Evening Star Newspaper, October 25, 1931, Page 17

RAIL COMMISSION FACES BIG ISSUES Spirited Fight Expected on Merger Plan and Bus Control. With the next move in the freight Tate case now up to the railroads, the tramsportation world is awaiting action by the®Interstate Commerce Commis- slon on two more important Iissues, consolidation and bus-truck regulation, both of which are due to be productive of fireworks In the next few months, On consolidation the commission must act on the petition of the East- ern carriers to align four great systems, with present indi- cations being that Congress will seek to have a say on the matter, although | under existing legislation the matter is one entirely within the province of the commission itself. On the bus-truck problem Congress 1s certain to have a say, for here the commission can act onfy in an ad- visory capacity ‘Those famiiiar with commission pro- cedure belleve it will be after the first of+ the year before the consolidation | plan will be taken up. Hearing Is Required. Under the law a hearing must be held on the application of the carriers, who have asked the commission to amend their own plan calling for a five-system set-up and accept instead the four-sys tem principle. Because of the work that necessarily will be required in lining up witnesses | for this hearing, it is held certain that at least 30 days and maybe more will be allowed from the time the notifica- tion goes out until the case gets un- der way. The Commission itself must notify the governors of the States traversed by the lines affected, and it is up to the executives to see that other inter- ested parties are advised When the hearing finally gets under a vigorous tug of war is in pros- pet. Railroad labor, already badly hit by the slackening of business, and fea (Ul that mergers would entall further unemployment, has served notice that it intends to be heard and is expected to wield a potent influence. Couzens Serves Notiee. : Again, convening of Congress is sure to see an effort to enact legislation to give that body a final say on con- solidation. Notice to this effect has been served by Senator Couzens, chair- man of the Senate Interstate Co merce Committee, where like legisia- tion was sought af the last session of Congress, concurrently with a move of the same nature in the House. Other discordant elements are ex- pected to arise in a proposal of such wide scope, and there also is the fact that the proposition, while defended by the carriers as best for public in- runs counter to commission views in several important respects. In this latter connection, however, it was noted that in the rate decision this last week the commission good word to say for consolidation ni tionally, though warning that “co-op= eration, which is essential to railroad salvation,” should rat be “subordinated to _the consolidation am.” ‘The commission has grappling with the bus-truck problem since a year ago when it launched an inquiry under the direction of Chairman Eard Brainerd, jr, and Al Examiner Leo J. Flynn to el & “§cheme “of motor-rail co-ordingtion. The findings are to be made public soon, Chairman Brainerd last weeK told the National Assoclation of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners im session in Richmond. Program Is Chairman Braiherd said the commis- such ‘“‘recommenda- al legislation as it may seem le in public welfare,” stirring interest as to the possible sug- gestion that would be made for regulat- ing trucks, & highly controversial issue, eviously the commission has held there was .no call to regulate trucks and opponents of regulation contend that it is not feasible now, inasmuch as the only class that could be reached are common carriers, operating be- tween fixed termini, which constitute only a small percentage of the ve- hicles in service. Most of the trucking is by contract haulers, operating .wherever they can find a load. Opponents say there is no way that Federal law. can reach these, even though they are engaged in interstate commerce, and that to im- pose regulation on the common car- Tiers subjecting them to a “frozen-rate” structure and other restrictions would simply drive them out of business or cause them to enter the contract field. They also declare operating costs would be raised by regulation, depriv- ing the public of cheap transportation. Their contention is that State regula- tion is sufficient. On the contrary, there is general agreement that interstate busses, which universally operate on fixed schedules, might well be put under Federal law in the interest of the public. A move in this direction failed in the last Con- gress. Rall-Motor Tariffs Loom. A recommendation that would not occasion surprise would be for a rate set-up providing joint rail-motor tariffs, to give railroads the benefit of trucl ing for short hauls. Leading have argued for such a plan. Whatever is recommended, however, will come in for a thorough airing in Congress Meanwhile, the commission will forced to take up the rate question n when the railroads act on the proposal to set up & pool on some su: charges offered as a substitute for the | 15 per cent horizontal increase which was _denied Under procedure decided upon by the Association of Railway Executives, a committee will meet with the comm sion to thresh out this matter and de- cide & course of action Wwhich must taken by December 1. It was n known yesterday at the headquarters of the association here just when this con- ference would be sought TORCH SLAYER LOVER Tried to Aid Defense of One of Three Killers in Deaths of Four. By the Associaled Press ANN ARBOR, Mich, October 24.-- Eatherine Keller, sweetheart of Fred Smith, one of three torch slayers serv- ing life sentences for killing and burn- ing four young people near here last August, today was sentenced to four to five years in the Detroit House of Cor- Tection as an accessory after the fact. ‘The court recommended that she serve the minimum term. Miss Keller was convicted several days ago but Judge George W. Sample | deferred sentencing pending the report of an examination of the body of for- mer Judge Darwin Z. Curtiss of Ypsi- lantl, an uncle by marringe of the woman. The body was exhumed fol- lowing intimations that his death may have occurred through poisons. The yeport of the examining physician was that there were no traces of poison in the body. ‘The ution ht out testi- mony &t the trial that Keller at- tempted to bulld up an alibi for Smith. themselves into } THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D.:C, OCTOBER i “Arsenal” Taken From Trio ALLEGED ST. LOUIS RACKETEERS ARRESTED IN DRIVE HERE. Above is pictured part of the collection of sawed-off shotguns. revolvers, ete., confiscated by police yesterday after the arrest of three alleged racketeers | from St. Louis. up charge; Fitsgerald served a five- year sentence on a burglary charge and Curley has been arrested nine times in St. Louis. HE Detective Bureau's recent drive against visiting “racketeers’ resulted in the arrest late yes- | terday of three alleged gunmen | and the confiscation of a sawed- off ‘shotgun, four revolvers, considerable ammunition and what was described as a burglary outfit. 2 The arrests were made on informa tion furnished by Washington “rack teers,” it was said at polioe headquar- ters last night. The drive was begun several weeks ago by Inspector S. F. W. Burke, chief of detectives, after receiv- ing “tips” that some “big shot racke- teers” ‘were establishing - headquarters here. William Tierney, 31; Percy M. Fitz- gerald, 38, and Albert J. Curley, 33, all of St Louls, were the men arrested. They are being held for investigation According to Edward J. Kelly, as- sistant _detective chief, Tierney has served 10 years at Nashville on a hold- hold-up at Hiawatha, Kans., on Octo- ber 9, 1931, when $£9,000 in travelers' checks were stolen, according to Pat- American Railway Express, Inc. Tierney was arrested in a downtown hotel, where a suit oase containing burglar’s tools and guns was found. The two others were arrested within a block of each other Pennsylvania avenue. The three men had been here only about an_hour when their whereabouts was made known to police. Twelve hours later found them under arrest. | "One of the guns seized was a .45- caliber Tevolver, the handle of which bore several distinct notches, police said. PLANS RETURN FLIGHT MEXICO CITY, October 24 (F)— Maj. James H. Doolittle, who flew_from from Ottawa fo Mexico City last Tues- day In 12 hours and 36 minutes, start at 5:30 a.m. Monday for St. Louis on his return trip to the United States, he said tonight. LONG-TIME BUSINESS PLANNING NEED SEEN. Lafollette Is Convinced Council to Fight Slumps Is The three were questioned | last night in connection with a bank | rick Lynch, special investigator for the | in the 1500 block of | 25 U5 WILL RENEW GLOBE RESEARCHES Abandoned Cornfield to Be! Site of Earth Wabble ’ Study. In an abandoned cornfield 28 miles from Washington, near Gaithersburg, Md., the United States Government will' resume within the next 90 days| | & study of how much the earth wobbles. | | The last tests were made 17 years ago | by scientists of the Commerce Depart- ment’s Coast and Geodetic Survey, but | the World War intervened and the | Gaithersburg station was discontinued. Capt. R. S. Patton, director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, said yes- | terday the work at the Gaithersburg plant, which has wide scientific and| geological importance, mented by the exchange through gov- | ernmental channels of findings made at similar stations throughout the world, all necessarily located on the same lati- el on the earth’s surface, 8 minutes. | These stations have been located at Cincinnati, Ukiah, Calif.; Charoloforte, Sardinia and Mizusawa, Japan, Obser- vations will soon be started at Kitab, Turkestan, Soviet Republic. Plant Is Completed. Reconditioning of the physical plant | of the Gaithersburg station has now been practically completed and the celestial telescope of 100-magnifying power, together with other astronomi- cal instruments, will be placed in posi- tion shortly on the grounds of the sta- | tion located on a 500-foot elevation on the outskirts of the little city. The Coast Survey has erected & one- | story modern dwelling on the premises, with all living conveniences possible; a one-story office building. two-car rage, an observatory with a sliding roof, and a small roofed building in line_ with the _telescope _observatory, | 4 which will house two Neon tubes to be | Winter. i Used at night in aligning the astrono- | . "The effect on the earth as it whirls mer's nstraments. While other bufld. | through the great solar spaces would ings are heated, there is rio heating (D somewhat similar to the effect of plant in the observatory, Work there | 4rOPPINg & small amount of sealing wax | must be done without the interference | On & Spinning top. This would cause whey | Morrison, and their daughter, axis, two Poles. And, too, Hemisphere has an irregular distribu- tion of land as compared with the North Pole. Therefore, cne would ex- pect the side of the earth on which the |Jand is most nearly centered to have |an extra load during the northern winl | of possible heat waves, and observations | will be carried on in all kinds of weather, Burvey scientists yesterday explained the forthcoming study as follows: “A phase of ‘pure science’ which may nave Bmtela prastical vajue in studics of “Citmatic changes and other eartn | studies, astronomical investigations of the kind will be resumed at the Gajth- | the axis of the top to wobble, which apparently is just what is happening to the earth’s axis during the Winter because of the accumulation of )CC. and snow in the northern countries. 'Insofar as the Southern Hemisphere 1z concerned the South Fole is more or less symmetrical with respect to the land masses, so that the extra amount of ice and snow formed there during ersburg station to determine just how | the southern Winter would have little roads | Necessary. By the Associated Press. | Enough has been said before the Sen- ate Manufactures Committee to con- vince its chairman, Senator Lafollette of Wisconsin, that long-time planning 1s needed to prevent business slumps. The committee is studying proposals for a national economic council. The ‘Wisconsin Senator sald yesterday the next witnesses before it would be those who favor measures to head off busi- ness declines. H. L. Harriman of Boston, chairman of a United States Chamber of Com- merce committee, which recommended that industry set up a national plan- ning board, and Prof. J. M. Clark of Columbia University, are to be heard OrTOW. “I think we have accomplished the task we set out to do, mainly to get a picture of the economic trends that pre- vailed prior to the depression and trends during the depression and in my judg- ment it is a complete justification for & serious effort at long-time economic planning to avold future business de- Pressions,” Lafollette saic ‘" Harriman’s committee took the view industry should do its own economic E:lnmn& Others have said it can only done eéffectively by Government su- pervision and authority. Air Honeymooners Delayed. TEXARKANA, Tex., October 24 (). ~The honeymoon flight of Dr. Joseph Eller and his bride, formerly Miss Arte- mise Elias Calles, from Mexico City to | Corpus Christi, New York, was halted at Simms, Tex.. today, when the, passenger plane in which they were "traveling was forced down. ~Dr. Eller and his bride, the daughter of ex-President Plutarco Calles of Mexico, came to Texarkana by bus and boarded s train for the East | | ( | be | will always be a source of | pleasure, [t may be a source cof in- come, Let your childr nlearn music while they are learning their ABC's. Sta. them during the yéars wher. impres- sions and r ental habits are being | formed. Lessons cost | 80 little and vou can | buy a piano from us so easily, { | | Thirteen-Thirty G St, He expects to stop at Brownsville and | much the axis of the earth shifts, [ OF no effect on the variation of Mtitude. Tex., and Shreveport, | thereby causing the earth to ‘wobble’ Stars Can Be Checked. La., and to arrive at St. Louis Mon- | in any given amount of time. “By placing observing stations all day afternoon. | The economy of quality is the greatest economy of all There are less expensive ways to build motor cars than the methods Dodge approves. Less expensive bodies than Dodge Mono-Piece Steel Bodies. Less expensive brakes than Dodge weatherproof Hydraulic Brakes. Less expensive frames than Dodge Double-Drop Box-Center frames. Less expensive gear shifts than Dodge Easy Gear Shift. Less expensive Free Wheeling than Dodge Dependable Free Wheeling. § But Dodge stands for quality. Dodge stands for economy. And now that quality and economy are being investigated more carefully than ever before, more and more p?ople are turning to the Dodge Six and Eight. The minute you get behind the wheel, you will know the reason why, DODGE SIX AND EIGHT SIX $815 to $850. EIGHT $1095 to $1135. F. O. B. Detreit. Lew delivered prices. Convenient terms. Five wire wheels, mo extra cost. Free Wheeling 320 extre. Closed models Sactory-wired for Philce-Trausitons. DODGE TRUCKS...% TO 5 TONS...$375 AND UP THE TREW MOTOR CO., 1509-1511 14TH ST., N. W. WASHINGTON LA PLATA—Mitchell Motor FREDERICKSBURG— Trinity hg/oton 3017 14th P?“fiKLAND—P.d..n T. F. Cocke Motor Co. St.. N. * tr. & Tractor Co. HEA \4 —] PRINCE FREDERICK— & vos i adLLE—P. H. Gard: Stuart Motor Co., (,z;;:l,St.. N.E. LV_E‘ tor Co. s oo o sur:‘l VERSPRINGS—Service LEESBURG—Frye Motor VIRGINIA = Kaplan & Crawford, Inc.. /329 Champlain St.. N. W. ALEXANDRIA—Schooley Motor Co. MARYLAND HYATTSVILLE—Hoff- T QUANTICO—R. M. Mes- man's cure Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Oswald will be the guests of honor at a party today, n they observe the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage in Washington at 807 Taylor street, the home of Mr. Oswald's Mrs, George W. Turner. in Fredericksburg, Va., and lived in Richmond for many years before coming here. the cause of this variation in latitude. |and by functioning throf Undoubtedly. as the earth spins on its |al governmental chan it is affected by the great load stars can be used from of ice and snow that gathers at the | and the effect of errprs the Northern | does not enter in the 'Many guesses have been made as to| around the world on the same latitude, 1931—PART _OIT | clearly indicates to the scientists that|about twice the rigidity of steel. | there is a shifting or a ‘wobbling' of | the earth’s axis within the body of the earth itself. If it were merely a dis- | regarded shifting of the axis in space | the sole effect would be the same as an error computed in the position of the stars being measured, and all points |on the same parallel using the same | list of stars would have the latitude in- | creased or decreased by the same amount | “Because the earth is not a true | sphere, but a spheroid, bulging at the | equator and flattened ‘at the Poles, a | certain ‘wobbling’ of the earth in space | is caused by the attractions of the sun | and moon. Effects of the sun and moon on the earth are called ‘mutation | and procession’ by the astronomers, and | are included by observers in star posi- tions. There is, however, a further un- | explained ‘wobbling.’, and it is that which the world's sclentists have keen studying for more than a quarter of a century. Held “Pure Research.” “There is apparently no immediate practical value for this variation of lat- itude work. It is a plece of “pure re- search,” but its results are so impor- tant to the astronomical world that it is certain that if the Federal Govern- ment ceased its support of the stations at Gaithersburg and Ukiah funds would be sought elsewhere to keep these two stations in operation. There are hun- dreds of millions of dollars invested in astronomical _observatories, buildings and instruments in this country. There are _hundreds of observers ~working every night with these great and expen- sive instruments. Their results would, be of little or no value in many cases unless they could apply certain minute corrections which result from the ob- servations for variation of latitude at Gaithersburg and Ukiah in this coun- wry, at Charoloforte in Sardinia, Mizu- sawa in Japan and elsewhere. The re- sults are, therefore, of great value in the fleld of astronomy. “There may be, eventually, some Te- sults which have a practical value. By means of the varfation of latitude ob- servations one can make a very ac- The ste wer couple live Mrs. They married —Harris-Ewing Photo. eh internation- Is, the same night to night, in star position exact work of testing the variations of latitude, wobble,’ of the earth’s axis “For instance, the latitude may be ncreasing in Ukiah, while at a point on the opposite side of the earth it may be decreasing. This condition as a whole, or what is called its elas- ticity. Astronomers and geophysicists who have worked on this problem say that these variations of latitude ob- servations indicate that the earth has scHAmucx' UPSTAIRS or | curate test of the rigidity of the earth | & B-§ This |is & matter of geological importance | and every one knows that the seience; of geology is of the utmost value 2 cause the geological sciences enable n= |to extract minerals and om srom the earth more efficiently than otherwise would be the case. It may be that some day it will be realized that thel small amount of money, only 85000 a & vear, spent on Gaithersburg and Ukiah. } may have a practical value that would * make this small sum seem entirely in- significant. : Observations Long Keph “At the Ukiah station continuous ob- servations have been made since its es- tablishment in 1899, it having suffered no interruption of funds because of the , War, as was the case of the Gaithers- burg station, also established in the same year. Prior to the war these two stations were financed by the Interna- tional Geodetic Association. During the war only Ukiah station was kept in operation by the Government. ‘Some work on variation of latitude research has already been accomplished in the Southern Hemisphere and re- _ cently & fresh start has been made on § this project. Many astronomers are, anxious to have a row of stations es- ¢ tablished in the Southern Hemisphere similar to_those in the Northern Hem- isphere. Whether this will be done is ; not known as yet. In any event the | subject is likely to come up at the meeting of the International Geodetic = Association at Lisbon in 1933." TWO FLYERS KILLED Three Student Aviators Injured in Ontario Crash. PETERBORO, Ontario, October 24 (#)—A pilot and a student fller were - injured fatally and three other student ' aviators were hurt when a cabin piane crashed at the airpoit today. The dead were Flight Lieut. Mason Apps, official pilot of the plane, and Sergt. John Hand of Hamilton, the | stydent he injured are: Sergt. Humy Madden, Trail, B. C.; Sergt. G. Keat- ing. Moncton, N. B. and Sergt. G. Gil- lespie, Newcastle, N, B. The plane cracked up as Lieut. Apps | attempted to hurdle a row of trees. 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