Evening Star Newspaper, August 8, 1929, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Cloudy. with showers tonight and possibly tomorrow morning—not much change in temperature. ‘Temperatures—Highest, pm. yesterday: lowest, 67, today, Full report o Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 14 and 15 83, at 3:30 , at 3 am. n page 9. @h Entered vost oftice, No. 31,145, as second class matte; Washington, .- C WITH SUNDAY MORNI NG EDITION ¢ Foening Sar Associated service. The only evening paper in Washington with the Press news Yesterday’s Circulation, 102,348 WASHINGTON, D. B85 THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 1929 —FORTY-EIGHT PAGES. () Means Associated Pre TWO CENTS. 3 GRAF IS AVERAGING 100 MILES AN HOUR OUT OVER ATLANTIC ON WORLD FLIGHT Zeppelin Passes Nantucket Shoals and Proceeds Prac- tically Due East After Take- off at 11:40 Last Night. 21 MEN AN70 ONE WOMAN ARE ABOARD DIRIGIBLE Pessenger List Included Two Titled Britons—Departure of Air Liner Delayed When Stowaway Is Caught and Placed in Brig—Vain Search Is Made for Another. The Graf Zeppelin reported to the Navy Department today that its po- aftion at 11 a.m., Eastern standard time. was approximately 630 miles east of New York City. Br the Associated Press. Messages from the world-gir- | dling dirigible Graf Zeppelin her- sclf and from ships that sighted her at sea indicated today that the queen of the ocean skies was | another: tions of the Nation's laws?” ! the issue. All Facts-Not In. I also know, however, that roaring over the first part of her "cighleenth amendment. Atlantic flight at approximatelyi 100 miles an hour. Within a period of about two ! hours, from 5:40 to 7:30, East- ern standard time, this morn- ing, the Graf reported her own | position and two steamers, the Commercial Trader and the Presi- dent Roosevelt, reported sighting her at given positions. The three positions and their times | made possibls the computation that during these morning hours the Zep- | pelin_was beyond Nantucket Shoals and proceeding practically due east at | a rate some 15 miles an hour faster than her maximum cruising speed, presumably due to strong tail winds, although none of the three messages mentioned existing weather conditions Prior to these reports her average speed from Lakehurst, which she left at 11:40, Eastern stardard time, last night, was only about 60 miles an hour, although this slower speed was no d%ubnbllnrg!ely due to the fact that con- siderable time was spent circli New Stk P circling over A fourth message, from the steamer Rochambeau, reporting sighting of the Graf one minute before the Fresident Roosevelt saw her, sot the position of the dirigible at 7:3¢ E. S. T. this morning at 420 miles east i of Sandy PASSES NANTUCKET LIGHT. Graf Estimated at 380 Miles East of | New York at 7 O'Clock. 1 By the Associated Press. | The Graf Zeppelin today notified the | Navy Department that her 7 o'clock | position, - Eastern standard time, was latitude 40 degrees 38 minutes north, longitude 65 degrees 43 minutes west | and that everything aboard the ship was well. Simultaneously with the receipt of the message direct from the dirigible | the Navy Department received a re-| Javed message from the Zeppelin which placed her position over Nantucket Light at 4:30 am. Since the Zeppelin left Lakehurst the Navy Department has kept radio com- pass-bearing stations along the coast directed on her, but these messages were the first the department received | since the airship started her return| flight. Naval authorities calculated the Grat Zeppelin had traveled 400 miles in a, northeastward direction from Lakehurst between the time of her departure and her 7 o'clock position and that she had averaged approximately 53 miles an hour. They estimated that she was| about 380 miles due east of New York; City. The Weather Bureau announced that | the Graf Zeppelin would have fresh west winds and partly overcast_skies until she reached the Grand Banks region and that wind conditions should | be ideal for the remainder of the trip| to the British Isles. ! * A well developed area of high pres- | sure, indicating calm or fair weather, the bureau said, was central a short distance north of the Azores and that it extended from Southern Ireland to Bermuda. A disturbance was reported northeast of Ireland, another over Hudson Bay and a third off the Southwest Coast of Greenland, but the Graf Zeppelin was :;;Fectcd to pass to the south of all ee. STOWAWAY CAUSES DELAY. ! 1 | Youth Put in Brig—Futile Search Made for Another, By the Assoclated Press. NAVAL AIR STATION, LAKEHURST, N. J., August 8.—As a band played “It’s a Long, Long Trail” the German dirigible’ Graf Zeppelin lifted into a starless sky at 12:40 Eastern daylight time this morning, and set majestically forth on the fifst airship flight around the world. It was a little later than Dr. Hugo Eckner had planned to get away, some delay having been caused by a plum- ber's apprentice from Trenton, N. J., who had acquired big ideas about sto aways. Mfir the aspiring stowaway, Morris Roth, had been safely deposited in the Navy brig, and a thorough search had convinced officers that another youth seen lurking cl to an open. Cargo (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) " TWO ARE FOUND DEAD. Tolice Believe Mother Shot Daugh- ter, Then Took Own’Life. HUNTINGTON, W. Va., August 8 (). —The bodies of Mrs. Burt Wilson, 36, end her daughter Madeline, 17, were found early today in the girl's room in enacted thereunder. Wanton Use of Firearms Careless Selection of Officers for ' Political Purposes. MRS. WILLEBRANDT SCORES| UNWARRANTED KILLING BY AGENTS AND BOOTLEGGERS Blamed on (In this chapter Mrs. Willebrandt, former Assistant United States Attorney General, gives her hearty condemnation of unjustifiable use of fire arms and_explains the other side of the picture describing exciting battles which have helped swell the casualty lists of Government agents.) BY MABEL \VALKER ‘WILLEBRANDT. “Is it necessary for prohibition agents to kill 135 persons in the course of less than 10 years in order to enforce prohibition?” is one of the questions I have been asked many times. I might make an evasive answer to this question by asking “Does not the killing of 55 agents of the prohibition unit in the same period, the killing of 6 Federal Coast Guard officers and the crippling of 6 others for life and the kill- ing of 3 narcotic enforcement officers and 9 custom agents indicate the necessity for the use of arms and force by officers of the Government to deal with a vast class of desperadoes engaged in criminal viola- I have no desire, however, to evade I not only believe, I know, that the violence which has accompanied enforce- ment or attempted enforcement of the prohibition law has done more than any- { thing else probably to instill in the public mind the question and the doubt, “Can prohibition ever be enforced, and if so. is it worth the price in human life and the violation of personal and property rights?” all the facts about the violence that has attended enforcement of the prohibition law have not been adequately and properly sub- mitted to the great body of the American people, who are the jury which in the end will return a verdict on the enforceability of the . WILLEBRANDT. If I thought that enforcement of the prohibition law would neces- sarily entail continued killing and other acts of violence, and the gflf- rage of private rights of persons and property, I would unqualifiedly demand the repeal of the eighteenth amendment and the laws (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) LEADERS EXCHANGE RHINELAND VIEWS French and Germans at Va- riance on Evacuation in Only One Point. LONDON, August 8 (#).—The Ex- change Telegraph Co. today said it had learned on good authority Brit- ish delegates to the Hague Confer- ence had made it clear to France and Germany that in the event of their coming to an agreement be- tween themselves on evacuation of the Rhineland Great Britain would accept such an agreement uncondi- tionally. By the Assoclated Press. THE HAGUE, August 8. —French and German views on evacuation of the Rhineland were stated flatly today to each other by Premier Briand of France and Gustav Stresemann, German for- eign minister, in a private conversation jat_the Hotel des Indies. While the French premier and Ger- man_foreign minister were in accord on the general principle of evacuation of the occupied district, they were at complete variance on the measure of control which is to be substituted for military forces. M. Briand raised no objections to Dr. Stresemann’s contention that the evacuation should be concluded within three months after adoption of the Young plan, except such objections as physical difficulties of removing the men might present. Disagree on Commission. He told Dr, Stresemann, however, he could not acqulesce so readily in his re- fusal to consider the setting up of a commission on the left bank of the Rhine to oversee armament activities. The two statesmen exchanged views as a prelude to organization of the com- mittee on political matters which was decided upon yesterday by the confer- ence of the governments meeting here to devise application of the Young plan. They spoke freely with each other, re: Izlng that upon their discussion rested in large measure final resolution of problems growing out of the World War. The German argument was the Rhineland must be evacuated in any case in five years under the treaty of Versailles and the treaty provides for no such commission or other organ to watch over the Rhine territory, hence | had a derringer in her purse. STORY OF SLAYING MAKES SNOOK CRY Doctor - Defendant’s Nerve Fails as He Gives Account of Miss Hix’s Death. By the Associated Press. COURTROOM, COLUMBUS, Ohio, August 8.—The steel nerve snapped and Dr. James H. Snook wept on the witness stand as he told the jury in his first-degree murder trial today how he killed Theora Hix. As he approached the telling of the fatal minute when he struck the first hammer blow on the girl's head the steady voice faltered, his eyes filled with tears and he cried openly. For more than a full minute he sat there struggling for speech and dab- bing at his eyes with his handkerchief. Dr. Snook had walked into the court- room with a smile and quickly took his place on the witness stand. Looked Refreshed. He looked refreshed after the night's rest. Asked regarding previous testimony that he had given narcotics to a woman, Dr. Snook explained that the woman came to him for the narcotics to relieve pain. He said he gave her a small amount. Referring to an_altercation on the Scioto golf course July 9, when he said the girl broke up his golf game and demanded that he go with her to their room, Dr. Snook said she at the time He had n some time before. given her the g moved to the night ‘The question! of the killing. ‘The former veterinary professor then told of picking Miss Hix up near the Ohio State University campus. “I asked if she wanted to go to our room. She said she would rather drive. 1 said, ‘well, if that's the case, you had better give me the key to the room,’ since we had planned to give up the room that week end and would not be back there again,” Snook said. . Gave Him Her Key. “She got the key from her purse and gave it to me. 3 “She asked me if I had anything to eat. I told her I had not. She had a sandwich and she handed it to me. It was wrapped in a paper napkin. “I ate the sandwich.” “How long a time elapsed after she (Continued on Page 2, Column 6.) Extortion. Bribery. Intoxication. Assault. False reports. Theft. i o, B S e lief the mof and herself with a 32-caliber pistol found in the room Mrs. Wilson had been suffering h;:;- a nervous attack for some time, pol were told. —appearing in tomorrow's i (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) HIGH OFFICIAL DEMORALIZED PROHIBITION Illegal disposition of liquor. On these and other charges 750 prohibition agents were dismissed before Civil Service requirements were put into effect, but the real trouble was higher up, according to Mabel Walker Willebrandt —former Assistant United States Attorney General in charge of Prohibition, who places the blame squarely where it belongs and shows the way a corrupt official can fool the government forces in her 5th article— \ *“Corruption in High Places” ue of The Eoening Stax A AN AR AAAAAAANAN S ANAAAA NOBLESHAD SENED CALHOUN CONTRA .. AGENT AVERS Says Sculptor and Wife Had Attached Signatures Agree- ing Not to Attack Alliance. TORN AGREEMENT NOW IN ROVER’S POSSESSION Arrests Made After Others Are Said to Have Disputed Division of $30,000 Check. When Deputy United States marshals descended. on the office of James F. Bird, an attorney, yesterday to arrest Bird, W. Clark Noble, nationally known sculptor; Mrs, Noble, Mrs. Anna M. Hillenbrand and Stephen F. Armstrong on charges of conspiracy to blackmail Capt. C. C. Calhoun and his wife, Mrs. Cornelia D. B. Calhoun, prominent in society circles and officers of the ‘Woman's Universal Alliance, the Nobles already had signed an agreement pre- sented to them by Samuel Hardy, a Department of Justice agent, by which for the consideration of $30,000 they were to discontinue alleged threatened efforts to start a rival organization and surrender articles said to have been prepared for publication reflecting on the Calhouns and the alliance in the event of failure to effect a settlement of Noble’s claim for payment for a de- sign for a memorial figure planned by the alliance. This was disclosed toddy by the office of United States Attorney Leo A. Rover, which has possession of this contract, whigh is torn through, together with other papers in reference to the Noble claim, seized by Députy Marshals Clark- son, Ceremile and Swann, at the time of the arrests yesterday. Dispute Division of Check. ‘The department agents had obtained a check from Capt. Calhoun for $30,000 with the name of the payee in blank and had also secured Calhoun’s signa- | ture to the contract before attempting ! the conference at the office of James F. | Bird, the lawyer who was also among the person arrested. After the Nobles had signed, it was reported to United States Attorney Rover that a dispute arose between Mrs. Anna M. Hillen- brand and Stephen A. Armstrong, the remaining members of the alleged black- mailing ring, concerning the division of their share of the check, which was followed by their refusal to -ign. When Mr. Hardy became convinced that their signatures could not be obtained he summoned the deputy marshals and the accused were placed under arrest. Mr. Rover sald it was reported to him that Bird had torn the paper, but the pieces were seized and will be pasted together to present in evidence at the hearing next Wednesday before United States Commissioner Needham C. Turn- | i age. Asked if there were any articles prepared for publication, the prosecutor declared that the accused had stated they had no such articles to surrender. Assistant United States Attorney Charles B. Murray with the aid of the Justice Department agents is continuing his in- vestigation of the alleged conspiracy in ; preparation for the hearing next week. Hardy Credited With Cou Hardy, actinp in the role of “finan- cial representative” of Capt. Calhoun, was largely responsible for the securing of the evidence upon which the war- rants charging conspiracy to.blackmail Capt. and Mrs. Calhoun, were sworn, according to Capt. Calhoun. After meeting several times with the defendants, Capt. Calhoun said tod: he appealed to the Department of Jus. tice about 12 days ago. Mr. Hardy was assigned to the case at that time and subsequently was introduced to Mr. Bird and the others by Capt. Calhoun as “my financial representative.” It was with . Hardy then, Calhoun said today, tl most of the later negotia- tions for a settlement of Noble's alleged | claim were carried on. Hardy met Bird and Armstrong in! the former’s office the day before the arrests were made in an effort to effect a_“settlement,” Calhoun said toda: ‘Then they discussed a payment of $30,- 000 to the defendants if they would | agree not to publish the threatened scandal and would refrain from or- ganizing a body in opposition to the Woman's Universal Alliance. At that meeting, Armstrong is alleged to have (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) ! MAURETANIA BREAKS OWN OCEAN RECORD Cuts 3 Hours and 50 Minutes From Mark, but Fails to Lower oens Bremen Time. NEW YORK, August 8 (#).—The Cunard liner Mauretania passed Am- brose Lightship at 10:36 a.m. (Eastern daylight time) today, completing ‘the crossing from Cherbourg in 4 days, 22 hours and 44 minutes. The time was 3 hours and 50 minutes better than her own record, but 5 hours and 2 minutes behind the time of the champion North German Lioyd liner Bremen. In addition to curtailment of speed because of bad weather, the Cunard liner' announced the vessel slowed down on Monday while the ship's surgeon op- erated on Mont D. Rogers, president of Dobbs & Co. of New York. e Mat iplished days, 2 hours and 34 minutes, while the Bremen crossed in 4 days, 17 hours and 42 minutes. The liner lowered her record with the same turbine engines and Scotch boilers which were installed in her in 1907. { Nt $216,000,000. ‘Treasury balance, August 6, $141,- 929,565.31. 4 Radio Programs—Page 38 C.&P. TELEPHONE COMPANY HEAD IS SLEEPING SICKNESS VICTIM A. E. Berry, 51, Critically 1ll at Home From Myste- rious Malady. Has Been Suffering From Disease for Last Three Weeks. A mysterious malady which some three weeks ago attacked A. E. Berry, 51 years old, president of the Chesa- peake & Potomac Telephone Co., and from which he is reported criticaly 1ll at his home, 2400 Sixteenth street, has been diagnosed by attending physicians as encephalitis, commonly known as “sleeping sickness.” = Mr. Berry, whose primary interest has been his work, stubbornly resisted the indisposition for some time before it forced him to take to his bed. That was something over two weeks ago. Since that time, Mr. Berry's friends say, he has been subject to sleeping spells of increasing duration, and there is grave danger he may not survive them. After considerable study, the diagnosis was arrived at by Dr. S. Logan Owens, the attending physician, in conference with Dr. William Cabell Moore, the telephone company's medical director. E. BERRY. _—Harris-Ewing Photo. Mr. Berry, who became president of | the gbllc utility company 10 years ago, | is also a director in the Pederal Amer- { lcan Bank of Baltimore and the Balti- more Trust Co. His business associates say that Mr. Berry had unasually hard Just previous to his ess, & circum- ;ur;:e they consider a comtributing actor. NATS AND BOSTON TIED, 22, IN HETH Regan Drives Fifst Ball Pitched for -Homer in Second Inning. The Line-up: WASHINGTON Judge, 1b Rice. 'l Goslin, it Myer, 20 West, cf Tate. ¢ Willlams, et Barrett, o1 ate. Cronin, ss Hayes,' 3b Brown, Berry, © Gerher. 2 M. Gaston, P | Umpires—Messers Geisel, Vangraflan and | Morlarts. BY JOHN B. KELLER. BOSTON, August 8 —Washington and Boston were tied in the fifth inning of their game here this afternoon. The score was 2 to 2. FIRST INNING. ‘WASHINGTON—Judge flied to Bar- rett. Rice struck out. Goslin also fanned. No runs. BOSTON—Cronin threw out Rhyne. Scarritt tripled to deep center. Wil- liams filed to West, Scarrett scoring after the catch, Hayes threw out Bar- rett. One run. SECOND INNING. WASHINGTON—Myer fanned. West ped to Todt near the pitcher's box. Tate fanned. No runs. " TON—Regan hit ‘the first ball pitched over the scoreboard in left field for a home run. Hayes threw out Todt. Berry singled to center, Berry was caught stealing, Tate to Myer. Gerber was called out on strikes. One run. THIRD INNING. WASHINGTON—Cronin _ fanned. Hayes got the first hit off Gaston, a clean single to right. Brown walked. Judge forced Brown, Todt to Rhyne, Hayes going to third. A sqeeze play with Rice bunting to Regan, let Ha yes score. Judge taking second, the bunting being for a single. Goslin sent & long m Williams. One run. BOSTON—Gaston popped to_Judge. Cronin threw out Rhyne. Scarritt fanned. No runs. FOURTH INNING. ‘WASHINGTON—Myer. chped to Rhyne. West flied to Scarritt. Tate popped to Rhyne. No runs. b BOSTON—Williams walked. Wil- liams was caught stealing, Tate| to Myer. went back for Barretts high pop. Mger threw out Regan. No runs. FIFTH INNING. to second. Brown struck out. singled to center, sending Cronin over with the tying run. Rice was safe when lfi d:;mgx:er 'l‘l tumhleanog Rhyne, s ping at second. runners advanced on a wild pitch. Goslin grcunded to Todt. One run. BOSTON—Myer threw out Todt. | Cronin threw out Berry. =~ Gerber walked. Gu‘t’on lined to West. No runs,. I State News, Pages 4and5 | WILLIANS T0 TRY SPEED SHI TODAY Trials Will Start With Taxiing Plane Over Water Course. BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON, Aviation Editor of The Star, ANNAPOLIS, Md., August 8.—Amer- | fca’s most powerful racing plane, built | for Lieut. Alford Williams, Navy pilot, for competition in the Schneider trophy races in England next month, will be put through the first phases of its trials on the Severn River in front of the Naval Academy today. | ‘Today's trials probably will be con- fined entirely to taxiing along the sur- | face of the water. Entrants in the Schneider race will be required to go|{ through two rigorous taxiing tests at| open sea on the day prior to the races. ! Today's tests will be a trial of a new! | cooling system devised by Lieut. Wil- liams for the 1,100-horsepower motor !in his midget plane. | During the period the plane is on th> water the motor is cooled by passing | the water througn radiators built intc the undersurfaces of the pontoons. Tests Are Important. The taxiing tests are regarded as un- RUSSIANS TAKE OFF - ON'NEW YORK TRIP “First Leg of Flight to Omsk Gets Under Way From Moscow Field. Dy Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News. 929. Copyright, 1 MOSCOW, August 8—Flying into | the gray dawn, the Russian monoplane | Land of the Soviets took off this morn- | ing on the first leg of her 19,600- k!.lagxeter flight from Moscow to New | Yor The twin-motor monoplane, made en- tirely of metal, is a Russian design of ‘Tupoloff somewhat following the Jun- kers. Two 600-horsepower BMI Ba- varian engines furnish the power. The course which the plane intends to fly is from Moscow to Omsk, then across Siberia to Khabarovsk, where, dropping its wheels for pontoons, it becomes a seaplane for crossing the Pacific by way of the Aleutian Island to Alaska. | The plane is expected to arrive in Alaska somewhere near Sitka, then it intends to go down the coast to San Francisco. For the final lap to New York it will follow the transcontinental air mail route, e pilot of the plane is Shestakov, #ie second pilot Bolotov, the navigator Sterlingov and the mech- anician Fufaiev, all famous pilots in the Soviet Army. The start of the first lap of 2,200 kilometers to Omsk was an in- credibly beautiful plane with 30 meters (100 feety”of wingspread standing on the flying fleld in the center of the glare from the floodlights like a silver bird Squads of soldiers at the tail and wings wheeled her for the take-off. The Russian aviators, dressed in gray antly saying cast 5 wives and children. Then they climbed into the cockpit. When the motors were warmed ?. Shestakov, who made a successful flight from Moscow to Tokio and return, waved his hand, the chocks were pulled out and at exactly 2:50 am. the Land of the Soviets roared acrdss the hflytnz ne!dt h:lry:d wn: up, ukini the air as smoof as hg'd. 1t circled once and then vanished in the eastern dawn.' By the Assoclated Press. CHICAGO, August 8.—Ernest Alheim likes the United States, all right—as a place to live, but the women folks over here don’t suit him. His dislike of American femininity was so strong that last year when he decided it was time he was getting mar- ried he went clear back to Germany to get his wife. Her name was Kunigunde, and with her ?nlhelm d visions of WOMAN FRIEND OF WIFE MAY PAY FOR GUIDING HER IN MODERN WAY ' German Likes-United States as Nation, but Objects to Frau’s Americanization. usually important in the case of the racer because of the tremendous take- 'off and landing speeds, which are ex- pected to range between 100 and 150 . miles per hour. The trials will enable | Lieut. Williams to become acquainted | i with the performance of his plane on-| | the water and enable him to judge the | effecting of “cutting it down” at speeds | greater than the average plane ever realizes in full flight. It was expected last night that Lieut. williams would make the taxiing tests | this morning and might take the plane p for its first flight this afternoon. Wind conditions, however, were not re- | garded favorable for flying, and Lieut. Williams did not appear at the air sta- tion this moraing. | i Mile Course Is Measured. | The flight test will be made over a| | speed course laid out by the Navy near | Kent Island, east of the mouth of the | Severin River. A mile course has been | measured and timing_ apparatus in- stalled under direction ‘of iieut. E. W. | Rounds, Naval Reserve, on duty with the flight test section at the Anacos- tia Naval Air Station. ‘The passage of the racing plane over wires marking the ends of the mile stretch will be timed by cameras work- ing in combination with special record- | ing chronometers. A single film will show the position of the plane with reference to the wires and also the exact time to within a 10-1000 of a second, naval efficials ex- plained. Trials to Determine Entry. Whether the United States will be represented next month in the Schnei- der trophy race will be determined by trial flights of the plane. 3 Lieut. Willlams said that he wouid like to leave for England as soon as possible, and t the tests will be ‘made at the first possible moment. “I would like to leave tomorrow for Europe if it were possible,” Williams said. “I will leave as soon as we can ‘complete tests which will show whether | it is advisable to enter the plane in the Schneider race ncg'L “The first flight®vhich will be under- taken here will be made to find out how the ship behaves in taking off and landing, and will determine whether the plane has been corzectly designed. After the first flight, if we find the ship is all right, we will hold a speed we can make.” Lieut. Williams took violent issue with that his plane will exceed 400 miles an hour. “I never have made any speed claims (Continued on Page, 2, Column 5.) But no sooner had they, arrived in than Kunigunde started a cam- p | increase of fare then. PO | solve_the alimony in a separaf Alheim was in court, but not to contest the action—he filed a $25,000 suit against the woman who taught his wife English and started her on the way toward Americanization. hat Fenta"homschoid i this fand of Sappers CITIZENS DEMAND MORE, SHOULD PAY FORIT, HANNASAYS One-Man Cars Could Be Used Profitably, Traction Presi- dent Declares. TRAFFIC TANGLES HELD CAUSE OF PART OF LOSS Passengers Want Two-Man Service and Speed, He Contends at Fare-Raise Hearing. One-man street cars could be used profitably on some of the lines of the Capital Traction Co., John H. Hanua, its president, said today at the hearing before the Public Utilities Commission on the company’s request for a 10-cent carfare. The company has not bouzght any new equipment since 1919 becausc it feared that two-man cars would be obsolete when bought, he said. “However,” Mr. Hanna continued. “I am not arguing for one-man cars. The Capital Traction Co. tries to furnish the | people with the kind of service it wants !'and the people of Washington scem to want two-man cars and as far a§ we are concerned, they shall continue to have them. But they should realize that two- 1 man cars cost more to run than one- man cars and they should be ready to pay the difference.” { The cross-examination of Mr. Hanna | teday was conducted by People’s Coun= ;521 Ralph B. Fleharty: William McK. | Clayton, counsel for the Federation of Citizens’ Associations, and E. C. Riegel of the Washington Consumers’ Guild. | It covered a large variety of miscel- | laneous information. | Traffic Congestion Blamed. | In some of his answers to questions | Mr. Hanna blamed the decline in traffic lon his company's line partly on the { reduction in speed due to the increased { use of traffic lights and to the increased | congestion on the streets caused by pri- vately owned automobiles. People want <peedy service, he- said, and it is get- ting harder to have such service on eet cars. He said the company’s loss in traffic s mainly in the city; that its subur- n lines not only did not show a de- case, but some of them actually <howed an increase. He said that the company's charter gave its cars the right-of-way on its rails, but that sufficient attention had nct bzen given by the Police Depart- ment and the traffic director's office to the probiem of public transportation, with consequent slowing up of the cars. Hanna Sces Decline Continuing. Mr. Fleharty asked Mr. Hanna whether he thought the downward trend in the number of passengers carried by sireet cars in Washington would con- inue or whether a level had been ached. think the trend will continue vard,” replied Mr. Hanna. “But ve no definite information on that r. Hanna said the percentage of loken users has been gradually falling off and the reason, in his opinion, is the increase in the use of automobiles by people going to and coming from work. “More and more people have quit using street cars as a regular means of transportation,” declared Mr. Hanna. “It is th> regular users of the cars who are miore likely to buy tokens. Our loss of passengers is almost entirely due to the use of private automobiles.” The Washington Rapid Transit Bus Line, according to Mr. Hanna, took away many street car passengers, when it was established, but he thought that the loss on this account to the street car company had not been so great during the last four or five years. The Washington Rapid Transit Co. is a direct competitor of our company,” Mr. Hanna said. Attorneys File Exceptions. ‘The Capital Traction Co.’s president, replying to furthor questions by Mr. Fleharty, said that he did not believe that the immediate falling off in pas- sengers that has followed fare increases in the past is permanent. Attorneys for the two street car com= panies noted exceptions this morning to the order of the Commission making the Washington Rapid Transit Co. & party to the present rate case. “If we could put on modern cars and improve our service, we could get many of our passengers back,” insisted Mr. Hanna. “Car lines in other cities that have improved their service have in- creased their passenger traffic.” “I do not believe the one-man cars would cure all our troubles here,” con=- tinued Mr. Hanna, taking up that sub- ject. “But I do know there are car iines here where one-man cars should be operated. The trend in other cities is toward one-man cars. The reason the Capital Traction Co. has not in- stalled any of them is because public opinion in Washington, as expressed by Mr. Clayton and others, seems to be against them.” In making any comparison of street car rates in this and other cities Mr. Hanna said that it should be remem- bered that in most of the other cities one-man cars are in general use and | also that overhead trolley lines are widely used. Extra Cost Is Cited. “I am not arguing in favor of one=- man cars, and I am certainly not argu- ing in favor of an overhead trolley sys- tem for Washington,” declared Mr. Hanna. “But, of course, the extra cost must be taken into consideration. It costs about three times as much to lay the conduit system that we have in ‘Washington as it does to construct the overhead trolley system. Our under- ground cables, feeders, car barns and other things for the conduit system cost more. “Washington has this system and Washington wants it, but all these things must be considered in comparing fares here and in other cities.” Several times in the past, Mr. Hanna - explained, he had believed that the loss of passengers on the street cars had stopped and he had made calculations based on that theory. “But I am not going to do it any more, because I was wrong,” declared Mr. Hanna. “In 1926 we felt very good when we thought the loss in passengers. had stopped, but the total began to drop again. It certainly was not due to any I don’t know what the reason was.” Mr. Fleharty suggested that if the falling off in passengers is to continue indefinitely, a fare increase would not difficulties, because it would be offset by loss in traffic. “Yes, if the decline is great enough, that would-be true,” a; Mr. Hanna. “But, nevertheless, we d be better (Continued on Page 3, Columa 5.).