Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1935, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Light snow tonight, folpwed by clear tomorrow; much colder tomorrow, lowest tonight about 14 degrees; moderate shift- ing winds. Temperatures—Highest, 31, at 3:30 pm. yesterday; lowest, 21, at 7:30 am. today. No. 33,475. BAYONET SYMBOL OF CHRISTMASFOR [TALIAN SOLDIERS Bitter Fighting Marks Day Along Takkaze River in Tembian Region. . ROME IS CHEERFUL, BUT GRIM.AND DETERMINED Atmosphere Tense Throughout Europe—Selassie Directs Prayer to America. BACKGROUND— Christmas, 1934, dawned upon early indications of Italian-Ethio- pian conflict to follow; despite Sep= tember pledge to maintain peace= ful relations, troops of two coun- tries had skirmished near Eritrean- Ethiopian border. In February, 1935, Mussolini is- sued mobilization order; in Octo- ber, Italian soldiers crossed border as invasion began on both north and south frontiers. Today about 300,000 soldiers are holding about 15,000 square miles of Ethiopian territory. By November vote, League of Nations is exerting economic pres- sure against Italy; under leader- ship of Britain, contemplates stronger action if necessary. By the Associated Press. Christmas was served up on & bayonet today to the embattled legions of two nations at war, Italy and Ethiopia. At home and at the front the Italian Christmas was a solemn occasion. December 25 meant little to the Ethi- opian; his celebration of the nativity of Christ occurs January 8, Christmas by the Coptic calendar. Less directly involved, but none the less acutely aware of the war, Europe celebrated Christmas in an atmosphere of tension induced by the economic campaign of the League of Nations to force Italy's relinquish- ment of its campaign in East Africa. Diplomats declared a holiday, but troops in the field did not. In the ‘Tembian region bitter fighting was unabated along the Takkaze River. If a church bell dared chime the day's tidings its voice would have been lost in the angry whine of bullets. Rome Has Few Trees. Rome’s cheerfulness was grim, de- termined. Its men were absent at the front. No Christmas trees decorated family living rooms; sanctions pre- vented their importation and national conservation prevented their being cut from the slopes of Italian mountains. Presents were given, but not in the quantities of peaceful years. In Asmara, Eritrea, one of two Ital- fan colonies in Africa, Europe’s politi- cal unrest gave a grave tone to Christmas celebrations. Field chap- lains celebrated mass, presents were exchanged by the soldiers and empty tethers betokened the fate of many a goat with fat shanks. At Dessye, his field headquarters, yesteriay, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethirpia dispatched a Christmas mes- gag: to America, & prayer that “the precious principles of peace, sanctified ‘A the death of Christ, may again -be restored to a distracted world.” Premier Mussolini, in Rome, played Santa Claus to solders at Massawa. Trucks carried hundreds of thousands of packages from the dock, containing cigarettes, cake and cognac to cheer the men. TROOPERS ARE SOLEMN, Demonstrations Small on North Ethiopian Front. ASMARA, Eritrea, December 25 (#). ~The poltical unrest of Europe gave & solemn tone to Christmas among the Italian troops on the Northern Ethiopian front. There were no great demonstrations, but fleld chaplains celebrated mass, soldiers gathered in community sing- ing, presents were exchanged and prizes were bestowed by officers on soldiers of various -regiments for superior service. ‘The importance of moving war sup- plies above all other commodities in- terfered with the delivery of mail and Christmas gifts, but special planes ‘were pressed into service to transport the packages sent from relatives back home. For the most part the soldiers negotiated their own special dinners. ‘Turkeys are mysteriously absent from the streets of Asmara, chickens have taken flight, and there is many an empty tether where a goat once fretted in captivity. sut these barnyard beasts and fowl came to rest in a stew pot today. Native troops followed their own customs. These soldiers are chiefly (See WAR, Page TOLEDO NAMES EDY AS CITY MANAGER Assistant Director of Budget Bureau Accepts $12,000 Ohio Post. John North Edy, who since May has been assistant director of the Budget Bureau, has been appointed city man- ager at Toledo, and will leave here about the middle of next month to as- sume his new post. Edy has had wide experience in mu- nicipal government work, having been city manager of Berkeley, Calif.; Flint, Mich., and Dallas, Tex. He came to the Budget Bureau after four years in Dallas, assuming the office vacated when F. W. Lowery, assistant director, resigned with the former director, Lewis W. Douglas. ‘The Toledo position is a new one, created after the Fall election, when the city-manager charter plan of gov- ernment was adopted for the Ohio city. The salary is $12,000. Mr. Edy is 52, married and has a married son. He resides at 4707 Con- necticut avenue, Full report on page A-3. New York Stock Market Closed Today Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. ah WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ¢ Foening Shae WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25 1935—THIRTY PAGES. World Hears Bethlehem’s Bells Calling Worshipers to Shrine "]Km UNDERMNES Pilgrims to Church of Nativity Kneel and Kiss the Spot Where Jesus First Drew Breath. By the Assoclated Press. BETHLEHEM, December 25.—The church bells which summoned wor- shipers to Christmas services today from the streets and surrounding hill- tops of ancient Judea sounded throughout the world, transmitted by wireless, In the age-old Church of the Na- tivity were pilgrims from the world’s ends, gathered in the birth city of the infant Jesus. Americans and Europeans in modern dress mingled with red-capped Arabs and native peasants in their white crusader coifs, all Christian creeds united in the worship of the child born in the Bethlehem manger, Star Over Crib, ‘The services began last night when a bright electric star, symbolic of the light that guided the three wise men of the East to the stable, cast its beams over the church altar, directly above the spot where the crib of the Christ child is believed to have stood. Fervid “hallelujahs” burst from the vast congregation. Then slowly, in groups of 50, the pilgrims filed into the dark little grotto, illumined by flickering candlelight, to kneel and kiss the spot where Jesus of Nazareth first drew breath. Bells pealed joyously, tumultuously, overhead. “Christ the child is born!” was the ery. Hymns in the Hills. And in the streets and on the sur- rounding hilltops of ancient Judea the voices of hundreds of men and women were lifted in devotional hymns and Christmas carols. There in the hills bonfires flamed against the sky and sheep were roasted on spits and the hot smoking meat was eaten with Arab bread, just as in the ancient days 1935 years ago, when humble shepherds stood thera and witnessed the heavenly visitation. Christmas day services were oh- served by masses both here and in Jerusalem, and during the day the bells of Bethlehem went out to the far cor- ners of the earth by radio broadcast. HOLIDAY BLIZZARD HITS NORTHWEST White Christmas From Maine to California. Cold in East. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 25.—Blizzard conditions prevailed over the North- west today. Weather Bureaus reported the temperatures headed for new lows of the season, and a white Christmas was promised from Maine to Cali- fornia. North and South Dakota had heavy falls of snow, with the mercury rang- ing between 5 and 20 below zero.| Minnesota reported 5 to 10 below, with a high wind blowing loose snow into heavy drifts. Snow was general throughout the Northern tier of States from coast to coast, On the Pacific Coast a light rain with mild temperatures was reported from Washington. But Tatoosh, Wash., the Northwestern tip of the United States, had 1.3 inches of snow. Cold in California. California generally was without precipitation, but the mercury hovered around the freezing point inland, with slightly warmer weather on the coast. At midnight the Weather Bureau re- | ported snow from Montana to the Eastern seaboard. Virtually the entire Rocky Mountain section was snow cov- ered, although Wyoming reported a light fall, The forecast was for fair weather in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, and unsettled in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. ‘Temperatures in the 20s were re- ported generally in New England and the Middle Atlantic States, while the South had the usual weather for this | time of the year. Texas Is Balmy. Dallas basked in temperatures around 47, and the other sections of the State were without snow. In Okla- homa City the temperature was 26, with a forecast for Christmas of cloudy and cold. Philadelphia had 25, New York 23, Western Pennsylvania 16 and West Virginia 20. In the Middle West, Kansas City had 23 degrees, St. Louis 28, with a heavy, steady snowfall; Detroit 20, with snow flurries; Indianapolis 17, with steady snow, and Cleveland 20, with scattered flurries. Milwaukee shivered at 16 degrees, with a steady snowfall, while Des Moines reported 1 degree below, with roads badly drifted. RAINS MARK HOLIDAY, LONDON, December 25 (#)—Little of Europe enjoyed a white Christmas today, mains in many cities washing away what snow there had been. London, emerging from one of the worst fogs and frosts of years, was drenched with rain. California Santa Quits at 70 After 1,058 Appearances Capt. W. 1. Day Calls Upon Younger Men to Carry on Work. By the Associated Press. OAKLAND, Calif., December 25.— Santa Claus of East San Francisco Bay will retire tonight after 1,058 appearances. “A time comes when a man can't do everything he'd like to,” Capt. Willlam I. Day, 70, confided, “and T've passed the 70-year mark. There are planty of younger men who can carry on.” Capt. Day, veteran social worker and former prison chaplain, said he couldn’t remember when he started in the business of playing Santa Claus, He's carried gifts to men in “death row,” to incurables on hospital cots, and has made as many as nine sepa- rate appearances on one Christmas. Not always dées he merely play the part. One year he found in a tiny, cold shack a woman who was deaf, blind, crippled by a broken hip, and starving to death. His best audiences, he said, were the old ladies at Fairmount County Hospital gnd the youthful mothers at the Salvation Army Home. “I've entertained mothers of all races there,” he said. “White, black, yellow and American Indian. And as for those old ladies—they enjoy Santa more mn the children.” LINDBERGHS GREET CHRISTMAS AT SEA | Ship Nears Half-Way Point. Tree and Turkey Dinner Are Features of Day. BACKGROUND— In May, 1927, Charles A. Lind- bergh made first solo airplane flight from America to Europe, be- came world’s “public hero No. 1.” Two years later, after mere avi- ation achievements, he married Anne Morrow, daughter of United States Ambassador to Merico. In March, 1932, infant son of couple was kidnaped, never again seen alive by parents, Last February New Jersey jury convicted Brumo Hauptmann, Bronz carpenter, of crime. He is now under sentence to die during week of January 13; only hope of escape rests in New Jersey Board of Pardons, of which Gov. Hoff- man is member. Stirring up con- troversy as to his motives, Hoff- man has been actively interested in case during recent weeks. Last Sunday might Lindberghs sailed jor England with second son. | By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, December 25.—Christ- mas came to 3-year-old Jon Lind- bergh today in mid-Atlantic. The freighter American Importer, bearing the light-haired boy and his parents, Col. and Mrs. Charles A. | Lindbergh, to England to escape kid- nap threats, neared the halfway point of its 10-day crossing. But the United States Line saw to it that the holiday would not be a cheerless one for the ship's three pas- sengers. A Christmas tree, three large stockings before a fireplace, and a big turkey dinner were on the pro- gram. Reaction among New York officials to crime conditions which reputedly caused the Lindberghs to leave this country brought acceptance by Herbert A. O'Brien of a city magistrate’s post offered by Mayor F. H. La Guardia. O'Brien, who twice had refused the position, said he was impelled to accept it finally because of his indignation over threats to the Lindbergh family. He decided it was his duty, he said, to aid in enforcing the law. Mayor La Guardia struck at gang- sters in a statement pledging a war to exterminate crime in the city. “Rather than have a Lindbergh vol- untarily exile himself,” he said, “we will chase these punks out of the city. “I sincerely hope that the colonel and his wife will soon return to their country.” The mayor said he was well ac- quainted with the colonel’s late father, who, like La Guardia, was once a member of Congress known for his progressive viewpoint. MRS. MORROW WITH MOTHER. Sister Declines to Be Questioned on Lindberghs’ Departure. CLEVELAND, December 25 (#)— Mrs. Dwight W. Morrow, widow of the former United States Senator and Ambassador to Mexico and mother of Mrs. Charles Lindbergh, spent Christ- mas today with her mother, Mrs. Charles L. Cutter, and her sister, Miss Annte Cutter, at their home here. ‘With Mrs. Morrow came her young- est daughter, Constance, and her son, Dwight W. Morrow, jr. Miss Cutter said the family desired a quiet holiday which they did not wish to have dis- turbed by questions concerning the departure of the Lindberghs to Eng- land. U. S. MAN.ACCUSED IN PLOT ON WIFE Held in China for Attempted Poisoning—Prominent in Community. By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. TIENTSIN, China, December 25.— At the request of the United States consular authorities, the British police today arrested Dr. John Colbert, be- lieved to be a former resident of Al- buquerque, N. Mex., on a charge of attempting to. poison his wife. Colbert is a holder of the Legion of Honor decoration and one of the foremost members of Tientsin's American community. He was freed on bail of $25,000 gold. He was bound over to the “United States court. Mrs. Colbert is his third wife. She is one of the leading members of Tientsin soctety. For some time past she has been a patient in the hospital, treatment for & heart ailment, [} INNER MONGOLIA' TIES WITH NANKING Japanese Envoys Advise Princes to Declare Inde- pendence. OPEN BREAK REPORTED WITH CHINESE REGIME Pho-Manchukuo Police Expected to Take Control of Eastern Chahar Counties. BULLETIN. SHANGHALI, December 25 (#)— ‘Tang Yu-Jen, vice minister of rail- ways and former vice minister of foreign affairs of China, was assas- sinated tonight by gunmen as he stepped from his automobile into a home in the French concession here. Tang was a strong member of the pro-Japanese clique in the Chinese government. By the Assoclated Press. PEIPING, China, December 25.— China’s hold on Inner Mongolia appeared to be weakening today after it was reported that Japatese envoys | had journeyed to Pailingmiao, the | Inner Mongolian capital, to urge the | Mongolian princes to declare their in- dependence. It was reported unofficially that | Prince Teh, leading figure of the In- ner Mongolian government, had re- nounced his ties with the Nanking goverment. Officials of the autonomous Inner Mongolian regime, which was set up two years ago by the Nanking govern- meat to check the independence movement, recently have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with Nan- king's policies. The Japanese have been quick to | capitalize on this discontent, it was | said in informed circles here. ‘The | Japanese hand has been strengthened further by the reported seizure by Manchukuo of six counties in Eastern Chahar Province, which are expected to be turned over to the pro-Manchu- kuan Mongolian police. This move, it was pointed out, will | please the Mongols, from whom the | land was takenr years ago through | Chinese colonization. The Japanese gestures in behalf of Inner Mongolia are regarded here as part of their strategy to force an opening into hostile Outer Mongolia. STUDENTS REBUFFED. Shanghai Mayor Clamps Military Rule on Demonstrations. SHANGHAI, December 25 (#)— Gen. Wu Teh-Chen, mayor of Greater | Shanghai, established military con- trol today over areas in which stu- dents are centering their agitation against North China autonomy in an effort to crush the movement in this vicinity. The mayor, as commander of the local Chinese defense garrison, or- dered his forces to eject students from the North Railway Station, per- mitting a resumption of traffic, which has been delayed since yesterday. Japanese officialdom here evinced interest in the activities of the stu- dents when Japanese Consul General Itaro Ishii informed the mayor that “Japanese hoped the mayor would | immediately suppress any anti-Jap- anese activities.” This revelation of Japanese im- patience with student activities was considered generally as the cause of the mayor's positive action. The Chinese authorities earlier re- sorted to a ruse in a drastic effort to break up the demonstrations at the railway station. CONGRESS MAY LAUNCH BIG BUILDING PROGRAM Maverick Plans Legislation to Set Up Permanent Employment for 5,000,000. By the Associated Press. SAN ANTONIO, Tex., December 25. —Representative Maury Maverick, Democrat, of Texas, said today he would urge Congress to launch gigan- tic and permanent home building and soil conservation programs to provide steady employment for approximately 5,000,000 persons. “I expect to introduce one or more bills for the purpose of having one gigantic effort made at conservation and construction,” Maverick said. “We must have homes which cost down to $1,000. In warmer climates a house and lot ought to be purchased for $1,000 to $1,500. The Federal housing act has not solved this prob- lem.” BORAH STANDS PAT ON MONEY VIEWS Idahoan Sees no Inflation in Expanding Currency on Sound Gold Reserve. By the Associated Press. Senator Borah was said today by | friends to be standing pat on hxs" money views, even if Eastern critics “have the shivers.” The Idahoan, supported for the Republican presidential nomination by groups in several States, was rep- resented as having told friends he did not intend to alter his views on the question. . Borah has been told by some callers recently of his “popularity in the | West.” Others have informed him this sentiment might be carried to the conservative East if he took a turn-about on monetary matters. ‘That the Idahoan has no intention of changing his views on silver and inflation was said by some associates | to be a certainty. | “They have views on inflation and | I have another,” he was quoted as saying. “What do they mean by in- flation? I have never advocated any- thing except expansion of the cur- rency on a sound gold reserve.” Explains Bonus Financing. They quoted him further as re- ferring to his advocacy of the Patman inflationary bonus bill to clarify his | stand. | “I advocated the bonus payment in new currency,” he was guoted, “when we had $9,500,000,000 in goid and $1,500,000,000 in silver and only $4,- 500,000,000 of currency in circulation. “Had we put $2,000,000,000 out for the bonus we would have had $6,500,- 000,000 of currency with $9,500,000,000 of gold, or more than $1.10 on the dollar behind it. I can't see any in- flation in that.” Borah was described as favoring “reflation” rather than “inflation,” or “enough currency to stimulate business in view of the fact that bank credit has practically disappeared.” He was said to feel if “we put all the silver we have into circulation it wouldn't be inflation.” Fish Rallies Forces, Meanwhile Representative Fish, Re- publican, of New York, who has con- ferred several times with Borah, said he had called a meeting of about 20 prominent New York State Republi- cans to “organize Borah sentiment” in the Empire State delegation to the Republican National Convention. The New Yorker, himself active in the national party picture, told of his plans after another talk with the Senator yesterday. Fish emphatically denied reports that Borah ‘“ever gave assurance to any one that he would not enter the Illinois primaries.” Illinois is the resi- dence of Ool. Frank Knox, Chicago publisher, and with Borah and others prominently mentioned for the Re- publican presidential nomination. Borah, Fish said, might not enter the primaries in New Hampshire, one- time home of the publisher. “I certainly hope and expect he will go into the Illinois primaries,” Fish added. Quadruplets and Quintuplets Make Christmas Merry Day By the Associated Press. BEAUMONT, Tex., December 25.— The husky 6-year-old Perricone quad- ruplets—A, B, C and D—played with four identical sets of toys today. Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Perricone, took the precaution to mark the boys' names on their toys to prevent any mix-up and to keep A, the only blond in the four, from tearing all the other lads’ toys apart, Each of the sturdy brothers got a “wrecker,” a “streamline train,” a “limousine,” & French harp, toy pistol and caps, and the quartet received a community marble machine. Only one thing kept the boys from having a perfect Christmas party. B was a little ill. He had a cold which prevented his romping with the others. B gained fame last Fall by “holding out” when plans were made for the boys to start to school. He finally gave in, however, and the lads have gone to school long enough to recognize the monograms on their Christmas presents. »A¢ B, G and D (otherwise Anthony, Bernard, Carl and Donald) and their machinery were the center of at- traction at the Perricone Christmas party. Three of their brothers were at home. The other two were absent. Ample eating always is an im- portant part of the Christmas celebra- tion at the modest farm home of the Perricones, and the dinner table was loaded. The quads, said Mrs. Perricone, de- served & good Christmas, adding that they were getting &long “passably” in their first year in school. Quints Buy Parents Gifis. By the Associated Press. CALLANDER, Ontario, December 25.—The Dionne quintuplets partici- pated in the Christmas spirit today by giving as well as receiving. From their own earnings at the age of less than 19 months, the five girls made handsome gifts to their parents and their five elder brothers and sis- ters. Papa Dionne received handker- chiefs, & scarf and many other articles. Mrs. Dionne was remem- -bered with necklaces and rings, The only evening paper in Washington with the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. *® Police Seize Man, Charging Attempt To Take Their Car By the Associated Press. RICEMOND, Va., December 25. —Russell Payne, 24, of Fluvanna County, reposed in the first pre- cinct lock-up this morning and ruefully pondered charges that he tried to steal a police car at Richmond's police headquarters. He was captured by the desk sergeant. Sergt. W. E. Brennan said he glanced out of a window at head- quarters last night near 9 o'clock and saw Payne trying to force entrance into the automobile. Coatless, the officer dashed eut into the Wintry night and seized Payne, 0 GERMANS DIE AS TRAINS CRASH 30 in Holiday Crowd Hurt as Local Is Rammed by Express. By the Associated Press. GROSS HERINGEN, Germany, De- cember 25.—Bitter cold hampered workers today in their search for bodies of 20 persons killed when a local train was rammed by an ex- press. Thirty persons suffering serious in- jury were removed from the shat- tered cars to hospitals and other shelters. Packed with holiday throngs, the local train had just pulled out of the station last night against the signal. The express, en route from Berlin to Frankfort-am-Main on a special track, plowed into the local at high speed, ripping cars into splinters. No one aboard the express was hurt. Herr Dorpmueller, president of the German railways, hurried to this vil- lage in the Thuringian Forest area and ordered an immediate investiga- tion. He also directed the rescue workers and the care of the injured. The wreck was the first major rail- way catastrophe in Germany in sev- eral years. e THIRD FILES IN MAINE. G. 0. P. Nomination Aspirant Is Townsend Plan Backer. GARDINER, Me., December 25 (#). —Arthur B. Lancaster of Gardiner last night became the third person to seek the second Maine district Republican nomination to the United States House of Representatives on a platform sup- porting the Townsend plan. ‘He is an opponent of the New Deal. Rev. J. Clarence Leckemby of Pitts- field and L. True Spear of Rockport had previously announced their can- didacy for the nomination as Town- send supporters. ‘The seat is held by Edward C. Mo- ran, jr.,, Democrat, ardent New Dealer. QUAKE DISASTER FEARED Thousands Believed Dead in Re- mote Chinese Province. CHENGTU, Szechuan Province, China, December 25 (#).—Reports reaching here from Chinese sources tonight said great numbers of persons —possibly running into the thou- sands—have been killed in an earth- quake December 18 in southern Sze- chuan Province. It was impossible yet to determine the extent of the disaster because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the area. Readers’ Guide Amusements Comics --- Cross-word Puzzle_ Radio .- Serial Story.-. --B-2-3 A-12-13 Washington Wayside ....B-16 Women's Features......-B-13 L) VENEZUELA RIOTS Refugees Report 150 Dead in Disorders Following Death of Dictator. By the Assoctated Press. WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, Dutch West Indies, December 25.—Scores of | Venezuelan refugees, arriving aboard | a Veneamuelan warship, reported last night the death of ebout 150 persons in Maracaibo and other lake ports as the result of disorders following the death last week of the Dictator- President, Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez. They said about 10 business houses and saloons were burned or plundered in Maracaibo and that there were sim- ilar disorders in Caracas. The gov- ernment was said, however, to have the situation fairly well in hand. Among the 97 refugees were the late President’s widow, his sons, Juan and Florencio; a brother, Matute; former Gov. Valesco of Caracas and about 50 small children. The warship was placed at their dis- posal by the provincial President, Gen. Eleazar Lopez €ontreras, to enable them to leave the country in safety. A spokesman said the party had no political aspirations and hoped to re- turn to Venezuela when the situation becomes normal. He spoke highly of Lopez Contreras. ‘The refugees confirmed a report of the slaying of Gen. Eustoquio Gomez, cousin of the late dictator. Reports from Maracaibo said the police chief was in hiding. Friction between the police and the army was reported, the police favoring the old regime and the army the new. A mob forced the captain of the German vessel Karibia and foreign consuls to hoist their flags at top in- stead of half mast, the refugees as- serted. The group will be permitted to re- 4 main in Curacao for at least 14 days. They were being given police protec- tion by the insular government. MARTIAL LAW REPORTED, PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Decem- ber 25 (#)—Martial law was reported by airplane travelers in effect yester- day in Caracas, capital city of Vene- zuela, and imminent today for the rest of the South American republic as Provisional President Eleazar Lopez Contreras sought to put down wide- spread rioting. Enemies of the government were extending their activities from Caracas into outlying districts. Their numbers had been augmented by at least 2,000 exiled in Gen. Gomez's regime, who returned from Colombia, Curacao and Trinidad after the dic- tator's death. Hundreds of political prisoners, released by Lopez and his cabinet to appease public opinion, also had joined in the attempts to over- throw the ministry. “ Ohio Scouts Hope To Beat Telegraph With Signal Fires Boys to Flash Message From Mounds in Race With Wires. By the Associated Press. DAYTON, Ohio, December 25.— From hilltop to hilltop along 60 miles of the Miami River Valley signal fires will flash some dark night, per- haps soon, as Ohio Boy Scouts re- enact an episode in the unwritten his- tory of yesteryear. From Dayton to Cincinnati, accord- ing to plans formulated here by Wat- son Woodward, Scout commissioner, a message will be flashed from the crests of earthworks erected by the mound- builders. Then, as it is relayed southward, the same words will be sent by tele- graph, for a comparison of the speed with which the two reach Cincinnati, Woodward said. ‘Woodward estimated advance detalils of Boy Scouts have trekked more than 500 miles over ancient earthworks ‘and tombs and intricate fortifications to choose sites from which the message of fire can be transmitted uninter- rupted. Its course will be from the mounds of the Miami River highlands to the historic Miamisburg mound, south- ward to Franklin, Middletown, Hamil- ton and Glendale. The latter is a sub- of Otnctnnati. s Associated Press. TAKE HEAVY TOLL Yesterday’s Circulation, 124,054 Some Returns Not Yet Received. TWO CENTS. CAPITAL OBSERVES GAYEST CHRISTMAS SINCE DEPRESSION Law-Abiding Celebrators and Ideal Weather Add to Holiday. DROP IN TEMPERATURE SEEN FOR TOMORROW Four Generations of Roosevelts at White House—President At- tends Church Service. Ideal weather and signs of return- ing prosperity provided Washington today with its gayest Christmas since the depression cast a pall over the holiday. The Capital and the Nation em- braced with fresh hope the task of comforting the needy and building toward a stronger union. President Roosevelt's message of “peace and good will” was echoed in many parts of the country. Celebrators in Washington last night were more law-abiding than on any Christmas eve in the memory of veteran police officers. Only 28 pere sons were arrested, and there were comparatively few traffic accidents and injuries from other causes. Colder Weather Due. Meanwhile, the Weather Bureau predicted light snow for tonight and tomorrow, attended by colder weather tomorrow and a minimum tonight of about 14 degrees. Freezing tempera- tures preserved the 3-inch snow which blankets the slopes where Washing- ton children were coasting today on their new sleds. Four generations of the Roosevelt family were gathered in the White House today for the holiday observe |ance. The celebration began early, just as in a majority of American homes, as the President’s 4-year-old granddaughter, Sara, burst into his room with childish shouts of glee. Her purpose was to awaken him and get her stockipg, hung by the fireplace in his bed room. The visiting members of the family had come to the White House in time for the family Christmas eve dinner and the annual presidential reading of Dickens’ “Christmas Carol.” They are the President’s mother, Mrs. James Roosevelt; his sister-in-law, Mrs. J. R. Roosevelt; his sons, John and Franklin, jr, and Sara and her parents. Everybody had to have breakfast in | time for the Christmas church service, always attended by the presidential family. They motored to the Foundry M. E. Church to attend special Christmas services, under the auspices of the ‘Washington Federation of Churches. And then came lunch before the busy family could start on the main business of Christmas—the opening of packages. There were hundreds of them. Doormen had been taking them in for days. The mail bags were crammed. Relatives of the Roosevelts were in- vited in for the dinner tonight, first big strictly family function to be served from the new kitchens. Few Officials Here, Aside from the President, few high officials were in the city. Vice President and Mrs. Garner spent the day at Baltimore with Silliman Evans, former Fourth Assist- ant Postmaster General. Speaker Byrns, frankly tired of “gadding” after his recent trip to the Philippines, had no plans aside from spending the day with Mrs. Byrns at home. The cabinet members were scat- tered. Secretary Hull laid aside arduous State Department duties for a Christmas trip “somewhere on the Carolina coast.” Secretary Morgen= thau left the Treasury behind for the holidays at his Dutchess County, N. Y., home, and Secretary Perkins was visiting friends on Long Island. Out of town also was Secretary Ickes. He visited an old friend, Archibald McCrae, at Williamsburg, Va. Among those spending the holiday at home here were Secretary Wallace, Secretary Swanson, Secretary Dern and Attorney General Cummings. President Opens Celebration. The opening of the Christmas celebration was sounded by the Presi- dent yesterday evening in Lafayette Square as he lighted the national com- munity Christmas tree and sounded chimes which carried via radio the message to the country that the Christmas observance had begun. The sounding of the chimes in snow- blanketed Lafayette Square was the signal for community and home trees all over the Nation to spring into light. In a brief Christmas message, de- livered from a covered stand in front of the glowing community tree, the President pictured Christmas as a celebration cementing all Americans and all nations in a feeling of mutual good-fellowship and understanding. He pointed to the statues of German, Polish and French Revolutionary War heroes in Lefayette Square as types of the diversity of blood to be found among the American people, but pointed out that the spirit of Christ- mas “knows no race, no creed, no clime, no limitations of time or space.” “The spirit of Christmas,” the Presi= dent said, “breathes an eternal mese sage of peace and good will to all men, ‘We pause, therefore, on this holy night, (See CHRISTMAS, Page 5.) No 5:30 Edition Today Because of the Christ- mas holiday, there will be no late afternoon editions of The Eve- ning Star today.