Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1934, Page 67

Stage - Screen Music - Radio Part 4—10 Pages CONCLAVE OF STATES 4 WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, DE Sunday Star CEMBER 16, 1934, Civic Activities Autos—Aviation LEGISLATURES FACE PROBLEMS OF FINANCING RECOVERY DIXIE’S MORALE BOOSTED | BY FARM PRICE INCREASE Southern Commissioners of Agriculture Report Marked Improvement in Financial Condition. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. NEW ORLEANS, La., December 15.—Farmers in the Southland rapidly are coming out of the doldrums, if commissioners of agri- culture of the Dixie States are competent judges. Meeting here recently to consider farmers’ problems, Southern commissioners of agriculture reported marked improvement in the financial condition and morale of Better prices for farm commodities were assigned by com- missioners for improvement in Holton, agricultural commissioner for Mississippi, reported that the value of his State's farm products in 1934 has begg two and one-half times the value of the 1932 crops. G. C. Adams, Georgia commissioner, asserted that his wortn three times as much as its cotton crop of 1932. The commissioners adopted reso- lutions recommending retention of the | Bankhead cotton control act, voted on by farmers in the cotton States Friday. Cotton production control legisla- tion, the commissioners requested in | one resolution, should be amended to | remove “‘provisions now unfair to small | farmers and to farmers who have al- ready reduced cotton production.” Another resolution adopted by the commissioners asked for maintenance of domestic cotton prices “at levels in | keeping with American standards of living with parity price as the ob- jective, and preserve export trade by | permitting that American cotton enter the channels of world trade on the basis of equal competitive price.” ‘The commissioners’ meeting was at- tended by cotton planters. and deal- ers, cotton seed oil men, Florida fruit and vegetable growers and other agri- | cultural representatives, as well as offi- | cials of North Carolina, South Caro- | lina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mis- | sissippi, Tennessee and Louisiana. Ill- | ness prevented the attendance of the Texas commissioner of agriculture. Tick Eradication Urged. A plea to complete the eradication of the cattle fever tick in 1935 in Lou- isiana, Texas and Florida, the only remaining States in the South having | infested areas, was embodied in a res- olution appealing to Congress to pro- | vide funds for the Bureau of Animal | Industry to co-operate in 1935 with the several State agencies. The Bankhead resolutions recom- mended that “the Secretary of Agri- | culture be authorized to determine | from year to year the world require- | ments of American cotton and allot this number of bales to States upon | the basis of each State’s production in the vears 1928-1932, whiech shall be | allotted to counties and to farms on | the basis of the maximum percentage of cultivated land which may be de- voted to cotton production.” Resolutions, which stated that one- third of the farmers of the country | derive practically their sole income from lint and cottonseed and that other groups of farmers produce a large volume of animal fats, were ap- | proved, urging Congress to make no | change in the present excise tax on foreign oils. 0il Price Important. These resolutions also stated that “50 per cent of the price of cotton seed depends upon the price of cot- tonseed oil and a large part of the income received from the live stock products depends upon the price of 1ats.” Other resolutions adopted included indorsement of the protest of Florida fruit and vegetable growers against | some of the import clauses in the newly negotiated trade agreement with Cuba; recommendation of a fair com- petition code for cotton oil mill inter- ests, providing for published prices and for cotton seed for crushing pur- poses on an analysis and grade basis; and enforcement of the Fulmer bill for the sale of domestic American cotton on a net weight basis. L. Luther Chandler of Goulds, Fla., told the commissioners that “it is not fair to penalize Florida growers of to- matoes, beans, peas, eggplant and Irish potatoes, in order to sell more auto- mobiles and copper in Cuba and Mexico.” Crushers’ Problems Discussed. Lawrence Myers of the Washington office of the A. A. A. discussed the cottonseed crushers’ code problems. He was assisted by A. M. Dickson of the cotton processing and marketing sec- tion of the A. A. A. Guests at the meeting were C. C. Hanson, Memphis, secretary of Gov- ernors’ Southwide Cotton Conference; George Covington of Jackson and J. H. Petty of Greenwood, Miss., represent- ing the Mississippi Cotton Products’ Association; T. H. Gregory, Mem- phis, president of the National Cotton- seed Products Association: W. H. Hodges, Louisiana cotton planter; W. H. North, president Louisiana Ginners’ Association: F. T. Mikell, president Louisiana Cottonseed Crushers’ Asso- ciation; J. G. Lee, dean of agriculture at Louisiana State University, and Sam Bass of the American Cotton Co-opera- tive Association. Murray Erain Oklahoma Ends With Retirement January 14 By the Associated Press. OKLAHOMA CITY, December 15.— An era is ending in Oklahoma. “Alfalfa Bill” Murray of the droop- ing mustachios, elected Governor four years ago after a “cheese and crackers” campaign, will retire January 14. The picturesque chief executive is expected to head Southward in an at- tempt to improve his health. He said several months ago he would go to Panama to rest. Later he announced hi¢ intention to visit Mexico. And still later Murray said he would go to his native Texas. 4 Escaping the Winter here, the 65- year-old Governor will leave behind an electorate which also has been cold of late to some of his legislative pro- posals and to men he selected for State office. Murray was ineligible for re-elec- tion, but the candidate he supported to succeed him—Tom Anglin, Speaker of the House—fared badly in the first primary last Summer. He withdrew in favor of E. W. Marland, oil man ‘ subsequently elected to take over "a men and women who till the soil. the agricultural outlook. J. C. State's cotton crop this year is Maryland Acts To Save Holly From Vandals Fine, Imprisonment Provided, Asserts ate Forester. Special Dispatch to The Star. BALTIMORE, December 15.—An intensive campaign against wanton | destruction of holly in Maryland this | vear has been launched by F. W. Besley, State forester. Due to vandalism, the supply of holly in Maryland is rapidly becom- ing extinct, he said, and drastic ef- forts must be made to preserve its | growth in the State. “Vandalism must be stopped,” he said, in asking the co-operation of all police officials of the State to pre- vent this destruction. “There is a general law which makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of from $5 to $25 or impris- onment or both fine and imprison- ment for ‘any person to remove, take, cut, break or injure any tree, shrub, or vine, growing on the land of an- other, without his written consent or unless under his personal direction.’ All having police authority are en- Joined to enforce this law. “The Forestry Department has for several years endeavored to enlist the property owners whose lands grow hoily to not only protect it from wan- ton destruction but to regard it as a growing crop of value which will help to pay the taxes and bring an added income from forest lands. “Landowners should realize that holly has a real value and that, with conservative cutting, it may continue to produce a money crop.” MORRO CASTLE HULK IS MOVING SEAWARD Asbury Park Hopes to Get Rid of Charred Remains, Beached Three Months. By the Associated Press. ASBURY PARK, N. J, December 15.—Much to the relief of this famous shore resort, the charred hulk of the Morro Castle, beached for three months in the city’s front yard, is moving seaward slowly. Each foot it moves—they count their gains in feet now—is good news to the city, which is now as anxious to get rid of the fire-scarred ship as it once was to rent, buy or borrow it for a “museum.” In the holds of the once luxurious Ward liner, which burned off the Jersey Coast the morning of Septem- ber 8, with a loss of 124 lives, are rotting hides and thousands of gal- lons of oil. Some of the hides have been unloaded and the stench isn't quite so disagreeable as it was when East winds blow. The oil apparently can do no harm unless the ship should “break up,” in which event Asbury Park fears its beach would be ruined. Six heavy cables stretch from steam winches on the starboard side of the ship to 7,500-pound anchors 1,200 feet at sea. When rough seas ‘watter the hulk the heavy anchors, each capable of pulling 90 tons, tend to tug the ship seaward. The winches turn slowly and take up the slack, so that the advantage gained will not be lost. . A precedent was set in California legal circles when two alternate jurors in a Los Angeles criminal trial were locked up with the regular 12, but they were instructed to take no part in the deliberations. Governorship next month. Marland, like Murray, is a Democrat. Despite opposition, however, Gov. W. H. Murray has accomplished his goal of reducing home owners’ taxes by about 50 per cent. He has brought about creation of a State Tax Commis- sion, the legalization of income, sales and beer taxes and a $10,000,000 re- duction in appropriations. Public service company valuations have been increased, personal property assess- ments have been reduced. Murray first became a national fig- ure when he shut down the Oklahoma City oil field with National Guardsmen in August, 1931, until overproduction had ceased and a better price for oil was obtained. The order was modified the following October. “Alfalfa Bill” again ordered Na- tional Guardsmen to open new free State bridges across Red River and to close parallel toll structures. Toll bridge companies, claiming the right to exclusive operation under fran- Mississippi Navigation Aids The Mississippi River work of the Public Works Administration will leave the Nation with a heritage of long-sought dams and navigation s,lds.' which will go a long way toward restoring river traffic to a place of great importance in the economic life of the Mississippi Valley. Photo shows SEVEN-STATE TAX GROUP ORGANIZED Commissioners Meet for Two Days in Chicago. Plan 1935 Session. Special Dispatch to The Star CHICAGO, December 15.—Tax com- missioners of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Min- nesota experimented this week in bringing the problem of taxation un- der a common focus of study, and were 50 successful an informal seven- State organization was formed. It was agreed to hold another confer- ence in March, 1935. Six of the seven States border on the Great Lakes, and Melville B. Mc- Pherson of Michigan proposed to es- tablish a permanent clearing house for information. claiming it would enable the Lake States to collect taxes on hundreds of vessels now evading the law. It is probable such a clearing house will be created for this and other mutually advantageous purposes. Uniform Tax Laws Urged. Michigan also urged passage of uni- form tax laws affecting intangibles in order to prevent large corporations from evading taxation by claiming domicile in States not levying against stocks. Ohio contributed an account of the operation of its classified property tax. Under this law the State had been able to levy on $3,800,000,000 of as- sessed intangible property in 1933, as compared with $902,000,000 in 1930, according to Commissioner A. J. Krause. Ohio’s 1 per cent property tax limitation, however, was reported as working rather badly. County op- tion obtains in its operation. Two- thirds of the municipalities have voted taxes above the limitation, and those that have adopted it are ex- periencing much difficulty in obtain- ing adequate revenue. Illinois, where there has been much agitation for tax limitation on real estate, was specially interested in this report. State Assessment Favored. Dr. Simeon Leland of Illinois urged that assessment should be a State function, and that there should be stronger control over the matter of tax collection. He declared that only licenses are suitable sources of rev- enue for local administration. Barnett Hodes, also of Illinois, as- serted experience showed that the State was much better fitted for col- lecting certain types of tax, such as the gasoline tax, than the municipal- ities, and approved the method where- by the State shares such revenue on proportionate basis with the munici- palities. In the application of this principle he saw the possibility of meeting the needs of public schools, a pressing problem in Illinois, and some other of the seven States. Beyond discussion and decision to meet again, no action was taken. U. S. AIRPLANE MAKER TO SPEAK IN LONDON By the Associated Press, LOS ANGELES, December 15— Donald Wills Douglas, American air- plane manufacturer, has been chosen to stand under the original Wright airplane in the South Kensington Museum in London and deliver the 1935 Wilbur Wright Memorial lecture to the Royal Aeronautical Society. The honor will place Douglas’ name in the select list of American and European aviation leaders who have been called on to discuss world-wide flying trends. For the lecture, which will be de- livered in May next year, Douglas has selected as his topic the new high- speed transport airplanes. Many craft of this type bearing his name are chises, obtained a Federal District Court restraining order, now in operation both in the United States and throughout the inrlfl. Advancing a general view of lock No. 7—looking north at Dresbach, five miles north of Lacrosse, Minn. This work is under the supervision of the corps of engineers, to whom the allotment of $94,500 was made.—Wide World Photo. Grumbling and Law-Breaking Greet New York’s Sales Levy Purchases of All Articles for 13 Cents or More Are Subject to 2 Per Cent Tax—Merchants Are Troubled. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 15 (N.A. N.A.) —Grumbling and confusion and not a little conscious law-breaking marked inauguration of New York City's sales tax this week. All articles, from cigarettes to auto- mobiles, with the exception of foods and prescribed medicines, are subject to a 2 per cent tax, the proceeds of which are applied to unemployment relief. Purchases of less than 13 cents are exempt. All the first day the telephones jan- gled in the Department of Finance offices, customers stalked indignantly from stores where the tax was de- manded, and merchants wrestled with such weighty problems as-—is ice cream soda a food (exempt) a drink? Should the tax be imposed on a purchase ordered from outside the city but delievered within the city limits? Large department stores reported that most customers seemed never to have heard of the tax, although col- umns and columns had been printed about it in the newspapers and long explanations and arguments filled the air. Small shop keepers, especial- ly in the foreign sections of the city, said purchasers flatly refused to pay the impost, and many merchants dug into their own pockets for the tax rather than lose business. In hun- dreds of little stores the proprietors apparently intended to collect no tax until they were forced to. All stores agreed that the new tax delayed transactions, because of the time consumed in calculating the tax from the scale prepared by the city, writing or stamping the amount of the tax on sales checks and explain- ing the procedure to customers. In spite of all these difficulties, the crowds in the department stores were as great as last week, and the man- agers reported business was brisk. The earlier fear of merchants, that KANSAS CITY HEARS SOPRANO THIS WEEK Marion Talley Will Appear in Missouri City for First Time in Seven Years. By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, December 15— Kansas City, which sent golden-voiced Marion Talley to the Metropolitan and packed her operatic debut with a trainload of mid-Western worship- ers, will hear her sing again next week for the first time in seven years. 1t has been almost nine years since Miss Talley, & plump corn-belt girl with an amazing voice “brought down the house” singing Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto and started an operatic ca- reer which ended in 1929 with her unexpected retirement to a Colby, Kas., wheat farm. Miss Talley will sing Tuesday with the Kansas City Philharmonic Or- chestra, giving her services to further the successes of that organization. The soprano still maintains her farm at Colby. This year she reduced the acreage and accepted a Government check. A heralded second operatic debut with the Chicago Grand Opera Com- pany was cut short early this year when Miss Talley, alleging the com- pany had sought to cut her contract salary, renounced the role of Gilda and retired in favor of ahother Kan- -umqgkl.mminmm | Christmas or a drink | (taxable)? Is malted milk a food or | cut seriously into seemed dissi- the tax would shopping pated. Suburban shoppers had a set of complications all their own. Pur- chases made in the city but paid for out of town are exempt, the con- trollers office ruled. Consequently, one woman in a department store bought three buttons for a total of 19 cents, and to avoid paying the 1-cent tax, ordered them delivered to her home in New Jersey. Another woman, who had just paid 59 cents for a book, overheard that arrange- ment, returned to the book counter and tried to have the book delivered. City residents making out-of-town purchases also were subject to con- fusing regulations. If a sale orig- inates in the city, a tax must be paid, but if only the purchase originates in the city, it is exempt. This was in- terpreted as mean'ng that a city resident ordering goods {rom Newark need pay no tax unless the purchase wes stimulated by a salesman from Newark, Shopkeepers near the ferries to New Jersey, whose clienteles were largely made up of commuters, and those near the northern boundary of the city, adjoining Westchester County, complained that the tax would drive them out of business. One immediate benefit of the sales tax lay in the increased burden placed on the delivery and accounting de- partments of the large stores, several establishments finding it necessary to engage extra employes. The city has Yorbidden merchants to absorb the tax, so the circulation of pennies was boosted tremendously. Bartenders found themselves charg- ing 36 cents and 41 cents for drinks. Popular brands of cigarettes were two packages for a quarter, plus 1 cent tax. Some shopkeepers, wishing to avoid the difficulties of making change or to avert the wrath of customers, lowered all prices the amount of the tax. GREAT LAKES SAILORS WERE SAFER IN 1934 Only Five Lost Lives in Four Major Shipwrecks in Past Shipping Season. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 15.—Sailors were safer on the Great Lakes in '34. Thanks to a kindlier storm god and the eternal vigilance of the Coast Guardsmen, only four major ship- wrecks were marked down on the log of the Lakes this shipping season and only five sailors failed to come back to port. Two hundred lives, or more, were lost on the five lakes—but these were luckless swimmers, unskilled canoeists, amateur yachtmen and a handful of aviators caught by trouble off shore. The Coast Guards saved countless others, and—between patrols —had time to rid Lake Michigan of & band of modern “pirates.” Most spectacular of the Coast Guard feats was the rescue of the crew of the Henry Cort, December 1. Be- labored by mountainous seas and groping for a safe harbor in a bliz- zard, the 315-foot whaleback steamer was driven against the Muskegon, Mich., breakwater. Five guardsmen attempted to geach the foundering freighter in a small boat. Their tiny craft was swamped. Surfman John Di- pert’ was drowned. But at dawn a line was shot aboard the Cort and her crew of 25 pulled to safety, VIRGINIA'S RETURN 10 DRY LAW SEEN State Anti-Saloon League Head Predicts Vote by 1938 or 1940. By the Associated Press. RICHMOND, Va., December 15— Rev. Ed J. Richardson, superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of Vir- ginia, today predicted that “not later than 1938 or 1940 Virginia will again vote for prohibition and by an astounding majority.” This assertion resulted largely from the results of a local option election under the alcoholic beverage control act in which York County voted over- whelmingly to withdraw from the privileges of the act, and the indica- tion that late December elections in the towns of Abingdon and Narrows will be the last for a year under the law which prohibits liquor elections in years when certain local officers are elected, 750,000 Gallons Sold. Meanwhile the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board announced today that in six months of actual operations the board has sold approximately three quarters of a million gallons of hard liquors in Virginia, bearing out the estimate that the State's gross revenue from liquor for the first year will be approximately $12,- 000.000. York was the second county to de- nounce the privileges of the A. B. C. act. Rockingham was first. Besides these two counties the drys have re- tained the towns of Saltville, Pulaski and Richlands, all located in counties which voted dry in the referendum of October, 1933, when the State voted for repeal and a system of liquor control by nearly 2 to 1, despite the fact that more than a third of the counties voted dry. State Store Closed. The cities of Bristol and Radford also have voted against the continu- ance of A. B. C. privileges, and the State store at Bristol was closed Tues- day, 60 days after the election there. ‘The A. B. C. Board has opened 67 stores since it began functioning in May. One of these, in Bristol, has been closed. The Bristol store was the only one located in a locality which has exercised the right of local option, except Danville, where the people voted for A. B. C. privileges before the store was opened. The board has proceeded with caution in opening stores in communities which voted against State control in the referendum. RAIL OFFICIALS HAIL SHIPMENTS INCREASE Annual Yule Rush, Begin‘ing 10 Days Ahead of Time, May Be Heaviest in Years. By the Assoclated Press. CHICAGO, December 15.—Railway officials today hailed increased freight, express and mail shipments as har- bingers of better times ahead. The annual Christmas rush, they said, started about 10 days earlier than usual and promises to be the liveliest in several years. Freight engines over the Midwest last week pulled heavier loads to give that department a scasonal boost, too An official of the Railway Express said his firm’s business was running about 20 per cent ahead of last year and that it was experiencing the sharpest upturn since 1931. Freight reports showed that the New York Central last week scored a gain of about 2,500 revenue cars over the same week in 1933. The Balti- more & Ohio topped 1933 for the first time in three or four months and other lnes showed corresponding salns, § —- GREET NEW Legislation Tasks Code Revision an By the Associated Press. two years. half a billion dollars greets them more workable liquor laws. Increased taxation in present chan- nels and new subjects of taxation are | favored for providing the cost of re- | covery in most States. Others, con- sidering that the tax burden has reached its saturation point, incline to drastic reductions of Government ex- penditures to compensate for the grow- ing demands on the State purse. Still & third group of legislators plan a nice combination of the two, holding down inevitable tax increases by a consolidation of duplicating govern- mental functions. New York State will need to raise $150.000.000 in new revenue to meet last year’s $100,000,000 deficit and this year's slump in tax returns. Repub- licans urge a 2 per cent sales tax. but Democrats, in control, are silent. Their | plans seem to indicate emergency in- creases in income, gasoline and cor- poration taxes. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are as- sured of the need for an additional | $178,600.000 to balance their budget The greater portion of this is designed for unemployment relief. Possible come taxes, retail sales taxes, occupa- tional taxes, additional gasoline taxes and increases in the gross receipts tax on utilities and capital stock tax. California Faces Deficit. A biennial increase of $92.000.000 must be made in revenue in California if the budget is not to go out of bal- ance on the basis of present expendi- tures. This does not include any re- lief expenditure, which conservative estimates put at $15.000,000 for a total | budget of $289500.000. Increasing | school costs and abolition of State property taxes has caused the prospec- tive deficit. Retention of the sales tax appears inevitable, with possible ex- tension of its field. Other proposed revenue means are increases in gaso- tion taxes. Ohio seeks enactment of a $75.000.- 000 permanent taxation program to compensate for $45,000.000 loss in gen- eral property tax, while retention of North Carolina’s emergency 3 per cent sales tax is conceded even by its opponents. Sentiment generally in the Middle ‘West and West seems to be turning to the sales tax and the income tax with emphasis on the higher brackets. Tllinois and Arizona, both with a sales tax, are seriously considering | some form of income tax; Missouri’s | sales tax, bringing in $4,500.000 an- nually, will likely be doubled, and Minnesota plans a general boost for both inheritance and income taxes. Kansas Turns to Sales Tax. Kansas, on the other hand, with an income tax law, is turning to the sales tax for augmented revenue. In North Dakota. Nebraska, Idaho and Wyoming both the sales tax and income tax are under consideration. During the present administration in Tennessee a cut in annual ex- penses of more than $6,000,000 was made. Possibility of sales tax legis- lation there overshadows everything else in interest. The administration has not announced any views on the subject, but has indicated that addi- tional economies will be effected. In New Jersey passage of strict municipal budget limitation laws and strict economy in local government is expected to solve the budgetary problem with & possible broadening of the tax base held in reserve. Committees working in Oklahoma, Utah and Iowa have planned con- solidation of duplicating State de- partments and overlapping county administrations to obviate the need for increased taxation. In Colorado and New Mexico county consolidation for efficiency and economy is certain to be consid- ered, while in Texas and Connecticut duplicating State departments are due to be scrapped in the fight on gov- ernmental waste. Tax increases are expected, however, in these two States. The war against crime, given added impetus by President Roosevelt's ap- peal, will loom large on the cal- endars of State Legislatures. Ohio is planning the establishment of a State criminal bureau, patterned after the Federal Department of Jus- tice, and co-operating with it. North By the Associated Press. ATLANTA, December 15.—Mrs. Wilton Williamson says “one of the greatest thrills of a lifetime is to watch ocean waves. especially when they roll back and leave perfectly good United States money shinimg right in your face.” The identity of Mrs. Williamson as the discoverer of the “leaking treasure chest” in the surf at Wrightsville Beach, N. C, last Summer was made positive when she disclosed she was the first to discover the money- revealing tide and that she kept it a secret long enough to make her trip profitable. During her visit to the beach, said Mrs. Williamson, she found the “pay dirt” and took only her sister-in-law into her confidence at first. Later her husband, on vacation from his work in Atlanta arrived, and still the secret ‘was kept. For days and days, Mrs. Williamson said, she and her sister-in-law would plant themselves on the spot and wait for the tide to change. Then came pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, a sources for the revenue are State in-| line, liquor, truck, bank and corpora- | GROWING STATE DEFICITS LAWMAKERS Include Criminal d More Stringent Utility Control. NEW YORK, December 15—The finances of recovery are causing America's newly elected State legislators their severest headaches as they map the course of government for the next A steadily growing deficit that combined is now more than . A stupendous problem in itself, it serves but as a bold background to the public’s clamor for revised criminal codes, more stringent public utility control and Inseparable from the financial problem, questions of social legislation demand their answers. relief programs, old-age pensions and job insurance propose to add tens of millions ol dollars to already burdened budgets. Advocates of unemployment | Dakota legislators will consider estab- lishing a State police commission, | which_ would have control. by power | of removal, over local police depart- | ments. The aim is to check graft. Numbers of Georgia legislators have | proposed the creation of a State police force to curb crime on the highways and elsewhere. Announcement already has been made that efforts will be directed to making kidnaping for ran- som, now punishable with a maximum sentence of 20 years, a capital offense. | Texas is considering a merger of | the colorful Texas Rangers, famed | law-enforcement agency, with the State highway patrol as a more effec- tive means of curbing crime. The | proposal carries with it the establish- ment of a State bureau of criminal identification. State Police Sought. In Washington and Oklahoma bills will be introduced asking establish- | ment of a State police patrol. Wash- | ington seeks to have its small patrol of 76 men tripled. New Mexico seeks revision of her criminal code, particu- \ larly making prosecutions technicality proof. Utility legislation agitation has been focused on Tennessee because of the Tennessee Valley Authority and its | “yardstick power rate” program. The | administration in Tennessee has indi- cated it will force through whatever legislation is necessary to obtain the fullest advantages from the T. V. A. While other States watch the ree |sult of the T. V. A.~experiments, however, they are not delaying in tightening their own pubiic utility | laws. In New York, where test legis- lation enacted last year was held cone stitutional, the Democratic admin tration plans to ask for more string supervisory laws. | In West Virginia a utility fight i | the Legislature is sure. One bi be introduced calls for equalization taxation and rate-making valuati |and greater powers for the Put Service Commission, State rate-fixing body. Texas Enters Utility Field. In Texas, with the State itself en- tering the public utility Seld through the Colorado River Authority, laws are planned to make it possible for any | community to acquire and operate its own utilities in an effort to reduce excessive rates. Nebraska seeks the creation of a utilities body or . broadening of the powers of the present Railway Com- mission. Seven States, Nebraska, West Vir- ginia, South Carolina. South Dakota, ‘Wyoming, Idaho and Utah, having re- pealed their State prohibition laws, are faced with setting up liquor control regulations. In other States where control leg- islation is already in effect 1t will be up for revision. Pennsylvania, for ex- ample, will hear criticisms of her State monopoly set-up, while in Indiana the package law will be under fire. Hottest of all the liquor fights, how- ever, is expected in the dry State of Georgia, where beer is sold openly in defiance of State laws and bootleg liquor is plentiful. A number of cities. by ordinance, have “legalized” the sale of beer, SAN QUENTIN “ALUMNI” IN MANY UNIVERSITIES By the Associated Press. SAN QUENTIN, Calif., December 15.—No foot ball team trots out on the field here Saturdays to “die for dear old San Quentin,” but the prison was disclosed today as having within its gray walls a “prep school” that has put many of its “alumni” in the country’s universities. Dr. H. A. Shuder, director of prison education, made the disclosure, but he declined to name any former con- victs now striving for college degrees elsewhere. Likewise he refused to name the universities involved. “Many former San Quentin prison- ers are continuing on the outside their educational work begun here.” he said of the self-improvement efforts of 3030 of the 6,000 men in San Quentin. Treasure Cast Up on Carolina Beach Is Recovered by Woman with diamonds in it—and lots of little useless things. Mrs. Williamson said that for at least four weeks the “secret of the sands” was kept within close confines of relatives, and the average “pick- up” was about $4. Mrs. Williamson explained that the money was not found when the tide ebbed. It had to be flood tide and the currents just right, she added. ‘While she refused to divulge the to- tal amount of money she found, her husband said it was the most profitable vacation he had spent. Soon after the secret was out the money stopped. Many theories were advanced, but the actual source has not been divulged. Little credence is put in the theory that pirates lost a treasure chest off this exact spot, although many years ago they were active in the area. Many believe robbers, who had looted a large hotel safe, and who were nearly captured by officers, cached bags of money on sills under the building. In 1926 the building was destroyed by fire at high tide and, some say, the cache easily could have been dumped into the sea at this point,