Evening Star Newspaper, September 28, 1931, Page 17

Washington News The T WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION 28, RAIL ARGUMENTS FAIL TO IMPRESS UTILITIES GROUP Oral Statements Made in! Behalf of Patrons to Run Lines North of Avenue. COMMISSION APPEARS IN FAVOR OF BUS LINES Whole Matter, Involving Extra Congestion at 14th Street, Is Taken Under Advisement. Arguments in favor of allowing in- terurban street cars from nearby Vir- ginia points to crcss Pennsylvania avenue to the north at Fourteenth street were made before the Public Utilities Commission st an open hear- ing today, but at the close of the hear- ing Chairman Mason M. Patrick of the commission announced that none of the matters introduced impressed | the commission that it was feasible to allow the extra budren of traffic at this point. The case was presented by J. Wil- liam May and Melvin K. Shipe for the riders in Alexandria, and by Dr. J. H. Parmelee, for those in Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Favor Bus Lines. ‘The commission seemed to be im- essed with a solution of the problem E;' means of exchanging busses for the street car service and asked many questions on_this point. The replies were generally to the effect that the bus service would be inconvenient and in the case of certain sections of the Arlington and Fairfax line impossible. Some of the patrons of the latter line, according to Dr. Parmelee, live a mile or more from unimproved county roads and are absolutely dependent on street car service to get them to Washington. The question of financing the new track ‘work necessary if the cars are to be allowed to cross Pennsylvania avenue and also for improvement of the tracks south of Water street was disc L, and representatives of both lines said that whatever money Wwas necessary ‘would be forthcoming. The existence of the lines is threat- ened by the ogress of the Federal Governnient's building program in the Pennsylvania avenue-Mall triangle, and on Thursday arguments will be pre- sented in District Supreme Court on.a petition by the street car lines to re- strain the Federal Government from in anywise interfering with their track- age and 1 Taken Under Advisement. - Representative Howard Smith, newly elected Representative from the North- ern district of Virginia, addressed the commission in behalf of the ple of Alexandria and Arlington and Fairfax | Counties and said that it was of the utmost importance that the transpor- tation lines serving those sections be tected in the interest of the people. en admitting that to allow the Vir-| ia cars to cross Pennsylvania avenue Fourteenth street would seriously slow up traffic there, it would be better, Smith said, to inconvenience a few for the benefit of the many. ‘The commission took the whole mat- ter under advisement. It has previously refused this request, u? Ahe matter is | before it on a rehearin MAN, SHOT, GRILLED ON ALLEGED HOLD-UP| e G ! Gun Victim, Seriously Wounded, Is | Questioned on Charge He Tried to Rob Store. ‘William Dunlop, 33, colored, who was shot Saturday night in a grocery store at Third and P streets, was being ques- tioned today by police who were told | by the store owner that the colored Mman was attempting to rob him. ‘The proprietor of the store, Abe Rosenblatt, said he shot Dunlop in the back after the latter entered his estab- lishment_and threatened him with a knife. Detective Sergts. F. O. Brass | and F. A. Truscott said they had been unable to find the knife. The colored men is in a serious con- dition at Emergency Hospital. FOUNTAIN PEN THIEF RAIDS OFFICE TWICE | Loot in Chamber of Commerce Rob- beries Is Identical Each Time. ‘The offices of the Washingten Cham- ber of Commerce in the Homer Build- ing were ransacked last night for the second Ume within a week. The loot on each occasion consisted of a foun- tain pen, nothing more. Entry to the offices was believed to have been made with the ald of a pass- key. No attempt wes made to force the office safe or any drawers that were locked. The fountain pens were the personal property of Mrs. Maries C. Rogers, assistant secretary of the chamber. On the first visit the burg- lars removed a gavel in addition to the fountain pen, but abandoned the gavel on the staircase leading to the street. JUDGES TO SPEAK Will Address Students at Opening of National University. Three Federal judges, all members of the Law School faculty, will speak at the opening exercises at National University at 6:30 o'clock tonight, when the institution begins its sixty-third Fall term. The jurists are Chief Justice Fenton ‘W. Booth of the United States Court of Claims, professor of elements of jurisprudence; Justice Charles 8. Hat- field of the United States Court of Customs Appeals, professor of Federal procedure and the law of agency, and Justice D, Laurence Groner of the Dis- trict M Appeals, professor of admiralty law. Dr. Chlyrk‘ Pergler of wdmm;vflnfi yesterday was el i at the head of the the a | depression and mine, Sailor Succeeds as a Cop - HE “old penny-matching game” has been going on around Union Station for years, but a sailor who lost $100 yesterday showed the police a thing or two tclay. Lavaugh Cobb, who is stationed on the U. S. S. Asheville, at Boston, stopped off in Washington his way to Ala- bams, where he planned to spend his | Jeave. After visiting- friends in the 1000 block of L street, he went to the cation trip. In ‘ac ‘t‘ermlnll,‘he sald, he was ap- proached by a tall, slim sf -anger—Ilater identified as Lem Harris—who invited him to go for & walk around the blo They had strolled about a block, Cobb said, when another er accosted them and suggested they match pennies. Starting with coppers, the trio soon | switched to quarters, then half-dollars, Cobb continued. Finally, he said, he found himself “‘dead broke,” and the strangers, after some argument as to a nearby allgy. e Rethrvd to the depot this morn- ing in the hope of again encountering one or both the strangers and, sure | enough, found Harrls standing outside. “So there you are,” Cobb said, grasp- ing Harris' collar. Although Harris de- nied ever having seen him before, Cobb, Who claims to know faces, took him into the depot and called a policeman. The officer took both men to headquar- ters, where Ccbb told his story. After being questioned, Harris was taken to the third precinct station, where he was held for investigation. | He denied having' fim-flammed Cobb | and refused to reveal the identity of the | other man. | Penniless, Cobb s obliged to return | the ticket he had purchased for his | trip to Alabama, and if he doesn't get | his $100 back he'll have to use the $28 ticket refund to return to Bost BUYNG TO AD IDLE URGED BY IFFORD Tells Radio Audience Public Increases Distress by Failure to Spend. By the Associated Press. The public, by failure to spend its money, is blamed by Walter S. Gifford for much of the unemployment distress. Consumer buying, the man intrusted by President Hoover with caring for the suffering of the jobless believes, must precede solution of the problem. “If the public buys neither work nor goods, it is the public that is indirectly discharging men,” he said last night in a radio address over both national net- works. He enumerated a four-point program | for coping with unemployment distress | It concluded: | 1. Appointment of a State-wide com- mittee of leading citizens by the Gov- ernor, 2. Organization of an emergency com- | mittee in needy communities. | 3. Determination by this committee of the probable unemployment load and the development of ways to meet it by providing employment or relief. 4. Reports to the State committees on plans of the local groups. He said 6,000,~ 000 was the estimate “most generally mentioned” for the number of unem- ployed. > Situation Called Temporary. Gifford said the emergencies like the present one occur in this country so sel “there is not, gnd probably ought not be, permanent organization to | cope with it.” He described the condi- | fion as temporary and best met by vol- | untary mass efforts of the people. “Employers have already to an ex- | traordinary degree spread employment | available in their own plants among | their workers,” he said. “Many have gone the limit, * » * “A high percentage of those gainfully employed are working full time, either on full wages and salaries or with Ye- ductions no greater than the decreasc in the cost of living. They constitute * ¢ *a main source of wopk. They can * * * give work or buy things which give work in manufacture. “Business can spread out its avail- able work * * * but, broadly speaking, it can't give additional work unless the consumer buys its products. It is your and when and how we get out of it lies in each per- son’s power to some degree.” Gifford explained the total of jobs cannot be measured accurately, but that “each city, town or younty can know its own problem accurately enough for practical purposes.” ‘The worst problems are in the large cities, he said, which “happily have the most aceumulated wealth to meet the eme:gency.” “There is every indication that these greai centers can and will take care of themselves,” Gifford said, adding: “The burden due to unemployment has undoubtedly increased greatly, but my experience with unemployment re- lief in New York last year led me to believe that this country has the knowl- edge, organization, weaith and gener- osity to care effectively for the distress of this coming Winter. My five weeks in Washington have confirmed that be- lef.” HOLD-UP VICTIM SHOT | Bandits Get $19 After Fight in House at 721 Balls Court. Joseph Sherwood, 39, of 621 Fourth street was shot in the leg yesterday when he resisted the efforts of three bandits to hold him up in a house at 721 Balls court, The men escaped after robbing him of $19. One of the men covered him with a pistol while the other two rifled his| kets, Sherwood told police. He said e grappled with the gunman as the three made ready to leave and the gun exploded, the bullet crashing into his left leg. Sherwood was treated at Emergency Hospital. WOUNDED IN STRUGGLE Man Shot in Chest While Grap- pling With Wife for Revolver. Emmett Vanison, colored, 38, of 434 Neal street was shot in the chest and seriously "I‘o'.‘\‘mhu &’m’rfll' y while wife for possession R revoiver. He 15 at Cas- ualty Hospital, while his wife is being held for investigal LOSES $100, BUT NABS SUSPECT IN BUS DEPOT GAME. Union Bus Depot to continue his va- | the fairness of the game, fled through' RESISTING THREE MEN | LAVAUGIU COBB. —Star Staff Photo. HOLLAND T SEND BOY ORATOR HERE MENAGE T0 FLYING SEEN IN PROPOSED GRANITE COLUMNS Commerce Department Opin- jon Given Grant on Memo- rial Bridge Feature. | l LACK OF AIRPORT HERE CAUSES SAFETY STEPS Adequate Lighting Held Necessary if Giant Pillars Are Erected. Proposed construction of two giant 200-foot granite memorial columns on Columbia Island as & part of the Ar- lington Memorial Bridge project will constitute a serious obstacle to air trans- port gperatjons at Washington-Hoover Airport, it was stated in an informal opinion submitted by the Commerce De- partment aeronautics branch to Col. U 8. Grant, 3d, executive officer of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission. In submitting its opinion, the aero- nautics branch pointed out that failure | of the Federal and District governments to provide a public airport for the Cabi- tal's growing volume of air travel makes | it essential that the Government throw | all possible safeguards around civil operations from the local commercial air terminal, which now ranks as one of the most active in the country. Lighting Would Be Needed. It the columns are erected, the aero- nautics branch reported, they should b2 adequately lighted so as to prevent the danger of collision by aircraft taking off or landing at night. The Commerce Department experts submitted alternative plans for lighting the shafts. They should be marked by standard red obstacle marking lights at all times or they might be floodlighted on clear nights and marked by red ob- struction lights on misty and foggy nights, when the risk of collision was greater and flcodlights would be least effective. The Commerce Department strongly favored the continuous use of Henri van Hoof to Contest| With Entries of Six Other Nations. With the announcement today of &n 18-year-old Hollander as the first of seven participants, plans were launched for the sixth International Oratorical Contest finals here on October 24. Henri R. M. van Hoof, student of the Roman Catholic Lyceum at Overeen, near Haarlem, in Holland, will be the windmill country’s representative in thei battle for the world oratorical cham- | pionship, according to Randolph Leigh, | dirzctor general of the contest. Am- | bitlous to be a journalist, Henri is one| of the most prolific writers in his school, where he has produced voluminous es- says and papers of various sorts, ac- cording to A. J. Schneiders, principal of the Lyceum. In his bid for the world champion- ship here, Henrl van Hoof will speak in Dutch on “The Royal House of the Netherlands.” The board of judges, which will determine the victor, will be composed of multi-linguists capable of judging each contestant in his native tongue. The contest in Holland, its first in conjunction with the International Oratorial Contest which is sponsored in Washington and vicinity by The Evening Star, was directed by Prof. Albert Vogel of the University of Leyden. Prof. Vogel, who is founder and president of the Society for the Promotion of Oratorial Art, a Dutch organization of importance, has advised Mr. Leigh here that the coutest in his country was both thorough and wide- spread. In the finals here the young Dutch- man will compete with the best high school orators which six other nations were able to produce in their respective national competitions. The American boy will be Robert Rayburn of Newton, Kans., who won first place in the Eighth National Oratorial” Contest here last May. The other foreign contestants will be announced as soon as details of | their respective selections reach con- test headquarters in The Star Building. | _ The meeting will be held at 8 p.m., | Saturday, October 23, in Constitution | Hall. The international finals are the | elimax of a world-wide oratorial meet | | which annually is marked by colorful audiences of prominent international figures in Washington. | — . 3 . |SAY PRISONER CONFESSED | Police Déclare Suspect Has Ad- mitted 8 Housebreaking Charges. Arrested last night while loitering near New Jersey avenue and N street southeast, Albert Crawford, colrred, 22, was belng held today by police after allegedly confessing to six cases of housebreaking. Crawford was arrested by Policemen | Francis J. Pilkerton and William | Hayden. They identified him from police circulars Dutch Orator red obstacle lights, pointing out that these were adopted for the Washington Monument after exhaustive tests cf various types. To Be On Either Side. The granite columns, according to plans of the Bridge Commission, are ‘o be erected on approximately the center line of Columbia Island at points 100 feet on either side of the axis of the Arlington Bridge. Construction of the columns and of the proposed Navy and Marine Me- morial, the foundation for which has been completed near the Scuth end of Columbia Island, was protested by Col. C. E. Fauntleroy on behalf of Federal Aviation Corporation, owners | of the local airport. Experts previously had submitted an opinion that the Navy and Marine Me- | morfal would be below the gliding ; angle of planes approaching the air- port, but recommending that it e adequately lighted to prevent danger | at night. VOLUNTEERS’ LEADER ON A VISIT TO CAPITAL Charles Brandon Booth to Deliver | Seven Speeches in City This Week. Charles Brandon Booth, noted lec- | turer and field secretary‘of the Volun- teers of America, will come to Wash- ington this week to deliver seven speeches in five days. Mr. Booth is the son of Gen. and Mrs. Ballington Booth, founders of the volunteers, and has himself been con- nected with social and philanthropic organizations for more than 20 years. Mr. Booth's program in Washington has been arranged by Lieut. Col. Frank H. Wise, regionnal commander of the volunteers. In addition to delivering his seven scheduled addresses Mr, Booth will conduct an inspection of the enlarged rellef activities being con- ducted by the volunteers in Washington. Mr. Booth's first local address will e from Station WOL at 6:15 p.m. to- morrow. Wednesday night he will speak at & o'clock at the Hyattsville Presby- terian Church, Johnson and Vine street, Hyattsville, He will address the La Fayette Lodge of Masons at the Masonic Temple Thursday night. Students of Central High School will hear Mr. Booth Friday morning. Friday night he will speak before Columbia Masonic Lodge, No. 3, at the Masonic Temple. = Two sermons next Sunday willl con- clude Mr. Booth's visit. At 11 o'clock he will fill the pulpit of the Metropoli- tan Baptist Chruch. In the evening at 8 o'clock he will occupy the pulpit of the Central Presbyterian Church. — THREE D. C. TRAINEES TO BE AT AIR SCHOOL New “West Point” of Army Corps, Randolph Field, Tex., Will Open November 1. Three Washingtonians will be mem- bers of the first class to begin flying training in the Army’s new “West Point of the air” at Randolph Field, San An- tonio, Tex. The huge training center, one of the largest in the world, is a city within tion at the House of ition. | of the second precinct were | that Vanison fired a shot then bbed the revolver to m:v. from him. Dur- scuffie pigiel exploded, ‘Vanison. at his HENRI R. M. VAN HOOF, u,wuuomuvhouuxn- ing heres an airport, devoted exclusively to the training of the Army's future pilots. The hangars and buildings of the post, comprising a town with a maximum population of about 5000, has been built in the center of a great airport, divided into four training fields for cadets in various stages of training. The first class will go into training November 1 and wil be composed of 198 members, about half of whom are second lieutenants in the Regular Army, who were commissioned follow- ing graduation from West Point last June. The others are enlisted men and civilian candidates who go in with the status of flying cadets. ‘The District is represented by two flying cadets, Willam W. Amorous, 1650 Harvard street, and Harry R. Renshaw, 3418 Porter street, and by Lieut. Don- ald R. Patterson, a graduate of the in June and an appointee Leo W. Cather its Winches- ter, Va, in the = ening Star 1931. Auto Wedges Itself Into Ditch PERFECT FIT RESULTS IN 0‘"" !LIGH* INJURIES TO THREE. Wood, 83, pital. VEN the driver of this automobile doesn’t know exactly how he managed to fit it so snugly into the eight-foot ditch at Canal and E streets southeast, and his two companions are just as much in the dark. that the car crasfed through the barricade and landed side-up in the excavation, which was made to carry a steam line to the new House Office Building. The driver, Ben Walker Calloway, 49, colored, 1520 B street north- t, suffered only from shock, but his passengers—Leger Marlow, 40, colored, 15 C street southeast, and Andrew colored, 531 Forty-eighth street northeast—were cut about the head. The accident occurred while Saturday night's rain was at its height. All they know is All three were treated at Providence Hos- —=Star Staff Photo. War, Say Shermans, Is— Father and Son Fight Battle of Rates for Cleaning and Pressing on Georgia Ave After Overnight Truce nue, Resuming Hostilities to Combat Brisk Trade. . | WOUNDED FUGITIVE IN CRITICAL STATE |EScaped Colored Prisoner Gen. Sherman's definition of war was his. And who gets the business? So| Shot by Three Officers as one thing, anyhow, on which Benjamin Sherman and Maxwell Sherman, father and son, were willing to agree today. They all but declared a truce Satur- day night, from their rival cleaning establishments, at 5305 and 5309 Geor- gla avenue, but fresh ultimatums were posted this morning in the shape of cut-price banners. The lull came when the father's 15- cent and the son's 5-cent clean-and- press prices brought a great press of business. Still mad, the rival staffs hauled down their cut-rate banners and turned in to clean up men’s suits and ladies’ dresses. Fight Rages Along Street. But this morning, Benjamin Sherman said, he was astonished and chagrined to see his son’s windows plastered with new cut-rate signs “My customers,” gesticulated Ben- jamin, “they drive up. They stop across the street. They look at my windows. They look at my son’s. “But they don’t see the bargain signs in my windows. They see them in | back went my signs—15 cents for spe- | cial cleaning and pressing, and such.” False Calls Irk Maxwell. | On the other hand, Maxwell was just as sure it was his father who renewed | hostilitles, which have been bitter since Maxwell walked out of his father's shop and set up a rival concern six months ago. In addition, Maxwell complained bit- terly today his telephone buzzes con- | tinually with false calls—his business is | mostly cash-and-carry. ‘What,” replied his father through a “go-between,” “he says that, does he, when only today, only this morning, Maxwell's own brother was called in my delivery wagon to three—no, four— bum addresses?” Meanwhile the father was preparing | for a hearing on a suit to restrain his | son from using the name “Sherman.” | “He gave me that name, didn't he?” | replied Maxwell, and hinted at legal re- | taliation. At any rate, Gen. Sherman seemed |to have been right about war—espe- | cially civil war. ILLS OF INDUSTRIES TOLD RAIL HEARING Attorneys Say Railways Are Better Off Than Lead, Cop- per and Lumber Trade. ‘The 1lls of the lead, copper and lum- ber industries were enumerated to the Interstate Commerce Commission today to offset the claims of the railroads for a 15 per cent freight rate increase. Attorneys told the commission the capital structure of the lead, copper and lumber industries was in a more precarious condition that that of the railroads. The railroads have based their appeal for increased rates on their need of revenue to maintain the value of their bonds and to enable them to refinance such issues as may mature. R. E. Quirk, representing the non- ferrous metal industry, particularly lead and copper, told the commission much of the domestic producers’ business was likely to go to foreign sources if costs are increased. The ccpper and lead producers, he sald, pay the freight and must pass it on to the consumer. Operations of lead and copper mines and smelters at present are approxi- mately 40 per cent of normal, Quirk said. The price of copper is lower than at any time in recent years. If rates are increased, Quirk indi- cated, the falling off in business would close more plants and throw more work- ers out of employment. 8. J. Wettrick, representing Western lumber interests and the North Pacific Millers’ Association, said the capital structure of the lumber industry of the Northwest was in a much more pre- carious condition than the railroads. Any increase in rates, he said, would destroy rate relationships in favor of Southern pine producers, dislocating business and makinf it impossible to market Western lumber in the East. Referring to the wishes of the Millers’ | Association, which is composed of man- ufacturers of flour, cereals and feed in the Northwest, Wettrick said any in- crease in the rates on flour would mean such shioments as now come East by rallroad would certainly go to other forms of transportation, OFFICERS TO BE GUESTS 0dd Fellows’ Beacon Lodge Holds First Fall Meeting Tonight. ‘The Line Officers’ Association, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, will be guests of Beacon Lodge, No. 15, in the association’s first Fall meeting, to be held at the Odd Fellows' Temple, 419 Seventh street, tonight. The associa- tion is composed of presiding officers of the subordinate lodges of t.flis Juris- diction, under the leadership of Martin A. McGrory, president. More than 500 are expected to attend. Plans will be made at the meeting for the part the Jjurisdiction is to have in the celebra- am of the George Washington Bicen: Dunbar High Fire | Put Out, With Pupils Unaware of Blaze Flames in Club Room' Laid to Cigarette Tossed Behind Radiator. Less than a score of Dunbar Schoal’s 1,500 colored students were aware their building had been afire this morning until gossip advised them at the noon recess. Six window shades, some overdrapes, & windowsill and a chairboard were burned out while classes continued un- interrupted in adjoining rooms. Fire- men, working quietly with chemical ex- tinguishers, quickly halted the blaze. The fire is believed to have started when some one either tossed a lighted cigargtte behind the radiator or left it burning on the wooden window sill 1 the school's club room. As the use of tobacco is prohibited on school pro) erty, an investigation was launched 1 mediately by Walter L. Smith, princi- pal of the school. As soon as & student noticed the smoke in the empty club room, he no- tified the school office. After a hasty examination _Principal Smith tele- pioned the Fire Department, but de- layed sounding the signal bell, which would have turned the 1,500 boys and girls into the corridors. The firemen carefully led in their chemical hose lines in concealed positions and ex- tinguished the flames. WEEK’S CONTRACTS LET AMOUNT TO $28,019,000 Virginia Public Works Projects In- clude Arlington School Re- lief Body Reports. By the Associated Press. Award of contracts totaling$28,019,000 on 462 projects was reported to the Prukldem’u Relief Organization last week. The organization said today public and semi-public works contracts awarded since December 1, 1930, total $2,490,945,000. ‘The contracts included the following projects in Virginia: iArlington County, school, $25,900; Lynchburg, sidewalks and streets, $25,000; Norfolk,” street paving, $60,000; Langley Field, storm sewer, $33,980, and Fort Myer, dry cleaning plant, $15,627. CORNER STONE TO BE SET Exercises Will Be Held at Taber- nacle- Site Near Ballston. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALLSTON, Va. September 28— Corner stone laying exercises for the nacle of the Church of the Nazarene, being erected on Glebe road near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard, will day oon. The $6,000 building of the Ballston taber- | knocked He Resisted Capture. Dropped by a fusillade of bullets from the revolvers of three policemen when he tried to escape arrest late yester- day, Thomas Henry, colored, 49 years old, wanted on a murder charge in Vir- ginia and as a fugitive from the Lorton Reformatory, was in a critical condi- tion at Freedmen's Hospital today. Harvey was fired upon by Detective Sergt. Charles E. Mansfleld and Police- men Michael J. Mahaney and A. D. Mullins when he fled from a house in the 2500 block of Georgia avenue as the three officers, accompanied by De- tective Sergt. John W. Wise, attempted to place him under arrest. Wise did not_shoot. ‘The colored man, police said, placed his right hand in his hip pocket, as if to draw a gun, when the quartet ap- proached, and broke into a run. Ig- noring & command to halt, Harvey made a break for liberty, but fell, criti- cally wounded by a bullet from one of the officers’ revolvers, on the sidewalk guuklde. The bullet struck him in the ack. An anonymous tip led police to Har- vey's hideout, where he is said to have taken refuge shortly after escaping from Lorton on June 19, 1930. He had bzen convicted here and sent to the reformatory for housebreaking. Virginia authorities placed a detainer against the man shortly after he had been sent to the institution following his indict- ment for the murder of Nathan Hard- ix;gb colored, at Victoria, Va., in March, Harvey was taken to Freedmen’s Hos- pital in the Detective Bureau car in which the four officers had to the call that he was in hiding at cis B. J. Luke of the hospital staff treated the wounded m:m and pro- nounced his condition critical. FIREMEN IN COLLISION Hose Wagon of No. 5 Crashes With Car—No One Is Injured. ‘While (o’rg to a small fire at 2116 Thirty-sevefith street early this mox”n- ing the, hose wagon of No. 5 Engine Company collided with a sedan driven by Francis M. Coffey, 33 years old, of 223 Delray avenue, Bethesda, at,the corner of Thirty-fifth and R streets, damaging both the hose wagon and the automobile. No one was hurt. The hose wagon was driven by Arthur S. Kaye, 34 years old, of 1258 Monroe street northeast. The fire at 2116 Thirty - seventh street, to which the apparatus was go- ing, was a small blaze, which mim from an open fireplace and was quickly extinguished by apparatus from No. 29 Engine Company. The house was oc- cupied by J. E. Creed. SHOP HAS THREE FIRES Loss Placed at $1,000 After Series of Blazes Keep Firemen Busy. ‘Three separate fires wi a few hours yesterday caused u%‘ damage at the tailoring shop of Gus Carassas, 1766 K street, and kept firemen running back and forth between their engine house and the shop. The first blaze started when a can of gasoline exploded. It was put out shortly after 2 o'clock. Three hours later another fire broke out, apparently caused by smoldering ashes. This time several firemen were stationed to see gllmt the ashes dled out without another aze. Hardly had they left the store when the third alarm was turned in. Carassas, attempting to straighten out the electric wiring, had caused & short circuit, starting another blaze. AUTOS PUT OUT LIGHTS Colliding Machines Disrupt Service in Southeast. Electric light service was disrupted in part of the Southeast section early last night after an electric pole was down by two colliding automo- biles at South Capitol and D streets, Service was soon restored by electria linesmen, however. Police said the two cars were driven by Frank W. Constable, 1308 E street northeast, and Rober H. Vincent, col- order, of 1411-A South Capitol street. Neither was injured. PAGE B—1 EXCAVATION BEGUN FOR FIRST OF FOUR BIG U. 3. BUILDINGS Steam Shovel Starts Digging at Site of $4,500,000 I. C. C. Structure. CONSTITUTION AVE. AREA IS VIRTUALLY CLEARED Operations Expected to Get Under Way Soon on New Justice Department Fome, Ground was broken today at Twelfth street and Ohio avenue in an area Which will be the scene of continuous bullding operations until four monu- mental Government buildings rise on a site consisting of about six squares of land. G The building which is to occupy the place where the steam shovel began digging this morning will be the home Dx' the I!gursutg Commerce Commis- | slon, authorized by Congress $4,500,000. 4 % e The general contractor, McClosk Co. of Philadelphia, low bidder ll:o’nfi the excavations and foundations for the tors until, it is understood, battery of steam shovels and & m'xx: fleet of trucks will be in operation. Another Contract to Be Let. The, first excavation and foundations will s from Twelfth to Pourteenth street along Constitution avenue for the 1 C. C. Buil , Government Audi- torlum and the Labor rtment. Another contract, to be let soon, will send the same contractor, with the nme‘equl ent, into the adjacent site, bounded Twelfth and Thirteenth :f;:eu, nl"enmylvlgl and Ohio avenues, re the Post Office o be located. o The jangle of the first steam shovel us inaugurat today a series of building operations which will not cease until this huge group of four con- nected buildings, costing a total of about $21,550,000, is completed. Area Virtually Cleared. The area along Constitution avenue is now virtually cleared, and another wrecker is rapidly clearing away the site for the Post Office Department, Which will be the last of the group mr‘:ad (t:‘ver to the contractor. leantime, excavation is expected to be started soon on the site of the Department of Justice fl tween Ninth and Tenth streets, sylvania and Constitution aven contract has been let to the Seisal Co. of Pittsburgh. Excavation work is rapidly essing on the site of old Center Market for the new Ar- chives Building. CONDEMNATION SUIT ON ISLAND HELD UP Action Continued Pending State- ment of Plans for Analostan by Memorial Group. ‘The condemnation insti- tuted by the United States Park and Plann| Commission for ition of Analostan Island was continued for two weeks by Justice Jesse C. Adkins in the District Supreme Court today. The continuance was nted at the request of Attorney Willlam E. Horton, who, with Attorney Wilton J. Lambert, rep- resents the Washington Gas Light Co., owner. Assistant United States Attor- ney General Henry H, Glassie concur- red in the request. 3 Horton told y the court the com M;uuo{flwnrwm;;t Memorial Associa for has arran o the Roosevelt $364,000. The the Georgia avenue address. Dr. Pran- the the island is to be put, but wants to have a resolution tguud by the asso- outlining the purposes of the purchase so the commission may be assured that its use will not interfere with the scheme of the development and beautifying of the water front. Prospective jurors had been sum- moned for foday, but were excused until further notice, as the of the resolution and sale of the property probably will end the condemnation proceeding. iy R POLICE SEEK TWO BOYS IN BROTHERS’ ROBBERY Young Victims Describe Hold-up in Southwest Section—Youth Takes Army Blanket. , Four boys, accused of knocking down two brothers and robbing them of 55 cents yesterday afternoon, were being sol_igat today by park police. e brothers, Willlam and John Pumphrey, of the 1000 block of Four- and-a-half street southwest, were at- tacked and robbed near the Medical Museum, they told guards at the Smith- sonian Institution. Park police also are looking for a 15-ycar-old boy who stole a khaki Army blanket yesterday in Rock Creek Park. Loss of the blanket was reported by Ruth Davison of the 1800 block of Bilt- more street. SORSIRE CAB “FARE” “DRAWS GUN” Passenger Defends Driver in Dis- pute Over Crash. A passenger who drew a gun to aid the driver of a taxicab whemthe latter engaged in an argument with another driver was sought by police today. According to Ashton, Nixon, 44, of 600 block of C street northeast, the driver who said he was threatened, the argument began when his cab was forced to the curb by the other taxi, after it had collided with another car on Florida avenue, near Ninth street. He said the passenger in the other cab drew the gun in defense of the driver and rode away. Hurt in Car Collision. Sampogna o&y 1724 New Jer-