Evening star., 1945-10-07
Capital Sideligl
BIZ VIII 2. Kennedn.

Several members OF Congress who
recently made tour of observation
in Europe are surprised to learn that
William Warwick Corcoran, some 30
years ago a well-known Washington
newspaperman and now Consul General
in GoChenburg. was rescued in l943 by
the Swedish Security Service from a
Gestapo attempt to kidnap him. Ac-
cording to an American Legation press
summary. two others were included
in the carefully planned Gestapo plot
the late Prof. Torgny Segerstedt and
the British Consul General. Had the
plan succeeded the three would have
been taken to Germany in a U-boat,
the idea being to strike terror into the
hearts of pro-Allied Swedes. The tip
off on how it was frustrated came in
a radio talk by the American COM
mentator. Sydney Moseley, at meeting
of the British Forum on Friday evening,
September 81. The American Legation
press summary states that responsible
authorities confirm the authenticity of
this report.
A House page" has asked about the
dark day" He may refer to any of at
least three dark days" in American
history The principal one was May 10,
1780. Sir William Herschel great
astronomer and natural philosopher,
says: THE dark day in Northern
America was one of those wonderful
phenomena of nature which will always
be read of with interest, but which
philosophy is at loss to explain"
The Connecticut Legislature was in
session at the time of the dark day"
of 1880, and members became terrified,
believing that the day of Judgment had
come. When motion was made to ad-
Journ, John Davenport, later in Con-
gress, said: Mr.. Speaker, it is either
the day of judgment, or it Is not. If it
is not, there is no need for adjourning.
If it is, I desire to be found doing my
duty. I move that candles be brought
and we proceed to business"
That day the sun rose clear and
bright, but darkness gathered gradually
after o'clock. Later, the sun was blood
red. There were oily, sooty particles In
the atmosphere. Some scientists at
tributed it to smoke from frontier fires,
but this opinion was secuted. Peculiar
color tinges were reported in the clouds
and atmosphere. Some observers sug-
gested that the darkness was due to a
transit of Venus or Mercury upon the
disk of the SUM-" There was general
scientific agreement that the ''olack-
out" was not caused by an eclipse, due
to the position of the planetary bodies.
Representative Charles r. Clason of
Massachusetts, has surprised his COL
leagues by calling their attention to the
recently established fact that the earli-
est known ancestor of President Lin
coin had a home in Swanton Morley,
England title deeds to which have been
presented at the American Embassy in
London. Col. Leslie, donor of this
land, has traced a connection between
the Lincoln family and the PASSIONS
of the Pastor Letters" fame. In the
18th century Agnes PASTOR is recorded
to have offered living to Richard Lin
coin, grandfather of Samuel Lincoln,
apprentice to Norwich weaver in 1887.
Desiring to worship God in his own
way, Samuel Lincoln came over to New
England and founded the American
Lincoln family, which after two CEN
turies of perigrinations to Virginia, Ken
lucky and elsewhere produced Abraham
Lincoln, the Great Emancipator. The
Lincoln House in Swanton Morley was
demolished in 1892. but the site has
been established by one who occupied
1t at the time. Two doors were pre-
served. the only known relics of the
earliest-known Lincoln. 1t is proposed
to erect memorial there and in it to
y place the two doors.