Evening Star Newspaper, January 10, 1942, Page 18

Rent Complaint Blanks Mailed To Applicants Cogswell Outlines Procedure for Tenants And Landlords Rent Administrator Robert F.| Cogswell mailed out the first bundie of complaint forms under the Dis- trict rent control law today to hun- dreds of persons who have called for them and warned applicants the law provides stiff penalties for false statements. He outlined procedure for tenants and landlords in filing complaints. | Mr. Cogswell had prepared a ten- tative form before the rent act be- came effective January 2, but was | forced to outline a new one after personally interviewing more than 400 persons who appeared at his office and answering hundreds of telephone queries. He said the new form “certainly will cover 95 per cent of the cases.” | The forms must be filed in du- | plicate and do not require notariza- | tion. If a complaint is not covered by the questions on the form, space is provided for the complaint to be | written in, | “The petitions have been drawn,” Mr. Cogswell explained, “to reflect | the essential facts needed to a| proper determination of the com- | plaint. They are drawn as free | from technical terms as posalb]?v; consistent with provision of the act, | realizing that many who will seek | the aid of this office are not experi- | enced in legal or administrative procedure. ’ Privilege of Answer. “In many respects the act is self- | executing. It does, however, provide for adjustments under certain cir- cumstances. This makes it neces- | sary for a petition to be filed with the privilege of answer and the pro- f duction of facts for and against the | complaint.” : | Mr. Cogswell said that in draft-| ing the forms attention has been | given to the practice and procedure in the Small Claims Branch of | Municipal Court, where printed forms of complaint are available to those seeking relief. Use of the forms are not specifically required under the act, but will lead to uni- formity in hearings before the ex- | aminers. Mr. Cogswell outlined the ro]low-! ing procedure for handling com- | plaints: | The tenant or landlord desires to seek an increase or decrease in rent or services. He receivs a form at th Rent Administrator’s office, 1740 Massachusetts avenue N.-W., or writes a request for it. The form is filled out in duplicate and promptly returned to the office. The dupli- cate copy of the complaint is served upon the respondent and he will be given a designated period of time within which to answer. As soon &s the answer has been received and the business of the office will per- mit. the case will be heard before an examiner. Speed Hoped in Some Cases. Mr. Cogswell said he hoped that in those cases where the tenant is completely satisfied with the nmount‘ of rent he is now pauing, though in excess of that paid on January 1.| 1941, and files an answer to that effect, means will be found to dispose quickly of the case. Instructions accompanying the printed forms provide that it must be executed by the complainant un- | less he desires to be represented by an attorney. In every case a peti- tioner can appear in person and be heard if he so desires. The re- fusal of permitting any one to appear other than the complainant or his attorney will prevent unscrupulous persons from soliciting landlords and tenants upon the claim they may obtain higher or lower rents, which- ever the case mav be, the admin- istrator pointed out. This will also prevent real estate offices from filing blanket petitions in behalf of all persons for whom they collect rents. Feted Norwegian Sailors Refurn to Baltimore Thirty-five Norwegian merchant sailors were back in Baltimore to- day where their ship is docked, after spending vesterday here as guests of the Norwegian Legation and being welcomed by a cabinet | member, two Senators and their | Crown Prince and Princess. At the Capitol, Secretary of Com- merce Jesse Jones told them Nor- way's part in the battle of the At- lantic was known and admired. Senator Radcliffe, Democrat, of Maryland told them of the thou- sands of Norwegian sailors pouring | annually into Baltimore in mer- chant marine vessels. Senator | Wiley, Republican, of Wisconsin, of | Norwegian parentage, surprised the group by speaking to them in their native tongue. | After visiting the Supreme Court, | the group went to Pooks Hill, where | they were greeted by Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha and 4-year-old Prince Harald, and | drank a toast to the day when their country again will be free. A dance at the Legation last night concluded the visit. Red Cross Seeks Funds for War The District Red Cross is ap- pealing for $750,000 as its quota of the American Red Cross War Fund Campaign for $50,- 000,000 to provide relief for American war victims and to carry on rapidly expanding Red Cross services for the armed forces. Today the District fund stands at $86.552.97. Checks should be made pay- able to the American Red Cross and envelopes marked “For the War Pund.” Any bank will accept your contribution and forward it to District Red Cross headquar- | ters, 2020 Massachusetts avenue N.W. There are also booths in leading hotels, department stores and at Union Station. FOREST ARCHWAY—Of 70 full bridges i the District and 110 smaller spans, Helen Gatch Durston chose to sketch for The Star a viaduct that lifts Massa- chusetts avenue across Rock Creek Park. xcept for the Scott Circle underpass, which is officially classified as a bridge, th:s is the most recently completed span in Washington. The $500,000 stone-faced roncrete arch was opened to traffic in April. Oldest Washington bridge is a little Wisconsin avenue structure over the Built about 110 years agc it bears in crumbling sandstone the C. & O. Canal name of Andrew Jackson. Friends warned Mrs. Durston it was Aangerous business to sketch bridges in wartime. She was quizzed by only two policemen, however, one mounted on TEE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D M b s C, SATURDAY, " L ¥ L Dues e » ’, (Ths is the sixth in a series of sketches to appear in The Star each Saturday.) motoreycle, the other on horseback. They suggested she next draw Francis Scott Key Bridge, with Georgetown as a background. Like almost any Rock Creek picture, this is framed in a lacework of fine trees. The artist came three days to catch the spirit of their morning shadows. Two horsemen jog along a small stretch of the more than 30 miles of park bridle path. Theodore Roosevelt was one of many famous men who have loved Rock Creek and its park. Among the few who have turned it to utilitarian purposes was Robert Fulton, who is said to have tested his model of the steamship Clermont in the brook. Above this forest scene rumble busses and the stream of Massachusetts avenue auto traffic. Within two blocks of here are tHe British Embassy, humming with international transactions, and the Japanese Embassy, tightly closed. ;o (R JANUARY 10, 1942. Auto Wrecked In Police Chase; Youth Killed Trapped After Dash At 90 M.P.H. From Baltimore; 2 Hurt A 90-mile-an-hour chase from Baltimore ended in death for one Washington youth and injuries for two others when Washington police, operating under radio instructions, trapped their high-powered coupe here on a holdup and robbery flash. Patally injured in the auto wreck which ended the pursuit was Walter Linwood Ivery, jr., 25, colored, 122 Bates street N.W. He died in Cas- ualty Hospital at 2:15 a.m. today. Last night Baltimore police spread the alarm to Maryland and Wash- ington police that three young col- ored men had escaped after striding into a Baltimore corner drug store and taking $50 from the cash reg- ister while Samuel Gordon, clerk, looked on helplessly. Witnesses to this and another holdup attempt told of a green automobile with District of Colum- bia license plates, and the lookout for this car was broadcast. Speed Near 100 Miles Per Hour. Maryland State Police reported such a car sped by them at River- dale. Its speed was approaching nearly 100 miles per hour, they de- clared, and they lost it. The trail was picked up by Prince Georges County Policemen Richard Pearson and Lee Pumphrey, and when they, too, were left behind, they warned the Washington police radio dispatcher, Charles Clay, jr. Policeman Clay laid a trap by radio- ing motor cycles and scout cars to take emergency posts at highways entering the District. Home Owners Asked fo Rent Workers Rooms D. C. Heads Issue Appeal; 40,000 More Coming Here In an effort to assure living quare ters for thousands of defense work= ers expected to be added to the Government force during the next | several months, the Commissioners have issued & formal appeal to all home owners in the District to pro- vide space, on a rental basis, for at least one Government war worker during the emergency. Acting on a request made Wednes- day by Chairman Downs of the House Subcommittee on Decentrali :ation of Federal Activities, the Com= missioner last night issued a formal proclamation urging residents to help relieve the housing problem by opening their homes to defense | employes. Must Settle in New Offices. Citizens would list all available rooms with the Defense Housing Registry by the present plan, but | the registry requested yesterday that | householders postpone such action until further notice. It was explained that until the | registry is transferred to its new | quarters next week in a building constructed for it in front of the District Building at Fourteenth street |and Pennsylvania avenue N.W. it will not be in a position to handle a greatly increased volume of busi- ness. The date of moving will be | made public promptly. ;I;he Commissioners’ proclamation said: Scout Car 122 was on hand when & green coupe entered on Bunker Hill road NE. The chase lasted for 312 miles in about as many minutes, | police said, until the pursued car skidded in snow and crashed into a | tree in front of 417 Columbia road Nw. Police said the driver, Charles| Jackson Benjamin, 22, colored, 16 Patterson street N.E, ran from the car. Police Pvt. D. E. Allen lenpedl from the scout car and fired one shot. Benjamin, though not hit, halted. | Pulled From Car. Pulled from the car and sent to Casualty Hospital in an ambulance | | were Ivery and Edward O'Neal Wil- | liams, 28, colored, 1235 Seventh street | N.W. The latter was in critical con- | dition today with intracranial in- | Hero Policeman and '3 Others Arrested lOn Robbery Charge | Charles A. Scott Held | With Former ‘Singing Cop’ Nestor in Old Case Four men, including a police pri- vate who last year won a silver medal for bravery and a former policeman, were being held today on charges of | robbery involving a $300 holdup here last August. Charles A. Scott, 37, of 14 Fourth | street SE., attached to the Fifth | Precinct, was taken into custody | yesterday by Assistant Chief of De- | tectives Robert J. Barrett at the | Fifth Precinct Station, where Scott | was immediately suspended from HENRY “HARLES NESTOR. —te CHARLES A. SCOTT. juries, shock, ragged laceration of the right knee, and possibly frac- | tured hips. Benjamin was taken first | to Freedmen's and later to Gallinger | 16 Applicants Get “The attention of the Commise ‘sioners of the District of Columbia | has been called to the fact that, in addition to the large number of war workers who are already living in Washington, it is estimated that over 40,000 additional workers will come to this city during the next 10 months, and the greatest problem of our government is finding living quarters for these people. Remind of Military Trials. “The Commissioners, therefore, appeal to the home owners of the District to rent decent living accom- modations to at least one Govern- ment worker during this emergency. “While it may be true that the home owners will suffer some dis- comfort, yet they should remember that our young men, who are being asked to leave comfortable homes to protect our homes, our liberties and our futures, are likewise going to suffer discomfort. “We feel sure that our citizens First Tires Allotted Hospital, not seriously injured. Later | gre g5 ioti = | patriotic as the people in today Williams also was transferred other sections of the country, and to _Gallinger, under police guard. | gaccordingly we look forward con- HARRY E. THOMAS. duty. Scott is being held at the Twelfth Precinct. Henry Charles Nestor, former po- ! liceman known as the “Singing| | Cop,” who was out on bail after being indicted in December and ?:;ltxi!;%olrl:v]\'oonlggzrde—is ocfogf;::; tanks, field >ieces and even machine t Y guns will ceTy into battle the spe- ;;mfi-};,f}gfi:: :;;;ilgg ;3 lefigzrem;.;;ial interes of “purchasers” back | . Saay y L. Cly - | home. | Strange, chief of the robbery squad,| n respone to a Nation-wide de-\l | and was returned to Washington | mand, the “reasury has worked out | early yesterday. He is being held | g scheme wereby cities, communi- | 1 “’I"hhi '1;?“:1 p::;:"“jn b\ | ties and o'ganizations can “buy” | Ay P Baisers. '35 Tof sls‘v"md'm some¢ cases, name many types | (DR e e Nl 2| of fighting machines in the armed li‘ourth street N.E., came into police | forees. ] By W H. SHIPPEN, Jr. | Many of Uncle Sam’s airplanes, headquarters yesterday afternoon| por exanwle, Baltimore, long a when he !earne'j Capt. Barrett was| manufacturng center for heavy land seeking him. When he appeared. & and sea plar:s, is interested in hand- warrant was served on him and he jng over a nulti-engined bomber or is being held at the Fifth Precinct. |two to the combat services, while The fourth man, Harry E. Thomas. | gagerstown is in the midst of a 39. was arrested last night and| campaign tc “purchase” two locally- taken to the Fifth Precinct. He| pyjlt Fairchld trainers at a most of gave his address as 334 F street NE. Warrants for the four men were issued Thursday by United States Commissioner Needham C. Turnage on information developed by Capt. Barrett. It is charged that the four men, | “each being a principal in robbery by prearrangement,” robbed Nestor, then a collection agent for the Palace Laundry, of $900 at Eighth and E streets S.W. on August 30. At the time of the robbery, Nestor | told police a man, whom he could | identify, stepped on the running board of his car as he pulled away from the laundry branch at 501 Seventh street S.W. and pressed a revolver against his temple. He also related at the time that the man forced him to drive around the block, demanded his money and then noticed a bulky envelope on the front seat. The envelope con- tained cash collected from the laun- dry branches. The man, Nestor re- lated, then escaped with the money in a taxicab parked less than a block away. When held up. Nestor was accom- panied by a helper, Bernard John- son, 19, colored, of 4406 Hayes street N.W. Johnson, who will be brought into the case as a witness, according to Barrett, now is serving four months to & year in jail on a charge of attempted robbery. In discussing the case yesterday, Capt. Barrett said Johnson was completely innocent of the alleged hoax. The detective named Thomas "as the actual “trigger man.” Capt. Barrett said Scott had made no formal statement. Scott was first assigned to the Traffic Division in 1936. He was awarded the medal for bravery last year for pursuing a gunman on foot and disarming him in a Columbia road rooming house. He was also instrumental in the capture of the men who shot and killed Herman Sirkis during a hold- up of the latter’s liquor store in May, 1940. In recognition of his work, he was transferred to the Fifth Precinct where he was assigned to scout car duty. The four men prob- ably will be arraigned Monday. 4 | about $35,00). | Plan \lready in Effect. ‘While neiher the armed services | nor other Fderal agencies can ac- | cept contrirutions earmarked for | | specific pur-hases, they received so | | many offers of this nature that the Treasury w:s asked to authorize a plan for firancing such purchases through the sale of defense secur- ities. The jian is now in operation and has sp2ad to all parts of the | country. | In Buffalc last month enough De- fense stamjs were sold in a whirl-| wind camp:i.gn to buy two pursuit planes—a Bell Airacobra and & Curtiss P*40. Almost $250,000 was raised in a few days, even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor boosted sales all over the country. The fighters, both manufactured in Buffalo, were placed on exhibition, | christened and accepted by the com- manding officer of the local imer-i ceptor command. Hagerstown expects to raise at least $1 per capita by Monday for erstown and Miss Maryland. | Prices Quoted Citizens. Sarasota, Fla., and Louisville, Ky., have tanks as their objective; Des Moines, Towa, would like to buy a| fighter plane, and Indianapolis, Ind., and Seattle, Wash., are scan- ning bomber prices. A rough estimate of the prices, as | furnished by Senator McNary to | constitutents in Oregon, are $100,000 for a pursuit plane, $175,000 for a light bomber, $400.000 for a heavy bomber and $15,000 for a military training plane. The Senators’ office received a re- quest from the Oregon State Fire Fighters’ Association for informa- tion as to cost and procedure in pre- senting a fighting airplane to the armed forces. Meanwhile, Federal departments here were informed that Utica, N. Y., wants to finance as many 50- | | which are made outright instead of Home Folks Rush to Buy Materiel for Army| caliber machine guns as possible; that the Variety Club of Pittsburgh will undertake to “purchase” a | bomber, and that various groups in Jowa are anxious to “buy” heavy | field artillery. Requests Pour In. Hundreds of requests by tele-! phone, letter and telegram have | been received from communities and clubs wishing to “purchase” every- | | two trainers to be named Miss Hag- thing from jeeps to rolling field | cates. kitchens and transport trucks. A | hamlet in the Pennsylvania moun- | tains wished to furnish the Army | with & case of rifles. Treasury officials said the requests | will be granted wherever possible and the particular equipment “purchased” wil be made available in many cases for exhibitions and christening ceremonies. This use of the equipment, however, must be subject to military needs. Since the outset of the war the Royal Air Force has received many bombers and fighters through popu- lar subscription and individual gifts, by purchase of war savings securi- ties. The Spitfire Fund, which originated in this country and later was organized in Canada because of restrains of the Neutrality Act, added many fighters to the R. A. F. in the dark days after Dunkerque. By Rationing Board Several Doctors, Baker And a Butcher Are Included on List The first successful applicants for tires were announced today by the District's tire rationing headquar- ters, and the varied list included a butcher, a baker and several doctors. The number of tires alloted the 16 individuals and firms was not made public though the District’s January quota is 1922, Dr. Willlam J. Lally, 926 Massa- chusetts avenue N.W., was the first applicant approved. As a physician he is allowed to have new tires ‘or his car as his work is necessary for preservation of public health. He and other applicants whose requests choice and will be given tires. Dr. Lally and the others were| granted certificates at meetings | Wednesday and yesterday held by the District Tire Rationing Board. Headquarters of the board are at 1740 Massachusetts avenue N.W. Wilmoth Paving Co., 726 Seventh | street S.W., was granted certificates met with approval will present their | certificates at the store of their| to obtain tires for four vehicles; John Breyshaw, 3240 Patterson| Two revolvers were found on the floor of the car, according to po- lice. They said the coupe was list- | ed as stolen here December 27. 1 Baltimore Detective Lts. Michael Cooney and Herry Magersupp re- turned to Baltimore today after a trip to Washington in an attempt to link the District men with the drugstore holdup at 1401 Edmonson fidently appeal.” The Commissioners sent a letter to Chairman Downs, informing him f their action. In answer to an inquiry from Mr. Downs, Commis- to a prompt response to this | sioner Young informed him that records of tthe assessor’s office in- dicate that there were 104082 pri- avenue, Baltimore, and an earlier | Vate homes in the District as of attempted robbery of the Herman Levin liquor store at 910 Druid Hill avenue. Three armed men entered \ thix store, but were baffled when the cash register stuck, police said. 80 Mayflower Employes End First-Aid Course Red Cross first aid instruction was completed yesterday by Mayflower Hotel employes with demonstrations of their training by teams of six working against time in applying first aid to mythical victims of an automobile accident. ‘The course was conducted by | Comdr. W. E. Longfellow, American Red Cross first-aid training director, to prepare employes for civilian de- | fense work. Graduates of the course | will receive a Red Cross first aid | certificate. Comdr. Longfellow, after congratu- lating the employes completing the -‘Jul.v 1, 1941. This figure does not | include apartments. Quarters Biggest Problem. In requesting the Commissioners to appeal to home owners, Mr. Downs and Representative Manasco, Democrat of Alabama, member of the decentralization subcommittee, said: “We have had great difficulty in finding office space, but our great- est problem is finding living quare ters for these people.” They said they believed that room could be made for the 40,000 addi- | tional workers “if the people here | are fully apprised of the need.” West Coast Repor; Rare Eye Disease BY the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 10.—An eye disease never before found in treet N.W., was given two certifi- | course, cited William Seitz, Coffee | the United States has grown to SE.; Leonard E. Smith, 1509 Penn- sylvania avenue SE.; Samuel Streb, 3501 McKinley street N.W.. J. Thomas & Sons, O Street Markef Many of those instructors, it was announced. PluneiFlght' Frightens Dr. 1. Philip Frohman, 2924 Nichols avenue SE.; Dr. Walter K. Myers, 2030 R street N.W.; Beuchler’s Phy- sicians & Hospital Equipment, 1325 Connecticut avenue N.W.; A. V. Holmes, 2220 Washington Circle N.W.; Barker Bake Shops, Inc., 1408 New York avenue N.W.. Irvin B. Robinson, 726 Seventh street SW., and Clowe & Davis, Inc., 1217 Maine avenue S.W. Tire rationing advisers, with Whitney Leary as chairman, now are meeting twice weekly, Wednes- days and Fridays, to consider ap- plications. |Bethesda Residents Three planes staged a mock dog- fight and dive-bombing exhibition over the Bethesda, Md., area for a | quarter of an hour yesterday morn- | ing, swooping so low in their aerial gyrations that about 20 terrified and | angry persons telephoned com- | plaints to the police. The planes, described by some as | naval training biplanes, for a time | concentrated their “attack” on Be- | thesda-Chevy Chase High School. so | alarming Principal Thomas W. Pyle | that he demanded an investigation. ASSIGNED TIRE-RATIONING JOB—Here are 13 of the 15 men selected ty the Commissioners for the District Tire Rationing Board. The group met twice this week and announced today the first :uccessful applicants for the few tires allotted Wash- ington. They are (left to right, seated) C. W. Turner, Arthur 3 J. Sundlun, Whitney Leary, chairman; Walter B. Gyy, Richard J. Murphy and R. Scott Smith. M. Ely, Dr. John F. Preston, John W. Guider, Milton W. King, Raymond Sparks and J. M. Sanders. Dr. Charles Stanley White and E. D. Merrill, president of Capital Transit Co., were absent. ’ Bethesda police reported the inci- dent to the Civil Aeronautics Au- thority, which is seeking to identify the planes and their pilots. D. C. to Pay $5,000 D_umuges District Court Justice James M. Proctor has sanctioned an award of $5,000 damages for personal injuries against the District government in favor of Goldie M. White, 1337 B street SE., as a result of injuries received when hit by a District Highway Department truck August 7, 1939. The municipality agreed to compromise the case for this sum and avoid trial. Seminars Scheduled Seminars on “Leadership and Democracy” and “The Road to World Peace,” sponsored by the Columbia Cultural Society, will be conducted tomorrow at 7:15 pm. by Scott Nearing, economist, at the Phyllis Wheatley Y. W. C. A, 901 Rhode Island avenue N.W. The sessions will be held daily through January 15. Defense Meeting Set A meeting of residents of the Municipal Civilian Defense Area will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesdsy at the Adas Israel Temple, Sixth and I streets N.W., P. J. Casey, deputy alr section, Standing: Paul , Selden —Star Staff Photo. The remaining applicants Shop manager, for using first aid | epidemic proportions on the Pacific were granted one each. They are: | methods last week to save a kitchen cgm (mnl,’ pg;’nmd to central Cal- Dr. Willlam Fleet Luckett, 5000 employe who had been caught in & | ifornia, medical authorities reported Reno road N.W.; James McCann, | chopping machine. i 1931 Thirty-seventh street N.W.; A.| who completed the course will con- | D. Sherman, 3622 Alabama avenue tinue training to become first aid | today. Since the disease is not one re- quiring individual reports to health officers, the number of cases is not known. About 20 infected workers in de- fense industries who made disa- bility claims before the State Industrial Accident Commission yesterday said there were 2,000 cases in the bay area. Dr. Bertram P, Brown, State health director, re- ported 500 known cases in the same region. The disease first causes inflamma- tion of the inner linings of the eyelids, then extends to the cornea or clear tissue in the forepart of the eyeball. It produces an opague condition on the cornea which im- pairs vision. Sometimes, physicians said, this disability lasts three months to a year. Recovery there- after is complete. The eye department of the Uni- versity of California Medical School said the last previously recorded epidemic occured in Malaya in 1934 to 1938 and that the disease proba- bly gained its foothold here by being brought from the Far East by infected persons. Outbreaks pre- viously were reported in India, Aus- tralia and Vienna. All Radio ‘Hams’ Told To Stay Off the Air BY the Associated Press. All amateur radio operators were under orders of the Federal Com- munications Commission today to stay off the air, for “national de- fense considerations.” About 1,000 amateurs who had been operating under special F. C., C. authority were affected. The other 64,000 had been under a ban of silence since the commission issued a general license suspension order December 8. Drug Store Robbed The Standard Drug Store, 914 F street N.W., was robbed of $305 last night by intruders believed to have entered after forcing bars in wine/ dows in the rear of the basement, police said today. The theft was re- ported by James H. O'Brien, man- ager, %