Evening Star Newspaper, October 8, 1937, Page 17

Washington News DISTRICT HEADS DISCUSS FINANCES WITH TAX CROUP Advisory Council Told of Commissioners’ Perma- nent Program for Levies. COMMITTEE IS URGED TO ASSIST IN EFFORT City Officials Request Advice on Substitute for Business Privilege Tax. Acute financial problems of the District and the necessity for develop- ment of a permanent tax program were stressed by the Commissioners today at a joint meeting with the Municipal Tax Committee and its recently created Advisory Council of civic and business leaders. Behind closed doors, members of the council were told of the tentative plans of the Commissioners to frame & program of taxation that would re- main static for a period of at least seven years—a program that will per- mit definite planning of capital im- provements through the 1945 fiscal year. The council was urged to as- sist in development of the plan. Donovan Explains. Need for such a program was ex- plained by Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, auditor and budget officer, who also heads the Municipal Tax Committee. He pointed out the current $9,000,000 rogram of taxation was of an “emer- gency” nature, designed to preclude a serious budget shortage this year, and that two of its features—the busi- ness privilege tax and the 25-cent in- crease in the real and personal prop- erty levy—would expire at the close of the present fiscal year. The Commissioners said they wanted the advice of the advisory council, es- specially with respect to a substitute for the business privilege tax, which is meeting ever growing opposition. Commissioner Hazen expressed hope the permanent taxation program would permit a substantial reduction in the existing $1.75 tax on real and personal property. For next year, he believes the rate should not ex- ceed $1.60. ‘Will Be Ready for Congress. Maj. Donovan said the new and per- manent tax program would be com- pleted in time to submit to Congress by January 15, so it can be considered early in the next session. Members of his Tax Committee are the same ones ‘who prepared the current “emergency” tax plan now in effect. They are Cor- poration Counsel Elwood H. Seal, Capt. H. C. Whitehurst, director of high- ways; Richmond B. Keech, vice chair- man of the Public Utilities Com- mission; Fred D. Allen, tax assessor, and Chatham M. Towers, collector of taxes. The Advisory Council is composed of Edgar Morris of the Washington Board of Trade, L. A. Carruthers of the Federation of Citizens’ Associa- tions, F. Eliot Middleton of the Wash- ington Real Estate Board, Arthur J. Sundlun of the Merchants and Manu- facturers’ Association, Rufus S. Lusk of the Washington Taxpayers’ Protec~ tive League, Prof. Charles M. Thomas of the Federation of Civic Associa- tions, Mrs. Harry Lee Parkinson of the Voteless District League of Women Voters and Joseph H. Batt of the Fed- eration of Business Men's Associations. Immediately after the conference with the Commissioners, the Advisory Council met in the board room of the District Building and organized. Car- ruthers was elected chairman and Lusk secretary. The council also voted to hold its future meetings at 4 pm, but did not designate the day of the week, leaving that to the chairman. INCREASE IS SHOWN IN U. S. FORCE HERE Total Addition in-Captial 483. Decrease Outside 1,416—Pay Roll Smaller. A slight increase in the number of Federal executive department em- ployes in the District during August was reported today by the Civil Serv- ice Commission. The figures for sim- flar employment outside the District showed a decline. The total increase in the District was 483, while the decrease outside was 1,416. This left 111,770 e:aployes in Washington and 736,473 outside. The total August pay roll was $126,- 746,808, as compared with $126,974,578 in July. MISSING GIRL FOUND Dorothy Shockley Located at Home of Sister in 8. C. Dorothy Shockley, 17-year-old Cen- tral High School student, missing from her home, in the 1200 block of Beventeenth street since September 25, was located by police yesterday at the home of her sister, in Green- ville, 8. C. Her mother, Mrs. Olie Simmers, told police the girl prior to her disappear- ance had expressed a desire to visit the Southern city, where she spent several weeks last Summer. BAND CONCERT By the Army Band in the auditorium at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow. Capt. Thomas F. Darcy, leader; Karl Hubner, assist- ant. Program. March, “Emblem of Victory,” V. Leftwich i Overture, “Americana”..._M. L. Lake - Berenade, “Lambeth Walk,” b A. Ketelbey flllxophone solo, “Sunspots,” 3 F. Trumbauer Nicholas L. King, soloist. i Characteristic, “Serenade for the 5 C. Debussy ! Popular, “A Study In Brown,” 5 o ® “It's the only way to eat @he Foen WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1937. ’em,” says an “old salt,” as he spears a big oyster fresh from the shell, using a shucking knife for a fork. PITTS TESTIFIES INHART TAX CASE Identifies Document and Tells of Transactions With Defendant. Out of prison for a day, G. Bryan Pitts, former Washington mortgage benker, was forced to spend most of his time hiding from newspaper pho- tographers, who lay in wait for him in the Internal Revenue Bureau Build- ing, where he appeared as a witness late yesterday in a case before the | Board of Tax Appeals. In a final effort to avoid being photographed Pitts did a sprint through the long corridors of the building with four photographers at his heels and took refuge in an office of one of the bureau's attorneys. Pitts was released for the day from the District Reformatory at Lorton, Va., where he is serving a 14-year sentence for attempted embezzlement in connection with the failure of the old F. H. Smith Co. He was ac- companied to Washington by Ray L. Huff, general superintendent of Dis- trict penal institutions. Clashes With Attorney. ‘The Government used Pitts as its witness in a case involving Henry O. Hart, an accountant, who for several years handled Pitts’ income tax and other affairs. Hart had appealed to the board for redetermination of al- leged deficiencies in his income tax for 1932, Neatly dressed in & dark brown suit, Pitts spent nearly 45 minutes on the witness stand, describing his business relations with Hart. Once he clashed with Richard 8. Doyle, attorney for Hart. “Please stop interrogating me and answer my questions,” Doyle shouted to Pitts. “Youre on the witneas stand. I'm not.” Pitts testified he had & verbal agreement with Hart to pay him $250 a week for his services, but de- nied he promised the accountant s fee of $350,000 to save his property when the Government placed a $2,- 500,000 jeopardy assessment on it. Pitts likewise said he did not remem- ber authorizing Hart to make busi- ness trips to New York and Florida for him in 1932. Identifies Document. Pitts was called to the witness stand primarily to identify a seven- page document which he testified was a copy he had made of an ac- counting Hart submitted to him after he was placed in the District Jail. He said he made the copy while in Lorton, but it disappeared and he had not seen it again until several weeks ago, when it was shown to him by Thomas F. Callahan, Government attorney. How the Government got posses- sion of the document, Pitts said, was a mystery to him. “I had not seen it for several years,” he testified. “I looked for it and wondered where it was.” When the hearing concluded Pitts asked permission to take the docu- ment with him. But Attorney Calla- han shook his head in disapproval. It had been admitted in evidence. Toys Stolen From Auto. Representative Hunter of Ohio re- ported to police today that some one had broken into his automobile, parked in front of the Hay-Adams House last night, and stolen toys worth $12 and a raincoat. NAVAL ACADEMY STUDIES REVISED Change Designed to Liberal- ize Education Made After Survey. A revised curriculum at the Naval Academy, designed to liberalize edu- cation, with emphasis on general reading during the two-year proba- tionary period after midshipmen re- ceive their diplomas, was made public today by the Navy Department. The new schedule is the resuit of a study conducted since last March by a board comprising Rear Admiral Charles P. Snyder, president of the Naval War College at Newport, R. I.; Capt. Chester W. Nimitz, assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, and Capt. George V. Stewart, head of the Postgraduate School at Annapolis. Secretary Swanson has approved the new curriculum, under which the course in economics—other than per- sonal economics and insurance—was eliminated. The time thus saved will be devoted to professional subjects, mainly navigation. The course in Government, the Navy Department said, is transferred to the Department of English and History, which was enlarged and re- named the Department of English, History and Government. Additional time is allotted for instruction in Government in this department. “In order to broaden the education of the midshipmen both during and after their four years of academic training, steps are being taken to bring to the Naval Academy an in- creased number of prominent lecturers on non-professional subjects, and to inagurate a course of compulsory reading along cultural lines to be pursued by all graduates during their two-year probationary period after graduation,” the department said. Rear Admiral Adolphus Andrews, chief of the Bureau of Navigation, named the board after agitation for a more liberalized program of study at the academy had been heard. Officers at the Navy Department explained that a very good course in economics and Government is given at the Postgraduate School at An- napolis. International relations are stressed at that school and the stu- dents are given courses in higher radio, engineering, navigation and other professional subjects, officials ex- plained. Braille Class to Be Formed. A class in Braille transcription will be organized for the blind by the Dis- trict Chapter of the American Red Cross at a meeting at 7:30 p.m. Mon- day at chapter headquarters, 1730 E street. There will be no charge for instruction, but equipment will cost $2.79. Burglar Digs ThroughW all, Steals Suits A burglar who dug a hole through 8 rear wall and crawled into the Smith Cleaners & Dyers branch at 1201 Seventh street during the night took & large amount of clothing and $6.25 in cash, police were told today. The loot included 22 men’s suits and 2 women’s suits, 2 shirts, 1 dress, 1 pair of trousers and 1 coat. The burglary was discovered by Wal- ter Kleinman, manager of the branch plant, when he opened up today. Later Policeman R. E. Williams ar- rested & colored suspect, who is being held at the second precinct. ® WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION e Schooner Loads A hold full of the mud-covered bivalves is shovelled out and into bushel baskets, ready for distribution to the whole- salers. Widow of Suicide Is Consoled By Fact She Was “Best Wife” Mrs. W. C. Branson Knew W hat Note From Invalid Meant. ‘The misfortune that has harassed Mr. and Mrs. William C. Branson for the last year seemed to have done its worst today—but, as the grief-stricken woman took time off from her $2-a- day job to complete arrangements for her husband’s funeral, she had the consolation of knowing that, up to the moment he sent a bullet into his brain, he regarded her as “the best wife any man ever had.” Mrs. Branson was happy as she re- ‘turned home late yesterday from the Job she had obtained three weeks ago in a downtown store. Two dollars a day wasn’t much, but it was enough to enable her and her invalid husband to live without the donations that their friends had been making for the last year. Knew Meaning of Note. In the bed room of her apartment at 2321 Decatur place, however, the 48-year-old wife found a note lying beside his eyeglasses. “I knew what it meant before I read it,” she said today. “B. B.— that's what I always called my hus- band—had been worn down by his long battle to overcome the pain and uselessness of an arm injured in an accident about a year ago.” While a friend—Edward A. Howard, also a resident of the Decatur place address—went to see what had hap- pened to Branson, the distraught wife read the note. It brought back heart- breaking memories of the struggle she and her husband had made to carry on despite his invalidism. Written in pencil, the message said: “To the best wife any man ever had: I have given up and cannot take it any longer. I have suffered with my arm more than you think, but you were always ready to do your best. You will be better off without me, so good-by, and don't spend too much money on me and save it. Your loving husband, B. B.” Howard, a chauffeur, found Branson in the bath room, a bullet hole in his right temple and a .32-caliber revolver nearby. An Emergency Hospital in- terne pronoynced him dead a few minutes later and Coroner A. Ma- gruder MacDonald issued a certificate of suicide. Underwent Four Operations. Branson, 56, and a chauffeur, also, received a compound fracture of the arm when he slipped and fell while getting out of an automobile. Since then he had undergone four opera- tions, but an infection had virtually destroyed all hope of recovery. “Of course, my husband couldn't go MRS. WILLIAM C. BRANSON, —Star Staff Photo. back to his regular work as a chauf- feur,” Mrs. Branson said, “and he couldn’t find anything else to do. Al- though I hadn’t gone out to work for 20 years, I went job hunting. For a long time I couldn’t get anybody to hire me, and only the generosity of our friends enabled us to keep a roof over our heads and something to eat on the table. “Then, in August, I landed a job in a bakery. I'd been there only & few days when somebody—I suspected a colored boy who had been loitering in the shop—stole $2.09 from the cash drawer. Although my salary was only $11.80 a week, I made the loss good without saying anything about it. Makes Good $4 More. “A few days later the same colored boy was in the bakery. Of course, I couldn't accuse him of taking the money, but I ordered him out. Later I discovered that $4 was missing, and— well, I made that good, too.” But that was enough of the bakery job. Mrs. Branson quit wnd, after a continuous search, found work in Butler's Federal Clothing Stores, 621 Seventh street. Throughout her husband's invalid- ism Mrs. Branson had kept up her husband’s life insurance, taken out 17 years ago, “when things were better.” This money will be used to bury him in Baltimore after services in a local funeral establishment at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. MRS. CLORINDIA CURRIER DIES AT HOME HERE Mrs. Clorindia C. Currier, 67, widow of Thomas J. Currier, contractor and builder, died yesterday at her home, 3225 N street. Death was attributed to complications which developed after she suffered a hig fracture in a fall in her home three weeks ago. A native of Charlottesville, Va. Mrs. Currier had lived here for many years. Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. Laura B. Burns, Mrs, Lillian V. Carrico, Mrs. Elsie Andrews and Miss Betty L. Currler: a son, John 8. Cur- rier; a number of grandchildren, sev- eral brothers and sisters. Funeral services will be held at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow in Hines' fu- neral home, 2001 Fourteenth street. Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery. MISSING ALEXANDRIAN HUNTED BY POLICE HERE ‘Washington police today were asked to be on the lookout for Robert H. Hancock, 79-year-old Alexandria, Ve., resident, who has been missing from his home since Wednesday afternoon. During the last year the man has suffered four memory lapses, members of his family told police, and may be wandering in Washington, not know- ing the whereabouts of his home. He was last seen at a tea shop at Ridge road and Mount Vernon ave- nue, Alexandria, wearing a gray hat, dark gray trousers, a light coat and blue shirt, without a tie. He is short and weighs little more than 100 pounds, police were told. ny Star %% Society and General PAGE B—1 of Succulent Delicacies Cargo unloaded, a veteran oysterman enjoys a quiet smoke before time comes back another supply. MINIMUM WAGE HEARINGS ENDED Vote Due Next Week by Re- tail Trade Parley on Women’s Pay. Members of the retail trade confer- ence of the Minimum Wage Board will face the task next week of deciding what should be the least wage per- mitted to be paid to Washington's 8,000-odd woman workers in the in- dustry. Estimates of their minimum budget requirements vary from $21.51 & week down to $14.57. Debate on specific items in the budgets offered by worker and em- ployer representatives on the confer- ence was concluded at a lengthy ses- sion last night, with a discussion of conflicting data on costs of sundries. The three representatives of the gen- eral public are to meet Tuesday night to prepare their recommendations and a final vote may be taken next Thursday night. Study of estimates made by the employer spokesmen indicated last night that their minimum proposals for such items as health, recreation, church and charity, savings and in- surance followed closely the estimates adopted nearly 20 years ago by the old minimum wage board. Higher Standards Cited. In contrast to this position was a declaration to the conference by E. J. Tracy, spokesman for the Stenogra- phers’ Union, an affiliate of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, that stand- ards of living had increased greatly since 1919 and that the wage mini- mum to be fixed by the board should be considerably in excess of a mere “subsistence cost.” “The needs of & worker in 1919 were relatively simple as compared with what they are today. Standards of living have increased. In those days we enjoyed ‘cat whisker’ radios, but today s modern radio set is no longer regarded as a luxury. Tracy also declared he did not think it proper for Washington stores, bene- fiting by the large Government pay roll here, to propose a minimum wage of less than $15 while the lowest paid Government clerk gets about $25 a week. There was considerable amusement over the debate on some of the sundry cost items. Employer spokesmen had allowed $1040 & year for recreation for the woman clerks, whereas the worker representatives held out for $30. Dur- ing this discussion Mrs. Erma Ketchem asked: “What kind of amusement do you expect a girl to be able to buy at the rate of 20 cents a week?” Mrs. William Kittle, chairman of the board, wanted to know the answer to the same question. One Movie 2 Week at $30. Arthur L. Schoenthal, labor repre- sentative on the board, said his group found that the $30 allowance would permit a girl to attend one neigh- borhood movie per week and perhaps & soft drink to top off the vening. ‘When the question of cost of lec- tures was brought up, John Hasley, employer representative, said, “I think the girls get enough lectures without paying to hear any more.” For church and charity the em- ployers offered a budget figure of $5.20 per year, or 10 cents per week, whereas the workers claimed a figure of $12. i i River Model to Work. A model, illustrating the various operations of the Columbia River sal- mon fishing industry, is planned for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition at 8an Francisco. for another run down to the bay to bring —Star Staff Photos. STRIKE SUIT POINT 1S WONBY BAKERY Demurrer by Four Unions and Members Overruled by Justice Letts. Gundersheimer’s Bakery won a pre- liminary legal tilt yesterday in its $300,000 District Court damage suit against four unions and 137 union members who it charged with con- spiracy in connection with a strike at its plant. Overruling a demurrer by the de- fendants, Justice F. Dickinson Letts said the bakery's allegations consti- tute a valid basis for recovery. The unions now must reply to the suit and go to trial or take the case to the United States Court of Appeals. Last July Gundersheimer’'s filed suit against the Bakery and Confec- tionery Workers' International Union of America and its Local No. 118 and the International Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers of America and its local affiliate, the Bakery Salesmen’s and Drivers’ Union, No. 33, of Washing- ton. Through Attorneys Needham C. Turnage and Charles T. Clayton t.bfi ocal bakery charged that the two I labor organizations called a strike at its plant July 7 because the bakery would not desist from purchasing part of its pastry from a Philadelphia firm. The unions, it was said, wanted everything sold by the bakery to be made here, although the Philadelphia firm employed union labor. Contending the unions were not justified in striking, the bakery ar- gued that they were guilty of a con- spiracy in violation of the Sherman anti-trust law and the Clayton anti- trust act. The bakery has remained closed since the strike began. It estimated the injury to its business at $100,000 and asked for $300,000 damages, since the Sherman law permits three-fold recovery. COURT SOON TO SEE FIDELITY CONTRACT Proposal for Sale of Assets Due to Be Submitted Early Next Week. ‘The proposed contract for sale of assets of the Fidelity Building and Loan Association to the new First Federal Savings and Loan Association probably will be submitted for court approval early next week, according to indications today. Legal experts of the Treasury De- partment and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board are ironing out final de- tails of the contract, which has been approved “in principle” by all parties. There was a possibility that another meeting of the F. H. L. B. B. might be necessary to give formal approval to the amended plan of the First Fed- eral. This provides for action on 63 per cent of the dollar value of Fidelity assets pledged to purchase of new First Federal shares. The original plan had provided that 75 per cent of the shares must be pledged. It is believed by officials that with no restrictions on withdrawals from the new institution, many sharehold- ers may wish to purchase some shares in the First Federal after it opens, bringing the proportion to probably more than 75 per cent. Each shareholder will be given 85 cents on his dollar, either in shares in the new institution, or in cash. "Cold Bug'll Getcha . . .” Doctors Hum as They Plan Fight on Public Enemy No. 1 O THE tune of “The Cold I Bug'll Getcha If Ya Don't Watch Out,” Washington's physicians are reported to be humming in their laboratories as they polish sugar-coated pills and prepare to withstand a siege by Public Enemy No. 1—Filtrable Un- travirus, chief cause of sniffies and sneezes. And it’s like fighting in the dark, too, because Filtrable Untravirus, being ultramicroscopic, is known to exist only by its effects and is supposed to be the lowest form of living matter. Although scientists have yet get a look at F. U,, they do know fi which is the most frequent cause of iliness, accounting for far more days lost from work, from school, from productive activities of every type than can be charged to any other disease. Since practicing physicians are not required to report ordinary cold cases, it is impossible to cite figures accurately, but United States Public Health Service statisticians esti- mate that in the United States there is an average yearly loss of work of about two and one-fifth days for each worker on account of colds. On this basis and into eonsideration only that paf® of our dustry (which is around 42,000,- 000) it is figured some 90,000 work days are lost yearly. If the average value of & worker's service is $5 a day, it means a loss of not less than $450,000,000 every year on account of colds alone. Even though unable to detect the actual invisible cause of the cold, the Public Health Service points out 32 is safe to proceed from the premise that the disease is acquired by contact, and thus attempt to limit its spread. To judge from experience and observation, there can little natural immunity to common eold. Susceptibility to mére attack Imoat nntven Ch strong and vigorous individuals have their bouts with the malady with apparently the same frequency as the more puny and delicate per- sons and pay their tribute equally with every recurring cold season. For the average man, woman and childi—and young childreff appear to be more susceptible than adults— the Public Health Service says “there is no better insurance against colds than a sedulous avoid- ance of over-heavy or over-warm clothing and over-heated dwellings or work rooms in Winter. The too sudden exposure of the overly warm body to s cooler atmosphere is undoubtedly one of the most eurt- n pxcitants of “We find, therefore,” the health service says, “that a hot-house existence is the surest path to the common cold.” Doctors are frequently asked why they do not know more about the cure and prevention of a disease as prevalent as the common cold. “This can be explained,” the health service reports, “when it is remembered that the cold be- longs to that obscure group of so- called filtrable viruses and no one has been able to cultivate the causative agent on artificial media. Even if it were grown artificially, as may be donejwith many disease germs, 1t is extfemely doubtful if the attenuated organisms, or vac~ to confer immunity since the dis- ease itself confers little, if any immunity. Then, an experimental study of the common cold is diffi- cult and expensive because there is no laboratory animal aside from man and the anthropoid apes known to be susceptible to colds. Experiments must be carried out on human beings and this is not easily arranged.” The Capital's weather is often blamed fer common colds, but a health service survey says: “We find no definite association of re- spiratory attack rates with marked variations in ate as represented by six Amerg': cities (including ‘ashington) with wide xneognphlc Brotherhood of | E A, L PILOTS ASK ABANDONMENT OF WASHINGTON FIELD 31 Urge Shift of Operations to Bolling as Breach Is Indicated. RICKENBACKER REQUEST IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT Pennsylvania Airlines Oppose Ex- tension of Limitations to Lighter Planes. Immediate abandonment of Washe ington Airport by air transport lines and transfer of airline operations to Bolling Field is requested in a peti= tion signed by 31 pilots of Eastern Air Lines, now pending before the Commerce Department. The new petition, it was learned, was submitted through the National Air Line Pilots’ Association during yesterday's star chamber session held by the Bureau of Air Commerce. The new petition was regarded as evidence of a serious disagreement among pilots of Eastern Air as to safety of Washington Airport. One of the chief reasons for yes terday’s meeting was a petition signed by three first pilots and six co-pilots of the hourly Washington-New York “‘merry-go-round” service maintained by Eastern asking that the Commerce Department revoke restrictions on the use of Douglas DC-2 transport airplanes at Washington Airport. Calls Airport Unsafe. The new petition, directly in op- position to the earlier petition, chare acterized Washington Airport as une safe and argued that the “common- sense solution” of the problem would be to move operations to Bolling Fleld at once pending establishment here of a permanent, adequate air transport terminal, it was said. The text of the petition has not been made public, and it was not mentioned in a Commerce Depart- ment statement ued following the meeting. The statement, of only two paragraphs, said merely that a fur- ther discussicn of the present limita- tions affecting Washington Airport had been attended by representatives of the various groups concerned. The meeting, it was stated, “was highly constructive in character, and many helpful suggestions were made,” indicating “the earnest desire of all to arrive at the best solution possi- ble.” It was explained that no im- mediate action would be taken until all suggestions had been stucied and analyzed. The new Eastern Air pilots' peti- tion also indicated a breach betwe: the flying personnel and Capt. Ed- ward V. Rickenbacker, general man- ager of the airline. Rickenbacker, in support of the earlier petition, asked the Commer:2 Department to lift restrictions on the use of the DC-2 type and on landing of the DC-3 type at Wash- ington Airport. This request, it is understood, he renewed yesterday. Demand Is Renewed. The National Air Line Pilots’ As- sociation renewed its demand that air transport operations at Was ington Airport be discontinued and that Bolling Field be used until a permanent airport is provided. Rickenbacker, although admitting that Washington Airport is not en- tirely satisfactory, contends that it is safe for use under existing regula- tions of his company. He urged that Washington Airport be improved, voicing the opinion that it could be made entirely satisfactory within a year at a fifth the cost of a new air- port and in a fraction of the time. Representatives of Pennsylvania- Central Airlines, it is understood, ap- peared at yesterday's meeting in op- position to extension of the existing airport limitations to include lighter types of airplanes. There is no justi= fication, they contended, for limiting the operation of airplanes of less than 15,000 pounds gross weight. CLUB NOW RECEIVING MEDAL NOMINATIONS Cosmopolitan Group Again to Make Awatd for Most Outstand- ing Service in City. Nominations for the Cosmopolitan Club’s distinguished service medal, an award made annually to the per- son who performs the most outstand- ing, unselfish service for the city during the year, are now in order. This announcement was made at the club’s luncheon yesterday at the Carlton Hotel by Dr. J. Rozier Biggs, chairman of the Medal Committee. The honor last year went to Police Supt. E. W. Brown. Celebrating “District day,” the club had many high city officials, includ- ing Commissioner Melvin C. Hazen and Col. Dan I. Sultan, Engineer Commissioner, as its guests. Col. William H. McCarty was in charge of the program and introduced the guests. Arthur W. Defenderfer, club president, presided. MAN WHO KICKED BOY SOON TO BE SENTENCED Edward Beach, 3821 M street, who pleaded guilty in Police Court yes- terday to a charge of assaulting an 8-year-old boy, will be sentenced next Wednesday by Judge Walter J. Casey. The victim of the assault was Charles Baggett, 3721 Canal road, who said Beach kicked him after he and another boy accidentally knocked a bundle from the man's arm while playing “tag.” Arrested on a warrant, Beach plead- ed guilty, but asked that the case be investigated further. Bond was set at $500. Robbed of $74 in ;t;eet. Two colored men last night robbed Charles Williams, 1760 Columbia road, of $74 after mreatening him with a pistol as he yas walking in the 1300 block of Girard street, police re- ported