Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              SUSQUEHANNA WILL REACH CREST TODAY
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A Paper For The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Weather
Sunday;   Fair,   warmer. Monday: Cloudy, eeldar.
FIFTY-TWO PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1937
PRICE TEN CENTS
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CHINESE BEGIN GENERAL RETREAT BEFORE BITTEREST DRIVE OF WAR
RIVER RISES NEARLY 5 ft. IN 10 HOURS
Recent  Flood  Recalled  As
Creeks Leave Banks And
Boats Are Used Here
Hikers', Riders' Trail To Be Cut Along Mountain Top
Will Extend From Pittston To Glen Lyon On Both
Sides Of Valley And Cover 75 Miles; NYA And
Boy Scouts To Do Work; Scenic Points Reached
STREETS INUNDATED
Murky Water Served Called
Pure   By   Company;
Dikes Not Damaged
As weather observers kept an eye on the rising; Susquehanna River, Wyoming Valley last night shook Itself dry after an 18-hour torrential downpour that caused street floods in a dozen different towns. Hundreds of homes had flooded rellnrs but beyond the dis¬ comfort broughl by colder weather, authorities declared that compara¬ tively little property damage was done by the rain, the heaviest in years.
With flood waters draining from streets thst wer* impassable yes¬ terday morning, publir attention ti.med toward the Susnuehanna River but officiala gave the assur- lilg news thnt nn danger of the stream overflowing appeared im- minrnt. The river may reach a crest of 17 feet late today, accord¬ ing to information rereived hy River Observer ,Iohn Mirmak. Un¬ less there is more heavy rain, the stage will gradually drop from that   level,
lp Five Feet In Ten Houra In ten hours yesterday the river Jumped approximately five feel: At 7 a. m, the Market street guage read 2.96 feet. At 5 p. m. the stream had risen to 7.73 feet. This rate of rise, six inches an hour, may continue until the 17-foot stage is reached. Dozens of creeks were pouring a heavy volume of water into the Susquehanna, but conditions upstream appeared more favorable. Information received by Srranton Spring Brook Water Com¬ pany declared that at Towanda the rainfall, although heavy, was twenty-five percent less than here. During the slorm United States Army engineers made a tour of the Wesl Side flood dike while Wilkes- Barre officials watched conditions on the easl. The heavy downpour fniled lo cause any washouts along the newly constructed dike and none are expected, the engineers declared. On the city side of the river, the dike opposite Firwood withstood the storm, according to Mayor Charles N. I./Oveland and City Engineer Walter .lohns. Return To Normal Police nfficers were withdrawn late yesterday from flooded points In the city and suburban towns where they were assigned to take e»re of traffic. They declared that no families were forced to leave their homes. Public utility com¬ panies which suffered from the rain announced that all service had • Continued  on   Page   A-71
A trail 7.5 miles long, following the mountain tops on both sides of the river from Pittston to Glen Lyon, will be open soon to hikers. Boy Scouts, equestrians and flre fighters through the efforts of the Boy Scouts and NYA, according to Stanley Mesavage, director of for¬ estry acitivilies of the National Touth Administration. The trail will take in all scenic and his¬ torical points of interest in Wyo¬ ming Valley,
The plan which will be followed is to have NYA workers blAze the course of the trail and cut one-half of the area. Each Boy Scout troop in tha valley will have a certain section blhzed and marked by the NYA. Upon notification, the Scouts will hike to the trail and cul out their half. Before the Scouts start work, the NYA workers cut out one-half the area of each troop. Five-Foot Trails
Trails Will be cut five feet. In¬ flammable material will be piled! no less than 2« feet from the cen- j ter of the trail. Rabbit covers will be made from trail cuttings and. where possible, bird shelters will be constructed from the heaviest logs.
Stumps will be cut even with the ground    and    houlderi nnd    large ro^ks   removed,   an<i   overhanding j limbs will be trimmed. |
The project Is under the auper- j vision of the Wyoming Valley, Council nf Bny Scouts, with .John M, Hewitt, scout executive, in chnrge. Field supervision and pro¬ ject operation is in direct charge of Stanley Mesavage.
Project Approved
Martin Corbett, county project head of the National Youth Admin¬ istration, approved the project. As a result of the approval, Frank Shannon and Slanley Golembieski j were named assistant project heads in the Nanticoke area. i
The Wyoming Valley Council of, Boy Scouts will be divided into dis- i tricts. The districts and their field ! executives are: Plymouth, Michael i Bochnik:   Nanticoke.  Thomas  Gay.
Glen Lyon, and Nick Sinco, Nan¬ ticoke; South Wilkes-Barre, Joseph Kisslo; Norlh Wilkes-Barre, Edgar Plummer; Wesl Side, Michnei Repa, and Pittston, Thomas P. Hoover.
The entire course of the trail in the Nantipoke area is blazed and ready for development by the Scouts. One-half of the develop¬ ment will be done by the following troops and scoutmasters: 374, Glen Lyon, George Kowalchick: 404, Nanticoke, Herbert N. Oliver; 38.3, Hunlock's Creek, Douglas E. Chris- ter; ,373, Glen Lyon, Steve Lerda; 407, Nanticoke, William Stryak; 403, Nanticoke, Elmer Lohman; 405, Nanticoke, Frank Thim.
NYA Workers Started
Edmund Hilinski Is the NYA trail foreman in charge of this area. At present, NYA workers are cutting their half. Workers were furnished through the Nanticoke office of the  NYA.
Joseph Toluba is in charge of the North Wilkes-Barre area. Troops 10, 12, 22, 30, 32 and 191 will work here. Their scoutmasters are Joseph Bodek, David Carpenter, William Devine, Charles H. S. Hoch, Arthus Kuschke and Bryre Honeywell. Five of the federal workers are employed in this sec¬ tion.
Stanley Samborski of Nanticoke is hending the workers in the South W'ilkes-Barre district. Troops 27, 41, 43 .V") and ."ifl of Wilkes- Barre arc working in the Penob¬ scot region. Scoutmasters are Wil¬ liam Williams, Walter Hooper, Phillip R. Miller, Fred V, Kraft and Arthur Gebhart.
In the Wyoming Mountain sec¬ tion, the following troops and scoutmasters are working: 502, Mountain, Homer A. Swartmorc; 13, Wilkes-Barre, Donald T. Ross; 24, Wilkes-B.irrn, Charles .\. Richards: 51 Wilkes-Barre, Russel Williams; 101, Ashley, WilliRni Hawke.
Walter Zabeloski of Nanticoke is leader in the Plymouth district. Joseph .Shandra nf Pittston and John Cor.^y nf Wyoniing will be in charee of the West Pittston area on   Wesl   Pitt'ton  MoiintRJn.
LOYALISTS,, REPAIR OWN RAVAGINGS
.60.000 Captured Defenders
Put To Work By Franco
After Fall Of Gijon
RICH BOOTY TAKEN
Water Brought By Boat To Japanese Soldiers In Shanghai
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Valuable  War  Stores  Are Found;   Asturian   'Dic¬ tator' Reaches France
CHASE SAFECRACKER AT 1st PRESBYTERIAN
Routed By Attendant; Bur¬ glar Chased With Pistol From Kingston Home
HOLDUP IN CITY
A safecracker who attempted to rob one of Wilkes-Barre's central city churches and a burglar who fled under gunfire were being sought early today by police after a brief wave of banditry occurred here. At the aame time Pennsylva¬ nia Motor Police sent out a broad¬ cast for two armed men who held up a chain grocery atore at Nan¬ ticoke.    Later,   an   armed   holdup
was  staged  in  Wilkes-Barre.
The attempted safe cracking oc¬ curred last night shortly after 8 oclock at the First Presbyterian church, corner of Soulh Franklin and Northampton streets, city. A Negro attendant entered the office attached to the churoh and discov¬ ered a man kneeling in front of the safe.
The cracksman already had knocked the handles off the strong box. On the floor about him were heavy tools he had been using. The sexton shouted at the robber and the latter dashed out of a door leading lo Northampton street. He was soon lost in the darkness. Chief of Police Russell Taylor personally took charge of the search for the robber.
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Arrest Crew After A Voyage Which Had Strikes, Desertions And Murder
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Baltimore, Md., Ocl. 23. (UP) Federal marshals tonight took into custody 14 members of the crew of the government-owned freighter Algic, charging them with con¬ spiracy to disobey  the  captain.
Warrants were issued against 18 of the crew, including four who deserted during a South American ^n.vage marked with three sit- down strikes, one murder, one drowning. Authorities tonight con¬ templated no action In an attempt to locate the four missing.
The 14 were taken to the office Of U, S. Commissioner James K. Pullen, who set bail at $1,000 each. None furnished bail and all are Ming held in the city jail for hearing   November  2.
A federal marshal wenl aboard the Algic as it was in drydock preparing to leave the harbor. The »hlp sailed with the marshal ahoard "Ut returned lo the pier and set lhe  marshal  and the men  ashore.
The charge placed against the men conspiracy to disobey the Paptaln—was considered a technical ohsrge,  nol  as  serious  as  mutiny.
U 8. nistrlrf Attorney Bernard J-   Flynn    ordered    the    warrant*
served after the matler was re¬ ferred to him by a special federal board of Inquiry which investigated the case. The board stated that the charges were too grave for its consideration and asked the De¬ partment of Justice to take appro¬ priate action.
Captain   Testiflen
The seamen were represented during the hearings by attorneys for the Committee for Industrial Organization and the National Maritime Union.
The vessel's captain, Joseph Gainard, testified that the sit-down strikes were called in an attempt to force him and olher officers to join the Masters, Mates and Pilots Association,  a  C.  I.  O.  affiliate.
Ship's officers told the board that one member of the crew waa slain In a fight in a waterfront estab¬ lishment at Jacksonville, Fla., and that another waa drowned attempt¬ ing   to  desert  at  Victoria,   Brazil.
Gainard said a sit-down strike called at Montevideo, Uruguay, was ended only after he received in¬ structions from Washingtnn to place the men in Irons If thty did not go back to work.
Kingston Burglar Chased
Police carly 'today were seeking a burglar who escaped under gun¬ fire after attempting to enter the home of William Morgan al 611 Gibson street, Kingston. The man escaped by jumping into an auto¬ mobile occupied by two accom¬ plices.
Morgan, an employee of Wilkes- Barre Railway Company told police be was awakened by a noise down¬ stairs shortly after midnight. In¬ vestigating, he discovered the bur¬ glar crawling Ihrough a rear window.
Racing back upstairs, Morgan se¬ cured a revolver but by this time the intruder had given up the at¬ tempt and ran to an automobile parked at the curb. Morgan fired twice al the automobile bul the car disappeared.
Rob Nickle Machines
House Detective Shupna of Hotel Sterling arrested two young men of Plains at 11:25 lasl night for breaking and robbing nickel pin- ball machines in the hotel. Officers Gainard and Bayer of the city police assisted in the arre«l and re¬ manded the thievjs in the city jail after each was questioned by Wilkes-Barre detectives.
The thieves, John Watklns, aged 23, of 47 Sara street. Plains, and George Kingers, aged 23, nf 3 River street. Plains, were caught break¬ ing open the door of the machines (Continued  on Page  A-6)
Gijon, Oct. 23. (UP)—Thousands of captured Spanish Loyalist troops, who 48 hours ago were blowing up bridges and tearing up roads, were repairing the same lines of com¬ munications today which they de¬ stroyed to impede Gen. Francisco Franco's advance on Gijon.
As rapidly as the pri.soners, esti¬ mated to number 60,000, were rounded up and segregated they were organized into road gangs and sent out lo repair damage and clean away the war debris to facilitate the transportation of sup plies.
Franco's troops beginning the work of mopping up Asturian prov¬ ince reported thnt the remnants of governmeni militia still were sur¬ rendering in the various mining valleys.
Rirh Booty Found After months of privation the civilian populalion of Gijon and Oviedo cheered today as long col¬ umns of molor trucks brought foodstuffs. Franco sent the steamer Pasajes fi^m Santander wilh 3,CKX) tons of sugar, bread, coffee and vegetables.
Troops   distributed   the   food   in ; Gijon and Oviedo but gave  larger allow,ince    to    the    populalion    of, Oviedo.   which   had   stood   by   the Nalionnlists  through  15 months  of continuous siege. t
N.Ttinnalist war booty, captured after the collapse of the Loyalist [ army, proved richer than expected and will considerably bolster the Nationalist forces on the Aragon and Madrid  fronis.
Franco's supply of shells will be increased appreciably as a result of the discovery that the Trubia shell fnctory and the La Vega arms factory were not greatly damaged. Engineers were working on the factories at Caves, Lugones, Man- joya  and  Arnan.
Capture War IMachinery The captured equipment Included 32 Russian light tanks. Franco was expected tn be ahle to repair and remove to other fronts al least 40 tanks, 140 pieces of artil¬ lery, 450 machine guns and 80,000 rifles.
Seventy motor fishing boats, which fleeing government officials lefl behind because they were con¬ sidered unsafe, were discovered in the harbor at Musel, where the government destroyer Ciscar and the submarine B6 were sunk. The destroyer was not completely sub¬ merged and may possibly be re¬ paired.
Near    Oviedo    the     Nationalists found a Loyalist barracks contaln- (Contlnued   on   Page   A-9>
Wilh big guns smashing at I non-combatants alike is that of Shanghai and aerial bombs raining securing uncontaminaled drinking on the city, one of the most diffi- j water. Here are Japanese soldiers cult   problems   for  militarists   and | receiving   their   rations   of   water
brought to them by a Japanese ship from outside the city. The lack of good water haa aided plagues.
JAPANESE ADVANCING UPON CITY
Bodies Strew Battle Front
After Terrific Bombing
By Planes And Navy
ONE MILE AWAY
Invaders  Ready  For  Final
Push As Chinese Rush
New Line Of Defense
UNABLE TO SERVE WILLIAMS WARRANT
City Councilman Faced With Criminal   Charges   Re¬ ported Out Of Town
LINING UP WITNESSES
Councilman Tom E. Williams, di¬ rector of streets and public im¬ provements in the City of Wilkes- Barre, had not been located last night by a constable seeking to arrest him on two warrants charg¬ ing misbehavior and conspiracy as head of the slrcet department. Meanwhile, seven witnesses, names nol divulged, were served with subpoenaes to appear tomorrow night when the charges against Williams will be heard by Alder¬ man James Caverly of the Four¬ teenth ward. Eight more witnesses, whose identity also was kept secret, are to be summoned.
The charges on which Williams' arrest is asked were filed hy Councilman John Nobel. The crim¬ inal action brought nearer a show¬ down on the allegations that Williams used city employees on cily time to make improvements and repairs to his home in Soulh Wilkes-Barre al the expense of taxpayers. Originally filed lasl .Tuly at a Council meeting but ignored by other eity officials al that time, the charges are scheduled to be brought out into the open again with all details revealed,
Williams  Out   of   Town
Alderman Caverly last night at 8 oclock declared that Constable Frank Morio had visited Williams' office in Cily Hall and alao went to the councilman's home in an effort to serve the two warrants. Al neither place was Williams found,   neighbors   later   explaining
Wyoming Youth Gets A Winner
John Gaydos, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs, James Carey of 26 West Fourth street, Wyoming, a confirmed sweepstakes player, scraped together nickels and dimes for the $2.60 price of a licket after his twin brother refused lo go half-and-half, and lasl night became the valley's only winner in the Irish Sweep- .stakes. according to word re¬ ceived here. A telegram in¬ formed him he had drawn a prize fnr 100 pounds, slightly less than $500.
Young Gaydos started work three weeks ago on his first job, with the Gates Foundry Company of Wilkes-Barre, help¬ ing install stokers. He has a hobby of building small wooden fences, like those around Christ¬ mas trees, and said lasl night if the money comes through he will consider going into the fence-building business on a larger scale.
LABOR LEADERS GIVE PLEDGE TO TRUCE
Roosevelt May Intervene If
C.I.O. And A. F. Of L.
Fail To Agree
ASSEMBLE MONDAY
NANTICOKE A &. P. STORE IS ROBBED
The A. & P. store at the corner of Market and Ridge streets, Nan¬ ticoke. was entered by two young men al 9:30 last night and robbed of a considernble amount of money. The clerk in charge, making ready to dose for the evening, wns held up at the point of a gun by lhe bandits while they emptied the cash register and made good their escape.
Police received a good descrip¬ tion of the robbers and sent a tele¬ type to Motor Police and other en¬ forcement agencies of the valley.
The one bandidt, presumably the leader, about 30 years old, black eyes, dark complexion, slender build and five feel six inches tall, carried a snub-nosed revolver. Hc wore a black felt hat and long black over¬ coat. During the commission of the robbery he held a handkerchief over his face.
His assistant is described as a man of about the same age. med¬ ium   build,   6   feet   10   Inches   In
height, hf^avy heard, dark com¬ plexion. Both are alleged to have escaped In a dark automobile.
"DR. DOVE OF HELL'S  FORK"
By PETER SIN EX
Here's another short serial written especially for the Sunday Independent. Start it loday on page A-24. It's a sparkling story of life in the Kentucky hills -a slory of a surgeon who went there to forget the past. But Dr. Dove's plans went awry when he met the lovely Erin Lake, Chicago heiress, who was there doing social service work. Their romance i* as refreshing as a Blue Orasa dawn.
the Williams family was nut of the city. The alderman said that no effort will be made to com¬ municate with the official tod.iy bul that tomorrow morning the constable will again seek Williams lo make personal aervice.
With VVilliams absent, interest In the case swung toward the fifteen witnesses whose names will not be revealed until tomorrow night's hearing. Attorney Abram Salsburg, representing Nobel, declared that their identity will be carefully pro¬ tected until the hearing opens at 7 oclock. Practically all, it was hinte(\ are employees of the city. Witnesses  Kept  Secret
The name of only one witness, that of John Mailander, was con¬ tained in the warrants prepared under direction of Attorney Sals¬ burg, The documents, however, claim wages were paid to "various persons, including Mailander, for work and labor done in and for the City of Wilkes-Barre."
The case is expected to be bit¬ terly fought by Williams and other city officials, who have disagreed with Nohel as to procedure since the first day the charges were pub¬ licly announced al council meeting. Mayor Loveland at one lime re¬ quested that Nobel supply city council with the facts of the alleged offenses and the names of the city employees supposed to have work¬ ed at Williams' home. Nobel, on advice of Attorney Salsburg, re¬ fused and when city council failed to set a date for a hearing, he pro¬ ceeded wilh the Issuance of the warrants  yesterday.
Conspira<-y Charged
On the charge of conspiracy, the warrant reads:
"That on the 17th day of July, 19.37 , , . Tom E. Williams did then and there unlawfully, falsely and maliciously conspire, confederate and agree with John Mailander, Richard Doe John Doe and divers other persons ... to do a certain (Continued  on  Page  A-8)
Washington, Oct, 23. (UP)- Labor leaders tonight pledged themselves to make a sincere and wholehearted effort to cement a truce between the warring Ameri¬ ran Federation of Labor and the Committee for Industrial Organiza¬ tion.
Representatives of bolh the CIO and the Federation, assembling here for Monday's peace confer¬ ence, agreed that unity was essen¬ tial to the workers' movement. Eaih group emphasized willingness to meet the other half-way. President   May   Int<'rvene
At the same lime, a responsible White House source indicated Mr. Roosevelt may interevene person¬ ally, through some form of mes¬ sage, if the conference appears to be making progress but needs ad¬ ditional   impetus.
During the initial stages of nego¬ tiations, however, bolh the Chief Executive and his Secretary of I^bor, Frances Perkins, will re¬ frain from any action.
George M. Harrison, chairman of the A. F. of L. committee of three which will meet with ten CIO delegates, told the United Press as he entrained al Cincinnati: "I am going to this meeting with an open mind and sincere desire to effect a   settlement."
Harrison intimated belief that peace could not be achieved im¬ medialely but said: "We are anx¬ ious lo exchange ideas with the Committee for Industrial Organiza¬ tion and we are going to ask them to  speak   their   minds."
Indications   the   CIO   would   en- (Continued   nn   Page   A-9i
Shanghai, Oct. 24, Sunday. (UP) —The Japanese naval command announced laconically today, after the bitlerest battle for possession of the city since the undeclared war began, that Chinese troops had begun a general retreat from their front  line  positions.
The one-sentence statement cam* a« a heavy pall of fog and smoks hung over battle fronts strewn with hundreds of dead and dying ms a result of tht terrific artillery bombardments and. Infantry duds of the night.
¦ -.'ni«.Cbinese city government ad¬ mitted several Japanese advances in various sections of the Shang¬ hai area. A one-kilometre advance was conceded at Tazang, placing the Japanese forces less than in mile from the town. At Nanziag, the .Japanese were said to hava advanced 600 meters from the vii- lage of CHien Chiahong, Tha Chinese claimed still to hold Kwengfu although the Nipponese captured several nearby villages. Planes  Attacl<  Constantly
Japanese planes look an import* ant part in the fierce all night engagement. In the western sec tor bombs dropped continually on the Chungshan, Rubicon and Moii- umenl roads south of Soochow Creek. The Japanese planes spo¬ radically power dived, spraying machine-gun bullets in an ap¬ parent attempt to disorgani»« Chinese  forces crossing  the  creek.
The bombs set several  fires.
Throughout the night Japanese guns thundered and wave after wave of infantry assaults wer« launched as the Japanese sought to deal a decisive blow to the de¬ fenders of Shanghai, whom for¬ eign military observers did not be¬ lieve could hold out much longer under such   punishment.
Battleship   Guns   Thunder
Along the Yangtze River th» Japanese battleships spit fire all night as their enormous shells thundered down on the (!^ine»e positions, starting new fires and rocking the earth.
Chinese snipers filtered through the darkness in the Hongkew ares and were harrassing the Japanese rear on the Chapei front, .Tapanes* machine gunners replied furiously.
Thousands of foreigners and refugee Chinese in the Interna¬ tional Settlement crouched in fear throughout the night as Japanese air squadrons raced over the varl« ous fronis keeping up a steady bombardment.
<'olIap»e  Feared
A Japanese military spokesmaa claimed that the Japanese tnfantfy had captured "various key points on the Shanghai front" and to¬ day virtually was ready for a gen¬ eral advance. The Chinese were huilding new lines of defense from the northwestern suburb of Chenju tn the south bank of Woosung Creek, Japanese aviators reported.
Foreign    military   observers   ex* I Continued   on   Page   A-«>
Sugar Notch Man, City Junk Dealer A rrestedFor Theft Of Railroad Brass
Charged with taking brass from journal boxes of Jersey Central trains In the Wanamie yards, Michale Riley, 115 Hemlock streel. Sugar Notch, furnished $1,000 bail last night before Justice Howell Evans of Wyoming for his appear¬ ance  in criminal court later.
Along with the arrest of Riley, James Elias, a junk dealer of 11 Lloyd's lane, Wilkea-Barre, was charged hefof the same justice with having received the stolen brass. He, too, was placed under bond amounting to $1,000,
Both men were taken into cus¬ tody yesterday afternoon hy <!!or- poral Leo Pope, State Police, and
Sergeant George Koch, of the JeP« sey Central police department. They entered pleas of not guilty, Riley's bond was supplied by his father, Michael C. Riley, and Elias' by 1.^0 Milizzl of Pillslon.
According to the testimony of the police officers, brass valued to the extent of several hundred dollars was taken on September 1* and sold several days later.
Sergeant Korh claimed that the taking of brass was a dangrrous practice which unless broken \xp might resull in a serious wreck.
Elias was represented before Jue* ttce Evans by Attorney Patrlek Flannery of Pittston.