Evening Star Newspaper, December 7, 1922, Page 1

WEATHER. Rain and warmer tonight and te- morrow; lowest temperatu above freezimg. T twenty-four hours ¢t Highest, lowest, mperature ure tonight for Entered as secon o. post olice Washington, 1d-class matter D. C. RKEY STAN BETWEEN 2 FIRES ON DARDANELLES laclined to Accept Allied Terms, But Fears Russian Army in East. LENIN, LIKE THE CZARS, S| tions and Dark Lausanne Are Clearing. By thy L1, i LAUSANNI Turk- ish dele a st confer- | today faced tie ditiicult problom | iding whether . in formu- Jating her plan for contrel of the Dar- | dunelles, should cast Ler lot with Rus s or with the entente powers and the United States. Turkey's ons | for the solution of the perplexing straits | question will be made public tomorrow at the Hotel Du Chateau. Tsmet Pu and his formulating their plans. were fa in sharp differences in opinion hetween Great Britain and Russia in the di cussion of the Dardanelles question. urkey. on the one hand, goes over the British camp the stern she te R army 1ssian mtier: if, on sides with Russi; com- plete control she | fears the Brit Impressed by Curzon The Turks thus far have temporized by ng that they favered M. Tehit- cherin’s plan, but they took this atti-| tude before they had heard the solution | wifered by the powers. Pasha and his associates wers the plan pres terday on behalf of t was approved in gene ate- ment of the positien of the United | States. | The Turks apparently cannot forget that Russia is s traditional | enemy and that Premier 1 gov- ernment may be not less coveteous of | Constantinople and the ts than ! was Russia in the d the czars. Sees Protection in Numbers. Turkey has always found protection in numbers. She has plaved the Eu- ! ropean countries ag to her great ady again, and she he fate to Russia alone while the rest] of Europe, supported by the United States, opposes an effort to turn the Black sea into a Russian lake. M. Tchitcherin, fishting hard to de- feat Lord Curzon's plans, urged that it would enable a Abination powers like the entente to Keep great navy in the Black 4 member of the combination maintain there as n ny ship N longed to Russia, or whatever Black the ntage time es to trust her| sea power happened to have largest navy at the time. ye on Pockethook. Turkey, howeve ssia’s plan. her pocket M. ¢Tchitcherin's would be forced to lay for a fleet and for fortificatio: and as she has no money she would ! prefer to have some one clse bear the expense of policing the straits. Ismet Pasha_is in constant commu- cation with Mustapha Kemal Pasha. holic tion betw s «¢leared con Capitulations Worst Tangle. The qu pitulations is in AN eVen Wors hin the i » t at titude to- vthing that | would bring her sovereignly into: question. The squall over the Darda- | nelles has been weathered without | er, the prosy s seem much ! brighter for an agreement on princi- that will satis parties. ! The various sub, ing daily to thre 15 of the but the real work is largely mplt conference amohg th gates. qu in private ! various dele- | Arm, Arm. Arm, Sayx Tchiteherin. The allied proposal for the reg tion of the Dardan the perpetuation of trou 2 stead of pe would impose on Ri the ne 1y to arm., . arm,’ ared Tehitcherin at the confer- during his comment on the en- | tente plan. The text of Tehitche ssued by the asw: “And that | se of the Wash- | - idea_of thel h, | W ashington conferenc un- happily. she was not invited. We will | be happy to participate in any uni- versal accord on general naval disarm- ament.” —_— THREE SHOP STRIKERS CONVICTED OF ASSAULT Robert W. Sisson, Maurice Sullivan and Earl D. Dean, striking shopmen | of the Washington Terminal, were | convicted this afternoon by a jury in | Criminal Division 2 of an assault with a dangerous weapon on James R. Keeton, an employe of the Pullman | company. last September, during the | {rallways in that city. | thirty seconds apart. But handling th Crowds in the rash hour is the real | problem. @ ¢ Foening WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ———— WASHING DING \Mrs. Woodhouse Wins $465,000| From Husband’s Rich Parents Jury Out 40 Hours in $1,000,000 Balm Suit. Defense Takes Steps to Fight the Verdict. / GTON., Vt. December 7.— rd of $465.000 was made today jury which 0.000 claim of Mrs. Dorrit Stevens odhouse against her wealthy parents aw, Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo E. Wood- se of New York and this city, for the alienation of the affections of her husband, Douglas Woodhouse. he case had consumed five Weeks in aring. | ie plaintiff. daughter of a family modest circumstances, who were h in | neighbors of the wealthy Woodhouses | during the i here, contended that her parents-at-law { Meeting with Douglas 1 inspired and supported her hus- band in a separation from her that led to his ng to Reno to tablish a residence as the basis for a divorce. She had them, she submitted, and never had been given adequate recognition as the wife of their son. $65,000 Punitive Damage. Of the $465.000 damages awarded, the jury directed that $400,000 be ered actual damages and $6 s a punitive and exemplar; amage award. 3 Steps _were taken immediately by the defense counsel to appeal the The jury that returned the verdict for more than | had deliberated over the es- | been snubbed by | | : | i | DORRIT STEVENS ‘WOODHOUSE. composed largely of farmers. | “Mrs. Woodhouse took the stand trial and told of her Woodhouse, son of the president of the Merchants' | National Bank of this city, his ar- dent woolng and their marriage after he thad gone to an Army camp in 1918, [ In tetters read at_the trial. Wood- house, addressing his_wife as “Cutie | Pie,” wrote reports that his parents objected to her were false Under cross-examination Mrs. Woodhouse i denied that she had urged Woodhouse | to marry her. She said that her hus- band left her in November, 1919, ithout money or other means of support until sh® obtained alimony of $100 a month. The defense was a general denial | that Woodhouse's parents had at at ment between him and his wife. SENATOR COUZENS STREET CAR LINES The people of the District would be better off if they, through the Dis- trict government. ran the street rail- ways i Washington, according to cach other | Senator James Couzens of Michigan, | and | former mayor of Detroit, who con- | ducted and won a dramatic fight for government ownership of the street The Michigan senator also suggested that the peo- ple here would be better off if they ran their own affairs, instead of hav- ing them handled by Congress. Senator Couzens. who took the oath of office in the Senate today, succeed- ing Senator Truman H. Newberry, re- ed, expressed interest in the Na- tional Capital. He recalled that while police commissioner in Detroit he had kept in rather close touch with certain lines of the District govern- | ment, through the late Maj. Raymond Pullman, superintendent of the merto- politan police. He said that he had been favorably impressed with what he then knew of the District govern- | ment. When the street railway situation here was called to his attention, Sena- tor Couzens said the government ! should buy the street railways and operate them. This will be the best solution. he said, of the situation which now confronts the people here, with one company making excess profits at the fare established by the Public Utilities Commission and the other company barely scraping along. | Tie wanted to know why the com- panies were not put upon different rates of fare. Five-Cent Fare in Detroit. Senator Couzens said that in Detroit the street car fare is now 6 cents, and that it had never gone above 6 cents. “We had to meet a problem there of the factories turning out’thousands of workers_at the same hour each after- noon,” he aid. “The street cars run We are trying to have the closed on a nv.aggered-ho;;r’ the factories. ¢ schedule, so that not all of the wol ers will need transportation at | same time. If the Michigan senator goes on the District committee of the Senate, as | it has been suggested in a number of | quarters he should, there is every reason to believe that he will make a careful study of District affairs and give attention to legislation needed by the District. In appearance Senator Couzers is a successful business man. He has a strong personality, such as undoubt- - i edly would make his influence felt in any gathering. IRISHDEPUTY SLAI, VICE SPEAKER OF DALL IS WOUNDED Ry the Associated Press. DUBLIN, December 7.—President Cosgrave announced to the parlia- ment this , afternoon that Deputy Sean Hales had been shot and killed {and Deputy Patrick O'Maille,'who was {deputy speaker, had_been wounded while they were on their way to the parliament session. The two victims of the shooting Pennsy Grants $1,800,000aYear tempted to bring about an estrange- FAVORSD.COWNED " eatse 050,000 By the Associated Fress. CHICAGO, December T7.—Wage increases totaling approximately $1.800.000 annually for 30,000 main- tenance of way employes of the Pennsylvania railroad system have been granted. John G. Rodgers, vice president of the northwest- ern region of the Pennsylvania. announced here today. The increases ranged from 1 cent an _hour for carpenters’, painters’ and masons’ helpers to 5 cents an hour for assistant bridge and building foremen, and will be retroactive to November 1. The adjustment was reached after -a_scrles of conferences be- tween the general managers of the efour regions of the road and the Pennsylvania System Fraternity, a company organization. The Pennsylvania refused to set- tle with the Federated Siep Crafts when their recent st®ke was terminated on some roads, and in- stead organized the company or- ganization. ‘The emploves then elected representatives to negoti- ate all differences with the man- agement. i 1 i 'SEEKS TOBLOCK - BUREAU SHAKEUP Representative Fred N. Zihlman of Maryland, chairman of:the House la- | bor committee, is preparing to raise a point of order in the House against the item in the Treasury Department approproation bill which proposes to replace hand plate printing presses with power printing presses at the bureau of engraving and printing, and which directs the discharge of 218 plate printers and assistants. Chairman Madden of the House ap- propriations committee, which pro- poses this change. addressed the House on the subject today, setting forth the economies that will result and emphasizing that there has been a continual labor fight for thirty-six years to prevent the installation of labor saving devices in the bureau of engraving and printing. Representative Zihiman sald today that he stands ready to do his utmost to prevent the passage of thi legislation which has been onto an appropriation bill.” Called Doubtful Ecomomy. The supplanting of skilled hand (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) DYSTER 1S AROLSED BY HANDBOOK CASES Failure of the District attorney'’s office to co-operate with the police de- | partment in its crusade against book- I makers has aroused the ire of Com- missioner Oyster, who today initiated & movement to remedy the situation by, making public the department's records of handbook cases. Since August 20, when Supt. of Po- lice Sullivan's report showed that 183 handbook arrests had been made by the police, forty additional arrests on this charge have been made and only six of the total have been dis- DPosed of iin-the courts. Two of these | were nolle prossed und four others were terminated with the forfeiture of $100. This leaves 177 of the 183 cases mentioned in the August re- Port still pending. Commissioner Oyster pointed out that he has continuaily pleaded with i strike period. Keeton was attacked | were on a jaunting car proceeding |the United States district attorney’s by the three men, he said, on Brent- | od road near South Dakota avenue | northeast. He was struck with a| piece of lead pipe about eighteen inches long and his jaw broken in five places. Mrs. John Orr, sister of Sisson. who ‘ is claimed to have wielded the weap- on, startled the court, when the a er- | ¢ was announced, by exclaiming: | He is innocent; it will kill mother. he was removed from the court. but kept up her screams as she was led along the corridor by deputy mar- shals, bringing_clerks and witnesses | in_other cases into the hall. The defense claimed an alibi, de- nying they were near the scene of the attack. They were represented by_Attorneys James A. O'Shea, John 1. Sacks and Millan N. Smith. Assist- ant United States Attorney Presmont conducted the prosecution. along the quays when they were at- tacked with revolvers. Deputy Speaker O'Maille’s wound is serious. After President Cosgrave's an- nouncement Minister of Defense Mul- cahy rose and said: “These men did not have a priest, nor were they asked if they would see their relatives.” ¥ All the members of the parliament rose as a mark of sympathy. These are the first acts of violence re- ported during the inauguration of the Free State government. O'Maille was elected deputy speaker of the dail, or lower house of the Free State parliament, at yesterday's ses- sion, when the members took the oath of allegiance. Hales was returned from South Cork in the last parliamentary slections, run- office for its co-operation, but has al- | ways falled to get it. ning for a pro-treaty candidate on the panel gicket framed by the opposing factlons. ONE KILLED IN BATTLE. By the Associated Press, CORK, December 7.—Two hundred rebels captured the barracks at Bally- makeera, near Macroom, yesterday, killing one man and wounding fiftee: The attack took place at almost th same time that the deputies of the mew Irish Free Stdte were being sworn in at Dusblin. . K ‘The rebels took' ninety prisoners, including Commandant Mooney, after fight lasting several hours, but re- leased them after taking all their ’ equipment. BRITAINTO BALK AT FORCE T0 MAKE GERMANY PAY UP Rule of Reason Will Be Ap- plied in Steering Course on Reparations. FAITH HELD ESSENTIAL IF TOTAL SUM IS CUT | Bonar Law’s Position Not Definite- ly Fixed—Premiers Get To- gether Saturday. BY HAL 0] LAHERTY. g0 Daily News. LONDON, December 7.—When Prime Minister Bonar Law meets the allied premiers on Saturday he intends to al- | low the visitors to define their atti-! tude toward Germany and out every reasonable suggestion, hop- ing that by moderation and clear thinking some feasibla plan for deal- ing with the situation will develop. He occupies the most unenviable position of any minister delegated to the conference, because he must enter the negotiations without a definitely outlined plan. He knows that the al- lies must agree of disagree upon ques- tions affecting the economic and po- litical stability of Europe. Yet he must await the very hour of the de- cision before knowing what direction he must take. Would Avold Ruin. It reports from Paris are correct, Premier Poincare already has devel- oped his plans, confident that he cor- rectly interprets French which holds Germany guilty of delib- erately avoiding reparations pay- ments and falsely representing her internal situation, ecspecially her finances. interna- | tional indebtedness, and then thresh| opinion, | “TIGER" LUNCHES WITH PRESIDENT; CURBS PROGRAM !Decides to Make No Further | Engagements During Visit i i Up to a certain point British opin- jon coincides with this view, vari- ous cabinet members having admit- {ted their belief that Germany {capable of paying, and, therefore. must be forced into it despite her groans. But at this point British opinion diverges. for it is held that Germany is wiliing to pay a reason- able indemnity, provided she has the time. while the French insist that she has no intention of paying and must be whipped into it by further occupations of industrial areas. From the British point of view it is now a question of granting Ger- many some siight benefit of doubt paint where the German people can meet them without complete financial ruin. Without this feeble faith in Germany's good intentions nothing but further armed pressure is pos- sible, and this. according to the Brit- ish view, is not only undesirable, but suicidal for Europe's economy. Pressure for the rule of reason is being brought to bear upon the pre- miers from every side. If M. Poin- {care insists upon exerting force {against Germany he will undoubtedly ! meet objections from Mr. Bonar Law, whose views, as expressed so far, in- dicate his belicf that hope of repara- many is kept weak and in a con- tinuous state of disorder. Allles at 04 He. belleves that the danger from a rejuvenated Germany is far less than that from a weak, disordered, infec- tious condition with a possible al- liance with the bolsheviki. On both sides of the English channel antipathies exist as the result of the financial chaos, both the British 1nd | French apparently being assured that i their_respective views are right, but the British and more determined to make Germany pay. In official quarters in London opinion is held that Prime Minister Bonar Law is capable of toning down French extremism by using his own force of logic as well as that of Pre- mier Mussolini to give Germany an- other chance without adding the final blow of further occupations. If France insists upon military ac- tion it is considered more than likely that she must go on her way alone. GERMANS MAY ASK LOAN. Berlin Report That 20 to 30 Bil- lion Is Figure. iated Press. December 7.—An interna- tional gold loan of between twenty billion and thirty billion marks, the money to be used for stabilization and cash reparations payments, is to be proposed to the reparations com- mission by the German government, according to a report in circulation in Berlin. The government intends to netify the reparations commission of fits project in time to enable the com- mission to submit the proposal to the coming conference to e held in Lon- don by the allied leaders. The note to the reparations commis- sion will supplement the proposals made in the communication to the commisséon on November 13, accord- reichstag leaders, and will pledge Germany to specific guarantees in connection with her reparations ob- ligations and internal reforms. It is reliably stated that Chancellor Cuno will indicate an internal gold loan as the .pivotal feature of his reparations program, designating that half of the amount shall be de- voted to stabilization and half to reparations. It is asserted that the chancellor has be€n assured the co- operation of industrial, financial, com- mercial, shipping and agricuitural in- terests. The loan, it is learned, will be guar- anteed by the reparations commiis- sion under the same provisions nameq in the government's previous note, with the presupposition that an ad- justment of ultimate reparations pay- ments will noy be definitely fixed. 'Nothing_has been announced re- garding the sum to be raised or the (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) MOORE NAMED REGENT. Virginia Representative Appointed to Smithsonian Roard. Representative R. Walton Moore of Virginia was today appointed by Speaker Gillett as one of the. re- is | and modifying the reparations to a | | tions payments must diminish as Ger- | the French are more insisteat (han | the | ing to Information in possession of ! i in United States. | M. Clemenceau lunched today with ! President Harding at the White i House. It was the only formal engagement lof the day, the remainder of his | calendar having been left open for {the elderly, though sprightly, war | premier to rest from arduous activi- jties of his extended American tour, | White, former ambassador to France, {nis host. No More Engagements. Although the health of M. Clemen- ceau has been holding up excellently for Sne of his advanced years, the ! program for the remainder of his time {in the United States has been so {crowded that today it was formally jannounced the “Tiger” will be unable 1(0 make further engagements of any nature. | In making this statement from the { White home today, it was explained | that numerous telephone calls with | invitations for the war premier had been received. Offictal and social Washington had been eager to enter- !tain him more extensively. i During the morning M. Clemenceau ; received several visitors. Among them were Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt. John Hays Ham- mond and Col. E. M. House, who ar- ranged the tour. Principal Address Tomorrow. Tomorrow the “Tiger” will deliver {what has been described in circles { ™ (Continued on Page 4, Column 4.) D.C. DAY INHOUSE - POSTPONED AGAIN In spite of a petition signed by ten members of the House District com- day by the decision of House Leader Mondell, which was communicated to Chairman Focht of the House District committee and to Representative Roy Fitzgerald of Ohlo, author of the petition. Incidentally the petition, which was presented to House Leader Mondel: and Speaker Gillett by Chairman Focht of the Distriet committee, was not signed by Mr. Focht himself, who at the time expressed himself as being perfectly satisfied with the position of the House leaders that the time of the House was already mortgaged for | putting through appropriation bills. {” The signers of the petition are: Rep- resentatives Keller, Minnesota; Lam- pert, Wisconsin; 'Fitzgerald, Ohio: Zihlman, Maryland; Walters, Penn- sylvania; Wheeler, Illinois; Woodruff. Michigan, and Sproul, Illinois, all re- pubiicans, and Representatives Gil- bert, Kentucky, and O'Brien, New Jersey, democrats. House Leader Mondell today declared that_he is entlrely friendly to all of the District legislation which is await- ing consideration in the House. It is no antagonism or unwillingness 3! {have . District _legislation _considered that has actuat his - decision that Monday shaMl not be District day. As House leader he feels his principal duty 1s to pass the appropriation bills, and has so advised chairmen of all of the major committee of the House that other minor legislation has no chance at present. Mr. Mondell, however, feels that if quick action is taken in passing the appropriation bills there will be_ con- siderable time for other legisi2tion, and he will be glad to see the District given one day or more for the consid- eratoin of pending legislation. At the same time, Mr. Mondell points | out that last Mouday there was a good | opportunity in the House to get action on three or four District measures, in. cluding the teachers’ pay bill. He re- grets the fact that members of the House District committee cowld not be | found' at that time to explain these measures to the House and mittee, the National Capitalywill not | 60, have its regular day in the House on|the last fiscal year, the report de- Monday. This was made positive to- kclared the point was being approach- d “where a revamping of the ma- | that, there- | POT! gents of the Smithsonian Institution. ' fore, they Were passed over, . 1 SStar. TON, ]).- C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1922—FORTY-EIGHT PAGES. SANTA STUCK. “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 luthepapcumw.nmd.’ Yesterday’s —_— L—_Soczs NECKWERR | CICAR'S FRANCE IS DETERMINED TO SURVIVE. By Georges Clemenceau. [Copyrigit, 1922. Tnited Rtates, Great Britain, Canada and South Awmerica by New York World (Preas Publishing Company) and Xorth Americon Newspaper Al- Tance. ANl rights reserved. Unlicensed prohibited.] reproduction in full or in parj ezpressly T the termination of the most formidable and the most glori- ous of wars, France did not assemble as trophies in her|for ege. stove and nut anthracite public places the booty su and with dignity she placed beneath her most celebrated arch of | the capital. and under a simple flagstone, the remains of an un- {™argin of $1. known soldier who had died to defend her. Who does not grasp the significance of that gesture? It was|and 1 rrendered by the enemy. Piously a tender act of homage to all those who had fallen; it also ex- of peace, give them justice and prosperity and watch over the | above world, who is denounced as a militarist nation; it is France who ! pressed our mtention never to forget the horrors of the conflict, , jand it served to remind us of our promise made to those sleeping in the dust: that we should assure their descendants the benefits | who might b {and for callers, at the home of Henry | Maintenance of that pact of reparation and justice signed by twen- ty-seven states at Versailles. Such are the sentiments of France, | and yet France it is who is accused of disturbing the peace of the | is suspected of being responsible for the birth and development of all European quarrels! Ii these calumnies only emanated from our former enemies or from such elements among our allies a are determined to upset the exi ting order and substitute an n- ternationale” more or less communist in character, it would be ialmost unnecessary to refute them. But when our friends go to the extreme of imputing criminal motives to us, then it is essen- tial that we explain things quite freel y at the earliest possible moment apd in the common interest. (Continued on Page 4, Colomn 1.) 160,722 NEW CASES CLOG U. 5. GOURTS Attorney General Declares Revamping of Judicial Ma- chinery Is Necessary. A new basic judicial organization to meet the augmerited work which has resulted from “the ever-increasing complexity of government,” was sug- gested by Attorney General -Daugh- erty in his annul report, made pub- lic today, on the operations of the Department of Justice. Noting that 722 criminal cases were begun in chinery used in this work is inevita- ble.” Adoption of some method by which the government could retain attor- government matters in addition to iegal training was one of the several suggestions advanced by Mr. Daugh- erty. The recently enacted legislation providing additiongl judges should ! 1elp the situation, he said, but proba- bly will not entirely remedy it. Local Government Fails. “The failure of local self-govern- ment in parts of the country,” the re- port said, “results in the insistence of the citizens of those communities that the federal government perform that function in which the local gov- ernment has failed, and frequently in matters where there is concurrent Jurisdiction between the state and federal government it is difficult to establish a policy as to the extent to which the federal government fhould take jurisdiction. This is pecullarly true’ of offenses arising under the federal reserve act, the narcotic act. the Volstead act and the postal frauds act. There has been an effort on the part of this division during this fiscal year to have the United States at- torneys and the state prosecuting at- torneys meet from time to time for the purpose of co-operation. Evidence of the benefits of these meetings is overwhelming. “The existing procedure for the re- moval of a defendant to the jurisdic- tion where the crime was committed is unduly cumbersome and resuits in unjustified delay and ‘injustice. Under | such procedure the trial is frequently delayed from one to two years.” Return of Alien Property Urged. Announcement was made in the re- CHARGES POLITICS INPOSTAL SERVICE League Condemns System of Seeking References From Members of Congress. l Severe condemnation of the. Post Office Department for inviting recom- mendations by members of Congress on postmaster appointments was con- tained in the report of the council of the National Civil Service Reform League, which opened its forty-sec- ond annual meeting this afternoon at the Hotel Washington. The report recommended immediate restoration by President Harding of the rule requiring selection of the | highest man on the list of those who have taken a postmastership exami- nation instead of use of the present method, whick’ allows the selection ineys who have special knowledge “lo( any one of the first three highest. An eight-month investigation, con- tinued the report, “confirms the worst |tears expressed by the league at the I time of the promulgation of the new ;order,” the executive order of May 10,,1921, permitting the selection of any one of the first three standing highest, instead of the one at the ! head of the list. Method of Selection. The council declared that 4,661 postmaster _Bppoin(ments were in- vestigated, 23 per cent being pro- motions. Of the remaining 3,589, the first man on the eligible list was ap- pointed in 2,165 cases, but in 1,061 of these cases there was but one man on the list. Of the 2,528 cases in which there was any choice, the first parson received appointment in only 44 per cent of the cases. “Where the nrst man is passed by in a far greater number of cases the presumption is very strong that political influence controlled, and it has been proved that it does control,” asserted the report. For the Post Office Department to invite recommendations by members of Congress on postmaster appoint- ments “is to invite the demoralization of that which should be the greatest business organization of the govern- ment,” according to the report. “Yet under the present system they are systematically invited, considered and are generally controlling.” Postmaster General Work and John H. Bartlett, first assistant postmaster general, were criticized in another section of the council’s report, headed “A Spolls Drive in the Federal Serv- ice.” The report said: “With such secretaries as Hughes, Net Circulation, 92,357 TWO CENTS. PREMIUM PRICES BOOST HARD COAL 10§17ANDSIBTON Insistence on Preferred Grades Causes Exceeding of $16.50 Fixed Cost. DEALERS REPORT MANY TURN TO SUBSTITUTES Plenty of Rice and Buckwheat at 0ld Price, But Egg, Stove and Nut Are Increased. While Washingtoniany are turninz to the use of substitute fuer for zrades of hard coal previously burned, many consumers are paying premium prices to get their favorite grade when it reaches the market, This was revealed in a survey of the local coal situation ioday. OUne dealer is doing a clearing house busi- ness in the popular egg. stove and nut anthracite coal, formerly the Washingtonian's stand-by, while oth- ers report a huge volume of sales o stubstitutes for these grades, such as coke, briquets and screened bitumi- nous coal, Exceed Authorized Price. | Although the maximum authorized {price of hard coal is $16.50 per ton. {$17 and $18 are being obtained in certain cases. When it iy proved that {these prices are contingent upon i premium prices at the mines, it is un- derstood authorities are taking action against local dealers. Egg, stove and nut coal is scarce. Houschold bituminous is plentiful Coke and briquets are in sufficient lQllallllfl‘ to meet demands. | | i 1o Premium Prices at Mines. “You've got to pay a premium price {coal if you want to get it at the mines in any considerable quantities. We are doing it and selling coal on a 2 per ton after freight charges are paid, and averaging an all-round distribution of between 150 tons a day. Our price noy is 1$17 and $18 per ton for such coal { This statement was made today by L. E. White of the White Coal Com- pany/ Mr. White said that his books and onvoices are open for investiga- juon of any government authorities e seeking to establish concerning the price of coal the maximum of $16.50 set here | revently. Excessive Run on Coal Since last Monday at the White yards { there has been an excessive “run” on {hard coal. Before 10 o'clock this morn- {ing 146 tons had been sold at the yards {at prices reaching $17 per ton. Smali | dealers, house-to-house peddlers and others got their coal at this price. Explaining the situation, Mr. White !added that he was compelied to pav racts | the premium price at the mines to get this coul, which is arriving at the rate of . five and six forty-ton carioads a day. The cost of this type of hard coal at the mines, he said, was $12 and $13 a ton, if a dealer wanted it. Add to this amount $3.28 for freight, and the cost of the coal in_the yurds here mounts to from $15.28 10 $16.28 per tom, leaving a jmargin to care for overhead at about $L. per ton when sold at $17 and TEinks Attitude Clear. “I think that our attitude is clear.” Mr. White declared. “We are getting | the coal. In addition, he declared, in order 10 get the hard coal of the nut, egg and stove grade, he was obliged %o stock up with rice and buckwheat coal, which he characterized, “a drug on the market” Until a short time ago, he was disposing of this type of coal at a loss, but a mest recent ir- crease in price has allowed a profit to show on the ledger. During the early part of the week, he £aid_becuusc he had the coal that people wanted. his vards were sub- jected to a “run” by small dealers, cach of whom was supplied as far as possible. The “run” is beginning to tone down today. but more than for:: wagons were parked in froat of il South Capitol wud 1 streets distribu- tion point this morning at one tir. awaiting turns to get coal. Quarter Ton at a Time. An interesting sidelight on th's phase was a telephone call that cam: into the office shortly after 10:30. The call was from exclusive Massachu setts avenue, between 16th and 17th streets. 4t was a request for a ma to put in a Quarter of a ton of cou that had been ordered. “Do you mean to say they're orde: ing coal a quarter of a ton at a tim- in that neighborhood?” an oftice eum- ploye was asked. “That's what the order was.” camnc the reply W. W man, has adopted tic the public should stock stitute for what 1t wan Griffith, another local c attitude tha up on a sab m the pres coa, He is maintaining pri !::rr‘x’i coal. eH is mainiainmg pric that were agroed upon Tecentiy standard maximum rates for coal the District. Coke Cleanest Substitute. “The cleanest substitute ‘lur cou believe, is cokeS Mr. Griffith said - is mot a plentiful supply of I:F:::clte chestnut, siove and egx 25al I fact it is scarce and has been Searce for some time. Indications are that it will continue scarce. “It is possible that if a man walks into a coal dealer's office with a rc- quest for certain sort of coal, he may find it impossible to get. But he may be supplied with a substitute if he will listen to his dealer. Here's the situation though: People will let their coal supply run so low that they’ll have nothing to forestall a day when the supply of their preferred coal runs out and cannot be obtained If they let their fires go out in cold weather because of this fact, it will not be long before they realize that their only hope is in a substitute. “Fuel and coal, speaking broadly. are not scarce. What the coal dealer knows as the ‘luxury classes or grades’ are scarce. There is a bounti- ful supply of soft coal for household use and of other substitutes.” The same attitude is evidenced the J. Maury Dove plant. i at ¢ of the “desire of the department|Mellon, Weeks. Denby. Hays and| ‘“The public is turning to substitues (Continued on Page 27, Column 4.) (Continued on Page 29, Column b.) - (Contnued on Page 2, Columa &) - N