Evening Star Newspaper, February 27, 1932, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Porec: Cloudy, slightly colder tonig! row partly cloudy, slightly colder; mod- erate southwest shifting to north winds, ture—Highest, 74, at 4:15 p.m. ‘Tes yes! y; lowest, 42 Full report on page 16. Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 14 and 15 ; tomor- , at 7 a.m. today. No. 32,078, Entered as Entered as second class matter Washington, ‘. D. AUDIT-OF SCHOOL FUNDS STARTED IN ARLIGTONCOUNTY Bonding Company Promises to Pay Any Amount of Deficit Found. COUNTY IS IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE FUNDS Offer by Two Alexandria Banks Likely to Be Accepted by Officials. By a Staft CorrBspondent of The Star. ARLINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE, Februaty 27.—An audit of the Arlington County school fund was started today upon arrival at the- Ar- lington County Court House of another State accountant who augmented the stafl of four examiners who two days ago began an investigation of the ac- counts of ¥, Wade Ball, former county treasurer. The sciool fund audit is the first of a series of independent audits to be made of the accounts of all county officers at the request of Roy S. Braden, county manager. The school fund is dispersed by the school bcard through warrants issued on the treasurer’s office. B. L. Hall of the office of the State Auditor of Public Funds will handle the school fund audit. Spurs Rebellion EX-KING ALFONSO. OPEN “BEAR RAID" HEARINGS ASKED Banking Committee Hears Walcott Demand to “Find the Culprits.” By the Associated Press. Open hearings by the Senate Bank- ing Committee “to find the culprits” Aside from the independent audit of accounts of county officers, Braden re- vealed his is considering the adoption of & new bookkeeping system for county activities. A change was recommended by R. B. Jordan, who is directing the accountants examining Ball's books. The Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Balti- more, which bonded Ball for $300,000, today assured Harry A. Fellows, chair- man of the Arlington County Board, that it would make immediate payment of any deficit in the Arlington County funds if the reporfed shortage of $275,000 is established by the audit. Ball resigned suddenly yesterday at the request, he said, of the bonding company and in the interest and stabilization of the county's credit. Charles T. Jesse, prominent Arlington County political leader, was appointed|year for some action to be taken by | to fill his unexpired term, which ends in December, 1935. The promise of the bonding company was made by one of its representatives, who conferred with Fellows regarding the status of the county's finances, which has become serious as a result of the alleged shortage In Ball's ac- counts. Need Immediate Funds. “The assurance of the bonding com- pany that it will make good any short- age that may be shown the audit immediately after its completion,” Fel- lows said, “is comforting. But I am ad- vised the audit will not be finished for a month or six weeks and the county is in need of immediate funds. The Taising of these funds is an emergency and the immediate problem of the board.” Fellows announced the board would hold & special session at 7:30 o'clock to- night in the Arlington County Court House to consider offers of financial aid from two Alexandria banks. The Citizens' National Bank and the Alex- andria National Bank, according to Fellows, have volunteered to advance $100,000 to the county at an interest rate of 8 per cent. Offer Likely to Be Accepted. In all likelihood, Fellows said, the offers would be accepted. Otherwise it would be necessary to close the public schools Tuesday and curtail other county activities at the same time. Feilows said $22,000 is needed imme- distely to meet payment on school bends and coupons already overdue, $24,000 to cover outstanding warrants, $20,000 to pay school teachers and other school employes, $15,000 to pay the salaries of other county employes and the same amount for the purchase of necessary materials. If $100,000 is borrowed, Fellows point- ed out. all county activities can be continued without interruption until March 15. With an additional $15,000 or $20,000, he said, the county would not have to worry about its finances until April 1. By that time, he be- lieves, the audit will be completed and if any shortage occurred in the ac- counts of Ball the bonding company will come to the county’s Tescue, thereby making the borrowing of any additional SUm unnecessary. Upheaval Will Be Costly. e upheaval in the county's financial \rs. however. Fellows said, is to prove costly, despite the assurance that the bonding company will make up any shortage. In the first place, he ex- plained, the county will be required to pay interest on any money it borrows and in addition it must bear the costi of the audit of Ball's books by State officers. The probable cost of the audit, Fellows declared. it not known to the rd at this time. bo;s!lhnufih Jesse has accepted the ap- pointment as Ball's successor. he does| ot take ofice until some time next! officials _explained he ke the oath of office untl/ S nishes bond of $400,000, the | amount fixed by the court | Jesse Applies for Bond. ' se applied for bond late yesterday a Massachusetts bonding com- | but several days will elapse, he| s, before his application is acted upc In the meantime Willlam H Duncan, county clerk, will act as treas- urer hough he does not plan to trans any official business in the treasurer’s office Ball went out of the office where he served for 24 years as treasurer with- out offering any explanation whatever of the alleged discrepancy in his ac- counts, but promising to issue a state- ment when the audit is completed Friends predicted, however, that when Ball does make his statement it will “rock the county.” ISLAND VOLCANO ACTIVE Alaska Hears Mt. Shishaldin Is in Eruption. SEWARD. Alaska., February 27 (#). —Mount Shishaldin on Unimak Island ‘Th was in full eruption late yesterday, radio | Teports here said. Flames were shooting skyward 500 feet. Residents of the island, one of the Jargest in the Aleutian chain, were ap- rehensive and some have decided to eave. The volcano was in eruption February 13, when an amateur radio operator at who are driving down security prices on the stock exchange were proposed in & statement put before the committee today from Senator Walcott, Republi- can, Connecticut, administration spokes- man, Walcott, who stated he had a list of names of the “bear raiders” as he left the White House yesterday, was unable to attend the Banking Com- mittee meeting today. Norbeck Reads Statement. He left this statement, read by Chairman Norbeck: “Congress has waited patiently for a the New York Stock Exchange to curb excessive short sales made for specu- lative purposes, but to date no effective regulations have been adopted, although the president of the New York Stock Ltoxch::nn has been repeatedly urged sct. “If bear ralds occurred to check over- speculation in a high market, or to off- Sould e some usciul artese, bt serve some the bears walt unulfie mvlrkst is de- pressed by uncertainty and fear and then as it approaches the bottom they put on their pressure, through false rumors and depressing statements. 1t has been \.ued that Congress should not interfere with the natural flow of business on the Stock Exchange to curb either short or long sales, and Congress has been patient, but Congress and the country are tired of seeing every at- tempt to help our financial institutions correct the economic depression, every attempt on the part of the administra- tion to give courage and hope, knocked in the head by the bear raiders as soon as the security market has had a few days in the right direction and these raids must be stopped: if not by strict Stock Exchange regulations, then by congressional action, that the orderly return to better conditions may be un- impeded by artificial depression ruth- lessly indulged in by speculators and gamblers who are willing at this critical time to take advantage of the general depression and unemployment to make matters still worse, and profit by {heir iniquitous dealings. “The first duty "of Congress clearly (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) FINANCIAL CRISIS HOPE SEEN BY PHILADELPHIA By the Associated Press. PHILADELPHIA, February 27.—Two new possible sources of revenue heart- struggle with the treasury deficit. ‘They are the unsold portion of a $15,000,000 bend issue and sums which will revert to the city with refinancing of the Delaware River Bridge. The aggregate estimated yield is $12,000,000. Controller Will B. Hadley said it is proposed to restore $2,600,000 of the bond issue to public sale so the sinking {fund commission may purchase about $1.900,000 of the issue The bonds, which were being sold “over the counter” because no bids were received for them, were withdrawn from sale last week when Hadley reported that the city's borrowing capacity was “in the red” as the result of a decrease in assessed valuation of real estate and personal property. The controller said he now believes sale cf the bonds can be resumed. ened City Council leaders today in their | ~~— Che Zo WASHINGTON WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ening Star. D. C, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1932—THIRTY PAGE ALFONSO DEMANDS REVOLT T0 CRUSH SPANISH REPUBLIG Joins With Uncle, Pretender to Throne, in Call to People to Rise. |OFFERS HIS SERVICES AS LEAST OF CITIZENS | Proposes Provisional Form of Gov- ernment Until Cortes Drafts Constitution. By the Associated Press. PARIS, February 27.—Former King Aifonso XIII and his uncle, Alfonso Carlos, traditional pretender to the Spanish throne, have issued a call to Spanish people, the Havas News Agency reported from Madrid today. to join to- gether to overthrow the new republic in Spain. Former King Alfonso’s manifesto, the Havas correspondent said, declared he accepted his uncle as head of the fam- ily and that they both hold the same principle—that every one must unite “to save Spanish society from the wave of anarchy and Communism which has invaded it and to gather under the flag. | | | Associated service. The only evening paper in Washington with the Press news Yesterday's Circulation, 124,095 WO CENTS CHINESE STILL HOLD KIANGWAN AS JAPAN MAPS INTERIOR WAR Invading Forces Claim Capture \ \ l FORD LAUNCHES the sacred flag to which I devoted my life.” Recalls 1931 Sacrifice. He proposed to those who remained faithful to the monarchy to restore it as a form of provisional government which would summon & cortes to draw up a constitution. The present repub- lic, he said. is no more capable of con- tinuing in existence than was the short- lived first republic in the 1870's He made a sacrifice, he said, in April, 1931, when he left the throne and he added: “Don’t doubt that I would submit to a second ordeal and that I would not place any obstacle in the way of the acceptance of what is the will of the nation, freely and truly expressed. But let us unite to save Spain. I, who ap- peal to you, am ready to serve her as the least of her citizens." The manifesto of the King's uncle, Alfonso Carlos, was reported to be the same vein. The time has come, it said, to protest against the republic and “a constitution which may be the ideal of an atheist republic, born of violence in a time of misfortune, but cannot be the fundamental law of Spain.” Appeals to AlL The pretender, to whom former King Alfonso was reported Thursday to have resigned his immediate rights to-the throne, declared he does not advocate an absolute monarchy, but one which would collaborate with legislative cham- bers which really represent the people. He said he also advocated decentral- ization of the different regions of Spain and concluded by declaring his mission was one of peace. “I appeal to " the manifesto was reported to say, “and in the first place to my dearest nephew, Alfonso de Bourbon, upon whom all my rights de- volve at my death. to collaborate in giving Spain a truly Christian consti- tution.” = NEW GANG SLAYING PUZZLES CLEVELAND Police Unable to Say Whether Fresh Killing Is Related to Porello Feud. By the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, Ohio, February 27— The body of a well dressed man be- tween 25 and 30 years old was found carefully laid out in the grass early today near the Cleveland Airport. He had been shot through the head. In his hand was a half-burned cigar. | Police said they believed he was the | vietim of another .gang murder, but | copld not say if the slaying had any | connection with the killing of three | men here Thursday in a_ renewal of the feud between the Porelio and Lonardo clans. The man slain today apparently was not of foreign extrac- tion, police said. Four Killed in Tokio Plane. ‘TOKIO, February 27 (#).—Four per- sons were killed today and another seri- ously injured when a mail plane crashed | in a nose dive while attempting to make | a forced landing near Yawata Kyushu | because of engine trouble. The plane was wrecked. 'MINUTE “NEUTRON” DISCOVERED; RANKS WITH ELECTRON AND X-RAY Particle So Tiny It Carries | By the Associated Press BALTIMORE, February 27.—The dis- covery in Cavendish Laboratory, Cam- bridge University, London, by James Chadwick of the “neutron,” so minute it carries no electrical charge and hailed as the greatest find in the scientific world since the electron, the proton and the X-ray, was announced today by the Baltimore Sun in a dis- patch from the Manchester Guardian. The “neutron” was described as one of the ultimate particles in nature, so tiny it would take 200,000,000,000,000.- 000,000,000 to make a mass weighing an ounce, Neutrons are not waves, the have, as particles, hitherto unknown powers of penetration. In the realm of astronomy and the evolution of the universe neutrons are of fundamental importance, represent- ing the first step in the evolution of matter out of primeval electrons and protons, the paper said. The ultimate substance of the world is electricity and the simplest element False Pass said it shot flames 1,500 feet into the air. A week later, the volcano threw ashes and beiched smoke over a radius of o tron is half way between electricity and helium. It is the embryonic form of ordinary matter growing but not born. memnpn?fiwndfl- i a particle | dispatch said, but particles, but they | built of electricity is helium. The neu- | No Electrical Charge—Has Unknown Powers of Penetration. sive because they have no electric charge. The neutron consists of a pro- ton and an electron bound closely to- gether. It is speculated the neutron may be the unit of magnetism, for it | presumably is a doublet, as magnets are, with both a north and south pole, the dispatch continued. The discovery of Chadwick, assistant director of radio-activity at the lab- oratory. arose out of investiggtions by Bothe of Giessen, Millikan, Irene Curie, daughter of Mme. Curie, and her hus- band, M. Joliot and Webster, who had experimented with the properties emit- ted by beryllium when bombarded by radiations from the radioactive sub- stance known as polonium. Physicists at the Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, when told of the discovery, hailed the achievement as one of the fAirst_importance Dr. Joseph S. Ames, president of the university, said: “The discovery, if substantiated, is} worth all the importance attributed to | it. Chadwick is & physicist of high re- pate and Rutherford (Chadwick’s su- perior), would let nothing go out of his laboratory without its having been carefully checked and tested.” Dr. Ames was a physicist before as- suming the presidency of Johns Hop- dam: kins. $300,000:000 INDUSTRIAL REVIVAL PROGRAM CREDIT MEASURE “Risking Everything” to Provide Jobs in EFFEBHVE IUDAY Crisis, With Faith in Capacity of Public to Buy Later, He Says. By the Associsted Press. DETROIT, February 27.—Declaring he was prepared to “risk everything we've got” in an effort to start an in- dustrial revivial, Henry Ford announced today that he has provided himself with stocks of materials anticipating a possible production program of 1- 500,000 cars & year. He estimated his program will call for the expenditure this year of $300.- 000,000 in Detroit and Michigan alone for raw and fabricated materials, freight and shipping costs and labor. Purchases of raw materials and manu-- factured parts throughout the United States he sald would aggregate $52,- 000,000 & menth. “Before very long we expect fo be CAPONE CONVTION IPHELD BY COURT Appeals Tribunal Acts While Gangster Is Closely Guarded. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, February 27.—The con- viction of “Scarface Al” Capone on charges of evading income tax laws was | affirmed today by the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. 1 In a 5000-word opinion the high | court upheld the indictments in which | the gangster was charged with cheating the Government of some $200,000 in tax, the verdict in which he was con- | victed on 5 to 21 counts and his sen- | tence of 11 years and fine of $50,000. Only the intervention of the United States Supreme Court can prevent Capone’s removal to the Federal Peni- tentiary at Leavenworth, Kans. Ever since he was sentenced by Fed- eral Judge James H. Wilkerson, last October 24, Capone has been in the Cook County Jail, where he did not get credit on his penitentiary term. Only yesterday the United States marshal placed a special 24-hour guard at his cell because of many rumors that he was still controlling his gang and possibly planning a break if his| appeal were denied The appeal was based almost entirely | on the alleged insufficiency of the in- dictment. Capone's attorneys argued the indictments were so vague Capone could have been tried any number of times on them and that, because of their general nature, it was impossible to present a proper defense. Capone’s stay at the county jail wes practically at his own choosing. Judge Wilkerson ordered him into custody immediately after giving him the| largest sentence ever levied in an in- come tax case. Judge Wilkerson re fused to grant the gangster bail and the Circuit Court of Appeals also Te- fused bail. The higher court, however, granted Capone a writ of supersedeas allowing him to remain in the county jail pending his appeal. It was made clear that if Capone changed his mind and elected to begin getting credit for the time served by going to Leaven- worth, he could do so. FLYER'S BODY FOUND IN CHESAPEAKE BAY Searchers Find Missing Nelson B.| Peebles Entangled in Fish Net. By the Associated Press. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. February 27.—The body of Nelson B. Peebles, whose airplane was found in the Chesa- peake Bay yesterday, was recovered to- day at a fish net, Fishermen who made the discovery expressed the belief the young man had tried to swim to shore and either had become entangled in the net or hi cl?rng to it in the hope of saving him- self, Peebles, the son of Prof. Peter Paul Peebles of William and Mary College, took off on a solo fiight shortly after midnight yesterday morning. Several hours later the plane was discovered half submerged in Chesa- peake Bay. The ship was only slightly ed and there was & considerable quantity of fuel in the tank. A v making from 5,000 to 6,000 cars a day.” In the Detroit area alone, he said. One hundred thousand men will be employed at the standard minimum wage of $6 a day and upward. In addi- tion, he added, 5500 suppliers of parts and materials throughout the United States will give employment to 300,000 more men, Parts for the new car ’%rflmum have been pouring into the Ford plants here from various sources. In addition to $16,500,000 worth of steel made in his own mills, Ford said the com| would purchase $47,000,- 000w of steel in the market and would buy $140,000, worth of bodies to supplement the $60,000,000 worth to be made in his own plants. Ford incidentally spiked rumor that he was & radical change in the sales : o on Page 2, 3) MINERS MISSING IN VIRGINIA BLAST Rescue Squads Enter Shaft to Locate Men After Explosion. BLUEFIELD, W. Va., February 27 (). —Rescue workers, after repeated attempts, entered the Boissevain mine of the Pocahontas Fuel Co., near Pocahontas, Va. today in an effort to aid a crew of approximately 30 men, believed trapped after an explosion. At noon no word had come from the rescue crew. Two previous attempts at entering the mine were unsuccessful because of insufficient protection against foul air. By the Associated Press. BLUEFIELD, W. Va., February 27— Thirty miners’ were trapped today by an explosion in the Boissevain mine of the Pocahontas Fuel Co. near Poca- hontas, Va., 25 miles from Bluefield. Fear for the safety of the emtombed men was expressed when they failed | to reach the surface several hours after the ending of the night shift. when they should have left the mine. The explosion occurred about 4:30 am. The night shift ends at 7 am. One miner coming to the surface said he heard “some kind of an ex- plosion” another section than that in which he was working and started out immediately. Rescue crews from Jenkinjones, Va. and Pocahontas, Va. equipped with gas masks, began exploring the workings in an effort to determine the fate of the trapped men. The cause of the blast or its extent was undetermined. Company officials said the mine was non-gaseous and that the blast might have been caused by_power. Rescue workers were driven back by heavy air when they first attempted to | enter without gas masks. Thomas Stockdale, a West Virginia mine in- spector, reported that air conditions were “bad” and that it would be neces- sary to reverse the fans to force fresh air into the workings. Several Others Escape. Company officials at Boissevain said several other miners on the night shift escaped through the main entry after the explosion. They were working in a different section from the one in which the blast occurred and started for the surface when they heard it. Upon reaching the main entry they found that the air was just beginning to get bad, and they ran through it for a half mile to the surface. The Boissevain mine, a drift opera- tlon, with the main entry piercing a hillside, is one of the largest of a num- ber of mines operated by the Pocahon- tas Fuel Co. It has been operating on half time, employing about 400 men on the day shift and 50 at night. The ex- plosion occurred in an entry about 1!2 or 2 miles from the main entry. D. C. Tabor, mine superintendent, ad | joined the rescue teams when they en- tered the gas-choked pit in an attempt to reach the trapped men. Banking and Market Magnates Hit. DARMSTADT, Germany, February 27 (A —The Hessian Diet yesterday adopted a National Socialist motion favoring “expropriation of banking and boerse magnates” and another motion for the netionalization of haniks, i W. President Will Sign Expan- sion Act—High Hopes Held for Bill. By the Associated Press. The Federal Reserve credit expansion act, designed to place billions in cash and credit where they can be used for resumption of commercial and in- dustrial activity, becomes law today. Of all the Government's restoratives, this suddenly announced and quickly executed legislative confidence builder bas so far been the most successful in putting a sparkie back in the business man's eye, even though its work is yet to begin. President Hoover promised, upon com- pletion of the final touches yesterday, to affix his signature today and tell the country something about the measure. Distinctly technical in its operation, | it has the one board objective—as in- terpreted by every one who has had { anything to do with it—of assuring the | banker, the business man, the indus- | trialist and the man in the street, that there is no reachable bottom to that mainsoring of American life, credit. It will buttress to a point of unques- tioned liquidity the thousands of small member banks of the Federal Reserve System, and through this buoyancy is expected to lift the strain on, or lack of confidence in, thousands of other small banks not in the Reserve fold. Its enactment completes, practically, the general reconstruction program of the administration, flanking the Re- construction Finance Corporation's loans to pinched enterprise, the militant campaign against hoarding, and sev- | eral other governmental restoratives Remains to be written in Congress the balancing page of the Government's economic ledger: Stringent economy in Federal operation and the increased | revenue law. This program is well | under way. BANDIT SHOT DEAD IN EXCLUSIVE CLUB Three Companions and Two Em- ployes Wounded in Miami Gun Battle. By the Associated Press. MIAMI. Fla., February 27.—A bandit leader with a wooden arm, identified | as A. Y. Yarborough, was killed, and | T. Philip Perkins, former British | amateur golf champion, two club em- | ployes and three robbers were. wounded early today in an attempt to hold up the gambling casino of the fashionable Embassy Night Club. The leader was identified by John P. Thresner, Miami business man. He | said he knew Yarborough in Lakeland, | Fla., several years ago and disclosed he | came to his office yesterday in an un- successful attempt to borrow $10. Police learned the bandit had been engaged in_gambling here recently. Perkins, a guest of the club, was shot in the hip as one of the bandits used his body as a shield in a gun battle | with two policemen who were eating | in the kitchen when the robbers entered. The bandit leader was killed by a bullet from the gun of a watchman, as he attempted to escape after the gun battle started and while fashionably gowned and panic-stricken guests of the club fled the place in terror. No money was taken during the hold-up. Other wounded were: George Myers, 40, Tulsa, Okla., iden- tified as a member of the robber band, in critical condition from a bullet wound in the mouth; Gene Eckman, 50, reputedly another of the robbers, critically wounded near the heart; an unidentified bandit, who escaped; George Fratton, 30, kitchen employe at the club, shct in the right leg: John Burns, also known as Frank Woods, employe, shot in the left leg. The two policemen, Mack Oakford and G. J. Davis, in plain clothes, were lined up against the kitchen wall with employes as the robbers, masked with handkerchiefs or stockings, threatened them with pistols, rifies and sawed-off shotguns. ‘The leader ordered the group in the kitchen to march into the dining room, ‘where fashionably clothed members of Miami's Winter soclal set were seated attention of their guards momentarily drawn, Oakford and Davis drew their pistols. Oakford emptied his firearm at the leader, apparently hitting the bandit's sawed-off shotgun in such a way as to discharge the magazine. The leader dropped dead. Guests scurried for cover. ‘When police examined the body of the bandit leader they found he had & wooden arm. 1 . | " | Shanghai of YVillage, but Furious Fighting Continues. REINFORCEMENTS FOR DEFENSE Inland Advance by Planes and Fleet Likely—Tokio Blames Soviet for Manchuria Damage. Still fighting stubbornly. Chi still holding out today, in spite headquarters that the village had fallen. in progress. nese defenders at Kiangwan were of claims by Japanese military Heavy fighting is still In Tokio a spokesman for the ft;eign office issued a statement which was construed to mean that the Japanese high command is prepared to use the navy and air forces to strike at Chinese interior points to prevent advance of fresh Chinese troops to join defenders in the Shanghai area. It was also learned that the ing holding Russia responsible for Japanese government is consider- any damage suffered by Japanese nationals in Northern Manchuria if the Soviet government opposes her use of the Chinese Eastern Railway for Jaganese troop ‘x)nove‘ ments. A government spokesman said Japan another crisis with Moscow. is unlikely to court It is understood that the foreign office is drafting a reply to a request yesterday by the Soviet foreign office asking fgr an e%cglana- tion of A Japanese spokesman in Sh: iilitary maneuvers near the Russian border and reports that J'agxm was giving aid to White Russians in Manechuria. office statement said the reports were false. ‘The foreign anghai announced today thaet the total army casualties in the Shanghai operations to date were 104 dead and 975 wounded. The losses suffered by the Jaj were approximately 100 dead and Tokio Statzsman Says Japan Courts No War With Russia BY GLENN BABB, Associated Press Staff Correspondent. (Copyright, 1932, by the Associated Press.) TOKIO, February 27 (#.—Japan is not likely to court another interna- tional crisis with Russia, government spokesman were quick to point out to- day in commenting on the queries of the Russian government regarding mili- tary operations in Northern Manchuria. ‘The Russian queries, presented L. M. Karakhan, acting 't com- missar for foreign affairs, turned Gen. Jiro Tamon's Northern Manchuria campaign into an international issue and took official Tokio completely by surprise, especially in view of the com- plaisance Moscow heretofore has shown toward Japan's operations in the Har- bin district. Spokesmen for the war and foreign ministries allke asserted today that Russia’s “nervousness” over Japan's in- tentions in North Manchuria were based on distorted interpretations of the sit- uation and magnified a “purely local problem” to unwarranted dimensions. Statement Doubted. ‘The war office said it lacked any in- formation to support M. 'S statement that Gen. Tamon ordered 17 trains of 50 cars each for an advance on the town of Pogranichnaya and there was no intention of an advance to the Russian border. The mission of Gen. Tamon’s intend- ed expedition, the war office said, was merely to disperse 13,000 followers of Gen. Ting Chao who were reported op- erating in the Imienpo district. Gen. Tamon, it said) was fully empowered to deal with details like train transport without reporting to Tokio and hence the war office was ignorant of the exact size of his order. It was confident, however, the spokes- man said, that M. Karakhan's figures were exaggerated because Gen. Tamon intended to use only part of the three brigades now at Harbin in the Imienpo campaign. The war office was apprised, he said, of considerable Russian troop movements on the Ussuri and Amur frontiers but these were merely an evi- dence of Russian apprehensions over the Manchurian situation which Japan does not share. He denied emphatically the Japanese military authorities were conniving in any way to encourage “white” Russians and he suggested Yeports of their ac- tivities emanated from the ‘“whites” themselves, perhaps to help raise funds. The foreign office declared it had no knowledge of any intention to send Gen. Tamon's troops to the Russian border and that the Chinese members of the Chinese Eastern Railway direc- torate agreed to furnish trains for necessary troop movements, but the Russian members demurred. A spokesman for the foreign office earlier today indicated might be preparing to hold Russia re- sponsible for damages suffered by Japa- nese Nationals in Northern Manchuria unless transportation of troops over the Chinese Eastern Railway was permitted. Firm on New Regime, Regarding the Russian request for in- formation on the new Manchurian state, the spokesman said Ambassador Hirota “accurately represented Tokio's posi- tion” in replying to M. Karakhan that the latter’s inquiries were addressed to the wrong quarter, for the establish- ment of the new regime in Manchuria was entirely a matter for the people there to advise upon. ‘The government is drafting a reply | to the Soviet government. | It was intimated in official quarters that full compliance with the sugges- tions made by the ambassadors of the four great powers regarding protection of the International Settlement at might not be possible by Japan. The army commanders might not be able to give definite commitments, these sources said, as to where reinforcement troops would be disembarked in the fu- ture. The four ambassadors, repre- senting the United States, Great Brit- ain, Italy and France, asked the Japa- nese government not to land additional troops in the settlement. DOUBT RUSSIA WILL FIGHT. Observers Point to Losses in| Previous Japanese War, By the Assoclated Press. Displeased as it may be over Japan's ctivities in Manchuria, there is no serious belief here that Russia will risk nother war with the Nipponese. ‘The disastrous experience of 1904 U. s that Japan panese naval landing party, he said, 500 wounded. s Kiangwan Holds Out Despite Japanese Claim of Its Fall BY MORRIS J. HARRIS, Assoclated Press Staff Correspondent. (Copyright, 1833, by the Associated Press.) SHANGHAI, February 27 (#).—De- pite Japanese claims that they had cap- tured the Western end of Kiangwan Village, the stubborn Chinese garrison In that beleaguered town was still hold- ing en at 11 o'clock tonight, The Associated Press correspondent went out there and saw for himself the parade of Chinese stretcher bearers carrying wounded out of the village, It was testimony enough that the town was not yet surrounded, although the Japanese had said they had thrown s line around it and occupied the Western section. Supplies for the small defending gar- rison were coming in from Miaochung- chenn, running a gauntlet of machine gun fire from both sides, wlere the Japanese had swung around in an effort tocut off the village. The Chinese, how- ever, still kept the neck of the bottle open. Honeycombed With Pits. ‘This correspondent’s cbservations established that the opposing lines ex- tended in a gentle curve from Woosung to a point nearly a mile east of Miao- chungchen, thence south to Klangwan and eastward around the village to its southern limits, thence south to Chapei. The whole area between the Kiang- wan front and Tachang, four miles to the west, was honeycombed with artil- lery pits shielding the bursts of light from fleld pieces. There also were many machine gun nests. Northward toward the Liuhang | hinterland the territory also was heavily | fortified and swarming with soldiers. Tachang, the objective of several Japanese air raids in the past few days, was evacuated by civilians and the town had become a clearing station for casualties. The village of Miaochungchen, or what was left of it after a week of bombardment, was still in Chinese hands. ~ Although the Japanese have | claimed for several days that they con- | trolled this strategic point their front | lines actually were three-quarters of a mile to the east. Brick Walls Tetter. | . The brick walls of the buildings were tottering, but the garrison of 3,000 Chinese soldiers, encouraged by their success in beating off the furious ate tack, seemed prepared to hold out in- definitely. The village was a maze of | well built trenches and barbed wire en- | tanglements and the troops were ade- quately supplied with food and am- munition. The enemy planes gave the Chinese lines a day of relaxation and in & tour of the front, which lasted for severai hours, only three air craft were to | be seen. These dropped less than a dozen bombs west of Kiangwan. Japanese announcement that Kiang- wan had fallen was made at the end of a day of comparative quiet along the Shanghai front, punctuated by a few sporadic spurts of gunfire and marked by the landing of a small force of Japa- nese reinforcements at the wharves in the Whangpoo River. The reinforcements were brought in on a supply ship which carried large quantities of ammunition and other equipment for the invading army. Shortly before daylight the Chinese baiterles in Chapel started a heavy chelling of the Japanese positions in Hongkew. The bombardment lasted only a short time, however, and drew little response from the Japanese guns. Afterwards the whole battlefront be- came_quiet. A few Japanese airplanes flew over the line, but the Chinese machine guns and anti-aircraft guns did not fire. At 7:30 a.m. Japanese broke the quiet to toss a few shells in the direction of Kiangwan. The bombardment ended abruptly, however, and quiet prevailed agal Following the arrival of the rein- forcements this afterncon, a report was circulated that a considerable num- ber of Japanese troops have arrived in similar fashion during the last few days, being brought in on the supply s which have docked here almost daily. The claim made by the Japanese yes- terday that they had surrounded Kiang- wan was not upheld by observation to- day, and their claim this afternoon that they had captured the village was taken (Continued on Page 3, Column 1.) (Continued on Page 3, Column 84 Radio Programs on Page B-14 ' )