Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

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SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
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33RD YEAR, NO. 37-^5 PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1939
PRICE TEN CENTS
Fall of Saarbruecken Is Predicted
GREAT BRITAIN WORKS ON PACTS WITH RUSSIA, TURKEY ANU JAPAN
FRENCH ON THREE SIDES OF NAZI INDUSTRIAL CITY
Bulletins
Counter Attack Is Awaited and Belgians Move Troops To Dutch Border; Artillery Active
By HAROLD ETTMNGER
Paii.i, .Sept. .30. (UP)—The early fall of the important indus¬ trial city of Saarbruecken to the Frenrh wa.^ forecast in official circlvs tonight as the fir.Nt month of European warfaic ended with the Allied powers united firmly again.'t accc|)tance of Nazi-Soviet peace proposals.
Heavy German artillery lire "in the region immediately east of the Moselle River" in reprisal for French bombardments along the Luxembourg border, was announc- % »d by War Communique No. 54, is¬ sued tonight.
Both Allied and German war planes were engaged in "strong ac¬ tivity" over the front, the com- .munique said. In London, it was announced that Royal Air Force planes had engaged in a dog fight with German planes over the Rhineland. Expert German Attark
Nazi forces were believed by f French offlcials to be preparing for ' a strong counter-attack between Saarbruecken and Wissembourg in an effort to regain some of the ground lost so far on the Rhine- land front. Heavy Nazi artillery flre was reported from that sector.
But officials said that Saar¬ bruecken, already evacuated by German civilians, was now sur¬ rounded In force on three sides.
"It will unquestionably be difBcult for   the   Germans   to   keep   Saar¬ bruecken   inside   their   lines   long," one military source said. forecast Neutral Invasion
The French press rontinued to forecast a German offensive through neutral countries—prob- > ably Belgium and Holland -as a re¬ sult of rejection of Adolf Hitler's peace terms.
Although German officials hsve repeatedly scoffed at such reports, tht Paris Soir In a dispatch from Luxembourg said:
"We learn that Belgian troop.t stationed on the French frontier have left their positions nnd are being urgently moved to northern Belgium, near Holland.
".'?oldlers are building new de¬ fense works along the Albert Canal and along the Demer River. Gen¬ erally well-informed circles are seriously disturbed." J)sladler, Oainelln Confer
Previously there had been re¬ peated reports of Nazi troop oon- pentratlons opposite fhe Dutch and Belgian frontiers. The small na¬ tions denied the reports on several occasions.
Premier  Edouard  Daladier  con-
¦   '""tl with Gen. Maurice Gamelin.
r    chlff of staff, and olher land, aeri.il
and sea high commanders through-
lut the day.
Both sides have suffered onlv minor losses on the Rhlneland front as compared to French esti¬ mates that Germanv incurred l.'SO.- 'JM casualties In the Polish war. fjermany has lost 14 planes on the * vyestern Front, while the Freneh j-laimed that Allied losses had been ^«« than half that number in the Rhlneland. (In Berlin, the .Nazis WW a total of 24 Allied planes had Men shot down since the war «»rted, most of them off thc north ''erman coast.)
Poles' New President Selects Government
Paris, Sept. 30. (UP)—Wladyslav Racikiewicz, lawyer and soldier, who organized Polish youth to fight for independence a quarter of a century ago, became president of the fallen republic tonight.
He   Immediately   formed   a   new
Kovernment,    headed    by    General
I Wladislas     Sikorski     as     premier,
which   will   carry   on   the   nation's
new    war    for    independence    on
i French soil.
Raczklewicz succeeds Ignacy Mo¬ scicki, whose resignation was sent here from Prince Nicholas' hunting lodge near Vikas, Rumania, where he fled to escape the German in¬ vasion.
Sikorski, who also will hold the portfolio of minister of military affairs, replaces General Felicjan Siawoj-Skladowski, who also is interned in Rumania. His cabinet includes:
.Senator Auguste Zaieski, as for¬ eign minister, succeeding Col. Josef Beck; Col. Adam Koc, former finance undersecretary, as finance minister, and Stanislaw Stronsky as vice-premier without portfolio. Three other ministers -one each from   the   Socialist.   Populist   and
, National  Workers  parties—will  be
named later. I Waa Senate President i
Raczklewicz formerly was presi- I dent ot the Polish senate and is a former minister of the interior, most recentl.v serving as governor of Pomorze. the Polish corridor di.s¬ trict. Moscicki named him as his eventual successor in a decree signed Sept. 17, when the govern¬ ment was established provisionally at Kuty. Mosciciki's resignaton was dated today.
The new president took the oath at the Polish embassy here in thc presence     ot     Ambassador     Jules I Lukaciewicz,   .Sikorski,   Koc,   Gen- j eral  Burkhardt  Bukacki,  chief   of ' the   Polish   military   mission    ac¬ credited to the French general staff i and Stanislaw Lepkowski, chief of I the civilian chancellery presidency. j     Lukaciewicz immediately inform- ! ed Champetier Deribes, French un¬ dersecretary   of   state   for   foreign affairs, of the formation of a new government. Paris was  understood to    have    speeded    up    the    rolish action in order to outstrip any pos¬ sible German  plan  to form  a pup¬ pet   state   with   a   government   at Warsaw. i
Na«l« Claim Air VIctorleia
Berlin, Sept. 30. (UP)—The German high command an¬ nounced tonight that Nazi pur¬ suit planes had shot down one French and seven British air¬ craft during the day.
German fighting craft and anti-aircraft guns in the first month of the war, the an¬ nouncement said, have shot down 37 French and 27 British planes.
German chasers encountered British bombers over the North Sea this morning, the an¬ nouncement said, and shot down two  of them.
On the Western Front, Nazi pursuit craft shot down five British planes over German territory near Saarbruecken and one French plane in the neighborhood of Bitche, it was claimed.
An earlier communique had announced that five British warplanes were shot down yes¬ terday in an attempted raid on the German North Sea coast.
Hitler to Make Last Peace Bid
Fuehrer Still Standing on His Ov^n Terms
COUNT ON RUSSIA
Alternative to Be War with Every Means at Command
British Deny
London, Oct. 1. fSunday> (UP)—The British radio said today that German reports of British aerial losses were un- comfirmed. The broadcast add¬ ed that practically all air fights in the war to date had taken place over German soil and Ihat the enemy had suffered substantial losses.
Europe Choosing War
Bjr UNITED PRESS
Europe choo.ses fhis week between a peace based upon the conquest of Poland and a war which threatens to be the most terrible the world has ever known.
Every indication today, as the war between Germany and the British and French allies entered its second month, was that the choice would not be for peace.
What chance there was that peace would prevail was based upon the joint demand by (Jermany and Russia, her new economic and moral ally, that France and Britain accept the conquest of Poland as a fait accompli and cea.se hostilities with the understanding that (Jermany and Russia henceforth would be supreme in Eastern Kurope.
Rejection of such a peace bid, Germany has strongly hinted, would result in the most intensive submarine and aerial warfare in history, directed against allied merchant and naval vessels and against industrial and military objec¬ tives on land. Bolstering their as.sertions of superiority in the air, the Nazis claimed that they had already shot down 37 French and 27 British planes.
Chamberlain to Voice Rejection
Whether the Germans would undertake a land offensive against the French Maginot Line, risking the mass slaughter such a drive would entail, was a matter of conjecture.   In
British Plan Purcliases From Soviet
Turks Want Arms And Agreement on Mutual Assistance
MAKE ONE PROVISION
re.'ouice at his command
In a series of swift moves fol¬ lowing up the new Nazi-Soviet demand for peace backed by a hint of united military action, the Nazi Fuehrer:—
CONNELL, TOREK  MAN NEAR DEATH; ARE TO SUCCEED  HIT-RUN VICTIM BOWEN, COUGHLIN ON PLAINS ROAD
To Get Posts in Institution District When Injunction Lifts
Daniel J. Connell of Pittston, chairman of the Democratic com¬ mittee of the Third district and for many years active in the poli¬ tical life of the Pittston area, and Attorney Peter Turek of Glen Lyon, for twelve years a member of the old Central Poor District, will be the successors to Robert W. Bowen and Attorney Robert Law¬ rence Coughlin in their respective positions of superintendent and solicitor for the Luzerne County Institution District, when and If the injunction proceedings Initiated by Republicans to prevent dis¬ charges are dismissied by President Judge Benjamin  R.  Jones.
Announcement the early part of the week that Democratic leaders had agreed upon the decapitation of Bowen and Coughlin caused friends of the latter to try to pre¬ vent execution of the proceedings, h.v starting injunction proceedings. Messrs. Bowen and Coughlin hold the two best jobs in the institution setup, the former receiving a sal¬ ary of $5,200 a year and the latter $2,400.
Haa Bren District Auditor
Mr. Connell fills about the same role  in  Democratic politics in Up¬ per  Luzerne  that  Mr.  Bowen  has (Continued  on  Page  A-11)
Duce Puts Blackshirts in Army; Points Again to Peace Speech
Rome, .Sept. 80. (UP)-Premier i Benito Mussolini received a group "f Genoa Fascist leaders at the Venice Palace tonight and told wm 142 battalions of the Black- •nirt Mililla would be Incorporated ' M an organic part of the Italian army. i
Mussolini   said   that   Blackshirts | ™'"K   the   Italian   army   would' ¦ MJ   V "'* '"'"<1» uniting the armv ."" "le militia, both of which are •"trusted    With    defense    of    the '•therland.
'n Todag'a Issue
KdltorUl
''la»«lfled
Movies
Pontic,
Story
'Sports r
Social J
 C-l
 B—ll
 A—19
 C—2
 B—It
 B—I
 A—16
 -..JB—11
(The Italian forces under arma have been estimated at close to a million men.)
He praised Fascist women for the aid they have given families of reservists called to the colors but he did not mention the international situation directly. Point* to Peace Spread
Fascist leadera, he said, should remember his speech last week end in which he said Italy would work silently for peace in Europe.
A huge crowd formed in the square below Venice Palace and cheered the premier when he ap¬ peared on a balcony and gave the Fascist salute.
A decree issued by the navy min¬ istry tonight dissolved a division of training ships attached to the naval academy. The training flag¬ ship Vespucci will become flagship of a regular naval division under Admiral Angelo Jacbino.
j    Four Such Cases, One Fatal, Reported In Twenty-Eight Hours   ^
Evidently a victim of a hit-and- run driver, a Plains Township man, found unconscious last niglil short¬ ly before ten oclock along Xorth ' Main street, Hilldale section of Plains, was identified later by papers   in   his   pockets   aa  Michael
I Konsevich, 60, of May street, that town, employed at .^18 North Main street, city. |
At   General   Hospital,   where   he j was  taken,   his  condition  was  re-
! ported   serious  and  he  Is  not  ex-
; pected to live.
Fourth  In  Brief Time
Konsevich was the fourth victim of hit-and-run drivers here within 28 hours. A Nanticoke man was killed early yesterday morning, an¬ other was injured at Duryea last j night, while a Wilkcs-Barre youngster was believed seriously Injured in another accident. i
Thc victim of the Plains accident was four.d lying on the roadway by Blease Jania of 308 River street, | Plains. Edward WroblewskI of Dur»yea, an employee of the county prison, came along a few minutes later and both assisted Patrolmen Gustave and Muczynski of Plains police to remove him to the hos¬ pital. Privates G. E. Hanna and J. J. Grace of State Motor Police jointed in investigating the acci¬ dent. ! Efforts lo revive the man were to no avail at a late hour. Wilkes- Barre police aided in establishment of his identity by checking the two addresses found on papers in his  pocket.
Killed In Sheatown
Police late last night had not apprehended a hit-and-run motor¬ ist who ran down a Sheatown. Newport Township, man early yes¬ terday morning, injuring him fatal¬ ly. The victim was William Frank, 47, of 87 Roberts street, and he was struck on the Hanover high¬ way, connecting thc village to Middle Road. The stretch is poor¬ ly lighted and a heavy rainstorm may have blurred the view of the driver of the death  car.
Funeral services for Frank will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2;30 oclock from the home of his niece, 87 Roberts street, with interment in the Lithuanian Independent Ceme¬ tery, Nanticoke.
Anthony Harwell of Moosic Road, Old Forge, was struck by a hit-and- run driver on Main street at EIni street, Duryea, last night at 9;30 (Continued on Page A-11)
Danish Ships Taken
Copenhagen, Sept. .^0. (UP) — Three Danish ships were halt¬ ed la.st night and taken to a German port for search, It was disclosed today.
The   ships—the   Rota.   Diana and   Margrethe- all   had   car¬ goes of farm products destined for  England. Dutch Airlines to Resume
Amsterdam, .Sept. 30. (UP)— The KLM-Royal Dutch Airlines expect to resume .service to London in the near future but for the time being, It was an¬ nounced, the Amsterdam-Berlin and Amsterdam-Paris flights Will  be  discontinued.
A KLM plane was fired upon earlier in the week enroute from Denmark, reportedly by a German aircraft, jtnd a Swedish passenger was killed. Ship Slehta 17 Mine*
Ymuiden, Sept. 30. (UP) — A Finnish vessel arrived at thla Dutch North Sea port today and reported it sighted 17 float¬ ing mines along the Dutch coast.
Bv .TOSEPH W. GRIGG, JR.
Berlin,  Sept.   30.   (UP)—Adolf
Hitler appeared  ready tonigfht to
make a major bid for peace on his
own   terms   with   the   alternative
war again.st the Allies with every ^ Paris the press forecast that history would repeat itself, and
" " ''' "" " "^ i that the Germans would try to get at Fiance through a
neutral country, Belgium or Holland. The ^'azis, however, have already denied any such intention.
I The British and French already have indicated unoffi¬
cially that they were determined to keep fighting until "Hitlerism is smashed." Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is expected to voice the Allied rejection of the Soviet-German peace proposals in the House of C'ommons on Monday.
Later in the week Adolf Hitler, in an address to the German Reichstag, is expected to voice the Nazi threat—f ' peace or destruction.
j Rus.sia, consolidating her influence in the Baltic and in
the Balkans, indicated willingness to have neutral nations join the Soviet-German peace bloc, but doubt arose as to whether .she had obtained the support of Turkey.
1.—Presided over a war council of high ranking generals, ad¬ mirals and governmental officials who would be key figures in any Nazi offensive against the Allied powers.
2.—Invited Fascist Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano to Berlin where, upon his arrival Sunday afternoon, questions of peace efforts by Italy, the mili¬ tary alliance between Italy and Germany and the Italian Inter¬ ests in the Balkans are expected
to be discussed. mi w^ • mmi
3-Summoned the Reichstag Jurkcy Remauis Mystcry
for a meeting next week to hear ^y^.,^ ^^^ j^^^.^j ^^,^^^ attempted in advance to place
blame on Britain and Fiance for a prolonged war, Turkish Foreign Minister Sugru Saracoglu prepared to depart for home without paying a second visit to Soviet Premier Viacheslav Moiotov, but not without consulting with British and French diplomats in Moscow.
At the same time, in London, it was announced that Turkey had completed the drafting of a Turki.sh-British mutual assistance pact and that a Turkish military mission was enroute to England to buy armaments.
Whatever decision Turkey makes, it was expected to
efforts for peace made by Pope i have an important influence upon the course of Italy. AVith
an important government de¬ claration expected to disclose whether the Nazi-Soviet peace offensive Is a failure, as already indicated in London and Paris. Counting on Russia
Nazi officials, who said It was to be assumed that Hitler would address the Reichstag, Indicated belief that the Fuehrer would re¬ state his desire for peace and blame France and Great Britain for con¬ tinuation of the war. It was hinted that   Hitler   might   emphasize   the
(Continued on Page A-11)
lOlOl^ DICIAMBLOC
Mysterious Delay in Turkish Link; No Hint Of Aid to Germany
By NORMAN B. DEUEL
Moscow, Sept. 30. (UP)—Soviet Russia expressed willingness today to invite neutral governments to join in the Nazi-Communist peace offensive in Europe but appeared to be delaying for some reason any effort to link strategic Turkey closely to the newly-formed bloc of eastern states.
Sukru Scracoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, was believed not to have seen Soviet Foreign Mini¬ ster Viacheslav Moiotov since the beginning of the German-Russian negotiations Ihat resulted in a per¬ manent division of Poland and an implied threat of Nazi-Soviet mili¬ tary co-operation it the Allied powers refuse to accept the present Eastern European alignment as a basis  for  peace.
Confer* with  British,  French
Althoush Scracoglu was under¬ stood to have come here to strengthen the long-standing ties between Russia and Turkey and possibly to sign a new accord, there was no indication that lie had seen Moiotov since the mid¬ week visit of Nazi Foreign Minis¬ ter Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Furthermore, the Turkish minis¬ ter today invited the British am¬ ba.ssador and the French charge d'affaires lo a conference this eve¬ ning and it was reported that hc would    leave   Moscow   within   the
«   (Continued on Page A-U)
BAnLEjFPLANES
Low Flying Planes Unmolested Taking Westwall Pictures
By DAN CAMPBELL
London, Sept. 30. (UP)—British war planes suffered "some casual- tics" in an air battle at a great height over Germany today, the ministry of Information announced. The Royal Air Foroe planes were reconnoltering over the Western Front when they encountered Nazi fighting craft.
The ministry, which said the RAF again had carried out success¬ ful reconnaissance flights over Ger¬ many both by day and by night, (Continued on Page A-11)
A  new serial begins:
WEST OF THE SUN
by Joseph  Ijeviin C1iad«vick
The West was young, It was wild, it was lawless, violent, hard. In the eighties it was no place for a young eastern girl- but Virginia Ames could see no alternative. Her fiance Phil Lawrence had written her; his letter had been strange, cryptic, urgent. By rail and stage and horseback she crossed the raw frontier . . . meeting soldiers. Apaches, gamblers, the riff-raff of the West. And finding at the end of the long trail a love that was older than she knew.
The first chapter appears loday on  Page  B-l?
Turkey allied to Britain, Italy might hesitate to enter the war at the side of her Axis partner, it was believed.
Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano left Rome today for Berlin on what was called a "peace mi.s.sion," but it was believed he would confer with Nazi leaders on Italy's interests in the Balkans in view of the new German understanding with Russia.
Italy Boosts Taxes
The Italian government, in the meantime, prepared for whatever  eventualities  occur  by  a.sse.ssing  new   taxes  de¬ scribed as the most sweeping in the country's history.  They were expected to bring in between $2.')0.000,000 and $300,- j 000,000 annually to defray military expenses.
German claims of .successes in the air were minimized by the allies. The British, while admitting ".some casualties" ; over Germany, asserted that the enemy had suffered heavy losses, and the French a.sserted that German planes shot; down over the Western Front totaled more than twice the Allied losses in that theater of the war. |
The Nazi attempt to break the British blockade and to substitute one of their own gained in intensity. The Germans announced that their torpedo boats and destroyers had stop¬ ped and searched 4.') neutral ships in the North Sea in two days.
The French claimed new advances on the Western B'ront and predicted the early fall of Saarbruecken, (Jerman i industrial city between the Siegfried Line and the French border. French troops are entrenched on three sides of the city. To the north, near the Luxembourg-(;eiman-French frontier, Poilus established themselves in a position com¬ manding the Metz-Trier highway, the most important com¬ munication line in the Moselle >'alley.
Polish Government Reorganized
Although Poland has been divided between Ru.ssia and Germany, a Polish government still lives. President Ignacy Moscicki, interned in Rumania, resigned in favor of Wladyslav Raczklewicz, former governor of Pomerania, who formed a new government in France. This development meant the ousting of the government, backed by Marshal Edward Smigly-Rydz, which had failed to stop the Germans in Poland.
Nowhere did the waning hope for peace create more gloom than at Ca.stel (iandolfo, where Pope Pius Xll told a weeping audience of Poles that his efforts against war had thus far failed. With tears streaming from his eyes, the Pontiff said, however, that he still hoped the conquerors of Poland would not destroy the religion of the Poles.
Will Refuse to Fight Russians; Japs Ease Tension
By WALLACE CARROLL
London, Sept. .'?0. (UP)—Great Britain conducted negotiations on three diplomatic fronts tonight in an apparent effort to off.«ct thtg ¦ new Nazi-Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe.
With    government   leader^   ex- I pected to confirm the Allied rejec- i tion of any cr^mpromi.-e p'eace with \ Adolf  Hit'ei-  in  speeches on  Sun¬ day   and   Monday,   the   diplomatic developments  included:
1. Disclosure    that   Britain   and I Turkey  have  compleled  the  draft j of a definite pact of mutual assis¬ tance and that a Turkish military mUsion is en route here to nego¬ tiate for purchase of armaments.
2. Commencement of conversa¬ tions with Soviet Russia in an ef¬ fort to facilitate war time pur¬ chases from Russia. The head of the permanent Soviet trade dele¬ gation here visited Leslie Burgin, minister for supply, this afternoon and was understood to have dis¬ cussed plans for Increased trade.
S. Conversations proceeding with Japan  were  reported  to have  dis¬ pelled   tension   resulting   from   the recent clash of interests In the Far ! East and to have created hope for ' resumption     of    negotiations     on "police matters" In North China. j    It   was   reported   that   the   Jap¬ anese   chagrin   at   the   new   Nail* : Soviet partnership had made Tokyo more willing to re-cement British- Japanese    friendship.    The    chief point at Issue is Japanese demands for  measures   to   stamp   out  anti- Japanese terrorism In British con* trolled areas in China.
If true, this report would pre¬ sumably mean that Japan would not at present Insist upon surren¬ der of some J2.500,000 In Chinese government silver in the British concession at Tientsin and might shelve the demand for recognition of Japanese-controlled currency Iti North China.
Turkey was understood to be ready to sign a new mutual assist¬ ance treaty with Britain and re¬ ports from Moscow that TurkLsh Foreign Minister Sukru Scracoglu might return to Ankara without seeing Soviet Premier Viacheslav Moiotov served to strengthen Allied hopes that the strategic Eastern Mediterranean zone might be kept out of the new Nazi-Soviet bloo.
Never to Fight Russia
A Turkish alliance with Britain and France, it was emphasised, does not In any wa.v Interfere with Turkey's close relations with Moscow. One clause in the paot stipulates that Turkey will nevM be asked to take a hostile attitude toward Russia. This would mean that, if the Soviets entered the war on the Nazi side, the Turks would be free to renounce any obligation* to fight or to take such hoetlle steps against Russia as closing tht Dardanelles to Soviet vessels.
Regardless nf whether the Alllei succeed finally In wooing Turkey away from the Eastern European bloc set up by Germany and Rueeis, the fact Ihat the mutual aid pMt In the Eastern Mediterranean <• ready for signature was conslder«4 encouraging.
The pact was said to be eom< pleted and to be ready for elfn«* ture when Seracoglu arrives back in Ankara, sometime earl^ uesl week. Helps Ke*p Italy Neutral
The   pact  would   prove   another factor in favor of Italian neutrality, (Continued on Page A-11)
Dispatches trom Euro¬ pean countries are now subject   to   censorship.