Evening Star Newspaper, November 9, 1926, Page 4

CHIVALRY DROPPED BY HALL DEFENSE Velvet Gloves Stripped Off and Steel Hands Applied to State Witnesses. BY FRANCES NOYES HARI Special Dispateh to The Star SOMERVILLE. N. J.. November § ~The defense in the Hall-Mills trial Yesterday showed that it hadn't the faintest intention of being bound by any of the traditions of chivalry that have hitherto heen supposed to hang about it like a fine aroma. Fears have been pretiy zenerally expressed that Mr. McCarter and his colleagues would be so appressed hy the knowl- edge that they were scholars and gen tlemen thal ‘they would forget that as a murder trial and think that ety stated that these The defense has obviously de ta la prim ftive In its ¥. Every witness for the prosecution is to be (reated as an embryo crook or a full-fAedged =coundrel. The defense implies openly and boldly and frequently that evi- dence has been tampered with and, what is more, that it is likely 1o be tampered with again. It has urgently requested the court to take custody of the exhibits rather than leave them in the hands of “what is called the State.” Brings Roar From Simpson. What is called foars are g the State”” roars the outraged prosecutor “Your hon or, may 1 ask whether 1 am to be subjected to this kind of thing?> Am I the State or am I not the State?” Down through the age Louls of France’s magnificent arro- gance, “The state, | am the siate!” Judge Parker hends his fine old head in rather weary acquiescence. Cer tainly, certainly. Mr. Simpson is the sState. Te is evidently, however, not a very sovereign State, in %o far as the counsl for the defense is concerned On the contrary. the defe ently has decided to re ~pecles of highly unscrupulous blood hound. and is willing to take any amount of pains to make this impr sion perfectly clear. The defense started to strip off the velvet gloves and apply the steel hands at about 5 minutes past 10 The first witn G. Russell Gilder- sleeve, wa= pcermitted unmolested to state that he had seen Mrs. Miils and Dr. Hall on Broadway several vears hefore the murders. He was dismissed without cross-examination, while Mr. McCarter sat meditatively flexing the steel fingers, The next. wisness did not fare so well. Young Robert Erling is among those who were present in the lane that night and who now wish they had gone somewhere else Tries to Shield Girl. This luckless lad. in order to cor- rohorate Jane Gibson's story that she was in the lane at about 10. states that she passed him riding on her mule, Jenny. as he sat parked in his nutomobile with a girl. In spite of furious protests on his part, the girl's name was jerked out of him. and Mr. MecCarter then devoted the bétter part an hour endeavoring to make it seem simply preposterous that any voung man should want to spend an vening with a girl after having spent & whole dav with her. 1t is difficult to believe that even Mr, MeCarter i so venerabla as to have forgotten the days when such a performance would not have seemed ritogether fantastic. Fven.on the faces of the oldest of the jurymen a fugitive and reminiscent gleam could ha detected behind the steel-bowed Epectacies. Mr. McCarter wanted very much to know whether Erling hadn’t tried to hribe another Loy to say that he. too, was in the lane that night, and did not seem to have his suspicions put £t rest hyv Erling’s mildly indignant denial. e did not. however, shake Erling’s story an jota. Some of that story bore the earmarks of truth. in that it was not too ofrcumstantially t Erling said that he had heard no shots. no screams. no creaking wagon. Surely a llar would not have found it difficult to enter those shop worn items in the inventory of things heard and seen in the lane that night, but it seems perfectly possible for one not too decrepit to remember youth that the shots rang out and the wagon creaked in one world. and that Firling and the girl. walking down the tittle lane under a skv of Autumn &tars, moved through another Registrar Put on Stand. Walter Scott. assistant State regis trar. was put on the stand in order 10 identify two reports submitted in crder to obtain burial permits. The Ntate Implied. brieflv but unmistak- 2blv. that these documents might well bhe irregular. and that if they weren't then the signatures were prob. ably forged. With these minor reser vations, it permitied them to be en tered in evidence At 1230 a recess was called for Junch. and it was observed that Mrs. Yiall was wearing a new black coat, with silky black fur at throat and wrist. and that Senator Simpson was exhibiting a cream-colored fedora that was undoubtedly the most cream-col cred fedora that ever topped five feet nothing of masculine humanity. Vio. lent interest was expressed on all sides as to what would happen if the “kidnaped” Mrs. Gibson could not ap- pear for the rumored three weeks. Opinfons were expressed with great snimation but little authority At 1:30 the court arrived, the jury avrived, counsel arrived. the accused arrived and Fred Drewen arrived Mr. Drewen. a large. pleasant look £ dapper voung man with a mas ve black pompadour, whowas recalled | Willie | for recross-examination on Stevens’ - fingerprints. evidently spent the first few minutes under the pleasing hallucination that this cross examination was to be a perfunctory affalr. He was rudely disillusioned He Smiles Often. 1f the man worth while is the man who can smile when evervthing goes dead wrong, Mr. Drewen is very worth while. indeed. He was still smiling when he climbed from the wit- ness box. hut the smile was a fixed &nd mechanical shadow of its former exuberant self. No matier how hon est Mr. Drewen may he. there must have been moments when he thought himself metamorphized into Jimmy Valentine and “Gip the Blood" and Gerald Chapman. He would have had to be a supercrook indeed, to rate Mr. McCarter's tone Before he got down he had contra dioted himself profusely and admit ted that he had taken the fingerprints to the Dally Mirror to be photo- graphed t ko good. Mr Drewen. still, he descended smiling, having haintalned that these were the law Zully obtained fingerprints of Willte Stevens. Willlam Garvin. an ex Burns detec tive. was next indiscreet enough to claim that Gorsline had told him in 1923 that he had seen Henry Stevens with a gun in De Russey’s lane the night of the murder. That statement fafled signally to meet with the de- fense's approval and the steel hands of the erstwhile co-witty leader of the New Jersey bar got in some geod lusty cuffs; but Mr. Garvin remained com paratively unperturbed, even when asked whether his nickname was no At the end ot 1 e en ! easan! boun, he mnhnh&&h THE EVENING ISTATE AND HALL DEFENSE (Continued from First Page.) { contention that the prints could have {been made hy an animal belonging to any one of the thousands of sight- seers who thronged the spot four vears ago and carried away the crab. apple tree, bit by bit, as well as grass, ishes and every slightest article vhich could be termed a souvenir. Schwartz testified that he had found the two cedar trees and the stump at which Mrs. Gihson asserted she tied her mule and that the hoofprints were | nearby. Court Stops State. draw from the witness the reason ‘\Ah,\ he quit his investigation at the | icene of the crime after only one idav's work A calling card of the Rev. Mr Hail's bearing no fngerprints and, which Schwartz said hLe obtained and kept as a souvenir was the cause of another of the frequent clashes ha tween Simpson and McCarter. Simp son, in contending that a question he had asked should stand, sald that the defense attorney intimated that Schwartz had concealed evidence. and in effect charged the fingerprint ex- pert with malfeasance in office. McCarter today again assailed what he said was “the disconnected w: y in which Simpson was presenting evidence. “One of the most dangerous things, especially in capital cases,” said the senior defense attorney, “is to present disconnected evidence. As in previous rulings. Justice Charles W. Parker, presiding at_the trial, sald he would allow the State to present its evidence as it has been, | on the understanding that it is all to be connected later. Simpson, in an effort to offset the detense’s move with regard to the calling card, alleged to bear the im- print of Willie Stevens’ left index fin- ger, put to the witness in re.direct | examination questions to show the whereabouts of the card while in Sch- wartz's possession. Prints Are Compared. “1 photographed it and then com pared it with finger prints in our col lection to see if any of them matched it,” said the witness Yesterday Schwartz had said that there are fingerprints of 3.000 crimi nals and suspects in the Jersey City Police Department This number failed to give any clue to the slayers of Rev. Mr. Hall and Mrs. Mills. Schwartz today denied ever telling John R. Phillips, Jr.. an attorney of i Asbury Park, N. J.. that there was no finger print on the calling card, which | the State now contends béars the im- i press of Willie Stevens’ finger! hat Is the longest time you ever knew a prirt to be made of a finger- print, after it was made?” Simpson asked. “Nine months."” MeCarter taking the witness again for cross examination, asked: “You sald a fingerprint lasts nine months?” “Why, it may last 10 year replied the witness. Faurot Takes Stand. At the end of Schwartz's testimony Faurot was recalled. Faurot said he was “Johnny on the job” in New York fingerprint work for 20 vears. Going into the method of identify- ing fingerprints, McCarter attempted i The court refused to let the State | BATTLE OVER FINGERPRINTS Mrs..Gibson Styles Herself ‘Babe Ruth’ Of Hall-Mills Trial By the Associated Press. JERSEY CITY, N. J., November 9.—Mrs. Jane Gibson, star State's witness in the Hall-Mills murder case. who is ill in a hospital here, expects to be “the Babe Ruth of the trial.” “You've got them on the run.™ she told a detective who visited her for special prosecutor, Alexander Sitmpson esterday, “but just wailt until T get well. it 1 drop dead after testifving I'm willing to meet my God. I have nothing but the truth to tell, but God knows how I want to tell it. Mrs. Gihson has pvelitis, a kid- ney infection. Doctors say she can not leave the hospital “‘for at least two weeks." to bring out that in the “arch” print, <uch as that of Willle Stevens. its identification is made by compa. of the prinis. Faurot seemed to et great faith in superimposition, the placing of transparencies containing the two prints one over the other. “Is it not a fact that in an arch picture the prints are distinguishe: by the characteristics of the arches?” asked McCarter, as if preparing for a later attack on_ the’ identification of prints on the calling card found near Mr. Hall's bods Simpson obfected rather lengthily, the court overruled him ‘and McCarter appeared uncertain as to the outcome. Objects to Simpson “Speech.” “lsn't the ruling satisfactory?” Jus tice Parker asked. ““Yes, your honor. but it wasn't sat- {isfactory for Senator Simpson to make {a speech,” repiied McCarter. d be very much ashamed if | were satisfactory 1o Mr. McCarter,” | snapped Bimpson. McCarter was accused of “clown- ing” by Simpson, when Faurot refer- red again and again to “super-imposi- tion” and held up the transparencies. “That is the great pooh-bah,” said McCarter, laughingly. “Yes, ves, 1 won't forget it, I won't forget it “Mr. MeCarter, will you proceed with your examination?” the court asked. I wesn't aware that 1 wasn't.” re- plied McCarter, with great dignity. Then Simpson put in, “Why, you were making a speech. We object to_your clowning it,” he said. William Garvin, who was with the Burns agency in New York when the murders occurred, gave the outstand- ing testimony for the State vesterday. He sald that on October 1, two weeks after the murders, Ralph V. M. Gor line, a vestryman in Hall's church, came to his office, and withholding his name, told of being in De Russey's lane the night of the slaying and of seeing Henrv Stevens there with a gun in his hand. Gorsline denled this when he was on the witness stand last week. PROBERS PROMISE TO HEAR D. C. HEADS ON McCARL CHARGES (Continued from $600,000 recently taken from the sur. plus funds of the District to pay the increased cost of land to complete the connection between Rock Creek and Potomac Park, all of which could have been purchased when this Fed- eral project was started for $1,300,000, but which now costs $1,900,000, with the District called upon to pay all of the increase. Representative Houston suggested that a monument should be erected on the Fort Stevens site to the mem- ory of the late Willlam V. Cox when Mr. Consaul explained how Mr. Cox from his personal funds had saved this land for park purposes. This il- lustration was given in reply to an inquiry as to what sort of spirit the owners of property snowed here when the Government seeks to acquire land for Capital beautification. Mr. Con- saul also called attention to recent gifts of valuable park and playground sites by Charles C. Glover and Mrs Anne Archbold. Mr. Consaul sald that the Mount Pleasant Association went on record as opposed to electing members of the school board. He advocated changes in the zoning law, saying that suffi- cient funds are not provided for proper operation of the corporation counsel's office. In closing his statement Mr. Con- saul told the committee that “all the citizens’ associations appreciate deep- Iy the sympathetic consideration your committee are giving to District mat- ters, which is in marked contrast to the attitude of some committees in the past.” A number of illustrations of how the zoning law is operating, contrary to the intent of this legislation, were cited by Edgar B. Henderson, presi- dent of the Piney Branch Citizens Assoclatlon, who is chairman of the committes on zoning of the Feder- ation of Citizens’ Associations. e was asked by Chairman Gibson to drafi an amendment to the zoning law which he thought would correct the conditions which he complained about Alton B. Carty, president of the Co- ;mbia Heights Citizens’ Association, argued that the Public Utilities Com- mission should be separate and dis- tinct from the Board of District Com- missioners. He also opposed any in- crease in street car fares. Ohio Dry Chief Dies. DELAWARE, Ohlo,, November 9 | #).—Judge E. L. Porterfield, Federal prohibition administrator for the Ohio-Michigan district, died in & hos- pital here shortly after noon toda: lid Gorsline, eyed him carefully, re: quested him to turn his profile remarked briefly and decisively, “That's the man Edward Schwartz, the Newark fin gerprint expert, went turther and fared worse. He falled to explain to any one’s entire satistaction why he had never toid his superior, Capt Maeon, that fingerprints had been dis- covered on the card found at Dr Hall's heel, or why that card rémained i for years in his possession, or why he turned it over to the Daily Mirror. The only thing that he was supremely emphatic about was that he did not recelve 10 cents for handing it over, far less $10,000 His contemptuous guffaw at the lat ter suggestion seemed perfectly gen- uine for one who is rapidly becoming a connoisseur in faws, but did not prevent Mr. McCar- ter repeating this extremely intimate question with added emphasis. Mr. McCarter did the best work that he has done 80 far in cross-questioning this witness, but from the point of view of the unprejudiced bystander his performance still leaves something to be desired. He loses about 50 per cent of his effectiveness by his inter. minable conferences with his col- leagues, and constantly gives ihe fm- pression of being rather badly prompt ed. 1f this trial were a foot ball r, M contemptuous guf-| v WOULD AWARD CONTRACT TO CHARLESTON COMPANY Engineer Officer Plans Construction of Derrick Boat and Shell Dredge for Anacostia Project. Maj. Brehon H. Somervell, United States Engineer Officer for this Dis- trict, today recommended to the Chief of Army Engineers that the Charles- ton Dry Dock & Machine Co. of Charleston, S. C.. be awarded the bid for construction of a derrick boat and clam-shell dredge, which will be used in the Anacostia Park project. Owing to the short distance between several bridges crossing the Anacostis River and the water-line, a special boat must be constructed as available engineer equipment cannot get up the river. The, bld_of the Charleston com- pany was $66.950.46 and the time for construction was placed at 175 days. The lowest bidders from the stand- point of time was 130 davs but the difference in cost after being equated for time completion was $976 in favor of the South Carolina concern. Eight companies submitted bids . for the boat. CITY NEWS IN BRIEF. The Tennessee Society of Washing- ton will meet Saturday, 9 p.m., at the Willard Hotel. Music, dancing and cards. The Parent-Teacher Association of Powell Junior High School will meet in the sohool tomorrow, 3 p.m. Mrs. Harriet Hawley Locher will be prin- cipal speaker. The George Baldwin McCoy Unit, American Women’'s Legion, will meet Friday, 10:30 a.m., at the Church of the Covenant. The seven P. E. 0. chapters of the Distriot of Columbia will have their annual get-together meeting tomor- row, 8 p.m., at the Arlington Hotel. All non-affiliated members are invited. The Sojourners’ Club will meet to- morrow, 8 p.m., at the Colonial, to celebrate Armistice day. Lieut. Col. Thomas J. Dicksoh, former chaplain of the 1st Division, will give an ad- dress, “From Monarchies to Repub- lics.” Other prominent officers of the Legion will speak. Alumnae Chapter, Kapps Beta Pi National Legal Sorority, will meet at luncheon tomorrow at the Willard Hotel. Honor guests and speakers will include Mrs. Garfleld Hays Riley, dean of the Washington College of Law; Prof. Willlam Van Vleck, dean of George Washington University Law School; Prof. Eugene Carusi, dean of the National University Law School; Miss Beatrice Clephane, grand dean Kappa Beta Pi, and Miss Marle A. Flynn, grand registrar. ‘The Burleith Circle-Child Conserva- tion League will meet Friday after- noon at 3 o'clock, at the home of Mrs. William A. Smith, jr., 8617 R street. = Soclety of Virginia, The Medical Maryland and the Distriot of Colum- bla will meet tomorrow, 11 a.m., at the Raleigh Hotel. Entertalnment and luncheon will begin 1:30 p.m., and there will be six speakers. Michigan Park Citizens’ Association will meet tomorrow, 8 p.m., at 4200 Thirteenth street northeast. The Optimist Club will hold a father and-son luncheon tomorrow, 13:30 p.m., in_the ballroom of the Harrington el. W Call ovide thsientarinimmany The Washington Wanderlusters will ‘flvo an ':,vner supper Th\:-ndny evening at e cl tvening ubhouse, “Franklin A lecture on “Reincarnation and Memory” will be given at the United Lodge of Theosophists, Hill Bufiding, Beventeenth and I streets, Thursday, 8 p.m. Public’invited. ¢ A musical and literary program will be given by the male quartet of Ver- mont Avénue Baptist Church Friday, & p.m., under auspices of the Tribe of wid,- Descoq, STAR. WASHINGTON, LOVERS THRONGED | NEAR DEATH SCENE Hall-Mills Trial Baring Buried Secrets of Murder Lane. BY DOROTHY DIX. Spectal Dispatch to The Star. SOMERSET COUNTY HOUSE, SOMERVILLE. N. J. vember 9.—-The conclusion is | capable. The petters of New Brunswick must have held a mass meeting in De Rus- sey lane on the night on which Dr. Hall and Mrs. Elcanor Mills were siain. and how any one could have | pulled off a murder in that crowd without bumping into his friends and neighbors and have gotten away with- it being discovered must forever re- main one of -the unsolved mysteries of crime. The second week of the trial opened cheerily with the testimony of another of the local sheiks, who was also among those present at the old tryst- ing place on the night of September 14, 1922. His name should not have been plain Robert Erling. but Sir Galahad, for he fought mightily and galiantly to defend the name of his weetie” until the judge forced him to reveal it “For.” quoted he, “‘she is now mar- ried to another and the mother of two children, and I fear that it may get her into trouble if it becomes known that she was there.” Which wns spoken like a true knight. But let us trust that the lady’s husband is a free soul who will not take a narrow and prejudiced view of a little midsummer madness. Parked in Lane. COURT- No- ines- ~. Erling was an obviously unwill- ing witness, but after much hemmin| and hawing he admitted that he an the girl "arrived at De Russey lane about 8:30 o'clock in the evening and that thev parked their car and re- mained there until after 11 o'clock. During that time he saw Jane Gib. son come riding along on her old mule, Jenny, and she stopped and peered into his car, but he turned his face away from her and did not speak, 80 that she might not recognize him. He also saw two cars in the lane. One he took to be a Ford sedan, the other @ big touring car with the cur- tains on. Both cars drove toward Hamilton avenue, and he saw them no more, nor did he know who thelr oc- cupants might be. Neither did he sce or hear anything of the shooting. He merely confirmed Mrs. Gibson's story of her nocturnal excursion. It will be recalled that Ralph Gorsline, one of the vestrymen in Dr. Hall'? church, and Miss Catherine Rastall, another chofr singer, were likewise among the Kzlllndererl along the lane. They ve both testified that they heard mumbling voices in the darkness and then three shots, whereupon they fled from the spot, looking neither to the right nor to the left. In particular was Mr. Gorsline most emphatic that on that occasion he did not see Henry Stevens. To contradict this assertion of Gorsline’s, a Mr. Garvin, a Burns detective, who is also known by the pleasing sobriquet of “Greasy Vest,” was placed upon the stand, and he told a most amazing story of an unknown man, who re- fused to give his name, seeking him out in his office and telling him_that he was present at the scene of the tragedy, and that he recognized Henry Stevens, who said to him, “What the h—— are you doing here? This is our affair. Get the h—— out of here.” He then fired two shots into the ground at his feet. Told Story to Prosecutor. Mr. Garvin had no idea at the time who this mysterious stranger was, nor why he chose thus to unbosom himself of this confidence to him. “Why daidn't you tell somebody about this at tNe time, when you knew all Somerset County was trying to, get some clue to whom the mur- derers might be?” demanded Gen. McCarter. “I did,” replied the sleuth. “I told Prosecutor Azariah Beekman.” “He is dead,” cynically commented Gen. McCarter. Practically the whole day was given over to the dull and dreary business of trying to trace the history of the little card that was found in the grass at Dr. Hall's feet, and which, the finger print experts have all testified, bears the print of Willie Stevens' left index finger. For four years this little bit of card- board has floated about, first in one man’s hand and then in another. One of the men who had it in charge said he supposed he had showed it to 1,000 people. It has passed through innu- merable hands, it has been photo- graphed for a newspaper, it has been the -very Wandering Jew in evidence, and yet upon tracing its every step the fate of three persons largely hange. So far it is the strongest link that the prosecution has been able to forge to connect the defendants with the murder, and it is therefore of the ut- most importance to them to prove that there is a sibility of this not being the card that was found at Dr. Hall's feet, or that in identifying the bodies Willie Stevens touched it, or that there was some careleseness in handling the card that nullifies it as evidence And so, hour after hour, Gen. Mc- Carter and Senator Simpson fought over the bit of pasteboard like dogs over a bone. It was interesting to watch how the two men handle a wit- ness. Gen. McCarter uses bulldog tactice. He mets his teeth in a ques- tion and worries it, and worries it, and worries it, until he wears the witness out, and sometimes, I fear, the jury. Senator Slmpson leaps at a witness like & tiger; gives him a shake or two and a claw that draws the blood if he doesn’t like his responses, and then sits back in his seat with the look of the cat that has just eaten the canary. Gallery to Simpson. As the flappers say, he has a slick Itne, and his quips and jeers never £all to bring forth a ripple of amused laughter from the audience. He is witty, with a biting, stinging wit. But what they laugh at isn't always humorous. y it is hysteria—the laughter of those whose nerves are strung as taut as fiddle strings. Song-r as I can judge, I should say that Senator Simpson has captured the ery. He amuses the onlook- ors; he furnishes the thrills, the dy- he gives them a run for their ‘money, in sharp contrast to stald, ulmaod. solid battery of lawyers for the defense, wtg letfofhno fl:l“mrk‘-. But the sympathy of the audience is unanimously - with Mrs, Hall s sparring between oes on Willle Stevens m“k:nd urned fl;". ouuo speaker then on another, as if he were a child trying to follow his teacher. He has very black eyebrows. that go up at the corners and a big horseshoe wrinkle in his forehead that makes his face a sort of a human in-: terrogation mark, as if all of his life he had been asking what was every- thing about and trying vainly to un- derstand it. And every now and then Mrs. Hall turns on him a look of maternal ten-| derness, as if she were tryving to reas-, sure him and to take care of him in' this extremity as she has done all of all he js & PROPOSES 230 D. o TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 9, 1926. {TAX PLAN OPPOSED AS MELLON MILLION CREDIT Smoot Against President's Project, But Is Cautious in Comment—Norris Would Apply Mongy to Public Debt. By the Associated Press. The political whirligig of the Capi- tal revolved today around President Coolldge’s proposal for individual and corporation tax returns from the Gov- ernment flacal surplus. Secretary Mellon, after a White House conference, suggested that the proposed income tax refund be effect- ed by crediting the payer on the first two installments to be pald next year on this year's income, the credit be- ing made as high as 1215 -per cent of next vear's total taxes. No sooner had this plan become public than rumblings of disapproval were heard from the Capito! at the other end of Pennsylvania avenue. Senator Smoot, Republican, Utah, chalrman of the finance committee, which would handle any tax bill, in- dicated that he did not approve the general proposition. but cautiously refrained from comment pending & more complete study. Norrls Enters Discussion. Accusing both Republicans and Democrats with plaving politics with the tax question, Senator Norris, Ne- braska, Republican insurgent leader, declared jhat any ‘Treasury surplus should bf devoted towretiring the pub- lic_debt, The dpmment of Senator Democrat, South Carolina. on the President’s plan was limited to one word—*"Bull.” At the White House conference Secretary Mellon convinced the Presi- dent that an immediate refund from income taxes collected this year would be too expensive from an administra- tive standpoint, but he l\cc:vte:‘::l‘e roposal to divert his surplus v Prom “debt retirement and into the pocket of American taxpayvers. Mr. Mellon. however, increased to a refund of 12% per cent. the Presi- dent's proposal of between 10 and 12 per cent. Total of $250,000,000. The credit must be taken in the first two installments, the March and June payments, to enable the Gov- ernment to adjust its books by the close of the fiscal vear on June $0. The refund would total approximately $260,000,000, the amount the surplus is expected to reach at that time. Secretary Mellon emphasized that he did not appnove any general tax revision at the December session of Congress, explaining that under Presl- dent Coolidge’s plan, “with the ‘Treas- ury and the taxpayer both protected, we can fairly await further exper ence under the revenue act of 1926. The Secretary’s statement follows: “The Federal Government in time of peace should meet its expenditures from current revenues. The source of 8 government’s revenue is taxation. Taxation must be sufficient to carry out the policles which the Federal Government deems essential for the welfare and happiness of its citizens. It is the duty, therefore, of the Gov- ernment to determine what policies should be essential, and If they can be more than met over & series of years from tazation, to reduce taxes. Conversely, if the governmental rev- enues are not sufficient, then it is the duty of the Government to increase taxes. War Results Cited. “After every great war abnormal expenditures can be reduced, but at the same time there is an opposing tendency of normal! expenditures to increase due to the growth of the country and the increase in govern- mental activities. This latter increase tends to neutralize and ultimately overcomes the reduction of war ex- penditures even with the economies in government which this administra- tion has enforced. To:iu‘l oxpendm:u: chargeabls against ordinary receipts nf..:|.x billlon in 1920, the first real peace year, dropped to three and one- half billion in 1924, but, by reason of the increased activities of the Gov- ernment, further decreases in ex- penditures have not been possible and the tendency has been for these expenditures to increase slightly in spite of the very considerable saving in interest on the public debt through its retirement and refunding at lower interest rates. “The suggestion has been made that the expenditures of the Government could be decreased by altering the sinking fund provision and the use of the proceeds of repayments of foreign loans. These provisions were adopted by Congress during and after the war, and on the faith of them every Gov- ernment obligation sold by the Treas- ury since that time has been taken by the American people. 1 need not again express my opinion that the United States will never repudiate a — e ered him. He has always been her little boy that never grew up. Willie Still Childlike. For Willie Stevens is a Peter Pan who has stayed a child. He has still a little boy's instincts, and loves to run with the fire engines and is happy when they let him polish up the brass on the shiny engine, and he babbles like a child. Those who know him well say that he hss none of the power of repression that we grown- Ups acquire by way of defense as we grow older. He tells everything that comes into his childish mind—the sort of things that shame and vanity make sophisticated people hide in their hearts—and they argue that if he knew anything at all about the mur- der of Mr. Hall and Mrs. Mills he could not possibly have kept from telling it, and that assu he would have told it in the twenty-odd- hour grilling that the police gave him at the time of the tragedy. 'And so, as the mystery deepens in this case, we ask other could a man like that know & 'k and dread- ful secret and hide his guilty knowl- from the clever and astute de- teotives who trfed to dreg it from him? And if he knows nothing what- evgr about it, how came his finger on the futal card? . print on et 10363 | ORIENTAL BUILD- ING ASSOCIATION NO. 6 600 F St. N.W. Established 1861 Savings Accounts —are safely and mest profitably eposited e with us! s We Have Never Paid Less Than 5%% On Regular Monthly Paymeats Blease, | Y contract which it has made with the purchasers in good faith of its secur- ities. An early repayment of our debt has been the policy of this country after other great wars in our history. It is sound policy that in the davs of our prosperity we should prepare for the next emergency. Turns to Receipts. “If it does not seem probable that we can contemplate a reduction in Government expenditures in the next few years, then we must turn to a consideration of Government receipts in order to determine to what extent, if at all, taxes can be reduced. These receipts have been of two general classe: . “During the war and in the period of post-war adjustment the Govern- ment made what might be called cap- ital investments in such things as war supplies, new surplus, loans to rail- roads, investments in the War Fi nance Corporation and in the bonds of the Federal Land Banks. In the last five flscal years receipts from these and other similar sources ha returned to the Treasury some 395 000,000. During the same period col lection of back taxes over refunds of taxes, a contribution also from &u( ears, has brought in $400,000,000. “In’ the current flecal year net re. ceipts from similar revenues, includ- ing net back taxes, should be $250, 000,000. In the next fiscal year sim- ilar receipts should be about $50,00 000, a decrease of $200,000,000. Of the investment assets there remain about $400,000,000, but the greater part is of doubtful or slow character, and by the close of the present flscal year, in June, the Internal Revenue Bureau shouid be substantially current on back tages, and this item as & ma- terfal net receipt will disappear. In determining Government receipts for future years, therefore, this class of rceipts can no longer be relied upon. Current Taxation Recelpts. “The second general class is the re- ceipts from current taxation, which consist of customs, income taxes and miscellaneous internal revenue, and it is upon these current taxes that the Government must now rely for its revenue. In the divisions of the spheres of. taxation between the State and municipal governments on the one hand and the Federal Govern- ment on the other, one fundamental difference is particularly true. In goneral. taxes of the 'States and munictpalities are ‘' based upon real and personal property, the valuation of which is fairly constant, and upon other sources, such as franchise taxes, which do not vary substantially over a period of years. Federal Govern- ment revenue, on the contrary, comes almost entrely from sources which may and do fluctuate violently from year to year. Income taxes are based on a percentage of the income earned by the taxpayers. “A good year is immediately re- flected in increased income and more Government revenue, and & bad year will equally make itselt felt in de- creased income and less Government revenue. The greater part of the miscellaneous internal revenue taxes are dependent upon the purchasing power of the American people, which in turn reacts promptly to good or bad times. This is also true of cus- toms. If consumption falls off, im- ports immediately decrease and with them customs duties. Under our pres- ent, system we have abundant reve- nues when business is good, and we may expect diminished returns when conditions change materially. High Tide of Prosperity, “We are now at a very high tide of prosperity in the United States. There is no reason to expect at this time a marked reaction, but before determin- ing that permanent tax reduction can be had we must have reasonable as- surance of s continued flow from the sources from which our revenue is obtained. With only a few months’ test of the revenue act of 1926, com- mon sense requires that we do not act precipitately. We face the near ex- haustion of wartime assets and the necessity of putting our sole reliance for Government revenue upon a class of current taxes which are peculiarly. susceptible to large variations. “Tax reduction appliessnot to one year, but to every year after its adop- tion. Surplus is a casual happening, occurring in one year and not in an- other. A loss of revenue whcih could be easily sustained in the fiscal year 1927 might result in putting the bud- get in the red in 1929 and require the imposition of additional taxation. Business can easily adjust itself to & lowering of expenses through a re- duotion in taxes, but if a decline in prosperity should come business could not stand a raise in expenses through more taxes. J “The necessity that we do not mit our Government to an unsound fiscal policy for the future should not prevent the Government treating its taxpayers fairly in any particular year in which Government revenu are overabundant. I belleve in debt reduction along the program settled after the war, but I do not believe in the payment of a public debt to the undue burdening of productive indus- try. A balance should be maintained between debt reductions and tax re- ductions which is fair to all interests in our country. In Favor of Credit. W know now we shall ha considerable surplus in the fiscal year 1927 ending next June. The President has/suggested a credit on taxes vet to be paid during this fiscal year and I see no reason why the greater part of the expected surplus for 1927 might not be left in the pockets of the peo- ple of the country by a credit upon their income taxes. Thers is not time to pass legislation to cover the Decem- ber 15, 1926, income tax payment date, but before March 15, 1937, the Con- gross might - provide for this credit against all income taxes, both indi- vidual and corporate, which are due and payable in the first six months of the calendar year 1927, being the last six months of the Government's flscal vear. “If this policy were adopted by the Congress, we should end the fiscal vear having taken from our taxpayers only sufficient to carry out the essen- tial purposes of the Federal Govern- ment. We will not have handicapped the finances of the Government for the future by adopting a permanent reduction of taxes which in lean years might prove inadequate to our need: With the Treasury and the taxpayer both protected, we can fairly awalt further experience under the revenue act of 1926 ACCUSER OF BISHOP FACES CHURCH SUIT Copenhagen Methpdist Congrega- tion Claims Right to Expel’ Pastor From House. By the Associated Press. COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Novem- ber 9.—Rev. John V. Ingerslev, prinei- pal acouser of Dr. Anton Bast, who recently served thres months’ impris- onment for misuse of churity fund: was before the Superfor Court yes- terday on a complaint flled by the Methodist Church of Copenhagen. The church claims the right to expel Rev. Mr. Ingerslev from a house belonging to the church organization. The minister has made a counter- claim for 137,000 kroner (about $35,000) in compensation for expenses in mov- ing from the United States to Den- mark and for his dismissal ffom the ministry. Ingerslev's attorney pointed out that the conflict between his client and the bishop was due to alleged violation by Bishop Bast of the Handbook of Meth- odist Discipline. Just Naturally Curious. From the New York Ferald Trilune Mars was heard signaling us the other day. She probably was trying to find out how one of the foot ball games came out. NOW THRIFT AND Vars, bloomers, Prcoch pantics of WAL, OWEN DENIES ALL RUM CHARGES Twelve Prominent Illinois Men Testify to Veracity of Former Dry Chief. By the Aesociated Press. CHICAGO, November 8- -Twalve prominent citizens testified yesterday a8 to the integrity of Maj. Percy V. Owen, former director of prohibition in Illinots, and then the defendant, a Spanish and World War veteran, de nied every allegation made agains' him during_the 10 days he has been on trial in Federal Court with Lowell B. Mason, “dry” State Senator. for ?honlplrmc_ to violate the prohibition w. ‘The chief accusstion, that Maj Owep has accepted thousands of dol lars in bribes for fraudulent releases of sacramental wine, was made by Harry R. Schlau, who termed himseif an old friend of Maj. Owen. Tha de- fendant testified that they never had discussed wine bribes until Schiau came to him in a sanitarfum with a report that they were to be in dicted. “Did Schlau ever give you $50 in a glove “He did not,”” Maj. Owen replied Maj. Owen sald that when he as. sumed office he retained a number of persons employed under his predeces sor and only upon thres or four 6cos- sions while he was director did in- quiries or applications for wine re- leass permits come to his notice, and they, by routine, wera referred to a woman clerk. BENNY FRIEDMAN WINS IN TILT WITH FLORIST Obliges Firm to Abandon Use of His Name in Advertising Floral Shop. By the Astociated Press DETROIT, November 9. -— Benny Friedman, who captained the Uni- versity of Michigan to a conferemcse foot ball conquest Saturday, won a personal tilt yesterday with Benny Friedman, Inc. ‘With Romert M. Toms, prosecut ing attorney acting as referee, an agreement was reached whereby Benny Friedman, Inc.. will discon tinue using the name of Benny Fried man in advertising the merits of fts floral shop. Capt. Benny Friedman came to Ds troit today very peeved by rumors that he had been capitalizing his foot ball fame through the Benny Fried man Florist Shop. 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