Evening Star Newspaper, November 8, 1935, Page 21

WASHINGTON, CITY T0 JOIN RITES | Washington News Society and General NOVEMBER 8, 1935. PAGE B—1 NORTH AMERICAN PLAN UNCHANGED D. C. FRIDAY, - CLEWNDAEWEL [ spenkrs | 1S BEING CLEANED 10 COMBAT MUD Water Supply Temporarily Hauled to Children’s Tuber- | culosis Sanatorium. SUPERINTENDENT DENIES THAT SHORTAGE EXISTS‘ Effect on Future P. W. A. Funds Is Awaited Because of New Difficulty. | | (Picture on Page A-6) \ ‘The task of cleaning the 300-foot well at the Glenn Dale, Md., Children’s Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which be- came muddied Monday. was well under way today, with officials predicting it will be functioning normally within & week. Meanwhile, city water is being hauled to the sanatcrium in tank trucks to meet the requirements of the institution until the well can be cleaned. Approximately 50,000 gallons of water are being hauled daily. Water Shortage Denied. Dr. Daniel Finucane. superintendent of the institution, denied reports there is a shortage of water in the well or that the water now being used is not suitable for human consumption. The tank trucks, he pointed out. are clean and the water transported in them is the same as that used in Washington To guard against any possibility of danger to the health of the children, he said. the water was tested before being used The superintendent said he did not know what caused the mud to show up in the well. It may have been caused, he said. from digging opera- tions on a new well about 100 feet away. The new well, which will be 1,000 or more feet deep, was started last June to meet the needs of the sanatorium when it was enlarged to care for adult patients and to serve as a safeguard in case of future trouble with the present well. It is also be- lieved better water may be found at the 1.000-foot level. New Pumps Being Installed. The regular pump on the present well has been taken out and a much stronger pump is being installed to clean it. When the job is completed, the regular pump will be put back. ‘The institution normally uses about 20,000 gallons of water a day, Dr Finucane said, but present building operations have increased the con- sumption. The water hauled from ‘Washington is pumped into a 100.000- gallon storage tank, which must be kept filled to insure an ample supply in case of fire. Dr. Finucane pointed out the storage tank is in regular use, since the institution has a gravity feed water system. After being hauled out by the trucks, the water is pumped into the tanks with a District fire engine. District Engineer Commissioner Dan 1. Sultan said he is convinced the water supply at Glenn Dale is ade- quate and safe. Should it develop that the well water supply is not de- pendable, he added. the District will order construction of a water main from Glenn Dale to Cheverly, Md. under an arrangement with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Com- mission. He said it has been esti- mated this pipe line would cost $100,- 000 or a little more. “Gag Rule” Denied. Col. Sultan denied he had ordered that the trouble with the well be kept secret. He said he had not placed a “gag rule” on his subordinates, al- though reports have come from sev- eral minor officials recently that under orders from the colonel they could not discuss any public works program. Asked about this, Col. Sultan said public works problems were “quite touchy.” About two months ago the well was shut down for two days while a new pump was installed. This became necessary when the shaft for the new Well cut through the strata from which the present well draws its water. Sand &ot into the pump and damaged it. Surprise and a little indignation was expressed by P. W. A. officials when they learned of the new trouble at the institution. It was intimated Sec- Tetary Ickes may not approve the con- Iliac!s for the new $1,700.000 adult hos- pital if the water supply is not satis- factory when the time comes to let the contracts. Secretary Ickes a year ago opposed locating the sanatorium on a *desert” 15 miles from the city and expressed doubt at that time whether the water supply would be adequate. P. W. A. officials also were said to be investigating reports that Commis- sioner Sultan kept under cover the present difficulty as well as the one | t048y, apparently smothered to death. | two months ago. An investigation by the P. W. A. engincer department was | HOspital, where she was pronounced November 8 started at once. FIVE DENY GUILT IN OIL CONSPIRACY Arraignment Follows I;zdictment of 14 in Alleged $500,000 Fraud. Five of the 14 men indicted a week ago in the alleged oil royalty fraud “conspiracy through which hundreds of Eastern investors are said to have been mulcted of about $500,000, were arraigned in District Supreme Court today and pleaded not guilty. They were C. Reese Warde, named as office manager of the U. S. Roy- slties Exchange, through which the #ales were conducted; D. M. Ryan, said to have been associated with the exchange in the sale of royalties, and Eruno Cohn, John Zimmerman and J. ‘Bolton, alleged to be salesmen for U. | 5. Royalties. The head of the organization, ‘Thomas J. ¥ightman, alias Lewis C. ‘Van Riper, still is the object of a Na- t'on-wide search oy postal authorities wd Department of Justice agents. 4 ) MRS. MELVILLE MUCKLESTOM J. RAY MURPHY. TRAFFIC SAFETY RECORD FQUALED Last Fatal Accident on Oc- tober 24—Pedestrian Is Injured. Although one person received in- juries late vesterday which may prove serious, a District record of last Au- gust was equaled today in time elaps- ing since a traffic death. The last fatal accident here was on October 24, the person injured dying several days later. Miss Lucille Kircher, 34, of 1109 Park place northeast, is in Casualty | Hospital with neck injuries received ' late yesterday when struck by an au- tomobile at Eleventh and C streets northeast. She was conscious today, but X-rays were to be taken to de- termine whether her neck was broken. Clyde W. Mursick, 20, of 1008 C street northeast, was driver of the autome- bile, police said Two persons, injured in nearby Maryland yesterday in a collision at Sargent and Chillum roads, are still in a serious condition today in Casu- alty Hospital. They are Forrest T. Athey, 33, of Clarendon, Va.. suffering from a crushed chest, and Charles H Aldridge, 44, of the 200 block of Q street, who may have a skull fracture. Driver Is Accused. Rev. Father Thomas Moore. pro- fessor at Catholic University, driver of the other car, was charged with reckless driving and released under bond. The District, according to police, had no other serious accidents in the past 24 hours, despite the foggy and rainy weather of yesterday. Ida Furr, 40. of Alexandria, Va. suffered cuts and bruises and possibly brain concussion last night when struck by an automobile at Fourteenth and I streets. She was taken to Emer- gency Hospital. Noah G. Donaldson, 413 G street, driver of the car, was charged with driving with bad brakes. | Several others were treated for cuts and bruises. Statistics of the traffic department showed that, until today, not since last August had 15 days elapsed with- | In| out a traffic death in the District. |a similar period in the Summer of | 1934, a total of 24 days elapsed with- out a fatality. | The 92 deaths so far this year are 15 under the number recorded up to | November 8 last year when there had been 107. CHILD FOUND DEAD ‘Ivy Ellen Gregg Believed Smoth- ered in Crib. Ivy Ellen Gregg, 4-month-old daughter of Mrs. Dorothy Gregg, 413 Second street southeast, was found dead in her crib shortly before noon iThe baby was rushed to Providence | dead on arrival. The grief-stricken mother said she saw the child early this morning and found her awake. She returned to the baby's room about 11 o'clock and found the infant lying on her face. FOR WAR HEROES ON ARMISTICE DAY 3 | |President Will Lead in Pay- ing Respect to Those Who Served. ARLINGTON TO BE SITE OF PRINCIPAL CEREMONY John Garland Pollard, Former Governor of Virginia, to_ Speak at Tomb. Following the guidance of President Roosevelt. Washington and the Na- tion will pay their annual respects Monday to those who served and died in the world’s greatest war. The principal ceremony of the day will be that at Arlington National | Cemetery, where a Presidential ad- dress will be delivered at the Tomb of the morning program, other speak- soon after 11 am. President Roose- velt's address will be broadcast over both national networks. | A second Arlington ceremony will be held at 3 p.m. when John Gar- land Pollard, former Governor of Vir- ginia and now chairman of the United States Board of Veterans’ Ap- peals. will speak at the Tomb in the annual “Tribute of the Seven.” a wreath-laying ceremony participated in by seven welfare organizations that served the men in the World War. With the American Legion directing the morning program, other speak- ers of the day will be National Com- mander J. Ray Murphy, and the president of the Auxiliary, Mrs. Mel- ville Mucklestone. Soloist for the day will be Miss Jessica Dragonette, radio singer, with the United States Navy Band, under Lieut. Charles Benter, accompanying. J. J. Malloy to Preside. Joseph J. Malloy, commander of the District Department of the Legion, will preside, the invocation will be delivered by Rev. Thomas D. Kennedy, national chaplain of the Legion, and the benediction will be pronounced by Rev. Howard E. Snyder, chaplain of the local department. Theodore Cogswell is chairman of the local committee arranging the program ! Invitations to attend the ceremony have been issued to and accepted by many members of the diplomatic corps, of the cabinet and Army and Navy circles in Washington. Other veterans’ organizations and civic and patriotic groups also will be repre- sented. Color bearers and color guards from 32 posts of the District Department of the Legion will pre- sent colors at the opening of the service. Roosevelt to Place Wreaths. Following the program of speaking. wreaths will be placed on the Tomb by President Roosevelt and by leaders of represented organizations. Officers of the Legion will be en- tertained at luncheon by Alexandria Post. At 3:15 p.m. services will be held at the Tomb of former President Wilson in Bethlehem Chapel. Later a visit will be made by Legion officials to the University of Maryland. In the “Tribute of the Seven.” the following principals will represent the seven co-operating organizations: Dr. George F. Bowerman, American Library Association; George G. Cohen, Jewish Welfare Board; Very Rev. Michael J. Ready, National Catholic Welfare Conference and Knights of Columbus: Maj. James Asher, Salva- tion Army; Mrs. Marie Moore Forrest, War Camp Community Service; C. E. Fleming, Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, and Mrs, Ernest Everett Danley, Young Women's Christian Association. Fleming to Lay Wreath. The program, arranged by Mr. Fleming, will begin with the sounding of “roll call” by Gordon Pool, Boy Scout bugler, of Troop No. 49. Chair- man Fleming will lay the wreath on behalf of “The Seven.,” as the group terms itself. Invocation will be offered by Rev. Walter F. Smith, pastor of the | Park View Christian Church. Pollard, who served with the Y. M. C. A. in France, will give a brief ad- dress, after which “Echo Taps” will be | Johnson of Troop No. 52. Wreath bearers will bé T. Brooke Stabler and | Bernard Wyckoff, jr., both of Scout | i ‘Troop No. 65. | nothing Jackie Brooks, 5, the heart interes t on many Community Chest posters, is shown on her last day at Children’s Hospital. where she had been since January, 1934. At the left: Sleeping REWARD OFFERED FORMISSNG B 'Police Extend Search for' Three Who Disappeared From Homes. A $200 reward today spurred the search for 13-year-old Betty Kathleen Bowman of Falls Church, Va., as po- lice in Washington and nearby com- munities sought two other missing girls, including a bride-to-be and a young art student. Mayor L. P. Daniel of Falls Church announced he has been authorized to offer a $200 reward to the first person or persons giving information leading to the location or actual contact with the Bowman girl, missing since Sep- tember 12. Engineer Also Missing. ‘The girl disappeared at the same time as Richard H, Welles, 23, a civil enginzer, formerly of Lyon Village, Va., who had been employed on a construction job near her home. Authorities had information, which they were never able to confirm, that the young couple tried to go to South America. Betty was last seen as she rode away on her bicycle toward Jef- ferson High School. The bicvcle was found several days later near Oakwood Cemetery in Fairfax County. The reward, offered by the family, it was noped. may yet bring about the missing girl's reunion with her sorrow- ing mother, Mrs. Kathleen Bowman. Disappears Before Wedding. ‘The girl who disappeared Monday night just two days before her wed- ding day is Miss Corinna Loring, 26, a public stenographer, and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Loring. 3110 Beech street, Mount Rainier, Md. Miss Loring’s fiance, Richard Tear, | 29, an attendant at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and her mother have heard from the girl since she slipped quietly from her home Monday night while waitiag for Tear to call. All arrangements for the wedding had | been made. The girl's father is engaged in con- struction work at Cambridge, Md. In- quiries there failed to reveal the pres- ence of the missinz bride-to-be. Friends of the family expressed the | opinion the girl must have changed her mind about the marriage and slipped quietly away to remain in hid- ing until “everything blows over.” the search. Many Clues Offered. Headquarters detectives last night | in the arms of Nurse Dorothy Cram “Jackie” Brooks of Chest F(uneQSMK_ER I] K’S Ends 20 Mont Center: Gives her dolly a final look. Detwiler of the hospital staff. hs in Hospital Girl, Whose Smile Beckoned From Posters, Is Pronounced Recovered From Spinal Disease. “Jackie” Brooks. the 5-vear-old girl who has smiled at thousands of Washingtcnians through her picture on Community Chest campaign pos- ters for the last two years, is playing happily at_her home in Oxon Hill, Md., today, well along toward recov- ery from the spinal disease for which she has been receiving treatment for the last 20 months. At Children’s Hospital yesterday she gathered together her dolls, told her story about the “Seven Little Goats” to fellow patients for the last | time, bid the hurses farewell and with a carefree toss of her brown curls passed through the doors of ward G to live again with mother, Mrs. Elvis Brooks; her brother, Alvin, 7, and her grandmother, Mrs. Julie Thorne, at their country place in Maryland. As one of hundreds of crippled children aided to health at the Chest- supported hospital. Jacqueline gave freely of her dimpled smiles to provide appealing illustraticns for Community Chest publicity. Pictured in the movies as she lay for six months on the orthopedic frame, “Jackie” was probably the most frequently photographed child in Weshington hospitals. Her por- trai. in connection with the Chest campaign was as familiar to residents of the District as an international trade-mark. Although delighted over her recov- ery, doctors, nurses and juvenile pa- tients at the hospital yesterday ex- pressed regret as they saw her go. Undismayed by long suffering from the spinal affliction, the child, with her happy disposition, had become a favorite. But the hospital is a thing of the past for Jacqueline now. The year and a half of confinement, the long months on the orthopedic bed and | the plaster casts are gone, perhaps forever. Ornly a brace at her back, which eventually shall. be removed, serves to remind her of the ailment. It will be at least a year before “Jackie” enters school, but today she smiled at the thought of it. Posing for photographers in the hopsilal is “lots of fun,™ she agreed. but life on the outside, with freedom to run abdut, nurse her dolls and play like all the little boys and girls in school, will be much nicer, she insisted COURT-MARTIAL Whitmore’s Testimony to End Military Probe of Magazine Shooting. A general court-martial trying Ma- rine Pvt. John F. Whitmore on charges of involuntary manslaughter was expected to adjourn today after testimony by the defendant. Whitmore is charged with the fatal shooting September 21 of John D. Moriarty, 24-year-old Government Printing Office employe, who allegedly Regular Operator Gone, Switchboard ~ DRAWS TO CLOSE *ires Get Tansted |Change in Relief Plans | Brings Confusion to | Prettyman’s Office. | l A telephone switchboard installed in the office of Corporation Counsel Pret- tyman a few days ago was being op- erated today by relays of bewildered stenographers, clerks and messengers | because the regular operator has lost | her job under the emergency works | system. | | The operator was assigned to the board as an emergency works project, | Whispering to Dr. Robert —Star Staff Photos. Right: TEACHING ON REDS Federal Commissioner of Education Gives Indirect Indorsement in Speech. Special Dispatch to The Star. ST. LOUIS. November & —Federal Commissioner of Education Jochn W. Studebaker gave an indirect indorse- ment to the teaching of communism in the public schools of the Nation during a forum panel discussion be- fore the general session of the Mis- souri State Teachers’ Association. Expresses Position. Speaking on “Should Educational Organizations Safeguard Freedom of Theught and Instruction in American Schoois,” Dr. Studebaker did not men- tion communism by name. or refer to the widespread discussion in Washing- ton over the teaching of the subject in the schools there, but he did say: “One of the major characteristics i mcdern dictatorships is the imposition of iron-clad control over educatio They aim to prevent both youth a:nd adults from hearing about. readir? about or discussing other governmen's They suppress all inquiry of the criti- cism of their regimes on the ground that such consideration is seditious that all critics are disloyal and that the acts of the government are not prop- erly subject to investigation or an- alysis.” Dr. Studebaker also declared the teaching profession must defend itseif as well as democracy by insisting on freedom of thought and freedom of in- struction. Fear “Preaching.” “What people seem to fear when they, perhaps, unwittingly, subscribe to alien and undemocratic proposals to interfere with freedom of instruc- tion.” he said, “is that teachers will use their positions to ‘preach’ and ad- vocate social philosophies necessarily included in certain courses. For this reason it is highly important that we make it crystal clear by our class room deeds as well as by our professional pronouncements, that when we seek the right to teach and the inalienable and essential American right of the learner to learn, we are not asking for the right to ‘preach’ or ‘advocate.’ " Teachers in the Washington public sounded by Buglers Pcol and Stanley | police, however, were asked to aid in | had attempted to force his way into | but Commissioner Allen has assigned | schools are permitted to teach the the Bellevue Magazine, base of secret |81l emergency workers to direct relief | facts of communism but not to advo- Government operations. Lieut. George Wright, U. S. N., who rolls in order to save money becaus: | of the reduced Federal grants for re sought to sort tangible clues from a | assisted in drawing up the regulations lif for this month. [ The group will assemble in the | mass of information and hearsay con- | pertaining to the use of a pistol by | Possibility of the operator’s dismis- ‘ cemetery and march to the Tomb in a | Zerning the disappearance of 15-year- | a Marine guard on duty at the maga- | sal was not foreseen a week ago, when body. The public is invited to attend the ceremony. Among the services planned for this Sunday is one scheduled by the Greek- | American veterans of the World War at St. Sophia Church. Members of other veterans' organizations have been invited to attend this service, as | ducted, although police doubt this | Moriarty’s automobile failed to stop at | | a signal from Whitmore, striking the | Yesterday 3,000 circulars bearing | gate and also injuring the Marine well as representatives of the Greek legation. Named to Police Force. | ARLINGTON COURT HOUSE, Va., | (Special) —Lyman L. | | King of Thritton was appointed to the | | Arlington County police force yester- | | day by Circuit Court Judge Walter | | T. McCarthy. The appointment was | made on the recommendation of | Sheriff Howard B. Fields. Freed on Resplendent in full dress suit, David the Tabernacle of the Living God, heard a District Supreme Court jury today declare him not guilty of as- | saulting two colored men with a sword | he had said he was divinely directed to wear. | Exonerated with him was Deacon | Wheeler Wilkins of his church, who was alleged to have cut two colored women Wwith a knife in the melee. The jury was out an hour and a half considering the plea presented by Defense Attorney Harold F. Haw- ken that the prophet and deacon acted | in self-defense. | The charge against the two arose | from an altercation last August 20 when Prophet Jones and six members | of his flock emerged from the taber- r Sword-Wielding Jones, colored, self-styled prophet of | “Prophet” Assault Charge | nacle, located in the 400 block of Ridge street, clad in spectacular uni- forms of red and black. Jones and Wilkins created quite a sensation among the children of the neighbor- hood, who started to jeer. A ball of paper was thrown into Jones’ car. The prophet said the paper was on fire, but testimony on this point was con- flicting. At any rate, he and the deacon got out of the car and one thing led to another. Finally there was a gen- eral rumpus with Phophet Jones brandishing his sword at the alleged | hecklers. Willie . Daniels, colored, said the sharp sword point slit his leg, and Robert Millard, also colored, testified he was cut on the hand. The jury | was told Wilkins cut Rebecca F. | Hatcher and Alice: Gollias . old Alva Carmen Thyrring, daughter Oglethorpe street. The girl, a Central High School | student, and a talented art pupil dropped from sight October 25. Her | parents believe that she has been ab- | theory. full descriptions and a photograph of the missing schoolgirl were broadcas throughout the country. Meanwhile several close friends of the | girl will be questioned further, it was said. Detectives last night investi- gated a false lead which placed the girl in Northwest Washington. ENGINEERS OPEN PARK WORK BIDS Meridian Hill and Franklin Square Jobs Estimated. Figures Tabulated. Bids were opened today at the Navy Department by engineers of the Na- tional Park Service for improving Meridian Hill Park and for planting in Franklin Square. Each set of bids contained a number of items for which the unit prices | were given by the contractors. Thus, officials explained, it will be a number of days before the lump sum low bid can be worked out. Some time during the coming week C. Marshall Finnan, superintendent of the National Capital Parks, hopes to recommend to Secretary Ickes defi- nite awards for contracts for the work in Meridian Hill Park and Franklin Square. Public Works Ad- ministration funds make these jobs possible. [ Y zine, testified yesterday that in his | with much noise the board was put in. | tion act forbidding the payment of | | of Mr. and Mrs. Viggo Thyrring, 417 | opinion forceable entrance into the | It is expected means of hiring an ex- | Salaries to teachers who teach com- | grounds would constitute a felony. ' pert for the board will be sought. Under the regulations, a guard is permitted to use his pistol in felony cases. Previous testimony brought out that guard’s leg. Whitmore was exonerated of blame |in the fatal shooting by a coroner's | jury last month. Sergt. Thomas Dryden said today in answer to a question that he would consider a guard justified in using his gun in the case where an automobile forced its way into the grounds, strik- ing the gate and the sentry. Capt. William E. Maxwell and Lieut. Col. Leo Atrmle, both of the Marine Corps, are acting as judge advocate and defense counsel, respectively. Whitmore was to take the stand after the noon recess. Findings and judgment of the court-martial will be sent Secretary of the Navy Swanson probably the middle of next week. Arguments of the defense and prose- cution are expected to be presented to- morrow morning. CHILD DIES OF SCALDS Doris Koenig Victim of Fall in Tub at Home in Northeast. A pall of grief was cast today over the family of 22-month-old Doris Koenig, who died yesterday from scalds received Tuesday evening when she fell into a tub of hot water in a hall of her home, 2432 Fourth street northeast. Doris, youngest of six children, died in Sibley Hospital, where physicians employed every method they could to ease her suffering. A 'SLAYER OF SON PLEADS NOT GUILTY David L. Aslicraft, Crippled News- paper Vendor, Arraigned [ on Murder Charge. | | With a wordless shake of his head, | | David L. Ashcraft, confessed slayer of his 5-year-old son, David, jr., today indicated his plea of not guilty to the first-degree murder charge against him. \ ‘The crippled newspaper vendor’s | face was drawn and quivering as he sat in a wheel chair and heard Clerk | William Adkins of District Supreme Court read the lengthy indictment. | |But when Adkins asked, “Are you guilty or not guilty?” his response was prompt. | Ashcraft had made a voluntary statement to police, professing his love | for his son and seeking to justify the killing by fear of the boy’s future. He | was quoted as saying he sat for three | hours with the sleeping child in his| arms before he turned on the gas,! which he hoped would end his owa | ilife as well as the boy’s. | He was represented at the arraign- | Verree Teasdale to Be Mother. HOLLYWOOD, November 8 (P)— Verree Teasdale, actress wife of Adolph Menjou, is expecting to be- come s mother in the Spring, inti- mate friends sajd today. ate that form of government under ruling of Corporation Counsel E. Barrett Prettyman. The ruling was an outgrowth of a provision in the 1935 District of Columbia appropria- SMITHSONIAN PAYS GOLDSMITH HONOR Superintendent of Museum Pre- sented Watch on Ending 55 Years' Service. Culminating 55 years of service in Shanks Goldsmith, who has just re- tired as superin- tendent of the National Museum, | received a goid watch from friends and as- sociates at a re- tirement cera- mony today in Smithsonian of- fices. His wife was presented with a bouquet. Dr. C. G. Abbot. secretary of the institution, made the presentation . while more thap 5 Goldsmith. 50 employes and officials looked on. Goldsmith, 72, began working in the museum at 17 as a private messenger Soon thereafter he was put in charge dent Garfield's inaugural ball, held in the old museum building before it was completed. Superintendent of the museum butid- ing from October 20, 1903, to October 31, 1935, Goldsmith personally directed many of the improvements in facili- ties. 8 - BY COURT AGTION Roberts and Others Believe Holding Company Com- pliance Not Motive. |REPORT TO REVEAL OTHER INFLUENCES | Utilities Commission Data Await- ed on Proposed Relinquish- ment of Control Here. The decision of Federal District | Judge William C. Coleman of Balti- more that the Wheeler-Rayburn | “death sentence” holding company act is unconstitutional, is not expected to | have any effect on the move of the | North American Co. to relinquish con- trol of the Washington Railway & | Electric and Potomac Electric Power | companies. William A. Roberts, people’s counsel before the Public Utilities Commission, and other authorities on the Wash- ington utilities situation, believe the primary motive behind the North American’s action was not compliance with the holding company act. Roberts, particularly, is satisfied there are other motives which he pro- pcses to reveal in a report on the plan he is preparing for the Utilities Com- mission and the Securities and Ex- change Commission. These factors, he said, have not been changed by Judge Coleman’s ruling. Three Motives Seen. Although Roberts has not indicated what his report will contain, he ex- pressed several days ago the opinion that the North American apparently had three motives in view when it de- cided to leave the Washington utilities field 1. To release control over its Wash- ington interests at a time when there is a good market. It has been brought out that under the proposed plan North American would make a huge profit 2. To comply with the utilities act, which, however, is not necessary for two vears. 3. To escape the threatened sion of Washington by the Associ Gas & Electric Co. which recently acquired the Virginia Public Service Co. In the meantime Chairman O'Con- nor of the House Rules Committee and William H. Collins, committee counsel, went ahead with plans for resuming the investigation into the lobby conducted by certain utility holding corporations against the Wheeler-Rayburn bill. The inquiry is expected to be re- newed next week, although a definite date has not been fixed. Howard C. Hopson, reputed “master-mind” of the Associated Gas & Electric Co,, is to be recalled as the first witness. The committee will question him par- ticularly about his personal income and the disposition of the $1,000,000 Hopson previously disclosed had been borrowed by North American to fight the utilities bill. Line of Questioning. Collins said Hopson also would be ioned about his company’s latest sition in Virginia. the Virginia Public Service Co., which serves elec- tricity to a large part of Arlington County and other sections of the State. Virginia Public Service, however, is facing serious competition in Arling- ton County in view of the reported plans of the Potomac Electric Power Co. to extend its lines throughout the county. Potomac Electric Power Co., through its subsidiary, the Braddock Light & Power Co., now serves a small portion of the county in the vicinity of Rosslyn at rates substantially lower than those of Virginia Public Service. Encouraged by reports of the Po- tomac Electric Power Co.'s move, the Arlington County Public Utilities Commission has renewed its invita- tion to the utility to extend service throughout the county, and last night the Arlington County Civic Federa- tion took a similar step Several years ago the Arlington County Commission initiated a move to get lower electric rates by urging Potomac Electric Power Co. to enter the field in competition with the Vir- ginia Public Service. Four thousand Ppotential subscribers in the county | were offered the Washington company at that time. ALLEGED GANG MEMBER IS GUILTY OF ROBBERY E. J. Fitzpatrick Declared to Have Been With Morris Beck in Fatal Hold-up. Edward J. Fitzpatrick. alleged mem- ber of the “Black Face Gang,” who | was with Morris Beck, leader of the | gang, when the latter was killed Oc- tober 13 during a hold-up of the Blue Bell Barbecue, on Bladensburg | road northeast, pleaded guilty to two irobbery charges in District Supreme | the Smithsonian Institution, James Court today. | Vivian M. Jenkins, another alleged member of the gang, pleaded not guilty. Both Fitzpatrick and the girl were charged with participating in the barbecue stand hold-up and the rob- bery of Thompson's Restaurant, in the 1100 block of Pennsylvania ave- nue, on the night of September 4. |DISCRIMINATION CHARGE MADE ON N.R.A. SLASHES Discrimination in the reduction pro- | gram at N. R. A. was charged by John | Donovan, president of the N. R. A. ‘Lodge. American Federation of Gov- ernment Employes, which last night observed the second anniversary of its chartering. It met at the Hayloft. The lodge adopted a resolution call- ment by Attorney Fred J. Icenhower. | of selling official programs at Presi- ing for return to duty of, Henry Rhine, | one of its leaders, who is among the | group being dropped by the National Recovery Administration. E. Claude Babcock, national presi- dent of the federation, said it was the province of workers to guard against discrimination where forces are being reduced. «