Evening Star Newspaper, October 8, 1928, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Partly cloudy, not so cool tonight: to~ morrow increasing cloudiness and warm- er, followed by showers. ‘Temperature—Highest. p.m. yesterday: lowest, 51, at 7 a.m. to- Full report on page 9. day — Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 10 and 11 75, at 2:15 The Foeni ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ng Sshar. Associated service. Saturday's Circulation, Sunday's Circulation, The only evening paper in Washington with the Press news 102,622 110,873 Entered as No. 30,841 nd class matter ington, D, C. WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1928 —-THIRTY-SIX PAGES. (#) Means Associated P TWO CENTS. re: SMITH T0 INVADE SOUTHERN STATES ON HOOVER'S HEELS Dixie Made Real Political Battleground by Presi- dential Candidates. BOTH PARTIES EXPRESS CONFIDENCE IN OUTCOME| Fires of Prejudice, Fanned by Wet and Religious Issues, Continue Dominant Feature. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN, Staff Correspondent of The Star. KNOXVILLE, Tenn., October 8.—The tide of political battle swept into the | old Volunteer State with Hprbvrt“ Hoover's address Saturday in Eliza- bethton and will be carried further this | week by the invasion of Gov. Smith. | who comes to Chattanooga and Nash- ville. Tt has been reckoned & real battleground this year much for the same reasons that are influencing the campaign in other States of the South- land. Both sides express great confidence in the outcome. The Democrats insist that they have checked to some extent the drift from the Democratic ranks to the Republican which was in evidence soon after Smith had been nominated by the Houston convention. This may be true in a measure, but the fires of prejudice, fanned by the wet and dry and religious jssues, are still burning. The W. C. T. U. and other temperance organizations are fighting Smith's election vigorously. Some of the Protestant ministers have spoken and_ are speaking strongly against the Democratic nominee. Dr. John Roach Straton of Calvary Baptist Church, New York, delivered an address Saturday in Nashville, attacking Smith, which was attended by 4,000 persons. But in the main the anti-Smith Demo- crats in this State do not appear to be $0 well organized as in North Carolina and Virginia. As impart; though not taking an active part in politics, are favorable to Hoover, believe that the State is leaning to Smith. Democrats Strongly Organized. There are a number of reasons for | lerth Series Game Ordered Postponed Because of Rain Drizzle Following Down- pour Prompts Rul- ing by Landis. By the Associated Press ST. LOUIS, October 8.—The fourth world series game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees was postponed until tomorrow by Judge K. M. Landis, commissioner of base ball, because of rainy weather today. A hard downpour shortly after 8 am. was followed by a drizzle with overcast skies. The forecast was for cloudy this aft- ernoon and fair tonight and Tuesday. Three defeats at the hands of the enemy and the early morning rain meant nothing in the lives of the dyed-in-the-wool base ball fans bent on witnessing a wold series game. As early as ":30 a.m. About 200 pavilion and bleacher fans were on hand at Sportsman’s Park, holding paper car- tons and newspapers over their heads and hoping for clearing skies. Some 30 enthusiasts spent the night | outside the park in order to be first inside when the gates opened at 8:30, Six small negro boys in the group of bleacher fans entertained with songs and_interpretations of the “black bot- | tom™ until exhausted. Then they curled | up in a large paper carton anad went to sleep. . HODVERTOSTRESS TARFF I BOSTON Chooses Issue as One on Which G. 0. P. Will Have Bay State Backing. Having concluded what he consid- ers a highly successful invasion of Dixie, Herbert Hoover today turned his face toward New England, where, things stand today, |next Monday eévening in Boston, he observers, and even those Who, | will step into the turbulent political situgtion in Massachusetts. In the meantime he heard with in- terest highly optimistic reports regard- ing the outlook in the Middle West, this. In the first place the Democrats | particularly Ohio. He received a glow- a Republicans, although the first and second Congressional districts are con- trolled by the Republicans. Middle and more strongly organized than the ling picture of Republican propects in that section from Myers Y. Cooper, Republican nominee for governor of western Tennessee are the Demm:rni: Ohio, who visited him at his head- strongholds. O . said to have 30, 000 cratic majority. It is true that - dent Harding carried the State in 1920 by 13,000 votes against Cox, and Pres- ident Coolidge lost it only by 28,000 votes. But in 1920 the post-war hostil- ity to the Democratic party was strong. Further, the Republicans had nominat- ed that year a strong candidate for governor, “Alf” Taylor, brother of the jate “Fidgling Bob” Taylor, and the Democrats had an unpopular candidate against him. There was no great amount of interest in John W. Davis here, and the vote cast four years ago was 100,000 short of the vote in the 1920 election. This year, the Demo- crats insist, the return of the Demo- crats to party regularity is marked, and it is upon this party regularity, plus organization, that the Democrats are counting for victory. Hoover Address Well Received. Mr. Hoover's address Saturday, de- -livered in the Tennessee mountains, to an enthusiastic crowd of half a hun- dred thousand, is well received here. According to a dispatch in the News- Sentinel, Knoxville, which is supporting Hoover, Mr. Hoover has committed himself to government operation of Muscle Shoals in an interview at John- son City. This will be popular in Ten- nessee, where there is the keenest in- terest in Muscle Shoals as well as in the waterpower question generally. Ten- nessee has between one-sixth and one- fifth of the potential waterpower of the country within its borders, and many of the people believe that the State itself should benefit from these great natural resources. Mr. Hoover made reference in his speech at Elizabethton to the desir- ability of Government ownership in. certain cases. The News-Sentinel guotes him as saying: “You may say that means Shoals.” The statement in his speech was held to be thus interpreted as follows: There are local instances where the Government must enter the business field as a by-product to some great major purpose. such as improvement in navigation, flood control, irrigation, scientific research or national defense, ! but they do not vitiate the general} policy (of private ownership) to which we should adhere.” Enthusiastic Over Meeting. Representaive J. Will Taylor, who| yeturned to Knoxville today from Eliza- | bethton, spoke enthusiastically of the; Hoover meeting and Mr. Hoover’s ad-| dress. “It was a great gathering and a great speech.” he said. “I feel sure that it will stimulate the interest among the | Republicans and win votes for the ticket.” ) The Democratic national ticket in Ternessee has the advantage of the support, of practically all the Demo- cratic political leaders. Few of them have turned away. Representative Cordell Hull, the State's favorite son, candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, has taken the stump for Smith, al- though Mr. Hull was the hope of the drys for some time in the preconvention campaign. Senator McKellar, another ardent dry. who is himself up for re- election, is out and out for Smith. Sen- | ator Tyson has been campaigning in | Kentucky and North Carolina for the| Democratic national ticket. His home | is here in Knoxville, and he predicts the victory of Smith-Robinson “by about the usual Democratic majority.’ According to Gen. Tyson. conditions are improving for the Democrats right along in Tennessee. | McKellar Is G Senator McKellar, who is a great vote-getter in this State. is opposed by Mayor Fowler of Knoxville, former assistant attorney general and a wide- 1y known attorney. McKellar is given distinctly the edge in this contest. The present Democratic governor, Horton, i& running for governor against Riley Hopkins. the Republican nominee. There was a desperate fight between Muscle | ven Edge. Quarters on. Massachusetts —avenue: Cooper told Hoover that Ohio would elect the entire national and State tickets by a safe majority. Counts Upon Bay State. Hoover has faith in Massachusetts, too, in the face of somewhat discon- certing advices. He belleves that in- dustrial New England regards too highly the Republican tariff policies to throw them down by failing to elect the Re- publican nominee. It is regarded as certain that Hoover will base his argu- ments _in Massachusetts on the pro- tective tariff. He will spend much of his time this week preparing his Bos- ton speech, which will be delivered at 8 o'clock and broadcast over a Nation- wide hook-up of radio stations. The tariff looms bigger as an im- portant issue in the campaign with the passing of each day. The heads of the opposing campaign committees have helped to bring this about by indulging in an interchange of charges and de- nials as to the tariff policies of the re- spective nominees. Chairman Raskob of the Democratic national committee yesterday declared that Chairman Work of the Republican national committee was in error when he accused Gov. Smith of advocating the Underwood tariff, while Dr. Work today announced that the Democrats were trying to “ride a free trade steed in one direction and a competitive tariff steed in another.” Wood Letter Issued. Work's statement was made in con- nection with the issuance of a letter he had received from Chairman Will R. Wood of the Republican Congres- sional campaign committee, calling tention to Democratic efforts in Mary: land to elect “a rampant free trader s0 he can assist the group which p: the notorious Underwood bill in framing the next tariff law.” Reference was had to David J. Lewis, who was ap- pointed a member of the Tariff Com- mission by Woodrow Wilson. “This_illustrates again.” Work said, “the difficulties in which the Democrats find themselves when they try to ride a free trade steed in one direction and a competitive tariff steed in another, each favoring principles wholly at va- riance with the Republican doctrine of adequate tariff protection for American farmers and workers. “The Republican policy is as Mr. Hoover stated Saturday, ‘not to balance the books of business corporations, but to safeguard the family budget.’” Thompson Visits Hoover. Cooper was accompanied to Hoo- ver's office by Carmi Thompson, treas- urer of the Ohio State Republican com- mittee; Judge Orville Smith, law part- ner of Thompson; Arthur Fenton, col- lector of customs in Cleveland, and Charles A. Jones, former secretary to the late Senator Willis and now director of publicity for the Republican cam- paign in Ohio. “The only issue that interests the people in Ohio,” Cooper declared, “is the continuance of the Coolidge poli- cies of economy and extension of public benefits. The voters in Ohio believe that Hoover is thoroughly equipped to carry on these policies.” Cooper said the prohibition question was a subor- dinate one in this campaign. Cooper and Thompson had a lunch- today. BOMB KILLS 3 IN INDIA. Believed Missile Was Intended for British Commission. BOMBAY, India, October 8 (#).— Three passengers were killed and eight injured today at Manmao, when a bomb shattered one car of a train en route to Bombay. A newspaper correspondent reported that it was believed the bomb was being taken to Bombay by anarchists to await the arrival of the royal commission on Indian reforms, headed by Sir John fagtions of the Democratic party in the Continued on Page 4, Colimn 1. Simon. The commission is due at Bom- bay shortly. o I » 20n engagement with President Coolidge | 000 HINES ADVOGATES DEPARTMENT FOR VETERANS RELIEF Legion Convention Told Con- solidation of Agencies Would Aid Efficiency. EXPENDIT“URES BY U. S. PUT AT $4.416,880,986 Pershing Gets Great Welcome in San Antonio—Sessions Con- tinue Five Days. By the Associated Press SAN ANTONIO, Tex.. October 8.— An executive department to deal with all forms of veterans’ relief was advo- cated by Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, di- rector of the Veterans' Bureau, in an address prepared for delivery today be- fore the American Legion convention. The main advantage in such a con- solidation, he said, “would be in bring- ing together in one definite agency, un- der the President, matters which are so closely related at this time as to make it essential for those charged with the administrative duties to be familiar with all phases of the problem.” A total of $1,280,189,194 was paid to World War veterans and their depend- ents by the bureau up to August 31, he said, and disability compensation total- ing $12,000,000 is being paid to vet- erans every month. He placed the total disbursements to August 31 for all forms of veteran relief at $4,416,880,986. Reach Peak in 1947, The peak of hospitalization need for veterans suffering from mental and nerv- ous disabilities will probably not be reached until 1947, he said, noting that the bureauis greatest need, at the pres- ent time was for a larger medical per- sonnel. The rhythm of drums and the blare of bugles resounded through the streets until dawn and showed signs of abating as the tenth annual convention opened here this morning for a five-day session. The frolicsome spirit of the veterans asserted itself throughout Sunday, but with the arrival late yesterday of fresh throngs of visitors and delegates, includ- ing Gen. John J. Pershing, the horseplay which has marked every Legion conven- tion o date suddenly came into its own. The pillow stunt, in which a large number of Legionnaires cut holes in pil- lows and shake the feathers into the street, ushered in a night of carnival (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) NEAR REVALUATN ONGASCOUPANY Depreciation and Land, How- ever, Declared to Be Still in Dispute. The opening today of hearings before the Utilities Commission on the revalu- ation of the Washington Gas Light Co. brought out that the experts for the commisison and the company are not [7CONVICTS PERISH IN FLAMES, COUNT OF ROLL INDICATES 258 Escape as Ohio Penal Plant Is Guited by Night Blaze. HEROIC INMATE BREAKS DOOR TO GIVE 160 AN EXIT Defective Wiring Blamed—Tales of Bravery Tell of Those Who Died for Pals. By the Associated Press. JUNCTION CITY, Ohio. October 8.— Seventeen convicts employed in the State-owned brick plant here are be- lieved to have perished when fire swept the dormitory in which 275 prisoners were sleeping early today. Check of the prisoners revealed that | 20 were missing. and of these 17 were believed to have perished in the flames that destroyed the one-story frame structure within a few minutes after the fire was discovered. Three of the 20 ‘missing are believed by officers in charge to have escaped from custody. Convicts Discover Fire. The fire was discovered by Prisoners Peter O'Day of Dayton and Edward Til- lotson of Toledo, according to guards. O'Day and Tillotson had been listening in on the radio, and had shut it off about midnight. Shortly afterward. O'Day said, he smelled smoke coming from the south end of the building, where the commissary was located. He opened the commissary door and found the room filled with smoke. A moment later there was a burst of flames. O'Day and Tillotson cried “Fire!” and the alarm was taken up and echoed through the dormitory where the 275 prisoners lay sleeping. The scene of confusion that followed | was terrible, prisoners said. The great room with its double tier of steel bunks was in semi-darkness. ~Awakened by the cries, the bewildered prisoners ran about helplessly, struggling (utlleli with each other between the rows of bunks, seeking to reach doors and windows that were barred. Pair Save Many Others. At this juncture, William O'Malley. & prisoner from Cleveland, began hi efforts to save the other men that made him probably the outstanding hero of the occasion. O'Malley and Tony Vecilio, also of Cleveland, and employed in the bakery were at the north end of the building. When they heard the alarm they rushed to the huge bolted door that separated kitchen, bakery and dining room from the dormitory and attempted to open it. With the aid of Ex White, negro, from Fort Worth, Tex., on the dormitory side of the structure, they succeeded in breaking down the door opening another avenue of escape. O'Malley estimated 160 prisoners made their way to safety through that route. He said they were orderly. Later O'Malley and Ex White ran around to a side window of the dormi- tory where prisoners still were vainly struggling to escape and using pieces of pipe as sledges attempted to break open the window, but were unable to do so. O'Malley has 43 months to serve, it was said, on a charge of taking an auto- mobile without the owner’s consent. Doors Ordered Opened. Shortly after the fire was discoversd Capt. D. H. Howell, commanding the guard at the brick plant, who lives in a house on a hill above the plant, was awakened by the shouts. He came out immediately and ordered the guards to far apart on the estimated cost of re- production of the physical property, but that they will differ considerably on the question of depreciation and on land. Another factor that will enter into the final determination of their value is the question of what should be allowed for such intangibles, which have not yet been gone into. The morning session was taken up by detailed testimony of R. O. Luqueer, member of the consultnig firm which made the inventory for the gas com- pany, explaining the methods he fol- lowed in arriving at unit cost of the various classes of property. Little Difference in Estimates. Before Mr. Luqueer started, Ralph B. Fleharty, people’s counsel, placed on file the results of the inventory made for the commission by H. Carl Wolf showing a difference of only $350,280 in the estimates of himself and Mr. Luqueer of the costs to reproduce new the tangible proporty of the Washing- ton company. exclusive, however, of land and the item of depreciation. The cost to reproduce new the tan- gible property of the Washington com- pany was placed at $20,579,510 by the company expert and at $20,229.230 by the commission expert, making the dif- ference $350,280. The commission engineer, however, estimates the accrued depreciation at $2,882,688. The company estimate on depreciation as contained in the reports | fled two weeks ago was $826,750, Reproduction Cost. Mr. Wolf estimates the total repro- duction cost now, less depreciation, at $17,346,542. Mr. Wolf also deducts an item of $147,154 under the heading of property not used or useful. The com- pany’s estimate for reproduction cost of $20,579,510, less its depreciation estimate of $826,750, leaves $19,752,760. ‘These comparisons do not include differences expected to develop between the company and commission experts on land value allowances and on goin; concern and other intangibles, which will be gone into before a final valua- tion for rate-making purposes is ar- rived at. ‘The commission's present valuation of the Washington company is $15,500,- Mr. Luqueer confined his testimony today to the inventory of the Washing- ton company, with a view to taking up separately at a later time the figures for the Georgetown company. The companies are heing represented at the hearings by Attorneys Swager Sherley, Benjamin Minor and George P. Hoover. Ord Preston, president of the company, also attended the hearing. —_— Three Taken in Gem Theft. SAN FRANCISCO, October 8 (#).— Three men were arrested here yesterday by police investigating the report- of Murray Lang, New York diamond mer- chant, that he had been kidnaped here last week and robbed of $200,000 worth of gems. The men said they were all irom New York, open all the doors. There were fivc exits from the dormitory. The prisoners who had escaped from the flame-swept dormitory were hud- dled in the office and in the garage. Chester Welch of Cuyahoga County, serving time on a forgery charge, as- sumed charge of the situation until prison _officials arrived, and, finding wires from the plant were down, went to Junction City, two miles away, to telephone T. A. Young, superintendent, at his home in Columbus. He also called physicians. After all the survivors had escaped from the burning building O'Malley and others worked among them, applying oil to their burns. When the doctors came they dressed wounds of more than 30 men. 1t was said that three or four were ;A'ib severely burned they probably would e. Rescue Task Gruesome. With the coming of daylight rescue vg:)rkera found a gruesome task facing them. The dormitory, a temporary struc- ture, consisted of a corrugated iron covering on a wooden frame, erected on (Continued on Page 5, Column 1) LOS ANGELES FLIES OVER SAN ANTONIO Dirigible's Arrival for Legion Con- vention Greeted by Thou- sands in Texas. By the Associated Press. SAN ANTONIO, Tex., October 8.— The giant naval dirigible Los Angeles| arrived over San Antonio at 9:40 o'clock today. Thousands of people crowded the streets for a view of the silver colored airship, which was flown here as a fea- ture of the opening of the national con- vention of the American Legion this morning. Radio operators at Kelly Field said after communicating with the ship that the dirigible 1‘;lnrmed to cruise over San Antonlo until late today, when it will leave for Fort Worth to be moored for the night. As San Antonians and the thousands of legionnaires followed the Los Angeles with their eyes through a clear sky, T. G. W. Settle, a member of the dirigible crew, radioed the following message: “Greetings from the Los Angeles. San Antonio looks mighty good to me.” With a crew of 40 officers and men aboard, in command of Lieut. Comdr. H. V. Wiley, the dirigible left its base at Lakehurst, N. J., late Saturday and was flown to San Antonio by way of New Orleans and Houston. Radio i’rograms——f’age 2 [} { TTDEARDSTIL OF POSON LIOUGR Raw Alcohol Causes Heavy Death Toll in New York Slums. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, October 8 —Four more deaths, believed by the police to be due to alcoholic poisoning, were reported to- day, making a total of 17 in New Ybrk over the week end. ‘Two unidentified men were picked up in East Side streets and two lodgers were found dead in Bowery rooming i+ | houses, ‘With 57 other persons in Manhattan and Brooklyn hospitals suffering from the same complaint, police said it was the largest week end death toll from that cause since New Year. Dr. Charles Norris, chief medical ex- aminer, ascribed the unusually heavy death toll to the increase in the num- ber of private stills in the slum districts and the spread of the habit of drinking “smoke,” or raw alcohol. Most of the dead and many of those in hospitals came from the lower East Side. “Smoke,” the name being derived from a chemical which is introduced to soften the burning effect on the throat and which gives the alcohol a smoky appearance, is distilled out of corn mash, potatoes, fruit and so on, Dr. Norris said, and sells for from 5 to 10 cents a drink. “This stuff is not poisonous in_ the ordinary sense of the term,” Dr. Nor- ris explained, “but an ounce or two of it has an effect on the heart equal to that of a whole bottle of hard liquor that Il:xas been properly aged in the ‘wood. t Six of the dead were picked up on the streets. U. S.-POLAND TRADE SETS NEW HALF-YEAR RECORD Total Value for Six Months Is $27,927,580—Latter Country Takes More U. 8. Goods. By the Assoclated Press. WARSAW, October 8-—Trade between Poland and the United States reached a new record in the first half of this year with a total value of $27.927,580. Polish imports of American goods in- creased 47 per cent over the imports for the same period last year and ex- ports from Poland to the United States increased 10 per cent. The United States retained second place among the countries of origin for Poland’s imports accounting for 16 per cent of the total. In Poland’s total foreign trade, for the half year, the imports also estab- lished a new record, amounting to $198,176,421, an increase of 24 per cent over the first half of last year. Exports remained in approximately the same volume at $134,955,169. The continuous growth of imports is partly a result of the expansion of industry and trade. Operation and production of the princi. pal industries were well above the av- erage of the first half of 1927. ——e 27 ARRESTED IN CLASH AS TEXTILE MILLS OPEN Workers Refusing to Acknowledge Strike Settlement Jailed in Rows With Others. By the Associated Press. NEW BEDFORD, Mass., October 8.— For the first time in 25 weeks op- eratives streamed through open gates into New Bedford Mills this morning. The return to work after the long tex- tile strike was watched from a distance by textile mill committee sympathizers who have refused to acknowledge the strike settlement, and there were re- peated brushes with the police, which led to 27 arrests. Most of the mills were slow in starting up. Officials in these plants took the names of applicants and turned hun- dreds away to await further call. Mill officials said they would have to inspect their equipment, before announc- ing tg what extent work could be re- sumed. FAMOUS COACH DEAD. “Dad” Vail of Wisconsin Univer- sity Formerly Great Sculler. MADISON, Wis., October 8 (#).— Harry E. (Dad) Vall, coach of the Uni- versity of Wisconsin crew since 1911, and formerly natlonally known as a sculler, died this morning at Gagetown, New Brunswick, according to word re- celved today by university authorities, LOREN HICKMAN 1S DENIED HEH COURT APPEAL Convicted Parker Girl Slayer Now Said to Have Little Chance. H. WITTNER. By the Associated Press. William Edward Hickman of Los An- geles, Calif,, under sentence of death on October 19 for the murder of Marion Parker, a 12-year-old school girl, was today denied an appeal to the Supreme Court by Justice Sutherland. Jerome Walsh of Kansas City, Hick- man’'s lawyer, held a long conference with Justice Sutherland, who has charge of cases in the Pacific Coast circuit, ex- plaining to him in detail the grounds for asking an appeal. He was unable, how- ever, to convince Mr. Sutherland that there had been miscarriage of justice. Had Justice Sutherland granted an ap- peal, Walsh intended to ask for a stay of execution. Walsh said that he had not aban- doned hope of getting the case before the Supreme Court. He will be unable to take it before the court as a whole, but he intends to call upon other jus- tices in the hope of finding one who will grant an appeal. ‘Under the practices of the court it will be necassary for Walsh to explain fully to ther justices the refusal of Justice Sutherland, and in most instances that of itself has been controlling. Those familiar with the procedure were of the impression that Walsh was not likely to find a justice who would give him an appeal after it had been refused him by Justice Sutherland. REILLY, DEMOCRAT, QUITS WISCONSIN SENATE RACE iLenvel La Follette Only Major Party Candidate—Conservative G. 0. P. May Enter Man. By the Associated Press. MILWAUKEE, Wis., October 8.—M. K. Reilly of Fond Du Lac today an- nounced his withdrawal as Democratic nominee for United States Senator. Unless the Democrats choose a candl- date to succeed Mr. Reilly Senator | Robert M. La Follette, the Republican ! nominee, will be the only candidate of a major party in the field. Unconfirmed published reports have said that the conservative wing of the Republican party is considering putting an independent candidate in the fleld against Senator La Follette, mentioning prominently the name of W. J. Campbell of Oshkosh, long a prominent figure in \its group. Motheri;nd Three Found Dead. CHICAGO, October 8 (#).—The bodies of Mrs. Clyde Ryker, 35 years old, and her three children were found in their |8as filled home in Berwyn, West Side suburb, apparently had slain her chil- dren and taken her own life by turn- !ing on the gas. Parachute Injury Fatal. CHAMPAIGN, 111, October 8 ().— Oscar Keller, 37, professional parachute jumper, died today from injuries re- ceived yesterday when his harness broke after he had jumped from a plane at the local airport, and he dropped 200 feet, 1.8 POLTIAL BN * DEFED BY CLER | . |Loren H. Wittner, Atheist, ; Tells Civil Service of Rights | to Freedom. Deliberately violating the Govern- ment’s ban on political activity among classified service employes, .Loren H. Wittner, a clerk in the Police Depart- | ment Traffic Bureau, today sent to the | Civil Service Commission a letter defy- | ing that body’s right to curb him. In a short letter Wittner, avowed atheist, who has locked horns with Gov- ernment authorities before on several | questions, contended that “if freedom of speech means anything,” the holding of a Government job “does mnot preclude public political activity, nor deprive me of individual freedom.” Wittner means to make a test case of his point. Officials at the Civil Service Commis- sion said today they had not yet re- ceived Wittner's but letter, as it was received it would be carefully considered. What disposition would be made of it they carefully declined to indicate, espe- cially in view of the fact, they said, that the civil service status of persons in the Traffic Bureau of the Metropolitan Po- lice Department was in a somewhat different legal position from the status of persons in the Federal classified service, who are directly and wholly unde‘r rules and regulations of the com- jon. Transferred to Police. Wittner, according to civil service records, was recently transferred from a civil service status in the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy Department to the Police Department, where he is now serving as a clerk in the Traffic Bureau. Officials in the Police Department said that all employes of the Traffic Bureau were appointed and promoted under the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission, in accordance with a law dated December 5, 1919, but that no violation of the rules and regulations had yet come up for deci- sion since this status was fixed by Con- gress. Such employes have been con- sidered, however, officials said. as com- ing under jurisdiction of the civil service rules. William C. Deming, president of the Civil Service Commission, declared the position of the commission banning political activity on the part of classi- fied employes was sound. “By the act,” he said, “the President is given wide power to supplement the statutory rules by others not specially covered by the statute. The language of the act is plain on this point and court decisions uphold this view. Forty-five years of growth and stability in the classified service justify the rules and regulations against offensive partisanship.” Openly Supporting Smith. Wittner's letter declared: “I am tak- ing the liberty of informing the Civil Service Commission that under my pur- ported inviolable constitutional rights, notwithstanding my occupancy of a ] civil service position, and despite the { commission’s unconstitutional rules and regulations promulgated to prevent ,polmcll activity of Government work- ers, I openly and publicly support the | presidential candidacy of that genius iof good government, Democratic Al | Smith. As an atheist, I am free from ;stunld religious, social and racial preju- dices which are so detrimental to in- dividual progress and evolution; petty { prejudices arising from ignorance, bigotry, hatred, suspicion and super- stition. | “It is strikingly pertinent that the founder of Jeffersonian Democracy, a model of free representative govern- ! ment aspired to by the Democratic party, purposely omitted ‘So help me I(}od‘ from the presidential oath. Any joath containing the words ‘So help me ‘Gad' is unconstitutional, as it is a re- ligious test. The omission made the presidential oath non-religious. The act was atheistic, and that oath is atheistic still. Jefferson’s Bill of Rights guaranteed freedom of speech and re- ligious liberty, and that no religious test shall ever be required as a quali- fication to any office or public trust un- der the United States. Thomas Jeffer- son sought to protect personal liberty through liberal humanitarian princi- ples. He dispassionately stood for reli- glous tolerance, realizing that intoler- ance strangles liberty and is the dead- liest foe of society. “If freedom of speech means any- thing and is not a mere empty phrase, I contend that the Civil Service Com- mission has no authority to arbitrarily define or limit the extent of my out- spoken interest in public questions, and that holding a Government job does not preclude public political activity nor deprive me of individual freedom.” e e Wire-Tapping Decision Stands. The Supreme Court today refused to review its 5-to-4 decision of last term holding that evidence obtained bfl wire ltnpplnx could be used in prosecut! that as soon HEALING BY FAITH WILL COME BEFORE . EPISGOPAL GROUP Clerical and Lay Delegates From All Over the World Gathering Here. PLANS NEARLY COMPLETE FOR 49TH CONVENTION Commission Will Recommend That Church Recognize Curative Efficacy of Prayer, With clerical and lay delegates from all over the world registering today, ar- rangemeits were being completed by the executive council and the various church departments for the Forty-ninth Trien- nial Convention of the Protestant Epis- ;npal Church, which convenes Wednes- ay. Delegates were discussing with ani- mation the outstanding questions which | will come before the two houses, bishops and deputies, which constitute the gov- x~rl\;'ng body of the church. 'ormal recoznitis church i: l::zl;n?:nre.l:;}eldhe‘llén ‘w‘z | '-arned today, in a joint commission re- Tises uch Will be presented to both Text of Resolution. ... ‘Resolved,” says the ! this commission”will report. onat s eneral convention thankfully recognizes i the deepening of the spiritual life of the church which has come through a srowing recognition of the healing power of Christian faith; that it recommends fo the church at large such efforts as are being made under Episcopal au- thority either through the personal ministrations of parish priests through such organizations pe ';\fn!xgl;lcfin G;Aua of Healing, azarine and the G i e, Sy e t 2 mTf’::lh in Jesus gh'ni‘:"h"u"‘ e commission urges that theologic: gghg&l: in their teaching "m?nofi::: £ widespread belief in the efficacy Of prayer as an expression of & i rather than a formal faith.” e it of three Teport the resulf years’ investigatios Christian helllng.n l:’d Y."l:e e o fore the notes, for instance, thlt‘”‘n‘xgmonu:n ow’-z: infenced oy che copded Sre largely e type of churchman- ship of the fllt’i'l in th: bl forms under "which this done are mlnym'l':e spirit in gxlwc:wt:‘me same;. the spirit of teach and to he‘#mr’a b ko4 s No Detailed Case Given. e report does not present n de- tail any actual ex; Christ N he:_i'l:g. 1t says: e - e conclusions commission draws from its study z‘r’“{heu data are that throughout the Christian world the power in faith to produce results :‘xvxo:lt‘nlei:utefll;l as well as the spiritual no longer hfln but the beliet e etk number of persons; that power faith to produce such m"ll& is urble of being demonstrated empirically if not sci:nug):filly, challenge is flung down to in the statement “th:t the mln'cchtll‘oct: or difference between what is pure mat- :r ;{:: lwh-flt: is pmt:e spirit is no longer ply demonstraf - me_ll_';f believed.” A e report similarly strik at the old belief in -’r‘etven:!en:] ‘(’;g: in the statement that “the popular at- titude toward misfortune in all its forms as being a visitation by God for punishment for sin is no lonfir & uni- versal belief, but is rapidly being &l;:d !lry a belle!’ bhnt such misfor- re man-induced which are hindrances to God':u:ndlllf"?m Would Be First O.K. While church healing has long been practiced in the Episcopal Churc‘h. and has had a steadily increasing number of adherents, the of the rec- ommended resolution would be the first instance in which General Convention has given it formal indorsement. It also was learned that there will be presented to both houses a petition signed by more than 31,000 church members asking that the 39 Articles of Prayer be kept in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church. These articles, which many church- men claim are obscure and antiquated. are not actually a part of the prayer book, but always are bound in the same { volume so that there is a fine question as to whether they must be considered | & part of the church doctrine, | At the last triennial convention at New Orleans it was voted to eliminate them. Legislation by one convention does not become effective until it is acted upon by the succeeding conven- tion. and the purpose of the petition is to prevent ratification. Laymen Began Movement. The 31,000 signatures were collected in a movement launched last Winter by 85 laymen. who issued a memorial, ask- \l-;gt rtlhn‘the articles be retained. of e signers represent the eva wing of the church and fear m.fi':}}:-' ination of the articles, adopted shortly after the Reformation, and rather spe- cific in their condemnation of Roman Catholic practice, would permit the re- sumption of some Catholic customs. After petitioning for the retention of the 39 articles, the memorial reads: “And we do further memorialize our fathers in God, the bishops, to send us a message of assurance that the name, the doctrine, the ceremonies and the nomenclature of our church and her missionary purpose and her fraternal iohvoeul:r b:u Christian people are, and E . _expressed in ) Co‘l:nl:lwnh:lyer:’ AR urchmen point out, however, that ;d‘vnolcntex of all shades of Episcopal on are represe amo; s&nen‘ T . School Issue to Come Up. h’lhl on Page 2, Column 3.