Evening Star Newspaper, December 11, 1928, Page 2

GANGLAND FIGHTS GRAND JURYPROBE {Gunmen Find Power Waning " With Indictment of Men ™" Once in Control. ‘Thie it the third of a seriea of fiva on Chicago's strugsle to replace rworld w! ' Order. It ieils of the Bant at- inge. kidnapings. frauds and murders thtoush which the gangaters and thelr allle elections an efforts of ‘their political beneficiaries {03 grand juries taking action accused of the most fagran BY CLEM LANE. @pecial Dispatch to The Star. CHICAGO, December 11.—Two wal- Bps given Mayor Thompson this year, one by the people, the other by a news- paper, were followed by & considerable fmprovement in conditions in Chicago. ‘While the mayor was .still punch- drunk from the April primary in which the citizens overwhelmed his $41,000,000 bond issue, Judge Hugo Friend of the Circuit Court handed down a decision holding that the mayor, two of his aides and a number of “real estate experts” must return $1,732,279, with interest, to the city treasury. The in- terest added in a later decision brought the judgment to $2,245,606. The suit was brought during Thomp- son’s administration 7 years ago by the Chicago Tribune, suing as a taxpayer to recover “exorbitant” sums which had been paid “experts” for valuing prop- erty condemned in connection with a street-widen! program. Held lable in the suit with Thomp- son were Michael J. Faherty, president of the board of local improvements; County Treasurer George F. Harding, a former Thompson cabinet member, and the “experts’” Expe Forced to Pay. In addition to the sums on which Judge Priend had given judgnient, the Tribune had forced one expert to re- pay the city $108,631 and another $30,281 as a result of the suit. Judge Friend held that a conspiracy had existed with “a twofold purpose of financing the political activities of the ‘Thompson organization and the private benefit of members of the conspiracy.” ‘The Tribune had started suit during the second Thompson administration, had fought it through the courts through the weary processes of 7 years and had finally won out. Thompson and the others now posted a $2,500,000 8] bond and took the case to the ois Supreme Court. ‘The ma issued a statement say- ing that suit was poor for his efforts in behalf of Chicago, and a few weeks later left the city. For the entire Summer he stayed in the north woods of Wisconsin, whence came re- ports that he was recovering from a nervous breakdown. Charles C. Fitzmorris, city controller and & for a maormoul “pine~ le” a few months before, resigned office not long after the Tribune suit. Commissioner of Public Works Richard W. Wolfe, heed of the trend of the times, the Associa- tion of Commerce to send in account- ants to audit his books. . The city's efficials were treading warily. Police Commissioner Michael Hughes, whom Thompson & few months before had termed “the world's best thief catcher,” now . Hughes, a kinsman of State’s Attorney ¢ to all reports, ‘did not want to leave office but the orders came from north woods and Hughes, umlnyonndckhedfilmad-ty&d Tesignation, written in the corporation counsel’s offige, .. Stege Was Reinstated. Willlam R. Russel, & deputy com- missioner with a good record, 'b!l made policé commissioner. He made no romises of & clean-up, but evidenced Te= e rul of Jaw him a deputy com- missioner in charge of the detective vision. Where jury investigators had met with little cooperation or even downright hostility, under the new po- lice regime, Loes ed ample and details "of police to carry out e special taneously ©O'Connor ruled as Judge Comerford had ruled and the validity of the jurles was upheld. ‘When September 17, the trial date, came, the defense demanded a change of venue for the two Ellers, asserting O'Connor granted the mandatory under the law, a similar motion could be made for the 17 henchmen he summoned a venire and the task of selecting a jury began. &‘;& uiuled not be agreed upon until Jury Indicts De Priest. ‘The September jury had concerned ftself almost solely with the activities of the Crowe-Thompson * belt” lgaders. In the fury's final action, el M. Jackson, & member of Gov- Small's State Commerce Com- ission, and Oscar De Priest, an as- siptant ct%mnézrce eo{nmmion:{n d(jsi:mde slected ngress), Wwere cted. ‘The case against De Priest has not yet bgen brought to trial. Indicted with them were a police lieutenant and eight members of the second and third ward “racket” syndi- cates. The 11 were accused of solicit- ing funds for the “America First” cam- paign from vice, booze and gambling racketeers, guaranteeing “protection” in_exchange. The Defense Legal Syndicate—the same lawyers defending the Ellers— seized the indictments as an .oppor- tunity to take a short-cut for a Supreme Court decision. Charles Farrell, a third ward political leader of no particular importance, was one of the men in- dicted. He surrendered, made no ef- fort and went to the county jail. The defense lawyers dashed to the State capital, Springfield, and petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of Farrell, charging he ‘was being held wrongfully because the special juries were illegal. For the third lime they contended that the special juries were invalid, using the same argument that two grand juries cannot sit simultaneously in a county. The Supreme Court took juris- diction, briefs were filed, and the matter taken under advisement for a decision sometime within the next few months. New Jury Indicts Thirty-one. An October jury was sworn in, and on the 8th of the month began hearing evidence. It returned 31 indictments. Assistant State's Attorney Louis V. Keeler, Bernard J. McDonnell, an at- torney for the Small-controlled West Parks Board, and a scattering of minor politiciang, precinct - election officlals and political hangers-on were the men named. Keeler was accused of aiding in & “floater” fraud, and McDonnell was accused of conspiracy to intimidate polls watchers. The grand jury in its report recom- mended that polls watchers from repu- table clvic organizations be equipped with riot guns to maintain order at the polls. @ Precinct election officials were scored 4 Newspaper reports ted Wh to' a fresh realization of the lumism d | dispuf THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, | Four rmn- werte.rescued b; this morning. SAVED FROM BURNING HOUSE. firemen from a fire at 1201 Clifton street early In the photo, left to right: Henry Sandridge, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Sandridge. The boy and his mother were rescued by firemen. Below: Mrs. Nettie for ignorance and venality. ‘The recom- mendation was made to the following special jury to inquire into the politi- cal activities of the police. The trial of the Eller men went steadily forward. Witness after witness | took the stand to tell of beatings, kid- » | napings, frauds, and of the murder of Octavius C. Granady, the negro lawyer ";fl had opposed “Boss” Eller at the “Floaters” were taken about the ward in automobiles at the April 10 primary, sstimony showed, vo! early an often. One man cast 22 votes that day. Several others cast nearly as many. Witnesses Charge Brutality. Others charged brutality by the “Eller militia,” said hoodlums had set upon opposition workers, that a score were dragged off to & “prison” in a tene- ment in the ward, that armed ruffians slugged them in the “prison” and robbed them of their valuables. One of the defendants was declared by three prose- cution witnesses to have been a member of the band that killed Granady. An- other charged that “Boss” Eller had made a speech to his precinct captains on primary eve, in which he had said: “And you can ret guns at Emanuel’s (Judge Emanuel Eller is his son) house i you want them.” A weakness of the prosecution's case was that most of their witnesses were {lliterate colored persons, many of them nx%blers, ‘disorderly house keepers, and such. Throughout the trial came constant reports of witnesses threatened with beatings and worse because of their tes- timony. A brother of the State's star ‘witness, a had - defied -threats of death. The witness collapsed and was unable to take the stand. ‘The burden of the defense was large- 1y of an alibi nature, a sort of “it must have been two other fellows,” and many of the witnesses themselves were mem- bers of the Eller organization. . The jury on November 23 returned a verdict of guilty against 15 of the 16 defendants, including Senator Leonardo. No prison sentence was meted out but the "defendants were fined, the fines ranging from $400 to $1,250. Leonard was fined. $750. Civi¢ leaders condemn the jury for failure to send the de- fendants to prison. per of the trial stirred that had been in the Eller , and, as a result, 10,000 volunteer watchers were at the polls on November 8. The day passed without any serious violence, The po- lice were on the job, aiding the watch- the presidential election, the lit their tickets m'cl.lilen:ley. Judge 8 State's Attorney Crowe in the primary, was elected State's attorney by 150,000 majority. He was pledged to a fight on the hoodium element in politics and out. He was “knifed” by the Crowe-Thomp- son Republicans, but won handily. So_important did Special Prosecutor Frank J. Loesch consider Judge Swan- son’s election as State’s attorney that, despite a broken ankle, he made two speeches in his behalf and in behalf of a cleaner Chicago. Hoover carried Cook County by 100,~ 000. Swanson carrfed it by 150,000. Despite this huge Republican vote, Democrats opposing Republicans of the Crowe-Thompson faction—six of them— won by huge majorities, one of them Dr Herman H. Bundesen defeating the Crowe-Thompson candidate for coroner hyE'{’zo,ooo {‘1’,‘,’5‘ ler, seeking election to the sanitary district board, was snowed under. So were four other Crowe-Thompsonites who had squeezed through in the April primary. Thompsen Boérd Issue Beaten. Nor was the defeat of his six hench- men and the consequent loss of patron- age the only blow at Thompson. He asked approval of $26,000,000 bond is- sues and the people turned thumbs down on his plea as decisively as they had refused the $41,000,000 issue in the Spring. All indications now are that the hood- lum and the “racketeer” are in for the toughest Winter they have faced in Chi- cago for many years. The fight against them is not yet won, for the hoodlum world has money and power. / (Copyright. 1928. by North Ameriean News- paper Alliance.) e UNIONVETERAN MA;(ES THREAT TO REPLACE FLAG AT ARLINGTON (Continued From First Page.) abandon her attempt to get the assem- blage to accept the recommended site. Later Mrs. McEIroy said that she per- sonally was in favor of retention of the old site for the flagstaff and would work to that end, but declared that she had little hope that the staff would be replaced in its old position. Approximately 30 of the 50 persons attending gave their views on the sit- uation and’there was no dissenting voice to the proposal to place the flagpole on the site which was established in 1864, when Arlington was chosen as a burial ground for men slain in the Civil War. The mass of testimony received by Gen. Cheatham will be submitted to the Sec- retary of War for a final decision. ——— Retired Actress Succumbs. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., December 11 (#).—Mrs. Josephine McLaughlin, retired actress, and aunt of Ruth Chat- terton, the actress, died yesterday. d | ton conference, BOLIVIA INSTRUCTS DELEGATE TO QUIT PARLEY MEETINGS (Continged From First Page.) mit the present conflict under the terms of the Gondra convention of May 23, 1923, which Paraguay invokes, because that convention was made to prevent conflicts and settle disputes which could provoke & war.” “But in this case,” the note continues, “the conflict has already taken place, and Bolivia thinks that there is no coun- try in the world which would submit its dignity and the life of its citizens to the_investigations of a strange tribunal, as Paraguay wants under_the terms of the Gondra convention. It is now too late to invoke that convention because the Bolivian government would not ac- cept any kind of negotiations without having first received complete satisfac- tion and mozal reparation from Para- guay.” Expresses “Surprise.” On her part, while for the present keeping her delegate in the Washing- the Paraguayan gov- ernment also expressed “surprise” to- day, according to information obtained from the legation of that country, “at the attitude of Bolivia in this crisis, in view of her attitude and that of her sister republics at the Pan-American conference at Havana last Winter,” when the first steps were taken to for- mulate a general treaty to banish war from the New World. At this morning’s session the confer- ence split up into its two main groups, the committee on arbitration and the committee on conciliation. The latter committee held a brief session and or- ganized, by the appointment of officers, at once. The committee on erbitration will meet later this afternoon, after which it is probable that the special commit- tee selected yesterday by Secretary Kellogg, with the approval of the con- ference, to attempt a peaceful settle- ment of the Bolivian-Paraguayan dis- pute will convene. Cables Kept Busy. Meantime the cables are being kept hot between Washington and the capl- tals of Bolivia and Paraguay. All of the other Latin American republics are keenly interested in the critical sit- uation which has arisen and 'their delegates to the conference and their Ministers and Ambassadors here are in constant communication by cable with their home governments with regard to every move that is made or contem- plated in the effort to avert the threat- ened war. Dr. Fernando Gonzales Roa, one of the two Mexican delegates, was chosen this morning as chairman of the com- mittee on conciliation. The most im- portant officer of this group is the re- porteur. Dr. Jose Pedro Varela, dele- gate from Uruguay, was seélected for this office, and his duty will be to draw up a plan for the proposed anti-war treaty for the peaceful settlement of tes between the republics of this hemisphere, which will be used as the basis for the future deliberations of the conference in reaching a final conclu- slon as to the terms of the treaty. Paraguay’'s Case Stated. ‘The Paraguayan legation sent a note to the State Department formally set- ting forth its side of the dispute. A copy of this note was delivered to the conference, so that the special commit- tee on the Bolivian-Paraguayan aff: when it meets later today, will have both sides of the question before it. After its breif organization meeting, the committes on conciliation adjourn- ed to meet at the call of its chairman. ‘The members of the conference stood around for more than an hour in little groups earnestly discussing the crisis in South America and in the affairs of the conference which has been precipitat- ed by the severing of diplomatic rel: tions and threatened war between Pa: aguay and Bolivia. For the present all of the other im- portant questions with which the con- ference must deal have been relegated into the background, while all efforts are concentrated on preventing actual afl:rhu on the South American con- ent. CHURCH FUND DRIVE " SHOWING PROGRESS Miss Griffith, Leads List in Yesterday's Collections. With total funds collected reaching $11,755.80 in the climb toward the goal of $37,000 which is being sought to | cancel the debt on’'St. Thomas’' Epis- copal Church, team 33, captained by Miss Virginia Griffith, went into first place for Monday's collections, with $1,330 for the day, when the teams re- ported last night. The largest pledge reported by this team yesterday was for $1,000. Team 11, under Mrs, William Wheat- ley, took second place in the race yes- terday, reporting a total of $835, while Mrs. W. S. Bishop's team was third, with $500. Division C, of which Mrs. Willlam R. Ellis is leader, held first place in the divisional rating for yesterday, with $1,820. This single day’s receipts ralsed | division C's standing in the grand | 1 a total of $3,659.80. Division B, under Ralph W. Hills, was second in yesterday’s rating, showing $1,142, while Division A, led by Comdr. N. L. Jones, went into third place for the day with a total of $950. Division B, although second in yes- terday’s totals, held its first place in the grand totals with $5,161 to its credit, Division A is in third place with a grand total of $2,935. Teams 23, 20 and 33 are expected to exceed their totals tonight. The team workers meet each night at 8 o'clock, when r';ggm are presented in the parish hall. ‘workers expect to reach the the church debt will be entirely cleared. Maj. Ennalls Waggaman is general ch of the drive, -~ "'y St. Thomas’ Team, Captained byI ! totals from third to second place, witQ | , who also was carried to safety. HOOVER, IN CHILE, 1S GIVEN OVATION Guest of President at Palace. Leaves Today to Start Argentine Trip. By the Associated Press. SANTIAGO, Chile, December 11.— The traditional friendship between the United States and Chile, which has ex- isted since the foundation of the repub- lies, was exemplified anew today in entertalnment provided for President- elect Hoover. The festivities celebrat- ing this good-will visit included a luncheon at the presidential palace, ar- ranged by President Ibanez for M. Hoover. Members of the Chilean cab! net and immediate members of the Hoover party; were invited to it. While Mr. Hoover was being enter- tained and conferring with Chilean of- ficials, American business men in this country today expressed the view that the visit of Mr. Hoover, while devoted entirely to the promotion of d_will, would prove to be of infinite benefit to the commercial relations between the two countries. One American said that more than $600,000,000 of American capital was already invésted in Chile, and that Chileans, realizing the extent to which Mr. Hoover had promoted the relations between the two countries, would wel- come a further influx of American money for the development of natu- ral resources. Regret was expressed that it was necessary for Mr. Hoover to limit his visit to two days and officials and others, mapped out a crowded pro- gram for the final day of his stay. Reception at Embassy. Members of the Chilean cabinet were invited to call at the American em- bassy for a reception to Mr, Hooven More than 600 Chileans and Americans have already been received there. Be- fore leaving. today for Los Andes to spend the night before entraining to- morrow for his trip across the Andes, Mr. Hoover was to receive an honorary membership in the School of Engineers of the University of ‘Chile. Mr. Hoover was unusually honored on his arrival when President Ibanez went to the railroad station to meet him. This was understood to be only the second instance in which a Presi- dent of Chile has so acted, the previous occasion being a visit of the President of Bolivia. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover were impressed by the country as they viewed it in their travels from the sea coast to the capital, as it reminded them of Cali- fornia. The special train bringing them from Valparaiso passed through fertile irrigated valleys where orchards and wheat flelds intermingled with < vast cattle ranches and dairy farms. They were informed that Chile was encouraging the development of her agricultural resources as well as the mineral wealth found in the mountain ranges which extend from-the north- ern boundary nearly 2,000 miles to the Straits of Magellan. Soldiers Line Streets. Mr. Hoover and the President of Chile rode through five miles of splen- did avenues in the capital in a gold- decorated carriage of state. Lines of Chilean infantry, cavalry and police guarded the route. The carriage of state was escorted by a troop of presi- dential lancers, carrying pennants of alternately the United States and Chilean flags. The prancing steeds of the lancers beat time to the national anthems of both countries, as bands in !hi procession played. irplanes droned overhead. People throwing flowers and smiling crowded the sidewalks, balconies and roofs. Mr. Hoover made a formal call at the presidential palace. Shortly after he returned to the United States embassy President Ibanez_appeared to return the call. Later the American colony gave a reception in honor of the President-elect at the Union Club. D. C. WATER'S TASTE TRACED TO DIATOMS ) Supply Is Pure, Health Officer Re- ports—Says Condition Follows Drop in Temperature. Numerous complaints of a peculiar taste in Washington’s water supply have been traced to the presence of diatoms, a non-poisonous specie of algae, according to a report today filed with the Health Department by the United States engineer for the District. ‘The bacteriological laboratory of his department makes frequent tests of the water, both at the various reservoirs and also from the pipes in the laboratory and in various -sections of town, Dr. William C. Fowler, health officer, said today. These tests show that the water is perfectly free from disease causing or_carrying bacteria, Dr. Fowler said. Diatoms are often found in the water in large quantities immediately follow- ing a sudden drop in temperature, Dr. Fowler said. . They result in a taste described by some as that of chlorine and by others as that of alum. Dr. Fowler said he had assured the com- plainants that, although the taste might be disagreeable, Washington’s water is perfectly pure. The organisms secrete an oil which | cannot be filtered out of the water. Blimp Beaci;el Lakehurst. HURST, N. J., December 11 (#).—The Army blmp TC-5 arrived at Field, Va., toda) with crew_of { | COOLIDGE FAVORS T WEATHER' SITE Believes * Virginia Location Possesses Possibilities for Summer White House. Mount Weather, near Bluemont, Va., established by the Agricultural Depart- ment some years ago and now.on the market, impresses President Coolidge as possessing possibilities ‘for a nearby home for Presidents of the United States. As far as he is personally con- cerned, such a mountain retreat, ac- cessible to the Capital and which is situated in a high altitude in a pic- turesque country, is said to be very sat- isfactory, it is declared, and he is of the opinion that his successors in office would find such & place equally as convenient. In discussing this with friends today the President is sald to have made it very plain that he would like to see the Government take this property over for the use of its Executive, but he did not indicate that he had any intention of making such a recommendation to Congress. Mr. Coolidge in a letter which he re- cently wrote to the St. Louis Post-Dis- patch congratulating it upon its fiftieth anniversary, mentioned the establish- ment of some permanent place in the hills for a President to visit at in- tervals during the year and to seek rest and recreation for a part of the Sum- mer, but that he did not intend to con- vey the impression that he was pro- posing a permanent Summer White House. (From Yesterday's 5:30 Edition of The Star.) HESSE WOULD MAKE RUM BUYING CRIME Police Superintendent Tells Board of Trade Situation Here Is Joke. A more stringent prohibition law which would make the purchase of liquor as well as the sale and trans- portation a felony is the most effec- tive weapon Congress can give Wash- ington to bring about real enforcerhent of the eighteenth amendment, Maj. Ed- win B. Hesse, superintendent of police, today told the executive committee of the Board of Trade at a_ meeting this afternoon in the District Building. Ma). Hesse appeared before the com- mittee primarily to urge the board’s support of a more drastic concealed weapon law. He was led, however, into a discussion of the prohibition situa- tion, and cited the Police Department’s record of arrests for liquor violations in the last several years to show that a determined effort is being made to anforce the law, despite numerous hand- icaps. ‘Pt‘ahe situation is a joke,” Maj. Hesse declared. “There are more than 1,300 members in the Police Department and only 28 of them have authority to en- force the national prohibition law. These 28 men have been deputized as revenue agents. I have for three years recommended legislation clothing our policemen with authority to enforce the Volstead act. “If Congress wants to give us a real prohibition enforcement law, it should make it a felony for a man to buy liguor as_well as to sell it.” Maj. Hesse pointed out that despite the fact that more than 1,300 persons were arrested in the District in the last fiscal year for violation of the SHep- pard law, which includes intoxication and drinking in public, he did not be- leve that drunkenness is on the increase in Washington. He attributed the large number of arrests to a change in condi- tions since national prohibition and the increase in population in the District. The committee, at the suggestion of E. C. Brandenburg, adopted a “hands off” policy in regard to thé proposed changes in the prohibition enforcement laws for the District. Taking the J”' sition that'such a chiange was a political matter primarily, and one for Congress to decide, the committee neither ap- proved nor disapproved the plan. DELEGATES POUR IN T0 AIR CONFERENCE, STARTING TOMORROW (Continued From First Page.) honor, while posthumous honors will be accorded his brother Wilbur. $37,000 goal by December 18, so thatlthe Naval Air Station from Langley | aviation. on a training flight | marked by presentation to Orville seven, in charge of’ ‘aboard. i The conference will provide an op- portunity for an exchange of views between the world’s outstanding figures in aeronautics on the problems of com- mercial aviation. Plenary sessions will continue until Saturday, when a dele« gation composed of foreign members and the official United States delegates will go to Kitty Hawk to unveil a me- morial tablet on the spot from which the first successful flight of the Wright brothers was made. That flight lasted only 59 second and the start was made from skids instead of wheels, after sev- eral years of experimentation had been consumed by the former bicycle deal- ers in work with gliders and crude power-driven machines. Secretary of Commerce Whiting will officially open the first session tomor- row. The remainder of the speaking program_had not been compilea today, but will be ready in time for announce- ment tonight. Although no official an- nouncement was made to this effect, it was expected that Col. Lindbergh will be on the speaking program. The dele- gates will be received by President Cool- idge at the White House at 5 o’clock to- morrow - afternoon, while Secretary Whiting will receive at 8 o'clock tomor- row evehing at the ‘conference head- quarters. A motion picture, “Twenty- flive Years of Flight,” will be shown Thursday evening at the Washington Auditorium, while the regular sessions of the conference will end Friday night with a banquet to members of the con- ference by the American delegation. Crack flyers of both services will take part in the aerial show to be staged Saturday at Bolling Field and the An- acostia Naval Air Station. The show will begin at 10:30 o’clock and will be followed by a luncheon and inspection of the laboratories of the Bureau of Standards. The delegates will leave ‘Washington Saturday night for Kitty Hawk and will arrive back in the Capi- tal Tuesday morning. They will travel by steamer to Norfolk and will leave Norfolk by boat and bus Monday morn- ing for Kitty Hawk. Elaborate preparations have been made by all Government agencies iden- tified with aviation for the entertain- ment and care of the delegates while in the Capital. Ceremonies at Dayton yesterday be- came a crescendo of tribute to Wilbur and Orville Wright, joint “fathers of aviation,” and were attended by many of the foreign delegates and most of the official American delegates. After bein shown over the laboratories at Wrigh Field, where airplane development work of the most scientific nature is being carried out, they assembled last night in the little school house of a company founded by Joseph H. Patterson, who was a pioneer in the establishment of ‘The public gathering was Wright of a gold lettered scroll on be- half of citizens ollémn. ¢ MRS. JUNE BOYD Of Chicago was one of the witnesses testifying in the case of Arnold Roth- stein, slain gambler. —Associated Press Photo. SENATORS TO TAKE VOTE ON KELLOGG TREATY ON FRIDAY (Continued From First Page.) cellency that there are certain regions of the world, the welfare and integrity of which constitute a special and vital interest for our peace and safety. “His majesty's government have been at pains to make it clear in the past that interference with these regions can not be suffered. Their protection against attack is to the British Empire a meas- ure of self-defense. It must be clearly understood that his majesty’s govern- ment in Great Britain accept the new treaty upon the distinct understandiug that it does not prejudice their freedom of act in this respect. The Govern- ment of the United States have com- parable interests any disregard of which they have declared that they would re- gard as an unfriendly act. His majesty’s government belleve therefore that in defining their position they are exprese- ing the intention and maning of the United States.” The South African government in- cluded in a note the following lan, ul§e: “That provision will be made for rendering it quite clear that it is not intended that the Union of South Africa, by becoming a party to the posed _treaty, would bei precluded rom fulfilling as a member of the League of Natlons its obligations to- ward the other members thereof under the provisions of the covenant of the League.” Some Urge Notes. It is the contentlon, however, of Secretary Kellogg and Senator Borah, chairman of the foreign relations com- mittee, that the United States will be bound in nothing except the obliga- tlons contained in the language of the treaty itself. In some quarters a suggestion is made that Secretary Kellogg should by an exchange of notes with all the signa- tory powers make it clear that t! United States will not be bound under the treaty to concerted action with; foreign powers against any other na- tion, that it does not waive the Monroe Doctrine and that signing the ratifica- tion of the treaty does not constitute a recognition of the Soviet government in Russia. The contention of the State Department, however, has been that no additional exchange of notes is neces«| sary and that the whole matter is well. understeod by the foreign powers which have signed the treaty. FIREMEN RESCUE TRIO AS WOMAN SAVES SELF ~ FROM BLAZING HOUSE (Continued From_First Page) from, the house, apparently forgefting the other occupants in their excitement. The noise of their feet pounding on CHANGE SUGGESTED IN BUILDING CODE Grand Jury Fails to Fix Re- sponsibility in Death of Two Workmen. Reporting today to Chief Justice Wal- ter I. McCoy the result of its inves- tigation into the death of two workmen at a cave-in October 25 st Fourteenth and K streets where the Cafritz Con- struction Co. is erecting a hotel, the grand jury failed to fix any responsi- bility, but recommended the amending and strengthening of the building code of the District. ‘The grand jurors condemn the prac- tice of permitting the owner to select and pay the inspector on the job. “It is hardly necessary,” says the report, “to comment on the danger of such a system being continued, for certainly there should be no division of authority in this important work and the inspec- tor's allegiance and responsibility should be to the District and not to the builder or contractor.” A substantial increase in the appro- priation for the office of the building in- spector is recommended by the grand Jury so that several additional inspectors may be added to his staff. Such in- crease, it is pointed out, would permit the change from “area” to “group” in- spection so that the higher class inspec- tors might pay attention to large con- struction projects withéut reference to location. The grand jury devoted several days to its investigation under the guidance of Assistant United States Attorney Neil Burkinshaw. The witnesses ex- amined included John W. Oehmann, building inspector; Dr. Leon Gordon, Policeman Roswell Chambless, Detec- tive Sergt. Thomas Sweeney, John W. Jenkins, Percy D. Grant, Alvin I Aubinoe, Dr. Joseph D. Rodgers, Gus- tave Ring, Richard H. Knott, James Stewart, Elmer A.. Sours and Leon ‘Tucker. . The report_submitted to the court by william E. Mothershead, foreman of the grand jury, reads: As a result of the disaster on the Ca- fritz Construction Co. job at Fourteenth and K streets northwest, causing the death of two workmen, the grand jury undertook an investigation which re- vealed an urgent need for amending and strengthening the present building code of the District. Amnnf the many weaknesses in the present law is the practice of permitting the owner to select and pay his own inspector. It is hardly necessary to ecomment on the danger of such a system being con- tinued, for. certairily there should be no division ¢f authority in this important work and the inspector’s allegiance and responsibility should be to the District and not to the builder or contractor. Among the remedies needed, in ad- dition to and in conjunction with the foregoing, is & n of the entire code to make it provide not only for the convenience and protection of the builders, but also and primarily for the benefit and protection of the public and the safety of the workers engaged in building econstruction. A substantial increase is necessary in the present appropriation to provide for several additional inspectors to be added to the staff of the chief building he | inspector, and for a general reorgani- zation of that office, so as to admit of group instead of area inspection, thus &ermimng the more able of inspectors devote their timz and attention ex- clusively to large projects, in which there is a greater element of hazard concerned. ““We earnestly urge that this impor- tant matter receive the immediate and thorough attention that it deserves at the hands of the proper authorities.” (Prom Yesterday's 5:30 Edition of The Star.) COOLIDGE URGES FUND FOR MARKET Operation Until June 1 Would the stairs, however, awakened Mr. Sand- ridge, who went to the basement and found the room a mass of flames. He started back up the stairs to rescue his wife and boy. but found that the flames had cut him off. He broke open a basement door and ran outside. By this time firemen, summoned by neighbors, had arrived. The nearest fire plug was almost a block away and the first crew to arrive hurried to it to attach a hose. Just as they reached the plug one of the flrfmen heard a woman screaming for help. No. 9 Truck Company arrived and the firemen ran around the house trying to locate the woman. They could see noth- ing but the smoke belching from the windows and the glow of the fire inside. Suddenly the smoke lifted and they saw Mrs. Jeannette Reeves, 45 years old, perched on a third-floor window sill, preparing to jump. They called to her to hold on and a ladder was hoisted to the window. A fireman went up and carried her down. Mrs. Sandridge, who also was awak- ened by the noise of the students leav- ing the house, waited a few minutes for her husband o return. When he failed to do so, she got up and opened the door. A hurst of flames grg;ed her. Panic-stricken, .she dragi her son, Henry, 13, from his bed and fought her way to a window. She broke it and called to the firemen below. Another ladder was run up and she and the boy were carried down. Meanwhile, in another room, a third woman was sleeping. Mrs. Pauline Burns, 25, had not been awakened by the noise of the boys and did not know of the fire until she heard the streams of water playing against the walls. She jumped from bed and wrapped a blanke around herself. Her way to the door barred by smoke and flames, she opened a window leading to a sleeping porch on the rear of the ‘house. As the men were in front of the house Mrs. Burns swung over the rail- ing and climbed 20 feet down a slender pole supporting the porch. Mrs. Burns is the mother of a year-old baby, which she had left with a neighbor for the night. Mr. Sandridge, employed by the Capi- tal Traction Co., could advance no ex- planation as to the cause of the fire, “I am content to let the police do that,” he said, He estimated the total dam- age at $6,000. One of the students, Robert Berry, suffered from the effects of smoke, but was able to attend school today. Mrs. Sandridge was grief stricken this morning as she surveyed the ruins. All of her clothing, books, furniture, dishes and pictures were damaged and broken. “I have worked for 20 years,” she said, “to get these things together so I could start a boardinghouse and help my husband support our family. Last year we had the house remodeled, and T was just getting off to a good start.” Henry, jr, was even more discon- solate than the mother. Four Christ- mases ago his father bought him an electric train. Each year since his only Christmas present has been some addi- tion to the train. The whole outfit was in the room where the fire started and when he got it out today the tracks, engine and cars were twisted almost beyond recognition by the heat Be Assured if Amount Is Appropriated. ‘To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to continue operation of Center Market from February 1 to June 30 next, the President today submitted to Congress a supplemental estimate of appropriation amounting to $60,000. Gen. Lord, director of the Bureau of the Budget, explained that the amount required to operate Center Market dur- ing the fiscal year of 1929, as shown in the budget, was estimated at $165,000. Because of the possibility that the market will be vacated during the en- suing fiscal year to make way for new Federal buildings, the House appropria- tions committee deemed it advisable to provide funds only until February 1, 1929. The balance of the fiscal year would be cared for in the first deficiency bill in the next regular ses- sion of Congress, when more definite information as to the exact require- ments will be available. A Senate joint resolution providing that the Secretary of Agticulture be directed to give notice that on and after January 1, 1929, the Govern- ment will cease to maintain a public market on Pennsylvania avenue be- tween Seventh and Ninth streets, was gl.:ud by tnl‘le sell‘).!e'.h April 20,d 1928, ut Was nof y the House during the first u&l&.nug{ the Seventieth Con- gress. In the event of final approval of this resolution at an early date, it still would seem to be necessary, Gen. Lord explained, to continue operation of the market for a sufficlent time to pro- vide adequately for the business inter- umminvlolved. “In view of the possibility of eventu- ally discontinuing the miarket, it is be- | lieved that by eliminating items for renewal of equipment an appropriation of $60,000 will be sufficient,” Gen. Lord advises the House. Miklas Inaugurated. VIENNA, Dacember 11 (#).—Wilhelm Miklas began his four-year term as President of the Austrian Republic to- day by receiving the entire diplomatic corps, led by the papal nuncio. UNeLE PETEY'S FOREMAN AT THE PICKLE woIKS COUGHS AL THE TIME. THE NURSE wWANTS Hi o S€€ A pocToR of the fire. I ut of the Depths,” :he g&t:u P'.t:.ldmv'ou ml:mg whexhthe dead e v Roman Catholic liturgy, bl BYRD USES RABID: T0 CHECK POSITION Perplexing Problem Is Soived as Ships Plow Into Heavy Ice Packs. BY RUSSELL OWEN. By Wireless to The Star and New York Tim*s. ON BOARD THE BARK CITY OF NEW YORK, SOMEWHERE NEAR SCOTT ISLAND, December 11.—We know that we are in the Antarctic now, All day long stately flat-topped bergs, glistening white and blue in the sun, have been marching by broad table lands of snow ice that'have broken off from the continent to the south and are moving north. Huge waves dash against the massive cliffs and shoot sprays 50 feet in the air, slowly wearing away the masses that seem impregnable. “The ceaseless warfare of nature” said Comdr. Byrd, as he watched through his glasses the magnificent play of color. At one time there were seven of these gigantic bergs within a few miles, all in line like companies on parade. The tops were big enough to hold two or three ball fields and hundreds of thousands of pegfie. ‘They were large enough for landing flelds, and the flyers aboard were as much in- terested in the apparently smooth surs faces as the dog drivers were in the crevasses which occasionally showed on the sides. When a flurry of snow hides the sea for a minute at a time, however, it is not so pleasant to realize that these big fellows are all about. Not to speak of the hundreds of smaller cakes each large enough to wreck a ship. The ice pack must be very near. Solve Navigation Problem. All day yesterday and aH last night one of the most interesting problems in navigation ever attempted has been worked out. In the small radio room a little group of men have been sitting and standing in the midst of banks of instruments and glowing tubes and copper wires, leaning over charts with head phones over their ears attempting with their brains and the aid of modern science to plerce. the shroud of uncertainty which clou@? their position. For a long time they had not been able to see the sun and were approach- ing the point where it was necessary to plot an accurate course if they were to reach a certain pesition in the ice. The compasses were off, due partly to local attraction from the many metal- lic cans and crates piled on deck and partly to the large variations in this part of the world because of the proxim- ity of the magnetic Pole and the weak- mess of the earth’s magnetic fleld in a horizontal plane. It seemed almost im= ible to be accurate, and yet they d to be. The room was like the conning tower of a battleship going into action and attempting to outmaneuver the enemy. The enemy in this case was the fog, ice, snow and wind. ‘The men in the little group were un- shaven and dirty, ¢lad in disheveled garments and weary from lack of sleep. Pipes were cl in their teeth as they talked and swung instruments One or two smoked cigarettes, which they forgot till their fingers were burned. There were Malcolm P. Hanson, chief radio engineer of the expedition; Lloyd V. Berkner, also a radio engineer and operator; Carl Petersen, another radio man; Comdr. Byrd and Capt. Frederick Melville of the City of New York.' Course Checked as Accurate. They were gttem| to_.reach L e e e bearings which would show their true position. “Get Mason on_ the Eleanor Bol and tell him to use his compass,” Hanson. “It's working better than ours just now.” Petersen made connections and Berk- ner spoke on theradio telephone Mason on the ship ahead. In a few minutes Mason sent back the information: od “Radio compass bearing, legrees; magnetic. compass, 84; error, 50 de- The City of New York's compass was checked. Communication with a ship far below us was established a moment later, telling us to keep on our courses and that there should be open floes which he can easily get through for some distance. “Good!” commented Byrd, and then exclaimed, “There'’s the sun!” He'made a dive for the chartroom to get sextant. It was only for a momen for thick clouds were scudding over t, 1 3 { Byrd saw another opportunity when sun peeped through a cloud, and took his sun compass up to the ship’s com- pass to ci the error. He found | that the sun com checked with the rgdio compass in¢ fon and was sat- isfled that the course was accurate. Barometer Cuts Capers. In the meantime, some lively meteoro- had Hal the meteorologist, trying to decipher the erratic behavior of the barometer. ‘The reading had been going down rapidly, and the whalers also reported barometer as low as 2895, which would have meant all sorts of trouble in more northern latitudes. But down here a low barometer seems to be nor- mal, although it is the cause of alarm until the eccentricities are understood. Altogether there are many exciting moments in navigating these compara- tively unknown seas with a mysterious and vast extent of sea ice to the east and pack ice to the south, and wind from the west and north. But probably that is why men go exploring. HOUSE D. C. GROUP TO MEET TOMORROW District Committee Will Hold First Conference of Present Sessioq. The House District committee is to hold its first meeting of the present ses- sion tomorrow morning to discuss the program of District legislation. The Gravelley Point airport bill seems to be the measure urged for earlisst | consideration. Representative Stalker will endeavor to have this bill taken up in the House next Monday under E nsion of the rules. here are only three District bills that have thus far been introduced at this session. One provides a five-year program for development of the Public Library system. introduced by R:flrs- sentative Gibson. Another would allow incorporations here to nave a certain amount of treasury stock, thus oun the way for.a much larger number o corporations _to incor te under the laws of the District. is measure was introduced by Chairman Zihiman at the l’m;lm of the recorder of deeds. The third bill is for reincorporation of the United Order of the Eastern Gates, Introduced by Representatives McMillan of South Carolina. There are already a lai District measures ding and Senate on cale; the opportunity to be c: number of both :llouse ar awaiti, jed up. o