Evening Star Newspaper, January 3, 1924, Page 1

WEATHER. Rain, possibly - changing to snow tonight; colder tpnight, with frees- ing_temperature; tomorrow fair snd colder. Tempetature for twenty-four hours ended at 2 p.m. tod: Highest, 45, at noon today; lowest, 30, at § p.m. yesterday. Full report on page 7. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 28 Entered as second-class matter No. 29,101, post_office Was! hington, D. C, 07035 MEN DEAD INILLINOIS STARCH PLANT EXPLOSION 20 More of 100 Injured at Pekin Likely to Die—Fire Spreads Ruin. FIVE OTHERS MISSING FROM CARS NEARBY| Trapped Workman Sings to Quiet Comrades When Retreat Is Cut Off. B the Associated Press. | PEKIN, 1L, January 20 and 35 persons were killed and §00 injured, according to estimates, In an explosion and fire in the starch $rulldings of the Corn Products Refin- {ng Company here early today. At #0 am. seven bodies, six of them @dentifled, had been recovered At that hour two buildings of the $ig plant were In ruins, building No. F3. the starch powder house, where fhe blast occurred, being reduced to & mass of smoldering debris, and $uilding No. 27, the starch house, still blazing, its walls standing, but giv- Ing off heat so intense that no efforts ©ould be made to search for bodies. 3.—Between Only Seventy-two Men in Plant. Although ordinarily 250 men were employed in the starch houses, ac- cording to Frank Welde, manager, only seventy-two men were in the starch powder house, where the ex- Plosion occurred, according to the best information he had. He and! Superintendent Lawson refrained from offering any estimate of the dead and injured until they could ob- tain more definite information. When the blast occurred relatives and friends of the employes rushed to the plant from their homes in Pekin, two miles away. Trapped in the third floor of the burning plant, Frank Lichtweiss, twenty-six, Peoria, sang to his fellow workers for nearly an hour to calm them and when the last retreat was cut off, jumped from the blazing building. Lichiweiss has u voice of unusual quallty and some of his companions went to their deaths with the strains of the songs In thelr memory. A not jump until all the men who ‘ere abie to leave the floor had done s0. He was severely burned and is in a hospital here. i Corn Ol Uned as Balm. | Corn oil, manufactured in the plant, was used as an ointment in attending' the wounds of the injured and burned. * Fire companies from both Peoria and Pekin responded to the calls for aid. The distance and severe cold handicapped the firefighters and rescue workers. Water froze on the ruins and gave an jcy mantle to the blackened walls of the starch house and debris of the starch powder house. Only the walls of building 27 were standing at 10 am. 1 Five men working in five box cars about thirty feet from building 3| were missing and believed to have been killed as the cars were dese troyed by the explosion. PEORIA SENDS AID. Wrecked Plant Said to Have All Safety Appliances, ssociated Press. RIA, IIl, January Between twenty and thirty men trapped in the | basement of the starch works of the Corn Products Company plant at Pekin, 111, are believed to have been | killed by the explosion which wrecked ! the building at 3:35 this morning. More than 100 other workmen wera | injured, of whom about twenty prob- | ably will die of burns, physicians waid. i Rescye workers report seeing many | bodies in the basement, but that they will be unable to reach them until| the flames are controlled. { The place employed about 800 men, | and it is estimated that 250 were af work in the starch house when the explosion occurred. They were mem- | bers of the night shift, which went on at 11 o'clock. Among the victims | also were about 25 workers due to go on at 4 o'clock. The cause of the blast has not yet heen determined, but it is believed caused by a dust explosion. The explosion was so terrific thaty several box cars alongside the plant were shattered or blown off the tracks. The force wrecked the starch- ing department, table and retable houses and_the kiln house, causing more than $500,000 damage. Plant Twenty-four Years Old. The Corn Products plant was the principal Industry of Pekin. It was built twenty-four years ago by the Tilinols Sugar Refining Company. but about eighteen years ago was sold to the Corn Products Compasy, and since ras been enlarged many times. The plant was said to be equipped with all the known safety appliances, and the explosion Is the first serious acci- dent since it was built. Many of the Injured are being brought to Peoria hospitals, according to the first reports | Upset Teapot Brings Career And Romance By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, January 3.—Edward T. Hall, Boston_shoe manufacturer, is delighted because there was a certain bump in the floor of a lit- tle tearoom in Spokane, Wash. Joan Gardner, waitress, tripped on the bump and dumped a cup of tea into the lap of Ina Clalire, theatri- cal star. Her quaint apology won and started conversa- Next day Miss Claire wired Flo Ziegfeld, producer: “Found Venus with arms and voice. Will you eu- gage her? The answer came: “Rusn Venu:. Protect arms.” Joan soon had a part in one cf Giegfeld's musical show @ll went to see it; saw ouly Joan and on New Year's day, be- tween shows, they were marricd. She will continue her stage work. GUMPTO SETTLE SUIT AGAINST THAW Boy Beaten by Sléyer Says He Is Willing to Agree Out of Court. ADMITS RELEASE MOVE Coyne Says Steps Will Be Taken to Secure Freedom From Asylum at Once. By the Associated Preas. NEW YORK, January 3.—Confirma- tion of reports that Harry K. Thaw would seek his freedom from a Phila- delphia asylum to face charges of having whipped Frederick Gump, jr. of Kausas City in a New York hotel in 1917. today was followed by an- nouncement that Gump would agree to settle a $650,000 civil damage suit | against Thaw out of court and indi- cations that he would let the crim- inal charge lapse. Shortly after Bartholomew B. Coyme, a New York lawyer, repre- senting Thaw, had confirmed reports that he would soon institute in the Pennsylvania courts proceedings to have his client declared sane, he went into conference with Frank P. Wals] representing young Gump, whose father {s a wealthy manufacturer. Marrled Short Time. The announcement concerning the civil suit settlement then was made | by -Walsh, who said that his client was married two months ago and now was living In California. “Although I have not communicated with Gump in five years, negotiations for a settiement of the damage suit have been going on for some time, Mr. Walsh said. *The case is sched- uled to be called in Philadelphia the latter part of this month. I think some decision will have been arrived at by that time.” Refuses to Comment. Mr. Walsh refused to comment on his client's probable action in the event District Attorney Banton pros- ecutes Thaw, should he be released as sane, on the two indictments found by a local grand jury in Jan- uary, 1917. Mr. Banton, asked what he would do In the light of today’s developments, replied that he “would attempt to cross no bridges until he came to them. Mr. Coyne left for Philadelphia this afternoon to again confer with Thaw on the steps to be taken to bring about the proceedings to have his client declared sane. The petition to bring. the proceed- ings before a jury probably will be filed the middle of this month before | Judge Martin in Philadeiphia, it was sald. It further was said that plans to (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) MRS. HARDING HERE TO SPEND WINTER Will Make Home at Willard and Avoid Active Part in Season's Social Program. Fiorence Kiing Harding, Wife of the late President, arrived in Wash- ington early today from Marion, Ohlo. She will stay in Washington for the remainder of the winter. She was accompanied by Mrs. Charles E. Sawyer, wifexof Gen. Saw- yer, the Harding family, physician. Arriving in Washington #out 7 a.m., Mrs. Harding had breakfast on the special car provided for the journey. A White House automobile was sent to the Union station to convey her to the Willard Hotel, where she has a tuite of rooms that will be her win- ter home. President and Mrs. Coolidge sent Capt. Adolphus Andrews, commander of the Mayflower, t Hard- ing. Gen. Sawyer .E::";‘{." “at_the station. At the Willard, Mrs. tiard. ing retired to her suite and did not grant any interviews. During —the Winter she will recaive her fHends and entertain them in a quiet way, taking no acthve part in the soclai program of the National Capital, Girl, 22, Held in Sealed Room by Man Of 62, Rescued After Five. Years Statutory Charge Made Against Canadian, Said to Have Never Let Prisoner Leave Home in Cen- ter of Small Town in Nova Scotia. By the Assoclated Press. BEAR RIVER, N. S, January 3. Bertha Potter, twenty-two-,years old, for the first time in five years has been taken outside the house in which she said she had been the prisoner of William Lent, sixty- two. Neatly dressed and apparent- lv in good health, she said most of 1he time had been spent in a room tightly sealed. A charge S odaation” was made sgainst Lent the girl, scantily clad, in Lent’ Elght years ago, after Lent wife had left him, Miss Potter, an orphan then fourteen, came to live with him at his house in the center of town opposite. the -main hotel After three years she disappeared from the view of neighbors, but an investigation was not made until recently, when the attorney general received a letter of complaint from some one in the United States whose identity was not revealed. The Informant said he had hla.n n-191% WASHINGTON, D. C, INFATUATION CLUE INMOVIE SHOOTING SCOUTEDBY STAR Mabel Normand Ridicules Po- lice Theory of Chauffeur’s Motive. GREER, IN JAIL, STICKS TO SELF-DEFENSE PLEA| Dines, Wounded Clubman, Denies Provocation—Miss Purviance | Says She’s His Fiancee. | | I By the Associated Press. LOS ANGELES, Calif., January 3.— What drove Mabel Normand's chauf- feur to shoot Courtland 8. Dines, Den- ver oil operator and clubman. in Dines' apartment here New Year night in the presence of Miss Nor- mand and Edna Purviance, another motion plcture actress, today is a matter on which those most inti- mately concerned in the shooting seem utterly unable to agree. Horace A. Greer. the chauffeur, also known as Joe Kelly, still insists, that he put a bullet through Dines' lung !in self-defense. The police are equaily positive that infatuation for Miss Normand, coupled with an am-| Ubition to be her hero and protector, iled Greer to shoot when balked in ! his effort to “rescue” the actress from 1 Dines, Miss Normand, ignoring her chauf- feur's self-defense plea, ridicules the police theory of infatuation with: Tmpossible! The man must have been Insane. | Dines Denies Motive. Dines, lying on his cot at the Good Samaritan Hospital, says he does not Know “why in the world that fool ever shot me,” but declares “he must have been full of hop."™ The theory advanced by Miss viance is that Greer was foo | jealous enough to have shot any man | {he might have found in the apart- | ment with Miss Normand that night. | | "Meanwhile Greer remains in the city ljall on a charge of assault with a | | deadly weapon; Dines is maid to be | !recovering at the Good Samaritan | Hospital; Miss Normand is i the | same hospital suffering from wha | her physicians term a nervous break |down brought on by excitement and | worry, and Miss Purviance is resting iat home after announcing that re | por of her engagement to Dines! { were not entirely unfounded. { H Engaged After Fashion. “Mr. Dines and T were engaged— and yet we were not engaged, if| | you understand what I mean.” 5)\!1 {told newspaper men last night, ex-{ | plaining that while the Denv; an | had “never given me an engal enl{ {ring, there was an understanding be- ) {tween us that we would be married. | | “I am not ashamed to say that 1| am most terribly fond of him.” she | | added. Charles Chaplin, who starred Miss Purviance recently in a picture of | his direction and who was reported | to have decided to use her as feminine | lead in his next comedy, announced today that it was possible some one else may take the role, but denied| that the publicity arising from the | Dines shooting would influence his| | cholce. | "It was unfortunate for Miss Pur- viance to be there,’ he said, “but I certainly wouldn't 'discharge her for | | something for which she is not in the least to blame. Such a thing| might happen to any one. Producers are Silent. Officials of the Sennett studios here, with whom Miss Normand has been working under one-picture agree- | | ments, declined to suy whether her | | connection with the shooting would | | 1 have any effect on scheduled show- ings of her pictures or on possible future agreements with Sennett. Both Miss Normand and Miss Purvi- {ance related their versions of the | shooting yesterday, as did also Dines; while Greer reiteratsd what: he told the police .Tuesday niZht, namely, that Dines had interfered with his efforts to assist Miss Normand out of the Denver man’s apartment and was about to hit him with a bottle when he shot. Dines branded the chauffeur's state- ment as a lle. | ™SThat fellow lies when he says I reached for & bottle,” he said. “I did not need to hit him with a bottle. 1f he annoyed me I'd crush him with my hands. He just turned the gun on me and shot.” = Mopped and Swept. Miss Nofmand had ‘Sust breezed over to my apartment” on the after- noon of New Year day, he explained, and Miss Purviance was ‘there, too. Miss Normand took it (nto her head to put the apartment in order, he went on—"dragged out all the mops and brooms in the place and brushed things up and polished 'the floors, and then, after they had all “had something to drink, this Greer or Kelly came up.” n argument over whether Miss Nevmand should leave the apartment followed, and In the midst of it, with- out warning, Dines said, the chauffeur Urew & pistol and fired three shots, one bullet plercing Dines’ chest and other grasing his ear. an g ppose T'li kick the bucket this time,” the wounded man obmerved, tadly, although surgeons had pro- nounced his condition far froms hope- Jess, They described Dines’ condition as “very satisfactory” and say| he is on the way to recovery. 'Miss Purviance described the iscene in Dines’ apartment before the atrival of Greer and the pistol as an infarmal gathering of three good friends on a New Yesr afternoon, during which “it would be foolish to say that there was CALL GREER FUGITIVE. | that they [ made _nothing to drink.” It Oskland Police Say Chauffewr Escaped Prisoh. * OAKLAND, Calif, January 3.—Reo- ords of the bureau of identification af the Oakland police department reveal that Horace Greer, who gave his oc-. cupsation as 3 chauffeur, is wanted by the department as a fugitive from Justice. / The record shows that Greer escaped after he had served fifteen days of a seventy-five-day sentence for petty - 3ATCeATy the theft of & Pair of shoes, ¢ Foenin WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION OH, GooDY! 1 CAN HARDLY TO' WA News Note: evening. ASKS PRESIDENT'S RAIL LAW VIEWS “Clarity” Urged by Chairman Winslow of House Committee. BY DAVID LAWRENCE, Chairm Winslow of ommittee asked “elarif lation n the House interstate commerce President Coolidge today to ¥ his views on possible legis- affecting the rallroads and transportation generally. Mr. Coolidge, in his message, sct forth some definite ideas on the rafl- road problem, but Mr, Winslow want- ed to make sure just how far the President is willing to go in seeing his views carried out on Capitol Hill Although taxation is undoubtedly the paramount issue before Congress today, there is considerable pressure from the agricultural and business Interests of the country on the sub- ject of railroad legislation. Demands of Farmer. 1t all arises from the demand of the farmer for cheaper freight rates. The | farm bloc owes its popularity in the ! west to the boast that it champions the interests of the farmer. The con- gressional campaign of 1922 saw many a member lose his seat in Con- gress because of farmer dissatisfac- tion with his attitude on the trans- portation law known as the Esch- Cummins act. For several years there has been a steady demand upon the railroads reduce their freight rates Some reductions Others have been refused, even though the President of the United States in a personal appeal to various railroad executives sought the reduction. ‘What power then can be exerted over the railroads to secure lower frelght rates? The farmer and his representatives in Congress have seized upon a precious clause in the trans- portation act, which they insist amounts t> a guarantee of profits to the railroads and prevents the Inter- state Commerce Commission from or- dering lower freight’ rates. Low Misunderstood. Mr. Coolidge pleased the railroad in- terests by saying in his last address to Congress that. it has been erron- eously assumed tnat the act (Esch- Cummins law) undertakes to guaran- tee railroad earnings.” The President argued that the law merely requires that “rates should be just and reason- able.” But what are just and reasonable rates? Those that yieM a fair re- turn on the money invested. Here, however, the dispute only begins, for the opponents of the present law in- sist that a falr return could be made with a lower freight rate on various commodities, and that the facts and figures furnished by the railroads are pot conclusive. And, so the argument goes. It is somewhat similar to the soldier-bonus controversy. One side insists upon one set of figures and the otler offers another group of figures. The out- ‘tanding fact is that the farmer looks n his power in Congress as a b over the heads of the railroaas. _'long as that club Is dangled from bove, the railroads will be kept state of anxiety. So far as the rail- | roads are concerned they wouldn't be disappointed if Congress never found time to tackle the railroad problem at all at this session. Months' Delay Possible. Judging by the speed Congress is making and the capacity for debate and piolonged fighting in the tax question, it would not be surprising if the raflroad problem was not taken up for several months. If Congress does not take positive action there wiil be & good deal heard in the presi- dential and congressional campaign about amendments to the transporta- tion law. The so-called progressives onsider it a vital plank in their plat- form, and the question affords plenty lof opportunity for stump speaking. Mr. Winslow's call at the White House was prompted by a'desire for guid- ance. The President indicated in his mes- that he would prefer to let well enough 'alone and wait for a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on the constitutionality of cer- tain features of the present law be- fore trying to amend the act. Wheth- er Congress will agree :with him I doubtful. Of far more importance is the question of Mr. 1dge’s attitude ould the farm bloc take the initia- amend the act and present Mr. golidge with a bill that contradicts the views he expressed in his mes- ¢ “ .(ml.l-u e ’ THURSDAY, JANUARY Senator Hiram have been volunta- | 3, Johnson will open his campaigr B | LUXOR F | the doors of the second shrine in | Tutankhamen's b were opened | thi€ moming a third brilliantly coi- | orad and gilded shrine was disclosed. | This shrine. which was also opened by the excavators, is inscribed with | hierogiyphics, and on the doors are | depicted the figures of a horse-headed |man and the cow-headed Hathor, | Egyptian goddess of love. | Howard Carter began today one of the most difficult parts of the season's work in dismantling the tomb of Pharaoh Thutenkhamen, namely, the removal of | the sixteen remaining sections of the | immense ~outes- canopy. Externally there are 1o signs of ‘pegs or similar | devices for holding the parts together. but Mr. Carter, who so dexterously re- mo¥ed three weighty sections of the 100f. doubtless by this time has a good | idea of how best to tackle this difficult | task. Tt would be no easy matter to take | apart the different sections of the elab- orately decorated sides of the canopy. even in the unrestricted space of a HOME FOR BLIND - TOGET $a00,000 Hurt Bequest® Available Through Consolidation of Two Institutions. tor Amalgamation of the Aid* Association for tha Blind of the District of Colum- I bia, located at 3050 R street, with the Henry and Annie Hurt Home for the Blind, founded under the will of the |late Annie Hurt, has been effected by agreement of the boards of directors of the two institutions. The name of the Georgetown institu- tion, located directly across from beau- titul Montrose Park, henceforth will be “The Henry and Annie Hurt Home for the Blind,” but the Aid Association for the Blind will continue to conduct, op- erate and manage the home. The agreement puts at the disposal of the institution $500,000, left fn trust with the American Security and Trust Company, of which sum not more than half may be used for the erection of a new building. Under the new arrangement an annual income of.approximately $28,- 000 will be available for caring for the blind in thé District, at the same time that the old ihstiution, in ex- istence since 1900, will be utilized to_the full E In her will the late Annie Hurt, widow of Henry Hurt, bequeathed .to the American Security and Trust Company $500,000 to hold until the incorporation of a home fof the des- titue or needy. blind, after which the financial institutibn was to establish the home and place at its disposal the sum named. In looking over the local situation 1in regard to the cate of the blind, Mr. i Bell and his associates saw that the Ald Assoclation for the Blind had long owned and maintained a home, and had cared for the destitute and needy blind, and through experience it and the officets,” board of manage- ment and agents had gained knowl- edge of the needs and requirements of the blind and how, to meet them, and how best to give them main- tenance, relief and benefit. Co-Operation. Desired. It was considered by the trustees and officers of the Henry and Annie Hurt Home for the Blind and of the Ald_Association’ that the-aims and purposes of the late Annie Hurt and the aims and purposes of the found- ers, officers-and board of the Ald Association could best and most ef- foctively' and fully be. carried out and fulfllled by the umited effort and close co-operation of the two corpora- tions. “The Aid Assoctation, it was discov- ered, while it owns and maintains a well equipped and comfortable home, 18, yet dependent for its support and maintenance upon the annual volun- tary contributions of its friends and supporters and the general public, and is in neéd of ‘new additional bullding or bulldings to be erected upon its property for the greater and better accommodation of the blind. _ By the agreement reached, the Aid Assoclation wilk convey to the Henry and Annie $iurt: Home for the Blind all its right] tite and Interest in the real estate now.owned by it, known and -deseribed in real estate”records {Coptinued on Paga 4, Column:- 33 ) it -When | 1924 ~FORTY PAGES. 1 for President in Cleveland this THIRD BRILLIANT SHRINE FOUND WITHIN TUTANKHAMEN’S TOMB Sight Dazzles Carter at Opening of Doors of Second + Canopy—Starts Removing Remaining Sec- ! tions of Pharaok’s Abode. | iaboratory. but in the narrow chamber where he is forced to work some three feet below, the level of the antechani- ber, in an atmosphere made oppressive | | by the constant glare of the Iights, the | work requires endurance, patience and | | skinl | Judging by the time taken in dis- | mantiing the roof of the canopy, this | process may require a week or more, |after which Mr. Carter will begin to | take apart the second shrine. | ““The local authorities have made a great effort this year to improve the | pimitive road that winds its way from | the Nile across a verdant strip of land | to the fastnesses of the roval necropo- {1is. To hazard the trip by automobile was something of a feat-last year, and lat one time or another each of the ’ three automobiles Luxor boasted would | the road has stick in the deep dust This year." hosgve | been widened, éspecially along the dike \ that borders the Nile canal—now near- ly dry—and partigs of road menders | are daily engaged in leveling the thor- | oughfare or sprinkling the top layer ! with water so that the sun will bake it to a hard, eyen surface. WAY D POLETRP EGroup Formed Here Likely to Be Sent to Alaska and Spitzbergen This Summer. Organization of a new naval aii- craft squadron for duty either with the Shenandoah and its proposed flight to the north pole or for the winter maneuvers at Panama will be effected at the naval air station, Ana- costia, D. C.; §on the receipt of six new CS planes within a week or two. These planes are known as the three- in-one, in that they are equally ef- fective for bombing, torpedo carrying and launching and scouting, serving the purposes of three separate types of planes. Six Officers Detailed. Six officers have been detailed at the station here for duty in organiz- ing the squadron. They are Lieut. Commander C. P, Mason, in command, and Lieuts. B. G. Leighton, J. D. Price, Benjam‘n Wyatt (the latter two dust having arrived from the Pacific coast via airplane in four days fiylng), Rut- ledge Irvine and B. H. Warner. When the squadron organization was first consldered it was Intended/ that it should fiy around the world. Disapproval of the high naval of- ficials then changed the program in store for the group to fiy to Panama, participate in the maneuvers, jour- over the Pacific to Manila. With the announcement of a determination to fiy to the north pole, this plan also vided in two, three planes to go to Alaska and three to Spitzbergen to aid the Shenandoah in many ways when it undertakes the polar flight. The naval arctic board hae recom- mended the use of planes at Alaska and Spitabergen, but has not decided wheth- er the types shall be the CS or the DT, : Douglas torpedo. Should the board se- lect the latter type, the, officers now at | iCerwin Individuals Reported to Be Creating Disturb- rances by Throwing Stones and Blowing Bugle Near Mausoleum: at Night. the local air station in all probability then will be detached from the CS equadron and go to these two northern Bimeu ivers. Experiment With Planes. Capt. W. D. Thomas, in command of the seaplane base at Anacostia, said today that officers who-are to comprise this ysquadron are making daily tests with two CS planes now at the station, endeavoring to get the maximum per- formance both with plane and fuel. The new CS planes will have a gasoline tank capable of holding 730 gallons of flight. The test planes here have consumed ! only twenty-eight gallons an hour and the possibility is that even a lower con- sumption may be obtained. Wright T-3 'motors of 780 horsepower are the power . plants for the’ships, 3 “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star’s carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. 1850000000 SOUGHT NEW AIR SQUADRON ney up the west coast and then hop | has been sidetracked and it is pos- | sible the CS squadron may be di-| and participate in the artic | Yesterday’s Circulation, 95,418 FOR NEW BUILDINGS U S. NEEBS IND. . Sum Would Be Spent Over a Period of Five or Ten Years, Says Report. PROPOSAL IS IN LINE WITH COOLIDGE MESSAGE | Internal Revenue, Agriculture sndl Archives Cited Among Most . Vital Housing Problems. A proposal that Congress authorize the expenditurs of $50,000,000 over a period of five or ten years for the construction of buildings needed by | the government in the District of Columbia is contained in the annual report of the public huildings com- mission, submitted to the Senate to- day by Senator Smoot of Utah, chair- man, The proposal is in line with the recommendation made by President Coolidge in his annual address to Congress. The report of the commission gives in detail the needs of the various government departments and agencles for better housing facilities and urges that provision for a building plan in the District of Columbia be inserted in one of the public building bills. | Time-Saving Seen. “This general legislation” the re- port says, “would make it possibie to carry out the entire program without | the necessity of coming to Congress | and asking for authorization for each individual building. as has been the custom in the past. In fact, the com- | mission is convinced that this is the only way in which satisfactory provi- | sion can be made for an adequate | housing of the various departments within a reasonable time. Further- more, it would make it possible to( | plan the entire program at once. keep- | ing in mind at all times the desirabil- ity of bringing the various units of | each department as closely together as possible. ‘This plan, if adopted, will place the entire construction program un- der the general supervision of one | centralized authority. This commis- sion has had nearly five years' ex- perience in dealing with the assign- ment of space in the public buildings, {and has necessarily acquired an inti- | mate knowledge of conditions and { the space needs of the gaxernment in | the Distriet of Columbia. Cites Mont Vital Discussing the new building needed the report says: { “Probably the most urgent and | vital need in this respect is the erec- tion of a new building for l_he bureau of internal revenue of the Treasury ! Department. This important unit of { the government. handling valuable i papers and records representing bil- | lions of dollars, is occupying 636,000 square feet of floor space in nine dif- ferent buildings, scattered over an area of one and ohe-half square miles. However, the most alarming feature of the housing situation of [ the bureau is the fact that 70.3 per cent of its space is in the temporary | { non-fireproof bulldings. | “Another activity which is suffering | greatly by reason of having its vari- | ous divisions scattered over the city | | is the general accounting office. This | office is now occupying twenty differ- | ent buildings spread out over a con | siderable area. The controller gen {eral estimates that a saving of $250, 1000 per annum would result should | nis office be housed in a single build- | ting. 1 ‘Worst Housed Department. i “As stated in previous reports, the | Department of Agriculture is without {a doubt the worst housed institution in the city of Washington. Tt is now tpread out over the District of Co- Iimbia in forty-five buildings, twenty- eight of which are rented and the femaining seventeen are government owned. While a rental of $182,850 per annum is now being paid. this Hoes ot by any means represent the total saving which would result were |the department’s activities concen- trated in one location “"The commission believes that a new building for the Department of Justice ! {a badly needed at this time. bullding of the department, located at Vermont avenue and K street, is a Needs. {of | for six years.” 1in the Hauor traffic. jor any The main | government approximately $115,000 per annum for rent and upkeep. “The need for such an archives building has been generally known for 50 long that it hardly seems necessary fo stress it here. The construction of such a building would have the effect of releasing 544,023 square feet of space now being used In good office buildings for the storage of records Which are seldom referred to. ‘Want Large Warehouse. “Another badly needed building is a large warehouse, conveniently lo- fated on a railway siding, for the use of the general supply committee and Sther purchasing agencles. It would male it possible to concentrate all the government's storage of supplies in fhe District of Columbia. in one loca- tion. 1t would enable the general | upply committee and other purchas- ing agencies to purchase supplies on a definite quantity basis, thereby ef- fecting great savings in costs. It would make it possible to demolish those unsightly structures in East | Potomac Park. Harding By the Amsociated Press. MARION, Ohio, January 3—Soldiers guarding the vault where the body of President Harding is entombed have been glven orders to shoot directly at persons who have been causing dis- turbances around the tomb of the late President at night, Lieut. R. H. Harri- man, in command of the soldier guard stationed at the tomb, announced today. Lieut. Harriman said that ever since the guard has been stationed at the tomb, certain individuals have been an- poying-the:detachment, At first-it was i TWO CENTS. DIPLOMAT RUM BAN ASKED IN HOUSE IN BITTER LIQUOR WAR Upshaw and Blanton Meas- ures Would Oust All U. S. Officials Who Drink. EXPEL ENVOYS WHO USE LIQUOR, LATTER SAYS Use of Army, Navy and Marines to Clean Out Dry Violators, Is Asked. Stirred sensational develop- ments in the Capital's rum conspiracy involving “customer lists,” and In sinuating diplomatic irregularities. the dry forces of Congress today took the first step toward drastic action not only againt American, but for- eign officialdom in this city The “executive gulllotine”. for American officials who drink, sharp Investigation of the whole affair, and curtailment of the drinking privi- leges of the diplomatic corps are among the far reaching proposals in five resolutions introduced in the House by Representative Upshaw democrat, Georgia, and Representa- by jtive Blanton, democrat, "Texas. At the same time preparations were under way for manaamus proce g s before the District Supreme Court to morrow morning, when the court will hear the case, in which the United States commissioner, George H. Mac- Donald, is called upon to submit pa- Ders supporting request for: the afi- davits under which the first two al- leged c irators. H. C. Lamson and Milton E. Scarborough, were arrested more than a week ago in the Con- tinental Trust building here Askn Coolidge Lead Fig! The “righteous crusade” should | begun by President Coolidge, Mr. U'p- shaw said. in a prepared speech sup- porting his resolution, in which he demanded ‘“‘the smashing of every Jug and breaking of every bottle in official Washington."” Representative Blanton's four reso- lutions provided drastic measures to suppress hootlegging, punish those in the service of the government who support or in any way aid violation the prohibition amendment, to clean up the rum scandal, to. prevent special privileges in regard to dip- lomatic liguor and to authorize the use of the military forces of the fed- eral government and several states to suppress the unjawful traffic. One of Representative Blanton's reso- lutions calls attention that the press has reported the apprehension of organized bootleggers in Washington and the dis- covery of a list of patrons, many al- leged to be prominent gov - ekoa government nff. Asks Probe of Listw. It points out that the press now re- ports the alleged discovéry of $50,000 worth of intoxicating liquors stored in one place in Washington and the appre- hension of a bootlegging syndicate from whose possession, the press alleges, a list was taken containing the names of 1,400 patrons, including cabinet officers, senators, representatives in Congress, and other men of prominence, which list is said to have “disappeared.” In order that the real facts as they concern “the whole people” may be known, Representative Blanton pro- poses that the House commitiee on alcoholic liquor traffic. “which has been idle and has not held a meeting be authorized to in- vestigate all such reports, to summon and compel the attendance of wit- nesses and the production of all rec- ords and documents, and to hear all evidence within the limitations of in- ternational law. The findings of the committee would be reported to the House as soon as possible, together with recommendations. A House joint resolution would con stitute it cause for impeachment of any executive officer, member of the judiciary or of Congress found guilt: of purchasing intoxicating liquors from a bootlegger. or of complicity It would make it cause for dishonorable discharge from the service of any officer or enlisted man in the Army, Navy, Marine Corp: employe of the governmen of the United States found guilty of purchasing liquors from a bootlegger or having any part in liquor traffic Cites Military Oath, Representative Blanton bases this rented structure which is costing the | ocolution on the fact thaf every ex- ecutive officer, member of the ju diciary of the Senate or House of Representatives and all officers and enlisted men in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps and other employes of the government, have taken the oath that_they will’ support and defend the Constitution, which provides that “the manufacture, sale or transporta- tion of intoxlcating liquors within or the importation thereof into the United States for beverage purposes is_hereby prohibited.” In another joint resolution. Repre- sentative Blanton seeks to have Con- gress prohibit officials of the Unitei States from issuing permits to any ciplomatic representative, secretary of embassy or legation, counselor of embassy or legation, military, naval or commercial attache, consul, agent commissioner or special envoy of any foreign country accredited to and residing in the United States tha! would authorize any one of these or any member of their officlal fam- ily to import into this country, trans (Continued on Page 4, Column 2.) Tomb Guards Told to Shoot Directly at Prowlers in Cemetery thought it was small boys, but when the disturbances kept up the guard took it more seriously. The disturbances have consisted of throwing stones at two small guard- houses on each side of the entrance to the vault. At various times a bugle has been blown in remote parts of the cemetery about the midnight hour, and of late has happened almost nightly. Riot guns have been sent from Fort Hayes, Columbus headquarters for the guard detachment here, and these, load- ed with buckshot, will be used if the disturbances continue, Lieut. Harriman said today. No cause for the s disturbances known, Lieut. sald,