Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              A Paper For The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
The Weather
Sunday:   Fslr, continued cool. Mondsy: Fair, wsrmer.
35TH YEAR, NO. 29—48 PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, MAY 18, 1941
PRICE TEN CENTS
LEWIS CALLS MINE STRIKE
French Fighting British in Syria
- 
Orriri   Dinnnoi ^Army Slum Gets Modernized
To Oppose RAF Fliers
Report Clashes on Border as Syria Masses 60,000 U,tn-
NAZIS IN BAGHDAD
German, Russian Diplomats Are Active in Turkey
By HAROLD PETF.R.S
Beirut, Syria, .M«y 17. (I P) — Brltl»h planes nttarked Syrian air bfw>e« acain tnday and for the flr«t time French flfchter airrratt attempted to interrept the RAF marhinea.
The planea flew In from the aea erer Northern Syria and were flrat spotted at Aleppo. Then they turned south and rarrird out a bemhinK attack ajcalnst the air- drnine at Palmyra, nnr of the airport.^ flmt ntta<'ked hy the Hritish  Tliursday.
The British planes, identined as thre« Blenheim Bristol medium homhers, tlew on to Damascus where French tifchters ros») lo intercept them. The British planes thi-n hirned and flrvv hack lo Palestine with the French fight¬ ers in pursuit.
Report Border Skirmish Of Rriti.«h and Frencit By  DANA  .SCW.MIDT
Istanbul, Turey, May IT. (UP)- Diplomatic jiources reported toni»ht thst Syria has m.i/i5ed (our divi- iions (if pos.sibly 60,000 men along the Palestine frontier and unoom- firmed rcport.s circulated that «mall ecsle aUirmi.shea between Briti«h and French forces along the Pales¬ tine-Syria border have  occurred.
British diplomatic sources report¬ ed that RAF planes today attacked trains carrying French war ma¬ terial and 200 Syrian volunteers from Syria to Iraq.
According to diplomatic .lources, the .Syrian forces comprise two French division.'!, one colonial divi¬ sion and one division of the French Foreign Legion, It was said that all officers were ordered by Gen. Henri Dentz, French high commis- iioner, to renew their oath of loyalty to France before moving up to frontier pasitions.
According to Information from Beirut, the British conducted no air attacks over Syrian territory last night and the Syrian-Palestine borrler was said still to be open. No confirmation could be obtained ef the rumored border skirmi.shes.
According to Americans arriving here from S^ria, the Frenc h forces there Include many .synipathizer.s of Gen. Charles Dc Gaullcs Free French  movement.
.,Snme French officer.s were fiui)ted by the American.s as suggesting thnt they might offer only "sym¬ bolic resistance" if the British at¬ tempt to occupy the terrtory. There was considerable belief here thst the French colonial troops in (Continued on  Page A-20)
Army  rescnrchers  ha\'e  been  developing  concentrated  rations and
here's   day's   nourishmtnt   in   four-ounce,   choi olate-like   bar. But
Private L«wrence Craine,  in Chicago, swears it doesn't  look like
he-man's meal.
Nazis Say Rooseu^lt Is Uniting All Europe
Ready Now for War's Next Phase; Silent on Syria
Xazi Ger- next com-
By JOSEPH W. GRIGO JR.
Berlin, May 17 (UP) ,source3 warned today that many's preparations for the pha.se of the war have been pleted and .suggested that continued "interference" by Pre.sident Roo.sc- velt will unite all of Kurope in "complete co-operation" behind Germany,
The German spokesman contend¬ ed that Europe was being driven toward co-operation "in spite of itself ' by Pre.iident Roo.sevelt'.s in¬ tervention in European affairs. The comment was offered directly on Mr. Roosevelt's statement warn¬ ing of the dangers to the Western Hemisphere implied in Franco- German  collaboration.
The comment on Mr. Roosevelt followed a statement by the Ger¬ man spokesman that "the greater part of the preparatory work for coming events is now completed." "t'realive Pause'' Ended
The spokesman added that the "creative pause" to which Adolf Hitler referred, concerning prepar¬ ation of Germany for the next war move, "can be considered to all intents  and   purposes  ended."
The   Gernian   press   carried   ve¬ hement    attacks     upon     President (Continued on Page A-20>
Drive Nationwide; Men Are Charged With Illegal Stay
Plane Production Climbing; 1600 in May, 1800 in June
i
Wa.shington, May 17, (UP) — Considerably more than 1,600 mili¬ tary planes will be produced thi.s inonth, more than doubling the monthly production rate at the start of the year. Informed sources ««lrt  tonight.
These sources, in close touch with the aircraft industry, predict¬ ed that .June production will be about l.Sno planes if present sched¬ ules can be maintained. April de¬ liveries totalled 1,427 planes, Will Exceed Schedule
They said that while cutpiit is still behind the schedules set early last year, there was every reason for confidence that it will exceed the revised production program which called for 18.000 planes this year. They believe that in 1941 more than 20 000 planes will come off the  assembly  lines.
More   than   BO   per   cent   of   the
In Today's Issue
tlasslHed A—51
Editorial   (;_?
Movies  B 9
Politirs    (;_2
Radio   B—li
Sporti        B—I
^"eUl  „ A—1,^
Sto'J-   - A—19
aircraft being turned out this month will be combat planes. The remainder will be trainers and ob¬ servation  craft.
Except for February, when de¬ liveries aggregated only 972 planes, each succeeding month so far this year hn.s hac! sizeable increases in production. In December, 1940, only 799 aircraft were turned out,, although the original schedule call¬ ed for 1,000. January production jumped to 1.03(i and March to 1,216.
ExiM-cl S,3m> in Year
By mid-.summer, officiaLs said, the monthly production rate should be well above 2,000 and increasing each month thereafter to a peak of 3,300 by June, 1942.
An important factor contributing to the mid-year upswing, officials said, will be the beginning of large scale production in expanded facili¬ ties which have just gone into operation or are about to. Among these are the new Vultee plant at Nashville, Tenn., which is begin¬ ning the manufacture of a new- type dive bomber fnr the British and the Bell Aaircraft plant at Niagara Falls. N. Y., which is now nearing completion for a.ssembly of cannon-firing Aircobra interceptor- pursuit ships.
New York. May 17 (UP)—Immi- Sration inspectors and border pa¬ trol officers, accompanied by city police, swept through known alien haunts in metropolitan New York tonight In a systematic roundup of foreign seamen who have over¬ stayed their leaves in the United States.
Almost simultaneous raids, start¬ ing shortly after 9 p, m., were staged in four of New Yoili City's five boroughs Brooklyn, CJueens, Richmond (Slaten I.slandi and the Bronx, and acro.ss the Hudson River at Hoboken, N. J. The round¬ up on Manhattan, where less than two weeks ago scores of German sailors and Italian waiters were taken into custody on similar charges, was inex))licably delayed for more than an hour. Concentrate on Brooklyn
The roundup appeared to be con¬ centrated particularly in the Brook¬ lyn area where an estimated C40 officers were seeking alien seamen of all nationalities in barj;. restau¬ rants, hotels and rooming houses. Some 30 officers .searched through Vueens and a score moved throush the alien hangouts of Staten Island, which commands the entrance to New  Y^ork  Harbor.
All t.ikcn into cu,stody in the New Y'ork area will be escorted by the Co.ist Guard to Ellis Island nnd detained pending immigration hearines. Fifteen coast guardsmen from Ellis Island were despatched to the Barge Ofliie nn Manhattan to guard the aliens and several Coast Guard cutters were at their piers to transfer the foreign sea¬ men to the island. Repnrt  Xo  Molencc
Officials said reports coming in by telephone indicated no violence attended  the  roundup.
A Brooklyn precinct station re¬ ported that three of four aliens questioned at the headquarters were released after producing alien registration certificates. This was taken to indicate that the round¬ up included not only aliens who had o\erstayed their leaves, hul also those who had failed to regis¬ ter as representatives of foreign governments   under   the   law.
Boston ( hecking
Boston. May 17. (UP)    John Mul- cahey. district director of immigra- (Continued on Page A-ll;
Roosevelt Says Nazis Must Lose
¦Summons Americans To Fight Against Economic Slavery
'DESPERATE' CRISIS
Pepper Urges Taking of Dakar; French Will Fight
By T. F. REYNOLDS
Washington,     May     17,     (UP) ; President Roosevelt warned tonight i that   the   dictator   nations   already have achieved serious economic en¬ circlement   of   the   United   States and   summoned   all   Americans   to : fight against the economic slavery to  which  Germany   and   her  allies would  subject  the  world.
America is heading into a world¬ wide crisis of "truly desperate in¬ tensity" and aggression is menac¬ ing the economic, social and spir¬ itual framework of "our democratic way of life." the President said in a formal statement opening for¬ eign trade week    May 18 to 24.
". . . it is idle for us to talk of future foreign trade unless we are ready now to defend the principles upon which it is and must be based." he said. "That defense calls most urgently on every Amer¬ ican for his immediate and utmost effort. Otherwise there can be no foreign trade of the future on fair terms, under democratic principles," Says Nnzisni Is Serfdom
Victory of totalitarianism, Mr, Roosevelt dcdpred, would leave the world in a state of economic serf¬ dom with internalional commer(e "rigorou.sly < ontrollcd for the sole advantage of those nations and rul¬ ing groups which already have declared their determination to con¬ quer the world and to subordinate to their own profit and welfare of all other people."
"That this is the fact Is attested by official or inspired German an¬ nouncements." he said. "Trade in such a world would be merely an- f.thcr weapon for further ruthle.ss aggression  and  subjugation."
Reflecting Mr. Roosevelt's grow¬ ing concern with economic aspects of the war and its impact on world trade channels. Secretary of State Cordell Hull tomorrow night will follow up the warning with a major address on foreign trade, delivered at 9:,30 p. m. EST over the NBC blue network. Hull Justifies President
Mr. Roosevelt's statement repre- .sented an economic corollary to his political admonition to the French government this week against col¬ laboration with Germany's new European or world order. It ap¬ peared interlocked with this admo¬ nition as a warning to Ameiicans of the economic consequences of German leadership in the world, and coincided with these other de¬ velopments:
1-Hull disclosed that the United States has received official reports which justified Mr, Roosevelt's con¬ demnation of certain moves by the I French government at Vich.v and the President's fear that Vichy- Berlin collaboration would menace the new world, j
2. Sen. Claude Pepper, D.,Fla., I after a White House conference, again called for immediate United .States occupation of Dakar in West Africa, and predicted that unless this country acts immediate¬ ly, Germany will take< over the strategic base aa a jumping off point for an attack on South America, only 1,600 water miles away.
The   President's   statement   was (Continued on Page A-11)
War   Kll Itl 111 ary
Great Britain and Germany moved swiftly Saturday night to¬ ward a decisive showdown in the Middle East which may Involve France, Russia and the United .States, For the first time the Royal Air Force and the Nazi Luftwaffe traded blows in Iraq and open hostilities between the British and French In Syria appeared near. Reports from Berlin said that the "creative pause" between Nazi mili¬ tary offensives was now over.
War reports told of an attack by German bombers and fighters, now based in Iraq, upon the RAF ...iliiome ,^'. Hiiiifii.ir.ya, a.iu cf a.i RAF attack upon German planes at the Mosul airdrome in the heart of the Iraq oil area. In Syria, British planes again bombed Pal¬ myra airdrome and were chased back to Palestine by French fighter planes which went Into action for the first time against British   planes,
Turkey reported that Gen, Henri Dentz, Syrian high commissioner, has massed four divisions pos- .sibly 60.000 troops close to the Palestine frontier to fend off any British   drive   from   Palestine,
The Istanbul, reports also spoke of border skirmishes between Brit¬ ish and French troops but there was no confirmation of this. An¬ other Istanbul report was that RAF planes had attacked train- loads of munitions, arms and Syrian volunteers moving from .Syria  to  Iraq.
The Turks were on the sidelines in this conflict but might at any moment become participants. Of impqrtance equal to the military developments were the obscure maneuvcrings still going forward in
the diplomatir field. The Russian and German ambassadors at An¬ kara were exceedingly busy and suspicion has grown that some kind of a division of Middle Eastern spheres of influence may be In the process of negotiation between Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin,
Anglo-American diplomacy was directed at France, for the mo¬ ment ,and the British also were seeking to counteract German diplomacy In Turkey. Both the United States and Britain were tak¬ ing a hard-boiled line toward France. The United States was in¬ dicating its great interest in Dakar and Martinique and m'A'Klng plain thdt it had no',, abaiuionod thf free¬ dom of the sp,T.s. including the free¬ dom of the Red Sea vital supply route to the Middle Eastern war zone.
In the midst of this activity there remained a suspicion that the strange visit to Britain of Rudolf Hess, No. 3 Nazi, may fit some¬ where into the behind-the-scenes diplomatic  picture.
In addition to the action in Syria and Iraq, there was heavy fighting in Africa. The British continued to pound Axis forces on the Egyptian-Libyan frontier and Berlin and Rome claimed their troops had recaptured Solium and Fort Capuzzo. This action ap¬ peared to be on both sides large scale skirmishing and border raids with neither seeking too strongly to  hold  fixed  positions.
The RAF was active far and wide, raiding into Greece, Libya, Germany and occupied France in addition to Iraq, Syria, and in Ethiopia
being driven deeper into their  iso lated last-ditch  strongholds
Joint Conference Will Continue Meetings Today
Break Reported on Wage Scale; Union Rejects 5% Roost for .ill and Reverts to Original Demand for $1 Per Day More for Company .Men, 2(F/c Increase for Contract Miners: Psew Bituminous Tieup Averted
New Vork, May 1? (HP)--The""Lnited Mine \S^Tk?'rs'o\" ,\merica today called a work stoppage in the Penn«tylvania anthracite industry, effective at midnight.
The Older affects between 90,(IO(» and Ifld.OOO workers and will effectively shut down an industry which produces about .">2.0(I0,000 tons of hard coal annually.
It followed a breakdown of wajie-hour negotiation.s be¬ tween union oflicials and representatives of some 80 operators which earlier this week had appeared to be nearing a succes.s¬ ful conclusion.
"In the meantime." the union order said, "neRotiations will continue and every effort made to reach an agreement as soon as po.ssible."
Ncjiotiatoi'.s hi\d lieen meectiiis: liere .sincp .April 8 in an effort to draft a 1011-1:1 contract rcplarinR' tlie 1939-41 agi'ppmont which expired al miriiiijihl, .April 30.
A history of past anthracite mine strikes will he found on  Page A-11,
May Use Marines to Open Strike-Bound Shipyards
Navy Work Blocked; AFL Promises Men If Given Protection
<?>-
Washington, May 17. (UPi-The navy may assign Marines in the San Francisco Bay area to protect those  workers  who  are  willing  to
I return to their jobs on S.WO.OOO.OOO worth of naval construction, it was ! pliably reported tonight,
Informe(.l defense sources seek¬ ing an end to tlie "outlaw strike" that has tied up work on 72 navy vessels said a plan to have the Marines augment local police was under consideration and likely would be put into effect next week unless a settlement Is achieved over the week-end. Acting Secretary of Navy James
' V, Forrestal telegraphed Gov, Cul- bert   L,   Olson   of   California   last
, night   that   the   army   and   navy
! heads   on   the   West  Coast  would
' give "every assistance" in ending what   We   termed   "this   most   un-
i fortunate situation." Forrestal could not be reached for comment, AFL Promises \\'orkers
Both William Green, President of the American Federation of Labor, and ,Iohn P. Frey, head of the AFL metal trades unions, have denounced the walkout of 1,700 workers a.s an "outlaw strike." The machinists struck for $l.l,^ an hour and double-time for overtime. De¬ fense  officials said the strike  vio-
, lated an agreement signed a month ago   by   all   West   Coast   shipyard
! workers,
Frey was said by federal officials to have indicated a willingness to lead      1,5,000      shipyard      workers
j through the picket lines if he we're
I assured there would he no violence.
j The navy may send the Marines to give that assurance.
Meanwhile, the prospects of a nation-wide shutdown of coal rtiines created the most serious threat which defense production has faced.
j John L. Lewis, United Mine Work¬ ers   president,   ordered   90.000   an¬ thracite   miners   out   at   midnight ; tonight and threatened  to call  out I
! 400,000 soft coal miners next Wed-
1 nesday.    Defense officials were not
Tht' coiilViccs had extended tlicir conference three times where the Italians were past the .April 30 deadline, the la.st truce expiring at mid¬ night tonight. Maintenance Men to work
Tho union order, announced after failure of todav'.^ con¬ ference  to produce  an  agreement   provided  that   firemen, (Migineers and other maintenance workei-,s remain at their jPo,st,s to keep the mine,s in readiness for resumption of oper- 'ations later. The terms of nny contract sulisequentiy signed will he retroactive to May 1 for these workers.
The order was telegraphed to all locals in the Tri-District hard coal area of I'tiins.xIvania and was signed hy John L. Lewis, I'iMW'A president; Philip .Murray, t'MW.A vice-presi¬ dent and president of the Congress of Industrial Organiza¬ tions;  Thomas  Kennedy,   U-\I\VA  secretary-treasurer,   and
perturbed  by the hard  coal   shut¬ down  since  factories use  soft  coal and home heating demand is slight now. Fear New Soft t'oal Strike
Labor officials, however, hoped an agreement would avert a renewal of the coal strike which ended May 1 after reserve stocks hnd been depleted. The mines were reopen¬ ed under a ti uce made at Presi¬ dent  Roosevelt's   request.
Lewis ha.s set Tuesday as the deadline for agreement with south¬ ern coal operators on union de¬ mands for a uniform wage scilc in the Southern and Northern Appalachian lields. Northern oper¬ ators have  initialed a contract,
William H. Davis, vice-chairman of the Defense Mediation Board, will meet with southern operators, whcse mines produce 30 per cent of the nation's soft coal, at his New York home Sunday, Secre¬ tary of Labor Frances Perkins also is in New York in touch with negotiations.
Informed labor officials here said they "understood" that If an agreement ig not reached before Wednesday, that Lewis will call out only the l.'iO.OOO southern miners and continue operating ol the northern mines under a tem- porar.v agreement, SO Other Ktrlkea
More than .30 smaller strikes which have halted work on ap¬ proximately Jl!50,000.000 in defense contracts, meanwhile, worried de¬ fense mediation board and U. S. consiliation service officials. These range from a few thousand dollars to more than ,$,'10,000,000 held by the Hudson Motor Company.
Congressional   advocates,   declar- (Continued  on  Page A-20)
the three district presidents.
The joint negotiating conference'*' .idjourned at ,'5 p.m. to 2 p.m. Sun¬ day, when the conferees will hold their first Sabbath session. The members, however, were not optim¬ istic that an immediate agreement was in prospect. Break on  Wage Increases
The breakdown occurred, it wa.s .said, on the issue of wage increases. At the outset of negotiations, the union a.sked increases of .$1 a day for so-called company men work¬ ers paid by the day, week or month and 20 per cent for contract miners.
Last Thursday It was reported the negotiators had reached a ten¬ tative accord on a compromise wage clause providing $1 a day In¬ crease for monthly men but only 10 per cent for contract miners
I,«ter, however, the operators broii;;ht out an offer of a flat five per cent increase for all categories, and the union promptly rejected it and reinstated its original demands. The telegram sent the mine locals follows;
"To all local unions. United Mine Workers of America. (Thel Anthracite wage scale conference has not been able as yet to ef¬ fectuate an agreement covering wages, hours and working condi¬ tions for the anthracite Industry. "In keeping with past custom, and with no contract In effect, there   Is   no   alternative   for   our
members but to remain away from work, effective at midnight tonight. May 17, pending comple¬ tion of a new agreement. In «c- lordanie with an agreement reached today covering mainten¬ ance men. the following resolution waa adopted by the joint confer¬ ence (of tri-clistrict operators and union  officials):
"If a suspension of work occurs pending consummation of an :igreement covering wages and conditions of employment in the iinthracite industry, it is under¬ stood and agreed that such fire¬ men, engineers, pumpmen, main¬ tenance men and (such) men in similar capacities as may be re¬ quired In their regular line of work shall continue nt their work with the understanding that the terms of any agreement which mny be mnde . . . shall be retro¬ active to May 1. Our members will  be governed accordingly.
"In the meantime, negotia¬ tions will continue and every ef¬ fort made tn reach an agreement ns soon as possible. Our members will be kept advised,"
Family of 5 Murdered; Bodies All Over Farm
Ask RAF to Raid Paris If France Aids Nazis
By -NEII RI SHELL
I     London,    May    17,    (UP)--Great
{ Britain    tonight    adopted    an    in-
i creasingly stiff attitude toward France and one commentator sug¬ gested that the Royal Air Fore- be ordered to attack Paris and other   French    industrial   areas   if
i Vichy goes all the way In co¬ operating   with   Germany.
The British were on the aggres slve to meet the Axis threat t'l the empire's lifeline at Suez and the press     indicated     thnt     a     "hare
j knuckler" policy hnd heen adopted in    denling    with    France    in    the
' curent   crisis.
'    Tbe. luggesUon   that   Paris   be I
I hnmhed if Vichy slips deeper Into ' collaboration with Adolf Hitler came from a commentator who noted that already much of the French industrial machine haa been placed at Germany's dis¬ posal. The comment envisaged a slate of open war between Britain and  her  former  ally.
Throughout the press comment ran such phrases as "We have got to be tough." "Prevention is better than cure" and like expressions.
At   the   same   time   the   British were  understood   to  be  moving  to counteract Axis diplomacy in Tur¬ key, if possible. They were empha- (Continued on Page A-20>
Aurora, Ind., May 17. (UP)—Five members of a family—their bodies scattered over the grounds of a lonely farm near Aurora were found shot to death today after a seven-hour aearch by neighbors and police.
The dead were Mr, and Mrs. Johnson Argue, both 60; their sons, William, .13. and Ijeo, '21, and a 12-year-old granddaughter, Mary Breetlon.
At 10 a.m., neighbors found John¬ son Argue, an employee at the gov¬ ernment's Charlestown, Indiana, smokesless powder plant, dead on a pathway between a highway and his home, nearly a quarter of a mile from the house. He had re¬ ceived two shotgun blasts in the back.
Find (iirl In Bam
Minutes later, they found the 12-year-old girl, ahot once In the back, lying in doorway of a barn.
Deputy Sheriff Arthur Voils was summoned. Believing the murderer might be inside the house, he fired a tear gns bomb through the door¬ way.   When the fume* had cleared
he found Mra. Argue, shot through the chest, in the kitchen where she had been preparing dinner fnr the family.. Volts speculated that she was the only one who aaw the slayer before he attacked.
A search of the grounds wns be¬ gun hy neighbors and poli<'e and at 2 p.m. the body of Leo was found on a hill a quarter of a mile from the house. He had been killed by a single shot gun blast in the back.
Three hours later, William was found 300 yards from hia brother and he, too, had been shot in the back with one  blast.
Dearborn Counly Sheriff William Winegard, arrived shortly after the third   discovery   and   state   police joined  the search. One Person ^llsshig ,
Winegard said the woman ap¬ parently had been preparing the Friday evening meal for the family thus placing the time of the kili- ing.< at more than IR houra before the fir.!t  body was discovered.
Six   places   had   heen  set  at   the table,   but    police    were   unable   tn locate   Ihe   sixth   person' who   was I expected for lupper.
Truce  Prondsed  In Soft Coal  Dispute
New York, May 17, (tJP)— Defense mediators succeeded lat» tonight In obtaining from ofBcial" nf the United Mine Workers ol America the promise of a trtice under which no strike would be called In the soft coal Industry before   next   Friday,
When his meeting with union representatives and southern loft coal operators adjourned tonight until 2 p.m. Monday, William H. Davis, vice-chairman of the De¬ fense Mediation Board, said the net result waa "no strike this week."
"This Is annther little blow at Hitler,"  he  added.
3,000 PTA DELEGATES CONVERGE ON BOSTON
'     Boston,    May    17     (UP>—Three thousand   delegates   from  through¬ out the nation gather here tomor¬ row   f.^r   a   five-day   discussion   of modern problems in community at i the 4,^th convention of the National '¦ Congress nf Parents and Teachers.' Leaders of America's 2S.0O0 par¬ ent-teacher   associations,   the  dele¬ gates represent the world's largejt lay organization of men and women with a membership of 2.500,000.
' ^
Dispatches from Euro¬ pean countries are now subject   to   censorship.