Evening Star Newspaper, February 21, 1932, Page 17

INKHAM DENIES IMMONTY PLEA Clashes With Blanton as House Continues Hearing in Cannon Case. By the Associated Press. Representative Tinkham, Republican, Massachusetts, yesterday denied he had pleaded congressional immunity in re- sponding to a libel suit filed by Bishop James Cannon, jr., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, south. For a third successive day the House heard a heated discussion of the legal proceedings arising from Tinkham's public statement that the clergyman was a “shameless violator of the Fed- eral corrupt practices” act and Bishop Cannon’s ensuing $500,000 libel suit. Tinkham on Thursday challenged the churchman to a court test of the case, and Friday Representative Blanton, Democrat, Texas, contended Tinaham had pleaded congressional immunity in answer to the libel charges. Tinkham and Blanton were the principals in yesterday's spirited discussion. Michener Interrupts. For 15 minutes they stood a few feet apart—questioning and cross-question- ing—repeatedly drawing applause from the House. Once there was an inter- ruption from Representative Michener, Republican, Michigan After Blanton had advanced down the aisle to a spot right underneath the Speaker, Michener asked: “Is it permissible for the witness to leave the stand and the cross-examin- ing attorney to approach within strik- ing distance of the witness>” Tinkham began by denying hs had raised the question of congressionw im- munity in answering the bishop's +0it. He read his answer and Maid it “pleaded, first, truth, and second. privi- lege, but did not say congressiongl priv- ilege or congressional immunity. He continued. “The proper answers, I may say, in all libel actions are truth and privilege * + * When this plea was drawn—and it was drawn by me—it was meant sim- ply to raise generally privileges that can be raised in an act.on of libel. Not in Plea, He Says. “I had stated that it was a privileged statement after I had admitted in the statement that I had divested myself of my congressional immunity; and I want it directly understood that I did not raise the question of congressional privilege or the question of congressional immun- ity, but merely the general principle of privilege which is accorded to any one in a similar answer to any statement in relation to libel. i “Then I turned the matter over to an attorney who was more familiar with the pleadings in this district than I was. I understand from the honor- able Representative from Texas that my attorney did raise some question in re- lation to congressional privilege. It was the first time I knew he had. and as far as I am concerned, I made no suggestion of that character to him.” Blanton asked if Tinkham's lawyers had not contended he could not waive his_immunity. “They may have argued that, but they did not put it into any plea,” Tinkham replied. B SHORT SELLING VOTE DUE SOON IN HOUSE Sabath of Illinois Indicates Early Action on Proposed Regula- tion Plan. By the Associated Press The House heard yesterday that it will have a chance shortly to vote on measures to_regulate short selling on both commodity and stock exchanges. Representative Sabath, Democrat, Tlinois, author of such a_ bill, cited recent action by the New York Stock Exchange restricting short sales ac- tivities. He recalled that Richard ‘Whitney, president of the exchange, was a guest of the White House shortly before the new orders went into effect. ‘Then he said: “If I had been President of the United States I would have told Mr. Whitney to go back to New York and absolutely stop all short selling.” Sabath said the bill now before the Judiciary Committee to regulate short sales would be reported soou. Representative Glover, Democrat, Arkansas, made a similar prediction about the measure being considered by the Agriculture Committee, of which he is a member, which would give the Secretary of Agricure authority to sus- pend short-selling privileges. That bill, he asserted, “would give the Government the power to step in and stop it, putting an end to this business of & few men putting the country in & hole for their own personal profit.” MORE LUMBE'R IS URGED ON FEDERAL STRUCTURES Representatives of Big Associa- tions Confer With Heath at Treasury Department. ‘The use of lumber more extensively n Government buildings was urged upon_Assistant Secretary of the Treas- ury Heath at a conference yesterday with representatives of most of the big lumber assocfations in tHe country at the Treasury Department. Representative William I. Nolan of Minnesota appeared as spokesman for the congressional group and introduced speakers for the lumber interests. An elaborate brief was presented by F. H. Peschau, president of the “Twin City Hoo-Hoo Club.” The lumber interest asked that in specifying for trim, window _casing. deors and other parts of a building here lumber could be used, the Treas- wry Department permit bidding on <o~d as well as metal. Maj. Heath took the matter under advisement. GRANGE SESSION SET silem, N. C., was selected thr National Grange for its conventit, November 9 to 17. This announc‘ment was made upon receipt of the inal vote from the Grange Executive Committee. Two cther North Carclina cities, Charlotte and Raleigh, sought the convention. L J. Taber, rational master, said the ccmpetition was the keenest in its Listory. CITY NEWS IN BRIEF. TODAY. Rehearsal, Virginia Willard Hotel, 2 p- Meeting, _National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations, Willard Hotel, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dance, Junior Hadassah, Willard Hotel, 9 pm. Lecture, Amella Earhart Putnam, Woman's National Demccratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire avenue, 4 p.m. FUTURE. Luncheon, Izaak Walton League, Raleigh Hotel, tomorrow, 12:30 p.m. Luncheon, Tariff Commission, Ral- eigh Hotel, tomorrcw, 12:30 p.m. Meeting, Sons of the American Revo- ;utlon. Mayflower Hotel, 12 noon to om. State Society, i From THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, 1. ¢, the Front Row Reviews and News of Washington's Theaters. Constance Bennett in “Lady With a Past.” ONSTANCE BENNETT does an about-face in “Lady With a Past,” currently displayed at R-K-O Keith's Theater. Instead of being tortured by her powers of beauty and dragged through a series of melodramatic saquences ending up in the poor house, she may be seen as & beauteous blue- blood _whose New York her- itage has left her unfamiliar with rumble- seat manners and the graces of talk over & cocktail tray. And who final- ly, after start- { ing out as an { unwanted hot- { house flower, buds into a roaring beauty for whom a viscount _com- mits suicide and for whom another family is almost split wide open. There are genuinely amusing mo- ments in this unexpected comedy, and although its moral is a silly one and its final scenes are too | foolish to be convincing, its middle portion (in Paris) is a tribute to a lady who, it has been sald, cannot act without a pound of orchids and | large drops of glycerin lotion. Miss | Bennett smiles gayly most of the time, and, helped immeasurably by the well-timed antics of Ben Lyon, succeeds in making her audience believe that she is really enjoying what has been set before her. Assuming the role of a luckless debutante who, as she says, “talks so much to herself that she’s worn out by the time she gets to any one else,”” Connie is a dismal failure at social functions. In despair, she rushes (as these debutantes will rush) off on a jaunt to Europe, hires herself a gigolo (Ben Lyon) and immediately sets fire to that capital the way no New York blos- som has before her. She finally is made aware of her charms, and comes repently home when a vis- | count, having been refused _her | charms, applies a pistol to his head in the tragic fashion of lost lovers. ‘While things after that become too incredible for consumption, much of the fun up until then has been pretty amusing—and Miss Bennett, of course, is photographed at all times in dresses which will make all F street shoppes go ga-ga with excitement. Mr. Lyon is a genial and amus- ing gigolo, and deserves more than he gets; David Manners is a not- too sedate Park avenue lover, who doesn't deserve his good fortune; and others who brighten the cast are Blanche Frederici as Nora, Albert Conti as Rene, and a lovely f‘rench lady who seems to be name- ess. The stage show, partly spoiled by an under-rehearsed orchestra at the first showing. has a splendid juggling act in Bobby May: Gus Van, who sings some of his old songs and some new ones; Daro and Music and Constance Bennett Costa, who dance a la adaglo; and June Carr, whose little li;:m ;g:f; to please the audience 3 i E. de 8. 'HER. Joe Brown Magnetic in Play While Earle Show Has Strength. (QNLY one_thing remains of the old Joe E. Brown. He still per- mits himself to be a character in a film play with a capacity for simple- minded foolishness. In all other re- spects he has gone the better way of all good comedians. Rarely does he use the old, wide-mouthed laugh- ter, which served to introduce him to popularity, and instead of appear- ing as the somewhat juvenile cut- up, he has found that there comedy in being a worth-while hero. His magnetism is made stronger by the more mature things—s magnet- ism which still holds sway over the school population, and is even stronger with the adult section. He appears on the Earle ‘Theater screen. Reminding the observer of the siwash brand of foot ball, he is the base ball star who cannot resist the lure of the fire alarm, and submits to the odd trait under conditions that are most embarrassing to his fellow players, while especially adapted to the entertainment of an audience which is following the re- sult. He is also interested in an in- vention in the fire-extinguisher class, and in his enthusiasm to meet a financler, sits up all night before the world series game in which he is to pitch victorious ball. There authors were required to produce the film concoction in which he stars, and they have accounted for every moment of Mr. Brown's par- ticipation in the drama of fires and sports. Two women who are associated with Mr. Brown in the production, “Fireman, Save My Child,” are Evalyn Knapp and Lillian Bond, and these are fully equipped to represent, respectively, the sweetheart and the adventuress. Miss Knapp, especially, shows a recognizable character. Guy Kibbee, as the base ball manager, maintains the quality associated with his own record, while Richard Carle George Meeker, Andy Devine and Frank Shellenbach furnish some of the base ball atmosphere. The Earle also presents the Bi- centennial film, “Washington the Man and the Capital,” with the role of the first President taken by Clar- ence Whitehill of the Metropolitan Opera Company. It shows Wash- ington as first *‘in war, in peace, and in the hearts of his countrymen.” and is a review of historic places in the National Capital. With inci- dental patriotic music, it is an im- pressive feature in observance of the present patriotic celebration. ‘The regular stage show includes & serles of acts representing wide and general appeal. A novelty is seen in the appearance of Toto, famous clown. assisted by six persons who contribute to an entirely original ar- rangement of tricks. Keller sisters and Lynch, radio stars, display their capacity for harmonious co-ordina- tion; Earl Lavere and Mildred By- ram, in jokes and songs, stopped the show at the opening performance, and Nayan Pearce and Jay Velie, with Dan Burwyn, gave their “Red Rhapsody.” D.C.C. Musicians Reviews and News of Capital's Programs. unit, with infinite subtleties of tone and rhythm hidden in each move- ment. The audience would not wait until the end of the program for an encore, so Mr. Iturbi played a light yet brilliant Chopin “Waltz.” The second half of the program, with two Debussy numbers, Poulenc’s “Trois Mouvement Perpetuels,” Ra- vel's “Alborada del Gracioso,” Liszt's “Gnomenreigen” and “La Campa- nelle” gave more opportunity for vir- tuosity. Mr. Iturbi never displayed his technique for its own sake. No audience, however, could resist wal ers that moved so fast they were literally a blur. Seldom has the “Campanelle” been heard with such lightness and speed and sensitiveness to nuance. A modest figure on the platform, Mr. Tturbi had no mannerisms at all wkile playing, his only peculiarity being a habit of playing, without sound, bits of each piece and strok- ing the keys lovingly before be be- gan. Not two encores, or three, did the pianist give the any insatiable audi- ence, but seven. Of the Spanish ones the Grandos “Spanish Dance,” with its langorous theme and flutter- ing rhythmic undercurrent, and the brilliant deFalla “Ritual Fire Dance"” were the finest. In the latter enor- mous energy and tones so intense that each one vibrated like a single trill. ‘The Mozart “Allegro Alle ‘Turca” from the “A Major Sonata” was perhaps the most delightful of them all. D.C. Tturbi Thrills In Piano Recital. OSE ITURBI, famous Spanish pianist, ga a concert in Constitution Hall last night that rose to heights of poetic feeling rarely reached here or elsewhere. He opened simply with two “Son- atinas,” by D. Scarlatti. They held the repose that is not facile, the purity of tone that comes only from the finest control of fingers. And here at the be- ginning, Mr. Tturbi exhibit- ed that ability to play more softly than ony other pianist. Sometimes one wondered if it were only the ghost of a tone. These liquid Jose Tturbl. pianissimos came into every plece, but were more moving in the “Largo” of Chopin's “B Minor Sonata” than at any other time. The music flowed as one imagines the composer would have wished it to sound, an_inevitable progress from start to finish, un- spoiled by the personality of an un- sympathetic interpreter. ‘The “Son- ata” was welded into a closely knit 1] MAN “LOOKING FOR FIGHT FINDS ONE, GOES TO JAIL Traffic Policeman Takes a Hand and Prisoner Is Treated at Hospital. Chester Smith, 43, of the 3300 block of N street, visited friends in Rosslyn last night, and upon leaving is said to | have told them, “I'm going to Wash- ington and I'm going to lick the first cop I see.” Later in the evening, Smith was taken to Georgetown Hospital for treatment and then lodged in a cell at the seventh precinct. He had met | Policeman L. D. Phelps of the Traffic | Bureau. Phelps said he was_directing traffic at Thirty-fifth and M streets when Smith came up and pointing to two colored men, announced his intention of “socking” one of them. When he did that, Phelps took a hand, and when his prisoner grew obstreperous, used the butt of his gun. Smith was charged with assault and disorderly conduct. _ HARRIS IS IMPROVING Senator to Be Operated on When Strength Is Gained. Definite improvement in the condition | {of Senator Harris, Georgia, who is in Georgetown Hospital, was reported yes- terday. He was pronounced virtually recov- ered from intestinal influenza, although still suffering from kidney condition which will necessitate an operation. His temperature yesterday was down al- most to nurmnlt and he was able to take noyrishment. The operation is to be performed as soon as he has recovered his strength sufficiently, probably in the next few days. Post Office Contract Let. Contract for construction of the new court house and post office at Cumber- land, Md, was let yesterday by the Treasury Department to John Grant & Son of Cleveland, Ohio. This firm was ¢he lowest bidder out of 38 who figured on the job. His offer was $283,890, and he is given 400 cal- endar days from the date.of notice to proceed, to complete the work. BUDGET STUDY NEARS END IN GOTHAM PROBE | Seabury and Aids Nearly Finished With Anelysis to Reduce Cost for Taxpayers. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, February 20.—Samuel Seabury and his assistants have virtu- ally completed an analysis of the $631,- 366,297 city budget for presentation at future hearings of the Hofstadter Leg- islative Committee. Seabury, the com- mittee's chief counsel, hopes to show how substantial savings can be effected to the benefit of tax and rent payers of the city, it was disclosed today. He said he regarded the budget evi- dence he will present as one of the most important constructive features resulting from the investigation. It was indicated that he would make sug- gestions for elimination of waste through the amalgamation of overlapping de- partments and through the complete elimination of some departments and ?‘r‘l}:e;s which have outgrown their use- INFLUENZA MOVES EAST Eastward-sweeping flare-ups in in- fluenza prevalence are concerning Surg. Gen. Cumming of the Public Health Service. Reiterating the Health Service warn- ing that “people with cold and feve ishness ought to go to bed and get & doctor,” Cumming said: “Influenza is unusually prevalent in the Rocky Mountain, Northwest and Middle Western States. A few of the Eastern Central and Southern States are beginning to show incroases, and we are apprehensive of its spread to con- gested areas in the large cities.” g NEW BRIDGE GETS LIGHTS Temporary lights have been erected on the Arlington Memorial Bridge and will be given a thorough tryout this week. The Arlington Memorial Bridge Com- mission obtained the lights from the District government and they will be used for the present. Designs for the permanent lights are being worked out by the architects of the bridge, McKim, Mead & White of New York, in con- Commige junction with the Fine Arts sion, FEBLRUARY 21, COLGATE ALUMNI BANQUET TUESDAY President Cutten of Univer- sity and Dean Thurber to Be Honor Guests. Many prominent Washingtonians will be guests of the Colgate University Alumni Association at the local chap- ter's annual dinner Tuesday night at the Racquet Club. George B. Cutten, Ph. D., DD, LLD., president of the university, and Dr. Clarence H. Thurber, dean of the fac- ulty, and several other membgrs of the faculty will be guests of honor. Cutten and Thurber will speak on the latest developments of the new “College plan” of undergraduate study at the uni- versity. Among the special guests invited are Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, Dr. Albert P. Brigham, author, honorary consultant in geography at the Library of Congress and professor emeritus of geology at Colgate; Dr. Ray Lyman Wil- bur, president of Stanford University and Secretary of the Interior; Alanson B. Houghton, former Ambassador % Germany and Great Britain; Solicitor General Thomas D. Thacher, former Senator James W. Wadsworth, jr.; Frederic A. Delano, Dr. John C. Mer- riam, president of the Carnegie Institute of Washington; Canon Anson Phelps Stokes of the Washington Cathedral, Senator Prederick C. Walcott and Rep- resentative Robert Law Bacon. Presidents of the local alumni asso- clations of Cornell University, Hamilton | College, Dartmouth College and Brown University also will be present. More than 100 Colgate alumni attending the annual sessions of the division of super- intendence of the National Education Assoclation here will attend. James Maxwell Fassett, special assist- ant to the Attorney General and presi- dent of the local alumni, will be toast- master. Dr. Eugene G. Bewkes, dean of students. and Bernard P. Taylor, also will speal Will Inspect High School. FALLS CHURCH, Va, February 20 (Special) —R. V. Long of Richmond, State architect of schcol buildings, is to be in Fairfax next week, and in company with Supt. Woodson will in- spect the Jefferson High School, in order to draw up plans for a water and sewer system. FIRE AT TAXI DRIVER Three Colored Boys Fail to Stop Intended Victim. ‘Three colored boys, between 14 and 15 years old, fired at Lendel H. Hols- claw, a taxicab driver, last night when | he refused to submit to being held up. | He escaped injury, however. Holsclaw, who lives at 1209 Twelfth | | boys hailed him at Fifteenth and D strects northeast and asked to be driven | to Benning road and Minnesota avenue northeast. There they left the cab, and one of them covered him with a re- volver and ordered him to hand over his money. As he drove off, he said, he heard the report of the gun and a bullet whizzed past his taxi. GET LIFE IN SLAYING LA GRANDE, Oreg., February 20 (#). —John Owen, 29, and Keith Cross- white, 19, both of Springfleld, Mo., were sentenced today to life imprisonment for the killing of a State policeman. ‘They shot and wounded Amos Helms, | State “police officer, last October 19, | when he approached their automobile | to question them regarding an Idaho | robbery. Helms died December 30 'from the wounds 1932—PART ONE. ARMY T0 BUILD FAST NEW AIRSHIP Subcloud Observation Will Be Feature of Craft Plan- ned at Dayton. Plans for what is expected to prove the most effective non-rigid military airship yet produced in this country have been drawn by the lighter-than- air unit of the Army Air Corps at Wil- bur Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. De- signs and specifications will be asked in three units—for the car, envelope and control surfaces. ‘The ship is to be one of the fastest of its type ever produced, with an esti- mated top of 65 miles per hour and a cmulngespeed of 52 miles per hour. It will 245 feet long and will carry a crew of seven men and a useful load, including* crew, of 9,770 pounds. Model Being Built. ‘The car is to be the first develop- ment, according to reports received here, and & “mock-up,” or full sized model, now is in course of construc- tion. Special attention is being given to the placing of personnel with rela- tion to the instrument board and con- trols, visibility from the pilot’s com- partment, streamlining and landing e ar is beln 4 to e car g Arrange cal a subcloud observation car, which mrg street, told eleventh precinct police the | be lowered far below the airship for | observation purposes while the ship re- mains concealed in the clouds. be connected by telephone with the airship above. The airship is to have a volume of 359,000 cubic feet. The diameter will be nearly 54 feet and the gross lift 22,260 pounds at complete inflation. The normal useful load will be 8350 pounds and with this load the ship may operate to an altitude of 2,300 feet. Big Load Arranged. ‘The load will include 770 fuel, 60 gallons of ofl, 60 gallons of water ballast, 960 pounds of armament, and miscellaneous equipment totaling 421 pounds and including two-way radio and a blower unit. The endurance with normal fuel load will be 12!, hours at high speed and 25 hours at cruising speed. Per- formance at miximum fuel load is esti- mated at 182 hours at 65 miles per The | little car will carry one man and will | gallons of | | Architect WASHINGTON GIRL GRAD- UATES FROM CORNELL. OLIVE M. ESPENSCHIED. Miss Olive M. Espenschied, daughter of Mrs. Flora K. Espenschied of 3373 Stuyvesant place, Chevy Chase, was| graduated last week from the College | of Architecture of Cornell University. | Miss Espenschied was a member of the | Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority at Cornell. | The young architect, who obtained her early education in Washington schools, submitted a proposed design for a club house for the Chevy Chase Woman's Club as her thesis prior to graduation. Miss Espenchied’s mother is herself a graduate of Cornell University, with the class of 1904, and is now president of the Women'’s Club of the Cornell Club of Washington. ¥ B37 PARLEY ON ARMS IS MARKING TIME Numerous Speeches Replace Deliberations Owing to French Crisis. By the Associated Press. GENEVA, Switzerland, February 20.— In the three weeks since it began, the International Disarmament Conference has heard 236,000 words of speeches and has felt the disagreeable reaction to_outside affairs. The fall of the French government dg)flved that country's delegation of official standing and prevented the con- ference from taking any executive action. ‘The situation is similar to that which disturbed the London Naval Confer- ence at the time of the downfall of the Tardieu government. The Execu- tive Committees of the present confer- ence now must mark time until the French political crisis is settled. Meantime the general sessions have continued with speeches by delegates from the smaller countries. Monday and Tuesday will be holidays and Wednesday will bring three more speeches. The situation in the Far East has been another disturbing factor. The special session of the League of Na- tions Assembly, called for March 3 to discuss that issue, will distract atten- tion from the disarmament conference, but if the Prench crisis is settled by that time the work of the conference can go on. The high point this week was the presentation of Germany's proposal that all nations disarm to the point forced upon Germany by the Versailles Treaty. This met with sharply unfavorable reaction from France and her allies, but was supported in some points by viktxel United States, Great Britain and aly. Now the conference has before it two extreme plans—the French project for an international police force and very little disarmament, and the Ger- man plan rejecting the international force and providing for very consider- hour and 40 hours at 52 miles per hour. The maximum range will be 2,080 miles. Studies are being made of plans for changing the conventional construction of the bow portion of the zirship en- velope to take care of th~ strains of operating an airship of this type at high speed No one can talk flavor into COFFEE If words could put flavor into coffee, the smartest juggler with a dictionary would produce the best coffee able disarmament. Its task is to find a middle ground. ‘The conditions of life in most of China today are essentially the same as those that were prevalent in Weste ern Europe in the Middle Ages. But so long as flavor has to be grown and roasted in coffee, the A & P Coffee Trio will continue to outsell any other three coffees in the world. There is no coffee freshness equal to the virgin fresh- ness of oven-fresh coffee, ground before your eyes. Here are three blends of fresh coffee, different in Savor to cover the entire range of coffee tastes, BOKAR VIGOROUS AN COFFEE D WINEY but each of unsurpassed quality. We believe you will find one of them the best coffee you ever tasted. And remember, 24e coffee you like best is the best for you, no matter what it costs. The A & P Coffec Trio, far outselling any other thres coffees, have become the National Standards of Quality, ElGHT O'CLOCK mito ano mettow s | 7a RED CIRCLE RICH AND FULL-BODIED Ib. 25¢ BoKARVlGOlOUS AND WINEY Ib 29‘ PACKED IN THE BEAN, GROUND FRESH IN THE STORE. BOKAR ALSO PACKED "lflfi-cm The Coffee to suit your taste. COFFEE SERVICE E,}(CI-USIVELY IN A & P FOOD STORES