Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1929, Page 17

The Ty ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION FEDERAL WORKERS SEEK ELIMINATION OF RATING SYSTEM Drive in Next Session of Con- gress Planned by Or- ganized Group. FAIRNESS IS QUESTIONED BY MANY COMPLAINANTS Several Government Officials Call Plan Best Devised, but Admit Some Injustices. With rumblings of discontent reported over the annual efficlency ratings of United States employes now being com- pleted, organized Government workers plan to make a drive on Congress next ion for elimination of the whole em. }‘"I'he efficiency system is all wrong. We are against it.” declared Miss Ger: trude McNally, vice president of the| National Federatlion oi Federsl Em- ployes. “We are having a great many complaints registered by Government workers against the ratings now going | into effect. There is nothing fair| about it.” Mrs. Margaret Hopkins Worrell, presi- dent of the League of the American | Civil Service, declared her office is be. ing swamped every night by Govern- ment workers registering complaints against the system. The office of the league, at 1405 G street, she said, which usually closes about 6 o'clock every eve- ning is now being kept open until 11 and 12 o'clock to receive complaints against the efficiency system. Ratings Made Once a Year, The ratings now going into effect were made by Government officials as of May 15, under regulations of the Pcrsunnel, Classification Board, and following the efficiency rating system developed by the Bureau of Efficiency. They are made only once each year for the pur- pose of setting up a rating of each Gov- ernment_employe under the classifica- tlon act to regulate his promotion, de- motion or separation from the service, according to the efficiency he shows on | the rating. The reports are supposed to be all finished by July 1, so that promotions under the efficiency ratings of May 15 may go into effect by the first of the fiscal year, beginning July 1, but as a matter of fact they are usually not fin- ished until about August 1. Copies of the | efficiency ratings of the thousands ofi employes are all filed with the Person- | nel Classification Board. About 40,000 ; or more are listed. | While admitting that the system al- lows inequalities, and some injustices to creep in on account of the personal equation involved, several Government cials approached on the matter ex- pressed the opinion it was the best sys- tem yet devised, and no better one ha been suggested. Defended by McReynolds. ‘William M. McReynolds of the Bureau of Efficiency, who was one of those be- hind the development of the efficiency rating system, a former member of the Personnel Classification Board. and now | directing the field survey of positions | under the Government throughout the world, came to the defense of the pres- ent system. "It may allow of some injustices at times,” he said. “These would creep into any system of personnel rating. But the present efficiency rating pro- vides a systematic recording once a year of the efficiency of Government workers. This is more likely to result in an equitable line-up of ratings and rewards than if there were no sys- tematic system. I believe there is less unfairness in the rating now employed in the Government than in any other plan which has been tried. I doubt if any other system would work as well.” One official in a large Government department declared he had given much thought to the whole problem, and realized that in spite of every effort of officials to be fair in the matter there were possibilities of unfairness. “But,” he said, “we never had a system as good as this, and I have been unable to think of a better one. The weakness, I suppose, comes from the fact that it is all a matter of dealing with human beings. The rating officers are human, the clerks are human, and the personal equation operates sometimes to bring about unfairness, despite all the checks and balances of the system.” In most departments the first, rating is made by a rating officer in direct charge of a group of employes, the ratings go before ZONE REPORT BARS POLICE STATIONS Committee in Favor of Play- .grounds and Centers in Residence Districts. The special committee appointed by the Zoning Commission to advise it re- garding the placing of fire engine houses and certain other municipal activities in residential zones late yesterday rec- ommended to the commission that po- lice stations be barred entirely from residential zones, but that playgrounds, recreational centers, swimming pools and pumping stations be allowed, with restrictions. As to these the committee recommendzd: “That all municipal recreational uses be.so located or screened as to pre- sent a pleasing appearance where lo- cated, and that as much ground as pos- sible bz obtained for such uses, not only with a view of providing adequate space, but of removing such uses as far as is possible from nearby property used for residential purposes. ! Pleasing Exteriors Favored. “That all buildings constructed for the municipal recreational uses, pump- ing stations, police stations and fire en- gine houses, be treated architecturally so as to present a pleasing exterior in keeping with the general character of the surrounding neighborhood. “That all existing regulations in re- gard to the permissible areas of oc- cupancy and heights now imposed on any site be adhered to in the location and construction of municipal build- ings. “That in the location of pumping sta- tions, fire engine houses and police stations, consideration be given by the Commissioners to commercial industrial districts in preference to residential areas.” ‘The Zoning Commission decided to hold three public hearings on request for changes in zoning each year be- ginning with the calendar year 1930 instead of holding such hearings about once a month as has been the practice to date. Each hearing is expected to last several days. They will be set on the first Wednesdays of February, June and October. ~The purpose of this change is to give the Zoning Com- mission a more comprehensive view of the zoning changes as a whole at each meeting and to prevent too frequent revision of zoning. Favors Mandatory Hearings. ‘The special committee report at- tached a rider to the approval of lo- cating fire engine houses in residential neighborhoods, that it should be man- a reviewing officer, and then before de- partmental board of review. ‘The legislation which the League of the American Civil Service will push in order to abolish the efficiency system is the Brookhart bill, introduced in the Senate by Senator Brookhart of Iowa and designed to set up a new board of appeals for all Government employes, to abolish the Personnel Classification Board and transfer the activities of that board to the Civil Service Commission. Mrs. Worrell, president of the league, declared that her organization would push for passage of the Brookhart bill. “The Government workers are not be- ing properly rated at present,” she de- clared. “They are being rated accord- ing to favoritism, more than anything else. And there is no way of checking up on the rating officers, to find out how the mistake was made.” Employes are complaining, she said, and they are =0 worried over their efficiency rating they cannot do their work right. ‘The National Federation of Federal Employes, which has already presented a comprehensive array of argument against the efficiency rating to members of Crm?l’ess, has hopes for relief from legislation expected to be proposed by the House committee on the civil serv- ice, according to Miss McNally, vice president of the organization. The report which now is being devel- oped on the field service of the Gov- ernment, showing the salaries pald in posts out.slsxe of Washington to Govern- ment employes, and comparisons with salaries paid in commerce and industry for similar. work, Miss McNally hopes, will present some facts in support of the claim of the federation. Under McReynolds’ Direction. ‘This report, however, is being com- piled under direction of McReynolds, who is recognized as one of the co- authors of the efficiency rating and one of its supporters. One of the principles for which the federation has been contending, McNally said, was that the “rating should be within the unit only, under one single rating officer.” Under the present system, she said, so mény dif- ferent rating officers had so many dif- ferent ideas of how to grade individuals that comparisons of the ratings of one officer with another resulted in dis- satisfaction among the employes, as some officers naturally graded every one higher than others. Miss McNally said one of the principal difficulties came about when it became necessary for de- | partmental b eads to strike an average datory for the District Commissioners to hold a public hearing on each pro- posal to place a fire engine house in a residential neighborhood. The com- mittee’s recommendations will be con- sidered at the public hearing before the commission September 18 at which all interested are invited to present their views. The commission ordered the follow- ing zone changes considered at the public hearing Wednesday: From residential 40 feet B area to second commercial 60 feet D area, the west side of Fifth street north of Neal place northeast; from residential 40 feet A restricted to residential 60 feet B area, 54,648 square feet of land on the southwest corner of Connecticut avenue and Sedgwick street. STUDIES ACCOUNT SYSTEM WITH OFFICIALS Gas Light President Declares He Bears No Ill Feeling Toward Utilities Commission. mPresldent Ord Preston of the Wash- ! gton Gas Light Co. paid a second visit_to the Public Utilities Commission yesterday to remove any misapprehen- sion that might exist as to his attitude toward the commission’s order changing | the method of keeping the company's property accounts. Mr. Preston, in a visit Wednesday, had complained that the new system would cost his company $10,000 per annum additional, but it is now understood that conferences with B. M. Bachman, accountant of the commission, will re- sult in lowering this estimate consider- bly. 3 h{r. Preston said he wanted to make it clear that he feels no antagonism t_the commission. grade for all the people doing a certain kind of work. “The principal difficulty is in the sys- tem, however,” she said, “and not in the rating officers, who are forced tc carry the system into effect. More than 85 per cent of the complaints we have are found to be based on the fault of the system and not the rating officer. I don’t see how some of these rating offi- cers can sleep nights, the things they have to do under the efficlency rating system.” - WASHINGTON, D. C, START LONELY THREE-YEAR VIGIL Upper: MR. AND MRS. LOUIS 0. § SORDAHL. Lower: A. G. FROILAND. UN'S HEAT WAVES STUDIED INAFRICA | Three Leave Washington for Solar Observatory at Mount Brukkaros. Beginning a 12,000-mile journey to take charge for three years of & unique “scientific observation post” in one of the lonellest spots in Africa, three young American scientific workers left here yesterday. They are: Louls O. Sordehl, Sordahl and A. G. Frofland. By way of New York, London and Cape Town, they will journey to Mount Brukkaros near Keetmanshoop, South- west Africa, where the National Geo- graphic Soclety and the Smithsonian Institution maintain a solar observatory. The object of the work at this station |is to obtain accurate records of vara- tions in the sun's heat as it reaches the | earth. These records are sent to Wash- {ington and are here compared with similar records made at stations in Southern California and Chile, Through | these comparisons, it is hoped that accurate weather forecasts can be made many months in advance. Dry Places Surveyed. Before Mount Brukkaros was chosen, |a search was made among the driest | places of the old world, including spots |in Afghanistan, Morocco and Egypt. Mount Brukkaros was chosen as the best available station because of the almost continued freedom of its atmos- phere from moisture and dust, either of which affects the accuracy of the | temperature measurements. The station lies near the top of an arid mountain. All of the more delicate instruments are housed in an artificial cave to protect them from heat and from all light except the beams to be measured. ' ‘The station was established four years ago. The present staff, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Willlam H. Hoover and F. A. Greeley, will be relieved by the trio now en route there. Mr. Sordahl, holder of & masters’ degree from Wisconsin University, has specialized in physics and for the past year was assistant at the sun observa- tory at Swartout, Calif. South African Officials Aid. Mr. Froiland has made a study of the complicated and delicate 4nstru- ments and the mathematical methods used at the sun stations. Mrs, Sordahl will spend much of her time collecting insects, reptiles and small mammals for the National Museum. By automobile, the Brukkaros station | keeps.in touch over a rocky trail with | Keetmanshoop, 60 miles away. It is | from that town that mail and supplies |are obtained. The South African gov- ernment has constructed a branch tele- phone line which connects the station with the government system. A power- ful radio receiving set sent to the sta- tion ~ by the Natlonal Geographic Society “enables the staff to programs broadcast from Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, all about 800 miles away. $20,000 AUTO INJURY DAMAGE SUIT IS FILED Proceedings Started Against Driver of Car by Boy—Woman Seeks $10,000. Suit to recover $20,000 damages has been filed in the District Supreme Court by Bernard Daniels, a minor, through his father, Bernard D. Daniels, 1019 Fourth street northeast, against Benjamin F. Anderson, 3500 Thirty- ninth street, for alleged personal inju- ries. The plaintiff, through Attorneys ‘Welch, Daily & Welch, charges that as he was crossing the street May 9 at the intersection of Fourth and K streets northeast he was struck by an automobile operated by the defendant. Wade T. Brown, 3219 Adams Mill road, is named as defendant in a suit to Tecover $10,000 damages filed by Edith Brown, 1858 California avenue, for alleged personal injuries. The plain- tiff tells the court she was standing on the 'sidewalk at Eighteenth street and California avenue September 27 when an automobile of the defendant | backed onto the sidewalk and, striking, injured her. She is represented by At- torneys Millan & Smith. e — NURSERY CONSTRUCTED Mrs. CHANGE FOR AUTO SAFETY RECORD 1S -SPOILEDBY CRASH Driver Is Killed by Hitting Tree, in First Fatal Acci-" dent Since June 26. HIGH MARK WOULD HAVE BEEN SET IN THREE DAYS Child, Playing in Street, Knocked Down by Car and Injured slightly. The first automobile accident since June 26 to result in a death occurred yesterday, three days before a new record would have been established here for lapse of time without a traffic fatality. Webster Moore, 35-year-old colored employe of the Wardman Park Hatel, was injured fatally when a machine he was driving, collided with a tree in rear of the hotel. Was Driving Guest's Car. Moore was taking the automobile of James R. Randolph of Providence, R. I, a guest at the hotel, to the garage. He lost control of the machine momentarily, crashed into a tree and was taken from the car a few moments later suffering from a fractured skull and internal injuries. He died at Emergency Hospital within two hours. W. H. Harland, director of traffic, commented only Tuesday that for the second time since records have been kept by the Traffic Bureau, the Dis- trick had experienced a four-week period without a traffic fatality. While Moore’s death did not result from a traffic mishap as commonly described, it is regarded as a traffic fatality, and the accident brought to a close the period that with three more days would have sct the record. In one other period extending over four weeks—between November 29 and January 1, last—there were no traffic fatalities Four Others Injured. Four other persons, one a 2-year-old child, suffered minor injuries in mis- haps reported to police yesterday. The child, Willlam Davis of 1205 Sixth street southwest, was knocked down near his home by an automobile driven by James E. Boyd, colored, of 1343 Sixth street, and suffered cuts on the head. Physi- cians at Emergency Hospital, who treated the child, sald he was not seri- ously hurt. He had been playing in the street. Walter Hall, 16, of 137 Chestnut street, Takoma Park, Md., suffered pain- ful bruises when he drove his motor cycle against a telephone pole at Blair road and Underwood street. He was glven first aid at Washington Sani-| tarium. | i . Boy Bicyclist Is Hurt. Young Claude Peacock’'s bicycle proved his undoing. He was injured about the hip In a collision with the automobile of James E. Alsop of 818 Sixth street northeast, at First and B streets early last night. The youth was treated at Emergency Hospital and per- mitted to go to his home at 622 Massa- chusetts avenue. Prancis Ross. colored, 25, of 526 Mor- ton street, got in the way of James Quarles’ automobile in front of the power plant of the Washington Rail- way & Electric Co. on Benning road northeast late last night and was knocked down. Casualty Hospital physicians treated him for bruised hands and face. Quarles lives at 413 L street. % BEFORE | | TRAFFIC JUDGE. Physician, Fined $10 for Speeding When Life Was Not Involved. Of 181 persons arrested yesterday for | traffic violations, approximately 70 ap- ! peared before Judge Gus A. Schuldt to- { day to stand trial. Dr. Louis P. Levitt, a physician, when attending a patient, received an emerg- ency call to return to his home, 200 Massachusetts avenue, to give treat- ment. In his haste he exceeded the speed limit and was arrested by Police- man J. D. Martin. He was fined $10 by Judge Schuldt, after admitting the case was not one of “life or death.” While driving a light truck Henley L. Nelson, colored, 1200 block of New Jersey avenue, was arrested by Police- man F. J. Rowen for speeding at 28 miles an hour. A $10 penalty was im- Arranged before the court for speed- ing, Samuel G. Nordlinger, 1933 Nine- teenth street, a warrant officer in the United States Engineer Corps, who was arrested by Policeman E. J. La Force, was fined $10. Charged with securing tags by mis- representation, Willlam G. Brown, 2400 block of N street, was ordered to pay $100 or serve 30 days in jall. He was arrested by Policeman L. A. Wehrle and was said to have given the name of another person when obtaining license piates. . PURSE SNATCHER ALARMS TEMPLE HEIGHTS SECTION Colored Man Is Sought After Seiz- ing Bag From rm of Woman Pedestrian. An unidentified colored man, who emerged from an alley last night wrest- ed a mesh bag from the arm of Mrs. C. M. MacGreal, 41 years old, of the ‘Wyoming Apartments, who was walkin; with a companion in the 1900 block of Columbia road. Mrs. MacGreal's companion was.Mrs. Edwin Harrison, also of the Wyoming | vice Apartments. _Although the bag con- BESIDE CHANNEL DRIVE tained only a handkerchief and a bunch of keys, it was of anvexpensive make. Police were told that Mrs. MacGreal's dress was torn when she sought to re- A new nursery has been constructed by the park division of the Office of Public_ Buildings and Public Parks in East Potomac Park, near the Tourist Camp, for Charles Henlock, head of the horticultural division. The nursery is located in the southwest corner -of the area between the tourist camp and the Washington Channel Drive, south of the railroad. The park division has placed some 300,000 cubic yards of earth in the area to bring the ground up to a higher level. Part of this section has been grlded and the “fill” is in. The ofii~ials encountered the foundations of the old war-time structures there when renovating the area. The seeding of this area will proceed as soon as it is leveled off and the finishing program is expected to be undertal en in a few weeks. —_———— Since 1910 the number of eggs exported from the United States has increased five-fold until now the yearly shipments are werth millions of dollars, tain her purse. On the previous night, a colored man was frightened from an apartment house in the vicinity. It is thought robable that the same man d in th e ses. CUBANS TO VISIT CITY. Youths Will Remain in Capital for Three Days’, Sightseeing. Under the guidance of Col. Eugenio Silva, 25 Cuban youths, who have been encamped at Highland Lake, near Hendersonville, . C., for several weeks, will arrive in Washington tomorrow, where they will remain for three days. They plan to visit other cities before returning to Cuba. Col. Silva, who is an officer in the Cuban army, plans to organize similar parties to tour the United States each Summer. PROPOSED CAPITAL NORTH PORTAL 1§ BEFORE PLANNERS Irving C. Root Confers With Commission About Colesville Link to Sixteenth Street. PLAYGROUND SYSTEM PLANS ALSO TAKEN UP Jadwin Presides Last Time Before Retirement—Maj. Brown Praised in Resolution. The proposed north portal as a monumental entrance to Washington at Sixteenth street, and the District line held the attention of the National Capi- tal Park and Planning Commission this morning at its midsummer monthly session, held at its offices in the Navy Department Building. Irving C. Root” of the Maryland- National Capital Park and Planning Commission conferred with the com- mission during the morning on a num- ber of details in conjunction with the Maryland approach to the north portal, particularly about the projected exten- sion of the Colesville pike from Sligo, Md,, to link up with Sixteenth street. Presides Last Time. Maj. Gen. Edgar Jadwin, chief of Army Engineers, who retires upon reaching the age of 64 on. August 7, presided for the last time as the com- mission’s chairman. Upon the motion of Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d, execu- tive officer of the commission, the or- ' ganization passed a resolution lauding the work of its former engineer, Maj. Carey H. Brown, who materially as- sisted in launching the work of the commission. Maj. Brown was recently detached from that post and is now on leave preparatory to going to his next duty at school at Fort Leaven- worth. Members of the commission were high in their praise of Maj. Brown’s work. Capt. E. N. Chisolm, jr., also of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, is the commission’s new engineer, and offici- ated at a meeting in that capacity for the first time tods He previously served as Maj. Brown’s assistant. ‘The commission’s staff was directed to continue study on proposed changes in Oklahoma avenue at the aboretum and in Maryland avenue and R street, lnddin Nebraska avenue at Little Falis road. Playgrounds Plans Taken Up. Projected plans for Washington's play- ground system for many years in the future came before the commission today also. A report on the playgrounds and recreation centers was prepared for the commission by Charles W. Eliot, 2d, city planner, developed from the five-year program suggested in the Cramton bill. The commission was officially advised of the recent organization meeting of | the Washington region water supply committee, in which representatives of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia set in motion machinery designed to study the needs of the metropolitan area for the next half century. Major Street Cuts Discussed. Future major street cuts, particularly in the built-up areas of Washington, was another subject for discussion on the commission’s agenda. Zoning, in relation to fire engine houses, -police stations, pumping stations, recreational centers, playgrounds and swimming pools, was scheduled to be dealt with by the commission, as the result of a gfiw{rt presented on this topic by Mr. ot. Capt. E. N. Chisolm, jr., United States Army Corps of Engineers, the commis- sion’s new engineer, who succeeded Maj. Carey H. Brown, who is now on vaca- tion,” preparatory to going to Fort Leavenworth in the Fall, appeared to- day at the commission meeting for the first time in his official capacity. LEGION ARRANGES CONVENTION PLANS Columbia Heights Merchants Co-operate in Mapping August Program. At the invitation of the Columbia Heights Business Men’s Association, the|he American Legion will hold its eleventh annual departmental convention in that section on August 14 to 16, inclusive. ‘The auditorium of the Wilson Normal School will be used as the convention hall, it was announced today by Wil- liam M. Morrell, chairman of the legion committee in charge of arrangements. Plans are being made for a large parade of legionnaires. JInvitations have been extended by the convention committee to Legion posts in neighbor- ing Maryland and Virginia to enter their musical organizations, and cash prizes will be awarded to the com- peting drum and bugle corps. Association Co-operating. ‘The Columbia Heights Business Men's Association, through its president, B. A. Levitan, is co-operating in plans for the convention. Mr. Levitan is be- ing assisted by the following commit- tee of the assoclation: General chairman, Frank J. Eobotka; chairman, " Ralph Wallace; vice chairman, Robert W. Neely; prizes, Willilam P. Dismer; chairman, decora- tions, J. W. Smith; reception, Alton B. Carty; parade, Willlam Snellenburg; finance, A. T. Androus; publicity, H. C. Phillips. ‘The following are the members the Legion convention committee: ‘Willlam M. Morrell, chairman; Bern- ard S. Buscher, vice chairman; War- ren E. Miller, Richard O'Brien, T. E. Jones, Lucille Allan, Wallace Streater, Francis F. Miller, Thomas E. Franklin, C. J. Painter, Robert M. Tolson, J. Thad Baker and John Hitzelberger. Scouts Offer Aid. Other prizes will be awarded during the convention by . Comdr. Har- lan Wood. There will be included loving cup, don;:: among’ these prizes by the past department’ of the Leglon, which will awarded to Leglon posts as rewards in such Leglon activities as athletics, mem- bership, community service and Ameri- canism. ‘The Boy Scout Troops in the Colum- bia Heights tectuzn. through their ex- ecutive, z their aid to the joint they have been delegated to assist the parade. committees and FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1929. l King, have offered| the % OCTOGENERIAN RECALLS EARLY WASHINGTON CAB-CAR SERVICE Edgar A. Nelson Drove Coach on District Streets 50 Years Ago. Celebrates Birthday by Re- counting “Old Times” to Grandchildren. It being his eightieth birthday, Edgar A. Nelson got his grandchildren to- gether on the front porch at 42 R street northeast yesterday and told them, among other things, how it felt to be a “cab” pilot 50 years ago. Those were the days, Mr. Nelson said, when it took quantities of oats and hay to keep vehicle traffic moving, instead of plenty of gas and a few green lights. Incidentally, Mr. Nelson believes an innovatién he introduced in cabs here, for entrance from the rear, was actually the origin of this scheme now employed on transportation agencies. Mr. Nelson said popped his first whip over the back of a cab horse in 1881, with the result that a six-passen- ger coach rumbled away from Twenty- second and G streets and laid a course 4 «”‘"% EDGAR A. NELSON. streets to Sixteenth and U streets, via Pennsylvania avenue and twenty-second street. Uses Motor Coaches. Early in 1903, after the first electric cars were projected, Mr. Nelson’s com- for the Navy Yard gate. Had No Registers. He collected the five-cent pieces, | which seemed bigger then than they do now, without the necessity of ringing any new-fangled registers, and occa- sionally he collected tickets, sold in blocks of six when a quarter was forth- coming. The conveyances were operated by Herdic Phaeton Co., one of Washing- ton’s earliest transportation lines. As time went on, the company speeded up its service by hooking double teams to 16-passenger coaches, then looked upon as the last word in convenience and comfort. When the company went out of business in 1897, Mr. Nelson had ad- vanced to superintendent of the com- pany stable at Ninteenth and E streets, which housed 250 horses. Mr. Nelson took this opportunity to get an option on the horses and 15 coaches, then found a backer in S. Dana Lincoln, a prominent citizen of that time, and went into business as superintendent of a company conveying | passengers from Fifteenth and L' pany produced an innovation for the astonished populace—several motor- propelled coaches, or “busses,” of 16- passenger capacity. These were profit- ably employed until 1913, when the company went out of business. Mr. Nelson, a native of Madison County, N. Y., who went with the street transportation company when he first came to Washington, in 1881, is hale and hearty at the close of his eightieth year, taking an active interest in public questions and maintaining his contacts with a wide circle of friends here. One of his pet hobbies is the move- ment to restore the District of Co- lumbia to its original boundaries by returning the former section of land taken from it in Virginia, and thus make the District once more 10 miles square, as originally planned. ‘Then, he says, the Washington Monu- ment would be in the center of thej District, as intended. Mr. Nelson has two sons, Arthur L. and Edgar A. Nelson, jr., and a daugh- ter, Mrs. Robert Carter. as well as four grandchildren, all of Washington. IEWELER MSSIG 2DAYS FOUNDDEAD Manager of Castleberg’s Slew Self, Coroner Holds. Health Is Blamed. | | ‘With & bullet wound in the head, the | body of Paul F. Bachschmid, jr., 44 years old, manager of Castleberg's | Jewelry store, was found in the bathtub | in his room at the Continental Hotel this morning. He had been missing from his home for the past two days. A certificate of suicide was issued by the | coroner. It is believed he had become de- spondent because of poor health. His business affairs were in good order, it was said. Bachschmid, who lived with his wife at 1429 B street northeast, registered | warehouse fire in 1925. at the hotel Wednesday night as Carl | Frederick. Although he had left in- structions that he was not to be dis- turbed, a mald became suspicious when | K. she was unable to enter the room at any time yesterday and notified the assistant manager of the hotel. One Shot Fired Into Head. He entered the room at 10 o'clock this moming and found the body. Bachschmid had fired one shot into his mouth from a .32-caliber pistol, the bullet emerging at the back of his head. The pistol was found in the bathtub, which had been filled with water. Physiclans expressed the belief that he had been dead about 12 hours. Bachschmid, who was well known in local business circles, had been with Castelberg’s store for several years and had lived in Washington about 29 years. His wife, two brothers and his parents survive. Mrs. Bachschmid said she became alarmed wher, hfter her husband had disappeared, she found his watch, pocketbook and jewelry at home. Took Husband to Store. Wednesday morning she drove her husband to the store, intending to re- turn for him at the closing hour. He told her that he would be a little late in getting away that night. That eve- ning employes of the store telephoned her that Mr. Bachschmid had been ab- sent from the store that afternoon. The wife said this morning that her husband had suffered an attack of typhoid fever some years ago, and that had since developed diabetes. On the day he disappeared he said he had been suffering intense pain in his head and “did not.believe he could stand it much longe In the safe at the store several notes of a personal nature were found. They contained no intimation that he had contemplated suicide. Mother Is IIL He spent Wednesday morning at the store outlining plans for the day's busi- ness. When he went out at noon his affairs were in perfect order. He was a member of Samuel Gompers Lodge of Masons. Relatives advised police of his dis- F IREMARSHAL SEIB RETIREMENT0.K.D Based on Physical Disability Incurred in Line of Duty. The District Commissioners today ap- proved the retirement of Fire Marshal Leonard V. Seib, who has had a long and distinguished career in the Fire Department, to which he was appoint- ed in 1897. Seib's retirement was based upon physical disability incurred in line of duty. He has been fire marshal since Sep- tember 1, 1920. He was awarded a ribbon decoration for his work in the Knickerbocker Theater disaster in 1922, and was commended by the Com- missioners for his work in the Kann's He was given a pension of $135.42 a month. The Commissioners also approved the retirement of Pvt. C. A. Fuller and K. . King of the fire department for physical disability. Each was granted a pension of $87.50 per month. ‘The Commissioners ordered the pen- sion of W. H. Lyon, formerly a mem- ber of the fire department increased from $80 to $87.50 a month. The Commissioners awarded a con- tract to the Loomis Construction Co. for grading Michigan avenue northeast, be- tween North Capitol street and Lincoln ! road, for $14,000. 900 ARTILLERYMEN WILL ATTEND CAMP D. C. Battalion Will Leave Tomorrow—Naval Reserves Will Go on Cruise. Between 250 and 300 Washingtonians, members of the 1st Battalion, 260th Coast Artillery Corps, National Guard of the District of Columbia, anti-air- craft outfit and the Second Fleet Divi- sion of the 1st Battalion, United States Naval Reserves, respectively, will leave here tomorrow for two weeks of inten- sive training. 5 The Naval Reserve outfit, commanded by Lieut. John F. Moore, will sail on the destroyer Upshur tomorrow morn- ing at 11 o'clock for a two-week cruise and maneuvers with the destroyer fleet. The cruise will take the men to Long Island Sound and Vineyard Haven, the liberty port. Sixty-one men in the Dis- trict have signed up for the cruise, while the remainder of the contingent of about 100 men will be made up of re- appearance Wednesday night, but a)gserves from Baltimore, under the com- search for him was not instituted until mand of Lieut. E. H. Cole. Lieut. this morning. It had been believed he | Gomdr.s Richard S, Field of the Navy would be heard from and relatives re- frained from making his absence known because of the illness of his mother. will be in general command of the cruise, which is the second of the year for the District men. The Coast Artillery outfit, consisting ARMY GOLFERS TO PLAY. Annual Championship Tourney at Arlington September 24-27. ‘The annual golf champion tour- of about 200 men, under the command of Maj. W. W. Burns, will leave by boat for Fort Monroe, Va. tomorrow. eve- ning at 6:30 o'clock. They will undergo an intensive two-week training course with the anti-aircraft guns, with which they have been specializing g. The Coast Artillerymen are the first nament of the Army Golf Assoeiation |of the local Guardsmen to go into Sum- will be held at the Army, Navy and [mer encampment. Marine Corps Country Club at Arling- ton, Va., September 24-27. Tents will be erected on the grounds for the ac- commodation of competitors from the yarious Army areas mnot_other- st ”champlonghip —competiion was n cl ip com] n_was held on the course of the Club. It was won by Lieut. E. A‘. Baldwin, Field Reserve, O0f Wedormg})’.l..'l Lieut. P. M. Pfaffman, Infantry Reserve, of Worces: ter Mass,, as runner-up. ' +01d Street to Be Paved. e KIWANIS WIVES FETED. ‘Wives of Kiwanians were guests at a luncheon of the Washington Kiwanis Club in the Hotel Washington yester- John J. Boobar was master of ceremonies. Favors were tributed among the wives. Aide to Good Appointed. Maj. Edward Bowditch, jr., who was one of Gen. Pershing’s personal aides ‘Work will start in a few days on the |in France durihg the World War, and removal and replacement of the oldest | who resigned from the Army in 1925, pavement in Washington on Vermont | has been appointed a civilian aide to avenue between H and I streets. The |the Secretary of Corps present pavement was laid in 1873 and base in 1880. asphalt surface. bituminous surface placed on a tar { ernors Island, N. Y. The replacement will | concerned mainly in] consist of & concrete base with an|military training camps in New York, | bor. New Jersey and Dela: Wi ‘War for duty in the with_station at Gov- . _His duties will be with the citizens’ 1st Area, ware. PAGE 17 GAS STOCK PROBE 10 BE CONTINUED INTO' SEPTEMBER Bride Asks Federal Aid in Obtaining Data Believed Lacking. VACATION ABSENCES NECESSITATE DELAY One of Principal Stockholders in Local Company to Be Away Until Labor Day. The exhaustive investigation being made by the Department of Justice into the new ownership of the Washington Gas Light Co. and its subsidiaries will not be completed before September ac- cording_to information received today at_the District Building. The inquiry was undertaken by the Department of Justice at the request of Corporation Counsel William W. Bride, who as general counsel of the Public Utilities Commission was directed to ascertain whether the recent sale of the gas stock was in accordance with the La Follette anti-merger act which prohibits a foreign corporation from acquiring control of a Washing- ton utility concern. The new owners of record of the gas company already have furnished the commission and Mr. Bride with certain information = concerning the negotiations, but the corporation coun- sel announced he was not satisfied that |all the facts had been available and asked the Justice Department to aid him in securing the data he believes to be lacking. Delay Is Necessitated. Mr. Bride and the commission had hoped to have the investigation com- pleted before the hearing on the appli- { cation of the Capital Traction Co. for 2 higher fare, which begins Monday, but a delay has been necessitated by the vacation absence of some of the per- sons from whom it is desired to pro- cure information. One ot the principal stockholders, who is being relied upon to furnish the data which District officials regard as vital in connection with the case, is not ex- pected to return from his vacation un- til Labor day, and no effort will be nade to interview him in the meantime, it was pointed out. May Pass Mid-September. Thus, it will be the middle of Sep- tember and probably later before the inquiry is closed. By that time it is believed the commission will have dis- posed of the higher fare case and can devote its entire attention to the gas company sale. Information as to the ownership of the company was given to Mr. Bride and the commission voluntarily several weeks ago by E. S. Burroughs of the firm of Harris, Forbes & Co., one of the purchasers, and James Piper, the i Baltimore correspondent of the firm’s New York counsel. According to Burroughs, the control- ling interest in the gas company, amounting to approximately 110,000 shares of its stock, was purchased by a group of bankers and investors, who organized the Seaboard _Invesiment Trust for the purpose of holding and voting the stock, This trust, he ex- plained, is not in any sense a public anmy corporation or a holding corpora- jon. SOVIET RECOGNITION IS SEEN BY THOMAS { America’s Steps in Chinese-Russian : Controversy and U. S. Industrial 1 | Expansion Are Cited. | By the Associated Press. A belief that negotiations looking toward a settlement of the Chinese~ Russian controversy had impelled the American Government a long way to- ward recognition of the Soviet govern=- ment was expressed today by Senator ‘Thomas, Democrat, of Oklahoma. While he asserted that “no one cant contend” the negotiations were an “offi- cial recognition of Russia,” he said that “such activity cannot be construed other than a recognition that there exists a Russian de facto government.” “The growth of American industry.” he said, “and the need for expansion will, in the very near future, demand that the Russian possible markets be entered for the outlet of the surplus from American factories. “If the enactment of the pending tariff bill serves to restrict to any de- gree our present foreign trade relations, then such restriction will speed Russian recognition.” Denial of recognition, he contended, was an evasion of “our traditional policy set forth by Jefferson.” As to the de- mand that Russia cease sending propa- ganda here, he said that “so long as the jAmerican ~Government follows the course charted by the fathers, we shall have no fear of such interference from any foreign source.” iHERZL MEMORIAL RITES {TO BEHELD MONDAY NIGHT Washington Zionist District Spon- sors Program at Jewish Center. In commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the death of Theodor Herzl, who revived the plan for a Jewish homeland, a Herzl memorial meeting will be held under the auspices of the Washington Zionist District on the roof of the Jewish Community Center Mon- day night. The speakers will include Rabbi Louis J. Schwefel of the Sixth Street Syna- gogue and Max Rudensky of New York. Frabbi Schwefel will discuss the life of the man who was responsible for the Zionist movement, FALL INJURES WOMAN, 78. Mrs. Blanche Nixon, 78 .years old, fell down the basement steps of her home at 449 Decatur street about 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon and was seriously hurt. Her collarbone was broken in two laces and she was bruised about the left side of her body. She was treated at Emergency Hospital. Boy, 6, Bitten on Leg by Dog. ‘While playing on the street near his home, at 1832 Massachusetts avenue southeast, about 7 o'clock last night, Walter Foley, 6 years old, was bitten on the left leg by the dog of a neigh- His wound was dressed by Dr. E. Whitson, 1720 M street.