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ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN THIS SECTION OF NORTH CAROLINA AND VIRGINIA
r\\-r\•' Y-SEVENTH YEAR T®fv!EADssSfAET|gIV,g^op HENDERSON, N. C., TUESDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 17, 1940 evBUSU£&£Vsm&?E*,100t' FIVE CENTS COPY
British Push Deeper Into Libya
v v v w « V vsxxxxxxxfl I
Sec. Hull Sees British Crisis In Spring
No. 2 Man in France
Back From Defense Cruise
v" • a cruise in the Caribbean, during which he inspected newly
I*. S. defense bases. President Roosevelt is piped ashore from
t Tuscaloosa at Charleston. S. C. lie returned from the voyage
'.aMicd and healthy. Note catapult plane in background.
(Central Press)
British Attempting
To Encircle Bardia |
Last Remnants of Ital
ian Army Driven from
Egyptian Soil; British
Capture Salum and
Fort Capuzzo in Libya
K\ FDWARD KENNEDY.
' • B;• i11h Fo'-ces at Salum,
!(>—(delayed)—(AP)—
.v-.vri units were sweep
• desert vest of Brrdia
.•ro:r.pt to encircle that
i" .n or. e in Libya, fol
, ' e capture of Salum and
" ;>';•/20.
■ •. in'-; the Ttalian
in?en driven from Egyot
-ir.- heavy Brit'.-»h fire, the
I inr-d Salum. seized
" < cv •. e into Egypt. and
frontier into Libya.
• - the west.
' "P- promntJy occupied
' Egyr;ti: n port. Then
• * • carry the light to
»\ ng across tlie bor
■ Fort Capuzzo.
e ret?- rt^d to have
' Hardin, '-n the coast
'• border. including
have ;rtreated from
.■■■ rently are -trivng t'
v.ed -t.tnd there.
. [' Bri'lsh officers,
v •• •• hold " it v/ill de
i-n whether Italian
• 'd bo rallied after the
M :"«lit.
• ha*. I fen bombed
t:sea and air. Brit
: ; t.r,i■. v.e-t of the town
• < v f-jijcl destroyed Ital
. tractors and tanks but
uncertain yet whethei
ly cut off communica
1 ■ Bardia and Tonbruk.
; t.
ored units \v°rc rubieet
ly. bing attacks by Ital
Mergers thau
Analyses
British Needs
■i'orx. Dec. 17.—(AP)—Sec
•I 'gen than was reported to
• 'i Li House appropriations
today that Sir Frederick
tidersecretary of the Bri
• >. 'tuci informed him that
—d could mak? no more com
' it; tor purchase of war ma
in the United States unless
'iid was extended.
'<•( members who disclos
-!uen this testimony, given
>-ed doors, added that the
secretary had repeated his
that he believed that the
' S?;ite> could not extend loans
"!-ts unless Congress modified
■ led the Johnson act forbid
;-':i (•:: - Sr. ci:.)
Anniversary Of
First Airplane
Flight Observed I
n
Mantco. Dec. IT—(AP)—Fifty air- j
planes from Greensboro. Raleigh,!
Fort Bragg. Langley Field and the
Elizabeth City Coast Guard airbase,
were expected t;> circle Kill Devil
Hii! today in observance of the first
successful flight of the Wright
brothers, made from the hill Decem
ber 17. 1903.
Mrs. Truman Miller, manager of
the Raleigh airport, and Mayor Je
rome Flora, of Elizabeth City, were i
a«ked to place wreaths on a nrnu- j
ment atop the hill. Lieutenant Com
n mder R. L. Burkr> of Elizabeth j
City was programmed for a talk. |
Negro Found
Shot To Death!
In White Home
Lumberem, I)'«■. 17.— ( AI')—f»*a |
I*, ra'dfT. 18-year-old N^gro farm I
hand, was found dead today at the |
homo of Walton Allen. whit- arm- I
"»• <>! Howellsville township, hrs !
head mangled by a shotgun blast. |
Sheriff Clyde Wade quoted AI- I
lf n • w:te. Mrs. Alene Pridgen Allen, I
2;>, as saying Bowd' n attempted to
t.ick hrr, out thul she br !'c ;i\Viiy '
anci ran from 111o 'i use and heard a
gunshot a moment later.
Wade said A Hon was working at I
Fort Bragg and that Mix .Allnn said j
. lie was in her home when Bowden I
'Continued on Pail" Five*
Miss Ethel Pc
Mrs. Stevens'
State Agricult
Daily Dispatch Bureau, i
In the Sir Walter Hotel.
By HENRY AVERILL.
Raleigh, Dee. 17.—As if next-Gov
i ernor J. M. Broughton didn't face
, trouble enough in finding jobs for all
i the male politicians who will swear
they carried their counties for him
' in the primary last spring, there is
in prospect at least one scrap im
position in which the aspiring con-j
tenders will be ladies.
Miss Ethel Parker of Gatesville—
oi at lea^t friends in her behoof and
behalf—has already launched a cam
paign to replace Mrs. Vivian (L. L.) ^
Stevens on the State Board of Agri
culture. of which that lady from Cur- I
rituck is now the only feminine mem-j
bcr. I
1 I
British Ask
Financial
Assistance
Details of Appeal Not
Made Public; Secre
tary Hull Urges All
Speed Possible in Pro
ducing Arms, Planesj
and Supplies.
Washington. Dec. 17.-YAI')—Sec
retary |-lii'i was reported today to
have (olri (is'lVn>•(» commissioners and
other govo!"e'ont oificials that Great
Britain probably would face a serious
r-.-isis nevt •■faring unless present de
livery schedules of American sup-1
plirs v.n-o {•■ rsiderably increased. j
Disclosure <•!' the cabinet member's j
view followed an outright British re
r u(><••! for ri'V)nciai assistance from
the United States. Details of the ap
p( *■ 1 were not nuido public.
Hull was ;tonr| to have urged'
all speed possible in producing arms. 1
planes and other supplies. Similarly j
it was learn'd that ^he shipping sit- |
u.vtion is he:ng examined to deter
mine whether additional merchant j
shins might he made available for i
rushing supplies io Britain.
Hull's statements were believed to j
be part'allv responsible for the com- J
mcnts ol William S. Knudsen and ;
other defense officials that greater
speed is neees.si.ry in the defense pro- i
gram.
Knudsen yesterday described the
production situation as one of "ter
rible urgency". That declaration and
the British request for financial help
put two formidable problems on
President Roosevelt's desk.
As Mr. Roosevelt returned to the
executive offices for the first full
day after his two weeks cruise in
the Caribbean, the belief grew in
seme quarters that some important
action might be forthcoming.
"Something usually does happen
when he comes back here," Secretary
ot Commerce Jones pointed nut in
explaining recently that decision on
financial help to Britain could not be
reached because "the administration
is away."
Since armament aid to Britain de
pends on the speed of domestic de
fense production, the expectation
was that this field of assistance
would receive executive attention be- ■
fore the matter uf financial assist- j
a nee.
Hoover Hints
At Hearings
Miami Beach, Deo. 17.—(AP)—J.
Edgar Hoover, director of the Fed
crad Bureau of Investigation, says
Attorney General Robert Jackson
probably will call public bearings on
m FRf .r^oor* which Hoover declar
ed "confirms" that Harry Bridges,
west coast labor leader, "is a com
munist".
In an interview yesterday Hoover
said the reocrt. Ii!ed by the FBI
" it.h the ;>t.1 rtH-y general recently,
"confirms that Bridges is ;i commu
nist and that Ihe communist party
advocates over i'v>\v of the United
St^'es Government."
At San Francisco last night,
Bridges referred to ;i hearing a year j
(Continued on P;igc Seven.)
irkev Seeks
Place On
ure Board
Mrs. Stevens" term will expire
next May and in the final analysis
it will be Mr. Broughton. and Mr.
Broughton alone, who will have to
decide whether t,, retain her, or ap
point someone else.
There isn t any requirement that
the board have a feminine member,
and so the governor has a wide dis
cretion.
Miss Parker, it is assumed, was a
Broughton supporter in the primary,
else she certainly would not now be
seeking to oust Mrs. Stevens; but ac
cording to your reporter's best in
formation, there's where it is going
to be even tougher for the governor;
because it seems that Mrs. Stevens,
(Continued on Page Seven) i
Beaverhrook Says
Invasion Attempt
Planned By Nazis
Succeeds Pittman
Berkeley Bunker
Berkeley Bunker, 34, Las Vegas,
Nev., merchant and Mormon bishop,
takes oath of office to fill unexpired
term of the late Senator Key Pitt
man. Bunker is first senator to take
oath of office in the old Supreme
Court chambers, temporary senate
chambers, in the last 80 years.
Many Dead
In Explosion
Cause of Blast in Cin
c i n n a t i Apartment
House Not Deter
mined; Twelve Hurt.
Cincinnati, Dcc. 17—(AP)—Mem
bers of four families were olasted
cut of their beds by a predawn ex
plosion that wrecked a three-story
downtown building Killed eight
to eleven persons 1' da \
Twelve persons were injured and
two were missing in the pile of
lii-ark. kindling an'! dn;! that un
til 3.30 a. m. had hren n structure
housing business establishments on
the first flocr and apartments on
the upper floors.
Twelve children wore among the
victims, including a baby which
f!t>ron«r Frank Coprv-k said wav
born to Mrs. Lillian Schnetzer, 42.
before she, too, was taken lifeless
from the wreckage.
While the cause w;>s p.,t. deter
mined immediately. ^ Hughs, 57
who lived across the tree), said the
e:%plosion "was like p-ilf from
ignating gas."
Some of the bodies wry o i^dly
torn they could not be identified im
mediately.
Screams of adH's and- children
trapped in the debris |inrr«,d emer
gency squads cf poppo ;>nd firemen
as th«\v dug into the >-oj»r;. a fire
man said that those who dion't die
of injuries were snffoentcd by
smoke ana dust.
RAID CAS' M.TI' S
London, Doc. J 7.—<A1*)—Ci
vilian air raid easni'M-s i the
I'nitcd Kinerom in November
were 4.58? dead and fi injur
ed. it was announced officially
today
OJe aihoh
FOR NORTH CAROLINA.
Fair tonight and Wednesday;
colder tonight.
"Immense Attempt'
to Bring Out Huge
Airforce in Early
Months of Next Year
Is Being Made, Min
ister Declares.
j London. Dor. 17.— (AP) —Lord
Beaverbrook. minister of aircraft
nrodi'H'fvn. over 1he radio
tonifhl that Germany "is making pre
djutiI ic-n fr.r invasion of England be
fore ' nrinfrtMTK'—bv land and sea, but
pt-jrrirnlly by air."
F"1"' imking an "immense at
tempt" to bring out a huge air force
>n e^rlv months of next year,
Lord Beaverbrook said, and there are
I "sur^ rind certain signs" of a feverish
development of production.
"These vast preparations," he ad
ded, "are directed at one objective—
the invasion of Britain."
"So we are warned. We know that
same measure of preparation was
carried out in Germany last winter.
Tanks and dive bombers to destroy
1he French: the same thoroughness
will be employed against us when the
tune comes."
Lord Beaverbrook told Britons
they were "much too confident" and
: c.dded "there is no justification for
overconfidence now."
"It must be acknowledged that Hit
ler is still military master of Eu
rope but not quite ^o much the mas
ter he was."
American planes are arriving in
England "in an increasing flow—very
very many of them," Lord Eeaver
(Continued on Page Seven)
Coal Mine Blast
Traps Dozen Men
Charleston. YV. Va., Dec. 17.—
(AP)—The Stair Mines Depart
ment announced today it had
received an unofficial report
that approximately a dozen men
had been trapped in the number
I foui mine of the Raleigh Coal
and Coke Corporation near
Bccklcy by a dust explosion or
a mine fire.
Perk ley, W. Va., Dec. 17.—(A P.)
—Five injured men were brought <>u
| of the number four mine of the Ra
| Ingh Coal and Coke Corporation to
J ri>y, less than an hour after an ex
! plosion which trapped an undcter
j mined number of victims.
The extent of the injuries suffered
] by the miners, who were rushed b>
! ambulance to a Berkley hospital, wa.'
j not immediately learned.
| Company officials a n n ounced
! shortly ".fter the five injured were
j broufc'.l out that Ihry believed H
! more men were inside. They did not
j know whether the miners still in the
j mine were alive or dead.
Mrs. C. M. Meadows, wife of a dis
1 trict mine inspector, said she under
! i tood there had been at least one
j latality.
Ti-ir. .nine, a ".siopc" operation ex
j tending many miles back into a hill
j side on the outskirts of Beck Icy, nor
; mally employs about 100 men, and
! officials said there were 47 men ein
I ployed on the day shift.
Two rescue crews were ordered
j out immediately.
Pierre-Etiennc Flandin
Named to succced Pierre Laval, who
was purged from his positions as
vice premier and foreign minister
of France, was Pierre-Etienne
Flandin, former finance minister.
Flandin took over the foreign min
istry, but the vice premier post was
left empty. Laval was a prime
mover in the attempt to bring
France into closer accord with the
Rome-Berlin Axis.
(Central Press)
Laval Meets
:
| Nazi Envoy !
Ousted French Offi
cial Reappears Sud
denly for Talks With
Abetz and.Petain.
,
Born. Dec. 17.—(AP)—At the be-'
!.o<t of Reichfuehrer Hitler's repre-1
sentative in Paris, German Ambas-1
sador Otto Abetz, Pierre Laval re- 1
appeared suddenly in Vichy today for '
i> luncheon table talk with Abetz and !
Chief of State Philippe Petain.
It was the first time the ousted I
\ ice premier and foreign minister;
had been seen in Vichy since he was
expelled from the French cabinet
Friday night.
His reappearance increased the
anxiety of many veteran French of
ficials whose usual tranquility in the
face of government upheavals hasi
been upset by Abctz's dramatic ar
rival yesterday with a picked nazi
guard and a German delegation.
Total German occupation of
France, some observers said, may be
foreshadowed in the Abetz visit—the
first to Vichy of any ranking nazi !
official since the armistice.
Rumors spread that the Germans
want Laval, once the old marshal's'
own choice as his successor, back in I
his job. But reports reaching dip
lomatic quarters here said it v/as!
(Continued on Page Five)
TRAITOR
London, Dec. 17.— (AP)—Mrs.
| Dorothy l'amcla O'Grady, 42,
a housewife, was sentenced to
death for treason today. She was
convicted under the official sec
rets act and defense regulation,
it was announced.
FIVE DIK IN FIRE.
Johnstown. I'a.. Dec. 17.—
(AI*)—Five persons perished to
day in flames which destroyed
a two-family home at nearby
.Mineral Point. The victim.-; were
trapped on the second floor of
! the seven-room frame structure.
No Foreign War Committee
Organization Announced j
l
New York, Dec. 17.—(AP)—For
mation of the No Foreign War Com
mittee was announced today by
Verne Marshall, editor of the Cedar
F.apids. Ia., Gazette, who is chair
man of the new organization.
The purpose of the committee, a
statement said, is to "give articulation
to that overwhelming majority of
American citizens which is definite
ly on record as opposed to our direct
physical involvement in the present
war."
In a statement issued after a two
day organization meeting here, Mar
shall said:
"For months out in Iowa I have
watched the development of a
psychological trend toward actual
and physical American participation
in this war.
"The William Allen White Com
mittee to Defend America by Aid
ing the Allies has done an effective •'
job of originating and developing ex
actly the same public psychology as '
that which was carefully created
during the wai period preceding our
declaration of hostilities in April.
1917.
"In a large measure the success of
the White committee is due to the i
lack of opposition to its efforts. The
masses of people who are extremely
l'earlul of their country's catastrophic
involvent in the current phase of
Europe's incessent warfare have had
r.o voice with a national audience.
"It is the purpose of the No For
eign War Committee to prov ide that
voice, to give articulation to the
hopes and prayers to those innumer
able millions of Americans who know
that if they are dragged once again
rnto the economic and political con
flicts of the Old World only com
plete chaos- can result." ,
RAF Raids
Nazi Center
OfMannheim
Greeks Report Smash
ing Seven Violent
Counter Attacks by
Fascists in Albania;
Abetz Confers With
Petain in Vichy.
(Bv The Associated Press.)
Britain's counter-invasion troops
nnshed deeper into Italian I.ibva in
the nine-day old battle of North
Africa today: royal air force war
planes pounded the German chemical
manufacturing city of Mannheim in
« seven-hour assault, and the Greeks
reported smashing seven violent
counter attacks by fascist legions in
Albania.
Near I'ardia.
London military quarters said
General Sir Archibald P. Wavell's
desert forces had thrust a salient to
the vicinity of Bardia. key Italian
stronghold 15 miles inside Libya on
the Mediterranean seacoast.
Pressure on Bardia is "steadily in
creasing" and new British forces are
arriving in the area, a general head
quarters communique reported today.
The communique also said that two
additional Italian forts at the fron
tier south of Bardia had been cap
tured.
British armored units were report
ed sweeping over the desert beyond
Bardia in an attempt to encircle the
town—which would provide an im
portant base for the British offen
sive aimed at knocking Italy out of
the war.
Salum Captured.
The drive gained momentum from
the capture of Salum, last Italian
pocket of resistance in western
Egypt, and Fort Capuzzo, strategic
highway terminum twelve miles due
>outh of Bardia.
Premier Mussolini's high command
said the battle on the Libyan front
was raging "with ferocity no less
than that on previous days" and de
clared that the Italian air force
"strongly wore down the enemy."
Fascist torpedo planes, the Rome
communique said, scored two hits on
(Continued on Paee Five
Windsors End
Visit In U. S.
Miami, Dec. 17.—(Al')—The Dtilce
and Dutchess of Windsor terminate
today their first visit to the U. S.
since Kin# Edward's abdication of
the British throne.
Happy over the cordial reception
they received here, the Windsors
planned to sail at 5 p. m. (e. s. t.)
aboard the yacht Southern Cross on
the return trip to Nassau.
The duchess appeared virtually re
covered from the effects of a dental
operation that brought the Wind
sors to Miami just a week ago.
BKIIISH KtPOKI
SHIPPING LOSSES
London. Dee. 17.— (\P)—The
admiralty rpeorted today 101,
10ft tons of British, allied and
neutral merchant shipping were
sunk during the week ending
December 8.
Nineteen British vessels, to
taling 86,710 tons, three allied
ships of 12.937 tons, and one ncu
tral vessel of 1.513 tons, were
lost during the period, it said.
Armour
May Become
Ambassador
Washington, Dec. 17—(AP)—Nor
man Armour, ace career diplomat
and now United States ambassador
to Argentina was mentioned in in
formed circles today for the vacant
post of ambassador to Great Britain.
With no British ambassador in
this country following the death of
the Marquess om Lothian. President
Roosevelt was expected to name a
successor soon to Joseph P. Kennedy,
who resigned the London post on
November 6.
S.me sources hinted that the Pres
ident already had decided on Ar
mour for the key assignment in the
British capital.
Armour, who wa« born in England
of American narents. has h°ld diplo
matic nosts in nearly every n»rt of
the world, including Jaoan. Russia,
and various European countries..