L.T. SUNOCO.^ FRIDAY. OCOTQBER 11, 1940
GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY:
War possibilities in the Far East were made more ominous
today by word from London. Four Japanese banks announced that they1re
closing their London offices — four of the largest Japanese
financial institutions. A fifth, however, will remain open.
The report in London is that Japanese living in Britain are soon
to leave. There are about a hundred and fifty of them going home;
a sign of the growing possibility of war between Great Britain
and Japan.


There were excited demonstrations in a remote asiatic land
today. Siam. Crowds in Bangkok stormed around, shouting. Yelling
demands, and screaming wIndo- China”. As if there were not enough
Siam
trouble in this poor old world already, is now claiming certain
territories of French Indo-China. The French colonial authorities,
already pushed about by Japanese aggression, are resisting the
Siamese d emands. Hence the crowds in Bangkok, today, yelling for
action against Indo-China.


RUMANIA
It was s tated in London today that the British Minister
to Bucharest had been instructed to use his own judgment inbreaking
off relations between Great Britain and Rumania. The London Foreign
Office appears to be uncertain about the exact state of affairs in
the Balkan Kingdom, and has had difficulty in communicating with
its emissary there. So the Foreign Office will not exercise the
initiative in breaking off relations, leaving that to the discretion
of the Minister — if and when.
London still keeps unpretense that the large German forces in
Rumania are there as experts for training purposes. But today
an active flight of Nazi war planes roared over Bucharest in a
significant demonstration. And we hear that powerxul German air
forces are being established at various air fields in the country,
also in Bulgaria where the Nazis are already well established.
Big developments in the Balkans are indicated!
The Budapest government got half of the province of
Transylvania from Rumanis some weeks ago - this at the instigation
still
of Germany and Italy. The two nations can't get along with each
other, and so there's another flare-up. The latest, just off the




flUMANIA -
2
wire, is that Budapest and Bucharest have appealed to Germany and
Italy to intervene, patch up the quarrel, and see that peace is
preserved.





Bombing
Last night1s bombing story told of damage to a famous
cathedral — St. Paul’s in London. Tonight, a still more famous
ecclesiastical edifice is in the air raid news — Canterbruy.
That’s the mother church of all the English churches. The site
where St. Augustine, who converted the Saxons, founded the escles-
iastical system of England. Compared with Canterbury, St. Paul’s
is relatively new. The older masterpiece of church architecture
was built from the ten hundreds into the fourteen hundreds.
They
built across the centuries in those medieval days. It was the third
successive cathedral at the halloed site, the shrine to which the
Canterbury pilgrims used to troop.
The cathedral was not directly struck, but high explosve fell
nearby. Buildings were demolished a hundred yards away, houses in
the town of Canterbury. The stained glass windows of the lofty
cathedral shrine were shattered, but they were not the pricele
works of stained glass art that have come down from the Middle Ages
of the colored beatuy were removed When the
The medieval windows
war started, and stored away
in a place s afe from air raids
By way of
coincidence, the London residence of the Archbishop


BO?*BING - 2
of Canterbury was damaged last night. The Archbishop was there,
but was not injured, nor was the building badly harmed.
And high explosvie burst within a short distance of the
country residence of American Ambassador Joseph B. Kennedy. Three
cottages on the estate were wrecked. Ambassador Kennedy was in
bed when the bombs crashed. Lampshades fell on the bed, but the
Ambassador himself was not injured.
Tnus the bombing goes on — London under the customary attack
through the day and tonight. Liverpool was heavily blasted today.
The British on their part got in a particularly heavy blow
against the Nazis - a combined stroke by the Royal Air Force and the
Royal Navy. German concentrations at Boulogne were smashed in a
prolonged attack — the Royal Navy shelling, the R.A.I. bombing.


INTBO TO COUBT DE CHAMBRUN
Sitting beside me tonight is a young Frenchman, or should I
say American? At any rate, he is an American citiren for a most
unusual reason, which I will explain in a moment. The point is
that he knows more about the smashing victory of Hitler*s armies,
the defeat of the French and Belgians and British, from first hand
experience, than anyone who has so far come to this country. For,
he is the only soldier I know of who was with the army in the Maginot
Line, and also continuously at the Front with the Armies in Belgium,
escaping to England during the evacuation at Dunkirk.
His name is Count Rene de Chambrun. And as he rather quaintly
puts it, he was an American citizen before he was born, — because
of a law passed in the state of Maryland, a law stipulating that all
direct descendants of Lafayette should automatically become Americans.
But, his tie to this country is even closer than that, for
ojO
his mother was an American from Cincinnati, a sister of Speak'w
the House Nicholas Longworth. On top of that, he is an American
lawyer, having for years practiced before the bar in this country
and in France.
Count Rene De Chambrun who sits beside me has written his



COUNT DE CHAMBRUN - £
first book to appear in this country from the pen of a soldier
who took part in the tragic war in Europe, against Hitlers
mechanized armies. It will be out In a day or two and the title
of it is "I SAW FRANCE FALL1'.
During the opening weeks of the war de Chambrun was in command
of troops in one of the fortresses of the Maginot Line. Because of
his command of English he naturally was called upon to do liason
work. When Lord Gort, Commander-in-chief of the British forces,
visited the Maginot Dine, de Chambrun went with him. In his book
he tells of the fantastic cost of the Maginot Line, the line that
turned out to be so useless. What was it that you said to the British
Commander-inChief, Count?
COUNT DE CHAMBRUN: Part of what I said was this:- That if France
had spent the same amount on the building of battleships, what it
cost to build the Maginot Line, then France would have had a fleet
twice the size of all the combined navies
01
the world I
LT.:
In his book "I SAW FRANCE FALL" Count de Chambrun tells an
exciting,at times hair-raising story of his adventures in the Maginot
Line, then of his experiences with the British xorces in Belgium.


COUNT DE CriAMBRUAl - 5
Divisions at the front were constantly replaced but he was
always transl erred from one division to another, as they came into
the line. So, he was there all the time — until finally he found
himself with the armies that were trapped, some escaping by way
of the Channel ports, aainly Dunkirk. And the account of how this
young Frenchman — American — this descendant of Lafayette, how
he escaped from one sector to another, how he finally got to England,
and then back to France, is a story that makes your hair stand on
Recently he made the trip to this country and back to France
aeain aboard a big American clioner nlane. Travelling with him were
one of the editors of Time Magazine and a pnotographer. The
cameraman, had never been to France, and when they were passing through
the City of Mmes the photographer was s tartled when they came
upon an old Roman ampitheatre that looked as big as tne Yankee
Stadium. And this g£ve Count De Chambrun a chance to bring out a
point that seems to him exceedingly important. Will you tell us
about that Captain?
COUNT DE CHAMBRUN:
Oh, I explained to my companions that t ie Romans


COUNT DE CHAMBHUM - 4
nad built that ampitheatre v^hen they occupied France. And then,
speaking of the two million German soldiers now occupying French
soil, I said tney were simply the successors of the Romans, the
Arabs, the Vikings, the Spaniards, the Flemish, the British, and
many other German invasions. And, I added that after every invasion
France always becomes France again, remains herself. And, I
reminded them that during the past nineteen centuries France has been
in enemy hands either entirely, or in part, for seventeen out of
the nineteen centuries, -- during nine tenths of her histroy. But,
this has not s topped the development of our French civilization.
L.T. :
by that you mean?
CPUNT DE CHAMBRUN: Just this: My country will rise againl
L.T.:
We all hope so. Count de Chambrun, and I for one am
sure of itl


The prospects of the United States getting into the war were
discussed by senator Taft today. And he thinks ^yes11, there*s
plenty of danger. f,I do not want to predict that we are moving
irrevocably toward war,” said the Republican from Ohio, "but
certainly we!re a good deal closer to it than we were three of six
months ago." Ke described the situation as being one of what he
called - "increasing seriousness."
The Senator was pressed with the question of whether or not
he believed President Roosevelt wanted to get the United States
into the war. He replied that he did not believe the President
would declare war, but that he mght do things that would get the
United States more and more deeply involved. And Senator Taft raised
the question of how far President Roosevelt has made comnittments
to Great Britain. He said: "I would like to know what he told the
British the United States would do if they were to open the
Burma Road. The British say he urged it." The President, he
declared, "is not taking the Senate into his confidence on the
international situation."


POLITICS
xoday President Roosevelt was doing a thing, and Presidential
Candidate \nillkie was attacking him for it. The President was on
a deiense inspection swing through the Pittsbnrgh area, the eighth
defense inspection trip he has made. He got an ovation in the City
of Steel, and drove through huge mill sheds where armor plate is
made. He looked at the huge slabs of steel that will protect the
turrets of the new battleship U.S.S. Indiana. In another plant
he saw deck plates and propellor shafts for other new warships.
Altogether, it was steel and more steel.
While he was doing this, Wendeil Willkie was calling itf
ndaying politics with the defenseof the United States.” He said -
it’s not inspection, it!s campaigning.
At Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the shadow of Harvard, the
Republican candidate blazed with these words: ”The candidate for a
third term left, I believe, last night on an ostensible military
inspection trip. I notice by the papers today,” said Willkie, If that
the train, paid for at public expense, is stopping at Jonnstown to
pick up the Democratic candidate for Senator and other Democratic
leader.”


POLITICS -
2
And then Willkie sunmarized: "that is not military inspection
trip," he declarec^"itfs a campaign trip". He argues that the
President can accomplish nothing for national defense by xm making
those tours.


CONSCRIPTION
Today the President of the University of Wisconsin, Clarence
Addison Dykstra, stated that he would feel free to accept the
appointment afcDirector of Conscription, if the University of
Wisconsin would give him leave of absence. He didn»t say quite
definitely that he would accept. He used that expression - nFell
free to accept." He said: "I won’t under any circumstnace sever
my connection with the University. But," he added, "if the
regents will let me, I will feel I have the *go ahead1 signal."
So, the overwhelming likelihood is — Clarence Addison Dykstra
Director of Conscription.


CONGRESS
Events in Congress were conspicuous today by their absence.
Once again the story is — no quorum. Yesterday the House of
Representatives had to suspend its session, because not enough
Congressmen were there — no quorum. Today, the Senate didn!t
suspend, it didn't even try to do business. The Upper House
convened at noon, listened to the daily opening prayer and adjourned
at six minutes past twelve. Twenty Senators were in their seats,
which made it tnirty short of a quorum.
The Congressional situation is part of the paradox that
Congress refused to adjourn in the present crisis, but at the
same time the political campaign is hurrying toward the deadline -
and numerous legislators feel the necessity of doing some
electioneering at home. So formally Congress is in session, but
there isn*t much actuality to it — not much quorum.
And now to complete the quorum here let!s here from Hugh.