Evening Star Newspaper, August 1, 1923, Page 2

- ) oo JLLNESS STIRS UP POLITICAL BUZZING President’s 1924 Aims in Balance, With Earliest Cam- paign Opening Up. BY ROBERT T. SMALL, ‘With personal anxlety as to Pres- ident Harding's condition lessening almost to the vanishing point, there was a disposition here today to con- sider the political effect of the illness which has overtaken the chief execu- tive on his travels. That the President’s health may be more or_less permanently impaired by the ravages of the pneu Wwhich he still is fighting. is a possi- bility which the politicians already are weizhing as they sense the grow- Ing political activity the country over. There always has been a question here as to whether or not Mr. Hard- ing really would care to make anoth- er race for the presidency. Many political plans have been made on the agsumption that he would decline to stand for renomination in 1924, de- spite the fact that Attorney General Daugherty, the President's political mentor, announced last winter that unquestionably there would be a de- mand for Mr. Harding to suceced himself and that the President would | accede to the demand. President Harding never has confirmed the At- rorne sncral's statement. Neither has lic eniss it. He read the statement, however, with a smile, May Depend on Health. If the President should make a slow recovery from his present illness and if:the spring should find him none too &trong. there is slight doubt but that he would ask to be relieved of the burden of a second campaign. There is Mrs. Harding's health to be con- sidered as well as the President’s. She w. s £0 much a part of his origi- nal fight for the presidency that Mr. Harding’s frisnds cannot picture him In the forthcoming campaign with- out “the duchess. he calls Mrs. Harding, constantly at his side. Axide political considera- tions. therc are, therefore, two per- sonal factors in the decision that lies before the I'resident before the nomi- nating ntions assemble next June—po: before the state pri- maries begin next March, One of these is the President's own state of health, ti her is the health of the first lady of the land, If it be true, therefore, that even under the most favorable physical conditions the President has looked forward to a second campaign with more or less reluctance, it is felt here that the illness throuzh which he is passing may prove the declding factor. In considering the Preside fu- ture course of action, it L be borne in mind always that he is a strict party man believes the individual at il should _suh- ordinate himself to the party, should sacrifice his own ambitionss it these ambitions seem to stand in the way of rty welfare 1f the President should feel that doubt in the public mind as to his ability to lead the party vigorously in the next cam- paign was strengthening the opposi- tion to the party, he would readily step aside. Season Opens Early. The political lines are being drawn earlier this year than ever before. There is political activity in every section of the country. Senator Osear Underwood's old straw bonn has been tossed into a ring already cluttered with a plethora of variegated headgear. The battle lines are form- ing. * There has been but the slight- st suggestion of a truce on account of the President’s jllness. The inner works of the grand old party have been virtually in a state of siege for several months past, With political consideration thrust- ing themselves forward in the wuke of the apparently successful passing of the crisis in the President’s illness observers in Washington today were drawing further analogies between the Harding and Wilson trips to the west. These analogles were called out first by the fatal automobile wreck at Denver. in whith two news- papermen, connccted with the Hard- ing party, were among those killed. There was a somewhat similar wreck on the Wilson tour at Portland, Ore when two men were killed and two others serlously injured. Simllarity of Aceldent Next came the incident of a few days ago when the transport Hender- son, on which the President was ‘traveling, nearly rammed a torpedo boat destroyer. It was recalled here that when President Wilson was leaving the dock at Seattle, in 1920, 10 go aboard the old battle ship Ore- £0n to review the Pacific fleet, his launch was in collision with another small craft, and a bad spill in the cold water of the dcep harbor was nafrowly averted. On top of all this came the news of the President's illness at San Francisco, made critical by his per- sistence in carrying out engagements at Vancouver and Seattle against the advice of his physicians. Mr. Wilson, first showing symptoms of a decline «at Seattle, continued on his speaking tour for mearly nine days, abandons ing at last at Wichita ans.,, and being rushed back to Washington. Mr. Wilson's illness did not reach the crisis, however, until he was safely Within the White House. Mr. Hard ing has had his battle far from his official home, and while his illness may leave him In a weakened con- dition, with resistance somewhat hroken down, there is happily no thought of the invalidism which has come to Mr. Wilson. DAUGHERTY HASTENS " TO PRESIDENT’S SIDE Greatly Relieved to Hear Rapid Change for Better. R the Associated Pree: FPORTLAND, Ore, August l.—At- tarney General Harry M. Daugherty, hastening to join the party of Presi- dent Harding at San Francisco, was greatly relleved when he learned as he passed through here of the improve- m{nl in the condition of the chief exec- utjve. Mr. Daugherty said he would take up with the President while in San Francisco, if the President's condl- tion permitted, the matter of the government's future action in the Céntral Pacific-Southern Pacific case, and decide before he left the coast whether an appeal would be taken by the government from the deci- rll‘)Jn of the United States. cirouit cobirt, He added that he would remain with the President and return to ‘Washington with his party. —_———— HIT WIFE, PASTOR ADMITS HIAWATHA, Kan., August 1.—The Rev. T. P. Stewart, held here in con- negtion with the death of his wife, whose body was found in the cellar of their home with the head crushed, as serted today, the police declare, that he struck his wife with a board when she attacked him with a razor. On _the Rev. Mr. Stewart's left hand nre two or three larcerations, with three other flcsh wounds across his ab- of ronia against | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, SAYS GONSPIRACY CHARGE HENDERSON Paring Arctic Rescue Dash To Run Exclusively in Star CHARGE IS ABSURD Defense Attorney Declares Prosecution of Morses Based on False Accusations. Absurd! Preposterous! Fals Such was the characteristization to- day by Nash Rockwood of New York, chief counsel for the defense of the charge of conspiracy contained in the two indictments against Charles W. Morse, his three sons and four others, who have been on trial for fifteen weeks before Justice Stafford and a jury in Criminal Division 1. The lawyer also claimed that the prosecu- tion has been a systematic, malicious attempt to convict these men and to} incarcerate them upon unfounded ac- | cusations. Judge Rockwood ‘spoke for about four hours and coneluded the argu- ment for the defense. He will be fol- lowed by Assistant Attorneys Gen- | eral Allison and Turner, whe will close the argument for the prosecu- tion. Justice Stafford may reserve | the charge to the jury until Friday morning. Arraigns the Prosecution. Judge Rockwood arraigned the prosccution for Its conduct of the case and charged that United States Attorney Gordon intentionally omit- | ted portions of the instructions fa- vorable to the defendants when he read those allowed by the, court “You will not sanction, gentlemen.” said Judse Rockwood, “the methods employed to seeure a conviction in this case. The longer indictment starts out with a ‘lie’ and one could drive a coach and four through the whole document. They (pointing to the prosecuting counsel) are trying to put my clients in jall and should they do ‘it they would consider it the greatest thing in the history of the Department of Justice.” ¢ The lawyer for the defense then took up the prayers relating to pre- sumption of innocence, reasonable doubt and knowledge of the alleged conspiracy and paid a tribute to| justice as exemplified in American | courts. - He pointed out that the charge of comspiracy is “preposter- ous, absurd and false.” He asked the Jjurors could Morse and his associates have known of the sud- den coming of the armistice; that the | Fleet Corporation would be formed | two years after the alleged con- | spiracy is said to have been hatched, | ard of the sudden change from a pol- | of speed in building ships to the| concellatipn of contracts for their! construction. The evidence for nu-§ prosecution, he said, was based on| surmise and suspicion” and by a| “patchwork of little things,” it was| attempting to land Morse and the! other defendants in jail.” Regards Intent as Vital. Counsel called the attention of the jury to the subject of intent, which he cousidered vital in the case. If the Morses had an honest bellef that they were financially able to carry out these contracts and did what they did under advice of counsel, be- lieving In their heart of hearts that it was within their rights, they ought to be acquitted. He urged on thel jurors that there is but one charge ! in the indictment, and that is con- spiracy. The government must show that the defendants, or two or mere of them, must have agreed in ad- vance to hinder and thwart the war program of the government through the means pointed out by the prose- cution before they can be convicted. Even if the jurors should decide that the Kearfoot transaction, the General Electric matter or any other point brought out by the prosecution was in itself illegal, yet they cannot con- vict unless it is shown there was a conspiracy. The indictments, he pointed out, have no charge of doing this, that or tho other illegal thing. but only a conspiracy to defraud and thwart the United States and the Fieet Corporation. Attorney Thomas Addresses Jury. Attorney W. Bissell Thomas, rep- resenfing Harry F. Morse, rcviewed at some length the history of the jury system, going back to the days of Henry II of England and tracing the methods down to the present. Un- der our jury system, he pointed out, the rights of the private citizen in the United States are as dear to the law and the people as the rights of any officlal, no matter how powerful or how important. The lawyer showed how the Morses were engaged in shipbuilding and how they undertook the additional con- tracts requiring the securing of the Noank and Virginia*plants only out of a desire to help along the nation in its need for ships. He took up the consideration of the contracts in- volved in the case and outlined the contentions and claims both of the government and the Morses in con- nection with their interpretation, Sees No Evidence of Guilt. “If you believe,” said Mr. Thomas, “that Harry Morse made any claim founded on any controversy about ac- counts and made it believing that h= was justified in making it or made it under the advice of counsel that he had a right to make it, then no matter what these accounts may show they are no evidence of any guilt on his part.” He recalled that all the evidence submitted by the gov- ernment had been based on the Morse books and not upon any record of the fleet corporation. The lawyer asserted that the ROV~ ernment did not dare to give counsel for the defense a glimpse at the books of the fleet corporation. If they had, he said, “this case would not only fall like a shattered potsherd, but many of the men of the fleet corpora- tion would be endangered and they know it Mr. Thomas took up in detail all the testimony reflecting on Harry Morse as offered by the prosecution. He explained that the altered check &tub relating to a payment to himself of $27,000 was a deal between the father and son with which the fleet corporation had nothing to do. He showed that the evidence disclosed that more than that amount was due Harry Morse, but that the reason of the secrecy was to keep the informa- tion from his father, whose only de- | sire scemed to be to put not only his own money, but that due his sens also back into ‘the speeding up of ship construction. Plea for Defendant White. Attorney William E. Leahy made an earnest appeal for the acquittal of Richard O. White, who was & sec- ond assistant treasurer of the Groton Iron Works. Mr. Leahv asserted that what the government claimed had been done by White in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy was done as « mere clerk following directions of his superiors. White, according to the lawyer, had no knowledge of the alleged conspiracy. « Leahy declared the charge against the defendants amounted practically to one of treason, and if.convicted they would be branded as traitors to their country in its hour of need. He sald the governmunt sought to convict White becguse e had, In one instance, signed notes given in pur- chase of needed equipment for the ships being built, and in another had made a bank deposit to meet an over- draft. He asked the jurors if they had given similar directions to their stenographers, would they expect those employes to be charged with knowledge of any conspiracy, if one existed. Cites Another Instance. In still another instance it was claimed White took the acknowledg- ment as u -notary public to a con- tract which the government criticized and that claimed he must have been in the conspidacy because he knew the contents of the paper of which he i | HIT AND RAN AWAY Barkentine’s Crew Claim She Ignored Their Distress After Sea Crash. By the Associated Pre: SEATTLI, Wash., August 1.—A board of officers of the United States Navy will investigate the second ®pter of the adventures of the Navy trans. port Henderson. As related by Capt. Kristian Ben- neche of the barkentlne monterey it opens Sunday just past midnight. The Henderson was then traveling westward in the Swrait of Juan de Fuca. Capt. Benneche was awakened by his second mate, who told him that a steamer, first seen a mile away in the fog, was bearing down on the Monte- rey and apparently lgnoring the ex- istence of the barkentine. By the time the captain got his wife and two daughters on the deck the steamer was up to the barkentine. Flames Shoot Up. Speeding on, according to the cap- tain, the steamer’s prow struck the Monterey and then, as the steamer bore on its way, swinging outward, the stern swung inward and raked the barkentine. The two blows rip- ped 170 feet of iron bulwark from the Monterey, tore away 500 feet of her ! sail, stove in her bow and picked up her anchor, grinding it between the hulls of the two vessels and hurling it back on its own deck, thirty feet from where it had rested an instant before. A sheet of flame elght feet high illuminated the operation. On sped the steamer, according to Capt. Benneche and his mates, John Johnson and Swenson. They caught @ fleeting impression, they said. of a yellow stack and of green showing at the waterline. Not a head was seen, they averred on the steamer, not a sound of whistle heard until a faint blast just after the impact. 3 Speculation ensued as to the “gray mystery of the strait” Hit Unidentified Ship. To the Pudget sound naval station came word from Capt.’Allen Buchan- an, commander of the Henderson. He said that he had reached San Fran- cisco, that he had struck an unidenti- fied euiling vessel in the strait Sun- day morning, that the foreyard had swept. away his lifeboats and de- stroved his wireless %o that he had been unable to report and that though he had stood about the vicin ity for some time, he was unable to find any craft. That set in_motion the Navy bourd of inquiry. This board went to Port Angeles yvesterday. There Mates Johnson and Swenson deposed to the statement set forth above, adding that the Monterey had her running lights burning (Capt. Buchanan was reported to have said that the bark- entine waus dark) and a large bell ringing. The Charles Nelson Company, own- er of the Monterey, which was 106 days out of Durban, South Africa when struck, announced last night that it would sue the government for damages on account of the col- lision. The hurt to the Monterey was put at $20,000. U. S. MARSHAL DENIES CONTEMPT OF COURT Holds Betting Paraphernalia De- manded by Keleher Until Appeal Decided, Is Defense. Edgar C. Snyder, United States marshal for the District of Columblia, today filed answer to the contempt of court citation issued last week against him by Justice Balley of the District Supreme Court for failing to deliver to John B. Keleher certain betting paraphernalia seized in a handbook raid by the police at Kele- her's apartment May 1 last. The marshal admits the averments of Keleher's petition, but declares that he has the custody and posses- sion of the property soiely in his of- ficial_capacity and that July 23 last the United States in open court noted an appeal from the order of Justice Bailey to surrender the property and he was advised by the “office of the United States attorney that the noting of the appeal operated to stay the execution of the court order. He was also advised, Marshal Snyder declares, that if he complied with Justice Bailey’s order he would be in contempt of the District Court of Appeals, in the jurisdiction of which tho case came immediately on the noting of the appeal by the United States. He asked that the rule against him be dismissed. United States Attorney Gordon and Assistant United Staies Attorney West appeared for the marshal. TURKISH- U. S. TREATY DELAYED FURTHER Angora Likely to Insist Changes Delegates Are Told. on By the Associated Press. LAUSANNE, August 1.—The Turco- Amerlcan treaty which ths Ameri- can and Turkish representatives here have been engaged in framing is likely to require further negotia- tions. Ismet Pasha received a telegram from Angora today asking for ex- planation and clarification of the provisional clause inserted in the treaty concerning American claims, which was one of the points in the discusslons. Ismet 8ent the expla- nations requested, but cne of the Turkish spokesmen sald this after- noon some slight changes might be necessary to satisfy the Angora assembly. There are Indications also that the American representatives may ask further discussion of several points. —_— Such a Question! From the Boston Transcript. Mrs. Mulcahy—An’ why did yez keep Mickey in after school? Teacher-—I asked him who George Washington was and he only stood and looked at me. Mrs. Mulcahy—It's dumfounded the poor b'y was at yer Ignorance, likely. —e took the acknowledgment. Mr. Leahy inquired if two of the jurors had a doubtful contract and took it for certlfication before a notary, would they say the notary was a co-con- spirator. Mr. Leahy declared the government ha failed to show any conspiracy, and before they can convict White or any of the others they must first establish the conspiracy. The lawyer ridiculed the contention that there was a conspiracy, and declared that as outlined in. the indictments MF impossible even of conception: American Explorer, Harold Noice, Sailing From Nome Next Week to Give Wrangel |New Line Gives Southeast Island Plight of Party of Five. The North American Newspaper Alliance, of which The Star is a member, has secured exolusive publication rights to the arctic rescue story of Harold Noice, the American explorer and assoclate of Stetanssen, who sails from Nome, Alaska, next week in a desperate attempt to rescue three Americans, one Canadian_and an Eskimo woman marooned on Wrangel island, in the Arctio ocean, since the early part of 1921. For two years no word has been heard ‘of this party, which consists of Alan Crawford of Toronto. ~Frederick Maurer of New Philadelphia, Ohio; Lorne B. Knight of McMinnville, Ore., and Milton Galle of New Braunsfels, ex. along with an Eskim woman who accompanied the ox- pedition as The party landed island north of the castern route to Siberfa in August, 1921, to make explorations and sclentific observations and to remain until the following summer, when, ac- cording to plan, a ship would call for them. The le which usually surrounds Wraneel the greater part of the vear, did not move on Wrangel By the NEW YORK, George August W 1.—Salling on the shénzton today, with four of his cotemporaries in the Senate, to attend the interallied parliamentary union Geneva, at ator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin declared he was “in the pink of cendition and feeling like a fighting cock.” but declined to dis- cuss problems of state. “Look &t that arm,” said the sen- ator, as he flexed the right member, ruffed his fresh clipped pompadour and called on reporters to note his bulging bicep. I'm going over to Europe to rast a bit and taper off my training. Then, when I get back, I'll ba ready for all comer: In the political ring?" he was asked. He refused to be specific. Mr. La Follette, who recently ! | {ARMY’S HEAVY BOMBERS | TO ATTACK BATTLESHIPS (Continued from First Page.) either the last part of this month er ithe first of September. The ships must be sunk and in order that they not be a menace to navigation. They will have to be of water. The fifty fathom curve lies about fifty miles east of Cape Charles and elghty miles east of Langley Field, the general vicinity of the tests of "1821. But the ships would be so far from shore that it would neces- sitate fiving long distances over water which increases the hazzard. The water is fifty feet deep twenty-two miles east of Cape Hatteras so the scene of battle this year will be loc: ed there. Will Fly High Up. To stimulate actual war conditions, the attacking force will be located at an advanced airdrome on the cape, !near the meteorologi station of ithe weather bureau, close to Durant’s coast guard station No. 183, inactive. The entire personnel at Langley Field, engaged in the tests, will be flown to this base, where Brig. Gen, William Mitchell, assistant chief of the air service, will maintain active headquarters and personally direct the operations. The establisiment of the sub-airdrome alone will be a mammoth undertaking, and will give invaluable training to the bombing {officers and men. Two squadrons of Martin bombing {airplanes, or twelve planes, will com. | prise the offensive force, the shortage of personnel and equipment making a larger number impossible. These | planes are capable of carrying 2,000 {pounds of explosives aside from their full military load. Bombs for the final sinking will be of the larger type, from 1,100 to 2,000 pounds. The £,000-pound ‘bombs will not be used, {as they are still in the experimental stage in the ordinance department. All the bombing will be above an altitude of 6,000 feet, and a flight of six plancs, equipped with superchargers to enable them to reach the higher altitudes, will hover around 20,000 feet with their deadly missiles. Plan Night Attacks, Smoke screens also will play a prominent part. Two of the bombers will be equipped with pressure tanks and' nozzel apparatus for spraying clouds of smoke over the area above the targets. One airplane can hold sufficient chemicals to lay a screen 1,000 feet deep and three miles long, and this canopy, while obscuring the airplanes from the view of the ships, will not prevent the attackers from seeing their target. Tests conducted at Panama during the naval maneuv- ers revealed that these screens alded the airplanes in locating battleships and even photographs of the targets were taken through the smoke. Prior to the final destruction of the ships, excellent training in night at- tacks on sea targets will be afforded. The two desolate ships anchored twenty-two miles off the coast will be the subject of pyrotechnic attacks from the planes which will fly out from their base on Cape Hatteras. Officers say the vessels will be plain- ly visible to the bombers even from thousands of feet, as they will show up as black spots on the white water below. Phospherous bombs and other illuminating explosives will not do much damage, but will give the night raiders practice of a nature they sel- dom can obtain, ‘Will Fly to Bangor, Me. Upon completion of the exercises and the hoped-for success of the ma- neuvers, the Langley Fleld bombers will stert on a flight up the coast to Bangor, Me., and return. The object of this expedition is to demonstrate the feasibility and ease with which bombing airplanes may be moved over long distances in the event of national emergency for defense of the coast. - Precautions against possible acel- dent or disaster will be taken throughout the exercises. Five or six seagoing craft, perhaps of the mine- layer type, will patrol the area be- tween the shore and target, and will stand ready to rush to the rescue of a crippled Martin if it is forced to choose the ocean for a landing fleld. The maneuvers will be witnessed by official observers of the Army and Navy, members of Congress and oth- ers interested in the tactical prob- lems. Much Timber in Northwest. From the Chicago Times. The Pacific Northwest has enough standing timber to rebuild thrice over all the wooden frame structures in the United States. g Fhe. attacked while lving in fifty fathoms| away at all last summer and the &hip could not get through The situation of the unfortunate party has been complicated by the fact” that Wrangel island, while the subject of much controversy, is not the official possession of any nation. Crawford ran up the Canadlan flag on landing, but the Canadian government has taken no action concerning it, and Wilhjalmer Stefanssen, now In London endeavoring to secure the British government's acquescience in taking over the island and prosecuting the work of rescue, has so far met with no success. The situation has been aggravated in the last few days by an alleged claim of the soviet government of Russia, whose geologists state, according to reports, that the Alaska “gold fields extend to Wrangel and that Russia wants the territory. In the meantime the fate of the little group of explorers hangs in the balance. awaiting the indi- vidual effort necessary to the work of rescue. Whether they are dead or alive is a matter of confecture, as they were provided with only one year's rations Exclusive articles by Noice will appear a few dayvs previous to salling, and upon his return, sev- eral months later, the comblete story of his trip will be publish- ed in The La Follette, Primed for Battle, Sails for Study of Europe emerged from a sanatarium in Michigan, whence he directed the | yictorioux fight of Senator-elect Magnus Johnson in Minnesota, an- nounced he would make an intensive study of conditions abroad—in the Rubr, in Russia, Italy and other continental nations, as well as in G t Britain, “I want information, and am go- ing to get it at first hand,” he de- clared. | | Mrs | ter Follette and his dau | Flora accompanied him. The family expects to return on the Lev han in October. Senator Kenneth McKellar of Ten- nessee announced that he, too, would ake an fntensive tour of countries abroad, visiting the Ruhr, Moscow, Rome, Parfs, Berlin and London. “As for the world court, I was for it, as outlined in President Hard- ing's speech last February,” he an- nov ced. “But I -perpetuati President at do not favor the ourt proposed by . Louls.” —mm |PRESIDENT’S RECOVERY | NOW THOUGHT CERTAIN AS PROGRESS GOES ON (Continued from First Pa {sleep he has had since his illness |began. He was awake only a short | time and then dropped back Into a sleep that was described as quite 1different from and exceedingly more satisfactory than the nervous sleep {of Monday night, when all the phy- #icians were agreed that his condl- tion was grave. Sleep Was Vital. From time to time last night word came from the presidential suite that Mr. Harding was asleep, and each time those who remained on watch became more and more optimistic. | Sleep and rest “to repair the br h- 57 Gen. ver had sald, was what the chief executive most needed, and 80 far as could be learned prior to issuance of an official bullletin this need was being met. A steady increase in the amount | of nourishment being taken by the President was another cause of op- timism. His diet, as prescribed ye terday, and as continued today, con- sisted ‘of eggnogs, fruit juices, milk toast and soft boiled cggs. The | nourishment obtained by the Prei- dent, it was said. was quite safe for one in his condition. Watchers Obtatn Rest. The decided turn for the better was indicated in every possible way last night. Gen. Sawyer went out for a walk about 9 o'clock, the first time he had been outside the hotel since the President was brought here Sunday. Returning, he spent haif an thour or so in the President’s room {and then retired. The head nurse also took advantage of the change in her patient's condition, and ob- tained some sleep., Lieut. Commander Joel T. Boone, assistant to Dr. Saw- yer, alone remained in the President's room or within call throughout the night, Mrs. Harding having retired {about midnight. Gen. Sawyer, after his last visit to the President’s room, and before go- ing ‘to_bed, issued a brief statement as to Mr. Harding’s condition. This noted a pulse of 116, temperature of 100.2 and respiration 44, and ended by saying that he “was resting com- fortably. The betterment of the President's condition, however, did not lead to any serious discussion of the future program of the party. Whatever may be recommended, Mr. Harding will have final\decision, and there is no intention of placing any such matters as that before him until he gets back his strength. Offers Home to President. Willilam Wrigley, jr., presented to Secretary Christian an invitation to the Prestdent and Mrs. Harding to spend the days of the former's con- valesence at Catalina, where he has a large estate. Neither was the change for the better immediately noticeable in diminution of the number of tele- grams recelved. All through the ear- Iy hours of the evening messenger boys continued to make frequent trips with telegrams and the stream got under way again early this morn- ing. Meantime, being made to write and have signed acknowledgments of the wishes ten- dered and solicitude shown. Among these was a response to a telegram sent by former President Wilson. None of the messages was made public. 2 Decorations Kept Up. San Francisco yesterday morning, a Dbit apprehensive that she had dressed too gayly for what it then apneared might turn out a very sad occasion, listened yesterday afternoon to news that her guest of honor was in better health, and decided that her fripperies of flags and bunting, lights and color effects, would not be out of place after all. For President Harding was better and those who had proposed elimina- tion of at least the electric lights and fountain displays in the civic center, because he was ill, were voted dawn. The flags will stay up in the streets, the lights will continue to blaze forth and the color effects will con- tinue to glow. So said Mayor James Rolph, who averred that the display had been made in honor of President Harding and that it would continue as long as the executive remained in the city. The mayor added that he hoped the President would stay long enough and recover rapldly enough to be able to drive through the city and enjoy the decorations. Generous Boss. From the Kansus Sour Owl. the business today. “He did!" "Yes, he saild that4§f T didn't take an interest pretty so',hed fire we," 3 Sousd valiant efforts were | AUGUST 1, 1923 CROSSTOWN BUSES | IN SERVICE TODAY and Southwest Sections * Quicker Transportation. Operation of a new bus line from 11th and M streets southeast, to 4% and P_streets southwest was started today by the Capital Traction Com- ! pany. The bus line affords a direct cross- town service between the southeast and southwest sections of the city, cutting the riding time between some !'points almost in half. Two buses are in operation at the present time giving a twelve-minute service both wa The route of the line follows: Eastbound, from 4% und P streets southwest, along P street to 3rd street, 3rd street to M street southeast, M street to 1ith and ; westbound, from 11th and M streets south along M street to 3rd street southwest, $rd street to L street, L street to' Water street, Water street' to P street and along P street to 4% street. The new bus line fare is six tokens for forty cents or elght cents cash. An additional charge of two cents will be made for a transfer to and jfrom the busses and the electric cars of the Capital Traction and the Washington Railway and Electric companies at connecting points. Ad- ditional transfers will be lssued free. The busses will start running about 6:20 a.m. from both ends of the route. { The last busses will leave their termi- nals at midnight. The Captial Traction Company also took over for operation today the Kensington electric line, running be- tween Chevy Chase Lake, Kensington and Sandy ‘Spring, Md., which it has leased for ten years. As soon as the | tracks are repaired the company will operate +its own cars over this road, giving through service to Washington. {KANSAS GOVERNOR | EYES PRESIDENCY By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, August 1.—Without ac- tually casting his hat into the ring, Gov. Jonathan M. Davis, whose hom state, Kansas, s booming him for the { democratic presidential nomination, {let it be known in a statemeont issued {here today that he would by no | meens refuse such an honor. Kansas democrats, he said, have made him their first’ choice and he “is in their { hands." have no political ambitions,’ Davls. sald “I have gone higher ever anticipated, and 1 am nkful to the people of my state r the honors they have conferred upon me. But if my’ party should nominate me, is there a man living { who would refuse such an honor? The | democrats of Kansas have made me | their first choice and I am in their ( th § e f s U. S. MAY HOLD uP COURT ACTION UPON SHIP RUM SEIZURES (Continued from First Page.) |the liquors in warehousa=, awaiting |future developments—perhaps action of Congress. While none knows what Congress may do, it has been the hope of many jofficials t there may bz some sort of & way out of the embarrassing shin liquor snarl, which quiets down from time to time, and then lreaks forth {afresh. A So far as known, the seizure vester- day by the coast gtard off Norfolk was he first since July 9, when a foreign vessel sacrificed its cargo in New York. If the liquor should simply be kept in customs warehouses, without com- pletion of the forfeiture proceedings be- fore the court, will there be a chance of Congress ameliorating the severity of the ship liquor ban—perhaps allowing foreign vessels to bring in liquor under 7 And would it then be possible, it was asked in official circles here today, for the government to turn back to for- elgn owners the liquors seized under the ship liquor ban? If the libel cases are not pressed, and no court order of forfeiture is issued, it is considered by many official observers here that it would be manifestly simpler to return the liquors, in case Congress should £o order. Dry leaders, however, have been con- cerned over the matter, and are under- stood to be pressing for action agalnst nds of gallons of liquors, ed under the regulations promul- gated under the now famous Supreme Court decision on ship liquor. i | | | ATTACKS SMUGGLING PLOT. Tty tiie Associated Press. { LONDON, August 1.—The govern-| ment was asked in the house of com- !mens today wh it was going to do labout the business circular being distributed in the name of Sir Brod. | irick Hartwell. secking investors in | {a project for shipping whisky abroad. onald MacNeil, undersecretary for foreign affairs, answered guard- ediy that the whole subject to which the circular belongs is engaging the attention of the government. But |further than that he declined to say. Dr. Willlam Allen Chapple, member for Dumfriesshire, who asked the question, supplemented it later and referred to the backers of the liquor ! scheme as “these people who are en- deavoring to set at deflance the laws lc\f a friendly nation.” Dr. Chapple 'wanted to know whether “It is mot more important to preserve friendly relations with America than that | these people should make money aml of this trafiic. 5 “Certainly,” replied Mr. MacNeill, “put I'm not in a position at the present moment to say what steps we could take, as it is a very diffi- cult matter to decide The circulars describe a plan of making 20 per cent profit every sixty days by shipping liquor to what obviously is toward the American coast. CLAIM U. S. PRECEDENT. By the Associated Press. LONDON, August 1.—England has discovered what is said to be a pre- cedent established by America herself which it is claimed here supports the contention that British ships should be permitted to enter United States ports with liquor under seal. This cropped up in the house of commons today in the usual grist of questions’ and answers concerning { American prohibition. ~Sir Willlam Davidson asked Roland McNeill, un- der secretary of forelgn affairs, “whether the attention of that gov- ernment has been called to a dis- patch forwarded by the American government some years ago to the Spanish government, which while ad- mitting the legal right of every na- tion to prescribe the conditions under which foreizn vessels should be ad- mitted to their ports, laid it down that these conditions must not con- flict with well known and long es- tablished usages regulating commer- cial intercourse between civilized na- | tions, which could not be violated without giving just cause of com- plaint to nations whose interest would be affected by their violation.” Sir William sald this dispatch is quoted in international law and the under secretary replied that it cer- tainly seemed to afford a precedent which might be followed, adding that the advisabllity of calling the at- tention ‘of the American government to the matter was receiving con- eration. ! fembera also interested themselves in"the disposition of the liquor seized, LITTLE ENTENTE AGREES UPON LOAN TO HUNGARY By the Associated Press. SINAIA, Rumania, August 1.—A definite agreement with regard to the Hungarian loan was reached at the last sitting of the little entente con- ference yesterday, which was pre- slded over by M. Bratlano. A written reply will be forwarded to the league of nations, specifying the conditions under which the entente will tem- porarily suspend enforcement of their claims against Hungary. One of these is strict control of the employment of the money raised to prevent it from being used for propaganda or armament. Measures with thig object in view have been considered, but will not be made public for the moment. PASTOR WAS MURDERED, EYE-WITNESSES DECLARE AT TRIAL OF GARRETTS (Continued from First Page.) Tett was turned facing the minister, 1 think. To further questions Wilson stated positively he did not see the minister shoot Garrett in the back. Mr. Wendenberg sought to ask the witness why he did not see the min- ister shoot Garrett, but the question was overruled on objection by the Etate’s attorney. The witness was un- shaken in his testimony as to not having seen the preacher shoot at all. Drops at First Shot. “The first shot I heard I saw the preacher begin to fall,” the witness insisted. “I did not see Mr. Plerce shoot at all.” To further questions frem Mr. Wendenberg the witness said he did not know whether Mrs. Pierce re- mained on the scene. “She could have gone into house?” queried the attorney. “She could,” responded the witness. The witness said, in answer to Mr. \\'«ndenber"s repeated questions, that Robert and Larkin Garrett were leaving the premises when Mr. Pierce came out with the gun. The witness said he did not see Mr. Plerce “break” the shotgun and look nto it. Further questions brought out that all shots were in rapid succession. “When the Garretts were leaving aid they have their revolvers in thelr h:_u}(l.i.’" asked Attorney George White of the prosecution. "Yes, I think they did,” responded the witness. Recailed by the defense, Wilson was asked if Larkin Garrett was not hold- ing up his brother Robert to keep him from falling. “I did not see him holding him. They were walking side by side,” re- plied the witness. Declares Attorney Threatened. John T. Godsey, the second witness, said he lived a few steps from the B.’fl\tlf( parsonage and that he saw the Garretts going to the minister's home on the morning of the shooting, He said he later saw the Garretts sit- ting on the front porch of the min- ister's home. Godsey declared his at- tention was again attracted to the scene by the screams of Mrs, Danby, who said: “They are fighting over there!” He testified he saw Larkin and the min- ister on the ground, with Larkin on top of Mr. Plerce beating him. Later, he said, he saw Judge Smith come up and saw R. O. Garrett menace the gommonwealth's attorney with a tol. Mr. Plerce was in a bent position, he added, and his face was very bloody. Take Minister's Gun. the I should say, from what I could | see from where T was standing.” said the witness, “that in about a minute Mr. Plerce had gome into the house and came out with a shotgun. He scemed to be trving-to break it. 1 saw R. O. Garrett wrench the shot- gun from the hand of Mr. Pierce with his left hand while he kept him cov- ered with a pistol in his right. As Robert Garrett did this he turned elightly around.” The Witness testified that he heard a shot just then and saw the min- ister's body begin to crumple. “Then T saw Robert Garrett fire at him while he ‘was falling and fire at him several times while he was on the ground.” “What was the relative of Mr. Pierce and R. 0. G the first shot was fired? prosecution. “They were facing plicd the witness, o prosecution questions, Mr. sex ‘safd he did not seo Larkn rett supporting his brother Robert after the shooting and that the Gar- retts had their Pistols in ‘their ha1ds v passed hi Dien iy N him after the Says Pastor Had Pistol. Mr. Godsey sald. in reply to prose- cution questions, that he saw a pistol in the hand of 'Mr. Pierce aftsr the shotgun had been taken from him, but he was not holding it steadily. The pistol appeared to be wavering from side to side in his hand, the witness stated. “It was in his hand the whole time Mr. Pierce and Robert Garrett were facing each other.” said the witness. Mr.” Godsey said he helped shroud Mr. Pierce after death burned the minister's clothes at the request of Mr. Pierce’s orother be- cause 'in performing _the autopsy physicians had wiped their hands on them and position rrett when asked the each othe: they were covered with biood. Queried by Defense. Mr. Wendenberg. on cross-examina- tion, drew from the witness that the Garretts were leaving the Pierce home { Preted as a supporter of Mr. Wilson's when the minister came out armed with shotgun and pistol. parent the defense questions were de- signed to show that Mr. Pierce, after getting the firearms, deliberately went to the side of the porch and stepped or jumped off to avoid passing Judge Smith, whom the prosecution claims was standing at the foot of the steps. The distance from the end of the porch, where Mr. Plerce stepped off, to where his body was found, was “about three or four steps.” said the witness, answering Mr. Wendenberg. “Wasn't it sixteen feet?" asked Mr. ‘Wendenberg. “I wouldn't say,” witness. Mr. Wendenberg_elicited from the witness that he had stepped back when Mr. Plerce came out of the house with the firearms, to be out of the wa: “Didn’t you think Mr. Pierce was going to shoot and vou were getting out of his way " asked Mr. Wenden- berg. The prosecution objected to the witness stating what he had thought and was sustained and tho question went unanswered. Declared Political Enemy, “Isn't it a fact that vou are a bitter political enemy of both the Garretts?” asked Mr. Wendenberg. “No,” answered Mr. Godsey. “You do not epeak, do you?" “R. O. Garrett and myself have been speaking ever since he made a pro- fession of religion and called to see me and we have been speaking ever since.” “You are employed as a c! Flippen store, aren’t you “Yes. “Aren’t the Flippins bitter political and commercial enemies of the Gar- rotts?"” “I don’t know; that's their ness." “Have you contributed anything to the prosecution?” “Have the Flippins contributed any- thing?” “I dont know. “It Mr. Pierce did fire, then it is impossible for you to tell who fired the first shot?’ asked Mr. Wenden- berg, changing the course of his at- responded the erk in the busi- whether it was destroyed or is being | tack. held until the matter is settled. “I have not myself,” rep under secretary, “taken sufficient interest in the fate of the liquor to|shot?” E rtain.” A ils evoked cheers and laughter. _ 1ied the |court aske The witness did not reply and the| phrought back from California in com- the first | B “Mr. Godsey, who fired “R. O. Garry saw fired,” he ponded. and that he | It was ap- | l sorvatiem.” The farmers will like his that the existing tarift them and prevents that pis- | unrestricted American intercourse | {ing the “big interes UNDERWOOD ADROI IN ENTERING RACE § Politicians Praise His Cap- ture of Priority Advantage From McAdoo. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Political leaders of all shades of opinion consider that Senator Oscar W. Underwood has tossed his hat into the democratic presidentfal ring in uncommonly adroft fashion. He now becomes the first openly avowed can- didate for the nomination and thus achleves the Inestimable advantage of priority. It is thought likely that his chlef rival, Willlam G. McAdoo, will not lag far behind in publicly con- fessing his own ambitions. To date, though the “McAdoo movement” s in tull swing, California's adopted s officially is not in the race. Undoubtedly the surprise in the 1 derwood manifesto is its uncompro- mising support of prohibition enforce ment.. This writer foreshudowed, on the eve of the senator's return from Europe a month ago, that he would be found as “sound as President Harding” on the enforcement 1ssue. Wet Hopes Unfounded. Certain eastern wets, nevertheless, continued to hope that Underwood would make at least a moist gesture, They .will hunt in vain for any such encouragement in the Montgomery declaration. Mr. Underwood, like all wise politicians, understands perfect- ly that the “wet talkers” of the Unitedy States are overwhelmingly outnuffibered by the “dry voters.” His own seuthland is- a case in point about which he can be under no il- lusions, His scouts in the west, If they have reported facts, have not failed to as sure him that, politically, the mid- continent and the rest of the prairic regions are irrevocably for prohibi- tion enforcement as the law stands. There 1s light wines and beer sen timent everywhere, of course. But the point is, any candldate aspiring for high office on such & platform is doomed to defeat, by every present- hour surface indication. Underwood n has: unquestionably played shrewd politics in nailing law-enforcement colors to his mast. He has the ad- vantages there, t0o, of having es- poused the dry cause before Mr. Mc Adoo, a_well known dry, did so in the Buise of a presidential contender. Charge of Conservatism. On the other count which Under- wood supporters feared might jeop- ardize their leader's chances—the charge of ultra-conservatism — the Alabama senator makes a couple of shrewd points. In the midwest and west people identify “conservatism’ mainly with the protective tariff. Thoy particularly consider the Ford- ney-McCumber tariff the creation of the “conservative" and stand-pat east. In bitterly assailing the tariff as prejudicial to the farmers’ interests Underwood has struck a heavy blow at his popular reputation for ‘‘con- Wwith Europe that many of ther licve 18 at the root of their woes. From a stricktly democratic stand- point, Senator Underwood's insistence on the simon-pure southern aspect of his candldacy attracts serious atten- tion. Mr. McAdoo will take the field not as a southerner, thought a native of Georgia, but asa Californian. Yet it be- is an open secret that he has alwavs expected to capitalize in 1924, his strong southern afliliations. At least four of his chieftains are southern- ers—former Commissioner of Internal Revenue Danfel ( Roper, a Virgin- ian; Jouett Shou: of Kentucky, Robert W. Woolley' of Virginia, and Thomas B. Love, democratic national committeeman from Texas. Bernard M. Baruch, sometimes called the “angel” of the McAdoo boom, has old- time southern affiliations, too. Sena- tor Underwood evidently expects that the southern delegations to the 1924 democratic national convention shall, from the outset and now on, be un- der no misapprehension us to the first and only true son of Dixle aspiring for presidential honors. West for McAdoo. It will be from the south and east ungestionably that the Underwood movement will have to derive its chief support. This writer's investi- gations in ten mid-western states during the month of july indicated a surprising unanimity of McAdoo sentiment. Underwood’s name s not belng discussed, apparently, among western democratic leaders. A com- mon reason assigned for that fact was that they looked upon him as a wet and therefore ineligible from the political standpoint. Now that he i3 out, unmistakably, for law enforce- ment, Underwood’s cause may prosper in the agricultural regions in a ;nnnner that did not seem likely be- ore. The Alabaman does not espouse horse, foot and dragoon Wilsonian foreign policies, but he brackets the former President with the outstand- Ing democratic leaders of American history and thus at least is inter- scheme for American co-operation in world affairs. Underwood, in_ other words, is not an “isolationist,”” but an “interventionist.” He evidentiy be- lieves the United States, in a spirit of enlightened self-interest, can par- ticipate “over there” without league of nations “entanglements.” * “Big Interests” Charge Senator Underwood found a subtle means, Washington politicians were prompt to observe, to acquit himself of the fmpeachment that “big inter- ests” are behind his candidacy. His assertion that he has “ncither the financial suppor: nor the organization successfully to make a nation-wide campaign” is thought to have been made for the specis of kill- The same factors that, as many au- thorities think, are eventually going to inure to President Hardi: cam- paign advantage in 1924—the menace of “radicalism”—should opera in Senator Underwood's favor. Both the republican and democratic parties a year hence may feel that salvation lies in the direction of a candidate of known conservative leanings. They may jointly come to the conclusion that neither of the great parties can afford a candidate whose chavacter and {deals make any Sort of conces- sion to the La Follette-Brookhart- Magnus Johnson cult. BOY SUES FOR $50,000. False Arrest Charged Against Dis. trict Motor Company. Sult to recover $50.000 damages has fired the first shot I|Beriin & Smith and Godfrey L. Munm been filed in the District Supreme Court by Willlam K. Bowden, & minor. through his father, Frederick L. T. Bowden, egainst the District Motor Company, its president, Albert D. Gardner, and_its general manage Frederick S. Haller. The boy claims he was Bubjected to arrest on a charge, preferred by the company and its officias, of taking an automobile, purchasel on the instaliment plan, out of the city without permission last sunmer. He was arrested and any wth his father, who last week rought! & similar action agaimst the ompary. Attorneys Archer, Cha ter appear fOr i plaintiff.