L.T. ^Ui^tQCO - FrJIjAx - l7p *f GUOD ^Vrii^iliiG iiVLaihODY: iihon tne n^u^a of fie .reoenta.wivas todaj began final acLion on the ximxjeatxi -iejtraiity liixi, one stri-.ing .nen^-nen-jn VtaS to be ubsei-vea—iie.iSja ers. It*s not unusjai to see a congressaian or ty.o having a iooK at tne front age wnile i iegiclative jroceadings are g ing on. but today tne loiter house broAe into a rasn uf n3«s-a ,er3. iLvery uieaber seeiaed to have one. r Aiid that was a vivid sign of tne drajia in tne news today. The deadlines that s pread across tne nany a .ers to be _________ seen In oon^^ress ftere all about tne oane--^ united otates destr-yer t-r eu^ed, the t. c. nearny nit and ciaoaged by a s^cnarlne in waters off icelend. T''at, in itsexf^ was en usn to yut an accent nra.^a in tne C n—’ rass i->na— ^ ^ce id^-n^s t -day. xxjui tnere was still nttner naadi-int? to attract -rofound attention of tne .a ia^e r s • N c,**cernLng --a.a-t. *nere^ alwa^-s an A eiecurxcai ij. ji ia.e:idi.n£, v.ar, t.nen in a crisis a nation — -taJiCu 'to orders its ^ercnant vessels to safe harbors--t,et ff the o.en spaces ti^e ocea*A wnere tney aig*ht be seized in the event of sudnen outbreaK i v*ar, ^nd the re -ort was that the Havy i^epartitent in V»asnin^ton had ordered all american vessels in the *^1 i racific to proceed at .^nce toward what v.ere called—"Friendly narbors the o .ngressr:en had a s ectacular baciiground njrts, as tiiey r ceeded to taae action on changing the ------s^re/^ nej trail tv la., -they thensexves jiatilng a iatee news headline. A A nere was guica coianent concerning the torpedoing o; the destr yer K.ear:iy. li .eaaer ii^am r.ayburn said, "Certainly this is an attacri on tne uni.ed otates, since it was conmitted against an >.ixerican ..aroiii xjtxxKxxxa xnere ^as equally pron^t reaction uo une ^ a -c le • Con^^ ressnan Faddis of r'enns. IvaJi^ci, s:.ea.^ing in tne ne-.trality haw aebate, aeciared, "..e snouid serve notice on ^a arie^je tnat if ti.ey iove in any dixection we v.iil uestroy tneir Jiavy." ni ^ ^ ^o otlioswiiO o «jQse tne i^ci^imstration V. e i, n Xiicy—warnin -s ..ere iso-ed against : ir.e hl'SL to alter 1 L — th6 iOUt-ra.ii'Ly Luvi. riG^yrssentcitive i>ev.ey ohurt of iidibsouri chax'gea t,hat ths ro_josal to arm American merchant vessels was designea, in his words — “simply to create the xxxl incident which will plunge us ail tne way into tne war.” Inere were recollections of the last war—one particular * and f^rebodingxium turn of memory. American entrance ■wKir. that | conflict was immediately preceded by the same sort of measure that was under consideration today—the arming of merchant ships Tnen x'l esident Vioodrow Wilson* s proposal was killed by a filibuster in the cenate. but guns were put on the ships anyway —and it was one of the last events before we went into the war. Alien the Congressmen voted today, the count was—two \ hundred and fifty-nine to a hundred and thirty-six In favor of imending the Neutrality Law. The majority was just about what .auilnistration leaders nad predicted—a heavy majority foi* arming tiie siiiyS. Ihe mixi now g.uca to the kjenate, whe.e the iintl-interventionists promise a hot fight. In today*s debate, the o,.-ini n was freely ex ressed— ct tnat tne measui-e to ut ^uns on the snips is only a starter, A n^ %r kiill ba fuiio.jed by an nUOilnibUi’ation iuove to make another change in the Neutrality Lav/—one that will ^ ermit United btate; merchant vebsela to into combat zcneij ai;id carry war supplies to Britain. DE6'xTr.:i:::v. U • to this moaiexit, there are no Turther details about the Cdi^ecioint^ of tne x Kearny. bo we are left Vfith the information \i Iffl given in the first bulletin issued by the Mavy Dejartment today. Navy s oKesmen say tnat it may be some time before we learn xwyietetw anything more. The only available news about the torpedoing of the destroyer is ai^ief wireless message flasned by the Capta in of the Kearny, ana any further word must come from him. at tiie Navy artment it was pointed out that he is not lix^eiy to use his radio any more than necessary—not wanting to give away the ^osition of his boat and risk the possibility of another attacxi. Consequently, the full story may not be learned until the Kearny arrives at port. And it is not Known to wnat harbor the destroyer is proceeding—whether to Iceland, Greenland, Canada or the united States. Moreover the torpedo damage may have decreased tne speed of the boat to delay its arrival The Kearny was on patrol duty some three hundred and i*il ty miles south and west of Iceland, the was hit by a torpedo. but not damaged badly|it Viould seem. In spite ol the torpedo dij A the Kearny is able to proceed under her own ^nv/er. And there were A .iM DESTROXEB - 2 no casualties, apparently. President Roosevelt stated today in specific terms that at the time of the attack, the KEARliY was in American defense waters. She’s a new boat, commissioned only last year, a sixteen hundred and thirty tonner. Her skipper is Lieutenant-Commander A, L, Danis — and he has seen adventure before. He’s an airship expert, frtio served on the dirigible AKRON, but was not aboard that ill-fated craft when she was lost. However, Commander Danis was aboard the Macon — which came to grief in the Pacific. He’s a survivor of that airship disaster, and now another kind of peril - his surface boat torpedoed by a raider of the undersea. Today’s episode of the KEARNY most pertinently recalls the previous affair of the GREER - the American destroyer which was attacked oy a German U-boat, but the torpedoes missed. That too happened off Iceland. The news of the attack on our destroyer brought a typical Tli iii Nazi prooaganda sesponse — something said by the heckler wno nightly butts into Britsish programs. Vihen the B.B.C. announcer said that the nationality of the attacking submarine had not been established definitely. The heckler cut in with this:- "Undoubtedly it was a British submarined, said Harrassing Harry. _____________ J AP The ne.s about Japan today fiiiEta fluctuated with various degrees of alarm. The first aispatch kx was from Totcyo stating that the new rExlKz premier was an army leader - General Tojo. Any General heading the Mikado’s government sounde ominous, because the Japanese army is the most aai belligerent element in the Far hastern empire. However it was explained tnat General Tojo wnile a militarist was also a moderate. He’s less of a fire-eater than the Japanese army ex extremists who want to go out snd grab everything right xigc away, war or no war. Tojo was reported as the kind of man who would keep things on an even keel. So this was taken as reassurance that tne new Tokyo cabinet does not necessarily imply a swift increase of the war danger However, it was pointed out that we don’t -enow who tne other new ministers ar». The I'ull slate has not yet been disclosed by Tokyo. A good deal of the meaning of the wMYwruifiK rovernmental ch'inge depends on the rest of the slate. If they turn out to te llitary fire-eaters, why then the f=et that tne new premier is an army moderate won*^. ^ /> , <5aan. ^ £o ncucl. I JnPAN - £ This jolitical inciication froa Jspan was promptly followed by tne sensational news - that tixa tne Unite! £-tates had ordered all American mercnant ships in the Pacific to proceed to fxiEnl friendly narbors. The report v^as insistent. '-oaing from many places, botn in the v^nited States and from localities of the Pacific, -^t was repeated so definitely that it seemed as if it oiUst indeed be the case. Tne war-liite portent was obvioas — ira for a nation does not order its vessels to safe narbors unless it believes a clash may ce i mmenent. However, nereis the latest. It’s -n announcement by tne -'avy .department minimizing the orders to American mercnant vessels in tne Pacific, Tne Navy bulletin uses these words:! --tJA very few American mercnant snips. j-.nz it ro-^s on to state tnat tnese very few American mercnant snips nave seen orierei into .inr tneir voyages, {2 .d tnat . iay^ I crt for instruct'ons regara: 0'»n tne eiarmlnr- note considerably. I i iif rillLL.-. /.NiJ J apan the V\hiie the Japanese are playing ball wlth^ Nazis Hitler is plotting to destroy Japan. Bo ve are told in the leading article of the November issue of Asia, the Magazine Of The <^rient. The article goes on to point out that ^One J /A. of the most extraordinary illusions in history is Japan's innocent faith that Hitler, if he should win, xbkx would share the rule of the world with the race which he has denounced as "yellow vermin'’ and as less than men — 'under-men'." "On the contrary”, says Asia Magazine SiiiiKrxix "Hitler's intention is not merely to rule Japan, but to destroy the Japanese people - not to enslave them as he has enslaved others - but literally to exterminate them, with poison gas and bacteria." Then the article goes on to quot^#i=fei«^ from Mein Kampf and elsewhere, to show that Hitler regards the Japanese yc^l th**!! hardly more than "trained moniceys". Then it concludes with these reraarics;- to death'A.tetever Japan’s decision will be, whether it d-cides A to fight as hitler's ally or not, on no account will it >7 /r escape its fate in a Hitler-dominated world.« BILL 1 President hoos#>velt today signed a bill that made excited headlines in the news some whi Le ago. jlt^s interesting — |i tne v.ay memory fades in times like these^^nen great and startling events come tumbling and cpowd former sensational affairs out of mind. I wonder mnny of us remember clearlv the property requisitioning ^1 - which provoked plenty of storm in Congress. • t Lugp the Administration the right A /( to seize any property the President might deem vital for National iJefense - the ov\ners to be paid compensation. \Congress balkec at the original proposal - ^J^"*with arguments that it was too sweeping and far reaching and gave tne President too large a grant of power. There were contentions that the ueasure wouid confer on the government the right to take over a.iy or all the private property in the country. bo the bill was modified, safeguards inserted. Various classes of property are exempt. And a Lime Limit was written in the bill to expire on June thirtieth. Nineteen forty-three The idea being - not to give the ^-^ovorament a permanent right I bill - ^ TT-'- « to tarce over property, not for all time. This Is the modifita bill that President Roosevelt signed today at Hyde Park, and it is believed tnat the first ,ction taken under its provisions will concern - copper The other aay, priorities Director Donald Nelson told a congressional commi^ee that tnere was an acute shortage of copper^^=sa3ri=ys:^3iore tnan a million sao three hundred thousands pounds were stored in warehouses. Some of this, he said. was undoubtedly owned by the Axis powers. So the copper in warehouses is likely to be first on the list of things to be taken. However, the millio i three hundred thousand pounds is only a drop in the oucket. It is estimated that the defense industries will need two hundred and eighty-eight million pounds of copper for next year’s operation, I WAR i In the war Berlin claims that the Panzer columns south of Moscow have driven to a point eighty miles east of the city. That far to the rear of Moscpw. \Berlin states that the drive began at the strategic toim of Tula, and has thrust eastward a hundred miles from that place. If this be true, the Panzers are in a position to come ,up behind Moscow. The obvious German strategy would be to/make the same sort of drive to the north of / the city — a noTtljern column driving east and converging to meet the southern/ arm. That, apparently is their plan for surrounding the city^ The Red Army tells of successful resistance here and there and even of victorious attacks. Soviet war dispatches described the Blitzkrieg Forces as exhausted, the troops worn out as well^ they might be.T The rate'irwhich they»ve been smashing forward, The Red Bulletin gives accounts-ofhing ch^ges by horse cavalry and motoreycle troops; beating back the GerraansT^The whereabouts of the Stalin Government and the diplomatic corps is still a myster>^That»s how dense the censorship is, and how remote are the spaces of Eastern Russia. Our own state department announced today officially that Ambassador Steinhardt, together with the WAR - 2 rest of the Diplomatic Corps, Has retired to some unspecified place east of Moscow - name not given. The repoi^t still continues to speak of the Tartar City of Kazan. But that*s not so certain now. Some think the Soviet Government may retire even further to the east — all the way to the Drals. London, however, gives us the belief that Stalin is still in Moscow. What the Soviets and the Red ArmJ^ will do in the future is one of the most important and fascinating questions of the day. Just where will they go? Where will the fighting line be? Turkey gives us an interesting rumor to the effect that the Red regime will divide Itself into three parts. The story is that Stalin and part of the Red Array "i forces will retire to the East of Moscow in the area of the Ural Mountains. A second section of the Soviet power will be established in the Caucasus, where those all-important oil wells are. There the Red forces will be in contact with the British in J>ersia. Turkey says that Stalin is convinced the British will send a big army up into the Caucasus to join the Russians in making a stand there. But what will oe the location of the third section of the Red regime? That’s the surprise — it will be in Western Russia, WAR “ 5 behind the Geriiian lines. It will be an undercover kind of Soviet government, operating in Nazi held territory, A secret Communist organization, coordinated groups operating in concealment and continuing the war. A sort of guerrilla affair — continuing the Communist power. An undercover regime sounds like something ndw — but it might be in'line with the old Bolshevik talent and habit of conspiracy. The rumor from Turkey adds that Stalin will try to maintain as good communication and coordination as possible between the three sectors of the Soviets, in the Urals, in the Caucasus, and in the territory occupied by the Nazis