Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              A Paper For The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
The Weather
Sunday:   Fair, slightly warmer. Monday; fr'air.
34TH YEAR, NO. i5~-48 PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1940
PRICE TEN CENTS
NAZIS BAHERING LONDON
London, Sept. 8 (Sunday). (UP)—Hour-after-hour German planes in squadrons hundreds strong are bombinj!: London this morning in what may be Adolf Hitler's win-or-lose gamble to knock Britain out of the war. It started at 4:57 oclock Saturday afternoon. It is now the early hours of Sunday morn¬ ing. It has exceeded in length any previous raid and the German planes are still coming over. They are still dropping bombs. But landon's defenders are fighting back blow for blow against the German challenge for air supremacy.   The light of parachute flares casts an eerie reflection over the great metropolis.
The jarring roar of explosive bombs rocks this area and that area intermittently. Anti-aircraft guns crash on and on as British fighter planes zoom do^^ir upon the raiding squadrons. Clouds of smoke roll up from fires set by the bombs, but London's fire-fighters are working valiantl} and by midnight had most of the big blazes under control.
The raiders, singly or in formations of 100 or more, paraded across the capital without interruption until the small hours of today, leaving great areas of the eastern industrial section aflame and scores of homes, factories, shops and public service works in ruins. London's defenses fought back but still the raiders came.
In a midnight communique issued jointly by the air ministry and the ministry of home security it was said:
"Enemy attacks have been repeated in the I^ondon area tonight and it is now apparent that the scale of his attacks on London has been the largest yet
Conscription Bill Is Passed by House
Coes Back to Senate Because of Changes in Age, Delay, Industry
Vote Is 263 to 149; Largest Attendance Since Congress Met; For 1,200,000 Army
By .IOHN R.  RRAL
Washington, Sept. 7 'UPl The House tonight passed and returned to the senate the Burl<e-Wads- worth conscription bill imposing the firsl peacetime drsft of man¬ power in United States history,
Th* vote on flnal passage was :'B,1 to 149 with one member voting present. That wss he largest num¬ ber of House members on the floor sine* th« Aru 4$y of Congress last Isniinry and included all but 17 of the present member.ship. As mem¬ bers voted  they lefl  the chsmher.
The messure goes hsck to the S»n«te because nt changes msde during the week's dehste in the house,   fhiet ot  them   sre:
1, - An increase in the dratt age limit. The senate would make men hetween the ages of 21 ajid 31 subject to draft for military ,ijrvlce. The house bill would select men between 21 and
2, A provision in the house hill providing a SO-day wait In invoking the dratt while Presi¬ dent Roosevelt issues a cnll tor 4nn,000 volunteers. If that many young men enlist in the army there would be no draft. The senate hill contains no such pro¬ vision,
.1 Different methods of com- r'lllng lndustr,v tn co-operste In the national defense program. Roth senate and house proposals, however, would empower the government to take over and operate plants of recalcitrant owners.
Passage came with galleries fill¬ ed with spectators. The vole was a new climax In nne of the stormiest egislative battle In years, during which a senator was hanged in effigy on the capital grounds by women demonstrating againsl the draft, and two members nf the | house staged a fist fight on the flnor. j
RInrk   Ijut  .Minute Move
The last action preceding passage was defeat by a vote of 241 to 171 of a motion hy Rep, Dewey Short, j R.. Mo„ to recommit the hill to the military affairs committee. a (Continued   on   Page   R-fii
I Says RAF Caught On Way to Berlin
I Berlin, Sept, 8 (Sunday), (UPi I Authorized sources said today ;hat German anti-aircraft de- I tenses had intercepted two waves of British bombers, one of which was believed to be heading to¬ ward  Berlin,
The British craft appeared over Germany in the early hours, it was said, one squadron flying to¬ ward the southwest and the other moving eastward in the direction of  the  capital.
The second wave was inter¬ cepted over the Ruhr Valley, it was  reported.
The Germans were able to intercept and rout the attacke-s, it was said, because thi* Relc'i's air defenses had been altered to fit the regular pattern followed nighl  after night  by the  British.
Berlin Blasted By RAF
Swoop Down Through Gunfire to Bomb From Low Altitudes
CALLED 'IMPUDENT'
ROOSEVELT ACTS
E
Denies Story Hc Would Helo Nation Send Meat to U.S.
Raid Leisurely to Give 3-Hour Alarm; Make Many Hits
Berlin, .Sept, 7 (VPi Berlin suf¬ fered the higgest and most intense air raid yet made by Britaiii.<i Royal Air Force today while the German bombers were alashinf al London.
The British bombers were de¬ scribed as "impudent" in their nonchalance they skimmed down through a hail of German anti-air¬ craft fire lo drop bombs and para¬ chute flares from an altitude of 3,000 feet or less.
Official   statements   said   that   at least three persons were killed and 20 wounded in the raid. Light up C'hanrellory
One daring British bomber crew roared over the Unter den Linden and dropped a parachute flare di¬ rectly above the United Press ottice. Its eerie white-green light plainly illuminated Chancellor Hit¬ ler's chancellory and other offices ot stale on  the  Wilhelmstrasse,
French and Fighting in
Chiang's Forces Act as Japs Get Rights to Railroad
By .lOHX B, MORBIfl
Shanghai, Sept, 7. (UP)—Rein¬ forcements for French garrisons and patrols were rushed to the Chinese border today after French forces had repulsed Chinese troops which violated the Red River Valley ot French  Indo-China,
The skirmish, in which one Frenchman was killed and two were j wounded, followed reporLs lhat French authorities at Hanoi had agreed to Tokyo demands that Jap¬ anese   forces   be   permitted   to   use
Chinese Are Indo-China
«-
the Haiphong-Yunnan Railroad for an attack on Chinese in Yunnan,
Whether Japanese tioops already had gone into Indo-China waa not known, 200,000 Oiinese Bnady
Dispatches trom Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek's capital at Chung¬ king said that 200,000 Chinese troops were ready to march into the French colony at the firat sign that it had been entered by the Japanese, That the Chinese did not sa.v their tropa already had moved waa regarded as some indication that the Japanese had not yet act¬ ed on the Hanoi agreement.
French  advices  from Hanoi  aaid that the French were  maintaining (Continued  on  Paga  B-6)
Nazis See 'Beginning Of the End'
'Greatest Victory' In Aerial History Claimed by Berlin
FULL FORCE USED
TO KILL CAROL T
FRANCE ARRESTS
German People Hear Radio Reports From Battle Planes
Hyde Park, N, Y., Sept. 7, (UP) - President Roosevelt acted quickly today to explode reports trom Argentina which might have cre¬ ated a serious menace to the New Deal's chances ot carrying the agricultural West for the third term.
Through his secretary, Slephen T, Karly, Mr, Roosevelt strongly denied reports attributed to Dr. Leopoldo Melo ot Argentina that he plans to attempt ratification of the United States-Argentine sani¬ tary convention immediately if elecied next Novemher. Bitter Point In West
The   convention,   for   five   yesr.^ subjected to a cross-tire of opposi¬ tion from western congressmen and IContinued   on   Page   B-«i
Race to Border Sees Staging of Wild-West Gun Fight
By   HEXRY   T.   GORRELL
Bucharest, Sept. 7 (UPi A band of more than 100 Iron Guardists,' dressed In green shirts and heavily armed, ailempted to assassinate abdicated King Carol II tonight as the train bearing him to exile sped towrd the Jugoslavian frontier. This same plane or another i The would-be assa,ssins, seeking droned right through German anil- revenge against the former mon- aircrafl fire tn drop a whole string '^''eh upon whose orders hundreds of   flares   right   across   the   center   "f  their leaders had  been  slain  in
Rumania's recent blood.v past, at¬ tempted to stop the train at Tim- isora station, near the border.
of the city from west to east. Then il swung around and dropped an¬ other string trom east to west a litlle further soulh. Dozens ot flares were in the air simultane¬ ously, lighting up the sky, which was decked with the explosion of AA    shells,     flaming    onions     and
Uke  Wild   lA'est   Movie
The train pirked up apeed and hurtled through the station hut some ot the Iron Guardists suc¬ ceeded   in   boarding   It,  A  running
tracer bullets from the ground de- ; gunbatlle, American wild west style
ensued in which hundreds ot shots
tenses.
Bombs  Drnpiied  LeUiirely
By the light of these flares the BritLsh airmen lessurely dropped their bombs. The alarm lasted nearly three hours, from 12:15 a, m, to  3 a.  m.
were exchanged belween guards on the  train and the attackers.
Reports trom Timisora said one mechanic aboard Carol's train was killed. The report said there were no indications that an.v member ot
America Prays Today for Peace And strength to Defend Heritage
Bombs fell In many regiona of the ex-king's party was wounded, Ihe city and correspondents con- The assault took place as Dic- diicted on a tour by the propaganda tator Ion Antonescu was rallying ministry were allowed to point out his followers to the task of recon¬ structing the dismembered nation as a German vassal state, Laya Curse on Fleeing King
The    dictator,    an    official    com¬ munique said,  ordered  an   immedi- I (Continued  on  Page A-lO)
that   many   of   them   tell   close   to legitimate   military  objectives.
On tell on the Tegel railroad sta¬ tion on the cily.s' northern outskirts near to the Borsig arms plant. An (Continued   on   Page   B-6)
The greatest power remaining i't pi-ace in a war-torn world bows its head In solemn prayer toda.v and I asks God "to grant to this lanl and to the troubled world a right- emu,  enduring peace,"
In response to a proclamation issued by President Roosevelt, set¬ ting aside the day for peace pra>- ers. Catholics, Protestant and Jews will gather throughout Ihe countiv to beseech Gnd "to make us rev¬ erently grateful for our lierilag' and   firm   In   its   defense,"   and   to
grant    permanent    peace    to    na¬ tion.s of the world," I AU Faiths.   All   Pla<-e«
Amidst the greatest armament snd defense program in the na¬ tion's   history,    Americans    of   all
In Today's Issue
r.illtorlal C-«
Classified    B—U     I
l*olitie»     C-S       !
Mo\les     A—1«
Story    B—12
SporU B-l      I
Social A-U    '
»MI«     B—ll
faiths will gather In country meet¬ ing houses, nn ships at sea and In the huge stone churches of the city, to pray.
At Hyde Park, N. Y.. the Presi¬ dent and his family will attend services at quiet St, Janies Kpisco¬ pal Church conducted hy Rev. Frank   R,   Wilson.
In     New     York     City,     speci.il ceremonies     will     take     place     in i acore.^ ot churches.  At St, Patrick's Cathedral   special   statements  will he   offered    after   each    mass.    At Episcopal churches a special prav- , er composed by Bishop William   I' . Manning will be read.   .Many syna¬ gogues   will   observe   the   day   in prayer.
Philadelphia    Episcopalians    also will   pray   tor   British  victory,  ac¬ cording to the  Rev,  George Cop.'- j land, I
At Chicago, Archbishop Samuel A, Stritch gaid: "It is particularly tilting for Catholics on the birth¬ day of our Blessed Virgin Mar> tn   pray   for  a  world   peace,"
Special services throughout the 1 the city will be held in synagogue^ j ,ind  churches.
lVf7/fcfe Pledges Not fo Lead America into War
Ru,'«hville, Ind,, Sept, 7, (UPl — Wendell L, Willkie pledged to¬ night that he would not lead the U, S, into any European war if ne is  elected   Presidenl,
"And I mean il," Willkie shout¬ ed amid the cheers ot Rush county Republicans, who had gathered .n the open air at Rushville Memorial Park for the "world Premiere" of three official Republii,m casipaig.i motion pictures, including films of Willkie and his runnlni4-mate. Sen, Charles L, McNary on their In¬ diana and Oregon farms. Denies  Appeasement
The Republican nominee made his anti-war pledge as he denied the assertions of bemocratic Vice- Presidential .Nominee Henry A. Wallace that the Rcpiiblican party is the  "party of appeasement,"        j
Willkie said Wallaces description I
could mean "two things, and if he meant working out com prom i,fe.i with the dictators, then he waa 100 per cent wrong," i
"If I am elected President theie ! will be no appeasement with any ! dictator, ' Willkie said,
"If he I Wallace I ment to say that the Republican parly i.s the party of peace then he spoke the truth.
"I shall never lead this country into any Fvuropean war," j
As the crowd applauded, the can- ; didate shouted:
"And I mean it,   T don't do things by   indirection.   That  waa   nol   the kind   of  «chool   I   went   to   in   In- | diana," i
Favors Aid to  Britain
Willkie     reiterated    his    position
that  the  United  States should  ex-
'.Continued on Paf« A-10)
FOR'KUILT'
Reynaud Orders Taking of Self, Daladier, Gamelin
¦Vichy, Sept, 7 (UP)—The govern¬ ment revealed tonight that Edou¬ ard Daladier, Paul Reynaud and Gen, Maurice Gamelin have been arrested and confined to Chateau Chazeron, near Riom, where the French "war guilt" Inquiry is in progress.
The flight to the United .Slates of former air ministers Pierre Col and Guy Lachamore was alleged to have prompted the government to order the "preventive" arrests. Daladier Rule Applied
The government's action was taken under a recent extension ot an original Daladier decree em¬ powering the state to take under "preventive" arrest persons whose internment was considered neces¬ sary for the  public safety.
Marshal Henri Phillipe Petain widened the scope of the decree to include persons considered dan¬ gerous lo public safety and na¬ tional   security.
The government's decision to ar¬ rest and confine Daladier, Rey¬ naud and Gamelin was said to have been taken at tha cabinet meeting last Tuesday, Arresl<>d First
Daladier was the first tn be ar¬ rested and he was transferred to the  chateau   last   F'rlday.
Gamelin was engaged in writing a report on the di,sastrous mili¬ tary campaign when the inspectors arrived to arrest him at his Dor- dogne counlry home. Bonnet   Blaiiie«  British
Georges Bonnet, who was foreign minister during the Munich crisis and the succes.sion of crisis which finally terminated In war, has be¬ come the chief aid to the Riom supreme court judges in preparing their ca.ses against former French political and military leaders charged with responsibility ot In¬ volving  France   in   war.
The former foreign minister, who was one nf the chief negotiators of the Munich pact, has compiled a record of duplicate diplomatic messages and telegrams which passed between the European chan¬ cellories and he is striving to prove that war could have been averted several hours before the invasion of Poland if the French and BrilfSh governments had accepted Musso¬ lini's offer to participate in a con¬ ference,
Bonnet's thesis is fhat the British governmeni     refu,«ed     the     Italian offer and  pres.sed the  French  gov- | ernment to fulfill its military obll- gationa as an ally. j
By .lOSEPH W. (iRUin, .IR.
Berlin, Sept, R (Sunday) (UP) — Several thousand German war- planes, dropping millions of pounds of bombs on the London area, to¬ da.v were reported b.v Nazis to have won the "greatest victory" In the history ot aerial warfare at "the beginning ot the end" of the Battle of Britain,
The.v called It the greatest air attack in history. Every type of German warplane was said to be ordered  into action.
Carrying out Adolf Hitler's tl.reat to retaliate tor every British bomb dropped on German.v, the Nazi air force was sairi officially to have blasted factories, harbor works, utility plants, airdromes and man.v other objectives in London and Southeast England,
Huge flres were reported raging in and around London. Two bomb¬ ed gas works near the British cap¬ ital were said to have exploded, the buildings being reduced to cinders. Subway stations were crushed, ac¬ cording to the Nazis, and traffic brought to a standstill in attacks that included mililar.v objectives at .Silverton, Woolwich, Greenwich and  other  objectives.
Kighty-seven British planes were shot down  during the day, accord¬ ing to well-informed  Nazi  sources, while 26 German planes were lost. Warn of Sacriflce*
The German wireless last night warned the German people to ex¬ pect "heav.v sacrifices" as a result of the raid on London, presum¬ ably in counter-attacks by British bombers, the Columbia Broadcast¬ ing System reported. Another (^ierman broadcast by the propa¬ gandist, Bnown as Lord Haw. Haw. said that the German attack had not yet entered "its decisive phase.'' but the Nnzi high command woul 1 dictate 'he methods and the pace ot   battle   henceforth.
"The German air force Is cele¬ brating one of the greatest vic¬ tories in history,'" Nazi sources said, "It is a great triumph at a small  cost,"
These sources said that Rritiiii anil- aircraft guns had been "virtu¬ ally useless' ' against German planes, and that the attack wa:-i continuing with full force througn the night,
"It is the beginning of the end," one Nazi informant said. Sre RAF Handicapped
Nazis said they heleived that the British would flnd it difficult tn make reprisal raids on German cities In view of the fact thi> German plaines could shuttle had: and forth from France to Britain while the RAF must fly a long route to Berlin.
Normally,   the  British  have  been able to carry only  about  ion kilo- <(~'ontinued   on   Page   B-S)
nispitlches from Euro¬ pean countries are now subject   to   censorship.
'^attempted. Our defenses actively engaged the enemy at all points and the several defense services are responding admir¬ ably to all calls being made upon them.
"The action proceeds and a further statement will be made in due course."
Reports tabulated up to midnight showed 65 German planes shot down and 18 British fighters missing. Two British pilots were safe.
Damage was .severe, especially in the slum and working class area.s of London's Kast End. There were many fatalities and many, many wounded. In .some districts witnesses counted a German bomb in almost every block.
If the (Germans were concentrating on any special region it was the Thames area—the great waterway which is the artery of London, its banks .jammed and crowded with huge wareiiouses, refrigerating plants, gasworks, docks, quays, ship yards and heavy industries.
Over the Thames since the time of the first late after- no<m attack the .smoke hung so heavy that it seemed to be thicker even than a lyondon fog—smoke from fires set by the hundreds of incendiary bombs, large and small, dropped by the German airmen.
Early tlii.s morning word came from high governnient quai'teivs admitting that what wa.s described as "some fairly severe local damage" had been caused.
But tiie.se quarters emplia.sized their belief that the dam¬ age wa.s not .serious so far as the whole national war effort wji.s concerned—in fact, they said, the governnient feels the nation has been prepared ever since the outbreak of war to face much graver aamage than has yet been done.
The Germans, it seemed fairly certain, had thrown into the hattie their crack planes an(i their crack pilots. Their new speedy four-engined bombers, only a few of which had previously been seen, started coming over in numbers. Ace pilots were guiding many of these machines.
Today is a da.\- of national prayer. It is a day oi prayer both in Great Britain and the United .Slates.  Many Britons j will go to their churches later today and pray that the Ger¬ man threat can be parried and the way won through to ultimate victory.
Trying to Sow Terror Among London's Teeming Population
i The Geniians, it was felt here this morning, are trj-ing 'not only to raze legitimate military objectives—plants and ! docks and warehouses—but also to terrorize London's civilian
population.
They have succeeded In arousing fear and respect for their bombs,
Cilizens huddled  in air raid shelters for the night before the warning
sirens sounded. But there was no evidence that lhey had aroused tsrrtw.
Some residenls ot bombed areas were stunned. Many mora were angry
and cried tor vengeance.
The  attack was not limited entirely to London, The engineer of a
train steaming toward London reporled two Messerschmitts dived and
machine gunned him but missed, I      Residential districts appeared to be the worst hit.   Communications
were   disrupted  here  and  there  but  aome   busses  and  trains   operated
throughout   the   raid,   authorities   having   left   it   to   the   discretion   cf
drivers whether to suspend service.   Subways operated normally until
closing  hour  shortly  after  midnight, j      After the  noise  ot bomb explosions and airplane  engines  subsided,
the clang of flre engines remained.    Dwelling after dwelling had been
set on flre, but in many Instances the flames were quickly extinguished
by   air  raid   wardens,
A vaudeville   theatre   and   a   store  In   the  London   district  were  hit
during the  night  raiding.  In  which (Jerman  planes continually circled
around  the  capital seeking to break through a  powerful antl-alreraft
barrage.
Twenty-one German planes and tive British  fighters were offlcially
reported inroughl down in the first fierce attack on the city's defensM,
but the  toll  mounted as  fighting  continued  Into the  night, j       F'ires were caused In an indusrial area of East London, It was Statad
officially, and damage was done to lighting and other public servlcei lin addition to dislocation ot communications,
"The attacks also were directed against the docks," the ministry of
air and the ministry ot home security said,
I "Information regarding casualties Is not yet available Bombs ware ¦dropped on the industrial installation on the north bank ot the Thame*
Estuary,  causing  flres."
Attack Follows Attack as Hitler Carries Out His Threat
Carrying out his threat to retaliate a thousand-fold for Brilish bomS-
I uig of Germany, Adolf Hitler hurled warplanes by the hundreds against
the London defenses and tierce fighting raged thrwtghout South England
frnm  the Thames  estuary  to  the  southern  coast  and  at  many  Inland
points,
I The first big attack, after a series of stabs at the south coast, began in the l..ondon zone at 5:,'(7 p. m. and the tury ot battle had hardly died out when a second attack-this time in darkness—waa started at 8:30 p. m,
j Parachute flares were'dropped by the German pilots. Then eame the ! Heavy thud of bomb explosion.*, clearly heard by persons In the center , ot Lnndon, Again and again the flares threw a gari.^h glare across the j «ky and each time bombs dropped toward a target. Usually quick bril- j 'iant explosions and tires  followed.
Screamer bombs were used by the attacking forces. Time bombs alas vvere dropped and residenLs of one Liondon area were ordered to evacu¬ ate after a delayed action bomb was found nearby,
Frnm a tower over Lnndon, the United Press correspondent eould see explosions in quick succession, some of them brilliant flashes ef incendiary bombs.
The  aerial  fighting  began  on  an  unprecedented  scale  »ath  Britlah ' (Continued en Pag* B-4i
smms^msmmsmmmmmy^mmsmmmmmr^PA