Evening Star Newspaper, July 25, 1931, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8 Weather Bureau Forecast). Tair tonight and tomorrow; slightly warmer tomorrow. ‘Temperatures—Highest, 86, lz 3:45 pm. yesterday; lowest, 70, at 6 am. today. Full report on page 14. Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 9,10 & 11 No. 31,861. post office, Entered_as second class matter ‘Washington, ;e RECKLESS DRIVING CHARGED TO TAXIS AS WAR GOES ON Traffic Officers Instructed to Keep Close Watch on Hackers. RATES CUT BY YELLOW AND BLACK & WHITE CABS Bome of Flat-Rate Companies May Move for Truce Monday by Adopting Uniform Price. Complaints of reckless driving on the part of Washington's taxicab drivers engaged in an intensive “cut-throat” rate war caused Inspector E. W. Brown in charge of the Traffic Bureau to issue special instructions today for traffic officers to keep the cabs under close observation. Inspector Brown also received com- laints that the taxi drivers were cruis- ng along regular motor bus routes and street car lines, picking up fares, but just as long as the cabs observe the trafic regulations, the police can do mnothing to stop this practice. Some taxi drivers under normal con- ditions, Inspector Brown said, are reck- less and take chances that the average motorist would avoid, but since the rate war started there has been an increased tendency on the part of taxi men to speed up in an effort to make money on the lowered schedule of fares. Thus far, however, there have been no re- ports of violence on the part of the keenly competiting taxi drivers. Move for Truce Likely. In the meantime, there were indica- tions that some of the large flat rate companies may bring tne rate War tc an end Monday by agreeing to adop! s uniform rate. Leon Brill, jr., president of the Bel’ company, who has been instrumenta in steps already taken to bring thc warring taxi factions into ag:eement said he hoped to arrange a conferencc some time Monday at which officia representatives of the flat rate com- panies would be invited to participatc with a view to working out a plan tc end the rate hostilities. The Public Utilities Commission, he’ declared, alsc will be requested to take part. Rate War Continues. As the rate war continued, taxi opera- tors who have stuck tenaciously to the | old 35-cent city proper rate finally suc- | cumbed to the competition and an-) nounced reductions that brought their | fare down on an even basis with the cut-rate _cabs. The latest to fall in line are the Black & White and Yellow Taxi | Cos., which have a monopoly on the | Union Station and leading hotel busi- | ness. | i Notice of a reduction to 35 cents in the so-called city proper zone was filed with the Public Utilities Commission this morning by the Black & White and Yellow Cos. The new rates are to | become effective Monday. { The Black & White and Yellow com- panies have operated on a meter basis ever since the advent of the flat-rate | cabs more than a year ago, charging 30 cents for the first mile and 20 cents for each succeeding mile. Under the new schedule, the meters will continue to be used, but they will not show a charge in excess of 35 cents for any- where in the city proper zone. For the second zone the charge will be 60 cents. The charge for transportation into the third zone will be 85 cents. Each zone into which the cabs go will be registered on the meters the companies explained, 1o prevent the driver from overcharging the passengers. Commission Meeting Monday. The seriousness of the rate war final- ty moved the Public Utilities Commis- sion, and preparations were made this morning by both Maj. Gen. Mason M. Patrick, chairman, and Harleigh H. Hartman, vice chairman, to discuss the gituation at a meeting Monday. Rich- mond B. Keech, people’s counsel before the commission, also planned to take pert in the discussion. What action the commission plans to take, if any, was not indicated, but Keech sald he proposed to take steps if necessary to bring about a “sensible golution” of the problem. If the com- mission fails to do anything, Keech indicated, he would probably call a conference of the major taxicab oper- ators and attempt to work out a plan that will Testore the taxicab business to normalcy. % The commission, Keech pointed out, has the authority to regulate the taxi- cabs and establish ‘“reasonable” rates, but its idea for some months has been to do this by requiring all cabs to carry meters. Keech contends the installation of meters will not solve the existing problem, because it will force many of the flat-rate drivers out of business. The situation can be remedied, Keech explained, by the establishment of a fair meter rate for cabs that want to operate on a meter basis and a reason- able flat rate for those that want to run on a flat-rate basis. Keech declared the taxicabs cannot give the public efficient and safe serv- ice under the existing cut rates. Drivers. he said, are entitled to make a fair living wage, and that is impossible on a 10-cent or 20-cent flat rate. SOUTHWEST HEAT WAVE FATAL TO FIVE PERSONS Four Die at Phoenix, Ariz.,, Where Temperature Reaches 114—One Expires in California. By the Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, July 25.—An oven- like scourge of heat killed at least five persons in the Southwestern corner of the United States yesterday. Four deaths were reported from Phoenix, Ariz., as the result of temper- atures reaching a maximum of 114 de- ees. At El Centro, Calif, in Cali- gmn- Imperial Valley, a sunbeaten #xpanse being reclaimed from the cesert, Paul W. Robert, 36, succumbed to_heat prostration. Normally one of the hottest sections of the country, the low desert country of extreme Southern California and Western Arizona registered the highest average temperatures of the Summer. Needles, Calif., experienced 119 de- grees, Yuma and Tuscon, Ariz, Slaying Victim STUDENT STUDYING INDIAN LIFE STRANGLED TO DEATH. HENRIETTA SCHMERLER. Apaches are being questioned on theory that Columbia co-ed was killed because she had gained knowledge of ancient tribal secrets. —A. P. Photo. GERMAN CABINET DISCUSSES PLIGHT STIMSON AWAITED Delegates Return From Lon- don and Report Results to Hindenburg. BERLIN, July 25 (#).—Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson arrived from London this evening on what he has described as a “purely un- official visit.” By the Associated Press. BERLIN, July 25—Germany's “iron chancellor” — Heinrich Bruening — re- turned with Foreign Minister Curtius from the seven-power conference today and almost immediately proceeded to the presidential palace to report the re- sults of the London meeting to Presi- dent von Hindenburg. Then Herr Bruening hastened to the chancellery for an urgent cabinet ses- sion, at which Germany's plight was discussed. Meanwhile, observers declared it would require all the iron in both Bruening and Hindenburg, as well as other national leaders, if the Reich is to withstand the economic ecrisis. Stimson Arrives Today. The cabinet session was expected to last until a few minutes before the ar- |rival late this afternoon of Secretary of State Stimson. One of the many sober actualities which had to be kept in mind by the cabinet members was the fact that the Stimson visit held out no hope of im- mediate new credits from abroad, but, at the most, would bring to the sorely beset government advice from a friendly source. “Self help,” therefore, was the key- note of the session, and one of the most urgent items was the problem of how to effect quick resumption of for- | mal bank payments without risking runs by depositors and subsequent big bank failures. Luther May Be Shifted. Linked with this urgent matter is the problem of Reichsbank direction. The storm of criticism against Dr. Hans Luther, head of the bank, has not been confined to the press—even some of his friends in government circles privately point out that he is a capable man, but thould hold a cabinet post rather than the bank presidency, at such a time as this. It was not out of the question, there- fore, that Dr. Luther might emerge after today's cabinet meeting as min- ister of finance, with the fiery Dr. Hjalmer Schacht supplanting him as Lead of the Reichsbank. Despite his brilliance as a banker, there is objection to Dr. Schachf be- cause he is'a man who likes to play a. lone hand. In view of this it is possi- ble that some one else may be appointed head of the Reichsbank if Dr. Luther relinquishes that post. The cabinet had two small items of consolation as its meeting began. One was the Reichsbank report showing the gold coverage had increased 3 per cent to 36.1, instead of dropping still lower. The other was that there was no hostile demonstration when Dr. Bruening and Dr. Curtius arrived. The heads of the government looked forward to conferences With Prime Minister McDonald and Foreign Sec- retary Henderson of Great Britain. Dinner for Stimson. Arrangements were made to take care of Secretary Stimson at the resi- dence of the American Amb: lor, Frederic M. Sackett. This evening there will be a dinner at the American embassy, tomorrow the chancellor will be host at a luncheon and in the evening Mr. Curtius will give & dinner in Mr. Stimson’s honor and Monda'z the Secretary of State will confer wil President von Hindenburg. The Secretary of State has said that his visit will “not concern financial matters and it was reported that the ontinued on Page 2, Column 6. Continued he WASHINGTON, APACHE STOICISM HAMPERS SEARCH IN GIRL SLAYING onung Indian, Held After Finding Body, Denies Escorting Victim. | EVIDENCE—OFv DESPERATE DEATH STRUGGLE FOUND Party Finds Corpse in Ravine After Long Hunt—Student Warned of Mingling With Tribe. | By the Assoctated Press. HOLBROOK, Ariz, July 25.—Henri- etta Schmerler, 23-year-old Colum- | bia University student. who ventured alone into the wild Apache country here in pursuit of her studles of eth- nology and anthropology, was found dead In a ravine near the Fort Apache | Cemetery yesterday. ‘The body, found by & searching party which had started a hunt for the girl after her unusually long absence from her shack on the edge of the White River Indian reservation, indicated she had been strangled or smothered after a desperate struggle. The ground where the body lay was | gouged and trampled, indicating vio- lence. Secret tribal customs of the Apaches were believed by authorities to hold the key to Miss Schmerler's death. Convinced of Slaying. Convinced the young woman was slain, although the coroner had yet to make his report, special officers of the | reservation called leaders of the tribe into conference as thc investigation progressed. In her studies, authorities believe, she came upon the guarded secret rites of the once fierce tribe of the southwest and in so doing aroused the emnity of its members. | Indians Are Silent. ‘Working against the taciturnity the Apaches, the investigators obiained but little information from them. Sev- ern! Indlans were questioned. Claude Gilbert. a 25-year-oid Apache, was held on & liquor charge and also for questioning in connection with the case when it was learned he had plan- ned to accompany Miss Schmerler to a dance last Saturday night. Neither | the girl nor the young Apache ap- peared at Fort Apache, the scene of | the dance. | " Gilbert denied he had taken the girl | to Fort Apache Saturday night and said the last time he saw her was Miss Schmerler | Saturday afternoon. Imm:ppnred Saturday. Ignored Warnings. Described by Columbia University of- ficials as a most promising student, Miss Schmerler had come here on a scholar- |ship grant and had lived alone for a month in an isolated cabin 4 miles from the reservation. She had mingled freely | With the Apaches, despite warnings that | some of them might misunderstand her | presence there. Search was started for the girl two 1 days ago, and the services of Gov. Hunt | of Arizona were finally asked by Frank D. Fackenthal, secretary of the univer- | sity. The finding of the body soon fol- | Towed. The special officers worked quietly on their investigation. They were ham- pered by a lack of knowledge of Miss | Schmerler’s activities since she came to | Arizona. Lived Alone in Cabin. Living alone in the cabin, Miss | Schmerler had assured officers she could take care of herself. She had mingled freely with the Indians, and went un- hampered about the reservation. Reports that the purpose of Miss Schmerler's visit was to obtain data on secret Apache tribal customs for a thesis were not confirmed. Officers admitted it was possible Miss Schmerler may have aroused ill feeling among certain members of the tribe, but they had nothing definite on which to base their conjecture as the Indians re- | mained aloof. P S, CHINESE BANDITS ROB THREE U. S. WOMEN ‘Trin Shot After Being Stripped of Valuables—One Has Brother Here. By the Associated Press. | . PEIPING, China, July 25.—Bandits today held up three American women— Mrs. Edmund Locke, Mrs. Catherine Carr and Miss Elizabeth Palmer of Los An- geles, Calif.—as they were on their way to the Great Wall. | The bandits took their watches, jew- elry and money. A bullet pierced their automobile, but they were unhurt and continued their journey by train. Victim’s Brother Here. Miss Elizabeth Palmer of Los Angeles, is a sister of Dr. Theodore S. Palmer, 1939 Biltmore street. Dr. Palmer, a blologist at the Department of Agri- culture, said today that his sister was in China on a vacation trip. A report of the incident was received at the State Department today from American Minister Nelson T. Johnson at Peiping. The dispatch said the three women were liberated shortly after the robbery, which took place between Peiping and the Great Wall. BIGGER TIPS AND HIGHER SPEED KEEP CAB DRIVERS GOING Most of Them Admit They Must Drive Faster and Work Harder Under Cut Rates. Only the fact that Washington's ”2,tuiclh riders have become more gen- | ;i S o0 jerous in the matter of tipping is en-; o " Di abling drivers of zone cabs to carry ‘World’s Oldest Mason™ Dies. |, "' spe face of the present rate war, | CHARLTON, Mass., July 25 (#).—|it was indicated by an inquiry made Leprelet Logee, 105 years old, believed |today by The Star. | to have been the oldest Mason in the | Drivers charging 10, 15 and 20 cents world, died today in the Massachusetts | for the “city proper” zone were ques- ic Home here. He was & mem-tioned and all of them declared if ‘l: of Granite Lodge, A. F. and A. M. were not for their tips ‘Whitinsville. unable to “keep on each; Brawley, Calif., 106. As it is, they agreed, their fares are averaging little, if any, more than the; did before the price-cutting contest be- gan, but they have to work nearly twice as hard. And this, they admitted, means that they have to drive faster—much faster, in fvnvcv,-—fl t_'heyfl-red uz “break even.” “We can't afford to go slow when we're driving for almost nothing,” one of them pointed out. “We have to drive like the dickens in order to crowd on Page 2, Column 1) of | one of the three victims of the bandits, , WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION . ¢, SATURDAY, JULY 25, LADY ASTOR'S PLEA CHEERS MOTHER DETAINED IN RUSSIA | Yale Professor’s Wife Will Be Visited by Shaw and British M. P. U. S. Advises Husband Mate Cannot Be Admitted Until She Quits Country. By the Associated Press. | "Moscow, July 25—Mme. Dmitri | Krynin, wife of a professor at Yale Uni- | versity, was both pleased and difident | today about the news that her husband | ! has asked Lady Astor and George Ber- nard Shaw to help her obtain permis- | sion from the Soviet authorities to join | her family in America. She was eager to see her husband, | who went to the United States two | years ago, and her son, from whom she | has been separated since 1925. But| { when she heard that within a few days | { she would have to play hostess to Lady Astor in her sunless Toom in a bleak | lodging house, her housewifely pride | was_touched. “She would not be used to such sur- PRESIDENT ORDERS ORASTE ECONOMY Government Finance Condi- tions Serious, Department Heads Told-n Letter. | By the Associated Press. Drastic economy in Government ex- penditures in the current and forthcem- | ing fiscal year has been demanded by | President Hoover to meet sharply de-| clining Treasury receipts. ‘The Chief Executive has ordereG ail Government heads to withhold funds not needed for actual operation pur- poses this year and to pare to a min- imum estimates of expenditures for the | next fiscal year. | In a letter to all Government de-! partment and agency heads, dated July 19, the Chief Executive described the | financial condition of the Federal Gov- ernment as “a serious one.” “The July 1 estimates of expenditures | | for the fiscal year 1932, furnished by the departments and establishments to the Bureau of the Budget,” the letter said, “indicate that, in spite of all ef- forts for economy, the expenditures are now contemplated by the departments and establishments will be in excess of those estimated as of June 1, and also }in excess of those made actually during the fiscal year 1931. “In view of the fact that our receipts are materially falling off from the amount estimated at the time of the preparation of the budget for 1932, and A consequent large deficit indicated for the current year, I wish again to bnns to your attention the seriousness o our ‘financial situation and desire that you assure yourself that all those your department are impressed with the urgent need for economies and post- ge 2, Column 1.) "~ (Continued o SIXTH YACHT FINISHES Ilex Sails Into Plymouth in Race From Newport, R. L. PLYMOUTH, England, July 25 (#).— The Royal Engineers Yacht Club entry, the 50-foot cutter Ilex, skippered by the British war veteran, Lieut. W. B. Louard, sailed into Plymouth Harbor today at 1:00:25 p.m. (8:00:25 a.m. E. S. T.), the sixth of the 10 yachts in the 3,000-mile race from Newport, R. I, to Plymouth to h. Olin Stephen's Dorade won the race | Tuesday, finishing almost 48 hours ahead of Paul Hammond's Landfall and D. F. Wolfe's Highland Light, two of the' larger boats i the race. R. F. Lawrence's She was not O g Wanderbird of San Francisco, which companied the yachts, arrived today. ACTRESS IS RECOVERING 18, July 25 (#).—Gloria Swan- soxf.Agovlz actress, was resting quktlg y after a minor operation whicl she underwent at & private clinic yes- terday, her doctors said. Radio on Page B4 | MRS. RAISA ZmMO\'NAAKRY —A. P. | authorized foreigners to get into the | | ship tickets at Mayflower Hotel conven- | tion headquarters to accompany mem- | & director of the Deutsch Suedameri- NI Phot rounding,” Mme. Krynin told an Asso- clated Press correspondent who brought her news that her husband had cabled Lady Astor and Shaw, asking them “in the name of humanitarian principles” | to help her out. The English woman | " (Continued on Page 2, Column 6.) - MYSTERY PAIRTRIES 10 ENTER LANGLEY Laboratory Secrets Believed | Object of Foreigners Pos- ing as Aero Men. The story of an attempt by two un- | Langley Memorial Laboratories of the National Advisory Committee for Aero- nautics by posing as members of the National Aeronautic Association is being investigated by the association today. The two men attempted to buy steam- bers of the National Aeronautic Associ- | ation on the trip leaving Washington yesterday evening, it was learned. They were refused the tickets when John F. | Victory, secretary of the National Ad- visory Committee for Aeronautics and treasurer of the National Aeronautic Association, got wind of the incident. Special Permits Required. “It is against the law for representa- tives of foreign governments to go through the Langley Field laboratories | without special pe: fon from our Government,” Victory said. “I do not | know who these men are but I do not think they had any business at Langley Field. If they are official representa- tives of a forelgn government their action was entirely improper and I think it is a matter with which the State Department should deal.” It was explained that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which is the aviation research body of the Federal Government, has at unzhley Field research equipment which has notk?een duplicated anywhere in the world. Nation's Research Leads. “We feel that the United States is many years ahead of any other coun- try in its aeronautical research work,” one of the officlals of the Nationa! Aeronautic Association explained in discussing the alleged “spy scare.” “I understand that no representative of a foreign government ever has had an opportunity to examine the Lang- ley Field equipment, though many have expressed a desire to do so.” Equipment at Langley Field, which, it is said, exists nowhere else in thc world, includes - the variable density wind tunnel, high-speed wind tunnel, full-scale wind tunnel and lelnllnel channel. The full-scale tunnel and sea- plane channel have just been completed | and test work in them now is getting under way. Officials of the association have the name and New York address of one of the two men, but have not yet decided what action they will take, it was said today. The National Aeronautic e thousands of members, all of whom were eligible to make the trip to Langley. BANKER FOUND HANGED BERLIN, July 25 (#).—Wilhelm Tang, kanisch Bank, was found hanged in the garden of his villa, in the fashion- able West End suburb of Grunewald, to- day. He had been in bad health for some time. ° pening Star. 1931 —TWENTY-SIX PAGES. JEPPELIN LEAVES BERLIN FOR ARCTIC | had died in the flames. |tified definitely more than 12 hours after the fire was discovered, were in the county morgue. : |aged would increase the zumber of fatalities. Graf Flying to Leningrad on Second Leg of Its Trip. | Crowds Bid Farewell. | By the Associated Press. | BERLIN, July 25.—The Graf Zep- pelin passed over Dagoe Island, in the Baltic Sea near the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, at 12:55 p.m. en route to Leningrad, second stop of her Arctic cruise. By the Associated Press. The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press news service. Yesterday’s Circulation, 108,597 TWO CENTS. 26 DEAD, 217 INJURED AS HOME FOR AGED IS DESTROYED BY BLAZE Death List at Pittsburéh Institu- tion Expected to Mount—Ruins Searched for 15 Missing. MANY HEROIC ACTS ATTRIBUTED TO VOLUNTEERS AT TRAGIC FIRE Inmates, Seeking Divine Aid, Fight Off Rescuers—Hospitals, Schools and Homes Filled With Seriously Hurt. £’y UP) Means Associated Press. By the Assoctated Press. PITTSBURGH, July 25.—Twenty-six persons, 25 of them k¢ ieved | inmates of the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged and 1 nun, were burned to death and 217 others are in hospitals, victims of fire that turned the haven of the old and helpless into a place of horror and suffering last night and early today. The coroner’s office reported 15 persons still were unaccounted for, but the ruins of the Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor had been searched thoroughly, dissipating belief that more Twenty-six bodies, only three of them iden- Physicians feared the shock of terror and confusion among the ol A psed when the danger i l:étge(g’xéifn !&%f:)?)l;)dngd Sgr;oil&okszstimated the property damage tu- Fire Sidelights | |wimr oo | The alarm came from the outside, and heavy barred gates and a high stone Pittsburgh Phyeicians Face Huge T | wall faced those who sought to warn | inmates and their protectors. Once | warning was given chaos ruled. The | few nuns, the staff of th: home, strug- | gled to lead to safety those of the 250 patients— 145 men and 105 women— they could reach. Of the inmates them- selyes, the stronger helped the weaker; | those who could struggled from window (#)—The | to window, crying for rescue; those By the Associated Press. PITTSBURGH, July 25 animosities of Pittsburgh's long-stand- ing taxicab strike, which has been characterized by brisk clashes between the strikers and the men who are taking their places, were forgotten last night during the fire that destroyed whose infirmities pinned them to their rooms, followed the example of blind Mis. Mary Kline, 80, who “dropp:d on ymy knces and praved to God,” and many of them were saved. Outside, firemen battered down the heavy gates to get in their <quipment: fought futilely for a time to maintain BERLIN, July 25.—The dirigible Graf tne Home of the Little Sisters of the | agahst the walls ladders that burned Zeppelin arose from Staaken airdrome this morning and pointed her nose into | the rising sun, bound for Leningrad on Poor. “Decn't stop me now, buddy,” pleaded a cab driver to two men who menaced as ;h!y were reared, and then turned to Afe ncts, frantically calling to the isoned to leap for their lives. en before firemen reached the the second leg of her flight t0 the nhim as they mounted the running-!scehe scores of the men of the poor | board of his machine. “I'm going out neighborhood in which the home stood Arctic, A few hundred early risers shouted “Hoch” and “Gute reise” (good jour- ney) as she cut her ground connections at 4:40 am. (10:45 pm. Friday, E. S. T.) and, after circling the field, hit her | told of the fire. They got into the front course to the east. Party Crowds Windows. Cabin windows were crowdsd with members of the crew and of the scien- tific party aboard, who waved their good-bys to Berlin. The crew had rested a short time after completing the first leg of Khe} fiight from Friedrichshafen to Berlin, and then they put in busy hours com- pleting the preparations for the journey. Shortly after 2 a.m, the work of re- plenishing the water ballast was start- ed. Meanwhile 13,600 additional cubic meters of hydrogen were blown into the gas bags, and 10,000 kilograms of- gaso- line disappeared in the tanks. Eight big cases of canned goods and bread were added to the stores. ‘Weather Indications Good. Incoming weather reports indicated | the Graf would have excellent weather | on the flight to Leningrad. Dr. Hugo | Eckener, in commard, expected to ar- rive there late in the afternoon. Dr. Eckener does not pian to en- | circle the North Pole on this cruise, but | will go from Leningrad to Archangel, thence northward to hover over Nowaja Semlja Island for observations of tae | giacial sheet. | ‘Then the big ship will sail up to Franz Josef Land, thence eastward to| Northland for geographical observa- | tions. The observers will be looking for | unknown land along the Siberian coast. | The farthest point north which is likely to be reached probably will be about 82 north, 150 east. DESCRIBES GRAF'S FLIGHT. Party Spends Time at Start Taking Photographs. BY ARTHUR KOESTLER. | Special Dispatch to The Star. ABOARD GRAF ZEPPELIN, July 25 (By Radio Via Berlin) (N.AN.A).—| The great adventure has begun. We are sitting in_the cabin partially wearing (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) SPAIN'S PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT TO END| Cabinet Will Resign Monday When Legislature Is Formally qonltlluted. By the Associated Press. MADRID, July 25.—The Assembly g,y more than 12 hours after 26 persons | today completed examining the creden- tials of Deputies and it was announced that on Monday, when the legislative body is formally constituted, the pro- visional government will resign. Whether the cabinet that has served under Provisional President Zamora will be given a new mandate, or whether a new government will be formed, was uncertain. Many observers believed | Poor writhed in agony. that Alejandro Lerroux, now foreign minister, will become the premier. | to haul some of the old people hurt in | the fire at the home.” | *O. K.” the strikers chorused when seat and when they reached the home helped the driver carry injured persons | to a nearby hospital. | While embalmers went silently about | their grim work among tae rows of dead in the County Morgue today | city and county officials joined in checking over the records of the Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the | hope of reaching a definite toll of those who lost their lives in last night's fire. Meanwhile, crowds milled about the bleak stone building. Eager ones whose kin or friends were listed among the inmates of the home mingled with the merely curious. Sister Agatha, mother superior of the institution, and Sister Mary Louise, her | assistant, braved the flames to lead firemen to the office in which the records of the home were kept. These books later were turned over to the coroner’s cffice. That old gang that hangs around the | corner near the home of the Little Sis- ters of the Poor, and whose nocturnal | renditions of “Sweet Adeline” and other | old favorites has so frequently brought down the wrath of the neighborhood, | stood today among the heroes of last | night's fatal fire, s More than a score of young boys, about their usual pranks at the corncr, | ran with glee as the first fire trucks sireaked around the corner. Less than half an hour later this gang, many of them near collapse from smoke and burns, had more than & score of rescues to its credit. The medical profession of Allegheny County faced a gigantic task today. On the white beds of four of the city's largest hospitals—St. Francis, Homeopathic, the Pittsburgh and the West Penn—more than 200 persons burned and injured in last night's fire at the Home of the Little Sisters of the Scores of physicians from all sections of the Pittsburgh district and hundreds | of nurses responded to the call for as-| sistance. g In trucks, in ambulances, in taxi-| cabs and in commandeered private auto- | mobiles the injured were rushed to the | hospitals. | Meanwhile more than half a hundred | the | had scaled the walls and begun the work of Tescue. Before fierce heat drove them back they raced into the burning structure, bearing cut the help- less. When heat within frustrated tbem they formed human chains on fire escapes, passing old men and women one to the other until the ground was | reached. | Physicians Kept Busy. On the wide lawn below physicians and nurses from throughout the city plied their tasks. Nearly all thcse brought out required treatment of some nature. A few were administered oxygen in the shadow of the inferno |ldhu had been the home of their dying lays. | . Within and without. priests gave the last sacrament to the dying at the risk | of their lives. | _Yet the terror of the sudden alarm, | their helplessness and the doubts as to whether they could or would be saved, | were not the first concern of meny of | those borne to safety. Of those who | were given first aid on the lawn of the | home ‘many had clasped in their arms | the holy emblems of their faith. The fire, it was established hours later, started in the morgue in the base- ment of the four-story brick charitable institution at Penn and South Aiken avenues in the East End section. What- ever the cause, flames soon raged throughout the structure. By the time firemen had begun their work the cu- pola topping the building collapsed, in- juring three of the rescuers below. All Turned to Rescue. Such headway had the fire gained that all hope of saving the bullding was | abandoned. All concentrated on res- | cue—firemen. police. nuns, priests and { every man who could get through the fire lines, quickly established. On every floor nuns remained at their posts, trying to rescue where they could, re- fusing to be rescued and insisting that their charges be taken first when help was at hand. Madly eager was Sister Agatha, moth« | er superior of the home. Tak:n from the building, she tore herself from her | assistants and rushed indoors once more. Nuns pleaded with firemen to save hir. An hour later she was found struggling to help the ‘enfeebled, crying hysterically, exhausted from her labors, barely conscious amid the confusion of smoke and falling debris. Of the 250 p:ersons confined to the home, not one was under 60 years old, and most of them were much older. many were infirm that firemen ad- (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.) Fire Death List PITTSBURGH, July 25 (#).—A meager list of identified dead was prepared to- were killed in the fire that swept the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged. The list: Mrs. Mary Waldler. Mrs, Mary Thomas. Mrs. Martha Tilley. flegltheflne McGuire, partially identi- J. Stewart, partially identified. One body partially: identified as that of a nun. ‘Twenty others were not identified. POLICEMAN’S AUTO STOLEN AS HE GUARDS OTHERS’ FROM THIEVES Asso- | Plods Streets Tagging Careless Motorists’ Cars Only to Discover Himself a Victim. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, July 25.—Every one who talked to Policeman Thomas A. Kelly agreed he was justified in feeling a b ‘“l:?l'hfi I he had been plodding o n the streets, wflfi ot new tags, one of whufh he placed on each automobile he found unlocked. He was his bit in the police de- campaign to wamn autolsts an armioad of bright to keer their cars locked to prevent them from being stolen. Finally he made his way to the sta- tion, fagged out, but convinced that he had done a good night's work—one that at least entitles him to a ride home in his own car. Continued on Page 2, Column 8) o VIRGINIA LEGISLATOR STRIKES EX-MAYOR Fight on Winchester Street Is Started by Rivalry in Elec- tion Campaign. Special Dispatch to The Star. WINCHESTER, Va., July 25.—A fist fight betwesn Democratic political | leaders threw the downtown business | district into a turmoil of excitement | today, when former Mayor William W. Glass was struck and knocked down by Joseph S. Denny, White Post, Clarke County, candidate for renomination as State Assemblyman in the August primary. As Denny struck Glass and the lat- ter fell to the sidewalk, Denny's feet flew out and he also went sprawling to the pavement. Both men finally re- gained their feet and sat side by side on :he curbstone as a large crowd gath- ered. Bystanders said Denny approached Glass and accused him of circulating re- rts in Clarke County, part of the local legislative district, calculated to injury his political ambitions. Denny said Glass replied by calling him a “liar,” whercupon Denny struck Glass on the shoulder, felling him. Glass is espousing the candidacy of Boyd R. Richards, Winchester, candi- date for Denny’s seat in the House of But when he went to hop in his machine it was gone. He had left it unlocked and some one had stolen it from beside the police. station. Delegates, and is also a business as- of Richards.