Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 1

1 CLIBfetROPOLITAN U.S. Weather Report Cloudy Saturday Sunday! chni Umperatur nio-irli FIN Ai; EDITION i.i 1 1 DETROIT -On Guard for. Over a Century BURTON 110th 'Year 20 Pages (Three Cents Saturday, February 8, 1941. No. 280 LI flAMfl I r'AUWU Jl A IBM GermanCourt Principals in Home Tragedy Climaxed by Murder Troops Caught PIT Vote in House Places a Limit on British Aid Jury Expected to Name More in Graft Probe Eleven Arraigned by Ferguson Include Behrendt Aides Search Being Made' I it A M'e -t: Dooms Briton as French Spy Br Utt Awoeiata-d Piea BERLIN.

Feb. 7 A twenty- eight-year-old Englishman, Percy William Olaf de Wet, whom the Germans called a brave and cu rious man, was sentenced to death today by the Peoples Court after a two-day secret trial on a charge or being a spy in rrencn pay. Germans said his guilt had been proved beyond question, but that he would face the firing squad with many perplexities unsolved. The inquiry, it was stated, revealed that he was a son of a distinguished British officer and a former flier In the Royal Air Force, an adventurer who went to Ethiopia to fight for Halle Selassie against the Italians, a soldier of fortune who wanted to fight for Franco. In Spain but enlisted with the Republicans after the insurgents had turned him down.

Invasion Hints Flood Bulgaria Rail Service Curbed a Second Time Br the Atweisted hnt SOFIA, Feb. 7 Bulgaria ordered a new restriction of train service tonight amid widespread reports that the German Army was planning to enter this country. Foreign Minister Ivan Popoff, taking cognizance of such rumors, was understood to have told Parliament members at a private meeting that he was unable to say what may lie in the future. Rumors of Impending German action flooded Sofia. One traveler from the Rumanian frontier said that German troop activity Indicated an intention of moving soon, perhaps in 48 hours.

But an American traveler said that a pontoon bridge being laid across the Danube had not been completed, and that troop movements across the river from Rumania into Bulgaria would not be possible in the near future. At any rate, residents along the Bulgarian bank of the Danube said all was quiet late tonight This much was known definitely Bulgaria for the second time in a month curtailed passenger train service on routes toward the Rumanian, Greek, Yugoslav and Turkish borders effective tomorrow. It was announced that the curtailment by 30 per cent of the trains on these routes was to permit transportation of new Bulgarian troops called this week to replace others on duty. $1300,000,000 Is Set as Maximum for Value of Arms Passage of Measure Is Expected Today BY ARTHUR F. DEGREVE I nlled I' rent Correspondent WASHINGTON, Feb.

7 The House tonight brought President Roosevelt's British-aid bill to the brink of passage after writing in a temporary limitation of approxi mately on the amount of war material and equip- ment which may be shipped abroad. The limitation, approved unani mously by voice vote, was em braced in an amendment offered by Rep. Sol Bloom, New York Democrat, chairman of the For eign Affairs Committee, as a sub stitute for a proposal by Rep; John Taber, New York Republic an, calling for a $500,000,000 ceding. Future Funds Unaffected Bloom's amendment would ap ply only to equipment financed by funds previously appropriated by Congress. It would not affect pending defense appropriations totaling almost $11,000,000,000 for the 1942 fiscal year and subsequent deficiency appropriations re quested by the President.

The amendment specified that the value of materials sent abroad shall not exceed 10 per cent of the approximately $13,000,000,000 appropriated for defense for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941. Speaker Sam Rayburn, Texas Democrat, described the restriction as a "friendly limitation," and said that arrangements to substi- Stimton and Al William Differ on Air Dmftnia Pagm 3 tute it for Taber's proposal had been worked out in advance with the New Yorker. Rayburn said that the $1,300,000,000 worth of equipment which could be trans ferred under the amendment was more than would be needed before other appropriations are voted. No Standard for Cost It was noted that the amend ment set no standard by which the cost of material available for shipment shall be determined. Also written into the measure today was a committee amendment stating that no provision of the bill is to be interpreted as altering the ban in the Neutrality Act on sending United States merchant ships into war These were the only changes approved as the leaders abandoned plans to pass the Turn to rage 2, Column 2 it.

HlWIWWWmsMlllllsl tWUMIfll TlUll ril-TT iYi iI --fy-iK -i, iftinfflt- tilrmriWWmiMSMSM iJSMUtsJ Free Prcw Pholo CARL CONNOLLY, JR. Witness to father's death after quarrel Wife Kills Policeman While Son Watches CARL 3. CONNOLLY Slain after two-year quarrel Hillman Gives Ford Loophole Admits that Defense Must Come First BY RADFORD MOBLEY trt l'rM hlintim Hurrnil. 1'rrM BuUdinf WASHINGTON. Feb.

7 Sidney Hillman, associate director of the Office of Production Management and labors ally on the defense agency, gave the Ford Motor Co. an opening today for its effort not to be bound in writing to observe labor laws, and at the same time Inferentially warned Congress that present labor protection laws should not be "meddled with." Although Hillman, In a press conference, continued to insist that labor-law observance "ought to be part and parcel of the defense program," he told newspapermen that he would make an exception in case "anything interferes win the national-defense pro gram. "Whenever -we have a choice" said Hillman, stressing this phase, we will deal with people recognizing the laws." First Statement on SI and His statement was his first public announcement since the War Department laid down the flat rule Dec. 27 that violation of labor laws is not a bar to awarding a defense contract to the Ford company. Subsequently, the Army refused to give Ford a 110,000,000 contract for trucks when a higher bidder the Fargo Motor of Detroit was found willing to bind itself in writing to observe the labor lawsi Thus It appears at a time when War and Navy departments are both scrambling to obtain the Turn to rage Column 4 Big British Guns Firing on Valona IS By th AfiocUted Prti BITOLJ.

Feb. 7 Greek reports from Albania said that long-range artillery of British origin shelled the port of Valona for the first time today. Tepclinl, key mountain town to the southeast, around which fighting has raged for weeks, was reported in flames for the third day with Italians still putting up a desperate resistance. North of Klisura, in the central section of the battle front, the Greeks were reported to have defeated Italian motorized units and gained further ground. In the northern sector, in the Devol River valley, an Italian attack upon the village of Dobric was reported to have collapsed, enabling the Greeks to seize strate gic positions a counterattack.

CAMPAIGN ECHO by a Surprise British Move Bengasi Taken After. 150-Mile March in 30 Hours Eastern Libya Now in Wavell's Control BY PHILIP S. TAYLOR lotted Prew Correapondent CAIRO, Feb. 8 (Saturday) This remnants of Marshal Rudolf Graziani Italian army, smashed and battered to bits, fled in dis-order today across the Syrt Desert toward Tripoli after sum rendering its great base of Ben gast and all of Eastern Libya tn Britain's triumphant Army of tho Nile. British mechanized forces mada a forced march of 150 milea in 30 hours through the Libyan desert to trap great numbers of Italian defenders in Bengast and seized the big base with all of its occupants and equipment, a communique revealed early today.

Tha communique bared details of tha capture of the major base, which) was announced Friday. Italians Caught Unawares -The lightning British maneuver? took the Italians unawares, tho communique said, and a large force, struggling to get away from Bengasi found themselves hopelessly hemmed in. The comparatively few Italians who managed to escape fled precipitately toward Tripoli. The rout was one of the worst In modern warfare. British general headquarters of the Middle East said in the communique that "prisoners now are-surrendering in large numbers, In cluding an Army commander and corps commander and many other senior officers." (The identity of the captured Italian Army commanders was not given in the communique.

Marshal Graziani had been reported In Bengasi before the final assault was made.) Material Is Seized Rich stores of war materials of all descriptions also fell into the hands of the British with the capitulation of the ancient capital of Cyrenalca. When the British had completed their entrapment maneuver, they found to their consternation that they had on their hands numerically superior Italian armored forces, supported by infantry and artillery. 'They made determined efforts to break through our cordon." tho communique said. "Every attempt was repulsed with heavy losses to the enemy. "After 60 tanks became battle casualties, the enemy finally ceased fighting." No Count of Prisoners No effort was made to estimate the total number of prisoners trapped by the desert blitzkrieg which brushed aside resistance along the way and nipped off the enemy's last line of retreat, tha communique merely referring to "many thousands." Mussolini's African empire was falling apart tn Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somallland and ail of Eastern Libya is 230,000 square miles of territory were in th hands of Gen.

Sir Archibald. Wavell's dust-crusted but jubilant empire troops. Bengasi, now a grave threat the Axis powers, was taken after an amazing sixty-day blitzkrieg which carried the Army of the Nile 500 miles across the western desert, storming and taking one Italian base after another. Swarms of British bombers and warships of the Mediterranean fleet, moving in to. shell the disorganized Fascists, aided in the conquest.

Facing Annihilation The remnants of Graziani's one large army faced annihilation os they fled along the coast. Although the capture was not announced until Friday, Bengasi surrendered Thursday, the Middle East Command said. With the advance of Gen. Wavell's army 370 miles across Libya, the Suez Canal and Alexandria were completely free of any Italian attack and Britain's navy and air force held an ideal base for bombardment of Southern Italy and the German air force bases in Sicily, only 430 miles away. AJ1 of rich Tripolitania what remains of Libya was at the mercy of the Army of the Nile.

Push On in Eritrea Overshadowed by the capture of Bengasi but maintaining its pounding pace was the British invasion of Mussolini East Africa Empire. crushing Italian defense positions i in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaiiland. Friday's communique reported the capture of 3,500 prisoners "with many more coming in'1 in the drive across Eritrea, which was only 35 miles from the capital of Asmara. Another British force was strik- i ing down the Gondar road into Ethiopia toward Lake Tana, taking pri.ioners and hurriedly abandoned Fascist war equipment, and ill along the Somaiiland front. British patrois said to "successfully enlarging the pr- of their penetration'" from the Kfnya for 5 Others Accused BV KENVETH F.

McCORMICK Of the 16 defendants including jne doputies who served under late Sheriff Henry Behrendt Indicted by the Ferguson-O'Hara rand jury "ege(1 $35,000 "raft conspiracy, five still were Sought Friday night by police and rand-jury investigators. Meanwhile, Chester P. OHara nd his aWe, Guy W. Jensen and William D. Brusstarspecial grand-mry prosecutors, were understood to have been working on graft investigations which are expected to result in Indictment of others.

The indictment naming the 16 slleges that the deputies under Behrendt collected upwards of $35,000 from operators of illegal enterprises on a monthly basis and that they, in turn, provided protection for racketeers. Ferguson Arraigns Eleven Friday afternoon Circuit Judge Homer Ferguson, conductor of the jury, arraigned 11 of those named in his latest indictment returned early In the day. Those arraigned included: CHARLES SWALES, 57 years old, of 233 Puritan, Highland Park, former undcrsherlff under Behrendt. PAUL FAUST, 41. of 1846.1 Santa Barbara, Hamtramck chief investigator under Behrendt.

MILTON BEHRENDT, 42, of 2271 Glynn Court, legal adviser (or the Sheriff's Office and ncph-tw of the late Behrendt. MAX GOODMAN, 42, of 2654 Glynn Court, chief of the civil division under Behrendt PATROLMAN ALFRED E. TARRELL, 41, of 8627 Dumbarton, county detective under Behrendt and at present a member of the Detroit Police Department. FRED FREEDMAN, 40, of 3865 Thirty-first, county detective under Behrendt. HERBERT E.

RUMLER. 46. of 24508 E. Jefferson. St.

Clair Shores, member of Behrendt's road patrol, Others arraigned were Eddie Way, Erorse racketeer and alleged collector of graft for the Sheriffs Office under Behrendt; Joseph Sometko, Downriver slot-machine operator; Ahmed Abass, Inkster slot-machine operator, and Charles Muradian. alias Black Charlie Harrison, alleged Dearborn gambler wd policy operator. aii stand Mute In Court All of those arraigned stood rite and Judge Ferguson ordered hat pleas of not guilty be placed i the record for them. He placed horn under bonds of $2,000 each nd set Feb. 15 as the date for examinations.

Co-conspirators, gome of whom 'ill be witnesses In the case, are rtha (Big Bertha Johnson) Ma-jne. Hattie Miller and Adelaide wmings, alleged Hamtramck rotnei keepers; Anna (Patsy -WTie) Lokuta, Downriver bawdy-us operator; Lewis Elliott, Vic tor Otto, East Side handbook nn- IKawrs, and 10 former employees Sheriff Behrendt, whose names laven't been disclosed, although "7 nave Deen placed under bonds, sometko and Wav are defend. ft r'a in the gambling-vice con- "-y case now in progress be- vucuit Judge Earl C. Fugs Turn to Page Column 3 Transfusion Is Given to Heart-Broken Dog KANSAS pttv ru i CU, I H'rt-broken Laddie underwent blood u. nnariang fought against heavy reunite the ten-year-old with his soldier-master.

blood roused Laddie briefly the coma into which he lapsed rtly after his arrival last night rou! to fnrt riri niif a 1'n5rel German Shepherd was Sent by train frnm. rvionnta where his master, Everett eniisied three months ago, naie i imo vren piacea a Wesrriniinrt 4 Untrr.m iriKe, ne naa wasted 'jm 40 Vunte to 25. So was too weak to continue Uin and u-a. ii 'umal hospiUl. Sut the Day Right with the Free Press Page 12 5 15 4 7 17 19 Amusement, Around the Town mess and Industry News Ch Clapper.

Raymond ''Iyer Selections '''itorial J-'Ppmann, Walter Vy Day nir, Prr.grams 7 10 17 15 8 5 11 5 i Report Free Prena ptioto MRS. CATHERINE CONNOLLY Fired IS shots at husband RAF. Pounds Invasion Front Boulogne Region Left in Sheets of Fire BY NED RUSSELL Veiled Preu Correspondent LONDON, Feb. 8 (Saturday) Waves of British bombers roared across the fog-shrouded channel Friday night and early today in a thundering attack on Adolf Hit- lers invasion front that shook houses along the English coast and enveloped the region of Nazi-held Boulogne in ragged sheets of flame. Defying one of the heaviest fogs of the winter, which grounded the German Luftwaffe and saved the British Isles from all except a few hit-and-run air forays, the Royal Air Force swept upon the Nazi invasion ports in a strong assault for the second time in 24 hours.

Five Bases Are Raided On Thursday night, squadrons of bombers tarried out devastating raids on a chain of five invasion bases stretching for 160 miles along the French coast facing the British isles, attacking troop barges and starting fires at Fe- CHURCHILL TO SPEAK LONDON, Feb. 7 (A.P.) Prime Minister Winston Churchill will broadcast over the British Broadcasting Corp. home and overseas services Sunday at 9 p. m. (3 p.

Detroit time), it was announced tonight. (The address will be carried in the United States by the NBC and Columbia and Mutual networks.) camp, Dieppe, Boulogne, Calais and Dunkerque, according to the Air Ministry. The new assault was said to be as fierce as any since the big smash by the R.A.F. last Sept. 15, which shattered an attempted invasion by Hitler, according to British claims at that time.

Early Saturday a long stretch of the French coast was under attack, with tons of heavy-caliber bombs falling on Boulogne and Calis, while other British bombers swept inland between Boulogne and Cap G-ria Nez. The Nazi Air Force made no attempt to retaliate and early today there were no reports of a single bomb falling on Britain after nightfall. One Nazi raider, in the daylight hours Friday, was reported to have bombed and machine gunned an East Anglian town, causing casualties, and another dropped bombs on a Northeast Scottish town. Willkie Clipper Begins Long Hop Br the Asiorloted Prrjtt BOLAMA, Portuguese Guinea. Feb.

7 The Pan-American Dixie Clipper bearing Wendell L. Willkie back to the United States sped westward tonight across a 3.120-mile stretch of the South Atlantic in the longest non-stop commercial flight ever attempted. The Clipper is due in Port of Spain, British Trinidad, tomorrow morning. A twenty-four hour layover here enabled Willkie and his colleagues to organize a hunting expedition into the nearby jungles where leopards, lions and elephants abound. But all the hunters saw were a few gazelles and ducks, Hopkins Leaves London LONDON, Feb.

7 A.P.)-Har-ry L. Hopkins, President Roosevelt's personal representative who has spent almost a month in England, left London today for what the United States embassy called his "last week-end in England." The embassy would not confirm a report that Hopkins already was on the first stage of a homeward trip. SAVINGS STAMPS OX SALE Postmaster Roscoe Huston, Detroit postmaster, announced Fri- da that stimns that can be ex- changed for Government baby bonds are on sale. The stamps cist 25 and 50 cents. Pasted in hooks they car.

he exch: "Mama went boom boom!" A couple of hours after the shooting he was still repeating the remark. Connolly was dead on admittance to Saratoga General Hospital. Mrs. Connolly's composure returned when she got to headquarters, where Inspector John O. Whitman, of the Homicide Squad, questioned her.

She is a small woman, 31 years old, four years her husband's senior. Her story which contradicted Turn to Page 2, Column 6 Schneider Fined in Traffic Crash Ray D. Schneider, County aud' itor, pleaded guilty to reckless driving before a Traffic Court referee Friday and was fined 25 for pleating another driver's fender and taking off for 12 blocks before the other man caught him. Patrolman Edgar Talbot testi fied that Schneider had been drinking when he veered in front or an automobile driven by Stan ley Ernest, of 5053 Drexel, at Dickerson and Chandler Park on Jan. 20.

The testimony was not disputed. Ernest said he had been driving in front of Schneider and the Auditor surged alongside of his car and then cut in front of him pinging his fender. After looking at the damage, Schneider drove away with Ernest in pursuit, Ref eree Andrew C. Wood, was told. Schneider gave his age as 37 years and his address as 5552 Yorkshire.

In the regular traffic court drinking drivers with not much more on their conscience were getting jail sentences and losing their driving permits for me next year. Boy Hunts Lost Dog; Now Both Are Missing A sad little boy was wandering around Detroit at midnight Friday looKuig icr his dog. Four hours earlier Tip, springer-spaniel, got away from 14185 Longacre for the first time ana his anxious master. Paul Bernd II, 8 years old, went out looking for him. Dinner time came and went and neither of them had returned home.

At midnight the boy's father called the police to ask scout cars to be on the lookout for them. A HOUSE DIVIDED MEMPHIS, Feb. 7 (A. Half of a house was left to one set of heir3 and the other half to another in the will of Mrs. Angelo Maria Toso Piano, filed today in Probate Court.

The will stipulated! that the heirs shall share the stair way and main entrance. NAGEL FOR SCHOOL BOX CD 1 I i Patrolman Carl J. Connolly, of Davison Station, was shot to death at 3:15 p. nv Friday by his wife Catherine, in the presence of their two-and-a-half-year-old son Carl, Jr. The shooting occurred in the Connollys' small, new home at 7476 Emily.

Mrs. Connolly used her husband's service revolver, firing 13 shots. After emptying the gun the first time she reloaded It twice, she said, with cartridges she was carrying in a dress pocket. Bullet Hits House Next Door Connolly was hit six times, one bullet entering beneath the left shoulder and piercing his heart. Another bullet ripped through the wall of the Connolly home and lodged in the wall of the house next door' at 7484 Emily.

Despite the noise of the shooting it was not heard by Mrs. Helen Jerzynskl, of 7445 Emily, who was staying next door with the children of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Kruczyk Christine. 7, and Casi-mir, 8 months.

The first Mrs. Jerzynskl knew of the killing was when Mrs. Connolly walked in and said: "I shot my husband. I'll bring my son over." Arrested in Front of Homo A few moments later she returned with the boy and the revolver. She laid gun on a kitchen table and left to telephone the police.

After she got outside she became hysterical and police found her in that condition in front of the Connolly home, where they placed her under arrest. Her small son's description of the shooting was: claim that he was accepting no campaign contributions from gamblers although many had offered him assistance. Those associated with him in his campaign believed him, for there was no evidence of his taking money. Nor was there, in fact, any need for gamblers' aid. The campaign w-as financed largely by Henry Wagner, proprietor of Eastwood Park, who backed Behrendt in a grudge against Wilson.

Behrendt came to Detroit from Lansing to serve as United States marshal. He had been chief of police In Lansing end before that he had served as a deputy sheriff and in other minor law-enforcing capacities. One of his favorite campaign gestures was to pull from an inside pocket a leather case, lined with blue velvet to which were pinned all of gold badges he had accumulated in his career. "There," he would shout, "is my record. And never since I wore that first bs'lce have I ever allowed a gambler cr 3 chine to operate in my district." These Exclusive Features Hold Week-End Spotlight IN "THE WORLD THIS WEEK" SENATOR WHEELER WRITES In an article written especially for the Free Press, he tells about the background of the current battle over the Lend-Lease bill.

AFTER THE WAR, WHAT? Sir George Paish gives an outline cf the future for each nation involved in today's struggle. An trtlcle by Hamilton Butler. MICHIGAN'S SALES TAX PROBLEM Sprague Holden tells how It compares with that of Ohio. FREE PRESS FORUM Should some sort of a Federal Works program, such as WPA, be made a permanent gov- 1 ernmental agency? Detroiters give their opinions in a scientific poll. GRAFT INVESTIGATION Free Press headlines tell the story of the current grand jury Investigation.

CAMERA CARAVAN The Free Press photographer takes you to another Interesting Michigan town New Haven. IN THE SUNDAY GRAPHIC THE WAR Action pictures show the actual encounter between the British aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, and enemy planes. And, from inside Nazi Germany, come photos showing how a Stuka dive-bomber and its crew works. YOUR ZOO IN WaNTER Cameraman and writer give you a free trip to Detroit's zoo. DETROIT STARS IN THE MOVIES Out of Hollywood soon will come a movie showing the life of an average auto-worker.

Many of the scenes were "shot" in a Detroit plant, and the Sunday Graphic gives you a preview. DETROIT TRAFFIC VIOLATORS They learn about safety in jaiL Pictures show the traffic school conducted at the House of Correction. ON THE WOMEN'S PAGES SMART NEW FASHIONS FOR SPRING Jean Pearson says, "It's a suit season" a model home for the small home owner first pictures of high school sorority initiation rites etiquet of the fraternity house party music page by J. D. Callaghan Ruth Alden bicycle exercises to thin thighs and hips.

COMPLETE BOOK-OF-THE-WEEK "HONEYMOON ALONE" Maysle Greig's first-run novel is a romance you'll thoroughly enjoy. ON THE SPORT PAGES MEET VIRGIL TRUCKS Will this unusual young man pitch the Tigers to another pennant FIRST GAME The story of Detroit's first baseball game in the American League, way back in 1900. HORACE DODGE The story of the multi-millionaire who has returned to Gold Cup racing after quitt.ng because it cost too much. TOMORROW'S SUNDAY FREE PRESS 'Golden Rule9 Behrendt Won Office as Enemy of Gambling Indictment of nine of the former officials or deputies of the late Henry (Golden Rule) Behrendt's reign as sheriff by the Ferguson-O'Hara gambling-graft grand jury recalls the fact that it was as an implacable foe of graft and gambling that Behrendt was elected to office. Perhaps no other Wayne County official ever has hammered harder at gambling in a political cam-! paign than did Behrendt Behrendt made every speech a bitter attack on the way gam-I bling flourished in the county i under the reign of Ira W.

Wilson, I his opponent for the office. He pictured the sad case of the woman left alone to support her children after her husband committed suicide because he lost his money in a gaming house. Wilson was in Florida at the time and Behrendt delighted in describing him as lolling beneath whispering palm trees while the viriow of a gambling' victim lived in "'art. It was Bchrer.iit'a constant i'nl. Ai, $25 and $50 bonds..