Evening Star Newspaper, July 19, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. (U 8. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Increasing cloudiness tonight, probably followed by showers tom change in temperature; mostly northeast and east. today—Highest, 83, at orrow; not much gentle winds, Temperatures 2 pm.; lowest, 64, at 3:50 a.m. Full report on page A-6. Closing N.Y. Markets—Sales—Page 16 85th YEAR. No. 34,047. Entered as second class miatter post office, Washington, D. C. LEHMAN URGES WA TO OPPOSE COURT BILL: SENATE VOTE DU Governor Hits New Deal for | First Time. PERIL FEARED IN PRECEDENT President Already "Knows His Views, ‘Senator Told. BACKGROUND— Gov. Herbert H. Lehman of New York, who gave up a $2.000,000-a- year banking job to enter public life in 1928, has been responsible for enactment of many social and economic reforms since becoming Governor. Scores of measures have been enacted to alleviate dis= tress of unemployed, bank deposi= tors, real estate investors, home | owners and farmers—most of them | co-ordinating State eflorts with | plans initiated by Federal Got- ernment. Only this year, Lehman suc- ceeded in having the politically divided Legislature complete ap- proval of a social security program, patterned ajter the Federal agenda. By the Associated Pres ALBANY, N. Y, Herbert H. Lehman, in a letter to Senator Wagner, Democrat, of New | York, today asked him to voice oppo- | sition to President Roosevelt's Su- | preme Court reorganization bill. . [Senator Wagner was not at his Washington office today, but attaches paid Gov. Lehman's letter had not been received yet. The Senator has been non-committal on the court pro- | posal.] Lehman, Democratic successor to President Roosevelt as New Yok's | Goveronr, told Wagner, “the Presi- | dent is already familiar with my views with regard fo the bill. Several menths ago I wrote to him that I believed its enactment would not be in *he best interests of the country. In the ! months that have passed since then my convictions have become strenth- ened.” First Break With New Deal, The Governor's letter, made publie by the executive offices while he is on vacation, pointed out that he has sup- ported most of the President’s social programs both when Mr. Roosevelt was Governor of New York and when he was President, but that he be- lieved enactment of tie court bill would create “a greatly dangerous precedent which could be availed of by future less well-intentioned admin- 1strations for the purpose of oppres- sion or for the curtailment of lhel constitutional right of our citizens.” | It was the first time that the Gov- | ernor, a New York City banker in | private life, has expressed opposition to the Roosevelt administration po: ® cies since he became New York Gov- ernor in 1933 President Roosevelt, when himself Governor, often affectionately re- | ferred to Lehman—his lieutenant | governor for two terms—as “my good | right arm.” At the end of their four | years together at Albany, when M. | Roosevelt was looking toward Wash- ington, he supported Lehman as his successor. President Roosevelt was credited with influencing Lehman to accept 8 third term of Governor. which he began last January 1, after he had announced his intention to retire. Text of Letter. The full text of Lehman’s letter to | Benator Wagner follows: 1 “1 am writing to you as a citizen | of the State of New York, which you | represent in the United States Senate, to voice my opposition tc the court bill and to express the hope that you | will vote against it. “The President is already familiar with my views with regard to the bill. Several months ago I wrote to him that I believe its enactment would not be in the best interests of the country. In the months that have passed since then my convictions have become strengthened. “Like many others, I have frequently felt keen disappointment that im- portant legislative measures have been declared unconstitutional by a slim and unconvincing margin in the Su- preme Court. And yet, I believe that the orderly and deliberate processes of government should not be sacri- ficed merely to meet an immediate sit- uation. Immediate Gain Offset. “From the broad standpoint of the public interest, whatever immediate gain might be achieved through the proposed change in the court would, in my opinion, be far more than offset by a loss of confidence in the inde- pendence of the courts and in gov- ernmental procedure. “I have wholeheartedly supported most of the President's social program, both while he was Governor of New York and since he became President of the United States. “His program, taken as a whole, has, in my opinion, represented the greatest step forward in social reform that any nation has undertaker. for many years. I look forward to the opportunity of continuing to support his courageous leadership in matters that are in the interest of the social well being of our people. “This bill, however, I believe to be contrary to their interests. actment would create a greatly dan- gerous precedent which could be availed of by future less well inten- tioned administrations for the purpose July 19.—Gov. of oppression or for the curtailment of the constitutional rights of our citizens.” A j| | reorganization measure back to com- SENATOR WAGNER. FOUR UNIONS SUED BY LOGAL BAKERY Gundersheimer’s Names 137 Individuals in $300,000 Damage Action. Invoking the little-used anti-trust provisions of the Sherman and Clay- ton acts, Gundersheimer’s Bakery, 516 Second street, today filed suit in Dis- trict Court for $300.000 damages from four unions and 137 individual offi- cers and members. This is believed to be the first suit of its kind filed in the District, al- though the Sherman act was passed in 1890 and the Clayton act in 1914, Similar suits have been filed and won in other jurisdictions, but the difficulty of collecting judgments discouraged such litigation. The baking company’s suit contends the employer engaged only union labor and operated its plant without diffi- culty until last April 10, when it be- came necessary to purchase for resale certain types of baked goods from a Philadelphia bakery. Despite the fact that the Philadelphia concern also operated a union ‘shop, the suit said, the defendant unions objected to the | purchase of the supplies and called a strike against the local concern July 7. It was alleged the purpose of the strike was to prevent the shipment of goods from Philadelphia and their resale in the District and adjacent territory in violation of both the Serman and Clayton acts. As a result of this alleged con- spiracy on the part of the union mem- bers and officers, the suit contended, the local concern was damaged to the extent of $100,000. If the allegations can be proved, the Sherman act per- mits the recovery of triple damages. The suit, filed through Attorneys Needham C. Turnage and Charles T. Clayton, named the following union defendants: Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America, In- ternational Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers of America, Bakery Salesmen’s and Drivers' Union No. 33 of ‘Washington, D. C., and Local Union No. 118, Bakery and Confectionery Workers' Interna- tional Union of America. . Divine Restaurant Picketed. SANTA CRUZ, Calif., July 19 (#). —Bartenders, waiters and cooks pick- eted the Father Divine Restaurant here with “unfair to organized labor” signs today. The restaurant is the local “heaven.” = e S DT R R Third Quake in Hits Long Island North Shore By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, July 19.—The Empire State sighed with relief today as the third earthquake in its history ended with no apparent damage except to the nerves of apprehensive residents of Long Island, where the earth tremors centered. The earthquake, described by Dr. L. Don Leet, director of the Harvard University seismograph station, as of “slight intensity,” began at 11:52 p.m. (Eastern daylight time) last night and lasted for about three minutes. Its en- P The shocks were felt in sections of Connecticut and Long Island, but did not extend to Manhattan Island, where & majority of the metropolitan area’s rock-bedded skyscrapers tower. Bun- galows at nearby beaches rocked with the trembling earth. Newspapers and radio stations were WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, JULY 19, 1937—THIRTY-FOUR PAGES. #%% GNER SOON Foes Confident Measure Can Be Buried. PLAN MOTION TO RECOMMIT 'Ballot Early This <> Week Will Be Sought. BACKGROUND— President’s proposal to reorganize Federal judiciary precipitated bit- ter controversy within Democratic party ranks. Leadership finally threw support to compromise meas- ure and debate began this month in Senate. Sudden death of Senator Robin= son last week introduced new com- plications as majority was forced to agree on new floor leader. Hopes of some that court bill might be put aside for session were dashed by President’s letter saying he still wanted action this year. By the Associated Press. ABOARD SPECIAL CONGRES- SIONAL TRAIN, July 19.—Opponents of President Roosevelt's court bill an- | nounced today they would seek a Sen- ate vote on tha¥b bitterly fought issue early this week | Senator Burke, Democrat, of Ne- | | braska, a leader of the opposition, said | | & motion to send the Supreme Court | mittee for further study probably | would be made tomorrow, and added: “We are confident we can carry the motion by a comfortable margin.” His announcement was virtually the first public statement on the court | controversy made by any member of the congressional delegation which ac- companied the body of Senator Rob- inson, Democrat, of Arkansas to his Little Reck home for burial. Struggle Seen Nearing End. Ending the political truce declared immediately after the Senate Demo. cratic leader’s death last Wednesday, Burke's statement indicated the five- month struggle over the judiciary leg- islation was nearing its'end. If the motion to recommit the bill | is carried, it would effectually bury the | measure for the rest of this session. Its defeat, many Senators agreed, might bring a speedy collapse of the opposition, which expects to muster ‘its greatest strength on the recom- mittal motion. Burke's challenge was quickly ac- cepted by Senator Minton, Democrat, of Indiana, one of the court bill's (See COURT, Page A-4,) PAPER TO DONATE ADS TO HELP JOB SEEKERS Lowell, Mass.,, Sun Also Will Give Free Space to Employ- ers Seeking Men. By the Associated Press. LOWELL, Mass., July 19.—The Lowell Sun announces in a front-page editorial its classified pages would be turned over “without charge” to the | unemployed and to employers seeking to fill positions. The paper described as “plausible” a suggestion made Friday by James Roosevelt, son of the President, that publishers and business leaders co- operate to alleviate unemployment caused by a reduction of the Works Progress Administration. The paper declared its offer was open to any job seeker in addition to dismissed W. P. A. workers, COOL WEATHER T0 STAY THROUGH TOMORROW Cloudiness Tonight May Be Fol- lowed by Showers—Yester- day's High 81. Cool weather, borne by gentle northeast and east winds, will con- tinue here today and tomorrow, ac- cording to the Weather Bureau. In- creasing cloudiness tonight, probably followed by showers tomorrow, will combine to prevent much change in temperature. The temperature, which-last week soared into the 90's, dropped to 64 at 3:50 a.m. today for the lowest point recorded since July 4, when it was 63. At 9:30 am. it had risen to 76, but was not expected to g0 much above 80. Yesterday's high was 81 ;t 1 pm. and the low was 71 about am, State’s History | Hopei Province, violating China's ter- | but a short time after the Japanese | China crisis by a direct aggression besieged by hundreds of telephone calls. At first Police suspected it was 8n explosion, but were unable to find one of large enough proportion to explain the phenomenon. Describ- ing the tremors, a woman at Douglas- ton, on the north shore of the island, said she felt a distant rumbling, “not ;;evere but bad enough to be frighten- ng.” Residents of the northwestern sec- tion of Bridgeport, Conn. said they “felt & jar” just before midnignt. So did Brooklyn residents, to whom the quake sounded like a fleet of heavy trucks rattling over city streets. Dr. Leet, first to identify the shocks as an actual earthquake, said the movement centered 160 miles from the seismograph station at Cambridge, Mass. This would place the quake's origin, he said, roughly “in the middle of Long Island.” ULTIMATUM - SENT CHINA AFTER NEW FIGHTING FLARES Japanese Army Command Demands Foes Stop Firing at Once. CLASH IN PEIPING AREA FOLLOWS PEACE MOVE Planes From Tokio Fire on Train Near Key City, Says Nanking, in Protest. BACKGROUND— On July 9 Japanese troops in “night maneuvers” at Peiping clashed with Chinese soldiers. China charged Tokio was trying to create an “incident” to justify taking over of mnew territory in North China. Japan charged Bozer protocol guar- anteeing safety to her troops in area had been violated. Since clash other skirmishes have been fre- quent and both sides are marshal- ing forces. By the Assoclated Press. TOKIO, July 19.—A Domei (Japa- nese) News Agency dispatch from Tientsin tonight said the Japanese Army command there had served a virtual ultimatum on the Chinese military, declaring it would “take in- dependent action” unless all Chinese firing against Japanese ceased imme- diately. The agency earlier had reported fighting had broken out again be- tween Chinese and Japaness west of Peiping, in spite of a military agree- ment reached vesterday at Tientsin. Japanese officers said Chinese sol- diers engaged in the construction of a concrete pillbox at Lukouchiao, on the Yungting River, 10 miles west of Peiping, opened fire on a Japanese unit at 5 pm. A Japanese captain named Yamanouchi was seriously wounded. He was the only Japanese | casualty, but officers at Tientsin said they took a grave view of the inci- dent. | It was near Lukouchiao that the | first Sino-Japanese clash occurred 12 days ago. The Chinese government vigorously protested to Japan that Japanese | scouting planes had machine-gunned Chinese troop and supply trains in| ritorial sovereignty. Japan Accuses China. The Chinese counter-charge came government had officially accused China of aggravating the tense North against Japanese interests. A Domel (Japanese) news agency dispatch from Nanking said the Chinese government had informed Japan it could not accept the Japanese demand for a local settlement of the conflict in North China and that any agreement must have Nanking's ap- proval, This communication was handed to Shinrokuro Hidaka, Japanese charge d'affaires, by a representative of Foreign Minister Wang Chung-hui. Yesterday Japanese Army officers at Tientsin reported an agreement for settlement of the conflict in the (See CHINA, Page A-5,) FORMER MAYOR WALKER CALLS ON ROOSEVELT BY the Associated Press. President Roosevelt arranged a meeting today with James J. Walker, former mayor of New York. They have not met, White House aides said, since 1932, when Walker resigned from office in the midst of a gubernatorial investigation of charges looking toward his removal. The President at that time was Governor of New York State. White House officials said Walker asked for the appointment in connec- tion with a bridge project in New York. Summary of Page. Comics --B-14-15 Drama --B-16 Editorials -.._A-8 Finance --.-A-15 Lost & Found B-11 Obituary ...-A-10 FOREIGN. Budge and Mako give U. 8. lead in cup tennis. Page A-1 Japanese send ultimatum to China after new battle flares. Page A-1 NATIONAL. Motion to recommit court bill likely tomorrow. Page A-1 Heywood Broun hit by William Green as “Communist stooge.” Page A-2 Piccard records destroyed by fire as balloons crash. Page A-2 Borah wants Senate to act soon on farm loan veto. Page A-4 A. F. of L. group to act on major prob- lems next month. Page A-5 Discharged Ford employe says he re- fused transfer. Page A-5 Navy gives up Earhart and Noonan for dead. Page A-7 Army read to test “most potent fight- ing plane.” Page A-18 Bitter fight looms in Arkansas over Robinson successor. Page A-2 More than 10,000 pass bier of Robin- son in Arkansas. Page A-2 WASHINGTON AND VICINITY, Oliver Owen Kuhn, managing editor of The Star, dies. Page A-1 Violations of Bacon-Davis contract law here charged. Page A-1 House group urges D. C. borrowing bill. Page A-1 Labor peace urged at Gibbons memo- rial services, Page B-1 One drowned, eight saved, ss flames destroy boat, . Page B-1 Sports A-12-13-14 Woman's Pg. B-10 BUDGE-MAKO TEAM WINS CUP TENNIS Conguer Von Cramm-Hen- kel to Give U. S. 2-1 Lead in Interzone Finals. By the Assocfated Press. WIMBLEDON, England, July 19— America’s young California doubles combination of Don Budge and Gene Mako, whipped Baron Gottfried von Cramm and Heinrich Henkel, today, 4—6, 7—5, 8—6, 6—4. and gave the United States a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup interzone tennis finals with two more singles matches yet to be played Budge and Mako's brilliant victory in the crucial doubles test was re- garded by most tennis critics as an almost certain guarantee that the Americans would win the series and thus gain the right to battle Great Britain for the coveted international trophy in the challenge round starting Saturday. Budge Seen Certain Winner. Bven should Henkel defeat Byran M. (Bitsy) Grant of Atlanta in tomor- row's singles, Budge is considered a virtual certainty to whip Von Cramm for the deciding point. The red-headed ace from Oakland, Calif., trounced Von Cramm in straight sets recently to win the all-England singles crown and nothing has oc- curred in the interzone finals thus far to indicate the titled Teuton can turn the tables. Budge handed Henkel a terrific trouncing in the second of last Sat- urday's singles matches after Von Cramm had whipped Grant in the opener just as conclusively. Americans Come From Behind. Today's match found the Americans coming from behind in each of the last three sets to snare the vital point most observers believe they needed to clinch the series. After they had won the opening set (See TENNIS, Page A-3.) FLYERS ON INSPECTION Russians Look Over Plane Fac- tories—To Come East. LOS ANGELES, July 19 (#).—The Russian Moscow-to-California fiyers inspected airplane factories today. They expect to go to San Francisco tomorrow, returning here Thursday to board a transport plane for New York. Today’s Star 3 dead, 19 hurt in traffic in D. C. and nearby. Page B-1 Son, 14, rescues father after boat sinks in Herring Bay. Page B-1 EDITORIALS AND COMMENT. Editorials. Page This and That. Page Washington Observations. Page Answers to Questions. Page David Lawrence, Page H. R. Baukhage. Page Jay Franklin. Page Constantine Brown. Page Headline Folk. Page SPORTS. Weaver proving champion hard-luck hurler of league. Page A-12 Feller and family all keep chins up despite setback. Page A-12 Brazil seeks Pan-American meet; Dengis marathon victor, Page A-12 Steele, Willlams fight promises to be rip-snorter. Page A-13 Jack Dempsey thrilled by boom in boxing game. Page A-13 Annual horseshoe tourney starts next week, Page A-14 FINANCIAL. Bonds are quiet (table) Rise in steel orders fore- cast. Trade sentiment better. D. C. phone total climbs. Stocks improve (table). Curb list higher (table), MISCELLANY. Young Washington, Shipping News. Winning Contract. Dorothy Dix. Betsy Caswell. Nature’s Children. Cross-word Puszle. Bedtime Stories. Letter-out. ) o bbb dededede Page A-15 Page A-15 Page A-15 Page A-16 Page A-16 Page A-17 Page A-6 Page A-10 Page B-2 Page B-10 Page B-10 Page B-14 Page B-14 Page B-15 Page B-15 | lame. Acrobat Hoists Communist Flag| | Above City Hall : By the Associated Press. COPENHAGEN, July 19.—An acro- batic Communist left Copenhngén's‘ police dizzy today when he cnmbed' the 315-foot tower of the City Hall and hoisted a long blood-red Com- munist flag. Hours later the flag was still fying and the Communist doing dangerous stunts on his high perch for gaping crowds in the streets far below. Po- lice, unwilling to attempt the dan- gerous climb, shouted up orders to him from the top window of the tower to come down. “Come up and get me,” he taunted While police held a solemn council on ways and means the acrobat non- chalantly started doing hand-stands on the city’s highest point. The climber finally descended and was arrested. To their chagrin the police discovered their taunter was To add to their worries, no sooner was acrobat No. 1 down than acro- bat No. 2 started up. The human fly clambered up the tower from the outside. Half way to the top, he stopped and lighted his pipe and then, care- lessly, knocked the glowing ashes down on the heads of the police be- .. 0.C FUNDS L. PUSHEDIN HOUSE Palmisano Urges Passage to Allow Borrowing to Meet Emergency. The House was urged today by its District Committee to pass the Ken- nedy bill authorizing the District Com- missioners to borrow Federal funds at interest not to exceed 3 per cent to tide the municipal government over the period of serious financial crisis it now faces. The committee’s appeal was em- bodied in a brief formal report filed with the House as a prelude to hoped- for consideration of the bill. Later in the day Chairman Palmisano of the District Committee plans to ask the House to consider the measure out of regular order because of its emergency nature. “This bill is an emergency measure, made necessary by reason of the defi- cit existing in the District funds,” said the report. “It authorizes the Secre- tary of the Treasury to advance to the Commissioners of the District of Co- lumbia, up to and including June 30, 1938, such sums as may be necessary to meet the general expenses of said District. Additional Revenue Bill. “There "is now pending in the Senate the bill HR7472, which provides means of raising additional revenue to meet this deficit. This bill has been reported out of the committee on the District of Columbia of the Senate, but up to date it has not been pos- sible to bring it before the Senate for action. In the meantime the gov- ernment of the District of Columbia is without funds to meet its financial obligations for the proper functioning of the District government.” The report also pointed out that another reason the Kennedy bill should be passed is that if the tax bill is enacted into law the additional revenue it will produce will not be available for same months. “Your committee is, therefore, of the opinion that as a general prop- osition it should not encourage the District Commissioners incurring any indebtedness, feeling that the pay-as- you-go program is the more desirable,” the report concluded. “However, as the pggsent bill is limited to one year, and iS* only passed because of the peculiar emergency existing at this time, your committee feels that it is in the interest of all parties involved that this bill do pass.” The Commissioners have warned members of Congress that unless the loan authorization blill is enacted by August 1 the municipal government will be unable to pay the salaries of its employes or to meet other current obligations. Strike Hits Town's Food. DARWIN, Australia, July 19 (#).— A strike of water front workers for bet- ter working conditions brought a erit- dcal food to Darwin todsy. The only in evening paper Washington with the Associated Press News and Wirephoto Services. SATURDAY'S ireulation, UP) Means Associated Pre: ALL RIGHT "WATER-WINGS, ) COME ON IN -~ YOU'VE MADE A GREAT TRY OLIVER OWEN KUHN DIES IN HOSPITAL Managing Editor of The Star Succumbs at 51—Funeral Service Tomorrow. Oliver Owen Kuhn, managing ed- itor of The Star, died yesterday morn- ing at Emergency Hospital following an illness of several weeks resulting | from a general physical breakdown He was 51 years old. He was taken to the hospital July 9, when his condition suddenly became worse, due to uremic poisoning and other complications. He grew steadily weaker, however, and physicians held out little hope for his recovery. At the bedside were his wife, Mrs. | Lenora M. R. Kuhn, and a sister, | Mrs. Raymond T. Harrison of Detroit. Mr. Kuhn's death was a shock to his host of friends in and out of the newspaper world. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow at the National City | Christian _Church, Thomas Circle. | The Rev. Raphael H. Miller, pastor of | the church, will conduct the services. | Burial will be in Rock Creek Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers will be Theo- dore W. Noyes, Frank B. Noy ing Newbold, Newbold Noy Kauffmann, Samuel H. Kauffmann, | R. M. Kauffmann, George Adams Howard and Crosby N. Boyd. The pallbearers will be G. A. Lyon, B. M. McKelway, Herbert F. Corn, G. Gould Lincoln, LeRoy W. Herron, William | Galt Burns, J. Russell Young and William Drew. Heard Weckly on Forum. Mr. Kuhn will be missed by mil- lions of persons who listened to his | voice weekly over the National Radio | Forum, through which he introduced to a Nation-wide audience members of the cabinet, leaders of Capitol Hill and other persons high in public life. The forum, which he founded eight years ago after overcoming many ob- stacles, is the outgrowth of his con- viction that newspapers should co- operate with radio in keeping the public abreast of news developments. Intensely interested in civic affairs of Washington and the whole metro- politan area, Mr. Kuhn not only de- voted much time personally to public affairs, but he reorganized and ex- panded The Star's system for re- porting news of community activities in the Capital and its suburbs. Was Born in Indiana, A Hoosier by birth, the son of a crusading minister of the Christian Church, Mr. Kuhn had been a re- porter, foreign correspondent and an editorial executive on several papers. He was what is known in journal- ism as “a born newspaper man,” with an inherent “nose for news,” an abil- ity to render quick judgment on news values of happenings in the world about him. It was this capacity plus & magnetic personality which quickly took him to a position of command- ing prominence in the field of Amer- ican journalism. Born February 28, 1886, in Craw- fordsville, Ind, he was the son of the late Rev. Thomas Harvey Kuhn and Mrs. Emma Collins Kuhn, both natives of Hancock County. His mother and ancther sister, Mrs. Willlam T. (See KUHN, Page A-3.) POLAR PLANE READIED Mattern's Craft Checked for Mos- cow Flight. KANSAS CITY, July 19 (#)—Jim- mie Mattern left his plane at a com- mercial airline shop here today to be checked in preparation for his pro- posed nonstop North Pole flight to Russia. He flew in last night from Los An- geles. He said Reg Robbins, who once set an endurance flight record at St. Louis, would pilot the plane from which he plans to take fuel over Alaska. “Saratoga” The Thrilling New Serial by ANITA LOOS Starts Today on 128,821 (Bome returns not yet received.) SUNDAY'S Cireulation, 145,276 TWO CENTS. BUILDING TIE-UP AT SCHOOLS LAID | il TOBREACH OF LAW Certain Contractors Violate Bacon-Davis Act, Con- § ference Told. D. C. MEDIATION UNIT PROPOSED BY SULTAN Union Painters Walk Out on Fed- eral Jobs—General Delay ! Threatened. BACKGROUND— Through arrangement between Iocal contractors and building un- ions, most public jobs are done by union labor. A few firms, however, usually from out of town, have de- clined to enter into such arrange- ment and have placed non-union men on jobs. With same controversy eristing in connection with both District and Federal construction, unions now are inclined to force show- down, BULLETIN. Commissioner Dap I. Sultan this afternoon issued a stop order, ord- ering non-union contractors to cease work on three school build- ings. After the order was issued union officials promised that the strike against the Eastern High School and Alice Deal High School projects had ended and work would be resumed tomorrow morning. Local con: organized b iction contractors and lding workers joined to- day in charging violation of the Bacon-Davis public contract law by certain contractors as the real cause of strikes which have tied up construc= tion on $850,000 in District school projects and threaten similar effect on all Federal construction work here, ‘The charge was made at an open meeting of about 35 representatives of contractors and local construction workers’ unions with Engineer Come missioner Dan 1. Sultan at the Dise trict Building today. As a possible means of settling this and subsequent local labor disputes, Commissioner Sultan tentatively pro- posed formation of a District Labor Relations Board to serve as a media- tion agency. Today's conferees took the suggestion under advisement. Although the meeting was called | primarily to iron out the strike trou- bles now blocking progress on the District school jobs, the beginning of a strike by union painters on two Federal projects on the identical issue involved in the District crisis ties both situations closely together. Non-Union Men «t Work. In all cases, non-union workmen have been put on the disputed job, although a claim is being made that prevailing wage rates, ordinarily union rates, are being paid for all work. At today's meeting warning was issued by labor spokesmen that the District tie-up would be extended to all District construction work if no settlement is reached, and similar ex- tension of the strike call is being planned for all Federal projects Most effective complaint against local building cond: was made by Charles H. Tom president of the Master Builders' Association, an organization of employers, in a blunt accusation that the Bacon-Davis law is being evaded. “We have figured on a number of jobs recently allowing for no profits at all, and we can’t win the bids,” he said. “We know there is diserimi- nation somewhere. We know we can buy materials as cheap, and often cheaper, than non-union contractors. We can explain the situation in only one way. Has No Means of Proof. “The non-union contractors are not employing as high-priced labor as we are compelled to. Most of our mem- bers have biven up bidding on mu- nicipal jobs and this is eliminatinz competition. We have no means of proving this discrimination, but we hear it every day from contractors and workmen on the job, and if it exists there is a definite violation of the law.” According to John Locher, chairman of the Washington Building Trades Council and principal spokesman to- day for the unions, the chief evasion device consists of placing laborers at jobs which should be done by skilled workmen and paying the laberers pre- vailing wages for that classifieation, but not the wage prevailing for the skilled work which they are required to do. For instance. he said, the offending contractors are paying laborers 50 cents per hour to point up brickwork, for which the union scale is $1.75. “We will not accept the open shop (See STRIKES, Page A-4) CRUISER OMAHA AGROUND IN BAHAMAS PASSAGE Veseel and Crew Safe, Messages to Navy Department Indicate. On Way to Charleston. The Navy light cruiser Omaha is aground off Castle Island Light at the approach to Crooked Island pas< sage in the Bahamas, her command- ing officer, Capt. Howard B. Mecleary, U. S. N, today advised the Navy De- partment. Apparently the vessel and her crew are in no immediate danger, officials here said. The ship grounded at 3:35 a.m. today. En route to the Charleston, S. C., Navy Yard, where she is to be overe hauled before departing for European waters, the Omaha was relieved on Friday as flagship of the Special Serve ice Squadron by the gunboat Charlese ton. In Europe, the Omaha will ree Page B-7 lieve the light cruiser Raleigh, now flagship of the special temporary squadron there. The Raleigh will re- turn to the Dnited States,