Evening Star Newspaper, September 24, 1935, Page 1

WEATHER. (U 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair and somewhat warmer tonight and tomorrcw; gentle southeast &nd south winds. Temperatures—Highest, 71, at 3:45 p.m. yesterday; lowest, 47, at 5 a.m. today. Full report on Page A-7. The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. Closing N.Y. Markets, Pages 18,19 & 20 No. 33,383. Entered as second class matter post office, Washingzon, D. C. he WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1935—THIRTY-SIX PAGES. ### WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION Foening Star EMPIRE DEFENSE BODY [HGHT-MAD FANS RETAINED BY BRITAIN AS LEAGUE’S EFFORT FAILS “Big 57 to Give Report on EthioPia. REASSURANCES GIVEN IL DUCE Aggressive Intenti in Ship Moves Is Denied. By the Associated Press. LONDON, September 24.—The Brit- ish cabinet met in & two-hour session today and decided, informed quarters reported, to continue the Imperial Defense Committee as a council of action until the Italo-Ethiopian sit- uation is further clarified. The cabinet was adjourned subject to call. No date was fixed for its next meeting nor was any official an- nouncement made of today’s decisions. Meanwhile in Geneva, the “big five” committee, acknowledging defeat in its efforts to find a basis for a solu- tion of the crisis, turned in its report to the League of Nations. Committee Now Dies. ‘With the submission of the report the committee, composed of repre- sentatives of Spain, Great Britain, France, Poland and Turkey, ceases to exist. It was said in authoritative quar- ters that the personal message of Sir Samuel Hoare, British foreign secre- tary, to Premier Mussolini, delivered last night by the British Ambassador to Rome, Sir Eric Drummond, had | received a friendly response. The message was intended ‘o re- move any misapprehensions II Duce may have regardirg the relationship between Italy and Great Britain in the wake of the concentration of | British ships in the Mediterranean, | it was explamed Same as Communique. The terms of the message, these quarters said, were much the same | as those published by the coramunique | of last Sunday relative to Drum- mond's conversations with Fulvio Su- | tjon would be in pursuance of the posse closed in on & man who told | speculators were doing & big business, | vich, undersecretary fcr foreign af-| fairs. | The British Ambassador told Su- | vich that the presence of the fleet was not intended to imply any hint of aggression. - It was emphasized that the for- eign secretary’s message was not r lated to the issue under present ais-, cussion at Geneva. It was pointel out in informed quarters that the week end action tacks on Great Britain. There is, however, no indication in any quarter already has had a noticeable bene- | | that the Britzn Navy will be with- drawn. <» SIR SAMUEL HOARE. SIR ERIC DRUMMOND. COMMITTEE OF 3 THROWS UP HANDS Situation to Council of League. By the Associated Press. GENEVA, September 24.—The Italo- Ethiopian Committee of the League Council The body, composed of Great Brit- | ain, France, Spain, Poland and Tur- | key, decided unanimously to submit to the Council a historical report de- scribing its activities in narrative form. , The Council is expected to receive the report Thursday morning and Italian sources indicated that when the Council meets the Italian delega- tion probably will be absent. Shun Ethiopia’s Presence. It was explained that such absten- Italian policy of not participating in discussions of the Ethiopian question when Ethiopians are likely to speak at the Council table. With the drawing up of the report the committee acknowledged defeat in its efforts to find a basis for.a solu- tion of the crisis. The report was described as a purely objective and historical nar- rative of the committee activities. The report will be submitted to the Coun- cil Thursday morning and, with its submission the committee will cease to exist juridically. “Observations” Attacked. To the text will be attached an | annex containing a summary of the 2DEAD INVIRGNA N B S | Prepares to Submit Entire Trooper Killed and Youth Shot Down by Members of Own Posse. By the Associated Press. FORK UNION, Va, September 24. | —With one alleged bandit in the | of Nations today gave up its efforts | Henrico Jail, police today continued |and his associates in the Twentieth | to prevent war in East Africa and |a hunt for two others suspected of Century Sporting Club stuck to their prepared to throw the whole critical participating in an attempted bank | prediction of a capacity crowd of “up- | situation into the lap of the League robbery that resulted in the deaths| wards of 95,000” and a certain million- |of a State trooper and an 18-year- {old preparatory school cadet. State Trooper W. R. Thompson, 33, of Columbia was shot to death in a gun battle with one of three bandits he surprised in an attempt JAM GOTHAM FOR BAER-LOUIS BOUT 90,000 Tickets Already Are Claimed Toward Million- Dollar Gate Tonight. WEATHER IS PERFECT FOR SELL-OUT CROWD Dempsey Declares That He Will “Go Through” With Seconding His Livermore “Pal.” By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, September 24.—1In the grip of fistic fever such as the Big Town hasn't known in a dozen years, New York turned most of its attention today to the latest heavyweight war— the 15-round match between Joe.Louis and Max Baer in the Yankee Stadium tonight, Baer scaled 210': pounds and Louis 199'4 at the official weigh-in this afternoon at the offices of the State Athletic Commission. There was not the slightest surprise manifest by the weights of the two fighters, both of whom appeared in superb condition. Louis scaled a shade more than had been expected. Baer was within a half pound of the figure his handlers had predicted. Upwards of 50,000 fans, their enthu- siasm soaring with the weather tem- perature, were estimated to be moving into the city by auto, train, airplane and boat from all parts of the country to witness the biggest pugilistic event since the palmy days of Tex Rickard and Jack Dempsey. Although several thousand tickets | remained unsold, the final day’s rush was such that Promoter Mike Jacobs | dollar “gate.” 90,000 Already Sold. At 11 am. the promoter’s office said | the advance sale was somewhere be- | tween $900,000 and $1,000,000, mean- | ing that more than 90,000 tickets | either had been old outright or were | being held on reservation. YOU LOOK Too MUCHLIKE g\ THAT PIG TROUBLE | GOT INTO. AWAY WITH You! S AGRICULTURE ADMINISTRATOR'S ATTITUDE! /, Red Cross Backs Safety Drice, Offers First Stations Will Be Est Aid for In jured ablished on Major Highways to Give Assistance to Victims of Accidents. Never denying succor, the American Red Cross today offered first aid in the war against reckless driving on the streets and highways. signed up | its members in the campaign of The Evening Star and rededicated itself to | safety. : Accident prevention, the victims later. Officials present and leading the action of the great organization included Admiral Cary T. Grayson, chairman; James L. Fleser, vice chairman; Rob- ert E. Bondy, disaster relief director, and Miss Mabel T. Boardman, secre- tary. it was stated, is far better than taking care of Safety Broadcasts Today. 12:15 p.m.. WRC—Interview with |to rob the Fluvanna County Bank here between 1 and 2 o'clock yester- day afternoon. There was an early jam around Cadet Meets Death. the club’s box office at Forty-ninth ‘ Frank Wicks, 18, of Wellesley Hills, | street and Broadway, where tickets at |Mass, an orphan and a cadet at|every price except $5.75 still could be Fork Union Military Academy, met | purchased at face value. his death later in the day as a| Up and down Broadway, however, police he was John Dougherty, 27, | With choice tickets selling for any- |of Charlottesville. ‘thl-nc up to $200 apiece, depending State police headquarters in Rich- (o0 the location. }mond early today said no wofd had\ Clear Autumn skies and a warm sun | |been received from posses searching | forecast ideal conditions for the. fight. | S e e e e | Virginia for e other two gunmen. 2 o | One of the two—who Dougherty said | traditional weather luck seemed to he knew only as “Mills” or “Milton” e holding good for Jacobs, his one- and “Bob Wilson"—was believed hid- time associate. ing in the countryside north of here. | Hotels Crowded. The second, the driver of the bandits’ | _ Most Broadway hotels were jammed. | automobile, raced away toward Bremo | Fistic tourists, in some instances, | | and Scottsville and his trail was f;:“f:uz‘{:&mg“gg "‘1: Plgfis or on | | sought. | city. n every essed he was the one who shot| s Thompson while the officer returned |9f curlous collected aorund the sta- Bisinie! {dium early in the morning, where ficial cffect in Rume, where the news- papers have apparently ahandoned & Wants to End Bickering. “observations” made by Baron Pompeo Hoare decided to send Mussolini the | Aloisi, the chief Italian delegate, to message, it was explained, in order | Salvador de Madariaga of SplsiXL ;he' on Sunday | 10 give 1 Duce through personal con- | committee’s chairman, toct additional erapbasis to the Brit- night. ish government’s view 1hat the Anglo- | These “observations” viere the cause Italian bickering, although without }ot much confusion because they were actual foundation, should neverthe- | variously announced as representing less be cleared up. | Military observers expressed belief that continued Italian refusal to ac- cept arbitration proposals, as a basis for discussion of the Ethiopian crisis, | combined with accelerated military mobilization in .Italy and a rapid approach to the end of the Ethiopian rainy season left an outbreak of war in East Africa within a fortnight or 80 almost a foregone conclusion. The cabinet went into session soon | after I1 Duce called his ministers into conference at Rome and while the | League Assembly was planning an | afternoon session at Geneva, all point- ing to the possibility of momentous pronouncements. Sanctions Keynote of Talks. The possibility of applying sanctions to avert a war in East Africa, should | the League of Nations call on mem- bers to carry out their obligations under the covenant, was expected gen- | erally to be the keynote of the cabinet | discussions. | ‘They reflected little of the optimism | which was reported apparent in Brit- ish circles at Rome after Sir Eric Drummond’s assurances to Premier Mussolini that Britain's only interest in the crisis was to uphold League prestige. The press appeared to be engulfed in gloom, displaying small traces of its optimism of a few days ago. All newspapers featured the message to 11 Duce from Sir Samuel, delivered by the British Ambassador to Rome, but they expressed little hope that it would improve the sitfation materially. Policy Believed Mapped. Some quarters believed Britain's general policy in the event of recourse | by Italy to war was being mapped out by the cabinet. It appeared unlikely | that any far-reaching decisions, if | made, would be disclosed in view of the government'’s opinion that the real responsibility rested with the League. The question of strengthening the nation’s armed forces was considered likely to loom large in the discussions. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin conferred last night with defense min- isters and chiefs of the services. Comparing the proposals by the League Committee of Five to the Ital- fan demands in East Africa, the au- thoritative Times said editorially: “There can be small probability of reconciling this sweeping, plainly im- practicable, unreasonable program | with the considered, constructive com- promise evolved by the committee.” Three Rumanian Flyers Killed. BUCHAREST, Rumania, September 24 (#)—Three military flyers were killed today when their plane crashed in the Black Sea while maneuyering the official and unofficial Italian at- titude. The committee members themselves were understood to have been divided on this point. The re- sult was an agreement to publish the observations. A high authority said leaders in the peace efforts would make a final appeal to Mussolini between now and Thursday, when the Council is to meet. French sources said that if this appeal fails, they believed Premier Laval was prepared to announce to the Council: “The League covenant comes first.” The League assembly also was con- voked, but only to hear reports from various committees on routine ques- tions. These tendencies became apparent among members of the Council: 1. The Council should pursue the path of conciliation until all avenues have been explored and found hope- less. 2. The Council should look definite- ly under article XV of the covenant which provides for conciliation, and | this failing, for recommendations for (See COMMITTEE, Page 5.) RN FALL KILLS WIDOW Fifty-Year-0ld Woman Leaves Notes Telling of Reverses. CHICAGO, September 24 (#).—Mrs. Julia K. Spencer, 50-year-old widow, plunged to her death today from a twelfth-floor window of the Morrison Hotel. The body landed on the third- floor roof of an inner courtway. The woman was identified through a note found in her room. With it were several pictures of Mrs. Spencer and one of a building which, the note stated,. she had owned but lost. Included in the message were in- ltruc.tions for her funeral. Wicks, who as regimental supply | officer at F. U. M. A. was the only | student who had access to the ar- senal, had armed himself with a | high-powered rifle and joined other students, townsmen and officers in| hunting' Thompson’s slayer and the | other bandit abandoned by the driver. Posse Thought Cadet in Danger. | The cadet was in the vanguard of |the posse as Dougherty climbed a |fence and moved in to surrcuder |with his hands upraised. Others sighted Dougherty as Wicks leveled his rifle and ordered the bandit to halt. Dougherty kept walking toward |him. Other members of the posse |apparently feared Wicks was in |danger and loosed a volley of shots, State officers said. A bullet from this volley, officers declared, struck down the youth just as Capt. H. B. Nicholas of the State police, alarmed by Wicks' dangerous position, cried, “Cease firing.” (Pictures on Page A-2.) LEAGUE TIGHTENS PAN-AMERICAN TIE | Technical Co-operation Aided by Assembly Resolution on Relations. By the Associated Press. GENEVA, September 24.—The Ju- ridical Committee of the Leggue of Nations Assembly today adopted & resolution designed to produce closer technical co-operation between the Pan-American Union and the League of Nations. The resolution authorizes the sec- retary general of the League “to maintain such relations for mutual information with the director general of the Pan-American Union as may prove desirable.” The Pan-American Union embraces the 21 American republics. Its head- quarters is in Washington. | D.C.Residents,on Way to Fight, Refuse to Halt Trip When Hurt By the Associated Press. MARCUS HOOK, Pa. September 24 —Injuries received in an automo- bile accident near here today didn't keep three Washington, D. C., colored men from continuing their trip to New York for the Baer-Louis fight tonight. The three gave their nemes as Arthur Wilmer, 24; Stewart Clarke, 24, and Louis Clarke, 25. They in- sisted on continuing against the advice of Chester Hospital physicians. HARRISBURG, Pa., September 24 near Constanza, chief Rumanian sea- * port. n » (®).—The trip of four Baltimore youths to New York to the - Baer- » Louis fight ended in the Harrisburg police statibn because they didn’t have a nickel to pay bridge toll for their automobile. . ‘When the boys tried to bargain with the toll keeper for free passage he called - police. Patrolmen Walter Bryan and Harry Marshall, said the boys admitted picking up a car at Baltimore. They were booked as Alpheus W. Brown, 17; Everett G. Smith, 17; Rol- land W. Larkin, 17, and Irvin R. ‘Walck, 15. Baltimore police were notified. ‘The boys couldn’t explein how they expected to see the fight without funds, ~ the battle of hammers marked the final preparations for handling the | biggest crowd that has ever seen a sporting event in New York. Stadium gates were scheduled to open at 3 p.m. Max Baer spent the night at a mid- town hotel and remained in seclusion, pending the trip to the Boxing Com- mission’s offices for the weighing-in, | scheduled around noon. Louis, with an escort, left his train- ing camp at Pompton Lakes, N. J., by auto for the trip to New York. The colored fighter and his handlers | planned to spend the afternoon quietly at an apartment in Harlem. Jack Dempsey, noncommittal last night on the subject of seconding Baer, apparently intended to go through with his original plan to be in the Californian’s corner. “Some of my friends think I'm mak- |Ing a mistake,” said Dempsey, “but | that doesn't mean anything to .me. Baer is my pal. He wants me in there and I'm not going to turn him down.” Liverfiore Bets on Baer. LIVERMORE, Calif., September 24 P)—Wint, lose or draw, Max Baer’s home town—right here—was getting more excited every minute today over | its curly-headed son's fight tonight with Joe Louis. The citizenry has good cause to be excited, too, for some $12,000 is up on Baer “to win.” That figures about $3.50 for every man, woman and child in this cattle and farming community. Baer, a former butcher boy, started his ring career here six years ago, punching *a swinging wheat bag in training quarters remodeled from a chicken coop. Since then Livermore has watched its favorite son rise to the heavy- weight championship, topple from that perch and wander along a career in Hollywood's movie industry. Everybody that isn't working—and a few will be during the fight—plans to gather around loudspeakers and hear the blows fall. If Maxie wins, there’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight. And if he loses—a lot of pockets will be empty. Readers’ Guide Amusements Cross-word Puzzle Editorials Finance Lost and Found Melcher in Filmland. .. Serial Story - Sports _ ‘Washington Wayside ._..B-16 Women’s Features ...B-10-11 Admiral Grayson issued the follow- ing statement: | “About 100 employes of the Ameri- | can Red Cross here drive their own | or family cars, and all cheerfully signed The Star's safety pledge. Their interest in the subject was great be- | cause many are working overtime on a Nation-wide program being launched | by the American Red Cross, through its 3,700 chapters and more than 9,000 | branches, to bring to the public’s at- tention the need for home and high- way safety. | “Only through co-operation of all | safety and community forces can the | appalling death rate from accidents —both through carelessness in the home and through motor vehicles on our streets and highway—be reduced. The Evening Star is to be commend- | 2d for leading an effective campaign | (See SAFETY, Page 4.) WIFE'S DEATH PLAN 1S LAID TO SINGER State Charges Choirmaster Told Girl of Canoe Trip in Advance. By the Associated Press. ‘WORCESTER, Mass., September 24. —A chain of circumstances starting in 1933, when Newell P. Sherman, 26- year-old choirmaster, first met Esther Magill, 18-year-old fellow worker, was recited in Superior Court today in an effort to prove Sherman murdered his wife last July. Opening the prosecution’s case as the trial went into the second day, District Attorney Owen A. Hoban told the jury in the presence of the parents of Sherman and his dead wife, Alice, 22, that the Magill girl first went riding with the defendant in 1933. Hoban said Sherman parked his car and that he and the Magill girl moved into the back seat, where Sher- man “attempted familiarities.” Two weeks later, the district at- torney continued, they went out again. He told of another ride to a Rhode Island place. Tried to Break Up Affair. Hoban told the jury Miss Magill attempted to break off the affair, but that Sherman told her he “loved her more than any one else” and asked if she would marry him if “he got rid of his wife.” The prosecutor said the girl refused and that Sherman later consulted a lawyer regarding a divorce. Sherman’s wife drowned i Lake Singletary. The Government alleges he tipped over their canoe, although his wife could not swim; and allowed her to drown. Hoban said Miss Magill gave Sher- man & billfold on his birthday, April 26, and that they went to Worcester that night. “That was the last time they were out together,” he said, “although he continued to urge her to marry him.” Mother Protested. Hoban told of Sherman driving his Raymond L. Houk on his ex- periences as 2 blind man in Washington traffic. 4:30 pm., WJSV—Intelligence test for drivers conducted by interviews broadcast from the intersection of Thirteenth and E streets. Tomorrow. 7:15 p.m., WJSV—Because of the unusual nature of this broadcast, details will not be revealed beforehand. It will feature a popular radio star in a type of broadcast never before attempted. 10:45 p.m., WRC—Interview with Traffic Director Willlam A. Van Duzer regarding future recommendations he plans to make to the District Com- missioners to improve the ‘Washington traffic situation. PRIVATE CHARITY | BUDGET INCREASED {Human Needs Conference Sets $80,000,000 Figure. Westhrook Heads Body. ‘The task of persuading Americans | to give some $10,000,000 more this | year than last to private charities sup- ported by Community Chests was placed today under the leadership of Stillman F. Westbrook, vice president |of the Aetna Life Insurance Co., | Hartford, Conn. | Westbrook was elected president of | Community Chests and Councils, Inc., | at the welfare group’s annual business | meeting held at the Mayflower Hotel | today in connection with the 1935 mobilization for human needs confer- ence. He had been serving as actirg president since the death last mon a of Frederic R. Kellogg. The 300 or more delegates to the | mobilization conference were encour- | aged in their endeavors by President | | Roosevelt’s declaration in opening the | conference yesterday that “economic | skies are definitely brighter this year,” | but also were impressed with the mag- | nitude of their task by the knowledge | the Federal Government is withdraw- |ing from the field of home relief, | | making it more imperative than ev | for private charities to alleviate dis: | tress. Private Work Stressed. | The increased responsibilities for | private welfare was stressed repeatedly | by speakers, including the President, Mrs. Roosevelt, Walter Lippmann, edi- torial commeniator, and executives of the mohilization. | Last year's Community Chest fund | (®) Means Associated Press. of $70,000,000 must be surpassed this Winter by 10 to 20 per cent if new needs are to be met at all satisfac- | | torily, it was agreed at the conference. | Efforts will be made to secure larger contributions from corporations and wealthy individuals. 9 SEANEN DROWN Six Make Shore in Lifeboat and Another Floats in Almost Dead. By the Associated Press. JUDIQUE, Nova Scotia, September 24—A battered lifeboat bearing cne this cape Breton Village today to dis- close the sinking of the motor vessel | Hurry On and the deaths of five sea- men. ‘The Hurry On went down last night in a gale which struck her off Henry Island, 23 miles west of here. She carried 12 men. Six of the survivors made land in the lifeboat. One man floated in alone, to be found, barely alive, on the beach. Of the six men in the boat, only one was conscious. The one man managed to crawl on his hands and knees to & nearby house after the waves had tossed the boat on the beach. Capt. A. H. Gardner of the Hurry (See SEAMEN, Page 2.) STORM WARNING ISSUED Advised to Use Caution. NEW ORLEANS, September 24 (). —The United States Weather Bureau here today issued the following ad- visory: “Advisory 7 am. Tropical disturb- ;ance of slight to moderate intensity central about 150 miles west of Ro- seau, Dominica, moving west-north- westward. Caution advised vessels in path. AS VESSEL SINKS dead man and six survivors reached | Vessels in Region of Dominica Legality of 400 Divorce Cases Upheld by Retroactive Ruling Tributes to Mr. Kellogg were paid at a breakfast gathering today in speeches by John Stewart Bryan, president of William and Mary Col- | lege. and Allen T. Burns, executive vice president of the Community Chest | organization. Mr. Kellogg's daughter, | Mrs. Landon Thomas of Augusta, Ga., and his son, Frederic B. Kellogg of Morristown, N. J., were present. Besides Westbrook the following Community Chest officers were elected | | for a one-year term: Newton D. Baker, | former chairman of the Mobilization | for Human Needs and former Secre- | tary of War, honorary president; Mr. | Bryan and George E. Vincent, Green- | wich, Conn., vice presidents; Hendon (See CHARITY, Page 2. | |WOMEN’S OFFICE RIGHTS VOTED ON IN OKLAHOMA| State Also Passing on Five Other | Proposed Constitutional Amendments Today. By the Associated Press. OKLAHOMA CITY, September 24. —Oklahoma decides today whether to grant its women the right to hold major State offices. The issue is one of six proposed constitutional amendments to be passed upon at a special State-wide election. An unusually light vote, estimated at probably less than 300,000, was fore- cast. Two of the remaining proposals con- | cern old-age pensions, two others ex- | emption of homesteads from ad va- lorem taxation. The sixth proposal, presented by the Legislature, would | reorganize the School Land Com- mission, Yesterday’s Circulation, 128,354 Some Returns Not Yet Received. TWO .CENTS. THOENT DISPUTE BLOCKS PEACE IN COAL PAY PARLEY New Miner Ultimatum De- mands 9-Cent Raise Against 71 Offer. SECRETARY PERKINS VOICES OPTIMISM Relief to Be Held Up Pending Investigation—All Other Points Settled. By the Associated Press. A new ultimatum from miners to mine operators raised doubts today as to the speed with wnich the soft coal strike might be settled. John L. Lewis, piesident of the United Mine Workers, emerged from a conference on the thorny problem with the assertion that the miners would not agree to less than a 9 cents a-ton increase in pay for men who dig and load coal. Edward F. McGrady, Assistant Sec- retary of Labor. had reported the operators willing to agree to a 7); cents boost. Referring to the 9-cent union offer as the union’s “last word"—all other points at issue had been settled— Lewis said the special subcommittee of two miners and :wo operators was still engaged in a “thumb-twiddling talk fest.” McGrady Sits Outside. “As far as we're concerned, they can take it or leave it,” Lewis said. “These mutual admiration sessions | beginning to wear out as far as we're concerned.” McGrady, President Roosevelt's rep- resentative, sat in an ante-chamber outside the negotiating room. He said he still hoped there would be a speedy | agreement. Secretary Perkins at her press con- ference expressed optimism as to the “ultimate outcome” of negotiations. “I share with Mr. McGrady the feel- ings of optimism about the outcome, but I wouldn't want to date it,” she elaborated. ‘The negotiations were in the hands f a subcommittee including Charles O'Neill, Central Pennsylvania oper- ator; L. T. Putman, Southern West Virginia producer: Philip Murray, vice president of the United Mine Work= ers, and Van Bitner, Southern West Virginia district president of the union. Must Show Relief Need. Meanwhile Relief Administration of= ficials reported relief funds for strike ing coal miners and families would not be provided unless an actual need for relief occurred and the National Labor Relations Board made an official dee termination that the dispute was justie fied. Some officials thought there was a | of | possibility of settling the strike bee fore miners have to apply for relief. The miners originally demanded a 50-cent increase in day rates, 25 per cent on yardage and dead work and 15 cents a ton on tonnage rates, with a 30-hour week instead of the old 35-hour week. 5 About two weeks ago the miners modified their demand to 50 cents increase in day rates, 15 per cent on yardage and dead work and 10 cents & ton on tonnage rates. They dropped the 30-hour-week demand. Sunday the operators offered a 50- cent increase in day rates, 10 per cent on yardage and dead work and 6 cents a ton on tonnage rates. A li‘tle later they tentatively proposed 6.9 cents on tonnage rates. Offer by Miners. In reply to this tentative offer the miners proposed to “split the differ- ence” by offering to modify their de- mand to a 50-cent increase in day rates, 10 per cent on yardage and dead work and 9 cents on tonnage rates. Then the proposal was made (the operators say McGrady made it and they accepted, while McGrady says the operators proposed it) that the tonnage increase be 7!, cents. The operators said they would accept this propeeal if the miners did, but the miners refused. saving they had “gplit the difference” when they went down to 9 cents. No disorder was reported in the coal fields as the United Mine Work- ers, estimated by union officials to number 400,000, responded to the general strike call summoning their members from the pits. The strike call was effective Sunday at midnight. Yesterday news dispatches reported that generally only mine maintenance crews were at work. 250,000 Idle in Big States. The miners’ union said 250,000 were idle in the big producing states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It | also said 30,000 were out in Ohio, 25,000 in Illinois and thousands of others in the Middle and Far West, as well as the South. McGrady told reporters after a meeting of the negotiating committee last night that “we hope to get a settlement in time to get tp the prize fight in New York” tonight. He added: “As long as they agree ® sit down at a table and talk to each other, there’s hope.” McGrady made a report of the situation to one of President Roose- velt's secretaries yesterday, but he himself did not see the President. He said he had sent a memorandum (See COAL, Page 3.) DEFLATION BRINGS RIOTS mother, wife, Miss' Magill and another | Justice Daniel W. O'Donoghue of girl home from a May festival during | District Supreme Court today ruled which Mrs. Sherman, sr., took Esther |that the Capital's new divorce law is Magill to task, saying, “don’t you think | retroactive and applicable to some 400 this has gone far enough?” actions, based on the newly-created He said the elder woman chided |grounds of seperation and desertion, Miss Magill for “trying to break up & | which have been brought since its en- happy home,” and quoted the girl as | actment August 7. saying: “Time alone will tell.” “The court holds” said the jorist | Hoban said Sherman told the girl |after a lengthy and philosophical of his intention to take his wife|review of the history of marriage. canoeing, and that he said: “that it was the intention of Congress “If any one goes down it won't be | to remedy conditions now existing and | me.” not to give relief five years hence to Hoban told .of the alarm Sherman | parties seeking divorce.” gave after he swam ashore and he| Attorney Bruce Aitchison, who had guoted Sherman as saying: “Get & | argued the statute is not retroactive, (See TRIAL, Page {announced immediately he will seek r L) \ reversal in the District Court of Ap- | before the matter comes before the peals cf Justice O'Donoghue’s de- ! cision. The question at issue had agitated almost the entire membership of the District bar for several weeks and the | court room was crowded with lawyers | awaiting the ruling. The test of the | law is understood to have been sug- | gested by another District Supreme Court justice, Jennings Bailey. Several months probably will elapse Court of Appeals and a ruling can be obtained settling once and for all whether & new divorce law can be (S¢e DIVORCE, Fage 3.), ’ Chinese Merchants and bankers Protest Order in Vain. CHUNGKING, China, September 24 (#).—Sharp public disorders occurred in Szechuen Province today as the result of the recent 2 per cent de= flation of the provincial currency. Merchants and bankers who inter viewed Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek, author of the deflation order, were said to have precipitated the riots when the generalissimo refused their plea that the decree be countermanded. Under military rule Gen. Chiang's troops dispersed the rioters and re- .opened banks and shops,