Evening Star Newspaper, October 17, 1937, Page 1

WEATHER. (U 8. Weather Buresu Forecast.) Fair, slightly warmer today; tomorrow increasing cloudiness and warmer, fol- lowed by rain in late afternoon or at night; gentle east winds. Temperatures yester- day—Highest, 55, at 4 p.m.; lowest, 34, at 5 am. Full report on Page B-3. Full Associated Press News and Wirephotos Sunday Morning and Every = Afternoon. (#) Means Associated Press. No. 1,700—No. 34,137. AELANDC.LO. AGREE ON PARLEY HERE OCTOBER 2 Green Faction Accepts Bid to Conference Without Advance Conditions. TALKS DESIGNED TO END TWO-YEAR “CIVIL WAR” Leaders of Older Organization, in Private Conversations, Not Overly Hopeful of Success. BACKGROUND-- Wide split of labor ranks oc- curred two years ago when John L. Lewis, head of the United Mine Workers and A. F. of L. oficial, broke with President William Green and organized rival Com- mittee for Industrial Organization. The infant faction, after notable success in organizing automobile industry, grew rapidly. Many ob- servers have felt, however, a break might eventuadly prove handicap to all U. S. workers. By the Associated Press. Organized labor called an armistice in its 2-year-old civil war yesterday and agreed on a preliminary peace conference in Washington, October 25, intended to unify again the Amer- fcan labor movement. The signal to ‘“cease firing” was the American Federation of Labor's snnouncement in Denver that it had accepted a proposal from the Com- mittee for IfKustrial Organization to send negotiating committees to & ‘Washington conference without ad- vance conditions, reservations or com- mitments. The conference agreement followed several days of long-distance maneu- vering, neither side willing to recede from its views on the principles of craft unionism and industrial union- ism. Third Proposal Accepted. Two C. I O. conference proposals were turned down by the Federation before a third was accepted. Phillip Murray, one of John L. Lewis’ chief lieutenants in the C. I. O, termed the Federation’s earlier jockeying on conference conditions “‘quibbling.” The agreement was reached prac- tically two years from the date the Lewis and eight “rebel” unions walked out of the Federation convention and organized the C. 1. O, t0 embrace unskilled workers inr mass-production industries. In Denver A. F. L. leaders, in their private conversation, were not overly optimistic about the chances for suc- cess of the conference. Green Refuses Statement. Asked by a reporter whether he “hoped” it would succeed, William Green, R. F. L. president, refused to make a statement. If the conference is successful, la- bor leaders agreed that: The A. F. L. could present a united front of nearly 7,000,000 workers in its fight for higher wages, shorter hours and better working conditions. Lewis probably would become the federation’s dominant figure. Government officials, from President Roosevelt down to small-town sheriffs, would be spared many a headache resulting from attempts to stay neutral in the fight. Employers of organized labor also would be spared many of the strikes bound to result from the war between two huge groups of employes. Benefit of United Front. ‘Workingmen in each group would[ lose less time on the job and also| stand to benefit by a united labor front against employers. The country was in for the most bitter labor war in its history if the negotiations failed. Last week the A. F. L. convention made plans for a fight to the finish if peace overtures came to nothing. When Murray telegraphed the C. I. ©O. Committee would meet “with or ‘without commitments,” the federation's fiecutive council immediately shot ck this message: “The. committee of the American Federation of Labor, composed of Vice Presidents Harrison, Woll and Bug-| niazet will meet your committee Wil- | lard Hotel, Washington, D. C., October | 25, 10 am.” | The executive council set up thls! committee at its Miami, Fla., meeting | in January, 1936, to urge Lewis to| sbandon the C. I. O., organized the previous November with the announced | purpose of bringing unorganized work- ers into industrial unions under the A. F. L. banner. In Atlantic City there was every indication that the C. I. O. would not compromise its stand that industrial unionism must continue to be the ‘backbone of labor progress. The agreement on the conciliatory parley came as only Lewis and a small group of the 150 officials of C. I. O. unions remained at this seaside resort. Most of the other delegates to the five-day conference on strategy already had left. The C. I. O. originally proposed this week that both it and the A. F. of L. select 100 representatives to discuss the problem of composing their differ- ences. e e KILLED AT CROSSING Granddaughter of Late Florida Senator Loses Life. BRANFORD, Fla,, October 16 (#)— Miss Sara Tillman of Tampa, daugh- ter of State Senator Henry C. Till- man, was fatally injured today when the altomobile in which she and a party of friends were riding crashed into the locomotive of an Atlantic Coast Line passenger train. Miss Tillman, a senior at Florida State College for Women, was a grand- Entered as second class matter post office, Washinston, D. C. he WASH GTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORM Sund WITH DAILY EVENING EDITION Upsets Mark Foot Ball Games; CONF [R[Nc[ BID Dead Heat in Laurel Feature This is a ighly retbubhed phto of he Larel track official photo of the feature race yesterday, showing the dead heat. Furthest from the camera, on nearest the camera is Heelfly. ( stripped from the ranks of undefeated collegiate foot ball teams yesterday as an under- rated Syracuse eleven registered the major upset with a 14-6 victory over Cornell. Army succumbed to Yale, 15-7; Alabama defeated Tennessee, 14-7, and Notre Dame lost to Carnegie Tech, 9-7, while Pittsburgh and Fordham, Navy and Harvard and Nebraska and Oklahoma all fought to scoreless ties. ORNELL, Army, Notre Dame and Tennessee were the inside, is Seabiscuit, while Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit and T. P. Margan’s Heelfly record- ed a dead heat in the twenty- fourth running of the 1-mile $7,500 Laurel Handicap before 22,000 spec- tators at Laurel. Maryland scored the only victory among local college teams, trim- ming Virginia, 3-0, while Lafayette spilled Georgetown, 6-0; Mount St. Mary's walloped American Univer- sity, 21-0. and Virginia State swamped Howard, 27-0. (For complete details see sports pages.) CONTROL BATTLE ING. 0. P. LIKELY AT NOV. & SESSION Political Dynamite Seen in Scheduled Meeting of Na- tional Committee. BACKGROUND— The debacle that overtook the Republican party last November provoked immediate discussion as to the future of the party. The different factions have advanced their own ideas as to what should be done, but policy proposals have not advanced beyond the discus- sion stage. BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. The meeting of the Republican National Committee in Chicago on Nt}:{:mber 5 is full of potentirl dyna- mite, Two rows, distinct from each other and yet at the same time intimately entwined, appear on the horizon. The first is over the proposed national conference or convention on an un- fixed date next Spring. The second is over the chairmanship of the Na- tional Committee, now held by John | | D. M. Hamilton of Kansas. Rivalry for control and leadershin of the G. O. P. has its part in botn these controversies. Unless the party is to break up hopelessly into fac- tions and perhaps die of inanition, ! peace must be worked out. The plan for holding a national conference, representative of sll groups in the party. has been spon- sored by Chairman Hamilton and by former President Herbert Hoover. Every effort has been made to get former Gov. Alf M. Landon of Kan- 8as, the party standard bearer in 1936, to go along with the idea. These efforts culminated recently in a meet- ing at the home of former Gov. Frank O. Lowden of Illinois, attended by Lowden, Landon and Hoover. A rather cryptic statement was given out at the close of that meeting by Mr. Lowden. He said that the conferees had found themselves in agreement. There were no details given regarding the agreement. It was assumed, how- ever, that Landon had decided to go along with the others in support of a national conference. Belgian Press Hints Italy and Japan May Join Far East Parley B3 the Associated Press. BRUSSELS. October section of the Belgian press hinted today Italy and Japan might be persuaded to join the nine-power treaty conference here October 30 to study possible means of ending the Chinese- Japanese war. Japan, a signatory to the pact which guarantees the territorial integrity of China, has been represented by some sources as firmly determined to stay away from the conference. Italy has sanctioned Japan's stand in ‘he Far Eastern situation. The newspaper La Derniere Heure, which usually has authori- tative contacts, said “official quarters are optimistic regarding Japan and Italy accepting invi- tations” handed today to all nine- power signatories and adherents. DR, TUCKER NAMED 16.—A PRESIDING BISHOP |Virginian Elected to High Episcopal Post, Carrying Increase in Powers. By the Associated Pross. CINCINNATI, October 16.—An ec- clesiastical liberal, the Right Rev. Henry St. George Tucker, Bishop of Virginia, was elected the nineteenth bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church today. Bishop Tucker, widely known as a missionary and head of the Virginia Diocese since 1927, was chosen on the second ballot in the House of Bishops of the fifty-second triennial general convention and his selection was con- firmed by the House of Deputies. He will take office January 1, suc- ceeding the Right Rev. James De Wolf Perry of Providence, R. I, presiding bishop for seven years. The bishops were pledge to secrecy on details of the balloting. Bishop Perry was one of three persons nom- inated by a joint committee of the House of Bishops and House of Dep- uties. The others were the Right Rev. Since then it has been learned, William Bertrand Stevens, Bishop of (See G. O. P, Page A-5.) ,‘sie’ TUCKER, Page A-3.) Utopian Gates of Greenbelt Are Banged in Faces of Pets Neddie Richie, 5, and his pal Bozo are shown before the boy’s family moved to Greenbelt and he had to give the dog away. Bozo has a new home near Philadelphia. BY CARTER BROOKE JONES. HERE'LL be no pets in Utopia, at least for the present. Mean- I while, Billy the bull pup and Minnie the cat are persona non grata at the Government's latest experiment in the less restricted life— Greenbelt, Md. Which is to say, it's thumbs down on them—at least for the time being. They were left behind when their families trekked out from crowded city streets to the suburban town which the Farm Security Administra- tion carved out of the forests of daughter of the late “Pitchfork Ben” ‘Tillman, once Governor of and later United States Senator from South Caroline. # Prince Georges County. And thus far, with 50 families set- tled yesterday in Greenbelt's glisten- ing new dwellings and 25 more due by the middle of the week, not a stray bark disturbs the crisp, tranquil air. And nights pass with only the wind sighing through the trees. There is 1o canine communion with the moon, and there are no eloquent feline ora- tions. ‘The question of pets has not heen finally settled—it’s to be voted on by Greenbeltians when the whole set- tlement is filled, some time this Win- ter—but “there’s a temporary ban on any animal more belligerent than a canary or more given to trespassing than & goldfish. The management has put on the ad interim ban for the safety of children, it was explained yesterday, since there are no fences (Bes Ffii'—l-—r 10 TREATY PARLEY ACCEPTED BY U. . Hull Hits Tolerance on Far East “Inconsistency” Aft- er Quick Action. NORMAN DAVIS HEADS DELEGATION OF FIVE Conferees to Seek Agreement Be- tween China and Japan to Cease Hostilities. BACKGROUND— Article VII of the nine-power treaty provides for “full and frank communication” between signa tories “wherever a situation arises” which involves application of the treaty in the Far East. In addition to China and Japan, signers of the original pact were the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Bel- gium, the Netherlands and Portu= gal. The United States moved swiftly to- day to insure its co-operation with other nine-power treaty signatories in & conference designed to halt the un- declared Chinese-Japanese war. Five minutes after the Belgian gov- ernment’s formal invitation to the parley at Brussels on October 30 had been received, Secretary Hull an- nounced this Government's accept- ance and named a delegation of five to represent it. Norman H. Davis of New York, President Roosevelt's “Ambassador at Large,” was designated to act as Amer- ica’s chief spokesman in conference efforts to find a formula for a peace- able adjustment of the Far Eastern crisis. In the midst of these plans, Sec- retary Hull wrote Senator Walsh, Democrat, of Massachusetts that he did not think “this Government need or should show tolerance towards ac- tions inconsistent with treaties to which this country is a party.” Davis, & veteran of international conferences. is expected to press for an agreement t0 mediate the Chinese- Japanese cenflict in accordance with a policy already outlined by the Presi- dent. This move is expected to be di- rected toward obtaining an agree- ment between China and Japan to ceAsé their hoatilities and strive for & negotiated peace. Ranking U. §. Experts to Go. With Davis will go the State De- partment’s top ranking expert on Far Eastern and European problems, Dr. Stanley K. Hornbeck, special political adviser to Secretary Hull on Far Eastern affairs, and Jay Pierrepont Moffat, chief of the department's European division. The delegation also will include Robert T. Pell, an attache of the Eu- ropean division, who will act as press officer, and Charles E. Bohlen, secre- tary. Secretary Hull announced the dele- gation would sail the middle of next week and the understanding was that it would catch the United States liner Washington leaving New York on Wednesday. The United States Government, in common with the seven other signa- tories of the nine-power pact guar- anteeing China's territorial and ad- ministration sovereignty was invited to the conference by Belgium to “ex- amine the situation in the Far East and to study peaceable means of has- tening the end of the regrettable con- flict which prevails there.” Couni, Robert van der Straten- Ponthoz, the Beigian Ambassador, de- livered his government's written in- vitation in person to Secretary Hull at 10:30 am. Secretary Hull assured the envoy orally of this Government’s acceptance of the invitation and gave him an immediate reply. Makes Quick Announcement. Immediately after the Belgian Am- bassador had departed, Hull entered & waiting press conference to make his formal announcement of his ac- ceptance and the names of the Amer- ican delegates. Both Hull and Presi- dent Roosevelt previously had an- nounced informally this Government’s intention to participate. Hull said he had no knowledge as yet of the program with which the conference will deal. President Roose- velt indicated plainly yesterday at Hyde Park, however, that America’s primary objective in the Brussels con- ference will be to seek mediation of the conflict. . He declined to predict what further steps this Government might take should the mediation attempt fail. It appeared probable, meanwhile, that Soviet Russia, which is not a signatory of the nine-power pact, would not be invited to the opening of the conference, but might be asked to participate in later sessions. The Secretary of State said he had no information as to whether Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Bolivia and Mexico would be invited as nations which (See CONFERENCE, Page A-4.) UG VITTORIO MUSSOLINI SAILS BACK TO ITALY By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, October 16.—Vittorio Mussolini, eldest son of the Italian Premier, sailed for home on the Italian liner Rex today, after a visit of seven days less than a month in America. He said he planned to return soon. When reporters discovered him shortly before the ship's departure at noon, she disclosed that he had boarded the liner at 4:30 o'clock in the morning. Young Mussolini, who came here to study motion picture methods in Holly- wood in preparation for a film-making venture of his own, again denied his father had eslled him home snd answered other queries pegmy. NG, OCTOBER 17, T, 000FACEPENALTY O BUSINESS TAX Officials Estimate That Number Have Failed to Make Returns on Time. BACKGROUND— One of the items in the new revenue act, under which the Dis- trict has operated, eflective July 1, provides for imposition of a gross tar on businesses and professions. The delay in enacting the meas- ure caused two postponements of the date for returns and collections. ‘Threat of hea?p;nmes for failing to report their gross receipts on sched- uled time was held out last night by | District officials for perhaps 1,000 busi- | ness and professional men and women, as the deadline was reached for com- pliance with the new business privilege tax measure, but the number admit- tedly was & guess. ‘There was & surprisingly small num- ber of persons calling at the District Building yesterday to file returns on their gross receipts of the last calendar year. or for any period prior to the effective date of the business privilege levy, August 17. Allen F. Brooke, the administrator | of the tax, estimated at the close of | the day's business that some 15,000 taxable returns had been filed. It has been estimated that a total of about 18,000 taxable returns should be re- ceived, which would leave about 3,000 yet to come in. Brooke said he believed Monday's mail would bring perhaps 2.000 more, leaving 1,000 still in jeopardy of the possible penalty of a fine, plus the addition of 10 per cent on the tax finally assessed by the District. No Further Extensions. Officials repeated yesterday there will be no further extension of the time for filing the returns. The dead- line had been advanced twice. Be- ginning this week, on the contrary, Brooke will send a group of investi- gators out to make a door-to-door in- spection of business houses to deter- mine if they have obtained licenses to continue in business. He said prosecu- tion would be started against all those | not having licenses which are con- tinuing i business. Definitely raising a question of how much revenue is to be derived from the business privilege levy, examina- tion of the returns showed that of the 15,000 returns counted by last night there were some 2,000 which showed no gross receipts above $2,000. There is no tax on gross receipts of lesser amount. Last night was the deadline also for the provision of business privilege licenses for those who desired to continue in the operation of a com- mercial or professional enterprise. It has been estimated some 25,000 licenses must be issued. Brook esti- mated late yesterday that about 17,- 000 licenses had been jssued, calcu- lating that perhaps 8,000 of the 25,000 total would be issued free of the $10 fee. Many File Gross Returns. A “startling” number of the gross receipts returns, according to an- other unnamed District official, showed there was no taxable gross receipts. Though returns are not required by those showing receipts of less than $2,000, Brooke estimated there were about 2,000 returns filed which showed returns of lesser amounts. Days of examination may be re- Quired to determine the exact results of the returns, the number required to pay the gross receipts tax, the total income from the levy and the number required to pay the $10 license fee, officials said. More than 1,000 returns which came in by mail yesterday, for instance, Brooke said, have not been opened because of the rush of reports in the last week. QUAKE ROCKS TOKIO Tembler of Heavy Intensity Hits Capital—Damage Undetermined. TOKIO, October 17 (Sunday) (#). —An earthquake of heavy intensity rocked Tokio today at 1:50 p.m. (11:50 p.m,, Saturday, E. 8. T.). The ex- tent of damage was not known im- mediately. Radio Progrl.m, Page F-7. Cempists Index, Page A-2. | Stard 1937—128 PAGES. IT'S A GIFT!. * Star Offers Art of Immortais In Second Week of Campaign Reproductions of Works of Da Vinci Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian Now Available to Public. The Star's Art Appreciation campaign today entered its second week under the combined impetus of the second set of famous paintings—the works of four of the greatest artists of all time—and the indorsement of Mrs. Lioyd Biddle, president of the District Federation of Women's Clubs. ‘Tomorrow the thousands of persons who secured the first set of pictures, drawn by four modern American masters, will be able to obtain the paintings that represent the Renaissance, the “Golden Age” of Italian painting. Meanwhile, the pictures with which & — the art project was inaugurated will remain available to the public. Over a period of 12 weeks, The Star is offering 48 famous paintings, coming in groups of four each week | at very nominal prices, in collabora- tlon with the National Committee for Art Appreciation. Even those to whom art is new or foreign will admire the classi¢ works offered this week: CRASHKILLS FOUR NEAR DUMRIES D. C. Toll Rises to 84 as Vic- tim of Wednesday Ac- cident Dies. Washington traffic fatalities reached 4 total of 84 for the year when Charles Cohen, 28, of 1203 Thirteenth street, died in Casualty Hospital last night of injuries received early Wednesday. Four colored persons were killed in a crash on U. S. route No. 1, near Dumfries, Va. Cohen was hurt when a car in which he was riding with two other men skidded and turned over on Naylor road southeast, near the Dis- trict line. The other men in the car, both seriously injured, were Theodore Kirt, 33, 1214 Massachusetts avenue, and Louis Schwartz, 30, also of 1203 Thirteenth street. Traffic deaths here on the corre- sponding date last year numbered 69. As a result of the accident in which the four colored persons were killed, a fifth was reported near death at Alexandria General Hospital last night after their car collided with a truck. State police identified one of the vic- tims from a driver's permit as Jerry Hill, 47, of Westmoreland County, Pa. The others, a woman about 30, a man about 50 and a girl about 3 years old, could not be identified. Another woman, also a passenger in the car, has a fractured skull. Orange Man Killed. Martin Brezmick, 23, of Orange, was killed when a car in which he was a passenger hit a tree about 3 miles north of Orange and burned. Two boys were treated at Alexan- dria Hospital for injuries received when struck by an automobile while riding bicycles near that city. They are Edward Brown, 10, of 1744 Colum- bia road, and Robert Tanner, 8, of Alexandria. The Tanner boy's leg was broken, while young Brown was cut on the head. James W. Jones, 41, of 29 Fifteenth street northeast, said by police to have been driving the automobile, reported the boys crossed in front of his car without warning. Star’s Growth in Circulation “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci. “The Creation of Adam” by Michel- angelo. “Madonna Tempi” by Raphael. “The Duke of Ferrara” by Titian. The pictures offered the first week, Just concluding, are designed to show American art as it is today. They are “Bahama Tornado” by Winslow Homer, “Lady With s Setter” by (See ART, Page A-3.) CO-ED SLASHED ONENTERING PARK Miss Ruth McMillan, 19, Vic- tim of Stabbing on Way to Weiner Roast. Miss Ruth McMillan, 19, pretty co-ed at George Washington Uni- versity, was slashed with a knife about the neck and chest and seriously hurt by a well-dressed white man who seized her as she started into Rock Creek Park near the Taft Bridge yes- terday afternoon to join some school- mates at & wiener roast. The girl had just climbed down into the park between the Taft and Cal- vert Street Bridges shortly after § p.m., police reportéd, when the man ! grabbed her, pulled her behind some shrubbery, stabbed her with a pen- knife and choked her. Taken to Hospital. After a furious struggle with her assailant, Miss McMillan broke loose and the man fled. The girl stumbled down the road, weak from shock and loss of blood. She was found by Philip Wood, 17, of 2643 Woodley place. He was helping her out of the park when they came on the group of fellow stu- dents she had gone to meet. They summoned an ambulance, and the girl was taken to Emergency Hospital. In addition to the stab wounds about the chest and neck, her face was lacerated, apparently from blows from the man’s fist. An examination revealed that her condision was not dangerous, and, after emergency treat- ment, she was taken home, Furnishes Description. After a talk with Miss McMillan, Park Policeman William Snyder described her assailant as 35 to 40 years old, around 5 feet 8 inches tall, dark complexioned and wearing a blue suit which undoubtedly was stained with- blood. Park and metropolitan police launched an intensive search for the man. Miss McMillan is & junior in the university. She lives with an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Young, 219 Whittier street. Average Net Paid Circulation All Returns and Service Copies Deducted Year ending September 30, Year ending September 30, Year ending September 30, Year ending September 30, Increase during past three years Evening. Sunday. 134,531 143,764 129,136 136,576 121,972 128,977 114,676 123,623 19,855 20,141 1937 1936 1935 1934 The Star’s circulation is largely confined to Wash- ington and the immediate suburban and trading areas and the great bulk of its circulation is delivered by regular carriers every evening and Sunday morning. FIVE CENTS \ TEN CENTS Fiam w D.C.INCOMETAY TALK REVIVED IN REVENUE SEARCH Allen Wants to Exempt “State” Payers, Hazen to Levy on All. GENERAL SALES PLAN STILL IS CONSIDERED Increased Sentiment for Adoption of Tax on Sale of Beer Is Indicated. BACKGROUND— With succeeding Congresses steadily cutting down the Federal contribution to the upkeep of the National Capital, tazation has be- come an increasingly important is- sue here. Facing a deficit of $6,- 000,000 in the current fiscal year, the District, by action of the past session of Congress, was saddled with a hastily - conceived taring arrangement. In the meanwhile, studies have been launched to de- vise @ more satisfactory tax pro- gram. BY DON S. WARREN. Division of thought between Com- missioners Allen and Hazen over the possibilities of a District income tax as a major element of a revamped municipal tax structure came to light yesterday while committees of offi- cials and taxpayers continued to grope for a solution of the city's revenue problems, Clinging to views he" voiced last Spring before congressional commit- tees that a levy based on ability to pay is the fairest form of taxation, Mr. Allen announced he would cham- pion the adoption of an income tax— with certain restrictions. He proposed to exempt from the levy all those earning their incomes in the District who pay a State in- come tax “back home” where they maintain & claim of legal residence. He said he belleved the suggested District tax, however, should be ap- plied to Government employes and others not paying a State income bill Mr. Hazen declared that if there is to be a District income levy, in all fairness, it should be applied in blanket fashion to all whose incomes are earned in the District, regardless of whether there is an income levied in North Carolina, in Missouri or in Virginia, with .the exemption of any particular class, Sales Tax Possible. Mr. Hazen went further to declare that a general sales tax should not be counted out of the picture of possibilities and he explained that such a levy would draw revenue from the many thousands of visitors who come to the National Capital to en- Joy its facilities. Mr. Hazen, how- ever, explained that he had not committed himself to any of the proposed forms of taxes in advance of the recommendations to come from the District Tax Committee and the Advisory Committee consisting of spokesmen for various District civic and business groups. Meanwhile, a report by Tax Ase sessor Fred D. Alken turned atten- tion to the effect of the increase in the real estate tax rate which was adopted by Congress for one year as one of the means of balancing the 1938 budget. He reported yesterday that the 25-cent increase in the real estate rate would add $3331,238 to District revenues in the current fiscal year, or about $100,000 more than was estimated by District officials nearly six months ago. Also, there were indications of in- creasing sentiment among District officials for adoption of a tax on the sale of beer as a new revenue measure. The District now imposes a sales tax on liquor, but from the time of repeal here beer has been exempted on the theory that the Government shoula foster consumption of beer as against hard liquor, in the interest of temi- perance. Review State Taxes. Commissioner Allen yesterday re- viewed with Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, chairman of the District Tax Com- mittee, reports of the large amounts of revenue being derived by various States from taxes on beer sales. There is talk at the District Building that adoption of any reasonable tax on beer would not increase consumpticn of hard liquor or increase the problem of drunkenness. It seems probable the Tax Committee will make some statemeit on this possible source of revenue. Increased taxes on public utilities and a combination of a low general sales tax on all commodities, coupled with an income tax on the “higher” income brackets, also is being consid- ered. An income of $3,000 a year or up is considered in the latter connection, it was said. Also, there is increasing at- tention given to possibilities of the adoption of some form of a “business privilege” tax even though the present tax on gross receipts is rejected from future consideration. Taxpayers and District officials alike have condemned the gross receipts levy, which was adopted as an emergency measure, for one year only. But there is senti- ment for placing a privilege tax on many lines of business, in addition to the nominal business license fees. That the Commissioners are hoping for a clear expression of public sen- timent on the tax problems was evi- denced recently when they appointed the Tax Advisory Committee of spokes- men from nine civic and business groups, to work with the group of District officials who are charged with making a survey and report on rcvis- ion of the District tax structure. The District Tax Committee is to hold its second formal session Wednesday. Hopes for Reduced Levies, Commissioner Hazen has voiced hopes of effecting a reduction of the present real estate tax rate in any revision of the tax strueture for the future. When Congress last session rejected a sales tax or an income tax as a means of balancing the 1938 budget, the gross receipts levy and an increase in the real estate rate (See D. C. TAX, Page A-4.)