Evening Star Newspaper, November 21, 1929, Page 2

2 ¥ SINCLAIR IS HAPPY ] ON LEAVING JAIL 0il Magnate Opens Fight for| Vindication in Press Statement. Harry F. Sinclair of New York, look- ing none the worse for six and a half | months of confinement in the District | of Columbia jail, had laid aside his prison identity today and was enjoving i%e freedom of a multi-millionaire oil aren end prevrietor of the famous Rancocas racing stables. At 11:45 o'clock today, Sinclair turn- ed his back on Washington and was motoring for his stock farm, at Mount Holly, N. J. accompanied by his brother, E. W. Sinclair, and his attorney, G. T. Stanford. Mrs. Sinc'air remained at the hotel, where it was announced she probably would go to their estate later in the day. Sinclair has two horses, both sired by / his famous racer, Zev, on the afternoon racing card at Bowie, through which he | passes en route. It was thought likely | that he would stop long enough to watch them run. Sinclair is expected to go later to b Long Isiand home and New York of fice. At the latter, fumor says, & mer. ger af his oil company with the Prairie Ofl & Gas Co. awaits his immediate at- tention. Cameramen Line Up. Except for a formal statement broad- | cast to the press of the country as the first move in his fight for vindication, | the ol man had nothing, except sallies, | for the group of newspaper men Who | stormed the jail. It was 07 o'clock before Sinclair made his appearance in the reception room of the red brick building and greeted a few personal | friends and Lieut. Col. William L. Peak, | the superintendent, with whom he shook | hands for the last time during his con- finement. Outside in the small jail court, the cameramen, more than 30 in number, were formed in a semi-circle before the flag-staff, with lights glaring. A detail of 18 policemen preserved order. Sin- clair's limousine, which was awaiting | him, pulled over to one side so there could be escape for him. | But the oil man, happy at his release, had no intention of trying to elude the crowd. His face wreathed in a broad smile, Sinclair walked obligingly to the front of the “battery” and stood in the | merciless glare of the spotlight. | “Take your time, men, take your| time,” he called out cheerily. He posed for some 10 minutes, first | by himself, then shaking hands with his brother, and again finally for t! movietone. ' When quiet had been re- stored he spoke into the microphone: “Gentlemen of the newspaper profes- sion,” he said. “I wish to thank you very kindly for this lovely reception to- night. I hope you will have another | opportunity, and I know you will, for| a little more training, and then I be- lieve you will show a marked improve- ment.” ‘What led to this gentle verbal thrust | was the failure of a number of the flash lights to operate per schedule. It seemed to amuse Sinclair, who called out to the cameramen to “hold it” and “open” ard “fire away.” Contrasts With Arriv The scene was in marked contrast 1o | Sinclair's appearance at the jail the| night of May 6 to begin serving his | first_sentence of three months for re- | fusal to answer questions of the Scnate oil investigating committee. His second sentence lor contempt of court in the shadowing of jurors ran concurrently, 30 days off for good behavior having re- duced his time. A bit of excitement was injected into the proceedings when the flare of a movietone outtit toppled over and two large cases caught fire. The flames spurted a height of 20 feet before the fire was extinguished, just as Sonclair’s | automobile was pulling away. ! Earlier in the evening he had sent ® statement to the newspapers. As ke was gaing out the door at midnight, he told newspaper men who asked if he | had anything further to say: "I have nothing to say. You know, I came t> jail for not taiking.” Former Senator Robert L. Owen of | Oklahoma, where Sinclair made his | fortune in ofl, was one of the group at | prejudice { in Washington to disclose to the grand | | Harry F. Sinclair (left) greeting hi left the District Jail shortly after midni sentences for contempt of the Senate and | which could only be determined by a | court. It, therefore, logically follows that not only was the pertinency un- known at the time T declined to answer, but was unknowable. I was, therefore. punished ex post facto on &n unknown rule of law, “I followed my attorney's advice in good faith. My total evidence before the Senate committees took approximately 205 pages and about 175,000 words, and | I was imprisoned for my refusal to an- | swer one question whose pertinency was unknown. Three times I appeared be- fore the committee after this occurrence | and no question pertinent or not perti- | nent asked me ever remained unan- swered. This should have purged me of the pretended contempt. “The prosecution of the Senate con- | tempt case was moved by political and misunderstanding. A citizen has rarely been denied the pre- sumption of innocence or been subjected to such violence and animosity as was exhibited in my case. | “I note that the American press cor- dially disapproves committing to jail the three reporters who have just refused jurv the persons from whom they bought liquor in the many speakeasies which they visited as a newspaper enterprise. They were given 45 days in jail. They | justify themselves on the ground of newspaper ethics against a botrayal of confidence, and the American press is supporting them. “The liberties of the American people are of such importance that the press will do well to keep this ih mind— even in a case like mine, The principle is much more important than the in- | dividual. The precedents set in my cese are against the interest of the American people. If ‘politics can rail- road me to jail it can railroad others. In “Hostile Atmosphere.” “In the contempt of court case the! trial judge turned the jury loose in u | hostile. atmosphere in Washington, | where_the newspapers were assailing | me. T had reason to believe the jury | might be tampered with to my disaa- | vantage. 50 I directed Burns operatives be engaged to watch the jury to pre- vent or expose tampering, with the explicit _instruction not to speak to. approach or let a juryman know h¢ was under observation. This instrue- | the jail. Inside, a small group of at-| taches, visitors and prisoners congre- | gated In the reception hall. Sinclair | waved to them as he left. Among the prisoners were Jack Kelliher, recently | sentenced to eight years and a half on | gambling charges, and the three re- | porters of the Washington Times, who | are serving sentences for refusing to | answer questions of the grand jury. | ‘While a prisoner in the District Jail, | Binclair served as jail pharmacist and assistant to the jail physician. In the latter capacity, he made several trips outside the jail proper. A storm of | criticism was aroused when this became | known, and the practice was discon- | tinued—for Sinclair, at least. Another | prisoner was assigned to accompany the physician, Statement in Full. Sinclair's statement follows in full: “I have made no plans except to go | to my home and then to my office. Naturally my first thoughts are of my | family, my associates and my friends, whose loyalty I have so deeply appre- ciated. My own absolute knowledge that I have committed no wrong gives me unimpaired courage and absolute confidence of final vindication in the public esteem. No jury of my country- men has ever convicted me of wrong. ‘The courts have admitted I was guilty of no moral turpitude in the contempt cases. “I was railroaded to jail in violation of common sense and common fairness. The great power and prestige of the Government, were employed against me under hostile influences and prejudiced by & campaign unjustly describing me as defiant of law. I was a victim of political campaigns to elect honest Democrats by proving how dishonest Republicans ‘were. When I was as- saulted in this worthy enterprise the Republicans discreetly replied that guilt, if any, was personal. 1 was politically assailed but not politically defended. “The newspapers wept many tears over my defiance of law and my ‘un- chastened recalcitrance.’ I cannot be contrite for sins which I know I have never committed, nor can I pretend to be ashamed of conduct which I know to have been upright. Contempt Not Crime. “I have just finished serving sentenc: for contempt of the Senite and con- tempt of court—not for any crime. But some people seem to think that the penalties for contempt were in place of punishment for some other offense with which I was charged but exonerated by a jury. “The basis of the Senate contempt was my refusal to answer 10 ques- The law requires questions per- tinent to a proper legislative inquiry to be answered. Such questions must not invade the constitutional rights of the citizen. “My attorneys advised me to decline to answer these questions as not perti- nent, as unconstitutional because they comprised an attempt to deny me & fair trial by disclosing my defense in other cases pending in the courts. On advice of counsel I declined at that time to answer the 10 alleged questions. Only on one of these gquestions was I held guilty of contempt. “Senator Walsh said to me, ‘T wish you would tell us about that,’ referring 1o the tect:mans =i another witness. weclined w answer. His ‘wish' was not & question and was not then pertinent. “8ix of the remaining questions were tion was rigidly carried out. All the | operatives gave test:mony to that effect | | ing_program. and the jury members stated that they | were not aware of being under ob- | servation. “This act could not possibly have | obstructed justice. The Supreme Court | did not find that I had obstructed | justice, but, in order to sustain the | lower court. they found that putting the jury under surveillance -had u | tendency to obstruct fustice. The law | which forbids a judge to impose | sentence of contempt except for mis- | behavior which obstructs justice was | thus changed by judicial interpretation | to fit my particular case. “I offered to prove by many witnessex | that the Government of the United States and private persons had for | vears been shadowing juries with the knowledge of the courts and by of- ficials of the courts without rebuke. Proof was offered that this practice had been engaged in the very couri- Poa where T was being tried and by the very district attorney who was pressing this charge against me, but the court refused to allow me to present this evidence elther in my de- fense or in mitigation of sentence. Two Afdavits Attacked. “I attach to this statement only two of the many afidavits proving this practice and usage. “The trial judge did not imprison or rebuke Raymond Akers and Donald King, who deliberately tampered with juryman Kidwell with the result of a mistrial “He did not punish the Washington lierald or its editor, although on N(!-‘ vember 3 the Herald boastingly declared | it was responsible for having made liam I. McMullen, v in the Burns agency and who operated | to my serious prejudice. This man made six false reports on a juryman. His corruptions and _crimes were dug up and exposed by the Burns agency, which im- peached him in open couit, and also furnished the proof as to how he had been planted among their operatives by pretending to be a responsible man named William V. Long. “Yet the trial judge sentenced me to six months in jail on the ground that | my actions had caused a mistrial. | “The Government counsel was evi-| dently not averse to a mistrial and got it, and I was punished for having caused | & mistrial I did not want. “The Supreme Court did me the jus- ce to say in the Senate contempt case, in speaking of my action, that ‘no| moral turpitude was involved.’ Not only did they make this statement in their opinion, but they gave convincing evi- dence that moral turpitude was impos- sible by explaining that the pertinency of the alleged: question asked me was a judicial question only ascertainable by a court and therefore was not known or knowable at the time I had declined to answer. It was then, I think, unfairly held that my unavoidable ignorance of the law (then unwritten by the court) was no defense. As a common layman and citizen 1 cannot think this was ‘While T was acquitted of moral tur- =As by the Sunreme Court, is there moral wrong in thus depriving an American citizen of his liberty where he is admittedly innocent of moral tur- pitude? Could not the law be more wisely and justly interpreted? “Is it not a moral wrong to deprive a citzen of his liberty for Wlll:hlnf a aw thrown out by the trial court and three of the remaining four were ignored by the Supreme Court. “The trajl court Court both held that the perth any question was a judicla and the Supreme y of jury when such action violaled no and no known rule of the courts and when it was orly what the Government itself and other private citizens had is brother, Earle W. Sinclair, when he ight this morning after completing his Jury shadowing. —Underwood Photo, HOOVER DISCUSSES INDUSTRIAL PLANS WITH TRADE HEADS pessimism from the minds’of the lead- ers in industry, but it is also necessary to convince the general public, the workers as well as the employers, that conditions are sound. Otherwise the consumers, fearing depression and per- haps lack of employment, may under- take a program of curtailment them- selves that would react badly on busi- ness and production. By obtaining assurances of great construction projects from the railroad executives and similar assurances from the big manufacturers and from the puolic utilities, the President can do much to convince the public that a period of unemployment is not ‘mmi- nent and business is proceeding as usual. The key to the situation is employment. are continued and buying capacity held up and the industries and agriculture and labor move forward prosperously. The Government itself has already instituted plans for a great public build- made that mail subsidies soon are to be let to shipping lines, and it is expected that the merchant marine will be aug- mented by the construction of many new vessels. Exhaustive studies of the so-called “business cycle” and of the employment problem have been made by committees of leading American business men and economists within recent years at the instance of the Federal Government. The results of these studies are at hand, and the administration, with all the facts before it, is acting for continued progress and prosperity in this country. The leaders of America’s most impor- tant labor organizations are meeting with the President this afternoon. In addition to the President and Secretary Davis of the Department of Labor, those invited to attend the conference opening at 3 o'clock were: William Green, president, American Federation of Labor. Frank Morrison, secretary, American | Federation of Labor. T. A. Rickert, president, United Gar- ment Workers of America. Matthew Woll, vice president, Amer- | ican Federation of Labor. | John L. Lewis, president, United Mine Workers of America. Willlam L. Hutcheson, president, Unlied Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. William J. McSorley, president, building trad:s department, American Federation of Labor. John P. Frey, secretary. metal trades department, American Federation of T, B. M. Jewell, president, raliway em- ploycs' "department, American Federa- tion of Labor. A. Johnston, president, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Timothy Shea, _assistant Brotherhood of ' Locomotive and Enginemen. A. F. Whitney, president, Brother- hood of Railroad Trainmen, and E. P. Curtls, president, Order of Railway Conductors. president, Firemen upon me was in violation of common sense and common decency. I have paild the penalties without complaint and have made no personal appeal for sympathy. I do not need sympathy, but I do need and seek the respect to which I am entitled as a man of honor and integrity who fully recognizes his obligations to respect the statute law, the rules of the courts and the ethical rules of society. “The officials with hom I have spent my enforced vacation have been just and fair. I thank them and leave with them my good wishes.” Afidavit by Bielaski. One of the affidavits quoted by Mr. Sinclair in his statement was made on August 23, 1929, by A. Bruce Blelaskl, formerly chief of the Bureau of In: vestigation of the Department of Jus- tic Mr. Bielaski states that during his service in the department “the sur- veillance of petit jurors by agents of the Bureau of Investigation in impor- tant criminal cases was a matter of frequent occurrence. . . ., The prac- tice was never objected to by any offi- cials of the department on the ground of propriety or any ethical ground, but was frequently the subject of contro- versy between myself and the United States attorneys involved, solely be- cause of the fact that it tied up so many agents. In numerous in- stances sufficient agents were assigned to keep constant observation on each member of the jury, and this consti- tuted a great burden on a small force of men. . If it should be neces- sary, 1 think scores of men formerly in the service could be found to testify as to their participation in this work.” Another affidavit, dated August 27, 1929, is by Hinton' G. Clabaugh, now chairman of the Illinois pardon and parole boards, but formerly special agent of the Department of Justice. Mr. Clabaugh swears that “while iden- tified with the Department of Justice on a great number of cases he not only bad jurors shadowed on behaif of the Federal Government at the request of the district attorney, but in some in- stances at the specific request of a Fed- eral judge. This affiant . . . soon be- came convinced that many of the juors knew they were being investi- gated and shadowed and that they fre- quently took considerable offense at be- ing shadowed, and that he frequently doubted the advisability and advantage of such shadow work being done, but he continued same under the direction of the Department of Justice and made been doing for years without rebuke? “I think the imprisonment imposed of finally ceasing his ection with the Governmenk’ flz % With employment, wages | Announcement has been | INCOMES INCREASE - AS TAKES ARE GUT [New Slash Urged by Mellon, Would Put 8-Year Total at $2,000,000,000. I By the Associated Press. A total reduction of nearly $2,000,000,- 1000 in the taxes of the Nation since 1921 { will be accomplished if Congress adopts | Secretary Mellon's recommendation that | | the rates on iacomes for 1929 be low- | ered by 1 per cent. | The reduction made by Congress since | | Mellon took office in 1921 were through ! { the revenue acts of 1921, 1924, 1926 and | {1928. The first slash became effcctive |in 1923 and cut. $663,000,000 off the to- | tal collections. | But as the tax rates of the Nation| were reduced, taxable incomes increased, | with corresponding benefits for the | | Treasury. In 1922 the total income and | miscellaneous taxes collected the | Government amounted to $3,197.451,083 | i and the next year, despite a reduction of | | $663,000,000, the total collection was but 87,000,000 below the 1922 figure and | included a considerable increase from | some sources. | | Increase Is Estimated. | | In 1924 the tax collections amounted | | to $2,796,179,257 and though Congress | | that year cut $519,000,000 of the esti- mated tax payments, the next year saw | only a drop of $212,000.000 in'the col~ ! lections, which reached a total of $2,58: This sum with 1 as showi actual iner | of approximately | same sources as com | before. Tax collections mount in 1926 and 192’ howed a slight drop in 1928 and an increase of $2: 000,000 in 1929, despite another tax cuf that took $222,000,000 more off the total taxes. Secretary Mellon, in recommending tax reductions to Congress, maintained that reduction in taxes invariably in- creased revenue and explained that this resulted from funds that were held in investment becoming active because the surtax and income tax was not so heavy. It also caused an expansion of business, he said, which in revenue for the Gove U. S. Expense Cut Is Cited. Reduction in the Government's ex- penditures played a great part in mak- ing tax reduction possible. These ex- penses have been reduced from $6,482,- 1 000,000 in 1920 to $3,848,000,000 for the fiscal year of 1929 ending last June 30. The first tax-reduction bill, effective in the fiscal year 1923, repealed many burdensome war-time taxes. Personal exemption for heads of families whose | income was not in excess of $5,000 was | | increased from $2,000 to $2,500, credit | for each child or dependent increased | from $200 to $400, surtaxes decreased | from 65 per cent maximum to 50 per fent maximum, and the excess profits | tax was eliminated. The bill also elimi- | nated most of the transportation tax, reducing it by $273,000,000. The Government went further in 1924 and reduced the levies on small incomes, cutting the rates from 4 and 8 per cent to2and 4 and 6 per cent, while the sur- taxes were revised so that the rates ranged from 1 per cent on net incomes in excess of $10,000 to a maximum of 40 per cent on the largest incomes, The amount of personal exemption in cases of heads of families was increased to $2,500 in all cases, and a deduction of | 25 per cent on earned incomes up to $10,000 was allowed. At the same time | the new law repealéd many other taxes, such as those on telephone and tele- | graph messages and a $46,804,000 slash on the admissions tax. Certain ex- emptions also were allowed in the tax on automobile trucks and bodies, while the tax on tires was cut in half. Scientific Reforms Provided. | The revenue act of 1926 provided what were termed scientific reforms in | the tax system. The rates on normal income were reduced from 2, 4 and 6 per cent to 1%, 3 and 5 per cent, and | the maximum surtax was cut from 40 per cent to 20 per cent, while the ex- emptions were increased to $3,500 for | a married man and $1,500 for a single person. This alone freed about two | | million_persons from paying any tax. | The 1926 law also removed the excise | [tax on manufacturers' and dealers’ | sales, except those on pistols, revolvers, | passenger automobiles and motor cycles, while some of the stamp taxes were re- moved. | The 1928 revenue act further lifted | the national tax burden by reducing | the corporation tax from 131, per cent | to 12 per cent, and granted additional relief to small corporations having ..et income of not over $25.000 by increasing the credit from $2,000 to $3,000. The | excise tax on automobiles was repealed and the tax on admissions of $3 or less removed. STAPLES FACES RUM CHARGE AFTER CRASH Former Policeman and Two Men, With Him Are Arrested and Held in $2,000 Bail. the cut W r | continued to | Orville Staples, 28-year-old _former | third precinct policeman, who has fig- | ured in the congressional investigation of police affairs in the District, fell into | the toils of the law last midnight when ae and two other men were arrested at | Washington Circle and K street, after | their machine had crashed into the side of a parked automobile in which Third Precinct Detectives S. F. Gravelly, R. F. McCarty and Willam F. Burke were seated. ! The two other men, Edward J. McIn- | yre of the 1400 block of Thirty-third street, and Thomas J. White of the 3500 | block of O street, and Staples, who said | he lived in the 1500 block of Thirt; third street, were charged with trans- porting and possession of liquor, when | police said they found one-half gallon of alleged corn whisky in the car. Mc- | Intyre was also charged with reckless driving. The men were held in $2.000 bond each for their appearance in Police Court. TALKS ON BUSINESS. Clarence Sm_I:h Avddresse! Meeting of Probus Club. Massed trading, combined with the competition of industry against in- dustry, has furnished the manufacturer with ‘an entirely new selling problem, | Clarence Smith told the Probus Club at a meeting yesterday in the Ambassador Hotel. Mr. Smith’s address was on the “Trend of Business." Lewis Y. Buckingham, president of | the club, presided. Those present in-| cluded M. Starbecker, B. F. Jolley, Dr. | B. A. Buer, L. F. Hart, Harry Hites, H. | M. Riker, A. C. Sellis, W. P. Amos, | Ralph Dowling, C. I Smith, Milward | W. Riker and Irving Diener, gl S o Irish Children Linguists. Maire, aged 13, and_Colum, aged 15, children of G. Gavan Duffy, one of the | signatories of the Irish treaty, are able to speak no fewer than five languages fluently. Their first study was Irish. which they began at the age of 2, and | { | learned & word of English. President their first lessons from a governess whe especially qualified in Irish. ) Florida growers instead of through the 'Extra Session of Congress | Senate had by its action proclaimed | | the Senate TELLS OF FLORIDA | TARIFF LOBBYING Miamian Testifies Effort Waél Made to Get Fletcher to Vote | for Higher Duties. By the Associated Press. G. 8. Fletcher of Miami, president of | the Florida East Coast Growers' As- sociation testified today before th-; Senate lobby committee that an effort | was made by Florida growers to get | Senator Fletcher, Democrat, Florida, to vote for higher duties on Florida products in the pending tariff bill. The witness sald that no ‘“pressure” was necessary to get Senator Trammell. | Democrat, Florida, to vote for the higher duties. { Asked by Caraway if it were true that he had “tried to build a fire under Senator Fletcher,” in order to obtain his vote for the tariff bill, he answered that an attempt had been made to lot | the Senator know ‘“the attitude of | Florida” on tariff legislation. { Fleotcher asserted that he and his as- | sociates opposed the activities of J. A.| Arnold, manager of the Southern Tariff | Assoclation, who has been questioned at_length by the lobby committee. “We were against Arnold and his machine all the while,” the witness| said, 1 Letter Read by Walsh. He added he did not favor associa- tion with the tariff association because he had heard that it received about 40 per cent commission on collections. Senator sh, Democrat, Montana, | then read & letter written by the wi ness to Arnold in July, which said, “We | are doing all possible to bring pressure | to bear on_ Senator Fletcher.” Another letter written by Fletcher to Arnoid said “we are going atfer Senator Fletcher with a pick handle. 1 mean the old hickory king.” Fletcher in another letter added that a “large and hot fire” had been built under Senator Fletcher. When Walsh read from this letter that “we expect to deliver Senator Fletcher's vote.” the witness explained that “was just a cracker expression.” “We wouldn't do anything to hurt Senator Fletcher,” he added. “He's too god a man.” After Chairman Caraway of the lobby | committee said he understood that Gl-nn_ Skipper, Republican national ‘ommitteeman, had formed a tariff asso- ciation and that Fletcher was made vice president, and the witness asserted this was done without his consent. He dened he had co-operated with any association Skipper organized. Made Nine Trips He: L. L. Chandler of Gould, Fla, who| | floor of the Five and Ten Cent store said he was a tomato and citrus fruit grower, testified he had made nine trips to Washington in connection with tariff legislation and had received between $700 and $1,000 for traveling expenses The money was raised in Florida, he sald, and Senator Walsh asked why it had not been raised directly by the Tariff Association. “I suppose that was a mistake” Chandler replied and added that the association had informed then it could handle the matter better, but “we know better now.” Chandler said he had approached both Florida Senators, Senators George, Georgia; Connally, Texas; Harrison, Mississippi, all Democrats, and Watson, Indiana; Smoot, Utah, and Shortridge, California, among others. He also said he had talked to Florida members of the House and Representative Garner, Democrat, Texas. 3 Kent, Banker, Is Called. “The lobby committee today called upon Fred T. Kent, a director of the Bankers Trust Co. of New York, to explain his recent statement that the action of the Senate coalition on the tariff bill had contributed to the fall of stock prices on the New York exchange, Kent was expected to testify today, but his ap- pearance was deferred on account of a meeting he had to attend. Kent was present yesterday, but he was not called upon to testify, the com- ! mittee spending most of the day in in- terrogating _Gordon S. Rentschuler, president of the National City Bank, about the relation of his concern to sugar and its activities and expendi- tures in Washington. Rentschuler said the bank contrib- uted $10,000 to a fund for lesser duties and had used its monthly bulletin for matter urging such tariffs There was also a possibility today that before the committee was through questioning Kent. a call would be sent out for Roger Babson, statistician, who has also,asserted that the action of the Republican independents and Demo- crats on the tariff bill was a factor in the stock market decline. sk sist . HOUSE CONCURS IN ADIOURNMENT | | | Will Be Concluded Sine Die Tomorrow. By the Associated Press. The House today agreed to the Sen- | ate's plan to adjourn the extra session of Congress sine die Friday. The action was taken without a record | vote. Since September 23, when the Sum- mer recess taken in June ended, the House has held perfunctory sessions every three days, ready to send the tariff bill to conference in event of iis pas- sage by the Senate. In presenting the concurrent resolu- tion passed by the Senate yesterday, Representative Tilson of Connecticut, the Republican floor leader, sald the that is was incapable of passing the tarlff bill at the extra session, adding had thus accepted re- sponsibility for the failure of passage of the tariff bill at the session. VETERANS MEET HERE. Every section of the country will be | Iepresented at a reunion of the 7th Division Association in the Mayflower Hotel tomorrow and Saturday. For the first time in the history of the organi- zation, both enlisted men and officers will be present. There have been numerous reunions of the officers, but this is the first time an attempt has been made to bring the enlisted men into the fold. FIREMAN HURT BY AX. D. R. Nothey, a fireman attached to No. 7 Truck Company, was slightiy njured this morning when struck by an ax while fighting a blaze in a house at 517 Seventh street southeast. ‘The injured fireman was given first aid treatment and was later taken to the they were over 6 years old before they clinic at the George Washington Hos- | from pital. The fire, which caused only frequent reports to them up to the time ' Cosgrave’s two young sons are receiving about $100 damage, wumcom::;d u; landing at Tsitsihar, Manchuria, creai- third floor of Davis. the front room a house occupied 9 DIF, 25 HURT | In from the city at large and the hos- | the crowd back. President Hoover established a precedent teday when he ordered the White House flag put at half staff as a mark of respect to James W. Good, Secretary of War, who died Monday night, This is been put at half staff for any one other than a President. the first time the White House flag has —Star Staff Photo. N STORE BLAST | Others Are Feared Buried in: Debris Filling Base- ment. (Continued From First Page) just at this time and prepared to leap. | Schneider, however, dissuaded her and | raising a_ladder, brought her to safety. A number of other doctors were called pital took emergency measures to care | for the influx of injured. Most of the victims are believed suffering from burns and shock, although early pre- liminary examination failed to disclose | details of the injuries. While the rescue work was under way | E. J. Ferguson, who came to Washing- | including 16 buildings, were swept away | ton yesterday from Foxboro, Mass., and stopped at the Huston Hotel, ran| breathless to the scene inquiring for his wife and child. He said they had left | him a short while before to go to the 5-and-10-cent store. | Seeks Trace of Family. | Informed that a woman and child! had been taken to Emergency Hospital | he hurried to the place. | Another eye witness, Richard Wash- | ington, colored, of 1854 Pifth street, was | walking along Seventh street and was opposite the McCrory store when the explosion occurred. Washington said | ‘he sound seemed to him to be muffied | and his attention, he thought, was at- | been out of order since a storm early | tracted by the collapse of heavy con- | crete sidewalk, Stepping out of a barber shop a short distance from the scene of the explo- | slon, Carroll Klotzbach, a sports writer | for The Star, after stopping to light a | cigarctte was walking south on Seventh street when the blast occurred. “Ten seconds more and I'd probably have been caught myself,” Klotzbach sald. “There was a queer rumbling roar as the ground began to shake beneath my feet and huge blocks of concrete shot into the air. Any number of men and women were walking along the sidewalk when the explosion occurred. I broke the world's high jump record in getting off the sidewalk as it began to crumple at my feet. I ran out in the street and watched it all. Huge clouds of steam poured from the big holes in the sidewalk. My first impres- sion was that I was witnessing an earthquake. Then. too, I was reminded of a mine disaster I once saw. Sees Concrete Hit Woman, “The sidewalk was torn up for a dis- tance of about 100 feet, I should say. Some of the concrete was blown into the air, while a great deal more sank be- | neath the level of the surface. One big plece of concrete flew all the way across | the strect and struck a women. Pieces | of concrete 50 or 60 feet square shot | more than 50 feet into the air. “There was great confusion. en screamed and fainted. People ran in every direction. Hundreds of people | rushed out of stores in the neighbor- hood and viewed the blood-spattered streets. Glass and debris continued to fly around for several minutes. The explosioni was entirely without warning. “I saw a man who apparently had lost | both legs. Police reserves and firemen began arriving soon after the explosion | and stretched lines all around to keep | They really had some | Wom- | Sob. SCHIFF AIR PRIZE GOES | TO PLANE SQUADRON 7 San Diego Unit of Navy's Force Wins Trophy for Safety and Efficiency. 1 The Herbert Schiff trophy, awardea annually to the naval aviation squadron ! attaining the best score for safety and | efficiency in operation, has been won | this year by Training Plane Squadron | 7 of the Naval Air Station, at Sau | Diego, Calif. | The Navy Department today, in mak- | ing public the scores of 39 competiny | aviation units, commended Utility Plane | Squadron 2 of the scouting fleet, whicu completed the year without a single casualty, but was prevented from win- ning the trophy by reason of limited | scope of operations, This squadron's | base is at Norfolk, Va. | Until last year the trophy wa awarded to the individual fiyer attain- ing the best safety score. COSTE REACHES PARIS. French Flyer Sets Record for Flight From Hanoi. LE BOURGET, Prance, November 21 (#).—Capt. Dieudonne Coste and his companion, Mauric ! Jacques Bellonte, ! landed here at 11:35 a.m., setting a new record of 4 days 50 minutes from | Hanoi, French Indo-China, to Paris. | This was 6 hours and 20 minutes faster | than Coste and Joseph Le Brix travelea the same 7500 miles last year on their round-the-world trip. The two flyers today were returning | their flight over Asia a few | weeks ago, which ended with the (urcedl | | ing a new record distance endurance Light. 1 DIE IN TIDAL WAVE AFTER QUAKE South Newfoundland Area Is Swept by 15-Foot Wall of Water. By the Associated Press. ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland, Novem- ber - 21.—Twenty-seven people were drowned on the south coast of New- foundland in a 15-foot tidal wave which | swept up from the earthquake there Monday, according to a wireless re- port reaching the justice department today from the steamer Portia. Nine persons, mostly women and children lost their lives when every- thing along the water front at Burin, by the wave. Four bodies were recover- ed there. . Eighteen persons were drowned at Lords Cove and Lamaline in the Burin district. The steamer Daisy is rendering as- sistance to the stricken communities. All means of communication other than radio is cut off from the south coast. St. Lawrence also was reported to have been swept by the wave but no lives were lost_there. All land communication lines con- necting with the Burin peninsula havi Monday. There are no wireless facili- ties- at Burin, and the extent of the damage there and at Lamaline and Lords Cove could not be learned im- mediately. Attempts were being made to get more definite reports from the districts | | through wireless from the ships off the | | coast. PREDICT SURPRISES IN MMANUS TRIAL |Pistol ‘That Killed Arnold Rothstein Identified by Arms Expert. By the Associated Pres NEW YORK, November 21.—A pre- diction that it would contain “surprises™ heightened interest today in the State's opening statement to the jury in the trial of George A. McManus for the murder of Arnold Rothstein. District Attorney Joab A. Banton, in making the prediction, also said the {opening statement of his assistant, | George N. Brothers, would reveal that a gambler’s quarrel was behind the fatal shooting of Rothstein in the Park Cen- tral Hotel November 4, 1928. Defense Uses Challenges. The jury was completed yesterday {after three days of examination of talesmen. Although the defense was allowed an extra pre-emptory challenge after it had exhausted its original quota |of 30, the last two jurors were picked without the defense having the right of challenge. The jurors were sclected from a spe- cial panel of 150. They are all business men. “It Jooks like a fine, clean-cut jury.” | McManus commented after he had'stood | facing them while they Were sworn in. 1 Pistol Identified. | | A pisto) which was picked up in | Seventh avenue outside the Park Cen- ‘m\x Hotel a few minutes after Roth- | stein came out of the hotel wounded | was identified by Lieut. Harry Butts, police small-arms expert, as the weapon with which Rothstein was shot, it was announced outside court. He said that test shots from the gun bore the same grooves as the bullet caken from Rothstein’s body. The pistol was traced to the sporting goods store of Joseph Novotny of St. Paul, Minn. Lieut. Butts said Novotny told him he had traded the pistol for a shotgun and 87.50, but could not remember with . whom he had made the deal. CLEMENCEAU HAS ACUTE COLIC ATTACK’ | Physicians Called Urgently and Give Ex-Premier Morphine In- jections to Ease Pain. By the Associated Press. PARIS, November 21 (#).—Rumors that former Premier Clemenceau was dead caused a sensation at the Chamber of Deputies this afternoon. They were not confirmed at any source and remained vague, PARIS, November 21.—Former Pre- mier Clemenceau, who had a severe heart attack in October, suffered an acute attack of colic today but early this afternoon seemed much better. Drs. Degennes and Laubry, who at- tended him during his recent {illness, were called urgently and gave him mr.;rphlne injections which relieved the pain. Leaving the house just before 2 p.m., Dr. Laubry merely said that Cle- menceau was suffering from a colic and was in a good deal of pain. He added that the doctors would return for an- otner consultation at 8 p.m. THREE DIE IN CRASH. | . INDEPENDENCE, Kans, November 21 (#)—Three persons were dead today |and two dangerously injured as the { result of a collision last night between a motor car and a freight locomotive | one-half mile west of here. | The dead are William Keck, W. A. | Long, 60, and Mrs. Sherman Springer, 0. All lived at Independence. Mrs. pringer's husband, 61, and Mrs. Keek were injured. Mr. Keck, who was driving the car, had been warned not to drive a motor | car because of deafness. BAND CONCERT. By the United States Soldiers’ Home Band Orchestra, in Stanley Hall, this evening at 5:30 o'clock. John S. M. Zimmermann, bandmaster; Anton Pointner, assistant leader. March, “The Land of Moa’ Overture, “The Emperor”. Entr'acte: (a) “An Old Portrait POLICE PHONE STOLEN. EVANSTON, Iil. Any one who woul November 21 (#).— rob a police station may safely be spoken of as a very low person. Crist ~ The room of the police magistrate (b) “Au Naturel” . igram at police headquarters was vacated for Patriotic, “Grand American Fantasia,” 'a few minutes yesterday. When the Herbert magistrate returned he discovered his Fox trot, “Sweetheart of All My telephone had been stolen, a marble Dreams’ ..Johnston | d=sk set also, and the court’s supply of Waltz popular, r Night,” | peneils. Donaldson | The bench .itself was nailed down, & Frey | circumstance which the court remarked | was most fortunate. Lithgow Kiessler Just Anothe Finale, Happ: “The Star Spangled Banner. Come along, kiddies, with me on our hunt for SANTA CLAUS “A CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE” A trip to the North Pole in which every kiddie in Washington will have heaps of fun—read it every day . . BEGINS MONDAY, NOV. 25th in The Star THE GREAT NEWSPAPER OF THE NATION'S CAPITAL