Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1929, Page 1

WEATHER. +“From Press to Home (U. 8. Weather Bureau Porecast.) Within the Hour” The Star’s carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. New York Markets Closed Today. Yesterday’s Circulation, 103,366 Entered post _office, No. 31,284, second class matter ‘Washington, . D. WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1929—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. () Means Associated Press. PRESIDENT PERSONALLY RESCUES PRIVATE PAPERS AS FIRE RUINS EXECUTIVE WING OF WHITE HOUSE Braves Flames/ to Enter His Office. GRANT PUTS LOSS AT $50,000 Hot Fireplace Chim- ney Blamed for Blaze. The White House was taking stock today of the worst fire since 1814 which practically destroyed the west wing and sent President Hoover and his son Allan rushing from a cheerful Christmas eve party last night to brave smoke and flames to rescue personal papers from the President’s desk. Arriving just as the first company of firemen ran into the building, the Presi- dent climbed into the window of his office from the rear of the grounds and began to help Lawrence Richey, one of his secretaries, in pulling out his desk drawers and handing them to other guests of the party who carried them to safety. At the insistence of Allan and ‘The damage was estimated at $50,000 by Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant 3d, director of Public Buildings and Public Parks, ‘who made an inspection while the fire- men‘m still fighting the flames last AFTERMATH OF THE WHITE HOUSE FIRE Wrecked Office ' Building to Be Repaired. HOOVER MAKES INSPECTION | Visit Is Made Today ; Despite Danger of Roof Falling. Disregarding the warning of | firemen that the roof of the | executive offices of the White House might collapse at any mo- ment, President Hoover today |made an inspection of the dam- age done by the fire last night. He at that time expressed the |opinion that an entirely new i structure would be necessary, but A view of the roof of the executive offices, taken this morning. Note the holes, cut by firemen last night when they were attempting to get at the smoldering flames beneath. = PARTY CONTINUES | OPERATOR KEEPS the | {he President and Mrs. Hoover, werc House chief usher. The other telephoned for the Fire Department. Irvin Hoover was in his office when the alarm sounded and immediately went to the dining room, where the President and Mrs. Hoover were enter- taining the children of the secretaries. Tells President First. Mr. He the and first told the President, bending low and whispering, in order not to alarm the women and children: “The executive office is on fire. 1 want to take the Secretaries away from the table.” “I'll go, too,” said the President. Notified, the men left the table and started for the executive offices. The women were told of the fire, but the children were not, and, while the President, Irvin Hoover, the Secre- taries, Comdr. Boone, Allan Hoover and Midshipman Newton, Mr. Newton’s son, left the table, the women and children remained seated. Hoover had told the Marine Band Orchestra, that had been play- ing during the dinner, to strike up a tune, and it kept up the music as the dinner continued undisturbed. Meanwhile the President and his guests hurried over to the executive offices. Mr. Richey was the first in the President’s office, but he was followed immediately by the President and the others, who entered by the window just to the left and a little to the rear of the President’s desk. Papers Are Removed. ‘The men removed the papers from the President’s desk and took out all the drl'ledl's. which }i‘lkem finta"l,r:.ld papers and memoranda, carrying into the main building. The President’s flags were also carried out, and later the steel cabinets from the President’s oftice, containing files. Mr. Richey, Mr. Newton, George Akerson and French Strother made an attempt to enter their offices and re- move papers and files. They were not wholly successful, although Mr. Aker- son got the flag that hung in his office. ‘The rescue work was quick, but did not last._long. arrival of the Pres- ident and his guests from the dinner table was almost simultaneous 7\‘:: the im) le to breathe. But di was impossib e Wike Howe st: SPITE FLAMES, HOOVER WIRE OPEN, =25z e Children Guests at the White|Stays on Job in Basement|gt House Unaware Blaze Had “‘Been Discovered. President and Mrs. Hoover were en- themselves at a Christmas eve ‘were giving at the White the benefit of the children of President’s aides and per- Room Till Water Is a Foot Deep. One of the heroes of the fire in the telephone and telegraph force. He re- mained . at his switchboard for more than half an hour after the fire was discovered, despite the dense smoke in his small room in the basement and with water more than a foot deep in his room. All about him he could hear firemen crashing their way through the walls, the din of the orders being yelled and the roaring of the flames above. Rice continued on with his work, punching the plug in the switchboard as fast as his hands could work. Other than goaked clothes and inflamed eyes from the smoke, he suffered no harm. It was upon the arrival of E. W. Smithers, head of the telephone and telegraph room, who has served in that capacity since McKinley was President, that Rice abandoned his post. When Smithers arrived and hurried to the telephone and telegraph room and saw the conditions he ordered the room abandoned. Rice has only joined the White House staff since the advent of ihe Hoover administration and works on what is referred to as the “night trick.” He remained at the White House until late in the night, assisting Chief Smithers and Frederick Hohbis another telephone and telegraph o erator, in working out with the tele- phone and telegraph authorities a plun for running in new cables, 50 as to establish White House communications as soon as possible. MASONS THWART BLAZE. New York Clubmen Carry Poor Children’s Gifts to Safety. NEW YORK, December 25 (#).—Fire almost thwarted Santa Claus y. A short circuit in electric wiring started a smoky blaze in the auditorium of the Level Club, a Masonic organiza- tion, where $7,000 worth of gifts for poor children were stored. ‘The 250 members of the club seized armfuls of the presents and carried them out to safety. Then, when the flames were extinguished, they took the gifts back inside, ready to be distributed this afternoon. Damage was principally from water. A section of the Marine Band was playing in the corridor of the White House, and in the State dining room the party was at its height when the news reached the President. There was no excitement, and as the President and his man guests immediately left the room the children in the party did not know what was going on. Mrs. Hoover remained behind and directed the fun. Seated at the table, in addition to Mr. and Mrs. George Akerson and their three sons, George, jr.; Fred and Charles; Mr. and Mrs, Walter Newton and their three children, Marshall, Walter, jr, and Grace; Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Richey, Mr. and Mrs. French ter, Jean; Delano Large and Jeanette Large, Mrs, Hoover’s nephew and niece; their ‘mother, Mrs. Large, and Allan Hoover, the President’s son. “President Receives News Calmly. The word was brought to the Presi- dent by Irvin Hoover, the chief usher of the White House, who has served in that y since early in Theodore Roosevelt’s administration. The President did not become ex- zited upon receipt of the news. He calm- ly arose and offered some excuses, ask- ing Secretaries Newton, Akerson and Richey and the other men about the table to join him. Allan Hoover, home from Harvard to spend the holidays with his nts, sensing something was wrong, left the table and followed. Walter Newton, jr., son of Secretary Newton, a plebe at the National Naval Academy, joined Allan. They did a man’s share in the salvage work which was soon to follow. Maurice Allen, secret service man, joined the President, as did Irvin Hoover and several White House attaches. Among the latter were Edward Nor- ris, chief machinist in charge of the heating plant; Charles Thomas, chief electrician; Michael Forbes, chief car- (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) PRESIDENT’S SECRETARY WORRIES OVER UNCOVERED EXECUTIVE DESK But White House Chief Usher Supplies Substitute for Tarpaulin. Akerson, the President's sec- urbane and unruffied as “Ike” Hoover, the White House chief usher, solved the problem, however, as he has solved many others. He sent for pieces of canvas ordinarily used to cover the sidewalk the east en- trance during rece] . This was thrown over the President’s desk, to the great rellef of Mr. Akerson, al- though, by the time it had been cu% the desk was slightly damp. It was said at the District Building this morn! that the Pire Department has only a few small tarpaulins, to be used in extinguishing small fires. White House last night was M. M. Rice | tel of 2006 R street, of the White House later in the day it developed that | the structure could be repaired, yand it seemed likely that bids | would be asked tomorrow. The President had just finished play- ing medicine ball in the rear grounds with Secretary of the Interior Wilbur, Mark Sullivan, Alexander Legge, chair- man of the Federal Farm Board; Lieut. Comdr. Boone, his physician, and Law- rence Richey, one of his secretaries, when with this little group the Presi- dent went all over the office building, even to the attic, where the fire raged and was generally confined. Mr. Hoover seemed unconcerned as to any dangers, regardless of warnings on the part of several of the firemen who were still at work in the building, that the burned joists and rafters were weakened and likely to tumble at any moment. The President wore a heavy overcoat and a soft hat, but no overshoes, and consequently his feet became soaked because of the water in the building. Interior Badly &W Altho the fire itself was confined mosf utghmelmcundln tions between the walls in the old billiard room, on the base- ment floor of the White House, which was turned over to Dr. Boone, the White House physician, as an office and clinic, Clearing Work Begun. The work of clearing up the results of the fire and water and the wielding of the firemen’s axes was entered ‘upon early this morning. This was be! done by members of No. 3 engine truck and engine company No. 1 and by la- borers detailed to the job by Lieut. Col, U. S. Grant, 3d.,, officer in cl of public buildings and public parks, who is directly responsible for the physical upkeep of the White House and ex- ecutive offices and who was on hand last night during the raging of the fl’-ln’xlnes. to give what assistance was pos- sible. The newly created office rooms in the basement floor of the executive office building were not damaged to any ex- tent by flames. In one of these rooms at the southwest corner most of the files are kept. These records are in heavy steel supposedly fireproof cases and were not removed during the excitement of the night and were in no wise affected. The various private and other papers in the desk in the President’s room and the rooms of his secretaries and the other offices on the main floor were, along with articles of furniture and decorations such as rugs, statues and pictures, clocks and vases, carried to safety during the fire- fighting. ‘The President’s own room in the of- fice building, which is situated in the middle on the south side of the build- ing, suffered probably more than any of the other rooms on that floor. Several huge gaps had been torn in the celling of the room and two gaps had either been cu or eaten by flames in the side walls. The handsome chandelier had been torn from its fastenings in the ceiling and the glass panes in one of |the several built-in bookcases _were knocked out. The books in the Presi- dent's room, of which there are several hundred, but for the most part docu- ments and digests, suffered very little {and what damage was done (o these IWM done by water. Big Holes Cut in Ceiling. The room adjoining this to the west, occupied by George Akerson, one of the President’s _secretaries, suffered nearly as much, Several huge holes had been cut into the ceiling and there were sev- eral openings in the walls. ‘The chan- delier was missing and the water dam- age extremely heavy. Most of the fumiture and other arti- cles from these various rooms which were Tescued last night are today resting on the snow in the rear grounds just south of the building. Tarpaulins and cover- ings had been thrown over them to protect them from the weather. Some articles of furniture were carried in the laundry and old engine room, which l:min the building adjoining the office The handsome bronze statues of George Wuhl.ngum and Count Kos- clusko, the Polish hero, which were sented to the White House by the ish government during President Cool- idge's administration, which were on pedestals on the main lobby of the of- fice bullding, were saved and are today m})y‘ns positions in the rear grounds. After their inspection of the ruins (Continued on Page 3, Column 7.) Radio Programs— Page 32 tions | man. to | 55 years of LQUOR SUSPET 5HELD AS BURKE Man Held in Arizona Thought to Be Gang Massacre Gunman. By the Associated Press. NOGALES, Ariz, December 25.—A man giving the name of J. G. Barton, arrested here on suspicion of rum run- ning, today is held in the Santa Cruz County Jail pending word from Chicago which may identify him as Fred Burke, notorious gangster, wanted in the Illi- nois city for questioning in connection with the St. Valentine's day massacre there and other crimes throughout the | Middle West. Bartsn, released from jail yesterday following fallure to connect him with’ lquor activities, was rearrested a few hours later by. Sheriff H..J. Patterson was found that he bore a strik- after ihg resemblance to & photograph of Fred Burke on & Chicago police bulle- tin. Barton was located in the hills near the Mexican border and was brought to Nogales under guard. Sherift Patterson immediately com- municated with Chicago and St. Joseph, Mich, officials in an effort definitely to establish the identity of his prisoner. Burke is wanted in the Michigan city on suspicion of having killed a police- The prisoner emphatically denied he is Burke. KENTUCKY TRAP FAILS. Wait by Detectives for Killer Proves Fatile. es and three patrol- in vain at the Kentucky and bri across the Ohio River three and a half hours late Mon- day night to be hosts at a surprise Christmas party for Fred Burke, called “the most us man alive.” Information that Burke, Chicago slayer, was headed toward isville had been received by Chief of Detectives M. Rey Yarberry. NEW YORKERS GIVE $500,000 FOR POOR Newspapers and Charity Organiza- tions Help Spread Christmas Cheer Among Needy. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, December 25.—New Yorkers gave more than a half million dollars that Christmas might be more than just a cold December day to the city’s needy. 4 In addition to about $7,000 raised by charity organizations, the New York Times, which made its annual appeal for the “100 neediest cases,” announced receipt of contributions totaling $254,- 577. The Evening Post collected $50,- 711 for its “old couples’ Christmas fund,” the New York American raised $138,358 and also provided as dinners to 17,000 persons. T ily Eagle, concen- 'he Brooklyn trating on the neediest cases in its com- munity, raised $15,000. The New York Herald-Tribune raised funds to send g:ur children during the holidays to the 'mes of persons who had offered them | hospitality, and the Evening World sponsored a Christmas show at the Paramount and Roxy Theaters for the 10,000 children in its “Kiddie Klub." TWO SISTERS FOUND DEAD Police Batter Doors of Home After " Pair Disappear. » GRAND ISLAND, Nebr., December 25 (#)—Miss Gertrude Lippelt, about 50, & teacher at Grand Island College, and her sister, Mrs. Marie age, were found dead when officers forcibly entered the little cot- tage they were occupying near the col- lege campus. Nahhbanmmm the sisters for Fol- | Spiopsiation TWO CENTS. \ \ NERBoDY 1 onnd fany CHRISTMAS DAY 1929. Yule Turkey Heaps Coals of Fire—Gives Silver Nugget for Ax By the Associated Press. BOISE, Idaho, December 25.— Good for evil, coals of fire—and all that sort of thing—is what John Swift's Christmas turkey returned in exchange for the ax. John found a silver nugget as big as a pea in the bird’s craw. John's employer says he has been notified John will not report until after he has thoroughly in- spected that turkey's grazing ground. BYRD OUT OF SIGHT OF LAND FOR YEAR Members of Expedition Get Snow and Drab Skies on Christmas Eve. i BY RUSSELL OWEN. O e ok Fouts S Brsoncn. A Slest and the 8t. Loul . 8] for | publical reserved throughout the 1 LITTLE AMERICA, Antarctica, De- cember 24.—It looks as if we would have & white Christmas. A year ago Christmas day we sighted the Barrier, and for a year we have been living on it. Thirty of us have not seen land or anything resembling it for more than & year. Of course, if one chopped a hole in the back yard down to the water and then swam persistently downward for & quarter of a mile one could find land of a sort. We saw a little brought up S AL o0 B A va i SOVIET GETS PLEAS IN EIELSON SEARCH Borah and Wilbur Ask for Aid in Rescue of Flyer and Mechanic. By the Associated Press. Word was awaited out of the frozen North telling that trained men and dog teams had been ordered across the ice and snow off the Siberian Coast to the rescue of Lieut. Ben Eielson, American aviator and his mechanic, Carl Borland, who disappeared six weeks ago while fiying to the ice-bound fur ship Nanuk. Action by the Soviet government, to which unofficial appeals by the Ameri- can Government and direct appeals by Senator Borah of Idaho, chairman of the foreign relations committee, have been made for assistance, remained to- day the outstanding hope of the fiyers for rescue, “/Senator Borah's appeal was made directly to Acting Commissar of Foreign Affairs Litvinoff of the Moscow govern- ment. The Senator has long been a foremost advocate for American recog- nition of the Soviet. Appeal Made by Wilbur. The unofficial appeal for assistance by the Washington Government was made by Secretary Wilbur through Boris E. Skvirsky, unofficial representa- the Russian News Agency, Tass, Mrs. Mabel Walker Willebrandt, for- mer Assistant Attam:lyl General and e corpora. hich loyed Elelson by an automatic scoop and it was clayey | ing about in and altogether uninviting. This is a miserable polar Summer day, with soft snow under foot and drab sky above, such a monotone of white and gray that unless there is a little dirt around it is impossible to see the surface, and there is no horizon, Just a bowl of gruel in which objects stand out detached as if resting on afr. But. tomorrow is Christmas and in a month the ship should be nearly here, and & month after that, if all goes well, we will be where there are unfamiliar trees and grass and trolley cars and noises, and we shall probably all be run over by automobiles the first day ashore. BOMB IS SENT THEATER MAGNATE FOR PRESENT Receiver of Christmas Parcel and Daughter Are Injured in Explosion. By the Assoclated Press. PORTLAND, Oreg.,, December 25.— C. T. Woodlaw, owner of theater here, was slightly injured and his daughter, Mrs. H. Kleinschmidt, was burned last night when a Christmas package, deliv- ered to Woodlaw at his office in the theater building, exploded as he was opening it. Police sald the parcel held a bomb which contained a mixture of tear and mustard gas. Woodlaw’s theater, police declared, has been picketed by union operators since September, Wind Prevents Docking. NEW YORK, December 25 (#).—The Cunard line officials here were advised yesterday that the liner Ausonia, from New York December 14, was unable to land_passengers destined for Havre at the French port on arrival there yester- day, owing to high winds, and proceed- ed with them to Plymouth, England, her next scheduled port of cail irteen cabin, 12 tourist (third class) and & number of steerage passengers intended leaving the ship at Havre. not been indicated which appeal brought the first result. Announcement of the Senator’s mes- sage to Moscow was made after it be- came known that the Interior Depart- ment had appealed to the Soviet upon the urgent request of Vilhjalmur Stef- ansson, noted Northern explorer. Also Confers With Newton. Mrs. Willebrandt also conferred with Walter Newton, secretary to President Hoover, but whether she discussed res- cue plans with him remains to be di- W | CTY NS WORLD IN YULE DAY SPIRIT OF PEACE ONEARTH America, Rejoicing, Regards Kellogg Pact and London Parley Symbolic. PRESIDEIGT—CELEBRATES DESPITE FIRE UPSET Hoovers Give Christmas Dinner Tc night to Cabinet Members and Wives, Washington joinéd with the rest of the world today in rejoicing over the peace and good will of Christmastime. For America, in particular, the dawn- ing of another Yuletide had a special significance, as its people viewed with gratitude the far-reaching results of American leadership in pointing to the world a new way for peace among na- tions. The Kellogg treaty renouncing war as an instrument of international policy and the recent naval discussion with Great Britain, out of which has come a move on the part of the great powers to reduce their battle fleets, were regarded as a very embodiment of the spirit of today’s celebration. With satisfaction in having had a part in bringing these events about and undismayed by the disastrous fire which last night destroyed his executive offices, President Hoover set about observing the holiday in a typical American way. His was a home observance, with his family and a few intimate friends gathered about him. The President and Mrs. Hoover had one disappointment, however, for their elder son, Herbert, jr., and his wife and two small children were unable to spend the holidays at the White House and observed it, instead, at their home in Plfllde}l‘:. g‘-lfl. Desp! e damage done by the which added excitement wbzn othg:E Hwhe serene chn:tmu :ve‘ tt;‘em ‘White louse proper underwent no change in its Ch.lgltm.l.l atmosphere decora- mm A dihmm T - President’s apartments on the sec- w‘m and buld"1l le it, it was presents and greetin; nfion llmnld’bemexchnhn . b [em| of e cabinet and their families will be guests at the White :‘l:llum dlnn"fir tonight. table. President by his_secretary, Richy, who shot them while hunf in Virginia over the week end. T _ Hoovers Entertain Children. With their younger son, Allap, Presi~ dent and Mrs. Hoover exchanged their ts this bave mwnm.lb‘outu 3 myamnotd‘liund today. Of. their White House home, But, like other Washington families, the occupants of the White House heard the romping of children abou cor- v of Labor intimate friends romped about the rooms in the enjoyment of a Christ~ mas party as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Hoover, So much for the scenes in the White House, wgl‘ch were duplicated unity Christmas tree, around which nearly 2,000 men, women and children joined in the singing of carols This was the sixth time that a Presi- dent of the United States had partici- pated with his official family in the ceremonies and speaking through the microphone, Mr. Hoover addressed Christmas greetings to a great unseen audience. Other communities throughout the city had their own special trees and ceremonies, particularly at Village, Frien vulged. Stefansson, whose appeal to Wilbur o for immediate action to secure the basis of his intimate knowledge of the severe conditions in the North, tele- (Continued on Page 2, Column 6.) GIFT OF SAVINGS BRINGS FUND DRIVE FOR DONOR Woman Inmate of County Home Sends Grimy Dollar Bill to Charity Bureau. By the Assoclated Press. KANSAS CITY, December 25. grimy dollar bill, dropped upon the table from an equally grimy envelope. It fell among other bills, most of them of larger denomination, many from tinted, scented envelopes. The clerk in the charity bureau looked a bit disdainfully, perhaps, at the erumpled newcomer. And then read the accompanying note, penned in shaky lines that bespoke old age. Today the bill lay in a drawer by itself and a special fund was being raised for its donor. It came from a woman, inmate of the county home, and represented the savings of several months. GAYLY TRIMMED TREE AND 2 GIRLS TAKE OFF IN PLANE FOR FLORIDA Sleigh Bells Jingle as Machine With Christmas Decora- tion Starts With Youngsters for Grandma’s Yule Dinner. By the Assoclated Press. MITCHEL FIELD, N. Y., December 25.—A gayly decorated Christmas tree took off shortly before dawn today for & non-stop flight to Tampa, Fla. It was trimmed and set up in the cabin of the huge biplane Northern Star of the American International Alrways. Sleigh bells jingled a shrill accompaniment to the roar of the mo- tors. ‘Two modern little girls, Suzanne and Mary Frances Willlams, 5 and 7 years old, were on their way to have Christ- mas dinner with thelr grandmother. Pllot Harold E. McMahon estimated the 1,200-mile flight would require 12 Other Side Is Described. Another side of the Christmas pic- ture presented itself today and last ht in the long lines of destitute men and women who found comfort and cheer inside the warm halls of the city lons. Then, too, at the public in- stitutions where freedom is restrained the spirit of Christmas penetrated through prison walls to make different what otherwise would have been “just another day” for hundreds. At the Central Union Mission, “Daddy” John S. Bennett presided in the dining hall where willing workers were pre- pared to dispense substantial dinners to all “down and outers” who joined in a long and continuous line.” For the little boys and girls in the Children’s Emergency Home, Mrs. Bennett had Pprepared a special Christmas feast with all the trimmings. Hundreds of baskets, heaped with food and necessities, were distributed last night and today to poor familles throughout the city, he | “rrne 2 2 same scenes were being dupli- cated in the bread lines of the Salva- . tion Army and the Gospel Mission. Mrs, Hoover had taken part in the Christmas party of the former early yesterday afternoon and last night nearly 1,000 %hlldnhru u: were mld:‘ g;d b‘y‘ &e‘ annual as s Salva- tion Army officials, % Many a prisoner in the District of Columbia wished today he had been lucky enough last week to have been transferred to the District Reformatory at Lorton, Va. There was a special reason. Roast turkey, sage dressing and cranberry sauce were the main dishes of a particularly good Christmas dinner at the Virginia resort. To bal- ance the fare there were apples, ple, oranges, nuts and candy. Prisoners Have Christmas Meal. at Occoqt fared far quite so well as at Lorton, was their substitute for turkey, & welcome mee WIM Olh Lg;:l M. Barnard, in pt. M. M. the District penal institutions, the menus, assisted by Capt. T. Tawse, superintendent of the reforma- tory, and Col. Willlam L. Peak, super- (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) =