Evening Star Newspaper, January 15, 1930, Page 17

Wash ington News D. C. AIRPORT NEED STRESSED IN TALK 10 R0AD BUILDERS Nation’s Capital Is Declared by U. S. District Engineer to Be Lagging. STRATEGIC POSITION DEMANDS BEST FIELD Edwin A. Schmitt Favors Site Gravelly Point, Urging Im- mediate Action. at BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON, Aviation Editor of The Star. ATLANTIC CITY, N. J., January 15 —One of the most stirring pleas yet made for establishment of an adequate municipal airport for the National Cap- itf was voiced by Edwin A. Schmitt,| assistant United District engineer for the district of Washington, at a mu- nicipal airport session held by members of the city officials’ division of the Amer- jean Road Builders' Association at the annual convention here yesterday. Air and Sea Plane Port Needed. Early action looking toward establish- ment of a combined land and sea plane airport for the Natlonal Capital is im- perative, Mr. Schmitt declared. The strategic position of the Capital, just off the Atlantic Coast and on the Potomac River, makes it essential that any air- port established there must be a com- bination airport for both land and sea- planes, he said. Presentation of the plea by Mr. Schmitt, who has been in charge of all the preliminary engineering work on the Gravelly Point airport site. ‘brought into the ranks of national bodies interested in the National Capi- tal's airport campaign one of the largest existing groups of airport constructors end city officials interested in atrport design, construction and maintenance. The city officials’ division, before which the plea was made, is composed of mu- nicipal authorities in every State in the Union, approximately 1,000 cities being xepresented at the convention here. Blee Warns of History. Col. Harry H. Blee, director of aero- nautic development of the Department of Commerce Aeronautics Branch, who presided at the airport meeting, voiced the warning that the city which falls behind in airport development today will find itself in the position of the seaboard cities of the past century which failed to provide seaport facilities and which have forever dropped out of the race as great maritime centers. “Washington, the Nation’s Capital, fourteenth largest city in the United States,” Mr. Schmitt sald, “has no municipal or Federal airport for com- mercial aviation use. Not even a site or an approved plan has been selected.” Despite the fact that it had the first fiving field in the country, at College Park, Md, Washington has fallen far behind in providing for the needs of aviation, he said. Bolling Field was occupied on a tem- porary basis, Mr. Schmitt said, and the | filling of the marshland which it occu- Iples never was completed, leaving the field now subject to flooding. “While every important capital in Europe now is served by one or more air lines, Washington has but one short \line conhecting it by air with the rest of the country.” Washington Should Have Best. “For a city the size and importance of Washington nothing less than an Al rating of the Department of Com- |merce should be considered in the lay- |ing out and construction of an airport,” |Schmitt declared emphatically. “This lcalls for a field at least 2,500 feet | square, with unobstructed approaches from all directions, the most complete | Jacilities for every type of airplane | handling, complete communication facil- !ities between feld and city, and the |most modern equipment for day and inight operations. 1" He quoted world authorities that the airport of the future must of necessity {be constructed to accommodate both Jand and water planes. To fulfill this Tequirement, he pointed out, the District Ivirtually is forced to the Gravelly Point isite, none other being available which 'will meet all the necessary requirements. ‘Tables of costs for the construction jbt Gravelly Point Field, including stone Fetaining wall and dredging and filling, ‘were presented to show that the cost would be favorable when compared with Xhe purchase cost alone of other sites ‘ranging from $200 to $11,000 per acr Virginia Developing Network. The State of Virginia is engaged in a \program of airport development which will form a State-wide network of in- |termediate fields, to serve not only as lmunicipal airports, but also as emer- |gency or intermediate landing fields on |feeder routes to the main traveled air- ways, it was stated by H. G. Shirley of Richmond of the State Highway Com- mission. ‘The municipal airport program was in charge of four Washingtonians, Maj. Donald A. Davison, Assistant Engineer ‘Commissioner of the District, chair- man; Col. Blee, Mr. Schmitt and Lyle A. Brookover of the national road- builders’ staff. CATHOLIC CHARITIES OUTLINES PROGRAM District Body to Inaugurate Ninth Year of Welfare Service at Meeting Tomorrow Night. RELIGIOUS TILT Dr. C. F. Marvin Looses Chal- lenge, Saying That “This Is a Christian Nation.” Rabbi Schwefel Answers Op- ponent in Meeting at Jew- ish Community Center. Reference to a small “minority” as opposing adoption of a | simplified 13-month calendar, coupled with a declaration by Dr. Charles F. Marvin, chief of the United States ! Weather Bureau, that “this is a Chri tian Nation” provoked a sharp religious | controversy that overshadowed other issues in the calendar reform debate held last night at the Jewish Com- munity Center. Dr. Marvin's statement, made during the course of a cold, dispassionate analysis of arguments in favor of the | proposed calendar reform, drew a rebuke | and challenge from Rabbi Louis J. Schwefel, in rebuttal, after he had interposed serious objections to any change. “I challenge my opponent to produce any responsible historian or student of political science who will uphold this claim,” Rabbi Schwefel said, referring | to the statement that “this is a Chris- | tian Nation.” | “Shocked and Amazed.” “I am shocked and amazed that Dr. Marvin should make such a declaration before this audience and for the press. “This is the first time that such a i | | declaration has been made in all the discussions which I have read and heard concerning calendar reform. “With all respect to Christians, I deny that this is a Christian Nation and claim that such a statement is entirely irrelevant to the question we are discussing here tonight.” . Rabbt Schwefel demanded that if this is & Christian Nation, whether it meant that no Jew can ever be President of the United States? “I doubt whether | 2y political party would subscribe to any such declaration,” he asserted. He quoted former President Coolidge, when the latter dedicated the Jewish Com- munity Center, as saying that “it was Hebraic morter that cemented the foundations of American institutions.” Dr. Marvin, pointing out that such a calendar would cause a “slight inter- ruption in the perfect continuity of the Sabbath,” said: “Ultra conservatism and dogmatic opposition by a small minority is of course expected, but can- not prevail to deprive the world at large from benefits which the great majority seek and are entitled to.” Cites Benefits of Plan. Under a fixed calendar, he claimed, no laws would prohibit a Sabbatarian or a Jew from voting, should an_elec- tion day happen to coincide with the day he chooses to call his_Sabbath. Nor would such a calendar, he added, “abridge the rights of any citizen, either civil, constitutional or religious, as claimed by the Jewish religious leaders " The debate drew a large audience of Jews and Gentiles and was presided over by Maurice Bisgyer, director of the Community Center. Dr. Marvin, who is vice chairman of the National Committee on Calendar Simplification, @he Toening Staf WASHINGTON, D. C., IS PROVOKED AT 13-MONTH CALENDAR DEBATE | religious | DR. CHARLES F. MARVIN. | RABBI LOUIS J. SCHWEFEL. had accepted the invitation of Rabbi Schwefel to_debate the question, Which is opposed by Jewish religious leaders, mainly on the ground that the 13- month_calendar, once each year and| twice in leap years, would cause the Sabbath to fall on an eighth day, con- trary, according to Jewish doctrine, to divine_command. Rabbi Schwefel declared that “mil- lions of others” who believe the Sab- bath day should be the seventh day, joined in opposing the change. In urging the reform at the outset, Dr. Marvin characterized the proposed change as & . “progressive twentieth century movement,” favored by the business _interests ' and economically sound. This was challenged by his op- ponent. He declared that the United States Chamber of Commerce had favored the reform in a referendum by 8 majority of only 7 per cent of the ‘vote. CHURCH TOINSTALL DR. A. . WCARTNEY New Pastor to Take Charge at Special Services Planned for Tonight. Dr. Albert Joseph McCartney will be installed as pastor of the Church of the Covenant tonight at 8 o'clock, with special services under the direction of Rev. Bernard Braskamp, moderator of the Presbytery of Washington City. The exercises will open with an organ prelude by George H. Wilson organist and director. Dr. John C. Palmer, pastor of the Washington Heights Presbyterian Church, will give the invocation. Dr. Joseph R. Sizoo, pastor of New York Avenue Presby- terian Church, will read the Scripture lesson and the sermon will be preached by Dr. Clarence Edward Macartney former moderator of the General As- sembly and pastor of the First Presby- terian Church of Pittsburgh, Pa. Mod- erator Braskamp will conduct the con- stitutional questions and Dr. Wallace Radcliffe, former moderator of the General Assembly and pastor emeritus of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, will give the prayer of installa- tion. The Covenant Quartet will sing. Rev. John A. Nesbitt, pastor of the Catonsville Presbyterian Church, Ca- tonsville, Md., will give the charge to the pastor. The charge to the people will be given by Dr..Charles Wood, former pastor of the Church of the Covenant. Dr. David A. Robertson, president of the Washington Federa- tion of Churches; Rev. John Gregory and Bishop William F. McDowell of the Methodist Episcopal Church will present felicitations. The benediction will be offered by Dr. McCartney. BAIRD ESTATE TO WIDOW. Lieut. Col. William Baird, U. 8. A., re- tired, who died January 3, owned no real estate, but had cash and securities es- timated at $124,443.35, according to the petition of his widow, Mrs. Minnie D. Baird, for the probate of his will. He is also survived by two children, Maj. WATCHES IDENTIFY BODIES OF FLYERS Two Airmen Missing Since Last Friday Found Dead in Connecticut Woods. By the Associated Press. AMSTON, Conn., January 15.—Two watches, initialed“W.A.K.” and “D. M.,” proved yesterday afternoon to be the means of identifying airplane wreckage in the woods beside Lake Amston as that of the Fairchild cabin monoplane, missing from Farmingdale, L. I, since last Friday, and determining that the two burned bodies were those of Wil- liam Kirkpatrick and Daniel Marra, pllots. ‘The plane had crashed after collision with an oak tree on the outer edge of woodland bordering the lake and only 200 yards away from the water. Deep in the woods and nearly a mile from a house, there was no help for the two pilots If they had lived after the crash. State aviation officers had plotted the probable course of the plane as it flew | through fog between 10 and 11 o’clock last Friday morning, tracing it from the time it swooped down over fog-hidden Bethany Flying Field 50 miles away and then over toward the eastern part of the State. Fred Rowly, a gamekeeper, plodding through the woods in the pouring rain, came upon the plane. The body of one man was partly under the plane and the other had been thrown clear. Biatiei oot BRIDGE BIDS ASKED. 12 Spans Are Included in Mount Vernon Boulevard Project. Bids for the construction of bridges along the Mount Vernon boulevard, which, when completed, will connect the District with the home of George Wash- ington, were called for today by the Bureau of Public Roads. ‘The bridge work includes 12 struc- tures, and bids will be received February John A. Baird, U. S. A, and Cornelia B. Hicks. Under the terms of the the entire estate is given to the widow. ‘will | the 20 at 11 o'clock at the bureau. Bids on e grading and drainage of the new road will be recelved January 23. rhe cCatholic chasities of wasnington | BIG-GAME HUNT FOR “PANTHER” YIELDS 9 LIVES—TOMCAT’S DEAD will inaugurate its ninth year of welfare service in the District of Columbia at its annual meeting at the Mayflower Hotel at 8:15 o'clock tomorrow night. The meeting will be under the direction of Allen Pope, president. The principal speaker will be Dr. Fulton Sheen of the Catholic University. "The annual report which will be pre- sented by Dr. John O'Grady shows & great increase of work in the past year. In 1929, this organization handled 1,652 families, an increase of 345 over the preceding year. The actual material . velief jumped from $23,500 to $32,337. { "This expansion of work was made possi- ble largely by the Community Chest, of which the Catholic Charities is a mem- be! | ‘charities to other Catholic ~welf: | organizations will be delivered by | Charles P. Netll. | %o the public. v District. A report T agency. The Catholic Charities has gradually become a co-ordinating unit, as well as a clearing house for other Catholic in- stitutions’ doing welfare work in the for :.he exa'c‘:n.‘l;: committee with special reference relation of the ee'l?let‘r:ll office of c-m‘,lll'i Dr. ‘The meeting 15 open | Terror Wave in Southeast Washington Found Due to Prowling of Overgrown Feline. The “panther” which has terrorized all of southeast Washington for the past few days, gave up all nine of its ghosts last night, and in the giving did quite considerable shrinking. It shrank, as a matter of fact, down to the proportions of one of its city cousins, a denizen of the alleys, a vet- eran of many a back-fence night howl and a gentleman well acquainted with the garbage cans of his neighborhood. The “panther,” whose fearsome, leaming e and lashing tail brought into play the trusty shotgun of Arthur Green, colored, 44, of the 4500 block of C street southeast, last night proved to be only an especially large member of the tomcat breed. Meanwhile the powers-that-be of the Beaver Dam Country Club want to know “how come” the rumors that the “panther” escaped from their club house. They state with emphasis that there never Providence willing, never will be, a panther as part of that establishment. They point out that they are in the business of providing golf, not panthers, for the tired busi- ness man's diversion. Now the police of the eleventh pre- cinct sre wondering just what it was that since last Monday has been var- fously reported to have attacked four women and to have killed one dog. | | ' of plasticity with a certain environment. | the more complex and efficient, while there is no evidence at all that evolu- EVOLUTION IS SEEN BY DR HRDLICKA AS “FUNGTION OF LIFE" Organisms Advance Through Generations, Says Scien- tist. IRETROGRESSION LACKING, MUSEUM EXPERT HOLDS |Some of His Ideas, Presented in Address Before Academy, Are New to Savants. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. | Evolution may be “a function of life.” i ‘When the organic world is viewed as a whole, the process of continual change appears in a far different light than when it is studied in relation to a single group of plants and animals, Dr. Ales Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthro- pology at the Nationau Museum, told the Washington Academy of Sciences last night in the second of a series of lectures on evolution by world famous | authorities. i Organisms change through genera- | tions, Dr. Hrdlicka said, through the necessity of adapting themselves to changes in the environment, through the principle of natural selectior and through the gradual fixation of favor- able adaptations rather than through the inheritance of acquired characters. For any single line of development, he pointed out, these results might seem en- tirely accidental, due to the chance con- tact of organisms in a certein condition All Life Is Moving Up. But, he pointed out, by the same me- chanics all life at widely varying rates is moving upward from the simpler to tion ever moves backward, so that a species _would revert to an ancestral type. Evolution always is progressive, apparent retrogressions later proving roundabout steps in the way of prog- Tess. This universality of progressive evolu- tion, Dr. Hrdlicka said, makes it prac- ticaily impossible to apply the term “accidental,” yet otherwise it is neces- sary to consider the changes as prede- termined. Much of the confusion in the past, he said, has been due to mix- ing up two separate sets of phenomena which are closely related. ‘The first he designated as “limited evolution or evolution in particular,” the creation of new species from pre- viously existing species. The second is “progressive evolution in general.” Formation of Organic Kingdom. “Here,” he said, “is something far more astounding than mere speciation. It is no less than the formation, the building up of the entire organic king- dom. What is this something prodi- glous that has led to development of or- ganic life from the inorganic and that within the organic realm has uncreas- ingly led from the simplest initial cell toward ever more complex, sensitive and effective forms, culminating in a consclous, directive, co-creative cre: ture, man? General organic evolu- tion, I feel strongly, is as natural as is the particular or limited evolution of specles. There is no evidence within e process of anything supernatural, but, in view of this amazing process and its realizations, Nature assumes a far greater interest and importance than it has hitherto been given.” Some of the ideas presented by Dr. Hrdlicka last night were new to science and were considered by scientists pres- ent as notable contributions to one of the most debated subjects of recent times. The Smithsonian sclentist is one of the world's foremost authorities on the evolution of man. Single Cell Is Held Complex. The single cell, generally considered the unit of life, Dr. Hrdlicka said, is in fact so complex that it affords little clue as to the nature of life and repre- sents an enormous progress from still simpler forms. Science, he said, already is familiar with ultra-microscopic liv- ing ngs wi existence is known only from the evidences of their be- havior in pathology, since they are too small ever to be seen. These, he pointed out, because of their extreme minute~ ness, must be less than single cells. He d ated them as “the 1bos kingdom,” out of which have arisen the organic kingdoms of plants and ani- mals composed of combinations of cells, Below these ultra-micoscope crea- tures, he said, there must be still simpler and smaller forms upon which evolution is_working, probably the organic mole- cules. But no scientific procedure has been able to discover them. While the smallest living things are known only from their presence in certain diseases, he said, it is probable that they play ‘l large role in the general plan of na- ure. Simplest Forms Fall to Survive. But if evolution is “a function of life” and an integral part of the complex henonema of living, Dr. Hrdlicka said, t would be assumed that more complex forms would still be evolving from the ultra-microscopic forms and the organic molecules, continually creating new lines of evolution. There is some evi- dence, he pointed out, that this actually is happening, but that the new simplest forms of life are unable to survive the extreme competition for food of the world into which they are born and do not live to develop any further. It is ible, however, that some do survive and that the living world actual- ly is invaded from time to time by hordes of creatures from the shadow borderline between the living and the dead who take a heavy toll before they 1 y are driven back. Such an ex- planation, he said, might account for some of the t scourges which have swept over the world in the past, be- coming virulent almost overnight and gradually g down of themselves as already well developed organisms got the better of the invaders. The term “evolution” itself, Dr. Hrd- licka said, is an absurdity when applied to the general progression of the organic world. It means “unfolding” and would imply that everything that has been ac- complished since was present in the beginning in the organic molecules and has simply been drawn out by environ- ment. He the term “biogeny” as a substitute, indicating the progres- sive adding of functions which were not present in the beginning, in accordance with some law of nature, which is not yet understood. Some Fall to Progress. All living organisms, he said, are capable of evolution yet observations show that some, such as certain insects and molluks, have hardly changed as all since the earliest days of which life has left any record in the rocks. Others have made enormous chm‘u in less than 50,000 years, the notable example being man. When an organism, he said, appears to have mi & fairly satisfactory adjustment to all elements in its environment and the environment E WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1930. PARROT SCARE MAY BE SILLY. BUT FRIENDS TAKE NO CHANCE]| | Lolita and playmate, John Bull. ‘The parrot fever scare has social ramifications, it appears. The so-called “hysteria” over the strange malady has disrupted the en- tertainment activities in at least one Washington home, where parrots are household pets, it was learned today. The home in question is that of Comdr. and Mrs. Archibald G. Sterling of 2237 Bancroft place. Comdr. Ster- ling is attached to the U. 8. S. Florids, now in the Caribbean. Has Two Healthy Birds. Mrs. Sterling, like many another naval matron, numbers parrots among her children’s pets. She has two splendid, | healthy specimens of the talkative bird, Lolita and Bab Lolita is an_un. usually large bird, with striking plum- age, a fine vocabulary and a particular affection for John Bull, young son of Mrs. Sterling. Baby is a smaller type, but equally garrulous and friendly. Lolita is quite a distinguished parrot, having accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Her- bert Hoover from South America on the U. S. 8. Utah a year ago. She has been around the world on naval vessels, and is thoroughly sophisticated. Mrs. Sterling wouldn't part with either of these pets for any amount of money. Yet, to her consternation, she has found that the birds are threatening to come between her and her many friends in social circles of the Capital. “Some of our friends won't come to see us any more, since all this talk about parrot fever,” Mrs. Sterling said today. “We've had these birds for a long time and they have become dear to all of us. I have talked with of- cials at the Zoo and with physicians bout the possibility of infection, but hey have assured us we would be fool- ish to get rid of Lolita and Baby. They are perfectly healthy. We handle them every day and none of us has been made sick. Scare “Too Ridiculous.” “I think it is all too ridiculous for words, and I have decided that Lolita and Baby are going to stay with us as they always have, parrot fever warn- ings to the contrary notwithstanding!"” COL 1. M. KENYON NANED BAR EAD Prominent Civic and Federal Lawyer Succeeds Maj. Peyser. Col. J. Miller Kenyon, prominent at- torney in civic and Government legal circles of Washington, was last night elected president of the Washington Bar Association at its annual meeting, attended by the largest gathering in the history of the assoclation. Col. Kenyon succeeds Maj. Julius I. Peyser. Other officers elected were Charles W. Arth, first vice president; Paul B. Cromlein, second vice president Willlam W. Millan, treasurer for eight- eenth term, and George C. Gertman, secretary for twelfth term. Mr. Millan and Mr. Gertman were elected by ac- clamation. ‘Three new members were elected to the board of directors. They are Lucian H. Vandoren, Paul E. Lesh and Samuel McComas Hawkin. ‘The board of directors urged the adoption of the bill now pending in Congress proposing the appointment of two additional judges to the District ing _the Polating local Tudees 8t large, to limit these new appoint- ments to Washington lawyers. CHECK-CHARGE SUSPECT TO BE RETURNED TO CITY Man, to Be Released From Prison at Chicago Thursday, Will Be Arrested by Keck. Detective Sergt. Ira E. Keck left yesterday for Chicago with a warrant for the arrest of Andrew Donohoe, 45-year-old alleged fraudulent check writer, who will be released from the Chicago prison tomorrow morning after serving a sentence for passing worth- less checks in that city, police say. Donohoe will taken into custody as soon as he is released from the jail and will be brought here by Sergt. Keck to answer to several check cl in the District, involving approximately $300, one of which is a check for $125 which he is said to have given a local itself does not change, notably long riods of stagnation are lkely to set n, but there is never any actual reversal ; to a parental type the organism remains in a Eosmon to go forward ;lnin when the proper stimuli are ven, There is also some evidence, he indi- cated, that that life cycle of birth, sene- sclense and death, which controls the destiny of - every individual of every species, may be the general law 'of nature for specles themselves, but this NOTE GIVES CLUES INGREEK MURDER Important Information De- clared Received in Restau- rant Man’s Slaying. An anonymous letter received by po- lice today may lead to the murderer of Christos Haralampidis, 60-year-old Ninth street restaurant proprietor, who was found in his third-floor living quarters above his restaurant yesterday, his skull crushed with a brick, which was on the floor beside him. Inspector Willlam S. Shelby, chief of detectives, who is supervising the mur- der investigation, characterized the in- formation contained in the note as “very important.” Members of the homicide squad are running out clues it furnished today. Meanwhile, a search is being conduct- ed in New York by Headquarters De- tective John Flaherty for two Greeks suspected of killing the restaurant pro- rietor. The officer left for New York jast night upon receipt of information that the pair had gone there, where & young woman, the reported flancee of one of them, lives. According to Inspector Shelby, one suspect was seen running down the back stairs of the restaurant at 511 Ninth street the night of the killing. FORM SANITARY LEAGUE. | ‘The Washington Sanitary League was organized at & meeting last night of prominent master plumbers and Gov- ernment sanitary engineers. Edward P. Herges, sanitary engineer of the Veterans' Bureau, was elected president, and Willlam E. Miller, master plumber, was elected secretary-treasurer. Meetings will be held at weekly luncheons at the Hamilton Hotel. Civic League to Meet. A meeting of the Livingstone Heights Civic League will be held in St. Mary Church, Glebe road, Friday evenin| January 17 at 8 o'clock. Willlam Hull, chairman of the Federation of Civic Or- ganizations of Arlington County and Edwin A. Mooers will speak. HOW COMMUNIT BY MISS LYDIA A. H. BURKLIN, Head Resident, Friendship House. ‘Without attempting to enumerate all| the advantages flowing from the exist. ence of the Community Chest in Wash- ington, there are certain ones which appeal to me as especially worthy of I notice at this time. One of a Series of Short Articles on Practical Results Co-operative Charity. Chicago to Be Host To “Mother Jones”‘y On 100th Birthday| | Pledges Her Attendance, at Labor Fedecration’s Celebration. Although she will be 100 years old | May 1, and is under the care of a phy- sician at'a little farm house near Hy- attsville, Md., where she is living with | a friend, Mary Jones, known interna- | tionally ‘as “Mother Jones,” has pro- mised to go to Chicago to participate | in a celebration by the Chicago Federa- tion of Labor of her 100th birthday an- | niversary. Her friends were given a fright recent- {1y when she sent for an attorney to| write her will, but her physiclan, Dr. H. H. Howlett of Sllver Spring, has pronounced her as being in ‘“bright spirits,” and holding her own. She re- | quested in her will to be buried in | Mount Olive, Tl . | Before leaving for the South last | week, William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, visited Mother Jones and promised her that he would see that she would be placed at rest at Mount Olive. CIVIC FUND AINS \Public Will Be Relieved of 10 Appeals, Graham Tells Budget Committee. The National Capital Civic Fund with its 10 appeals for civic projects now lodging in the Community Chest, will relieve the public of separate appeals in this direction, and prove a_distinct advantage, it was pointed out by E. C. Graham, president of the fund, in a re- port last night to the budget commit- tee of the Community Chest. Mr. Graham explained, that without the organization of the National Capi- tal Civic Fund, there would have been GIVEN T0 CHEST, PAGE B—1 CONGRESS IS ASKED 10 CHANGE DATE 10 PAY FOR AUTO TAGS Commissioners Prefer De- cember 1 Instead of Janu- ary 1, as at Present. TALIAFEfiRO SENDS BACK OPTIONAL MAILING PLAN Tax Assessor Would Employ Larger Force for Handling of Applications. ‘The District Commissioners today sent to Congress a request for a change in the law relating to the assessment of automobiles for the payment of per- sonal property taxes. The law at pres- | ent reads that the cars must be as- sessed as of January 1 each year. This | causes the tag sals to be thrown over |into January, intead of being held in December, as in years past, since the personal property tax must be paid before the tag is sold. The amendment proposed is to make the assessment &s of December 1 each year. ‘The matter of setting up an optional | system for mailing tags to those who wish to apply for them by mail rather than in person has been sent back to Tax Assessor Richards for further study. In reply to a previous communication from Commissioner Sidney F. Taliaferro, Mr. Richards recommended that the present system be continued, but that extra help be employed to avoid the delay on the opening and closing days of the tag sale. Likes Present Method. |, “I personally think,” he wrote, “that ithe present method of giving out tags at a centralized station and requiring the owners of the cars to call for the tags is preferable to any other method. The only need is to have provisions for a force capable of handling crowds without delay, and this can be done by providing for extra help during t made 10 separate appeals to the citi- zens of Washington, or perhaps one single appeal for a $25,000 guarantee against deficits. This has been prevented, he show- ed the committee, by inclusion in the Chest of $5,000 to cover all expenses and deficits with a contingent fund of $2,500 for possible emergencies which may develop. Part of Expenses to Be Earned. In addition, Mr. Graham pointed out the handling of these affairs by a re- sponsible corporated organization operating on a non-profit basis would permit the sale of seats and other con- cessions, which will put at least some ot the ‘activities on a self-supporting is. Deficits 1o be taken care of, Mr. Graham reported, were from the Fourth the - community of July celebration. Christmas festival, the District of Co- lumbia Model Aircraft League, model yacht regatta, the public athletic program and Midsummer festival. Deflicits to be made up, he said, would . The Community not exceed $5, Basket Ball League, the Community In- stitute and the Community Drama Guild asked guarantees, but no deficit was anticipated, and Mr. Graham ex- plained that it was not expected that any of these proposed guarantee funds actually will be paid over. Funds Are Concentrated. “The formation of the National Capi- tal civic fund merely means a concen- tration of these funds in one place: a reduction of the cost of raising this money,” said Mr. Graham, ‘super- vision of its expenditure, development of self-support and control of activi- ties which should be thoroughly bene- ficial. All of these activities are char- acter building and constructive and we the he months when tags are to be issued. The extra help so provided would cost less than the help that would be re- quired for mailing out the = 4 the force is sufficiently large to do away with any waiting, it would be the “ideal system of tag distribution. Naturally the new help would work under the guidance and close scrutiny of expert officials. ““Tags are primarily for police protec- tion. The numbering of a car is an identification in cas> of accident or failure to obey the law. The funds raised from a personal tax is linked with the issuance of tags as a measure for certain collection. Three opera- tions are required at arriving at the amount. One the value of the car. Another the value multiplied by the rate, and then an addition of the tag charge. The personal tax could be mbolished and a tonnage charge for the tax could be made to cover such an amount. This I understand is the method used elsewhere. A table of welght and charge could be supplied to the public, from which the applica- tion blank could be completed subject to check by the office. If it were a question of sufficient revenue from our automobile system it could be covered by a raise in the tax on gasoline. The above is merely a suggestion for a method of certainty and speed in the issuance and recording of automobile Mailed in Maryland. “The mailing of tags is, of course, imperative in the sections where the owners are far removed from the cen- tral point of distribution. For example, in Chevy Chase people receive their tags by mail from Baltimore, but before get- ting such tags they are required to pay their personal tax and to work out the cost of their tags from a prepared table believe properly within the scope of the Community Chest. “We hope that as time on the value of these activities will be more clearly demonstrated and that various ones will be taken over and supported by public funds, and that some possible resources which we have in mind and which may develop may be received which may be used as an endowment fund which will remove entirely the necessity of contributions for these pur- poses. In the meantime, contributions have to be asked and we are glad to have our friends make them th the Community Chest. It would please us greatly if lally interested E"- sons cared to designate part of their Community Chest gift to the National Capital Civic Fund on the back of the Community Chest pledge blank when they subscribe. “Washington has taken a forward step in this consolidation of civic ap- peals which we believe will be followed by other citles. It is a significant ap- plication of the Community Chest idea in a neglected field of action, which should appeal to all citizens as busi- ness like principle, possessing social values in preventing delinquency and promoting wholesome recreation, an giving added prestige to the city as a community which handles its philan- thropic and weifare matters in a con- structive way.” Y CHEST HELPS of of weight or tonnage. The necessary money and the receipt of their personal tax is mailed to Baltimore before re- ceiving & tag by mail. In the city of Baltimore persons are generally re- uired to call for their tags, and I think this is true of all large cities in uxeuoo?::ry. - tags are to be sent mail most of the rrepnnnon would bebzurlng the month of November at a time when this office is preparing its lists and sending out notices relative to the ad- vertisement o!f the delinquent tax am opposed to the mail- ing of tags, I would like to add to this statement after obtaining some infor- mation of methods in other localities and some further experience in the work of this month.” Commissioner Taliaferro, who fis known to favor the mailing system, was evidently dissatisfied with the conclu- sions in the report and the matter was :f:';yblck to Mr. Richards for further LIGHTS ARE ORDERED <IN PORTABLE SCHOOLS Steps Taken to Prevent Early Ad- journment During Dark Win- ter Days. Long criticism of the fact that children at the portable schools are compelled to quit classes early in the Winter, or else strain their eyes read- ing in the dark, led the District Com- missioners to take steps to secure elec- tric lighting for five of the portables yesterday. The city heads ordered installation of electric lights by the Potomac Electric Po't:;l CDNT mm!he Dahlgren Terrace portables, Tenth and Franklin streets northeast; the Allison street northeast, assurance of adequate funds to meet the annual budget has been the source of great relief by removing the is impossible to prove at this time. Presenting the possibility that pro- gressive _evolution is inherent in all nature, Dr. Hrdlicka said that the con- | uncertainty which formerly existed. trol of this natural law, except for |Also the effort to interest people in the small details, apparently belongs to the | Work of Friendship House is free from days of the suj , but the progress | the constraint that formerly arose from already made producing new species | the implication of its involving an ap- of animals and plants when they can |peal for funds. be kept under strict control is a begin- | The much wider publicity given to ning in that direction. | the needs of social welfare work by the Chest has been of great benefit. Humans Might Be Changed. The basence in this city ST the condic By the same methods, sald, he , | tions, common in so many others, that changes might be brought about in the |give rise to the more spectacular forms human race itself. But it will be neces- | Of distress requl: ald has largely sary to learn much more of the laws of | limited in the past nature than any one pretends to krow 'ple- interested 1 at present. In any event there will be The large increase in numbers of con- no moving backward, for nature .p-'tnbuwn to welfare work brought about arently has provided no mmumllhmuh the services of the Community | for the reverse process of evolution. | Chest is most encouraging. ! Degeneration and elimination of facul-( The conference of the executives of tles lead either to the extinction of the ro- species or to greater adaptation. me E. [y Evolution mutation, he said, is broader of the problems we have to nlvew merely & variation of the process of evolution by natural selection and the tion and se! ‘The more adequate financing of the Chest of the Council of Social Agencies has enabled it to enlarge the scope of fixing of favorable adapta dom is desirable since it causes a tr its activities inva way which, I believe, « mendous strain on the newly evolved organism to it itself to its environment, Soldiers’ Home Cemetery; Kalmia street portables, at Kalmia sireet northwest; Broad Branch portables at Thirty-third and Oliver streef | portables, at Forty-fourth street New Mexico avenue. HASTINGS T(; ADDRESS BUSINESS MEN AT DINNER Senator Hast the prineipal of Delaware will be er at the annual din- ner of the Columl Heights Business Men's Association at the New Amster- dam Hotel, Fourteenth and Fairmont streets, tomorrow night. The guest list will include District Commissioner Proctor L. Dougherty and Mrs. Dougherty, Corporation Counsel W. W. Bride and Mrs. Bride, Maj Henry G. Pratt, superintendent of po- ! Maj. D. A. Davison, Assistant En- Son, and Milton R Vollmer. prestdent n, n R. Vollmer, nt will eventually bring about a well bal-|of th n Y :n::d m# ser'vtl‘ce . e Ge:m Avenue Business Men's Ington. e attainment of this end I| B. A. Levitan, president of the conceive to be one of the most important | lumbia Heights B':lln!ll Men's Ag:: e MISS LYDIA A. H. BURKLIN. objects of the Community Chest, clation, will presid