Evening Star Newspaper, January 14, 1931, Page 13

OPTIMISM MARKS SPEECHES OND.C. VOTE PROBLEM F. W. Wile and Former Rep- resentative Small Address Chamber of Commerce. LOTED WRITER CERTAIN -)F EVENTUAL SUCCESS Theodore W. Noyes Is Praised for Prominent Share in Movement. Taxation withcut representation, a &ystem which led to the birth of the United States, but which still exists as a strange anomaly in the District of Columbia as a_definite discrimination against its half million residents, was vigorously denounced at the monthly meeting of the Washington Chamber ©of Commerce last night. With a militant and continued fight against this system by which local Tesidents are disfranchised and denied a direct voice in the Government which taxes them, the cause fcr national representation in Congress will be won, speakers declared. This is provided in a joint resolution pending before Congress paving the way for an amendment to the United States Constitution by which Congress would be given power to grant repre- sentation in the House and Senate to local residents and permit them to participate in presidential elections. The talks were made by Prederic Wwilliam Wile, political writer and radio broadcaster, and by former Representa- tive John H. Small of North Carolina. Mr. Wile was the guest of honor at the | meeting. The addresses of both speak- ers were made extemporaneously. Wile Deplores Condition. loring the unfortunate situation | o B trict citizens who are taxed and yet have no voice in the affairs of their Government and no vote in_the selec- | tion of their President, Mr. Wile called attention to the apparent lack of knowl- edge of this condition in the States and in cities outside the District. “Only by the evidence of occasional meandering outside of the District and | into the States can one become aware of the amazing ignorance of the politi- cal disabilities of the disfranchised District,” the speaker said. “The plight ©of the taxpayers of this votcless city would enlist hearty response of the people of more fortunate communities were they aware of the existence of a people who without a voice in their| Government must pay the taxes it levies | and fight the wars it declares. Sees Long Fight. “I deplore the lack of militant en- thusiasm,” Mr. Wile continued, “that seems to atiend this cause. When we| realize the fight that was puf up and| the months of effort it required 0| bring about the eighteenth and nine- feenth smendments to the Constitution —prohibition and women’s suffrage—we have only a glimmering of how much | endeavor will be necessary to bring about a change in the Constitution needed to give the District of Columbis tional representation. n.“Boul it will come. The District of Columbia will eventually have its quota of Senators and Representatives in the ht for 2] o Mggd forces of the people of Wash- ington must be enlisted and work to- gether toward that definite objective.” Small Praises Noyes. Former Representative Small paid high tribute to the work being done by Theodore W. Noyes in the cause for tional representation. n‘“ll.!’. ND;E has done more to bring{ this disgraceful condition to the atten- tion of the people than any other man, Mr. Small said, “and if I live to see day when the District of Columbia be granted representation in the ess and the occasion presents it- self 1 shall unhesitatingly advocate the nomination of Mr. Noyes for Senator rom District.” : Hnmsemnll denounced the absurdity on its face, for instance, “of a repre- sentative of a civic welfare organiza- tion going before a committee of Con- gress with a proposition or a problem concerning the District, when the members of that committee might be Tepresentatives from some ‘neck of the woods’ in Iowa or from some far-away district in a distant State—men who are at the least little versed in Wash- ington aflairs and have little interest in the subject they are asked to pass upon.” Representative Fish Praised. A variety of political problems were dealt witn by Mr. Wile in his talk. He aid tribute to the House Committee Ended by Representative Fish, which is charged with the duty of Investigating the source of Communism in the United States. “While Com- munism is not so rampant in this country that we are in peril of serious immediate developments,” Mr. Wile said, “still the forces of Sovietism are at work. They are nibbling, so to speak —playing for the bigger haul. They know that the discontent and the idle- ness due to the unemployment and de- pression offer ideal opportunities for them. But the country is far from be- ing in the throes of Communism.” Other speakers at the meeting in- cluded D. J. Kaufman, who made an @ppeal in behalf of the Community Chest, and Col. Edward Goring Bliss, who gave the members an outline of the work being done by the chamber’s ecommittees having in charge the mat- ters of fiscal relations and taxation. Col. Bliss recently appeared for the chamber before the House Mapes Com- mittee, investigating fiscal relations for the District. Bureau Reports. With the slogan, “Forward Washing- ton in 1931”7 as the theme of the meeting, brief reports from each of the six new bureaus of the chamber or- ganized under the five-year expansion outlining proposed committee for the ensuing year, were submitted The bureaus making these reports were Civic-Federal Arginwnug,cu. Charles W. Darr, acting director; Com- P estar; pdustrial J. Whelan, H al ‘Wood, di- rector; Traffic an tior Harold A. Brooks, director; motion, Martin A. Leese, director, and Membership Forum, Harry T. Peters, r. Plans for the chamber's twenty- fourth annual anniversary .nounced by Charles ‘hair- Ci H, Frame, cl - o committee having man of the special this in ‘which be held at the Mayflower Hotel Janu- the | women. charge. be followed by a dance, will | monthly pul , outlined new Greater Washing- which will be issued this i i | MRS. WHITMAN CROSS. OFFICERS ELECTED Free Visits Show Increase of 12,11_2 Over 1929 as 15,015 Are Treated. Free visits made by employes of the Instructive Visiting Nurse Society in 1930 exceeded by 12,112 similar calls in 1929, it was disclosed yesterday in re- ports at the annual meeting of the board of managers. Mrs. Whitman Cross was elected president by a unanimous vote. Other officers chosen after they were pro- posed by the Nominating Committee chairman, Mrs. Ord Preston, were Mrs. John W. Davidge, first vice president; Mrs. G. Brown Miller, second vice president; Mrs. G. Howland Chase, third vice president: Mrs. Dwight Clark, secretary; Joshua Evans, jr., treasurer, and Ord Preston, assistant treasurer. Annual Reports Are Made. Mrs. R. M. Kauffmann, chairman of the Membership Committee, placed in nomination the name of Mrs. Frederic A, Delano. Mrs. Delano was reinstated. Mrs. G. Brown Miller was appointed chairman of a temporary committee to consider organization of an educational committee. Other members were Miss Janét Houtz and Mrs. Dwight Clark. Reports revealed 15,015 patients had been given care last year. Visits made by the field staff totaled 120580, of which 68,652 were made to indigent patients. The increase in free calis was attributed to unemployment. Of the dismissed patients, 63 per cent were white and 36 per cent colored; 28 per cent were men and 72 per cent An analysis by age groups showed that 15 per cent of the visits were made to infants, 20 per cent to .children between 1 and 5 years old, 8 per cent to children between 5 and 16 years old, 50 per cent to persons between 16 and 65 and 7 per cent to persons above 65. Alley-Dwelling Bill Approved ‘The main office staff led in aggregate number. of visits with 68,022, the Brightwood office made 13,086, the Georgetown office, 11,853; the South- east office, 16,535, and the Anacostia office, 11,084. Reports were made by Mrs. John W. Davidge, chairman of the Nursing Committee; Mrs. Cresson Newbold, chairman of the Supply Committee, and wJoshua Eyans, jr., chairman of the Finance Commitiee. ‘The board adopted resolutions ex- | | pressing_appreciation to George Wash- ington University Hospital for services given the organization for many years in sterilizing dressings used in treat- ment of indigent patients. Another resolution adopted voiced approval of the alley dwelling bill for the District now pending in Congress. This resolution was offered -by Mrs. Montgomery Blair. A new Publicity Committee appointed by Mrs. Cross was composed of Mrs. John M. Sternhagen, chairman; Miss Elizabeth Bryan, Mrs. Leonard A. Block, Frank J. Frost and R. M. Kauffmann. Special reports of orthopedic service were made. PLANE ENGINES, TOPIC OF TALK TO AIR PILOTS Lieut. Birnn Describes Develop- ment of Past Year and Prob- able Advances to Army Group. Aircraft engine developments of the past year and probable developments during the year 1931 were described to officers of the Air Reserve Officers’ As- sociation by Lieut. Roland Birmnn, Army Air_Corps, at & lecture meeting last night in the projection room of the Munitions Building. The lecture followed a dinner in the Army and Navy Club. Officers attending the meeting, all local reserve pilots, were Lieut. Col. Joseph F. Randall, Majs. Luke Christo- pher and Z. M. Smith, Capts. William H. Bonneville, T. M. Duff, John R. Kiine, J. W. Lankford, L. J. McCarty, K. R. Pyatt, Oscar A. Reed and Otis P. Tabler; Lieuts. R. C. Barrett, Howard C. Eales, E. L. Ettenger, Milton Jakow- ski, H. W. McKinley, B. H. Merchant, william C. Steil, J. Witman, D. L Bower, L. L. Clark, G. L. Desmond, M Salso, Fred Reed, Noble C. Shilt and R. Underwood. T 24 POLICEMEN NAMED Privates Will Fill Vacancies on District Force. The District Commissioners today ap- pointed 24 new privates to the police force to fill vacancies created by deaths, retirements, promotions and resigna- tions, Those appointed are: Henry B. Mohler, A, M. McCallum, J. E. Winters, A. W. Lemp, Arthur Gernhofer, W. A. Pish, Thomas Ras- mussen, J. C. Daniels, Arthur Coleman, C. G. Darnall, F. A. Myers, J. P. Me: hoff, G. D. Wyant, A. W. Taylor, W. B. Yal C. J. Sullivan, G. M. Wilson, G. 8. Eckels, J. H. McHale, C. E. Riley, E. T. Wessells, H. V. Covell, W. T. O'Brien and R. W. Mower. month. The magazine, which hereto- fore has been practically confined to the membership of the chamber, will be placed on sale in the newsstands, Mr. Hobbs said, and is expected to take ‘The banquet, | 8 prominent El.we among the Capital’s | An tions. Mr. Harry King, first a been accepted, Dorsey W. Hyde, &mumw.w minutes, ; | BY NURSE SOCETY @he Foening Star WASHINGTON, D. €, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1931. CLEARING OF AREA FOR D. C. MEMORIAL BANDSTAND URGED Grant Asked to Have Wooded Secton South of Reflect- ing Pool Thinned. WOULD PROVIDE SPACE FOR CONCERT CROWD Location Now Covered by Trees and Shrubbery, Fine Arts Grofip Chairman Points Out. Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d, director | of Public Buildings and Public Parks, today had before him a recommendation | of his Park Committee that the entire wooded area south of the reflecting pool, from Seventeenth street to the Lincoln Memorial, be cleaned up and thinned out so that the District of Columbia World War Memorial may be con- structed in appropriate surroundings and the public may have better oppor- tunity to hear the concerts that will be given in the pretentious bandstand, which is the form the memorial will take. G. E. Clark, chairman of the Park Committee, in transmitting the recom- mendation to the colonel, wrote that |“nt such time as the memorial band- stand is built the area will only require local clearing.” This action came on the heels of a recommendation from the Fine Arts Commission, through its member, James L. Greenleaf, that it is urgent “to clear out the smaller trees and shrubbery, so as to give an unobstructed place about the bandstand for concerts.” Mr. Green- leaf is serving temporarily as a member of the commission, during the absence of Ferruccio Vitale in Italy. Vitale's Predecessor. In transmitting Mr. Greenleaf's recommendation to Col. Grant, Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine Arts Com- mission, said: “Mr. Greenleaf, as you know, was Mr. Vitale's predecessor as landscape crchitect member of the commission and gave nine years in the work of the commission, during which he emphasized particularly the im- portance of carrying out landscape plans for the National Capital. “Mr. Greenleaf visited Washington last Friday and made an inspection of the site for the District of Columbia Memorial Bandstand, which is to be erected south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Basin at a point about half- way between Seventeenth street and the Lincoln Memorial. A set of blueprints of the bandstand was considered in con- nection with the construction. It was noted that the location is now covered by trees and shrubbery. Versailles’ Beauty Cited. “Mr. Greenleaf regards this of urgent importance to clear out the smaller trees and shrubbery so as to give an unob- structed.place about the bandstand for concert. Mr, Greenleaf called attention to the beauty of the groves at Ver- sailles with their lovely greensward and trees. It is, of course, important to have ample space around the bandstand for the concert throngs. The question of gravel versus grass is debatable. The ultimate effect must rely upon a well developed grove and the beauty of the structure itself. The hedges shown in the plan should be omitted as circum- scribing the seating area. Large trees for shade and firm ground for the use of chairs are sufficient. The Commis- sion of Fine Arts concur in these recom- mendations.” ‘The balance of the funds needed to construct the memorial is now being raised under the auspices of The Star. | $1,511,164 SOUGHT FOR NEW CENTER Commissioners Forward Estimate on Municipal Project to Bureau of Budget. ‘The Commissioners have forwarded to the Bureau of the Budget a detailed al- location of various sums for beginning construction work on the new municipal center buildings, amounting in all to $1511,164. - An ‘effort will be made to have this sum appropriated in the District’s reg- ular 1932 appropriation bill. There is already @ suspense item in the budget transmitted to Congress by the Budget Bureau of $1500,000 for municipal center work. At the time the Budget Bureau agreed to this, however, de- tailed estimates had not been worked | out. The effect of the transmission of the tabulation is simply to fill in the detalils. Of .the money, $62,500 is asked for preliminary grading work, alterations in sewers, water lines and the like be- cause of substantial changes in the grades of streets in the Municipal Center area to be ordered before the buildings are put up. Another $266,- GEORGE P. HOOVER. Who was_elected president of the Dis- trict of Columbia Bar Association last night to succeed Col. J. Miller Kenyon. Other officers elected at the same time included Richard E. Wellford, first vice president, and Edmund L. Jones, second vice president. George C. Gertman was re-elected as secretary and W. W. Milan was re-elected treasurer. Col. Kenyon, Milton W. King and F. Regis Noel were chosen directors for a two-year term. —Harris-Ewing Photo. SMALL LOAN BILL ACTION DELAYED Bowman Fails in Effort to Bring Measure Before House. An effort was made by Representative Bowman, Republican, of West Virginia, before the House District Committee to- day, to have the committee immediately report out a substitute for the so-called District of Columbia small-loan act, on which his subcommittee had ordered a favorable report in the last session of Congress. Representative Hull, Republican, of Wiseonsin, and Tarver, Democrat, of Georgia, both strenuously opposed both the original bill and the proposed sub- stitute. They forced an admission that only two members of the committee had even read the proposed substitute bill, which Representative. Bowman vigorous- ly championed, saying that the changes in this measure were to reduce the in- terest rate for borrowers to 3'2 per cent per month on the first $100 and 22 per cent on larger amounts. Thousands Would Ask Loans. Representative Hull protested that there are thousands in the District in distress who would apply for loans in their desepration and that he would not sanction legalizing an interest rate of 42 per cent to poor people who sought to borrow money to keep their families from starving. Representative Tarver declared this legislation is really a proposal to legal- ize a high rate of interest. Representative Hull sought, through two motions, on each of which he was defeated by a vote of 9 to 2, to have the new substitute bill and the pending Stalker bill to establish credit unions considered by a subcommittée and then, when that failed, by the full commit- tee holding hearings on both bills. Duty to Study Measure, Representative Tarver chided the committee members that they were sup- posed to give serious consideration to each measure that came before them and that the membership of the House placed confidence in the committee re- port that such care had been exercised. “It is our duty, under the rules, to study this bill,” he said, “and not take ihe word of any one member regard- ing what is in it.” He insisted that the bill should be read, section by sec- tion, for amendment. ‘The time of the committee having expired the question went over until Friday morning for further considera- tion. COUNCIL WILL PLAN BICENTENNIAL AID Colonial Wars Society Delegates to Take Bus Pilgrimage to Shrines Sunday. Plans to aid in the George Washing- ton Bicentennial celebration will be formulated Saturday at the forty- fourth general council of the General Society of Colonial Wars in the Wil- lard Hotel. Details of the observation of the an- niversary will be outlined to the coun- cil by Senator Simeon D. Fess of Ohio, vice chairman, and Representative Sol Bloom of New York, associate director 664 is asked for clearing & site for the first building of the group, a unit to house the Police, Juvenile and Munici- pal Courts This building will front on John Marshal place and extend from D, street to Pennsylvania avenue. About | $400,000 will be necessary for the clear- ing job altogether, but only the sum mentioned can be used in the first year. One million dollars is asked for the building itself. This is only one- sixth of the estimated entire cost of the building, but since the contract is expected to be let not. earlier than March 1, 1932, the money will be enough to carry the building for the balance of the fiscal year. . ALMAS TEMPLE SHRINERS ELECT TOMORROW NIGHT LR Robert 8. Regar Is Expected to Be Chosen Tllustrious Potentate at Annual Meeting. Officers will be elected tomorrow nigh* at 7:30 o'clock at the annual meeti~ of Almas Temple of Shriners in t.e club_house, 1315 K street. Officers expected to be elected in line with the customary system of ad- vancement will include Robert 8. Regar, illustrious ‘potentate; James T. Prendergast, chief rabban; Edward D. derson, assistant rabban; Willlam C. Miller, h{fh priest and prophet; Frank E. Ghiselli, treasurer, and F. Lawrence of the George Washington Bicentennial Commission. The visitors will be re- ceived later in the day by President Hoover at the White House. ‘The delegates will be taken on a bus plligrimage Sunday to the George ‘Washington shrines and points of in- terest in Washington and nearby_Vir- ginia. Maj. Howard Pell of New York, honorary governor general, will place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldler. The hereditary patriotic soclety members trace their descent to_sol- diers who fought in the Colonial Wars prior to the Revolutionary War. ARRANGEMENTS FINISHED FOR AUTOMOBILE SHOW Fine Display at Exposition Starting January 24 Predicted by Committee Head. Arrangements have been completed for the annual automobile show to be held in the Washington Auditorium, beginning January 24, under the auspi- ces of the Washington Automotive Trade Association, Fred Haller, chairman of the Exposi- tion Committee, today predicted a fine display. “The association this year,” Mr. Hal- ler said, “has u:he xu‘;mt incentive u: many years to provide, a icent setting for the automobile show. The automobiles being offered are impres- appearance they [THREE YEARS LOST TRYINGTOGET0.K. FOR SCHOOL SITES Records Explain Delay in Construction Program of Elementary Buildings. GROUND IS PURCHASED WITHOUT APPROPRIATION Unspecified Funds Drawn Upon to Get Projects Started in Three Localities. BY CHARLES B. DEGGES. Three years in the execution of Washington’s school building program were wasted when the Board of Educa- tion’s repeated efforts to get funds for three needed elementary school sites met with failure at the hands of the District Commissioners and the Bureau of the Budget. Hence, the Horace Mann School at Wesley Heights will not be ready for occupancy until 5 years and 4 months after the School Board first endeavored , to secure its site, and the Crosby Noyes | School, Tenth and Franklin streets northeast, and the Lafayette School, Broad Branch road and Northampton street, will not admit their first classes until 6 years and 4 months after the board undertook to build them. ‘The official records which contain these facts, show further that mno specific appropriation ever was made for the land for these three schools, but that the sites were purchased out of unspecified funds on the initiative of school and District officials. The School Board, the records show, tried vainly for three years to get its requests for sites for these three schools past the Bureau of the Budget and before Congress, Other Projects Speeded. By way of contrast and illustrative of the speed which may be attained in school house construction in the Dis- trict_when sites do not have to be bought, are the recorded stories of the Whiitier and the Congress Heights Schools’ additions. These structures, the first providing accommodations for 320 pupils and the latter for 160, will be in use approximately two years aft- er the board first sought them. ‘The Board of Education initiated ef- forts to secure ground for the Noyes and the Lafayette Schools in May, 1925, and for the Mann school in Mar, 1526, Its submitted estimate of $25,000 for a site for the Noyes School was forwarded by the Commissioners and eliminated by the Bureau of the Budget the first year out. The same request was killed by the Commissioners in 1926 and by the Budget Bureau again in 1927. In May, 1928, owners of the land at Tenth and Franklin streets northeast made an attractive offer to the District. The same month the Commissioners ordered the purchase and in August of that year, the deal was completed, an unspecified fund in the 1929 appropria- tion act being used for the purpose and no specific authority ever having been given by Congress. The purchase of the Lafayette School site followed the same procedure. Mann School History. Efforts the Mann School ground in Wesley Heights were launched by the school board in May, 1926, when an estimate for $30,000 was submitted. ‘The Commissioners eliminated the item and it was resubmitted by the school authorities the following year, when the Bureau of the Budget eliminated it. In May, 1929, the board again sought funds for the purchase of this land, but the Commissioners struck the re- quest from the list. A part of the site, sufficient to accommodate the first unit of the proposed building, was purchased out of an unspecified sum during the Summer of 1929. Title to the land was taken by the Commissioners in August gol]lnwml the onwer’s offer to sell in uly. Now it was in the Winter of 1929-30 that The Star conducted a survey of elementary school needs in the District. The vast number of makeshift school house accommodations from part-time classes to isolated frame portables with outside unheated toilet facilitles were listed. Following this array of pub- licity, the Bureau of the Budget under- took to speed up school construction. Among the buildings it inserted in the budget estimates were the Noyes and the Mann Schools. ‘The appropriation bill for 1931 was under consideration by the Budget Bu- reau in December, 1929, and items of $80,000 each were placed in the bill for the construction of the first four-room units of these schools. The Noyes, School item was approved as it stood by Congress, but the House and Senate, also by that time aroused to the needs in Wesley Heights where five portable schools were being used, increased the Mann School estimate to $140,000 to provide for an eight-room structure. Money Available in July. Money for these projects became available last July. ‘With its site in hand, the school au- thorities sought construction money for the Lafayette School in May, 1929, when it submitted an estimate for $185,000. The Commissioners _elimi- nated the estimate and the Budget Bureau not only restored it but in- creased:it to $200,000. The House and Senate, however, eliminated the combi- nation assembly hall and gymnasium, which_the sum included, and appro- priated $140,000 for the eight-room school. Last May, the School Board tried to get $50,000 for the assembly-gymna- sfum, but the Commissioners elimi- nated the item. Money for the Mann School became available, along with tHe funds for the Noyes and the Lafayette Schools, last July. Having completed the preliminary sketches, the municipal architect began the working drawings for all three of these buildings last August. Specifica- tions for the Lafayette and the Mann Schools were begun last October 2, and those for the Noyes building were begun two days later. ~After a series of pre- liminaries, involving the approval of the plans by the Schocl Board, the Col m- missioners and the fire chief, contracts for the three structures were executed as follows: Mann School, December 5, with completion scheduled for next June 15; Lafayette School, December 23, with completion set for June 15, and the Noyes School, December 29, with completion scheduled for June 1. Each of these schools will be occupiéd next September 21. Congress Heights School. The first construction money for the addition to the Congress Heights School was sought by the School Board in May, 1929, when School Board submitted ;n estimate Jor $130,000. hgu item was forwarded w] the House eliminated 'hlomthnfl for the assembly- fum. ‘This item was restored in full, how- ever, and the $130,000 was appropriated, becoming available July. The House itself inserted an tem of 'AMOS N’ ANDY GUIDE PILOTS Demonstrations of a new radio direction finder, which will permit a lost air- plane pilot to guide himself by reception of regular radio broadcasts were flown today at Bolling Field befcre Federal and civil aviation experts. The device was developed by G. G. Kruesi, associated with Herbert Hoover, jr., in the Western Air Express laboratories. The photograph shows Mr. Kruesi seated in the cock- pit of the Army observation plane in which his apparatus has been installed. Leaning over the cockpit is Lieut. Walter Smith, Army Air Corps, of Dayton, Ohio, pilot of the plane. By use of this device, it is claimed, a pilot might tune in on Amos 'n’ Andy and fly through storm or night straight to the station. —Star Staff Photo. 3000 ARE INVITED T0 ATTEND DINNER Rehabilitation Problems to Be Taken Up—Senator Davis Will Speak. More than 3,000 invitations have been issued for the dinner to be given at Barker Hall, Y. W. C. A, tomorrow evening under the auspices of the rehabilitation service of the Fed- eral Board for Vocational Education. Among the many prominent guests expected to attend the affair—which was arranged to bring to the atten- tion of interested groups the problems involved in the vocational rehabilita- tion of persons prevented through ac- cident or disease from following their regular occupations—are Senator James J. Davis of Pennsylvania, Representa- tive John W. Summers of Washington and Representative Daniel A. Reed of New York, Senator Davis, who, as Secretary of Labor, was chairman of the board, will speak on “Reclaiming the Disabled.” Representative Summers, a physician, who was one of the sponsors of the bill under which rehabilitation was es- tablished in the District, will discuss rel"ll::flUHUOn from the medical view- WAddreues also will be made by Wal- ter S. Ufford, executive secretary of the Associated Charities of Washing- ton; John B. Colpoys, editor of the Trade Unionist, and John A. Katz, chief of the rehabilitation service of the board. Dr. J. C. Wright, director of the board, will preside. A group from the Columbia Poly- technic Institute for the Blind, will present a program of music and read- ings. FORFEITURE ALLOWED Former Policeman Permitted to Avoid Court Trial. Former Policeman Willlam F. Burke, arrested for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, was permitted to forfeit $I5 on the two charges by the Corporation Counsel’s Office in Police Court today, thereby avoiding a court trial. Burke was arrested at Tenth street and New York avenue last Sunday by police of the first precinct. His trial was_postponed Monday by Judge John P. McMahon, when he received word that the former officer was sick. Burkes was recently dismissed from the department for drunkenness. ——————— APPLICATIONS ASKED Competitors Sought for Medical Post at St. Elizabeth's. Applications for junior medical of- ficer at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital will be accepted by the Civil Service Commis- sion until February 14. The entrance salary is $2,000 a year. Competitors will not be required to report for examination at any place, but will be rated on their education, training and experience. Full informa- tion may be obtained at the office of the manager, fourth United States civil service district, 1723 F street. Junior | TAXEXPERT BEGINS IVESTIGATN 0F FSCAL ELATINS George Lord to Report to Committee of House on U. S.-D. C. Finances. FIRST WILL DETERMINE BASIS OF FAIR SHOWING Question of Trips to Other Cities for Data Will Be Decided Later. George Lord, Detroit tax expert, ap- pointed as tax consultant to the special committee of the House investigating the fiscal relationship between the Federal and District Governments, went to work today on what he expects to be the most exhaustive study ever made of the subject. Headquarters have been set up for Mr. Lord in room 293 of the House Office Bullding, and here he plaps to delve deeply into the past history of the recurring disputes over the fiscal relations problim before starting any professional analysis of the problem. He is approaching his study like a student, rather than an expert, and for that reason he wants to look into the- cause before prescribing a remedy. Mr. Lord said he was undertaking his investigation with a free and open mind, and that he would proceed on this basis with a view to finding a solution that would be “fair :and equi- table to both the District and the United States.” Other than a study of the history of the fiscal relationship between the two governments, he has NEW TRAFFIC BILL 1S GIVEN APPROVAL House District Committee Favors Centralization of Authority for Capital. ‘The House District Committee today ordered a favorable report to the House on the rewritten traffic bill which aims to centralize authority for traffic regula- tion in the District Commissioners, with appeals to a joint board composed of the Commissioners and the Public Util- ities Commission. Representative Hull of Wisconsin said he had delayed action on this bill until the revised draft had been printed in order that he might study whether there was any breakdown in it of the duties and authority of the Public Utilities Commission when it was established. The action of the full committee was hurried in the closing minutes before the House met, on motion of Repre- sentative Stalker, chairman of the sub- committee which has conducted hear- ings on this measure, and in whose office a compromise agreement was reached late yesterday afternoon. He told the full District Committee that the bill, as now drafted, has the approval and indorsement of the Fed- eration of Citizens’ Associations, the corporation counsel, the District Com- missioners, the American Automobile Association and the United States Bu- reau of Efficiency, and that the only agency not thoroughly satisfied is the Public Utilities Commission, which is not strenuously opposing the measure. WOMAN FAINTS AT QUIZ; AIDED BY CHIEF JUSTICE Wheat Leaves Bench to Help Re- vive Witness Testifying in Her Annulment Suit. Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat of the District Supreme Court left the bench late’ yesterday aftencon to go to the assistance of Mrs. Eva Zambuni Savas, 34, who had fainted in his court dur- ing the course of her testimony in a suit for an annulment of her marriage to Theodore Savas of Whitestone, N. Y., in July, 1928. The chief justice was only a few steps ahead of his clerk, Harry B. Dertzbaugh, and Deputy United States Marshal James Mc- Carthy. The woman had only recently been released from a hospital and was over- come by her narrative of the alleged cruelties to which she had been sub- jected during a short married life. She was taken to her home by Attorney Arthur N. Presmont, who appeared as her counsel. Chief Justice Wheat took the case under advisement. Society of Natives to Meet. ‘The next meeting of the Society of Natives will be held at the Washington Club, Seventeenth and K streets, Fri- day night at 8 o'clock. A feature of the entertainment will be a play by Mrs. Ella C. Robinson. PRICE WAR FOR PARKING SPACE IS SEEN IN NEW 20-CENT OFFER Block at Thirteenth and B Streets Opened for Autos Pending U. S. Building Plans. A price war on automobile parking space seems to have been started in the Government building triangle in_ the block formerly occupied by the Poto- mac_Electric Power Co., between Thir- teenth and Thirteen-and-a-Half streets, B street and Ohio avenue, where a firm y painted signs on the old build- , “Parking 20 Cents. The usual rice in the downtown area for automo- ile king has been 25 or 35 cents. d"nfin ent is a_tempor: $120,000 for the construction of an eight-room addition to the Whittier School. This amount 'also became avail- able last July. Plans for these structures were com- pleted the municipal architect and approved by school authorities, Com- and fire chief before Christ- &IAI‘ ngonm ‘buile ve been have fiu bids ber of bidders. first ot in that block in the interlm between the evacuation of the area by the Poto- mac Electric Power Co. and the con struction of a new building for the De. partment of Labor and an auditorium on the site. ‘The place was formerly occupied by the garage and some shop works of the power company, which has now moved all of its paraphernalia to other locations. This is the first of a serles of moves by the power y, compan: which is expecting next month also to transfer its headquarters offices from the block at the corner of Fourteenth and C streets to its new home at Tenth and E streets. X In the meantime, the vacant lot be- not at this time, however, mapped out any definite program of procedure. Visits to Cities Undecided. Mr. Lord declared that whether hi: investigation would involve a trip to other cities for the purpose of studying the tax problems in comparison with that of Washington, would be left en- tirely to the committee which appointed him. In fact, he explained, his entire program is subject to the wishes of the committee, and he has not yet had an opportunity to discuss it with the members in any detail, “In one comparatively brief discus- sion with the committee,” said Mr. Lord, “I was told that it wanted a fair and impartial study made of this ques- tion of fiscal relations. I was told, oo, that the investigation should be completed as soon as possible, but that it "should be thorough and well done.” ‘Any study of taxation,” sald Mr. Lord, “naturally goes back to the actual tax burden—the amount of money that the property owner must pay out every year for the support of his Government. In other words, it's the total tax bill. ‘The tax rate and the rate of assess- ment are only elements and I believe the courts are unanimous on that sub- ject—that the tax rate means the tax burden.” Mr. Lord indicated rather significantly that he is a lower-tax advocate. Peo- ple everywhere, he said, “are groaning under the burden of taxation,” and this condition has caused thousands of prop- erty owners all over the country to lcse their holdings h inability to meet the burden. In the readjustment which inevitably must come, Mr. Lord said that con- sideratign must be given the property owner who is least able to pay. Nationally Known Expert. Mr. Lord is a nationally known authority on taxation—a subject which Ras engaged his intimate attention for more than 20 years, first.as chairman of the Committee on Taxation of the Michigan Legislature, and at present as manager of the National Tax Survey Bureau. He is one of the oldest living members of the National Tax Associa- tion, and is known in Michigan as the father of the State budget law and the uniform accounting law. In 1923 Mr. Lord served as chairman of the ,Michigan Committee of Inquiry which Inade an exhaustive investigation 195 "fo 1627 e was Chateman ot tho was State Tax Commission. e SUSPECT SEIZED IN SAFE ROBBERY Denies Guilt, but Says He Will Not Fight Extradition to Indianapolis, Suspected of having participated in a safe robbery which culminated in the shooting of two policemen, Carl Tate, 28 years old, was arrested by Headquar- ters Detectives Chester Stepp and Van Doran Hughes for Indianapolis authori- ties last night at a house in the first block of B street, southwest. With Tate at the timie of his appre- hension was an 18-year-old Indianap- olis girl, Myrtle Marie Sheets, who was also taken into custody. She was re- leased this morning, however, when local police received assurance from the Indiana city that the girl was not wanted. ‘The shooting occurred on January 6 when two men were discovered rob- bing a safe. William Thayer was cap- tured, but the other escaped. Thayer is said to have implicated Tate and to have told Indianapolis police the latter had taken refuge in this city. Tate denied any part in the robbery when he and the girl were found by detectives at the home of the latter's sister last night and said he would waive extradition. He was booked as a fugitive from justice and will be turned over to Indianapolis detectives. FRACTURES HIS ANKLE John B. Albanese, 42 years old, of 1726 Nineteenth street, a lineman em- gency Hospital this morning for treat- ment of a fractured ankle and shock suffered when he tumbled 25 feet from a tei:phom pole near First and P e i ook Bipeea ‘S one wires when his foof the ground. -