Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1924, Page 1

WEATHER (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair and much colder lowest temperature, 15 slightly lower; tomorrow est, 36, at 6:40 p.m. yesterda, 30, at 8 am. today. Full report on page 13. New York Stock Market No. 29,458; tonight; degrees or fair. High- i lowest, Closed Today Entered as second ~lass matter post office Washington, D, C. Capital Observes Christmas Quietly in Church and Home White House Routine for Day Like That of Many Thousands of Others—Postal Employes Only Workers at Tasks. 32 BURN T0 DEATH N CHRISTMAS TREE BLAZE; GHILDREN TRAPPED IN FLAME 40 Others Injuredsas School-| room inOklahoma Is Turn- ed Into Inferno During‘ Entertainment. YOUNGSTERS TRAMPLED IN FRANTIC RUSH TO EXIT | | | | | Check-Up of Homes Begun to Identify Dead—Candle Cu\xles; Fire—Efforts to Quell Flnmei Only Quicken Its Spread—Two | Killed in Texas. By the Associated Press HOBART, Okla, December 25.- stalking the tracks of Santa turned a country schoolhouse into a inferno at Babbs § southeast of here, last night, and snuffed out the lives of at least versons, many of them children, who | had gathered for a Christmas celebration i A tiny candle on a Christmas (leé} ignited a ball of cotton. Little revel- | ers gripped their sacks of candy and ; stood spellbound while their elders | at first tried 1o put out the fire, and | then, as the flames licked up the cedar boughs and spread to the dry wood of ; the flimsy structure, broke for the | single exit at the rear—a mad, scram- | mob, fleeing from the leaping | T at their heels. \ Every window in the one-room | building was covered by a heavy woven wire netting, bolted solidly to the casement, placed there to keep out prowlers. Frantically the trap- | ped men and women beat at the ob- structions. Glass shattered from each window and the wind whistled in, cre- ating a heavy draft and fanning the greedy flames, but no means of egress for the trapped celebrants was gained. Many Trampled in Flight. Many fell in the crush at the door and were trampled under foot. Lying where they fell, unable to crawl away, their bodies were incinerated. None of the 32 bodies that had been taken from the smoking ruins early | today had been identified. A previou: | report that several others had been found proved to be incorrect. Identi- | fication must await a checking of all homes of the community. More than 40 persons were injured, some of them seriously. Local hoe- | pitals and regdences today housed | and an unknown number were | taken to the homes cf residents of the Babb's Switch district. About 200 persons were packed in the small schoolroom when the Christmas tree burst into flames. Men | near the front of the building tried | to smother the fire and in their haste | knocked the tree over, aiding the progress of the blaze and scattering | hurning branches over the floor. The dry floor caught fire like tinder, and it was at once apparent that, with no means at hand to fight the fire, the building was doomed. Snow and ice which coated the roof and walls did little to check the flames. Aid Comes Slowly. Fire, Claus, | vitch, seven miles | eve | | | I | | i Those who succeeded in getting out turned rescuers to those who were injured in the scramble, and several automobiles were used to bring the first of the injured here. A telephone call from a farmhouse mobilized in a | few minutes a motor caravan that lubored slowly over the icy roads to the secluded little district. As the injured were brought in, women of | the city organized a volunteer nurs- | ing staff and first aid treatment was | given each victim. Doctors of the city swung into action, and in a brief interval the injured were being given medical attention, i With the injured removed. the grim | task of recovering the dead was un- dertaken by Sheriff T. P. Shaddock and a force of deputies. As the em- | hers cooled In the 10-above-zero tem- perature the sheriff's force brought out body after body, many of them | pitifully small. The loss of life among the children was heavy, because they were grouped around the Christmas | tree in the front of the building and | were farthest from the door. A hearse and a truck arrived from Hobart amid the confusion attending the efforts of frantic persons to find missing members of their familles and the first of the bodles recovered were taken to a Hobart mortuary. Began Check of Homen. | Because of the conditon of thel bodies, it was decided only a can- vass for missing persons would pro- duce identifications, and in the dark- ness of Christmas day a party of men started a house-to-house check, mak- ing note of the gaps in each family cirele. Barly today the undertaking es- tablishment was thrown open to the public and scores of persons tiled past (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) DEAD MAN EENTI%I_ED \ AS FAMOUS MINSTREL | Milton Henry Hall Wrote “Down | Where Cotton Blossoms Grow” and Other Songs. By the Associated Pres DENVER, Colo., December 25.—Mil- ton Henry Hall, two decades ago one of the best known of the black-faced minstrel comedians and the man who wrote “Down Where the Cotton Blos- soms Grow” and the “Cuban Star March,” was buried here yesterday with only four mourners at his grave. ‘When Hall stepped down from his pinnacle of fame 20 years ago amid the plaudits of admiring thousands who had laughed at and with him, he began a new career which left him at the bottom of life's ladder. The last 12 years he spent as a dishwasher in a Denver hotel, and when he died Monday, In the Gen- eral Hospital, there was none at the hospital who knew of his early career, Not until he was buried yesterday did _his identity become publicly known. At one time Hall was'an in- timate friend of the late Lew Dock- stader and A. G Fields, |ernment departments. llaw of the slayer, | grandmother. A joyous nation, at peace with the | world. joined with its Capital today in 1g quietly and humbly ihe greatest of all days—Christmas. A Lright December sun, broke early | through the gray, rain-laden clouds which soaked Washington on the eve | of Its Yuletide celebration, and smiled | Wisely at the Weather Bureau for its persistent “white Christmas” predic- tions. As elsewhere throughout the coun- try, the National Capital's observance of Christmas, was centered in the home. The significance of the greatest religious anniversary of the year, however, was not overlooked. Virtually every activity in the Dis- trict was at a standstill. The Gov- s well as the | varfous branches of the municipal de- | partments, were closed, as those charged with their direction observed the day quietly in their homes. Postal employes alone of all of the thousands of Government workers re- ported for duty today, but Postmaster General New ordered that they not be required to work arter 11 o'clock, and | {the rural mail carriers were granted ia full holiday. Congress began its Christmas recess last Saturday. No observance was simplier that in the White House than The day {when the family ties are most closely {drawn brought afresh to the minds of the President and Mrs. Coolidge the loss of their young son Calvin, LOVE TANGLE ENDS INDOUBLE KILLING Husband Slays Wife, Wounds Two in Locked Bathroom, and Kil§ Himself. By the Associated Pre RANDOLPH, N. Y., December 25.— Two elopements, a divorce and an ab- duction, in all of which the same girl figured, were disclosed today in on- nection ‘with a domestic tragedy here vesterday. Peter McLarney killed his young wife, shot her mother and brother, then killed himself. Mrs. Grace Anderson, mother-in- and her son John are expected to recover from bullet wounds inflicted by McLarney while he had them locked in a bathroom after he had taken the life of his wife, Dorothy Anderson McLarney. McLarney and the girl were sweet- hearts five years ago. She was the 17-year-old daughter of thé late Clarencé A. Anderson, then president of the Randolph Furniture Co. He was the son of Owen McLarney, superintendent in the furniture { works. Marriage Is Annulled. Tn September, 1920, they eloped to Jamestown, married and kept it a secret. The girlwife went to Dana Hall, a Massachusetts School, to pre- pare for Wellesley College, and her 21-year-old husband remained in Randolph. But the secret leaked out. Mrs. Anderson had the marriage annulled because her daughter was under age. By the time of the Christmas school holidays, however, the girl was of age, so she and McLarney again eloped to Jamestown and again were married by the same clergyman who performed the first ceremony. Within a year the romance faded. They separated. “Their baby boy was placed in the care of its maternal When a divorce was granted Mrs. McLarney last fall she entered Pratt Institute as a student. Abducts Former Wife. McLarney found her in New York several weeks a He urged her to remarry him. When she refused, ac- cording to authorities, he forcibly re- moved her to a hotel in New Jersey, kept her there all night and left her the next day, a prisoner in the hotel. He was charged with Mann act Vio- lation for that episode, and was out 2,000 bail, pending the action”of a Federal grand jury at New.Tork. The former Mrs. McLafney came from New York to spend Christmas with her mother. -While the young woman was calliig at the home of Mrs. William Atchison, McLarney en- tered and shot his former wife to death with five pistol bullets. Then he went to tie home of his mother-in-law and shot her and her on after locking himself in the bath- room with them. Deputy Sherift Bragg appeared and ordered McLarney to surrender. A shot through the bathroom door was the answer. It started a duel, which ended when Bragg crashed the door and found McLarney dead with a bul- let through the head, a pistol in one hand and a stiletto in the other. , The coroner filed a certificate of suicide. The authorities’ investigation devel- oped that McLarney used narcotics and recently had an operation for ap- pendicitis, OFFERS NICE BIG LOAN FOR GAMBLING PRIVILEGE Sir Basil Zaharoff, Mystery Man of Millions, Ready to Aid Monte | President turnea WASHINGTON, D. C, and because of this they sought to e their celebration of the sim- plest kind. Attendance at the Christmas serv- ice fo the Weshington Federation of Churches at the First Congregational Church and a Christmas dinner at night with Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Stearns of Boston, the family's clos- est friends, as guests, were the only plans the President and his wife had for the day. There was no Christ- mas tree at the White House, and just a simple exchange of gifts be- tween the President, Mrs. Coolidge and their son John. Washington's celebration of Christ- mas eve, however, was led by the President and Mrs. Coolidge. on the 1,000 colored lights that flooded the na- tional community Christmas tree in Sherman Square, and afterward, with Mrs. Coolidge, joined with a choir from the First Congregational Church and several thousand citi- zens in the singing of Christmas carols on the White House lawn. Christmas day also found the President’s cabinet with a quorum in Washington, six members having re- turned to their homes or having gone to visit relatives in distant citles. Secretary of State Hughes is spend- ing the day with his family at their Eighteenth street home, where the usual Yuletide festivities will be the order of the day. Mr. Hughes has ontinued on Page 2, Column 6.) Alaska, December Santa Claus was given a warm re- ception in this unusually frigid town yesterday, when he appeared on the main thoroughfare here in @ sleigh loaded with Christmas presents and drawn by real rein- deer. The presents were distrib- uted to whites and Eskimos alike. While the United States and Canada shivered from sub-zero weather, fur overcoats and heavy clothing were discarded here yes- terday when the mercury regis- tered 40 degrees above zero. Nearly an inch of rain which fell yesterday melted the small amount of snow on the ground. A tem- perature of 21 above zero, recorded a week ago, stands as the coldest day of the Winter. A local hospi- tal was without patients today for the first time in many months. IND.C. TOMORROW Temperature to Be Around 15 Above Zero—Snow Stops in Mountains. Never in the 50 years of its exist- ence has the Weather Bureau record- ed colder weather Christmas day over so wide an area of the coufitry, as exists today. This does not mean, however, that each city and State is_reporting its coldest Christmi Nine-tenths of the country is cele- brating Christmas with snow on the ground, the Dstrict of Columbia be- ing in the excluded one-tenth. ABout 11:30 o'clock last night, the Weather Bureau sighted some snow mixed with rain, but it soon vanished’ The snow, in any quantity, stopped in the moun- tains of Maryland &hd Pennsylvania. In predicting a temperature of 15 degrees above zero or lower for ‘Washington” by tomorrow morning and clear skles, Forecaster Mnmdecmed freezing weather will be felt as far south as Jackson- ville. ‘Phere was frost in sunny Los Angeles and Phoenix, Arl, reported to the bureau. It was as cold in Mo- bile, Galveston and othef Gulf ports this morning as it was in the District. ALEXANDRIA WHARF FIRE COSTS $25,000 Incendiary or Careless Smoker Blamed for Destructive Blaze Last Night. ALEXANDRIA, Va., December 25.— Fire, caused by an incendiary or care- less smoker, last night burned the wharf of the Norfolk-Washington steamboat line to the water's edge, causing damage estimated at about $25,000. The loss was covered by in- surance. Freight which was piled in the shed of the wharf was burned, but practically all records of the com- pany were rescued from the office, according to C. William Wattles, local agent of the company. The freight loss is not believed to have been heavy. * Carlo Rival Special Dispatch to The Star. PARIS, December 25.—Sir Basil Zaharoff, Europe’s mystery man of millions, who controls the Monte Carlo gambling concessions, is play- ing Santa Claus to the city of Nice— for a consideration. Nice wants gambling on a big scale, and the city council had decided to ask Minister of the Interior Chau- temps for permission. But Sir Basil offers & big loan, virtually a gift, it the council does not press for gam- bling rights. He made the offer after a confer- ence with the Prince of Monaco, who returned to Monte Carlo for Christ- mas before procéeding to visit the United States. Nioe, however, has not decided whether to accept the Zaharoff gift or try to set up a rival to Monte Carlo. The dreary game’ of boule, which is played at Nice, is so poorly patronized that the ‘orouplers have struck for higher.wages. ' (Ogprright, 1924) The wharf was closed shortly after the Norfolk boat docked here at 7 o’clock. The fire was discovered at 9 o'clock. The entire fire-fighting equip- ment of the city battled the flames un- til midnight, before finally conquering them. Firebugs have been operating in that section last three years, but Mr. ‘Wattles sald he believed- some smoker may have discarded a cigarette, which started the blaze. e Be Careful 1f you dén’t obey the traffic signals in the downtown section, you shoulder the entire re- sponsibility for acci- dent, so be careful. | The | vari- | WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION THURSDAY, DECEMBER NEW MOVE 1 NADE TOGVE FREEHAND TORLEETDRECTOR {Palmer Claims Shipping Board Has Interfered With | His Management. LACK OF CO-OPERATION BLAMED FOR TROUBLES Emergency Corporation Head Tells of Numerous Causes for Friction. BY GOULD LINCOLN. | The United States Shipping Board | has adopted another resolution—the | third—providing for the operation of | the merchant fleet by the Emergency | | Fleet Corporation. The first of these | | resolutions was adopted September ! 30, 1921, and the second January 10, 1924, | This latest resolution, it is declared. | goes further than any of the others in granting power to the Emergency Fleet Corporation. It is said that it is designed to meet the recommenda- tions of President Coolidge that the operation of the merchant fleet be transferred absolutely to the Fleet Corporation, and that the board not | interfere with such operation. But| s0 was the resolution of January 10, 1924, after the President had laid be- fore the board personally his reasons jfor desiring such a transfer of au- thority. Seeks New Legisiation. And now the President has made his | recommendations to Congress with .i view to legislation to divorce the | operation of the fleet from the board, jand legislation is in preparation to | lcarry out the recommendation, Ap-| parently the President convinced | | himself that the desired division of | authority was not forthcoming under the resolution of last Januar: | As a matter of fact, the Shipping | i Board could leave the operation of the | merchant fleet to the Fieet Corporation under the resolution of January 10,| 1924, exactly as well as it can under| the new resolution. It could have |been done under the resolution of 1921. The whold mutter at issue is| one of co-operation. | President Leigh Palmer of the! Fleet Corporation, appearing recently | before the House committee investi- gating the Shipping Board and all | questions relating to the merchant | ! marine, stated in detail just how the | | Shipping Board had failed to keep its {hands off the operating end of the fleet, motwithstanding the resoiution | of January 10, 1824, Detally Needed Steps. } The resolution just adopted by the | Shipping Board sets forth in detail | the things which shall be done by the Emergency Fleet Corporation and the powers to be retained by the Shipping Board. [t has been the contention of the Shipping Board right along that under the merchant marine act Congress placed upon the board cer- taln powers and dutles which the board cannot turn over to the Fleet Corporation or any one else so long s the statute remains the same. This view of the matter is interpreted in some duarters as an Invitation to {legislate if the President's plan is to | be carried out fully. Ore clause of the new sets forth clearly this v situation. The board say Be is further resolved, The right and duty of the Shipping Board to exercise any and all powers of super- vision and control vested in or im- posed upon it by law remain in full force and effect.” From the very language of the resolution itself, it becomes apparent that the Shipping Board must co- operate to the fullest extent with the Emergency Flest Corporation if the operation of the fleet is to he con- ducted by the corporation without interference by the board. Personnel Is Same. The personnel of the board is ex- actly the same as it was when the resolution of January, 1924, was adopted, with the exception of Com- missioner W. S. Hill, who was ap- pointed later to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Chalr- man Edward P. Farley. In his testimony before the House committee President Palmer of the Fleet Corporation did not mince mat- ters. He called the attention of the committes to the recommendations | made by Senator Jones of Washing- | ton, chairman of the Senate commit- tee on commerce, to President Cool- idge last December providing for the complete divorce of the operation of the ships from the Shipping Board, recommendations which were adopted by the President.. After the President had made it clear to the board what he wanted with regard to the operatfon of the ships, Mr. Palmer was appointed {president of the Fleet Corporationpthe selection being made by the Presi- dent himself, although the actual election under the law was made by the Shipping Board. It is inte: in this connection that the re: tion of Mr. Palmer, under the rules of the Shipping Board, is now in the hands of the board, to be used when- ever the board sees fit. This is true under the new resolution adopted. Difference of Resolutions Mr. Palmer told the House commit- tee that the resolution adopted Jan- uary 10, 1924, was entirely unlike the draft of a resolution which he had prepared to carry out the recom- mendations of Senator Jones, which was to the effect that the Shipping Board would have duties in respect to all American flag shipping similar to'those discharged by the Interstate Commerce Commission with reference to the railroads, and that the Shipping Board have only the same relation to the operation of the Government fleet, under the Fleet Corporation, as it would have to the fleets of private American owners. This resolution was rejected, and the board adopted its own. ‘This resolution of the board con- tained the very language already quoted from the new resolution, re- taining all powers and duties under the law imposed on the board. “With the wording of. the resolu- tion,” Mr. Palmer said, “the board could still continue to pass on oper- ting matters, and the question of the degree of co-operation on the part of the board immediately became the important factor.” Mr. Palmer told how he had vis- ited the various members of the (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.)_ resolution w of the | more PAWNSHOPS TELL TRAGIC YULE TALE Christmas Money Need Forces Sale of Rare Gems and Workmen’s Tools. By Consolidated Press. NEW YORK, December 25.—Diamonds, pearls and other precious jewels, plat- inum, gold and silver ornaments, fam- fly heirlooms and relics of a cherished past, newly lined side by side on num- berless shelves in old Manhattan's pawshopse-these tell thousands of the most poignant of New York's Christmas tales The past three weeks have been the year's busiest in the shops marked by three gold balls. People in steady streams, unending day or night, have come to leave their old-time treasures in exchange for a little money to buy modern and less valuable gifts for the dear ones of today. Each a Story of Pain. Each article a story, each story filled with heartache and hope—the stores are laden with them. Now that the pre-Christmas rush is finished, they may be forgotten by those whom they concern until another Christmas ap- proaches and the desire to make others happy out of nothing or much comes in to New York. And then another avalanche of pawning will occur. There are two types of pawnshops in New York, which have been more than restocked by the desire to give of those who had no money with which to buy and who had to capitalize old posses- slons to gather the wherewithal. There are those along Park Row and in the hotel and theater district, to which come gorgeous treasures, bought in well known jewelers' stores, which have been pledged for money by foreign no- bility, former stage stars and soclal lights, who find themselves pressed for ready cash with which to buy their gifts. Small Articles Sold. And there are those along Third, Sixth and Eighth avenues, where lie a heterogeneous collection of small belongings, banjos, kodaks and um- bellas which have been loaned to get the necessary dimes and quarters to buy some little trifie to make Christmas ever so little merry for some other person to whom a little means much. The array of handsoms articles the last few weeks of preparing for Christmas have brought into the shops of the first type is more than amazing. There are diamond tlaras, set in shimmering crowns of gold or platinum; strings of pearls that have been matched through years of watching and comparing in a conti- nental city; white cameo earrings cut on onyx; brooches of mosaic and en- amel, and a heavy, handwrought Hindu marriage buckle, older than one could guess. On these the 3 per cent interest re- quired for the first three months, and the 2 per cent thereafter, will prob- ably be pald faithfully in the hope that they may be redeemed in time. Perhaps only a week or two will pass before the erstwhile owner can r claim them—and it was only the im- mediacy of Christmas, with the diffi- culty of turning other property into swift cash, that brought them to the pawnshops in the first place. Workmen Pawn Tools. In the other shops there is every- thing—but few things of Intrinsic worth. There workmen pawn -their tools, shopgirls their tawdry furs and women their cut glass and cheap jewelry. There is the young man's frat pin turned in that he may buy some trinket to suit the passing fancy of some friend, and there the family silver, made .in the style of 1840, the big, heavy Spoons with edges worn thin from usage, which had to go to buy a modern gift in return for some little present which would be re- ceived. On several of thesa shops are signs assuring oustomers that all clothes presses are proof against dust and moths and will keep garments safely until they are. sold or re- deemed. ‘Many of the articles pawned are so individual they could not be dupli- cated—and these are often kept long after interest payments lapse by pawnbrokers who hope they may be called for. Unredeemed pledges are sold at the jewelers’ public auction after they have been held for a year—if there seems to be no likelihood of the owners wanting them again. If a happy “finls” can be written to these Christmas tales of need for money—like those which are scat- tered in smaller numbers through each year—by the owners calling for them, pawnbrokers are relieved. They depend on the Interest and not on selling uncalled-for pledges for their livelihood. . . ot R g Star. 25, 1924—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. {Mother Bear Holds Cow While Cubs Get Milk—Maybe Here is the prize nature story of the year. A tourist who visited Glacier National Park last Sum- mer swears to having seen an indulgent mother bear holding a range cow by the horns and nose while her two cubs greadily helped themselves to bossy’s i This story reached the bureau of Nationai Parks today, when Charley Black, a ranchman of the Glacier National Park Reservation came to town. REPORT JUSSERAND SILENCE DEMANDED Foreign Office Declared Up- set by “Faux Pas” on War Debt to United States. Br Cable to The Star and New York World PARIS, December 25.—Ambassador Jusserand has received instructions, the World News Service learns, to re- frain from making any more speeches which give the impression he is de- claring the French government's at- titude toward the United States debt. These instructions followed news of President Coolidge's announcement that only the debt-funding commis- sion could decide about 2 moratorium to France. Jusserand's speech was considered a faux pas at the foreign office. It is considered natural M. Jusserand should speak of the debts, as he is remaining in the United States only a short time, but Mr. Coolidge’'s com- ments on the ambassador's Woman's Club speech have created great agi- tation here. (Copyright, 1824.) . LINERS, RAIDED, YIELD LIQUOR AND 3 ARRESTS Silk Valued at $150,000, Lottery Tickets and Curios Seized on President Cleveland. By the Assoclated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, December Two liners were raided at Pacific ports yesterday by Federal agents and a quantity of liquor and other articles seized and three men ar- rested. Federal agents seized 30 bottles of whisky aboard the President Cleve- land when the ship arrived at Hono- lulu from the Orient, according to reports received here. The agents also seized silks valued at $150,000, Chinese lottery tickets, shawls and curios valued at $8,000, which it was alleged were not on the ship's mani- fest. E. M. Burian, chief steward, was taken into custody. The rald is’believed to be the out- growth of the recent Indiotment of four customs officers, two of whom have pleaded guilty on charges of recelving $500 each for permitting a trunk to be brought ashore without inspection Ihst May. The other seizure was on the coastwise vessel Ruth Alexander of the Pacific Steamship Co., in San Francisco harbor. Pro-/ hibition officers seized a quantity of liquor and arrested Frank B. Hale, ship’s electrician, and Nathan Sherras, 25.— a civilian. FIRST BRONZE OF WILSON MADE FROM DEATH MASK Dr. Vladimir Fortunato Completes Memorial and Delivers It to . Late President’s Widow. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 25.—The first bronze to be made from the death mask of President Woodrow ‘Wilson has been completed by Dr. Vladimir Fortunato.and delivered to Mrs. Wilson. Dr. Fortunato is a plas tic artist at the Johns Hopkins Medi- cal School and Hospital. Mrs. Wilson visited Dr. Fortunato's studio three times during the process of modeling. She called at the studio Octobef 27, passed final judgment on the work and took'it to Washington in her automobile. Dr. Fortunato is now engaged in modeling a bust from the death mask. The sculptor explained this work had not been commissioned, but was merely for his own occupation ‘and pleasure. Dr. Fortunato made the mask several hours after the death of the war President, The Star’s tion is deliver Yesterday’s * 2 | | | FLEEING MOTORIST CAUGHT BY VICTIM Five Autoists Run After In- juring Persons in Nu- merous Crashes. | | | ! i i | Amoug an unusually large number of traffic accidents for the past 24 hours there were five drivers, who, after crashing their cars in accidents, sped away from the scenes. Only one was captured and arrested. The one arrest was made only after Joseph Dunger, 1400% Decatur street, who was injured in a colli- sion at Georgia avenue and Rock Creek road, gave chase to the fleeing r. Suffering from his pain, Dunger | rursued the car which had struck! him and overtook it after foreing it against a street car and several! automobiles. The fleeing driver, Burns Anderson, 43, Rockville, Md., was arrested on numerous charges of violations of the traffic regulations. Anderson and Chauncey Ghaser, the latter also a resident of Rockville| and passenger in Anderson's car,| were treated at Garfield Hospital for slight injuries. Search is being made for the driv- er who failed to stop after collision with the automobile of A. A. Griest, | 1 B street northeast, in front of | 4 Tennessee avenue northeast about 11:15 o'clock last night. Miss | Mary Jett, 45, 5330 Colorado avenue, | occupant of Griest's car, was severe- ly shocked. The car was badly damaged Car is Overturmed. Another accident where the driver fled. c~curred at Rhode Island avenue and Lincoln road northeast about 7 o'clock last night. The car struck and damaged the automobile of Mar- tin Cudlip, 4516 Thirteenth street. Three young men were in the car that did the damage. So fotcible was the collision that their car was overturned, but was quickly righted and driven away. { Chapin King, 33, 471 F street south- west, was knocked down at the north end of the Highway Bridgs by an automobile about 12:45 o'clock this morning and injured. He was taken to Emergency Hospital. King told police he was unable to get the license number of the car which hit m. Another driver who failed to stop Was reported by Robert E. Davidson, 108 Second street, whose cam, parked near Pennsylvania ‘avenue and Second street southeast, early last night was struck and damaged. Handkerchie? Frightens Motorist. Patrick D. Riordan{ 1975 Blltmore street, missed midnight mass at St. Thomas' ~Church, opposite Wardman Park Hotel, because of a traffic accident at Connecticut avenue and Calvert street. Incidentally, a red bandanna handkerchief he wore nearly gave Leonard Block, driver of the car, an attack of nervous prostration, In order to make sure of getting a seat at the popular midnight service, Riordan left home shortly after 11 o'clock, accompanied by members of his family, and was crossing at the southeast corner of Connecticut ave- nue and Calvert street when his cloth- ing caught in the automobile that was making a turn east into Calvert street and he was knocked down. Riordon’s nose started bleeding, and it was when the red handker- | chief was seen by the motorist that he quickly concluded it had been col- ored by a flow of blood from the pedestrian’s head. The injured man insisted upon continuing to church, but members of the family with him had the motorist take him home. Small Boy Is Hurt. Howard Bernard, 9, 226 Fourth street northeast, was knocked down at Fourth street and Maryland ave- | nue northeast about 7 o'clotk last night by the automobile of F. W. Disney, 22° Second street northeast, and cut and bruised about the body. He was treated at Casualty Hospital by Dr. Potter, who said his condition was not serious. An automobilg owned and operated by Moses Coleman, 4828 Brandywine street, knocked down Frances Cook, 17, 529 Park road, at Eleventh and I streets last night about 7:30 o'clock and injured her. She went home after recelving first aid at Emergency Hospital. James R. Gross, colored, 66, 419 K street, was knocked down by an au- tomobile near Massachusetts avenue and Sixth street vesterday afternoon and slightly hurt. James Preston, 913 I ‘street, driver of the machine, took him to Emergency Hospital. ‘While crossing at Fourteenth and L streets last night about 10:15 o'clock, Raymond Wilson, colored, 1015 New York avenue, was knocked down by an automobile and his left knee and right shoulder injured. He " (Continued on Page 3, Columa 3) ' !valley below | out warning, the muck dam “From Press to Home Within the Hour” carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- ed to Washington homes as fast as the papers are prin}ed. Circulation, 89,181 ! TWO CENTS. [GY FLOOD KILLS 23 WHEN DAM BREAKS ON VIRGINIA TOWN: 200 ARE HOMELESS Wall of Water Descends Un- expectedly Upon Parmar- town in Night During Holi- day Celebration. DEBRIS BEING SEARCHED FOR MORE LIKELY DEAD Telephone Operators Able to Warn Many Inhabitants of Valley of Peril—Work in Darkness Rescue Victims—No Estimate of Loss Given to Damage By the Assoclated Press. ATLANTA, Ga., Décember 25— Twenty-three persons are known to be dead and fourteen more arc in hospitals at Saltville, Va., as the result of the breaking of a muck dam across the Holston River last night, Sheriff John Litton of Abingdon, Va. told the Asso. ciated Press today over long-dis tance telephone. By the Associated Press. ABINGDON, Va, December | Five persons were known to be dea and 200 estimated homeless a2 Christmas day dawned upon th workers scouring the Holston Rive Parmartown, Va., other victims of the flood wi swept over the town last night. The hospital and private homes o Saltville, Va., near the scene of the disaster, were sald to be filled wit! men, women and children who sur vived the icy waters into which the were thrown when a muck dam across the north fork of the river ported to have collapsed Wwithou warning at 10 o'clock last night an loosed a veritable wall of water upc the town. Town Virtuslly Ruined. The valley and town today we: reported virtually ruined. For miles below the town articles of furniture and small outbuildings had been de- posited by the waters along the banks of the river, while dozens of houses were reported to have 'bee: swept from their foundations' and is 1e | carried along by the swirling waters Hundreds of people in Parmar- town were in the midst of pre- Christmas celebrations when, wit of the Mathieson alkali works, a quarter of a mile above the town, is said to have given way, under pressure of the water, and sent it down into the valley to trap the joymakers in their homes. Hedged in by the hills, the waters poured in upon the celebrators, and the men, women and children retired to await the coming of Santa to the little town along the river banks Houses were swept along by the waters, the icy chill of the river awakening sleeping children and hurling them from their beds. Comes Without Warning. Those caught by the swiftly moving current had no warning until their homes were lifted or the windows crashed before the sudden avalanche of water, and the survivors stumbled from the houses into the cold water to make their way to the banks in the best manner possible. Hundreds of those trapped by the waters escaped from theit homes and made their way to the banks where ‘they later were picked up by rescuers or were able to make their way to nearby towns for aid. The addition of the water from the broken dam to that of the al ready swollen river caused the north fork of the stream to rise rapidly, en- dangering scores of other homes fu ther down the stream. In many placs below Parmartown the river early today was reported still to be out of its banks. Telephone operators at Abingdon and other places in this section were kept busy notifying persons in the danger zone and scores of people left their homes to avoid the flood. News of the flood spread quickly to other towns and dozens of rescue parties were hurried to the scene, spending the night in searching along the river banks for other survivors or the bodies of other flood victims Five bodies were reported to have been found and carried to undertak- ing establishments for identification Reports reaching Abingdon early to- day were that one of the victims was ‘a Col. Scott, a brother of J. D Scott of Saltville. Other victims had not been identified early today. Work Through Night. Rescue parties divided their atten- tion’ during the night between search- ing for dead and caring for the in- jured, rushing survivors to nearby towns after administering first aid. The valley itself today was repert ed virtually to have been swept clean by the flood of the night. The homes of approximately 200 persons who lived in Parmartown were said either to have been made uninhabitable by the waters or swept from their foun- dations into the stream and carried down the river. No exact estimate of either loss of life, injuries to persons or damage to property could be obtained early to- day. Virtually all residents of the town were said to have been employes of the alkali works, and officials of the company spent the night in aiding in the direction of rescus work and assisting in preparing an estimate of the damages. The muok dam was thrown across the morth fork of the river half a mtle below the main dam of the alkaM works' plant and a quarter of a mile above the stricken town. With its collapse it loosed an immense amount of water accumulated from the recent heavy rains in the mountains azbove the town. The cause of the break had not been determined early today.