in history. ulletin. The greate s t airline d isaster eventy seven persons a re dead tonight and t enty three injured near Shanghai China when a three Chinese airlin rs crashed in/heavy fo1. ■■ Sti 1 another plane is missing tonight, and may have crashed o n the outskirts of Shan gha i. Only one American is reported among the dead. That•a the onl7 news we have so far. ---0---- And, another airplane disaster in thi1 country. A passenger transp o rt with twelve aboard, crashed and exploded in the mountains of California. All we know so far is that the wreckage of the plane has been sighted. CJ:ill A ---- China select d Christmas as the day for adopting its ne VI Constitution. That. however, is not as much of a bow ';t . to christiani ty asA might seem. · December the T*enty-fifth w a s chosen because it was the anniversary of what is call d the Sian incident. That w s the spectacular melodram~ of lineteen Twent7- Six, when Chiang Iai-Shek was ii•~ kidnapped bJ a military Chieftain called •the Young Marshall•. -,=;here were all sorts of strange oriental doinga1'.,,..4./ the Sian incident was a turnin 5 point in the course of political events in China. Generaliaaiao Chian1 lai-Shek, after having been ldinapped, waa released just ten years ago today. n _ ~ Wll-4. .._..Q.t.t,A tL4.. q.a that anniversary~ the occasion tor the adoption of a new Chinese constitution. The vote in the Rational Assembly at Nanking w a s unaniaous - which, however, is less impressive, when we remeaber that Chinese Co■munists were not represent d. TheJ ~ boycotted the Constitution-making national Aaaeably. S t ill, there remains the f a ct that Chiang K ai-Sh e l has nJI given China a charter of liberal A deaocracy, which the lationalist party will try to enforce everywhere in th.tgreat rar Eastern Land. The new constitution combines the idea• of the western deaocracies with the liberal teaching• of Dr. Sun ?at-Sen, foun d er of the Chin e se Revolutioa. The document guarantees f ■ coaplete · civil rights, and provides for government b y a parliament The Parliament .I., elect the President A year tera -- subject to recall. and a President. for a six- The princi p le of reaall is one of tne doctrines of Sun tat Sen, and pervades the new constitution -- which abounds in provision• enablin& the people to rec a ll their representatives and official• --vote them out of office. Tb• new constitution emphasises the principle of keeping poli ical office- holders in the line of good conduct, mating sure that I t h ey fulfill their duties in the ••••••J proper wa7. The F rench situati o n in Indo-Cbina is so serious that a second orld War hero of F~ance is flying out to take military charge • Gen~ralV••,••• I • of the fighting French from Lake Chad in Central ~ ~ . s ~ J Africa~all the way into Tunisia, to aid the American• and British in the lorth African caa p ai1n. General Leclerc now toes to coaaand an operation that today was featured by heavy fi&htiq between colonial french forces and the troopa of - the native Republic of Yitaaa. French coluana were driving a ainst violent resistance. The French clai ■ that a■ong the,r1:1aitl::::2.re many Japa - war- time e~ e •J soldiers who, instead of aurrenderin&, took s e rvice in the rebel ar■J• London reports that there may stil bs an attempt to bring the Zionists into the round table conference with the Arabs. This -- in spite of the way the Zionist conf rence in Switzerland voted, no. At that conference, which closed lad. night, the cause of the London conference was urged by Dr. Chaim leitz ■ ann, bead ot the,> .:.- .. Jewish agency, who argued for p~rticipation on the basis of soae kind of · lan to divide the Holy Land. Thia the iionist Congress rejected. All of which was a rebuff tor Dr. Chai ■ leit1 ■ ann the long ti ■e chief leader of Zioniaa, who, back in the days of the First World lar, neaotiatid for the Balfour declaration. That Balfour Declaration marked the beginning of the modern Jewish aettle ■ ent in Palestine, and Dr. leit~••~n aay be said to be the fatherpf present day Zionia ■• Bis status now is ambi uous. So■e ~ ~.lid A he ■ ay withdraw as head of the Jewish agency, but ZIONI S TS - 2 ------- London thinks it p ro b able that D r. Weitzmann may1"ake a final attempt to bring about what he advocates __ Jewish ••zstaa participation in the London Talka.--- J:b.W~,JS.- 'aw ili.":l make a supreme effort to persuade the British government to agree upon a for ■ ula · acceptable to the Zionist Congress leaders. On the personal side, the · question ti whether or not Dr. Chai ■ leitz ■ ann, father of present day Zionisa, will retain his position of leadership in the Jewish cause. The opposition to his plan was ; led by Jewish Aaerioan delegates, who successtull7 chaapioned the demand that 'all Palestine be turned over to the Zionists for a Jewish national state. The Congress adjourned last night, leavin1 auch undecided -- the question of Congress leadership.~ 119 example. That i1sue has been turned over to a newl7 ap p ointed council -- and the leadership of Zioniaa stands in doubt tonight. Chri s tmas D~y in Palestine w as celebr~ted with an accom p animent of violence and menace. loslea terrorists resorted to assassination again today -- when an Arab landowner, !air Mohammed El Saleh, was shot down on a street•• in Haifa. The crime waa committed in full daylight, and is attributed to the Arab underground in its caapaign against Uosle ■ • who sell land to Jewish purchasers. ~ indication that the Araba ar• developing a caapaign of violence-· in preparation for an approaching showdown. Zionist extremilta are likewise getting ready for a criaia ot underground war. The two chief terrorist oraanizationa, Irgun Zvai Leuai and the Stern Gang, have announced what they c a ll -- unification. The two g roups have merged, a nd now are virtually one organization -- ready tor what they consider the coming conflict. The truce observed by the Extremi s ts during the meetings of the lorld Zionist Conferences in Switzerland is expected to end at any ti m e -- with new violence. The British, on their part have prepared, with a reorganization of the Palestine Police -- 'designed to meet the stress of coming events• - says today's newa bulletin fro ■ Jerusalem. On Christmas Day today British soldiers went into the streets only in groups of twos and threes, with machine guns for protection. And last ni&ht heavily armed troops stood on guard in Bethlth•• the area of the Church of the lativitJ. The dispatch from Jerusalem notes the novelty of this -- aayin& that, even in the eabattled era of the Crusaders, araed ••• w re not to be seen at the Church of the lativity.~ . . i,eaders of the Crusaders passed edicts that baniahed ~ •swords, pikes and croaabowa• from the area of the sanctuary. The Crusaders went t h ere unar■ ed. To thea -- warlike wea ans of any sort, •swords, pikes and c r ossbows• would have desecrated the shrine of Bethlehea dedicated to the Prince of Peace. But it'• different in the Holy Land today. Last night, Christmas Eve at Macon, Georgia, to sailors ,a l k ed into the Lanier Hotel and ate ed quickly to the night telephone operator, Miss Marjorie Bishop. They told her the hotel was on fire, upper floors ablaze. •I thought at first they were kidding• she said today. The telephone operator ■ ight ~~ ~ have retorted with~smar5 re ■ ark, kidding back -- but she saw the two sailors were dead aerioua. So she got busy with her telephone 1witchboar4 giving the alar■• She worked with quick, quiet efficiency, calling hotel guests in their rooms, telling them to come downatairs. •1 didn't want to alar ■ them• 1he explained today •and when a guest answered the telephone, I informed hi■~ to co■e do•nstairs i■■ediately ~ because of a small fire. There was no panic• She is right with that last remark.There wa1 no panic of any sort -- thanks l argely to her. Today at M a con, praise was bein showered on Marjorie Bishop, the tele hone operator. They were saying that, except for her, the fire in the Lanier Hotel aight have been a dreadful holocaust on Christmas tye, something as horrible as the Winecoff Hotel fire in . . . t~llc ~~ ~raise is also given to two learo ala■ elevator boys, who ferried the pa1aen1ers down in a cool, unexcited way. And the Fire Depart■ ent, too, gets a pat on the back -- for quick and 1killful work in getting out aoae people who were trappedtJU 1\.-f.t' -~ ::!:,."1.adde.-■ fiL ,11111 . . :::fy I.here i■ nothing ■ ore than a cheerful Christaas story*•• - Q.«.tte to tell about thkfire in the Lanier ,Jt- J • aae datin1 back to the ti■•• If..,_ Ci•il lar. fAG E _~l~ Bad news this Kerry Christmas for member~ of a select profession. On January Third, in Washington, they are going to lose their jobs. The page boys of the Congress. lhen the Eightieth Congress, the new one, when it meets, they'll be replaced by a lot of new youngster• political patronage being what it is. But, be they Republicans or Democrats, the boys, aged from twel•e to sixteen, are becoain& aucb EMiJl.J!Q!S - 2 _.._w.e~ a headach~Jhat they~re the subj e ct of a congressional committee investigation. For one thing, they are ell paid -- t•o hund r ed and twenty five dollars a month after taxes. That's a lot of money for even the most ang lie looking little gentleman. Unfortunately that ■ ucb money taa led not a few of the boyf into ahad7 adventures. It•s a matter of poliee record -- record• which have never seen the light •of day -- that ao ■• -1a.--1c .. ~ ..... , $- of the pa&e boys in CongreaaAindul&• in aa ■blin&, stealing, drinking and exploit ■ with wo ■ en. low Congreas 11 going to try to do aoaethiq about it. ror that•• bad~., . . . . for any youn11ter, no ■ atter what hie Job or who hi ■ dad. And a co ■ aittee, headed by Senator La Follette, of li1con1in, is trying to remedy the situation. 11th a reaolution providing that all page boys in Con ress *• be choaea from the District of Colu■bia, ri ht in Washington •h•r PAGE BUYS - 3 ...,.- - -- their parents can keep a watchful eye on them. The reso l ution may have trouble b e fo e it b ecomes l a w -- page boy jobs re ch o ice and jealousy- 0uarded patrona e plums. One Congressman, recently u efeated f or re-election, is kno n to have made his young F•i a p pointee kick back most of his salary. lkaxaigkt••• The tightieth Congress, when it convenes will have much to consider, problems at home problems abroad. But if it can take time out to remove Its,,,,., •• delinquency from the shadow of w - e f l J . ~ ~ ~ l . t ~ M Capitol Hill, C,-~~N---i-Helf-a ,asa ■ -PM ea ti.• Nft\.1i.t4'~, s t ran u e Cbri s tm ~ s · as spent by three men on an ice floe in the ~t. Lawrence river. HardlJ the most che e rful p lace for Yuletide,--But,things were about a s comfortable for them as things can be when you~re marooned on drifting ice. They are survivors of a plane with seven aboard that was flying over the wide spaces of the lower St. Lawrence. There the river becomes a gulf. A gulf choked by floating ice right now. They had to make a forced landing, and came down on a field ot 1r ~-~-~~~{..~ drift ice. '.l'hey got ou1\ 'hie plane took a plunge ~ to the bottom of the river. One of the, disappeared, leaving six marooned on the ice. ~escue atte ■pts began. Three were taken out last night by a flying boat, which managed to make a landing. But the water was getting rougher, and the ice wa s grinding and churning. lo more rescues•• could be made -- and th t left three, adrift on an ice flow. Planes fle w over, and dropped sup ~ lies to them -- fo od n d sle ep 1'n g b ag . A d tb th n a s w em throu g h t e n ig t -- the ni g h t b ef ore C ~ristm a s. T od ay it w sti l l i m p os ible to g et to t h em b ecause o f ro u h w ter and c h urnin ice~- an d a flyin for t res to ok of to drop t h em a boat, with which it wa s hoped they wou l d be a ble to e t through ix to re a son a bly o pe n w te~, where ordin a r y riv e r er ft could ick them up. The l a te s t is th R a motorbo a t rop p e d b the flyin g fortres c ap size wen it it the w a ter. One of the survivors on the ice floe mana g e d t o get a smaller boat, and pushed off. Be drifte d for ~ cou le of miles g ot•• onto a not h er ice floe ~ nd t h en Jx wa picke d u. And no w a steamboat is o . its y to rescue tbe other two who are s ~ ill on the ice. Ye nwhile, river men s ay they sre not in re a t d~nger -- un l e s violent stro m s houl o blo : up. There se ms to b e n o si*n of th a t; so, two m a ro ~ ne c ~ aw ays with O enty of sup p lies, r e h . vi . F merry c C h ri s t . m as yo c n ve o n ice. 1 o , e 1 1 o y o u h v e l°'ad f a r mer ier Christ ma . t ~ n t a t Melson, Not o n ice I hope. i n clu d i n y o u, Now a bout th a t laugh the other night. So many tele p hone c a lls came, f o l l o w ed by a flood of letters; asking wh a t Hugh an d I w ere laughing about that I · . t ~ ~ guess I~•• jilG a" ex p laJii?ai~•• As wae . ., you lnow, if you were li s tening, Bugh could hardly get through he his closing, and ae to say solong w hen~handed the mike back to J ~ ..... ~ u . t until tomorrow,~ couldn't even say those three words. lrs. Clara Brennan of Cleveland, ••tr~ puts her query in verse. She write•:- ! would just like to know And it is no more than right, 1hat brought the spas ■ On last Thursday night. W ell, it was •that man• Bilbo and the remark he made about his secretary. Re•ember? Bi l bo at the Sen ~ te hearing in Washington, went into a Patrick Henr7 regularA••*zi ■ *i•Aburst of oratory. Patrick Henry de cla i ~d : •caesa• ha d his Brutus, Charle s T he First had his Crom ~ e11• and so on. 1,A!!Q!{ - 2 ~ Bilbo rose to even greater heights. Be told ai• how the Saviour had his Judas Iscariat, Caesar his Brutus, and George Washington his Benedict Arnold. hereu o n, the much-investigat e d Senator from Mississippi said that he had . . . a secretary ho• s orse than all of thea:\TThat seemed to strike the IBC people in the studio as funny; and they all - began to laugh,Athe production man, Announcer•• Bqh James, the sound effects man, the engineer, and~ .-&.. a,w.,'.,, "'J"'-!L,j special announcer Don Pardo· who tells yo~o~ II ,-r. yN,-save •two cents a gallon! • • Laughter as we all know is contagious. -.\eci r ••H'"4 ~-w,aglt-z-aad" &IA~ laughing and trying to hold R back ■ade the oth re in the studio laugh all · the harder, all of which made it still worse for me. ~ ~ ; : ; : ; ; ; c o m p l i c a t e d by MM>~ ~ my next story ,\.• a sad one, about the ninety- I,AUGH - 3 four year old father who spent his later years searching for his son while the son was searching for him. The father dying, alone in a dingy roo ■ without finding the boy he had abandoned as a bab7. And ~h• father had fifty thousand dollars to leave to the boy. I kept from bursting all through that stor7. But after I had the father dead and ..-ent on to the next story about the ex-Private who spanked his wife the ex-WAC Corporal, I had to release soae of that pent up laughter. But it was Bilbo calling his secretary worse than Judas Iscariat that really pla7ed the havoc. And that lrs. Brennan If you still want to know, leaf'wrecked ou~&--•••»twwwf•el1i~M sJ-K-. ~""'• ,.A--~ ith that wild haw haw