IiIQ LOTOV P y - 1U v 7I^ i^ilc Histoiy v-ai: uiade today when the Soviet Premier and Commissar for Foreign Affairs conferred with Hitler in Berlin. It ’Aa 3 the first time Molotov had been out of Russia, the first time that any Soviet Premier had gone to a foreign land. Molotov conferred ^ith Hitler for two and a half hours - and heaven knows what decisions were arrived All is shrouded in the deepest secrecy. All that we can surmise is that when Molotov conifers with Hitler, something deep is brewing, some new combination. It was observed that the Foreign Commissar got an impressive, though not gala, reception at Berlin. Also - that he was'accompanied by a very large staff. The number of assistants might seem to indicate that some large plan is afootT^The Germans and Italians, naturally enough, are saying the Moiotov-Hitler meeting portends great events.^ A more trustworthy,/i.ndication is the state of opinion ... .. . in London - pessimistic. /British officials are inclined to thi. darkly that the Soviets are moving more decidedly into the w «*» wirfi I, > jw ii r—11 111" Axis-Japanese orbit. '(The British are afraid that Moscow, lining up with Tokyo, will cut down assistance to Chinafkaere. MOLOTOV - 2 the latest the latest - a flash from Moscow. A high Japanese diplomatic official s.aUoned in Moscow, has gone to Berlin - presumably to take part in the Molotov-Hitler talks. London surmises something still ^orse - that Stalin is ready to cooperate with Hitler in ne d^recti.on of the Dardanelles and Turkey. ThereTs a good deal of British suspicion that Molotov and Hitler are discussing a scheme for joint control of the Dardanelles - joint control by Germany, Russia bkx S xxxs ? and Turkey. If the Soviets put pressure on the Turks, they could hardly resist A Nazi demands. One particular cause for pessimism in London is the report that when the British Ambassador to Moscow conferred with the Soviet Assistant Commissar for Foreign Affairs - the Assistant Commissar gave the Ambassador very little information about the purpose of the meeting between Molotov and Hitler. London regards that reticence as ominous. GREECE Today's v.ar story continues to tell of Greek successes agsmst the Italians - Mussolini's men in retreat, the Greeks capturing prisoners ana making large claims of victory. We get some material today that seems to give some general idea of what i. l Happened. It comes from British military circles in London, and quotes one British expert as saying:- "It looks as if the Italians at first thought the Greeks would not resist. Or, if .ney did, ^ney would^not more than make a demonstration, allowing the Italians to overrun Greece without much difficulty." This tends to be confirmed by articles in Italian newspapers which state that the push against Greece was made by little more than frontier forces in Albania - no large mobilization of military power. \ j 2 . The British military expert goes on to analyze the operation as something liKe this:~The Italians made three simultaneous attacKs. One, at Koritza, wsw? merely to hold^GreeTjeJ^., Second an Alpine division struck through the Pindus Mountains to cut off communications. At the same time there was a third Bxlxxx advance, down the coast. But the holding attack at Koritza CREECH, - 2 failed to hold, and Gree.c forces pushed into Albania. Meanwhile, tne other two crives bogged down in the bad weather. Result — t'.e Italians are having to reorganize their attack. All t;iis has some confirmation from Italy, from Rome denies today1s story of Greek victories and states that ctll attacks were repelled. At the same time, the Fascist forces are oescribed as having halted while their new Commander-in-Chief A dispatch is busy rearranging the invading army. A rather singular account comes from Athens. It quotes a German ipolmatic official as saying that relations were excellent between Greece and Nazi Germany — no rift in the friend­ ship. The Italian attack on Greece, he is quoted as explaining -- was a strictly Fascist affair. The Germans have nothing to do with it. This might tie in with previous suppositions — that in the Greek adventure Mussolini was trying to steal a march on his partner Hitler. BRITAIN Here's a la^e dispatch saying that the London Admiralty am winking ;f a British armed merchant cruiser. The date was November Fifth, and the Admiralty announcement specifies tnat the auxiliary cruiser, while defending a convoy, was sunk by an enemy surface raider. So this appl^to the German craim tha * a pocket-battleship-raider had attacked and destroyed A convoy. London claims that most of the ships of the convoy ^4 /^by&tr An epitaph of Neville Chamberlain was spoKen today with solemn formality. Spoken in the House of Commons where heviile Chamberlain piayed his historic part as Prime Minister. Spoken by his successor, Winston Churchill. \lt surlly was fitting tnat Churchill, more than any other man, should utter - -inai parliamentary farewell to the Prime Minister whom he succeeded. Cnurchill spoja.e of Chambe r^ain as a man who had been deceived. Deceived by whom? That needs no guessing, nere are Churchill’s measured words:- "Whatever else history may or may not say of these tremendous and terriuie years," said he, "we can be sure that Seville Chamberlain acted perfectly sincerely according . pHewas," to his lights. | He was," proclaimed Churchill, "deceived and cheated by a wicked man." Winston Churchill today disclosed that Neville CHURCHILL - Chamoerlain had reiused all honors, the honors customarily granted to a * rime Minister when he leaves office. Elevation to the house of Peers is customary. Churchill referred back to that previous Chamberlain af great renown, Joseph Chamberlain of Manchester who likewise refused honors. Speaking of his predecessor, the Prime Minister said; "He would die like his fatter - plain Mr. Chamberlain." MISHAPS Today's nws ±s remarkable for one ainazin^, thing - a v»hoie senes of mishaps in which sabotage is or Might be suspected. I ha.e here seven separate stories of incidents more or less suspicious, in various parts of the country. The most startling the three blow-ups in plans manufacturing explosives - plants at »'ooderidge. New Jersey; fcdinburgh, Pennsylvania; and Allentown, Pennsylvania. These explosions occurred this morning within the space of an hour. At Atlanta, Georgia, itfs •he case of an armory destroyed by fire. Seattle, Vtashington - the discovery of emery dust put into machinery in a plant buifi^ing naval ships. At Springfield, Ohio, two men killed in a plant doing national defense work. San Francisco, a giant crane collapsed today, at a shipbuilding plant doing v.ork for the United States Government. ¥es, an amazing series. The explosion at the Vioodoridge, New Jersey, powder plant was a violent affair. It shook nearby towns, broke windows far away, and was heard as far as Jersey City twenty miles to the north. Staten Island automobiles were jarred A and shaken, , hai; a dozen workers i-ed« Tne first ]L I bEh re. — * flash of nev;s had a raost sinister sound. The Woodbridge plant ..s engaged in the Cianufac^ure of torpedoes. That sounded like huge explosive missiles for the Navy. But then it developed that the regular product of the plant consists of railway torpedoes - those fireworks placed on railroad tracks to explode as signals when trains pass over them. However, it is reported that the Woodbridge plant was also doing work for the United States Government, making munitions. And we hear that the F.B.I. is investigating todayfs explosions - suspicion of possible foreign sabotage. Edinburgh, Pennsylvania - the explosion there occurred at the Burton Powder Company, in a buij<4#hg where dynamite packed. This plant makes commercial explosives only. Company officials declared that they had no government orders in the national defense program. So foreign sabotage seems little likely (here. The third explosion occurred in a building where they were making x* detonators for blasting jobs. This too was commercial work. Company officials s y that no defense contracts were involved. MISHAPS - 5 and they believe there was no sabotage. They say it was probably an accident. Nevertheless, the F.B.I. is investigating. Three lives . er<- lost in tnat particular blast near Allentown, Pennsylvania Tnere1s decided suspicion of sabotage at Atlanta, Georgia, where a spectacular fire raged in an armory and a million dollars worth of armyequipment was destroyed. Today the Adjutant General of Georgia ordered a National Guard investigation. The manager of the armory declares outright that it was — sabotage. The same char :e is made at Seattle, where emery dust was found in the machinery at a drydock. The machinery was being used in converting two ships into naval transports. The Seattle prosecute: announced today that he is conducting an investigation. The F.B.I. is alsoon the job. Foreign espionage v/as suspected in that crime at Springfield, Ohio, we heard about last night. However, today, the crime is considered some kind of homicidal revenge. At Seattle1s mishap, at a shipyard which is building ocean- goin-- freighters for the United States Maritime Commission, a monster crane was lifting a deck section that weighed several tons. The crane collapsed and two men were killee today. ^nere are no I MISHAP d - 4 details as tothe cause; but nowadays when anything goes wrong at a plant 'Oing government work is likely to be regarded with suspicion. CONGRESS The United States Senate had an exceedingly brief session t iday , met and immediately recessed - in honor of Senator * u- l‘J 1 ~ Nevada. The death of Key Pittman over the weekend evoked aR eulogy ^oday from Senator King of Utah, ne described tne gentleman from Nevada as - nan illustrious Americann and said his loss will be mourned throughout the country. After the brief session, various senators gave their opinions of the Willkie speech last night - calling for unity with constitutional opposition. How did the Republicans regard the Willkie program? Two G.O.P. leaders expressed themselves today. Senator^Vandenberg and Johnson. nThe Republican Party,n declared Vandenberg, nwill support an attitude of constant vigilance and legitimate cooperation, but with no totalitarian rubber-stamp subservience.Tt p-vAJt vt—hGia ' — Hiram Johnson "Real'unity doesn’t mean that men in Congress should abandon their convictions". President Roosevelt didnTt hear the Willkie address, nor has he read the five point proposal advanced by his opponent on election day, a five point proposal to deal with CONGRESS - 2 what Willkie called — ’’economic errors.” Presidential Secretary Barly explained in these words:- ”The President did not hear Willkie last night and ha snot had time to read the speech.” Democratic Chairman Edward J. Flynn was with the President last night at the time of the Willkie speech. ”Some time betwen ten and eleven P. M.,” Flynn related today, ” I said to the President, *0h ray Lord, we did not listen to Willkie.’” All of which should make it clear that today there was no White House reaction to the unity declarations made by the defeated Republican candidate. The v.eat ;er story tonight is tragic. Word from Michigan tells 01 at least two steamers smashed to pieces, and it is feared that their entire crews are lost - thirty-five men. The tenpest that lashed the Great LaK.es played havoc everywhere alon^. the shores of the inxand waters - fishing boats lost, all sorts of craft in peril. Seventy-one persons are known to have perished andk at least sixty are missing. ItTs an endless tale of destruction - the devastating fury of the storm. This is now being succeeded by a bitter cord wave, with new evils of frost and blizzard. SPORT In ^ae world of sport, the news is -- two people got jobs. The sports oncerned are baseball and tennis. At Cleveland Manager Bradley of the Indians today said to a group of newspapermen -- wBoys, meet the new manager of the Cleveland Indians.n And that answered the question that has been ouzzing in baseoall for weeks. The Indians, of course, are not ferocious Redskins, - savage and stoical. They*re the far-famed, cry babies. They complained about their manager, Oscar V3tt, said he made them nervous, agitated their artistic temperament, got them all upset. The man whome Manager Bradley presented today was a well- known figure — great old Roger Peckinpaugh, who managed the team once oefore, and was fired — in Nineteen Thirty-Three. Now he*s hired all over again. His salary is not revealed officially, but report puts it at twenty thousand a year, with a bonus based on attendance. It's probably worth all of that to manage the Cleveland team, which is torn with quarrels, dissension and weeping. It sounds like a nursemaid* s job, wheeling aperambulator and singing ”Rock-a-bye-Baby.ff Or maybe Peck will take over armed with a few switches and a couple of paddles. .PORT -2 The other case of job getting in the world of sports t-ives us Alice Marble turning professional. This brings to an end one of the greatest of amateur careers. Ever sin e Nineteen Thirty-Six she’s been the top ranking woman player. Why is Alice turning pro? So she can sing. "I am turning professional, n she said today, "so th t I may have the necessary time and money to further my greatest ambition- become a concert singer." The contract she signed today calls for a x guarantee of twenty-five thousand dollars. And she’ll get a cut of the gate receipts. The prospects are that she’ll net fifty thousand out of the professional tour she’s about to make. Fifty thousand bucks ought to provide a lot of signing lessons, golf for the tonsisl, enough to make the vocal chords thrill like a Tetrazini. And that leaves me just a split secona to pass tne mike to Hugh.