Evening Star Newspaper, December 18, 1934, Page 4

YULE TRADE LIFTS SALES 25 PER GENT Employment Peak Reported by Many Local Stores to Handle Business. Washington stores not only are ercwded beyond all expectations, but their cash registers are ringhg oftener and in bigger figures than they have for years. Store managers were reluctant to make predictions on what the compa- rative figures will be at the end of December, but already past the mid- dle of the month and with only six shopping days left until Christmas, estimates place the dollar volume at least 25 per cent higher than last year and the unit volume slightly above that. 25 Per Cent Increase Seen. A briet survey of a number of ‘Washington’s leading stores indicates that the year 1934 will end close to 25 per cent above last year, for in November the figures already were 20 per cent ahead of the first 11 months of 1933 and December is proving a “boom” month. “Business is the best right now we have ever had,” one store executive said. “We are probably 30 per cent ahead of last Christmas,” summarized an- other. “This is our biggest volume in both dollars and units for several years,” a variety store manager added. As to the class of goods responsible for the gains, apparently there is an increase all along the line from 5 and 10 cent articles to the mest expensive. Department store executives appear to agree that the increase in higher quality sales is greater than in the cheaper goods, but insist the entire range of prices is in greater demand. Toy counter sales also indicate fuller Christmas stockings and possibly more stockings filled this year in Washing- ton than for several years, and here, as in other lines, all manner of toys and trinkets, from nickel rattlers to expensive little automobiles, are in greater demand. More Clerks Hired. Additional indication of the im- proved Christmas business is reflected in the increase in the number of temporarily employed clerks. Vir- tually every large store in Washing- ton has added to its force for the Yuletide rush, but many of them say their pay rolls include the names of more individuals than ever before in the history of the stores. Estimates made today, it was ex- plained, take into account the usual let-down immediately after Christ- mas, but pre-Christmas sales indicate & brisker than usual period of sales before the beginning of the year, and likewise @ more active exchange counter where unwanted Christmas presents may be returned for some- thing more to the receiver's taste. . HAZEN SUMMONS OFFICIALS TO KEEP DEATH OFF STREETS (Continued From First Page.) for enactment of a safety-responsi- bility law. Death Toll Reaches 126. Meanwhile, the death of Charles Lloyd Pruitt, 22, seaman first class at the Anacostia Naval Air Station, brought the 1934 death toll to 126. The previous record was 123. Pruitt, a native of West Ashville, N. C. was driving west on Howard road toward the air station when his car overturned at a bend in the road. He was pinned beneath the machine and killed instantly. He was taken to Naval Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival by Dr. Richard W. Hughes. His parents in West Ashe- ville were notified. ‘William Earl Patterson, 19 years old, 420 Eleventh street northeast, a passenger in Pruitt’s car, was cut about the head and left hand and was treated at Casualty Hospital, where it was said his condition is not serious. Two children and two policemen were added to the list of casualties as a result of accidents late yesterday afternoon. Alice Freenwood, 12 years old, 458 Warner street, was knocked down at 6:45 p.m. at Wisconsin avenue and ‘Thirty-fourth street by a car said to have been driven by Hyman Korn, 2350 Wisconsin avenue. She was treated at Georgetown Hospital for injuries to the left knee and was sent home last night. Eleven-year-old Charles F. Hayden, 2233 Fourteenth street southeast, run- ning from the curb into the street on Nichols avenue between V and W streets, was struck and knocked down by a car reported to have been op- erated by Bernard A. Pleasure, col- ored, 22 years old, 1412 Alabama avenue southeast. The boy was taken to Providence Hospital by Pleasure and was treated for scalp wounds and bruised left leg. The two policemen, Pvts. Thomas F. Heide and O. F. Beale, both of the second precinct, were responding to an emergency call when their police scout car was struck by an automo- bile said to have been operated by Sam Helpern, 51 years old, 611 Quincy street, at Vermont avenue and Q street, The injured policemen were taken to Emergency Hospital in the car of a passing motorist. Beale, after treat- ment for shock and a bruised left knee, was returned to the precinct and placed on the sik list. Heide remained at the hospital to be treated for a fractured rib and cuts about the face and head. His condition is not serious, it was said. Helpern was arrested, charged with reckless driving, and released on $1,000 bond. Police reported that the scout car was responding to an emergency call at 1515 Ninth street when the col- lision occurred. Both cars were so badly smashed that brake tests could not be made. BOY, 3, DRIVEN AWAY IN STOLEN AUTO, FOUND Child Is Victim of Unintentional Kidnaping While Sleeping in Father’s Machine. By the Associated Press. TYLER, Tex, December 18.— Whisked away by a thief who stole his father’s motor car, Ray Larison, 3, was found unharmed early today in the machine which was parked near the court kouse square. Finding of the boy ended an all- night search by Federal agents and 50 possemen who began hunting short- ly after the father, Basso Larison, re- ported Ray had been driven away by the thief. The boy had been left in the car while Larison was in a grocery | store. E White House Ready for Yule EAST ROOM TO BE DECO! RATED WITH HUGE TREE, This 22-foot Christmas tree, bought for the White House, gave & crew of 10 men a good tussle when full height. This tree will be the they attempted to stand it up to its center decoration of the mansion’s “public” celebration in the East Room. Fourteen other small trees will also be placed in the White House. ‘The family Christmas tree, however, will be private and will be placed on the second floor. Another tree, a 26-foot balsam, gift from the State of New York. It at Cherry Plain and is expected to arrive this week. is on its way to the White House, & was cut from the State game preserve —Star Staff Photo. In Capital Letters Christmas Has Many Washington Dignitaries Wondering About Their Gifts. BY GENEVIEVE FORBES HERRICK. ITH Christmas just a week away, even the most adult ‘Washingtonians are won- dering what «Santa will bring. Although he hasn't mentioned it, 1 rather imagine Secretary of Agri- culture Wallace would be perfectly content if Saint Nick forgot his own stocking and brought, instead, to the American people that “quarter turn of the human heart” on which Mr. Wallace predicates many of his theories. This hoped-for “quarter turn” will bring about, Mr. Wallace believes, a new social consciousness, and on this new social consciousness will be built & new social justice. Building for Miss Perkins. Frances Perkins gets a new Labor Department building, Moving day already has started. She'd rather have the complete recovery of her good friend, Mary Rumsey, severely injured by a fall from a horse. Chief Justice Hughes 1s going to get a new building, too. He's not very crazy about breaking home ties. Would prefer to stay in the Capitol rather than move to the elegant new marble palace of the United States Supreme Court. Katherine Lenroot, chief of the Children’s Bureau, and Josephine Roche, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, got their gifts early—the new jobs. Now they are paying for them—in the social toll Washington exacts of its celebrities, particularly its new celebrities, The Misses Len- root and Roche haven’t had a breath- ing spell for days—what with going to teas and luncheons and dinners in their honor. All they want from Santa is a little leisure—to get to work. Dog Named .for MacDonald. Lillian Wald, famed head of New York's Henry Street settlement, in Washington for a visit at the White House, had a pocket full of photo- graphs of her little terrier—named Ramsay MacDonald, after England's prime minister, and her great friend. Activities of Traffic Observers During the Week November 28 to December 6. No. 1. Weaving recklessly 1. (a) Driving in a reckless manner . Too fast . 5 . Failed to yield right of way . Failed to obey stop sign.. . Failed to obey traffic signal lights 3 . Turned left from wrong lane .. Turned right from wrong lane 8. Driving zone . . . Drove or passed on wrong side of street..... sesanes 1 . Pulled from curb without Signaling ....cccecvenene . Passed street car in vio- lation of regulation . Improper lights . 13. Parked abreast .. .. 13. (a) Parked too near fire luf cecseesas 184 Total sesees Number of cases referred by Traffic Bureau to Board for Revocation of Permits...... 15 Number of permits revoked..., 15 Number of ths, December 3 to 9, 1934, inclusive...... Number of deaths, December 3 to 9, 1933, inclusive...... Number of accidents, Decem- ber 3 to 9, 1934, inclusive. ,.159 Number of accidents, Decem~ ber 3 to 9, 1933, inclusive...171 It was to Miss Wald's settlement house that Mr. MacDonald, many years ago, brought his bride on their honeymoon. Clever Mrs. Morgenthau. One of the cleverest women in the official circle here is Eleanor Morgen- thau, wife of the Secretary of the Treasury. She has a flair for writ- ing—words both light and serious. Last week it was humorous—the | proclamation she read at the White | House masquerade, and later, the | fictitious telegrams, from real celebri- | ties, which she had delivered, very solemnly, to the guests gathered around her luncheon table the other day, at her party in honor of Mrs. Roosevelt. It will be serious soon, when, over the radio, she makes a plea for the ratification of the child labor amend- ment, for which she has long been working. Twenty States already have ratified the amendment. Sixteen more will have to, before the necessary 36 can send it into the Constitution. The Children’s Bureau is hopeful this will be the “banner year” with the re- quired 186 ratifications. The American Legion is working for it. So is the Natioral League of Women Voters. And many other women's organiza- tions. The Price of Popularity. It was in the diner on the train bound from Washington to New York. A short, swart man took a seat at a small table. In back of him a very vocal, somewhat inebriated gentleman summoned a waiter and shouted: “Say, who's that guy? I've seen him. Who's he?” “That's Mr. Pecora,” shushed the waiter soothingly. “Pecora. Damn it, T knew I was right, never forget a face. Pecora, sure. Say, what is he, now, a Senator or a Congressman?” Ferdinand Pecora, fighting fellow on the Securities Exchange Commission, continued to eat his grapefruit. Add one to list of efficient secre- taries—Mrs. Margaret Robinson, for many years No. 1 woman in the office of Tennessee’s Joe Byrns, soon to be- come No. 1 man in the House of Rep- resentatives. (Copyright. 1934, by North American Newspaper Alliance, Inc.) * BONUS BILL DRAFTED BY DEEN OF GEORGIA Representative to Introduce Plan for Payment by Special Issue of Federal Reserve Notes. By the Associated Press. ALABAMA, Ga., December 18.—A bill providing for immediate payment of the soldier bonus through a special issue of Federal Reserve circulating notes has been prepared by Represent- ative Braswell Deen, Democrat, of Georgia for introduction at the forth- coming session of the Congress. The author announced the provi- sions of his bill today and said he would offer the measure as an amend- ment to the World War adjusted com- pensation act. Under his proposal all transactions would be placed in the hands of dis- trict banks of the Federal Reserve system. RICKENBACKER PARTY HOPS OFF FOR MIAMI By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 18.—Capt. E. V. Rickenbacker took off from Municipal Airport with a party of Chi- cago newspaper publishers at 8:02 am. today on a pre-inaugural flight to Miami in an Eastern Airlines “Flor- ida fiyer.” The trail blazers planned to have dinner at Miami, after a hasty break- fast in snow-coated Chicago. The flight was scheduled for yester- day, but delayed because of a “cold front” fairly general over the South- east, causing ice to coat the wings of ground a plane, .8 Deputy Chief of Staff Is Be- lieved Eliminated as Choice for Post. Seven major generals and two brigadier generals were shifted from their present commands to new posts today, narrowing the selection of & successor to Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Army chief of staff. Indications point more favorably than ever to the selection of Maj. Gen. George S. Simonds, commandant of the Army War College, who has been detailed to succeed Maj. Gen. Hugh A: Drum as deputy chief of staff. Gen. Drum was assigned to com- mand the Hawailan Department, ef- fective February 1. An Army trans- port leaving New York on February 19 will take him to the new post. The Hawallan assignment about eliminates Gen. Drum as & possibility. Maj. Gen. Malin Craig, 9th Corps Area commander, S8an Francisco, has been assigned to succeed Gen. Si- monds as commandant of the War College, effective January 26. He was one of the leading candidates for chief of staff, but his new assignment would indicate that he, too, is out of the present running. Both Simonds and Craig will be available here, how- ever, in the event the President ap- points MacArthur's successor in the near future. MacArthur Held Over. ‘The present chief of staff, youngest ever to hold that important command, is continuing in office for an indefinite period. President Roosevelt extended his term from November to retain him to get the benefit of his experience in framing new War Department legis- lation. Among other officers in the high command transferred to new duties is Ma). Gen. Paul B. Malone, 3rd Corps Area commander, which embraces the District of Columbia. Gen. Malone is transferred to command the 9th Corps Area, San Francisco, effective Feb- ruary 19. Maj. Gen. Robert E. Callan, assist- ant chief of staff (supply division), is assigned to command the 3rd Corps Area, effective February 18. Maj. Gen. Stuart Heintzelman, com- mandant of the Command and Gen- eral Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kans,, is assigned to command the Tth Corps Area, Omaha, effective Feb- ruary 1. Maj. Gen. Frank R. McCoy, Tth Corps Area commander, Omaha, is transferred to command the 6th Corps Area, Chicago, effective February 1. Brig. Gen. Herbert J. Brees, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade commander at Fort Sam Houston, Tex., is assigned as commandant of the Command and General Stafl School, effective Feb- ruary 1. Gen. Gulick Shifted. Brig. Gen. John W. Gulick, on duty in the Panama Canal Department, is detailed as assistant chief of staff (supply department), effective Jan- uary 19. ‘The changes left vacancies in the command of the 2d Fleld Artillery Brigade at Fort Sam Houston and in the Panama Canal Department. ‘While the transfer of Gen. Drum to Hawaiia virtually removes his name from the list of chief of stafl eligibles, he is still of an age to serve a term four years hence. He is now 55 years old. War Department officials will not discuss the situation for publication. It was believed, however, from the list of avallable chiefs of staff that Gen, Simonds’ appointment as MacArthur's right-hand man, leaves him in the most favored position if a new chief is to be appointed any time soon. He has an outstanding record in the Army, during war as well as peace- time, —_— CAPT. RICHARDSON TO GET ADMIRALCY Navy Budget Officer to Be Pro- moted to Vacancy Left by Puget Sound Yard Commandant. Capt. James Otto Richardson, the Navy's budget officer, is slated to be- come a real admiral in a few days, due to the death of Rear Admiral John Halligan, jr, commandant of the Puget Sound, Wash., Navy Yard, who died on the West Coast and was buried today at Annapolis, Md. The captain is the last on the list of those selected for promotion to real admiral last year, officials said today, and he will shortly take an exam- ination and secure a temporary com- mission, pending the assembling of the Senate. The captain completed a course at the Naval War College at New- port, R. I, prior to coming to Wash- ington on duty. He had charge of fitting out the new cruiser U. S. 8. Augusta and commanded her when commissioned at Newport News, Va. He served in Washington on a previous assignment as director of officer per- sonnel in the Bureau of Navigation at the Navy Department and before that commanded Destroyer Division 38 of the destroyer squadrons of the Scouting Fleet. D. C. Police to Need Good EyeforColors To Tell Tags Apart W hite Backgrounds on Licenses for Capital Area Puzzle Officers. With a white background for the li- cense plates of the District, Maryland and Virginia, Washington police are going to have a tough job in 1935 distinguishing between automobiles of the two States and the municipality. District tags will be numbered and lettered in green, Maryland’s will be in blue and Virginia's in black. At night the similarity will be particu- larly baflling. Traffic Director Van Duzer disclosed today there is no system of co-opera- the | tion between the two States and the District in choosing license-plate col- ors, but said the American Associa- tion of Motor Vehicle Administrators has a commiitee working on a plan, which it is hoped will eliminate dupli- cations next year. Van Duzer said Washington’s col- ors were chosen last Feb) -20, and that Maryland, which has used com- binations of black and yellow for many years, switched to a white back- after the selection here, with- out knowledge of local officials. A A year ago Carl Erickson (right) and Mike Schmidt (second from Jeft), convicts in the Colorado State Frison, submitted to innoculation with tuberculosis serum and later with live bacilli to test the worth of the serum. They were promised their freedom if they lived. The experi- ment was a success and the State kept its promise. Gov. Ed. C. Johnson is shown congratulating Schmidt and Warden Roy Best congratulating Erickson the day of their release, Denver physicians. Shifted 1 MAJ. GEN. H. A. DRUM. ELECTRIC BIDS REJECTED Utility Companies in New York Get Another Slap. NEW YORK, December 18 (4#).—The public utility companies operating in New York City, already in disfavor with Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia be- cause of their attempt to pass on to the public the 3 per cent relief tax recently imposed on their gross re- ceipts, has met with another rebuff. Commissioner M. P, Davidson yes- terday rejected bids for supplying elec- tric light, power and steam to the city for 1935. He explained the com- panies were not disposed “to remedy their excessive” charges gnd he inti- mated the city would, if need be, generate its own electricity. ® WASHINGTON'S FINEST The experiment was conducted by —A. P. Photo. 5 ARE INITIATED BY ALMAS TENPLE W. C. Miller, Potentate of Shrine, Gives Inspired Charge to Class. Almas Temple of the Mystic Shrine initiated & class of 25 last night at the club house, 1315 K street, in the presence of a large crowd. William C. Miller, potentate of Almas, gave the inspired charge, and headed the cast of divan officers which presented the ritualistic sec- tion. Assisting were Robert P. Smith, chief rabban; Allen H. Potts, assist- ant rabban; Ara M. Daniels, high priest and prophet; Granville Gude, Oriental guide; Stanley D. Willis, first ceremonial master; Karl E. Jarrell, second ceremonial master; Earl W. Shinn, marshal; Howard P. Foley, captain of the guard; William P. Amos, first alchemist, and Harry Gardner, second alchemist. Dr. John C. Palmer, orator of the Shrine, delivered the oration to the class. The stage setting was under the di- rection of Ernest W. Snoots, director, and Guy G. Harper, stage manager. Nine past potentates of Almas ‘Temple were present and given an Oriental welcome by the potentate. Candidates who were initiated were as follows: Herman F. Bernstein, Raymond H. Brengle, Guy W. Briggs, Richard E. Coleman, William B. Coombs, Harold H. Cummings, John W. Darwin, Ralph H. Dodge, Bartley J. Donovon, Maurice E. Friedman, Harold B. Gardner, Dana M. Garrett, Raymond B. Harding, John T. Hardy, Walter H. E. Jaeger, Joseph Kreiselman, Charles E. Lippert, Harold W. Murray, Frederick A. Palmer, jr.; Isadore J. Politz, Foster J. Rowen, Raymond C. Soo0, Omar N. Spain, Ernest E. Thomp- son and Roy P. Tucker. Affiliations: J. Wesley Buchanan, Foster A. C. Shepherd, Richard E. Titlow and W. Garrett Weisiger. M’ADOO RECOVERS Leaves Manila Hospital After Four Days’ Illness. MANILA, Philippine Islands, De- cember 18 (#)—Recovered from an attack of acute indigestion, Senator William Gibbs McAdoo of California today left Sternberg General Hospital where he was confined for four days. He became ill while at Iloilo in con- nection with a United States sena- torial investigation of possible change in the Philippine independence act. His companions on the Senate com- mission—Senators Tydings of Mary- land, McKellar of Tennessee and Gib- son of Vermont—today inspected Cor- regidor, the fortified island at the entrance to Manila Bay. MEN'S WEAR STORE o *x W % SPECIAL! Just 78 BROCADED SILK-LINED TARNS SN ROBES $9.85 They are lined with pure silk and richly brocaded; in navy, maroon, brown or black. more! Worth much Other Robes to $37.50 - His Christmas SLIPPERS $1.95 to $5 We have every type of fine quality slipper he could wish for, ® CHARGE Agcoun‘rs INVITED @ RALEIGH HABERDASHER 1310 F STREET ¥ ® Curb Parking Service—Chauffeurs in Attendance ® SURVEY OF POWE COSTS IS PLANNE Roosevelt Considers Study of Rates in District and Elsewhere. (Continued From Pirst Page.) that ecity, had rejected all bids for power to be sold New York City be- cause he considered the price exces- sive. This aroused President Roosevelt's interest. Knowing that Commissioner Davidson has made a study of power rates, the President has requested that he come to the White House to confer with him. It was understood also that Mayor La Guardia, who is a cham- pion of lower power rates, will accom- pany Commissioner Davidson when he comes to confer with Mr. Roosevelt. During & discussion today at the White House of the power subject, particularly the New York incident, it was recalled by the President that during the World War, while he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a successful movement was undertaken by the Navy to get cheaper electric Tates. This drive for lower prices was conducted by Rear Admiral Reuben E. Bakenhaus, who at that time was attached to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Admiral Bakenhaus, according to the President’s recollection, finally succeeded in bringing about & reduc- tion in the electric power bills for the Brooklyn Navy Yard from $900,- 000 to $300,000. P. W. A. Administrator, Admiral Bakenhaus, who has made an intensive study of the power sub- ject and is still active in this pursuit, is at present public works administra- tor for the 3d Naval District, which includes New York. The White House said today that he is still carrying on a survey of the power costs for the benefit of the Navy. The under- standing is that President Roosevelt has been in communication with this officer. There was no immediate announce- ment as to whether leaders in the electric institute, a large association of power concerns, wduld press immedi- | ately their plan to bring the T. V. A. issue to court. McCarter holds the T. x Velvet Hostess Slip- per, Gold Trimmed. Red, Bilue Velvet; White Satin or Gold Brocade. 3.95 Delightfully femi- nine! Feather- trimmed Satin Mule in Peach, French Those popular DANIEL GREEN Satin Mule or D'Or- says . . . in either Black or White, 3.50 plique on s lovely Satin Mule or D'Or- say . . . effective in Black or White. Attractive New Rib- *Open Nights x Kk Xx *k KX *k *x Kk Kk *k Kk K Kk Kk * *x *x *k Kk *x *k Kk *x *x *k *k Kk % V. A. is a threat to States’ rights and to private investment and enterprise, and the institute has made public an opinion by Newton D. Baer and James M. Beck that T. V. A. is un- constitutional. McCarter, in yesterdsy's statement, said he did not “come in any spirit of antagonism, but I am filled with anxiety over the grave crisis which now confronts this industry." Raising the question whether it was in the “spirit of American fair piay” to “single out” one industry and visit “destructive punishment’ on it, he said the industry pays about 15 per cents of its gross revenues in taxes and that the electric bill of the aver- age family is not more than 2 per cent of the budget. Co-operation Pledged. Acknowledging that in the “fren- zied finance” days when “the entirs country lost its economic equilibrium™ some abuses crept into holding com- panies, he said they rarely involved operating companies. He pledged the industry to co-operate to end any abuses found. 2 “This memorial,” McNinch an- swered, “is a confession of the abuses of the electric power industry and an appeal against the efforts of the Gove ernment to corrvect these abuses.” Adtacking McCarter’s contention that rates are reasonable, he said Canadians pay, on an average, 2 1-5 cents for a kilowatt hour, while Amer- icans pay 5% cents. He said the Canadian figures cover public and private plants, the latter supplying “46 per cent of the consumers.” “It is the purpose of the adminis- tration,” he said, “to narrow this excessive gap between what the con- sumer pays for electricity in this country and what Canada has proved it can be generated and sold for. This program does mot involve either ‘destructive competition or strangu- lation’.” EXPLOSION KILLS MAN COLLINSVILLE, Ill, December 18 (). —A terrific explosion in the tavern of Vito Roccanelli here late last night killed one man and injured another. Police and fnremen said today they belleved the explosion was caused by gasoline seeping tnrough the floor onto & furnace, ‘The injured man, who was taken to | 8t. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis, identified himself as Vito Moceri of St. Louis. Moceri said that after be- ing knocked down by the explosion he jumped through a window of the tav- ern. The dead man had not been identi- | fled today. * Hahn will carry Xmas greetings to many a smart lady! x Mules x x XX X X X ¥ ¥ X X X X Kk Kk Kk K 1207 F ST. 7th AND K #3212 14th A Kk Kk Kk Kk ¥ X ¥ ¥ X A