Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1931, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. B. Weather Bureau Porecast.) Partly cloudy and much colder to- night; tomorrow fair; fresh northwest winds, ‘Temperatures—Highest, 62, at mid- night; lowest, 46, at 2:30 a.m. yesterday. New York Stock Market Closed Today 32,014, Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. No. Ghe Fp WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, enin WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION tar. “From Press The Star's car to Home Within the Hour” rier system covers every city block and the regular edi- tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 112,288 CONERES T0 BALK FURTHER EBYCJ WATSON ASSERTS G. 0. P. Leader in Senate Voices Belief European Na- tions Can and Will Pay. District Woodley, the home of Secretary of if State Stimson, at 3000 Cathedral ave- nue, has been heavily guarded by police for the past two nights, following Te- ceipt of a threatening letter by the Secretary, The Star learned today. ‘While police officials were unwilling to discuss the report, other than to ad- mit that the Detective Bureau had as- | signed a special detail at Woodley, it was learned that Mr. Stimson received | the letter about 10 days ago and that DECLARES GREAT BRITAIN IS IN SEVEREST STRAITS Says U. §. Mede Mistake by Per- mitting Powers to Mix War Obli- | BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. ! The unanimity with which Congres- | slonal leaders, Democratic and Repub- | lican alike, have opposed any further gations and Reparations. | | reduction or cancellation of the debts owed this copntry by foreign nations was summed up today by Senator James E. Watson, Republican leader of the Senate, when he said: 5 “In the present frame of mind of the Congress, there is not the slightest probability that the United States will agree to any further reduction or can- cellation of the World War debts owed | By the Associated Press. this country by European nations.| KANSAS CITY, December 25—A There would have to be a complete | threatening note a 39-year-old race metamorphosis in the opinion of the | bookmaker printed under dictation by national Legislature, James A. Reed from the original copy | “The sentiment of the Congress and | has been added to evidence detectives among the many members with whom | afe building up against the kidnapers I have talked regarding the debt sit- | of Mrs. Nel' Donnelly. uation, is that if Europe does not want | e Tleapble’ wad to pay her debts to the United States| 1.¢ bookmaker. Charlesy Mele. wa Handwriting Same as in Threatening Note, He Says After Test. . STIMSON HOME GUARDED AFTER THREAT TO ‘GET HIM® Mysterious Letter Received by Secretar Results in Prompt Action by y Police. t contained a threat “to get” hira. It was postmarked “New York.” The letter was turned over to the Department of Justice, which later asked the Metropolitan Police to take any measures they thought necessary to_guard the secretary's home. It is understood that the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice l'eilrdtd the letter as the work of a crank. However, a police guard was placed as a precautionary measure. The letter is said to have specifically mentioned the dates of December 21, 22 and 23. It was written in long hand. NEW RAIL RATES EFFECTIVE JAN. 4 Freight Charge Boost to Help Weak Lines to Last Two Years. The railroads of the country will put into effect on January 4 their new schedule of frelght rates designed to create a fund to assist the weak car- riers. These rates, which will boost charges for all classes of freight but agricuitural commodities, allowed as an emergency measure, may be maintained until then she will have to repudiate these | debts and quit.” Thinks Nations Will Pay. Senator Watson added, however, that in his judgment, the European nations | will pay and can pay. Of the three principal debtors of the United States, | he said that Great Britain was in the severest straits today. He added, how- | ever, that he believed Great Britain would eventually pay its debts to the United States. “There is no question whatever that France could pay the United States,” said Senator Watson. “France spent on her navy last vear, building it up to greater “strength, enough money to make her debt payments to this coun- try. Italy, too, is able to pay. i “The great wrong was done when | we permitted these foreign nations to mix the war debts due us with German | reparations. The reparations were im- | posed upon Germany as a reprisal and | to exact from Germany expmduuresi to which the allied nations were put during the war. It appears they have imposed burdens on Germany that she | cannot pay. These foreign nations | have insisted they would pay us their | debts as Germany paid them repara~1 tions. As a matter of fact, the Ger- man reparations have nothing to do | Wwith the debts owed this country. “The United States will consent to no reduction of debts unless these German reparations are cut way down | or abandoned, and a pledge is given by the European nations to reduce their armament expenditures. “It is unthinkable that our people are goIng to pay to build up European na- vies and armies " Doubts Hoover Will Act. | D2 Pew, wife of a steam shovel oper- | ator, sought as the leader of the gang, | which arrested here soon after Mrs. Martin | March 31, 1933. Permission to levy them under a blanket tariff, effective on five days’ | notice instead of the usual 30, was given | by the Interstate Commerce Commission | yesterday afternoon. The carriers at jonce announcea they would post the surrendered_to_ authorities in Bloomse burg, Pa., Wednesday. Police said he was the “first actual kidnaper" in custods. Reed said be believed Mele was the author of the letter he read, which he received at_his downtown law office | new rates December 30. ;‘P;‘;:fifi,‘?‘;z‘,’f“y e s ooty Administration Planned. | The fund which they will form wiil be administered by the newly organized Railroad Credit Corporation. It will be distributed in the form of identified by Woman. Identified by the wealthy victim under the glare of a flashlight in the | police show-up as one of the men who | loans to those lines unable to meet their guarded her almost 36 hours in a rura! | fixed charges. cottage before the release of herself | This arrangement was allowed by the end her colored chauffeur, George commission in denying the 15 per cent Blair, a week ago. Mele went to work | horizontal increase sought by the rail- under Reed's orders to “print something | roads. for vs.” | Roads now bankrupt or deriving less “If this letter.” the former United | than 50 per cent of their income from States Senator dictated, “‘gets in paper, or police or postal authorities, you will never see her again for being so damn | smart—"" asked Mele. draw on the fund. Earnings Estimated. h The rates, which constitute a sur- am,” Reed replied, word."” | Reed, a friend of the Donnelly family, who expressed a wish after Mrs. Don- nelly’s release to “crown this with a hanging.” continued the dictation and | Mele wrote on. i With the copy completed, Reed an- nounced a compggison of the letters indicated Mele wrote the original. It | w25 one of three from the kidnapers | previously had not been made | = : B A Rl e B L e will net, between $100,000,000 and $125,- 002,000 annually, as’ compared to the $400.000.000 which the 15 per cent boost would have returned Under the original plan of the com- mission advances made to needy car Tiers would have been outright gifts but at the insistence of those lines which are not dependent upon it the fund was allowed to be distributed as lc:g;. . S | approximately 178 class 1 roads, BN W‘:l,'i‘;:‘“,r”"é:':;:;‘ supern. | L DUt one eligible for participacion tendent of the Bureau of Identification, | ammeriner "¢, {0, the plan. There are public. something more than a score not freight trafic will not be eligible to| chaige, range from $3 to $6 per car | et g said there was a marked similarity in B Al ufii;”:,l;a‘%régzgnr’gfmfi the formation of individual letters, 21- about the debt and reparation situation | fIOUEN “Mcle plainly has attempted to in Europe. he did not believe the Presi- | ditgulte his writing i dent would make any move whatever |, Paul Schiedt and Lacy Browning, toward a revision or cancellation of the | farmers who leased the cottage, also debts, particularly in view cf the atti- &f¢ held in connection with the plot, tude which has been expressed by Con- | ¥Pich ended in the release of Mrs ess in adopting the moratorium reso- | Donnelly without payment of $75,000 | ution. In that resolution Congress |fsom demanded placed a declaration against any reduc- o o heihad served Shwo iatl)] tion or cancellaticn of the debts owed | erMs for bootlegging, but denied he | this country. had participated in the kidnaping | While the President undoubtedly, as | Scheldt sid Mele “sure looks like one Chief Executive, has authority to nego- | O them (the guards) but I wouldn't tiate with the European nations regard- | Want to identify him.’ ing the debts, it is expected on Capitol Hill that he will be guided by the very definite_declaration made by the Con- gress, the elected representatives of the people, particularly in view of the fact | no change can be made in the deht B settlements without the authority of | BLOOMSBURG, Pa., December 25 (%) Congress. ~—The expected Christmas dinner with | The United States may be represanted | her parents did not materialize today at the conference which it is proposed | for Mrs. Ethel De Pew. Instead of to hold soon in Europe to consider the | dining with her mother and father on Teport of the experts just made on the | their farm near here, she ate prison reparations situation, but proposals for | fare in the Columbia County jail, while | revisions, it is expected, will have to|she awaited the arrival of officers to originate in the European nations. | take her to Kansas City, where she is Senator Borah of Idaho is convinced | charged with kidnaping. the American people cannot go on pour- | . léer hHIszal?d' Martin ll‘)lehl’clw.anl!fl;e‘zz ey e T s leader of e gang which last weel e e R 2R Columu B B ket MY SN Foonrielly B sneas DESERTED, SHE CHARGES. | Woman Kidnap Suspect Eats Prison Fare, Not Turkey. | eligible. The Railroad Credit Corporation, which has its offices here, is in charge of 12 directors, chosen from the ranks of railroad executives. WAGE GRANT AVERTS RAIL STRIKE THREAT| Chicago and Northwestern Restores 0ld Scale After Jrdering 10 Per Cent Cut. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 25—The Her- ald and Examiner said today that a settlement of the wage controversy between the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and the Brotherhood of Main- tenance of Way Employes, which re- sulted in a strike ballot being taken, had been effected. The agreement, the newspaper said, precludes a strike of the workers, a majority of whom voted for a walkout, The settlement was accomplished at =S %l}é d:’serwd her lnh Bul’lal(;_.l Nfi r‘{ ‘ednesda; orning, told t] fT FALL SPENDS CHRISTMAS | Wetnesity merniag, she ol te sheri alleged connection with the kidnaping. She then hitch-hiked to Bloomsburg DAY IN PRISON HOSPITAL to spend Christmas with her parents. | When she arrived she consulted a | lawyer and then surrendered herself to | the sheriff. ' TWO DIE AFTER GUN DUEL Members of Family Barred From Seeing Him Under Edict of Officials. SANTA FE, N. Mex, December 25 (®).—Albert B. Fall, former Secretary of the Interior, will spend Christmas day in the hospital at the New Mexico Penitentiary, and members of his family will not be permitted to see him It was understood, however, that Mrs. Fall and his daughter, Mrs. Jouett Elliott, were permitted to visit with | Fall for a short time yesterday after- noon. The former Secretary is serving & year-and-day prison sentence for bribery while & member of the Harding cabinet. Second Expires From Wounds in Charleston, W. Va., Battle. CHARLESTON, W. Va, December 25 (#).—Two men are dead today from wounds received in a pistol duel. Police said ill-feeling existed for some time between Harvey Crowder, manager | | of a filling station, and John Harris, & | neighbor. ~ They resumed their quarrel yesterday and the gunplay followed. | Crowder lived only a few minutes. | Harris died today. HOOVER HELPS SANTA OPEN BAG FOR PEGGY ANN AND HERBERT White House Children Arise Early Enough to See St. Nick Come Down Chimney. Once again Santa Claus clambered | rival. They shrieked with delight when down the chimney in the State dining | they heard the funny noises in the Toom of the White House and appeared | chimney and rushed from the table to laden with presents for President Hoo- | be near the fireplace, ver and members of his family, just, Before opening his huge bsg. Santa as they were finishing breakfast today. pat’ledhthe heads ;r the cl‘x’udgn and Of course, most of the gifts were in|told them he had receive e best the form of toys and inexpensive pres- | Sort of reports about treir behavior ents for Peggy Ann and Herbert, 3d, the | Santa would prob2bly have made a grandchildrer, whose presence at the|longer speech h>d he not noticed thr | White House has contributed so much | POPping eyves of Peggy Ann and her to the joy and pleasure of Mr. and| brother were on the big bag. Mrs. Hoover’s Christmas. | The first thing he took from the bag | The children were expecting Santa| Were two pairs of roller skates. Next this vear and looked and listened in| came a miniature airplane o all directions after they left their beds,| SO interested did the President be- before 6 o'clock. come that he arose from his chair, went ‘They were in high glee upon his ar-| ~ (Continued on Page 2*Column'§.) | president of railroad, and a committes |of railroad union men, including Fred- erick H. Fljozdal, president of the | employes’ organization. The 5000 maintenance of way em- ployes, whose wages were cut approxi- mately 10 per cent October 6, will be reséoned to the old scale, the Herald sald, SHIP STEWARD JAILED Attempt to Smuggle Chinese to U. S. Charged in Bremen. BREMEN, December 25 (A).—A Ger- man-American steward named Thomas was sentenced to 10 months' imprison- ment today for attempting to smuggle four Chinese aboard the steamer Bremen, bound for New York last April, for a bonus of $200 each. The Chinese were kept as stowaways, it was chnl’fed at the trial, and they became restless on the way because of thirst. Two other stewards, also, were sentenced, but all three were released on probation. 5 AND 10 FIRE FATAL 14-Year-0Old Shopper Succumbs to Burns Sustained in Store. RIO DE JANEIRO, December 25 (&), —Fourteen-year-old Sylvia Thomas, formerly of New York City, died Wed- nesday from burns received last Friday when a 10-cent store in which she was buying Christmas gifts was destroyed by fire. She was the daughter of Morgan P. Thomas, head of the Brazilian branch of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. Four other giils, employes of the store, died of burns and several are still in hospitals. Has Double Holiday. NORFOLK, Va., December 25 (#)— Today Is a double holiday for Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hodges. Norfolk’s oldest schon] teacher. In addition to Christmas she is celebrating the 100th anniversary of her birtiy % |a conference batween Fred W. Sargent, | NOTES OF PROTEST MERE FORMALITY, TOKIO CONTENDS Charge of Broken Pledge Used to Continue Operations Despite Protests. AIR RAID ON RAILWAY BY JAPANESE REPORTED Soldiers Trying to Force Passage to West Side of Liao at Two Points at Least. BY CONSTANTINE BROWN. The ‘“cautioning” of Japan by the governments of the United States, Great Britain and France is considered by Tokio as a mere formality. Reliable Teports from the Japanese capital in- dicate the government is determined to proceed with the “cleaning up” op- erations in Manchuria regardless as to what the other nations think or say. The Japanese government charge the new operations against Chinchow have been forced upon the general staff by the fact that the Chinese have not kept their pledge to evacuate Chinchow. What happened is this. During the tense weeks of the negotiations at Paris, the powers were anxious to reach a settlement to save the prestige of the League of Nations. Gen. Dawes, it is reported, managed to convince the Chinese delegate it would be-advanta- geous to all concerned if the Chinese agreed to withdraw their troops from Chinchow, behind the Chinese wall. Supported by Briand. The American observer had the wholehearted support of M. Briand, who in turn offered the services of the French Ambassador at Toklo to bring about such an agreement. Wellington Koo, the then Chinese foreign minister, agreed to the evacuation of Chinchow on condition that the civil government ! should remain in.the hands of the | Chincse. On the basis of that agree- ment the Japanese government pledged itself to refrain from further military activities; of course, the Japanese are cautious people, they suspected that the Chinese may not keep their pledge and made their acceptance not to use force in Manchuria subject to “opera- tions against brigands.” Wellington Koo and the entire Nan- king administration resigned this week. The Japanese saw in that a trick to {enable the Chinese to break the un- official pledge they had given in Paris {and mn Tokio. | The temper of the Japanese general stafl is very short. For weeks they had been urging the government to stop dickering and go ahead and proceed to | the expulsion of all Chinese troops and | anti-Japanese officials from Manchuria. The government was anxious, however, to perform this cperation under the | diplomatic cloak of legality. It has | found now the excuse: The Chinese ‘have broken their pledge and have brought upon themselves the action of | the Japanese army. Disavow Pact Violations. Consequently the Japanese feel they have now a perfect right to occupy the rest of Manchuria and do not think any of the outside power has anything to say_about it. The Japanese consider that region fs their special zone and no other nation has a right to interfere. The Japanese government maintains that neither the Kellogg pact nor the nine power pact has been in any way infringed by the action of the Japanese army. This remarkable point of view is ex- {plained as follows: The Kellogg pact provides that no nation shall resort to war for the scttlement of a dispute with another nation. The Japanese maintain that what they are doing in Manchuria is merely a police operation and cannot be considered as an act of war against China. As soon as the Chinese troops have been cleared out of that territory where Japan has vital interests, there will be no further action against the Chinese. The nine-power pact, the Japanese maintain, has not been violated. That treaty guarantees the territorial integ- Tity of the countries which have signed it. The Japanese claim that they do not intend to cfficially annex Man- churia. Al they intend to do is to set up a Chinese government more friendly to Japan than that of Marshal Chang. Consequently, if the Kellagg pact and the nine-power pact have not been vio- lated, what business have foreign powers to intervene in a matter which con- cerns Japan and China alone—a matter of police operations agianst brigands and interior organizaticn of a territory "(Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) | i ESTELLE TAYLOR CUT IN HOLLYWOOD CRASH Actress Is Injured as Auto Hits Tree After Being Forced Off Boulevard by Car. By the Associated Press. HOLLYWOOD, December 25.—Es- telle Taylor, screen actress and former wife of Jack Dempsey, one-time heavy- weight boxing champion, was painfully injured early today when the automo- bile in which she was riding was forced off a boulevard by another machine and crashed into a palm tree. Miss Taylor. thrown against the top of her automobile, driven by her chauf- feur, suffered a deep laceration of the bruised hip and a cut tongue. fiic}:p'w.u removed to the Hollywood Receiving' Hospital, where Police Sur- geon Herbert Dasse treated her. She later was taken to her h;l:l! and placed re of a nurse. s ‘Taglor was returring from s hotel dance, accompanied by Frank Joyce, a film producer. Joyce and the chauffeur, Noel Scott, said the machine was forced off the boulevard by a car which failed to stop after crowding e curbing. m::::llg‘;e‘nmthe evening, Miss Taylor and Joyce had called at the home of Evelyn Brent, film actress, and her hus- band, Harry D. Edwards, a producer, and the four had planned to attend the dance together, but Miss Brent said she was suflert:gh(ror: 2 cold and de- ain “home. c’;l;rd vDo“:eemu’d the injuries suffered by Miss Taylor will keep her from the vaudeville stage and screen for several .weeks, 3 1931 —THIRTY-TWO PAGES. (®) Means Associated press. TWO CENTS. AN DIES IN FALL FROM APARTMENT Claude E. Moore, 37, Killed at Christmas Eve Party in Plunge—Trio Held. Two women and a man were being held by police today in connection with the death of Claude E. Moore, 37, of 1741 Church street, who plunged from & window of an apartment on the third floor of the Roosevelt Hotel, Sixteenth and V streets, last night. Those arrested for questioning in connection with Moore's fatal drop, which climaxed a gay Christmas eve party, were Mrs. Virginia Gould, 3718 Benton street; Mrs. Esther Taylor, same address, and Robert W. Witt, Cincin- natil. The women also gave New York addresses. Going to the hotel in response to a telephone call, Policeman Earl L. Baker, second precinct, found Moore lying on the sidewalk on the V street side of the buflding, about 50 feet from Six- teenth street. After being examined by Dr. N. § Ferris, & resident at the hotel, Moore was taken to Garfild Hospital He died en route. His head was badly crushed. Says Man Cut Head on Stove. M. D. Wilson, assistant manager of the ‘hotel, told Policeman_Baker that Witt, Mrs. Gould and Mrs. Taylor regis- tered yesterday morning. Moore was said to have joined them about 10 o'clock last night, a half hour before he plunged from the window. According to Policeman Baker, Mrs. Gould said Moore fell against the kitchen stove, cutting his head, a few minutes before he dropped from the window. After being assisted to his feet, Moore lurched into the bed room, Mrs Gould said. "I followed him and heard him gasp,” Baker quoted Mrs. Gould as having told him, “but when I got inside the room he had disappeared.” Police Report Liquor. Earlier in the evening, Moore, accord- ing to Mrs. Gould, told his companions: “You don't know what I've been through.” Although he did not elaborate on the statement, Mrs. Gould said, she and the others thought he was referring to his recent failure to pass an examina- tion for the diplomatic corps, Witt told Baker he and the other members of the party were drinking prior to Moore's plunge. Witt, accord- ing to the policeman, “‘was very much under the influence of liquor” at the time he was taken into custody. A gallon of whisky and five quarts of gin were found in the apartment, Baker added. All Held for Investigation. After being questioned at headquar- ters, Witt was locked up at the twelfth precinct station, while Mrs. Gould and Mrs. Taylor were taken to the Women's Bureau. All were booked for investi- gation. Police said they were told Moore's wife is in France. His mother, they said, nad remarried and is living in Seattle, Wash. Witt said he and the two women drove to Washington yesterday, in- tending to visit Mrs. Gould’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Poole, at the Ben- ton street address. Moore's body was taken to the morgue, where an inquest is expected to be held within the next few days. CHINESE FAIL TO FREE CAPTIVE MISSIONARY Miss Harriet Halverstadt and Ten Natives Held by Bandits Near Foochow. By the Assoclated Press. FOOCHOW, China, December 25.— Provincial police today failed in their efforts to secure the release of Miss Harriet Halverstadt, a missionary of Wellington, Kans., who, with 10 Chi- nese, was captured by bandits yesterday. Police said, however, that they had learned where Miss Halverstadt was being kept prisoner and had established that she was being treated kindly. The captors were said to be peasants, seeking to embarrass provincial au- thorities who, they said, had imposed :xll;orbfl.lm taxation upon the country o] Miss Julia Bonafleld, an American woman attached to Miss Halverstadt's mission, will leave tomorrow in an effort to find Miss Halverstadt and to supply her with food and cther necessities. In the meastime military authorities have appealed to provincial civil officials to settle the tax issue in the hope of effecting Miss Halverstadt's Telease, 2 Sleuths Called To Clear Up Police Station Robbery Cash and Valuables of Prisoners in No. 2 Pre- 'cinct Taken From Drawer. The police of No. 2 precinct are seek- of money and valuables to the extent of $137.60. Capt. Hugh H. Groves, commanding officer of the precinct, today asked the assistance of headquarters detectives in running down the culprits, who removed the property of incarcerated prisoners sometime between 2 and 9:30 p.m. De- cember 23, The drawer is located in the desk ser- geant’s office in the station, and is ac- cessible, under ordinary circumstances, only to policemen. Capt. Groves reported that $75, a watch, fountain pen, eyeglasses, a belt, tie and keys were stolen. Incidentally, there's a saying among policemen when little “crime waves” sweep thelr precincts that “they're ~ob- bing everything in the precinct but the collateral drawer.” SEGRE DR0P FOREGAST HRE 1 | | \Unusually Mild Christmas Eve i to Be Followed by Cold ! Weather Tonight. Following an unusually mild Christ- mas eve, Washington awoke to Christmas of bright, exhilerating weather, which bore a promise of “much colder” temperatures tonight and tomorrow. Southerly winds, ushering in Christ- mas last midnight with a record of 62 degrees, the maximum for the pre- ceding 24 hours, veered to northerly carly today and were sweeping colorful clouds over a blue sky at noon, The temperature at that hour was mounting toward 50, but is expected to take a 30-point drop tonight to a | minimum of Ireezing. The forecast is for “much ecolder” | weather tonight and tomorrow under clear skies, although clouds should per- sist the greater part of today. | Fresh winds and a promise of Winter | cold in the air were tonic to holiday throngs today as thousands paid neigh- borly calls in the suburbs or motored to | nearby points of interest in Maryland and Virginia. The extremes yesterday were 46 and | 62 degrees. While last night's mildness was “‘unusual,” the forecaster at the Weather Bureau today said the high temperature broke no records for this season. BANDITS HOLD UP PARTY AND ESCAPE WITH $6,000 | By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 25.—Inter- rupting preparations for a Christmas party, three bandits, each carrying two three degrees under of the Prudential Insurance Co.s Broadway office at bay yesterday, while they rified the safe and cash register. They escaped with $6,000 in cash in a iaxicab. A few minutes later Upper Broadway and Riverside Drive were turhed into a shooting ground when a policeman, firing a dozen shots from the running board of a commandeered automobile, pursued the bandits for 20 blocks. The chase ended when the fugitives’ taxicab became lost in the heavy Christmas sve traffic. No one was injured. MUSSOLINI .BACK HOME Il Duce and Family Return After Brother’s Funeral. ROME, December 25 (#).—Premier Mussclini, with his wife and two sons, returned here this morning after at- tending the funeral of his brother Arnaldo. They wil] spend & quiet Christman here. LEGHORN, Italy, December 25 (#). —A high explosive bomb was thrown into the printing room of the Fascist newspaper, Il Telegrafo, during the night. The explosion wrecked the presses, but there were no casualties. Radio Programs on Page A-13 ing to learn who robbed the property | drawer at the station house Wednesday | revolvers, held more than 100 employes | b AUTO KILLS DRIVER * FOR AD SICETY Man Fatally Injured on Wayi Home After Completion of Yule Tasks. | The chimes of the city's steeples were ringing out Christmas eve, the busiest day of Phillip W. Pugh's year—ringing out Christmas eve, but ringing in | Christmas morning. which was to have | been his day of rest At 54 he had spent strenuous hours delivering toys and bundles to the poor, | and this may or may not have slowed him somewhat as he piodded home- ward to his rented room at 415 Second street Pugh, who drove a wagon for the Children's Aid Society, had been col- lecting donations all day and delivering | them through the holiday traffic to the | homes of destitute children. Died in Taxicab. Approaching Massachusetts avenue at Second street shortly after last mid- | night. he either failed to see or was blnded by the lights of an approaching roadster. The roadster. operated, police say, by Francis Mulcare, 29 vears old, of 405 | Tenth street northeast, sent him spin- ning to the pavement. | | While the injured man was being placed in a taxicab, directed to Casualty Hospital, police learned from Pug | fellow roomers that he lives apart from his wife and two sons. all three of | Whom are residents of Cleveland, Ohio. | Pugh died of a fractured skull and internal hurts while he was being sped to the hospital in the tonneau of the | taxicab. He was pronounced dead on | arrival. | Tdentified Through Accident. Mulcare was arrested pending an in- quest after police reported that the brakes of his automobile were unsatis- factory Pugh formerly | Was postmaster at the home of two sisters, Misses Sallie and Minnie Pugh. + An in- quest will be held at the District Morgue tomorrow morning at 11:30 o'clock. Pugh’s body was identified at the hos- pital through a coincidence, by a motor- Ist whose car had struck him at Third and L streets about a month ago—Jesse Smith of 811 Ninth street northeast A card bearing Smith's name was found in the cead man’s pockets, and m(cx motorist was summoned to the hos- | pi KILLED SEEKING TREE. Bound for nearby Virginia after a | Christmas tree, which they had planned old Leroy Faunteroy, colored, was killed |about 8 o'clock this morning and his |brother severely shaken when theis roadster overturned in a collision on | M street near Thirty-fourth street With 19-year-old Charles Faunteroy driving, the pair left their home at 19 D street southeast and started for a (Continued on Page 2, Column 2.) FOOT BALL VICTIM FOUND DEAD SOON AFTER GAME Brain Hemorrhage Blamed by Cor- oner's Physician in Pitts- burgh Fatality. By the Associated Press. PITTSBURGH, December 25.—A foot ball injury was blamed today for the death of Merrill Weber, 20, by a | coroner’s physician. The youth died after being injured {in an amateur game several days ago. | He complained of a pain in his head after making a tackle, but later said it had cleared away. He left the field alone after the game and was found dead in bed at his home several hours later. The physician said Weber had suffered a hemorrhage of the brain. |8S & surprise for their mother, 13-year- | PRESIDENT GREETS NATION AS CAPITAL SPENDS QUIET YULE ILighting of Community Tree by Hoover Christmas Eve Features Observance. SUN BATTLES CLOUDS TO MAKE DAY CHEERFUL Foreign Officials Celebrate in Fash- ion of Homelands—Unemployed Remembered. The Capital settled down to a quiet Christmas in the cheerful atmosphere of home today as affairs of state and business were laid aside momentarily to give due consideration to the an- nual visit of Santa Claus. Contrary to the weather man's pre- dictions, a bright sun blazed through a cloud-speckled sky as the day dawned on the city, and waged a see-saw bat- tle with the cloudbanks. Washington was in gay regalia as ijc\ned with the rest of the Nation in | celebrating the Yuletide. Colorfully | decorated evergreens graced front lawns | and bright 1amps lit homes in suburban communities. | Lights Christmas Tree. President Hoover last night tem- | porarily withdrew from the spotlight of | the presidency to engage in secret prep- arations of family grown-ups the night before Christmas. As he turned to oc- cupy himself exclusively with household Yule affairs, he spoke a Christmas salu- | tation to the whole country from the | base of the national community Christ- mas tree in Sherman square, just south= east of the White House. Turning a switch that set ablaze myriads of twinkling bulbs, the Presi- | dent said “This is the season and this is the occasion when the whole Nation unites in good cheer and good wishes “We dedicate it particularly to our children, and we give devotion to the faith in which it was inspired. “It gives me great pleasure to light this tree which is symbolic of the cele- bration tonight in every household in our country. “1 ardently wish to every home & merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” The Chief Executive spoke with the feeling he reserves for homely things, and his complimentary message went out over the land on a coast-to-coast radio hook-up. He spoke extempo- raneously. Grandchildren Romp. Promptly at 5 o'clock the presidential party descended the steps of the White House, with Peter and Peggy Ann, the Hoover grandchildren, expressing their childish glee in undisputable terms as they romped beside the President. The party included also Mrs. Hoover, Her- bert Hoover, jr., and his wife and Allan Hoover. The program at the national commu- nity Christmas tree, arranged under the auspices of the Community Center De- partment. began at 4:30 o'clock with a concert by the United States Marine Band and included carol singing and sacred music. ‘The President was introduced by Vice President Curtis, who acted as master of ceremonies. Cabinet members, Fed- eral and District officlals and others high in the social and official life of Washington were in the stand as the President formally inducted the Na- tion’s Christmas. The hour of the event had been ar- ranged for the convenience of workers leaving their afternoon duties, as well as for the benefit of last-minute shop- pers, and a large gathering was present as k fell and rocketing pyrotechnics annoynced the lighting of the tree to | all th® city. | A patrol of Boy Scouts played guard of honor for the group from the White House, and Girl Scouts escorted them to the living spruce tree that was the center of the festivities. The greeting |~ (Continued on Page 2, Column 3. | MAIL PLANE CRASH FAILS TO HALT GIFTS Pilot Leaps to Safety, Loads An- cther Ship With Packages and Goes On. { CLEARFIELD, Pa. December 25 (£). | —Airmail Christmas gifts were de- |layed only a few minutes last night when a New York-bound plane fell | 14,000 feet. Pilot Jimmy Johnson of Cleveland, floated to earth with his parachute and quickly obtained another ship at Kylerstown Airport. Fourteen hundred pounds of mail, mostly Christmas gifts, were soon winging thelr way on eastward. Johnson sald he left the plane at 14,000 feet when ‘“something went | wrong” with a wing of the ship “I was flying from Cleveland and everything seemed O.K. when suddenly I noticed something wrong with the wing. I don't know just what it was, but I began to drop. So I took the Jjump.” Johnson fanded In a field only a short distance from the airport. The plane came down nearby and was re- duced almost to splinters by the impact. GIRL SPRINGS FRE Father Proudly Tells How Mot” Baffles Officer Use of French at the proper time the other day saved a prominent young Washington woman an embarrassing visit to a police station and at least $5 in cash because a traffic officer believed her to be a foreigner. The father of the young woman told the story today with pride. He said his daughter was driving along Connecticut avenue and uninten- tionally passed a red traffic light. A few blocks away she was sf by & motor cycle officer and violently repri- NCH AND GOES FREE IN TRAFFIC POLICE SET-TO “Je Ne Comprends Pos Un Threatening Arrest. manded. She listened courteously until the policeman finished his five-minute tirade and in her best Parisian-acquired Prench replied demurely: “Je ne comprends pas un mot.” “8o0 you're just another damn for- | eigner,” responded the puzzled police- | man. | _Then, pointing in the direction of | the traffic light, he tried to explain more simply the purpose of the reprimand. “Red, no go, no go,” he sald with a gesture and rode away, leaving the young woman chuckling to herself. .y'