Evening Star Newspaper, March 2, 1936, Page 2

BILL WOULD CURB RIGHTS OF SPEECH Van Nuys Bill to Halt “Fear Campaigns” Seen as Censor Wedge. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. Little by little, Congress is appar- ently intent on depriving certain citi- zens of their constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and the right of petition. Qn top of a very determined move- ment to intimidate all organizations or associations which differ in their viewpoint from the party in power, now comes a bill which has just passed the Senate and is about to be considered by the House, which in effect makes it possible to prevent an employer from talking to his employes about any current problems without running the risk of a harassment by those who can charge him with vi.- lating a Federal law. ‘The Senate bill, which, by the way, caught all the defenders of the Con- stitution in the Senate asleep at the switch, was passed without & syllable of discussion. This week it is to be reported out with amendments by the House Judiciary Committee. As it passed the Senate, the text of the measure is as follows: “Be it enacted that it is unlawful for any person or corporation to influ- ence or attempt to influence, through fear or intimidation, the vote of any person employed by them, in connec- tion with any election at which presi- dential and vice presidential electors or a Senator or Representative in Con- gress are to be voted for. $5,000 Corporation Fine. “Section 2. Any corporation violat- ing any of the provisions of this act shall be fined not more than $5,000; and any officer, director or agent of any such corporation who violates or consents to the violation of any of the provisions of this act, and any person who is an employer as above described who violates or consents to the viola- tion of any of the provisions of this act shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” Senator Van Nuys of Indiana, Dem- ocrat, author of the bill, denies vehem- ently that the measure would prevent the distribution of factual informa- tion and Chairman Summers of Texas of the House Judiciary Committee, while admitting that the bill is pretty broad, thinks it is better to have it general so that the courts can deter- mine when there has been an overt actpr willful violation, or when =n in- noeent act of sending out factual in- fofmation is involved. As a practical matter, however, the bill“will tend to cut off intercourse bétween employers and employes for fear of having their words misunder- stood. But the employer has always had a constitutional right to influence his employes and one set of employes has a constitutional right to influence their fellow employes. Indeed, the employer has had the right to assemble his employes in mass meeting and tell them he fears the consequences of continued Government deficits and uninterrupted spending policies. But under the Van Nuys law the employer could be jailed for such opinions. In fact, if he distributed a copy of a newspaper which contained an article predicting economic reverses it Gov- ent policies are not changed, the wgloyer would run the risk of be- 18g arrested. . Could Bar Organizer. ‘What is an “attempt to influence”? Who can define when the attempt reaches the borderline of “fear” or “intimidation”? Clearly the right of free speech is not limited to expres- sions that emit phrases which might be construed as inducing “fear.” But it the employer cannot himself prac- tice free speech he is likewise subject to the penalties of the law if he lets any speaker inside the factory gates. For that would be ‘“consenting” to the violation of the law and the act specifies it to be a crime to give any such consent. This means that no union organizer can hereafter be per- mitted to speak on election matters with any employes with the knowledge ar consent of the employer. To pre- vent such consequences employers might now feel it incumbent to pre- vent any representatives of labor unions to talk about any current problems at this time with any of their employes. Such a result might be considered extreme, but it is with- in the purview of the proposed law Just the same. It is significant that Representative Perkins of New Jersey, who has a bill to prevent any person in the Fed- eral Government from attempting to influence or intimidate any Govern- ment employe, would by the provisions of the measure, be subject to fine or imprisonment, but since Mr. Perkins is a Republican his bill probably will never be reported out of committee to-the House. Apart from the Van Nuys bill, which is sponsored in the House by Representative Griswold of Indiana, there is another measure introduced by~ Representative Ramsay of West Virginia, Democrat, which would pun- ist*not only any corporation, but any “stockholder” or “attorney” who “ad- VIS or consents to the use of any property” of the corporation which might mean its auditorium or its mises “for, or in aid of a political party, committee, or organization, or directly to a person in aid of a can- didate for President, Vice President, Benator or Representative, etc.” Would Curb Mail. Inasmuch as labor unions are this year actively in politics, it is' a mystery why they have been caught napping while legislation so obvious harmful to their opportunities for electioneering is being proposed. The Ramsay bill goes further and attempts to forbid the use of the mails to any employer who wants to distribute information to his employes or, as the bill says, “gives directly to any em- ploye any statement intended or cal- culated to influence the political ac- tion of his employes * * * or posts or exhibits in the establishment any posters, placards or handbills, or de- livers verbally any messages to any such employes containing any threat, notice or information that if any such candidate is elected or defeated work in the establishment will cease, in whole or in part, or other threats expressed or implied intended to in- fluence the political opinions or votes of his employes.” There are plenty of State laws which seek to punish any real threats of violence or real intimidation but they are specifically worded and de- scribed. In the Ramsay bill “threats, expressed or implied, intended to in- fluence political opinions” are so vague as to cause considerable confusion and numerous lawsuits. ‘While there are often abuses around election times, the proposed bills would fiit reach the intimidation practiced by 'plnye_l mln_nc fellow employes ' . [} What’s What Behind News in Capital President Winks and Paints Tax Picture in Dark Colors. BY PAUL MALLON. RESIDENT ROOSEVELT gave himself the worst of it again in his estimate of $1.137,000,~ 000 for needed taxes. Some of his own artistic estimators reached for their pencils when he gave out that stupendous figure. They were surprised to find he had chosen the heaviest instead of the lightest round numbers he could lay his hand on. Also that he added them up into the darkest possible total. For example, the generally accepted estimate of his needs are about $120,- 000,000 less than he figured. Further. more, he could have left out of the total the $150,000,000 windfall which he expects to shake loose from the processors. In that case, it would have been called an $886,000,000 tax bill in- stead of what he called it. What really prostrated them was the amazing fact that he did this in a campaign year, when, as every one knows, tazes should be referred to as lighly as possible. The answer to the mystery was sim- ple if they only knew it. For one thing, Mr. Roosevelt's open strategy was to stress the point that these taxes were none of his doing. Congress brought the bonus on itself over his veto. The Supreme Court brought the processing tax deficit on them both. He could afford to be free with the figures. Lever on Congress. Not only that, but the secret strategy of Mr. Roosevelt all along has been to overestimate his needs and under- estimate his revenue. Thus, he gets wide financial leeway from Congress. ‘This is an occasion when Congress must vote some taxes. He tried for as much as he could expect to get. It is & further hint of the new atti- tude inside the White House toward readjusting the budget situation. More exceptional than this is the indication that Mr. Rooscvelt made an economy move two weeks ago and did not let any one in on it. Those who should know that. on February 17, the White House is- sued an executive order requiring that all recisions of W. P. A. allo- cations be impounded. The custom, theretofore, had been to put the ‘money back into a general fund for reallocation. It means apparently that there are not going to be any more reallocations. The White House generally makes announcements about its executive orders and neve: has been known to overlook such good campaign material. It was not an oversight. Apparently the President did not want to let any one know there was some leftover | meat for additional allocation. Tugwell Clipping Due. The White House alsc has been keeping quiet about the clipping of Prof. Tugwell. A substantial curtail- ment of his unsettled resettlement work is to be announced at the right time soon. It takes the form of tying up some of his unspent funds. Incidentally, Tugwell obtained ex- tension of his leave from Columbia University for another year and has not packed his grip to go elsewhere, There is no need for any one to wait for quick and devastating action from that new Senate committee appointed to investigate Government overlapping and extravagance. Vice President Garner broke all known records for careful picking in selecting the personne. of that com- mittee. Strong pressure was brought on him to name some young bloods who would go into tu matter vigor- ously. The name of Senators Minton and Nye were on a list understood to have been originally submitted to him. Garner wisely wanted no young bloods prowling through Government bureaus in a campaign year. In fact, the V. P. is understood to have told another young blood, Sen- ator Steiwer of Oregon, that his ap- pointment to a post on the committee was not desired by powers that be. The result is the inquiry is likely to be a dull affair. The investigation will probably be academic. Senator Byrd will try, but he is well sur- rounded. Notes. Congressmen have been getting numerous ‘ reports from taxpayers lately about rules of the Internal Revenue Bureau. One of the leaders of the House has become interested. The Republicans have agreed on’ a cute move in connection with the Van Nuys bill, which penalizes cor- porations trying to influence their workers in an election. They are going to propose an amendment including @ similar prohibition against Government officials. An influential leader had to be ex- cused from Mr. Roosevelt’s impor- tant tax conference a few nights back. He had a previous engagement—to go fishing. And he went. There is a story going around that Democratic Publicity Director Michel- son coined the “windfall” designation for the proposed taxes penalizing processors. It was a novel idea to make the farmers understand. A friend has been working delicately at the task of getting Al Smith and Joe Robinson to shake hands and forget the unkind things they said about each other only a few short weeks 8go. (Copyright. 1936.) nor would it reach political intimida- tion on Government jobs and relief rolls. The Van Nuys bill only prose- cutes corporations or their agents. It would be much simpler and easier to understand the issue of the measure read: “Resolved, that between now and November, 1936, all employers and all ministration’s THE EVENING HIGH COURT MAY STAR, SCORE ARE HURT DELAY VACATION INTRAFFIC CRASHES Justices Willing to Take Step to Expedite New Deal Cases. By the Assoclated Press. As the Supreme Court convened to- day after & recess of two weeks, an authoritative source disclosed the Justices are willing to delay their Sum- mer vacation if necessary to expedite final decision in New Deal cases. During the next two weeks the court will hear arguments in cases involving the 1933 securities act, the Guffey coal control law and the right of P. W. A. to condemn land for slum clearance. Under normal conditions these cases would be disposed of during the regu- lar term, which ends on the last Mon- day in May or the first Monday in June. Should 'additional New Deal cases reach the high court in time the Justices are prepared to sit until June 8 to dispose of them. May Set Aside Week. Under the present schedule, argu- ments will be heard in the next two weeks and during the first two weeks of April. If more New Deal cases are appealed by the end of March the court was represented as likely to take unusual steps of setting aside the week of April 27 to hear them argued. Usually, the tribunal does not hear arguments after the first two weeks of April. This procedure is followed So every case argued may be decided before the Summer adjournment. At least two more New Deal cases are expected to reach the court soon. Both were decided February 22 by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals at Charlotte, N. C. In one, the Circuit Court upheld the right of the Government to pro- vide Public Works Administration funds for construction of a publicly- owned and operated hydro-electric project at Buzzards Roost, S. C. Others to Come Up. In the other, the Circuit Court held the American States Public Service Co. need not register under the public utility holding company act since it engaged only in intrastate business. The court avoided passing on the con- stitutionality of the act, which a Bal- timore district court had held invalid in deciding the case. Other litigation involving constitu- tionality of New Deal laws expected to reach the highest tribunal even- tually, but probably not in time for | a ruling this term, involves the Wag- ner labor disputes, second railroad retirement and the second Frazier- Lemke farm mortgage moratorium laws. Lower courts have given conflicting rulings on the Wagner act. The Na- tional Labor Board has an action pending in the Philadelphia Circuit Court which it would like to carry up as a “test” case, but it has not yet been argued at Philadelphia. Major railroads of the Nation have in District Supreme Court, but this case also is awaiting argument. The original act requiring retirement of elderly railroaders on pension was held unconstitutional last year. May Announce Decision, There have been several lower court decisions on the Frazier-Lemke law, successor to a measure bearing the same name which also was in- validated last year, but no case has yet reached the highest tribunal. The Frazier-Lemke law, providing for a three-year moratorium on farm mortgages and for composition of farm debts under certain conditions, should not be confused with the Frazier-Lemke bill pending in Con- gress, which would call for $3,000,- 000,000 in currency expansion to finance farm indebtedness. The court today may announce decisions on 28 cases that have been argued. These include the Govern- ment’s anti-trust suit against the Sugar Institute, Inc,, and a challenge of the Hawes-Cooper act empowering States to control or prohibit the sale within their borders of prison-made goods brought in from outside. Guffey Act Case March 11. In addition, the justices probably will say whether they will review 35 cases appealed from lower courts, and whether they will reconsider their re- cent decision upholding the right of the Tennessee Valley Authority to acquire lines of the Alabama Power Co. for transmission of electricity gen- erated at Wilson Dam. On Wednesday, the court will hear arguments on the Government's ap- peal from a decision that it lacks the right to condemn land for P. W. A. slum clearance and housing projects in Louisville. The Guffey act to regulate the soft coal industry will be debated March 11, and shortly thereafter the court will hear argued the 1933 securities act. SHORT WILL ADDRESS YOUNG REPUBLICANS Representative Dewey Short of Mis- souri will address the Young Repub- licans of the District of Columbia at the National Capital Republican Club, Sixteenth street and Scott Circle, to- morrow at 8:30 p.m. Representative Short, the only Re- publican member of Congress from Missouri, was elected to the House in 1928 at the age of 30 and is one of the younger members of that body. Boston University, Harvard, Heidel- burg University and Oxford all had part in his education. 11 Injured as Motor Cycle, Two Cars Collide Near Alexandria. Nearly a score of Washingtonians were in hospitals today as a result of traffic accidents over the first week end of good motoring weather in sev~ eral weeks, A collision between a motor cycle and two automobiles 15 miles south of Alexandria, Va., yesterday sent 11 persons to the hospital there, one in & critical condition and several with serious injuries. Harry Dixon, 19, of Lorton, a former student at McKinley High School here, was the most seriously injured. His motorcycle sideswiped a car op- erated by Ellis Holmes, 20, colored, 2514 Q street, which careened into another car operated by John Dyer, 25, of 1619 Rosedale street northeast. Dixon’s left leg was broken in sev- eral places and badly crushed, He was taken to the Marine Hospital at Quantico, where a tournique was ap- plied before he was removed to the Alexandria hospital. He was given a blood transfusion yesterday and phy- siclans were contemplating another today. His condition was critical. Student Seriously Hurt. James O’'Neal, 18, also of Lorton and a student at Fairfax High School, who was riding with Dixon, suffered a compound fracture of the left leg. He also was in serious condition in the Alexandria Hospital: WASHINGTON, D. C, DAY, MARCH 2, 1936. Motoristid Greet-Promise of Spring Dyer escaped with cuts and bruise: | and his wife, one of four passengers in the car, received minor cuts. Willilam Whiting, 17, of 703 C street southwest, suffered a broken left leg and Thelma Proctor, 1400 S street southeast, cuts and bruises. Roy Greer, 30, also of the S street address, received a broken nose and severe cuts on the face. Physicians took 56 stitches in sewing up his wounds. Dyer and Greer were returning from & Baptist Young People’s Union bowling tournament at Richmond. All the passengers in ‘the Holmes car were taken ‘to the Alexandria Hospital suffering from cuts and bruises, but released after first aid had been administered. They were Halley Woolfolk, 20, colored, 1611 Eleventh street, and Lawrence Foxx, 24, and Claud Foxx, 26, both colored, 1730 U street. Injured at Leesburg. Mrs. Rovert Beeton, 38, of 1511 Twenty-second street, was brought here last night from Leesburg, Va., | where she was severely cut on the ' head when a car driven by her hus- band, an employe of the Treasury Department, collided with one oper- ated by Robert Ainsworth, Round Hill, Va. Beeton and Ainsworth escaped with minor injuries. Mrs. Beeton's condition was reported ‘“good” at Emergency Hospital. Mattie Boone, 40, Alexandria, was in Providence Hospital today, recover- challenged the railroad retirement Eing {romicusiandihrviseaitectyed: i bill and a companion tax measure | an accident yesterday in the 1300 block of Water street southwest. Her husband, John Boone, 38, and the driver of the other car, Harry John- son, 30, also of Alexandria, were not injured. James Watkins, 56, colored, 1642 Cramer street northeast, received a fractured rib when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver at Pirst and K | streets. The car crashed into a police alarm box after striking Watkins, but the driver escaped. Watkins was taken to Casualty Hospital, Pedestrian Hit. Lida Walker, 58, colored, Glenn Arden, Md.,, was knocked down and suffered an injury to her right leg at Vermont avenue and T street last night. Police listed David F. Smith, 60, of 24 Circle avenue, Takoma Park, Md, as the driver. John Casey, 28, of 2815 Thirteenth street, was in Emergency Hospital, re- covering from cuts on the head. His car struck a freight car in the 3200 block of K street last night. Injured in an automobile accident near his home, Howard Mills, 23, East Falls Church, Va, last night, was brought to Georgetown Hospital. His condition was reported not serious. HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEPOSITORS’ RIGHTS Commercial National Group May Recover Funds Paid to U. S. Agencies. The right of Commercial National Bank depositors to recover approxi- mately $1,500,000 improperly paid governmental agencies was affirmed today by the Supreme Court. ‘The high court also refused to grant a rehearing of its ruling last week that the Tennessee Valley Authority had power to lease transmission lines for the sale of power generated at Wilson Dam. In the local case a receiver of the Commercial Bank, with the consent of the controller of the currency, had paid in full deposits of the United States Shipping Board and Merchant Fleet Corp. and the alien property custodian, although the general de- positors had received only 50 per cent of their deposits. Child Uses Sheet Ladder. ‘When fire broke out in their home in London, 3-year-old Kenneth Good- fellow slid down knotted sheets to safety, followed by his mother and father. Beauty Contest May Interrupt Girl’s Alaskan Dog Team Trek By the Associated Press. FAIRBANKS, Alaska, March 2.—A beauty contest threatened today to interrupt pretty Alice Joyce's haz- ardous dog team trek across the. icy Alaskan wastelands. Anxiety over the safety of the 27- year-old “musher” was dispelled Joe Crosson, famed “mercy fiyer” of the North. He sighted her near Tan- For nearly a week she and her na- tive guide, Jimmy Allen, were over- due at Tetling and Alaskans feared they had met death somewhere on the lonely Northland snow trails. But Crosson, on a flight from Spo- kane, Wash,, to Fairbanks, saw them by (as he flew toward Tetling. He re- ported the comely young woman “is over the worst part of her trail.” Here Miss Joyce was to represent Taku in a beauty contest which brought entries from towns through- out Alaska. Among her competitors will be blond Sigrid Seppala, daugh- ter of Leonard Seppala, who holds the mushing speed record of the North, In 1924, his huskies rushed anti- toxin to diphtheria-stricken Nome r snow and broken ice 137 miles in 16 hours and 52 minutes, Miss Seppals Will represent Fair- banka, - ) 4 ‘Thousands of motorists took to the highways yesterday to greet the Spring-like weather, railroad bridge looking toward Hains Point shows autos on Speedway. PRISONPRODUCTS' CONTROL UPHELD Supreme Court Says Law Giving States Power Is Constitutional. By the Associated Press. ‘The Hawes-Cooper law empowering | States to control or prohibit the sale ! i within their borders of prison-made | goods brought in from outside was | held constitutional today by the Su-. preme Court. The unanimous declsion, delivered | by Justice Sutherland, was on an ap- peal by Asa H. Whitfield, convicted in Cleveland of violating the Ohio law | | enacted in conformity with the | Hawes-Cooper act. ‘Whitfield was fined $25 for selling, |in Cleveland, work shirts manufac- {tured in the Wetumpka Prison in Alabama. The Ohio Supreme Court | | dismissed his appeal. That action had {the effect of upholding the Hawes- Cooper act. 8 His attorneys contended Congress was without power to divest itself of control over interstate commerce | and hence could not delegate to the | State control over prison-made prod- | ucts. Both the Federal Government and | the States, they argued, are powerless | to stop interstate commerce in goods that are not harmful. Sutherland said the whole question centered in validity of the Hawes- | Cooper act. “The view of the State of Ohio that the sale of convict-made goods in| competition with the products of free | labor is an evil” the justice said, | “finds ample support in fact and in the similar legislation of a prepon- derant number of other States. Acts of Congress relating to the subject also recognize the evil. “All such legislation, State and Federal, proceeds upon the view that free labor, properly compensated, can not compete successfully with the en- forced and unpaid or underpaid con- ! vict labor of the prison. “A State basing its legislation upon that conception has the right and power, so far as the Federal Consti- tution is concerned, by non-discrim- inating legislation, to reserve its pol- icy from impairment, or defeat, by any means appropriate to the end and not inconsistent with that instru- ment.” D. C. DEMOCRATS TO JOIN MARYLANDERS IN DINNER Many Democrats from Washington will join Maryland Democrats in the Lord Baltimore Hotel at Baltimore Thursday evening for the dinner cli- maxing the one-day convention of the ‘Young Democratic Clubs of Maryland. More than 1,200 are expected. Senator Tydings of Maryland and Secretary of State Hull will be the principal speakers. Their addresses will be broadcast, beginning at 7:15 pm. Preceding the dinner, convention sessions will be held throughout the day for planning the coming cam- paign in the primaries and electing a national committeeman and national By the Associated Press. TODAY. Senate: Debates park development bill. Lobby Committee studies influences directed at legislation. Judiciary Com- mittee considers nomination of Edwin féfi:‘hm” of Mississippi for circuit House: Takes up impeachment proceedings against United States Judge Halstead HAVAS NEWS DIRECTOR DIES IN NEW YORK Camille Lemercier Was in Charge of Agency for North Ameri- can Territory. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, March 2—Camille Lemercier, the director of the Havas News Agency for North America, died Saturday of pneumonia. Previous to his joining the staff of the French news agency, Lemercier was connected with the Chicago Daily News and Washington Star toreign Bureau. He was regarded’ in Paris and in French newspaper man. - HORSE RACING BILLS Companion Measure, Virginia Commission, to Die on Calender. By the Associated Press. RICHMOND, March 2.—Bills legal- izing horse racing with pari-mutuel betting will be “left at the post,” if racing parlance may be used to describe defeat, Sponscrs of the legislation in the House, 25 in number, decided today to let the bill creating a racing com- die on the calendar. The bill legaliz- ing pari.mutuel betting passed the House several weeks ago, but would be without effect unless the com- panion bill on the calendar could be passed. This is the third time that racing with pari-mutuel betting has been de- feated in the Assembly. TEACHERS. STRIKE 2,000 Pupils in Jessup Borough, Pa., Are Kept From Class Rooms. By the Associated Press. SCRANTON, Pa, March 2—A strike of 67 school teachers in Jessup Borough, called in protest against non-payment of wages, kept more than 2,000 pupils out of their class rooms today. The teachers, demanding $50,000 in overdue salaries, said they would stay away from classes until they are paid. The Borough School Board, con- tending collection of taxes has been too slow to keep up with the pay roll, said funds to meet the demands were not available. The board has applied for a $25,000 emergency grant from the State Department of Public in- struction, but the State has an- nounced no money can be allotted until the 1934-5 books have been audited, The teachers, however, plannted to send a delegation to Harrisburg to plead for the financial relief. Spokes- men said prompt settlement of the strike depends upon approval of the grant. Similar strikes involved Jessup teachers for 10 days in 1933 and for one day®in 1934. L. Ritter of Floride. Appropriations Committee meets on regular depart- ‘mental supply bills. ‘TOMORROW. Senate: May work on Wagner park bill or Panama Canal toll measure, if In- terior supply bill is finished. Message also expected from Presi- dent on need for additional revenue. Naval Affairs Committee meets at 10:30 am. 0 Interstate Commerce Committee meets at 10:30 a.m. on amendment to Federal Trade law. ‘The House tomorrow considers pri- vate calendar. Special trafic subcommittee of Dise triet Committee resumes. traffic ings at 10 s.m. LA soak. service, as assistant chief of the Puisl | eral Assembly swung into the last Europe in general as the outstanding | | action scheduled for today on two “LEFT AT THE POST” . iupon motion of Delegate William D. | Creating | mission to reguate tracks and betting | TO OBTAIN PAY, 'COLUMBIA STUDENTS The “National Scene BY ALICE ROOSEVELT LONGWORTH HE President’s billion-dollar tax program may be hard on those who have to pay, but it won't be any harder than it is on those who have to write and pass it. = Congress is accustomed to have Mr. Roosevelt send up word to the Capitol what sums he wants, with details of where and how to spend them left entirely to him. Now he tells the wincing legislators that the people must come across, and leaves to them the ticklish question of whom to Photo taken from —Star Staft Photo. BOUNDARY REPOR AGTION 15 SOUGKT Two D. C. Measures in Rush of Final Week at Richmond. BY LESTER N. INNSKEEP, Staft Correspondent of The Star. RICHMOND, March 2—The Gen- week of the session, with final House matters affecting the District of Co- lumbia and one vitally affecting the City of Alexandria. A bill ratifying the report of the District of Columbia-Virginia bound- ary line commission was to be taken up out of order and rushed to passage Medley of Arlington County. Co- | patrons on the bill are Delegates Mau- i rice D. Rosenberg of Alexandria and | John C. Mackall of Fairfax County. 1t i1s hoped the Senate committee can be discharged and the bill also rushed through the upper body. Delegate Ralph H. Daughton of Norfolk was to ask the House to pass his resolution memorializing Congress to pass legislation looking toward na- | tional representation for the District of Columbia. This is the first time such legislation has weathered com- mittee opposition and reached the floor. The Alexandria charter change bill, most controversial piece of local legislation offered at the present ses- sion, was scheduled for final House action. Delegate Rosenberg, patron, | asked Saturday night that it be passed by until today. He asked also that his bill providing for appointment of assessors by the City Council instead of the court be passed by until today. Neither can be held up longer than today, however, since any bills left on the calendar at the end of the day’s session die automatically. — LAUNCH PROTEST Aver Participation in Heidelberg Celebration Will Be Benedic- tion on Hitler Regime. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 2—Protests from student groups have followed acceptance by Columbia University of | an invitation to participate in the | 550th anniversary celebration of the founding of Heidelberg University, it | was learned last night. “Columbia must rescind this ac- -ceptance,” said an editorial in the Columbia Spectator, campus newspa- per. “Unless it does, it will in effect bestow a benediction upon the spoila- tion of education and culture by the Hitler regime.” Petitions urging withdrawal of the acceptance have been circulated by staff members of the newspaper, of the Teachers’ College News, & similar publication, and by members of the university chapter of the American Student Union, organization of liberal students, Edinburgh, Scotland, has just estab- lished its twelfth nursery school. After spurning economy and budget balancing for two and s half years, we are going to get a sample of what it feels like to foot the bill for wanton spending. All the same, any move toward economic realism, however belated, is in the right direction. It would seem to indicate that Mr. Roosevelt is Aliee Longworth. gracefully attempting to back up onto the old platform without calling too much attention to his withdrawal from the hectic spree that has been tossing away billions through the long riotous New Deal night, Copyright, 1936, DAMES GATHERING . FORZ-DAY SESSION Magna Charta Society Will Hold Tea Today in President’s Honor. Members of the National Society, Magna Charta Dames, were arriving in Washington today from all parts of the country for a two-day meeting of the order. ‘The first function was to be a tes this afternoon in honor of the presie dent, Mrs. George Harrison Houston of Philadelphia, given by the Wash- ington regent, Mrs. David Dixon Por- ter, at her residence, 1819 Nineteenth street, from 5 to 6 p.m. Senator Hastings of Delaware will address the second meeting, a lunch- eon, at the Shoreham Hotel tomorrow at 1 pm Social Patriotic Order. The National Society Magna Charta Dames was instituted here in Washe ington March 1, 1909, as a “social-pa= triotic order.” It is designed for “pere petuating the high ideals of the orig= inal ancestors of the present mem- bers.” It is composed of women who are lineal descendants of one or more barons of England who, after many defeats, finally obtained the articles of constitutional liberty. These ar- ticles, properly called the Magna Charta, were ratified by the sovereign John—King of England—and deliv- ered to the barons in the meadow, which is called Runnemede on the ‘Thames, above London, on June 15, 1215. Lady Fairhaven of London, formerly of the United States, has bought and presented to the British people the fleld of Runnemede as a memorial to her husband, to be kept for all time as a sacred historic spot. Principal Officers. Principal officers of the national society in addition to the president, Mrs. Houston, are regent general, Miss Elizabeth Pisher Washington; first vice president, Mrs, John 8. Wurts; vice presidents, Mrs. John Quincy Adams, Mrs. George Dallas Dixon, Mrs. Joseph Mickle Fox, Miss Eunice Lathrope, Mrs, James Starr, Mrs. John Winthrop; herald general, Mrs. Julien Ortiz; treasurer of the Mrs. James Large Memorial Fund, Miss Margaret A. Lennig; secretary, Miss Margaret Curtis Merritt, and these regents: Mrs, James Blythe Anderson, Mrs. Peter Arrington, Mrs. Edwin Le Roy Bowen, Mrs. John Thompson Dor- rance, Mrs. Alan Edward Stuart | Douglas, Mrs. Alexis Felix duPont. Mrs. William Owen Goodman, Mrs. Alexander Gordon, Mrs. William 8. Hallowell, Mrs. Theodore Jesse Hoover, Mrs. William Macpherson Hornor, Mrs. Edward Beatley Huling, Mrs. Daniel Kent, Mrs. Michel Moracin Le Brun, Miss Lucretia C. Lennig. Mrs. Gilbert Anderson MacKenzie, Mrs. Charles Batchelor McLean, Miss Susan Billings Meech, Mrs. Edward Stephen Moulton, Mrs. C. Edward Murray, Mrs. Alton Brooks Parker. Mrs. David Dixon Porter, Mrs. Homer Day Rankin, Mrs. Oscar Herbert Rix- ford, Mrs. Alpha Eugene Rockey, Mrs. Joseph C. von Schwinbeck, Mrs. Finley Johnson Shepard, Mrs. Norman Fred- erick Thompson, Miss Alice Elizabe'h Trabue, Princess Plerre Troubetzkoy, Miss Florence Van Rensselaer. SOVIET REFUSES RIPLEY PERMIT FOR VISIT By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 2.—The Amer- ican said today that Robert L. Ripley, newspaper cartoonist, has been re- fused permission by the Soviet gov- ernment to visit Russia on a projected round-the-world trip. Ripley was quoted as saying that he had been informed unofficially, but authoritatively, that the refusal was motivated by a radio speech he made here last April on conditions in Russia as he saw them on a previous trip. In that speech the American said Ripley attributed the death of 4,- 000.000 peasants by starvation in the Ukraine and North Caucasus to the Soviet government and called the country a “gigantic poorhouse.” e Retired Spanish Officer Dies. MADRID, March 2 (#).—Col. Ramon Blardony Perera, retired, died yes- terday of a cardiac ailment. He was 72. He fought in the Mindanao cam- paign in the Philippines, where he was compelled to lead a Filipino division against the American troops. He was captured and absolved by & court-martial. Deduction for Tax on Motor Gas. Is an automobile is used for both | business and pleasure, all of the main- tenance and opearting expenses con- nected therewith, which constitute al- lowable deductions for Federal in- come-tax purposes, should be allocated to the two uses on the basis of the time that it is used for each. For example, if the total expense of operation and maintenance, plus de- preciation, for the taxable year amounted to $800 and the car was used three-fourths of the time for business and the balance of the time for pleasure, the allowable deduc= tion for Federal income-tax purposes would be $600. If a law which imposes a tax on gasoline shows that the tax is imposed on the consumer and not on the dealer the consumer may deduct as a tax, for Federal income-tax purposes, the amount of the gasoline tax paid by him; but the taxpayer must have kept records of the payment of such taxes in order that the deduction may be substantiated as is required by the law and the regulations. § The Federal gasoline tax is not de- ductible by the consumer. A taxpayer may ascertain whether the gasoline tax imposed by a State is deductible by the consumer or by the dealer by addressing an inquiry to the collector of internal revenue for his district. In any case where the gasoline pur- chased is used for business purposes the tax may be added to the cost of the gasoline and deducted as a business expense; but where that is done, the gasoline tax cannot be deducted sepa= ratealy under the item of taxes. For official advice and help in your income tax problems call at room 1002, Revenue Building, Twelfth street and Constitution avenue, the office of the deputy collector of internal revenue, where Government experts will help you make out your income tax return, administer the oath, and the cashier will receive your payment. Office hours thers today, 9 am. to 5. pm, 1