The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, December 29, 1922, Page 1

WEATHER FORECAST. Unsettied weather tonight and Saturday, probably snow; colder ESTABLISHED 1873 THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER, 29, 1922 PREDICT GOOD SEE DEFEAT OF SE MMISSION + LITTLE HOPE FOR PLAN OF SENATE CLIQUE Amendment for International Economic Conference Faces Defeat MAY DELAY ACTION > RAIL CO UTILITY LAW INVALID,IS | HUGHES’ CLAIM Says - Legislature Violated Constitution in Enacting j Utility Law Possibility that Matter will : Go Over the New Year’s Holiday WANT AN Rate Hearing Is Halted and Case Will be Argued Here On January 5 W ington, Dec. 29.—A vote be- fore night on the Borah proposal for a world economic conference which is opposed by the administra- ticn sought by senate leaders today while the third days debate on the project proceeded with the in- creasing fury, As “irreconciable” colleagues of Senator Borah hurled broa des at his plan as embodied in an amendment to the naval appro- priation bill, the Republican mana- gers negotiated quietly for a roll eall before adjournment and a re- cess over New Year’s day. Senator Johnson, R¢publican of} {prohibited by an order issued by {District Judge Nuessle after the company had. filed an action in di trict court attacking the constit: tionality of the laws giving the ra roud commission authority over util- ities. JUNCTION ; Hearing on the petitions involv-| ling rates of the Hughes electric com- | ipany in Bismarck, set for today by. the state railroad commission, was! ! i | Celifornia, who fought with Senator, gainst the League of Nations,; opencd today’s forensic battle with! an attack on the conference plan.; ‘The proposal, he said, was worse| than the league and more likely to| “embroil us in European controver-+ sies and finally make the “United; States, after 150 years, a part of the European system.” He added that! such a conference would “jeopardize our future.” : ! “I am against it,” he said, “for precisely the reasons I was against taking the United States into the League of Nations.” | i i Washington, Dec. 29.—Uonfident= ly predicting its defeat, adminis- tration leaders hoped for final dis-) position by the: senate today of: the} The hearing was set for 10 a. m.| itoday. F. O. Hellstrom. attorney for/ petitioners, and C. L. Young, special | counsel for the city, appeared at) the commission offices at that hour! and were notified by the commis-| sion that the injunctional order had been issued last night. | An order to the railroad commis- sion to show cause why the injune-, tion should not issue is returnable Jan. 5, when, it is presumed, Judge; Fred Jasonius/will hear ‘the matter. Commissioners expressed surprise} when they learned the local company | was attacking the yalidity of the law: since the company, they said, had{ accepted the law, had received two| substantial increases in rates from| the railroad commission. during the war period, and since one decrease i The company a year ago in rates. ' also’ entered a ‘stipulation before jduring the year ending November 30, 1922, according to the; Borah proposal for a world econ-' the commssion agreeing to a valua- omic conference, although the list\tion of the property for rate-mak-| o! senators prepared to speak. on | the amendment made a vote doubt-: ful, with the possibility of a delay| over the New Years holiday. In-| cluded among the half dozen sena- tcrs to speak on the proposal to- day, Senator: Borah, who present- ed it as an amendment to the naval} appropriation bill, planned to make another address replying exten-| sively to Presidert Harding’s let-! ter.read in the senate yesterday in which the executive virtually} asked for the amendment’s defeat. In addition to. Mr. Borah, others! to discuss the proposal were Sena-! tors Jchnson, California; Watson, | Indiana; Capper, Kansas, and} Moses, New Hampshire, from the: Republican side, and probaby Sen-{ ator Hitchcock of Nebraska ard; * other Democrats. With a dramatic turning point in! the senate fight over the proposal} reached in the reading in‘ the sen-| ate yesterday of the President’s letter to Senator Lodge of Mass- achussets, the Republican _leader,' not cnly were administration lead- ers predicting tts defeat today but! upon the present status of the bat-! tle, supporters of the amendment,; were conceding it. They were} understood to be still endeavoring | ing. Ormsby McHarg, utility owner of Jamestown, conferred with officials of the Hughes company today. i Sets Out Acts | The petition was accompanied by | an affidavit by E. A. Hughes. The complaint states that the} Hughes Electric company is orga-| nized under the laws of the state of | Minnesota and is authorized to do! business in North Dakota as a for-| eign corporation. The petition sets out the various; steps in the legislature in creating the railroad commission and sub- sequently in giving that body con- trol over the public utilities of the} state. i The petition then states: “Your petitioner further represents and states that the said chapter 208 of | the Laws of 1915, and the safd chapter 192 of the Laws of 1919, by the terms and provisions thereof and the purported powers thereof, \the said defendants and respondents | was found guilty of assume to proceed as hereinbefore mentioned, are void, unconstitution- al and illegal and that in attempting to so proceed under said alleged laws the said board of railroad commis- sioners and the said above named defendants and respondents, as mem- to gain support for it among doubt-| hers of said board of railroad com-| LAST EDITION - (Leased Wire of Associated Press) PRICE FIVE CENTS HUGHES COMPANY PAYS $72,000IN | DIVIDENDS INLESS THAN 3 YEARS, REPORT OF ACCOUNTANTS DISCLOSES Company, was Making $20,000 to $30,000 More Than; “Reasonable Return” in Last Year and Faced Decrease in Rates on Basis of Report Made After Examination of i Company’s Books. ACCOUNTANTS REPORT ON i capa Correction valuation as of Dec. 1, Construction Cost—$380,832.00; depreciated value $325,962. Net operating revenue Dec. 1, 1921 to Nov. 30, 1921—$72,521.03. Dividends charged to surplus—$20,000 in 1084: $25,000 in 1921, $28,500 to Nov. 31, 1921, total of $73,500 in three years, lacking one month. Allowing 8 per cent return on investment under utility law and 4 per cent annual depreciation, based on cost of plant of $380,962, company made during last yéar $26,821.19 more than what is construed to be a “reasonable return.” The railroad: commission’s accountant’s report on the books of the company tally fairly closely with i reports filed by company itself. { The Hughes Electric company of Bismarck, which halted | a hearing scheduled for today before the railroad commission ! on the matter of its rates, by court action, made $72,521.03 | report of accountants of the railroad commission. The re- port was made preceding the date of the hearing to aid the commission in fixing rates. Deducting from this the maximum return allowed by the; railroad commission, which is 8 per cent on the investment, and 4 per cent depreciation arbitrarily fixed, the report | shows on the basis of the valuation that the company made an excess:beyond a “reasonable return” in the last year of $26,821.19. . Based upon the valuation agreed to by the company be fore the raliroad commission a year ago, or $410,000,"the ‘aecountant’s report would show the company made $21,- 321.03 more than a reasonable 8 per cent return ofi the in- vestment. A copy of this report was served upon the Hughes com- pany and the city several days ago. 8 Per Cent Maximum, £7 © ‘The railroad commission’s practice has been to allow utility companies return upon the actual investment as shown by engineering appraisal, HELD GUILTY and money needed. as eash working capital. No fixed return is provided Manslaughter Verdict Return- y Iaw. In some states commissions allow a return of but 6 per cent and ed; Penalty,7 Years in State Prison in others 7 per cent. The practice in North Dakota has been to allow as low as 6 per cent if service is not satisfactory, and to allow as high as 8 per cent if service is satisfactory, the idea being to give added return to utilities showing economy and ef- ficiency in operation. In the above deductions it is assumed the Hughes company would be given the highest | percentage allowed on investment. Dickinson, N: Di Dec. 29.—Dave POWERS ATTACKED McCutchan, . Slope, county farmer, Brought Up to Date. | The valuation of the Hughes plant, | made more than a year ago, was cor-! fected and brought up to date by engineers for the railroad commis- sion, additions being made for im- provements, The total valuation of | the electric and steam heating units was subdivided as follows: manslaughter in the first degree for the fatal shoot- fhg of Walter Inman, Amidon bus- iness man last March, by a jury which returned a verdict in district court late yesterday afternoon. The verdict also fixed the sentence at {and the serious injury of her hus- HILLSBORO ~ MANSHOOTS HIS COUSIN Joseph Lang Kills Himself in Chicago Taxi After Wounding Woman H IS MYSTERY | SLAYING | | | Was Taking Relative to Show When Tragedy Occurred —Motive Secret | Chicago, Dec. 29.—A,” mysterious ' shooting in a taxieab in which Mrs. Freida Merrill was severely 'wound- jed by her sceond; cousin, Joseph i Lang, who then shot himself fatally, ‘confronted the police today. Lang died in a hospital. : Mrs. Merrill is the wife of Her- | bert: Merrill, salesman for the Kan- isas City Medical Supply House. Mer- ‘rill said he was unable to explain the shooting. Lang, he said, had known Mrs. Merrill in Hillsboro, N. D., before her marriage. The -Merrill’s have a four-year-old} son. Lang came to Chicago some time ago from Hillsboro, according to Merrill. “Mr. Lang came to our house fre- quently,” Merrill told the police. “He came last night and asked me if he might take my wife to a show. I saw no objection to her. going out with her relatives.” The police said they found at Lang’s home two greeting cards ad- dressed to Lang by the cousin, also a card signed “Frieda,” asking him to telephone her. FARMER MAY BE HELD ON BOMB PLOT Postoffice Officials Check Up Package that Caused Death of Woman LOOKED LIKE GIFT Enmity Incurred by Hus- band in Administration Of Public Office Marshfield, Wis., Dec. 29.—As a result of an investigation conducted by postal authorities and state of- ficials, an arrest is forecast for Tate today in the bomb mystery case which has cost the life of a woman band. According to District Attorney C. W. Calkins who was here aiding in ° ’s Wife For Products Than. in PROSPECTS FOR 1923 N. BORAH’S AMENDMENT ‘Lenin FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SEES BIG GAINS IN BUSINESS DURING PAST YEAR According to Figures Farmers Received 17 Per Cent More 1921—Volume of ‘Trade 52 Per Cent Larger Washington, Dec. 29.—Stock taking of the nation’s wife of Nicolat Lenin, Above is “Comrade Krupkaya,” Russjan soviet chief. She is director of text dooks in Russian schools. EW YORK BURIED UNDER SLEET STORM domestic business for the past year gives “a feeling of sat- isfaction,” as to the progress made, the department of com- merce declared today in an end-of-the-year statement and, from this day’s position, it added, “there are no serious ob- stacles in sight which should hinder further advances” in the early new year. Optimism, born of the accomplishments of the past months which many officals of the government regard as a, remarkable strengthening of the economic fabric, is evi- dent throughout the statistics and details of the statement, which noted that the production of manufactured commodi- ties averaged fifty per cent larger than in 1921. The farmer received approximately 17 per cent more for his products than in 1921 and the total volume of agricultural products was worth a much greater sum than was that of a year ago. i i _ “The unsettled conditions in for- eign SELLS BOOZE “are still depressing our trade and te. some extent, have no doubt kept the prices of agricultural products to the shovels today to, help dig New| Volunteers Necessary to Dig} City Out of Heavy Snow —First of Season TO RAISE BAIL | D., Dee. 29—George S | arrested recently, gn la ealivg in intox INJURED) jiquor apparently has no gratitude, according to local police officials. The alleged bootlegger was held on $200 bonds and in default of the bond was placed in the county jail. Yesterday morning he was granted a short respite from the jail in order that he might attempt to raise his bond money. Straight away, it is said by officers, Kotos began selling liquor to raise thd necessary $200. Police declare a youth was taken linto custody who it is alleged had purchased liquor from Kotos. This led officers to make a cl at the Kotos residence. Investigation dis- Aberdeen, § Kotos MANY ARE Coal Shortage Adds to City’s; Discomfort — May Re- strict Supply |, i New York, Dec, 29,—-Thousands of; volunteer snow handlers were called! York City out of its first big storn of “the season—a. blizzard of snow! and sleet, which, starting yesterday | es moderate temperature, became} oiosed a» Gicntity’ of! nlocnshine overnight an icy gale which threat- whisky in the upper part of the ened to paralyze all transportation. | house. The storm took its toll of hun-| Kotos is again in the toils of the dreds of injured. From early last} !*¥- OF JUDGE IS REVERSED ed skulls, who had fallen victims to Supreme Court Dismisses Pe- tition in Minot Railroad Case Against Sheriff until ambulances the treachery of ice covered streets. | Most hospitals were crowded to cas} pacity. | At least two persons are reported to have been killed in falls on the) city’s thoroughfares, | The wind reached high velocities. | Combined with the unaccustomed | burden of snow, it worked havoc; with above ground power and tele-| phone lines; street car transmission eables; roofs of buildings and large} trees. Lives of pedestrians in some see- sections were endangered by falling signs, tumbling chimneys and smoke stacks. Thousands of dollars of dam-; age were believed to have been caus- edon Longand Staten Islands, where numerous small craft were ‘washed ashore. Along the waterfront the toll of damaged buildings was re-} Action of Judge Lowe in district jeourt in Minot in restraining the i sheriff of Ward county, the auditor and treasurer, from employing and paying 12 deputies for strike duty in Minot during the beginning gf the railroad strike was reversed by the ed down today. Justice Grace dis- sented. \ supreme court, in an opinion hand- below the level of other commodi- ties. But within the past two months this latter condition has been relieved to some extent.” Total Volume The total volume o¢ bu'lding, or- dinarily a measure cf the coun- try’s business health, was 5€ per- cent larger in the first eleven months of this year than in the same period last yeas, and the pre- diction was made that the ful! year’s record will exceed that. of 1919, The 1922 contracts for 1s months also represented a much greater expenditure of money than for the full year of 1921, it was said. - There was a genuine swell in the volume of general trade, accord- ing to the~summary, ‘which men- tioned a six percent greater sale by mail crder houses and a 13 per- cent increase in business by chain stores as indicative of the business tide, decline appearing only in is- olated linez. Increases in production with the reduction of immigration wa said to have taken care of the un employment situation and labi shortage were reported in mar localities, although this conditic was not general. It was add that work appeared to be waitir for most laborers who sought it. Car Shortage The year’s progress was report ed to have changed a huge sur . plus of freight cars into a short: | age. This shortage was _ general \it was stated, despite a lower per- | centage of cars under repair than {in many months. Freight move- | ments were described generally as ; satisfactory. | One of the chief benefits deriv- ‘ed by the farmer through the econ- lomic changes of the 12 months !was the increase in his purchasing |power, according to the review, ‘which called attention to a de- ‘cline of ten percent in wholesale jand five percent in retail prices, jwhile the agricultural products jwere averaging 17 percent more |than in the previous year. ‘the investigation, a farmer will be 5: 1 * Land .....-.--.-:+4-4.0+-8 2520.00 crested today, charged with mur- 'Transmission, distribution. 137,561.00) ge, in connection with the death of Buildings, ‘ miscellaneous 39,910,00/ Ms. James R. Chapman. Mrs. Chap- structures sa Eda |man was fatally injured when she, Plant equipment 148,544.00 ' with her husband, a member of the ported heavy. roceedings i i e 1 + ane Pe ity: celalas were oubonrly Codey | The proceedings were instituted by! ‘This condition worked to the ad- A. F. McLane as a taxpayer against! yaa, ° a 7 stings 4 ors Wi ich | Hl age of the consume: s recruiting snow shovelers with which! the sheriff and other officers, come | the ee the const rt also in to augment the force of 24,000 ad-! jaini hatibetween July’. and28.4 at it narrowe he margin be- vertised for last night. eae hate Lubrdida ie and 25,' tween prices on wholesale and re- g 1922, the Great Northern railway had | taj] sales, it was explained, ful members. Senator Borah him-| missioners, and all persons, officers self on the floor late yesterday saidj and boards attempting to act there-/ he expected the amendment to be by and thereunder, are acting with- thrown out. _ fout and in excess of their and in| As to the nature of the negot'a-! excess of their jurisdiction and con- seven years in the state penitentiary. Mr. McCutchan was charged with murder in first degree. Judge Thomas H. Pugh, who pre- icey, at- he tions which the President’s letter; barely more than hinted were in: trary to the rights of the citizens; of the state of North Dakota for the progress to carry out the adminis- g h \ following reasons .... . tration’s purpose of being helpful! i . Reasons Given in the present economic difficulties ! of Europe there had been no Tight! shed today by officials either of! the White House or of the state de- partment. The subsequent senate discussion brought from Senator Lodge the statement that the can- cellation of the foreign debt was not in mind in the negotiations. By his suggestion that ccngress “free the hands” of the allied debt com- mission, the senator said he was authorized to say, the President meant only that the time for pay- ment of principal and interest on foreign debts might be extended. Name Chairman Of Commission Washington, Dee. 29.—Balthanar H. Meyer became chairman of the interstate commerce commission to- day fo ra term of one year. He was appointed to the commission from Wisconsin by President Taft and assumes the chairmanship with a policy of rotating the post members of the commission on basis of senior- ity in. service. Commissioner \Charles C. McChord who has been chairman for the last year will continue as a commission- er, having been reappointed for an- other term by ‘President Harding. LOWER PRICES SET Duluth, Dec. 29.—Lower prices swere set in the wheat market again today as a result of slow demand from-any quarter and offerings were absorbed only on recessions. The reasons in brief are: 1. That the legislative act violates {the constitutional provision of North Dakota which reads: “All men are by nature equally free and indepen- {dent an have certain inalienable rights among which are those of en- joying and defending life and lib- erty; acquiring, possession and pro- tecting property and reputation, and pursuing and obtaining safety and ; happiness.” 2. \ That it violates section 24 of the state constitution which pro- vides: “To guard against transgres- sions of the high powers which we have delegated, we declare that ev- erything in this article is eveepted out of the general powers of govern- ment and shall remain forever in- violate.” 3. That it violates section 23, which provides that: “Every citizen of this state shall be free to obtain employment wherever possible, and any person, corporation, or . agent thereof, maliciously interfering or, hindering in any way any citizen from obtaining or enjoying employ- ment already obtained, from any other corporation or person, shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor.” 4, That said legislative act is void in that the constitution confers no power on the railroad board except as to railroads, and does not include public utilities. f 5. That the legisldtive acts are violate section 25 which provides powers delegated to the legislature. 6. That acts are void in that they attempt to confer legislative author- (Continued on Page 2) sided throughtout the case, received the decision of the jury shortly after five o'clock yesterday afternoon, but will not pronounce the sentence des- 6,426.00 | 444.00) general equipment Paving i Materials and supplies 5,584.00 12 per cent (12 per cent al- 1 county board of commissioners and a drain commissioner, opened a pack- fae Stocks, anthracite and bitum-| 4 number of peace officers in and nous in addition to those in the/ spout Minot and that Sheriff Scofield, Steel Active The department’s survey show- age containing the bomb Wednes- day afternoon. Mrs. Chapman died estimated by fuel administration of- | A bins of dealers or consumers, were} without an emergency existing, ap-| r pointed them as deputy sheriffs to'ed that the iron and steel industry ignated until court reconvenes after the New Year’s recess which will be | at ten o'clock on Tuesday, January 2. The verdict was reached after ap- proximately seven hours deliberation, the jury having retired in the case about 10:30 yesterday morning af- ter receiving instructions from the ‘court. In charging the jury Judge Pugh went to considerable length in ex- plaining and defining the various phases of law involved in the plead- ings in the case. emphasis upon the question of self- defense. Judge Pugh, further charged that the instrument, or lease held by Austin was assignable and that if the jury found that Austin had as- signed the lease to McCutchan that he had a legal right to possession of the farm. Blumer Promoted. A. W. Blumer of Bismarck, was promoted to the position of auditor of the state board of administration here following the resignation of L. M. Lockhart of Fargo. Mr. Blum- er has been assistant in the depart- ment. Forest Skinner, statistician in the office of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor, was promot- ed to the position of assistant book- keeper. Miss Myrtle Pederson, em- ployed in the auditing department, resigned to accept a position in Min- neapolis. Mrs. W, J. O’Leary of Mi- not was appointed chief clerk of the board to succeed Miss Alfhild Alfson, resigned. Miss Marr of Fargo was named stenographer to succeed Miss Sehrt of Bismarck, resigned. Laying particular ; lowed on total of items Hl exclusive’ of materials H and supplies and land, to i cover engineering, super- intendence, interest, tax- H es, ete., during construc- i tion) 39,935.00 | a | con- i $880,832.00 | Total | valuation, struction cost Income $224,258.86. | A comparative statement of income , and expensés, December 1, 1921, to; November 30, 1922, shows: Total electric revenue... .$158,331.25! Total steam heat revenue. 63,927.61! Total revenue for year... 224,258.86! Total operating expenses. 151,747.83! Net operating revenue ... 72,521.03) The accountants report in general) is close to the lines of the reports filed by the Hughes Electric com- pany itself, the company having filed monthly reports with the railroad commission as required. The com-| pany had, however, included federal | income taxes in as operating ex-! pense, and it has been held this i i should be deducted; ; otherwise the! o4) received wounds in the chest ani] and a generally healthy tone in purpose of the federal income taX/aydomen, which caused her~death| trade, according to the monthly sur- would be defeated and it would be! paid by the utility patrons instead| of the utility itself, i A detailed statement showing the the ceiling, walls\and doors. James|this season of the year, the board coal cost of producing electricity is;Tarr, 20 year old grandson of the| found production in basic industries contained in the report for the 12! months from December, 1921, to No-| vember, 1922. kilowat hour by months, from Decor (Continued on page 7) yesterday morning. According to authorities, the man who will be arrested is a land owner lin the district in which Mr. Chapman | in case fuel rationing became imper- | was drain commissioner. He is known to have had trouble with Chapman over the latter’s activities in hav- ing adopted the Mill Creek drainage project. Although at first confident that the bomb was sent by some one angered by Chapman’s work on the board in voting funds to combat moonshiners, this was later discarded according to Mr. Calkins, when the package was traced to the alleged sender. The parcel containing the mysterv bomb was delivered at the Chapman farm, fiye miles, south of here, at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon by John H. Heaton, rural carrier. {t had the appearance of a Christmas package and Mr. Chapman and is wife hastened to open it. Mr. Chapman had cut the strings and almost unwrapped the packa; when the explosion came. His leit hand was torn away, and his wife who had been bending over the par- fifteen hours later. The room was shattered by the ex- plosion, great holes being torn in Chapman's, was slightly injured. Mr, Chapman is 69 years old and {his wife was 64. They had lived on} July, The statement shows the cost per'the farm south of here for 18 years|jower than at any time in recent and enjoyed a wide popularity (Continued on Page 2) ficials ut less than 62,000 tons. | list for hospitals, schools and muni- | cipal institutions was being prepared | serve until removed, and that they received compensation from the rail- way company and would be paid by the county. Judge Lowe issued a restraining ative, SNOW IS GENERAL Boston, Dec. 29.—All New Eng- land lay under a thick mantle of | snow today following northeast gales which swept this section yesterday. The snowfall in less than 24 hours ranged from six inches in Boston to a foot im Port- land. In Greater Boston two fatalities were attributed to the storm. UPWARD TREND OF BUSINESS FOR NOVEMBER Washington, Dec. 2%—November business conditions represented a continuation of the upward trend of; production, a greater employmenz of labor which in some localities was reported nearing the scarcity mark, The opinion of the supreme court, written by Justice Bronson, states that the basis of the plaintiff’s ac- that he is a resident and a and that so seeks to enjoin the commission of an alleged illegal use of discretion- | ary power. As against the sheriff, the opinion stated, the plaintiff was in the posi- tion of a private individual sustain- ing no threatened loss, having no right to maintain an action, and that as against the other defendants the complaint did not allege, nor the record show, facts regarding pay- ment of money sufficient to warrant any injunctional relief. GONVENTION AT MINOT The sixteenth armual convention of the North Dakota Hotel and Resturant Men’s Association will be held in Minot January 4. The North Dakota Chapter of the Greeters of America will gather on the same day, which will prove to be an added attraction. BERNHARDT IMPROVES Paris, Dec. 29.—Madame Sarah Bernhardt was distinctly better te- day. She was able to leave her bed and had luncheon with mem- bers of her household, vey made public today by the federal reserve board. Contrary to the usual situation at increasing, a condition that has pre- ceeded almost uninterruptedly since 1921, when production was years, The condition, the board be- lieved, augured well, order directed against the officials. | ‘increased its output between sixty land seventy percent. | ~The only declines of outstanding :importance were seven percent in bituminous coal and 47 percent in anthracite, both of which were due to the strike, and the refore not regarded as indicative of a fun- damental fault in the economic structure. They were more thar offset, however, it was added, by the generally higher level of pro- duction in all other lines. The final estimates of the wheat “crop showed it to have been about ‘forty one million bushels, or five percent, greater than last year. This was due, it was said, to ex- pansion in winter wheat growing. Prices ranged gererally higher. Big crops of corn and oats marked the year, each being larg- er than in the preceding season. The corn crop was 178,000,000 bus- hels greater and that of oats about 137,000,000 bushels more than in 1921. , | Savings bank deposits increased uniformly throughout the country, according to the survey ard in- creases over 1921 also were report- ed in the 1922 life insurance) busi- ness, STEAMER WATERLOGGED ; New York, Dec. 29.—The steaz: 'Munmotor from Boston for No folk, was waterlogged and in di tress today in a terrific gale off {Cape May, radio messages picked jup here said. Her position was given as sixty miles southwest of iFive Fathom Bank light.