TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1952
Lovett Marks '54 as Year
Of Reaching Arms Goals
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—(/P) —Secretary of Defense Lovett told Congress today that
under present planning the nation will reach most of its present rearmament goals by the
end of 1954.
Budgetary limitations w
sion by that time, he said, no:
Massacre
Charged
To Russians
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4—(AP)
—Col. John H.'Van Vliet, author
of a long-missing secret report on
the Katyn Forest massacre in
World War' 11, testified today he
believes the Russians themselves
slaughtered upwards of 10,000
•Polish soldiers in a Soviet prison
camp in 1940.
Soviet propaganda has long
sought to pin the blame for the
mass atrocity on Hitler’s Nazi
German armies. .
Along with the current inquiry
on Capitol Hill, some question
has.' arisen whether Col. Van
Vliet’s original report was delib
erately hushed up.
Inspected Scene
Testifying before a special
House committee, Van Vliet said
his five years of silence on the
floo llllfisub-
subject were imposed at his own
request.
The witness told the committee
that as a prisoner of war in Ger
many he was taken under guard
to the Katyn Forest in May,
1943, : to “inspect” the massacre
scene.
He said he saw the bodies of
the slain Poles stacked in eight
layers “like sardines in a can’.’ in
a mass grave 12 feet deep.
Murdered 3 Years Before
Van Vliet said he went into the
forest convinced that the Ger
mans had committed the crime
and were trying to blame the
Russians, but he said he noticed
a peculiar thing—that the uni
forms and boots on most of the
bodies were new and showed few
signs of wear.
That convinced him, he said,
that the Poles had been murdered
shortly after the Russians took
them prisoner in 1940, rather
than after the Germans overran
the Katyn Forest 33 miles west of
Smolensk,, in western Russia,
three years later.
Van. Vliet said he reached that
conclusion because his own ex
perience in prison camp had
taught him that clothing and
shoes of live prisoners wore out
rapidly and were slow to be re
placed.
Officials Pay
Ickes Tribute
WASHINGTON,. Feb. 4—(#>)—
Public officials paid tribute to
day to Harold L. Ickes, turbulent
former _ Secretary of the Interior,
Who died- last night at the age
of 77. y
Ickes once said of himself: “If
a man worked - hard at it, he
couldn’t get a bigger list of en
emies than I.”
But President. Truman called
him “a. unique figure in Ameri
can. public life ... a many sided
citizen . whose passing leaves a
void in our national life not easily
filled.”.
Senate leaders characterized
the -man who held the-office of
Secretary of the Interior longer
than any other, man—from 1932
t°;1946— as “a true statesman,”
a fighting heart”' pledged to .the
service, of. the people, a man on
monumental” public service, one
who “fought for the underdog.”
■nr j win be buried privately
Wednesday in Friends Meeting
House cemetery at Sandy Spring,
Md.. The Rev. Palfrey Perkins of
King’s Chapel, Boston, Mass:, will
conduct services before the burial
at. All Soul’s (Unitarian) Church
m.. Washington.
ill not permit completion of the proposed Air Force expan
r will all naval aircraft be ready.
But the new 52 billion dollar
defense budget “permits us to go
ahead toward our peak month’s
production'rate in 1953 and then
hold a high rate longer than we
would otherwise do,” Lovett told
a joint meeting of a Senate appro
priations subcommittee and the
Senate-House economic commit
tee.
The defense secretary said any
substantial cut in the budget for
fiscal 1953 -would “increase be
yond the realms of prudence the
calculated risks already taken.”
Lovett also said the U.S. has
jet aircraft “in test” which are
superior to anything of Russian
make which has shown up in Ko
rea so far. “We are reinforcing
our air strength in Korea,” he
testified.
Need Mechanical Controls
A “ferment of development,”
Lovett said, has resulted from
the introduction of jet engines,
new radar, and other technical
equipment.
“We have speeds so fast now
that the human eye and human
brain can’t handle it,” he said,
adding that new mechanical con-,
trols are needed to coordinate op
eration of new aircraft types.
Senator Ferguson (R-Mich.)
drew Lovett’s attention to the
fact that the armed services had
80 billion dollars of unexpended
past appropriations on Jan. 1.
Lovett said about 25 billions of
this would be spent before the
end of June.
Money To Be Spent Late
That would mean, Ferguson
said, that the Pentagon would
then have 55 billions in unex
pended funds on hand at the be
ginning of the new fiscal year
July 1. With the new funds re
quested, he said, the Defense De
partment would have 107 billions
available for the new fiscal year.
Lovett said much of the money
being requested for 1953 would
not be spent until 1954 or 1955
because of the great length of
time required to produce a war
ship or heavy bomber.
Lovett listed the rearmament
goals as. 21 full-strength divisions
for the Army, 408 combat vessels
and 16 carrier air groups for the
Navy, three full divisions and
three air wings for the Marine
Corps, plus a 143-wing Air Force.
The 143-wing force will require
military personneL totaling 1,210,-
000.
Thespians to Hold
Final Tryout Tonight
Final tryouts - for Thespians’
spring show “A Connecticut Yan
kee”- will be held - from 7 to 10
tonighf in 409 Old Main.
The Rodgers and Hart musical
comedy requires a large cast and
there 'are openings for singers,
dancers, actors, acrobats, pianists
and musicians. Students are also
needed to work on crews and in
specialty acts.
The show will be presented
April 3 to 5 in Schwab Auditor
ium.
Steel Boss Sees More Inflation
. NEW YORK, Feb. 4—(AP)—
The head of United States Steel
said today the government would
lose 11 billion dollars in income
tax revenues if there were gen
eral wage boosts in all industries
without price increases.
That, said Benjamin F. Fair
less, would mean more inflation,
eventual price rises anyway, and
possibly prolonged cuts in civil
ian production and growing un
employment.
Fair less opened the steel, in
dustry’s arguments before a fed
eral wage .stabilization panel,
which is trying to avert a steel
strike threatened for Feb. 23.
“So let’s not try to kid our
selves about ‘absorbing’ a wage
■increased’ Fairless said. “The
AHE DAILY COLLEGIAN, STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA
Engineer
Held for
PRR Wreck
NORRISTOWN, Pa., Feb. — (IP)
—A jury of seven men and five
women was told today that negli
gence on the part of engineer
Francis B. Yentzer caused the
wreck of two Pennsylvania Rail
road passenger trains at Bym
Mawr last May 18. Nine persons
were killed and 63 others in
jured.
Yentzer. 62-year-old veteran
railroader from Harrisburg, went
on trial today before President
Judge Harold G. Knight, charged
with involuntary manslaughter
and negligence by a transporta
tion employe.
Charges of carelessness and neg
ligence by Yentzer were made by
Assistant District Attorney Ho
ward Harry, Jr., in his opening
address to the jury in Mont
gomery County Courthouse.
Both oh Same Track
Harry said that shortly before
the crash, the Detroit-to-New
York train operated by Yentzer
—the PRR’s “Red Arrow”—and
the Philadelphia-bound night ex
press from Pittsburgh both made
stops at Paoli.
Both trains, tlje assistant dis
trict attorney told the jurors,
were shifted to the railroad’s
number two track on the main
line.
' /Harry continued:
The Pittsburgh express left Pa
oli first. Yentzel admitted later
having been aware- of the other
train’s departure.
Contends Signal Seen
A short time later, Yentzer’s
train pulled out of Paoli. The
Pittsburgh express stopped just
west of Byrn Mawr when a sig
nal indicated a stop-and-proceed
sign.
“The sign appeared in both the
wayside and cab signals,” Harry
said. The Commonwealth con
tends- that the defendant saw
those two signals which told him
that he should stop and then pro
ceed at not over 15 miles an hour
and be ready for a quick stop.” •'
Harry said that Yentzer stopped
on signal but then proceeded' too
fast to avoid striking the halted
Pittsburgh train.
Egyptian Premier
CAIRO, Egypt, Feb. 4 (P)
Premier Aly Maher Pasha is work
ing actively for a better under
standing between Egypt and “all
the powers of the free world,”
he said today.
In an exclusive interview, the
new premier also declared some
of those responsible for Cairo’s
destructive anti-British fire riots
of Jan. 26 would be tried by mili
tary courts.
plain, unvarnished . truth of the
matter is this: “If the govern
ment lifts the lid on wages now,
it will ultimately have to lift the
lid on prices, too if for no other
reason than to protect its tax
revenues and to maintain its own
income. .It will have no other
course.” "
A New York University econ
omist, Jules Backman, testified
for the industry that steel work
ers got a big enough wage in
crease in 1950 to cover the in
creased cost of living up to the
present.
CIO President Philip Murray—
who also heads the Steelworkers
uniom—took issue;
Said Murra g, “In. his testimony
r on't Commit Himsel
Gov. John S. Fine
Gov. Fine Will Not
Tip Hand on 'lke'
HARRISBURG, Feb. 4— (lP)
Gov. John S. Fine said today two
administration supporters will be
free to back eight candidates,
proposed, by U.S. Sen. James H.
Duff, for delegates to the Repub
lican national convention from
Allegheny (Pittsburgh) county.
Fine emphasized, however, to
a reporter that the authorization
could not be construed as .indi
cating that he, himself, is backing
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for
the GOP presidential nomination.
Duff, whose home is in Alle
gheny county, is a leading sup
porter of General Eisenhower.
Fine, has expressed no preference
for the nomination.
Spark Blamed
In Mine Blast
GREENSBURG, Pa., Feb. 4—(/P)
—Six survivors of a coal mine
explosion which; took the lives
of six other miners told grim
faced investigators today a motor
spark set off the. fatal blast.
The miners told representa
tives of investigating bodies their
own stories at a session called to
probe the cause of Saturday’s
disaster at Carpentertown mine
No. 2 of the Carpenter Coal and
Coke Co.
When that session broke up, a
four-man team entered the mine
to determine if it is safe to begin
clean-up work and return the pit
to operation.
The team was composed of one
man each from the state depart
ment of mines, the U.S. bureau of
mines, the coal company, and the
United Mine Workers union.
At the investigation session
called by the UMW in district
three headquarters, miner Charles
Weche described the explosion as
“a loud noise and. whoosh of air.”
Weche and his fellow workers
said they believe a spark from
an electric motor ignited gas
which had accumulated in the
mine.
234 Still Absent
Two hundred and thirty-four
pupils were absent from the Col
lege Area Joint Schools fevlay, the
lowest number since a wave of
illness struck last week. There
were 320 absent on Friday.
Jo. Hays, supervising principal,
said this irssmteg that, the Jun
ior and Senior high schools were
hit hardest although elementary
school attendance was slightly
below normal.
today, Mr. Fairless’quite frankly
admitted that inflationary pres
sures come not from wage in
creases, but from the heavy gov
ernment expenditures necessary
for building the defenses of this
nation. ,
> “Mr. Fairless suggests, without
a -rational .explanation, that a
wage increase in steel would de
prive the, government of taxes
paid by the Steel corporations.
“This claim cannot be proven,
but it is interesting to find U. S.
Steel—which complains about the
so-called .terrifying burden of
taxes 365 days a year and 366
days on leap, year—suddenly
manifesting a positive passion to
jpeytaases.” ~
Negotiators
Optimistic
About Truce
MUNSAN, Korea, Tuesday, Feb.
s— (JP) —Allied and Red negotia
tors crept closer towards a Ko
rean armistice Monday than -in
weeks.
There was optimism in some
quarters that an early settlement
could be reached.
The official United Nations
command ‘spokesman, Brig. Gen.
William P. Nuckols, summed it
up: “There is less cause for pes
simism.”
Nuckols said he felt the chances
for an armistice had greatly im
proved in the past few days.,,.
Full Dress Meeting Set
While the atmosphere appeared
to be clearing after the long stale
mate, a hard core of disagreement
on fundamental issues had been
shoved aside only temporarily.
Allied staff officers and a sub
committee of the main armistice
delegation were due to take up
truce supervision and prisoner
exchange in Panmunjom at’ll
a.m. today (9 p.m. Monday, EST).
On Wednesday a full-dress
meeting of the main armistice
delegations was scheduled for the
first time since Dec. 4. It will be
gin discussions on agenda item
five—recommendations to the
governments concerned for final
settlement of the Korean prob
lem.
UN Firm on Prisoners
Red agreement to consider this
final item was indicative that
“they have hopes of an
said Nuckols.
These spokesman cautioned,
however, that major points were
yet to be settled on these two
issues.
The UN command communique
Monday night was in a similar
vein. Referring to prisoner ex
change talks, it said there were
“numerous areas in which agree
ment can be easily reached,” but
said the Allies still held firm- to
the principle of voluntary repatri
ation.
Forms Ready
For Seniors
All graduating seniors inter
ested in placement interviews
should fill out registration cards
at the placement service office .in
Old Main if they have not already
done so, George N. Leetch, direc
tor of College Placement Servic j,
said yesterday.
Interviews with 150 companies
have already been scheduled be
tween Feb. 18 and May 16, Ted
Allen, assistant director, said.
Five to ten. companies will
hold interviews from 9 a.m. to.'s
p.m. each day except Saturday
and Sunday during this period,
Allen said. Each company will
send from one to five interviewers
who will stay from one to three
days, he added.
.. Candidates for a M.S. degree,
who have been on campus for one
semester, and candidates for a
Ph.D. degree, may also apply for
interviews, Allen said.
Lists of companies which will
interview will be listed in the
Daily -Collegian and on bulletin
boards, Leetch said. Interested
students should apply to the
placement service office, 112 Old
Main.
Dorothy Dix Leaves
$2.3 Million Estate
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 4—(£>)—
Mrs. Elizabeth Meriwether Gil
mer—better known to newspaper
readers as Dorothy Dix—left an
estate valued at $2,316,398, an in
ventory in civil district court
showed today. '
Stocks totaled $1,784,761 arid
bonds $299,754. The remainder of
the estate was in defense bonds, ■
bank accounts, real estate, and
jewelry.
Mrs. Gilmer died here Dec. 16
after writing her advice column
for 50 years.
LOUISVILLE, Xy. The
turbulent Ohio river inched up
to a lev.el of 33 feet today, five
feet above flood stage, and con-,
tinued to rise slowly toward ah
expected crest about one foot
higfae*.
PAGE THREE