Evening Star Newspaper, September 26, 1933, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Cloudy, probably occasional showers tonight and tomorrow; cooler tomorrow afternoon or night; light variable winds. ‘Temperatures: Highest, 92, at 3:30 p.m. yesterday; lowest, 69, at 4 am. today. Full report on page A-9. Closing N. Y. Markets,Pages13,14&15 No. 32,655. post _office, “Entered as sccond class matter ‘Washington, D. C. he WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1933—THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. KELLY 15 CAPTURED WITHOUT STRUGGLE IN MEMPHIS RAI Federal Agents and City Po- lice Seize Desperado, Wife and Two Men. DROPS GUN AS HE FACES WEAPON OF DETECTIVE Woman Says She Will Return to Oklahoma to Fight Kid- naping Charge. By the Associated Press. MEMPHIS, Tenn., September 26.— George E. “Machine Gun” Kelly, no- torious desperado, surrendered with- out a struggle here today when a de- tective sergeant pointed a sawed-off shotgun at his heart. The Southwest's “bad man” was asleep in a bungalow when Department of Justice agents quietly perfected plans for his capture to face trial in con- nection with the $200,000 kidnaping of Charles F. Urschel, Oklahoma City oil man. The house in which he and his wife, Kathryn, and two others, J. R. Tich- nor, 30, and S. E. Travis, 26, were stay- ing, was surrounded by officers. Drops Gun Quickly. Detective Sergt. Bill Raney entered a front door. As Kelly opened a bed room door, revolver in hand, Raney| told him quietly: “Drop that gun,| Kelly.” Kelly's pistol dropped to the floor.| His hands pointed to the ceiling. | At the police station to which the! four were taken, Kathryn Kelly im-| mediately agreed to waive extradition | and return to Oklahoma City to face| trail. Kelly was not as communica- tive as his wife, and not nearly as egreeable to returning to Oklahoma City. He readily admitted his identity, but told Police Chief Will D. Lee, “I'm not talking about anytbing.” } “I was going back to Oklahoma City tomorrow and give myself up,” his auburn-haired wife said. “Kelly told me he would kill me if I did, but I was going anyway.” She said she wanted to save her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. G. Shannon, who are now on trial in connection with the kidnaping. ; Early this morning police received a telegram from the Department of Justice that the Kellys were hiding in Memphis, his black hair dved yellow, | and his wife wearing a red wig. Fly to Scene of Arrest. The agents, headed by W. A. Rorer, flew into Memphis by plane and were met at the airport by local police. To-| gether, they went to the house on Ray-| ner street, and surrounded it. i Kelly, police said, was traced here by a telegr: sent in code to Tichnor. The message’s contents were not re- vealed, but it presumably was a tip to Tichnor concerning the movements of omcerl:. 1 id Tichnor, ce said, 0 n l;armecncf;o with any of the crimes “charged to Kelly, including partici- pation in the slaying of Policeman ! Miles Cunningham, who attempted to capture five men who robbed a Federzl Reserve Bank automobile in Chicago! recently and fled behind a smoke! een. m;:mer Lee said there was a $10,000 reward for Kelly in connection with { the Urschel kidnaping and a 55.001?‘ reward in connection with the bank job. Who is entitled to the rewards has not been determined. Arresting Officers Named. i The actual arrest of Kelly and thei other three was made by Sergt. Raney, Detective Sergt. Floyd Wiebenga, A. O Clark, a patrolman; Rorer, B. ». Fl[?-‘ simmons and R. E. Patterson, the last three agents of the Department of tice. Jui s;m‘t while after the capture was effected, planes bringing Department of Justice operatives from St. Louis and Chicago arrived in the city. Chief Lee was taking no chances| with his prisoners. The cells in which they were placed were surrounded oy officers with machine guns and sawed- shotguns. mRfirer glmmediat.ely telephoned the ar- rest to J. Edgar Hoover, director ~of the Bureau of IGentification, in ‘Washington. “We found him in bed.” Rorer wired, “and he was captured without a Slrx'%l:rdon of police surrounded the A group of offi- through the front hall- is not Wanlo.’” house about 6 a.m. cers made its way entrance. Another stood in the way, facing Kelly'’s closed door. Suddenly the door swung open and Kelly appeared with a revolver in his hand. A shotgun, however, was pointed traight at his heart. b Kg\ly's gun dropped to the floor and his hands pointed to the ceiling. Waiting for Them, He Says. «I have been waiting for you all; night,” Kelly said. 2 “Well, here we are miling. ’ S ater, smiling broadly and smoking ! one cigarette after another, Kelly re- mained defiant in another interview Vi olice. “2; %hmr Lee walked into his cell he | Raney said, | T'm Chief Lee” was the reply. “Give me a light, then,” was Kelly's response. Noticing h“"rhat's been that way a long time, Keliy answered. At the time o the fugitive’s yellow hair, “When did you dye your f the Chicago robbery, a feverish hunt was being staged in| other sections. especially Oklahoma, for Relly. Officers alleged he had threat- ened the families of prosecutors, a wit- ness and the victim in the Urschel kid- {Arthur S. Rosichan Nominat- | | tion, has been nominated by the Dis-. {of the $15,000.00) fund appropriated +be handled directly by Rosichan under { the Commissioners by George S. Wilson, i trial. Dep%, ad been identified as 8 mem- ~(Continued on Page 2, Column 3. . GERMAN LEADER DIES Franz Bracht Ousted Premier Un- der Von Papen. LIN, September 26 (#)—Franz B\Ecfikfi. who, pin 1932, dramatically ous Premier Otto Braun and Inter- for Minister Karl Severing of Prussia, died today at the age of 55. An in- testinal disease was the cause of death. Bracht dismissed the two ministers in his capacity of deputy commissioner for the state of Prussia under the Franz von Papen chancellorship, W ashington Agent Uses Plane To Swoop Down on Kelly Gang || William A. Rorer Carries Out Hoover’s Plan to Prevent Escape. Operatives Rushed From Other Cities to Effect Capture. A 35-year-cld Washington law school graduate who became & special agent of the Justice Department’s Division of Investigation just four years ago was the leader of a heavily-armed force of Federal officers who flew through the night to Memphis, Tenn., and captured “Machine Gun” Kelly and his wife early today. The youthful agent, who, more lit- erally than figuratively, swooped down on the dangerous and much-sought fugitive in the Urschel kidnaping case ands took him, his wife and two others without a struggle at 6:45 a.m. today, is William Asburg Rorer, native Vir- ginian and graduate of National Uni- versity Law Schcol here and of the University of Virginia and Randolph- Macon Academy. Ordered to Use Planes. Rorer, recently appointed agent in charge of the Birmingham fleld qffice of the Division of Investigation, aroused from bed at Birmingham about 2 o'clock this morning by a long-dis- tance call from Washington. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the division, who had been up all night at his office here supervising whiriwind developments in the hunt for Kelly, was on the wire. Rorer was directed to mobilize as many of his men as possible, arrange for immediate use of two Army planes and fly at once to Memphis, where, at a certain address, he would find “Ma- chine Gun” Kelly, his wife and prob- | ably several other men. There were few other instructions, except a warn- ing to “shoot first” if Kelly tried to resist or escape and to obtain aid of local police in making the raid. In the meantime Hoover had issued " (Continued on Page Z, Column 8.) GEORGE KELLY. WILLIAM A. RORER. TRANSIENT RELIEF DIRECTOR NANED ed by D. C. Heads to Ad- minister Local Fund. Arthur S. Rosichan, executive di- rector of the Jewish Welfare Federa- trict Commissioners to be director of transient relief for the District, under the Federal Emergency Relief Admin- istration, it was made known today. Rosichan’s name was submitted to Arthur L. Hopkins, national director, Saturday and now awaits Hopkins® approval, according to Daniel E.| Garges, secretary of the Commissioners. No definite set-up has been planned for the handling of transient relief here during the coming Winter and,| it his appeintment is approved, Rosi- chan will work out the necessary plans in co-operation with the Board of Pub- lic Welfare and Morris Lewis, deputy Federal administrator, who has charge for national transient relief. Just how much money will be allotted | the District has not been determmed" and it is understood that the fund will the deputy Federal administrator. Heretofore, transients in the District have been cared for by the Salvation Army. Volunteers of America, Central Union Mission, Gospel Mission and other similar agencies, but it will be up to the District director and the Federal administrator to determine just how the work will be handled in future. Rosichan’s nomination was sent to director of Public Welfare, with whose office the director of transient relief will co-operate. Rosichan came to Washington in April, 1932, to take charge of the Jew- ish Relief Federation. He came here from Cleveland, his native city, where e had been engaged in social work for several years. WORKERS 6UIT FORD PLANT AT CHESTER | Several Thousand Walk Out, De-| claring Dissatisfaction With Their Pay. By the Associated Press. CHESTER, Pa. September 26.—Sev- eral thousand men employed at the Ford Motor Co. plant here walked out today, declaring they were dissatisfied | with their wages. Workers said it was not a unionired | movement but was the spontaneous action of the emplo™ss. They estimated 4,000 to 5,000 men left their places. The walkout was orderly and hun- dreds of the men remained in the vi- cinity of the plant. They said their working time was reduced last Friday from five to four days with a minimum wage rate of 50 cents an hour for an eight-hour day. or $16 a week.- Some of the men asserted this was not a liv- ing wage. They declared they want a five-day week at $5 a day. One representative from each of the departments will form a committee to confer with company officials, leaders among the men said. Company officials declined to discuss the walkout, pending word from the Detroit offices of the company. It was said 800 to 900 men remained at work. Tool Strike Voted. DETROIT, September 26 (#).— Spokesmen for the Mechanics Edu- cational Society, an organization of skilled automotive workers, announced a strike of all tool and die makers in Detroit, whether members of the society or not, had been voted to take effect at noon today. Jay J. Griffin, chairman of the Strike Committee, said the strike would be called in support of striking members at Flint, Mich,, auto plants, who have walked out charging units of the Gen- eral Motors Corporation there are not conforming to the and hour pro- visions of the N. R. A. auto code. He said also the strike would be in the nature of a demand for recognition of the organization by shop owners, { i Woman Gives Clue Leading to Capture Of Kelly and Wife By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, September 26—It was an Oklahoma woman from whom the Government learned that George Kelly was in Mem- phis, Melvin H. Purvis of the in- vestigation unit of the Depart- ment of Justice here said today. The woman is a Miss Arnols Purvis said, a close friend of Mrs. Kelly, who had left her Okla- homa horhe with the Kellys and accompanied them to Memphis after the Urschel kidnaping. After visiting with them sev- eral days, she returned to the Southwest and the Government, hearing she knew where Kelly was, gave her a thorough siege of questioning. At length, Purvis said, she talked and the Fed- eral agents found Kelly. TREASURY HEADS MUST ANSWER SUIT| Woodin Among Those Or- dered to Answer Injunction in U. S. Savings Case. Justice Letts in District Supreme | Court today signed a rule calling upon | Secretary of the Treasury Woodin and | bel other officials to show cause in court October 4 why they should not be en- joined from disposing of assets from the United States Savings Bank in or- der to pay a cash dividend to depositors. This move, requested by Col. Wade H. Cooper, president of the United ! States Savings Bank, brought to a cli- max the long-drawn-out fight between him and the Government over the fu- ture of this bank. The hearing for an injunction will be before Justice Jennings Bailey, who presided in the previous case, in which Col. Cooper succeeded in having the United States Savings Bank dropped from the proposed Hamilton bank mer- ger. This case is still pending. Defendants Are Named. Defendants in the action filed today by John W. Staggers and W. Bissell Thomas, counsel for Col. Cooper, are Secretary of the Treasury Woodin, Controller of the Currency J. F. T. O'Connor, Deputy Controller F. G. Awalt, W. R. Milford, chief of the re- organization division of the Office of Controller of the Currency: W. Irving Shuman of the reorganization division, and Wilbur H. Zepp, conservator of the United States Savings Bank. The petition for an injunction was Col. Cooper's answer to a virtual promise from the Treasury Department that steps would be taken to pay a cash dividend to depositors. Charges Personal Enmity. In his bill, Col. Cooper charges the Treasury Department representatives named as defendants “have incurred a violent rsonal enmity toward the plaintiff because the plaintiff has dared to assert his rights in this court.” The defendants under the injunction would be restrained from selling, pledg- ing, transferring, or otherwise in any way disposing of or incumbering any of ! the assets of the United States Sav- ings Bank. The defendants are charged by Col. Cooper with “fraud, deception and con- cea!ment in the matter of the organi- zation of the Hamilton National Bank.” He declares the Treasury was "threut-' ening to liquidate the United States, Savings Bank” to the irreparable dam- age of the plaintiff. Possibility of Treasury action toward payment of a dividend was revealed in a letter from Gibbs Lyons, deputy con- troller of the currency, delivered late yesterday to Cooper’s attorneys, John W. Staggers and W. Bissell Thomas. Cooper Changes Plans. ‘This_ietter was understood to have been the cause of a quick change in Col. Cooper’s plans, as he had previous- ly intended to go to court today with| a mandamus suit to compel the Treas- ! ury to accept his plan for reopening the bank alone. The Treasury and Col. Cooper, how- ever, are far apart in their two differ- ent proposals for the bank. The _ differences bstween them were (Continued on Page 2, Cotumn 1.) benin WITH SUNDAY MORNNG EDITION PRESIDENT STUDIES RECOVERY MOVES ON JOURNEY HOME Steel Executives Promise to Compete for 700,000- Ton Rail Order. PLEA MADE FOR 1926 MONEY AND PRICE LEVEL Bulletin Calling Closed Shop Agree- ment Invalid Stirs Labor- Employer Controversy. By the Associated Press. President Roosevelt turned home- ward today to develop in the quiet of his Hyde Park residence new invigora- tion for the Government’s manifold recovery efforts. Ways to expand credit and lift farm prices topped the chores scheduled for even more intensive study by Mr. Roosevelt after three crowded weeks spent canvassing every phase of the Federal push toward economic better- ment. These tasks have recefved the Pres- ident's earnest attention from the hour of his return to the White House after Labor Day from a brief yachting holi- day. New orders seeking to boost farm incomes and aid N."R. A. industries have been issued rapidly, and demands for currency inflation apparently re- jected for the present. Newest development in an intensive credit-expansion program was a prom- Ise given the President by steel execu- tives to submit competitive bids on a 700,000 tonnage order for steel rails. Mr. Roosevelt planned to advance the $25,000,000 or more needed by the car- riers to buy the rails—provided the prices are low enough. Cheaper Doiiar Discussed. ‘The steel purchase was the subject of one White House conference yes- terday. A cheaper dollar was the sub- ject of another in a plea for 1926 money and price levels presented by a farm group headed by Edward A. O'Neal, president of the Farm Bureau Federation. Already the President has initiated numerous Federal moves aimed at higher farm prices and easier credit. Prominent in the new steps of recent weeks were: A program for spending $75,000,000 or more on surplus farm and staple products for distribution to the needy. A concerted effort to expand credit, joined in by the Federal Reserve Baard, the Reconstruction Finance Corpora- tion, the Farm Credit Administration, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation and the Public Works Administration. The drive included offers to advance millions to banks for industrial loans, tp relieve banks of slow farm and city mortgages, to open and strengthen closed and restricted banks, to spend faster the $1,600,000,000 of allocated public works money. Organization of the Deposit Guaranty Corporation to guarantee new deposits. An offer to lend 10 cents a pound on | cotton held on farms. Yesterdy's offer to use public works money to buy steel rails. Plans in Operation. These new stimulants to recovery were in operation, though some were not yet beyond organization stages. While the President was reported to be considering adding coal to the farm commodities for relief distribution, the | Agricultural Adjustment Administra- tion was studying the relation between farm surpluses and prices, seeking to determine the most effective method of expending R. F. C. money in buying supplies for the destitute. Promulgation of the soft coal indus- trial code after months of dispute was hailed as a new level of N. R. A./ achievement, but the President leaves d a still raging employer-labor -confroversy The National Association of Manufacturers last night distributed to thousands of members a copyrighted ! bulletin advising employers “there is no | difference whatever under the law be- tween a company union, on the one | hand, and an affiliate of the American Wederation of Labor on the other.” It added: [ “Either a closed shop agreement is invalid whether made with one or the other type of labor organizations or both kinds of closed shop agreements are valid, and by a bona fide agreement with the employes through a company union the empioyer may outlaw other unions in his plant.” The bulletin was prepared by John C. Gall, associate counsel of the asso- ciation, who expressed the view that either tyPe of closed shop was invalid. This conflicted with the expressed at- titude of Willlam Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, who has announced his organization’s inten- tion of drawing all labor within its folds Roosevelt to Study Report. Despite the temporary absence of Administrator Hugh S. Johnson, cause of an infection, the N. R. A. machine continued to move swiftly. Hearings on codes for 21 industries were on this week's program with 25 more next week. President Rosevelt had before him for study in connection with the credit drive, a report fronr Walter Cummings, conservator of closed banks, that in the last six weeks 129 institutions had reopened, and $398,134,000 been made available to depositors of 265 banks. This report showed 14,080 banks oper- ating on an unrestricted basis with de- posits of $31,930,275,000, and 2,575 in- stitutions holding deposits of $1,765,- 669,000 still unlicensed. Release of these frozen deposits is one of Mr. Roose- velt'’s immediate objectives. Backs Special Inducements. In the copyrighted bulletin prepared by Gall for the National Association of Manufacturers the association in- formed employers that under the law they could advise workers against joining a labor union or, within limits, offer special inducements, such as group insurance, to employes who will join and bargain through a ccmpany union. The bulletin _was _interpreted by (Continued on Page 2. Columin 4.) GUIDE FOR READERS Amusements Comics Features o St SAVTA AR N NN B “From Press to Home Within an Hour” 'The Star’s Carrier system covers every city block and the regular edition is delivered to city and suburban homes as fast as the papers are printed. ¥% Yesterday’s Circulation, (P) Means Associated 115,047 TWO CENTS. Press. LK PRE BO0ST WITHOUT G0 10 HOME 5 SOLGT | Maryland-Virginia Producers Heed Warning of Agricul- tural Adjustment Body. A warning bv the Agricultural Ad. | justment Administration that any milk | | marketing code for the Washington area proposing an increase in cost to , the consumer would be investigated “very thoroughly” was met today with | a statement by the Mnrylnnd-vlrgmll" Milk Producers’ Association that it was | its purpose to increase the price pald to | the producer without raising the cost to the consumer. A spokesman for the milk of the administration, pointing it prices for milk here already were 2 cents per quart higher than prices throughout the Nation, promised full protection to the consumer in the pro- mulgation of a marketing code and said no increase in retail prices would be countenanced till a thorough in- quiry had been made. Oppose Consumer Raise. The Milk Producers’ Association is- | sued a statement saying: | | “Realizing from the figures given us | by our members that the milk pro- ducers on this market are not getting | cost of production, with feed and prac- ticglly everything else the farmer has to buy Hhaving recently materially in- jcreased in price, this association is doing everything in its power to in crease the price of milk to the pro- | ducers as much as that can be done | without making it necessary to in-! crease the price to the consumer. “We think this can be done through a code with the Department of Agri- | culture on which we are working and which we understand would cut wastes | and unfair trade practices which would | result in ccnsiderable saving. all of which we believe should go to the pro- ducer under the circumstances.” These developments came as the | Independent Milk Distributors’ Associ- ation, which was organized late yes- terday, prepared to meet this after- noon to draft fmeral policies and de- | termine its position with respect to the marketing agreement now being formu- ‘Xx;ted by the milk producers’ associa- tion. Sefton Darr, an attorney, at whose | offices the organization meeting was| | held, today denied reports the purpose { the new association was to fight | 'any attempt at price raising. | Cause of Organization. | “The association was organized be- | cause it was felt that its members | want to act as & unit when the agree: ment is presented to the A. A. A. Darr sald. “There has been no deter- mination with respect to the assccia- tion's position as to the possibility of an increase in price, either to the producers or the consumers, We are| (Continued on Page 5, Column 1.) 'TAX VETO MAY SAVE GOTHAM EXCHANGE }Whitney to Advise Against Move | if Mayor O'Brien | Acts. 1 By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, September 26.—Richard ‘Whitney, president of the New York Stcck Exchange, informed Mayor O’Brien today that if he would veto the special taxes on brokers, he would recommend abandonment of the plan for moving trading to New Jersey. | _“If you veto the stock transfer and , gross income tax bills, I will promptly | . recommend to the Governing Commit- tee of the New York Stock Exchange .and also to the Governing Committee of the New Jersey Stock Exchange, which will hold its first meeting today, that the plan for the opening of a trading floor in Newark on October 2 be dropped. “In these circumstances will you kindly let me know as soon as possible what action you have taken in regard to the pending bills?” In view of the recommendation yes- terday by Samuel Untermyer, financial advisor to the city and author of the | special taxes, that these levies be aban- ) doned, Wall Street feit that the entire tax fight had been won, although Mayor i O'Brien had yet to act to make the de- | cision final. ‘The special taxes proposed were a 4-cent per share levy on stock transfers and a 5 per cent tax on gross profits of brokerage firms. Mr. Whitney’s letter to the mayor was public at the New York , Stock noon. N before “Lack of Intellect” Fails to Save Man From Jury Service By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. UPPER MARLBORO, Md, September 26.—A man who claimed he “did not have enough intelligence” to serve on a jury was not excused by Judge Joseph C. Mattingly yesterday when a number of requests to be ex- cused from service during the October term of Circuit Court were reviewed. The court apparently held the talisman who submitted the novel reason for being excused was suffering more from an inferio- rity complex than lack of intelli- gence and ordered him to report with the rest of the panel Oc- tober 2. STOCKHOLDERS 0. . TRACTION MERGER Vote Is Last Important Act to Make Consolidation Complete. Stockholders of the Washington Railway & Electric Co. and the Capi- tal Traction Co. today voted in favor of merging their street rail lines. This was the last important act re- maining complished fact, although there are still several technical steps to perform | which will string the legal part of the merger proceedings cut for a few more days. All votes cast by the stockholders of he two companies were in favor of the merger. Stockholders of the W. R. & E. Co. cast 107,335. votes out of a pos- | sible 150,000, and those of the Capital Traction Co. 83,104 out of a possible 120,000 | The Public Utilities Commission al- | ready has announced it will approve the form of merger voted upon today. It will be necessary to secure this formal ratification and then to file incorporation papers with the recorder of deeas. Stockholders of the two companies elected 14 of the directors who are to control the destinies of the Capital Transit Co., nflthe new merged rail- way will be called. Those elected by stockholders of the Capital Traction Co. are George—E. Hamilton, John H. Hanna, John M. Perry, G. Thomas Dunlop, G C. Glover, jr.; Merle Thorpe and S. Percy Thompson. Graham Mentioned for Post. ‘The 14 directors elected today must elect a fifteenth director to complete the board of the new company. It is said that Edwin C. Graham, president of the new Hamilton National Bank, has been slated for this post. It is lso freely predicted that John H. Hanna, president of the Capital Trac- tion Co., will be given the presidency of the new merged company. The essence of the merger plan voted upon today is that the new corporation will be formed and will issue 240,000 shares of stock of a par value of $100 each. Half of this stock, or 120,000 shares, will go to the Capital Traction Co., and each stockholder in that com- pany will exchange his stock for stock in the new company on a share-for- share basis. Then the Capital Trac- tion Co. will be dissolved and go out of business. W. R. & E. to Get 120,000 Shares. treatment of the stock to go to the Washington Railway & Electric Co. is somewhat different. The corpora- tion will receive 120,000 shares and in exchange for it will turn over to the Capital Transit Co. all of its railway operating propertles. The Washington Rallway & Electric Co. will not go out of business, but will remain in corporate existence. After the merger, however, it will own no street railway properties and_ its holdings will consist of the stock of the Potomac Electric Power Co. and the 120,000 shares of stock of the Capital Transit Co. ‘The new, company will assume the bonded indebtedness of the Capital Traction Co., amounted to $5,800,000 first mortgage bonds, and also. $4,000,- 000 first mortgage bonds of the Wash- ington Railway & Electric Co., $1,703,- 000 first mortgage bonds of the City & Suburban Railway and $2,906,000 first mortgage bonds of the Anacostia & Potomac River Rallroad. The two last mentioned are subsidiaries of the Washington Railway & Electric Co. After the merger, according to the terms of the congressional resolution under which it is formed, the new com- pany will no longer pay salaries of crossing policemen and it will also be relieved of a portion of the expense of paving now borne by the two merging comnanies. As part of the merger, a contract will be formally executed between the new company and the Potomac Electric Power Co.,, whereby the power com- pany will furnish electricity needed to operate the new street car system. ‘Tne price initially agreed upon is (Continued on Page 2, Column 8.) to make the merger an ac- Of CUBA INCREASES ARMY AS REVOLT RUNORS SPREAD Report U. S. Plans Some Sort of Guardianship Adds to Tension. By the Associated Press. HAVANA, September 26.—Cuban military forces were strengthened to- | day as rumors reached the government | of a change in the American policy to- |ward Cuba and of plans for another | revolt. | Simultaneously there were authentic | reports that negotiations between oppo- |sition factions and the Ramon Grau San Martin regime had approach® no closer toward a solution of problems which threatened to end the life of the two-weeks-old government. A rumor, not confirmed in responsible quarters, was circulated that some form of custodianship for Cuba was planned by the Washington administration, and | created a tense atmosphere here. | Troops Massed in Provinces. Col. Fulgencia Batista’s army was in- creased by the addition of a civil guard | 2,000 members of the Caribbean |army, a student organization. These youths did guard duty in small interior towns. Regular troops were | being concentrated in provincial capitals. | | All “suspicious” automobiles entering |or leaving Havana early today were being searched. Soldiers helped police on duty at stations throughout Ha- vana. No official explanation was | given for these steps. | The provincial governor at Santiago was forced by revolutionaries to resign. | Workers on the Consolidated Railroad |at Antilla threatened to destroy the |road if demands for back wages were inot met. 1In several places strikes | continued, there was increasing indus- trial unrest, and talk of a general strike was widespread. New Decrees Considered. These and other scattered reports gave rise to a belief in some quarters that a new revolutionary movement was being formed. President Grau San Martin, it was learned authoritatively, considered is- suing two new decrees—one densnding the immediate return to the proper owners of all sugar mills seized by striking workers and the other setting a time limit of 72 hours for the 500-odd officers in the National Hotel to return to their posts or consider themselves ousted. The officers have refused to recognize the Grau government and have been virtual prisoners in the hotel since Sep- T 8. The political situation admittedly was not_encouraging. At one meeting yes- terday both the friends and foes of the executive were ready to admit failure and only the plea of Col. Batista, the chief of staff, saved the negotiations. Rebel Chief in Capital. Meanwhile, seven Americans were in refuge at the Puerto Padre Yacht Club in Chaparra, while an American de- stroyer stood by in the bay. The Amer- Icans are mainly officials of a sugar mill and have been in a storm center of in- dustrial unrest. - Juan Blas Hernandez, veteran revo- lutionary leader against former Presi- dent Machado, arrived in the capital and denied reports he had tried to re- volt against the government. Scattered bands of rebels were re- ported still in the field around Sancti Spiritus in Santa Clara Province. Un- rest was reported at several places. WOMEN POLICE CITY Peiping Selects 18 Unmarried Chi- nese Girls for Work. PEIPING, September 26 (#) —For the first time in China’s history, women are engaged as regular ‘policemen.” The Peiping municipality, after giving candidates three months of intensive training in apprehending criminals, has chosen 18 stalwart, unmarried Chinese girls for police work. ‘They are dressed in natty khaki skirts and uniforms and have been issued regulation revolvers and batons. Their main work of chasing burglars and opium smugglers. Held in Fraud Involving Marks. FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, Ger- many, September 26 (#).—Moritz James Oppenheimer, internatonally known race horse stable owner and manufac- turer of paper goods, was arrested today, charged with fraudulent practices in- volving millions of Erlessoff marks. He is the owner of the Btables, whose horses Isolani and Ana-: stasius won many races. TANPO ISOLATED 15 THREE-FOURTHS OF Y 1S RAZED BY TSHIE WD Plane Squadrom Ordered to Scene—Fourteen Feet of Water in Streets May Block Relief Trains. DEATH TOLL ESTIMATED AT 200 TO 5,000 Nearly Every Structure Reported Destroyed or Unroofed—Thirty or More Drown as Dam Collapses in Cardenas—All Americans in Area Believed Safe.® By the Associated Press. MEXICO, D. F., September 26.— Mexico’s resources were mobilized today to aid the storm-stricken and flooded city of Tampico, where estimates placed the num- ber of dead or injured as high as 5000 and thousands were left homeless. Enormous property damage was reported. Two relief trains, carrying bat- | talions of infantrymen to aid in | reconstruction work and food and medical supplies, were en route to the oil port. Parts of the city were under 14 feet of water and railroad tracks in the area were flooded or washed away, so it was prob- lematical when they could arrive. A squadron of military airplanes was ordered to leave at dawn. | Meanwhile, Tampico was virtuallv | isolated from the outside worl< along with its scenes of death a: ! destruction. Three-Fourths of City Razed. Although more than two days ha:c passed since the huwrricane struck with all its fury, the city was with- out communication facilities except by means of wireless from ships in the harbor. Officials reported ths damage there and in other parts of the nation was “catastrophic.” Gen. Eduardo Vascenselos, secretary of the interior, who planned to fiy to Tampico to direct relief work, said the number of dead “cannot be stated exactly,” but the military chief of the district reported by wireless that three- fourts of Tampico was destroyed wita many victims. Unofficial reports set the death toll at from 200 to 5000. Dispatches by Toundabout means said the wind, of 125-mile-an-hour velocity, leveled thls Civil Hospital, railroad station and customs house and that nearly every structure was destroyed or unroofed. It w feared that hundreds had | been buried alive in the ruins. Flood waters of the Panuco and Tamest Rivers added their terrors to those of the hurricane. Harbor Closed to Shipping. Tampico was placed under martial law. Its harbor was closed to ship- ping. If airplanes could not get { through to its flooded airport it was | believed days might elapse before re- | lief could reach the city. Today the | possibility of disease, it was thought here, might hold new dangers. In the entire Tampico district, as far west as 175 miles, the storm spread death and destruction. The city of Cardenas, in San Luis Potosi, reported that at least 30 drowned as the result of the collapse of a railroad dam. It was feared that many more had xeg u‘}:i'pged byta hsel; ;1{ water and ud which swept the city, destroying many houses. s Two trains were reported to have been completely covered by water be- tween Tampico and Cardenas. The National Railways officials estimated damage to their flooded or destroyed | IFoperty would amount to $1,000,000 {or more. Crops suffered throughout the north= eastern and central parts of the coun- try, where torrential rains fell until Mst midnight. Oil Fields Hard Hit. Heavy damage was done in the oil fields, ‘according to reports reaching here by way of San Luis Potosi A number of refineries and other build- ings were wiped out. ‘Throughout the rest of Mexico, heavy losses were reported because of con- tinuing rains. Recent figures put Tampico’s popu= |lation at 100,000. It is in the state of Tamaulipas and, located in a rich and semi-tropical district, is considered the most important port in Mexico. It is on the left bank of the busy Panuco (Continued on Page 2, Column 7. . CURRENCY PARLEY HELD WITH BRITISH Dutch Premier Believed to Have Sounded Out Financiers on Stabilization. By the Assoclated Press. LONDON, September 26.—Hendryk Colijn, chairman of the Economic Com= mission of the World Economic Con= ference, conferred today with British financial authorities and was unders stood to have sounded out the feeling in London on the question of currency ! stabilization. Persons close to the Dutch premier said he believes the world parley can profitably be resumed as soon as cur- rency stabilization can be effected and that representatives of the leading countries ought to continue efforts in- dividually to remove obstacles prevent- ing a return to gold as a universal cur- rency stndard. lijn, who arrived here yester- ference.