WEISNESDAY. APRIL 28, 1954 Britain to Support Indochina Ceasefire GENEVA, April 27 (/P)—Britain is. supporting France in an effort to obtain a cease fire as the first step at the Geneva conference toward solving the bloody impasse in Indo china, a British source said tonight. The 19-nation conference debated Korea today but the initial arguments foreshadowed the doom of efforts to unite and pacify that country. French Set For Stand In Indochina HANOI, Indochina, April 27 (IF) —Under pelting rains and despite heavy rebel mortar and artillery fire the French flung up new "last ditch" fortifications today in the heart of Dien Bien Phu. The long-awaited big seasonal monsoon rains turned the north west Indochina fortress area into lakes of red mud and crippled French air strikes at the Corn munist-led Vietminh besiegers. French Dig it But the French carved out more trenches and flung up thick mazes of barbed wire barricades in their main defense area, now reduced to a little less than a mile in di ameter. They exchanged artil lery blows with the Vietminh but there was no signs as yet of any mass rebel infantry assault. One French patrol struck out from a southern strongpoint three miles away from the main de fense complex and managed to destroy a long string of rebel trenches. Tighten Defenses For the French the task was to tighten the defense bulwark as much as possible. All around the main defense area the Vietminh were chipping slowly away at key spots. Th e French operational headquarters of Brig. Gen. Chris tian de . Castries were less than 600 yards from advanced posi tions of strong Vietminh forces. On the rim of the fortress the Vietminh set up more machine gun nests and anti-aircraft bat teries to try to shoot down the planes which parachute men and material into the fortress. Bently Returns to House WASHINGTON, April 27 (R)— A standing ovation greeted Rep. Alvin E. Bentley (R-Mich.) upon his return to the House today for the first time since he and four other congressmene were shot down by Puerto Rican fanatics on March 1. ;yrd Asks Action Cr) Housing Official WASHINGTON, April 27 (PP)—Sen. Harry F. Byrd (D-Va.) called on the Justice Department today to start "immediate legal proceed ings against Clyde L. Pnwell," the former housing official whom ne described as "the key official" in current investigations of excessive FHA-guaranteed loans. He asked the department also to look into the other programs of the Federal Housing Administra tion, using income tax returns if necessary, to "bring to justice any who may be criminally liable" and to seek recovery of excess profits which he said- could exceed. 100 million dollars. Powell could not be reached for comment, but his attorney Daniel Maher, said he would have no im mediate comment on Byrd's letter. Powell resigned as assistant FHA commissioner for rental- housing. FHA said today . its files show 'his separation as "removal with prejudice." There was no immediate reac tion from the Justice Department. Byrd, addressing his letter to Atty., Gen. Herbert Brownell, wrote as chairman of the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non- Essential Expenditures. Both that group and the Senate Banking Committee headed by Sen. Homer E. Capehart (R-Ind.) opened hearings last week into charges of inflated FHA-guaranteed loans on apartment buildings and alleged "fleecing" of home owners on FHA - insured repair and im- On „Indochina, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said Britain had refused to commit troops to fighting there while the confer ence is in progress. In the House of Commons at London, he held out the hope that the conference might work out a cease fire. A widely circulated report here was that Soviet Foreign Minister V. M. Molotov and Red China's Chou En-lai planned to propose a cease fire within the next few days. A French spokesman re garded it as, untrue. WASHINGTON, April 27 (IP) —V ic e President Richard M. Nixon sought today to reassure America's governors disturbed over the possible polilical dyna mite lurking in talk about send ing U.S. troops to Indochina. Nixon presided over a closed door meeting, arranged by Pres ident Eisenhower, of the gov ernors of the 48 states and the to stories of Guam, Alaska and the Virgin Islands. Prepared to Back France A top conference source said Britain was prepared to back up the French in seeking quickly a cease fire to be followed by ne gotiations with the Communist led Vietminh. The position of the United States is that while a halt in the fighting is desirable, it should not be at the price of con cessions which would ultimately prove of high cost to the Western powers. Molotov and French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault met to day at Bidault's lakeside villa. They reached a measure of agree ment on invitations to be issued for the coming talks on Indochina. Found A Way Out The optimism of the spokesman reporting this indicated the two ministers may have found some way . of getting around the an nounced refusal of Bao Dai, the Viet Nam chief . of state, to sit at the same peace table with repre sentatives of the Vietminh. Bidatilt meets Molotov again to morrow for further discussions. A French spokesman said they did not take up a cease fire at their first meeting. provement loans. The apartment building pro gram ended in 1950. The alleged home repair irregularities have continued to the present regime. SAVE at the lc SALE 8, 12, and 16 page BLUE BOOKS lc each TODAY ONLY BX in the TUB $5.00 in Sales; $l.OO in Merchandise Free PENN STATE BOOK EXCHANGE nit DAILY CO'LLEGIIAN STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA Churchill Refuses Aid in Indochina LONDON April 27 W)—Prime Minister Winston Churchill re fused today to commit British troops now to Indochina. He held out the hope that the Geneva conference will arrange a cease fire in that troubled land. Waves of cheers echoed through the House of Commons when Churchill—gripping the dispatch box before him—slowly and care fully said: "Her Majesty's government are not prepared for any undertak ings about United Kingdom _mili tary action in Indochina in ad vance of the results of Geneva. We have not entered into any new political or military comm i t ments." He said his Cabinet has the full est confidence in the course it has agreed Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden "should follow in circum stances so largely governed by the unknown." He did not , elaborate on the further steps planned. Churchill declared the immedi ate military problems of the French Union forces in Indochina should not color too 'much the thinking at Geneva. He said: "The timing of the climax of this assault with the opening of the Geneva conference is not without significance, but it must not be allowed to prejudice the sense of world proportion which should inspire the conference and be a guide to -those who are watching its progress." This remark was interpreted by some as indicating that the Brit ish do not regard the possible ultimate loss of Dien Bien Phu as seriously as do the French and possibly the Americans. Wool Bill Given Senate Approval WASHINGTON, April 27 (A 3 )— The Senate passed a bill today providing for government pay ments to encourage domestic wool production, but refused to tack on to it an amendment to support major crops at 90 per cent of parity for another year. Both votes were victories for the Eisenhower administration. The wool program, approved 69- 17, had full administration sup port. But Secretary of Agriculture Benson wants a lower, more flex ible system of farm crop supports after the present law expires at the end of the year. Grape nuts, the first packaged cereal, were originated by Charles William Post in 1897. Surgeon Testifies In Dickenson Trial WASHINGTON, April 27 (JP)—A surgeon who spent four years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp testified today at the court martial of Cpl. Edward S. Dickenson that 98 per cent of complaints made by POWs against one another "are false." This statement was made by Dr. Philip Bloemsma. He was called On behalf of Dickenson, - who is charged with collaborating with the Chinese Communists while a POW in Korea and with inforrii - - ing on his buddies. Bloemsa Gives Testimony Bloemsma's testimony followed two developments at the seventh day of the history-making trial: 1. One of the prosecution's star witnesses, Cpl. Thomas A. Car rick, of Blacksburg, Va., testified that he was so confused he want ed to have all his testimony strick en from the record. The testimony was not thrown out, however. 2. Dickenson's mother, Mrs. Bes sie Dickenson, 46, of Cracker's Neck, Va., collapsed outside the courtroom and was ordered to take a rest after an Army doctor reported she had suffered "a nerv ous attack?' "Fence Complex" While the- eight-member court listened with rapt attention, Dr. Bloemsma, a native of Holland and now a Washington surgeon, testified at length about a mental condition he described as a "fence complex." The doctor said nearly every POW "loses his sense of right and wrong" after he is held captive behind a fence for any length of time. "The fence is stamped on his mind," Bloemsma said. This fact, the witness testified, leads POWs to "very peculiar" ac tivities. They lose their sense of values, he said, and are willing to listen to all manner of rumors. Earlier, Carrick had been re called for cross-examination about his testimony that he had over heard Dickenson tipping his Chi nese captors to Carrick's escape efforts. Business Head Deplores Fear Of Depression WASHINGTON, April 27 (p)— President Richard L. Bowditch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said tonight a depression is un likely, but he is convinced that certain elements are trying to cre ate one. He charged that these elements are "conducting a form of •eco nomic germ warfare by spreading the virus of fear and hysteria," although economists and business me n see no serious troubles ahead. "The people who want a. de pression are the same people who would-like to see our free market system come to a dead end—and then be taken over by a 'planned economy," he said. "For the most part, these peo ple have long histories of identi fication with so-called 'big gov ernment' movements and anti business crusades . . . ." Bowditch, a Boston business HousE CLEARANCE•.. Over the past year and a half we've ac cumulated over 200 extra party pictures from 50 different sororities and fraternities. This also includes the prints formerly in the Western Union window. They will only be available for the next 2 or 3 days. Many are one of a kind. We suggest early pick ing. Price 60 cents each. THE . LION STUDIO Schwable Reprimanded 9y Court WASHINGTON, April 27 (M A - special court of inquiry today recommended against disciplinary action for Col. Frank H. Schwable, 45, flying Marine, but said his false confession of germ warfare in Korea had "seriously impaired" his military career. Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson, Navy Secretary Robert B. Anderson and Gen. Lemuel Shep herd, .Marine Corps commandant, approved the court's recommenda tion. Shepherd said in a statement he accepted the court's, opinion that Schwable's conduct was "excus able on the ground that it was the result of mental torture." Confession "Wrong" Nevertheless, S h e p h e r d said Schwable's confession —wr u n g from him under agonies of "brain washing" mistreatment by his Chinese Communist captors—con stituted "a severe blow" to this country's interests, despite its falsity. As a result, Shepherd said, the colonel's future assignments would be restricted to duties imposing "minimum demands . . . upon the elements of unblemished personal example and leadership." Future Cloudy • With his future thus left under a cloud, Schwable went to the Pentagon late in the day to in quire about his next assignment from the chief of Marine aviation. His wife told newsmen Schwable did not plan to resign or seek re tirement. The court of inquiry had been set up to determine whe t h e•r Schwable's confession, wrung from him while a captive of the Reds, justified a court-martial or other discipline. Yugoslav Council OKs Turkey, Greece Alliance BELGRADE, Yugoslavia, April 27 (JP)—The Yugoslav Executive Council, the country's top parlia mentary body, today approved a proposed military alliance of Yu goslavia, Turkey and Greece. First steps in forming such an alliance were taken during the mid-April visit by President Mar shal Tito to Turkey. man and former president of the New England Council, spoke at the annual reception and dinner given by the Council and New England Chambers of Comerce for the area's members of Con gress. PAGE THREE
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers