Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1934, Page 4

REPORTS WRITTEN Findings of House Military Group to Be Presented This Week. CONTRACT PROBE I BY REX COLLIER. Its long investigation of War De- partment business methods completed, the House Military Affairs Committee this week will file with the clerk of the House reports expected by com- mittee members to result in drastic le- §al and administrative actions. . Findings of the committee will be {ncorporated in two distinct reports. One, committee members indicated yesterday, will deal with alleged irreg- ularities in leasing to the Mercur Corp. of the war-time-constructed Port Newark warehousing base at Newark, N. J., while the other will expose a! leged improprieties in negotiation of Army procurement and other con- tracts, Jury Action Predicted. Grand jury proceedings here and possibly in New Jersey are predicted by committee members, with criminal charges foreseen against two Army officers on duty here. A former civil- ian employe of the War Departmerit is involved in the Port Newark in- X;ythe report on military contracts the committee will dispose of its case against Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Fou- lois, chief of the Army Air Corps, whose Temoval was demanded some months ago in a preliminary report criticizing airplane procurement poli- cies. Gen. Foulois vigorously fought in his own defense and called on the committee to supply him with all tes- timony taken against him in executive session and all documents bearing on Air Corps procurement methods re- ceived by the committee. The Air Corps chief finally advised Secretary of War Dern he had failed to receive the information he needed and Dern, in a letter to the committee, dumped the whole matter back into the lap of the House group. Recently the com- mittee has indicated a disposition to wash its hands of the Foulois case. Financial Favors Reported. The two Army officers who have been under investigation by the com- mittee are aileged to have accepted financial favors from interests doing business with the War Department in violation of Federal statutes. Evidence against the officers was given largely in secret hearings, with Assistant United States Attorney Allen J. Krouse listening in by order of United States Attorney Leslie C. Gar- nett. Chairman John J. McSwain of the committee is expected to confer with Garnett this week regarding grand jury plans. One of the officers, it is alleged, a cepted money from a so-called “lobb; ist.” The officer and the “lobbyist were questioned separately by the committee recently and the former is understood to nave admitted receiving the money as a “loan.” The lender at the time was stationed in Wash- ington as a representative of certain firms seeking War Department busi- ness. Fee Accentance Charged. ‘The other officer is accused of ac- cepting fees from corporations hav- ing ousiness relations with the War Department. He was questioned by the committee several months ago, and agents for the committee subsequently dug up 3 mass of documentary evi- dence against him, it is said. The commitiee’s report on Army contract negotiations probably will be spiced with reiterated criticism of lob- bying conditions as they existed at the ‘War Department when the inquiry was opened. A startling picture of these conditions was furnished the committee recently by a belated wit- ness, Frank E. Speicher, agent for a leakproof tire firm. Speicher’s testi- mony resulted in hasty summoning of more than a score of additional wit- nesses, some of whose names were mentioned in papers contained in a mysterious “little black satchel” taken before the committee by investigators. ! A previous grand jury investigation of Army contracts produced no indict- ments, out prompted criticism by the jury of lobbying conditions at the ‘War Department. TEXTILE UNION ORDERS 1,000 BACK TO LOOMS Btrike Ended Pending Attempt at Settlement by Massachusetts Arbitration Board. By the Associated Press. PROVIDENCE, R. I, December 22. ~—Union workers of the Hamilton ‘Woolen Mills of Southbridge, Mass., ‘who have been on strike several weeks, were ordered back to their looms to- day by United Textile Workers' head- quarters here. ‘The workers’ action was in compli- ance with a suggestion of the Massa- chusetts Board of Conciliation and Arbitration to call off the strike pend- ing an attempt by that body to ad- Just differences. The strike, the third since Summer, affected 1,000 ‘workers. It was reported at union headquar- ters here that the company has agreed to take back striking union workers without discrimination, but Richard Linnihan, president of the company, reopen Monday. BYRD EXPEDITION TOLL SAVING IS $79,950.31 South Pole News of 46,628 Words Handled Free, Commission Told. It the radio dispatches from the Byrd Expedition at Little America had been paid for at regular rates they would have cost $79,950.31, the Federal Communications Commission disclosed yesterday. The news from the South Pole, to- taling 46,628 words, has been handled free by the Mackey Radio & Tele- greph as part of its advertising. In the same year the Western Union handled 266,407 messages free of charge in a demonstration of -how telegraphy might be used in connec- tion with broadcasting programs. The information was obtained in the communication commission’s ef- fort, thus far incomplete, to get facts on the use of the franking privilege. ¢ HOME PLANS PARTY Children in the District Receiving Home for Children will be given a v wrmewm—-wswes\e. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, Norine, 15, Plays Santa for Needy Tots . i A few of the 70 boys and girls from broken homes who were guests of Norine Buswell at her annual Christmas party are shown in the above photograph, taken yesterday afternoon in a corner of the Child Hygiene Clinic at 306 Indiana avenue. RICHBERG WARNS WEEKLY TO CURB JOHNSON’S PEN (Continued From First l:nge,) regarding me and my activities can be completely disproved by documentary evidence and the testimony of a large number of credible witnesses. “Under the circumstances I simply desire to notify you that if you take the responsibility for publishing the statements by Gen. Johnson deroga- tory to me, and obviously designed as destructive of my personal and profes- sional reputation, you must accept the full legal responsibility for taking such action without any adequate effort to assure yourself of the truth of the libel.” Richberg Refuses Comment. Beyond saying that he did write the letter in question, Richberg would make no statement last night. His differences with Johnson, which pre- ceded the latter’s withdrawal from N. R. A, were long a matter of com- mon knowledge in Washington. Several weeks before hig‘actual res- ignation, in fact, Johnson Walked out of a White House conference attended also by Richberg and other high offi- cials and promptly dictated a letter of resignation to the President. The Chief Executive asked him to recon- sider and he did so. ‘The disagreement arose from several personal incidents, including the sub- mission by Johnson of an N. R. A, re- organization plan to the White House, without taking Richberg into con- sultation, Later, Richberg and Secretary Per- kins drew up a plan for N. R. A. which the general bluntly charged was aimegd at his own retirement from that agency. Many Informants. Richberg prefaced his letter to Lor- imer with a statement that: “I have been informed from so many sources that the Saturday Evening Post is about to publish serially a book by Gen. Johnson that I assume this to be true.” He would not “write such a letter,” he said, after putting the Post on no- tice of “legal responsibility,” “except for the fact that when one person after another comes to me with sub- stantially the same story, there must be some basis somewhere for the statements.” He added: “But so far as my knowledge ex- tends, no effort has been made on the part of either the publishers of the book or the publishers of the Post to ascertain from me, or any one equally well informed, whether they were be- ing used as the medium for an firre- sponsible libelous attack on a person sufficiently well known so that the malice of the attack and the damage intended would be obvious to any ma- ture person, “This letter is not an accusation, because I have not seen the general's book, nor have I any positive knowl- edge that you intend to publish it, or any part of it. It is, however, intend- ed to put you on notice as to the re- sponsibility which you may be assum- ing if the various reports to me are well founded.” EDITOR 1S SILENT. Lorimer Declines to Give Out Text of Letter. PHILADELPHIA, December 22 (#). —George Horace Lorimer, editor of the Saturday Evening Post, tonight declined to comment on the warning of Donald Richberg that the Post must take “full legal responsibility” for statements made by Gen. Hugh S. Johnson, Richberg's predecessor as Blue Eagle chief, in a series of articles scheduled to appear in the magazine. “No, I have nothing to say about it,” he replied in answer to a question; “nothing whatever.” The text of Richberg's letter will not be made public by the Post, Lori- mer added, explaining: “We never give out any of our cor- |~ respondence. It is not privileged.” ILLINOIS CRIME PARLEY CALLED Gov. Horner Summons En- forcement Officia!s for #a Second Time, By the Associated Press. SPRINGFIELD, Ill, December 22. —Another mobilization in the war against crime was ordered today by Gov. Horner in calling his second con- ference of Illinois law enforcement officials. A thousand sheriffs, State’s attor- neys, mayors and police chiefs were invited to meet here January 5. Law enforcement officials assembled here in July, 1933, at the Governor's | call to unite for the suppression of kidnaping and similar crimes. Since then police records do not show a suc- cessful kidnaping for ransom in Illi- nois, It was indicated the conference would consider legislation to follow ! recommendations made at the recent anti-crime meeting in Washington, CONTROLLING BOARD FOR OIL PROPOSED Joint State-Federal Unit Would Advise in Regulating Production. By the Associated Press. PONCA CITY, Okia., December 22.| —Creation by Federal law of a joint Btate-Federal fact-finding body to assist in controlling the Nation's oil production was proposed here today by Gov.-elect E. W. Marland. Governors of the oil States will meet here January 3 to continue dis- cussions in an attempt to agree upon a compact. Efforts to reach an agree- ment failed at a meeting early this month. Under the proposed Federal meas- ure, copies of which were sent to 14 Governors, the agency to be known as the “Interstate Oil Conference” would be composed of Federal officers named by the President and of one member from each State. Its recommendations would be ad- visory. The President would be given broad powers in determining market demand, enforcing laws against trans- portation of illegally produced oil and restricting importations. TRANSFUSION IS EIGHTH NEW YORK, December 22 (#).— An eighth blood transfusion was given today to Stanley Walker, 12, for whom police, the press and the radio co-operated recently in a search for blood donors. Stanley, suffering a streptococcus infection, is dangerously ill in New York Hospital. His condition re- mains little changed, physicians said. E No flowery language could express half so well our good will to personal and business friends as do these simple words . . . D. C, Norine is handing a gift to one of the children, while others await their"turn. Miss Fanny Briscoe, who pile of presents, LUMBER INDUSTRY ABANDONS PRICING AS FUTILE POLICY (Continued Prom Pirst Page) shown by considerable groups of pro- ducers. One group of lumber com- panies in the South deliberately vio- lated the minimum price provisions of the code and was sustained in a Federal district court. Price-Cutting Banned, The board also indicated that “de- structive price cutting” will not be permitted. It directed the research and planning division of N. R. A. to study prices and keep it advised of | instances of cut-throat price-cutting, with a view specific cases. It was also officially emphasized that the board’s action did not establish a precedent for action on any other code. This was thought to be made particularly with the bituminous coal code in mind. Labor and a majority of the coal mine operators are fighting shoulder | to shoulder to maintain the prices | fixed in the coal code against the de- mands of large consumers for price reductions when their present con- | tracts expire in April. The bitumi- nous code itself expires in June. However, the action was regarded as a notable step away from price fixing. The new policy of the administration, in so far as it has been outlined by S. Clay Williams, chairman of the N. I R. B, and other high officials. proposes the abandonment of direct and indirect methods of price fixing, | except in a few industries, mostly in the natural resources field. At a recent code hearing, the West Coast division of the industry led the attack on price fixing. At this hear- ing it was stated, and not denied, that nearly all, of not all, the lumber com- panies in the country were violating the minimum price provisions, many of the larger operators having been forced to do so in self-protection from competition. N. R. A. Retreats on Prices. The N. I R. B. stated yesterday that “it was not practicable either to en- force prices in major divisions of the industry which are unwilling to oper- ate under such prices, or to suspend prices in the cases of major divisions of the industry while other divisions are held to the maintenance of prices.” Since the first burst of code draft- ing in the Summer and Fall of 1933, the N. R. A. has been beating an ir- regular retreat from the price fixing provisions which originally were in- serted in many codes at the insistence of the great majority of the producers coming under these codes. The first important retreat was from the fair practice provision in the ser- vice trade, which included price- fix- ing for cleaning and dyeing and for haircuts and shampoos. The N. R. A. has experimented with different forms of price fixing under several codes, notably those of the tire indus- try. Althotigh direct price fixing is per- mitted under only a few codes, indi- rect methods of maintaining prices, such as production control, price re- porting, and the rules governing dis- count rates and resale prices, are in- cluded in a substantial percentage of the N. R. A. codes. (Copyright. 1934.) Japan Aids Shipping. Japan will pay $4,000,000 in ship- ping subsidies in the next year. A Bank for -k The Morris Plan Bank offers the INDIVIDUAL the facilities of a SAVINGS BANK with the added feature of offering a plan to make loans on a practical basis, which enables the borrower to liquidate his obli- gation by means of weekly, semi- monthly or moathly deposits. to specific action in, Amt. of Note assisted Norine, is presiding over the —Star Staff Photo. SHOP STAYS OPEN FORNEEDY GIFTS It Is Not Too Late to Donate Food, Money and Clothing. Although Christmas is but two days off, there is still time for any one who | may wish to do so to make contribu- tions of toys, clothing, food or money | to the Council of Social Agencies for the needy families of the city. Re- quests continue to com* in and there | is great need for addition:] assistance. The council's Christmas shop at 1107 Pennsylvania avenue, in the old Galt Jewelry store, adjacent to The Star Ruilding, will be open all day today and all day M y. Gifts brought to the shop as late as Christ. mas eve will find their way into the hands of some poor and deserving child. Those having anything at their homes which they wish to donate to | the poor for Christmas can do so by | merely phoning Sterling 4999, and a | volunteer worker from the shop will call. | ""Mrs. Loren Johnson s in charge of the Christmas shop, and is aided by Mrs. Prank T. Parsons and a staff of workers composed of members of the council, members of the Parent- ‘Teachers’ Association and others who have volunteered their time and effort in the work of receiving and distributing contributions for Wash- ington’s needy families. RACE AMITY DEPICTED IN GEORGIA PAGEANT White and Colored Children Join in Christmas Fete Hailed as Showing Good Will. By the Associated Press. AUGUSTA, Ga., December 21.—Col- ored and white children joined in a Christmas pageant here, which spon- sors hailed today as depicting the T T TR T T T e e e e e T e e L T S T T e e P e e good will between the races in the South. The feature, called a “pageant of peace,” included Christmas carols by & chorus of 200 colored children and a parade of white and colored chil- dren bearing the flags of all nations. Pointing to the demonstration, which was attended by approximately 1,000 persons, a spokesman for the sponsors declared: “Persons who harbor race prejudice or antagonism are not representative of the best South.” ‘The pageant marked the beginning of Christmas observance, which will see a return of carol singing here on a large scale. Textile Executive Dies. SPARTANBURG, 8. C., December 22 (P)—Victor M. Montgomery, 73, a leading textile executive, died here today following an illness of two vears. He was treasurer of the traffic department of the American Cotton Manufacturers’ Association and a di- rector of the Piedmont & Northern Railway. the DUAL | 1t is mot meces- sary to have had an accownt at this | Bank in order to borrow. Loans are passed within & day or two after filing application—with few exceptions. MORRIS PLAN motes are usually made for 1 year, though they may be given for amy period of from 3 to 12 months. Monthly it for 12 Months $10 $15 $20 $25 $45 DECEMBER 23, 1934—PART ONE. Come Down and See the 1935 Stude- =% baker We Are Giving Away! ) Your entry today may bring you this new and beautiful car, after the contest closes—6:00 P.M., December 31st. ONLY 5 DAYS MORE —to enter this easy contest. Bring in your ballots now. Open Monday Night Until 10 O’Clock Plenty of Parking Space—No Restrictions After 6:00 P.M. T T T T { ) 2 - B g oL Gifts for Men and Boys Men’ Glower ... 12 Gates Swagger, genuine nglkin, unlined. Also ined and unlined cape- skins for dress or driving. Men’s Fine pigtex, suede and capeskins. Pigtex are un- lined. Capes and suedes are lined or unlined. M 9 shins .. 12 Fine broadcloth; collars attached; all sizes. Others at 59¢ to $1.95 Men’s 69c Ties . .. 3 for $2 Beautiful patterns; resilient construction. Heavy blanket cloth; all sizes. Others at $1.95 to $11.95 Yert 19c Socks 3 pra., 50¢ Fine qualities; attrac- tive patterns. Others at 25¢ to 75¢ Men’s Pajamas . : ’I Coat or middy styles; broadcloth or flannelette. Others at $1.29 to $1.95 Men’s . 44c Slippers Zapon tops; soft soles and geels. Black and colors. Others at $1.00 to $1.95 Boys’ Jackets .. .’3._i; Tweederoy; sizes 8 to 16. Knickers to match, $1.95. Blue Meltons, $2.95 Suede Leather, $4.95 Boys’ O’coats . . ’4_—92- Well made; warmly lined; various fabrics; 4 to 8. Others at $6.95 Jackets. . . ‘2'—'!:5 Sheeplined; heavy grained fabric; wombatine Boys’ collars; 6 to 18. Knickers 3 1 Sturdy suiting mixtures; full lined; 8-to 17. Others at $1.69 to $1.79 Boys’ Wash Suits . . . :1 Broadcloth tops; suiting mixture pants; 4 to 10, Others at $1.79 Boys’ Shirts ... 59(.' Fast color broadcloth; 10 to 14%. Blouses, 5 to 10. Bl Cowboy Made of strong fabrics ;6tol Boys’ Play Suits in colorful styl Others at $1.69 to $3.95 SALE SAMPLE JE S =) [~ ALL TOYS 0t 25% off Our toy department closes Christmas Eve, therefore these sensational reductions to effect instant clearance. Sheer, Clear Chiffon Complete range of all sizes, Make your selections at once! 1Ringless Silk Hose shades in all 3 Prs.'for $2.00 Children’s Hosiery Half %, 7 golf hose in all col- Sizes 6 to 9%, socks, %, % and boys’ 25¢ 69 $2 Cape Gloves Soft, pliant quality. Smart novelty cuffs, in solid colors and black, with contrasting stitching. Children’s Gloves 59c to $1.00 Brushed wools, wool knits, capes, etc.; wrist length and gauntlets. All wanted colors. Rayon Pajamas and Gowns Ideal gifts that no woman or miss can have too many of. Beautiful fabrics, lace trims, medallions, and in combination of dark and pastel shades. Hun- dreds to choose from, in all sizes. Boxed Stationery boxes. T N = mmi Some with 24 sheets of paper and 24 envelopes—others with 48 sheets of paper and 48 envelopes. White or ivory tinted. Beautiful gift @YN a4 e k) o Cottage Sets green wide; o Priscillas o Tailored 2, yds. long. $1.49 to $1.98 Values Brooches Necklaces Bracelets Clis Pins i) Rhinestones Pearls (synthetic) —and Stones of all colors SRN ) o is always appropriate for Gifts Choose From These Specials $1.00 Pure-Dye Satin or French Crepe Silk Undies Slips ¢ Dancettes Pant Chemises $1.2 Beautiful trims. - LR E O e e e e e e O T T T LT UG MORRIS PLAN BANK Under Supervision U. S. Treasury 1408 H Street N.W., Washington, D. C. “Character and Earning Power Are the Basis of Credit” Thousands from which to Christmas party tomorrow evening at choose. All in Gift Boxes. the home, 816 Potomac avenue south- east. More than 60 boys and girls at the institution will be given toys, provided by the District Parent- ‘Teacher Association. Mrs. Morgan Otterback, superin- tendent of the home, will be in charge of the party, 6 & SEE- SE SR SR SR S SR S 7 . Murphy Co., Inc.’ 710 12th St. NW. Nat’l 2477 Beautiful mountings—antique, gold and 7 silver plated—in matched sets. sald he had not heard of any neme! ment and that the mills would