Evening Star Newspaper, April 16, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weatner Bureau Forecast.) Fair, probably light frost; lowest tem= perature about 38 degrees tonight; tomor- row increasing cloudiness and slightly warmer. Temperatures—Highest, 69, at 3:30 p.m. yesterday; lowest, 43, at 4:30 a.m. today. Full report on page B-11. New York Markets, Page 18 85th YEAR. No. 33.953. Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. ch WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1937—FIFTY-EIGHT PAGES. ‘WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION ¢ Foening Star UNION REPORTED READY 70 ADVISE . M. STRIKE END May Advise Canadian Work- ers to Return to Jobs Pending Accord. EMPLOYES CALLED TO HEAR PROPOSALS Officials of Oshawa Local Talk With Martin—Mass Meet- ing to Follow. BACKGROUND— Claiming victory in their strikes at the General Motors factories in the United States, labor wunion leaders have halted work at the company’s plant in Oshawa, Canada. Employes and union officials, impervious to threats of Premier Mitchell Hepburn, who has raged against the C. I. O, after nine days have been unable to reach agree- ment with company officials. By the Associated Press. OSHAWA, Ontario, April 16.—The Canadian Press said today it had learned on good authority that auto- mobile union officials, conferring here on the strike of 3,700 General Motors of Canada workers, would advise the men to return to work Monday pend- \ng an agreement with the company. Officials of the Oshawa local union of the United Automobile Workers of America met with Homer Martin, president of the International Union, #nd with Hugh Thompson, union or- ganizer. Martin came here today {rom Detroit. A mass meeting was to follow, at which proposals were to be placed be- fore the strikers. If the strikers sgreed to the proposals, the Canadian Press said, they would return to work Monday and efforts to reach an agree- ment between the union and the com- pany would continue. Requests to Be Made. The Canadian Press said these re- quests then would be placed before the company: 1. Any agreement to be made to be with all plants involving General Mo- tors in Canada (Oshawa, Windsor, where a stoppage of production has | forced 500 men out of work, and Mc- Kinnon Industries, Ltd., General Mo- tors subsidiary at St. Catharines. 2. Recognition of the local union, No. 222, U. A. W. A, by the company | here. 3. Seniority rights for workers. 4. Establishment of a Grievance Committee by the company. Martin took personal charge of tnion moves to settle a strike of 3,700 General Motors of Canada workers— ignoring, apparently, Ontario’s C. I. O. ~—opposing premier. Martin’s arrival apparently put an end to Premier Mitchell Hepburn's plans to settle the strike by an agree- ment between representatives of the strikers and General Motors of Can- rda, Ltd., without the “interference” of international union representatives. Statement of Martin. Martin said he had no intention of talking with Hepburn while the pre- mier, in Toronto, said he would not meet Martin or “any other John L. Lewis hirelings.” The strike started eight days ago with the union demanding an agree= ment between General Motors of Can- ada, Ltd, and the United Automobile Workers, to cover Canadian employes. The Canadian company was willing to make an agreement with a local | union committee, but not with the in- ternational union. WOULD BAR MARTIN. Hepburn Refuses to Confer With Lewis Hirelings. TORONTO, Ontario, April 16 (#).— Premier Mitchell Hepburn of Ontario today served notice that neither Homer Martin, president of the United Auto- mobile Workers, “nor any other hire- ling of John L. Lewis,” would be ad- mitted to & proposed General Motors strike peace conference in his office. Hepburn, blunt-spoken foe of Lewis’ Zommittee for Industrial Organization, made this statement to vspaper (Sce STRIKE, Page A WOMAN WINS IN FIGHT T0 ADMINISTER ESTATE Court Upholds Contention She Lived 17 Years as Secret Wife of Jersey Man. B3 the Assoctated Press. ATLANTIC CITY, N. J, April 16.— Mrs. Elsie Gemill Mitchell, who claimed she lived secretly as ‘L2 wife of L. Arthur Richards for 17 years while he posed as a bachelor in the fashionable circles of better neighbor- hoods, won in Orphans’ Court today the right to administer his $100,000 estate. After Richards died last October, Mrs. Mitchell charged that since 1919 she and their son lived in one section of town, while he played bridge in fashionable homes and kept secret Eheir alleged marriage ceremony. She testified he was at home with her Monday, Wednesday and Friday pights, but his relatives testified he never said or did anything to indicate he was married. County Judge Robert L. Warke upheld her contention. VAN ZEELAND COMING Belgium’s Premier to Receive Uni- versity Degree in June. President Roosevelt may have a chat with Premier Paul van Zeeland of Igium. He said today the premier was com- ing to the United States in June to receive a university degree. Mr. Roose- welt added at his press conference he maturally éxpected to see the premier ?finguu visit. Feme, 1t was disclosed yesterday. Th ! (Copyright. 1937, by Mme. i liance. X s rresciyal, nc. All rights reserve hinged the future of China. ‘What happened at Sian during It had special and significant features than any civil war that has hitherto In it were involved explosive elements and understandable perspective at this close date is difficult. To do so it is necessary to discard one’s personal feelings and objectively study the vari- ous factors which so swiftly swung into activity when, like & thunder- clap out of a clear sky, came the shock of the news that my husband, Gen- eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek, had been captured in a mutiny at Sian, the capital of Shensi Province. That news was broken to me by Dr. H. H. Kung, minister of finance, who came full of anxiety to my Shanghai home. Story of Daring and Intrigue Told by Mme. Chiang of F ight To Free Kidnaped Husband This is the first of nine daily installments of the remark- able account of the kidnaping of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, writ- ten by Mme. Chiang and the Chinese war lord. BY MAYLING SOONG CHIANG (Mme. Chiang Kai-shek) Kai-shek and the North American Newspaper Al- Reproduction in whole or in part forbidden.) »SHANGHAI.—F‘nr from being the stage setting for a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, as visualized by certain American writers, Sian was, to me, the battleground of a significant moral struggle, upon the outcome of which the fortnight beginning December 12 last was not a rebellion as we know such politico-military upheavals in China. of its own, but with possibilities graver besmirched the history of our republic. of personal, national and international problems and policies of first magnitude. To try to bring them into proper “There has been a mutiny, and there’s no news of the generalissimo.” These words, falling from the lips of Dr. Kung, sounded ominous, even to one who has been long accustomed to peril and dangerous situations. Nor did any news come for many hours, all telegraph and radio communica- | tions with Sian having been dislo- cated. But those who wanted news | were not baffled. Rumors, ridiculous | and startling, quickly supplied the | . "(Continued on Page 4, Column 2.) RAILWAY UNIONS READY TO STRIKE 8,500 Are Set to Walk Out Tonight—Roosevelt Move Ignored. By the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, April 16.—A threatened strike of 8500 Southern Pacific employes in two brotherhoods neared the “zero” hour today despite presidential efforts under Federal law to avert trouble and declarations of - two other brotherhoods. . C. V. McLaughlin, vice presiflehl of the Brotherhood of Railway Firemen, said his group and the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen would strike on Coast lines unless demands were met | by 6 p.m. today. The strike call would tie up service from Portland, Oreg., to Fl Paso, Tex., | McLaughlin asserted. Members of an emergency media- tion board, appointed under the rail- way labor act by President Roosevelt, planned & meeting here Tuesday. Bpokesmen for the Brotherhoods of Locomotive Engineers and Conductors said they would fight the walkout. | “Service will be maintained,” em- phasized O. P. Peterson, general chair- man of the engineers. “We do not believe a strike will occur, because it would be clearly il- legal now that the President of the United States has appointed a Special Emergency Board to investigate the | president of the carrier. “favored” the engineers and con- ductors and refused to abide by media- tion board awards. “Our grievance is against the com- | pany and we are not involved in any controversy with the engineers and the conductors,” he said. Southern Pacific officials claimed assurances from Presidents A. F. Whitney of the trainmen and D. M. Robertson of the firemen that the unions would “abide by the railway labor act,” but McLaughlin said he had telegrams from both declaring they had issued no orders to cancel the strike. The brotherhood presi- dents are in Cleveland, Ohio. McLaughlin said all but 1,500 broth- erhood employes on the 9,600 miles of lines involved would be affected. 119 PATIENTS FLEE FIRE IN HOSPITAL Toledo State Institution for In- sane Is Scene of Wild Confusion. By the Associated Press. TOLEDO, April 186.—A group of 119 patients was driven out of a two-story brick dormitory building at Toledo State Hospital for the Insane by fire today. No one was hurt. The damage to the building was slight. Nurses had to battle with the pa- tients to get them out of danger. They locked themselves in lavatories and concealed themselves in various parts of the building. Screams of the pa- tients added to the confusion of the hospital grounds. ¢ Firemen said the fire apparently started from defective wiring in the basement. BACKGROUND— Borrowing the sit-down technique from European workers, American labor, principally in the automo- bile industry, has met with varying success in an epidemic of strikes. Roundly assailed as illegal tres- pass, the sit-down, nevertheless, has flourished. Recently Congress approved a resolution attacking the occupying of plants by strikers. The resolution also criticized com- pany unions and labor espionage. BY the Associated Press. ‘Workers and employers alike specu- lated today on the possibility of the sit-down technique being replaced by the “slow-down.” In the Ternstedt Manufacturing Co. plant at Detroit, a General Motors subsidiary, employes used the new pro- test method, resembling & slow-motion movie or stalling in a basket ball active opposition to the walkout byl dispute,” commented A. D. McDonald, | McLaughlin charged the railroad | Strikers Employ Plan Feared “Sit-In” Substitute F.B.I AGENT SHOT IN GUN BATTLE Bystander Also Wounded in Attempt to Arrest Robber Suspect in Topeka. EY the Assoctated Press. TOPEKA, Kans., April 16.—A Fed- eral agent was shot and critically | wounded and & bystander was ‘wounded in the foot today in the lobby of Topeka’s Post Office during an at- tempt to arrest a suspected bank rob- ber and his accomplice. About 20 shots were fired in a furi- | ous battle in the building, located in | the center of the city’s business dis- | trict. The suspects escaped in an au- | tomobile they had left parked outside. | Agent Baker of the Federal Bureau | of Investigation was shot four times ;lnd 80 grievously wounded that an | emergency operation was undertaken at the hospital where he was treated. The wounded bystander was O. D. Davis of Topeka. Man Watched For. The shooting occurred in front of the registry window at the post office, where three Federal agents had kept | vigil for several days to take into eus- tody & man who had been calling for mail from New York. John Barrett, postmaster, said that positions around the lobby and at a signal from the delivery clerk at the registry window Baker moved toward the suspect. Agent Baker stepped forward, cov- ered the suspect and told him to hold up his hands. Then from the rear an accomplice of the suspect opened fire, | shooting Baker in the back. As Baker turned, another shot was fired into his chest. Two more bullets struck him in the legs as the fugitives started toward an unguarded door to their car parked across the street. Car Fired On. The other agents followed into the street and fired on the car as it sped away. Some witnesses to the shooting expressed belief one of the fugitives also was wounded. Frank Stone, assistant director of the State highway patrol, said the fugitives were identified as Alfred Power, 39, alias Lewis Moore, and Ru- dolph Brinker, 28, wanted for the rob- bery of a bank at Katonah, N. Y. He said he had been informed their car was after the shooting. They were driving a black coupe bearing New York license plates, Stone said. PRESIDENT TO FISH Rposevelt to Leave April 28 for Gulf Trip. President Roosevelt said today he had definitely decided to leave April 28 for New Orleans to embark on his tarpon fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico. He will leave Washington by train shortly after midnight and will be gone about two weeks. No other details of the trip were announced. — Explosion Kills Eleven. HARBIN, Manchukuo, April 16 (#). —Eleven persons were known to have been killed and many others injured today in a terrific dynamite explosion at the Titaho shaft, belonging to the Manchuria Coal Mining Co., near Muling. “Slow-Down”; workers claimed the management had refused to negotiate grievances under the provisions of the General Motors- United Automobile Workers of Amer- ica agreement. An official of the U. A. W. A. said the objective of workers in a slow-down was to “try to see how little they can do without actually stopping work en- tirely.” % Union officials ordered workers in the Ternstedt plant, which makes hardware for General Motors cars, to restore normal’ production speed yesterday after the demonstration. Meanwhile a conference to “talk over” unionization of the Packard Motor Co. at Detroit, held the atten- tion of labor and industrial leaders. Alvan Macauley, president of the Packard Co., said he accepted the re- quest of Richard T. Frankensteen, U. A. W. A. organization director, for a conference this afternoon to “formally (See BTALL, Page A a the three Federal agents had taken | Spain. seen speeding westward | 1 through Rossville, Kans., a short time | AMERIGAN SHIPS 10BE BOARDED IN SPAIN BLOCKADE Neutrality Patrol to Force Captains to Show Papers After Monday Night. BASQUES KEEP PEAK IN BLOODY BATTLE Objective Changes Hands Several Times as Mola Prepares for Attack Upon Bilbao. BACKGROUND— When the rebels successfully withstood the siege of the Alcazar at Toledo morale of the onrushing troops of Franco reached a war- time peak. Defenders of Madrid, however, have been equally tena- cious and had enough reserve strength to launch an offensive that Jorced the rebels back. Interest centers also on the Bilbao front, where Rebel Mola and insurgent blockade by sea threaten 100,000 with slow starvation. BY the Associated Press Merchant ships flying the United States flag will be forced to submit to examination in Spanish waters, offi- cials of the Neutrality Committee dis- closed today. American ships will have to prove their papers are in order, but they will not be searched. The inspection will guard against ships of other na- tions masquerading under the Stars and Stripes to slip past the interna- tional blockade with contraband car- goes. The blockade, to enforce the “hands- off-Spain” committee’s embargo | | against further foreign arms and men, | | has been ordered to start at midnight | Monday. It will be composed of Brit- | ish, French, German and Italian war vessels. Merchant shipping destined for Spanish ports under flags of the 27 | nations on the committee will be sub- | jected to rigid controls. Rules for | United States shipping will apply to | all non-member nations. | Stop at Control Points. | Ships of non-intervention nations | carrying cargoes to Spain will be in- | structed to stop at various control ports to take committee observers | aboard as assurance that their goods have been properly declared and that | they will deliver no other cargo. When =such merchantmen leave the control ports for their desfgnations they will hoist a special “neutrality | flag—two black balls on a white back- | ground—as identification. Naval pa- | trol ships in coastal waters where the inspected merchantmen are to pass will be advised of their presence as a | double-check against contraband slipping through the cordon. The International Patrol Fleet will fly the North Sea Fisheries Convention flag and will remain outside the Span- |ish three-mile limit. Ships engaged | in coastal trade between Spanish ports | will not be molested. The civil war front shifted back to | the Bay of Biscay. where insurgent forces under Gen. Emilio Mola moved (See SPAIN, Page A-9.) FREIGHTER.QUITS WAR Motomar Sister Ship of Vessel Captured by Rebels. MEXICO CITY, April 16 (#).—The Spanish government freighter Moto- mar, sister ship of the ill-fated Mar Cantabrico, apparently has abandon- ed, at least temporarily, an attempt to run a cargo of foodstuffs and muni- tions for the Valencia government to Instead the Motomar will carry a scientific expedition to Central Amer- | ica reports from Vera Cruz said today. The munition-laden Mar Cantabrico | CHICAGO, April 16.—World prices | here as well as in other world mar- Aok ok The only in Washington wit! evening paper the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. Yesterday’s Circulation, 143,205 (Some returns not yet received.) (P) Means Associated Press. TWO CENTS. 7, 67, 7 g < £ N AN " THAT OLIVER TWIST APPETITE! TUMBLE IN WHEAT PRICES IS RECORD World Markets Affected With Break of 5 Cents at Chicago. By the Associatea Press. of wheat took the worst tumble in re- cent years today. Wheat at Chicago at times broke 5 cents, the maximum limit allowed in | one day, while Liverpool and Rotter- | dam values were off as much as 7'3 | and 9% cents respectively. Buenos Aires wheat quotations plunged almost 5 cents on top of yesterday's break of equal proportions. At Winnipeg, wheat also tumbled the 5-cent limit, a drop | of 10 cents in two days. Record of Several Years. Veteran traders here said it has been several years since wheat has lost value so quickly on such worldwide proportions. | They attributed the heavy selling | kets partly to the general decline in commodity markets and to some revi- sion in traders’ ideas as to wheat de- mand following the slowing up of ex- | port takings by European countries. Cables flowing into the grain pits indicated urgent offerings of Southern Hemisphere wheat had brought gen- eral liquidation of speculative hold- ings throughout the world. | When wheat for May delivery in| Chicago plunged to $1.30 at today's opening it showed a loss of almost 8 cents in two days and was 15 cents | below the eight-year peak, which was established at $1.45's scarcely more than a week ago. Liverpool Market Demoralized. A leading trade authority cabled | Chicago that the Liverpool market, a barometer of the European wheat (See WHE, Page A-12) —_—_— RUMANIA TO ACT BUCHAREST, Rumania, April 16 (). —A special session of the Rumanian cabinet decided today to “repress with strongest measures” disturbances which have been sponsored by the pro-Nazi “iron guard” since Prince Nicholas was read out of the royal family. The Fascist guard organization seized upon Nicholas’ ouster last Saturday as the occasion for “disturbing” demon- | was captured by the insurgents March 8. Summary of Page Page Amusements_B-18 | Radio ... B-13 Comics ... C-7| Society _..___ B-3 Editorials -..A-10 | Short Story D-5 Financial ...A-18 | Sports _____D-1-3 Lost & Found A-3 Obituary .._A-12 STRIKE SITUATION. - 8,500 railroad. employes prepare to strike tonight. Page A-1 Hepburn to bar “Lewis hirelings” from G. M. talks. Page A-1 U. S. mediator wins settlement of maritime strike. Page A-1 “Slow down” strike begun at General Motors subsidiary. Page A-1 Bus-car strike ties up Akron trans- portation. Page A-5 PFirm granted pickets injunction un- der Wagner act. Page A-5 NATIONAL. Capitol police on guard at La Follette committee hearing. Page A-1 ‘World wheat prices tumble in record Woman’s Pg..C-6 break. Page A-1 Anti-lynching bill now faces bitter fight in Senate. Page A-1 “Unreasonable” trade barriers hit by ‘Textile Conference. Page A-7 Court fight on T. V. A. called “collec- tion of debris.” Page A-7 New Maritime Commission sworn into office. Page A-8 FOREIGN. Spanish patrol to halt ships flying U. 8. flag. Page A-1 WASHINGTON AND VICINITY. Oram asks auto allowance for building inspectors. Page A-2 Effectiveness of editorials debated by strations, officials said, in an effort o | embarrass the government. | Today’s Star Chairman King considering demand for milk price inquiry. Page B-1 House gets bill to provide 6-day work week in D. C. Page 3-11 EDITORIAL AND COMMENT. Editorials. Page A-10 This and That. Page A-10 Answers to Questions. Page A-10 Political Mill. Page A-10 Washington Observations. Page A-10 David Lawrence. Page A-11 Paul Mallon. Page A-11 Dorothy Thompson. Page A-11 Constantine Brown. Page A-11 Lemuel Parton. Page A-11 FINANCIAL. Trade gains uneven. Page A-16 Bonds are narrow (table). Page A-17 Freight loadings down. Page A-17 Stocks irregular (table). Page A-18 Curb list mixed (table). Page A-19 Auto production soars, Page A-19 MISCELLANY. ‘Washington Wayside. Page A-2 Young Washington. Page B-2 Marriage Licenses. Page B-6 Traffic Convictions. Page B-6 Service Orders. Page B-6 Shipping News. Page B-7 Nature’s Children. Page C-4 Bedtime Story. Page C-5 Winning Contract. Page C-5 City News in Brief. Page C-6 Dorothy Dix. Page C-6 Betsy Caswell. Page C-6 Crossword Puzzle. Page C-7 Letter-Out. Page D-5 SPORTS. Nats have gained habit of winning on editors here. Page A-2 Retail business here in 1936 believed new record. Page A-12 Laboratory tests considered in Jeffer- son Memorial dispute. Page B-1 Rhodes’ trial on forgery charge re- eessed until Monday. Page B-1 Court Upholds A. B. C. Board on Liquor Credit Ruling. r! B-1 late scores. Page D-1 Pompoon proves his staying qualities in test race. Page D-1 Farr’s defeat of Baer gives British ring fans thrill Page D-2 Japanese tennis team may prove hard hurdle for Yanks. Page D-3 8hort rough given much blame for low Bishop F reeman Castigates President’s Court Proposals Says Subservient Bench Ceases to Have Any Opinions of Its Own. BY JOHN H. CLINE. Castigating President Roosevelt's Supreme Court bill, Right Rev, James E. Freeman, Bishop of Washington, told the Senate Judiciary Committee today a “subservient and controlled court ceases to be a court.” “A subservient and controlled court,” he added. “needs neither a constitu- tion to interpret nor a body of evi- dence to weigh and consider. It ceases to have opinions of its own, nor can it have. under conditions sub- | versive of its free and independent action.” Bishop Freeman's statement was made as members of the committee were reported inclining favorably to- ward a compromise proposal to add only two justices to the high court instead of six. as proposed by the President unless present justices over 70 retire. Attacking the suggestion that jus- BISHOP JAMES E. FREEMAN. | tices over 70 are not able to perform | their daties, Bishop Freeman declared: “The emphasis upon the mental | " (See JUDICIARY, Page A-6) DEPUTY RECORDS TOLDTO SENATORS Harlan Court’s Denunciation of Officers Bared at Hearing. BACKGROUND— In 1935 e Kentucky State com- mission reported that working peo- ple of Harlan County, home of some of the world’s richest soft coal fields, were living under a “monster- like reign of oppression” directed by the mine operators. Despite this public indictment, violence and bloodshed continued as the law of the district. Charged with investigating vio- lations of civil liberties, particu- larly as they affect the right of workers to organize, the La Follette Committee sent its investigators into “bloody Harlan” about sir weeks ago, opened public hearings this week. BY JOHN C. HENRY. While a reinforced squad of Capitol policemen kept witnesses and spec- tators under close survefllance, the La Follette Civil Biberties Committee today heard how the enforcement of law in “Bloody Harlan" County, Ky., is vested in deputy sheriffs with ex- tensive criminal records. ‘With the hearing room well filled with mountaineer miners, police yes- terday discovered that several were wearing empty revolver holsters under their arms. No guns were found, however. Today, with attendance limited to the seating capacity of the rcom, the committee received Circuit Court and grand jury records recounting mur- ders of witnesses, intimidation of jurymen and the frequent convicuons| of present and former deputy sheriffs for crimes of violence. Before the committee was High Sheriff Theodore R. Middleton, de- (See LA FOLLETTE, Page A-5.) JOBLESS, OLD-AGE TAXES RULED OUT U. S. Court in Boston Holds | Security Act Provisions Unconstitutional. Bj the Associated Press. BOSTON, April 16—The United | States Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled unconstitutional both the unem- | ployment insurance tax provision and | the old-age assistance provision of the social security act. Two of the three justices held the provisions illegal. Both provisions of the act had been challenged by George P. Davis, a public utility stockholder. The court, in ruling the unemploy- | ment insurance tax unconstitutional, said: “The issue is not what powers | | Congress ought to have to meet con- | ditions as viewed by the executive and | legislative branches of the Govern- ment, but what powers are vested in| Congress under the Constitution. The Supreme Court, through a long series of opinions, has defined those powers and the limitations upon them. If the Constitution, as construed through | the years, requires amendments to meet new conditions, the way is pro- vided therein.” In ruling the old-age assistance provision of the act unconstitutional the tribunal said: “The recent legis- lation of the so-called national re- covery act, the agricultural adjustment act, the Guffey coal act, the railroad retirement act and the child labor act all remind us that unless the courts are continually on guard to preserve the dual form of our Government as founded by our forefathers the States will indeed become mere ‘geographical subdivisions of our national domain.’” Mrs. Roosevelt in Charleston. CHARLESTON, 8. C., April 16 (A). —Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt lingered in Charleston today on her leisurely motor trip through the Southeast, her plans and further itinerary undecided. Army to Test 20-Ton War Plane With Living Quarters for Crew Tearing aside a veil of secrecy, which has surrounded the project for nearly three years, the War Depart- ment announced today that it soon will receive for tests a giant bom- bardment airplane exceeding in size even the four-engine “flying fortress” which was delivered last year. So large will the new ship be that it is to be equipped with the first full 110-volt alternating current electrical system ever installed in an airplane and will provide complete living ac- commodations for its crew, including sleeping quarters and kitchen. While details of the construction and performance still are being kept secret, it was indicated the new bomber will weigh approximately 40,000 pounds and will be one of the greatest weight-carrying airplanes scoring at golf, 'Fm D-4 2 four engines delivering a total of 1,000-horsepower. The new bomber is being constructed by the Boeing Airplane Co., Seattle, which bullt the “Flying Fortress” type, 13 of which have been ordered by the Air Corps. The War Department said a total of 670,000 man-hours of engineering work and shop labor already has gone into the construc- tion of the aerial giant. Since the new bomber is expected to participate in long-range operations, unusual equipment has been installed to make it livable for its crew mem- bers over long periods of time. Com- plete heating and ventilating systems, fire-fighting apparatus and sound- proofing have been installed. It is the first military plane ever built with living accommodations aboard. In TRACTION SAFETY PROBE IS ORDERED AFTER CAR BLAZE Commission Takes Step to Test Charge 150 to 200 Are “Dangerous.” CARRIER OF EACH TYPE WILL BE DISMANTLED Elgen Threatens Summary Rejec- tion of Faulty Cars—Capital Transit Denies Any in Use. In the face of charges before the Public Utilities Commission that 150 to 200 “unsafe and dangerous” street cars are operating in Washington, Chairman Riley E. Elgen ordered an inquiry today to determine the safety of Capital Transit Co. equipment. “If any street cars are found unsafe and dangerous, you can bet the com- mission will order them out of service —Just like that,” Elgen said with a snap of his fingers by way of emphasis. The inquiry was being conducted in connection with that ordered yes- terday into the cause of the explosion and fire which caused a panic in a crowded street car on Georgia avenue at Lamont street. Twenty-six per- sons were injured, Elgen said, on the basis of partial reports received today He believed the explosion was caused by a short-circuit in the control box. To Inspect Each Type. Inspectors for the commission will take & single street car of each type to the shops f down inspection. If it is found faulty, every car of this type will be given a similar inspection. Those found unfit for service, Elgen said, will be placed out of commission The charges which led to the broad investigation ordered today were made by William McK. Clayton, pub- lic utilities chairman for the Fed- eration of Citizens' Associations, just before the close of yesterday's val tion hearing. He demanded a rigid and thorough inspection of all obso- lete types of cars in service. Capital Transit Co. officials flat] denied that any “unsafe and danger- ous” cars were in operation. As the commission and traction at- torneys were about to close vesterday's hearing, Clayton arose to call atten- tion to a report that the street car in which the explosion occurred was of an obsolete, side-door entrance type. Suggests Ban. “I want to ask the Public Utilities Commission to make a rigid and thor= ough inquiry,” Clayton declared. “It it is shown that any other cars of the type that was in today’s accident are still in operation, I think the commission should order them out of service.” _ President E. D. Merrill of the Cap- ital Transit Co. leaped to his feet at this demand. “We've already ordered 45 new cars this year,” he replied. ‘We borrowed money to do this. It is all the equip- ment the company is financially jus- tified in ordering at present.” Clayton, who has attacked street car service at nearly every rate and valuation heering for many years, was not to be quieted. “If these types of cars are dan- gerous, you wouldn't want to operate | them?” he asked the transit official. “Of course not,” Merrill retorted. “An accident of this kind has not occurred in a car of that type before.” Investigation Under Way. Chairman Elgen interrupted the dis~ pute at this point to say that two Pub- lic Utilities Commission officials “are on the job now investigating the ace cident.” As soon as it was reported Fred A. Sager, chief engineer, and A. B. Miles, | chief inspector of equipment for the commission, were ordered at once to the scene, he said. Clayton returned to the verbal com- bat and, turning to Merrill, asked that if any defects are found in the street cars, whether the company would get rid of them. At this point Richmond B. Keech, vice chairman of the commission, in- terrupted to say that “any car on the streets must be safe; we'll see to that.” “Well,” Clayton remarked, “I am " (See STREET CAR, Page A-6) I. C. C. WILL DEFER CREATION OF ZONE New Commercial Area Here Under Motor Carrier Act Held Up by Objections. The Interstate Commerce Commis- sion will defer creation of a commer- cial zone here for administration of the motor carrier act because some of the parties to the proceedings have entered objections, it was reported to- day. A proposed order of the commission setting up the zone would have become effective at midnight last night—20 days after the hearing on the case— had not objections stayed action. The nature of the exceptions have not yet been made public. The commission today handed down three decisions on commercial area proceedings, these being the first cases of the sort that have been handled. In creating zones at New York, Chicago and St. Louis, it was indicated tie commission had given the broadest possible application of the motor car- rier act. It said these commercial zones must be construed as “that area within which transportation by motor vehicle is in the nature of an intra- terminal movement. Under the motor carrier act, com- mercial zones are to be set up in those metropolitan _districts where the or- dinary commerce must cut across & State line. Where these areas are created, common and contract bus and truck operation are freed from the rate-fixing provisions of the act. They must, however, conform to the safety ever built. It wu,ho powered with i (Bee PLANG, Page A7) and hours of gflu provisions.