Evening Star Newspaper, December 26, 1924, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Fair, with slowly risi; ture tonight; lowest tonight about 20 degrees; colder Sund est temperature, g yesterday; lowest, 14, today. at 3:30 am. Full report on page 11. Forecast.) ng tempera- ay. at High- 2 pm. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 24 —_— No. 29,458. pos Entered as second class matter tfice Washington, D, C, - 13 BODIES DUG 0UT OFIGY MUCK FLOOD; STILL SEEK SEVEN Score of Injured in Hospital, Following Disaster at Saltville, Va. FOUR YOUNG CHILDREN VICTIMS LOCATED TODAY Lime Muck Makes Holston River Valley Like Arctic Gorge as Searchers Work. . Ty the Associated Press, UCHMOND, Va., December 26— bodies were found today uck from the dam that broke night and flooded the tions of Saltville, according telephone call from in charge of relief the Associated today. Today's find brought known death list to 13. Seven still are missing. bodies found tos were those anging in age from 3 to e was that of a girl about 4 years of age, others were named to 10 years old three of the 20 injured in the ospital at Saltville are suffering om pneumonia, Dr. McKee said, and the sick and injured will re- Six houses were washed away flood of white muck, but the of the Mathieson Alkali Works undamaged. SEARCH IS CONTINUED. in the n Wednesday to a Dr P altville, to Persons of children, Bodies Miles Down Valley. s Some ated Press LE, Va., December th nine bodies thus 1 six or seven per: scarch for victims continued to- | 1 of the Holston River | waste by the flood of released by the breaking ednesday night at the kali works. than a score of injured improvised hospital here, searchers continued to fight their way through the stretches of lime- whited mud deposited by the torrent, h virtually swept away the little scttdement of workers below the dam. | laid more in an Some Injured May Die. our or five of the injured are not| cted to live and inany are suf- fering from pneumonia resulting from their immersion in the ley| waters and from burns caused by the alkali muck. Many of the res- cuers also have been treated for burns Several of the bodies recovered had | l.ecn carried six miles below the dam| in Tumbling Creek. Belief that some of the missing still lay buried under ihe avalanche of muck, standing waist high in places, kept the search- | at their task after more than hours. | The er valley foday, with 1ts| ¢eep layer of lime mud, had the ap-| pearance of an ice gorge. Houses rushed over and crushed by the! weight of the reservoir mixture, and | automobiles covered almost to their *ops by it presented a scene of deso- | lation. Flood Hits Holiday Party. | the victims whose bodles been recovered were at- iending a Christmas eve party at the home of Harry Prater, the house rest the dam. With only the min- ute’'s warning of a deafening roar as the dam broke, the merrymakers were irapped without a chance to save tihemselves as the house was engulfed, | Uccupants of some other houses | which withstood the torrent managed | to struggle through the mud and water to safety after the crest had | passed. i Among the dead identified last night | were the following names: Mrs, Lu- ther Clear, her son, Charles Clea: Opal Pauly, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Pra ter, Leslie Prater, their son; Mr, and Mrs. James Prater, Maj. James Scott. TOWN RICH IN HISTORY. Provided Salt for Troops During Revolution. By the Assoclated Press. RICHMOND, Va, December 26. Saltville, the scene of Christmas eve's flood disaster, though little known | 10 the world outside its Blue Ridge Mountain walls, has played an ffn-| portant and peculiar part in the his- tory of the entire nation, and espe- cially in that of the South, It was Saltville that gave the agmies of the Confederacy their chief ¢ salt supply when that commodity was| @t a premium in the blockaded South. During the war of the revolution, salt from the Holston Valley made the scanty rations of Gen. Willlam Camp- Dell's colonials more palatable. In the markets of the South during a long period from the discovery of the t deposits in 1748 to a compara- tively recent date, salt from the town, which drew its name from its chlef industry, was sold. Once Owned by Hero. First known to history as the “salt- Jick” hunting grounds of 'the Indians, “he valley in which Saltville is situ- fted was explored by a party of Vir- £inia colonists,. to one of whom, Charles Campbell, King George II of Y¥ngland, made a grant of the lower valley. At the time of the Revolu- tionary War the saline deposits were owned and operated by Gen. William C'ampbell, the hero of the battle of Xings Mountain. The properties saw the beginning of their modern development during the war between the States, when «ach Southern State establishd a ket- tie there and received the salt boiled down from its particular kettle. Fed- eral troops made numerous efforts to capture the salt works and were re- Julsed In one battle after suffering jieavy losses. Finally Union soldiers under Gen. Stoneman stormed the ¥ lice and burned the furnaces. Following the war between the States both salt and plaster were manufactured at Saltville, the firm s.iling in 1890, when the Mathieson 1kall Works, the present operators, gook over the industries. Were Carried Six ' | | 26.— | far recovered | ons still missing, | ! buked” Mr. Jusserand may be taken | are | a Pilgrims’ dinner, In honor of Stan- Among Friends W.M.Ritter’s Present Between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000. Three D. C. Men Get Share in Fortune With 121 Others. | . Willlam McClellan Ritter of 222 | Massachusetts avenue, has divided a fortune of between $2,000,000 and $3,- 000,000 among 124 men and women— | distant relatives, faithful family serv- | ants and loval business employes—as a Christmas gift, without reserva- tions or conditions of any kind what- ever. Announcement of the gifts was de from Columbus, Ohlo, Mr. Rit- | former home and main office of | the W. M. Ritter Lumber Co., one of | the largest manufacturers of hard- wood lumber in the world, the for- | tune representing approximately one- | fourth of the capital stock of the cor- poration, amounting to 12,500 shares, of which Mr. Ritter is founder. Although reticent about discussing | his rich Christmas present, Mr. Rit- ter, when approached in his home here, explained today that he had at- | tached no conditions or strings the gifts, because he believed in the worth of the familles to whom he JUSSERAND USING - “NEW DIPLOMACY” | | White House Said to Have No Objection to Scrapping of Old Secret Ways. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Every foreign diplomat stationed | at this Capital is discussing the inci- | | dent created by Ambassador Jusse- rand’s remarks on the Franco-Ameri- can debt and its aftermath in Paris and Washington. The question of “open diplomacy” as opposed to the ancient secret diplomacy, which sup- posedly vanished with the World War, is Involved. The prompt White House dis- claimer that President Coolidge “re- as an Mmgdication that the administra- tion has no partiality for secret di- plomacy, and, therefore, no objec- tlons to the “new diplomacy.” The past week has, In fact, wit nessed & remarkable and super- modern exhibition of the system of conducting vital international busi- ness, not through hide-bound official channels, but through direct address to peoples and nations. Others Use New Method. At the moment Ambassador Jusse- rand last Monday was communicat- ing his now celebrated views on France's $4,000,000,000 American debt, Premier Kato of Japan was using the vast facilities of the Associated Press to send a message of amity to the people of the United States. A few days earlier Secretary Hughes chose the channel of the press to| send a message of good will to Japan The Jusserand and Kato episodes not quite alike, but in their straight appeal to the American pub-) lic, rather than to the United States government, there is little real differ- ence between them, An entirely spe- cific precedent, to which Mr. Jusserand might have had recourse, was estab- lished early in 1923, by Col. George Harvey, American Ambassador to Great Britain. On that occasion, as It happens, our envoy in London, like Mr. Jusserand, was talking about allied debts to the United States. Also, like Mr, Jusser- and, he was talking *out of court.” The arena of what Col. Harvey's crit- ics called a blazing indiscretion was ley Baldwin, now British premier. Mr. Baldwin had just returned to :ngland after concluding the British debt settlement in Washington. Dixcussed Balfour Note. When Col. Harvey was called upon to speak, he seized what he consid- ered a most appropriate opportunity to discuss the famous Balfour note on interallied debts. Several months previous, Lord Balfour had stated, in effect, that Great Britain had virtu- ally been required to guarantee the borrowings of France and other allies in_the United States. With punctilious courtesy, but un- minced terms, Ambassador Harvey denied that soft impeachment. He said, in so many words, that the United States had loaned France, Italy, Belgium and her other war as- sociates hundreds of millions without any regard to Great Britain or a British “guarantee.” Now, under old diplomacy, Col. Harvey should have toddled over to Downing street and politely, though with becoming firm- ness, informed the British foreign office that Lord Balfour had commit- ted what was once in the House of Commons called a “terminological in- exactitude.” But, being an apostle of the new diplomacy, our Ambassador to the Court of St. James chose pre- ch to| WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ¢ Foening Star. “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. Yesterday’s Cir:nh_ll'on, 77,49-2_ WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1924 -THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. 'Capital Man Divides Millions, and Aides as Gift & warris i > w. RITTER. | would do even more good to its bene- | ficiaries through the very fact that it did not bind them to any opinions of his own. Mr. Ritter selected only d_individuals whom he believed might find the additional income (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) families ; Warmer Weather Is Due Tomorrows; Sunday to Be Cold After a brief respite tomorrow from the cold temperatures of yes- terday and today, Washington will again feel the frigid breath of old Boreas late Sunday. The thermometer touched its record low for this . Winter be- fore daybreak this morning, when it descended to 14 degree With dawn. however, the mercury began to climb and, encouraged by a beneficent sun. had reached moderately comfortable figures by noon. Tonight, according to the fore- caster, will be still warmer, and by tomorrow the temperature will be well above freezing. It will not tarry in such moderate regions long, however, and Sunday it will begin another descent that is ex- pected to reach its lowest levels some time the same evening or Monday morning. _Today will continue fair, Satur- day may be cloudy and western Maryland may expect snow flurries Sunday. It is not believed, how- ever, that the snow will reach Washington. COLDWAVE MOVES TOEASTERN REGION Zero Temperatures—Cal- ifornia Is Hit. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 26.—The East- ern States today were due for their turn at fighting off the wintry blasts which brought the coldest Christmas in years in many sections of the Middle and Far West. A measure of relief from subzero temperatures was promised to- day in the lower lake region and the Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippl Valleys, but cold weather, cloudiness and snow flurries were forecast to continue the next few da As the cold wave spread eastward lowered temperatures were forecast for the Atlantic coast, the Appalachian reglon and the East Gulf States. Unusual cold continued to grip the Pacific Coast States today. The ther- mometer was forced below zero at points in California, Oregon, Washing- ton and Nevada. Fruit Loss $100,000. The cold brought unusually low tem- peratures even to southern California, and smudge pots were pouring their black smoke through the citrus belt near Los Angeles to prevent additional damage to the crop frost-bitten yester- day, with an estimated loss of 10 per cent, or $100,000. Eight deaths, four in Chicago, three in Ohlo and one in Texas, were attributed to yesterday's cold. Three of the Chicagoans were frozen, and the other, a policeman, was fatally injured in a fall on the ice. Two boys broke through ice and were drowned at Eugene, Oreg. Chicago's Christmas was the cold- est in 52 years, and in Indianapolis it upset records back to 1878. Rock Island, 111, had the coldest Yuletide since 1914, and the Mississippl there was frozen to a depth of nine iches, enabling persons to walk across it in_some places. Nevada and Utah ran a close race for honors for the lowest mercury, Elko, Nev.,, thermometers registering (Continued on Page 2, Column §., By the Associated Press. HOBART, Okla., December 26.— In the ashes of the Babb Switch schoolhouse lies a love which perished within a few hours of its truition. Gladys Clements and Claude Bolding, sweethearts since child- hood, were to have been married yesterda: Last night Gladys' seared body was in a morgue here. 'Not far away, Claude, seriously burned and with a broken heart, battles for his life in a hospital. With hearts teeming ~with joy the couple had gone to the ill-fated schoolhouse to commune with their triends and neighbors in the spirit of Christmas. Hand in hand, they sat on the back row through the Christmas tree exercises and tyhispered of their love and future happiness. (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) Youth Sees Fiancee Trampled to Death In School Holocaust on Wedding Eve Dow Bolding, Claude's brother, was playing the role of Santa Cluus. When he reached for a present near the top of the tree nhe inadvertently upset one .of the lighted candlés. In an instant the tree was afire and the flames were licking the roof and walls of the ‘smail room. Pandemonium reigned. . The girl's hand gripped her lovers tigher as the flames leaped higher. Together they fought to gain the doorway. The surging mob tore them apart. Bolding looked for his bride-to-be. He saw her being trampled down by merciless feet. He struggled toward her, but was pushed backward toward the door. Another shove sent him through the door and out in the snow. Vainly he fought to re-enter the building. But he was held back and his calls to his sweetheart went unanswered. | | had given them and hoped the money ! Eight Deaths Result From| 33 DEADIN SCHOOL BLAZE. IDENTIFIED; BURIAL RITES TODAY [Joint Funeral for 16 to Be Conducted—17 to Be Buried Tomorrow. GRATING OVER WINDOWS BLAMED FOR DISASTER Fire at Hobart Third in as Many Years During Christmas Celebration. | By the Assoctated Pre HOBART, Okla. December 26.—Al lof the 33 victims of the fire which | destroyed the school house during |4 Christmas eve entertainment identi- fied, the people of the Babbs Switch | settlement today set about the sad | work of interment. | Plans for using a common grave, {first considered, when it appeared | identification of all bodies would be impossible, were abandoned last night when the {dentity of the last vietim— a little girl of eleven—was estab- |lished. Joint funeral services for 16 jof the dead will be held this after- noon, followed by burial in indi- | vidual graves. The Rev. G. W. Estes, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, | was named to conduct the services, with ministers from all denomina- tlons participating. The remaining 17 victims of the fire probably will | be buried tomorrow. Twenty persons, injured in tho fire, {still are in hospitals. All are con- | stdered to have at least an even chance for recovery. Orphans Cared For. | A committee of Hobart citizens has been appointed by Mavor F. E. Gil- {lespie to provide for the care of chil- dren orphaned by the fire and to work {toward rehabilitation of the home |life to Babbs Switch. A movement is under way to raise funds for a monu ment to those killed in Oklahoma | worst Christmas tragedy. The monu- {ment would be placed either in Hobart or on the site of the fire. Three small fires in Hobart yester- day added to the city's tension. One anl’ the blazes, originating in a jewelry store, caused a mild panic in two near-by moving picture theaters, but no one was injured seriously Authorities said they expected to take no action toward investitgating the Babbs Switch fire. Vigilance of the school trustees In placing wire netting over the outside of the school windows to keep out vandals was held {chiefly responstble for the heavy loss {of life. Could the windows of the one- | story structure have been used as a {means of egress virtually all of the | 200 persons in the bullding | escaped, it was believed. As it was | the door was the only exit, and there was such a rush for it that the per- | sons farthest from it had little chance to escape as the fire, starting from a |candle on the Christmas tree, swept |through the small structure. | Fire Third in Three Years. At two previous Christmas eve cele- brations at the school Christmas trees caught fire, but were extinguished without serious damage. Last Christ- mas William Curtis, who lost his life in this year's fire, played the role of | | tion of gifts, his white beard caught fire, but he quickly extingulshed it. Babbs Switch is a prosperous farm- |ing_community seven miles south of (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) 'KELLY, NOTED FLYER, ' MISSING ON AIR TRIP | Left Vancouver Barracks Yester- i day, With Companion, for San Francisco. By the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., December 26.—Fear for the safety of Lieut. Oak- ley G. Kelly and Lieut. H. C. Miller, vesterday at 1 o'clock to fly to San Franotsco, was expressed today. They had not reported here up to 9 am. They were last seen over Red- ding, Calif., at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. The aviators were in a de Haviland machine. The alr service of the Army at the Presidio of San Francisco be- gan a search after Mather Field, near | Sacramento, reported the aviators had not arrived. No Fear Felt Here. Lieut, Oakley G. Kelly is a member of the famous record-breaking firm of Kelly and Macready, which estab- lished endurance flights in the Fokker monoplane T-2 and made a non-stop flight from New York to San Diego more than a vear ago. They both were stationed at McCook Field, Day- ton, Ohio, and shortly after complet- ing the remarkable flight were sent to different stations. The office of the chief of Alr Service aid not display any alarm over the first reports of Lieut. Kelly's disap- pearance, explaining that he prob- ably was forced to land in an out-of- the-way place, and Is slowly wending his way to communication facilities. It was said the flight from Vancouver Barracks to San Francisco was being made at the request of the 9th Corps Area, the purpose for which was un- known here. MEXICO IS UNDECIDED ON AMBASSADOR TO U. S. Foreign Office. Refuses Statement. Telez, Present Charge, Possible Choice. By the Associated Press. could have | Santa Claus and, during the distribu- | who left Vancouver Barracks, Wash., | With lines of determination replac- ing the forced smiles of yesterday, thousands of neck-tie laden sneaked out of the back doors of as many domiciles today and joined in a general trek to the exchange desks fn Washington's department stores. It was the signal for the annual gift-swapping riot on the part, not only of embarrassed husbands, fathers and brothers, but of guilty-looking wives whose hubbies gave them hosiery of the wrong shade, of moth- ers who refuse to wear old-fashioned underclothes and of sisters who have no use for the rubbers sent them by their Aunt Sallys. Hubbies Deep Acting. It was noted that among the trail- day planted a fervent kiss on the {the splendld hand-embroidered green muffler she had bought for him, but | which mysteriously disappeared dur- ing the day, with suspicion directed | at the cook. Overtaking hilm was a worrled- looking gentleman with an armful of cross-word puzzle dictlonarfes, | muttering several varieties of four- letter oaths. In a crowd awaiting the opening SALARY CUT LOOMS FORU. 5. WORKERS {Hundreds Threatened by Modification of “Average Provision” in Bills. Hundreds of government employes in low-paid positions would suffer a reduction in salary after July 1 under the modification of the ‘“average provision,” which is being inserted in each of the appropriation bills going through Congress This was learned today from re- sults of a survey of the budget for 1926, and its operation under the new modified “average provision.” The survey is being conducted by the | various departments of the govern- | ment. | The change in the provision of law, which was at first interpreted prin- cipally as cutting down the salaries | of higher-paid _executives, would make it impossible for any person | who is the only one in his grade to be promoted above the average rate of pay for that grade. Controller | General McCarl has ruled that where | only one position had been allocated to a grade this person might be moved up the entire scale of rates in the grade, if the appropriation and the efficiency of the individual justi- fied. Many Would Suffer. Under this ruling of the controller general some higher-paid executives have been promoted above the aver- age of thelr grades, it was learned. |But the number of the higher-paid executives is negligible, as compared with the number of clerks, typists, messengers and others in small ap- ~ (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) i BANDITS KILL 7 PERSONS AFTER DERAILING TRAIN Woman Passenger Among Dead. Several Others Wounded and Ex- press Car Looted in Mexico. By the Associated Prees. MEXICO CITY, December 26.—Fifty armed bandits ‘on Wednesday night derailed a Laredo-to-Mexico City pas- senger train at El Cobre, south of Saltillo, killed a woman passenger and the six soldiers of the guard and sacked the express car, according to press dispatches from Saltillo. Sev- eral passengers were wounded dur- ing the fight, in which the soldier guard put up a gallant but futile re- sistance. > A military column has been sent from Saltillo in pursuit of the ban- dits. A similar outrage occurred at the nearby station of Carneros last October. MEXICO CITY, December 26.—The appointment of a Mexican ambassador to the United States Is still undecided and the foreign office is refusing to make statements regarding the matter. The recurrent reports carried by the newspapers since December 1 regard- ing the possibility of the appointment of Manual Tellez, now charge d'affaires at Washington, have neither been de- nied nor confirmed by the foreign office. Raawfrogra.ms Fage 31 Kills Twins But Is Freed. NEW_ YORK, December 26.—Mrs. Bessie Katz, 28-year-old mother who killed her twin boys December 2, was freed today by a magistrate, who dis- missed an infanticide charge. Mrs. Katz, the court was told, was tem- porarily demented when yshe threw the twins out of a third story window and jumped-after them. The mother was sufficiently recovered’ to appear in court today, men | blazers was the husband who yester- | brow of his spouse in gratitude for | THRONGS JAM STORES TO BARTER BEAUTY FOR UTILITY IN PRESENTS) | orchid of a downtown corset shop were a number of flappers who don't wear them, and further up the street a grandma was seen entering an elec- trical store to exchange an iron of the flattening variety for one that Dproduces curls. Clerks at the hosiery counters were called on to exchange wool socks for silk. number tens for number twelves, | black lisle-tops for nude ali-silk chif: fons, garter-types for roll-tops, etc. Utility Ousts Beauty. Man customers at handkerchief counters demanded linen hankies for lovely crepe de chine ones with borders; and women sought to replace the nice, practicable non- skid linen ones their hubbies gave them for little filmy silk ones to mateh cranberry hats. If the customers expected to meet with difficulty in effecting their ex- changes, they were greatly surprised. Everywhere they were greeted with whole-hearted, sympathetic co-opera- tion Only the first arrivals had to wait for service, the delay being due to the stors employes taking care of their own_little transactions before the big swapping rush in general got under ‘way. Only turkey Healers reported no exchange sales today GOLOGNE VERDICT COMES TOMORROW Ambassadors’ Council Confirm Decision Against Evacuation. to By the Associated Press. PARIS, December 26.—The allled council of ambassadors at its meeting here tomorrow is expected to confirm the decisions taken by the British ard French governments not to evacuate the Cologne bridgehead January 10. The ambassadors in addition, it is forecast, will send a memorandum to Beglin explaining the decision. They are not expected to go much further with the matter, however, pending the receipts of the final report from the military control mission concern- ing the status of German disarma- ment, which may be forthcoming the latter part of January. CHARGE MUNITIONS FOUND. Beard Claims Rifles and Machine Guns Concealed in Berlin. By the Assoclated Press. PARIS, December 26.—Officers from the interallied control commission have discovered in Berlin a depot of rifle and machine gun barrels, the Echo de Paris learns from “an incon- trovertible informant” in Germany. An inventory, now being taken, has accounted for 40,000 barrels, and it is expected that the total will reach 100,000. The depot was found in a eunningly devised hiding place. The French .contend. that the Ger- mans have violated the disarmament clauses, and Premier Herriot on Wednesday submitted to his cabinet a memorandum to which the minis- ters agreed, declaring that evacuation mission of the Cologne: bridgehead was im- possible. i ‘,flll 0. HEADS URGE 3.5 70 BUDGET Will Appear Before House Committee Monday With Data. The District Commissioners will spend today tomorrow in plan- ning data for a hearing before the subcommittee of the House appropria- tions committee Monday morning on the District appropriation act for the next fiscal year. They are gathering a mass of in- formation in support of the estimate of $32,335,827 submitted by the Bud- get Bureau and will make every ef- fort to convince the legislators that this sum should not be reduced. Although the original estimates prepared last Summer by the Com- missioners are not made public, it is known that they exceeded by sev- al million dollars the aggregate ap- proved by the Budget Bureau. City’s Rapid Growth Cited. The rapid growth taking place in all directions in the outlying sec- tions of the city is calling for large allotment for extensions of sewer and water mains, paving of streets and erection of street lights. The city heads are not usually per- mitted to ask before the appropri- ations committee for increases over the amounts transmitted by the and e - 3 ey { Budget Bureau, but they are anxlous | yyoc® ooy R to convince the subcommittee thatno| further cut should be made. In addition to Commissioners Ru- dolph, Oyster and Bell, the testimony at the Capitol probably will be aug- mented by Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, auditor, and various heads of de- partments. One of the most in the new budget is approximatel $600,000 to be used by the newl ted National' Capital Park Com- in acquiring land for park extensions and playgrounds. Another es-ential item is the one for continuing work on the new con- uit from' Great Falls, which is being constructed rapidly to reliove the important items danger of a water shortage that ex- | isted for a nymber of years. “SWELL” CHRISTMAS HAD BY PHILADELPHIANS Many “Holly” Wreaths Add Color, But Holly Proves to Be Poison Ivy. Special Dispatch to The Star. PHILADELPHIA, December Some residents of Philadelphia “all swelled up" are over their Christ- mas celebration today Unlicensed peddlers, in some Instances, sold poison vy instead of real holly Christmas wreaths. JAPANESE RIOTERS FREED. Gang Leaders Taken for Breaking Up American Dance. By the Associated Press. TOKIO, December 26.—Two leaders of a gang of political rowdies who were arrested after they had stopped the American colony dance at the Hotel Imperial, June 7, as a protest agaimst the passage of the Japanese exclusion clause in the American im- migration bill," were discharged by a criminal court today because of insufficient evidence. The men were charged with disturbing the peace. Girl Hurled From Auto by Crash Rides 12 Miles Unhurt on Engine Pilot By the Associated Press. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 26—Thrown onto the pilot of the Knickerbocker Specfal, fast Big Four passenger train, after the train had crashed into an auto- in which she was riding and Injured thres members of her family, one fatally, at & crossing here, Mrs. Kenneth Clark, 18 years old, of this city, had a wild 12-mile ride last night until she fell from the train into a ditch near Oaklan- don, Ind. Although unconscious when found a short time later by a farmer, she was.not seriously in- jured, 'suffering only from ex- Dosure from the sub-zero weather and slight -bruis She was brought to a local hospital. Kenneth Clark, her husband, 22 years old; Clyde Clark, her broth- r-in-law, jand Mrs. Clyde Clark wers 4d when the train struck tne Tear 9f the automoblle, Mrs, Clyde Clark died this morning at a local hospital. A baby 20 months old \vas hurled unhurt from the automo- ile. Police investigating the accident conducted a search for several miles along the track leading out of this city after a man had re- ported to the railroad office that he had seen a screaming woman being carried on the pilot of the train several blocks from the scene of the accident. The members of the train crew, who had been unaware of the ac- cident, were stopped at Anderson and a search of the front part of the engine made, but the woman had fallen from the train before reaching that point. Mrs. Clark told the ambulance driver on her way back to Indianapolis that she was able to hold on tightly to the speeding engine after the crash until she became too weak and had 1Q et g9, | studying TWO CENTS. COOLIDGE WORKING TOHOLD MAJORITY TWO YEARS HENCE President and Party Studying Final Vote to Decide Third Party Vitality. CONSERVATIVES’ BIG LEAD NO “REACTION” MANDATE Problem of Democrats Is to Com- bine Davis and La Follette Types of Partisans. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. politicians have not finlshed the official figures of the presidential election, just compiled, The | and the chances are they will not fin- | the fi { nificant effect 26— | bine the La Follette and Dav ish for many months to come. For al data presents much food for thought, and cannot but have a sig- on the plans of inde- pendents to form a permanent third varty organization. Votwithstanding the great popular- ¥ of Theodore Roosevelt, he did not in 1912 poll as many votes as did La Follette in 1924, but allowance must be made for the fact that women did not vote 12 vears ago. The differ- ence, nevertheless, was only about 700,000 in favor of La Follette. In spite of this, La Follette received only 13 electoral votes, while Col. Roosevelt received 85. La Follette was third in the popular vote, as well as in the electoral vote. Roose- velt ran second in both electoral and popuiar vote Only Splits Old Parties. The most important inference, how- ever, is that an independent of the type of Roosevelt and an even more radical individual like Senator La Follette doesn’t succeed in capturing a majority, but simply splits one of the two old parties. In 1912 the Democrats benefited by the Repub- lican break and in 1924 the Repub- licans had the advantage of a split in_the Democratic party. Mr. Wilson In 1912 was unable, however, to poll a majority of ti popular vote, while Mr. Coolidge suc ceeded in rolling up a mafjority over both his opponents of more than 2,500,000 votes, and, of course, in the electoral college had a substan majority. Under the circumstances the prob- lem of the progressives and independ- ents is to find a way not only to com- total: but to win back from the Republican ranks the millions of Democratic voters who strayed from the fold be- cause of a fear of the radicalism of La Follette or that the election would be thrown into the House of Repr sentatives for decision and that busi- ness would suffer because of the D riod of uncertainty. Third Party May Survive. To combine the La Follette Davis totals, however, is casier sa than done. The very reasons whic drove conservative Democrats into the Republican ranks might serve to hold them there again if the Demo- crats simply nominated a La Follette and there is no telling how many more would have gone from the Democratic party if a conservative like John W. Davis had not been the nominee. Yet if the con- servative wing of the Democrati party doesn’t do something to win the La Follette votes, the people who supported the La Follette party will |not be won to either the Republican or Democratic nominees, but will stay in an independent group if a man of La Follette's prestige happens to be the candidate and a serious effort made to maintain a third party The outstanding point about ures is that the coneerva political fortunes of the United in this era. The Republ year was 15,718,789, which represents conservatism. The Democratic vote of 5,078,962 was in large part conser tive, too. The radicals had enly 4,822,- 519 out of a total of 28,920,070, which is ncouraging for the conservatives, to v the least Radicnls Are Hopeful. The radicals, on the other hand, feel encouraged—or they say they do. They hope to win even more fiom the Demo- tic party pext time, and thus turn the latter into beral organization, notwithstanding ition of the solid South. The S uaily votes the Democratic whether he i a radical or conse the radi- cals are out to cap; the imachiners of the Democratic party they can count on Democratic aid from the South for their nominee and the essential requirement is to win the Northern and Western States. Tho pecially conservative Democrats, ¢ those who control the party in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, would resist the | La Follette invasion. The only hope |'of either the La Follette radicals a; | Democratic conservatives would a compromise on a man mot { radical as the Wisconsin Senator, but capable of holding his votsa and not so conservative as Jobn W. Dwvis. Coolidge Looks Ahend. Such a liberal might win back some of the Democratic votes from the Republican fold. The upshot of the whole thing s that the peopie of the United States reverse them- selves often and thero is a chance always for an opposition party to corral the discontented elements Conservatism has a four-year lease of life, but the congressional elec- tions two vears hence will give tho first indication of whether the coun- try is going to turn over to the other side. Nobody perhaps realizes better than does President Coolidge that the mandate of the last election was not a verdict for unrestrained conserva- tism, but that his administration must be conducted with an idea of retaining the millions who do not class themselves as conservatives, but who are liberals in the sense that they eschew radical doctrine and prefer a course midway betwecn the extremes of conservatism and radicalism. (Copyright, 1924.) Police Probe Mine Blast. SCRANTON, Pa., December 26.—Tha power house at the Underwood mine of the Pennsylvania Coal Company exploded early today. No one was 4a- jured. The explosion occurred near the Underwood breaker. Police are trylng to find out the cause of the blast. Employes of the Underwood mine have been on strike for nearly four weeks. The shock was felt 16 wlles away,