Evening Star Newspaper, December 22, 1932, Page 17

Washington News DRYS “INFORMER” YELD N HIACKING | OFFEDERAL LIQUOR Calvert County Man’s Arrest Follows Testimony in Trial of Three. “KING OF BOOTLEGGERS” WAS AIDE TO U. S. AGENTS Utilized U. S. Prohibition Forces as Instrument of War Against Competition in Territory. By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. BALTIMORE, Md., December 22— Arrested at his home in Calvert County ; last night a few hours after he had |} been described in Federal Court as! the “king of bootleggers of Calvert | County” and the “best informer” Washington dry agents ever had, Wil- liam Plummer was held here today while Federal autnorities announced they would seek his indictment imme- diately in connection with the sensa- tional hijacking near Prince Frederick, September 25. Plummer was picked up by Baltimore agents armed with warrants issued after | three men told Federal Judge W. Calvin Chesnut the man directed the hijack- ing of three Government trucks loaded with liquor, and William I. Blanford, | deputy prohibition administrator for the District of Columbia, testified that it was Plummer who tipped him off to the large cache of liquor which was later- involved in the hijacking. “King of Bootleggers.” “The truth is Bill Plummer is the king of bootleggers of Calvert County,” Blanford told the court. “He doesn't want any outside competition. When somebody else enters his territory he i lets us know and we go down and make & selzure. He's the best informer I've got.” The three men who said Plummer was in charge of the hijacking were Joseph D. McCaffrey. Louis Brown and Henry G. Carter. They were sentenced to five, four and three years in the pen- itentiary, respectively, for their part in | the aflair, after pleading guilty to! charges of transportation and posses- | sion of stolen liquor. Ex-D. C. Policeman Freed. A fourth suspect, Edwin A. Mumper, former Washington policeman, was re- leased when the charges against him were nolle prossed. In sentencing the men, Judge Ches- nut said he did not believe they knew | they were going to hijack Federal offi- cers. “That would amount to war against | the Government,” he stated, “and if I! believed these men guilty of that I would impose the maximum sentence of | 15_years.” 1 Following the arrest of Plummer, Tnited States Commissioner J. Frank Parran of Upper Marlboro said he held a warrant charging the alleged bootleg | “king” with manufacture and posses- sion. He said the warrant was issued some time ago and the agents had been looking for him. z While the Maryland authorities pre- pared to prosecute Plummer, Federal prohibition officials ~ said they saw “nothing to criticise” in the admission by Blanford that Plummer was at once “3 notorious bootlegger” and one of the agents’ “best informers.” he Foening WASHINGTON, D. C, Their Gifts Are for Needy REPAIR SHOP EMPLOYES NOT TO EXCHANGE PRESENTS. NDER the directicn of L. C. Wo trict Repair Shop, employe: party for needy children this themselves as w are: Mrs. M. Hulfish. rmington, engineer in charge of the Dis- of the chop are preparing a Christmas year instead of exchanging gifts among vas their usual custom. Left to right in the above picture . Raspberry, Mrs. L. C. Wormington and Mrs. L. R. —Star Staff Photo. 5,500 HOLIDAY GIFTS RECEIVED FOR POOR FROM TOY MATINEES Donations Continue to Pour In at 12 Warner Bros.” Theaters—Storm Failed to Stem Generosity of Washingtonians. The sum total of the “toy matinees” is still piling up, spelling a huge “Merry Christmas” for the destitute boys and girls of Washington. More than 5,500 holiday gifts for the poor have been counted so far, while additional toys are coming in at the 12 Warner Bros. Theaters where the | matinees were held. It took more than the heaviest snow- storm in a decade to stem the generous outpouring of holiday gifts. Children prevented by the weather from attend- | ing last Saturday's benefits arranged by Warner Bros. in co-operation with The Star, are still handing in contribu- tions. One 9-year-old patron of the Ambas- sador Theater. who began saving pen- nies for a Christmas gift when the matinees were first announced, came | to the theater yesterday and presented 45 cents to the manager. The child explained that her mother had asked her to remain indoors be- cause of the snowstorm Saturday, but that she wished to contribute the money to insure a Christmas gift for some for- gotten girl about her age. She said she started saving for the present two weeks ago and as a con- sequence had gone without candy and moving picture shows. The money found its way to headquarters of War- | mer Bros. and an executive of the con- cern personally bought a 45-cent toy for some 9-year-old girl. Hundreds of belated gifts are coming in at the Tivoli and other Warner Bros. theaters, where the Santa Claus ham- pers are still open. A gift or a new bit of clothing for some poor child was the admission price at the matinees, at- | tended by 4,200 persons Saturday morn- ing. | Meanwhile, the work of distributing | the toys is well under way, supervised by the Council of Social Agencies. At the toy clearing house in the In- | vestment Building today volunteers were classifying the gifts and placing |them in boxes addressed to suitable { boys ana girls. The Emergency Relief Committee of | the District sent several trucks this |afternoon to receive gifts for distribu- tion to needy families on the commit- | tee's long list. The presents are being delivered at| the doors of the unemployed by emer- gency relief workers. The remainder of the gifts are going to charity agencies in various parts of | Washington, where they will be ad- dressed and_dispatched to individual children in hospitals, institutions, and | destitute homes. PUPILS EXTEND YULE GREETINGS TO CHIEFS Four Groups Call at Franklin Ad- ministration Building—Carols Are Sung. Washington's public school children today extended Christmas greetings to their chiefs at the Franklin School Administration Building. Four groups of students, represent- ing all divisions of the school system, called at the school offices during the morning. The first were the commis- sloned officers of the Sth Brigade, High School Cadets, of the colored schools, under their commanding officer, Cadet Col. Kelsey Pharr of Dunbar High School. ) The next group was a party of junior high schoot students, which walked over the building singing Christmas carols. These children. whose predecessors in the junior high schools have visited the Franklin each year, were accom- panied by Miss Hannah E. Bonnell of the Eliot Junior High School. While these children still were sing- ing, 25 young children from the Morgan Demonstration School for colored pu- pils came to sing their greetings. These third to sixth grade pupils were led by Miss E. A. Lyons, principal of the Mor- gan_School. The final group was the McKinley High School Glee Club. Beginning with a novel song, “How Do You Do, Dr. Ballou?” these students presented a program that drew prolonged applause. There were 25 signers, under the stu- dent direction of Weldon Smith and Preston Newton. The club was trained and was accompanied to the Franklin Building by Mrs. Bella Brook Thompson of the facul FILIPINO FREED Pedro La Cuesta, a Filipino, was ac- quitted today on a charge of first-degree murder by a jury in Criminal Division 2 before Justice Daniel W. O’Donoghue. He was accused of fatally stabbing Wil- liam Anderson, colored, July 27. The prisoner was released. Births Reported. Prancis M. and Sarah Truitt, girl. Raymond E. and Elsie Glascoe, boy. Matthew F. and Julia Sarsfield, boy. Augustine E. and Ruth Brailer, boy, Alfred W. and Eleanor Strong, boy. Y. Jo e . girl. Norval and Charlotte Rank, girl. Clarence H. and Irma Rhodes, girl Enos J. and Florence Kitchens, girl. Sara L. Mcllwee. Tirl. George C. and Clara Leakin, boy. Archie D. and Mary Lewis. boy. berg, boy. ton. boy. John C. and Mary E. Mar: Lawrence G. and Mary H. Wood. gifl. Oather J. and Elizabeth Fitzwater, girl. A. and Grace Reid, girl. and Ethel Walker. girl. d Beatrice R. Cooper. girl. joseph A. and. Othellus and Virginia Stith, boy. W. and Edna Hall, boy. Beulah Daniels. eirl, Green, boy. George W. elme._Kirksey. girl Nilliam G. ‘and Grace Montague. sifl ‘and treatment soon revi .S, INTERFERENCE WITH MEDICOS SEEN Association Head Urges Re- turn of Veterans’ Care to Private Doctors. By the Associated Press. The contention of the American Medical Association that acute medical and surgical cases of former soldiers, for which the patients are able to pay, should not be cared for by the Govern- ment was put before a_Joint Congres- sional Committee today by the president of the organization, Dr. Edward H. Cary of Dallas, Tex. Cary told the Committee on Veterans® Legislation that such cases should be cared for by physicians in hospitals in the home area of the patient. He urged that the Government dis- continue building veterans' hospitals and suggested that if the Government “is going to take care of non-service connected cgses,” it do so through private and public hospitals. Cary said the medical profession felt the Federal hospitalization program was breaking up the long-standing rela- | tions of & home-town doctor with his patients. Cary said the association was not criticizing the veterans hospitals, but that its impression was well run,” and that “the Veterans' Bureau, as far as we can see, is hand- ling @ very difficult problem in a very fine way.” Cary was asked by Chairman Mc- Duffie if the association felt that should the Government and States continue to | build hospitals “the time would come when there would be no practice for a physician not on a Government pay roll?” “Yes, sir,” replied Cary. THREE CHILDREN RECOVER FROM COAL GAS EFFECT Taken to Hospital in Semi-con- scious Condition After Breath- ing Fumes. ‘Three small children who were near- 1y overcome by gas from a coal stove at their home last night had returned home from Children’s Hospital today and seemed little the worse for their experience. The trio—Harold Barker, 6, and his two sisters, Alleen, 4, and Dorothy, 15 months—all of whom became drowsy as they sat about the dinner table last night, had been put to bead by their Pparents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Barker, when the parents themselves began to feel drowsy. Seeking the cause, the parents de- tected the odor of coal gas. Mr. Barker opened all the windows, shut tightly the coal stove in their house at 105 I street, and called the rescue squad to|day. -conscious take the children, in a Fresh air them. condition, to the hospi ived. they were | RN, FRES ANED ISHEADOFS AR ‘Nominated for Presidency of District Society—William- son Declines Post. Maj. Gen. Amos A. Fries last night was nominated for the presidency of the District Society of the Sons of the | American Revolution, at the December jmeeung of the group in the Mayflower | Hotel. 8. S. Williamson, retiring presi- dent, also was nominated to the post, but declined another term. The election of the new slate of of- ficers will take place February 22. | Others nominated last night included: | For vice president, Maj. John A. Hol- comb, Dr. R. J. C. Dorsey, Attorney | Charles A. Baker, Maj. C. C. Griggs and | Milo C. Summers; for secretary, Fred E. | Kunkel; for treasurer, Charles Y. Lati- | mer and Maj. Clayton E. Emig; for | registrar, Dr. Clifton P. Clark; for as- sistant registrar, Maj. Lawrence Leonard, | H. G. Robertson and F. M. Hoffheims, |and for librarian, Louis Charles Smith. Mr. Williamscn on his retirement will | become a national trustee of the Na- | tional Society of Sons of the American | Revolution. Discussion of the various phases of Communism marked the session last | night. The principal talk was made by Dr. Dorsey, who discussed “The History | of Communism.” “The history of communism is a history of failures,” Dr. Dorsey told his audience. “Communism is the result of dreams. Approximately 3,000 years ago | Lycurgus started what has today de- veloped into Russian communism. The abdication of the czar in 1917 gave the communists an opportunity to make capital out of the political crisis. The year 1919 witnessed the formation of the Third Internationale to promote world revolution. ) “The communist teaches abolition of those things for which Americans founded this Government,” Dr. Dorsey continued. “He wants abolition of present gov- ernment, patriotism, private property,, the family, morality, eternal truths and religion. The communist hates religion because it teaches morality.” The speaker attacked communistic theorles as “diametrically opposed to the pi set forth in the preamble to the United States Constitution.” The secretary of the society read to the members & list of names of presi- dents of colleges and universities who have indorsed the recognition of Soviet Russia. Other speakers on the program included W. S. Steele and Dr. C. P. Clark. SMITHSONIAN: HOURS T Wi be gpen oy from National Museum Wi 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Mon- . ‘The same will prevail the Saturdsy and Monday before and after New Year day. will closed ail day buildings be Christmas and New Year, URGES FOUNDATION OF MONUMENT BE TAKEN T0 BEDROCK Lowering 60 Feet Necessary for Landscaping, Says Fine Arts Board. SUNKEN GARDEN SEEN AS MENACE TO SHAFT Commission Takes Stand After Study of Objections to Carrying Out Plan of 1901. The foundation of Washington Mon- | ument should be carried down approxi- mately 60 feet to bed rock to insure | stability, and then any sunken gardens | desired could be created around the shaft, in the opinion of the Fine Arts Commission. This, it was learned today, is the Commission’s view after studying ob- jections raised to carrying out the pro: gram for the plan of 1901, on the | ground it might endanger the stability | of the shaft. Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 34, director of Public Buildings and Pub- lic Parks and vice chairman and ex- ecutive officer of the National Capital Park and Planning Cemmission, may | be asked to recommend to Congress that nothing be done to improve the | area adjacent to the Washington Mon- ;n:;nt. until its foundations are forti- ed, | Unable to Get Report. said, has not been able to secure the engineering report in detail, compiled by a special Advisory Committee that has examined the problem, for L Grant. This committee includes Wil- liam A. Delano, New York earchitect | and a member of the National Capital | Park and Planning Commission; Fred- | erick Law Olmsted. until recently a | member of that commission and a prominent landscape architect of Brook- | line, Mass., wko worked on the 1901 plan: James Vipond Davies and Lazarus White, prominent New York engineers, who are experts on foundations; Col. | Grant; Maj. D. H. Gillette, engineer | of the Planning Commission and John { L. Nagle, designing engineer. i At a cost of nearly $30,000, authorized i by Cengress, Col. Grant supervised drill- iing operations so that the engineers { might determine where bed rock is to| be found beneath the base of the Wash- ington Monument. Contrary to popu- lar belief, the Monument does not rest on solid rock, but is constructed on a bed of gravel and sand and blue clay. Data laid before the engineers as a result cf the driling operations indi- cate there is a dirt fill of some 40 feet beneath the visible ground around the base of the shaft, which is 555 feet {in height. From northeast to southwest | it appears that at the base of the monu- gravel, tapering from 20 feet to 40 feet, | as cne travels west. The bed of biue | clay runs oppositely, the narrow end of some 25 feet being at the westerly | end. while easterly it is 40 feet in thick- | ness. | The theory of the Engineering Ad- | visory Committee is that if any great weight is added to or taken from the base of the Washington M-nument the 555-foot memorial to the Father of His Country wou'd be in danger of toppling over or the whole thing might slide into the Tidal Basin. Underpinning Resorted To. The Fine Arts Commission says the‘ foundations should be carried down to | bed rock, to obviate this, and then any- | thing can be done around the shaft. without disturbing it. The original foundatlons were found to be insuffi- cient, so, under the supervision of Army | Engineers, underpinning was_resorted | to. The capstone was set on December | 6, 1884, and this marked the comple- tion of the gigantic task of construct- ing an appropriate monument in honor of Washington. The foundations and shaft of the monument cost $1,187,710, and of this, $300,000 were raised by free-will offerings by the Washington National Monument Society. The mon- ument was dedicated February 21, 1885. The depth of the foundation is now 36 feet 10 inches, and covers an area of 16,002 square feet. The engineers say the weight of the foundations is 36,912 tons and that the weight of the stone in the shaft and pyramidion is 63,933 tons, while the weight of the monument totals 81,120 tons. .The maximum pressure on the underlying soil is placed at 9 tons per square foot, while the pressure near the outer edges of the foundation is set at 3 tons per square fcot. WOMM] OF 97 SURVIVES FIFTEEN-FOOT PLUNGE Rebecca Diggs, Colored, Falls From Second Floor to Pavement in Cleaning Window. A 97-year-old colored woman sur- vived a 15-foot fall from the second floor of her home today. ‘The woman, Rebecca Diggs, was cleaning at an open window at 1217 C street southeast this morning when she lost her balance and plunged to the pavement below, police said. She was treated by Dr. R. S. Penn and removed to Gallinger Hospital in the fire rescue squad ambulance. At ment there is a great bed of sand and | ©: | estate brokers, the hospital she was found to have a broken leg and bruises. Her condition was said to be serious. faf THURSDAY, 'DECEMBER . 22, 1932. “Merry .Christmas” Flies Over Boundaries CHILDREN OF DIPLOMATS GREET RADIO FRIENDS HERE AND ABROAD. Society and General | HESE child representatives of 11 mations used a universal language when they extended holiday greetings yes- terday over a National Broadcasting Co. hook-up which reached their friends in America and across the seas. Those participating in the world-wide radio party, arranged by the Greater National Capital Committee, Wash- ington Board of Trade, are, left to right (front): Wladyslaw Sokolowski, jr. son of the charge d'affaires, Polish embassy; Pietro Bonardelli, son of the counselor for emigration, Italian embassy: Carroll Macnamara, son of The Fine Arts Commission, it Was | n. naval attache, British embassy; Nandine Szechenyi, daughter of the Minister of Hungary; Beatrice de Recinos, daughter of the Minister of Guatamela:; Maria Luisa Irujo, daughter of the counselor of the Spanish embassy. Back row: | Maria_de Wichfeld, daughter of the counselor of the Danish legation; John Simoupoulos, son of the Minister of Greece, | Patricia Prochnik, daughter of the Minister of Austria: Pablo Campos-Ortiz, jr., son of the charge d'affaires, Mexican | embassy: Carlos A. Arcaya, son of the Minister of Venezuela. —Star Staff Photo. CAPPER POSTPONES 0. RENT HEARING | Senate Committee and Sub- committee Meetings Con- flict—Date Uncertain. | sible fractured ribs and head abrasion | Beczuse of a conflict with a Senate District C-mmittee meeting on the trac- tion merger resolution today's hearing of the Senate’s Rent Inve:tigating Sub- | committee was postponed by Chairman | apper. | The date for the next session of the subcommittee, which is hearing a lengthy report on rental ccnditions in the Capital compiled by Oscar H. Brink- | man, its attorney and investigator, had | not besn determined at nocn today. Unless it meets tomorrow morning the committee prebably will postpone hear- | ings until after the Christmas holid: Meanwhile the Washington Real | Estate Board announced that the United States Chamber of Commerce audit- orium had been :elected for the mass meeting next Thursday night of real | agents and landlords, | decided on yesterday with a view to dis- } cussing pcseible reductions in rentals | here. The parley will not be confined to members of the Washington Real Estate Board, or their clients, but will include all owners and agents of renting prop- erties in the District who are interested. “We wish to stress the fact that this is primarily a landlords’ meeting, and | not a tenants' proposition,” spokesmen | for the board said today. | The meeting is being called, however, | in the interest of renters, and officials of the Washington Real Estate Board | feel that some plan can thus be worked out looking toward downward revision in rents. Senator Capper, Republican, of Kansas; Senator Copeland, Demo- crat, of New York, and Senator King, Democrat, of Utah, are expected to speak at the meeting. LAST-MINUTE RUSH FOR TAGS PREDICTED Van Duzer Reports 38,000 Motor- ists Have Not Applied for New Plates. A last-minute rush for 1933 automo- bile tags appeared inevitable today when Traffic Director William A. Van | the Duzer reported that 38,000 motorists had not yet applied for new plates. Mr. Van Duzer pointed out the ex- piration date of the 1932 tags would not be extended beyond December 31, giving these 38,000 owners only six more days in which to procure 1933 plates. The traffic department, along with other Federal and municipal establishments, will be closed Saturday, as_well as new year's eve. Based on the number of applicants last year, Mr. Van Duzer said at least 110,000 vehicles should be licensed by the end of December. Thus far 72,000 sets of tags have been issued. Mrs. Herbert Hoover Will Assist in Distribution of Food Baskets Before Leaving for Florida. For the last time during her four years as mistress of the White House, Mrs. Herbert Hoover will take part in the Christmas activities of the Central Union Mission. At 11 am. tomorrow the First Lady will call at the mission before her de- parture to Florida and help Mrs. John 8. Bennett distribute baskets of food to_poor families. Mrs. Hoover has never failed in four years to attend the ’s Christmas tree party for children, but owing to her FIRST LADY TO TAKE PART IN YULE FETES OF CENTRAL UNION MISSION Mrs. Coolidge established the prece- dent of the First Lady attending these Christmas affairs. During kher seven years in the White House Mrs. Coolidge never missed an opportunity and Mrl | . Hoover continued the custom. knows many of the children by name. The Central Union Misslon has sent | P!'3. bags containing gifts to each man and in the DI t poor house at woman istric Blue Plains. Not a child who has been looking forward to Santa on Saturday, Lhequ;yo(v.heplny,wfllbedklp- At the mission quarters for men day, dinner will be %TWO SLEDDERS INJURED | IN ROCK CREEK PARK Boy Kept at Hospital for Observa- tion—Woman's Arm Believed Broken. Two persons were injured last night while sledding in the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, Officer H. L. Thompson of the United States Park Police reported today. Judson Holmes, 13, of the 2900 block of Cathedral avenue, was taken to Emergency Hospital, treated for .pos- and kept at the hospital for further observation. Helen Johnston, colored, 28, of the 2300 block of Ontario road, was taken to Emergency Hospital, treated for a potential fracture of the left arm, and sent home. GRADUATION ST HT BY PARENTS Petworth Citizens Appeal to School Board for Relief From Expenses. The Petworth Citizens’ Association today was on record against the high cost of high school graduation and has sent a resolution to the District School Board seeking relief for parents’ pocket- books. At a meeting last night members dis- cussed the cost of their children grad- uating and declared it excessive. In the resolution sent to the school board they sought some uniformity in cloth- ing for the occassion so that the cost would be nominal. Following a discussion on the cost of milk in the District, the association voted to appoint a special committee to investigate milk prices here. Members pointed out that milk was selling in many of the larger cities for 8 and 9 cents a quart, compared with 131 cents in Washington. In another resolution the organiza- tion requested that the Park and Planning Commission convert _the grounds on Upshur, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, into a play- ground and recreational center. The extension and completion of New Hampshire avenue to the District line was also urged by the association. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Sullivan of the Progres- sive Citizens' Association of George- town, and vice president of the Feder- ation of Citizens’ Associations, discussed part women should take in civic and political activities. Horace J. Phelps, president, presided. N SKATING IS BANNED Parks Office Forbids Use of Memo- rial Reflecting Pool. Owing to rapidly melting ice and rising temperature, officials of the park division of the Office of Public Build- ings and Public Parks today banned skating on the Reflecting Pool of the Lincoln Memorial. No further skating will be permitted unless ice conditions improve. Deaths Reported. Margaret J. Dyer, 87, 1330 Kennedy st. Cummins C. Helmick, 85, 1685 Cres- cent pl. Emma D. Richard. Margaret Carraher, Carrie E. Burgess, 76. Home Hospital. . Kate Perkins, d Hospital jStephen L. H 62, Waiter Reed Hos- pital. Helen E. Stockbridge, 61, Sibley Hospital. Patrick McDonnell, 61,” U. 8. Soldiers’ Home Hospital. Minnie A. Newton. 59. 2115 H st. g Eugene Vetter, 50, "U. ‘5. Soldiers’ Home ospital ‘ank H. Jennler, 45, U. 8. Veterans' Hos- 1 Mary H. Farr, 44, 1327 Park rd. 8. Naval Hos- 68, Walter Reec ollis, James J. Raczmarck, 41, U. arion Sampson, 23. Emergency Hospital. ‘%‘l‘l;n‘ to Willie and Ethel 'i'lk!?.‘nflfll- Mo et Elamp. 70, U. 5. Soldiers’ Home togglial rerice Jeanette Sammie Infant to Jerome Coleman. Christmas for 750 men and . _There be lenty of roast and substantial " with clean lodgings at » fant to Leo Kelson, Gallinger Hospital Toiant ‘o ‘Georss- and Lills McDaniels. Preedmen’s Hositsl en’s ant to inger infant to Johnson. Gallinger Mos- WOMAN 15 FELLED BY PURSE SNATCHER Robbery of Miss Mary M. | Schmidt Among Several Netting $800. | | Angered when his companion’s re- quest for a piece of change was ignored, a panhandler last night attacked Miss Mary M. Schmidt, 34, throwing her to the sidewalk on K street between Six- teenth and Seventeenth street and seiz- ing her pocketbook. The theft, which netted the panhan- dlers only $5, was cne of a series in which purse snatchers, hold-up men and burglars obtained loot with a total value of more than $800. Miss Schmidt. an empl tional Geographic Society; told police she was walking along K street when a young man approached and asked for alms. Paying no attention to the pan- handler, Miss Schmidt walked on, she id | She had gone only a few feet. she said, when another young man suddenly sidewalk. Then, she added, he seized her pocketbook and he and his com- panion fled. Treated at Hospital. Miss Schmidt, who lives at 715 Far- ragut street, was treated at Emergency Hospital for an injury to her hand. Other victims of purse-snatchers in- cluded Miss Margaret Carmody, 171212 I street; Miss Edith B. Lowe, 2622 ‘Woodley place, and Minnie Austin, 1600 block of Thirteenth street. Miss Carmody, a dancing instructor, reported she lost $4 when a colored man seized her pocketbook and fled as she was about to enter her home. A colored man seized Miss Lowe's purse, containing $80 in express com- pany checks and $1 in cash, as she was parking her automobile in the garage in the rear of her home. ‘The other purse-snatching victim was robbed of $25 while walking near Rhode Island avenue and Q street. Two bandits, one of them armed with a revolver, held up a filling station at Eleventh street and Park road and rob- bed the manager, James T. Nerhany, 326 Fourth street southeast, of $40. Nerhany said_he and his assistant. J. E. Delaney, 3500 block of New Hamp- shire avenue, were forced to lie on the floor while the hold-up men helped themselves to the money. Cecil Coffman, 600 block of Seventh street northeast, a taxicab driver, re- ported he was beaten and robbed of $25 by five colored “fares” whom he had driven to Third and C streets south- west. | Colored Girls Robbers. Robert King, 2200 block of Twenty- eighth street, told police he was robbed of $14 by two colored girls on M street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. Th girls seized the money and fled, he said. Jewelry and clothing valued at $404 were stolen by burglars who ransacked the home of William C. King, 2200 block of Thirty-eighth street. Similar articles worth $100 were taken from the home of Aubrey M. Haines, 3700 block of Thirteenth street. Burglars who broke into the store of Peter Glekas, 1600 block of Park road, escaped with $20 in cash and cigarettes valued at $140. Frank Cesino, colored, 1500 block of Seventh street, said he was robbed of $12 by a colored man who attacked him with a pool cue in front of an M street pool room. CAPPER MISSES GOLF TWO SUNDAYS IN ROW Recent Snowy Weather Breaks Record for 14 Years for Kansas Senator. By the Associated Press. gton's unprecedented weather has broken a record of 14 years’ stand- ve of the Na- | grasped her neck and hurled her to the | P. TWO FIRE: PROBES BEGUN IN DISTRICT, WOMEN RESCUED Pair Overcome by Smoke in C Street Blaze—Avenue Flames Trap Man. AGE B—1 BURNT RAGS IN BASEMENT LEAD TO INVESTIGATION Police Aid Marshal Lauber's Quiz. Drug Trial Delayed by Killian's Injury. ‘The Police and Fire Departments were working together today in an in- vestigation of a blaze in which two women—one of whom was ill in bed— were overcome by smoke before they could be rescued from a three-story rooming house at 205 C street last night. The fire, which broke out about 7 o'clock, was one of two into which Fire Marshall Calvin Lauber ordered in- quiries. A man was overccme by smoke and a fireman was injured in the other blaze, which damaged a five-story building at 1209-11 Pennsylvania ave- nue early today. Discovery of burnt rags in the base- ment and on the first floor of the C street house aroused the suspicion of firemen and policemen, and an inves- tigation was begun immediately. The women aflected by smoke were Mrs. Alice V. Alexandrea, 45, owner of the house, and Miss Peggy Mohan- non, 23, a roomer. Too ill to make her way from the smoke-filled house, Mrs. Alexapdrea was overcome before firemen could reach her. She was car- ried next door and revived by the rescue squad. Miss Mohannon was treated at Casualty Hospital. Man Trapped by Flames. Neither woman was able to throw any light on the origin of the blaze, ich broke out in the cellar. The front part of the first floor also was damaged. The victim of the Pennsylvania ave- nue fire was S. E. Killian, 44, son of the owner of the George P. Killian Co., a paper concern, which occupies most of the building. Trapped on the fifth floor. where the fire apparently broke out, Killian was carried to safety by firemen. He was revived at Emergency Hospital, where he said the first he knew of the blaze was when he was suddenly enveloped in smoke. Killian, who lives in the 500 block of Twelfth street, added he had gone into the building for some Christmas-gift packages. Discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment, Killian could not be located today when his trial on a drug peddling charge was scheduled to be resumed in District Supreme Cour.. Mistrial Declared. At the request of Killian's attorney, Harry T. Whelan, Chief Justice Alfred A. Wheat withdrew a juror and de- clared a mistrial. The trial was in progress when the court adjourned yes terday. Assistant United States Attorney James R. Kirkland, who had completed presentaticn of testimony against Kil- lian, offered no objection when Whelan asked that a mistrial be declared. Fireman John R. Mowatt, Engine Co. No. 6, was cut while breaking a window through which to stretch a hose while fighting the Pennsylvania avenue fire. He, too, Was treated at Emergency. Although_handicapped by the diffi- lculty of stretching hose to the top floor, firemen confined the blaze to that floor and roof. SNOW REMOVAL FORCE REDUCED T0 630 MEN Bright December Sun Aids Clear- ing of Streets—Gutters Get Most Attention. ‘The District government reduced its snow removal force to 630 men today as a bright December sun continued to melt away what remained of last Sat- urday’s storm. ‘The men concentrated their atten- tion on snow-clogged gutters. Some of them, however, worked on Highway De- partment trucks, which are carting snow out of the business section. ‘Two hundréd and fifty of the men constitute the remnants of the emer- gency snow removal brigade recruited from the ranks of the unemployed. The others are regular employes of the Street Cleaning and Refuse Depart- ments. Engineer Commissioner Gotwals plans to keep as many of the men as possible withcut regular jobs engaged in snow removal work. He believes the public will recelve greater benefit from this work than other jobs the District might create for them at this time. SUBCOMMITTEE GIVES RAU REPORT HEARING Practicability of Government Own- ing Power Plant Before House Group. The subcommittee on District appro- priations, headed by Chairman Cannon of Missourl, at its first meeting yester- day, considered the Rau engineering re- port on the advisability and practicabil- 1ty of having a government power plant established in Washington. Secrecy has been maintained regard- ing this subject and the Rau report has never been made public. It is designed to show just where the Federal and District Governments stand regarding light, heat and power as it could be furnished from a Government-owned plant in comparison with the service and cost from a privately-owned plant. An item for this engineering study has been carried in the District appro- riation bill for the dast three years. the 1931 bill the amount was $25,000, in 1932 it was $15,000 and in 1933 it was $10,000, making a total of $50,000, of which about $15,000 has not been spent. SEEKS RENO DIVORCE Charging cruelty, Mrs. Fanny D. Pish- burn of Cincinnati yesterday filed suit in Reno for divorce against Cyrus C. Fishburn of Bethesda, Md., civil engi: neer in the Bureau of Standards. They were married in Cincinnati Oc- tober 4, 1920, and have a caughter, i d thet D