Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              A   Paper For  The  Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Weather
Sunday:  Rains, warmer
at night, Monday: Rain   and   colder.
g4TH YEAR, NO. 11—72 PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, JANUARY  14, 1940
PRICE TEN CENTS
FRESH RED TROOPS ADVANCE IN FINLAND; MOSCO W BRANDS DEFEA T REPOR TS 'LIES'; BRITISH PLANES 0 VER VIENNA AND PRAGUE
Congress Fearful of Finn Loan
Risks Involvement And Heavy Load on National Debt
Damaged by British Raids
SETS PRECEDENT
Leaders Opposed; May Use RFC or Stabilization Fund
Washington, Jan, 1,3 (UP) — House leaders said tonight that as much as they would like to help Finland they could not support a federal loan to that nation. The I United .States must not set the precedent of recognizing invasion as ft "No, 1 credit rating," they argued.
These leaders indicated privately i that they would oppose any of sev- | eral   pending  measures   to   extend direct  aid   to   Finland   in   her  re¬ sistance to Russian  invasion.    The United States Treasury cannot af¬ ford such a venture, they said, and . furthermore,  even  though  this in- j stance might not compromise U.S. neutrality it would set a precedent ' that  likely would  involve  us. '
This outspoken opposition to the Finnish-aid bills came after the flrst reaction on Capitol Hill to ! President Roosevelt's request that these measures be considered in a non-partisan manner was one of wariness.' House leaders empha¬ sized that their attitude was in no way partisan and agreement on i the general trend of their opinion was voiced by both Democrats and Republicans.
Earlier, Sen, William E. Borah, R., Ida., said that although he sym¬ pathized with Finland he tholight that the matter of a loan was a very serious problem. He said he would not pursue any course that I might involve the United States in ' the European conflict.
One House leader explained that perhaps the most serious objection to a loan to Finland would be the precedent it would set. He cited this example in explaining his •tand: |
"Suppose money is lent victims of aggression such as Finland.    As in the case of Finland  the argument would be made later, perhaps, that France is a similar victim and in need of financial help.    If Switzer- j land   or  Holland  were   invaded   in ' the spring, as many military strate¬ gist  predict,  thCFc  coiinti'ies  could , present  an  A-1  credit  rating,  the same   as   Finland,   to   bolster   their . pleas for mone.y.   Where would we be?"
Other congressional leaders said that no step sho'ild be taken by this country that might prejudice its position as an agent for peace Negotiation.s, j
Two Foiisible Plans
Meanwhile,   it  was   said  in   con- | gressional circles that the Treasury ! Department   would   not   object   to , proposals   to   authorize   a   Recon- j atruction    Finance    Corporation    a ; loan   to   Finland.     Various   legisla- ' tive plans have been submitted to j Treasury Secretary Henry Morgan- thau jr, and Federal Loan Admin¬ istrator  Jesse  Jones   for   opinions. Congressional sources said that an¬ other plan for a Finish loan would he to make it from the ,$2,000.000,v 000  secret  stabilization  fund.    Vir- (Continued on Page A-11)
Claim 2 Nazi Raiders Downed As Defenses Are Improved
TELL OF FLIGHT
Italy Claims Meditermnian Con fro//Russia Reopens Deny Faix)rs From Balkan State»     on'^Three FrlmTs;
Follows Refusal of Konoye to Form New Government
Report One Plane Neared Berlin; Steamer Sunk
PROBLEMS MOUNT
rtir view shows train crossing Hindenburg Dam, causeway connecting Uerman island of Sylt with mainland. Dam was reported damaged when British fliers bombed Sylt and neighboring German anchorage of Helgoland. Island of Sylt has been made into powerful German navy and airplane base on North Sea, second only to Helgoland, Two planes were said to have bombed town.
Jury in Trooper's Case Retires for the Night
Near Mistrial As Girl's Mother Screams in Court
Mauch Chunk, Pa., Jan, 13.  (UPi
The    case    of    Corp.    Benjamin Franklin.   ,30,   of  the   Pennsylvania Motor   Police,   charged   with   kill¬ ing   of   14-ycar-old   Joan   Stevens ; when she threatened to "blow your
 brains out" with a pistol later
found   lo   be   a   toy,   went   to   the ' jury tonight at 8:12  p,  m.
Shortly before midnight the jury i retired to the hotel at which it j is quartered without having reported '. a verdict. Deliberations on Frank- i lin's fate will be resumed tomorrow. '
The state in its summation de¬ manded a second-degree murder verdict and Deputy Attorney Gen¬ eral George A. Shutack questioned whether "there ever was" a pistol in Joan's possesion the fatal night of   last  .lune   h.
Defense    Attorney    Ben    Branch told  the jury that  Franklin  either j was  guilty   of  second-degree   mur- j der  "or  lie   ia   guilty   of   nothing."
"Either  come   in  and   say   Ben¬ jamin   Franklin   is   a   murderer   or come in and say he is not guilty," j Branch   declared,
Judse Samuel E. Shull told the jury that three verdict.'! were poss- ! ible: a general acquittal, a second- degree murder conviction or not guilty of murder but guilty of vol¬ untary manslaughter, j Nearly   Xistrial
A mistrial was averted narrowly ! a few hours earlier when the vic¬ tim's   mother   began   shrieking,   in the jiirv's presence, "why did they kill  my  child?"
"They killed my poor child," Mrs. Mayme Stevens screamed as bailiffs rushed towards her. "He took her away from me.
"God said, 'Thou shalt not kill."
The      handsome      Pennsylvania (Continued on Pago A-ll>
House and Senate Naval Chairmen Dispute Progress of Ship Building
Washington, Jan, 13. (UP)— Chairman Carl Vinson of the House naval affairs committee tonigiit re¬ newed his argument with Chair¬ man David I. Walsh of the Senate naval committee with a challenge to Walsh's contention that the United States had not laid down ^ one ship under the JO per cent naval increase authorized two years ago.
"I   am   at  a   loss  to  understand ¦ how anyone conversant with naval' matters can confuse the situation," ' Vinson   said.   He   added   that   the ,ROvernment now is building all but 28,000  tons  of  the  total  authoriza¬ tion.
Vinson's    committee    is    holding hearings on the chairman's bill to authorize   a   25  per   cent   increase i In total tonnage, or 77 new ships, %t  a  cost  of  $1,300,000,000,
Walsh  yesterday  demanded  that
'n Today's Issue \
Editorial C—«      !
ClapiNifled   B—II     !
^•ovieii A—1«
Politics   C—8
gtory   A—M
¦P«t«  B—1      i
Social    A-U    1
-I ___„«„.«».^.
appropriations be made at once to construct   the   authorized   tonnage, instead   of   approval   of   "another paper navy." .Shows   ProvlsionH
Vinson drafted a memorandum showing that the IP.IS law author¬ ized three battleships, two car¬ riers, nine light cruisers, 23 des¬ troyers, and nine submarines. He said one aircraft carrier and two cruisers were provided for imme¬ diately in a deficiency bill: then two battleships, two crui,sers, eight destroyers, and eight submarines in the regular 1940 appropriation bill passed last ,Ianuary. The cur¬ rent budget provides for two battle¬ ships, one carrier, two cruiserK. eight destroyers and six sub¬ marines -19 ships, all chargeable to the 1938 expansion, Vinson pointed out.
Of these ships in the current budget, one battleship and four submarines arc replacements, he said, "leaving for future appropri¬ ations (under the authorizations! two cruisers and seven destroyers.
"All     battleships,     carriers     and submarines  authorized  by  the  ai' of  19.18 have been taken  care of," i he said. I
National C of C Demands Rights For Employers
Washington, Jan, 13. (UP)—The U. S. Chamber of Commerce to¬ night advanced additional proposals for restricting powers of the Na¬ tional Labor Relations Board, al¬ ready under fire from labor or¬ ganizations and Congress,
The chamber announced that it was polling its 750.000 businessmen members on four changes sug¬ gested by its committee on manu¬ facture, Tne four suggested changes were:
1,—An employers should be required to bargain with any labor organization only as rep¬ resentative of employees who are members and who indi¬ vidually have given express authority to the organization to bargain for them respecting terms and conditions of theii employment. Want Both Sides Affected
2.—The protection of the act should be withdrawn from em¬ ployment. Long as they con¬ tinue in a position violating the terms of agreements at j which the.v have arrived through collective bargaining and the benefits of whicli they I    have accepted.
3.    The act should be extend¬ ed lo cover unfair labor prac¬ tices on the part of employees, their   representatives   and  any person   acting   for   any   labor organization. 1        4.   There should be placed in the act direct, certain and sub¬ stantial    standards    for    clear '     definition    of    the    extent    to which an employer is to be en- j    gaged   in  interstate   commerce 1    before   he   becomes  subject  to
the act. Say  Strikes  Have  Inrreased
Government statistics were pre¬ sented by the committee "to prove that labor controversies have in¬ creased since passage of the act, and further that the intensity and form of such strikes-the sit-down and slow-down-have been such as to make it apparent that the act has not achieved success in main¬ taining stable industrial relations," The American Federation of Labor, meanwhile, renewed its at¬ tack on the labor board, ciiaiging that it is "bia,sed" and asking that the present three-man board be replaced by a five-man board with sharply  curtailed  powers.
The Congre.ss for Industrial Organizations countered by prais¬ ing the act as "one of the great¬ est achievements for organized labor" and asked amendments to provide criminal penalties for vio¬ lations   of   the   act.
The House lommittee invcsligat- mg   the   labor   board   centered   its (Continued on Page A-11)
No Provisions for Trade with U.S. When Pact Expires
Tokyo, Jan. 14. (Sunday)- (UP) - Ihe cabinet of Gen. Nobuyuki Abe resigned today.
General Abe submitted his resig¬ nation to Emperor Hirohito at the royal palace. The cabinet crisis came to ahead a few hours after I Prince Fuminaro Konoye had re¬ fused to form a new government.
The Emperor ordered Privy Seal Vuasa to consult with the elder statesman. Prince Kimmochi Saionji and submit recommendations for a new premier.
Dissatisfaction Is Cause
Abe retired from the palace and returned to the cabinet, which went into session at 9 a, m., to draft a statement explaining the resigna¬ tion.
The cabinet's asserted reason was that the recent decision to support a Chinese central government un¬ der Wang Ching Wei created a new situation in China which necessitated a strengthened gov¬ ernment at  home.
The actual reason, however, was the pressure of oppostion political parties and popular dissatisfaction with the Cabinets domestic pro¬ gram,
Konoye, who was premier before tlie Abe government took office, met late last night with Abe and War Minister Gen, Shunroku Hata but he refused to yield to the plead¬ ings of military, political and financial circles that he again head the government. Unfit to Fa«e Problems
Abe announced that he would submit his resignation this after¬ noon and after Konoye's refusal the search for a new premier was in¬ tensified,
Konoye said that his conscience would not permit him to accept the premiership.     He   said   he   lacked confidence   and   the   economic  and financial   knowledge   necessary   to handle successfully the problems of j the   present   and   future   political j situation.      Mere    popularity    and high birth were not helpful in solv- ' ing   problems   such   as   those   con¬ fronted by Japan, Konoye said.
Especial public atte"ntion was concentrated on the cabinet crisis because the Abe government is go¬ ing out of office without making provision for trade relations with the United States after Jan, 26, ! when the Japanese-American com- ' mercial treaty expires. The pact was renounced by the United States six months ago in protest against restrictions by the Japan¬ ese military on American trade In ciiina. Ends v. S, Trade Talks
The influential Tokyo newspaper Nichl emphasized that the cabinet crisis makes it impossible for United States Ambassador ,7oseph C. Crew to continue trade relations conversations with Foreign minis¬ ter Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura.
Nichi said that "Japan's Ameri¬ can policy must be re-examined and primed for a fresh start."
"Washington has Carte Blanche to proceed as she sees fit and whether or not to grant Japan the same treatment Japan has enjoyed hitherto," Nichi Nichi said, "After Jan. 26 there will no longer be any countries and the United States will be free to take any measures or impose any restrictions on Japanese-American relations. Con¬ sequently, the view has arisen that Japan's American policy must be re-examined and primed for a fresh start."
By REl EL S. MOOBE
London, Jan. 13. (UP)—Great Britain tonight claimed to have shown an improved air-defense, in¬ cluding aerial penetration of Austria and Bohemia to drop leaf¬ lets in the air- and sea war with Germany,
With some British sources still fearful that intensified German reconnaissance flights over Ihe British Isles foreshadow an im¬ pending aerial "blitzkreig," the de¬ velopments included:
1,—A sensational flight by Royal i Air Force planes last night over j Vienna and Prague, in addition to ; comparatively routine patrol and reconnaissance flights along the North Sea German coast r nd more deeply into northwestern Germany near Berlin, The olanes flying to Austrian and Czechoslovak terri¬ tory took off from France.
2.~Disclosure by tho admiralty that British planes had attacked and dropped bombs very close to three German destroyers In the North Sea on Thursday. German claims that one of the eight planes was brought down were oflicially denied.
Two Nazi Planes Downed
3.—A German plane was shot down with loss ot three men and capture of an otiicer off the Firth of Forth naval base in Scotland. The crew of a steamship arrivin;> from the North Sea confirmed that another German plane was shot down  yesterday  at  sea.
*.—Seamen reaching port reveal¬ ed continued German aerial at¬ tacks on trawlers and small coastal vessels, whose crews are now de¬ manding defensive armor and guns. About six vessels, most of them small, have been sunk and many others damaged by such attacks in   the   last   two   weeks,
S.—A dispatch from Copenhagen said that the Danish motor tanker Denmark, 16,400 tons, was report¬ ed by the press to have exploded at «ea. The ship was carrying gasoline but reason for the explo¬ sion was uncertain. The crew was saved.
The air ministry announcement regarding the flights over German territory revealed perhaps the deepest penetration yet made by British planes. Only One German Raid
There was much aerial activity reported today but it developed that only one German aerial raid occurred in the forenoon, when th^ German bomber was shot down off the Firth of Forth.
The craft, the air ministry an¬ nounced, was shot down by a Brit¬ ish patrol airplane. It was under¬ stood the engagement occurred not j far from shore, A German officer ; from the plane was later picked up by a launch. Three crew men were lost, I
There were many other reports | of %ctivlty but they appeared due ; largely to confusion.
Three planes were sighted off the Norfolk coast and were believed at first to be German. Later they were identified by three British pursuit planes as British craft, one of whicli was laying down a long smoke screen, j
Fly Over Gennany
With Ro.val .^ir Force, in France, ,Tan. 13,—Flying at high altitude in bitter cold, the British pilots had great difficulty with ice conditions ' before they returned safely from Vienna and officials said there were no casualties and there were no planes damaged by either anti-air¬ craft guns or machincgun bullets —indicating that no serious oppo- ' sition was encountered.
One    plane    was    caught    In    a I searchlight   beam   near   Frankfurt on  the  return  trip, but escaped.
The planes had split into two sections on their flight, one going to Vienna and one to Prague, Soon after leaving French lerritory the pilots sighted towns ablaze with ' (Continued on  Page A-10)
By REYNOLDS PA( KABD
Rome, Jan. i.i. (UP) Foreign I Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano'a newspaper II Telrgrafo tonight confidently declared that Italy's navy controls the Mediterranian and that no nation - including Great Britain—can operate there without Italian  consent.
"No nation can today navigate the Mediterriinean a sen created by God for .submarine warfare - against the will of Italy," Editor Giovanni Ansaldo said in a front page editorial.
The editorial coincided with in¬ tense interest in Balkan develop¬ ments.
Italy has been active in Balkan neutrality negotiations but authori¬ tative sources clo.se to the govern¬ ment emphatically denied reports that Jugaslavia had agreed to per¬ mit Italian troops to march throui;h her territory to aid Hun¬ gary against any Russian attack. Deny Naval Request
This denial coincided with an official denial by the press ministry of reiiorts that Italy had asked Turkey for permission to estahli.sh two naval bases on the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, the reshuffling of Italy's diplomatic representative in Ihe Balkans appeared to be well underway with changes in the per¬ sonnel of ministerial posts in Hun¬ gary, Jugoslavia and Bulgaria al¬ ready announced and the transfer- of the Italian ambassador to Tur¬ key believed in authoritative quar¬ ters to be imminent.
I     B'oreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano's     brother-in-law,     Massimo j Mrtgi.-sliiitieto, WB-s ap|H)iiited lo the ' Bulgarian post and I'lemier Benito j Mussolini's   former   private   secre¬ try,   Giorgio  Mameli,  was   believed slated    for    the    Jugoslavian    job. There has been no hint aa to who j will  be  sent  to  Budapest,   but   in- ' formed circles believed the changes reflected Mussolini's desire to have close confidantes in the three Bal¬ kan po^ts. Another development which  for- i cign observers sought to fit into the i already  complicated Balkan  diplo¬ matic pattern was a report that the conference of the Balkan Entente - Greece,    Turkey,    Jugoslavia,    Ru¬ mania   had   been   postponed   from Feb. 2 to Feb. 23. To Aid Against Soviets
Belgrade had reported that the ajjrecinenl, which was said to apply only in case of a Soviet invasion of Hungary, was an outgrowth of ¦ last weekend's Venice talks between Ciano and Count Stephen Csaky, Hungarian foreign minister. Transit of Italian troops across Jugoslavia almost would be imperative it Italy wa.-i to be able to furnisli Hungary with telling military aid.
Foreign observers aiso pointed out the possibility that Italy might dispatch troops to Hungary by air¬ plane. This strategy was experi¬ mented with last spring during the Albanian war wiien 1,000 Italian Grenadiers were landed at the Tirana airport on the second day of hostilities.
Gains Reported BATTLES RAGING
Blames Fear of Soviet-Nazi Bloc; Warns Scandinavia
Uiilletiiis^
BELGIU.M RECALIJi TROOPS
Brussels,  Belgium,  Jan,  13   (UP) -The  Belgian  radio  tonight  an¬ nounced that all troops on leave must return to their units immediately. The   call  was  issued  after  the  government  had   admitted   taking "certain   defense  measures"   which   reliable  sources  said  meant  rein- I forcement along the German frontier,
Tho   recall  of  troops,  it  was  reliably  explained,  was  ordered  in I connection with the new defense measures.
An   authorized source  said  important  troop  movements would  be I carried out Sunday in which all units of the army will participate,
CZECH BEQlEHTS REGULATED ,
I        Berlin, Jan. 13 (UPi    Czechs in the Bohemia-Moravia protectorate I are forbidden to give nr bequeath any property to any Czech who has fled the country or who has had his citizenship revoked.
BBITIKH HALT RISSIAN SHIP
Hong Kong, Jan. 13 (UP>    Great Britain, inaugurating contraband control activities in the Honk Kong area. Intercepted the Russian steam- j ship Selenga today.  Naval  units stopped the ship and escorted it to 1 Hong Kong,
Moscow, Jan, 13 (UP)—Lenin¬ grad military headquarters tonight reported Ihat the Red Army had penetrated Finnish territory on five fronts, an official statement de¬ nounced as "childish lies" reports of Finnish military victories and the Soviet press reflected misgiv¬ ings that the war might spread to Scandinavia,
"This is an utter lie and a child¬ ish, witless laughable lie at that," the  statement  issued  by   the   I.*n-
I ingrad headquarters said of Hel¬ sinki announcements  that the Red
! Army 44th Division had been wiped out, French sources primarily were
, blamed for the "lie."'
I "It seems to us that only animal fear of the prospect of a military bloc between the Soviet Union and Germ.Tiiy could dictate , , , this senseless and fantastic lie," the statement added.
First Soviet Survey
In the first comprehensive Rus¬ sian survey of developments in the Finnish conflict since the start of the war, a long statement issued by the Leningrad headquarters and published by the official news agene.v said:
1. "i'hat the Red Army had ad¬ vanced 7,5 miles into Finland on the north central (Salla) front in the direction of Rovaniemi; 80 miles southward from the Arctic (Petsamoi Coast; six to nine miles in the direction of Suomussalmi on the mid-Finland (eastern) front; 42 miles on the Karelian (southeast) Isthmus front in the direction of Viborg (Viipurii; and ,"50 miles in the direction of Serdopola,
Claim 44th Division Safe
2. 'I'hal Finnish troops liad njvei broken through the Ruissian lines, that the 44tli Red Army Division had not been wiped out as reported at Helsinki and had suffered only 900 casualties; llial Finnish troops had never cro.ssed the Soviet fron¬ tier: that there had never been a single minute's interruption of trafiic on the Leniiigrad-Murnmnsk railroad; and that German officers had not come lo Russia to reor¬ ganize the Red Army.
3.- That Finnish troops lost 2,000 killed and wouniled on Ihe Suomus¬ salmi front alone and members of the "Finnish Schutzcorps" killed Finnish wounded to prevent them from giving information lo the Red Army; that the Finns had been favored by the weather but proved unable to take advantage of it.
Coincidentally with publication of the Leningrad's statement the Moscow press and radio put em¬ phasis on the increasingly bitter re¬ lations with Norway and Sweden.
THREE HOHI'ITAU/ED AFTER CRASH WITH TRK'K
Philadelphia, Jan, 13. Two men were held at Pennsylvania Hospi¬ tal toda.v and a third was discharg¬ ed after treatment for abrasions suffered when their automobile crashed into a bakery supply truck, rhe drivers ot both vehic¬ les face hearings today on assault and battery charges.
13 Killed, 71 Wounded; Capital Attacked
By WEBB .MILLEB
Helsinki, Finland, Jan. 13 (UP) - Soviet warplanes, plunging through cloudy skies, rained 500 bombs on objectives in southern Finland to¬ day, killing 13 persons and wound¬ ing 71,
The raids, tlie second series in two days, were directed at several cities including Helsinki, where two persons were killed and a score, including seven women, were injured.
The Finns reported that Soviet planes dropped 12 ISO-kilogram and three ,50-kilogram boinbs in the Espo territory north of Helsinki, where most of the foreign lega- , tions are now situated.
The staff of the American lega- I
1 tion at Bad Grankuila heard bomb i
explosions but saw none, it was re- |
ported. !
One of the bombs which fell here, ' the Finns said, struck a wall near a   hospital   and   sprayed   the   area with a yellow incendiary substance which  failed to do any damage,     |
Planes Shot Down
At least five and possibly 13 Rus¬ sian   planes   were   shot   down   in; southern Finland yesterday and to-1 dav ofilicial sources said. !
The nine Soviet planes which raided Helsinki today dropped bombs whirh struck in a hospital court yard and damaged about l.'i olher buildings. Officials said that the Hyvinkaa area, where many buildings were damaged, appeared (('ontinued  on  Page  A-10) i
Again Attempt To Turn Flank At Lake Ladoga
By EDWARD W. BEATTTE, Jl
(.'openhageu, Denmark, Jan, 13.- 1 UP)-Soviet Russia is throwini thousands of fresh troops agalnsi the Finns on three different fronts, Scandinavian pre.ss in dispatches reported tonight.
Helsinki reports to the news¬ paper National Tidendes said a great battle was developing in ths Koirinoy-Kitclae area north of Lake Ladoga, where two new Rus¬ .sian divisions were aiding forces already in the field.
The Soviet objective, apparently, is Sordavila on the north shore of the lake, the reports said, C::apture ot Sordavila would give the Reds their long sought opportunity to attempt a turning movement against the Finnish defense lines, 20,000 III Northern Drivo
Finns, moving through the woods north of the battle line, were at¬ tempting to cut Ru.s3ian communi¬ cations.
The same newspaper received dispatches reporting that the Rus¬ sians had started a drive south of Petsamo in the far north with 20,- 000 fresh soldiers, 30 tanks and 70 airplanes.
In the Salla sector of the north central front, according to Norwe¬ gian press reports, a violent battle was raging with two new Russian divisions, fully equipped for winter duty, reinforcing Soviet troops which earlier had met with re¬ verses.
The Russians are strongly based both in the Salla and Petsamo sectors and have 400.000 men and 2,000 field guns on the Karelian front in tho south, these reports said,
Scandinavian press reports snd an official communique at Hel¬ sinki said that Russian troops were threatening Finnish positions on the far northern front south of Petsamo, on the Salla sector of the north central front and on the southeastern front where a new attack at Alttojokl was repulsed coincidentally with the second day of severe aerial bombardment in South Finland, Near  Important Towns
The most important Red Army action was reported from the Salla sector, where the Finns earlier had smashed a Russian drive In¬ tended to connect with the ad¬ vance from the far north and eventually to cut Finland in two b.v capturing Rovaniemi and Tor- nio. on the Swedish frontier.
The newspaper Berlingske Aftenaviss at Stockholm said that fighting was reported 3.'5 milc# west of Salla and only 12 mile* from the important town of Kemi- jaervi, almost in mid-Finland, where the Finnish positions were threatened.
The dispatch Indicated that the Russians had received reinforce¬ ments after repairing the damaged Leningrad-Murmansk railroad, and were much further inside Finnish territory on the north central front than had been indicated re¬ cently, il Soviets Still  Artive ¦,
The Salla front Is one of th* most Important strategically and the Finns, after their early success there, had sought to make the Kcmi Valley a powerful defense line against a new attack. Thej^ had admitted however, that some Russian forces continued to oper¬ ate in the Salla salient even after (Continued on Page A-10)
Reveal Mystery 'Parachute Shell* To Trap Airplanes in Mesh of Steel
Washington, Jan. 13 (UP) De¬ velopment of a new mystery para¬ chute shell, which can^ trap air¬ planes in a mesh of steel cables almost five miles above the earth, was revealed tonight by high-rank¬ ing  military  experts.
The new shell, which was in¬ vented hy an unnamed American, iias found its way to France and is expected to be put into practical use against the Germans whenever the anticipated large scale air raids stnrt over England and the Western Front. lOHisI "It Works"
Officials, who explained that the secret weapon has heen known to tne U. S. Army for almost sis months, said that "it actually works so well" that it makes such anti-aircraft defenses as the bal¬ loon barrage, used by Great Britain look like a relic of the horse and buggy days.
The shell, described as of about six-inch calibre ami similar to reg¬ ular types except that it has an exceptionally long jacket, is f-red from guns in regular fashion. As it hurtles from the muzzle, il ri.ses as a regular projectile until it hits the  peak altitude.    At  that point,
tho   nose   of  the   shell   falls   away from  the  jacket,  pulling out hun¬ dreds of feet of steel tape, fastened to a parachute. No Plane Caa I'aas
The slowly drifting tape Is de¬ signed to foul propellors of any air¬ craft that may strike it. Officiale said that a rapid fire barrage ot these projectiles would make a net¬ work that no plane could paM through.
These experts said that the sheHs had an effective range up to 25,000 feet, high enough to wreck any ac¬ curacy in bombing raids. Allhougn definite details of the new shell were withheld on the grounds of milit.iry secrecy, it was learned that the "trick" in the new weapon ll in the winding of the tape. Hun¬ dreds of feet of steel cord are wound tightly in the elongated I jacket of the shell.
Dispatches from Euro¬ pean countries are now subject    to   censorship.
J