Evening Star Newspaper, December 30, 1928, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair today and tom today. ‘Temperature—Highest, orrow; colder 47, at 2 pm. yesterday; lowest, 35, at 6 am. yes- terday. Full report on page 7. e — he Sunday Stac. WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION Main 5000 to Within the Hour” The Star. is delivered every evening and Sunday morning to Washington homes by The Star's exclusive carrier service. Phone start immediate delivery. (#) Means Associated Pre: " No. 1,241—No. 30,924 Entered as second class matter post_office, Washington. D__C. WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 30, 1928 —EIGHTY-TWO PAGES. FIVE *w WASHINGTON A CEN 'S ND_SUBURBS EN CENTS ELSEWHERE __ PARAGUAY ACEEPTS PARLFY PROTOC ASKSFEW CHANGES Proposed Alterations Are of Little Moment, Says Dr. Juan Raminez. ATTITUDE OF BOLIVIA 1S EXPECTED SHORTLY Draft of Multilateral Pact of Arbi- tration Completed by Pan- American Group. By the Associated Press. ‘The Paraguayan legation announced last nigh® that its government accepted *in its main lines” the protocol of con- clliation of its controversy with Bolivia which the Pan-American Conference Submitted to it and to the government ©of Bolivia for their approval. ‘The Bolivian legation hopes to re- celve very soon some indication from its government as to whether the pro- tocol will be satisfactory. A council of ministers has been called in La Paz to | consider the question and a reply is ex- pected shortly. ‘The Paraguayan legation said its gov- emment proposed some slight changes fa the wording of some of the clauses of the protocol. Dr. said the proposed alterations were of little morhent and did not affect the provisions or the sense of the protocol. Sending Instructions. “The government of Paraguay has eommunicated to its legation in Wash- ington,” the legation statement said, “that the draft protocol of conciliation with Bolivia is acceptable in its main Unes and that it is sending instructions 2o its delegates at the Pan-American Oogference on Arbitration and Concili- atien to propose slight modifications in the wording of some of the clauses. “When the special committee shall meet, the proposed changes will be set forth.” The protocol, submitted to both Bolivie and Paraguay, provided for es- tablishment of a panel of nine judges for the investigation and conciliation.of the Paraguayan-Bolivian dispute. Bo- lvia end Paraguay were to nominate two judges each and the remaining five were to be appointed by the arbitration conference. *The Paraguayan reply was commudi- eated yesterday immediately upon its receipt to Dr. Victor Maurtua of Peru, chairman of the conference’s special committee on this questicn, although he was in a hospital 1l with pneumonia. Bolivia Denies Advance. The Bolivian legation yesterday denied jal reports from Paraguay that vien troops had again occupied in the last few days Fort Vanguardia where Bolivian and Paraguayan troops first clashed December 6, and that an advance of 11 miles into Paraguayan territory had been made. Minister Diez de Medina stated that the fort was ptured by Bolivia immediately after e incident December 6 and that the aguayan government only now heard of this event on account of tardy means f communication. A draft of a multilateral treaty of agbitration, supposedly agreeable in its provisions to all countries represented st the Pan-American Arbitration Con- ference now in session here, was com- pleted yesterday by a special subcom- mittee.” It will be reported early this week to the full committee on arbitra- tion treaties for formal approval before final ratification by the conference in plenary session. The draft treaty on arbitration would establish the principle of compulsory arbitration for all disputes of a justici- able nature. The definition of such con- troversies contained in article 36 of the ‘World Court protocol is expressly men- tioned in this regard. Only controversics arising from gues- #ions affecting the comestic jurisdiction of States and controversies involving third parties are excepted from univer- sal compulsory arbitration. All coun- tries would be still at liberty, however, to make individual reservations to spe- eific types of disputes at the time of | ratification. Free to Agree on Type. Disputing countries, under the draft, would be free to agree among them- selves os to the type of arbitration tri- bunal to adjudicate their differences. | If agreement should be impossible, then the draft provides that they would both eppoint either one or two judges apiece and that they would then select two| justices of The Hague Court and ask them to name the remaining odd mem- ber of the arbitration court. Optimism continued high among dele- gates to the conference as to the final | success of the Paraguayan-Bolivian | conciliation. Chile’s official notification | that she would abstain from forming | part of any eventual conciliating com: mission was not regarded here as ir dicating any hostility on that country’s | part to the efforts of the conference. Should Dr. Maurtua’s illness prevent | Rim from attending to his duties as| chairman of the conference’s special | committee on the Bolivian-Paraguayan | controversy the name of Dr. Orestes | Perrara, Ambassador of Cuba here, is | being suggested as acting chairman of the committee. Dr. Ferrara and Dr. Maurtua were co-authors of the orig- ~(Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) Juan Raminez | Lincoln Love Notes To Girl Rejecting Proposal Found Three Letters To Mary S. Owens of Kentucky Dis- covered in Missouri. | By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, December 29.— Three love letters of Abraham Lincoln to Mary S. Owens of Kentucky, who rejected his proposal of marriage be- cause he “was deficient in those little links which make up the chain of a woman's happiness,” have been un- covered here and in St. Joseph, Mo., and will be published under copyright in the Sunday edition of the Kansas City Star. The letters are in the possession of descendants of Mary S. Owens, who became Mrs. Jesse Vineyard and set- tled near Weston, Mo. They were brought to light accidentally by A. B. MacDonald of the Star staff after being lost for years to historians, who knew of their existence, but not of their | whereabouts. The correspondence, in which Lin- coln held himself bound to keep his promises to marry Mary Owens or to release her if she did not care to share his poverty, followed an effort by Mrs. Bennet Abel, sister of Miss Owens, t0 bring them together after the death of Ann Rutledge, said to have been Lin- coln’s first love. The sister took Miss | Owens to live with her in New Salem, BTN Lincoln at the time was a member of the Illinois Legislature and his letters to Miss Owens reveal him as a hesi- tant lover, rather awed by the brilliant girl from kentucky. December 13, 1836, Letter, The first of the letters, written De- eember 13, 1836, from Vandalia, 1Il, where the Legislature was meeting, is in the possession of Mrs. Jesse J. Vine- yard, Kansas City, widow of a grand- son of Mary Owens. It told of the fight to remove the State capitol to Springfield, and Lincoln ended with a | | | plea: “Write back as soon as you get this, and, if possible, say something that will please me, for, really, I have not been pleased since I left you.” When the Legislature adjourned in March, 1837, Lncoln, then 27 years old, moved to Springfield and set up a law office. May 7, 1837, Note. The next of the letters, in possession of George H. Vineyard, St. Joseph, Mo., banker, was written May 7, 1837, at Springfield. “I am quite as lonesome here as I ever was anywhere in my life,” Lincoln wrote, in part. “I have been spoken to by but one woman since I've been here, and should not have been her, if she could have avolded it. * * * “I may have misunderstood it think- ing about what we said of your coming to live at Springfield. I am afraid you would not be satisfied. There is a great deal of flourishing about in carriages here, which it would be your doom to see without shlrtn? in it. You would have to be poor without the means of hiding your poverty. Do you believe you could bear that patiently? What- ever woman may cast her lot with mine, should any ever do so, it is my (Continued on Page 3, Column 6.) INFLUENZA PARLEY INVITATIONS ISSUED Acceptances Are Received From 46 State and City Health Officials. By the Associated Press. Health officials of all the States and 10 other outstanding scientists have been invited by the Public Health Service to attend a national conference, probably in January, for the purpose of devising methods of controling the pres- ent influenza epidemic and others in the future. The invitations, sent by telegraph, have aiready brought acceptances from 46 State and city officials. Three spe- cific purposes of the conference, as out- Service, are: To emphasize the necessity for addi- tional research on influenza. To clarify and standardize information on the disease which is to be submitted to the public during epidemics. To assist in completion of plans for an extensive field study of the present outbreak. Peak Probably Reached. Statisticians of the Public Health Service declared yesterday that for the country as a whole the peak of the present epidemic has probably been | reached, but that this general average does not portray the regional situation, as a decline seems started in Western, Mountain and North Central States, while the wave has “scarcely begun” in New England. A belated report from South Carolina placed the number of new cases report- ed last week at 9,662. Requests for a large supply of booklets on influenza is- sued by the Federal Government in 1918 came from Portland, Me., and were interpreted to indicate a spread of the disease there. Queries from schools in widely separated sections of the coun- secking advice were also received. Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) Smith Will Never Ge He Tells Friends By the Associated Press. ‘ ALBANY, N. Y., December 29.—Gov. Smith tonight declared he never was going out of politics. The governor, defeated as Democratic candidate for the presidency in the last election, made the statement at a *| dinner” tendered him by Albany and sponsored by the Chamber of Com- merce. “I will be interested in politics and in this State as long as I live,” the gov- ernor said. “Were I to get out of poli- ties I would always be having a sense ingratitude, for I can never repay what has been given me.” §peaising of -his:recent defeat for the t Out of Politics at Good-Will Dinner presidency, the New York executive, who leaves office Tuesday, after serving four terms, said there was no need for any of his friends to be concerned as to how he feels about his defeat, for, he explained, it always has been his policy to accept the situations in which |he finds himself without worry. He | pictured the campaign as an experience that afforded him real excitement. He was presented with a library chair, a foot stool, a smoking stand and a large basket of flowers. lined by officials of the Public Health!| HOOVER PROPOSES 10 LINK AMERICAS BY PLANE ROUTES Line Down West and Another Down East Coast Via | Cuba Considered. RESPONSE IS EVINCED IN COUNTRIES VISITED Plans to Bring Washington Within 72 Hours of Lima, Peru, Are Discussed. By the Associated Press. ABOARD U. S. S. UTAH, en route to Hampton Roads, December 29.—De- velopment of air transportation between | the United States and South America is one of the matters in which Presi- dent-elect Hoover has interested him- self largely throughout the Latin Amer- ican tour. His interest found an instant response on the part of government officials in all the countries visited, but it was ap- preciated that there are serious diffi- culties to be overcome before reliable international air service can be de- veloped. Plans were discussed that would bring Washington within 72 hours | of Lima, Peru, and within 4 days of Buenos Aires, as compared to the 12 or 14 days at present required by the fastest steamers. The major air routes proposed were one down the west coast of South Amer- ica and another down the east coast direct from the United States via Cuba. Problem in East Coast Line, The east coast line presents the greatest difficulties because of the vast stretch of practically uninhabited land in Brazil which must be crossed unless the line of the coast is followed. In Mr. Hoover's opinion, after consulting available maps, there would be little difficulty in establishing a service along Venezuela and the Guianas, but once the border of Brazil is reached the diffi- culties, would begin and might prove insurmountable. At present there is a fairly steady service from Buenos Aires northward along the coast of Brazil to the point | from which a line is projected to Africa and Europe. This projected com- munication across the Atlantic is stim- ulating much interest among South Americans in the development of a direct route to Brazil. The govern- ments of several of the republics are evincing a lively interest in the sug- gested direct communieation with the United States, and the American na- val mission to Brazil is now preparing data on projected routes for the in- formation of the governments of the two countries. Part Now in Operation. The most feasible route, from the information now at hand, has been said to be that down the west coast, part of which is now in operation. This route contemplates the use of seaplanes from Panama to Ecuador, with land planes along the coast of Peru, and then either seaplanes down the Chilean coast or land planes down the valley from Antofogasta to San- tiago. The Chilean government is now projecting a line under naval adminis- tration. A commercial line across the con- tinent from Chile to Buenos Aires is also under consideration but some doubt has been expressed as to the possibility of maintaining steady serv- ice across the Andes because of storm conditions necessarily encountered at an .altitude of 14,000 feet. An alternative proposal is the con- nection of the railroad from Chile to Buenos Aires with the present airline northward to Rio de Janiero, which would be extended to complete the lap from Brazil to Washington. Peru Developing Routes. Peru is already developing air lines, and government officials there evinced a lively interest in Hoover’s suggestion regarding direct communication with the United States. Lines are also in operation in Colombia and Bolivia. It has been conceded that continu- us flying over either of the major routes would be impossible at the out- set as the planes could be in the air only during daylight hours. Night fly- ing requires a highly developed system of beacon lights, particularly along such ~(Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) . TODAY’S STAR PART ONE—20 PAGES. General News—Local, National and Foreign. Schools and Colleges—Page 8 Radio News—Page 18. At Community Centers—Page 19. Marine Corps Notes—Page 19. PART TWO—10 PAGES. Editorial Section—Editorials and Edi- torial Features. Notes of Art and Artists—Page 4. Review of Winter Books—Page 4. Financial News—Pages 6, 7 and 8. Serial Story, “One Man’s Wife"—Page 8. News of the Clubs—Page 8. Army and Navy News—Page 9. Organized Reserves—Page 10. PART THREE—16 PAGES. Society and Classified Advertising. D. A. R. Activitics—Page 7. W. C. T. U. Activities—Page 7. Clubwomen of the Nation—Page 8. Around the City—Page 8. Parent-Teacher Activities—Page 8. PART FOUR—12 PAGES. Amusement Section—Theater, and Music. News of the Motor World—Pages 6 Screen and 7. Aviation Activities—Page 8. Col. Lindbergh's Story—Page 8. Fraternal News—Page 10. Spanish War Veterans—Page 10. Veterans of Great War—Page 10. PART FIVE—4 PAGES. Pink Sports Section. PART SEVEN—8 PAGES. Magazine Section—Fiction and Humor. GRAPHIC SECTION—8 PAGES. ‘Two boys, introduced merely as the “Smith boys,” from Tulsa, Okla. en- tertained the governor by singing the Happy Warrior'’s famous battle song, The Sidavale of NN - s 3 ’ World Events in Pictures. COLOR SECTION—4 PAGES. Mutt and Jeff: Reg'lar Fellers; Mr, THINK | WAS! BROVGHT UP To BELIEVEA RepuBLt CAN D27 ‘Coulp GET! BUDGET ADOPTED FOR INAUGURATION Chairmen to Submit Esti- mates of Expense Thursday to Assist Plans. A businesslike budget plan has been adopted for the financing of the cere- monies and celebrations incident to the inauguration March 4 of President-elect Hoover, according to an announcement last night by James A. Councilor, chair- man of the commiitee on budgets and accounts, ‘With a view to balancing expenditures against revenues as closely as the stag- ing of an inauguration will permit. chairmen of all committees working under the direction of Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d, general inaugural chairman, have been called upon to submit esti- mates for probable expenditures in all departments essential to operation, at a meeting to be held Thursday. Audits to Be Made. At the same time estimates will be made of all possible revenues from grandstand seats, souvenir programs and such concessions as may be accepted in connection with the inauguration. By this departure from precedents of other years, it is explained, the committee will be able to balance its budget before any expenditures are made and to compute the revenues to offset these. A further feature of this budget sys- tem which, it is hoped, will insure a clean slate financially when the final check-up is made, will be that before any expenditures are permitted all ac- counts will be audited. The finance committee for the affair has been giving careful consideration to the amount that should be sought from contributors, and it is expectcd this figure will be made known to members of the committee at the bud- getary session Thursday. The amount to be raised is to be publicly announced later. Past Costs Studied. It is the hope of the budget commit- tee that as good a showing in refunds to cash pledges will be made after the forthcoming inaugural event as was the case in the Coolidge inaugural of 1925, when a 100 per cent refund was made to backers of the general com- mittee, and in the Wilson inaugural when a 66.16 per cent refund was mad>. This latter refund, it was point- ed out, might have been larger save for the blustery weather that prevailed. Figures for the Harding inaugural Ci were not inquired irto, as comparative expenditures were negative, a commit- tee spokesman explained. The budget committee, while taking a leaf out of the experience of the Fed- eral Government in budgeting its finances in advance of the inauguration, gives no definite assurance of refunds to contributors, but expects to be able to balance expenditures against rev- enues, it was said. Plans to have the huge Navy dirigible Los Angeles lead the inaugural parade down Pennsylvania avenue were pro- nounced “entirely practicable” by Sec- retary Wilbur of the Navy Department. He added that department officials were taking under advisement the re- quest from the inaugural committee for use of the Los Angeles. KILLS WIFE, SHOOTS SELF Chicagoan Leaves Note Saying Spouse Abused Him. CHICAGO, December 29 (#).—De- President Seized With “Buck Fever,” Fails to Shoot Deer Enjoys Day So Much, However, He Will Try Weck at Big Game. BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG, Staff Correspondent of The Star. SAPELO ISLAND, off Georgia coast, December 29.—President Coolidge had his first tas'e today of deer hunting and would no doubt have brought home at least ono deer had he not succumbed to buck fever when his first chance came and had his aim been a little bet- ter during his two latter chances. ‘The President and his companions went to a remote section of Sapelo Island, about 4 miles from the home of Howard E. Coffin, where he and Mrs. Coolidge are spending a brief vacation in the sea island of Georgia, to hunt timber deer this morning. He was ac- companied by Col. E. W. Starling of the Secrct Service, Col. Osmund La- trobe, his military aide; Capt. Wilson Brown, his naval alde; Col. James F. Coupal, his physician, and _several " (Continued on Page 2, Column 1) TRAIN AND 2 AUTOS CRASH, 4 KILLED Young Members cf Promi- nent Wisconsin Families Die in Collision. By the Associated Press. KENOSHA, Wis, December 29. Four young people, members of promi- nent Kenosha families, are dead and several more are in hospitals here, as a result of a crash of two automobile loads of the young people and a Chi- cago & Northwestern train. The dead are. Ferrin Alford, son of W. H. Alford, vice president of the Nash Motor Co. Lowell Smith, high school student and son of A. B. Smith, also an offi- | cial of the Nash Motor Co. Alice Judd, daughter of Clark Judd, vice president of the American Brass 0. Mary Slater, granddaughter of Municipal Judge John C. Slater. The young people, all of high school age, had gone on a “treasure hunt” after attending a party at the home of Mr. Blair. They leff in eight cars. A passing freight train delayed them at the Seventy-fifth street crossing of the Northwestern road here. Eager to lead in the chase the autos began to cross the tracks immediately after the freight had cleared. The first automobile driven by Don Travis, jr, son of Don Travis, vice president of the Simmons Bed Co., got across safely, but the next two were struck by another train on the other track. One of these cars was driven by Rich- ard Hastings. Hastings was injured. Others known to have been hurt are: Jane Blair, daughter of James Blair, ;:lflshler of the First National Bank ere. _ Alice Gephert, daughter of a local doctor. Gilford Hagmann, son of a banker. claring in a note he had written that his wife abused him, Max Tauber, 65 years old, today shot and killed his wife, Frances, 38, and seriously wounded himself in their home. “I was driven to do this act be- cause my wife abused me so. I could stand it no longer,” the note said. Tauber’s condition tonight was critical. Student Shot to Death. GREENSBORO. N. C.. December 20 (®) —Hubert Herring, Winston-Salem student at Georgia Tech, was shot to | death here tonight by an unknown man in an automobile. Herring died soon after being taken to a hospital with a bullet wound in his stomach. The Star’s Annual Review The Star’s annual review of outstanding events during the year 1928 will be printed as a part of its edition to- morrow. This review will summarize the important develop- ments of the year at home and abroad in the field of local affairs, national affairs, international affairs and in the world of business and finance. In addition to the articles reviewing past achieve- ments there are glimpses into the future and forecasts of what the New Year is to bring. Watch L it for this review in tomorrow’s Star. LINKS EARLE BANDIT WITH TAX| ROBBERY Victim of $1,485 Hold-Up in Hired Car August 27 Iden- tifies Elmo Williams. Elmo Williams, Earle Theater bandit, was identified last night as the man | who forced David W. Bell, jr., of 4318 Ninth street, then an employe of the Peoples Drug Store at Thomas Circle, on the afterncon of August 27 into a taxicab, took him for a ride and robbed him of $1,485 of the store's receipts, which Bell was taking to the bank. Headquarters Detective Harry K. Wilson, in charge of the case, intimated that he was investigating seven other hold-ups in which it is suspected Wil- liams may have had a part. Bell, who is 21 years old and a third- year student at the University of North Carolina, was approached by Williams, he declared, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon as he was waiting for a street car on Fourteenth street just outside the store. The robber cautioned him not to cry out, saying he had a ma- chine gun trained on him and ordered him to hail a taxi. Bell complied, and the two got into the cab and drove up Fourteenth street. Willlams then pulled a revolver from his pocket and demand- ed the money which he said he knew Bell had on his person. Bell turned over the roll of bills without argument, and Willlams ordered the driver to take them to Eleventh and Monroe streets, where Bell was allowed to alight. Bell Identifies Williams. Bell is home from college for Christ- mas, and was brought to police head- | quarters about 7 o'clock last night. He unhesitatingly identified Williams. Wil- liams, however, denied that he had seen Bell before. The youthful robber devised a code of three key words for insertion in news- peper advertising columns by which his uncle, Thomas Edison Williams, also 21 vears, who was brought to Washington v and charged with complicity in crime, could communicate with him acknowledging receipt of money, thought by police to have been obtained by Elmo in hold-ups. The code also was to warn him if detectives were on his trail. The uncle admitted to Wilson that he received $1,250 from his nephew September 12, and that although he did not know how the money was acquired, he “thought something wes wrong with it.” The proceeds of the Earle robbery were also sent to Thomas Williams, police say, and then turned over to Elmo’s mother, Mrs. Celestia Williams, who also lives in Tampa. Admits Sending Guns. According to Wilson, the uncle admits buying two guns and sending them to Elmo Williams in Pittsburgh some time before the theater hold-up. It was one of these guns which was pointed at Harry E. Lohmeyer, manager of the| Earle. It was recovered by Wilson in | a pawnshop in Tampa on information furnished by Thomas Williams. | Mrs. Williams was questioned in the Florida city concerning the disposition of the proceeds of the latest robbery. ! She is quoted as saying that she sent the entire amount intrusted to her to her son when he reached Chicago. Wil- liams declared he has spent all of it, but police are now trying to locate the {cash. A telegraphic record discloses that the $1,250 in Thomas Williams' | lcare was sent to his nephew in four 1lots of about $300 each by telegraph. Both Mrs. Williams and the uncle deny knowledge of the exact amout of the money shipped them following the Earle Theater robbery. They say the bills filled a large candy box and the coins were packed in sawdust in a {\vooden case. Sends Code Messages. i The code was discovered by Wilson Iwhlle going through Thomas Williams’ effects in Tampa. It was contained in fi)wlener written by .Elmo, which fol- s: “Dear Tom: Ready for your informa- tion. Put a personal ad in a news- paper in Washington. Just inclose the " (Continued on Page 2 Column 7.)) ONE DAY TO GET TAGS. Use of 1928 Tags to Be Illegal * After' Midnight Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last day on which | the use of 1928 automobile license plates { will be legal. After midnight tomor- row 1929 plates must be displayed by all District cars on the streets, other- wise the drivers are liable to arrest for driving with dead tags. ‘The 1929 tags may be obtained from 9 am. to 4:30 pm. tomorrow at the District Building. Wade Coombs, super- intendent of licenses, says he has al- ready sold 87,000 tags this month. Of these 7,000 were sold in yesterday's rush. A big crowd of customers is CURTS T0 RETA PRESET POSTION UNTI INAUGURAL Will Remain Senate Leader for Rest of Session—Many Seek Seat. REPRESENTATF/_E— HOCH MAY BE SUCCESSOR Former Gov. Henry Allen, Friend of Next Governor, Also in Field. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. Vice President-elect Charles Curtis | announced last night he would remain | in the Senate untll March 4. This| means: That Senator Curtis will continue'to direct the course of legislation for the Republicans in the Senate until the | close of the present administration. ‘That no new Republican leader of the Senate will be closen to succeed Sena- tor Curtis until the new Senate meets, as it will, in executive session immedi- | ately after March 4 to handle the ap- pointments of Mr. Hoover to his cabinet | and such other executive business as | may be before it. That Republican aspirants in Kan- sas for the Senate seat now held by Senator Curtis must remain on the anxious bench for another two month.x,‘ unless, indeed, the appointment to the Senate has already been promised by the Governor-elect, Clyde Reed. Under jthe Kansas law the governor is em- g::c!i:id tomu;t)go(nt to fill Senate va- unt e next regular electi which will take place in 19530, =% Will Forego Vacation. The Vice President-elect has given consideration for several weeks to the course he should pursue for the re- | mainder of the present session. It is| known that President Coolidge has re- quested Senator Curtis to carry on as Senate leader for the rest of the pres- ent Congress. The President's request 350,000,000 15 HELD FAIR VALUATION BY STREET CAR LINES Two Companies Offer to Modify Agreement Relative to Future Competition. POWER RATE CHARGE CLARIFICATION ACCEPTED Establishment of Rate Base Pend- ing Fixing of Values Is Asked in Letter. Defending the $50,000,000 valuation provided for in the traction merger plan as “a compromise fair to all parties,” but offering to modify sections of the agreement relating to future competition and payment for electric power, the traction companies late yes- terday filled with Chairman Capper of the Senate District Committee their re- ply to the findings of the Senate com- mittee expert. ‘The companies contended firmly for inclusion in th: agrecment of an es- tablished rate base until a new valu- ation is made. The companies take the position that each railway system has a rate base at the present time and that the proposed merged company is intitled to an established rate bas- until a revaluation of the merged company can be carried out. Early V: tion Urged. ‘The companies state in their answer that “it appears to be conceded on all sides that as soon as unification is brought about, a valuation of the street railway properties shonuld be made,” adding that there is nothing in the pending argeement to prevent such revaluation from getting under way im- mediately after merged is effected. After calling attention to different es- timates of the length of time that would be required to compleie a revaluation and the Senator's own strong sense of | after merger, and emphasizing the com- duty has led him finally to announce he will forego the vacation which he planned this Winter and to remain as Senate leader. His formal statement, issued last night, follows: “I have concluded to remain in the Senate until March 4 next, becatse of the condition of the Senate calendar and the present status of the great ap- propriation bills. “I think it is my duty to remain and do everything possible to secure the adoption of the Kellogg peace treaty, to expedite action on the cruiser bill and other important legislation in which the people are interested.” Bill Must Be Expedited. ‘There is nothing in Senator Curtis’ statement to indicate whether “other important legislation in which the peo- ple are interested” includes the pend- ing McNary farm-relief bill. But it is clear that if the farm bill is to go through at the present session, and a special session of the new Congress is to be avoided soon after March 4, it is necessary that this bill be expedited in “(Continued on Page 2, Column 6. . TWO NEW COMPANIES ENTER SHIPPING WAR Con‘i.petifion for Indies Trade Be-| comes Keen as Battle Lines Spread. By the Associated Press. HAVANA, December 29.—The much- discussed “rate war” between the Cu- nard Line and the United States Ship- ping Board, which resulted in the latter | awarding the President Roosevelt to the | Havana run to compete with the Ca- ronia, saw new developments today. It was definitely announced here that two other foreign companies intend puttng liners on the Havana-New York run. ‘These are the French Line, which in- tends starting a service in January with the De La Salle and the Niagara, on | a Havre-Vigo-New York-Havana sched- ule, and the Red Star Line, an Ameri- can company operating ships under the British and Belgian flags, which intends to place the cabin liner Pennland in a New York-Havana-West Indies service to operate throughout the Winter. SEARCH FOR 4-YEAR-OLD BOY AT STANDSTILL| No Clues Found in Disappearance of Child From Home in Orrville, Ohio. By the Associated Py ORRVILLE, Ohio, December 29.—The search for 4-year-old Melvin Horst, missing from his home here since | Thursday evening, was almost at a| standstill tonight after volunteers had scoured the surrounding territory to- day without result. It was feared that the boy, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Horst had been struck by a motorist who had become frightened and taken the body some distance before leaving it. Kid-| naping theories are discounted. Rewards for finding the boy stood at $1,000 tonight. Civic clubs, lodges and individuals subscribed half this amount and the remaining $500 was taken from panies’ right to a definite rate base during that time, the letter states: “If a valuation can be completed in less time, the most that could fairly be asked of the companies is to have the continuance of the rate base short- ened to such lesser time.” The merger agreement as now pend- ing in Congress vides for continus- tion of the $50,000,000 valuation for 10 years, with ‘a stipulation that present rates of fare would not be changed for one year. The letter was requested by the Sen- ate subcommittee as a means of obtain- ing the reactions of the companies to the suggestions contained in the reports on the merger plan prepared by the Bureau of Efficiency and by Dr. Milo R. Maltbie, New York utilities expert, engaged by the subcommittee. ‘The reply covers 12 typewritten pages and deals to a large extent with the questions raised by Dr. Maltbie, who took exception to more of the essential features than did the Bureau of Ef- ficiency. Further Comment Asked. ‘The reply was signed by William F. Ham, president of the Washington Rail- way & Electric Co.; John H. Hanna, president of the Capital Traction Co., and Harley P. Wilson, principal owner of the Washington Rapid Transit Co.. who took an active part in bringing about the pending agreement. Immediately upon receipt of the traction letter Senator Capper mailed copies of it to Dr. Maltble and to Herbert D. Brown, chief of the Bureau of Efficiency, requesting any further comment they may care to submit to the subcommittee in the light of the companies’ views. The Senator expects to hear from the two investigators at an early date and said he would call the subcommittee to meet as soon as possible after the reconvening of Congress to resume its deliberations on the merger problem. ‘Whether the subcommittee meeting can be held the latter part of this week, will depend upon how soon Dr. Maltbie and Dr. Brown reply to the suggestions in_the companies’ letter. With regard to the question of future competition, the companies state they have no objection to adoption of Dr. Maltbie’s suggestion for a provision that no competing transportation line be established without obtaining a cer- tificate of convenience and necessity from the Utilities Commission. This would be a substitute for the present section providing for “the reasonable protection of the new company against competition.” Both Dr. Maltbie and the Efficiency Bureau recommended clarification of the section defining conditions under which the merged car company would obtain electric current from the Poto- mac Electric Power Co. ‘The companies said in the letter yes- terday they see no serious objection to the alternative proposal of Dr. Maltbie that the agreement be so modified as to provide that the Washington Rail- way & Electric Co. shall cause its subsidiary, the Potomac Electric Power Co., to enter into a contract with the new company to furnish the same rela- tive amount of power now furnished upon the same terms now applied to the W. R. & E, with the Utilities Commis- sion determining from time to time the price to be paid for the power now re- quired by the Capital Traction Co. The companies suggested that the Ef- ficiency Bureau recommended the same end could be accomplished by a pre- liminary interchange of letters between the parties in interest and the Utili- ties Commission. The companies declare that the sug- the community chest. Maj. Gen. Summerall “(Continued on Page 3, Column to Be Pallbearer sion A. E. F. Sergeant At Rites of First Divi Officers of high rank, under whoin’ he fought with the 1st Division through the World War, including Maj. Gen. Charles P. Summerall, chief .of staff of the United States Army, will serve as pallbearers tomorrow after- noon when Sergt. Joseph Spel, who died Monday at Fort Totten, New York, will Be buried at Arlington Cemetery with full military honors. Sergt. Spel won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action. He was wounded three times during his par- ticipation in seven decisive battles with Company L, 18th Infantry. He died at in the Army, and was to have been retired shortly. Sergt. Spel was a native of Saxony, Germany. At the time of his death he was attached to the recruiting service at Syracuse, N. Y. He is survived by a sister, Mrs. Jessie Page, Oakland, Calif. ‘The following officers of the wartime First Division will act as pallbearers: Maj. Gen. B. Frank Cheatham, quar- termaster general; Brig. Gen. Camp- bell King, assistant chief of staff; .