Evening Star Newspaper, December 24, 1925, Page 2

o HOUSE T0 PRESS BUILDING PROCRAM Bill Allowing $50,000,000 for Capital Will Be Re- ported After Recess. | 0 administration pub- vhich carrles $50,000,- n Washing- The $§ 1ic building 000 for ted by committee oliday rec House C after con iest officials of ing on the s cogsidered Hot 1 Coolidge. 1s pussed at the | but was not ate. The plan ident Coolidge, message he p-sum ap- con- Supported by has the s wh et u building < proposing indi- cus citles, at a 350,000,000, ha t the pres- | Chairman | or the gen- | « control of ands of the -y und the | Postme \s desired by the Pres Con| exte since t} ieaders in intent i uthorized any ding program the war, and 1ave expressed r such legis. Confldent of Outcome. pected to be made eturn to the old specifying in each | new buildings, confident the | mp sum, to be | two department | While opriation is not il the demands, and 5,000,000 table an ction. 1In | James A. | architect of the | 000,000 to BROKERS IN RUBBER IN ENGLAND RETIRE, | nounced. | was deseribed .. Succeeds F. C. Hicks HOWARD SUTHERLAND. appointed alien prop- v custodian. POLICE RESERVES PATROL ATLANTA Carry Orders to Shoot to Kill After Night of Armed Bandit Robberies. By the 4 ated Press. ATLANTA, Ga., December 24.— Police reserves patrolling the city in automobiles, armed with sawed-off shotguns, today bore orders to shoot | to kill following a night in which 14 persons were held up and robbed by bands of negroes cruising the city in fast automobiles. “The patrols will be tripled at night- fall, Chief Jett of the police force an- Several of last night's vie- tims were severely beaten by the bandits i Police believe that the robberies were staged hy an organized band negroes, us in each instance the vic tim reported he had been robbed b: negroes. The same biz touring car Vi tims, and about 11 picked up such » floor :cks and been stolen This automobile bore an license tag and had been stolen earlier in the night Two negroes were arrested shortly after the finding of the automobile linots reported ROLLING IN WEALTH from First Page) ot | | Jured yuestion { Praises Tax Measure. »rth praised the tax re- | d furthe nment expen; | situatio | night will be and are being held on suspicion pend ing a further investigation. Attacked Lone Pedestrians. The robl destrian and leap from the cz tr him in short order. If slightest ghow of resistunce was evi denced, he would be beaten either with & club or with the butt of a pistol. One man was painfully in- and left bleeding on the side walk. He was taken to a hospital. Chiet Jett took personal command of the situation. armed himself with shotgun and went out to look for Captains of all shifts to- on duty at night to cope with the rs would sp swoop down him hold him up ane bandits, tall in an effort CHI {up men did their Christmas robbing i yperation of | information House | ve noth propa presenta- | | SEES ELASTIC PROBLEM. | Dutch Magnate Expects Much of | ¥ a Unions. { News. | The | land-Ameri ) The AMSTERDAM December 2 the rubber problem is as elasticity of rubber it- | Burger, chairman of r Association, one of | Dutch rubber | clusive interview | today. 1id Dutch Rubt the n of the | Plantation place this week, as work,” said Herr s aimed at Amer the Dutch rubber ie< the Holland-Amer- . which is the holdi e General Rubber Co. | ercontinental Rubber Co., American _enterprises are the Dutch East Indes. Growing Discontent. there that Americans had to pay high prices without having T from_production, and in cor- respondence T received recently, the re was expressed that American =pital should uctively partic h rubber industry. Founda tion of the Dutch-American Rubber Plantation Co., with a share capital 000,000 florins. 500,000 of which n placed, at par in New York, they were introduced by Har- <k, has been cordlally received i welcomed in America and we have recelved strong support from the Washington administration which is putting in practice the advice ‘Amer- ica_should produce its own rubber.’ ” The new company has obtained property in various fields in the Lam- pong districts, in the southern part of Sumatra, of about 18,940 acres. Ber- ger, who is managing director, antici- pates a still growing development of the rubber industry in Dutch over- seas possessions, for rubber has be- come a vital source of revenue for the Dutch state. Holland never can consume all the rubber she produces, and her finan- ofal capacity is quite limited. Amer- ican participation, therefore. will open & new period of interest and economic participation. The American end of the financing of the new Dutch-American rubber combine is belng handled by Harvey Fisk & Sons, New York brokers, who have no connection with the Fisk Tire Co., it was stated In New York today. (Copyright. 1925, by Chicaxo Daily News Co.) 'PRISOiI PLAN EXTENDED. Leavenworth System Would Re- deem All Army Offenders. gxtension to all Army prisoners of !hi‘xLeavenworth Disciplinary Bar- yacks System, under which offenders are classified, and those ‘whose con- duet warrants given continued mili- fary and civil training in order to restore them to .the colors or turn hem back to civil life as better citi- zens, has been alppmwd by Secretary F. Davis. D et of his action is to make stx-month prisoners not sent to the parracks on conviction available for come training instead of all hard la- bor about the posts, if their conduct Justifics. - pan « + | ported in the 24 hours | women were be: { two high school pupils. ¢ sooner than robb ided early to- early here, starting a d usual, with more than ries day. All the robbers escaped and only one was believed wounded in shoot- ings that resulted A young girl was knocked down in the hallway of her home. Several old . One robber posed to take $95 from Another acted as a clerk in a drug store while his companion held up the manager BURGLARS LOOT SAFE;" BOOTY VALUED AT $330 Borghese Productions Office Robbed Fifth Time Within Past Few Months. The Borghese Productions Co., J. W. Nlepold, president, 307 Seventh street southwest, robbed last night of $200 in checks, $60 in cash and two coupons valued at $70, by an intruder who entered the open ce door and forced the cash drawer in the safe on the second floor. It was the fifth time within tie past few months that the place has been robbed. The safe was drilled. The thieves overlooked a check for $1,200 that was in a table drawer in the same room with the safe. The robbery was discovered today by J. W. Niepold when he went to deposit some money in the safe. ‘While the police have no clues as to the identity of the robbers they have ordered payment on the checks and coupons stopped. “Dasiling ‘Widow Countess” Is Boy In Stolen Finery as a truant officer By the Associated Press, SAN FRANCISCO, December 24. —The feminine finery of the “Countess” Zeldan Letroveiski, more properly known as Jack Me- Donald, 17-year-old youth of Bing- ham, Utah, has been replaced with the blue overalls and boy's cloth- ing allotted to wards of the Juve- nile Court at the detention home where the youth was sent yester- day. Tosing as a_countess and bent upon a dramatic career in female roles, young McDonald was arrest- ed here yesterday after he was al- leged to have stolen two women’s wigs and a coat from a department store. The youth spent a joyous five weeks in Salt Lake City disguised night | bly had | the remainder of the day. probable that the President will follow | GO, December 24 (P).—Hold- | | | | | | | tom of | The public is invited to join in. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24. 1975. CODLIDGES PLAN SIMPLE YULETIDE White House Family Will In-} dulge in Tyoical American Observance. There prevails about the White House today the true American Christmas spirit and atmosphere and tomorrow the day will be observed by the President und his family in | thefr customary simple and quict fashion. Green wreaths with broad red rib- bons have been hung at the in- numerable windows of the mansion itself and the executive office. Other greens suggestive of the Yuletide have been attractively placed about the rooms of the old mansion and in the library on the second floor a handsome spruce, sent to the White House from some one in Wisconsin, has been erected and will be trimmed tonight by Mrs. Coolidge with the as- sistance of John, the Coolidge boy, who Is home from Amherst College for the holidays. Mrs, Coolidge Busy. Mrs. Coolidge put aside most ev- erything else during the past few days so as to glve as much time as possible to making ready for Christimas. She has been busy shop- ping, buying presents to be sent in her own and the President’s name, ar- ranging the season's decorations | throughout the big house and receiv ing the many gifts that have come to her and the President, many of them from admirers in all parts of the country. These latter, with those the Coolidge family will give to each other, she will arrange in neat piles in the library tonight for distribution tomorrow morning. Although the Coolidge idea of Christmas observance is for sim plicity, this New England family has the true spirit, and in their quiet, informal manner will celebrate it. Their observance will be just about the same as that of many thousands of_other American households. There will be lttle if any altera- tion in their customary daily sched- ule. The meals will be at the same hour. The household will ari the customary hour. There will follow the exchange of “Merry Christmas” greetings. Then will follow the fan fly gathering in the library, where he gifts will be opened. They will then attend special services at the First Congregational Church Christmas Feast at P. No program has been arranged for It is very his usual custom of going to the exec utive office 1o work for several hours The Christmas feast will be 7 o'clock, the feature of which will be turkey, with all the other appropriate dishes Although the Coolidge: celebrating Christmas in an unassum ing fashion, thev have done much since being in the White House promote the old English Yuletide cus- ol sin on Christmas eve. Again this year carols will be sun; tonight at the front portico of the White House. These will be sung by the chofr of 60 voices and th rret from the First Congregational Church The music will be furnished by the brass quartet of the Marine Band. No Formal Guests. Thera will be no house guests at the White House, hut it is under- stood that a number of close friends “drop in” during the day to ex change greetings. Prestdent made engage He devoted the time to studying important matter belleve in of his very, 1 cluding the invitation to the League | oreliminary arms which are limita. before of Nations tion conference, him. Christmas c rds have been arriving at the White House in great numbers | for no ast week. There al count yet, but the k at the White House said today that he expected last vear's record of more than 12,000 to be broken the heen BLUE LAWS ASSAILED BY FORCEFUL ORATORS Banquet Speeches Deal ‘With Sub- ject and Extracts From Coolidge Speech Quoted as “Platform.” “Blue laws"” were assailed from all angles at an anti-blue law banquei held at the Restaurant Roma last | night_under the auspices of the Anti | Blue Law Association. Church mem- bers and non-members joined in the assault on such laws—pust, present or proposed—as an outgrowth of ‘‘nar- row and restricted thinking.” Dr. Joseph A. Themper, president of the assoclation, drew applause when he presented excerpts from President Coolidge’s Omaha address as a suitable platform expression for the association. Thomas B. Eckloff, president of the Washington Secular League, declared that “free thought was just as much opposed to the revival and spread of blue laws as it would be to the revival of the old spirit of burning witches. Such laws, he said, are the resuit of “thought bound down by supersti- tion.” Linn A. E. Gale was toast- master at the dinner. RIVER SURVEY TO START. Maryland Seeks Health Safety for D. C. and Other Places. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 24.—A con- tinuous survey of the water in the Potomac River above Washington will be started early In January, according to Abel Wolman, chief of the bureau of sanitary engineering in the State department of health. The object, Mr. Wolman explained, is to keep the river safe as a source of water supply for Washington and the towns along the stream. To do this, he said, It 1S necessary to anticipate the requisite treatment of waste and sanitary sewage from industrial plants and towns contributing waste to the river. Samples of the water will be taken every month and examined chemically and bacteriologically. “El Gallo,” Spanish Matador, to Fight 27 Wild Bulls With Harmless Sword By the Associated Press. TAMPA, Fla., December 24 —Ralph Gomez, “El Gallo,” said to be a premier matador of Spain, has been engaged by the Cuban and Spanish clubs of Tampa to face the shagglest and wildest bulls that can be brought here on New Year day, officials of the two Latin American clubs announced today. Twenty-seven bulls have been pur- chased for the fight and are sald to be on their way here from Mexico. ‘With them will come eight matadors. The Spanish national hero will be doprived of the sport of the final thrust in Tampa. The State and national laws forbid that he take the life of a bull. ‘The use of horses in the arena also is forbidden here, and the bull fight- ing will be done on foot, which, offi- clals say, will be a spectacle calling for the display of no ordinary skill and courage. Officials say that a demonstration of how the final trust is made, however, will not be lacking. A “spring sword,” which is harm- less to the bull, will be used. The fight will be staged in Ybor City, the Latin American quarter of Tampa. An arena having a seating capacity of approximately 5,000 now 1s under construction, to | the | mail | The First Lady of the Land surrounded by children, to whom she distributed presents at Keith's Theater today. PARLOR GAR BUS IS PROPOSED Capital Traction Proposes Route From 34th and Ord- way Sts. to 11th and E. Authorif bus line irth and ing to 3 st Capital T ion filed Commis ¢ the et with g1 is cents free to the existing de luxe bus » which operates from Chevy Chase to the Capitol. A 20-minute schedule would be maintained The route of th be as follo section of streets, 1 line would the inter. and Ordw: sout at California strect, ect to Massachuset > route of its pres to Tenth and F nth street to L t to Eleventh street to way of Califc {avenue. e: {ent partor ¢ stree sty P D str E t on north on street, and ret ame rou com ve Thi v pointed out that its nection with its present parlor car route and that some vehicles of either line may stop at this downtown | terminal or may proceed to the east jern terminal at th Capitol. The rapid and continuous growth of business on the Chevy Chase coach line, said John H. Hanna, vice presi |dent of the company, confirms the company’s opinion that there a {public demand for service of er and that it believes the s outlined will meet a public 'YOUNG BRIDE HELD ON HOLD-UP CHARGE Believed to Be Member of Band of Eight—One Prisoner Admits Part in 16 Robberies. is Associated Press. YORK, December 24.—Mrs. ss, 18-year-ofd bride of a arrested as an alleced By the was tod Police believed that the band was re- sponsible for a series of chain grocery store robberfes. Detectives described one of the prisoners, Victor Sammarco, as being n member of 4 wealthy fam fly. Police say Joseph Cortney, al- leged leader of the band, confessed to 16 recent robberies. Cortney was cap- turad after the hold-up of two grocery stores in Brooklyn last night. Anna Ring, former show girl, is held at Brooklyn police headquarters until Samuel Pistanowitz arrives for the purpose of determining whether she is the “bobbed-hair bandit’s who helped four men rob his father's jewelry store yesterday. In another cell is her husband, Vin- cent Ring, an ex-convict, who was arrested with her in a shack on Long Island 10 hours after the robbery. Police say that each had two pistols when arrested. 5 Pistanowitz was tied and thrown into a rear room and jewelry worth about $1,000 was stolen. Ring and his wife deny knowledge of the robbery. STR_EET_(;ARS WINNING PUBLIC BACK FROM BUS Maryland Service Commission Shows Gain of $36,156 in 11 Months’ Trolley Traffic. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 24.—The riding public here apparently is de- serting autos as transportation and resorting to street cars. This is the conclusion of trolley car officlals following the submission of the monthly filnancial statement of the Public Service Commission. The statement shows the street car company’s net income for the 11 months of 1925 was $796,631, as com- pared (with $760,375 in 1924, an In- crease of $36,156, or almost 5 per cent. The statement also compares No- vember, 1924, with November, 1925, showing decided increases in car riders and improvement in revenues. “Some 444,869 more passengers rode our cars in 1925 than in 1924, said an official of the company. “We conclude from that, of course, that persons who formerly rode in autos now are riding street cars. Probably they are unable to find park- ing space downtown for their cars, or have become impatient with the traffic situation.” intention is to operate this line in con- | this | member of a hold-up band of eight. | ‘Merry Christmas, All,’Mrs. Coolidge Calls To 1,200 Happy Chi Twelve hundred needy children of the District were given Joyous Christmas party this morning, and | were wished a “Merry Christmas" by Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, who for three | vears has participated in this annual event held ‘under the auspices of the | Central Union Mission at Keith's The- ater | Looking exceedingly striking In an {ensemble outfit of white, the First |Lady of the Land stepped quickly the wing of the theater, Ve | E asp to John S net | supes 2 the mis: who | wa ws, and called o to the hundreds | open-eyed youngsters | Mrs. Coolidge picked up one of the ! Idren at Yule Party 1,200 bags of toys, food and clothing, which were arranged on racks built about a brilliantly lighted Christmas tree which reached to the ceiling of the stage, and presented it to Mabel Davis, ten-year-old resident of the ntral Union Mission. Each child been prepared especially for him. | "The program opened with Christ | mas songs, led by R. Dean Shure, | | Place M. E. Church, and was followed by a Ial Roach comedy. Mr. Bennett was afded by his wife, who Is super- | intendent of the Children’s Emergency | Home, and by other employes of the | mission, the children’s parents and brothers and sisters. SAYS WEIDEMEIER street | outh_on | Wife Declares Fake Noble-} man, Who Figured Here, Is Professional “Husband.” i | | | | By the Aesociated Press. CHICAGO, December 24.-—John V. Weidemeier, into public notice recently through his arrest in | St. Louis with the wife of a Chicago furrier, has been termed u ‘“‘profes- sional husband,” who has been married at least 43 times, in testimony in an | annulment suit brought by one of his wives. Mrs. Esther Wexler Brooks, con- cert violinist, who said she had mar- ried Weidemeier in 1924, when he was | using the name of Arthur Brooks, told Judge Lewls yesterday that she was the forty-eighth or forty-ninth wife, she wasn't sure which, and the judge indicated the annulment would be granted. “T've been collecting information about this man,” sald the pretty mu siclan, “and 1 find he is known on both sides of the sea as a defrauder and professional husband. “I have gotten in touch with nine women whom he has married in the {last two years, always under a dif- | ferent name. And he managed to get more or less money from them.” Three months after their marriage in Des Moines, Iowa, she said her husband deserted her after defrauding her foster parents of $13,000, under pretenses that he would establish them all in the movies. Some $6.500 of her money went, too, sizhed Mrs. Brooks. The plaintiff, who identified Weide- meier from a “rogue’s gallery” photo- graph, told the judge some of his aliases were Lord Cornelius Beaver- brook, Wallace Siegfried, Sigmund Runee Segal, John Grey and Sidney Runee, and asserted that he must have obtained more than- $1,000,000 from deluded women. His right name was given as Sig- mund Engle. Among women he mar- ried she names Mrs. Virginia Martin of Washington, Mrs. Rose M, Burkin. New York, and Miss Olga Fuerth, Milwaukee. who came 1 TREASURER IS NAMED. Naming of Frantz Temporarily Solves Roanoke Situation. ROANOKE, Va., December 24 (#).— J. H. Frantz was appointed treasurer of the city of Roanoke by the city council at its weekly session yester- day. Thi= action was taken as a re- sult of an opinion in writing, submit- ted by City Solicitor R. C. Jackson, in which he held that it was the duty of the councll to appoint a man to fill the office until one can be elected June 8 next. Mr. Frantz, who defeated City Treasurer Lawrence S. Davis in the Democratic primary election August 4, and was subsequently elected by a big majority over J. T. Epgleby, jr., independent candidate, had been de- nied the office on the grounds that Mr. Frantz had violated State statutee by offering to return to the city Gov- ernment all compensation in_excess of $7,500 if elected. Judge Spratley's decision was handed down following 2 public hearing on the petition of Mr. Engleby asking that the election be annulled. e $103,042,000 IN SALE. Deeds Passed Transferring Texas ‘01l Property. , . BEAUMONT, Tex., December 24 ‘). —Deeds filed in the county clerk’s office of Jefferson County yesterday transferring property of the Magnolia Petroleum Co. and the Magnolia Pipe Line Co. to the Standard Oil Co. of New York involved a total property valuation of $103,042,000. The In- struments carried revenue stamps totaling $103,042. WEDDED 48 TIMES each of ‘ Christmas to See Tany New Brides, Col. Kroll Reports | | i The Christmas rush for marriage licenses continued up to the of the office of Col. W. A. Kroll afternoon. Beginning Monday'the bridegrooms-to-be have kept up a continuous stream of applicants and the colonel has been kept busy. Yesterday 40 licenses were obtained and Col. Kroll thinks he will go beyond that fizure today. Applicants _come from various places in nearby Maryland and Vir- ginia and some few from North Carolina and West Virginia. These added to the local applicants will help to swell the figures for 1925, which Kroll declares will far ex ceed the number of licenses issued ear. The extra holiday of he thinks, also helped to keep him busy today. |POLICE SEE THEFTS CLEARED IN ARREST | Seek Return of Harry Aul From Baltimore, Suspected in Room- ing House Robberies. | Believing that the arrest of Harry Aul, 56, alias Frank Carr, in Balti- more, will clear up numerous cioth- ing robberies in this city, Detective Bagby King of police headquarters |went to that city today M an effort | to bring him back to Washington. Aul's pidture, according to police, was identified by John McNerney of 1818 H street as that of an individual who appeared at his place seeking a room recently, just before a suit case and 2 suits of clothing, valued at more than $100, were stolen, December 14. Local police say that Aul served a T-year term in a Maryland peniten- tiary for thefts, and that his photo- graph in the bureau of identification was the one which McNerney iden- tifled. During the last month a number of rooming house robberies confronted the police, in which the thief evidently made an inspection of the place to be robbed under the pretense of seeking a room before stealing property therein. ‘When arrested in Baltimore Aul is sald to have had four watches and a bottle of chloroform in his pocket. | | ELK RUIN COTTON FIELDS. Eat Fill, Then Friskily Trample Down Crops. BAKERSFIELD, Calif 24 () —Wild elk are trampling down the cotton fields in the vicinity of Rio Bravo, adjacent to the great Miller and Lux holdings, and are doing much damage to late cotton. The gk come in from the big cattle ranges on moon- light nights and devour the cotton with its nutritious ofl seed. After eat- ing their fill, it is said, the elk, some- times as many as 15 and 20 in a band, feel so frisky that they spend the rest of the night in tearing up and down the fields. was presented with a bag, which had | musical director of the Mount Vernon | $47.900 CHRISTIAS PAYROLL IS STOLEN | Bandits Shoot Guard and Hold Up Two at Mining Settlement. | { | By the Associated Press. PITTSBURGH, Pa., December { The Christmas pay roll of the Pi burgh Terminal Coal Compan 900, was taken from the pay ar six armed men &t Mollenauer, a 1 | ing settlement near Pittsburgh, today The robbers made their automobile. The bandits shot I guard, in the abdomen. tlon is critical. L. Gump, | had just alighted from a special Pitt burgh and West Virginia railroad pay car to go to Mine No. 3, ne the robbers drove up. The bandits opened fire immediately. The first volley brought down Gump. Hutton drew a pistol, but was forced to drop it. One of the robbers jumped from | the machine, took the bag containing | the pay roll ‘and then returned to the car. As the robbers drove av | toward. Library, another mining se tlement, they fired a parting volley of shots at Hutton and the guard City pe county detectives deputy sheriffs were sent out to guard locate the bandits. TURKEY BANS $0RCERERS AND FORTUNE TELLERS By the Associated Pre CONSTANTINOPLE. December 24. —One of the most picturesque trades in Turkey has been bauned by the National Assembly. A lo® just passed throws out of business all fortune tell , sorcerers, those who deal in'in- -antations, those wWho possess the abil ity to find lost objects or to cure the sick by breathing upon them, and those who sell amulets warranted to bring about the desires of the pur chaser. Hundreds of women in every city and town daily have sought these fortune tellers. The new law is part of the govern- ment’s strenuous campaign to elim- inate the strong element of supersti- tion which has swayed the illiterate for centuries. There is also the aim of diverting the energies of ali these sorcerers into productive channel and of saving the ill-spent money o their patrons. It is, however, a blow to the tourist. They will miss the oc- togenarian Turkish women of the old, heavily veiled tvpe, crouched on the sidewalks, manipulating with their henna-stained fingers beads, pebbles, coins and shreds of onion into a sure prophecy of the client’s future. Laurel Suppl;nls Christmas Holly At White House Holly has no place in the Christ- mas decorations at the White \ House this year. Mountain laurel and branches of ash are being used in place of the holly, so typical of Christmas in this country. This change in the decorations was made by Mrs Coolidge out of respect for the campaign being conducted in this country to preserve holly. The wreaths of laurel and ash which have been hung in the win- dows of the White House and the executive office are given an addi- tional touch of color by attaching to them pine cones and large red ribbons. To Stabilize B By the Associated Pross. HARRISBURG, Pa., December 24.— State funds are being deposited in banks of the Pennsylvania coal fields to take the place of savings drawn by the miners. Samuel S. Lewis, State treasurer, to- day said this is being done so far as possible in both the anthracite region, where mining operations have been at a standstill since September 1, and in the bituminous section. Although the treasurer did not disclose how much State money has R 1y $5,000,000 has been/depoited in in- stitutions in various counties in the Pennsylvania Rushes State Funds anks of Coal Fields State, with especial attention to coal- producing counties. “I have gathered data on the finan- clal means of the Commonwealth,” he said, “and to my mind it is to the best Interest of the whole State to assist the banking ipstitutions in the coal regions. The hard coal miners are on a strike. Their savings have been exhausted and what deposits they had in the banks have been with- drawn. ““The deposits of the merchants also have fallen off as the result of busi- ness stagnation brought on by the hard coal strike and the depression in the bituminous field. The banks ought to have the use of as much of the State’s money as-they are by law allowed to have and their finan- cial condition will warrant.” all roads in the region in an effort to | | scape in an| peen a|by His condi-| the Leroy Hutton, a paymaster for the | company, Gump and another guard| D | | I NICKEL PLATE LINE APPROVAL LIKELY McChord’s Resignation From I. C. C. Gives Advocates Slight Advantage. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILF “hanges of personnel state Comme pected in the decisive influ Nickel Plate me proval or disapproval befor Final arguments ton Decembe Judge Charle just resigned neidered in the Inter slon are ex id to be of Comn: il we ow begin in McChord, who from the commis. an opponent the Var nd to me consolidated Swe: great Chord in was said erger question tion, the ¢ ceadlocked It was counted five for member Richard V cessor, should not McChord’s Resignation Surprise Judge MeChord from the Inte mission took wholly by surprise sixteenth successive lowing appointment in 1909, and was k nd of the intention to re official He year President T st “| terstate Commerce C Hez int week. Wi minority he Ches Hocking which the last part Bal rby, when | cou favor of the nderso United Mexican sel for the Ohio stock now the on the cour ke and Col: Chesape: W. A protesti It | | and | {is along although five months el before the commission hands down verdict after oral arguments. In Line With Consolidations. The Coolidge administ tains its belief in the e system of consol American railroads. his recent message to Congr mended that the Interst Commission be empow or disapprove consolidations. The Sweringen merger is a consolidation in effect, if not in law. If the com mission decides that it is legal and approves it. it will mean that in dividual railroad consclidations can effected without waiting for the 1 plan ¢ dation that the it now stands, calls for. The en scheme does not spe a “consolidation.” The five lines to be merged, or consolidated, are taken over by the Van Sweringens under long-term leases. When the Van Sweringens in 192 obtained Interstate Commerce Com mission approval to acquire and operate several of their present lines the merg bitterly opposed in a famous dissenting Com missioner Joseph B A co issenter was Commissioner John J Esch, former representative from Wi consin and co-auth h Senator Cummins, of the transporation ac Many authorities call the Govern. ment's tentative plan of general con- solidation, calling for 10 railroad s tems, impracticable and one doomed never to be carried out. These same authorities contend that the only real olution of the consolidation problem the “brilliant” lines of the Van_Sweringen scheme, which aims at forging into existence a merg that will compete at once with truni tems like the Pennsylvania, the New York Central and the Baltimore and Ohlo line (Copyright SHRUB THEFTS FEWER. - The President in recon red to approve 19: Maryland Forester Reports Decline in Vandalism This Year. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 24.—Christ mas tree van ism in Maryland de clined somewhat this year, & pared with other recent cording to F. W. Besley, ester. Reporting that no definite figures on the subject are av le, Mr. E expressed belief that the public learning more of the law protecting the property rights of tree owners. Thousands of notices by the State De- partment of Forestry have been placed in evergreen woods through- out the State, he said. “Contrary to the general impres- sion,” he said, “the forestry depart- ment does not oppose the cutting of trees and holly. In fact, we encour- age it. We merely wish to make it, clear that evergreen is private prop- erty just as any cultivated crop, and we wish to demonstrate to woodland owners that by proper thinning of the woods and pruning of holly trees a profitable crop can be produced every State for Special Dispatch to The Star. WINCHESTER, Va., December 24 —The Chamber of Commerce banner. for which Handley High School and Shenandoah Valley Academy have been competing In drills since 191 was yesterday presented to the fo mer by Andrew Bell, secretary of the chamber. Three consecutive wins weyo necessary.