Evening Star Newspaper, April 14, 1935, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair and somewhat warmer today and tomorrow; moderate northerly Winds, shifting to southerly tonight or tomorrow. Temperatures—Highest, 54, at 4 p.m. yes« terday; lowest, 44, at 8 a.m. yesterday, Full report on page A-9. Subscriber or Newsstand Copy hg Not for Sale by Newsboys WASHINGTON, D. C, WHEAT' INCREASE 'H DAILY EVENING EDITION Sunday Star (P) Means Associated Press. 1,569—No. 33,220. FIVE CENTS IN WASHINGTON AND SUBURBS BUS SPEED HELD TEN CENTS ELSEWHERE Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. Official of The Star Dies SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 14, 1935—116 PAGES. =% No. A.F.OF L GANCELY PENDING STRIE RUBBER IDUSTRY Important Gains Claimed by Green in Terms of Agreement. AKRON UNION HEADS ANTICIPATE REJECTION Poll Today Held Sure to Refuse Plan Adopted Pending Court Ruling. By the Associated Press. American Federation of Labor chief- tains agreed last night to call off their threatened strike in three large Akron, Ohio, rubber factories—the Goodyear, Goodrich and Firestone plants—after obtaining important concessions from the managements. The federation lost its fight, how- ever, for immediate elections to de- termine whether employes in the Goodrich and Firestone plants pre- ferred the federation to company un- ions as their representative for collective bargaining. William Green, federation president, and representatives of the Rubber ‘Works Council, A. F. of L. unit in the rubber industry, agreed that the rubber workers should not strike until the companies’ court appeals from Labor Board election orders were conciuded. This may take months. Subject to Ratification. Last night's agreement, signed after three days of negotiations with Sec- retary of Labor Perkins, is subject to ratification by the rubber workers at mass meetings in Akron today. Speaking for himself and the local union presidents, Coleman Claherty, federation organizer in Akron, said: “As far as we are concerned, we are nclined to favor the agreement.” The four-point agreement provides: 1. That the employers would meet representatives of any group of em- ployes for collective bargaining on wages, hours and working conditions. 2. That the companies would post on their bulletin boards the results of these negotiations. 3. That “it is recognized the holding of an election as ordered by the Na- tional Labor Relations Board is post- poned until final decisions have been reached by the courts. 4. That no strikes or lockouts should be ordered pending the outcome of these appeals, and that grievances un- able to be solved by collective bar- gaining should be referred to a fact- finding board, meantime. This board is to be approved by the Secretary of Labor. If either management or em- ployes refuse to abide by the recom- mendations of the fact-finding board, the fourth point in last night's agree- ment becomes invalid. Green Is Confident. Green said the agreement was “ac- ceptable to labor” and that the court decisions in the election decision ap- peal “with justice to the workers.” ‘The federation, he said, was “con- fident that the decisions of the Na- tional Labor Relations Board would be_upheld.” The manufacturers, as soon as they had signed the agreement, dashed to the Union Station in Miss Perkins’ automobile to make an_ Akron-bound train being held for them. Joseph Hostetler, Cleveland attorney repre- senting them, said they would make & public statement this morning. Last Summer the federation peti- tioned for elections in the Goodyear, Goodrich and Firestone plants to de- termine whether the federation or the company unions represented a major- ity of the employes. The board, after hearings, ordered elections in the Goodrich and Fire- stone plants. The Goodyear election petition still is pending. Within a few days after the election orders were issued, the Goodrich and Firestone Companies appealed to the Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati for a review. Argument on the mo- tions for review are to be heard to- MOrrow. Company Union Hit. A few weeks ago, the Labor Rela- tions Board also found that the Fire- stone Co. had violated the recovery act’s collective bargaining guarantee by fostering a company union. Un- less the company quit recognizing the company union for collective bargain- ing, the board said it would cite it to N. R. A. for Blue Eagle removal. To save this compliance symbol, the Firestone Co. obtained an injunction from the District of Columbia Su- preme Court restraining the Labor Board from enforcing its order. A hearing on whether this injunction should be made permanent will be held within a few weeks. ‘The manufacturers signed the agree- ment first last night. After they had left for their train, Miss Perkins car- ried it to the labor group, assembled in (Continued on Page 3, Column 6.) 7,000 CHINESE REDS KILLED IN BATTLE Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek Smashes Communists Ravaging Ke- wichow Province. By the Associated Press. NANKING, China, April 13.—Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek smashed again at Communists ravaging Kewichow Prov- ince, killing 7,00 of them in four days' heavy fighting, reports reaching the National government tonight said. The battle, fought about Kewiyang, was described today as the bloodiest since the Chinese military dictator opened his long, arduous campaign against the Reds. Kai-Shek per- sonally led his armies into battle, it was reported, Details were meager. It was as- sumed the generalissimo, who delayed his scheduled return to Nanking in his desire to clean up the Communists |- & Kweichow, struck at the band ccupied and looted Shihfeng fo days ago. 1 | | | | | | <\ BEALE RICHARDSON HOWARD. Administration’s Views Are Variously Represented to Senate Group. (Copyright, 1935, by the Associated Press.) A sharp congressional conflict over | the omnibus banking bill, in which the administration’s views toward it were variously represented, last night theratened to grow into one of the major battles of the session. The smoke first started to curl Fri- day night when an administration of- ficial, who declined to be quoted by name, predicted that an effort would be made in the Senate Banking Com- mittee to split the bill in two. Aroused, Senator Glass, Democrat, of Virginia, a member of the Banking Committee, aserted yesterday he had received assurances that the admin- istration had no objection to separat- ing from the bill the provisions in- tended to tighten Washington's con- trol over the Nation’s banking system. The only opposition to splitting it, he said, came from Gov. Eccles of the Federal Reserve Board. Steagall Dictates View. At about the same time, Chairman Steagall of the House Banking Com- mittee—a recent White House caller— was asked about Friday night's pre- diction that the measure would be split into controversial and non-con- troversial sections. He leaned back in his chair and smilingly dictated this sentence: “My expectation is that the House Banking and Currency Committee will report the bill next week and that the bill as reported will have the sup- port of the administration and will pass the House.” “Do you mean the support of the ‘administration’—which is interpreted as the President—or do you mean ‘ad- ministration officials? ” a newspaper man asked. “I mean just what I say,” Steagall replied. Meanwhile, Representative Hancock, Democrat, of North Carolina, who has worked closely with the administration on recent banking legislation, in a statement generally regarded as ex- pressing the views of some high New Deal officials, slashed back at the banking bill views expressed by the American Liberty League and others. Senator Glass, who is bitterly op- posed to alterations in the Federal Reserve system, was sharp-spoken in discussing what he called Gov. Ec- cles’ opposition to considering sep- arately that part of the banking bill proposing an extension of the Federal Reserve Board's powers, “This isn’t an administration bill,” the Virginian said. “It's Mr. Eccles’ bill. Not a member of the Federal Re- serve Board saw it until it was sent to Capitol Hill. The Secretary of the Treasury is on'record as not having read a word of it.” Glass added that in a letter to the chairman of the Senate and House Banking Committees, Mr. Roosevelt referred to the measure as a “tenta- tive draft” prepared by several offi- cials, who should be called for ques- tioning on the measure. However, it became apparent that there would be stiff opposition in the Senate Committee to any effort to make a separate bill of the centralized control section, from those who re- garded the move as an attempt to kill such provisions entirely. The bill consists of three titles, the first making the Federal Deposit In- surance Corp. a permanent institu- tion, the second increasing the Re- serve Board’s authority over central banks and the President’s authority over the board, and the third making (Continued on Page 10, Column 1.) Guide for Readers PART ONE—General News, Sports, Schools and Colleges. PART TWO—Editorial, Civic Affairs, Patriotic Organizations, Stamps, Se- rial Story, Short Story, Cross-word Puzzle. PART THREE—Society. PART FOUR—Features, Stage, Screen, Radio, Music, Books, Art, Clubs, Automobiles, Aviation, Children’s Page. PART FIVE—Finance, Travel, Classi- fied Advertising. BITTER FIGHT SEEN BEALE ON PLAN T0 SPLIT VICE PRESIDENT OF BANKING MEASURE. THE STAR, EXPIRES Devoted 50 Years of His R. HOWARD, Life to Advancement of the Capital. Beale Richardson Howard, vice pres- ident of The Evening Star Newspaper Co. and a resident of the National Capital for more than 50 years, died shortly before midnight last night at Emergency Hospital after an illness of several weeks. Mr. Howard's serious illness had called forth expressions of concern among his many friends, while the news of his passing is being received with genuine grief and sympathy in many circles of life in the National Capital, with which he had so long been identified. Of too modest & na- ture ever to place himself, or even to permit himself to be placed in the forefront of movements for the better- ment of his adopted city, nevertheless he devoted five decades of life here to the furtherance of all worthy ef- forts which affected his fellow citizens. Native of Baltimore. Mr. Howard was born in Baltimore March 15, 1862, the son of John S. and Augusta Richardson Howard of Harford County, Md. On both sides of his family he was of distinguished ancestry. He spent his early youth on his family’s estate, Verdant Valley. in Harford County. Following the death of his parents he made his home, during later youth and early manhood, with his uncle, the late Francis A. Richardson, distinguished ‘Washington journalist, and received his education in the District public schools and at Young's Emerson In- stitute. On December 16, 1889, he married Miss Grace Barclay Adams of Washington, daughter of the late George W. Adams, who was one of the organizers of The Evening Star News- paper Co. and who had served both as its president and its treasurer. Early in 1899, Mr. Howard became a stockholder and a director in The Star Co. and, on February 11 of that year, was unanimously elected to the office of its secretary. He served continuously in this capacity until October 31, 1927, when he was unanimously elected vice president. Survived by Widow. Mr. Howard is survived by his widow and by three children—Mrs. Harry K. Hickey of this city, Mrs. John T. Remey of New York and George Adams Howard, automobile editor of ‘The Star and a member of its board of directors. He also leaves three grandchildren—Mary Adams Manning, Jeanne Page Howard and Grace Adams Howard—and a niece, Miss Kathryn Gwynn of this city. Mr. Howard lived at 2829 Woodland drive. Mr. Howard for years took an active although unostentatious interest in charitable movements and those look- ing toward civic betterment. He was a member of St. Thomas’ Protestant Episcopal Church here and former vestryman at St. James’ Protestant Episcopal Church in Balti- more County, Md. Among the clubs and organizations to which Mr, Howard belonged are the Maryland Club of Baltimore, the Chevy Chase Club of Maryland, the Racquet, University, National Press and Alfalfa Clubs of Washington and the Sons of the Revolution. Funeral arrangements will be an- nounced later. TAX COLLECTIONS JUMP New York City Controller Reports Increases Over 1934. NEW YORK, April 13 (#).—Tax collections for the Nation’s largest city showed an increase yesterday over last year. Controller Frank J. Taylor an- nounced receipt of $47,627,394 in col- lections for both the first and second half of 1935. Collections for the same period in 1934 were $40,535,480. ‘The city sales tax, over which there was a general threat of a tax “strike,” was still three to five million dollars under expectations for the first quar- terly return. Up to today $9,005,717 had been collected. Th general city tax levy for 1935 is $469,370,548. That for 4 was shout $3,000,000 more, PLANS OF A A. A SPIKED BY MTGARL Ruling Bars Payment of Benefits if Contract Area Is Exceeded. OTHER CROPS AFFECTED IF MORE ACRES NEEDED Secrecy Shrouds True Situation While Administration Acts to Pass Enabling Law. BY THEODORE C. WALLEN. (Copyright. 193 A ruling by Controller Gereral John R. McCarl, hitherto kept under cov- er because of its momentous impli- cations, threatens to disrupt the A. A. A program with respect to wheat plantings this year and may defeat administration efforts to use the A. A. A. program for stimulation of pro- duction rather than the accustomed curtailment. Controller McCarl in his ruling has served notice on Chester C. Davis, A. A. A. administrator, that benefit pay- ments are not to be made by the Fed- eral Government where no reduction in crops is required by the A. A. A. This decision nullifies the announce- ment of Mr. Davis on March 20 that restriction of Spring wheat production this year would be abandoned in the face of threatened continuance of the drought. The A. A. A. authorized Spring wheat growers to ignore their con- tracts which would have required a 10 per cent acreage reduction this year. Those farmers who agreed to make such decreases as the A. A. A. might decree in 1936 were to be al- lowed to plant 100 per cent of their acreage this year and still receive the cash benefits they had been promised. The blunt effect of Mr. McCarl's ruling today is this: “If there is no acreage reduction there can be no benefit payment.” ‘Will Hold Up Benefits. Where a farmer plants uis entire basic acreage the controller general's office wili hold up any A. A. A. ben- efit payment | If the administration bows to the | McCarl ruling, the latest wheat pro- gram will have to be abandoned. In that case the A. A. A. would have the alternative of making no benefit pay- ments to farmers planting their whole acreage, or of reverting to a program of actual wheat reduction. In case of reversion to the original | plan of making contracts on the basis | of a 10 per cent curtailment. a poten- | tial production of 10,000,000 ‘> 30,000, 000 bushels would be done away with | and 900,000 to 2,300,000 acres would remain unplanted. The McCarl ruling was made in response to a request by the A. A. A. for an opinion on the basis of a typical contract. Mr. McCarl ruled that if the A. A. A. changed the ratio of the | permitted planting acreage it must change proportionately the benefit pay- ment. An increase of permitted acreage required a decrease in benefit pay- ments, he ruled. Where there was no | restriction on acreage there could be | no payments, his opinion stated. $30,000,000 Benefits at Stake. | Mr. Davis had planned to give $30,000,000 in benefits to unrestricted Spring wheat farmers. The ruling apparently disposes of | the claims of Henry A. Wallace, Sec- | retary of Agriculture, that the A.A. A. has within it the machinery for stimulating as well as curtailing pro- duction. In the absence of benefit (Continued on Page 5, Column 1.) FRENCH BAN APPLES | Two Perishable Shipments Held Up Because of Wheat Deal. PARIS, April 13 (#).—The Franco- American apple and wheat deal of March 22 was threatened with col- lapse today when the French govern- ment held up licenses to import two heavy shipments of American fruit landed at Le Havre yesterday, which it was feared would spoil. The apples must be left at the docks | until an agreement is reached. Im- porters said the government held up the licenses because, although French wheat had been sold in the United States, a method of payment had not been arranged. Fifty years of political history passed in review last night at the an- nual Spring dinner of the Gridiron Club, which celebrated its golden an- niversary. Beginning with the administration of Grover Cleveland, the review closed with a huge question mark signifying the uncompleted term of President Roosevelt. The dinner was given at the Willard Hotel. For the first time in the club's exist- ence a President of the United States took part in one of the satirical skits. Many Presidents have been of the club, but President Roosevelt, a breaker of precedents, jolned in the dialogue as he sat at the side of President Ulric Bell of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The President’s participation in this skit was an informal introduc- tion to his unreported speech, the traditional close of all Gridiron din- mers. The other speaker was Repre- sentative James W. Wadsworth of New York, who has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for the presidency in 1936. In commemoration of the club’s at- tainment of the half-century mark Capt. Taylor Branson, the United States Marine Band, played his own_composition, “The Gridiron Golden Jubilee March.” The souvenir of the dinner was a large cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman of Wash- ington Star, depicting a'Sparade of the famous guests of the Clul since 1 KNOW NOTHING ABoUT ART) 111 ONLY A QULLECTOR. WEBER 3 FIELDS TRY To EXPLAW THE SyPREME COURT ‘GOLD CLAUSE DECISION. ] PURE) sk Foups 8™ £ [THEODIRE E'LL NAME T RIDIRON CLUB! 7| RopSEVELT i N\ B 420N = T00 FASTBYB. &0. FIREMAN AT QUIZ |Engineer Sounded Whistle, All Members of Crew Testify. OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM RAILROAD DUE iTrainman Tells of Shouting “We're Going to Hit a Bus” as Lights Appeared. BY JACK ALLEN, Staff Correspondent of The Star. BALTIMORE, Md., April 13—The veteran engineer and fireman of the Baltimore & Ohio’s crack metropolitan special gave their versions toda | the tragic Rockville grade c g wreck which cost the lives of 14 Wil- liamsport, Md., children late last Thursday night. William F. Bus: an on the St fied befo imore t school b ing too fast’ id the crash with the speeding train “It looked to me like the bus driver made an effort to stop, but at the | rate he was going he was unable to do so,” stated Bussey, who was the | only member of the train crew in a pesition to describe graphically the | crash from his post on the left side | of the locomotive. “It seemed he then | applied the gas and shot acrcss the | path of the engine in an attempt to | clear the tra Saw Bus Headlights. ed t the tral re the hat th He declar | first n Features of the Golden Jubilee Dinner of the Gridiron Club. - ON PEACE MEANS All-European Conference Reported Agreed on at Stresa. (Copyright. 1935, by the Associated Press.) STRESA. April 13.—Italy. France and England closed tonight their | history-making conference, asserting they had reached full agreement on ways to save Europe from war. The tri-power parley was called after Adolf Hitler's dramatic decision | to rearm the Reich, which France, in | an appeal to the League of Nations, | declared perilous to peace. Results of Conference, \ After 18 busy hours at the confer- | ence table, these were the authorita- tively reported results: 1. A German offer to enter an east- !ern non-aggression pact provided she | is exempt from any mutual military assistance clause. 2. Decision to call Danubian na- | tions into conference at Rome May 20 to discuss ways of keeping little Austria independent. 3. United support for France's ap- peal to Geneva against Germany's treaty violation in rearming. 4. Approval of the principle of an air pact for immediate aerial assist- ance against an aggressor in Western Europe. 5. Approval of Austrian, Hungarian and Bulgarian rearmament to some degree yet unspecified. The conferees also were reported agreed, although official confirmation was lacking, on: 1. A general European conference after the Danubian parley. 2. A proposed Eastern Mediterra- | nean pact linking Italy, Greece, Tur- key and Yugoslavia. Furthermore, France agreed to | soften her arraignment of Germany | at the League of Nations Council ses- | sion opening Monday, this in return | for Britain's tacit approval of the (Continued on Page 3, Column 5. Roosevelt Breaks Precedent TQ Act in Gridiron Dinner Skit its founding in 1885. The cartoon contained 142 easily identified carica- tures. The entertainment, enjoyed by more than 400 distinguished guests, began with a procession in five groups corresponding to the five decades of the club’s history. The entire mem- bership, dressed in costumes of the various periods, marched across the stage to tunes popular at the time. With all members on the stage after the parade, Bell was inaugu- rated president for 1935. The cere- mony was followed by the initiation of the club’s newest members, Lyle C. Wilson of the United Press and Raymond P. Brandt of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. . Memorial services were held for two past presidents, who died since the Winter dinner, Henry Hall of the Pittsburgh Times, president in 1909, and William E. Brigham of the Bos- ton Transcript, president in 1924. Six sons of Presidents of the United States were introduced to the other guests. They were Richard F. Cleve- land of Baltimore, James R. Garfield of Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt of New York, Robert A. Taft of Cin- cinnati, John Coolidge of New Haven and James Roosevelt of Boston. The tempo of the dinner was set by the traditional speech delivered in darkness by President Bell. “From the time of Cleveland,” he sald, “to_the time of Roosevelt— through all the 1ntervenug regimes— ALLIES N ACCORD Man Pawns Shoes Given His Sons for Cash to Buy Liquor By the Associated Press. H EVANSVILLE, Ind., April 13. | | —Accused of pawning his son’s shoes to obtain money to buy liquor, Thomas Shouley of Evansville today was under sen- tence to serve six months on the State penal farm and pay a fine of $500 Judge J. W. Spencer, jr., im- posed the sentence on a petit larceny charge. Shouley's wife testified she regained the shoes. given their 10 and 12 year-old sons by the township trustee, by ironing three hours for the wife of the pawnshop operator. HONGRARY POSTS GVEN2BYDAR Mrs. Hodgkins and Mrs. Joy | Elected—Members Are | Registering. | | as Daughters of the American Rev- | olution . gathered in Washington for their Forty-fourth Continental Con- | gress this week Mrs. Howard L. Hodg- | kins of the District of Columbia and Mrs. Henry B. Joy of Grosse Pont, | Mich., were elected yesterday after- | noon to the coveted posts of hon- | orary vice presidents general of the society. These honors were conferred on the | two women for life by the national | officers of the organization during a | spirited contest in Memorial Conti- | nental Hall. | fore the congress this year is the lively campaign being waged for the highest | office, tha of president general, by | two candidates, Mrs. William A. Beck- Gillentine of Tennessee. Both have been active in pre-convention cam- paigns, and have complete slates in the field. Members Register. ing by the scores yesterday at na- tional headquarters, and the attend- ance is expected to exceed 3,000. To- day, Palm Sunday, delegates planned to attend church services during the morning, and join in special services at 4 o'clock this afternoon at the Na- tional Cathedral. Right Rev. James E. Freeman, Bishop of Washington, has extended a special invitation to the Daughters to attend this service. Congress Opens Tonight. The Continental Congress will open formally tomorrow night at Con- stitution Hall, with elaborate cere- monies. The principal speakers will (Continued on Page 12, Column 1.) News of D. A. R. Full reports of the D. A. R. Convention, April 14 to 21, inclusive Mail—Postage Pre- paid U. S, Mexico and Canada .. 35¢ Foreign .. $1.00 Leave orders with Star representative at Consti- tution Hall or The Eve- ning Star office, 11th St. and Pa. Ave. NW. D. A. R. news today—See pages A-12-13, s (Continued on Page 18, Column 1), ' Outstanding among the issues be- | er of New Jersey and Mrs. Flora Myers | Meantime, members were register-| LOWD.C, TAX RATE SHOMN IN REPORT | Treasury Survey Proposes | Further Study of Fiscal Relations Problem. President Roosevelt yesterday sent to the chairmen of the Senate and | House District Committees the report | on fiscal relations by the Treasury De- partment which he requested last Fall The report, covering about 23 pages of typed matter, in addition to supple- mentary tables, was summarized by the President in his letter as follows: “My Dear Mr. Chairman: “I am transmitting herewith a re- | port prepared by the Treasury Depart- ment, at my request, on the taxes paid | by residents of the District of Co- ‘Xumbm as compared with the taxes | comparable cities. Holds Taxes Lower. “In general, the Treasury found that the actual money cost of govern- ment per capita to residents of the District is belog that in other cities. Likewise, the total taxes paid by each of several different examples of property owners is lower in the Dis- trict than in any other city of between /300,000 and 825,000 population for which the data are available. The total taxes paid by the owner of a small house, the owner of a substantial business block or business enterprise, or the owner of a large hotel or apart- ment house, are in each case smaller in the District than in any other of the 15 cities studied. “The report of the Treasury points out, however, that limitations of time and expense prevented a thorough- going analysis of certain factors other than direct money costs and tax rates, that may or may not deserve con- sideration in this connection. “Very sincerely yours, “FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT.” The report, after a brief description of the history of the fiscal relations controversy. declares at the outset that “continued controversy, both in Congress and among the District tax- payers, indicates that no generally ac- ceptable solution of the problem of equitably distributing the cost of the District government has yet been made.” Cites Two Problems. Broadly speaking, says the report, two separate problems may be dis- tinguished: “(1) In point of fact, are the tax- payers of the District of Columbia bearing a heavier total burden of tax- ation than the residents of other cities of roughly comparable size and char- acter? “(2) In view of the special char- acter of the District of Columbia and of its relationships with the Federal Government, what considerations should govern the determination of a continuing basis for Federal contri- kutions? Investigation Limited. “In attacking the first of these problems, it is to be emphasized that there has been no extended investiga- tion of the quantity and quality of the services rendered the residents of the District of Columbia as compared with those rendered in other cities. Such an investigation would require considerable time and funds. The Treasury Department would be glad to undertake it, if desired. The pres- ent analysis is confined to the ma- terials readily available, which are those usually employed in this type of inquiry.” Proceeding to an investigation of general property taxes, the report states that while the “rate of taxa- tion on general property offers a pre- liminary crude measure of the com- parative tax burden of different cities” there are, howevdy, “differences in law (Continued on Page 4, Column 3.). {paid by residents in otQer rouzhly‘ approaching the | distance awa | “I shout was blo ing, to ‘hold bus!' " Bussey continued. “The en neer siammed on the emergency brake, but it was too late.” | James A. Shewbridge, a slim, gray- haired man with a record of 32 year as an engineer, told of hearing Bus- sey's cry. He said he never saw the | bus at any time, but a few seconds after he applied the brake. he saw a flash “like fire” in front of the engine. His post was on the right side of the cab and on the opposite side of the train from that on which the bus approached. The hearing today was conducted by the Baltimore & Ohio and repree sentatives of the Interstate Comse merce Commission in the formers’ | offices at Camden Station. First of a series of official probes planned by State, Federal and trace tion agencies, it ended without any | definite finding by the railroad or {I C. C. representatives, but both | groups announced that reports probe | ably would be forthcoming later. Report to Be Made. | George V. Lovering. chief of the !accident investigation section of the ! Interstate Commerce Comn The Star that the report of hi partment would be drafted “in & four weeks.” He explained that he and his asso« ciates would wait until the ir | to be held in Rockville Tue: any other inquisitions that mi | called have been disposed of. | “our authority under law,” the I. | C. C. chief said, “permits us to inves= tigate railroad accidents and to report | them with our recommendations for any steps that will prevent accidents of a like character in the future.” Lovering added that the commission Ihas no authority to recommend crim= | inal action. | C. M. shriver, superintendent of the Baltimore division of the B. & O., said a “public statement may be made | within a few days” by Charles W. Galloway, operating vice president of the road. Three other members of the train | erew, showing the effect of the strain they have undergone since the crash, | gave their version of the wreck. All agreed that every safety precaue tion had been observed in approach- ing the crossing where the speeding express, roaring through a drizzling rain, rushed down upon the bus and snuffed out the lives of the Williams- port children who were returning to their homes after attending a chem- istry exhibition at the University of Maryland. Bussey Highlighi. | The statement by Bussey, a resis | dent of Glenburnie, Md., came as the | highlight of the six-hour probe which brought the fireman, engineer, Con= | ductor R. A. Compton, Flagman C. | W. Collier, Baggage Clerk Harry V. | Culbertson and several Baltimore di= visior: officials to the witness chair. The trainmen virtually confined “(Continued on Page 2, Column 5. GOVv. ALLEN.FILE;SUIT TO HOLD UP P.W.A. FUND Long Political Ally Seeks to Re- strain Mayor Walmsley and Sewer Board. to hit a By the Associated Press. NEW ORLEANS, April 13.—Gov. O. K. Allen, political ally of Senator Huey P. Long, today filed suit in Civil District Court seeking to prevent Mayor T. Semmes Walmsley and members of the Sewerage and Water Board from spending $1,800,000 of Public Works Administration funds deposited in New Orleans banks for public improvements. ‘The suit asked that the mayor, the board and the banks be restrained from using the money on the con- tention that the existing board was abolished by an act of the Legisla~ ture which set up a new board. ‘The suit alleged that unless the present board is restrained from spending the money it will “un- lawfully and extravagently” use the money “primarjly for jobs for political henchmen d with the political faction of the majority of the board.” |