Evening Star Newspaper, August 10, 1936, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bure: Showers tonight and row morning; somewhat Temperatures—Highest, terday; lowest, 66, at 4 a.m. today. report on page A-2. Closing New York Markets, Page 16 No. 33,704 AMERICANS URGED 10 LEAVE MADRID BY EMBASSY AIDE; INSURGENTS GAIN 15 or 20 of 200 Citizens in Capital Agree to Board | Quincy at Valencia as Wendelin Cites Danger. REBELS BATTERING . AT SAN SEBASTIAN Report Capture of Town and Prov- ince of Santander—Shortage of Food and Water Reported in North—Britain Protests Death of Subject. BACKGROUND— Spanish rebellion started July 18 in Morocco and spread to Spain, where rebels are strong in north. They hoped to take Madrid quickly, but navy generally is re- maining loyal to the government and makes it difficult for rebels to bring their 40,000 troops from Morocco. So far only about 8.000 have been brought to the mainland by air and sea. Liberals compose Madrid govern= ment and Fascist rebels seek to overthrow regime. Government includes Socialists, Communists and others who believe in popular rule. Rebels are Fascist party, much of the regular army, supporters of a powerful church, ‘monasteries, property owners and those who are for a strong central government. BULLETIN, ‘The possibility of the re-estab- lishment of a European squadron of the Navy emerged today from a White House conference attended by President Roosevelt, Secretary Swanson and Admiral William H. Standley, chief of naval opera- tions. By thic Associated Press. American Embassy officials, alarmed by what they described as an in- creasingly threatening - situation af- tended by much shooting, have urged all Americans in Madrid to leave the Spanish capital. Eric C. Wendelin, American Charge | d’Affaires, notified the State Depart- ment to this effect in a message filed at 6 o'clock last night, Spanish time. He said he had urged American | eitizens to leave Madrid on the night | train tonight so as to take advantage | of what he thought might be the last opportunity for them to be evacuated aboard the cruiser Quincy. Capture of the town and province of Santander, on the Bay of Biscay, was announced by a Spanish rebel | radio station today as word filtered | through that other far northern com- munities faced a shortage of both food and water. Loyalists Fight Doggedly. ‘Targets of bitter Fascist attacks by both shell and rifle fire as the rebels fought for access to the northern sea- | board, which would assure them more | arms and ammunition, the northern | loyalist-held communities of San Se- | bastian, Renteria and Irun were re- ported to be fighting doggedly for their existence. Wendelin said that as a result of his warning some 15 or 20 of the approximately 200 Americans still in | Madrid had signified their intention of going to Valencia tonight. Wendelin said he was in touch with the Quincy, which had notified him it would return to Valencia tomor- row morning to pick up any refuges from Madrid. The Navy Department said the Quincy arrived last night &t Palma in the Balearic Islands. Wendelin did not explain his rea- sons for believing the next trip of the Quincy to Valencia might be the last opportunity for Americans to be evacuated by the cruiser. At| the State Department it was said | there were no immediate plans to| withdraw the Quincy from Spanish waters. Britain Files Protest. Meanwhile, the death of a retired British naval officer from a Spanish yebel shell while aboard his yacht in (See SPAIN, Page A-5.) — HUGHES HOPS OFF ON MYSTERY FLIGHT Globe-Girdling Plans Recalled as Plane Clears With 1,250 Gallons of Fuel. By the Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, August 10.—How- ard Hughes, millionaire sportsman- fiyer, took off early today from Union Terminal in his transport *flying laboratory” plane loaded with 3,250 gallons of fuel. His destination was unannounced. Officials at the Transcontinental & Western Airport at Albuquerque, N. Mex., said they received a radio mes- sage at about 8:25 am. (10:25 Eastern standard time) from Hughes inquiring sbout upper air weather conditions end wind velocity. Hughes, however, did not give his position or destina- tion. His course indicated he was fol- Jowing & regular transport route. Hughes, who cloaks his aviation exploits in secrecy, recently received an allotment from the Federal Gov- ernment of a special radio wave length for possible use on a flight around the world. He denied he con- templated such a project in the im- mediate future, but admitted he would use the radio for “several long hops.” Hangars of the Hughes Aircraft Co. | of blood.” au Forecast.) probably tomor- cooler tomorrow. 86, at 4 p.m. yes- Full Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. Senator Holt to Lemke and O’Brien Also on Program for Convention. By the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, August 10.—Walter D. Davis, grand marshal of the first national convention of Rev. Charles E. Coughlin’s National Union for So- cial Justice, announced today Sena- tor Rush D. Holt, Democrat, of West Virginia would deliver the keynote address at the opening session of the three-day convention here Friday, Au- gust 14. Davis also announced that Repre- sentative William Lemke of North Dakota and Thomas C. O'Brien of Boston, candidates respectively for President and Vice President of the Union party ticket, would address the convention at a general mass meet- ing in Cleveland Stadium Sunday, August 16. Father Coughlin, who has indorsed the candidacies of the new party's leaders, is to be the principal speaker at the stadium rally, Davis said. The convention program lists Syl- vester V. McMahon of Cleveland, national secretary and Ohio State su- pervisor of the union, as permanent chairman. He is scheduled to address | the delegates and alternatcs, whose | number Davis estimated at 8,000, at the Friday morning session. Father Coughlin, Davis said, is to greet the delegates and respond to the welcome from Mayor Harold H. Burton at the initial meeting. CASH BET REQUIRED. Jenckes Refuses to Wager Against Coughlin Notes. PROVIDENCE, R. L, August 10 (#).—Replying to a wire from Rev. Charles E. Coughlin today, Frederick L. Jenckes said that promissory notes for $25,000 for the priest's share of a ah ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ¢ Fpening Star WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1936—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. Be Keynoter Before Coughlin Union Friday SENATOR HOLT. bet on whether Lemke would lead Landon in Rhode Island at the No- vember election were not good enough. Promissory notes posted for a wager, as “you well know,” wired Jenckes, “would be uncollectible.” He insisted that cash be posted and stated that his share of the 3-to-2 wager, $16,- 666.66, in cash was ready. In his wire Father Coughlin said he was willing to take oath that in his Rhode Island address more than a week ago, when he offered to be $25,000, giving odds of 3 to 2, that Lemke would “lead” Landon, he con- fined the bet to Rhode Islard, not to the country at large. Jenckes wired he was willing to accept that amend- ment under oath. The priest also selected the Black- stone Canal National Bank of this city as stakeholder for the bet, and Jenckes wired that that was satis- factory to him. SWIMMERS PACED BY JAPAN'S STARS U. S. Olympic Entrants Trail—Dutch Girl Shat- ters Record. E the Associated Press. BERLIN, August 10.— America's swimmers continued to take the wash of the Japanese and the Dutch today | as the end of sensational track and field competition left the eleventh | Olympic games bereft of their prime | attraction. Olive McKean of Seattle and Kath- erine Rawls of Miami, Fla., finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the women's 100-meter free-style final, which Rita Mastenbroek of Holland won in new Olympic record time of 1:05.9, displacing Helene Madison's former standard of 1:06.8. America’s 800-meter free-style relay team of Charlie Nutter, Ralph Gilman, Paul Wolf and Jack Medica, won its | trial heat in 9:10.4 and qualified for tomorrow’s final, but appeared to have | no chance against a crack Japanese | | quartet which set a new Olympic rec- | ord of 8:56.1 in winning its heat. | John Macionis of Yale and Ralph Flanagan of Miami each finished sec- | ond in preliminary trials of 400-meter free style ' competition. Macionis | trailed Hiroshi Negami of Japan and | (See OLYMPICS, Page A-2.) WOODRUM IS INJURED AS CAR RAMS HOUSE Virginia Representative Suffers Scalp Lacerations in Crash at Toano. By the Associated Press. TOANO, Va, August 10.—Repre- sentative Clifton Woodrum of the sixth Virginia district was injured here early today when his automobile failed to round a sharp turn at the east end of Toano and crashed into the Community House. Attendants at Bell Hospital in Wil- | liamsburg, to which he was taken by | ambulance, said the Virginian suf- fered scalp lacerations and “lost a lot ‘They believed, however, that his injuries were not serious. ‘Woodrum, who was the keynoter at the last State Democratic Convention, was said by Sheriff L. P. Trice of James City County to have been en route alone to Langley Field when, about 5 a.m. his automobile slipped on the curve, ran a short way on the right shoulder and struck the Toano Community Building. The machine was sald to have been demolished. Mrs. Woodrum, at Langley Field, was notified of the accident, came in an ambulance to Williamsburg, and brought the Representative on to Langley. BY ROBERT B. PARKER, JR. Associated Press Staff Writer. SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain, August 10.—Hunger and thirst menaced this besieged Loyalist seaside resort today. Rebel guns pounded away at its de- termined defenders, at its citizens, at its once-sleepy streets, at its homes and its modest collection of business establishments, patronized in a hap- pier day by seashore holiday crowds. Day by day the rebels, intent upon wiping out what little vestige of Loy- alist strength there is on the Bay of Biscay, shell the city. Defeat of the Loyalists within it means passageway to the sea for insurgents, who want more arms and ammunition. Advices from both Hendaye, France, and Madrid said the insurgents were congregating in large force south of San Sebastian and nearby Irun ap- parently for a vicious assault on both cities for the purpose of protecting the at the air terminal here were dark and fleld attaches said they had no idea where Hughes might be flying. » rear guard of the Fascist legions at- tempting to take Madrid. Food is becoming scarce. Officials L3 LINDBERGH IRATE OVER CAMERAMEN Nearly Bolts Congress at Which He Is to Display Mechanical Heart. Py tne Associated Press. COPENHAGEN, August 10.—Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, angered by the presence of photographers, was to demonstrate his mechanical heart. He agreed to remain, however, after Dr. Hans G, Fischer, head of the Dan- ish Biological Institute, obtained an agreement from the photographers to confine their pictures to group shots. Dr. Fischer, president, called the in- ternational Congress of Expericental Cytology to order with 200 scientists | present in the common hall of the Danish Paliament. Nobel Prize Winners Speak. After brief addresses by two Nobel science prize winners—Dr. Alexis Carrel of New York, and Dr. August Krogh of Copenhagen—the delegates adjourned to meet later at the insti- tute for the demonstration of the heart invented by Lindbergh and Dr. Carrel. The mechanical heart was to be presented to the institute after the demonstration in recognition of the facilities it extended in preparation for the experiment. Col. Lindbergh completed final ar- rangements for the demonstration and moved from the home of Capt. An- dreas Dam, his host, to the hotel in which Dr. Carrel is staying. The two discussed final details, but declined to disclose in advance any possible new scientific secrets which their later researches may have pro- duced. “That's Lindbergh’s business,” curtly answered Dr. Carrel to inquiries re- garding the heart apparatus. Delegates to the scientific conven- tion were guests of the Danish tourist organization at a supper last night, while Col. and Mrs. Lindbergh were entertained by the Charge d'Affaires and Mrs. North Winship at the United States Legation. Completed Last Year. After more than four years' ex- perimentation and study, Col. Lind- bergh and Dr. Carrel announced com- pletion of their mechanical heart in June, 1935. Hailed as a discovery in medical (See LINDBERGH, Page A-3.) 0il Expert Dies in Vienna. VIENNA, August 10 (#).—Carrick Foster Cochrane, 44, oil expert and a member of the board of the Vacuum Oil Co, died here today. He was organizer and manager of the com- pany’s Central European branch re- fineries. San Sebastian F. eeling Hunger And Thirst in Rebels’ Siege admitted even the water is being ra- tioned. Rebels have cut off part of the city’s water supply, and each per- son is forced to get along on half or less of the water he normally uses. A similar situation is said to exist in both Renteria and Irun, a few miles to the east. The populace of San Sebastian is nervous and sleepless. Most of the residents show the effects of priva- tion and of lying awake at night lis- i tening for the imminent and veno- mous whine of a rebel shell. Juan Imparte, 24-year-old com- missar of communications, took me in his luxurious limousine up mountain roads to Arlaiz, where the Loyalists have two field guns planted to com- mand a valley below. Painted on the side of the machine in red was an anarchist symbol. Imparte is one of 10 commissars governing the San Sebastian area for (See SIEGE, Page A-5.) k 4 today | | nearly bolted the opening session of | a scientific congress at which he later QUICK TRIAL SEEN FOR HALL BOY IN CLEVENGERKILLING Co-ed Slaying Mystery Is Cleared by Confession, Sheriff Declares. ROBBERY SOLE MOTIVE, HOTEL WORKER SAYS Officers Used Fingerprint Ruse to Trap Colored Youth Not Pre- viously Suspected. By tne Assoclated Press. ASHEVILLE, N. C, August 10—An early trial was promised today for Martin Moore, 22, colored hotel em- ploye who, Sheriff Laurence Brown said, confessed he killed Helen Cleven- ger, blond New York co-ed, in a mo- ment of panic when he went to her room to rifle it. Solicitor Zeb V. Nettles said the gangling hall boy at the fashionable Battery Park Hotel, where the New York University student was staying, would be tried at a term of court be- ginning next Monday. The prisoner, arrested Saturday night and questioned for hours be- fore Sheriff Brown said he confessed he shot and clubbed the 18-year-old girl to death, was held in the county’s penthouse jail atop its skyscraper court house. Attempted Assault Denied. Moore denied that he attempted to assault the girl. Robbery, the sheriff quoted the Confession, was his only motive, and he entered the room, after trying several others, on finding the door unlocked. “When I got in the room,” the sheriff said the confession related, “she screamed, and that'’s why I shot her. “She screamed some more and started | to run out. I struck her with the gun. | ‘When she fell on the floor I struck her ‘ Tevernl times more to stop her scream- ng.” Sheriff Brown sald he was convinced | that the girl had not been otherwise | assaulted. The undertaker, the coroner and a physiclan said there was evidence of | an attack, but later three physicians | made an examination and could not agree. | Toward the end of the investigation Sheriff Brown and his deputies were | aided by Walter B. Orr, former Char- | lotte, N. C. police chief, and two | members of the New York City homi- | cide squad, Sergt. Thomas J. Martin | | and John J. Quinn. Fingerprint Ruse Effective. Officers disclosed a well-known police ruse—that of telling a prisoner his fingerprints were found on the scene | of the crime—caused the prisoner to “break,” thinking he was trapped. There were no fingerprints in the girl's | room of any value. Eight persons were detained during the investigation only to be released later. They included Marx Wollner, 33, | concert violinist known on three conti- | nents; Mildred Ward, 19, his sweet- | heart, who substantiated his alibi; | Prof. W. L. Clevenger, the vk.‘txm‘s; bachelor uncle with whom she was | traveling. and several hotel employes. | Daniel H. Gaddy, 28-year-old nignt | watchman, was detained for thre2 weeks—almost the whole course of the | investigation—on a surmise, the | | sheriff said, that he “knew something " Although severa! colored employes of the hotel had been detained for | questioning, Moore's name never had been brought into the case. During the 24 days between the kill- ing and his arrest, he worked at the hotel daily, sweeping the carpets out- side the second floor room in which the girl was shot and clubbed. Information that finally broke the baffling mystery, officers disclosed, was a tip from Banks Taylor, a pantry boy at the hotel, that Moore owned a pistol of the type used in the crime. (See CLEVENGER, Page A-4.) DALMATIANS CHEER EDWARD ON ARRIVAL Prince Regent Paul Greets British Monarch While Peasants Sing and Dance. BY the Associated Press. SIBENIK, Yugoslavia, August 10.— Dalmatia arose with the sun today to greet King Edward VIII en route to a vacation cruise in the Adriatic. The British monarch was welcomed to Yugoslavia by Prince Regent Paul. At Zagreb, where the train with his two royal private cars attached paused for 15 minutes, great crowds cheered the King. Yugoslav papers devoted whole pages to the King and preparations for receiving him. The welcoming plans included a demonstration of na- tive singing and dancing by peasants in colorful costumes. King Edward made the trip from Salzburg, Austria, where he spent part of yesterday. The King traveled in- cognito as the Duke of Lancaster. He boarded the yacht Nahlin shortly after his arrival. Two Brit- ish destroyers will convoy the royal vessel. Mel_c/zer HOLLYWOOD The Star’s dramatic critic writes another chapter on the stars of the Movie Capital today on. Page A-11 in The Evening Star AT HAVE Yo GOT IN THE of]zé’ HAND?~ /3 MRS.GREENNAMIED T0 HANDLE ESTATE To Be Permanent Adminis- tratrix—Court Appoints - Appraisal Board. By the Associated Press. KAUFMAN, Tex., August 10.—Mrs. Mabel H. Green, widow of Col. Ed- | ward H. R. Green, railroad magnate, | was named permanent administratrix | of this vast estate, estimated at $80,- 000,000, in a brief hearing here today. County Judge Ben Brooks, Texas' youngest jurist, made permanent the appointment of Mrs. Green, temporar- ily named after application for let- ters of administration were filed July 28. Judge Brooks set her bond at $50,- 000, which he described as an “ap- propriate bond for the Texas hold- ings of the estate at this particulay time.” He stressed, however, that the amount of the bond would be increased as the value of the entire estate is learned. Appraisal Board Named. A three-man appraisal board, com- posed of W. P. Allen, Edwin Brim and T. B. Griffith, all of Terrell, Tex., was named by the court to complete an inventory and appraisal of the entire Green estate within 60 days. The court reserved the right to extend the period of time if a complete ap- praisal had not been accomplished at that time. Mrs. Green's appointment was not contested. Attorneys for Mrs. Mat- thew Astor Wilks of New York, sister of Col. Green, was reported as pos- sible contestants. A will Col. Green made in 1908, naming his sister sole heir to his for- tune, was filed in Port Henry, N. Y., recently. The document made no pro- vision for his widow, whom he gave | $500,000 in cash and $125000 in Liberty bonds as a wedding gift in | 1917, C. M. Crumbaugh, Mrs. Green's at- torney, called W. P. Allen of Terrell, long-time friend of Green, to the wit- ness stand as his sole witness. Allen said Col. Green, son of the late Hetty Green, woman financier, came to Terrell in “either 1892 or 1893." Allen, president of the Amer- ican National Bank at Terrell, said he attended Col. Green's funeralat Round Hill, Mass,, in June. The Terrell banker testified Col. Green maintained a domicile at Terrell and paid his poll tax there until he was 60 years of age. Testimony on Residence. “Wherever he was, Col. Green always came to Terrell to vote in presidential elections,” the banker said. “So far as I know, he never abandoned his domicile at Terrell.” This fact, established through Allen's | testimony, was expected to play a major part in any possible future con- troversy over disposition of the estate. Under Texas laws, Mrs. Green is en- titled to all personal property accrued by her husband subsequent to their marriage. Crumbaugh, in recommending a $50,000 bond to the court, said “no- body knows what the assets of the Green estate are at this particular time.” It has been variously estimated from $50,000,000 to $80,000,000, Friends Visit W. C. Fields. PASADENA, Calif., August 10 (#).— ‘W. C. Fields, motion picture comedian, was reported today as convalescing slowly in a sanitarium here from the effects of an attack of pneumonia he suffered several weeks ago. The bulbous-nosed actor with the stentorian voice is able to sit up a few hours daily, it was stated, and re- ceives visits from a few intimate friends. Readers’ Guide Amusements Answers to Questions Death Notices _ Editorial . Finance T GREE i IN Business Skips Summer Slack In Improving By the Associated Press. With manufacturing production placed at the highest point since the Spring of 1930, the Commerce Depart- ment reported today that business ac- | tivity was continuing without suffering from the usual Summer slackening. With the years 1923-25 taken as 100, the department’s seasonally ad- Jjusted index of manufacturing ad- vanced three points in June to 104. A | further rise, the department said, was indicated for July. | The steel industry was described as “unusually active” last month, with electrical equipment, machinery and | building supply industries also gaining. | Automobile “production dropped off | (See BUSINESS, Page A-2.) CROPREPORT DUE - 10 GUDE RELIEF Expert Analysis on Drought Area Conditions to Be Issued Today. Ey iLe Associated Press. [ Anxious farmers and commodity | traders looked towdrd the Capital| today for one of the most momentous | crop reports in history. In this expert analysis of conditions in the agricultural areas, which will| reflect the havoc wrought by the drought, Federal officials expected to find a guide to relief demands on the Government. | The report of indicated crop pro- | duction, based on conditions as ef August 1, and prepared with the greatest secrecy, was scheduled to be made public at 3 p.m. Secretary Wallace, who is now pre- | paring a general drought report, told newsmen the official crop estimates will furnish an accurate yardstick on what help will be needed by thousands of farmers. He said that until the estimates were available—especially on corn— the national drought needs for carry- ing farmers and live stock through the Winter could not be determined, Corn Crop Estimate. During the last month the drought has dealt its hardest blows to much of the corn belt. On July 1 Govern- ment experts estimated a corn crop of 2,244,834,000 bushels, a little less than the crop last year and the aver- age yield between 1928 and 1932. It is known that searing tempera- tures and lack of moisture will cut down the corn forecast, but the exact figure will guide many farmers who have cattle, hogs and sheep which ordinarily would be fed for marketing or carried through the Winter. ‘Wallace said that if the crop was below 2,000,000,000 bushels, imports of corn probably would be larger than last year, when almost 35,000,000 (See DROUGHT, Page A-5.) PR Brazil's Fascists Legalized. RIO DE JANEIRO (#).—The high electoral tribunal by a vote of 3 to 2 decided that “Brazilian integralist ac- tion,” the Fascist party, had a legal right to function in Brazil. It dis- missed a suit brought by the dis- solved Communist party. Court Refusesto The only SATURDAY'| Circulation, in Washington wit! Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. S 123,241 evening paper the SUNDAY'S Circulation, 137,086 (Some returns not yet received.) *%%k%% (P Means Associated Press. TWO CENTS. 70 NISH NEUTRALRY PRINCIPLE IF AND,AND BUT- HOLLYWOOD WAITS MARY ASTOR DIARY Attorney for Dr. Thorpe to Seek to Introduce Notebook. BULLETIN. LOS ANGELES, August 10 (#)— Mary Astor took the witness stand for cross-examination today in her marital dispute with Dr. Franklyn ‘Thorpe and immediately a flurry of objections interrupted the question- ing. Before the auburn-haired actress was called Superior Judge Goodwin J. Knight ordered a bench warrant issued for George S. Kauf- man, Broadway dramatist under subpoena to testify, Kaufman was not in court, By tne Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, August 10.—By all outward appearances determined to have a showdown, Mary Astor and Dr, Franklyn Thorpe again turned to the court room today for another round of the emotional battle that wrecked their home. Denials from both sides greeted rumors of week-end conciliation con- with profound expectancy whether the hearing would bring to light a diary in which the surgeon charged his actress wife detailed her romances. Joseph Anderson, Dr. Thorpe's at- torney, announced he would seek to introduce the diary in evidence. Fight Centers on Daughter. ‘The court fight centers over custody of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter Marylyn, but Miss Astor also seeks | to annul their marriage on the con- tention Dr. Thorpe never was divorced from a previous union with Lillian Lawton Miles. The gray-templed 44-year-old sur- geon has contended Miss Astor made | the following diary entry two months before they were divorced last year: “I love George * * * and the least I can do is save him from a messy scandal.” Pressed by cross-questioning, the actress testified just before the hear- ing recessed a week ago that her husband had known of her associa- tion in 1934 with George S. Kaufman, Broadway and screen dramatist, and had “condoned it.” Kaufman Subpoenaed. Kaufman, found by process servers on a yachting party, was subpoenaed to appear for Dr. Thorpe today. John Barrymore has been mentioned in the case by the surgeon’s counsel, who discussed the possibility the ailing actor might be served with a witness summons at the sanitarium where he has been confined for several weeks. Attorney Anderson said other film | figures “of considerable prominence” might be drawn in before the hearings are concluded. Reports had the num- ber varying from 10 to 22. Dr. Thorpe has denied he ever wed Mrs. Miles, but admitted he was married and divorced nearly 20 years ago to another woman. N Test Flights Planned. LOS ANGELES, August 10 (#).— Plans for spending $200,000 on experi- mental long range flights through the sub-stratosphere were disclosed today by officials of the Transcontinental & Western Air. Jail Divorced Father in Child Support Case The United States Court of Appeals ruled today that a divorced father can- not be imprisoned for failing to obey a court order directing him to support his minor children. This opinion was announced in a suit brought by Louis W. Rapeer, head of the Research University, contest- ing the validity of a District Court order directing his imprisonment for contempt for alleged failure to pay $1,284 to his divorced wife for the maintenance of a minor child. Mrs. Rapeer obtained an absolute divorce 1n Virgina and then brought maintenance proceedings in this court on behalf of the children. After Ra- peer had fallen behind in his pay- ments, she asked the local court a year ago to commit him to the District Jail for contempt. This was done, and Rapeer, through Attorneys Ray- mond M. and Minor Hudson, brought habeas corpus proceedings, contending 4 the District Court was without au- thority to order his imprisonment un- der the circumstances. The lower court refused to accept this view, but the Court of Appeals held Rapeer’s po- sition was properly taken. The appellate ruling was based on peculiar wording of the District code, which was held to operate as a limi- tation on the manner in which the court can enforce a maintenance order against a divorced father for the support of his children. “All we rule is that section 102 (the section in question) is a limitation upon the power of the Supreme Court of the District in respect of the man- ner of enforcing its orders and that it permits enforcement by imprison- ment for contempt ‘decrees only di- recting the payment of money’ only in cases especially provided for, and that & maintenance order for chil- dren against a divorced father is not such & case.” ROOSEVELT VOICES HOPE FOR SUCCESS OF LIBERAL PLANS Tells Labor Unit Return to Reaction Is Ever Short- Lived. ferences, and all Hpllywood v\'altedi to see| NEW 1940 ALIGNMENT SUGGESTED BY BERRY. Chance in Policy of Non-Partisan League Hinted at First Na- tional Convention. BACKGROUND— Labor’s Non-Partisan League was organized three months ago with the announced intention of putting “American Federation of Labor on record for Roosevelt.” Chief organ= izer was George L. Berry, president of the Printing Pressmen’s Union, former N. R. A. official and later head of the President’s Committee for Industrial Co-ordination. Berry had predicted that Presi- dent Roosevelt would get “100 per cent active support” in his cam- paign from “all of labor and friends of labor.” By tre Associated Press. Labor's Non-Par‘‘<an League’s first national convention jvas told today by President Roosew/it that he was confident future history would show, as it had in the past, that a “return to reactionary practices is ever shorte lived.” Just before the President's letter was read to the convention, George L. Berry, league president, asserted that accomplishment of its first objective— re-election of Mr. Roosevelt—would not complete its task and suggested that the league would have a part in a “new political alignment” in 1940, In his letter, the President said: “During the past three years we have endeavored to correct through legislation certain of the evils in our economic system. We have sought to put a stop to certain economic practices which did not promote the general welfare ‘Some of the laws which were en- acted were declared invalid by the Supreme Court. It is & notable fact that it was not the wage earners who aheered when those laws were de- clared invalid. Cites Faith in Future, | “I greet you in the faith that future history will show, as past history has | 50 repeatedly and so effectively shown, | that a return to reactionary practices is ever short-lived “Having tasted the benefits of lib- eration, men and women do not for long forego those benefits. I have implicit faith that we shall find our way to progress through law.” The President said he was “proud” that the league was holding its meet- ing in support of his candidacy for re-election. “This could not be the case” he | added, “if you did not know, out of the experience of the past three years, that the present administration has endeavored to promote the ideal of Jjustice for the great masses of Amer- ica’s wage eamers and to make that ideal a reality.” | Berry Addresses Group. | In his opening speech before the | convention, Berry said “Our first plank has an objective for 1936. It is simplicity in itself— the re-election of Franklin Delano | Roosevelt to the presidency of the United States. “The second plank has to do with | & more permanent proposition, but not a more certain proposition. We're pro= | posing that Labor's Non-Partisan | League shall become a permanent proposition.” Reiterating that Mr. Roosevelt's re« election would not complete the league’s work, Berry added: “The second plank contemplates that we shall walk with him and support him in his second administrae tion. “We propose to march with him until 1940. And then we propose to continue to march for progressive and liberal policies in the United States.” Berry said “foes of reaction” should prepare themselves for a party ree alignment—“not to take the crumbs from the table, but to prepare for the feast” with the “establishment of a Liberty party if necessary.” John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers, and Sidney Hillman, president of the Amalga- mated Clothing Workers, sat by his side as Berry talked to representa- (See BERRY. Page A-2) STRIKE THREATENS TOLEDO GAS SUPPLY Employes of Two Plants Walk Out After Reporting for Work. By *be Associated Press. TOLEDO, Ohio, August 10.—Eme ployes of the Ohio Fuel Gas Co. and the Northwestern Ohio Natural Gas Co. walked out on strike today, and I. A. Ludwig, general manager of the companies, said unless skeleton crews at the plants are augmented the city's gas service might be shut down. Ludwig characterized the situation as “serious,” asserting scores of indus- tries, hospitals, stores and homes would be affected if service was halted. ‘The employes reported for work this morning, Ludwig said, but left their posts half an hour later after claim- ing the companies had failed to offer assurances regarding a recently an- nounced intention to reduce forces for purposes of economy. Simultaneously, striking members of the Flat Glass Workers' Union clashed with sheriff’s deputies who, union offi- cials said, attempted to reopen the closed plant of the Owens-Illinois Glass Co., where operations were sus- pended six weeks ago in a controversy over wages and working conditions. Deputies reported no one was in- Jured seriously, {