Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1931, Page 17

WASHINGTON, D. C, GAS MERGER HANGS ONHOWELL'S STAND FOR FIXING VALUE Bill Has Another Chance of Consideration in Senate Tuesday Night. NEBRASKAN WOULD BAR GOING CONCERN WORTH Fate of Measure Hangs on Pos-| sibility of Agreement on Pro- visions in Conferences. Although the bill to authorize a merger of the Washington and George- town Gas Light Cos. may have another chance for consideration when the Sen- ate meets Tuesday night to consider miscellaneous bills, Senator Howell, Re- publican, of Nebraska is adhering firmly to his contention that the measure should include further concessions to the public. The Nebraska Senator agreed recently to drop that part of his amendment requiring the merged company to ac- eept his schedule of reduced rates, but he said yesterday he has not changed his view regarding the elimination of going-concern value as a factor in de- termining the rate base. The provision which Senator Howell 1s seeking to insert sets forth that in arriving at the value of the plant for rate-making purposes nothing shall be| included on account of franchise or going value and that the rate of re- turn on the valuation thus determined shall not exceed 7' per cent. Depends on Agreement. With the close of the present Con- ess only a few weeks off, there will slight chance for the passage of local measures on which there is disagree- ment. On Tuesday night, for instance, the Senate will be working on unob- Jected bills, which means unanimous consent will be necessary for a finalj vote. It would appear, therefore, that the prospects for the gas merger bill hinge on whether the Senators for and against the measure in its present form gan reach an agreement in conferences. In support of eliminating the item of going-concern value from the rate base, Senator Howell contends that for a long period of years the earnings were such that the development was provided by the consumers rather than the stock- holders. The Nebraska Senator has given no indication that he will yield ‘on this amendment. The gas company has arranged re- cently to use some natural gas here in place of crude oil as a means of en- riching the manufactured gas. In set-' ting forth the inadvisability of using | straight natural gas, one of the claims } Advanced recently is that if a modern plant were constructed here gas could be produced cheaper than the cost of piping natural gas to the city. It has also been said that the construction of such a plant at present is contingent on.the enactment of the merger bill. Would Aid Employment. Senatcr Howell, discussing the prob- lem, said that if the company is sure it can make gas cheaper by building a mew plant it ought to be possible to determine what the schedule would be. Senators Goff of Wesi Virginia and Copeland of New York, in urging action on the merger bill recently, argued its passage would lead to the employment of a large number of men in laying mains and other betterments. Senator Howell has joined in conference with the supporters of the measute, but there have been no developments in the past few days indicating an agreement. ‘The bill would enable the company to issue additional capital stock to provide for extensions and improvements. The ‘Washington company already owns the stock of the Georgetown company, but from an operating standpoint charter provisions confine each company to ! operations on opposite sides of Rock | Creek. ———e DEFICIENCY ITEMS FOR D. C. TAKEN UP House Appropriations Group Con- siders Proposals Total- ing $771,251. ‘The House Appropriations Commit- tee today started hearings on the de- ficlency items, totaling $771,521, for the District of Columbia. These include an additional $2,000 for the care of the District Building, $1,500 additional for the coroner's of- fice, $5,500 additional for the employes’ compensation fund, $1,257 for contin- gent and miscellaneous expenses, $1,500 for other contingent and miscellane- ous expenses, $420 additional for the Public Employment Service, $253,900 additional for the pay and allowances of officers and men in the Metropoli- tan Police force, $4,600 additional for repairs and improvements to police sta- tions, $225,600 additional for pay of officers and members of the Fire De- | partment, $30.000 additional for fees of witnesses in the Supreme Court, $30,- 000 for fees of jurors in the Supreme Court, $3,000 additional for pay of Dailiffs, $2.400 additional for salaries of employes in the District Court House, $43328 additional for support of con- victs. Other items are miscellaneous ex- penses of the District Supreme Court, including balances from previous years totaling $52,000, $5,000 for the Home for Dependent Children, 18,000 for gen- | eral administration of the work house | and reformatory, $4,000 for repairs to| buildings at the reformatory, $7,500 for the Children's Hospital, $7,500 for the Central Dispensary and Emergency | Hospital, $30,000 for an additional water supply at the District Training School, Laurel, Md.; $500 for repairs at the Industrial Home School, $1,600 for relief of the poor, $13,900 for pay and allowances for the United States park police, $16,000 for a heating system at ithe National Zoological Park, $9,526 for payment of judgments against the Dis- trict and $913 for the payment of sudited claims against the District. . Lincoln Death Described Letter of John P. Usher, Interior Secretary in 1865, to His Wife, Pictures Distress in Small Room Opposite Ford Theater. A hitherto unpublished eyewitness account of the death of Abraham Lin~ coln has been obtained by the Library of Congress. It is & copy of a letter from John P. Usher, Secretary of the Interior in Lin- coln’s cabinet, to his wife, written on April 16, 1865, shortly after Lincoln died. The copy was secured from MTrs. Wesley Taylor, a descendant of Usher. ‘The cabinet officer believed that he also was intended for death by the as- sassins and naturally was in a bitter mood toward them. He went to the President’s death chamber as soon as he heard on the street of the shooting and remained there until Lincoln breathed his last. ‘The letter follows: “The papers have given you full ac- counts of the diabolical deeds which lately have transpired here, but as you will be doubtless anxious to hear from me personally, I hasten to write you a word. On the day of the assassination of the President we had all been with him and Gen. Grant at a long cabinet meeting commencl.n? at 11 o'clock. The meeting was entirely harmonious and the President never appeared to better advantage. He was inspired with the hope that the war and strife were near- ly over and was meeting with his asso- ciates to consider ways and means to restore to the troubled States govern- ment and security. He was full of char- ity to all and only thought of dealing with those who had led the people into | rebellion. Two Arrests Ordered. “Among the last acts of his life be- fore he left his chamber never to return was to advise Stanton to book an ordex of his for the arrest of Jacob Thompson and Beverly Tucker if they should ap- pear in Portland, Me., to take a vessel for Europe. You know his goodness. He was too good. It is now probable that the conspiracy for the assassination was organized in Canada by these same men. “It is now thought that it embodied destruction of the Vice President and cabinet. Two men came to Fowler’s that night and inquired for me and on being told that I had gone to a hotel, but Mr. Fowler did not know where, they were quite incredible and went away. A man ‘was heard by Speed walking on his back porch and one was found at Stanton's hidden behind a tree box, who ran away. A person took cover at the Kirk- wood House, where the Vice President ‘was staying, and the next merning there was found on his lawn a coat in which there was pistol ammunition and be- tween the bed a huge bowie knife. In the pocket of the coat was found the handkerchief of Booth and his bank- book and he sent a card to Gov. John- son that day with a note upon it saying he did not wish to disturb him, but merely desired to know if he was in his room. “So I think there is no doubt of their intents. There were six of the assassins. They all drank together on that eve- ning at a coffee house opposite the Ford Theater, and separated for their work. Five of their names are known and they will probably be arrested and brought to justice. It is thought they have es- caped into Maryland. The deeds at Seward's were, if possible, the most dia- bolical of all. First News of Tragedy. “I had gone out that evening to dine with Bridgeland and several friends on C street and did not return to the hotei until 10 o'clock. After conversing with C a few minutes, Perry Fuller came in and we went into the sitting room, which was then dark, and conversed for some time, when I heard some confu- sion in the passage and upon going out was informed that the President had been shot at the theater and that the throat of Mr. Seward had been cut. “I was incredulous, but thought I would go out to see. I soon found from the conversation on the street that it was true. I found the President in a house opposite the theater, into which, with some difficulty, I was permitted to enter, He was upon a bed in a low back room, with a shed roof, scarcely large enough to admit 20 persons. I heard his thick, heavy breathing as soon as I entered the outside door. When I approached the room, I found Stanton, McCullough and Mr. Welles with the surgeons, four or five in num- ber. Oglesby and Farnsworth of Dela- ware were there; John Hay and four or five others, Sumner and Colfax with the number. “Soon Mrs. Lincofh came in, and the scene that then occurred beggars de- scription. She implored him to speak to her and said she did not want to go to the theater that night, but that he thought he must go because people would be expecting him, as he had been so extensively advertised—which it ap- pears the villains had done. She called for little Tad and said she knew he would speak to him because he loved him so well, and after indulging in dreadful incoherence for some time was finally persuaded to leave the room. Scenes Are Repeated. “This was repeated on three or four occasions before he died, which was 22 minutes after 7 o'clock the next morn- ing. He never opened his eyes or spoke a word, but remained wholly insensible. His breathing was deep, almost a snore, until toward the last it was almost a moan. After his death he was removed to the White House, from whence his funeral will take place on Wednesday. I have now given you some faint idea of the scenes we have passed through since you left and will only add for your comfort that we have met Gov. Johnson twice since he took the oath of office. He is not exalted, but sub- dued, and I have every reason to hope that his administration will be success- ful. In the murder of Lincoln the reb- els have killed their best friend. They may expect from the President a rigid enforcement of law and the leaders but little mercy.” ZONE BODY DENIES BUILDING ADDITION Petition Refused Asking Two| More Floors on Columbia Medical Structure. ‘The petition of the owners of the Co- lumbia Medical Building, Nineteenth | and I streets, for an increase in the | height limit on its property from 90 to 110 feet, to permit the construction of two additional stories, has been denied by the District Zoning Commission, it ‘was announced today. ‘The main argument against the peti- tion, advanced at the zoning hearing | last week, was that an increase in the height limit on this property would create a “spot” of zoning with a higher limit than is permitted on surrounding properties. Classification Changed. Dr. Charles Stanley White, present- ing the plea for the change, urged the need of additional space in the building to make possible provision of a com- prehensive medical service in the one building. The Zoning Commission, in execu- tive session, it was announced by the office of Maj. Donald A. Davison, com- mission executive officer, has approved the petition for changing the classifica- tion of the property at Twenty-second street and Pennsylvania avenue from residential 90-foot D area to first com- mercial 110-foot D area. This will permit the construction of a 12-story apartment house, with store quarters, planned by Baer & Scholz. Would Lose Rights. The commission also has changed the classification of the property in the 2500 block of Massachusetts avenue from residential A restricted, to residential B restricted area. This change, initi- ated by the Zoning Commission, Teturns to the property the classification it had before the Fall meeting of the com- ion, when the zoning was raised to A restricted classification at the request of some property owners in the bonton section. The reversal of this change was or- dered because it was found that some property owners in the section, in which is being erected the new Japa- TWO MEN USE GAS T0END OWN LIVES Overwork Is Blamed by Wife of Elva L. Hutchinson. Lodger Found Dead. Elva Leroy Hutchinson, 53 years old, who served in the double capacity of Chief clerk and chief of the finance division, United States Coast Guard headquarters, was found dead yesterday morning in the gas-filled kitchen of his home at 624 Quebec street. Coroner J. Ramsay Nevitt issued a certificate of suicide after he had been informed that Mr. Hutchinson recently |suffered & nervous breakdown from overwork. Members of his famly said | his double duties were a contributing factor. ‘When Mrs. Maude Hutchinson awoke yesterday she found her husband miss- ing from d. A search disclosed his body in the kitchen near a stove several jets of which were open. Mr. Hutchinson, & native of Iowa, had resided here for the past 27 years. He is survived by his widow and two sons, Jean and Leroy, jr. Final rites will be conducted at 2:30 o'clock tomorrow afternoon from fu- neral parlors at 412 H street northeast, with interment in Fort Lincoln Ceme- tery. Another middle-age® man found dead of illuminating gas yesterday morning was Charles Olin Norris, 45-year-old roomer at 1102 L street. The body was discovered by the landlady, Mrs. Mary Gardner, who traced the odor of gas to Norris’ room and found the jets of a stove open. Coroner Nevitt issued a certificate of suicide. Funeral services and interment will be in Monocacy Cemetery, Beallsville, Md., tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. NEWHALL.IMPROVED Kentucky Representative, Suffer- ing From Pneumonia, Is Better. The condition of Representative J. Lincoln Newhall of Covington, Ky., who is ill of pneumonia, was reported im- proved today. For the past two days, however, Mr. nese embassy, would be deprived of rights which recent home builders there have enjoyed. Newhall has been afflicted with hic- coughs, which have made him uncom- fortable. Chase Through Street Willie Standback, 29 years old, col- ored, pneumonia patient, was back on WILL REHEARSE PLAY ¥. W. C. A. Girl Reserves Set to Start Spring Drama. Rehearsals of the annual Spring play ‘of the Y. W. C. A. Girls Reserves, to e given April 10 and 11 in Barker Hall, will begin at once under the “direction of Mrs. Alice 8. Mores and mss Mary M. Burnett, it was announced ny. A 100 girls, representing the reserve elubs of the District’s five high schools and the George Mason High School in ¥, Virginia, will participate in_the Whkh T entubd" i Toy shaped > his cot at Emergency Hospital today after losing an exciting elevator race with hospital attaches in the Architects’ Building last night. Willic made a dead-stick landing be- tween two of the upper floors when hospital attendants, tired of shuttling up and down the elevator shaft in futile pursuit of their escaped patient, hit upon the plan of cutting off the power supply. The ious patient started the race by jumping out of a second-story window of the hospital while nurses were not looking. In falling he thrust a leg through a window pane below him, spreading the alarm to physicians and attendants. Running from the the hos- pital attaches saw the RUNAWAY PATIENT CAPTURED BY CUT OFF OF ELEVATOR POWER { Emergency Hospital Pneumonia Sufferer Leads Exciting to Architects’ Building . . racing along New York avenue toward Eighteenth street in his night clothes. The pursult began, and when Willie saw he was losing ground he dodged into the Architects’ Building at Eight- eenth and E streets. As the pursuers dashed into the building they saw one of the elevators shooting upward, with Willie at the throttle. The janitor was called, an- other elevator was commandeered and the big race was on. Up and down the shaft the two cars hurtled, with Willie’s elevator always several jumps ahead and usually traveling in the Wm“l direction. ally the power switch was ti ht Willle was taken from the car of and the race ended without furtl by doctors and policemen and returned ado. to the hospital, where it was found he was mmr& from shock and severe lacerations of the legs, PALESTINE COLONY | ON SALVAGED LAND | LOOMS IN ELEGTRIC | one v - 1§ PLAN OF JEWISH National Fund Conference to Raise $2,500,000 for Project by July 1. ZIONISTS’ PRESIDENT HITS BRITISH POLICY Robert Szold Asks Shift in Holy Land Officials and Mandate. A decision which will, when carried out, link the names of communities in the United States with the reclamation of a considerable tract of land in Palestine was the outcome of the Na- tional Conference of the Jewish Na- tional Fund of America, held yesterday at the Willard Hotel under the chair- manship of Emmanuel Newmann, American Zionist leader and president of the national fund. The plan includes a five-year recla- mation project on land to be acquired and a drive to raise $2,500,000 in America before July 1 for the urgent financial needs of Jewish reconstruc- tion in Palestine. The reclamation program, proposed by Menahem Ussish- | kin, president of the Jewish National | Fund of Jerusalem, was unanimously indorsed by 500 delegates attending the session. ‘The National Advisory Council of the Zionist Organization of America gave the financial campaign its sanction at the instance of Robert Szold, Zionist president. Raps British Control. Demands for a change in the pres- ent control over Palestine by Great Britain were voiced at both meetings, Szold urging that officers “in greater sympathy with the upbuilding of the Jewish National Home” be placed in power. ‘The resolution for the five-year plan, or the Ussishkin plan, as it is cailed in recognition of its sponsor, was presented to the conference by Ezra Shapiro of Cleveland, Ohio, and was seconded by a number of leaders of various organ- izations represented at the session. The colony which it is proposed to estab- lish on the Jewist national fund land is to bear the name of Ussishkin. A new body to work under the direc- tion of the Jewish National Fund of America, to be known as the Keren Kayemeth League, was created by a resolution for carrying the project to a successful conclusion. The league, which will have branches in all parts of the country, will undertake to raise the necessary sums. A council for conducting this work includes among its members two Washingtonians, Paul Himmelfarb and Bernard Danzansky. Einstein Sends Word, Two other resolutions call for erec- tion of memorials to the late Nathan Straus, American philanthropist, and the late Lord Melchett of London. An- other resolution felicitated the work of Ussishkin on the completion of half a century of work in the Zionist move- m ent. Greetings for the conference and ex- pressions of approval of its purposes were received from Dr. Albert Einstein, the famous author of the relativity theory, a convinced Zionist and sup- porter of the Jewish National Fund; Secretary of Agriculture Hyde and Dr. Elwood Mead, head of the Reclamation Bureau, Department of the Interior. The first cash contributions for the acquisition of specific tracts in the names of groups from Washington, Bal- timore and Providence, R. I, were pre- sented to Ussishkin at the concluding session. Palestine Policy Scored. An indictment of the British policy in Palestine during the past 13 years was presented by Ussishkin, who charged that British authorities, ' disregarding the clear intent of the Palestine man- date, failed to facilitate the upbuildlngl of the Jewish National Home and with retarding Jewish progress in the coun- try. This failure has been demon- strated, he said, in the British handling of the Palestine land problem. He warned American Jews “not to be deceived” by announcements from Lon- don concerning a forthcoming under- standing to be reached between the British government and the leaders of the Jewish Agency for Palestine through negotiations dealing with the difficulties which have arisen since the issuance of the Passficld White Paper last October. Neumann, president of the national fund, urged the establishment of an international commission similar to the one which functioned recently for the settlement in Greece of the Greek refu- gees from Turkey. Participation of an outstanding American in the work of such a commission, he said, would be an essential condition. MRS. HENRIETTA HOWELL EXPIRES AT AGE OF 90 Widow of William C. Howell Dies at Home of Daughter After Brief Tllness. X Mrs. Henrietta D. Howell, 90 years old, widow of Willlam C. Howell of Blairstown, N. J., died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Frank G. Wilkins, in the Concord Apartments here, yes- terday after a short iliness. Mrs. Howell was born in Ludlow, Mass., November 27, 1840. She became a school teacher in Massachusetts at the age of 16 years. Subsequently she was graduated from Mount Holyoke Seminary in the class of 1864. After- ward she taught botany and painting at Northampton, Mass, and then taught at Blair's Academy, Blairstown, N. and at Lake Erie Seminary, Painesville, Ohio. For more than 30 years she had spent the Winters in ‘Washington with her daughter and for- merly with her sister, late Mrs. Julia T. Bodfish. Mrs. Howell is survived by her daugh- ter, Mrs. Wilkins; a granddaughter, Mrs. Eloise Howell Sammis of Strat- ford, Conn,, and a great-grandson, Don- ald Stuart Sammis, jr. Funeral services and burial will be at Blairstown, N. J., Wednesday after- noon. FIVE HURT If.l ACCIDENTS Four Washingtonians Are Slightly Injured as Autos Skid. A series of automobile accidents on the slippery streets yesterday resulted in slight injuries to five persons. They were: ‘John' W. Francis, 31 years old, 2200 block of Kearney street northeast; Mrs. Emma Lyon of 617 Upshur street; Dr. 1111 Massachusetts ave- ; Mrs. Josephine Griffith of the Roasevelt Hotel and Mrs. Rose L. 55 years ald, of negative. COMPROMISE PLAN POWER RATE FIGHT Pepco Officials to Decide on Conference With Utili- ties Group. PLAN MAY PREVENT RESORT TO COURTS Firm's Profits Said to Have In- creased Under Present Arrangement. The question of compromising the difference over electric rates between the Public Utilities Commission and the Potomac Electric Power Co. will be discussed by the executive committee of the board of directors of the corporation at its meeting Wednesday. If the com mittee decides to enter into negotis tions looking to compromise, the col pany will send representatives to dis- cuss the matter with the Public Utilities Commission next Monday. These were the decisions reached at a preliminary conversation _between Corporation Counsel William W. Bride and S. R. Bowen, vice president and counsel of the company, this morning. Mr. Bride is trying to bring. about a compromise between the commission and the corporation, to prevent to re- sort to court in a battle to lower rates by modification of the court decree under which ratcs are now set. Meeting on Wednesday. ‘The company has not yet decided whether it will meet the commission half way, and enter the negotiations, or whether it will stand on its rights under the present decree and resist all efforts to alter it. This is the question ex- pected to be decided at the Wednes- day meeting of the company’s Executive Committee. Assuming that the com- pany decides to negotiate, then a series of meetings, beginning Monday, will be arranged with the commission, at which the terms of the compromise will be discussed. At all of the meetings held in dis- cussing the affair, People’s Counsel Richmond B. Keech is present. Mr. Keech readily accepted the invitation to negotiate without going to court, and believes that as a result of the negotiation Washington’s electric rates will be materially reduced. After the conference today it was learned that no definite terms were discussed, except that each side asked the other if there was anything tangi- ble in the way of an offer that could be made, and each reply was in the What is expected to come out of the discussion, if successful, is some arrangement whereby substan- tially the same method as at present will be used in arriving at the rates each year, but with the “sliding scale” arrangement changed so as to make greater reductions possible in the com- pany’s prosperous years. Present Arrangement Cited. ‘The present arrangement is that at the end of each year the company's excess profifs above 71 per cent on an agreed valuation are calculated. Then the rates for the following r are reduced by an amount designed to use up one-half of this excess. In practice, Lowever, the reductions, which are sup- to return to the consumers one- alf of the excess profits, have never done so. Their effect has been to increase the company's business to such an extent that the company. makes more, instead of less. profit. This has been true without excep- tion of every year during which the present consent decree arrangement has been in effect. In that time the rate has been reduced from 10 cents to 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour, but the company’s rate of return has remained steadily in the close neighborhood of 10 per cent. This rate the commission, the last time the rates were fixed, found was “ex- cessive” and the present negotiations |are designed to make some new rate- making machinery whereby the com- pany’s return will be kept down and more of the excess profits made avail- able for rate reductions. \CONTRACTOR SUES TWO LABOR GROUPS Charges Employing Plasterers and Union With Conspiracy to Force Him to Pay Dues. Suit for an injunction was filed to- day in the District Supreme Court by George W. Lee, a plastering contractor, Kresge Building, to prevent officers of thé Empioying Plasterers Association and Local No. 96, of the Plasterers Union, from interfering with one of his contracts, by calling off the labor- ers employed by him. Lee charges that the action of the unions is to force him to pay dues to the associations from which he had withdrawn last April. Through Attorneys Simon Hirshman and Aaronson & Shefferman the plain- tiff tells the court that he recently made a contract with the R. P. Whitty Co. to do the plastering on an apart- ment at Rhode Island avenue and Fifteenth street northeast on which only union labor was to be employed and which contained a provision that the contract might be terminated if the work was not pushed. He charges that the defendants, February 5, entered into a conspiracy to compel him to pay the back dues in the association by calling off the laborers employed by him on the job. In addition to the two associations there are named as defendants Harry Furr, 2138 K street, president of the local; Alexander Nelson, 1513 Buchan- an street, an inspector for the associa- tion: Harry Rithery, 711 Tenth street northeast, business manager of the local, and A. Bussard, 2129 G street, president of the association. = DRIVER GETS $900 FINES Three Convictions Bring 360-Day Alternative in Jail. Entering pleas of guilty to three charges of reckless driving, leaving aft- er colliding and driving without a per- mit, Thomas Chesler, colored, 20 years old, of 1525 A street northeast, was sen- tenced by Judge Ralph E. Given in Traffic Court today ta pay a total fine g:nooorwme-wm of 360 days ja] The defendant was arrested Saturday after colliding with an automobile oper- ated by George T. Cross of 635 Emer- son street northeast. Judge Given sentenced Chesler “to pay a fine of $500 or serve 150 days on the no t charge, $300 or 150 days ving after colliding count and on the 8100 or 6Q days for reckless drivios., - @he Foening - Stap ™ MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1931 FFP FOUR IDENTIFY MAN IN HOLD-UPS AS POLICE PROBE OTHER CASES dor Denies Accusa- tions After Radio Aids His Arrest. Theater Safe Is Blown Up and Diplomat’s Liquor Re- ported Stolen. While holdup victims were identify- ing Emil Bryan Cundiff, an apple vender, as the man who robbed them Saturday night, police today were in- vestigating a safe-cracking in a the- ater and the theft of liquor and money from the apartment of a Bollvian Le- gation attache in the Wardman Park Hotel. Although Cundiff denied having per- petrated the holdups, he was identified by the victims of four of them, accord- ing to police, and the victims of other hold-ups will attempt to identify him at pngce dhfflndquumn tonight. un was arrested early terda; by Detective R. J. Cox at Coynfiecucu{ avenue and L street a minute after the detective had received a radio message that a hold-up had occurred in the vicinity of the Mayflower Hotel. Cox, who was riding in a radio-equipped au- tomobile, was at Fifteenth and L streets when he received the message. Those who have identified Cundiff, according to police, are Charles 8. Richardson of Roanoke, Va.; Clifford Sanford, 1953 Biltmore street; Norman Goldman, 1930 New Hampshire ave- nue; Kay Needles, 2514 Q street, and Milton Strauss, 1900 F street. The capture of Cundiff, in the opin- ion of Inspector William S. Shelby, chief of detectives, is a striking ex- ample of the effectiveness of the radio system used by the Police Department. The Jesse Theater, Eighteenth and EMIL BRYAN CUNDIFF. Irving streets northeast, was the scen of safe-blowing, which netted the yeggmen $25. cracksmen ‘gained entrance by boring a hole in a side door, reaching through and springing the lock. They dragged the safe from the office into the pit of the theater, where they blew it to pieces. s The robbery was discovered this morn- ing by W. T. Holmes, colored janitor. He notified William E. Wilcox, 1221 M street, manager of the theater. Don George de la Barra, secretary of the Bolivian legation, reported the liquor robbery. He told police two bottles of champagne, three bottles of Bourbo whisky and several coins were stole from his apartment. WOMAN ON PANEL | TRYING GLASSMAN 1Ex-Garage Manager and Ten| Others Face Court on Prohibition Charges. The household duties of Mrs. Au- gusta J. Street, 1602 Forty-fourth street, must give way to her civic duty until | the completion of the trial of Herbert Glassman and 10 others charged with a conspiracy to violate the national! prohibition law. Justice Luhring in minal Division 3 today directed that the jury, on which Mrs. Street is the only member of the sex, should be locked up until the trial, estimated to last two weeks, shall be concluded. the enforced absence from her home by Mrs. Maude Ferris, 3 deputy United States marshal, who will share a room with her at the Metropolitan Hotel. Other citizens required to forego their ess and home life for the term of trial are Daniel M. Mandell, 2610 Cathedral avenue; Frank R. Chase, 6318 Second street; Kenneth H. Leizear, 5501 North Capitol street; John M. T, Charles - bell, 1114 Fourteenth street; Valentine A. Klein, 1110 Jefferson street; Bertram M. Jones, 709 Tuckerman street; Wilbur S. Dodge, 1514 W street southeast; Ed- ward B. Thomas, 1360 Harvard street; Norman E. Estes, 1366 Harvard stregt, and Edward L. Gallagher, 1409 Thirty- ‘“1':2 sti;zet. e Men on the jury will be in charge of Deputy United Stat Deé{nm ites Marshal W. B, assman, who formerly conducted garages at 2101 Fourteenth street and 1319 L street, with his alleged associates and accomplices, were called today to trial. Two others were poined in the indictment, returned August 19, 1929, but have never been apprehended. Engagements of counsel and the crowded condition of the criminal dockets have been responsible for a number of postponements when the case has been called on previous occa- sions for trial. Assistant United States Attorneys Harold W. Orcutt and James R. Kirkland are conducting the prose- cution. Padlock proceedings instituted agains the two garages rgsulud &:d M”c}s‘t 1930, in favor of the Government and the buildings have been closed for 11 months. he padlock will March 4. An appeal from the lock proceedings was only recently sustained in the Court of Appeals and this may have had something to do with the deferring of the trial of the criminal case. The indictment charges trans, nj of liquor to and from two gme:, which are said to have been especially eqlugped for the handling of liquor traflic. Orders for liquor were solicited {from the garages, it is claimed, and pos- session of intoxicants alleged. Besides Herbert Glassman, the de- fendants on trial include his brother, David Glassman; Samuel Goldstein, Harry Behrle, Irving Rosenberg, Alton Cissel, Antonio D’Ambrosio, Jacob Mil- ler, Julius Sanders, Harvey O'Connor and Francis J. Poston. Those not ap- prehended are Samuel Milestone and Robert Jones. Counsel for the defense include Alvin L. Newmyer, L. H. Vandoren, Harry T. ‘Whelan, Myron Ehrlich, E. Russel DROUGHT BROKEN OVER WIDE SECTION Nearby Areas as Well as Midwest Benefited—Colder Here Tomorrow. With all mail and passenger planes | fogbound here since Saturday, the in- termittent drizzle of the last 24 hours developed into a steady rain, which ‘Weather Bureau officials said would continue through the day. Drought relief in the form of the first good rainfall since November came week end. Although a precipitation of only .12 inch h:f been recorded here up ’m 8 o'clock this morning, the increasing steadiness of the rainfall was expected to have good effects in outlying dis- tricts of Virginia and Maryland, where the need for rain is acute. 's rain will be followed by fair and weather, it was said. temperature tonight degrees. er . The minimum will be about 30 300 Men Laid Off. _Today's rain sent most of the 300 per diem employes of the office of public buildings and public parks home to be placed on furlough without pay tem- porarily for the first time in many months. In the ordinary course of business, per diem employes lose about 50 days annually, due to inclement weather, when they are sent home. During the drought, however, Uncle Sam has had to pay them $3.60 a day, aggregating about $1,000, to keep them engaged in cleaning up the parks and attending to the plant life, so that it would not be burned up in the intense heat. As high as $500 per day was spent for water alone during the maximum period of heat during the Summer. Rain that the Weather Bureau de- scribed as a “godsend” to farmers, fell in a belt extending from Western Penn- sylvania southwestward to Eastern Texas, beginning Friday night and con- tinuing today. It varied from half an inch in the Ohio Valley to a downpour, totaling four inches, at Fort Smith, Ark., All of Arkansas, where the Red Cross is feeding thousands impoverished by the drought, received at least an inch of rainfall. ‘The rain was heavy enough to moisten the top soil and prepare it for Spring planting, and to relieve the water shortage in most of the drought area at least temporarily, Weather Bu- reau officials said. Nearby States Get Rain. Western Penndylvania, Western Mary- land and West Virginia all received about three-quarters of an inch of rain. In the Ohio Valley, Indiana and Illinois it rained approximately half an inch. Kentucky had heavy rains, averaging an inch all over the State, and even more fell in Tennessee, which received about an inch and a quarter. Northern Louisiana and Southeastern Oklaho had about half an inch. Practically no rain fell in the wheat belt that includes Northern Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. No more rain is forecast for the drought area in the next few days, as Kelly, Albert W. Jacobson and Martin F. O'Donoghue. the low pressure area that brought it is moving northeastward. TRUNK TRICK NETS FAT SUMS FOR DISAPPEARING “YACHTSMAN” Police Hunting for “Robert C. Clayton,” Sauve Stranger, Who Promised Victims World Voyage. A nimble-witted confidence man with a grand manner and a slick “line,” who made “suckers” out of several Wash- ingtonians recently, was in the port of missing men today. His name; so far as police were able to learn, is Robert C. Clayton. Perhaps the C stands for cleverness. At any rate, he “slip) a fast one” over on his somewhat gullible victims before disap- pearing, his pockets well lined with cof of the realm. ‘The swindler was described to police as an immaculate, ruddy complexioned individual of about 40. His high fore- head and a sprinkling of gray hair about his temples combined to llxa him :‘ dis- tinguished appearance. Apparently a blue-blooded aristocrat with money to in a casual manner that & drydock in Norfolk, being overhauled a bit, don’t | ha was in hlend‘l?%‘nd order to get away from the h bustle of business life and was going to sail soon on a world voyage. It prob- ably would be quite pleasant to lie on the beach at some far-away watering place and bask in the sun. He wanted to get his hand in at big game hunting again, too, and thought he might take a side trip into African jungles. Just one thing was annoying him. He to have to entertain his o h ll.t'u:et he‘hndhno w:'ue m e must get a hostess. -duffi?fidm needed a young man of pleasing appearance and good refer- ences to serve as his factotum. The word got An about two doz the “Buly behold, en called trunk paltry $20, d off to parched lands in 11 States over the | 38! g was PAGE B-—1 SENATE HEARINGS OND.C. SUPPLY BILL OPENED 0 PUBLIC Committee to Study Methods of Acquiring School and Engine House Sites. FIRST, SECOND, THIRD CHOICES SUGGESTED Several Days Expected to Be Cone sumed Before Completion of Data. Methods followed in acquiring sites for fire engine houses and schools fure nished the highlights at the opening of hearings on the District appropria- tion bill for the next fiscal year before the District subcommittee of the Sene ate Appropriations Committee today, The hearings, presided over by Sene ator Bingham, Republican, of Con« neclu:ut, probably will continue for seve eral days. Senator B! subcommittee memhex:ght::u::rdn:tdhut new policy in the consideration of the District bill this year by making the hearings open instead of executive, Senator Kendrick, Democrat, of Wy= oming declared that unicipal au- thorities iy = one location when they are asking for neighbor! - trict “ufl“uh hood sites for Dis. ‘Would Concentrate Duties. Another suggestion, advanced ator Phipps, Republican, of o, 7 on negotiations Witk prapeeiy e owne: Sy WO or officials in different de-mnenu e The first question which arose - Tnection with purchase of sites resulted {from a request by the commissioners that the item in the House bill for a site for a fire truck house in the vicinity of Twelfth m;ethmfl m:od‘z Island avenue $20,000. In u‘;m . Sen« rade sessed "lt“e is a Committee members comment the dlger&x:ee between the uaul:l‘ val- ue an proposed appropriation $20,000. Later, however, wot Crosby explained that the site the Fire Department has in mind, between Four- teenth and Fifteenth streets, on Rhode Island avenue northeast, is part of a made considering the tract as T e i sf a Rhode Island avenue froni 30'the gwhers 1 the sudivigins. owners of the L 2 e ke a explanation. School Site Is Questioned. Senator Nye, Republican, of North Dakota, raised a question regarding the advisability of the proposal for a new school site in the vicinity of Thirty- ninth and Fessenden streets, which, he said, would be only 1,200 feet away from the Ben Murch School develop= ment. The Senator the sub- whols take e HOWS st week, carrying & ouse week, a total of Ms,fw,mhuclmvz of trusts ‘Commissioners and ind. Reichelderfer, Crosby and Gotwals asked the Senate Committee to make the fol- lowing items, which are already in the House bill, immediately available in- stead of on July 1: For the widening and repaving of B street from Fourteenth street to Vir- ginia avenue, $101,100; for completing the new Klingle Bridge on Connecticut avenue, $250,000; for re: elec- trical conduits in connection with the public building program in the triangle, $10,000; for changing the telephones in police patrol boxes to connect them with other precincts when the first pre- cinct in the triangle area is abandoned, $9,225, and for drawing plans immedi- ately for new cottages at the In Home School for Colored, $5,000. School Testimony Tomorrow. Chairman Bingham announced that the committee would hear school offi- cials and representatives of the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks O Oh Wednesday morning n y mo! the subcom- mittee will make a tour of of proposed sites to be acquired and street improvements. Commissioner Reichel- derfer opened the hearing by explain- - ing that the bill is predicated on con~ tinuing the present tax rate for next year and also continuing for another year the Federal contribution of $9.- 500,000. Senator Bingham announced several days ago that he favored allow- ing the $9,500,000 Federal contribution to remain unchanged for the coming year, in view of the fact that the Mapes committee in the House has not yet completed its study of fiscal relations. In response to a question by Senator Bingham as to what steps have been taken regarding sale of the present Dis trict Bullding to the Federal Governe ment for inclusion in the triangle de- velopment, Commissioner Richelderfer ;ld :‘ leturrt?!u_g:en written to mu: cretary of asury, to take under cunsldnnunn.:mgcuh al lowance for the District Building, with the understanding that the District will continue to occupy it until the Municiple Center development enables the city government to move. - Subdivisions Are Criticized. In the course of the hearing, Senator King, Democrat, of Utah, criticized the manner in which some new subdivisions have been laid out on the outskirts of provision for park spaces. Senator Copeland, Democrat, of New York, asked Dr. George S , di- rector of public welfare, if he could submit an estimate of the cost of proj building Al cl torium. Mr. Wilson inted out that authorization tngd the adult i has not yet become law and suggested that the estimate for beginning the . project go over until next year. WATCHMAN ROBBED