Evening Star Newspaper, July 15, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. (U. 8. Weather Bure: Generally fair and warmer tonight and tomorrow except probably a thunder- shower tomorrow after tures today—Highest, 89, at 2 p.m.; low- est, 74, at 2:30 a.m. Full report on page A-9. Closing N.Y. Markets—Sales—Page 20 85th YEAR. No. 34,043. “END COURT WAR, 4 NEW SENATORS 'URGE PRESIDENT < QuartetConfers| With Roosevelt on Bill. LEADERSHIP RACE DUE TO BE CLOSE Harrison and Barkley Ahead—Adjournment Is Discussed. BACKGROUND— Bitterest controversy of present 8session of Congress has centered on proposal of President Roosevelt to reorganize Federal judiciary. After adverse report by Judiciary Committee, administration forces submitted compromise, and what loomed as long debate began last week. Abandonment of plan mow probably would lead to speedy ad- journment of Congress; continu- ance of fight probably would drag session through Summer, BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. With a truce prevailing in the Sen- ate floor battle over the court bill, the Upper House today turned its atten- tion to conference reports and routine matters. ‘The Senate adjourned until noon to- morrow, when the state funeral for the late Senator Robinson, Democratic leader, will be held in the Senate chamber, Tomorrow an adjournment will be taken until Tuesday, when the Benate will resume business following the funeral of Senator Robinson in Arkansas. A large number of the Sen- ators will attend the funeral at Little Rock. The truce in the court battle, how- ver, did not prevent discussion among Senators as to what will be done with that measure. Administration Senators for publication, that there was no change in the situation; that, begin- ning next Tuesday the fight would go right ahead, Capitol Hill Opinion. ‘There was a growing opinion, how- ever, on Capitol Hill that the court bill would be sent back to committee and the log jam in the Senate be broken. President Roosevelt conferred today 8t the White House with Attorney General Cummings and several Sen- ators, among them Gillette of Iowa, Brown of Michigan, Andrews of Flor- ida and Johnson of Colorado. The Attorney . General statement about his conference with the President. From other sources it was learned that a suggestion has been made tc the President it would be wise to let the Senate itself handle the court-bill | situation. It was pointed out the bill might be sent back to committee with Instructions either to divide the meas- ure into two separate bills, one deal- ing with the Supreme Court and one with the inferior courts, or for the pur- pose of having the whole matter of eourt reform considered further. Brown Issues Statement. | Senator Brown of Michigan issued 8 brief statement on behalf of himself | and the three other new Senators, who saw the President. He said: “Sen- | ators Gillette, Andrews, Johnson and Brown met with the President and dis- cussed the court-reorganization bill plan this morning. We make no further statement concerning it.” It is understood these Senators went | to the White House to urge the Presi- dent to permit the court bill to be! sent back to the committee. Three, | it not four, of them have made up their minds, it is said, to support a | motion to recommit. Another solution advanced in some | quarters for the situation existing in | the Senate is the substitution of a | constitutiogal amendment providing | for compulsory retirement of mem- bers of the Supreme Court at 75. Leader Must Be Named. ‘The Democrats of the Senate are eonfronted not only with the necessity of working out some solution to this battle over the court bill, but also with the task of selection of a leader to succeed Robinson. The selection of a new leader may be accomplished only after a real contest, it was indicated today. For that reason administra- tion leaders were anxious te postpone the election of a new Democratic, leader until the next session. They have trouble enough on their hands without a new intraparty battle for leadership. Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi s regarded as a strong probability for the leadership in the event he seeks the position. It is believed he will be a candidate, although he has made no statement. On the other hand. Benator Barkley of Kentucky, acting Democratic leader, also has many backers for the post of leader. Senators and Representatives today discussed hopefully the possibility of a comparatively early conclusion of business and adjournment. The desire to leave Washington, already devel- oped considerably, has been given momentum by the death of Senator Robinson. One thing seems certain. Unless the administration leaders themselves take the bull by the horns and move to send the court bill back to the committee with recommendations it be studied further or divided, such a motion in all probability will be made by the opposition. When such a motion is made by the opposition, it will be with every assurance that it can carry. Opponents of the court bill said to- (See Robinson, page A-5.) Homesteading Revived. NATIONAL PARK, N. J. (#).—Old- fashioned homesteading has been re- vived here to replenish the borough treasury. Forty lots in the center of town :Were offered yesterday at $1 each. The purchasers must agree to pay taxes and build homes costing at least $2,500 within a year. ' - insisted, would make no | au Porecast.) noon. Tempera=- Entered as second class matter in D. C. President Kept Here by Threat Og ar East War BAC Secretary of State Hull, visualiz- ing Sino-Japanese war as serious blow to world peace, has urged Japanese Ambassador Saito and Chinese Ambassador Wang to exert every influence for peace in Orient. There has been talk of invoking neutrality act if Peiping fighting should become a major conflict, but no Government authority has ex- pressed an opinion on this matter. BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG. Worried over the threat of a major war in the Far East, President Roose- velt has canceled plans for his usual week end cruise and will remain at the White House, it was said today. The impending breakdown of the non-intervention patrol of Spanish waters also was said to have caused the President some anxiety and con- tributed to his decision to stay in Washington, despite the oppressive weather. The necessity for keeping a close watch on developments in the two war | zones is also believed to have had | an important bearing on Mr. Roose- velt's decision not to attend funeral services in Little Rock, Ark., for Sen- ator Robinson. Three of the President's diplomatic advisers were summoned to the White | House for conferences on international | conditions this afternoon. They are | John Van A. MacMurray, now Ambas- sador to Turkey, but one of the State | Department’s foremost experts on af- | fairs in China, where he was American ,’ Minister for many years; Norman Davis, American ~Ambassador at Large.” and Sumner Welles, Undersec- | retary of State. White House attaches said the Pres- | ident had no definite action in mind with reference to the international sit- | uation, but that he was watching de- velopments with the greatest anxiety. Before Mr. Roosevelt went to the { White House executive offices this | morning, he conferred at length with | Attorney General Cummings, but | | neither the White House nor the At- torney General would discuss the na- | ture of the conference. The impression | was gained, however, that Mr. Roose- | velt is more concerned with the in- ternational crisis than with predictions | | on Capitol Hill that the death of Sen- ator Robinson means defeat of the Supreme Court reform bill. [ The President canceled the press | | conference scheduled for tomorrow | | morning because of the state funeral i services for Senator Robinson at the | Capitol. } With others. with whom the Presi- | dent conferred during the forenoon | | were Robert Fechner, director of the | | Civilian Conservation Corps; Stewart | | McDonald, Federal Housing admin- | istrator, and Senators Black and Bankhead of Alabama; Gov. Bibb | Graves of Alabama and Senator Mc- | Adoo of California. His luncheon con- ference guest was Joseph Eastman, veteran member of the Interstate | Commerce Commission, nominated the other day for another term. Meanwhile, the question of main- taining worJd peace came up in an- other quarter when Secretary of Com- merce Roper said “the greatest need of the world is an antidote for war.” Discussing the International Exposi- tion at San Francisco and the New York World's Fair scheduled for 1939, Roper said in a statement that these would bring “peaceful progress” through the promotion of “sympathy, co-operation, faith and trust” among citizens of different nations, GARNER TO RETURN HERE NEXT WEEK Vice President to Attend Rites for Robinson Sunday in Little Rock. Bs the Associated Press. UVALDE, Tex, July 15—Vice President John N. Garner announced today he would go to Washington di- rectly from Little Rock, Ark., where Sunday he will attend funeral services for Senator Joe T. Robinson. Garner plans to leave Uvalde Sat- urday. He has been in Uvalde about a month, fishing, attending to personal business and resting, although he has kept in close touch with the National Capital. The Vice President declined to say | why he planned to go to Washington, whether it meant the end of his vaca- tion or whether he planned to remain there until Congress adjourned. POULTRY SESSION HEADS CONVENING HERE TODAY Three-Day Congress to Decide Site for World Meeting Two Years Hence. Directors of the World Poultry Con- gress convened at the Hotel Raleigh today for a three-day session to select the city where the 1939 world’s con- gress will' be held. N Seven cities were presenting their case with exhibits, booklets, by writ- ten briefs and speeches to the board. Chicago’s Mayor, Edward J. Kelly, came to Washington to appear be- fore the beard in behalf of his city. Other cities seeking the congress, which will need more than 800,000 square feet of floor space, are Syra- cuse, N. Y; Springfield, Mass. Philadelphia, Cleveland, Minneapolis- 8t. Paul, Minn,, and St. Louis. The selection 15 expected to be made tomorrow or Saturday. \ t ch WASHINGTON, D. C, JAPAN AND CHINA RUSH NEW TROOPS 0 FIGHTING ZONE Effort to Seize Peiping at Once Rumored During Concentration. PEACE NEGOTIATIONS REPORTS CONTRADICTED Nanking Orders Reinforcements to Northern Area as Tokio Hears “Crisis Has Exploded.” BACKGROUND— Under the terms of the 1901 Bozer protocols Japan maintains a garrison in China to keep open a road from Peiping to the sea. As Japan has increased power in North China tension between countries has increased. On July 7 night maneuvering Japanese troops clashed with Chinese bridge guards 10 miles west of Peiping, in Hopei Province. By the Associated Press. Armies of China and Japan were poised today for action in North China if the crisis there developed into wide- spread conflict. There had been no serious fighting in the area surrounding Peiping for 48 hours, but: The - Chinesa government's foreign office spokesman in Nanking said the government had ordered reinforce- ments to North China to support the 29th Army, which has been fighting Japanese troops for the last week. The spokesman said six divisions (about 80,000 men) were standing by “somewhere in North China.” The Japanese war office announced | in Tokio that troops will be dispatched from Japan proper to North China to aid Japanese troops regularly gar- risoned there and units of the Japan- ese Army in Manchuria rushed to the battle area last week. At Peiping foreign military attaches | heard that Japan is concentrating a | | force of more than 6.000 men at | | Fengtai, which they believed would | be used for an attempt to occupy Peiping within two days. 3,500 Are en March. The attaches said 3,500 Japanese troops, with full war equipment, were on the march, presumably from the Tientsin area, to reinforce 3,000 men already constituting the Tapanese gar- rison at Fengtai, important railway Junction, 5 miles southwest of Peiping. Foreign and Chinese military men believed Japan now has the equiva- lent of a full division at war strength, about 16,000 men, in Northern Hopei, south of the Great Wall. Foreign attaches expected the Jap- anese to attempt to drive out the | Chinese 29th Army, take over full control of Peiping, Tientsin and the connecting railway. Chinese quoted reports, but could not confirm them, that Japanese mil- itarists were pressing local authorities }m accept peace terms, a point of | which was said to be boycotting of present elections in North China to | name delegates to the National Peo- ple’s Assembly. Such a boycott would be regarded a8 virtual declaration of independence from China proper. First reports that agreement to end the crisis had been reached at Tien- tsin were contradicted by later reports that negotiations were continuing. The Nanking government has vig- orously asserted that it will recognize no local agreement, contending that the issues are national and must be settled through the diplomatic repre- sentatives of the two countries. “The crisis has exploded in North | China,” Gen. Ikutaro Inoue, president of the Army and Navy Reservist As- sociation, said. “Future developments are unpredictable, but we must be prepared for the worst in order to preserve ‘he empire.” China’'s goal is peace, said & Nanking government spokesman, but military preparations have been made “as caution and self-preservation dic- tated.” A pertinent point, .however, was that China’s premier, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, remained at his Summer headquarters at Kuling and appeared not yet to regard the sit- uation critical enough to warrant his return to Nanking. “He has the military situation at his fingertips,” a Nanking spokesman said. Summary of Drama ... Comics __ Editorials __.A-10 Finance ..__A-19 Lost & Found D-6 Obituary _._.A-12 FOREIGN. Japan and China rush new troops to war front. Page A-1 Paris snags British plan to limit Spanish war. Page A-1 NATIONAL. No individuals to be subpoenaed in tax avoidance inquiry. Page A-1 Senate Democrats split by death of Robinson. Page A-1 Soviet fiyers ingpect American plane factories. Page A-1 WASHINGTON AND VICINITY. Construction work on four schools held up by union walkout. Page A-1 Three seriously hurt, two die of traffic injuries. Page A-8 Mercury to reach 90s today; showers again tomorrow. Page A-9 Alleged bribing of witnesses to be aired in bond trial. . Page B-1 Treasury would set D. C. borrowing rate under amendment. Page B-1 Oourt of Appeals decision asked in Police Court tangle. . Page B-1 Adjournment would delay transit com- pany inquiry. Page B-1 Employers must keep full record on women and minors. Page B-1 ‘Woman's Pg.. D-5 WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION THURSDAY, ~r e e JULY 15, s | i 1 | R DY) PR A i =, ¢ Foening Starp 1937 —SIXTY-TWO PAGES. A PRESIDING OFFICER WHO PLAYS NO FAVORITES. BRITAIN'S SCHEME ONSPAINSNAGGED {French Officials Are Cool to Belligerent Rights for Franco. BACKGROUND— | Crisis in non-intervention patrol | system established by 27 nations to isolate war in Spain followed with- drawal of Germany and Italy from the naval patrol as a result of the alleged bombing of a German cruiser. 5 France suspended international control of her border with Spain Tuesday as result of similar action of Portugal, whose territory adjoins that held by rebel Generalissimo Francisco Franco. By the Associated Pre LONDON, July 15—The British | scheme to pacify conflicting interna- | tional interests in the Spanish civil war and keep the conflict from spreading in Europe appeared snagged today on French opposition that ' threatened a break in the traditional | Paris-London partnership. | Looking coldly askance at An-| | thony Eden's proposal to grant “lim- ited” belligerent rights to both gov- ernment and insurgents in Spain, a source close to the foreign office in Paris said: “The question is always the same— n what measure is Britain's policy to allow Germany and Italy to take ad- antage of the Spanish situation t crush France and cut off her Med- iterranean communications?” First reactions from Berlin and Rome indicated the plan would re- ceive at least careful and friendly | consideration from the two Fascist powers that have recognized Spanish insurgency as the true government of (See SPAIN, page A-5) NEW BILLS PLANNED Treasury to Sell $50,000,000 Dis- counts Monday. Secretary Morgenthau said today the Treasury would sell another $50,- 000,000 of discount bills Monday to bolster its cash on hand. § A new series of $50,000,000 bill is- sues was started this week. They are in addition to the regular $50,- 000,000 weekly refinancing issues. | |1 _— Valuable Ring Recovered. SARANAC LAKE, N. Y., July 15 (). —A diamond ring valued at $5,000 was recovered from 40 feet of water.in up- per St. Regis Lake by State Police Corpl. Kenneth Gray after it was lost by Miss Catherine Parker of Balti- more, camper in the fashionable lake colony. Today’s Star ‘Washington studied. Airport safety rules Page B-1 EDITORIALS AND COMMENT. Editorals. Page A-10 This and That. Page A-10 Stars, Men and Atoms. Page A-10 Answers to Questions. Page A-10 David Lawrence. Page A-11 H. R. Baukhage. Page A-11 Mark Sullivan, Page A-11 Jay Franklin. Page A-11 Delia Pynchen. Page A-11 SPORTS. Harris is back to experimental stage with Nationals. Cubs getting: little help in battling Giants for flag ---PageD-1 Racing handicapper has job that gives many headaches. Schmeling must fight Louis this year to have chance. Leoffler, public links tending domain MISCELLANY. Young Washington. City News in Brief. After Dark. Shipping News. Vital Statistics. Traffic Convictions. Nature's Children. Cross-Word Pussle. Bedtime Stories,, Page B-14 PageC- 4 PageC- 7 PageC- 7 Page C-10 Page C-10 Page C-11 Letter-Out. Dorothy Dix. Bitsy: Caswell. Page C-11 PageD- § PageD- § 1 Soviet Warns } “Enemies” Face Attack by Air 3 the Associated Press MOSCOW, July 15.—The Commus | Dist party newspaper Pravda warned | | Soviet Russia’s “enemies” today that their capitals lie within easy range of Soviet war planes. ‘The warning, which pointed out the | “significance” of two Soviet non-stop flights from Moscow to the American Pacific Coast, was believed by foreign observers to Qe addressed to Berlin and Tokio. Both the Japanese and German capitals lie within 800 miles of Soviet air bases. | “Our industry can produce as many planes as the country needs,” Pravda said. “Let this be kept in mind by foreign enemies threatening war. “Let them remember the distance between here and their capitals is| much less than the distance to| Portland, Oreg., or San Jacinto, Calif.” (The second non-stop expedition land- ed near San Jacinto yesterday.) A similar tone was taken by other Soviet newspapers. | POLE FLYERS SEF PLANE FACTORIES Three Russian Pilots Will Come to Washington From San Francisco. By tl e Associatea Press. SAN DIEGO, Calif, July 15.—The world's newest flying heroes, three modest Russians who grinned like schoolboys as they posed for photogra- phers, started out today to inspect American airplane factories—and 24 ARE TRAPPED INMINE BY BLAST Four Brought Out Badlyl Burned—Rescuers Seek Other Victims. By the Associated Press. SULLIVAN, Ind, July 15.-—Four men, burned badly, but alive, were rescued today from the Baker coal mine, 5 miles northeast of Sullivan, shortly after an explosion trapped them and about 20 other miners. Rescue crews worked feverishly to bring . out the men still entombed. | Leaders of the rescue squads expressed | hope ail would be brought out alive. | The four miners rescued were taken to a Sullivan hospital. Their names | were not immediately available. The explosion, of undetermined | | origin, occurred 2 miles from the mine | entry. Rescue crews were summoned from Vincennes and Terre Haute and am- bulances throughout the territory were sent to the shaft. The mine is owned by the Glendora Coal Co. The mine is in Sullivan County, where two other serious mine dis- asters have occurred in recent years. On February 21, 1925, fifty-one men were killed in an explosion at the City Coal Mine on the outskirts of the City of Sullivan On January 29, 1931, an explosion in the Little Betty Mine near Dugger, in the eastern part of Sullivan County, took a toll of 29 lives. Men experienced in mine disaster work said the fate of the trapped men depended on whether they were able to erect barriers behind which they could take refuge from the deadly gas that follows an explosion and “hole- in” until rescue crews reach them. Hollywood. Conquerors of time and space. Pilot Mikail Gromoff, Co-pilot Andrei Yumosheff and Navigator Sergei Dan- ilin motored here last night from March Field, United States Army base to which they were taken after land- ing in a cow pasture early yesterday. The flyers were to attend a civil luncheon today, then motor to Los Angeles for a welcome from officials of the Army and Navy, representatives of the aircraft industries and city authorities. Plan to Come to Washington. Tentative plans called for one or two days in Los Angeles, then an over- night train ride for a day's visit in San Francisco. From there the avi- ators plan to fly a commercial trans- port plane to Washington, thence to New York, where they probably will sail for Russia, July 25. Grigori Gokhman, Soviet Consul at San Francisco, who accompanied the flyers here, said plans were subject to change. The flyers sent their greetings to their countrymen last night in a radio broadcast to which Moscow was linked by short wave. Earlier, Josef Stalin, head of the Russian govern- ment, congratulated them for “hero- ism” and skill shown in the achieve- ment of this new victory of Soviet aviation.” T. Claude Ryan, builder of The Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Col. (See FLYERS, page A-3) 49 SAVED AS LINER, Passengers on Southern Prince ‘Transferred After Accident in River Plate. By the Associated Press. BUENOS AIRES, July’ 15.—Forty- nine passengers of the Furness liner Southern Prince, including 38 from the United States, were removed to safety last night after the steamship and a freighter collided in the- River 2| Plate. ‘The passengers were brought here aboard the cutter Golondrina after the Southern Prince's pumps failed to FREIGHTER COLLIDE . work and water poured into the engine room. Four tugs reached the ship as the passengers were removed. The Southern Prince was about 25 miles out of Buenos Aires port when it and the British freighter Elstree Grange, bound for Liverpool, England, collided in & fog. LEXINGTON'S FLYERS HOP AGAIN IN SEARCH Hope All But Abandoned for Pair. Grease Protects Airmen From Tropic Sun. B) the Assoclated Press. HONOLULU, July 15. — Faces smeared with grease as protection against the -blazing tropic sun, avia- tors of the Navy aircraft carrier Lex- ington took off again today in their search for Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. Hope was all but abandoned for the pair, who vanished July 2 on a 2,750~ mile hop from New Guinea to How- land Island, one of the final stages of their proposed world-circling flight. Nevertheless, the air fleet and sur- face craft continued scouring a 265,000-mile area. Forty-two fighting planes searched the waters along the international dateline yesterday in the second day of their flight without finding a trace of the missing craft. Hull Thanks Governments. Secretary Hull sent messages of ap- preciation today to the Japanese and New Zealand governments for their offers of assistance and expressions of sympathy in the search for Amelia Earhart. The only in Yesterday’s Washington wit Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. evening paper the circulation, 141,188. (Bome returns not yet received.) ¥¥¥ UP) Means Associated Press. WO CENTS. Potomac Bridge At Alexandria Asked in House Schulte Would Create Bypass to Relieve D. C. Traffic. Erection of a new bridge across the Potomac River connecting Congress Heights with King street in Alex- | andria, Va., is contemplated in a bill | introduced today by Representative Schulte, Democrat, of Indiana, 8 mem- ber of the House District Committee. ‘The measure authorizes an appro- priation of $25,000 for use of the Army Engineers in making a survey to de- termine “the advisability and feasi- bility” of such a project. A report on the result of the survey, under terms of the bill, would have to be filed with Congress not later than February 1, 1938. ‘The bill would place the entire cost of the proposed bridge on the Federal Government. Schuite said he did not believe the District should bear any part of the expense since the proposed span would be used chiefly by people from all over the country. “Another bridge aeross the Potomac in the vicinity of Washington,” Schulte said, “is urgently needed not only to of Highway Bridge, but to provide a bypass for through traffic on the out- skirts of the city. A bridge connect- ing Congress Heights with Alexandria would serve to keep many cars, travel- ing either north or south, out of the congested section.” Schulte introduced the bill as a re- sult of & study he made of Washing- ton’s traffic situation last year as a member of a special traffic subcommit- | tee of the District Committee. S SLAUGHTER HOUSE PLAN O 60 N Gobel Company Expects Abattoir to Be Ready by October 1. Adolf Gobel Co. is going ahead with plans to build an abattoir at Benning, Frank M. Firor, president of the pack- ing house, announced today, and be ready for operation by October 1. Firor's stand completely reverses that taken by T. T. Ansberry, Gobel attorney, before the House District Committee yesterday. Federal and District officials were of the opinion that the lawyer's statement might be accepted as a definite assurance that the firm had dropped its fight to es- tablish a plant here. Meanwhile, leaders in the fight to keep nuisance industries out of the | National Capital were resolved to con- tinue efforts for the ultimate passage of restrictive zoning legislation. ‘NEW A. A. A BILL OFFERED IN SENATE Wallace's Ever Normal Granary Program in Pope-McGill Measure. By the Associated Press. Senators Pope of Idaho and McGill of Kansas, both Democrats, submitted to the Senate today a revised draft of the long-pending proposed “agri- cultural adjustment act of 1937.” The bill embodies Secretary Wallace's ever | normal granary program. Pope was prevented from introducing the measure for more than a week by the Senate’'s parliamentary war over the court bill. ‘The break-up of the legislative log jam resulting from the death of Majority Leader Robinson gave him his opportunity. In a statement, Pope declared a 200,000,000-bushel wheat surplus was in prospect this year and said the bill was “designed to deal with a problem which is likely to arise in serious form in 1938 and following years.” “This year’s production clearly indi- cates that the soil conservation act will not adequately control the ac- cumulation of surplus farm commodi- ties,” he added. The new farm bill, indorsed in principle by Wallace at informal Sen- ate and House hearings prior to its actual introduction, is aimed at assur- ing “parity” prices based chiefly on the 1909-1914 level for producers of wheat, cotton, corn, rice and tobacco. Signs Retirement Bill. President Roosevelt today signed an act of Congress extending the benefits of the civil service retirement act to employes of Congress and the Federal courts. The act puts these employes on the same retirement basis as other Gov- ernment employes. PLAN FOR WORLD PEACE Europe is on the way to unprecedented economic disaster unless definite and_ immediate steps are t Secretary of S manca, special aken to restore international trade, tate Cordell Hull told Lucy Sala- feature writer for The Star, in an exclusive interview which will be published Satur- day. “"Healthy international trade, bosed on fair play and just dealing and consideration of mutual rights and need: to world peace. Secretary H for world peace important artic| See. Cordell man POt s," says Secretary Hull, “is essential ull’s theories, plans and proposal are outlined in this interesting and le. Read It Saturday in THE EVENING STAR relieve traffic congestion in the vicinity | SCHOOL BULDING PROJECTS TIED Lp BY UNION DISPUTE Workers Are Called Off in Protest Against Non- Union Employes. WALKOUT MAY SPREAD TO NEW COURT HOUSE Leaders Demand Showdown on 0ld Issue, Declared Never Satisfactorily Settled. BACKGROUND— Desirous of approaching a closed shop condition, building trades unions involved in both Federal and District construction jobs have been successful on numerous occa= sions in persuading open shop con- tractors to use only union workers on such projects Strike issue on both classes of public contracts arose recently in awarding of jobs to firms which would not meet this union condi= tion, | S Construction work on District | school projects involving nearly $830,- 1000 in contracts was at a complete or | partial standstill today as the Wash- |ington Building Trades Coiuncil |called off union employes in protest ! against use of non-union workers | The jobs affected were the Paul | Junior High School. $180,750; Charles | Young School, $105889; Alice Deal Junior High School, $162,607, and Eastern High School, $393,732. Walkout May Spread. In addition, it was said at the Build- ing Tredes Council, similar action is under consideration with regard to the new Municipal Courts Building and several less extensive projects Work was first held up at the Paul and Young Schools, both under con- tract to the John W."Hunt Co.. when | the contractor declined to withdraw | | | | non-union workers from those projects. The strike call on those jobs was is=- sued yesterday. ‘This morning officials of the Build~ ing Trades Council took similar action on the Alice Deal job, under contract to the Lacchi Construction Co. of | Baltimore, and the Eastern High job, | being handled by the Harwood Nebel Construction Co. At the District Building it was ex- | plained that the controvers | tirely between the unions and the con- tractors, although admittedly the Dis- | trict will suffer from any prolonged | cessation of work on the urgently | needed school extensions. Although the dispute has not been brought to the Commissioners offi- cially as yet, union officials said to= {day they probably will bring their grievance directly to the local au- | thorities soon if the contractors do | not respond to the strike calls, | Showdown Asked. “We would like a showdown on the issue.” B. P. Holcombe, business agent of the Painters’ Union. said. “The question of sole recognition for these public jobs never has been settled on a satisfactory basis.” As the District situation appeared heading toward a climax, probably in a conference between the Commi sioners and representatives of the contractors and the unions, labor offi- cials were awaiting developments at two Federal construction jobs where a separate strike threat exists. These projects are painting and plastering jobs at the city post office and the Internal Revenue Building. Two contracts have been let in each instance to firms employing non- union labor. Notified by the Treas- ury Department Procurement Divi- sion to begin actual work, the two firms are expected to have their men on the jobs by Monday at the latest. .If non-union men are brought in for the work, Holcombe said today, members of his organization will be called out immediately not only from jobs in the same buildings, but from other Federal projects. At the same time, he said, he will request that the Building Trades Council call out their construction workers on all other Fed- eral projects now under way, includ- ing the Apex Building. ATTEMPTED MURDER BY FIRE CHARGED Father Alleged to Have Started Blaze to Collect Daughters’ Life Insurance. By the Associated Press LANDSDOWNE, Pa., July 15.—Al- bert R. Knight, 55, arrested six weeks ago on a charge of arson after a fire was discovered in his home, was ar- rested again today, this time charged with attempted murder of his three daughters to collect life insurance. He waived a hearing and was held in $10,000 bail. He was at liberty in $5,000 bail on the arson charge. Today’s arrest was made by Charles T. Smith, Delaware County detective, who filed the information on which the warrant was issued. In the arson case it was charged that oil-soaked paper, rope, excelsior and oakum were found in a basement store room by firemen. Knight denied the charge. The three daughters, Ruth, 23; Sue, 19, and Mary, 17, and a son David, 15, were in the house when the fire was discovered. The place was not seriously damaged. Investigation since the first arrest, Detective Smith said, showed that Knight had taken out a total of $130,- 000 life insurance on the daughters prior to the fire. PUAE S GAS MASKS FOR ONIONS BOURNE, Mass., July 15 (#)—Ga1 mask drill is a daily affair at the Na- tional Guard camp here. Col. Francis V. Logan of the 101s! Infantry discovered today that man) of his cooks and their helpers wers wearing masks as they peeled onions 1