Evening Star Newspaper, July 13, 1937, Page 19

NEW FIELD SOUGHT BY AIRLINE PILOTS ASD.C.SUBSTITUTE Commission Acts for 0. K. of Congress on Camp Springs Site. BOLLING AREA IS EYED FOR TEMPORARY USE Army Facilities Are Not Now Being Utilized in Absence of Some Buildings. BACKGROUND— Since 1926, local aeronautical, civic, business and real estate in- terests have been bickering be- Jore Congressional committees over the need for and location of a model air transport terminal for Washington. Efforts of Congress to do something have broken down, year after year, in a deadlock over rival merits of Washington-Hoover Airport and Gravelly Point. Dis- trict Airport Commission, created 1¢ months ago, yesterday came out jor a 1900-acre site at Camp Springs, Md. While the District Airport Commis- | sion today prepared to seek approval | by Congress of its selection of the site for a model local air terminal at Camp Springs, Md., airline pilots who have served notice that they will not continue to fly at Washington Airport unless greater safety is provided, sought a temporary field, pending a permanent arrangement. It is understood negotiations are to be opened at once for temporary use of new Bolling Field as an emergency base, possibly for a year or more. The new Army field is not being used by the Army because of lack of techni- | cal construction, including hangars and other necessary buildings. Members of the Airport Commis- sion, who refrained in their report {rom describing the exact location of the 1,900-acre tract they have rec- ommended at Camp Springs, ex- plained that this was because they have been unable to obtain options on some of the property. Options have been acquired on about 90 per cent of the properties comprising the area, it was explained. ‘The commission, which was given 810,000 with which to acquire op- tions, has been unable to take them on the remaining 10 per cent and it s believed a part of this area would have to be acquired through condem- nation proceedings. Nichols Refuses to Sign. Representative Jack Nichols of Ok- 1ahoma, secretary of the Airport Com- mission, who refused to sign the re- port recommending the Camp Springs site alone, said that in his opinion an alternative close-in site also should have been provided. “I believe that Camp Springs vtill‘ make an excellent airport,” Nichols explained. we should have a terminal as close to the business section. as possible, which can be used, except in very bad weather—say 90 per cent of the time. The first step toward carrying out the recommendations of the Airport Commission is to be the drafting of a bill authorizing the construction of an airport at Camp Springs and setting a limit of cost. Senator King of Utah, chairman of the commission, expecis to call a meeting of the members this week to complete the drafting of such a bill. ©One of the first major problems to be settied will be the method of financ- ing the airport program. This will de- pend on whether the airport is to be purely national in character—a model Federal airport for the Nation—or a Federal-municipal airport. If it is de- eided that the District is to share in the expense, it must be determined what proportion the local taxpayers are to contribute. Many of the commission members believe the Camp Springs project €hould be wholly Federal in character and paid for by the United States. Then, if the District wants an airport closer to the city, that should be paid for entirely by the District. Senator King said that if the Camp Bprings project is to be purely na- tional, he thought the Federal Gov- ernment should pay for it. Repre- sentative Mary T. Norton of New Jersey, member of the. commission and former chairman of the House District Committee, believes the Federal Gov- ernment should pay for an airport which would be a model for the Nation. ‘The present chairman of the District Committee, Representative Palmisano of Maryland, also believes it should be a Federal project, as does Representa- tive Nichols, secretary of the com- | mission. Decision on Committee. The decision as to the financing of the project will determine to which of the standing committees of the Benate and House the measure will be referred. Should the bill provide for a purely Federal project, it will go to the Senate Commerce Com- mittee and the House Interstate Com- merce Committee, in all probability. Bhould the District be assessed a share of the cost, the bill will go to the District committees. Negotiations for use of Bolling PMeld would cover operations there only in emergencies. Such emergencies, n the opinlon of the airline pilots, are created when cross winds at Washing- ton Airport make use of the main 4,200-foot runway impossible, or when bad weather shrouds the obstacles around the fleld and makes approaches unduly hazardous. It is because of these hazards that the National Air Line Pilots’ Association, acting on be- half of pilots flying new high-speed equipment out of Washington Airport delivered their “ultimatum” last ‘Thursday. The new Bolling Field has been used by the airlines for emergency operations on several occasions. Lighting Not Completed. Lighting of the new Bolling Field has not been completed and night operations would have to be carried on with the use of smudge pots, the ilots were informed. Runway flood- fl:hu may be instalied at the new (See AIRPORT, Page B-4.) A “But I also believe ‘h“l Hiker Presents Plato Volume To Roosevelt EMANUEL JONIDIS. —Star Staff Photo. Emanuel Jonidis, whase looks belie his 47 years, completed his last “‘hike" | vesterday when he arrived in Wash- ington to present President Roosevelt with a copy of Plato's immortal “Re- public” on behalf of the Greek-Amer- ican Citizens' Club of New York. “I'm tired, yes, very tired.” he said | as he rubbed his legs. “When Presi- dent Roosevelt was elected I pushed a wheelbarrow all the way from my home in Litchfield, Conn, to San Francisco. “I promised to do that during the President’s first campaign provided he was elected. way, and just wanted to show my Jjoy,” Emanuel added. “Now I'm here | to give him this book,” he said, show- | ing the neatly bound volume. It was inscribed “to the President | who puts into practice the ideals of true democracy expounded in Plato’s | immortal work."” “Ileft New York on June 6,” Eman- | uel said, adding: “My walk to Cali- fornia took 6 months and 16 days. And look! I've gotten signatures of the President, Vice President, five | Governors, Representatives and Sena- tors and of most every mayor from Litchfield to the Golden Gate.” He smiled proudly. | As if his 14-pound knapsack wasn't enough. First Selectman Louis Good- man of Litchfield asked Emanuel 1if he would push a 60-pound stone along with him on his trip West and give |1t to the museum in the California city. | “Isaid I would and so I did,” Eman- | uel continued. Then: “Here's certifi- cates showing I spent 40 days in hos- | pitals and under the care of a doctor | with my feet.” Himself an American Greek, Eman- uel proudly displayed an introductory letter to the President given him by Archbishop Athenagoras, Greek Or- thodox Archdiocese Jf North and South America. “Guess T'll get to see the President. And then I'm just going to sit down jand rest. Guess I'll get me a P. W. A, | job watching tools, or something. It's | no more hikes for me.” AUTO BODY DENIES BARUNIT'S CHARGE A. A. A. Says It Does Not Engage in Practice of Law or Give Advice. Answering a suit filed by a District | Bar Association committee, the Amer- ican Automobile Association denied yesterday that it engaged in the prac- tice of law, as had been charged. Early last month the Committee for the Suppression of the Unauthorized Practice of Law petitioned the District Court to enjoin the A. A. A. from cer- tain practices and to hold the organ- ization in contempt of court. The as- sociation, it was charged, provided le- gal advice and services to its members. The organization flatly denied it had held itself out to its members as qualified to practice law or had given them legal advice. It admitted, how- ever, that on certain occasions it had engaged lawyers for its members, but said it had no financial interest in the cases. It admitted also that it maintains a “Department of Claims and Ad- Justment” to settle damage claims up to $100, but said this id not infringe on the practice of lawyers. About 75 per cent of the claims, the association stated, were for $25 or less, too small to warrant the attention of an attor- aey. - ROBERT C. MILLIEN DIES OF FALL EFFECTS Robert C. Milliken, 76, formerly Pprominently identified with the insur- ance business in the South, died to- day in Gallinger Hospital. He had been i1l since recelving a hip fracture in a fall last May. A native of Texas, Mr. Milliken came to Washington before the World War in connection with work for & national rural credit plan. He was & recognized expert in the present farm mortgage bank system and at one time was special representative for a large insurance company here. For a period of several years, up to 1930, he was & member of the Capital guide force. Later his eyesight failed. A brother, who lives in Texas, is his only near relative known to friends here. LY I was for him all the | he WASHINGTON, D. C, PRESIDENT LAYS APEX STRUGTURE STONE IN RITUAL Good Business Sense De- mands Continued, U. S. Building, He Says. TRADE UNIT’S HOME HELD GOLDEN RULE SYMBOL Trowel Used by Washington Is Employed in Spreading Cor- ner Stone Mortar. Good business sense demands con- tinued erection of Federal buildings to house all the Government agencies now occupying rented and “unsuitable” buildings here, President Roosevelt declared yesterday in layving the cor- ner stone of the Apex Building, new home of the Federal Trade Commis- sion. Recalling the nature of the work to which the building is dedicated,- the President said “eternal vigilance” is necessary to keep business honest and that dangers from monopoly and un- fair business practices make the Trade Commission of vital importance in the Nation's economic life. “May this permanent home of the Federal Trade Commission,” he said, “stand for all time as a symbol of the purpose of the Government to insist on a greater application of the Golden Rule to the conduct of corporations and business enterprises in their rela- tionship to the body politic.” The President spoke from a flag- draped platform erected on the Penn- sylvania avenue side of the partially | | completed building at the intersection |of Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues. The structure completes the “triangle” of Government buildings, he said, and also carries forward the plan of eventually housing in Gov- ernment-owned buildings all the agencies here. War Department Cited. Mr. Roosevelt cited the War Depart- ment, scattered through 18 buildings, as an example of those units which are housed unsuitably at a large an- nual rental cost. After his address the President used the trowel that was used by George Washington in laying the corner stone of the Capitol in 1793 to spread mortar for the corner stone of the new F. T. C. home. “I might remark that I have my union card.” he said jok- ingly as he picked up the trowel. The new building, being erected with P. W. A. funds at a cost of $3.125,000, is scheduled to be ready early next year. The five members of the commis- sion sat on the platform behind Mr. Roosevelt at the ceremonies yester- day, facing a crowd of several hun- dred invited guests. Chairman W. A. Ayers introduced the President, whose | | address . as broadcast over the na- tional radio hook-ups, after Rev. James Shera Montgomery, chaplain of the | House of Representatives, gave the invocation. Rev. Richard Cartmell gave the benediction and the United States Marine Band played the “Star | Spangled Banner” at conclusion of the ceremonies. Text of Address. The text of the President’s address follows: Most of the great Federal commis- sions were set up in the belief that “an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure.” The Federal Trade Commission was no exception to that sound legislative intent. Prevention of | unfair business practices is generally better than punishment administered after the fact of infringements, costly to the consuming public and to hon- est competitors. Great and incalculable impacts have shaken the economic world in the period since the commission began its work. The most disastrous depression in the history of business has given new and forcible emphasis to the need for just the contribution which the commission has made to our economic life. All of the fine things achieved in the interest of fair trade practice since the approval by President Wilson in Septeraber, 1914, of the original Fed- eral Trade Commission act justify the event for which we are assembled here today: the laying of the corner stone of a new home for the commission. The record of accomplishments in the interest of fair competition, in pros- perous times and when evil days were upon the land, warrants that this| body shall have a habitation adequate | to its needs and in keeping with the | importance of the tasks which it has accomplished and will continue to perform in the protection of American trade. The vision of Woodrow Wilson has been vindicated again. When that far-seeing statesman asked Congress in January, 1914, to create the Fed- eral Trade Commission he saw in the realm of trade and commerce a field which prevention was indeed better than punishment. Cites Its Work. To the Federal Trade Commission, therefore, was given the task of pro- tecting competitive business from fur- ther inroads by monopoly and of as- suring to the public the fullest possi- ble measure of benefit growing out of the competitive system. When the commission discovered practices which were unfair or which tended toward monopoly, it was to deal with them by injunction rather than by punish- ment, punishment being reserved for the violator of the injunction. Undoubtedly in large measure im- provement in business ethics has been helped by the constant play of the light of publicity growing out of the administration of acts such as the Federal Trade Commission act. But the dangers to the country growing out of monopoly and out of unfair methods of competition still exist and still call for action. They make the work of the Federal Trade Commission of vital importance in our economic life. We must not be lulled by any sense of false security. Eternal vigilance is the price of opportunity for honest business. It is the price we must pay if business is to be al- lowed to remain honest and to carry on under fair competitive conditions, protected from the sharp or the shady practices of the unscrupulous. The erection of this splendid home o) Mg saik MRS LOUSE KNG N WELFARE PIST Appointed to Board by City Heads to Succeed Mrs. Goldsmith. Mrs. Louise Berliner King, prom- inent in local social service work, was appointed a member of the Board of Public Welfare today by the District Commissioners to fill the unexpired term of Mrs. Charles Goldsmith, whose resignation was accepted as of July 1. Director Elwood Street planned to administer the oath of office to Mrs. | King later today. The resignation of Mrs. Goldsmith, who had been a member and secretary | of the board since its organization in | 1926. was accepted regretfully by the Commissioners, Mrs. Goldsmith had explained that on account of her years of service and the fact that she ex- pects to be out of the city considerably | in the year ahead she felt she should | | no longer serve on the board. retiring member has been one of the most prominent welfare workers Washington for years, especially in Jewish service. Secretary of Board. She had served as secretary of the board during all her service. In selecting Mrs. King as her suc- cessor, the Commissioners chose a woman who has been identified for many years with effective volunteer service in the District of Columbia. She is the wife of Milton W. King, attorney, and lives in the Westchester Apartments. Mrs. King is a native of the District and was graduated from Central High School. She is the | daughter of the late Emile Berliner, who served as a member of the old Board of Charities, which preceded the Board of Public Welfare, from July 1, 1914, to June 30, 1916, when he resigned because of ill health. Friendship House Treasurer. Mrs. King is treasurer of Friend- ship House, a member of the board of the Southeast ~ Community House, a member of the board of the Jewish Social Service Agency and is active also in the Society for the Prevention of Blindness and the Wash- ington Institute for Mental Hygiene. She also is & member of the board members council of the Washington | Council of Social Agencies and of the Budget Committee of the Com- munity Chest. The term to which Mrs. King was appointed will expire July 1, 1938. ROOSEVEL.T INVITED Considers V. F. W. Request to Address Encampment. President Roosevelt has taken under advisement an invitation to address the Thirty-eighth National Encamp- ment of the Veterans uf Foreign Wars of the United States, to be held in Buffalo, N. Y., August 29 to Septem- ber 3. The invitation was brought to the White House yvesterday by a delegation headed by Brig. Gen. Ber- nard W. Kearney, commander in chief of the organization. —_— for the Federal Trade Commission completes the architectural unit facing on Constitution avenue and all the United States is proud of this great triangle of buildings which has almost been completed. Symbol of Golden Rule. Furthermore, it carries forward the plan of housing eventually in Gov- ernment-owned buildings all of the departments and agencies of the Fed- eral Government in the District of Columbia. During the greater part of its existence the Federal Trade Commission has been housed in tem- porary lath and plaster construction of the World War years, and they have had my deep sympathy. Many other departments and agencies, as we in the District well know, have been and are housed in rented buildings, temporary buildings and unsuitable buildings. The War Department, for example, is scattered over 18 locations in this city. And so, as an old-fash- ioned business man, let me remark that the dictates of economy and good business sense call for a continuation of the erection of Federal buildings in order, over a comparatively short period of years, to save the taxpayers’ money and improve Government effi- clency. I know that you all unite with me in saying that may this permanent home of the Federal Trade Commis- sion stand for all time as a symbol of the purpose of this Government to insist on a greater application of the Galden Rule to the conduct of corpo- rations and business enterprises in their relationship to the body politic and the public good. hemnn WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION The | in | g § Stap TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1937. FH¥ angle, is the National Museum. £ Top photo shows an air view of the buildings in the tri- angle, which was given an apexr yesterday when President Roosevelt laid the corner stone of the new Federal Trade Com- mission Building. The black arrow is directed along Constitu- tion avenue and the white arrow along Pennsylvania avenue the two streets which form the triangle. Building; No. 2, the Archives Building; No. 3, the Department of Justice; No. 4, Internal Revenue,; No. 5, Post Office Depart- ment; No. 6, Labor Department; No. 7, Department of Com- merce; No. 8, District Building. of the Mellon Art Museum and, No. 1 is the new Aper In the lower right is the site left center, just out of the tri- Lower photo shows President Roosevelt, using a trowel George Washington once used to lay the corner stone of the United States Capitol, on September 18, 1793, spreading a nickel’s worth of mortar #o lay the corner stone of the new home for the Federal Trade Commission, apex of the $75.000,000 triangle of Government office bduildings. —A. P. Photos. MRS. DOYLE HITS SCHOOL PROPOSAL Down on Red Tape, She Believes. Assailing the proposal made yester- day by Commissioner Hazen that | appointment and control of the School Board be vested in the Board of Com- missioners, Mrs. Henry Grattan Doyle, president of the Board of Educatilh, today said she did not see how the plan would accomplish its avowed purpose of cutting down “red tape” and “lost motion” in the District gov- ernment. “The appropriations have been definitely made and allocated for specific purposes and the board is concerned only with policies affecting the schools,” she pointed out. The failure of similar attempts before, Mrs. Doyle felt, indicates that citizens here, as apparently in the Nation at large, desire their school system to be independent of politics. “Control,” she said,, is the really significant word in Hazen's proposal. “The people of Washington are apparently satisfled with the present practice of appointment of board members by the District Court justices, as it gives them the separation of political and educational control they seem to desire,” she declared. The board chairman also pointed out that board members were un- salaried, and she said she could not see that the proposed reorganization would provide any more economy or efficiency of operation. She added that hearings held previous to the passage of the organic act in 1906 indicated popular opinion here favored divorce of school control from politics. The board had for some years previous to that act been under the control of the Commissioners and at a salary of $10 a session not to exceed $500 a year, she said. “We are interested in giving Wash- ington the best possible administration of schools,” she concluded, “and that's all there is to it.” PRSI S T “Smilin’ Thru” at Sylvan. The Blackfriars Guild's production of “Smilin’ Thru,” preceded by & con- cert by the Washington Gas Light Co. Employes’ Band, will feature the fes- _tival program in the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument tonight at 8 o'clock. It is the fourth in a series of 12 Summer programs. Senate Confirms A. M. Fox. The Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of A. Manuel Pox of New York to be & member of the United States Tariff Commission. i Hazen’s Plan Won't Cut, HOUSE DELAY SEEN FORD.C. FISCALAID Action on Measure to Let City Borrow on Revenues May Be Opposed. A two-week delay in the House to- day faced a resolution designed permit the District to borrow Federal funds to finance the Municipal Gov- ernment until tax revenues begin to flow into the depleted coffers in Sep- tember. ‘Without a special rule or by unan- imous consent agreement, the resolu- tion cannot be called up under House rules until the next so-called District day, July 26. House leaders are not expected to approve either of these plans, despite the serious financial plight which confronts the District. The resolution was introduced late yesterday by Representative Kennedy, Democrat, of Maryland, who served as chairman of a special subcommittee of the District Committee which drafted the original tax program to keep the Municipal Government from running into a deficit of $7,000,000 or more in the current fiscal year. A section of Kennedy's original bill carried such an authorization, but it was eliminated by the House before it passed the measure. Kennedy, how- ever, believes the plan will now be ap- proved by the House in view of the seriousness of the situation resulting from the failure of the Senate to take action on the tax program. The tax bill is being held up in the Senate because of debate on the Su- preme Court reorganization plan, and there is no indication when it will be considered there. Chairman King of the Senate District Committee, how- ever, is confident arrangements can be made to break into the Supreme Court debate for consideration of the Kennedy resolution if the House will adopt it in the near future. King be- lieves the Senate will give the resolu- tion a preferred status because of its emergency nature, although it has sidetracked the tax bill for debate on the court issue. BAND CONCERTS. By the Army Band in the formal garden at Walter Reed Hospital at 6:30 o'clock tonight. Capt. Thomas F. Darcy, leader; Karl Hubner, assistant. By the Soldiers’ Home Band in the bandstand at 7 o’clock tonight. John 8. M. Zimmermann, bandmaster; Anton Pointner, assistant. By the Navy Band at the District War Memorial in West Potomac Park at 8 o'clock tonight. Lieut, Charles Benter, leader; Alexander Morris, eamstan| A to| FORNEW HOSPITAL Property All Acquired, Work | i on $1,000,000 Structure to Begin in October. Legal proceedings preliminary to construction of a new ml!lmn-dollar‘ hospital in the 1800 block of I street | were completed yesterday and officials of Doctors Hospital, Inc., said building operations are expected to begim by | October. The last legal problem involved in | the acquisition of property for the hospital site was cleared up when Justice Joseph W. Cox signed a decree authorizing trustees of the Friends | Meeting House at 1811 I street to sell the property to the doctors. There | had been some question as to whether | | the trustees had the power to transfer | title of the historic old meeting house. | Two other parcels of property in the block already have been trans- ferred. The projected new hospital will | complete a group of medical buildings {on I street from Eighteenth to Nine- | teenth streets, connecting the Colum- | bia Medical Building at 1835 I street with the Washington Medical Build- | ing at 1801 I street. The doctors be- hind the project own and operate the two medical buildings. Construction plans for the hospital have not been completed in detail. | General plans provide for 250 beds in the original structure, with provision for enlargement to increase the ca- pacity to 400 beds. Most of the hos- pital will be designed for people of moderate means, with a small part developed for private room service. Underground runways will connect | the hospital with the two medical buildings. All three buildings in the medical center will be heated by a central plant and served through one telephone exchange. Dr. Charles Stanley White is presi- dent of Doctors Hospital, Inc. All the officers are prominent in the medical profession here. SEVEN ARE INJURED IN TRAFFIC MISHAPS | | Eight-Year-0ld Girl Hit by Car as She Runs Between Parked Autos. Seven persons were injured, none | seriously, in traffic accidents in the Washington area late yesterday and today. Eight - year-old June M. Schaffer, 1212 Ninth street, ran between two parked cars in front of her home | and was struck | by an automobile driven by Joseph A. Robertson, 20, colored, 448 M street, according to police. June was taken to Sibley Hospital and treated for | head cuts and re- | turned home. His wife and two children received slight injuries when an automobile driven by Harry Lambros, 1300 Floral street, crashed into a telephone pole near New Market, Va. Lambros told State police he was crowded from the | road. Mrs. Evelyn McDonough, 25: her 4- year-old daughter, Grace, and F. G. Thorpe, all of 226 West Windsor street, Alexandria, received cuts about the face when their car overturned on U. 8. Highway No. 1 near Mount Vernon road last night. They were treated at Alexandria Hospital after John Rabickow of Fort Belvoir and his companion, Louis di Zerega, ex- tricated them from the demolished machine. Police said Mrs. McDonough apparently fell asleep while driving. TAX DEFICIENCY CUT Palace Laundry Doesn’'t Have to Pay Quite So Much. ‘The Board of Tax Appeals reduced to $4,777 today a $5,156 deficiency in 1932 income taxes assessed by the Bu- reau of Internal Revenue on the Pal- ace Laundry Dry Cleaning Co. of Washington. The board affirmed a $3.974 defi- clency assessment on the company’s 1933 income taxes. A June Schaffer. PAGE B—1 JURY COMPLETED INPRINCE GEORGES POLICE-BOND TRIAL Prosecutor Tells How D. C. Motorists Were Defrauded at Hyattsville. SAYS MOST VICTIMS NABBED BY 2 OFFICERS Scared Drivers Put Up Cash for Fear of Losing Permits, Ogle Marbury Claims. By a Staff Correspondent of The Star. UPPER MARLBORO, Md, July 13.—How Washington motorists were defrauded by an alleged bonding racket was described here today mn the prosecution’s opening statement to a jury which is trying seven former Prince Georges County policemen, a former magistrate and a bondsman on charges of conspiracy to obstruct Justice. The jury was completed shortly after 11 a.m. and heard the State's case out= lined by Ogle Marbury, special ase sistant to State’s Attorney Alan Bowie. Marbury said ““We will prove that these defendants conspired to obstruct justice in cases where motorists were arrested and charged with traffic violations. Wa will prove that in s0 doing the de- fendants fraudulently took from the motorists certain money. Describes Method. “This is the worked “First, a motorist would be picked up by one or two officers, u at night on the highways per part of the county near H ville. He would be taken before a magistrate and usually two charges were placed against him. “One charge would be serious and one a lesser offense.” Marbury said the charges often were driving while drunk and reck- less driving, and the motorist would be required to post collateral or put up bond, often as much as $100 cash or $1,000 bond The prosecutor added “The motorists arrested usually were not the type to have $100 on them. They would ask, ‘What can we do”" One of these defendants would the motorist that a bondsman was available “Accordingly, the bondsman be summoned. His fee was $50 for a $1.000 bond. The motorist then would telephone his friends, relatives or anv one who might help him in an effort to raise the money." Marbury told the jury that the mo- torists usually were taken to the Hv- attsville lock-up while awaiting funds from Washington. He said when the victims of the racket obtained th liberty they usually were badly fright- ened. The special prosecutor charged that one or the other of the defend- ants would approach the motorist and offer to try to get him off as lightly as possible. Papers Disappeared. ‘The prosecutor declared that moto ists were warned of the seriousness of their plight and the danger they ran of having their permits revoked “In many cases the motorist would agree to pay a minimum fine on the two charges, with the understandi that his permit would not be revoki So they put up $110 or $150, as the case might be. Sometimes the money was paid in full, sometimes in part “Now, the orderly step would have been for the magistrate to send the warrants and bond to the judge in Traffic Court. Some of these papers disappeared altogether. Some cases of motorists originally charged with driving while drunk and a minor of- fense appeared in Police Court as only a minor offense. “When papers for minor offenses were sent along” Marbury con- tinued, “they usually contained the money for the minimum fine and costs. When the case was called there would be no answer and the money go to the county treasurer in the usual way.” The prosecutor declared the police- men “knew what was going on" and made no objection in court when the cases that they had made on serious charges were called up and disposed of as minor offenses. The prosecutor said he was preparcd to prove a dozen of these cases between August, 1935, and Decemoer of that year. More than 200 talesmen were ques= tioned and rejected before a jury was completed. Those on trial are Herbert J. Mof- fat, former Hyattsville justice of the peace; Elmer Pumphrey, Suitland bondsman, and former Prince Georges County Policemen Howard Slater, Albert Anderson, Arthur Brown, Mau- rice Hampton, Warren Peake, Claude A. Reese and Frank Bell. The policemen, almost half of the Prince Georges County force, were suspended after the grand jury here indicted them last December along with Moffat and Pumphrey. Several Excused. A new force was organized by the Maryland State Legislature last Spring. One of the defendants, Howard Slater, was prevented by illness from attending court. His attorney, Frank Hall, said Slater would go on trial with the others, but wished to reserve the right to move for a severance should his condition prevent his later appearance. The defense is led by Lansade G. Sasscer, president of the Mary- land State Senate, and discussed as & possible Democratic candidate for Governor. He is associated with Hall, George Burroughs and T. Van Clagett, Jr., all of Upper Marlboro. The nine defendants were named in indictments returned early in De- cember for conspiracy to obstruct jus- tice, and Moffat was indicted for mal- feasance in office. Thorne told the judges that he had done some work for the Keystone Automobile Club in his capacity as a mechanic. He stated this connection would not prejudice him against the defendants, and was not chalienged by the dee fense. way their method