The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, March 10, 1936, Page 1

3 o THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIR VOL. XLVIL, NO. 7217. “ALL THE NEWS JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY. MARCH 10, 1936, DISAPPEARANCE | OF MRS, FRENCH RICE IS SOLVED Wife of Former Mayor of | Nome, Relative of Sew- ard Man, Is Slain CONFESSION MADE, - AUTHORITIES STATE Crime Unintentional, De- clares Jerome von Braun Selz BULLETIN—Woodside, March 10.—The body of Mrs. Rice was found this zfternoon in a two- foot deep grave near Skyline Boulevard, 11 miles northwest of | Saratoga on the San Mateo and Santa Cruz County line. The body was covered with quick- Jime but was easily identified. Selz pointed out the spot and was | rushed back to jail. He did not witness the unearthing of the body. The gravesite was in a | heavily wooded section down an incline and passers-by could not see it. | RICE TALKS IN SEATTLE SEATTLE, March 10— Charles F. Rice, aged 72, Seattle contractor, di- | vorced Mrs. Rice, the former Mrs. Ada Mengler, at Nome on February | 25, | Rice said he made several attempts | to find her during the divorce pro- | ceedings but received no answer to | his notices. Rice was mayor of Nome in 1921 and 1922. WOODSIDE, Cal, March 10— Sheriff James McGrath announced this forenoon that Jerome von Braun | Selz, aged 27, has confessed to the | slaying of Mrs. Ada French Rice in | her Woodside Glen home with a | poker last June 13. Selz insisted the crime was unin- tentional. The body of the 58-year-old Alaska woman has never been found and | Selz is reported to have said it never will be found. | Selz said a man slugged him as he | entered an unlighted cottage he rented from Mrs. Rice and “in the darkness I grabbed a poker and hit | some one. I heard a body fall and | then someone run out of the back | door. I turned on the lights and found I had killed Mrs. Rice.” Trail Starts The trail leading to the purported confession began when Selz admit- ted he was living in Mrs. Rice’s home and had not seen her since last June. He had no deed to the property and is allegedly charged with forging her signature transfer-| ring her bank account to himself and writing letters to the woman’s son, Hugh French, who has asked the authorities to hold Selz for the dis- appearance of his mother. Married Nome Man Mrs. Rice was married on January 29, 1935, to Charles Freeman Rice, who is said to be a former Mayor of Nome, Alaska. He instituted di- vorce proceedings one month later. Selz is also facing a quizzing in the killings of Louise Teuber, of San Diego, and Katherine Robinson of San Mateo and Mrs. Betty Coff- man, of San Francisco. His quizzing is due to boasts he knew something about their deaths. Sister of Brownell A dispatch received here from Seward, Alaska, says Mrs. Rice's husband was a former Mayor of Nome. She is a sister of Mayor Don Carlos Brownell of Seward. The dis- patch says Mayor Brownell said his sister often had gone away without telling anyone. The last time he saw his sister was last summer when she was enroute south after visiting him 175 School Children, Anchorage, Vaccinated ANCHORAGE, Alaska, March 10, —Dr. A. 8. Walkowski, City Health Officer, vaccinated 175 school chil- dren yesterday. No new cases of | 'SISTER OF A Film FamousLinked b Rlimors' ALL THE TIME” A aiass MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS ORI S R T 12 O ARG PRICE TEN CENTS 4 'Lenp year promises to be a busy tinte for Cupid in Hollywood if the romantic rumors currently linking Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor, screen celebrities, and film star Loretta Young with Eddie Sutherland, movie director, come true. The two couples are shown . as they appeared at one of the film colony’s recent social events. March of Time, Shnw_s Sunday 'Manager Beale Makes Spec- ial Arrangments for Event Here Manager C. D. Beale, of the Capi- tol Theatre .is making special ar- rangements for the showing of the “March of Time” here next Sunday. The day falls near the anniversary Mouse, no motion picture has sprung to such wide popularity in so short a period as has the monthly screen magazine, The March of Time. Be- fore its advent there had been news- reels galore, but it took Roy E. Lar- sen, a young man as handsome as a Hollywood star and as industrious as a Feather River beaver, to dis- cern that newsreels were snapshots of history. Being a man with great practical imagination, he also real- ized that this type of snapshot was the result of straight reporting, good luck or mere physical stunting with a camera. And he forthwith conceiv- ed the idea of making this haphaz- ard material authentic and coherent. Expert advice told him not to do it, that it was a losing gamble—but Mr. Larsen decided to take a chance and he won HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS 60 OUT ONSTRIKE Protest to School Board Against Suspension of Superintendent ST. HELENS, Ore, March 10— Striking high school students pre- vented all but twenty-one pupils from ' attending classes in protest- ing a school board refusal to rehire Jay R. Austin, Superintendent. A business man said that peti- smallpox have been reported, how- [tion will be circulated against all ever, and administered as precautionary. the vaecinations were school board members, the only way to get students back to school. Special Féa'tliiev'.fl ' BIG PUSH FOR 'LANDON STARTS IN PRIMARIES California Pledged Slate on May 5—Hamilton Is to Guide Alf's Destiny WASHINGTON, March 10.—Be- ginning of the big push for Gov. Al- |fred M. Landon, of Kansas, with |red-headed John D. M. Hamilton in |terest to the Republican presiden- | tial nomination today when Hamil- |ton resigned as assistant to Henry P. Fletcher, Republican National Committge Chairman, to tour the nation for Landon. Gov. Frank F. Merriam of Califor- 1ia and supporters are pledging Lan- don on the slate in the Presidential primary on May 5. New Hampshire's statewide pri- mary is being held today, with most of the Democrats pledged to Roose- velt. 8 Fletcher seeks $1,000,000 from a million Americans to finance the campaign. Selling dollar participa- tion certificates is hoped to become a permanent method of financing the party by rank and file contribu- tions. - S0 es s e0e oo . STOCK QUOTATIONS e NEW YORK, March 10.— Closing quotation of Alaska Juneau mine stock today is 15%, American Can 125, American Power and Light 9%, Anaconda 35'z, Bethlehem Steel, 57, Curtiss-Wright 87, Chicago, Mil- waukee, St. Paul and Pacific Rail- road 2, General Motors 61%, Inter- aational Harvester 76, Kennecott 37, United States Steel 65, Cities Service 5, Pound $4.98', Boeing Air- plane 247, United Aircraft 297%. DOW, JONES AVERAGES The following are today’s Dow, Jones averages: industrials 155.29, rails 48.53, utilities 31.98. —.e——— SAILORS HOLD SHOOT ‘Tallapoosa coast guardsmen start- ed their first day of pistol practice today on the range in the Arctic Brotherhood Hall. The shooting was under the direction of Ensign Wil- liam Peel. 4lpsing TSArY | the yole of Field Marshal, added in- | With the exception of Mickey | LEONA JEROLD IS IMPROVING Verdict in Shooting Saturday Night Leona Jerold, who entered | Ann’s Hospital last Saturday nigh ior treatment of four bullet wounds | inflicted by J. R. (Jack) Silva short= ly before his death by suicide, reported this afternoon to be “doing {very well,” by her attending physi: cian, and “about the same,” by hos: pital authorities. Mrs. M. G. Silva, of San Leandro, | California, mother of Silva, who shot |and killed himself, has been notified (of his death by C. W. Carter, of the |C. W. Carter Mortuary, and funeral !arrangement.s are being held pend- |ing instructions from Mrs. Silva: | Jury's Verdict ' A verdict of “death by suicide” 'was returned late yesterday by the |Coroner’s Jury at the inquest into ,the death of John R. (Jack) Silva, |conducted yesterday afternoon by U. |S. Commissioner J. F. Mullen. The ‘Ljury was composed of John McClos- \key, M. H. Truesdell, John K. Mar- |shall, James Mahoney, James Bren- nan and William Sprigade. Several witnesses testified at the inquest, ling, Police Chief Roy Hoffs ‘man, Rex Hermain, John' Walier> |Myrtle Krusey and Vira Wright, (and Dr. W. W. Council, Territorial ! Commissioner of Health, was called |upon for professional testimony. i Silva died last Saturday evening {from a self-inflicted bullet wound. 1That his suicide was prqrnedllnbed jand that he had previously threat- (ened suicide was disclosed by testi- ;mony at the inquest. | Dr. Council testified the death re- 1sul'.ed from a .32 caliber pistol bul- 'let which passed through his chest {from front to back, probably pierc- /ing his heart. The bullet ranged |downward, with its exit about four inches lower than the point of en- try, indicating that the gun was held high, Dr. Council said, and death resulted within a few seconds, | probably instantaneously. The bullet passing entirely through his body Hoffman On Scene Police Chief Roy Hoffman stated |he was notified by the telephone |operator at 10:15 p.m. Saturday that there had been “a shooting” at Le- ona Jerold's home. He went immed- iately to Jerold’s residence, Chief and radio were turned on, he said. and after passing through the liv- (ing room of the apartment he saw Silva lying on a bed in an adjoining bedroom. Police Officer George Gil- bertson, who had been out on a call arrived soon after Chief Hoffman, and was followed a short time later by Deputy U. S. Marshal John Mc- Cormick. Woman Testifles Myrtle Krusey, who with Vira Store, said at the inquest that Sil- something to tell them. He later said he would tell them some other time and walked across the street to Leona Jerold's residence. Shortly after he entered the Jerold house shots and screams were heard, Miss Krusey said, and she ran to the City Cafe and requested an attend- ant to call police officers. Upon her return to the Marine Cigar Store Miss Krusey said, she found Leona Jerold lying upon a bed in the liv- ing quarters at the rear of the store. John Walmer, proprietor of the U and I lunch room, stated that a letter from Silva was delivered to him shortly after Silva's death. The letter requested him to send per- sonal effects to Silva’s mother, Mrs M. G. Silva, living at 306 Cedar |pusiness output of the first three| street, San Leandro, California, and to Silva’s sister. The letter also be- queathed some personal effects to himself, Walmer said. S — BLANCHARDS COME NORTH W. C. Blanchard, Chief Clerk to the General Manager of the White | Pass and Yukon Route, and Mrs. Blanchard were passengers on the Princess Norah enroute to Skagway. Mr. Blanchard is assigned to Skag- way during the summer months and spends the winter at the Seattle of- fices of his company. |lodged inside Silva's clothing after | |Hoffman said, and finding the door | locked, forced it open. The lights| ‘Wright operates the Marine Cigar | va had entered the cigar store Sat- | | urday night and stated he had declared Pegues, “when they were | - TELLS RECORD ~ OFROOSEVELT |Democratic Women’s Club | Hears Story of Administra- tion’s Accomplishments Deploring the “barrage of tin cans and dead cats” behind which “the {old band of privileged interests again Iseek to regain that power which ithey held for so long, and by which, |with seeming impunity, they came {near to wrecking the country,” John E. Pegues last night told the Dem- ocratic Women's Club of Gastineau |Channel that “the national admin- istration is entitled to be judged on the basis of its record, fairly and impartially analyzed in compari n with the record of its predeces- TS, Hits Propaganda | Gathered in the City Council Mrs. Dolly Krause, President, the [Club heard Pegues scathingly de- |nounge the “propaganda with which, |for the past eight months, the Am- ' jerican Liberty League and its chief ally—the Republican National Com- mittee—representing the old privi- leged interests, have been trying to |destroy the Sonfidence of the com- ! mon people, the voters, in the Roose- velt administration.” | “Ignore Own Record” These same privileged interests, /in the pit they had dug for them- |selves, and the rest of the country was in the depths with them,” could find in the dictionaries “no word of praise too strong for Mr. Roosevelt. Now that they are once more on solid ground, now that the country has been brought back to a plane of returning industrial prosperity and economic soundness, they know no denunciation too bitter, no charge too vicious to hurl against him and his policies. They ignore the record of their own folly and failure in office and seek to blind the people |of the country to the great accom- | plishments of this Administration.” Pegues quoted figures and per- |centages comparing the priees and |vears of the Hoover administration |with the three years Roosevelt has held office as President of the United | States. Agriculture, industry and finances were tarefully tabulated and weighed in the scale of judgment. Five Bank Failures ; Of the latter he said: “When Mr. | Roosevelt assumed office in March, 11933, 833 national banks were'in re- | ceivership; thousands of others, even the larger life insurance compani (Continued on Page Three) THE NATION’S FIRST FAMILY AT HOME FIRESIDE { Wants Tolls to Be Eliminated, Alaska Roads WASHINGTON, March 10.— Alaska Delegate Anthony J. Di- mond has introduced an amend- ment asking Congress to elim- inate the provision giving the Secretary of the Interior auth- ority to impose tolls on all Alaska roads and trails outside of the National Forests. The Delegate said the “tolls | were a burden on traffic and discriminatory.” ‘ 0. K._MflEA‘éfifiE. | MORE PLANES House Committee Takes Favorably Action on McSpain Bill o e | WASHINGTON, March 10.—The a chambers, under chairmanship of House Military Affairs Committee of prompt realizaiion of the scheme. KING EDWARD CONFERS has unanimously passed the Mc- Spain Bill airplanes years. during the next five - — CHINA BANDITS ~ ARE DRIVEN OFF LASKAN KILLED IN SOUTH The camera here caught President Roosevelt in a moment of homely relaxation by the fireside during a stopover at his Hyde Park, N. Y., residence. Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt (left) and Mrs. James Roose- 1 velt, the President’s mother, are shown with him, (Associated Press Photo) AR MAIL FOR ALASKA OKAYED ~ BY COMMITTEE 'SITUATION TENSE, EUROPEAN FRONT FRANCE MAKES DIRECT APPEAL, GREAT BRITAIN Request for Aid to Qust Germans from Rhine- land Turned Down FRENCH PREMIER MAKES STATEMENT jKing Edward in Conference | with Two of His High Officials BULLETIN—Paris, March 10. —Reliable sources late this af- ternoon are to the effect that British Foreign Minister Capt. Anthony Eden has offered France strong military guaran- tees if France will negotiate with Germany. FRANCE'S REQUEST REFUSED | PARIS, March 10.—(Copyright by | Associated Press, 1936)—Great Brit- |ain has refused France's request for |immediate help in ousting the arm- |ies of Germany from the Rhine- land. The French Government has is- sued a general appeal to members of the League of Nations to support the “fight for peace.” Foreign Minister Flandin has fail- |ed to obtain backing from signa- tories of the Locarno treaty to take drastic action on the German occu- pation of the Rhineland. Appeals Are Made Premier Sarruat, before the Cham- | ber of Deputies, proclaimed the Gov- ernment’s determination to get a Senate Appropriations Ac-|clear and precise decision on the tion Major Boost for Air Plans WASHINGTON, March 10— The Senate Appropriations Com- mittee has added $242,755 to the Treasury and Post Office bill for a new Nome to Bethel air mail service, and from Ketchi- kan to Fairbanks via Juneau, Whitehorse and Tanana Cross- ing. Another mail line will link Tanana Cressing with Seward, via Cordova, Valdez and An- chorage, according to the scheme. g'prvsnnt agonizing problems of the strength of right against might.” | Minister of Justice Yvon Delbos made a similar plea in the French Senate. Premier Quizzes Premier Sarraut, in his talk be- (fore the Chamber of Deputies, said: * ‘T ask the Germans if they could have confidence in France by signing |new treaties if we had just torn up the old ones? How can the.French have confidence in fresh negotia- ! tions with Germany? “France cannot be ‘dominated by violence. We are ready however to | treat with Germany on the basis of The approval of the Senate Ap-| international law but I again as- propriations Committee of the Al-|sure you the future of European aska air mail program is regarded |peace is at stake.” The House addition to and Delegate for item as an the Office bill, amendment the lower body. If approved by the Senate on its committee’s re com mendation, the | the League of a major boost to the possibility Appropriations Com- authorizing 4,000 new mittee previously turned down the Post Dimond’s | the same purpose, offered from the floor of the House. was also rejected as the bill passed WITH PRIME MINISTER LONDON, March 10.—King Ed- ward conferred today with Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and also Secretary of War Cooper on Great Britain assuming the role of con- ciliator in the present crisis. NO SANCTIONS GENEVA, March 10.—Officials of Nations interpret amended bill will then be offered Great Britain's stand - as making to the House again The committee’s approval of the SHANGHAI, March 10—Hankow 742755 allotment is substantially disatches said the Hwankshik Kiang that which has been sought by German sanctions not likely. SESSION IN LONDON GENEVA, March 10— Transfer- garrison drove off 800 bandits Chambers of Commerce in Alaska,|ring further Locarno discussions to threatening the city. Grant Confirmed as Wrgp_gell PM. WASHINGTON, March 10.—The Senate has confirmed the nomina- tion of Brigham Y. Grant to be Postmaster at Wrangell, Alaska. YOUNG REPUBLICANS IN SESSION TONIGHT The platform, recently drawn up by the plans and policy committee, will be up for adoption at the meet- ing tonight at 8 o'clock of the Young Men’s Republican Club of Juneau and Douglas in the City Hall, it is announced. Other features of tonight's meeting will be a series of four addresses dealing with polit- ical topics. Speakers will be How- ard Simmons, Ronald Lister, Mel Leath and Albert White, Territorial Republican Chairman, | RIOTS KEEP SPAIN ACAIN IN TURMOIL Gf‘,l'"]flll C()nsulate Ralded —Church, Convents, Fired and Sacked | London on Saturday instead of here jon Thursday will probably result in some sort of action against Germany and possibly lift Ttalian sanctions. This is according to unofficial state- | ments made late this afternoon. ROTARY CLUB TO ELECT OFFICERS Nominations for directors, to be |elected at the second meeting in April, featured today’s meeting of the Rotary Club in the Terminal | Cafe, Howard D. Stabler presiding. i The following Club members were {nominated to fill the six positions: J. B. Burford, Kelly Blake, Walter MADRID, March 10—The Leftist | Bacon, R. R. Brown, Percy Reynolds, Government is attempting to quell | N. Lester Troast, A. B. Phillips, El- stubborn rioting which has already | wood McClain, Charles Beale, W. O. pushed the post election deaths to|Carlson, Charles W. Carter, Harry I. 46 Rioting which the Lucas, I. Goldstein, Dr. A. W. Stew- took place at Cadiz in art. German Consulate was | W. O. Carison gave the “life his- attacked and the Nazi swastika torn [tory” talk of the week. Two boys down | from Kenneth Junge's boxing class, Twenty-seven churches and con- |Joe Tyler and Valeria Trambitis, of- vents have been fired and sacked |fered a boxing exhibition which drew since mid-February, | much applause.