Evening Star Newspaper, January 1, 1930, Page 1

46 degrees. tures—Highest, 57, at 1:15 pan. yesterday; lowest, -40, ), at 12 m. today.” Full report on page 9. New York Markets Closed Today. Entered as sec No. 31,291 post ~office, Washington, ond class matter D C he WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1930—FORTY PAGES. WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION Foening Star, % rom Press every cit: (®) Means Associated Press. to Home Within the Hour” The. Star’s carrier system covers block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 109,544 TWO CENTS, GIFT PACKAGE BOMB KILLS WOM[AN PRESDENT GREETS CREATANDLOWLY WTH HANDSHAKE Chief Executive, With Mrs. Hoover, Exchanges Kindly Word in Reception. INCREASED INTEREST MANIFEST IN CUSTOM Public Line Assembles Outside of Grounds Long Before Estab- lished Hour. BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG. The doors of the White House were flung wide today while the President and Mrs. Hoover, in accordance with & eustom born almost with the Nation {tself, exchanged a kindly word of greet- ing and friendly handshake with the great and the lowly, the rich and the poor. It is upon the occasion of a New Year day reception that the hospitality of the Executive Mansion awaits any citizen who may enter. And it is in this spirit of true American democracy that the custom, inaugurated by George and . Martha Washington in their dignified home in New York which served as the Executive Mansion on the first New Year day of the first Presi- dent’s administration, that Herbert Hoover and the First Lady of the Land, in their usual gracious manner, are re- ceiving their callers today. In virtually every detail today's re- eeption is following closely those of the , and, = Bciedto thet R e Bone Rumber at- White House fete continues to $row in popularity. Inereased Interest Shown. There was no mistaking eased interest in mc.r year's reee":fiux:frpmb- because it was President Hoover's first since becoming President, and in the intensified the interest All of the icy and color was in evidence today. they assem- large state dining room inted time filed along e in the blue room to of greeting from their countries and to be felici- in retum. Ranking Officers in Line. Additional color and interest was the ranking the Army, Navy and Marine the uniforms of their service ited themselves. Then there were somberly attired members of the President’s cabinet, the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the i members of various patriotic and civic organizations. Hand- somely gowned women contributed their share to this inspiring picture. All of these various colorful and in- feresting groups constituted what is referred to as the morning section of the reception and comprised about 1,000 persons in all. Their portion of the cisely at 11 o'clock. Following this was 8 period for rest and relaxation, and luncheon for the President and Mrs, Hoover and those assisting in the re- celving, preparatory to entering upon what is referred to as the public recep- tion, which commenced at 1 o'clock and (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) NARCOTIC AG‘ENT SHOT BY UNKNOWN GUNMAN Beattle Man, About to Enter Auto, in Front of Home, Critically ‘Wounded. By the Associated Press. SEATTLE, January 1.—P. L. Jourdin, Pederal narcotic nt, was shot and critically wounded by an unknown as- sailant in front of his home here today. Jourdin was about to enter his au- tomobile when four shots rang out from the shadows at the edge of the sidewalk. He fell to the pavement with & bullet wound in the abdomen, and was rushed to the city hospital. He lapsed into unconsciousness before he could give any description of his as- sailant, Mrs. Jourdin said her husband had been out all evening on Government business. |City’s “Early Bird” | Gets Up at 5:30 A.M.] To Greet Hoover i 3-.Time Reception Line Winner Prepares Own Interviews for Press. A small man, with a huge mustache, overcoatless, but carrying a large um- brella, his “story” written and ready to be handed out to the newspaper reporters, took his stand at the front gate of the White House ds this morning and stayed there for four hours to be the first to shake President Hoover's hand and wish him “Happy | New Year” in the annual White House blic reception. puThe recepptkm' did not start until 1 o'clock this afternoon, but J. W. Hune- feld of 225 C street northeast, a doer of odd jobs of painting and carpen- tering, was on hand early to be sure of an honor he has held twice bs(ore. He would have held 1: lx‘“ Jyear, ‘only wasn't any receéption.’ thslr‘em the original early bird o'! these parts,” Mr. Hunefeld sald. “I was up at 5:30 this morning. that time every morning, and all. But this even turn (g:ll" for those winks I ly . “‘Some figple wlma two years ago, when I led the line, but at the last minute gave up my place to a lady, that I'd have to get up s whole lot (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) PLAN MASS BURIAL FORT2PANICDEAD Council of Scottish Town to Provide Single Grave for Victims. By the Associated Press. PAISLEY, Scotland, January 1.—Ar- rangements proceeded today for a mass funeral for the 72 youthful victims of the blind panic which followed a small fire yesterday afternoon in the Glen Motion Picture Theater here. There was hardly a home in this small Scottish mill town but suffered loss of kin in the catastrophe. The ecity that most if not all the humble circumstances, expected to pro- in today's affair. vide for interment in a single grave Meanwhile beneath murky smol ridden skies weeping parents continued identification of the bodies of their children, most of whom were between the ages of 5 and 14. Infinitely pathetic scenes were enacted as the victims were recognized and tags with names pinned to their clothes. Town Stunned by Tragedy. Several parents removed the bodies of their children to their homes. There were few who left the morgue with dry eyes and firm step-—the vastness of the tragedy was inconceivable to most; their aspect was less of hysteria than of persons stunned. conducted by nurses who led them be- tween the,long rows of little . One woman found three of her children lying side by side—it was her entire family. Fal in some cases halked at the door and refused to go inside, delegating identification to the mother. There were some cases in which the seekers failed to identify the death- changed faces and left declaring, “My child is not there.” Others made mis- taken identifications, and in at least three cases where identification was thought to have been made the sorrow- ful parents returned home to find their younplwn waiting them there, safe and well, Deaths Blamed to Panic. Doctors who spent hours inspecting the theater and tending the 80 or more who were injured in the panic be- lieved that if the children had stayed quietly in their places when the fire alarm was given not a single life would have been lost. They said none of the deaths were due to gas poisoning. Virtually all the deaths were due to suffocation from being buried beneath the struggling mass of their fellows, who pressed In hundreds over those who fell first, until there was a bar- rier of little bodies at the portals as much as six deep. Others did not share this view. These included some firemen, one of whom said he had been affected seriously by the fumes which escaped from illumi- nating gas fixtures with which the building was equipped for ‘emergency lighting. Several gas fixtures were torn away as if the children had clutched them in their struggles. An uiry probably will shed light on the point. It was certain that the fire itself was & relatively small matter. The cinema operator rushed the roll of burning film, which caught in an unexplained man- ner, to the open, probably thus prevent- ing a holocaust. But the sight of the flames licking the air from the operat- ing room chilled the hearts of the youngsters watching the holiday film, and started the panic, which ended fa- tally for so many. Most of the 80 injured were sald to be suffering only from shock and were expected t0 go to their homes today. Many left the hospitals last night. SHERIFF HEARS MOANS, GROANS; BUYERS LEARN EGGS ARE STONES California Grocers Are Victimized by Rapid-Fire Salesman | or Offering Lure of , By the Associated Press. HANFORD, Calif., January 1.—Tt is otill true that one can't count his chickens before they're hatched. As exhibit “A” in support of the hypothe- sis witness some two dozen San Joaquin Valley merchants who were exceedingly wroth today. Saturday an itinerant peddier de- into the valley, offering for sale “fresh country eggs” He had Ll manner, a rapid-fire 1 Attractive Prices. sales talk and attractive prices. He did a rushing business. Today the sheriff’s office still was being told in agonized accents of dis- coveries that one can sell a basket of almost anything—even chunks of sandstone—if one is careful to cover the top with a layer of fresh country eggs. ‘The sheriff estimated, as he listened simultaneously to new complaints on two_phones, that 50 gross of common, garden variety of stones were in stock \in valley groceries today. b MYSTERIOUS FALL MAY PROVE FATAL 10U, 5. EMPLOYE William H. Weible Plunges 75 Feet From Park Central Apartment. TWO COMPANIONS HELD PENDING INVESTIGATION Miss Lou Purvis, Victim's Fiancee, Says Quarrel Followed New Year Party. A mysterious plunge from his apart- ment on the third floor of the Park Cen- tral Apartments at 1900 F street to a concrete areaway 75 feet below may prove fatal to William Harry Weible, 30-year-old employe of the Department of Agriculture, Weible is in a serious condition at the Emergency Hospital, suffering from fractures of both legs, a fractured right elbow, lacerations of the face and a possible skull fracture. He has been in a coma since tumbling from his apart- ment window, but appeared to be rest- ing easy today. Police of the third precinct are holding Miss Lou Purvis, 21 years old, of Cleveland, said to be Weibel's flancee, and James Gordon Gullett, 24, Weible's roommate, for investiga- tion. They were sald to have been in the apartment when the mishap occurred, having accompanied Weible home afte) New Year eve party. Two Theories Conflict. Detectives investigating the case are working on two tneories, it is said. One is that Weible may have been thrown through the window, and the other that he may have jumped or n;x!mbled through the window him- self. Welble was found sprawled in the alley beneath his apartment window about 5 o'clock this morning after Harold Fifi, who resides in apartment 227 at the Park Central, heard a fall- ing object strike the ground. Fifi's apartment is just beneath Weibsl's Fifi called Jack Milton T of cal acl , manager of the house, and, ey from an apartment sbove him. Milton'’s search led to the discovery of the crumpled form of Weible, claa onfi' in underwear, at the rear of the building. Treated at Emergency. The injured man was removed to Emergency Hospital in an ambulance and was treated by Dr. Charles C. Mar- HAPPY NEW YEAR! THREE ITALIANS ARRESTED IN PLOT Trio Suspected in Conspiracy Against Naval Conference Delegates. By the Associated Press. PARIS, January 1.—Three Italians, described as newspaper men, were in prison cells here today suspected by the surete general, which is the French Scotland Yard, with anti-Fascist plot- the Italian naval confs bombs and bomb-making materials. ‘The police alléged the three had maintained relations with Camilio Ber- neri, who a week ago confessed in Brus- sels to & dual plot against the lives of the Belgian royal family as they jour- neyed to Italy for the wedding of Prin- cess Marie Jose to the Prince of Pled- SENATOR WESLEY L. JONES. Parents entered the death chamber |the b“pn.!u“ the hn-p:‘:ledlhfld A Pt et ice were no and a search of 5 the Weible apartment disclosed Miss ‘Their names were given as Alberto IPurvll, fully attired, in the bath room,| Clanca, Giuseppe Sarbelli and Alberto with the door locked. She told police | Parchiani. All were known to have fre- she knew nothing of the accident and | quented the home of Clanca, where had been in the room for some time, | bombs, a quantity of high explosive, de- having had an argument with Weibel | tonators and other bomb materials were and going into the bath room and |found and confiscated. locking the door behind her. While details of their plot were not She was placed under arrest by Pvt.| disclosed it was said the men were sus- Earl P. Hartman and taken to the | Pected of conspiring against members third precinct, where questioning led to | of vhe Italian naval delegation, who will discovery that Gullett had also been | Pass through Paris shortly en route to in the apartment before Weible fell | the London conference. The prisoners through the window. Gullett was taken | themselves refused to make any state- into custody at 815 Eighteenth street| ment. They employed Henri Torres, by Pvt, Frank O. Brass, one of the most widely known criminal 3 lawyers in Paris, for their defense. Held Incommunicado. Precautions hnv; t:ener dot‘xbtl;d to pre- Both are being held incommunicado | vent any untoward incident in connec- at the third precinet unt) police are | tion with the trip of the Belgian royal- able to untangle their conflicting stories. | ties across Prance to Italy this week The girl told police. according to Capt. | or the wedding next week. Police re- Willlam G. Stott of the third precinct, | alize & number of persons inimi- that she had left Gullett and Weible in | ¢al to the Itallan administration live in the room before entering the bath room. | France and have :rred no steps to Capt. Stott declined to say what Gul- | make any plot abortive, lett had told him. The most serious attempt so far in Miss Purvis told Headquarters Detec- | connection with the royal wedding was | tives Curtis Trammell and J. E. Kane, | the unsuccessful effort of an Italian Who aided in the investigation, that she | 2nti-Fascist to assassinate Prince Hum- had come to Washington from Cleve- | bert in Brussels recently. One of the land to marry Weibel, and that he had | Prince’s entourage knocked the man'’s turned the apartment over to her until | 8'm down as he fired and the bullet they were able to complete arrange- | Went wild. ments for the wedding. S —y SPAIN DENIES REQUEST. Tells of Quarrels. Last night, she said, W Gullett Does Not Wish to Participate in London Naval Parley. and herself had gone to Wardman Park Hotel on a New Year eve party, MADRID, January 1 (#).—An official note today denied that Spain had and that Weible became angry when she danced with another man, and that sought an invitation to participate in she returned to the apartment alone. Weible appeared a short time after- ward and they began the quarrel anew. Tiring of listening, she went into the bath room and locked the door behind her to keep Weible from following, CRIME INCREASES WITH POPULATION Chicago Criminologist Scoffs a “Crime Waves” and Com- mission Reports, By the Associated Press. NEW ORLEANS, La., January 1.— Crime has been increasing in the United States in exact ratio to the increase of | § population, regardless of all talk of “crime waves” and rts of crime commissions, August Vollmer, criminol- ogist of the University of for many years chief of Berkeley, Calif., told the American Political Science Association convention. Mr. Vollmer asserted that, mrdlnfnr.o all available statistics, ‘the criminal population is proportionately the same as it has been lfin.l'nymume in g:f past years, an e proportion of) crime is Ahouqv.' the same. ologist, discussing revalence, said that the average eman is not trained for his job. e & e s or police commi " accidental,” he affirmed. “It use ‘t‘x’: hlppenlw‘ to be nozuutt‘xbl a good man, Y X -n:ln?cnllz & man is not l!!:olydtgohold his o 0 ’Vofi‘:glfinlflm!lmplflmol crime conditions in America and was not fair, because European ef have a more nnnu: ulation, is purely the London Naval ' Conference this month. It was said the government only had expressed its wish to be in- DRY LAW JONES' SUBJECT IN FORUM Legislator Will Tell What Coming Year Holds in Mat- ter of Enforcement. What the coming year holds in the matter of prohibition enforcement is to be discussed by Senator Wesley L. Jones of Washington in the National Radio Forum arranged by The Evening Star and sponsored by the Columbia Broad- casting System tomorrow night at 10:30 o'clock, Eastern standard time. Sena- tor Jones, who is to succeed the late Senator Warren of Wyoming as chair- man of the powerful Senate committee on appropriations, and who has been. one of the dry leaders in Congress for years, is thoroughly famliliar with the question to be discussed. He is the au- thor of the Jones law, put through the last Congress, which provided more drastic penalties for violations of the prohibition law. Prohibition enforcement promises to figure more prominently in this country during 1930 than ever before, The present administration has gone fur- ther than any previous administration in this matter and is expected to go still a chiefship | [§ 1s usually | € fewer automobiles, more and a better defined community life. g 0 Radio Programs en Pqe- B—16 § further in. an effort to make enforce- ment_more_effective, Within a short (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) cluded as an interested nation in any negotiations toward a Mediterranean agreement. Can the Instrument of Wars Be Made Instrument of Peace? Sea power . . . for more than 2,000 years it has been the touchstone of political fortune .", . the chief ally of successful military aggression . . . a valued in- strument of peacetime commerce, Can sea power be limited wisely? Can the great naval forces of the world be made an instrument of peace as well as of war? Next month representatives of five of the world’s leading nations meet in London to discuss these im- portant questions. As a preliminary to the opening of this confer- ence, Edward Price Bell, noted foreign con'el&olndent. has prepared a special series of articles dealing in a masterly way with the history of sea er and the overshadowing importance of the problem which it presents. Read *“The Sea Roads to Peace” By Edward Price Bell, Beginning Thursday in THE EVENING STAR X PARLEY'S SUCCESS U. S. Fails to See Threat to Conference in Attitude of France. By the Associated Press. A first hand examination of the note setting forth France's attitude toward the coming naval conference has failed to shake the belief of American of- cials that it holds no threat to the made public by the State Department last night with the comment that this was being done to place on record the translation made here. The contents of the note were given to the press by the French government last week. Pact’s Effectiveness Doubted. ‘The outstanding points advanced were that the London conference should reach an agreement “primarily on principles and methods”; that the Kel- logg-Briand anti-war treaty is not a sufficient guarantee of security to be- come a basis for ‘the limitation of naval armaments: that the national needs of a country should dictate naval s rather than the mathematical ratios l&u %t & complete -rrzemeénb o{ux;nv-.l strength presupposes an understanding on the question of freedom of the seas. With the receipt of the French com- munication, the itude of a1l of 1he. persiants b ta ude of all of e coming parley. Ambauqdom Martino Tecently gave Secretary Stimson the views of the Itallan government, the Japanese attitude was ‘when the Tokio delegation passed h the city on its way to London, and exten- sive conversations with London and the Vvisit of Prime Minister Macdonald to Washington resulted in an Anglo- American understanding on the points involved. . = Parley Held Not Menaced. The general reaction to the French note is that the points brought out are of much more concern to other nations than to the United States, and that the Success of the parley is not endangercd by t:u assertions of the Paris govern- ment. There have been indications that Secretary Stimson, who will lead the American delegation, may confer witn Prime Minister Tardieu of France be- fore the opening of the conference. Tardleu is to hold a preliminary discus- sion with Prime Minister Macdonald. POPE PIUS MOURNING DEATH OF HIS BROTHER By the Associated Press. i ROME, January 1—Pope Pius XI to- day mourned his brother, Count Fermo Rattl, who died suddenly at 9:35 o'clock last night after a two-day iliness. The countess and their son was with Count Ratti when he died. The Pontiff early this morning cele- brated mass for the repose of his brother’s soul. Count Fermo was born at Desio in m 'i,he Pontiff. , he engaged commerce and manufacture, only recently retiring. Boy Accidentally Killed. Special Dispatch to The Star. CU! ler, was accidentally killed yesterday by Charles Rixey, 14, in & scuffie for possession of a gun. The accident occurred at the home of Oscar Coates, where Rixey lives. Reviews of the Year Tabular records of 1929 transac. tions on the Stock ] “““m'r"‘_"“n“ '.c i - HELD NOT MENACEI]‘ kS HURT 4 CHILDREN VICTIMS OF MYSTERY BLAST IN MARYLAND HOME Boy and Girl May Succumb to Injuries Received in Opening Delayed “Christmas Gift.” HOME OF SEAT PLEASANT FAMILY IS SHATTERED BY EXPLOSION Missive Addresed to Mrs. Naomi Hall Brady Explodes in Midst of Group Upon Being Unwrapped. (Pictures of Explosion Will Be Found on Page 3.) A “Christmas package,” four children when the “gift” the kitchen of the Hall home. Investigating authorities this to have been left for Mrs. Brady. the box was not received The | doors, Halls, about 300 yards away, package there was under the porch of the Hall home, the explosion, and t] identified the body of his wife. Brady collapsed, after telling attach had been staying with her mother, married Mrs. Brady five weeks ago. bers of the family of John Buckley, was known of them by neighbors. They came from Woodmo: Herman Brady a; penr;d n‘t ;he Hall home several hours after en hurrie apparently loaded with high losive: dealt death today to Mrs. Naomi Hall Brady, i - and serious injury to her mother, 18, of Seat Pleasant, Md Mrs. Nora Hall, and the latter's exploded as it was being opened in Every one in the room was mutilated by the terrific blast. Two of the younger children may not live. afternoon were questioning mem- at whose home a package is said Preliminary information indicated at the Buckley house through the ‘mails. inquiry at the Buckley home was conducted behind closed newspaper men and all others being excluded. Left Saturday Night. After the questioning of the Buckleys it was developed that the package was left on the front porch of the Buckley home some time Saturday night, and was found Sunday morning by Mrs. Buckley. The Halls were strangers in the neighborhood. She did not know them, and the package was allowed to stay in the Buckley house until the Hall child called for it today, of receipt of the package at the Buckley place. The Buckleys live on the opposite side of the street” from the and it is believed that whoever left the impression it was being placed on the ‘The bomb is believed to have contained dynamite. Investigators are drawing this conclusion from the the floor and there was little evidence “Hall 1 onl o when the Hall family learned fact that a hole was torn in of b Shatgd “&nd little , Md. to Casualty Hospital, where he es his wife had been ill. She the husband said. He said he List of Injured. Mrs. Nora Hall, 45, wife of John Hall, caretaker at Mount Olivet Cemetery, heavy concussions about the face, slight facial lacerations, shock. Is conscious and expected to recover, but eyesight affected. Her two children at Providence: . Leslie Hall, 16, badly mangled left hand, possible internal in- juries, unconscious when operated upon, and eyesight affected. Condition grave, byt should recover. Thomas Hall, 8, thought to be blinded, although not sure. dition nrblfms, but should recover. ey : . Dorothy Hall, 4%, years, believed blinded, and dying. Has deep neck laceration, which caused large loss of blood. Samuel Hall, 19 months old, believed blinded. Condition serious from shock. May die. A grandmother, 86 years old, is in a serious condition from shock. She is Mrs. Margaret Bromley and is at Sibley Hospital. Mrs. Brady was horribly mutilated. One of her hands had been blown off, another was almost torn off and her body and head were torn and burned. Con- All of Them Incoherent. Several doctors labored frantically over the children in an ef- fort to save the life of Dorothy and the strongly affected eyesight of both, including Drs. A. C. Welch and G. H. McLain. It was because of the fact that none of those in the explosion was able to make a statement that the identity of members of the family and the woman was not cleared u; immediately. The explosion which wrecked the kitchen of the Hall home and otherwise damaged the house was heard for nearly a mile around. It tore a hole in the floor, wrecked the furnishings in the kitchen, smashed the windows and knocked the rluterinl down in sections. All the doors in the hall, pantry and other downstairs rooms were blown off the hinges by the impact. Neighbors Feel Jar. Neighbors felt the force of the explosion as it jarred windows and almost shook some of them out of their chairs. Mr. and Mrs, E. V. Owen and Mrs. F. E. Cady, who occupy the house next door, were jarred by the explosion. d Mrs. Cady said that she was upstairs in her own home whek she heard the explosion. At first she thought it was in her own house, but upon looking out the window saw the glass flying out of the rear of the Hall residence. The explosion, she said, seemed to be confined to the back of that house. Bloody clothing littered the kitchen of the Hall home, a mute testimonial of the havoc that was wrought there. The alarm was given to neigh- boring fire companies from Seat Pleasant, and the Prince Georges County rescue squad responded. Chief Albert Morgan of the Seat Pleasant Fire Department was the first to reach the scene and as- sisted neighbors in caring for the injured. Fire Companies Respond. Other fire departments re- sponding were Boulevard Heights, -|in charge of Chief W. Smith; Cap- itol Heights, in charge of Chief Smith, and the Greater Capitol Heights Department, in charge of Chief Tauney. There was no fire as a result of the explosion, although smoke poured out of the downstairs windows. Neighbors said that the Halls had come to Seat Pleasant about three months ago from Woodmore, near Beltsville, Md: Neither police nor friends of the Halls were able to give any rea- son why any one should have sent them an explosive. Mr. Hall was said to have no known en- emie}:b:’nd was friendly with all his ne! rs. Durin ldo‘x‘wa at Seat Pleasant, the Halls and their children made many friends in the neighborhood. Warren O. Embrey, acting chief of the local Detective Bureau, Chief Pestil lmw:wi &vullnn J. Satterfield & prom) uiry. Inspectors were pat J to tgn scene to see if the packy i Embrey assigned . special squad of headquarters detectives to l.ll"l‘jt M&r;yll:rl.d nlduthnd“lt in _investie gating y. The squad was heule‘d by Lieut. Jose, C. mfl‘ acting head of the homicide squad, an included Detectives Thomas J. Sweeney and John Foller, ORTIZ RUBIO PLANS VISIT IN DETROIT Mexican President-Elect to Arrive This Evening for a Stay of Two Days. By the Associated Press. DETROIT, January 1—President- elect Pascual Oritz Rubio of Mexico will thel: short res- | % AITI Federal, State, county and Washing- ton officials at once launched investiga- tions of the origin of the blast. Notified of the explosion by Lieut.