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Newspaper
San Antonio Light
Location
San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
Date
May 31, 1940
Page
1
A 1910s voice denounces wartime burdens and government waste. It argues seven billion spent on defense and eight billion annual outlay risk national solvency, urging a Roosevelt appointed board to oversee defense expenditures and curb reckless politics for economic stability.
Weather notes predict a light to moderate rainfall Friday night if forecasters are correct. The public forecast suggests showers possible with temperatures stabilizing by Saturday with lows near 68 degrees and daytime highs around the rest of the week.
Paris May 31 German casualties reported by the semi official Telesrance agency as having reached one half million since the start of the invasion of the Low Countries. The agency cited German documents but offered no further specifics.
London, May 31. Three persons including the 42 year old German wife of eight Royal Air Force sergeants were held for trial charged with conspiring to obtain British military secrets for the German high command. Mrs Mary Ingram, a domestic in the home of a naval officer, admitted having a brother in the German high command.
British military circles said Allied forces retreating from France were riddled with spies. A spokesman noted the risk that if headquarters moved into a house it would likely be bombed, underscoring widespread espionage concerns in the French war area.
London reports Britons fleeing the Flanders trap across the border into safety as observers weigh Nazi options. Potential moves include separate peace terms with France or a Paris assault, while Britain fortifies inland defenses and warns against war fatigue. The Curlew cruiser loss is announced off Norway. French losses appear light with minimal killed and one tank destroyed as Allied evacuations proceed.
SIMLA May 31 Gen Sir Robert Cassels announced 100000 additional men would be enacted in the Indian army and the Indian air force would be quadrupled. He warned the war in France could spread and India might lose immunity from enemy action.
Italian newspaper correspondents in Paris were ordered to return to Italy immediately. Most left as the orders were issued, while the remaining reporters planned to depart tonight or tomorrow.
Paris reports a French military spokesman attributed German advances in Belgium to treason among Belgian and other Allied forces. He claimed officers failed to blow bridges and that misplacement of explosives led to a German breakthrough along the Albert Canal line.
Washington reports a general exodus of Americans from the Mediterranean as the Washington sails home from Bordeaux and Lisbon without convoy or cargo. British sources say about 90,000 British French and Belgian soldiers have returned to England from Flanders, about one third of the original Allied force. Allied casualty figures are not yet compiled but estimates run near five hundred thousand for German losses.
President Roosevelt submitted to Congress a supplemental emergency defense program calling for rapid expansion of the military, swift activation of reserve and national guard forces, and training of youth for industry and armed service. He warned of definite danger from new European war developments and emphasized speed in equipping and mobilizing.
Dispatches from Bergen report 601 persons killed when the coastal steamer Jadarland, a 1000 ton vessel, sank after an explosion off the Bauresund on Norway's west coast.
French rearguard units commanded by Gen Rene Prioux reportedly fought through German lines to reach the Dunkerque defense, with Prioux’s force retreating in daylight to the port area as Allied evacuation and resupply continued. Measures describe strong combat around the Somme and Aisne, with German advances halted at the water barrier near the Yser canal.
Berlin reports the French forces in the Flanders pocket dispersed or captured while a massive German push against remnants of British forces along the coast advances. The high command says German divisions are released for new tasks as Britain and France confront a widening crisis. Reports note sinking of a British destroyer and air raids on northern Germany, with Goebbels possibly poised to announce next moves.
Considerable cloudiness with showers Friday night. Saturday partly cloudy with light to gentle southeast winds. Airport high Friday around 88, low 68. Saturday high about 83. high Thursday 92, low Friday morning 67. East Texas and West Texas show similar cloud and shower patterns with varying winds. slight warming in the Southwest portion Saturday.
In London British troops demand more air power as Hitler seeks a separate peace to split France and England. Berlin claims trapped Allied forces in Flanders are cut into three groups ready for a death blow. Dunkirk battles rage as Paris reports French units fight toward the coast. Britain notes tens of thousands of BEF survivors reach a southeast English port by ship convoy. Rome foresees Italy striking when ready. Tokyo says Tokyo proposes to secure Japan's interests in the Netherlands East Indies during Europe’s war.
In Paris on May 31 a war ministry spokesman said General Maurice Gamelin, former Allied commander, is in Paris without any command. You can deny absolutely that he bears any charge, the spokesman stated.
Eight leading hotel social directors from California and the West will stop over at the St. Antony hotel in Los Angeles for a few hours Friday afternoon. The group, numbering 41 women, is bound for Houston to attend their national convention from June 3 to June 6.
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