Evening Star Newspaper, February 25, 1937, Page 25

Washington News The Foening Stap WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1937. #*# NACLE CONSIDERED 10 DIRECT WORK ON BIG MEMORIAL lefferson Structure Assign- ment to Be Urged by Secretary Ickes. FEDERAL ENGINEER WIDELY EXPERIENCED Had Major Part in Arlington Bridge Construction—Officially Attached to St. Louis. John L. Nagle, prominent Govern- ment engineer who had a major part in the construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, is under consider- ation by the Thomas Jefferson Me- morial Commission and the Interior Department to supervise the building of the memorial here. This was learned today, after it de- veloped that Secretary Ickes will be . asked to sanction Nagle's definite assignment to the post, when pre=- liminary investi- gations have been cleared. Nagle, who is now in f Washington on temporary duty, is officially at- tached to St. Louis, where he is supervising preparations for cons truction of the Louisiana Il e Purchase Me- morial in that city, under the National Park Service, Interior De- partment. Thomas Jefferson had an important part in the Louisiana purchase, whereby the United States practically doubled its area, and which is now represented in some 13 States, with a population aggregating some | 20,000,000 people. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial project is moving forward on another salient here, for Secretary Woodring is being asked to request the chief of Army Engineers, Maj. Gen. Edward M. Markham, to undertake a study of the Tidal Bason. The Army Engi- neers will investigate the proposed re- arrangement of the Tidal Basin area, to fit in with the commission’s pro- gram, especially in its relationship to the flushing of the Washington Chan- nel twice daily, through tidal action. Channel Effect Questioned. Some criticisms have arisen over the plan to place the Thomas Jefferson Memorial at the Tidall Basin, the con- tention being that the volume of water will be cut down and thus interfere with the flushing of the Washington Channel. The engineers concede that electric pumps might be brought into play to flush the channel, instead of depending upon tidal action here, but this whole project is to be given careful study. Washington experiences a tidel range of three feet and this is an im- portant factor in the present Tidal Basin arrangement. Nagle is deemed especially well qualified to supervise the building of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial here. Because of his experience in the foundations for the Arlington Me- morial Bridge, he is believed to have the desired first-hand knowledge of under water conditions necessary for construction of the memorial. It is considered likely that a giant coffer- dam will be constructed in the Tidal ‘Basin, midway between Fifteenth and Seventeenth streets extended, to place the memorial the same distance south of the median line of the Mall as the White House is north of that line. Nagle left Washington, where he lived for many years at 1408 Varnum street, last June, after Secretary Ickes named him to construct the $30,000,000 Louisiana Purchase Me- morial at St. Louis. The memorial is now in the land purchase stage and the project has encountered court difficulties. The BSt. Louis project covers some 37 city blocks. Nagle, a native of Memphis, Mo., is 48 years of age and has been more than a quarter of a century in the Government service. Prior to the re- organization of the Government in August, 1933, by President Roosevelt, Nagle was an engineer in the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital. At one time he served as an engineer in the Chief of Army Engineers’ Office. He made such a fine record there that he was brought to the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission as the senior civilian engineer to supervise the $14,500,000 project across the Poto- mac River. He also had charge of weatherproofing the Washington Monument, as well as a variety of other construction jobs in the Na- tional Capital. Plans for Memorial. At the next meeting of the Fine Arts Commission, March 20, Repre- sentative John J. Boylan, Democrat, of New York, who is chairman of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commis- slon, set up by Congress, will lay be- fore the Fine Arts Commission de- tailed plans for the memorial. While the memorial commission’s request for $1,500,000—half of the cost of the project—is receiving at- tention in the Bureau of the Budget, the Army engineers are preparing to 'k bottom and obtain n for the memorial. Inasmuch as giant cofferdams were built in the Potomac River tc con- stguct the piers for the Arlington Me- morial Bridge, the big cofferdam un- present information. But at;the Tidal Basin they will not have conditions with which tend in the river. It iles will be used on No Bedrock The Army Engineers’ drill at 80 Feet’ being used on_the south shore of the Tidal Basin to find bedrock for the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. (Story on First Page.) —Star Staff Photo. D.C.HOUSE GROUP 10 HEAR JACOBS Director of Fiscal Survey Offers to Appear Next Week. Chairman Collins of the House Sub- committee on Appropriations in charge of the 1938 District supply bill re- ceived a telegram today from J. L. Jacobs, Chicago efficiency engineer, who directed the latest fiscal relations survey, offering to appear before his group any time next week. The wire came in reply to one Col- lins sent Jacobs asking him when he would be available to appear before the subcommittee to explain his com- plicated three-point plan for estab- lishing a new basis of fiscal relation- | ship between the Federal and District Governments. Collins said the date for Jacobs’ ap- pearance would be fixed within the next few days. In advance of the current hearings on the 1938 appropriation bill, Chair- man Collins, it was said, wrote to a number of the principal cities through- out the country to learn whether their municipal hospitals were under the jurisdiction of a welfare agency or the health department. In nearly all cases he found that the health de- partments maintained supervision over the hospitals. Collins plans to complete hearings on the appropriation bill this week and begin a study next week of the Jacobs fiscal relations plan on which the 1938 budget estimates are predicbted. J. L. Jacobs, Chicago efficiency engineer, who directed the latest fiscal relations investigation, is to be the first witness. George Lord, Detroit tax expert, who was employed by the special Mapes Committee of the House when it made a similar inquiry about five years ago, also is to be called as a witness. Collins telegraphed Jacobs, who was at his home in Chicago, to come to Washington “at his con- venience” , sometime next week to testify before the subcommittee. As soon as he completes his testimony Representative Kennedy, Democrat, of Maryland, chairman of a special subcommittee of the House District Committee, plans to call him before his group. Kennedy heads one of the two spe- cial subcommittees created by the House District Committee to make an intensive study of the Jecobs fiscal relations plan and its effect on the District. The Kennedy subcommit- tee will concern itself with recom- mendations in the Jacobs report for raising additional revenue to offset an anticipated deficit if the three-point formula is approved by Congress. The subcommittee yesterday con- sidered estimates of the Public Li- brary and the Highway Department. The principal witnessses were Dr. George F. Bowerman, librarian of the Public Library, and Capt. H. C. White- hurst, director of highways. While Collins declined to reveal the nature of their testimony, he said Dr. Bowerman “made a good case” for the public library system. SPECIAL D. C. DAY PLANNED IN HOUSE District Legislation May Be Taken Up Monday, Lead- ers Agree. House leaders agreed today to give the District a special day Monday to make up for the one it lost Tuesday because of early adjournment out of respect to the memory of the late Representative Buchanan of Texas. Arrangements for the special day were made at a conference between Majority Leader Rayburn and Repre- sentatives Palmisano and Kennedy, ‘both Maryland Democrats and active members of the District Committee. ‘Whether the District gets a special day, however, is dependent on the wishes of Chairman Norton of the District Committee, who is confined to her apartment at Wardman Park Hotel with a cold. Palmisano and Kennedy plan to confer with her later in the day. There are six District bilis on the House calendar which can be con- sidered Monday. One designed to modernize Juvenile Court procedure has the preferred status. The five other bills are minor in character and regarded as non- controversial. The most important of these would establish two classes of cayg of the Lincoln Memorial ‘maumm:umw DISTRCT ELIGBLE FOR UG LOAN Doubt Exists, However, Whether Local Laws Are Broad Enough. ‘The District would be eligible to | share with the States in Federal aid for low-cost housing under the new Wagner-Steagall bill, but there ap- peared to be some doubt today whether existing local laws are broad enough | to cover the borrowing feature of the natfonal program. The Wagner-Steagall bill is based on a combination of loans and grants to public housing agencies throughout the country. In the District, however, the Commissioners cannot borrow money except when specifically au- thorized to do so by Congress. This was demonstrated when a special act became necessary to allow the Com- missioners to apply for P. W. A. loans. Provision for Borrowing. The Alley Dwelling Authority, cre- ated several years ago to improve the inhabited alleys of Washington, has a provision in its law permitting it to borrow money, but that law specifies loans “from individuals or private corporations.” Senator Capper, of Kansas, rank- ing minority member of the District Committee, and sponsor of the alley dwelling law, said today he would make inquiry to determine whether any additional legislation is necessary to insure placing the District on a basis of equality with the States in the Federal housing program. Measure Approved. Officials of the Federal Housing Administration expressed accord wita the bill's principles. Stewart McDonald, housing admin- istrator, will testify in favor of the measure if called on. Senator Wagner, Democrat, of New York said, however, hearings may not be necessary. Wagner conferred with the Presi- dent, McDonald and other administra- tion officials before proposing yester- day a $1,000,000,000 program to “pro- vide better living quarters for millions who now dwell in dismal and in- sanitary surroundings.” Knows Wide Benefit. “I have lived in slums” Wagner recalled today amid preparations to Seek a vote next month. “I know how much this legislation will mean event- ually to some 11,000,000 families as well as to the heavy goods industries. “Judging from the approvals al- ready given, there should be little or no difficulty in achieving passage.” Wagner said the bill, providing for loans and grants to local housing authorities over a four-year period, fitted in with the contemplated policy of handling unemployment as a long- range problem. The Government would appropriate $50,000,000 & year for the four years. Government loans designed to pro- mote $500,000,000 additional expendi- ture from private loans, said Wagner, would make possible about 375,000 low-rent homes. GRAND JURY GIVEN WARRING EVIDENCE Case Presented, It Was Learned, ‘When Defendant Was Sched- uled for Hearing. The case against Emmett Warring, charged with operating a lottery, has already been presented to the grand Jury it was learned today when the defendant was scheduled to be ar- raigned before United States Commis- sioner Needham C. Turnage for a pre- Hminary hearing. Warring, brother of Charles R. (Rags) Warring, convicted recently in police raided what they de- scribed as the headquarters of an al- leged gambling syndicate at 2423 Pennsylvania avenue and arrested three men. ‘These three, Ellis L. (Sugar Pops) Solet,- Edward J. Juliano and Edward Oliver, are under $2,000 bond each, pending grand jury action. They also charged with operating o igttery. M. VERNON BANK CHURCHMEN DENY PLAN MEETS WITH|AID RESPONSIBILITY PRONT APPROVAL New Corporation to Be Formed, Paying Deposi- tors in Full. FIRST TO BE THOSE WITH $100 OR LESS Liquidating Trust Receives Flood of Consents in Form of Depositors’ Notices. A flood of approval today greeted the proposal of the Mount Vernon Liquidating Trust to pay in full de- positors of the closed Mount Vernon Savings Bank through organization of a new corporation. Into the offices of the liquidating trust came a surprising number of documents, signed by depositors of the bank, approving the plan, which had been outlined to them by mail. Under this proposal, the liquidating trust, backed by the International As- sociation of Machinists, would form a new organization, known as the Mount Vernon Mortgage Corp., which would be empowered to enter into more active business than could be allowed a liquidating trust. This new corpo- ration, it is expected, will be able to earn sufficient funds to pay all de- postors of the Mount Vernon in full. ‘The plan provides that the first to receive their deposits in full shall be those who had $100 or less in the bank when it closed in March, 1933. These depositors number about 23,000, and would be paid about $150,000 in about 90 days, when the plan is consum- mated. . Depositors who had $100 or more in the bank when it closed are being asked to approve the plan, whereby they would receive 3 per cent preferred stock in the new Mount Vernon Mort- gage Corp., cumulative as to dividends after December 31, 1939, and callable at any time at par and accumulated dividends. Consent of Depositors. 1t is from these depositors with more than $100 in the bank that the office of the liquidating trust today was re- ceiving a flood of approval in the form of documents known as “Exhibit B.” These exhibits, single sheets of paper, testify that the depositor “consents to the plan,” and incloses his participate ing certificates, representing the bal- ance of his claim against the bank. These participating certificates are ta be held “in escrow for the new corpo- ration until the consummation of the plan,” when the depositor will have issued to him preferred stock in the new corporation dollar for dollar, with adjustment in cash for fractional shares less than $1. The new preferred stock is to be issued in the amount of $1,050,000, and is to be a prior claim on the assets of the mew corporation. Common stock is to be issued in the’ sum of $150,000 by the new corporation, and turned over to the International Association of Machinists, in consid- eration for the assets of a realizable market value of $150,000 turned over to the corporation by the association. This “generous” action of the big machinists’ union, approved by its annual convention, was understood to have been influenced by the fact that the Mount Vernon Savings Bank was one of the first labor banks organized in the United States. The aid of the machinists’ international, therefore, promises to make it possible for all depositors in the institution eventually to receive 100 cents on the dollar, according to officers of the liquidating trust. Tracing the interest of the machin- ists in the bank, the trustees in their letter to depositors say that “in the early days of the depression, large amounts of cash were required to meet the demands of the withdrawing depositors, and the International Association of Machinists voluntarily purchased at par, for cash, $369,000 face value of assets, the market value of which at that time was only a fraction of the face value. And in- deed, the International Association of Machinists, from the inception of the trust, has furnished, without cost, the office space used by your trustees and their employes, in addition to waiving future rent due under the lease with the Mount Vernon Sav- ings Bank.” Officer of Machinists. E. C. Davison, chairman of the board of the Mount Vernon Li- quidating Trust, also is general secretary-treasurer of the Interna- tional Association of Machinists. He is expected to take a prominent part in the direction of the new Mount Vernon Mortgage Corp. The other trustees of the Mount Vernon Liqui- dating Trust are Thomas E. Burke, general secretary-treasurer of the United Association of Journeymen, Plumbers and Steamfitters, and Dr. E. Flavelle Koss. While officers of the new mortgage corporation have not yet been officially chosen, it is expected all three of the liquidating trustees will take an active part in it. Robert T. Highfleld, former vice pres- ident andl cashier of the Mount Vernon Savings Bank, is executive secretary of the Mount Vernon Liquidating The cash will be provided by a loan obtained by the Mount Vernon Mort- gage Corp. from the Reconstruction Finance Corp. This loan is expected to be about $350,000. ‘The Machinists’ Union is circular- izing stockholders in the old Mount Vernon Savings Bank to surrender their stock, which is to be canceled. To these stockholders will be issued, share for share, new common stock in the Mount Vernon Mortgage Corp. It is to pay no dividends, however, until preferred stock is “redeemed or once called for redemption.” The Mount Vernon Savings Bank will surrender its charter under the State of West Vir- Strike for Jobs. ‘WILNO, Poland, February 25 (#).— ‘Twenty World War invalids, unable to obtain employment, locked themselves in a private apartment today on a hunger strike until the Government FOR LOCAL NEEDY Federation Officers Score Views Attributed to Keddy of Budget Bureau. NEW PROPOSED POLICY DECLARED IMPRACTICAL Immediate Care of 3,000 Destitute and Employable Cases Would Be Shifted. Officers of the Federation of Churches were cool and critical to- day toward the opinion attributed to John L. Keddy, assistant Budget Bureau director, that the immediate care of 3,000 destitute and employ- able relief cases in the District was a responsibility of the churches. Dr. C. E. Hawthorne, president of the Federation, and Dr. W. L. Darby, executive secretary, quickly came to the defense of the churches and Jjoined in asserting that such a policy was “impractical” and “impossible of accomplishment.” The reported statement of the Budget official was given as his reason for turning down the recent request of the Commissioners for an $830,000 supplemental appropriation to meet the rising costs of relief dependency until June 30, end of the fiscal year. Without this sum or even a smaller amount, relief workers are unable to cope with a situation which they say has been allowed to develop too long for the good of the community. ‘With other clergymen, the two Fed- eration officers took the position that the effect of the policy said to have been voiced by the Budget official was a repudiation of all public responsi- bility for the care of employables de- nied Federal relief. They were re- sentful also of the apparent asper- |sions cast upon the churches which, they declared, are doing all that can be done now under limited budgets to care for their own needy. Conferences Being Held. That the churches of Washington are not unmindful of their share of responsibility in reflleving distress is indicated, they said, by the fact that conferences are now being held with welfare workers with a view to seeing how much more of the burden the churches can carry. “I don’t think the churches of this city should be criticized by a public official for not being able to take care of the whole burden of providing for these 3,000 families,” Dr. Hawthorne declared for the federation, which is representative of the Protestant faiths, “There is no question but that the churches want to do something. They can and are caring for some of these needy cases, but it should not be ex- pected that they should care for all of them.” Dr. Hawthorne explained that he was not prepared to construe the atti- tude of the budget official as “a thumbe-down policy” for the churches to assume the whole burden of relief. “That job is too big to undertake,” he said. “The churches are not organ=- ized for relief purposes on such a scale. They must care for their own people first and every parish has some de- pendents it must look after.” The federation president asserted that the Government itself had brought about a good deal of the pov- erty in the city by legalizing liquor and for that reason there was all the more reason why ft should not try to thrust wany such relief cases on the churches. Dr. Darby, who has wide and long experience with the relief question in ‘Washington, stoutly defended the rec- ord of the churches. Welfare Board Matter. “The suggestion that the churches alone should assume the entire respon=- sibility for these 3,000 cases is imprac- tical and impossible of accomplish- ment,” the federation secretary said. “That is & matter that rightfully be- longs to the Board of Public Welfare. “The churches in Washington are supporting many destitute familles of their own and will continue to do so and probably will increase the number. “Some people seem to think that all a preacher has to do is to assess the members of his church for any amount he desires, just as the tax assessor col- lects from the public. Well, it can’t be done. The caurches are having trouble enough meeting their own lim- ited budgets and they couldn't begin to collect anywhere near the amount needed to care for such a large num- ber of relief cases.” Dr. Darby reminded that church leaders are having conferences now to determine what and how much they can do to help out in the pres- ent critical relief situation. Some definite plan, he said, may be worked out in another week. Not all of the $830,000 vainly sought by the Commissioners from the Budget Bureau was intended for the estimated 3,000 employable heads of families who are unable to obtain either private or public sasistance due to the acute shortage of available funds from both sources. Approxi- mately $135,000 of the amount was recommended by the Board of Public Welfare to provide more adequate monthly payments to the 4,500 un- employables on relief rolls. They now average $27.50 a month and the increase would permit an additional $5 per month. Inadequate Personnel. With as many as 2,500 employable authorized by Cangress. The churches of the city could do no more than co- operate in the building up of such an organization. The rellet situation is more ‘critical Society and General Heir to 40 Millions Continues As Clerk After Wedding Here John Thomas Auld, Army and Navy Store clerk, who expects to collect a $40,000,000 inheritance, with his bride, a State De- partment clerk, at their home at the McReynolds Apartments. They were married yesterday. The day after his wedding found‘ John Thomas Auld, 33-verr-old heir | to & fortune estimated by him at| more than $40,000,000, back at his duties today as a clerk in a store at Eighth and D streets—with plans, however, for a honeymoon in Scot- | land some months hence for collec- | tion of his inheritance. Auld was married late yesterday to Miss Margaret Esther Dawson, 27- year-old State Department clerk, and the two are “keeping house” at the McReynolds Apartments. The bride, too, plans to continue work for the present, though she is taking several days’ Jeave from her job. Auld and his father, J. H. Auld, an employe of a tobacco manufactur- | ing plant in Richmond, learned two | years ago that they were heirs to an | estate left by the former’s grand- father when he died in Scotland in 1906. The original estate was approxi= mately $12,000,000, but accrued inter- est has greatly increased the amount. According to Auld, his great-grand- father was a clothing manufacturer in Scotland and upon his death left a will in which the fortune was given to his eldest son, and thereafter to| 3 ORDERED HELD | INHOLDUPS HERE Alleged Members of “Red- Haired Bandit’s Gang” Must Face Grand Jury. Three alleged members of the “red- haired bandit's gang” were ordered held for the grand jury under $10,000 bonds each when arraigned in Police Court today before Judge Walter J. Casey. The three are Richard Carl Parks, 19, of 6916 Willow street; Phelps, 18, of 59 Randolph street, and Silvio J. Daneri, 23, of 114 Quincy place northeast. Parks, accused of being the “red- haired bandit,” and Phelps pludedi guilty to two charges of robbery,| while Daneri, said by police to have been the driver in a series of hold-| ups, pleaded not guilty through his| attorney, James A. O'Shea. The cases to which Parks and Phelps pleaded gullty involved Ed- ward Reiss, operator of a delicates- sen at 2016 P street, who was robbed of $24, and Thomas J. Kowalski, drug- gist at 87 K street, from whom $35 was taken. Police said eight other robberies, five housebreakings and two automo- bile larcencies will be charged against the three when their case goes to the grand jury. Phelps was a bit indignant when his case was being presented to Judge Casey. In outlining the charges, As- sistant District Attorney Arthur B. Caldwell told the court Phelps had- served a year for housebreaking. “Are you sure about that?” the youth asked. The prosecutor took another look at the record and changed his state- ment: “I beg your pardon. You were on probation for a year. BAND CONCERT. By the Soldiers’ Home Band Orches- tra in Stanley Hall this evening at 5:30; John 8. M. Zimmermann, band- James | | ported by police until yesterday. master; Anton Pointner, assistant bendmaster. —Star Staff Photo. the eldest son in each succeeding gen- eration. The eldest son of the clothing manu- facturer left Scotland and died in Bos- ton without having claimed the in- heritance. Auld's father also has re- fused to make a claim on the fortune, his son said today. “I plan to go to Scotland about 10 months from now and get the money,” he continued. “The lawyers over there have written me that everything will be straightened out by then and I will get the money.” Scotch solicitors, who lost track of the Aulds before settlement of the estate, trailed the heirs through 13 countries before they finally located | the heirs here, it was said. Auld has a brother, Earl K. Auld, who is living in Washington. His father, a Princeton graduate and | former postmaster at Huntington, W. | Va., lives in Richmond with three other children. After his marriage, the heir to the huge fortune said he plans to use a | part of the money to further the cause of organized labor in America. He is secretary of the District Retail Clerks’ Union. a The wedding took place at the home of Rev. Allan R. Poore, 308 A street northeast. TRAFFIG DEATHS HERE REACH % Harry W. Butz, 58, of New- ark, N. J., Is Latest Ac- cident Fatality. The District's traffic fatality toll stood at 26 today, following the death of Harry W. Butz, 58, of Newark, N. J., injured in an accident Sunday. Butz, who was struck by an auto- mobile at John Marshall place and C street, died late Tuesday in Gallinger Hospital, but his death was not re- The car which hit him, police say, was driven by Clement Nusbaum, 26, of 750 Princeton place. Up to this time last year, 17 persons had been killed in traffic mishaps. Two persons were injured, appar- ently seriously, in traffic accidents here yesterday. John G. Shebby, 21, of 23 H street suffered concussion, multiple cuts and perhaps a skull fracture when his motor cycle was in collision with a truck at Second and H streets. He was taken to Casualty Hospital. The other victin was Lawrence Caldwell, 19, of Mount Rainier, Md.,, passenger in a truck that crashed into a tree at First and Q streets after the driver, Stanley Wersind, 22, of Vienna, Va., swerved to avoid another vehicle. At Homeopathic Hospital it was said Caldwell may have a fractured skull in addition to cuts to the scalp and knee. Abraham Roberts, 70, of 2806 ‘Twenty-sixth street northeast was struck by a street car at North Capitol and N streets, but, according to po- lice, claimed he was not hurt and re- fused hospital treatment. Eagle Shot Near Easton. EASTON, Md.,, February 25 (#).— Edgar Davis saw & bird settle down in his barnyard on his farm near here. He shot at it with a shotgun and wounded it, but had to fire again to kill it. Then he found the bird, which he believed to be a hawk, was a golden eagle with wings 6 feet from tip to tip. Strip-Tease High American Art, Brothers Minsky Tell Congress| BY the Associated Press. The brothers Minsky, who put the strip-tease dance into the Congres- sional Record, defended the shed-: - shirt fandango today as high Amer- ican art. “It’s not altogether what you take off,” said bespectacled Brother Herbert, “but how you take it off.” “M"MMMWM Morton, “who takes it off.” Committee in behalf of a bill to re- strict entry into America of foreign performers. Girls of the United States, they vociferously agreed, have it all over their sisters across the seas when it comes to the fine points of the strip- “For ome thing,” said Herbert, “they've got rhythm.” “And,” added Morton, “they got more looks.” M“@m_b day. Whipping a letter from his pocket with the grace of a dancer dangling a veil, Brother Herbert said hundreds of young American girls are knocking at the doors of burlesque. “Look,” he said, “here’s a letter from s little girl out West some place. She wants to be a stripper. We get piles of them.” i By concentrating on exotic dances, said, the European performers often cause the strip-tease to be a hit and miss affair, “The American stripper,” explained Morton, “doesn’t do that. She goes to school. Sometimes it takes 12 months just to learn how to peel off three gar- ments. That’s native art.” Contending there are all sorts of strip types, the brothers agreed that tease-appeal can be generally ranked on this scale: Red neads—Blonds—Brunettes. “About this bill,” said brother Her- bert, “we want to say that foreign governments have been stripping Uncle Sam for a long while. Now it's time to gtrip them.” » FACING SENTENCE, TOWNSEND OPENS D.C. PENSIONDRIVE Convicted on Contempt Charge, He Carries Through Role in Rally. O’CONNELL DEPLORES “JAILING FOR AN IDEA” Physician Not Surprised by Out- come, but Said His Action Was Not Evil-Intended. Apparently undismayed by his con- viction for contempt of the House of Representatives, Dr. Prancis E. Town- send made a valiant, but seemingly foredoomed attempt to rally support for his old-age pension plan in the Nation's Capital last night. The elderly physician, adjudged guilty of contempt by a District Court jury yesterday for falling to comply with a House subpoena, went through with a Townsend plan organization meeting in Knights of Pythias Hall last night, but only about 50 prospective members attended. In a brief address Dr. Townsend dis- cussed the philosophy of his plan. but ignored the court proceedings. What he left unsaid, however, was more than taken care of by several of his congressional supporters. Representative Jerry J. O'Cqnnell, Democrat, of Montana said “it's a sad commentary that tonight Dr. Town- send is facing prison in the United States.” Employing stronger language, Rep- resentative Dewey Johnson, Farmer- Laborite, of Minnesota said he was “amazed at this attempt to persecute a man merely because he had an idea. The House,” he added, “has reached a new high in stupidity in sending Dr. Townsend to jail. (He has not yet been sentenced.) They may be able to im- prison the man, but I warn them that it is impossible to send an idea to Jail” “Jail Not Worst in U. 8. Representative Harry Sheppard Democrat, of California told Dr. Town- send the “District jail is not by any means the worst in the country.” These three speakers, as well as Representative Joseph Hendricks, Democrat, of Florida indorsed the Townsend plan and predicted its ultl- mate enactment into law. ‘The District Court jury of 11 men and 1 woman found Dr. Townsend guilty of violating the subpoena after Trial Justice Peyton Gordon had or- dered his acquittal cn a second charge that he had failed to answer questions put by the House committee investie gating the pension plan. The Govern- ment stipulated there was no question pending when Dr. Townsend walked out of the hearing room, asserting he would not return except under arrest ‘When the jury brought in its verdict after deliberating only 45 minutes Dr. Townsend, displaying no emotion, said it was nothing more than he hac¢ expected. Asked to explain this statement, he said: “Well, the instructions to the jury were limited to the question of the subpoena, and I did wilfully absent myselt from the committee hearing although not in a spirit of contempt.’ Wilful Significant Word. Overhearing this statement, his at- torney. Elisha Hanson, interjected “What's that? Wait a minute. Yot | didn't wilfully leave the hearing 4 Pausing »« moment in surprise, Dr | Townsend answered: “But how coulc I have absented myself except wilfullyi I am my own moral agent.” Hanson then pointed out that the word “wilfully” had a definite lega significance, and Dr. Townsend quali- flea his statement with the assertior that he had no “evil intent” in leaving the hearing United States Attorney Leslie C Garnett, who was in charge of the prosecution, said he had no objectior to permitting Dr. Townsend to remain at liberty on $1,000 cash bond, pending the filing of & motion for a new tria. and the preparation of an appeal by the defense. The trial lasted but two days, ané Dr. Townsend, testifying in his owr behalf, was on the stand only about 1C minutes. He denied being in contempt of the House and said he had never agreed to walk out on the committee | as a publicity move. Following the verdict, Dr. Townsenc¢ said he expects to busy himself here for several days in the effort to organ- ize Townsend clubs. Another meeting of his supporters will be held next Wednesday. MORCISCHEK ADMITS BUGHER GEM THEFT Butler Pleads Guilty in Court to Charge of Stealing $1,100 Worth of Jewelry. John Morcischek, 48, butler for so- clally - prominent Mrs. Henrietta Bugher, 1785 Massachusetts avenue, pleaded guilty in Mistrict Cour* today to two indictments charging theft of $1,100 worth of jewelry. He was ar« rested several weeks ago, after Mrs Bugher had reported that some $300,- 000 in jewels had been stolen from her apartment. The arrest of Morcischek resulted in an extensive police investigation and the uncovering of what was thought to be a backstairs gem theft plot among the servants of the wealthy. For convenience Morcischek was in- dicted on charges alleging theft of only two articles, a $600 pin belonging to Mrs. Bugher and a $500 watch owned by her son, Frederick McLean Bugher. A maximum sentence of 20 years’ im= prisonment may te imposed on the in- dictments. A large quantity of the jewelry has been recovered in New York. Education Law in Cuba. Havana University and other instie tutions are preparing to resume age tivities following the passage of the educational fi'fl law in Oubs.