Evening Star Newspaper, September 12, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. S. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Generally fair today and tomorrow, with moderate temperatures; gentle to moder- ate winds, mostly northwest. Tempera- tures yesterday—Highest, 76, at 4:30 p.m.; lowest, 61, at 2 a.m. Full report on Page B-2 (U. Full Associated Press News and Wirephotos Sunday Morning and Every Afternoon. (#) Means Associated Press. Dhe Sunday Star WASHINGTON, D. €, SUNDAY- MORNING, SEPTEMBER 12, 1937—134 PAGES. ROOSEVELT SOLEMNLY PLEDGES Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. FIVE CENTS |TEN CENTS IN WASHINGTON AND SUBURBS ! ELSEWHERF SI500000SLASH No. 1,695—No. 34,102. b THAT FELLOW KENNEDY SOUNDS LIKE A RADICAL! TO TRY TO KEEP US OUT OF WAR; HULL SENDS GENEVA PEACE PLAN Government Joins| .People’s Effort, He Says. POPULAR FEARS HELD JUSTIFIED | World Conditions| Seen Getting No Better. By the Assoclated Press. HYDE PARK, N. Y., September 11. ~—President Roosevelt made the solemn pledge today that he was going to do everything in his power “to keep us out of war.” Describing world conditions as “serious” after an earlier press con- ference statement that people the world over were justifiably nervous over the Far Eastern and European situations, the Chief Executive told an outdoor meeting of the Roosevelt Home Club: “We are going to do everything we can in the United States, not only the people but the Government of the United States, to keep us out of war.” The President said world conditions did not appear to be getting any bet- ter. He addressed his remarks to a erowd of several hundred persons | gathered on the lawn of Moses Smith, ® Roosevelt tenant farmer and host of the informal occasion. The crowd Youdly applauded his peace pledge. Baruch Sees Europe “Tinder Box.” Shortly before, Bernard M. Baruch, New York financier who had called on the President to give his observa- tions on a recent trip abroad, told newspapermen that Europe “is a tin- der box.” “Anything can happen,” he said on leaving the Summer White House. The President addressed the home club extemporaneously, after Rep- resentative Caroline O'Day, Democrat, of New York, an earlier speaker, said Secretary Hull and the Chief Execu- tive were “doing everything to keep | war away from our shores.” The brief remarks about “keeping us out of war” were prefatory to his main theme—adoption of national planning and conservation methods by Dutchess County to preserve its natural resources. “People laugh about planning,” he asserted, “but keeping out of war re- quires some planning.” Mrs. O'Day injected politics Into | her address before touching on world | conditions. | She said by 1940 the “people who | put obstacles” in the way of the | President’s program were going to Iwi “very much ashamed of themselves.” Family Members Present. | On the flag-draped front porch of | the Smith home were Mrs. Franglin | D. Roosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. James | Roosevelt, Judge Mack, Mayor George | Spratt of Poughkeepsie, Arthur Smith, | president of the club, and James| ‘Townsend, Democratic chairman of | Dutchess County. 3 ‘The Army Band from West Point played “Home on the Range,” and other tunes. Moses Smith brought laughter when he asserted he did not want to dis- | cuss politics, but of all places vnager | heaven Hyde Park certainly was one | where a new post office was needed. | Entire World Concerned. At his press conference earlier in| the day the President said people all| over the world were concerned over Far Eastern and European conditioas, and rightly sp. Without discussing American pol- fcy, he agreed with a reporter’s vb- servation that the fighting in China [ law as laid down in the London naval | grip. and the Mediterranean “mystery” | submarine activities had developed a | “jittery” feeling among the people in this country. | Accepting this definition of Amer- | ican reaction, the Chief Executive said the people were right in feeling this way, and he believed the people all over the world felt the same. He said the nervousness was evi- dent not only in financial circles, but in every home and every democratic government, While he did not know about the other governments, he said he believed he could speak for the democratic governments, The President talked to the news- Ppaper men in his tiny office in the left wing of his mother’s big stone house His reference to the reaction of the people generally toward war was his first on the Sino-Japanese and Euro- pean situations since last Sunday, when he described the Far-Eastern conflict as an awful mess and said Americans still in China were staying &t their own risk. He would not reply to a question today whether he would favor with- " (See ROOSEVELT, Page A-5.) THIRD MAN IN RACE Another to Oppose Bailey and Miller for Senate LITLE ROCK, Ark., September 11 (#).—A third Democratic candidate for the United States Senate seat of | British taking over the area allocated | By the Associated Press. the late Joseph T. Robinson entered the lists today when Thornesberry A Gray of Batesville filed a corrupt practices pledge with the Secretary of State The pledge was filed as a prelimi- nary to a place on the special election ballot, which also will carry the names of Gov. Carl E. Bailey and Repre- sentative John E. Miller, Gray, an attorney, said he would run against both as a “greenback Democrat.” - He did not explain the meaning of the term. Gov. Bailey has mnot set the date for the special election. } | distress President. Roosevelt, photog: as he pledged to “do everything raphed at Hyde Park yesterday nossible to keep us out of war.” —Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto. DESTROYER FLEET WILL HUNT SUBS Nine Powers Lay Ground- work With Adoption of Draft Protocol. BACKGROUND— Sinking of numerous British, French, Russian and.other vessels by mysterious submarines in Mediterranean in -recent months led France and England to pro- mote conference of Mediterranean powers at Nyon, Switzerland, from which Italy and Germany volun- tarily absented themselves. United front sought for sweeping “pirate” raiders from sea lanes. By the Associated Press. NYON, Switzerland, September 11— Nine powers laid the groundwork to- night for a war to destruction against pirate submarines with one of the largest destroyer fleets ever assembled in’the Mediterranean. Delegates to the Nyon conference adopted the plan of campaign in a draft protocol to be signed formally next week if the participating govern- ments give their approval British spokesmen tonight forecast rapid ratification of the accord and said they were convinced it would end FOREIGNERS FACE NORTH CHINA LOSS Position Made Doubtful by Japanese Conquest of Part of Hopeh. BACKGROUND— North China is main theater of Japanese aspirations, and while Chinese and Japanese forces have been fighting spectacular battles around Shanghai steady warfare has been carried on in the north. Japanese advance, retarded at times by bitter Chinese resistance, has continued slowly. Peiping and Tientsin are rapidly being converted to Japanese adminis- tration. By the Associated Press PEIPING, September 11. — With Japan’s seizure of North Hopeh Prov- ince virtually completed and with Japanese legions bearing the flag of the Rising Sun steadily farther south, much of North China was expected | tonight to reopen soon ‘“under new management.” The Akashiba detachment of the Japanese army struck hard against g\’e collapsing Chinese front all day, iving a- wedge 10 miles south of Machang, where opposing armies have the submarine menace in the Medi- terranean. Communique Reveals Extent. A communique sketched the far- reaching nature of the plan as follows “The agreement provides the naval forces of the participating powers will counter-attack and, if possible, de- stroy any submarines which attack, contrary to the rules of international treaty of 1936, merchant ships not be- longing to either of the parties to the Spanish conflict “They will take the same action in regard to any submarine encountered in the vicinity of the position where a merchant vessel just has been at- tacked in circumstances which give | valid ground for belief the submarine was guilty of the attack in question.” Submarines of the nations repre- sented at the conference will not put to sea unless accompanied by a surface vessel and foreign submarines will not be admitted to their territorial waters unless on the surface or in urgent Merchant vessels are to be advised to follow certain main routes. No Recognition of Belligerency. Neither the Spanish government nor the insurgents in Spain's civil war will derive belligerent rights from the compact. The communique said they might destroy each other’s shipping at will | as long as they did not prey upon | merchant vessels of foreign powers. | British and French warships will | patrol the Western Mediterranean and | the high seas of the Eastern Mediter~ | ranean. Territorial waters of the Eastern Mediterranean will be supervised by | the riparian powers. | nder the accord, Italy' will be given the task of policing the Ty- | rhennian Sea if she wishes to accept the invitation of the conference. If not, the accord will be put into effect anyway, with the French and | provisionally to Italy | A British spokesman said a Franco- | British force of 60 destroyers—35 British and 25 French—would be one (See CRISIS, Page A-5.) | . Paralysis Delays School. KANSAS CITY, September 11 (#).— Kansas City public schools will re~ main closed at least another week as a precaution against infantile paraly- sis, the School Board decided tonight. They originally were scheduled to | open last Tuesday. There are 23 ac- tive cases here. y - |40 miles south of Tientsin, was cap- been fighting for weeks. Tsinghsien, |"tured. Japanese said. The advance was expected to open | the Japanese controlled portions of | the Tientsin-Pukow railroad toward | the capital and the Peiping-Hankow railroad, important parts of North | China transportation systems . on | which Japan now holds with a tight Japanese troops began their attack long before sunrise today, sloshing through water frequently waist-deep. They said they had captured all posi- | tions around Machang by sunrise and | & few hours later stormed its broken | ramparts and pursued fleeing Chinese | troops through knee-deep mud to | Chinghsien Important Seizure. The seizure of Machang was the 0st important success announced by the Japanese war machine after it had been virtually stalled in North | China for several weeks. Situated on | the Tientsin-Pukow railway and the | famous Grand Canal, it is & trans- | portation center for a considerable district below Tientsin. | With the conquest of northern | Hopeh Province—including Peiping | |and Tientsin—considered practically | complete the position of foreigners in | that area became more doubtful. This was true especially of the foreign embassies, legations and military guards at Peiping—once Peking, capi- tal of the Chinese empire—and the (See PEIPING, Page A-5.) BOY, 8, HANGS SELF WHILE MOTHER SLEEPS Child Was Told His Room as Punishment for Playing With Matches. | m to Remain in ELKHART, Ind., September 11.— Eight-year-old Ra Sutton, ordered by his mother to remain in his bed room for playing with matches, hanged himself today while his mother was shopping. She found his body, sus- pended from a rope looped over a door, on her return. The mother, Mrs. Louis Darmody, asserted belief his death was acci- dental, She said she had spanked him Thursday for playing with matches | before a crowd of 14,000 that jammed 14 Points Listed on| July 16 Go to League. INDORSEMENTS ARE ATTACHED Assembly to Open| Tomorrow—China Protest Due. By the Associated Press Secretary Hull acted yesterday to | put formally before the League of Nations his world-wide preachment for peace in the midst of continuing bloodshed in the Bar East and grow- ing international tension in the Med- | iterranean. | Hull's unusual diplomatic maneuver | took the form of instructions to the | American Minister to Switzerland to present to the secretary general of the League the American Secretary of | State's statement of July 16 and the | individual indorsements of the 60 na- | tions which have replied to it. This action was timed two days | before the League Assembly con- venes in its regular session at Geneva at which China has announced its| intention of voicing & protest against Japanese aggression. | Secretary Hull's order to American | Minister Leland Harrison at Berne | was to present his statement and the | replies “for the information of the League.” Well-informed but unoffi- | cial circles regarded it as significant for two reasons It obviously represented a new ef- fort by the United States to consloi- date world opinion behind the prin- ciples it considers essential to the proper conduct of international rela- | tionships; and Told the League of Nations directly, | in effect, that this Government will | follow with close and sympathetic at- tention any organized effort aimed at the restoration of peafe The Ufited States is not a League member and therefore will not partici- | pate actively in the Assembly’s delib- | erations beginning tomorow. Its dip- lomatic and consular representatives | at Geneva, however, will follow the proceedings carefully. Secretary Hull's statement of July 16, asserting that “there can be no serious hostilities anywhere in the | world which will not one way or an- other affect interests or rights or obligations of this country,” contained | 14 points which he suggested as basis for international relations. Outstanding among them was re- spect for the sanctity of treaties; na- tional and international self-restraint | and abstinence by nations from the | use of force and from interference in the internal affairs of others. (List of Secretary Hull's 14 points | and ‘denied a petition by the Interna- us. MarITME COMMISSIoN CuairMan KENNEDY. STRIKE AGAINST THAT FLAG! N \k‘ N EAMEN ORDERED TOHOLD ELECTION Labor Board Acts to Stave Off C. 1. 0. Threat of Maritime Strike. BACKGROUND— Quarrel of long standing between A.F.L.and C. I. O. seamen groups has interjered with shipping at San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., jor several .days. National Labor Relations Board has ordered. elec- tion to determine bargaining rights, but A. F. L. teamsters, meanwhile, have refused to handle cargo in the two West Coast cities, claiming C. I. 0. longshoremen have been organizing warehousemen not di- rectly employed on water front, al- leged limit of stevedores’ jurisdic- tion. By the Associated Press. The National Labor Relations Board ordered immediate Wagner act elec- tions among East Coast and Gulf port seamen today to stave off a C. I. O. threat of a maritime strike. ‘The board ordered the election ma- chinery to be underway within a week tional Seamen's Union for a post- ponement until October pending reor- ganization of the union. The I. S, U. 1s an affiliate of the American Feder- ation of Labor. The election, first ordered July 16, will be directed by Mrs. Elinore M. Herrick, the board’s New York re- gional director. The order affects the maritime appears on A-4.) (See MARITIME, Page A-13.) Budge Defeats Von Cramm In Five Sets for Net Title This first-set action photo at Forest Hills yesterday shows a little of the blistering pace set by Donald Budge (foreground) to defeat Baron Gottfried von Cramm of Germany. By the Associated Press OREST HILLS, N. Y., Septem- | ber 11.—Red-headed Don Budge | of Oakland, Calif, today cli- maxed as successful a tennis campaign as ever had been waged by | any man by adding the national singles | championship to the laurels he won at Wimbledon and in the Davis Cup arena With strokes as brilliant as his gleaming hair, the California carrot- top subdued, for the third time this season, Baron Gottfried von Cramm of Germany, 6—1, 7—9, 6—1, 3—6, 6—1 its way into the West Side Tennis | and had ordered him to stay in his bed room in pajamas for a week ex- eept for time spent ia school. | Club’s concrete horse shoe. ‘Thus Budge completed a year of international competition in which t | championships with the loss of only | this afternoon by Von Cramm, the | blond, courtly German who was good —Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto. he did not lose a singles match and lost only once in doubles; in which he regained the Davis Cup for the United _States, brought back from Wimbledon the all-England singles, doubles and mixed doubles crowns, and waded through the national two sets, Those were the two taken froim him | enough to carry Budge through a| two-hour battle, but not good enough to trip up the rapier-stroking Cali- fornian in his all-winning stride Successor to Fred Perry of England, now a professional, as American Seven Strikers At Democratic Club Lose Jobs By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, September 11.—Here" one that ought to tickle the Republi. cans: Seven service employes went on strike today at the National Demo- cratic Club, which stands across the street from J. P. Morgan’s old brown stone town house. The strikers said they quit because of the suspension of an elevator operator for trying to organize the employes. Club Manager Mortimer M. Kelly said the operator was disciplined for being insolent to a member. An employment agency quickly fur- nished workers to replace the strikers. PARIS LABOR WAR MARKED BY BOMBS Two Policemen Killed in Blasting of Employers’ Federation's Offices. By the Associated Press. PARIS, September 11.—Two police- men were killed tonight when time bombs shattered the headquarters of the two principal federations of French employers in Paris. Two gigantic blasts blew the whole side of the building housing the Gen- eral Tonfederation of French Em- ployers into the street at 10:15 p.m. (4:15 pm. E. 8. T.). ‘Windows blocks away were smashed by the explosions, which made almost a total wreck of the building, located within half a block of the Place de L'Etoile. Premier Camille Chautemps and other members of the government rushed to the scene and immediately opened an investigation. Chautemps, denouncing the bomb- ings as “stupid and criminal,” prom- ised that the government would do its utmost to bring those responsible to justice. Because of the recent friction be- tween powerful labor federations and employer groups, the policemen who were killed had been assigned to guard the wrecked building. Chautemps has been endeavoring to restore peace between labor and capi- tal and end serious differences which grew out of the “pro-worker” admin- istration of former Premier Leon Blum. Another bomb which exploded at the same time wrecked the offices of J+he Union of Metallurgical Employers in the top floor of a building on Rue Boissiere, nearly a mile from the Place de L’Etoile. Firemen found no one had been in- Jured there after quenching the blaze which followed. . MOLLISON MAY PILOT WIFE TO HAROLD DAHL Atlantic Flyer Offers to Fly For- mer Edith Rogers to Husband, Spared by Franco. By the Associated Press CANNES, France, September 11.— James A. Mollison, trans-Atlantic fiyer, today offered to fly a beautiful young American wife to her husband.‘ whose life has been spared by Spanish | Insurgent Gen. Prancisco Franco. Mollison told Mrs. Harold Dahl, for- | merly Edith Rogers and once a singer for Rudy Vallee, that he would take her to Salamanca if Franco would permit. Mrs. Dahl has been told that her captive husband would be released | probably in a week or two, as soon as the International Red Cross can effect his exchange for an Insurgent held by government, forces. ‘The Dahls have been married eight months. Searchers Get Gasoline. BARROW, Alaska, September 11 () —The Russian icebreaker Krassin discharged gasoline here today, after arriving from an Arctic cruise in search of the lost Russian transpolar plane and its crew of six. Twenty thousand gallons now are available for searching planes working out of this farthest North Alaskan settle- ment. IN TODAY’S STAR Educational Section—Part G— 10 Pages. Barbara Bell's patterns of new’ Fall styles—Page D-10, (Continued on Page B-6, Column 1) ! WHOLESALER TAX REDUGTION KILLED |Traders Must Pay Greatly Increased Levy Under Decision. BACKGROUND— Tax of two-fijths of one per cent on the gross receipts of busi- ness and professions in the District was ordered by Congress as a major means of balancing the 1938 budget. Because of special condi- tions in the cases of general con- tractors, commission wmerchants, brokers and other agents, collecting funds for others, the rate was ap- plied only to the sums they keep for themselves. Wholesalers were . mot given similar treatment. BY DON S. WARREN, One of their newly adopted rules governing applications of the business privilege tax to the gross receipts of wholesalers was junked yesterday by the Commissioners, with the result that these tradqrs will have to pay a greatly increased tax—in some cases by as much as 33 times. ‘The development posed the question of whether the law may be tested in court, since the claim has been made by some wholesalers that the applica- tion of a tax of two-fifths of 1 per cent to their “gross receipts” likely would prove confiscatory. The clause rescinded was intended to permit the classification as “com- mission merchants” of those whole- salers whose “spread” between the cost of goods bought and sold did not exceed 3 per cent. This would have permitted such traders to pay the tax on the amount of this “spread” rather than on the gross receipts they collected in the year past. Two Reasons for About Face. On recommendation by Jo V. Mor- gan, assistant corporation counsel, the clause was wiped out for two reasons. First, because it was decided Congress had not granted them suffi- cient authority to make such a defini- tion, and second, because they antici- pated there would be protests that the rule was discriminatory against the wholesaler whose ‘“spread” was more than 3 per cent. | ‘Whether the tax would prove con- fiscatory on some wholesalers—those who have a large turn-over per year, but who pocket a relatively small per- centage—was a resulting question. ‘The picture of the wholesalers, as| drawn yesterday at the District Building, goes something like this: Here is a wholesaler, engaged, in buying and selling food products, op- erating on a small working capital, say, of about $1,000. Suppose he takes back from one day's operations a total payment of $1,000. If the spread between his buying and selling prices is 3 per cent, this would ke | $30—out of which would have to come his overhead and profits. Piguring 300 working days to the year, the trader would have a gross spread for 12 months of $9,000. If classed as a | commission merchant, such a trader | would pay a tax of $36, or two-fifths | of 1 per cent of $9,000. Other Side of Picture. But this wholesaler, the Commis- sioners now find, cannot be so classi- | fied and must pay the tax against his | gross receipts total. If the dealer | took in $1,000 per day for 300 days, | the gross receipts total would be $300,~ 000 for the ygar and the application of the rate to this sum would produce a tax of $1,200. And the dealer would have to pay all such overhead costs as labor and rent out of this " (See BUSINESS, Page A-3) BALLOONISTS REPORT PEAK OF 67,500 FEET Two New York U. Students Claim Eastern Record Weather Craft. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, September 11.—Two students at New York University claimed an Eastern altitude record to- day for their weather-observing bal- loon, which reached a peak of 67,500 feet last night. Prof. J. Edmund Woodman, direc- tor of the university observation sta- tion, made the announcement today. The students are Howard M. Treu- blood of Dobbs Ferry and Henry W. Schwartz, New York. It was said the best previous record at the university observatory was in Radio i’rozr IN BUDGET PLANS IS AGREED UPON {Specter of Bond Issue or An- other Increase in Taxes Definitely Removed. AX MAY FALL HEAVILY ON CITY DEPARTMENTS Final Figure Likely to Exceed Current Appropriation by Several Millions. BACKGROUND— District financial picture in re- cent years has been one of mount- ing expenditures, decreasing Federal participation and increasing tax load on residents. For mext fiscal year department heads submitted estimates calling for more than $65,000,000 in ap- propriations. Hearings were held last week in hopes of keeping needs to minimum, one of developments being warning by Board of Trade that they would fight any expendi- tures mecessitating higher tazes. BY JAMES E. CHINN, The Commissioners tentatively agreed late yesterday to slash between $15,000,000 and $18,000,000 from the $65,000,000 estimates of department heads for the 1939 fiscal year and by their action definitely removed the specter of a bond issue or another increase in taxation in the coming fiscal year. The budget pruning process will be undertaken this week, with indica~ tions that the ax will fall heavily on the estimates of the public schools, Board of Public Welfare and other major departments—depart- ments which sought substantial ap- propriation increases for the 1939 fiscal year. Decision of the Commissioners to mutilate the departmental estimates came at the conclusion of a two-day public hearing on the 1939 budget— a hearing which showed conclusively that District taxpayers are vigorously opposed to a bond issue or any addie tional taxes to finance public improve= ments, irrespective of the urgency of their need. A $9,000,000 tax raise this year, it was developed, is just about all the already overburdened taxpayers can bear or want to bear as long as the Federal Government treats the District parsimoniously with a $5,000,000 payment toward its expenses. Improvements Postponed. The position of* the Commissioners with respect to the 1939 budget is set forth by Melvin C. Hazen in the fol= lowing statement: “The Commissioners have agreed in a general way to reduce the depart- mental estimates to a total which will not require any further increase in taxes. The taxpayers of Washington this year must bear an increased tax load approaching $9,000,000. The clear sentiment at the public hearings was against any increase in the tax burden. “There is no doubt many worthwhile and needed projects in the estimates of our department executives. How= ever, it is a matter of necessity that a great proportion of these requests must be postponed. We will have to slash the estimates very deeply in vir~ tually all instances. There is no other way out of the present dilemma. “In other words we will cut our budget to fit our income.” The exact size of the 1939 budget will be determined as soon as Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, auditor and budget officer, furnishes the Commissioners with an estimate of the revenue that will be available from taxes and all’ other sources. Maj. Donovan's job is extremely complicated this year because both the new business privi- lege tax and the 25-cent increase in the real and personal property tax rate, expire at the close of the current fiscal year, June 30, 1938. Revenues May Go Up. It is likely, however, the budget will be several million dollars in excess of the $46,000,000 appropriation for the 1938 fiscal year. Commissioner Hazen believes it may be possible to frame a $48,000,000 or $49,000,000 budget without adding to the tax burden. He pointed out the new motor vehicle weight, tax, estimated to yield $1,500,000, has not been appropriated, and that money will be available for use of the highway department in the 1939 fiscal year. In addition, he said, the business privilege tax yleld may (See BUDGET, Page A-6) TOLEDO STRIKE OF 4,500 Walkout of All Workers in That Field Would Affect 15 Plants. No Date Set. | By the Associated Press. DETROIT, September 11.—The Na- tional Administrative Committee of the Mechanics Educational Society of America approved today a strike call for all its members employed in Toledo, Ohio. M. E. 8. A. officers estimated such a walkout would affect 4,500 workers in 15 Toledo plants. The announce- ment did not specify a strike date. The M. E. S. A. called a strike August 31 at the Toledo plant of the Spicer Manufacturing Co., where the United Automobile Workers of America had won sole bargaining rights in a National Labor Relations Board elec~ tion. Matthew Smith, secretary of the M. E. S. A, addressed a telegram to U. A. W. officials today protesting re= ported plans of members of that union to return to work at the Spicer plant despite M. E. S. A. picket lines. ams, Page F-7. 58,000 feet, established a year ago. Complete Index, Page A-2.