Evening Star Newspaper, November 16, 1922, Page 1

WEATHER. Fair and slightly colder tonight; to- morrow fair. Temperature for twenty-four hours ended at 2 p.m. today: Highest, 60, at 2 p.m. yesterday; lowest, 4 Full report on page 21. 5, at 7 a.m. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 28 = No. 28,689, post office Washington, ntered as sacond-class matter D. C. BONAR LAW WINS MAJORITY IN CLOSE BRITISH ELECTION Latest Returns Show 305 of Necessary 308 Conserva- tive Votes Certain. 104 DIVISIONS STILL OUT; ONE MINISTER DEFEATED Arthur Henderson, Labor Leader, ! Loses—Laborite Gains Feature of Test at Polls. | 'y the Associated Press, LONDON, November 16.—Winston Uhiurehill, former secretary for the tolonles, wax defeated for re-elec- €on for parlament from the Dun- dee division. DON, es seem certain to have a ma- Jority over all the other parties in the new house of commons. It was announced at 4 o'clock this afternoon that 305 conservatives had| been elected. The number necessary | for a majority is 308, and there were | 104 divisions still to be heard from. | The standing of the various parties at 4 pm.: Conservatives, 303; liberals! (Asquith), 47: labor, 113; nflliun:\l7 liberals (Georgeite), 34; other par- ister of Health Defented. r Arthur Griffith-Boscawen, min- | v of health in the Bonar Law cab- | inet, was defeated by his liberal op- | ponent in the Taunton divieion of | Somerset. Sir Robert Sanders, conservative, the present minister of agriculture. elected for the Bridgewater ion of Somerset. He polled 11,240 was votes; W. E. Morse. liberal. 11219, | «nd Lieut. Col. T. S. B. Willlams, la- | Lor, 1.598 votes. Postmaster General herlain, conservativ for the Ladywood division of Birming- | ham. with 13,032 votes against 10,589 | votes for Dr. R. Duns labor. S. Amery, consirvative, the L. C. S first lord of the admiral ed for the Sparkbrook div i Birmingham. He polied 13,235 votes | and liberal opponent, T. Foster Duggan, 7.283 votes, and the co-opera- | tive " candidate, E. W. Hampton. | 6310 votes. Home Secretary Elected. In the West Birmingham election ! Mr. Chamberlain's vote was 15403 against F. Smith, labor, 9.599. Mr. ! Chamberlain was returned ynopposed | as a coalition unionist in the last: elections. W. C. Bridgeman, conservative, the present home secretary, was elected in the Oswestry division of Shrop- | shire. He received 12.837 votes as against 6.660 for Capt. R. Sidebottom, liberal, and 6105 for Tom Morris, labor. Out of thirty-three woman nominces only two had been returned up to this afternoon. Conservative headquarters con- tinued to take an optimistic view of the outcome, clalming the country districts would increaxe the conserva- | tive lead, but it was noticeable that| none of the conservative managers ventured to go much beyond this. Conservative headquarters, how- ever. stated that so far as voting in parliament was concerned, the con- servatives were secure against the labor party because they could rea- ~onably ook for support from the in- dependent conservatives, the Asquith- ians and the Georgeites. Gain Seat in Cambridge; The conservatives gained a seat in Cambridgeshire, where Harold Gray, the conservative candidate, polled 9.846 votes against A. E. Stubbs, labor, | h 9.167, and E. S. Montagu, liberal, with 6,942, Mr. Montagu, who formerly was secretary for india, had previously held this seat as a coalition liberal, having polled 12,497 votes agalnst Stubbs’ 6,686 in the 1918 general elec- tions. Austen Chamberlain, leader of the house of commons in the Lioyd George regime, was returned by a large ma- jority over his labor party opponent in the west division of Birmingham. Charles A. McCurdy, once minister of food and later chief coalition whip. was returned for Northampton on the coalition liberal ticket, with 19,974 votes over Miss Margaret Bondfleld, labor, with 14 . Vivian, liberal, with 3, Labor Gains a Feature. Extensive gains for labor and numerous loss for the conservatives | and the national (Lloyd Georgelan) | liberals feature the returns. The poll was remarkably heavy. In many constituencies more than 80 and in some cases more than 90 per cent of the electors voted, a very large proportion being women. The en- thusiasm of the women was particu- larly noticeable in London, where nelther fog nor household duties suf- ficed to keep them indoors. The laborites' rally to the polls showed thoroughness of party organization | and a keenness to carry their men to victory. Thelr successes were most striking in the northern industrial | areas, especlally in Glasgow, where Eeat after seat fell to their attack. Conservatives Suffer Severely. 1t_is noteworthy that their tri- umphs came in the constituencles where they were regarded as most likely, and it is not expected that today’s later returns will show similar gains as the rural districts are heard from. The conservatives suffered very merious losses, these being only slightly fewer than labor’s gains. The majorities by which the con-! servatives were returned at the last elections are also much reduced | where they were re-elected, the case | of Prime Minister Bonar Law being ! typical. The premier vesterday was re. yeturned over the laborite candidate (Continued on Page b, Column 3.) —_— Guilty Verdict In Los Angles Hammer Murder By the Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, Calif., November 16. —A verdict of murder in the second degree was returned by the jury to- day in the case of Mrs. Clara Phillips, charged with beating Mrs. Alberta Meadows to death with a hammer. a |ton. Wilhelm Cuno Accepts Task Of Forming PremierOneof Chief Figures in Euro- pean Trade. Has Borne Leading Part in After-War Conferences. By the Associated Press. BERLIN, November 16.—Wilhelm Cuno, general manager of the Hamburg- American Steamship line, has accepted the task of forming a cabinet to succeed the Wirth ministry, it was unofficially | {announced this afternoon. Wilhelm Cuno. who has undertaken the formation of a new German minls- try, is one of the outstanding in- dustrial figures of the country who has within recent months become increas- ingly prominent in political affairs. He has been chiefly important in recent years as general manager of the Ham- burg-American Steamship lines. During the peace negotfations at Paris Herr Cuno was among the German technlcal delegates. Herr Cuno came prominently into political notice in 1920, when he was urged to accept the post of minister of “finance in the reorganization of the cabinet. His refusal to act re- sulted in much criticism. Later he came to the United States and con- forred with officials of the United Stotes Shipping Board at Washing- The visit to this country is sald to have brought about a working agreement between the German and American shipping lines. He was again prominent at the Brussels financial conference in 1920, and was a member of the committee of fifteen tu evolve counter pre posals to the allied reparation de nands. Again last year he was PRESIDENT DRAFTS SUBSIDY MESSAGE | Paper to Be Read Before Cabinet Tomorrow for Final Advice. PLANS EARLY PASSAGE Exectitive Confers With Mondell on Necessary Preliminaries to Push Program Through. President Harding virtually has completed the rough draft of the Message he I8 to personally deliver at the joint session of Congress next Tuesday, it was learned today at the ‘White House. It is understood that the paper will be read to the cabinet when it meets at the White House tomorrow, after which the executive will enter upon the task of putting it in definite form. He aiready has conferred with a num- ber of Congress leaders and several of his departmental advisers, and, ac- cording to those who have talked with the President, the message will be devoted almost entirely to the pend- ing merchant marine bill. Those who are in a position to|10 o'clock before maintenance of way | clude as its know say the message will-be brief, but that its ianguage will be vigorous and strictly to the points at issue. It is considered likely that a number of other important matters which the President is known to favor bringing to the atténtion of this Congress, will be omitted from this message in which event he will include them in the annual message he will forward to Congress upon its convening in regular session, December 4. To Push Appropriations. There are those who feel certain that In next Tuesday's message the President will urge also the early preparation of the governmental ap- propriation bills and the enactment as soon as possible of certain amend- ments to the transportation act. President Harding today conferred with Representative Mondell of Wyo- ming. republican leader of the House, regarding the necessary preliminaries to get the administration’s legisla- tive program acted upon. Within the last day or so the President has conferred with Chairman Lasker of the United States Shipping Board, Senator Curtls of Kansas, republican whip in the upper body, and Senator Warren of Wyoming, besides mem- bers of his cabinet. It is intimated that Chairman Lasker will attend further conferences with the Presi- dent between now and the time he fina'.v completes that portion of his message referring to the merchant marine. The White House makes no secret of the fact that the President will be especially insistent regarding the early handling of the merchant ma- rine legislation when Congress reas- sembles next week. There are those of the administration group who be- lleve that this legislation will be brought Lefore the House under a special rule by the end of next week and that it will become a law before the end ef this Congress. Harrison Assails Plan. Senator Pat Harrison, Mississippi, one of the minority leaders, cannot un- derstand why the administration sup- porters should feel so optimistic re- garding the outcome of this legislation He sald today that the voice of the people, as spoken at the elections on November 7, was sufficlent to con- vince any one that the public in gen- eral is not in favor of the merchant marine. He said it was one of the issues of the election and that the referendum showed conclusively that a ship subsidy is not wanted. ‘The Mississippl senator explained, however, that at the present time he can see no good reason for the mi- nority using its strength to block the administration’s program at the spe- cial session or even at the next reg- ular session. Senator Harrison said also that he doubted very much if the plan for the reorganization of the government departments, as prepared by Walter F. Brown, chairman of the joint con- gressional committ on reorganiza- tion, will get before Congress for ac- tion during this special session. - ¥ 2 - s y - v The Foening Star. WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION German Cabinet 1 | | | CARL JOSEPH WILHELM CUNO. urged to enter the cabinet, this time as minister of foreign affairs, and later he was mentioned as possible } German ambassador to Washington. Late last year Herr Cuno was re- ported to have resigned from some of the large shipping and_ industrial concerns of which Hugo Stinnes was the main figure. Herr Cuno again visited this rountrY! last summer, and soon after his return to Berlin his name was prominently | put forward as foreign minister. This report persisted_up to the jast few days, and has developed into hi: assuming the tatk of forming the new ministry. He was born at Suhl, Thur- ingia, July 2, 1876, After studying at Heldelberg and Berlin he was awarded a diploma in jurisprudence by the Uni- versity of Breslau. Later he practiced law in Leipzig and Berlin, and in 1907 | entered the finance department of the | rman government. He married Martha Wirts of Hamburg, and the couple have fou: ren. RAL BRIDGE BURKS - TVING P TRAIS |Damage to Structure Re- quires 3 Railroads to Make Long Detours. THREE DAYS FOR REPAIRS Damage to Span Extensive—At- lantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Affected. Fire partially destroyed the quarter- {mile bridge of the main line of the | Richmond, Fredericksburg and Po- tomac railroad at Neabsco Creek, Va., early today. Traffic is tied up not only on that road, but also on the Atlantic Coast | Line and the Seaboard Afr Line, which use the R.. F. & P. tracks. When the tralns resume scheduled time out of Washington late today, they will face| a two-hour delay between Washing- | ton and Richmond, because of the ne- | cessity of a detour occasioned by re- routing. Exact cause of the fire is not yet determined. It started at about 4 o'clock this morning. It ‘was after jmen and roadway workers had ex- ;tinguished the blaze. J. B. Morde-| cai, agent for the R., F. and P. line at Richmond, in a long-distance tele- phone talk this morning said that, although a technical report was be-| ling awaited by officials from en-| gineers on the scene, it is estimated; that two or three days will be re<| quired to restore traffic to normal on Adopt Two-Hour Delay. In the meantime there will be a gen- eral two-hour schedule delay faced by trains of that line leaving Wash- ington for the south. This is caused by a detour over tracks of the South- ern rallway and the Chesapeake and Ohio route between Alexandria and Doswell, Va., which is practically the lonly way in which the trains of the three lines affected can now reach Richmond. £ No casualties from the fire thus far have been reported. The scene was a trestle bridge over a creek and ad- Jjoining marshland almost a quarter of a mile in width. Definite reports received in Richmond thus far de- clared positively that the north and south bound tracks would have to be relaid on the trestle and that a large part of the trestle would have to be rebuilt. Estimates of the damage ASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1922—FORTY-TWO PAGES. CHURCH MERGER BEHIND PLAN FOR GREATER EDIFIGE New York Avenue Church May Unite With Covenant ' in Building Proposition. TWO CONGREGATIONS ONCE WERE TOGETHER Separation Came in 1885 When Downtown Building Was Found to Be Too Small. There is a possibility that the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and the Church of the Covenant, two of the best known churches of the National Capital, may merge. There has already been a confer- ence of tnose favorable to the idea, which is directly in line with the ex- pressed desire of the general assem- bly of the Presbyterian Church for a large and representative church of that denomination here. The plan Will, of course, have to be worked out, considered and, finally, ratified. not only by the two ocongregations, but by the presbytery. There has been a special committee f the presbytery working for a year past on the plan of establishing | within the District a great Presby- terfan church which would be a eredit | not only to the capital city, but to Presbyterianism throughout the United | States. ( Should these two churches unite it! would mean the construction of a new | and monumental edifice on a new and | advantageous site. The New York avenue church, the older of the two, | finds its present location undesirable owing to the encroachment of busi- ness establishments. . Furthermore it is a flock without a shepherd, the, place of Rev. Dr. Wallace Radclifte. | who recently resigned, having never been filled. It is interesting to note in con- nection with this plan of unfcn that the Church of the Covenant, estab- lished In 1885, was an offshoot of the | New York Avenue church. A merger | would, therefore, be a reunion only. | At that time it became necessary for the New York Avenue Church elther to enlarge or for a portion of the congregation to branch out for them- selves. Under the leadership of the iate Justice Willlam Strong and other men prominent in affairs, both inside and outside the church, about -120 | members of the downtown congrega- tion formed the new church and built the imposing edifice, with its great tower, at the intersection of Con- necticut avenue, N and 18th streets northwest. The separation of - this portion of the older church was ac- complished with the greatest amica- bility, and the most cordial relations have always existed between the two. Spire Destroyed by Fire. It s not generally known that the New York Avenue Church was itself the result of a merger of the old F _Street and Second Presbyterian churches. The present church bulld- ing was completed In 1859. For years jt had a spire, but this was destroyed in a fire more than a score of years ago and has never been re- placed. It is nationally famous for having teen the place of worship of Presi- dent Abraham Lincoln. This fact would Tecelve appropriate considera- tion in the planning of the new edi- fice, provided the hoped-for union goes through. Not only would Lin- coln’s pew be removed bodily to the new edifice, but the latter would in- most prominent feature a memorial tower for the martyred President. Covenant Cl urch Popular. Both churches are nationally fa- mous as having been attended by em- inent men. Among those who at- tended services regularly in the Church of the Covenant have been President Harrison, Vice Presidents Hobart and Marshall and Secretaries Hay, Blaine and Daniels. Secretary Blaine was buried from this church, Walter Dam- rosch having officiated at the organ on that occaslon. The beauty and impressiveness of this church, both inside and out, are well known all over | the country. Considered to be of great size at the time it was bullt, in 1887, spacious galleries were added during the world war to accommo- date the greatly increased ;number of worshipers, and it has bedn found necessary to retain these in place. During that conflict the church made a specfalty of war service work and a reputation therefor which was car- ried all over the country. 3 The old F Street Church, one of the contingents which went to make up the New York Avenue Church, was established in 1803. Rev. Dr. Phine D. Gurley became its pastor in 1853, The Second Church was organized in 1830. The union between the two was consummated in 1859, and Dr. the main line route to Richmond. ' H (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) Is Johnny going to get a nice green slice of the Kirkside golf course for a playground or is father going to keep it for himself? The women backing Johnny say, “Yes,” and the golfers at the club, “No.’ It's a brave bunch that steps on the dignity of a golfer and a still braver crew that tries to take his course away from him. And it ap- pears that the Chevy Chase Recrea- tion Club exhibited this fearlessness. ‘Women Stake Clatm. A few days ago as some members on the course started down the falrway they noticed a number of stakes planted with accuracy almost in the center of the course. Inquiry revealed that a “bunch of women,” in the language of the caretaker, had selected that as a playground for the children of the Chevy Chase section. *The air became as blue as the golfers and Hubert L. Bis- selle, president of the club, with the authorization of the of governors, yesterday marched up to the Unilom| ground” Drive Slices ; Kirkside as Golfers Yell “Fore!”’ (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) Trust building, to the office of the Chevy Chase Land Company, owner of the course, and asked of the president, Ed- ward J. Stellwagen: “How come When informed that the prize part of the land making up the course had been chosen by the women for a community playground Mr. Stell- wagen gulped. A conversation fol- lowed and when Mr. Bisselle picked up his hat and coat he had the as- surance that no one would interfere With the oourse until the Chevy: Chase Land Company got ready to sell it and then the whole tract would go at once. Promised Ground. ‘The other half of the story is this: In June the Chevy Chase Recreation Club, numbering about thirty-five ‘women, was organized. As time drew on the club decided to establish a community playground which would be supported by the, residents of that section. Accordingly, Mrs. Frank P. Wilcox on DEMAND CHIESE FREE FRIRNERS | American and Four Other) Diplomats Call for Release ', of Missionaries. KIDNAPERS EX-SOLDIERS | Peking May Reinstate Brigands in Army in Order to Check Out- lawry in Honan. 1 By the Associated Press. HANKOW, Province of Hupeh, Chi November 16.—Amerfe British and Fremch residents of the province of Homan, alarmed at i the inerease of lawleasness and the appearance of am apparently or- annised eampaign against foreign- ers, have appealed jointly to their legations for protection PEKING, November 16.—Measures for the immediate relief of the for. eign misslonaries kidnaped by Chi. nese bandits were demanded of the Peking government today by the American, British, Italian, French and Swedieh ministers, who acted un- der instructions of thelr governments. The five miniwters, presenting a joint note, called in person and in-| formed executives of the Chinese re- public that the continued retention of the missionaries in captivity would not be tolerated by the powers. The powers, it was sald, would be com- pelled to act drastically unless the missionaries were released and guar- antees given for the future safety of the hundreds of other missionaries in China. Vigorous Language Used. ! The note was couched in vigorous language. It declared that the miu-: slonaries were carrying on their work in the interior of China under treaties which had been violated by the abductors. It is understood that Washington instructed Jacob Gould Schurman, the American minister, to impress upon China the seriousness of the bandits’ activities in detaining foreigners for political motives. Dr. Schurman pro- ted only in behalf of the two f:l’:ur?cln c{ptlves, but joined the oth- er ministers in a general complaint against interference with the treaty right of missionaries. List of Hostages. ‘Besides the Americans, the captives now include one Greek. one French citizen, one British subject, one Swedish and one Italian. The French minister represented the missing Greek. The Italian hostage was iden- tified as Father Grimaldi, who was captured in Anhwel province and tak- en into Honan province, where about 10,000 outlaws have been holding a large area. The others all are de- tained in Honan. The bandits have seiezed the vari- ous nationals with a view of forcing king government to incorporate lt‘r‘:: Phemdl.;l‘ In the regular Chinese army: Most of the brigands are dis. missed soldlers who want reinstate- ment. robably will be forced to mg:cll‘:nt‘o gha bandits’ demand in or- der to satisfy the powers. Do You Remember “Mister Dooley”? HE IS COMING BACK. Finley Peter Dunne, author of the stories about this famous char- acter, has written a new series. The first story appears in the Magazine of Next Sunday’s Star Order your copy from news- “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star’s carrier system covers every city block and the regular edition is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Net Circulation, 89,598 Protests Chinese Bandits’ Seizures JACOB GOULD SCHURMAY, American minister to Chin ND “OLD WAGON" NJERSEY NURDER iDiscovery of Loose End of ' Evidence Strengthens Mrs. Gibson’s Story. By tlie Associated Press. NEW BRUNSWICK. N. J.. November 16.—Another loose end of the tangled evidence thread in the Hall-Mills mur- der case was gathered today, accord- ing to investigators, who announced that they had found and positively identified the rickety old wagon which {Mrs. Jane Gibson, “the pig woman" claims she followed through DeRus- jsey’s lane the night of the tragedy. Discovery of the wagon gave added strength, prosecuting authorities claimed, to the story told by Mrs. Gib- son, who said she witnessed the dou- ble murder under the crab apple tree on Phillips’ farm. Ehe claimed she was seeking corn thieves when she set out on her mule the night of the murders. She pursued the wagon for several miles, decided it did not carry the thief and was returning home, she said, when her attention was attract- ed by the scene under the tree. ‘Without minimizing the quality of evidence he expects to present the Som- erset county grand jury next week. Deputy Attorney General Mott has is- sued a statement to the effect that his duty will be ended when he lays all avallable evidence before the grand jury. He sald he resented statements that he was attempting to force an in- dictment in the case. Mr. Mott had been quoted several times as saying he would obtain the in- dictment of a woman and two men. No decision has been announced on the re- quest of Mrs. Frances Stevens Hall, ‘widow of the slain rector, that she be allowed to appear before the grand jury. GEN. LUKE WRIGHT NEAR DEATH AT HIS HOME WEEKS SEES WAR DUTIES EXPANDED | Training of Citizens Needed | as Well as Army and Navy, He Says. OPENS CONFERENCE HERE Gen. Pershing Among Those at Three-Day Session at Con- tinental Hall. Declaring that the world war shat- tered the illusion that national de- fense was sufficiently secured by the ! maintenance of a xmall navy and di- {minutive army, Secretary of War Weeks today formally opened the | War Department's three-day confer- {ence on the training of the vouth of | the United States, ut Memorlal Conti- inental Hall. Representatives of wel- | fare. physical improvement, patriotic, educational and like organizations from various parts of the country are in attendance. Gen. John J. Pershing, chief of stafl of the Army. and Brig. Gen. William Lassiter, presiding officer at the con- | ference, also spoke regarding the {ulating patriotism and developing the physical fitness of the country’s man power. “National strength is the underly- ing topic of this conference,” sald Secretary Weeks. “We are assembled to consider the mental. moral and physical fitness of our people and to plan how we can all work together lmore intelligently and_effectively to attain our common purpose—better citizenship. We are interested pri- marily in the oncoming generation, for upon them certainly rests the fu- ture of our nation and perhaps in a larger sense than we may realize at | this moment the future of our civili- jzation and the world. ting that those of us who are par- development of the vouth of our na- tion in the periods when mind and body and soul are being formed jshould confer together for the pur- jposes of surveying the situation and iadvancing well considered plans for the development of our future citizen- i ship, Subnormal Fopulati “The now familiar statistice of the draft, confirmed by numerous other studies by industries, life insurance companies and medical associations, indicate that about half of our popu- ation is physically subnormal. The industrial losses due to preventable illness are estimated at nearly $2,000.- 000,000 a year, to say nothing of the suffering _and discomfort involved, You can imagine the possible effect of such a condition upon a nation waging a war for its life, with all the hardship and privations which call for a maximum physical effort and without the support of allies to sus- tain it. “National health is so fundamental that it can be taken as a fairly good index of the virility of a nation. His- (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) Local Merchants Know that nearly everybody in Washington “reads” The Star, and it is, therefore, nat- ural that they should use the greatest volume of their “store news” in The Star. Here is what they did yes- terday: Former Secretary of War Has Been = 1 More Than Local Display. Week. S R R SR T3/ MEMPHIS, Tenn.,, November 16— Gen. Luke Wright, former Secretary of War, who has been ill at his home here for more -than a week, was re- ported in a critical condition early today. An erroneous report that Gen. ‘Wright had died during the night was denied. Gen. Wright had been in a critical condition for nearly a week, and for several days had been reported in a semi-conscious condition. Physicians attending him had held out virtually no hope for his recovery, and it was generally believed that his death was only a matter of a short time. Com- munication with members of his fam- lly, today brought information that . erfit still was alive, but ex- tremely % Second newspaper. ... 33,688 Third newspaper..... 19407 Fourth newspaper 9,129 Fifth newspaper..... 1948 Total of four others combined .......... 64,172 Star’s excess 11,215 The latest newspaper cen- sus shows that the circulation of The Star, daily and Sun- day, in the Homes of Wash- ington is practically double that of its nearest cotempo- rary. 5 !'War Department’s program for stim- | It is most fit-| ticularly charged with the care and | " TWO CENTS. PRESIDENT ASKED FOR QUICK AGTION ONRECLASSIFYING Federal Employes’ Union Ap- peals for Sterling-Lehl- bach Bill. SAY DELAY IS BLOCKING WORKINGS OF CONGRESS Legislation Declared Needed for Intelligent Consideration of De- partmental Appropriations. The necessity for immediate action upon the Sterling-Lehlbach bill for re- classification of the federal civil service was brought to President Harding's at- tention today by the executive council of the National Federation of Federal Employes, composed of elected repre- sentatives of government workers in all federal services In all parts of the United States. I “Congress cannot proceed intelligently to its task of appropriating for the ex- ecutive depar{ments of the government until 2 final action has been taken jupon this bill,”" the federation officials urged in a statement left at the White House today. Text of Appenl. The statement brought to the atten- tion of the President follows: “AS A measure of efficlency and economy in administration, this bill is second to none that will come before the Congress at its next sesslons. As a measure of justice and fair play to the | Rovernment workers, it is equally im- | portant if the government. in the treat- {ment of its personnel, is to rank with | the modern-minded empioyes of the { United States. Held Essential to Congress. “We urge further that the adoption of this reclassification bill is essential {to the transaction of public business yin the short session of Songress. | While the bill is pending Songress {cannot proceed intelliigently to its { task of appropriating for civil service | salaries and is faced with the neces- sity in respect to all supply bills of icontinuing the present cumbersome system of salary appropriations with 1all its inequalities. wastefulness and injustice. The Sterling-Lehlbach bill classifies the service by duties with rates of pay according to skill, train- {Ing. responsibility and efficiency, and provides for administration on a uni- form basis of equal pay for equal work. —Appropriating for the service as thus provided for. Congress would be able not only to know the just re- quirements of the departments of the government, but to malintain & close {check upon’ the returns for its ex- penditures, ® Asked for Ald. “We respectfully ask, Mr. President, that you present this matter to Con- gress in yout message to the special session. The Sterling-Lehlach bill was | passed by the House of Representa- tives last December by a vote of 243 to 65. It was reported favorably, with some amendments, by the Senate committee on civil service last Feb- ruary. Since that date it has been in a subcommittee of the Senate appro- priations committee awaiting action on the compensation schedules. “We respectfully submit that action should be 1o longer deferred, and we respectfully urge that you bring the matter forcibly to the attention of Congress.” (Signed) Luther C. Stew- ard, hington. D. C. John Fitzgerald, Brooklyii. N. vice president; W. C. Carpenter, Spo- kane, Wash.. second vice president; Gertrude M. McNally. Washington, D. C.. third vice president: M. J. Hines | Leavenworth, Kan., fourth vice presi dent; S. Tyson Kinsell, Philadelphi: Pa. fifth vice president: Charles L. Wiegand, Baltimore, Md. sixth vice | presiden{: W. T. Scuily, St. Louis, Mo., : seventh vice president: L. J. Tierney. | 8t. Paul, Minn.. eighth vice president; Lee Whitney, Milwaukee, Wis.. ninth vice president, and James P. Me- Keon, Washington. D. C.. secretary- treasurer. : SMOOT TO CALL COMMITTEE. | Senator Doubts Reclassification Law Possible by March 4. Senator Smoot of Utah, chairman of a subcommittee of the appropria- tions committee, handling the Ster- ling-Lehlbach reclassification bill aid today he proposed to call the ubcommittee together to continue the hearings on the bill at an early date. Whether any reclassification degisla- tion can be put through before the close of the short session. March 4. Senator Smoot said was doubtful. He indicated, however, that the appro- priations committee probably would be able to report a reclassification measure to the Senate. The bill has already passed the House and has received the approval of the Senate clvil service committee, headed by Senator Sterling. Senator Smoot, however, has an- other reclassification measure of his own and it remains to be seen which plan, the Smoot plan or the Sterling- Lehlbach plan, is to be adopted by the appropriations committee. Unless there is reclassification leg- islation, Senator Smoot aid, the $240 bonus for government employes will be continued for another year in all probability. —_— DIES OF APOPLEXY. Burt A. Grist Stricken While in District Building. Burt A. Grist, 702 E street north- east, dropped to the floor in reom 120 of the District building this afternoon at 2 o'clock, when inquiring about his tax bill. He was stricken by apo- plexy. On arrival at Emergency Hos- pital at 2:20 he was pronounced dead by Dr. Charles Schuits. Grist was an employe at the Department of Com- merce for a long period and ranked high In local Masonic circles. He was past commander of Orfent Com- mandery, Knights Templar. e PETITION IN BANKRUPTCY. George B. Walker, auto salesman, of 710 19th street northwest, today filed a petition in voluntary bank- ruptey, "ée lists hiz debts at $60,638 and estimates his assets at $300,, .