Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              A Paper For The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
The Weather
Stuiday:   Rain, colder. J'inday: Rain or snow.
35TH YEAR, NO. 9—44 PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1940
PRICE TEN CENTS
FRANCE MAY RE-ENTER WAR HITLER. PETAIN NEAR BREAK
House Report Says Labor Board Endangers National Defense
Nazi Ports Get Worst Hammering
Bombs Rain Down 100 a Minute on 'Invasion' Bases
Wyoming Valley in December?
I
FRENCH COAST AFLAME
English Can See And Hear Attack; Successes Claimed
By 8IU.NEY J. WIIJJA.MS
Ixindon, Dec, 28 (UP)-The Roya! Air Force tonight climaxed a 24- hoiir attack on the 1,000-mile Or- man front from Norway lo the Bay of Bificay wilh a sledgehammer hlnw at the spearhead of the Nazi "invasion" area at the Dover Chan¬ nel,
Briti-sh bomber."! rained down bombs at an e.itimatcd rale of lui a minute in what coa,stal ob.servci, believed wa.s one of the biggeat a.s- «ault,i of the war on the region ol Calais, Boulogne and Cap Gris Nci- The atlac k came after a week nl rumor,^ that uU%-G«rman.< raigtal h. preparing an'lnva.<ioii attempt am was believed to he the heaviest dc livei-ed by the RAF since invasiiii fear,< were at their height la.i September,
Making up In fury for the IK!- hour rhri,«tmas air truce, the RAP' and the Nazi Luftwaffe were ex¬ changing .lavage blows. I
Waves of Nazi raiders awept upon a southwest town (perhaps Britol or Plymouth in one of the wor.st attacks suffered by the town tiui.i far and for an hour unloaded big bombs and incendiaries, dam¬ aging two haspitals and destroying home.s  and shop.s.
Four hours after the start of the British blasting of the 28-mile strip of French coast between Boulogne and Calai.s and Cap Griz Nez area was ablaze wilh bursting bombs, criss-crossing searchlights and the flashes of heavy anti-air¬ craft fire.
Watchers on the Dover chalk cliffs saw huge fires leap up along the coast from which the British long have feared Adolf Hitler might launch his Invasion thrust.
The British bombers rained down hidh explosive bomba of great size and the explosions rocked the towns along the British side of the chan¬ nel. They dumped hundreds of In¬ cendiaries which started conflagra¬ tions al the points where the Ger¬ mans have established long-range gun batteries and mililar.v bases.
The Dover straits tonight were calm. A slight fog hung over the water and the sky was moonless, conditions generally regarded as favorable for an invasion attempt. The attack started just aa dusk fell. It continued without a mo¬ ment's interruption until .iuat be¬ fore S p. m. Then there was a »llght lull, possibly to allow the (Continued   on   Page  A-2>
Committee Puts Blame On 'Radical Tendencies'
Find CIO Favored, Strikes Prolonged; Harbored 'Enemies'
By GEORGE E. REEDY JR.   «
'Washington, Dec, 28, (UP) - actions of the National Labor Rela¬ tions Board have jeopardized "tha entire program of national defense and the fundamental concepts upon which the government Is based," the special House commillee in¬ vestigating the NLRB charged to¬ night.
Chairman Howard 'W, Smith and Reps, Charles A, Halleck, R., Ind., and Harry N. Roulzohn, R., O., made this charge in a 70,000-word majority report to Congress, The other two members. Reps, Abe Murdock, D,, Utah, and Arthur D, Healey, D,, Mass., did not sign the report. Smith said that they were out of the city and had been sent a copy with a request for an opinion but that they had not re¬ plied.
The majority asserted that criti¬ cism of the labor board could be traced to "radical tendencies and the absence of judicial tempera¬ ment" on the part of certain mem¬ bers. It also charged that alleged bias by the CIO and dilatory tac¬ tics induced and prolonged many industrial dispuies. .Support House Aniendmenta
The majority recommended enact¬ ment of the 17 amendments the committee had "proposed. These ha\c been approved b.y the House but are held up In the Senate labor committee.     The   group   made   no
other  recommendation   for  leglslS' tion     but    pointed,     however,     to charges In the NLRB personnel and methods as results of the invesliga- i tion, j
"The committee respectfully con¬ cludes," the report continued, "that when an administrative agency of the government so far forgets Ils proper function as to defy the will of Congress, harbor and protect avowed enemies of conatilulional government, invent and devise extra-legal (and even unlawful) methods of tormenting and ruining employers, ferment and perpetuate Industrial strife and oppress and penalize certain labor groups to favor others -then the time has come when the people of this country must raise their voices In insistent protest lest Industrial peace, and with it, the entire pro¬ gram of national defense be jeopardized and the fundamental concepts upon which their govern¬ ment is based be ultimately and utterly  destroyed,"
The committee formally com¬ mended the "spirited single-handed fight" conducted by Board Member William S, Leiserson for the "elim¬ ination of partiality. Incompetency and inefficiency" but characterized Member Edwin S, Smith as "most notable for his radical sympathies." Former Chairman j. Warren Madde, the report added, had dem¬ onstrated "zealous favoritism for radicals and radical movements," Aehlerenient*! Listed
Recommending   "complete   reor¬ ganization" of NLRB personnel, the committee   report   listed   six   "con¬ crete achievements" which had re- (Contlnued on Page B-B)
Greel(s Say 3 Italian Shipsjunk
Loss of Transports Called Major Blow To Fascist Hopes
VICTIMS OF SUBS
-T
Closing in on Port of Valona And Base at Lin
By BEN A.AIES
Athens, Dec. 28. (UP)—Three Italian troopships loaded with Fas¬ cist soldiers and war materials en- route lo the besieged Albanian port of 'Valona have been torpedoed and sunk by the Greek submarine Papanicolis north of the Straits of Ottanto, the Greek admiralty re¬ ported tonight
The sinking of the three Fascist transports, aggregating more than 30,000 tons, occurred Tuesday but was not disclosed until the 14-year- old   Greek   submarine   reached   Its
DeCaulle Offers Full Support of 'Free French'
Vichy Leaders Reported Ready to Flee to Africa if I\'azis Attempt To Seize Fleet or Occupy Country; Call IS'azi Proposals Threats; Quick Victory in Mediterranean Promised if British Are Aided
By HOiMER JENKS
London. Dec, 28 (IP)—Reports that the French govern¬ ment at \ ichy i.s considering i'rne\\inK the >var against Ger- many tonight brought a radio appeal by (ien. ( harlea de liaulle. leader of the "Free French" forces, urging th« French people to ri,se up in arms against the German con¬ querors.
London Sunday newspapers reported, without confirma¬ tion, that Adolf Hitler has broken off all negotiations with the French government at \ ichy, bringing to a head a major
cri.si.s.
Tlie \'ich,\' rejrime wa.s "roportcd here to liave arranged to flee with the Kovernment, and il.s immobilized fleet of nearly 100 wai'sship.s to No-rtli .Africa to resume the war if Germany
home  base  today.    It is one  of should attempt to occupy all France or seize the fleet.
.\n sorry it didn't happen here. Nol even If Christmaa was warmer than Easier, The photographer just went to St. Peters¬ burg, Fla., lo picture Caroline Taylor and Virginia Marie Mason, daughters of an Akron lire executive, dash for the campus swim¬ ming pool at the Junior College  there.
British in Libya Strike Westward from Bardia
MILES OF FIRES IN lORKEY EXPECTS CENM LONDON HIILER10 OPEN GERMANS REPORT DRIVE IN SPRING
Strive to Attack Tobruk Before Defense Is Ready
By PHILIP S. TAYLOR
C:alro, Dec, 28 (UP)—British mechanized force.! ara striking we.slward from Italy's encircled Libyan base of Bardia to "clear the country" in preparation for an as- saull on Tobrug, it wa.s said today in a communique which boosted lo 38,1 U the number of captured Italian troops.
United Pre.ss Corre.spondent Rich¬ ard D, McMillan, with the British Army before Bardia, reported that Italy's 10th Army, which had been ordered by Premier Benito Mus.so- lini lo defend the port "at all costs" had been split into two parts by besieging Briti.sh  forces.
Mu.s.soIini ordered the do-or-die stand at Bardia, it was said, lo pro¬ vide time for the building of forti¬ fications al Tobruk, fl,') miles west¬ ward, and today's British communi¬ que indicated that the Empire (Continued  on  Page  A-11)
L
OF KINGSTON IS TAKEN BY DEATH
Long Associated With Woolworth Co.; Native of Valley
Planning Temperance Resolution? Might as Well Just Forget it
Philadelphia, Dec, 28 (UP)- If you're planning to go on the wagon on—or after New 'Vear'a Eve, forget it.
You can't stick to such a re.solu- tlon, the American  A,ssocialion for be   Advancement   of   Science   was Bid toda.v,
Dr, Charles H. Durfee of Wake¬ field. R. I., told the alcohol s.vm- posium of the association's 107th meeting that a person who "makes up his mind to abstain from alcohol iU  licked   before  he's  started."
It's all  in  the  stale of mind, he ' laid.
Snnia .'Mlstaicen I<{e«a i
"By concentrating on 'not drink-
In Today's Issue
nasalfied A—20
Kdltorlal     C)—2
.Movie*    B—8
Politics   C—«
i»«Ho    A—SO
iBporto   B—1
••to'y  A—8
¦oclal    A—18
ing' he is inducing a state of mind which, becaii.se of his preoccupation wilh the problem, is self-defeating," Dr, Durfee said, "He i.? still 'think¬ ing alcohol.' that Is, dealing with the symptom iii.stcad of the cause. Alcohol can't be fought; It mu.st be circumvented."
Dr, Durfee discounted many pop¬ ular misapprehensions regarding chronic imbibers. Among those dis¬ proved  were;
That the lone drinker Is far more difficult to help than the lad who just  takes one lo be sociable.
That a person wilh a long hard- drinking  history   Is   more   difficult to rehabilitate than a young person. That alcohol In all ils forms must he   kept   stringently   away   from   a I patient taking the cure."
That   a   genuine   "cure"   means
teelol  li.- m for long periods of time.
A   genuine   cure,   the   investigator
said, results in "radical personality
[ readjustment    which    does    away
I with the need for alcohol."
]     .Speaking   of   the    prohahility   of
j chancing an alcoholic's personality,
(Continued on Page A-11)
Charles M.  'VV'iUon,  a 'W'oolworth associate   and   close   friend   of  the ! late   F.   M.   Kirby   and   Daniel   C. i Robertas,   followed   them   In   death i yesterday afternoon at 2 oclock at his residence, 459 Wyoming avenue, Kingston, following a prolonged ill¬ ness  of complications.    He waa  65 I yeara old.
' The deceased waa among the earlier as.sociatea of Fred M, Kirby, at a lime when the groundwork was being laid for the building of the vast Woolworth chain. Self-.Made .Man
He was a self-made man, a char¬ acteristic of the early foundera of Woolworth, He wa.s associated with the chain stores for a period of 22 years and  retired  10 years ago,
Mr, Wilson began his work wilh Woolworth afler many years ex¬ perience as a contractor and car¬ penter. He was associated with E, T, Long, one of the earlier building contractors, of this city aa a fore¬ man.
In his a,ssocialion wilh Wool- worth he wa-s known as construc¬ tion engineer and designed many of the stores of this firm In various parts of the country. He waa a practical man and of sound judg¬ ment.
His   work   for   many   years   was to   prepare   new  sites  and   In   this capacity    he    frequently   came    in touch wilh  the  ranking executives , „,.   ,.,„(,„„„„ of the Woolworth firm, particularly   ^"^^ '/.r.'ll?... F.   M.   Kirby,   who   played   such   a commanding   part   in   ita   develop¬ ment. Native  of  \alley
Mr.  Wilson  was a life-long resi¬ dent of the valley. He was a mem¬ ber   of   Kintston   MR   Church   and also was afflliated wilh the Knights (Continued on Page B-«>
Say British Navy's Effort to Attack Dunkirk Stopped
By JOSEPH W. ORIMO Jr.
Berlin, Dec. 28 (UP)—A ragged path of flame stretching for four or five miles northeast of Hyde Park In the heart of London was reported by Nazi reconnaissance planes today after Friday night's strong Luftwaffe assault on the British capital, the official DNB agency said.
The German high command's communique told of "tremendous" bomb damage inflicted upon the center of London and DNB's ac¬ count added that "the eastern por¬ tion of the city was particularly hard hit,"
Germany's "Big Bertha" guns planted on the French Channel coast repulsed an attempted attack on the port of Dunkirk by British ships, the high command said, and seven British ships totalling more than .50,000 tons have been sunk or damaged In Nazi air and U-boat attacks. Only Survey* Saturday
The DNB said that Germany's air force today limited Its activity to surveys of the London damage and attacks on shipping in which a convoyed tanker of 6,000 to 8,000 tons suffered heavy bomb hits and "apparently sank."
Describing Friday night's heavy bombing assault on London, after a 113-hour Christmas air truce which the British were alleged to have broken, today's communique said "tremendous explosions and flres" were started, particularly in the center and eastern edge of the British  capital.
The squadrons of Luftwaffe planes dropped explosive and In- cendiar.v bombs of all calibres. It was said, with the loss of only one plane.
A few British planes were said to have penetrated the German- held coastal area during the night but   "without   dropping   bombs   on
Greece, Gibraltar To Come Before Invasion of Britain
By DANA SCHMIDT
Istanbul, Turkey, Dec, 28, (UP) — Diplomats In Turkey tonight specu¬ lated that Adolf Hitler was pre¬ paring to strike simultaneous blows in the spring, perhaps In March,' against Greece and Gibraltar be- \ fore he attempts an Invasion of the  British   Isles,
During the winter, while he maintains a huge armed force in the Balkans, Hitler was expected In these diplomatic quarters lo carry on three-fold negotiations and  pressure  aimed   at:
1.—Overcoming    Russia's    objec¬ tions to a German military occupa¬ tion   of   Bulgaria. To Woo Turks
2.—Persuading the Turks to re¬ main neutral even though German troops marched through Bulgaria and up to Turkey's western fron¬ tier.
3,—Obtaining Italy's consent to at least a partial occupation of Ilal.v by German troops.
Simultaneously, reports arising In
pro-Axis quarters circulated to the
effect   that   it   might   be   possible
for   both   Bulgaria   and   Turkey   to
(Continued on Page  A-11)
Greece's  six submarines.
The three troopships, escorted by j "a considerable number of war¬ ships," were encountered by the Greek U-boal between Valona and Italy's base of Brindisi and the commander of the submarine, Capt, Milton latridea, fired 21-inch tor¬ pedoes at the enemy vessels, il was said. Loss Not Reported
The extent of Ihe loss of life aboard the three Italian transports, which may have been heavy, wa.s not revealed in the Greek admiralty communique.
The Papanicolis was half-sub¬ merged when it fired its torpedop,s, the admiralty said, and immediale- l.v dove below the surface as Italian destroyers clustered around the spot and began unloading depth charges.
Meanwhile an official spokesman reported a relentless Greek push upon Valona along the coast, despite a howling zlizzard and drifting snow.
Greek Evzone troops, he said, were pushing closer to Valona from Chlmara lo the south and from the Inland  zone.
The admiralty aaid that the sink¬ ings ,ju.st north of the narrow Straits of Otranto through which British battleships swept recently heavily lo bombard Valona, Ap¬ peared to have delivered a major blow to the Italian high command's hopes of reinforcing the Valona base on the Adriatic coast of Albania, Drive  on  Valona
Greek troops, at the beginning of the third month of the war with Italy, were sweeping toward Valona today from captured C^imara and were reported with 12 or 15 miles of the important landing base, pushing through waist-deep snow at bayonet point In a raging snow¬ storm.
The Greek mountain troops la.v- Ing siege lo Valona were said lo have "broken Italian defenses" south of the seaport and to have | occupied a series of 3,000-fool mountain peaks afler "repeated de¬ termined attacks."
The Italian rear guard fought valiantly, the official (ireek spokes¬ man said, before it was forced lo fall hack toward Valona. I
The badly-battered island of Corfu was bombed again during the day but the extent of casualties were not reported,  it was slated
Some of the heaviest fighting to¬ day  was   In   the   snow-piied   moun- (Conlinued  on  Page  A-II) I
De (lauUe appealed lo all French leader.'^, "wliatever may have   been   their   mistake,s,"   to   renew   the   war   against Hitleri,sm and promised them the full support of Free French forces fighting now at Hritain's side. ^'ichy I,,eadei'.s Waveritig
.Man.v listeners believed, in view of reports of an impending crisis at Vich,\-, that de (iaulle was directing his remarks to
84-year-old Marshal Henri Philippe?' —	
Petain,   chief  of  the  French  stale.
among   others.
His radio appeal was limed to coincide with reports that the Vich.v government is wavering be¬ tween collaboration wilh Adolf Hitler and a repudiation of the French-German armislice, throw¬ ing France back into the war in a fight for her Mediterranean and German-held Paris over the week¬ end of Admiral Francois Darlan, navy minister and No. 2 man of the Vichy regime,
Darlan. who was said to have conferred wilh a "very high German personality." was believed here to have indicated to the Germans the limit.s of the Vichy government's collaboration. Nazis .Send New Tlire»ta
"Darlans return to Vichy and the cancellation of a cabinet meet¬ ing which had been expected Friday afternoon is seen in some quarters lo indicate that the Germans put forward what may bsj called coun¬ ter-proposals but whi^h, in effect, are veiled threats," said the diplo¬ matic correspondent of the authori¬ tative (British*   press association.
"Should the Nazi counter-pro¬ posals be regarded a.s jeopardizing French   honor,    the    prospects    are
that the  present storm clouds will break."
In this connection, there have been unconfirmed reports that planes are being held ready at Vichy lo carry Marshal Petain and Ijis followers tn North Africa out of reach of the Germans in e\-ent there is a breakdown in the French- German talks.
"All French leaders, whatever ma.v have been their mistakes, who decide to draw the sword which they have sheathed shall find us by their side without excluding anyone and wilhoul an.v thought of ambition." de Gaulle said in hia broadcast. Predict* Quiel< \'ietory
"If North Africa, Syria and the French fleet were fighting for France, the Mediterranean batlla would end at once in a great French victory." De Gaulle pledged that if French Africa renewed thS war. the "Fre« French " part of tha empire would co-operate.
"With the Hun in Paris. Bor¬ deaux, Lille, Rheims and Strass- bourg and the Italians pretending to dictate their will to th» French nation there Is nothing else to do than fight," he said.
Paris Hears Hitler Will Reinstate Laval
Called Method to Satisfy Germans; Vital Conferences
The attempted British attack on Dunkirk occurred Friday night, the German high command said, when German long-range batteries firing "wilh good results" compelled the British ships to turn back. Report Sea Mrtlni*
One   Greman   submarine   partici-' pating  in   the  counter-blockade  of j (Continued on Page A-111
Another English Town Under Savage Attack
I^ondon, Dee,. 28. (I'P)—Wavea of German raiders tonight subjects a town of southwest England to nne of Ita most savage attark* of Uie war. <r«ttering high-explosive bomba and hundreds of inc<>ndiaries and damaging two hospitals.
(It waa Indicated that the town might have been either the porta of Bristol or Pl.vmouth, both ot whir4i have lH>en under heavy  aerial   attarl«   in   recent  weelis,)
In addition to the two hnapitals, numerous store* and homes were destroyed In the town, but oasualtiea were reported to have been  "comparatlTely small,"
The attarii followed a daylong respite from hombine for all Hrltalii, except the appearance of a lone raider over Southampton, after a punishing four-hour "blitz" bombing nf London Friday night.
Tonight's attark followed the pattern nf the Ixindnn bomblnt, the  Luftwaffe  crowding all  possibly  fury  into a one-hour  assault,
A few bombs were dropped on Southampton hy the lone raider during the daylight hours, but with Uttle damage and few casualtlea.
By RALPH E. HKINZR.V
Vichy, France. Dec. 2R (UP)Adolf Hitler inlend.s to re-establish Pierre Laval as chief liaison agent be¬ tween the German and French gov¬ ernments, il was reported from Paris tonight a.s Marshal Henri Philippe Petain's council of min¬ isters  debated   vital  decisions.
The council adjourned at 8 p. m. afler a two and one-half hour ses¬ sion dealing Willi "important mat- ter.s" but ils decision wa.s delayed until a later meeting, either Mon- government's da.v or Tuesday,
Petain .summoned the council to hear Admiral Francois Darlan, navy minister and No, 2 man of the Petain regime, report on his ChrLslmas conference with an un¬ identified "very high personality" in Nazi occupied France.
authority to negoliats a policy ot French collaboration wilh ths Axis "new order" in Europe),
Laval and one of his closest col¬ laborators, it was learned, confer¬ red in Paris at the Palais Matig- non Thursday afternoon witll Count Fernand de Brinon, tha Vichy government's chief delegate lo the German authorities In Paris.
De Brinon had been a close a.sso- ciate of Laval and the latter's own "ambaasador" to Pans until Petain - after Laval's ouster -formally named him the Vichy government'! chief delegate. (jemeral (Immriis Dissolved
As the next itep in ths Vichy centralization of power in the hands of Petain, It was announced today, all general councils throughout France will b« immediately dissolved. These coun¬ cils e.xisting in each of the 88 de- parlmenLs, already have been tem¬ porarily   suspended.
The   councils   under   the   Third
Darlan's conference was said to have been a "vital development" hearing on the future course of French-German relations and to have been an outgrowth of talks over Laval's ouster as French vice- premier, Tn Satisfy Hitler
The French press in Paris and the occupied zone suggested that Laval will be char;»ed with a "broad mission " as liaison agent be¬ tween the French and German gov¬ ernments which may be a final solution of his overthrow giving full satisfaction to Hitler and the German government.
(This dispatch, coinciding wilh repnrts in London that Hitler had broken off negotiations with Petain indicated that Hitler may have de¬ manded the restoration of Laval's
Republic, handled departmental financial affairs and formed part of the Senatorial Electoral CoUega which named the senators, who were not picked by popular suf¬ frage.
TTie councils now are to be re¬ placed by administrative commit¬ tees of seven and nine member* named by local prefects and henca Indirectly appoin.te4 by the PeUin government.
Jacques Doriot, leader of the last (Continued on  Page A-ll)
Dispatches from Euro¬ pean countries are now subject   to   censorship.
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