Evening Star Newspaper, December 20, 1927, Page 2

CHEVY CHASE CLUB MAY BUY NEW SITE .Kendall Tract to Be Recom- mended 1o Members at Meeiing Next Tuesday. Purchase of as much of the Kendall tract, located about 10 miles from Washington on the north side of Bradley Hills highway, may be needed for two 18-hole courses, will be recommended to the membership of the Chevy Chase Club by a special committee studying the advisability of acquiring additional golf facilities, at a special meeting to be held next Tuesday afternoon, at the Willard JTotel. This project involving expendi- ture of upwards of $300,000 may be the forerunner of abandonment of part of the club’s present holdings at Brad- ley Lane and Connecticut avenue, and | anticipate needs for a quarter of a | century. The committee report prepared by M. O. Leighton, Morven Thompson, P. S. Ridsdale and W. H. White, jr., Stressed that additional golf facilities] are needed. The new project, if adopt- | ed, it says, should be planned and ex ecuted with all the foresight, enter- prise and prudente that have vroved | 10 be essential ir; every other niudern | business undertfking. The report| amplifies that “‘the convenient Jocation of our present golf course is a fortus nate survival of a day that is past and savs the new golf course should be Jocated at such a distance as to war- rant & reasonable belief that for a| long deriod hence it will be couniry | vather than a city golt course. He| adds that it is prudent and business- | like to purchase an area large enough for twc 18-hole courses and that “we should have land which, for one course at least, is gently rolling in contour like our present course. Country Location Stressed. The report points out that “golf | courses, the country over, are con- stantly being pushed farther out trom the centers of membership residence, and we are unable to discern any spe- cial dispensation that makes the Chevy Chase Club an exception to that rule.” Looking into the future, the report says thst the need for two 18-hole courses as “plunges us into a discussion of the ultimate fate of our present golf course.” “We may limit our field of debate it we agree instantly that this ulti- mate fate does not involve a question of immediate disposition,” the report Ceclares, “nor does it even suggest a change in clubhouse, surrougding zrounds, tennis courts, swimming pool and other appurtenances, except golf.” Citing the need for two 18-hole courses, the report says: “The older weneration of our golf players does not like to ciimb mountains, and we think that their preferences in that respect should be fostered. On the other hand. the young and vigorous mem- bers of our club are its greatest po- tential asset. Therefore, it has been our care to search out land that will give them a ‘sporty’ 18 holes.” Kendall Tract Desecribed. A search with this in mind led the committee to the Kendall tract, six miles from the present club, which the report thus describes: “‘The own- er's holdings embrace about 1,100 acres, and we are offered as much or as little as we need and may select the land that we desire, barring, of course, that occupied by the manor house and its immediate grounds and the stables and appurtenances. “On the west side of the property an 18-hole course may be developed that will have substantially the same characteristics as our present course. Contiguous to this on the east side is an 18-hole area, more diversified as to topogr,phy, lying on both sides of Cabin Jof™ Run. Only a small por- tion is v'éoded, the fields have had excellent eave, and it is evident that courses =ould be made at minimum ex- pense.” Annowncing that it will present lan- tern slide views of the property and‘ suitable maps at the special meeting, the committee says that a paved road- way winds through the property to the manor house, a distance of about 5,000 feet, and then turns out into opea country. Two houses are on the preperty, a lodge at the entrance and a bistoric structure of stone and bric£, which “could be used tempo- rariiy for locker rooms and caddy house, but eventually it will be re garded as an interesting relic which the club would take pride in pre- serving.” Club Founded in 1873. The Chevy Chase Club was insti-| tuted March 24, 1873, on its present site, which was the old Bradley ¥arm. It has increased steadily its holding: and improvements until now it owns the land bordered by Bradley lane on the north from Connecticut avenue to Wisconsin avenue and on Wisconsin | avenue south from Bradley lane al- most to Cedar Parkway. The club fronts on Connecticut avenue from Bradley lane nearly to Newlands street | and has come to be known as one of | the beauty spots and landmarks of Chevy Chase. In all the club property consists of about 175 acres. Recently the club donated to the State of Maryland about one and one- half acres along its Wisconsin avenue boundary in order that the National 01d Traii road could be widened. The club just completed improvements on tts present site amounting to nearly half a million dollar: SWINDLER ROBS WOMAN WITH STORY OF DEATH| Stranger Obtains $30 on Fake Report That Insurance Will Be Paid. Posing as an insurance man and in forming, her that her u had been killed in an automobile accident en | route here from Ohio, a swindler ves- | terday obtained $30 from Mrs. Elsie | Harrison, colored, 423 First street | soutnwest, on the promise that he would purch railroad tickets for the funeral party to Winston-Salem, N. C.. according to a report received by the police. The police were notified when Mrs, Yarrison learned today that her uncle was well and healthy and that there was no record at Union Station of the archase of the railroad tickets. The urance man” told Mrs. Harrison her uncle’s body was in an undertak- ing establishment on Benning road, northeast, that he had searched the corpse and found the insurance papers and that he would defray the expenses of the funeral. He even went so far s to visit a store to purchase a new suit for the dead uncle, but thir -c. von was postponed because the store waz ciosed. Woman, 75, Badly Hurt in Fall. Mrs. Isabella M. Gill, 75 years old, who was taken to Garfield Hospital when she fell in front of her resi- dence, 1439 T street yesterday, was reported to be in a serious condition this morning by Dr. F. X. McGovern. X-ray photographe falled to show any fnjuries, and it is belleved she suffered @ paralytic stroke. £he is still @nconsetous. . The helght of the correctly propor- #oned human figure is six fimes the length of the right foot, THE EVENING Seeks Senate Seat TALLAHASSEE, Fla.,, December 20 (A).—Gov. John W. Martin of Flori- da today announced that he would be a candidate for the United States Senate in the Democratic primary next June. The governor will seek the seat mell of Lakeland. MAGRUDER IN TILT OVER TESTIMONY Representative Britten Tells Admiral He Does Not Sub- stantiate Navy Criticism. By the Associated Press. Rear Admiral Thomas P. Mag: uder, deposed commander of the Philadel- phia Navy Yard, was accused today by Representative Britten, Republi can, Illinois, of being unable to sub stantiate with specitic figures his charges of waste in naval tration. Representative Britten, who is act ing chairman of the House naval af- fairs committee, told the admiral that “when we ask for concrete facts, I find you have nothing at all. Magruder sald he thought Britten's statement was unfair and offered to get the specific data. “The committee can get that, too,” replied Britten, who added: “We would rather get it from you, as you have been in the limelight as a great naval expert. Takes Exception to Remark. “I take exception to that,” retorted Magruder. Britten then asked for specific fig- ures regarding the comparative cost of naval bases at Pearl Harbor, Ha- wali, and at Alameda, Calif., and how much it would cost to transfer the activities at the New York Navy Yard to Philadelphia, as recommended by the admiral. Again_the admiral said he was not prepared to answer ofthand and drew from Britten the remark that ‘“your plan for economy will cost the Gov- ernment about a thousand million to pn?:m effect.” n't that an exaggeration?” asked Magruder. “I don't think so. We want your suggestions not in a general, but a specific sense,” Britten responded. Taking up the questioning, Repre- sentative Vinson of Georgia, ranking Democrat on the committee, asked if the object of the Magruder article was not in the interest of economy, and the admiral replied it was. Question of Economy. “Then you must show how economy can be effected,” continued Vinson. “Yes, but it does not necessarily mean that I must draw up a plan for reorganization of the Navy,” answer- ed Magruder.” Oh, no, not at all” Vinson de- clared, “but the burden of proof is on you. You must make a case of it.” “Yes sir.” SACRAMENT WINE New Regulations Adopted After Conference With Or- thodox Rabbi Committee. A new system of regulating and checking the amount of sacramental wine in use among the Jewish people will be inaugurated in New York City January 1 and if successful there may be extended throughout the country. This was announced by Prohibition Commissioner J. M. Doran following a conference today at the Treasury De America. Use of Order Books. The mew departure in the system will be the use of a system of check books similar to that employed by phy sicians in making out prescriptious These book who have been established as ‘“reai rabbis” and who are connected with a bona fide congregation. The rabbi will be authorized issue orders on these check members of his congregation in the amount of one gallon per person, or not more than five gallons per fam- ly, per year. The order will be on a regular bonded winery The rabbi is to fill out, under the new regulation. not only a slip whic! he gives to the member of his con gation, but also the stub on his check book. The stubs will be re. turned to Government and will then be checked against the amount of wine which has been withdrawn from the winery Hope to Pre: Prohibition officials feel that thi | new system will be successful in | checking the amount of wine which they feel has been getting into illicit channels. The committee | orthodox to nt Fraud. representing rabbis of the country went over in detail all the phases of the new regulation. The conference wag held with Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Lowman. The members of the committee were S. Margolis, L. Selzer and C. H. Block They were accompanied by counsel RADIO FOR CONGRESS. Fellowship ¥orum Offers Free Use of Broadcasting Station. The National House of Representa tives, was today offered free of charge” the service of Radio Station WTFF, operated by the Fel- lowship Forum, at any time on a 10- day notice. This offer was made, the letter states, because the Fellowship Forum i “desply interested im matters of Government and sincerely desirous to assist in any movement which tends to bring Congress and the citl- zens of. « elosely Logether the [ | now held by Senator Park W. Tram. | adminis- SYSTEM CHANGED partment with a committee represent- | ing the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of | will be issued to persons | books to | “absolutely | GOLD TO CONTINUE UNTIL THURSDAY !Bureau Sees Two More Days of Severe Weather, Then Moderation. | of cold weather couple of Washington's dose due to coutinue for a h the therr close to the freezing point, but con- | siderable moderation is expected | Thursday. the Weather Bureau an-| nounced today. ‘The lowest point reached last night | was slightly above 23 degrees. It probably would have gone considerably lower, it was explained at the Weather Bureau, had it not been for the strong | northwest wind which shook chimneys | and blew out two plate glass windows | in the business section. | A heavy wind often makes the air | seem colder than it really is, the fore- caster explained. The reason for in- 1d at night is the radiation at from the surface of the earth ‘ to the upper strata of the atmosphere with no replacement from the sun's | rays. Weather Buieau observers oftem find on calm nights that it is 10 to 15 degrees colder at the surface of the earth than 500 meters up. A heavy wind, however, tends to mix the ait strata so that the temperature at the surface does not go quite so low. The minimum for Washington this Winter was reached during the last cold snap when the thermometer went below 20 on an exceptionally still night. One of the plate glass windows in front of the Julius Garfinckel store 1226 F street. was broken by the | force of the wind during the night Another was smashed in the Packard Sales Co. Building, Connecticut ave- nue and S street. WINTER GRIPS EAST Bleak Christmas Week on Hand as Ships Battle Gales at Sea. | NEW YORK, December 20 (#).— Wirter arrived ahead of scheduls and had an iey grip on the Eastern sec- tion of the country today. “alling temperatures created bleak | Christmas week weather prospects on land while high winds reached far out to sea to delay seven transatlantic ded with 18,000 sacks of Christmas mail. _All forms of traffic were delayed. One man died of ex- haustion in Erie, Pa. On today's list of ship arrivals are the White Star liner Majestic, | ing 17,664 sacks of Christmas gifts and | messages: the White Star liner Cal- | garic, the Cunarder Ansonia, the American Merchant liner American Farmer, the Anchor Line Letitia, the Atlantic Transport liner Minnesota and the Hamburg-American liner Thuringia. All were hours overdue, Air mail trafic was disrupted in western New York by snow. Com- munication lines were down in mans places in the Eastern Lake region and others were threatened by the rising storm. Relief agencies in New York City were filled to capacity as the cold | drove the homeless to charity shelters. i TOURISTS RESCUED. | | Snowbound Travelers on Shore of Lake Erie Are Brought Food. BUFFALO, N. Y., December 20 (#). —Relief Jast night reached 200 men, women and children, most of them tourists, who had been snowbound for 48 hours on the Lakeshore road be- tween the village of Jerusalem Cor- ners and Evans Center, on the south shore of Lake Erie. A rotary snow plow in charge of a crew of county employes succeeded in cutting a path through the huge drifts piled up during a storm which began on Sunday and continued intermit- tently throughout yesterday. The area of deep drifts covered only abont | 10 miles of the lake front, but the highway at this point is the chief ar- tery of travel from East to West and { motorists going in both directions | | plunged into the storm center before | | realizing the danger of a blockade. HEARING IS DELAYED. Public hearing on the valuation of the Washington Rapid Transit Co., | scheduled to begin tomorrow, have | been postponed until January 18, it | was announced today by Earl V. Fisher, executive secretary of the Public Utilities Commission, The postponement was ordered at | the request of George P. Hoover, at- torney for the bus company, who told the commission that ne would be en- gaged in_other litigation this week. | As a result of the change, the commis- sion will fix the valuation as of De- cember 31, instead of October 31, as originally planned. Girl, in Casket, | Saved From Burial| | By Wink of Eye | Special Dispatch to The $ CULPEPER, Va., December 20.-- Miss Fannie Broyles, daughter of Frank Broyles, whose home is near the Madison County line, a week | ago was seriously injured by being | struck by a falling limb of a tree | in the yard of her father’s resi- | dence and as a result came very near being buried alive. The blow was believed to have ed her death, and when all ef- forts to restore her to conscious- | ness had failed, arrangements were | made for her burial. She had been | placed in her cofin and the last look was being taken by friends | and relatives Saturday, when her brother imagined he saw a flicker of her eyelids. She was removed from the casket ratives were given and in a short time the girl was able to speak. She informed her family that she had been con- sciou | the time and could hear everything that was going on, but had been powerless to move or | speak She was under a physician’s care two days, but has completely re- r’u\l-lpd, her parents announced to day. December 20 5 Days to Christmas Make 1928 L] Healthier Year 4 | was next identified. ! replied. | afternoon | opened. KIDWELL TESTIFIES ? HE KNEW SLEUTHS | WERE TRAILING HIM| S | ntinued (« jurors next identified by Kid- well “Duri room with thes were g the trial did you go into a two lady jurors?’ he was asked. “Yes," Kidwell replied. | “On that occasion was there a con-| versation between you and either one | of these two ladi The juror replicd there had been. Randall Kidwell. the juror’s brother, He lives at Gies- boro Point, D. ! Kidwell then asked if he knew 2 man named Syikes, and npon rec-iving an affirmative reply the Government attorney asked him about Dan P Dougherty, employed at a near-beer saloon at 411 Kour-and-a-half street southwest, and Mauri Horan, pro- prietor of the establishment. [t was | in this near-beer saloon that Don | King, local newspaper man, and J. Ray Akers, former street car conduc- | tor, swore in affidavits they conversed with Kidwell during the trial and that the juror had remarked he expected to get “an automobile a block long” through his connection with the Tea- pot Dome case. Woman's Name Offered. The name of Miss Ruth Teates, who ‘lived at 1642 Ui street southea across the street from the Kidwell home, was next introduced into the record. Government counsel caused an- other surprise when he asked Kidwell if he knew a man named Mr. Norton. Kidwell replied he did, thereupon a man seated among the spectators stood up. Kidwell was not able to identify him. | Kidwell could not give the full name of the man he knew as Norton, Lieut. Holmes of the Police De- partment and Sergt. Bobo were next identified by the juror. O'Leary then asked the witness if he was in court when Justice Siddons instructed jurors not to talk to any one nor to permit any one to talk to them. Kidwell replied he was, and there- upon the Government attorney point- ed out Harry F. Sinclair and asked him “if that man was in the court- room when instructions were given to_the jury.” Kidwell * testified Sinclair “by sight.” One _of the Burns' operatives, John Kline, who had testified prev- iously to shadowing Kidwell, was told to step forward. te did_so, standing squarel¥ in front of Kid- well. and the juror wus asked to “take a good look at him.” Sleuth About “a Foot Away.' Kline had testified previously that he had never approached or talked o Kidwell ‘The next question the government counsel asked was important. “At any time did Kline come close to you?” O'Leary asked the juror. “Yes, about a foot away,” Kidwell that he knew “Where?" “At 411 Fouranda-half southwest,” the juror answered “Waus it in the street or inside the building?” O'Leary asked. “It was right in the doorway,” Kid- well testified The juror was not asked at this point whether the Burns operative had said anything to him. Sleuth Followed Him. As far as Kidwell could recall, the date was a Sunduy afternoon, either October 23 or October 30, during the trial. street s then told to take a good tive Dan E. Merritt, who steped forward and confronted him. ‘I saw this man at the corner of Fifth and G streets about 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon,” Kidwell testified. “I was waiting for a street car. and he came out and got on the same car when I boarded it.” Mr. O'Leary told the court that he was not asking if anvthing had been said at the time. *Were you in the courtroom when Barton Stewart and Kline testified about shadowing you in the Museum grounds?” Kidwell was asked. ‘The juror explained that he was and added he frequently went to the Museum grounds during the trial to eat his lunch. “Preity near every day, except when it rained.” i “\Were you present in the grounds when a man sat under a tree?” he was asked about an incident which con- sumed a_considernble part of the ques- tioning during yesterday's proceeding. Kidwell said he was sitting under a tree, as he frequently did. Defense Objects. Further questioning brought out that the juror one day during the trial was seated on a bench in the Museum grounds when a man came up “The man came up toward me and went to a tres 10 or 15 feet behind me and sat on the ground,” Kidwell tes- tified. At this point counsel for the defense who had sat silent during the | juror's examination protested against ! the juror being taken step by step in s testimony. Mr. Hoover declared: | “Let him tell all that happened, but we | object fothe way the examination is being conducted. Kidwell could not recall the exact date under question, but believed it was either a Thursday or a Friday shortly after the trial The Government attorney then produced a number of photo- | zraphs showing the scene under dis- | cussion in the Museum ground# and | passed them to Kidwell for identifica- | tion. Protest Photographs. i Bach of the four photographs as “ubmitted by O'Leary, brought forth 1 vigorous objection from the defense attorneys. Arguments ensued for nearly half an hour, the defense seek- ing to prevent them from being ad- mitted as evidence. When the court finally overruled these ohjections, O'Leary next offered a drawing or plat showing the road ways in the park, two trees, a bench and other objects. The court also ad- mitted this drawing as evidence over strenuous objection of opposing coun- sel. While the Government has not dis- | luncheon pe Goucher and Kidwell at various times. 'Removal to Temporary Loca- | | Produce | upon the action of Cong JOHN H. TOWERS. i ! ! | what it intends to bring Kigwell, it was general will seek to estab <losed fu out from understood that it lish the fact that the juror was ap- | proached by some one while in the museum grounds. | When ~court recessed for the | d, Mr. Hoover asked that Kidwell be instructed not to talk 10 Mr. O'Leary or any one else in the United States attorneys office during the recess. Counsel for the other respondents in the case joined in this plea to the court. Justice Siddons, declared, however, he knew of no rule of law which pre vents any attorney from consulting a witness during a recess of court. Kline Is Recalled. Further testimony clearing the way for the .appearance on the tand later today of Juror Kidwell| was_ellcited from other Burns de- tectives when the morning session opened. John Kline, .the operative about whose movements Maj. Gordon made such persistent inquiries vesterday, was recalled to the stand. A tree in the museum grounds, under which Kline and another operative testified they had seen Kidwell eating his| lunch, has a_certain mystery about it which the Government has not yet cleared. Maj. Gordon evidently at- tached so much importance to this tree that he had Kline draw a diu- gram of it and its surroundings. Both detectives had denied ever seeing any one approach Kidwell while he was under surveillance or that they had ever talked to him. When Kline was recalled, he was asked only a few perfunctory ques- tions and then turned over to Cha A. Douglas, attorney for Burns. Mr. Douglas merely brought out from the witness the oft-repeated in-| structions given to the operatives | when they were assigned to the jucy | shadowing. The Government then called Dan I Merritt as its nttx witness. Merritt had under surveillance Jurors Kern, | witness | Tells of Shadowing. He said he had heen shadowing people for 14 years as a Burns ope: tive and at one time when asked if he had seen any one else trailing Kern, remarked; “A man would have to be pretty good at shadowing him it T couldn’t see him. Merritt gave a detailed account of his activities in connection with the Jur surveillance, having Kkept his Subjects under close scrutiny during the time he was assigned to them. He gave his testimony in a straightfor- ward manner that aroused neither ob- jections from the Government or the defense. Maj. Gordon evidently intends to bring out all the testimony possible relative to Juror Kidwell before the Jatter is placed on the stand. For this reason each man who shadowed Kit well was ed in detail phase, which led to much questioning. Upon being assigned to Kidwell, his third subject, Merritt said he also was given a description of Kidwell's broth- or. He meant the juror's father, a barber in Congress Heights, whom the Burns men had been led to believe was a brother. Talks to Bluecoat. About 11 o'clock one night, while walking acros the street from Kid- well’s house, at 1637 U street north- tast, Merritt t fied, he saw a man in an automobile whom he believ also was shadowing Kldwell. Walk- ing down the street, he said, the man followed him in his machine and then spoke to a policeman who was stand- ing on the corner. When the autoist left, Merritt said, he went up to the policeman and en: gaged him in conversation, trving to find out what the man wanted. The policeman, Sergt. Dent, alrendy has testified regarding this incident, warned Merritt that the police “generally pick up strangers after 11 o’clock in that neighborhood " Merritt sald he did not tell the offi-) cer he was a Burns operative and merely told him he was waiting around for a man After this episode Merritt was put on the trail of Morris R. Lamb, spe- cial assistant to the Attornev Gan .A'.] wno was belleved to have been a man seen talking with Juror Norman L. Glasscock of the Potomac Flying| Field. With another operative, Frank | J. O'Reilly, he followed Lamb's car! to the Congressional Country Club, where the subject was then lost. Lat-| er in the day, while cruising down-| town, they picked up Lamb's car, fol- lowing the subject to the Department of Justice and elsewhere during the afternoon Defense Calls Thirty. That the six respondents in the contempt proceeding intend to fight to the last ditch was indicated when de- fense counsel today issued subpoenas for 30 witnesses. Included among these are Don King, newspaper re- porter, and J. Ray Akers, former street car conductor, who are already under Government subpoenas in con- nection with the aflidavit they flled against Kidwell. There Is no indlca- tion, however, that the Government actually intends to put these two men on the stand. | Other subpoen routine who d by the defense are £ ARKET SITE AWAITS DECISION tion on Mall Must Have 0. K. of Congress. Removal of (he rmers Market is no ntingent ess with re- their recommendation for a location for the market on Sixth and Seventh “ommissioners to- Schuneman, as: Treasury. spect 1o temporary the Mall between streets, the District day advised Carl T sistant secretary of the he Commissioners wrote to Mr. Schuneman in reply to his commun cation December 8, inquiring whether arrangements could be made for con: plete evacuation of the entire market site by the latter part of Janu: or early in February to make way fo operations on the new Internal Rev- enue Building. Substance of Previous Previously the Treasury Depart- pent had notified the Commissioner that they would be required to aban- don only one-half of the market site pending the selection of a new loca tion. “As you are no doubt aware, the Commissioners of the District of Co- lumbia have submitted to Congress, under date of December 15, their re- port on the new site for the Farmers’ Market, in which they recommend that the market be temporarily lo- ed on public property in the Mall, pending determination of the final per- manent site and the securing and im- proving of such a site so that it may e made available for its intended use,” said the letter of the Commis- sioners. Hope for Early Action. “The Commissioners hope that ear action will be taken by Congress upon their report and that the action taken will e such as to enaktle them to remove the entire Farmers' Market from its present site to some other ite in, time to meet the wishes of the Treasury Department. “Pending action by Congress in the matter, however, the Commissioners do not feel that they are in a position to definitely commit themselves unon the subject matter of your letter. VOIGT SUIT DROPPED. Notice. Terms of Settlement of $100,000 | Alienation Case Not Stated. The suit of Mrs. Hilda C. Voigt for $100.000 damages against her parents- in-law, Edward Voigt. local jeweler, and Mrs. Charlotte Voigt, 2132 Wyo- ming avenue, for alleged alienation of the affections of her husband, Edward jr., former bank president, was ed today by her counsel, Morris Wampler and Robert E. Lynch Mrs. Voigt was given a verdict for the full amount when the case was tried last year, but it was set aside by the court and a new trial granted. The retrial was about to be reached when the case was compromised. The lawyers declined to give the terms of the agreement by which the case was dropped. the Burns detectives, most of whom have testified as Government witness- es, and it is possible that some of the Jurors also will be called as defense witnesses. Martin W, Littleton of counsel for Sinclair son for calling the Burns operatives was to protect them from intimidation at the hands of the United States attorney and his as- sistgnts. In their capacity as defense witnesses, he explained, the court might recognize the objection of the defense to_their witnesses being grill ed in the District attorney’s office. “We want to get at the whole bottom of this Kidwell affaic and hope to do so through King and Akers,” declared Mr. Littleton. Walsh Act Aid in Oil Trial. During the forthcoming Teapot Dome conspiracy trial, which opens January 16, the Government will be aided by passage of the Walsh act, designed to reduce the statute of lim- itations in Government fraud cases from 6 to 3 years. This will prevent M. T. Everhart, son-inlaw of Albert B. Fall, from refusing to testify on the ground of self-fncrimination. Already passed by the Senate, the Walsh bill vesterday was forwarded to the White House from the House. Absence of Ha M. Blackmer, chairman of the board of the Prairie Oil Co., and refusal of Everhart to tell fromm whom he obtained bonds de- posited to the credit of the former Secretary of the Interior, proved the chief obstacle to the Government dur- ing the last Teapot Dome trial. Blackmer has been ordered here from I Paris to give reasons why he should not. he adjudged in contempt of court for refusing to appear as a witness at the trial. He has posted $100,000 in Liberty bonds, which the Unittd States marshal has seized and will r tain if he does not return by Januar , the date of his hearing. Counsel for Blackmer nounced the bonds will be forfeited and his case carried to the higher courts to test the constitutionality of the legislation Congress passed to fit the Blackmer case. have an Christmas Music Churches! Please send all material for the spectal page of Christmas Mus to be In Saturday’s Star, type written, one side of the papc: te reach this ofice BEFORY noon tomorrow, December 21 in the T. | HOOVER TURNED JOWN CHANCE TO GET TITLE suggestion that if he would hbecome a British subject the government would be pleased to give him an important xecutive post and with t at f he succeeded a title might awa him. His answer was: ‘U'll do what 1 can for you with pleasure; but I'll be iamned if I'll give up my American citizenship—not on vour life!’ With in the last six month wo large finan cial organizations, each independently have offered him 0,000 a year to nter their service; and an industrial company offered him $100,000 with.! He declined t the Belgian reliet work a financial snag, Hoover by telegraph got the promise of a loan in the United States to the British and French gov- ernments for Belgian relief of $150.- 000,000! I do not know, but I think he would be glad to turn his European experience to the patriotic use of our Government. He is 42 years old, a graduate of Leland Stanford, Jr., Uni Vi ity."” Amo - the stories circulated is a report while in Mr. Hoover became associated with an organization known as the Burma Co. and that he was advised the company’s affairs would have a better status with British officials it he became a British citizen, and under thix advice he had applied for British -itizenship. Further Comment by Page. ard for Mr. My age showed his reg Hoover many times in his President Wilson, while Mr. Hoover was doing relief work abroad. Under date of January 12, 1915, he wrote to the President; “Life is worth_more, for knowing Hoover. * * * He's 2 simple, modest, energetic man, who began his carcer in California and will end it n heaven.” The Star, on November 13 last, dis cussed the eligibility of Mr. Hoover under the clause providing for 14 vears' residence within the United States, and at the time published a etter written by Edgar Rickard of New York, associated with Mr. Hoover n Belgian relief work during the war Mr. Ric ared that he had known Mr. since 1910 and that he personally that Mr. Hoover | had maintained his residence within the United States. The New York World within the last day or two has | published reports of the question | rai ainst Mr. Hoover's eligibility on constitutional grounds. The World, in an editorial today makes the fol- lowing comment: Doubts Issue Is Vital. “Mr. Hoover's friends assert that they have proof that bhe has always maintained a legal residence within the United States and has, in fact, been within the United States for | some part of every year of his life. That would settle the quesl.nn_:h. lutely, for surely no one can maintain that the Constitution disqualifies @ citizen of the United States who, in the course of his professional duties, is compelled to spend a good deal of his time in foreign lands. There is another school, however, which ques- tions his eligibility because it is not satisfied that Mr. Hoover on March 4, 1 , will have been for 14 years con- tinuously a resident within the United States, “Going back 14 years from MarcH 4 1929, brings us to March 4, 1915. Where was Mr. Hoover on March 4, 19157 The whole world knows where Mr. Hoover on March 4, 1915. He was in Europe as chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium. If | Mr. Hoover is to be disqualified under | the ~14-vear-continuous-residence-with- | in-the-United-States theory, then he | will have to be disqualified because | from March 4, 1915, to June, 1917, he was directing Belgian relief in Europe instead of living profitably and com- fortably within_the frontiers of the United States. We do not believe the people of the United States would care to disqualify Mr. Hoover, because he was feeding the Belgians.” This eligibility question was raised in some quarters, too, against Mr. Hoover in 1920 and former Attorney General Wickersham prepared an opin- |ion which declared that frequent and | continued residence abroad had not disqualified Mr. Hoover under the constitutional proviso. Moses Ridicules Idea. Senator George . Moses of New Hampshire, a _strong supporter of Mr. Hoover for the presidential nomina- tion, said vesterday with regard to Mr. Hoover's eligibility “My opinion is that the Il4-year provision was inserted in the Consti- | tution in order that no person who had not borne the brunt of battle in the Revolutionary War should be able to come into the United States and make himself President, and also to protect the interests of Alexander Hamilton, who, although born in a West Indian isiand, had nevertheless lived more than 14 years in the colo- | nies. “If the opponents of Mr. Hoover have nothing more substantial than this to urge against his candidacy I | suggest that they all prepare to arise at an appropriate moment following the first ballot of the national con- vention and move to make Mr. Hoo- ver's nomination unanimous.” Supported War President. The charge that Mr. Hoover joined in President Wilson's appeal for the election of a Democratic Congress in 1918 is answered by the Secretary’s friends by quoting his exact words. as food administration, Mr. Hoover at that time was an important mem- ber of the Wilson administration, and was loyally co-operating with and fol- lowing the leadership of the War President. A few tion, in a Coudert of | said: “I am for President Wilson's leader- ship, not only in the conduct of the war, but also in the negotiations of peace, and afterward in the direction of America’s burden in the rehabilita- tion of the world. There is no greater monument to any man's genius than the conduct of negotiations with the enemy by the President.” This letter was seized upon by the Democratic campaign committee and given out as in support of President Wilson’s plea for a Democratic Con gress. But it is pointed out that the political complexion of Congress is not mentioned, that Mr. Hoover mere- Iy declared himself for “Prestdent $ it son’s leadership,” and that as Mr. Wil- son still had more than two years of his term to serve his leadership throughout the peace negotiations was assured. It is contended by Mr. Hoover's friends that he merely de. clared himself in writing to be doing what the Republicans in Mangress in. sistea they themselves wnrs doing— loyally supporting the President in the conduct of the war. TWO FOUND MURDERED. | Men’s Bodies, Tied Together, Dis- | covered in Woods. | . .GALENA, 11i, December 20 (&).— The bodies of two unidentified men, tied together, were found in Tapleys Wood, eight miles east of Galena, today. Indications were that they had been murdered last night. Fach was between 35 and 38 years of age. days before the 1918 elec- letter to Frederic R. New York, Mr. Iocver . Confers Favor on U. 8. Employes. Extra leave for Government em. ployes, vith pay, on Christmas and New Year Eve, in addition to thel regular annual leave, is proposed by Representative Fish, Republican cf New York, In & resolution :ntroduced vesterdgy. FROM BRITISH REGIME India years ago | letters to | 'MEXICO PROBERS GET SUDDEN CALL Senate Committee io Meat Today to Hear New Witness Hearst Defends Course, gating charges of o §{ an 1 T nita By the Aseociated Pross. | states senators was suddenly called o day to hear a surprise witness The witness was said to he Ronert | H. Murray, for many vears & nawe | paper man in Mexico City. He was ex- | pected to throw some light on tBe documents which have been prinidd |in Hearst newspapers purporting fo | show that the Mexican fund had beqn | created. 1 Hearings of the committee had hee; {adjourned until next Tuesday and Sen |ator Reed, Republican. Per | chairman, had leff the city, but | the appearance the new wi commites members went ahead plans for an immed today The informed the Senate o evidence ! whatever i g th any of the | four Senators named in the docu ments—Borah, Norris, Heflin and La Follette—had received any moneyv or { had been approac d in regard to the Mexican affair e committee is go ing ahead now determine 1he source of the documents authenticit HE F) later comm sterday tiee DS COURSE Norris Letter Called Hysterical and Void of Truthfulness. NEW YORK, December 20 (# R. Hearst last night issued a siate- ment in reply to an open letter from Senator Norris of Nchraska regarding publication of documents Hearst newspape: The says in part “It is not necessary to reply ‘o Sen ator Norris® hyster and vitupera tive statement in kind “I might state, however, Senator Norris is anxious to estabiish the truth, he might hegin by telling the truth, a thing that he has dis- tinctly refrained from doing through- out his whole statement. “The plain facts of this whole Mex | ican matter are that these M | documents are apparently qu thentic, and that no proof w has been produced of their lack of authenticity. . . . Might Have Ignored Documents. “I might have, in the first place, re- | frained from publishing any of the documents, in which case, my posses- sion of the documents being known, T would eventually have been accused by persons as careless of facts as Sen- ator Norris of having been too cow- dly and too concerned for my prop- erty interests in Mexico to have re- vealed facts through the medium of my newspapers, which affected the welfare of the American people, and which the American people had a right to be acquainted with. In the second place, I might have printed some of the documents and suppressed others, in which case I could have been accused of suppres- sion of the facts or perversion of the facts to suit my own prejudices or opinions “In the third place, I might have in terviewed the Senatoirs mentioned and published their explanations in my newspapers, but I could not see, and cannot now see, how denials made in my newspapers would have any su perior force or effect over denials made by them under oath before a governmental body. Question of Senators’ Names. “Moreover, such a course would have necessitated the publication of the Senators’ names, and I was in no way adequately informed of the prob able course of the Government, and as to whether it ever would be cor sidered necessary or desirable by the Government to make public the Sen ators’ names. “Therefore, T mentioned no individ {uals, but merely printed the docu- ments deleted of names, and left t determination of that important point for the Government. * * ¢ “It was only when the authentivity |of the documents became almost over whelmingly established, that publica tion began. * * * “It is true, as XIr. Norris sald, and as I told the committee, that I haie property valued at approximately $4,000,000 in Mexico, which I had po sessed in peace and security throusi the friendship and favor of the Mey ican government. Sees His Interests Tmperiled. “Certainly nobody but a per jackass—and Senator Norris is that—at least not a perfect one— imagine that my property holdin were benefited by losing the friend ship and favor of the Mexican govern ment. “As a matter of fact, in publishine these documents there was Strong probability—in fact, the near cer | tainty—that these properties wou'd be confiscated at the earliest possibl moment by the Mexican gover ment. ¥ ¢ ¥ “Finaily, as to the alleged evil mo tive in endeavoring to reflect upor the insurgents in the Senate throuxh the publication of these documents that seems to me to be the most asi nine statement that can be picked ou of Senator Norris' scrap heap of mis representation and billingsgate. My papers have always been the main supporters of the insurgen group of Senators. * * * “As a matter of fact, I am an in surgent myself, and have always beei and always will be an insurgem against whatever seems to be con trary to the interests of our Govern ment and the welfare of our peoble ’nnd in sustaining those principles and that policy I published these Mexican documents, believing then and believ ing now that I did my simple duty regardless of consequences to myself and _considering merely the hest enefit of the American people. . | AUTO TRUCKS IN CRASH W that it Two Overturnea in Col Drivers Tiscape Injury. ucks were overturnet hed headon at (ht Fitteenth and 1 streets shortly before mnoon today Neithor driver was lunr A truck from the ParkerSrds-: Co., which was operated by R. Frém man, colored, 5211 Dix street norcn east, was travelling west on P street and’ the truck from the Universal | ‘Plating Co., whose driver wes J. Walter Baxter, 2326 Nichols avenue “flnulh»n.\r, was going south on Fif- teenth street BAND CONCERT. TODATY. By the United States Soldies’ Home | Band Orchestra, at Stanley Hall, 5:40 lo'clock, Jobn S. M. Zimmermann, leader. March, “Los Banderillos”....Volpatti Overture, “Opera Bouffe’....-.Finel Entr’ acte: “Nocturne’ (b) Two auto when they ¢ intersection _of “‘Orientale’ Excerpts from musi “Rio Rita"..... . Fox Trot, “After the Storm Wal ‘Old Timers" . ¥inale. “When Day Is Doner “The Star Spangled Bannes™