Times Colonist from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada • 1

Wuim 'How Strong Is By J. F. B. Livesay, From London (See Page 8) FORECAST Fresh south to southwest winds, mostly fair, not much change in temperature, probably a few scattered showers. Sunday, fair and slightly warmer.

Sunshine yesterday, 2 hours. PRICE FIVE CENTS VOL.95 NO. 65 VICTORIA, B.C.. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1939 34 PAGES iWar Summary TK dred ousanas un On 40-mile Line By the Canadian Press PARIS Hundreds of thousands of French and German troops reported engaged in western front battles; French say Germans repulsed in counterattack in which they sent waves of infantry over the top; French report Moselle Valley advance. LONDON British blame Germany for sinking of Belgian motorship in Channel; three more British vessels sunk despite British war on undersea craft BUDAPEST Poles reported to have pushed back Germans attacking Warsaw and Lwow, inflicting severe losses.

BERLIN Germany sent new divisions against the Polish army encircled west of Warsaw, but in Berlin it was claimed the German forces were steadily closing in on tr" Poles, who were holding out in an area less than 50 miles in diameter. BASEL Germans reported in sharp counter-attacks against newly-won French positions between Moselle Valley and Vosges foothills. MOSCOW Russia, Japan conclude Far East armistice; non-aggression pact between Tokio and Moscow foreseen. SOFIA Bulgaria officially proclaims neutrality. Great Battle Starts On Western Front PARIS Hundreds of thou German Losses Heavy As Poles Hit Back 2J 'f f.v, fx ti I I i I BUDAPEST (AP) Hungarian diplomatic and press circles today 'received reports the Polish defenders of Warsaw and Lwow had pushed back their besiegers, inflicting severe losses on the German forces.

Although Warsaw and Lwow were holding out against ceaseless hammering of German planes, artillery and tanks, reports from numerous sources said, the German lines had been extended 110 miles east of the Polish capital to Brest-Litovsk (Brzesc). The newspaper PestI Hirlap reported German forces west of Warsaw had suffered considerable losses from a Polish counterattack and that skirmishes were continuous on the city's eastern side. French reports said heavy German attacks were repulsed at Vola, Warsaw suburb, with the loss of some artillery and mechanized equipment. Other foreign sources reported Polish gains, but there was no further confirmation of the a. ti Ah Victoria Ready For Blackout blackout.

Jor Victoria -ofl an air raid precaution has been considered by local military authorities but they do not feel present circumstances warrant one, said Brigadier J. C. Stewart, D.O.C., M.D. No. 11, this morning.

Questioned concerning blackouts held and proposed in other Canadian cities, Brigadier Stewart said this form of precaution had not been overlooked by those concerned with Victoria's defence, but they had not considered the situation at present' warranted one. "However, we know just what steps we would take if the necessity arose but until that time there does not appear any need of inconveniencing the people further," Brigadier Stewart said. EDMONTON (CP) An emergency blackout could be effected in Edmonton in about a minute and a half, said R. G. Watson, superintendent of light and power today.

The question was raised In case of an air raid, which is not anticipated. Shutting off power was not the usual way to effect blackouts, said Mr. Watson: "The usual way is to sound a warning and for people in homes, plants. and offices to shut off their own lights and pull down their blinds. This could be done quickly with everyone co-operating," he said, WAR CHIEFS Great Britain's three war chiefs smile as they leave No.

10 Downing Street, London, after a conference. Left to right: Sir Edmund Ironside, chief of the British Expeditionary Forces; Air Marshal Sir Cyril L. N. Newall, head of Britain's Air Forces, and Admiral Sir Dudley Pourd. First Sea Lord.

1 GUN SEIZURE IN SEATTLE SEATTLE (AP) The Seattle Times said today Federal Bureau of Investigation agents seized a carload of machine guns and ammunition after they had been unloaded Into a Seattle warehouse. R. S. Suran, agent in Chicago, declined to comment on the report and police authorities referred inquiries to the F.B.I. The Times' article quoted "reliable sources" saying police aided the federal agents in the seizure, and that while the report was widespread among police, the superior officers declined to comment without permission from Washington, D.C.

The Times said first word of the seizure came when an unidentified witness mistook it for a warehouse burglary and reported the incident to police. The arms were taken secretly to the police headquarters basement garage and witnesses said one package of guns contained a New York City newspaper dated April 15, 1925. Witnesses described the weapons as of French make, and said they believed they had been stored here for a considerable time. GIBRALTAR WATCHES ALGECIRAS, Spain (AP) The British navy strengthened its Gibraltar patrol today, assigning 10. destroyers to halt vessels passing through the straits.

The ships are to be searched for contraband. U. S. S. R.

sends military mission to Berlin Moscow Germans enter Warsaw Polish army believed making stand between Vistula ond Bug Warns United States Of Invasion Danger NEW YORK (AP) Bernard M. Baruch said today the defences of the United States are inadequate for protection against possible invasion under the changed European and Asiatic political situations. He urged immediate creation of an army and air force powerful enough to stand off any combination of possible invaders, and strengthening of the navy. More Civilian ZALESZCZYKL Poland (CP-Havas) The Warsaw radio station reported today that 18 German warplanes dropped about 200 bombs in the centre of Wilno yesterday, causing serious dam it SEATTLE GETS 5-SHIP ORDER WASHINGTON (AP) The United States Maritime Commission awarded a contract to the Seattle Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation at Seattle today for the construction of five C-l cargo vessels at a price of $2,127,000. The five vessels will be diesel propelled.

They will have a speed of 14 knots and will be 416 feet overall, with a displacement of 12,875 tons. KAISER'S GRANDSON KILLED IN BATTLE BERLIN (AP) Prince Oskar 24, of Prussia, a grand son of former Kaiser Wilhelm and son of Prince Oskar has been killed in Poland, the first Hohen-zollern victim of the German-Polish war. The family received word yesterday Oskar, who was born in Potsdam, July 12, 1915, fell honorably "somewhere in Poland" during an attack. The young prince, a lieutenant, was said to have led a company into a skirmish. The news reached his family while his brother, Prince Bur-chard, a member of the 9th Infantry Regiment, also was somewhere on the Polish front His father, Prince Oskar, the fifth son of Wilhelm, commands a regiment with the rank of colonel.

Location of the regiment was not known to the family. Russo-Japanese Agreement Pleases Berlin WASHINGTON (AP) Some legislators gathering for the special session of the United States Congress expressed concern today the Russo-Japanese agreement to cease fighting on the Manchukuo-Upper Mongolia border might result in a new and stronger totalitarian front against the democracies. BERLIN (AP) In Berlin midday editions of the German press had banner lines on the agree ment between Russia and Japan to halt frontier fighting and to arbitrate. The stories recalled a statement by Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop that the nonaggression pact between Ger many and Russia would lead in turn to an understanding between the Soviet government and Japan. Dispatches from Moscow while Von Ribbentrop was there last month quoted him as saying: "I am convinced that this treaty (the German-Russian pact) will have a favorable effect lipon Russo-Japanese relations as also upon German-Japanese friend ship In government circles It was said Germany might take a part in mediation between Russia and Japan.

MOSCOW (AP) An armistice today in Far Eastern fighting be tween Soviet Russia and Japan was stipulated in an agreement which diplomatic quarters saw as foreshadowing a possible nonag gression pact between those tr ditional enemies. The Tass announcement said a commission of two Soviet-Mon golia and two Japanese-Manchu- kuoan representatives would be organized "at the earliest possible date" to determine the boundary. Within a few hours after an nouncement of the armistice, Russia named a new ambassador to Japan, Constantin Smetanin, who had served as charge d'affaires in Tokio since. June 5, 1938, when former Ambassador Mikhail Mifc hailovitch Slavutsky returned to Moscow. LONDON (CP) Soviet Rus sia's aims in the four-power European conflict absorbed British political quarters almost as deeply as the war itself today following the Russian-Japanese armistice In Far East border fighting.

Among informed observers the consensus was that whatever Rus sia's intentions, she had thus freed her hand in the East for assuming a more. dominant role in European politics. Whether she ultimately would throw her weight behind Germany in tne present war was the ques tion to which all seemed looking for an answer here. The agreement was considered here by some observers to have advantages for Japan in enabling her to devote more energies to the China campaign. However, the diplomatic correspondent of Rea ters News Agency, in an article issued today, said "whether their confidence in the truce will enable them to withdraw any of the 000 men now concentrated on the Soviet-Mongolian border is somewhat moot point." Tne Star, in an editorial on "the Russian riddle," said that despite the Russian-German pact "the Russians cannot feel anything but alarm about the prospect of hav ing the Germans as their next door neighbors." Asserting that the attempt to bring Russia into the Anglo-French front broke down "chieflv because the Poles declined to allow Russian troops on their soil the Star continued: "It would be a strange sequel If the result of the antiaggression pact (German-Russian) was to bring the Red Army into Poland to arrest the advance of the sands of French and German troops were reported today en gaged in a terrific battle along a 40-mlle western front after two weeks of skirmishes.

The fighting, Including a re ported "over the top" advance by, Nazi infantry, was said by military observers to be raging all the way from the Moselle River southeast to the Saarbruecken area rich industrial Observers estimated at least 15 German divisions and an equal if not larger number of French divisions had been drawn into the fighting in no-man's land between the Maginot and Siegfried lines. (Sizes of divisions range between 10,000 and 15,000 men each.) Germans were reported to have advanced toward French lines in the lower Nied River Valley under cover of a heavy artillery The French general staff said the attack was "sharply repulsed." INFANTRY IN WAVES The Germans apparently- used the first great war technique of sending their infantry in against French and machine-gun fire. Afterhourg of fighting, the French "command reported, the German charge was broken and the attackers were forced to retire to their original positions. Military observers paid tribute to the morale of the French troops operating from entrenched positions in the face of German infantry crossing the shell-pocked area, a new salient on the western front. BASEL, Switzerland (AP) German troops were reported today to be counter-attacking against newly-won French positions along a 60-mile front between the Moselle River and the foothills of the Vosges.

The reports indicated the, assault was the most extended yet undertaken on the western front by the German high command. Results of the German offensive, which began last night and was continuing this morning, were not clear here. It was reported, however, that the French had lost some ground on their right flank in the Vosges forests northeast of Bitche. During the fighting the Germans for the first time made use of warplanes based in underground hangars behind the Siegfried line. PLANES FLY LOW Fast fighters were said to have approached the lines In formation 'and roared low over the French forces between the Saar and Vosges, where comparatively level ground afforded the French little protection from strafing.

The planes were met by heavy fire from French anti-aircraft batteries. German bombers also participated in air attacks in the Saar sector, where the French previously had occupied Nazi advance fortified positions. However, anti-aircraft fire was reported to have forced them to fly at too high an altitude to drop their bombs with any degree of accuracy. BRITISH PLANES Swiss reports also said a number of British planes had participated in air battles In the Palatinate, east of the Saar. To meet German air power, both the French and British are increasing plane production and construction of anti-aircraft artillery.

French officers were said to be jubilant over the ease with which scouting parties and artillery had removed the hazard of mine fields on which the Germans had counted heavily to protect the outlying defences of the stronsly-iortilied Siegfried line, The Polish Telegraph Agency quoted a Polish army major as saying the Germans had not been able to destroy important mili tary objectives around Lwow. The agency declared the Poles had- captured 13,000 men and 350 officers, mostly aviators, 48 guns, 215 machine guns, 170 tanks, 1,000 armored cars and 280 planes. BERLIN (AP) A German communique reported today additional divisions have been hurled against Kutno in a new attempt to defeat a Polish 'lost army" which has held out for six days. Kutno is the key to a diminishing circle of territory still held by the Poles west of Warsaw and a buffer between the be-leagured capital and the German army to the west. The communique said the Poles still hold Lwow and Bilgoraj, 70 miles to the northwest toward Warsaw.

On the western front, the high command admitted Saarbruecken was under French artillery fire. Except for the navy, which is a "good one-ocean navy," he said, the United States is comparatively less prepared than it was in 1917. Baruch also said the surest way to keep the United States out of war was to make it so strong that no nation or combination of nations would risk interference with our "just rights of commerce." Baruch headed the war industries board during the World War. Victims age. "The number of civilian victims, women and children, is so large that up to now it cannot be established," the broadcast said.

German bombers also raided Molodeczno, dropping 18 bombs, was stated. mitted only the covering of short positions in Wall Street and on the Chicago Grain Exchange. "Under the regulations, as car ried by the press," said Douglas Huycke of J. S. Bache and Company, "the new board could take over Canadian balances and securities held in New York accounts.

It is highly improbable that this will be done and it is felt at present that Canadians with New York accounts will be allowed to continue trading in those accounts provided the transactions are reported to the exchange board and the operations do not involve a demand for U.S. dollars in- such quantity as will affect the exchange market." Forms were distributed to brokers, bond dealers and banks today setting out the regulations and others to be filled in itemizing holdings abroad where such holdings total $1,000 or more. It was the opinion of local brokers that the creation of the board would result in a bolstering of investments on the Canadian market. One broker said: "The move shows us that everything is being done to reserve Canada's resources so that she will be able to help win the war." See Page 13 for story on Foreign Exchange Board. 36 Seven nations have felt the price of sea warfare.

Britain has lost 21 ships; France 1 and Ger. many 9, not including an unknown number of submarines Britain says has been destroyed. B.C. Financing link Control Ottawa's new-wartime foreign exchange control plan, announced last night, in effect puts British Columbia's outside financing under control of the federal authorities, in the opinion of treasury officials. Most of the province's bonds are payable either in the United States or Great Britain.

All pay ments of principal and interest will be subject to the approval of the Foreign Exchange Control Board. The province must apply 30 days in advance for the board to buy the necessary exchange. The view taken here is that such permits will be a matter of course, but the point giving treasury officials most concern is that of obtaining new funds. Recent British Columbia loans have been floated in New York. Under the new set-up the province could not go outside the Dominion for money unless Ottawa said so.

Thus the government's borrowing would come directly under federal control through the Bank of Premier Pattullo commented briefly this morning on the exchange control plan. He said he recognized that such extraordinary measures were required in wartime. Actually, he pointed out, Ottawa already could block provincial loans indirectly if it wished to. Hon. John Hart, finance minister, who leaves this week-end for New York to sign the coupons cf the province's latest bond issue, will visit Ottawa to get full details of the exchange control.

His latest loan, already obtained, will not be affected." Butter Holders Ordered to Unload By NORMAN MacLEOD -OTTAWA The War Prices and Trade Board, the anti-profiteering machinery set up by the federal government to protect Canadian consumers, is moving to halt the artificial increase In the price of butter. Speculators with no established connection in the butter industry are credited with an important share of responsibility for the situation. Warnings have been sent by the board, in consequence, to individuals who have been purchasing butter in carload lots telling them that they must liquidate their holdings. If the element of speculation for profiteering is eliminated from the market, the board believes that prices will resume normal behavior. 1 I i I Canadians Curtail Trading One Week of War In Europe Athema, carrying 1400 passengers, is sunk with loss of over TOO lives Trading by Canadians in foreign securities, especially on the New York market, was severely curtailed today under fear of violating the new regulations announced with the appointment of a board at Ottawa for control of dealings in foreign exchange.

Most brokers ceased such trades entirely pending definite instructions from Ottawa. The regulations came as a complete surprise to brokers and in Toronto the executive committee of the exchange there met hurriedly this morning to consider them. A member of the committee said later: "As far as we interpret the regulations for the time being, a New Yorker with a credit balance of, say, $10,000 in a Canadian brokerage account would be in a difficult position. Just how the balance could be paid to the New Yorker remains to be worked out but the regulations imply special permission would be required." Laidlaw and Company, a New York house with Canadian branches, announced they were filling no orders for Canadians on the New York exchange until they have definite instructions as, to the brokers' latitude in the matter. Other brokers reported they put through a little business this morning and still others per Ship Toll Now By the Canadian Press The blowing up of a Belgian motorship Alex Van Opstal in the English Channel raised to 36 the number of vessels lost since the war began September 3.

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Mussolini I refuge and Pope N. BULGARIA 4 SPAIN etViio. tgg2f TURKEY y- DCOCe f'fc KM Reaffirm! SUDpOft Mediterranean Sta 1 1 Tv ill of Britoin-Fronce ond the Balkan Showing land and sea action, developments of European war on all fronts since German invasion of Poland started on Friday, September 1..