12 Dec 1939
Page 1
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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 12, 1939
Page
1
British dispatches report repulsing a German assault south of Buschdorf near the Moselle Valley. They claim no British losses and heavier German casualties, as partisan fronts on the western front show the first direct engagement between British and German forces.
A historical note describes the boar's head feast at Queen's College Oxford each Christmas. It cites the carol The boar's head in hand bear and recounts a legend of a student saved by stuffing a book down a boar's throat. The carol first appeared in print in 1521.
The Daily accepts an invitation from former President Hoover to aid the Finland relief movement. Gifts for distressed Finns will be credited in The Daily and sent to the national committee led by Hoover in New York. Send contributions to Finland Relief Fund care The Decatur Daily.
Contributions continue as citizens donate to aid Finland amid Russian invasion. Acting for former President Hoover, The Daily and other papers coordinate a relief clearinghouse with gifts sent to the New York national committee. New gifts include amounts from Mrs S B Burr and local merchants, totaling several dollars.
In Macon Georgia Sheriff Sam Kitchens of Twiggs County is acquitted after a coroner verdict of justifiable homicide in the shooting of Forest Wimberly a 60 year old constable. Deputies say Kitchens acted in self defense following a quarrel over a woman and a drinking party. A ministerial association calls for a liquor-traffic inquiry as investigations continue.
Dr E Bennett Henson of Charleston W Va describes a new procedure in which fluid is drawn from infected joints to create an air space then oxygen is introduced to contact bone as it heals. The method aims to separate bone and tissue, reduce stiffness, and speed repair.
A memorandum recounts John Boettiger saying he did not blame employees for criticizing the NLRB administration of the Wagner Act. The Seattle Hearst publisher reportedly asked the memo’s author not to publicize his remarks while urging the board to address internal disagreements surfaced during the Smith committee hearings.
Alabama Power Company mailed ad valorem tax payments totaling 1,362,804.23 dollars to state counties for 1939. Of this amount 606,575.47 dollars goes to the state schools plus kilowatt hour taxes, continuing a longtime practice of pre holiday payments.
Alabama Hosiery Mills and Goodyear Decatur Mills paid city taxes totaling 4,852.91 dollars with Goodyear 3,486.91 and Alabama Mill 1,365.29. Decatur schools receive 1,322.15. Both mills previously paid their county taxes.
Sub-zero winds and snow swept the Northeast and Midwest with 17 above in western New York and 20 below in the north. Utica reported near freezing collapse after a near freezing ride. New England faced zero to 11 below with patchy ice on highways and gale force seas near Nantucket.
Decatur police department members contribute 1400 bringing the Salvation Army fund to 5312.40 in cash and pledges. Reports from about ten Lions Club teams and several city employee groups are still outstanding.
Cotton climbs to peak prices in New York and Liverpool as war demand and supply disruptions boost markets. December futures trade near 11 cents a pound in New York with gains of about 2 1/2 cents since August. Foreign buyers and shipping losses drive the rally amid government subsidy changes.
Hollywood veteran Douglas Fairbanks Sr died of a heart attack at his Santa Monica beach house after a day of illness. His widow Lady Sylvia Ashley and brother Robert were with him. son Douglas Jr. was summoned but arrived after his death. The star rose in 1914 with the Triangle Company after stage success and defined action romance in films like The Lamb and Manhattan Madness.
Gov. Bob Jones says he will not extradite or return Bruno Sen. Hanks, an insane fugitive convicted of assault with attempt to rape, to Arizona. Texas officials object as Hanks is held in El Paso. County judge questions feasibility of deadly mental-confinement trust. Meanwhile Winnie Ruth Judd remains at large after her second escape and nine days of search.
Police search for three Athens schoolgirls Betty Sue Webb 14 Marjorie Shelton 18 and Edna Erle Shelton 15 entered sixth day with no clue after leaving junior high in Athens Wednesday. They were seen on Bee Line Highway toward Decatur and later in Decatur. Parents and officers ask for any clues to contact Athens or Decatur authorities.
Representative Carl BE Mapes of Michigan, 64, a member of the House committee on the Cole oil regulation bill, died suddenly in New Orleans as the hearing began its second day.
The Second Annual Window Shopping Contest results will be announced soon with checks mailed to winners by week’s end. Judges review many entries from 54 Decatur merchants and winners will be named at the earliest possible moment.
British admiralty said a submarine sighted the German liner Bremen within torpedo range but did not attack, citing rules of warfare. Bremen rumored to be homeward bound from Murmansk after leaving New York Aug 30, with Captain Ahrens at the helm and gasolene stocks aboard to deter pursuers.
Rising Sun Lodge of Masons celebrated its 112th anniversary with a banquet in the Masonic building attended by more than 100 Masons and 50 visitors from out of town. Grand Master Night honored EB. W. Collier as the oldest member. Judge T. C. Almon gave welcome, H. C. Pollard responded, and a future meeting for third degree work is set for December 18.
Reports from Helsinki say Finnish forces halted a major Russian attack along the eastern front with claims of heavy enemy casualties. In Geneva the League of Nations extended the Russian Finnish mediation deadline with uncertainty over a Soviet reply. A German freighter Bollheim reportedly sunk near Mantyluoto by a submarine tied to the Russian naval blockade.
Mrs Turner Clem aged about 33 of Athens was instantly killed when a truck she rode in with her husband collided with a train near Bristol Tennessee. Turner Clem suffered multiple injuries but is expected to recover. Mrs Clem formerly Rachael Barksdale, from a prominent Limestone county family. Funeral services to be announced.
Mrs. R L Clem of Athens Alabama was killed when her truck collided with a Southern railway passenger train on the outskirts of Bristol. Her husband suffered injuries described as not serious. They were transporting apples and pecans from Athens. A nearby store operator said the driver appeared not to see the train despite hand signals.
The 24 hour period shows the river at 15.6 feet with a drop of 0.2 degrees and a low of 33. Rain is absent in Alabama. Occasional rain in the north and west, warmer in the southeast on Wednesday, with moderate south winds and a warmer in the southeast.
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