Evening Star Newspaper, January 26, 1921, Page 1

WEATHER. Unsettled weather, probably snow Jate tonight and tomorrow; not much change in temperature; lowest tem- perature tonight about 18 degrees. ‘Temperature for twenty-four hours ended at 2 p.m. today: p.m. today: lowest, 15, at § Full report on page 2. Highest, 29, at am. todsy. | No. 28,031 PLANS TO DISARN GERMANY INGLUDE IIG GUARDSMEN Allied Military Experts Sub- mit Recommendations to | Supreme Council. PREMIERS SPLIT OVER REPARATIONS QUESTION | Closing New York Stocks, Page 22. Entered as second-class mat post officeWashington, B & rLLOYD GEORGE, IA NGRY AT PRESS, {TO SPURN PARIS | By the Associatea Press. | _ PARIS, January 26.—Premier Llovd George is understood to have taken umbrage at an article in a Paris newspaper criticising his atti- tude on various questions now being discussed by the supreme allied ¢oun- cil, and has complained bitterly to Premier Briand regarding the tone of the French press, says the Oeuvre. “Since I am treated this wa; the newspaper quotes Mr. Lloyd George a: ving: “I tell you I will never come to Paris again.” Mr. Briand in consequence of this protest, appealed to newspaper re- porters last night to use more mod- eration in writing of the work of the supreme council. “I am not supported by all of you,” declared. “Indiscretions, even inventions, were printed this morning, which do not please my in- terlocutors. If that goes on you will Constantine Is Barred From Con- ference on Turkey, Says Mes- sage to Greece. By thie Associated Press PARIS, January 26.—Allied military experts today handed the supreme council their report on a plan for ‘he disbandment of German military its. . The reports give satisfaction 10 the French viewpoint on the ques- tion providing for full compliance with all disarmament clauses of the Versailles treaty. It concedes to Great Britain a fur- BAKER ANSWERS u Monday, before the supreme council by Premier Lloyd George. Two-thirds of the operation of disarmament must be completed by March 1. and the work must be finished hy July 1 This decision means that the ein- wohnenwehr, or civic guards, and the security police must be disbanded, as must all other similar organizations not allowed by the treaty of Ver- sailles. The council has still to act upon the report. but it was the general opinion is afterncon that it would approve ihe conclusions of the experts. ‘Take Up Reparations Problem. Consideration of the problem of Ger- man reparations, viewed as vitally important by the people of Franc ' was begun by the supreme council. private conversations regarding this question have been going on between Fremiers Lloyd George and Aristide Briand, president of the council of France. but there was no indication this mormning that anything resem- bling_an agreement had been reached. The British premier held the opinion that the amount of indemnity Ger- many must pay should be definitely Briand in his address before the chamber of deputies last week. It was reported this morning that a majority of the allied representatives attending the meeting of the council had espoused the views of Mr. Lloyd George. A committee which was appointed vesterday to consider measures for the relief of Austria has beguu work | on this problem, solution of- which / seemed yesterday to have been rele- xated to an indefi) utuge.date. A proposal that 1i over to the league of nations was not entertained by the council, anil an- other which would eall for a loan of a quarter of a billion dollars to Austria during the next ten years was similarly rejected. Great Britain refused to entertain such a proposi- ,tion, and Italian delegates entered ob- jections to any plan which would commit Austria and her future to the guidance of any combination of states. Greek King Is Banmed. The situation at Vienna was viewed as being closely related to that in Prague, Budapest, Belgrade and ‘other central European capitals, and the committee appointed to study the matter was advised to formulate a plan contemplating assistance for the whole situation. What will amount to a second allied-Turkish peace conference will convene in London, probably on Feb- ruary 21. M. Brian was prepared to- day to send formal notice to Turkey nd Greece to appoint representatives attend the London meetings. The cltan’s government was given the privilege of naming leaders of the Turkish nationalist administration at Angora as some of the members of the delegation, while Greece. it was clearly indicated. would be informed the allies would not enter into any m0% of relations with King Constan- tine. Conferences have begun between British officials attending the coun- «il meeting and Sir Auckland Geddes. ritish ambassador to the United States, who arrived here yesterday. Doumer Opens Discussion. Paul finance. opened the discussion of German reparations by the supreme allied council. He ©n the financial situation, and out- ned the French viewpoint concern- ing solution of the reparations question. The conference then heard Viaron Edgar Vincent D'Abernon, Dritish ambassador to Germany. M. Doumer's report occupied vir- 1ally the whole of the morning ses- «on. It was ordered translated and smmunicated to_the allied experts'| his afternoon. Meanwhile the con- terence plans to discuss the Polish «nd near eastern questions and to +take up the reparations issue again tomorrow The position adopted by M. Dou- «r in his report, it developed as ¢ proceeded to its conclusion. was « return to the terms of article 233 of the treaty of Versailles, which duty of determining the compensation to be paid with the reparations He advocated strict ad. laces the the conclusion of the morning on Premiers Lioyd George and and took luncheon together for a irivate discussion of the reparations «uestion. COUNCIL IS BLOCKED. At Allies Hopelessly at Odds Over German Disarmament. BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. able 1o The Star aud Chicago Daily News. Copsright, 1921. "ARIS, January 26.—The supreme incil. after devoting two entire ses- ons to the disarmament question, Ginds jtself blocked, contrary to ali “xpectations. by 80 complete a dis- zreement (hat the question has been ferred back to the experts and the council has taken up the discussion of Austrian and near eastern ques- The armament disagreement nvolves not only policies but facts. he French and British experts dis ree on the latter as much ax Pre. ers Lloyd George and Briand do on former. Marshal Foch at the first session ave one set of figures and Gen. Bing- h: charge of the destruc- for the interallied sion in Berlin, gave . Thus Foch estimates that ns have hidden away 70,000 while Bingham's esti- Gen. Nollet, head of military i supported Marshal {rime Minister Lloyd Georg (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) By -4 fixed, which view was rejected by M. | I by Secretary Baker. | also requested to dismiss this pro- Doumer. French minister of ! read a report | make it impossible for any more meetings to be held in Paris.” | FRENCH'S CHARGES War Secretary Asks Plea for Restoration of Rank Be Dismissed. Denying he assumed to act person- ally for, or in place of. President Wilson in approving the recommenda- tions of the “plucking bourd.” and de- ther delay, whicn was asked for on| iclaring that he had general authority from the chief executive to act in his |name, Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, today filed in court answer to {the mandamus proceeding brought b; |Col. John W. French. o secure the jreturn of his rank as colonel on the active list and for the emoluments of that position. The reclassification board ‘placed Col. French in class B and recommended his retirement with [the rank of colonel. Recommendation Approved. This recommendation was approved {by Secretary Baker, but Col. French |appealed to the District Supreme Court, claiming that the Secretary of War had exceeded his authority and that the officer had not had oppor- tunity to be heard by counsel before the reviewing board which finally placed him on the retired list. Secretary Baker tells the court that Col. French was given a court of inquiry at his own request, after he had been notifled that he had been conditionally placed in class B, and that the officer appeared before the board and Was represented by coun- sel. The report of that court was before the reviewing boards, the Sec- retary says, and, While admitting that the personnel of these review- ing boards, with one exception, identical with the original y cation board, he states that theke officers were without blas or preju- Fdice and considered the testimony adduced at the court of inquiry. All Provisiohs 8 Law Observed. All the provisions of the law were observed, the court is told, and the Sec¢retary of War asks that the pe- titlon of Col. French b dism! A similar ‘suit for mandamus brought by Col. W. F. Creary, who also claims to be ‘a victim of the { “plucking board,” also was answered The court. is | | ceeding, on the ground that the law | has been followed and no rights of the officer infringed. |GOLF ATTRACTS HARDING ASHORE FROM HOUSEBOAT | Victoria Is Not Expected to Reach Palm Beach Until Tomorrow. FORT PIERCE, Fla., January 2 ‘Golf attracted President-elect Hard- |ing ashore from his houseboat, the Victoria, again today, -the vacation party putting in here early in the| day's run for a try at the Fort Pierce {links. It was midday before the jour- Iney southward was résumed, and in- dications were that the Victorla would | not reach Palm Beach until tomorrow. So far golf has been the only recrea- |tion of the President-elect and his ! companions since they left St. Augus- tine Saturday. Fishing is to be a big feature of the vacation trip before it is over, but for the present they prefer to spend their hours aboard their houseboat lounging on deck. It is likely that ! before turning mnorthward on the re- | turn trip they will spend several days lon the fishing grounds near Miami. TO PUSH WAGE BILL. {Johnson Will Move Consideration i Daily Until Successful. ! Unanimous consent to vote on the | Johnson-Nolan minimum wage bill for government employes was asked in the | Senate today by Senator Johnson of California. Senator Hoke Smith of Georgia ob- jected. Senator Johnson then asked if unanimous consent could be obtained to vote on the bill on some future day, ! but nator Smith still objected. Thereupon Senator Johnson gave no- | tice that at the close of morning busi- | ness he would move to e up the | minimum wage bill, and that he would | make such a motion each day until the { bill had been disposed of. ° BY GEORGE WITTE. By Cable to The Star aud Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1921. BERLIN. Germany, | Germany’s communists, comprising . several thousands of employes in the most vital industries of the empire, defensive alliance of the German re- public with soviet Russia against the entente und the United States. Following the divulgence by the zovernment of detailed plans for an uprising in the firvt of March part of the laboring classes, with a red army ! Tours, of several hundred thousand men act- backbone, Clara Zetkin, a ember of the communist | cently. ing as it woman party in the reichstag, last night de manded of the Germ parijamen | that it pass a bill favoring a military jarticles reminding reaty with soviet Russia s nations of the United States of America.” 1 !l ernment by saving: GERMAN REDS URGE RUSS PACT TO WAR ON ALLIES | | clared, are besieging several towns January 26.— are clamoring for an offensive and'fought egain: against | fact that thousands of Germans are “the capitalistic world. including the Europe and Frau Zetkin threatened the gov- WASHINGTON, D. IFUTURE OF CANAL | BOUND UP IN NEW GREAT FALLSPLAN Sensation Promised When} Tyler Recommendations Are Made Public. WOULD MEAN FLOODING OF SOME LARGE AREAS | Barges Could Be Diverted Into | River in Passing Around the | Big Dams. Proposing a stupendous development. | ‘exceeding that suggested in the Lang- fitt and other reports, the Tyler plan‘ for harnessing Great Falls, now in the hands of Gen. Beach, chief of eh- | gineers of the Army, for transmission to the federal power commission, con- | templates flooding a long stretch of | the Chesapeake and Ohio canal and will, if adopted, it is undt-rstu(td.. { vitally affect the future of that his- toric waterway. y The report is to be considered by the commission at a hearing next Tuesday. While it has not been made public, its recommendations, as_sub- mitted to Gen. Beach, will fqrmsh @ surprise with respect to their scope and magnitude, it is learned upon re- | liuble authority. The plan i i 1 | is understood to propose | onstruction of two dams—one at| Little Falls and the other at Great| Falls—and the construction of large | istorage basins in feeder territory to isolve the problem of low water flow. | These basine would be filled during periods of water plentifulness. Plan Regurded as Feasible. Such a large area would be flooded by the dams, it is stated, that boats operating over the canal would be forced ito “slack’” into the river at two points. | However, this plan of operation is said i to be feasible. i Under the Tyler plan, it is understood. the canal barges would be compelled to enter the river below the point of its junction with the Monocacy river. They | would proceed by river to the Great Falls dam, where they would re-enter the canal only to leave it again for the river stretch between the Great and Little Falls dams. At the latter point they would redivert to the canal. - So_involved is the canal in thé pro- posed Great Falls water and power de- velopment_scheme that it promises to come in for much discussion at the hearing before the power commission. In view of the fact that the govern- | ment directed the operation of the canal during the war and now owns ten! barges which are operated in its coal- | yi trfl:e. suggeation has -“3"“" e the yernment m! e ?fis to acquire (h?wllem' ", wh% was istarted by George W, ngtom, - Iop:.:au ¢ i connection with the Great ¥ i | | | However the canal may be affected by the Gredt Falls pfojéct, this con- recting water link between Washing. fon and.Cumberland; Md., s attracting | attention for other remsons, of which | the principal one s the reported’intén- | tion: of the Kelly-Springfield Tite Com- pany, at Cumberland, to ship Ith Taw materials and finished products over ! the canal. . The traffic department of the tire company has been investigating the matter, and is understood to be pre- pared to recommend to the general of- | ficers of the company that the canal; be utilized for transporting raw ma- terials from Baltimore to Cumberland and shipping out finished products. meeting to decide on the recommenda- tion was to have been held jn Cumber- land yesterday, but was postponed on | account of the inability of New York | officials of the company to attend. It 3 will be held probably next week. Local business men have expressed much interest in the plan suggested for reviving trade over the canal.| President Bradley of the Board of ‘Trade today said he had been long im- | pressed - with the fact that the canal held important economic potentialities and he saw no reason why the plan of the tire company at Cumberland should not be a success. The Merchants and Manufacturers’ Association, which has inaugurated a campaign for trade de- ! velopment between Washington and Maryland and Virginia points, also is| much interested in the matter. BANDITS HOLD UP| COURTHOUSE AT HARDING’S HOME MARION, Ohio, January 26.—Two bandits early this morning entered the office of the county treasurer in the courthouse here, knocked Treasurer Harry E. Forry uncon- scious with the butt end of a re- volver and escaped in an automo- bile with $14,000 in cash. : Treasurer Forry arrived at his office unusually early to arrange for the handling of last-minute taxpayers. He had opened the big office vault, obtained several thou- sand dollars in change, and had again closed and locked the vault iwhen the bandits entered. The vault contained between $50.000 and $75.000 in tax money, which the robbers did not get, be- cause of Treasurer Forry's fore- sight in locking the safe after tak- ing out the money to be used. as change in the day’s busines; l 1 i “An alliance with soviet Russia un- | der all circumstances has been de- cided upon by all the German com- munists, and near-communists, no matter whether it is attained with or without the approval of the German government or the reichstag.” | While she did not exactly demand a | war of revenge with the nations that t Germany, Frau Zetkin intimated that the same nations were responsible for Russia’s present des- perate condition and were capitalistic to their very marrow. Frau Zetkin s the German com- munistic delegate whose appearance at the radica)l soclialist convention at ce, without the permission and knowledge of the French govern. ment. caused such a sensation re. Some editions of the German papers which report the speech ocontain Germany of the settled along the river Volga and in the Crimea who would unhesitatingly meke common cause, with Germany { correspondents by entering the ex- ! leaders now in the city. C, . . WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1921-TWENTY-SIX PAGES. BoYs, I'M_ ALL RIGHT! 3 1 SIMPLY = INTO THE ~ 7y INEVITABLE THATS A | PRESIDENT ANDGOX CHAT HALF ANHOUR Latter Says Talk Was _ofi‘i Things in General, Visit{ Without Significance. | President Wilson today received former Gov. James M. Cox at ‘he White House, and for a half hour or 80 they chatted in Il}o Presider:t's private study. The talk was abcut things in general, both internatiocal and domestic. according to Gov. Chx, and there was nothing of any par- ticular significance to the visit otler than that of being a purely perso=al call, as he expressed it. : “The great change for improvement in the President’s condition since I last saw in July,” said Gov. Cax, “was very impressive. The improve- ment is not only noticeable. but re- markable. He appeared in the best of spirits and was highly entertaini: He gave eyéry evidence of keepig abréast with the trend of affairs, and our talk was instructive to me as well as treasurable.” | IPI Eluded Newspaper Men. The governor was ten minutes laf in arriving at the White House and was accompanied to the executive offices by former Judge T. T. Ans- berry, with whom he is staying in Washington. , Judge Ansborry, how ever, remained in Secretary Tumulty’'s office while Gov. Cox talked with the President. . Mr. Cox outguessed the newspaper i ! | ecutive mansion through a side en- trance. Before he was ushered into | the President’s study he went to a window at the front of the building, rapped on the pane and grinned at the reporters who were gathered at the front entrance shivering in the cold waiting to question him on his arrival. Visit Will End Saturday. Gov. Cox’s visit in Washington will be terminated Saturday, he said, when he will return to his home in Ohio. In the meantime he will have attended to the matter of obtaining the necessary passports for himself and Mrs. Cox for the trip to Europe. i which they ' contemplate making shortly. Before leaving he will con fer with a number of democratic | Will Get Letters From President. Gov. Cox, when asked what was t nature of the discussion regarding the future of the déemocratic party, smilingly _replied he would rather have the President answer that ques- tion. He said the latter seemed greatly interested in his proposed trip to Europe and he intimated that the President will give him a number of letters of introduction to persons of prominence in the countries which the governor proposes visiting. The govérnor appeared very willing to* discuss the visit, but said that being a newspaper man himself he really coyldn’t see any particular news in their talk and that “it was purely general.” He did say, however,. that Within a few weeks there would be plenty of news in the making at the White House. —_— TOWNS HELD BY SOVIET BESIEGED BY PEASANTS Disturbances Which Recently | Broke Out in Siberia Declared Alarming. LONDON, January 26.—Reports that disturbances. which broke out recent- ly in Siberia are assuming an alarm- racter are contained in a I o rors dlspatch o the Central News today. The peasants, it is de- A and fortified by soviet forces, :‘hellxu cutting off the supply of food- m the towns. !u-i"t!; lavmu assert, however, that in Eastern Siberia the bolsheviki have begun & great onslaught on the peasant communes and that terrorism {s reigning over a large area. SHOOTS WOMAN, THEN SLASHES OWN THROAT Joseph Hollingsworth Seriously ‘Wounds His Landlady at Win- chester and Commits Suicide. WINCHESTER, Va., January 26— Joseph Hollingsworth, a house paint- er, shot and probably fatally wound- ed Mrs. Mattie Mason, wife of W. N. Mason of Kearnstown. with whom Hollingsworth boarded, today, then slashed his own throat and shot him- gelf, dying at the hospital. and form German soviet Jegions when the time came for a war of revenge. Hollingsworth is said fo have shown signs of mental derangement recently. ¢ Former Governor Cox Leaving White House Al JAMES M. COX,’ Photographed today following conm ference with the Preside: (National photo.) BALLOU WL STUDY TYPES OF SCADOLS Leaves for Cleveland, Ohio, Tonight—D. C. Official to Accompany Him. Dr. Frank W. Ballou, superintend- ent of schools, will leave Washing- ton tonight for Cleveland to inspect the public schools of that city. He is making the trip the Commissioners, who are -anxious to détermino the type of construction of schools in other cities, in addition to the cost. An official of the District government will accompany him on the trip. It is understood that be- sides Cleveland the inspection party will visit several other cities. Since the District appropriation bill has been before Congress there has been considerable discussion of the cost of school buildings here as com- pared with other cities, the feeling existing in some quarters that the District is paying too much for these structures. It is probable that if the city heads decide to send one of their subordi- nates on such a tour a representative of the board of education also will go. Facts Can Be Presented. District officials feel that if some other American cities are constructing schools at lower prices than Wash- ington it is probably due to the fact that the type of construction is not of the same grade followed in schools built here recently. With the data that would be ob- tained from a personal inspection of other cities the Commissioners would be in a position to present facts to Congress on the comparative quality as well as cost of schools here and in other places. Due to his departure from the city, Dr. Ballou was forced to cancel the speeches he was scheduled to make at mid-year commencement exercises at the various high schools the latter part of this week. He expects to re- turn to Washington next week. “BEST NEWS I EVER HEARD.” By the Amsociated Press. NEW YORK, January 26.—“I am indeed grateful” Charles M. Schwab, steel magnate, today told the Asso- clated Press when he learned that the Walsk' committee had issued a state- ment in Washington clearing him of charges of receiving payment from the government for expenses While serving as director general of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. “It is the best news I have ever heard,” he said, his voice shaking with emotion. at the direction of | SCHWAB CLEARED - BY SHIP PROBERS |“Voucher Charges Not Prov- | en and Not True,” Says Ex- onerating Statement. Charges that Charles M. Schwab had received payment from the govern- ment for expenses while serving as director general of the Emergency Fleet Corporation were not proven and not true, the Walsh investigating committee declared today in an au- thorized statement. The opinion of the committee was expressed in a statement by Repre- sentative Steele, democrat. Pennsyl- vania, who sald it was based upon testimony and documentary _evidence and thal members individually felt a reat injustice had been done Mr. ichwab. o “After returning Here New York, today from the committee dis #00 alleged to have been ‘::‘1:‘ .Adlr.u Scn.vzlbl for expimle: an r. sele to make SCHWAB WEEPS AT HEARING. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, January come by his emotion, Charles AL 1Schwab. temporarily broke down on the witness stand during his testi- | mony here late yesterday before the Walsh congressfonal committee, which is Investigating affairs of the United States Shipping Board. With tear- filled eyes he denied charges of pre- vious witnesses that $100.000 of a 269,000 voucher charged to his ac- count in the fiome office of the Beth- lehem Shipbuilding Corporation. had been allocated to expense of construc- tion of government ships. Struction matters during his term as director geperal of the E Fleet Corporation. At the conclusion of this testimony his attention was called Representative Israel M. Foster. io testimony that since mak- ing his denial last Friday of the charges, he had conferred with Per- ley Morse. of Perley Morse & Co.. the auditors who found the alleged voucher. A Mr. Schwab admitted he had taiked with Mr. Morse, stating that a Mr. | Wildman, whom he had known for several years, came to him with the statement that Mr. Morse was a man of the highest repute. Asked Morse to Correct Error. “I listened,” Mr. Schwab added, “and |said.that if what you say is true and fa mistake? Mr. Wildman said he 'thought ke would do so.” As a result of this conference a mceting between Mr. Schwab and Mr. Morse was arranged later at the Hotel St. Regis, and the witness said he repres>nted to Morse what he had sald to ‘Wildman<—*that the facts had related wero true and that I was now at the end of = long forty-year buminess career, and that it was a| workers and operators, which has| matter so indescribably deep in my | been discussing increases in wages, | heart to be charged witl: somethin of that kind that I hoped he would correct it. “He would not do it,” Mr. Schwab continued. “He said there were ex- planations and reasons— Steel Magnate Breaks Dow: Here the steel man's voice becanre husky and his frame shook with sup- pressed sobs. 5 “I hope you will excuse me, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the com- ittee,” he started to continue— ut”—and here his voice broke again. For a moment he endeavored. to control himself, but without success. He ¥ave up the attempt, and from his eyes great tears rolled, which he wiped away with his handkerchief. { The silence was broken by Repre- ! sentative Foster, who said: “I cannot help making this reflec- tion just at this time. As a member of this committee I want to express on the record my apprectation of the manner, . Sch , in which have introduced evidence concerning this voucher. Aside from my member- ship on this committee I want to ex- press my appreciation as an Ameri- can citizen for the services you have rendered our country in the recent war.” This statement was greeted by ap-| plause from those in the room. “L thank you very much,” Mr. Schwab replied. “That was the sub- stance of my conversations with Mr. Morse.” % He had now regained control of himself, and in answer to the chaii- man’s question said he had never in- stituted any steps to have any audit stopped at his shipyard or offices. He said matters of this kind were never brought to his attention. He again thanked the committee, and asked them to excuse him for his dis- play of emotion and, arising, walked from the room, passing close to where Mr. Morse sat among the gpectators. The Walsh committee journed to meet again in Washington at the call of the chairman., cussed ating .o 6.—Over- | ergency | MOUNTAIN GOES NORTH TEN FEET, IJUMPS BACK SIX BERKELEY, Calif., January 26.— The mountains of the coast range in the vicinity of San Francisco are moving slowly northward, causing enormous earth strain and producing rebounds, in one of which Mount Tamalpais jumped back 6.6 feet, according to Prof. A. C. Lawson of the University of California, tn a geological bulletin made public here. Tamalpais rthward ten feet between the ars 1854 and 1906 and then hopped back 6.6 feet in 1906 at the time of the San Andreas slip, which caused the great earthquake of —that year, Prof. Lawson asserted. Mount Hamilton, near San Jose, he said, moved northward at the rate of four feet a year from 1893 to 1903, but after a sudden shift in that year continued at the rate of 2.2 feet. FIREFIGHTERS DLE ASBUILDNGS BURN ‘Under Orders, Department " Merely Watches Army | 7 Structures Aflame. Several companies of firemen, Lead- | ed by Chief George Watscn, stood idly i by this afternoon and watched fitteen | frame buildings burn to the ground in {American University Park, Massa- ichusetts avenue extended. Not nly did the firemen make no effort | to extinguish the flames, but they had previous knowledge of the |intention to set the structures afire. |They \were co-operating with the {ordnance department of the Army in {destroying a group of _temporary structures that were built for the war and are no longer useful. It was jn these buildings that ex- periments were conducted with the various poison gases that were used by the chemical warfare service of asked the fire chief to; Yesterday’s Net Circulation, 93,189 TWO CENTS. HOUSE TAKES STEP 10 FORCE MERGER OF TRACTIONLINES Committee of Five Author- ized to Draw Up Bill to Combine Properties. CONGRESS READY TO LIFT LEGAL BAR TO PROPOSAL | District Committee Votes 13 to 1 on Both Issues—Favors Includ- ing Potomac Electric Co. Congress took the first definite Step today toward the solution of the street rail problem in tu. National Capital, when the House Dis trict committee by a formal vote of 13 to 1, in each case. determined upon the two following actions: First, Representative Norman J 1Gould of New York was instructed i by the committee to draft a bill and present it to the House with a favor {able report from the Disfrict com mittee, which will remove the specific prohibition set by Congress agains: the consolidation of the Washington Railway and Electric Company and the Potomac Electric Power Company Second, s’ committee of five was au- thorized, one member of which will be Chairman Mapes of the District com- mittec, to draw up a bill designed to force u merger of the Capital Tractis Company and the Washington Rail- way and Electric Company, which will include the Potomac Electric Power Company in the merger as part of th. properties of the Washington Railway and Electric Want to In This action was taken by the com- mittee after many divergent views ‘were expressed by members regarding the merger, and ways in which it can be brought about. But the sense of the members was emphatically in fa- vor of 3 merger which will include the Potomac Electric Power Company. Chairman Mapes held out against all efforts to report out merger legis- altion. He frankly told Representu- {tke Army, and officials of the Army {feared it/ might be unsafe to tear them down and sell the wood in View of the purpose for which the build- ,ings were ysed. { According to Chief Watson Army officials considered the possibility of | mlvaging |ithe buildings, but con- {cluded it rould be wiser to destroy ithem. The ! rave ammrx(ns at the scene as a pre- | cautionary | measure. The buildings resemble Army bar- racks. Thib morning they were sat- { urated with oil and at 2 o'clock this afternoon were ignited. ‘ Engine Company No, 20 and an ex: tra detail of men from the fire drill laid out At 1 camp is bein sed as 2 research lab- | oratory by thie ordnance division, un- der Dr. mmm Tolman, director. | ——e {COLBY BACK FROM HIS “SOUTH @m-:mcm VisIT 5Becrmry of State Reaches Navy Yard Here and Is Expected to Go to te House. Secretary Colby and party. includ ng Gen. Cronkhite, commanding the Army Corps area ay Baltimore, and Rear Admiral F. B. Bassett, naval aid, arrived at the Washington navy yard | this afterngon about 2 o'clock on the {maval yacht Niagara, from an official | visit to the presidents of Brazil, Ar- gentina and Uruguay. 4 He made the trip on the battleship Florida, which arrived in Chesapeake bay last night, and the party was transferred to the Niagara, which started immediately on its trip up the Potomac to Washington. It is expected that Secretary Colby _Mr. Schwab had been recalled to|will visit the White House this aft-| give testimony regarding ship con- | ernoon and give President Wilson, | whose special envoy h was an ac- count of his reception and experiences {in the South American republics. By the Associated Press. NORFOLK, Va., January ecre- tary of State Bainbridgi . who | arrived in Hampton roa night the, battleship Florida. after offi- al visits, to_several of the South American_ republics, tHis morning boarded the naval yacht Niagara for | his return to Washington, | In a message sent ashore Mr. Colby said all members of the party are well, and he praised highly the cordiality !and friendship with which! they were | received in all of the threc countries— | Brazil, Cruguay and Argentina—they | visited. ‘One of the pléasantest tasks which i cretary Colby said, “is if 1 can do so adequately, t Wilson some idea of the | deep respes South America, and of the deep dis- play of admiration with which every allusion to him and every mention of his name were greeted. | MINE WAGE PARLEY FAILS. PHILADELPHIA, January 26.—The oint conference of anthracite mine B he extension of the eight-hour day and the adjustment of inequalities, ! said by the miners to exist, came to {an end yesterday after a two-day ! session without any agreement being reached. There will be no|further | meetings unless one is asked! hy the | representatives of the miners, it was | said. {Today’s News in Paragraphs | President Wilson and former v. Cox !~ had a half hour’s chat iu the fgrmer’s study today about things in general, according to the latter's statement. 1 i | Army chemical buildings burned ernment orders. Schwab exonerated by U. S. Sh . Board inquiry committee. i Dr. Ballou leaves tonight to i | schools of Cleveland. tor Harris introduces res: Seng for investigation of charged for newsprint paper. ur plays ‘and _brilliant charity! ball F‘;wu-p at Hotel Washington to aid {Near East Relief. 2 ificate of vote toda! gov- | e pping e 1 pect e 1 tion rices 2 | n 2 Maryland certi proper form uralized American, resident of N arges he was tarred and f Sfed for attending a negro weddi .mber of Japan's diet attacks Am| e Shidehara for reaching dipio- ‘matic agreement with U. 8. hants’ Association urges natignal “:;:relenlzuon for the Dil!rlcti‘- | Caminetti at hearing favors restri o alien flood. Cominissioners Boardman and Kutz special guests of Benming Citiz Association. Pagi17 4 in which he is held in} | tive Woods of Virginiz, to consider whose bill the committee had been specifically called, that it would be impossible to get action on_ his bili this session. Mr. Mapes, however found himself in a decided minority. because on both votes, takem, the members voted 13 to 1 against him Chairman Mapes ut the opening of thi# committee presented a proposi- tion which he drafted in the form of a bill ready for presentation lewy profit of ¢ per cent. ST Discumsed With Commissteners. Mr. Mapes explained that hé had discussed this proposition with the j District Commissioners, with Repre- sentative Ira C. Copley of Illinols who is a practical - public utilities owner and operator; with Chajrman Esch of the House committee on in- terstate and foreign commerce and 5:,: xls jolmn} author of Emch- mins railway act nin y and with other He said that the only way in which 2 merger of the street m{ny com- panies can be bm;fht about would be through such legislation as would actually hurt the more prosperous companies. He was challenged by several members of the committee o the ground that if the Capital Trac- tion Company saw all of its earnings above 6 per cent were to be confis- cated they would use them in buying improved equipment and in paying large salaries to employes. Representative Woods of Virginia put before the committee his bill. which proposes that instead of the present base tax of 4 per cent on the Zross earnings. of both street car | companies, a_ franchise tax of 1 per i cent be substituted. His measure also | proposed to relleve the street car companies of the cost of maintaining street improvements and the cost of maintaining traffic policemen. The portion of his bill designed to force a merger of the street car companie: proposes an excess profits tax of per cent on all net earnings above : per cent. Representative Woods explained that by allowing a prosperous com- pany to retain 50 per cent of the net | earnings above 7 per cent this would be an inducement to economic man- agement and would prevent running up the cost of operation abnormally s it had been contended would hap- pen under the Mapes plan. Forees Isxue to Vote. It was Representative Ben John- son of Kentucky who forced action by insisting upon a vote in the com- mittece on_ whether the committee favored allowing the Potomac Ele tric Power Company and the Wash- ington Railway and Electric to con- solidate. Mr. Johnson contended that this_has been for years the one ob- stacle preventing the merger of the two street railway systems. He point ed out that it was unreasonable to ex- pect the Capital Traction Compauy putting into a merger all of its prop- erty, to agree on terms which would {allow the Washington Railway and 1 Electric Company to hold out of the merger its most valuable property. the Potomac Electric Power Company ! Representative Johnson got strong ! support of this proposition from Rep- resentatives Burdick of Rhode Islami { Focht of Pennsylvania, Woods of Vir- | ginia. Gould of New York. Benson of | Maryland end Murphy of Ohio. ! Those who voted against Chairman | Mapes in both propositions were Rep- | resentatives Focht, Pennsylvania: | Wheeler, Illinois: Gould. New York: Zihlman, Maryland; Walters. Penn. {sylvania; ~Murphy,” Ohlo; Burdiock. | Rhode Island, and Williams, Illinois. | all republicans: Ben Johnson, Ken- | tucky; Drane, Florida; Benson, Mary land: Woods, Virginia, and Lanham. ‘Texas. , FAVORS BUILDING BILLS. House Committee Authorizes In- quiry Into “Dgrmitories.” The House committee of public build- ings and grounds teday ordered a fa- vorable report on the joint resolution which instructs the public buildings commission to examine into the fq bility .of erecting apartment hou in Washington to occupied exclu- sively by members of Congress and their families. The committee also favorably re- ported on the bill providing for $13. 000,000 to be spent in a hospital build- ing program on which House leaders had reached an agreement yesterda The committee today widened the pro- visions of this measure to include care of disabled Spanish war veterans. } |