Evening Star Newspaper, December 26, 1931, Page 2

A—2 ¥¥% THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. (., S*TURDAY w | FEDERAL RESERVE | ASSAILED IN CRASH Glass Committee Says Board Failed to Act Promptly to Avert Recurrence. : Sharp criticism of Federal Reserve authorities cn the ground they failed | to act promptly to prevent a recurr>nce of the stock market panic in 1929, came | today from a banking suocommiiiee i It ‘was coupled with the assertion that Intensive participation of banks in the security market had cxaggerated busi- ness fluctuations and undermined eco- nomic stability | The report assailed the “very signifi- | cant and mischievous role” played by | brokers' loans for the account of others during the inflation period and asserted 1o investigat'on was launched by Ped- | authorities with a view to | them in the future until | red an inquiry by this | :ing subcommittee hoaded by | ass. Democrat, Virginia. The committee in its report made no | definite recommendations, but pointed | the way for remedial legislation, uh\rh& Glass expects to introduce this session. | President Hoover. in his recent mes- gage. advocated prompt_imbrove- ! ment of the banking laws” in view of | the “extent of bank failures.” &pecial b Senator G “the Banks Oppose Curb, G Committee found b. nanmwous: soosed {0 ions on bank investments The aimost restrict n ort said “the almost universal stionnaire sent out by that present re- “One large such an tral reserve cities. implying that banks | de New York and Chicago should | be further rostricted in their security purchases. The committee gave figures to show investments of banks in securities out- side of Government, railroad and public utility groups have increased considerably in the last decade. Its check-up. covering 1930. showed “practically half of the security in- vestments of the banks were outside” this field whereas “less than 40 per cent was so invested 10 vears before.” “The increase in holdings outside of these groups was especially marked in the case of smaller institutions,” it said. port caid, “by Started After World War. A studv of security loans, the com- mitte> found, indicated “that such ad- vances have been a major element in Ameri banking only since the World War.” The report also said a questionnaire showed “much the larger part of se- curity loans were not made for com- mercial, industrial or agricultural uses, but 1ather for the purpose of carrying gecurities.” It added that few banks find it frasible to classify these loans ac- cording to purpose with any precision. | Statistics of the period of the Oc- tober, 1929. stock market panic were given to show that “restrictive credit policies of the Federal Reserve authori- | ties curing the period were really ef- | foctive only in curtailing loans by | banks to brokers and dealers” in se- | ey had comparatively little effect | in curbing bank security loans to other | customers and loans to brokers and dealers, advanced mainly through the agency of the banks. by non-banking lenders, the report added. “‘Despite the very significant and mischievous role played by brokers’ loans for the account of others during the stock market inflation,” the report said. “no special steps were reported by the Pederal Reserve authorities to investigate them for purposes of future control until the present investigation was_ordered by the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency.” Promised Correction. Former Gov. Roy A. Young of the | Federal Reserve Svstem was quoted as | having said in 1928 that if expansion of | the brokers' loan account “gets to the place where it is dangerous and borders on unwarranted speculation.” the Amer- ican banking fraternity itself would cor- rect the situation. He said he could recommend no legislation to that end. The report observed that “country banks have a larger proportion of their Tesources in bond investments,” where- as city institutions “are more heavily involved in security loans.” and attrib- uted this to the fact that they have “less direct access to the financial centers. where the need for security loans is keenest The report said “efforts of banking gupervisory authorities to encourage or enforce the practice of writing down bond investments showing substantial cepreciation to market value levels are understood to have been taken in bad part by many institutions.” All Losses Not Reported. The financial results of the operation | of security affiliates after the 1929 crash were regarded as “on the whole unfavorable.” The report said “losses of substantial size were not reported in every case.” i Inquiries as to the types of invest- ments from which banks have suffered | the largest losses of late brought replies | as follows from PFederal Reserve dis- | tricts . Boston—Second-grade industrial and | foreign bonds at present. Over a period of years, traction securities New York—Practically every type of bond Philadelphia—All stock and bond in- Cleveland—Foreizn issues. Southern vestments: also loans based on real estate municipals and lease holder bonds. Richmond—Foreign securities, second- ary or speculative bonds and real estate investments Atlanta—Second-grade public utility and industrial corporation bonds; also foreign bonds Chicago — Real estate loans; particularly foreign St. Louls — Drainage district and levee bonds: low-grade foreign and | domestic bonds. | Minneapolis—Foreign bonds. Kansas City—Losses too nominal to warrant a comparison San Prancisco — Unlisted _securities; irrigation bonds: and in the country banks, securities of local enterprises. STARTS NEW BUSINESS NEW HAVEN, Conn. December 26 (®,—Washing dogs is paying John ‘Williams' expenses through Yale. Williams, a sophomore, from Walling- | ford, Conn.. is_ available through the Yale Self Help Bureau. “There really is an art in washing| dogs.” Williams said. “I can do it, and 1 like the animals, so I thought this Would be a good way to make money.” | The Christmas season is bringing him exira business, he said. because folk | like to see their dogs looking well dur- ing the holidays. ¥ bonds, "BAND CONCERT. By the United States Soldiers' Home Band this evening at Stanley Hall at 5:20 o'clock. John S. M. Zimmermann, bandmaster; Anton: Pointner, assistant. ! March, “Klown Paers”..... . Ball Overture, “The Hermit's Bell”. . Maillart A suite d'orchestre, “Cinderella”. Hosmer By the Hearth," “Godmother and the | Fairies” “The Court Ball,” “The Royal Nuptials:” ‘Excerpts from musical comedy, “The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly”. ...Cohan ‘Tango, “Argentine Nigh (a _media eee Donato -Blanke Zamecnik \ | third street apartment on Wednesday DE VALERA, IN NEXT ELECTION, TO FIGHT OATH OF ALLEGIANCE Leader Declares Irish Owe No Fealty to England or } England’s King. Also Criticizes Expenditure for Army, saying Its Only 1 Use Is Suppression. | = | By the Assoctated } ress WATERPORD, Ireland, December- 26. —The policy wih which De Valera will fight the next election was indicated by the jrish leader speaking here when he asked for a mandate for the re- moval, of the cath of allegiance from the coastitution and the retention of the land annuities. He aiso criticized expenditure for the army, declaring its only purpose was to “keep down Irishmen.” He wanted to make it clear, De Va- | lera said, that the Irish owe no fealty to England or to England's King. The oath. he said. was not imposed by the treaty, and what made it effect- | ive was the articles of the constitution. | Men who maintained that it was part of the treaty forgot that the men who | drew the draft constitution and sub- mitted it to Lloyd George did not in- clude the oath in it. Removing the cath from the consti- tution would not be violating the treaty. De Valera said. Relerring to expenditures on the army, | De Valera said Ireland is spending £1.500,000 yearly on its upkeep. “What is the army to protect Ireland against?” ’ he asked. There was only one reason | for the maintenance of the army, he and keep down Irishmen who might be 2g that they were adequate for con- | inclined to follow in the footsteps of | five v other Irishmen and try to gain free- | dom by force. Referring to what he called a “scare statement”™ by President Cosgrave, De IRISH PARLEY SEEN AS WAY T0 PEACE Cardinal Cites Benefits to Be Derived From Eucharistic Congress. By the Associated Pre ARMAGH. Northern Ireland, Decem- r 26— Next June's Bucharistic Con- gress in Dublin should have a calming inflience on Irish unrest. Cardinal Macrory, primate of all-Ireland, told the Associated Press in an interview. “There is every reason to hope for a strengthering of the faith and increase of charity and a great quickening of religious zeal and devotion.” he said at Ara Coeli. his palace here. “All this is bound to react beneficially upon social conditions. “The great mass of the people are | extremely good and peacefully inclined, never in my memory more so than at present. I hope that most of the young | people who have been led into danger- ous paths will be moved to retrace their steps under the influence of the great religious awakening occasioned by mc} congress.” | Unrest in Ireland is not what people | abroad suppose it to be, he added “It is true that danger had begun to threaten from Communism,” he said, | “but this danger has passed, and for the | future I have little fear, now that Cath- olic Ireland has had time to understand | and realize how directly and irrecon- | cilably the teachings of Communism re opposed to the doctrine of the | hurch.” Nothing but fine weather is needed to make the success of the congress great and unqualified, and “We trust that so many prayers, especially of the young and innocent, will obtain that blessing from Almighty God,” he said. I S WALKER CONSIDERED AS CUBAN MEDIATOR Negotiations” to Make Mayor Arbiter of Government Dispute Reported. “Secret By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 26.—The Herald Tribune says “secret negotia- tions re underway designed to take Mayor Walker to Havana, Cuba, next month as “the supreme arbiter of a Cuban governmental dispute that has kept that island in political turmoil since it won freedom from Spain | The story adds that if Mayor Walker is invited, he will accept, and that over- tures to assure the invitation have be- gun by President Machado on the one | hand and allied rebel leaders on the other. Before Mayor Walker will consent to g0. however, the paper says that Presi- | dent Machado and others must agree to follow implicitly his decision as to whether “President Machado, dictator and iron ruler of the tempestuous re- public, goes out immediately, over- throwing his entire form of government on the, way out. or whether a compro- | mise will be reached for a_gradual/ change under which the President would retire later on, probably next Summer.” CHARLES SOMERVILLE, NEWSPAPER MAN, DIES Succumbs to Mysterious Injuries After Being Found Un- conscious. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 26.— Charles Somerville, one of the best| known of New York's veteran newspa- per men, died yesterday in a hospital after a brief illness. He was found unconscious sidewalk in front of a West Seventy- on the morning and died without regaining consciousness He was found to be suffering from a | possible fracture of the skull when | taken to the hospital, but police were unable to learn how he received the injury. He was 58 years old. Somerville was born in New Orleans. | Before beginning the New York career that lasted nearly 40 years, Somerville worked on papers in Asheville, N. C,, and Philadelphia. He was a friend of O. Henry and other literary celebrities and Don Mar- quis once dedicated a story, “Demon,” to him. Since 1919 Somerville had been out of active newspaper work, devoting his time to writing fiction, mostly detec- tive stories 1 He is survived by a brother, Roy Somerville, a scenario writer in Holly- wood. Cold Wave in Spain Abates. MADRID, December 26 (#).—There was snow today in Madrid and the nearby towns and the cold wave of the past week abated. Storms con- tinued along the Eastern and Southern coasts, however, EAMONN DE VALERA. Valera said he admitted there were e dangers in Ircland t would be a grave danger.” he said, “if the arms that were intended to. maintain the rights of the Irish people 5 a whole should be divided and used for sectional purpases “I was not afraid that Russian gold was eoming in here. I was not afraid that Communism was going to be sud- denly taken up by the Irish people The only danger that I can see to social order in this state is one spring- ing from circumstances within this country and nowhere else “I am prepared to suggest deliberate- Iy that Mr. leath to make to give | ars Referring to the land annuities, De Valera said he didn't propose that the farmers should stop paying. but that the money should be retained at home. m back power for the next Bies Suddenly SERGT. J. A. SPRINGMANN. SERGT SPRINGMANN 0FD.CPOUGEDEAD Sudden lilness Is Fatal tol Head of Capital’s Homi- cide Squad. Headqusrters Detective Sergt. James | A. Springmann. head of the police homi- | were cide squad and a veteran of many vears service with the Police Department died at his home. 497 Maryland avenue southwest. early today after a sudden illness. He was 55 years old. Sergt. Springmann’s dcath was be- lieved due to acute indigestion. He had bren ailing for several and, when his condition grew rapidly worse, the Emergency Hospital embulance was summoned and the physician pro- nounced him dead upon arrival Flags on all police buildings here were ordered placed at half staff until efter the funeral. Arrangements for the la ter are to be announced later. Springmann joined the police force January 16. 1900. He resigned in 1901 to become a civilian station keeper and desk sergeant. in 1902 During 31 years’ service with the police, Springmann received numerous commendations for efficient service In 1925 he asked the Board of Med- ical Examiners to retire him. The re- quest was refused after a physical ex- amination. Again last year he asked to be retired because of ill health, but the board of examiners again re- fused the request. He first went to police headquarters | as detective sergeant in 1908 Some five months ago he was promoted to head the homicide squad, succeeding Capt. Edward J. Kelly, who was given the full rank of captain and placed in command of No. 3 police station Springmann also had served at Nos. 8, 5 and 10 precincts. Sergt. Springmann was widely known among the veteran members of the force and was much liked for his cheer- ful disposition, both in dealing with members of the force, the press and other citizens He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Lena Springmann, and six children. ALEXANDRIA BUS FIRM' DENIES WAGING WAR C. P. Orr, President of Company, Says Drivers Ordered to Keep Schedules. Special Dispatch to The Star. ALEXANDRIA, Va.. December 26— “As far as the Alexandria-Washington busses are concerned. we are not wag- ing, and do not intend to wage, any bus war,” Charles P. Orr, president.of the compeny, stated this morning. “We are runining our busess on schedule and I have given absolute or- ders to all my drivers not to try to run around or outspeed other drivers,” Orr said. He also stated that an appeal had been noted in the case of one of his drivers, who was fined $25 and costs in Police Court here Wednesday morning on a charge of speeding on the Alex- andria-Washington road. SLAYER IS GUILLOTINED PARIS, December 26 (#).—George Gauchet, who refused to make a plea for clemency, died on the guillotine at dawn today for the slaying of an aged Jeweler He was 25. “It would take a miracle to save me,” he told his Jawyer. “I deserve to die.” He refused the sacraments, confes- slon and communion, but attended mass before the knife fell. A crowd attempt- ed in vain to witness the execution, iwice breaking police cordons, Cosgrave was by no means! up circumstances that | bank qualified ; declared; that was to enforce the treaty | he found at hand into a score suitable He rejoined the forcc RADICAL PROGRAM | 1532 DOLBIED iDemocrats Expected to Stress Lower Expenses, and Equitable Taxes. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. Although the general public may not lhlvr sens>d it, there is here intense ! | curiosity as to what the legislative pro- gram of the Democrats is to be when the Joint Committee in charge of policy { makes 1ts decisions next week. l Whatever the Democrats d-termine to put in their plans may be expected to be the basis of the national issucs on | {which they will fight che presidential and congressional campaign 1n 1932. Hints as to the program likely to be adopt>d by the Democrats alre-dy have been given. They indicate the following: Fiirst, a demand ihat Government ex- pénses be cut by at least $300,000,000. | Second, a tax plan that will not affect incomes earned during 1931, but will give the taxpaver an opportunity to ad- { Just his affairs so as to pay increases in March, 1933, Third, an insistence that the Federal { Government strengthen its employment I scrvice along the lines of the Wagner | bill vetoed by the President last year. | Other measures and policies no doubt will be included, but the three ob- jectives coter the major issues, which might be stated thus: Cut expenses. spread the taxes equitably and get every man a job. Just how Government expenses can be cut by $300,000.000 1s another story Senator Borah thinks there should be a 10 per cent cut in all Federal salaries | above $2.000 a year. with the exception { of the wdiciary. This would save some, but it wouldn't amounf to many mil- {lions. A cut of $300,000,000 would be about 25 per cent of the total Federal budget outside of public debt and Army and Navy expenditures. If the Repub- licans say they can't do it, the Demo- tic answer will be. “Put us in power and we'll show you how.” As a matter of fact, much of the legislative program probably will be political. But the Democrats have in- dicated at the same time that they will not oebstruet reconstruction meas- ures. They will have their own amend- {ments and will probably rewrite some of the bills suggested by the admin- istration. Efforts to revise the tariff will be made by individual Democrats, but it is unlikely that tariff revision will be | |included as a party pclicy for 1932 ! This is because the dislocation of ex- changes and tariff readjustments are so numerous and complicated that the situation is changing almost from weck week. More power may be sought {by the administration for the Tariff Commission and this may precipitate | a debate. but a definite revision of the |tariff such as was made in the last session of Congress will not be under- | taken | The Democrats feel confident of vic- tory in 1932, “ence they are trying to avoid the impression that theirs is a party of obstruction or impairment of business confidence. At the moment | the Democratic chieftains are conduct- {ing a drive for funds in all parts of the country which means that as usual the conservative elements in the party are | for the time being in control and likely |to have a good deal of influence in shaping the course of the Democrats in both House of Congress. The trend of the Demccrats is toward conservatism instead of radicalism. (Copy 1931, by Consolhidated Press.) 'FAMILY OF SIX HELD FOR VIOLENT ATTACK | Farmer, Wife and Four Children Charged With Attempt to Kill Landlord. By the Associated Press. CAMDEN. Tenn. December 26.—A farmer, his wife and their four children arrested yesterday and charged | with assault with intent to murder as | a result of their attack on L. R. Bur- | chard. 20, owner of the farm on which | the family lwed Lige Prewett, 55: Mrs. Prewett, their daughter Pearl. 15, and Gertrude, 17.} and their sons, Tom, 18. and Arthur, 20, | armed with a razor, butcher knife, pocket knife, ax and hoe, wounded Bur- | chard seriously, and wounded two of 'lr:IS friends who attempted to rescue | him ! icians said Burchard had only a to Tecover. A disagrecment over rent was the cause of the attack. police said. BRAZIL TO BURN GAS | MADE FROM COFFEE Experts Begin Experimenting on | Low-Grade Bean Crop to Relieve Market. | By the Associated Press RIO DE JANETRO. December 26— Experiments in extraction of gas from low-grade coffee. which otherwise would | be dumped into the sea, were begun in | Brazil- yesterday. . Simoes Lopes, former minister of ag- | riculture, and official experts undertook the experiments at Nictheroy, where illuminating gas made exclusively of coffee will be supplied for four days. Dr. Lopes said 100 kilograms of coffee would produce 36 cubic meters of gas, as compared with 30 cubic meters ob- tained from a similar quantity of coal. | The National Coffee Council supplied | 30 tons of coffee for the experiments. | Under the government's plan for re- | lieving the market low-grade coffee ’wuuld be destroyed. MONUMENT DEDICATED T0 5 ITALIAN AIRMEN| Gen. Balbo, Who Headed Flight to Brazil, Presides at Portuguese Guinea Exercises. By the Associated Press. BOLAMA, Portuguese Guinea, De- cember 26.—A monument to five Itaiiar | aviators killed at the start of the last lap of Gen. Balbo's flight to Brazil with 12 seaplanes last January, was dedi- cated yesterday by Balbo and other notables. Practically all those surviving of the 56 pilots, navigators, wireless operators and mechanics who took off from Bolama, for Port Natal, Brazil, were present. The five honored today were killed in the fall of two planes. One crashed into the sea during its takeoff, killing the mechanic. The other crashed some ' miles from the start and took the lives of 21l four occupants. The men injured in the first fall were present today. | Three femous aviators, who success- fully made the South American flight, were mourned yesterday together with their five unsuccessful comrades. One | was Col. Meddalena, hero of the rescue flight out over the frozen North to bring back Gen, Nobile, commander of { the fatal dirigible Italia expedition, and holder at one time of the world’s long dll;tnntce endurance records in a closed cirouit, Dairy Isolated by ‘Flood Waters TALLAHATCHIE HE photographer had to fly over the Swan Lake, Miss. district In an airplane Wednesday to make this picture of a big dairy farm, cut off from all communication by flood waters of the Tallahatchie River, whi levees in three places became too deep. CAIN 15 REPORTE FORFIVE DAY WeE U. S. Statistician Says 425.- Wounds Lookoui—Store Simultaneous Reduction Plan 209 in Building Trades Used Plan at End of 1930. The five-day working week plan is gaining headway, Ethelbert Stewart. the Labor Department's commissioner statistics. asserted in his annual report of labor aflairs for the Government for 40 years and is considercd one of the world's greatest statisticians, declared that in quite a few cities the five-day week has been adopted by all of the building trades, He said at the close of 1930 at lea. | 425.209 bu:lding trade workers were em- ployed on this schedule. Must Expand Statistical Work. During the past several months in- terest in labor statistics probably has been more intense than ever before in the history of the country, Mr. Stewa: said. This interest has been directed primarily to matters of employment and unemployment, but by no means ex- clusively so, as discussion of employ- ment problems leads inevitably to ques- tions of wages, hours of labor. cost of living. productivity of labor, the older worker in industry, labor turnover and similar topies, he explained. The commissioner said the problem of kis bureau, therefore, has been 1o u?anu very considerably its work in the field of employment statistics without curtailing its activities in other lines. The problem was a serious one, he added. but its difficulties were dimin- ished by a special appropriation of Congress, part of which became avail- able during the latrer part of the fiscal year. the remainder being available for use during this fiscal year. Urges New Family Budget. Mr. Stewart reitorated a recommen- dation for a new family budget to sup- plant one made in 1918, which it still used as a basis for cost and standard of living figures. Perhaps no more widespread abuse of the bureau's fig- ures is to be found in any direction than in this matter of cost of living. he said To use the available data as an argu- ment Jor the reduction of wages, he | asserted, would be to throw back the standard of living 13 years and elimi- nate all the progress that has: been made in home comforts during tbat time, THRONG AT FUNERAL OF FIEND'S VICTIM | Cincinnati Police No Nearer Solu- tion of Murder of 6-Year-Old Marian McLean. By the Associated Press CINCINNATI, Ohio, December 26— Friends of little Marian McLean gath- ered for her funeral services today as police found themselves apparently no nearer than ever to solution of the kid- I naping and slaying of the 6-year-old girl. The gifts that had been ready for Marian's Christmas lay untouched at her home. Her estranged father and mother, reunited by their common grief, were at the home of a relative at Els- mere, Ky., near here. & A house-to-house search of the neigh- borhood where Marian's body was found last Tuesday and questioning of a num- ber of suspects has failed to produce the man who kidnaped her eight days ago. Police are awaiting the outcome of chemical tests of the contents of her stomach and of foreign substances ap- | pearing on the clothes of both Marian and one of the suspects Joseph McLean, father of the slain girl, arrived last night from Phoenix. Ariz. Tears streamed down his face as he was reunited with Mrs. McLean. MASS BY POPE ON AIR First Religious Ceremony Over Vatican City Radio Tomorrow. VATICAN CITY, December 26 () — A mass to be chanted personally by Pope Pius, the first religious ceremony ever to be broadcast from here, will lfio on the air over the Vatican City radio station tomorrow. 1t will be said in St. Peter's as a clos- ing feature of the centennial commemo- ration of the council of Ephesus. The mass will start at 10 a.m.. Vati- can City time, which corresponds to 4 am,, Eastern standard time, and will be sent out on a wave length of 50.26 meters, . Nicaragua Rejects Recognition. AGUA, Nicaragua, December 26 (M%e foreign office announced to- day that Nicaragua will x!n‘?:‘m ::tiex;? recognition to the new gov snl?w'ador in accordance with the Wash- ington pact of 1923, Most of the live stock at this and other farms were moved to high ground before the water broke through —A. P. Photo. ‘Bandit's Gun Kills | Pal as Victim of | Hold-Up Is Clubbed | | e | [Weapon Goes Off and Owner Escapes With Cut. | By the Associated Press | PITTSBURGH, December 26— A b;n- | ¢it, using his pistol to club a store owner, yesterday shot and killed his accomplice, The weapon discharged as Morris Wolf was hit on the head. The bullet struck a man left to watch the door. | J. L. Keepan, 21, of Youngstown Ohio, was arrested as he attempted to fiee from the store. He said the dead man was J. F. Cullian, 22, also of Youngstown. Kecnan denies they attempted to hold up the store. He says they attended a party Christmas eve. and he does not remember what happened until he found himself in jail last night Marion Marsh, 23. of Youngstown and Bella Rocco, 33, of Pittsburgh, are held as material witnesses. The party Keenan attended was at the Rocco home Wolf. the store owner. a slight scalp wound A ballistic expert is checking the bul- let removed from Culllan’s brain and a revolver with one empty chamber that was found in Keenan's pccket | CHRISTMAS DEAD NU.S.TOTAL 20 Majority of Fatalities Due to Auto Crashes—Poison Liguor Kills Nine. suffered only By the Associated Precs ; America’s dead in the Christmas ob- servance reached the 200 mark today. At least 189 persons met sudden deaths. A majority of them died in automobile fatalities, lured to the high- ways by the comparatively mild weather that prevailed throughout the country. | Pansies and violets continued to rear | | their heads in some sections and snow wasata prerium. Even in Ketchikan, Alaska, parents had to use dixie cotton instead of snow to satisfy the young- | sters, while the boys up in Mora, Minn., got out their base ball bats and de- feated the team from the neighboring town of Ogilvie, 4 to 1 In Chicago a woman found her janitor out working up a Christmas- day appetite by m.wing the grass on the front lawn. | It was chilly in the East. but the weather man predicted the “heat wave” | would return today. Warmer weather in the Middle West was also forecast. | Of the fatalitics, more than 130 re- | sulted from automobile mishsps. Of | these. approximately half occurred in the Middlewest. | Seven died in a grade-crossing acci- dent at Batavia, N. Y. Burns, falls and fireworks were among the causes |of other deaths, while nine were re- |ported dead from poison liquor. Five | of the holiday liquor fatalities were in Pittsburgh. TRAIN KILLS 9 I AUTO. | Machine Struck at Crossing in Char- lotte, N. C. CHARLOTTE, N. C. December 26 (A).—A party of nine returning to their homes after a Christmas celebration | here was wiped out early today when | their automobile was struck by a South- | ern passenger train in the outskirts of Charlotte. One Man’s HE workings of the tax rate on| real estate in the District of Columbia as compared with rates many times higher in other places are strikingly illus- trated in the experience of a local prop- | erty owner, Wayland W. Spilman, 3930 Connecticut avenue. Mr. Spilman six years ago paid $1,800 | for a plece of property here. His mother, Mrs. M. A. Spilman of Colonial Beach, Va., owns a certain parcel of real estate there, which she recently refused to sell for §1,800, believing it to | be worth more. ; Compari; tax receipts with his| ‘motheri-'Mnr.. Spilman fcund that for four years during his local ownership had paid a $1.70 rate on an assessed | luation of $2,217 for this $1,800 u:.p- ty in Washington. Then in 19! e !of ‘a healthy international trade. | ered by Mrs ! tion will be prenounced bv Lieut. { was blamed | motorboat, A Property Owner Tells Just How a Comparison of Tax Rates Alone Worked in His Case—And How Assessments Compared With Sales Value. | Beach the property she will not sell DEBT DEFAULTLATD TOTARRF WALLS by European Nations Sug- gested by Hull. By the Associated Press High-tarifi barriers are held directly responsible by Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee for the present inability of some foreign nations to meet their ex- ternal debt payments. This leading Democrat champion of a lowersd tarifl proposed. in a state- ment issued last night, that European nations owing war debts to this country approach the United States with a n of simultancous reduction of “excessive tariffs.” This leading Democratic champion °f said. should 1ot otherwise be broached “Hungary.” he sald, “has now joined many debtor countries in South Amer- | ica and other parts of the world. which during recent months have dcfaulied | in the payment of interest and in: ments on indebtedness dus abroad. This calamitous situation is dircctly caused by the inability of these nations to ef- fect a mutually profitable interchan: { surplus products and thereby create favorable financial and trade balances with which to pay ‘Insurmountable tariff walls every- where have offered the chief obstruc- tion to international trade, so that it is less in_amount today than bef the war. Debior countries, with their for- cign trade thus strangled. have long since denuded themselves of their lim- ited gold reserves in a desperate effort to and so postpone the day of de- faull “It is clear that anything like a sound. full measure of prosperity * * * can only come through the restoration and by a this can only be accomplished | general reduction of excessive teriffs as y as possible simultaneously by the s natlons.” sue the present tariff policy d. and yet oppose d-bt r Cuctions “es mos. of us are sincerely doing,” will get nowhere. D. A. R. TO PUT WREATH ON TOMB OF UNKNOWN Mrs. Gasch Will Make Principal Address at Constitution Chap- | ter's Exercises Tomorrow. A wreath will be laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington to- morrow afternoon at 3 o'clock bv Con- stitution Chapter, Daughters of the Amerizan Revolution ‘The principal address will be deliv- E. Richard Gasch, regent of the chanter. and the wreath will be 12id on the tomb by Mrs. Goodwin D. Ellsworth. Opening _prayer will be offered by Mrs. Danjel C. Roper, and the benedic- J. R Koch, chaplain at Walter Reed Hospital. Reveille and taps will be blown by a bugler from Walter Reed. and the mem- bers of the chapter and their accom- panyving friends will sing “America.” This is the annual pilgrimage of the chanter. which always takes place the first Sunday after Christmas WIND LOOSENS BOAT The high wind on the P-tomac River today by officials of the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission the disappearance of a 30-foot which park police were | asked to search for. | The boat, painted gray. is named the | Ferrand and has the letters “A. M.| B. C.” painted prominently on it. The | craft Jacks a cabin, having only a canvas covering. Experience assessment was raised to $2.287, al- though the property was headed for a lower value. . Mrs. Spilman, on the other hand, pays taxes at a combined city and State rate of $3.05 per $100, or almost twice as much as her son. But in Colonial for $1.800 is assessed at $425. There- fore, the annual carrying charges are $12.96, while her son paid $37.70 annu- ally for four years and $38.88 for two years. Mr. Spilman recently disposed of his property here. After some waiting his $2,287 assessed land was sold for $1,750. He netted $1.664.71 from the sale. Mr. Spilran is very sure that the tax rate in Washington does not mean any- thing in relation to other tax rates, unless the assessment ratlo is con- sidered. BILL ASKS SYSTEM INAIR PROMOTIONS Measure Offered by Repre- sentative James Would Over- come Inequalities. Creation of a separate promotion list for flying officers of the Army Air Corps below the grade of colonel is provided in a bill introduced by Rep- Tesentative James of Michigan, ranking Republican member of the House Mili- tary Affairs Committee The bill. introduced after months of study of Air Corps conditions ous Army posts while James man of the commitice, is said to aave the backing of Air Corps officers in general It would provide for a promotion designed to overcome in- equalities resulting from the rapid turnover of Air Corps personnel, which leaves many officers holding commis- sions as_lieutenants shouldering the responsibilities of officers of higher rank. Many of the Air Corps first lieutenants have been officers since the World War. Provision for Promotion. In_general. the bill provides that Air Corps flying officers shall be pro- moted to the grade of first lieutenant Wwhen credited with 3 years' commis- sioned service, to the grade of captain when credited with 7 years' service, to the grade of major when credited with 12 years. to the grade of lieutenant colonel when credited with 20 years and to the grade of colonel when cred- ited with 26 years. ‘The number of Air Corps colonels is iimited o not less than 4 nor more then 6 per cent of the totul number of Air Corps officers and lmitations are placed on the number of lieu- tenant colonels and majors, Plan for Retirement. The measure provides that when an officer of the Air Corps has served 30 years, either as an officer or soldier, he shall. if he makes application to the President, be retired from artive service. Time and a half is to be credited for all time spent on actual fiying duty in computing retirement ume.” It also is provided that fying officers of the Air Corps may be re- tired on reaching the age of 54 years Officers of the Air Corps who become system of | physically disqualified for the perform- ance of duty as flying officers be eligible for retirement for physical disability under the terms of th 1 An officer of the Air Corps, under the James bill, may, upon request, be transferred to another branch of the service, but in doing so loses his stand- ing on the Air Corps promotion list and takes the ry and grade in his new branch to which the laws govern- ing the branch entitle him on the basis of the length of his commissioned service The measure, which details 1s new, wa: Military Affairs Commit shall bill. in many of its iTed to the e ARTHUR M. NYMAN,54, DROPS DEAD IN STORE Bank Teller Stricken When He Stops to Make Christmas Day Purchase, Arthur M. Nyman. 54 vear old, a teller of the American Security & Trust Co.. died suddenly yesterd: stricken in a drug stc Connecticui 2 e and McKiniey He cy d yman had gone from his home, C! E to make a pur- be store of this city, Mr. Nyman was o graduate of Central High School and hn's Lodge. F A, He is survived by Eleanor Langvoigt Jane Nymal Charles E. Nrm Eima Nyman ar He belonged A M. his widow, Mrs. men: a daugh- his mother, Mrs. to St. tary Trust Co. years ago. Funera! nounced lat: VETERAN OF SPANISH WAR KILLED BY CAR Anne Arundel Resident Is Struck by Auto Nesr Laurel Last Night. of the National Savings until his death some 13 ements are to be an- BY a Staff Correspondent of The Star LAUREL. Md., December Recd. a Spanish-American W living in Anne Arund-l Cou hore, was fatally injured h struck by Charles veteran near nght, driten, h. 3300 Mount last Rced was rushed to by a pessing motarist dead on arrival, Stat> Policoman John H. Doud ar- rested Vorrath on chirgss of driving while diunk and reckless driving. Jus- tize of the Peace H. M. S-ott also o-der= ed thst the man be held for the action of a coroner’s jury which will hold an inquest Monday night. His bond was sct at §1,000 According to police, Reed h-d alizht ed from his car at a gasoline statiol necr here, when struck by Vorrat machine. The officers men were in the c: SCHURMAN S.AYS DEBTS WILL HAVE NEW BASIS Former U. S. Envoy to Germany ley Hospital pronounced Foresees Need for Action During Moratorium, Br the Associated Press SAN DIEGO, Calif.. Docember 26. Jacob Gould Schurmen, former United States Ambassador to Germany and China. who arrived here yi Tay from New York, expressed the opinion that payment of reparation: and inter- allied debts will not be mace on the same basis that existed before the re- cent. moratorium, “Approval by Congress of the Hoover moratorium plan does not mean that this is a final solution of the problem.” he said. It merely postpones payment of intergovernmental drbts for a year, and that pestponement leaves the prob- lem exactly where it was. The mora- torium is only a first step. “Something must be done before the expiration of the moratorium in June, 1932. And not only that, something must be done before the frozen short- term credits to Germany are callab'e next February. Whatever solution is found, my opinion is that you never will see reparations or interallied debts paid on the same basis as beio:e. “I am strongly opposed to can-a‘la- tion of interallied debts.” i Spanish Literature Prize A MADRID, Dece: aational literatur been avarded to C R brother-in-law of Manuei Azana, the former provisional President. |