Evening Star Newspaper, September 10, 1929, Page 13

R Washington News HERBERT BERLINER SEEKS SHARE OF FATHER'S ESTATE Son Charges Undue Influence Caused His Exclusion From Bequest. REUNITED AFT PROTESTS ADMISSION OF WILL TO PROBATE Tells Court Deceased Was Not of Sound Mind and Capable of Making Will. Herbert S. Berliner, eldest son of the inventor, Emile Berliner, who died Au-| gust 3, today filed in the District Su- preme Court a caveat protesting against the admission to probate of his father’s will, executed July 15, 1929. The son, who resides in Montreal and is con- nected with the Compo Co., Ltd., manu- facturer of phonographic records, was excluded by the will from participation in the father's estate. The section in the will referring to him reads: “Having given special ad-| vantages during my lifetime to my son, Herbert S. Berliner, by which he was and will be further enabled to accumu- late a most ample fortune, I now ex- | clude him from any participation in my | estate.” Charges Undue Influence. | The son, through Attorney Alvin L. Newmyer, charges fraud and undue in- fluence exercised upon the testator by his other children and those related to them or by some of such persons. He tells the court that his interests will be affected injuriously if the alleged will | be admitted to probate. ‘The court is told that the paper writ. ing is not the last will of the deceased: | that at the time of signing and making { the will the father was not of sound | mind and capable of making a will; | that undue influence was exercised upon him by his other children or some one related to them or by some of them. The petition asks that probate be de- nied to the alleged will and that issues | be framed for submission to a jury to | pass on its validity. Asks Will Be Probated. ‘The widow, Mrs. Cora Berliner, and | the National Savings & Trust H Co., | named as executors under the will, filed a petition some days ago asking for its | probate. According to that petition, the estate is valued in excess of $1,500.000. comprising realty valued at $112,573 and | personal property estimated st $1.415,- CURB ON ROLLER SKATING IN GROUPS ADVOCATED | Police Told to See That Children Do Not Become Annoyance to Residents. | Maj. Henry G. Pratt, superintendent | of police, issued a memorandum to pre- cinct captains vesterday directing their attention to the fact that while there is nothing in the regulations prohibit- ing roller skating on the sidewalks, the noise caused by a large number of children congregated in one place be- comes very annoying to residents and should be prevented. The communication stated: “At this season of the year numer- ous complaints are received of per- sons skating on the sidewalks and streets throught the city. While the regulation prohibits skating in any | street except where it is set aside by | the director of traffic for that purpose and roped off, there is no regulation prohibiting roller skating on the side- walks. “The noise caused by a large number of children congregating in one place, both from the skates and from the loud talk and yelling, becomes very annoying to residents and is especially so if there is sickness in the neighborhood. “The congregating of a large num- ber of children and older persons on the sidewalks for the purpose of skating interferes with the free passageway of the sidewalks for pedestrians, and I think it would be well to instruct the members of your command to prevent the congregating of persons in large numbers in any one place for the pur- pose of skating, and especially where they are annoying residents.” CITY NEWS IN BRIEF. ‘TODAY. | Red Triangle Outing Club will hold a bowling party tonight at the Lucky Strike Alleys, Fourteenth street and | Riggs place, at 7:30 o'clock. An open meeting of the International Labor Defense League will be held tc- night at Seventeenth and Pennsylvania avenue to discuss the trial of the strik- | ers at Charlotte, N. C. Herbert Benja- | min of Philadelphia and others will speak. A meeting of the guides of the Dis- trict will be held tonight at the Cava- lier Hotel, 3500 Fourteenth street, to discuss plans for an association of guides | in Washington. Plans for the estab- lishment of uniform rates and a cen- tral assignment bureau will be discussed. i FUTURE. “Fate and Free Will” is the subject chosen for the free lecture and questions and answers to feature the meeting of the United Lodge of Theosophists Thursday evening at 8 o'clock at 709 Hill Building. Men’s Club of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will hold its regular meeting Thursday evening at 8:30 in the parish hall. Officers will be elected. Catholic women will meet Friday evening in the Italian Garden of the Hotel Mayfower to discuss plans for the annual convention of the National Council of Catholic Women, to be held September 29 to October 3. ar Admiral Joseph M. U.Rg. N., member of the general board and recently in command of the air squidron of the battle fleet in the Pacific, will speak on aviation at the Juncheon meeting of the District of Columbia Chapter, M. O. W. W., Thurs- day at the Army and Navy Olub. BROKER PAYS FOR FOLLY. 1 Reeves, Disregards Friends’ Advice Not to g Fly in Winds, and Crashes. /AGO, September 10 (P).—Jack shi?r{g-d. a broker, was near death to- day because he disregarded advice of Three soldiers who nearly €aw deat France were reunited here Labor day by right: Sergt. Gene Brandenburger and Bill Goebel. WAR TRIO, LONG Cook, They Ent It's a small world after all. “Top Kick” Brandenburger, viewing the firemen'’s parade from a Red Cross bus on Labor day, all but fell into the startled lap of “Gunner” Donegan, his long-lost buddy and side-kick of big war days, thus bridging a gap of 10 years of search for each other. These two, amidst ohs and ahs and of the bus a few minutes later, nearly toppled out in astonishment, for there amongst the packed crowds was that one familiar face they both sought, the third and last corner of-the inseparable rio, Bill Goebel. that ‘came simultaneously from two eager throats and that was heard up and down ‘the Avenue, brought Bill fly- ing to the bus. Evangeline 1n all her glory had noth- g on these three inseparables who, buddies through the heartbreak and norrors of the war, met again after a decade of search. Mrs. Mabel Shackelford, Red Cross worker- in _charge of the bus, watched “Top Kick” Brandenburger and “Gun- ner” Donegan as they left Walter Reed Hospital on their way to the parade. The top kick and gunner sat on op- other with puzzied frowns, each trying to place the other. Mrs, Shackelford, misinterpreting their puzzied frowns for prehensive, and seeing these two, sud- embrace each other, instinctively shut her eyes and waited for the dull thuds of blows. All three “Top Kick,” “Gunner” and Bill were members of the famous Sui- cide Club, that fighting, reckless unit, the 5th Machine Gun Battalion, Com- pany D, of the 2nd Division. Brandenburger was top sergeant. Donegan was gunner and Bill Goebel company cook. They all saw service and plenty of it. All have citations for bravery and Bill has the French Croix de Guerre. They fought to- gether at Chateau Thierry, at Soissons, St. Mihiel, Champagne and the Ar- gonne Forest. Together they battled desperately .to hold the sectors of Cor- alie, Marie Louise and Marbache. Through muck and mire, through living barriers of steel and shell fire, through forced marches and sleepless and red nights they stuck together. One morning on_the Paris-Metz road orders came from Pershing’s headquar- HERE WHILE WATCHING PARADE Buddies in France, Sergeant, Gunner and on Red CI‘OSS B\JS. backslappings, looking out the window | A loud “Hey, BHI."; posite sides of the bus looking at each | belligerent attitudes, became a bit ap- | denly remembering, spring across to | - WA ER TEN YEARS h at the same time on the battletieias of two unusual meetings. They are, left to Gunner John F. W. Donegan. Below: —Star Staff Photos. PARTED, MEET huse at Reunion | ters to hold a certain position at any |cost. The French had already been | driven back 40 kilometers on this same | | position. Top Kick Brandenburger | was in charge of a machine gun em- ' | placement and Donegan’ was one of his | gunners. The machine gun was well | {hidden and its position was thought | to be unknown to the Germans. Sud- denly a six-inch shell dropped right into the emplacement. Luckily it was a’'dud and didn't go off. | The situation was extremely ticklish, for Brandenburger could not move the gun without orders, and it was obvious | | enough that its position had been dis- covered. He dispatched Donegan to lo- | cate the captain in charge of the unit | and get permission tc move the gun. | The captain couldn't be found and the Germans were moving into position to wipe out the nest. Suddenly Donegan | espled the captain, blurted out his | message and got his orders. ~ They | worked like demons to change position, |and a few minutes later three shells dropped directly into the emplacement | and tore it up. ! Another morning Bill Goebel was on | | his way up with the rolling kitchen to | feed the boys up at the front line. An enemy bullet- suddenly whizzed by and got the driver of the kitchen right.be- i fween the eyes. Bill grabbed the wheel, and, crouching as low as he could, made for his objective. § Bullets screamed on all sides of him | and things were certainly warm. Then | Bill neard a slight movement behind him and saw a shining blade pointed | at his back. He whipped around, grabbed his man and fought for his life. A good stiff uppercut caught the German on the point of the jaw and laid him out. Bill grabbed the steering wheel again and brought the kitchen up. Unconcernedly he set to work | cooking chow. for the men. The French | government presented him with a Croix de Guerre for this exploit. Gunner Donegan_ was called the Charlie Chaplin of the A. E. F. He is a natural-born clown and kept the boys in high spirits. He was born on Priday, the 13th, and has this as his reason for coming through the war un- scatned. | Top Kick, Gunner and Bill are to- | gether again. “It’s a great life,” says Top Kick. “Remember, you birds, the cafes and cold dark bottles and the old songs?” “We remember, all right,” came the chorus sadly. BOATMAN DENIES Friend Says Dilger Offered Aid to Sinking Craft, Which Was Refused. Paul Dilger of the Washington Canoe Club, the operator of a motor boat which Sunday night figured in a collis- sion near the lower end of Georgetown Channel, did not leave the scene of the accident without making his identity known to occupants of the other motor boat, according to a statement today by W. H. Milner, a friend of Dilger’s, who had sold him the boat. Dilger told Milner he first gave the others the number of his boat, in 2 con- versation between the two boats after the accident, and on yesterday morning reported the matter to the Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. r was quoted as saying he drove his boat from the scene because of the apparent anger of the other boating party, after passengers on the other boat had pushed his away. Later the dam aged craft was grounded near the Cor- inthian Boat Club landing, toward which it was making from the Potomac River, when the accident occurred. Milner sald un(mm cs;ld{he: ”(‘:ln Dilger’s_craft: were injured - 3 is quoted as saying he the tone of the others’ conversa- tion to be threatening. " BOYS GIVEN HEARING. One of Pair Accused of Sounding False Fire Alarm. Two youths—Gerald. P. Drake, 10 years old, 619 Jefferson street, and Paul illiams Tewalt, 13 years old, 608 JefTerson street—were taken to the thir- the omflummd yt(;."l::mwmrned e ve z Seventh and in a false fire alarm at to the Drake boy and the iends not to take his new airplane :::m in the shifting gusts of sesterday evening. Shepherd’s plane dropped trug\ a height of 200 feet, nose down * His skull, his jawbone and an arm and leg were fraciured. Little hope was held| for his recovery. . Ingraham streets. According Tewalt boy, who accompanied him, Gerald turned in an alarm when he | girl saw smoke coming from a fire near a steam shovel in neighborhood. The fire, the was put out by a colored man. The boys were turned over to their pérents. HIT-RUN CHARGES MRS. AMANDA J. SCOTT DIES AT AGE OF 91 Resident of Wasihngton Since Civil War Days Expires at Home of Daughter. Mrs. Amanda J. Scott, 91 years old, a resident of this city since the Civil ‘War, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Charles Smith, 1239 B street southeast, yesterday. She was the widow of Willlam H. Scott, who con- ducted a grocery business at Thirteenth and I streets southeast many years ago. She is survived by three sons, J. Frank, William H. and Qarence Scott, all of this city, and two daughters, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Estelle Wilson, the lat- ter of Montreal, Canada. Funeral services will be conducted at the residerice of her daughter here Thursday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Interment will be in Congressional Cemetery. SUSPECTS EMPLOY SMOKE TO MAKE GOOD ESCAPE A car equipped with a smoke screen and suspected of bringing in whisky from Southern Marylands smoked up two policemen from the eleventh precinct last night and made its get- away after a high-speed chase through the southeast section of the city. The chase started at about 11:30 o'clock at Pennsylvania avenue and ‘Thirtieth street, Policemen B. H. Camp- bell and R. J. Walters in pursuit. At the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge the occupants of the fleemg car let the pursuers have a dose from the smoke screen. The policemen stuck to the chase, however, until they lost the machine at Second and L streets. They {;fled to get the license number of e car. 3 GIRL AND BOY FIGHT. Altercation Results in Her Being Taken to Kolpit,l. An altercation about 10 o'clock last night in front of 1215 H street north= east between a 15-year-old boy and & gorl but a year older in the 1 being taken to Olfll;\"ty’ml"l of ‘the 1200 after receiving a blow on She is Blanche Gibson @he Zy jber of ‘places raided is 289, the number | this office to prosecute vigorously all DRIVEON GANBLING INTENSFIED WITH WARNING LETTERS U. S. Prosecutor Notifies Owners of Property Be- Yieved Jllegally Used. THEY ARE HELD LIABLE FOR TENANT’S ACTIVITIES Collateral Is Raised in “Numbers” Cases to Suppress This Form of Gaming. United States Attorney Leo A. Rover has sent out letters addressed i0 owners of premises reported by the police to be used for gambling purposes in which he threatens to hold, theg, respousible if gaming is permitted on these premises. ‘The prosecutor points out that under the law all persons aiding and abetting in violation of the gambiing law may be prosecuted as principals. At the same time, howcver, Mr. Rover asks the co-operation of the owners of the premises in question and the aid of :lln“law—nbldmg citizens” here in his ef- orts. Careful Survey Made. Commenting today on the proposed drastic steps to blot out the gambling evils, Mr. Rover said: o “As a result of a very careful and exhaustive survey made by the mem- bers of the Metropolitan Police Depart- ment, under the direction of the major and superintendent, Henry C. Pratt, of the places in this city where arrests for violations of the gambling laws have occurred in the past year, and where it is thought violations are continuing, | my office is addressing a letter to_the | owners of the various premises where | violations have occurred, calling their | attention to those sections of the code | being violated and requesting their co- | operation in ridding their premises of violators of the gambling laws. The attention of the property owners has likewise been called to the provisions of section 908 of the code of laws of the District of Columbia providing that persons conniving at an offense or aid- {ing or abetting the violator may be | prosecuted, together with the actual | violator. | “From June 1, 1928, to June 15, 1929, | nine convictions have been had in the | Supreme Court of the District of Co- | lumbia and sentences totaling 26 years | and six months. In addition thereto | a fine of $7,500 was imposed on cne | defendant. | Co-Operation Is Sought. “This office confidently expects the earnest co-operation of the owners to whom letters have been sent, as well as the co-operation of all of the law-abid- ing citizens of the District of Columbia in stamping out the gambling evil. “As an evidence of the extent to| which this office and the Police De- partment_have gone in the effort to cope with this ’situation, the report ! shows that during the period from Jan- | uary 1, 1928, to May 1, 1929, the num- | of raids conducted 464 and the num- ber of persons arrested in connection with the violations 624. “Assistant United States Attorney Renah F. Camalier, who was recently transferred from the Police Court, where he had been conducting the prosecu- tion of liquor cases, has been placed | in charge of this campaign.” A sample letter sent to the owners. said to be involved, in a list of alleged gambling houses furnished by the police to the prosecutor, quotes sections 863 and 908 of the District code against gambling and making an aider or a bettor liable as a principal. It points out that sentence may be imposed on such a bettor as on the persons con- victed of the gambling charge. The owner is told that the police have re- ported that gaming is being permitted on the premises and his attention is called officially by the prosecutor to a matter “of which you might not be aware.” i Illegal Use Explained. The letter also points out that “under the terms of your lease, such illegal use undoubtedly “works a breach of the covenant, and as it is the intention of persons responsible for, or in any man- ner connected with these violations, this opportunity is being given you at this time to correct a condition, the exist- ance of which you, perhaps, have been hitherto unaware.” The owner is advised that the matter Jis in the hands of Assistant United ‘States Attorney Camalier, who will give such assistance to owners, as desired, in ridding their premises of the alleged | gamblers. A new plan of procedure for hand- ling cases involving the operators of the increasingly popular game of “numbers” was adopted by the Police Department today with a view to mak- ing more effective its campaign to break up this form of gambling in ‘Washington. Acting on directions from the office of United States Attorney Leo A. Rover, Maj. Henry G. Pratt, superin- | tendent of police, issued a special order raising the minimum cash collateral for persons arrested for having any connection with the game to $100. There has been no fixed minimum in the past, the amount of the collateral having been left to the discretion of the precinct commanders. As a result, the police superintendent pointed out, collateral as low as $25 has n accepted, and offenders have for- feited rather than face trial in court. Cases Under Code Law. The order also directs that prosecu- tions against operators of the game be brought under section 866 of the Dis- trict Code in lieu of section 863, which pertains to lotteries. Section 866 deals with the setting up and operation of gaming tables, and prosecutions under it will permit the cases to be tried in Police Court, where a speedier trial is more likely than in the District Su- Arrests in the past have been made under the lottery law, but several of the violators who were indicted by the grand jury are still at liberty under | plock?of O street where Samuel Louis | the Washington Navy Yard, afterwards bond. Maj. Pratt said the United States attorney’s office had advised him that the gambling law would cover the “numbers” game, and prosecutions under it will, at least, get the offenders before a court sooner than if convictions are sought under the lottery law. ‘With r.y fixed collateral minimum, Maj. Pratt explained, it will be possible for the precinct commanders to increase the collateral above this amount in ag- gravated cases or for second and third offenses, which will have the effect of forcing the cases into court or dri the “runners” for the operators out business. Runners Are Affected. The runners who form the liasison between the operators and the players ic | aye the ones who will be directly af- i..ic4 by the higher collateral, since a1} 'WITH SUNDAY MORKING EDITION 3 Star SHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, -SEPTEMBER 10, WATCHMANDELAYS ROBBERY HEARING Fails to Appear Against Men He Accused of Tying Him to Railroad Tracks. Investigation by Arlington County of- ficials of the story of Bushrod Garrison of Washington, a watchman employed by the Virginia Auto Parts Co., that he was beaten about the head by one of three men early Sunday morning and tied to the rails of a spur frack near the Washington-Alexandria pike, was delayed today through failure of Gar- rison to appear in court at the Arling- ton_County, Va., courthouse. Three men are under arrest as the result of Garrison’s charges, all held on charges of grand larceny growing out of the Washington man’s report that after the attack on him his place of business was robbed of supplies val- ued at $116. They are Nathan G. Armel, 38, who gave his address as King's Rest Camp, near the Arlington County-Alexandria line, and Odie Pon- thieux, 29, and Winston B. Baker, 18, both of Alexandria, Va. Garrison is reported to have de- scribed the attack to H. L. Hemminger, his employer. The three men asked to purchase an automobile battery from him early Sunday morning, he said, and while waiting on them he was struck a hard blow by a police night stick. His assailants tied him to the rails of a spur track nearby, he asserted, and when he effected his release sometime later he returned to the scene of the attack to discover that the place had been robbed. Hemminger told Commonwealth At- torney Willlam C. Gloth today that he had called at Garrison’s home in Southwest Washington to accompany him to court and had been told Garri- son was at a doctor’s office. William H. Thompson and Ray Cobean, Arling- ton County policemen, had been unable to communicate with Garrison. At the request of the commonwealth attor- ney the cases were continued until to- morrow. Armel was arrested by Alexandria police last night, and is said to have had in his possession a police club, later identified by Hemminger as the one taken from his establishment. The other two men were arrested in a room- ing house in the 200 block of E street, Washington, later in the evening, by Officers Thompson and Cobean on in- formation furnished by Armel. Hemminger said today that the at- tack was not reported to him until yes- terday morning. # — e the operators, if caught, can be charged with a felony, in which case the mini- mum bond is $1,500. 3 In anticipation of Maj. Pratt’s order the police continued the drive against the “numbers” game with renewed im- petus, making three raids yesterday in various sections of Washington and arresting three alleged operators. The raids were conducted under the direc- tion of Sergt. O. J. Letterman and his vice squad. ‘The first rald was made in the 400 Brown, 851 %w‘lmnl:‘ld, was -"el:t:dum with setting up a gami 5 :-lm released under $2,000 bond. he feels that|A quantity of betting slips were found(, | served for “,‘;i’,ml years. Subsequently, the raiders allege. Others Are Arrested. Charles Richardson, colored, 34 years old, of the 1600 block was arrested while in front of the 1700 block of Kalorama road. The officers say he was taking bets. He was charged with setting up a gaming table and released under $2,000 last_raid in the 200 id old of arrested others. case and he was el 1929, AR RUNS AWAY, Victim, Unable to Drive, Is| Carried Over Embank- ‘ment in Machine. Seated in an automobile which her | | daughter had parked at the Calvert | |street curb yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Ida M. Blackman, 61, of 2315 Twen- | tietk street, /waited for the younger woman, Mrs. Anna M. Deckhaut, to re- turn from a nearby grocery. { Mrs. Blackman never had learned &el drive a motor car, and when the vibra- tion of a passing trolley car looseed the emergency brake she sat frozen with horror as the car slowly started down an incline and gathered speed. A scant 150 yards ahead lay the Cal- vert Street Bridge, spanning the steep, | wooded valley of Rock Creek. | Unable to save herself, or so much as utter an outery, Mrs. Blackman was | carried over the embankment. The car | | rolled across the curb and plunged | |downward through the thickets for 20 | feet, when it was stopped by a large |tree, a circumstance to which Mrs. Blackman probably owes her life. | People on the stregt above, who had | | seen the automobile pass them so quick. ly that they were unable to be of as- sistance, clambered down and removed the injured woman. She was taken to Emergency Hospital, and there doctors found she had suffered a sible frac- ture of the hip and cuts about the forehead, the result of being pitched | forward in the machine. Her condi- tion was not regarded as serious. A wrecking truck was summoned, but it was more than an hour before the badly smashed automobile could be ex- tricated from the thicket in which it thad buried itself. DYSON FUNERAL RITES TOMORROW Construction Engineer Dies at Walter Reed Hospital After Long Illness. Arnold H. Dyson, 53 years old, con- struction engineer, died at Walter Reed Hospital Sunday night after e long illness. Funeral services will be conducted in the Gunton Temple Memorial Prasby- terian Church tomorow morning at 10:45 o’clock. - Interment will be in Arlington Cemetery. A native of Providence, R. I, Mr. Dyson as a young man enlisted in the Army in the Spanish-American War, and in 1903 came to this city to work for a private construction firm in Georgetown. In November of that year ne married Miss Bertha Tompkins of Providence, R. I % Later Mr, Dyson went to work at being transferred to the office of the office of the Supervising Architect at the Treas Department, where he he traveled for the Internal Revenue e ok “Tor the ‘Navy. Department; work for the Navy ent, Among his work was the 4 airship hang: About 1922, Mr. business for himself engineer, maintaining in the old Oxford Building. He did the engi- neering work for many of the large the District, also in & num- |Classed as Complete Sea- INJURING WOMAN: - PAGE- 13 The Navy has abandoned the carrier pigeon as a means of communication in time of war. Right: Hugh V. Watkins, in charge of the Anacostia lofts, “148,” which flew in the grand national race, and “234-7,” another racer. In- One of the prize racers. Cent -7,” or Jolly Tar, which won a 2,500- mile race this year, and “244,” which won a 1,600-mile race. —Star Sfaff Photos. NAVY PLANS SALE OF CARRIER BRDS going “Flops,” Pigeons May Be Sold at Auction. CAPPER SEE NEE OF LARGER POLIEE FORGE I DSTRE Senator Also Sympathetic to Increased Salary Proposai for Men. WOULD HAVE FIREMEN INCLUDED IN RAISES Action on Latter Issue to Be Taken in December Session, He Indicates. 4 Recommendations recently made to the Commissioners for a larger number of policemen and for salary increases, both for policemen and firemen, were favored today by Chairman Capper of the Senate District_ committee. “It seems to me there is merit in the requests of Supt. Pratt for more men,” Senator Capper said. “The size of the police force pyobably has not been in- creased as rapidly as the city has | grown.” . Separate Salary Bill. The proposal for additional men is a matter to be considered by the Dis- trict of Columbia subcommittees of the House and Senate appropriations com- ith | mittees when they are preparing the District appropriation bill for next year. The question of salary for the Police and Fire Departments, cn the other hand, would require a separate bill, which would have to come from the Senate and House District committees. Senator Capper said the salary ques- tion would not be taken up until the regular session in December, but he in- dicated he was in sympathy with the recommendations for raises. If salaries are gone into. he said, the changes should apply to both Fire and Police Departments. 1,500 Policemen Asked. The need for more policemen to patrol ithe streets of the Capital was stressed in the annual report of Supt. Pratt, who urged that the number of men be iincreased from 1,262 fo 1,500. He point- |ed out @hat of the present total per- sonnel only 530 were available for patrol duty and that this number must be divided into three eight-hour groups, leaving only a small number of men on duty at one time. Referring briefly to the inquiry just It appears that the Army’s war birds have turned out to be the Navy's doves. Soldiers swear by them and sailors— well, sailors just swear. Anyhow, the Navy may hold a pigeon auction soon. If the Army wants to bid in some perfectly good sea-going messengers, all the Army needs is the cash. Getting inside the regulations, one hears that the pigeon is something of a flop” as an aeronautical life-saver, nautically speaking. refuse to live on the airplane carriers. where they might make their mark. Once liberated, they make for the near- est land and prefer an “A. W. O. £.” | rating to additional sea duty. Cling to Plane Wings. Aviators have found that often when the pigeons are released from a plane. particularly over the water, they cling to the wings of the craft instead of bearing a messagg back to the homing point. This penchant of sea-going pigeons has given rise to the opinion in the Bureau of .Aeronautics that airmen have heaved more monkey wrenches and fired more Very pistols at them than the birds are worth. Too, the development of radio com- munication between the airplanes and their bases has largely removed the need for feathered messengers. In the event of war, officers believe another flock can be quickly trained should the necessity develop. ~As it is, the Navy will continue to maintain pigeons at the Naval Air Station at Lakehurst and at the Naval Station, Guam. For the rest, they will be disposed of if a recommendation by the Bureau of Engineering, Navy Department, is ap- proved by Secretary Adams. Auction Sale Planned. 1t was learned today that engineering officials have urged that 75 birds from Hampton Roads, 100 from Pensacola and 50 from Newport R. I, be assembled with the 250 pigeons at Anacostia, and the lot offered to fanciers and sportsmen at public auction. The apparent failure of pigeons on the sea has not been duplicated on land. Perhaps the difference lies between the varied working conditions, and not in the quality of the birds themselves. The Army numbers many prized birds among its messengers. They are con- sidered reliable under certain conditions. and have often carried messages which would otherwise have gone undelivered. The Bureau of Navigation has rec- ommended that the 50. birds at Port au Prince, Haiti; the 50 at Pear]l Har- bor, Territory Hawaii; the 50 at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, and the 75 at San Diego, Calif., be disposed of at those local points rather than shipping them to Anacostia. Sale Is Approved. The Bureau of Aeronautics, which recommended in the first instance that the pigeons be acquired, likewise took the initiative in recommending their disposal. The Bureau of Engineering has now recommended that the Bu- reau of Supplies and Accounts sell the birds at autcion. The pigeons and their care are taken cognizance of by a number of bureaus. The training is done under the eye of the Bureau of Aeronautics. The per- sonnel that care for them comes under the Buerau of Navigation. The trans- portation for the pigeons—mostly motor cycles that take them into the country and from which they are released to keep the birds in training—are under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, while the Bureau of Engi- neering owns and maintains the pigeons and their housing facilities. With the sale of the pigeons, officers int_out, personnel and material will o Peteased for other duty, effecting yet another economy for Uncle Sam. BRACK LIKELY TO SERVE ON DISTRICT COMMITTEE New Senator From Tennessee Pos- _ sible Successor to Post Held by Senator Who Died. The vacancy on the Senate District committee caused by the death of Sen- ator Tyson, Democrat, of Tennessee, brobably will be offered to Senator Brock, who was appointed by the Gov- ernor of Tennessee to finish out the re- of the late Senator reral how- is reached us to new Senator. They won't be good sailors and they | ! conducted by a committee of the Board {of Public Welfare into conditions at | Gallinger Hospital, Senator Capper said |today that he saw no reason why the | Senate committee should turn its atten- | tion to this matter, as long as the Dis- | trict authorities are going into it. 'RETIRED INVENTOR . DIES AFTER ILLNESS George T. Smallwood Was Consult- ant on Mechanical Matters and Held Many Patents. George Thomas Smallwood, 75 years old, retired inventor and mechanical ex- | pert. died at his home 3702 Ingomar | street. Chevy Chase, yesterday. after a long illness, | During his career, Mr. Smallwood fre- { quently was called to various parts of | the country as consultant on mechani- i cal matters and had many patents on inventions of his own. He retired from | active work a number of years ago. ~ A native of Boston, Mr. Smallwood was descended from early settlers of Massachusetts and Virginia, and was jactive in the Sons of the American | Revolution here for a number of years He had resided in Washington ‘since a young boy. 1" Mr. Smallwood was acti {sonic fraternity. | mony Lodge, E | Commandery, Knights Templar: was a Royal Arch Mason and member of | Almas Temple of the Mystic Shrine | Years ago he was widely known here as a golf player. He is survived by his widow. Mrs | Della’ Graeme Smallwood: a_daughter. Mrs. Reginald W. Geare; a son, Graham | T. Smallwood, and three grandchildren, {all of this city. Mrs. Smallwood, who | before her marriage was Miss Robinson. | is former State regent of the District of Columbia Society, Daughters of the | American Revolution. and also_former | vice president general, D. A. R. She was for many vears principal of the | Washington _Seminary, a finishing school for girls. ! Funeral services will be conducted at | the residence tomorrow afternoon at 2 | o'clock. Rev. Charles Buck will offici- {ate. Interment will be in Glenwood | Cemetery. in the Ma- d to Har- ; Washington \“HARD-LUCK” STORY | FAILS TO MEET TEST :Womsn, Arrested for Begging, Is Sentenced to $300 Fine or 90 Days in Jail. A hard-luck story which command- ed the sympathy even of hard-boiled detectvies until they learned that it was false, resulted in a charge of va- grancy being lodged today againct Mrs. Mary Johnson, who was tgken into cus- tody Friday, and in a sentence of $300 or 90 days being impcsed on_her by Police Court Judge Robert E. Mat- tingly. When arrested Friday by Headquar- ters Detective Harry Cole for becging on the streets, she exhibited a certifi- cate from a Dr. J. H. McCullough of Rochester, N. Y., which stated that she was suffering from tuberculosis and only a change to a dryer climate would help her. She said that her husband died last June, leaving her destitute, and that she had a small daughter in Phoenix, Ariz., she wished to join. ‘The officer was touched by the story and sent her to the House of Deten- tion. Meanwhile, an investigation was set on foot. A telegram to Rochester police dis- closed that- Dr. McCullough has been dead for years, and that there is no record there of a man named Charles R._Johhson. It also was found that she had no daughter living at the address she gave in Phoenix. Left Pocketbook in Store. Alice Carter, 1113 Sixth street north- east, late yesterday afternoon appealed to police of the first precinct to make an effort to recover a pocketbook con- taining $220 in cash and valuable pa- pers she left on the counter of a sev- enth street stcre.