Evening Star Newspaper, April 19, 1924, Page 1

WEATHER Fair tonight: cloudiness, probably beco: tled; not much change in t Temperature for 24 hours ended at 3 p.m. today: Highest, 57, day; lowest, 42, at 6 am. t #ull report on page 3. tomorrow increasing ming unset- emperature, at noon to- oday. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 14 Entered as s postoffice 29,208, Washington D C. na-gluss matter HANHARA TO WRI HUGHES NEW NOTE T0 CLARIFY STAND State Department Announce- ment to Contain Disclaimer of Threat. U. S. ENVOY SEES TOKIO MINISTER ON EXCLUSION Matsui Said to Have Assured Him No Meddling in Domestic Af- fairs Intended. Steps are beinz taken here to clarify the intent of the recent Japan st the exclusion features of the immigration bill, A formal announcement on the sub- Ject probably will be made at the State Department within the next twenty- for In pro test agal hours. luded the announcement is d to be a formal disclaimer on of Japan that any offen w tended by vrotest which consequen, result of this e: t > or eat 2 that pussage referred 1o As placed load the interpretation presion by Senate the unanimous for Secretary % Jevoted much of his t past two days to of the intern on and almost ate v nghes i the ation exclusion, i 1 cons acute 1 ds- involved He conferred today Fresident Coolidge and it appeared likely afterward that the forthcom- ing might made in with announcemont be ight In Touch With Hanihara, Socretary also ha to placed him- fully of sador Hanihara ambassador has ate Department original protest, advised of the to have of language of d before the Amer-| the world. | ate Depart- Officials there did | t mive the ambassador's note the | erpretation placed upon it in Con- | s and the department believes Hanihara should have an oppor- | tunity to present publicly his own | interpretation i Effect Ix Problematieal. | Whether this explanation will have | any effect on the pending exclusion | legislation ix a subject Senate and louse leaders are not willing to dis- cuss untll they have the State Department announcement, | Today the final step to send the im- migration bill to conference was tak- | en in the House, which disagreed | with the Senate amendments. The | conferees are cxpected to begin work | immediately Chairman Johnson of the immigra- tion committee and Representatives #olf in a pos learn the attitude of Am although the visited the he made Hughes not his fully embas vy Mr &n is offictals anation the the protest plac fean public and With this desir ment is in accord. exj n in ¥ Mr, is seen Vaile, Colorado, and Vincent, Michi- | gan, Republicans, and Sabath, Iili- (Continued on Page 2, Column 4) | ON ARIZONA BORDER| Gov. Hunt Lets Stranded Tourists | From California Enter State | to Avoid Riot. By the Associated Press, | PHOENIX, Ariz., April 19.—Gov. ¢ W. Hunt of Arizona early today lift- €d the foot-and-mouth disease block- ade at Yuma in order to permit the passage into this state of approxi- mately 800 motorists reported in pitiful condition as a result of being | held on the California of the| state line without camping equipment or sufficient food. | In & telegram to Dr. E. L. Stam, in | charge of the quarantine at Yuma, the | governor stated he felt “it would be safer to have these people pass after thorough inspection and good fu- migation than to have them rush the guard. | Would Avoid Bloodshed. | “I do not want to see any blood- | shed, but we must use every pre-| caution’ possible,” the messuge con- tinued. *“Owing to the very serious situation, as reported in your tele- | phone message, and the nou-arrival of the military, you are authorized to jssue permits, after thorough inspec- tion and fumigation, to persons that are now stranded on the California cide. As soon as this is done, have the embargo closed again. 1 realize what a menace it would be to Arizona to have this dreadful disease et a foothold. The situation assumed threatening proportions last night, when some of the motorists sought to rush the <uard on the Arizona side. Firc ap- paratus was driven up hurriedly, and the tourists gave way when fire hose was trained on them. No shots were fired and’ there was no serious vio- jence, aithough the guards were sur- rounded by several hundred persons. SOME TOURISTS ILL. Exposure and FPoor Food and ‘Water Are Blamed. YUMA, Ariz, April 19.—Upon re- ceipt of instructions from Gov. Hunt to permit entry into Arizona of some $00 tourlsts blockaded here, perparations were begun at once by city and quarantine officers to subject the travelers to inspection and fumiga- tion at the plant at Knobb, Calif., twelve miles west. ‘Among the stranded tourists who have become i1l on account of their experience is Mre. F. W. McKensle (Continucd on Page 2, Column 3.) side |of the 1890 census iDnugh('rt fore U. S. Commiss Presence Senator B, K. Wheeler of Montana ap- | peared before United States Commi ioner Macdonald here today and fur- | nished bond for $1,000 for his appear- |ance May 5 at Great Falls, Mont. to answer an indictment charging him | with accepting money illegally for ap- | pearing before the Interior Department | in tand cases | The Daugherty committee prosecutor | went before the commissioner volun- | tarily soon after he advised by the | district attorney’s office that the indic | ment had been forwarded here with a re- | quest for service. |EARLY AGREEMENT | SEEN ON ALIEN CURB | Senate and House Ready for Con- ference on Changes in Johnson Measure. |TOTALS ~ ARE REDUCED | Attitude of President on Japanese | Exclusion Uncertain. The Senate and House immigration bills were ready for conference to- day, with indications of an ecarly agreement. Although differing at a number of points, the Asfatic ex- | cludion and other provisions embod | ing important changes in policy are | substantially the same. House passed its bill last Sat- urday b: majority of more than 4t 1 the Senate acted last aight, 62 to 6. Both chambers made | their decision with respect to Jap- | anese exclusion after | Hanihara's letter defining the gentle- men’s agreement and warning of “grave consequenc had been for- warded to Congre by Secretary Hughes, who, with President Cool- ido, had consistently opposed enact- ment of such a provision. a and May Veto Measare. on the Executive attitude toward the Dbills has been lacking since their passage at the White House and the State Department. It has been suggested that the Presi- dent might veto the measure when it is submitted to him after the| Senate and House fren out thelr dif- ferences, but some congressiona leeders have predicted that he wilt give it nis approval. Differences in phraseology in the Asiatic exclusion and other prov sions, in the opinion of parllamentary observers, present an opportunity | for considerable modification while | the final draft is being worked out| in conference. sign has been given, however, to indicate the points of divergence at which either cham- ber may be expected to recede toward a compromise. Quota Cut Down, fixing immigration per cent on the basis figures, as com- pared with cent of the 1910 census flgures the expiring law, are contained in both bills, but ex- emptions for relatives of citizens and skilled labor and families, approved by the House, were not adopted by the Senate. A “quota total” of 150,000 is estimated under the Senmate bill, while the House measure would admit 162,000, with a like number, in the opinion of Senator Reed, Republican, Pennsylvania, allowed to enter under the exceptions. The Senate also adopted a provis- jon, not included in the House bill, practically limiting the life of the| Mmeasure to about three years pending a population survey by the Secreta- ries of Interfor, Commerce and Labor intended to establish a permanent ba- sis for computing future quotas. An- other proposal the House will be ask- ed to accept is_the Simmons amend- | ment giving préference to farm-labor | immigrants when states certify that they are needed. The House bill carries a provision for supervision of alien seamen ar- riving at American ports, but the Senate rejected a similar proposal, and also favored a system of vise certificates instead of the “stamped passport” plan of the House in con- nection with the scheme - for exam- ination of immigrants abroad. FUND TO GUARD BORDERS. $1,200,000 Written in Fiscal Bill to Check Alien Smuggling. To check illegal entry of aliens into the United States an appropri; tion of $1,200,000 for additional pay for immigration inspectors on the Mexican and Canadian borders was written into the $68,000,000 supply bill for the departments of State, Justice, Commerce and Labor, which passed the House late yesterday and went to the Senate today. The State Department would receive $14,958.000, the Department of Justice, $21,- 364,000, and_the Department of Com- merce, $23,769,000. The Labor De- partment's appropriation of $6.756.000 Continued on Page 4, Column 1.) Comment Provisions quotas at 2 3 per in —(Contmioneass £ Coleun 1Y York it Boutsbmoianesp sk American Tells How He “Outpunged” Chinese Bandit Chief, Saving 38 Lives| By Consolidated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, April 19.—Mah- jong. it develops, has its serious uses, after all. How he and thirty-seven other foreign captives outpunged and outchowed the Chinese chieftain of the Linching train bandits who sev- eral months ago wrecked the Peking- Wuchow express and held its passen- gers for ransom, and thereby winning the respect and friendship of the robber laird was related for the first time today by Lee C. Solomon, one of the Linching captives. . According to his story, the brigands decided that for their own safety they had better execute all the pris- oners. Then the unkempt chieftain discovered that Mr. Solomon and some of the others could play mah-jong. “After that” says e Solomon, the bandit leader forgot all about h 'WHEELER GIVES $1,000 BOND HERE [FOR APPEARANCE IN COURT MAY 5| Probe Prosecutor Voluntarily Goes Be- Ambassador | | made a total of $750,000 for the day, WASHINGTO ioner, to Guarantee in West. | No warrant was served on the sen- | Attorney Gordon that he would ap- | pear before Commissioner Macdonaid | this morning with his surety to give the bail bond. Maj. Gordon presented a copy of the | | indictment to the United States com- | missioner. whom he advised of his ar- | rangements with Senator Wheeler, | | _Later the senator and his surety, | former member of the de Commission, appeared | at Commissioner Macdonald's ofiy | igned the bond, Mr. Colver qual- | ifying as surety | |9 KILLED IN FACTORY i ¢ Fhoen * WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION g D. C., SATURDAY, | BLAZE; 2 ARRESTED| Eight Firemen and Laborer Caught | 2s Wall Collapses in Chicago Tenement District. QUIZZED ON INSURANCE Rapid Spread of Flames Brings; Probe by Police. | —_ | Ry the Ascociated Press | CHICAGO, April 19.— mue! Moore | and Leo Unell, owners of a sporting | and novelty concern, were in custody today for questioning in connection | with a box factory fire, in which eight firemen and civilian lost their llves last night. one insurance dealings with Moore and | Unell, was declared by the police to| have had insurance policies aggre-| gating $32,000, issued to Moore and | Unell, in his possession. Polinsky | also was questioned, and he and | Adolph Friedman are held as wit-| | nesses for the inquest | The casuaities occurred when a wall coliapsed after an explosion. A score | of persons, including two women, were | | hurt, some probubly fataily. | Firemen Trapped. | The firemen were trapped on the fire escape of the structure, on lad- | ders against it or on a fire tower | playing streams on the blazing roof. | Tons of masonry swept down so sud- | denty that none could reach safety | Fiying stones und bricks injured spec- | tators. Police and firemen. aided by volun- teer rescuers, dug fractically In the smoldering ruins all night, searching for others thought to have perished. A checkup showed/only one man of Truck Company 12, first to respond to the alarm, not in a hospital or morgue or reported missing. Probe Rapld Spread. An inquiry to determine the cause of the rapidity of the fire's spread and the explosion was begun by the coroner and chief of police. Stories that quantities of benzine had been stored in the bullding and that dis- satisfaction existed in_ the neighbor- hood because the top floors had been leased recently to a negro church were the main points of investiga- on. ! The building, knrown as Curran Hall, has been a ghetto landmark fifty years. The flames had been| lapping at the upper stories nearly | an hour before the explosion, and a| score of fire companies were work- | ing to prevent the spread of the| flames through the thickly populated | tenement sections nearby. | Clergymen Lend Aid. Numerous acts of heroism were | performed by rescuers who crowded | into the steaming ruins. Clergymen | donned fire helmets and coats and | gave spiritual consolation to the dying. More than a dozen firemen, rendered unconscious by the explo sion, were talien from the flames by | companions. The firemen known to have per- ished were Capt John Brennan, Lieut. Frank Forsch, Michael Devine, Thomas Kelley, Frank Leavy, Samuel | Warren, Edward Kersting and Jere- | miah Callaghan. The dead laborer | was Willlam Behr. The casualties | were the greatest since the stock- vards fire of December, 1910, when twenty-one men were killed. The damage, estimated at $250,000, as earlier three Armour & Co. ware- houses were nearly destroyed. e COOLIDGE SEEKS PEACE. Personal Representative Parley in Honduras. Active negotiations for restoration of peace in Honduras have been opened by Sumner Welles, acting as personal representative of President Coolidge. State Department advices today said Mr. Welles had arrived in Tegucigaipa, Honduras . capital, and was in touch with the de facto and revolutionary leaders. Opens an;; Leaves for London. PARIS, April 19.—Brig. Gen. Charles G. Dawes, who has been enjoying a| period of recreative travel since the reparation _ experts’ report was handed in last week,. left Paris for London at 10 o'clock this morning, driving in 2 motor car to a channel port. He is not expected to return to | Paris before sailing, having decided to board the liner Leviathan for New York at Southampton next week. his intentions of calling in the firing squad. We played mah-jong morning, noon and night, taking him on in re- lays. Several times the chieftain threatened to shoot members of his band who interrupted the game to tell him that more government troops were arriving. “The game was ‘for blood,’ too. We matched our valuables against the money and loot taken from other captives, and we managed to yell ‘woo, which means ‘T've won,' just as often as he did. In fact a couple of times we had him borrowing money from his lieutenants in order to stay in the game. “It is a Chinese characteristie high- 1y to respect an opponent who can hold his own in a game of chance. Not oniy did we have the brigand chief—who since has become a gen- eral in the Chinese army—calling us ‘mister, but by keeping him busy at mah-jong, we gave our friends time guccensfully |48 - Magotists . ewr - Te- ease. DEMOCRATS WARY APRIL 19, 1924 -THI Star. RTY PAGES. tion is deliv! Yesterday “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star's carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- =red to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. ’s Circulation, 99,862 * REALLY DONT KNow EASTER EVE ‘Baby, Held for Bill | INVENTORY. BUS FARE INCREASED ON BONUS ACTION Due Doctor, Freed | 10 TEN CENTS CASH Samuel Polinsky, said to have had | Still Undecided Whether to Fight“ for Inclusion of Full Cash Payment Option. LEADERS DISCUSS PLANS Harrison Asks Curtis to Reveal the President’s Attitude. The Senate took up the bonus bill today with the Democrats stiil undecided whether to fight for | inclusion of a full cash payment op- tion, The bill, reported from the Senate finance committee only a week ago as passed by the House, with cash payments to veterans not entitled to | more than $30 under its terms, was made the order of business last night on motion of Senator Curlis, Repub. lican, Kansas. Senator King, Demo- crat, Utah, urging immediate action | on the tax-reduction bill, cast the only vote against immediate consideration of the bonus measure. Democratic Leaders Confer. Democratic leaders held confer- ences last night and again today efforts to determine a party stand on the full cash payment option ques- tion, and meanwhile Democratic members of the finance committee withheld a minority report on the bill favoring such action. Senator Walsh, Massachusetts, a Democratic membér of the committee, however, said he might press a substitute bill providing full cash payments in addi- tion to the insurance provision of the present bill Senator Harrison, Democrat, Missis- sippi, asked Senator Curtis from the floor’ last night to determine the President’s attitude on the pending bill, promising that if assurance was given that he would approve it, the Democrats would give up their cash option plan and expedite its passage. . LANE TO KEEP JOB, DECISION OF WEEKS Gets Opportunity of Defending Himself Against Charges in Daugherty Investigation. Thomas F. Lane, auditor and legal adviser for the Army air service, who testified recently before the Sen- ate Daugherty committee that he had been “dismissed” because he refused to “stay away” from the committee, will be continued in office by direc- | tion of Secretary Weeks and given an opportunity to defend himself against charges of insubordination. The War Secretary decided on this course of action after recommenda- tion that he dismiss Lane had been made by air service officials. The executive order under which the auditor was employed expires in May, however, and it is expected that in any case his services will be auto- matically terminated at that time. N SR MRS. GOULD ENGAGED TO SOUTH AMERICAN Former Laura Carter Will Wed Son of Wealthy Planter in Summer, Is Report. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, April 19.—The en- gagement in Paris of Mrs. George J. Gould, jr. formerly Laura Carter of Philadelphia, and Carlos Oritz Basualdo, son of a wealthy Argentine planter, was reported today in a cable dispatch to the New York Sun. They will marry late this summer, sald the dispatch. Basualdo, Who is twenty-three years old, and a cousin of the noted Anchereno family of South America, will leave for his home soon to galn parental consent to the wedding, the cable added. Senor Basualdo arrived in Paris several months ago. According to the Sun dispatch, he has been Mrs. Gould's oconstant companion at fashionable dances and theatera soldier | in | | On Court’s Order| By the Associated Press. | CHICAGO, April 19.—A w habeas corpus early today stored Eleanor Nodine, fourteen months old, to her mother after the baby had been held in a hos- pital on orders the physician for a $215 bill, contracted during treatment for pnumonia. The mother, earning § was unable to pay the bill and th physician refused to permit the child to lcave before settlement was made. Superior Judge David issued the writ_after midnight and named a temporary custodian. | it of re- ot 0 a week D. A. R. ADOPT MANY FINAL RESOLUTIONS | Adjonrnment to Be Followed by i Annunal Banquet Tonight, and Exodus. | With the closing hours of the | thirty-third Continental Congress ot the Daughters of the American Revo- lution rapidly passing, the delegates gathered in Memorial i'(mlin»nl.a!l Hall today prepared for a session | lasting until well into the afterncon | | in order that a large number of im- | | portant resolutions might be acted | upon. The congress is supposed to ad- journ sine die this afternoon after the newly elected national officers have been formally inducted _into office by Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook, | the president general, assisted by the | entire Congress. Tonight the dele- gates, alternates and guests of the | congress will hold their annual ban- quet in the Willard Hotel and imme- diately afterward the exod of all visitors will begin. Victory for Mrs. Wait. Mrs. Willlam Henry Wait of Mich- igan was tho succe:sful candidate for the oflice of honorary vice president | wereral, after the delegates had bLeen obliged to cast their ballots twice The first voting failed to give any of the three candidates a necessary (wo- hird majority, and when the polls were opened again the balloting was very light. Mrs. Wait required only 394 votes to obtsin the office. Immediately after the result of the election had been announced anl Mm Cook had formally declared Mrs. Wait the honorary vice president general| the delegates were ordered to occupy all seats on the first floor so that the numerous resolutions awaiting action might be taken up without deiay. All alternates and visitors were requested to occupy the gallery seats. One of the first resolutions to be congidered was directly in line with the Americanization ~program for which Mrs. Cook appealed in her in- augural address on the opening day of the comgress last Monday. It placed the Daughters of the Amer- ican Revolution unqualifiedly on rec-) ord as firmly behind Secretary of | State Hughes in his policy toward soviet Russia and applauded him for | consistently refusing to reccgnize the red government. Calls for Rising Vote. { Wkhen the time came for a vote a delegato from New York asked that the vote be a rising one so that the congress might know those who ap- proved the measure. As Mrs. Cook called for the “yeas” it secemed that the resolution = had been carried unanimously. A second later, how- ever, when she asked if there were “any opposed,” two delegates par- tially rose from their seats and im- | mediately sat down again. 1t was practically carried by acclamation. Another resolution along the same line was that introduced by the Ore- gon delegation, seconded by Mrs. Charles White Nash, state regent of New York, indorsing the immigration bill passed by Congress and especially mentioning the selective features by which orientals are excluded. A wave of approval swept the auditorium when the question was called and not a voice was raised In opposition to the measure, the delegates, represent- ing every part of the country adopt- ing it amid a chorus of “yeas.” Reading Often Interrupted. Time and again Mrs. Cooke inter- rupted the reading of the resolutions by the chairman of the resolutipns committee because of disturbances in the auditorium. “I want every wom- an here to understand what she is voting for so that when she leaves this convention she will live up to the program she has approved,” the president general sald. “You must understand you are shaping the pol- icy of the soclety and you must be ready to defend it.” Among othér reso'utions adopted were the following: Indorsing the Sulgrave Institute's plans for proper observance of the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington on Kebruary 22, 1932 indorsing the bill before the United States Congress for the restora- | | | | | i | | will Three Tokens, However, May Be Purchased for Quarter, Commission Holds. PLANS FORMAL ORDER No Decision Reached on Reduction in Telephone Rates. The Public Utilities Commission to- day increased the rate of fare on the bus of the Washington Rapid it Company from 8 cents cash to nts, with tokens at three for 25 lines The company had asked for a straight 10-cent fare, but the effect of the decision is that passengers may buy tokens at the rate of § 1-3 cents. Wil Insue Order. commission early next week sue a formal order analyzing the effect of the increased rate on the company's financial pesition, and at the same time designating the date on which the increase will be effect- The | ive. Through Attorney Conrad H. Syme the compuny contended that it was losing money at the present fare and that during the coming year it would De necessary to purchase sixteen new busses of a more modern design and erect a garage. Will Announce Valuation. In its forthcoming decision the com- mission also will announce the valua- tion to be placed on the property of the bus company, which is used as the basis in determining rates. At its meeting today the commis- sfon did not reach a final decision on the pending application of the Federa- tion of Citizens' Associations for a reduction in telephone rates. The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company has filed a long legal argu- ment as to why rates should not be reduced at this time. RENEWS RADIO CALL TO MACMILLAN SHIP | Fargo, N. D., Operator to Concen- trate Efforts Toward Getting in Touch With Bowdoin. By the Associated Press. ‘FARGO, N. D., April 19.—Attempts to establish radio communication with the Bowdoin, icebound Arctic exploration ship of Capt. Donald Me- Millan, of northern Greenland, will be made with renewed effort from Fargo tonight, to continue intermittently all next week. The campaign is planned as the re- sult of a letter received from F. H. Schnel, Hartford, Conn., traflic man- ager of the American Radio Relay League, by L. H. Weeks, who asserts he frequently communicated with the Bowdoin last winter from Minot, N. D. According to, the letter, Donald Mix, radio operator at WNP, the Bowdoin call, has been able (o hear messages |for weeks from both Minot and Fargo stations. V. R. Lucas, with station 9-UH will aid in the attempt to reach WNP. Duse's Condition Unchanged. PITTSBURGH. Pa, April 19. There was no change in the con tion of Mme. Eleonora Duse, the noted Italian tragedienne, overnight, the aftending physician annournced today. Mme. Duse suffered a relapse on April 16, following an attack of infivenza. Her condition 1is still serious, the doctor said. An ancient fugitive slave law, which was amended in 1850 to apply to ap- prenticed minors fleeing from their masters, is invoked today by a Wash- Ington widow to secure possession of her two minor children, who, she de- clares, have escaped from her and are now in Virginia. The District Supreme Court is asked to make a transcript of record of the “fugitives” that the mother may present to the tribunal of the Old tion of the old French castle at Fort Niagara, N. Y.: indorsing the bill to (Contniued on Page 4, Column 3 Dominion in order to get her children back. The petition falls to say in what part of the state the children, girls, TWO CENTS. 15 Poisoned; Glass Believed in Food; Maid Under Arrest By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, April ®.—Fifteen per- sons are under physicians’ care end Ella Redich, a discharged housemaid, is held by police, while portions of food. thought to con- tain ground glass, served at a din- ner party last night at the home of Dr. Val. C. Freedman, pfominent physician ,are being analyzed. Two of the guests are seriously il Most of the food served at the dinner, Dr. Freedman said, had been prepared by the maid before she was discharged for breaking dishes. Dr. Freedman was one of the physicians who attended guests poisoned during a banguet in honor of the then Archbishop Mun- lelein several years ago. e WILL SEND COOLIDGE OPINION ON GAS TAX Commissioners, However, Will Not Go to Point of Urging Veto of Bill. HAVE OPPOSED MEASURE Legislation Submitted to Them for Final Criticism. The afternoon District Commi; will send oners this to President Coolidge their final opinion on the gasoline tax bill, which now needs only his signature to make it law. 1t is reliably learned that the city heads will not go so far as to rec- ommend veto of the measure, but will inform the President on the stand they have consistently taken in opposition to the legislation as passed by Congress. It is customary for the President, before signing any bill affecting the | District, to call upon the Commis sioners for a last expression of opin- ion. The gasoline tax measure came to them in accorda with that policy. Purpose of BiL The bill was drafted solely to bring about automobile reciprocity with Maryland and was not proposed with any thought of increasing taxation. The purpose was merely to chan basis of taxation from horse- power to gasoline consumed. The original bill called for a of $1 for tags and 2 cents on gasoline, which, it was estimated, would raise about the same of revenue now derived from horsepower fee : on automobiles. They proposed, therefore, that the personal tax automobiles e dropped with adoption of the levy on gasoline. Congress retained the personal t: as well as the gas tax, which will re- sult in the collection of pproximate- Iy half a million dollars additional from automobilists. The impression prevailed at the District building today that the letter to the President would recite this previous stand and possibly call at- tention to the opposition to the meas- ure among citizens. As enacted the bill provides that the money derived from gas tax shall be kept as parate fund to the credit of the District for use only in fmproving and repairing the highway system. Although the presumption has been that Congress would have to match this fund with 2 40 per ~ent contribu- tion from the federal goverament ia order to live up to the present fiscal agreement between the nation and the Capital, citizens are somewhat feartul that the language of the bill is not specific enough to protect the 60-40 principle. There is some apprehension over whether Congress would continue to make the regular annual appropria- tions for street work in addition to the street fund created by the gaso- MAYBE RAIN, the amount the the ax, CLOUDS, IS EASTER FORECAST Slight Precipitation Is Possibility. But Day Is to Be Generally Pleasant. 1t may look as If it would rain here tomorrow, Easter Sunday, but in all likelihood there will be no precipita- tion. That was the best the weather bu- reau would do today in the way of prophecy, officially announcing in- creasing cloudiness Sunday, probably becoming unsettled, no change in temperature. Easter promenaders, therefore, may display their finery without much fear of getting it wet. If it does rain, it won't last fong. Weather disturbances moving from the northwest today will bring the clouds, in all probability, but other- wise Easter is expected to be com- paratively warm and pleasant North of here there is much more chance for rain, while south of Wash- ington only fair weather is foreseen. Yesterday's downpour was brought in from the south, P et ool | Two Firemen Electrocuted. MONTCLAIR, N. April 19.—Two firemen were electrocuted today while attempting to remove a “live” wire which had set fire to a board fence. The dead are Capt. F. Muller and Fireman Joseph Kierney. Mother Tries Old Fugitive Slave Law In Efforts to Regain Custody of 2 Girls are living, nor why they are being detained from their mother, Mrs. Ada M. Trapponnier of 1010 Virginia ave- nue southwest. Through Attorney Walter Holland the court is told that Elton B, Breeden, the father of the girls, died October 7. 1918, and that the peti- tioner is their mother and under the laws of the District of Columbia en- titled to their service and labor dur- ing their minority. Under the law in- voked, the master to whom a minor had been apprenticed is authorized to bring such action in court to secure possession of the fleeing apprentice. The children are named Evelyn Har- riett Breeden, nine years, and Ruth Elizabeth Breeden, six years. per gallon | on | FRANCE DISTURBED BY BRITISH POLICY TOWARD PLEDGES | Fears MacDonald Will Dis- agree With Paris on Guar- antees Asked of Germany. RUHR RELEASE IS SEEN ONLY AFTER AGREEMENT | | French Press Demands Concerted | Allied Action Before Sur- | rendering Present Grip. { By the Associated Press. | PARIS, Aprfl 19.—French official are considerably disturbed by attitude of the British press to- ward the proposed reparation set |ment on the basis of the experts’ re- |port. It is deduced from the general jrun of the British comment that Prime Minister MacDonald will re- ! fuse to agree with France on a sys- tem of pledges to be taken i case Germany defaults in the executlon of the experts’ plan. “Without an agreement in advance lon the ways and means of obliging | the Germans to carry out the terms |of the arrangement,” said a spokes man for the foreign office today, Ger many would b | of getting any perts’ project i There was no use, he added, in a |ing France, the most interested « | itor of Germ give up a sure thing, no w all, for = |uncertain an eventuality as Ger- many’'s paying reparations withou being obliged to do so. e only country sur Lenefit from the ex Wantx Guarantees. | { p The French government, it was ex ed, is heartily in favor of the § experts’ plan, although it realize hat all the initial benefit is for Ger many. All France wants in exc the acceptance of the clared, is the assurance { France will get some t Germany. it 1s held here, r and indisposed tc hang plan, that or is anplied of default would n ment under the | efre | en © o replace them by pr ted action between the advance and: to- app! cal in s of : | Germany te has rance Flxes Total Soughi. The French government, ording te the newspaper, consider the reparation settled until France | 26,000,000,000 goid marks, pius amounts as she may be called upon Ppay on her interallied war debts Le Martin adds that the Britis | point of view is still in contrad | tion with the attitude of the Frenc! government and that negotiation will be necessary before the sugsze: tions made by the expert reparatior committees can become effective. The British, according to the news paper, insist that the question the eventual pledges to be take case of a new default by German should come up only after such d | fault has been duly brought to th allies' notice by the reparation coi mission. e paper says this does not sat isfy M. Poincare, who does not inter to give up the hold he now has o Germany until sure that it will be r« placed by one equally effective. United States Experts Satisfied. A feeling of great satisfaction w: voiced by American members of Ll committees of experts, which re cently reported on the financial and economic_situation in Germany ove the fact that the reparation commis sion had decided to proceed with th work preliminary to making effective | the conclusions of the experts. The | predicted that there now is cleas sailing ahead. The only fly in the ointment, it was sald, was the aproaching Ger elections and a possible return members of the Reichstag who are opposed to the provisions of the ex- purts’ reports. The experts who in- vestigated Germany's situation ir Berlin are convinced that the present Reich government is most willing to put the entire report into operation and force the present Reichstag to ratify it, but they appear doubtful if the new Reichstag is formed the present prospects indicate, it will be equally as docile as they believ. the recently dissolved legislati body would have been. Regard Loans Assured. The American experts have come to the conclusion that there will be no trouble in floating in the United States the proposed $100.000,000 loan, & loan of $75,000.000 on the London markel, with continental Burope absorbing an: | other $25,000,000, “provided,” as one of the Americans put it today, “they don't get the loan flotations mixed up with politics.” |, The Americans take it for granted that Great Britain will not make any commitments to France regarding pos- | sible action in case Germany is shown %o be in “wilfull default.” but they ex- press confidence that if such defaulr occurs it will be so obvious that thn whole world will be ranged on the side of the long-suffering allied creditor The experts do not expect much real French resistance to the plan for the “transfer committee” to handle repa- ration payments from Germany, trans- ferring the German currency into for- eign currency. “There has been some newspape reaction on this point, growing out o a fear that France might be outvot among the committee members, 1 as the hard-headed Americans point out, if funds are not there to be trans- ferred, owing to general economic de- pression, no amount of voting in con mittee can change the situation. Americans Reject Poxt. Suggestions that either Brig. Gen Dawes, Owen D. Young or Henry M Robinson, the American experts, should be appointed chairman of tho transfer committee, because of his familiarity with the plans of the ex- perts, has been laughingly but firmly turned down by their spokesman. Tho suggestions originated in British cir- cles. They met with a characteristic “No, siree,” from Gen. Dawes. Mr. Young is £aid to have replied that ho moreover o will not questior da