Evening Star Newspaper, January 15, 1931, Page 2

FIRMS TAKE SIGNS ~ FROM HIGHWAYS Co-operation Pledged in Move to Improve Roads En- tering Washington. Along with other firms which have agreed to abandon billboard advertising on highways in the Washington terri- tory before the 1932 Bicentennial cele- bration, Saks & Co., one of Washing- ton's leading clothing stores, has noti- fied the American Civic Association it will do likewise. According to Isaac Gans, the store advertises on only one billboard, which is displayed on the road to Alexandria. For many years, Mr. Gans said, the firm has abandoned outdoor advertising and the sign in question was engaged for temporary use only. Mr. Gans said he was heartily in favor ol keeping road- sides in an orderly appearance and be- lieved especially that the stretch of ter- ritory through which the Mount Vernon Memorial Boulevard will extend should be free from billboards and other pro- miscuous signs. Contracts Have Expired. Inquiry from firms whose names ap- red on billboards in the vicinity of ashington developed the fact in sev- eral cases that the contracts on these boards had expired and the property owner or the advertising agency had neglected to remove the signs. In the case of Woodward & Lothrop sand S. Kann Sons Co., two of Wash- ington’s oldest and best known depart- ment stores, their attention was called to the fact that their names, along with others as distributors for a” na- tionally known product, had been no- ticed on billboards in the Washington suburban territory. It was well known to the American Civic Association that these two firms had consistently refused to indulge in highway advertising for years, and the information @as given by both firms that their names had been used in this manner without their knowledge. ‘The Ebbitt Hotel, through George Holbrook, manager, notified the asso- ciation of its willingness always to co- operate in keeping the roadsides in an orderly appearance. “I wish-to advise that our signs appear on the roads lead- ing to Washington only because the property owners on which our signs are laced have not removed them,” Mr. glo!bmok wrote. “Our contract on them expired in May, 1929.” Hotel Is Co-operating. Evidently for the same reasons one or more signs advertising - the Hotel Commodore still appear on certain roads in the Washington region. To the as- sociation L. H. Pirey, president of the hotel company, wrote: “I wish to state that so far as we know there are no signs advertising the Commogore Hotel | pooy on these roads. We had a contract for & few signs on these roads, but it was canceled about two years ago. “We are heartily in.sccord with your campaign to improve the highway en- trances into Washi , and will be pledged to co-operate fully with the plans of the commission to clean up the high- rmyl within two miles of the District With some newly made contracts run- ning for three and even five years, it was expected that difficulties would be encountered, but Mr. Bloom is hopeful ‘worked out where. that a way would be by ummly billboards would be en. tirely el inated within this radius be- fore the 1932 celebration. Everywhere, he said, he had encountered a spirit of ‘co-operation. ROAD BUILDERS STUDY |5 EMPLOYMENT RELIEF Committee Headed by MacDonald Preparing Report on Public Con- struction Measures. By the Associated Press. ST. LOUIS, January 15.—Unemploy- ment, and means of alleviating it, oc- wled the major attention today at the enty-eighth Annual Convention of the American Road Builders’ Associa- tion; in session here. A committee, headed by Thomas H. MacDonald, chief of the United States Bureau of Public Roads, which has been at work since Monday on a& report sug- gesting ways and means of using public construction to relieve unemployment, had its findings ready for presentation. While numerous recommendations were likely, the chief ones were e to request no diversion of gasoline taxes and motor license fees to uses than road construction, in order to make available larger sums in the vari- ous States for road building, and that Legislatures of the various States make the most generous appropriations pos- sible for road building during the de- pression. Speaking at the annual dinner of the association last night, Charles H. Davis of New York, president of the. National Highway Association, proposed a gigan- tic road-construction program, financed by the Federal, State and county gov- érnments in the manner Liberty bonds were issued to finance the World War. Davis urged the money be spent to build 600,000 miles of secondary roads. SCIENTIST REWARDED FOR SHOE RESEARCH Dr.J. A. Wilson, Who Made W ing Easier, to Receive W. H. Nichols Medal. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, January almost unknown scientist who made walking easier will receive the dis- ished Willlam H. Nichols medal for his services The award was announced last night by the New York section of the American Chemical Society, and the recipient is Dr. John Arthur Wilson of Milwaukee, In 1924 Wilson, a chemist, started the first comprehensive measurements of the properties of leather, and his discoveries were translated rapidly in- t0_shoes of greater comfort. Dr. Wilson is an alumnus of New York University and the University of 15.—The BARGFREDES FREED IN LIMERICK DEATH AFTER QUIZ FAILS (Continued From First Page.) death house and not to let any one else do so. Langdon, according to his own state- ments, searched the room in which the girl's body was found with a fatal bul- let wound in her head. His search re- sulted in his finding & .25-caliber bullet imbedded in the floor under her bed. He also discovered a bullet hole in the mattress and found an_exploded shell in a partially filled coffee cup in the kitchen. Volunteered for Task. “Langdon and I were standing in the station house on the night of January 1, after it had become known that the 1 died of a bullet wound,” Sergt. roe testified. “We were discussing the case and the matter of detailing a policeman to uard the house that night came up. ithout any suggestion on my part, Langdon spoke up and volunteered to undertake the . He was the police- man on that beat, and I readily agreed that he should be sent to the house. I told him not to let any one in the house Il]l? not to touch anything in it him- | Sergt. Plerce said that his precinct | had frequently received complaints about this house and that it. was re- garded as being under “suspicion” by members of his precinct. He said that Langdon as the officer on the beat had instructed to pay particular atten- tion to it in the past. Sergt. Pierce said many policemen calied it “the mystery ouse.” h " The largest crowd of spectators yet to -attend the inquest were sorely dis- appointed this morning when policemen were instructed to clear the room of all persons standing. Coroher J. Ramsay Nevitt told the 300 men and women obliged to leave that the fire marshal had complained that the room was crowded to such an extent that fire regulations were being violated. Mrs. Ethel Limerick, who is said to | have been the first person to comment on “the gun in the stove,” was called next. She did not answer and it was explained that she could not leave her sick baby. Admits Moving Trunk. Mrs. Julia Bywaters, Beulah’s sister, then took the stand. She admitted that she and her brother, William, had re- moved a trunk filled with Beulah's per- sonal belongings from the death house without advising police of this fact. She said they neglected to tell the of- ficers because they did not attach any ificance to the trunk and its con- tents. The woman denied she had ever looked in the trunk or that she knew what was In it. Assistant United States Attorney Wil- liam H. Collins then called Charles Brown, 1421 Columbia road, to the wit- ness stand. Brown said that he is em- ployed as a barber and that he “kept company” with Beulah for some time. “I boarded at the home for about six months,” he replied in response to a question from the prosecutor. “Who else lived there?” “Vernon Limerick, Mrs. Dora Lime- rick, Mrs, Bywaters, William Paddy and Richard Reed.” “Did Beulah ever have a room to her- self at this time?” , she always slept with her xr{olhz X “I liked her very much when I first knew her. We used to go to shows and run around quite a lot together at that “Did_you ever occupy s room ad- Beulah's?” ‘Were you and Beulah engaged?” e ‘Had you ever discussed mai e ‘Well, she mentioned it a few times, but I didn't want to get married.” “Do you remember anything about Beulah's trip to Kansas?"” “I didn't know much about it, but we discussed it now and then.” Ivgo you know why she went?" 0. “Well, then, what did cause the break between you and Beulah?” “There wasn't any break. I thought as much of her when I left the house to live some where else as I always did. I started going with another girl at about that time, however, and more or less forgot about her.” Gave Back Photograph. “Did she ever demand that you re- turn her photograph?” % “No, I gave it back voluntarily.” "Did you know that a former mar- riage of her's had been annulled?” “T heard something about it, but was | little interested.” Brown said he saw Beulah for the last time about six momghs ago when | he stopped by her home one Sunday | while returning from church, Brown, under cross-examination by | Attorney James O’Shea, said the police | had not questioned him about Beulah's | diary, portions of which were printed | in the newspapers. He said he had read | the reproductions in the paper, in which blanks were left for the names of Beulah's male friends, but that he had | not found a single blank into which his name could be fitted. Former Husband Cfll;d. The next witness, William Carl Atche- son of Laurel, Md., Beulah Limerick’s | marriage, said he had married Beulah in Washington n 1922 and that sub- | sequently she had secured an annull- ment of the marriage. He had only seen her once recently at the Bixth street address, and at that time he had , England. He was born In Chicago. WIFE WINS DIVORCE Timited Decree and Alimony Grant- ed Mrs. Gladys Potter. Justice Jennings Balley of the Dis- frict Supreme Court has awarded a limited divorce to Mrs. Gladys Potter, 1237 Twenty-ninth street, from Leo W. Potter, formerly employed by a bus eunm?. Mrs. Potter testified that her bus| spent much of his time gway from home, seldom kissed their ‘Aby and gave her only $1 a week for the of the family. The husband is $100-to 'Zn':-’f-u odt’xw L m‘;l moregenting the wife. . “come to see the boys.” “What was the cause for your separ- ation?” asked Mr. Collins. “She wanted to be free, and I didn't hesitate & minute to let her go,” he answered. William D, Willis, owner of the Nine- teenth street house, testified that he believed Beulah was married to Reed when he rented the house to them. The monthly rental, he said, was $32.50. On one occasion, Willis testified, a man calling himself “Mr. Reed” tele- phoned him and complained that po- licemen were “running through the house at all hours of the night.” Willis said he referred this complaint to the eom:mndln( officer of the fifth pre- low friendly were you with Beulah?” | 1 husband, untll the annullment of her |- Upper right: William Aitcheson, for- mer husband of Beulah Limerick, tes fying at the coromer’s inquest today. Uperr left: Charles Brown, friend of Beulah, who once lived at her home. Below: Sergt. Robert C. Pierce of the fifth precinct, who testified that Police- man Robert F. Langdon, held in the case, volunteered to stand guard in the house where Beulah died. —Star Staff Photos. [TALIAN PLANES START FINAL LEG Eleven of 14 Original Craft Leave Bahia on Last Stage of Long Hop. By the Associated Press. BAHIA, Brazil, January 15.—The Italian air squadron, led by Gen. Italo Balbo, air minister, left here at 8:17 am. (6:17 am, E. 8. T) for Rio de Janeiro, final destination of their trip of nearly 7,000 miles from Orbetello, Italy. The squadron had 11 planes, against 14 which left Orbetello, Italy, Decem- ber 17, one of the planes having been forced down near Bolama, Portuguese Guinea; another lost shortly after leav- ing Bolama and a third destroyed while being towed from Fernande do Noronha to Nata. It is expected that the planes will be sold to the Brazilian government at Rio de Janeiro, the flyers returning to Ttaly by steamer. The distance to Rio is something more than 500 miles. TWO STOP AT MUCURY. Cause of Momentary Halt on Way to Rio Is Unknown. RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, January 15 (#).—Two planes of the Balbo Air Bquadron, en route from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, landed at Mucury in the state of Espirito”Santo at 11:35 am, (9:30 a.m. Eastern standard time). They resumed their flight a few moments The cause of the landing was not known. The squadron passed Caravellas, in the state of Bahia, at 11:12 am., having covered inside of three hours neatly half the distance of the flight to Rip de Janeiro, PANAMA TO INDUCT ALFARO TOMORROW Minister to U. 8 Recalled to As- sume Presidency Will Take Oath in Simple Ceremony. By the Associated Press, PANAMA CITY, January 15.—Dr. Ricardo Alfaro, who was summoned from hais post as Minister to the United States to become President of Panama after revolt January 2, will take cffice in a simple ceremony tomorrow. Dr. Harmodio Arias, who has been serving as provisional President in the meantime, will step out and return to private life. In a2 press conference yesterday, Dr. | Arias asked that a misapprehension re= garding his participation in the brief revolution be set right. “I have been informed,” he said, “that in some foreign papers it has been reported that I headed or directed :he movement for Panama’s redemption. This is incorrect. The entire honor of this movement belongs to the brave youth of tne ‘Accion Communal,’ “My participation was limited to an attempt ¢o satisfy the aspirations of the citizens who gave me their confidence upon my assumption of the executive power, in accordance with constitutional precepts, until Dr. Alfaro assumed the presidency.” Dr. Arias said the country now was completely calm. took place at the fifth precinct station house. Capt. Kelly later announced that no additional information of value was secured from the women. Mother Confronts Son. At one stage in the proceedings Ver- non Limerick, brother of Beulah, who is under arrest ac a suspect, was brought before his mother. “Vernon,” she ad- monished him, “tell the police all you know about this matter.” He replied that he had already done so. In an effort to determine whether Mrs. Dora Limerick had said anything to Mrs, Bargfrede about “a gunm in the stove,” police confronted the mother with Mrs, Bargfrede in the station house, Capt. Kelly said, however, they gained nothing by this as Mrs, Barg- frede insisted the remark had beel made, while Mrs, Limerick persisted in her denial. Police also were told last nigth that & taxicab driver, supposedly in love with | After they had been grilled for three hours wy, Mrs. Dora Limerick and ters returned to_ their . Mrs, were ‘homes bv«wnn. Beaulah, had quarreled with Vernon jck. Capt. lm‘-l‘y syid this man 21647 PERSONS SEE CORCORAN EXHIBIT Twelfth Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings Closed Sunday. A total of 27,647 persons viewed the Twelfth Biennial Exhibition of Con- temporary American Oil Paintings at the Corcoran Gallery of Art during the six weeks of public inspection which ended last Sunday, according to an announcement today by C. Powell Min- nigerode, director of the gallery. This was an increase of more than 5,000 over the attendance for the elev~ enth exhibition in 1928, when 22,350 persons visited the display. During the four special night open- ings, arranged by the gallery in co- operation with the Washington Society of the Fine Arts, a total of 2,249 visi- tors were counted. ‘The night showings were taken ad- vantage of largely by those who had been unable to attend the exhibition during the regular daytime hours. ‘There was one other night open- ing—that reserved for invited guests on the evening preceding the formal public showing. On that occasion 1992 per- sons attended, the records disclose. Marked by the big increase in at- tendance over the previous exhibition and by the favorable comments of many noted art critics, the twelfth biennial will go down on the records as one of the outstanding of the Corcoran exhibitions. LAST-MINUTE AUTO TAG RUSH TO BEGIN TODAY Pay-Off of Government Clerks Ex- pected to Boost Payments.—Plates Due Saturday Midnight. The last-minute rush for 1931 auto- mobile plates is expected to get under way late this afternoon, following the pay-off of Government clerks. About 20,000 plates remain, with only three days in which to sell them, as the Commissioners have ruled that the 1931 plates must be displayed after midnight Saturda: The crowd this mnmln(be:uyln[ tags was very small, as has n the case for several days. EFFECTS OF DROUGHT MAY EXTEND INTO COMING CROP YEAR (Continued From First Page.) sufficient. Whether there is likelihood of heavy rains in February and early March the Weather Bureau cannot predict. Winter Wheat Is Index. A present index of conditions, Mr. Kincer pointed out, is furnished by Winter whea Last fall the extreme dryness of the top-soil was relieved by light rains which gave the wheat seed a chance to germinate. The tiny sprouts_needed little water. When farm- ers in November saw their fields turn- ing green and new grass covering the pastures as in Spring they felt that their worst troubles were over. But as the wheat and pasture grass shoots grew larger they required more moisture than could be supplied by the thin layer of topsoil. Ordinarily this would be supplied by capillary action drawing on the reserve of water in the sub-sofl. Early this Winter there was no such reserve and reports to the Weather Bureau in December showed that the wheat already was suffering severely. Then it “went to sleep” for the Winter to waken again in late Feb- ruary. If the rains have not come by then, Weather Bureau experts point out, it will have & painful awakening. Snow More Valuable. One of the worst conditions to date, Mr. Kincer points out, is that over the affected ‘area most of the Winter pre- cipitation has been rain and not snow. The latter, popularly called “the poor man’s fertilizer,” is much more val- uable, especially if it lays on the fields and melts slowly, because then all the water is absorbed into the sub-soil in- stead of running off into streams, where 1t does the crops little good. One crop probably irreparably dam- aged, it is pointed out, is the great apple crop of the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys, which lie in the heart of the region where the drought is unbroken. rdinarily next year's apples would come on buds sprouted last Summer. ‘The drought so affected the trees that the normal supply of these buds did not sproit or did not have a chance nor- mally to develop. Purthermore, the roots of the apple tree penetrate very deeply into the soil for moisture. This is es- sential for their vigor when they awake from their Winter sieep. This year there will be very little subsoil moisture to draw on, unless there are exceptionally heavy rains before Winter is done. Cold Weather Needed. Previous statistical studies by the Weather Bureau show that the apple crop has a very close relationship with the temperatures through February and early March. If this pericd is warm there is a poor crop. The Winter to date has been rather warm, but, Mr. Kincer points out, the latter half may experience a favorable swing downward which will benefit the crop. Actually, Mr. Kincer says, the “un- broken drought” area has been greatly reduced so that the agricultural outlook is rather favorable for the country as a a whole. The region affected still is one of small farms interspersed with indus- try. In the Great Plains area between | the Mississippl and the Rockies, where the Summer was exceptionally dry so that the amount of stock feed available for Winter was reduced, heavy rains came in time to Testore the pasturage and cold weather has held off so that the stock could continue grazing. In the Great Basin region, on the other hand, there was a normal growth of stock feed during the Summer, but the Winter has been very cold, so that the cattle had to be brought in. Thus & normal balance has been established. South Gets Relief. In the Southern drought belt, where some of the worst suffering is being ex- perienced, heavy rains last Fall brought up the amount of precipitation to nor- mal for the year. This means that the subsoil water was restored and that Spring crops should have no difficulty in getting started. The drought area, according to Mr. Kincer's charts, now is confined es- sentially to the northeast guarter of the United States, east of the Missis- sippl and north of the Carolinas, ex- tending into New England. Through I'nn this region the precipitation for 12 months still ranges from 56 to 75 per cent of normal. Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky are in the worst condition. SIS ILLNESS HALTS PARLEY Sir William Hearst Unable to At- tend U, 8.-Canadian Meeting. Because of the illness of Sir William H. Hearst, the joint conference of American and Canadian members of the International Joint Commission of the United States and Canada, which was to havé been held today, has been in- definitely postponed. ‘The conference will be held upon re- covery of Sir William, who is a member of the Canadian section of the commis~ LUCAS STANDS PAT IN AL SMITH FIGHT Promises Apology if Former Governor Announces for Prohibition. By the Associated Press. Alfred E. Smith had a reply today from Robert H. Lucas, but it con- tained only & conditional offer of the apology which the former Democratic z;uldm finflfldflngdlmtdmlnm of the ve director of National Committee. T Smith, in a letter to Senator Democrat, New York, had asked an apology the. Republican Commit~ tee for “permitting” Lucas to distribute & bar room cartoon, which, he sai contained made. Lucas issued a statement last night saying he would apologize for undfnl out a cartoon representing Smith Chairman Raskob of the Democratic National Committee as wets if Smith would announce he now favored pro- hibition, The Republican official asked .also whether Smith and Raskob were con- sidering “apologizing to the American ple for the action of Gov. Smith's hand-picked chairman, Mr. Raskob, in subsidizing with la: sums of money an organized campaign extending over more than a_year to misrepresent and smear the President of the United States.” ‘The lejler of the former New York Governor had set forth that the quo- tation in the cartoon—which was part of the literature circulated in Nebraska in the Iucas effort to defeat Senator Norris, Republican independent—was one which had been presented last eAr by unauthorized persons at & po- itical meeting as & hoax and was &- mt publicly disavowed. ‘Gov. Smith asks me to apologize,” sald Lucas. “He says a cartoon was dis. tributed which conveyed the informa. tion that he was ‘wet’ He says the impression made there was based on incorrect information. If the Governor will state that he had done a complete about-face since 1928 and is now for prohibition then I owe him an apology.” ‘BAD MAN’ ENDS LIFE IN NEW YORK CELL Body of “Bum” Rodgers Found Dangling From Door Bars by Strip of Shirt. By the Assoclated Press. DANNEMORA, N. Y., January 15— ‘The record of “Bum” Rodgers, notorious bad man, is closed. In a solitary con- finement cell in Clinton Prison a guard found his body dangling from the door bars by a strip of shirt. Rodgers was serving a term for burglary and for escaping from prison. Ahead of him, beginning in August 1935, stretched & life term as a habitual criminal. Although he had more than a dozen prison terms behind him, John J. Rodgers really became a headliner i police bulletins on December 14, 1925, when Ne escaped from a train bearing him back to Auburn after standing trial for a hold-up in Mineola, N. Y. From then until he was captured again his name was linked with a long series of robberies and killings, in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He had been in solitary confinemen at Clinton since the prison riots of last July when he was accused of having engineered the smuggling of enough dynamite into the prison to blow it up. TRUCE REQUESTED FOR STEEG CABINET French Parliament Reconvened With Plea to Allow Ministry to Start Functions. By the Associated Press. PARIS, January 15.—Appealing for an internal political truce for at least long enough to allow the Steeg govern- ment to set the wheels of government business in motion, Fernand Bouisson, president of the Chamber of Deputies, reconvened the Parliament today in what may be a session of major im- portance. It should be a cause-for satisfaction, he told the members, that Prance has escaped the heaviest blows of economic woe which has affected most of the world, but he warned that “the easy era” was probably closed for a long time, Wise Action Necessary. Much depends upon the wisdom of the Parliament, hie said, as to whether the continuing economic crisis will bear out pessimistic predictions as to its gravity and duration. “It is necessary,” he said, “to act wisely, especially as concerns our foreign policies.” He expressed hearty approval of the French initiative in the interests of a constitution for a European union which Foreign Minister Briand will champion at the League of Nations Council meet~ ing beginning on Monday. Wants Bank Report. He urged speedy action on the budget and projects for extension of public works to relieve unemployment, and alluding to the Oustric Bank case, he called for a complete report which would throw full light on all its phases, to “determine whether the detractors of Parliament were not wrong in their ac- cusations.” The Oustric interpellation, fraught with danger for the cabinet, been delayed pending recovery from an ill- ness of Henrli Cheron, minister of justice, whose department is under fire in the bank scandal. FINED IN HUNGER MARCH PITTSBURGH, January 15 (#).—Two young men were fined $10 each on dis- orderly conduct charges today as an aftermath of attempts of the Trade Union Unity League to hold “hunger parades” here yesterday. Sevem other persons, most of whom had been by- standers, were discharged. Police broke up the attempts'to hold the parades, which, members of the league said, were planned in behalf of the unemployed and destitute. Leaders later appeared before the City Council and demanded free food, ciothing and fuel for families in need. The council- men promised to investigate all cases cited. I 214 on Trial for Treason. ISTANBUL, January 15 (#).—Death as traitors today threatened 214 die hard followers of Islam as a Turkish military court at Menemen began trial of Dervishes, sheiks, priests and civil- ians, including 16 women, implicated in the religious uprising here December 23. It believed the death penalty will be inflicted uan the lef * offenders, Others are being arrested daily in Tur- key now_ in connéction with the at- tempted holy the 000 to aid drought-stricken areas. Below: Red sufferers in nsas and Kentucky, Zerega and Flora Lavisson. ARMS PARLEY ‘FAIR 10 SOVIET ASKED Friendly Officials and Meeting Outside of Switzerland Sought. By the Associated Press. MOSCOW, January 15.—The Soviet Union has initiated a move to gain con- ditions in the forthcoming International Disarmament Conference more favorable to the union than was the cgse during the Preparatory Disarmament Commis- sion sessions just concluded at Geneva. Identical oral statements have been made by the Russian diplomatic repre- sentatives to the foreign ministers of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway, Persia, Poland, France and Japan ask- ing that the conference be held in a city of some country which maintains relations with Moscow, this request ex- cluding Switzerland, which has no such relations. The statement also requests naming of a president favorable to an equality of status of the various conferring na- tions; and alleges that the Soviet repre- sentatives were discriminated against by the chairman of the Preparatory Commission (Jonkheer Loudon of Holland). The statement specifically asks that election of a chairman for the Disarma- ment Conference be in the hands of all members of the conference without ex- ception and not of & group 6f powers or an organization to which all the members do not belong—that is the League of Nations. It is further argued that the chair- man must not be a representative of a state which has already adopted a clearly negative position toward dis- armament, nor of one not maintaining normal relations with all participating states, THREAT OF WAR SEEN. TInevitable Unless Arms Parley Succeeds, Kenworthy Declares. By the Assoclated Press. LONDON, January 15.—Comdr. J. M. Kenworthy, Labor member of Parlia- ment, declared today that another Euro- pean war was inevitable unless the gen- eral disarmament conference to be held some time next year is successful. For the success of the conference, he said, the age-old problem of the freedom of the seas must be discussed at a reliminary meeting between Great ritain and the United States, as lead- ing naval powers, {mlt a luncheon in his honor given by American Correspondents’ Association, the Labor M. P. declared the freedom of the seas was not only an Anglo-American question but Franco-Italian and American-Japanese as well. ‘The “conspiracy of silence” over this question which he sald prevailed at the ‘Washington conference and at all other disarmament discussions including the London Naval Conference, should ended, he declared. He added that Euro) nations were already up for the future sf le, those advocat- ing revision of the World War treaties o:h one side and those opposed on the other. Comdr, Kenworthy advocated the re- vival of Woodrow Wilson's “second point” on the freedom of the seas and the drawing up of a definite international agreement on the subject. Holy Name Men to Meet ‘The Holy Name Soclety of Sacred Heart Church will hold its annual meet- ing and smoker in the parish hall Mon- day evening, . Februa Col. Above: Judge John Barion Payne, Croes, visits the White House to confer with President Hoover on plans to raise $10,000, famous | th [EUROPEAN UNION - chairman of the American Red Cross workers packing clothing and necessities for drought Left to right—Mary Tossman, L. Di —Wide World Photos. SHIP IN DISTRESS FAR OUT AT SEA Coast Guard Cutter Rushes to Aid of Freighter Whose Propeller Shaft Is Broken. By the Associated Press. BOSTON, January 15.—The 6,500~ ton Shipping Board steamer Effingham was in distress 1,200 miles east of here today with a broken propeller shaft, and the Coast Guard cutter Mohave has gone to her assistance. News of the Effingham’s plight was received at the Charlestown Navy Yard from the Navy Department at Washington, to which an SOS sent out by the vessel was reported. Local advices indicated _another steamship was not far distant from the Effingham and probably would reach it much before the Mohave, which could not possibly negotiate the distance in less than three days. Halifax is the nearest port in case the ship requires a tow. The - ham’s home port is Seattle. She sailed from Beaumont, Tex., December 23 for Bremen, touching several Southern ports en route. ‘The message from Washington said only that trouble developed yesterday and the ship’s plight was considered serious today. SISTER SHIP NEARBY. Freighter Prepared to Tow Effingham Into Port if Necessary. NEW YORK, January 15 (#).—The freighter Effingham, owned by the Southern States Line of New Orleans, called for aid Tuesday night because of & damaged propeller shaft. Another freighter of the same line, the Nichmama, wirelessed she was about 20 miles from the Effingham and would start to her aid, prepared to tow her if necessary. PRISON SCULPTOR FREE ON GOVERNOR’S PAROLE North Carolinian, Sentenced for Forgery, Develops Art While Behind Bars—Models Executive. By the Associated Press. RALEIGH, N. C., January 15.—Free- dom beckoned today to Jack Landing- ham, State prison’s sculptor—the man who “just picked up” his art while languishing behind the bars, Gov. Gardner has paroled Landing- ham, who was sent to prison in 1928, to serve 11 yeafs for forgery and false pretenses. One of Landingham’s best known works Is a bust of Gov. Gardner, Others who posed for the prison sculptor in- cluded the Governor's youngest son ?cnd ‘Warden H. H. Honeycutt's daugn- T, N h:|'FOOT BALL PROFITABLE Foot ball is & valuable asset to a college for the reason, if for no other, that it is the only college sport which makes money for the institution, Thomas B. Mills, Georgetown Univer- sity foot ball coach, told members of e Washington Rotary Club at thelr meeting yesterday at the Willard. Funds thus obtained defry the costs of all other college sports, he said. Participation in college athletic sports does not necessitate a_lowering of scholastic rds, Coach Mills de- & because of in- nd 1 ambitiol rts 172, with pe partic- POt raised. thletes, he contended. must with brains, tiative work, BEFORE DIPLOMATS Co-operation. by States on Briand Proposal Seen as Unfavorable. By the Associated Press. GENEVA, January 15—Aristide Brie and's framework for a union of Euroe pean nations will go under the micro~ scope of diplomacy here tomorrow when the European commission for study of his plans begins its first session, with the Ffench foreign minister presiding. The Briand scheme is being examined within the structure of the League of Nations and the examining commission will be staffed by members of the league secretariat. Discussions at the opening meeting probably will be entirely aca- demic, dealing principally with the eco- nomic problems common to all the Bu~ ropzan states, and with a ility of united action in their soluf . ‘The members of this commission &re the same ones who participated last November in the unsuccessful confer- ence for concerted economic action in Europe. Nothing has occurred since then to. make international economic team work any easier, On the contrary, it is felt in informed quarters here that the situation in Eu- rope now is unfavorable to any project for intimate co-operation among the states, despite the urgent need for joint ?fi:&n In commercial and industrial elds. Russia and Turkey are not members of this commission, although Germany has asserted that their participation is essential to success, and Dr. Julius Curtius, the foreign minister, is ex- pected to ask that both the Soviet and the Turkish governments be invited to join the study of the Briand proposals. Formed by authority of the League of Nations Assembly last September. the commission now gathering is under in- structions to present its recqmmenda- tions regarding the Briand scheme to the assembly next, September, et Base S HOOVER WILL OFFER NO COMMENT WHEN SENDING DRY REPORT (Continued From First Page.) wind up and go home on March 4 will resort to every legitimate parliamentary strategy to keep the prohibition survey from further stalling the legislative engine. Both drys and wets indicate in ad- vance that they'll be disappointed if | President Hoover sends up Chairman | Wickersham's ‘“bedtime story,” as the ;ednu senatorial wisecracker ~ calls o% the supposition that the report will be wholly to the liking of the prohibition group, the latter has hoped and prayed that the President would stamp it with an unmistakable White House O. K. The wets, on the other hand, holding that Mr. Hoover is not deaf to the “liberal” cyclone that swept across the country at the 1930 elections, have felt l:!\]ll’!dL he wui,d. not ftlfl to indicate at least some change of heart on prohibition issue and exhibit it when &ndm the Wickersham report to Capi- Carries Out Pledge. ‘What is about to come forth carries out the pledge Herbert Hoaver made in his Palo Alto speech of acceptance in August, 1928, viz., the results of “an organized, searching investigation of fact and causes,” which, the G. O. P. nominee said, “can alone wise method of correcting ' (“grave abuses which. have occurred— abuses which ' must be o I8 was on the same famous that Mr. Hoover laid down the only prohi- bition doctrine fo which he has thus far given public utterance: “I do mot favor the ¢ 1 of the ieighteenth amendment, stand for the efficient enforcement of the laws encated there- under. Whoever is chosen President has under his oath the solemn duty to pursue this course. Our country has deliberately undertaken a great social and economic experiment, noble in mo- tive and far-reaching in p . Ib must be worked out constructively.” “Hoover, there he : stands,” about .epitomizes the Anti- Saloon League, professional prohibition viewpoint of the President’s attitude. According to that viewpoint, the Calir fornian is every whit as dry in 1831 as he was in 1928, and will ‘Be found 50 in 1932, if and when he as] to re-election. The drys do.not remotely expect that the Wickersham report will budge Hoover from that position. (Copyright. 1931.) TWO COMMISSIONERS MEETX. Report of Wickersham Body Has Not Gone to Hoover. ‘The Law Enforcement Commission met briefly today with only two of its 11 members present. Assurance was given that ‘the long- awaited prohibition report has not gone to the White House. There was no indication as to how soon it will be sub- mitted. ‘Whether a meeting will be held to- morrow depends on whether a quorum can be present. This was doubtful, since Miss Ada Comstock, president of Radcliffe College, was reported ill, while at least five other members were said to be out of reach. A third member Y%of the commission, Kenneth Mackintosh of Takoma, Wash., was present at commission headquar~ ters, but did not attend today’s meet- BITTER COLD HANDICAPS FIREMEN IN NEW YORK Clothes and Equipment Coated With Ice During Battle With 6-Story Building Blaze. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, January 15-~—Handi- capped by a bitter wind, weather, and a dense smoke, firemen labored with a hundred hose lines early today to control a fire in a six-story loft building on the lower west-side. ‘Their clothes and equipment coated with ice, they fought the blaze from the street and the Ninth Avenue Ele- vated, ‘but were unable to enter the structure. One fireman slipped on the icy pavement and fractured a leg, an- other collapsed, and several temporarily were overcome by fumes. After four hours firemen said the flames were under control, but that it would be hours before they could enter the building, which is located at Green- wich and Desbrosses streets. With the mercury at 11 above zero, several firemen reported their eyelids were frozen shut when water congealed on them. BAND CONCERT, By the United States Soldiers Negro Spirituals, “Bandanna Sketches,” ‘White “Chant,” “Lament,” “Slave Song,” “Negro Dance."” Scenes from the opera, “The Bartered Bride"” . ..Smetana Fox trot, icky Me, Lovable You’:Ager iter” Blarike Waltz, ixéa”um