Evening Star Newspaper, September 24, 1928, Page 13

D K g AR i e - Sl THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, " D. @.° MONDAY, Scene at the dedication yesterday of a memorial to Brig. Gen. Lloyd Niltan Breit, war-fims sommander of the 80th Division, at his Arlington grave on the first anniveriary of his death. Representative Stephen G. Porter of Pennsylvania delivered the dedicatory address before a gathering of 80th Division veterans and represerta*’ges of various patriotic societies. —Star Staff Photo. | Principals in a “South Pole romance.” Capt. Sir George Hubert ‘Wilkins, the Australian air explorer, with Miss Suzanne Bennett, the actress to whom his engagement was made known a few hours be- fore he sailed from New York on his Antarctic expedition. —Copyright by P. & A. Photos. . FOREST FIRES TAKE TOLL OF FOUR LIVES Conflagrations Believed in Check After Burning Wide Area. By the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, September 24.— With 2 fleet of airplanes and thou- sands of men combating California’s post-season forest fires, officials believe today that most of the conflagrations which have cost four lives and swept nearly 200,000 acres in the past few days have been checked. A force of 2,500 men, including 500 Marines and sailors, was employed in southern California. Airplanes scouted the forest for strategic points to estab- lish fire lines. Three Men Killed. Three men were killed when the gaso- line tank on a truck in which they were riding_exploded after becoming over- heated from the flames which they had planned to fight. A rancher died from exhaustion caused on the fire lines Blazes in the Palomar, Cuyamaca and Potrero districts of San Diego County were checked somewhat last night, al- though they still burned flercely, The Palomar fire was the worst, having swept up Aguanga Mountain toward the northwest, and invaded the slopes of Palomar Mountain proper. Favor- able winds, however, enabled the fire fighters to halt the flames before they crossed the peak into heavily wooded districts. Another fire raged near Boulder Creek. west of the Cuyamaca Ranch. The flames swept within four miles of the ranch, but were held there by a change in the wind. Reports last night gaid the fire was burning southward. Reported Under Control. in the Witch Creck, Santa ysabe) and Ramona districts were re- ported under control last night. San Diego County's fires were estimated to have burned over a total of 150,000 acres. In the San Bernardino National For- est a fire swept more than 37,000 acre: and still was out of control. In Ven- tura Ceunty fire fighters reported the fire had been checked on two fronts and men had concentrated on the other danger points. Fires TWO DIE IN AUTO CRASH. Driver and Companion Held With- out Bond in Dual Death. N. C., September 24 (P). ey and Allez Gannt of S. C. are dead, and Jack and Luther Morgan of Clover, , are held in the Gaston County Jail, without bond, as the result of an automobile accident 10 miles south ot this city yesterday afternoon. Both Sanders and Morgan were injured only slightly. A coroner’s investigation disclosed that Sanders was driving the car at the time of the accident, while Morgan was on the front seat beside him. The au- FORMER JAPANESE ENVOY DUE HERE Count Uchida to Disit D. C. on Return From Signing Peace Pact Abroad. ‘Washington this week will welcome a distinguished Japanese visitor—Count Uchida—who is on his way home from Paris, whither he was dispatched to affix his country’s signature to the multilateral pact to renounce war. Though his sojourn is described as entirely unofficial, Count Uchida, thrice foreign minister of Japan and once Am- bassador to the United States, will pay his respects to President Coolidge and Secretary Kellogg. It goes without say- ing that the opportunity for discussion of international questions of mutual Japanese-American interest will not be ignored. Visit Here Prearranged. When Count Uchida left Japan for Europe it was intimated that his mis- sion to the Occident included visits to London and Washington in connection with the task, it was reported, of plaining” Japan’s _ attitude newly established Nationalist China, The Tanaka government Was repre- senied as anxious to assure Great Britain and the United States, in par- ticular, that Japan's purposes in Man- churia are not inconsistent with the principle of Chinese sovereignty solemn- ly reaffirmed at the Washington con- ference. Count Uchida spent a week in London earlier this month, and now he comes to Washington. Relations at Danger Point. Nationalist China’s relations with Japan are at present strained to the danger point, if not the breaking point. | Tokio in August dispatched Baron Hayashi to Mukden, to persuade Chang Hsueh-Liang, son and successor of the Iate Chang Tso-Lin, to delay the linking of Manchuria’s fortunes with those of the new Nanking regime. China's re- joinder was the abrupt termination of | the Sino-Japanese commercial treaty, an act denounced by Tokio as an “ou ageous” violation of international las iplomatic _&rrespondence continue: but the atmosphere has not been re- lieved of tension. Meantime, Chinese antagonism to Japan has become wide- spread and bitter, Trade boycotts go iberate hindrance to the Nationalism, If Count Uchida can make a reassur- ing clarification of Japan's real purposes in China, he will render a service which will be welcomed in the United States, whose John Hay is still revered as the architect of the open door. ARRESTS UNDER DRY LAW. cause of the handling and consumption of .in- toxicants during the 48 hours ended at 8 o'clock this morning totaled 24 There were 177 persons arrested for i toxication, the remaining 65 being for sale, possession and transporting. Seizures in_connection With the ar- tomobile was wrecked when it plunged off the roadway and turned over one or more times. rests included 100 quarts of whisky, 200 quarts of alcohol, 6 quarts of gin, 53 gallons of wine, 484 bottles of beer and 3 automobiles, ' hand-in-hand_with propagation of the | harge that Nippon's aims are a de- | Arrests for offenses resulting from | SEPTEMBER o 24.7% 19281 President Coolidge enjoys a visit with the homefolks on his journey back to the scenes of his ‘boyhood in Vermont. “The President and Mrs. Coolidge are shown here with his aunt, Mrs. John J. Wilder, and “Uncle” John first visit to Plym outh in two years. Wilder, in front of their home at Plymouth. Other relatives were there to greet the President and his wife on their —Copyright by P. & A. Photos. Uncle Sam’s $100,000,000 sisters pose for their first picture (og'euler. The giant new airplane carriers Lexington (left), and Saratoga, tide up at the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Wash., where they are undergoing engine readjustments to bring their speed up to the specified figure. This is the first time since they were launched that the big ships have beou close enough to be photographed together. Any novice as a paddler ought to be safe in this new life-saving suit. The suit is made of rubber legs ard paddles hanging by a st with duck-feet attachments on the rap around the neck. The wearer floats upright and works the paddles and his feet to move in the water, It is being used in Germany.—Copyright by P. & A. Photos. —Wide World Photos. Miss Polly Lauder sails to become the bride of Gene Tunney. The young Gleenwich, Conn,, heiress is shown here (at left) as she arrived at the pier in New York with her mother to board the liner Saturnia fer the voyage to Italy, where she will join the retired heavyweight champion for the wedding. —Copyright by P. & A. Photos. CONTRACTOR KILLS WIFE, THEN TAKES OWN LIFE Prominent Elizabeth, N. J., Builder Apparently Shoots Mate While She Lay Asleep. By the Associated Press. ELIZABETH, N. J, September 24.— John C. Bentley, engincer and builder of this city, shot and killed his wiie and then took his own life this morn- ing. ‘The bodies were discovered by a maid. Bentley and his wife occupied sep- arate bedrooms. He had arisen appar- ently while his .wife was asleep and shot her and then shot himself. Bentley formerly was head of the firm of Bentley-Morris Corporation, building contractors. He sold his inter- est in May, 1927, and recently had operated an automobile service station. APPEAL MADE TO A.E. F. Gen. Summerall Invites 1st Divi- sion to Annual Reunion. Maj. Gen. Charles P. Summerall, chief of staff of the Army, has issued a call | to 87,000 World War veterans of the 1st Division, A. E. F., to meet at the annual reunion at Los Angeles October 18-21. Gen. Summerall is president of the Society of the 1st Division, which claims 87,000 potential members, since ! the division’s regular strength was trebled because of heavy casualties during the World War. Men from every State in the Union were included in the division, which Gen. John J. Pershing organized in 1916 on the Mexican border. Cloudburst Submerges Crops. TREBINJE, Jugoslavia, September 24 (#).—A cloudburst yesterday flooded a wide expanse of the countryside, and crops were under water today. Some lives were lost, OF PAST WEEK By the Associated Press. Persistent mention of the United States in connection with the two big European problems, war payments and patches from abroad. In the one case the proposed evacua- tion of the Rhineland by allied troops was_linked with reparation payments by Germany and with war debts owed by the various European nations to each other and to this country. In the other the program for future disarmament conferences was made contingent upon word from Washington respecting the officially concealed but generally known Franco-PBritish naval accord. Germany kLas been struggling to have its reparation total treated as an indi- vidual problem, distinct from evacua- Ition of the Rhineland. She has main- ! tained also that neither should be » mixed up with European debts to the United States. Support for this position, so far as reparations and allied debts are con- cerned, has come from Great Britain, and the French government has let it be known that it recognizes that Wash- ington would not consent to making French debt payments contingent upon amounts which that country receives from across the Rhine. Britain’s Position Outlined. Lord Cushendun said that Great Britain would not agree to any appeal to the United States for a remission of debts, but neither would she agree to any liquidation of debts due the British treasury which would mean she would receive from Continental Europe less than she must pay to the United States. The “big six,” consisting of Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Ger- many and Japan, s to thrash out the lwhnle thing at future conferences. Ad- mittedly this "'m take many months. disarmament, marked recent news dis- OUTSTANDING WORLD EVENTS BRIEFLY TOLD Germany agreed that a total for its reparations be fixed by a commission of experts. A subsequent Treport from Geneva said the United States would be asked whether it would like to co- operate with such a commission. Smaller | European powers, affected indirectly by the situation, believe that nothing can be accomplished without American col- laboration. Disarmament Issue Up at Geneva. ‘There was hectic debate at Geneva on the disarmament question. At the end of the week one man, much against his will, was saddled with the responsibility of deciding when and where the next preparatory conference would be held. He was told only that it should be con- voked late this year or carly in 1929, a French formulation. ‘This man is Jonkheer Dr. J. Loudon, Ambassador of the Netherlands to France and president of the Preparatory Disarmament ~Commission of the League of Nations. He stuck manfully to his previous declaration that unless the five chief naval powers—The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan—came to 'some preliminary understanding, a preparatory confer- ence would be useless. About the only fully positive action which the disarmament commission took was to urge all nations to enter into treaties of friendship and non- aggression. These, it was calculated, would reduce temptations to go to war and by.that much diminish the need | for armaments. In this field Italian diplomacy scored another point against Jugoslavia, when Greece decided to sign such a pact with Italy. Rome Backs Fascist Policies. Steps to perpetuate Fascist policies were taken at Rome, where the general council of the party indorsed Musso- linl's program for making that body an DENTIST KILLED, NURSE HURT IN AUTO UPSET Dr. Carl Kirby of Richmond Dead as Result of Accident at Nar- row Curve Near Staunton. By the Associated Press. STAUNTON, Va, September 24— Dr. Carl Kirby, 28 years old, dentist, of Richmond, Va.. was fatally injured yesterday when the automobile in which he was riding was overturned and wrecked on a narrow curve of a highway near here. Miss Eva.Wilson, also of Richmond, who was driving the car, suffered severe shock, but was not believed to be seriously injured. She was brought to a hospital here. integral part of the Italian government. The present Parliament was told it must pass this Jaw before it is dissolved in December. ‘The new measure will center all gove ernment activities in the party council. It will be given authority to approve or disapprove international treaties, changes in the territory df the kingdom, succession to the throne and succession to the power now wielded by Benito Mussolini. In Sweden Conservatives gained eight parliamentary seats and Agrarians nine in an election. The losses were charged mostly against the Socialists, but the Social Democrats and other liberal ele- ments retained the majority bloc. The “epic of the north” resulting from the Nobile disaster has about closed. Italian searchers for trace of the missing “ballon party” of the dirigi- ble Italia abandoned the effort and the Russian icebreaker Krassin was or- dered home, when advancing ice, coupled with night and Winter fog, made it impossible for the Russians to add to their rescue record. In China the Naticualist government troops, aided by Manchurians, cornered and disarmed the last appreciable rem- nant of the North China forces, R A ST VY W, F A A sea of faces surrounding Gov. Smith as crowds turned out to greet the Democratic standard bearer at Wichita, Kans. The governor is wav- ing his famous brown derby to the throng which surrounded the reception stand on all sides. Mrs. Smith stands on the right of the governor. —Associated Press Photo. Al Jolson, the black-face comedian, and his bride of the Broadway footlights, Ruby Keeler, with whom he sailed for a European honeymoon after the wedding which took the show circles of New York completely by surpri ceremony. ise. This was taken just after the —Copyright by P. & A. Photos. MRS VAN WINKLE MAY PUNISH FOE Detention House Neighbor Abusive Toward Prisoners, She Declares. Undaunted by numerous vociferous attacks aimed at her new House of Detention, 908 B street, by the resi- dents of Southwest Washington, Lieut. Mina C. Van Winkle, chief of the Woman'’s Bureau, is considering dras- tic punitive measures of reprisal against one of her new neighbors who is mak- ing herself “extremely objectionable.” “One of the neighbors here has been talking to the prisoners in such an objectionable manner,” Mrs. Van Winkle declared, “that I am thinking of taking steps to curb her tongue. “She persists in speaking to the in- mates here in an abusive manner, and, in my opinion, she is worse than the prisoners.” Mrs. Van Winkle woman in question. Work of Finishing Progresses. Nearly three entire floors of the formeg apartment house have been fin- ished and the building is almost ready for occupancy, she said. Only prisoners are being held at the new building now, Mrs. Van Winkle said. but she hopes to move all of them in at an early date. p Additional protests were made against the use of the Southwest premises by the Woman's Bureau yesterday, when the congregation of the Fifth Baptist Church, Sixth-and-a-half and E streets southwest, passed resolutions appeal- ing to the District Commissioners to ‘halt the proceedings. 3 The position of the congregation was explained by Rev. John E. Briggs, pas- tor, as follows: X “We do not desire to sling any mud, but we do think this establishment is strictly against our interests, as it has been located in one of our best residen- tial sections. Attracts Boys of Neighborhood. “Little boys have been observed play- ing around this house and identifying the girls who are inmates by the color of the dresses they wear and discussing them with each other. “In my opinion, the situation will be intolerable.” Injunction proceedings brought by residents of the vicinity against the detention home probably will be an- swered by the District today or tomor- row, Corporation Counsel Willlam W. Bride has stated. W. K. Wimsatt, who has been among the leaders of the opposition, said he and his supporters would make a stren- uous fight for their, injunction when the case comes before the court. did not name the Prominent 0il Operator Dies. WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., September 24 (#).—D. W. Franchot of Tulsa, Okla., a prominent oil operator, died yesterday at Muncy, near here. During his col- legs days at Yale Franchot was rated as an_all-round athlete. vived by his widow and four children. Engineers Convene in Vienna. VIENNA, September 24 (#).—Wel- comed by President Hainisch, 600 of the world’s best known bridge and structural engineers opened their sec- Snd international convention here to- ay. two | He is sur-) 120 NEET DEATH IN THEATER FIRE 350 Injured When Flames Consume Playhouse in Madrid. Children, Rescued i Alive in Ruins, Are i Protected by Bodies Dy the Associated Press. LONDON, September 24.—The | correspondent of the Evening | News, telephoning from Madrid, stated that several children were found alive in the ruins of the Novedades Theater. | They had been saved by the | | dead who had fallen on them and | | protected them from the flames | | and from being trampled on dur- ing the ensuing panic. By the Assoclated Prass. MADRID, September 24.—Approxi=- | mately one hundred and twenty persons were officially estimated today to have been trapped and perished in the Novedades Theater, when it caught fire during a crowded Sunday evening per- formance. The injured were estimated at more than three hundred and fifty. Exact figures have not been established because dense smoke coming from the smouldering ruins prevented the au- thorities from learning how many bodies were yet to be extricated. Most of the victims were not burned, but were either suffocated or crushed during the stampede for the exits. Bodies were being taken from some sections of the ruins this morning and soldiers with fixed bayonets kept back a large crowd of anguished persons who clamored for news of relatives and friends. Doctors Work All Night. A family in Chambery, a suburb, re- i ported 18 members missing. but it was believed that they might have passed the night with friends. Doctors worked ! all night in the hospitals and dressing stations. The blaze staried during a storm scene on the stage. The theater, which is one of the largest in Madrid, held 4,000 persons and it was crowded to capacity for a performance of “La Mejor del Puerto.” Electrical sparks ignited the ropes of part of the scenery and the flames spread rapidly to other parts of the stage setting. Panic Is Started. As the curtains in front burst into flames, there was a mad rush for the exits. Men, women and children were trampled in the stampede. The theater was equipped with modern precautions against fire, but it was very old and the wooden framework burned rapidly. People massed in the narrow aisles, frantically fighting their way to the three exits at the front of the building. Soon these exits were choked with the struggling mass and many were blocked from escaping from the galleries. ‘There were reports today that all those behind the scenes were able to es- cape through the stage doors.