Evening Star Newspaper, April 18, 1927, Page 1

s Partls creasing cloudiness; ture, Temperature—Highest, owest, 47, at 5 a.m. today. ¥ull report on page'9. yesterday *Closing N.Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 12 — WEATHER. ‘Weather Bureau Forecast.) cloudy tonigh omorrow in- rising tempera- at 4 pm. No. 30,302, post office, SMITH RECOGNIZES NO CHURCH POWER OVER CONSTITUTION Reply to Marshall States Stand as “An American Catholic.” LETTER BRINGS RELIGIOUS Letter ISSUE OUT INTO THE OPEN Reaction of Voters to Governor's Views Expected to Make or Break His Candidacy. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. v. Alfred 1. Smith of New Yorl nd will give complete allegiance the Constity { the Unitec if elected President. Dec! c, the Gover- G can to tat himself a devout hor of New York asserts that he rec ognizes no power in his church to terfere with the operation of the Con: stitution of the United enforcement of the law of the land.” Such is the sum the reply of Gov. Smith to an oper fetter addressed to him by Charles C. New York lawyer, an sking whether, as SJlie, the governor must give firs allegiance to hi cecutive of the Nation. ply of Gov. Smith is to be publ In the Atlantic Monthly, lett of Mr. Marshall, reply is n public by Monthly tod: Gov. announce President, Indeed, statement of last January. at time of his inauguration as governor, hat he will take no step to achieve except 1o give the peo. had is] mith' Atlantic de he is a candidate for he that tharacter of ser me deserve it."” Brings Issue Into Open. ice The letter of Gov. Smith is regarded | ks the most important political docu: ment in many years. propounded to him by Mr. Marshal and his replies bring into the open ar i ring States or the and substance of n n a t church if he become The the nith, in his letter, does not reiteratgs his the te “the kind and that will make The questions 1 n Issife which has been recognized, but mbout which there has been open public speaking. little Recognized at this time as an out- standing figure in party, with more pstential & strength in the Democratic national ronvention to be held next year than moy other man, Gov. Smith has seized ; tho opportunity presented in the Marshall letter to attempt to lay the religious issue. The reaction to the reply of Gov. Smith among the voters of the country will go far either to make him or break him 38 a candidate for the Presidency. ver since the publication of th shall letter three weeks ago in ¥ Mar It had been Atlantic letter interest. The Smith's 25. keenest nounted by that Gov. would made publie, April : publication in two newspapers Satur the Democratic nd actual Yhe Atlantic Monthly, the reply of sith has been awaited with the an- Monthly be The premature day of what purported to be the Smith teply caused The Atlantic Monthly to fve out the text a week earlier than it had intended. Answers All Questions. Gov. Smith was asked by Mr. Mar ¥hall to define clearly his views on the telation of the Roman I'hurch to the state. #ole reason for fion of these views was that Gov. Catholic Mr. Marshall's lling for the defini- Emith 3s a potential candidate for the The governor has an Presidenc pwered question by question, taking his stand on all the points raised by Mr. Marshall. his letter, Gov s an Americ n Catholic, In the conclusion of mith gives his “creed in which be asserts without qualification that| oo %e recognizes no power in his church fo interfere with the Constitution of the United States; that he believes in squality of all teparation of the church and the state: at he believes in the public school s one of the corne stones of Amer: fan liberty,” and that he believes ir the principle of non-interferenc the United States in the inter fairs of otber nations, thould stand steadfastly nterfer ra by whomsoe be urged.” Bllery Sedgewick, editor the Atlantic Monthly, in a preface which nill appear to the Smith letter, wil L2 it and for t time under puntr; the f public’s_history, which forev is qualif for the pr (Contir in the a constitutior forbids religious fons for office, s a candi en ideney b 1 on Page e SEIZURE FOR TAXES THREAT OF TOWERS D. C. Collector Will Ask List of | Personal Levy Delinquents This Week. b yment of taxes were thire tham M. Towers, the Dis- trict. The majority of the delinquent are personal taxpayers The property a taxes in 1 practice ng nt of colleetor stem of pay pents was i1 andoned b , whe s in two insts 3 churches before the law; that he believes in the ahsolute i may h 1 "his §s a historie incident, historic the church, Re- n tests ihjected 5, Column 1.) sures of personal prop- automobile personal o n i o | imprimatur of Archibishop (now Cardi- Tntered as second class matter Washington, LITTLE EGG ROLLERS "MOB™ MRS. COOLIDGE AND RACCOON White House Lawn Reception Is Exciting Adventure, Much to Disgust of Rebellious Rebecca. D. C Mrs Calvin Coolidge and her pet raccoon, Rebecca, were mobbed today by a youthful, happy throng of Easter Monday celebrants when the distin- rished pair ventured into the White House grounds to participate in the annual egg-rolling festivities. Despite the perspiring efforts of a squad of secret service men and White House police, the thousands of excited children, eager parents and distracted photographers so swarmed about the smiling First Lady and her fractious ?l"hr‘(‘('fl that at times it seemed an injury would result, if not to her and the pet, at least to the younger mem- bers of the milling crowd. A Hectic Experience. t was certainly a hectic experience for Mrs. Coolidge and her pet, but the remarkable part of it was that while Rebecca plainly evidenced her dislike for the whole doings, her mistress ap- peared to enjoy the trip around the grounds to the fullest extent. Rebecea grew so restless and dis- gusted after a short tour from the west. gate to the immediate vicinity of the mansion that Mrs. Coolidge was compelled to retire within the building and deposit the wayward 'coon in cus- tody of attendants before she could re- sume her little journey. The retir ment of Rebecca was effected only after the animal had Impressed its ch | the WASHINGTON mistress with its sincerity by clawing at her with telling fervor The forenoon crowds at the White House, while not so large as last year, wWere just about doubly demonstrative. throng, literally were swamped bowled over by the ~rowds. Sevi times mothers had to fight heroic: to save their tiny offspring from being trampled underfoot. The only casual- ties, however, were a number of lunch hoxes and Kaster baskets which felt the full effect of unsympathetic feet. The White House celebration was outstanding event on a progran and in which Washington always indu the throughout parks and suburbs, weather . Weathesr permit- ted today m early morning until afternoon the green stretches of the Monument grounds, the Zoo Park and other appropriate reservations were made the battle grounds of count- less. Easter egg fray: The bright colored eggs were. slaughtered heart- lessly on the slopes of greensward, later to find théir way down: the throats of exulting owner: President Coolidge could ‘White House battle from his office window, and later this afternoon it was expected he would close his desk (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) see the MARSHALL REPLIES T0 SMITH ANSWER Quotes From Religious Man- ual in “Inquiry Into Church Policy.” By the Associated Pres NEW YORK, April 18.—Another chapter was added today to the docu- mentary debate between Gov. Alfred E. Smith and Charles C. Marshall, New York attorney and Episcopalian, when the latter .nade public a reply to Gov, Smith. Marshail's letter, written in answer to Gov. Smith's reply to his open letter in the Atlantic Monthly, chal- lenged the Governor's statement that the veligious conyictions imputed are not held by Reman Catholics, as far as the Governor knoyws. Supporting his contentions vy quo: tations from the “Manual of Christian Doctrine,” published by John Joseph McVey, Philadelphia, 1926, under the nal) Daugherty, Marshall contended that some of the teachings of the Ro- man Catholic Church are irreconcilable with American constitutional princi- ples. This, Marshall asserted, was a matter of policy and not religious con- troversy. His article, Marshall assert- ed, was in “he nature of an inquiry into church policy and not an attack on the Roman Catholic faith. Quotes From Books. Marshall quoted the following ex- cerpts from MeVey's book: ““‘In-what order or respect is the state subordinate to the (Roman Cath- olic) Church.—Answer: In the spirit- ual order and in all things referring to that order “‘What right has the Pope in vir- tue of this supremacy?—Answer: The right to annul those laws or acts of government that would injure the sal- vation of souls or attack the natural rights of citizens. . “‘What more should the state do than respect the rights and liberty of the (Roman Catholic) Church?—An- The state should also aid, pro- tect and defend the church. “‘What then is the principal obli- gation of heads of states?—Answer: Their principal obligation is to prac- tice the Catholic religion, and, as they ave in power, to protect and de- fend it. Forty-eight Editions Reported. “ ‘Has the state the right and the ¥ to proscribe schism or heresy? Answer: Yes, it has the right and duty to do so, both for the good of the Nation and for that of the faith- ful themselves; for religious unity is the principal foundation of social unity.’ This book, which he said had run through 48 editions, Marshall as- serted, was being used in high schools, and was one of the hooks from which the children of 20,000,000 citizens were being taught. Quoting Mevey, Marshall cited the following extracts as showing the po- sition the Roman Catholic Church took In the matter of dissenting faith “‘When may the state tolerate dissening worship?” Answer: When these worships have acquifed a sort of Jegal existence consecrated by time and accorded by treaties and cov- enants. ‘May the state separate itself from the (Roman Catholic) Church? An- swer: No, for it may not withdraw from the supreme Jaw of Christ. ““What name is given to the doc- rine that the ‘state has neither the right nor the duty to be united to the (Roman Catholic) Church? Answer: This is liberalism, it is founded prin- cipally on the fact that modern so- ety rests on liberty of consclence and of worship and on liberty of speech and the press. ‘Why is liberalism to be con- FOREIGN COUNCIL HITS CANTONESE Chinese See Conflict With Attitudes of Home Governments. BY THOMAS F. MILLARD. By Cable to The Star and the New York World. SHANGHAT, April ¥.—Evidence ac- cumulates that the welght of foreign influence in China has swung positive- Iy against the Kuomintans on all points, this bias heing shown especial- Iy by the Municipal Council in charge of the international secttlement at Shanghat. . Owing to its peculiur status and als most unbridied power this couneil exertgogrent Jnflucnce and by its ag: polici China now; namely, of Downing strect in London and those of the Shanghai Municipal Couneil which are diametrically opposed. The Chines hear about London’s policy, hut have contact with the policy of the local council which embodies the standpat foreign attitude about pends ing issues.” Cannot Reconcile Attitudes, That witty comment contains deep truth which “explains the Chinese suspicion of the real motives and pur- poses of the British and other goyern. ments. They cannot reconcile what they have heard from London and other capitals with what they have seen and heard in_ Shanghai, Tha chief spokesman of the municipal council and the local ‘foreign press have never been fully clear to the Shanghai Chinese. The annual ratepayers’ meeting last week therefore held the interest of the Chingse, who were anxious to see what action would be taken toward allowing Chinese representation on the council. The taxpayers' meeting proved nega tive, the most weighty discussion heing as to whether the Municipal Orchestra should be maintained. The only ac- tion on a Chinese question was a resolution to admit the Chinese to the public parks. This resolution was adopted with the provision that it would not be effective until normal conditions obtain, and then only with the favorable vote of a referendum. The matter of Chinese membership on the council was not dealt with. The occasion of the meeting was made significant by a_statement by the chairman that the council's powers were unique and independent: that the council had authority to take action for the safety of the settlement with- out walting for higher warrant. Extension of Cordon Seen. This referred to the council's action in sending troops and extending the lines outside the treaty limits of the settlement. 1t is belleved that the intimate purpose of the council is to extendl the defensive cordon to include adjoining Chinese towns. The significance of these conditions to the people of America is that the policy of the United States Govern- ment toward China may be reversed and reshaped by the Municipal Council here, composed of five Britons, two Japanese and tuated and actuated by a small busi- ness and property oligarchy. T understand that a powerful in- fluence iz working now to induce Washington to consent to the crea- tion here of what is termed a uni- fled military command. The im- mediate effect of that plan would be to put the American forces at Shang- hai under command of the British general who is ranking officer at present. In that case it would be possible without previous knowledge and con- (Continued on Page 5, Column 7.) (Continued on Page . Ing t reby doubling the work The advancement s two months, By the Associated Prese. which to in Towers announced that he would ask Tax Assessor Willlam P. Richards some time this week for a all persons in arrears for pe; for the period will then be s to seize the property found. Preparations for maki will take about two weeks. meantime have an opportunity to p: ills, which, of course it it can tance the regular montls, in Towers addi- resume the between Deputy tax collectors ent out with instructions be g the seizures In the delinquent taxpayers will the tax will canry & enalty for failure to make a remit- taxpaying ke i B0 BIDLISE cAIIPAIET KANSAS CITY, April 18.-The Kansas City Star says that a chain letter system has been started urging friends of United States Senator James A. Reed to support him for the Democratic nomination for Presi- dent, Edward Glenn, Louisiana, Mo, campaign manager for the Missouri Senator in 1922, started the chain letters, the paper says, with the re- quest supporters of the proposal write to their relatives and friends in other States asking them “to get busy for Reed.” In advocating the Glenn pointed out th: n letter idea, e conducted hamp Clark As M Coolidge pushed her way | e g through ll|P{cnu;lm\Il_\’ .-;hxhln jam of | h ity ront picnic il fh, o, o, 1, ol AMERICAN DESTROYER tions @ commit foreign Fovernments and almost decide their policies i thel mils«political department of the S L eastesin ¢ division of the Cantonese An Englishman Tiere remarked f6{ qom mos o § cengly: that -“thero are. two b army has arvanged two mass meetings those | gelebrate “establishment of two Americans selec- , Column 4) _ Letter Chain Started to Boom Reed: Manager Says It Will Nominate Him in 1012, and called attention to the close race the former Speaker of the National House of Representatives made for the Democratic presidential nomination. “At least 90 per cent of Missouri's | population already is talking Reed for President,” Glenn said. “If a small per cent could go so far for Champ Clark in 1912, it is reasonable to believe that almost all of Missouri could put Senator Reed over in 1928 Although several county and dis- trict Democratic organizations have indorsed Senator Reed as a presi- dential candidate, no official eed for President” organization has been announced, State party leaders say none will be without the approval of the Senaton . .lli. ¢ Fhening WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION Sta “From Press to Home With The Star’s carrie in the Hour” r system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to W t fast as the papers are printed. ington homes § v's Circulation, 1020 Sunday’s Circulation, 111, D. C, MONDAY, AP 3 RIL 18, 1927-THIRTY CHINESE BANDITS SLAY MISSIONARY AND DAUGHTER, 8 Party Attacked While Fleeing | Toward Hongkong—Three Others Captured. IN BATTLE ON YANGTZE Reported Fired on by Northern Forces—Powers Preparing Ultimatum to Chen, | e Associated Press ANGHAIL, April 18 —Tor who came to Shangh 1L parts of the interior to the shelter of the international settle ment “were saddened today by news of the murder by Chines from dits of one of their fellow the Rev. Morris Slichter of Toronto, Canada, and his S-year-old daughter. They were anxious, too, for the safety of Mrs. Slichter, the miss| wife; her 1d son, John, and Miss Mar: iig of Philadelphia, nurse, taken captives by the bandits. Mr. Slichter and the others of the party were attached to the China In- land Mission at Anshunfu. The mur- ders took place at Yunnanfu, reputed to be a hotbed of banditry. 1t is feared there were others in the party, as the mission was composed of seven adults, who, it is thought, would be traveling together. Among those reforied to have been with Mr. Slich ter's party is Dr. Rees. D. V. Were Seeking the afeiy. e oceurred the aking their way southward to the railway leading to Hongkong, having left their station when the British consul suggested it would be unwise for them to remain longer because of the disturbed condi- tions. When the attack took place is not known, but it is believed to have occurred about a weck ago. Formation of a government at Nan- king by Gen. Chang Kai-shek was re- ported today. Ne details were given in the meager dispatches received. but it is under- sfod that Canton, Shanghai and Nan- king men figure largely in its com- position. Thus there are apparently three governments in China, mot counting the various semi-independent —war lordships. Mass Meetings Planned. When missionar it in the Chinese section of Shanghai to the - Na. tionalist government at Nanking and restoration of Kuomintang influence in the south,” The first meeting was sat for this afternoon and the second for tomorrow. A formal plenary session of the right wing Kuomintangers was sched- uled to open in Nanking today to rat- ify the impeachment of the Hankov Communists voted by last woe fimeeting of the central control commi tee and to draft the basis for the new government. 1t is.learned that Mou Shao-Chiu, a professor in Shanghai University and described in dispatches as “a nc torious Communist,” was executed at Nanking on April § under orders from Chang Kai-Shek. U. 8. Destroyer Hit, At last accounts firing wa uing acro: the Yangtze Rive tween the Northern forces at Pukow, on the nerthern bank, and the tonese at Nanking, on the bank, but news as to the pr the lattle was meager. The firing was particularly hea alurday aft- ernoon, when the Northerners brought many machine guns and cannon into action. The American destroyer John D. Ford and a lighter belonging to Butterfield & Swyre were hit by the five of the Northerners as they passed up the river. Bringing her big guns v, the destroyer soon silenced the Northern batteries and then con- tinued he Military that there in the vicinity % estimated today were 20,000 Northern troops Pukow, among them 2,000 White Russians. One report from the Zangtze was that the Can- tonese were planning to take the of- e in the near future against the Northerne Another received by official forei sources was that the Cantonese tured 13,000 Northern of Pukow in the last few day prisoners, it is said to he sent to Fukien Provinece I v of Shanghai, to be incorporated in the Cantonese army. Chen's Reply Unsatisfactory, Peking dispatches said that the rep- resentatives of the United States « at Britain, Japan, France and Ttaly had sought further instructions from their governments as to the next step in the negotiations with Fugene Chen, the Cantonese foreign minister, grow ing out of the Nanking outrages. The representatives of the five powers were described as favoring new meas- ures on the ground thdt Chen's reply to the five-power note concerning the outrages was unsatisfactor; In connection with the suggestion of Chen that an international commis sion be appointed to investigate the Nanking affair, it is emphasized that the guilt of the Nationalist (Cantonese) troops has been definitely established by official investigations. Chen in his reply refused to acknowledge that the Cantonese forces were responsible for the outrages. At Hankow, seat of the radical sec- tion of the party, agitation is going on against Gen. Chang Kai-Shek. Canton- ese commander-in-chief, and leader of (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) The “In the Rough” ew Comic Strip —which will interest golfers, golf widows and those who do not play golf, starts In Today's Star On Page 32 Watch for it every day in The Star, « 1 -EIGHT PAGES. () Means Associated Pr TWO CENTS. I i SASTER: E ROLLING, iG 1927. 20000 FLEE HOMES INARKANSAS FLOOD Levees of Mississippi Are Strengthened—Red Cross Officials Consider Relief. By the Associated Press. MEMPHIS, Tenn., of the Mississippi today ased in height alon er basin a record tide of waters moving southward pressed with immeasurable weight against the e vall April 18 being in Refugees num s 10,000 persons, driven from their homes by backwaters or overflow from ma t ut of the reat st m were under the care of national, State and ormmun: encies ol relief. Other thousands were moving thelr proper- ties from valley lands, where the floods | might break threugh at _Hope was renewed today from the destruetive wat npper reaches of ti White Rivers, tributuries of the Mi: sissippi and in the mother sti m it self around Cairo, Is., and Hig Ky., where the hei of the cu menaced hte dykes for Slight declines in the stages w ported from these upstream points. Staggering Figures Involved. From Hickm engineer week re- , Gove king eve le laborer in thelr drive bring the huge embankments to a stronger state of defer Mea , Eastern Ar lay un e ng overflow wi of the Arkansas, the White, the S8t, I is which have climbed natur: banks or burst man-n ints to cover an_immeasu; High- way traflic was v snded rain sorvice v and and t unce be- entirely aly ndation of ashouts -and inu An unofficial estimate for Arkansas alone placed the number of persons driven from homes hy the hostile waters at exceeding 20,000 and acres overflowed at more than 1,000,000, Property losses have reached a st gering figure which no one now’ d caleulate, Relief Work Organized. Refugee and relief camps at Hick- Ky.. under direction of Red cials and State authorities, ave sheltering 2,000 homele=s in churches, barn ilroad cars and tents. Public Kitchens are serving the needy with food. Orgaunized women are sewing and collecting and distributing clothing to relieve the unfortunate. Relieved by the break in the Missippi vea at Dorena, Mo., the Hickman area showed a slight decline in the flood stage and ob servers were confident that the Reel- foot levee would hold unless unfore- seen misfortune developed. Memphis is to have a stage of 46 feet by Saturday ording to the local weather official. The highest on record heretofore v 46.6 in 1913, when di ter followed the southward movement of the giant river. Troopers Guard Dykes. State troops today were guarding the tops of the big dykes in Bolivar and Washington Counties, Missis- sippl. A grave situation obtains in the lower Yazoo-Mississippi delta in the opinion of Dennis Murphfree, Missis- sippi's governor who has just made a tour of the section. persons are destitute, both of f and of resources, the governor reported, and considerable percentage of these at lands are under overflow water. BAKER LEAVES CAPITAL By the Associated Press. A special meeting of Red Cross officials was caled at national head- quarters here last night to prepare for any emergency which may arise out of increasingly alarming reports from flood areas in the Southern Mis- sissippi River Valley. The meeting was called after the organization had receeived reports of additional levees breaking fn the Ar- kansas River and of especially dis- tressing conditions in and around Marionne County, Arkansas. The Red Cross said more than 24, 000 persons had been reported to it as in need of assistance, William M. Baxter, organization _officital _at _St. (Continued on Page 5, Column 8.) Grand Jury Dismissal Refused. INDIANAPOLIS, April 18 ().— Judge James A. Collins of the Criminal Court today refused to dismiss the Marion County grand jury as request- ed by Prosecutor Willlam H. Remy, who charged efforts had been made to bribe one of its members in connection with the investigation of alleged polit- Chicago to Try | Movies to Rout | Crooks in 90 Days | By the Associated Press | CHICAGO, April 18.—The innova- | tion of making motion pictures of eriminals will be introduced in Chi- cazo to combat crime, Michael lughes, the new chief of police, announced vesterd: Chief lughes who has avowed to chase crook out of the city in 90 plans to install a “movie” | studio, in which habitual criminals and persons charged with a felony | will “pose” before a motion pictur | eve | days, came They will be made to walk, talk, smile and ‘“register” | other characteristics. | Reels will be routed to all sta- tions and viewed by-each of the 6,000 odd_officers. By this system all police—eyen the newest—will know how the men look and act whom they are wateh,” said supposed to catch or chief Hughe Even serted, tehy-sub-tiles will be in- Th will stress certain or maybe admonish: “be- shioots. fiom..the. hip— TWO SAFES ROBBED ATFLORIST STORE Gude Brothers Lose $1,500 to $2,000 After Easter Business on F Street. ing through the front daor, kers early today succeeded fu king open two ziant safes in the of Gude Brothers Co., florists, 2 10 street, rifled thelr contents, making away with hetween $1,500 and h and checks, a substan- tial proportion of the company’s Laster receipts. A similar raid on Easter receipts was balked at the Gude branch at 1102 Connecticut avenue, where y also effected front docr entrance, this store, however, they only were suceessful in wrenching the knob off the safe and chipping out the dial. Police are convinced that a band of pr robbers, who made thefr plans while the Gude stores were open vesterday to take re of eleventh hour KEaster oral requirements, was responsible for both jobs. They found that two screws on the side of the front door locks at the I and Connecticut avenue stores had been taken out from the inside, ev (Continued on Page 3, Column 4.) FLYERS HEAD FOR CUBA. TIaiti. Good Will Planes Leave On Way Back to U. S. NEW YORK, April 18 (®.—The French Cable Co. this morning re- ceived news of the departure of the American Army good will fiyers from Port-au-Prince, ti, for Santlago, Cuba, a distance of 550 miles. Tomorrow the aviators, who are re- turning from their 20,000-mile flight through Central and South America, plan to go from Santiago to Havana. They will leave the Cuban capital at noon Saturday for Miami, Fla. Italian Envoy Visits Mellon. The Ttalian Ambassador Nobile Giacomo de Martino called today at the Treasury Department to pay his respects to Secretary of the Treasury Mellon, who has just returned from a trip to Europe, where he visited his daughter, Mrs. David K. Este Bruce. Following the call the Ambassador said he took up no official business, but the call was merely personal. { the-former L3 of § | due to the exclusion by the commis COMPANY FIG PHONE RATE CUT Arguments = Before Utilities Bocdly Expected to Cover Long Period. csapeake & Potomac, Tele- phone Co. opened its fight to prevent 2 reduction in telephone rates in the District, at a public hearing today be- the new Public Utilities Commis- slon. 'The arguments are expected to cover a long period, in view of a wide difference in the valuation claimed by the company and that fixed by the commission for rate-making purposes. A reduction dower than $4 month on unbimitge serwice is pr posed by the commission. The § rate was ordered by the commi hecome effective in June. 1025, hut telephone subseribers are still paying a month because of Jitigation which is still, pending in the District Supreme Cotrte The initial session was taken up chiefly by the presentation of exhibits ¢ the commission and the company. B, McK. Bachman, chief accountant for the commission, submitted four, showing that the commission is con: tending that the company in 1 carncd $157.900 in excess of the 7 per cent allowed on a rate base which it fixed at $20,430,995, and that a further reduction could be made without deny Ing the company a fair veturn. The company, in its own exhibits, however, claimed 'a valuation of §30,226,498, hased on reproduction costs, or §9,103, above the conmission’ Certain Hems Excluded. The difference in the yaluation n items included by the telephone compa its valuation claim. The commission did not allow ites of 000 for land used and useful, §1,189,000 for buildivgs, §55,156 a radio broadcasting station, £8,704,000 for going concern and qver- head valnes, $2,831.417 for deprecia- tion, £183,000 for working eapi and §445,000 for construction werk and progres: sion of cert A question arose at the outset of the E. hearing as to whether Maj. W R. Covell, acting Fngineer in the absence of Lieut. Col. J. Fr lin Bell, is qualified under the law to sit on the commission. Ralph ¥. Fleharty, people’s counsel before the mmission, explained that Corpora- tion Counsel Francis H. Stephens had given an opinion to the effect that Maj. Covell Is qualified. but said that he was not anxious to proceed with the hearing if the telephone company intended to contest the decision. Attitude on Covell. George P. Hoover, who, with Da A. Devane, compo: the compan: counsel at the hearing, offered no ob- jection to Maj. Covell Public Utility Commi initial session, but pe company would present its veiws on the question at a subsequent hearing. Steps to reduce telephone rates were first taken by the former com wission last Fall, but for various rea- sons the hearing has been repeatedly delayed. The first postponement was due to a technical objection raised by the company to the commission pro- ceeding with a new rate still pending in the courts. The mission later was given authorizati by the court to proceed with the he: ing, but hecause of the imminent ap- pointment of a new commission, the case was again deferred. Back in 1925 when the commission ordered a reduction from $5 to $4.75 in the uniimited service rates, the company prevented them from being put into effect by obtaining a tempo- rary injunction from the District Su- preme Court. The injunction was argued last Summer before Chief Justice Walter I. McCoy, but he has not vet handed down an opinion on the case, which involves principally the question of valuation. The hearing, after about 2 hours, adjourned, to be resumed some time next month, the date tentatively set being May 9. e with one m- n 2 Touch Cigar; Man A dignified ‘Washingtonian, the south’ side of the Treasury Building proved the first Faster Monday cas- ualty this morning, when a toy bal- loon exploded in his face with a re- port as loud as the firing of a gun. ‘The man, who refused to give his name, was smg a cigar in a hold- er. A child, wi its mother, on_their way to the eg@ rolling at the White House ground§, passed by and its lsrlloon touchef the end of the lighted ciga Child on Way to Egg Rolling Lets Balloon Behind It Gets Singe “Your child’s balloon." answered a relative of the man with the cigar. The woman thought somebody had shot at her child. The Washing- tonfan suffered the loss of a consider- able part of his eyebrows and some of his hair. “Now 1 won't have to pay for a singe;” he remarked, wiping some more burnt hair off his face. The balloon had been filled with hydrogen. D. A R. CHEER CALL FOR PREPAREDNESS BY MRS. BROSSEAU President General Urges Readiness for Defense Without Militarism. MRS. COOK SCORES REDS AND PACIFISM PREACHERS 14,000 Delegates in Aunditorium as Society's 36th Congress Gets Under Way. seau, pres zen ters of the American Revolution, and Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook, honorary president general, today sounded & call to American womanhood to stand for “adequate preparedness’ at the opening session of the Thirty-sixth Continental Congress, ind of Amer Splendid in its backg ican flags and decorations of State D. R. banners, the large hall of the Auditorium, packed with thou nds of delegates and friends, rever berated to the storm of appla which met this summons from their leaders to pe mn national dut Mrs. Brosseau coupled her | preparedne of “the kind that fends only and does not propose wa with an appeal to women to take 1 orm a newed interest in social and politi problems, declaring that a carefully considered and intelliz marke ballot was more effective in the run than writing letters to Cong men. Re g to the en ¢ tress,” Mrs. Brosseau declared the | position of the United States cannot | be maintained “in the big parade of | Ns of dis- | life” unless it fs prepared as well as iy other nation to defend itself. The . A R. nds for defense of “the land of t and she addes That ma, but my per sonal definition of n attitude is good Am n common sense and foresight. Mrs. Cook Raps Reds. In her address to the congress, Mrs, Cook also appealed to the delegates on the score of national prep ding that at the present *s even the most misguided of tha paci- fist clan must be realizing the need of adequate preparedness on land, sen and “Fine-sounding phrases emanating rom-the silver-tongued ovators of the ‘piak’ variety, who. consclovsly or un- conscipusly, have borrowed their doe- trines from bolshevism and anarchy,” she declared, “are not meeting the present world situation in our national relations with those powers whoss governments tion and civil st ave bolling with disrup- fe. Tnstead. it is,our red-blooded Am n citizens of the Marines and the 1 in whom we must put our trust and upon whom America must depend if she Is to keep her ratio of the world's pe Mrs. B . ¢ officlal nan for mnearly 0.5 women, urged lovalty to the President of the United States and those administerine the airs of Government. She zaid she knew the United St had never s into which It d, and that the home heen prepared for wa reluctantly had been she helieved that outside there was no better 1 ium of de- velopment for youth than milit training such, fgr example, as that 1 cived at citizens' mili camps ‘ens of thousands of students thus become potential soldiers,” declared. Blames Soviet for Suicides. pable of surveys of t the wilt she Women are perfectly making thoughttul politie: conditions which must be met primaries and upon election d: " pointed and can see that those elected have a minimum of interest in purely political measures and a maximum of interest in the future of the eountry. Characterizing the startling numbe of suicides among 3 chool students ne sinister force i vitals of young life buted the cause to t tion of So edic fell on the audit imately 4,000 dele and guests listened seau interrogated th the diciples of Lenin so vocating disarmament fo while Russia has 7 of 630,000 men with milit reserves mounting into the mill A program extending over sis has been planned for the It will include a_reception giv the President and Mrs. Coolid by Se f the Navy Represen h Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts: Mrs. Er- nest Thompson Seton, president of the National Ieague of American Pen Women; Mrs. Herbert Hoover, b ¢ president of the Girl Seouta of . and Mrs. John Laid Buel, president of the National & ciety of Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America. C. A R ut h- ¥ day: Meet Tomorrow. Ranking officials of patriotic ¢ izations will take part in the opening tomorrow morning at the auditorium of the thirty- second annual convention of ths Children of the American Revolution. Most of the D. A. R. officers and State officers will attend this con- vention,.at which Mrs. Josiah H. Van Orsdel, national president of the C. s R. will preside and make the opening address. The sessions of the D. R. started promptly when C M Ashton, organist, started to play his first selection, “Andante” from “Fifth ympohny” (Tschaikowsky), en the great organ of the Auditorium, and long before he began “Hallelujah” from “The Messiah” (Handel), the fourth and last number of the re- cital, virtually every one of the 4,000 or more D. A. R. delegates and ailternates was seated according to the State delegation arrangement. Mr. Ashton also rendered the other selections on the program, ‘“Traum- erai” (Schumann) and “Prelude C Sharp Minor” (Rachmanioff). ‘With the sounding of *‘Assembly’ by a bugler of the United States Marine Band, Mrs. Brosseau and the national officers escorted by nearly 200 pages, dressed in white, marched down the aisles of the auditorium, while the assemblage stood at atten