Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1929, Page 4

% PUSH LICENSE BILL Revision of 27-Year-0ld Law on Business Taxes Sought at This Session. Vigorous efforts will be made by Dis- trict officials to have Congress enact at this sesison the bill introduced in the House last week by Representative Gibson of Vermont, to revise and mod- ernize Washington's 27-year-old license tax law. The bill was written by a special committee of District and Fed- eral Government officials after a care- ful and thorough siudy of the existing law which it branded as antiquated, in- adequate and fraught with inequalities. ‘Though designed primarily to remove these alleged inadequacies and in- equities in the existing law which has undergone only a few minor modifica- tions since its enactment in 1902, the new legislation will afford greater pro- | tection to the public by giving the Commissioners and the Police Depart- ment increased authority to regulate and control those businesses that have long escaped close municipal super- vision. It also will add about $50,000 a year to the revenues of the Dis.rict, al- | though the committee did not frame it as a revenue-producing measure. Special provisions have been written into the new bill 10 give the Commis- sloners and the police control and regu- lation of professional guides, private detectives, solicitors and dealers in dan- gerous weapons. Other provisions pro- vide for closer supervision over public baths, employment agencies, bowling alleys and pool and biuiard parlors. Drastic Provision Aimed at Mediums. ‘The most drastic provision, however, is aimed at mediums, - clairvoyants, soothsayers, fortune tellers, paimists and phrenologists, whose license fee ‘would be raisea from $25 to $250 a year. A two-year residence in the District also would be a prerequisite for a e. ‘The provision for licensing of pro- fessional guides gives the superinten- dent of police the authority to approve or aisap,rove applications for licenses, and emp. ers the Commissioners to make reas..able regulations for the government and conduct of persons licensed, including the power to re- quire the guides to wear a badge. Aslde from licensing solicitors, the ']E‘HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 27, 1929—PART 1. ‘ DISTRT OFFCALS IBAL BOHEME PLANS NEW YORK CENTRAL SUCCESS IS SEEN | Table Shows Changes Proposed Commission merchants Bakeries and grocery stol Restaurants Wholesale fis] Dairies Miscellaneous foof Hotels Apartment houses. Apartment houses with cafe Lodging houses operated by street car companies. . Sightseeing busses. Taxicabs Character licenses Motor vehicles for Drayage .. for drivers rent. Billposters Venders . Solicitors Gujdes .. Second-hand Dealers in dangerous weapons. Detective agencies. .. Employment agencies. Mediums, clairvoyants, palmists, etc Druggists ... Auctioneers - ., . Auto repair shops. Barber shop Beauty parlor: ‘Turkish bath: Public baths. Film exchange Gasoline dealers. Ol or explosive storage Pyroxlin establishments. .. Abattoirs or slaughter houses. Power laundries. Hand laundries. . Mattress-manufacturing plants. Mattress dealers. Slot machines. Pool and billiard rooms Bowling alleys. Shooting galler Athletic grounds. Amusement parks Swimming pools. Circuses Carnivals and fairs.... builders. bill would require them to pay an an- nual fee of $5 and post a bond of $500 with the District government. As de- fined in the bill, a solicitor is a person who sells or takes orders for goods, wares, ise or any articles of value for future delivery, manufacturing or repairing any article or thing for future delivery and requiring or accept- ing a deposit for future delivery or service. Dealers in deadly weapons now are issued a perpetual license, but under the new bill they would be required to have the license renewed annually at a cost of $50. No license would be is- sued without the approval of the Major and Superintendent of Police. The ‘Commissiol also would be authorized to promulgate regulations for the con- duct of such dealers, including the pow- er to require a record to be kept of all sales of deadly or dangerous weapons. ‘The license fee proposed for private detectives or detective agencies is $100 a year. The superintendent of police, wagon manufacturers. The new busi- nesses added are apartment houses, au- tomobile repair shops, barber shops, dairies, dealers in deadly weapons, de- tective agencies, drayage vehicles, dry cleaners, employment agencies, film ex- hanges, wholesale fish dealers, food fac- tories and grocery stores, guides, lodging houses, mattress manufacturers and dealers, miscellaneous food handlers, public baths, pyroxylin establishments, slaughter houses, solicitors and swim- T P ortant sections of the bl affect public vehicles and motor busses that come under the category of com- mon carriers. The committee, in fis report on the measure, devoted con- siderable space to these two types of carriers. The bill would impose 8 license fee of $25 a year on public vehicles on the theory that they should pay for the public space they occupy. In'its report, likewise, would be given authority to control the issuance of these licenses. Employment Tax Boosted. ‘The bill would raise the license fee for employment agencies from $25 to $100 & year and require a bond of $1,000, with two or more sufficient sureties. tipula murshmbekepno(mmmum of all applicants for employ- ment and other data. ‘The committee that framed the new law };:‘u wwsm of mni principal assi corporation counsel of the District; Wade H. Coombs, super- intendent of licenses, and D. P. Evans of the United States Bureau of Effi- cy. When the committee undertook its study of the existing law, with a view to determining what modifications should be made, only a cursory examination was necessary to disclose that it was filled with inequalities and uacies as a tax measure. Certain esses and callings, it found, were required to be licensed and pay a fee or tax, while & license was not required of other busi- nesses and callings of a similar nature. For instance, cigar dealers are required to pay a license tax of $12 a year, while no license is required of dealers in any other form of tobacco, provided such dealers do not sell cigars. Furthermore, the tax of $12 is imposed without re- gard to volume of business, the dealer operating a small grocery store carrying & few cigars as a side line being taxed the same as a large wholesale or retail dealer in cigars. Again, florists are re- quired to pay a license tax of $15 a %::;, bl;xll n’o lk]:ense is levied upon a ler ewe! in the ne: establishment, ) s 'X‘he' present act would tax “claim agents” and “building and all other contractors” $25 a year, but the Dis- trict Court of Appeals has decided that the term “claim agent” was too indefi- nite for enforcement and that “and other contractors” was too indefinite to cover contractors generally. Cost to Determine Fee. As a result of its study the committee determined that any amendatory license law recommended should list only those businesses which require inspection or regulation by some municipal agency, and that any fee required should be commensurate with the cost to the District of such inspection or regulation. It was found necessary, however, to make certain exceptions to these prin- clples for the following purposse: 1—To license certain businesses for regulatory purposes where the cost of inspection was negligible. In these in- stances a nominal fee of $5 a year was recommended. 2—To charge certain businesses using public space, such as taxicab companies operating from hack stands, for the use of such space. In these instances the committee exercised its best judgment in determining appropriate taxes to be ch;rged. —To restrict, if possible, in the pub- lic interest, the number of persons who might engage in certain callings. This restriction the committee attempted to accomplish by means of a tax which would not be prohibitive. It is estimated that under the pro- E:sed bill a total of 16,555 licenses may expected, with receipts amounting to $270,080 annually. Under the present law, a total of 13,519 licenses were is- sued during the 1928 fiscal year, the re- ceipts amounting to $160,994, exclusive of transfer fees. The increased cost of administration of the new law, however, 1 the committee estimates, will reduce the { net profit to $50,000. H 22 Businesses Added to List. In revising the law, the committee ex- 3 cluded 15 businesses from a license tax, + and added 22 new ones to the list, mak- ing a total of 55 that would come under ! the broad scope of its provisions. Those eliminated were either obsolete, imprac- : tical of administration or are of such & type that no inspection is required. The 15 eliminated were boarding houses, building contractors, cattle deal- » ers, cigar dealers, claim agents, exhibit- the committee said: “It is a matter of common knowledge that both of these classes of vehicles (public vehicles at large and llvery vehicles) occupy public_space to the same extent in their private callings, and your committee, therefore, feels that they should be subject to the same control and supervision and should be required to pay the same tax for the use of public space. Commissioners Frowned on Asiion. “Heretofore, vehicles licensed \Whder paragraph 13 oth;.he act of 1902 e paragraph), 4 filgu cnn'ry ox}, their calling upon 4. space adjacent to various hotels in the District of Columbia, to the ex- clusion of all other passenger vehicles for hire not having contracts with hotels. This practice has not been with the approval of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, but has been carried on lnhsplte tli” their efforts to such practice. Mfigm” uve};y vehicles, licensed un- der said paragraph 13, operate from public space adjacent to hoteis by rea- son of certain decisions of our local Court of Appeals that existing legislation does not prevent them from so doing. It is also a matter of common knowledge that this condition has developed to the point where the hotels are actually col- lecting substantial fees from taxicab companies for the use of public space adjacent to the hotels. “Your committee is of the opinion that this last-mentioned practice should be abolished if it is possible to do so. There is a question as to whether the Commissioners, at this time, have the power to establish stands adjacent to hotels for the accommodation of public vehicles. This question is now before the Supreme Court of the Dis- trict of Columbia in a series of injunc- Motor busses operated by car companies. Cry cleaning and dyeing establishments. tion cases. Because it is the belief of this committee that all public space in the District of Columbia should be sub- ject to the control of the Commissioners and that no exceptions should be made in the case of public space adjacent to hotels, it is specially provided * * * that the Commissioners be authorized to establish stands upon the public space, adjacent to hotels or otherwise, for oc- cupancy by public vehicles. The com- mittee also feels that the Commission- ers should have authority to control the operations of this class of vehicles, and such power also is included * * *.” Eight mills per bus mile is provided as the tax on common carrier busses, chiefly to eliminate the inequitable sys- tem of taxation on this class of vehicles. Under the present system the bus lines subsidiary to the traction companies are taxed on a basis of 4 per cent of their gross receipts, while competing lines are taxed at the rate of $12 a year per vehicle, Rates Held Discriminatory. “It is obvious that these rates are discriminatory, particularly as some of the operators—paying but $12 per bus— are in direct competition with the rail- way company lines on which the 4 per cent of gross receipts are paid,” the committee said. “In view of the fact that Congress has determined on 4 per cent of the gross receipts as a fair tax for public utilities, it would seem at first glance that the extension of the same rate to operations similar to those of the utilities which are now assessed at that rate would provide the most logical means of equalizing the rate and removing the present discriminatory conditions. The stumbling block to such a step lies, however, in the impracticability, first, of determining the total revenue accruing from such operations as extend beyond the confines of the District of Columbia, and, second, of properly proportioning such revenues, even if the total amount were ascertainable, to the portion of the operations carried within such confines, particularly in cases where a substan- tial portion of the revenue acerues from entirely extra-District transportation. “In bus operating practice, the bus mile now is the unit commonly used as a basis of records and comparison, and s0 seems a logical unit to be employed in this instance, particularly as the number of bus miles operated, in any 1 ors, florists, land and improvement com- panies, maturity investment companies, merry-go-rounds, persons _conducting \. entertainments, railroad ticket Teal estate brokers, undertaks given period, is a quantity readily ascer- tainable from known hcf?ol‘s"’ 2 "In Revised License Law Fees ‘The following table shows the existing license tax fee and the new schedule contained in the Gibson bill to revise the license tax law: Present Fee. Proposed Fee, . $40.00 None 18.00 None None None 30.00 up None . 18.00 . None Motor busses (common carrier) other than those 12.00 4% income 12.00 9.00 8 mills mile 8 mills mile 100.00 25.00 5.00 5.00 estab. 25.00 5.00 5.00 1.00 25.00 estab. None 25.00 25.00 20.00 12.00 None None 40.00 None . None 25.00 25.00 6.00 105.00 None None None 25.00 None None 5.0 1.00 None None 20.00 10.00 None None None 2.00 each .100.00 100.00 100.00 12.00 table 12.00 alley 18.00 5.00 5.00 75.00 10.00 2.00 cach 0.00 8.00 12.00 table 12,00 alley 10.00 100.00 X 200,00 a day 200.00 a day 10.00 a week 35.00 a day inesses licensed under the present law but eliminated from the pmpoBs‘elgmlaw because of obsolescence, impracticability of administration or because no inspection is required follow: Boarding houses, building contractors, cattle dealers, cigar dealers, claim agents, exhibitors, floris’s, land and improvement companies, matur- ity investment companies, merry-go-rounds, persons conducting cnter- tainments, railroad ticket brokers, undertakers and carriage or wagon revenue tax will virtually correspond to the amount of the bus mile unit. The ‘Washington Rapid Transit and other independent bus companies, however, will be affected principally. S Al SENATE HAS HOPES OF COMPLETING BIG LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM (Continued From First Page.) a reapportionment bill before bringing that matter up in the Senate. The Republican steering committee of the Senate, which frames the legis- lative program, has four measures wait- ing for consideration after the cruiser bill shall be disposed of. The first is the Caraway bill to prevent the sale of cotton and grain in futures markets. The second is the Jones bill to amend the Volstead act by increasing certain penalties for violation of the prohibi- tion law. The third is a joint resolu-~ tion offered by Senator Edge of New Jersey to authorize a survey for the construction of the proposed Nica- raguan Canal, and the fourth is a House bill authorizing the acquisition of a site for a farmers’ produce market in the District of Columbia. None of these measures is expected to take up much time of the Senate, though some of them might be used as a vehicle for concealed fillbuster against the reap- portionment bill. It is expected that the census bill will be given the right of way after these measures have been disposed of, or before, if the debate on them continues to unreasonable limits, for it is proposed to take the census in November of this year. If the census bill fails to pass before March 4, it may, of course, be included in the program for the special session of the new Con- gesisun“m::u t{xe desire ofml.hi leaders is program arm relief and tariff revision. Seven Appropriations Pending. ‘The House has passed eight of the annual appropriation bills and has three left to put through, the Navy De- partment bill, the legislative bill, and another deficlency bill. The Senate has passed four appropriation bills and in consequence still has to deal with seven more. When the Senate adopted the Harris amendment to the first deficiency bill, providing an additional $24,000,000 for prohibition enforcement, to be dis- pensed by the President to the Govern- ment agencies requiring it, it gave the Republican leaders of the House some- thing to think about. The administra- tion is opposed to this added appropria- tion, for budget reasons largely. The dry sentiment in the House is strong, however, and the question is whether the Harris amendment can be killed there or not. Senator Reed's slush fund investigat- ing committee has completed its inves- tigation of the case of Senator-elect ‘William S, Vare of Pennsylvania during the last week. Senator Reed, who is leaving the Senate after March 4, is anxious to have a final disposition of the case in the Senate and he plans to make a final report from his committee and ask for Senate action. The inter- Jection of this report into the Senate and a demand for a consideration of the Vare case, which is a privileged matter, may throw a monkey wrench into legislative plans, if it comes about. There will be strong resistance to any vote on a proposal to deny Mr. Vare a seat in the Senate. The Waterman sub- committee of the privileges and elec- tions committee, which has been in- vestigating the contest brought by Wil- liam B. Wilson, Democratic opponent, who claims he was elected and not Mr. Vare in the 1926 senatorial election, is not ready to report and may not be ready at the very close of the session. An argument doubtless will be advanced by those who desire to seat Mr. Vare that no action should be taken by the Senate on the report expected from Senator Reed until after a determina- tion of the Wilson contest. ESCAPES ELECTRIC CHAIR. Virginian’s Sentence Commuted to Life for Shooting of Woman. RICHMOND, Va., January 26 (#).— Gov. Harry F. Byrd today commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence given Wyman Brookman upon_convic- tion of shooting Mrs. Stella Mustard of Cismont, Va., dufl.mi the robbery of the post office there last year. Mrs, Mustard was not killed, but was believed blinded by the shot. Brookman was to have been electro- cuted March 4. The governor explain- ed today that the sentence was com- muted upon request of the trial judge and prominent citizens of Albemarle County. It was explained that the jury in the case had the option of sen- tencing Brookman to 18 years' imprison- ment or death. — The 8 mills per bus mile tax will not Because of the shortage of corn Sal- ers, ' change materially the tax paid by the ! vador is buying la; amounts of the . and street car companies as the 4 per cent gain in olhgrm i i countries, < NEAR FINAL STAGE Rehearsals Today Are Last for Arts Club Event Tomorrow Evening. With final rehearsals scheduled for today, arrangements are practically completed for the colorful Bal Boheme, the soclety carnival which the Arts Club will give tomorrow evening at 10 o'clogk in the Willard Hotel. That the forthcoming event will be one of the' most successful ever given by Washington’s art colony is indicated by the supper reservations, which now number considerably over 1,500. Willlam Ernest Chapman of New Zealand, an _artist who recently re- turned from North Africa, where he has made a speciaity of painting Egyptian scenes, will act as one of the judges | of costumes, as will also Mrs. Chapman, They will take the places of Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Phillips of this city, beth of whom are unable to serve on the judges’ committee because of illness. Mr. Chapman is in the city tempo- | rarily engaged in making some por- | traits. He and his wife, who is a writer, will appear with Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Peixotto of New York in the “Carnival of the Caliph in Cairo,” the big event of the bal, taking part as the Grand Vizier and Mufti, one of the favorite wives of the Caliph. This pageant scene is being staged by the Arts Club players, directed by Maud Howell Smith and James Otis Porter. Various Attractions. L. M. Leisenring will have charge of the door stunt, assisted by Edward E. Muth, Paul Bleyden, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Smith and other artists of the club. Six university students will take part in the opening scene arrayed as royal runners, including Frank Kemon, Harry Rider, Donald Imirie, Paul Jones, E. F. Farley and H. T. Cole. Dancers in the various divertissements include the Tchernikoff-Gardiner dancers, Orme Libbey, Helen Stuart Griffith and Wallace Wright. Singers will include artists and students in the Paul Bleyden Studios, assisted by members of the Arts Club. The settings will be completed today and tonight at the final rehearsals at the Willard. Students in various art schools, including the 'Abbott School of Fine and Commercial Art, will help Lynch Luquer’s committee on decora- tions. Attention of guests is called to the fact that this year fancy dress is oblig- atory upon all attending the Bal. Cos- tumes may be rented at the Willard the night of the ball, or, if desired, paper costume accessories may be purchased at the door, thus complying with the ruling of the ball committee which is headed by Dr. John Ryan Devreaux. Henry Jay Staley is chairman of hotel arrangements and Theodore F. Gannon is chairman of music., Ths musicians, as well as all hotel attendants in the supper room, likewise will be in costume. Spectacular Pageant. The entrance of the floor committee, headed by Roy L. Neuhauser, is set for 10:30 o'clock, half an hour after the bal opens. “The Caliph Comes to Cairo,” one of the most spectacular of the pageants, is scheduled for 11 o’clock. Then will come the grand march, for the selections of the most beautiful Egyptian attire, for first prize; the most original costume of any kind, for sec- ond prize, and the most amusing cos- tume for a third prize. The prizes will be announced immediately following the decision of the judges. ‘The supper period is scheduled from midnight to 2 am. in the main dining rooms on_the street floor of the hotel. ‘The Bal Boheme will close at 3 a.m. Only three or four boxes remain available, from which may be obtained an exclusive view of the frolicking the “Streets of Cairo.” Bal tickets are on sale at the Arts Club, 2017 Eye street. DRUG SALESMAN CAUGHT BETWEEN STREET CAKS Henry Underwood Suffers Injuries to Head—Is Taken to Emer- gency Hospital. . Struck by a street car on Fourteenth street just north of New York avenue, about 5:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Henry Underwood, 29-year-old drug salesman, living at 1410 Thirteenth street, was knocked againct another street car proceeding in the opposite direction and seriously injured. At Emergency Hospital, where he was taken in a passing automobile, he was sald to be suffering from concussion of the brain, lacerations to his head and a possible fracture of his skull. The car which struck Underwood was operated by Benny Hodges, 5505 Seventh street. Although Underwood had been at his present address but a few days, it was learned he has been in Washington for 18 months. He is from Birmingham, Ala., where he has a sister, Mrs, C. C. Slaughter. Sickness Delays Explorers’ Return From Asian Wilds Roerich Party Is Blocked by Officials After Successful Trip. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, January 26.—After four years of the desert and mountain wilder- ness of Central Asia, the Roerich Aslatic expedition, headed by Prof. Nicholas Roerich, artist and scientist, will return to America early next Fall, Miss Frances R. Grant, vice president of the Roerich Museum here, announced today. The expedition includes Prof. Roe- rich’s son, Dr. George Roerich, Orien- talist and an authority on Eastern lan- guage, and the professor's wife. Mrs, Roerich has suffered so from her ex- perience in the mountain passes of Tibet that her return to lower altitude may be delayed a long time. In the mountains her pulse ran 145, which the cxpedition’s doctor sald was the pulse of a bird rather than a human being. Miss Grant, who recently returned from India, where she met ihe expedi- tion on its gmergence from Tibet, re- counted some of the dangers encoun= tered by the party in its travels through Sikkim in India, Chinese Turkestan, Mongolia and Tibet. Thirty-five mountain passes, ranging from 14,000 to 21,000 feet high, were negotiated at great hardship, Addi- tional difficulties were imposed by local officials, said Miss Grant. In Tibet officials forcibly detained the expedition on heights of 15000 feet for five months, she said,'and from the result- ant hardships of life in Summer tents with insufficient food and fuel, five na- tive members of the caravan died and 90 pack camels perished. In Chinese Turkestan the party was held up and their weapons confiscated, leaving them to pass the deserts entirely unguarded. Prof. Roerich, however, obtained con- siderable artistic and scientific material. He has painted a panorama of 350 paintings which have been sent back to the collections of the Roerich Museum, and obtained much scientific data as well as new material on the migrations of Central Asia and on Asiatic philos- ophy and culture, A (Inset) William Ernest Chapman, New Zealand artist, who will be a judge for the Arts Club fete tomorrow night, and Mrs. Chapman, appearing in the role of one of caliph's. favorite SENATE HEARS STORY ‘ | 7 OF STANDARD CLASH AS NYE RAPS STEWART _ (Continued From First Page) _ scribing Rockefeller's method as “just and proper.” In his prepared address Senator Nye declared that the Senate's investiga- tions of the oil industry had saved thl“ Government billions of dollars and | “ought to have created a determination in the circles of the oil people of the| land to cleanse the industry of agents| and officials who, by their methods, | bring the entire industry into bad n:-“ pute.” | Sees Hope to Get “True Story. ‘Not often are business battles,” he continued, “accorded such liberal pub-| licity as is now being accorded the Rockefeller-Stewart tilt. Watching it | from day to day, my conviction grows that if Mr. Stewart’s press agents re- | main at their game long enough we| will yet gain that desired complete story of the Continental Trading Co. and its affairs. “In all the opportunities afforded him by the Senate committee on public lands to tell this full story, he never has volunteered a small part of the informa- tion he was willing to give to the press yesterday. “However, he is still insisting that, and here I quote him from his state- ment of yesterday, he ‘never had any connection with the Continental Trad- ing Co. Apparently his receiving three- quarters of a million dollars in Liberty bonds from the peol of profits of this company is not, in his mind, to be con- sidered a ‘connection.’” Continuing, Senator Nye declared that Col. Stewart in his press release had said he “never personally made a dollar out of the transaction.” The Senator said this, of course, meant that Con- tinental Trading transaction, which, he added, delivered into “his own hands his great total of Liberty bonds.” ‘But to me,” the Senator went on, “the most interesting feature of Col. Stewart's latest press release is the revelation of how his share of the mil- lions of dollars in profits of the Con- tinental Trading Co. transactions ‘were pdrtly the source from which the steady stream of cash dividends has been paid to the stockholders of the Indiana Co. every quarter during recent years. Trust Statement Rapped. “Then he goes on to tell how the Liberty bonds he received from the Con- tinental Trading Co. were turned into a trust, which he created with a pen- cil and paper, but he fails to tell how his trustee never ‘trusteed,’ and how the bonds stayed in his continuous pos- session even under the Stewart created trust. “But the main point in Mr. Stewart's press contention for the continued favor of the Standard Oil stockholders is this, that had it not been for his in | little affair with the shady Continental Trading Co. and the like there would have been no dividend checks for Standard Oil stockholders. “How proud Standard Oil stock- holders must be in this assurance from their giant leader, Col. Stewart. ‘How they must prize the shares which bring them profits through such secret, ob- noxious deals as was that one involving the Continental Trading Co., which company Stewart knew enough about to permit him to guarantee that com- pany's end of $50,000,000 contract. Standard Oil stockholders must hold their heads very high when they realize that their profits come from such deals.” STEWART REPLY SCORES NYE. “Falsehoods” and “Slander” Hurled at Senator's Charges. CHICAGO, January 26 (#).—Col. Robert W. Stewart, chairman of the board of the Standard Oil Co. of In- diana, imputed “falsehoods” and “slan- der” to his accusers tonight in a state~ ment answering the renewed charges by Senator Nye of North Dakota that Stewart had given false testimony be- fore Nye's Senate committee. “Senators Nye and Norris set them- selves up as superior to courts and Juries,” he declared, recalling that he had been tried and acquitted in the courts of the perjury ¢harge that fol- lowed his appearance as a witness in the Continental Trading Co. investiga- tion. “They arrogate to themselves the position of advisers to private investors and private corporations. Behind their cloak of senatorial immunity, they slan- der and abuse individuals without re- straint. othing to Apologize For.” Turning to Senator Nye's comment | on Col. Stewart’s assertion that the profits in the Continental Trading Co. bond transaction went into dividends xm'-dzhe Standard Oil stockholders, he said: “The Standard Oll Co. of Indiana and its stockholders have much to boast of and nothing to apologize for. Neith- er Nye nor Norris have ever before had the temerity to charge that the Standard’ Oil Co. of Indiana had ever received any fillegitimate profits from any source. Heretofore, Senator Nye has said to the newspapers that it ap- peared that the time had come to at- task the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana.” Col. Stewart’s statement follows: “Senator Nye, protected by the im- munity privileges of the Senate, has seen fit to continue, with the aid of Senator Norris,. his political attacks upon me on the floor of the Senate. “Apparently they are endeavoring to arouse public sentiment against the Standard Ofl Co. of Indiana by a repetition of falsehoods. God help the stockholders of this company if they fall under such guidance as that of Nye and Norris! “The Standard Oil Co. of Indiana and its stockholders have much to boast of and nothing to apologize for. Neither Nye nor Norris has ever be- fore had the temerity to charge that the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana had ever received any illegitimate profits from any source. Heretofore, Senator Nye has said to the newspapers that it appeared that the time had come to attack the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. Apparently, he has always had that in mind. Sensationalism is his hobby. Cites Vindication in Court. “Unfortunately, it seems that Sena- tors Nye and Norris have little under- standing or appreciation of our Con- stitution. When I was called before Senator Nye's committee, I answered every question such a committee could conceivably have power to ask. I re- fused to answer two questions written “Both Senators Nye and Norris testi- fled in that trial, under oath, and the jury that saw them, heard them and knew the truth refused to believe them. The statement that I testified falsely to the Senate committee, I again brand as a proven falsehood. Senator Nye testified in both of the trials against me and his testimony in the two cases was directly contradictory. This, among other things, the jury knew when they refused to believe his testimony. “In their declarations now and previously made, Senators Nye and Norris announced themselves as not having faith in the judicial establish- ment of our land upon which the liberties of the people of the English- speaking world have been based since Magna Charta. “Personally, I have been trained to have confidence in the courts of the land, and I shall continue in that con- fidence. Senators Nye and Norris set themselves up as superior to courts and juries. They arrogate to themselves the position of advisers to private in- vestors and private corporations. Be- hind their cloak of senatorial immun- ity they slander and abuse individuals withcut restraint. If the stockholders of this company wish to follow the leadership of Senators Nye and Norris, that is their privilege. Personally, I refuse.” Plane Too Big for Show. How to get a giant monoplane to the International Aircraft Exhibition at Olympia, England, is puzzling the mak- ers. The craft has a wing span of 86 feet, and the wings are in one unit so cannot be dismantled to take it through the streets. The organizers of the ex- position and the exhibiting firm are asking the British war office to help solve the problem. LINES T0 COMBINE. Single Unit for Operation and| Management Given I. C. C. Approval. By the Associated Press. A conditional permission was given the New York Central System by the interstate Commerce Commission yes- terday to consolidate with its principal subsidiary organizatiors for operation | and management. The condition im- posed will require the New York Cen- tral System to buy or offer to buy on reasonable terms the properties of six short railroads which connect with its line. By the proposals which the commis- sian approved, the New York Central will lease for 99 years the Michigan Central System and the Cleveland, Cincinnatti, Chicago & St. Louis Rail- way (Big Four) both of which lines it now owns by stock control. The Big Four in turn will lease the Cincinnatti Northern Railroad and the Evansville, Indianapolis & Terre Haute, which it now holds by ownership, while the Michigan Central will lease the Chi- cago, Kalamazoo & Saginaw Railway, alsc an owned subsidiary. ‘Will Be Under One Unit. The effect of the transaction will be to place the 11,000 mile trunk line system of the New York Central in a single unit for operation and manage- ment. The consolidation was opposed by representatives of some of the minority stock holdings, but the commission ruled that the terms tendered them were fair and reasonable and that the unification of the railroad operations sought would be in the public interest. As to six short lines connecting with New York Central at various points, but not owned by it or associated with it now in operation, the commission ruled them to be “complimentary to and properly apportionable to the New York Central.” Order Help Up Six Months. ‘The New York Central System was instructed to offer ‘“considerations equal to the commercial value of the respective properties” for control of the lines and the order approving the general consolidation was held up for six months to allow the negotiations with the short lines to be completed. The lines which the New York Cen- tral must now seek to buy are the Boyne City, Gaylord and Alpena, in Michigan; the Chicago, Attica and Southern, in Indiana; the Federal Val- ley Railroad, in Ohio; the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, in New York, and parts of the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroads and the Owasco River Railway in New York State. Commisioner Eastman dissented. OFFICIAL ISSUES STATEMENT. NEW YORK, January 26 (#).—A. H. Harris, chairman of the executive com- mittee of the New York Central lines, tonight issued the following statement in connection with the decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission: “We are very well satisfled with the decision of the Interstate Commerce Commission announced today which |la; grants the application made by the New York Central for leave to unify its system by taking leases of the Michi- gan Central, Big Four, and other roads. The terms and rentals proposed have beeén found to be just and reasonable and the common control and manage- ment of the system lines has been de- clared to be in the public interest. “The short lines present a problem FOR TELEVISION Radio Corporation Official Declares Future- Pros- pects Are Bright. By the Assoclated Press. PITTSBURGH, Pa, January 26— Forty million dial twisters in ten million homes in the United States and Canada have helped build a radio business ex- ceeding $690,000,000 annually, David Sarnoff, executive vice president of the Radio Corporation of America, said to- night at the sixteenth annual banquet of the Veteran Employes’ Association of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufac- turing Ce. The assoclation is composed of em- ployes who have been with the West inghouse Co. 20 or more years. Sarnoff, in tracing the growth of the radio industry from its humble begin- ning 10 years ago to its present magni- tude, said that by joining forces with the phonograph and motion pictures radio has embarked on a new adventure in the world of entertainment. As to television, he said it may be “tapping at the window,” but it is still in the laboratory stage of development. But, he added, its future is bright with promise. e INDIAN FIGH.TERS FEAST. 63 Soldiers of Old West Dine at Army and Navy Club. Soldiers of the Old West gathered last night at the annual dinner of the XeurmsdolN lndh(; x«'n;:. ngld" at the rmy and Navy Club, Farragut square and I street, and recounted Lhewumu when they marched forth to do battle on_ pioneer flelds with flerce foemen. Sixty-three attended the gathering and listened to addresses by Gens. Charles King and E. 8. Gndtr?. that took them back in fancy to the days of primitive campfires and war paint. Dry Counsel, Happy Over Wet Sentence, Loses Hat in Court Ejaculation of Joy Is Pre- lude to Disappearance of Headgear. Seeking information regarding the fate of bootleggers who were to be sen« tenced by Judge Ralph Given in Poe lice Court yesterday, Albert Shoemaker, legislative counsel for the Anti-Saloon League, seated himself in the court room and listened attentively to the proceedings. Soon after Shoemaker entered the room, Judge Given imposed a maxi- mum sentence of $1,000 or one year on Herman Grimm of Baltimore, for a violation of the national prohibition W, “‘Good, said Shoemaker, as he heard the sentence im L. Foom. and looked around for his hat. It was not to be found and after a thorough search the ibition worker left the wit un: which the commission feels must be |legger, who dealt with, and we are prepared to proceed to-negotiate with such of them as the commission has named with a view to taking them over upon the | B basis of their commercial value to be maker declared quest, but after a 10-minute approved by convinced that someone did. 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