Evening Star Newspaper, March 6, 1935, Page 1

WEATHER. (U 8 Weather Bureau Forecast.) Rain and somewhat colder tonight and tomorrow; much colder tomorrow night: lowest temperature tonight about 48 de- grees. Temperatures—Highest, 74, at noon today; lowest, 53, at 7 a.m. fods Full report on page A-9. Closing N.Y.Markets, Pages 15,16 & 17 Entered as sec No. 33,181 PRESIDENT DENIES MORE DEVALUING AS MARKET GAINS Comment on Price Level as Too Low Boosts Shares and Grains. EXCHANGE INFERENCE IS DECLARED UNTRUE V. 8. Bond Prices Slump After Declaration—Pound Retalia- tion Hint Seen. By the Associated Press. Commodity price levels were viewed by President Roosevelt today as not yet sufficiently high in relation to the Nation's debt burden, but he definitely turned away from any discussion of ; further dollar devaluation as a means of prompting price rises. Replying to questions at his reg- ular press conference, the President said he did not think the time had arrived for stabilization of domestic commodity prices. This reply appar- ently was given on the theory the price level had not yet relieved the debt burden sufficiently. Asked if this meant further deval- vation of the dollar, Mr. Roosevelt declined with a laugh to make any comment. But later, when rising grain and stock markets told of vary- 1ng interpretations of this refusal, the White House hastened to make it clear that no intimation was intended of any intention on the President’s part to devalue the dollar further at this time. Inferences Held Untrue. It was made emphatic at the White | House that any inference that has been, or may be. printed that there is any contemplation of devaluing the dollar was not true in so far as any- thing the President said at his press conference this morning was con- cerned. It was stated that nothing the President said bore the slightest intimation of any such intention. Mr. Roosevelt some time ago sug- gested the -1926 price level was the | administration objective. He was asked today if recent rises in com- modity prices had brought about the point for stabilization. His offhand answer was in the nega- tive. He said he thought a campaign for higher commodity prices had greatly relieved the enormous debt burden, but not sufficiently yet. The President talked today with Prof. Irving Fisher of Yale Univer- sity and Robert Hemphill, monetary experts. The two declined to talk upon leaving the White House, but indicated they might have something to say later. Meanwhile Senator Thomas, Demo- crat, of Oklahoma, called together another meeting of his National Mon- etary Conference, composed of vari- ous groups desiring monetary reform, to back his move for further devalu- ation of the dollar through the is- suance of more currency. Thomas told the conference the gold and silver in the Treasury would support dollar for dollar an additional currency issue of more than $3,000.- | 000.000 and, on the 40 per cent gold backing basis, an issue of more than $20,000,000.000 of new money. Drafted Nye’s Bill. Hemphill, a financial writer, told the conference a subcommittee he headed under instructions from the last session of the conference drafted the “Coughlin central bank bill” in- troduced in the Senate by Senator Nye, Republican, of North Dakota. Other members of the committee which drafted the bill, he said, in- cluded Louis Ward, an associate of the Detroit priest, and Fisher, Yale econ- | omist. The important features of the bill, Hemphill: said, were provision for “elimination of the private issue of money” and creation of a “controlling body” over currency, influenced only by the needs of the Nation. GAINS SHORT-LIVED. Market Fails to Hold Rise of $1 h' $4 a Share. NEW YORK. March 6 (#).—An in- fationary flare-up in financial mar- kets was short-lived today. Prices of shares and some staples pushed upward following financial news ticker reports of President Roose- velt's remarks at his press confer- ence regarding the price level and the debt burden. But the flurry had already passed when it was em- phatically. stated at the White House that any inferences that further dol- lar devaluation was contemplated ‘were not true. Stocks advanced within a few min- ond class matter post office, Washington, D. C. Portents of Spring Best News of Day, Roosevelt Asserts President Roosevelt is certain Spring is not far off, because within the past few days he has noticed several robins in the White House grounds, as well as crocus coming up in the rear grounds. The President mentioned this today when he met with the newspaper correspondents at his press conference. He announced that this, in his opinion, was the most important news of the day. VINSON BONUS BILL GETS INGIDE TRACK House Committee Votes 14 to 11 to Consider It In- stead of Patman Plan. By the Associated Press. The House Ways and Means Com- | mittee voted 14 to 11 today to con- | sider the Vinson American Legion bill | for cash payment of the bonus as op- 1 posed to the Patman currency expan- j sion bill. This action was taken after an agreement to report a bonus bill to the House for floor action. Two motions were voted upon. The first, adopted with only two or three dissenters, was to submit to the House !a bill for immediate and full cash payment of the bonus Then on a motion by Representative Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, that the committee express a preference | between the Patman currency expan- | sion and the Vinson orthodox financ- | ing plans. it voted 14 to 11 for the | Vinson bill. i Early Action Forecast. Consideration of the Vinson bill for amendments was postponed until an | afternoon session. Representative Vinson, Democrat of | Kentucky, author of the bill which { had the Legion's support, told news- papermen he hoped “that the bill will i get before the House this week.” | The Veterans of Foreign Wars had supported the Patman bill. James E. Van Zandt. commander of the V. F. | W., gave this statement to newspaper | men: “The result of the vote in the Ways 1 and Means Committee is entirely sat- { isfactory to the Veterans of Foreign | Wars. The fact that a change of two votes would have reversed the decision |of the committee demonstrates the | strength behind the Patman bill. With assurances given by the Speaker and leaders of the House that there will be an opportunity on the floor to vote for the Patman bill, we feel sure that bill will pass the House.” Chairman Doughton said he would try to arrange to get a vote on the bonus Friday or Saturday. First Vote, 24 to 1. A committee member said that the vote to report a bonus bill was 24 to 1 after one member had changed from no to aye. This, however, would not indicate the committee’s exact atti- tude toward cash payment of the bonus because some members voted for the motion simply in order to bring a bill before the House. “I am confident of victory on the floor of the House,” said Represent- ative Patman, Democrat, of Texas. “We are ready to go to the mat with them. and if we lose, we shall sup- port the bill the House passes, but | we feel posicive that we will not lose.” Immediately after the committee’s | action, Speaker Byrns, the House par- |liamentarian and Representative | Cooper, the committee parliamentary | expert. went into a conference to de- | termine how to let the House decide { between the Vinson and the Patman | bills. A special resolution was prepared { under which a motion to substitute the Patman bill for the Vinson bill would be in order. After the committee reports the Vinson bill to the floor, it will in- | struct the chairman to ask the Rules Committee for a special resolution making it in order to offer the Pat- {man currency expansion bill as an amendment. Speaker Byrns and Chairman O'Connor of the Rules Committee said they would favor such procedure. ‘There was a feeling among leaders that the House should have the same chance as the committee to decide the Patman vs. Vinson dispute. Like House leaders, committee chiefs figure the House will pass a bonus | payment bill. They guess, too, that the {Senate will do the same. And they i still amticipate a presidential veto. Veto Stage Contemplated. They are not thinking intensively of a compromise just now. But the Tydings bill is in the minds of a num- 1 ber of members as a possibilty in case ! the bonus drive raches the veto stage. | Senator Tydings, Democrat, of Mary- tland was the only Senator to testify | ah WASHINGTON, D. C, LONG OPENS WAR ONSENATEFOESIN | FURIOUS ATTACK New Clash With Robinson Launches Campaign on I Roosevelt Aides. THREATENS TO PREVENT ENEMIES’ RE-ELECTION Suggestion of Fight in “0ld-Fash- ioned Way” Declined—Friend Searched for Arms. By the Associated Press. Huey P. Long was embarked today on an intensified campaign to smash the careers of some of the Roosevelt administration’s principal supporters. Meanwhile, the Capital, still echo- ing with the furious words the Louisi- | ana dictator and Democratic Leader Robinson flung at each other on the ! Senate floor yesterday, wondered how it all would come out. ! Whether the Roosevelt forces would ! | take any action to stop J.ong's head- | long onslaught was not indicated. | There was no elaboration of Senator Robinson's roaring remark yesterday | that 1t was time for the Senate to put Long “in his proper place.” ' Among the headliners upon whom | Long has sworn to do vengeance are | Robinson, Postmaster General Farley and Hugh S. Johnson. He was known | to be preparing new assaults. I Veracity Challenged. Another Democrat, Senator Bailey | of North Carolina, got a prominent | place yesterday on the list of men ! { whom Long vows to remove from po- litical life. During. the fast and furi- ous exchange between Long and Robinson, Bailey challenged the Louisianan’s veracity. He said he was “utterly unwilling” to take Long's word for “anything.” “Unnecessary insult,” shouted Long. “You won't come back here, either.” ‘That was a reference to his previous threat to campaign against Robinson when the latter comes up for re- election in Arkansas next year. Most Senators, Republicans and Democrats, were preserving a deter- mined silence today on the bitter row which culminated late yesterday when the Senate sergeant-at-arms, Chesley W. Jurney, searched a friend of Long's for firearms, in the belief that he might be one of the Louisianan's| bodyguards. Several Hold Tongues. Senator Byrd, Democrat, of Virginia, declared last night that “I regard Senator Long's exhibition as being disgraceful.” but several other Sen: tors who were asked for their views declined to comment. The galleries were crowded all day as Long and Robinson, enemies of three years standing, slashed at each other. It started after Long opened up an attack on Bernard M. Baruch and his friend, Gen. Johnson. who had assailed Long and Father Charles E. Coughlin in a New York speech Monday night. Comparing Long to & “mad man.” Robinson said Long “has disgusted | this body with repeated attaeks on men who are superior to him, with repeated efforts to discredit the Presi- dent and humiliate him and now it is about time that the manhood in the Senate reassert itself.” Long flung back that Robinson had put relatives on the pay roll, and that he once engaged in fisticuffs on the Chevy Chase golf course here. Robin- son called Long’s attack “silly” and declared it was a “disgrace” for Long hto employ armed guards to protect im. Long declared President Roosevelt and Postmaster Farley had body- guards. “As Big As Farley.” “I am just as big a man as Farley,” he shouted. ‘When Senator McKellar, Democrat, of Tennessee, asked if Long kept an armed guard in the gallery, he de- nied it. Later Sergeant-at-Arms Jur- ney stopped Robert Brothers as he (Continued on Page 4, Column 4.) 'N. R. A. HELD VOID ON LUMBER CODE U. S. Is Refused Injunction to Restrain Company From Violation. | | ' utes about $1 to $4 a share, then lost | before the committee. He advocated | By the Associated Press. a good part of their gains. The pound sterling, which had dropped nearly 4 cents to a two-year low at $4.72;, jumped to $4.77';, then fell | back under $4.75. United States Gov- ernment bonds, which were lower be- fore the President's remarks were re- . his bill, under which negotiable bonds | would be traded for adjusted compen- {sations certificates, and asserted: “In my judgment, this (negotiable bond) bill could be sold to the ad- ministration: in my judgment, this |bill would win votes that no other NEW ORLEANS, March 6.—In an oral opinion handed down today, Judge Wayne G. Borah of United States District Court here ruled the N. R. A. unconstitutional. In so ruling, Judge Borah denied a ported in Wall Street, only slightly |bill would win. Twenty-fivg to 30! petition of the Government which ap- extended their losses. By early after- [ members of the House have ap- | plied for an injunction to restrain the noon several were off 3-32 to 5-16 of | Proached me to talk about this bill. | Hammond Box Co., Inc., of Himmond, & point. Retaliation Hint Seen. Some quarters in Wall Street re- garded the President’s remarks as a strong hint to British monetary au- thorities that such a decline in the pound as might tend fo depress American price levels would be met by retaliatory action here. The dollar has been held at approximately 59 per cent of its old parity for more than a year, but the President still has authority to cut it to 50 per cent. GOLD BARS STOLEN Scotland Yard Probes Theft of *Boxes for Shipment. CROYDON, England, March 6 (P. —Scotland Yard was assigned today to another gold mystery as a quantity of bars, valued at £20,000 (approxi- mately $100,000) was disclosed to be missing from the safe in the Croydon airdrome. The boxed gold had been stored overnight pending shipment abroad. Ninety-five per cent of the Senators would vote for it. I believe that if it goes to the White House, the White : House will sign it.”* i Under Tydings’ bill, a veteran could exchange a $1,000 adjusted compen- sation certificate for a negotiable bond worth $794 immediately, or worth $984 in 1945. SEVEN SHIPS LIBELED Baltimore Company Asks Munson Line Sales to Satisfy Claims. NEW YORK, March 6 (4)—Libels were filed against seven ships of the Munson Line in United States District Court today for the James Walker Co. of Baltimore. The Walker Co. asked that the vessels be condemned and sold to | satisfy claims for services at Balti- more. The ships named and the claims against them were the Munsonio, $301; the Munmystic, $625: the Munrio, $65; the Mundelto, $91; the Munlisto. $88; the Munindies, $83, and the Walter D. Munson, $124. La., from violating the minimum- { wage and maximum-price provisions of the lumber code. Judge W. I Grubb, in Federal Dis- trict Court at Birmingham, Ala., some time ago ruled similarly in a lumber code case which since has been ap- pealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Hammond Box Co., Inc., is in- cluded in the “wooden package divi- sion, American veneer subdivision,” of the lumber code. Guide for Readers age. | ¢ Foenin | stand. however, { campaign to the utmost. | Wrist Wound Ends Paris Duel, WITH SUNDAY MORNING ED 1., AELIEFROLS TOTAL 223700 NEWHIEH RECORD Hopkins Pushes Efforts to Increase Contributions From States. SENATE VICTORY SEEN BY ROOSEVELT FORCES Confidently Prepared for Another Test of Strength on Bill To- day or Tomorrow. By the Associated Press. The Federal relief population today reached a record high of 22.375.000 as Harry L. Hopkins pushed efforts to increase contributions from States | and communities. | Relief Administration officials es- timated that 5400000 families aver- aging four to a family and 775,000 single persons were on relief. Meanwhile with two Republican | Senators won over from, the opposi- | tion, Roosevelt forces sought to re- verse the Senate setback which they suffered two weeks ago on the $4,880,- 000,000 work relief bill. ‘The administration leaders prepared confidently for another test of strength on the Senate floor today or tomorrow. Their main objective was to defeat the prevailing-wage requirement which the Senate previously wrote into the | bill by a vote of 44 to 43 over the | President’s protest. McCarran Stands Firm. Senator McCarran, Democrat, of Nevada. author of the proposal to re- | quire that relief workers be paid the | wage rates prevailing in private m-‘r ustry instead of the $50-a-month security wages” advocated by admin- istration officials. served notice that he would fight for his amendment on the floor again. It has the backing of the American Federation of Labor. The Democratic leaders expected | Vermont's Republican Senators, Gib- | son and Austin, who sided against the President in the previous test on the McCarran amendment, to change their votes this time. The Vermonters said they would not change their unless the Senate votes to earmark $350.000.000 of the work fund for flood relief and other purposes and also to eliminate some of the broad powers outlined for the President in the preamble of the bill. Vermont has suffered heavy flood damage in recent yeats. Administration forces agreed to both of these steps yesterday as the Senate Appropriations Committee readied the measure for its return to the floor. The committee recommend- ed that the Senate approve apportion- ing the $4,000,000,000 work fund into eight general classifications. | Senator Copeland, Democrat, of | New York, tried unsuccessfully to per- suade the committee that the Presi- dent should be permitted to transfer no more than 20 per cent of any apportionment to other types of work. | He was quoted as saying the provision ! which won the committee's approval amounted to “camouflage.” Apportionment Explained. Chairman Glass explained that the apportionment of the fund among eight general classes of projects was meant to be “only indicative of the activities to be performed under each heading.” It was not intended. he said, that the projects should be re- stricted to those mentioned specifi- cally in each class. Another administration concession made as the test on the floor neared Wwas acceptance of an amendment to provide that all work for sanitation installations be awarded to the low qualified bidding contractors. This provision against the Government do- ing such work by direct unemployment was suggested by the National Plumb- ers’ Association. A representative of the association told the Apprqpriations Committee recently that he did not want to see a repetition of the Gov- ernment’s experience in its Reedsville, W. Va., homestead project. Whether the Senate would reach the work-relief bill in time for action (Continued on Page 4, Column 1.) _— CHINESE REDS TRAPPED Irregular .Forces Face Extermin- ation by Government Troops. CHANGTEH, Huan, China, March 6 (#).—Surrounded by Nationalist gov- ernment troops in the vicinity of Tayung, the Communist irregulars who have been occupying the area were reported facing extermination today. Heavy fighting was said to be in progress in the district, with all re- ports indicating that the government is determined to push its anti-Red | | ITION g Sta WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 1935—THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. ! The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. Yesterday’s Circulation, 131,432 Some Returns Not Yet Receive i OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, 1841-1935. ALL MINOR CODES MAY BE DROPPED |All Flying Banned On Downtown Area By Commerce Unit |Follows Complaint of Administration Plan In-| Roosevelt Against cludes Control of Key Industries Only. By the Associated Press. General revision and reorganization of N. R. A. under the new legislative program, to provide for elimination | of compulsory codes except for the major industries, today was predicted by Senator George, Democrat, of Georgia, after a talk with President Roosevelt. ‘The Georgia Senator, who Is a member of the Senate Finance Com- mittee now investigating N. R. A, also said that whether a separate Government agency would be contin- ued to administer codes or whether the job would be turned over to the Federal Trade Commission was open to question. Under the revised program, it was said compulsory codes would be re- quired only for the key industry en- gaged in Interstate Commerce. Other- | wise voluntary codes would be en-! forced only for industries which de- sire them. George gave assurance of main- tenance of the anti-trust laws, but emphasized they should be modified in cases of natural resources such as coal, oil and gas. William Out Soon. With N. R. A. taking a new and modified form there was some doubt that President Roosevelt would name a successor to Clay Williams. who planned to withdraw within two weeks as chairman of the Recovery Board. Complete abandonment of N. R. A. was advocated by Senator King, Demo- crat, of Utah, in the first state- ment by & Democratic Senator oppos- ing President Roosevelt's recommenda- tion for extension of the Recovery Administration. King, in an interview, proposed that the jurisdiction of N. R. A. over hours and wages should be transferred to the Labor Department and its regulation of trade practices to the Federal Trade Commission. “I see no need to continue N. R. A.,” King said. The Utah Senator has long been critical of the Recovery Administration and tendencies under it which he felt tended toward mo- nopoly. It was learned that he has laid his plan before the Senate Finance Com- mittee. Independents Agree. Several prominent Independent Re- publican Senators were understood to agree with King’s proposal and to favor scrapping the Recovery Admin- istration, though there has been little open discussion of their views. Chairman Harrison of the Senate Finance Committee first divulged the intention of officials to drop many smaller codes—though he did not mention any specific number. He told his committee it would be unnecessary in its investigation of N. R. A. to go into all complaints. He | suggested the study be confined to the complaints registered against codes which will be continued. Sena- tors understood they included chiefly (Continued on Page 3, Column 4) With Two Deputies Still Foes By the Assoclated Press. PARIS, March 6—~Two Corsican members of the Chamber of Deputies fought a duel at dawn in a foot ball stadium on the outskirts of Paris to- day and then left the field of honor unreconciled after one had been wounded. Cesar Campinchi came off second best in the encounter, being struck in the wrist in the first exchange of shots with his adversary, Horace de Carbuccia. He was taken to & hos- pital for treatment. The duelists’ seconds disclosed that the origin of the ill feeling between the two Corsicans was an article re- ferring to Campinchi published in Carbuccia’s Weekly. The periodical recently attributed a Jjury verdict condemning a blind slayer to death to a plea for the defendant made by Campinchi. The article said the lawyer “made & mistake in not ki still.” Small, slender and of nervous tem- perament, Campinchi had 11l luck from the outset of the encounter. Fint his pistol turely soon after it was loaded. A new cartridge was inserted and the antagonists stepped off at 20 paces in the early m sum. At the word eree, Cam fired and missed. Carbuccia fired sev- eral seconds later. As Campinchi lifted his arm a sec- ond time his wrist dropped, limp and helpless. His seconds rushed to his side and then summoned physicians. The encounter ended there. Campinchi’s seconds were Raymond Miellet, former minister of pensions, and Fernand Payen, former head of the Paris Bar Association. Carbuccia’s were Edmon Recouly, ‘a writer, and Deputy Jean de Nadaillac. Jean Joseph Reynaud, one of France'’s most famous swordsmen, was tige ref- eree. Reynaud officiated at the duel in the same fleld between Deputy Andre Hesse and John Beineix in January, 1934, as an outgrowth of a dispute over the Stavisky scandal. Today’s duel was the fourth known to have been held between politicians in the last 1¢ mootha X . - | Night Noise. All flying over downtown Washing- | | ton was prohibited today by the Com- | | merce Department as a result of the disturbance of President Roosevelt and his family recently by a night air transport plane A special air traffic rule setting aside the downtown district of the Capital | as an air space prohibited to aircraft | was signed by Secretary Roper. | The special rule prohibits planes from flying at any time or at any altitude above a portion of the down- town district described as follows: | “All that area extending one- quarter of a mile in the horizontal | plane beyond the outside limits of | that section of the City of Washing- ton and all the land included within | its boundaries which are marked on | the northeast corner by the Union Station. on the southeast corner by the Capitol. on the southwest corner | by the Naval Hospital (approximately three-eighths of a mile north of the Lincoln Memorial), and on the north- west corner by the Executive Mansion.” The rule is effective immediately. The department has not announced any penalty for violation of the rule or the method proposed to be followed | in enforcing the regulation. COMMITIEE BACKS PINK SLIP' REPEAL Early Vote on Income Tax Publicity Measure Is Sought in House. i By the Associated Press. A bill to repeal provisions of exist- ing law for publication of income tax returns was approved today by the House Ways and Means Committee. Committee leaders planned to ob- tain a special rule so the repealer bill could be brought up on the floor this week for a vote. Present law requires the Treasury to | make public information such as total income, Weductions, net income and tax payable. With that requirement repealed, the 1926 law would apply under which the President and the Secretary of the Treasury would be empowered but not directed to make income tax returns public. . Henry 1. Harriman, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, urged Secretary Mor- genthau in a letter yesterday to ask Congress to repeal the publicity sec- tions of the present tax laws. “In the name of our board of di- rectors,” Harriman wrote, “I respect- fully urge that you recommend to the appropriate congressional agencies that this section of the law be re- pealed without further delay.” _— EDITOR SAYS RINTELEN TALKED DICTATORSHIP iviennu Court-martial Told of | Conversation Prior to Nazi Putsch. By the Associated Press. VIENNA, March 6. — Friedrich Funder, editor of the Catholic Reichs- post, testified today that Dr. Anton Rintelen, on trial by a_ court-martial in connection with the Nazi putsch of last year, had suggested the possibility of a dictatorship for Austria. Funder said that while Rintelen was still minister of education in the cab- inet of the late Chancellor Dollfuss, he had said he was co-operating with Dollfuss but that “if Dollfuss could not or would not complete his mis- sion” then he, Rintelen, would “jump into the breach and establish a dic- tatorship.” | Quake Rocks India. MORADABAD, India, March 6 (#). —A violent earthquake of two min- utes’ duration drove panic-stricken in- habitants of this community from their beds early today. Buildings rattled and walls cracked. A baby was thrown from its cradle the and !at a charity ball and a spaghetti| | time, a woman friend of Mrs. Davi- DAVIDSON PARTY STORIES CONFLICT! Friend Says Heiress Cried; “Nobody Loves Me™ While | at Breakfast. | BY JOHN H. CLINE, Staff Correspondent of The Star. PINEHURST, N. C., March G_-—'I'hel mounting mass of testimony in the | case of Mrs. Elva Statler Davidson. who went to a strange death last Wed- | nesday after confiding in a friend that | “nobody loved her.” tended today to | deepen the mystery. With the testimony of 10 witnesses | already in the record, little light has | been thrown on the question of whether the 22-year-old heiress to the | Statler Hotel fortune was slain, died | by her own hand or was the victim of | accidental death. ‘The husband, H. Bradley Davidson. jr.. Washington, D. C., sportsman, said his young bride was in good spirits breakfast before her death. Two other | w‘l!me.sses have testified to the same effect. Was “Depressed.” On the other hand, a waiter told | the jury she was in tears most of the son’s said she came sobbing to her and cried: “Nobody loves me.” Another witness testified she was “very de- pressed.” When the Davidsons returned home between 4 and 5 am. they said good | night to their house guests and went | to bed in separate rooms. Four hours | later Mrs. Davidson was found dead in an adjoining garage. Her body was lying face down across the running board and floor boards of her car, her head touching the foot | brake. She was clad only in a sweater, skirt and slippers. State Solicitor Rowland PFyuette's first move today was an attempt to determine how the body got in this strange position. Butler Testifies. Emanuel Burch, colored butler who found the body, was recalled as the inquest was resumed. He testified Mrs. Davidson occa- sionally took early morning or night | rides. Asked if Mr. .and Mrs. Davidson frequently quarreled, he replied: “I never heard them have a harsh word in my life.” Pruette questioned the servant as’to whether he had made contradictory statements, but Burch stuck to his original story. He said he had expressed the belief the young bride must have crawled to the place where her body was found— that she could not have fallen into that position. John Notragiacomo, waiter at the spaghetti camp, told the jury there were about 14 people in the Davidson party, and that they were served three bottles of wine. He also said he saw a pint of whisky at the table. Mrs. Davidson, he said, was crying when he served her some spaghetti. A mem- ber of the party, he added, tried to console her, but she continued to cry. *The party left about 5 a.m. the waiter- said. He said the party drank only about one of the bottles of wine. Nelson Hyde, host at the breakfast party, said there was no excessive drinking. Saw Couple Dancing. Bernard Freeman, local newspaper man, also said he saw Mr. and Mrs. Davidson dancing together. He said no one was intoxicated. Mrs. David- son, he said, appeared pensive rather than depressed. The next witness was Jane Mc- Mullen, _attractive debutante from " (Continued on Page 4, Column 2.) FOUR DIE OF BURNS Mother and Three Children Are Victims of Stove Blast. DETROIT, March 6 (#).—A mother and three of her eight children died today of burns, a few hours after fire destroyed their home in suburban Ecorse. The dead: Mrs. Helen Wisler, 42; Mildred Wisler, 10; Winifred Wisler, 8, and Robert Wisler, 6. Albert J. Wisler, the father, is in a hospital here. His condition was described as critical. The fire started when Mrs. Wisler poured oil over the smouldering coals in a stove, causing an explosion. Neighbors who rushed to the home found her clothing in flames and the first floor of the home ablaze. Fire- men took Wisler and the children from the home, 4 d, TWO CENTS. PNEUMONIA ENDS BRILLIANT * CAREER OF JUSTICE HOLMES 94th Birth Anniversary Fri- day Will Mark Final Rites for Jurist. PRESIDENT WILL LEAD NATION’S LAST HONOR Gallant Battle With Lung Malady Ends in Death Early Today. Oliver Wendell Holmes. grand old man of American jurisprudence, is dead—a victim of bronchial pneu- monia almost on the eve of his 94th birthday anniversary. The extraordinary career of the revered patriarch of the law, who fought for his country on the field of battle and for the rights of his fellow man on the Nation's highest bench, came to a peaceful end at 2:15 a.m. today at his plain brick home at 1720 I street. On Friday his legion of friends and admirers had planned to celebrate with him the passing of another mile- stone, not far removed from the cen- tury mark. Instead, they will mourn for him at a soldier’s funeral in Arlington National Cemetery There, where are buried many of the warriors who fought beside him in defense of the Union, Chief Justice Hughes and the other members of the Supreme Court will officiate as hon- orary pallbearers—in tribute to one who brought to their tribunal the rare combination of profound learning, lib- eral thinking and sparkling wit. President Pays Tribute, President and Mrs. Roosevelt will attend the military services in Ar- lington and Mrs. Roosevelt also will go to All Souls' Church for the pre- liminary rites. The President, who had known and admired Holmes for years, today de- clared the Nation has lost “one of its first citizens.” On the first birthdayv anniversary which Holmes observed after his retirement from the Su- preme Court four years ago, President Roosevelt drove to his I street home to felicitate him The President’s tribute to Holmes follows: “Oliver Wendell Holmes. associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. retired, has left us “The Nation has lost one of its first citizens. “We cannot minimize the grief of his passing but we can find solace in the thought that he was with us for so long. His was a life of rare distinction; soldier, scholar, author, teacher. jurist and gallant gentleman, he personified throughout his long career the finest American traditions. Influence Powerful. “Endowed with a keen and pierc- ing intellect which was mellowed by a kindly humor and understanding. he had a powerful and beneficent in- fluence upon the Nation. Imbued with the high sense of justice and right, he believed in the peaceful evolution of the new from the old. | He had a fine perspective of history ias a continuous and living thing and. | with courage and logic. beiieved in the !shaping of government to changing conditions. “The people of America mourn the death of the venerable and beloved justice. “Mrs. Roosevelt and I had the high privilege of his friendship for many years. Our sorrow in his passing is great.” Others of high and low estate ex- pressed sentiments similar to those of the President. ‘When the Supreme Court convened, Chief Justice Hughes made the fol- lowing announcement : “It is my sad duty to announce that our former colleague. Mr. Jus- tice Holmes, passed away this morn- ing. Peacefully, painlessly and in the fullness of time. came the inevitable end—the close of a career of unique distinction. as patriot, scholar. judge. We have lost a great jurist and a noble friend. “As a mark of respect to his mem- ory. the court will now adjourn until tomorrow, noon. We shall then re- j sume the hearing of cases and at tife close of the session tomorrow ; the court will adjourn until Monday next at noon in order that the mem- jbers of the court may attend the funeral services to be held on Friday." All the members of the court were present except Justice Van Devanter, detained at home by a slight cold. Attorney General Cummings, who had called at the Holmes residence during the final stages of the vener- able patient’s illness, said today the country has lost “one of the most distinguished and best-beloved person- alities of our time.” “The broad sweep of his scholar- ship,” Cummings stated. “and his unfailing devotion to liberal tradition, in law as in life, will make him ever remembered.” Relatives ‘at Bedside. At the bedside in the high-ceilinged second-floor room where the white- haired jurist breathed his last was a sorrowful group of devoted relatives and friends, including his closest liv- ing relative, Edward Holmes of Boston. Dr. Thomas A. Claytor, friend and physician, commented that it was “the most peaceful death I ever saw.” The venerable patient seemingly just drop- ped off into a sleep from which there is no rousing, it was said. The end was announced at 2:20 am. by Mark Howe, youthful former (Continued on Page 5, Column 8.) SCHOOL PROGRAM ENDS $10,000,000 P. W. A. Construc- tion Venture Is Completed. Secretary Ickes reported yesterday~ that $10,000,000 worth of school and college buildings built with the as- sistance of P. W. A. loans and grants had been completed in 38 States and Hawali. P. W. A, allotments for the build- ings totaled $5,550.375, the difference being made up by States and local