Evening Star Newspaper, April 3, 1931, Page 1

WEATHER. ~ (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Rain tonight and tomorrow; somewhat warmer tonight, with lowest temperature about 46 degrees; sll{ll‘mly colder tomor- row. Tempera today; lowest, 37, at 5 a.m. toda: Full report on page New York Markets Closed Toda Entered as second class matt Washington, No. 31,748, post office, ighest, 57, at noon 1. @h The Star’s carri e e Y “From Press to Home Within the Hour” ier system covers city block and the regular edi- er D. G WASHINGTO WIVES, CHILDREN OF MARINES LEAVE MANAGUA BY PLANE FOR HOMES IN'U. 3. Pan-American Airways and Navy Ships Carry 200 to Corinto—Husbands Con- tinue Heroic Task of Relief. CITY STIRRED BY RUMOR OF ATTACK BY BANDITS Virtually All of Injured Removed to Granada, as Medical Corps Turns Attention to Sanitation. Red Cross Official Expected to Arrive Today From Washington. (First pictures of the Nica- raguan earthquake will be foundl on page 5.) BY WILLIAM H. EWING. (Copyright. 1931, by the Associated Press.) MANAGUA, Nicaragua, April ¢».—Leaving behind them scenes | of desolation scme 200 wives and children of United States Marines | were evacuating Managua today | for Corinto in Pan-American Alr- way and Navy planes. ; ‘Thirty-eight persons, including Mrs. James F. Dickey, whose hus- band was killed, and Maj. Joseph E. Murray, whose wife was killed, were the first to go. They were carried in three Pan-American planes handled by Pilots Moore, Paschal and Turner. These planes were expected tc reach Corinto during the day, and the passengers will board the transport Chaumont, bound for San Francisco, and the Navy ship Relief, sailing for New York. It vas en inspiring sight to see the srim faces of the litile tots responding with sm'les when told that Santa Claus aliing for them in Corinio. De- are of wives and_children lifted a ]-zd <f worry from the minds of hus- ban“s. who will continue their heroic tesk of relief and rescue work. Marines Scout Attack Report. A flurry was cauged last midnight by reports of ap) bandits. The whole story was disbelieved by Marine offizers, who pointed out that Managua was in open country znd that never in the experience Cf the forces in Nicaragua have they been able to draw raiders from the hills. For about 15 minutes, however, the report was re- cefved with excitement. The rumor came to a National Guard officer over the native telegraph from Concepcion, | 15 miles away. i A call to arms was sounded at the} Marine aviation headquarters on the outskirts cf the city, where 200 soldiers were stationed. Patrols carrying sub- machine guns were ordered on all sides of the field and these kept watch throughout the night. A number of civilians sleeping on! cots and benches and on the ground were summoned when the first alarm sounded and reported for arms and am- | munition. When the first contingent reached the tent of the officer of the day it was informed that the report| was not taken seriously and all hlflfl!i except the patrols were sent back to bed. i Marine officers also discounted rumors | that insurgents, led by Augustino San- | dino, were planning to attack the city. | Injured Moved to Granada. Virtually all the injured, except a! f=w_serious cases, have been removed ' to the city of Granada. The whole at-! tention of the Medical Corps is now| turned to the sanitation and prevention of disease. | Water is being taken {rom the brew- ery which ceased its usual operations | 1o provide the only pure supply in the city. Other water is being brought from Lake Managua and boiled in the | improvised plant 1 Ernest J. Swift, Red Cross official, is | expected today from Washington to' taks over the direction of relief work and rehabilitation The most rigid enforcement of mar- tial Jaw was operation following an (Continued on Page 5, Column 2.) PAVING TAX CASE LOST BY DISTRICT Canccellation Is Ordered in Action Involving 0ld Bor- land Act. 3! 1 ! : Judge Jobn H. Lyle umbia today Jos ing the old Borland as plied t5 row rly equal depth. | ne Court in & de-| Jennings Bailey | n of taxes assessed of Ida M. Miller | and others for repaving R and S| Seaton and Rancolph streets northeast between Secoud and Third. streets and Sccond street streets Althcugh peals has in four cases refused to sus- tain the old Borland law. it was stated | that the District will apepal from the deoision of Justice Bailey : another case amendment houses la the District Court of Ap- In the course of his opinion Justice Bailey said: “The front-foot method of essessing the costs of local improve- ments is at best a rough and ready means of ascertalning the benefits to the adjoining property. In this case the highways improved are used to a Jarge extent by heavy trucks as a means[ of avoiding a heavy grade on Rhode Island avenue. Of course there are some benefits to the lot_owners, but to require them to pay the entire cocts would be to that extent confiscatory.” The property owners were represented by Attorneys William Cogger and Philip F. Biggins. Radio P;nms on Page C-10 Cashier and Family Held Captive, Bank‘ Is Looted of $10,000/ Father 1Is Taken to Vault by 2 of 4 Robbers After Being Guarded All Night. By the Associzted Piess. MUNDELEIN, I, April 3.—Four men held the cashier of the Mundelein State Bank ceptive in his home throughout last night, then trussed up his wife and three sons, forced him to open the bank’s vaults today and cs- caped with $10,000. ‘The robbers entered the home of M C. Mott_at 8:30 p.m. he told police covered him with guns and tied up his wife and their threec sons, Paul, 22: Neal, 20, and Willam, 17. He said they took him to the bank at 5:30 am. and waited for the time clock to open | the vaults et 7:30 am. Moss_ was leit in the bassment until | released when the day force arrived at 8:30 am. He then went home and freed his family. Two cf the men had | ! stood guerd over the family until the | other two returned from the bank ¥ Mott's automobile. They then fled. JRY STL OUF N UINGLE CSE | Acquittal of Brothers Said to Be Favored by Nearly ‘ Unanimous Vote. By the Associated Prees. CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING, Chicago, April 3.—Reported to stand 10 to 2 or 11 to 1 for acquittal, a jury | weighing the part of Leo V. Brotheis in | the slaying of Reporter Alfred (Jake) Lingle, was locked in violent argument today. At 1:30 the jury had been de- liberating more than 23 hours. Meanwhile Judge Joscph Sabath was uncompromising in his determination that a verdict should be reached if pos- sible. He refused to allow the tired jurymen to rest. In a secluded and well guarced corner of the Criminal Courts Building the 12 men debated whether their answer should be “yes"—that Brothers wes the hireling essassin of the Tribune re- porter; or “no,” that he was not the man who crept bchind Lingle in a pe- destrian subway last June 9, and ended his life with 2 pistol shot. Four Pessible Verdicts. There were four possivle verdicts, | acquittal, or gwity, with three diffierent | senicncss optional with the jury. These sentences were death in the electric chafr, life imprisonment or a prison ierm or 14 years to life. In the latter casc the Illinois Parole Board his power to determinc how much more than 14 years a man must serve. It was 2:24 p.m. yesterday when the | the children, and found his wife | He begged her to return to him, | said, but she refused. ! fate of Brothers was transierred from the ofen court room, with its hundreds of josiding spectators, to the 12 ex- pressionless jurymen. Through the night there was no sign of the trend their study of evidence took. Contrasting strangely with most Juries long in arriving at a verdict they hadn't a request for further instruc- tions. Wailers carried breakfast to the jury rocm, but still there was no word. It remained for Judge Sabath to take the one step that marked the night. At 1 am. he retired to his home to snatch a few hours’ sleep, leaving word that if a verdict were reached he was to b2 called. The crowd was ordered from the ccurt room. Only a few news- paper men remained. To Get Plenty of Time. Judge Sabath returned shortly before 10 o'clock today and retired to his chambers. He said he had heard noth- ing from the jury. Asked how long he would keep them at their deliberations, Judge Sabath said it all depended on conditions “The jury is here for one purpose.’ said, “and I intend to give them “(Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) hi CAPONE IS CLEARED AT VAGRANCY TRIAL Prosecutors Unable to Find Police- man to Testify, They Admit. | time By ted Press CHICAGO. April 3—Charges of va- grancy were wiped from °Scarface Al” Capone’s escutcheon today. The prose- cutors sald they could find no policeman intimate enough with the gang chicf's activities to testify to his vagrancy It wes during his recent trial for con- t>mpt of Federal Court, for which he wis handed a six-month jail term, that Capcne had his first appearance in the Municipal Court as an alleged va- grant. The warrant had been issued by last Fall, when Capone was given position No. 1 on the crime commission’s roster of ‘“‘public enemies.” The prosecutors asked leave to file an smended bill of complaint, and when this was brought in Policeman Roy Van Herlk, signer of the warrant. acknowl- edged that he could not, of his own knowledge, swear to Caponc’s lack of legitimate employment and failure to provide for his famil smiling, free of any State charge. walked out with his escort of detectives. He posed genially for pho- tographers. By the Associated Press NEW YORK. | children—it 15 Dr. | Wilkes-Barre, Pa., that way. Avoril 3.—“Bright” Joseph talking—just scem Dr. Miller. director of guidance in|only normal intelligence or less. About the Wilkes-Barre schcols, has studied | 35 per cent of the “dull” children had 1,600 children frcm the first to the fifth grade under the auspices of Co- | ingly and were apt to bezome confused. lumbia Universtiy. What seems to be “brightness” in a | to label a chil child, he said today. is mecre likely to| in his early years. HUSBAND ESCAPES | afterncon, however, Baker had not yet | month ago. | street. she had been in the habit of | el |edly yesterday, however, according to Wit R e Ses “BRIGHT” CHILDRE AND “DULL” ONES JUST TIMID! | Educator, After Studying 1,600, Says It’s Unfair to Label | Pupil Either Clever or Dumb. Miller of | 85 “bright,” whereas the “dull” chil- ¢ Foenin SUNDAY MORNING EDITION WITH D. RIDAY, APRIL tion is delivered to Washington homes faf. | as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 117,989 1931 —FIFTY- Py Bh SIX PAGES. () Means Acssociated BN Pro TWO CENTS. AFTER KILLING WIFE AS CHILDREN PLAY T | Unemployed Man Fails to Keep Promise tc Surrender at Lawyer’s Office. MOTHER LEFT FATHER MONTH AGO, BOYS SAY Quarrel and Fatal Shooting Follow Her Refusal to Return Home. Death Gun Missing. Albert C Baker, 45 years old, who last night shot and killed his wife, Mrs. May Baker, 40, the mother of his four children, failed to surrender today | despite a report to the police that he would give himself up at a lawyer's office. | Baker, who fled immediately after shocting his wife while three of the! four youngsters were playing in an adjoining room of his dingy basement | apartment at 807 O street last night, was cxpected to appear at the office of Rocert 1. Miller, 503 D street. Surrender Promiscd by Two. Miller, an attorney, said two men called at his home at about 7 o'clock this morning and, after telling him about the shooting, promised to bring Baker to his office at 11 o'clozk. ! Miller informed police Baker intend- | ed to surrender and members of thei hemicide squad were stationed outside of the D strect office and at strategic points in the neighborhood. Early this | appeared. 7 Miller expressed the opinion the fugi- tive did not realize he had killed his wife'at the time the emissaries visited the lawyer's home. He added that it was possible Bak-r had changed his mind abcut surrendering when he read | the morning newspapers and learned of his wife's death. Three Children Present. The shooting occurred in the kitchen of the two-room flat, in which Baker and the three youngsters—Victor. 12; Albert, jr., 10, and Jackie, 8—had been living since his wife left him about & Although Mrs. Baker is said to have been living in the 1300 block Twelfth visiting her husband’s apartment every during his abscnce, to care for the ren. Quarrel Follows Visit. Baker returned to the flat unexpect- there. they A quarrel followed, the youngsters related. and Mrs. Baker went into the kitchen, leaving her husbend and the children in the front room. INFLORIDA DEATHS Probers Find Clues Indicat- ing Part in Two Mys- terious Cases. By the Associated Press CLEARWATER, Fla., April 3.—Pinel- las County officials said today their probe into activities of a professional flogging gang. active hereabouts recent- ly, had developed clues indicating the floggers might have caused the death of Dr. Archie McCallister in Tarpon Springs last December and George Pritchard of St. Petersburg in March McCallister was mysteriously shot at | dusk as he was leaving a hospital on the outskirts of the town. Pritchard disappeared from his hotel His body was found a week later on #n island In Tampa Bay under cond:- tions that indicated he had been killed | and taken there in a boat. Deputy Sherifft ack Strickland and Criminal Investigator Todd Tucker, as- signed to the case by Sheriff Roy Booth said clues they had been following pointed toward several prominent men in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Tarpon Springs. Their findings had indicated Baker entered the kitchen a moment | several unsolved crimes, including mur- later, the children continued, and fired | der, might be laid at the door of the at his wife, who was standing in front| vhippers and that a number of arrests of the sink. With a wound in her were expected within a few da back, she ran from the flat, screaming: | R. W. Oxford, St. Petersburg anio- “I'th shot!” blle repalr man. was whipped Feb- - | ruary 23. Father Floes From Sceme. Wilbur C. Mills, unemploy=d sales- She ran to a bench in front of &:man of Tampa, was arrested in March house three doors away, where she col- and signed a statement, police said, im- lapsed. | plicating H. T. Wood, Tampa automo- Meanwhile, Baker had fled, after :bile builder; Paul Nolan, St. Fatersburg warning the voungsters not to follow | grocer: B. B. Batcheldor, St. Pet: him. i burg carpenter, and Benny Pardo The children ran from the apart- Sam Cicarells, Tampa mechanics, in ment, however, and one of them asked ' tre Oxford flogging. All, including Miils a neighbor. who had heard the report of the revolver, to summon an ambu- lance. Mrs. Hospital, dead, Police immediately began a search of the neighborhood, but no trace of Baker was found. His descripticn was broadcast to all precincts, however. Children Hunt Father. In the excitement, the children had wandered away from the flat, not real izing their mother was dead and tr ing to find their father. They were found several hours later in the W. B. & A. Station, where they had gone to rest and seck refuge frcm the cold. The shooting, according to the voungsters, was the climax of a series of quarrels between their parents, who had separated “because they couldn't get along.” Baker had been uncmployed for some After working in various d:wn- town department stores, it was said, he had recently ottained employment at| the Agriculture Department’s Experi- menta! Farm in Fairfax County, Va. He had lost this position a few days ago, however The Bakers' oldest child. Edris, has been living with her mothe: (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) | Baker was taken to Emergency where she was pronounced | 15 { SNOW COVERS OLEAN | Belated B)izza:d Causes Death of Power Line Worker. OLEAN. N. Y. April 3 (#).—Olean today is looking at the calendar and cndering if Spring really has come. The ground is covered with a heavy. clinging snow. the resuit of a belatéd <rm_which raged throughout the sec- n Wednesday and yes.erday. Feports trickling into Olean as com- | munication with the outside world was | partial'y restored indicatzd at least one | czath was attributable to the blizzard. The body of Scott Denie, 28, Eldred, Pa., v.as found hanging across a_power line. | He had met death by electrocution winile repairing lines. N OFTEN GLIB t | | | | be merely glibness. The children who | talk well to> frequently are recwmud‘ dren are equally smart. Dr. Miller found that 25 per cent of the children graded as “bright” had the same intelligence. but spoke halt- He concluded that it is an injustice ither “pright” or “dull” e made bond of $4.000 each, following their arrest on a charge of kidnaping. Nolan said he was the victim of frame-up. Says Flogger Received $600. Mills in his statement sald Wood got some $600 for whipping Oxford. but re- fused to give him (Mills) $75 he prom- ised. WEATHER UNCERTAIN Forecaster Says Rain May Continue Through Sunday. With rain forecast for tonight and tomortow, the weather for Sunday “is very doubtful,” according to the fore- caster at the Weather Bureau today. There is a possibility that the rain may continue through Sunday. There are a number of unusual con- ditiors, the forccaster sald, making the weather for Easter uncertain at present Among these is a low-pressure area over the Rio Grande. It is difficult, he added, to tell in what direction this may move. “Somewhat cooler” weather is prob- able for Sunday, it was stated g gl Pope Sends Relief Fund. VATICAN CITY, April 3 ().—Pope Pius XI today cabled to Nicaragua an unannounced sum fcr rellef of the stricken city Shop S;ufd;y in the Morning! The new Saturday half holidays for Government em- ployes have given a wonderful impetus to Saturday after- noon shopping. The stores are busier at that time than ever before. ~ Mothers, children and oth- ers, not employed, should use the MORNING for their Sat- urday shopping. This would improve the afternoon condi- “tions and would insure better service at the stores for those who shopped early in the day. Today's Star contains many pages of attractive merchan- dise offerings of unusual value and interest at this season of the y:ar, ‘onvicts Ask Chair For Plea of Guilty In Ghio Prison Fire Pair Who Confessed Start- ing Blaze Afraid to Return to Cell By the Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 3.—A prom- ise cf immediate death in the electric chair will bring a guilty plea Monday from two Ohio Penitentiary convicts who confessed they fired the prison, re- sulting in the snuffing out of the lives of 320 convicts. The prisoneis—Clinton Grate and Hugh Gibson—indicted for first-degree murder on fi1x counts, told Prosecutor Donald Hoskins and newspaper men to- day they wouid plead guilty when ar- raigned Monaay if the prosecutor could | guarantee tney would be sentenced and electrocuted immediately. “Under the (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) DAVIS REITERATES HEWIL NoT QU1 Senator Again Spikes Rumor He Will Succeed Hays or Get Other Movie Job. GOULD LINCOLN. Senator Jam-s J. Davis of Pennsyl- ania again spiked rcports that he would resign from ths Senate and go into the mction picture business, on his return to Washington today from California The former Secretary of Labor made light of the rumors that he was to become the czar of the moving picture business or that he would become an administrative official in any of the biz_picture concerns. The Senate Lobby Committee, headed by Senstor Caraway of Arkansas, has been at work investigating reports that the Celot:x Co. had paid over to a Sen- ator of the United States $50.000 to $100.000 during the consideration of the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill Senator Davis, who was Secretary of Labor at the time of the tariff act, was before the Senate, when rumor connect- ed his name with the matter, demanded an oppdwtunity to appear before the commit.ce. He was given An oppor- tunity to make a statement and de- clared emphatically that he had never lobbied for any company, Celotex or otherwise That was at the close of the last ses- sion of Congress. A few weeks agd Senator Davis went to California for a rest. Senator Caraway, chairman of the Lobby Committee, left shortly after- wards to go to Arkansas, his home. Be- fore he left he said that the investiga- tion by the committee of the charge BY G. involving Senator Davis would be post- | poned until he and the Senator f{rom Pennsylvania and other members cf the committee could be in Washington. In Senator Caraway'’s office it was said to- | day he might not return for a couple | of months. In the interim, however, representa- tives cf the Lobby Committee have been | investigating the affairs of the Celotex | Co., in which Scnator Davis bas told the committes he wi a stockholder. The Celotex Co. makes its product out (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) LEAPS TO DEATH FROM HOTEL ROOM Secretary of University of Pennsyl- vania Professor Dies in New York Hospital. NEW YORK, April 3 (P).—Miss Mabel D. Crosson, 24. of Narberth. Pa. died in a hospital last night of 1 juries received when she fell or leaped from a 10-story window of the Algon- | quin Hotel shortly before midnight. PHILADELPHIA, April 3 (P).— Mabel D, Crosson, who fell or jumped to her death from a 10-story New York | hotel window last night, was secretary | to Francis H. Bohlen, professor in the | University of Pennsylvania Law School | and “wet” candidate for the Repub- |lican nomination for United States | Senator at the primary last May. Mr. Bohlen said the young woman ;had been missing since Monday. It | was stated she recently had suffered a nervous breakdown. Mr. Bohlen said he had located her at the hotel and urged her on the telephone to return home, but she re- | fused. ' She was the daughter of Willson J. Crosson of Narberth, a suburb. = = Pr —Sm— DISTRIT 0 PROBE PLANTOSELL COAL N 20018, INTS Commissioners Order Sweep-; ing Inquiry by Roberts Into Proposal of Dealers. LONG TON ESTABLISHED BY ACT OF CONGRESS |Superintendent of Weights Gets Authority for Investigation After Outlining Law. —— The Commissionsrs today ordered a sweeping investigation into the propos- ed change In the unit of measure of coal for sale in Washington, whereby the Washington coal merchants intend to depart from the long ton of 2,240} pounds in favor of fthe short ton of 2,000 pounds, designated a *2,000-pound unit.” Supt. of Weights, Measures and Markets George M. Roberts was m, structed to make the investigation. 1 Ll bl Fo it | Mr. Roberts, in an official communi- cation, directed the Commissioners’ at- | |tention to advertisements in which the | | propcsed new unit s to be estab- |lished. He pointed out that the adver- tisements did not bear the names of any {individual dealers and that the pro- | posed change in units is directly con- trary to the act of March 3, 1921 de- fining the duties of his office and mak- |ing provisions for weights and measures Observance Begins With Sun- by which gocds are to be sold in the % 2 i District. rise Services at Arlington. Hoover to Attend. 000 EASTER VISITORS EXPECTED Law Sets Unit. 3 Section eight of the act reads: “Coal shall be sold by the long ton, consisting of 2240 pounds avoirdupois.” And g further in section 28, the same act pro- | A sunrise service at Arlington Na- vides that “The superintendent * * * tional Cemetery, attended by President shall make such investigations regard- Hoover, members of the cabinet and |ing the sale, distribution of prices of other prominent officials, will open the commodities in the District of Columbia general observance of Easter Sunday in as the Commissioners may direct, and Washington. Established as a prece- shall make reports and rzcommenda- dent under the auspices of the Grand tions in connection therewith.” Commandery of the Knights Templar | In accordance with their powers under in the District of Columbia, the Arling- this section, the Commissioners today ton service, which begins at 7:30 o'clock, officially directed Mr. Roberts to make will be one of the most colorful religious | the investigation. and fraternal ceremonies held here in| Mr. Roberts’ memorandum to thej |years. Fully 500 Knights Templar in|Commissioners reads in part: uniforms will take part. “Notwithstanding the advertisement | By tomorrow night 120,000 visitors | states that ‘throughout April prices will are ‘expected to be in Washington for be the lowest until next Spring,’ it will the holiday. This figure is based on |be observed that it contains no state- estimates of hotel officials and officers ment to the effect that the price of the of the various public carriers and | so-called ‘2,000-pound unit’ will be cor- American Automobile Association. respondingly lower than would be the Although all hope that the Japanese | price for a legal ton of 2,240 pounds by cherry trees might bloom for Easter | Which coal has heretofore been unl- hndubee‘n gbandoned today., the thou- formly sold in the District. sands of annual holiday visitors, many | drawn _especially by the fame of the S | blossoms, continued their migration to| “When th: bill which became the present weights and measures act was |the National Capital. " before Congress, the provisions relating o s {o the sal= of Coal were the subject of Charles Henlock. former White House | extensive hearings before the committee i gardener, examined the trees surround- at which officials of the coal dealers’ ing the Tidal Basin yesterday and ex- association urged that the weight of a pressed the conviction they would not |ton be reduced from 2.240 pounds to be in bloom for at least a week. This| view concurs with those held by offi- | clals of the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Public Buildings and | Public Parks. President Hoover and members of his | cabinet are arranging Easter festivities at their homes. Following the Arlington services, the President will attend a Quaker service in the morning. Then, with Mrs. Hoover and their three small grandchildren. he will participate in the testivities at the White House. The Labor Secretary and Mrs. Doak are planning a family celebration too. Mrs. Doak assistng in the task of pre- paring Easter eggs for her grandniece. Mary Jane Cricher, 2 years old. Secretary Mellon hopes to be able to spend the day with his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. David Bruce, at their Long Island home. Cabinet Members Away. The Sccretary of State and Mrs. Stim- son are already at their Long Island place, and will not return before next week. Nor will Secretary Hyde be back from an official trip to Missouri. The Postmaster General and Mrs. Brown will remain at Virginia Hot Springs. Distinctly homcy are the plans of Vice President Curtis. his sister-hostess. Mrs. Edward Everett Gann. and her husband. “We will go to church. of course.” Mrs. Gann said. “We will have a quiet day together.” In the home of the Secretary of Com- wedding plans will be discussed. | Mrs. Lamont and her daughter Ger- trude will return from New York in time to entertain Miss Lamont's fiance, | Charles E. Saltzman. son of the Fed- eral radio commissioner. over Easter. | The wedding is to be next month. “A quiet_day” was the program also of other Cabinet members. Diplomats and resident society will gather at small at homes, and the high hats and | | richly cclored feminine finery will not | be absent from the broad premenades. | ‘The traditional Easter social climax| will e lacking. For years exclusive| groups went en masse to a dejeuner at | the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Mc- | Lean But there are no invitations| merce | this year. President and Mrs. Hoover were in-| vited to_the services at Alington by | Eugene E. Thompson, chairman of the Religious Committee of the order. Rep- | resentatives of the Knights Templar | from nearby Maryland and Virginia| also will_attend. According to Joseph | " (Continued on Page 4, Column 2) | | occasions requested successive Boards | Congress that the law be amended so | William Duncan Herridge, 2,000 pounds, but the committee unani- mously refused to insert an amendment to that effect. Since the passage of the law, coal dealers have on several of Commissioners to recommend to as to provide a 2,000-pound ton for coal. but such requests have been re- fused. At one time when it became public that the coal dealers desired the law amended s0 as to reduce the weight of a ton, it was made manifest through resolutions passed by numerous citizens’ associations that public sentiment was very strongly opposed to the change. Since the aforementioned adver-, tisements have appeared in th: news- ( papers, this department has received a considerable number of inquiries or complaints, usually by teléphone, re- lating to the subjcct, tending to indi- | cate that the belief prevails that the organized coal dealers of the District have undertak:n to set up and put into operaticn an artifice with which they hope to circumvent ‘the law, and ad- vance the actual cost of coal to con- It will be observed that no names are appcnded to the advertisement, and that there is nothing to show whether all the dealers or what dealers are re- sponsible for fts publication. The sit- (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) | NEW CANADIAN ENVOY TO MARRY ON APRIL 14} Maj. W. D. Herridge mier o Wed Pre- Bennett's Sister at Ottawa. GTTAWA, Ontario. April 3 (#).—Maj. Canada’s newly appointed Minister to the United States, will introduce a bride to the ‘Washington society circle when he takes | up_his new post Premier R. B. Bennett #nnounced the engagement of his sister, Miss | Mildred Mariaun Bennett. to Maj. Her- ridge. The marriage is expected to take place here April 14 The engagement results from a To- mance that began when Maj. Herridge, brilllant lawyer and war veteran, ac- companied the premier on his campaign | tour as legal adviser. Miss Bennett for | years has been the premier’s inseparable companion FIRST WOMANV:I'O VICTORIA FALLS By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, April 3.— The first woman to cross the celebrated Victoria Falls in Rhodesia, South Africa, is com- ing to America to see if Niagara Falls | can_thrill her. She is Mrs. Josephine Cartwright, an | Englishwoman and sister of G. R.| Broadberry, music editor of the James- | town (N. ¥.) Journal. i Mrs. Cartwright, who possessss plenty | | of pioneering spirit, went with her hus- | band to the wilds of Rhodesia about | the time Cecil Rhodes' great project— ( the Cape to Cairo Railroad—was grad- ually materializing. The point which | th- engineers selccted for thelr bridge " i CROSS AFRICAi’S- . TO SEE NIAGARA | across the Zambezi River was at Vie- torla Falls, the most magnificent nat- ural spectacle in Africa. In the presence of a crowd, engineers stretched a cable across th> river and ! | | | | rigged up a chair on a wire strand. | | Then C. Beresford Fox, i who was in charge of the work, honored Mrs. Cart- wright by permitting her to be the first woman to cross the falls, on April 11, 1904. Her chair was 396 fzet above the raging torrent which throws a veil of misty spray 1,000 to 3,000 feet in the air. Mrs. Cartwright, who arrives April 8 on the liner omu’ will spend four months seeing America,"sgen return to her Rhod-sia home. Y j ‘v.'% ldrom their home, POWER RATE FIGHT INEVITABLE, NOTE OF FIRM INDICATES Pepco Refuses to Compro- mise With Utilities Commis- sion on Consent Decree. (PETITION DRAWN UP FOR EQUITY COURT PLEA Company Declares Time Inoppor- tune for Change in View Reduc- tion in Earnings This Year. A court battle for reduction of Wash- ington’s electric rates appeared inevi- table today when the Potomac Electric Power Co. refused to enter into any compromise with the Public Utilities Commission, which claims that under the present system the power pany's rates are excessive. Vice President S. Russell Bowen de- livered to the commission a letter con- taining the action taken by the board of directors of the company on Wed- nesday. This sets out at length a reso- lution adopted by the board in which it points out that the gross and net earnings of the company during Janu- ary and February suffered considerable reductions over those returns for the same months in 1930 A long list of other reasons is also appended why the company should not accede to the suggested modification of the consent decree reducing its basic rate of retutn from 72 per cent to 63 per cent with a sliding scale of reduc- tions to take care of excess earnings. Rates Here Held Low. The resolution sets out that the agree- ment contained in the consent decree was entered into in gocd faith by the parties concerned for valuable con- sideration, and that it is a profit-sharing instrumentality advantageous to the company and the public altke. The company sets out the fact that the maximum electric rates here are the lowest in all citles with 150,000 a- tion or more, and taking this into con- sideration it is denled that the cor- poration’s return has been excessive. Specifically the company sets out that its gross business of January and Feb- ruary, 1931, showed a decrease of $31,01¢ as compared with the same months of 1930, whereas the business in January and February, 1930, had showed an in- crease of $177.701 over the business in January and February, 1929. Further, the net operating revenues of the com- pany for January and Pebruary, 1931, were sald to have decreased by $85.315 as compared with the same months in 1930. whereas these for January and February for 1930 had an increase of $125613 over | corre- sponding months of 1929, Time Held Tnopportune. ‘The resolution ends up: “All‘of which should. in the judgment of this board, ::'!“&um the mlndJ of t’he commission a present time is inopportune to raise an issue of this character, more particularly because a further period of time is necessary to demonstrate the actual effect of the new rates under present economic conditions and be- cause it now appears likely that the conditions of which the commission complains will be met by the operstion of the d agreement and decree.” The text cf the earlier part of the resolution is as follows: wf ““Whereas the Public Utilities Com- mission heretofore presented a sugges- tion that the consent decree in the cate of the Polomac Electric Power Co. be modified by a reduction in the basic rate of return frgm 71, per cent to 674 per cent, and also submitted a table of certain allowable rates of return in respect thereto, the maximum upon the same volume of business in the preced- ing year being less than 7' per cent, end further submitted a = suggestion whereby the company would permit the confiscation of its property by agreeing to the following: (Here follows the sliding scale 2:sted by the commission.) Good Faith Cited. ““Whereas the agreement between th> commission and the company was en- tered into in good faith by the partics concerncd for a able as decreed by the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on December 31, 1924, and. “Whereas the said agreement and decree provides a profit-sharing instru- mentality advantageous to the public and the company alike and affording a practical and convenient method for the readjustment of rates as conditions change from time to time, thereby avoiding the expense, delays and annoy- ances of tedious valuations, rate hear- ings and court proceedin and, “Whereas it was the purpose of the said agreement and decree that in eon- sideration of th> company agreeing t» accept less than a reasonabl n?urn (Continued on Page 2, Column 3. BARTSCH ASKS COURT DISMISS WIFE'S SUIT com- Curator Seeks Decree to Self In- stcad of Wife, Charging She Attacked Him. Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of the Na- tional Museum and professor of biology at Gecrge Washington University, has filed answer to the suit of his wife, Mrs. Signe G. Bartsch, for a limited | divorce and asks the court to dismiss Pioneer Englishwoman Rode in Cable Car Above 400-| Foot-High, 2,000-Yard-Wide Cascade. her suit and to grant a limited divorce to him, instead of to the wife. He charges that she attacked him two months 2g0 and took the furniture at 1456 Belmont street. He asks an injuncticn to prevent cne removal of the furniture from the Dis- trict, which includes, he says, a grand plano, rugs, china, glassware and the ike. He asscrts that he has found his wife a difficult person to live with and has suffered frequently from her nag- girg Mrs. Bartsch sued last year for a limited divorce, claiming that her hus- band used her as a “biological speci men,” but later withdrew the case fol- lowing a reconciliation. She brought the new proceeding a few weeks ago. The husband is represented by A= torney Huston Thompton.