31 Dec 1939
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 35 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Location
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 31, 1939
Page
1
The writer urges Americans to abandon suspicion and seek common purpose under a tolerant government. He notes Washington’s supposed realization and a nonpartisan Jackson Day banquet, while contrasting Adolf Hitler’s churning aggression and hypocritical prayers for divine blessing amid Nazi repression of clergy.
Cedar Rapids recorded a record cold as the thermometer sank below zero for the first time this winter. The low followed a 18 degree noon high amid misty snow and a brisk north wind, with forecasts predicting further drops by morning.
President Roosevelt promoted Acting Secretary Charles Edison to full cabinet status in a recess appointment to boost the warship program. Edison, 49, will be sworn in immediately and receive a $15,000 salary, with a Senate confirmation expected after Congress convenes.
William Green of the American Federation of Labor accuses Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins of making misleading statements about the AFL CIO split in her annual report. He calls for congressional testimony, disputes dates of expulsions versus suspensions, and says AFL reports four million paid up members while Perkins implies parity with CIO.
A Muscatine woman, 44, admitted fraudulently charging more than $1,000 in merchandise at a Des Moines store and two local shops during Christmas rush. Detected after clues linked to a physician’s Iowa City account, police traced stolen goods to her home and a concurrent search found over $1,000 in items. Authorities plan further questioning as investigations continue.
A. HARRY Bridges, described as a communist fellow traveler and co operator, remains in the United States as an alien. Bridges denied he is or ever was a communist, while James M. Landis reports the government did not prove its charges. Some government witnesses admitted perjury.
Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins argues that the United States can fulfill the unlimited promise of America if business adjusts price policies to modern mass consumption and labor avoids wage spikes that curb output. He says the government only needs to guarantee no booms and panics. Page the modern Confucius, boy, and page Him well.
An administration spokesman in Des Moines says federal guidance prompted Iowa to join the old age assistance program. Officials estimate 12 000 to 15 000 Iowans will apply for pensions, with 2 364 currently receiving benefits and an average monthly payment of 19.95 dollars.
Thomas S. Ely, once a Plymouth County farmer, holds a $2000 savings account in a Sioux City bank. He applied Oct 2 at the Woodbury County old age assistance office for state help after a prior county relief denial. Ely sold his Plymouth farm, moved to Sioux City, and opened the bank account, prompting prosecution for unlawfully seeking old age assistance.
Judge Francis Biddle ruled that a company union is legal like others unless dominated by the employer, overturning prior NLRB hostility to company unions and aligning with democratic principle after a hectic year. The decision comes as the NLRB had shown hostility toward employer dominated unions.
The text recounts Fritz Thyssen once Germany's leading tycoon who backed Hitler early, then opposed Nazi brutality in Czechoslovakia and Poland. He fell out of favor, went into self exile in Portugal, while his former ally seeks his arrest for theft embezzlement fraud and tax dodging.
The article reports Senator Herring’s anger over higher charges for certain Scotch brands in Iowa compared with Chicago dealers. It asserts his real grievance is the GOP political machine his administration created in the state liquor control system being dismantled, reflecting party power struggles.
A revised forecast warned of 10 below zero in northern Iowa and 5 below in the south as the final day of 1939 approached. Des Moines logged 7 degrees at 6 p.m. and 3 below zero by 12:30 a.m. Sunday as a V shaped cold front moved in.
Cedar Rapids observed a quiet New Year’s Eve with private parties and heavy bar business while zero weather kept people home. Police activity was normal, stores closed by 9 p.m., and traffic slowed to near standstill. Most 1940 celebrations were planned for later in the night.
The Tacoma remains anchored in Montevideo awaiting the Uruguayan decree on whether to intern or leave. A British patrol threat in the South Atlantic is possible if the ship departs, as the Graf Spee’s scuttling history colors the standoff.
The author, Arthur Bugs Baer, muses on the late 1920s and early 1930s era as a bridge to Leap Year preparations. He notes fashion, social mood, and cultural tone of the thin Thirties.
A concise, somewhat cryptic note discussing footwear and building styles, mentioning white marble post offices with corrugated iron roofs and avoiding worn or improvised items. The fragment hints at design or infrastructure choices and a wary stance toward substandard materials.
A remark advocates abandoning prosperity through extravagance and returning to an old reliable system of better times through corruption.
The Tacoma a German 8268 ton merchant ship will be given 24 hours to leave Montevideo harbor Uruguay cites it as an auxiliary warship. The captain has not yet been informed of the order as of Saturday night.
In Montevideo AP report Britain requested Uruguay permit the cruiser Ajax to enter Montevideo harbour for repairs after damage from a mid month clash with the German pocket battleship Graf Spee.
Reno reports 2231 divorce suits filed in 1939, down from 2375 the prior year. The six weeks residence rule had set a 4745 record in 1931. Meanwhile a new high for marriage licenses emerged with 10934 licenses sold through Saturday, surpassing the 8277 record in 1937.
The Sunday Express cites an unverifiable Lausanne source claiming Field Marshal Hermann Goering was shot in the right leg during a hunting accident on December 18 in the Wuperthal forest. No corroboration or details are provided.
London reports Britain’s government shows a deficit of 1.257 billion dollars for three quarters of the current fiscal year. Expenditures reach 3.435 billion while revenue stands at 2.178 billion, with the shortfall covered by borrowing.
Miss Consuelo L. Hanna forty attorney from Laverne Iowa was fatally injured Saturday when struck by a passenger train two miles west of Corpus Christi Texas. She was walking along the right of way and appeared to stop in front of the oncoming train.
A survey of 23 firms shows Cedar Rapids Industries up about 20 percent in 1939 with strong outlook for 1940. Most plants report higher orders, larger turnover, and optimism despite war effects. Turner Company leads with over 100 percent growth and tripled employment. Other firms like Quaker Oats show continued strength, with January and February expected to mirror 1939.
Field Marshal Goering declared in a Voelkischer Beobachter article that the German air force will launch an assault of world-historic scope in countering British bombing. He claimed no land is as vulnerable to air attack as Britain and said only the Fuehrer’s command is required.
A British government spokesman on Saturday night said Hitler's new year proclamation follows the well worn line of German argument. Britain and France intend to pursue their goal of stopping Hitler until achieved.
The report outlines Nazi aims including mine laying and a prophecy of victory in 1940 while Adolf Hitler pledges a broader war aim. It notes German officials had not confirmed Britain’s bombing claims and mentions Goering discussing aerial mines. A separate St Louis AP item covers H C Davis reporting his wife missing and asking police to locate their home.
Detectives linked a second in a string of planned holdups to a 10 15 p m Saturday robbery at 1334 First Avenue. Gunman took 36 dollars from Mike Risk, owner, as an alley car waited 15 minutes prior. An out of town accomplice drove the getaway car.
Lawrenceburg, Tenn. AP seven members of a rural sect face involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly refusing medical care in five infant and child deaths. Indictments name Joe Brady Ashley Luna and wives Charles Gray and wives Lowell McGee and wives.
Robert Wadlow, 21 known as the Alton giant, filed a $100,000 libel suit in U S district court in Springfield Illinois against Time Inc the publisher of Time magazine The suit cites a March 1 1937 Time article and notes federal court jurisdiction since Time is outside Illinois.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr and his wife Ethel du Pont rested at the White House following superficial minor injuries from an automobile accident near Winchester Virginia.
CHICAGO January weekly outlook predicts partly fair skies with rising temperatures early in the week, a midweek dip to colder conditions, and a return to warmth by week’s end. Stronger cold snaps expected midweek with possible brief frosts.
Finnish forces halted a third Red Army advance at Kuhmo and pushed Russians back toward the border. Reports from Helsinki credit ski troops and Jägar units with rail disruptions near Murmansk and Leningrad, while bombings hit Hanko Vaasa Sipoo and Kakisalmi. Foreign volunteers, including Swedes and Italians, draw cautious official notice as Finland notes growing world attention.
Dr. Rudolph Schoenheimer of Columbia University told the eighth national organic chemistry symposium in St. Louis that the human body is a seething mass of rapidly reacting chemicals. He described continual change in protein fats and carbohydrates whether or not food is eaten, comparing the process to a witches cauldron.
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