Evening Star Newspaper, April 23, 1937, Page 19

L d WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION @he Foen WASHINGTON, D. C., FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1937, FRENEN RESELE Z5900ND N FROM 30 FLOO Paul Henry, Overcome by Smoke, About to Leap From Window. 937 K STREET BLAZE FOUGHT FOUR HOURS Other Occupants Escape as Res- taurant Counter Man Is Entrapped. While fellow firemen laid down a barrage of water to keep the flames out of his path, Fi Charles Baumbach early today dragged an unconscious 225-pound man through blazing hallways from the third fioor of a burning residence at 937 K street. The victim, Paul Henry, a res- taurant counterman, collapsed as he ‘was preparing to jump from a third- floor window to escape the flames, which had filled the hallway and cut off the only path of escape. man Awakened by Fire. Henry was awakened at 3:30 a.m. in his front room by flames and smoke pouring from the bath room, where the fire started in an un- known manner. He ran into a wall of fire and smoke in the hallway and was forced back into his room, where he was overcome smoke before he could jump from the win- dow Firemen from No. 2, No. 6 and No. 16 engine companies and No. 1 rescue squad beat down the flames in the _ hallvay with streams of water, while Baumbach and others fought their way to Henry's room. Lieut. John C. Stein, 54, veteran at- tached to No. 6 Engine Company, broke the door to Henry's room and helped the man to the entrance, where he turned him over to Baumbach. Stein said he saw Henry in the window, call- FIREMAN BROWN. i | | | ] PAUL HENRY. ing for help. as the fire apparatus ap- proached the home Baumbach, his arms locked around * Henry's waist, dragged the man down to the second floor, where Fireman Lloyd Brown, 37, of 2809 Fifteenth street, came to his aid and helped carry Henry to the first floor and out- side. “He was too big a man for me to carry.” said Baumbach, who lives at 1144 Forty-fourth place southeast. Escape by Hall Cut Off. The two firemen said Henry had | + planmed to leap out thé widow after first trying to get out through the hall. Henry was given first aid and then sent to the home of his mother in another section of the city. He was bruised badly in the process of being carried out of the house. Approximately four hours were re- quired to extinguish the fire, which swept the entire third floor and part of the second floor of the residence, owned by W. Baldwin, who operates it as a rooming house. Baldwin and other occupants ran out of the house when the fire was discovered. Only Henry's egress was cut off by the flames, BOY IS INJURED WHEN HIT BY CAB| Joseph Louis Is Seriously Hurt While Playing in Front of Home. A 4-year-old boy and a truck driver were in a serious condition at Provi- dence Hospital today from injuries received in traffic accidents late yes- terday. The child, Joseph Louis. 325 Penn- sylvania avenue southeast, may have suffered a skull fracture when struck by a taxicab while playing in front of his home. Gus R. Day, 26, of 1617 Seventeenth street, was said by police to be the driver of the vehicle. Harry Fieldson, 32, of 1010 New Hampshire avenue, received serious internal injuries when the brakes on & second truck slipped as he was cranking his, rolled backward and crushed him against the vehicle he operated. Hospital attaches reported he spent a “fairly comfortable” night. The accident occurred on South Capitol street, near D street. The second truck was operated, police said, by Lynwood A. Trainham, Alex- andria, Va. Harry Davey, 68, of 909 L street, Was treated at Freedman’s Hospital for injuries to his hip, legs and head afler being struck last night by an automobile while crossing at Ninth end L streets. Nellie Davis of Alex- andria was said by police to be the driver of the car which hit him. A truck, which police said was driven by C. L. Ellis, North Arlington, Va., knocked down Marshall Small- wood, 59, colored, of 1439 T street, yesterday, as it backed into the curb. Bmallwood was treated at Emergency Hospital for leg injuries. OFFICIAL OF W. P. A. GUILTY IN FORGERY » —Star Staff Photos. {NOLAN AND AIDES PLEAD NOT GUILTY | Head of Bankrupt Company and Associates Deny Forgery and Other Charges. Pleas of not guilty were entered in District Court today by William J. | Nolan, head of the bankrupt Nolan | Motor Co., and two of his former busi- ness associates, who have been indicted in 23 counts on charges of forgery, uttering, false pretenses and con- | spiracy to commit false pretenses. | Charged along with Nolan are Benja- | min D. Jenkins, office manager and | assistant treasurer of the motor com- { pany, and James Gallagher, secretary | of the firm. | Nolan is now serving a prison term | for bribery. | | FUNERAL RITES TODAY FOR MRS. J. E. W. SOHL Architect’s Wife Was Prominent in Garden Club of Chevy Chase. Funeral services for Mrs. Agnes T. Sohl, who died Wednesday at her home, 30 Hesketh street, Chevy Chase, Md., were to be held at 3 p.m. today at Gawler’s chapel. Burial will fol- low in Rock Creek Cemetery. Mrs. Sohl, formerly Miss Gallaher, was the wife of John E. W. Sohl, ar- chitect, and had made her home in Washington since 1908. She was prominent in the Garden Club of Chevy Chase and was one of the or- ganizers of the Women's Democratic Club. She died after a long illness. Mrs. Sohl was born in Augusta, Ga., and graduated from Notre Dame Col- lege in Baltimore. Her husband sur- vives her. CONGRESSMEN SUBPOENAED FOR BLACKMAIL TRIAL Thomas and Cartwright Due to Appear as Character Witnesses. LAWYER FLAYS POLICE FOR ACTION AT ARREST Frooks Says Robb, Hartmann Were “Discourteous”—Tells of Blow on Head. Senator Elmer Thomas and Rep- | resentative Wilburn Cartwright, Ok- lahoma Democrats, have been sub- poenaed to appear Monday as charac- ter witnesses for Mrs. Mary Krieger, former Oklahoma teacher, at her trial in District Court on charges of con- spiring with Samuel L. Frooks, New York attorney, to blackmail the late Carroll Pierce, Alexandria banker. The legislators were identified in court yesterday as having written letters of recommendation for Mrs. Krieger. The letters were mentioned by Frooks while testifying in his own defense. Frooks read one letter in which Senator Thomas told a prospective employer of Mrs. Krieger that she had come to him “highly recommend- ed,” and that she had been a teacher, social worker and playground direc- tor in Oklahoma. In a second letter, addressed to Frooks in response to an inquiry by the lawyer, Senator Thomas was quoted as saying he knew ‘nothing detrimental” to her reputation. A letter which Cartwright wrote to Frooks in response to a similar in- quiry early in 1935 said the Congress- man was “glad to say” he had known Mrs. Krieger for many years, and that she was of “excellent character.” Voice Breaks With Emotion. Frooks, his voice at times breaking with emotion, bitterly criticized the district attorney’s office and the Po- lice Department for their activities prior to and after his arrest in a local hotel last September 15. He declared several papers im- portant to his defense were “m)ssmg”‘ from his brief case after his arrest THOMAS JORDON. ANDERSON ESTATE 5 LEFT TO WO Petition for Probate of Will to Be Filed in Few Days. Larz Anderson, noted diplomat. sol- | dier and traveler, who died April 13 | at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va,, left all he owned to his widow, Mrs. Isabel | Anderson, according to his will, filed in District Court today. No estimate was available of the value of his extensive estate, which in- cluded the handsome residence at 2118 Massachusetts avenue, that had been the scene of many brilliant gatherings. The King and Queen of Siam stayed | there during their visit to Washington | several years ago. Attorneys said a petition for probate of the will, which will reveal the size of the estate, will be filed within a | few days | Tribute Paid to Wife. In clear, unambiguous language, the will directed that all Mr. Anderson’s possessions be given to “my most dear and beloved wife, Isabel Anderson, who has been my precious companion | When Frooks' attorney, William R. | | Berkson, asked Assistant United | States Attorney Roger Robb if he | had these papers, Robb expressed | resentment at the “insinuation” that {he had taken them and denied he | had ever seen them. Robb said he | had examined contents of the brief | | case and could say the papers re- | ferred to were not there. Frooks assailed Robb and Detec- tive Sergt. Earl P, Hartman, assert- ing they arrested him without a war- rant, refused to identify themselves as officers and to tell him the reason for his arrest and treated him dis- courteously. The lawyer said he was struck on the head during the automobile trip | from the hotel to the court house the night of his arrest, but “assumed” | it was an accident. Relates Version of Conferences. Frooks related in detail his version of the conferences with Mrs. Krieger and with Pierce and the latter's at- torney preceding his arrest. He in- sisted Mrs. Krieger had come to him with what he regarded as a legitimate claim against Pierce for “breach of | contract” arising out of Pierce’s al- leged failure to carry out an agree- ment to give Mrs. Krieger a life job in his bank. At no time, he asserted, did Mrs. Krieger mention “intimacy” with the banker or discuss threats to expose Pierce. Frooks declared that among the papers missing from his brief case was & bank deposit slip on the back of which Pierce had made a memo- randum of a payment of $175 to Mrs. Krieger “for services.” The lawyer testified he overheard Hartmann tell Robb during a lull in their questioning of Frooks fol- lowing his arrest that “we've got nothing on him—we'd better let him | go back to New York.” He also de- clared an assistant United States at- torney later told him: “Mr. Robb | pulled a boner.” Frooks will be cross-examined when the trial is resumed Monday morn- ing. Mrs. Krieger is expected to follow Frooks to the stand. Her daughter made a brief appearance on the witness stand yesterday after Justice F. Dickinson Letts had denied 8 defense motion for a directed ver- dict in favor of Frooks and Mrs. Krieger. — TAXI PRESIDENT ROBBED Match Burglar Gets Two Rings Valued at $500. Cutting telephone wires inside the house and using paper matches to search for loot, a burglar early today escaped with two diamond rings val- ued at $500 and $19 worth of clothing from the home of Leon Brill, jr., 1329 Spring road, president of the Bell Cab Association. Brill told police entrance was made through a kitchen window. He said he found burnt matches acattered around the house. | | either of them, and having absolute | Post Office Building Clock - Charles B. Eliot, 42, W. P. A. official, / pleaded guilty in District Court today ' on charges of forging and uttering a Government - check. His arrest Feb- ruary 20 followed discovery by Secret =~ Service agents of a scheme by which Eliot allegedly was collecting two Fed- eral salaries. Justice Peyton Gordon referred his case to the probation officer for in- vestigation and report. He was allowed to remain at liberty on bail. Although under indictment for forg- ing indorsements on three checks, Eliot was allowed o plead to only one of the cases. He is alleged to have placed a ficti- tious name on a W. P. A. pay roll which was under his charge and to have drawn the extra salary, forging the. fictitious name on the back of each pay check. He is a Harvard University grad- \m: and lives at Wellington, Va. The four-faced clock on the 315- foot gray stone tower of the old Post Office Building, Twelfth street and Pennsylvania avenue, is going to have all four faces lifted by the branch of buildings management of the Na- tional Park Service. Announcement was made today of an agreement with H. D. Fitzgerald & Son, aerial painting firm of Alexan- dria, Va., to retouch the exterior of the faces. These huge clocks have not-had their faces cleaned since 1920. A. R. Fitzgerald, a young steeple- jack and “the son” of the firm’s name, called it a very simple job compared with his recent chore of painting the 600-foot naval radio towers at Ar- lington. The clocks are located below the #alcony of the post office tower, Fits- To Have All 4 Faces Lifted gerald will be swung out and down to their level from this balcony in a narrow wooden seat supported by ropes. Work is expected to start early next week. The clock faces. will be given two coats of paint. An aluminum base will be provided for the frame work so it will stand out in greater re- lief. Hands and figures will be painted black. The four clock faces are 15 feet in diameter each, with Roman hour fig- ures 2 feet high. Each wooden minute hand is 7 feet long and each hour hand 5 feet. Together the pair of hands on each clock weighs 14 pounds. These hands were steel until 1920, but they frose stiff in sleet and snow and could not move. At the time of the last painting job the hands were replaced by wooden ones. ! A and helpmeet during so many won- derful and perfect years." Roger Amory of Boston, who was | described in the will by Mr. Anderson | | as “my good friend,” and Mrs. Ander- | son were named executors. The will, | which was executed January 16, 1923, provided that no bond be required | of them, and that should either i unable to serve, Charles Francis Adams of Concord, Mass.,, former Secretary | of the Navy, take his or her place. The contingency of Mrs. Anderson’s | death before her husband was taken care of in a codicil dated June 23, | 1936, which directed that in such event the entire estate be turned over to Amory and Adams, “to be disposed of by them in accordance with my wishes, which have been communi- cated to them.” Carte Blanche Given. “No legal obligation, restraint or | trust, however,” the codicil continued, | “is hereby imposed upon them or confidence that they will carry out my | wishes, I leave the said Roger Amory | and Charles Francis Adams and the survivor of them, entirely free as to | the best method in their judgment of | disposing of my estate, without being answerable to any person or court | whatsoever.” Mr. Anderson's diplomatic service was rendered in England, Italy, Bel- gium and Japan. At the time he mar- ried her, Mrs. Anderson was one of te world’s wealthiest girls. The Andersons usually opened their palatial residence here during the early Winter and early Spring. At other seasons they lived at their Sum- mer home, Weld, at Brookline, Mass., or in the South. Ill about four weeks, Mr. Anderson was 71 years old when he died. SEAL CITES NEED OF MORE REVENUE Declares District Requires $6,- 146,000 Additional for Next Year. Declaring the District will need $6,146,000 additional revenue in the next fiscal year, Corporation Counsel Elwood Seal told the Cosmopolitan Club yesterday that any curtailment of the present functions of the mu- nicipal government “would be a mere drop in the bucket.” He discussed the nine proposed tax bills for the District now pending before Congress and pointed out the Commissioners must have some source | of revenue available by July 1, when the next fiscal year begins, or revert to higher taxes on real estate. Seal said any drastic reductions in expenditures would have to be made in any or all the four major depart- ments—police, fire and welfare de- partments and the school sys’em. “We hear talk of reorganizing the District government and of reducing expenses in this way,” he said. ‘I venture to say that the most drastic reductions that could be made throughout the District Building colild not reduce expenses more than $50,000.” He decried the small tax paid by some organizations here and the prac- tice of large companies shipping their surplus funds out of the District just before July 1 and thus escaping the tax on intangibles. Seal explained the various meas- ures now being considered call for a tax on insurance companies which would bring in about $200,000; an increase in the gas tax, which would mean additional revenue of $500,000 or more; a weight tax on cars, which would net from $1,500,000 to $2,000,- 000, and amusement, inheritance and other taxes. Banquet to Honor Brigade. A banquet in honor of Washington members of the Abrabam Lincoln brigade, fighting with the Spanish loyalists, will be held at 9 p.m. tomor- row in Chaplin’s Grill. @ FRIDAY, 4PRIL 3, 1931 MIDNIGHT REPORT MRS LIZZIE JAYNES, CASHIER ny Star % K 3k ok OF THE GARDEN T SHOPPE, 1835 COLUMBIA RD NW, REPORTS THAT ABOUT 11:25 THIS PM SHE VAS HELD UP AT POINT OF PISTOL AND ROBBED OF $90.00 BY TWO YOUNG WHITE MEN WHO FIRED ONE SHOT AT HER WHEN THEY DEMANDED THE MONEY. #1 IS 23 TO 25 YRS OLD, 6' TiLL, WEARING 4 MASK, BLUE SUIT. #2 ABOUT 6°' TALL, GREY EYES, PAIR HAIR, KO WEIGHT GIVEN, WHO EELD THE GUN. MRS JAYNES WAS NOT INJURED. THBY BSCAPED IN A TAN COLORED 1928 MODEL CHRYSLER, BLACK WHEELS AND RED STRIPE AROUND BODY. DC E-3148. THESE TiG8 HAVE BEEN 'STOLEN FROM GRAHAM PAIGE SEDAN. | | AND TAKEN TO GARFIELD HOSPITAL. T. F.HEIDR APRIL 3, 1931 ’IN'I'ERVEW‘ED CDMPLAINANT. LOOEKOUT SENT OUT. MRS KLIZABETH S JAYNES DIED AT GARFIELD HOSPITAL 6:18 APRIL 5, 1931 | CORONER NOTIFIED BY BURTON THOMAN, MT A police incidental may decide the fate of Thomas Jordon, for the murder of Mrs. Elizabeth S. Jaynes in the Garden T Shoppe hold-up murder. the killer is described as 6 feet tall, gray ey awaiting execution is 5 feet 614, has black hair and this report, a copy of which is reproduced abov. of Justice has reopened the investigation. permit photogra phing of the handwriting. "LATER IT WAS POUND MRS JAYNES WAS SHOT IN THE SIDE F J HaaGK MAHANEY In the police report es, fair hair. Jordon brown eyes. On the strength of e, the Department The police would not original report in the officer’s Youngest Daughter of Tolstoy | Countess Will Lecture Here to Aid Children of Modern Russia. By way of the old Russia, Japan and the Japanese cultural influence came to town yesterday to look over the cherry blossom situation through the eyes of Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, youngest daughter of the late Count Tolstoy, philosopher and poet Countess Tolstoy, here to lecture to- night at the Washington Club for the benefit of the Russian Children’s Wel- fare Society, has just closed the latest chapter in her romantic life—that of a gypsy. Before her trip to the Tidal Basin she parked her station wagon in the side yard of a Mount Rainier home, the residence of Mme. Wsevolod L. Joukowsky, secretary of the welfare society. With her traveling companion, Olga Tarantini, who was a refugee from Russia with her, Countess Tolstoy had | spread her tent from Connecticut to Florida. They had with them three type- writers—one English and two Russian —and a police dog. While the dog watched they wrote—the countess her new book on Japan, where she lived many years, and Miss Tarantini a novel on the old Russia. Naturally, having been through-*the revolution in Russia, Countess Tolstoy | has been keeping her eyes glued on | America and her ears wide open—to hear, if possible, any sounds of a rum- ble beneath the surface here. If she detects it, she has yet to say—for the countess wants, above all things, to avoid politics. In Japan she sees an unmistakable trend toward a new order. This runs in a parallel line with the old culture that comes out of the ages; but there they are, side by side, take it or leave it, with the “made-in-America” touch on the Land of the Rising Sun. They probably never will have skyscrapers there, on account of the earthquakes, but the new architecture is distinctly streamline, the countess says. For five years Countess Tolstoy has been familiar with America and all its activity, and she finds it going along & philosophical line diametrically op- posed to the doctrines enunciated by her father. America, at heart, is materialistic. ‘Tolstoy, after his so-called conversion, based everything on the joy of living, on love—and what love creates. Such doctrine was expressed by the countess in this way: “When we lost everything, people asked me how I felt. Well, in Russia women wear great coats—the shuba. I felt, when all our wealth was gone, as though I had lost my shuba—thrown it off. At first, that felt a little cool, and I had to work to keep warn; but without the lost shuba—symbol of wealth—I was freer—lighter in spirit. And there you have it. Material things mean nothing. Money will not bring exquisite joy. Not money alone.” That Count Tolstoy had the same idea is evidenced by his will, the countess said. He left her everything, but with the distinct understanding that no royalties be collected on his books; that any one who wanted to publish them could do so without payment to the estate. “I believe,” she said, “he is the bnly writer in the world who ever did that —sgave all his works away.” At her lecture the countess will ex- hibit one of the first motion pictures ever made in Russia—a film showing her father at work on his estate. Though reluctant to talk politics, Countess Tolstoy visions the end of Fascism and Communism, in years to come, and the triumph of Democracy as it is known in the United States. “America,” she says, “is the only country with freedom and liberty in the world today, with the possible ex- ception of Switzerland, and a few other small republics.” Communism in Russia, she believes, is merely Fascism by another name. Reward for Plane Reoffered. SALT LAKE CITY, April 23 (#).— A $1,000 reward for discovery of the Western Air Express transport that vanished with seven persons Decem- ber 15 was reoffered yesterday. Sys- tematic search for the plane will be Tenewed when mountain snogs melt. ‘Sees Order Changing in Japan/ COUNTESS TOLSTOY. —Star Staff Photo. | Small Packages | Of U.S. Products Sold to Chinese | Raisins and Soap in Tiny Packets Are Liked by Buyers. Willingness to package as few as five raisins in a tiny envelope ap- parently is bringing business success in China to an American concern, according to the Commerce Depart- ment. This comvpany, it was reported, rec- ognized the fundamental principle that the Chinese are inherently ac- customed to purchase their require- ments daily in small units. The poetage-stamp sized packages of raisins sell for the lowest unit of the Chinese copper currency. Another American manufacturer who noticed that the Chinese hand is smaller than that of Occidentals, and who put up his soap in smaller cakes, is reaping the benefit of better sales, it was reported. Although Chinese women tradi- tionally have used cosmetics, they now show a preference for American brands, especially in tiny packages. Fined Under Poisons Act. Domenico Del Vecchio, trading un- der the name of People’s Hardware Stores, No. 4, was fined $25 by Police Judge John P. McMahon today for violation of the caustics poisons act. ‘The fine was recommended by the Dis- trict attorney’'s office. The average American wage earner is dying “broke,” according to the Social Security Board. This conclusion is reached by a study of cases arising under the newly established old-age benefits law, it was disclosed in a communication today at the office of Acting Controller General Richard N. Elliott. “Statistics available to the board in- dicate that approximately 72.2 per cent of‘male wage earners who die leave a widow, and, to date, in approximately 60 per cent of cases wherein an apppli- cation for old-age benefits has been filed, there are no other assets in the estate aside from the amount to be certified for payment,” the board said. “In & majority of the remaining 40 per cent the assets are too small to Justify the expense of administration.” ‘The board’s letter was written in connection with a request on Elliott {to confirm its interpretation of a sec- tion of the social security act which provides that lump sum benefits, if $500 or less, may be paid to heirs— under board regulations—without com- plying with State laws regarding- ad- ministration. “Manifestly,” it sald, “the purpose of this section i to expedite payment | control MRS.ELIZABETH S. JAYNES. DELAND RENAVIED PLANNING HEAD Again Made Chairman of National Capital Park Commission. Frederic A. Delano today was unani- mously re-elected chairman of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. President Roosevelt recently re- appointed Delano for a six-year term as a member of the commission, start- ing April 30. The commission selects its own chairman. In honoring De- lano again the commission is keeping him in a post he has occupied since | 1930. Pollution Discussed. Pollution in the Potomac River en- gaged the commission’s attention | today, with Thomas S. Settle. its sec-| retary, officially advising that the Vinson bill, creating a water pollution group in the Public Health Service, has passed the House. This measure provides grants and loans to communities in various watersheds, |and Settle described this “a big step forward for the Potomac Valley.” Another measure, which Congress is | now considering, would enable Mary- land, Virginia, West Virginia, Penn- sylvania and the District to set up a conservancy district, which Settle said would dovetail in with the Vinson pro- gram. A number of plans, which were not | made public, were considered by the commission from the Alley Dwelling | Authority, designed to wipe out some of Washington’s blighted areas. Under the law the commission must approve | the authorities’ plans, and inasmuch as land purchases are involved, these are not disclosed. Building Sketches Required. ‘The commission went on record to- day as favoring the plan that appli- cants for gasoline stations be required to submit sketches of their buildings so the planners may see more clearly how they might affect a neighborhood. | James Ryder, commission engineer, | submitted requests for a number cr} gasoline stations to be erected in the District. | The commission is reporting back to | the District Commissioners on thesei plans. Commission recommendations were not revealed. WARRANTS VALIDITY IN SEARCH ATTACKED An attack on the validity of the warrant under which police several weeks ago entered the apartment of Mr. and Mrs. William (Jewboy) Dietz, 1700 block of Hobart place, was made by Mrs. Dietz, through her attorney, Harry Whelan, before United States Commissioner Needham C. Turnage yesterday. Turnage took the question under advisement while awaiting ad- vice from the District attorney’s office. Whalen argued that entry was gained through a customs warrant, by which it was expected to find a fur coat on which the duty had not been paid. Mrs. Dietz is alleged to have produced receipts showing the duty had been paid on all furs in her possession. However, according to the motion to invalidate the warrant, police seized 15 slot machines, a keg of untaxed liquor and numerous private papers. Whelan contends that police had no authority to seize anything in the house which was not named in the warrant. Whalen cited a United States Su- preme Court decision of last year un- der which it was held that customs warrants, as worded, are not valid. The attorney said there has been no change in the wording of the warrant. Average Worker Dies ‘Broite,’ Social Security Report Says of benefits on the death of the wage earner. This would appear partic- ularly true where the payee under State law is the widow or widower, child or parent. It is only where such situation exists and none of the bene- fit will be payable to creditors under State law, that the board expects to make such payment without adminis- tration.” The payments total what the wage earner has contributed, plus 3!2 per cent, and the board says they now range “from a few cents to a few dol- lars” and no large increase is expected for some time. Elliott sanctioned the plan. The board reported today that 2,711,708 employers with 26,696,137 wage earners on their rolls had reg- istered under the old-age benefits law as of April 17. It was explained, however, that this is not the total of persons employed now or at any one time among the employers covered by the act but rather a cumulative total in which there is considerable duplication due to the shifting of em- ployes from one employer to another during the five-month period in- volved. In the District the respec- tive figures were 16,831 and 160,983. A PAGE B—-1 U.5.PAYINCREASE BILL SIDETRACKED BY SENATE GROUP Congressional Employes’ In- clusion in Retirement Plan Backed. POSTMASTER MEASURE ACTION IS DEFERRED McCarran Proposal Hearings Held “Inopportune” in View of Economy Drive. BY J. A. O'LEARY. Inclusion of congressional employcs in the Government retirement system and two other minor bills were ap- proved by the Senate Civil Service Committee today. but the McCarran | Federal pay increase measure again was side-tracked Legislation already passed by the House to apply civil service to first, second and third class postmasters was referred to a subcommittee for further study, after receipt of a letter | from Postmaster General Farley. The | letter said there was no objection to adopting the civil service principle, but suggested changes in details of the bill which passed the House in January Although the advisability of starting | hearings on the McCarran pay bill was | discussed at the Executive Committee session, no action was taken and Chairman Bulow of South Dakota in- | dicated the committee probably would | adhere to its present policy of waiting |until the administration reports its | views on various personnel problems, The Budget Bureau more than two | months ago requested such a delay, | stating that a survey of compensation, | retirement and related subjects was | in progress. Would Hold Hearings. McCarran, neve: less, believes the | committee should proceed with hear- | Ings, m view of the length of time that has elapsed since the Budget Bureau |letter was received. He has indicated his belief that the absence of 1cports | from the executive bran: ernment should not prev sional committees from pending legislation Following today's man Bulow took t would be an inopport consideration of the pa of the current discus: of Government expe The Mc- Carran bill seeks to aid the lower-paid Government workers, especially those receiving less than $1,500 a year. It would make $1,500 the minimum for full-time employment The legislative retirement bill, al- ready passed by the House, would not | compel Capitol employes to go into | the retirement plan, but would give them the option of doing so, within | six months from passage of the meas | The other two bills favorably re- considering g, Chair that this € to begin 1 because { reduction view | ure | ported are: | To clarify the civil service rule re- ‘qumng applicants for examination for appointment in Government de- partments in Washington to show they have been legal or voting residenis of the States from which they apply for one year ‘To extend certain retirement benefits to a small number of former employes in the Panama Canal Zone Postmaster Bill. The postmaster bill which the House passed requires filling of vacancies in the first, second and third class offices by appointment of the incumbent, non- competitively, or by promotion from within the postal service, unless the Postmaster General certifies to the Civil Service Commission that there is (no qualified person serving in the | vacancy office available for such pro- motion. Farley told the committee “It would | not be practicable or in the interest of | the service to require the Postmaster | General to make any such certification before an open competitive examina- | tion could be requested.” His letter | suggested that any legislation extend- | ing classified civil service to presiden- tial postmasters should provide for | filling vacancies by either of the fol- lowing methods X (1) By reappointment of the incuma= bent, if there be one, through non- competitive examination; (2) by pro= motion of a classified employe in the vacancy office through non-competi- tive examination; (3) by selection from an eligible register established by the commission in accordance with the Civil Service law, the selection from such eligible register to be made in the same manner as selections are made in filling all other Civil Service positions. The requirement that acting post master appointments be made under Civil Service rules governing tempo= rary jobs would not work to good ade vantage in presidential offices, the letter stated. The letter suggested that this be left to the judgment of the department, with a six-month limit | on acting postmaster appointments. TRANSIT DEPRECIATION FIGURES PRESENTED Data on Buildings Offered Utili- ties Commission in Resumed Valuation Case. Testimony on the extent of deprecia- tion of buildings owned by the Capital Transit Co. was presented to the Public Utilities Commission today in the resumed car company valuation case, by O. L. Miegs, for the company. He did not submit an exhibit show- ing all the results of his study of the company’s buildings, but started by discussing such properties one at a time. Miegs, a contractor of Wash- ington, Va., was employed from time to time by the old Capital Traction Co. to design or construct some of its buildings. Moving toward the conclusion of its side of the case, the company later will call to the witness stand Harold E. Doyle of the Thomas J. Fisher Co., who is a past president of the Wash- ington Real Estate Board. Doyle, who has appeared as witness for utilities companies in other valuation cases, will give testimony on the value of land owned by the tragsit concern,