14 Dec 1939
Page 1
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Newspaper
Portsmouth Herald
Location
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States of America
Date
Dec 14, 1939
Page
1
A decaying grain crisis hits farms across the Midwest as inspectors find 315 cars of wheat in Kansas City without proper grading and widespread weevil damage. Officials note October was the worst destitution year, urging action on storage and government loan programs.
The German pocket battleship Graf Spee, badly damaged and with 36 dead, clung to refuge in Montevideo as two British cruisers watched from sea. The crippled Exeter limped to the Rio de la Plata with Ajax and Achilles damaged. casualties on all ships unsettled, while interment remains the likely fate for the Graf Spee.
Romanian authorities report a massive explosion at a cellulose plant in Bucharest killing 80 and gravely injuring 200 others. Emergency crews and investigators work at the scene as officials confirm casualties and assess the cause.
In a December broadside Neal O'Hara notes President Franklin D. Roosevelt faces questions on a possible third term while Garner and Wallace loom in cabinet chatter. The piece pivots to a disaster report from Zarnesti where a chemical kettle blast kills many, destroys families, and halts a passing train as engineers die.
London, Dec 14 AP The Admiralty reports the British destroyer Duchess collided with another warship and sank with an indicated loss of 120 lives. Only one officer and 22 men were saved. The Duchess, 1875 tons, defender class, completed 1933, carried 145 crew. Commanded by Lieut Commander R. C. H. White. Details of the other ship and collision location were not disclosed.
A New England wide police search began today for Richard T. Adams 21 of Greenland wanted in thefts totaling over 83000 in clothing from Phillips Exeter and Andover Massachusetts colleges. Exeter Chief Thomas Chrysler says a description was circulated to New England departments and Adams was found in Greenland then fled from a Newmarket dance hall.
Russian troops push through the Petsamo district toward Salmijarvi near the Norwegian frontier as Finnish forces withdraw southward. Towns including Kolosjorki Tullevi Kolvolahti and Kovoranta blaze. Salmijarvi nears capture amid air raids and smoke blanketing the corridor to Boris-Glev.
Portsmouth lights up for the 1938 Christmas season as Santa Claus arrives by float at 7 p.m. escorted by the high school band and police. The parade runs Market Square to Congress to Middle Street and State Street before returning to the square where Mayor Goldsmith speaks. The Frank E. Booma American Legion Band performs from the North Church as a large crowd gathers and is urged to observe street safety and parking rules.
Governor Murphy nominates Lieut. Col. Albert E. Colburn for promotion to colonel to lead the 197th Reg N H N G. The nomination will be acted on by the executive council. Colburn, from Somersworth, serves on the State Development Commission staff in Concord.
The City Council will meet at 7 o'clock this evening at City Hall. Residents may attend to hear reports and discuss local matters.
Prime Minister Chamberlain praised three small British ships for their action against a heavily armed foe, saying it could curb Graf Spee in the South Atlantic. He also backed League of Nations moves condemning Russia for invading Finland and urged continued resistance to German aggression.
Geneva Dec. 14 AP The League of Nations expelled Soviet Russia by unanimous council vote for invasion of Finland. Four abstained including Finland China Yugoslavia and Greece. The resolution declared the USSR no longer a League member. This marked the first expulsion in League history.
Four men were arraigned in Hampton municipal court after a crash involving two cars and a truck on Lafayette Road during a snowstorm. Three injured, two shaken, Christmas trees from a trailer blocked the icy highway. The sedan with a home made trailer driven by Harold Kane crossed the road, hitting a Hunnewell Transportation truck from Portland.
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