AMERICA WARNED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20635, 10 December 1941, Page 6

AMERICA WARNED

J i AIRFIELDS WATCH I ~ i REQUEST FOR FACTS t \ EFFECTS OF FIRST RAIDS K (Elec. Tel. Coiiyi'ifjht—United Press Assn.) $ (Reed. Dec. 10, 20. m.) * WASHINGTON, Dec. 9. J The United States Secretary of # State, Mr. Cordell Hull, indicated 5 to-day that the United States should ( be on guard against a sudden Axis f move supporting Japan. I The War Department to-day ordered f nil army airfields to be on the alert, t The National Broadcasting Corpora- | lion picked up a Panama radio ; reporting that Japanese aircraft were > flying over the Panama coast to-day, : but no bombs were dropped. , j ; Army information sources in San • Francisco stated that hostile planes | reconnoitred the San Francisco Bay area and other sections of California early this morning. No attempt was made to bomb any strategic defence areas. The presence of squadrons indicated that an enemy aircraftcarrier was lurking off the coast, possibly as far out as 50C miles. “Japanese are off the Aleutian Islands. We expect them here at any time,” was a warning given by the Mayor of Victoria, British Columbia. Canadian air and land forces are standing by. ' The San Francisco police broadcast a warning at 11.59 a.m. to-day that enemy planes were approaching j from the sea. The all-clear signal was flashed nine minutes later. A crowd of almost 3000 people roamed Seattle’s business district early to-day, smashing the windows; of stores which failed to observe the black-out. Several persons were taken into custody. At least four were treated for injuries. Attack on Hawaii President Roosevelt’s secretary, Mr. Stephen Early, told press representatives when asked whether the report was true that Sunday’s attack by Japanese air forces on Hawaii constituted the worst naval disaster in history, that he could not reply except to reiterate yesterday’s statement: “Our losses were heavy and subsequent reports show the losses to be ' heavier than was at first reported.” Mr. Early added that rumours and : reports were now being sifted. A declaration that someone respon- < sible for the defence of Hawaii was i asleep at the time of the Japanese ; lightning attack was made before the • House of Representatives Naval Com- < mittee to-day by Representative • Vincent. The committee voted to ask the Secretary of the Navy, Colonel F. j Knox, and the Chief of Naval Opera- ‘ tions. Admiral Stark, to appear tomorrow for questioning regarding the Japanese penetration of the Hawaiian naval defences. ‘ Senator Tobey in the Senate to-day ’ said it was reported that a large part > of the Pacific -jleet had been wiped 1 out and he demanded that the people ( be told the truth. “The pride of the 1 American people in their navy and < their confidence in some of their offi- < cials has been terribly shaken,” he . said. ( Tight-Lipped Silence The New York Post’s Washington . correspondent stated that the grim. ‘ tight-lipped silence at the Navy i Department to-day did nothing to dispel widely-credited reports that j the United States Navy had sus- ‘ tained a major disaster in Sunday’s c surprise attack. 1 In Congress and other official 1 quarters the belief grew that the 1 losses in the Pacific were far heaviei t than had so far been announced. 1 Neither from the navy, nor WhitP I House could any denial be obtained of reports which, if true, would put the Pearl Harbour engagement and subsequent encounters among the greatest naval disasters in history. Not denied, at least for the tone being, was the story that the Pacific fleet lost four battleships, 10 cruisers, and an even larger amount of destroyers. It must be remembered, however, that such losses have not been officially confirmed. Senator Stewart demanded in the Senate to-day that the United States should immediately seize all French 9 possessions in the Western Hemisphere s or nearby in order to avoid possible f attacks upon the eastern seaboard by s Axis planes. Senator Stewart said: — 11 “We should seize Martinique, French 0 Guiana and every other foot of soil a from which an enemy aeroplane could I s attack.” ; * The House of Representatives’ Military Affairs Committee has f approved legislation repealing the j. restrictions on the use of selectees s and national guardsmen outside the a hemisphere. p The Tokio radio announced that up n to Tuesday not a single hostile plane ii had been sighted over any part of the w Japanese empire. h