture of his northern and southern
wings at Tarrega or Cervera with
their spearhead pointed directly
at Barcelona 48 miles away, might
be a knockout blow to the whole
Catalonian defense system of the
loyalists.
tsota Artesa ana tforjas tsianca
are control points of rear-line
communications for General Vi
cente Rojo, loyalist commander
in-chief.
Franco's headquarters reported
hard-won but steady progress up
on the two highway towns, but it
was evident that the loyalists
with 20 divisions in action were
putting up a grim defense on the
sixth day of Franco's offensive.
Loyalist field headquarters re
ported that Italian Blackshirt Le
gionnaires, part of four fascist
divisions said to be serving Fran
co, had been thrown back near
Castrelldans, six miJes southwest
of Borjas Blancas, by a violent
government counter-attack.
Borjas Blancas, the loyalists
said, was under almost constant
bombardment by artillery and
planes.
The insurgents reported that
13 loyalist fighting planes wereI
shot down in a spectacular air
battle above the village of Alfes,
13 miles west of Borjas Blancas,
when 24 insurgent planes met 40
loyalist Curtise fighters, 15 Boe
ir.e« and six Martin bombers.
The 19 loyalist planes brought
to a total of 55 the number of!
oyalist planes reported to have i
been shot down since the offen
sive began at dawn last Friday.
Franco's Burgos headquarters,
listing- his Rains thus far, said I
more than 8,000 prisoners had i
been taken and about 370 square I
miles of Catalonian territory cap
tured.
The insurgents, cutting a 20
mile-wide hole In the govern
ment's lines south of Lerida and
*est of Borjas Blanca, claimed to
have occupied 54 villages.
In the sector south of Lerida J
aiojrn 4,000 prisoners were re- I
P°rf»d and Burgos reported that
the loyalist fifth army corps had
"e*n wipep out by casualties and
prisoners.
Ko-o threw another full army
corp, into the breach in his lines
*outh of Lerida during the day
to protect Borjas Blancas and the
isrhway. The insurgents said that
among prisoners taken there were
numbers of the Campesino and
'•ist^r brigades and Tramcar
*orkfrs hurriedly mobilized in
Barcelona.
CIRCLE WILL MEET
The regular business and social
feting of Pine Grove No. 66,
»W(Jman circle, will be held on
Friday night at 7:30 o'clock. All
Members are asked to attend.
IS OPERATED ON
John Perry, Sr., underwent an
fcrnerjjency appendix operation at
'h* Patton Memorial hospital yes
terday.
— — - <
Vanished Judge's
"Widow" Sails
Mrs. Stella Crater Kunz, whose
former husband Justice Jos. F.
Crater disappeared in 1930, pic
tured mailing from New Yoik
for Germany with Carl Kunz,
whom she married last April.
Kiwanis Club To
Install Officers
At Ladies' Party
Kiwanis club officers for 1939,
with George II. Flanatran succeed
ing Dr. J. G. Bennett as presi- >
dent, will take place tonight at
the Skyland hotel.
Dinner will be served at 7
o'clock, with wives of club mem
bers as guests, and at the con
clusion of the installation a pro
gram of magic, will be presented
by the Selwyns, widely known en
tertainers. About 75 are expected
to attend.
JAMES MORRiS NOW ON
DURHAM SUN STAFF
James. Morris of Durham was
up to spend the holidays with his
mother, Mrs. Charm Keeter.
Mr. Morris, who was for sev
eral months, telegraph editor of
the High Point Enterprise, chang
ed positions during the holidays
and now holds a similar position
with the Durham Sun.
ANNOUNCE WORKERS
CONFERENCE MONDAY
Rev. W. H. Davis, secretary of
the Carolina Association Workers
conference today announced the
next session of that body to be
held at the First Baptist church
Monday, January 2, at 10 a. m.
"Objectives for 1939," he said,
will be the theme of the confer
ence and added that a full attend
ance is desired.
SECOND COLD
WAVE MOVES
TOWARD COAST
Freezing Weather Strikes
In Texas, Alabama And
Georgia
FLORIDA ESCAPES
FREEZING WEATHER
(UNITED PRESS)
The second cold wave with'n the
week today rolled eastward across
the nation, tightening winter's grip
on the Central states with snow
and zero temperatures as it ex
tended toward the Atlantic coast.
The temperature dropped to 32
below zero at Minott, N. L).
U. S. Forecaster J. R. L'oyd said
a second cold wave had rolled
down from the Arctic and alreadv
was thrusting: down the eastern
slope of the Rocky mountains on
its march to the Atlantic seaboard.
He nredicted temperatures of 15
to 20 degrees below zero for the
Dakota* and Minnesota.
The new cold wave will extend
to Kansas and Missouri by Thurs
day night, Lloyd predicted, with
temperatures ranging to 10 above.
Snow flurries were expected to ac
company the falling temperatures.
Snow fell Wednesday in north
ern New York, mountain sections
of New Eneland. Michigan. Wis
consin, North Dakota and Minne-1
sota. <
Temperatures fell to a min:mum
of 20 above a'ong the Maine coast
22-the Gurrewt
cold wave spent itselC-on the eas
tern seaboard. Thermometer read
ings generally in the middlewest
were rising.
Lloyd said the new cold wave
would be less extensive, affecting
Missouri vallev and plains states
but RDending itself before reach
ing the east.
A reading of two degrees above
freezing was reported at Jackson
ville, Fla., yesterday. Tampa re
ported 40 hbove and Miami 66
above.
A low of 2 degrees above zero
was reported at Chicago where
temperatures had been expected
to fall below zero for the first time
since February, 1936. A maxi
mum of 28 was expected today
before winter's next onslaught.
Lowest temperatures of the day
were reported at Wausau, Wis.,
and Bemiflji, Minn., where the
reading was 20 below. Freezing
temperatures extended as far
south as San Antonia, Texas, and
throughout Alabama. Florence,
Ala., reported 14 above and At
lanta. Ga., 20.
Valley Hill Will
Have Watch Night
The Valley Hill Baptist church
will hold its annual New Year's
watch service on Saturday night,
the meeting beginning at 9:30.
Rev. E. A. Kilstrom, pastor, will
be in charge of the service, which
will consist of short talks, singing
and testimonials.
Members of churches not hav
ing such services are invited to
attend.
Japs Call Off South China Drive;
Secret Truce Talk Still Reported;
Would Not Include Forces Of 'Reds'
SHANGHAI, Dec. 29. (UP)—
Reports of secret peace conversa
tions between Chinese and Jap
anese representatives were given
additional color today when Chi
nese dispatches said the Japanese
had called off their southward
offensive from Hankow and were
digging in for the winter.
Chinese expected that the Jap
anese offensive against Gen. Chu
Teh's Communist armies in north
west China might be continued
but thought that Japanese attack
on Generalissimo Chiank Kai
Shek's armies, in the southwest,
would be halted as long as the
reported secret truce parleys are
under way.
They believed the Japanese
would not include the Chinese
Communist party in any truce
arrangement but would be willing
to offer favorable terms to Gen
eralissimo Chiang. on condition
that he cease collaboration with
the "Reds."
Meantime the peace conversa
! tions, if any, were being conduct
ed with the greatest secrecy and
there still was no confirmation of
reports that former Premier Wang
Ching-Wei had left Hanoi, French
Indi-China, for Hong Kong.
Wang, long known for his pro
Japanese views, has been in Hanoi
for some days for "medical treat
ment." He flew to French Indo
China from Generalissimo
Chiang's capital in Chungking
and. later was joined by one of his
chief followers, Chen Kung-Po,
chief of the nationalist 'Kuomin
tang' party in Szechuan province
and also a trusted lieutenant of
the generalissimo.
One suggestion was that the
peace parley's were taking place
in Indo-China with the friendly
knowledge of French officials.
The French were represented as
anxious to see an end of the
Chinese-Japanese conflict before
it spreads farther in south China
and threatens their spheres of
influence in Yunnan and Kwan
gsi provinces.
She Can Make
Glass 'Invisible'
Ljr. Katr.anne v. Bioagett, 01 ,
the Schenectady, N. Y., General ;
Electric laboratories, has made '
an oily film, fcour-mil ionths of |
an inch thick, wfcich make3 glass
"invisible." With it g'ass ad- |
mits more than 99 per cent-Tight j
against the 92 per "cent now i
I>Q3siblet and abolishes refl
tion.
YOUTHS BREAK
INTO 'FRISCO!
INT, SEIZED;
"Just Wanted To See If
It Could Be Done;" Are
Soon Discovered
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 29.!
(UP)—Two 15-year-old boys who
just wanted to see if it could be
done last night, broke into the
United States mint here, a struc
ture considered to be the most
impregnable government building
in the country.
Avoiding tear gas equipment,
impenetrable attack proof steel
heavy bars, intricate burglar
alarms and a small army of
guards the boys easily got into
the building.
They told government men j
who found them after they tossed
a largo sheet of copper from the
window of the room where pen
nies are made it had been simple.
They said they climbed up a
pipe to the second story, found a
window open and walked in. A
guard on his rounds found Paul
Francis and William Gallagher,
sounded an alarm and in a mo
ment the boys were surrounded !
by machine guns, guards and mint
officials.
"We just wanted to see if it|
could be done. It was easy, we |
didn't mean any harm. It was all
in fun," they told police,
They were turned over to po-1
lice and sent to a juvenile deten-,
tion home. "Leave it to a kid to J
do what a mob of gangsters j
could not," exploded P. J. Hag-,
gerty, mint superintendent.
The coppor plate they tossed
out the window was valued at $2 j
and they wanted it as a memento. |
The millions of dollars in gold '
and silver are stored in vaults
and the penny room was the only
one they could have entered.
Christmas Seal
Returns Asked
Mrs. Geo. Wing, Jr., as chair
man of the ^Christmas seal sales
' campaign here today issued a call
for all returns on the seal sales.
All members of the Woman's
club who have not reported are,
asked to leave their seals and'
money from sales in a sealed en
velope. bearing their name, with
Mrs. Walter Fuller at her off'ce
on Fourth avenue, next to the
PostOffice building. It is asked
. that these returns be made as soon
I as possible. . I
FRANCE HEARS
DUCETOMAKE
FOUR DEMANDS
African Program Would
Not Affect Mediterran
ean Status
MUNICH CONFEREES
MAY CONFER AGAIN
ROME, Doc. 21>. (UP)—French
diplomats last night reported that
Premier Penito Mussolini intends
to ask Prime Minister Chamber
lain of Groat Britain to use h's
"pood offices" to obtain four prin
cipal concessions from France as
a means of averting an Italo
French conflict.
The four demands, which II
Puce is expected to lay before
Chamberlain when the latter ar
rives in Rome on Jan. 11, were
described by persons close to the
French embassy as follows:
1—France's surrender of the
Port of Djibouti in French Soma
liland and sale of the Djibouti
Addis Ababa railroad to Italy.
2—Large-scale autonomy for
thousands of Italians living in
Tunisia.
3—Permission for Italians to
freely settje in- Tunisia and buy
and exploit land Which now is un
cultivated.
4—Italian participation in con
trol of tfie French-dominated Suez
Canal»>1 ; .
If 'these concessions are made
by France, Mussolini was said to
contend, Italy's "natural aspira
tion*" .in. tta Mediterranean *nd
North Africa will be satisfied nnd
the possibility of an Italo-French
conflict will be averted.
* BIG FOUR" MAY MEET
AGAIN IN JANUARY
BERLIN, Dec. 29. (UP)—Nazi
political quarters last night dis
cussed a possibility that the "big
four" of Munich might meet again
in January to seek a peaceful set
tlement of their outstanding prob
lems including the acute tension
between Italy and France.
There was no conlirmation of
these rumors, but it was reported
simultaneously that German For
eign Minister Joachim von Ribben
trop soon might confer with Italy's
(Continued on v&ge three)
Tenants' Union
Will Seek Share
Of WPA's Relief
COTTON PLANT, Ark., Dec.
29. (UP)—Plans to organize 350,
000 southern tenants and share
croppers to get a square deal
from the New Deal were an
nounced today by Secretary H. D.
Mitchell at the annual convention
of the Southern Tenant Farmers
union.
Plans for organizing the drive
were revealed simultaneously with
criticism of the WPA for alleged
failure to give off-season em
ployment to needy farm workers.
John R. Mathis
Passes At Union
Jno. R. Mathis, 78, Union, S. C.,
business man and one time editor
of The Union Times, died in a
hospital at his home last night.
Mr. Mathis was favorably known
here, and had owned a summer
home in the county over a consid
erable period.
He was foui^d unconscious yes
terday morning in his garage af
ter he had lain there all night.
Physicians attributed his. death to
apoplexy.
Surviving are two daughters,
Mrs. W. H. Bi-own, of Charleston,
S. C., and Mrs. Wattland Hender
son of Blairs. S. C.; two sons,
Francis Mathis of Whitmire, S. C.,
and John Edgar Mathis of Wilson.
Stock Exchange
Man Is Expelled
NEW York, Dec. 29. (UP) —
The new York stock exchange to
day expelled J. A. Sisto, head of
the exchange firm of J. A. Sisto
and company, for allegedly im
proper dealings in the stock of
the Sisto Financial corporation of
which he also was president.
DIXIE'S DEMOS
RENEW FIGHT
ON NEW DEAL
Would Give Important
Committee Posts To Op
position Leaders
WOULD OFFSET F.R.'S
POLITICAL PURGE
By GERRY R03ICHAUD
United Preit Staff Corre»pondent
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2'J. (UP)
A bloc of conservative southern
Democrats, led by Representatives
Martin Dies of Texas and E. Eu
gene Cox of Georgia, are seeking
supporters in a drive to deliver
important house committee posts
to anti-New Deal congressmen, it
was learned last night.
Determined to play an increas
ingly important role in the 7f>th
congress, Dies and Cox, who ac
tively opposed the wage-hour bill
last session, consider sweeping
Republican gains in the fall elec
, tion as a protest against Presi
dent Roosevelt's policies, and feel
that the Democratic party must
■ steer a more conservative course
! if it is to retain majority support
! throughout the nation.
The two have been active in
: contacting 4 fellow southerners,
l who hold 115 of the 262 house
Democratic seats, in an effort to
; gain their united support in the I
drive for committee control. At
the same time they have been
playing up to the conservative
; element in northern Democratic j
ranks' in order to obtain the -ad
ditional 24 Democratic votes nec
1 essary to give their bloc a ma-:
jority vote in party strategy.
The struggle will come into
the open next Monday in a pre
session Democratic caucus in
which majority members of the
powerful 25-man ways and means |
committee will be selected, as;
well as the speaker and majority
leader. Membership in this key
committee will indicate the future !
set-up of other groups, since ways;
and means members draft the
slates of the. remaining commit
tee. These subsequently are rati- j
fied at another caucus.
Re-election of Speaker William |
B. Bankhead, D., Ala., and Ma-1
j.ority Leader Sam Rayburn, D.,
Tex., is a foregone conclusion.
The struggle for control will cen-1
ter around the make-up of the1
ways and means group, which this !
year will consist of 15 Democrats
and 10 Republicans. Last session
there were 18 Democrats and sev
en Republicans, but the latter
party's off-year gains will in-1
crease its membership in the
group.
Under the circumstances, Dies
and Cox are said to feel that con
! servative Democrats need but a
small membership to obtain their
objective, since they can work in
concert with Republicans to as
i sure anti-administration action.
Outcome of the drive, however,
will depend almost entirely on
i support from their northern col
leagues and unitv of the southern
delegation. Many veteran poli
ticians consider it improbable
that Dies and Cox can achieve
their objective, since there is
some New Deal strength within
(Continued on Dage three)
i Highway Carnage Is Reduced For
i 13th Continuous Month; See Deaths
For Year Lowered At Least 7,000
CHICAGO, Dec. 29. (UP)—
i The nation has applied the brakes
| to the, annual carnage on streets
and highways and will round out
1938 with a saving of at least
7,400 lives, the national safety
council said last night.
The council said November was
I the 13th straight month to show
a comparative decline in traffic
| deaths and said that unless
"America is on a holiday spree of
carelessness" in the closing days
of 1938, the year cannot fail to
show a substantial saving.
The report estimated the 1938
highway death toll at approxima
tely 32,000, lowest since 1938
and the greatest reduction for any
single year in the nation's his
tory.
The firsj; 11 months of 1938
showed a decline of 21 per cent
in the number of lives lost as
compared to the same 11 months
of 1937.
December, a month fraught with
additional danger from blinding
snow storms and slippery high
wayg, was expected to trim the
average slightly.
"If the rate of reduction for
the first 11 months of the year
could be maintained up to Jan. 1,
the 1938 saving in lives would be
in the neighborhood of 8,000 and
the year's toll would approximate
31,500," the council said.
Definite figures for the year
will not be known until late Jan
uary when all figures are com
piled.
The November highway death
toll was 3,110, the council report
ed, 640 less than November a
year ago, or a saving of 17 per
cent. Total deaths for the 11
months was 28,370 as compared
to 35,770 in the same period a
year ago.
A total of 8,190 lives have been
saved in the last 13 months.
The council said it attributed
the saving to no one factor.
"We have had better enforce
ment of traffic laws, better traf
fic engineering, safer automobiles
(Continued on page three).'
Star to Visit
Convent Home
Off on a New Year visit to the
Maison de Charite, Paris or
phanage convent , where she
lived as a child, film star Made
leine Carroll is shown leaving
New York.
deathclaTms
JOE H. YOUNG
Chimney Rock Road Resi
dent Succumbs To
Pneumonia
J. H. Young, 68, died at his
home on the Chimney Rock road
yesterday after an illness of a
week with pneumonia.
Mr. Young is survived by his
wife; one married daughter, Mrs.
Ed Kuykendall, and Miss Inez
Young, another daughter.
Funeral services will be held to
morrow, F/iday, December 20, at
H a. m., at Moore's Grove Meth
odist church. Officiating will be
the Reverends Vamer, Huntley,
and Dr. Camak.
GAMBLER SLAIN
HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 29. (UP)
A man who was shot to death
and left in his car on a Holly
wood street was identified by po
lice last night as Weldon L. (Big
Bill) Irvin, a gambler and book
maker.
F. R. UNWILLING
TO SURRENDER
RELIEF REINS
"Policing" Groups Would
Be Advisory Bodies
Without Pay
REPUBLICANS" TO
PUSH OWN PLAN
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29. (UP)
(UP)—The government's chief
economists today forecast a pros
perous New Year for the nation.
In a year-end survey of busi
ness, the Bureau of Agriculture
Economics, which charts the trend
in industrial as well as agricul
tural production and consump
tion, said that prospects are good
for continued recovery.
The fall pickup in industrial
production and consumer demand
recovered more than half of the
ground lost in the 1937-3S reces
sion. the survey said.
The bureau reported a marked
pick-up, in building activity and
substantial increases In steel, au
tomobile and textile production.
Factory payrolls increased and
I unemployment decreased, accord
ing to the WPA and. American
Federation of Labor'record*.
CIVIL SERYICE FOR
RELIEF PROJECTED
WASHINGTON,Dec. 29. (UP)
—The Roosevelt administration
may propose that the vast relief
system be placed under civil ser
vice to placate congressional op
ponents of thf WPA..
An. authorqtive source revealed
that -tne• civil service proposal was
ioupled wjth the president'*. sug
gestion for the citation of non
partisan . .county boards to keep
ptfittca and refiejf separate would
be designedtO- tftke the edge off
the demand*" for a congressional
investigation of the WPA.
MESSAGE TxTdEAL
MUCH WITH RELIEF .
' WASHINGTON, D«c. 28. (UD
—President Roosevelt last night
was represented by legislative
callers as befog willing to com
promise with- coalition demands
for decentralization of relief to
the extent of permitting "polic
ing" of Works Progress Adminis
tration activities by army or non
partisan county boards.
Legislators who say that the
chief executive has outlined such
a plan to them within the past
fortnight, insist that he is unwill
ing, however, to surrender com
pletely to the agitation for out
right return of relief administra
! tions to the states.
He is determined, they say,
that the federal government shall
keep a tight rein over relief
spending and administration as
long as it provides most of the
money.
The plan under white House
consideration would place the
"policing" groups in the same
status as the draft boards which
operated during the World War.
Members would operate without
pay and serve in an advisory cap
acity to the federal relief admin
istration,.
Whether . such a compromise
would placate relief critics among
conservative Democrats in con
gress is a matter of conjecture.
They were appeased to some et
tent when President Roosevelt
promoted WPA Administrator
Harry L. Hopkins to be secretary
of commerce and eased out Hop
kins' deputy, Aubrey Williams,
whose blunj appeals .to relief
workers to "keep your friends in'
office" made him a political lia
bility. •
Appointment of Col. F. C.-Har
rinfton, brilliant - West Point
graduate and WPA chief engineer
to succeed Hopkins, also was well
received and Harrington's ' first
words that he would strive to
keep the agency out of politic)
were cheered.
The situation probaoiy win pu
clarified in a few days whan ti e
senate compaign axpenditure «
committee makes its report on In
quiries conducted into this years
primary and elections cam palms.
Members say that no punches
will be pulled and from ottvar
sources it ia understood that WPA
political activities in. Kentucky,
Tennessee and Pennsylvania wiU
be sharply criticized.
It was reported that the1 re
eort would fall just short of «
uking Hopkins, who iniatod
I throughout that the WPA. was .not
; engaging in political activities and
submitted general orders warning
agency officials against coercing
relief workers mto supporting
either Republican or Democratic
candidates. Likewise, there was
the general feeling that Hapkins
(Continued on page three)"