Evening Star Newspaper, March 18, 1936, Page 1

(U. 8. Weather Buréau Forecast.) Cloudy, probably occasional rain tonight and tomorrow, not much change in tem- perature; lowest tonight about 42 degrees. Temperatures—Highest, 86, at 12:15 p.m., yesterday; lowest, 44, at 5 a.m. today. Closing New York Markets, Page 20 No. 33,559. Fntered as second class matter DC:‘I: office, Washington, D. C. WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1936—THIRTY-EIGHT PAGES WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION @he Foening Star The only evening paper in Washington v%itg gfie Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. AR L1 @ M s Associated Prass. Circulation Over 140,000 TWO CENTS. 'RAGING FLOODS ENDANGER WHOLE EAST Potomac Expected to Set Record Since ’89 Tomorrow ROOSEVELT ORDERS AGENCIES TO MOBILIZE TO AID SUFFERERS; 24 DEAD IN PENNSY 30,000 Wh‘eel-#Virginia Valley Cities Flooded; ing Residents in Peril. SNOWSTORM IN CAROLINA Danger Constantly Mounts as Rain- fall Increases. (Copyright, 1936, by the Associated Press.) Death and misery swept over the Eastern States today as rag- ing rivers rolled up the worst flood devastation on record in many areas. President Roose- velt ordered Federal agencies to | mobilize quickly for rescue work. Secretary of War Dern headed a committee to provide Govern- ment _equipment. At least 24 were reported dead in Pennsylvania, which suffered | the greatest damage. Two persons died in Vermont, two in Virginia and at least one | each in Maine and New York. A Georgia windstorm took two lives. Tornadic winds, sleet and spo- . radic snows increased the death list and suffering. Property damage mounted hourly into many millions of dollars. | The steel metropolis of Pitts- | burgh was inundated and vir- tually isolated by the surging Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, with flood stages the highest in history. Fire in the industrial area threatened to spread dangerously. Suffering thousands in Johnstown— after a night of terror with vivid recol- lections of tne great disaster of 1889 | when the Conemaugh River swept 2,235 persons to their death—watched the receding flood waters with joy, as National Guardsmen, C. C. C. and P. W. A. workers and State Troopers mobilized for reclamation and to pre- vent looting. After reaching a depth of 16 feet in | eity streets throughout the night, the river receded steadily in the forenoon. At least two lives were lost there. Rivers on Rampage. Elsewhere over the State, in up-State New York, New England and in the Southern States, there was no let-up in the rampage of bank-battering rivers. Along the Ohio, near Wheeling, W. Va., river men predicted 30,000 persons would be homeless by tomorrow as the ‘waters mounted dangerously toward a flood stage of 50 feet or more. To aid National Guardsmen and authorities in the States, President Roosevelt mobilized the full forces of the Federal Government to give aid. W. P. A. workers, Army engi- neers were ordered to lend all aid in the zones of destruction and danger. The scene in much of the Eastern half of the United States was a pano- rama of swirling water and waste. In Pennsylvania—Uncounted thou- sands were marooned in the western half of the State. Principal highways were flooded. Communication was either suspended or severely crippled. Desolation Complete. Johnstown was typical of the deso. lation found everywhere. An Associated Press reporter, one of the first outsiders to reach the city after the Conemaugh poured 16 feet of water over the valley town, reported: “The desolation was complete. ‘Water still gushed in torrents through (See FLOODS, Page 4.) .-§31,447,106,057 NEW PUBLIC DEBT HIGH March Borrowings Run Treas- ury Figures Up Abruptly $945,443,700. By the Associated Press. America’s public debt shot up abruptly $945,443,700 today to the new high level of $31,447,106,057 as first figures of the new March borrowing appeared on the Treasury statement. The March financing consisted of a gross turnover of $1,900,000,000. Of this total, $544,553,400 was in the na- ture of conversion subscriptions—the exchange of old securities for new— leaving new cash borrowing of $1,- 355,000,000 Out of the cash receipts, however, $452,000,000 was appropri- ated for the retirement of notes which fell due March 16. As a result, the actual new cash porrowed in the midmonth financing was $903,653,550. ‘The conversion offering was for the benefit of notes amounting to approx- imately $559,000,000 which mature April 15. As a result of the horrowing, the Treasury net cash balance rose to the unusually high level of $2,756,749,061. In arriving at the new public debt, this cash on hand would be deductible. Two Killed, Damage Great Roads and Railways Blocked—Build- ings in Ruins From Tornadic Winds. | Power Service Interrupted. By the Associated Press. Two deaths from drowning in rag- ing flood waters of Virginia were re- ported today as more snow and con- tinued rain pushed the State's rivers toward record flood heights and in- undated towns. Kenith Patterson, a rescue worker, was drowned in the swollen James River today when a boat carrying members of the Lynchburg life-sav- ing crew capsized in an attempt to reach a water-stranded family. was swept to his death in the swirling waters of Christians Creek, 4 miles east of Staunton, late yesterday. Smaller rivers of Western Virginia, including the Jackson, the Roanoke and the North, subsided early today after pushing into towns along their banks, but the James River today was reaching toward the highest water mark in years. Lewis Wells, an elderly colored man, was swept to his death in the swirl- ing waters of Christians Creek, 4 miles east of Staunton, late yesterday. Roads and rsilways were blocked and untold damage done by floods which today ran in the streets of such important valley cities as Win- chester, Harrisonburg, Staunton and | ‘Waynesboro Buildings in Ruins. Elsewhere in the State buildings | lay in ruins from tornadic winds, heavy snow blocked mountain roads and rivers stood at flood stages. Heaviest hit was the Northern Vir- | ginia Valley. There five communities were without power and light and partially flooded early today. Har- risonburg, with water standing 5 feet | deep in business section buildings, was cut off for hours last night with train (See VIRGINIA, Page 7.) JORNSTOWN FLOOD BEGINS T0 RECEDE Isolated Thousands Wait, Without Lights or Gas, for Outside Help. (Copyright. 1936, by the Associated Press.) JOHNSTOWN, Pa, March 18— Isolated and suffering thousands waited in cheerless refuge places today for Johnstown's second great flood in a half century to subside so out- side help could come. The sons and daughters of those who perished when the Conemaugh poured millions of gallons of water through a narrow valley in 1889 were without light or gas, their food sup- ply was threatened and thousands were still marooned in business build- ings, unable to get out. Early this morning, the waters be- gan receding. From a top level of 16 feet, they subsided to 5 in down- town streets. Two to Five Dead. Police Chief Harry Klink said he knew of but two deaths, but there were reports of three other drown- ings in the Johnstown area. Klink, who sent out a plea for all State agencies to help the city, said no damage estimate could be made, but the total would be written in hundreds of thousands, perhaps mil- lions. Announcing he had asked for de- tails of State troopers, highway pa- trolmen and other officers to prevent looting, the police chief said: “At my own request we are under military rule this minute.” He also asked for C. C. C. workers and other outside help to help clean up the debris left by the raging flood. Those persons who heeded a warn- ing to leave the business section be- fore the flood poured in yesterday found safety in the upland homes, club houses, churches and other buildings. Thousands more spent a dark and miserable, night on the sec- ond floors of houses and business structures. Police and firemen rounded up the (See JOHNSTOWN, Page 2.) Bull to Greet Byrd. WINSTON-SALEM, N. C, March 18 (#).—Iceberg, the Guernsey bull born in Little America, will greet Ad- miral Richard E. Byrd when he comes here Friday to make an address. Iceberg, who has been at his an- cestral home, Klondike Farm, near here, since leaving the Antarctic, will be brought to town to join in the welcome for Byrd. E WATERIS FALLING AT CUMBERLAND |Battered and Isolated, City Emerges From Worst Flood in Decade. BULLETIN. HAGERSTOWN, Md., March 18. —The middle span of the bridge at Hancock, Md., is reported to have been washed away at 2:30 this aft- ernoon by the Potomac, By the Assoclated Press. CUMBERLAND, Md.,, March 18.— The raging waters of the rain-fed Potomac River and Wills Creek re- ceded today and Cumberland, badly battered and still isolated, began | emerging from its worst flood in more | than a decade. The crest of the flood appeared past with reports the streams had subsided from 4 to 5 feet and were receding at the rate of about a foot an hour. Water from 3 to 5 feet deep still swirled through the city’s business section, where it reached a depth of from 10 to 14 feet during the night. Dawn revealed scenes of desolation, with the extent of the damage as yet undetermined, but running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. (A dispatch from Annapolis stated the Maryland Legislature today passed & bill to declare a bank holiday in Cumberland after Gov. Nice received word that flood waters were up to the counters of every bank in the city ex- cept one.) Bridges were undermined. Houses were swept away. Streets and high- ways were flooded. Debris of every kind bobbed about in the streets. Scores were marooned in their water- bound homes. With daylight, plans were laid to provide flood and shelter for the homeless who huddled in churches during the tense night. Pumping Out Cellars. City employes and volunteers were pumping out the flooded cellars. Sev- (See’ CUMBERLAND, Page A-4.) | (Copyright, 1936, by the Associated Press.) CHAPLIN AT SINGAPORE Marriage to Leading Lady Ex- pected During Visit. SINGAPORE, Straits Settlements, March 18 (#).—Charles Chaplin ar- rived here from Shanghai today with | his leading lady, Paulette Goddard, and announced that he intended to “hang about this part of the world for three months,” strengthening a belief that this time might be spent on a honeymoon. Flood Isolates Hancock, Md.; Fresh Rains BY JAMES E. CHINN, Staff Correspondent of The Star. HAGERSTOWN, Md.,, March 18— Swollen beyond its banks to the dis- astrous Johnstown flood stage of 1889, the Potomac River today com- pletely isolated the town of Hancock, Md,, and inundated a large portion of the low lying sections of Willlamsport about 20 miles away. $ The only bridge which links Mary- land and West Virginia at Hancock, weakened by the wild torrent from the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains and submerged under several feet of water on the West Virginia side, was closed to traffic about noon. Destruction of the bridge is imminent. ‘The surging waters also reached within 3 feet of the roadway of the Add to Menace toll bridge at Williamsport and its closing is expected. ; LVANIA Pittsburgh Has 42.6 Feet of Water. HIGHEST SINCE FLOOD OF 1763 Three Fires Add! to Devastation in City. PITTSBURGH, March 18—The greatest flood of the century menaced Pittsburgh and its hun- dreds of neighboring communi- ties in the wide Western Penn- sylvania area today with damage already running into millions and 12 known dead. There were unverified reports several others perished as ram- paging waters inundated the flood city of Johnstown and al- most covered Pittsburgh’s fam- ous “golden triangle” business district. Pittsburgh, Johnstown and dozens of other cities and towns were virtually isolated as most of the major highways were cov- ered. At Wheeling, W. Va., rivermen redicted 30,000 would be home- ess by tomorrow as the Ohio roared toward a stage of 50 feet —-h{ above the flood danger ark. Uncounted thousands were already marooned in the Western Pennsyl- vania flooded areas. Department stores, theaters and other big business structures in Pitts- burgh were covered with 10 feet of water, marooning hundreds of workers and shoppers. Fires Add to Devastation. Fire companies, taxed to their ut- most rescuing hundreds from dwellings and buildings in the metropolitan area, found themselves forced to cope with disastrous explosions and fires. An explosion in the Etna Nut & Bolt Co. plant in suburban Etna injured at least seven persons and destroyed the factory and 11 houses. There were fears some might have died after the blast, as families were separated in the rush for safety and many persons jumped into Union street, filled with water to a depth of 6 feet. Blazes in the Crucible Steel Plant, the Waverly Oil Works and the Pitts- burgh Steel Spring Co. called out scores of firemen. Five were hurt in the Crucible fire and seven at the ‘Waverly plant. Explosion after explosion roared through the Lawrenceville district from the Waverly Refinery. -Firemen battled in hip-deep water to prevent the spread of flames. ‘Thousands of spectators fled in panic after the explosions. Golden Triangle Flooded. The Golden Triangle, in which is located some of the biggest stores and businesses in Pittsburgh, was half under water. More streets were flooded hourly. The waters hit a stage of 42.6 feet, 25 feet above flood level. This stage was well above the 41.1 feet recorded in 1763, the highest ever recorded in the city. The great flood of 1913 was = i ,'q 6 7> X, i) ALLIGOOD TO FACE HEARING BY BOARD Detective Sergeant Involved in Intoxication and As- sault Charges. Although said by doctors to be suf- fering from a brain tumor, Detective Sergt. Frank M. Alligood, champion stolen-automobile recoverer of the Po- lice Department, will be ordered to ap- pear before the Trial Board on charges involving intoxication and armed as- sault on a superior officer, Supt. Ernest W. Brown revealed today. The charges, Brown explained, will be “in line with the contents of a de- tailed report” prepared by Inspector Bernard W. Thompson, chief of de- tectives, on whom Alligood is alleged to have drawn his revolver the night of March 7. ‘Thompson, it was said, disarmed Al- ligood after a struggle in which the two officers rolled on the sidewalk out- side the Willard Hotel, where both had been assigned to ‘“cover” President Roosevelt’s attendance at the annual dinner of the White House Correspond- ents’ Association. On Siek Leave. Alligood, widely recognized as one of the ablest automobile theft investi- gators in the country, has been on sick leave since the night the incident occurred, and, according to Brown, has been recommended for retirement by the Police and Fire Department Board of Surgeons. “Alligood has a wonderful record,” Brown said, “but in view of the nature of accusations against him, we feel it is necessary to take him before the Trial Board.” The case, Brown added, will be pre- sented to, the board at its regular meeting next Tuesday—‘unless the doctors report Alligood is not in shape to attend.” Meanwhile, the charges are being “written up” by Howard Crawford, chief clerk of the Police De- partment, “in line with” Thompson's report. Although Thompson's report was not made public, its contents were outlined as follows by both Brown a little above 38 feet. At Loew’s Penn Theater, struck by the flood just as the last show let out last night, Manager Mike Cullen said he and about 40 others were marooned without food or water. Cullen said the water was up to the loges. Penn avenue, & main thoroughfare three blocks from the river bank, was under water so high that only tops of automobiles could be seen. ‘Two big department stores, Horne's and Rosenbaum'’s, were closed, along with other adjacent business houses. Reports came in momentarily of scores of persons caught in downtown buildings. Liberty avenue, a through artery in the heart of the business section, was rapidly filling. A half-dozen suburbs, among them Oakmont, Blawknox and Aspinwall, ‘were cut off from the city proper. Water 4 feet deep swirled through suburban Wilmerding. ¢ _ Westinghouse Plant Closed. ‘The East Pittsburgh works of the ‘Westinghouse Electric & Manufactur- ing .Co. shut down when waters cov- ered the floor at the lower end of the plant. ¢ Most of the schools remained open in the city, but officials said some might be forced to close. Thirty refugees from Etna borough found refuge in a fire station after Efin. Page 4.) Crash in Japan Kills Five. TOKIO, March 18 (#).—A crash of a Japanese naval plane in the heart of Kurume, a city on Northern Kyushu Island, killed at least five persons to- day. The pursuit plane, flying over Kurume, spiraled and crashed in the [ and the detective chief: Reported With Woman. Thompson, on duty in the hotel, was told by Capt. Harvey Callahan, first precinct police commander, that Alligood and a woman companion were “acting peculiarly” in the de- tective’s car, parked outside. Pre- viously, Alligood had failed to re- port for either the daily police head- quarters roll call, at 6:30 p.m., or the dinner assignment, an hour later. Outside, Thompson found the wom- an in the police machine assigned to Alligood, but the detective was not in sight. While Thompson was ques- tioning the woman, Alligood appeared. | An argument ensued, Alligood final- ly drawing his gun and threatening Thompson, according to the detective chief. Thompson said he grappled with Alligood, and the two men fell to the sidewalk. With the aid of Lieut. Ira Keck, Thompson finally over- powered Alligood, disarmed him and took both him and the woman to headquarters. There Alligood was examined by Dr. John A. Reed, a member of the Police and Fire Department Board of Surgeons. Although Thompson de- clared he had smelled liquor on Alli- good’s breath, Dr. Reed decided there was no evidence of intoxication. He attributed the detective’s actions to the effects of a brain tumor, The woman, ploye of the Veterans’ Bureau, Was re- leased after questioning. , on Dr. Reed'’s suggestion, was placed un- der the care Board of Surgeons. Alligood, 48, Carolina, was appointed on Novem! 6, lve. sergesnt on THE PIONEER. % \ ROOSEVELT ASKS RELIEF FUND OF $1,500,000,000 Special Message Asks Congress to Give Work-Aid Money in View of Lagging Re-employment. | I Tert of Message Page ' By the Associated Press. President Roosevelt ernment year beginning July 1. In a special message to Congress, the Chief Executive reviewed the unem- ployment problem, proposed that the | new funds go entirely to the Works Progress Administration, and added: “The trend of re-employment is up- ward, but this trend, at its present rate of progress, is inadequate. I propose, therefore, that we ask private business | to extend its operations so as to ab- sorb an increasing number of the un- employed, * * * Program Cost Up to Business. “If the employment gains are sub- stantial enough no additional appro- priation by the next Congress for the fiscal year 1937 will be necessary. The ultimate cost of the Federal works program will thus be determined by private enterprise.” In making the request for $1,500,- 000,000 Mr. Roosevelt noted that more than $1,000,000,000 would be spent out of the Treasury in the next fiscal year from prior appropriations, while the budget contained $600,000,000 for var- fous public works and the Civilian Conservation Corps. ‘The gross projected relief outlay, consequently, approximated = $3,100,- 000,000. This compared with the President’s estimate that relief outlays in the current financial year will amount to $3,500,000,000. Deficit Cut Expected. Jn making his relief request Mr. Roosevelt told Congress: “This request, together with those previously submitted to the Congress to provide for the Civilian Conserva- tion Corps and certain public works, will, if acted upon favorebly by the Congress, give security during the next fiscal year to those most in need, on condition, however, that private employers hire maay of those now on relief rolls.” The President said if the tax pro- gram were carried through as he re- quested the $1,500,000,000 work-relief appropriation “would in effect pro- vide for the third successive year a reduction in the deficit.” In appealing to business to take up today asked | Congress to appropriate $1,500,000,000 | for work relief during the next Gov- | | employment, observers considered significant this paragraph in the mes- sage: trust laws, intended to prohibit re- straint of trade, must and shall be fully and vigorously enforced, there is nothing in these or any other laws which should prohibit managers of private business from working to- gether to increase production and em- ployment. Not Restraint and Conspiracy. “Such efforts would indeed be the direct opposite of a conspiracy in re- straint of trade. Many private em- ployers believe that if left to them- selves they can accomplish the ob- jective we all seek.” PRESIDENT ‘EAGER FORHOUSING LAN Desires Program Approved at This Session, His Advisers Assert. By the Assoclated Press. President Roosevelt was described today by close advisers as anxious to have a low-cost housing program ap- proved at this session of Congress. The President, his friends said, was not committed to any particular pro- gram, but desired that something be worked out. Heads of the housing agencies and others will continue conferences in an effort to agree on a plan. Senator Wagner, Democrat, of New York, who has participated in re- cent conferences, said that if he can- not reach an agreement with adminis- tration officials, he will go ahead on his own and introduce a housing bill. He has been insisting on a decen- tralized program, conducted by local authorities, but with substantial finan- cial aid from the Federal Government. He has argued that no low-cost hous- ing can be made available for slum families without subsidies of perhaps 45 per cent of the cost. Entries Scratches Selections for the leading American race ‘tracks will be found in the NOON EDITION of ' The Focning Sa Interesting comment from the scenes of racing. “While the provisions of the anti-| OFFICIALS OF D. PARKS AND ARMY AT T0 EXECUTE PROTECTION PLAN Dikes Behind Munitions and Navy Buildings and at Canal and P Streets Are Projected in Flood. ANACOSTIA EVACUATION BY PLANES IS ORDERED 800 Engineer Troops From Fort Belvoir Expected to Be Called Out to Erect Defenses—Tourist Camp Occupants Ordered to Be Ready to Leave. BULLETIN. Immediate building of two dikes to protect the new Gov- ernment buildings and Poto- mac Park from the flood due tomorrow was ordered this afternoon. Works Progress Administra- tor Hopkins authorized with- drawal of 8,500 workers from Federal projects to erect the levee. The Army abandoned Bolling Field this afternoon and transferred 35 planes to high- er ground. A forecast that the crest of the Potomac flood riding into Wash- ;mgton tomorrow afternoon would inundate a part of the Georgetown water front and rise to the elevation of Water | street southwest, the highest stage since the disastrous inun- dation of 1889, brought imme- diate action by officials of the National Capital Parks, the Dis- trict government and War De- partment to set in motion plans agreed on several weeks ago to protect Potomac Park and the new Government buildings. The main point of this plan is the erection of two dikes, one in |the rear of the Munitions and Navy Building, stretching across Seventeenth street to the ele- vation of the Washington Monu- ment, the other at Canal and P | streets southwest. During the flood of 1889, which flowed through Pennsylvania avenue, the water covered the area at Fifteenth street and Constitu= tion avenue. Recently, dirt ex- cavated for the new Interior Building has raised the level along Constitution avenue 9 feet, but more protection may ie needed. Planes Quit Anacostia. At noon Rear Admiral An- drews, acting Secretary of the Navy, ordered naval planes to evacue ate the Naval Air Station at Anacos- tia. Thirty-five ships took off for Hampton Roads at once, and 10 others prepared to follow suit. Meanwhile Lieut. W. J. Matteson, acting District Engineer for the War Department, who will be in charge of the flood control work due to the ill- ness of Maj. Robert G. Guyer, con- | ferred with Montrose W. Hayes, chief of the River and Flood Division of the Weather Bureau for latest information before setting in motion the plans which are expected to call out some 800 Engineer troops from Fort Belvoir to construct the dykes. Park authorities ordered occupants of the Tourist Camp, in Potomac Park, to be ready to evacuate the camp at any time. Seventy-six per- sons were there today. The Agricul- ture Department laid plans to build a dyke to protect the Arlington Ex- perimental Farm. Four in Conference. E. A. Schmitt, senior engineer in the United States Engineer Office; C. Marshall Finnan, superintendent of National Capital parks, and Frank T, Gartside, assistant superintendent of the National Capital parks, also pare ticipated in the conference with Hayes, They planned to meet again this afternoon to make a definite decision. Meantime, the official weather fore- cast this morning was for more “occa= sional rain tonight and Thursday” without much change in temperature. The formal statement from the (See POTOMAC, Page A-6.) Readers’ Guide Page.