Evening Star Newspaper, November 9, 1925, Page 4

CHARGES FOREIGN PLOT ON DRY LAW “Pussyfoot” Johnson Tells Anti-Saloon League Move Will Be Launched Here. By the Asso CHICAGO, November E. (Pussyfoot) Johnson, temperance lecturer. plot against the Amer law Is forming to be la zathering of wet advoc: ington next January 1 shn's information was given out to. day by Dr. Ernest II. Cherrington, secretary of the World League Against Alcoh of the prin cipal speake Anti League convent n here. The report of follows: “The American demonstration ar ington, D. C.. J gineered from rope and for ft will be provided chiefly ropean distillers and brewers. Says ¢ —William iternational L European prohibition mched at a es at Wash- Mr. John- ism, one s at the on in se: Pussyfoc Anti-Prohibition ounced for Wash- will be en financs by Eu- 16, oup is Despel “Made desperate by inroads, the new Ameri service for the elimi nation of rum row have made on Eu- ropean bootlegging Ger man brewery and distillery interests, flanked by the liquor i s in Bel- gium, ovakia preparin; fort to i lit the Ameriean prohibition lav move ment is being led by the Internation- aler Verein Zur Hebung Der Frein Alcohol Erzcugung (International So- clety for the Liberty to Make Alcohol in Every Country). “This drive was I tember 23 in a general meeting of the soclety held in the parlors of the Weissen Schwan Hotel at Dortmund, Germany. The meeting was presided over by Frederic Garnot, a wealthy distiller of Brussels, and there prepa- rations were made to launch an anti- prohibition d stration in the city of Washingto nuary 16, 1926. “This Washington gathering will be held ostensibly under the direction of American organizations opposed to prohibition, but the real movement will be engineered from Europe and the fmances will be provided chiefly by European distillers and brewers Says Fund Is Being Raised. A finance committee is work gathering funds for pose. The committee is made up of Wilhelm Rosenkranz, Franz Braum and Wilhelm Kieseche of Berlin, but the liquor dealers of all of the central Furopean countries will combine their funds for this great drive into Amer- ca. “The leading brewery interests be- | hind the scenes are centered around the Schultheiss brewery concern in Ber- Un. Fritz Schultheiss, director of the concern, and his nephew, Otto, have engineered several bootlegging enter- prises in America, some of which have come to grief recently. “Otto has made frequent trips to America recently, but never gets far- ther than the Atlantic coast, though his real disposing agents are chiefly In St. Paul and Minneapolis. “His goods have been mostly landed along the Delaware Bay, and thence sent to Minnesota. While he speaks English, French and German fluently, in America he pretends to know nothing of the German language. Meeting Is Fourth. “The Dortmund meeting is the fourth general gathering of the Inter- nationaler Verein. In opening the | meeting, Chairman Garnot launched a protest against the dry laws of Amer- fea and Iceland. “fe declared that these countries were all the time talking about liber- | ty when there was no liberty. A reso- | lution was passed declaring that “t | be a shame if America does not its freedom in a short time,’ and all aid was pledged to help in this effort.” The progress of Hawali under pro- hibition and prosperity was pictured for delegates to the convention by George H. de Kay, league superin- tendent there. There are some liquor violations there, he said, but fewer | than on the main land, and high sugar | prices, good crops and sober workmen | have in the last five vears incrensed | the island’s prosperity tremendously. “The population of Hawali has in- | creased 22 per cent since 1917, but the number of criminal cases in Hawalian courts has decreased 25 per cent, and | 28 per cent of the total population of Hawaii have savings accounts. i “The advocates of a return of beer and light wine without the old-time saloon had better look up the Govern- ment figures, which show that 90 per yent of the 0ld saloons' business was eer.” EDWARD E. BRITTON, | NEWSPAPER MAN,DIES | tery unched on Sep- now at this pur. Correspondent, Prominent Here, Held Honors of Democratic Party. Was Daniels’ Secretary. Edward E. Britton, 901 Twentieth mtreet, 61 vears old, well known Wash- ington newspaper correspondent, died at 10 o'clock this morning at the Emergency Hospital following a three- day fllness from stomach ulcers. Mr. Britton is survived by his widow, Mrs. Norma S. Britton; his_mother. Mrs. M. E. Britton; a sister, Mrs. Lil- tan Markham: @ nephew. Capt Thomas Orr, and a niece, Miss Eva orr, all of this city Vuneral services will be held at St Thomas' Episcopal Church and inter ment will be in Rock Creek Cemetery probably tomorrow. Mr. Britton was for assoclated with sever lina newspapers and was well known through his connection with school work in North and South Carolina and Georgia. He was editor of the Wilson Dally News from 1899 to 1901 and later succeeded Josephus Daniels as editor of the Raleigh Observer when the lat ter was chosen for the post of Secre- tary of the Navy by former Pr dent Woodrow Wilson. Mr. Britton came to Washington in 1917 to accept a position as private secretary to Mr. Daniels and at that time formed connections with out-of- town newspapers, which he main tained until his death. He was also prominent in politics for many vears, being chosen as per- manent secretary for the Democratic national convention in Baltimore in 1912, 3 Mr. Britton was a thirfy-second de- gree Mason and was past regent of the Royal Arcanum. He was also president of the Ashlar Club of Mas- ter Masons. a lang time 1 North Care Detailed as Instructor. Lieut. Col. Sydnéy Smith, 19th In- fantry, In this city, has been detailed as instructor of Infantry, Louisiana National Guard, with station at New Orleans. o There's many a man who owes a Jot to his wife—and many anather man whe owes & lot because of her. Johnson | feratt; ! flight were not entirely adequate for [MITCHELL COUNSEL BITTERLY INDICTS ARMY AND NAVY HEADS Presents Long List of Charges Against Conduct of Air Service—May Ask Citing of War De- partment for Contempt. (Continued from First Page.) the Na ¢ Department endeavored to get Mrs, Lansdowne, the widow of Comdr. Lansdowne, to give false testi- ¢ retracting her former statement Comdr. Lansdowne was ordered to take the Shenandoah on her fatal flight to the Middle West over his protest “That there were not sufficlent para- chutes on board the Shenandoah for the men; That reliable parachutes are vail- able to safecuard the lives of the fly ing_personnel in the Navy, and “That the sending of an airship {over land without providing para chutes for her personnel, to be used in case of an emergency, constitutes criminal negligence, in that lack of th parachutes deprived the offi-| cers and men aboard of their only chance for life in case of aceident “That no adequate meterological arrangements re available in the | United States for operation of air- “That there were no proper weath- er reports and that these might have ented the wreck of the Shenan- h." That, relying upon weather reports avallable, a Jarize number of airplanes left Eolling F on one occasion and were forced down by bad weather when a plane was wrecked in the| storm and the pilot and passengers | od. | That the information secured by the Weather Bureau at the present | time is not sufficiently complete for | aeronautical purposes. “That insufficient attention is given to wind-aloft reports and other re- |1y caused the death of one o | the ports on atmospheric conditions which | are of prim: importance to avia- | tion, and that accurate ferecasts of meterologfeal conditions by the Weather Bureau are absolutely essen- “That other countries have proper | arrangements for supplying teorological information for avlation purposes. “That such arrangements should be | made in the United States. That the present means of dis-| ributing meteorological data are too | w for the use of aircraft. That the Signal Corps of the Army offered to supply men to be stationed in the mountains to report on weather conditions, but the War De- partment refused to pay their sub- sistence, which would have been about $1.90 per day per man. Charges Propaganda Bureaus. The War and Navy Departments, the defense will prove, he went on, maintin public_propaganda agencies, a number of officers and civilians be- ing employed In publicity and propa- ganda work, and that their salaries are pald out of funds appropriated by | Congress for national defense. He then goes into the publicity of Mitchell trial, adding: “A press report was issued by the War De- partment headed, “Trial of Col. Mitch- ell! which showed the names and military record of the members of the court-martial, the trial judge advocate, Including Col. White, mili- tary defense counsel, but no state- ment as to the distinguished record and many decorations and citations of the accused. He charges that the Alr Service news is changed, altered and sup- pressed and says that the War De- partment, in & press handout, en- deavors to influence public opinion, and perhaps the Mitchell court. Getting down to again to the Navy, Mr. Reid said the defense will prove that: A large number of press representa- tives were invited and did attend the Hawailfan maneuvers on board naval vessels at Government expense. Cites Hawaiian Flight. Jumping then to the Hawaiian fiight, it will be proved, he stated, that the rescue or station ships were placed at intervals too far apart; that other vessels from the Pacific fleet could have been used as station ships, reducing the risk. . That there was no adequate radio transmitting apparatus on the PN-9; that’ the airplanes used for the Hawallan flight were not sufficiently tried for such a flight; that the ar- rangements made for the Hawallan such an enterprise; that the flight was made to test equipment, which could have been tested just as well on tand, or near the seashore; that the cost of such a flight was riot commensurate with the results to be obtained. Says Protest Ignored. will prove,” Mr. Reid con- tinued, “that the War Department has been guilty of almost treasonable administration in not forestalling the attempt of a foreign flight organiza- tion to secure a foothold in Central America, within striking distance of the Panama Canal, and though often requested to do so by the chief of the Air Service it ignored this menace, He then indicated he would attach certain statements of high_ ranking Army and Navy officers made before congressional committees dealing with unified air service of other countries; inability to sink a battleship; false statements regarding naval reorgan- ization; false and misleading state- ments regarding the bombing of the | Washington; misleading statements of a naval officer regarding the Agamem- non tests; false and misleading state- ments to Congress by an Army officer that the United States was well off from an air defense sandpoint. Attacks Tralning of Reserves. He also expects to prove that the system of training reserve officers is ineffective and will never guarantee the maximum possible flying person- nel. There has been no meeting for “We Air Service Reserve officers in the 3d4 Corps Area, which includes the Washington district: only about 10 per cent of Air Service Reserve Corps offl- cers are capable of piloting airplanes; in the event of a war only about 25 per cent of the Air Service Reserve Corps | officers would be of any value what- | ever within 90 days; the statement | made by a high ranking officer of the | General Staff that there are 5,000 | regular fiyers In the present Air Sery- jce Reserve Corps of 7,895 officers Is absolutely incorrect, false and mislead- ing. Declares Guard Neglected. The aviation officers in the National Guard aviation training camps have been flying without parachutes for four years; there have been 13 fatall- ties in National Guard aviation in four vears, at least half of which were due to faulty equipment; the General Staff has paid little, if any, attention to National Guard aviation; in the Na- tional Guard aviatlon training camps there are less than 50 per cent of suffi- clent planes for training purposes. In National Guard aviation training camps there were 200 officers in train- ing, of whom not more than 10 per cent, or 20, were qualified to fly alone in training type planes, and not over 50 per cent were able to fly a training type plane alone after 15 days' train- ing. The War Department has fur- nished war-time J N planes for use of the National Guard aviation unit: which are unsafe and inherently dan- gerous, as they have a tendency to over two years of a pursuit group of | tial to the safe operation of aircraft. |y, me-| dozed will be proved,” he said. ! hearings |ence with six different vessels used as | 1 | go into tail spins, imperiling the lives of those who fly them. He then names the final list of non- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1925 1 flying officers who dictate the policy of aviation in the Army and Navy as follows; Army—Chief of staff, Maj. Gen. John L. Hines; deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Dennis E. Nolan; as- sistant chief of staff, war claims di- vision, Brig Gen. Harry A. Smith. Navy——Chief of naval operations, Ad- miral Edward W. Eberle; assistant chief of naval operations, Rear Ad miral Richard H. Jackson; director of war claims division, office chief of na- val operations, Capt. W. Standley. These officers, he says, constitute the joint Army and Navy board, in control of aviation, and their policies must be approved by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, | nene of whom are fi charging the action of a nonflying officer in. im- properly and unnecessarily directing the uge and landing of planes direct- he best pilots in the service. Says Flyers Used as Pawns. Representative Reid said the defense will prove that the lives of airmen are used merely as pawns. “We will prove,” he continued, “and officlal records will show that many of the fatal accidants to the per sonnel of the Army Alr rvice be- 1, 1924, and June 30, 1625, may be attributed directly or in directly to faulty equipment or to lack of proper weather information.” He then cited 28 crashes, giving the names of the pilots, types of planes and circumstances under which the aceldents occurred. Representative Reid continued: “We will prove by evidence that there has been an enormous loss of life in the Army and Navy Alr Services” and give figures “We will prove by evidence that money appropriated for aviation has been reverted to the Treasury and that with this condition existing it was not necessary to send men to r deaths in war-time built craft. That airmen are bluffed and bull- “‘Secretary Wilbur interjected him- self into the proceedings before the President’s Aircraft Board to such an extent that the board was forced to call his attention to the fact that but one witness was testifying. Charges Witnesses Coached. “A member of Congress during by this committee repri- manded a high official of the Navy De- partment for coaching witnesses. “General Staff officers are present at hearings before committees of Con- gress, sometimes with their own ste- nographers to record any statement made by officers of the Army before the committees, which may be used against the witness, if desired. “'A Marine Corps officer testified be- fore the President's Alrcraft Board that to his positive knowledge flying officers were afraid to testify and tell the truth “Col. Mitchell was demoted and transferred because he told the truth before the Alrcraft Committee of the House of Representatives. “We will prove by evidence that a board of officers studied the aviation question in its broader aspect years ago and recommended substantially the things which Col. Mitchell recom- mends today and the War Depart- ment refused to carry into effect the recommendatigns of this board and took no action whatever.” Co-ordination Declared Lacking. Failure of the War and Navy De- partments to secure co-ordination, as evidenced In the recent Hawafian ma- neuvers, will be gone into, as well as the policy for aviation outlined sev- eral years ago, which Mr. Reid says has been kicked about like a foot ball between varlous officers and teday, two and one-half years later, neither the proceedings of the board nor any o;rher definite plan has been put into effect. Cites MacMillan Expedition. He said they would prove friction between Comdr. MacMillan and the personnel of the Navy Department by showing that Comdr. MacMillan and Department were not in agreement as to the tvpe of radio sets to be used, and “that this disagreement between Comdr. MacMillan and the Navy Department cost the Govern- ment a large amount of money for the malntenance and operation cost of the destroyers which were ordered to de- liver the radio sets to the MacMillan expositions then on the way to the Arctic.” By evidence he will attempt to go at length into battleship bombing, and provide proof that the Navy failed to supply vessels for tests. Proof will be offered as to navy yard expenditures and the cost of maintain- | ing a balanced surface fleet. | Turns to Air Defense. Then. reverting to the air defense, Mr. Reld says: “We will prove by evidence that a fleet equipped with aireraft carriers is more powerful than one without, and that victory will in all probability re- pose with the fleet equipped with air- craft carriers. “That Great Britain has three air- craft carriers in commission at the present time. “That Cireat Britain has had air- craft carriers in commission since Jan- uary, 1918, “That during that time she has car- ried out continuous experiments with aircraft carriers and has had experi- aircraft carriers. “That the United States has not one aircraft carrier that can keep up with the fleet. “The Langley, at present attached to the fleet, is not an aircraft carrler, but an experimental ship for carrying out preliminary experiments. That her speed is only about 15 knots an hour. In no sense can it be regarded as a service aircraft carrler. “That Great Britain, after having had seven years' experience with a conventional type of aircraft carrier, has lain down two new vessels which are part aircraft carrler and part armored cruiser. “These ships are an advanced type over anything in existence today. The two alrcraft carriers under construction for our fleet in the United States are not of this advanced type of carrier. Finds Planes Unarmeg. “We will prove by evidence that the War Department was guilty of almost treasonable administration due to the fact that up to 1923 there were in Hawali no pians for the employ- ment of the Air Service in the aero- nautica! protection of the islands. No machine guns were mounted on the pursuit airplanes at the time of the inspection by the assistant chief of Air Service. “Upon the arrival of the assi: chief of the Air Service in Hawn:l‘ln:: found not one single airplane equipped with armament, bomb racks, bomb sights, or any accessories necessary in observation aviation, pursuit avia- tion or bombardment aviation. No Planes for War. “There were no planes for the em- ployment of aviation, either in the preliminary stages of war or in combat. “There were no airways between the islands. There was no adequate signaling system for aviation, and there was no system of liaison be- tween the Air Bervice and organiza- tions such as the Light House Serv- ice in the various islands-and other organizations which could use air- B PARKHURST CASE UPT0 GRAND JURY Father and Girl in Rockville to Testify as Session Gets Under Way. Special Dispatch to The Star. ROCKVILLE, Md., Noyember 9.— Grand jury investigation began here { this morning, with George W. Price and his daughter, Mary E. Price, waiting to give their testimony in the case involving charges against Robert Parkhurst of Berwyn, Md. Parkhurst has been in jail, held without bail, since August, when he was arrested on complaint of the girl. She testified at his preliminary hear- ing that he attacked her at a lonely spot near her home in Siiver Spring. Later she is said to have made affi- davit to the effect that Parkhurst was innocent. The prisoner’s mother, Mrs. Virginin Peters-Parkhust, is a candi- date for United States Senator in Prince Georges County, and charged that her son’s arrest was the result of a political plot against her. Young Parkhurst was not released, and it was expected the grand jury would take up his case first among the cases to be investigated William H. MecCeney, @ farmer of the Colesville district, was named foreman of the grand jury. Judge hert Peter, in charging the body, said the county had no more erime than any other community; that there has been no outbreak since the last grand jury session, and gamblers from Washington have been taught they cannot make a rendezvous of Mont- gomery County. They are not giving the county officlals any more serious trouble, he sald. craft In its functions in the protee- ton of the Hawaiian Islands. “The defense of the Hawallan Is- lands must be based very largely on afrcraft, and that gircraft properly orzanized, operating from land bases, can destroy any surface fleet coming within its ‘range of action. “Alrcraft operating from land bases such as the Hawaiian Islands can defend it from naval surface ves- sels within u radius of action of the afreraft.” Charges Islands Neglected. “We will prove by evidence that the War Department was guilty of almost treasonable administration in that the alr units in the Philippines in 1923 were disorganized, scattered, untrained and poorly equipped. * * “We will prove by evidence that: “The conduet of aviation by the War Department has not been such as to keep the maximum development in our aviation, which will be estab- lishd by proving the small importance attached to aviation by the War De- partment, and the result of the policy of the War Department on our avia- tlons evidenced at the beginning of the World War. “Diverting bombardment units to towing targets has prevented the de- velopment of bombardment aviation during the past Summer. “Aviation matters handled by the general staff have been frequently de- cided without reference to an aviation officer. “When an attempt was made by the Army air force in the Hawallan maneuvers to get the naval air forces to carry out what was considered the primary mission of the air force at the time, which was to repulse the attack on the Island of Molaki, the result was that an adequate number of planes were not sent to repulse the landing, which was made by the hostile fleet of the air forces. e Had Only Five Bomb Sites. othing has been done during the past Summer to develop the alr power of the Army Air Service. “No heavy bomb practice has been had with the 1,100 or 2,000 pound bombs during the past two years, and that on September 5, 1925, when Col. Mitchell's statement was made, it was absolutely correct, because there were not more than four or five bomb sites on hand in the bombardment group. “Army aeronautics is gradually wasting itself away under the present administration of the War Depart- ment. “There is not a single Army flying unit in the United States fully equip- ped with personnel and equipment even with peace-time strength te carry out the mission for which it exists, ““These conditions are net being im- proved, and that under the present or- ganization there s little likelihood of marked improvement. “We will prove by evidence that the War Department has spent a great deal of effort during the past Summer to lead the public to believe that anti-aircraft cannon and machine guns constitute a defense against aircraft, by conducting anti-afrcraft practice to develop antiaircraft de- tenses, thereby lulling the public into a false sense of security against for- eign invasion by enemy aircraft. “The bulk of the flying personnel of the bombardment group was used during the entire Summer by the War | court thereupon announced S ——————————————————————— e Department to tow targets for anti- aircraft practice. This reduced the efficlen¢y of the bombardment group by rendering bombing training im- possible. ¢ * * In a public demonstration that somewhat simylated actual conditions the aircraft reached tbeir objective and delivered their blow before de- tection. - ‘We will prove by evidence that the Navy Department and its representa- tives have attempted to disprove and deprecate the potentialities of aerial bombardment. “1. By permitting the public to get the impression that an attacking force, composed principally of an attacking fleet and a landing force, had cap- tured the Hawallan Islands. “2. By leading the public to be- lieve through the public utterances of its officers that the battleship was still supreme, and that aviation is only an auxiliary, By conducting en anti-aireraft test at a speed so slow that no air- plane in the world could demain aloft, and then announcing the result of the hits made under these unreal con- ditions to show the effectiveness of anti-afrcraft fire from surface vessels. 4. By issuing a statement on the accidents to the Shenandoah and PN-§ to the effect that these accidents to afrcraft demonstrated that in the pres- ent state of the development of air- craft the United States need have no fear of attack by aircraft from abroad. President Calls Board. “Actually the PN-§ No. 1 demon- strated that aircraft can remain at sea for days without help from sur- face craft; that with the Pacific fleet avatiable for the purpose they failed to find the PN-9 No. 1 in their search: that the accuracy and hence the ef- fectiveness of bombardment is devel- oping more rapidly than defensive measures. i will prove by evidence that the War and Navy Departments, when their attention was forced to this mat- ter by the issuance of the statements for which Col. Mitchell is now on trial, recommended to the President that ex- actly such an investigation as is out- lined fn the statements be made. “The President of the United States constituted & board exactly as specified in Col. Mitchell’s statement to study the question. * ¢ ¢ Says Every Means Used. “We will prove by evidence that Col. Mitchell, after exhausting every usual means to safeguard the aerial defense of the United States, without result, took the only way possible that would cause a study of the true conditions of the national defense to be made. ‘That Col. Mitchell made numerous recommendations looking toward the improvement of aeronautical condi- tions and bringing about a full de- velopment of aviation tactics and equipment; very few of which, if any, ‘were ever acted on.” A long list then was given by Representative Reld, dating from 1919 annually until the present. “We will prove by evidence that the bulk of the equipment in the Army Alr Service at the present time is either obsolete or obsolescent; all the De Haviland planes now in use have wings that were made in war time, seven or more years ago. A total of 1,820 planes is used by the War Department in computing the strength of the United States in air- craft, of which 406 are standard and well suited for their purpose, minus six awaiting salvage, leaving 400; 237 of these were bullt in wartime, seven or more years ago, leaving 163; 1368 planes are substitutes or obselete; 22 per cent of Army Alr Service planes are fit for service and 50 per cent of these were made in wartime, seven or more vears ago, leaving 11 per cent fit for service, or 200. Only 69 Modern Planes. Only 69 planes are modern, up-to- date and designed for the purpose for which they are intended, and 60 are being used for training purposes, leav- ing 9 avallable for use against an enemy. * ¢ ¢ “The planes that crashed in the 1924 air races, killing Lieut. Plerson and Capt. Skeel, had been in storage from one to two vears and had deteriorated in storage. ““Powing targets in anti-aircraft tests has prevented the bombardment group from practice. ““The number of personnel in the pur- sult group is not even up to peace- time standard. “Throughout the whole United States there have never been sufficient pilots in the pursuit group to carry on tactical training. ‘‘The number of officers in the tac- tical units has never been anywhere near up to even peace-time require- ments. ““The development of tactical avia- tion has been retarded by the War De- partment by putting Air Service offi- cers on work not connected with train- ing. # ¢ ““The general staff officers controlling aviation policles are not qualified by training or experience for this job.” And the statement concluded: ““The War Department refuses to ap- prove recommendations by the Army |'Air Service for gunmery practice.” Long Trial Likely. With the conclusion of the opening statement of the defense Representa- tive Reid announced he was ready to call his first witness, Gen. Fries, chief of the chemical warfare servi The ‘Overcoats —tailored by KUPPEN- HEIMER with two im- portant new features— Diagonal Velours —the hard worsted that is especially woven for us to give LONGER WEAR— ‘Curvette Shoulders —that give that wider shoulder (not padded) that way. new, -effect— tailored )N TOSNEe 1325 F STREET House of Kuppenheimer Good Clothes of 15 minutes after which Gen. Fries took the stand. If it takes as long to gualify all of the approximately 100 witnesses de- sired by the defense as it did in the case of the first witness, this trial is going to last even longer than the most conservative had supposed. A good part of a half hour was taken up in efforts of Representative Reld to show to the court that Gen. Fries knows what chemijcal warfare is all about. The general was required to ex- plain in detail just what mustard gas, cholorine and phosgene are, how they are launched against the foe, how much of each is required to affect a certain amount of territory and wha effect they have on human beings. As Representative Reld continued to question the witness for exact fig- ures and specific data in connection with his statement, the general got out & pad and pencil and set to work, while the members of the court, spec- tators and press waited. Court Grows Impatient. The patience of the court appeared to be sorely tried, and finally Gen. | Graves broke in to ask what the ob- | Ject of all this questioning was. “Are you trying to qualify the wit- ness or show the court the relevancy | of the testimony he is to give?” asked Gen. Graves of Representative Reid. We are trying to do both,” replied Mr. Reid. “I am perfectly willing to dispense with further questioning of the witnss along this line if the court will admit that he is duly qualified to testify as an expert on offensive gas | warfare.” | There was no response from the | court so Representative Reid resumed his lengthy inquiries. Gen. Fries went into a discussion of the various types of gas used in the war and their effectiveness quantities on given arez “Is there any one who has had as| much experience as you in chemical | warfare?” asked Representative Reid Gen, Fries replied he did not think so | unless it was the commander of the chemical warfare battalion in France. Objects to Testimony. “Are you able to tell the amount of gas necessary to gas areas?” asked | Mr. Reid. i “Yes,” replied the witness, “‘provid- | ing 1 know the wind direction, | whether the object is inclosed and other things.” “What amount of gas is necessary to effectively gas an area the size of the District of Columbia in peace time?" asked Mr. Reid. Col. More- land objected, on the ground that the witness was not competent and that nothing has been shown how the gas would be conveyed to that place. “I'll comply and ask that ques said Representative Reid. Gen. Fries then told the court the gas could be carried in_cylinders, mixed in shells or aerial bombs. Still another type | of gas could be sprinkled from air-| nes on the area Gen. Fries said that a plane of one- ton capacity could carry sprinkling gas, one half ton being the liquid | and the other half the apparatus. With regard to bombs, about 50 per cent is gas and the other half bomb casing. ““Now,” asked Mr. Reed, “what amount of gas would be necessary to effectively gas the District of Colum- bia."” Col. Moreland objected again be- cause he said the witness was “not | competent.” 1 His objection was overruled by the | in | court, the first defeat in this respect | he has suffered since the trial began Col. Moreland then declared the witnegs hadn’t told the types of planes to be used, whether the planes were | in possession of the land or other de-| tafls. When the witness replied he would refer to bombardment airplane President Howze said, “That answer: the question, stick close to it. | ‘When Representative Reid again asked the witness to tell the court the amount of gas necessary for the| area in question, Col. Moreland raised another objection and then Represen- | tative Reid asked the witness to verify | a statement he read to the effect that | 9,673,850 pounds of mustard gas would | cause evacuation of the area. Gen.| Fries replied that the statement was “not correct.” Planes More Accurate. Here Representative Reid_finished his examination and Col. Moreland began cross examination. He ques- tioned the witness on his experience | in -bombing from airplanes, and Gen. Fries replied he had first-hand knowl- | edge of the effectiveness one-half mile ‘> from the scene. these matters in response to questions | from the trial judge advocate. | In giving his opinion on the amount of gas required to gas effectively the | given area, Gen. Fries said his figures | were based on experiences obtained in the war. No gas was dropped from the planes in_the war, however, and when Col. Moreland recalled this statement later, Gen. Fries declared | there was no difference in dropping an | | aerial bomb filled with gas or with | high explosives. He took into considr | eration opposition of an enemy air | force and anti-aircraft in attacking | an area with airplanes. The witness also said, in answer to | questions, that at times gas dropped | in bombs from airplanes was more | motion to expunge in view of the de- | wi | congressional hearing WFEGOES ON TRAL N DEATH OF NATE New York Woman Charged With Murdering Her Hus- band as He_SIept._ By the Associated Press. ELIZABETHTOWN, X. Y., Novem- ber 9.—Essex County prepared today to prosecute Mrs. Francis Soper on a charge of murdering her third hus- band, Henry Soper, a deputy sheriff, while he slept, in their Boquet farm house. At a special term of Supreme Court scheduled to open today the prosecu- tion will attempt to prove that Mrs. Soper shot the deputy sheriff twice in the head last May, using his own revolver. After the shooting Mrs. Soper declared that a stranger, whom she had not seen, entered their home as she prepared dinner and kilied her husband. Mrs. Soper denied that she or her husband had a revolver, but a pistol which had been fired twice was found in the pocket of an overcoat. Mrs. Soper admitted that it belonged | to her husband. Men working in the nearby fields denfed that stranger or any person had entered the farm house. Soon after her arrest, she asserted, among other things, that her husband was still alive. An ienist, called to examine the woman, declared that she was sane. Since the examination prison officials have reported her be- | havior normal. than when fired by the Moreland asked the witness | how many planes it would take to gas | an area the size of the Distriet of Columbia In a given time. After considerable figuring, consuming sev- eral minutes of the court’s time, he said that it would take 960 planes. to &as this area in one trip. At this juncture Col. Moreland moved that the entire testimony of the witness be stricken from the rec- ord as it had not been shown as relevant to the defense in this case. Representative Reid jumped to his feet and sajd that he expected to > by presenting statements from | lonal hearings that of the military service testified to information which w true. Picking up the hearings before the committee on military affairs of the| House of Representatives at the sec- | ond session of the Sixty-cighth Con. | gress on & bill to create a department | of aeronautics, he read statements | from Gen. Drum, and sought and ob- tained from the witness an admission that they were not correct. Court Is Recessed. After informing the court that he | proposed to put these hearings in the | evidence for the express purpose of | proving the inaccuracy of statements | by Army officers, the court admitted | the hearings to the record. | Col. Moreland then withdrew his | velopment of testimony to contradict ness of the Government before a | The tness W then turned back to the defense for rebuttal, but Rep resertative Reid requested the court | to recess at this point and he would | begin the rebuttal examination at 2| o'clock when the court reconvened. Commodore Decatur's mother want- | ed him to become a minister. APARTMENTS Three modern fireproof buildings at the northeast corner of Connecti- cut and Cathedral 1, 2 and 3 rooms, kitchen {poison and died | dec | the murder | has introduced testimony inte and bath—elevator Thomas J. Fisher & Co., Inc. 738 15th St.—Main 6830 Kennedy Bros., Builders and Owners STEPHENSON CASE SENSATIONS NEAR Defense Promises Startling Testimony in Trial of Three for Murder. VILLE, Ind., November 9 he trial of D. C. Stephenson, Earl Klenck and Farl Gentry, charged with murder in connection with the death of Madge Oberholtzer, an In diunapolis girl, entered its fifth week here today. ensational testimony was promis by Ira Holmes of defense cou: from now until the case is rested Stephenson, former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, is charged with having abducted and at tacked Miss Oberholtzer last March 16. Klenck and Gentry are alleged to have assisted him. The girl took 29 days later. Holmes indicated that the defe) uld continue its attack on the dying aration the girl is alleged to h: made and which was the basls fc indictment. It already ded to refute the abduction charge and to prove its contention that Miss Obe er was a willing tnem zed trip to Hammond, ther witnesses were be iness to testify to friendship existing b wi | son and Miss Oberhol ed. Defense witnesse end testified to havin with Stephenson in s cities. CHARLES F. COOKE DIES. G. P. 0. Employe for 23 Years Suc- cumbs After Week’s Illness. Charles Fisher Cooke, 63 years old, a printer at the Government Printing Office for the last 23 vears, died at his residence, 833 Eleventh street north east, today after a week’s illness. Mr. Cooke was a native of Nortt Carolina and had been a resident of this city for the last 24 years. He was a member of King Solomo: Lodge, No. 31, F. A. A. M. He leaves his widow abeth Poole Cooke; arles Henry Cooke and J man Cooke, and two daughters, Mrs Margaret T. Iglehart and Miss Mattia Lee Coolke, all of Washington Funeral services will be conducted at the residence Wednesday afternoo: at 2:30 o'clock. Rev. Dr. will officiate. Interment Glenwood Cemetery. Masonic will be held at the grave Sabr. two sons )seph Fu The Belgian syndicate t contract to build.and equir 1} of railways in Greece for $21,000,000 will also have charge of the financir of the proiect 210 1r SAVINGS DEPOSITS MORRIS PLAN BANK Under Supervision U. S. Treasury 1408 H ST. N. W, Avenues. with dining alcove, service. N Twenty Years Ago— There were three salespeople, the boss and two others, in one small store. Now, after a brief twenty-year period, our sales force consists of more than three hundred. Just one hundred times as many as we had when we started. There must be a good reason for this remarkable growth. Daily, thousands of Washingtonians are purchasing their drug needs at the 18 Peoples Drug Stores, where qual- ity, service and low prices go hand in hand. ~The Better to Serve and Saasfy You e Faraiar aress