Evening Star Newspaper, December 15, 1929, Page 17

WASHINGTON, D. SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 15, 1929—PART 1—SECTION 2. * PAGE 17 32 ARE SUMMCNED FOR TRIAL AGAINST s subrtn stns KELLY AND SHELBY Six Grand Jurors Among Those Called by Prosecu- tion to Testify. GROUP INCLUDES POLICE, REPORTERS, OFFICIALS! Defense Expected to Bring in Members of Grand Jury Also. Thirty-two witnesses, six of them members of the July grand jury, have been subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution in the trial of Inspector ‘Willlam S. Shelby and Lieut. Edward J. Kelly next Wednesday for alleged bungling of the police investigation into the death of Mrs. Virginia Hurley Mc- Pherson. The list of defense witnesses is not expected to be ready until tomorrow. It is expected that on the list will be the names of several of the grand Jurors not called by the prosecution. Morritt O. Chance, foreman of the grand jury which returned a special Teport charging the officcrs with in-l el::lenc,v. and which indicted Robert A. McPherson, jr.. husband of the dead ‘woman, for murder, is one of the prose- cution witnesses. Other members of the grand jury called are John D. Mc- Night, 1900 R street; John L. Kearney, 1036 Quebec place; Baxter M. David- son, Jr., 1015 N street; James T. Scott, 810 Sheridan street; and Samuel P. Agnew, Cordova Apartments. Assistant United States Attorney Wil- liam Collins, who represented the Dis- | trict attorney’s office at the coroner’s | jury inquest into Mrs. McPherson's death, is another prosecution witness. Rex Collier of the Star, Harold Klee- land of the Daily News and Louis Mc- Mahon of the Herald, newspapermen | who covered the story, are other wit- nesses. The balance of the list is made up | of police and other officials and resi- dents of the Park Lane Apartments, where Mrs. McPherson's body was found. It includes tne following: Maj. Henry G. Pratt, superintendent of police; Dr. Joseph D. Rogers, acting coroner; Patrick J. Lynch, American Railway Express Co.; William Burke, detective, third precinct; William G. Stott, captain at the third precinct; Joseph H. Batt, Insurance Building; Mr. and Mrs. Roy Heavrin of the Park Lane, Mrs. Alice Brown and Mr. Brown of 906 Twenty-third street, Miss Betty formerly of the Washington Dr. Edward A. Gorman, house physician at the Park Lane; Frank O. Prass of the Park Lane, Wilmer C. Ruff, manager of the Park Lane; Sergt. Fred Sandberg, fingerprint expert of the Police Department; former Policeman Robert J. Allen and Policeman Lawrence Botts, Allen’s partner on the beat on the night of Mrs. McPherson's death: Louis Kaplis, detective bureau; David E. Bchott, clerk at the detective bureau; Tarle P, Hartman-of the third precinct; William R. Enyeart of detective head- quarters, and Headquarters Detective Dennis Cullinane. FRATERNITY TO HOLD ! INITIATORY BANQUET Ambassador Culbertson Heads List| of Speakers for Delta Phi Epsi- lon Event Tonight. The twentieth initiatory banquet of Alpha Chapter, Delta Phi_ Epsilon, for- | eign service fraternity, to be given at | the Lee Hcuse tonight at 8 o'clock, will | feature speeches by prominent members, headed by Dr. Willlam S. Culbertson, | Ambassador of the United States to | Chile, and the welcoming of a new chapter just installed in the School of Government at George Washington University. In addition to Ambassador Culbert- son’s address, active and alumni mem- bers will hear Dr. Leo Drew O'Neil of Boston University, national president of Delta Phi Epsilon; Dr. William F. Notz, dean of the Foreign Service School, Georgetown University, and Dr. Charles E. Hill, dean of Columbian Col- | lege, George Washington University. a | member of Eta Chapter, now being for- | mally admitted into the national or- geanization, in installation ceremonies Delta Phi Epsilon was founded at the | School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, January 25, 1920. SLAYING RECALLS FEUDS. PIKEVILLE. Kv.. December 14 (#).— | Kenis Mitchell, 53, a farmer, was_shot and killed late today on Robinson Creek, near here, scene of the shooting and wounding of two men yesterday, in an affray, the circumstances of which re- called feuds that once made eastern Kentucky notorious, Mitchell was killed by Taulby New- som, Sheriff John M. Moore said he was told, and the sheriff started three deputies in search of Newsom. The man sought is a brother of Caleb | Newsom and Alvis Newsom, wounded in | yesterday's fight. According to the sheriff, 12 or 15 years ago Mitchell was accused of the slaying | of Newsom's father. ! Transferred to Turkey. Herbert S. P v of this city, who has been Unite:’ ~fes consul at Guay- mas, Mexico, for eral years, has been ordered by the State Department fo Smyrna, Turkey, for duty at the con- sulate at that place. Philadelphia Mint Produces 1,866,800 Coins—Is Record Day By the Associated Press. The Philadelphia Mint estab- lished a record coinage produc- tion of 1,866,800 pieces on Decem- ber 12, it was announced iac night by the director of th Bureau of the Mint. This was the greatest output of coins by one mint in any single day in history, the anm wicemen- said 30 o wicandlis. the tesult the miz=y operatea on a 12-hour basis. The announcement sald that the extraordinary increase in the demand for coinage indicated “more than usual demand of the banks for a volume of coinage 10 meet_the requiremenis of husi- ness.” The record producti i was made up of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies, TRACT TAKES Pamphlet Sent to P.-T. A. Groups. Explains Wording and Ampli- fies Her Ideas and Motives. | | | Miss Georgia Robertson, author of | numerous tracts on child raising and child welfare, including the anti-cig- arette pamphiet which recently drew | the fire of Rufus Lusk, Parent-Teacher | Association president, yesterday came | to the defense of her assertions and motives by taking issue with Mr. Lusk and amplifying her own ideas. Miss Robertson, who is a member of | the Women's Christian Temperance Union, pointed out in a siatement to The Star that her pamphlet, “A Peep Inside Your Wondesrful House,” con- tained the sentence: “We ought to take the very best care of them and hot degrade them in any way, or injure them by smoking, or drinking alcoholic liquors.” Explains Usage of “Degrade.” “It does not say ‘degrade them by smoking_or drinking’,” Miss Robertson said. “By ‘degrade them in any way’ I meant to infer, without mentioning it, by any acts of immorality such as are sometimes committed even among youths.” Miss Robertson takes issue with Mr. Lusk particularly in his assertion that “practically all able-bodied men, whether engaged in a business or a pro- fession, are cigarette smoke! “I know of no place where proof cf this can be found,” the pampnlet writer declared. ~ “I hardly think any one would claim these men owed their suc- cess to cigarette smoking or would be- lieve that they were regular cigarette smokers in their cnildhood or yout! In her statement Miss Robertson urged abstinence from smoking as a preventive of crime. Tolstoi Is Quoted. “Those who have an intimate ac- quaintance with large numbers of de- linquent children believe cigarette or tobaceo smoking by children or youths leads to juvenile delinquency,” her statement read. “Tolstoi said of his smoking days, ‘I mever felt a twinge of conscience after the third whiff.' “Why not profit by the old adage, ‘An ounce- of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” While we are search- ing for a remedy for the crime wave and also trying to find a way to secure adequate medical treatment within the means of all needing it, why not aim to lessen the spread of those habits which lead to sickness and loss of working time and sometimes to degeneracy re- sulting in crime? “Physicians tell us that anything that irritates the lungs favors the develop- ment of tuberculosis. This is true of cigarette smoking, especially when the smoke is drawn into the lungs, as it AUTHOR OF ANTI-CIGARETTE ISSUE WITH LUSK MISS GEORGIA ROBERTSON. usually is. Last year, for the first time since beginning the intensive campaign against_tuberculosis, there was an in- crease in its death rate. Undoubtedly undernourishment caused by reducing the diet in order to maintain a slender, stylish figure, was one cause of the in- crease, also the resorting to cigarette smoking to lessen the desire for food, or make one appear ‘smart,’ thus irritat- ing the lungs and adding its quota of tuberculosis victims.” Says Children Have Right to Know. Miss Robertson asserted that it is| poor business to spend millions of dol- lars a year on public education “and not make certain that every child re- | ceives ‘adequate’ instruction concern- | ing the know injurious effects of alco- holic beverages on the human body and other use of tobacco, especially among children and young people.” he Jaw of the District of Colum- Miss Robertson concludes, ‘re- quires instruction to be given in the | public schools regarding the effects of alcohol and narcotics upon the body. Children have a right to know the facts | concerning the injurious effects of alco- hol and tobacco on the organs of the body whether their parents use these things or not. Why should their future health be sacrificed from lack of knowl- edge because their parents choose to indulge in these harmful things? Would ! any one object to children being taught honesty and truthfulness because -their parents might not measure up to these standards?” The pamphlet about which is center- | ing the discussion of anti-cigarette propaganda and instruction of pupils m the effects of tobacco, was written by Miss Robertson and sent by Mrs. Giles Scott Rafter, president of the District of Columbia Congress of Parent-Teacher Associations, to the Filmore Parent- Teacher Association, of which Mr. Lusk is president, as well as to other groups. Mr. Lusk condemned the pamphlet in no uncertain terms, which in turn were confirmed by Dr. Charles F. Carusi, president of the Board of Education. FEDERATION LIIT URGED BY CITIZENS, Mt. Pleasant Association | Would Bar Overlapped Memberships. A resolution urging that “admission of further organizations to membership | in the Federation of Citizens' Asocia~ tions be confined to citizens' associa- | tions, formed with geographic bound- | aries, as distinguished from groups or | societies otherwise organized,” was | adopted by the Mount Pleasant Citizens’ Association, meeting in the Mount Pleasant Branch of the Public Library last_night. The resolution also urged that the | federation take ‘cognizance of terri- torial limits of citizens' associations making application for admission.” In Same Vicinity. Maj. A. M. Holcombe, who introduced the resolution, said that a number of organizations not. coming specifically | under the head of citizens’ associations now send delegates to the federation, and also pointed out several instances where there are several associations within the same vicinity with delegates seated in that body. A resolution urging passage by Con- gress of the bill for increasing the pay | of firemen and policemen was adopted, with an added clause that promotions or increases in pay in the future be governed entirely by seniority rather than by any merit system, except to al- low for a refusal of an increase in the | case of any particular policeman who has been proved inefficient. The latter resolution was ndnpmd} following & discussion of the so-called merit system by members of the asso- clation. Policeman Daniel Foley of the seventh precinct and a member of the association, in answer to an inquiry by another association member, sald that under the merit system a policeman may receive a pay increase because the | locality of his beat enables him to make a more favorable showing or because he is highly spoken of by a group of citizens, e another policeman is possibly overlooked. Would Limit Garages. The association also adopted a reso- ! lution that the proposed change in the zoning_regulations to permit the build- ing of so-called storage garages in apartment houses—now pending—be limited to construction of garages for pleasare cars of occupants of the apart- ments only. Another resolution was adopted in- dorsing, in principle, the new Public Utilities Commission merger plan for transit companies here. ’ Reappointment of Judge Gus A. Schuldt as Police Court judge alsc was urged in a resolution. H. B. B. Gordon and Maj. C. E. McDonald weie elected new members of the association. C. Dwight Marsh, president of the assocla- BILL FOR MILITARY PATROL IS OFFERED Would Give Park Police Au- thority to Patrol Certain Roads in Nearby Virginia. A bill to give the United States park police authority to patrol military roads in nearby Virginia, which was con- sidered but not completed in the last Congress, was reintroduced yesterday by Senator Reed of Pennsylvania, chair- man of the military affairs committee. Provisions of Measure. ‘The bill passed the Senate last year, but failed to receive action in “the House. In its present form it has been amended to mest several objections raised a year ago. As revised the bill provides that any additional expense for the park police shall be carried in the executive and independent offices bill, a Federal appropriation measure. It also provides that the rules govern- ing these roads shall include the ap- plicable laws of Virginia, and that hear- ings for violations shall be held before a United States commissioner, with the right of appeal to the United States Court. The War Department has advised the Senate committee that, while the Fed- eral Government is charged with re-; sponsibility for policing these military roads, it has no means specifically au- thorized by law for doing so. The de- partment believes it would be better to assign the task to the park police than to use troops from Fort Myer for po-| lice work i Policing Outside City. The bill would make the director of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital responsible for the policing for a distance of 5 miles from | the District of such military roads in Virginia as the Secretary of War may | designate. Speaker to Compare Tea Party’s Acts and Situation in District One hundred and fifty-six years ago tomorrow some Colo~ nists dumped tea overboard in Boston Harbor, and the splash was heard around the world. Jesse C. Sufer, vice chairman of the joint committee on nation- al representation for the District of Columbia, will speak at 7 o'clock tomorrow night from sta- tion WMAL on “The Boston Tea Par'y.” Mr. Suter will compare the votelcss residents of the District with the Colonists, who objected to being taxed by & varliamencary body in which they were ot represented. tion, presided Fire Rescue Squad Overcome by Acleep in her mother’s arms in the air-tight cab of a truck at Seventeenth street and Pennnylvania avenue south- east, 17-month-old Mary Rosalie Corn- well, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Cornwell of 4410 Alabama avenue southeast, last night was overcome by carbon monoxide gas and revived by the Fire Department rescue squad after a half hour’s work with the inhalator. Had it not been for the infant’s lusty cry of pain, which was at first thought to have been caused by a loosened safety pin, chances are, the parents said, the baby might e suffered more serious injury. Mr. Cornwell told police he was Bt i Monoxide on Truck! | journeying do'vn Pennsylvania aven with all windows in his truck uuhv.l;;l closed when the baby screamed. He said he immediately ran to a nearby gas station, where Glenn Saiterfield of 704 Fourth street southeast, employed there, called Casualty Hospital and the PWhen tho tobay en the inhalator was applie Baby Mary assured every one thap xhde' was very much alive with another lusty yell, and she was taken to Casualty Hospital for further treatment. After treatment there by Dr. J. Rogers Young, she was pronounced out of danger and Mr. Cornwell proceeded on his way with the windows vesy wide open, also the effects of cigarette smoking or | P | relieve all elementary CITIZENS O MEET 10 ADD IMPETUS IN SCHOOL MOVEMENT Ridding City of Overcrowding in Portable Buildings is Gathering’s Purpose. CONFERENCE IS PLANNED TO FURNISH INFORMATION Definite Program Is Urged to Meet Growth of Pupil Population. A citizens' mass meeting to give im- petus to the movement for more ade- quate facilities for the public schools of Washington, where many sections still suffer from overcrowding in portible buildings and “stagger” school hours, will be held Wednosday evening at 8 o'clock in the auditorium of the E. V. Brown School, Connecticut avenue and McKinley strect. Sponsored by the new schools com- mittee of the Chevy Chase Citizens' As- sociation, the 'meeting was called for the purpose of serving as a clearing house of information as to the imperative needs of the school system as a whole, rather than any individual section. With this in view, the committee yes- terday issued an open invitation to all sections of the city interested in the roper development of the schools and the alleviation of congested conditions to send representatives to the rally. Representative M. Clyde Kelly' of Pennsylvania, a_stanch friend of the | public schools, will preside. The earnest- hess of the movement is indicated by the large number of special guests who will attend, including Commissioner Proctor L. Dougherty. members of Con- gress and Dr. Frank W_Ballou, superin- tendent of schools. Right Rev. James E. Freeman, Bishop of Washington. also has given his support to the movement and will attend in his capacity as chair- man of the board of incorporators of the new Episcopal Home for Children. ‘Will Discuss Budget. From these officials and others in the schools and affiliated associations the situation confronting Congress in the 1931 school budget will be discussed from a dozen different viewpoints. Overshadowing _all other problems immediately affecting and handicapping the school system, in the opinion of the Chevy Chase committee, is the need of | a building program for the future that will be commensurate with the steady and sometimes rapid growth of school populations in suburban districts. Rea- sons for shortcomings of the five-year school problem and methods to present convineing facts before Congress also will be given special attention at the meeting. Additional guests and speakers, in- dicating the wide range of discussions, include Senator Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota and Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana. Senator Nye is particularly sympathetic with the desire to do away with the old portable buildings, which continue as one of the chief bones of contention in the whole school problem. In addition to Supt. Ballou, the vie point of school officials will be pre- sented by Mrs. Marian Wade Doyle, member.of the Board of Education, and H. W. Draper, supervising principal, first division. Miss M. E. Glven, prin- cipal of the E. V. Brown School, will present conditions in that still over- crowded school. Others to Speak. Others who will attend and speak in the interests of parents and associa- tions affiliated with the schools and working in their behalf are: Mrs, R.| Harvey Sargent, president of the Women's Club of Chevy Chase; Mrs. David Meade Lea, president, board of lady managers of the Episcopal Home for Children; Mrs. Pyke Johnson, presi- dent of the Chevy Chase Home and School Association; W. A. Jump, presi- dent of the Broad Branch Home and School ' Association, and Arthur Adel- | man, president of the Citizens' Associa- tion of Chevy Chase. Miss Given of the E. V. Brown School will act as hostess. The new schools committee of the Chevy Chase organization, which is| sponsoring the mass meeting, consists of J. Francis Moore, chairman; S. Von Ammon, secretary-treasurer; Atwood M. Fisher, Alfred T. Gage, Dr. Manly Michaels and Fred S. Lincoin. During the past three years the | Chevy Chase committee has conducted a highly successful campaign to better school conditions in that widely popu- lous area and has co-operated with other | subsections in obtaining necessary new buildings. Despite all efforts, however the nine obsolete portables to take care of the overflow from the crowded E. V. Brown School are still in use. While commending the 1931 budget | as one of the most generous ever al- Jowed by the Budget Bureau in its history and a great improvement in other Tespects over last year's, the com- mittee feels that much remains to be done before conditions in Washington schools approach the ideal sought for the National Capital. One of the out- standing needs, it was emphasized, is to supply the municipal architect’s | office with the necessary funds to em- ploy adequate personnel to rush to completion buildings already authorized. Budget Satisfactory. So far as Chevy Chase is concerned the new budget was declared to be satis- factory, in that it provides about all that could be expected from Congress. It contains a recommendation for $200,000 to construct a brick school building on the Broad Branch road site authorized last year and now being acquired through condemnation proceedings. Another item of $60,000 is provided for a school site in an area west of Con- necticut avenue. The opening of the mew Ben W. Murch School on Grant road early in February will do much to relieve condi- tions in the E. V. Brown School, and |. that section is fortunate also in pros- pects for the Alice Deal Junior High School, now in course of erection in the Reno district. When completed this will chools of seventh de puplls. ;i l'lulmllll(l’o of Chevy ss in acquir- and eighth gra The new schools Chase feels that its sus ing neded improvements can be dupli- cated by other sections where conditions are acute. and ways and means to bring this about will be considered at Wednes- day's mass meeting. The committee was said to believe that Congress would be liberally inclined to sections where relief is imperative, once all the facts and circumstances are laid before those in charge of the school program. “It is the duty of citizens. not only in Chevy Chase but throughout Washing- ton, to interest themselves and partici- pate that _the utmost shall be available in the all-important school period of youth,” the committee said In announc- To the right in the photo is the section of the Anacostia park development where land purchases will be mad: after July 1, next, with the $150,000 Congress is expected to maxe available, following recommendations by the Bnfl.‘e: Bureau. will complete purchase of all land for th About 184 acres are to be purchased, includin, g the famous Ross heirs’ e park. tract, recently in litigation here. This HEFLIN SHYS VETS INASYLUM DOONED Introduces Bill Periodical Tests of Patients in St. Elizabeth’s. A board of review would be set up at St. Elizabeth's Hospital to make a re- port every six months on the mental condition of patients at the institution, if a bill introduced in the Senate late | yesterday by Senator Heflin, Democrat, of Alabama, is enacted. The measure | provides that whencver a majority of the board finds a person has been re- stored to sanity, such person shall be | released immediately. | In presenting the bill, Senator Heflin said: “Complaint has been made from time to time about the treatment of ex- service men and others who have besn put in St. Elizabeth’s Asylum in the District of Columbia. It is claimed that these ex-service men have money and that people on the outside get ihat money and handle it and put it out at interest. When once an ex-service man is put in the insane asylum, the door of hope is shut on him and he is doomed.” ‘The Senator said he was introducing the bill in order to give every one at the hospital the right to demand a hearing every six months. The bill reads as follows: “That there is hereby established a board of review at St. Elizabeth’s Hos- pital, to be composed of the superin- tendent of such hospital (who.shall act as.chafrman), and evéry physitiangfil- jated with such hospital. = The board shall review, at least once every six months, the case of each person com- | mitted to such hospital, and shall file with the superintendent a report on the mental condition of each such per- son. The board shall grant, as a mat- ter of right, to any such person who may be of the opinion that he has re- covered his reason, and to any repre- sentative or attorney of any such per- son, an opportunity to appear before the board during the review of his case. Whenever a majority of the board shall declare any such person restored to sanity, the superintendent shall forthwith discharge as cured such per- son from such hospital. “Section 2—The _superintendent of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, as chairman of the board of review, shall, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the In- terior, make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.” The bill was referred to the Senate District committee for consideration, BAN PUT ON SIRENS MAY BE RESCINDED Chairman of Hospital Board Dis- agrees With Order to Slow Up Ambulances. Indications that the order passed by the board of directors of Emergency Hospital Friday ordering removal of sirens from the ambulances in favor of a regulation horn and Instructions to ambulance drivers to reduce speed in answering emergency calls and to move with the regular flow of traffic might be rescinded was given impetus yester- day when Woodbury Blair, chairman of the board and president of the hos- pital, declared himself at odds with the rd’s action and said he would ap- peal to the District Commissioners for a definite ruling on the matter. Mr. Blair was advised that the order was the outgrowth of a storm of pro- tests and criticisms which the hospital had been receiving lately from Wash- ingtonians that the ambulances made a lot of unnecessary noise and traveled at an_excessive rate of speed through the city's streets while responding -to calls. Mr. Blair said he considered the prac- tice of having the ambulances respond to emergency calls in haste was an in- dispensible necessity and was for the greatest good of the community, and added further that he would oppose any move to abolish this practice. WILL TELL OF POLICE. Senator Blease and Ex-Policeman Allen to Give Talks Tonight. Senator Blease of South Carolina and former Policeman Robert J. Allen, who have announced they will discu hree Jocal police scandals,” will speak at the Washington Auditorium tonight at 8:15 o'clock. “Why the Washington Police Foree Is the Talk of the Nation” will be the Senator’s topic, while Allen, among other things, will relate his version of the investigation of the McPherson death. Allen, who was dismissed from the force on charges of insubordination, also will dwell on “the alleged suicide of Officer Montgomery.” School. school 15 320. A year hence, at the present rate of increase, there will be ing the meeting. As an example of how the present crop of school children in being denied advantages which cannot be met even in the next few years, Ppoints to conditions in the E. V. Browa . enough more puplls to fill an additional eight-rcom building. Complaint is made that many the only solution. Requiring‘ Heads Chaplains I WIEUT. COL. JULIAN E. YATES. YATES NOMINATED CHIEF OF CHAPLAINS President Hoover Sends Name to Senate—Post Carries Rank of Colonel. ‘The nomination of Lieut. Col. Julian | E. Yates to be Army chief of chaplains, | with the rank of colcnel, for a term of | four years, was sent to the Senate yes- | terday by President Hoover. Col. Yates, a native of Williams Mill N. C, will replace Col. Edmund P. Easterbrock, who retires on December 22. The new chief of chaplains was last assigned as post and regimental chaplain, 6th United States Cavaldy, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. He is a member of the Baptist Church, North. Col. Yates was born in 1871 and is a graduate of Wake Forrest College in North Carolina and of the University of Chicago. His Army service began in 1902, when he was appointed a chap- lain with the rank of captain. He saw service in the Philippine Islands for two years after entering the Army, and then was detailed to duty at various | ermy posts in the East, including Forts | McHenry, Howard and Washington, Md. | Throughout the World War Col. Yates was attached to an artillery unit in France. He was honored by the French government, receiving a silver medal and a citation for having “co-operated health service.” | After the war, Col. Yates saw duty | with the War Plans Division, War De- partment, as assistant to the officer in charge of moral training, and also was | stationed at Camps Stuart, Eustice and Fort Myer, Va. In 1922 he was pro- moted from major to lieutenant colonel and given duty in the office of the chief of chaplains as executive officer. Four years later he was transferred to Fort Oglethorpe. 'BROWN APPOINTED | RADIO BODY COUNSEL |Succeeds B. M. Webster, Jr., Who Resigns to Return to Pri- vate Practice. Thad H. Brown, general counsel of the Federal Power Commission, was yesterday appointed to the same office in the Federal Radio Commission. He will succeed B. M. Webster, jr, who resigned Friday to return to private practice after several years of Govern- ment service. The place of assistant general counsel on the commission, made vacant when Paul M. Segal re- tired with his chief, has not yet been filled. Brown was born in Ohio, .and served as secretary of State there from 1922 until 1926 He was a candidate for governor that year, but was defeated in the Republican primaries. He was grad- uated from the College of Law of the Ohio State University in 1912, and en- gaged in practice of law in Columbus. He was a captain in the World War, and following his discharge from the Army in February, 1919, he was com- missioned a major in the Officers Re-| serve Corps. Later he was appointed | lieutenant colonel, Infantry, of the Re-, { serve Corps, subsequently being made & | { lieutenant colonel in the judge advo- | cate general's Reserve Corps. { Brown will take over his new duties | tomorrow. GEOLOGIST TO LECTURE. I |Dr. Bassler to Explain Looks of Earth Six Million Years Ago. ‘What the earth looked like 6,000,000 years ago and how sclentists determined its appearance will be explained to The excess attendance at this | members of the City Club by Dr. R. S»lof an indiscretion committed by Lund Bassler, head curator of geology of the National Museum, at & meeting Thurs- day night at 8 o'clock at the club. Dr. Bassler, a paleontologist, has this subject. most faithfully with the French public | PAMPHLET DENIES WASHINGTON TALES Tract Prepared for Alexan- dria’s Society Expected to End Gossip. Evidence to prove the falsity of the stories reflecting upon the personal morality of George Washington, has been printed in a pamphlet, entitled “The George Washington Scandals,” and was released for distribution yes- terday by the Washington Society of Alexandria, which after the Society of the Cincinnati is said to be the oldest patriotic society in this country. The pamphlet is being distributed in com- memoration of the 130th anniversary of Washington's death. ‘The Washington Society was organ- jzed in Alexandria one month after ‘Washington’s death by his neighbors and friends, all of whom had par- ticipated in the ceremonies attending his funeral. It functioned for about 50 years, but died out about the time of the Civil War. Two years ago it was revived. Its purpose is “to dis- seminate historical information regard- ing events Washington.” John C. Fitzpatrick of this city, a widely known authority on Washing- tonians and a member. of the Wash- | ington _ Society, is the author of the pamphlet. “Few of our great men,” says Mr. Fitzpatrick, “have escaped vilification of one kind or another, but the whispers (they are nearly always whispers) against the morals of George Wash- | ington _seem more viciously continuous | than the attacks on any other. great | American.” Stories of Four Varieties. Mr. Fitzpatrick says that when all |the stories and their recognizable | variations are examined it will be found | that they are “rooted in four, more or less distinct, anecdotes or charges; three of which have separate founda- tions, leaving the fourth a sort of will- o’-the-wisp, depending for its vitality upon the stability of the others.” “The worst of these charges,” con- tinues the pamphlet, “is the so-called letter of inviation to Mount Vernon, in which it is claimed the allurements of an octoroon slave-girl are set forth as an inducement for the visit—the shadow of which has lain across Mount Vernon for years.” A painstaking examination of this story has been male by Mr. Fitzpatrick, and, in his own words, has “produced startling results.” says Mr. Fitzpatrick, “is so elusive that it has never been located, nor has an authentic copy of it ever been pro- duced. Dozens of individuals claim to have definite knowledge of it, yet, strangely enough, it seems impossible to find the man who has seen the actual letter. The nearest approach to him always is the man who knows the man who has seen the letter, and while those of the first are comparative- ly numerous thos: of the second have never been found: for some peculiar reason they are always away, sick or dead. “Octoroon Letter’ Story Persists. “The letter itself is variously de- scribed. It was written, it is said. by Washington to Lafayette, by Jeflerson to Washington, by Hamilton to Wash- ington, etc., but despite its Joseph's coat it is a persistent story.” The basis for the story, Mr. Fitz- patrick explains, is undoubtedly a; Jetter written by Benjamin Harrison in Virginia to George Washington in Cambridge, July 21, 1775, which was intercepted by the British and for- warded to London. It was given out for publication by the British govern- ment and was printed in the London Daily Advertiser of September 2, 1775. But when the September issue of the Gentelmen's Magazine of London ap- peared it contained Harrison’s letter with an additional paragraph, which was not in the Daily Advertiser. This is the paragraph upon which the story is based. Mr. Fitzpatrick points out that the Harrison letter upon its arrival in Lon- don was immediately duplicated ver- batim ad literatim in five different offi- cial files of the British government and photostat fac-similes of these official records are now in the Library of Con- gress. No such paragraph is found in any of them. “Mary Gibbons Affair” a Forgery. The next of the four “rcot charges, referred to by Mr. Fitzpatrick is known as the “Mary Gibbons affair,” which is characterized as a clumsy Tory forg- ery. It is based upon a pamphlet pub- lished in London in 1776, the greater part of which is shown to be “delib- erate forgery.” “In the forged portion,” continues Mr, Fitzpatrick, “is the story of Mary Gib- bons and George Washington. The third charge is that Washington was the father of a certain illigitimate boy child. After explaining how this erroneous story gained currency, Mr. Fitzpatrick continues: “The final evidence in rebuttal of this ‘illigitimate’ charge, if further evidence is really needed, came to view recently ina mlnustrlprt CT.!""d by the Library of Congress. This is a genealogical ac- count of the Washington family, pre- pared prior to the year 1850 by Lund ‘Washington, son of Robert and grand- son of Townsend Washington. In it is the complete story without reference to scandal involving George Washington Washington, the erstwhile manager of ount Vernon. connected with George | “The letter, if indeed there is such,” | ANACOSTIA PARK PROVIDED FOR IN BUDGET ESTIMATE $150,000 Allotted for Pur- chase of 184 Acres, Includ- ing Part of Ross Tract. ADDITIONAL $180,000 IS FOR CONSTRUCTION Completed Project Will Stretch from Prince Georges County to Bolling Field. Further expansion of Anacostia Park | is provided for under the Budget Bu- reau estimates, now pending before Con~ gress. An item of $150,000 for land purchases will provide for the purchase of 184 acres, including some 24 acres of the Ross heirs tract, at the foot of M street northeast, E. A. Schmitt, engineer of the United States Engineer Office, which is headed by Maj. Brehon Somer- vell, explained yesterday. An item of $180,000 is included by the Budget Bureau for the program of construction by Maj. Somervell's office, in reclaiming the marshy stretches and pushing de- | velopment forward toward constrieti-a i of another of Washington's major parks. This will complete purchase of all land for the park. Government Loses Claim. A recent decision of the District Su- preme Court, in which the Federal Government lost in its contentions, necessitates the purchase of the tract of the Ross heirs, as the high water line in this case was determined by the court, in derogation of the Government claims. To push forward reclamation and fill in a gap in the park plan, it has become necessary for Uncle Sam to pur- chase this tract, and the money for this will be taken out of the $150,000, which Congress is expected to make avallable | soon. While it will be seven years more be- {fore the Anacostia Park development reaches maturity, at the present rate of appropriations, another stretch will be {completed during the coming fiscal year, starting next July 1, with the $180,000 expected to be made available by Congress. This seven-year program will mean that the basic construction work will be completed by 1937 or 1938. The steady construction work being j maintained by the United States engi- neer office, Mr. Schmitt and his as- sistant, P. C. Dorr, explained yester: day, will provide for the completion of reclamation, the construction of a sea- wall and rip-rap foundations for con- | duits to insure proper circulation of | water in the lakes, as well as other needed work. Place Seawall Foundation. Under the $180,000 appropriation the work of reclaiming the marshes will be continued and a large amount of rip- rap stone for the seawall foundations will be placed. This will not provide for seawall construction nor for other i structures. This work will be done up- stream of Benning road. - Downstream 'of Benning road all the basic construction work has been com- | pleted except for minor parts that can- | not be accomplished at this time, due | to- collateral .work that remains to be done. Sections E and F, across from Gallinger Hospital and the District Jail, and the lower section of Lake Kingman, stretching _from Pennsylvania avenue Bridge to Benning Bridge, have recent- {1y been turned over by the Secretary of | War to the jurisdiction of the Office of | Public Buildings and Public Parks, under the direction of Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d. When Anacostia Park is completed it | will contain 1,772 acres, of which 1,305 | will be land and the rest a water park. { This park will stretch from the Prince ;gievi;ses County, Md., line to ling eld. ! These estimates of the Budget Bureau will be carried in the District appropri- | ation bill, under the section for the | United States engineer office. {WIDOW OF OFFICER ATTEMPTS SUICIDE { Police Report Woman Despondent Because of Inability to Buy Presents for Son. Despondent, police said, because she had no money to purchase a Christmas present for her little son, Mrs. Eliza- beth Ezell, 26-year-old widow of a former Army officer, attempted to end her life last night by inhaling gas in the kitchen of her sccond-floor apart- ment at 827 Florida avenue northeast. She was revived by members of the fire rescue squad and later taken to Casualty Hospital where physicians said she would recover. The young widow was found in an unconscious condition by Mrs. A. J. Parker, who lives on the first floor of the two-family house, and who had gone upstairs to ask Mrs. Ezell & ques- tion The woman's body was stretched out face downward on the kitchen floor with all gas jets turned on. Mrs. Ezell is said to have told police she had a young son, Herman Lee Ezell, staying. with relatives in a little North Carolina town and was unable to buy the things she wanted for him for Christmas. ington. The child of Lund’s indiscre- tion lived in a State other than Virginia under the name of Washi .. He served in Hamar's Indian expedition, married twice and raised a large family of_children. There was no secret about his pa- ternity at the time. He was respected in the community and often ‘recognized as a Washington from his remarkable likeness to the family.’” As the last charge Mr. Fitzpatrick says the foundation is equally nebu- lous. This is the charge that the fatal illness of Washington, contracted De- cember 13, 1779, was the result of “an assignation with an overseer's wife.” “It is the most nebulous of the slanders,” says Mr. Fitzpatrick. “It seems to be based entirely upon the inclement weather of the day and to be buttressed by the general assumption that all the other stories are true. “The obligations of the people of the United States to the first Ameri- can have not ,been lessened. One of these obligations, quite properly, is to reprehend and check with rebuke the loose, unfounded and despicable slan- ?e directed against George Washing- on.” ‘William Buckner McGroarty, presi- dent of the Washington Society of Alexandria, says the society hopes to place this pamphlet in all of the ref- erence and historical libraries of the M “Names, dates and persons are cir- cumstantially given and the entire families are compelled totraveled extensively over the continent ! sto) rallels with exact detail, - the committee | send their children to private schools as [and is an International authority on g l;yh'lg:lly and chronologically, then::. excusable charge against George Wash- ' country, “after which there will never exist the shadow of an excuse for any- one, be he writer or speaker, why may seek to endow any of these vicims in o3 with the slightest scmblance of truth.,”