Evening Star Newspaper, September 23, 1928, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Partly cloudy today, cooler this after- noon or night;: tomorrow, fair and cooler. Temperatures—Highest, 70, at 4 p.m. yesterday: lowest, 55, at 10 p.m. yes- terday. Full report on page 7. -y & b AR o S “From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star is delivered every evening and Sunday morning to Washington homes by The Sta.’s exclusive carrier service. Phone Main 5000 to start immediate delivery. wday Stae. WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION he . FIVE CENTS WASHINGTON AND SUBURBS TEN CENTS 99 ELSEWHERE second class matter =9, on, D. « WASHINGTON, SUNDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER 1928 —104 PAGES. (® Means Associated Press. SMITH ADVOCATES PUBLIC OWNERSHIP ~ OFWATER POWER 1Scores Hoover in Utilitiesi Propaganda—Asks Speed on Boulder Dam. FLAYS COOLIDGE’S VETO OF MUSCLE SHOALS BILL 10,000 Hear Address in Denver After City Turns Out to Welcome Nominee. Sedalia Displaces St. Louis on Smith Speaking Program the Associated Press. ST. LOUIS, September. . Alfred E. Smith, Demo- cratic presidential_nominee, will deliver his only address in Mis- souri at Sedalia instead of St. Louis as originally planned. This announcement was made tonight vell, chariman By 22, Although no definite date has been set, the nominee will make his Sedalia speech about the middle of October. By the Associated Press DENVER, Colo., September 22— Again training his guns on Herbert Hoover as he discussed water power in a campaign speech here tonight, Gov. Smith declared that the benefit of the development of power sites “should ac- crue to the people themselves and that we should not permit them to fall into private hands for private deveiopment, which means private gain at the ex- pense of all the users of Lhe energy.” The Democratic nominee, in an ad- dress prepared for delivery in the coli- seum where Bryan 20 Jears ago was nominated for President for the third time, insisted that the Republican plat- form declaration on water power was unsatisfactory, and asserted that the acceptance speech of his opponent did not contain “one single word on the guestion of water power development” @and that Mr. Hoover failed in his Los Angeles speech to make his stand clear. Raps Coolidge Veto. , Gov. Smith also assailed President ! Coolidge for vetoing the Muscle Shoals bill without an explanation of its re- jection, and for making the declaration in a message to Congress that the '{Muscle Shoals$ question seemed to have *assumed a place out of all proportion with its real importance.” The New York governor's prepared | speech said that “inaction on the part | of the Federal Government, the strange silence of the candidate and the mean- ingless plank of the Republican plat- i form indicate, to say the least, a sym- pathy with the widespread propaganda against public ownership spread throughout the country by an organiza- | tion known as the joint committee cf the National Electric Associations.” “The Federal Trade Commission, ir its investigation of public utility corpora- | tions,” the Democratic nominee asserted, “has developed some facts which indi- | eate that Mr. Hoover knew of the ex- jstence of this power lobby intended to influence congressional action and legis- lation.” Linked to Lobby. Mr. Smith said that “the lobby’s ex- | ecutive director, Judge Davis,” former- |1y an Assistant Secretary of Commerce under Mr. Hoover; that Paul Clapp, once a secretary to Mr. Hoover, was | named secretary of the joint commit- tee and is the executive director of the ' National Electric Light Association, Which, he explained, is one of the three groups making up the joint committee, and that former Senator Lenroot of . Wisconsin, who, he said, was remlr}ed {py the joint committee as counsel “to oppose” the Walsh resolution for an investigation of public_utilities oper- ations, was also “Mr. Hoover's counsel at the Kansas City convention in the «contest over Southern delegates.” | | Gov. Smith also laid down a barrage 'on Roy O. West, present Secretary of the Interior, and H. Edmund Machold, new chairman of the New York State _Republican committee. “West,” he said, “for almost a gquar- ter of a century had been closely identi~ |fied with important power companies, and the nominee asked: #Is it not a fair argument to assume that such an appointment indicates a spirit of unfriendliness, if not hostility, on the part of the Republican party in the Nation to those who stand for publi nership and control of the God-given resources of the Nation?” Opponent of Public. As for Machold, the nominee referred 10 him as “the most bitter opponent of | public ewnership and control of water- bower” in New York State. He said fachold “used all his influence and strength in the Legislature to oppose 1he adoption of a constructive, forward- Jooking program of State ownership and «<ontrpl, and until the very day he was selected State chairman was affiliated | with many of the largest private water- power companies in the State. Turning to the Boulder Canyon Dam I problem, nwhich Colorado ‘and _the other six States in the Colorado River basin are directly interested, Gov Smith called for “immediate action.” With regard to Muscle Shoals he re-| jterated a belief that the Government should continue “the full and complete operation” of the plant in Alabama, | *retaining it under Government owner- ehpi and control.” As for Boulder Dam, the nominee ‘gaid that “the site of the dam and the machinery generating this water power must be preserved in public ownership.” Sees Aid for Farmer. ‘The Democratic nominee said that | development of the Muscle Shoals plant should be completed “so that the Na- tion may be reimbursed, agriculture re { ceive the benefits of cheap nitrate pr | duction for fertilizer purposes, and the “ | surplus power distributed fairly to the people of the ten States which this plant should serve at rates which &hould remain upder the control of the Government.” Outlining his general policy gezard 10 water power resources, Gov. ith expressed the view that “where | alEoBlBued 0B Page 4 Columg 1y, with | Party i South. What may be ahead invade her desolate icebound coast, But I do not think so. If the the ice are We shall do our best. part of the world seasons than all the bi ¢ who have Suffered or given their other expeditions. that is so. of ice and clothing the land with ously forced their way. icebound sleet and snow swee{) wrapped in a gray shroud of sto! is venturing on forbidden seas. and which is one of the few places DRY LEAGUE TAKES FIGHT T0 CHURCHES Anti-Smith Effort to Be Em- phasized at Services of Congregations Today. The Anti-Saloon League today will carry its fight against Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York into churches all over the country. The league has designated this as Temperance Sunday, and plans to dis- tribute in 20,000 to 30,000 churches a statement declaring that Gov. Smith's clection would weaken prohibition en- forcement, while the election of Herbert Hoover would assure support of the eighteenth amendment. An announcement of this intention was made here yesterday by F. Scott McBride, general superintendent of the league. 3 Joining in the attack on Gov. Smith, the Anti-Saloon League of the Dis- trict of Columbia has sent a letter to pastors of various local churches ex- plaining the league's position. This letter was made public last night and drew a sharp rejoinder from John F. Costello, Democratic national commit- teeman for the District. Explains Policy. Mr. McBride made public a statement explaining the league’s policy of in- forming voters on the subject of pro- hibition. It contains the following ref- erences to the principal presidential candidates: “The election of Alfred E. Smith would weaken law enforcement through- out the Nation. It would strengthen every movement for the nullification and eventual repeal of the eighteenth amendment. It would handicap the movement against the liquor traffic all over the world. “The election of Herbert Hoover would assure the full support of prohibition by the Federal Government, aid law en- forcement, and encourage law observ- ance everywhere.” “We are confident,” says the state- ment in another place, “that the care- ful and honest consideration of the liquor problem in the United States can only result in votes for Hoover by all who desire the suppression of alcohol- ism.” Advice to Voters. Mr. McBride says that for 35 years the Anti-Saloon League has informed voters regarding the most effective way to use their ballots against the liquor traffic. Continuing. he says in his statement: “For the first time prohibition has been made the issue in a presidential campaign. The voters of both parties who favor prohibition are depending on the Anti-Saloon League for informa- tion on this issue. In accordance with 'BYRD EXPEDITION HOPES | TO MAP ANTARCTIC LAND; | | WILL SEEK WEATHER LORE s Commander Answers Question, iy Are You Going?” by Telling of | Knowledge Expected to Be Gained. BY COMDR. RICHARD E. BYRD. HE long, tiresome and yet interesting days of preparing for our Antarctic adventure are over at last and we are about_to start of us no one can foresee. We have prepared as carefully and as thoroughly as has been possible, but the Antarctic has ways of playing strange tricks on those who , and it may be that we shall seem to fall short of what may be expected of us. skill and courage and resourceful- ness of the men who are going with me to live more than a year on hat I believe them to be the expedition will give a good account of itself | We are attempting| a new kind of exploration in a little known! We should be able to| learn more of the Antarctic in two short rave and able men lives | Even a superficial glance at the region that we hope to penetrate will show why Nature has guarded the secrets of Antarctica by locking them within a wall a white desolation in which no living thing exists. When man forces his way on foot into this great wilderness he attempts the most dif- ficult task that can confront an explorer. Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, Mawson, all }: those who have made such a glorious record in the Antarctic, pitted the strength and en- durance of their bodies and their wills against odds that seem almost insuperable. And yet they conquered as much as man can conquer when he relies on his own unaided physical capacity. We are more fortunate in having the wings of science to carry us quickly over the snow through which they labori- COMDR. BYRD. Ships Held Fast for Days. The Antarctic has always fascinated those who have been there. 1t is bounded by a belt of floating ice, a drifting, shifting mass of treacherous floes through which ships must pick their way carefully. Sometimes the belt is held fast for days at a time. While a ship is by on the gale and the explorer is rm that seems to warn him that he And then one day the sun shines, the storm passes and the ship finds its way through the ice and comes out into the vast Ross Sea, where whales play and the light shines on great icebergs. Through this sea, which lies between promontories of the Antarctic Continent where the land may be safely ap- proached, we shall sail until the great ice barrier rises before us. That barrier has been a symbol of the Antarctic since Sir James Ross first found it and coasted along its precipitous front. It rises as high as 250 feet, a solid mass of clifflike ice, which seems effectually to shut off the interior. It rests most of its length upon the sea and (Continued on Page 6, Column 1) POLITICIANS KEEP WATCH ON WEST Smith’s Oklahoma Speech Seen of Little Value; G. 0. P. Confident. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Democratic and Republican ears alike are close to the grass roots in the West these days. ~They are striving to catch a reaction of the farmers to the Smith speeches. While it is a bit early, the opinion generally expressed so far is that Smith has helped himself with his farm speech in Omaha, but that his speech in Oklahoma City, attacking the “bigots,” has left the situation practi- cally unchanged. Arguing with the bigoted is not likely to prove profitable. While the Smith invasion of the West is causing the Repubicans some anxious moments, there is no doubt but what the Hoover campaign trip into New Jersey and the appeal which he made to labor in his Newark address has given the Democratic leaders a good deal to think about. The reac- tion of many labor leaders to Mr. Hoover's speech has been very satis- factory to the Republican campaign managers. Campaign Speeded Up. Certainly the campaign has been considerably speeded up in the last week, due in great part to the campaign speeches of both Gov. Smith and Mr. Hoover. In‘a week’s time Smith will be on his way back to New York to attend the Democratic State convention at Rochester, October 1. He will have com- pleted his first swing around through the West, which takes him as far as Denver and Butte, Mont. The West will have had an opportunity to see him and to hear him. Meanwhile Mr. Hoover wiil have put behind him another week of his “front porch” campaigning, with hun« dreds of visitors coming to his head- quarters here. Among the most important political events in the East this week will be the Republican State convention in New York. Upon its outcome will hinge to some extent the fate of the presi- dential ticket in‘the Empire State, with its 45 electoral votes. There is not the slightest doubt the Republicans need all the harmony they can achieve and a good, strong State ticket. Republican leaders in New York are talking a lot fus Hoover against Smith. But when they are talking off the cards, they admit that Smith still has the “edge” in New | York and that the odds favor his carry- ing the State. They do insist, however, that conditions are improving in New York State and that they are hopeful of unity of action by all factions in support of the Republican national ticket. Yesterday Representative Fish, up- its established custom of explaining “(Cortinued on Page 4, Column 6) By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, September 22 ick G. Voss of Riverside drive, who died [last month in Germany, leaving an estate of more than $600.000, directed in his will, filed for probate today, that books and papers deposited years ago with two London banks should be burned by his executors without any one read- ing them. The will did 'not disclose the nature A Wi books ARd PRI RGP the TeasoR . —Freder- L] State Republican, made a report to " (Continued on Page 5, Column 1.) Will Orders Executors to Burn Papers in Banks Without Perusal for destroying them with such secrecy. The will was dated in 1922 and di- rected the executors “to see to it that all books and papers of whatever na- ture contained in my safe deposit boxes at the Chancery Lane Safe Deposit Co., London, and the National Safe Deposit Co. of London, together with those con- tained in a Jeather trunk and a safe with the same National Safe Deposit Co., be burned in a large furnace with- | Mutt and Jeff; Reg'lar Fellers; Mr. and oul beipg previgusly perused oF zoad, HODVERDECLARES HS CANPAGHNO ONEOF OPPOSTIN i Program “Based on Our Is- sues” Nominee Tells Mary- land Republican Group. CALLS AT WHITE HOUSE FOR TALK WITH COOLIDGE Candidate Holds Party System Is Basis of Democracy in Ameri- can Government. | By the Associated Press. {1y, vesterday that his campaign is not one of opposition. but one in favor of the issues and candidates in the Repub- lican party. His statement was contained in an address to a delegation from Maryland, the first public pronouncement he had made since his Democratic opponent, Alfred E. Smith, opened fire on the Re- publican party in his address at Okla- homa City Thursday night. “We are now in a great campaign,” Hoover said. “Our campaign is based upon our issues. It is not a campaign of opposition. It is a campaign in fa- vor of the issues and candidates in the Republican party.” Calls at White House. Before the meeting with the Mary- land delegation, consisting of 40 county and ward chairmen of the Hoover- Goldsborough League of Maryland, the Republican presidential candidate spent more than an hour and a half at the ‘White - House discussing the general bolitical situation with President Cool- idge, who returned yesterday from a visit to his native State of Vermont and New England. Beyond the statement that “the gen- eral situation” had been gone over at the White House, there was no an- nouncement concerning the confer- ence. But it is known that a number of the President’s friends have been urging him to make a speech or two in New Englahd, preferably in his adopted State o1 Massachusetts. Upon emerging from the White House, Hoover declined to discuss this matter, but he did say that he was satisflied with the outlook over the country, Asked specifically about Mas- sachusetts, the nominee "declared the leaders there were going forward en- thusiastically, but that he would make no forecast as to the result. Goldsborough Is Presented. In addressing the group from Mary- land, mainly consisting of young men, who were accompanied by Phillip Lee Goldsborough, = Republican candidate for Senator, Hoover said that funda- mentally the Government could be con- ducted only with a definite party or- ganization. He added that this was the only way through which the people could express their will upon issues and men. “It goes to the very roots of organiza- tioin of our form of government and of democracy itself,” he said, “for without organization the will of the majority upon great public issues could not find expression. So those who take part in party organization are engaged in a public service, whether they belong to our party or to the opposition. “I stall call myself a young man, and I am anxious that the young Republic- ans become an active part of the Re- publican party organization. The new Herbert Hoover declared unequivocal- | FLORIDA RELEE RED TAE IS T generation must begin now to take over the responsibility of the party and to carry it on. I am especially anxious to see the young men over the whole country enter vigorously into its work and grow on up with it as we go for- ward. We intend to go forward, as the Republican party has always been a constructive, progressive party.” & Gen. Pershing also met the group in his office at the War Department. LADY ASTOR SAILS. Will Visit: Washington and Vir- ginia on Trip to U. 8. SOUTHAMPTON, England, Septem- ber 22 (#).—Lady Astor, looking young and charming in a blue tailored cos- tume and close-fitting hat, sailed aboard the Aquatania today for a two-week visit to her old home in Virginia. She also will spend a few days in Boston, New York and Washington. TODAY’S STAR PART ONE—28 PAGES. General News—Local, National and Foreign. Political Survey of the United States— Pages 18 and 19. Radio News—Pages 24 and 25. Schools and Colleges—Pages 26 and 27. PART TWO—$ PAGES. Editorial Section—Editorials and Edi- torial Features. Review of New Books—Page 4. Clubwomen of the Nation—Page 6. PART THREE—14 PAGES. Soclety. D. A. R. Activities—Page 9. Y. W. C. A. Activities—Page 9. Around the City—Page 11. PART FOUR—I8 PAGES. Amusement Section—Theater, and Music. News of the Motor World—Pages 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11. Aviation Activities—Pages 12 and 13. Fraternal News—Page 15. Serial Story, “Blue Murder"—Page 16. District National Guard—Page 16. Veterans of the Great War—Page 17. Screen .| Marine Corps News—Page 17. Army and Navy News—Page 17. Civilian Army News—Page 17. “ PART FIVE—4 PAGES. Pink Sports Section. - PART SIX—12 PAGES. News of the Clubs—Page 9. Parent-Teacher Activities—Page 9. Classified Advertising. Financial News—Pages 10, 11 and 12. Spanish War Veterans—Page 12. Army and Navy Union—Page 12. Cross-word Puzzle—Page 12. PART SEVEN—8 PAGES. Magazine Section—Fiction and Humor. GRAPHIC SECTION—8 PAGES. | World Events in Pictures. COLOR SECTION—4 PAGES. Ms.; High Lights of History, Governor Orders State Treasury Opened; Appeals Made to President. 200 Hurricane Dead Are Found.in Ruins of Florida Village By the Associated Press. ‘West Palm Beach, Fla., Sept. 22.—Pelican Bay, a village of ap- proximately 400 inhabitants, was wiped out by the hurricane of last Sunday and relief workers returning tonight expressed the opinion that few, if any, of its inhabitants survived. A rescue expedition today pene- trited a point opposite the little settlement and found 200 bodies just across the water from the destroyed village. ‘They did not reach the village itself, By the Associated Press. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Septembey 22.—Measures for relief of the area | ravished by last Sunday’s tropical hur- | ricane gained momentum today as of- ficlal estimates fixed the death toll at between 1,000 and 1,500, with more than | 15,000 homeless, and disease and hunger threatening refugees in parts of theh Lake Okeechobee region. Rapldly co-ordinating its program, the American Red Cross allocated phases of the work to branch headquarters in Jacksonville, Tampa and Fort Myers. The latter two cities will handle sec- tions of the lake region inaccessible to headquarters here, while Jacksonville will supervise the refugee situation. Rising waters and lack of adequate transportation facilities handicapped the emergency relief work and the re- covery of bodies within the stricken lake shore district. Urgent appeals for boats came out of the area which re- turning officials have described as corpse-strewn and desolate, with thou- sands of refugees in immediate need of food and shelter. Whole Everglades Flooded. Gov. John W. Martin declared the whole Everglades was flooded; and Fred C. Stuck, secretary of the Florida Isaac Walton League, appealed to members of the league to furnish outboard motors, saying that due to inadequate drainage the flood waters continued to rise from recent rains. Men were sought to man hoats, which will be put to hauling sup- plies, refugees and bodies. Clipping official red tape, after a per- sonal inspection through a portion of the back country, Gov. Martin ordered ; food and other supplies purchased with ; funds from the State treasury. At the same time the chief executive, who shed tears at the tragedy he witnessed in the lake country, issued another call for the people of Florida to contribute “‘quickly and generously” to the relief. ‘The State highway department was ordered to clear the debris-clogged roads into the district to facilitate the movement of trucks and other vehicles. Determined to delve deeper into the actual needs of the region, the gov- ernor went back into the flooded coun- try today, with Belle Glade and neigh- boring communities on the itinerary of his official party. Federal Aid Asked. i Federal aid to cope with the situa- tion was sought by United States Sena- tor Park Trammell who telegraphed to President Coolidge asking that a repre- sentative be: sent to Florida with the view of obtaining all possible govern- i mental assistance. ol As the rescue workers, swamped with | duty and hampered by flood and debris, continued their inspection of the coun- try, new reports of disaster reached| the outside world. The Pelican Bay district where several hundred sugar cane laborers were believed to have ‘been caught by the hurricane, remained the one isolated spot in the devastated area. For six days the citizens of that community, if any are left, have been without relief. .Coast Guardsmen were ! engaged in clearing the roads to the place. The highways muck and debris to the depth of 5 feet in places, newspaper men reported. Great need for emergency relief of residents and farm lands within the vast expanse of the Everglades country was pictured before Gov. Martin today by civic organizations and citizens who | presented various plans for immediate drainage of the marshy countryside and for preventing future overflows. Follow- ing the conference, which continued for about 30 minutes, the chief executive |} sald no decision had been reached, but were covered with | PRINCESS ELAINE VON LIPPE-LIPSKL O HEARING BAN PROTESTED BY U.5. Note Is Sent to Colombia, Following Cancellation of Concession. DER By the Assoclated Press. Secretary of State Kellogg has en- tered a formal protest against action of the Colombian government in its re- fusal to permit American Minister Sam- uel H. Piles to petition for a hearing for American oil companies whose 5,000,000-acre concession has been can- celed by the Colombian government. In a note, delivered September 13 by Minister Piles at Bogota, Secretary Kellogg expressed surprise that the Colomian government, contrary to pro- cedure between friendly nations, had declined the request of the Washington Government to exercise its right to make inquiries on behalf of its na- tionals. The note declared the United States had requested nothing that it would not grant Colombia. It said that the United States cannot permit Colombia’s refusal to deal with the matter to cause its government to desist from according assistance and protection to American citizens as may seem proper and neces- sary. The message was concluded with the promise that the American Govern- ment will continue to follow with in- terest the further progress of the case. Follows Cancellation. Secretary Kellogg's protest grew out of a situation arising pfmm Cgfomhh's cancellation in 1926 of the Varco con- session, granted to a syndicate of American oil companies incorporated in Colombia under the name Compania Colombiana del Petroleo. Ninety-five ber cent ot the company’s capital stock is_American-owned. . The company protested that the an- nulment of the lease was made on grounds, it contended, unjustified by fates of the case. The Colombian gov- ernment failed to reply to company representatives and no judicial action was taken by either side The Colombian government later agreed that its cancellation could not be justified by grounds cited in the 1926 decree, but comtended that the company 2ad not fulfilled its obligation under the contract by failure to work the conces- sion during 1923, 1924 and 1925. The (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) O /’,”/ PRINGESS INJURED: - GAUSE AMYSTERY Elaine Lippe Lipski in Hospi- tal—Police Report Names Attorney. Princess Elaine von de Lippe-Lippski, founder and hostess of Washington’s famous Carry-On Club, for World War service men, and a principal in the past several years in extensive litiga- tion here and in New York, growing |out of family affairs, was taken to Emergency Hospital last night in a highly nervous condition. Her left eye was discolored, her nose bore a bruise nd she complained of pains around ae ribs.e The cause of her condition remained 1+ mystery for several hours. Then po- lice drew from her an incoherent story | to the effect that she had been in an argument at her home, 1619 Twenty- first street, over a law suit involving herself and a child, and bringing the name of a prominent Washington at- torney into the case. Police Report Made. The following formal report on the affair was made by Patrolman S. F. Gravely of the third precinct, who in- vestigated: “At about 6:30 p.m., this date, Elaine Hale, white, 40 years old, 1619 Twenty- first street northwest, stat.s she was as- saulted by Col. Ashby Williams, home address unknown, office address seventh floor, H. L. Rust Building, Fifteenth and K streets northwest. Treated at home by Dr. Charles Hoffman, her personal physician. Removed to Emer- gency Hospital and treated by Dr. John Lyons for lacerations of the forehead and other minor injuries. Not serious. Mrs. Hale states she will not prosecute Col. Williams if he is arrested.” Col. Ashby Williams is a well known attorney here and a member of the Cosmos Club. He served with distinc- tion in the World War with the 320th Infantry, entering the service as a chaplain and leaving it as a lieutenant colonel. Princess Elaine returned home from New York, where she had spent the Summer, shortly after 6 o'clock, and a half an hour afterward a doctor was summoned to administer treatment to the bruised eye and nose. But when she grew nervous and excited, the ambulance was called and she was re- moved to the hospital. Interviewed by Police. Lieut Holmes, Precinct Detective Wil- son and Policeman Gravely, all of the third precinet, interviewed the princess for half an hour at the hospital, but, on account of her condition and her re- luctance to talk, they were unable to obtain a detailed version of the affair. The princess, however, warned the of- ficers that should they make a report on the case, she would deny it, and if they arrested the person responsible, she would not institute prosecution. Because of the refusal of the princess to press charges against her assailant, police made no further investigation of the case. An arrest will not be made, it was said, unless a warrant is issued. While the condition of the princess is not regarded as serious, physicians at the hospital said she probably would have to remain there for several days, An _ex-ray examinatioin will be made " (Continued on Page 12, Column 6.) GAS BOMBS USED. Auditorium While Smith Is Speaking. DENVER, September 22 (#).—Some of the police officers and firemen on duty tonight at the auditorium told newspaper men that foul-smelling gas bombs had been used in one of the galleries and in the crowd outside the building while Gov. Smith was de- livering his speech. They said they had no knowledge who had released the bombs. Despite the odor, they said, those listening to the Democratic presidential nominee remained throughout the address. Broken in Wives of Presidents The first article of Romantic stories of wom- en who have graced the White House. The love stories of Presidents. the series appears in The Evening Star tomorrow. ARMS CONFERENCE WAITS U. . REPLY TONAVAL TREATY British Policy of Silence De- lays Action—Pact Is Still in Force. DETAILS REPORTED ] SENT TO WASHINGTON France and Britain. Believe Ger- many Will Join Entente—Italy Apt to Follow Suit. BY PAUL By Cable to The News. SCOTT MOWRER. Star and Chicago Daily Copyright. 1928, GENEVA, September 22.—The plain truth underlying the tense disarmament negotiations which have besn continu- ing here throughout the week is that everything now depends upon’ the an- swer which Washington makes to the British confidential note on the Anglo- French naval compromise. Paul Boncour, French delegate to the League of Nations, has plainly stated this. The date of the next meeting of the Preparatory Disarmament Com- mission, he declared, “depends on de- | cisions over which the League has no influence.” The Dutch and Japanese delegates are equally outspoken. They favor an informal meeting of the naval powers immediately to discuss the Franco- British compromise. The British, how- ever, are silent. They prefer to take no further steps until they have a formal reply to their note from the United States. United States Given Details. British delegates have assured this correspondent that the United States has been fully informed on the sub- ject. Foreign Minister Chamberlain’s revelation of the compromise Wwas prematurz, but thereafter a note giving the gist of it was immediately cabled w Washington. The United States asked for further details, which were {given within 24 hours. When Under- secretary Mariner, head of the western European division of the State Depart- ment, came to London at the time of Secretary Kellogg's visit to Paris, both he and Ambassador Houghton were supplied with full information, the British say. They therefore discount ‘Washington dispatches saying that the United States Government has insuf- ficient knowledge of the compromise. ‘They also are unable to believe the Washington dispatches saying that | President Coolidge has decided not to reciy at all. “It is inconceivable,” a British diplo~ mat said to this correspondent, “that we are not even on speaking terms. I remember the days when your country was too proud to fight, but I never heard of its being too proud to write.” ‘The British realize that the United States, especially in themidst of an election campaign, may desire to take time to consider the new situation cre- ated by the Franco-British compromise, but a reply in the near future never- theless is confidently expected. Disarmament to Proceed. According to the terms of this reply, the League disarmament plans will pro- ceed. If the United States accepts the compromise as a basis of discussion, which nobody expects, then the League preparatory Disarmament Commission can meet immediately and a general conference held next year. If the United States makes counter-proposals, which seems to be what every one here hopes, then some form of negotiations will begin at once. If the United States simply rejects the compromise without offering any alter- native, which is what every one fears, then a serious effort may be made by the League to go ahead anyway on the basis of the compromise, leaving the United States temporarily out of ac- count, for a new naval conference must be held in 1931, anyway, under the ‘Washington treaty. Contrary to press reports recently in- spired in London, there is no evidence whatever that either the Franco-British general political entente or the Franco- British naval compromise has been dropped. It is significant that an im- portant mission of British officers at- tended the recent French air maneubers and expressed themselves as delighted with what they saw. Everything which has happened here shows that the French and British are working smooth- ly together for the first time in 10 years. Since the Franco-German Rhineland agreement early this week, both the French and the British are confident that they can ultimattely extend their antente to Germany. Italy, it is thought. must then also come in. Europe will have found at last its essential unit: as the United States has constant advised it to do. Seek Italian Approval The Franco-British naval compromise is merely one detail of the Franco- British entente. Japan cpproves it. British diplomacygjust now is working hard to persuad ly to approve it. Most of the s European states are favorable; t breaks the long deadlock betw Prance and Great Britain in the preparatory commission, gives Great Britain the lead in naval matters and France the lead in army matters, and thus prepares the way for an ultimate common text on the draft of a convention for a big disarmament imeeting. A surprisingly large number of League members seem to feel that it will have “the happiest effect on the limitation of armaments.” Naturally, any counter-proposals the United States cares to make will be eagerly studied, but meanwhile the Franco-British compromise, far from being dropped, seems to be gaining support. BRITISH OFFICIALS SILENT. Refuse to Publish Treaty Text, Despite Press Attacks. LONDON, September 22 (#).—Criti- cism of Great Britain’s handling of the Anilo-fl;n:h naval accord wnungetd to pour in from newspaj . Of- ficialdom, however, calmpg‘d'fird‘ezlrded the flood of adjectives loosed by edi- torial writers and held to its decision not to publish the official text until other governments concerned had been heard from. The officials pointed out that when the three-power naval conference broke down at Geneva last year there was much denunciation of the pro- o E( ! ceedings because the governments had Continued on Page 2, Column 7.