Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1931, Page 14

A—14 =% GOFF DENIES VISIT T0 GRONER DURING CONSPIRACY TRIAL Former Federal Attorneys Oppose Judge’s Appointment to D. C. Court of Appeals. CHARGE SENATOR MADE CALL SEVEN YEARS AGO Merrick Tells Senators Unfriendly Attitude Was Displayed to U. 8. Counsel. Benator Goff of West Virginia went before the Senate Subcommittee han- dling the nomination of Judge D. Law- rence Groner for the District Court of Appeals yesterday afternoon and denied having made a visit to Judge Groner at Parkersburg, W. Va., seven years ago during the trial of the so-called harness case. Earller in the day two former De- rtment of Justice attorneys, Charles . Brewer and Richard L. Merrick, had appeared in opposition to Judge Groner, basing their opposition on his manner of handling the harness case. The case was a conspiracy trial growing out of the disposition of surplus war material. | It was tried in West Virginia in 1924,/ and at the conclusion Judge Groner directed a verdict of acquittal for the defendants. Had Been Told of Visit. Merrick, who was one of the Govern- ment lawyers in the case, testified he had been told that Goff, then a Sen- ator-elect, made a hurried visit to Parkersburg during the trial, arriving at midnight, going to Judge Groner’s hotel and leaving the same morning, according to Merrick’s information. Merrick told the subcommittee he had no personal knowledge of the mat- ter, but had been told about it by M. C. Early, senior Government attor- ney in the case, and that Early, in turn, had learned of it from a Depart- ment of Justice agent. The subcommittee is endeavoring to eommunicate by wire with two of the persons from whom Merrick said he received his information about the re- rted night visit to Judge Groner. One 5’1\«. C. Early of St. Louis, who was one of the Government lawyers in the harness case, and the other is a former Department of Justice agent. Asked by Chalrman Borah of the subcommittee if the matter had been called to the attention of the court at the time, Merrick replied it had not because Government counsel no in- formation that the reported visit to the dge had any connection with the case. ferrick added that he did not assume 1t had. Charges Unfriendly Attitude. Merrick charged, however, that after the trial had been in progress for sev- eral days Judge Groner displayed an unfriendly attitude toward Government counsel. Questioned further by Senators Blaine of Wisconsin and Bratton of New Mex- ico, Merrick said that the judge “har- assed Government counsel.” Asked by Senator Borah what he meant by “harassed,” Merrick said the judge seemed annoyed when objections to testimony were raised. Other assertions made by Merrick were that Judge Groner gave Govern- ment counsel less time than the defense for opening statements, and that the Judge struck out some testimony on his own motion. e e HOTEL GUESTS FLEE EARLY-MORNING FIRE Blaze at Monticello, in Alexandria, Sends Occupants to Street in Nightclothes at 3 A M. By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. ALEXANDRIA, Va, January 24— Thirty-seven guests at the Monticello Hotel, in the 800 block, King street, bere were imperiled by a fire which broke out in the lower hallway of the hotel building about 3 o'clock this morning. Although many of the guests left the building in their nightclothes and via fire escapes, no one was re- ported injured. Thomas Higgins, a watchman, slightly singed his clothes when he dashed through the lower hallway and con- tinued to the upper floors, where he sroused guests. ‘The fire, which is supposed to have started from a cigarette or match, was discovered by two guests who were in the lobby at the time. They notified Patrolman C. E. Dodd of local police, Who turned in the alarm, which ‘brought No. 1 truck and No. 4 and No. 6 engine companies to the scene. Fire Chief James M. Duncan, jr., has not yet placed an estimate on the dam- ege done by the fire, which was con- fined by chemicals to the lower hall, stairwdy and telephone booth. DELAY OF CENTER MODEL CONTINUES TO CUT COST ‘The official cardboard model of the Municipal Center buildings, long over- due, has not arrived, and municipal au- thorities are beginning to give up hope that it will ever get here. ‘The model was due January 1. It has been promised almost daily since, but is still, as far as known, incomplete. The contract, let to the Ricci Studio, New York City, calls for delivery January 1 and fixes the price at $6,200, less $25 per day for every day after the contract time by way of liquidated damages. Apparently if the delivery is delayed long enough, the District could get the | model for nothing. Already $600 has been sliced off the contract price. ‘The cardboard model was intended for use in explaining the project to members of the Appropriations Commit- tees who hold the purse string over the District's expenses for the buildings. From this point of view, no real harm was done, since a large model of wood and modelling clay was made by Eric Menke, one of Municipal Architect Al- bert- L. Harris" assistants, and this showed the projected buildings in great detail. Several of the members of the committee expressed admiration for the models. If the cardboard model should arrive, 1t will be placed on exhibit with the models of the Federal buildings pro- posed for the Mall-Pennsylvania avenue development already made. The model ‘will be built to the same scale as that of the models. SAUR CONDIT Fireman From Hose ‘Wagon Has Fractured Skull. ‘The condition of George Saur, fire- ION CRITICAL Thrown | Washington Auditorium. Dr. Sergius mitted the first telephone message, Marc! TALKS INTO MODEL OF BELL INVENTION Mrs. Grosvenor, Daughter of Telephone Magnate, Speaks at Geographic Meeting. Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor, daughter of Alexander Graham Bell, last night spoke into & model of the original tele- phone instrument her father invented before an audience of members of the Natlonal Geographic Soclety, of which her father was one of the founders. Mrs. Grosvenor's brief acknowledge- ment of the invitation, spoken into the historic instrument, which is the most highly prized exhibit of the Bell Research Laboratory’s Museum, was amplified by one of the most modern devices so that it was plainly audible to every one of the 4,000 auditors. The occasion was the address by Dr. Serglus P. Grace, vice president of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, who told of the vast development of telephonic communication, from the date when Dr. Bell spoke the first complete and intelligible sentence ever received by the electrical telephone, March 10, 1876, until now, when myriad wires are carrying constant streams of con- versations across continents and under the oceans. Historic Wire Displayed. Another historic exhibit shown by Dr. Grace was a few yards of the wire over which Dr. Bell spoke his famous sentence to Thomas A. Watson. This wire was utilized last night to demon- strate another recent and marvelous development—it carried the impulse by which, when & dial telephone is used, a mechanical voice is made to utter, in the telephone exchange, the numbers dialed. This synthetic, or mechanical voice, pronounces the words without the intervention of the human voice. Dr. Grace then exhibited a section of the world’s newest telephone cable, that which has been laid between Key West and Havana, wherein is used the new insulating material, “paragutta,” which helps the cable carry three or four times the electrical word traffic handled by cables of earlier design. Dr. Grace did not limit his talk to telephonic communication, but also showed many of the amazing devices which have been developed as a study of telephonic and collateral means of communication. Some of these are yet only of scientific interest, having no present practical application. “Singing Arc” Demonstrated. One of the most spectacular demon- strations was of “the singing arc.” An ordinary flaming arc lamp was made to serve in place of a complicated loud speaker. Electrical voice and musical vi- brations were led along wires to the two carbons of the arc, and from the flame thus thrown into pulsations the plifier. In one of his experiments Dr. Grace made a metal bar float above a block of wood. The floating bar, highly mag- netized, was kept in the ‘air by the re- | pulsive force of a magnet hidden in the | block. Dr. Grace then took a long rod | of permalloy, a metal originated by the laboratories, and showed that it is so highly sensitive to the earth’s mag- netism that it becomes a magnet when held in a north and south direction and loses its magnetism when pointing east and west. Ordinary speech was scrambled by being passed through one of the devices on the stage s0 that it came from the loud speakers as a meaningless jumble of sounds. Passage through another plece of apparatus ‘“‘unscrambled” the speech so that it became intelligible. The system is used, the speaker ex- | plained, to keep transoceanic conversa- | tions secret. Another phenomenon made ue of in radio telebhony and demon- strated by Dr. Grace is delayed or “res- ervoired” speech. The spoken words— or their vibrations—are bottled up in a wire for a fraction of a second and then permitted to go on their way. During | the tiny delay important relays are given an opportunity to operate, sounds issued as from an ordinary am- g THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1931. ORIGINAL TELEPHONE MODEL p Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor, daughter of Alexander Graham Bell, holding the model of the original telephone, through which she talked last evening at th e P. Grace, vice president of the Bell Research Laboratories, holds the historic bit of wire over which Dr. Bell trans- | This prospect loomed today as it was h 10, 1876. JONES AMENDMENT IS LAUDED BY HART Arrests for Transportation and Sale of Liquor Thought Facilitated. The new amendment to the Jones “5-and-10" law, which makes a misde- meanor of the sale or transportation of less than a gallon of lquor, will prove very helpful in the prosecution of dry law violators, in the opinion of As- sistant District Attorney David A. Hart. Most of the dry law arrests made by police, Hart, who is in charge of the prosecution of such cases here, pointed out, are made after search warrants have been obtained. These warrants, he continued, usually are issued after a policeman or an informer has purchased a pint or a quart of liquor. In the past, Hart explained, posses- sion was the only charge applicable in such cases and the possibility of con- viction under the Jones law was slim. It was equally difficult, Hart added, to obtain the conviction of any one charged with the transportation of such small quantities of liquor. Now, however, Hart went on, it is planned to charge violators with either sale or transportation, or both, in ad- diitlan to the usual charge of posses- sion. To obtain a conviction on the sale charge, Hart pointed out, it will be nec- essary to put the rson making the purchase on the witness stand. It is considerably easler, however, to convict a person of a misdemeanor upon the testimony of & salarled informer, he contended, than it has been to convict the same person of a felony. ‘The new amendment, Hart concluded, also should help to obtain guilty pleas in such cases, because the defendants will face the possibility of having to face two or three charges and should be glad to plead guilty to only one. District of Columbia—Fair and slight- ly warmer tonight and tomorrow; low- est temperature tonight about 35 de- grees; light to gentle variable winds becoming southerly tomorrow. Maryland—Generally fair tonight and tomorrow; slightly warmer tomorrow and in extreme west portion tonight; gentle variable winds becoming mod- erate southerly tomorrow. Virginia—Fair tonight and tomorrow; slightly warmer except in southeast portion tonight; gentle westerly winds becoming variable. ‘West Virginia—Fair tonight and to- morrow; somewhat warmer tonight | and in northeast portion tomorrow. Record for Twenty-Four Hours. ‘Thermometer—4 p.m., 46; 8 p.m., 40; 12 midnight, 36; ¢ am., 32; 8 nocn, 40. Barometer—4 p.m., 30.29; 0.28; 12 midnight, 30.26; 4 am., 30.28; noon, 30.30. Highest temperature, 48, occurred at 3:30 p.m. yesterday; lowest temperature, 31, occurred at 4:30 a.m. today. ‘Temperature same date last year— Highest, 33; lowest, 11. Tide Tables. (Furnished by United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.) ‘Today—Low tide, 6:10 a.m. and 6:37 pm.; high tide, 11:51 am. ‘Tomorrow—Low tide, 6:44 am. and 7:20 pm.; high tide, 12:05 a.m. and 12:3¢ pm. The Sun and Moon. ‘Today—Sun rose 7:22 am.; sun sets 5:19 p.m. Tomorrow—Sun rises 7:21 a. sets 5:21 p.m. Moon rises 10:18 aum.; sets 11:02 .m. Automobile lamps to be lighted one- half hour after sunset. Weather in Various Cities. 8 pm, 27; ; sun B ] H H g Stations. SPECIAL SESSION National Organization Says Con-| stituent Members See Lack of Necessity. extra session of Congress, with the | “uncertainties which would inevitably | follow,” was cited in a statement issued | by the Board of Directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce today. “The reports from all parts of the country _express overwhelmingly the conviction that Congress will strengthen the country’s industrial employment and economic position by completing before the end of the present session of the Government and to the carrying forward of justifiable projects of pub- lic improvements which ‘also add to employment,” the statement read. The statement sald reports from constituent member organizations now indicate a slight increase in business activity and an improvement in the employment situation. “Whether or not there will be an upward trend in business in which all communities and business fields will man of Engine Co. No. 22, who was in- when thrown from a hose wagon as it skidded at the corner of Illinois avenue and Ingraham street yesterday, Temains critical, ho.mdll.l at Walter Reed Hosptal, wi was taken follot the accident, said suffering from s . ‘The man skull and h:nflblufl‘ share depends upon the individual busi- ness man, as well as the public agen- cies which have a relation to busines U. . C. OF C. AGAINST |} Huron, 8. Di The lack of any necessity for an | appropriations essential to the service 8 Adilene, S5 [ *00 0+ a0y CTRE N, Baltimore, Md. Birmingham . N. 'D. 2 Cleveland, Columbia,’ § Colo. \ Mich! 2L23X2T2RTL2BLI2 ew York, N. Y. 30. Oklahoma’ City. Omaha. Nebr... 29, Bhiladeiphia . Phoenix, Ariz. Pittsburgh, Pa.. Portiand, Me... Portland, 8388 [ Clear 0116 Cloudy 2 Clear Pt.cloudy Clear FOREIGN. (7 a.m., Greenwich time, today) Stations Temperature. Weather. | London, Enslend 40 Cioudy Parls, France vienria, Austris Berlin,” Germany Brest,” France. .. Geneva, ~Bwitzeiian Stockholm, Bweden Clear Foggy Cloudy Clear Rain Clear the statement read. “Confident plan- ning on the part of business manage- Thsasire Upon the deqtie of cortainy measure with vhm will ‘be able to forecast ywhich # mast. meet." 3¢ (Noon, Greeriwich' time, oday.) Horta (Payal Part cloudy cul ) “Bart cloudy ), Azores t titon, Bai'Seun, Porto Rico. arans, Oubacaa: REMODELED STATE BULDING EXPECTED FOR BIGENTENNIAL Working Plans to Renovate Present Structure Are Given to Treasury. ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION MAY BE BEGUN IN JUNE Offices May Be Moved to Edifice Now Occupied by Com- merce Department. ‘The remodeled State Department Building may be sufficlently completed by 1932 to present a very acceptable ap- pearance to the crowds expected in the National Capital for the Washington Bicentennial. learned that the working plans and specifications for remodeling the old State, War and Navy Building_have been formally turned over to the Treas- ury Department by the architect, Waddy B. Wood of this city. Plans Now Being ked. These architect’s plans and specifica- | tions now are being “checked” by the| Treasury Department office of the su- pervising architect and it is expected that bids will be asked on the remodel- ing job. How soon actual construction work can start depends largely on the moving out of the War Department, which oc- cuples t of the structure, and also on whether the State Department will remain in the bullding or be moved elsewhere while reconstruction is under way. Vylhlle it is sald to be possible to carry on the nmodelln? process with- out removal of people from the offices within, there have been intimations that Secretary of State Stimson and his official staff feel that it would be bet- ter for them to move to other quarters during the noise and confusion of re- construction. Moving of Office Discussed. There has been some consideration of moving the State Department to the building which now houses the Depart- ment of Commerce, at Nlnetcem.hj street and Pennsylvania avenue. But| the time for moving the Department of | Commerce into its new building, at Fourteenth and E streets, has not yet been set. It is now considered likely the Department of Commerce will not move until Fall, while it is possible that reconstruction work on the old State War and Navy Building will get under before then. w.& bids are advertised soon and suffi- cient time given bidders to submit their estimates, and if a contract is awarded in regular time without undue delay, it has been estimated that the earliest time reconstsuction work on the build- ing could start would be next June. But in case of delay anywhere along the line it might be put off until Fall. The project of remodeling this old granite structure, however, is known to | be one of the pet projects of President Hoover, and it is also known that the Treasury Department and the architect, Mr. Wood, have been rushing along the work on it as speedily as has been con- sistent with good judgment. New Plan Resembles Treasury. ‘The general plans call for changing the outside of the building so as to have it correspond in appearance to the Treasury Department, which flanks the | White House on the east, as the State, War and Navy Department flanks it on the west. Both structures are of granite, but are now of an entirely different architecture. The inside of the build- | ing will be very little changed. How the work will be c: out will depend to some extent on the nature of a contract to be awarded by the Treas- ury, but it has been indicated that the corners of the building probably will come in for first treatment, with the sides following later. Also it is quite likely that the contractor would work on one part at a time, and at no stage of the reconstruction would the old building be in state of remodeling all around. In other words, it is the gen- eral plan to tear down nothing until the new granite stonework is in here to replace the old. One part will be torn down and rebuilt, then another part, and so on until the job is finished. Generally speaking, it is expected that it will take about a year to finish the job, so that if work starts some time this Summer or Fall it is likely that sufficlent part of the reconstruction will be completed by Bicentennial time in 1932 to show the crowds pouring into Washington how the entire recon- structed bullding will appear. The cor- ners and porticos at least will probably | be finished, it is estimated generally. | ‘This estimate, however, is based on | progress without delay. NEW TRUCK LINE Freight Service Started Between Capital and North Beach, Md. ‘The Washington, Marlboro & An-| napolis Motor Lines, Inc, which has been operating busses out of Washing- ton for several years, announces the es- tablishment of a motor truck service between Washington and North Beach, Md. The new service was recently au- thorized by the Public Service Commis- slon of Maryland. ‘The Ghesapeake Beach Transit Co., which formerly operated busses between | Chesapeake and North Beaches, was purchased by the Washington, Marlboro & Annapolis Lines some time ago. | Players in the three-act comed; in the Business High School auditorium tion. Sitting: Elisabeth Mensh (right) GEMETERY YIELDS FORGOTTEN GRAVES AT GEORGETOWN U. Tombs of Stephen Decatur’s Wife and First Mayor’s Daughter Found. BUILDING OPERATIONS REVEAL BURIAL PLOTS Fatal Duel of Commodore Is Re- ocalled by Inscription on 0ld Stone Cros Building operations at Georgetown University have brought to light an old abandoned cemetery nearby in which rest the baries of many of the Capital's early residents, including those of the widow of Commodore Stephen Decatur and of the daughter of Washington's first mayor, Robert Brent. The long forgotten and vine-over- grown resting place of these notables is on & wooded knoll about 100 yards northwest of the new dormitory building of Georgetown University—far from dwellings and almost inaccessible. Vaults Now Leaf-Filled. Crumbling headstones are scattered over the ground haphazardly; great slabs that once covered the graves of plone:r residents of old Georgetown have been shifted aside, exposing leaf- filled vaults, and sections of twisted ornamental fencing lie rusting on the ground. The grave of Susan Decatur is in bet- ter condition than any of the others, and close examination has disclosed that the stone monument was restored in 1904 by Decatur Parsons of New York City, a grandnephew of Commodore Decatur. In the restoration the old stone cross, with its inscription still in- tact, was lald horizontally on a new marble slab. & the cross are carved the following words: “‘Sacred to the memory of Susan De- catur, widow of the late Com. Stephen Decatur, U. 8. N, who departed this !fl;‘JunD,eeil, 1860.” rs. Decatur outlived by 40 years her famous husband, whose life was cut short by a bullet in a duel with a fellow naval officer, Commodore James Barron. The “affair of honor,” fought on the notorious dueling ground near Bladens- burg, attracted Nation-wide attention. It was the culmination of a controversy which began when Decatur served on a court-martial which convicted Barron of inefficiency in connection with cap- ture of his ship, the Chesapeake, E}' H. M. 8. Leopard off Norfolk in 1807. Decatur Buried in Philadeiphia, Decatur died March 22, 1820, a few hours after a bullet had entered his abdomen. Mrs. Decatur suffered a near- collapse from shock and was bitter in her denunciation of Commodore Barron and of another naval officer, whom she accused of precipitating the duel. Decatur was buried in the cemetery of St. Peter’s Church, Philadelphia, but Mrs. Decatur, for some unknown reason, was interred in the local cen_l:ury. ’ e grave of Jane Brent, daughter of Mayor Brent, is in a sorry “ftl'n of disarray. A venerable slab, about 4 by 6 feet, is tilted against the brick-lined tomb it formerly covered. The re- mains, presumably, lie beneath a cov- ;fin:g of twigs, branches, weeds and On the slab is inscribed: “Sacred to the memory of Jane, daughter of Rob- ert Brent and Ann Maria Parnham, his wife, of Charles Co., Md., who departed this life the 9th of February, 1833, aged 62 years.” Robert Brent was appointed the first mayor of Washington in 1802, serv- ing until }!ll Many of the fallen stones are not decipherable, but among the nA;es noted on some of them are the fol- lowing: Michael Grimmins, who died in 1857; Mary W. Herron, died in 1812; Samuel T. Waples, died 1828; Dennis O'’Kava- naugh, died 1859; William A. Devine, died 1858; Samuel Burnham, died 1858; Patrick Gorman, died 1876; Mrs, Margaretha Trautmann, dled 1869; glnbe%umm%mmn, died 1864; Dr. enry g, died 1866, and Hamil Loughborough, died 1865. e YOUTH, HUNGER VICTIM, IS SENT TO HOSPITAL James Webb of Texas Collapses in Cafe Begging Food After Be- ing Unnourished 3 Days. His strength believed sapped by lack of nourishment and warm clothing, James Webb, 19 years old, of Amarillo, Tex., was being cared for at Gallinger Hospital today. The youth was taken to the hospital by Policeman 8. F. Gravely of the first precinct after he collapsed in Wallis’ Cafe, 617 Twelfth street, while for something to eat yesterday after- noon. He told cafe employes he had nothing to eat for three days and for three weeks had been living on sparse rations. Webb said he left home two months ago and walked North looking for work. e MAN STRUCK BY AUTO Harry 8. C. Gongewas, 65 years old, of 918 H street, was reported injured last night when an automobile driven by Miss Ruth Kohner, 19 years old, of 2725 Ontario road, knocked him down in the 900 block of H street. ly, “The Arrival of Kitty,” which was given Thursday night by the alumni associa- and Lois Horsnell. Standing, left to Bob The 3 Upper: Tomb of Susan Decatur, widow of Commodore Stephen Decatur, naval hero and duel victim, as It appears today in the abandoned found near Georgetown University. The fallen cross was cemented to a marble base by a grandnephew of Decatur in 1904. Lower: Neglected grave of Jane Brent, daughter of Washington's first mayor, Robert Brent. Many of the graves in the overgrown plot appear to have been disturbed deliberately, as though by ghouls. —Star Staff Photos. PUMICE AND ASHES IN MOON'S MAKEUP Carnegie Institution Group Makes Report After Studying Orb. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Lady Moon has & pale face. The features of earth’s light-shrouded | daughter seem to be made up largely of materials similar to pumice and vol- canic ashes on the earth, according to & report just made by the Committee on the Study of Surface Features of the Moon of the Carnegie Institution of ‘Washington. This committee, headed by Dr. F. E. ‘Wiight, is trying to find out, over ap- proximately 240,000 miles of space, as much as possible concerning the exact conditions which obtain on the earth’s satellite. Concerning her “complexion,” they report, three distinct lines of evi- dence all point in the same direction. Light Reflected From Sun. First is the complicated phenomenon of the polarization of light. Moonlight is reflected sunlight. There are certain differences between pure light received directly from a luminous body and re- flected light, due to the fact that part of the light which strikes a surface is absorbed. This can be determined with instruments. The measurement of this difference tells something of the nature of the reflecting surface, regardless of how far away it may be. In the case of the moon, the com- mittee reports, there is very little light polarization. This indicates strongly that the surface materials must be light- colored, like pumice, granite or sand- stone, ‘and not dark, like basalt or most other heavy rocks. But granite appears to be thrown out as a promi- nent part of the moon surface by an- other phenomenon—the fact that measurements taken during an eclipse | when radiation from the sun is shut off for a brief interval show that the moon’s face chills very rapidly. Granite and other massive rocks absorb lots of heat. When heated to the boiling tem- perature of water, the temperature of the moon’s surface at noon, and then placed in a cool place they require a long time to lose the heat they have absorbed. Heat Insulation Indicated. ‘The rapid chilling shows that the moon's surface must be composed of excellent heat insulators which throw off the radiation of the sun almost as soon as it strikes them. A third line of evidence is that the distribu- tlon of planetary heat over the moon's surface generally agrees with that de- tes ed experimentally for a rough surface composed of pumice and vol- canic ash. This planetary heat is not reflected sunlight, but radiation emitted by the surface of the moon itself. A small amount of the sun's radiation is absorbed by the surface materials which are heated so that they send out heat waves of their own. This radiation is g | of long wave lengths and extremely low temperature. The measurement of it, distinct from the reflected radiation, was accomplished by Drs. Seth B, Nicholson and Edison Pettit of the Mount Wilson Observatory and is con- sidered an outstanding achievement. During the year, the committee Te- ports to Dr. John C. Merriam, president of the Carnegie Institution, measure- ments have been made of the relative intensities of light reflected by 50 dif- ferent rocks and other materials found in the surface of the earth. Intensities were determined for different angles be- tween the incident and reflected rays and for different parts of the spectrum. Similar measurements on light from the moon be made with the same equipment and will aid in the classi- fication of lunar surface materials. Maps Being Prepared. Besides trying to determine the sur- face materials, the committee is pre- paring what will be the first really ac- curate maps of the moon, based on negatives taken by the 100-inch tele- scope at Mount Wilson. These maps, which will serve as a basis for critical phyainrnphlc study and classification of the land forms observed on the moon, will be free, the committee reports, from the personal factor which entered into the construction of all previous maps, which were drawn by hand. The degree of accuracy, says the committee, depended on the skill of the observer in determining the features observed through the telescope and on the quality of the telescope and photo- graphs used. On the new maps it will be possible to read directly the latitude and longitude of any point on the moon with the aid of a specially pre- pared lunar projection chart. Another determination reported by the Moon Committee is that all parts of the moon’s surface are not equally bright, or reflecting the same amount of sunlight. The “seas” of the satellite —its great, deep level valleys—give only three-fourths as much light as its high mountain peaks. Besides the more exact instrumental methods of study, visual observations of the moon's surface are being made by members of the committee through | the 100-inch telescope. | Edison’s Veteran Secretary Ill. GRANT URGES AID T0 IMPROVE D. C. Engineers in New York Are Told of Beautifying Plans for Capital. The support and insistence of the en- tire country in aiding in carying out the program for the development of Wash- ington was urged by Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d, director of public buildings and public parks, in an address delivered in New York City before the American Society of Civil eers. The colonel explained that Wi ngton is the city of the whole Nation and is powerless to work out its own salvation by itself, since the National Congress controls every expenditure of funds, even the | moneys raised by taxation here, the population lacking congressional repre- sentation. It is necessary to have the country’s support and “sympathetic understand- ing,” Col. Grant said, of the efforts be- ing made to make “your Capital the best expression of the art of city planning that America can produce. “If the development of the National Cap- ital 1s to be a national success, it must | be guided by the best information and the best profescional counsel the country can sulpply." he sald. “It is your city, not solely that of the 500,000 persons who live there, and we want your help to make it what it ought to be, to take advantage of the really wonderful op- Ean.unlty that exists there, to show what the best America can do in city building.” Col. Grant sketched the development of the city from its inception and thanked the American Society of Civil Engineers for its contribution in bring= ing the city to the point of perfection it has now reached. The colonel returned today to the Capital and proceeded to translate into action. what he had preached by appearing before congres- slonal committee interested in the beautification of the city, particularly with reference to the erection of the proposed 2d Division memorial. WORSHIPFUL MASTERS TO BE ENTERTAINED 1931 Association Will Be Given Dinner With Past and New Grand Masters Honor Guests. The Worshipful Masters’ Association of 1930 will entertain the 1931 Worship- ful Masters' Association at a dinner in the Willard Hotel tonight. Past Grand Master James E. West and Col. C. Fred Cook, present grand master of Masons of the District, will be honor guests. Harry Pitts, president of the 1930 asso- ciation, will preside. Past Grand Masters Charles E. Bald- win and J. Claude Keiper are to attend. Raymond D. Otterback, treasurer of the 1930 association, is chairman in charge of arrangements for the event. The program is to include addresses % the honor guests and musical selec- ns. RICHARDSON TO RETIRE FROM ADVISORY GROUP| Federation of Civic Associations Hears 6-Year Record of Council Member, Who Will Quit. ‘The coming retirement of Dr. George H. Richardson from the Citizens' Ad- visory Council, of which he has been & member since its formation six years ago, was forecast last night when he presented to the Federation of Civic Associations a report covering his serv- ice for the six years, with the explana- tion that he would not be available for service in the future. The federation voted its :gpmv:l of a 10-year plan for ridding the city of alley dwellings and also favored de- velopment of a bus system to transport children to school ~where conditions warrant. CITY NEWS IN BRIEF, ‘TODAY. Meeting, Lincoln Woman's Relief Corps, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines’ :lub house, Eleventh and L streets, pm. Community night, Young Women's Christian Association, Seventeenth and K streets, 7 pm. Meeting, League for the Life, 1336 I street, 8:15 p.m. T Dinner dance, Ke-Ala-Me Club, Ham- ilton Hotel, 9 p.m. Card party and da Bakers' Union, Local No. 118, 6&% Hall, 314 C street, 8 pm. Meeting, Biological Society of Wash- ington, Cosmos Club, 8 p.m. Lecture, Malcolm P. Hanson, Wash- ington Radio Club, Department of C:-mmerce, 8 p.m. FUTURE. | company to secure a loan. EARLY VOTE SEEN ON TRAFFIC BILL BY SENATOR KEAN Measure Gets Favorable Re- port When Committee Learns All Objections Are Overcome. HEARINGS ARE O;ENED ON LOANS MEASURES One Would Allow Establishment of Credit Unions, Other Fixes Interest on Small Debts. Early action in the Senate on the District’s new traffic bill was predicted today by Senator Kean, Republican, of New Jersey, chairman of the traffic subcommittee, following the action of the Senate District Committee late yes- murd.ny in favorably reporting the meas- With all of the objectionable features Temoved through a series of eight mod- ifications, the bill, in Senator Kean's opinion, has a clear path ahead in the Senate and probably will be passed in time for action by the House before the adjournment of the short session of ess. Favorable Report Ordered. The District Committee ordered a favorable report on the bill without discussion when Senator Kean an- nounced that opposition had been en- tirely removed. ~ Corporation Counsel Willlam W. Bride also explained that 8 feature found objectionable by the Public Utilitles Commission had been el ated in the latest revision and the commission and ln":n District Commissioners are now rmonious accord. The Bureau of EMclency, participated in earlier dis- modification. The bill is designed to centralize traffic control in a department of vehicles and traffic under the direction of the District Commissioners. It was drafted as a result of an exhaustive study of traffic conditions in Washing- ton by a committee appointed by the Commissioners. The committee also ordered favorable reports on two other measures affecting the District. One authorizes the Com- missioners to close any useless or un- necessary streets, roads, highways and alleys, while the other authorizes the Gulf Refining Co. to construct ofl pi) beneath certain streets in the southwest section to tanks to be placed underground at Buzzards Point. Street Bill Important. Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d, executive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, told the commit- tee that there was no ition to either of these bills. Hewm pointed out that the measure authorizing the Commissioners to close useless streets and alleys is important to the correct planning of the undeveloped sections of the District and that it would eliminate certain expensive work which the high- wlvy pl:;lul;m"‘ pmvidu“mulm a saving e yers - 1y $3,700,000. 5 B After ordering favorable reports on three bills, the committee began on two other measures in- tended to put Washington's loan sharks out of business. One would authorize the incorporation of credit unions and the other would legalize small loans at an interest rate of 3 or 3!5 per cent a month, The credit union bill met with whole- hearted indorsement, but strong oppo- sition was registered to the small loans measure. The chief opponents of the small loans bill were Mercer G. John- ston, director of the People's Legislative Bureau; Thomas E. Lodge of the Fed- eration of Citizens’ Association, Miss Lazenby of the Woman's City Club and Miss Gertrude McNally, secre- treasurer of the Nationa! Federa- tion of Federal Employes. The bill, however, was indorsed by Miss Selma Borchardt of the Central Labor Union, W. C. Hushing of the American Federa- tion of Labor, Representative Dyer of Missouri, father of the District'’s ex- isting loan law limiting interest rates on small loans, and Leon Henderson of the Russell Sage Foundation. Cameron Favors Bill. Thomas P. Cameron, assistant cor- ration counsel, also spoke in favor of e bill after telling the committee the result of his investigation into the op- erations of loan sharks in the District. “We must do something to stamp out the loan sharks,” Cameron declared | dramatically. “I found in my investi- | gation that they are exacting fees rang- | ing from 40 to 500 per cent.” Johnston characterized the rate of interest which the bill would legalize as “robbery and thievery,” and under- took to show that a nation-wide group of loan sharks is sponsoring the present bill. “These loan sharks who want to charge 42 or 36 per cent interest are throwing up a smoke screen,” he de- clared, “by referring to other loan sharks, who, they say, charge much her rates of interest. When a man gets into the grip of a shark, it does not matter much to him whether the shark has 36, 42 or 340 teeth, because he is going to be devoured, irrespective of the number of teeth. Lodge called the committee’s atten- tion to the fact that the bill provides that an employe can be required to assign his salary or wages to a loan This, he said, is contrary to a provision in the District code. Doubts Benefits Claimed. Miss Lazenby declared that the wage earners of Washingfon would not be benefited by enactment of the bill. “It would be equally logical,” she de- clared, “for some one to suggest that we restore the open saloon to cure the bootlegging evil. There are some cases in which the remedy is worse than the disease and this bill presents one of those cases.” R. F. Berhengren of the Credit Union National Extension Bureau of Boston led the group indorsing the credit union bill. Included were J. Brehm of the Post Office Department, Frank J. Cole- man and Willlam W. Keeler of the Central Labor Unlon; E. D. Sartwel of local 262 of the Federal Employes’ Union, Leo E. George of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks, A. J. Driscoll of the Midcity Citizens’ Asso- clation, Mrs, Margaret Hopkins Worrell, president of the Civil Service League; Frank O’Hara of the National Catholie Welfare Council and John R. Noonon of the District Federation of Federal Employes. SISTER SAVES BROTHER, UNCONSCIOUS FROM GAS Alarmed at Prolonged Bath, She Investigates—Man, 26, Revived by Fire Rescue Squad. Chance discovery by a sister saved the life of John E. Gaghan, 26 years old, when he was accidentally over- come by illuminating gas last night in the bath room of his home, at 4004 New Hampshire avenue. Gaghan was revived by members of the Fire Res- cue Squad. His condition is not con- Ball, Sisf of Kesher Israel Con- gregation of Geol BOONTON, N. J., January 24 (P)— Willlam Meadowcroft, for the last 50 to Thomas A. Ediso) Lunueteury N n, mwmmhnuenn He 8 77 ple, 1318 K street, tom Hike, Wanderlusters Clul of Congress Heights car zow, 3:30 pm. [ ik ‘oo \ sidered serious. han accidentally near the £