Evening Star Newspaper, July 12, 1929, Page 1

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“From Press to Home Within the Hour” The Star's carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Partly cloudy tonight and tomorrow, possibly local thundershowers, slightly warmer tomorrow. ‘Temperature—Highest, 85, lowest, 68, at yesterday: today. Full report ol at 4 pm. 5:30 am. n page 9. Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 13,14&15 he WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION pening St No. 31,118, post omce. Wa = Entered as second class matter shington, | D, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, JULY 12, 1929—THIRTY-TWO PAGES, ar. as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 103,221 L L ) Means Associated Press. TWO CENTS. §104,000 SHORTAGE JALS TELLER OF CEORGETONNBANK G. W. Bennett, 25, Confesses Four Years’ Defalcations in Farmers and Mechanics. LIVING BEYOND MEANS GIVEN FOR DOWNFALL Tells Officials He Will Give Up $6,000 or $8,000 Stock Still in Possession. Confessing to defalcations of $104,000 over a period of about four years George Willard Bennett, 25 years old, who ¢ from a messenger to head paying and receiving teller of the Farmers & Mechanics' Bank in Georgetown, today was lodged in a cell at the first precinct, charged with em- bezzlement, while police and bank of- ficials continued their investigation. Later his bond was set at $100,000. “Living bevend my means,” the dis- fllusioned teller explained to Headquar- | ters Detective Dennis J. Cullinane, who arrested him at the bank at 3 o'clock this morning in response to a telephone call from officials of the institution. Began as Runner. Bennett, who started as a runner six years ago and was promoted to a teller 2 years later, made a written confession to officials of the Rigzs Na- tional Bank, of which the Georgetown institution is a branch, and to police. He told Robert V. Fleming, president of the Riggs Bank, he nad between $6,000 and $8,000 in stocx which he would turn over to the bank. The remainder of the money had been “just dribbled away,” Fleming said Bennett told him today. Most of the money had been taken from the funds of the bank’s heavier depositors through | a clever system of “covering up” which bank authorities characterized as “a | new racket.” | Police declared Bennett attributed his | cownfall to betting on the races, but the prisoner denied this to a reporter | for The Star, with whom he talked calmly from his cell. Mr. Fleming said Bennett confessed to him he had done | “a little gambling,” but had failed to | specify how. It is known, however,| that he had bought sock to some | extent. “Went Too Deep.” | “I tricd hard to straighten out this | affair,” Bennett declared, according to police, “but I failed, and now I'm sorry for it all. I just couldn't make the grade. I went so deep that I realized efforts to get matters straight again would prove futile.” The system by which the voung.$eller was able to get away with® so wntuch money for so long a period without discovery involved complications thlt, even officers of the bank were puzzlefll over today. According to President Fleming, it appears that Bennett would accept 2 large deposit, but fail to credit it to the depositor’s account, for two or three days, in the meantime making use of the money himself. When another de- osit came in he would then credit it 0 the previous deposit, always keep- | ing his accounts a deposit or two in| BrTears. Discovered Accidentally. The shortages were discovered acei- dentally yesterday afternoon, when a bank officer was checking over a de- positor’s_ account to locate a legitimate error, It was found that several de- posits known to have been made were not credited to the depositor's ac- count. Further investigation led %o discovery of many other such omissions. Bennett was summoned before the officers of the bank when the prelim- inary inquiry had been completed late Jast night. It is said the session began at midnight and ended at 3 o'clock this morning, when a call was made to police headquarters for a detective to_arrest Bennett. Mr. Fleming said the shortages were noted first, by Henry L. Shelby, mana- ger of the branch bank. The George- fown institution was taken over by the Riggs National Bank nine months ago, {ollowing the resignation of Harry V. Haynes, its president. Recently Haynes -as sued in the District Supreme Court v Mrs. Louise Chambers of Wardman Park Hotel, a depositor of the bank. who alleged he had “dissipated” her fortune while serving as head of the bank. “Bennett worked alone,” Mr. Fleming stated. “It was a one-man job. So far as I know, this is the first time this method has been used in embezzlement. Tately he had been working only the Jarger accounts. Of course, the Riggs Pank is adequately protected by surety honds, and there is no need for any concern on the part of any one.” Lived Frugally. Bennett lives with his mother in a walk-up flat at 3267 N street, a short distance from the bank, which is at the northeast corner of Wisconsin avenue and M street. Mr. Fleming said the young man apparently has lived fru- ally. 4 D{tccuve Cullinane learned that Ben- nett recently bought an automobile for $1,600 and was belleved to be preparing to visit Atlantic City. Bennett, displayed no signs of merv- ousness Whenflhe! t‘lke1d vtllth a reporter day at the first precinct. w":ywnuld rather not talk about this matter now,” he said. “You see, Iam Accused Teller GEORGE_WILLARD BENNETT. DAWES-MDONALD PARLEYS RENEWED Both Are Silent Following New Discussion of Disarmament. By the Associated Precs. LONDON, July 12, — Ambassador Dawes pald another visit to Premier | MacDonald in the House of Commons today. The subject of the conference was not stated, but presumably it was resump- tion of preliminary conversations on the naval question. Prime Minister MacDonald and Am- bassador Dawes, for the third time since the Ambassador arrived in Great Britain, met yesterday and discussed naval disarmament. But aside from a promise from the British premier that he would make a statement soon on the matter, there wag nothing to indicate after the meet- ing, which lasted several hours, what took place. Embassy Issues Statement. The Ambassador said he had had a talk with Mr. MacDonald, but could make no further statement at present. About the same time the American embassy issued the following state- ment: “When the preparatory commission at Geneva adjourned in May it was for the purpose of giving time for some di- rect discussions between the govern- ments in regard to the naval problem. The exchanges are now in progress and Mr. Gibson's visit was for consultation in_connection with this.” It was assumed first from this state- ment that Ambassador Gibson had come here from Brussels on another visit since his trip of June 24, and had conferred with Mr. Dawes and possibly others, May Work With League. Some construed the statement, too, as indicating a greater intention to col- laborate with the disarmament ma- chinery of the League of Nations than has been manifest heretofore. Meanwhile there has been general ac- ceptance—although not confirmed—of the government’s intention to cut six submarines from its naval construction program. The matter was said to have been discussed further at a cabinet meeting yesterday, at which an attempt was made to find another niche for the men who thus will be thrown out of employment. _"Gibson May Visit Often. Ambassador Gibson arrived in Lon- don from Brussels Tuesday night and left again for his Belgian post yester- day morning. It was sald he confined himself to conversations with Ambas- sador Dawes over pending naval topics. Authoritative quarters explained his run_across the Channel was one he might be expected to duplicate at in- tervals at any time in the near future, such visits being for the purpose of keeping in touch with Ambassador Dawes on any developments and con- sulting with him. POPE SEES U-. S. PRELATE.i Archbishop Curley Asked About| State of See. VATICAN CITY, July 12 (#).—Pope Pius today gave an audience to Most Rev. Michael J. Curley, Archbishop of Baltimore, and asked a number of questions about the state of the city, which is the first American see. COUPLE DIE IN WRECK. Man and Wife Burn to Death in Automobile. MEMPHIS, Tenn, July 12 (A).— Mr. and Mrs. R. L. McNatt of Jackson, Tenn., were burned fatally early today in the wreck of their automobile that collided with a car parked on the roadside a short distance from this city, and caught afire. They died shortly after an ambulance brought them to a Memphis hospital. ENDURANCE PLANE PILOTS PASS 242 HOURS OF FLIGHT “Two Tough Hombres” Ap- pear Ready to Continue Test Indefinitely. AVIATORS REFRESHED AFTER BATHING IN AIR Culver City Hop Becoming “Show- down” Between Motor- Power and Men. By the Associated Press. CULVER CITY, Calif., July 12.—The “two tough hombres” and their second- hand biplane still were in the air to- day. At 9:29:30 am. they were in 242nd hour aloft and ground observers looked in vain for signs that the rec- ord-breaking flight would end soon. Freshened late yesterday by a bath— their first since leaving the ground July 2—Pilots L. W. Mendell and R. B. Reinhart were reported to be in “very good spirits.” ! The degree of isolation afforded by their flight provided insufficient privacy for them to take a bath without cur- tains for the cabin windows, it was re- wi.dl!d in a note from Mendell, which said: “Tried to take a bath, but four afr- planes flew by and had to quit.” “Spick and Span.” Slade Hulbert of the refueling ship said after last evening's reloading of the endurance plane's fuel tanks, that | both men were “slicked up spick and span.” The window curtains had been supplied when their supper, principally fried chicken, was sent up. “Chicken sure was good and much enjoyed,” said another note. The flyers seemed bent on setting a record that would discourage other seekers of the endurance honors. They passed the previous mark of 174 hours 59 seconds Tuesday afternoon. Since yesterday morning, however, they have been sticking close to the airport, probably because of the N. A. A. re- quirement that, to make an official rec- ord a plane must land at the airport from which it takes off. Covered 18,500 miles. ! During the monotonous days and nights of circling the fiyers have cov- ered about 18,500 miles. Discovery was madeé last night that Paul Whittier, one of the backers of the flight and pilot of the refueling plane, | is a “millionaire pilot.” A son of the late Max B. Whittier, Southern Califor- nia oil magnate, he is many times a! millionaire by inheritance. He flies for “the love of it.” The “millionaire pilot” commented yesterday that “Mendell and Reinhart stayed up so long I had a birthday.” It was Whittier's twenty-fifth yesterday. A. E. McManus, partner with Whittier and W. G. McAdoo, jr., in the Culver City Airport, was a lieutenant in the Royal Air Corps during the World War. He is well known in Toronto, Canada. He praised the military training re- ceived by Mendell and Reinhart as playing a large part in their success. Ask for Third Door. While notes of yesterday told of a motor grown noisy through its severe test, a message dropped this morning made no mention of the condition of the plane or the pilots who manned it. All it asked for was more fuel to permit them to press on and on, and a sliding door of composition glass to fit in the cabin of the ship. It was the second time they had occasion to ask for a sliding door. Two of these g?or.s have been lost in the monotonous ight. In their battle to outwear the mech- anism that carried them farther and farther on their aerial conquest, the pilots asked no quarter. It seemed that as the hours slipped by they were du;t:ll’nylng as much iron as the tenacious motor. There were many elements of chance which might suddenly terminate the flight. Favorable weather conditions continued to prevail as daylight came. ! o BRITISH NAVY PAYS HONOR TO SUB DEAD Guns of Battleship Salute Men Entombed in H-47 as Rescue Work Is Abandoned. PEMBROKE, Wales, July 12.—The British Navy has said good-by to the 20 men who went to death in the sunk- en submarine. Just at sunset last night the mighty battleship Rodney led six destroyers and five submarines over the spot where the submersible went down Tuesday, after collision with the L-12, and ren- dered ympressive last honors to the men wy&;-flahlnflon clearing house, $5,445,- Treasury balance, $255,919,095.24. New York clearing house exchange, not familiar with the way these things (Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) $1,479,000,000. 4 New York clearing house balance, $171,000,000. 28 WIVES ENJOY ADAMLESS EDEN ON VACATIONS FROM FARM CHORES Husbands Welcome Spouses Home as Illinois Women Return From Gypsy | By tHe Assoeiated Press. Tour Through State. | OTTAWA, 1il, July 12.—The post cards that 28 La Salle County farmers' wives ihad been mafling back to their husbands since Wednesday quite conceivably maY | in prison today. :hnve |: The pual vacation from their husbands. ;'rhelr “Adamless Eden,” they called it, | though that was not quite accurate, for _{there was a man along this year, He was the driver of the bus in which the | women took a vacation away from the farm, from their husbands and from the daily chores of the busy farmer’s wife. 4 I. Mys. Parry Ploch, who seid she never sald: “Havirig a fine time. Glad you're not here.” women were taking their an- before had been away from her hus- | “Lim band, she was “having a nice ts of interest in 330 feet below them. A short memorial service was con- ducted aboard the Rodney, wreaths were cast into the sea, and the big guns of the battleship and her auxil- jaries boomed in final salute to the dead. ‘The admiralty announced that in view of the certainty all the men were dead, further salvage efforts would kc abandoned. GRAND TRUNK MAIL BANDITS CONVICTED By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, July 12.—Virgil Litzinger and John “Red” Flannery, the last of the band that dynamited a Grand Trunk mail car 17 months ago and fled with $133,000 loot, were sentenced to 25 years A few weeks after the hold-up Charles ™ Cleaver, most desperate of the bandits, was captured and confessed, impl Charles '\ and five ‘was_convicted and o years-as- Gomspirator. e WO s xfi'mmnmmhh&hawu and the other SOVIET REPORTED READY TO ORDER TROOPS TO CHINA Harbin Spends Night Border- ing on Panic After Seizure of Railroad. RUSSIANS IN CLASHES WITH MANCHURIAN POLICE Thirty Officials Deported, Nearly 300 Others Slated to Go—Chinese Prepare for Retaliation Measure. By the Associated Press. HARBIN, Manchuria, July 12— Northeastern China bolled today in a ferment of Sino-Russian antagonism, which admittedly may have the gravest conseouences. Harbin itself spent a night bordering on panic, with near-riots and wild scenes occurring every time & train on the Chinese Eastern Railway, seized yesterday by the Chinese authorities, departed from the station. Russians fought with Manchurian | police in many parts of the wealthy | province, and there were reports here that Soviet troops in Eastern Siberia were ready to move eastward into Man- churia at a moment's notice. Thirty expelled Russian officials of the railroad were started at 6 p.m. yes- terday for Eastern Siberia, and pearly 300 others, with orders to move in 12 hours, were leaving the province today. Manager Under Heavy Guard. Chang Ching-Hul, governor of the Harbin district, handed O. N. Melnikov, Soviet consul general, passports for the expelled Russians. M. Emshanov, man- ager of the railway, was confined to his residence under heavy guard, after be- | ing forced to give up his post. | Fan Chih-Kuang, a Chinese, was ap- pointed to replace him. The new man- ager issued a statement in which he said the expelled Russians would be replaced by Russians naturalized as Chinese or by white Russians. It was reported that Ostroumove, manager of the rallway in czarist days, would become manager. Lu Yung-Huang, president of the Chinese eastern directorate, issued “a statement alleging that Soviet Russia had been responsible for the expulsion of the Russian railroad officials and employes and the rupture it gepresented. | He concluded with the statement that | China was prepared to combat Rus- sian retaliatory measures. Soviet Relations Claimed. His statement said: “Pive years have elapsed since the Mukgen a nt of o?mn: 8, 1024, during whmvl!t violations of the agreement have been so numerous that Russian actions cannot be construed otherwise than as a manifestation of deliberate Intention to repudiate the act. “Only China’s conciliatory attitude has saved the situation heretofore. China repeatedly called the attention of Russia concerning the latter’s violations of the 1924 agreement, but without avall, owing to Russian insincerity. Hence the Mukden agreement is void because of Russian nor-observance. “Moreover, Soviet communist propa- ganda through all agencies connected with the railway is proved by docu- mentary evidence' seized in the recent raid at the Soviet consulate general in Harbin. Consequently I am constrained to take the present drastic measures to safeguard China’s interests in the Chi- nese Eastern Railway. “If Russia resorts to retaliatory measures, China is prepared to deal effectively therewith.” Labor Unions Disbanded. Actual seizure of the Chinese Eastern followed seizure first of its telephone and telegraph agencies and arrest of certain Russian officials and employes. M. Melnikov immediately demanded re- lease of the imprisoned men by noon yesterday. The Chinese seized the re- mainder of the road forthwith. All Soviet agencies in Northern Manchuria were closed and the labor unions dis- banded. It was understood the Chinese action was the direct outcome of a meeting at Peiping of Chang Hsueh-Liang, over- lord of Manchuria; President of the Nanking government, Chiang Kai-Shek, and Foreign Minister C. T. Wang, who; ordered immediate seizure and full con- trol of the railway. Chang was understood here to have entrained immediately for Mukden when he was informed the orders been put into effect. The Chinese Eastern Railway was constructed by the Russian imperial regime at a cost of 350,000,000 roubles (about $180,000,000), and was a con- tributing factor to the Russo-Japanese War. Hitherto under two agreements, dated 1920 and 1924, its directorate has been a board of 10, half Russian and half Chinese. It has a length of less than 1,100 miles, and forms an important extension (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) HEAVY TOLL TAKEN BY DAKOTA TORNADO 18 Persons Are Injured and Prop- erty Damaged as Storm Strikes Three Towns. By the Associated Press. DEVILS LAKE, N. Dak, July 12— Eighteen persons were injured, thou- sands of dollars in property damaged and telephone and telegraph communi- cation interrupted in a tornado, which struck this city, Crary and Ardoch last night. ' John and Frank Vanderlyn, farmers, ‘were severel ly in- > REMEM WE RE NoT AFTER MALTITUDE= RECORDS! _ N BER, &8 <3 S — = IR AT 7 7 TRAFFIC AUTHORS URGE UNFORMATY Regret Washington Officials Have Not Adopted Method for Making Left Turn. Uniformity of traffic rules in general and of the method of making left-hand turns in particular is a decided safety factory and the advantage in this re- spect should not be waived for any fancied local peculiarities, in the opin- ion of all of the local members, now in the city, of the committee on munici- pal traffic ordinances and regulations appointed by President Hcover when | he was Secretary of Commerce. Ac- cording to interviews made by them, they have kept closely in touch with the situation in Washington and there was & general expression of regret that the local authorities have thus far not seen fit to join the other forward-look- ing municipalities which have adopted the Hoover code. . ... .. “I believe in country-wide regula- tions,” said Dr. M. G. Lloyd, chief, sec- tion of safety engineering, Bureau of Standardas. “Differences in individual cities are undesirable,” he continued. “I favor standard practices and I am unaware of anything peculiar in our conditions here which makes our pres- ent method of turning to the left any more desirable than the system pro- vided in the Hoover code. Even if it were conceivable that conditions here or elsewhere were such as to make it about an even question as to which method of left turning were better, still the turn from the left traffic lane of the uniform code would be prefer- able to the Washington method because of its conformity to what rapidly is becoming uniform practice. Further- more, to seek to justify our present system on the theory that our wide streets make it peculiarly effective is to ignore the fact that many other cities which have adopted the uniform Hoover code have equally wide streets— really Washington's ~ distinguishing streets feature is not so much the width of them as the existence of the numerous circles.” Better Fitted for Left Turn. “Likewlse, the fact that Washington does have many wide streets is,” ac- cording to William J. Spencer, secre- tary-treasurer building trades depart- ment, American Federation of Labor, and another of the Hoover committee- men, “but a further reason for the adoption of the uniform code provision as to the left turn. We are really bet- ter fitted than the average city to make the left turn from the left traffic lane,” said Mr. Spencer, “and I can see noth- ing in Washington conditions which makes desirable a deviation from the universal plan. In my opinion, there is far less danger to the pedestifan had | when left turns are made from -the center of the street instead of crowd- ing cars up to crosswalks just at a time when they are being used by foot traffic. I favor a universal traffic plan and I can see a great advantage goth in safety and in acceleration of traffic in having a uniform code throughout the country.” . At_the national conference on street and highway safety, of which President Hoover was chairman and which was (Continued on Page 4, Column 5.) KEYES’ DEPUTY HELD GUILTY OF BRIBERY Former Assistant Attorney Con-i victed of Paying $7,500 in Fraud Case. By the Associated Press. 2 LOS ANGELES, July 12.—Another episode in the bribery scandal that re- sulted in the conviction and imprison- ment of Asa Keyes, former district at- torney here, in connection with the Julian - Petroleum Corporation promo- tion was recorded yesterday with the conviction of Harold L. Davis, who was chief deputy under Keyes. A jury in Superior Court found Davis guilty of bribery, the charge bein, paid $7,500 :0 u;l:fi“fl the promoters defunct cor- poration, &bfl in 1927 on fraud Davis and Keyes prosecuted = the of | Julian promoters, all of whom were ac- mm ELEVEN ARE BURNED TO DEATH AS LAUGHING THRONG WATCHES BOy Naval Cadets and Firemen Had planned< Demonstration as Comedy EVCDY When Tragedy By the Associated Press. OCCUX’!. . GILLINGHAM, England, July 12.—While laughing thousands watched what they thought part of a firefighting show, Six were seriously injured and were taken to | burned to death here last night. 11 boy naval cadets and firemen were St. Bartholomew's Hospital in aid of which the fete had been held. A specially erected model house, designed to be the scene of a gala fire ' dividend of 90 cents cn each share of brigade rescue spectacle, became instead the horrifying death trap for the 12 to 14 year old boys who had so eagerly taken part in the festival. The youngsters, dressed in clown suits, made, frenzied efforts to get out | of the flames, bringing only great ap- crowd cheered and laughed, glad that | top of the flimsy structure when flames suddenly burst at the bottom. The GAS STOCK INQUIRY 10 BE CONTINUED, BRIDE INDICATES Corporation Counsel Is Not Satisfied All Facts Have Been Made Known. IDENTITY OF COMPANIES IN TRUST IS REVEALED Further Steps May Be Taken to Obtain Information Believed Lacking Regarding Sale. Indications that the investigation into the new ownership of the Washington Gas Light Co. and its subsidiaries did not close with the conference yester- day between representatives of the own- ers and District officials were given to- day by Corporation Counsel William W. Bride, the general counsel of the Public Utilities Commission. ‘While the identity of the new owners was disclosed at this conference, Mr. | Bride said he is not satisfied that all the |facts in connection with the recent | stock sale and the real owners had been | available, and intimated that further | £teps may be taken to secure the infor- | mation he believes is lacking. Whether | he intends to ask the Department of Justice to take up its suspended inves- tigation in to the stock ownership could not be learned. He hinted, however, that there might be a different method of procedure. Hasty Action Ts Not Expected. Mr. Bride as well as members of the commission said they are still “mulling over” the situation as to the ownership expect to take hasty action in de- termining whether the stock was sold in accordance with provisions of the anti-merger law. & In the meantime the directors of the | gas company met in regular monthly | session, declared the regular quarterly { | of the gas company stock and do not ! | stock and adjourned without discussing future policies or reported plans for | expanding the business. New Director Elected. The directors, however, filled one of plause from fthe crowd below all un- |the spectacle had begun, but Tabrett boar e St the Tenlistior eutivg hadt | ki w it atiaometiiing mas oy (or'the | 2,’;;‘2,";"‘3,‘;‘2&,:?‘:?;’&&2‘3; Dosrs suddenly assumed tragic reality. Fireman Jack Tabrett, who had been | the blushing veiled bride in a previous | mock ceremony, was standing at the | flames should have started at the top and the building cleared of the actors. In five minutes the s had_de- \Continued on Page 4, Column 4.) WLSON APPONTED FOR FARM BOARD WU ASKS MRS. KAD BETRIED BY CHINESE ling Fred S. Burroughs of g Forbes & Co. of New York, one of the new owners, as successor to James M. | Green. i , The Utilities Commission is not ex- i pected to give further formal consid- | eration to the gas stock sale until its | regular meeting Monday. Maj. Gen. | Mason M. Patrick, chairman, and Har- leigh H. Hartman, vice chairman, had no comment to make, while eer | Cpmmissioner William B. Ladue, the tHird member, was closeted with the board of District Commissioners in regular semi-weekly session. i~ Although Corporation Counsel Bride indicated he is not entirely satis- has | fied with the results of the conference, Sixth Member Is Prominent Stimson Is Requested to‘gimue-s Counsel Ralph B. Fleharty, New York Farmer and | Fruit Grower. 1 President Hoover today appointed Charles S. Wilson of Hall, N. Y., for-| mer New York State commissioner DII agriculture and prominent in the fruit| growers' industry in that State, a mem- | ber of the Federal Farm Board. i ‘With this appointment out of the way, President Hoover now has only one more to make before completing the! board. It was said at the White House to- day that it is doubtful if the Presi- dent will be in a position to announce | a selection of the final member before next week, but this will not prevent the initial meeting of the body, called by President Hoover for next Monday at the White House. ‘Wilson Is Active Farmer. In selecting Mr. Wilson for the board the President has picked a man who was born and reared upon a farm and who has been identified with the | industry throughout his life, and who is | an active farmer at the present time. Mr. Wilson was graduated from Cor- nell University, and for a short time afterward was & professor in the agri- cultural department of that institution. He was commissioner of agriculture in New York from 1915 to 1920, and at the present time is president of the New York State Horticultural Soclety and secretary of the Western New York Pruit Growers’ Co-operative Packing Association. It is apparent at the White House that the President is well pleased with the men he has drafted for this serv- ice, and that he feels confident their efforts in behalf of American agri- culture will be highly beneficial. Because of the bad condition of the dirt road leading from the main high- way .over the mountain to his camp at the headwaters of the Rapidan River in Virginia, President Hoover this aft- ernoon canceled the week-end trip he had planned. 3 Members of Party. It was the President’s intention to leave the White House at 3 o'clock this | perts afternoon and return either Sunday night or early Monday morning, and he was to take with him, besides Mrs. Hoover and Lieut. Comdr. Joel T. Boone, the White House physician, Al- exander H. of Chicago and Carl ‘Williams of Oklahoma, chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Farm ‘Board. These two board members, who have arrived in Washington in advance of the other five members appointed to the board, preparatory to the initial meeting of that body Monday, are guests at the White House. Now that the nt has cancelled the outing in the mountains he will devote con- siderable of his time between now and to conferring with these two of the board regarding mat- ters relating to the work confronting that and the matter of organizing heiand outlining the board’s work. PRI 8 YOUNG SOCIALISTS MEET. VIENNA, July 13 (P).—] sand -.nd arrived afoot to attend the open- otherwise tional | would stretch from January 1 to De- losses in y|, The to the Release Her to Orientals for Judgment. By the Associated Press. Chinese Minister Wu today requested | Secretary Stimson to turn Mrs. Ying Kao, wife of the Chinese vice consul at San Francisco, over to Chinese au- thorities for trial on charges of opium smuggling. Seecretary Stimson has taken the request under consideration. Unofficial opinion, however, was to the affect that the Secretary would not grant it. Deny Death “Sentence.” At the Chinese legation it was said that reports that the death penalty might be given Mrs. Ying Kao in the event of her conviction in a Chinese court on charges of opium smuggling were untrue. Legation members asserted that the maximum penalty on a charge of opium smuggling was five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. ‘The case now is in the hands of the district attorney in San Francisco. ‘Baggage brought to San Francisco by Mrs. Kao was seized by customs author- ities several days ago and a search re- vealed 3,000 tins of opium. Secretary Stimson yesterday was asked for an opinion as to whether | Mrs. Ying Kao might be prosecuted for opium smuggling. The Department of Justice asked the State Department for its at- titude, in view of the fact that both the woman and her husband, entered the United States under the usual papers granted foreign officials. According to unofficial opinions bearing on this inquiry three courses would be open to Secretary Stim- son. One would be to inform the Department of Justice that the State Department can foresee no rea- son why proceedings could not be be- gun. Another would be for the depart- ment to tell the Department of Justice that it is & judicial matter for the At- torney General to decide without State Department interference, and, lastly, it was said the State Department also could object to prosecution. Legal ex- expressed the opinion, however, ho also attended the meeting, to take an opposite view of the trend | of events. | _ Fleharty said he doubted if any bene- | ficial result to the consumers could be | secured by further pursuing the question | of ownership, and expressed the opin- ion that the new owners would give the | gas consumers of the District better service at lower rates. “I think that probably consumers who now pay 30 and 40 cents a month will be required to pay a larger um charge,” he declared, “but this is proper, as many are paying less than the cost of the service and the loss is being borne by other consumers.” The information yesterday as to the ownership was given voluntarily, | after several weeks' delay, by E. |S. Burroughs of the firm of Harris, | Forbes & Co., one of the purchasers, and James Piper, the Baltimore cor- respondent for the Harris-Forbes coun- sel in New York, late yesterday. The investment trust, according to Mr. Burroughs, was formed for the pur- pose of holding and voting the stock, and for no other. It owns no other stock, nor does it contemplate the ac- | quisition of any other. Anti-Merger Violation Questioned. | ‘The commission’s interest in the hold- | ing of the stock rests in the question as whether the holding is a violation of the La Follette anti-merger act pro- hibiting foreign holding corporations to purchase, directly or indirectly, or to | own, control or vote more than 20 per | cent of the stock in any local utility. According to Mr. Burroughs, the in- vestment trust, known as the Seaboard Investment Trust. owns approximately 110,000 of the 130,000 voting shares of the gas company's stock. The beneficial interest in this is equally divided among the five holding corpora- tions, and therefore each controls less than 20 per cent of the gas company’s total stock. The investment trust, Mr. Burroughs said, is not itself a corpora- tion, and therefore the holding is not in violation of the law. After a lengthy conference with the commission and its legal aides yester- day, Mr. Burroughs reduced his infor- mation to writing, and his letter, the text of which follows, was made public late yesterday: “As suggested by your commission, T take pleasure in giving you a summary of the statement I made to the com- mission this morning in connection with the ownership of approximately 110,000 (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) 24,000 EMPLOYES WILL LEAVE FOR SIMULTANEOUS VACATION Hawthorne Plant of Weste rn Electric Finds New Plan Will Aford Saving. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, July 12.—A city of 24,000 decamps tomorrow. The shriek of noor- day whistles at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Co. Saturday will proclaim vacation with pay for two-thirds of the employes in America’s second largest industrial plant. The shut-down, leaving only an emerzaney force or 14,000 in the factory, with its normal pay roll of 38,000, is regarded as tne largest vacation exodus from a single pl: This year's concerted vacation fort- night sets a precedent at the Western all | Electric works. Observing that vaca- tions for 38,000 employes’ ant in history. hence, the rest of the industrial city wflAl: e roll bureau has emergency pay. au been set up to handle the $2,500,000 that will be handed to the vacationers tomorrow morning. Hawthorne plant is second only Detroit Ford works in number of The skeleton force at work em; ) in next two weeks will handle

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