Evening Star Newspaper, April 23, 1930, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair, continued minimum tem; Late N. Y. Markets, ' No. 31,403. post office, rature about possibly light frost in the suburbs. Tem- peratures—Highest, 63, at 3:45 p.m. yes- terday; lowest, 38, at 6:15 a.m. today. Full report on page 9. cold t, ‘'with degrees; Pages 13,14 & 15 Entered_as second class matter ‘Washington, D. C. b ‘WASHINGTON, ¢ Foening ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION HERG: WARDEN RECALLED FOR GRILLING OVER PREPARATIONS FOR EMERGENCY ACTION Inquiry Reveals New Angles to Probers, Who Demand Explanation From Him in Seeking Cause of Fire. MEN WOULD HAVE SLAIN THOMAS, CHAPLAIN SAYS Escaped Enraged Convicts by Tak- ing Charge Outside, Asserts Priest—Death Toll Reaches 318. Fire Marshal Denies That Wir- “] Am Ashamed,” Avers Wakatsuki In Parley Report Tokio, However, Consid- ers Work Satisfactory. Ratification Seen. By the Associated Press. TOKIO, April 23.—Reljiro Wakat- suki, chief of the Japanese delegation to the London Naval Conference, it was learned today, couched his final re- ports following the signing of the naval limitations treaty in picturesque terms of humility, according to an ages old Oriental custom. Cabling Premier Hamaguchi, Wakat- suki laments his own “inadequate abilities,” professes to consider the re- sults obtained on behalf of Japan TWO-EDGED ATTACK ON NAVAL TREATY SEEN IN CONGRESS Chairmen of Senate and House Committees Make Plans for Investigation. BORAH LIKEWISE WANTS TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS (Continued on Page 3, Column 2.) TAYLOR MURDER STORY DOUBTED Discrepancies Lead Police to ing Is to Blame. By the Associated Press. COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 23.— Warden Preston E. Thomas of Ohio Penitentiary was summoned to appear again this afternoon be- fore the board investigating the tragic fire that took the lives of 318 prisoners in four cell blocks | Monday night. Attorney General Gilbert Bett- man, heading the inquiry, said the warden would be asked to answer these questions: “What arrangements were made to take care of any emergency such as that which attended the holocaust? “What specific arrangements were made to handle fire? What equipment was available to fight fire? What information he has learned as to the cause of the hlaze that sent dense clouds of smoke rolling through six ranges while the victims were locked in their cells?” The warden testified before the board yesterday, but the inquiry has revealed new angles which re- quire explanation from him. prison yard fire Monday night was expresse by Rev. Father Albert O'Brien, Catholic penitentiary chaplain, comment- ing on the fact that the warden ordered his chief deputy to take charge inside, ol possible 2 oémtmefl'sb 'vent any ‘movement of pris- gz:n over the walls, said: “If Warden Thomas had stepped inside the walls ot the penitentiary during the pande- monium of the fire, he surely would have been killed.” “Those men had no o';ho\uht of escape. the flames, but enraged; angered because of the utter helplessness; because they were beyond t.hju help of those gal outside walls,” Says Convicts Were Heroes. Father O’Brien, who worked among the dead and dying in the prison yard, said the convicts themselves were the heroes of the fire. Statements of convicts that the tragic fire was caused by a short circuit of electric wires, were denied today by State Fire Marshal Ray R. Gill. He told State Welfare Director Hal Gris- wold, who is conducting an investiga- tion of the disaster, that he was satis- fled the cause was not short-circuited wires. He sald he found all fuses in the {ll-fated cell blocks “O. K.” Gill and his chief deputies, Joseph B. Clear and Edward L. Lee, continued their investigation of the fire today. The death toll in the disaster was increased to 318, when Edward Wills succumbed in the prison hospital to- day. Death was caused by suffocation. Wilis had been serving from five to seven years from Cuyahoga County for larceny. Convicts Are Taken to Blocks.. Before the board of inquiry resumed its investigation, as many of the con- victs as were able to be on their feet were herded into the fire-swept cell blocks of companies G and H, where Monday night they howled for release ‘while the smoke was rolling about them. The purpose of this was to aid in the identification of the dead, who were 80 badly disfigured that they could not be _identified by sight. ‘The ill-fated cell blocks, are still standing in the shell of the building that housed them. On _the door of (Continued on Page 3, Column 5.) ——— DR. PURNELL FREED BY MEXICAN BANDITS American Dentist Is Released on Payment of $200 to Kidnapers. By the Assoclated Press. MEXICO CITY, April 23.—Dr. George Edward Purnell, American dentist, who was kidnaped near Guadalajara Sun- day, was released by his captors out- side Guadalajara late last night on payment of 400 pesos (about $200). . Dr. Purnell reached Guadalajara at 4 o'clock this morning. Dr. Purnell was the third American within the past month to be kidnaped by bandits and then later released. Dr. Purnell was released through the efforts of Raleigh A. Gibson, American consul; Willlam B. Lawton, American vice consul; two other Americans and two Mexicans. The kidnapers, of whom there were Discredit Veteran’s Vol- untary Confession. By the Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, April 23.—Discrep- ancies :n the voluntary “confession” of Russo Rinaldo, 41-year-old accountant and shell-shocked World War veteran, that he was the murderer eight years of Willlam Desmond Taylor, motion Britten Plans to Summon Secre- tary Adams and Admirals Who Acted as Advisers. By the Associated Press. A two-edged attack on the London naval treaty was forecast today in Congress. With the new international agree- ment scarcely 24 hours old, the chair- men of both Senate and House naval committees made plans to investigate. Falling in with the proposal of Chair- man Hale of the Senate committee that the naval experts who were in London with the delegation be questioned, Chairman Britten of the House com- mittee announced that his committee also would ask Navy officers why some features of American naval policy were “abandoned” in London. picture director, led police detectives today to discredit his story. Rinaldo, who said he slew Taylor during an argument over a quarrel the latter had with a moving picture actress, was held on a charge of suspi- cion of murder. Tells of Actress’ Visit. According to police, Rinaldo said he was a friend of a motion picture actress who visited the Taylor bungalow early on the evening of February 1, 1922. He said he followed in a taxicab when the actress went to the Taylor home and later overheard a violent quarrel Chairman Borah of the Senate for- eign relations committee likewise wants to ask some questions, although he has indicated that he probably will favor ratification. Britten to Summon Delegates. Britten said he would summon Sec- retary Adams of the Navy Department, one of the American delegates, and four admirals who acted as advisers at Lon- don. He would like to hear, he said, why the United States agreed to. build between Taylor and the woman. The actress left after a short stay, Rinaldo said, after which he entered the Taylor apartment and remonstrated with the director for his actions during the quarrel. Taylor, he said, drew a revolver, In the scuffie that followed Rinaldo sald he gained possession of the gun and shot the moving picture director. Since then Rinaldo said he had been living in various Southern California cities and in Tucson, Ariz, where he resided until he returned to Los Anga recently. Inquiry of Tucson police disclosed that Rinaldo was known there as a World War veteran suffering from shell shock. " Rinaldo's story coincides in minute detajls with the known facts in the case, we are far from convinced that he is telling the truth,” Detective Ju h Taylor said. “There still remains a lot of investigation and checking to done before we are sure that we have the actual slayer of Taylor in custody. Was Sought By Police. “We have been working on several angles of the case for several weeks. These ‘phases involved Rinaldo. We have been looking for him for question- ing, but had been unable to locate him until late last night. Shortly after we began questioning he told us he was the man who shot Taylor and de- scribed in detail cf sur- rounding the crime. We will investigate carefully, however, before we are con- vinced we have the right man.” At one point in his story, police said, Riwaldo described flé2ing from the mur- der scene and then returning in an hour to mingle with the crowd in front of the bungalow. He related that he was told by the curious onlookers that “somebody killed that film director.” The police pointed out that the records showed the director’s body was not dis- covered until the morning after he was killed, and that the fact of murder was not evident until an undertaker found the bullet wound late that day. Mrs. Alice Rinaldo of Glendale, Calif., music teacher, estranged wife of the suspect, was unable to clear up details of the confession, but said her husband was erratic and suffered from shock re- lh:e.lved bedeuring thgmdwgfr 'The Rinaldos ve been separated for two years. ‘The murder of Taylor in his lavishly furnished Hollywood bungalow is re- garded by the police as the most baf- fling case in the criminal annals of Los Angeles. His body was found by a serv- ant, Henry Peavy, on the morning of February 2, 1922. No clue was found to indicate the identity of the slayer, although events which followed involved several persons prominent in the motion picture colony. Valet Is Still Missing. It was discovered that the late Mabel Normand, then in the heyday of her film career, had visited Taylor on the night of the murder, a handkerchief bearing the initials “M. M.,” wnich later was identified as the property of Mary Miles Minter, film actress, was found in the Taylor apartment. Both Miss Normand and Miss Minter were questioned by investigators, but neither shed any light to dispel the mystery. Other film notables also were questioned, but to no avail. Later a search was started for Ed- ward F. Sands, valet-secretary to the ‘e | make “shortly.” director, who had disappeared about the time of Taylor's death. A world-wide search has failed to locate the man. By the Associated Press. ROSEMONT, Pa., April 23.—Harry Harrls, in jail on charges of fraud and obtaining money under false pretenses in connection with the delivery of seven cases of alleged liquor, to the home of Alba B. Johnson, possibly does not read newspapers closely. Had he done so he would have known better than to pick out the former presi- dent of the Baldwin Locomotive Works as a purchaser of “a shipment from three, had asked 6,000 pesos, but this figure eventually was reduced to 400 in stlver through negotiations. As soon as Purnell was released, 65 mounted federal troopers took the trail of the bandits, whose capture was ex- pected today. Dr. Purnell was not mistreated by his avtou. although he did not have much Holland.” Johnson, an ardent dry and promi- nent churchman, is now in Europe, but recently his views on prohibition en- forcement were set forth in the press under the headline, “Relaxing Dry Law Would Shame United States, Says Alba B. Johnson.” her employer’s view, his sec- setary, Miss Alice E. W WS Sure “RUM” SELLER LANGUISHES IN JAIL FOR SLIPPING OVER GINGER ALE A Novel Scheme, a Wily Slicker, a Girl to Cheat With Spurious Liquor—But Girl Is Smart, He Fails to Stick Her fewer 8-inch cruisers and more 6-inch cruisers than had been favored by the Navy general board. His hearing, he said, would take place in May, shortly after the return of the delegation. ‘While the Senate alone is required to ratify treaties, the House has had an equal part in the shaping of Navy building plans, and Britten hopes that whatever is developed in the House hearings will have its effect at the other end of the Capitol. Hale Studies Text of Pact. Meanwhile the leaders of the Senate continued the reticence that has charac- terized their course with regard to the new pact since the announcement that an agreement had been reached. Hale was engaged in a close study of the text of the pact and in the preparation of an address, which he sald he would The naval committee chairman has strongly indicated that the treaty does not meet his approval. He regards it as embodying a departure from the American policy of building up its fleet | old‘llm cruisers of wide steaming radius. Borah Holds Strategic Post. Senator Borah of Idaho has given the treaty his conditional indorsement. As chairman of the foreign relations com- mittee, he holds a position of great strategic importance in the coming de- bate, The treaty will be referred to his committee, which must pass upon it before the Senate takes it up for rati- fication or rejection. President Hoover has decided to transmit the pact to the Senate as soon as the certified copy is received from London, and Borah has announced that every effort will be made to expedite it in committee. As yet there has been little indica- tion of a definite voting line-up for or against the treaty. A two-thirds vote 1s necessary for ratification. Those in close touch with the situation believe that the support of Reed, Robinson and Borah will prove an important influence in the coming discussion. Senator Reed sald yesterday in a radio address from London that the members of the American delegation LETTERS T0 GOURT MEMBERS ARE LAID 10 WET LOBBYISTS Communications to Justices Stone and Sanford Placed in Probe Record. SENATOR ROBINSON SAYS PROCEDURE DISGUSTING Pennsylvanian Charged With Tak- ing Direct Action Against 18th Amendment. By the Assoclated Press. A charge that the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment had “lob- bied directly with members of the United States Supreme Court” was made today before the Senate lobby committee by Senator Robinson, Repub- lican, Indiana. ‘Two letters to Justice Stone and one to the late Justice Sanford, written by Thomas W. Phillips, jr, of Pennsyl- vania, had been placed in the Record. “It's the most annoying thing I ever heard of,” Robinson said. Phillips is a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania and is supported by the Association ainst the Prohibition Amendment, ‘The letters to Stone were dated April 2 and 9, 1929, The one to Sanford was dated March 30, 1929. ‘The letter of April 9 to Stone said, in part: What Letter Stated. “It is indeed unfortunate that so many men in public life, especially those who have served for years and years in Congress, in executive positions, and on the bench, become for all practical pur- poses out of touch with the busy work- aday world. * * * “In order to give you perhaps a new slant as to how some men are thinking and talking, a few days ago in the course of my conversation with an ex- ceptionally keen young attorney, I ven- tured to remark that there were very many serious and far-reaching consti- tutional questions relating to the eight- eenth amendment and enforcement measures that had never been sub- mitted to the Supreme Court. “His comment took the form of a question, ‘Do you have any idea that the Supreme Court as now constituted would have the moral courage to go into this question thoroughly?’” Second Communication. l'l"tqa othek letter to. Stone said, in part: “It seems to me that it was inten- tional to provide two methods for amending the constitution, one a rather easy one when the purpose is merely to clarify its evident meaning, correct minor defects, or better provide for the proper functioning of the Government within defined limits; the other provid- ing for conventions involving much con- troversy, extending over a cosiderable length of time in case fundamental changes are proposed, such as the sur- render of individual rights, State rights, or prospective changes in the form of government.” 1 ‘The letter to Sanford assailed the Jones law as providing “excessive fines | and cruel punishments.” “Again,” it added, “it seems to me that exorbitant bail—bail that places and keeps a man untried (except by bullies brutally administering the third degree) in jail indefinitely has become quite common. Government to Protect. “If I am even partially correct in such surmise or suspicion, then law makers and law administrators have both forgotten the primary use of language, and also that the purpose of government is to protect and that the real excuse of a constitution is to set up some barrier against the persistent encroachment on tyranny.” ‘The letter added: “I have but little doubt that if the judiciary lles down on its job and fol- lows the mob along the lines of least re- (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) At MISSING BOY FOUND AFTER 3-DAY HUNT Californian, Six Years Old, Is Safe| ‘When Discovered on Mount Burney. By the Associated Press. REDDING, Calif,, April 23.—Asa Lee Lakey, 6-year-old boy who had been lost since last Sunday, was found alive to- day on Mount Burney, east of here. ‘The child had been the object of an extensive search in which an Army air- plane and several hundred men par- ticipated. He disappeared while on an Easter outing with his parents. His mother, Mrs. A. L. Lakey of Bur- ney, said she dreamed last night the boy would be found safe and well. prised when she received a_ purported cablegram from Johnson which read: “Made arrangements for shipment com- ing through to you from Holland. Handle this matter upon its arrival Strictly confidential. No more than ten at one hundred fifteen per. Wil explain on my return.” Miss Claflin found the message to be a fake and turned it over to the Penn- sylvania Chamber of Commerce, of which Johnson is president, and a trap was set for the sender. Later, when he telephoned that he had seven cases for Mr. Johnson and that the price was $805, Miss Claflin directed that it be delivered to her employer’s home. Police were hidden in the house and after a maid had handed Harris $805 in marked bills he was arrested. The seven cases contained ginger ale. Harris was held in default of $5,000 at a hearing last night. He said the l we ‘was fictitious and refused to give h‘l‘ h‘m %Pm A-lo ::“W (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) DRY CHANGE URGED BY FRELINGHUYSEN Candidate for Senate Sees Need for Revision of Liquor Laws. By the Associated Press. NEWARK, N. J, April 23.—Former Senator Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, who voted for passage of the Volstead law, and who again is a candidate for the Republican nomination for the Senate, in a statement today declared he favored modification of the prohibition laws, “I voted for the Volstead act,” he sald, “because it seemed to me the duty of Congress to enact legislation to make the amendment effective. “Ten years of experience and study Ihlvehmo%lfl:d mdy‘;\ewm ‘While the aw has destroye e open saloon, ft has developed new and grave evils with which the public is familiar.” Declaring the present law “is difficult, if not impossible to enforce,” he added: “I have, therefore, concluded that the policy of prohibition must be modified. Those who de use alcoholic beverages should be allowed to do so under conditions of . national control that would eliminate the element of private profit and prevent the return ufxlhe :’lloon." e said, however, he would suj all “reasonable measures” for znm ment of the dry laws a: long as they continue in effect. Ambassador Dwight W. Morrow, who will op?ole him for the nomination, has no:j yec made known his views on the subject. DANISH FLYERS KILLED Naval Plane Falls Into Baltic Sea ‘With Terrific Force. WARNEMUENDE, Germany, April 23 (#).—Capt. Jensen, pilot of a Danish naval plane, and Mechanic Bressendorf were killed last night in the crash of their plane on the Baltic Sea. Capt. Jensen's body was found today, WETS CONTRADICT HOOVER REVIEWS (OPPONENTS' CLAINS Conditions Under . Present Laws Depicted to Com- mittee as Deplorable. By the Associated Press. ‘The drys’ claims of benefits from pro- hibition were contradicted today with testimony from an industrialist, an Army officer and a representative of women, who depicted conditions under the dry law as deplorable. Appearing in the House judiciary committee hearings as rebuttal wit- nesses to answet contentions made by { the prohibitionists, the opponents of the eighteenth amendment included Pierre S. duPont of the duPont interests of Delaware, Maj. Gen. Clarence Edwards of Boston, World War commander of the 26th (Yankee) Division; Represent- ative Tinkham, Republican, Massa- chusetts, and Miss Elizabeth Harris of the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform. DuPont said many most upright cit- izens were “in open revolt.” As did Representative Tinkham, the industrialist leader disputed claims of increased wealth and savings because of prohibition, Blames Lack of Knowledge, Gen, Edwards said testimony by drys in the committee hearings, which are due to end tomorrow, indicated “their lack of knowledge of what is going on in this country * * * more particularly their failure to realize what is happen- ing to our youth.” The veteran Army officer said a crisis had been created which was “another call to the colors for liberty and com- mon sense.” Two witnesses of the wets remaining to be heard were Tad Jones and Bill Roper, foot ball coaches of Yale and | Princeton. They were slated to answer testi- mony by Alonzo Stagg, University of Illinois coach, that prohibition had been of benefit. During the noon recess of the com- mittee Chairman Graham announced that Sir Henry Drayton, cl an of the liquor control board of Toronto, Canada, had asked that he be heard in reply to E. C. Drury, former premier of the Province of Ontario, who was a witness recently for the drys. Drury de- clared that the Ontario liquor control system was not successful. Graham said that if Sir Henry ap- peared tomorrow he would be heard. Most of the “upright and respected citizens are in open revolt against the supposed purpose of the eighteenth amendment,” du Pont said, in a pre- ared statement at the outset of the earing. " “Many who pretend to uphold the law and exalt its benefits,” he added, “do not hesitate to drink when liquor is fur- nished them. It seems a general belief that men in high Government positions, in the Legislatures, in Congress and elsewhere, continue to use intoxicating liquor just as do those in private life. It would cause no surprise to find drink- ing even among those administering the | 1aw and judging the lawbreakers.” He said that since the eighteenth amendment was énacted a generation comprising one-third of the voting pop- ulation had reached a majority and was entitled to & vote on the question of pro- hibition. This, with the rapidity with which the amendment was adopted dur- ing the World War, he said, warranted “reporting out the bill now before this committee so that the will of the people may be determined after 10 years’ ex- perience with a law that can boast little (Continued on Page 2, Column 5.) STy WATSON EXPECTS TIGHT PARKER VOTE Depends on Democrats to Confirm Hoover Supreme Court Nominee. By the Assoclated Press. President Hoover was informed today by Senator Watson of Indiana, the Re- publican leader, that a close decision is in prospect in the Senate on the nomi- nation of Judge John J. Parker of North Carolina to the Supreme Court. Discussing the Senate situation pre- paratory to the opening of the Parker debate on Monday ,the Republican lead- er sald after leaving the White House that he was still hopeful of confirmation of the nominee. Confronted with a break in their own ranks, the administration forces in the Senate are relying on sufficient Demo~ cratic support for confirmation of Par- {.‘ from the Democratic side rstood at the Capitol not to Iriendly ta Parker, howeves, f | artic] tar. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 1930—THIRTY-SIX PAGES. service, The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press news Yesterday’s Circulgtion, 117,995 BRP (#) Means Associated TWO CENTS. Press. At noon today the management of the Washington Base Ball club de- cided it was too cold for the Nationals and Red Sox to stage their regular scheduled game today in Griffith Sta- dium, and postponed the' engagement until the Boston club visits here next month. With favorable weather the clubs will play the final of the pres- ent series tomorrow. N 12 REBELS KILLED BY BRITISH TROOPS Two Indians Are Wounded in Clash Near Chittagong. 14 Are Arrested. By the Associated Press. CALCUTTA, April 23.—Officials an- nounced today that 12 insurgents were killed and two wounded seriously in a fight near Chittagong last night between the group which raided the Chittagong police arsenal Saturday .and British troops. Fourteen arrests were made. No soldiers were injured. ‘The insurgents were posted in a strong ition on a hill and were at- tacted by detachments of the eastern frontier rifles and Burma Valley light horse. The main body of the raiders still was at large following the engagement, but military operations were continuing. Indian Speaker to Resign. Nationalist circles today said that V. J. Patel, speaker of the Indian Legisla~ tive Assembly and widely known Swara- Jist _leader, had decided to resign. He was known here to have been at variance with the government for a long time, and many expected that action from him when his brother, Vallabhal Patel, was arrested and imprisoned at the beginning of Manhatama Gandhi's civil disobedience campaign. 30 Are Arrested. Among those arrested here today were P. K. Chakravarti, editor of a daily newanper printed in English for an le regarded as subversive, and K. C. Das Gupta, secretary of the Bengal civil disobedience council. Prof. Vijaykumar, Swaraj vice presi- dent of the Howrah municipality, and 29 other persons were arrested today while picketing shops, most of them owned by Muslems in the Howrah market. Nationalist volunteers attempted to break the police cordon and in the ensuing melee several were injured. Village Refuses to Pay Taxes. BOMBAY, India, April 23 (#).—The Bombay Chronicle today said that the villagers at Raas, where Vallabhai Patel, brother of the speaker of the Indian Legislative Assembly, was arrested for his activities in behalf of the civil dis- obedience movement, had decided to refuse to pay any land taxes henceforth. British Soldier Is Killed. PESHAWAR, India, April 23 (#).—A British soldier was killed today during & disturbance over the arrest of a number of civil disobedience cam- paigners here. The disorders were accompanied by a cessation of work. 7 TIMES GRANDFATHER Secretary Wilbur’s Daughter Pre- sents Family With Daughter. PALO ALTO, Calif, April 23 (P).— Ray Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior, and on leave as president of Stanford University, is seven times a grandfather. Mrs. Max Foster Hopper of Palo Alto, formerly Miss Lois Wilbur, pre- sented her family with a daughter, named Nancy Jane Hopper. < LIGHT FROST AND NEAR FREEZING TEMPERATURES HIT WASHINGTON Weather Bureau Expects Only Nominal Damage to Vegetation From Drop in Mercury. The cold snap that gripped Wash- ington last night was climexed this morning by a few flakes of snow, while a light frost and near freezing tempera- tures loomed for the suburbs tonight, although the Weather Bureau expects only nominal damage to Spring vegetation. continued cold is the out- Fair and look for w_with moderate west i o TRAFFIC PROBLEMS Holds Control Is Matter for State and Local Author- ities to Handle. Contending that what he described as a great and increasingly serious problem in street and highway traffic is entirely a matter for State and local authorities. to handle, President Hoo- ver today announced that the gover- nors of all the States and the mayors of the principal cities have accepted his invitation to send official delega- tions to the third National Conference on Street and Highway Safety to be held in Washington May 27, 28 and 29. This announcement was made by the President following a preliminary conference today with the heads of & number of national associations con- cerned with street and highway traffic problems and which will be repre- sented. It was announced also by the President that Secretary of Commerce Lamont, who was one of the company in conference with the President today on this subject, will be chairman of the safety conference. Problem Increasing. By way of explanation Mr. Hoover announced afterward, “We are con- fronted with a great and increasingly serious problem in our street and high- way traffic. The accident rate has mounted steadily despite the measures adopted as the result of previous con- ferences. Without these efforts the situation would be worse, but the steadily increasing congestion of traffic has outrun all measures of safety. “This is entirely a matter within the responsibility of State and local au- thoritles. The Federal Government has lent its facilitfes and assistance by call- ing the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety with a view to securing a spread of information and co-ordination in activities. “The governors of all the States and mayors of the principal cities and towns have accepted my invitation to send official delegations to a third national conference to be held in Washington May 27, 28 and 29. There will also be representation of national associations and groups specially interested in traffic matters. Support Is Pledged. “It is an encouraging fact that the representatives of the national associa- tions of motor manufacturers, motor car users, business men, safety associations and others concerned With various phases of motor traffic have pledged their efforts in support of the confer- ence and in aiding the State and local authorities in dealing with these prob- lems, which are of such far-reaching humanitarian and economic impor- tance.” ‘The others in the group besides Sec- retary Lamont who discussed this forth- coming conference with the President today were William Butterworth, presi- dent of the United States Chamber of Commerce; Alvan Macauley, presi- dent of the National Automobile Cbamber of Commerce; Thomas P. Henry, president American Automobile Association; R. H. Aishton, president American Railway Association; James | P. Barnes, American Electric Railway Assoclation; W. W. Cloud, president National Association of Taxicab Owners; C. E. Pettybone, president National Safety Council; J. M. Eaton, American Mutual_Alllance; A. W. Whitney, Na- tional Bureau of Casualty and Surety Underwriters; A. V. Hall, Motor and Equipment Association, and William E. Metzger, Charles Gordon, Julius H. Parmelee, A. B. Barber, John C. Long and A. W. Koehler, members of the conference executive committee, Baby Biplane Mark Set. DARNSTADT, Germany, April 23 (#).—Pilot Trainer Neininger in a baby biplane today flew 134 miles an hour, | which was claimed as a world record for planes of that class. down to 38 at 6 o'clock this morning, the mercury began a gradual rise after sun up, but probably will drop to 35 degrees before daylight tomorrow. Yesterday’s extremes were 63 at noon and 44 last midnight. Yesterday and coal dealers were busy with belated orders. Heavy clouds which passed over the city about 7 o'clock this morning left the fi of snow in ‘wake, but recording an icient amount fe at the bureau. AUTHORITIES. WAIT “LUCKY BREAK” T0 AID IN SOLUTION OF MURDER MYSTERY Investigation of Mary Baker’s Death Spreads in Five Di- rections, With Little New Evidence in Hand. COLORED SUSPECTS AGAIN GRILLED AT ARLINGTON Third Man at Richmond Also Ques- tioned—Plans Made to Compare Finger and Palm Prints of Pris- oners With Marks Found on Slain Girl's Automobile, After investigating nearly all of the multitude of leads developed in connection with the search for the slayer of Mary Baker, Wash- ington police, Arlington County officials ‘and Department of Jus- tice agents admitted today that they are now waiting for a “lucky break” to aid them in the solution of the crime. In the meantime, the investiga- tion spread in five directions, reaching over Washington, Mary- land and: Virginia. Frank Smith and James Vollin, the two colored men, who were arrestéd with Miss Baker’s small coin purse and scarf about 10 hours after the finding of her body April 12, are being subjected to another rigorous examination in the Arlington County jail by Commonwealth Attorney William C. Gloth, assisted by Lieut. Edward J. Kelly, chief of the homicide squad of the detective bureau. Headquarters Detective Thomas Sweeney has gone to Richmond, Va., to interrogate Earl W. Frank, alias James W. White, who was taken into custody there yesterday as a suspect. May Have Alibi. Additional doubt 8s to any value from Frank's arrest devaloped’ today when an Associated Press dispatch {from Goldsbore, N. C., said that an Earl Franck, believed to be the same man held in Richmond, is charged with stealing merchandise from a railway {reight station there on April 12, the day Miss Baker’s body was found here, A Goldsboro officer has gone to Riche mond in an effort to identify the sus- pect. Richmond police said when he :‘;sn &l‘c_:eg‘up tul;erled he was taking the raflroad cars cigs{}e)mx containing er investigators are continuing their questioning of employes at the Navy Department, where Miss Baker worked, still hopeful of uncovering jome information which might put m on the trail of the slayer. Checking in Baltimore, Xt also was announced that detec- tives are in Baltimore checking up re- ports that a jewelry salesman may have had some connection with the crime, These are the only remaining so-called leads which the investigators have not completely covered, but there is very little optimism among them that any- thing of value will be developed from continued investigation. The authori- ties are not yet willing, however, to record Miss Baker's murder among the unsolved crimes. Aside from the requestioning of the two colored men in the Arlington County Jalil, their fingerprints and palmprints are to be taken and compared with the photographs of the prints found on Miss Baker's abandoned automobile. The same procedure is to be followed in connection with the fingerprints and palmprints of Fred Wilson, the Gov- ernment architect, who has several times been questioned about his rela- tions with the murdered woman. The re-examination of the two col- ored men indicate that the authorities are making every effort to establish the connection between the stolen jewelry, novel and pair of women's silk stock- ings found in a manhole of a sewer on the Arlington Experimental Farm of the Department of Agriculture, together with Miss Baker’s coat, hat and pocket- book. This is being done in view of the latest theory that the woman may have been murdered by thieves. Stories Disagree. Detective Sweeney was sent to Rich- mond to question Frank because the story he told the authorities there as to his whereabouts on the night Miss Baker was killed did not coincide with statements of his sister in Baltimore. Frank informed the Richmond police he had been in Baltimore visiting his sister April 11, 12 and 13. The Navy Department clerk was murdered on the night of April 11. Frank’s sister, how- ever, said that he had visited her only one day, on Sunday April 13. Frank, according to the Washington police, had several communion cups such as those used in Episcopal (Continued on Page 3, Column 3.) PHELPS TO FACE ACCIDENT PROBE Coroner’s Jury at Baltimore Today to Question D. C. Ball Player in Death of Girl. Spectal Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, Md,, April 23.—Before a coroner’s jury here this afternoon Ernest G. Phelps, youthful catcher of the Washington base ball team, will be arraigned in connection with the death of Lillian Merson, 17, who was fatally injured by Phelps’ automobile Sunday night near Harmon crossing, on the Camp Meade road. Miss Merson died in St. Agnes’ Hospital. Phelps was arrest- ed and released under $1,000 bail. Po- lice charge his auto was speeding, and the girl was struck while -l;’:awu'wuk. ing along the highway,