Evening Star Newspaper, September 24, 1929, Page 10

o % SHEARER PROPOSED ATTENDING PARLEY Palen Tells Senate Probers He First Sought Employ- ment to Do Publicity. Geneva. He pointed out that his com- pany was spending about $25,000 a day for cruiser construction and that it was of great importance for the company to know the trend of the conference. Senator Shortridge asked the witness if he was interested in the result of the conference. “Eventually,” said Mr. Palen, “but I was interested also in the progress or trend of the conference.” He said that any proposals that might | come before the conference regarding | the cruiser program were of very great interest to his business. He said that he believed that the employment of Shearer to learn the trend of the con- ference was justified. i “As a citizen I was interested mn a| fair agreement at Geneva,” said Mr. Palen. “As a shipbuilder I was inter- tested in any agreement.” Ferguson Ends Testimony. Before Mr. Palen took the stand Mr. Ferguson completed his testimony which ; was begun yesterday afternoon. Mr. Ferguson denied that he personally had had anything to do with the employ- ment of Shearer and told the committee that Mr. Palen had been responsible for the employment of Shearer. Senator Allen of Kansas questioning Mr. Ferguson declared that evidently, Ferguson's company was “ashamed” of the employment of Shearer to go to} Geneva. | “Evidently you expected to be ashamed | of it, or you would not have gone about | it the clandestine way you did,” smd! Senator Allen. He asked Mr. Ferguson | what his reaction was to this thought.; “My reaction is,” replied Mr. Fergu-i son, “that I wish I had gone to Ge- neva myself.” 4 Mr. Ferguson conceded that Shearer’s name does not appear on the books of his company, and that all payments | to him were made in cash from the mer- chant marine fund. When it developed that several of the checks for money intended for Shearer were made out to Oscar Olsen, identified as an employe of the New York office, the committee | decided to summon Olsen. Plainly nettled at what he termed this process of passing the responsibility down the line in connection with efforts to learn | the facts about Shearer's employment. | Senator Allen remarked, “It must end | somewhere, even if we have to call the | Janitor of your company. Met at Palen's House. Mr. Ferguson on taking the stand testified that he had first met Shearer at Palen’s house in New York Novem- | ber, 1926. At that meeting, lasting half an hour, the discussion was general, _covering the merchant marine develop- ment and the six-cruiser program. Mr. Ferguson said that Shearer wanted em- ployment to do publicity and educa- tional work with reference to the nfer- chant marine. He said that Shearer was not employed at that meeting. He said later Mr. Palen entered into an agreement to employ Shearer and to pay $2,500 as one-third of a sum to be given Shearer by three shipbuilding companies. “You O. K.'d checks for money to be paid Shearer?” asked Chairman Short- ridge of the committee. “The first check I O. K.'d was dated August 2, 1928,” sald Mr. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson testified that this check was to cover a loan of $2,000 made to Shearer by Mr. Palen. The money had already gone to Shearer, he said, when he O. K.d the voucher. The check, like all other checks for money handed to Shearer, was charged to the so-called merchant marine fund of his company. “Mr. Palen loaned Shearer $2,000,” sald Mr. Ferguson, “on Shearer's rep- resentation that he was broke, owed his rent and so forth. Mr. Palen had con- fidence in the integrity of Mr. Shearer at that time. He loaned the money. I told him he could take the notes.” The witness said that there were three notes of Mr. Shearer, two of $500 each payable to Palen and one of $1,000 pay- | abie to Mr. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson said that none of the company money had been loaned Shearer prior to that time | | Money Went fo Shearer. Senator Shortridge questioned Mr. ! Ferguson about a number of checks ! made payable to Oscar Olson. This| money, Mr. Ferguson said, went to| Shearer. Olson, he said, was an em- | ploye of the New York office of the company. i “Why wasn't the money pald to| Shearer instead of to Olson?” asked ! Senator Shortridge. | “I don't know,” said Mr. !‘erguson.’ “Mr. Palen can tell.” The witness testified that Shearer came to him in the Fall of 1928 for em- ployment. * | “He wanted to come to Washington to help in the 15-cruiser fight, then ! coming up in Congress,” said Mr. Fer- | guson. “I told him emphatically to stay | away from Washington.” | Shearer, Mr. Ferguson testified. then | saw Palen and the latter employed him. | He said that Shearer tried to get em- | ployment with Palen because “he was down and out and needed employment.” Shearer wanted $1,000 a month and Palen told him that $500 a month was | ;ll that he could pay, the witness testi- | dollars a month,” said Mr. Ferguson. | ed. “Shearer stood out for a thousand | i 2 document or not.” |and educational work?” asked Senator | family, and the chairman of the board, know anything about him. Shearer came to Palen after he had been home about six months from Geneva, but not to talk about Geneva, but about his personal indebtedness. ~When Palen made that last mmtnt of $2,500 he got a receipt in The witness presented to the commit- tee the receipt referred to, dated March 27, 1929, and signed “W. B. Shearer.” As read by the chairman, the receipt acknowledged payment on that date of $2,500 “in full settlement of all serv- ices rendered” and “all understandings had on my own (Palen’s) behalf of the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry- dock Co.” and stated that Shearer's services “cre hereby discharged and terminated.” The name of “Oscar Olson,” identi- fled as an employe in the New York office of the Newport News Co., was brought into the record frequently, in connection with the payments made to Shearer by that company. Several of the checks for money which went to Shearer were drawn in favor of Olson. The witness was questioned as to why the transaction was handled through Mr. Olson and his reply was that it was intended to give Shearer his payments in cash. Senator Allen suggested it would be advisable for the committee to call Olson as a witness and Chairman Shortridge agreed. Quizzed on “Secret Document.” Senator Allen quizzed Ferguson re- garding his knowledge of Shearer's claim in a letter to the shipbuilding magnate that Shearer was in es- sion of a “secret British document of amazing report.” The Senator read from a letter sent Ferguson by Shearer in which it was indicated the former knew about Shearer’s possession of the document. “I heard something about it from Shearer in 1928, and possibly later in Washington, when I saw him there,” Ferguson explained. “I think he told me he had some correspondence con- cerning this matter. I wasn't particu- larly interested in whether he had such “But you did agree to finance Mr. Shearer in his ‘patriotic’ work, which he said touched every member of Con- gress and involved widespread publicity Allen. The witness rcdded in assent and stated that the company had put up between $18,000 and $19,000. “And this money, this ‘patriotic’ work,” Senator Allen, continued, “em- braced not only his triotic’ work in this country, but the establishment of the observatory at Geneva?” Ferguson replied in the affirmative. “Then it really cost more to be patriotic at home than abroad,” Sena- tor Allen commented, amid general laughter. Asked About Pamphlet. | Senator Allen asked Ferguson about the now famous “cloak of Benedict Ar- nold” pamphlet, which it has been tes- tified the ship companies paid Shearer $225 to suppress. “Why did that pamphlet receive widespread circulation after you had paid him to have it destroyed?” asked Senator Allen. The witness remarked | that sometimes suppressing a thing has | the opposite effect. “If Shearer's work at Geneva so dis- gusted you shipbuilders, so aroused your horror, why did you coritinue to employ him?” Senator Allen asked. “I didn't do it.” answered Ferguson, “Mr. Palen did. “Then you think Mr. Palen can tell us about it? He won't pass it on to Mr. Olson? This process of passing down the responsi- bility nas to end somewhere, even if we_have to call the janitor.” Ferguson said he didn't see the necessity of sending any one to Geneva and that he had discussed the propesi- tion with his board. He said he didn’t (remember of seeing any of Shearer's reports and wouldn't have attached any significance to them at the time because he didn't know Shearer was representing his company. Senator Robinson questioned the wit- nes about the “merchant marine fund” from which the payments to Shearer were made. Ferguson said he knew practically nothing about the ! and could not say when it was estab- lished or why. Senator Robinson re- ferred to the comment by Ferguson that at one time he had thought about going to Geneva himself, and asked if it was Ferguson's idea he might have bf‘en an observer instead of some one else. Wished He Had Gone Himself. “I wish I had gone,” replied Fergu-- son amid laughter. “What was wrong about this Shearer | business, anyway?” asked Senator Allen. “Is thete anything in the testi- mony s far given to show that you should be ashamed of it?” The witness did not reply audibly. | “But evidently you were ashamed of it,” pursued Allen, “and expected to be ashamed of it or you would not have gone about empioying Shearer in the clandestine way you did. What is your reaction to that thought?” | ““My reaction is,” Furguson replied in | a low voice, “that I wish I had gone| there myself.’ Authority Lacking. Chairman Shortridge gave notice yes- terday that numerous requests for general investigation into lobbying activities would have to be passed over because of lack of authority by his com- mittee. He said he would support the resolution of Senator Caraway, Demo- crat, Arkansas, for a general probe of lobbying activities, which is now before the Senate. At the session yesterday afternoon Homer L. Ferguson, president of the Newport News company, said®Frederick P. Palen, vice president of his corpora- thon, had represented the firm at the New York meeting of shipbuilders which hired Shearer. He revealed that com- pany, books did not show the $18,000 which had been paid Shearer and that the money had come from a “merchant marine” promotion fund. Ferguson paused in his reply to ques- tions to state that the owners of his corporation, the H. E. Huntington Henry M. Robinson of Los Angeles, “I told Palen to close out with Shearer. I told him he had gotteg into this mess i and that he had to gel out of it. At| $500 a month it meant Shearer was to | get $6,000 in a year. I told Palen to| pay him the remaining $2,500 and get | rid of Shearer; that I did not want him | on the pay roll.” The witness added | that Shearer very easy to employ.” | ‘The check for $2,500 was drawn March | 27, 1929, to Oscar Olson. | ““That was the last chock so far as, I know drawn to pay Shearer,” said | Mr. Ferguson, “I cheerfully approved the voucher. T did not want to be| responsible for his furth>r employment | by our company or for what he might | do_ within the next six months.” Mr. Ferguson testified that his com- pany alone was in on the .payment of this $6,000 to Shearer and that the other two companies involved in the investigation had had no share in it. “This is just an added luxury for you then,” suggested Senator Allen. “Yes,” 'said Mr. Ferguson. He testified that this $6,000 was in- cluded in the total of $18,000 which his company had paid to Shearer. The committee learned from Mr. Ferguson that his company drew no checks directly in favor of Shearer and that the latter's name does not appear on any of the company's books, ex- cept in correspondence. With regard to the “loan” of $2,000 by the Newport News firm to Shearer in 1928 Ferguson testified that the notes Shearer gave Ferguson and Palen re- mained unpaid and that the company has not yet demanded payment al- though such action is “under considera- tion.” The witness said he wasn’t sure whether he and Palen were legally bound to réimburse their company in event the loan never is repaid, Fergu- son conceded that the loan was not “a wise transaction.” “Then how did it come about?” de- manded Chairman Shortridge. ‘Why | was it done if, -85 you have testifwd, Mr Shearer’s activities at Geneva had been so0 distasteful to you?” - Shearer Said He Was Broke. “They were t distasteful then, Ferguson replied, “I didn’'t know aboui his Geneva activities. Shearer came to us and said he was broke, hard up and so forth and. Palen evidently had confidence in him. didn’t | who hired Shearer for his firm, that | of the fulfillment of his obligations to knew nothing about Shearer’s employ- ment. Robinson, who is a friend of President Hoover, has been chairman of the Newport News corporation board of directors since May, 1928. Both the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation and the Newport News con- cern are now building American Navy cruisers which were undertaken at the time the Geneva conference started. Paid From “Peity Cash.” | The committee learned yesterday from | S. W. Wakeman, vice president of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, its share of the payments were made from a “petty cash” fund and was given Mr. Hunter, counsel of the Council of American Shipbutlders. Senator Allen yesterday questioned Wakeman about a “surprising” letter which Shearer wrote to Wakeman in 1928 and in which Shearer asserted that “as a result of the failure of the tri-power naval conference at Geneva there is now before the Seventieth Con- ress & 71-ship building program cost- g $740,000,000.” ‘Wakeman said it was “absurd” to attribute to Shearer the breakdown of the Geneva conference. Allen remarked that _counsel for Wakeman in answer- ing Shearer had not denied his claims ! and in fact had given him a certificate che shipbuilders. SHIP’S CREW RESCUED. Steamer Anthea Reaches Burning \Craft in Indian Ocean. ° LONDON, , September 24 ().—The steamer Anthea, which raced to assist the steamer Sitton Hall, afire in the Southern Indian Ocean, reached the scene and picked up the crew, which had been forced to take to boats. Be- fore reaching the vessel the Anthea had received a wireless message saying the fire was out of all control and that the srew had left the steamer and was . ~iE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1829. LOBBYING PROBE - TAKES NEW LIFE Senator Caraway Expects to Press for Action on’ Pending Proposal. - By the Associated Press, The perennial agitation in Congress for an investigation of lobbying activ- itles has taken on new life this week as a result of disclosures by the Sen- ate committee investigating activities of American shipbuilders. Senator Caraway, Democrat, Arkan- sas, who has had a resolution proposing an inquiry into lobbying before the Sen- ate for a year, announced today he expected next week to press for action on his proposal. Having receivea requests for extend- ing the Senate examination of the ship- builders into activities by other inter- ests in seeking legislation, Chairman Shortridge of the committee investi- gating the shipbuilders, said he was ever, that his committee must confine itseM to the shipbuilders. ‘The shipbuilders are known to be anxious that the Senate study the ac- tivities of the peace organizations and the amount of money spent in their be- half for legislation at Washington. Senator Caraway said he wants to have an inve tion to learn why his bill providing for the registration of lobbyists, which was passed- by the Senate, failed to receive consideration in_the House. With the tariff bill holding the at- tention of the Senate, however, little hope is held out by leaders for con- sideration of other business at the spe- clal session. SLAYER HANGS HIMSELF. KALAMAZOO, Mich,, September 24 (#).—Eugene Burgess, 53, who with his wife Pear] was charged with the “hex” murder of Mrs. Etta L. Fairchild, 83, hanged himself in his cell in the county jsil at 4:30 a.m. today. Both Burgess and his wife were scheduled to go on trial within the next two weeks. ‘The Burgesses invited Mrs. Fairchild to their house last Summer and then beat her to death, throwing her body into a well. They confessed the slay- ing, telling authorities they had feared the reputed power of the woman’s “evil eye.” Mrs. Fairchild, they said, was responsible for casting a “spell” ready to support a move for : general 0 lobby inquis Shortridge e over their daughter Eugen! FLELELELELE = = b o b e g g =g = KAIIFMAH\N Bargains in Dining Room Suites $159.00 10-piece Wal- $89.75 nut-finished Dining Room Suite, slightly mismatch- edh. $229.00 10-piece Genuine Walnut Dining Room $149 IBMIEL L oy et imoeaisiete Drastic Reductions on All Occasional Pieces For the Dining Room $189.00 10-piece Wal- nut Veneer Dining Room Suite ....... Suite with Bargains in Breakfast Sets $325.00 7.piece Burl Walnut and Antique $198 Maple. Large Dinette Suite. . . C5589.00 D6‘-piece Green and anary Dinette Suite for Apart- $39 .75 $98.75 ment use ...... Special! $195.00 6-pc. Bed Lamps Green Crackled Dinette Suite— Strong wire frame and attractive silk shade. qnly a few..... 98¢ No Phone or Mail Orders FLUELELE T LE b g a b g =L —;—r—-‘h—- Suite with Carved § Rails and Bottoms. . - $289.00 3-piece Four-tone Jacquard Velour Bed-Daven- port Suite .. . : $275.00 Mohair enport Suite, of Three pieces, $155.00 Combination Mohair M Eh e day shoppers. tanding by. { RS TR VAR New Zealand may have daylight sav ing time, all clogcks in the country to be put shead one-half hour. Special $ 1 5.45 Here'’s an unusual value for Wednes- Wood-finished metal bed, : comfortable mattress and a good spring. TRAN 1S WREGKE AFTER LD DASH | Debris Litters 5-Mile Stretch as 34 Coal Cars Plunge Down Steep Grade. By the Associated Pr ST. CLAIR, P September 24.— Wreckage littered a 5-mile- stretch of the Pennsylvania Railroad between here and Pottsville Junction today as a re- sult of a wild dash down a steep grade of a runaway locomotive and 34 coal- laden cars. The train parted in three as it hurtled down the grade. Twenty-six cars were reduced into a mass of wreckage and a line of light and power poles were cut down, putting the town of St. Clarr in darkness and causing a flooding of a coal mine by stopping the pumps. Or- ders giving the runaway a clear track prevented a collision with other trains. i bhoard the rui STORE-WIDE REDUCTIONS Bed-Davenport Suite Bargains $198.00 3-piece Jacquard Velour Bed.-Davenport ’ Beci.-ba;/- Frame Top. .. ...coo Bargains in Living Room Suites $295.00 Mulberry Frieze Mo- hair Three-piece Chesterfield ot Suite. ... $49.75 Apartment -Size, $26.75 100 1bs. ice capacity .. $129 $179 $185 DEFERRED- PAYMENTS had thrilling escapes from death. Fire- man H. H. Hawk crawled from his cab to set the hand ces when the train split, leaving him stranded atop the second section of 20 cars that were rac- ing madly down the le. He was hurled from the train, rolled over an embankment and landed near the State highway, where he was picked up by passing motorists. He escaped with slight lacerations. ! Engineer E. J, Gellner finally brought his engine and two of the cars that re- mained Attached to it to a stop at Potts- ville Junction. The runaway occurred at a point where the grade drops one foot every 195 feet. The traip got out of control at Morea and broke into three sections as it reached New Castle. There 20 cf the cars piled up. Six other cars were strewn along the tracks at Big Bridge, near Darkwater, one of them poised over a 150-foot drop after it had crashed through the side of the struc- ture. Mrs. Norman Hill of Middleport was hurt when her automobile crashed into a telephone pole as it struck some of the widely scattered coal over the Frack- ville highway. In a runaway on the same stretch of track in 1918, four lives were lost when the loose train crashed into another. N. D. Maher, Rail Man, Dies. ROANOKE, Va., September 24 ()— N. D. Maher, former president of the Norfolk & Western Railway Co., died here today followin brief iliness. Suite. Vanity ...... French Vanity, Chest, Straight-end Bed Bench and Chair. ..... $359.00 Bird’s-Eye Ma- ple Bedroom Suite. Dress- er, Chest, Straight-end Bed, DYNAMITE BLAST NP STREET AR {New Orleans Violence Re- newed Despite $5,000 Re- ward for Convictions. By the Associated Press. NEW ORLEANS, Scptember 24.—A renewal of street car strike violence caused police to take added precau- tion today, while they simultaneously widened their campaign against “free | ride” automobiles. A South Clairborn Avenue street car was damaged badly last night by a charge of dynamite which was ex- ploded beneath it. of track were torn up and a hole was blasted through the floor of the car. All the windows were shattered. ‘The crew of two and three negro passengers were uninjured. followed the decision of the State Su- preme Court late yesterday upholding T N TN N N PNIESEN NG NN T N PN N N NSl N N NN NN SIS ONINCEININE N KAUFMANNS) L/ Bargains in Bedroom Suites $229.00 Six-piece Genuine Walnut Suite. Large Dresser, Deck Chest, French Vanity and Poster Bed, Bench, Chair. $325 Six-piece Rotary Large Dresser, $149 ~Cut Walnut $189 $249 Deck Startling Reductions On All Occasional Bedroom Pieces Bargains in Fiber Suites $75.00 Three-tone decorated 3-.piece Hand- woven Fiber Suite. seats .... Spring $4.9.50 $105.00 Three-picce Stick Fiber Suite, with long Settee. Spring sea tion $165 Three-piece t construc- $79,00 Saxon Green Fiber Suite. Spring seat construc- tion $08.00 Above Suites all have colorful cretonne seat $488.00 Kroehler Pleated-back Mohair Living Room $ Suite of Three Pieces, 3 49 $17.75 cushions on each piece. Special.'. Candlesticks Hand turned. Finished in ma- hogany. Pair No Phone or Mail Orders 1 Refrigerators at COST and LESS $32.50 3.door Side Icer, S50 Ibs. ice $ CAPACTOVE -1 iaitors it Wiaietosln aivratars 1ste < o $39.75 Top Icer, 75 Ibs. ice capacity 1695 $22.75 $45.00 Top Icer, 85 Ibs. ice capacity About tyo feet | The action against jitney operators | $59.75 White Enamel, 3- Door Side Icer Refriger- ator, 75 lbs. $3 4. 50 capacity. . . KAVFMANNS 1415 H Street N.W. the jurisdiction of the police in the matter. The Supreme Court ruling reversea a decision of District Judge Mark M. Boatner restraining police from molest- ing drivers of “jitneys” who did not visibly collect fares. This now gives the officers perfect latitude in' their enforcement of the anti--jitney ordi- nance. Some time ago the Public Setvice, Inc., offered a reward of $5.000 for the conviction of strike dynamiters. This latest incident represented the first attempt by strike sympathizers to dam- age company's jroperty since the re- ward was posted. | RESCUED FROM BANDITS. | Mexicans Release One Man and Three Women After Fight. MEXICO CITY, September 24 (#).— Ohe man and three women captured by bandits on the road to Cuernavaca Sun- day have been rescued by police from the town of Tlalpam, who pursued and dispersed the bandits. One policeman was killed in the fighting. The rescued persons, all of whom are Mexicans, said | the bandits numbered 20 and that they were held for ransom. A fifth member of the party, a girl, escaped and gave the alarm to the police. Banditry was frequent in the Cuer- navaca highway" until about eight | months ago, when it was practically | suppressed by the authorities. Occasional Chair . $7.95 Mahogany-finished frame and attractive upholstery. Cedar Chest Values Cedar Chest, in i P A see Red Cedar. Cedar Chest, in Natural Ten- nessee Red Crder turgee $12.75 size). lined with red Cedar Chest, cedar, outside in Walnut Veneer, decorated. . 5 ~ $28.50 Walnut- Finished Vanity Special! $15.95 $49.50 Walnut French Vanity $49.50 Waln Vanity ... 35::(» Mahogan: Crackled Secretary $49 $89 Mahogany Secreta $95 Mahogany Secretary........... $100 Mahogany Secretary Special! $12.75 Occasional Table $4.19 Mahogany finished in the popu- lar octagon-shape style. Spinet Desk $19.75 @ Mahogany Finish