23 Dec 1939
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 22 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Grafton Sentinel
Location
Grafton, West Virginia, United States of America
Date
Dec 23, 1939
Page
1
Two trains collided head on at top speed near Marksdorf and Kluftern on the Friedrichshafen Radolfzell route. Faulty signaling blamed. station agents detained. Total dead in the series rises to 319 with injuries over 311. another express crash reported at Genthin with 132 dead and 109 injured.
Washington reports indicate President Roosevelt will use his January 4 state of the nation message to push expanded national defense. Sources say defense estimates will exceed the current 1.8 billion by about 50 million, with possible cuts in other programs to fund military needs.
The Grafton Sentinel invites Mrs F B Collier of 1232 West Main Street to tonight's film program. At the Dixie theatre William Boyd Hopalong Cassidy titled Law of the Pampas is shown, while at the Strand theatre These Glamor Girls with Ayres is featured.
Holiday spirit fills Washington as the Roosevelt family gathers for a four generation reunion while cabinet members disperse for a three day holiday. The first family visits charity baskets and theater for needy children as Mrs Roosevelt oversees gatherings in the White House and Arlington. The Boettigers travel to join the Roosevelts with Anna Roosevelt Boettiger returning with husband and infant Johnny. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr and other Roosevelts are also noted among the visitors and events.
Washington December 23 Congressional opposition appeared to be forming against efforts by 21 Latin American nations and the United States to maintain a 300 mile neutrality zone around the world searship. Senator Norris Neb told newsmen he believed the zone has no substantial basis in international law and could draw some American republics into the issue. He noted officials of the republics prepared a joint declaration reacting to incidents such as British cruisers clashing with the German pocket battleship Graf Spee near Uruguay. Continued on page six.
Six survivors of a missing British air liner were rescued by a French ship near Sicily and brought to Malta. Flight Engineer J. J. Broome was severely injured, Pilot Fair was slightly hurt, and Steward Ernest W. Smith was among the rescued. The other three survivors’ names were not released. The Lockheed aircraft was en route from Egypt to England with six passengers and a crew of five, when it left Thursday morning for a 730 mile flight to Malta and was hunted by British warships and other vessels.
Wilmington dispatch reports American Viscose Corp announcing a six percent payroll increase for 18,000 employees at five plants. Assistant General Plant Manager George M. Allen said individual raises will vary by job type. Plants affected include Parkersburg and Nitro, West Virginia.
Post office reports indicate 1939 Christmas mail will be the heaviest in history. From New York, the nation’s largest postal center, to Wheeler Springs, California, with its tiny 5 by 7 foot post office, officials note unprecedented volumes. The burden falls on fatigued rural carriers and clerks as Santa’s season arrives.
In Waynesburg Pennsylvania a grieving 61 year old man, Charles Fike, drowned himself in the Monongahela river less than twelve hours after his wife died following a long illness. Coroner Raymond E Adamsom ruled death by self harm. He told his niece Elinor Harbaugh that he could not stand it any longer. A double funeral was planned for Christmas Eve at their home.
Moscow reports no major gains against Finland as natural and constructed defenses hinder advances. Finnish Mannerheim line praised as strong. Russia claims breakage at several points while noting four years of fortifications aided by foreign powers.
The Associated Press reports a white Christmas looks likely for many regions. Rain or snow was forecast weekend wide from the lower Great Lakes through the Appalachians into the Ohio Valley and Tennessee, with lighter snow for the West and Midwest and rain in other areas.
Because Monday is Christmas day there will be no Evening Sentinel publication until Tuesday evening to allow staff to celebrate. Advertisers and readers are asked to submit new or advertising matter early Tuesday as the paper is expected to be crowded.
Grafton and Taylor county map final plans for Christmas with services planned countywide. St Augustine Catholic Church to hold midnight mass and Monday masses while St Matthias Episcopal offers Holy Eucharist at 11 45 pm with organ recital and carols. Protestant churches schedule Sunday observances and the Cooperative Traffic Program presents a Christmas program at B and O station square. Dance at Moose home Monday night features Johnnie Maxie and his orchestra as a season highlight.
The Golden Gate exposition will reopen in 1940 on Treasure Island with bigger shows than 1939. Opening is set for May 25 and the fair closes September 29. The revival plan, approved by Referee Burton J. Wyman in bankruptcy court, settles over 4 million dollars in debts, under a plan limited by Randell Larson, attorney for creditors.
Dallas merchant I Rude runs a Christmas charity drive offering clothing to 10000 needy. He promises personal guarantees and anticipates a busy pre dawn opening as clerks distribute garments to all who arrive.
Democratic congressman from Colorado since 19 died in Toledo after a weeklong illness. Stricken on a train returning to Pueblo he was treated at his hotel and then moved to Naval Hospital where he died. CIO leaders in Toledo vow “surprise visits” to destitute families to show hunger over Christmas amid relief roll cuts.
In New Orleans on December 23, Abraham L. Shushan, linked to Huey P. Long’s circle, is convicted of mail fraud as the federal probe into Louisiana political scandals continues. Seymour Weiss had already been convicted of mail fraud, with a third figure awaiting case outcomes.
Berlin reports two French pursuit planes shot down northwest of Metz during border patrol near the border. The high command said the west front was quiet and reconnaissance flights over France England and the North Sea continued.
Paris reports Allied naval sources tracking about 500 German ships ordered to return via any route from neutral ports to the Reich. The ships, immobilized since the war began, carry an estimated 1.8 million tons of cargo. Germany seeks raw materials, while Allies have seized 750,000 tons of merchandise, not counting 157,000 tons scuttled by Germans.
Reports from Copenhagen say Soviet bombers renewed raids on Turku and Pori and Tampere area after midnight. Finnish forces claimed to surround Red troops at Salmijarvi and cut highway links to Petsamo, with Arctic operations pushing east toward the Kola border as Finland presses counteroffensives.
Finnish forces opened a large counteroffensive on the Karelia isthmus with air strikes on Russian troops supply centers and transportation lines. Helsinki reported air raid alarms and distant explosions while ground actions intensified. Arctic sector forces allegedly pushed retreating Soviet troops back beyond Hoyhenjarvi about 60 miles south of the Arctic Ocean.
Betty Jane King at 702 Maple Avenue presents Jack Trent in Stunt Pilot as the current attraction at the Opera House a bit.
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