Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1931, Page 2

_GARNER DISCLOSES PARTY'S TAX PLAN Would Amend Existing Laws to Stop Loopholes for Evasion of Levies. (Continued From First Page.) «It is unjust and might prove very disturbing to business. It would react against business men who had not fig- ured in additional taxes in their enter- prises. “T won't foreclose myself on it but I would not resort to it until every other method of raising revenue had been exhausted.” He concurred with Speaker Garner and Representative Rainey on the Dem- ocratic plan to raise taxes on incomes in the higher brackets, levy a gift tax and impose a special “state tax The increased surtaxes, he said, should begin on incomes of $20,000, P\}“ though he added he was opposed to | Jowering the present exemptions on | small incomes. Opposes Sales Tax. *I am opposed to a general sal s tax, although we may have to resort to one,” the Mississippian said “We also may have to resort cise taxes.” The Mississippian the Government was ‘“ahead $4,500,000,000 on retiring the public debt, if the big deficit in the Trea: ury continues we won't have muc h r serve left.” As far as cutting salaries of Govern- ment emploves is concerned as a means of reducing expenses, he said, “the sav- ing would not amount to & drop in the bucket, compared to the amount of money being expended.” Against Salary Cut. Reduction of any Government salary of $5000 or less also is opposed by Rainey. He emphasizes that if this group is exempted the proposal slash in Government salaries would not raise enough revenues to offset the damage that would result. He insists also that if there is to be & reduction in salaries it should apply proportionately to mem- bers of Congress, Army &nd Navy offi- cers and all Government officials. < The new Democratic leader foresees that great damage might be done by breaking down the structure of Federal salaries that it has taken years to build up to something like a living wage and properly proportioned for those who have given scientific knowledge, long experience, technical or mechanical skill to performance of the countless in- tricate duties in the Federal service. He points out if a decree is is- sued by Coungress that the Federal pay roll must go under the ax, then each and every department, bureau, division, commission or other unit of the far- flung Federal service must be made to bear something like a proporionate share of the cut-down Estimates have been submitted to him, the House leader says, which show that the utmost to be saved by the proposed reduction in salaries would be approxi- mately $50,000,000. He expressed the belief that those interested in reducing Government. expenditures should look elsewhere. The Democratic leader gave the first authoritative forecast of the Democratic tax-revision program, in which he in- cludes abolition of the capital gains and loss provision as necessary to reach those best able to pay increased taxes. “Under the present law the corpora- tions and those receiving big incomes can avold payment of {axes through this provision,” the Illinols Democrat sald to ex- while about said that Opposes Sales Tax. ‘While expressing opposition to & gen- eral sales tax, Rainey said it would be the most effective way to replenish im- mediately the Treasury. “T do not believe, however, that Con- ‘gress will approve a general sales tax.” he added. “A luxury tax would not bring much return now, because people are not buying luxuries to any great t “A bond issue would bring immediate felief to the Treasury, but there is dan- ger in issulng too many bonds. We need a balanced budget” Rainey said the weslthy had not borne their just ghare of governmental costs since the World War, but that during the present emergency they would be called upon to pay more. ADMINISTRATION TO RESIST. ‘Will Fight Against Repeal of Capital Gains Act. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. The sdministration will resist to the utmost the reported plan of the Demo- crats in Congress to repeal the capital ains and losses visions of the exist- ng income tax law “It would be unfair yetary Mills of the Treasury Depar! ment today o allow & man to go into the stock market and by & quick turn make $40,000 and escape taxation on his gain while another man Who by reason of long years of work at his pro- fession has come in middle age to earn $40,000 & year would be obliged to pay & tax which would amount to as much &8 20 per cent on that income. That's how repeal of the capital gains tax would work out in practice. “Also it would lead to the greatest | amount of tax evasion we have ever known. It would be a simple matter for companies not to pay dividends, but to accumulate surplus, which, in turn, would enhance the value of their stocks and these would be held over a period of years until new legislation were | | Yield Handsome Return. Mr. Mills stated that over & 10-year riod the capital gains and losses taxes Pad Yielded & handsome return to_the Treasury and that while the year 1931 might see & diminution due to large | losses, the Government would again | benefit as soon as there was the slight- | est turn upward in the securities mar- kete. From all over the country today came inquiries by telephone and telegraph asking whether the capital gains ard losses tax was certain to be repealed. | Many indlviduals having only two or three days in which to sell securities | and take thelr losses are wondering how they will be taxed on the 1931 in- comes There is a distinct diff fon, even among Democrats capital gans and loss tax, but the whole question of whether all new taxes on incomes should apply to the year 1931 involves a separate problem in which the Democrats are leaning toward the idea of letting the 1931 in- comes be taxed on existing law. This would mean new taxation applying in March, 1933, when it is assumed the taxpayers would have had fair warning on the proposed increases. Has Choice of Rate. Under existing law, when an indi- vidual sells & piece of property or stocks or bonds or makes a financial gain in any other transaction in which a sale of a capital asset occurs, he can choose to-pay the regular rate of taxation on such gains if his total income is below & sum of approximately $30,000, but when the gains added to his regular income make & sum in excess of about $30,000 it would be less expensive for the tndividual to pay the 123§ per cent rate fixed on capital gains rather than the higher surtaxes which are gradu- ated on high incomes. To get the ad- vantage of this provision, the taxpayer must prove that he has held the assets for a period of tWo Or more years. ‘This year, of course, the correspond- ing provisions of the law relating to capital Josses will mean the opportunity ence of opin- as to the Heads I. C. C. NEW CHAIRMAN TO TAKE OFFICE JANUARY 1. i CLAUDE R. PORTER, Named yesterday to preside over the deliberations of the Interstate Com- merce Commission, succeeding Ezra Brainerd, jr, who has served during the past year. Mr. Porter, a Democrat, bh-s been on the commission since 1928. B will direct the rail consolidation hearings starting January 6. The I C. C. chairmanship rotates annually. FUNDS INADEQUATE, RELIEF HEADS SAY THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, DA tC PEUESDAYEDE (CEMBER 29, 1931. U. . UNION HEAD 10 STUDY PAY CUTS Executive Council to Con- sider Proposal at Con- ference Here. Plans to war against proposed wage cuts for Government workers will be laid by the Executive Council of the National Federation of Federal Em- ployes at a meeting January 8, when members of the council will gather from all parts of the country. Classification of Federal employes, extension of the retirement law to pro- vide for voluntary retirement after 30 years, shorter work day, shorter work week and standardized annual leave will be considered Serious study will de given to means of supporting the classification bill re- introduced in the House by Represent- ative Lelhbach, former chairman of the House Civil Service Committee. This legislation not only provides for classification far the field services of the Government, but abolishes the present average clause in appropria- tion acts, and eliminates the present system of efficiency ratings. In place of the present efficiency system, & new three-grade rating would be introduced, labeling employes as “good, fair, or un- satisfactory.” The bill is based on a report made to the last Congress .by Willisam H. McReynolds, director of classification, after a long and sclentific study of the problem Members of the council include Luth- er C. Steward, president of the federa- tion; Miss Gertrude McNally, secretary- treasurer, and the following national officers of the National Federation of Federal Employes: John Fitzgerald of New York, Lee R. Whitney of Mil- waukee, Charles L. Wiegand of Balti- more, J. P. Thompson of San Fran- cisco, Dr. Walter P. Taylor of Tucson, Ariz’ John W. Ross of Norfolk, U. J. Backers of Hoover Program Say Donations Failing to Meet Need. By the Associated Press Three welfare leaders who have been co-operating with President Hoover's ef- fort to provide unemployment relief without direct Federal contributions told a Senate committee today existing funds are inadequate They were Linton B. Swift, executive secretary of the Family Welfare Asso- ciation of America; Frank Bane, di- rector of the American Association of Public Welfare Officials, and Allen T. Burns, executive director of the Asso- clation of Community Chests and Councils Demands Too Heavy. Burns, who has conferred frequently with President Hoover and his relief advisers, told the committee “there is no prospect of sufficient private funds to meet” the growing demands for aid to the unemployed Federal appropriations to supplement local unemployment relief was recom- mended by Paul U. Kellogg, editor of the Welfare Magazine Survey. He said the city of Toledo presents “an extreme case of community dis- tress.” Its biggest corporation, he said, had a pay roll of 30,000 in 1929, which dropped to 3,000 or 4,000 in 1930. Toledo, Kellogg added, is extreme as a case of irresponsible industrial man- agement” He warned that the peak of the relief load would come after the turn in conditions has come. Says Funds Inadequate. Money raised by voluntary contribu- tions, under President Hoover's leader- ship, is not expected by him to last the Winter out, and States have failed to “grapple with the situation.” Attacks on Federal aid as a “dole,” he said, are “merely echoes of propa- ganda put out in high places, Tesult- ing from a combination of dope, emo- tion and class interest.” He defined the dole as a “catchword being employed to confuse the public.” Linton B. Swift, executive secretary of the Family Welfare Assoclation of America, testified thal relief needs have grown by leaps and bounds There was a 215 per cent increase in relief extended by member agencies from 1916 to 1925, he said, and this increase continued up to 1929. Three times as many families Were accepted in 1931, he added, as in 1929, and many other applications were pouring in but were rejected because of lack of funds. Expects Need to Increase. Even if business conditions improve 25 per cent, relief needs will be at least as great next Winter as this, if not| greater,” Swift said i “We are still dealing in some cases | with the results of family disintegra- tion caused by the depression of 1921.” “While the average community may be able to get by without starvation or dropping in the strects,” Swift said, “yet many families are suffering from malnutrition with all its consequent ef- fects. There is & serious question as to how long the omission of rent from relief budgets can go on.” Chairman La Follette said a woman in Cincinnati who owns 28 homes is now the subject of charity because she could not collect from her tenants. more than two years, tue maximum loss that may be taken 1s 12!, per cent. Therefore people who have heavy losses on assets held less than two years like to sell them before the two years are up so as o be able to take the entire deduction, particularly in view of the higher surtaxes that are being suggest- ed for the new taxation Could Evade Profit Tax. A man with an earned income on his own efforts in business or a profession peys a normal tax plus a graduated surtax running from 1 to 25 per cent under the present la But a man who makes capital gains also pays a avy tax | Now, under the would Tepeal capital gains, there would | be no opportunity to tax capital gains, { because the temptation would be to| hold gains and not sell if it could be possibly avoided. 1In this way the holder of securities advancing in’ price would prefer to wait till the proposed legislation, which is to be applicable during the depression, is repealed Under one proposal now being dis- cussed the man who achieves a capital gain could sell his enhanced assets without being required to pay any tax on his profit. Under another propasal, also emanating from Democratic sources, it is being suggested that the capital gains tax be retained, but that no limit of 12'; per cent be imposed, so that all gains be included in regular in- come and subject to high surtaxes. The truth is, opinion has not crystal- lized on any of these subjects, and the Democratic Policy Committee of both Houses has as yet failed to draft a comprehensive tax program. People who have tax problems to decide in the net 48 hours will be merely guessing, as are observers here, as to what the ultimate outcome may be. But the best guess is that the law with respect to capital gains and losses probably will be left untouched because it is too to deduct from the income the sums lost in eapital transactions, and the Democrats are trying to plug up this slleged dpas of income to the Govern: ment. the losses are on assets held w proposed law, which | Biller of the District, Willlam M. Rap- sher of Philadelphia and George L. Evans of Denver, Colo. PARIS AND LONDON SEEK COMPROMISE ON WAR DEBT PLAN _(Continued From First Page.) Europe.” Jacques Bainville, histortan and mem- ber of the Extreme Right, said in La | Liberte: “The nature of things is lead- ing, and should lead, w an entente cordiale. Let France and Englond join their views and actions.” POSTPO! [ENT FORESEEN, International Debt Conference Probably | to Be Held January 20 or 25. LONDON, December 29 (#).—It ap- peared today that the International | Debt Conference which must follow the recent Young Plan Advisory Committee report probably will be held at Lau-| sanne, Switzerland, on January 20 or 25 instead of on January 15 The French Chamber of Deputies meets on January 12 and the French think thelr delegation would not be able to get away for a conference on the 15th. On the other hand, there is a meeting of the League of Nations Coun- cil at Geneva on January 28 and the | Disarmament Conference comes on February 2, factors which add to the advantages of Lausanne as & meeting place. Laval Parley Unsettled. Official British quarters professed to | know nothing about plans to increase the scope of the conference to make American participation possible, and plans for a preliminary meeting be- | tween Premier Laval of France and | Prime Minister MacDonald remaired unsettled pending the outcome of the deliberations still going on between ex- perts of both countries. Meanwhile United States Ambassador Dawes, who will head the American delegation to the Disarmament Confer- ence, was busily engaged today with preparations for his departure for Washington tomorrow. Dawes Says Nothing. He will go ta the Capital immediately after reaching New York, but he ex- pects to visit Chicago before he Teturns to London with other members of the American group, sailing about January Yesterday Gen. Dawes conferred with Sir John Simon, the British foreign minister, and today he went over the conference problems with Hugh Gibson the American Ambassador to Belgium! He had nothing to say this morning to the press. He will make the trip to the | United States alone, Mrs. Dawes and other members of his family remaining | in London BELGIUM PICKS DELEGATES Premier Renkin to Head Group at International Debt Conference. I BRUSSELS, December 29 (#).—The | Belgian government will be represented at the coming international conference on war debts and reparations by Pre- mier Jules Renkin, Forcign Minister Paul Hymans and Finance Minister Baron Houtard AGREEMENT FORESEEN. New York Bankers Believe Reparations Accord Will Be Reached. NEW YORK, December 29 (#).—De- spite the differences of opinion between London and Paris on reparations and allied debts, leading bankers here to- day predicted an accord within two monthg. Europe is too sensible, one authority said, to let internal differences stand in the way of measures, which are vital to world recovery. England and France, in this presentation of viewpoint, seem certain to get together on essential points now at issue prior to the forth- coming Teparations conference next month. Resembles Family Quarrel. * Present European disputes, one high authority sald, resemble a family quar- rel and this country, he added, will do 11 to keep out Continued European criticism of the ! refusal of the United States to con- | sider debt cancellation, has had the effect of solidifying American senti- ment on that point, it was sald. An internationally known banker who has been a warm friend of both Eng- land and France expressed his own private opinion that France could con- tinue to make payments on its sub- stantially reduced American debt re- gardless of whether German repara- tions payments were suspended. Eng- land, because of the depreciated pound, would find the problem harder, he said. Europe Too Sensible. Another banker who enjoys high prestige in the fleld of international finance said that so long as European nations surrender to a spirit of “de- featism,” there is little prospect that they will attempt to pay anything. But, he added, present disputes are Jrgely surface frothings and will give way to a more reasonable attitude When the world decides to work to- gether, he stated. it will find ways for disposing of present problems regard- less of their seeming present com- maintenance of the order and peace of | \ORIGIN OF PLANETS I DREAM OF DANUBE ALLIANGE REVIVED France Approves Plan to Give Austria, Hungary, Czecho- slovakia Economic Unity. BY JOHN GUNTHER. By Cable to The Star. VIENNA, Austria, December 29— That oft-buried dream of a Danubian confederation, giving economic unity to | Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, rose from the grave today and began to bedazzle various Central European politicians. It is the old idea of Eduard Benes, | Crech forelgn minister, but interest in it is revived because, in & new form, it is sponsored by former Premier Count | Stephen Bethlen of Hungary, who had long opposed it. France Seeks Alliance. Hungary, under the moratorium, is| having such difficulty keeping econom- fcally alive that many Hungarians are tumigg at last to the expedience of co-opération with Czechoslovakia. Be- sides, France would like to have a/ Danubian confederation, which would | cement French political and financial dominence throughout Central and Southeastern Europe, and Paris is holding " out the Danube confederation as bait for & possible loan to Hungary. | Czechoslovakia is anxious to revive the idea because it sees much of s export trade going to smash on ac- count of the “clearing arrangements” that are being negotiated throughout Europe Trade in Central Europe is at a standstill because the purchase of imports with foreign currency is largely restricted or forbidden by the various national banks. Barter Dominates. Thus, what is very close to barter dominates economic life. One country trades shoes, for example, for wine, or timber for turkeys, with the ordinary technique of payment replaced by a reciprocal writing off of obligations in the books of the national banks. These credits or debits are then “cleared” and no actual money is used in the transac- tions. These clearing arrangements are pro- foundly difficult to achieve, but Austria so far has concluded them with Switzer- land and Hungary and negotiations for further compacts are on the point of success with Italy and Jugoslavia. Czechoslovokia has not had similar success cl--ring arrangement with Austria is held up and its tariff war with Hungary continues. The Czechs, therefore, are eager to revive the idea of Danube unity as a counter measure. The chief difficulty is the attitude of Austria, which wants to avoid an ex- clusive alignment with the Czechs and | prefers to keep the door open for a fu- ture combination with Germany, (Copyright, 1931.) AND SUN IS TRACED TO SOLAR DISASTER __(Continued From First Page) _ binary systems, precisely like those ob- served, will be produced if a single parent star breaks into two sections as @ Tesult of rotating too rapidly on its axis. Early Studies Cited. “Earlier studies showed that electric and magnetic forces acting in the sun’s atmosphere caused winds to blow to the eastward with a velocity exceeding 1,000 miles per hour. In the parent sun winds of far greater veloclty blew for millions of millions of years, and these were sufficient to cause it to rotate faster and faster until it turned on its axis about once in six hours. “The parent sun then broke up into two pleces; one plece became our pres- ent sun and the other plece went sky- rocketing off through space toward &n unknown destination. T use ‘skyrocket’ in the literal sense, because one face of each component star is far hotter than the other and the hot face loses light energy and momentum much more rapidly ‘than the ccol one and thus causes the star to shoot off through space precisely like the lost gaseous mo- mentum causes & skyrocket to move. “Just as the parent liquid star divided into two component stars, tidal and centrifugal forces broke off smaller sec- tions and these cooled and formed the planets, The same tidal forces broke off the planetary satellites or ‘moons’ immediately after the planets were formed. Thus the entire solar system was formed in a very few days and initially was a very compact system. “The lost component attracted the newly formed planets and succeeded in carrying them well away from the sun. Thus, the present open structure of the system is due to the original presence of the lost solar component. Planets Escape Effect. “The parent star initially rotated with a period of six hours, but the tidal processes resulting from the loss of the companion _star equickly increased it greatly and transferred the energy of spin to that of orbital revolution. The planets, because of their small size, largely escaped the effect of tidal cou- ples, and their periods of rotation (ex- cept for the innermost ones) vary only from 5 to 24 hours, and we can account roughly for the observed departure from the calculated values “According to our theory, the moon was born from the earth shortly after the earth was born from the sun and the moon has receded to its present po- sition as & direct result of tidal evolu- tion. “It is quite impossible to discuss the technical details in non-technical lan- guage, but it seems quite clear that the solar system resulted from a great solar catastrophe and the planets were form- ed from the debris of that event. “It seems important to note that the formation of systems of satellite must be relatively common in the universe, and there are undoubtedly many sys- tems much like our own. Whether these are inhabited must long remain un- answered, but conditions on many of them must be comparable to those on the_earth “We may conclude with some con- fidence that the solar system did not re- sult from a colossal accident, as has been urged by some investigators, but it resulted from a definite orderly and evolutionary plan which was largely guided by electric and magnetic forces.” REBELS CONFESS PLOT 8ix Communist Leaders in Chile Bare Plans That Failed. COQUIMEO, Chile, December 29 (#) —Six Communist leaders were arrested today and confessed they had planned to start a revolt here on Christmas morning at the same time as the out- break at Coplapo Another Communist was kiiled at Sotaqui when he attempted to evade arrest. An exchange of shots resulted plexity. too sensible to let Germany crash. complicated to rewrite, and to tamper with it might mean a flood of law- suits to test, the constitutionality of retroactive lefslation in this fleld. (Copyright, 1931.) Germany has taken the world's largest exporter medicines as the of prepared Europe, this authority concluded, 1s; in the wounding of one carabinero. - Sir James O'Connor Dies at 59. LONDON, December 29 (#)—Right Hon. Sir James O’Connor, formerly at- torney general for Ireland, died today. He was 59. Last-Minute Rush for Auto Titles CROWDS JAM TRAFFIC BUREAU SEEKING R TIFICATES. Fearing arrest unless they have certificates of title for their automobiles by January 1, throngs stormed the Traf- fic Bureau today to take out the papers. BUSINESS LEADER SEE 1987 UPTURN 120 ctonWeatkes TODAY ON DRY LAW | Views of Eleven Industrial| Chiefs Agree That Recov- ery Is at Hand. By the Associated Press, CHICAGO, December business in general for 1932 was pre- dicted today by lines. Their views, publihsed in the January issue cf Commerce, official® publication of the Chicago Association of Commerce, | were based on the belief that better management will result from the expe- riences of the past. | “Organizations and individuals who | have grown soft during the easy years | are now trained down to lean, hard | business fighting trim,” said C. W. Nash, | president cf the Nash Motor Co. “Mis- takes that were made are providing them-valuable lessons for the future. Sees Healthy Future. “Experience has decisively proved | that we cannot share or mold or change the natural economic_forces of suppzy] and demand with artificial expedients. “Like medicine, these things are| sometimes hard to take, but the sooner | the dose s swallowed the sooner the | recovery begins. And the last two| years should put o future in a| healthier basis for resuming the for- | ward and upward progress of the coun- try's agricultural, industrial and finan- cial condition.” Among the other opinions were the following: G. L. Curtis, president of the Curtis Companies, Clinton, Iowa: 1932 should be a better year for everybody than 1931." Milan V. Ayres, analst of the Na tional Association of Finance Com panies: “It is evident the general mo- rale is not nearly at so low an ebb as it was in some former depression periods.” Predicts Slow Recovery. Harold C. Smith, president of the Tllinois Tool Works: “I do not look for any material improvement in business during the early months of 1932, but | think operations will be more satisfac- tory than the current year.” | F. A. Seiberling, president Seiberling | Rubber Co.: “I have recently completed a tour of the country and have found | more signs of business improvement than at any other time in the last two years. Sentiment in the West is good and in the East is improving.” | D. C. AIRMEN JOIN SEARCH FOR FLYER | LOST IN MOUNTAINS| (Continued From First Page) 29.—Better | the area adjoining United States High- way No. 50, in the vicinity of Keyser. W. Va., to check .a telephone report received last night that a motorist had seen the wreckage of a plane resem- | bling Bobbitt's near the roadway. Besides Capt. Eaker and Lieut. Mer- rick, other pilots who left Bolling Field are Lieuts. Charles Pugh and W. A R. Robertson, flying observation planes; Lieuts. William D. Harrison and Ellis D. Shanonn of Langley Field, also flying | observation planes; Lieut. Cornelius W. | Cousland, flying a tri-motored trans- port, carrying six observers, and Lieut David W. Goodrich, in a single-motored | transport. Joining with the force of Capt. White- head at Hot Springs, the Bolling Field planes will remain there until the miss- ing pilot has been found, operating in| co-operation with the pursuit ships from | Selfridge Field Lieut. Bobbitt was last seen alive at | Unlontown, where he stopped for fuel. He had been saving his cross-country | training time so that he could make | the flight to Hot Springs for Christ- nias as & part of his regular duty. Leav- ing Selfridge Field on the afternoon of | December 24, he made a brief stop at Uniontown and then took off for the Virginia resort, disappearing somewhere south of the Pennsylvania line. WOODSMEN START HUNT. By the Assoclated Press. ELKINS, W. Va., December 20.—Ex- | perienced woodsmen set out today for | the spruce knob a‘ea on Cheat Moun- | tain to search for Lieut. E. H. Bobbitt, jr. missing Army fiyer. Hope that| Bobbitt would be found alive waned as | the search entered the fourth day Spruce knob has not been explored. State police said the fiyer was traced to that vicinity and that h Wwas not seen beyond. A pary of about 50 men, members of the Randolph County Rod and Gun Club and the Elkins Post of the Ameri- can Legion and State and county offi- cers, left for Valley Head, where they were to be joined by loggers who know the Cheat Mountain fastness well | Meanwhile aviators her: and at Wes- | ton were awalting better weather for| renewal of an aerial search. Fog and| low celling kept planes on the ground | yesterday. _ Lieut. Bobbitt was reported in the vicinity of Wilkins Christmas day, 8 few hours after he left Selfridge Field, Mich., for his parents’ home in Hat Springs, Va. He has been unaccounted for since then. Divorces Wife in Reno. RENO, Nevada, December 29 (®).— Burr D. Vail was granted a default divorce decree here yesterday from Edith B. Vail. The suit was filed on August 8, 1921, charging cruelty. The couple married #a Melrose, Mass., on July 17, 1908, and have two children.| Mrs. Vail resides in Yonkers, N. Y. 11 leaders in \armus‘ | dum, Mount Airy, celebrated their fif-| Infant and Mother { Take 275-Mile Ride Joe Crosson Flies With Wife and Heir to | Anchorage, Alaska. | By the Associated Bress. NEW YORK, December 20.—Perhaps the coldest aerial jaunt ever taken by an infant was described today in a| | message from Alaska to the American | Airways. Joe Crosson, chief pilot for Alaskan ways, subsidiary of American, bun- | dled his wife and a 4-month-old child | |into an open cockpit plane yesterday and flew in 20 below weather from Fairbanks across the Alaskan range to | Anchorage, near Cook Inlet. It was a | Jjourney of about 275 miles. Crosson, pal of the late Carl Benja- min Eielson, aerial trail breaker in| Alaska, is en route to New York to re- port on operations. His child was born in Alaska. | The message describing the flight came from Warren Ozkes, vice president of American Airways, who is investigat- ing the possibility of further develop- | ment of airways in Alaska. WORKERS BATTLE 0 REPAIR LEVEES Break Flooding Town Halted. Hope for Dykes Is Small if Water Keeps Rising. FINLAND 15 VOTING Wets Confident of Victory as Bad Weather Hampers Rural Poll. By the Associated Press. HELSINGFORS, Finland, December 20—Skis and skates and sledges, rein- deer and automobiles, slithered and squeaked over Finland's snows today as the voting portion of the country's 3,500,000 people moved out to have its say on the 13-year-old prohibition law. Old Boreas blew a roaring blizzard down from the north yesterday as a fanfare to open the voting, but prob- ably kept thousands of country people at home because of impassable roads. The polling places opened at 9 a.m., but the blizzard made voting a real sacrifice of personal comfort. Snow plows cleared a way for trolley cars, automobiles and pedestrians and hard-fisted laborers wielding shovels kept the sidewalks open at the voting booths. With such bad weather neither side was surprised at the small turn- out, but both predicted a heavier vote when the cffices and stores closed. During a brief but intense campaign an unusually strong interest has been aroused on both sides of the question. and observers here looked for a heavy poll during the two days—today and to- morrow—unless the weather is ex- tremely severe. Reminded of Santa Claus. There was a touch of Santa Claus to the scene in the far northern sections, where “pulkas” filled with bundled | Finns and Lapps and drawn by rein- deer creaked through the darkness of the long Arctic Winter night to reach the voting urns in the villages. In the farm country of the near northern and central regions the voters got out their skis. Skates and sleighs twinkled over the frozen streams and By the Associated Press. GLENDORA, Miss., December 20— | The defense of Glendora against flood | waters of the Tallahatchie River today | had developed into a struggle between | levee workers and “sand boils,” those treacherous bubblings of earth snd water that precede dyke collapses. | The “sand boils” were seen n alarm- | ing numbers along an 1l-mile stretch | of the embankments, but they were be- ing plugged up as fast as they appeared by hindreds of citizens and convicts | from the State Prison farm. Convicts Work All Night. A 20-foot break in the levee here yes- | terday had been mended and the town was being drained of water that inun- dated the business section to & depth of 6 feet. Fifty convicts worked all night on & | weak spot in the levee at Matthew | Bayou, & mile north of Glendora, while | other prisoners and farm hands labored to hold the dyke along the entire front. The Tallahatchie River here rose three-quarters of an inch during the night and was lapping at the top of the embankments today. Levees Losing Firmness. The entire levee system today was losing its firmness under the prolonged | strain and the only hope of Glendora | lay in an early recession of the water. | The town is crowded with refugees. | They and residents of Glendora are settled on the higher section of the town, protected by the Yazoo & Missis- sippi Valley Rallroad tracks Upriver Conditions Better. Conditions are improving up the river in Quitman, Panola_and Upper Talla- hatchie Counties, where hundreds had been driven from their homes. Over in Northeast Loulsiana, the Ouachita River is rising and residents | are fleelng near Monroe. The rivet stood at 40.8 feet at Mon roe today, nearly a foot above flood | stage. The town is on high ground and has no fear of inundation. STORM TO RENEW ADVANCE. Death Toll Reaches Four As California Roads Are Cleared. By the Assoctated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, December 29.— With further rains and snows forecast for today, California literally “dug out,” so far as roads and railway lines were | concerned, from the havoc caused by storms of the last few days. Scuthern Pacific train movements | over the Sierra Nevada, hampered by | snowslides in two different places, were reported under way. Four deaths, three in traffic, were attributed to the storms. Some highways were clogged by land- slides as a result of the week end’s heavy downpour. Gardner Hale, noted New York painter, was killed when his automobile plunged from a mountain road near Santa Maria. Mrs. Grace Wright, 60, of Los Angeles, drowned in a creek near Redlands after falling from a bus that stalled in the flood waters. Mr. and Mrs. John P. Ylaya were killed by the overturning of their motor car in San Pedro, Calif. In Long Beach more than 500 fami- liles were driven from their homes by rising waters. Water stood 3 to 4 feet deep in some houses. Mark Golden Wedding. MOUNT AIRY, Md., December 29| (Special) —Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Pur- tieth wedding anniversary Sunday. In recognition of the event the couple were | pajamas to corduroy some of the country’s 35,000 lakes. In cities like the capital, where things were “wide open” last night and one would never guess a prohibition law pre- vailed, automobiles carried the voters to the schools and other public buildings where the voting booths were set up. The blizzard and the falling barometer yesterday chilled the fervor at prohibi- tion headquarters. The prohibitionists count on the farmers and workers to keep the country legally dry. Weather Encourages Wets. At the same time, in the warm head- quarters of the “antis” hopes rose with the tempo of the storm outside. “The chief stronghold of the drys is Middle and Northern Finland,” the of- ficial in charge of the anti-prohibition headquarters explained. ‘“Here in the South and along the coast we know what evils and corruption the law has brought forth, so we are confident of victory.” Prohibition headquarters officials maintained the 13 dry years have been a success, and have improved the eco- nomic condition of the country, increas- ing savings accounts and raising living standards. They admitted frankly that there has been much corruption, but insisted the remedy is more rigid en- forcement instead of modification or repeal. Advisory to Legislature. The issue is not a flat alternative. ‘The voters will decide whether the law is to be continued, repealed or modified to permit medium-strength wines and beers. The referendum is not self-effective. The decision will be merely advisory to the Legislature, but the Legislature is expected to follow its dictates, if the verdict is decisive. If it fails to be de- cisiyely in favor of maintaining the law a modified reform is expected. If the anti-prohibitionists should win by only a small lead it is believed enough votes can be mustered in Parlia- ment to prevent repeal of the present law. Such an eventuality, commentators | said, would probably lead to the dissolu- tion of Parliament, with new elections. CORDUROY PANTS WORN BY HOLLYWOOD GIRLS Pajamas Deserted by Some for Real Masculine Style, as Fore- seen Year Ago. By the Associated Press HOLLYWOOD, December 29.—From trousers is the latest step taken by the Hollywood film girl. Several actresses appeared on the streets of the film capital yesterday in the attire reretofore considered the ex- clusive apparel of the collegiate youth. “They cost little and wear well,” said Rosalyn Frank, one of the extra girls sponsoring the new style. Fashion experts last year sald that if women were successful in having pa- jamas generally accepted as wear for women it wouldn't be long before they would be adopting the masculine trousers. BAND CONCERT. By the United States Soldiers’ Home Band this evening at Stanley Hall at 5:20 o'clock. John 8. M. Zimmermann, bandmaster; Anton Pointner, assistant. March, “Echoes of Seville” . Overture Hungarian, “Halka" . Moniuszke Entr'acte— “Creole Serenade” “The Calvacade” . % E(":;DL( from musical comedy, et Fox trot, “The Cute Little Things You Do tendered a purse of gold by Rev. O. B.| Waltz, “Enchanted Nights” . Langrall, pastor of the Calvary M. E. Church, prior to the Sunday evening service, Finale, "Cindirem'l ‘Wedding Day,” Cobey “The Star Spangled Banner,” PRESIDENT PLANS TOGROUPBUREALS ‘Consolidation Proposed at | Press Conference in Inter- est of Economy. _Pirst Page) different Government activities to be better developed and better directed. “The subject is an old one, and now | that economy absolutely must be the | @rst order in Government, .t is an ap- | propriate time for Congress to take up the question and bring it to conclusion. | Such action would comprise a major accomplishment of the present session of Congress. Explaining in further detail the pro- posed consolidation of the construction activities of the Government, the Presi- dent said that this would include the taking away from the Treasury Depart- ment of the supervising architect’s of- fice, from the Commerce Department the light house construction and repair work, from the Agriculture Department of the public roads activities, from the War Department of the rivers and har- bors’ works and certain other military construction work, from the Interior Department of the reclamation and dam-building work. Economy in Plan, Mr. Hoover made it plain that these activities, which, he pointed out, are scattered all over the United States throughout the various Government de- partments in Washington, and which are virtually competing against each other in the purchase of building sup- plies, could be more economically and more efficlently operated under one ad- ministrator. He said there are nearly a dozen dif~ ferent agencies of the Government en- gaged in construction work In transferring the merchant marine and merchant fleet to the Department of Commerce, the President would strip the Shipping Board of everything re- sembling administrative and executive lunlc}tllons and leave that board merely in the capacity of a semi- e body.y Jjudicial and In revealing this much of the Presi- dent’s plan for a general reorganization, he did not go into any detail regarding the consolidation of the conservation, public health, educational and other ac- tivities included in his general scheme. Meanwhile, another step toward elim- inating duplication of work was sug- gested at the Capitol by Vice President Curtls. He said that if the President were authorized to consolidate depart- ments and Congress could stop the printing of useless and unnecessary documents, he belleved several millions annually would be saved. FISH MAY LOSE HOMES THROUGH GOVERNMENT THRIFT (Continued From First Page.) emphasize, with a windward eye to the heavy economical skies. Lavish expenditures were reported tae booed by Mr. Lamont, who ordered the cost of equipment kept down to a min! mum. While the Wickersham Com- mission paid .pproximately $10,000 for a conference table and chairs, which members used for only two years, the | Secretary’s conference table will cost only $996, including 20 chairs. $5,000 for Rooms. The three walnut paneled and vaulted ceiling rooms of the Secretary’s suite will be equipped at a cost of approxe imately $5,000, according to officials. This includes one rug of two-toned blue chenille, costing $2,866.24. Offices of the Assistant Secretaries Klein and Young and other officials will be fur- nished in a pattern similar to that of the Secretary. ‘With the money ¥ft over as a result of the economies, officials explained, & big press, costing $50,000, will be pur~ chased by the Geodetic Survey. The cost of moving end remounting the two other presses of this bureau will also be taken out of the fund. What is left will go toward purchas- ing wastepaper baskets at $1 cach for other employes as well as new furniture for the offices of the chief of the bureaus. Aquarium Goes Fishless. The new aquarium will be fishless for some time, officials explained today, but the empty tank room will be thrcwn open to the public so that a view may be obtained of the last word in fishery upkeep, such as pictures of fish on the walls under a vaulted plaster ceiling supported by columns of Terrazzo finished with marble base and caps. | The room will be air conditianed and | the tanks will be equipped with warm |and ccld water, Plans for hauling practically every specimen of fish found in streams from Maine to California have been aban- doned for the time being and an order also has been issued to Alaska fisher- men to keep their prized blackfish until further notice. This fish was to have traveled 5,500 miles from Nome to ‘Washington in a private tank, although he is reported to be so hearty that he could survive the trip in an ice cake. The tamous “Spencer” and the aquarium’s oldest inhabitant, a 50-year- old turtle, were splashing around today in the tanks they have occupled since babyhood, unconcerned over the fact that they are not to dwell in marble halls. Approximately 10,000 people visit the aquarfum annually, bureau officials said today. FLEEING CONVICT KILLED Eight Others at San Quentin Shot as Guards Fire at Fugitive. SAN QUENTIN PRISON, Calif, De- cember 29 (#).—An attempt of Hughes Adams, 28-year-old colored convict, to escape from the prison resulted in his death and injuries to eight other per- sons_yesterd: Adams was shot and fatally wounded by guards as he ran down an alleyway between two bulldings. Bullets struck seven other convicts, inflicting minor injuries, and L. E. Jones, a guard, was hit in one foot James B. Holohan, warden, said Ad- ams had been sullen about 10 days. Guards took a knife from him a short time ago. GEORGIA TREASURER D:ES Col. William J. Speer Expires at Age of 84 Years. ATLANTA, Ga., Detember 20 (A).— Col. Willlam' J. Speer, treasurer of the State of Georgia for a quarter of a century, died at his home here today after a lengthy iliness. The veteran official was 84 y-ars old. He was one of the few Confederate veb- erans remaining in political office in Georgia. [ He was able to attend to his dutles at the State capitol until about two weeks ago, but since that time had been confined to his bed. He lapsed into uneonsclousness Sunday. JE—— Plans Return to Screen. SAN FRANCISCO, December 29 (&) Juanita Hansen, actress, will attempt to return to the screen, she announced yesterday upon her arrival from New York, where she recently obtained a $118,000 judgment against a New York Hotel for injuries suffered from steam in a shower bath. She sald she would go to Hollywood after a brief visig