Evening Star Newspaper, November 2, 1927, Page 1

WLEA I'HER. U 8 Weather Bureau orecast.) Mostly cloudy and somewhat colde tonight; tomorrow fair and colder. Temperature—Highest, p.m. yesterday; I 73, at 1:50 owest, 50, at 6 a.m. today. Full report on page 9. Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 12 and 13 No. 30,500. post office, Wa: Entered as second class matter shington. D C. he WASHINGTON, D. 5 WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION bening Shar. C., MISTRIAL ENDS OIL CASE; |%.000000 ADDED JURY TAMPERING PROBE | (0STIS APPROVED IS BEGUN BY GRAND JURY FORU.S BULDNGS Action Is Takenl by Justice Siddons:. DEFENSE JOINS INU.S.DEMANDS Arrangements or New Trial to Be Made Soon. With dramatic suddenness the criminal conspiracy trial of Albert B. Fall, former Secretary of the In- terior, and Harry F. Sinclair, New York oil magnate, ended today, for the time being, in a mistrial. Justice Frederick L. Siddons, in declaring a mistrial and promptly discharging the jury, based his ac- tion on charges of jury tampering, including allegations that detectives employed by the defendant Sinclair had sought to make improper con- tacts with jurymen. Joining with the court, counsel for the Govern- ment, as well as for the defense, had previously agreed unanimously that it would be useless to proceed further with the original jury in the box. New Trial Due Soon. Arrangements for another trial of the famous Teapot Dome case, which ended on this its thirteenth day, will be made soon at a confer- ence between counsel. Owen J. Rob- erts of special Government counsel stated that the prosecution favors a date in January. Meanwhile, the 10 men and 2 wom- en constituting the jury are under instructions from the court to ap- pear before the grand jury tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock. This grand jury is inquiring into the Govern- ment’s charges that the jury .was impoperly shadowed by private op- ectatives of the Burns agency, and that Edward J. Kidwell, jr, juror No. 11, had boasted before witnesses that he expected to get a “car as iong as a block.” Affidavits submit- ted by the Government backing up the charges are in the hands of the grand jury. Justice Siddons, in closing the trial. notified Kidwell in open court of the allegations involving him, but took no further action against him for the present. To newspaper men Kidwell declared | that the allegations involving him were “lies” and the result of a “news- paper frame-up.” He will deny every- thing. he said, before court. Slate Wiped Clean. The mistrial that resulted today means that the slate in the present case has been wiped clean and that the Government must present all over again before a new jury. Every scrap of evidence by which it is seeking to convict the two defendants of con- spiring to defraud the Government of 1he Teapot Dome oil reserve must he presented anew. Witnesses must be brought here, at Government expense, for a second time from as far as the | Pacific Coast. i The scene in the courtroom was one | long to be remembered. Every seat was occupied long before the conven- ing hour of 10 o'clock and hundreds amilled about the corridors and outside the building in a vain endeavor to gain admission. The air was tense with suspense. Sinclair came in a few minutes be- fore court time. He did not appear in | the least disturbed. Dressed ir the | xame blue suit. he took his accustom- | ed seat Between his counsel near the | Jury box. He talked animatedly with | his attorneys, Martin W. Littleton | and George P. Hoover. Fall Appears Next. Next to appear was Fall, who shoul- @ered his way through the crowd to #it, dejectedly, between his counsel on the left of Sinclair. His wife, who has been in constant attendance, was in her seat among the spectators Necks craned to see the two defendants, Sin- clair, who is already under three- month jail sentence, and 1. who must stand a bribery trial with Ed- ward L. Doheny. after the new trial of the Teapot Dome case. Justice Siddons was nearly 10 min- utes late in appearing. His usual bland ures were drawn and severe, “Bring in the jury.” the court or- @ered. One by one the 2 women and 10| men filed into the courtroom amid a huzzing of anticipation. The jurors looked very solemn. Kidwell. particu- Jarly was pale as he took his seat and sat with hands clasp facing the cot | Over Kidwell's head hung the pros- | pect of whatever punishment the court might mete out to him for al- leged violation of the court’s order not tn discuss the case during the period of the trial or to permit any one to discuss it with him 2 Hush Envelops Room. Counsel for both rumbers, sat facing the court with grave countenances. There was no sign of dejection, however, upon their faces. A hush prevailed the courtroom as Justice Siddons. in a low, firm voice addressed counsel and the jury. He said “Before announcing action the court has concluded to take on the matter submitted hy counsel for the Govern- ment vesterday in the form of several aMdavits. I think it but fair to Juror Kidwell to say to him that he is named in affidavits by J. Ray Ackers and Donald T. King, in which there are alleged certain statements. [ call attention to the existence of the aMdavite ax being part of the court record, 1 k well) to ke no (Conti sides, seven in in bis lap. | , Harris & Ewine Photos. JUSTICE FREDERICK L. SIDDONS. FALL REERET MTRIAL I GASE Justice Siddons Took the Ob- viouslV Rinht Course, He Declares. By the Associated Press. Expressing regret over the mistrial of the oil case, Albert B. Fall said in a statement today that “Justice Sid- dons took the obviously right course. “The fair and impartial trial guaran- teed to every citizen by the Constitu- tion of the United States has been made impossible by the publicity of the last 48 hours, irrespective of any other consideration,” Fall said. “The determination of Mr. Justice Siddons to accord a fair trial has been mani- fest in -this case. am deeply disappointed by what has just occurred. In ill-health I came here for this trial. It offered e the first opportunity to present tc a court and jury my defense Lo charges which have been made the foot ball of politics and the delight of the muckiaker for more than three years. Confident of Acquittal. “Only the evidence of the prosecu- tion has been preeented. Not cne word had been said in connection with my defense when this case nded. The time for my counsel to utline the defense had not arrived. “I had expected that within the week our opportunity would come. I was prepared completely to refute the charges against me and 1 enter- e 0 “No. 11” Haled Into Secret Hearing. INQUIRY TO GO ON TOMORROW |Kidwell Understood | to Have Waived Immunit Before the echo of the explosion from the proceedings of the Fall- Sinclair trial had reverberated through the corridors of the court- house today, the grand jury got down to the task of hearing state- ments on the Government-alleged jury-tampering matter presented to court yesterday, and, according to Owen J. Roberts, special Government oil prosecutor, was willing to sift into the very bottom of the §llcga- tions “if it takes three weeks.” The first witness taken before the grand jurors was Edward J. Kid- well, 1637 U street northeast, the famous “juror No. 11" named in the affadavits which brought an abrupt end to the trial. As he left the courthouse, after being pressed by newspaper men for a statement in which he declared the whole matter was a “newspaper frame-up,” he was pursued by Deputy Marshals John J. Clarkson and Constanzo Cerimele and returned to the grand jury room. Waives Immunity Rights. There, it is understood, he ex- pressed a willingness to make a statement and waived any rights of immunity that he might claim. What he told the grand jurors was not made public, but when he emerged after an hour and six minutes, he said he had “told the truth” He later went before the grand jury at 2 o'clock. Kidwell was taken before the grand jury by Neil J. Burkin- shaw, assistant United States at- “Personally, | greatly regret and |torney.- “You understand that you haye perfect immunity from answering any and all questions before the grand jury,” Burkinshaw told Kid- well, “if you do so voluntarily.” Kid- well quickened his pace as he ap- proached the grand jury room, as though anxious to have it over with. Tomorrow the 11 remaining jurors, including two women, will appear before the grand jury, partly at their own request and partly on invitation of the Government, in order to “clear themselves” of any “false impres- sion” that may have attached itself to them as a result of the jury- tampering charges. Immediately after the jury had been tained no doubt whatever that a ver- dict of acquittal would be rendered, because I am confident that my de- fense would convince every fair- (Continued on Page 5, Column 4.) . COUNSEL PUZZLED OVER JUROR KIDWELL Failure of Justice Siddons to Take Note of Alleged Misconduct Raises Problem. * lure of Justice Siddons to take note of the =upposed misconduct of Juror Kidwell before excusing the jury, except to notify him of the men. tion of his name in the affidavits, had left the Government counsel in a quandary, it was stated this after- noon. Counsel were not prepared to say what steps, if any, would be taken. Kidwell was taken before the grand jury at his own request to tell all he knew of the affair. Should testimony now being considered by the grand jurors develop any connection of the juror with the action of the Burns' detectives, whose activities are being inquired into, an indictment for con- spiracy to obstruct justice might be returned against him and he might become amenable 10 the statute which provides a penalty of six years' im- prisonment, if convicted. Two Brokers End Lives. BUDAPEST, Hunga ovember 2 (). —Seated in armchairs and separ- ated from each other and their clerks only by glass partitions, two well known stockbrokers, Adalbert Vas nd Samuel Cuth, today shot them- eives dead within full view of each other and their clerks. £x P . Marilyn Miller Wins Divorce. PARIS, November 2 (#).—The Ver- sailles tribunal has granted Marilyn Miller, stage and screen actress, a divorce from Jack Pickford. tana, who conducted the senatorial inquiry of the Teapot Dome naval oil tod: tiona} burden on the taxpayer. however, discharged, juror No. 2, Conrad J. Herzog, 56 years old, a motor car sales manager of 36 New York avenue, ap- proached Mr. Roberts as spokesman for the 11 jurors and told the Govern- ment prosecutor of the ‘“reflection” cast upon them by the Government’s action, Took Jurors at Word. Mr. Roberts declared the Govern- ment “had no such thoughts" about the bulk of the jury. which it regarded as a high minded, intelligent group. Furthermore, Roberts declared with emrhasis (hat “the Government did not spend one plugged nickel to shad- ow vou,” and that it took the jurors at their word, even to their promise not to read the newspapers. “The vice of this whole thing,” de- clared Mr. Roberts, that each of you was shadowed. You knew you were shadowed everywhere you went, and when you saw a man following you, was it not your natural conclu. sion that he was a Department of Jus. tice operative or a secret service man?" Mr. Roberts then declared that the “shadow men” had voluminous, de- talled reports on the movements of each juror. “They had down in writ- ing everywhere you:went, Mr. Her- zog, With whom you talked, with whom you ate in public and where you dined; they knew all about your finan- cial status.” “Each of you Mr. Roberts ex. plained, “will be given ample oppor- tunity before the grand jury to set forth anything you have to say,” and Mr. Herzog declared all were willing to go before that body. . All Information Sought. Mr. Roberts declared to newspaper men that the grand jury would like to hear any person not so far identified with the case on matter bearing on the subject before it. He requested that any and all persons who might ve information of value to communic: United States attorney. been summoned for the grand jury, in- :luding A. Mason Day, vice president of the Sinclair Exploration Co., and Donald Woodward, wealthy Washing- ton merchant, at whose home Day is alleged to have received reports on the activities of the Burns detectives figur- ing in the case. o s who will appear be- Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Mon- reserve lease, when informed of the mistrial in the Fall-Sinclair case, said “It 1s in the last degree deplorable if there entails any enormous addi- That, is not the worst feature, you (speaking to Kid-|The gravity of offense of such an in- n: statement at this|terference with the orderly adminis- ed on Page o, Column 5.) 'tration of justice canngt be overesti- “(Continued on Pa lumn 2 Senator Walsh Declares Gravity Of Jury Tampering Is Inestimable mated. It is to be hoped that the rand jury inquiry will be searching and that no guilty man will be per- mitted to escape, however elevated his position may be in the social, business or political world. If sum- cient punishment is not meted out to |Commission Sanctions Plans | for Commerce and Rev- enue Offices. TREASURY TO DRAW UP SPECIFICATIONS SOON Archives Structure Next on Pro- gram, Smoot Indicates—Proj- ects Will Be Speeded. Under the final plans just ap- | proved by the Public Buildings Com- mission, the new - Department f Commerce Building will cost § 000,000 instead of $13,000,000, and the new Internal Revenue structure will call for an outlay of $10,000,000, in- stead of the previous estimate of $7,950,000, it was made known today. With the sanction given to the drawings yesterday afternoon by the commission, the way now is cleared for Treasury officials to write speci- fications on which bids will be sought to start both structures. Senator Smoot of Utah, chairman of the commission, also indicated to- day that with these two important units of the triangle program nearly ready 'o be started, the next to he planned for will be the Archives Building. 1,030 Feet Long. The Commerce Building, under these final plans, will be a notable addition to the architecture of the Capital. It will be 1,030 feet long. covering the large expanse between E and B, Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets. It will be five stories high at the northern end and six stories at the B s'reet end, due to the grade of the site. The present intention, it was learned today, is to construct the buildings of limestons with granite base. The Internal Revenue Building, while not as large as Commerce, will be an impressive feature of the triangle layout, extending from Tenth to Twelfth. B to C streets, The Archives Building, which is listed for attention next, will occupy the area bounded by Ninth, Tenth, B street and Pennsylvania avenue, leav- ing space for another building to be erected in U shape around it. It was explained by officials in ate with the office of the More than a score of witnesses have | charge of the building program today that the increase in the limit of cost on the Commerce and Internal Rev- enue buildings will provide for more office space in these structures. The Commerce Bullding is to have 1,000,000 square feet of space. To Speed Program. While Chairman Smoot would not predict a definite date when these first two of the triangle buildings would be actually under way, he emphasized that they would be started at the earliest possible time, allowing for the writing of specifications. It also has been decided, according to Senator Smoot, to make some tem- porary provision for the income tax unit, now housed in the wartime structure between Ohio avenue, B street, Fourteenth and Fifteenth, so that the Commerce site can be cleared for bullding operations. Some of the small houses north of Ohlo avenue are heing razed now and the District Com- missioners will have to find temporary quarters for the House of Detention, which stands-on part of the Com- merce site. The Internal Revenue site also will be cleared as soon as some provision can be made for the Farmers’ Market, now covering a large part of that area. A drawing of the general layout of the triangle, which was available to the buildings commission at its meet- ing yesterday, shows only a few un- important changes from the general scheme approved early this year. It gives a clearer idea, however, of how certain portions of the triangle woulG be treated under the general plan. To Enlarge D. C. Building. This sketch shows, for instance, how the existing District Building would be enlarged at some future time to fit in to the KFederal Govern- ment's plan, and indicates also that. as announced recently by Senator Smoot, the Post Office Building eventu- ally will give way to permit a round ing out of the new program. The drawing shows, as was made known during the Summer, that there will be a huge circle in the center of the triangle, extending approximate- ly from Eleventh to Thirteenth streets, with Twelfth street passing through the center. Just west of the circle, and also in the interior of the triangle, there is a proposed square garden extend ing from about Thirteenth to Four- teenth streets. The proposed build- ings are outlined in such a way as to fit around the circle and garden. Another landscape feature of the plan is the plaza to be laid off in front of the Commerce Bullding on the square between E street, Pennsyl- vania avenue, Fourteenth and Fif- teenth streets. o BERLIN ENVOY TO U. S. IS REPORTED NAMED Dr. Friedrich W. von Prittwitz- Gaffron Declared Choice in Germany. By the Associated Pres BERLIN, 'November 2.—Dr. Fried- rich Wilhelm Von Prittwitz-Gaffron, councillor of the German embassy at Rome, has heen confirmed as succes- sor to Baron Ago Von Maltzan, late German ambassador to the United States, it was learned in diplomatic circles today. Dr. Von Prittwitz-Gaffron, who is 43 years old, was a close friend of the late Baron Von Maltzan and is con- sidered one of the ablest and most prominent of the younger set of Ger- man diplomats, He Is reported to be liberally inclined in his politics. Dr. Von Prittwitz-Gaffron comes trom an old military family. Hoe any one attempting improperly to in- fluence a juror in the trial of a case such as that which has so unfortu- nately come to sn end, the multitude will lose faith in our judicial system and in the courts and in the adminis- tration of justice.” studied law and before the war, served in diplomatic posts at Washington and WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER D) = FINE 3 TS HOPELESS, 7, 1927 = FORTY-TWO R :«5\%\\ FELLOWS. THAT ! N E M KNowiNG (48 é/‘ P ) e, PAGES. ~ ) Z \ NoTwiInG DOTNG ! NORBECL, * Associated service. (#) Means Associated Press. SPEAKING OF OPEN “TAMPERING.” INTEREST CENTERS INHAVANA SESSION U. S. Ready for Attack on Policies From Pan-Ameri- can Delenates in January. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. The willingness of Charles Eva Hughes and other eminent Americans to serve on the United States dele- gation to the Pan-American Congress at Havana in January confirms the importance -which is being attached throughout the western hemisphere to the next gathering. Efforts at the last meeting to make of the Pap-American Union a political rather than a commereial body, dis- cussion of the implications of the Mon- roe doctrine and new problems that are arising In connection 'with (he membership of Latin American states in the League of Nations at Geneva all have combined to make the policy of the United States toward its neigh- bors the central theme of the con- ference, however general or abstract may be the items on the program. Policies Face Attacks. The United States Government recognizes that her policies in Cen- tral America as well as South Amer- ica may come under severe criticism and she is ready for the comba:. Am- bassador Henry Fletcher, who now is at Rome, but who served in Chine and Mexico and speaks Spanish flu- ently, has been chosen a delegate, as has been Ambassador Dwight Mor- row, now in Mexico City. The Amer- ican Ambassador to Cuba will be a member of the delegation, but former Secretary Hughes and Ambassadors Fletcher and Morrow are expected to take care of the more or less political problems that may arise at the meeting. Dr. James Brown Scott, Dean Wil- bur of Leland Stanford University, former Judge Morgan O'Brien and former Senator Underwood will de- vote themselves to the legal and sociological questions that will be dis- cussed. Dr. Leo S. Rowe, director general of the Pan-American Union, will be concerned largely with the ad- ministrative side of the conference and is himself a diplomat versed in the large questions that will confront the American delegation. He, too, is a Spanish scholar. Uphold Fundamentals. International rules on aviation, measures for extending civil rights to women on the same basis as men, and regulations affecting various phases of commercial and maritime practice, to- gether with an agreement on cardinal principles of international law, will constitute the legal work of the con- ference. But there will be plenty of opportunity in the discussion for the revival of the project launched last time, whereby the Pan-American states shall be knit together in a better organization for the better prob- lems common to this hemisphere. The United States has not been op- posed in principle to such an idea, but has felt it could not in any way (Continued on Page 2. Column 1. . THREE ESCAPE DEATH AT ELKTON CROSSING Car Overturns, but Navy Medical Officers Miss Train—One Goes to Hospital. Three naval medical officers, at- tach.. to the Naval Medical School here, had a close brush with death to- day in an automobile accident at Elk- ton, Md., just missing a train and ending the experience with their auto- mobile overturned. Dr. Albert Ich- stadt came to the Naval Hospital for treatment and will have X-rays taken of his right arm and shoulder blade, which may be fractured. The doctor was riding with his col- l.agues, Dr. Henry Smith and Dr. C. H. Weber, toward a crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Dispatches of the Associated Press fr.m Elkton declare that the safety gates were sa:l to have been down, but Dr. Smith, who was driving, did not see the warning and went through He managed to swing the car to an- other track, the diepatches add, just in time to avold being struck by the tr_in, but the machine turned over. Drs. Smith and Weber, who did not St. Petersburg. His assignment to the embasay at Rome came in 1921. . Radio Program—Page 24 apply for hospital treatment, were sald to have received cuts, the former about the body and the latter on the legs, face and arms. They left Elkton by train for Washington, arriving with Dr. Ichstadt. ! i l MORROW S School Bus Row Lands Two Fathers Of Pupils “in Jail” By the Associated Press, WINSTON-SALEM, N. C., No- vember 2.—J. E. Mustin and T. D. Pyrtle, living in the Walkertown school district, today were serving 30 days on the county roads all be- cause the school bus would not stop at their homes to pick up their children, and they refused to send the children to the regular stopping place, 200 yards distant. They were haled to court here and found guilty of failing to com-_ ply with the compulsory school law. The court offered to suspend judgment on payment of court costs, but both refused .to pay and they were sentenced to the roads. PEECH PLEASES MEXICO New Envoy’s Reference to Sovereignty Strikes a Re- sponsive No’e. By the Associated Pres MEXICO CITY. November 2.—El Universal Grafico declares that in the formal speech of Dwight W. Morrow delivering his credentials as United States Ambassador to President Calles the Mexican people have noticed one word, “sovereignty,” at which they re- joiced. Mr. Morrow said: “It is my earnest hope that we shall not fail to adjust outstanding questions with that dig- nity and mutual respect which should mark the international relationship of two sovereign and independent states.” The fact that Mr. Morrow referred to Mexico thus, El Universal Grafico says, is a good omen because few diplomatic orations by representatives of the United States referred to Mexi- can soverelgnty with such a satisfac- tory meaning for Mexican: The words are especially significant, the paper declares, when discussions of disputes between Mexico and Amer- ica now hinge on Mexican sovereignty. The long-standing dispute between Mexico and the United States over the alleged confiscation of American oil and mineral holdings is regarded as one of the principal problems with which Mr. Morrow has to deal. Under the oil regulations which be came effective January 1 last, foreign< owned oil lands for which no conces- sions had been asked before that date may be assigned to other claimants. The Mexican government has ab- stained so far from rigid enforcement of the statute, probably to await ac- tion by the Mexican Supreme Court on litigation brought by foreign oil com- panies. . The American Government has held that this article was confiscatory. SUSPECT LOSES APPEAL. COLUMBUS, Ohio, November 2 (). —Nathan Weinzimmer, alleged to be the last of' the famous Whittmore gang of robbers, must stand trial in New York for his part in a diamond robbery there January 11, 1927, as the result of the Ohio Supreme Court today refusing to review his appeal on habeas corpus proceedings. Weinzimmer is under $50,000 bond from a Cleveland court. Last Summer Gov. Donahey hon- ored requisition papers for Weinzim- mer's removal to New York, but he instituted habeas corpus proceedings in Cleveland. The proceedings were denied there, whereupon he appealed. The robbery for which he is wanted in New York was that of the Goudvis diamond firm. GORPORATION TAX ~ SLASH ADVOCATED |Business Delegates Appear Before House Committee With Plea. By the Associated Pross. Reduction of the tax on the income of corporations from 133 per cent to 10 per cent, was advocated today by a number of representatives of national business organizations in testimony before the House ways and means committee, which earlier in the week received administration recommenda- tions that the corporation levy should be cut to only 12 per cent. During testimony by P. W. Pinker- ton, representing the Illinois Cham- ber of Commerce, Chairman Green of the committee interrupted to say that, in his opinion, doing business in corporute form afforded a number of benefits not enjoyed by individuals and the witness replied- he . merely wished to advise the committee the Il- linois Chamber regarded the present 1312 per cent rate as excessive. Hits Favored Rate. Pinkerton recommended elimination of the favored rate on earned incomes, because of difficulty of administration. He urged that adjustments be made in rates applicable in lower brackets of incomes, so as to create about the same savings for taxpayers without the necessity for additional compli- cated computation For more than a year, agitation has existed both in and out of Congress for reduction of this levy, now 133 per cent of a corporation’s net income after certain deductions have been made. During the two preceding days of the present tax hearings, the cor- poration rate occupied a conspicuous place in all discussions and there is practical unanimity of opinion that the fixing of a new rate on corporate bodies will be a controverted subject throughout the writing of the new revenue law. The administration in presenting its program for a $225,000,000 tax cut, recommended reduction of the corpo- ration rate to 12 per cent. and al though Republicans generally have refrained from comment on the pro- posal, a number preceding the start of committee hearings announced they would favor a slash to 11 per cent. Democrats. on the other hand, have voiced determined opposition to the Treasury suggestion. holding that the levy should be cut to a flat rate of 10 per cent. Representative Garner of Texas, nking minority member repeatedly has an- nounced that he believes the Treasury has underestimated the amount that ill be available for tax reduction. and that the prospective surplus will be ample to warrant a cut of $100,- 000,000. arguing that, hecause of this, a 10 per cent rate for corporations can be affected. Simmons Asks Slash. Senator Simmons of North Carolina, ranking Democrat on the Senate finance committee, after a call at the White House yesterday. also came out for a §100.000.000 reduction and the fixing of the corporation levy at 10 per cent. The United States Chamber of Com- merce also was placed on record be- fore the committee yesterday as hold- ing views that correspond with the Democratic position, and practically all witnesses examined to date have argued that downward revision of the corporation rates should receive the closest attention of the committee. Alfred B Thorn, representing the Association of Railway Executives, the first witness today, urged the commit- tee to devote paramount attention to reduction of the corporation tax, as did C. S. Duncan, representing the same organization. Duncan advocated reductlior the rate to 10 per cent, declaring: “The Federal tax paid by class 1 railroads in 1926 amounted to $109.817,494." Under questioning, Duncan said the railroads _were_not_insisting _that all (Continued on Page 5, Column 3.) Nation Attained Highest Stuudard Of Living in 1926 By the Associated Pres The highest standard of living ever attzined in the history of the world was reached last year by the Ameri- can people, the Bureau of Internal Revenue said today in a renart show- ing that the 117,000,000 persons in the United States had a total income in 1926 of nearly $90,000,000,000, an in- crease of approximately $27,000.000. 000, more than 43 per cent in the five years since 1921, The bureau’s figures 1evealed an in- crease In the Nation's income for each year since 1321, when a total of $62. 000,000,000 was recorded. It increased , Income Reveals $3,000,000,000 in 1922, $7,000,000,000 in 1 and $3,000,000,000 in 1926, when a total of $89,682,000,000 was earned. The same Increase holds true for the average per capita income, which in 1921 was §1.637, compared with $2,210 in 1926. “This _income indicates the highest standard of living for the population of the United States ever attained in this o: any other country,” the bureau said. " “This great increase In income is not ‘the result of an increase in the nrice level,” it added, “for the average price of consumed goods was actuall slightly less in 1926 than in 1921. Washington with paper the Press news Yesterday’s Circulation, 101,351 TWO CENTS. ARMED VIGLANTES NCTESURGEDTO CHECKCRINE WAVE Bankers’ Association Official Advocates Rural Plan to Conference Here. SCHEME HELD FEASIBLE IN METROPOLITAN AREAS Drilled Citizens Would Answer Si- lent Alarm and Trap Criminals at Scene of Theft. Organizations in large cities of vigilante groups, composed of citizens armed with sawed-off shotguns and pistols, as a means for checking the ime wave, was advocated today by James E. Baum, deputy manager of the American Bankers' Association, at the opening of the national conference for reduction of crime in the ‘Willard Hotel. i “The vigilante idea, which has proved so successful in curbing bank robberies in less settled sections, is adaptable and can be extended to the cities,” Mr. Baum declared before the large gathering of prominent dele- gms;s urenresen(ing crime-control or- ganizations from all United States. e Plan Called Feasible. “In the larger cities this pla not been given a thorough l’trl:‘.l.h:: congestion may result in confusion, It is feasible there, however, but not without co-operation of business men located within convenient range of the protected places, and organized, equipped and drilled to understand and answer a silent type of automatie alarm. “Business men in many citi profit from the experience of coma. try bankers who are now enjoying the fruits of armed vigilance in the ;‘r‘:nxallge;‘ Icommunmeu. where this quick-firing system ivi tavorable results, At “‘Crowded thoroughfares always have been choice stamping grounds for criminals and tall buildings have ele~ vators and more floors, and these give crooks so many more hiding places and exits for escaj To be effective; therefore, any vigilante campaigns in cities must be decentralized and oper= ated upon the silent alarm pflpm A 4o that enough trained marksmen wili be outside the place attucked withe in two or three minutes after the alarm has been sounded. Five mine utes is often too late. “But armed vigilance and modern alarm systems are mersly essential parts of any serious atts toward Adequate police power {s recognized by “the banking Fraternity. se Balee one of the two outside forces with- out which banditry will flourish, the other being more stringent eriminal laws and court rules that will keep the criminal caught and placed at & safe distance from law-abiding citi« zens.” Conference fmml. Mr. Baum's statements made a pro- found impression on the conference, which is meeting here today and to- morrow at the call of the National Crime Commission, for the purpose of co-ordinating crime research and re- form work of public and private agencies. He was introduced by As- sistant Secretary of War, F. Trubee Davison, who presided at the morning session, and who welcomed the dele- gates to Washington. The banker's representative re- counted the remarkable falling off in bank robberies in Iowa d Illinols under the vigilante system, sponsored by State bank associations. “A comprehensive and practical sur- vey of its criminal code and methods of law enforcement showed ordinary police systems in lowa to beinade- quate and ineffectual,” Mr. Baum de- clared. | “To give law-abiding citizens and | police officers an even chance with the bands of desperate criminals rov- ing about and flouting the law, picked men were sworn in and armed as deputy sheriffs. The cost of arms, am- munition and fleld work was defrayed by the State bankers' association, most of the material being procured through the co-operation of the ord- nance department in Washington. “'Organized by counties, these depu- ties supplemented and worked under i the leadership of the county sheriff, They were selected for their chare acter, courage and sharpshooting | and, for the most part, served without | pay. 3,900 on Committees. “Today, lowa banks are protected by 3,900 additional men serving on its vigilance committees, well organized and capable of discouraging further inroads by bank bandits as evidenced by the burglary and robbery experi- ence of Towa banks. In 1920 they suf- fered 56 violent crimes resulting in a total luss of $258,000. “With the system of vigilantes in operation the criminal element seon found lowa unsafe to ply their so that in 1924 there were but burglaries and hold-ups in Iowa, a loss of only $2,600, a reduction o 99 per cent within four years. As & result, insurance premiums bank robbery in Iowa dropped to £ minimum of $1 per thousand, as com- pured with the rate in Illinois, just across the river, where the premiums were increased from $4 to $6 per thou- sand, or with banks in Kansas, the same increase, and those in - homa, where the rate jumped from §4 to $10 per thousand. ing competitions are held in every county, the bankers offering various prizes for the best shots in each coum- ty. and these local winners comj er for State honors and t which are provided by the State e ers' Association. These State i tournaments are gala they give considerable and Siemo ground for valuable publicity, which is wasted upon the element.” Baumes Law Praised. e R. C. s;“n“:n' mnn:(nrt x{'.‘ the pre- tective department Ilinois. Bankers' Association, and the who organized the vigilantes in and Tllinois, explained in detall the activities of these vigilance groups. Mr. Davison, in opening the com tion, spoke favorably of the plishments in New York State ung the, Baumes committee, and that what had been done there be done anywhere. Caleb author of the famous law bearing name, by which hardened criminal “(Continued on Page 2, prevention of robbery, f can only" help to’ taoliitate Areseia “periodical revolver and rifle shoots B