Evening Star Newspaper, December 17, 1928, Page 2

GAS VALUATION “HEARING CLOSED Néxt Action Waits Court De- cision on Company’s Ap- - peal From Order. ‘The valuation hearing of the Wash-! ington Gas Light Co, was findlly ad-| Jjourned today by the Public Utilitles ' Commission until such time as the | District Supreme Court has passed upon the company’s appeal from the com- mission’s valuation order of 1917. “Counsel on the behalf of the com- pany have expressed. a willingness,” Swager Sherley, company attorney said, “upon the commission agrecing to an order of reversal being entered in equity cas> No. 35380 in the District Supreme Court to withdraw their objection to and to permit the introduction as evidence in this proceeding of the Sangster Teport | and testimony on historic value that is part of the record of the previous hear- ing, and which report has been made | th> basis for the report of Mr. Bach- man, the accountant of the commis- sion. Meeting Subject Revealed. This was the first intimation of what | took place at the secret conferences be- | tween the parties in the proceedings. | Several have been held between De- | cember 5, the date on which the hear- ings were first ordered adjourned, and today. The Sangster Teport referred te | is a report by Andrew Sangster, an ac- | countant employed by the commission | in the previous valuation proceedings placing® the cost of estabiishing the gas light* company from 1848 to 1914. The present_accountant for the commission, Byers Bachman, in making his report on historfc cost, examined the com- pany’s books only since 1914 and ac- cepted Mr. Sangster's figures up to that date. Attorneys for the company sought to have all of ~Bachman's testimony stricken from the record unless Mr. Sangster could be produced in persom to testify to the historic cost as repre- sented in his report. Peoples’ Counsel Ralph B. Fleharty opposed this by a motion to compel the company to go through with its appeal in the District Supreme Court before proceeding any further in the present valuation. Motion Is Sustaimed. The commission sustained Fleharty’s motion on December 5. “Since the announcement of that ruling.” Mr. Sherley said, “we have had 2 number of conferences with the com- mission and its counsel looking to an adjustment of the matters which led to the ruling. We have been unable, however, to reach any understanding satisfactory to all parties and fully announce that we are uux;::n;. to acquiescé in these suggestions wve beem made on behalf of the commis- sion_that we dismiss the case pending in the Supreme Court of the District. To do so would be to walve all rights of the company to challenge the cor- rectness of the findings in the valuation proceedings appealed from and to ad- mit their validity. The company is forced, therefore, to seck as early a de- termination of that case as is’ possible and assumes that, pending such deter- mination, the suspension of this pro- ct;ging will mn“mi“i.;. % justification of the wflfl po- sition, Mr. Sherley submi a record of ‘the negotiations between the com- mission and the company on valuation gof back to January' 19, 1826, when President Ord Preston of the company wrote_the an in- and - same be checked by the commission’s engineers in readiness-for s valuation- at the earliest convenient date. Saw Principles Ignored. In his letter, Mr. Preston claimed that the valuation of his eompany’s proper- ties made by the commission as of De- cember 31, 1916, did not represent the true value of the property because the principles established for the guidance of the commission by the District Court of Appeals in the Potomac Electric Power case were not followed. By rea- son of the erroneous valuation and of ‘the well recognized changes which had taken place in cost of labor and ma- terinls since the valuation, Mr. Preston wrote, the company was ‘entitled to & mew valuation. *The Public Utility ‘Commission re- plied on July 7, 1926, that there was no money available for the valuation work and that,.owing to the pending «change in personnel of the coramission, revaluation was considered inadvisable. On March 3, 1927, the public utili- ties act was amended so that the ex- pense of any valuation proeeeding ‘would be borne in the first instance by the utility affected. Immediately there- -after, the commission started to work on the valuation, and on July 2, 1928, notice was given of public hearings on August 15. Referring to Mr. Fleharty’s motion ‘which halted the proceedings, Mr. Sher- ley said: “This motion and the subs: quent action of the commission in sus- taining it came as a complete surprise to counsel for the company, as there| had been no intimation but what it was agreeable to the commission and its counsel that equity suit No. 35380 re- main pending until such time as a complete revaluation on the property of the company should be had.” SINKING OF S-4 HULK LAUNCHES NAVY TEST OF UNDERSEA RESCUE (Continued_ Prom First Page) be effected in (several hours as against the days previously required. How long its would take to raise the S-4 in the present test was dependent on continued good weather -and the ability of the lifting hooks to hold the craft to the.pontoons which will pull the vessel upward as the water inside them is foreed out. Part of the test was to determine the accessibility of the hooks, and on the bottom the ‘vessel was listed about 25 degrees to provide additional difficulty in the experiment. The list was created by emptying some of the ballast tanks in the side of the hull leaving other loaded tanks and a flooded engine room to keep the craft down. A NMURSE AT TAMESIE'S i| wouse an’ SHe’s gorn" To HELP HIM GeT weLe AN' STRONG LIKE Us'SEN, Above: The house at 201 C street which was gutted by an early morning Inset: Edwin P. Smith, who was killed by a jump from the third story fire. window shown at the upper left. Below: Four children carried to safety by their father. aterholder, aged 10; Herman, 6; George W RESOLUTION URGES INAUGURAL SPEED Would Give ANl Authority Needed to Make Proper Arrangements. All of the authority needed by the director of public buildings and parks and by the District Commissioners to make proper arrangements for the in- augural program wouid be extended to them under a joint resolution intro- duced this afternoon by Chairman Cap- per and referred to the Senate Dis- trict committee for a report. The resolution authorizes Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d, as director of public build- ings and parks, to issue to the inaugural committee a permit for the use of public reservations, . the erection of stands and' other mecessary facilities that may be decided upon. give the local authorities power to au- thorize temporary overhead wires in connection with illumination plans and also would authorize the War and Navy ents to loan the ina com- mittee hospital tents, flags and other e e R ‘The members of the inaugural com- mittee, as announced by Lieut. Grant _today, follow: D. P. Aub, Ed- ward D. Ainsley; Jesse C. Adkins, Clar- ence A. Aspinwall, Ira Bennett, Benja- min Butterworth, Charles J. Bell, Prank W. Ballou, Emile Berliner, Sibyl Baker, E. F. Colladay, Mrs. Sidney Cloman, Mrs. M. O. Chance, James A. Councilor, Col, Edward Clifford, Mrs. James F. Curtis, Edward E. Clement, John T. Cushing, Maj. Gen. John L. Clem, Prank . Cloman, G. Bowie Chipman, Karl W. Corby, Mrs. Henry C. Corbin, Charles P. Crane, Philip P. Campbell, D. J. Callahan, Charles F. Carusi, Commissioner Proc- tor L. Dougherty, P. Daly, Frederic A. Delano, Dr. Arthur L. Day, R. Golden Donaldson, H. Rozier Dulaney, Mrs. Henry- Gratten Doyle, Victor B. Dey- ber, Joshua Evans, jr., W. W. Everett, John Joy Edson, R. R. Eakin, Robert V. Fleming, Mrs. James Carroll Fra- zler, Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d; W. I Glover, C. C. Glover, jr.; E. C. Graham, W. T. Galllher, Mrs. Edward Gann, Gilbert Grosvenor, Julius Garfinckel, C. J. Gockaler, Isaac Gans, Joseph H. Himes, Col. Paul Henderson, Maj. Gen. C. C. Hammond, Admiral Charles F. Hughes, John R. Hawkins, R. R. Horner, Dr. George C. Havenner, Frank S. Hight, Robert N. Harper, John Hayes Hammond, Frank J. Hogan, Mrs. Edward A. Harriman, W. F. Ham, John H. Hanna, William C. Hanson, George E. Hamilton, Walter B. Howe, Miss Har- lean James, Gen. John A. Johnston, Rudolph Jose, Frank R. Jelleff, Harry King, Col. J. Miller Kenyon, David Lynn, Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, Col. William B. Ladue, Frank Lyon, Ralph ‘W. Lee, Mrs. E. B. McLean, Dr. Charles H. Marshall, Lowell Millet, Isaac T. Mann, Frs. Frank W. Mondell, Mrs. Adolph C. Miller, William Montgomery, . C. Miller, E. B. McLean, Donald H. McKnew, James A. Messer, Theo- dore P. Noyes, Frank B. Noyes, Theo- dore W. Noyes, Clarence F. Norment, E. C. Owen. Mrs. John J. O’Connor, Claude W. Owen, G. Bryan Pitts, Samuel J. Prescott, Julius I Peyser, John Poole, incis E. Pope, James Parmelee, Maurice D. Rosenberg, James B. Reynolds, Cuno H. Rudolph, Willlam M. Ritter, Mrs. Mary Roberts Rinehart, Gen, Anton Stephan, Mrs. Virginia White Speel, Ernest Smith, Dr. Emmett J. Scott, Henry B. Spencer, B. Francis Saul, C. Bascom Slemp, Edward J. Stellwagen, John Lewis Smith, L. P. Stewart, Henry C. Sheridan, E. C. Sny- der, Odell Smith, Corcoran Thom, Sid- ney F. Taliaferro, T. B, Tuft, Charles ‘H. Tompkins, Eugene E. Thompson, T. Lincoln Townsend, Alfred P. Thom, Harry Wardman, Harley P. Wilson, Ivan C. Weld, Ben T. Webster, Monroe in pl honor of Herbert Hoover’s inauguration March 4, which was scheduled for this afternoon, has been postponed until Wednesday afternoon at 4 o'clock at the Wiiiard Hotel. Id | street and Indiana avenue, belongs to Gen. H. O. Williams, George R. Wales, | nications th: Left to right: Helene, 8, and_Fred, 5. “star Staff Photos. ONE DEAD, 3 HURT IN $2,500 BLAZE AT ROOMING HOUSE HERE (Continued From First Page.) man, 6 years old; Fred, 5 years old, and Edward, 3 years old, were taken to the homes of neighbors for the night. The Waterholder family lived in base- ment rooms, so were not trapped by the fire. Persons living in the house this morn-~ ing said Donohue, or Goldsmith, as he’ a window- and shouted for ‘assistpnce for his wife and child while he was being probably fatally burned. His mother, Mrs. Julia A. Goldsmith, 707 I street southeast, identified him | at the hospital. Firemen were today attempting to discover the cause of the blaze. It ap- parently started on the third floor and gradually burned down to the second floor before it was discovered. - Police learned today that Smith was employed by the Veterans' Bureau at Baltimore, spending every other might at the C street. address. He is sur- vived by his brother,- Sydney Smith, an_attorney of Norfolk, Va. The house, which faces both om.C the Washington Loan & Trust Co. and is operated by Mrs. Lloyd Snider. She lives on the Indiana avenue side, which was damaged only by water. TEST OF STRENGTH ON KELLOGG PACT AGAIN IS DELAYED (Continued From First Page.) were not. He said if the Monroe Doctrine, for example, is considered part of the policy of national defense of this country, then, since the right of self- defense has been recognized in the negotiations leading up to the treaty, there was no particular need of making any declaration about the Monroe Doc- trine in conneection with the ratification of the treaty. Although the committee. took no action on the Kellogg treaty denouncing war, it did report favorably to the Sen- ate eight arbitration treaties with the following nations: Austria, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Al- bania and Sweden. Members of the Senate are being deluged with letters urging the prompt ratification of the Kellogg treaty. Many of these letters, however, not only ask for ratification of the treaty to re- nounce war, but they also urge the Senators to vote against the naval con- struetion bill, which would add 16 new in the delay of the Kefiun treaty. Some Senators supporting the Navy bill are anxious to get that measure through the Senste or well along be- fore the treaty comes up for considera- tion. President Coolidge has urged the prompt passage of both the cruiser bill and the resolution of ratification of the 7 e e G i $100,000 guarantee fund, will make a reron concerning the progress his com- mittee is making. re also will be announcements of the appointment ot more committee chairmen as well as members of the various subcommittees, H arters of the inaugural com- | mittee have been opened in the Grid- | iron room, Willard Hotel, and its busi- ness was being transacted in that xoom today. There was a steady stream of callers seeking information regarding the scope of the celebration being ?n]:ml:'d “;; we]ldn.s information regard- ousing and personal participation in_the celebration itself. o The secretary of the committee has received communications from a num- ber of States asking for information regarding the extent to which the States may participate in the parade and re- garding the limitations that will be placed upon: the State representation. It is very evident from the commu- at several of the States are eager to send large representations to Washington. Several of them have in- dicated that they would like to send all or a portion of their National Guards. Although tiothing definite has been de- was registered at the hospital, clung to+- CONDITION OF KING CONTINUES BETTER British Ruler Maintains Im- provement Evident for Past Two Days. in a day or two more favorable bulle- ins might be given out. - ‘The Eneet!ngg, which was that of the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday fund, de- cided at the lord mayor's suggestion that instead of sending any formal resclution to his majesty all unite in sing'ng “God Save the King.” Sacrament Solemnized. In view of the continued illness of King George, blessed sacrament was solemnized yes- terday in all Roman Catholic churches in the Diocese of Nottingham, ccompris- ing the Counties of Nottingham, Derby- shire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The bishop of the diocese issued 160 circulars to the priests in charge of churches and missions, stating: “In view of the prolonged serious illness of the King, I beg you to exhort your peo- ple to pray earnestly that it may please Almighty God to restore his majesty’s health and preserve for many years to come the precious life of the sovereign, so justly loved.” In issuing the pastoral letter, the bishop remarked: without George V. He has been an example to us all and a very valuable head in the time of great crisis through which. we have all been passing. We should be extremely grieved if we were to lose him, but I myself feel that great blow' is not going to fall.” Gifts for Poor. To _commemorate the safe homecom- ing of the Prince of Wales from Africa, Mr. and Mrs. Lethbridge-Abetl, old res- idents .of Glasgow, handed the lord provost £10,000 for the relief ‘of the city poor, The money is to be invested and the income devoted to permanent relief work. The Duchess of York's private secre- tary has written to the Tord mayor of Newcastle that she is sending from her | | infant daughter, Princess Elizabeth, a number of toys and some Winter cloth- ing for the children of miners in the Northumberland and Durham districts. Princess Mary sent shoes for the chil- dren. A P EARLY AGTION DUE OND.C. PAY SCALE House Subcommittee Plans to Take Up Matter Soon After January 3. One of the first and most important matters to be considered by the House subcommittee on the District when it starts hearings January 3 on the ap- propriation bill will be on the subject | of inereased compensation promised last year under a two-year program, which stands blocked by the refusal of the Budget Bureau to submit an estimate for the.appropriation for the commgi fiscal year. This. amounts. -to approximately $163,000 for approximately. 1,500 or more employes of the District “Gov- ernment. In the current appropriation bill funds were carried to make increases for the lowest paid, employes on. the two-year program to bring the District of Columbia employes up to a fair com- parison with other departments. After a hearing, it was estimated that $340,750 would be sufficient. $125,000 for D. €. Workers. The House appropriations committee | divided this amount into’ a two-year program of salary readjustment, one half te be included in the current ap- propriation bill and to be distributed to the lowest paid employes whose ef- ficlency ratings were satisfactory. The first half was $170,375, but estimates previously submitted contained $37,555 for salary increases so that an addi- tional $120,245 was appropriated for carrying out the two-year program. Out of this salary increase fund $45,- 000 went to employes in certain Federal agencies, such as Public Buildings, Parks and the Zoo, so that District of Colum- bia employes proper had a fund of about $125,000. This was 'distributed starting at the very bottom salary in all offices and, in amounts of about $120 per person, was allocated so as to bring each employe up to the mathematical | average of the grade. ‘The distribution was made through the various salary steps until the fund was exhausted. More than $100,000 ;Vaf“tm to those whose salaries were under 1,800. ‘There are approximately 3,500 Dis- trict of Columbia employes and of this number considerably more than half | shared in the pay increase fund for the first year. Meanwhile the Welch salary increase bill was paseed, of which the current cost in the District of Columbia service is $572,029. ‘The controller general's office con- tended that the $170,000 allowed last year for pay increases should be ap- plied directly to pay inereases under the Welch pay act, but after District Auditor Donovan and Chairman Sim- mons of the subcommittee on District of Columbia priations had empha- sized the spec intent of Congress that this money was for salary increases in the lower grades, these increases were allowed to stand’independent of the operation of the Welch act. $160,500 Is Disallowed. 1In preparation of the District budget, an additional $163,000 was recommended for the second year of the two- program. Budget Bureau disal- lowed all of this except $2,500, which went to a unit under the Health De- partment concerned with eontagions diseases, because that office did not ft in under the original program. The subcommittee on District ap- propriations will therefore have, as one of its first duties, to thrash out whether it will override the Budget Bureau in giving the remaining District employes the salary increases they were promised l to bring them up to an equal pay sched- ule with other Government employes before the passage of the Welch act. Representative Casey, Democrat, of Pennsylvania, who the House last year for salary increases for District of Columbia employes, and who endeavored to_get the entire pro- gram through last year, said today that he will continue his fight to give all of the employes the salary increase that Congress, promised them. Pleads Guilty in Dry Case. Failure to identify his customers caused John Barker, owner of a boat- house located about. one-half a mile west of Key Bridge on the Chesaj & Ohio Canal, to be charged Wi sale of alleged liquor to revenue agents. cided, the impression here is :that the cadets from West Point and Annapolis Academies, invited to participate, may be one of the features in the parade. It also is understood that the parads At this meeting Robert I Fleming, chalrman of the. finance committee, which is busily engaged raising the le committee, headed by - Gen:": Anton Stephan, is-planning to have units from several of the old°r military schools take part in the parade, Police. say the sales were made on two occasions, Barker ‘demanded a later pleaded flfltq toda During. the past- nine ‘months 3,325 Brmand, e oommunsed with only 100 B0 onthy o 1936 i the exposition of the | “We cannot get on | | joying the hospitality of the cruiser | Buenos_ Aires, ear | home Christmas eve. made the flight in ;m‘y‘ trfal, but! MONDAY, INTERVENTION AIM DENIED BY HOOVER Quoted as Declaring in Inter- view That All Americas Are Equal. By the Associated Press. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Decem- ber 17.—President-elect Hoover was quoted in an interview appearing in the | newspaper La Nacion today as denying | |the existence of “interventionist aims” |on the part of the United States. “For a long time” Mr. Hoover was | quoted as saying, “(he bellef has pre- | vailed that there are among nations, | as in families, fathers and sons, adult | jand infant brothers. Thus it was | thought natural that certain countries | should assume the guardianship of | others, at least in the spiritual sense, ! and _there were times when elder | brothers, felt that it was their duty to! act as policemen for the alleged minors. Declares All Nations Equal. “I utterly disapprove such doetrines. { No Independent and sovereign nation is a minor. ‘There are not in the Ame: can continent big and small brothers. All countries have attained the same age, spiritually and politically. The only difference among them is a diffcrent historical moment in their economic development. | “All nations in our continent are| | equals. All of them are going forward | together, as friends, with similar ideals | in mind. The suspicions which certain | people enteriain about interventionist | aims on the part of my country, lack | foundation. Facts will demonstrate, each | day with greater:clearness, that. no in- | terventionist policies prevail, or shall| nrevail in my country.” | Stand on Customs Tariff. Referring to customs tariffs, Hoover said: “The growth of population in the United States requires every year a greater part of our production, which | will soon be totally absorbed. Thus competition between the United States and Argentina will disappear, and a | moment will arrive when we shall im- | port large quantities of Argentine prod- ucts which are produced in our coun- | try at greater cost, this, while compell- | ing us still to cover the difference through customs tariffs, will not pre- | vent us from importing millions of tons 0;) goods needed by our growing popula- tion.” ! Discussing America in. general, Mr. | Hoover voiced this opinion: “America, as | I see it, is a land where men and women may freely progress in any direc- tion they want to follow, enjoying a wealth whieh is not. conecentrated in the hands of a few, but distributed among all. America is a land where the happy under a regime of freedom, | and protected from poverty, have an Y‘;f)portunny to enjoy a more complete i Mr. HOOVER IN URUGUAY, CLOSELY GUARDED; TOUR IS CURTAILED (Continued Fre First Page.) uu):so a.m.—Visiit to municipal coun- cil. 11 a.m.—Received in session by the; National Council of Administration, the supreme authority in Uruguay. 11:30 a.m.—Visit to Parliament and luncheon with President Campisteguy. Afternoon—Reception by diplomatic corps and’ sightseeing trip with Presi- dent Campisteguy. Evening—State banquet. Mr. Hoover came to Monteviedo on the Argentine cruiser Buenos Aires. ‘When the cruiser arrived a salute was fired from the guns of Cerro Fort and the Uruguayan cruiser Montevideo. Foreign Minister Rufino Dominguex welcomed Mr. Hoover when the crulser docked, and escorted him down the gangway which was decorated with the Stars and Stripes. The President of Uruguay was waiting on the pier with | members of his family and expressed his pleasure at the visit. /- Stays in Casino Hotel. Mr. Hoover spent the night at the Parque Hotel, where an entire floor had béen reserved for him. One wing of the hotel contains the Casino of Monte- video, where roulette and other games of chance are operated under govern- ment monopoly. This is one of the jargest gambling casinos in the world. En route Mr. Hoover sent this mes- sage to President Irigoyen of Argen- tina: carry happy recollections of your country and its people. The wonder- ful progress made by the Argentine Re- public, of which I had read, has been fully confirmed during this memorable visit to your favored country, but the generous hospitality, courtesy and high culture of its people had mnot been adequately described. While still en- which your excellency | so kimdly placed at my disposition for the voyage to Montevideo, I cannot fail to ask you again to, accept the| sincerest thanks of my colleagues, my wife and myself for all that has been | done to make the visit to Argentina | an unforgettable episode in our lives. 1 beg you, Mr. President, also to extend our thanks to your distinguished col- | leagues and to the members of your family. Sees Better Understanding. “It is a source of deep satisfaction to have had this opportunity of dis- cussing with your excellency in a frank and friendly manner the forces in prog- ress in our respective countries. I be- lieve that from this visit and from our interchanges of ideas, there will re- sult a better understanding of the problems facing each of us. Accept, Mr. President, my best wishes for your own health and happiness and for the continued success of the administration over which your excellency presides.” Leaving tomorrow on the U. S. S. Utah, Mr. Hoover will conclude his South American tour with a three- day stay at Rio Janeiro, sailing for ARMY TRANSFERS. Maj. Harry A. Auer Assigned to Duty in Washington. Maj. Harry A. Auer, Judge Advocate General's Department, who has just completed a tour of duty with the United States forces in China, has been ordered here for duty in the office of the judge advocate general, War De- partment; Maj. Alfred B. Johnson, Ordnance Department, at the proving grounds, Aberdeen, Md., - @8- signed to duty in the office of the chief of ordnance, Munitions Building; First, Lieut. Keryn ap Rice, 11th Engineers, has been transferred from the Panama Canal Zone to Fort Humphreys, Va. and First Lieut. Solomon M. Van Meter, jr., Air Corps, recently stationed at Mitchel Field, N. Y, has been trans- ferred to the Army retired list in the grade of captain, because of disability incident to the service. Robber Battles Police. LITTLE ROCK, Ark., December 17.— ‘Three policemen and a spectator were wounded and a-colored -man killed by an unidentified robber 'who held a score oF moré police at bay . from a con- fectionery store here.taday. .. Mural painf ] dnfio(yu_rm in a house at Rea vfi"w‘bfl hun- recently found England, DECEMBER 17,-1928. Top, left to right: Maj. Cafl Spatz and Capt. Ira C. Eaker. Lower, left to right: Lieut. E. R. Quesada and Lieut. H. A. Halverson. ARMY COMPLETES AIR REFUELING TEST OVER VIRGINIA HILLS (Continued From First Page.) at Middletown, Pa., and flew to Wash- ington yesterday. In the top of the fuselage of the en- durance plane a hole about 4 feet square has been cut. Through this the 2l5- inch flexible hose is dropped from the bottom of the fuselage of the refueling plane and is caught by Maj. Spatz, whe handles the job of fuel transfer. Seventy-five gallons of gasoline a min- ute can be transferred in this way. In the endurance flight above California 300 gallons will be taken aboard the en- | durance ship at each refueling opera- tion, for the three engines of the Pokkex use 15 gallons each per hour, a total of 45 gallons an hour. Maj. Spatz wears a protective covering to insure against burns froza the high-test aviation gas, land in the longer transfer may wear a fumes. gas mask as a protection . The entire test is regarded by the War Department as problematical, and the Pokker has been called the Ques- tion Mark. Personnel of Mission. The personnel of the mission follows: | Endurance plane—Maj. Carl Spatz, Capt. Ira C. Eaker, Lieut. Quesada and_Lieut. H. A. Halverson, pilots; ‘Sergt. Roy Hooe, mechanie. Refueling plane No. 1.—Capt. Ross G. Hoyt, pilot, and another officer to be chosen at San Diego. Refueling plane No. 2—Crew and plane to be arranged for at San Diego. Ground personnel—Lieut. Ray Harris, engineering officer; Hans J. Adamson, | wnd Lieut. -Arthur Ennis, in charge of vommunication with ‘the plane.’ At the conclusion of the test today Gen. Fechet expressed complete satis- faction with the result éf the experi- ! ment, detlaring it of inestimable value both to the Army and to civilian avia- tion. “There will be but one objective after the plane takes off at Los An- geles,” he said, “and that is to refuel it when fuel is needed and to keep the ship in the air until the motors stop. ‘We regard the test as of extreme value. For example, it will save much time to refuel-air mail ships and to refuel planes sugh as big bombers which may run out of gas in a place where there are not proper landing facilities. In time of war the refueling operation should be very valuable.” Minor repairs, such as replacing mis- firing spark plugs and valve springs, the chief causes of breakdown of the ‘Wright motors, with which the en- durance plane is equipped, can be made in the air, as the ship will run on two engines while the third is being repaired. The actual fuel transfer is not new, for Lieuts. Lowell H. Smith and John P. Richter transferred 12§ gallons of gas in the air five years ago. But the Fokker must have about 900 gallons of gas each day. Maj. Spatz and Capt. Eaker will pilot the Fokker during the day, while Lieuts. Halverson and Quesada will be at the controls at night. The fuel transfer involves no particular hazard, the great- est danger coming in the possibility of a hose or rope being taught in the re- vplving propellers. The nerves and hands of the pilots, however, must be steady to keep the two ships in perfect alignment in the air while the operation | is being carried on. The Fokker is called the Atlantic C-2 Army transport, and is a single-wing | ship' powered by three J-5_air-cooled engines, generating 220 horsepower each. The refueling planes are Douglas C-1 Army transports, biplanes with a single Liberty engine of 400 horsepower. The actual endurance test: will prob- ably be made between Santa Monica and San Diego—a distance of 110 air | miles—while if fog comes up over the coast the ship will fiy over the Im- perial Valley. D. B. ADAMS SUCCUMBS AT LONG ISLAND HOME Death Recalls Suit Filed Here to Recover Estate of Wife, Who Expired in 1918 Dunbar B. Adams, son of John D. Adams, known as the “chewing gum king,” died yesterday in Bay Shore, Long Island, according to word received here today. After the death in 1918 of Mr. Adams’ wife, Mrs. Edith Temple Gracie Adams, her mother, Mrs. Constance Schack Gracie, filed suit in District Supreme Court to recover her daugh- ter's $150,000 estate. She charged that the last will of her daughter, leaving the entire estate to her, had been lost or destroyed by the parents of ML| Adams. The case dragged through the court for months until Mrs. Gracie brought it to an abrupt close by withdrawing; her charges and offering a public apol- 9gy to Mr. and Mrs. Adams. Huge Mail Planes Ta Carry Sorting Clerk and Pilots By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 17.—Fly- ing mail cars with sorting facili- ties and three times the present capacity of air mail planes, will be pi ‘by the Great. Lakes Aircraft corpzuflon af Cleve- | land, Willilam announced here to- :‘me.m‘ y. . Mr. Wilson said 3,000 pounds of Hikzes, for wHieh fians have been ' Aor wi ns have been enmbll':'e% A-sorting clerk and two pilots will man the ships. SUB-METER PROFIT - DENIED BY MOEBS | Building Owner Hits at Fle- harty and Bowen in Com- mission Hearing. Joseph J. Moebs, owner of the Dupont Building, at Connecticut avenue and Dupont circle, took the stand at the hearing before the Public Utilities Com- mission today on the practice of sub- metering electricity and testified that his tenants in the building paid him les for electricity than he paid to the Potomac Electric Power Co. ‘This was made possible, he said, be- cause he added up the consumption of electricity on all their meters and charged them the power company rates on the total rather than charge for each meter separately. He said consid- ered the electricity and rental bills “in- tegral” and did not try to make a sepa- rate profit from the sale of electricity. Mr. Moebs testified that his clients benefitted further because he did not impose any penalty on them for failure to pay their bills within 15 days after rendition. He introduced exhibits show- ing in detail the amount paid by each wrn‘v?h'a for electricity since the erection of amounts he paid to the power company. Mr. Moebs’ testimony was offered in opposiiton to statements by Peoples’ Counsel Ralph B. Fleharty and S. R. ‘Bowen, counsel for the power company, that the practice of subi lowed owners of large buildings to take a rebate from the practice of buying power from the company and re- metering it to their tenants at a profit. “FLU” CASES TOTAL 54. Nine New Patients Are Reported to Health Department Here. Nine new cases of influenza were re- ported today to the District Health De- partment, bringing the total of reported cases up to 54 im December. No new deaths were reported today. One influenza death reported yester- day brought the month’s total up to 11. ELINOR HOYT WYLIE, POET AND NOVELIST, DIES AFTER STROKE ‘Washing! ton, solicitor general under President Taft. In 1906 she married Philip S. Hich- born, son of Rear Admiral Hichborn. In 1911 she eloped to Corsica with Horace Wylie of Washington. Hich- born killed himself a year later and| Mrs. Hiehborn married Wylie in 1916. | In 1919 she divorced Wylie and came | to this city, where she began her lit-; | erary career. ! She gained recognition almost at| once with her first two volumes of poetry, “Nets to Catch the Wind” and | “Black Armour.” After these she pub- lished ‘Jenmifer Lorn,” “The Venetian | Glass Nephew” and her greatest suc- cess, “The Orphan Angel.” In 1923 Miss Wylie married William Rose Benet, himself a poet. Besides her husband she is survived by a son, Philip, a senior at Harvard. Her pen name was Elinor Wylie. WAS D. C. SOCIETY BELLE. Startled Friends by Elopement With Neighbor in 1911. Miss Elinor Hoyt was a society belle of the Capital in 1906, when she was married to Philip S. Hichborn, and made her home here. The Hichborns took a house, shortly after their mar- riage, next door to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Horace Wylle. For nearly {five years the Wylies and Hich- borns were neighbors and moved in the same social circles. It was in 1911 that the then Mrs. { Hichborn and Mr. Wylle startled Wash- ington society by eloping to Corsica. Mr. and Wylie, on May 27, separately booked passage for Eu- |Tope "on the same ship, Mrs. | Wylle taking a stateroom in one part of the ship with her three chil- | dren and Wylie a reservation in another part. Wylie did not go then, but sailed later with Mrs. Hichborn. In Corsica, where Wylie and Mrs. Hichborn settled, they were known as “Mr. and Mrs, Wyborn.” Shortly after Mrs. Hichborn left her home with Wylie, Hichborn filed suit for divorce, naming Wylie as corespond-~ ent. About a year after her departure, | Hichborn killed himself at the home of his sister, Mrs. Paul S. Pearsall, 1102 Sixteenth street. ‘The “Wyborns,” during their stay in Corsica, had three children. In 1916, after Wylie's wife had obtained a di- vorce, he married Mrs. Hichborn, and for the next three years they lived in Corsica. In 1919 the Wylies returned to Wash« ington’and took up their residence here. 'A few months after their return to Wi Mrs. Wylie sued for a di-- ce and it was granted on grounds of desertion. . Then Mrs. Wylie moved to New York, where she began her lit- "‘fi career under the name of Elinor w 'y success of. her ml.l:-zg ofhorts ta le] own, ‘was throug! her work that she met WmLm Rose Benet, & whom she er 3,71 building., together with th:l BYRD CRUSHES WAY THROUGH IGE PACK Bark Makes Fair Progress as Eleanor Bolling Nears Second Supply Station. BY RUSSELL OWEN. By Wireless to The Star and New York Times. ON BOARD THE BARK CITY OF NEW YORK, AT SEA, December 17.4 With ice everywhere, we are far into the ice pack today, having startec through Friday, the anniversary of Capt. Roald Amundsen’s arrival at the South Pole in 1912. He started south the year before and laid bases toward the pole during his first season, but-it appears now that we should arrive at the Bay of Whales sooner than he did. because We are only abowt 700 miles e mere until Jami- With good luck we should be unloading in 10 days or two wecks, al- though it is rash to make predictions down here Comdr. Byrd, like Capt. Amundsen, intends to lay his bases as far in- land as possibie this scason, that is, be- fore March, when Winter sets in and to dow most of his important work nesmt vear when he will be able to start 11y ing long before it would be possible for a ship to get through the ice. Amund- sen began his polar journey on October 19, when, despite the cold, the weather jwas fair for traveling, and it should be equally good for flying. But whereas Capt. Amundsen speni, two months toiling over the snow and the crevasses and up the dangerous glacters -to- the pole from the Bay of Whales, Comdr. - Byrd will- make the flight in less than a aay and will be able to map it and examine the route for some distance on cach side. Sueh is the advantage of the airplanc in the exolciation, * Byrd Will. Hogor Amundsen. Nothing can detract from the brilli ant march of Capt. Amundsen, how ever, one of the. most efficient pol Jjourneys ever made, although it w: eclipsed in drama by the exploits of Shackleton and Scott. Comdr. Byrd and Capt. Amundsen were good friends. In -honcr of il great Norwegian explorer’s accompi.h- ment, Comdr. Byrd will carry a Ner- wegian, a British, an American and a New Zealand flag to the pole. A few seals have been seen basking in the sun—fat, sleek fellows which raise their heads and look with mild curiosity at the drifting menagerie of barking doesmnnd then roll over and go to slecp again, Ship Makes Fair Speed. After making fair speed and hopinz that the ice would remain as opemn for the whole distance through the pack, we yesterday ran into heavy, almost solid formations, with hardly a break ivisible. But we are nearly 100 miles into it. The sun is so warm it can be felt through our coats and the air tempera- ture is 36 degrees. There is hardly a cloud in the sky and only a faint breeze. If it were not for the thunderous jolts with which we hit the pack some- times this would be the most placid ex- istence in the world, but occasionally we get a shock that shakes the ship from stem to stern, and we are thank- ful for the 31 inches of timber along our sides and the massive bow. Up in the forecastle there is a rumble like distant thunder as we hit these heavy floes and they grind alongside. The vibration is terrific. 4 Today we saw penguins. The first sight of ‘these amusing birds convulsed every oraemrd, A pair bobbed up en }an’ice ‘alongside, cocked their heads yat us, shook them and wdved their fiip- | pers as if trying to assure themselves that they were awake. They put their heads together and | talked it over and finally decided that | they both saw the same thing, for they | waddled down to the edge to look us over more carefully, As they walked with a wabbling mo- tion from side to side they waggled their flippers as if to balance them- selves and presented so ludicrous an { appearance as to cause every one to howl with laughter. Bird’s Humor Is Contagious. _ Comdr. Byrd came running out of ine chartroom and began to |as soon as he saw them. possible to resist the infectious humor of these birds. Babe Smith took a long look at them | and said solemnly: “They aren't real i There just isn’t any such animal.” Joe Rucker, one of the moving pic- | ture photographers, has rigged a plat- | form extending about 18 feet out from | the bow and is perched there, taking | pictures of the ice being crushed under | our_forefoot. The platform quivers and trembles sometimes under the impact of the ice, | but Joe, with one arm around a stay, | grinds away unconcernedly. Taking pictures here is rather diffi- cult, due to the intense light and the danger of overexposing. A filter has to be used practically all the time. even when the sky is overeast. Con- stant experiment is going on to d termine the proper filters and ex- posure. Compasses Prove Very Lrratle. Another phenomenon which .has caused difficulty is the erratic behavior of the compasses, which get wilder and | wilder as we get farther south. | Comdr. Byrd swung the ship yester- day before heading into the ice and f-und large errors in both the standard compass and the steering compass. “T have heard of that happening, } I never saw it before,” he said. “However, now we can tell where we are going once more, which is 3 com- fort,” he added smilingly. Comdr. Byrd never gets excited, no matter what happens, and there have been some rathc: critical »oments in this journey so far. ‘The sticking of the compass was due to the fact that the dip of the needle is so great when close to the magnetic pole that the horizontal magnetic forces ncutoo weak to overcome the downward pull. It is a’ phenomenon with which all explorers are familiar, but it is discon- certing at sea, nevertheless. With a sun compass, however, an absolute check can be obtained. In the open leads this morning we saw ice forming behind us almost as fast as we went through. The water was full of ice crystals, which, as they came to the surface, formed a sort of scum of ice which quickly solidified into a thin sheet. It reminded one of the story of Jules Verne in which a plece of ice was thrown into the sea when it was at the point of freezing and the ice was just sufficient to start s crust that rapi spread over the entire surface. A wireless dispatch from the steami- ship Eleanor Bolling gave her position at noon today as 480 miles southeast of Tiaro Head, New Zealand. She is bouhd for Dunedin to get a second load of supplies for the Byrd expedition. ( . 1928, w York Times oG 1 B e e A rights for publication reserved throughout the world.) PERS P Attacked by an owl, which bit his forehead so savagely that blood blinded his eyes, Louis Linnett was thrown from his motor cycle at Luton, England, and badly injured. All Notices of CHRISTMAS MUSIC IN THE CHURCHES _ Must Reach The Star Office Nt Later Thay Wodnexday Nooo.