Evening Star Newspaper, September 3, 1935, Page 17

Washington News D.C. PENSION BODY STARTS STUDY OF VARIED PROBLEMS } Appointive Members Take Office at Private Ceremony. ACTION WILL PRECEDE CONTRIBUTIONS TO FUND | 15 Applicants File for Job of Director—U. S. Approval Must Be Given Plan. Facing a total lack of funds for ad- ministrative personnel, the District ‘Unemployment Compensation Board took cffice today and at once started study of its work and search for an executive director. The two appointive members took oath of office at a private ceremony at & meeting of the Board of Com- missioners. They are Daniel J. Calla- han, veteran business executive, who was named a representative of em- ployers, and John Locher, president of the Central Labor Union, appointed as the representative of employes. The other three members, designated by the law itself, are the three Commis- sioners—Melvin C. Hazen, George E. Allen and Lieut. Col. Dan I. Sultan. The board lacks funds for admin- {strative purposes due to failure of the third deficiency bill. Payments Begin Next Year. Payment of the employer taxes and the District contribution to the com- pensation fund does not start until the first of next year, but the board mem- bors see the need of immediate action because of the tremendous amount of detailed arrangements which must be set up and approved by the Federal Unemployment Compensation Board | before the District program can be started. “We now have our board, but as yet no money,” said Commissioner Hazen. “However, we will start at once a study of the provisions of the law and survey possible candidates for the executive director, who will have a whale of a job on his hands. As to that, we have reached no con- clusion as yet.” Commissioner Allen was the only member not present today. He has gone to the West on a vacation. ‘Whether the appointment of a direc- | tor will be delayed until his return was not stated. John A. Marshall, now District | superintendent of insurance, has been suggested for the director of the new | board. All told, there are some 15 ap- plicants for the job, but officials say some apparently thought the position would be that of a board secretary,| and for this reason many do not have the proper qualifications. Must Adopt Plan. The board must adopt a general plan and a series of policies, subject to Federal approval, before it is ready to administer the law. One ls{ the establishment of a registry of the | employed. Another question is an ar- | rangement for collection of funds | which must be contributed by the em- | ployers and a system for accounting | for workers who lose their employ- ment. The employers are to be assessed 1 per cent of their pay roll for the cal- endar year 1936, 2 per cent in 1937 | and 3 per cent thereafter until 1941, when these assessments may be low- ered to 1.5 per cent or raised to 4 per | cent, depending on the compensation experience of employers. The District government is directed to contribute $100,000 in 1936, $125,- 000 in 1937 and $175,000 in 1938, with | later decisions to be reached as to the District contributions thereafter. The first benefits are to be paid in 1938, (Picture on Page 2.) UTILITIES .APPEALS TEST DATE UNKNOWN Measure Setting Up System Is Signed by President Be- fore Departure. How soon the new public utilities appeals act will be invoked in a dis- pute over utilities regulations remained in doubt today. President Roosevelt signed the bill a week ago after it had been passed finally by the House August 20. The fact the bill had been signed was checked by District officials after there ‘was & report the President had gone to Hyde Park leaving the unsigned bill | behind him. District officials called at Capitol Hill and the State Department to make sure the law had been signed and found at both places that was the case. The law sets up a new system for appeals from decisions by the Public Utilities Commission, designed to leave the commission as a judge of facts unless the appellant can show the decisions were unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. ———e NATIVES OF 2 VIRGINIAS PLAN REUNION SUNDAY Montgomery-Howard Committee to Sponsor Outing in Rock Creek Park. A reunion of Virginians and West Virginians has been planned by a Joint committee of Montgomery and Howard Counties. All Virginians and ‘West Virginians residing in Maryland and the District of Columbia are in- vited. The reunion will be held in Rock Creek Park, reservation No. 14, Joaquin Miller cabin, on Sunday. The Virginia Quartet will render a number of selections. The Citizens' and Community Band of Howard and Montgomery Counties and the Lay- tonsville Montgomery County Band will play. There will be several ad- dresses, among the speakers being A. G. Cullers, member of the Mary- land General Assembly; Floyd B. Mathias, a Washington attorney, and G. Cornwell, a former Governor of Jest Virginia. Those attending are. ed to bring lunches. Secretly Wed OFFICIAL'S DAUGHTER BRIDE OF NEWSPAPER MAN. MRS. CARROLL PEEKE. Mrs. Peeke, daughter of In- terstate Commerce Commissioner Clyde B. Altchison, was married June 5, 1934, to Carroll Peeke, ‘Washington newspaper man, it was learned today. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Walter Smith of Waldorf, Md. The bride, who is 24, has been living with her family at 1929 S street. APARTMENT HOUSE [P. W. A. and National Park | Service to Occupy Poto- JC0UREDBY L. The Foening Stur WASHINGTON, D. C, %0 70 GET WORK AS LOCAL PARKS PROETS BEG $850,000 Will Be Spent by W. P. A. in Improve- ments Here. ROAD REPAIRS ALSO ON ALLEN’S PROGRAM Takoma, Edgewood and Langdon Recreation Work to Engage 260 at Cost of $219,670. About 950 men will be put to work in the park system tomorrow on a series of Works Progress Administra- tion projects costing some $850,000, it was announced today by C. Marshall Pinnan, superintendent of the Na= tional Capital parks. The announcement followed a con- sultation with Commissioner George E. Allen, who is in charge of the W. P. A. activities here. Included in the new work are: Continuing grading operations, landscaping and general development of the Takoma Recreation Center, Fourth and Van Buren streets; Edge- wood Playground, Pranklin street and Lincoln road northeast, and Langdon Recreation Center, Hamilton and Twenticth streets northeast. This work will engage 260 men and cost $219,670. Later, similar work will be done at Turkey Thicket, Tenth street and Michigan avenue northeast; Taft Rec-| reation Center, Otis and Twentieth | streets northeast, and Banneker Rec- reation Center, Euclid street and Georgia avenue. W. P. A. officials| mac Park Structure. Negotiations for purchase by the | Federal Government of the Potomac | Park Apartments, Twenty-first and C | streets, have been completed, it was | announced teday by officials of Weaver Bros., agents for the building. The purchase culminated two months’ ne- gotiating between the owners and offi- cials of the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department, the Public Works Administration and the Na- tional Park Service. The purchase price has not yet been announced. - Under terms of the sale, it was said, the Government is to be given title to the big apartment build- ing within 30 days. Most of the occu- | pants of 108 apartments in the build- ing already have vacated and the rest are expected to be out on on before September 25. Building to Be Remodeled. The building, which, it is under- stood, will be occupied by the Public | Works Administration, will have to be | remodeled to fit it for occupancy as an office building and this work is ex- | pected to begin as soon as the Gov- ernment can take over the property. Plans for the remodeling are to be discussed this afternoon at a meeting of P. W. A. officials with officials of the Division of Government Space Control of the National Park Service, | Interior Department, it was said. After repeated delays in concluding negotiations for the purchase of the property, the deal was closed quickly after the project was approved by President Roosevelt late Saturday, it was indicated. The purchase, negotiated under au- thority granted,by Congress in the Keyes-Elliott act, which sets aside property for eventual purchase by the | Government, marks an important step toward development of what is known as the Northwest rectangle, in which the War, Navy and Interior Depart- ments eventually are to stand. The Government is expected eventually to acquire all the property in the area bounded by E street, Eighteenth street, Constitution avenue and the Potomac River. The Potomac Park Apartments, the largest single structure in tRe area, is regarded as the key to the western portion of the area. Early Purchase Advocated. Government officials had advocated early purchase of the apartment to provide urgently-needed space for the emergency Federal service and fore- saw an important saving in rentals which would have to be spent if prop- erty were leased elsewhere. Among the tenants still in the build- ing is Frederic J. Haskin, who conducts a daily information 3ervice in The Star. His offices occupy most of the basement floor and first floor of the apartment. Haskin was the first owner of the building, which was con- structed 11 years ago. PEACETIME VETERANS CAN BE HOSPITALIZED By the Associated Press. Peacetime veterans will be eligible for hospital care under the new Har- rison hospitalizatior law just signed by President Roosevelt, Veterans’ Administrator Frank T. Hines explained in a statement yes- terday that the new law affected a group of peacetime veterans who hith- erto had been barred from hospital care. He said those suffering from serv- ice-connected disabilities or from per- manent disabilities, tuberculosis or neuropsychiatric ailments, even if they were not service connected, would be eligible for hospital care. ‘The act does not affect war vet- erans, he said. —_— NEW SURGEON GENERAL Maj. Gen. Charles R. Reynolds yes- He succeeds Maj. Gen. Robert U. Patterson, who leaves here tomorrow for Oklahoma, where he will become dean of the Medical School of the University of Oklahoma. He had 35 years of Army service when he sub- mitted his resignation to the Presi- dent. Gen. Reynolds was ordered here June 1 to serve as acting surgeon general when Gen. Patterson went to Brussels to represent the State De- partment at the International rfed- ical Congress of Surgeons and Phys sicians. have approved work in these areas, | but the other recreation centers will be given priority. | Developing some 60 small reserva- tions will be 186 men—a project that | | will cost $163,392. There, dead and | down timber will be eliminated, fire i hazards wiped out and poisonous | plants eradicated. ! | Grading, draining, top-soiling and | seeding will be carried on in Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway between | Constitution avenue and K street and in East Potomac Park. In these sec- tions 100 will be at work, this project costing $$89,848. Later, reservations in the Mall and work in the Smith- | sonian Institution grounds will be undertaken. | One of the largest jobs under the new program will be the continuing of road construction in Piney Branch Parkway, Bingham drive, in Rock Creek Park, and on the Fort drive at the Alice Deal School, adjacent to Fort Reno. Piney Branch parkway will be paved from Arkansas avenue to Ross drive. The work on Bingham drive will complete a cross highway in Rock Creek Park, making this a continuous concrete roadway, linking up with Nebraska avenue. On these| three highway projects 258 men will | be at work, and the job will cost $222,724. Road Patching Also. Patching roads in Rock Creek Park | and in East Potomac Park with bitu- minous mixture will keep 45 of the| relief men busy, and this will entail an expenditure of $$39,776. Grading to remedy drainage condi- tions in two sections of Anacostia Park will employ 100 men and will cost $72,496. Downstream on Benning road, along the Anacostia River, grad- ing and clean-up work will be accom- | plished at the end of East Capitol street at the site of the proposed sta- | | dium. Upstream of Benning road in | Anacostia Park, grading will be done in conjunction with development of a golf course. The program is predicated on a| year's work and includes the cost of labor, material and equipment. It will | give an average of $873.67 to each man | engaged. Highway Repairs Mad Commenting on the program, nan | said that when completed, it will bring the Takoma and Banneker recreation centers almost to completion, requir- ing only the addition of playground equipment. About this time next year, he said, the Piney Branch parkway will be opened to traffic, and Bingham drive will be finished. Not on any of the highway projects, he explained, will there be a permanent surfacing, but the roads will be satisfactory for mo- tor travel. The National Capital Parks Com- mission has submitted a number of Federal Works Progress Administra- tion projects to Administrator Harry L. Hopkins, who is in charge of the national program. These include ma- Jor road construction, but as yet no official word has been heard on them. Under the beginning tomor- row the District authorities will do all the administrative work, the park authorities planning the projects and working the men. GOLORED GATHOLIGS OPPOSE LYNCHINGS Appeals Voiced for Equality. of Educational Opportunity for All Church Groups. Delegates to the convention of Fed- erated Colored Catholics of the United States here yesterday elected officers and passed resolutions favoring con- tinued support of the anti-lynching measures introduced to Congress and continued appeal “to the hierarchy for equality of educatiogal oportunities for all groups in the church.” G. A. Henderson of Pittsburgh was re-elected president of the federation. Other officers include Eugene A. Clark, W. P. Dickerson, Elbert A. Holmes and Edgar Kenny, vice presidents; H. M. Smith, executive secretary; L. De Reef Holton, assistant executive sec- retary; Sarah P. Kirby, recording sec- retary; Marian Bruce, assistant record- | er; William B. Bruce, treasurer; Helen L Pinkett, editor; William A. Prater, fleld agent, and Benedict Smith, ser- geant at arms. ‘The sessions yesterday, held in the suditorium of the Holy Redeemer Church, concluded a three-day con- vention which attracted 300 colored Catholics eastern section of the {Three Others Also Held for| Deadly Turn on “Indefensible TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1935. Another reason for widening and straightening the Defense High- way=—the Collington turn, the sharpness of which is brought out graphically by this air picture. It terminates one of the few straightaways of the road, and like so many other “death traps” on the highway, ends in a FHP bridge and sharp grade. the Pennsylvania Railroad. Highway” and Girl Killed ||0.. ‘The bridge spans the Pope's Creek branch of Insert: Miss Ida Schartner, who was killed in an autoraobile accident on the Defense Highway last night. —Star Staff Photo. DF PASS, IN CELL AWATS INQUEST Questianing in Slaying of Raymond Conrad. David Leroy De Pass, 41, 4753 Res- | ervoir road northwest, and three | others waited in precinct cells today | for an inquest tomcrrow into the fatal shooting early! Sunday morning of Raymond O'Connell Con- . rad, of 3638] Thirteeuth street. Held with De Pass, who Sun- day signed a confession to the shooting, are Grace De Pass, ! Corliss Bowen of | the 5000 block Hutchins place, and Eleanor Howell, colored D. L. De Pass. | maid. These three were in the Reservoir road home when Conrad rolled to the | living room floor, dead with two rifle bullets in his abdomen. The shooting climaxed an alterca- tion begun when De Pass and Bowen attempted to pre- vent Ccnrad'’s en- tering the house, where a party was in progress. De Pass claims he shot in self defense. Coroner A. Ma- gruder MacDon- ald has set the inquest for 11:30 o'clock tomorrow o morning. Police records show De Pass, alias David Le- roy Russell, has been arrested & num- ber of times in minor cases, and in April, 1934, was released on parole from Lorton, where he had been sen- tenced to serve four yéars for per- forming an illegal operation. Conrad, alias Patrick Raymond ©O’Connell, had been arrested a num- ber of times in 1927 on charges of disorderliness and drunkenness. Bowen was released from Lorton in May of this year after serving, a five-year term for robbery. AUTHOR OF THREAT NOTE IS CONVICTED Judge Mattingly Imposes Sus- pended Sentence of $500 Fine or 8ix Months in Jail. Edward F. Schrage, 46, of the 300 block of First street southeast, today was given a suspended sentence calling for a fine of $500 or six months in jail on a charge of threats. Police Raymos Court Judge - Robert E. Mattingly handed down the sentence after hear- ing charges growing out of a letter Schrage wrote Mrs. Harry Zola, 408 Pirst street southeast, implying her 14-year-old daughter Mary might be kidnaped unless Mrs. Zola returned to Schrage $1 which he claims he was short-changed in her store. The letter was signed “Zorracks Petrolle.” Police sald Schrage ad- mitted authorship of the letter when Detective Sergt. Arthur T. Fihelly went to his home to question him and found him listening to & radio kidnaping story. Man Cut in Fall by Glasses. James F. Murray, 55, of the Ritz Hotel, suffered cuts about the eye when his glasses broke as he fell down a flight of steps in a Ninth street night i‘mly%&mg ted at Woman, Watching Daughters, Drives Through Red Light Tells Police She Was Excited Because They W aited Near Show. Too close scrutiny over her two young daughters today cost Mrs. Elva M. Taylor, Ebbitt Hotel, $5 when she was arraigned before Judge Isaac R. Hitt in Traffic Court on a charge of passing a red light. Mrs. Taylor told the court she had never before permitted her daughters to go anywhere alone. Yesterday, THREE HOLD-UPS | | Colored Boys in Stolen Car Chased by Policeman. Youth Is Arrested. Three men were robbed of a total | of $297 in hold-ups last night and | early today. One of the robberies was followed by a chase of three colored ! youths and the arrest of a colored boy for investigation. | The colored boy held, Samuel Mc- NET $297 LOOT MOTORIST KILLED INHEAD-ON GRASH . Two Other Persons Injured in Accident During Rain Near Clarksburg. | One man was killed and a man and woman were injured in a head-on | collision on the Frederick pike, about & | mile from Clarksburg, Md., during a ! heavy rain this morning. Thomas S. Brewer, about 38, of Hagerstown, died in the Montgomery however, she let them out on F street | Lurkin, 14, of the 1200 block of Irving | County Hospital with a fractured skull to attend a motion picture show, but | street, was arrested when found sit- | and crushed chest. George C. Greaves, | became so excited when she saw by | ting on the steps of the National |51, and Mrs. Clara Seifreit, 54, of looking in the rear view mirror of her | Training School on Bladensburg road | Franklin, Pa., occupants of the other automobile that they did not at once | by Policeman F. M. Daniels of No. 12 | enter the theater she ran through a | Precinct. red light. She was arrested by Traffic Police- man R. A. Cunningham. RALPH GIVEN, JR., SWORN INTO OFFICE Son of Former Judge Takes Clerkship, Succeeding James S. Addison. Ralph Given, jr, son of Judge Ralph Given, who recently failed to be reappointed as a Police Court judge after 43 years as an assistant district attorney and judge, was to- day sworn in as a clerk at Police Court. He replaces James S. Addison, who was retired as of September 1, after 15 years of service. Young Given is a native of this city. He graduated from Western High School in the class of 1931 and is now a law student at George Washington University. He was ap- pointed by Judge John P. McMahon, a Democrat, despite the fact Judge Given's failure to receive reappoint- ment was reported to be because he was listed as a Republican. Addison’s retirement, it was said at Police Court, was over his protest. He claims he is only 67 years of age, while the Government contends he has reached the age of 70. At his home today it was declared he is just on vacation, but it was definitely an- nounced at Police Court that he had been retired. Appointment of the new clerk came but a few hours before Walter T. Casey, who was appointed by the Pres- ident to take Judge Given's place, was to be sworn into office. The in- augural ceremonies for the new judge are scheduled® for this afternoon. In the meantime, three judges were at- tempting to handle the affairs of four Cfl\al'-:: Judge McMahon being on va- ca MERIT SYSTEM IS URGED IN LETTER TO PRESIDENT Secretary of Civil Service Reform League Asks for Policy in Minor Jobs. Stricter adherence to the merit sys- tem under the civil service instead of the spoils system of appointments to subordinate positions in the Gov- ernment agencies, has -been urged on President Roosevelt by H. Eliot Kap- lan, executive secretary of the Na- tional Civil Service Reform League. A letter to the President reviews all civil service legislation enacted By the Seventy-fourth Congress and points out that practically all new legisla- tion, except the Guffey coal bill, con- agencies. ‘The letter also took Congress to task for its failure to enact legislation bene- The officer had chased the | stolen automobile used by three col- ored youths in a hold-up of a gasoline station at Fourteenth and Irving | streets. The trio had robbed William Say- well, manager of the gasoline station, | | of 825 after one of them struck him on the head with the butt of a pistol when Saywell made a grab for the gun. Saywell obtained the license num- ber on the automobile and Policeman McDaniels in a radio car spotted the machine on Rhode Island avenue northeast and gave chase. The youths, however, eluded him and abandoned the machine on Vista | street northeast. While looking for them McDaniel spotted the colored boy at the National Tralning School. Police say the boy was tired from run- ning. In another hold-up, Alex Cassel, 233 Kentucky avenue southeast, was rob- bed of $270 by two colored men in his store at 901 Eighth street southeast. One of the robbers brandished a re- volver. Cassell gave police a descrip- tion of the bandits. Thornton Jett, 68, of 2701 North Capitol street, reported to police he was knocked unconscious and robbed of $2 by a chance acquaintance while in the Monument grounds. HOLMES TAKES OVER NIGHT ASSIGNMENT | Will Be Subject to Call in Im- portant Matters, Relieving Supt Brown. Inspector William E. Holmes, who was promoted last week to his new rank from the post of captain of No. 1 Precenct, last night took over the duties of “night superintendent of police.” Holmes’ new duties put him in com- mand of police from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., with authority to act where a high- ranking officer is needed. This relieves Police Supt. Ernest W. Brown from being called out frequent- ly at night. Previously Maj. Brown has been subject to calls at all hours whenever a high-ranking officer was needed. Inspector Holmes is a veteran of more than 32 years on the police force. TWO0 WORKERS RETIRED Mrs. ‘Grace Womack and Miss Sarah Roberts End U. 8. Service. Two Veterans’ Administration em- ployes, Mrs. Grace M. Womack of the Employes’ Accounts Sectioni and Miss Sarah E. Roberts of the Widows’ and Dependents’ Claims Service, have been retired after many years’ service. Mrs. Womack, who had been in the Government service for about 18 years, was presented at her office Saturday with a basket of flowers and a gift certificate. Miss Roberts, who had served the years, plans to where she for- car, were treated at the same hospital, | the former for lacerations of the scalp | and chest injuries, and Mrs. Seifreit | for a broken leg. Montgomery County | police are investigating. The fatality was the second in this section since the beginning of the Labor day week end. Miss Ida Schar- ter, 21, of 323 H street northeast, was killed yesterday on Defense Highway. There was only one serious traffic accident in Washington proper, al- though there were a number of col- lisions on nearby Maryland and Vir- ginia highways that sent injured per- sons to hospitals here. Three Hurt in Crash. Three persons were seriously hurt when a car driven by Charles M. Potter, jr., 41, of Baltimore, crashed into a light pole in the 3200 block of Alabama avenue southeast. The in- jured, treated at Casualty Hospital, are Miss Evelyn Einwachter, 31, of Bal- timore, fractured right leg; Miss Cath- erine Potter, 31, of Ferndale, Md,, frac- tured left leg, and Charles M. Potter, lacerations of the face. Young Potter was uninjured. Anna B. Cross, 48, of 411 T street southwest, was in Georgetown Uni- versity Hospital suffering from a frac- tured rib as the result of an accident in Fairfax, Va. James McKeaver, 51, of Clarendon, Va.,, suffered a broken arm in an accident at Belair, Md. Elizabeth Brown, 20, of Petersburg, Va., suffered a fractured right knee | and sprained back in a collision on the Baltimore Boulevard at Branch- ville, Md. - Louise Gordon, also of Petersburg, was cut about the lips. Both were taken to Providence Hos- pital by the Bladensburg rescue squad. Two Drivers Arrested. The car in which they were riding was said by police to have been driven by Willie R. Hudson, 33, also of Peters- | burg. Hudson and Fiorevante Pier- | felice, 21, of Brooklyn, N. Y., driver of the other car, were charged with reck- less driving and released in $500 bond for appearance in Hyattsville Police Court Wednesday. Mary Smith, 23, of College Park, Md., was in Casualty Hospital with a possible fractured skull and injured jaw, received when the car in which she was riding crashed into a culvert on River road near Bladensburg, Md. Jack Smith, 21, also of College Park, said by police to be the driver of the car, and Christine Brogan, 20, a pas- senger, were treated for minor in- juries. YOUNG HUSBAND HELD IN LICENSE COMPLAINT Guilford Brown, 22, of Baltimore, today was ordered held under $500 bond for grand jury action on a charge of perjury in securing a mar- riage license. Judge Robert E. Mattingly of Po- lice Court, who ordered Brown held, had married Brown to Helen Johnston, also of Baltimore, on August 7. Brown was arrested on complaint of the girl's mother, who said her daugh- ter was only 15. Her age was given on the marriage license application as 19. Brown was brought here from Baltimore by I*ctm Sergt. Eugene Lembert. Society and General » PAGE B—1 RLKILLED AS ‘DEATH'S ROAD AIMS ANOTHER New Defense Highway Fa- tality Occurs Near Scene of Recent Tragedy. CAMPAIGN IS CARRIED TO NICE AND TABLER Strong Criticism of Route Ex- pressed as Leaders Call for Improvement “Death Highway" claimed another victim yesterday. Miss 1da Schartner. 21, of 323 H street, died in Emergency Hospital, Annapolis, of a fractured skull re- ceived in an automobile accident on the Defense Highway near Mitchell- ville. Three other persons were slightly injured in the crash. Miss Schartner is the fifteenth per- son killed on the highway in 16 months. Her death is expected to add impetus to the rising tide of pub- lic resentment against the constant menace to public safety caused by the narrow, winding, slippery highway. Mayor Preparing to Act. It bore out official predictions that fatalities could be expected on the highway over Labor day, and came at a time when the Mayor of the town in which she died was prepar- ing to call on the State Roads Com- mission to widen and straighten the road at once. Police said Miss Schartner was rid- ing on the front seat of a car oper- ated by Casper T. Fogle of Clinton, Md. Her sister, Miss Alma S. Schart- ner, and James M. McMichall, 600 block of Twenty-second street, riding on the back seat, received minor in- Jjuries, as did Fogle. State Policeman J. C. Gates said the accident occurred on a straight por- tion of the highway near the inter- section with the Mitchellville road. He reported Fogle was attempting to pass a car occupied by colored people on the narrow road when the other driver suddenly turned to the left. Drivers Bonded. Both Fogle and Charles Brooks, col- | ored, of Bowie, driver of the other car, were released on $500 bond for an inquest before Justice of the Peace H. F. Armstrong in Annapolis next Tues- | day at 7 p.m. The scene of the accident is within a mile of the place where five ver- sons, including three nuns, were kilied two weeks ago today when their auto- mobile collided with a bus. | The toll of six deaths in two weeks will be called to the attention of Dr. Homer E. Tabler, chairman of the | State Roads Commission, tomorrow | when Louis N. Phipps. mayor of An- napolis; Elmer Jackson, jr. president { of the Civitan Club of that city, and John S. White of the Prince Georges County Federation of Citizens’' Assa- | ciations appear before him to urge | widening and straightening of the road. It inspired Edgar F. Czarra, land commissioner of Maryland, to write both Dr. Tabler and Gov. Nice today | to take steps to halt the slaughter of ‘molorlsv.sv Travels Road Daily. Commissioner (Czarra, who lives in Hyattsville, and is president of the Prince Georges County Republican Club, travels the road almost datiy. He has seen many accidents in ils | “death traps” and been caught in its | frequent traffic jams. “As land commissioner of Maryland, I want to join the other individuals |and organizations appealing to ycu | to make the Defense Highway wider | and straighter,” he wrote Dr. Tabler, | sending a copy of his letter to Gov. | Nice. “I have been sharply criticized as an official of this State fer permii- ting conditions of danger and con- | gestion, such as exist on the Defense Highway, to continue. “The people of Prince Georges County want the highway widened and straightened. They believe the responsibility for such improvements rests with State and Federal authori- ties because the road is one of th: most heavily traveled in the East. “In the name of public safety 1 | appeal to you to seek Federal funds | at once to make the highway an asset to our State instead of a liabilit; Three Hours for 15 Miles. Discussing his own experiences op the road, Commissioner Czarra said that one Sunday this Summer he found the traffic jam on it so great |t took him three hours to drive from Priest Bridge to Bladensburg, & dis- tance of about 15 miles. Czarra is a personal friend of Gov. Nice, who selected him for the im- portant office of land commissioner shortly after his inauguration last January. The commissioner said he would bring the highway’s dangers to the attention of the Governor as soon as he returns from his vacation cruise on the bay. Hits Bottleneck. Czarra believes one of the majar features of the highway which should be corrected is the Bladensburg “bot. tleneck,” and in this connection W. R. Beattie, president of the town commijssioners of that town, today proposed that traffic be blended about the War Memorial Cross. “I consider the engineering fea- tures of the Defense Highway as carried out around the Cross, where it joins the Baltimore Boulevard, ex- tremely bad,” Mr. Beattie said. “The road should be widened on the eastern side of the Cross, and traffic circled around to the right in- stead of being carried straight through from the Defense Highway. In that way it would blend much easier with trafic on the boulevard. Lights might also be installed, not only at the Cross but at the Edmonston and River road intersections. The town commissioners are considering the ad- | visability of such lights and may ask the State Roads Commission to in- stall them.” L3 = Plans to Walk 280 Miles. Donald Wheeler plans to walk 140 miles, non-stogl} from Elgin to Aber- deen, back.