Evening Star Newspaper, May 14, 1925, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. S. Weatber Bureau Forecast.) Partly cloudy tonight; tomorrow fair; not much change in temperature. Temperatures: Highest, 69, at noon today; lowest, 48, at 5 a.m. today. Full report on page 7. Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 28 ¢ Foening Star, No. 29,588, "~ Solates & eece Entered as secoud class matter shington, D. C. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, MAY 14, PAGIFIC RUM FLEET, BESET BY 2 FOES, STILL LANDS CARGD $10,000 to $20,000 Put| Ashore Daily From Five Ships Off San Pedro. COAST GUARD HELPLESS; HI-JACKERS ARE ACTIVE | | | Fameus Novelist Dead Mellon Well Pleased at Success ofj Intensive Drive of Com- | bined Dry Forces. Br the Associated P NEW YORK, May 14.—Twelve of the 16 rum vessels that have heen anchored on rum row under the surveillance of the blockading Coast Guards, put to sea toward Halifax, officers of the S. C. G. 17 patrol boat reported today when they put in at Staten Island- Two steamships and two scheoners are the only liquor ships left, they reported. , i | , | | B the Associated Press. | SAN PEDPRO, Calif., May 14.—Rum runners, hi-jackers and law enforce- | ment officers were waging a triangu- lar today for control of San Pedro R H. RIDER HAG SIRRIDER HAGEARD, i i i | NOTED AUTHOR, DIES Writer of Many Popular Novels Succumbs in London Hospital. harbor. Police and Federal prohibition agents | By the Associated Pre: admitted they had little success stem- | ming. the flow of illicit liquor from a rum fleet of five vessels lying off the coast between here and San Diego, but declared they had evidence to show | that hi-jackers were making it hot for | the rum smugglers. | Reports were under investigation of | a shooting affray which took place | last midnight on the road between | White Point and Point Firmin, over-| looking the harbor. A large truck, fol- | lowed closely by a touring car, was | attacked by another touring car, resi- | dents of the outlying district told po-| exchanged. Between $10,000 and $20,000 worth of whisky is being landed in or near the harbor daily, officers estimated, | adding frankly that the inpouring of liquor will continue so long as they are | handicapped by lack of small, fast| boats with which to patrol the port. | Approximately half a hund »d police | and Federal men are watc ing the| scores of likely landing places within | the harbor district. So far the liquor runners have not been pressed to land their cargoes in Isolated coves far from the city, it being a_comparatively sim- ple matter to put the rum ashore onee | they have run the gantlet of the, Vaughan and Tamaroa; two Coast Gugrd cutters attempting to blockade | the liquor fleet. The Vaughan is due in port today and is expected to bring detailed in-| formation as to the identity of the five | visiting liquor carriers. i THREE AGENCIES COMBINED, | Rt ars ] Coast Guard, Customs and Dry Forces | Fight Rum Smugglers. With Uncle Sam's tripartite rorces——“ customs, Coast Guard and prohibition —drawing the lines of their joint cam- | paign against rum tighter, Seeretar Mellon believes substantial progress i being made toward better enforcement of the liquor laws. { This was learned at the Treasury to- | day. At the same time it was revealed | from customs and prohibition authori- | tles that reinforcements from both of the: added to the patrol along the Canadian | border. | Thus, the Coast Guard dry fleets in| the Atlantic and Pacific battling rum | ships offshore and the increased num. | ber of Federal agencies on the Cana- | dian border today strengthened the | watch against leaks in the big dike | the Government is building daily now ! around the country against floods of{ rum outside. i Secretar: today by a spokesman at the Treas- ury, feels that the new concentration | of control of the trio of agencies co- | operating in the enforcement of pro- hibition is having a beneficial effect. | Although these three forces formerly | were under control of Assistant Sec retary of the Treasury McKenzie| this official also had the heavy s of the Internal Revenue Bu-| reau, as well as other responsibilities. ndrews in Full Charge. | Now that Lincoln C. Andrews, the! new a nt secretary, has been given exclusive control over the three | phases of Treasury activity having to | do with enforcement, while leaving | the tax collection end of the Internal | Revenue Bureau with Judge Mos: Mr. Andrews has been able to give | much more intensive attention to bor- | der and amuggling problems and the | more rigid enforcement of such laws, | in_the opinion of the Treasury head. | Reports from the Pacific coast of | increased activities of rum runners | were met with officials here with pre. dictions that Coast Guar in Pacific waters would ngly in crease their efforts. with the new fa- cilities placed in their hands by the last Congress. On the acific coast suard has two separate divisions, ! equipped with special fleets. Capt. J. M. Moore, United States | “oast_Guard. captain of the port of San Francico, as commander of the Southerr division, controls a large fleet (how extensive officials do mnot | reveal), which operates from the seuthern extremity of the California border north to Oregon. In this fleet, which has brought in some of the biggest liquor prizes of the year, offi- cials say, are not only cruising cut-; ters, but also picket boats and patrol boats. Fear Return of Poison Rum. The northern jurisdiction of the Pa- cific Coast is under command of Capt. 1. Dodge, based on Seattle. Assistant Prohibition Commissioner Jomes, in discussing the northern horder situation today, said that ap- proximately 100 general and Federal dry agents are concentrating there, prepared to break up any surprise move from land. Belief that the bootleggers, once checked sufficiently to make hazardous ttempt to smuggle liquor to Amer- ican shores, will return to the practice of redistilling industrial alcohol for | sale as a beverage, was expressed by | ihe assistant commissioner, who said his will_bring_poisonous_concoctions FContinued o9 Fage 2, Column 1.) additional the Coast G fac |of which the Cor LONDO; May 14.—Sir H. Rider Haggard, author, died here today. He had been ill four months and recently, when his condition became serious, he was taken to a private hospital in London, where he died. Although he achieved a world reputation as a maker of fiction, it was known to but few that the real | work of Rider Hagszard was in the field of practical agriculture, in which | later, shall nominate representativ he gained the among experts. A practical farmer himself, Haggard highest reputation ines. Many of his hooks were de- | voted to farming, although they are known only sidered thes the industr; to agriculturists, who con- 'm of great importance to 'y in England. Rider Haggard was born at Braden- ham, Norfolk, June 22, 1836. He en- gaged in government service in South Africa and while a young man became celebrated as a writer of romances and tales of adventure with African backgrounds. From 1882 to 1924 scarcely a year passed without the publication of a novel by him. For years Rider Haggard was one of the most widely read of popular novelists, the acme of his popular achievement being reached in his novel of the late S0s, mon's Mines,” and “‘She.” The scene of these, as of his other most success- ful works, were laid in South Africa, where he went in 1875 as secretary to the governor of Natal. He served later In the Transvaal and was one of the officials who hoisted the British |cided that the board should be ap.French outposts at Bibane and Dar- | pointed by the council of the Leag flag over that territory on Queen Vic torias birthday in 1877. After the Boer victory at Majuba Hill the convention with the Boers was signed in his home, and he short- 1y afterward abandoned South Africa, returning to England, where he bagan his career as a novelist while study- ing for the bar, publishing his first success, “Dawn” in 1884. The novelist was knighted in 1912. In 1905 he visited the United States on an official mission to report on the Salvation Army colonies, spending some time in the Mountains States. agencies have been | He married Miss Mariana Margitson, | a Norfolk heiress, in 1879. 12 REDS SEIZED IN ROME. Large Quantities Propaganda Also Taken. ROME, May 14 (A.P.).—Twelve al- Mellon, it was Tevealed |jeged Communists were arrested and | large quantities of propaganda circu- lars, pamphlets and correspondence were seized last night in police raids n Communist meetings in two small | B everal days officers had been followingz clues, which indicated un- usual activities in Communist ¢lrcles. The police found at these hotels varlous sums of money, the sources munists were un- willing to divulge. | GET $20,000 IN HOLD-UP. Six Bandits Take Pay Roll and| Escape in Stolen Auto. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 14 (A.P.)—Two messengers bearing a pay roll of $20,000 from the First National Bank of Boston to the plant of Lever Bros. Co. in East Cam- bridge, were held up today at the entrance to the plant by six masked men and robbed of two leather bags containing the money. The robbers escaped in an automo- bile that had been stolen in Waltham. e — King Solo- | | was ‘especially Tnteremton r Hageard | method of electing their successors. lice, and volleys of pistol shots were ffirlcull"re in England along Dutch | U. 3. WANTS ARMS BUREAU FREED OF LEAGUE'S GONTROL Proposes Countries Name Own Members to Office for | Handling Data. BETTER SERVICE IS SEEN IF BODY IS INDEPENDENT America’s Interest in Panama Canal Due Up as Cargo Examina- tion Is Discussed. | By the Assoctated Preas GENEVA, May 14.—The American delegation to the League of Nations International Conference for the Con-| trol of Traffic in Arms and Munitions | today officially filed an amendment to | divorce the convention from the | League of Nations. | The presentation of the American amendment, although expected in| many quarters, caused something of | a sensation. | The conventlon “which it is pro posed to amend provides that a cen-| tral international office shall be es.| tablished by the council of the League | of Nations for the collection and pub-, lication of documents of all kinds re-| lating to traffic’ in arms. | Omits Mention of League. | The amendment offered by Repre: | sentative Theodore E. Burton, head of the American delegation, provides for a central office, but omits the specification that it be appbinted by | the league's council. It differs also from convention by saying number of states, to RFFAN TRBESWEN BOUTED BY FRENCH | the conterence Qutposts Relieved — Planes be di ined o oas epresentatives| Punish Fugitives After San- to the central office and these repre- sentatives shall determine its organ-| tion and functions. imeluaing “ine| guinary Battle in Morocco. The Burton amendment will be dis- cussed later. The American proposal requires! pARIS, May 14.—The Riffian tribes. | quarterly, instead of annual, public: ® | ¢ v y t | tion of statistics regarding manutac. | Me? Who invaded the French zone o ture of arms, and requires reports on | Morocco under orders from Abd-El- certain classification of arms upon:Krim were driven back along a wide which reports are not required under ! front in yesterday's operations, ac- the convention unless it is proved|cording to a statement from the they are intended for export. | French headquarters. The Burton amendment also elim-| Four besieged French outposts were inated the convention requirement for { L 1t "5 S Uiage of Azdour was publicity regarding arms contracts | et iared. Tme] antedating the ratification of the con. | captured in a bavonet charge. | vention. iretreat of the tribesmen, llhr state: | ( ment says, became general at noon | The rn::::;nofr:':d::;:'fj‘dm re. | Yesterday, and the retiring enemy i | calls the situation during the recent Delns harassed by .avialors operating Geneva conference for the interna.|in sreat. force. tional control of traffic in opium,| The ns, when efforts were made to meet Amer. , Northward lrt'h ican objections to the connection of | Oued An the league with the conference. | ported by the French to have suffered It was then proposed to have a|heavy losses. The French operations | central opium board appointed by the | Were on # massive scale, with all} states represented on the league's | brancl of the service participating. | council, plus the United States and | The village of Azdour was taken at Germany. However, it was later de-|the pdint of the bayonet and the two | By the Associated Pres who are retreating rough the valleys of | and Hamouda, are re- remich, whi.h had been completely of Nations with the understanding |surrounded by tribesmen for 10 days, that the United States and Germany | Were retrieved. should be invited ‘o participate in | Fiyers Flank Army. FBling the, Ahpolncs ot The French troops. under Gen.| Panama Canal Issue Seen. Colombat, advanced in three columns, America’s interest in tffe Panama flanked on the right by cavalry and | Canal is expected to fifure impor-|on the left by aviation. They first at- tantly today in difcussioff before the |tacked the Riffians on the plains, and conference as to whether there should | then moving behind a rolling barrage be international control of arms in | of artillery fire, stormed the strongly shipment. | fortified Riffian positions in the foot- Such examination during shipment | hills. is authorized in the proposed conven-| Gen. Colombat's forces finally took | | amend, of Communist | Great Britain the right-to examine all | | today his intentions of resigning, but | tion, and although the Americanup -their positions on the Bibane delegates did not express an opinion | Heights. 1 today, they are understood to oppose | The French attack began at day any extensive right of search involving | light yvesterday. In addition to Gen. continuous examinations of cargoes. | Colombat's heavy advance, a diversion The British delegates submitted an | was executed by 1. Freyvdenburg's nt mainly intended to give | columns. Moving from his position in the central sector toward the west, this commander relieved two other surrounded blockhouse garrisons at Amzez and Talerza. | Marshal Lavautey, governor general of French Morocco, thus has begun the task of preventing Abd-El-Krim's dream of proclaiming himself Sultan and Caliph at Fez from coming true. Gen. Count de Chambrun is command- ing Lyautey’s forces, and acno:‘\gas ships suspected of carrying arms des- tined to her colonies, and authorizing penalties for illegal shipments. \ The Japanese delegation vigorously ! combatted this proposal as a serious | impediment to free navigation and | liberty of transit. | Turkey proposed a new clause, | whereunder the powers would agree n hinder or delay the movement (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) WINFIELD SCOTT MAY | GET PENSIONS POST Commissioner Metcalf Confirms In- tentions of Resigning—Time Uncertain. | taken as soon as necessary rel ce- ments of infantry, airplanes and irtil- lery were received from Algeria “Holy War” Feared. | In addition to the tribesmen in the field the French have another and more subtle foe in the propaganda or- ganized by Abd-El-Krim, for, although the greater part of natives in the French zone are peaceful and content- ed, there is always the danger that their religious feelings may so be j worked as to cause uprisings. Abd-El-Krim undoubtedly carries great weight with the Mussulmans. The French declare he is receiving | subsidies from all parts of the world, notably India, where collections are made daily for his cause. ARMED WITH GERMAN RIFLES. Winfleld Scott of Enid Okla., prob- ably will be eppointed Commissioner of Pensions to succeed Wilder S. Met- calf of Lawrence, Kans.,, who is ex-| pected to resign within a short time. | | Commissioner Metcalf confirmed | Riffian Tribesmen Leave Guns and| said he was not decided when it Munitions in Retreat. would be effective. He explained that| RABAT, French- Morocco, May 14 when he took office it was with the | (A.P..—Abd-el.Krim's Rifflan invaders were severely punished by the French understanding that it would be only for a short time, since he desired to return to private business. Mr. Scott, a prominent lawyer of Oklahoma, formerly was a judge of Garfield County. He served as a major in the World War and now ranks as colonel in the Reserve Corps. He is a veteran of the Spanish-Amer- ican_War, in which he served with the Pennsylvania troops. Seven Bandit Raiders Slain. SOFIA, Bulgaria, May 14 (A.P.).— Seven brigands have been killed b troops seeking those responsible for a recent raid on the town of Hazarlik. The band extorted 400,000 levas from the inhabitants by holding various citizens for ransom and ugon leaving took several hostages. They are being hunted from all sides. Lets King of England Shake the Hand That Shook the Hand of Jack Dempsey By the Associated Pres LONDON, May 14.—At least one American of this year's vintage of tourists got a personal audience with King George today, and he didn't have to go to the King's levee or be presented at court in order to do it, the Evening News relates. The King, the newspaper says, was making the round of exhibits at the Wembley exposition when a sturdy American holding a boy by the hand pushed his way through the crowd. and. Without any pre- liminaries, said: “Shake King!" King George, with a smile, shook hands cordially, and smiled again when the American jovially intro- duced “the boy.” ‘Then the self-presentee lifted his hat and walked away. A moment later he stopped, and. with medi- tative complacency, observed: *“Now I'm happy. I have shaken hands with the King of England and Jack Dempsey.” . The name of the American was given as John Cownis of Des Moines, Towa. hands with America, | vesterday in a series of operations | which relieved all but two of the sur- | rounded outposts and established the | French on the Bibane Heights. The Riffans were completely clean- | ed out of this region, leaving a great | number of dead on’the field. The French captured large quantities of arms and ammaunition, including, they say, many. Mausers and French rifles taken by the Germans at Maubeuge in 1914 One of the two French blockhouse garrisons still surrounded and hold- ing off the RiMans is the Aoulay post, where only a_dozen native troops are still able to handle the guns out of a n of 50 men and two French officers. All the others have been se- Tlously wounded or killed. The French met the stiffest sort of resistance in their forward movement and there was much hard fighting, but the Bibane Heights were attained and positions established there. The French losses are not stated. FOER. <7 T French Reply to Germany. PARIS, May 14.—The reply of the French government to ' Germany's proposal for a security pact will be communicated today to the ‘govern- ments of all the allfes, it was pouncad, Metal Plane Falls To Pieces, Killing Pilot in France By the Associated Press. CHARTRES. France, May 14.— Lieut. Henri Simon met a spectac- ular death when his metal plane collapsed while he was performing acrobatic stunts over this city yes- terda The plunging machine just miss. ed Chartres’ famous cathedral and was_dashed to fragments in the market square. VIENNA GETS NEXT WOMEN'S MEETING International Council Accepts Invitation for 1930—Ends Session Here. The next convention of the Interna- tional Council of Women will be held in Vienna, Austria, in 1930, the execu- tive committee decided at a meeting in the Washington Hotel today. Invitations from London and from Brussels were considered, but the Vienna invitation finally was accepted because of the probable help to the advancement of women in southeast- ern Europe, which would come from such a gathering. The executive committee meetings in 1927 and 1929 will be held in Brussels and London. About 20 delegates this afternoon made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Woodrow Wilson, at the National Ca- thedral. A wreath was laid by Mrs. Philip North Moore, president of the American Couneil. Apologize for America. The quinquennial came to an end officially at a farewell banquet at the Mayflower last night. American speakers, regretting the atmosphere of insiguation which has left an unfortunate'impression of the country with some of the foreign dele- sates, did their best to explain it as natural in a young and isolated coun- try. Mrs. Vernon Kellogg spoke on the recent ban on teaching evolution in Tenneesee and Oklahoma as an ex- ample of the narrowness of mind isting in some American communities. Dr. Valeria Parker, a member of the American delegation, said: “Our house hasn't been set entirely in order. The United States has the impulsiveness and selfishness of a young member in the family group of nations. While you have been here you have been told over and over again, in the pa- pers and elsewhere, that there are some things the United States will| never do. Yet I venture to predict that in a few years we will have done all of them and perhaps more in the same direction. Praise From Chinese Diplomat. Dr. Alfred Sze, the Chinese Min- |ister, praised the women for the stand taken against opium production. Mrs. Ogilvie Gordon of England told the council that Americans must remember that the foreign delegates have given up both time and money to come to the United States, and, while they feel fully repaid, regret the impression that Americans have made all the sacrifices. A number of foreign delegates are angry at insinuations that all their expenses were paid by the Americans. This was denied by American dele- gates yesterday. For most of the delegates only the hotel expenses in ‘Washington have been paid, as is customary for the hostess council. Lady Aberdeen, in bidding farewell to the convention, presented the new board of vice presidents, each of whom spoke briefly on the benefits derived from the convention and their desire to put the spirit of the resolu- g‘?:: in practice in their own coun- Declares it Money Waste. Mrs. O. D. Oliphant, national presi- dent of the American Legion auxiliary, last night issued a statement in which she said the quinquennial had been a great waste of money. She expressed regret that American women had not been allowed to express them- selves freely on the disarmament and peace resolutions. Foreign dele- gates, she said, had “invaded our do- mestic rights when they adopted a resolution of thanks to the National (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) Radio Progra:_ns—Page4_8. 1925—FIFTY-SIX PAGES. | | COURT SIGNS VAT INFRATERNITY CASE | |Board of Education Must Show Why Boy Should Not Be Reinstated. Writs of mandamus commanding members of the Board of Education |w reinstate three Washington High | School boys to positions they lost -in | student activities because of affiliation with secret societies were signed by Justice Bailey in the District Supreme Court this afternoon. The Board of Education is directed by the order to show cause May 22 why the boys should not be restored to their posi- tions in school activities. The writs were asked by John E. Laskey, former United States district attorney and counsel for the boys. | Each of the fline members of the is named a defendant in the petitions. Chester C. Ward, a senjor at West. ern High School; Robert W. Yellott, 4 junior at the same school, and Charles Russell Dodson, a sénior at McKinley High School, are the boys in whose names the suits were filed. Ward and Yellott are members of Gamma Chapter of Sigma Delta Fra- ternity, while Dodson holds member ship in Beta Chapter of the same or- ganization. Charges Hlegality. The petitions point out that these studenta were deprived of positions of honor they held in school organi- zations under rules illegally adopted by the board. The board’'s anti-fra- ternity rule, it was further stated, is “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and discriminatory and therefore void,” and as a result the students have been “wrongfully, irregularly and unlawfully deprived of positions, activities and representative honors™ which they had lawfully held and enjoyed. It is alse alleged in the petitions that there are, to the knowledge of the board members, “large numbers of students” in attendance in the public schools who are members of associations, organizations, clubs, fraternities and sororities which have not yet been approved by the super- intendent of schools, and which have not submitted to him any information with respect to their constitutions, by-laws, membership, time and place of meetings, programs of meetings, or other information deemed as a neces- sary basis for the superintendent's approval. Nevertheless, these students, de- clared the petitions, “have been and now are permitted by the defendants to hold commissions and warrants in the high school cadet corps, and to hold positions, elective and appoin- tive, on school publications and to represent their respective schools in competitive athletics, rifle matches, interscholastic debates and dramatic performances, and to be certified as eligible to stand for election to class offices and to hold positions in high school banks and to hold offices in organizations, clubs and activities which come under the direction of the schools and to receive honors other than those awardéd for scholar- ship attainments, and to hold posi- itions as representatives of their re- spective schools, which said action.on the part of the defendants discrimi- nates against the three students and other members of Sigma Delta, Fra- ternity in favor of such unapproved organizations.” Held Beyond School Control. | The petitions contend that the fra- ! ternities with which the boys are af- filiated are not under the jurisdiction of the public schools, as meetings are (Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) Ending 7-Year For the first time in seven years fountains in 22 parkgand reserva. tions in all parts of the city will spray water daily from 3 to 7 p.m. this Summer, according to orders issued today by Lieut. Col. Clar- ence O. Sherrill, director of public buildings and grounds. Because of the drain on the city water supply;-thess fountains have not been run since 1918, but, fol- lowing a recent conference between Col. Sherriil and officials of the Dis- trict of Columbia government, it was decided to run some for a brief period each day. As the fountains have not been used for some time, it may be necessary todo some re- pairing, but all “will be yfit into . service as soon as puntaling are West “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 Yesterday's * Britain to Defer To League on Call | For Arms Parley, By the Associated Press. LONDON, May 14.—The British government will not at present take the initiative in calling a world disarmament conference, Premler Stanley Baldwin told the House of Commons today in reply- ing to a member's question. Premier Baldwin said the League of Nations has under consideration the question of general disarma- ment and therefore any initiative on the part of the British govern- ment at this time would not be advantageous. BAN 10 SALACIOUS MAGAZINES IN D.. Forty Mére Are Under Scru- tiny—Gordon to Prosecute ' to the Limit. Washington newsdealers were to- | day furnished a preliminary list con- | taining the names of 10 popular- priced magazines which United States District Attorney Peyton Gordon has ordered banned from sale in the Dis- trict of Columbia as “cbscene and in- decent” publications, and every dis- | tributor found displaying them for public consumption, beginning the 1st | as fast as the papers are printed. Circulation, 100,544 TWO CENTS. ‘SALE OF 400 SHPS T0 FORD OPOSED ASCAPLIG . Shipping Board Official De- clares Proposed Scrapping Would Cut Security. OFFER FOR VESSELS NOT RECEIVED AS YET Thompson Cites Course of Other Nations in Preserving Their Present Tonnage. Henry Ford's willingness to buy 400 ships from the Shipping Board. involving a large scrapping program, met with immediate opposjtion today in some Shipping Board quarters. At the same time it was made lear that no offer from Mr. Ford had been received by the board, and the members are awaiting the return of Chairman O'Connor from a trip to | Detroit and Buffalo before formally going into such a question. While the view was expressed that eventually three or four hundred of the laid-up ships, including for the most part lakers, would be forced on the junk pile, some of the com- of next week, is to be prosecuted “to | missioners said today that it was by the limit.” |no means certain that the board | would agree to any wholesale scrap- 40 Under Scrutiny. Thus far Maj. Gordon has not had | time to examine the literary merits | of close to 40 more magazines that | are lying on his desk awaiting ap- | proval or disapproval, which means | complete banishment from the city | if the prosecutor considers them vi- | olations of the District code. All| of the publications ordered with- | drawn from sale up to the present were banned because of their “art” pictures The district attorney will examine the stories in the remaining books, and wherever there is evidence of in’ decency he will bar them from sale in the National Capital, too. Maj. Gor- don, it was made plain, did not con- stitute himself an official censor, but was asked by the newsdealers to pass judgment on their wares, to spare them the expense and humiliation of prosecution in the Criminal Court, which had already been planned in several instances. At the same time Maj. Gordon sent a letter to Acting Supt. of Police| Evans, in which he made plain his views regarding salacious literature and lewd “art.” He asked the fullest co-operation of the enforcement branch of the District government in sweep- ing Washington clean of the mass of ily cluttered its newsstands during thé past year. To this appeal, it was announced, the Police Départmént will respond immediate! Dealers May * The district attorney declared to- day that he believes the distributors | and dealers will clean their own | house, now that they have a guide as | to what is legal and what is illegal in the matter of literature and art. He does not think it will be neces- sary to press prosecutions and will give the proprietors of newsstands every opportunity of withdrawing the forbidden publications already in cir- culation and refraining from broad- casting later editions. | “It seems to me that the first of next week would be sufficient time for the distributors to inform their clients of the publications we have found to be unlawful from the stand- point of indecency,” Maj. Gordon said. “In the meantime I shall sur- vey as many of the others as possi- | ble. We will keep the ball rolling right along, but I intend to prosecute without mercy every dealer who con- tinues to sell the publications we have found to be plainly unlawful. Office Not Censor. “This office is not setting out to be an official censor. The distributors asked us to do this to help them, and I believe they are honest and sincere in their intentions, and that eventu- ally Washington will be rid of obscene magazines. If there are any who | would prefer to know the Criminal | Court’s views on thg subject, however, we are ready to accommodate them. 1 was amazed at conditions when we began our investigation. I never | dreamed this thing had become such | a menace. And it is going to stop | right here, and stop for good.” In the meantime, every policeman in the city has been instructed to watch the newsstands on their beats and see that salacious books, pam- | phlets, magazines and photographs are removed from sale immediately. No let-up is to follow the crusade that has been started, and the necessity for con- tinuing the vigil will be Impressed upon policemen regularly. Officers have been ordered to obtain copfes of publications they consider indecent and submit them to the district attor- ney for a ruling. If they are regarded as indecent, prosecutions will follow immediately. { 'Clean House."” | .. Norway to Have Dry Referendum. OSLO, Norway, May 14 (A.P.).—In a statement to the press today the Norwegian premier declared that next vear the government intends to intro. duce a bill in the Norwegian Parlia- ment calling for a vote of the people as to whether the present prohibition law shall be maintained or done away with. Fountains to Be Run This Summer, Drouth in 22 Parks Potomac Park, Franklin Square, Judiclary Park, Stanton Park, Fol- ger Park, Marion Park, Lincoln Park, Peace Monument, Sheridan Circle,Truxton Circle, grounds south of the White House, Pennsylvania avenue and M street, Pennsylvania avenue and Eighteenth street, Pennsylvania avenue and Ninth street, Massachusetts avenue and Twentleth ~street, Massachusetts avenue and Twelfth street, Hahne- mann statue, at Massachusetts avenue and Sixteenth street; Con- necticut avenue and S street, Ver- mont avenue and O street, New York avenue and M street, John Paul Jones statue, foot of Seyen- teenth street, and propagating gar- dens, opposite the Bureau of En- graving and Prinsieg. ne publications that have liter-| | ping for some time to come. Thompson Opposes Scrapping. Commissioner Thompson in a state ent said: “For a long time certain Americat owners and operators of foreign flag ships have been urging the destructior. of a large portion of Governmeni ships. But none of the surplus shipa of other countries are being destroyed nor has such been proposed. “It is costing approximately $500 each a yvear to keep the surplus ships owned by the Government. Their value, as naval auxiliaries, at this moment of world conditions cannot be accurately measured. Their value as important units in an American mer- chant marine when normal world con- ditions are restored is an added se- curity to American exporters, pro- ducers and consumers. Obviously, it would be greatly to the marine inter- est of foreign nations for the United States to destroy one-third of its fleeg of ships. “As vet, I have seen no sound re: sons advanced why the United Stdte. of all nations, should weaken its na auxiliary, and economic position in world trade, and stand alone in a pro- lgram to remove surplus ship ton- nage.” m 900 Ships Laid Up. Theé question of scrapping ships has béen up before the board several times in recent months and has developed | by no means a unanimity of opinion. A subcommittee, comprising Chair- man O'Connor and Commissioners Plummer and Benson, has been direct- ed to prepare a report on the ques- tion, and its recommendations will | form the basis of future discussion by the board. There are 900 ships at present laid up and being maintained at a cost of less than $1,000,000 a year. Should a scrapping program be de- termined upon, the lakers, of which there are about 300 laid up, would form the bulk of those to be junked. These ships average about 3,500 dead- weight tons and cost from one-half to three-quarters of a million dollars each to build. About 50 of them have been sold for operation at net prices run- ning from $25,000 to $35,000 each. Some of the commissioners express- ed the belief today that if they were sold for junking they probably would not bring more than $10.000 each. Should sale of several hundred ships for scrapping be decided upon, it is expected that the matter would be re- ferred to the ship sales committee, headed by Commissianer Lissner, and that the ships would be advertised for sale and the awards made to the high- est bidders. This would mean that Mr. Ford would have to enter the field against all other bidders. Vessels Widely Scattered. There are 301 of the lake type of boat built by the Shipping Board negotiations for the sale of which are reported to be -contemplated by Henry Ford. All of these ve sels are now up _in ous parts of the world. are long with a narrow that they could get through the canal between Great Lakes and the sea, and all of these were built at shipyards of the Great Lakes. Sixty-two of the vessels are at New York, 23 at Philadelphia, 165 in the | James River, 47 in the Gulf of Mexico and 4 at Manila. In addition to the lake type vessels in the James River, there are 5 for- mer Austrian and German vessels seized at the beginning of the war, and it is belleved the Ford negotia- | tions include these also. WOULD KEEP BUT FEW. beam so ! i BRI Ford Proposes Scrapping All But 10 to 30 of Boats. By the Aseociated Pre DETROIT, May 14—Henry Ford will purchase the 400 vessels of the United States Shipping Board if the |Government will fix what he consid- ers a fair price, according to a story which appeared in the Detroit Free Press this morning. The announce- ment was made yesterday afternoon by Mr. Ford, following a conference with T. V. O'Connor, chairman of the Shippinz Board. O'Connor is quoted as asking Ford to take over 200 ships. in his original suggestion, the article sald. How- ever, when Ford informed him that he would only buy the ships to scrap them for junk, O'Connor suggested that he buy all 400, as it would not cost much more to construct disman- tling apparatus to handle the 400 ships than it would the lesser num- ber. Ford agreed to this, saying that he might retain from 10 to 30 of the ships for use by Ford industries. If any ships were put in operation by Ford they would be reconditioned and equipped as ofl burners, the article states. “The ships were built during the war when everybody was crazy,” Ford was quoted at saying. ‘“Most of the boats were thrown together in a great hurry. They were for an emergenc: and col juently many of them wi A fContinued on Page ¥ Colmn 35— 5 «