Evening Star Newspaper, April 12, 1931, Page 17

WASHINGTON, D. €, SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 12, 1931, GENERAL NEWS | PAGE B—1 THRONGSEXPECTED | Teatfc e IN PARK TODAY T0 SEE CHERRY TREES Special Traffic Arrangements Made to Handle Crowds Near Tidal Basin. BUS LINES TO RUN EXTRA CARS TO HANDLE CROWD Single-Blossom Trees Now Showing Many Blooms—Double Variety Slower in Opening. Thousands of visitors will join local residents in & pilgrimage to Po- tomac Park today for a view of the budding cherry blossoms, which have for Cherry B lossom Time S. PARK POLICE AND METROPOLITAN OFFICERS TO PUT NEW PLAN IN FORCE TODAY. | i | the | opened enough to frame the Tidal Basin with a delicate wreath of pink. Special arrangements to take care of the expected automobile traffic have been worked out by the park police, following conferences with Represcnta- tive Bowman of West Virginia, who has interested himself in the park traffic problem. A diagram of traffic routing to be-: come effective today Is reproduced in another column. Motorists _ are re- quested to study the map carefully be- fore venturing into Potomac Park, in order to avoid confusion in the con- gested area. Special Bus Service. A full corps of park policemen will be on hand to direct motorists into approved channels of traffic. Special “cherry blossom” bus service will be instituted today by the Wash- ington Rapid Transit Co. Busses will Jeave Seventeenth and B streets at con- venient intervals during the day, be- ginning at 10:30 o'clock and continu- ing until 6 o'clock, officials of the com- any announced. A 10-cent fare will charged for the trip around the basin. In _addition, double-decker busses will be operated on the Six- teenth street line, connecting with the cherry blossom busses. The warm sunshine of the past few days, coupled with the prospect of more sun rays today, has worked magic with the buds on the single-blcssom around the Tidal Basin. Scme of the trees already have burst into full bioom, great numbers of blooms. T the Traffic Bureau are co-operatin | these changes in an effort to relieve congestion and speed up, the flow of cars will turn t> the right of the John Paul Jones Statue and cntinue around the Tidal Basin by either of the two roads | around the polo fleld, which will be mad | verted to the right to pass under the Highway Bridge, on @around the rose garden, and, turning left, getting int> the|station at Arlington, will carry part of | Fourteenth street traffic or continuing on down around H.edns Point. B street and C street southwest will be made one-wey streets east, in order to get traffic off Fourteenth street. ! D street southwest, however, will be made a two-way thorcughfare, as it is practically & continuation of Maryland |and Columbia Broadcasting Systems. i 1 e one way for -souflibound traffic only, a avenue, a thoroughfare used by & number of tourists coming into the city. Traffic along Water street, destined for Fourteenth street, will be diverted north HIS sketch, showing the propased traffic arrangement, fo be put in force today, to handle the vast number of cars expected around the Tidal Basin and Potomac Park, 1rhen the Japanese cherry trees are expected to show forth Ray C. Montg-mery, U. S. A., superintendeist of the United States park police. and Inspector Brown of | with Representa‘live Frank L. Bowman of West Virginia, who has suggested Traffic coming down Seventeenth street nd cross over the inlet bridge, being di- rd on Twelfth street, although traffic coming off Fourteenth street at ‘Water street will be, permitted to make a right-hand turn there. The green traffic light at Fourteenth and Water streets will give the “go” signal practically ccntinuously at that point in order to keep traffic moving along Fourteenth strcet. and a point to the southward of the outlet bridge, Fous teenth street will be a one-way thoroughfare, city bound, fcr light | Only heavy commercial vehfcles will be perm.itied to use Fourteenth street, as is customary at prese traffic. bound for Virginia. Between the Washington bridgehead of the Highw: / Bridge t when i Traffic coming out of Hains Point along the Waishington Channel will turn at the railroad underpass at Fourteenth | street, a part turning right on Fcurteenth, but if the dacasion requires {on the Hains Point side of the railroad | rase garden. | Light traffic bound for Virginia will be diverted n-ar the outl trees | Basin and being diverted to make a sharp right-hand t for Virginia will travel on Fourteenth street as heretofc Tourists taking the park road fcr trsafic bound for Virginia will be permitted to | this excess load. rn onto the as the park road is ni part will be turned left over a c to the tourists camp &nd out into the Fourteenth street stream of traffi ridge, t> travel on the Highway Bridge. roadway ¢ near the ark road south of the Tidal Heavy commercial traffic bound ot. built substantially enough to care for while others are on the verge of un-|southeast of the inlet bridge and continue on under the Highway Bridge, past the rose garden, into the tourist camp. folding their glories to the admiring| crowds. Prince Here Wednesday. ‘The double-blossom trces at. Hains Point will not be ready to blodsk for some days yet. i Prince and Princess Takamatsu of Ja- visiting in the United States on r-long, round-the-world honey- mocn. will be in Washington Wedne: day, in time to view the blossoms of their native land in their mest gor- geous profusion CALVERT ST. PARK SPACE TO BE PAVED Highway Department Announces Plan to Facilitate Traffic Near Connecticut Avenue. The center parking on Calvert street. between Connecticut avenu: Twenty-eighth street, in front of the new Shoreham Hotel, 18 to be vemoved | "y coq”on' Washington's 1930 popu- and the strip paved by the Distri Highway Department as an ald to traf- | fic in that neighborhood, according to | Herbert C. Whitehurst, District | Capt. high Bids tracts for the paving of New York avenue from Florida avenue to Blade: burg road northeast, including pav: over the New York avenue bridge, bullt 22 years ago but never yet A contract for strengthening the bridge 1o meet modern traffic conditions has already been let ‘The work is estimated to cost $195,000. On the #ame day bids will be opened for a con- tract for the paving of a group of streets in the new Union Station Plaza being developed by the Federal Govern- ment. The work there will be done un- der the District Highway Department, but all work will be paid for by the Federal Government April 28 bids will be opened for all engineer. s during the present work- This will involve ex Penditure of approximately $1,252,000. FOUR BROOKLYN NURSES HURT IN COLLISION pital From 16th and Newton, One With Knee Fracture. Four Brooklyn. N. Y., injured vesterday when a roadster in which they were riding collided with another automobi! Sixteenth and Newton streets other car was nurses The operated by Fred T. Goode, 19, of 1440 | ‘W street Miss Phy) the nurses is L. Johnson, 24, driver of car, suffered a fractured knee. while her companions, Mary H Terris, 32, Irene Kimball, 23, and Elizabeth Bethea, 25, received face cuts and bruises. All were taken to Emer- gency Hospital, where Miss Johnson was admitted, while her three com- panions were dismissed after their in- Juries were cared for. NEW PROSPERITY ERA FORECAST FOR NATION #ead of Pankers' Association Holds Business, Especially in Mid- west Is Gaining. By the Associated Press. ATLANTA, Ga. April 11 —Rome C. Stephenson, South Bend, Ind., presi- drnt of the American Bankers’ Associa- tion, said today the Nation was headed confidently for another prosperous era. Mr. Stephenson was on his way, with A group of 126 nationally prominent bankers, to Augusta, Ga. for the an- nual Spring meeting of the executive council of the association. He said the agricultural problem “is the most serious aspect of the late de- pression, and unless there is a_curtall- ment of wheat planting in the West and cotton planting in the South it will ‘continue to retard a normal return to . prosperity. Industry is showing a sub- Wml improvement all along the ¢ “Business in the Middle West par ficularly,” he sald, “is on the up grade. and vill be opened April 27 for con- | 762, did an $158,295.164, g | in use.| were | RETAIL BUSINESS - HERE FAVORABLE | Show Total of $331,873,844 ! During Year. 1 ‘Washington's annual retail business of $331,873,844 compares quite favorably with the volume of business conducted in other cities of comparative size, fig- {ures obtained in the 1930 census of retail distribution reveal. The figures lation of 486,869 Figures releascd yesterday by the Bu- reau of the Census show that New Or- leans, La., having a populaticn of 458,- annual business of but according to the 7,906 stores reporting. More than 5900 re- tail stores in Washington reported in { the census Other comparative cities include Min- neapolis, Minn., with a population of ;164.356, having 6,028 stores. doing an {annual business of $304.330,792, and { Cincinnati, Ohio—population, 451,160, | with 6,991 stores; annual business 1$291,572,167. Baltimore, with a population of 804 | 874, reported that 12,609 stores did an, annual business of $380.450,518: Mil- | waukee, Wis, with a population of 1578.249, did an annual business of $347... | 422,233 for 8,717 stores: San Prancisco Calif., population 634,394, did a busineq s |of $499,060416, with 11,034 stores rg.. porting, and the annual business «! | Cleveland, Ohio. with a_population of 1900,429, was $534,240,787, with 12,609 stores reporting. i Washington's greatest volume jt | business, next to foodstuffs, was dcase in the automobile group, which repa ut- led an annual business of $50,215.¢ 80. | This compares with $22,245.422 for Nlew $49,897,579 for Baltimore and $40,565,~ 785 for Cincinnati. SUSPECT IN GORDO# SLAYING ACCUSED Woman Identifies Stein as Man 1 Who Tried to Chlorofoym Her in Apartment. . By the Associated Press NEW YORK, April 11—FKiew woes came todsy to plague Harry ' Stein, racketeer, held on suspicion #f stran- gling Vivian Gordon. A woman, whose name wam mot dis- sed, saw Stein's pictures in the | papers. She went to the FEaronx dis- | trict_attorn office and pitked him ! out of a line-up as a man Wrwo entered her apartment last April, tric 4 to over- come her with a chioroform ,saturated handkerchief and escaped ‘with two rings after she fought him c 1. Since the alleged robbery took place in Manhattan, she was sept to Dis- trict Attorney Crain's office to register her complaint. A wide search for thrce witnesses marked today’s developmcmts in the Gordon case. Police declar jd these wit- nesses—one of them a tax feab driver— could testify that Stein vpas with the vice graft tipster and 3 lleged black- maller the day before I'er body was found in Van Cortlandt. Park with clothesline around the m ack. §c Bid for Week End Air Trips. In the belief that peojsle in the north and Midlands of Englasid-will soon fl their own airplanes to the south-coast resorts for week end pleasure trips, Brighton, Hove and W¢rthing, England |are planning a largs municipal air. irome at Shortham. 14he agrdrome will cost $250,000 and cover o8, { Orleans. $44.355,514 for Minneanc lis, | Victims Taken to Emergency Hos- | Blood Offered By 7 Jewish Boys To Save Woman Hospiiial Patient in Critical Operation. ! | Seven . boys at the Jewish Foster Home here have volunteered to give their bipod in an effort to save a wom- | an, mfther of several boys, who lies criticz 1ly il at Episcopal Eye, Ear and Throat, Hospital. The boys' offer was tendei pd yesterday after B. L. Eisen- berg, shperintendent of the home, asked a grotjp of them if they would like to do it. Thes woman, Mrs. Ethel Lasky, has just undergone a mastoid operation— and doctors at Episcopal Hospital be- HPXQ ia blood transfusion might save her life T°he youthful volunteers were in- st fcted to be &t the hospital this ma ting for a test of their blood. They are; Sam Lask: Reuben Krit, William Ragenthal, Benny Waldman, Izzy Gor- de.n, Joshua Goldbloom and Philip Umatt. DRY AGENT CHARGED IN THEFT DISCHAGED Woodeock to Ask Maryland to Prosecute C. R. McCartney for Robbery. Charles R. McCartney of Colmar Manor, Md,, a prohibition agent operat- ! ing in Southern ' Maryland, was dis- missed yesterday by Prohibition Direc- tor Amos W. W. Woodcock on charges of having stolen $200 from a colored man during an investigation. Col. Woodcock said he found it neces- | sary to dismiss the agent, who had ad- mitted taking the money. to ask Maryland authorities to prose- | cute McCartney for theft. “We must be drastic about this,” the prohibition director said. “I have in- structed an agent to go into that sec- tion to obtain a warrant for his arrest. I believe the best thing to do is to g0 after the man as vigorously as we know how Col. Woodcock alse announced ap- pointment of a new deputy prohibition | administration in St. Louis. Jefferson Davis, & resident of Fort Miller, N. Y., has been assigned to the post in an| | effort, to improve dry law enforcement there. In St. Louis,” Col. “we nced a man of Davis type to put prohibition enforcement there on a par with enforcement in the rest of the United States STERLING MéMORIAL LIBRARY GIVEN YALE | Dedication Rites Held at School Makes $6,000,000 Building | Part of University. y the Associated Press. NEW HAVEN, Conn, April 11.—An- other memorial to the late John W. |B | Sterling, New York lawyer and Yale | yepjcles to Be for F and G Streets | graduate, who died in 1918, became a part of Yale University today with the dedication of the $1,000,000 Sterling Memorial Library. : This mammoth cathedrallike struc- ture, in the heart of the University, to K its place with three other Sterling | bui'dings now in use. These and other Storling bulldings now under construc- tica were made possible by the will of | ‘Mr. Sterling, who left his residuary es- tate to Yale University. | The keys to the library were pre- sented to President James Rowland Angell by John Anson Garver, counsel | for the trustees of Mr. Sterling’s es- tage. He plans | | bers of | Arrested February ‘Woodcock said, | Capt. P. J. Carroll of the United States park police explained that persons desiring to go t> Virginia today should use Fourteenth street, rather than Seventeenth street or other highways in that area, in order to keep from getiing the heavy traffic around West Potomac Park. to THORNE MURDER TON S SEEN “S0L {Figures of 1930 Census| Condition Following |Police Deferaueétioning For- mer Marine, Believed Owner of Weapon. Lifting of the mystery surrounding | the murder, of Emanuel Thorne, 25-| year-old Marine private, probable last night follos the four Thorne's death we volver believed to have been the prop- erty of & former Marine now cenfined in the District Reformatory The prisoner, Cline R. Tecgarden who is serving a five-year sentence for assault and robbery, was taken to the District Jail yesterday to be questioned by Deputy Sheriff Thomas Garr: Prince Georges County and mem the Washington homicide squad Garrison was unable to come to the Capital, . however, and tr was postponed until today or tom depending on how soon the Mar d=puty is able to complete other phases of his investigation Briefly Questioned. Teegarden, who is 21, was subjected to a. brief 'interrogation at the re- formatory, but the nature of the in- formation’ obtained from him was not revealed The theory that robbery was motive for Thorne's slaying—advanced when it was learned he had about $50 and valuable jewclry when he left the Marine Barracks on January 16—was scouted last night by Garrison. “It’s-true his wallet was empty and his jewelry missing when the body was found,” Garrison said, “but I believe he was murdered because he knew too much. The robbery, I think, was an after thought; perhaps planned to put investigators on the wrong track.” Garrison’s_opinion is based, he ex- plained, on the fact Thorne, according to fellow Marines, expressed fear he would be “bumped off” because he had knowledge of several recent hold-ups. Members of Same Company. Teegarden and Thorne were mem- the same company, Garrison appear:d w the added. 3 for assaulting {and robbing William Lumsden of Ra- | section of Southeast Washington by in- | viting him to go for a ride with a girl Teegarden was at liberty January 16 when, Garrison insists, thorne ~was | Kkilled. The pistol from which the fatal bul- lets are believed to have been fired was | found at the scene of the assault and | robbery. At Garrison's request the | weapon’ was examined by Lieut. John | Folwer, Police Department ballistics expert, who expresscd the opinion it | was the gun from which the slugs | found in Thorne's body were discharged. | The Marine’s body was found eight | days ago, buried in a shallow grave in |a patch of woods at Great:r Capitol Heights,. Two men were arrested in | connection with the case, but were re | leased when they succeeded in con ‘:\'lncmg Garrison they were innocent. 'BUSES | WILL BUY FOUR ‘West of Seventeenth. The Public Utilities Commission y terday authorized purchase by the Cap- ital Traction Co. of four buses of the strest car type, for use in connection with the bus service to be substituted for street car service on F and G streets, west of Seventeenth street. The commission has granted the | petition of the company to tear up it | tracks and substitute bus service in this area, but the final order on the subject has bsen held up pending an agreement on the exact route of {he bus line to | be substituted for the street car service. e a right-hand turn | questioning | | leigh, N. C., whom he lured to a lonely | | i PAN-AMERICA DAY EVENTS IN GAPITAL TOMARKAIST YEAR Speeches by Hoover, Tellez and Stimson to Feature Celebration Here. UNION BUILDING RITES { TO BE HEARD BY WORLD Arlington Navy Radio Will Be Used—President Will Open Base Ball Season at Stadium. Washington will be the, focal point | Tuesday of a great Pan American cele- bration marking the forty-first anni- ! versary of the creation of the union of 1 countries of the Western Hemi- | sphere “as a commemorative symbol of the sovereignty of the American na- | tions and the voluntary union of all in_one continental community.” The celebration, which has been | designated by Presidential Proclama- | ticn, is the first of its kind to be held. The spotlight of activity will shift | {from the headquarters of the Pan! { American Union, where an elaborate | program of exercises is to begin at! 12:15 o'clock, to Grifith Stadium at 2:40 pm. with President Hoover as- suming a leading role in the programs | at_both places. | The Pan America day program from | the Union Building on Seventeenth | street will reach international propor- | tions as the exercises cf approximately an hour and a half’s duration are car- ried over the air on short-wave radio broadcasts. Station NAA, the naval { the program on full power until it s | picked up on networks of the National It will then be carried over the power- | ful station WLW in Cincinnati. Hoover to Speak. President Hcover is scheduled to make his Pan America day address in | the Union Building before the Govern- ing Board, starting at 12:30 o'clock, immediately following _greeting by members of the board. After the Presi- | dential address talks will be made by of State Stimson, chairman f verning Board of the Pan! | American . and by Ambassador | Manuel C. Tellez of Mexico. | |8 They Speed the Firemen OPERATORS SEND SMOKE-EATERS TO THEIR TASKS. Center, “Lew” after 44 years' se) OR 44 years “Lew” Mothersead has been listening for fire alarms. A member of that little com- pany which stands never-ending watch over the fire-police signal system of the Capital. Mothersead has stayed at his controls through the years, directing the movements of fire fighting units as a chess playe Now he's about has stepped in—the law which gauges worth by age And when Mothersead goes, arother link between the old order and the new will be severed, for “Lew” is a veteran of the veterans in this service. To the uninitiated, the “fire board,” as it is familiarly known, is just another hranch of municipal government, whose duties are more or less vaguely under- tood. But try to do without it. Notifies All Companies. Here's the way it actually works. As soon as the alarm hox is pulled, a light flashes cn the receiving board at head- | quarters, and a device like a telegraph |key taps out the number of the box. The operator jumps to the transmitting board and throws a lever which notifies every company in the city that an alarm is coming, so they can be ready | to move if necessary. As the tapping signal is completed. | At 1 o'clock members of the Govern- ng Board will proceed to the esplanade of the Pan American Unicn to partici- | pate in exercises attended by students | representing universities and high | schools. A feature of this phase of the | program will be addresses by a Latin | American university student and by a | North_American high school student. | Dr. Orestes Ferrara, Ambassador of | Cuba, also will address this gathering. | Miniature standards of flags of the | member countries of the Pan American | Union will be presented to representa- tives of the educational institutions | participating in the exercises. At 1:30 ! p.m. members of the Goverping Board | will plant a tree commemorating thei first chservance of Pan America da; Will Go to Stadium. At 2:40 pm. the Presidential party i scheduled to arrive at Griffith Sta- dium, where Mr. Hoover will officially open’ the 1931 Major League base bail season by throwing the first ball in | the engagement between the Philadel- phia Athletics and the Washington Na- tionals. Preceding the game will be & Pan America day exercise. With members of the ball teams and | official - groups' from the _diplomatic corps assembled, each of the 21 flags | | representing the Pan American coun- ies will be hoisted, accompanied by | cannon-fire salute. As the twenty-first detsnation sounds from the artillery, ! thereby completing the 21-shot Presi- | dential salute, the flag of the United | tes will be raised. As each flag 1<; ed, the strains of the respective na- | tional hems will be played by the | United States Army Band. Evening Rites at Union. The United States Navy and Marine | | Bands will participate in the exercises | the Pan American Union at 9 p.m e entire program from the Union | will be broadcast by Staticn NAA and | announced by Enrique C. Canova. Assisting artists on the Tuesday eve- ning program will be Senorita Josefina | feca, Havana coloratura soprano, who vecently made her American debut in | Carnegie Hall, New York, and Hector |de Lara, Mexican baritone. Both are appearing for the first time in Wash- | ington. | The District Commissioners have de- {creed that Tuesday shall be observed |in the Capital by the display of flags {on all public buildings. Trade and | civic groups also are co-operating in | this phase of the celebration. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR {ARGUMENTS ON BOUNDARY Federal Government Anxious to Have Question Settled Because of Projects Along Potomac. The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments early this week in the legal battle over whether the boundary between the District of Columbia and Virginia is at low or high water mark jon the Virginia side of the Potomac | River. The question arose in litigation in | virginia between the Washingten Air- port, Inc. and the Smoot Sand and Gravel Corporation, but the Federal Government is interested in having the question settled because of the extensive improvements it is carrying on along the river, and is taking part in the | est court. The airport company is con- tending the boundary line is at low- water mark. The sand and gravel com- pany and Federal counsel contend it is at high water mark. | HUGUENOTS TO MEET (Service Today Edict of Nantes of 1598. Meetings .of the Huguenot Soclety of Washington will be held this week, beginning a special service today at St. John's Church on Lafayete Square at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. This service will commemorate the promulgation of the edict of Nantes, April 13, 1598. The service will be con- ducted in English and Dr. Florian J. C. Vurpillot, chaplain of the Huguenot Society and pastor of the French con- gregation of St. John's Church, will preach. Rev. Charles L. Carhart will ) assist. The special offering will be for the Paris Theological Seminary. A business meeting of the society for | the election of officers will be held to- mortow in St. John's Parish Hall. On Wednesday the soclety will be the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Her- rick at the Women's National Demo- cratic Club, to Commemorate | the firy | but no section of the city must be left | presentation of the matter to the high- | thus identifying the box, the operator moves over to the repeater, cuts in the circuit on which the alarm is coming, and then the gong in every company sounds. Each company has certain calls to which 1t responds. Those due to move on the first alarm go out, while the others remain in readiness to move up either as support at the fire itself or in relief for a company in service. Meanwhile, another operator a headquarters has plugged in an il- luminated board which shows what units have responded to the first alarm, and a third man is ready station at a telephone connection with the.box that has been turned in. thus putting headquarters in direct touch with the scene of the blaze, and, in- cidentally, putting the entire head- quarters staff at work. Calls Additional Apparatus. The chief first at the fire details an | aide with a portable phone at the box, and-in this way calls for additional apparatus are sent in, the operator at the headquarters pulling second, third, fourth and fifth alarms as may be or- dered. While additional alarms are coming in, one of the men at headquarters continues to throw the numbers on the illuminated board to keep instant check on the whereabouts of every piece of apparatus, a matter of vital importance should another fire break out. And if it so happens that several alarms come in, then the operators really have their hands full, for it is up to them to know when every heduled company has moved out ot quarters, that they may call others for duty if needed, for not only must themselves be taken care of, unprotected. Nor does the responsibility of the operators end with the mechanics of the signal system, as was well illus- trated one night several years ago when | fire broke out in a building at Howard University, extended to a nearby lum- ber yard and then to -the Nationals’ park, where part of the stands went. 14 Boxes Were Pulled. Mothersead was in charge that night, and he is inclined to think that half the population of Washington turned in alarms—or tried to. Just exactly 14 boxes were pulled. From .the gen- eration location, Mothersead was fair- ly certain that all were going in for the same blaze, and as ‘five alarms already had been turned in from head- quarters, bringing fire-fighting _units from throughout the city, he took a chance and “held up” the boxes, realiz- ing that the whole region there was already congested with apparatus, and that it was a virtual impossibility to get any more in. Further, it seemed reasonable to believe that if another fire was breaking out there were so many companies in the would not go_unnoticed Finally, an alarm came in from Eighth and N, and thinking this too far out of the zone of trouble, Mothersead called additional companies. When they got to this box, however, it developed that some one had grown nervous and pulled it for the same fire. “But if my guess had been wrong on those other boxes it would have been too bad,” says Mothersead. Calls Nearest Company. There's another angle to this fire- alarm system, too. Some one phones in about a blaze, and it is up to the opera- 1or to call by phone to the nearest com- pany, and then to signal over the transmitting board to all other com- panies that this unit is on a “still.” This immediately puts them on guard, and if the chief responding to the call decides that more help is needed he pulls the box, and headquarters goes into action as usual. ‘Then there is the multitude of calls which summon the rescue squad for duty which may range from treating a human {ll to climbing through a win- dow to open a door for some citizen who has forgotten the key. The opera- tors must also watch over the police call boxes for trouble. Quite a change from the old days. ‘When Mothersead entered the service there were 7 engine companies and 3 truck companies: now the number is 30 and 13, respectively. Then there were 150 street boxes; now there are 3,000. Then there were three operators vicinity at headquarters who worked eight hours | dally, every day in the year. Now there are seven alarm operators, the seventh being the relief man who works for whichever of the others is getting his day off wekly. There are also four telephone ofrators, the fourth also tak- Mothersead, veteran fire alarm operator, Who szon will retir: ce. Left, L. W. Trof Right, H. E. Nairn, another fire alarm operat | Butlding in 1908. | divided up into 40 receiving circuits, and to take | | from the Western Union two years be- fore Mothersead left that company to|.q | that is the way it appears an the pay |in speed contests of knot tying, tent| | stake yearly. | Boolieg (,auglilit it | wer, in charge of the telephone board. tor. —Star Stafl Photo. ing the relief work. The shifts are still eight hours. Equipment Also Changed. And as conditions have changed has the nature of the equipment he: quarters uses. The signal system was installed here along about the close of the Civil War. When Mothersead went to work on July 1, 1887, the Fire Board occupled the upper floor at police head- quarters, then at the corner of Fifth and D streets. Next they moved over to the | Walker Building on Loulsana avenue. In 1898, however, Commissioner John B. White, an ardent advocate of the modern fire-signal system, got through an appropriation, and taking the board out of rented quarters put it in No. 14 engine house, on Eighth street between D and E streets. There it remained un- til the shift was made to the District Now Mothersead thinks the system is{ about as near perfect as is possible. Checks are provided throughout, to avoid possible disaster, through some slip-up. For instance, the fire boxes are boxes one block apart are put on dif- fercnt circuits, so that if one is out of order the other may be used. Again, every time a box starts coming in, a! ticker in headquart: spills tape that repeats the call, and he repeater is cut in sending the alarm on fire house gongs all over the city, tickers in the houses carry the same message in tape. Remembers Death of Comrades. Many fires have impressed them- selves in Mothersead’s memory, but | those he remembers best are the ones| in which comrades met death. The fire | in a_row of commission establishments | on Louisiana avenue more than 25 years ago, when four firemen were killed: the Knox fire in 1894, when blazing stables at First and B streets also took a toll of four dead. and then there wl.!i A fire at the National Hotel, when a| telephone operator stayed to warn others, got out of the burning building herself, only to lose her life returning for a pocketbook she had left behind in her excitement. The only man whose service predates that of Mr. Mothersead at the fire board is James C. Simpson, superintendent of fire alarm_telegraph, who came over nter the service of the District. And when Lewis F. Mothersead—for roll—retires to his home at 311 E south- east when he reaches the age of 70, ! May 13, Simpson will bz the last of the veterans. SCOUTCRAFT EXHIBITION PLANNED HERE ON MAY 2 Emblem of Awarded Troop Compiling Best Point Score. Efficiency to Be Boy Scout troops of the 4th Divi- | sion will be hosts of all Scout troops in | the city at an outdoor exhibition of ‘scouteraft” to be held in the Central | High School Stadium May 2 at 2:15 o'clock. In making this announcement, | Deputy Scout Commissioner Edward M. | Perkins, in charge of the 4th Division, sald a special “emblem of efficienc: will be awarded by the Parker-Bridget Co. ! The 4th Division troops will compete | pitching and outfit packing. Ten | events, including mapping, distance | judging, fire building and cooking, will be held in the stadium. Two of these are scheduled for April 25. Deputy Commissioner Fred W. Pearce will be chief judge of the contests. Ribbons and pins will be awarded winners of the events. The troop whose representatives com- pile the fhest number of points in competition will have its name and that of its scoutmaster engraved on the trophy. The games will be an annual affair, with the trophy being at N By Drop in Prices, Crusaders Aver tatement Issued to Show Changes in Lieu of Government Data. Bootleggers have been harder hit by the collapse of commodity prices “than even the farmers in the worst of the drought sections,” according to the ‘Washington headquarters of the Cru- saders, anti-prohibition organization. ! PRIVATE PAY ROLLS IND.C, 8PERCENT LARGER THAN U. S, C. of C. Secretary Bases Cal- culations on Census and Other Data. HOLDS ONLY;CTI;ER CENT WORK FOR GOVERNMENT Survey Also Reveals That 54 Per Cent of Residents Are Native Born. From extensive calculations on ® mass of census statistics and other data, Dorsey W. Hyde, jr. secretary of the local Chamber of Commerce, has ar- rived at several conclusions which he declares are gems of good advertising copy about Washington. They are: That, while Washington receives tre- mendous benefit economically from a huge and dependable Government pay roll, which has consistently stimulated the level of trade here, the pay roll of private employers in Greater Washing- | ton is about 80 per cent larger. That, while the Government provides employment here for thousands of local residents, only 30 per cent of the gain- fully employed residents of the metro= politan area are actually at work for the Government. And that Washington is “the most typically American city” of the country for the reason this city stands at the top of the larger cities of the Nation in the percentage of local residents who were born here. Based on Government Figures. These studies by the chamber secre- tary were based principally on Govern- ment figures, including latest available census reports. General acceptance of the findings, it is pointed out, will serve to scotch a_pair of popular suppositions about the District of Columbia. These have pictured Washington as a city pre- eminently dependent on the Federal Government for its wages and work, iand as a city made up larg:ly of a “transient” class of residents, here to work for a time for Uncle Sam, and then leaving for other locations. Study of latest figures in the case, Mr. Hyde finds, disproves such beliefs. “It is frequently stated,” Mr. Hyde declares, “that Washington's population consists largely of persons from various States who have been drawn to the District by the lure of Government em- ployment. Study of the facts reveals a different story. Only 30 Per Cent of Workers. “While the Government employment is a factor of the greatest lmzorunce :\le:::e &mwth ho_f our cl:ty, it is by no s the major source of local income. According to our best %3""}:’mm"‘“&73§ i3 ‘as| , W] is 30 300,000 gainfully plmryes.er !c::ld e ::::tmpnm 70 per cent of all employ- opportunities ma P 'i‘nn the Greater rea. readly opiatn by y of population s compiled by the Cehos Bumumrmmnu this source we learn that the number of Washingtonians actually borh in the District is 54 per cent of the entire g;xp:xrl‘lflon~alfl'ghure”hil"her than that v one of t the United States. e 54 Per Cent Native Born. “The actuai figures show that the percentage of ‘native-born’ citizens funs from a low of 20 per cent for New York City, to a high of 54 per cent for Washingion, as compared with a gen- eral average of 35 per cent.” The figures were taken from the 1920 census, the 1930 totals not yet being available for the cities in this group. From his calculations, Mr. Hyde finds a total annual Government pay roll here of $160,000.000, as compared with A total of $290.000,000 for those in private employment. The total of both Government and private business there- fore would amount to the huge sum of $450,000,000. These figures, Mr. Hyde emphasizes, are not exact estimates, as they are | based, in part, on the average salaries paid to comparatively large numbers of workers in certain-lines of private and Government activity. But he believes the general conclusions reached are borne out even by such estimates, due to the wide difference in figures cited. CROSBY LAUDS POLICE AND FIREMEN OF CITY Mt. Pleasant Citizens Discuss Papers Blown Into Streets From Corner Racks. Commissioner Herbert B. Crosby, in an address before the Mount Pleasant Citizens’ Association last night, outlined the duties of the Commissioners and praised the work of the Police and Fire Departments here. He sald Maj. Henry G. Pratt. superintendent of police, was one of the best equipped men in the country to handle the position he holds. Following the address a lengthy dis- cussion was held on the matter of news- papers being blown into the strets from the “Honor System” stands on corners. It was requested that some action be taken to curb this. A special committe was appointed to gather data on the history of the Mount Pleasant section for a record now being compiled. The committec includes W. G. Stuart. 3446 Oskwood terrace, chair- man; Col. R. H. Young, Mrs. R. H. Young. Miss Kate P. Johnson, Miss Cora Llufrio, Paul Bausch, David D. In a statement issued last night the Crusaders pointed out that bootleg gin has more than kept pace with the other commodities in the decrease in prices. Accompanying the statement was a graph ouf g the varying prices of gin durin rohibition years, this showing a decided drop in recent months below the average cost of living. “Here in Washington, theoretically a model city in such matters as prohibi- tion enforcement,” the statement said, “potable gin, when manufactured in the shadow of the shower curtains, sets up an overhead cost ranging from 75 cents to $1.17 a quart, depending largely upon the amcunt of raw mate- rial purchased. ‘The Crusaders Government furnishes tistics op the rise and fa' for pragtically every commod] alcoholfe beverages. The wet tion, therefore, compiled tatisties with the data ine ources deemed reliable.” out that the i Caldwell. M.'W. Lewis, Dr. Charles B. Campbell and Dr. L. D. Carman. The association’'s president, Earl E. Dillon, presided at the meeting, which was held in the Mount Pleasant branch of the Public Library. PARTY TO AID SCHOOL Seat Pleasant Benefit Arranged for Friday Night. A benefit card party for classes in the District Line School at Seat Pleasan! will be given in the school auditorium at 8 o'clock Friday night. ‘The party is under auspices of sec- tions of the first, second and third grades of the school. Proceeds are to be applied to purchase of books for the school library and material for sub- sidiary school work. The teachers charge of arrangements are Mrs. Ger- trude Post. Mrs. Elizabeth Humphrey and Miss Mary Elizabeth Smitl