Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1925, Page 5

= - now! and all next week. the new!! sunshine (loose-wiles) full grained soda cracker on sale at all markets packages the newest and finest product of the “thousand-window i bakeries.” in the popular “splits in two shape 824 - they change the entire . definition of the word B “soda cracker” IHOUSE T0 SETTLE e DISTRICT SURPLUS Local Legislation Has Right of Way in Sessions Tomorrow. Tegislation making available for tse the $4,438,154.92 now in the Fed- eral Treasury, collected in District taxes and unappropriated under the old 50-50 or more recent 60-40 per- centage plan by which the District municipality and Federal Govern- ment have for more than a half cen- tury shared the costs of maintaining the National Capital, is the principal measure coming up for consideration in_the House tomorrow. In a conference vesterday Chalr- man Reed of the House District com- mittee decided upon a program of seven bills to be called up in order, as follows: Seven Bills On Program. The bill providing for widening of Nichols avenue, which has passed the Senate. The House bill to amend the police and firemen’s sa bill to correct inequities in the v schedules. The House bill providing for com- mitment to the District training school. The District surplus bill, which has already passed the Senate. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, changing the method of pital punishment from hanging to electrocution. The bill, which has already passed the Senate, granting authority for selection of a distinctive flag for the National Capital The bill, which has passed the Senate, to quiet titles to certain land in_the District. The District surplus bill seeks to carry out the recommendations of a joint select committee, which is dis- cussed In other columns of this paper. The Commissioners are of the opin- ion that the widening of Nichols ave- nue between the limits named would be a very desirable improvement, as it would eliminate the present sharp turn that must be made by all traffic approaching the cit 4 ; Hope road. At the present time there is traffic congestion at this point which would be relieved by the widening of the street To Correct Amendment. The proposed amendment to the po- lice and firemen’'s pay bill is to cor- rect an error made in the enrolled bill as returned to the House, the amend- ment having been adopted on the floor of the Senate, but not included in the engrossed bill as presented for the concurrence of the House. It would make the pay of battalion chief engineers $3,250 instead of $3,050, as the act now stands Another bill to be called up tomor- row provides that the institution for the custody, care, eductalon and treatment of feble-minded persons shall be under the control and super- vision of the board of charities of the District and provides the method of making commitments, The bill to change the method of capital punishment in the District from hanging to electrocution is ex- plained in the report filed by Repre- entative A. H. Gasque of South Carolina, as follows It s regarded as matter for correc- tion without further delay that the National Capital should retain a mode of capltal punishment which enlight- ened opinion has long since condemn- ed as barbarous, and which has been abandoned by many of the States in favaer of electrocution. The bill has received a favorable recommendation from the Commis- sioners of the District of Columbia. Prescribes Death Methods. The language in section 1, prescrib- ing mode by which death penalty shall be inflicted, is that of the New York and Vermont statutes, which have been passed on by the courts. The effective date is made January 1 next, in order to allow time for ne sary installations and other prepara- tions. Section 2 provides that executioner and necessary -ssistants, not more than three, shall be paid by fees. It is not deemed requisite that salaried positions be created. Any electriclan can perform the duties. Section 3 allows 10 days in which to make ready the death chamber, sum- mon the witnesses and make any other preparations. This provision is based on the South Carolina statute, 1812, Section 4 1{s designed to insure against unseemly exploitation of an execution as a morbid spectacle. The number of persons to be present is limited physically also, by the size of the death chamber, which it has been found good practice to have no larger than is absolutely necessary for economy of space and for techni- cal reasons. This section also pro- vides for the attendance of civillan witnesses as a check and safeguard, although the formal certification is made by the prison physiclan and the executioner. This bill has been drawn after ex- amination of State laws on the same | subject. / The Commissioners of the District of Columbia on December 18, 1923, advised the committee that they be- lleve the object of the bill is merito- flous, and recommend favorable ac- tion thereon. This bill passed the Senate during the Sixty-seventh Congress and was referred to the House of Representa- tives for action thereon, Flay Commission Bill. The bill for creation of a com- mission consisting of the President, | the Secretary of War and the chair- man of the Board of District Com- missioners to procure a design for a_distinctive flag for the Natlonal Capital, with the advice of the Com- mission of Fine Arts was Introduced by Chairman Reed and the favorable report was made by Representative Hammer of North Carolina. It has already passed the Senats. It has been approved by the District Com- missioners, The bill to qulet title to certain land at 1913-1921 M street northwest, 1s explained by Representative Ham- mer. He says that this land has been in private ownership for nearly 60 years and taxes have been regularly paid by the original owner and his helrs. Secretary of War Weeks and the District Commissioners have ap- proved the proposal. An extensive history of the title to the property is contained in Representative Ham- mer's report. R. C. ANGELL CHOSEN. Becomes Head of Intercoastal Lumber Shippers. NEW YORK, January 10.—Ralph C. Angell of Babcock-Angell Lumber Co.” was elected president of the In- tercoastal Lumber Shippers’ Associa- tion at the annual meeting last night at the Yale Club. Guy Smith of the Charles ~ R. . McCormick Lumber Co. was elected vice president and treas- urer. It was announced that Hoquiam, ‘Wash., has become the greatest ship- ping point for lumber in the world, having sent out more than 1,000,000, 000 feet in 1924. It is said to be the THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ¢, ANUARY 11, houxe of S. Kann Co. the blaze was finally extinguished. (Continued from First Page.) accept t its the 1itable United States basis in ex principle of contri on the without of the or 60-40 heneficial pital financ- ing written origi into the law of 1878 and amended by the law of 1922 and still remaining the b- stantive law governing the fiscal re- lations between the United and the District of Columbia money, 1tion The Cramton Bill. The Cramton bill propriating the District (1) to deprive the District of 3811 73.83 which the District officials be- lieve will be declared to be District money as soon as the controller gen- eral gets a chance to decide the ques- tion, (2) to deprive the District of the additional $4,438.154.92 or the ad- ditional §5 8.76 to which it would be entitled if the 50-50 ratio applied in appropriatin ture of the surplus, (3) to deprive the District of the additional $2.9 769.95 or the additional $3,505,019.17 to which it would be entitled if the 60-40 ratio were applied in pPro- priating and spending the surplus (4) to deprive the District of the lump-sum payment of na proposes in ap surplus and expendi- in lieu tional contribution of either 40 or per cent to accompany the appro- priation of some five millions of Dis- trict_taxes, (5) to make the appro- priation of this surplus the only penditure of local tax money since 1878 which has not been accom- panied by national contributions, either in definite proportion or in lump-sum payment; (6) to abandon permanently the principle of definite proportionate contributions. ‘Washington's Contention. ‘Washington contends: (1) That its accumulated tax surplus should be rendered available by the passage of the Phipps bill, which the Senate hax approved and {he House Distriet committee has reported favorably, and which ix mow pending in the House; and that this act of mple Justice should be approved by the House quickly and without crippling, delaying amendments like the Cram- ton proposition to make permanent the lump-sum system of national up- propriation; (2) that whenever the surplus Is actually appropriated it should be accompanied by a national contribution of equal amount, in ac- cordance with the terms of the law under which this tax money was col- lected, and instead of making this year's temporary lump-sum system permanent Congress wshould retain against amendment the definite pro- portionate-contribution system on the 60-40 basis which is mow the sub- stantive law. ’ I The condensed argument for the quick and equitable enactment of the Phipps surplus bill is presented in the petition of the citizens' organiza- tions of the District as follows: The congressional joint commit- tee om District surplus finds and reports (1) the existence of a free surplus in the Treasury to the credit of the District of $4,671,190.97, (2) the existence of certain District credits amounting to $665.46 to be added to this surplus, (3) the existence of cer- tain credits of the United States amounting to $233,707.51 to be sub- tracted from this surplus and (4) the existence of a net balance of $4,438,- 154.92 legally and morally due the District from the United States after all legal and equitable additions and subtractions have been made. The finding by the joint congres- slonal committee that the District tax surplus is not a myth but,a goncrete fact, raising a distinct obilgation not to be waved aside, is based upon and sustained by Surplus a Concrete Fact. (1) The authoritative certificate of the controller general of the United States. (2) The report of the official ac- countants of the congressional joint committee of the Treasury account- ants and of the auditor of the District of Columbia. (3) Analysis of the conditions cre- ating this surplus demonstrates its concrete existence and the definite obligation, legal and equitable, at- tached to it. ‘(4) Analysis of ‘the District audi- first time any port attained the 1,000,000,000-foot maxky ‘ f tor's figures of net surpluses or de! Practically every fire hoxe In the District was put to use last night to fight the stubborn blaze in the ware- Great streams of water were made to play on the building for about three hours before District Surplus and the Definite Proportion Plan of 1878 to 1920, conclusive for the nclusive, makes emonstration ngress, in 1903, recognized there could be and would be h things as surplus revenues of the trict irecting that the ad- vances which it was then making to meet District tax deficits should b. “reimbursed to said time to time out of the surplus rev- enues of the District of Columbia (6) After District deficits had been converted i surpluses, Congre recognized the existence of such sur- pluses in the Tre by applying portions of these surpl to tha payment of alleged ancient Indebted- nesses of the District to the United States, by law ifically transfer ring to the United States sums fron “the amount in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Dis- trict of Columbia.” organic act fiscal vears 1800 same M eRnny spe Surpluses and Deficits. The United States has nized credit items in its favor acer ing from deficits in District tax rev- enue created by the operation of th half-and-half lJaw and has reimbursed itself from District revenues with in- terest for advances to meet these def- icits. It cannot, legally or equitably, refuse to recognize the corresponding ebit items in the shape of surpluses of collected and unexpended District taxes. (8) The United States this equitable principle with surpluses or d for two years (fisc: v &) recognized in dealing ficits in applying years 1921 and 1922) the temporary sixty-forty ratio in District appropriation bills by car- rying over surpluses or deflcits into the succeeding year. The legal obl tion thus and thus demonstrated to exist is not weakened but strengthened by equitable and moral considerations. There are no offsets in the shape of United States credits, either in the period since 15878 or the period be- tween 1874 and ISTS, other than those found and reported by the congres- sional joint committee, to make @ net reduction of the reported am t of the District’s present tax surplus. The legal and moral obligation thus demonstrated to exist is equitably satisfied only by the application of the surplux in accordance with the half and half law, under which it was ac- cumulated to meet the District’s half of the expense of neglected munieipal needs of the war time, which neglects permitted its accumulation. Ap) tion of the surplus under any other ratio is inequitable. 1L Examination of the wording of the law which authorized the collection of the tax money constituting this sur- plus makes perfectly clear the sound- ness of the District’s contention that this tax money cannot equitably be appropriated unless accompanied by a corresponding appropriation from the Treasury. created Equitable Disposal of Surplus. There are four alternatives in dis- posing of the District surplus: 1. Apply it in accordance with the half-and-half law, under which it was accumulated, to meet neglected mu- nicipal needs of the wartime, which neglects permitted its accumulation. Preferably, apply it in a lump, dupli- cated under the half-and-half law, to some great and urgent permanent im- provement which requires for eco- nomical and speedy completion a much larger amount than can be spared from current revenues after providing for essential current main- tenance; like, for example, the in- crease of local water supply, an urg- ent vital need, requiring millions to meet it. Or use it to bring our school buildings up to date in number and equipment, another need demanding millions of immediate expenditure. Or apply the accumulated unexpended taxes to satisfy any accumulated unmet meeds. Note the reports of the District Commissianers, iu.which they show the extent to which cur- rent needs, both of maintenance and permanent improvements, have been neglected during the time In which this so-called surplus has been ac- cumulating. The surplus merely rep- resents money that ought to have been applied in the past as the Dis- trict’s proportionate contribution to- ward meeting the needs to which the Commissioners have called attention, and falling to be thus applied in the icits in-District tax revenue upder the ) past, it ought to be devoted now tg | from | recog- | meet these accumulated unmet needs Thix ix the method of disxpositic which the law, equity, a trustee's honor and ordinary business honesty demand. No Repudiation, the cipal Mtributin al contribution the new | 49 instead of ance th | collecteq, collect Even Partial. Spend the the cent of ra of 60- per cent, in accord- half-and-half law, when it w authority to wh terms it pply it in this the 60-40 ratio it to money as enacted and un- a different law. Of equity and in accordance mary business fair play the f the half-and-half period alanced and closed on-the ciple, and the 60-40 tponed in applica- rtainly until the date of its en- tment; and there may be items in ct to which wpplication should ity b rther postpon. he pre ount of the of unexpended taxes may for the District’s bene ubling under the half course involves only half The Natlon repudiates in taxes ralsed under law its obligation confiscates for its own dollars duplicating this the law of 1878 re- Uncle Sam will not trict revenue under of 1878, either wholly or in surplus on with 40 per cated mu needs | ernr | the tot | with w the as in operation which gave the was collected way would be to ma | retroactive, 1y | raised before it w | der the terms of in with cust Accounts 1d he half-an rat in even plus and-half cation, respect to half- 1878 benefit the taxation which quires it to pay confiscate the DI, the law part these nd-half nd An Inconceivable Altermative. 4. The fourth alternative, which is inconceivable and mno alternative at 1, is that Uncle Sam should confis- cate the whole amount of District revenue, saying that after he col- lected it under the half-and-half law and failed to appropriate it imme- diately under that law he permitted it through neglect of his agents to be covered into the Treasury as miscella- neous receipts, so that it is lost entirely to the District. It is inconcelvable | that Uncle Sam should take advan- tage of his own wrong and profit through repudiation, confiscation and breach of trust as a dishonest guar- dian. Uncle Sam will never permit himself to be put In this attitude to- ward his ward. 1t wouid be paradoxical and mon- strous if a surplus of unexpended local tax money which Congress through neglect of the Capital's urgent needw has permitted to accumulate in viola- tion of the half-and-half law should be used ax a weapon to destroy that Inw, and then should be diverted from its full application to those very needs, neglect of which hy Congress in the past has permitted a surplus to accumulate. AID FOR CONSUMPTIVES PLANS DRIVE FOR FUND Donations and Life Membership for Contributors of $50 Are Proposed. The Starmont Aid for Consumptives plans to create a memorial fund through donations of any amount and life memberships of $30 contributions. The fund, when organized, will be used for the current work of the or- ganization. In time, it is. the aim of the society to develop the fund to such proportions that a home may be built for the consumptives. The com- mittee in charge of the undertaking is headed by Mrs. E. J. Brennan of the Harrington Hotel. Others on the committee are: Mrs. Andrew Stewart, Mrs. W. H. Sholes, Mrs. G. N. Harris apd Mrs. A. P. Clark, jr. 'CHURCH UNION 0. KD Canadian Presbyterian Vote on Question Is Large. TORONTO, January 10.—Out of 578 Canadian Presbyterian congrega- tions voting, 480 having cast their ballots in favor of union with the Methodist and Congregational Churches, and 98 voted against it, re- ports recelved today at the Church Unfon headquarters here shows 1925—PART T. $225,000 BUSINESS FIRE CAUSES INJURY OF EIGHT | Kann’s Warehouse at 8th and D Stfu-pl. paratus in City Summoned to Combat Con- flagration. Nearby Buildings Are Periled. (Continued from First Page.) the danger signal if the slightest sign of crumbling was shown. Strong wooden joists held the brick walls intact. Had the building been constructed of steel, Fire Marshal Seib pointed out, the heat would have buckled the frames, collapsed the walls ‘and probably killed or injured many firemen. Smoke Baffles Firemen. Impenetrable smoke filled Eighth street and D street while the fire was at its helght, making it exceedingly difficult for the firemen to maneuver through the maze of hose and ap- paratus which cluttered the streets and the sidewalks. Time and time again the groups of newspapermen and official8 within the well guarded fire lines, were driven away by the great gusts of smoke and flame. Automobiles parked in the vicinity of the burning bullding also made it difficult for the emen to worm their way through the narrow spaces between the cars. These obstruc- tions, howev were later removed by crowds of volunteers, composed of soldiers, marines and taxi drivers, recruited by Lieut. F Thompson of Fort Humphreys, All the cars on Eighth street between C and D and on D street between Seventh and Eighth were pushed out of the fire zone. The rain from the 1d the sprays of water hose which poured tons of water on the flaming bullding saved many of these machines from being ignited by the torrent of sparks, which at times resembled a pyrotechnical display. Whole Block Threatened. The flames at their zenith threat- ened the whole block and two of the leading commercial houses of the city. Next door to the warehouse, the Electric Power Company’s containing three dyna- mos and serving a large portion of the downtown section of the city, made preparations to abandon their machinery. The “load” was switched over to the other substations imme- diately, with the result that complete darkness in that section of the city was prevented. A thick fire wall and quick action by the firefighters, how- ever, confined the conflagation to the warehouse Immediately their station employes arranging an effort of black upon closing down the electric company directed their activities to | powerful searchlights in| to plerce the dense billows smoke that at t com- pletely enveloped the blazing build- ing, stifiing the firemen and blind- ing them. Five or six large search- lights were placed on the top of Lansburgh & Bro.'s store and in other advantageous positions Fire Truck Ablnze. Time after time the firemen were forced to back from the building by falling bricks and stone and seeth- ing flames that shot out unexpect- edly. The ladder truck of No. 1 com- pany caught fire and began to blaze It was quickly rushed out of action on to the sidewalk, where it partly fell through an elevator opening in the pavement. Other trucks and en- gines were run up on the pavemen in order properly to throw the streams of water on the conflagra- tion Scores of powerful streams were directed against the blazing building, The water tower was a failure. It had not been in operation 10 minut before the connecting pipe burst and put it out of commission. No at- tempts were made to get it in action again, as in the opinion of the fire- men the stream it threw was insig- nificant, compared with the bullet- like streams from mounted hoselines As soon as the firemen directed thelr energies in a particular direc- tion, sheets of flame burst with a roar In other parts of the building. The almost solid walls of smoke pre- vented the men from entering the building, despite the fact that a num ber of them were equipped with gas masks. Several of the men who had to get close to the blazing structure were made ill by inhaling smoke and gasses. Handicap after handicap developed as parked automobiles blocked the movement of the firemen in every d rection. The windows of the cars had to be smashed before they could be removed. Falling glass, pieces of iron from the fire escapes and the metal cornices of the building were a constant menace to the men en- gaged in their work. Tce Bursts Hose. Several pieces of hose burst as they re dragged over the hard, fcy re- mains of the recent snowstorms that later melted in the water falling hot from the fire and added to the rush- ing stream that in places made the streets look like small, angry river For the first time “flood ligh operated by rescue squad No. 1 of the fire department, were used. Stand- ing at the corner of Eighth and D streets, the truck with .two large flood lights illuminated a consider- able portion of the building and helped materially in keeping check on the weakening walls of the struc- ture. The new lights were made by the fire department out of spare parts. Detected by Worker. According to E. H. Foster, the bookkeeper, who was working late on accounts in the packing room, the fire started on the first floor, among some packing straw and excelsior. Detecting smoke, Foster ran into the packing room, located in the north- west corner of the first floor, and saw the flames eating their way rapidly toward the second floor. He dashed into the street and into Engine Com- pany No. 14 with the initial alarm. By the time the enginemen reached the corner, & distance of perhaps 100 feet, the'entire front of the first and second floors was aflame. Pedestrians on Eighth and D streets ran to ald Foster, who was piling papers and books into a safe. Most of the ace counts of the company were thus probably saved. Foster lives in Del Ray, Va. Crowds on thelr way downtown to shop and visit various places of amusement forgot their original de: tination and made the work of the first fire companies harder by jam- ming Eighth and D streets at the intersection. The first few police- men on their beats found themselves unable to cope with tre situation and rang headquarters for aid. Marines who were in Washington on leave were sworn in and pushed the crowds back. Wide Area Cut Off. Fifteen minutes after the blaze started, the police had established fire lines, and experlenced little trou- ble in keeping back the curious crowds which had been attracted from every section of the city. The lines were thrown around Seventh, Ninth, C and E streets, and in this wide area no spectator was admitted. Virtually every available police- man and fireman was on duty at the fire. Even those who were enjoying the evening at home were called back to work. Police said the crowd, for its size, was one of the most orderly they have handled In vears. The fire at the start, according to eyewitnesses, and the exterior of the building gave no indications of be- ing serious until smoke had been Jor 20 minutes. | which it was shifted. ouring frem the windows Lox 15 DISTRICT All Ap- The firemen had smashed through the show windows and shot their streams of water into the fire when a sudden gust of wind shot the flames up the elevator shaft of the warehouse. Wind Gets to Work. The suction in the shafts and the wind from the vents made by the fire- men did the work. The blazes shot up to the roof, burst the windows out and sent electric wires sputter- ing out with loud hisses. Accompany- Ing the hiss of the sparks, was a roar, and the flames shot out into the street, forcing the spectators and fire- men back from the bullding. From basement to roof the build- 15 years old, and leased the Kann Company from Cornelia Ross Potts, trustee for a Baltimore estate, was packed with drygoods, paints, packing material, mattresses. cellulold articles, household furnish- ings, varnished wood refrigerators, tables and hundreds of similar articles. To the hordes women and in of thrilled men, children on the street, the fire demon took on a tangible form, as the 50-foot tongues of flame smacked with a seemingly in- satiable appetite at surrounding buildings. The great sheets of liquid fire, as they burst forth from the trembling structure, looked as though they were literally bending the brick shell out- ward. With principal supports un- dermined, an entire floor suddenly would give way and plunge down- ward Into the seething furnace low, at times carrying the floor below along. Lack of Windows a Handieap. The intense heat made it impos- sible for the firemen to put the ex- tension ladders against the hot bare walls until about 11 o'clock, so that they were greatly handicapped in fighting the blaze In sections of the building where it could not be reached before because of the lack of win- dows. At that time, the fire was well under control, but burning in varfous parts of the building. As fast as the water hit the flam- ing fire pit, it turned to steam. The wood in the building was so hot at this t that when a stream of water was removed from a particular point to another, flames immediate! would flare up in the section from The torrent of water rushing from the burning building filled the streets, ran over the curbs and seeped through manhole covers and cellar gratings of Kann's store, filling the basement book department to a depth several feet A large portion of the water also came through a con- duit connecting the department store with the warehouse. *As the Water began to rise in the basement of the store, a group of employes attracted by the fire, as well some of the officials, donned boots and removed the most valuable goods to the floor above. Later, it wae pumped and siphoned out by firemen, working under the direction of Fire Marshal Seib. Woman Taken to Safety. Patrolman C. F. Dahlglish the sixth precinct, on duty on Eigh street, saw flames eating their way across the roof of the Kann ware- house. A rooming house at 709 D street, one door away, was directly in the path. The officer entered tr rooming house and assisted Mrs. Wal- ter Rosemary to the street with her insurance papers and personal jew- elry. She collapsed when the flames shot into the street. Seventeen other roomers of the house left. Every precaution was taken by the police to keep occupants of bulldings in the vicinity of the warehouse from being caught unprepared had the flames spread to adjoining structure Lieut. Cornwell of the ninth precinct, when the volcanoes of fire shot men- acingly more than 30 feet out of the windows of the burning structure, hastened to the nearby stores and warned those inside to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Those in the Army and Navy Trading Co., on the northwest mer of Eighth and D streets, gathered on the first floor 1’)“““(}13[0(_' but were not forced io degert the store. More than 50 cedar chests, on dis- play in the windows of the warehouse, were placed on D street sidewalks by the firemen when they smashed through the glass show windows. Juggles Burning Timbers. As the flames ate their way to the top of the warehouse, large pieces of burning timbers fell, only to be caught by the deluge of water from the hose and shot back into the air. One large board, aflame, dropped dangerously close to a group of fire- men on the D street side of the build- ing. Four automobiles parked on the north corner of Eighth and D streets began to blister with the heat. Two of the tires on a machine burst, and the tops were damaged. A letter box on the corner of D sxlxje"'l opposite the warehouse con- taining letters which would have been picked up, was partially melted and the letters in the box destroyed The brickwork and signs on the D street side of the store were dam- aged by the terrific heat of the flames leaping across the street ¥ Improvised lunch stands were set up-on the west side of Eighth street between D and E streets, whero the Young Men's Hebraw Assoolation the management of the Strand The- ater and officials of Kanns' served hot coffee and sandwiches to the chilled and water-soaked firemen The firemen, however, did not stop to eat until the fire was completely under control. E cor Covered by Insurance, Sigmund Kann, member of the firm, was in Baltimore when the fire hroke out. He was notified by long-distance telephone and arrived here before the fire was extinguished. He said that the building and contents were en- tirely covered by insurance. The de- stroyed warehouse, he added, was used as an “Immediate supply” stor- age place. The company's main ware- house, he sald, is on C street, several blocks away. Stock in the main store was not damaged by smoke which forced its y into the buil g, Mr. Kann asserted, although considerable damage was done to stock in the basement by the flood. The store will be open as usual tomorrow, he de- clared. Mr. Kann expressed his deep gratitude to Chief Watson and his men for the vallant efforts they made to stem the blaze, and he expressed] the opinlon that the main store alum: would have caught fire but for the effictent work of the firemen in keep- ing the walls and roof thoroughly wet. Two Other Fires Occur. Chief Watson said that at the crux of the fire there was not a single piece of apparatus owned by the de- partment that was not at the scene. Two local fire calls for minoy. Wres in other varts of the city necessitated the withdrawal of two engines and their crews for the outlying alarms. B. W. Rector, inspector of the Dis- Hotel Inn Phone Main 8108.8109. 604-610 9th St. N.W. $7 rooms, $6 weekly; $10.50 rooms, $5; $l4 with toilet, shower and lavatory, $10; 2 in #oom, 50 per cent more. Rooms Like Mother'sy { einct i By trict water department, kept close tab on the water supply throughout the ressure was m tained at an adequate point at all times, he said. Th was only one incident that marred the 160 per cent efficlency of the fire department, Michael Francis Finnan, 28, of engine company 15, was arrested at the fire by headquarters detectives and charged with intoxica. tion. He w sent to the ninth pre- pending raising of collateral for his appearance in Police Court tomorrow. Finnan gave his address as 1372 Kenyon street. Ensign R. D. Pratt The Secretar: cepted the Resigns, of the Navy has aec- ignation of Ensign Richard D. Pratt ttached to the re- ceiving ship at New York, to take effcct January 15, D.J. Kaufman, nc. 1005 Pa. Ave. 1724 Pa. Ave. JANUARY CLEARANCE NOW ON! All $35 O’COATS $23 All$408& $45 $ O’'COATS 33 All$50 & $55 $ O’COATS 43 NOW REDUCED! Thirty-Five Dollar Two-Pants Suits $27 $40 & $45 537 Two-Pants Suits $50 & $55 Two-Pants Suits 47 NO CHARGE FOR ALTERATIONS Deposit Cheerfully Accepted Money'’s Forth or Money Back D.J.Kaufman. 1. 1005 Pa. Ave. 1724 Pa. Ave.