Evening Star Newspaper, May 3, 1931, Page 17

WASHI SCHOOL CRASH RO SEEN CLOSED WTHOUT HEARNG District Officials and Con-| tractors Leave Blame Upon Each Other. STEEL PRESIDENT DENIES F{ESPONSIBILITY| Charges Bring District Answer | of Violations of Build- ing Code. So far as could be learned at the District Building vesterday the affair of the structural steel at the Roosevelt High School which blew down in a brisk wind is regarded as a closed in- cident. There will be no public hear- ings in the matter—no investigation be- yond what has already been done. The stecl work was blown down on Wednesday, April 22, but the gale which did the work is as nothing compared to the gale of words which has been blow- ing since. Yesterday was marked by an exchange between District officials and the contractor who was putting up the steel work, each blaming the other for the collapse. Apparently the only thing which will now revive the dis cussion is a lawsuit. This is strongly hinted by the fact that the steel e tion contractor has engaged a law who added his voice to the contractor's accusations against District officials | and_others. The principal reason for the flurry vesterday was an open letter, pub- | lished in the newspapers, in which Heron Todd, president of a compan: bearing his name, sought to exculpate | himseli from the blame for the fact | that the steel his company was putting | up blew down by blaming the Dis- | trict architectural officials and the Na- tional Construction Co., which had the contract to build the schocl. Sub-Contract for Steel. The National company let a sub- contract for the steel to the Lehigh Construction Co. That concern fabri- cated the steel and again sublet a con- tract for putting the fabricated steel up to the Heron Todd Co. Todd Co. is bonded to the Lehigh com- pany, which in turn is bonded to the i ‘The Heron i Midget Car Owner Fiuds It Shifted Daily Upon Walk * Half-pint” automobiles may be easy to park, but they're even casier to “unpark.” it was re- vealed yesterday when Arthur J. Bowser, jr., a clerk in the United States Coast Guard offices asked third precinct police to help keep his car where he puts it. For the last several nights, Bowser sald, h: has been parking his machine in front of his home at 1900 F street, only to find it in the middle of the sidewalk the next morning . FORNEW COUNEL Broader Advisory Activities| Planned for Executive Body Now Formed. The Federation of Citizens’ Associa- | tions voted last night to abolish the existing Citizens' Advisory Council in Noyember and substitute a new and larger council which would serve alsc as its Executive Committee. The new council will be composed of 12 delegates and the president of the federation, who will be chairman. The Pederation of Civic Associations will be entitled” to select three of its dele- gates to sit jointly with council, thus glving it a membership of 16. The present council is composed of nine members, two of whom are Tepresenta- tives of the colored federation. Greater powers also will be given the ew council, as it will be authorized to consider and advise respecting all pub- ic matters affecting the District.” No limitation is placed on its advisory activities—it may advise the President of the United States, Congress, the Commissioners or any one it chooses. The existing council was created to! “act as an advisory body to the District Commissioners,” although in recent years it reported on legislation affecting the District to the Senate and House District Committees. By-Laws Are Amended. The change in the council was; ought about by the adoption of & group cf amendments to the federa- | tion's by-laws, recommended in a re- | port_submitted by a special committee i | br | sion National company, which in turn bonded to the District for faithful ps formance of the respective contracts. is The loss 1s said to involve about, $5,000, | and the contractor (or his surety) wh turns out -to be at fault will shave to; make this good. If the District turas | out to bz at fault, then the District will | have to make it good. The complaints in Mr. Todd's open | Jetter were for the most part directed | against the National Construction Co.! As for the District, he made the point | that the plans for the school in several | respects violated tbe District building | ¢code. end thatsthrough faulty inspec- | tion on the part of the building inspac- | tor employed by the municipal archi- | tect, the National Construction Co. was allowed to put up improper work which gave the Todd company an insufficient and unsafe basis upon which to erect thair steel. The answer of the District, as made yesterday by Assistant Engincer Com- missioner H. L. Robb, is that the plans | t were good, that the building code was | net violated, and that although the in- | spector may have fallen down on his| job in one particular, this was not the | proximate cause of the disaster, which | would have been averted if thg Todd | Co. had not in turn violated another | #ection of the building ccde. | Summary of Charges. Taking up the charges against the | District specifically, together with the| answers offered by Maj. Robb, who has supervision of all of the District’s con- | struction work, they may be summarized as follows: Charge—The column footings on which the columns which fell were placed were not built level. There was | 8 difference as much as 3 of an inch| in level between some of the colummn footings. Answer—This may be so, but it is ipossible to tell now. The crash dis- torted the column footings, and meas- urements of levels now would not indi- cate whether or not the footings were level before the crash. Charge—The column slabs were not planed, as required by the building e Answer—This s specifically denied. Charge—More bracing for the col- umns had been demanded Answer—These are not the type of oelumns which require bracing. The building code. however, provides that in order to maintain safety during con- struction, steel work should be tem- porarily braced. If the Heron Todd Co. had insufficlent bracing while the work was in progress, they themselves werc violating the building code Charge—Brick work should have been ordered done simultan-ously with the rleel work. Answer—This charge is admittted ‘The inspector should have insisted that the brick work be put up immediately after the ecrection of the columns. | However, failure to do this was not the | proximate cause of the fall. If the cclumns had been properly guyed, they | ‘would not have fallen. Charge—In accordance with the| building code the columns should have | been secured to the foundations with | “4-inch bolts, whereas the specifica- | tions prepared by the municipal archi- | tect’s office called for %-inch bolts. Answer—This section of the code is qualified by a sentence, not mentioned | in the charge, that in this type of con- ( struction the bolts may be omitted al- together. General answer to all charges—Even mssuming the truth of all charges, they should have been made to the al architcct, or some represe the District, before ttarted. No such compl writing or verbally, was in A comic touch was lent to the whole procecding yesterday morning by the disappearance” of the building in-| spector assigned to_the job, Lewis J Newman. When officials of the office yead of the charges in the paper they| Pastily summcned Mr. Newman to re-| rt at the office. The reply was that r. Newman had not showed up at the | job. Calls by telephone to his home | Yemained unanswered. A general look- | out was sent for Newman, but he| turned up serenely some time later and explained that he had not collected his | pay on Friday and that he had gone to the District Bullding from his home 1o get it before reporting on the job for work. While frantic telephone calls ‘were being made from the fourth floor of the District Building in an effort to locate him, Mr. Newman was on tb- | ground floor receiving his pay check | it i alliind Card Party Planned. OXON HILL, Md., May 2 (Special) Alpha Community Club will sponsor a eard party next Saturday at the Silver Hill Bchool Auditorium. There will be “ a door prize and awards for 500 and 1 to 5. | headed by George E. Sullivan. Action | was preceded by a two-hcur discussion, | i during which a series of amendments was made to the committee's report, hiefly to clarify the pl logy of he proposed new by-laws. Each of the prcposed amendments was _considered paragraph by para- graph and approved. The final vote on the amendments as a whole was 51 The 12 delegates and the federation | president, when serving as the organi- zation's Executive Committee, are given full power to act. Their action will stand as the action of the federation “unless and until the federation may act otherwise.” Cheaper Fire Insurance Asked. ‘The federation also adopted a re- port of its Committee on Law and Legislation submitted by Thomas E. Lodge, chairman, requesting the supe:- intendent of insurance of the District 0 ascertain the “proper and reason- able rates” for fire insurance in the District and to endeavor to secure a reduction. The report further urges the insurance superintendent to make an equitable distribution of ‘the cost of fire insurance, based on the “cor- rect risk fcr the several classifications of property. * The committee's report was based cn a resolution of the Columbia Heights Citizens’ Associatjon, which declared hat insurance companies in the Dis- rict in 1929 received premiums in ex- cess of $34,000,000 and paid out in losses for life and property slightly more than $10,000,000. In cases of fire insurance alone, the resoluticn said the lcsses in the District averaged about one-third of the premiums, premium paid. The resolusion sug: gested a reduction of at least one-sixth in_existing rates. Increased appropriations for the Com- munity Center Department of the pub- lic schools in the 1933 fiscal year were recommended in a special resolution adopted on motion of James G. Yaden, chairman of the Committee on Educa- ion. Mr. Yaden and Mrs. M. Z. Baugh- w as the loss for the United States| |as a whole was in excess of }; of the| i NEW CLASSIPYING MOVEINGONGRESS SEEN N PAY CURB Senator Dale Says Limiting Raises Will Stimulate In- terest in Measure. IN COMMITTEE LIKELY Calls for Imcreased Expenditures for Salaries in Field and Departments. The Government'’s intention of con- fining Federal salary increases during the coming year to those required by law will have a tendency to create more interest in the next Congress in the proposed bill to set up a new classifi- cation plan for both the fleld service and the departments in Washington, in j the opinion of Senator Porter H. Dale, Republican, of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Civil Service Committee. Senator Dale had no comment to make at this time on the announced policy of the executive branch of the Government to curtail salary increases for the immediate future, but, without discussing the merits of the decision, he took the view that it would result in stimulating interest in the new classifi- cation measure that was submitted to Congress two months ago. The Vermont Senator indicated it is his belief the new classification bill will be taken up for consideration in com- mittee soon after the next Congress organizes and gets down to work. Sen- ator Dale is refraining from discussion of his views on the detailed recom- mendations in the bill until it is taken up by the committee at the next ses- Time to Tell Fate. ‘Whether it will have a chance for passage at the next session can hardly be predicted at present, cons.dering the length of time that must elapse before the new Congress meets. The proposed | legislation would call for an increased expenditure for salaries, applicable both in the field and in the departments here, and its chances of enactment, therefore, are likely to depend on the trend of economic conditions in the meantime. The bill embodying this new classi- fication plan was submitted to the House and Senate by the Personnel Classification Board just before the last Congress adjourned. It was in- cluded in the report of a survey which Congress directed the board to make in 1928 to form the basis for a formal classification of the thousands of work- ers in the fleld service. The original classification law of 1923 applied di- rectly to the departments in Washing- ton, and since that time positions in the field have been rated to conform as nearly as possible to the classifica- tion schedules in the District. In reporting its survey of the field service the Personnel Board recom- mended a complete revision of the clas- sification act that would be applicable both here and in the field service. Those For Increases. The plan recommended would mean increases, principally for experienced cmployes in the lower grades and for executives in the higher grades above $2,000 a year, who were found by the survey to be underpaid as compared with similar workers outside the Gov- crnment. It also contemplated a new promo- tion system based on a simplified posal was that department heads rate employes as being “good,” ‘“fair,” or “unsatisfactory.” An employe rated “good” would be advanced automatic- ally once each year to the next higher calary rate within the range for the class and grade of position he occu~| pied, provided funds were made avail- able from year to year by Congress, juntil he reached the maximum rate | for such class and grade. The report also contemplated aboli- on of the much disputed “average provision” now in force, which was writ- ten into appropriation bills in the early days of cl ication as a means of limiting salary step-ups within grades. The report exflamed that the average provision was included in appropriation acts “as a means of regulating salary advancements by keeping the average of the salaries of all employes in any man were appointed to Tepresent the federation in seeking additional funds. VOTELESS D. C. WOMEN HOLD ANNUAL DINNER Mrs. A. J. McKelway Is Elected Precident; Other Officers Chosen for Year. Mrs. A. J. McKelway last night was clected president of the Voteless D. C. | League of Women Voters at the annual dinner-meeting of the organizaticn in the Women’s City Club. She succeeds Mrs. Henry Grattan Doyle, retiring president. Mrs. Louls Ottenberg was elected sec- ond vice president, and Mrs. George Kreutzer was elected treasurer. Mrs. Charles N. McNary and Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Freldman were chosen as direc- tors of the organization. Delegates to the Federation of Citizens’ Assoclations clected were Mrs. Max Stern and Mrs. Frank H. Snell. The meeting last night heard the annual reports of the varius commit- tees. Mrs. Doyle presided. D. C. SCORES IN FIGHT TO LIMIT ASPIRIN SALE Convicted of Peddling Product in Test Hearing. With the conviction in Police Court yesterday of Steve G. Self, 34, repre- sentative of a Newark aspirin manufac- turer, the District won the first round of its fight to confine the sale of aspirin to drug stores The case, in which Self was charged with peddling the product, was designated as a test. Self was Te- leased on his personal bond. Judge Isaac R. Hitt declared it to be a violation of law for aspirin to be sold by “door-to-door” salesmen, but did not discuss the selling of aspirin in delica~ tessens and other stores, ~Corporation Counsel Edward Welliver had argued that this also was illegal. Self was arrested February 16 after he had negotiated with Detective D. H. Jones of the narcotic squad for a de- {livory of aspinin to the Jones home. The case first came up in Police Court | April 8. and succeeding weeks saw many | bries fled by both Welliver and Attor- ney Gittleman, counsel f th - {ncturer, defendiog Self, - et one grade in each Government organi- | zation at or below the average rate ispecified in the schedule for that Revised Classification. Boiled down, the report recommended & completely revised classification act | which would bring together in one uni- | form and simplified system the classifi- | cation positions both in the depart- ments and in the fleld. | With regard to the cost of the pro- posed legislation, it was reliably esti- | mated yesterday that $7.000,000 would | be required to bring the fleld service up {to the present classification level. In {addition to that, it was said, about $6,- 500,000 would be required to change the fleld service and the departmental serv- ice to the new classification level con- tained in the tentative bill. ‘The report, ther with the text of the proposed bill to carry it out, was presented to ess a few days be- fore the last session ended, too late to be given any consideration before the members departed. Because it changes essential features of the present clas- sification law, it is likely to be the sub- Ject of extensive hearings in the next Congress before any action is taken on it. | The subject of Government salary | schedules was brought into the fore- [nmyund Friday by the annourncement that, in view of economic conditions {and the need for holding down on ex- | penditures, only such salary increases as are required by law will be made during the coming months. Representative of Manutscrurer TWO WOMEN INJURED IN ALEXANDRIA CRASH {Mrs. Mary Boardman of D. C. and Sister Sustain Fractures of Left Arms. | Spectal Dispateh to The Star. 1 ALEXANDRIA, Va, May 2.—Two women were injured yesterday after- noon when cars driven by George Sha- | did of 1382 East Capitol street, Wash- ington, and Thomas H. Henderson of Sunbury, Pa,, collided at Duke and Pat- rick streets. Mrs. Mary E. Boardman, 49, of 1125 IT elfth street, Washington, and her er, Mrs. Gecrgiana Oliver, 48, of F 11 River, Mass., b 's ar, sustained broken left arms. They ere lhzl.nl treated at Alexandria Hos- pital. Police arrested Henderson and charged him with violating the prohibition law, reckless driving, colliding and 8 top sign. They claim they found two DIl of Aloged ey 13 B8 88 - method of efficiency ratings. The pro-| NGTON, D. ‘ C., SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 35 1981, * PAGE B—1 P— i SOCIETY THRONGS WARRENTON RAGES | | |Sensational Spills Mark Run- ning of Virginia Gold Cup Event. Special Dispatch to The Star. WARRENTOWN, Va. May 2.—A| beautiful afternoon for the Gold Cup | race followed a showery morning and the crowd was the largest ever seen at any sporting event here. | Of the 12 entries in the Virginia Gold Cup. seven started and five | finished. The winner was Seraglio, | owned by Mrs. John Hay Whitney. | | ridden by William Street. Soissons, & | previous winner of this race as well | as the Maryland Gold Cup, came in a | close second, ridden by Jack Skinner of Middleburg. So Dear, entercd by Vine- hill Stables, Middlcburg, ridden by Harry Duffey, was third. Rider Is Injured. Bkyscrapper, owned by George Sloane, fell at the first jump, breaking the col Jar bone of his rider, Willlam Almy, jr.; the other horse lost out by a fall. | Ten horses started in the second race, | the Warrenton Hunt Cup. | There were two accidents in this | race. Wise Guy, owned by Mrs. Frank Gould, fell and his rider, Dick Wallach, | was knocked out but not seriously hurt. A second horse, Bluemont, owned by John E. Hughes, broke his neck, but the rider was unhurt. Grenadier Guard, Mrs. T. H. Sommer- ville, rider, Noel Layng, was first: Fiske, owned and ridden by J. Churchill New- comb, second; Concert, Turner Wilt- zhire, rider, Harry Duffy, was third. In the Canterbury Cup, 12 _horses started and 11 finished. Best Bonnet. owned by Mrs. J. M. Black, had his neck broken in a fall. The rider was unhurt. | Isolateur. Canterbury Farms, rider, Harry Duffey, was first; Fairy Lore, | Noel Layng, rider, Carroll Bassett, | second; Our Way, Mrs. H. P. Perry, | rider, M. D. Odell, third. | Among the many prominent persons | present were Harry Worcester Smith of | Massachusetts and Camden, S. C.; H. L. Plummer, master of hunt, Toronto, Canada; Harry D. Kirkover, of Genesee Hunt and Camden, S. C.; Mrs. Geraldyn Redman, John Chiff, Jackson Boyd, master of Moore County Hunt, N. C.; Judge John Barton Payne, Dr. Harry Kerr, Peter Kerr, Mrs. Victor Evans, Mrs. U. B. Bowden, Mr. and Mrs. H. T. | Marshall, Misses Ethel and Lucille Bowden of Washington. | House Parties. Among those at North Wales for the | races were Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Addin- sell, Mr. and Mrs. E. Tunnicliff Fox, | Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pryibill, Mr. and| Mrs. Oliver O'Donnell, William C. Ruxton, Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Johnston, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Blythe, Mrs. Ray- mond 1. Schweitzer, Everett Fabyan, Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Stone, all of New York. Others here from New York were Mr. and Mrs. Paul Abbott, Mr. and Mrs. Noel Armstrong, Mr. and Mrs. R. M. McMullen and Miss Jane McMullen. Richard Sears, of Boston. was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Drake. Wil- liam Almy, sr., of Boston, was the guest of Mrs. Ruth Buchanan. Mr. and Mrs. E. B. King, of Stuy- vesant had as their guests Miss Lucy Chisholm and Miss Handy, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Donoho and Mr. and Mrs. Benthall Marshsall, all of Baltimore Col. and Mrs. Robert Morris of Phila- delphla were the guests of Mrs. G. L. Fletcher. Among others present were Col. W. L. Saunders of Sumter, S. C.; Mrs. New- lands, wife of Senator Newlands, Wash- ington: Miss Evelyn Walker, Washing- | ton; Mrs. Frances Burke Rodgers, Pittsburgh: Mrs. Prank Lyon and Mrs. Edward Alexandre, West Virginia; Miss Louise Burns, Washi, ngton, and Mr, d M. Hay £ Pige, Mluemony Y THOUSANDS OF SOCIALLY PROMINENT THRON Plenty of Action in VirgEia (_}old COURSE FOR THOROUGHBREDS A’ O E of the most colorful race mee course on the Elway Farms e: sentative crowd checred Seragl ner of the Virginia Gold Cup. William B. Streett, rider ts in recent years was held over a tim! state yesterday afterncon d a repr io as he flashed across the line the win- of Seraglio, owned by Mrs. John Hay Whitney, is shown (upper left) about to receive the cup, held by Mrs. Whitney, Skyscraper (upper right) taking Seraglio (oval) winning by an eas; | Skyscraper (center left) faithfully continues his pace to the tape minus his ride, William Almy, jr. a nose dive as the race goes on. y margin. Among the many prominent present (center right) were, left to right: Theodore ington, D. C. D. Robinson, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy: his daughter, his | Mrs. J. A. Hinckley, and Mr. Hinckley, and Miss Evelyn Walker c{ Wash- Harry J. Duffey, jr. (lower), who was up cn So Dear, finishing third, is chat- ting informally with Miss Gene McClure of New York over the paddock fence. POSTAL MAN FAILS T0 POT SUSPECTS Men Held in Hold_-Up Probe All Are Unidentified by Robbery Victim. Investigation of the hold-up of the post office station in the old St. James | Hotel Building, 484 Pennsylvania ave- nue, was back where it started last night, when police admitted the 13 suspects arrested in connection with the robbery had proven their innocence. Bernard Smith, one of the three clerks | on duty in the post office station at the time of the hold-up, scrutinized the | suspects, but was unable to identify any of them. Smith, who lives in Arlington, Va., said several of the men resembled the | robbers, but he was unable positively to identify any of them. ‘The robbery occurred Thursday. The bandits escaped with approximately $600 after locking Smith and the two other clerks, Miss Mary D. Connors, 76 K| street, and Arthur Kleisath, 300 F street, | in a back room. Perry M. Teeple, 1731 I street, was the only customer in the | post office station at the time. ATTACHE TF.lANSFERRED ‘ African Consul to Be Sent to on- duras in Foreign Service Shift. ‘Hugh Millard of Nebraska, now serving as second secretary of the American legation at Teheran, Persia, has been- assigned to duty second | secretary of the embassy at Madrid, Spain. Another foreign service change in- volves the transfer of Daston Smith of Louisiana, now ccnsul at Durban, Natal, Union of South Africa, to Te- gucigalpa, Honduras, Both changes arg eflective duly o 5 | with |in “good” condition. —Star Staff Photos. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION DECREASED LAST YEAR Statistics Show Decline for First Time Since 1921, Says Power Report. By the Associated Press. For the first time since 1921 pro- duction of electricity for public use in the United States declined last year. Statistics announced yesterday by the Geological Survey, which compiles information on the country’s power re- sources, placed total prcduction at 95,- 936,097,000 kilowatt hours, a decline ;1;291.416,000,000 kilowatt hours from Electricity production has doubled in | the last eight years, but that produced by water power has not kept pace with that of fuel power. Water-power pro- duction declined both last year and in_1929. Imports of electricity from Canada increased, the total having been 1,619, 599,000 kilowatt hours, as ccmpared with 1,444,208,440 kilowatt hours in 1929. New York was the largest producer, 14,403,773,000 kilowatt hours; California._second, with 8,948.326,000: Pennsylvania_third, with 7,874,625,000, and Illinois fourth, with 6,851,464,000. DOU.T;IITT RECWERS | Assault Victim Will Quit Hospital the Hamilton Hotel Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. Tomorrow, Doctors Believe. Harry N. Douthitt, editor of the Blue- coat, unofficial organ of the Police De- | partment, who was beaten into uncon- | sclousness by two men who attacked him with an iron pipe last Saturday night, probably will be discharged from Casualty Hospital tomorrow. | ~ That statement was made last night | by physicians at the institution, who | sald the 45-year-old assault victim was Meanwhile, in- vestigation of the attack was at a stand still, pending Douthitt’s discharge. The assault occurred in Douthitt's apartment-n the Portner, Fifteenth and slregls, T WARRENTON. T0 OPEN THURSDAY Wickersham to Preside and Chief Justice Hughes Will Speak. | George W. Wickersham, president of the National Commission of Law Observance and Enforcement, and a former Attorney General, will preside at the annual convention of American Law Institute which opens a three-day | session at the Mayflower Hotel Thurs- day. More then 1,000 leading jurists and attorneys are expected. The opening meeting will be ad- dressed by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes of the Supreme Court, ther speakers include Miss Ada Louise Comstock, also of the Law Enforcement Commission and president of Radcliffe College, and Dr. E. A. Gilmore, dean of the School of Law at the State Uni- versity of Iowa and a former vice gov- | to be presented by Mrs. Baldwin Spillman, jr., on whose estate the race was run. ernor of the Philippine Islands. Law Inquiry Topic. The convention will be devoted largely to a discussion of the institute’s comprehensive inquiry into all phases of State and Federal laws and their | administration. Several other outstanding organiza- tions of lawyers will meet at the May- flower during the week. The first opened yesterday when the American Bar Association’s Committee on Pro- | fessional Ethics and Grievances was called to order. The association proper will be in session here from Monday through Thursday. ‘The American_Jugicature Society, of which Newton D. will hold its annual assembly today This organization is dedicated to “the efficient administra- At the opening meeting of the Amer- ican Law Institute reperts will be made by the treasurer, George W. Murray of New York; the director, William Draper Lewis of Philadelphia; the adviser on professional and public relations, Her- | bert F. Goodrich of Philadelphia, and | the chairman of the Membership Com- \mxmc, Georgg E. Alter of Pittsburgh. Reception and Dinner. Social functions in connection with ‘the convention include a reception Fri | day and a dinner at the Mayflower Sat- urday night. Col. George T. Weitzel |is chairman of the Committee on Ar- rangements for the dinner. The membership of the institute in- cludes the Supreme Court, the nine senior judges of the Circuit Court of | Appeals, the Chief Justices of the high- | est_courts of the States and the Dis- | trict of Columbia, the president and | members of the Executive Committee of | the American Bar Association, the presidents of the State Bar Associations, | the president of the National Confer- ence of Commissioners on Uniform | State Laws and the presidents of cer- | tain legal societies, including the Amer- ican Society of International Law. CITY NEWS IN BRIEF. | The Washington Alumnae Chapter of |Alpha Xi Delta will give a dinner in A May dance will be held by the League for the Larger Life at Carroll Springs Inn, Forest Glen, Md., Wednes- ay at 8:30 p.m. Mrs. Frederick Farrington will speak on“Outstanding Plays of the Year” at the Women’s Alliance meeting in All ‘fi)u]s’ Unitarfan Church Friday at 111 am. ‘The Eta Chapter of Phi Sigma Ep- silon Sorority will have a benefit per formance at the National Theater to. morrow night. ? Miss Alice Hutchins Drake will speak at the booklovers' hour ai the Y. W. and | aker is nresidi‘nt.' WOENING PLANNED 10 EASE TRAFFG AT 1BH AND COLUMBI Both Thoroughfares Would Be 74 Instead of 47 Feet at Intersection. 1 I | ADDITIONAL LAN—E WOULD BE PROVIDED District Surveyor Hazen to Sub- mit Proposal to Commis- sioners. Plans for alleviating traffic conges- tion at the intersection of Eighteenth street and Columbia road were com- Dleted yesterday by Melvin C. Hazen, District surveyor. The plans call for the widening of both Eighteenth street and Columbia road in the vicinity of the intersection by setting back the curbs to give the thoroughfares a width of 74 feet. The distance between the curb lines now is 47 feet. Mr. Hazen said the widening of the two streets in accordance with his plan will provide an addtional lane ofr traf- fic_between the car tracks and the curb, and thereby relieve congestic: that now prevails becau-s =* the nar- row roadways at the busv intersection. The plans will be submitted to the Com- missioners this week for approval. 74-Foot Roadway Plan. | ©On Columbia road Mr. Hazen pro- poses 1o carry the 74-foot roadway from Eighteenth street to Biltmors street on the west, and to the First Church of Christ Scientist on the east. Eighteenth street would have a 74- foot width from the small triangle reservation on the northeast corner to a point beyond the Ambassador tex on the' south, e cost of the ject. has not estimated, but Mr.”;loi'un does notb%ee'-l lieve it would be expensive, since it is proposed to have property owners in the area affected dedicate the property needed. He pointed out that the build- ing line on Columbia road as well as Eighteenth street extends beyond the buildings and the District therefore will have to acquire a strip of private prop- erty in order to set back curbs, Foxhall Road Widening. Mr. Hazen also completed plans for the widening and improvement of Fox- hall road from Conduit road to Amer- ican University—a project involving the condemnation of property for a stretch of about 214 miles at an estimated cost. of $350.000. Nineteen houses are in the line of the projected roadway and would have to be razed. Foxhall road between Conduit road and American University, Mr. Hazen ex- | plained, is now a thoroughfare of the i old county road type and is 33 feet wide. { His plan calls for a width of 120 feet | throughout the 2Y-mile stretch, pro- ! viding a modern boulevard, connecting Conduit road and the Potomac Palisades {with Rock Creek Park via Nebrask | avenue. I |CHIEF JUSTICE ASSIGNS | DISTRICT COURT WORK | Four Judges to Enter Law Courts | in Step Planned to Clear Crowd- ed Docket. | _Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat of Dis- imcv. Supreme Court yesterday an- inounced the new assignment of the !justices to various branches of the court, beginning tomorrow. Justice Jennings Bailey will continue as motions and ent justice. Justice Oscar R. Luhring will fer from Criminal Division 3 to Equity Division 1. Chief Justice Wheat will remain in District Division 1 to handle condemnation cases. Four justices will be assigned to the law courts in an effort to alleviate the crowded condition of that docket. Justice Frederick L. Siddons will go to Circuit Division 1, Justice James M. Proctor to Circuit Division 2, Justice Joseph W. Cox to_ Circuit Division 3 and Justice Jesse C. Adkins to Circuit Division 4. Justice Peyton Gordon will stay in Criminal Division 1. Justice Adkins will preside in Criminal Division 2 on occasions. \MASS MEETING TO HOLD PROHIBITION SYMPOSIUM | Citizens® | | N | | Service Association fow Law and Order to Conduct Session May 11. |, A mass meeting under auspices of | the Citizens' Service Association for {Law and Order will be held in New : York Avenue Presbyterian Church at {8 o'clock Monday evening, May 11. | A symposium on prohibition will be conducted, in which various phases ot the subject will be presented by Rev. William S. Abernethy, Miss Ethel Bag- ley, Willlam Knowles Cooper, Page McK. Etchison, Rev. Frederick Brown Harris, Dr. Lauretta E. Kress, Rev. Carl C. Rasmussen, Rev. Joseph R. Sizoo, Rev. Allen A. Stockdale and Thomas B. Jarvis. Dr. Everett M. Ellison, president of e association, will preside. jwill be offered by Rev. Harvey Baker | Smith and Rev. Freeley Rohrer. Con- | eregational smglng will be conducted by William R. Schmucker. | MBS 1$494,683,410 PAID IN U. S. IN GAS TAXES LAST YEAR i i |Incrense Is 14.6 Per Cent Above | Figure for 1929; 14,751,308,978 Gallons Used. By the Assoclated Press. American motorists using their auto- mobiles mcre than ever before last paid $494,683,410 in gasoline taxes. This tax, paid on 14,751,308,978 gal- lons, the Bureau of Public said yesterday, was 14.6 per cent greater than in 1929. Gasoline consumption increased 3% per cent even though there was no increase in the total num- ber cf motor vehicles. The average consumption per vehicle was 556 gallons, as com| with 438 in 1929 and 452 in 1925. The bureau attributed the increase a larger number of trucks and greater use of the average automobile. Every State imposed a gasoline tax n 1930 ranging frcm 2 to 6 cents a gallon. The average was 3.35 cents. ‘The . total dircct tax on the average motorist was $32.03, made up of an average annual registration - fee -of C_ A tomorrow at 8 pm.; subject, “Eagw Your Capital Cifg” $13.41 and an average gasoline tax of §18.62.