1
Polish Snipers Worry Germans Most, Lochner Told at Front — ... —. «S»-- _* First U. 5. Newsman At Scene Finds Men Being Rounded Up All Civilian Males of Arms-Bearing Age Are to Be Seized Louis P. Lochner, ace Assort- i ated Press correspondent in Ber- lin, Pulitzer Prize award winner, i is the first American newspaper- man selected to visit the German front in Poland. His account ap- i pears below: By LOUIS P. LOCHNER, A*»ocl»ted Press Foreign Correspondent. WITH THE GERMAN ARMY OF THE EAST, Sept. 6.—The greatest aingle difficulty encountered by the German Army in its drive on Poland has been sniping by Polish civilians, this correspondent was told on a visit to the front. As a result, a roundup of all civil- ian males of arms-bearing age has been ordered in conquered sections of Polish Silesia. The snipers include women and boys in their teens. “Polish women,” an officer said, “fight like tigers.” The officer who explained the im- portance of the sniping said that gunfire from houses in this South- western Polish town of Czestochowa on Monday cost the lives of a Ger- man captain, several lieutenants and an undisclosed number of privates. Sniping had been resumed yester- day morning in Czestochowa, and I paw 30 men conducted to the City Hall—now a German commandery— as among those believed to be guilty of attacks. The officer and I followed Silent Testimonial. Outside the City Hall I saw a eoldier on guard under a big tree, where lay the body of a lieutenant, his boots sticking from under a straw mat. A scabbard and blade lying crossed over the mat spoke eloquently of death. I was told the lieutenant had been shot the night before while working at a desk near a window. The 30 sniper suspects marched Into the hall with their hands raised, escorted by steel-helmeted soldiers carrying cocked rifles. On my way to Czestochowa by plane and automobile from Berlin. (ust before we crossed the border nto Poland, we paused at a stockade where some 1.100 captured Poles had been sent from various parts of the fighting area. During the stop there, the prison- ers were marched off in groups ot about 200 each to be transported by rail to regular internment camps. Among the badly-clad soldiers there was a sprinkling of men in civ- ilian attire, five women and about a dozen boys in their teens. The civ- ilians had been arrested on sniping Visas fev-o. Town Devastated. Shortly before arriving at our des- tination, we passed through a deso- late town, Graszyn, where buildings along the main road were wrecked. The officer assigned to me explained that two days previously, after the main German force had marched beyond Czestochowa and while the rearguard was being brought up. civ- ilians in the town opened fire from their homes. Several officers and men were killed, and a regular skirmish ensued In the course of which houses and brick kilns, the town's principal in- dustry, were destroyed. I came to Czestochowa as the first neutral correspondent permitted at the front, upon selection by three American news organizations in Ber- lin which had been invited by Ger- man authorities to delegate an ob- , server. A military plane carried me from Templehof Airfield, Berlin, via Breslau, to Stunebdorf, near Op- peln, in German Sileria. I had been called to the wrar office and equip- ped with a gas mask and first aid kit for the trip. Civilian Traffic Lacking. The plane that carried me had machine guns protruding from the fuselage, and inside were steel hel- mets. parachutes, first-aid kits and gas masks. On the way East, I was struck by the lack of civilian traffic on the German super-highways. The rail- way also seemed empty of passenger trains. We flew past some 20 military air- ports en route, and at each of them were bombers, pursuit planes and other fighting craft, encircled pro- tectively by anti-aircraft batteries. It appeared that the Poles, if they attempted to raid Berlin from Upper Silesia would have to jump at least 20 dangerous hurdles. We landed at Stunebdorf only a few minutes after 87 bombers re- turned from a raid. At this and two other improvised airports, my officer companion said, there were some 1,100 military planes of every description. The Stunebdorf field was fringed with camouflaged tents for officers and men. Some distance off were larger barracks. Road Crawling With Troops. Yesterday morning, after a stop at Oppeln. we started for the Polish border. The road to Czestochowa was one long procession of army trucks, officers' cars, horse-drawn provision wagons, marching labor battalions, army engineers and anti-aircraft sharpshooters. Every bridge from the border to Czestochowa had been destroyed by the Poles in their retreat. Our car bumped over emergency spans so that we wondered why the axles didn’t break. While the German Army poured eastward, Polish civilians were flood- ing back to the west, finding their homes again now that fighting had 6topped here and the land was in German hands. Barefoot women had babies tied to their backs. Old men carried heavy burdens wrapped in bed- spreads. Boys and girls pushed loaded bicycles. Pushcarts bulged with household odds and ends Whole families huddled together on horse-drawn vehicles. Of such was the miserable procession that passed German troops moving up to the front Black Madonna Unharmed. I saw the famous Black Madonna In Jasnagora Monastery in Czesto- chowa. The monastery and cathe- dral have not been harmed. In an interview Father Norbert Motylewskl declared: “The miracle-working image ol the Czestochowa Virgin on the Jasnagora (light-colored mountain) Wat not damaged In any way noi CZESTOCHOWA.—PRAY AS SHELLS BURST—Louis P. Lochner (right), chief of the Berlin bureau of tl«« Associated Press, is shown as he joined a group of pilgrims in prayer at Shrine of the Black Madonna. Czestochowa has been scene of heavy fighting since Germany’s invasion of Poland. In the chapel is a picture of the Madonna, who, legend says, appeared over the forti- fied church when It was beleaguered by a Swedish army. Picture radioed from Berlin. —A. P. Wirephoto. has Jasnagora suffered in any way.” As we entered the chapel we saw a huge crowd of Polish worshipers attending mass. Some—both men and women—lay prostrate, kissing the marble floor, their hands ex- tended. Among them were many sobbing women. My military escort and I had hardly left the chapel when the grim reality of war broke upon us. We heard intermittent shots. On the boulevard below German anti- aircraft was set up in formidable numbers. At a corner lay two dead horses 1 I which nobody had had time to re- j move. To the left of us a whole '< I row of buildings showed broken windows and bullet-riddled facades. Bridges Guarded in Silesia. | In Silesia all along the route to ! Oppeln soldiers guarded every bridge j and traffic police were in military | garb. The army had drawn on ! I trained police from all over the ; i country to regulate traffic in the | military areas. The lieutenant col- onel's office in Oppeln was a con- verted school with cots in some rooms for officers; with a field tele- phone hastily installed, and with military maps sprawling over the floor and desk. Two of his subordinate officers entered just as he wTas telephoning Berlin of rnv safe arrival. "We have tried to go to Czestoc- howa to take pictures of the ma- donna,” they reported, "but we had to turn around because farmers >e- gan to shoot at us from the fields as we hurried along the road.” Over in the corner there lay a few trophies. Sanitary kits taken from prisoners of war seemed very primitive and some of the rifles looked long outdated. Some cart- ridges were corroded. News Broadcast to Soldiers. At this lieutenant colonel's head- quarters I was forcibly impressed with the fact that war today is made with the most modern means of in- formation. Attached to each army group are staff photographers, cam- eramen and newsmen, because the war correspondents of the individ- ual newspapers aren't permitted. In camp barracks and even at the front news is regularly broadcast to the soldiers; out along the first lines a loudspeaker on wheels brings the i latest news broadcasts. In addition, the various army groups—at least this is true in Silesia—publish a daily four-page newspaper in editions of 25,000. soldiers are said to pay each other ! half a loaf of bread or three ciga- rettes for a copy. The papier is dis- tributed along a 50-mile front after rolling off the presses at 2 a.m. j Talkies on wheels also get as close ! to the front as possible, to entertain 1 the men. The city of Oppeln seemed un- canny in complete darkness. The blackout naturally was as complete as human ingenuity can make it. — South African Cabinet : Is Formed by Smuts By the Associated Press. CAPETOWN, Sept. 6.—The Union of South Africa's World War leader, Gen. Jan Christiaan Smuts, today j formed a new cabinet pledged to co- ; operate with Britain and break off j diplomatic relations with Germany. Gen. Smuts became Prime Min- ister and retained the portfolios of external affairs and national de- | fense. Resignation of the previous Prime Minister, Gen. J. B. M. Hertzog, followed Parliament's rejection yes- terday of his motion to continue re- lations with Germany despite the British declaration of war. | War Broadcasts | 5:30 p.m—Mr. Shirer, Berlin; Eric ! Sevareid, Paris; Mr. Murrow, Lon- ! don. WJSV. 5:45 p.m—H. V. Kaltenbom, New York. WJSV. 6:15 p.m.—European roundup. WRC. 9 pm. — European roundup. WMAL- 9:30 pm .—Mr. Murrow, London; Mr. Kaltenbom, New York. WJSV. 10:30 p.m.—Mr. Shirer, Berlin; Mr. Grandin, Paris; Mr. Murrow, Lon- don. WJSV. 11 pm. — European roundup. WMAL. Warsaw (•Continued From First Page.) on, but all exhilaration of spirit had disappeared with the certainty that the German advance was stabbing nearer and nearer. Streetcar Service Cut. All efforts toward normal conduct | of affairs was chopped yesterday. Taxis disappeared from the streets and other cars became scarce. Street car service was curtailed. People carrying bundles began moving toward the suburbs, the i straggling vanquard of a dismayed citizenry that clogged all roads south, and east before nightfall. Automobiles and even horses could be obtained only at a prem- ium. Gasoline was almost unob- tainable. Many newspaper correspondents also left the city. (Lloyd Lehrbas, the author of this dispatch, remained, but other Associated Press corre- spondents left Warsaw to cover the United States Embassy and other points.) German bombers raided the city | throughout Tuesday, but apparently focussed their attention on the sub- urbs and military objectives. Their courses across the clear, sunlit Sep- tember sky led to belief they were shuttling between Austrian, Slovak 1 and other German areas, pausing between flights only long enough to reload their bomb racks. The most spectacular flight of the day came just at 6 P.M. But not a bomb was dropped. Sixteen big planes wheeled over the city in a wide circle, broke up into groups of twos and fives, then swept into | three formations to disappear in the west. Only sporadic machine-gun Are challenged their passage. In the general turmoil of the day, information from other battle fronts was meager, but it included a report that a Polish cavalry unit had penetrated the German East Prussian border and occupied two villa ape Warsaw Pictured as City Blasted by Nazis' Fire BUDAPEST. Sept. 6 (/P).—Diplo- matic dispatches from Poland pic- tured Warsaw today as a city blasted by German artillery fire and scourged by incessant air raids, with ; German infantry pushing rapidly nearer through shattered Polish defenses. A swift thrust from the north had put the Nazis within artillery range of the capital and precipitated the evacuation of the government and thousands of Warsaw's residents, the dispatches said. Staffs of foreign embassies and legations fled with the Polish offi- cials. who set up new quarters at Lublin, 90 miles southeast of War- saw. The Polish capital was described as destroyed partially by the pound- ing of the German guns. Planes kept up unceasing rain of bombs. An unconfirmed report said Mar- shal Edward Smigly-Rydz. head of the Polish Army, had submitted his resignation to President Ignace Mos- cicki. Another stir was caused in diplo- matic circles here when it was learned Germany had closed her frontier with Hungary and the Slovak-Hungarian border late yes- terday. No reason for the action was given. There was especial interest in the situation in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, where observers asserted only fear of the Gestapo, Nazi secret police, was stifling Slovak resent- ment against German military rule. Only one untoward incident was reported—the smashing of windows in the summer home of Slovak Premier Josef Tiso, who has co- operated with the German govern- ment. The most ardent advocates of the Slovak separation in the days of the Czecho-Slovak republic, how- ever, appear dismayed by present conditions, in view of Adolf Hitler’s guarantee of independence. Slovak soldiers are serving with the Nazis, but well-informed sources expressed belief they are being placed between German first and third lines to prevent desertions. Wounded Slovak soldiers returning yesterday said their countrymen were being mingled with Germans in a second fighting line. The Hlinka Guard, semi-military army of the single Slovak party, has been merged with the Gestapo and an undisclosed number of Slovaks have been arrested. Attack Against Gdynia Reported Developing ROME, Sept. 6 (IPi.—A dispatch to the newspaper II Messaggero re- ported today an important attack against Gdynia was developing. No further details were given. The dispatch said Adolf Hitler, who crossed the Vistula River yes- terday on an afternoon trip from Prust, halted at the station to re- view wounded troops brought by train from the front. The Fuehrer passed down the line, greeting the men individually, and was greeted in return with ”heils” and Nazi salutes. The correspondent also described ’’long columns of sad, demoralized” Polish prisoners along the Vistula. He reported the men said they had not eaten for three days and begged a bit of bread and hot coflee. No estimate of the number of Poles captured was obtained. II Messaggero's dispatch said the Germans threw back all the ”des- perate” Polish night attacks en- deavoring to break the German ring by closing in from the south to rejoin the main body of the Polish Army. The entire northern tip of the Corridor, with the exception of Hela Peninsula and Gdynia, have been cleared virtually of Polish troops, the dispatch said. The peninsula and Gdynia are cut off completely. Two Big British Liners , Head for Hong Kong By th* Associated Press. SHANGHAI. Sept. 6—Two big British trans-Pacific liners, the Em- press of Japan and the Empress of Asia, slipped down the Wangpoo River last night, headed for Hong Kong. They were said to have been con- voyed by English warships. Passengers aboard the Empress of Japan who had booked passage for Japanese ports disembarked prior to the sailing, while those go- ing to Honolulu and Vancouver re- mained aboard, indicating the liner might head directly for Honolulu from Hong Kong. It was possible several Germans said to be on the ships would be in- terned at Hong Kong. Steamship officials were unable to say when the Empress of Japan would leave Hong Kong, saying she was under admir- alty orders. Scantic Line Quits Operation Indefinitely Because of War Influx of Americans Fleeing Europe Taxes Customs Facilities By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, Sept. 6.—The Amer- ican Scantic Line, operating between New York and ports on or near the Baltic Sea, has suspended service Indefinitely because of the danger from mines and belligerent warships In Baltic waters. It thereby became the first major American marine company to sus- pend sailings because of the war. The Scantic Line operates four passenger and three cargo vessels. Two are in port here and the rest in Baltic ports or at sea. All will be returned here, however, and tied up pending safer sailing conditions, said Robert C. Lee, executive vice presi- dent of the Moore MacCormack Lines, the parent operating com- pany. Lines Clamp on Censorship. British and French steamship offices today imposed a strict censor- ship on news of the movements of their vessels, leaving the Immediate future of the Queen Mary and the Normandie as uncertain as the whereabouts of the German liner Bremen, unreported after a week at sea. The Normandie has been here more than a week. It was joined yesterday by the Champlain. The lie De France, another French liner, is bound for New York with more than 1.000 passengers from Havre, but whether it will arrive tomorrow on schedule could not be learned. The Queen Mary arrived Monday. In addition the Cunard White Star Line has the Georgic and Samaria in port. The Lancastria is off on a West Indies cruise and no informa- tion about her was available. The United States liner Manhattan is due tomorrow from Europe, but the line said it had no list of passengers on Doard. Customs Agents Taxed. A staff of 500 United States cus- toms agents, the largest since pre- depression days, was required to handle the influx of American war refugees and tourists returning home. Nineteen ships, carrying 7,200 pas- sengers, docked here Tuesday. Five vessels from Europe brought 3,700 persons and 14 ships from Northern or Southern ports entered with 3.500 more. The British Samaria also brought in $12,000,000 to $15,000,000 in gold bullion, the U. S. liner President Roosevelt $21,000,000. Carrying out the policy of the United States Maritime Commission to return all stranded Americans as quickly as possible, the United States lines chartered for trans-Atlantic service the 6.000-ton Cuban mail liner Orizaba. The Orizaba normal- ly plies between New York, Havana and Mexico. Bremen a Mystery Ship. The whereabouts of the $20,000,000 Bremen, unreported since It sailed from here a week ago without pas- sengers or cargo, remained a major maritime mystery. The big ship was believed hiding in neutral waters, possibly near Mexico, to avoid capture by British warships. Shipping men also con- jectured on the possibility of Bre- men, one of the fastest ships afloat, had been armed at sea and con- verted into a merchant privateer. The Holland America liner Nieuw Amsterdam sailed from New York yesterday with orders to omit reg- ular stops at Plymouth. England, and Boulogne-Sur-Mer. France. Her departure was delayed two hours while workmen finished painting Dutch flags on her sides. She car- ried 295 passengers, including Prince Felix of Luxembourg and his son, Prince Jean. National Maritime Union repre- sentatives and Frank J. Taylor, president of the American Merchant Marine Institute, agreed "in prin- ciple'' last night on union demands for life Insurance and monthly ! bonuses for seamen on ships enter- ing war zones. The Norwegian motor ship | Baghdad, operated by the United States Navigation Co., which sailed from here for London August 31 with five passengers and a general cargo, unexpectedly returned to her pier in Brooklyn this morning. Italian Ships to Sail. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6 OP).— Two Italian ships planed to sail today and tomorrow, strengthening belief Italy intends to remain neu- tral for the present. Italian Line officials set today for the sailing of the motorship Leme for Genoa via the Panama Canal. The motorship Fella was scheduled to leave tomorrow for Vancouver, British Columbia, pick up cargo, then sail for Genoa. British Ships Quit Houston. HOUSTON, Tex.. Sept. 6 OP).—'Two British tankers, their names with- held by the British consul, headed out into the Gulf of Mexico yester- day. The tankers, their destinations kept secret, were repainted in port. The building boom in the Philip- pines continues to grow. NEW YORK.—SAIL TROUBLED WATERS—With a passenger list of 295, the Holland America liner Nieuw Amsterdam sailed yesterday for Rotterdam—with orders to omit stops at English and French ports. Shown above are Prince Felix of Luxem- bourg (left) and his son Prince Jean (right), with Joseph E. Davies, United States Ambassador to Belgium, on board the ; ship. _A. P. Photo. i ~1 I Hull Reply to Franco Offers U. S. Influence In Cause of Peace Plea for Localization of War Made by Head of Spanish Government The United States Government fully shares the conviction that ex- tension of the European war “is bound to result in untold suffering for the innocent populations of the countries which may become in- volved, as well as for the people of other nations,” Secretary of State Hull informed the Spanish govern- ment today. Secretary Hull's remarks were ad- dressed to Don Luis de Silva, Mar- quis de Zahara, Charge d'Affaires of the Spanish Embassy here, in reply to a note transmitting an appeal by Gen. Francisco Franco, head of the Spanish government, for localization of the war in Eu- rope. Declaring this government is in accord with the sentiments ex- pressed by Gen. Franco, Secretary Hull added: “My government is profoundly convinced that resort to force or the threats of force in an attempt to settle disputes between nations or to impose a solution on a basis of aggression can never be morally or materially justified. “For this reason, the Government of the United States welcomes the Initiative of the chief of the Spanish state and for its part stands pre- pared to use all of its influence in the future, as it has in the past, for the restoration and the maintenance of peace between nations.” A* an Aid ia High Blood Pressure Mountain Valley Water tends to eliminate the accumulated wastes and dangerous toxins which lnwlte and intensify High Blood Pressure. Phone MEt. 1082 for e case of this celebrated Mineral Water from Hot Springs. Arkansas, today. Mountain Valley Water Co. HIM K St, N.W.ME. 1081 Furniture Lamps and Clocks CATLINS, Inc. 1324 N. Y. Ave. N.W. Nat. 0992 Lighting Fixture! FORD$A ENGINE HEADS w M WELDED .1 WELCH, INC. W 516 1st SL N.W. Me. 7944 EttablitheJ 1895 10UIS ABRAHAMS (UNS ON JEWELRY m 3223 K. 1. Are. N.E. ■ Cash for Your Old Gold _TU G St. N.W._ BUSINESS STATIONER^ designed to add prestiqe to jour business y^sk for quotations ecu goo tNGRAvtRs vrv^wwu PRINTERS 1217 G Street Phonr di 4868 I ^ I Dental Service! X mean that! If you're not satisfied with the nature of my work, neither are we. We don’t give you any rest until you admit EVERYTHING Is satisfactory. That’s why I number among my patients a long list of men and women, their children and even their grandchildren. Forty years ago I started out with but one objective— to make every patient a friend. PLATES Come in for a consultation and exam- Fillinnc ination—there’s absolutely no obliga- n3» tion and no cost for the diagnosis. Extracting Plates—$10 $15 $20 and up Crown and The Mott Modern Pain-Alleviating Bridge Work I jj Equipment Obtainable 7,?;t DR. FREIOT and STAFF "f ‘ III HOURS—9 A.M. TO 9 P.M. To ✓ RU C Beauty Our Duty ciiaiup amp tronip tfr//Mr.Pyl« na.szit L SANITARY CARMT b I RU6CIKANIM0 CO. | lOAINDIAN^AVtJ i BJ'IU With the Revolutionary New Quik-Action Heat Transmitter For ft. 8 ond 10 room houses. Intense, radiant heat la produced within this metal Heat Transmitter almost 0 times faster. With this exclusive General Motors-Delco feature, less fuel is used, cleaner heat Is created, heat-lax Is minlmieed and fuel coats are cut to the bone. See this new Delco Oil Furnace today. 3 Yaort to Fay Built and Backed By General Motors » :o Oil Burner nstalls for only 23e day. Fits your pres- et farnaee. 3 years e pay. THE DELCO IN- — — 8TALO METER—An In _. V BL strument operatinc on [111 TlTl B 3 accepted principles of g ■ combustion. Eliminates *e ■ ■ the hazard of a guess- ■ m work installation Jr-, ■ assures optimum effl- ,_ B ciency of your furnace. P®‘«® O'* farnaee for OUtt, ■ Every installation made i *.® *. r®®" "i1?:® M with it bears this Delco on1? ■ Gold Seal Rotopower B nit 011 1 ■ Berner. Easy Terms- DELCO HEAT—Sold, Installed, Serviced, Fueled by JL P. WOODSON CO. 1313 H ST. N.W. UC 441C 1202 MONROE ST. N.E. RE. tOlw • Completely AUTOMATIC • Unbelievably QUIET • Amazingly ECONOMICAL I Get acquainted with the Westing- bouse SPIRALAJRE Burner if you want truly trustworthy, efficient auto- matic heating. Be sure to get the moneysaving facta about its exclusive spiral mixing action — call us for full information. ; r n Back to school WITH THE ‘WRITE” IDEA 1 Wate Every student wants a Waterman’s— needs a Waterman’s! It’s the quality pen—more gold in its point than any other pen of equal size. Starts instantly, without coaxing or shaking—proved by 40,000 starts and stops on a single fill- ing. Combines extra quality with smart, modem styling. Go to your dealer today. Dash off a few of the smoothest lines you’ve ever written. In quality and value, you’ll agree a Waterman’s rep- resents the best “buy”. It’s the result of 55 years of world leadership. Sm advartisamants in Colllar’a, Lift, Tha Saturday Evaning Post and Esquiro PriCM World Fimoos fm WATERMAN'S I M INKS
