In the House of Commons, British Prime MinisterClement Attlee announced the details of the plan to transfer power to India.[6] Early reports from India suggested that the political leaders there had agreed to work with the plan.[7]
Scotland Yard disclosed that several prominent Britons had receivedletter bombs sent through the mail from Italy. None of the bombs had exploded, because the recipients all became suspicious of the bulky packets. Scotland Yard declined to reveal the names of those who had received the letters, butEdward Spears came forward to say that he was one of them and that the culprit was probably a Jewish underground organization.[8]
Born:Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman, politician and 21st Chancellor of Austria, inSchwechat[9]
Secretary of StateGeorge C. Marshall suggested in a speech atHarvard University that the United States would help Europe solve its economic problems provided the European countries themselves adopted a joint economic recovery program. This idea would become the basis of theMarshall Plan.[4]
British postal workers intercepted nine more letter bombs reportedly addressed to Prime Minister Attlee,Winston Churchill and other prominent politicians.[10]
TheHessian Interior Ministry banned performances of military marches of theWehrmacht in public. Numerous such incidents had recently occurred at fairs and similar events.[11]
The SpanishCortes approved the Law of Succession, makingFrancisco Franco chief of state for life but allowing for the restoration of the monarchy after his death.[4]
A man inGenoa calling himself Ami Kam who described himself as aStern Gang member told a reporter that he was the one behind the recentletter bomb plot, having personally sent the explosive packages to 24 prominent Britons including KingGeorge VI. He said that no more letter bombs would be sent now that the plot was well known, but added, "We now are going to work with other systems."[12]
The firstLlangollen International Musical Eisteddfod opened inWales. Despite rainy weather and a French railway strike, forty overseas groups arrived from fourteen different countries to make the five-day festival a success.[14]
President Truman vetoed a bill calling for personal income tax cuts ranging from 10.5 to 30%, explaining that it would probably induce the "very recession we seek to avoid."[4]
Henry A. Wallace completed a nationwide speaking tour inWashington, D.C., with a speech urging a meeting between Truman and Stalin to counteract "the present suicidal course toward war and depression." He also indicated that he was ready to run as a third-party candidate in the 1948 election.[17]
The US Supreme Court refused to review Boston MayorJames Curley's conviction of mail fraud. Curley faced a prison term of 6 to 18 months.[20]
President Truman's veto of the income tax reduction bill was upheld in the House of Representatives when the bill's supporters failed to get the two-thirds majority required to override the presidential veto.[4]
At a press conference in Washington, President Truman accused the Russian army of helping the Communist minority in Hungary to force changes in the Hungarian government.[5]
President Truman vetoed another bill, a congressional wool price support bill whose tariff he claimed "would have an adverse effect on our international relations."[23]
Died:R. B. Bennett, 76, Canadian lawyer, businessman and 11th Prime Minister of Canada
Federal district court in Washington sentenced the accused Communist agentGerhart Eisler to one year in jail and fined him $1,000 for contempt of Congress. Sixteen members of the Joint Anti-Fascist Committee, including novelistHoward Fast and theatrical producerHerman Shumlin, were also convicted for refusing to turn over organization records to the House Un-American Activities Committee.[24]
