Evening Star Newspaper, December 12, 1928, Page 2

&3 = CHCAGD IS TG BY GRS 1S Angered by Ridicule and Crit- icism, City Prepare;f. to Exterminate Gangland. This is the fourth of a series of five articles on Chicago's battle against gang- sters and their political allies, who have made ‘the name of the city a by-wor throughout the country. The final icle will uppear in The Star tomorrow. rt) BY CLEM LANE. CHICAGO, December 12.—Chicago’s booze, vice and gambling chieftains, and those charged with being allied with them, received a setback when poli- ticians accused of protecting them went down to defeat. But they are far from being routed. “Scarface A!® Capone, whose noto- riety has gone the length and breadth { of sthe land, still sits in a lavish suite in a Michigan Boulevard hotel, sur-} rounded by his lieutenants. “Big Joe” Saltis continues to defy the | police and Federal officials to take him into custody, although the former have been seeking him for six months and the latter nearly two. Guns continue to pop in the gang war that won Chicago ill repute. But there’s light ahead. Judge John A. Swanson has been elected State’s at- torney on a platform ‘pledging him to end the lawlessness that made Chicago a by-word. Efficient, honest men have been elected to the coroner’s post and the sheriff’s post, and William F. Rus=~ sell, appointed commissioner of police a fow months 2go, is showing Progress. As an indirect result of the April primary, Mayor Thompson appointed Russell to head the police. Whether Russell asked @ free hand never became public. He made no promises of a clean-up, but a few weeks after taking office he reinstated John Stege as a deputy commissioner apd put him in charge of the detective division. ‘Underworld Fears Stege. Stege, who was ousted on Thompson's e)ectlglem on cha 26_years old, is hated and feared by the underworld probably more than any other police executive. His reinstatement was her- alded as a blow against Gangland. Russell went quietly to work. Whole- sale transfers sent new men, many of them with outstanding records, into the city’s plague spots. Vice and gambling went into discreet retirement. When Russell took office, handbooks ‘were almost as common as drug stores and many of them were run quite as openly. The racing sheets were posth to the accompaniment of ballyhooers' “Boys, get your bets down!” or “Seats open in the blackjack gam rooms were crowded, the “pl on the races and at the tables, was Of Iate weeks the bookmakers have been recelving their clients in almost funereal quiet. Gone are the racing sheets and the ballyhooers. No more are there card games. Bets can be made, but the customers are not en- ocouraged to loiter—a condition which has cut considerably into the book- makers’ business. 3 Other gambling spots, the “ritzy’ places given over to roulette, dice and cards, were forced to close, ' Some con- tinue to operate, but, as the- unde: world puts it, . they are ‘“sneaking, accepting the patronage of only a care- fully chosen few. Reform waves of past years have broken up to a large extent the segre- ted vice districts, resulting in smaller scatteréd throughout the city. Nevertheless, hardy colonies continued in the old districts, about Twenty-sec- ond street, about West Madison street, and on the near North Side. Vice Overlords Cautious. One report this writer saw a few months ago asserted there were 4,000 disorderly dives in the South Side “black belt,” but other sources assert the figure is exaggerated—an -assertion | with which. the writer tgr‘eu The indications are that the 4,000 figure would be approximately correct for the -entire. city. Vice, in company with the othe puckets, raised its head when Thompson became mayor. But it, foo, became cautious with the appointment of Rus. , - Organized vice continues, prob- ably will continue, but such open solici- as there is is fugitive, given to taking to its heels at the sign of a policeman. Least affected to date by the reform wave are the beer, “alky” and whisky gacketeers. There has been no sweeping Federal drive in Chicago. United States District ttorney George E. Q. Johnson and rohibition Administrator E. C. Yellow- ley have contented themselves with a steady attack on saloons, speakeasies, beer flats, stills and breweries. Hardly a month goes by but the Fed- eral seizures of booze and apparatus totals more than $1,000,000. Yet the supply goes on. The Federal men con- tinue their inroads, but their efforts are hampered by the racketeers’ wealth, the “wet” sentiment in Chicago and the hands-off policy forced on local authori- ties by that sentiment. Criminals Enter Rum Business. With the advent of prohibition dive keepers, gamblers, labor sluggers, stick- up men and safeblowers flocked into the bootlegging racket. They made so much money their heads were turned. They became greedy, greedy for more terri- tory, more money, more power. Where in their previous occupations the hoodlums were content to make a few hundreds a week, under prohibition they made thousands and tens of thou- sands. Chicago had prospered, had grown in size and earnings during the World War years, and a great harvest was ready for the reaping of the racketeers. Pre-prohibition beer cost the saloon- keepers about $5 a barrel. Near-beer today can be bought for $15 to $18 a barrel. “Good” beer now costs the saloonkeeper $55 a barrel, $5 of that, 50, well known it’s common gossip, going to certain local authorities for “the fx All told there are about 12,000 saloons speakeasies and beer flats in Chicago Fifteen thousand barrels of beer a day! The profits run into millions monthly. Racketeers Operate Brewerles. Checking the beer supply in Chicago has been made difficult since the huge, old-time brewery went out of the “good” | beer business. There is little “needled” beer in Chicago today, that is, beer given a “kick” by a judicious injection of alcohol and malt. Most of the beer offered in the city is made from “wort"” in miniature brewerdes, strings of which are maintained by all the major racketeers. Federal men raid brewery after brewery of this type, but the flow of beer is never seriously diminished. If the brewer can keep his brewery go- ing for a month he has made more than enough to stand a “knock-over” and be ready to open in another spot. The “alky” industry also is impor- tant, aleohol in Chicago being used as the base for nearly any potable from “gin” to ‘“champagne.” Stills turning out bootleg alcohol in count- less barns, bungalows and whatnot. In addition, there is a constant infiltra- tion of Government alcohol, which other stills “recook” to take out some of the poison. _ Profits, at $3 4085 a gallon, are im- mense. Further funds find their way. bapk accounts through the importation of whisky or its manufacture from alcohwol and & inte the racketeers’ slight portion of real whisky. Facing & condition and not a theory the local authorities Jave arrived at - understanding wils Tavious Tacketeergy. | i | Ll parceling the city out for beer and “alky” distribution. Out of this arrangement came the gang wars, fights for more territory, more power, more money. A racketeer might have an arrangement- with the political powers enabling him to dis- tribute beer or liquor in a given terri- tory, but if that racketeer was killed there was a chance for another hood- lum to take aver the territory, and so the guns of the beer gangs sounded and Chicago got a reputation as a gang- ridden city. v ‘The hoodlums had attracted atten- tion- by the wealth they accumulated and- the lavish fashion in which they lived. They had gained notorlety through the wild-West manner in which they shot it out for supremacy. They had even gained a sort of ad- miration, for a stratum of the Ameri- can people—witness the Jesse James school of hero worship—always has & sneaking, fondness for a blackguard if his personality be colorful, his exploits startling to the ordinary man. There was a time in Chicago, not long ago, when many a citizen viewed | the gang wars as a sor{ of savage en- tertginment, & kind of modern gladiator combat, a spectacle ‘for the average man, inasmuch as the casualties were confined to the ranks of hoodlums. But that sentiment, never, of course, held by the thinking citizen, is passing. The April primary and the November election were signs of the change. Busi- ness and civic leaders, spurred on by the newspapers, are largely responsible for the vanishing of the indifferent or amused view of Chicago gang killings. Chicago is young and lusty, a world metropolis, yet with its hundredth birthday to celebrate. The city had— still has—its pressing tasks. There were skyscrapers to be reared, the traction problem to be solved, plans made for the 1933 world’s fair to celebrate the city’s centennial. ‘There was progress to be made on the far and fair vislon of the “Chicago plan,” with a straightened river, wide and handsome thoroughfares, a com- prehensive park and boulevard system. { Museums must. be opened, a stadium | completed, a great civic auditorium | built. Many and pressing were the tasks the city faced. ! But Chicago Awakens. ‘These were civic tasks—tasks to be | completed in time snatched from the dull roar of the stockyards, the clamor |and pound of factories and mills, the | high tension of the stock market, the bustle of trade. Why then hark to the echo, faint {amid the city’s clamor, of pistol shots? | But harking, in the midst of important tasks, why weep over the killing of men who had done nothing for the city? But Chicago awoke. Awoke to the realization tkat the gang killings had | hurt the city’s reputation throughout 1 the world. | Gibes snapped from the press of | other cities, from the pages of the | comic weekiies. “Chicago gang war” ! plays flooded the theaters of New York and the studios of Hollywood. Chi- | cagoans journeying beyond the city's confines learned to their amazement | that legends were abroad in the land| | that the city’s children used automatic | pistols for play toys, that bullet-proof | vests were as conventional in Chlcnzfl; as a pith helmet in the tropics, that life in Chicago was as dangerous as a | gold camp on a Saturday night. Chicago's first reaction was amuse- ment, but the amusement faded, and then chagrin and anger. The city| turned on the officials who had n\lowedi | such a situation to come about. State’s Attorney Crowe, as chief law enforc- ing officer of the county, had convicted | no gang murderers. They turned upon | him and he went to defeat by 200,000 | They elected a States attorney pledged | { | to end gang wars, pledged to redeem | Chicago's reputation among the cities i of the world. | The politicians know now that a { hoodlum alliance is fatal. Their first jlesson came in the primary. The sec- ;gnd came at the election of Novem- er 6. i The hoodlums as yet haven't fully { realized what has happened. They con- | tinue in business with little or no ef- i fort at concealment. If John A. Swan- i son, newly elected State's attorney, car- are | Fies out his pledges, they are due for a |tel. | sade awakening. Swanson can stop the gang killings. | All that situation needs Is the swift and successful prosecution of a gang murderer or two, and the machine gun- ners will cease their promiscuous kill- dng. s o8 S i = s ylce, . - hoozg jd . gambling Yacketeers arg”fiot the Agx-xly orgapized ‘hoodlums who .need- attention.” * Many Chicago Industries are in the .grip of Tacketeers who, grew to’ power while Crowe was State’s attorney. Their ac- tivities will be treated in another article, i | ROTHSTEIN TRUNK WILL BE INSPECTED Status of Three Wealthy Men Whose Names Appear in Records Is Sought. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 12.—Federal investigators of Arnold Rothstein’s con- nection with narcotic smuggling today were seeking to determine the status of three men of wealth whose names were found among the slain gambler's records. ‘The names of the three men were not divulged, but Federal agents said the records indicated they were finan- clal backers of the drug ring with Rothstein. The records of the slain gambler have already led to the seizure of $2,500,000 in illegally held narcotics. Another trunk full - of papers and memorandum today awaited a detailed inspection by the Federal men, Survey Disappointing. The trunk, they said, was taken secretly from the room in the Park Central Hotel where Rothstein was shot the night of November 4 and stored in a_warehouse. It was fastened with seven locks. A quick survey of its contents, Assistant United States Attorney Blake said, had proved some- what disappointing, but he intends to make a further study of them. The impounded records which the | county grand jury examined while it was inquiring into Rothstein’s affairs have been released to Federal author- itjes, and are to be presented to the Federal grand jury, which already has much information regarding Rothstein’s connection with the narcotic ring. Unger Wins First Skirmish. Joseph Unger, one of four persons held in the investigation of the nar. cotic ring, won his first court skirmish at Buffalo in his effort to avoid return to New York for trial on the indictment charging him with violation of the nar- cotic laws. Federal authorities had en- deavored to secure his immediate re- turn here, but Judge Adler ruled that Unger had the right to call all the wit- nesses he wished. In New York Mrs. Esther Meyers, “Crying Sammy” Lowe and Mrs. June Boyd were questioned again by the| Federal grand jury and were said to have given additional information against Unger. Rumors were recurrent today that Police Commissioner Joseph A. Warren would be replaced by Grover A. Whalen. Although both Commissioner Wflrren‘ and Mayor James J. Walker refused to discuss a conference they held yester- day, it was said that the mayor had demanded Warren's resignation and was merely waiting Whalen's accept- ance of the job before making the mat- ter public. [ PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY NAMES LEECH PRESIDENT Succeeds Representative Kelly as| Leader of State Group in Natienal Capital. Representative J. Russell Leech of Johnstown, Pa., was elected president of the Pennsylvania State Soclety at its | meeting last night in the Willard Ho- He succeeds Representative Clyde | Kelly, who held the post for eight years. Vice presidents elected were Repre- sentatives E. M. Beers, Frederick Mc- Grady, 1. H. Doutrich and Harry Rans- ley; Third Assistant Postmaster Gen- eral- R. 8. 'Regar -and Mrs. Harry Dougherty, "Miss Lillian M. Perry was elected secretary. ‘The -Pennsylvania_Society, comprised ot about 1,000 members, is one of the largest State societies in Washington. Mr. Kelly, who was first elected to the (Coprright, 1928. by North American News- Baner Alliaucp.) presidency in 1920,, was not a candi- date for re-election, | gether to give reciprocal comfort under |PATRO Members of the American representation—F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War for Avia- tion; Col. Lindbergh, Harry F. Guggen- heim and Edward Warner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aviation. Lower: President Coolidge leaving the conference with his secretary, Everett YOUTH 16, CRAED, SHOTSUFERS 200 Chicago Policemen and| Firémen Finally Break Bar- ricade and Slay Him. By the Assoclated Press. CHICAGO, December 12.—A 16-year- old colored youth today shot and wound- ed nine policemen, among them Deputy Commissioner Martin E. Mullen, before more than 200 policemen and firemen, using shotguns, pistols, tear bombs and machine guns, succeeded in breaking into a building where he had barri- caded himself and killing him. ‘The crazed youth, Ernest Whiteurst, staged one of the most protracted bar- ricades in the history of the Police De- partment, with policemen firing on the building in which he made his stand from adjacent buildings, telephcne poles and even from ladders. When finally cowed Whiteurst had 15 bullet wounds in his body. He lived two hours de- spite his injuries. Three sisters, one a year-old baby, and two brothers of the boy were in the house with him throughout the siege. By huddling in an inside room they were able to escape most of the effects of the tear bombs thrown through the shattered windows. When the siege was over and they came out of hiding all were nearly white from the plaster chipped from the ceiling of the room by police bullets. ‘Whiteurst threw a brick through a store window and the police pursued him into his home in North Townsend street. Obtaining a shotgun in his home, the negro turned on his pursuers, wounding Policeman Edward Fontaine. Reinforcements were summoned. Then for five hours the police, using | steel shields, machine guns, riot guns, tear bombs and streams of water, tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the boy, who fired with pistols and the shotgun. The police finally broke into the building at dawn and cornered him in the bath- room. He was shot down as he at- tempted to shoot several officers. ‘The wounded policemen were suffer- ing mostly from minor buckshot wounds, althouzh the condition of one or two was considered serious. Deputy Com- missioner Mullen, directing the attack, received a charge of buckshot in his ear and neck. Smashed Restaurant Window. The window- smashing was the result of a grudge borne by the boy and two companions against a restaurant. Two weeks ago they threw a brick through the restaurant window, and repeated last night. Entrance of the police into the flat was dramatic. For four hours they had tried to enter by subterfuge, but at last made a bold assault on the front door. They were unable to break it down, then suddenly it was opened for them by the youth's crippled sister. ‘Twelve feet ahead the police saw the boy in the bathroom, a shotgun across his knees. He whipped up the gun to fire, but it jammed. Simultaneously ll!\'ery policeman in the squad fired at him. Police started to take his body to the morque, only to find that he was still breathing, and lived for two hours despite the fact that 1 of the 15 bul- lets struck him squarely in the middle of the forehead and emerged at the base of the skull. The boy’s 23-year-old sister said that the youth thought he was being besieged by burglars. KING RALLIES SOME AFTER OPERATION ON INFECTED LUNG (Continued From First Page.) state of their father. Strong relief showed on the face of the duke. He alone of the four sons had been present to aid and comfort his mother and the royal household during the time of this great and continuing trial. The princes dashed from the station and entered the palace by the garden entrance, which is a private way used exclusively by members of the royal family. There was no official greet- ing, since Sir Derk Keppel, master of the household, and other officials were waiting at the privy purse door and the prince avoided them by entering the other doorway. At the palace the prince was shown into the apartments of the Queen and he and his mother were left alone to- the still menacing shadow of the ill- ness. The prince also conferred with the physicians that have been attend- ing his father. Shortly before midnight he left the palace with the Duke of York, accompanying his brother to his home in Piccadilly, and then the prince went to his own residence at York House. NAGE HEARING OFF. Senate Committee Adjourns Until Tomorrow Awaiting Witness. Hearing before the Senate committee investigating patronage in four South- ern States was adjourned today until tomorrow when it was learned that Representative Stevenson, Democrat, South Carolina, who was to have been the principal witness, could not appear. Chairman Brookhart announced Ste. venson and representatives of the Civil Service Commission would appear Worrow, ' L "| inaugural celebration on March 4 that INAUGURAL PLANS FAVOR MORE COLOR Committee Members Express Hope for Ceremony: Exceed- ing That for Coolidge. Washington will be the scene of an will be more colorful and will afford more general entertainment than the | celebration in President Coolidge’s | honor four years ago, if the ideas and opinions expressed at the initial meet- ing vesterday afternoon of the nucleus of the inaugural committee are to form the basis for working out plans for Her- bert Hoover’s induction into office. It was evident from expressions of committee members that virtually all favor something a little more preten- tious than the celebration in 1925, al- though Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d, chairman of the committee, in opening the discussion, made it.clear that he | had reason to know President-elect | Hoover favored that kind of celebration. ‘The fact that the committee entered | upon a discussion which manifested | their desire to plan something more elaborate might have been due to the fact that Dr. Hubert Work, chairman of the Republican national committee, who sat with the committee for a short while, placed no restrictions on the planning in a brief speech made by him, and Col. Grant’s hint that while Mr. Hoover has made known his desire for a simple affair, the committee does not have to hold itself to the Coolidge celebration in its entirety. It was Col. Grant's belief that the committee could elaborate on the Coolidge celebration and, when the plan is referred to the President-elect, it could be modified if he so wished. Committee Heads Appointed. In this connection it was the con- census of the committee that the State delegations and the many thousands of others who are coming to Washington for the occasion are entitled to some form of entertainment. As a result, Edward C. Graham was appointed chairman of a committee on entertain- ment. Considering what the committee has in mind in the way of a celebration, it| was deemed advisable to hgve an in- augural fund of at least $100,000. Wil- liam T. Galliher, chairman of the Coolidg€ inwugural committee, was ap- pointed treasurer of the committee, and | Robert V. Fleming was appointed chair- | man of the finance committee. It will be the duty of the latter to raise the fund. The opinion was expressed by Mrs. Galliher and others identified with past | inaugural committees that those who guarantee the fund will be repaid 100 cents on the dollar, as the concessions for reviewing stands and other mediums of revenue will be sufficient to meet theorhxpenses incurred. er committee chairmanships made by Col. Grant at this meeting were | Parade, Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan: press relations, Theodore P. Noyes; re- ception and entertainment for govern- ors of the States, Edward F. Colladay; legislation, Joshua Evans, jr., and trans- portation, Edward B. Ainslie. Col. Grant granted authority to these chairmen to name their vice chairman and committee members. Frank J. Hogan, who was general counsel of the inaugural committee in 1925, and Mau- rice D. Rosenberg and Edwin C. Bran- denburg, were ncminated for appoint- ment as general counsel of the inau- gural committee, but Col. Grant post- | poned action until a later meeting. He | announced also that other committee | chairmanships, as well as other mem- bers of the general inaugural commit- tee would be appointed later. Mr. Colladay informed: the committee he had been advised that those plan- ning an unofficial charity ball the night of the inauguration would be willing to call it off and leave the matter of such a feature to officials of the inaugural committee if #ie latter saw any likeli- hood of having Mr. Hoover agree to a ball as a part of the program. Three-Day Entertainment Asked. Mr. Graham said that it was incum- bent upon the Capital to furnish some- thing other than a military parade in the way of entertainment for the many visitors who will come to Washington. He ventured that more than 150,000 visitors would be in the city on that oc- casion, and that many of these will be here for two or three days. Both he and Mr. Colladay thought that the committee should offer something that will add to the enjoyment and pleasure of visitors, not onily on inauguration day and night, but the two nights preceding. Irving Glover, Second Assistant Post- master General, secretary of the inau- gural committee, suggested it might be appropriate for the committee to take up the matter of a ball and other such elaborations with Mr. Hoover whenghe arrives back In this country early in January. Further discussion of the parade fea- ture indicated that the committee will not endeavor to enlarge greatly upon the parade of four years ago by con- fining it to the military units in and near Washington, and to the governors of the States and their delegations. Invitations will be sent to the 48 gover- nors with instructions to limit delega- tions to a number yet to be decided upon. Gen. Stephan said several governors al- ready have signified a desire to come to Washington with large contingents, including all or part of their respec- tive National Guards. It was decided to have the parade headed by a grand marshal to besselected from among the ranking officers of the Army, presuma- bly Gen. Charles P. Summerall, chief of staff. Col. Grant sald that he will appoint a grand marshal later, after he had had opportunity to take the matter up with the President-elect. Capitol Concert Held Impossible. In response to a suggestion by Col. Grant that it might be feasible to have a concert or official reception in the rotunda of the Capitol on Inauguration night in lieu of a ball, brought from David Lynn, architect of the Capital, the statement that this would be im- possible, "Joseph H. Himes, one of the com- mittee, approved the idea of an in- augural ball, but he thought the com- mittee should postpone action until it was determined whether the President- | elect would be sympathetic. Col. Grant will meet with the chair- men of the committees already appoint- ed and the officers of the general com- mittee at the inaugural headquarters in the Willard Hotel tomorrow after- noon, when the organization work will be discussed. Col. Grant announced that the next meeting of the general committee will be held at headquarters Monday after- noon. WELFARE MA‘RK AIDED BY JOHN BARTON PAYNE Joins C. Bascom Slemp at Head of Committee to Solicit Dona- tions for Thrift Shop. John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross, and C. Bascomb Slemp, former secretary to President Harding, have accepted appointment as heads of a committee to help obtain for the Thrift Shop, 504 Tenth street, gifts of golf clubs and equipment. The shop which is operated for the benefit of the Children’s Hospital, the ] Child Welfare Society, the .Children’s Country Home and the Prenatal Clinic of Columbia Hospital, had a few golf f‘lugs, v:'hlc}&,wer: sold 1"’\lm!¢dr1‘llflyl.1 In'd oping to get a supply through ef- s of the ngwly sppolBied comumittee. v IPLANS TO CLARIFY * Secretary West (right) of the Interior Department a: before the Senate public lands committee, which has scrutiny. At his right is Senator Kendric! s he appeared today his selection under k of Wyoming. —Star Staff Photo. TRACTIONMERGER AALTED INHOUSE Action-on D. C. Street Car Measure to Await Senate Committee Report. The street railway merger bill pend- ing on the House calendar with a favorable report from the District com- mittee will not be called up for action in the House until after the Senate District committee has made its report, in the light of the Maltbie and Bureau of Efficiency reports on & merger. Chairman Zihlman was instructed today by the House District committee not to call up the merger bill in the House until after the Senate had re- ported, on motion of Representative Blanton, Democrat, of Texas, after Mr. Blanton and Representative Gilbert, Democrat, of Kentucky, had failed in an effort to get the favorable report and the bill recalled from the Honse. Held an “Important Matter.” ‘This matter was brought up by Mr. Gilbert, who characterized it as the most important matter before Con- gress affecting the District of Columbia. %At the last session of Congress a merger was attempted,” Mr. Gilbert ex- plained, saying that while the people had argued for it for many yeArs, they had received little support from the rallway companies. He pointed out that ast year “the street railway companies submitted a plan of merger which was insisted upon and rapid hearings held and immediate action demanded.” “That aroused considerable suspicion,” said Mr. Gilbert. “Our one duty is to see that the people, as well as the street railway companies, get a good trade. Arguments One-Sided, He Says. “In 'hearings we heard only those urging the merger, so that, with little exception, all of the’ proof we had was that which was urging the merger. Most of the committee had little ex- perience on the subject. The commit- tee proceeded rapidly and filed a favorable report. Since then two ex- haustive investigations have been made by disinterested parties. While they disagree, they seem to agree on ore point: That we were wrong. Every dis- interested person seems to be of the opinion that there are certain things in the merger bill which' should be corrected.” “It would be embarrassing on the floor of the House, either in opposing or advocating the measure, with so lit- tle information,” said Mr. Gilbert, and he expressed the bellef that it would facilitate the merger for the House District committee to get more informa- tion from these exhaustive reports. Committee Hearings Defended. Representative McLeod, Republican, of Michigan, reminded his fellow mem- bers that the House committee had held extensive hearings before reporting the bill and had gone Into the subject quite thoroughly. He said that the measnre has the support of most of the Citizens’ Assoclations. Mr. Blanton insisted that the House committee would be able to put through a proper merger bill for the benefit of the people at this session. Representative Underhill, Republican of Massachusetts, expressed the opinion that there will be no merger legislation this session. HESSE’S ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS ARE PRAISED Resolution Adopted by Citizens’ Service League — Hope for Stricter Dry Law Voiced. A resolution commending Maj. Edwin ¢ B. Hesse, chief of police, for his efforts in the matter of enforcing the pro- hibition law, was adopted at a meeting of the Citizens' Service League, held at University Club last night. Dr. Everett M. Ellison, one of the or- ganizers of the league spoke of the efforts being made by Maj. Hesse to| stamp out the liquor traffic in this city. He also commended the police chief for | w. his recommending the enactment of al more stringent law to prosecute persons who engage in the rum traffic. During the discussion of the resolu- tion, Dr. Ellison sald it was hoped a law would be enacted to provide more | drastic punishment and do away with, many loopholes that require the courts to give exonerations because of techni- calities. QUITS FRENCH SENATE. o b Klotz, Clemenceau Finance Minis- ter, Faces Charges. PARIS, December 12 (#).—Lucien | Klotz, former minister of finance in the Clemenceau war-time cabinet, resigned his membership in the French Senate| today. M. Klotz was the subject of charges filed by the public prosecutor of France two days ago to the effect that he had issued bank checks without sufficlent funds in the institutions on which they were drawn. This is a criminal offense in France and the prosecutor asked the Senate to lift parliamentary immunity from M. Klotz. The former minister has been a patient in a sanitariwm and his friends have stated that his col- lapse was due to losses on the New York Stock Exchange. He was gen- erally considered wealthy as he was the owner of ® large perfume estab- lishment, . SOCIAL GLUB RAID NETS 72 ARRESTS Police Enter Alleged Gambling Place Reported Forced to Move by Pickets. Raiding a “social club” which, it is claimed, had been ousted from Four- teenth street by police pickets at the door, Capt. Guy Burlingame and a de- tail from the second precinct yesterday arrested 72 persons, including 11 wom- en, all of whom forfeited collateral in Police Court this morning. The police were stationed in the rear of the premises, in _the 700 block of O street, while Capt. Burlingame and the others made an attack from the front. They were met by Daniel A. Jones, col- ored, 42, of the 1500 block of Eighth street, who, on recognizing the police, leaped for a warning buzzer in the v ibule. Capt. Burlingame caught him, however, before he reached the buzzer, and forced the man to push a button which opened the heavily barred en- trance tq the alleged gambling estab- lishment. As police entered, a “free for all” en- sued, which lasted about 10 minutes, the raiders finally gaining the upper hand and placing the large group under ar- rest. The officers claim several games of chance were in progress when they entered. All the prisoners were charged with disorderly conduct and released after posting $5 collateral, with the excep- tion of Jones -and Ernest Leo Bonner, 23 years old, of the 1000 block of Otis street northeast, who were required to give $25. WALTER REED FIRE CAUSES $10,000 LOSS Blaze Excites Hundreds of Vet- erans Under Treatment at Government Hospital. A $10,000 fire in the carpenter shop and nurses’ school at Walter Reed | Hospital early this morning brought out the fire apparatus on the reserva- tion and a detachment from Bright- wood. Their efforts resulted in the saving of all but one end of the school. The alarm was turned in at 4 o’clock this morning. The blaze had prac- tically destroyed the carpenter shop and lumber shed and had spread to the Nurses’ Home which adjoins it. Aban- doning a futile effort to save the former building firemen directed their hose on the school until the fire had abated. Of undetermined origin the fire caused considerable excitement among the hundreds of veterans who are un- der treatment in the hospital. HILLCREST CITIZENS NAME 10 COMMITTEES President Rudolph Malth Outlines Work of Association Need- ing Early Action. Ten committees were appointed and organized Monday night by the Hill- crest Citizens’ Association, meeting in the East Washington Baptist Churcl Alabama and Branch avenues southe: Rudolph Malth, president, outlined for the new committees some of the work which Fequires immediate attention. The following committees were or- ganized and instructed with regard to their duties for- the ensuing year. Public utilities; streets, roads and bridges; police and fire prolection; pub- lic improvements, schools, public health and sanitation, publicity, entertainment and membership. NEW ATTACHE ARRIVES. Capt. John Godfrey Succeeds Maj. Alston at Embassy. Capt. John Talbott Godfrey, British Royal Engineers, has arrived in Wash- ington for duty as assistant military at- tache at the British embassy, to fill the vacancy caused by the transfer of Maj. 5 S. Alston to another station. Capt. Godfrey served in France and Belgium during the Wor!d War and was wounded in action. Since the war, he has served at the School of Military Engineers at Chatham, England, and in the Department of Master General of Ordnance. THE TusERcULOSS| LADY WAS AT THE HOUSE LAST NIGHT 1o HAVE MAMA (€Y US KIDS Go To A SUMMER CAMP, GEE! woN'T THAY B6 GREAT! ——— WELCH ACTINTENT Lehlbach Measure Seeks to Define Workers Included in Benefits. BY WILL P. KENNEDY. The pay relief bill which Chairman Lehlbach of the House civil sesvice committee will introducé in about a week is really to be a clarifying measure rather than what is generally iunderstood as an amendment of the Welch act. Its principal feature will be to make a plain statement of the congressional intent as to who should {be included in the benefits. This re- |lieves the fears of a large number of Government workers that under ‘the | forthcoming measure they might lose the increases that have already been granted to them, and meets the ob- jections of Representative ~Welch, | sponsor of the present law, that there |should be no curtailment of the benefits already granted. In making clear the intent of Con- gress, Mr. Lehlbach's relief measure will carry three outstanding proposals: First, making plain what is meant by the “relative position” clause. regard- ing which there has been a wide diver- gence of opinion and an important ruling by Controller General McCarl. This should show the appropriate place under “relativé position” of those who do not benefit now or benefit only about one-half as much as was in- tended. Second, that in some departments— for example, the Navy Department-and Veterans’ Bureau—a large number of beneficiaries were deprived of the bene- fits due to administrative action in de- laying the date from which the increas-s should be paid, although' the effective date of the act was July 1. It is in- tended that these employes shall be paid the increases for the period the law provided. Retroactive Feature. Third, a retroactive feature for pay- ment of the increases intended by Con- gress to all who have not received them, some having been entirely left out— as, for example, field employes of. the War Department—and others recef¥ing 1860 a year, more or less than the law |intended. It is proposed that all of these increases shall be paid in full * from July 1 last. Chairman Lehlbach is continuing his conferences with Government officials and others who know most about the operation of the classification act as amended by the Welch salary increase bill, but already he has sufficient data jon which to base the relief, or “clari- | fying” measure, as stop-gap legislation until the entire salary system can be put-on a business-like basis as a result | of the Personnel Classification Board's irepon due next month, covering: the entire Federal service, both in the field and the departmental service in Wash- ington. PN TN DISTRICT MEASURES SEQUENCE IS FIXED BY HOUSE COMMITTEE (Continued From First Page.) the bill for the relief of Mrs. Jennie Bruce Gallahan_included on the pro- gram, but Mr. Underhill insisted that this belonged on another calendar and would meet with serious opposition on the floor. Mrs. Gallahan is the widow of a fire lieutenant, killed in a crash. It was at Chairman Zihlman's re- quest that the bathing pool bill was included. What is known as the “condemnation bill” for acquisition of land in the Dis- trict of Columbia for United States use was urged by Mr. Underhill as of im- mediate importance in connection with the Fderal building program. On mo- tion of Mr. Blanton, Chairman Zihlman, with Representatives Underhill and Gilbert, were named as a subcommittee to confer with Senators Capper and King in an effort to get this “vitally important measure passed by the Senate, as it has already passed the House.” . On motion of Mr. Underhill, the com- mittee voted to invite to a hearing be- fore it the group of men who have offered the District government, the use of an airport to be established on 2,000 acres of land near Alexandria, which was formerly owned by George Wash- ington and his friend, George Mason. ‘The Gibson bill, providing for a five- year program of development for the free public library system of the Dis- trict, was referred to the subcommittee on education. The bill in regard to allowing new corporations to hold Treas- ury stock, which was introduced at re- quest of the Recorder of Deeds, was niferred to the subcommittee on judl- ciary. The Senate bill authorizing addition- al compensation to assistants to ‘the Engineer Commissioner was favorably reported in order that it might be sub- stituted for the House bill now await- Ing action on the House calendar. The Senate bill to regulate the prac- tice of the healing art was also fa- vorably reported in order that it might be substituted for the House bill await- ing action on the House calendar. The subcommittee, of which Repre- sentative Peters, Republican, of Penn- sylvania, s chairman, was urged. to make an early report on the Phipps bill providing an additional method of col- lecting taxes. This is commonly known as the “fiscal realtions bill,” in relation to which a report from the Bureau of Efficiency is expected. A plea for modification of the Welch law in the interests of employes in the lower grades, was made on the floor of the Senate this afternoon by Senator Dill, Democrat, of Washington, during a debate on the Treasury-Post Office - annual appropriation bill. The question of how the law has operated arose when opposition devel- oped to a Senate amendment in the appropriation bill to increase the sal- ary of the undersecretary of the Treas- ury from $10,000 to $12,000 a year. Smoot Gives Views. In the course of the debate Senator Smoot, Republican, of Utah, predicted that the Welch law will be amended at the present session of Congress. Sena- tor Smoot also supported the recom- mendation of the appropriations com- mittee for an increase for the under- secretary of the Treasury, declaring that it was the only one of the higher positions in the Treasury Department that has not been raised in recent years. Senator Dill declared this was an in- crease “that might well await increases s of salary of the poorly paid clerks mn the department.” U BAND CONCERT. By the United States Marine Band Orchestra, auditorium, Marine Barracks, at 8 o'clock tonight. Program: Children’s march, “Over the Hills and Far Awa; .Grainger Overture, “Oberol ‘Weber “Morceau du Salon’ . Bel Duet for flute and French horn, ‘“Serenade” . ‘Tt Principal !\duslt:ift;:t Clayton Lindsay, e. Principal Musician Adolphe Seidler, French horn. ™ 3 mes from “Boris Godou- .Moussorgsky * ‘bussy Marines’ hymn, “The Halls of Mon- . “The Star Spangled Bamner,” . Grand sce! nov”