13 Dec 1939
Page 1
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Newspaper
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Location
Bluefield, West Virginia, United States of America
Date
Dec 13, 1939
Page
1
Finnish troops and aircraft claim fierce battles along a 200 mile stretch from the Karelian isthmus to near Lake Ladoga. They report tremendous enemy losses and say three Soviet battalions were destroyed with captured weapons and tanks, as fighting also rages near Tolvajarvi and Loimola.
Washington reports that President Roosevelt will ask Congress to extend the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act, preserving the White House power to negotiate pacts beyond June 12. Debate already rises as many lawmakers threaten to fight renewal, arguing pacts boost agricultural imports and surpluses. Hull defends the program, stating most farm imports are noncompetitive and not destabilizing.
In Clarksburg West Virginia Raymond Kelly denounced Communist inspired cliques as a barrier to industrial peace at an American Legion banquet. He defended the Legion committee work praising American youth and reaffirmed neutrality while seeking lasting peace. He urged elimination of foreign revolutionary influence from American labor ranks and praised the Dies committee for exposing subversive activity.
The Bluefield city board approves a new Great Seal on final reading to mark the municipalitys fiftieth anniversary. The seal features the roundhouse railroad gear, Pinnacle Rock, a coal lump dated 1889, and Pocahontas beside miners tools, with West Virginia and City of Bluefield around the border. The seal will adorn stationery but not replace the official corporate seal. A commendation for the artist is noted as well.
The agency reports Russia ready to deploy a large army and about a thousand planes in an assault on Helsinki. The central aim is a decisive thrust into the Karelian region to overwhelm defenses.
West Virginia coal outlook shows current production about 20 percent below the peak week of October yet 21 percent above the same week in 1938. Jesse Sullivan of the West Virginia Coal Association notes the November period still ahead, with overall tonnage ahead of 1938 and expectations for 1939 production to continue rising.
The Daily Telegraph prepares a seven section semi centennial issue to honor fifty seven years of Bluefield progress. It weighs over thirty tons, uses almost a ton of ink, and will be distributed to dealers and subscribers at 15 cents a copy with bound editions available.
The death of silent film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr is reported from Fairbanks Ohio with funeral plans for Forest Lawn. Final arrangements await approval of his widow, with services tentatively set at Wee Kirk O the Heather and burial alongside Jean Harlow and Will Rogers. Mary Pickford shares mourning remarks praising his spirit of adventure.
Boettiger son in law of President Roosevelt accuses the NLRB of distortion in a Seattle memo read to the house committee. The document blames a board examiner for unfairness and hints at seeking higher authorities. Committee counsel questions ties between board actions and Nylander resignation.
Cleveland December 12. Col Leonard P Ayers offers an optimistic 1940 forecast while noting that a durable recovery depends on shifting from capital consumption to capital formation. He predicts higher national income, modest rise in industrial output, and uncertain effects from war and politics.
Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio presented four core principles for a 1940 GOP program in a Massachusetts Republican club address. He urged a balanced budget within about two years and private enterprise growth under business-friendly policy, while opposing New Deal spending and internal affairs control. He also called for defense preparation and staying out of war, plus reforms to wage laws and labor relations to ease union organizing without employer coercion.
Geneva reports Finland rejects league mediation as talions are wiped out and a large Soviet offensive is smashed. Finnish communique says a German freighter was sunk. Moscow hints Red Army casualties flood Leningrad. Copenhagen and Stockholm note massive troop and aircraft concentrations against Finnish railways and northern fronts. Paris cites German attacks repulsed between Saar and Warndt as France and Britain form a financial alliance.
Chief Engineer Walter B. Martin of the steamer J C Rawn told a three member federal board he had no idea what caused last weeks boiler explosion that killed three men and injured six. He said the boilers were reconditioned in 1937. Witnesses included E Rawn Sr president of Onis River Dredging owner of the boat and others who described damage estimated at least 35000 and noted boiler sections sent to Washington for tests.
John D. M. Hamilton is quoted rebuking Secretary Ickes after Ickes warned a Roosevelt third term would safeguard democracy. Hamilton, in Newark for New Jersey GOP talks, dense quoted that Ickes misunderstands democracy and warned no Republican would suit him.
Berlin reports the Bremen, a 51 731 ton German cruiser, has slipped into home waters after 36 hours’ sail from New York and a route via Murmansk. Commodore Adolf Ahrens, who commanded the voyage, is celebrated for outmaneuvering the British fleet. The ship’s safe arrival reinforces German mastery of the North Sea as other vessels also test Hamburg routes.
Soviet Premier Molotov rejected a League of Nations mediation proposal on Finland and Russia opening the way to condemn the Soviet Union as aggressor and possible banishment from Geneva. Moscow cited inability to accept the invitation while noting Finland’s government authority.
Reports from Leningrad indicate ongoing heavy casualties as the Finnish front stiffens. Soviet press claims Finnish resistance, while Red Star touts welcoming workers in Terijoki and a Finnish people’s government aligned with Moscow.
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