Evening Star Newspaper, December 27, 1934, Page 1

“From Press to Home Within an Hour” The Star’s Carrier system covers evez glzvblock and the regular edition ered to city and suburban homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 121,801 WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair, continued cold tonight, minimum temperature about 24 degrees; tomorrow, warmer, probably followed by rain at night. Temperatures—Highest, 54, at 3 p.m. yesterday; lowest, 21, at 7:15 am, today. Full report on page A-11, Closing N. Y. Markets, Pages 18,19&20 No. 33,112 FRANGE TO REFUSE Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. Bootleggers More Numerous in Cit ’ T0 YIELD TROTSKY| ¥ erned b Judge |Violations Declared as FOR SOVIET TRIA Former Russian Leader, Ac- cused of New Plot, Is “Safely Hidden.” ASYLUM DENIED HIM BY OTHER COUNTRIES Moscow Claims Exile Implicated in Terrorist Scheme to Assassinate Chiefs. By the Associated Press. PARIS, December 27.—French offi- cials said today that Leon Trotsky, exiled former Communist leader, was *safely hidden” in France and “even §f the Soviets ask his extradition he will not be surrendered.” (The Soviet government announced at Moscow that Leonid Nicolaieff, confessed slayer of Sergei Kiroff at Leningrad, had implicated Trotsky in & plot to assassinate various leaders of Soviet Russia.) The officials said the widely known yevolutionary was “a long distance from Paris, living quietly and closely watched.” They said secret service men were on guard, both to protect him and to prevent him from engag- ing in undesirable activities. Other Nations Bar Him. Trotsky is kept in France, it was explained, “because no other country s willing to take him.” France, because of her traditional policy of harboring political refugees, ‘was said to be unwilling to force him to leave on the grounds that such action would be equivalent to sending him to death or to prison. The French government said Soviet Russia had not asked Trotsky's ex- tradition and that the Soviet Embassy insisted it regarded Trotsky as a private person, and “not a Soviet cit- izen” and that it did not expect any instructions to seek his extradition or even to request his deportation. Twice An Exile. An exile under the Czarist govern- ment, which he risked his life to over- throw, Leon Trotsky today is an exile {rom the Soviet Russia he labored to establish, In 1916 he was an outcast revolu- tionary struggling for existence in New York, whence he had fled after wandering thrcugh Europe and Asia after escaping irom Siberian exile. Two years later he stood side by side with Nikolai Lenin in the cru- sade to socialize the newly emanci- pated Russian republic While Lenin lved, Trotsky stood in the front rank of the Soviet re- gime. His exoectations that he would become successor to Lenin received their first rebuff when the all-Rus- . sian Congress ignored him to ap- " point a triumvirate to rule during the premier’s illness. Stalin Took Over Reins. The triumvicate was composed of Gregory Zinovioff, Leo Kameneff and the man wh» eventually was to oc- cupy the niche Trotsky had coveted— Joseph Stalin. With Lenin’s death, Stalin consoli- dated his power, discarding Zino- vieff and Kameneff in the process. ‘These latter «wo only last week were reported to have been remanded for trial because of activities hostile to the Stalin regime. ‘The rift between Stalin and Trotsky widened as cuey clashed over eco- nomic policy. An exponent of im- mediate and relentless socialization, Trotsky opposed the concessions the right wing of the Communist party led by Stalin was willing to make to capitalism to maintain its power. His opposition led by successive steps to his expulsion from the Communist party, his removal from office and his banishment to Siberia late in 1927. 15 HELD AS TERRORISTS. Trotsky Linked to Plot to Slay Stalin and Seize Government. MOSCOW, December 27 (#).—The Boviet government acted speedily today against a band of young Communists charged with having plotted the as- sassinations of Joseph Stalin and other high leaders with the aid of the exiled Leon Trotsky. The assassinations were to be fol- lowed, the Government alleged, by “the intervention of capitalistic pow- ers.” Fifteen alleged plotters, including Leonid Nicolaieff, held since the slay- ing of Sergei Kiroff, high party of- ficial, at Leningrad December 1, were turned over to a military collegium of the Supreme Court for trial. Quick Executions Ordered. Swift justice for terrorists and im- Mmediate execution of those convicted has been ordered by the government in its drive to stamp out terrorism, and 103 already have been sent to fir- ing squads since Kiroff's death. After weeks of grilling Nicolaieff, members of his family and associates, government officials issued an an- nouncement that he had confessed, implicating the others and Trotsky, now in hiding in France, Foreign Consul Implicated. ‘The confession quoted Nicolaieff as admitting he received 5,000 rubles (about $2,500) from an unnamed for- eign, ¢onsul at Leningrad for support of terroristic activities. Sent to trial with Nicolaieff were Ivan Kotolinoff, Nikolai Shatsky, Valdimir Rumiantzeff, Sergei Mandel- stam, Nikolai Miasnikoff, Vladimir Levin, Leon Sositsky, George Bokoloff, Ignaty Yushkin, Vassily Yushkin, Vassily Zvezdoff, Nikolai Antonoft, Leon Khanik and Andre Tolmazoff. Guide for Reade After Dark ... Amusements Comics .. Features nance _...... t and Found Radio Serial Story 2 Short Story ....B-19 Society B-2 Sports . -15-16-17 Prevalent as During Prohibition Era. Declaring bootlegging is becoming as prevalent in Washington as during the prohibition era, Justice James M. Proctor served warning on liquor violators in District Supreme Court today that they are facing heavier sentences in the future. “I am going to treat these cases more seriously,” Justice Proctor an- nounced, “because we are getting the same thing we had before repeal of the prohibition amendment. There is no excuse for bootlegging now, and this makes the offense all the more serious.” Justice Proctor’s announcement was made in the case of Irving West, col- ored, who had pleaded guilty to the illegal possession of 3 gallons of liquor. West, who had already served four months in jail following his ar- rest, was given an additional four months despite a plea by his attorney for leniency. It was pointed out violators of the liquor-taxing act have been receiving relatively light sentences in the past. An increase in the number of such offenses has been noted, however, re- sulting in the determination to impose stiffer penalties. SCIENCE OBTAINS | PARALYSIS VIRUS IVaccinations Seen Likely to ‘ Supplant Injections of Blood Serum. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Staff Correspondent of The Ste.r. PITTSBURGH, December 27.—Ap- parently successful poliomyelitis vac- cinations with an attentuated prepara- tion of the living virus were reported to the American Association for the Advancement of S#ence today by Dr. John A. Kolmer of Temple University. ‘This is the same disease, infantile paralysis, with which President Roose- velt was stricken 10 years ago and which at first threatened to leave him a permanent cripple. Hitherto the most successful treatment during the course of the disease itself has been with a serum from the blood of per- sons convalescing from the malady or from those who have permanently re- covered. This also gives an immunity for a short time. Dr. Kolmer at first succeeded in immunizing monkeys, which also are susceptible to the disease, with his at- tenuated vaccine. He then tried it on himself and his laboratory assistant, although both were warned that they | might contract the dreaded disease. | Since no bad results followed he vac- cinated his own children and then 23 other Philadelphia children. ‘Three Doses Given. The vaccine is administered in three doses, a week apart. All the cases thus far treated have shown the formation in the blood of antibodies indicating an immunity to the disease. While antibodies are found naturally in the blood of many adults, Dr. Kol- mer pointed out, nearly 80 per cent of children under 4 years of age are susceptible to the disease, and wide- spread vaccination might be advisable in case of a threatened epidemic. The reasons for the immunity of so many adults is unknown, but some suspect that the disease is much more common than generally has been sup- posed, and that many have had mild attacks without knowing it. Delving far into the depths of life A. C. Taylor of the University of Ken- tucky presented concrete evidence of some discrete factor with a definite localization in the protoplasm of the egg which determines the form of the organism about to come into the world. Embryos Form “Monsters.” Specific parts of various insect eggs can be destroyed by burning with a hot needle, and when the eggs hatch the creatures will be “monsters,” lack- ing the organs which normally would have developed from the destroyed portions. Thus it is possible to pro- duce insects without heads, or only with heads and abdomens. But, working with eggs of the pea weevil, the two Kentucky biologists found that a great deal depended on the time of their egg protoplasm sur- gery. The embryonic insect begins to form very soon after the egg is laid. If the hot needle is applied to a very small portion of the anterior end of the egg less than two hours after it is laid, cell division takes place in the rest of the egg, but it seems to follow no guiding principle and no embryo is formed. At about the second hour the destruction of the same area does not prevent the formation, but appli- cation ot the needle a little farther forward does accomplish this result. In the third hour, in order to prevent the formation of the embryo, it is necessary to destroy the protoplasm still farther forward. After six and a half hours the embryc formation process cannot be prevented by this means. The implication is that the “body- “(Continued on Page 3, Column 8) phenomena, Drs. Alfred Brauer and | he Foening Star WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1934—FORTY PAGES., *%x# NEW NAZI PURGE TAKES 230 LIVES, SAYS SAAR PRESS Many Reported Arrested in Drive Against Critics of Hitler Regime. SAAR FRONTIER CLOSED WITH PLEBISCITE NEAR Only Those Entering Basin on Official Business to Pass League’s Guard. Copyright. 1934, by the Associated Press. SAARBRUECKEN, Saar Basin Ter- ritory, December 27.—A new blood purge paralleling in severity that of last June was reported tonight in the newspaper Volksstimme. Volksstimme says that “100 have been murdered and 1,000 arrested in another June 30 directed against the S. 8. (Storm Troopers) and Hitler Youtn.” The newspaper, edited by the anti- Nazi leader, Braun, quotes another publication, Weltbuhne, as saying 230 were slain and 3,000 to 4,000 arrested in Berlin alone, 300 Arrested in Berlin. ‘The Nazi paper Abenblatt printed an obviously official story from Ber- lin saying 300 were arrested for a sexual abnormality “in a new clean- ing action.” The paper charged the anti-Nazi press with “abominable attempts to stir_up trouble.” (Reports from Berlin last night said a new blood purge was consid- ered likely with Monarchists as its particular prey. The reports said the arrest of g group of sexually abnormal persons who were accused of plotting Hitler's overthrow was apparently being seized upon as the excuse for the latest move.) Saar Frontier Closed. In a move to shut out all possible troublemakers until after the Saar’s January 13 plebiscite, the League of Nations’ Governing Commission closed the frontier today. Undesirables and the curious will be barred from entering the wealthy lit- tle territory until January 26. Only persons who can prove they have urgent business here or are merely traveling through will be allowed to enter. Passport and customs men made an inspection of the Frankfort-Paris Ex- press, which entered the territory shortly after midnight and was the first train subject to the new regula- tions. Another object of the order was to relieve the serious housing shortage. Some 50,000 voters returnping from distant places, including the United States, must be housed. 300 SAARLANDERS SAIL. Leave on Deutschland to Strains of German Music. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 27.—The strains of “The Wacht Am Rhine” floated out over the Hudson early today as the Deutschland slipped her moorings and made her way down the river, carrying 300 German-Ameri- cans back to their native land t#¥ vote in the Saar plebiscite. Before boarding ship, the 300 marched around the huge pier behind a 30-piece band of the steel helmets, clad in the field grey of German Army uniform. At the head of the procession four flags were flown: The Stars and Stripes, the German national colors, the Nazi swastika and the imperial ensign. As the swastika passed, sail- ors, baggage men and spectators alike raised their arms in the Hitler salute. The delegation was the last of three, totaling about 700, to go from this count to take part in the election. MRS. VANDERBILT LOSES NEW PLEA Guardianship of Gloria Denied Mother—Another Hearing Set for January 3. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 27.—Surro- gate James A. Foley today signed an order formally denying an application of Mrs. Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt for her appointment as guardian of her heiress daughter, Gloria, 10. Hearing on a companion applica- tion that the mother be appointed a co-guardian of the child’s property was set for January 3 at 10:30 am. Robinson Tip Fruitless. LOUISVILLE, Ky., December 27 ()—A filling station employe's belief that he recognized Thomas H. Robin- son, jr., alleged Stoll kidnaper, in a car with Indiana license plates proved unfounded today when police located the car. Its occupants identified themselves and were not detained. Animals Reported Immunized Against Sl By the Associated Press. PITTSBURGH, December 27—A promising start toward vaccination against sleeping sickness was an- nounced at the American#Association for the Advancement of Science today. For sleeping sickness, the vaccine has been tried only on animals. The new experiment was described briefly by Morris Brody, M. D., of the New York Health Department at a meeting of the medical section of the association. He is working under the direction of William H. Park, M. D., of the New York Health Department. They took sleeping sickmess virus from human patients in the St. Louis outbreak and inoculated mice, thereby producing sleeping sickness in the animals. As this disease attacks the nepves eeping Sickness and the brain, they sought in the brains of the animals for the hoped- for vaccine. They took a 5 per cent solution of the mouse brain and treat- ed them with formalin, which killed the sleeping sickness virus. This dead virus they then injected into 100 healthy mice. It immunized all the animals so that they could not afterward be infected with sleeping | sickness. Furthermore, the vaccine itself had no apparent bad effect on the mice, A new class of radicals, at least “parlor pink” ones, has been built up among American colleges and high school students by the depression, two educators today told the scientists. There was a “large and significant” increase in liberal attitudes toward '(Continued on Page 3, POIUID 6 | HOPE THE OLGIRL NEWS NOTE: IT IS RUMORED THAT MR. GARNER MAY NOT BE ON THE ROOSEVELT TICKET IN 1936. POWER T0 REDUCE RATE 1S “IMPLIED” Federal Deposit Insurance Action on Interest Upheld by Chairman Crowley. By the Associated Press. Leo T. Crowley, chairman, said to- day the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s action in reducing maximum interest rates on time and savings de- posits of insured banks was based on “implied authority” to prevent discrim- all members of the corporation. The corporation’s action in cutting the maximum rate from 3 to 2. per cent in insured banks not members of the Federal Reserve Sysfem was chal- lenged a few days ago by Senator Glass, Democrat, of Virginia. Glass contended there way “no authoriza- tion of law” for theforder. Gov. Marriner Eccles of the Fed- eral Reserve Board last night explained that his board took similar action on member banks only after the insur- ance corporatign had acted. Crowley saig the corporation’s legal counsel advi the board the “im- plied authority” arises out of the ne- cessity of ‘preventing discrimination between Reserve members and non- ‘member ks, and of providing all banks with the same opportunity of enjoyipg the benefits of insurance, I;Authomy Held Bounded. Crowley said the corporation as- surhed it had no authority to resu- late interest beyond the exten® neces- sary to prevent any discrimination arising from the regulations of the | Reserve Board and that any power | not expressly delegated was open to | question. He explained the corpora- tion’s action in reducing interest rates placed all banks insured on an equal footing. “If our action should not have proper legal sanction,” Crowley said. “the entire responsibility rests upon this corporation, as the Federal Re- serve Board had no part in the adop- tion of our regulations.” Crowley said he had exchanged let- ters with Senator Glass in which the corporation’s viewpoints were set forth, and he was confident the con- troversy would be adjusted on the | Senator's return to Washingion next week. In his statement disclaiming re- sponsibility for reducing interest in (Continued on Page 3, Column 3. Reaching Charge Customers Several department stores recently sent questionnaires to their charge account customers. Of the 8885 cards returned 7,486 (84.25%) reported that they read The Evening Star, leaving 1,399 readers (15.75%) who did not read The Evening Star. In order to reach this 15.75% of these customers, all the four other newspapers would have to be used, indi- vidual analyses showing that the 1,399 readers not covered by The Evening Star are almost equally divided be- tween the four other daily newspapers. Yesterday’s Advertising (Local Display.) S The Evening Star. 29,791 2nd Newspaper. ., 12,301 3rd Newspaper... 8,468 4th Newspaper ..., 4,996 5th Newspapet..... 3,950 Total (niwdipes) 29,715 ‘Washington rgerchants con- tinuously use The Star as their most profitable advertis- ing medium, a natural result of the predominant reader acceptance given The Star, » &’ ination and to grant equal rights to! Reynolds’ Estate Accord Approved For Actress’ Son Despite Anne Cannon’s Protest Counsel Accepts $7,000,000 Award. By the Associated Press. WINSTON-SALEM, N. C, Decem- ber 27.—Counsel for Christopher Rey- nolds, posthumos son of Smith Rey- nolds, today filed formal notice of ac- ceptance of a proposed settlement of the tobacco fortune heir’s estate under which he would receive $7,000,000. The acceptance was filed by R. C. Vaughn, as “next friend” of the infant son of Libby Holman Reynolds. The proposal in question was made by the | surviving heirs of R. J. Reynolds, founder of the vast tobacco company bearing his name, and approved by the Cabarrus Bank & Trust Co., co- guardian of Anne Cannon Reynolds, 2d; Smith Reynolds’ daughter of his first marriage to young Anne Cannon. Anne and her mother, Mrs. J. F. Cannon, who is co-guardian with the bank tor little Anne, have filed answers bitterty attacking the L Under its terms, little Anne would receive $9,000,000, minus a $2,000,000 “release” settlement made at the time her mother obtained a Reno divorce. MAIS IS REPORTED SERIOUSLY WOUNDED Said to Be Growing Weaker as Police Pursuit Bars Medical Aid. By the Associated Press. PHILADELPHIA, December 27.— Police, hunting for Robert Mais, fugi- tive killer, said today they have learned from questipning several sus- pects that he is seriously wounded. He was shot in the abdomen, inves- tigators said, when he and Walter Le- genza shot their way last year out of a Richmond (Va.) prison, where Mais was awaiting execution for the killing of a postal employe. Since then, de- tectives said they have learned, he has grown weaker. Unable ‘o seek medical aid because of the hunt for him, he has been de- pendent on remedies furnished by friends, police disclosed, adding they believe blood poisoning had set in the wound. Mais is sought in connection with the activities of a gang alleged by authorities to be involved in the kid- nap-slaying of William Weiss, night- life figure, and in the $48,000 hold-up last week of a Philadelphia electric company branch office. Detectives say they believe most of his band was rounded up in a series of raids two weeks ago. T S TOKIO SOUNDING NAVAL PACT DOOM Gives Informal Notice in London as Americans Prepare to Depart. By the Associated Press. LONDON, December 27.—The Jap- anese unofficially advised the British today that the Tokio government would denounce the Washington naval treaty of 1922 this Saturday at Washington. The delegates to the preliminary naval conversations among Great Britain, the United States and Japan long have been given to understand by the Japanese that the Wi n treaty will end December 31, 1936. By the terms of that treaty any denunciation must take place before December 31 of this year, conse- quently the Japanese have been ex- pected to make their formal move toward ending the treaty before the end of this month. Admiral Yamamoto of the Japanese delegation is taking steps to obtain a conference with the British in the next day or so. British, American and Jspanese delegations began final study of the naval situation today, slthough the tripower conversations ended officially last week. Hirosi Saito, Japanese Ambassador, has let it be known here unoffk that he wil! deliver Japan’s fa CODE PRIGE-FIXING 1S HELD INVALID Congress Said to Lack Power Over Figures in Interstate Deals. By the Associated Press. KANSAS CITY, December 27.— Coae price-fixing under the N. R. A. was ruled illegal by Judge Merrill E. Otis in Federal District Court here today. “Congress has no power to fix prices even in transactions undoubt- edly a part of interstate commerce,” Judge Otis declared. The ruling was made in denying a temporary injunction sought by the Government against Robert Suther- land and Mae G. Sutherland operat- ing as the Sutherland Lumber Co. The company, with headquarters here, operates lumber yards in Oklahoma, Iowa apd Nebraska on a “cash and carry” basis. It lost its N. R. A. Blue Eagle last March for continuing its ! scale of retail prices below those fixed in the lumber code, but was not charged with violation of the wage or hour provisions of the code. Action Began Last June. Maurice Milligan, United States dis- trict attorney, filed - petition for the temporary injunction June 29. He asked that the company be restrained from selling at prices below the code list. In holding that Congress did not have power to fix prices or to au- thorize the President to do so, Judge Otis said: “The only suggested support for the asserted power is the constitutional provision (article 1, section 8) that: Congress shall have power to regulate commerce among the several States.” ‘The court pointed out that in any case this power extends only to what either is interstate commerce or di- rectly affects interstate commerce. “The defendants, who sell for cash out of their lumber stock at their yards, just as any merchant sells goods over the counter, are not engaged in interstate commerce,” the opinion said. Goods Crossed State Lines. After declaring that the fact the bunch of shingles involved was trans- ported to Oklahoma from Oregon did not mean that the vendor was en- gaged in interstate commerce, the most significant point in the opinion, that “Congress has no power to fix prices even in transactions a part of interstate commerce,” was reached. In case the commerce clause of the Constitution had been made to read that “the Congress shall have power to te commerce among the sev- eral States, including the power to fix prices at which persons may sell in such commerce,” it undoubtedly (Continued on Page 3, Column 3.) QUAKES ROCK CRIMEA Walls of Buildings Shattered. Many Towns Hit. SEBASTOPOL, U. S. S. R., Decem- ber 27 (A).—The Crimea was shaken by earthquakes December 26. They were felt most severely at Alupka, where the walls of a sanitorium were cracked and ths plastering was shaken from many houses. The quakes came at 3 am. and § um. and were felt at Simferopol, Yalta, and here in Sebastopol. The Yalta seismographic station said the center of the disturbance was in the Black Sea, about 20 miles from Yalta. Some Returns Not Yet Recelve (#) Means Associated Press. [SMINERS KILLED AS BLAST WRECKS TRAM LOCOMOTIVE Fireman, Engineer Among Victims in West Virginia Mountanis. EXPLOSION SHATTERS BUILDING NEAR SCENE Horror Described at Hospital by Injured—One Tells of Seeing Man’s Head Blown Off. By the Associated Press. MONTGOMERY, W. Va., December 27—Thirteen miners were killed and at least 43 injured today by the ex- plosion of a locomotive of a train tak- ing workers to a mine of the Elkhorn- Piney Coal Co., in the heart of this! mountain country. The fireman and engineer among those killed. were The blast, said to have been caused | by a buckling of a fire box cover and the subsequent loosening of the boiler tubes, echoed throughout the valley along which the little train daily hauled the workres to and from their homes. Pieces of the locomotive and cars were blown 100 yards and the flying debris cut or bruised workers who were able to flee the wreckage itself. 100 in Three Coaches. More than 100 men were riding on the three-coach train. Of the dead only the fireman and engineer were identified immediately. They were: W. M. Blankenship, about 51, of Mont- gomery, the engineer; D. L. Oxley, 35, formerly of Lincoln County, W. Va., the fireman. Bodies were hurled along the tracks and a building nearby was shattered by the blast which tore the locomotive to bits. Charles Kitchen, 16, both hands burned, his face scalded, head band- aged and ankles sprained, told of the explosion from his bed in the Coal Valley Hospital. “We were sitting in the coach talk- ing and waiting for them to move on when we heard a blow,” he said. “The first one blew the cap off the front of the engine and hit a lot of us in the coach. Then a minute later | there was another and it tore our car to pieces.” About 100 men were riding in the first coach. Nearly all were hurt. Ambulances and private automobiles from all sections of Armstrong Creek poured injured into the hospital at Montgomery, where 35 had been re- ceived this morning and others still were being rushed there. Stories of men being literally blown to pleces were told by the injured men as they reached the hospital. “One man said he saw another's head blown off,” said Dr. W. R. Wilkinson, as he took a moment from treatment of injured to answer ques- tions, Too Busy fo Talk. “We've been so busy we haven’t had time to try and piece together a coherent story of just what happened.” The place where the explosion oc- curred is about 12 miles up Armstrong Creek from Montgomery in the thinly | settled coal regions of the hills. The men live in tiny settlements along the valley and ride to work on the train which stops at their doors each morning. Others employed in the mine—one of the largest in this field—ride busses from their homes in larger villages. The blast hurled dozens of the pas- sengers clear of the tracks and the in- jured cried out in pain as they lay exposed to a chilling cold. Company officials, rushing to the scene in autos, trucks and busses, quickly gathered the dead and injured and rushed them to a hospital here. At the hospital an attach said: “We are afraid a number of the in- | Jjured men will die.” Within an hour the streets were filled with men, women and children who rushed from the mining settle- ments looking for their loved ones. One woman, holding a baby to her breast to protect it from the cold, moaned: “I am sure my husband must be in there. I haven’t been able to find The explosion occurred at 6:21 am. (Eastern standard time) a few seconds after the puffing locomotive paused to get up steam. Number Killed By Boiler. C. R. Stahl, division superintendent | of the coal company, said: “The boiler left the trucks and came down on the first coach, killing and injuring a number of men. There are 13 bodies in the morgue. I don’t know whether any of the others will die.” Montgomery, & town of about 2,200 inhabitants, is about 50 miles south- east of Charleston, the State capital. The explosion occurred 11 miles below here. The raflroad belongs to the coal company, which is a subsidiary of the Koppers Coal and Transportation Co. of Pittsburgh. It is a standard gauge line. The mine is the third largest of 25 operated by the company and employs about 900 men. Gold and Platinum Points Stolen From Monument Tip Even the tip of the Washington Monument is not safe from thieves, 1t developed today. One hundred and seven gold-plated. platinum-tipped lightning rod points, valued at approximately $856, or $8 apiece, have been stolen. The points are used in the lightning protective system for the shaft to pre- vent discoloration of the shaft, and the expensive metals are necessary The company will have to replace the stolen points out of its own pocket, it was said. Altogether there are 170 points stop the shaft, and although guards were posted to catch the thief who might been unable to catch any one. Above the 500-foot level, wooden platforms, protective wire and other adjuncts to safety, are being removed. ‘When the job has been completely in- spected and approved by engineers of the National Park Service of the In- ed. TWO CENTS. ROOSEVELT SEEKS RELIEF DECISION AT PARLEY TODAY —— Method and Cost of Pro- gram Under Final Study at White House. CABINET AND COUNCIL TO GATHER TOMORROW President to Lay Message Scope Before Advisers at Sched- uled Session. By the Associated Press. Ways and costs of carrying the Na- tion's heavy relief load were sub- jects of a White House conference today between President Roosevelt and his financial and relief advisors, Seeking a final decision qn the re- lief program to be presented to Con- gress next week, Mr. Roosevelt called in Secretaries Morgenthau and Ickes, Harry L. Hopkins, the Pederal relief administrator, and Daniel Bell, acting director of the budget. There were indications the Presi- dent wants to eliminate direct Fed- eral grants and substitute working jobs for all able-bodied persons on relief. Ready to put his important proe gram for the future of the New Deal on paper, the President ordered his calling list curtailed to a minimum. Only callers directly connected with the legislative program were received. Cabinet and Council to Meet. ‘Tomorrow Mr. Roosevelt will lay be- fore his Cabinet and possibly the en- tire Emergency Council the ideas to be embodied in his message to Con- gress on the state of the union and the budget. In the opinion of some Democratic leaders the session of Congress open- ing next Thursday Will see major de- bates over relief, the cash bonus and N.R. A They see other headline disputes in the making, too, notably inflation, methods of handling unemployment insurance and other social security measures, and possibly the World Court, but they said today the first three are uppermost now. ‘While these leaders, who no not wish just yet to be quoted by name, sought to read the future and pre- pare for it President Roosevelt con- tinued work on the message he will |ueliver January 4. Some persons close to the White House described it as largely a “middle ground” docu- | ment. How many issues the message will deal with is not known, but most observers believe relief and the future of N. R. A. will be included. Whether the President would have some sug- gestion to make on the soldiers’ bonus —perhaps in a later message—was a subject causing speculation. Cost Is Major Item. As for relief, the size of the spend- ing and the question of dole vs. made-work are considered leading problems. Unofficial talk of possible public works appropriations has ranged as high as $6,000,000,000, but some men prominent in Congress say privately they look for a request for not more than $3,000,000,000 to $4,000,000,000— perhaps much less. This, they say, would be 2 move based on an expecta- tion of better business which would lighten the Government's relief load. The question who would win if it came to a last-ditch fight on the bonus still arouses conflicting expres- sions of opinion. While advocates of immediate payment of the $2,200,000,~ 000 claim enough support to pass it even over a presidential veto, oppo- nents are saying it can be stopped in the Senate. Whether a compromise, such as payments to distressed ex- soldiers, may be agreed upon only the future can determine. Whatever changes the White House recommends in the recovery act to Ppreserve it as a going concern after its expiration date next June, Senate Re- | publicans of the Borah school have announced they will press for whole- ws_ale shake-ups in policy, with restora- | tion of the anti-trust laws heading ;their list. Price and production con- | trols are believed eertain to be altered | if not scrapped entirely. Senate Program Set. The first day of the session, January 3, will be only a formality for the Sen- ate. Being constitutionally a con- | tinuing body, its officers will take hold where they left off last June except that Senator Pittman, Democrat, of Nevada, will have to be re-elected president pro tempore because he is beginning a new term. * In the House, not only must new officers be named but new leaders. The interest now centers on the fight for Ime floor leadership. Representative | Byrns, Democrat, of Tennessee, is | slated to be Speaker. Four appropriations subcommittees | are working on as many supply meas- ures to run the Government depart- ments. All will be ready for the House consideration in the first week or so of the session. They are the Treasury= IPoSt Office, four-department (State, Justice, Commerce and Labor), Dis- | trict of Columbia and independent offices bills. Until the meeting next Monday of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committees of the Senate, the pro- gram for that branch will be uncer- tain. Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the majority chief, is on record for an early showdown qn the protocols of American adherence to the World | Court. But whether this old issue will I be brought forth again hinges largely on what Mr. Roosevelt has to say about it. Both Houses are destined to experi- ence bids for currency expansions. House and Senate blocs are organizing to demand attention. All interested ip the subject in and out of Congress will attempt to agree on a program at a conference January 16. Bomb Found in Athens. ATHENS, Greece, December 27 (#). Discovery of an unexploded hand grenade in a garden adjoining the !oreign office led police to express the opinion today that an attempt to as-