Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 37, Number 209, Decatur, Adams County, 4 September 1939 — Page 1

Ne. 20»-

BRITISH LINER IS TORPEDOED

■ooseve/f Pledges I Every For I U. S. Neutrality

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DECA i UR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

LABOR DAY IS OBSERVED HERE Most Business Activity Is Suspended Here For Holiday By a general auapenaion of bttab re*» Decatur and the aurroundlng community today celdbratM the legal holiday, laabor Day. No official ciwnm- ntpratlun of the event had feeen planned here with only the cloaing of store* and bunt3Ms houses making it different rum an ordinary day. The First State ban*, and the poet office were closed wth on'y , apertal deliveries be>ng made by the latter. The library was closed also. Only confectioneries, beer parlors, f'llinn stations aid a few other vteres were open Because of the happening* In the •ar In Europe, the Dally Democrat did not abide by an annua! custom today and publishe! a paper In an effort to keep its readers in contact with news from across the sea without the usual 'wo-day lapse at l.Jt<or Dwy. The schools of the city and rourty will become a bustling scene of activity tomorrow. Tuesday. Sepi limber S, when classes will te opened for the 11*39-40 term. Th. publii- school* of the eity will open classes as will the rural schools of the county, following a preliminary opening last Friday. Class organizations will take place Tuesday tn *be St. Joseph's grade and Decatur Catholic high schools. At 7:30 o'clock Tuesday morning a high mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's Catholic church, at which the grade and high school pupils will attend. Classes will be held Wednesday la the grades A spiritual retreat will be held for the high school stuuents on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday. The Rev. Father Brandon will conduct the three day retreat. High school classes will convene Monday. Septwniier 11. it is expect- • d that the enrollment will be as large as a year ago. All of the Hl«i ter teachers are here for the beginnigh of school, only two changes being made in the teaching staff this year. City is Quiet The city was quiet tqday as acor’s of citizens took advantag* of the iwo-day holiday and left Saturday for a last vacation at their favorite summer resort or vacation spot. Theaters here were exported to prove an attraction for the holiday v laltora tonight. This afternoon aevI eral hundred Decaturltes and residents of the vicinity on vacation will prodmbly attend the junk car races here, with many planning to go to | she Van Wert county fair at Van tcowTwui) omfauw nvg) THREE YOUTHS GIVEN FINES Adams County Lads Given Suspended Sentences For Theft Three lads were at liberty today after they were fined and given suspended jail sentences by Judge J. Fred Fruchte on a charge of petit larceny. The lads. Cheater Martz. IN; Joe Marts. 17. and (lerald Haggard, all of near Pleasant Mills, were charged with breaking into the home of Harry Crownover south of Decatur on August 14 and stealing money from a church bank. When they pleaded guilty before Judge Fruchte. he fined them each 11 and costs, sentenced them to serve one year In the county jail, suspended the sentence and ordered them to make restitution In the * amount of »fi They were arrested by Sheriff Ed Miller and officer Russell Prior of the state poller. They asserted that It was the first time they had jbven tn court.

FRENCH FORCES START ACTION AGAINST NAZIS Mobilization Os Army Is Continued In French Preparations Paris, Sept. 4—tUP»-The war •- announced today that land, sea and air force operations have begun. Ihe announcement was in the ' form of "war communique No. 1." The offeial journal published the text of France's note to other gov- . rrnments advising th*vn of her dec- > l.iration of war. It read: "Th- aggression which the fireman government committed against ) Poland Sept. 1. despite methods of , peaceful settlement of differences , whereto it had surt>«crlb»-d. and des- ; rite appeals for a free dlscuseion or mediation which the most author!i ’atlve voces addressed to It, and In r violation of commitments most free- , Iv undertaken to Poland herself and . »o all signatories to the war ret iiunciatlon pact ol Aug. 27. 19-s, > tthe Kellogg-Brland Pact* placed the French Republic face to face , w-th her assistance obligations to Poland <>i>ligations arising frosn , public treaties known to the Reich ( government. , 'The supreme effort mad- by the , French Republic's government and . by the British government to pri»jterve peace by-ending aggression met with the German government's , refusal. • "Consequently, as a result of the , German aggression against Poland a state of war exists between I France and Germany feeg'nning at t 3 p. m . Sept. 3. k The present notification Is made to conform with article two of the I third Hague con vet t lon of Oct. 18. ( 19«7 relating to the opening of hoi- ( tllitlea." f France's 2.MW.F-0 tn-n under . irms assumed alert positions, most- , ly on the Maginot line facing the ( heavih -manned S.rgfried line of Germany. .Mobilization continued. r th's being the third day of reserve 1 tCONTINUBD ON PAgFf!VK? - SUIT IS FILED : FDR BACK RENT Another Suit Is Filed In Much-Disputed Mann Case , Still another suit has been filed r In Adams circuit court over the , much-disputed right to u strip of land north of the city. ( Harry T. Grube, as attorney for Ed Berllng. receiver, has filed suit for ba< k rent against Harlo. John. ' Clifford, Wilson and Carl Munn. ' The suit alleges that the receiver was appointed by the court to ' collect the rents and profits and * based the land to the Manns on 1 March 1. 1934, which they occupied until March 1. 1939, The complaint sll-ges that they were to pay two-flfths of the gain received from the crops and grain and that In that time they paid but |su 39 The suit demands 11.000. i Now pending are: a suit by the receiver and Everett Singleton for conversion; a suit to recover possession against the Mauna; a petition by the Manns to remove the receiver; an assault and battery charge against Clifford Mann filed by Singleton, a trespass charge against Harlo. Clifford and Wilson Mann, and the new suit filed Friday. A quiet title suit has also been filed in the circuit court by Will•rd Sheldon and others against Joseph French and others. John L. DeVooa la attorney for the plaintiffs. Noveml>er 1 is return date. ■ O Adams County Team Is Winning Honors A 4,4V0-fb. team, owned by Glen Myers and sold recently to Jimmy Alien of Troy. Pa. through the Decatui Riverside sales. Is winning its share of pulling contests. It wss reported here today. The team recently copped first h uiora at the Pennsylvania state fair and la living groomed for national holt- | ora.

Decatur, Indiana. Monday September I. 1939

King Meets Chamberlain < zA?> SIM • jßi ' M-i I ' _l 1 Calm fared and smiling. King George VI tlvfti shakes hands with Prime Minister Neville Chanilierlaln on the steps of No I*> Htownlna I Hr, ’ a,n '* **' 'ninistry and admiralty were rushing pre- | pa rat lons for active participation In the war begun by Germany with ■ a . l ! on Poland The King had previously signed orders in conn- ! Cll authorizing his government to take all emergency measures

TWDSLIGHTLY I HURT IN WRECK I — Richmond Man And Son Slightly Injured Sunday Morning > A Richmond tourist and his son ! • were slightly Injured about 2, ' O'clock Sunday morning when their I • car and a large* semi-trailer truck collided on the north bridge, Harry Fersonette. 35. of Rich-1 mond and hl* son. Alan, were the one* hurt. The elder man received cut* and bruise* while the lad sustained a nose wound that re- ( quired *everal stitches to close. They were both taken to the Adam* county memorial hospital and then b-lea*ed after treatment. Mr* f’ersonette and Woody Blanton, 25. driver of the truck, escaped unhurt. The sideswipe forced the big semitrailer into the side of the bridge and badly damaged the rear end of the truck. Some of the cargo was dumped Into the river. Authorities stayed at the wreck scene for *ome time, directing traffic which was |iartly blockaded on the bridge, while the wrecked truck wa* removed. NCCW District Meet At Besancon Sept. 11 District four of the NtN'W will meet Thursday. September 14 at Besancon. Mrs. Charles la>se. dis trict president, announced today Fr Joseph Heasbin I* pastor of the ho»t church and Mr*. Lucy Overley I* parish chairman All member* of the local parish are urged to attend 1

European War In Brief By Vnlted Pros LONDON Rrltlah liner with 1.4*0 aboard. torpedoed In Atlantic 2W mll<a off Irish coast. moat aluaird saved; l>n*»*ng. era included many Americana mid CanadiaM; southern England apoiKh ale.-pleaa night as .Hi mid .»!.«• »« wound COPENHAGEN—liildentlfl-d Gro-li ati-uni'-r atrlkoa mine In BarfW K<-s Report paaacngers safe BERLlN—Germans claim capture <»f Important towns aa troopa amaah Info Poland, admit lowing 21 airplanes but any Poles lost I2o; four r.alukmds of wounded tiermana reported arrived at llratlaluva Hlovakla WARSAW Poles. heartened by British and French war dollar atfona. fight invaders fiercely; accuse Germans of destroying whole towns and bombing civilians with poison gn» DANZIG First shot of war fired at Friday dawn by German Warship on Polish fort opposite llaiillg; "suicide corps" of 77 men still holding fort. AMSTERDAM Hutch government charges its neutrality has been violated by flight of large number of planes over the Netherlands from the direction of England towards Germany PARIS-French, entrenched in Maginot line, expected arrival i of a British expeditionary force of at least N mechanised divisions for drive on Germany WASHINGTON Proclamation of arma-embargn neutrality and summoning of congress expected momentarily President Roosevelt tells nation he will try tn keep ns "out of thia war " ROME—Foreign Minister Count Galmtsto t'lano understood to have Informed V. H Ambasiwdoi William l*hllllpa that Italian shipping lines Would resume regular service iu two or three days.

Former Litcal Man Is Fatally Injured Funeral *ervlce* for Adam Alt, I Who died In the Bt. Joseph's hos ‘ pital a< Bloomington. Illlnoi*. Sun- | day morning at 2:20 o’clock Will Ibe held at the St. Paul Lutheran church In Liberty township. Ohio. '.Wednesday afternoon at 2 o'clock I EST Mr. Alt. a former Decatur rest- | dent, wa* injured while worklug at .Gibson City, Illlnoi*. DEATH CLAIMS JACK McFEELY Former Decatur Man Dies Today At Hospital In Fort Wayne Jack McFeely, g|, former la-ca-tur resident, died shortly after midnight today at the 8t Josepn hospital In Fort Wayne Drain was attributed to complication* Th*- deceased was well known In this chy. having *erved aa city dri k here a number of year* ago and wa* engaged In the meat .uarket business before going to F-nt Wayne He retired last year after serving for 35 years a* a Fort Waytie city fireman. Hurvlvpig are the widow: Fay.* Ht-olt M> Fw-fy; two children. Paul and Mrs Florena Hha/rr, both o.’ Fort Wayne and two *i«ter*. Mr*. Rena Hoffman and Mr* James (lain, both of Decatur. Mr*. Haiti and Mr* Huffman went to Fort Wayne this morning to a**l*t in making funeral ar* rangetnent*. which were not ema plete at noon today.

314 Americans Reported On Athenia; Rescue AU Except Those Killed By Explosion

POLES ELATED WITH AID OF OTHER NATIONS Report Successful Count-er-Attacks Against Inxadini; Germans Warsaw. Sept. 4 (U.fO —An official war communique reported successful counter-attacks on the Invading Germany army today as the capital jubilantly celebrated entry of Great Britain and France Into the war. One report reached Warsaw that the Poles had recaptured the Important city of Czestochova. a famous religious shrine and an Important junction on the southwestern front. This report lacked any offilial confirmation, but government announcements said that: Polish counter-attacks had retaken Orlow and Kack in the Gdynia-Danzig sector. Zbaszyn was stormed and re-tak-en from the Germans. Positions remained unchanged after heavy fighting on the east Prussian frontier. The small Polish garison in the Westerplatte fort near Danzig still Is holding out Polish calvary drove the Germans ba<k at one point on the vast Prussian frontier and dashed Into German territory in a counterattack. At least 44 German planes were shot down. IncludiuK six by antiaircraft. nine by Polish planes at Bydjorxcz and six at Posen. The government charged that German aircraft were dropping gas bombs on civil populations which also were allegedly being bombed •nd machine gunned. One village was destroyed and two others near Tamobrxeg. In the southern province of Malopolska. were damaged with a toll of many casualties, the government reported The fighting around Czestm-hova was des, rlbvd officially as severe after Polish aviation had attacked a large enemy land force, breaking up two columns of tanks and generally claiming disruption of the German front In that sector at a cost of four Polish planes. Another government dispatch •aid that the German* shelled Grnduska where it was alleged gas also was used by the Invaders. Eighten Incendiary bombs were dropped on the Wraaanle railroad station, near Pozen. killing two and gas leonhs were used by the Nazis at Myslenlce. Wolbron and Ropczyce, the government charged. , There were reported air raid alarms in Warsaw, with Nazi planes flying over the outskirts amid heavy anti-aircraft Are. Pol Ish planes took to the glr and pursued the Nazi craft Warsaw celebrated the entry of Britain and France into the war with carnival spirit. Cheering crowds streamed past the British and French embassies, singing thvlr national anthems They also cheered outside the American embassy. where V 8. Ambassador Anthony J Drexel Riddle was using ICUNTINVED ON PAGK MIX! Fails To Identify Suspected Slayer Rtate and county police authorities turned their attention today to soveral other promising “lends" < In the attempt to learn th«- Identity of the murderer of Anthony Michaud. In the Berne holdup rob bvry last week, when another the ory was exploded Mrs. Ram Schindler, who witnessed the escape of the murderer, positively denied that the man in Gary, who had killed himself to escape arrest, was the mufderer of Michaud. The picture of the dead man was brought to her by authorfties after the similarity In crime* led auth orltiea to believe that he might have perpetrated the rohbery slay Ing.

GERMAN TROOPS CONTINUE WAR Smash On Into Poland Without Formal Declaration Os War Berlin. 8,-pi. 4 - <U.R) German iroojm smashed their way deeper j into Poland today, still without a declaration of war. and protested that Polish civilians had started guerilla fighting. New drastic war measure* wen* dwrrtd. Including the death pen alty for avoiding military service, following the declarations of war against Germany by Great Britain and Frat M-e. But for the moment, i Germany remained on the defensive behind her Siegfried line on the western frontier, and concentrated everything on a quick, de- - drive victory over Poland • Four train loads of wounded German soldiers were reported to have arrived at Bratislava Slovakia. from the Polish front. The loss of 31 German planes in Poland was admitted officially, but it I was claimed that 120 Polish planes had been shot down or destroyed by bombs The capture of the important Polish towns. Caeatochovo and Radornsko. was announced here Rad omsko is 25 miles from the German Silesian border and could serve a* a base for a drive against Warsaw. Polish capital, or Lodz, an Industrial city 44 miles north. Adolf Hitler had gone to the eastern front to dlmt the cam paign He left the chancellory at 8:45 last night in a black touring car. with four bodyguards riding on the running boards. The death penalty was decreed for spying, guerilla fighting or at-, (CONTINVED ON PAGE SIX) DUTCH PROTEST PLANE FLIGHTS Dutch Government Protests Flights Over Netherlands Amsterdam, Sept * 4U-» The ‘ Dutch government today protested : to hoth London and Berlin agat.ist | flight of unidentified war planes | over Holland, where they dropped i leaflets printed in German. The planes, flying northwest to | Germany, apparently mistook Hol- - land for German soil. (In Berlin, it was reported British "propaganda" planes w*-r.< I driven away from a German city i ’ The leaflets explained to the German population the general war situation and said "Your gov- > ernment falls to keep you inform- - ed " "We arc at war with the piesent government but not with the: (CONTINVED <»N PAGF) FIVE) Report Pope I’ius Plans New Appeal Vatican City, Sept. 4 -(UPj—i Dope Plus XII waa reported gnthort-l tatively today to Im- preparing an appeal to Europe's warring nations t : wage their hosill'tlss htUMMIyJ The appeal wa* expect-1 to contain tour points: 1. No use of polscnou* gu. 2. No bomihardnunt of civilians ; and open cities. 3. G<md treatment of orisoner*. I Respect for ptoperty and livestock in captured towns. • 0 September Term Os Circuit Court Opens The September term of the Adams circuit court was opened this morning with Judge J. Fred Fruchte presiding on the bench. only routine opening business was conducted with the first busy day expected for Tuesdiy. Tho ■locket |* expected to be called later I »ln the week.

Price Two Cents.

(treat Britain Denounces Torpedoing Os Vessel As Violation Os Hitler’s Pledged Word. PROTEST OUTRAGE London. Rept, 4 — (U.K) — The British government today announced the rescue <>f approximately ! I.ioft aleiard the torpedoed Athenia including 314 American*, except those killed by the explosion, and denounced the attack a* a vlola- , tion of Adolf Hitler'* pledged word. Although a radio broadcast In Bet Hix denied that a German submarine had torpedoed the British liner 25<l miles off the Irish coast, first lord of the admiralty Wlusioti ,(. hurchill told the house of c.iot mon* that the ship “was certainly torpedoed without the slightest warning." He announced that the legal issue* were lieing studied Itefore action was taken to protest th, outrage to Berlin through the g< H .| offices <tf the American emlmssy I there. Churchill announced that warship convoy* were being provided as quickly aa possible for all British merchant ship* and that •it.c--August 24 all British merchant shtps had been diverted from no.mat courses The Athenia bad . treen ordered to steer a course 1 j well off her normal track. Churchill had stated earlier Meanwhile leith Breat Bil’lan and France plunged into war to , aid >*oland. A speech by prime minister Neville ('hamlM-rlain to the German people telling them that the word of Adolf Hitler "wa* not worth the paper It wa* written «m" and listing charge* that he had broken aoletnn pledge* tiuw and again waa broadcast over and over i to Germany. The government announced that the statu* of all Germans and Austrians would be revtewgd with a view of detaining them If they proved to Is- enemy aliens. It wa* promised German refugee* suuld . be given full protection The London stock exchange wag <lose<l pending further no'ke. The war office announced that . all regular force* In the African | colony had been moblllz -d and ■ security measure* taken. The Britiah pres* begot deI nounciug Hitler aa a "murderer" ] and a "dangerous criminal." Two air raid alarms <-aus< d mil- , Hon* of persons to rush from their . tied* In London, the eastern coun- ; try and the midlands in fear of i Nazi bombing attack*. Britain's war cabinet of nine > men has been formed, including I Churchill, who year after year, in speeches and newspaper article* and in book*, had warned the gov ernment that Hiller must Im stopped Genera! Viscount Gort. world war hero and chief of the imperial general staff, was named to the new post of "chief of the oversea* force*" General Bir Edm.i,.d Ironside, who had been ln*pe<i,>general of the oversea* force*, wa* named ch let of the general stuff ind General Sir Walter Klrkv wu* named chief of the home force* The new war cabinet took over < prosecution of the war a* soon •a It was named yesterday. Inclusion of Churchill waa t tl.i-n by the people to mean that the war , would be waged vigorously and to the end. ('hurchill wa* given the Importi ant post of first lord of the adiolralty- that which he held In I*l4, (CONTINUED ON PAGE MX) Belgian Army h Reported Ready Brussel*. Sept. 4 —(UPJ— Kltl« Leopold assumed personal com* mand of the army today. I* waa an* < nnunced that all loldlers wen now ■ In position and that thn frontlar was In "a stat* of dafan**." >1 "I am cartan that In all clrcutn* f Maness th* atvny will proto by It* ) bravery and self-denial the worth •|of*thn confidence the entire natloq puts in It." ths King proclaimed.