Evening Star Newspaper, May 1, 1940, Page 21

Washington News - EI] Brown Asks Senate Unit for More Police Health Official Also Heard as Hearing Ends on Supply Bill By J. A. O'LEARY. Need for additional policemen was outlined to the Senate District Ap- propriations Subcommittee today by Maj. Ernest W. Brown, superin- tendent of police, who was ques- tioned by subcommittee members as to whether there is any loitering by uniformed patrolmen. Shortly before hearing on the 1941 supply bill ended at noon, Maj. Brown is understood to have told the Senators that the department has a good inspection system for finding out whether uniformed men are ptrolling their beats and that when they are found not doing so they are taken before the Police Trial Board. The subcommittee also recalled Dr. D. L. Seckinger of the Health Department for last-minute testi- mony as to the need for additional funds for dental clinic personnel at the Southwest health center and for elevator equipment both there and at one of the buildings of Gallinger Hospitaj. May Add $800,000. Chairman Overton, Democrat, of Louisiana said the subcommittee would meet Tuesday or Wednesday of next week to decide on changes. As the subcommittee finished hear- ing civic organizations late yester- day, indications were it may con- sider adding as much as $800,000 to the House total of $48276.717. on the assumption this would be possible if the Commissioners apply to the Treasury for temporary ad- vances of funds pending collection of the second half of 1941 income taxes. The authority to seek such advances was granted by Congress when it permitted semiannual pay- ment of these taxes. In response to questions, Maj. Brown told the subcommittee he recommended 100 more policemen for the coming year. The Commis- sioners cut the request to 25. but the Budget Bureau and the House eliminated the estimate entirel; The Board of Trade yesterday sug- gested 25 men be provided. The subcommittee was told the present strength of the department is 1.422, of which number 136 are on traffic duty. The subcommittee was informed there are 200 patrolmen on duty in each of the three periods. Senator Overton made it clear he is not in favor of raising the bill to a point that would require the A MEDAL FOR WAR SONGS—Actor George M. Cohan shown receiving a gold medal from Persident Roosevelt at the White House today for composing the patriotic songs “Over There” and “The Grand'Old Flag.” years ago. Three Are Indicted In Holdup of Sirkis Liquor Store Two of Trio Accused Congress authorized the medal four —A. P. Photo. George M. Cohan Receives Medal At White House The comedian, George M. Cohan, received a gold medal at the White House today. By direction of Congress, as of | . 1936, President Roosevelt made the | In Other Ro“’e”es presentation in recognition ofl By D. C. Grand Jury Cohan’s service to the Nation dur- | Three colored men were indicted | :ng Lhe‘ first World w“f- service | | yesterday by the District grand jury | L il y rather than fanRans | | on robbery charges in connection | Sp'cm':f‘“)' the award ‘was for his| with the April 8 holdup of a|COMPosition of “The Grand Old | liquor store at 4824 Deane avenue Flag” and “Over There,” songs the > | year and every individual who for Fhe ¢ O"'“ SUNDAY uummIromou New Bill Seeks To Tax All D. C. Incomes Non-Residents and Residents Included, With Exceptions Another move to revise the Dis- trict income tax law was made late yesterday by Representative Dirk- sen, Republican, of Illinois. He introduced a bill which was referred to the House District Com- mittee, of which he is the ranking minority member, to have the tax applied to all incomes earned here— residents and non-residents—with certaih exceptions. The changes proposed by Mr. Dirksen are the same as those ap- proved and suddenly rejected by the House more than a week ago, when it killed proposed legislation calling for a combined retail sales-income tax plan for the District. Defines Residents. ‘To clarify existing law which ap- plies to persons ‘“domiciled” here, the Dirksen bill changes the lan- guage to “resident individuals” and gives the following definition of a resident: “Resident means an PEACE DAY OBSERVANCE—Principal speakers at the observance of National Catholic Student Peace Day at Georgetown University today were, left to right, the Very Rev. Arthur A. O'Leary, 8. J., university president; Kiernan Hyland of Chicago, president of the student council; Senator O’Mahoney of Wyoming and the Rev. John E. Wise, 8. J., assistant dean of the university. —Star Staff Photo. domiciled in the District of Colum- bia on the last day of the taxable . Deal for Strike Aid more than six months maintains a | ea or n e ' Non-residents whose income is | paid to the State in which they live, | Records Indicate Trades the State. individual | place of abode within the District, | . . whether domiciled in the District or | In Unlon S'"'e earned in the District would be al- | Revealed a' Trial only, however, if that State allows | such a credit to a resident of the | Council Backed Walkout Excludes Members of Congress. To Win Teamsters’ Help Mr. Dirksen’s bill specifically ex- not.” lowed a credit for an income tax | District whose income is earned in | cludes from payment of the income |, Minutes of a meeting of the ex- Traffic Record ‘The traffic record, as revealed at police headquarters for 24- hour period ending at 8 am. today: Fatalities, none. Accidents, 36. Motorists injured, 5. | | Motorists arrested. 367. | Pedestrians injured.4. | Pedestrians arrested for vio- | lation of pedestrian control reg- ulations, 2. fN.E,. where the proprietor, Herman | Sirkis, had been shot in an earlier holdup. | The three—Joseph F. O'Neal, 27; | Robert J. Stokes, 23, and James Mc- | | Donald, 20—according to police, topk $5 from Samuel Pinerman and were caught after an automobile | | chase later through identification of | | their license number, noted by a col- ored employe of the liquor store. In a separate indictment, McDon- ald was accused of obtaining $262 from a liquor store at 123 G street N.W. on March 21. O'Neil and Mec- | Donald, in another indictment, were | charged with obtaining $30.97 in a Jhuldup of a gasoline station at 4451 | Deane avenue N.E. on April 6. Commissioners to increase the pres- | O'Neal and McDonald were indicted ent $1.75 real estate rate, believing | Separately on a charge of joyriding that real property already is bearing more than its proportionate share of the total tax burden. Real estate now produces about 58 per cent of the city's general fund revenue. Indicates Advances Useful. The Louisiana Senator indicated, however, he is in accord with the view presented vesterday afternoon by the Board of Trade that it is possible to make some increase in the House total and still keep the local budget balanced by using the | authority given the Commissioners until 1942 to obtain temporary ad-| vances from the Treasury in antici- | pation of income taxes that will come in after the close of the next | fiscal vear. The authority to obtain such advanees was given by Con- gress last month, when it sanctioned | semi-annual payment of income ' taxes. | Thus, while it was estimated that there would be a deficit at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 1941, under the House total, the recom- | mendation of the trade body for | some Senate additions was based on | the advisability of using the au- thority to obtain temporary ad- vances. Senator Overton indicated he be- lieves this could be done, at least until the second half of next year's income taxes are due in October, 1941, Would Work Toward Solution. “We believe,” said the Board of Trade statement, “that the amount of money to come from second-half income tax payments can be made up over a period of several years on the basis of the present tax struc- ture. We also may have further tax legislation from the next Con- gress. Certainly through one of these means we can soon arrive at a point where continued borrowing against second-half payments will be unnecessary.” Senator Overton said he believes the District needs a more balanced tax structure, and that he would like to see enactment of the Pond re- port, which recommended a sales tax, coupled with an income levy on large incomes only. He pointed out, however, that neither the Appro- priations Committee nor the Senate can originate tax legislation. The House, apparently, has sidetracked local tax revision for this session. The Commissioners have asked the Senate to restore approximately $336,400 of House cut in budget estimates chargeable to the gen- eral fund. in which the House fore- saw deficit. If the Senate subcom- mittee should decide to add as much as $800,000 to the bill, it could also consider some of the items asked for by civic groups, outside of the Com- missioners’ request. Quinn Testifies on Recreation. The subcommittee also heard fur- ther testimony yesterday afternoon on the question of how recreational facilities should be administered. Henry 1. Quinn, former member of the Board of Education, testified in support of the House provision, placing recreation under the school board, with an assistant superin- tendent to direct it. He opposed joint control between the school board and the National Capital Park Office. Band Concert By the United States Marine _Bund tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 o'clock in the Marine Barracks. auditorium. Capt. William F. Santelmann, lflder: Henry Weber, second leader. iand McDonald was charged with | joyriding and assault with a dan- gerous weapon. William A. Beazley, 38, 48 H | street N.E., was named in four cases | of grand larceny and one of house- | breaking and larceny—all allegedly |involving music machines. each | valued at $210, except one valued at 1$359.60. According to police, Beaz- ley was in business and hold out ,and went into competition with his | rivals by representing himself as being sent by the music machine | company to take equipment out of stores in which they had been placed on a commission basis. 4,100 Wohén A}rifing For Institute Session The vanguard of 4.700 women del- egates to the National Institute of | Government, opening a three-day session at the Washington Hotel to- morrow under the auspices of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee, were arriving | here today. | A Texas delegation, neaded by Mrs. Volney Taylor of Brownsville, {was due at Washington Airport at | 5:25 o'clock this afternoon and other | delegates were arriving by train, motorcar and bus. Cabinet members and other high officials in the administration will speak during the sessions. President Roosevelt will address delegates during a garden party at the White House at 4:30 p.m. Friday. One of the round-table discussions i will be on “Party Organization,” de- | signed to acquaint the women with | | effective methods of electioneering | for ithe coming presidential cam- paign. This will be held Friday at 2:30 p.m. In a message to the institute, printed in the program, the Presi- dent declared: “During the next four years there will be new problems to face. We need a national government with enough imagination and enough courage to meet those new problems with concrete, specific remedies— just as we have met many problems that were new during the past seven years with imagination and courage ! identified as David W. Layton, jr., ! homicide squad detectives. | a bowling alley at 910 G street N.W. | They had gone to the spot after | Miss Comstock Relifes; Nation sang in 1917. | In Washington with a new show, | the veteran actor was received by | the President shortly before noon | today. “How's my double?” Mr. Roose- velt greeted him, in joking reference to Mr. Cohan's portrayal of the President a few yvears ago in “I'd Rather Be Right.” Asked by reporters if he is plan-| ning any more patriotic songs. the 62-year-old composer said he is looking forward to a new musical | show next winter, but hopes there will be no need for patriotic num- | bers. If there is, he added. hell leave the job to a younger person. i | Police_invesligale D;aalh 0f Man Found in Alley The mysterious death of a man ' 43. of Richmond, Va.. whose body was found in an alley behind the 900 block of G street N.W. early today, was being investigated by | Policeman W. J. Gaylor and H. S. | Childress found the body behind | police received a call to investigate “two suspicious men in ‘the alley.” There were bruises on the man'’s | face, indicating he had fallen or| had been in a fight, police said. The cause of death could not be | determined immediately and an au- | topsy was ordered today by Coroner A. Magruder MacDonald Detective Sergt. John Wise took charge of the investigation and began a search for the other man | seen in the alley before Mr. Layton's death. | Identification was made through | cards found in the dead man’s| pockets. In U. S. Service 32 Years Miss Lula Mae Comstock, expert statistician in the United States Office of Education, retired today after 32 years in the Government service. She was to be given a’ luncheon in the cafeteria of the Interior Depart- ment today, with Dr. John W. Stude- baker, United States commissioner of education, presenting a gift from staff members. The gift is a round- trip ticket to Jamestown, N. Y., where Miss Comstock will hear the Chautauqua lectures. . Statistics compiled by Miss Com- stock are in use all over the country. One of her latest efforts was the preparation of a publication on per pupil costs in city schools, a study analyzing expenditures for educa- tion in more than 300 city school systems. She has been preparing this annual publication since 1922. She also helped prepare the United States educational directory, another annual publication which lists the city, county and State school | which handles tax legislation { thorities and tax justices of the Supreme Court and Federal judiciary, members of Congress and all other “elective offi- cers” of the United States as well as their clerks and secretaries. The new tax bill is,expected to be referred by the full District Commit- tee at its regular meeting Monday to the fiscal affairs subcommittee There is little likelihood, however, it will be considered at the fast-waning present session of Congress. Medical Equipment | Display Is Opened With approximately 25 American manufacturers represented, the Commerce Department placed on display today in the first-floor lobby an exhibit of hospital equipment, surgical supplies and apparatus, and medical apparatus. Fever machines, | oxygen tents, artificial limbs, surgi- cal instruments, medical books and many other surgical and medicai goods are included in the exhibit which will be open to public in- spection until May 18. Washington plays host this month to four conferences of public health groups, the Pan-American Confer- ence of National Directors of Health, the section on medicine and public health of the Eighth American Scientific Congress, the Conference of State and Provincial Health Au- the Conference of State and Territorial Health Offi- | The Department of Com- | cers. merce has arranged its exhibit to coincide with these meetings. The exhibit is part of the Com- merce Department's foreign trade promotion program. Because of the | Eurppean war, exporters of Ameri- can surgical goods have an oppor- tunity to increase their sales, par- ticularly in Latin America, de- partment experts point out. In re- cent years, Germany has been a principal competitor of the United States in Latin America and other foreign markets. In 1939, for the sixth consecutive year, exports of American surgical goods showed an increase. Exports last year were valued at $2,156,620, & 20 per cent gain over 1938. Ellender to Reopen ‘Complaint Clinic’ . Senator Ellender, Democrat, of Louisiana, plans shortly to reopen his “complaint clinic” for Govern- ment employes, with the likelihood that the first witness will be a woman employe of the Bureau of Navigation of the Navy Department who testified last year, and is said since then to have been shifted twice against her wishes. The Senator’s inquiry was de- signed to disclose how far “favorit- ism” has brought about injustices in the Government service. It was said in the Senator’s office this morning that the exact date of the opening of the inquiry has not ecutive board of the Washington | Building Trades Council, introduced | today in the anti-trust trial of five H . | teamster union omeials in Disrict | Pinned on Rare Operation Court, indicated the council sanc- | ) | tioned a city-wide strike among the vU”" Hhe/outcome o(. Srarciopera: building trade unions in support of | tion today hung the life of William | the teamsters’ stand against the|Edward Buckholtz, jr. 24, former | Operating Engineers’ Union over theE Eastern High School basket ball operation of concrete-mixer trucks. star A copy of the minutes was among ! a number of official council docu-| Last Sunday Mr. Buckholtz dived | ments brought into court by John | into shallow water off Piney Point, Locher, secretary of the council, appearing as a Government witness. Following the presentation of the minutes, James Hayes, special as- | sistant to the Attorney General, at- | ambulance and admitted to Doctors tempted to get in evidence a tele- | Hospital. | gram received by the council from | | John P. Coyne, president of the | the operation, technique for which 'Hope for Athlefe’s Life fractured a vertebra. Md. His head struck bottom, and he | | | | i } 'Fire Deparfment's ociety and General /B—l ' Ruthless War Assailed by 0'Mahoney Just Peace Appeal Voiced in Talk At G. U. Rally Declaring the present generation is witnessing the beginning of a conflict “in which apparently there are to be no non-combatants,” Sen= ator O'Mahoney today sounded a call for international peace on a basis of freedom and justice among men and nations, Peace can be achieved, he said, only when nations have developed a willingness to recognize the in- dividual integrity of one another. Unless that objective is reached, he asserted, the entire economic struc- ture, if not civilization itself, may be shattered by war. The Wyoming Senator spoke be- fore more than 1,000 students and faculty members of Georgetown University at a morning convoca- tion which opened the university's participation in the third annual National Catholic College Student Peace Day. Senator O'Mahoney expressed a hope that the Student Peace Day celebration would continue to be observed until its objective, interna= tional peace, has been achieved. This objective, he said, is one to which the Christian youth of Amer- z-way Radio sys'em ;i(‘a can devote themselves, “for, to Tested and Approved us, the democratic ideal speaks both through the Christian faith and through the institutions of our Republic.” Expected to Go Into Service on July 1 From New Headquarters The District’s long-planned two- way radio service for the Fire De- partment yesterday was approved by a group of officials and accept- ed in behalf of the District gov- ernment by Maj. Patrick H. Tan- sey, Assistant Engineer Commis- sioner, after test messages had been sent and received at the new fire alarm headquarters building, First and Douglas streets N.-W. The new radio is to be put into operation about July 1, when the On MOHdflyifire alarm headquarters is moved he was removed to Washington by | from the. District Building to the new structure. The first test message sent yester- Dr. John J. Shugrue decided on|day by Maj. Tansey was to Fire Chief Stephen T. Porter and | Building Trades Department of the | was developed only recently. | American Federation of Labor, de- | manding that the council’s threat | not be carried out. Matter Under Advisement. The defense objected to the use | of the telegram as evidence and the court took the matter under | advisement. A ruling was expected | early this afternoon. The meeting. referred to by the | minutes, took place last September 27, the day following the termina- (tion of the dump-truck drivers' strike | materialized. The trial continued today after a witness testified late yesterday that | one of the defendants denied at the | outset of the dump-truck strike that the walkout had anything to do vith wage-hour negotiations. Phone Call Cited. Ben M. Cross, a member of the | committee of the Dump Truck Op- erators’ Associatiom, negotiating a new contract with the *teamsters’ local, testified yesterday afternoon | that a telephone call received by one | of the committee during a negotia- The city-wide strike never He:asknd‘ “Where are you, Chief Por- | made openings in the injured man’s | ter?” y | skull, into which were inserted the =~ From the car of the fire chief | prongs of an instrument resembling | came the prompt and readily audi- | an old-fashioned ice tong. | ble reply: “Stopped at a red light ! Weights were attached to lheiflh North Capitol street and Michi- tong, pulling the man's head up and | gan avenue. Will be there in a few relieving pressure on the fractured | minutes.” vertebra. The tongs will remain | lime to hear- Crheked bonehes had Woman |5 Injured Resisting Purse-Snatcher Dr. Shugrue said he was hopeful | that the patient would recover. al- though Mr. Buckholtz's condition | was grave. Mrs. Esther Erickson, 45. of 1704 | He played basket ball on the| Eighteenth street N.W. was under champion Eastern High team in| treatment today at Emergency 1935 and again in 1936. He has been | Hospital for injuries received early married for about a year, and lives today when she was attacked by a at 733 G street SE. He works for purse thief on the street near her the Western Electric Co. here. home. Mrs. Erickson, who is a proofread- er for a local printing firm, was re- !Cify Heads Hear Case | turning home from work about 2 | \’fi.m. and was walking along Sev- | H enteenth street near Swann street. (Of Accused Defectives | ericenth stret near Swann sireet, | The Commissioners today heard Scribed as being tall and young, at- an appeal by counsel for former |tempted to seize her purse. She re- Detective Sergts. Hubert E. (Steve) |Sisted, and he grabbed her arm, twisted it around and threw her | tion meeting September 12 indicated | Brodie and Leo (Nix) Murray from that dump trucks had been pulled | the decision of a special Police off the Federal Office Building con- | Trial Board which found them | struction project, and that was the | guilty of bribery charges and rec- | first indication the committee had | ommended their dismissal from the of any strike, actual or contem- | force. The city heads withheld plated. | judgment and said a decision would The witness said that four of the | be reached within several days. | five defendants in the anti-trust James O'Shea, attorney for the trial were present at the meeting— | former policemen, argued that the Charles J. Bell, president: Stuart M. | case had not been proved against Keyser, recording secretary; Lin-|the men and insisted the Commis- wood A. Trainham, secretary-treas- | sioners should order the men re- urer, and Aubrey W. Stream, busi- | stored to duty. Oliver Gasch, an ness agent of the Drivers, Chauf- feurs and Helpers’ Local, No. 639. In answer to a question by a member {of the committee, Mr. Keyser said | the strike had been called because | of “the non-union condition of the concréte-mixer trucks,” the witness prosecuted the case against the men, insisted that the finding of the trial board was correct. The men were found guilty of ac- cepting a bribe from a gambling testified. operator. Members of the trial & P < board were Maj. Patrick H. Tansey, Testimony already had indicated assistant engineer commissioner: that the teamsters had made efforts to take the drivers of these trucks from the Union of Operating En- gineers. Testifies on Comments. Jo V. Morgan, sole member of the Board of Tax Appeals, and Mrs. Agnes K. Mason, member of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. assistant corporation counsel, who | | to_the street. { The robber fled with her purse, which contained about $25. The struggle attracted two other col- ored men, William F. Knight of 1823 | Swann street NNW. and Wallace E. | Jones, 1821 Seventeenth street N.W., to the scene. They rushed Mrs. Knight to Emer- | gency Hospital, where she remained under treatment for shock and a possible fractured arm. | Another purse theft was reported last night by Jewell Marshall, 20, of 601 Nineteenth street N.W. She said her pocketbook, containing $57, at Eleventh and F streets N.W, Party at Pythian Temple The United Spanish War Veter- ans’ Auxiliary will give a party at 8 o'clock tonight in the Pythian Temple. A glee club will present & musical program. Mr. Cro said the committee member theén remarked he could not see why the dump trucks should be pulled off because of trouble with the concrete-mixer vehicles, and added, “It looks like it's 'no use in and practical idealism.” officials. been set. going ahead with our business.”’ ness unit, and Mrs. Carl A. Droop, committee member. ¥ ¥ PREPARING FOR CAMPAIGN—Members of the Business and Professional Committee National Symphony Orchestra’s sustaining fund campaign pictured yesterday as they mapped plans for the opening of the drivesnext Monday. Shown at the meeting, held in the Raleigh Hotel, are (left to right): A. F. E. Horn, campaign chairman; John Rowland Hill, chairman of the busi- Mr. Cross continued that Mr. Bell then spoke up: “We can go ahead. It (the walkout) has nothing to do with this.” Mr. Cross is a foreman for Schroff Bros., trucking contractors, and the meeting to which he re- ferred took place in the offices of that company. Dog Muzzles Required Beginning Today The warm-weather price of free- dom must be paid by Washington dogs beginning today. . District. regulations. specify muz- zles for all canine pets not con- fined in yards or on leashes.during the five-month period from May 1 to October 1, and unrestrained pets not so equipped are fair game for the District poundmaster’s as- sistants. s Such dogs will be taken to the pound and held until “bailed out” by their owners. A 1fuzzle made of several criss- crossed strips of soft leather, per- mitting some jaw movement, is ]recommended. It i pointed out for the that a piece of rope or leather looped around the jaws is not con- —Star Staff ‘hom. Special Dispatch to The Star. WINCHESTER, Va.,, May 1—This Eastern “apple capital” was ready today to play host to thousands of visitors at the annual two-day Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival opening tomorrow, although the usual attraction of pink and white blossoms' will be lacking. The festival committee, missing its guess for a full bloom of the fruit trees by several days, predicted that gay entertainment program will make up in color what the trees ‘The “high- light of - tomorrow’s program’ will be the crowning of Senorits Lillian 8omoza, dark-eyed daughter of the President of Nicara- gua, as “Queen Shenandoah XVII” at 3 pm. 8he is scheduled to ar- rive here from the Nicaraguan A in Washington at 6 o'clock this afternoon. Forty prin- cesses and maids of honor from as ::gty colleges will make up her Grady to Crown Queen. Henry F. Grady, Assistant Secre- tary of State, will place the crown on Senorita Somoza's head at the Handley High School Stadium, and & pageamt entitled * Queen of Shenandoah Festival Opens Tomorrow Without Blossoms Beauty,” participated in by 1,000 school girls and boys, - will follow. Sports events, an aerial show with a parachute exhibition, nu- merous band concerts and entertain- ments for the queen will be held throughout the day. A firemen’s torchlight and mum- mers’ parade is scheduled for 8 p.m., with 40 companies and bands parti- cipating. A fireworks extravaganza at Handley Stadium will follow. Meantime, the queen will entertain her princesses at a reception and dance. Friday's Program. The Priday program opens with a repetition of the pageant at 10:30 am. The queen and her court, however, will be attending an agrial show at Winchester Municipal Air- port. An official luncheon will en- gage the queen at noon, and she and her .court will lead a parade, “Trail of the Pink Petals,” at 2 p.m. The procession will be in five divisions, including veterans’ or- ganizations, floats of the queen and her court, artistic floats, commercial floats .and historical displays. Thir- ty-five bands will be sandwiched between units. ¢ i The program will be climaxed Priday night with queen’s ball at 8. o'clock. # was taken from her in a drug store | Tolerance and Faith Urged. “Too loag have we been willing to yield to the thought that somehow | we must compel other men to see ;thmgs as we see them, to impose | upon other men and upon other nations our concepts of what is goed for them,” he said. “Tolerance in= stead of intolerance; faith instead of fear, mutual trust and confidence | must be the basisgf the only world peace that can endure.” Criticizing the totalitarian States, the speaker declared “dictators, by proscriptive decrees, confiscation of property, expulsion of minorities and by destruction of life itself, may attempt to establish peace by ate tempting to make a solitude, but democracy, working from within through normal instincts of develope ing humanity, will eventually over- | throw any such political unit and once more set men free.” Senator O'Mahoney declared the task of the peacemaker is greater today than ever before because mod= ern warfare has become as ruthe lessgps the war of the barbarian. e present war carries a greater threat to civilization than any which | have preceded it because this is a war which has found its genesis in fear and in the failure of dee mocracy,” he said. “In this turmoil, civilization faces the most critical challenge with which it has yet been confronted. | Religion and democracy are the an- | swers to this challenge, if the human race is capable of utilizing them. I think humanity can and will meet the test, but it becomes the duty of every person who would be a peacemaker to become an evangel for these two ideals.” Preceding the convocation, early | morning peace masses were cele= brated in Dahlgren and St. Wil= liam’s Chapels on the campus. Another highlight of the day's acti- vities will be the figth annual com- memorative observance, sponsored by the American Legion and affiliated | patriotic groups, at the District War { Memorial in West Potomac Park at |4 pm. The all-day program at George- | town University will be climaxed by a ! mass meeting at 8 p.m., with 2.000 students from 15 schools participat- ! ing. The observance at the District | World War Memorial will open with a concert by the United States Marine Band, followed by intro- | duction of the honored guests by | the presiding officer, Public Printer | A. E. Giegengack, who is depart- ment child welfare chairman of | the American Legion. The guests of honor will be Frank | B. Noyes, founder and chairman of the 1931 District of Columbia World | War Commission, and Col. Julius I. i Most Critical Challenge. | Peyser and Dr. B. C. McNeil, both | of whom are members of the com- mission and past department com- manders of the Legion, Colorful Program. The colorful program will include {massing of the colors by many pa- triotic organizations, a poppy pro- cessional, musical numbers and ad- dresses by Commissioner John Russell Young, who will bring greet- ings on behalf of the city: Depart- ment Comdr. William Slattery of the American Legion, Department President Mary B. McMillin of the American Legion Auxiliary, William Hargrave, grand chef de gare, 40 and 8, and Edith P. Landvoigt, Le Chapeau Departmental, 8 and 40. Mrs. Ellen Louise Warren, Cha- peau National, 8 et 40, also will speak, discussing “This May Day Observance.” 5 Memorial trees will be presented for E. Lester Jones, first department commander, George Washington Post, No. 1, and James Tracy Brady, 20th department commander of Na- tional Cathedral Post, No. 10. Don- ald L. Kine will accept the trees on behalf of the National Capital Parks. Fred G. Fraser will officiate at this ceremony. Participating Groups. Groups participating in the com- memorative observance include the Legion and its auxiliary, Des 40 Hommes and 8 Cheavaux, Des 8 Cheapeaux et 40 Femmes, Sons of the American Legion, American Le- gion Auxiliary Juniors, National Guard of Honor and Girls' Nation. The Very Rev. Arthur A, O'Leary, S. J., president of Georgetown Uni- versity, will be celebrant at a mili- tary benediction at the open air demonstration on the university campus tonight. Color guards from the Georgetown R. O. T. C. unit and the St. John's College Corps will be in-attendance, .