Evening Star Newspaper, October 28, 1937, Page 23

Washington News The Foening Star WASHINGTON, D. C., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1937. - TWO WOMEN DIE, SEVERAL OTHERS HURT IN CRASHES Accidents Pile Up in Capital Area as Rains Make Roads Slippery. D. C. MATRON VICTIM OF SKULL FRACTURE Silver Spring Woman, 78, Suffers Fatal Shock When Truck Hits Car. Two)women were killed and several other persons were injured in auto- mobile accidents on roads in the Capi- tal area made slippery by heavy rains yesterday and last night. Mrs, Marion King Johnston, 56, of 2233 Mount View place S.E., died of a fractured skull in a hospital at Frederick, Md., two hours after a truck skidded around a curve near Braddock Heights and crashed into the car in_which she was riding. Mrs. Emma C. Stacy, 78, Silver Spring, Md., died of shock suffered when the automobile in which she was riding was' in collision with a truck near Front Royal, Va. William Lester Coon, Dallas, Tex., listed by police as the driver of the truck which struck the Johnston car, was held in jail at Middletown, Md., in default of bond pending a coroner’s inquest Friday. Retired Officer Injured. Samuel Joseph Johnston, 68, retired Washington police sergeant, suffered a fractured leg in the wreck that cost his wife's life. He was driving the car into which Coon's truck crashed out of control on the moun- tain road curve. Mrs. George W. Meechem, 56, of 12 Adams street NW., a passenger in the Johnston auto- mobile, received a fractured rib and head injuries. Mr. Joknston and Mrs. Meechem were treated at the Frederick City Hospital. The party was returning to Washington from Berkeley Springs, W. Va., when the accident occurred. Mrs. Stacy was pronounced dead at a Winchester (Va.) hospital, where she was taken after a truck which police said was driven by Dallas Simpson, colored, collided with an automobile in which she was riding with her son, Earle C. Stacy, and his wife. Mr. Stacy was treated for cuts and bruises and his wife for three frac- tured ribs, Simpson was released under $500 bond. Widow of the late Cephas N. Stacy, Mrs. Stacy was en route to Goochland County, Va,, to make final arrange- ments for settling her husband's es- tate“when the accident occurred. She is survived by four sons, Arthur A. and Earle of Washington, W. B. of Amelia, Va,, and C. Neale of Spring- fleld, Mass., and a daughter, Miss Ada Stocy of Washington. Suffers Brain Concussion. Maryland State police today were investigating an automobile accident near Laurel this morning in which Edward F. Avery, 27, of the Broad- moor Apartments on Connecticut ave- nue suffered concussion of the brain. Avery was brought to Casualty Hos- pital by the Bladensburg Rescue Squad. His condition was described &s not serious. Police here were seeking to com- municate with Avery’s family. His wife, they were told, is traveling in Europe and his mother is visiting at Miami, Fla. Police said Avery was injured when the automobile in which he was riding ran off the highway. Others Hurt in Traffic. Others injured in traffic accidents In and near Washington yesterday and last night included Dorothy Watson, 17, of 14 Carroll avenue, Hyattsvills; Roy D. Smith, 421 Fourth street N.W., and Berthie Foster, 40, of 421 Fourth street S.E. Miss Watson received severe head in- Jjuries when struck on the Washing- ton-Baltimore boulevard at Riverdale, Md., last night by an automobile which police said was operated by Carolyn T. Hardy, 19, University of Maryland co-ed. A second car, driven by E. C. Corkhill, Berwyn Heights, Md., stop- ped a few feet from the injured girl as she lay unconscious in the road. She was taken to Casualty Hospital. Smith was in critical condition at Georgetown Hospital, where he was taken yesterday afternoon after a grocery truck he was driving was in collision with a lumber truck, driven by James Morris, Louisa, Va. near Falls Church, Va. He suffered a skull fracture and internal injuries. Miss Foster was cut and bruised when struck at Thirteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue N.W. last night by a street car which police said was operated by W. K. Weaver, 35, of 1322 Buchanan street N.W. ROAD RESEARCH CONTRACT AWARDED Work on $957,500 Station at Abington to Begin Within Two Weeks. Construction of buildings for the yesearch station of the Bureau of Public Roads at Abington, Va., is ex- pected to begin within two weeks and be completed within 18 months. A contract was awarded yesterday to the McCloskey Co. of Philadelpia, which submitted a low bid of $957,500 for laboratory and shop bulldings, a boiler house, mechanical and elec- trical equipment and an alarm sys- tem. The award was made by the Division of Purchase, Sales and Traf- fic of the Department of Agriculture. The laboratories will be built on a 84-acre site overlooking the Potomac River on the George Washington Me- morial Highway about 2 miles from the Highway Bridge. Completion of the buildings and out- door testing grounds will give the bureau facilities for research it has desired for many years. Plans for the structures were approved by the Com- mission of Fine Arts and will be of Colonial design in keeping with the highway. fi. School children standing at the Bladensburg Peace Cross, which looks like an island, waiting for State roads truck to carry them through the water so they could get to the Bladensburg High School. SALESTAX ONBEER, CIGARETTES HIT Chairman Palmisano Will Fight Move for Levy on “Poor Man.” By JAMES E. CHINN. A special sales tax on beer, cig- arettes and other forms of tobacco, under consideration by the Commis- sioners as a means of helping to raise the $5,000,000 in additional revenue that will be needed to balance the District’s 1939 budget, was condemned today by Chairman Palmisano of the House District Committee as another method of “digging into the pockets of the poor man.” Palmisano indicated if the new tax program of the Commissioners pro- posed a sales tax of any kind when it reaches Congress it would meet his stubborn opposition. Definitely of the opinion the poor man already is bearing too much of the Nation’s tax burden, Mr. Palmi- sano declared if it is necessary for the District to raise an additional $5,000,000 in the next fiscal year, a tax source should be tapped that will make the wealthy man bear a major portion of the burden. For that rea- son he favors the proposed income tax over all the seven tax-raising plans the Commissioners have under consideration. “Will Hit Wealthy People.” “An income tax,” he said, “will hit a lot of wealthy people who came to Washington to escape a similar levy in the States. Make them pay for the benefits they receive from living in the District. Don’t hit the poor man below the belt with an additional tax on the necessities of life. “A general sales tax would hurt the poor man more than any other form of taxation the Commissioners are considering. Tobacco and beer may be considered a luxury, but they are among the few luxuries a poor man may now enjoy. Why deprive him of these so-called luxuries by addi- tional taxation?” Mr. Palmisano pointed out both tobacco and beer already are bearing a heavy Federal tax—beer $5 a bar- rel, compared with $1 a barrel in the pre-prohibition era, and tobacco $1.05 a pound. Other Sources of Revenue. “Why should the Commissioners even consider adding a local tax on either beer or tobacco when there are other sources of revenue that might be tapped?” asked Mr. Palmisano. “Their only excuse, it seems to me, is they are trying to copy the States which have adopted such taxes for relief and other special purposes.” Rough estimates given the Commis- sioners show a special sales tax on beer might yield as much as $300,000 a year. A 2-cent tax on cigarettes, it has been figured, may yield $600,000 & year in view of the fact that States which have such a special levy aver- age about $1 per capita. Applied to all other forms of tobacco, however, it has been figured a 2-cent tax prob- ably would produce about $1,000,000. Mr. Palmisano believes an income tax would yield the necessary $5,000,- 000 without adding special sales taxes on tobacco and beer to the program. “I'm not attempting to tell the Commissioners what to do,” said Mr. Palmisano. “I feel they should have absolute freedom in determining what is best for the District. But I'm confident Congress will not approve any form of sales tax for the District, and they are merely wasting time ih considering such a proposal.” — RECEPTION ANNOUNCED ‘FOR “FLYING CARAVAN” Seven Members of People's Man- date Mission Will Be Guests Tomorrow. A reception for the seven members of the “flying caravan” of the Peo- ple’s Mandate who will leave shortly for South America will be given by Ben Grey, trustee of the National Home Library Foundation, at the May- flower Hotel tomorrow at 5 p.m. Invitations have been sent to all embassies of countries in the Amer- icas and to officials of the State De- partment. The People’s Mandate, which is an organization devoted to peace, and the National Home Library Founda- tion are groups with related pro- grams, Mr. Grey said today. While on the tour the delegation will ar- range with South and Central Amer- ican authors for publication of their wo;k.s by the library foundation, he said. The peace delegates, who are led by Mrs. Burton W. Musser of Salt Lake City, Utah, will bé received by Presi- dent Roosevelt at his Hyde Park home Saturday. They will leave New York Sunday. 2 4 GROUP HEALTH CLINIC TO OPEN Being Inspected Today. Ready to Serve U. S. Em- ployes Next Monday. Staffed by 15 persons. including six full-time doctors, Group Health As- souiation, Inc., the new project set up to care for the health of about 2,000 employes of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and its affiliated agencies, opened for inspection today and will begin its medical service Monday at 1328 I street N.W. Meantime plans were completed for a big meeting at the Mayflower Hotel Saturday night, where the group | health idea will be discussed for bene- fit of members of the new ation and invited guests. Principal sepaker at the meeting will be Dr. Richard Cabot of Harvard University, who has made & study of group health and group medical plans. W. F. Penniman, one of the assistant gen- eral managers of the Home Owners Loan Corp., who is president of the new association, will preside. Invitations Issued. Many health authorities and rep- resentatives of big organizations in- terested in group health have been invited to attend the meeting. Among those who are coming from out of town will be William J. Barrett of New York City, vice president of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.; Dr. Charles R. Wiley, medical director of the Civic Medical Center, Chicago, IlL; R. V. Rickcord and Evans Clark of the Twentieth Century Fund, New York City. In answer to criticism which has been leveled at the new project from the American Medical Association and from certain quarters on Capitol Hill, it was officially explained today that the new organization is not *social- ized medicine,” but is an association, “operated and managed by employes of the Government, but without dom- ination nor control by the Govern- ment.” Those Eligible. Employes of the Government who are eligible for membership in the new association number about 2,000, ‘who are employed by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, the Home Owners Loan Corp., the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. and the Federal Savings and Loan Section of the F. H. L. B. B. The eligibility list includes only those working at headquarters here in Washington, but not the field employes of these units. The cost of the service to be rendered is $2.20 a month for each individual, alone, and $3.30 a month, including the individual and members of his family. Dr. Henry R. Brown, medical di- rector of the -association, and Mrs. Penniman, its president, welcomed those calling for inspection of the quarters today. The place will be open for inspection again tomorrow and will begin its medical service Monday morning. The staff, in addition to the six doctors, includes nurses and tech- nicians. ASKS APPEALS BOARD TO REDETERMINE TAX Mrs. Dorothy C. Stitely Contends She Has Not Had Independent Income Since 1933. Mrs. Dorothy E. Stitely, 2704 Cort- land place N.W., asked the Board of Tax Appeals, in a petition on file to- day, to redetermine a $12,201 income tax deficiency assessed against her and her husband, Reno E. Stitely, by the Internal Revenue Bureau for alleged earnings from 1930 through 1936. Mrs. Stitely contended she had not had & personal income since she be- came & housewife, resigning her posi- tion as a sales assistant April 30, 1933. During 1930, 1931 and 1932, she said, she had “nothing whatever” to do with Mr. Stitely’s income or taxes. Mr. Stitely now is an accountant for the National Parks Service. GETS SAFETY AWARD Powell Transportation Co. Se- lected for Honor. Selection of the Powell Transpor- tation Co., Tenth and Water streets, for an award of honor in the third annual national truck fleet safety contest of the American Trucking Associations, Inc, was announced today. .. The company was entered in a class for operators of from 4 to 10 vehicles. Awards in the various classes will be presented at the fourth annual con- vention of the organization, to be held in Louisville November 15-18, associ- | Another flood the Cross. scene—a through water on Defense Highway near T bus coming found going a bit rough. ot Peace Cross Becomes Island as Bladensburg Waters Rise Aglits ast avenue and towed to dry ground. Speaks After fi invented in_an unopened box at officially opened there yesterday. Bell’s Original Graphophone 56-Y ear Silence Ten-year-old Alexander Graham Bell Grosvenor gets his rst glimpse of the original model of the talking machine by his grandfather, Alexander Graham Bell, and left the Smithsonian Institution. It was —Star Staff Photo. UT OF nearly 60 years of se- clusion in the secret archives ! of the Smithsonian Institu- tion emerged yesterday after- noon the first working model of a practical sound-recording _device, created by the late Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. And this progenitor of the phono- | graph, the dictaphone and all similar machines still spoke, after a fashion. A voice, made squeaky and almost indistinguishable by the years, but still giving out a loud tone on the amplifier to which this first record was attached, repeated the legend written on it: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of is our philosophy. I am a grapho- phone, and my mother was a phono- graph.” If you knew the words in advance, you could make out a word now and then from the shrill voice. But the to the modern amplifier. The words were more nearly discernible if you used the old earphone attached to the device. Partner Unable to Attend. The voice was presumed to be that of Mr. Bell's scientific partner, Charles Sumner Tainter, who still lives, in his 84th year, in San Diego, Calif., though those present could not tell to & certainty. Mr. Hainter, in too feeble health to attend the ceremony, authorized it, and his permission was necessary before the secret boxes could be opened. A second box which was opened by Charles G. Abbott, secretary of the Smithsonian, revealed amid its saw- dust another revolutionary model which was not developed in that era, but proved the principles on which, decades later, talking pictures were based. This was an ancestor of the photo- phone. Of it, by means of a beam of sunlight falling on crystalline selenium, Mr. Bell and Mr. Tainter were able to record sound. On this model sound was first transmitted without wires. While they had uncovered the principle on which all movie voices /2 now recorded, they did not fol- 4low it up at the time. On the other hand, the phopographic machine was developed, and a company soon was turning out dictating and talking machines. Turned by Crank. The wax-indented metal sound-rec- ording model looks like a toy fly wheel. It is turned by a crank. A sharp piece of metal, fitting over the disk, corresponds to a modern phono- graphic needle. Mr. Bell had invented the telephone in 1876. His work on preserving sound on wax was completed at his Washington laboratory, 1325 L street N.W. in 1880. On February 28 of that year he and his partners en- trusted to the Smithsonian the first of the three boxes which were opened yesterday. The others were placed in the archives during that year and in 1881. Meanwhile, patents had been taken out en the new inventions. The boxes were not to be opened without the authorization of two of three men—Mr. Bell, his cousin, Chi- chester Bell, and Mr. Tainter. The only surviving member of the trio is Mr. Tainter, and he was eager to have the secrets of these experiments revealed during his lifetime. Daughters Present, Mr. Bell's daughters, Mrs. Gilbert Grosvenor of Washington and Mrs. David Fairchild of Coconut Grove, * old sound track was not quite suited | | Fla., were glad to acquiesce, and they were spectators when the boxes were | pried open. Mrs. Grosvenor’s hus- band is president of the National Geo- graphic Society. Another interested obseryer was 8 great grandson of the inventor, Alex- ander Graham Bell Grosvenor, who | will be 10 in December. | A group of scientists stood about as T. H. Beard, vice president and direc- tor of research for the Dictaphone Co. of Bridgeport, Conn, explained | the intricacies of these early recording | devices. Mr. Beard’s company still makes dictaphones on the principle of the model which was being exhibited | publicly for the first time. He and { E. J. Murphy, a Los Angeles business | man, were commissioned by Mr. | Tainter to arrange for the opening of the boxes. Notes Explain Use. In addition to the models of the phonographic machine and the light- |sound device, the boxes yielded sketches of these inventions and pages of notes, written by Mr. Bell and Mr. Tainter, explaining their principles and use. There also were newspapers of | the day. A leading item on the first | pages told of the forthcoming trial of Guiteau, assassin of President Garfield. Mr. Tainter and the daughters of Mr. Bell have requested that the models be placed on permanent ex- hibit at the institution. They will be shown, a Smithsonian announcement said, as “the predeces- sor of all modern voice-recording and reproducing devices which employ the method of engraving on wax and as the father of such modern devices as the phonograph, the dictaphone and the original talking motion pictures.” THREE OBSOLETE SHIPS ARE SOLD FOR $194,500 Maritime Commission Completes Disposal of 25 Steel Cargo Vessels. The Maritime Commission com- pleted yesterday the sale of 25 obsolete steel cargo vessels by accepting a bid of $194,500 on the remaining three from G. E. Marden of New York City, a British subject. The vessels purchased by Marden, which are located in the laid-up fleet at Staten Island, were the Anaconda, for $60,500; Hatteras, for $63,500, and the Vittorio Emmanuele, 3d, for $70,500. The commission realized $1,185,611 on the sale of the 25 ships. I. C. C. IS PETITIONED Permission Sought for E. E. Nor- ris to Head Railway. Formal permission for. Ernest E. Norris of Washington to serve as president of the Southern Railway was asked of the Interstate Com- merce Commission today. This is a routine procedure. Mr. Norris, who was & vice presi- dent of the system, was elected to the presidency by the directors last week. He lives at 2204 Wyoming avenue. He succeeds Fairfax Har- rison, who resigned to become chair- man of the railway’s Finsnce Cem- mittee. STAFF OPPOSES RESERVIR PLAN Park Commission to Get Fort Totten Proposal Tomorrow. ‘The staff of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission feels that the District Commissioners should look elsewhere than at Fort Totten, Civil War fort, for the site of a subreservoir for Washington's expanding water supply, Thomas S. Settle, secretary, said today, as the planners initiated a two-day session. The problem will be placed before the commission at tomorrow’s session, Settle explained. He said it would be “most un- | fortunate” if historic Fort Totten is | interfered with, as this program would jeopardize an important link in the Fort drive program. Heretofore the Planning Commission has con- sistently refused to countenance use of the Washington park system for other purposes. Thousands Expended. ‘The commission staff informed the planners that the National Park Service is expending thousands of dollars to preserve historical features of the Nation, including both Federal and Confederate relics of the Civil ‘War. Arno B. Cammerer, director of the National Park Service, is executive officer of the planning commission. It was pointed out that the commis- sion staff feels there are other places where the projected reservoir can be placed. The details of a conference held recently before Gov. Peery of Virginia by Arlington County officials, Settle and A. E. Demaray, acting director of the National Park Service, were laid before the planners this morning. The Virginia Governor was asked to in- clude in his forthcoming budget $50,000 to purchase land in the proj- ected George Washington Memorial Parkway on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, between Key Bridge and Chain Bridge. Traffic Control Discussion. Projects to improve traffic control and relieve congestion in the District | also will be discussed by the commis- sion during its two-day meetinga ac- cording to John Nolen, jr., dir of planning. b The projects coming up for d sion are included in the five-year for traffic control prepared by C: H. C. Whitehurst, director of highways. Revamping of Dupont, Scott and Thomas Circles and plans for a Georgetown by-pass along K street are among the projects. They will be discussed tomorrow afternoon. PLAN IS REVIVED FOR HOSPITAL HEAD $7,500 Post Would Be for Gen- eral Superintendent of D. C. Institutions. Proposed creation of the post of general superintendent of District hos- pitals, at a salary of $7,500 a year, has been revived in connection with the 1939 budget estimates, Commissioner Melvin C. Hazen said today. The plan was offered last year, but the neces- sary appropriation was denied. George C. Ruhland, health offi- cer, said he would be agreeable to the plen, but held that a more im- mediate need was strengthening of the administrative and nursing staffs at Gallinger Hospital, because of the great load of patients handled there. Dr. Edgar A. Bocock, Gallinger su- perintendent, who is being mentioned for the suggested post, now is carry- ing too heavy a load of responsibility and should be given an assistant su- perintendent, the health officers said. Dr. Ruhland explained that since the hospital administration was trans- ferred to the Health Department last July, the work of general co-ordinator for hospital services had been handled by Dr. Daniel L. Seckinger, assistant health officer. It is expected the proposal will be reviewed by officials of the Budget Bureau in their current study of Health ‘Department estimates for the next fiscal year. Cemetery President to Speak. Paul M. Ludt, president of Fort Lin- coln Cemetery, will speak at the lunch- eon meeting of the Washington sec- tion of the Reciprocity Club of Amer~ ica at the Mayflower Hotel at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. Lido Civic Club Meets. The Lido Civic Club will hold its regular “ladies night” t at 8:30 o'clock in the Italian’ en of the Mayflower Hotel, John Sirica, former Assistant United States Attorney, and Ugo Carusi, executive assistant to the Attorney General, will spesk. ;“ anford street, This driver became stalled and had to be 3 Society and General PAGE B—1 Chevy Chase, Md., motorists —Star Staff Photos. JUVENILE COURT BILL TOBE PUSHED District Measure Awaits Conference to Adjust Differences. By J. A. O'LEARY. One of the first District measures likely to recetve attention when Con- gress reconvenes November 15 is the proposed new Juvenile Court law. Although the November session has been called to deal with a list of major national questions, the local Juvenile Court bill is in a strategic position for early action. It has already passed both House and Senate and awaits only adjustment in conference of dif- ferences between the two branches over detailed provisions The bill, designed to bring the local procedure in children’s cases more into line with modern practice else- where, passed the House early in March, but did not get through the Senate until a week before adjourn- ment in August. The conferees held one meeting, but the end of the session was so near they decided to let the job of ironing out amendments go until after the recess. Early Conference Seen. There will be nothing to prevent the conferees from resuming deliber- ations promptly while the House and Senate are debating national issues, and they probably will call an early meeting. For the House the conferees are Representatives Palmisano of Mary- land, Nichols of Oklahoma and Dirk- sen of Illineis. The Senate will be rep- resented at the conference table by Senators King of Utah, Copeland of New York, Tydings of Maryland and Austin of Vermont. The House bill was altered consider- ably before it passed the Senate and these changes must all be acted on or | modified by the conferees before the | measure can be put through the flnnl‘ stages of enactment. The question of modernizing the Juvenile Court code has been debated | by congressional committees for a long period of years without final action being reached. New Form of Procedure. The basic aim of the legislation is to establish a form of procedure in which emphasis would be placed on the welfare and protection of the child rather than on prosecution and punishment. As passed by the Senate, however, a number of the original fea- tures of the plan were modified or eliminated. One question to be decided by the conferees is whether the corporation counsel's office or an officer of the court should have the power to decide when the court should take formal jurisdiction of a case, after the pre- liminary information has been studied. The Senate also rewrote the proce- dure for appeals and struck out a House clause giving the Juvenile Court jiMge dimcretionary power to.desig- nate a social worker of the court as a commissioner to hear cases in the first instance. There are a number of other amendments in other parts of the bill. Chairman King of the Senate Dis- trict Committee is due back in Wash- ington from Hawaii by the end of next week and plans early consideration of | an outline of local problems for con- sideration by his committee this winter. | BAND CONCERT By the Army Band in the auditorium at 4:30 p.m. today. Capt. Thomas F. Darcy, leader; Karl Hubner, assistant. Program. March, “Barnum and Bailey's Royal Pageant” ... . -Duble Overture, “The Magic Flu _Mozart Quintet, “Pugitive Vision,”.Prokofieff R. E. Cray, flute; F. J. Anderson, oboe; G. A. Hay, clarinet; L. R. Shearer, bassoon, and R. Wicker- sham, French horn. Suite, three characteristic numbers: (a) Wood Pixies, (b) October Twilight, (c) In Old Grenada-Hadley Waltz, “Brides and Butterflies”.Moret March, “Royal Australian Navy,” Lithgow “The Star Spangled Banner.” By the Soldiers’ Home Band in Stanley Hall at 5:30 p.m. today. John 8. M. Zimmermann, bandmaster; An- ton Pointner, assistant. Program. Offertory march, “Marche Aux Flambeaux” - Scotson Clark Overture, “Athalia”.._._Mendelssohn Entre’Acte: (a) “At the Convent”. (b) “An Ancient Mountain Legend” - ¥ Scenes from the opera, hemian Girl"-.. Popular numbers Valse petite, “All Aboard for Rock-a-Bye Bay. PRESENT AIRPORT PURCHASE URGED BY RICKENBACKER U. S. Could Develop Fine Field for $2,500,000, He Declares. NEARNESS TO DOWNTOWN AREA HELD ADVANTAGE Enlargement by Removing Rail- road Tracks Called for in Plan of E. A. T. Official. Federal purchase and improvement of Washington Airport at an esti- mated cost of $2,500,00 is advocated by Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker, general manager of Eastern Air Lines, in a recommendation now pending before the Bureau of Air Commerce, it was learned today. Such a program, Capt. Ricken- backer said, “would offer the city of Washington one of the finest air- ports in the country.and certainly one with a proximity to the heart of the city unequaled.” Eastern Air Lines, heaviest user of the local airport, has protested to the Commerce Department the im- position of Federal restrictions on the use of Washington Airport by air- planes of the Douglas DC-2 type and on the landing of the larger Douglas DC-3 airliner. It also has strongly advocated the retention of Washing- ton Airport' and protested the pro- posed emergency transfer of airline operations to Bolling Field. Capt. Rickenbacker told the Com- merce Department that Washington Airport could be purchased for ap- proximately $1,500.000. It would cost approximately $1,000,000 more, he es- timated, to make necessary improve- ments, Would Enlarge Port. These would include enlargement of the airport by moving the Penn- sylvania Railroad spur line along the west side of the airport 50 as to permit extension of an east-west run- way into vacant land beyond the pres- ent spur, elimination of smokestacks and other obstacles near the field and necessary grading and filling. This program could be completed within one year, Capt. Rickenbacker said, “whereas the location of a new field would in all probability be many miles from the heart of the city, cost several million dollars more and take a minimum of three years to develop.” Capt. Rickenbacker also pointed out it is proposed to eliminate the Navy radio towers at Arlington following completion of the new naval radio research base at Cheltenham, Md. Capt. Rickenbacker urged that the Goodyear airship hangar at Washing- ton Airport and other hangars on the former Hoover Field be removed im- mediately to permit construction of an additional runway across that area. This new runway would have to cross Military road to the east of the cross ing point of the present 4,200-foot runway, lengthening the section of the road over which anti-collision control must be exercised, he said. Capt. Rickenbacker vigorously de nied that he in any way coerced the group of Eastern Air Lines pilots who last month petitioned the Bureau of Air Commerce to lift the Washington | Airport restrictions. Urges Co uation. He explained that continuation of Washington Airport is indispensable ued operation of the hour- -round” air service bee tween Washington and New York “I have used what we term the ‘merry-go-round’ as a school for new pilots and a seasoning operation for those co-pilots who have graduated into captains in order that they may be familiar with our operation and available with the least possible haz- ard for our peak traffic season, which is in the height of bad weather,” he explained. “It is a known fact that as a safety measure nothing equals a welle rounded-out, well-seasoned flying per« sonnel. Should we be forced to move our operations to Bolling Field in spite of the increased hazards there, it means the elimination of the, ‘merry~ go-round’ and the personnel necese sary for its operation. “It further means the addition of new pilots in the fall and the fure loughing of them in the spring, as the ‘merry-go-round’ operation has continually lost money. In spite of these losses I have been able to con- vince our Board of Directors that it is in the interest of safety, economy and good business to operate the ‘merry-go-round.’ “In view of the above facts I have been accused of coercion and intimie dation of our pilots. “If keeping our pilots constantly employed at the highest salaries be- ing paid in the industry and looking out for their family welfare, as well as the safety of the public, is con= sidered coercion and intimidation, I gladly and willingly accept the chale lenge.” DREDGING TO START Boat Owners Warned to Shift Craft in Anacostia River. Dredging operations are to start im- mediately between the Anacostia Bridge and Fourteenth street S.E., ac- cording to Maj. Walter D. Luplow, district engineer for the War Depart- ment for this area. Accordingly, boat owners are being warned that they will have to shift their craft out of the area, If owners do not move the boats themselves the Government will shift them, officials at the United States Engineer Office said. A CORRECTION A story in which it was stated that Jennings Kite had drowned in the Shenandoah River near Luray, Va., was published in The Star on Monday. The drowned man was Curtis A. Kite of Shenandoah. Jennings Kite, & b | brother of the drowned man, lives at 42 Hamilton street N.W. The Star Finale, “Creole Bells “The Star Spangled Banner.” - regrets the error.