Evening Star Newspaper, February 26, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. S. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Fair, continued cold tonight; minimum temperature about 20 degrees; tomorrow fair; gentle to moderate west and north- west winds. Temperatures—Highest, 31, at 2 pm. yesterday; lowest, 20, at 2:30 a.m. today. Full report on page A-12. Closing New York Markets, Page 16 85th YEAR. No. 33904 STRIKERS EVICTED BY POLICE GAS IN WAUKEGAN FIGHT Chevrolet Assembly Plant In Wisconsin Closed in New Disputes. TOTAL IDLE IN NATION ESTIMATED AT 33,000 1,000 Quit Work in Factory Which Makes Parts for Ford, Chrysler. BACKGROUND— k Sit-down strike was popularized in America by United Automobile Workers of America, who -used it against General Motors Corp., be= ginning last December. G. M. C. obtained court order to have strikers evicted, but ncver used it. Finally peaceful evacuation was arranged and both sides agreed to bargain. After that agreement many other workers in similar as well as dis= similar industries began using sit= down methods. Some operators, bolder than G. M. C., had the strikers evicted; in several places the workers repulsed the officers who came to throw them out. Growing wave of strikes yesterday brought total idle in labor troubles to about 27,000 in more than 50 firms. B the Associated Press. The sit-down strike technique lost further ground today. But picket lines held fast at numerous points of in- dustrial unrest across the Nation. Total strike idle ranged near 33,000. Law enforcement officials in a sur- prise early morning lodged 61 sit-downers with tear gas Metallurgical Co., in North Chicago, 1. The group had held the prop- ' motive plants was carried into strike | battle in which two escaped Michigan | move forcibly dis- | Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. O. Suicide by Gas Planned for Six Months, Note Reveals. ‘Harry M. Crandall, whose pioneering venture into the motion picture the- ater business here 30 years ago brought him fame, fortune and, finally, sorrow, ended his life by illuminating gas early today after penning a plea to the “newspaper boys” that they re- frain from-being “too hard” on him. ‘The 60-year-old former builder and operator of a chain of more than a score of movie houses in Washington and vicinity now conducted by Warner Bros., was found slumped in a chair by police, who ignored a “Do not dis- turb” sign on the door of a suite on the ninth floor of the Parkside Apart- ments, Thirteenth and I streets. A postscript on the note to the newspaper men revealed he had rented the rooms six months ago for the purpose of committing suicide, but had failed to get up sufficient nerve to go through with it until his attempt today. The sole reason for his act, he said in one of two notes found with the body, was despondency over loss of his theaters. He "had retired from the theater business in 1929, when War- ner Bros. acquired the chain, which includes the Earle, Metropolitan and Tivoli theaters. @h Onee Theater <« WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION « The only evening in Washington wit! aper the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. ¢ Foening Sfar WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1937—FORTY-SIX PAGES. HARRY M.CRANDALL. A tragedy which had a profound effect on his life was the collapse during a snowstorm of his Knicker- | bocker Theater at Eighteenth street and Columbia road, on January 28, 1922, with the loss of 98 lives. Although relieved of liability for the catastrophe by the courts, Crandall's friends said he always brooded over the disaster. Incidentally, Crandall See CRANDALL, Page A-3) (See JHHR. WEEK ISSUE PUSHED BY U.A. W. Minimum Hourly Wage Also Discussed in General Motors Parley. BY the Associated Press. DETROIT, February 26.—A | hourly wage in General Motors auto- | pro- bombs frem the plants of the Fansteel | posal to establish a national minimum | Sergt. John Thomas Sullivan died w- | THIRD MAN DIES AFTER GUN FIGHT Detective Who Helped Slay Escaped Convicts Loses Battle to Live. BY the Associated Press. ST. LOUIS. February 26.—Detective i day of bullet wounds suffered in a gun erty since February 17, despite a court | settlement conferences with corpora- | convicts were killed yesterday. order to evacuate. tion officials today by representatives Sullivan, shot five times, was para- A sit-down strike of about 1,00 |Of the United Automobile Workers of jyzed by a bullet which lodged in his foundry workers halted production at the Michigan Malleable Iron Co. plant, America. The union also planned to insist on | have been able to walk. He was 45 | | spine and had he lived would never Detroit, which makes automobile parts | some further discussion of the 30-hour | years old and had been a policeman for the Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler | work-week, a demand which dead- | for nearly 18 years. eorporation. | locked the conference yesterday. Gen- The dead bandits, linked with a The strikers refused to work until|eral Motors' standard work-week is|series of hold-ups here Tuesday and wage adjustments are agreed on be- tween the management and the Unit- ed Automobile Workers. At Janesville, Wis., a dispute over friction between union and non-union employes closed the Fisher Body fac- tory and the Chevrolet automobile as- | sembly plant. Approximately 2,700 men were thrown out of work. Refusal of 60 men on the Fisher | Body seat cushion line to go to work today until one of their number, Wil- liam Bertel, was reinstated made 1t impossible to continue production. Production Stops. Production ceased at the Chevrolet plant soon after. The latter was de- pendent upon the Fisher works for its automobile body supply. At Detroit Ed Hall, vice president of the United Automobile Workers of | America, said today the allegations of discrimination were being discussed by General Motors and union conferees here, and that an adjustment in time for resumption of work tomorrow was hoped for. At Santa Monica, Calif,, 341 em- ployes of the Douglas Aircraft Co. who surrendered after a three-day sit- down, awaited arraignment on grand Jury indictments charging illegal entry and trespassing. Strikers at the Northiop corpora- |, "¢ General Motors sought agree- ment on the length of the work week | The monthly report of the seventh | district Federal Reserve Bank re- corded declines in automobile produc- tion, industrial employment and pay rolls in January due to the General Motors strike, settled February 11. At the conclusion of the conferees’ sixteenth session yesterday C. E. Wil- son, vice president of General Mo- tors, told newsmen that “as far asTam concerned” they had finished discus- sion of the 30-hour week. Will Discuss It Again. “As far as I am concerned,” in- terjected Mortimer, “we’ll take it up again tomorrow morning (today).” “Five years from now we may take it up again,” Wilson replied. Earlier he had said: “I don’t think the country is ready for it yet. Nor is the industry ready for it, and I don’t think any one who really thinks about it is in favor of it right now.” The conferees still have to consider alleged cases of discrimination against union workers and the union’s demand for minimum wages “commensurate with an American standard of liv- ing.” They have disposed tentatively of machinery fo: handling grievances, seniority rights, methods of pay and speed of production. The conference with Chrysler will open at 10 am. Wednesday in the corporation’s office building in sub- urban Highland Park. tion, a Douglas subsidiary, scene of | another sit-down, were warned that force would be turned against them unless they evacuated toda Governors Warn Labor. The Governors of Connecticut and | New Jersey notified labor leaders sit- down strikes would not be tolerated in those States. Conferences between union leaders and manufacturers in 10 New England shoe centers were resumed after agreements were reached in 28 other plants. In Detroit, General Motors officials and strike leaders were deadlocked (See STRIKES, Page A-2.) . BRITAIN TO PROBE MINE HIT BY SHIP Inquiries Seek to Determine ‘Which Faction Placed Ex- plosive in Sea. By the Associatea Press. LONDON, February 26.—Three de- partments of the British government started exhaustive inquiries today into the near-disaster of the British steam- er Llandovery Castle, which struck a floating mine off the Spanish Mediter- ranean coast yesterday. The 10,609-ton Union-Castle Mail Bteamship Co. liner, with 300 passen- gers aboard, barely reached Port Vendres, France, after striking the mine off Capo De Creus. The admiralty office, Board of Trade and foreign office investigated the in- eident, particularly to learn whether the Spanish government or insurgents placed the explosive in the Gibraltar- Marseille shipping lane. ‘The foreign office at the same time seminded the Spanish insurgents no enswer had been received to official protests against what was believed an insurgent attempt to bomb two Brit- ish destroyers, the Havock and the Gypsy, in Mediterranean waters. (Insurgent sources had said the bomber, “apparently an insurgent plane” in reports to British officials, was & disguised government ship try- ing to involve the insurgents in diffi- eulties with Great Britain.) The office received a message from ‘Valencia expressing the Spanish gov- ernment's “lively sympathy” for the bombing of the British battleship Royal Oak. A government anti-aircraft shell burst on its quarter deck, injuring several officers, Tuesday during a Spanish insurgent bombardment of Valencia. | 4p nours. | " John Brophy, director of the Com- | | mittee for Industrial Organization, | who is one of the union conferees, said | all remaining issues have been dis- cussed and tentative agreements negotiators should conclude their work | by Tuesday. | Wyndham Mortimer, U. A. W. A. | vice president, said before today's | meeting started: “There is a necessity for establish- ing a minimum hourly rate in Gen- eral Motors as well as a minimum annual wage. In some General Mo- tors plants—A-C spark plug in Flint, | Mich., for example—hourly rates are | as low as 40 cents an hour for a large | number of workers. At this rate an | employe could not make more than $900 a year if he worked full time. Cited Other Companies. “Such hourly rates hardly compare with the 75-cent minimum already | established by the U. A. W. A, in | many smaller and less profitable com- panies.” The U. A. W. A. awaited a reply from the Murray Corp. of America to its request for a conference and pre- | pared for negotiations with the Chrys- { ler Corp. while its representatives and By the Assoclated Press, COLUMBUS, Ohio, February 26— An official of a large Pittsburgh steel concern came here today to plead for & trusted 38-year-old foreman who escaped an Ohlo prison farm more than 15 years ago. W. T. Mossman, public relations di- rector of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Co., arranged an audience with Gov. Martin L. Davey in behalf of Tor- rance J. Cannon, father of two girls. A quarrel with his wife, Mathilda, brought Cannon before a Pittsburgh court on a morals charge a month ago. His wife’s tearful pleas resulted in his freedom after he was sentenced. But his fingerprints, placed on file, matched those of a man who walked away from the London, Ohio, honor camp of Ohio Penitentiary after serv- ing three years of & 1-to-15-year term g reached on most of them. He said the | | Wednesday nights, were identified by fingerprints as Ray Rusch. 19, and Alvin Mott, 19, who with Joe Scofic, |escaped from the Michigan State | Prison at Jackson last Friday. | Rusch was killed in a hotel room, mond Roessler cornered the men. Mott escaped, after bullets had felled the police officer, and was fatally wounded a few blocks away, as he fled in a commandeered automobile, owned by Warren Scott, a salesman. Mott died last night. Given Blood Transfusior. Sullivan was shot in the abdomen, arm and chest. He was given a blood transfusion last night A bullet grazed Roessler's hand and another pierced the shoulder of his overcoat. A detective's “hunch” was credited as the principal lead in the discovery of the bandits and the subsequent gun battle. | Cruising in a scout car near the point where a car, used in a hold-up Wednesday night was abandoned, the detectives decided to check notels in the vicinity for possible suspects. At one of the midtown hotels (Leonard) they obtained information that two young men had registered from Detroit on Tuesday. Miss Mari- lou Holley, clerk, led the officers to the second-floor room occupied by the young men. With drawn revolvers the detectives waited as a man opened the door. “I just had a chance to see he was in an undershirt and pants and had a gun in his hand before he began firing,” Roessler related. “We both fired back and he went down * * *. Then a second man jumped out from behind the door and backed toward & window, firing. We fired back. Sulli- van fell. The man got to the window, threw it open and jumped.” Returned to Hotel. The fleeing bandit returned to the hotel from the one-story extension, on which he had landed, and ran out of the building and down the street, where he forced Scott from his parked automobile. Three detectives, rushing to the pursuit of the gunman. Overtaken in a short distance, Mott ignored the command to halt, made a move apparently to draw a gun, and was shot by Detective Louis Shoul- ders. Evangelist Slayer Executed. MONTGOMERY, Ala., February 26 (#).—Jim Franklin, Tuscaloosa County farmer, was executed at Kilby Prison early today for the murder of John Pate, aged country evangelist. Steel Foreman Who Escaped Prison Backed by Employers for holding up an Akron, Ohio, trian while with two other men. No immediate request was made for his return by Ohio prison officials, who said they had not received formal notification of the arrest Wednesday night. His wife said she would join the steel company executive in the plea today before Gov. Davey. Mossman said the company decided to back Cannon because of his good record. He became a foreman at the Pitts- burgh steel mill in 1935 after serving as a member of the suburban Swiss- vale Police Department and as a spe- cial patrolman in the exclusive Briar CIiff road residential district. When arrested, said Detective In- spector ‘Walter Monaghan, he eom- mented: where Sullivan and Detective Ray-| scene in response to the clerk’s sum- | mons, picked up Scott and set out in | Harry M. Crandall Ends Life; FARNSW[]RIH GHS Magnate Here AT0-12-YEAR TERM IN'ESPIONAGE CASE Denounced by Judge as Per- petrator of Crime ‘Abhor- rent to Good Citizens.’ WITHDRAWS MOTION TO DEFER SENTENCE Ex-Naval Officer, Back in b ail, Likely to Be Sent to Lorton Reformatory. BY WILLIAM S. TARVER. Denounced by the court as the per- petrator of a crime “abhorrent to every good citizen,” John S. Farns- worth, former Navy lieutenant com- mander, was sentenced today to serve from 4 to 12 years in prison as pun- ishment for an alleged espionage con- spiracy. The indictment, to which he had pleaded nolo contendere, charged that he conspired with two erstwhile assist- ant naval attaches of Japan to com- municate defense secrets to that na- tion. The maximum sentence was 20 years. At the last minute, after the court refused to allow Farnsworth to change | his plea to not guilty, Richard L. Ted- | Tow, attorney for the accused officer, announced withdr=wal of a motion in arrested judgment, filed yesterday. The basis of the motion was the con- tention that a nolo contendere plea, which has the same legal effect as an | admission of guilt, may be accepted by the court only in a misdemeanor case. Tedrow said he- probably will raise the point again in a habeas corpus petition. Meanwhile, Farnsworth was re- turned to the District Jail, whence he will be transferred to the District Reformatory at Lorton, Va., unless the Justice Department makes other arrangements for his incarcera- | tion. | i Court Is Crowded. | Farnsworth was brought into the | crowded District Court chamber shortly after 10 am. His face bore a | worried frown. He uttered no word | while in the court room, appearing | content to leave the matter in the | | hands of his youthful attorney, em- | | ployed only yesterday. After being | informed of the withdrawal of the motion in arrested judgment, Justice | James M. Proctor addressed the de- fendant. | “Farnsworth, it is a very unpleas- ant duty to sentence any one,” the jurist began, “and it is unusually dis- agreeable to impose sentence on a man of your background, which in- | | cludes a long period of honorable | | service to your country, unfortunately terminated by dishonorable discharge. “You have conspired with two | foreign emissaries to obtain informa- tion vital to your country, and you | f conveyed to them, with reason to be- lieve such information would be used (See FARNSWORTH, Page A-3.) BACKWATERS SPREAD OVER NEW LOWLANDS | Mississippi Crest Rolls On Toward | New Orleans, With No Change in Reading. | By the Assoclatea Press. | NEW ORLEANS, February 26— Backwaters crept over new lowland areas in eight Louisiana parishes to- day as the Mississippi River's flood crest rolled slowly toward New Orleans and the Gulf. ‘There was no rise in the flood stage at any point during the 24 hours end- ing last night and a 2-10th of a foot drop was recorded at Vicksburg. The gauge remained stationary at Natchez, Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville and New | Orleans. Approximately 17,000 backwater vic- tims were being cared for by the Red Cross and other relief agencies in Mississippl and Louisiana. Summary of Page. Page. | Amusements__B-7 | Radio ......_| C-3 Short Story.B-16 Society - B-3 Sports - Woman's Pg. B-18 ---A-10 FOREIGN. Rebels report Madrid counter-offensive has collapsed. Page A-3 Conservatives open offensive on Blum regime. Page A-4 Soviet envoy defends trial of alleged ‘Trotzkyists. Page A-12 NATIONAL. Autopsy strengthens police belief Pear- son death accidental. Page A-1 Police gas bombs rout strikers at ‘Waukegan plant. Page A-1 Senate passes Supreme Court retire- ment bill, 76 to 4. Page A-1 Reciprocal trade treaty bill awaits Roosevelt signature. Page A-2 Argentine kidnap suspects escape after gun battle with police. Page A-4 Federal workers urged to seek “appeals court.” Page A-13 WASHINGTON AND VICINITY. Farnsworth sentenced to 4 to 12 years in spy case. Page A-1 Second victim of auto-train crash dies at hospital. Page A-1 Policeman accused of practicing law on side. Page A-6 Two Montgomery County bills intro- Obituary 7= L “JUST ONE BIG, HAPPY FAMILY!” N ¢ _)( - 3 sje ke e AUTO-TRAIN CRASH IS FATAL T0 TWO Driver Dies at Hospital Sev- eral Hours After His Com- panion Expires. (Picture on Page B-1.) James T. Corbin, 46, Internal Rev- enue Bureau auditor, died in Casualty Hospital today, the second victim of an automobile-train crash shortly after midnight at the Bates road | northeast grade crossing. in which a | | s . | them. Some of the grimy-faced work- | cidental shooting,” he said, adding, “I | ers, too weak to walk. were carried on | don't think we will be able to get companion, also an auditor at the bu- reau, was killed. Charles C. Shipton, about 45, of 5330 Colorado avenue, was dead on arrival at the hospital. Corbin's injuries proved fatal several hours later. The crash occurred when the car in which the pair was riding was struck by a fast freight train at the crossing, located near the Cathoiic Sisters’ Coi- .‘ | used for underground hauling during | lege in Brookland. An investigation | was launched this meorning. The fireman on the train, Joseph J. Pessagno of No. 2 Seventeenth street southeast, is in Emergency Hospital with cuts about the face and head, received when he was struck by pieces of the shattered automobile. Corbin, who lived at 810 Bonifant street, Silver Spring, Md., was driving Shipton home from a friend’s house, | where they had been visiting and playing cards. Auto Thrown 150 Feet. Corbin’s car, a new sedan, was knocked approximately 150 feet and the engine torn loose and hurled 30 feet into a field by the impact. Corbin was removed from the wrecked automobile without much difficulty by rescuers, but acetylene torches were needed to extricate Ship- ton who was pinned in the wreckage for more than an hour. The speed of neither the train, a Baltimore & Ohio freight, coming into Washington, nor the automobile ha. been determined by police. It was not learned either whether (See ACCIDENT, Page A-5.) _— Slayer of Two Hangs. HULL, Quebec, February 26 (Cana- dian Press).—Omer Girard, lumber- jack-evangelist, was hanged today for the murder of two men at Namur last April 7. Girard was convicted of slaying Leon Leclair, 84-year-old goatherd, and his friend, Alfred Dudevoir, 72. Their charred bodies were found in the smol- dering ruins of Leclair’s home. They had been robbed of $650. Today’s Star . | Hearings on Federal pay bill de- layed. fage B-1 Engineers reach bedrock for Jeffer- son Memorial. Page B-1 SPORTS. Track records expected to be smashed in A. A. U. title meet. Page C-1 Mount Rainier to risk clean slate in Star tournament. Page C-1 Sande picks Rosemont in $100,000 race at Santa Anita tomorrow. Page C-2 Maryland’s chances in ring tourna- ment are hit by illness. Page C-3 FINANCIAL. Corporate bonds narrow (table) Page A-15 Page A-15 Preight loadings jump. Stocks irregular (table). Page A-16 Pepco earnings gain. Page A-16 Curb list higher (table). Page A-17 ‘Trade rise continues. Page A-17 EDITORIAL AND COMMENT. duced after study. Page A-10 Collins considers metropolitan and park police merger. Page B-1 Hunter to appeal 20-year sentence in wife Page B-1 “Im glad #t's oves. I was always|Allen orders probe of trailer travel problem. hunted-* b Page B-1 Editorials. Page A-8 This and That. Page A-8 Answers to Questions. Page A-8 Washington Observations. Page A-8 David Lawrence. Page A-9 Paul Mallon. Page A-9 Constantine Brown, Page A-9 Dorothy Thompson. Page A-9 Lemuel Parton. Page’ A-9 MISCELLANY. ‘Washington Wayside. Page A-2 City News in Brief. Page A-13 ‘Young Washington. Page C-8 Vital Statistics. Page A-16 Nature’s Children. Page B-11 Betsy Caswell. Page B-18 Dorothy Dix. Page B-18 Bedtime Story. Page B-12 Crossword Puzzle. Page B-19 Letter-Out. Page C-4 Traffic Convictions, Page C-4 Service Orders. Page C-4 Winning Contract. Page B-12 “Suicide” Strike Of Miners Ends In Bitter Row 250 Quit Shafts Half Dazed From Hunger After Two Days. BY the Assoclated Press. PECS, Hungary, February 26—A “suicice” strike of 250 miners collapsed today, and the men, half-dazed from hunger and many bleeding from wounds suffered in an underground fight. staggered out of the shaft. Sobbing wives and relatives greeted the shoulders of their comrades. One miner said they had eaten the last sack of oats intended for ponies the two days they remained deflantly in their stronghold. Each striker, he said, received a handful of the grain twice a day. ‘The 16 ponies which were with them when they declared the hunj strike (See MINERS, Page A- REICH RENEWS COLONIAL DEMAND Von Ribbentrop Calls Un- expectedly on Eden to Insist on Empire. By the Associated Press. LONDON, February 26.—Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Ambassador to Great Britain, called unexpectedly today on British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden to renew Germany's demands for return of her war-lost colonies. The Nazi envoy remained in a long conversation with Eden, in which they talked over the general European sit- uation and the prospects of reaching an agreement on a prospective pact to secure the peace of Western Europe. Diplomatic sources said Eden reiter- ated Great Britain's stand that noth- ing can be done to restore the Reich's colonies or surrender of British-held League of Nations mandates until the security of Europe is establishgd by a general accord. Von Ribbentrop had laid the Ger- man demands before the British on a visit to Viscount Halifax, lord privy seal and leader of the House of Lords, February 11 while Eden was abroad on a vacation. ‘The British government recently in- formed the House of Commons it was not contemplating the surrender of any of its war-won territory. One important subject of today’s discussion, it was learned, was Bel- gium’s recent reply to a British note regarding a new Locarno security pact for Western Europe. At that time Brussels stated that, although Belgium wants her security guaranteed by the powers, she is unwilling to enter into an agreement guaranteeing theirs. There have been frequent discus- sions between British and Belgian diplomats on this point in recent days. Today Adolf Hitler's recent offer to guarantee security to Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland figured in the Ribbentrop-Eden talk. PEARSON'S DEATH SEEN ACCIDENTAL |Bullet Fired From Gun Held | Close to Writer’s Chest, Autopsy Shows. ! By the Associated Press. | PALM SPRINGS, Calif., February 26.—An autopsy showed today the bul- let that killed Humphrey Pearson, movie scenario writer, was fired from | a gun heid closc to his chest, Under- | sheriff Steve Lynch of Riverside Coun- | ty reported. | “We are of the opinion it was an ac- | anything from the paraffin tests.” He referred to paraffin tests made | of the hands of Pearson and of his | wife, after the writer was found dead | in the bed of his desert cottage Wed- nesday night. Investigators previously hinted that the paraffin impressions failed to show powder marks, which indicate either Mr. or Mrs. Pearson had fired a pistol recently. Doubts Theory of Outsider. “I am well satisfied that it was not done by an outsider,” said Lynch. “I think she was trying to take the gun away from him whe: the shooting occurred. We found out from several witnesses that when he got liquored | up he used to get a gun, and that she had taken a gun away from him be- fore under such circumstances.” Mrs. Pearson has not yet been able to make a coherent statement, said Lynch, who hopes to take a statement from her today or tomorrow. Lynch said a deouty sheriff is waching Mrs. Pearson in her room in a Riverside hospital “for her own protection.” “She might attempt to injure her- self,” he said. | Lynch took over the investigation because of the ‘llness of Sheriff Carl Rayburn, stricken with influenza. The work here is being done by Police Chief J. L. Boller. Shooting Occurred After Party. ‘Thé shooting occurred after a gay party in a restaurant at the luxurious desert resort. Friends said that Pear- son was in the habit of working almost | night and day on his film assignments and then relaxing as whole-heartedly as he had labored, drinking consider- ably. “I am still of the opinion it was an accident—that they were fighting for the gun,” said Lynch. “The undersheriff said two shots were fired, one piercing the author’s left chest and the other lodging in the ceiling of the trim bungalow the couple occupied. A .38-caliber revolver was found, from which two shots had been fired recently, he said. Investigators previ- ously pointed out that the fact the (See PEARSON, Page A-4.) —_— CRASH ENDS FLIGHT French Plane Headed for Tokio Falls in Indo-China. HONG KONG, February 26 (#)— Gilbert Denis and Georges Libert, French flyers, who left Paris Tuesday () Means Associated Press. Yesterday’s Circulation, 143,016 (Some returns not yet received.) TWO CENTS. GOURT RETIREMENT MEASURE PASSED BY SENATE, 16T04, AFTER HOT DEBATE Action Comes Shortly After President Announces He Will Make Nation-Wide Radio Address March 9. MESSAGE IS EXPECTED TO TOUCH ON JUDICIARY Day Selected for First of Fireside Chats Since Before Election Is Same as That Chosen for Open- ings of Hearings Before Judi- ciary Committee. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. By a vote of 76 to 4, the Senate to- day passed without amendment the House bill authorizing voluntary re- tirement of justices of the Supreme Court when they have reached the age of 70 on full pay. The bill now goes to the President for his approval, which is confidently expected. The measure passed the Senate after less than an hour’s de- bate. The four Senators voting against the bill were Bridges of New Hamp- shire, Johnson of California, Republic- ans, and Bulow of South Dakota and Moore of New Jersey, Democrats. The Senate’s action came only a short while after President Roosevelt announced at his press conference that he would make a Nation-wide radio address at 10:30 pm. March 9. It is expected by White House officials to include a discussion of his court pro- posals. The President’s address will be the first of his “fireside chats” since Sep- tember 6, before his re-election. The day selected by the President, March 9. is the same on which hearings on his court bill are slated to begin be- fore the Senate Judiciary Committee. Bitterness Is Manifest. During the brief Senate debate on the justices’ retirement bill the ex- treme bitterness which the Supreme tCourt issue has developed came to the ore. An amendment offered by Senator Bridges would have postponed the operation of the retirement bill for four years, or until the end of Presie dent Rooscvelt's present term of ofe fice. The amendment was shouted down and no record vote was taken on it. During the brief debate some Sena- tors said they would not respect court members who might retire under pres- ent circumstances. ‘This view was expressed by Senators Johnson, Republican, of California and Burke, Democrat, of Nebraska, both opponents of President Roose- velt's court-reorganization plan. Some administration leaders—in- cluding Senator Robinson of Arkansas, the Democratic floor chieftain—have expressed the view that passage of the Sumners bill might lead to the retire- ment of one or two justices now on the court. After Johnson spoke, Robinson de- manded: “At what time would the Senator (See JUDICIARY, Page A-2.) DISTRICT FORECAST IS FAIR AND COLD Minimum of 20 Degrees of Last Night Is Due to Be Reached Again. Fair and continued cold weather is forecast for the District tonight and tomorrow. L The forecaster, studying what he described as “an uninteresting map of weather conditions,” predicted a minimum temperature tonight of 20 degrees—the low recorded early today. The mercury dropped to the 20 degree mark—the fourth lowest of the season—at 2:30 am. It began rising immediately, however, and at 10 am. had reached 28. The temperature climbed to 35 at 11 am. yesterday, but shortly after- ward dropped to below the freezing point. On December 1, the Winter's lowest temperature—14—was recorded. On November 19 there was a temperature of 19 and on February 11 a mark of 20. Forecasters foresaw a possible change to slightly warmer weather by Sunday. in an attempt to fly to Tokio in 100 hours, crashed today near Tahek, Indo-China. One of the fiyers (the advices did not say which one) was injured and the plane was wrecked. It was the third Paris-Tokio flight to come to grief in recent months. | Andre Japy crashed into a mountain- side near Nagasaki when almost at his goal, and Marcel Doret and Franccis Michelleti quit in the face of unfa- vorable Indo-China weather. “Public Rat No. 1” Is Indicted In Less Than BY the Associatea Press. WHITE PLAINS, N. Y., February 26—The Westchester County grand jury today indicted Merle Vandenbush, 29, so-called “public rat No. 1,” and his two companions in the $17,626 hold-up of a bank at Katonah, N. Y., for robbery in the first degree. The special grand jury acted speed- {ly, hearing only two witpesses and re- turning the indictment 29 minutes after beginning its session. As the grand jury was acting the three prisoners, handcuffed together Half an Hour ‘Thel was completed with such dispatch that none of the prisoners removed his overcoat. They were informed of the indictment, which was not read, and all three en- tered pleas of innocent. Then they asked that counsel be assigned to de- fend them, stating they had no funds. Judge Nolan told them this request would be granted and .they Were rushed back to jail. No date was set for their trial. The two witnesses heard by the grand jury were Stanley Shafer, as- sistant cashier of the Northern West- chester Bank at Katonah, and Po- loeman William G Hendricks, one of (See INDICTED, Page A-3) TRANSIT FIRM REPORTS $4,073 JANUARY PROFIT Deficit of $11,796 Was Shown in Same Month Last Year. Bad Weather Factor. Net earnings of the Capital Transit Co. in January amounted to $4,073.73 as contrasted to a deficit of $11,796.75 in January, 1936, an improvement of $15,870.48, according to the monthly report filed with the Public Utilities Commission this afternoon. Bad weather had much more to do with the net results than the change in the cost of weekly passes from $1 to $125. While there was a falling off in the number of weekly tickets so0id, this was practically offset by the increase in the number of tokens taken by patrons. January operating revenues totaled $895,484.77, a gain of 7.4 per cent over January, last year. Total operating expenses, taxes and depreciation amounted to $838,635.16, an increase of 5.4 per cent and leaving an oper- ating income of $56,849.61. Non-op- erating income was lower than last year. Revenue passengers carried on Cap- ital Transit street cars and busses in January numbered 13,620,455 against 13,382,840 & year ago, an increase of 237,608 or 18 per eent.