Evening Star Newspaper, May 9, 1927, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Partly cloudy and wr and tomorrow; probably local thunder- showers tomorrow. “Temperature—Highest, 68, at noon today: lowest, 54, Full report on page 13. Closing N.Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 10 Bureau Forecast.) rmer tonight at 11 p.m. yesterday. No. 30,323. post office, Entered as second class matter Washington, D. NUNGESSER IS SEEN OVER NOVA SCOTIA " SAYSUNCONFRIED P Dl st o Vit I O SN REPORT ON FLYERS Advices Announcing Sighting of Cross-Sea Aviators Off Newfoundland Also Lack Substantiation. SUCCESS OR FAILURE STILL HANGS IN BALANCE ‘Weather Conditions Between Cape Race and New York Declared Menace to Completion of Voyage Should Pilots Have Crossed Ocean Safely. Br the Associated Prese HAVRE, Franch May 9.—The French Steamship Line announced this aiternoon that it had reccived advices that Capt.Nungesser's trans- atlantic plane passed Halifax, Nova Scotia, between 2 and 3 p.m, 2 pm. French time (8 and 9 a.m, Eastern standard time). CE BAY, Nova Scotia, May 9 ®).(Canadian Press).—The Marconi wireless station here, up to 1 o'clock this afternoon, had not been in com- munication with any ship that had sighted the French fiyers. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK. May eighteen o'clock this afternoon came and with it there was no def word of the whereabouts of Capts. Nungesser and Coli, flying over the sea from Paris to this city. eight hours had passed since ghe plane had hopped off from the flying field at Le Bourget. Two earlier reports that the “White Bird” was sighted over Newfoundland had not as yet been confirmed. One of these reports was not credited. A heavy raipstorn and fog mantled the sea between New York and Boston, and visibility was low. The radio and steamship companies were still without information up to 2 o'clock. Grave apprehensions were expressed, though hopes were gen- erally maintained that the aviators would be able to conclude a success- ful flight, even though their gasoline supply was thought to be near ex- haustion. Can Float 24 Hours. If forced down at sea, the plane without its landing gear could keep afloat for 24 hours. The Nungesser plane was sighted off Cape Race, Newfoundland, at 10 o'clock this morning, according to word received by the New York Times from its correspondent at Sydney, Nova Scotia. Should the report prove accurate and the daring aviators suc- cessfully pursue the remaining 1,000 miles of their course over the misty Atlantic, they should reach their goal of the Paris-to-New York flight about 8 o'clock tonight (Eastern daylight time). Carlier in the day a report received by the French Cable Co., stated that the radio operator at St. Pierre Miquelon. had received word that Nungesser had been sighted over Newfoundland. This report lacked confirmation from any source. France Celebrates Report. The Havas agency in New York advised its home in Paris that they had a_definite report from St. Pierre Miquelon that the “White Bird” had heen sighted over the island at £:15 o'clock this morning. The French capital promptly staged a celebration. Tater a St. Pierre dispatch, received in New York shortly after 11 o'clock, stated that the Nungesser plane had not_been sighted over the island up 10 9 o'clock, Atlantic daylight time, today. The broad reaches of the Eastern Atlantic still hold within their grasp the success or failure of the Nun- gfsser flight. Reported off Newfoundland, the av t about a thousand miles of traverse in adverse weather conditions. The weather off Newfoundland was clear this morning, but off to the southeast the daring pioneers of the now winging their way with ing gasoline supply and facing 1 rain with low visibility that every bit of courage they can n. nder the weather obtaining, if Capt. make a landing in New would have performed a miracle even greater than that of crossing the Atlantic, The searchlights were turned on during the day at Mitchell Field to aid the fiyers Evidence of the distressing flying weather in and about New York was had when Comdr, Francesco de Pinedo, the Italian fiver, was forced down in in L to Philadelphia from now could conditions, Nungesser Liners Without Word. It the “white bird" was off Cape undland, her course would across to Cape Canso, and then skirting the e of Nova Scotia past Cape ors would head the for Boston and New Inquirles at noon at the Radio Cor poration and independent wireless companies and the steamship com panies with vessels at sea brought the response that no word had come from the “white bird.” While a § Raymond Ortei hotelman, for the first non-stop fligh 000 prize offered by from New York to Paris has been the | means of attracting attention to a flight between the United States and France, the expeditions have not for the prize money gesser Plane, mak ing its fiight from Paris to New York, is 7ot eligible for the Orteig prize The first definite sighting of the g2Mane_cince its hop off was at 5:10 | (Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) 9.—Two- | definite | Thirty- | ork, he | ng Island Sound | New York and Paris | ch WASHINGTON, iINTERVENTION IN CHINA HELD '~ HALTED BY COOLIDGE STAND Military Occupation 1 of Yangtze Valley by Opposition to Further Action. [ BY THOMAS F. MILLARD. [ B¢ Cable to The Star and New York World | SHANGHAI, May 9.—It is becom- | ing realized here that further action | by the powers to enforce any sanc- tions regarding the failure to obtain prompt compliance with their de- | mands about the Nanking outrage is | unlikely. ~ Consequently, the hopes of many foreigners that this Summer | wou1d witness extensive anflitary oc- cupation of the Yangtze Valley have awindled. Private conversation and press comment now centers upon the cabled statement that President Coolidge is ’\\xnm:'\' adverse to intervention in China and that he sees no mneed to | send more notes to the Natlonalists at_this time Much caustic comment is heard \bout the collapse of the polic and solidarity of the powers is blamed for down, and the American policy is termed cowardly, weak and is further described by other epithets. Entente Without U. S. Urged. | Newspapers publish many letters | about the question of intervention, ng opposition to President ge's position. A well known sh writer, under the nom de plume of Putnam Weale, advances an argument favoring revival of the Anglo-Japanese entente, followed by an invitation for France and perhaps Italy to join the combination, leaving America’ outside, Contrary to Great Britain's present abandonment of the policy of force, E. S. Little, a prominent Briton for many years resident in China, printed an open letter urging that the powers di arm China, demolish all arsenals, arms, military and naval equipment, and disband the Chinese armies by the use of foreign military forces. he foregoing and similar proposals would simply take the situation back 20 vears and give the hegemony of Eastern Asia into the hands of a Eu- ropean bloc combined with Japan and opposed to the United States. Such plans ignore the evident fact that the Japanese government is even more averse than Washington to such a re- version, and also prefers the existing | | disorders_in China to intervention | | wherein Western Europe would dom.- | ate. Japan and United States Close. | ere are many evidences that Ja-| | pa and Washington are closer to- gether on these issues tiNn Britain |and Washington. Moreover, it is un- likely that any powers will undertake intervention unless America and Ja- | pan_participate. and this is being horne out by Britain's change of pol- | icy. Proposals to disarm China seem to ba advanced without thought of the forces required, which would probably be several hundred thousand foreign (Continued on Page 4, Column 2.) BRITISH T0 DELAY PENALTIES N CHINA ‘Application of Force Inexpe- | dient at Present, Chamber- lain Tells Parliament. By the Associated Press. LONDON, May 9—Sir Austen Chamberlain, the foreign secretary, told the House of Commons today the British government had decided that the present application of penalties for the anti-foreign outrages at Nan- king and the failure of the Chinese Nationalists to observe the conditions of the Hankow agreement was inex- pedient, however, fully justified. Sir Austen said that he believed similar reasons had led other inter- ested governments to a like conclu- sion. Under those circumstances the British government did not propose to address any further notes to Eu- gene Chen, the Cantonese foreign minister at Hankow. Great Britain, the foreign minister said, has informed the other Powers of its decision but has reserved full liberty of action concerning the future and particularly concerning further outrages, which might be perpetrated upon the British flag, British sub- jects and British property. Keeping Out of Hankow. in also has decided not (ofiree;:l(‘u';‘;’“?h‘: British concession at Hankow, which was given over to the Chinese authorities. by an agreement with the Hankow government, at the time. pr;‘lfn‘[\uslen said that the National- ist government at Hankow had lost its dominating position in South China and was nothing more than the v of a name. Sha‘;lg:t (;irilaln‘ he said, had ample justification for the reoccupation o the British concession and for re- garding the agreement on the conces- sion canceled by the acts of the Na- tionalist government there. British have been at hand so as to reoccupy the concession, he con- tinued, but on full consideration Great Britain had decided not to take this step now and hoped that it would not be forced on her. Blames Moscow for Disorders. The foreign minister in addressing the House declared that the Third Interpational at Moscow was respon- sible for the Nanking disorders. He said, however, that the Communist element in China was thoroughly dis- credited and that the perpetrators of the crimes against foreigners had been punished with a severity and speed which would have been impos- sible by any foreign power. The British government, he con- tinued, was unwilling, even under such provocation as it had received, to abandon hope that its friendly policy would soon evoke an equally friendly response from the Chinese government, free from foreign domi- | nation and ‘thus would be enabled to devote itself to single-minded serv- ice of the interests of the Chinese. The present stalemate in the Chinese situation is likely to con- | tinve, according to the British view, until one of the three rival forces, Chang _Tso-Lin, the Northern hang Kai-Shek, Nationalist mo, or the Hankow Na- me._gains ascendancy. Chang Tso-Lin appears to be the strongest, but only as a_temporary | ruler who is unlikely, the British say, |to solve the fundamental problems | confronting the country. British offi- |cials look upon the definite eclipse of he Communistic element in China as the most important development | there in recent months. Moderate Troops at Swatow. A Hongkong dispatch to the Ex- change Telegraph reports the arrival |of 600 Moderate troops aboard a | Chinese _troopship at Swatow, in ern Kwangtung Province. Their al has eased the tension there, ger of a_Communist_coup has | HOOVER INSPECTS NEW ORLEANS DIKE Greatest of Engineering Skill Brought to Bear to Stem Mississippi. BY REX COLLIER, Statf Correspondent of The Star. NEW ORLEANS, La, May 9.— Under the leadership of Secretary Hoover and War Secretary Davis, the Government's relief and engineering #kill was concentrated here today to make reconnoissance of the tighten- ing battle lines in the last sector of the Mississipi's inexorable and ruth- lesn march to the Guif, Having yesterday effected a review by automobile of the 100-mile dirt en- trenchments which threatened Louisi- ana is throwing up on the east side of the river from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, the Commerce and War Secretaries and their national flood re- llet party were investigating today the flood ramparts ‘here. The two Secretaries, with Maj. Gen. Edgar Jadwin, chief of Engineers; James L. Fieser, acting national chair- man of the Red Cross; Goy. O. H. Simpson of Louisiana, Maj. W. H. Holcombe, river engineer for this district, and others embarked this morning on the tug Samson for an inspection of the dynamited Poydras crevasse, 15 miles below the city. Dynamting Continues. All but Secretaries Hoover and Davis had witnessed the blowing up of the Caernarvon Levee at Poydras 10 days ago, but in view of the un- expected procrastination of the river in taking the artificial detour in the sacrificed Saint Bernard and Plaque- mine Parishes, the officials were anx- ious to see for themselves the pro- gress being made in the effort to safe- guard New Orleans. The dynamiting has been going on ever since the initial blast and it culminated yester- day in a 3,000-pound charge explosion. An impressive reminder of the grave situation into which this city would be plunged by a break in the levees protecting its nearly 500,000 inhabitants was obtained by the flood relief party yesterday afternoon as it passed through a half-closed “gate” into the walled city, coming from Baton Rouge. Half of the highway from Baton Rouge has been closed by erection part way across the road of a sec- tion of giant steel cofferdam, conmect- ing with the back levees protecting New Orleans from a break in the east levees above the city. The re- maining section of cofferdam was réady to be docked intc place across the road at the first warning of danger. Danger Not Yet Past. ‘While Secretaries Hoover and Davis believe that the Poydras Crevasse has relievel New Orleans of nearly all danger of inundation, they learned by their automobile inspection tour yesterday that anything may happen east of the river, below Baton Rouge, when the flood peak arrives. The gravity of the situation not only on the east side, but in the neighborhood of the mouth of the old river on the west, above Baton Rouge, has impelled Secretary Hoover to stay in this hazardous territory until the final battles are won or lost. His headquarters for the next week or so, or until the crisis is past, will { be the whole area from Baton Rouge 1o New Orleans, he announced today. Secretary of War Davis, who is particularly concerned with the flood control problem of the future, will leave heie this evening for Memphis, following conferences with the spill- way board and members of the Missis- sippi River Commission. He may then proceed to St. Louis to confer with {Continued on Page 4, Column 6. 'Reed Asks Other Democratic Senators | To Urge Extra Se | Senator James A. Reed of Missouri today sent telegrams to all other | Democratic Senators urging them to advise the President to call an extra session of Congress to legislate for the | flood sufferers in the Mississippi Val- |ley. | Senator Reed sent a telegram to | President Coolidge last Friday sug- | zesting that he call such an extra ses- sion, 1n his telegramgp the Demo. !cratic Senators and to%kome of the (Continued on Page 7, Column 6.) ssion on Flood Relief | progressive Senators | Reea said: | “I venture to say that if the sugges- ticn 1 have made meets with your ap- proval 1 hope you will express your opinion to the President. I think the magnitude of the disaster and the ex- tent o. the suffering demands govern- mental action.” Senator Reed is at present at Excel sior Springs, Mo. The telegrams were today, Senator ¢ Foen | ‘suga WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION W50, FLOODS THREATEN BIG “SUGAR BOWL" MONDAY, Hundreds Fight to Save Levee Guarding Thickly- Populated Section. BREAK WOULD DRIVE 250,000 FROM H-"ES | Hoover and Davis Inspect Embank- ments to New Orleans and Visit Caernarvon Crevasse. By the Associated Press V ORLEA La.. May 9.—The ar bowl” of central Louisiana was threatened with inundation today as the flood waters of the Mississippi | River surging from six dike crevasses | in the mortheastern part of the State | piled up against the Bayou Glaises | levee seeking an outlet to the sea. A funnelshaped stream covering thousands of square miles of the delta | of northeast Louisiana poured its | strength into the backwater that al-| ready subjected the Bayou Des Glaises | levee to an enormous pressure. Fed- eral and State engineers feared that | the dike could not hold. Hundreds of men were working on | the threatened levee. Engineers con- centrated their forces at weak spots, while a rescug fleet consisting of many types of vessels was being mobilized to meet any emergency. Area Thickly Populated. The “sugar bowl,” wherein the do- mestic sugar cane is grown, is thickly | populated. It is estimated that 250,000 persons might be driven from their homes by a crevasse at Bavou Des Glaises. Four million acres would be subject to overflow. nless the dikes break the waters | will be diverted through Old River back into the Mississippi, adding to the already record-breaking flood that is moving down the Father of Waters. That would increase the strain against the levees south of Angola. Battalions of laborers under the di- rection of engineers have been rais- ing low spots for weeks on the lower reaches of the stream and strengthen- ing weak places in preparation for the height of the flood. Should the Bayou des Glaises dike break, a large portion of the flood waters would be diverted through the Atchafalaya Basin, bringing some measure of re- lief ot the beleaguered lower river. Hoover Visits Crevasse. Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Com- merce, ‘and Secretary Davis .ol the War Department arrived here last night from Baton Rouge after in- specting the levee line between the two cities. After a conference with the citizens’ flood relief commit- tee and a visit to the Caernarvon Crevasses, 15 miles below this city, Secretary Hoover will return to Baton Rouge to remain until after the crisis has passed and Secretary Davis will return to Washington. Secretary Hoover said that a crevasse at Bayou Des Glaises would force another 100,000 people into refugee camps, but that ample prepa- rations had been made to care for them. Tautness of battle lines on the lower river contrasted sharply with the northeast Louisiana line, where the battle is over and the river has tri- umphantly crashed through the dikes at six points, inundating practically all of that part of the State. While the flood continued to rise in the cen- tral and southern portions of the flooded area, from the extreme north came reports of a fall and it was be- lieved the end was in sight. Crest Lost in Great Lake. The crest was lost somewhere in the great lake created by the crevasses, but it was said that unless there was a crevasse at Bayou Des Glaises it would be at the mouth of Old River within a few da; Move- ment of the peak of the rise wlil be a matter of speculation. North from Old River gauges all along the line showed steady declines, while to the south each tenth of a foot the waters climbed marked a new ATTORNEY IS BEATEN BY TWO WHO ESCAPE J. H. Adrisans Is Assaulted With Hammer Outside of His Bedroom Door. | Beating their elderly and crippled victim over the head with a hammer to silence his screams and then tak- ing fright and fleeing, as J. H. Adriaans, 68-year-old attorney, 337 Pennsylvania avenue, fell to the floor outside his bedroom door shortly after last midnight, two young men escaped from the premises, leaving behind them a brace, bit and bloody hammer. Hearing a noise in the entry way at the foot of the steps below him, the man opened his door on the sec- ond floor and limped toward the steps to investigate. As he reached the top of the stairs his hands were seized and he was hit twice over the head with a hammer. Twisting in the grasp of his assail- ant, he saw that he was a young white man. Another man stood at the foot of the stairs, just inside the door leading to the street which Mr. Adriaans had locked when he retired for the night. Despite his screams, he was forced to face the wall and hold his hands above his head. The thief searched his pockets and then hit him over the head several times, leaving him as he sank to the floor in a daze. After lying for hours in a dazed condition, Mr. Adriaans made his way to his room, whe! he bathed his He was then taken to Casualty Hospital and treted for severe lacerations and contusions about the head. On his insistence, however, that he had business to at- tend to, he was discharged later in the morning. wounds. Four Children Burned. POPLAR BLUFF, Mo., May 9 (#).— Four children of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Wiley, farmer, were burned to death In a fire that destroyed their home 15 miles south of here early today. The { sent out today to the other Senators in Mi# name by his secretary, _ children were trapped in their rooms in the seoond stor; s MAY 9, 1927—THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. Houdini's Collection of Magic’ ing Star. * Books, Numbering 5,14 Library. MEMORIAL TO RISE DESPITE DEFICIT | Drive to Continue for $25,000 Actually Needed for War Project. The District War Memorial will be built. While the response to the cam- paign for funds which ended today has not been sufficient to guarantee an immediate start on the project, it has been sufficiently large to make neces- sary the memorial's construction. By unanimous vote of the team captains and workers who attended the closing luncheon of the campaign today at the New Willard Hotel, it was decided that a campaign by voluntary workers will be continued quietly until the deficit has been mel and every Washingtonian has had ample time and opportunity to sub- scribe. The final report of the campaign today brought the total raised during the past week to $71,134.95. Today's report was $14,856, leaving a deficit between the $140,000 sought and the amount actually raised during the last ‘week of $68,000. While the cost of the memorial, with the necessary landscaping and amplification devices and other equip- ment has been placed at $200,000 the memorial itself may be built with about $155,000. 25,000 Really Needed. Last year $60,000 was raised, and this amount, added to the $71,134.95 raised during the campaign ending to- day, leaves a balance of a little more than $25,000 needed actually to build the memorial. Following a report of the status of the campaign as outlined above by Newbold Noyes, chairman of the memorial campaign, Edward F. Col- laday, a member of the memorial com- mission, and a leader of one of the di- visions engaged in raising the money, took the floor and declared that from all sides he had heard the complaint that the campaign was ending before many prospective contributors had sent in their money. He made the motion, which was seconded by Isaac Gans, that the campaign be continued unofficially until the balance sought has been raised. For Continued Campaign. Before this motion was put to a vote, a number of other workers rose to their feet and urged that the cam- paign be continued, as they felt sure that the balance needed could be and would be raised. The vote was unanimous in favor of the motion. Mr. Noyes announced thereafter that the present campaign organization would be continued in skeleton form and that headquarters would be mov- ed to The Star Building. After this decision had been an- nounced, on motion of Mr. Colliday, the workers tendered to Mr. Noyes a rising vote of thanks on his leadership throughout the campaign. Mitchell Gives $50. Although he is commander of the Vincent B. Costello Post, which last Tuesday night passed a resolution against the form chosen for the me- morial, contending that it should be a structure to house ex-service men's ¢ ganizations and possibly a National Guard armory, Col. Willlam Mitchell yesterday gave his check for $50 to the memorial fund. At the same time letters were being sent to the approxi- mately 800 members of Costello Post urging their attendance at the next regular meeting of the post, which will be held at the District Building a week from tomorrow night. Mrs. Mary C. Costello, mother of | Vincent B. Costello, for whom Costello Post is named, today sent $10 for the ! fund, and Willlam F. Franklin, ad- jutant of the post, contributed $1. Today's reports will decide the win- ning precinct among the city’s police stations in the race which started a week ago for a cup, donated by the Memorial Commission, to the precinct turning in the largest number of sub- scriptions to the memorial. Standing of Precincts. Last night’s figures showed that the police so far have turned in a total of $1,198.96 toward the memorial, No. 10 precinct leading the race with $210, and the Detective Bureau second with $190.50. The standing of other precincts follows: No. 1, §93.75; No. 3, $166.40; No. 11 Traffic Burea i, $69.50; No. 8, $41.80; No. Y 7.76; A number of contributions have been made in memory of individuals, and with those received Saturday eve- ning were ¢ . from Comdr, and Mrs. Harry Kimmell, “in_memory of our (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) .. Radio Programs—Page 34 Nicaragua to Give |$10 for Each Rifle Surrendered to U. S. By the Associated Press. Nicaraguan Liberal soldiers who surrender their arms to the Ameri- can Marines under the pacification plan worked out by Henry L. Stim- son, President Coolidge's personal representative, are to receive cloth- ing, supplies and $10 per rifle from the Nicaraguan government, An arrangement to this effect has been made by Gen. Moncada, Liberal commander-in-chief, and Rear Admiral Latimer, command- ing American naval forces in Nica- ragua. A report today from Mr. Stim- son said Liberal leaders and dele- gates representing Juan B. Sacasa, Liberal claimant to the presidency, would take part in congressional by-elections in certain districts, al- though still declining to accept in any formal way the proviso that President Diaz.remain in office un- til the elections in 1928, which are to be supervised by the United States. FREED FROM BLAME - IN DEMENT DEATH | Policemen Exonerated at In- quest After Shots at Al- leged Rum Car. Policemen W. A. Schotter and G. C. Deyoe were exonerated.from blame in the death of Wiliiam F. Dement, 29- year-old driver of an alleged liquor car, who was fatally shot after a five--mile chase at Fifteenth and G streets south- east early on the morning of April 14, when a coroner’s jury at an in- quest in the District morgue today found that the policemen fired on the car “in line of duty.” The jury deliberated only about five minutes after hearing testimony con- cerning the chase in which the fugi- tive car used a smoke soreen and dur- ing which about 12 shots were fired at the fleeing automobile. Hears Story of Chase. The story of the 5-mile chase of the suspected liquor car from Sixty-first street and Marlboro road to Fifteenth and G streets southeast early on the morning of April 13, which ended in the fatal shooting of Dement, was re- viewed before the jury. The inquest, which was postponed last Saturday because a police report describing the affair included no men- tion of the shooting by the policemen, was reopened by Coroner Nevitt this morning with the reading of a new report which brought the shooting into prominence, Recognized Car, Says Report. The police report tersely stated that the liquor squadron under Sergt. George M. Little recognized the roadster which Dement was driving as a rum car_on Marlboro road and gave chase. Racing toward the city at 65 miles an hour, the report stated, the fleeing auto opened up a smoke screen, and turning from Marlboro road into Pennsylvania avenus south- east, swerved to the left, almost hitting the pursuit car. The report told of the chase through the south- east section of the city and of the fugitive car crashing into a porch at 56613 Fifteenth street southeast, where Austin Jarboe, riding with Dement, attempted to run away but was caught, while Dement, shot through _the head, was lifted .from 7, Has Been Added to the R Congressional CONFERENCE OPENS ON GITY PLANNING Development of Washington and Environs Is Special Topic for Tomorrow. Regional planning, such as Wash- ington is now working out in co-opera- tion with nearby Maryland and Vir- ginia, has become an essential prob- lem for every large city, in the opin- ion of Gordon Whitnall, director of the City Plan Commission of Los An- geles,” Calif., who was the opening speaker at the first formal session of the nineteenth National Conference on City Planning at Wardman Park Hotel this afternoon. In an interview this morning on the subject of regional planning, which was his topic at this afternoon’s meet- Ing, Mr. Whitnall declared that it had become a necessary function of all large centers of population to co-oper- ate with the various communities sur- rounding them in developing regional plans, if orderly and systematic growth is to be achieved. . Mr. Whitnall, who has been identi- fied with regional planning for the area surrounding Los Angeles, said that he was not sufficiently familiar with the detalls of what is being done in Washington to discuss it in a tech- nical way, but said he knew the Na- tional Capital has taken long strides toward developing a regional plan. Plan Important Here. He expressed the belief that & regional plan is of unusual impor- tance in Washington, because of the limited area covered by the Federal city and the extent to which it has been built up near the boundary of Maryland and Virginia. In his ad- dress to the conference this after- noon Mr. Whitnall will discuss in a board manner the entire subject of regional planning, telling in particu- lar of wnat has been done in Los Angeles and vicinity, which began laying out a regional plan in 1924, being the first locality to establish a regional planning commission. More than 300 technical experts and laymen who are interested in city- planning problems came into Wash- ington last night and this morning from every corner of the country for the three-day gathering, at which every phase of the far-reaching city- planning movement will be discussed in a scientific way by men who have made a long study of the particular topics assigned to them. Will Discuss Washington. Of particular interest to the Dis- ict of Columbia will be the fourth session, at 8 o'clock tomorrow night, which is to be devoted to discussion of the development of the National Capital and its environs by officials and members of the various agencies dealing with planning problems here. After registering at convention headquarters at Wardman Park at 9 o'clock this morning, the delegates attended an informal reception in one of the hotel lobbies at 11 o’clock. The oonference got under way at 12:15 with a_welcoming luncheon, at which Dr. Alfred Shaw, editor of the Review of Reviews, spoke and District Commissioner Dougherty made the formal address of welcome on behalf of the peéople of the District. Business Sessions Begin. First business sessions began at 2 o'clock with John Nolen, president of the conference in the chair. Mr. Nolen is a well known city planner of Cambridge, Mass. There were two general topics at the afternoon session, namely: “Public Services Which Require Regional Planning and Control,” and “Govern- mental Organization to Promote Re- (Continued on Page 7, Column 5.) (Continued on Page 4, Column 4.) Special Dispatch to The'Star. ROCKVILLE, Md., May 9.—Sur- rendering his 16-year-old son on a charge of robbery, Elmer Rife of Takoma Park, Md. vesterday helped the police toward solution of the hold- up of Edwin Williams of Washington, who was robbed of his automobile and money last Tuesday evening by two young men whom he had taken out for a demonstration of a car, Rife said hig:son Ernest returned home Saturday night after an absence of several dfys and confessed his part in the dup of Williams. He gave the na of Horace E. Davis of Woodsidefas his companion, and Davis. d was arrest i Ravis wlnlog a gun ating, while Davis was Father Surrenders Son After Confession Of Armed Holdup: Stolen Auto Recovered Williams after they had been driven out for a demonstration upon the pretense that they wanted to pur- chase the automobile. Williams, who is connected with the Peerless Motor Co., on Fourteenth street, was bound with a rope, relieved of $3, and left fn the woods a short distance from Columbia road, at a place called White Oak. Rife said Davis gave him the gun to hold while he per- petrated the robbery. In the car the boys made a trip through several States, returning when they were out of funds. The car was left in a wood near Takoma Park, and the police found it yeste: day where Rife directed them to go. Rife gave $1,000 bail pending a hear- up. “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star’s carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Saturday’s Circulation, 100,494 Sunday’s Circulation, 111,392 TWO CEN TORNADOES KILL 5, INJURE T00 N SWEEP AGROSS TEXAS AND MIDWEST STATES 30 Reported Dead and 50 Hurt in Two Towns Near Dallas—Total Fatalities in Missouri Placed at 14. OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS ARE HARD HIT BY STORM Nebraska, Towa and Dakotas Also Swept by Fierce Winds—Dam- age in Wake of Gales Is Esti- mated at $3,000,000—Many Families Lose Their Homes. By the Associated Press. At least 55 persons were killed, more than 100 injured and property damage to the extent of more than $3,000,000 by tornadoes and cyclonic winds, accompanited by downpours in some sections, that lashed the Middle West and Southwest over the week end. Death lists were ex- pected to increase momentarily as additional reports were received from the storm area. Texas was hardest hit, with 30 deaths and 50 injured reported from tornadoes that struck Garland and Nevada, both within 35 miles of Dallas, early today. In Missouri the tornado toll had reached 14 dead and an undetermined number of injured. In Kansas, where a tornado swept four counties Saturday night, 10 were reported dead. In Iowa a woman was drowned when her motor car was swept into a ditch during a heavy wind and rain storm. Garland, 15 miles northeast of Dallas, and Nevada, 35 miles north. east of Dallas, were struck by twist. ers early today. Miss Irma Coone, Red Cross nurse at Greenville, telephoned to the Red Cross at Dallas that there were 17 dead at Nevada. Eight known dead was the toll at Garland. More than 50 persons were. injured in these two towns. 17 DEAD IN ONE TOWN. Another Texas Community Reports Seven Fatalities. DALLAS, Tex., May 9 (#).—DMilss Irma Codné, Red Cross nurse at Greenville, telephoned Miss Ada Miller, executive secretary of the Dallas Red Cross chapter, this morn- ing that there were 17 dead in the storm at Nevada, Tex. Seven persons were reported killed and a score or more injured by a tornado which razed part of the resi- dence section of Garland, a town of about 2,000 persons, early this morn- ing. Two hours after the storm four bodies had been . covered and 14 in- jured had been sent in ambulances to Dallas, 15 miles distant. The identified dead: Monraee Todd, C. O. Smiley and Mrs. Smiley and a Mrs. Nicholson, mother of S. E. Nicholson. Most of the victims were trapped in their beds as the storm struck be- tween 3 and 4 o'clock. Among the two-score or more seriously injured were the four children of the Smileys. Thunder showers and night winds followed the twister. Only a small portion of the residential district was razed. 2 More than a dozen houses were demolished. Only the foundations re- mained of several structures. A few small houses were lifted bodily for a block or more. MISSOURI HARD HIT. Five Dead in Auxvasse and Carring- ton Reported. FULTON, Mo., May 9 (#).—Five persons are reported to have been killed and a number seriously injured in a tornado which last night struck Auxvasse, New Bloomfleld and Car- rington, towns near here. At New Bloomfield, about 12 miles south of Fulton, Rufus Phillips was killed and his daughter Della was se- riously injured. A Miss Clay also was reported killed. John W. Sameson, about 70, former assessor of Calla- way County, was killed near Carring- ton, about six miles from here. Near Auxvasse, 14 miles north of Fulton, Mrs. R. E. Biggs was killed and her son Thomas was injured. Mr, Biggs escaped injury. A farm hand on the Biggs place is reported mise- ing. A two-year-old child whose last name was Culver also was reported killed. A number of persons were seriously injured. Houses and other bulldings were blown down or seriously damaged, trees were uprooted and live stock was killed. Telephone wires wers blown down and communication was disrupted, Wind Sweeps St. Louis. ST. LOUIS, May 9 (#).—Charles Williams, 40, negro, was killed; Annie Edmunds, 29, negro, was seriously injured and considerable property damage was caused by a heavy wind. storm which struck St. Louis early today. Numerous trees were blown down and window glass was shattéred. Six Reported Dead. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., May 9 (#). —John Rankin of Eldon, which w: struck by a tornado last night, a rived here today and said at least six persons were killed by the storm. Rankin said the twister struck the west section of the town and demoal- ished everything in its path. HUNDREDS WITHOUT HOMES. Kansas Hardest Hit By Twister; 7 Scores Injured. KANSAS CITY, May 9 (#).—Torna- does, blizzards, torrential rains and hailstorms in the Western States Sat- urday night and yesterday killed at least 16 persons, injured scores and left hundreds homeless. Kansas was hardest hit when a twister started near the Oklahoma bor- der in the central section of the State late Saturday night and swept four counties, leaving 11 known dead. Two women and two children were killed in a tornado near Eldon, in south central Misso last night. ) o tancs o Tops I et %‘,' i