Evening Star Newspaper, September 13, 1931, Page 17

WASHINGTON, POLICEMAN' BODY REVEALS EVIDENCE OFPROGABLEFALL Autopsy and Tree in Valley Give Strength to Surmise Plunge Killed Morrow. INQUEST IS ORDERED FOR 11:30 TOMORROW Probers Discard Footprint as Clue, Disclosing Auto Accident and lleged D: Ra, nond M. Morrow of nd dead yester- under | y to foul accidental ous hill ther coroner reported 1 a violent ired 7 ducing He added th which were bt d in a ph: LR ] aid from the Morrow’s clo other de an own shoe. pped on the The heel on clear, on | b- There ath the ;28] y Mo P! 3 pr to go f <he c was killed | e | 35 Friday ctive Spring- | ng to| th him ents up o De i e now a on who w the evening. t hom he I 1 vered the also omo- | cord- | a hll:{; s and | not a sleepe | Billy, 10, to the ormed her that | ave been beaten | t him to notify | v face upward, about | oot of the bridge, | valley. His | or he upper | was in a depression in | filled with under- ised, the left eye was a small gash | nose. Blood streaked | as established almost had not in in the third-degree ion of been idge. police was sligged and but after an Nevitt said ored the Morgue for the au- Thaddeus ouch immedi- with Mrs. Morrow she had heard at 7:30 o'clock last Bean roner Holds Fall Possible. Shortly after 1 o'clock, when Mor-| .bsence from duty became known, Lieut. J. W. McGinnis of No. 3 called at the officer'’s home and was advised of the phone call. At that time Mrs. Morrow looked outside, but saw noth- ing of the car. It was on her second trip outside, at 2:30 o'clock, that she found it. Dr. MacDonald performed the au- topsy at noon. He discovered that none of Morrow’s b had been broken, and that there were no ms about head other than the and laceration of the punctures in the lungs were and the right lobe of the liver found ruptured. There was also a bruise on the chest, A fall, in which he had struck a free. such as was uncovered by the de- toctives' im ion, would have pro- nes HE m Below, Mo: th n Morrow 10-year. | his mother. pot beneath the Sixteenth Street Bridge over Piney Branch where the | body of Policeman Raymond M. Morrow was found yesterday. Inset, Police- | -old Billy ow was dead after his mother had noticed the prostrate form in | v opposite her apartment window. Richardson, who discovered Billy was photographed with —Star Staff Phot A0 ENIOY REST DR SHELTON'S TRIAL FIXED FOR SEPT. 2 AT SUMMER CAWPS | Community Chest Reports on Thirteen Clergymen to Sit in! Activities of Various Agencies. 4.000 mothers and children ed with Summer vacations tained by organizations the Community Ches*, was announced yesterday. Free accommodations were furnished the Associated Charities, Salvation Army rist Child Society Camps while the Community Chest supple: mented fees charged at the other camps In addition to the various camps maintained by Community Chest organ- ions, Neighborhood House, Friend- ship House, Juanita K. Nye Council children off the streets during the Sum- mer months. The Boy Scouts had an average at- tendance of 200 each of the eight weeks t Camp Roosevelt, on Chesapeake . remained open, besides entertain- undreds of boys at Camp Wilson, on Burnt Mills road Cimp Letts, the Y. M. C. A. camp; actual enrollment of 288 bo most of whom stayed several weeks. Kamp Kahlert, the W. C. A. camp n South River, took care of 639 per- during the Summer. The Salva- Army cared for 484 tired mothers and children at Camp Happy Land, the Symmer playground at Patuxent, Md Camp Reeder. operated by the Boys' ub on the Wicomico River, had an erage enrollment of 60 boys per week, a total of 126 during the season. Other camps submitted the following reports Camp Clarissa Scott, maintained by the Phyllis Wheatley Y. W. C. A. at Highland Beach, 54 girls; the Twelfth Street Branch of the Y. M. C. A.. 84 boys: the Christ Child Society's camp. 54 colored children; Camp Good Will and Camp Pleasant, maintained by the Associated Charities, 702 and - 611 mothers and children; the Girl Scouts, 367 g sons Ci - . School to Take Crops as Fee. SPRINGFIELD, Mo., September 12 (P)—Dr. T. W. Nadal, president of Drury College, announced tonight that vegetables, canned goods and other farm products will be accepted from rural students instead of cash for school fees, Registration of students will be- gin next week. duced the result the autopsy showed, MacDonald said. As he lained it, the sudden com- pression was sufficient to rupture the Jiver and ltmgs and send blood pouring into the chest cavity, but the comores- sion was not of sufficient duration 1o erush the ribs. The same sort of in- jury sometimes results from a person being knocked down by an automobile, hnrrfiplmncd. although it is unusual in a fall. Inquest Tomorrow. Death would not result instantly, according to MacDenald, who said Morrow could easily have stumbled to the poirnt where his body was found, which is but a short distance from the place where he is supposed to have taken the plunge, before falling uncon- scious. Coroner Nevitt has ordered an inquest at 11:30 o'clock tomorrow. Morrow, & former Marine. had been on the police force about six years. He was a native a Pennsylvania, and had been married five years. He and Mrs, Morrow had no children. J The funeral will be held tomorrow morning, with interment in Arlington Cemetery. ~ Judgment of Mt. Vernon Place M. E. Pastor. September 22 has been set as the date for the ecclesiastical trial of Dr. William A. Shelton, pastor of Mount Vernon Place Methodist Episcopal Church South, on. charges brought by his former secretary, Miss Ca A ‘Williams, 5322 Forty-first street, it was learned vesterday. The charges, | have not been disclosed, will be brought | before a board of 13 ciergymen chosen | by Bishop E. D. Mouzon of Charlotte, |N. C.. bishop of the Baltimore district. | The site of the trial has not been an- | nounced but it is expected it will be m per- | House and the Noel House Boys' Club| held in Mount Vernon Place Church. eve- | kept an additional thousand or more Friends Rally to Pastor. Many of Dr. Shelton’s friends in the | church who insist he is innocent of the |charges ~ against him. have rallied | strongly to his support. An unusual | manifestation of this has been the | formation of a defense council of men |and women in the church. who will support him financially and in any | other possible way. In this connection, | a meeting is to be held in the church at_8 o'clock Tuesday night. Rev. E. V. Regester, former presiding elder of this district, will prosecute the charges against Dr. Shelton. For the defense will appear Rev. J. J. Rives, | pastor of Francis Asbury Church; Rev. H. H. Sherman of the Board of Chris- | tian Education, and Raymond B. Dick- ey, Washington attorney. | "It became publicly known that | charges had been preferred against Dr. Shelton last week. Although the pas- tor declined to discuss the accusations in any way, himself entirely innocent and predicted he would make a vigorous defense when they came to trial. CARD PARTIES PLANNED TO AID POOR FAMILIES Capitol Heights Community Wel- fare Organization Maps Out Relief Activities. | | Svecial Dispatch to The Star. CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. Septem- ber 12.—The Capitol Heights Com- munity Welfare Organization will give a serles of six card parties during the Winter to raise funds for needy fam- |ilies of this section, according to’ Free- | man E. Ballard, secretary. The series will start Saturday, September 26, in the school house here and thereafter | parties will be given on the first and | third Saturdays of each month until | December. | The organization, which will cele- brate its first birthday anniversary | soon and assisted 81 families during the first six months of its existence, expects to have more cases this Winter. Mrs. Mathias Cressman is in charge of the arrangements for the card parties and Mrs. Sarah Beavers is |chairman of the Refreshments Com- mittee. |SALESMAN “DIES YOUNG” NEW ORLEANS, September 12 (P).— Austin Parker, 40-year-old unemployed bond salesman, was found shot to death, a pistol at his side, in his apartment here tod Notes found in the apart- ment said he had “lived a hard life and & good one and I desire to die young, and requested that he be cremated and his ashes scattered over the South Carolina. the nature of which | his friends declared he felt D. C, SUNDAY STAGEAND SREEN STARS T0 APPER N PAGEANT HERE Margaret Anglin, Bill Hart and Walter Hampden Ac- cept Bicentennial Roles. 5,000 PERSONS TO HAVE PART IN HISTORIC PLAY ‘Walter Damrosch and Henry Had- ley Will Aid With Musical Program. A cast of 5000 persons, including many stars of the legitimate stage and Hollywood, will take part June 22, 23, 24 and 25 in a pageant-play on the Monument Grounds in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Plans for the huge demonstration were announced yesterday by Arnold Kruckman, executive director of the District of Columbia Bicentennial Com- mission Among the stage and screen celeb- rities who have signified their willing- ness to participate are Margaret Anglin, who will take the part of Mary Ball Washington: William S. Hart, who will appear as Patrick Henry, and Walter Hampden, one of the foremost Shakes- pearean actors in the history of the stage, who will take an important part Others will include Fred Stone, musi- cal comedy star; Miss Effie Shannon, Hobart Bosworth, J. Clifford Brooke, director of the National Theater Pla ers; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Coburn, Fay Templeton of Broadway fame, Hen- rietta Crossman and Miss Fay Buckle Arthur Byron has agreed to partici- pate if his other engagements permit R. H. Burnside, noted producer, will play an important part in the pageant. Henry Hadley, associate director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, is co-operating in the composing of the music. Walter Damrosch_has aiso agreed to conduct any of the Bicenten- nial orchestras or help in arranging the musical numbers Paul Kester, author of numerous dramatic works, is aiding in preparation | of the script. Charlton Andrews, New | York playwright, is also participating | in this’ work. 'PARK BOND ISSUE BACKED BY COUNCIL Blandensburg Indorses Plan for $800,000 Loan in Prince Georges. Special Dispatch to The Star. BLADENSBURG, Md., September 12 —Bladensburg town commistioners have indorsed the proposed $800,000 bond fesue for park development in Prince Georges County and have forwarded a resolution setting forth their indors ment to T. Howard Duckett. a memb | and Planning Commisison Commissioner Frank Mace, in an- nouncing the action of the Bladensburg town fathers, said they felt that park development would be of great advan- tage in the orderly growth of this sec- tion of the county. Prince Georges County commission- but are awaiting the development of definite sentiment in favor of the plan before taking action. 'LAWYERS_ARE INVITED Montgomery Bar Group to, Attend Services Frederick Honoring Taney. at By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. ROCKVILLE, Md., September 12. Members of the Montgomery County Bar Association have been invited to | attend exercises at Frederick, Md. | late Chief Justice Taney will be dedi- cated. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes will be the principal speaker at the exercises, which will be held in front of the Court House at Frederick. where the statue is being placed. The late Chief Justice Taney was a member of the Frederick bar and is being honored by them by this statue. Members of the Montgomery County Bar Association will leave from in front of the court house at Rockville at 1:30 o'clock September 26, and make the trip by auto. The exercises begin at 2:30 o'clock. Arrangements for the trip are being handled by William F. Prettyman, president of the Mont- gomery Association. BY RIVERDALE SCHOOL Teachers Are Assigned—Univer- sity Park Pupils Total 78, With More Expected. Special Dispatch to The Star. RIVERDALE, Md., September 12.— With an increased enrollment over last year, the local school opened with 315 pupils present. Mrs. Mary A. Petty, principal and teacher of the seventh grade, an- nounces that departmental work is being continued in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades. The following assign- ments have been made: Mrs. Mildred P. McCall, sixth grade; Miss Eleanor J. Strailman, fifth; Miss Mildred Kirby, fourth; Miss Mary Lou Gudger, third; Miss Nellie Cook, second: Miss Alice Ray Martin and Miss Josephine Ster- ling, first grades. i Though the enrollment at the Uni- versity Park School is not complete, 78 pupils were present at the opening. Mrs. Ruth K. Yates, principal, is teacher of fifth, sixth and seventh grades; Miss Mildred Purdum, first and second, and Miss Mildred Cook, third and fourth. CARNIVAL TO BE HELD Marlboro Fire Department Plans Benefit October 5 to 1. UPPER MARLBORO, Md., Septem- ber 12.—October 5 to 10 has been set for a carnival under auspices of the Upper Marlboro Volunteer Fire Depart- ment to raise funds toward paying for hose bought by the department. For the benefit of the degm'nent. a of card party will be held in ity Hall the evening of Octoper 1. of the Maryland-National Capital Park | ers have authority to issue the bonds, | TO UNVEILING OF STATUE® September 26, when a statue of the | 315 STUDENTS ENROLLED | MORNING, | SUPREME COURT HAS RECORD DOCKET iLargest Number of Civil Cases in D. C. History Set for Fall. When the District Supreme Court convenes for the Fall term October 6 it will face the largest civil docket in its history. The criminal business is so well advanced because of the un- precedented activity-in this branch_of the court last year that less than 200 cases will be ready for trial at the opening of the criminal divisions of the court Frank E. Cunningham, clerk of the court, and Frederick C. O'Connell, the assignment commissioner, have just completed the calendar of civil cases the October term There are 1.400 law cases scheduled for trial and 751 equity proceedings ready to be heard. making a total of 2.151 civil cases. The calen- dar for October, 1930. showed a total of 1839 cases scheduled for hearing. The new calendar contains 312 more | cases. On the new equity calendar there !s still pending for hearing a suit insti- tuted September 6, 1904. which bears the docket number 24888, while the 53,000's. The oldest pending -case on the law calendar was filed November 22, 1923, and is a suit for personal in- juries which was prosecuted to the U. 8. Supreme Court where a new trial was directed. It bears the docket num- ber 68.243. while current law cases are being numbered in the 80,000's. Nine Murder Cases. On the criminal “ready for trial” | docket, there are pending nine first de- gree murder cases and a number of lesser homicide charges in addition_to the third-degree cases against the five policemen, the Dave Evans case and the horsewhipping charge against a woman and four men growing out of the troubles of the International Union of Operative Engineers. There are 115 prisoners in jail, only 40 of whom are now awaiting trial. Twenty-one have not vet been indicted, 51 are waiting to be arraijgned and 3 are ready for sentence. Unless President Hoover should name a successor to the late Justice Freder- ick L. Siddons before Congress con- venes in December, the court will be | handicapped in its efforts to make in- Iroads into this voluminous calendar of 12,151 cases. While no formal announcement of | the new assignments of justices has been made, it is generally known that Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat will take over the motions court. Another justice will be designated to preside in condem- | nation cases, which will leave only six Justices, two each in the Circuit, Equity and Criminal Divisions. Court in Three Parts. Under the present arrangement of jus- | tices, the assignments have been ‘an- neunced in October and have remained, | except for special reasons, until the ad- | journment in the following June. Be- cause of the heavy demands on the jus- tice holding the motions court under are expected to divide the court year nto three parts, changing the justices in January and again after the Easter re- cess, all the branches of the court, it is un- derstood. United States Marshal Edg‘nr C. Sny- der has taken advantage of the Summer recess to have court rooms, offices and corridors painted and has adopted an innovation in the way of designating the court rooms. Signboards containing the names of the individual justices are be- ing displayed on a bracket from the Jjudge is presiding there. Heretofore the court rooms have been marked only ac- cording to the nature of the business be- ing transacted. The new scheme will greatly aid litigants who often know only that their case is in Justice Gor- don’s court, or in the court of some other justice by name. SCHOOL FIELD REPAIRED Contract Let at Hyattsville for Leveling and Grading. pecial Dispatch to The Star. HYATTSVILLE, Md., September 12.— A contract has been let and the work of grading and leveling the athletic field at Hyattsville High School has started, An effort is to be made to have the Chamber of Commerce of Hyatts- ville get behind a movement as soon as possible to raise $500. With this sum in hand, Prof. K. J. Morris, princi- pal of the school, believes that the work can be paid for in full. The total cost will be around $3,000. It is hoped, after the leveling and grading is completed, to sow the field in grass. It also is hoped to plant trees in the parking along Wine ave- :tue clnd level and sod along that reet. Is SEPTEMBER 13, for the next court year beginning with | current equity cases are running in the | ‘This new methpd is to obtain ip | doorjamb of each court, showing what ! The Sundiny Stae 1931. | Upper, left to right: Hobart Bosworth Margaret Anglin and Walter Hampden Lower, left to right: Arthur Byro Fred Stone and J. Clifford Brook |Falls Church Gets | Water Supply for Saturday Night Dip | | {City U Tap Arlington County Jses Own Mains to System. For the first time in more than a year last night—that it happened to be Saturday night was descrived as a mere coincidence—residents of the cen- tral section of Falls Church, Va., had | an abundant supply of water in their homes. The water was brought from Arling- ton County through mains laid by the town. The county water will be used until community wells, now being dug, can promise an adequate supply. Water was turned into homes along the Lee highway, the town's principal thcroughfare, giving the villagers an | adequate supply for the first time since the drought dried up wells more than a year ago. The result was what might be described as an orgy of house clean- ing and bath taking. During the long dry spell the towns- people have been getting along on a small quantity of water delivered by Army trucks secured in the emergency | by Mayor L. P. Daniel. RENAVE FLAHERTY Federation Convention Ends | | in Los Angeles, Officers Here Being Re-elected. | Special Dispatch to The Sta | LOS ANGELES, Calif,, September 12. | —Thomas F. Flaherty, secretary-treas. |urer and legislative representative, and all the other Washington headquarters | officers of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks were re-elected at the concluding session of the seven- teenth convention of that organization here today. The proposed five-day week, liberal- tial pay for night work, elimination of | speeding-up processes, ' longevity pay, | weekly pay days, efficiency rating sys- | tem, Sunday_and_holiday compensa- tory time, a Civil Service Court of Ap- peals, liberalized vacations based on |length of service, special clerk promo- | tions and an efficiency rating system are among the measures approved as a | legislative program. | “Enthusiastic approval was given of |the entire program for bettering the | condition of the workers in the Federal the new Cleveland system, the justices | postal system as explained in detail in | |the annual report of the secretary- | treasurer. Establishment of the five-day week |in the interest of unemployment relief | as well as to promote efficiency in the | public service is made the main ob- ployes. W. C. T. U. WILL MEET. CAMP SPRINGS, Md., September 12 (Spécial) —The monthly meeting of the W. C. T. U. ill be held Tuesday night at Bells Church. ‘ RARE IN DISTRICT ized retirement, increase in the differen- | | jective “of the organized postal em-| HILD PARALYSIS | ( Only 11 Cases Here in 1930, | but Four Die, Health Re- port Shows. i Little evidence of infantile paralysis, | epidemic in other parts of the coun- try, has been noted in the District, ac- | cording to statistics made available | vesterday in the annual report of Health Officer William C. Fowler. During 1930 only 11 cases were re- ported, a case rate of 2.3 per 100.000 population. But four of these cases resulted in death, a fatality incidence of 364 per cent. Although the figures are several months out of date. Dr.| Fowler said there is “no evidence of an outbreak in the District of Columbia | at _the time of writing this report.” | Infant mortality in the District in-| creased slightly during 19: For each | 1,000 children born, 70.8 died under 1 year of age. as compared with 69.6 in 1929. The white mortality rate in- creased from 4 to 516, while the colored rate declined from 1165 to 1H.1. Death Total Declines. The number of deaths recorded in| the District was 7,403, & decline of 25 as_compared with the previous year. Dr. Fowler reported that the isola- tion buildings under his jurisdiction, for treatment of those afflicted with contagious diseases, “are not modern either in structure or equipment.” He said difficulty has been expe: enced in the past in persuading two| private hospitals to enter into con- tracts for the treatment of cases of! contagious diseases. For many years they have been maintaining their iso- | lation wards at a loss. Providence Hos- | | pital now has definitely refused to con- tinue its contract. and the District is having trouble persuading the authori- | | ties at Garfield Hospital to continue theirs. Says Force Too Small. ‘The heaith officer continued his im- portunity in behalf of more medical and dental inspectors for school inspection work. During the past fiscal year his force was enlarged, but it is still too small, he said. The increase in exam- | inations secured through the larger force was 95.8 per cent. The importance of this work is shown, Dr. Fowler said, by the fact that of the pupils exam- ined, 92.5 were found tc be suffering | from some physical defect. A large | number of these, the report said, were | of very minor importance and easily | corrected. | However, 62.1 per cent of the children | were found suffering from defective | teeth* 53.5 per cent from enlarged ton- | sils; 33.8 from enlarged cervical glands; | 20 per cent from defective nasal breath- |ing: 18.4 per cent from the substandard lnumuon: 18.4 per cent from defective | vision; 3.8 per cent from heart dis=ases, |and 2 per cent from pulmonary ail- | ments. FOUR BOYS JAMLED |Youths Held at Bladensburg | Charged With Theft of $15. | | Special Dispatch to The Star. | HYATTSVILLE, Md., September 12. —Four Philadelphia boys were jailed at Bladensburg today following their arrest by a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad detec- tive on charges of stealing goods from | one of the railroad’s cars. i | Police say the boys took $15 in cash, | & pair of shoes and other goods from | caboose. Detectives trailed them from | Potomac Yards, Alexandria, Va., to Hy- attsville before making the arrest. MAN WHO MOVED W. M. “Egypt” Thompson, who moved the 101 Ranch Wild West Show from Washington last month, ended his life by firing a bullet through his brain at West Baden, Ind., Friday night, according to an Associated Press dis- patch. A certificate of suicide was is- sued by the coroner yesterday. “Egypt,” & hard-bitten professional circus stransportation man, had spent most of his 55 years in.the employ of various circus organizations. This Sum- mer he was employed by the Gentry Brothers Shows, when he was called from his home in Richmond, Va., to move the 101 Ranch after the troupers had carried on & three-week strike for their back pay. He had no eagy Jjob of it. Twice his FROM CAPITAL COMMITS SUICIDE “Egypt” Thompson, Hard-| Fires Bullet Through Brain in West Baden, Ind. 101 RANCH CIRCUS PAGE B—1 LAWS 0 PROTECT REALTY INVESTORS "URGED BY BRIDE Suggests Edict Forbidding Foreclosure Sale Without Court Decree. WOULD REQUIRE DEED RELEASE BY RECORDER Recommends Miniature Scotland Yards to Investigate for D. C. Heads. Corporation Counsel William W. in his annual réport made puo- lic yesterday., put in a strong recom- mendation for the passage of laws designed to curb the swindling of in- vestors by real estate sharpers. “I am strongly in favor/of the en- actment of a law which would further protect investors in real estate securi- ties,” he wrote. “We have been shocked during the past year or more by our utter inability to cope with such cases prior to the actual damage being done.” Mr, Bride had two ections to offer. One was a law forpiddinz the sale of any property on ioreclosure ex- cept in pursuance of a decree of equity court, which would give the mortgagor six months in which to make good be- fore the sale would be ellowed, whether or not the mortgage deed contained a power of sale. The, other is a criminal statute making it an offense to 1 a deed of trust without a nota the recorder of deeds in the ma: the recorded deed that it e E releaced. Where the release is made without securing the notation. not oniy is this act made a crime, but the re- lease will not impair the lien of note, bond or cther evidence ct indeb! edness for which the decd of trust security, according to the statute. Debt Cancellation Required. The trustee under the deed of trust would be required to produce the can- celled evidences of indebtedness before the recorder of deeds would note the deed as released. In the case of deeds | standing as security for large sums. a provision is made for five d: by publication before deeds will be allowed to rec lease Perhaps the most recommendations of the report I do with revamping the Po Board procedure and setting u ture Scotland Yard ‘n the Distri ermnment, to do investigating for the District Commissioners. Normally, the Police Department does the investigat- ing. But there come times when the department itself is under fire, and when it investigates itself the results fall a trifle short of perfection. In such a situation the Commissioners usually call on the Department of Justice, but, as Mr. Bride says, “this department does not relish such requests. It comes in only on rare occasions. and then with great reluctance, fecling. and properly so. that our local government should conduct its own investigation recorder of ord the re< typical Urges Six Investigators, ‘To meet this “serious need” Mr. Bride suggests the hiring of not less tha “‘trained investigators, independent any department of the local govern- ment.” The super six would conduct all inquiries “free from the bias which might exist if their investigators were attached to any of the departments of the municipal government.” Mr. Bride does not specifically men- tion the Police Department as the de- partment to be investigated by the suder six. although the recommenda- tion for the new Scotland Yard comes immediately after that for the re- vamping of the Trial Board. What d happen if it ever became 1 essarv to investigate tte super six is not even hinted. The Trial Board recommendations give the board power to use the subpoena of the District Supreme Court in summoning wit- &and records and compell- sses to testify. False swearing to a material fact be- fore the Trial Board should be made perjudy. he suggested. Other Measures Suggested. Another recommendation is de- signed to save the Commissioners the labor of frequent signing of their re- spective names by giving power to the secretary of the board. under certain restriction: of signing deeds, con- tracts, leases. pleadings and other pa- pers now requiring the signatures of the Commissioners. Other legislation recommended includes bills giving the District the right in condemnation cases, now enjoyed by the Federal Gov- ernment, to take immediate title to property in condemnation by a dec- laration of taking: a bill to bring the license laws up-to-date, a new insur- ance law, a new vagrancy law and a law removing some of the legal disad- yantages of children borm out of wed- lock. The rest of the report is taken up with statistics and & resume of the various matters over which the District has found itself in litigation in the v ous courts. The Traffic Court stati tles seem to have a special interest, as they show a substantial decline in the number of informations filed for tra fic offenses. These dropped to 53,122, a decrease of 7.246. Mr. Bride attributes this decrease partly to the abandonment of the rule calling for lighted parking lamps at night and the inauguration of the no-parking rule from 8 to 9:30 in the downtown section. Almost half of the reduction was taken up by a drop in the number of speed charges, which declined by 3,397. D. C. MAN IS INJURED IN MARYLAND CRASH Martin L. Pilkerton Badly Hurt, Bitten Transportation Man, colored helpers, recruited to pack up the tents, equipment and belongings of the show and herd its live stock on a 13-car train, walked out on him under the peaceful persuasion of the show workers. The third group he brought did the job. A colored elephant trainer in his employ even suce in get- | ting the show's five elephants onto the | train, after their own irainer had re- | fused to raise his hand unless he gou | his_back wages. Mis. Thompson, vho arrived in West Baden vesterday, said she did not know the cause for her husband's act. Friends in that city said, however, that he Lad become despondent over the loss of money in a bank failure. Receiving Spinal Fracture. Hit-Run Car Sought. Martin L. Pilkerton, 27, 2346 Q street southeast, was seriously injured yester- day in an automobile accident near Mechanicsville, Md. He was brought to Casualty Hospital, where he was treated for a fractured spine and cuts. Pilkerton was riding with two com- panions when an automobile crashed into their car, overturning it several times, The driver of the other auto- mobile failed to stop. Pilkerton's two companions, William R. Van Noy, 35, of Oxon Hill, Md., and Edward W. Longsinger, 30. of Fort Washington, Md., were uninjured. They are being held at the ninth precinct as witnesses for Maryland authorities. Van Noy, who was driving the car, gave police a description of the other car, and a lookout has been broadcast for the hit-and-run machine. Pilkerton is said to be an employe in the circulation department of s local newspapes. .