15 Dec 1939
Page 1
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This newspaper page contains 12 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Portsmouth Herald
Location
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States of America
Date
Dec 15, 1939
Page
1
The piece reports on Communist regrouping and sabotage linked to war efforts for Britain. It notes officials discussing diverting national defense to assist Finland and mentions American and Allied moves, including suspected missions by a minister and ongoing fabrications about war material like molybdenum.
British and German air forces clashed in one of the heaviest air battles of the war as Royal Air Force raids hit Nazi seaplane bases at Sylt Borkum and Norderney. Survivors reported a damaged German cruiser of about 6000 tons in convoy with battleships destroyers and a submarine. German claims said 10 of 20 British planes were shot down.
Finland paid 8234,693 on its wartime debt to the United States as Hjalmar Procope presents a check to Secretary Morgenthau. The money was placed in a separate account pending Roosevelt guidance to Congress on its use for the Finnish people.
Robert Connelly, 28, of Dorchester, Mass, a truck driver, suffered first degree burns and injuries to hands and legs after a head on collision with a large truck driven by F. L. Deery, 60, of West Medford, Mass, in Ogunquit. Both men were hospitalized in York with Deery also treated for a severe scalp wound. The Ogunquit fire department reported the trucks a total loss as state police continue investigations.
Neal O'Hara muses on a wartime transport named Bremen and German risk in sending a torpedoed cargo to England. He jests about Stalin's receipts and Soviet German ties, then notes Hitler's early Christmas shipping and Santa Claus in Russia. The piece reflects wartime humor on strategic moves and morale.
Helsinki reports Finnish foreign minister Vaina Tanner urged Soviet foreign commissar Vyacheslav Molotov in a radio broadcast to suspend hostilities and renew negotiations based on small nations’ right of self determination. Tanner cited Moscow’s prior mediation failures and noted Stalin’s warning on defending Soviet soil.
Washington reports former Senator Brown and Comptroller General Fred H. Brown in critical condition after a stroke. Friends note he has not spoken since the attack, with Mrs. Brown as the sole visitor, and that he had been unwell for days prior to the incident. Raymond Stevens confirms Brown’s illness followed a prior luncheon.
Finland reports retreat along Arctic front to the Arctic Ocean while holding the Karelian Isthmus. A counterattack north of Lake Ladoga claims two Russian regiments nearly annihilated near Tolvajarvi, as Finns pursue retreating forces toward a possible major defeat.
The League of Nations secretly coordinates arms supply for Finland while Finns seek a foreign legion to oppose Soviet invasion. League officials emphasize secrecy to ensure Allied materiel reaches Finland via combined sea and overland routes. Paris and London offices ordered to arrange transport credits for arms from France and Britain.
Santa Claus arrives in Portsmouth at 7 PM with good weather and full preparations. The procession from Market Street will pass Market Square Islington Middle and State streets to Pleasant Street and back to the square. The Portsmouth High School Band and Frans E Booms Post American Legion Band provide martial music and a concert near North Church as Mayor Kennard E B Goldsmith greets the crowd. Spectators are urged to keep streets clear for the parade.
In Montevideo the crew of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee bury dead as Allied ships close in. Sixty-two British sailors, captured from nine merchant ships, recounts their ordeal in cramped cells beneath the gun decks while the battleship awaits repair and a possible harbor stay under Uruguayan neutrality.
Randall Hall, a 110 year old dormitory at New Hampton School for Boys, was badly damaged by a fire of undetermined origin. About 80 to 85 students who had just finished an exam were evacuated after the blaze began on the top floor. Firemen from Bristol battled the flames in 10 degree weather. the building is insured and to be repaired, with the holiday shutdown to follow.
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