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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
May 03, 1941
Page
1
Decatur Iron and Steel Company announced a retroactive pay increase to April 28 for its 2000 employees, totaling about 30 000 dollars yearly. The raise follows a prior increase and targets lower paid workers, aiming to share profits from defense orders and rising living costs while expanding production at the plant.
Manila reports the worst fire in its history tearing through the Tondo district. Three dead and 25,000 homeless as $500,000 in damage. Fire raged to the bay amid water shortages with US Army troops aiding traffic and evacuation to schools and tents.
The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board reports suspensions for liquor and beer licenses. Jefferson county bars Happy John Bollas Barbecue No. 1 and Weems Place log at Weems, liquor suspended 10 days and beer 30 days respectively. Montgomery county Log Cabin Gen owned by Lee Francis has beer license suspended 60 days.
British destroyers Jervis Mohawk Janus and Nubian attacked an axis convoy bound for Tripoli off Kerkenah bank near Sfax Tunisia. Four merchant ships and two Italian destroyers were sunk in minutes. Jervis captain Mack reported a torpedo hit on a cargo ship loaded with munitions and a tremendous blast.
Former King Carol of Romania and Magda Lupescu leave Europe for rest in Cuba and Bermuda aboard the S S Excambion traveling under aliases. Carol shares a stateroom with palace chamberlain Ernest Urdareanu, while Lupescu stays with an American friend in a separate cabin as the liner sails from Lisbon.
Washington May 3 Congress opened a drive for extra revenue after President Roosevelt urged a minimum 3.5 billion dollars in higher taxes to fund defense costs. He told House Ways and Means Chair Doughton that taxes should be fair and evasion proof. Some experts cited income tax exemptions as possible targets. The committee considered easing the burden on lower and middle incomes, counting on higher national income from defense spending.
Kansas City residents vow to raise funds to increase the chief of police salary after L. B. Reed, a former FBI agent, resigns effective May 14. A legislative committee has pigeonholed a bill to raise his pay from 5000 to 10000 annually. Donors offer up to 500 dollars yearly.
Washington officials weigh changing factory schedules to operate seven days a week with 24-hour shifts. No individual hours would rise. workers would start and end their weeks at different times to avoid weekend shutdowns. The plan targets all essential industries, not just critical machines, and follows President Roosevelt urging maximum weekly hours for vital equipment. Walter D. Puller of the NAM plans a tour to promote compliance.
The 3290 ton German freighter Lech, which left Rio de Janeiro five days ago to run the British blockade, was intercepted yesterday by a British auxiliary cruiser and is reported sinking off Bahia, Brazil. Maritime sources said no further details were available.
Bethlehem Steel signs first ever contract with Local 15 CIO covering 1800 workers at Hoboken shipyard. Defense mediation talks resume amid wage dispute threats to defense production in 61 plants employing 160000. Bendix Aviation faces possible CIO UAW walkout over a 10 percent wage rise. Dock workers in four Great Lakes ports consider strike backing wage demands. Some soft coal mines remain idle as reports continue.
Postmaster R T Sheppard announced changes in arrival times of two southern trains affecting afternoon mail delivery. Train 35 from the east will arrive at 12 40 Sunday, delaying box holder service and city mail carriers by about 30 minutes. Train 36 arrives at 2 55, pushing afternoon mail from that train back by 30 minutes.
Dewitt Mackenzie reports a rising revolt against British control in the Iranian Desert with potential to spread to Iraq and Arabian nations. The danger includes a possible Axis base for attacks on Suez and Egypt, heightening British concern. Beirut reports saboteurs linked to a Tripoli refinery fire, unsettling oil supplies and signaling broader strategic peril.
The piece notes a serious Iraqi revolt endangering the British Mediterranean fleet supply and Imperial airbases such as Habbaniyah. It cites a pro Nazi Iraqi government seizing power, disrupting alliance with Britain, and attacking Imperial troops as a key development with regional strategic impact.
The American Legion executive committee calls to use the Navy to escort material aid to Great Britain and urges resignation of Secretary Frances Perkins for national unity. It also backs convoy protection and condemns strikes during the wartime emergency.
Howard Emigh superintendent of the Reynolds Metals Company aluminum plant at Sheffield suffered a fractured knee, eye injury and facial cuts when his car blew a rear tire, struck a pole and overturned on Joe Wheeler Highway five miles east of here. He was unconscious, then regained consciousness at Benevolent Society Hospital where his condition was listed as satisfactory. Investigated by Sanders Fusch and M B Chambers of the state highway patrol. Emigh, a Detroit resident, was en route to Decatur and staying in Sheffield at Little Rock arts.
Spanish War veterans will meet at 2 o clock Sunday afternoon at Morgan County Abstract office 909 Ferry Street and members of the ladies auxiliary have also been requested to attend Officers said a full membership attendance was desired as some important business is to be transacted.
A cold front moving from Michigan chilled sections of New England and New York with sub-freezing temperatures. Elsewhere east of the Mississippi enjoyed fair weather while Texas saw heavy rains from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast. Minimum readings included Burlington 26 and Albany 30 with other cities in the 30s.
State meeting gathers five groups for a panel on how others view the press. Participants include Thomas J Twentyman of Loveman, Joseph and Loeb. BE Turner of Anniston. Mrs H Pannell of Tuscaloosa. Dr William Graham Wellies. Justice J Edwin Livingston. Drew Middleton spoke on The Eleventh Hour and Otis Brumby will address the closing address on weekly papers’ decline.
Morgan County draft boards 1 and 2 begin sending Monday questionnaires to late registrants from last October. Board 1 in Decatur has 3 640 registrants and Board 2 in Hartselle has 2 792. The county quota is 105 with 61 for Decatur and 44 for Hartselle. Decatur trails by 16 and Hartselle by 7. State HQ has not indicated a higher quota, though a new call is anticipated.
Reports from Vichy say 26 American merchant ships loaded with arms passed into the Suez Canal for Britain's Middle East forces. Berlin sources claim British shipping losses since war began near 11,000,000 tons as fighting with Iraqi forces extends into a second day amid ancient empires and modern conflict.
French sources said travelers from Palestine reported anti Semitic outbreaks and kidnapping of Jewish leaders in the Holy Land amid Arab reaction to Balkans and Mesopotamia events. Some Zionist leaders were abducted as disturbances caused bloodshed, while the British thought they could keep the situation under control. Anti Semitic sentiment grew with Jewish emigrants from the Balkans and the Iraq situation aggravated tensions.
The report states 26 British planes destroyed at Habbaniyah and that British detachments failed to seize another airfield. German aid rumors rise, with propaganda rhetoric about a major test between British imperialism and the Arab world as Iraq appeals to Arabs in Palestine. Turkey's stance remains unclear as Axis forces exploit Britain's trouble in North Africa.
The Tennessee river stood at 20.95 feet on Saturday and was falling. No rainfall is expected tonight, with showers in the southwest on Sunday. Winds are gentle to moderate, mainly from the north and southwest along the coast.
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