Evening Star Newspaper, January 3, 1927, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. S. Weather Mostly cloudy, near freezing tonight: light rain with rising temperature tomorrow. Temperature—H today; lowest, 30, Full report on page 9. ¥Closing N.Y. Stocks Entered post office, No. 30,197. Bureau Forecast.) with temperature ighest, 37, at noon at 2 a.m: today. and Bonds, Page 10 second class matter Washington, D. i ch WASHINGTON, * WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION D. €., MONDAY, JANUARY ¢ Foening Star. , 1927—THIRTY-S1X PAGES. service. Sunday’s Circul (#) Means Associated Pri Saturday’s Circulation, The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press news 90,221 ation, 109,518 TWO CENTS. .+ 1,550,000 LOPPED OFF NAVY CRUISING " FUNDINHOUSEBILL $314,552,680 However, Maintains Fleet at Present Strength, | firclosed 1,200 MARINE CORPS REDUCTION REFUSED| No Provision Made for Construc- tion of Last Three Cruisers Authorized in 1924. By the Associated Press Proposing a cut of $1, 000 in the funds for cruising activities the United States fleet, but otherwise pro- viding for maintenance of the N about as it is now, the annual Navy Department appropriation bill was re- ported to tha House today by its ap- propriations committee. It carries a total of $314.552,680 for 211 branches of the Navy for the fiscal year beginning July 1, a decrease of $5,364, compared _ with current | funds, and $150,970 below budget rec- | ommendations ! The bill ¢ s no funds for start- ing construction of the last three of | the eight light cruisers authorized in 1924, | | | | | | | { Ready to Proceed. “With respect to new vessels,” the report said, “the committee is ready to proceed whenever the President shall so recommend. With the Presi- dent definitely counseling delay .in commencing the construction of the . three cruisers, because of negotia- tions looking to further limitations of armaments, the committee thinks it | is not wise to recommend a course in conflict with that program.” The committee refused to accept the budget proposal for a reduction | of 1,200 men in the enlisted strength of the Marine Corps, -and provided for continuation of its present size of 18,000 enlisted men, 1,020 commis-| sioned officers and 155 warrant condition of the| Navy is good,” the committee re- ported. “The personnel situation continues on the upward trend. Both | will improve, the committee believes, under this bill.” Provision is' made for continuing naval enlisted strength at $2,500 and ;h:n‘(rmo;«l‘ strength, including line, s and warrant officers, at_8710. The food ration is based on 85 gentul per day per enlisted man. The allotment for cruising is cut from $13,950,000 to $12,000,000. Rear Admiral Charles Morris toid the com- mittee during hearings on the meas- ure that this cut probably would “amount to a reduction of about 8 per cent in the steaming radius of the United States flee Fuel 0il Cost Cut. The committee, however, said that | & reduction -in the cost of fuel oil would equalize the situation to some extent. The measure was drafted, the com- mittee report asserted, with a view to | providing for operation and mainte- nance of the airplane carriers Sara- toga and Lexington and the subma- rme V-4, all to be launched during the year, Tt also said the Alr Service appropriation of $19,790,000, plus a contract authorization of $5,000,000, was designed to carry out the five. r building program approved by | Congress last Winter. ““The 1,000-plane program was based on a wastage of 3314 per cent an- nually,” the report said. “More, re- cent tudies suggest that approxi- mately 23 per cent would be more nearly accurate. There is an increase (in apprepriations for t year) of 8 ,712 and of $900,000 in the con- tract authorization.” The committee said it had removed | the restriction on expenditures at Lakehurst, N. J., carried in the pres- ent law and had “done nothing to hinder the employment of the Los An- geles in any way the department might sec fit.”" g No New Dirigibles Included. No provision was included in the budget for any new rigid airships, and, while two twice the size, of the Los Angeles were contemplated in the five-year program, the committee called attention to the fact that the President, in his message transmitting the budget, specifically referred to this omission and gave his reasons, which “coincide with those advanced by this committee a year ago when it advoc: material In refusin Marine Cc reduction ministrative police consider wise togb: The bill cars 000 for con- tinuing improvements to Pearl Har- or, Hawaii: $1,000,000 for new anti- aireraft batteries for the battleships Tennessee and California, and a small appropriation for powder to replace that des d in the Lake Denmark, N. J., A det bill will be reporied later to appropriate funds for repaiving buildings and providing covering for material which the dis- aster left exposed The to reduce the size of the the committee said the involves a question of ad- ittee urged Congress to al helium for lighter- rting that the Pe 1s becoming exhausted. sted that if the contemplated in the five- )gram were built that they be constructed simultaneously and the savir ffected applied to erec- tion of r on the Pacific Co LABOR HITS RADICALS. Influential Leaders in Britain De- clare War on Communists. LONDON, January 3 (P, Daily says the most ential it Britain's labor 1 have clare open war munists in the t The reported decision is due to the fact of the extremist minority start- ng a n undermine the official leaders of the union, the paper adds. The campaign agair munists, it understands, will be launched immediately after confer ence of trade unfon executives, to be held Jenuary 20 and 21. The influ- moderate decided to de- ainst the com- ads unions. Express of « saders campa; to Measure.| 1 the gxperimental metal- | clad ship.” | which it did not} ndon. | two | ‘Rival Groups of Officials Stage Battle In Effort to Gain Rule in Jersey City t the com- | ight thrown on America’s naval status by the movement in Congres { for a ten-cruiser building prugram has uation of grave concern for those both in and out of Congr who would have this country main- tain a national defense system in keeping, at least, with the 55-3 ratio established in 1921 by the conference on limitation of armaments. The United States, Great Britain and Japan have adhered rigidly, it is true, to this apportionment in so as capital ships are concerned, but the five-year race among these powers in the matter of the allimportant light cruiser—second in offensive power only to the mighty battleship— finds Uncle Sam wallowing. in_the trough plowed up by energetic John Bull and our Oriental neighbor across the , Pacific. The pictire is a sad one for con- templation by American citizens who have been basking in the patriotic fervor of the Sesquicentennial year just ended. On the sidelines, complacently obedient to the circumscribed limits of the arms conference, lie the rugged battleships of the trio of nations. Their days of rivalty are over—their -races for supremacy curtailed by mutual agreement. Not so the speedy powerful cruis- [ENGLAND AND JAPAN LEAVE U.S. Great Britain Possesses 54, Oriental Power Has 25 and America Trails With Only 15 Vessels. ers. So long as they down to the weight limit tons and the gun maximum of § inches they arc untouched by the treaty. Their numbers are unlimited. In other words, cruiser competition | is_unrestricted. | Hence, the cruiser race is on—if | one is optimistic enough to call it a race from the American viewpoint. | Down the stretch, so to speak, comes | a formidable baftle array of grim-| looking eraft flying the Union Jack. | fty-four strong, they easily lead the | v for all others. The eager American, thoroughly schooled in his 3 ratio, instine- tively looks for ad heat. But the | not there. The | ightly to the rear. | The runner-up in_sight. A re:| splendent group of ships it is that | meets the eve. are some 25| strong and bristling with 8-inch guns | and anti-aircraft batteries, | But they are not riding beneath the | Stars and Stripes. Instead, there floats from the masthead the Rising Sun of Japan. There must be the observer mus gled Banner keep tralned of 10,000 W something wrong, | The Star Span- not in sight. Far away, however, through- the smoke laid down by the leaders, another group of cruisers can be distinguished. With the aid of a glass one even can make out the flag of v which (Continued on Page 3, Column 2.) LANDIS TO HEAR AGCUSED PLAYERS Rowland First of Many Called to Accept Bid to Hear-. ing Wednesday. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, January 3.—The base ball court of Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis, former Federal judge, is getting a crowded docket with a hear- ing of some of the most famous play- ers in the game set for next Wednes- day. Invitations were out today for Eddie Collins, Ray Schalk, Red Faber, Donie Bush, Clarence Rowland, and about 30 others, who were named in an affi- Javit given the commissioner Saturday night by Charles A. “Swede” Risberg. He told Landis that the Chicago White Sox, with whom he used to play short- top, fixed a four-game series Septem- ber 2 and 3. 1917, so that Detroit would lay down in four games and give the Sox a better chance for the pennant. Landis then set Wednesday as the date for further investigation, Some of those Risberg named as contributing $45 each toward a pres- ent of about $1,100 for the Detroit players admitted raising the pool, but | gave a different version of its circum- stances. Paid for Boston Defeat. Everybody knew, said Nemo Liebold, Sox outfielder at the time, that the Chicago team gave Detroit that money for beating Boston in: three games, September 19 and 20, 1917, killing the Red Sox chances of winning the pen- nant from the White Sox. The De- troit pitchers were not hired to lay down for the Sox, he said. Ray Schalk, the Sox new manager for 1927, admitted he gave his $45, and told the same story as Leibold. Rowland, who managed the White Sox that year and is now an American League umpire, denied any knowl- edge of the pool, and was the first to welcome the invitation of Landis to face Risberg and his charges Wednesday morning. Risberg’s two-hour recital Saturday night was confirmed by frequent nods from George “Buck” Weaver, who played third base for the Sox then. Weaver did not contribute his $45, Risberg said, but gave Oscar Vitt, Detroit outfielder, a handbag. ‘Weaver spoke up to verify this, and added that he made it in the form of a Christmas present. Risberg Denies Boston Version. The Boston version of the Detroit, present by the White Sox was the basis of a direct question by Landis at the hearing Saturday night. “When I first came into base ball,” the commissioner said, “I heard that the Sox had raised a pool to pay the Detroit pitchers or players to beat Boston. Was that the way of it?” “No,” said Risberg. “I never heard of that. The money was collected by myself and Chick Gandil (Sox first baseman), and was for paying the Detroit players to slough those two double-headers to us at Chicago on Labor day and the Sunday before. TRowland instigated the scheme, and he told me as we entered the dugout | for the first game that everything | was all fixed. “During one of the games Eddis i (Detroit shortstop) booted one | hit around and Eddie Collins said to I me “That's terrible work out there. The commissioner’s hearing Satur- day night, when Risberg arrived from “(Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) | | NICARAGUA ARMIES LET WOUNDED DIE Total Casualties in 3-Day Engagement Now Are Estimated at 452. | i { | | 0 | By tho Associated Press. MANAGUA, Nicaragua, January 3.—Final reports of the three-day battle last week at Las Perlas (Pearl | Lagoon) show it to have been the bloodiest of the present war between the forces of the Diaz Conservative goverrment, recognizedsby the United States, and the Sacasa Liberal govern- | ment, recognized by Mexico. (Previous dispatches said the Lib- erals were victorious, the Conserva. tives retiring their main body to El{ Bluff, where they werc disarmed by the American naval authorities. Their rear guard was overcome by the | Liberals.) i Of the 1,800 Liberals and 1,300 Con- | servatives engaged, 302 were killed | and 150 wounded. It is impossible to give the respective losses from these totals, the dispatches say. No attempt was made to bury the dead and many of the wounded crawl- ed off into the swamps to die. Thou- | sands of vultures are hovering over | the battlefield. ‘Wounded Left to Die. Frank R. Mitchell, World War vet- eran and soldier of fortune in many Central American fevolutions, today termed the scene after the battle as indescribable. “Hard-boiled as T am,” he said, “T had to turn away. I have never seen such sights in my career—not even in the World War, due to the lack of attention for the wounded.” The commander of the conservative army announces it will be necessary to call out every able-bodied male | between the ages of 12 and 50. He | has received requests from American | and other foreign planters to allow | the laborers to proceed with the coffee harvest, but says the laborers must g0 to the front. Charges of Mexican intervention in Nicaragua are renewed in a state- ment issued by Adolfo Diaz, President of the Conservative government, in power here. ““The future of Nicaragua and event- | ually of all Central America is at stake in the present conflict between | my government and the Calles ' gov- | ernment of Mexico,” the statement ! says. i New Expedition Charged. Another _ filibustering expedition | which he alleges was outfitted by the Mexican government is expected hours: ly on the Nicaragua Pacific Coast, Gen. Diaz says, and forces are pre. pared to repel it. The expedition, he | asserts, is the third “sent by the Calles government ‘against Nica- ragua,” and consists of arms, ammuni- tion, airplanes and Mexican military personnel. (Spokesmen for the Liberal govern- ment have denied receiving military aid from Mexico, declaring the arms shipped from that country to Nicara- | gua were purchased there with fund; l supplied by the Liberals themselv One spokesman ha id that possibly 15 Mexican volunteers are fighting for § ). Denying charges of American “dol- | lar dimplomac; Diaz says the Managua regime ‘“does not today owe one cent to any New York or foreign bankers.” | By the A JERSE N. J., January 3. | A burlesque of city government was being given today as two sets of offi- als played battledore and shuttle- | cock with municipal affairs. One set was appointed under the Democratic regime of Mayor John F. Boylan before it terminated New Year day. The other group are ap- pointees of Mayor Charles A. Mohn and his Republican-Fusion band. Today’s confusion seemed likely to continue until the courts shall have decided which group of officlals is en- titled to rule. A man arrested on a charge of driv- ng an automobile while intoxicated taken before Recorder's Clerk Willlam Day, Democrat, to be ar- raigned, but Republican Recorder Morris Umansky, who happened to be present, questioned Day's right to act, [ A heated verbal fight ensued, with Police Chief Menge insisting thé man should be tried by Umansky, and A Michael Lepore, former president of the city council, siding with Day. Arraignment finally was postponed indefinite pending decision of Police Commissioner Cox. A gang of workmen under Com- missioner of Public Affairs Dominic Elia placed new locks on many of the desks in city hall to keep riva officials away. Commissioner of Charities Willlam Tighe and his two assistants, ap- pointed by the Democrats two months ago, barricaded themselves in Tighe's office and refused to allow any one to enter without uttering a secret pass- SINCLAIR GRANTED FAR BEHIND IN LIGHT CRUISERS| $would result in sending it to confer- | thority to act in coal strike emergen- TEAPOT OIL REVIEW BY SUPREME COURT U. S. Request for Delay Pend- ing Doheny Elk Hills Decision Overruled. TRIBUNAL WILL PASS ON LEGALITY OF LEASE Case Has No Direct Bearing on Criminal Suits Growing Out of Contracts. Harry ¥. Sinclair was today grant- ed a review by the United States Su- preme Court to test out the legality of the Teapot Dome lease. In announcing it would review the case the court overruled a request by Government counsel that the Tea- pot Dome proceedings be suspended until the court had decided the pend- ing appeal in the Doheny Elk Hills oil ‘reserve proceedings. Lost in Lower Courts. Both Doheny and Sinclair lost in the lower Federal courts, which held | that the Teapot Dome and Elk Hills | leases were invalid. Both of these are civil suits, having no direct connection with the crim-| inal proceedings against Sinclair, Do- heny and former Interior Secretar Fall. Doheny and Fall recently wer acquitted on’ the criminal conspira charge lodged against them, and Sin- clair and Fall are to be brought to trial on a similar charge on Febru- ary 2. Bt o CONGRESS STARTS ONBUSY PROGRAM [ Seating of Smith to Be One| of ‘Senate’s Big Problems This Week. By the Associated Press. Congress returned to work today, | and it was far from the child’s play of the Kris Kringle suspension that faced it. Their oratorical organs supposedly in top form from the 1i-day respite, members went to their desks con- fronted with the almost hopeless task of completing action on the varied new year calendar in the two months | left in the Sixty-ninth Congress. Leaders, however, had planned to put'| through the legisiative thresher the | more important measures and leave | the chaff for next December's session. Some of the questions that will come up during the week on the floors and in committees are primary expenditures, provided Frank L. Smith,” Senator-designate from Illi- | nois, appears to take the oath; the Lausanne treaty with Turkey, rivers and harbors, annual supply bills, farm relief, railroad consolidation, sale of Federal patronage charges, coal and contested nominations. Base Ball Probe Likely. There also are prospects that the latest base ball scandal will come u for an airing, as well as the contr versy born in the holidays over the use of poisonous denaturants in in- dustrial alcohol. The Senate's program Was uncer- tain, due to the infpending battle over the seating of Smith. This, however, is not expected to get under way be- fore the middle of the week, when the late Senator McKinley's successor ar- rives to take the oath. Meanwhile, both sides are marshaling their forces, with Senator Curtis, the Re- publican leader, trying to persuade the Senate to admit Smith and then refer his case to the elections com- mittee, and Senator Ashurst, Demo- crat, Arizona, remaining firm in his purpose to press to a vote his resolu- tion withholding the oath pending in- vestigation by this committee of his qualifications. Today the Senate had only mis- cellaneous bills to consider for the first two hours, with the Lausanne treaty a probable vehicle thereafter. In the House Chairman Dempsey of the rivers and harbors committee had planned to ask immediate acquiescence in Senate amendments to the $60,000,000 omnibus rivers and harbors bill to stave off the delay that ence with the Senate. House Gets Navy Bill. The House received the annual ap- propriation bill for the Navy and e pected to have some time left for minor measures on the x'ulon_dnn The War Department supply bill, to be taken from the committee in the next few d: , will, with the Navy bill, keep the House busy most of the week. A fight was in sight on the latter, several members having ‘plan- ned to offer amendments to provide funds for construction of the three light cruisefs authorized but not ap- propriated for in 1924. Both houses faced an active com- mittee program today, the Senate elections committee turning its atten- tion to charges made against Senator Gould of Maine, while another hoped to put the finishing touches to the ag- ricultural supply bill already passed by the House. A subcommittee of { the judiciary committee was to start’ its inquiry into charges of the salo of Federal patronage. The House commerce committee planned consideration of numerous bills vesting the Government with au- cies and another proposing consolida- tion of the railroads. Emperor Hirohito Tl of Cold. TOKIO, January 3 (#).—Emperor Hirohito has a severe cold and is con- fined to his bed. The ceremony mark- ing the official beginning of Hirohito's regime, originally planned for tomor- Radio Programs—Page 30. row, has been postponed. The allment is not believed to be serious. 4} OUNG IS INDIGTED IN SAVINGS CASE Custodian of Christmas Cash of U. S. Employes Now Free on $7,500 Bond. George Harry Damon Young, cus- todian of Christmas funds of fellow employes of the War Department, was indicted today by the grand jury on a charge of larceny after trust. The specific complaint named in the indict- ment is made by Stanley F. Burrows of Bethesda, Md., an employe of the office of the quartermaster general. In all, 101 indictments were returned, five for first-degree murder. The indictments were reported to | Justice Hoehling in Criminal Division No. 1. The jurovs refused to indiet 41 persons against whom charges had been preferred by the police. This report concluded their work and they were discharged. According to the Young indictment Burrows between December 15, 1924, and. November 15, 1926, intrusted Young with a total of $265 for a Christmas saving fund, which has not been repaid, it is alleged. While only one charge is stated in the indictment, Detective Sergt. James A. Springmann, who investigated the case, said there was a large number of the employes of the War Department who had simi- larly intrusted their savings to Young. The total amount of the deposits said to have been made with Young is variously estimated from $10,000 to $30,000. Under $7,500 Bond. Young is under bond of $7.500 to await trial on the indictment, and At- torney R. Quigley, his counsel, has been investigating his accounts, it is stated, preéparatory to making a statement for his client. Young re- signed his position at the War Depart- ment and was supposed to be in New York until his counsel called on As- sistant United States Attorney Ralph (b‘.iven in Police Court to arrange his ail. Henry 1. Foster, former attorney in the office of the alien property cus- todian, is charged with embezzlement in two indictments reported by the grand ju After-retiring from the office, it is said, he appeared as at- torney for two alien women whose property had heen seized under the trading-with-the-enemy act and who were entitled to have returned a por- tion of the amount seized with the in- come from certain securities. Foster is charged with getting the checks, totaling nearly $5,500, and applying them to his own use. Foster was recently apprehended in Chicago and an effort will be mado by the local authorities to have him brought here instead of sending him to Oklahoma, where a charge is also pending against- him, it is reported. The checks alleged to have been embezzled were drawn on the Treas- urer of the United States by the alien property custodian. Two are made payable to the order of Foster as at- torney for Elizabeth R. von Wright and are for $3,289.01 and $1,592.55. The other two are payable to Foster as attorney for Victorla von Ehren- traut, one for $350.95 and the other for $251.05. Lawyer Is Accused. Embezzlement Is also alleged against Michael C. O'Brien, a member of the local bar. He is charged with col- lecting rents belonging to Alfred W. Cochran between August 12 and De- cember, 1925, and with using the money for himself. False pretenses are charged in four indictments reported against Harry M. Sieber in connection with invest- ments by four women in a syndi- cate sald to own a large tract of land and known as the Macbeth Palm Beach Syndicate in’ Florida. Laura E. Rosser claims she lost $100 on alleged misrepresentations, while Tuley W. Nelson invested $1,000, Edna Casbarian $100 and Margaret Brown $300, according to the indict- ments. Five persons charged with murder in the first degree are all colored. One indictment alleges a second-de- gree murder and another charges manslaughter. Ira Ralph Gray is said to have shot and killed Albert Gattas in front of a lunchroom at 115 Four-and-a-half street northwest after Gattas had re- fused the demand of the negro to turn over the contents of the cash register. The attempted hold-up and homicide occurred November 27. David Lucas is held responsible for ‘the death of Thomas Blair, at 609 Christian court southwest, November 28. Blair was struck with an iron bar following a ‘“dice” game, it is stated. First-degree murder is also charged agail Frederick M. Jackson in con- (Continued on Page 5, Column 2. A.| 1 FILIPINO TO SELL JAPAN FUGA ISLAND RIGHTS Negotiations Over Land Close to Luzon Due to Be Completed This Week. By the Associated Press. \ MANILA, January 3.—The Manila Times says Vincente Masigan, owner of Fuga Island, 40 miles north of Luzon and about 200 miles south of Formosa, will leave here this week with J. Danon, a Manila broker, to close negotiations for the sale of the island to a Japanese firm. Danon was quoted as saying the sale of the island to foreign interests came before Philippine government offictals and they considered expropri- ating it to prevent transfer of title to a foreign firm, but nothing was done in that direction. Danon also said the Japanese firm already has pald a part of the pur- chase price, 340,000 pesos, for an op- tion on the island. WALTER REED CARE SOUGHT FOR HOUCK Removal of Physician Pro- posed So He May Have Closer Attention. The necessary steps are being taken to have Dr. Knutt H. Houck, hus- band of Mrs. Gladys W. Houck, who has been missing from her Congress Heights home for nearly three weeks, transferred from Gallinger Municipal Hospital to Walter Reed Hospital for treatment. Dr. Houck has virtually recovered from the mental breakdown that afflicted him the same evening his wife disappeared. He, too, left his home suddenly and was found in New York temporarily insane. After being returned to Washington he was confined to Gallinger Hospital and has improved steadily since. Physicians from St. Elizabeth's, where Dr. Houck was a psychiatrist when the breakdown occurred, re- quested Assistant District Attorney George D. Horning this morning for permission to remove Dr. Houck to a private institution where he would have closer care. They said his mother, Mrs. H. K. Houck of Wis- consin, has asked them to act for her. Held for Investigation. Dr. Houck has been held for “in- vestigation” ever since his return to Washington. _ Although he has stoutly insisted he had not seriously harmed his wife, and detectives have failed to find a clue to her where- about, either dead or alive, Mr. Horning flatly refused to permit the young physician's removal from cus- tody until Mrs. Houck’s fate is de- termined. To forestall any possible attempts to have Dr. Houck ordered released on habeas corpus proceedings, Mr. Horning took steps immediately to have him confined indefinitely, and under guard, at Walter Reed Hospi- tal. As a young medical student, Dr. Houck was enlisted in the Stu- dent Officers’ Training Corps, which Mr. Horning believes will make pos- sible his removal to Walter Reed. The assistant district attorney be- lieves that once in Walter Reed Hos- pital, steps can be taken to prevent his removal again until the authori- ties are satisfled fls to Mrs. Houck's safety. Although they believe the at- travtive young wife and mother is in hiding somewhere, they have not dis- | carded altogether other possibilities, it was said. Another Relative Coming. It was learned at the same time that one of the reasons Mr. Horning asked Mrs. Houck's father, brother or brother-inlaw to return to Wash- ington from Canton, Ohio, was to check up on certain features of the case here. Capt. Ben E. Clarke of the Canton police, Mrs. Houck's brother-in-law, accidentally shot and severely wound- ed himself on the eve of his departure for Washingfon in response to this summons. Another relative now is expected to arrive here late today or tomorrow to answer the questions the local investigators feel should be cleared up. Pharmacists Elect by Mail. SEATTLE, January 3 (#).—Dr. C. ‘W. Johnson, dean of the school ‘of pharmacy the University of Wash- ington, had been informed that in a BAN ON SOLID-TIRE. VEHICLES UPHELD Supreme Court Supports ‘Traffic Director in Arterial Highway Decision. The director of traffic has the right| to exclude commercial vehicles, equipped with solid tires, from Six- teenth street and other arterial high- ways, according to a decision of the District Court of Appeals today ren- dered by Justice Charles H. Robb. The | court sustained the action of Judge George H. Macdonald of Police Court, | who had imposed a fine of $10 on | Eaton Smallwood, who drove a heavy truck on Sixteenth street last Febru»i ary. Chief Justice Martin concurred in the opinion, but Judge Hatfield, who sat in the case, dissented. In directing the traffic director to es- | tabl arterial highways or boule-| vards to expedite motor-vehicle traffic, the court says, Congress authorized | him to make reasonable regulations to carry out the provisions of the act. One obvious purpose of the act, the | court declares, was to provide for greater speed on these arterial high- ways, and this purpose is frustrated if the director may not exclude heavy trucks, which are admittedly hard to control in traffic, ‘and the speed of which is specifically limited by the traffic regulations. The court did not render an opinion | in the cases of Harvey Wheeler and | Fenton Goldman, who had been | charged with driving a horse-drawn | vehicle on Sixteenth street in viola- | tion of the regulation. The Police | Court there held the exclusion of the | horse-drawn vehicle to be invalid. Need of Regulations Cited. All regulatory provisions, the court points out, contain some degree of prohibition and regulations which half | a century ago would have been re-| jected as arbitrary and oppressive, but“ now are sustained by the courts under the comy conditions of the day. No one will deny, suggests Justice Robb, i traffic in cities of the size of Wash- ington has become a serious problem by reason of the increased use of motor vehicles. The safety and convenience pedestrians, motorists and using the streets call for regulations tending to expedite traffic and reduce congestion, the court points out. Con- gress has not only authorized the di- rector of traffic to regulate the speed and parking of automobiles and to register motor vehicles, but to make “such other regulations with respect to the control of traffic in the Di trict not in conflict with any law of the United States as are deemed advisable.” The court cited a_number of opin- ions holding that the use of public streets for the purpose ef travel is not an absolute and unqualified right, but is subject to be limited and con’ trolled by the sovereign power when- ever necessary for the public health safety and general welfare. In Com: monwealth vs. Kingsbury, 199 Mass, 542, the court sustained regulations prohibiting the passage of automo- biles over certain streets of a town, declaring that in choosing his vehicle every one must consider whether it is of a kind which will put in peril those using the streets differently in a reasonable way. That quoted with approval a decision ren- .dered more than 60 vears ago exclud- ing_omnibuses from certain streets of Boston. Defense Plea Overruled. Just as the Commissioners have the right to prevent push-cart venders from plying their trade in the con- gested business section, and it has been held reasonable regulation to require permits to operate automobiles and inflict penalties for failure by drivers to exhibit their permits, so the exclusion of heavy trucks from arterial highw: not be called unreasonable, the court holds. If the director lacks authority to promulgate the regulation under consideration, says Justice Robb, he also would lack authority to prevent the general use of arterial highways by push carts and other slow-moving vehicles, al- though such use would frustrate the intent- of Congress. of Soviet Bans U. §. Dances. MOSCOW, January 3 (#).—The American fox trot, shimmy and Charleston were forbidden today by the Soviet Supreme Council for Physi- cal Education as unfit for Soviet Rus- sia’s proletariat youth. Dr. Semashko, commissar of health, mail vote he was elected president of th‘e Americin Pharmaceutical Associ- ation, denounced the dances as ‘“indecent products of the fat American bour- geoisie.” that the regulation and control of | others | decision | SPEEDING DELIVERY TRUCKS CREATING AREIGN OF TERROR Light Cars Darting Past “Stop” Signs and Disre- garding All Regulations. LIVES OF»PEDESTRIANS CONSTANTLY IN PERIL Instances of Reckless Driving Cited by Wholesale—Employers Urged to Co-operate. BY WILLIAM ULLMAN. What amounts to a virtual reign of terror marks the traffic situation ex- isting today in the streets of the Na- tional Capital A class of irresponsible youths sit at the wheels of local delivery trucks and by reckless driving and careless speeding not only send helpless pedes- trians scurrying to safety, but bra- zenly usurp the rights of other mo- torists. Only too often these wantons mow down the hapless individual who is unfortunate enough to stand in their pathway, and frequently they collide with other - vehicles, at once endan- gering life and damaging property. Since there is nothing in the Dis- trict traffic regulations to indicate that the right of way belongs to the driver with the least amount of cour- tesy and the fastest moving vehicle, the terrifying and increasing practice of these dangerotis operators must come to an abrupt and decisive end. Greatest Single Menace. This is the consensus of observers of traffic conditions in Washington, who declare that the light delivery | car which dashes along at high speed and darts with perilous swiftness across intersections is the greatest single menace to life and property. Unless there is prompt action on the part of employers, traffic authori- ties, and police officials—action, which is decisive and which deals effectively with such undesirable situation—none but the most agile will dare venture upon the city’s streets with any as- surance of escaping bodily harm. Men and women, whose infirmities have slowed their gait, may avoid be- ing struck down only by the rarest good fortune. Escorts of the blind necessarily must hurry them along and at times almost carry them bodily out of harm's way. The | mother with babe in arms finds It difficult to keep her child from be- ing dashed to the pavement and her- self from being seriously and perhaps fatally injured. Law-abididg oper- ators of other cars are kept in a state of constant fear. This saturnalia of traffic law viola- tion goes on with the utmost abandon of the part of these wantonly care- less youths, and numerous instances daily attest to the intensifying of a situation which already approaches the proportions of a traffic scandal. Disregard “Stop” Sign. Examples of unbridled disregard of the rights of others and general reck- lessness on_the part of these drivers are to be found on every hand, not only in the crowded downtown sec- tions, but on the boulevards and quiet | streets of the outlying districts as well. Within the last few days, one light commercial vehicle sprinted dcross the “stop” sign where Lanier place runs into Calvert street near Eight- eenth street and Columbia road, turned sharply to the right, swinging around on what appeared to be two i wheels, the body shaking and sway- {ing, narrowly missing & man and woman, whose presence of mind and ility alone saved them from serious | injury, or, even, death. | Despite the vigilance of traffic and { police authorities. prominent down- town streets and iutersections are too frequent scenes of flagrant reck- | lessness, carelessness and thoughtless | ness on the part of operators of light | delivery cars. Ninth and G streets, | recently, was the scene of one in- stance of this kind. The driver of a vehicle which was parked double, and already was violating the no-muffler- ! cutout regulation, suddenly gave the wheels of his car a twist, smartly raced his motor and pushed his car into a flowing, closely packed traffic | stream, creating confusion which very nearly 'brought about the wreck of three cars and the striking down of a pedestrian. Steep Incline Hazard. The Cleveland Park and Chevy Chase districts are being disturbed daily by drivers who apparently have no more consideration for life than they do for the most fundamental traffic regulations. Macomb street, in the former section—which slopes down rather steeply from Wisconsin ave- nue to Connecticut avenue—seeming- Iy has become a speedway for the small trucks of the entire city. Al | though the streets entering Macomb are marked “Stop,” the danger of speeding down this steep incline has been lessened but slightly, for a dozen instances have been noted where |drivers have moved at such speed they were unable to halt at Connecti cut avenue, as the law enjoins. An elderly Chinese, attempting to cross Pennsylvania avenue near the Peace Monument, narrowly missed what undoubtedly would have been instant death when a vehicle of the light commerelal type swung around him, cutting through a corner of the safety zone. The only effort the driver made to prevent an accldent was to sound a screeching horn. This incident occurred only a few days ago, and is a typical instance of what is happening throughout the city almost {every hour of every day. | Disregard for Regulations. A glaring_example of utter disre- gard for traffic regulations and a com- plete lack of consideration of human life or property was seen recently on Massachusetts avenue, several blocks west of Sheridan circle, in the 30-mile speed zone—an exceptionally hazard- ous point for reckless driving. This time, a light delivery truck sped out from an intersecting street, passing a “Stop” sign In doing so, to cut quickly through Massachusetts avenue traffio without the slightest hesitancy. The intersection of Fifteenth and Euclid streets almost daily is the scene of these near-accidents, which are brought about by this unscrupul. (Continued on Page §, Column fi