Evening Star Newspaper, November 27, 1935, Page 15

Washington News ARGUMENT BEGUN " IN'PNELL'S TRIAL ON FRAUD CHARGE Letts Directs Verdict of Guilty, Defense Counsel Lynch Claims. PROSECUTOR GRANTED INSTRUCTIONS TO JURY Cross-Examination of Defendant, Begun Yesterday, Ended This Morning. Arguments by attorneys in the Dis- trict Supreme Court trial of Benedict M. McNeil, assistant cashier of the de- funct Park Savings Bank, were begun shortly before noon today after De- fense Counsel Robert E. Lynch charged Justice F. Dickinson Letts had, in ef- fect, directed a verdict of guilty. Lynch referred to Justice Letts' agreement with five prayers for in- structions to the jury proffered by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Wilson. “Granting these five prayers is tan- tamount to directing the verdict of guilty,” the defense attorney declared. The judge overruled the objection. The major contested points were e 15-Year-Old Is Pead of ‘ Wound Inflicted by Friend, 13. Tragedy Occurs in Try- ing to Repulse Attack, Police Are Told. Sobbing mothers of two young boys involved in a fatal tragedy when one | stabbed his companion comforted each other this morning. Fifteen-year-old William Suddath, 3621 Prospect avenue, is dead of a wound suffered when a neighborhood playmate, Rayburn Smallwood, who lived two houses away at 3617 Pros- | pect avenue, plunged a knife into his chest. In the reception room of the Re- | ceiving Home this morning young Smallwood, dry-eyed but sad, said: “I had called William ‘chew to- | bacco’ earlier in the day and he was | trying to catch me for it. I had a | board I had been cutting in one hand and the penknife I found that day in the other. He rushed at me and hit me. When I tried to push him away the knife stuck him.” Until late last night Mrs. Luther B. Smallwood, mother of Rayburn, sat up with Mrs. Suddath, ill with grippe and weak at losing her son, who died at Georgetown Hospital a few minutes after the stabbing. This morning Mrs. Smallwood returned to sit with Mrs. | Suddath again. the request by Wilson for the jury to be instructed that a customer of a bank who overdraws his account with intent to defraud the bank is guilty of larceny and that it is wholly im- material in an embezzlement case whether the person who converts property of another does so for his own personal advantage. Accused With Father. McNeil is charged with conspiring with his father, the late Alexander McNeil, and Robert S. Stunz, execu- tive vice president of the bank, who committed suicide in 1933, to commit larceny of $50,000 and conspiring with the same two men for Stunz to em- bezzle the same $50,000. Cross-examination of McNeil, begun yesterday afternoon, was compieted this morning without any noteworthy developments. After Lynch informed the court the defense rested, his asso- ciate, James F. Reilly, asked the judge to direct a verdict for the defendant | on two grounds. He contended the Pprosecution had not shown the alleged conspiracy continued after 1929, when McNeil severed his connection with the bank, and that consequently the statute of limitations gave him im- munity. He argued, further, that the bank's charter expired in 1929 and as a result an offense against the corporation could not have been com- mitted since that date. Justice Letts overruled this motion. At the beginning of his argument Wilson stated he would consume ap- proximately an hour in his opening and 15 minutes in his rebuttal. The defense likewise is expected to take an hour for presentation of its con- tentions, and the jury probably will receive the case in midafternoon. Played Stock Market. The jury was startled . yesterday afternoon when McNeil unexpectedly testified under cross-examination that he played the stock market with bank funds and used his profits to bet on horse races. Questioned by Wilson concerning & $14,000 deposit slip to the account of the A. M. McNeil Co., made in July, 1929, the defendant said he deposited the money in $500 and $1,000 bills, which came to him from a $1,000 bet | on a race horse named Eskimo. He placed the bet by telephone, he tes- tifled, and the horse won at 13 to 1. Pursuing the inquiry further, Wil- son asked where he had sufficient | money to cover possible losses in his gambling on the races, and McNeil replied he had $2,600 in cash in a safe deposit box at the Park Savings. This sum, he admitted when pressed by the prosecutor, represented his profit in the stock market. He said he bought Wright Aeronautical stock with funds of the bank and pocketed the profit when the price of the stock Tose. Other Bets on Race Horses. McNeil admitted he had made other bets on race horses. Introducing McNeil's income tax re- turn for 1929, Wilson brought out that the former bank official did not report his race winnings. The report showed McNeil's gross income for the year was $1874 and his net taxable income $138. Earlier in the afternoon W. S. Strauss, former officer of the bank, identified the suicide note left by Stunz when he committed suicide. It stated: “In the event of anything happening to myself or the Park Savings Bank, no person now employed in the bank is responsible for any irregularity. I alone am responsible. All transactions of "whatever nature or kind have been . &t my direction.” The word “now” was underlined in the missive, which bore the date of February 28, 1933. — COL. ARTHUR HITCHCOCK DIES IN MASSACHUSETTS Infantry Officer Began Service in 1917 in Reserve Corps—Was Stationed at Boston. ‘Word has been received by the War Department of the death of Lieut. Col. Arthur B. Hitchcock, Infantry, at Newton Center, Mass,, last Saturday. Funeral arrangements are to be an- nounced later. Col. Hitchcock was born in Boston on June 27, 1878. He entered the Army as captain, Infantry section, Officers’ Reserve Corps, May 10, 1917, and was placed on active duty. He was promoted to major in the National Army December 31, 1917, and on July 1, 1920, was appointed a ma- Jjor of Infantry in the Regular Army. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel August 1, 1935. At the time of his death Col. Hitchcock had been on duty with the 94th Division, Organ- ized Reserves, at Boston. He was graduated from the Command and General Staff School, Boston, in 1925. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Marion H. Center. Hitchcock of Newtonl “What can they do to my boy?” | sobbed the distressed mother of the | child held at the Receiving Home. | “I'm afraid, because he's got heart | trouble. He couldn’t have done it pur- | posely. He’s such a good boy.” | Rayburn ran to his mother last night | | after the tragedy and clung to her | | skirts as he cried: | | “I didn't mean to cut him. He ran; into the blade as I pushed him away | to keep him from hitting me.” | Weeping, Mrs. Smallwood said this | | morning: | LAW REQUIREMENT ISBOOSTEDBYG.L. {College Degree Necessary| For Entrance After September. Rev. Arthur A. O'Leary, S. J., pres- ident of Georgetown University, to- day announced that beginning next September a college degree will be re- quired for admission to Georgetown | Law School. Father O'Leary, at the formal ex- ercises of his installation as president of the University last Saturday, de- clared Georgetown is, and always has been, committeed to the advancement of standards of education in-all its | departments. Moves Into Higher Class. | In abandoning its former two-year pre-legal requirement, Georgetown In Boy’s Stabbing by Che Zpening Sfar WASHINGTON, D. C, Mothers Comfort Each Other Playmate RAYBURN SMALLWOOD. “As soon as I heard of the accident, Mr. Smallwood and I went to the hos- pital and offered our blood. After we waited a little while, they told us the boy had died. God knows I am sorry.” ‘Young Smallwood quoted the older lad saying after the stabbing: “I'm cut. Come on help me to the hospital. I shouldn't have been trying to hurt you anyway.” Then the in- jured youth staggered downstairs. George H. Carter, a Capital Translt Co. pit man, heard the youth's cries, and rushed him a block or so away to Georgetown Hospital. William died shortly after admittance there. Rayburn, red-haired and intelli- | gent looking, will appear before a coroner’s jury at an inquest set for Friday at 11:30 am. The knifs was still missing today, police said. Rayburn said he tossed it away from him when he saw blood on it. let me look for it, I'm sure,” he said. MTARL RELEASES 400,000 AID SUM Sewing for 2,500 Women and Lunches for Needy Children Provided. Operation of sewing rooms for the employment of about 2,500 women now on relet rolls and the serving of free lunches for needy school chil- dren are insured with funds approved yesterday by Controller General J. R. McCarl for six District work relief projects. McCarl ordered $400,000 to be ad- vanced immediately to the Commis- sioners to initiate the work, with au- thority to draw upon the Treasury up to $2,285,404 as funds are required to carry on the work. The allotment for the sewing rooms was $1,960,645, while the school | moves into the same class with Har- | vard, Yale, Northwestern, University | | of California, University of Pitts- | burgh and the University of Penn-‘ sylvania, the only colleges now re- | quiring a full college degree for ad- | | mission to their law schools, accord- | | ing to the current Carnegie report. Rev. Francis E. Lucey, S. J., regent of the law school and professor of | jurisprudence, ~ recommended that | graduation from college be required for admission to the law school, and | this recommendation was unanimously | adopted at & meeting of the law fac- ulty yesterday. Some law schools require only a | high school diploma for admission, while others admit students with two or three years of college work or ad- mit them with three years of college study to a six-year combined course in arts and law. Georgetown Law School is a mem- | ber of the Association of American Law Schools, is approved by the Amer- ican Bar Association and is listed as an accredited law school by the New York regents. No law school has a higher official rating. The group of schools approved by these accrediting agencies includes about 85 of the 199 law schools in the United States. Under the rules of the Association of American Law Schools, Georgetown is permitted to enroll a limited num- ber of special students, or those who have less than two years of college work, but for the past seven or eight | years no such students have been en- | rolled. Of the 650 students enrolled this year, two-thirds hold college de- grees and 147 colleges and universities are represented in the student body by graduates. Building Renovated. ‘The entire Law School Building has been completely renovated; the class rooms and corridors have been paneled in oak; additions have been made to the law library, which now contains over 21,000 volumes; new lighting fix- tures have been installed in the library, and the school has added to its col- lection of portraits and prints of prominent alumni and other leading Jjudges and lawyers, including paint- ings of Chief Justice Edward Douglas White, Dean George E. Hamilton, Justice Martin Morris, Ross Perry, J. J. Darlington and others. Established in 1870, the Law School has trained many of the post promi- nent men in judicial and professional life. There are over 7,000 living alumni in every section of the country. FIREMAN IS INJURED Back Severely Hurt While Fight- ing Northeast Brush Fire. Jesse E. Gregory, 36, a fireman with Engine Company No. 27, re- ceived a severe baek injury last night while fighting a brush fire in the 3600 block of Benning road northeast. Gregory tripped and fell to the ground while handling & hose line. He was treated for a possible fracture of the pelvis at Casualty Hospital, where his condition today was reported serious. ‘The fire, which originated in a junk yard, was extinguished before much property lunches will entail an expenditure of $167,006. Others Approved. Other allotments were approved as follows: $10,800 for continuance of the students’ lodge of the Logan Circle Relief; $51.256 for distribution of surplus commodities; $27,000 for improvement of the grounds for the Home for the Aged and Infirm at Blue Plains, and $72,697 for construc- tion of playgrounds and other im- provements at Glenn Dale, Md., the District's children's tuberculosis sani- torium. The projects -have all been approved by President Roosevelt and with their clearance by McCarl, nothing stands in their way now. The sewing rooms will take care of nearly all women on relief rolls. They will make and repair thousands of garments for the needy of the ciiy and in this way help relieve the bur- den now borne by various relief agencies. While engaged in the work the women will receive the stipulated relief wages. Employment for 200. Some 200 women also will be em- ployed in connection with the serving of free school lunches. The funds are sufficient, it was said, to provide for this service during the remainder of the scnool year. The women have been working under temporary ar- rangements since the opening of the school year, Commissioner George E. Allen having started the lunch pro- gram the week after the schools opened. It was important that milk and hot food be served to hundreds of mal- nourished children as a precaution also "against tuberculosis. The pro- gram has the hearty approval of the | Board of Health. At Glenn Dale, in addition to play- grounds, a drainage system will be installed and the grounds entirely fenced. The funds for the students’ lodge at Logan Circle, it was said, are in leu of relief contributions. Young transients, living under conditions of self-government, are studying at the relief station. ———— PILOT STITT SETS MARK FOR ONE-SEATER PLANE Toledo-to-Virginia Flight by Cap- itol Airport Manager Record in This Country. Edward’ R. Stitt, local aviator and manager of Capitol Airport, Bladens- burg, Md, has been credited by the National Aeronautic Association with a new national airline distance record for single-seater light airplanes as a result of his non-stop flight Sunday from Toledo, Ohio, to Lawrenceville, Va., it was announced today. Stitt’s record was certified as 451 miles, which is well in excess of the American record, but still 79 miles short of the world record for this class now held by France. Stitt is planning another attempt to break the world‘record; it was understood. An earlier flight ended in failure when Stitt ran into bad weather and his damage had been done. " tiny. monoplane began picking up ice. | passed on. “I could find it in the yard if they'd | CHANGES SOUGHT T0 ELIMINATE BUS TRANSFER POINTS Direct Service to Randle Highlands, Hillcrest and Benning Planned. REVISION OF OTHER LINES IS PROPOSED Transit Company to Submit For- mal Petitions to Utilities Commission. Direct bus service to the Randle Highlands, Hillcrest and Benning areas and a revision of several other lines was proposed today by the Capi- tal Transit Co. as a means of elimi- nating some transfer points and other- wise improving operations. Formal petitions for the changes are to be submitted soon to the Public Utilities Commission, with prospects | of making changes effective about De- cember 15. The suggestions were dis- cussed informally today by J. H. Stephens, company vice president, in a consultation with Chairman Riley E. Elgen of the commission. As to the service on the outlying routes in eastern sections of the city, the company proposes extension of the | South Washington and the East Wash- | ington lines to avoid transfers now re- | quired at Barney Circle, at Seventeenth | street and Pennsylvania avenue south- east. Petitions Are Received. ‘The commission and the companv | both have been receiving petitions for | some revision of bus service for the | outlying sections. ‘The company proposes to operate half of the South Washington busses, now stopping at Barney Circle, to the Hillcrest section. The other half of the South Washington busses would oe sent into the Benning area. Extension of the South Washing- ton bus route to Hillcrest would be calculated to replace the preseat Hill- | crest bus service. Those sent into the | | Benning area would serve the most | populated section. Some of the| present Benning busses would be con- | tinued, it was explained. The East Washington busses now come into the District along Bladens- | burg road and, following a somewhat circuitous route, pass by Eastern High School to go to Barney Circle. The company now proposes to send these | busses on to Randle Highlands, where | half of them would stop, the others to continue down to Anacostia to the | terminus of the regular Anacostia bus route, Proposal for Two Busses. The company also proposed opera- tion of two of the Bureau of Stand- | ards-Tenleytown busses in the morn- ! ing rush hour on to the downtown section via Connecticut avenue to Con- stitution avenue and then proceed east to Sixth street. This also is sug- gested to avoid transfers. It also is proposed to run a num- | ber of the Connecticut avenue busses down Twentieth street to Constitu- tion avenue and then east to Sixth| street, in a move to give expansion | of direct service to the Government department area. | Details and routes of schedules were | not available today. These are to be | stated in a formal petition to the com- mission. | Meanwhile word was received from | Baltimore that a request that the| Capital Transit Co. erect a shelter at Connecticut avenue and the District line in Chevy Chase had been filed with the Maryland Public Service | Commission by the Garrett Park| Citizens’ Association. The request was in the form of a| resolution adopted by the association | at a recent meeting. —_— FULL SPEED IS URGED ON JOBS FOR STUDENTS Acting Director of National Youth Administration Appeals to State Directors. By the Associated Press. Richard R. Brown, acting director of the National Youth Administration, told a conference of 15 State directors from New England and the Atlantic seaboard yesterday to speed up crea- tion of part-time jobs for college and high school students. His action followed release by Con- troller General J. R. McCarl of $10,- 000,000 of the $27,000,000 N. Y. A. allotment. Among State directors listed as at- tending were John J. Seidel, Mary- land, and Walter S. Newman, Virginia. W aitresses Oppose Labor Pickets by March on Day Off Agents Complain, but Girls Laugh and Keep on Marching. Labor union pickets in front of an Eleventh street restaurant met a new dorm of competition yesterday when two waitresses joined the parade with placards proclaiming their satisfaction with employment under present wage scales and working hours. In sharp contrast to the pickets’ signs announcing: “This restaurant is unfair to organized labor,” the an- nouncements exhibited by the girls declared, “This is my day off. I am l1‘:;!"!0 employed here. We are satis- Surprised labor agents flushed, sputtered in protest and filed com- plaints with the District officials claiming that the restaurant pro- prietor was violating the law by allow- ing the waitresses to work in his in- terests on their day off. The two girls simply laughed and continued their silent march to and fro. Spec- tators paused, chuckled at the inno- vation in anti-union tactics and A WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1935. % o H No. 1—Leo Cullen in patrol ‘wagon. No. 2—William A. Kappel shown leaving the home of Elizabeth Lynch in custody of police today. No. 3—The home of Miss Lynch, at 918 Fourth street northeast. Cullen and Kappel were held for questioning in the girl's death. —Star Staff Photos. (Story on Page A-1.) DISTRICT REVENUE INCREASE: SHOWN Per Capita Receipts Here Climb From $84.06 to $91.53. Revenue of the District started to climb in the 1934 fiscal year along with other major American cities, it was revealed today in a statistical | summary issued by the Census Bureau. The table, covering 94 cities having a population in excess of 100,000, showed they coilected $2,711,004,655 | that year—an increase of $204,280,682 Thanks for Peace to Mark Services in America tomorrow gives thanks fo: peace at home and signs of returning prosperity. Government and business here wiil be at a standstill. Churches generally will hold Thanksgiving day services. Relief agencies have made special ar- rangements for cheer for those unfor- tunates for whom the day otherwise would mean only a scanty board. Unlike the eve of Christmas and New Year, when half-holidays are the accepted order in the Federal service, there was no change generally in work- ing hours today, tholigh many em- ployes planned to take leave to get an early start toward homes or elsewhere to spend the day. The question of a half-holiday was put up to President Roosevelt at Warm Springs yesterday, but he vetoed thes idea, emphasizing it was not customary and he did not propose to set a prece- dent. Unaware of this ban, Justice got the afternoon off, but it was alone. Rainy Day Forecast. ‘The weather outlook for tomorrow is distinctly unfavorable, with rain and colder forecast. The church services will be city-wide. At St. Patrick’s will be the twenty- seventh annual Pan-American mass, attended by representatives of this and the other Pan-American governments. ‘The twenty-fourth Thanksgiving day service of the Methodist Episcopal churches will, as usual, be held in Metropolitan Memorial, but for the first time in the imposing new structure at Nebraska and New Mexico avenues, instead of the historic edifice in John Marshall place. ‘Washington Cathedral will be the scene of the principal Episcopal ob« servance, led by Right Rev. James E. Freeman. In some instances, churches of dif- ferent denominations are joining in union services. Mass to Begin at 10:30. In a colorful setting of the flags of the 21 Pan-American nations, the mass at St. Patrick’s will start at*10:30. Most Rev. Amleto Cicognani, the apos- tolic delegate, will pontificate. After mass the governmental repre- sentatives and other gzuests will be entertained at lunch by Msgr. Cor- nelius F. Thomas, pastor of St. Pat- rick’s. The usual schedule of masses will be followed at other Catholic churches. & ; Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes, resi- dent Bishop of Washington, will speak at the Metropolitan Memorial service at 10:30 am., t6 which members of the cabinet and other Government officials have been invii.. Dr. William Andrew Keese, the newly installed minister, will be in charge of the service, assisted by Rev. Dr. Benjamin W. Meeks, District su- perintendent of the Washington dis- trict, and Rev. Joseph M. M. Gray, chancellor of American University. Bishep Freeman to Speak. The service of morning prayer, with festival music, at which Bishop Free- man will speak, will be held at Wash- ington -Cathedral at 11 o'clock. The M City Tomorrow ! Cathedral choir of men and boys. di- rected by Robert G. Barrow, will sing the festival “Te Deum.” written for King George's jubilee by Dr. Mar- chant, organist and choirmaster of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Holy communion will be celebrated | in Bethlehem Chapel at 7:30 am. and { at 9:30 am., and evening prayer at 4. | The Thanksgiving day offerings at | the Cathedral this year are being dis- tributed to needy unemployed by Rev. George W. Dow of the Episcopal Church missions. Dr. James Shera Montgomery, chaplain of the House, will preach at the union service of Baptist churches to be held at National Baptist Me- morial at 10:45. The offering of the day will be for the Baptist Home in Georgetown. Hundreds of poor will be fed by charitable organizations, with roast | beet and pork the principal items on the menus, accompanied by the usual trimmings. John S. Bennett, superintendent of Central Union Mission, 613 C street, expects 800 for dinner, starting at 11 o'clock, and in addition to that the mission is sending out 350 baskets to families this afternoon. An innovation will be a broadcast of the dinner through WOL. Homer Rodeheaver, for years with the late Billy Sunday, will be in charge of this feature, For those not cared for at dinner tomorrow, a dinner will be served Friday at Jenner’s Cafe, in the Investment Building. Bennett said today there had been | more calls for baskets than the. mis- | sion could handle. Volunteers to Feed Many. Maj. H. M. Eroh, in charge of the | Volunteers of America, expects to feed from 1,200 to 1,500 at dinner starting at 11 at 471 Pennsylvania avenue. The Volunteers also are sending out more than 50 baskets on what were called “extreme” cases. Where there are sick | in families, dinners are being sent to | them. Colored unfortunates are being cared for by the Volunteers at Shiloh Church, Ninth and P streets. At the Gospel Mission, 214 John Marshall place, Harvey V. Prentice, superintendent, said dinners would be served to about 600 persons, start- ing at 12 o'clock. The Gospel Mis- sion also arranged some ‘“extras” for the 300 families who are its daily charge. An innovation there this year will be a Thanksgiving break- fast for the inmates who are in the Mission over tonight. The Salvation Army also provided extras for approximately 110 families for whom it is caring by adding some- thing to the regular checks this week. At the District Jail the menu will be roast pork, sweet potatoes, cran- berries, celery, apples, coffee and bread. The population—494—is the lowest in months, Supt. Rives said, giving him something to be thank- ful for. The prisoners also will have visiting nd afternoon. playing North Dakota at Central Sta- dium and Catholic U. mixing with North Carolina State at Griffith Sta- dium. As usual, there will be racing at Bowie, | over the preceding 12 months. At the same time, the excess of revenue re- ceipts over governmental costs was $188,484,210. ‘The per capita revenue receipts in the District jumped from $84.06 in the 1933 fiscal year to $91.53 in the following fiscal year. This placed Washington fourth from the top of a group of 13 cities having a population of from 300,000 to 500,000. It was exceeded only by Newark with per capita revenue receipts in 1934 of $107.53; Rochester, $94.62, and Se- attle, $91.89. Washington also ranked fourth among the 13 cities in the per capita costs of operation and maintenance of its government in 1934. It fell be- hind Rochester with $87, Jersev City with $80.83, and Newark with $79.21. ‘The Washington per capita cost was placed at $71.37. ‘General Property Tax. ‘The per capita increase levies of the general property tax, according to the summary, dropped in Washington from $49.20 in the 1933 fiscal year to $42.27 in the following 12-month period. In addition, it was shown ‘Washington was the only city among the 13 without a per capita debt. For all of the 94 cities, revenue receipts, net debt and costs of oper- ation, maintenance and interest, showed increases per capita. Per capita levies of the general property tax declined slightly, however, from $45.46 in 1933 to $44.13. The per capita net debt of the com- munities as a whole was placed at| $169.94 in 1934 and $169.70 in 1933. Fifty cities, however, showed a de- crease in net debt, Sources of Revenue. Receipts from bonds and other debt obligations were not included among revenues reported. Sources of revenue were outlined as follows: General property taxes, $1,- 697,903,000 (a decrease of nearly $47,- 000,000, compared with 1933) special property and other special taxes, $21,- 000,000; poll taxes, $2,140,000; license taxes, $118,237,000 (including $28,- 610,000 from alcoholic beverage per- mits); special assessments, $6,617,- 000 fines, forfeits and escheats, $8,022,000; subventions, donations and pension assessments, $364,936,000; in- terest, rents and highway privileges, $104,893,000; earnings of general de- partments, $66,724,000, and earnings | of public service enterprises, $266,433,- 000. soms it Public Library Closes Tomorrow. The central building and all branches of the Public Library will be closed all day Thanksgiving day. The Library of Congress will be open to- morrow from 2 until 10 pm., the holiday schedule. PAGE B—1 DECISION ON TAX INCREASE DELAYED FOR DEEPER STUDY Size of District’s Lump Sum Important Factor in Findings. SENTIMENT FOR HIGHER UTILITY LEVY NOTED Boost in Gasoline May Not Be Found Necessary—Auto Weight May Guide Fees. Members of the Commisisoners’ Tax Committee today engaged in a general | reconsideration of all its data, uncer- | tain yet as to how great is the need | for increased taxes to be coupled with | & hoped-for boost in the Federal pay- | ment toward expenses of the National Capital. Another meeting has been scheduled for Friday morning, when it is hoped | & report may be drafted. When this ]!.s done, the commissioners will call into conference a number of civic | workers especially well informed on |tax and revenue matters. Commis- | sioner Hazen also has given repeated | assurances a public hearing will be | called before the commisisoners adopt |a proposed legislative program. | Committee members so far have de- clined to make any public statement of what revision or increase in prese ent taxes they favor or will recom= mend. There are some indications the committee may find the District will not need as much as $7,000,000 addi- tional annual revenue, as has been suggested by figures on trends of vae rious 1actors. Center Is Possible Factor. e On the other hand, the committee decisions may be affected by consid- |eration of some extraordinary ex= Ipensu which may arise in the future, such as the building of the proposed Municipal Center to house District government functions. The only pointed information that has been released by the committee ;0 far was a mass of figures giving the history for the past 15 years of trends in total appropriations, tax collections, the downward trehd of the Federal payment, the downward trend of capi= tal outlay for schools, libraries and other permanent improvements in re- cent years. Committee members also have point« ed to charts to show that from 1924 to | 1920 the District was able to spend some $10,000,000 a year on permanent improvements. ‘This figure in the pasé year or so has been cut about in half. intenance costs, on the other hand, | have continued to rise for many years at the rate of nearly $1,000,000 a year. These factors were discussed by the committee yesterday afternoon. It was declared there was need for more careful and a deeper study of all these factors before the committee would be ready to formulate recoms | mendations. Utilities Face Increase. From progress made by the come mittee in its work, it now appears there is some doubt as to wh-ther it will champion & boost of 1 cent in the District’s 2-cent gasoline tax. There 2ppears to be more favor for an up- ward revision of taxes on the utility concerns, particularly st>am railroads for properties in the District, and for adoption of an inheritance tax. Committee members are debating the question of a proposed substitution of an automobile weight tax for the pres- ent personal property tax on auto- mobiles. | Members of the committee are Core poration Counsel E. Barrett Pretty- man, chairman; Maj. Daniel J. Dono= | van, auditor; Richmond B. Keech, { vice chairman, Public Utilities Coma mission; Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, di- rector of highways; People's Counsel William A. Roberts and Tax Assessor William P. Richards. 'STRIKE TIES UP | WORK ON ELEVATORS | Several New Buildings Affected. Dispute Halts Group at Archives. The Elevator Constructors’ Union has called out on strike about 75 men engaged in construction work on seve eral buildings throughout the city, in- cluding the new Acacia Mutual Life Insurance Building. as the climax to a jurisdictional dispute with the Elec= tricians' Union. The dispute revolves around the right to install certain signal devices in elevators, both groups claiming the work. The only men on the job today | from the Constructors’ Union were | those engaged in maintenance or in« | spection work. Efforts are under way to settle another strike of union labor on the Archives Building, centering arcund a dispute over which union group shall install book stacks. Howard T. Colvin, Labor Departe ment conciliator, was in conference today with union representatives and contractors in an effort to solve the dispute. Financial Summary of 13 Cities The following table, issued by the Census Bureau, shows the per capita revenue receipts, costs of operation and maintenance and levies of the general property tax in 13 cities, including Washington, for the 1933 and 1934 fiscal years, having a population between 300,000 and 500,000. Per capita revenue receipts 1034, 1933. $01.53 $84.06 68.24 55.80 55.53 51.15 8280 85.12 10753 7266 5282 5183 91.89 80.67 4824 8551 73.73 4443 4168 69.31 Per capita levies of the general Droperty tax, 1934 1933, $4227 $49.20 4908 4479 3122 3325 2754 3521 6296 56.56 4287 4460 3281 39.42 31.86 39.27 63.57 55.20 7333 6580 3357 35.66 33.36 3119 41.58 46.37 Per capita costs