Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1922, Page 3

13 PLEA FOR CONDUIT IND.C. STIRS HOUSE | Representative Ben Johnson; Makes Deep Impression in ! Fight for District Needs. Insistence that to safeguard the army of government werkers and government business from a water famine at any time-that the fifty- nine-year-old conduit might break a new conduit must be built from Great Falls to the District line, was made on the floor of the House late vester- day by Representative Ben Johnson of Kentucky. Equally forceful demands and ap- peals to national pride for adequate provision for much needed street building and improvement were also made by Representative Johnson. This speech made a profound impression on the House, especially because of the fact that Representative Johneon, now_a member of the subcommittee on District appropriations, G cight years chairman of the legisla- tive committee on the ‘District and as| such gained a reputation for antago- nism to many projects generally con-, to the} sidered to be of advantage District. Being recognized as a long- time foe of the District, his appeals to Congress for adequate funds at this time to meet drastic needs came with particular force. ; That he has not changed his atti- tude regarding the fiscal relations be- tween the federal government and the District ayers was repeatedly shown during his speech. He discuss- ed at length the new controversy over ihe sinking fund and the bonded in- debtedness, caused by shifting from the 50-50 proportion to the new pro- portion of §0-10, as between the fed- eral Treasury and the District rev emues in meeting the expenses of keep- ing the National Capital a going con- cern. New Supply Vital. “For some time past I have believed | that an additional water supply for the District of Columbia should be looked to,” said Representative John- son. He argued that the city has never consumed the full capacity of the existing conduit, built fifty-nine Years 2go, but that “still there ought 10 be an additional conduit built, so that if anything should happen to the present conduit the great army of em- ployes who are here should not be de- prived of water, that the people who are not in the government employ shanld not be deprived and that pub- lic work should not cease because of sho possible breakage of the conduit.” Representative Johnson referred to the Knickerbocker calamity as an il- Justration of how the unexpected may happen at any time. and said: “For that reason, I advocate the building of another conduit from Great Falls to the District line.” In discussing the sinking fund and answering the criticism that Con- gress is breaking faith with the hold- ers of the 3.65 bonds by not contin- uing to pay them on the basis of 50-50, which was the fiscal propor- tion when the bonds were issued. but on the 60-40 proportion now in operation. Represoatative Johnson quoted the act as saying by proper proportional appropriation.” ~ He ex- plained his attitude as follow: “30-30” Not Sacred. “If Congress considers the proper proportion to be 60-10. then the law which authorizes these bonds has been complied with and no one can be hurt. If the bondholder gets his money, dollar for dollar, with ac- crued interest. what right has he_to complain? Absolutely none. Yet here comes the local press of the District of Columbia admitting that, notwithstanding the fact that other items could be legitimately paid on the basis of 60-40, yet this item must be paid by the proportion of 50-50 to be in accordance with the law, when, as I have just read from the act, no certain proportion was then estab- lished. was_for| jcaused by any 1 CONCRETE IS INSPECTED. Bureau of Standards Experts at Scene of Disaster, Announcement was made today that the bureau of standards as yet is tak. ing no official part in the investiga- tion of the concrete used in the con- {struction of the Knickerbocker Thea- ter and that no official request had beeh made for the help of the bureau. It is true, however, that experts of !the bureau have made a visual in- spection of the materials, and it was stated by one of them that ‘‘no indi- cation that the concrete was seriously defective” had been found as a re- sult of these precursory inspections. EXPERTS MEASURE SETTING OF BEAMS The theory that steel beams in the Knickerbocker Theater roof were not placed deep enough Into concrete bases was advanced today in the discussion of the pdlsible underlying causes of the collapse of the steel and concrete. M. S. Rich, structuraj engineer in the Maryland building, who drew up the preliminary plans for the steel work of the ill-fated theater, when asked today by a representative of The Star for a statement as to conditions, replied: “I have nothing to say. Tt is understood that two prelim- Inary plans were submitted to the architect, Reginald W. Geare, but it} is not known whether a third plan came from another source. Mr. Geare could not be located today, nor could Frank L. Wagner, the contractor who built the Knickerbocker. Take Mensurements Today. The general theory being ml\’all(‘kdz is that the -beams perhaps were not| placed deep enough, perhaps ag little as six inches, when eighteen inches deep for placement would have been better. Measurements in- the walls »f the Knickerbocker Theater were | eing taken today by investigating parties. General comment today indicated that the flat roof of truss design now in disfavor, it being stated by a well known.lawyer that this type of roof “is bound to work loose. “I believe such roofs as that of the Knickerbocker are absolutely danger- { ous, and will be eliminated.” this man | declared. “The warmth of summer, | expanding the metals, and the cold of winter, contracting them, in my opin- ion. is bound to shake and .unsettle such a roof construction, no matter how successfully it might have passed {preliminary tests a few months after construction.” On the other hand, it was pointed out. that the interior of a modern theater is kept at more or less uni form temperature, it being necessary to keep the temperature not over 80 in summer, in order to attract pa- trons. and not less than 65 in winter, and that a uniform temperature Is kept all night in winter, it being un- economical to allow the large audi- torium to grow cold. Thus the inside of the roof would suffer no great varlations of tem- | perature the yvear around. it was! { claimed, although the exterior would, | of course, undcrgo the normal changes | of temperature in keeping with the | seasons. 1 Scouted by Engineers. One engineer scouted the belief that temperature changes could make any material variation in roof structure,| pointing to railroad bridges in the | northern states, which must pass through, in a year, as much as 150 de- grees, ranging from 50 below zero in the winter, perhaps. to as high as 100 degrees in summer. The theory that vibration had some- | thing to do with the collapse of the Knickerbocker roof seemed to be gain- ing ground today. It was pointed out that waves are caused by the passing street cars, which, on 18th street and on Columbia road, almost surround| the ill-starred building. It is regarded as likely that if there is anything to the vibration theory. as one of the contributing factors to the fall of the roof Saturday night. such terrestial waves are the ones to | be considered, rather than waves musical instrument, | jerbocker disaster, jPostponed its big annual ball, ENGINEERS BLAME AVOIDABLE FAULTS Lack of License Law Allow- ed Theater Defects to Creep In, Says Association. The Knickerbocker disaster “was evi- dently due to either -faulty design or construction, which would not have existed had licensed engineers or ar- chitects supervised the work.” the American Association - of Engineers through its federal office here de- clared in a statement today. Pointing out that the assoclation has actively supported the movement for. the enactment of adequate Ii- censing laws for the protection of the public “from the activities of dab- blers and quacks, who formerly have had only to hang out a anqll in order to qualify for business,” the engineers urge that the laws licensing engineers and architects who design and supervise -the construction of buildings now in effect in seventeen states and in the legislatures of three be put into effect in the District of Columbia.' The organization has a membership of 24,000 professional engineers, it is said. These licensing laws are in effect, the statement continued, in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, lowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Mianesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vir- ginia and West Virginia, and are be- fore the legislatures of Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina. - A committee composed of N. D. Mitchell, W. A. Slater, W. G. Noll, J. A. CHiff and L. M. Neel, representing the American Association of Engineers, is now investizating the Knickerbocker ave-in to determine, from an impar- ial viewpoint, the cause of the trag- edy, without reference to the parties responsible. The committee was ap- pointed by A. T. Koehler, head of the federal hureau of the association, lo- cated in Washington. MANY AFFAIRS POSTPONED Announcements of postponed and canceled meeting, due to the Knick- continued to be made today. ., The Washington: Chapter of the Trin- ity College Alumnae Association has ‘which was to be given at the New Willard on Friday, February 3, until February 17, on account of the Knickerbocker disas ter. Trinity College and its alumnae wishes in this manner to express their mpathy o the city of Washington in suffering following the tragedy. The Delta Tau Delta Society's din- ner for married men, scheduled for tonight, has been indefinitely post- poned. The Shakespeare Society has can- celed meeting for this ecening out of respect to its vice president, John O'Hagen. whose death occurred Sat- urday, and in sympathy for all who lost friends in the theater disaster. Today's benefit bridge party for Episcopal Home for Children, by la- dies of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. ha \geen postponed until Febru- ry 10. Owing to the death of several in- rended guests, the American Commis- ion to Promote Self-Governmént in India has postponed its free India dinner from tonight to February 10. The Arkansas State Society meeting for tonight has been postponed unti the next regular meeting. Carroll Council Dancing Assembly, Knights of Columbus, has canceled its dance, which was to have been held Friday. The C. D. dance, Government Hotels, which was to have been given tonight has been postponed to February 15. The package party which was to have been given tomorrow evening by Rebekah Assembly, at Dorcas Lodge, has been postponeéd. The Arts Club concert, which was to have been held tomorrow evening. and at which Mme. Vargas, coloratura soprano, of the San Francisco Grand Opera Company, was to have sung, has been postponed Anita d'Arcy | ‘WILLIAM G. HUGHES, 2503 Champlain street. JOHN L. WALKER, 2109 18th street. —_—e SEND FLORAL TRIBUTES. New York Society and Mr. Weeks Eulogize Capt. A. G. F. Beuhler. Tribute to Capt. Albert G. F. Buehler, who was killed in the Knickerbocker crash, was paid by the executive com- mittee of the New York State Society, last night, which met in the offices of former Senator Duhamel in the Wash- ington Loan and Trust building, and drew up resolutions of sorrow and regret. Capt. Buehler was president of the New York soclety. Following the meeting a large wreath of flowers was sent fo the home of the captain. A large floral tribute was sent to the father of Capt. Buehler, A. J. Buehler, by Secretary Weeks, who, in an ac- companying note in which he eulobized the deceased captain, said that had it not been for a cabinet meeting he would have come in person. Funeral services for Capt. Buehler will be held at the home of his father, 827 F street northeast, and burial wiil be in Arlington national _cemetery. Delegations from the New York State Society, Masonic lodges and other or- ganizations of which he was a promi- nent member will be present at the services. LAYS THEATER HORROR TO BAD ENGINEERING AND POOR BUILDING (Continued from First Page.) _ AN ‘FEBRUARY 1, 192%.' GONSIDER CAPPER PROBE RESOLUTION Senate District Committee Examines Investigation of Theater Disaster. Consideration of the resolution ‘of Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas providing for a thorough probe of the Kiickerbocker Theater disaster is being glven this afternoon by the Senate committee on District of Co- lumbia. The resolution, which was reported favorably to the Senate by the committee on audit and eontrol of contingent expenses, was again re- ferred to the committee on District of Columbia on motion of Senator Capper, who told the Senate that that committee probably will desire to make some changes in the word- ing of the resolution. Senator Calder of New York, a builder and former building com- missioner of New York city, urged that the committee take up the ques- tion at an early date. However, there i8 a movement among members of the committee, headed by Senator Ball, to hold up the senatorial inves- tigation until after the other probes have been completed. 1 do not know whether that com- mittee will determine to make the proposed investigation themselves, 1 WALFORD, 1735 Riggs place northwest, but, unless some other governmental agency in the District shall do so, I hope they will conduct a complete and thorough investigation,” said Senator jCalder to the Senate. “I think it is exceedingly important that a prompt inquiry should be made as to the cause of that terrible disaster. 1 have taken the trouble today to make some inquiry, and I have found that the safety-load requirement for the roofs of buildings of the character of that theater is just about one-half of what it is in my own city of New York. The present building code in the District was adopted some years ago, before the era of great moving- picture theaters with a wide span be- tween walls. “Consideration and revision of the building code ought to come within the purview of the investigation. It Seems to me of great importance not only for the moment but for the fu- ture, and that we should set an ex- ampie here in the District of Colum- bia by providing a building . code which will insure, particularly in con- neetion with the erection of buildings ———————————————————— | of public assembly, the safety of the people. at the time of the erection of the| “I might add in_connection with theater building and his assistant who | this matter that I find that the man made inspections summoned as wit- | Who passes upon plans for the great nesses. He also said he wanted Mr.|structures where thousands of people Crandall and the manager of the theater summoned. ALBERT BUEHLER, The Portner apartments. a John McEvily and Charles Keller, | cent graduate ne young man, I may say—a re- from college, whose salary is the munificent sum of $2.000 per annum. Furthermore, I find that in the District of Columibia for ‘all of the field inspection work there are but five inspectors. “I think it is worth while for the committee on the District of Columbia to inquire into all of these matters, with a view of placing the building code 2424 18th street. who were in the | theater when the roof collapsed and who were rescucd about 3 o'clock | Sunday morning, will be the only victims of the crash examined, Coro- ner Nevitt said to Inspector Sullivan. The coroner said he saw no Teason for summoning a greater number to | of the District of Columbia on a basis tell of the crash. It is probable that the list of wn-I nesses will be completed bv tomor-|that will insure proper safeguards and row. ,Members of the District en-|protection of the lives of our people. gineer department participating In Now that great theaters and other buildings where many people assemble are being erected, we ougnt to have a the investigation prob y will sub- Dr. Nevitt said he had not yet been oushtito. s furnished with a list of witnesses by | bullding code here which will insure with Commissoiner Oyster, who has|Used without any risk of having such supervision over his officé, late too|® terrible accident again occur as that ferred with Inspector Daniel Sullivan, { and the country at tha Knickerbocker acting superintendent of police, and [ Theater on Saturday ntght ment. It is the desire of the coroner to who are in possession of facts which I assist the six men in reaching a Will Fix Responsibility. “The responsibility will be fixed ir- mit the names of several witnesses. the police. He probably will confer | the erection of buildings which may be day or tomorrow. Today he con.|Which shocked and horrified the city other’ officials of the police depart-| have before the jury all witnesses ASKS ZONE SYSTEM just verdict. respective of any particular interests,” (Continued from First Page.) Corner Nevitt remarked this morning. | Rockville, $1.425.85; Washington and | “It will be conducted without fear or | Glen Echo, $115.19. favor, and the scope of the hearing! Mr. Ham told the comm on the emble every day is a young man— | OR SAME CAR FARE ! ARMS CONFERENCE GETS NAVY LIMITATION TREATY (Continued from First Page.) deemable within five years at the option of China. The agreement for management of the railroad provided for a Chinese managing director, with a Japanese traffic manager subordinate and Chinese and Japanese chief accountants with joint “powers. The Chinese managing director would™ have supreme control of the road. Article one of the Shantung treaty provides that Japan shall restore tol China the former German leased terri- tory. Japan and China each will ap. point a commissioner with powers 1o arrange for the transfer of the prop- erties. The transfer would be required within six months, and the Japanese government agreed to hand over to China all archives, deeds and other papers relating to Kiachow. The second article provides for trans- fer by Japan.to China of all public property in Shantung, whether orig- inally German owned or_built subse- quently by the Japanese. The provision declares that no compensation shall be claimed by Japan for such property except such purchased since Japanese occupation or that of the Germans which Japan had improved. For these China agteed to refund the bare amount of the Japanese expenditures. Jupanese to Keep Schools. Another provision declares that the Japanese consulate, schools and shrines shall be retained by the Jap- anese. The third article provides for with- drawal of Japanese troops frem Shan- tung, especially on the railroad and including Japanese gendarmes as soon as possible, when the Chinese police are ready 1o take,over the railway. It is stipulated that' the Japanese troop retirement will be effected by sections on the rail At dates the Japanes entire withdrawal of Japanese troop is to be effected within three months if possible and not later than six months, The Japanese garrison at Tsingtao s to be withdrawn within thirty days. | Article’4 of the treaty, dealing with maritime customs, provides that the Japanese shall return to China cus- toms house at Tsingtao. Shantung Railway Transfer. l . Article 5 covers the transfer of the Shantung railway. To effect the| transfer China and Japan are to ap- point three commissioners to-com- | pose a joint railway commission which is to apprais the rallway's actual value and arrange for it transfer in not less than nine months. | The arrangement for traflic man- agement and administration of the r@flroad is to be in effect pending Chinese redemption of the railw ay. Article 6 deals with two extensions of the Shantung railway and pro }:lllFS that the extensions shall be thrown open to common activiti of an international Zroup” under the o and Chinese authorities be arranged between l'l:nt-'s- management. rticle 7 deals with the Shantung| mines, which, the treaty provides € 10 be taken over by a corpora- [tion organized u Epecial oha er of ‘the Chinese governmen which Chinese and Japanese shall be equal. Opens Old German Le: 'S, { Article 8 provides for the opening in | luli of ihe former German leased terri- | tories to ail on an cqual basis and| that foreign rights, established and | future, chail be respecte: rticle 9 declares that Japanese in- | terests in the salt mines shall bel a fair compensation withi 3 | months. il { BY Article 10 the rights on two sub- | marine cables at Shantung are ced by Jupan to China, provided that | China shail arrange for cable land- | ings. H Article 11 provides that Japanese | wireless stations in Shantung are to {be transferred to China with compen- | “Profound H satisfaction” over the| settlement was expressed by Baron | Shidehara, who also thanked Secre- | tary Hughes and Arthur J. Balfour ! for' thei= exercise of “good offices.” | for the Chinese, made a| { speech touching on Shantung and the other far eastern problems considered by the conference and filed with the nder a special char- |} {or minorities w { tions canno i boughat by the Chinese government at | ! QUOTES STATISTICS ONCRMESIND.C. - Mr. Tinkham Says Law Vio- lations Have Increased Under Dry Laws. Amazing statistics were marshaled by Representative George Holden Tinkham of Massachusetts, formerly a member of the House District (legislative) committee and now a member of the subcommittee on Dis- trict appropriations of the appropria tions committee, to show that there has been a tremendous increase in crime in the District, especially since prohibition ‘laws were enacted. he claims. Mr. Tinkham hclds the police de- partment of the District in no way responsible, but scores the character of legislation passed by Congress. Ruin of American Home. “But, more than all, there is the destruction and elimination of the American home, where no longer does the child know to whom to turn for authority and direction and from which modern industrialism has sub- tracted parental care and state su- pervision and intrusion - weakened parental obligations,” said Repre- sentative Tinkham. Charging there are more murders in the National Capital of the United States than in London, Representa- tive Tinkham guoted statistics to show that there has been an Increasel of 142 per cent in cases of {ntoxica tion in 1921 as against 1910. and 433 per cent increase in homicides. Puts Blame on Congress. 1n scoring Congress as the princi- pal party to blame for the conditions he cited, Representative Tinkham said: ‘One of the causes for this phe- nomena is undoubtedly the character of the legislation passed during the last eight or nine years by the Con- gress of the United States, the meth- ods employed for its enactment and & consequent loss of respect by the people for these laws and for all law. If this type is true, the District of Columbia, being in such close as- sociation with Congress, would be more acutely affected than the rest f the United States. “During these years the people have seen the Congress of the United States controlled neither by princi- ple, courage nor unselfish devotion to the public weal, but surrendering it- clf and its power for the making « aws subservienty and docilely to the will of others and acting the demagogue for selfish purposes as never before. “It has seen an abject and obedient s of profound im- it Congress pass la portance dictated to anced and highly organized minori- es outside of Congress, sometimes for the purely personal economic ends of the minorities, sometimes supt ary’ laws from a_ sectarian sourc sometimes la dictated by ‘bloc hin Congress itself class_purposes or of reprisal. under these condi- help lessening the obe- dience to the laws themselves, Which are so imposed and in turn to ail by liberally selfish 1, for pu: purpo: “La The fusing example of Congress in re- to obey the mandatory in- unction of the fourteenth amend- ment to the Constitution to reduce representation in proportion to dis- franchisement, in violation of their oaths of oflice, thereby making elec- tions to the House of Representatives and to the presidency unconstitu- tional and violating the first princ ple of the purity of the ballot, can- not but have its profound effect on the authority of laws enacted by such a lawmaking body.” D. C. Officials Charge Part of Crime Against i lll-Considered Laws “The 50-50 basis, about which you cretary general a record of the atti have heard so much, has never been de adopted throughout the far eas such as an organ. | because of the Knickerbocker dis- will be broad enough to cover every |{company reduced expenses by $50,000 ty detail. during 1921 through the us = aster. Mme. Vargas was to have been which sacred. No proportion has ever been established by Congress that Con- gress, in_its wisdom, might not ehange. When the 50-50 plan of 1878 was before this body for adoption this House did not at first pass it at 50-30. As a matter of fact, it came very nearly passing it at 75 per cent to be paid by the District of Colum- bia and 25 per cent to be paid by the national government. Finally it was passed on exactly the basis now ob- taining, 60-40. When the matter went to the Senate, that body changed it 10 30-50. and the conferees arrived at a settlement of the matter by es- tablishing the proportion at 50-30 History of Bonds. Representative Johnson the history of the bonds and claimed that “approximately three-quarters of a million dollars have been paid in excess of the face value and accrued interest on these bonds,” Provision is made in this bill, he explained, ap- propriating $400.000 for “interest and sinking fund” for the purpose of re- tiring more of these 2.65 bonds. They will be due in 1924 The committee has seen fit to follow the plan that relates to the proportion as between the national government and the Dis- trict of Columbia and has placed the retirement of these bonds on the 60-40 basis, like the other appropri ations are made, and have unde: taken to stop the retirement of them at 50-50, he said. In answering an inquiry from the minority leader. Representative Finis J. Garrett of Tennessee, as to how these bonds were retired at a_ pre- mium, and to Representative Dayis of Minnesota. chairman of the sub- committeé, that heretofore the ap- propriation for retiring these bonds has been- $975,000 per annum, and that this is the first time it has drop- ped to $400,000, Representative John- son said: “Every year Congress appropriates & sum of money with which to retire the 3.65 bonds. The bonds mature in 1924, and now nearly all of them have been retired through this sink- ing_fund plan. “When the holder of any of these bonds wants money or an unlawful profit he goes to the treasurer of the United States. and under a precedent wrongfully and illegally established vears ago by his prede- cessors this man is paid 105 or 106 or 107 for every dollar's worth of these bonds, together with accrued interest. As has just been suggested by the gentleman from Minnesota, there is a limitation in the bill re- peating the law that none of the $400.000 shall be used to retire any of these bonds at abeve par and ac- crued interest. “There was but one market for them, and that was made by the treasurer’s willingness to buy them at a premium. “I think that fixed the market price. It is contended that in 1888, 1 believe, the treasurer was author- ized to buy these bonds for the sink- ing fund. There is no question as to this authority to buy them for re- tirement, but there still stares him in the face, whenever he makes a purchase, the law that he must buy them at not exceeding par. “If this Congress did its full duty it would compel the Attorney Gen- eral of the United States to sue every treasurer on his bond who has abused this law.” Urges Better Streets. Representative Johnson made strong plea for adequate appropria- tions for street improvements. He as- sured the House that the Engineer Commissioner had asked for §2,000,000 1o build and repair streets, that the “ommissioners in their recommenda- ¢iop= to the budget committee asked Tor $800,000, and that “without rhyme or reason™ the budget bureau|cut the recommendation to $200,000, and that the appropriations committee kept within the limit prescribed by the budget. ° “It thay recommendation upon_ the part of the budget' was adhered to strictly, and Congress adheres to the same_proposition, then Congress is bound and gagged by the budget com- mission, and cannot give another 1drthing to build or repair streets no reviewed | straddle ruts and gulleys in order to | !that {the east side of Connecticut.avenue| tin a very bad condition. jvery bad road over which to travel? To suppose that a certain note on the organ caused one of the steel beams to vibrate in sympathy would be to assert that such a beam, im-| bedded in concrete, had an exactly analogous rate of vibration with comparatively fine reed in the organ. | e matter how badly they are needed,” said Representative Johnson. He described the trip of inspection ! made by the committee to see the | need for street improvements and ! said: “I for one was not blind to the fact, | when we came to a street solidly built up on both sides, and the automobiles in which we rode had to keep the axles from of the automobiles dragging the ground, those streets ought to be re: paired, notwithstanding that the gov- ernment has placed itself in the un- fortunate and unjustifiable position of | undertaking to pay half, or mnearly | half, the expenses of the District of Columbia.” Conmecticut Avenue Disgrace. Speaking particularly of Connec cut avenue, and the national dis- grace of allowing a great state-con- necting thoroughfare to go to rack and ruin, Representative Johnson em- | phasized: | “That is the one thoroughfare which above others leads to the mag- nificent system of highways which they have in Maryland, and which lead to the great national highway halfway across the continent, which was_established through the’ efforts | of Henry Clay nearly 100 years ago, and which today is one of the great thoroughfares of cur nation. A short while ago Congress made an appro- priation to repair the east side of Connecticut avenue. Mind vou now, can be used for vehicles going only in one direction, and that is out to- ward Maryland. The other side, the western side of Connecticut avenue, is “1 asked myself, and I am unable to give an answer to my own question: Why persons going toward Maryland can have a good road over which to travel, while those who come from Maryland into the District have a For myself, I was willing in committee, and am willing now, to improve that side of Connecticut avenue. There are other smaller streets which are in a deplorable condition; but the bud- get, as it relates to the District of Columbia, comes down to_one single individual; one man who by his ipse dixit has said that this street, or the other street, shall be repaired, and that another shall not be repaired or built. I know not upon what meat he has been fed that enables him to de- termine with such accuracy as to bind Congress that a street, although It be impassable, should not be repaired.” Representative Johnson was engaged in debate by Representative R. Walton Moore of Virginia and Minority Leader Garrett over the influence of ex-Senator Sherman in dictating to the budget bu- reau regarding street improvements. Representative Johnson also im- pressed upon the House the special need for streets so that pupils can get to the Eastern High School, saying: . iane has been made in build- ing the Eastern High School upon its present site. It is now too late to go behind that mistake. Those who live on this side of the schoolhouse and who can get to it must haye streets. Those streets are not provided for in this till. The question now arises, Shall Congress build those streets, or shall it remain bound and gagged and not given liberty to speak, not given liberty to spend the money which the people of the United States have put Into their hands for t! very purposes?” 7772770000170 $10,000 tons. the guest of honor at a reception and dinner tendered her by the Arts Club members. The annual dance and card party which was to have been given by he various reviews of the Woman's Benefit Assoclation, Maccabees, at Raleigh Hotel tomorrow, has been postponed until February 16. NAVY CURB TREATY BEFORE THE PARLEY (Continued from First Page.) 81,000 tons; Italy, 60,000 tons; Japan, tons. While the treaty places no limitd- tion on the total tonnage of cruisers and other auxiliary naval vessels which_the powers may have, it does fix a limit upon the size of individual auxiliary craft. Mone is to be con- structed or purdhased in excess of The size of the guns on auxiliary craft, as well as on air- craft carriers, is fixed at guns with a caliber of eight inches. These agreements are of vast im- portance in putting to an end the ruinous race in naval construction, which threatens more and more to burden the taxpayer of the powers. The treaty runs until December 31, 1936, a total of fifteen years. For the next ten years there js to be a naval building holiday, so far as capital ships are concerned. None is to be laid down by the United States. Great Britain and Japan during the ten years. Two Exceptions Made. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, Great Britain being allowed to build two new battleships immedi- ately and the United States to com- plete two of hers now building. This was agreed to 80 as to cnable the Japanese to retain their new battle- ship, the Mutsu. France and Italy are permitted to lay down a capital ship each in 1927 and one each in 1929. This was done because of the fact that France and Italy had abandoned naval buildings during the recent war. . As a further measure of maintain- ing peace and limiting armaments, under article 19 of the treaty the United States, Great Britain and Japan agree that the status quo at the time of the signing of the treaty with regard to fortifications of naval bases shall be maintained in island possessions in the Pacific, with cer- tain exceptions. The details of this agreement already have been pub- lished. The naval treaty is not an alliance. However, it seems inevitable that it should operate as a strong compact to prevent nations outside the five signatory powers from building up huge navies. In fact, the treaty pro- vides that if’any outside power be- gins to build large numbers of nayal vessels the signatory powers may take cognfzance of the matter and consult as to what should be done. If any power, therefore, raises its head on the water, it is sure to re- ceive the attention of these five pow- One of Important Agreements. The naval treaty is one of the three or four great international agree- ments that will come from the Wash- ington conference. The so-called four-power treaty, signed by the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan, relating.to the insular possessions in the Pacific regions, and the proposed nine-power treaty on China'and the far east, which may be divided into two treaties, are the others. S Of gcarcely le:l (mpol;urtlge to the Washington conference is the agree- ment reached by the Chinese and Japanese on Shantung, the former German holdings in China which are to be returned to the Chinese. Wit out this agreement the other treaties might never have been put into effect. The conference has yet to complete the far eastern treaty. Another open session at which those treaties will be presented is expected. B 1 | its fire protection, inspections are made bperiodically after comple- ton. detailed by Secretary of War Weeks, iat the request of Attorney Generai { Daugherty. Kelly and Maj. L. E. Oliver, Corps of Engineers. The Army experts will be asked to make an inspection of the Knickerbocker Theater ruins, with the view of arriving at the cause of the collapse of the roof of the build- ing last Saturday night. Maj. Gordon has not received the report of the three Navy engineers who visited the rulns Monday evening.. The prose- cutor expects to have a report from | the bureau of standards shortly as to the composition of the samples of ce- ment work used in the building con- struction. Maj. Gordon will present the reports from these three government agencies to the grand jury as soon as prac- ticable. He will also lay before the grand jurors the architect’s plans for the building, the plans used by the contractor and also the specifications sent to the steel mills on which were fabricated the iron beams used to support the roof. From the inspection of these plans and specifications it is expected the grand ' jury, with the aid of the Army and Navy experts, will be able to discover the cause of the calamity. Jury Ready to Hear Evidence. Martin McQuade, foreman of the grand jury, stated today that he and his associates are prepared to take up the consideration of the evidence concerning the fall of the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater as soon as Maj. Gordon is ready. “We will drop all other matters,” sald the foreman, “and give our undivided attention to the investigation of the disaster.” Mr. McQuade said he realized that the prosecutor would want to consider and compare the reports of the Army and Navy experts and collate the tes- timony before presenting witnesses to the grand jury. Until he receives the views of the ex- perts and has time to consider them, Maj. Gordon pointed out, he will be un- able to state just when he will begin the formal presentation to the grand jury. There will be no unnecessary de- lay, the prosecutor declared emphatical- 1y, and if the evidence discloses any criminal responsibility he has no doubt the grand jury. will present indictments against any and all persons shown to have been criminally negligent. Coromer Pushes I est Plans. Dr. J. Ramsay Nevitt, District coro- ner, today is continuing his arrange- ments for holding an inquest over -the body of Miss Ethel Atkinson, one of the victims ‘of the disaster, in'the board- room of the District building, beginning next Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock. An earlier date would have been fixed for the inquiry, It is stated, had it not been that several days’ time would be re- quired to make certain inspections and preliminary investigations. It is planned to begin the hearing promptly at 10 o'clock, and because of the large number of witnesses to be examined it is thought the hear- ing will last at least one week. It is improbable that night sessions will be_ held. Holding of a coroner’s inquest, it is pointed out, is far different from a grand jury hearing or court trial of a case. With a grand jury hearing only one side is heard, but with a coroner's inquest the jurors hear all sides of the matter under investiga- tion and, it is stated, legal author- ities on coroners’ hearings make it clear that the ordinary rules of legal ractice do not have to be followed, gurny testimony being permissible. Coroner Nevitt this mm'nln‘l stated that no person or ms in any way interested in the accident have been summoned or otherwise direct- ed to lspnr at the inquest. This will be done in the regular way by members of the police department serving summonses issued by thé coroner. During the conference with In tor Sullivan, Coroner Nevitt explained that he was anxious to have the Ibuilding inspector who was i n ‘office Legal representatives of dead per-; of one- 1 man cars. He added, however, lhari i sons will have no legal status at the|$40,000 of this was spent in remodel- | United States Attorney Peyton Gor- | hearing, the coroner said, and will not don today held a consultation with en-|bé permitted to cross-examine wit- gineers from the United States Army ! nesses. i | | | Their position in the affatr is obvious. They will have a perfect | right to be in atiendance, he said, and | given. Capt. C. P. M. Lord of the tenth police precinct, in which the disaster occurred, is assisting in the prepara- tion of a list of witnesses to appear at the inquest. It is planned to have owners of the building and all per- sons who had a hand in its construc- tion appear before the jury. Representatives of the District building inspector's office, Army en- glineers, representatives of the bureau of standards, several persons who were in the building when the roof collapsed and others also will be called upon to give testimony. Nevitt to Conduct Hearing. Coroner Nevitt will conduct the hearing. He will have the assistance of representatives of the office of United States District Attorney Gor- don and Corporation Counsel Ste- phens. Counsel for other persons di- rectly interested in the hearing also will be in attendance. Representatives-of the two branches of the federal and District govern- ments and those representing inter- ested persons will be permitted the widest possible scope in the matter! of examination of witnesses. It is unlikely that the coroner's jury will have to make any further inspections or be brought togeiher again until they meet Tuesday. They made a careful inspection of the ruins yesterday morning and another visit will not be necessary unless it is prompted by testimony. . ‘Hope Pl ‘Will Be Help. It is the hope of the District Com- missioners that the survey now being made of the plans for the Knicker- bocker Theater and of the structure it- self will finally make it possible for them to arrive at some more or less definite conclusion as to the cause of the cave-in. Preliminary to a report of the find- ings of inspections being made by the Engineer Commissioner -and his as. sistants, the civilian Commissioners are taking no active part in this feature of the probe they are conducting. Col. Charles Keller, Engineer Com- missioner, and Maj. Cary Brown, i sistant engineer commissioner, have spent considerable time carefully ex- amining construction material = and pieces of the steel frame work which formed the truss support for the mammoth roof of the theater. Also they have been carefully examining in great detail the plans and specifi- cations from whisa the theater was constructed, their alm being to sat- isfy themselves that the plans were in strict accordance with the require- ments of the building laws of the city, and, if possible, to determine from an examination of the structure, ! as it now stands, and from the pres- ent condition of pieces, if the wreck- age indicates the construction work was also in accordance with the ap- proved plans. Silent on Probable Cause. Col. Keller today, in answer to questions regarding the possible cause of the disaster, said he was not at this time prepared to discuss the matter. He hd.e‘ot:d however, that he has not changed his opinion that the weight of the snow on the theater roof was only a secondary cause and that the real cause must have been due to some defect in either the material or the construc- tion of the truss-supports. » Col. Keller declined to express any opinion ing his examination of the plan: jut John P. Healy, inspec- tor of buildings, for the District, who has been working ;with Col. Keller and Maj. Brown in the investigation, h* no hesitation in saying that, far as he can determine, the pians anewéred all requirements and that from other, investigations made by him he yet_has found nothing -to indicate any discrepances or viol: tions. Mr. Healy, however, is more of the opinion that the extra weight of i ing cars into the one-man type, leav- | ing a net saving of $40,000. Explaining_why the company has estimated a falling off in travel dur- ing 1922, Mr. Ham quoted a story from | They are Gen. Willlam{get the benefit of all the testimony |The Star to the effect that the War |Chinese delegati Department would drop 800 employes | between now and July 1. The president then told the com- mission that he has heard it said the government would reduce its army of employes in Washington by 10,000 during the next six months. This, he safd, was purely hearsay evidence. Col. Keller questioned Mr. Ham | closely regardMg what he pays for | coal and the quality of the coal re- ceived. Mr. Ham testified that, in his opin- ion, one-man cars are safe, conven- ient and satisfactory. He presented a table to show that they are being op- erated in more than forty states of the Union, including such_cities as New York. Philadelphia and Detroit. “Mr. Ham, have you had any well founded objection?" asked Col. Keller. Yes,” Mr. Ham replied. “I think it was unwlise for us to send one-man cars to Brookland in the evenins rush | hour, and we corrected this situation | as soon as we realized it.” The president explained thit in the evening rush_hour Brookland people were crowded off these cars by pas- sengers _living on North Capitel street. But in the morning rush hours, he said, one-man cars are practical from Brookland, because the | people of that suburb are able to board them. Mr. Ham told the commission it is! impractical to use one-man cars only in the non-rush hours, because it would be impossible to employ ad- ditional conducteors to operate two- man cars during the short period of the morning and evening. Evan H. Tucker, president of the Northeast Citizens’ Association asked Mr. Ham If any city has discontinued one-man cars. Mr. Ham said he believed one city in New York state had been ordered to discontinue them because of the objections from labor circles. In his petition filed early in the day Mr. Ham told the commission that his company has fallen $1,250,000 short of earning a fair return. since September, 1918. When the hearing is resumed this afternoon the Washington Railway and Electric Company will testify as to what track extensions it believed should be made, and where it does not belleve extensions are needed. It does not seem probable that the Capital Traction Company will pre- sent any testimony before tomorrow morning. John H. Cookman, representing the union motormen and conductors of the Capital Traction Company, is at- tending the hearings to present the position of the trolleymen when the question of wages is taken up. it S e e P the snow on the roof had considerable to do with the cave-in. Both Mr. Healy and Maj. Brown spent the greater part of today ex- amining conditions at the scene of the disaster. They were assisted by en- gineers of the Army and Navy, as well as civilian engineers, who have offered their services to the Com- missioners. Possibly the greatest amount of attention today was being given by them to. the condition of the large main beam which formed the key to the supports for the roof. The fact that this main beam was not bolted to the walls, but rested on so-called seats, does not indicate anything, the engineers explain. They stated that it is perfectly good onsmcerm‘ 80 to place mean beams, and that as a gen- l 1 rule they are so ed in such :{:netun! as_ the En(nkerlmcker. They explained further that it was this big beam bly a blessing t! mhznt’bnlted to the walls. If such been the case, it was said, the :::m would have pulled the walls with it when it crashed. to the pit of the ., auditorfum, thereby causing greater damage and probably result- ingin 8 far greater loss of life. j their good ern committee delibera to Chinese question the belief that the settlement would remove all possibility of misunder- standing between China and Japan. Chinese Are Pleased. Minister Sze declared that the on, speaking in be- half of its government and people, took occasion “to thank you, Mr Chairman, and vou, Mr. Balfour,” for offices, which made pos: sible the settlement of the Shantung question. “Our delegation sought to carry out the views expressed by these states men, in the hope that there would be removed a cause of friction which had caused concern to other powers” he said. the old problem now realized, and the pos: - i ily is to be removed. Speaking for the British, Arthur J. Balfour declared there was no one in the conference who did not rejoice at the “happy settlement” of the Shantung question. The result, he said, was particularly gratifying to Great Britain, because of her interests in the far east. Mr. Balfour declared Great Britain w: her leasehold of Wei-Hai-We Gives Up Territory. Speaking for the British delegation alone, he said, Mr. Balfour pointed out that the termination of “this ions in regard He expressed Shantung dispute turns back to the soyereignity of China a zreat province.” en admid an ouburst of ap- he announced that the Wei- i lease held by Great Britain would be turned back. “Great Britain_proposes,” he said, “to hand back Wei-Hai-Wei to the country in whose frontier it lies. The sovereignty of China will be restored, and when' that is accomplished the province of Shantung will become in the fullest sense an integral part of that country. Mr. Balfour in closing referred to the settlement of the Shantung con- troversy as the crowning work of Chairman Hughes and the represent- atives of Japan and China. Naval Treaty Presented. Secretary Hughes then presented the nav: 1 treaty and began an ex- haustive summary of the document. There was a ripple of applause when Mr. Hughes announced that the old battleship Oregon would be re- tained for non-combatant purposes because the state of Oregon wanted to keep it for historical and senti- mental reasons. Touching on the system of actual scrapping of capital ships, Mr. Hughes sald: “I might call this the denaturing of capital ships” The phrase was greeted with laughter. - M. Sarraut Begins Speech. After Secretary Hu; concluded, M. Sarraut began a speech in French, saying: “Adhesion of ¥rance to the naval armament treaty is “sincere and con- fident.” “There are still mists around' and perhaps there may still be obscurely lurking,” M. Sar- raut said, “and this is precisely what should not be. For if that sort of impression were to persist it would be the worst thing for the grand deed of considerable political and human importance that teday we submit to the meditations of the world, It must not appear that this contract has been won from some of us through a kind of constraint and accepted against their own wishes.” _ State France’s Attitude. M. Sarraut emphasized that the French did not try to dissemble the surprise felt at the conditions under which France was asked to comsent to the treaty, but the French dele- gation yielded when they felt that they should yield, and resisted on the points where they had to do it. “The camouflaged ghost of im- perialistic France, which -German propaganda parades about the uni- verse,-may still deceive a few artless minds, but it will soon evoke _nro;hl‘n‘ e de- put smiles,” M. Sarraut sald. “The Chinese hope of settling | ready to hand back | hanging some darkness left in which dougtc. skepticism and after-thoughts may 1t is the opinion of some officials of {the District that ill-considered legisla- {tion may have had considerable to do {with the apparent increase in crime iboth in this city and elsewhere. i They so expressed themselves today { when asked for opinions regarding the speech made in the House yesterday “’ternoon by Representative Tinkham in which he enumerated the increases in crime here, which he attributed to ithe character of legislation enacted {during recent yea at tne “dictation {of selfish intere: However, these officials did not care to have their views on the subject quoted. “Any one engaged {vention and detection.” one of these officials d today, “will agree that there is an ever-growing restlessness and an apparent contempt for_the {laws within the past few years. While ithere has been an increase in_crime lin the District, as stated by Repre in crime pre- isentative Tinkham in his Tremarks, { there is no reason to be wisled Ly statistics to the extent of believing the District is becoming a hotbed of crime, or that its population is ! generally lawless or that the police {are inetiicient and derelect in their { duties, “While there were forty-four mur- ders in the District during the year ending June 30, last, and twenty- |eight since then, which is an increase {of approximately 20 per cent over the jpreceding vear and is more than four times in excess of the murders com- {mitted in 1910. similar increases. some {even greater, are shown in connection | with numerous other large cities in this country. Also, it is a known fact that the great majority of murders here are those which have been com- mitted in the heat of passion. We have few planned or premeditated or organized murders here, which are so numerous in other large cities” Commissioner Oyster, under whose supervision the police department op- erates, when asked for an expressi {regarding Mr. Tinkham's vie ihe preferred to make a study of the Istatistics and of the subject in its en- tirety before making an answer. e e France the lives of 1,500,000 of her sons and the devastating ravages of her most prosperous regions. Could { France have made to save the world such a frightful sacrifice in order to {be charged now with wishing to recommence the crime which she has lhelped to chastise?" Why France Needs Navy. “If France needs adequate mnaval strength,” he continued, “Is it not be- cause without those naval means she cannot maintain her army, she cannot muster on ner frontiers effectives that are not all found within the mother country, but are scattered abroad in | i i i i distant colonies? ‘Nor can France without warships, insure the safefy of transport vessels that bring to the assistance of the home forces the indispensable colonial contingents, which during the last war Supplied the mother country with nearly a million men.” M. Sarraut pointed out that in 1814, on the eve of the great war, France was occupied in carrying out a naval plan which, if war had not interfered. would have given her now 700,000 tons : of capital ships, but said by the present treaty his country was reduéing to 175.- 000 tons, or. three-fourths. In other words, France, he said, would have pos- sessed since November 1 twenty-eight capital ships, but under the treaty she is now content with five. Abandons Weapon of Attack. “Thus does France, represented as an imperialistic country, abandon the very weapon of attack which is_the essential arm‘of aggresslve miiitar- ism,” he declared. After emphasizing that France's spontaneous approval of the Root resolutions. undertaking to end the infamous practices used by Germany in submarine warfare, was s true in- dication of the real France, M. Sar- raut declared: . “A future of peace and happiness was never sought more earnestly by anybody than by France, who has been through the ages the indefatiga- ble &un:zn of justice and humaa struction of German ambition cost’laws - 3 §