Evening Star Newspaper, March 28, 1926, Page 1

WEATHER. “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star is delivered every evening and Sunday morning to Washington homes at 60 cents per month. Telephone Main 5000 and service will start immediately, Burean Forecast ) tomorrow increasing not much change in tem- perature; moderate northwest winds, Temperatures: Highest, at 3 p. vesterday: lowest. 37, at & ves: ‘ terday. Full report on Page = cloudiness Sunday Star. ‘4 h WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION WASHINGTON, BELT LINE MENACE AND LACK OF NEED tered vost 29.916. office. . EFFORT T0 CHARGE PUBLIC FOR COAL STRIKE IS FEARED * aeond class matter Washington, D. C. 'APPEAL FOR ANTIQUE FURNITURE | BY MRS. COOLIDGE IS FORECAST D. (., SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 28, 1926.—-112 PAGES. FIVE CENTS. () Means Associated Pr CONGRESS 0 GET RETIREMENT COST DATA TOMORROW WILLIAM, \F You HAD ANYTHING Mrs. G. H. Lorimer Says Nation Will Be Asked to Donate Rare Articles to Give White House Colonial Simplicity. Congressmen. Seeing New| Emergency, Plan to Speed Legislation. PRESENT HIGH PRICES CAUSE APPREHENSION Cost of Production Declared No Greater Than Last Year, But Cut in Rates Believed Unlikely. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN, Hor commerce the e 1 con nsiderable old another meeting’ feeling among of Congress emergency pension last anthracite mining has Jiher emerzency h prices of fuel anthracite ranging depending on were the say, are n 1, altho the cost simila year ere has been no inere: production due to labor Furthermore, they point out the reports from Pennsylv are there be no prices of coal d epsts. months this as have been made in past vears. See Effort to Assess Public. The price of substitutes rose higher and her during the anthracite strike. eded 11 1 for the an- strike began, prices char: 1 before th members of Congress n effort to get up to the ed for nsist that the public “pay e substitt now is 1o make strike.” although the public whatever to do with o arancitn o ) disposition on the part {hese membera of Congress so price-fixing legislation they do feel that had Nringing ark in not of to for coal. But - | poses - | Washington, and ihat the whole pro- forward | n transportatién, etc.. wal and profits, it would not he pasy for operators or dealers to in crease prices without good cause other desire to increase profits. Will Push for Acti Tiapresentative Parker of New York, an of the House interstate committee, d yesterday 1 bill would be framed and in the House following the | heart Hle exnressed the hope hat it conld he hefore of « Now the close the ses present n put through has been the ation, time 1o which United States Coal Commis Mr. Parker. “After a bill ted 1 will press for on, Tdaho chairman also ex- tive legis- ut rah ¢ who have legislation “to 1 e of heard first by the Mr. Parker said. be followed by representa- the mine owners and ops mine workers and by of the consumers low Req imendat il be framed and i House by M ind_his colle will mee omplish both 2 measurable the coal entering int ng normal time: stem Lo meet out of sus nes <ing mining 1l ion facts adustry by the and publication in 3 will enable the public the situation existing in re- weluding the on, transportation, sale the justness of the prices den The mensure will follow closely tha recommendations made by the United Coal Commission, which ealled for such publicity re- garding the industry and also rec- ommended the enactment leg lation providing for a Federal lice ta ship or sell coal in interstate com- merce and the creation of a coal division in 1Ne Interstate Commerce Commission, rather than the crea- j A new agency to lake part in regulation or control of coal entering into interstate commer will coal wernment torm know rd 1o onl, costs of pded. 1 fienlt. of Emergency Issue The emergency p bill, designed to meet coal strik sekolte which threaten the people with fuel famine and suffering, are proving the hardest problem of all, hoth for the House committee and for the Senate subcommittee Be production of cogl from es is distinetly an inf state m even though the coal afterward Into interstate commerce, it is The difficulty, therefore, is o find some 15 wh the Gov ernment mav act in the Interests of the people, If coal mining shuts down. Senator Borah some time ago in- troduced a bill declaring cosl a neces =ity and elothing it with public inter- est by law. 1t is his opinion that such a coursa is essential if there is tn ba effectiva legislation authorizing the Federal Governnlent 1o deal with tha situation arising nut of the sus pansion of conl mining The United States Coal Commis- slon, headed bLy John Hays Ham- mond, in its report on the anthracite indugtry, July 1923 a4 with reference fo the suspension of min- ing: The Pr wisions \ the 1 m " ident shonld be authorized ) ed on P , Column ntil in some instances they ex- | cted upon favorably | has | ~tion | at the | repre- | provide | and | { B the Associated Press. PHILADELPHIA March | With the hope that a long cherished | plan to refurnish the White House | in the simplicity of the early Colonial { period may be accomplished Coolidge is about to make a Natic wide appeal for origingl Colonial pieces of fur sultable he It was r here Tlorac Lorime Tepubl W 1 i purpose, | M dent te n presi the \ of an nnsylv | Mrs. | recently was a imer returned | from Washington, where she guest of the President and Mrs Coolidge. According to Mrs. Cool | idge’s plan e said, furniture such | a5 original Chippendale, Adam. Hep- | nlewhite, Sheraton and Duncan Fyfe vill be sought, and all must be gen- nine pieces and, if possible, with his toric hackgr nd. | “Nuch pieces, of conrse, eannot be purchased,” Mrs, Coolidge was quoted explutning. “They have been in familes for generations and are even now sion of private families The only v I an carry out my plan will he through the gifis of these antiques “The Whit Ll is really a national institu & shrine. | feel it Lalangs ta the people and they should have a part in its furnishing. Women have taken an especial intetest in Mount Vernon and Valley Forge and other national shrines. 1 feel they i1 posse will respond to an appeal to refurnish | | the White House as the national home Lof Presidents.” | Mrs. Lorimer | Coolidge’s appeal while Mrs. States said that will include ,and historical organizations. it will he divected chefly to individuals. Each | | picee will have to meet the approval of a committee appointed to pass upon it. | Articles pted would be labeled in conspicuously with the name of the [ donor, so that future generations may foel they have a definite interest in the White House, room in the White completed. Othe iwnished as the | rooms are to be v irticles are received. gradial acanisition of pe viod furnishings suitable for the White House have been worked ont Ly a volunteer committee of 10 art connoisseurs, which was provided for hy Congress last vear. This commit tee has made an initial study and de. cided upon a plan of rearrangement, with some eliminations, su¢h as pic tures, which already have been re duced from nine to four in the green ro Plans for n he the first tin meetings and committee met last June for but has held no recent none is believed to be in prospect It has received some of ferings of period furniture, but th have heen no acceptances thus far Members of the committee were re. | fnetant 1o comment last night on the | st related in Philadelphia today by | Mrs. George Horace Lorimer. presi- | dent of the Republican Women of | Pennsylvania, that Mrs. Conlidge was | planning a Nation-wide appeal for gifts of antique furnishings for the White House. While they believed the committes would be asked for ad vice before such an appeal were made, | none had thus far been sought, they ! said. el KELLOGE PROPOSES 7O MEDIATE TACNA - DISPUTE HISELF Full Correspondence on Plan of Direct Settlement Re- vealed by Secretary Here. { diplomatic correspondence in | which the United States offered to | mediate the Tacna-Arica dispute be- tween Chile and Pern was made pub {lic last night by Seeretary Kellogg lafter only a portion of it had been | given out by the Chilean foreign office | at Santiago. | 1t disclosed that the Secretary pro- to conduct the mediation in The ceeding is to be carried without prejudice” to fulfilling the arbitral award of President Coolidge, i shouid a direct settlement fail. | The correspondence began on Feb- {ruary 16 and the last note in series was dated March 25, but | the earlier portions of the exchange, in which the position of the Urited ates was not fully set forth, were only | tr | cation vesterday from Santiago. | After he had seen an Associated | Press dispatch aquoting the prelim | inary hotes a& made public in the | Chilean capital, Secretary Kellogg hur | ried to the White House for a talk with President Coolidge, and later annouuced that the whole succession | of notes would be given out by the State Department. Chilean Reply Delayed. The exchange as a | that while Chile has indicated her | willingness to accept the mediation. | she has not replied to the final Ameyi- can note on March 25, asking whether the Santlago government “will not | forthwith issue to its delegates on the | plebiscitary commission (at Arica) ap priate authority and instructions’ suspension_of the plebiscite or- under President Coolidge’s dered award. Dispatches from Arica vesterday in- ldicated that Chile's failure to issue such instrictions had resulted in a | hiteh in the agreement to suspend the | plebiscite, but officials here apparently lare confident that the situation will | be adjusted in the near future. | By the Associated Pre. | CONFUSION 1) ARICA. ARICA, reh conditions prevail here with regard 1o the plebiscite question, which it was believed had finally been referred to Washington. M —TParadoxical biscitary commission now is whether to suspend activities here, pending | the outcome of negotiations for a di- rect settlement hetween Chile: and { Pern,” which would conform to the wishes of both the United States as arbiter and Peru, or to go on with the plebiscite preliminaries de- manded by Chile. Registration Is Started. while, the prospective voters na and Arica, the disputed es, proceeded to register today, I only American and Chilean registration board members present. The Peruvian members had been ordered by their country’s represen tative to abstain from participating in the registration activities. On the other hand., a meeting of the plebiscite commission has been called for tomorrow. at which time it will he decided just what will be done here, while Chile and Peru try to effect a direct settlement in Wash- ington. Samuel Claro y Lastarria. Chilean | member of the plebiscite commission, | indicated today that he would not at- | tend tomorrow's meeting, declining to have a part In a meeting at which postponement of the registration would even be discussed. The Chileans maintain that fulfill- ment of the award can be set aside only by mutual agreement, but Chile has officially informed Gen. Laasiter, neutral president of the commission, through Senor Claro, that she would never accept thegood offices of the American Government except on condition that the plebiscite be not disturbed. As such an agreement is lacking, Chile argues that neither the plebiscite commission nor the arbi- trator (President Coolidge) has power o force any other solution upon hile and Peru, if either is not de- 1s of such an agreement. A i | but wi I the | asmitted to this country for publi- | | mouth, publisher of the Asbury whole showed | The problem confronting the ple- | William | Rat Nearly Brings Plane Crash by Jumping on Pilot By the Assoviated Press A rat air stowaway hours flving time to its reported to the Navy Department vesterday from the airplane car- | rier Wright in Cuban water The rat boarded a piane at ( fuegos, galloped about the s ture excitedly while in flight and almost caused a crash by jumping into the lap of the pilot. Later it dineds on safety belts and other sty bits of equipment. | | with three dit, was DOCTOR, %, JALED * OVERTHEFTIN 1880 | Officials Incensed at Arrest of Veteran on Horse _Theft Charge 45 Years Old. By the Associated Press ASBURY PARK, Edwin P. Osbaldeston, sician, soldier and explorer, today was ! held as a fugitive from a 45.vear-old | charge of horse stealing. He was ar. rested on a warrant served by Deputy Sherifft S. Foster Black of Bingham ton. N. Y., who himself is 81 The aged physician, after a night on an iron cot in the company of two drunks, denied the charges and was released in custody of his counsel, Clarence E. Cook, to await extradi- tion. Sympathizers and friends engaged the counsel for him, and J. Lyle Kin- Park Press, took the lead in urging Gov. Moore to deny any request for extra- | dition, H Theft Charge Dated 1880. : The yellowed documents on which | the arrest was made alleged that Dr. | Osbaldeston, then known as Edwhrd | Turner, stole a horse and wagon in | Broome County, N. Y., in December, 1880, and that he was arrested with K. T. Shaughnessy, an accomplice, in Utica, where the stolen propert recovered. The documents that the man Turner was tried Bingham:ton and committed to jail for sentence later, but escaped hefore pay- | ing the penalty 1 Dr. Osbaldeston was born land, entered the Re emy when 14, and later was c of cadets. 1le served in the Crimean | War and was wounded. ! He also served with Garibaldi on | the Island of Capri, and after a year | was invalided to England bec; wounds. He studied medicine and avas a physician for the British gov- ernment and private interests in New Zealand, Australia and other parts of | the world. “It is simply a case of mistaken identity,” Dr. Osbaldeston said, “and to me, 'a very sad case.” He asserted that at the time the alleged crime was | committed he was a practicing phy sician_in New York City. He had | never heard of Black or Shaughnessy, he said. are 27 Dr. vear-old ph in Remembers Accent. Black, who left the ci yesterday, said he was sure of the identity, an particularly remembers Osbaldeston's | accent, which is decifiedly English, Mayor Clarence J. Cook of Bing- | hamton by telephone declared the | arrest an’ “outrage on the part of | Black.” “I am absolutely opposed to extradition,” he said. 4 Dr. Osbaldeston told reporters that | he is the son of the former Earl of | Onslow” by morganatic marriage and | a great-grandson of Admiral Charles | Pye Turner of the British Navy. He | sald he was reared with tutors in London with the then Prince Edward, future king. He served daughter physica) doctor, his | id was | the in 18 Boutell's Body Arrives. ¥ YORK, March 27 (®).—The body of Henry Sherman Boutell of ‘Washington, former Minister, to Por- tugal and Switzerland, who died in San Remo, Italy, March 11, arrived today on the liner Conte Biancamano. Mrs. Boutell, the widow, accompanied the body and was met by her son Hugh G. Boutell, an attorney of Was| ington. Burial will be in Westboro, Mass. | triet | railre i as perhaps has not been seen on any | | the | erally of helt line projects, admitted | stderation | to receive home the body of Ted Cog- | sister a | Ted's CITED BY 175 FOES Railway and Business Lead- ers Join Humble Home Own- ers in Senate Attack. NATIONAL DEFENSE IDEA i CLOUD ON ISSUE, CLAIM Effort to Get Congress to Aid Plans Damaging Its National Capital Is Charged. BY WILLIAM J. WHEATLEY. Drawing u desolate pieture of the which would sWeep throug the great metropolitan dis of the National Capital, by l!lr'l construction of the proposed belt line | 4, which wonld rob and cast to naught the lifetime savings of | thousands of residents placed in | homes on the faith of the Federal Government's plans for the beautiful capital of the world ponents of the railway appeared yes terday before the subcommittee on bridges of the Senate committea on | commerce. The committee was holding A public hearing on the bill of Senator Curtis of Kans which would au ze the Washington and Lough ugh RBelt Line and Terminal Co to erect a bridge s the Potomac River above the present Chain Bridge Montgomery County, irfax County, Va. the hearing were representa- | of the most humble ecitizen se every dollar is heing placed in a home in what is planned to be the | great metropolitan district of the Na tional Capital, and representatives of the est capital, the big railroads and representatives hetween these | two extremes, the business men of ! the al City . civie organizations | of this city and the adjacent counties | in Maryland and Virginia, standing | ether and presenting devastation most op- | . and ¥ A united tal attack on the measure, such | iederal legislation in many Only Friends of Bill. Only the promoters of the Lough- | borough project, which stands just across the Distriet Line in Maryland, lving along the River road, and into which it is proposed to turn a great railr, yard, appeared in favor of their bill. Not even the railroads they claimed they would connect with stood with them. In fact, there was testimony that it was a project not needed. ‘The proponents, in presenting their side, held it up as a great national defense move, and then offered as | witnesses Iear Admiral Austin M. | Knight, U. & N, retired. and Maj Gen. Hanson M. Ely, commandant of Army War College, to uphold this contention. Gen. Ely spoke gen- years. he knew nothing as to the value of this particular project and empha- sized the fact that he was expressing a personal opinion and was not there | us a representative of the War De- partment. Urge National Aspect. The proponents then sought to urge | the committee to cast aside any con of the local volved and consider the pre \ as a national aspect, in which local opposition should have no veice for any reason. Such an attack on” the project, they contended, was not a proper one for the Federation legisia- tion to consider, but one that has been delegated to an executive government- | al body, notably the Interstate Com- | merce Commission Although Senator Bingham of Con ecticut, chairman of the subcommit- tee holding the hearing, reminded the opponents of the measure that the | commlittee was chiefly concerned with | the matter of the effect which the | proposed bridge would have on navi- | gation; nevertheless he stated to the | wWriter after the hearing that this did | not mean that the committee would | not give consideration to the matters as presented by the opponents as to the great damage which would he! done by the proposed belt line to the metropolitan area of the Capital City. In fact, Senator Bingham sai¢. that | the committee in the past, when | bridge matters were under considera- tion, always sought Information from | the States and areas surounding such Projects to ascertain their desirabili- ty, and any ether information which | might give the committee data an which to act, aside from the mere con- sideration as an obstructor or deter- rent of navigation. Bill fo Rest for Weeks. The subcommittee will not consider the bill further for another week. In the meantime it is expected that Dbriefs will be filed by other opponents for the measure, and this is the real purpose of the delay. He pointed out that ebviously the committee could | (Continued on Page 6, Column 1 HOME FOLKS GET BODY OF EXECUTED SLAYER “Murdered by State of Georgia” Will Be Epitath for Ted | Coggeshall. n By the Associated Press. QUINCY, Ill,, March 2 More than a thousand persons gathered tonight geshall, who was executed at Milledge- ville, Ga., Thursday for the murder of W. T. Wright, superintendent of schools of Putnam County. Cog- geshall's parents and his brother and companied the body. have about decided to place on tombstone, ‘Murdered by the State of Georgia,' " said James T, Cog- geshall, the father, who has lost none of his bitterness. ‘“The reason I re- mained in the death cell was to pi vent further stories being told of my son’s alleged confession. I believe if my son had committed that murder he would have confessed to me instead of a stranger, for in the last hours we were as intimate as two human beings could be.” § The body of young Coggeshall was aken to Clayton, a Quincy suburb, by motor. ‘Arrangements for the funeral have not been completed. & | by foreigners MEXICAN LAND LAW RULES COMPLETED | Regulations Bai.ing Foreign Control Will Be Made Pub- lic Tomorrow. By the Associated Press MEXICO CITY, regulations governing the alien land law will be made public Monday They provide that foreigners owning lands affected by this law must be come Mexican citizens and renounce | the protection of their governments with respect to that property eigners cannot own more than per cent of the stock of Mexican land and agricultural corporations outside the forbidden zone, along the coasts | and borde Within and outside the forbidden zane Mexican corporations the stock of which is partially or wholiy owned may acquire and own | land for any purpose except agricul-| tural, if such land is limited to_the exact surface needs of that industry, as mining, petroleum and sim- | operations, and if the President | Mexico gives each company per-| mission to own such property “oreigners who acquired agricy tural property after the jromulgation of the 1917 constitution and hefore this law became effective may retain thefr property until death. i Retroactive Feature Barred. | In the ease of corporations explo ing land for agricultural purposes March such ! within the forbidden zone, foreigners | may own 50 per cent of the stock, and they will have 10 years from the date which the law becomes effective to dispose of their remaining stock. If it | is legally impossible for them to sell such stoek within 10 vears, the for- eign office may extend the term for | another 10 yvears. Colonization contracts made before the law becomes effective will not be | affected by this law, ‘but colonization | contracts made after the law becomes effective, must require the permission of the President. Foreign colonists may own no more than 230 hectares (a hectare equals about 213 acres) of irrigated lands or 1,000 hectares of sthers lands within the forbidden | ne and must become Mexican citi- | zens within six years from date of | acquiring such land: The regulations declare that “in ac cordance with the constitution, none of the provisions of this law or its regulations can be applied Iy with injury to anybody Requests Mexico to Capture and Pun- ish Bandits Who Killed Americans. By the Associated Press. The Washington Government is tak ing note of the recent anti-American outbreaks in Mexico, but there is no indication thus far whether it will fee] impelled to bring strong diplomatic pressure to bear at Mexico City. It was disclosed vesterds (Continued on Page 5, Column 4.) e FORMER CROWN JEWELS BROUGHT FROM RUSSIA Naval Attache's Wife Arrives in New York With Gems ‘Which She Risked Life. By the Associated Press NEW _YORK, March Mrs. Natalie Bucknell, wife of a former British naval attache at Petrograd (now Leningrad), on her arrival today surrendered to customs officials for appraisal a collection of former Rus- slan crown jewels, for possession of which she said she and her husband once faced a Soviet firing squad. Mrs. Bucknell had valued the col- lection at $50,000, but cystoms offi- cials estimated the value of one brooch alone at that much. The jewels were contalned in a gem-studded jewel oase. They included a collection of rings, bracelets, buckles and other trinkets. Mrs, Bucknell said the collection had for been intrusted to her for display here | by a to name. She said that once she and her husband were seized by bolshevists, who demanded a certain paper that would have revealed the hiding place of tHe jewels, but that she had re- fused to give it, even when the leader of the firing squad raised his hand to give the order to fire. “I had sworn mot to divulge the secret and I didn't,” she said. “And we were not shot. 1 had called their blufr.” person whom she refused | Fin | Ciassifiea ' TODAY’S STAR PART ONE—14 PAGES General News—Local, National and Foreign. Scommt News—Page 20. At the Community Centers—Page Current News Events—Pages 24 | Schools and Colleges and Girl Scouts—Page 27 Parent-Teacher Activities—Page Serial, ““The Adopted Wife"—Page Radio News and Programs—D and 37. ncial News—Pages 39, 40 and 41. News of the Clubs—Page 42 ¥ WG a PART TWO0—I1 PAGES. a5 36 | Editorials and Editorial Features Washington and Other Society Notes of Art and Artists—Page 4. Reviews of Spring Books—Page 4. Tales of Well Known Folk—Page 11. D. A. R. Activiti Pages 12 and 13. PART THREE—16 PAGES. Amusements—Theaters and the Photo- D Music in Washington—Page Motors and Motoring—Pages and 9. Distric . 8 National G ard—Page 10. 10 Army and Fraternal News—Pages 14 and 15. Veterans of the Great War—Page 15. PART FOUR— PAGES Pink Sports Section. PART FIVE—8 PAGE Magazine Section—Fiction and Lures. Th: Rambler—Page 3. PART —10 PA Advertisi Around the City—Page 10. Fea- APHIC SECTION—12 PAGES. World Events in Pictures. Mr. and Mrs; Mutt and Jeff. 0 BOYS COMPETE INSTAR CLUB MEET Seventy-Two Prizes Issued to Winners in First of Contest Series. Despite the briskness of the weather, a bit cool for outdoor com- petition, 300 hoys, members of The Evening Star Boys Club, took an ac- tive part in the athletic carnival held by the organization in the stadium at Central High School yesterday afier noon, while twice that number looked on. The meet proved an unqualified suecess. There was not only a record number of entries, wut the enthusiasm shown augurs well for the future of the organization and served as an in- dication of the members’ willingness 10 abide by the rules laid down by th club in its effort to influence boys activities hereabouts in the right di- rection. First Event of Series. Although there have been one or two previous club affairs, of lesser fmportance, yesterday's was the first of a series to be promoted on a larger scale for and by the club members Notwithstanding the fact that it still jein its infancy, the club has at this [ fime upward of 3,000 members, and at the present rate of growth will be the largest boys' organization in this section of the country before long. The participants in yesterday's meet had been active for the past month in preparing for the games. under the guidance of experts in track and field sports, who write exclusively for the boys in their own column daily. The articles are not confined to that line of sport, however. Each line is taken in its season and discussed and taught by the best known men in that par- (Continued on Page 12, Column 1) BELL SURE WATER | - RAISE WON'T PASS | Confident Senate Will Give f Assent to Maintenance From General Revenue. | Confidence was expressed last night by Engineer Commissioner J. Frank- | lin Bell that the Senate will strike out | | the provision in the District appro- | priation bill directing a 25 per cent increase in water rates and substitute s recommendation that the water | supply system be maintained entirely out of the general revenues, which would make a raise in rates unnec- essary. | Commissioner Bell, it made a vigorous appeal before the ! | Senate subcommittee in charge of | District appropriations during _the hearings on the fiscal bill last week | in support of the plan, which would avoid a higher water rate during the | next fiscal year. The appropriation | vill, in the form that it passed the House, directs the Commissioners | raise the rates by “not less than per cent.” Believes Arguments Strong was learned, No intimation has come from the { committee itself that the provisien in serted hy the House directing the in- crease would be altered, but Commis- sioner Bell feels certain that uments in favor of having the | maintenance of the water supply sy tem paid out of the general revenue: coupled with the protests against the | proposed increase fn rates by various | civie organizations, made a favorable | impression on the legislators. The Federation of Citizens' Ass tions and _its o the Cit Advisory Counci civic bodles that | vehemently agatnst water rat The W of Trade also went on record as op- | posing the increase, and this organiza | tion wa | Commisstoners to use its influence to | prevent the higher rates. Maintained by Revenue Fund. | Discussing the water sipuation, Col. | | Béll pointed out that since 1917 the supply system has heen maintained by the water revenue fund, which is rived from water rates and water | main assessments. Prior to that time | it was financed from the general rev- enues of the District to which the Federal Government made a contribu- tion either on the 50-30 or 40-60 ba “When the estimates for 1927 were bheing prepared,” said Commissioner Bell, “the advisability of securing a change so that the water supp! tem would be maintained from the | general revenues, as it was prior to 1 1917, was discussed by the Commis- | sioners, and it was decided that such |a change should be secured if prac- ticable either for the fiscal vear 19 or the fiscal year 1928. It could not be known at that time what amount the bureau of the budget and Con- gress would approve as expenditures for the fiscal year 1927 und for the de- ficiency act of 1926. “A deficiency of §1 1y needed service mains has been ap- proved for the fiscal vear, and an estimate of expenditures of approxi- mately $1,200,000 for the distrbution system and $200,000 for the mainte- nance of the supply system was proved as payable from the water rev enues by the director of the bu t. “The expenditure of the $125,000 this fiscal year will about exhaust the funds available in the water revenues and as the available revenues fortthe fiscal year 1927 are estimated to|be about $1,250,000, it hecame evident to the Commissioners that they must|se- cure the transfer of the maintenajice of the supply system from the witer revenues to the general fund this fis- cal year, or the water revenues would not be sufficient to cover the expendi- tures recommended by the director ot the budget from those water rev enues.” 5,000 for urgent- By tha Associated Pre NEW YORK, March Trvin 8. Cobb attacked ‘“American bigotry™ and the prohibition law in an address before the National Democratic Club today. “I can not help thinking,” he said, “that the greatest calamity the coun- try ever suffered is that the May- flower did not make & round trip. The Pligrims made themselves too 9 Pilgrims Should Have Made Round Trip, Irvin S. Cobb Tells Gotham Democrats obnoxious and Kurope spewed them out. The first thing they did here was to set up barriers against persons of other religions."” He declared the eighteenth amend- ment had “almost wrecked our per- sonal liberty."” Augustus Thomas, dean of Ameri- can. playwrights, also addressed the club, extolling tolerance as “a God given American virtue,” and attack- ing the prohibiton laws as an “evil.” | legislative features of the bill his | specifically requested by the! $125,000 for Mains Approved. | Actuaries Provide for Flat $600 Annuity Payment by United States. BOTH COMMITTEES READY | TO REPORT BILL SHORTLY Hope of President Signing Measure Before Adjournment Revived as Result of Developments. Hopes of Government employees and friends for liberalized retirement at this session of Congress ived and ran high last night | With the assurance that the actual fig | ires on the cost of the liberalized pro visions would be presented to House and Senate committees tomorrow. Accompanying these cost figures by the hoard of actuaries on the Civil | Servica ratirement and disability fund | will be a brand-new proposition put l(nrward by the actuaries for a flat 3660 contribution by the Government in addition to whatever annuity the individual employe's own contribu- tions may provide. Both House and Senate Civil Service committees are ready to re- nort the liberalized bill promptly. It is probable that the first action will come from the House commitiee | whose subcommittee has drafted the bill. The committee has gone carefully over its provisions and ap- proved it. Chairman Lehlbach sev- eral days ago issied a statement to this effect. Since then Mr. Lehibach has stated positively that he will re- port the bill on receipt of the cost figures which are to be the basis of his report. Senators in Agreement. the agreement | i subcommittee on the and have discussed thoroughly the rates and methods of computing annui- ties, but are awaiting the cost fig- ures 1o complete drafting the measure. Senator Stanfield, chair- man of the subcommittee, has stated that the subcommittee will be called together to decide on a bill as soon as _the actuaries report reaches him. Renewed optimism for early action on the measurs in beth House and Senate was expressed in a statement issued last night by Robert H. Alcorn, chairman of the joint conference of Civii rvice employes on retirement who is in daily conference with mem bers of both House and Senate com- | mittees. Secretary of the Interior Work said last night that he will transmit to the Civil Service committee of Congress tomorrow morning the report of the actuaries. With the report will go a statement from the Sécretary himself, with recommendations. Flat $600 Contribution. Figures contained in the voluminous document from the board of actuaries have been kept a State secret, but it is known that there are six different sets of figures, including one for the | new plan evolved by the actuaries themselves. This new plan, which has been de- | veloped in comprehensive fashion, is understood to include as its principal feature payment by the Federal Gov ernment to each employe,' regardless of his salary at retirement, of a fiat annuity of $600. On top of this wouid be added the annuities which would | be forthcoming from the contributions | made by the employe into the retire- ment fund. This system of a flat sum contribution by the Government, it is belfeved by the actuaries, would pro- vide an equitable relation between the Federal Government and each em- ploye, and at the same time allow { sach contributor to the fund to obtain from it more nearly what he had put in than under some other plans. This system, it is understood, would cost no more than some of the other pro- posals for liberalization. Such a plan, it is contended. would serve also to insure the steady par- ticipation of the Federal Government, along the principles laid down in the act, which contemplates contributions by the Government. So far the Gov ernment has not paid out one cent for retirement, all of the annuities having come out of money paid in by the clerks themselves. Federal Debt 1iling Up. Under the present procedure it is estimated that the Government, in stead of paving its $18,000,000 an. nually into the fund, to be computed at 4 per cent compound interest, is now ahout $100,000,000 behind in its payments. \With the rapid accumula tion of the Government's debt to ward retirement, it has been calculat- ed that unless a change is made in the present administration, a staggering load will suddenly be dumped onio the Federal budget theoretically some day in the future. Under the present law as constituted, employes, pay more than two-thirds of the cost of retire ment, althouzh at present they are actually paying the entire coat. Computations of the six different plans are based on the principle that the load will be the heaviest for tne first 30 vears, but that beginning with the thirty-first vears all those who re- tire will have been paying into the fund since the opening of their er= ployment period. During the first 30 years many persons will he retiring who have paid into the fund for only 2 few vears, since the enactment of the first retirement law. Deginning at the thirty-first year the figures are based on what is known as the “nor mal cost.” | Much Work Involved. | The figures of the actuaries ara | based on a survey of Governmeph personnel made through the Civil Service Commission by the use of | more than 380,000 cards. Data from | these cards was tabulated by the Bureau of the Census, worked on at the Bureau of Efficiericy under direc tion of the board of actuaries, studied here, sent to New York and returnec to Washington in time to be submit tted to Secretary Work at 4 o'clock Friday_afternoon. Dr. Work was occupied yesterda:* in drafting the report he is to maks to Congress in submitting the volumi- nous document of the board of actu aries. The document will ba printed as soon as possible after submission and _the subcommittees will plunge (Continued on Page 2, Column H the Senate reached an In has