New-York tribune. [volume], February 19, 1920, Page 9, Image 9

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Pledge Remedy1
To Stop Rent
Profiteering
New York Realty Men in
Two Weeks Will Present
Solution to Assembly's
Committee on Taxation
Opposed to Jes s e Bill
Suggestion Made for Banks
lo Get Increase in Loan?
ing Power to 65 Per Cent
From a Staff Correspondant
ALBANY, Feb. 18.?The representa?
tives of real estate interests in New
York City at a hearing this afternoon
before the Assembly Committee on
Taxation agreed to come back to Al?
bany in two weeks with constructive
suggestions for solving the rent prof?
iteering problem. They appeared in
opposition to the bill of Assemblyman
Jesse, creating two rent commissions
of three members each to determine
fair and reasonable rents, one for Now
i'ork City and the other for Buffalo
und Rochester. They argued that the
only solution was more building and
that the appointing of more commis
lions would act as a further restric?
tion to all building activities.
"There is no doubt a lot of rent prof?
iteering going on in New York City
and you gentlemen should have some
constructive suggestions to remedy the
situation," said Assemblyman James
F. Bly, of Brooklyn.
"We will take action, if you will dc
the right thing here," said John L
Parish, secretary of the advisory coun?
cil of real estate interests. Chairmar
Franklin Judson then agreed to defei
action until March 8, when anothei
hear;ng will be given on all rent meas?
ures and suggested solutions. Besides
the Jesse bill, Assemblymen Evans anc
L'llmar. have introduced rent commis?
sion bills for New York City, and be?
fore the next hearing they will b?
transferred from the Cities to the Ta?
Committee.
Among suggestions offered to-day tc
the committee to increase building \va;
to permit savings banks to lend oi
real estate up to 65 per cent of it;
value instead of only 50 per cent, t(
put insurance companies on the sami
footing as savings banks, by requirinj
that they invest a certain part of thei
fur.ds in mortgages and to give sonn
guarantee to persons who build nov
with the prevailing high prices, tha
they will get a reasonable profit oi
their equity in the property.
"The housing situation in New York,
said Mr Parish, "has reached a stat>
where it threatens the civil order o
the city. I myself am a victim of il
The rent on an office down town las
year was increased from $750 to S85C
and on May 1 it will be boosted t
$1.500. The only thing for me to do i
to sign the lease, for I know that if
sublet I could get $2,400. There ar
many great corporations in New Yor
City which on May I will be throw
out of their offices, and with no pro?
pect of a place to go. As for dwelling:
in many cases the people thomselve
force up the prices by competing wit
eac!. other.
"But this rent commission bill is nc
the solution. We must have mor
houses. Before the war there was
mobile fund of millions of dollar
which every year was used for built
inc. That is now taken up in Libert
bonds, and many people are refusing t
invest in mortgages because of the it
come taxes on them. You have befoi
you the Lockwood-McWhinney bi]
which exempts from taxation the ii
come from mortgages up to $40,000.
think that the Legislature should pa:
that bill.
"It would be an impetus to tl
passage of the similar Calder-M
Lauk'hlin bill in Congress."
Others who appeared against tl
Jesse bills were Stewart L. Browne f
the United Real Estate Owners' A
sociation, Bernard Goodman for tl
Greater New York Taxpayers' Associ
tion and Henry M. Goldberg. They i
sisted thut the original landlords we
not to blame for rent profiteerinj
that they discouraged rather than e
couiaged it. They put the blame <
builaing and apartment house le3se
and real estate speculators. Mr. Goo
man declared that under the prese
circumstances no building is being doi
bdcausa there is no profit in it.
S. Kaplan appeared for the Civil Se
vice Reform Association, and asked th
the Jesse bill if passed be amended
'.hat, the employees of the proposi
rent commissions not be exempted fro
civil service examinations.
' ?
Woman, 95, No Longer
Can Manage Own Affaii
Miss Downing, Adjudged Incor
petent, Recalls Cholera Scare
Here in 1837
A jury in Sheriff Knott's court ye
terday adjudged Miss Anna E. Dow
inp, of 726 Madison Avenue, who
ninety-five years old, mentally inco
petent to manage her affairs. M:
Downing has personal property, cc
?isting of stocks and bonds, valued
about $200.000, which, with an annu:
of $759 from an insurance compai
yields her an income of $8,108 a ye
The case of Miss Downing, whe
only next of kin are nephews a
"'fees, all of them in the "social r<
tter," and who has no heirs-at-taw, is I
described as an unusual one. She does !
not look more than sixty years old. In I
the presence of one of the two nurses
who attend her in an apartment at the
Madison Avenue address, she remarked
that she thought she was about sixty
five. Reminded that she was ninety
five, Miss Downing remarked, "What a
good old age."
Although it was shown in the testi?
mony that Miss Downing's mind wan?
ders and she has no "recollection of
the property she owns, she is able to
discuss things that happened in her
childhood. She recalled a cholera Bcare
in New York in 1837. Her mind seems
to dwell principally on her early life.
The proceedings to have a committee
appointed for Miss Downing's property
wns brought by George H. Church, of
5G Wall Street, who is executor under
the will of John W. Sterling, lawyer
and director of numerous corporations,
who died in 1918. Mr. Sterling former?
ly managed the affairs of Miss Down?
ing under a power of attorney.
?
Air 'Flivver' Goes
72 Miles an Hour
In Initial Flight
Tiny Monoplane Makes Per?
fect Take-Off on Snow
Covered Field ; Experts
Pleased With Landing
The aerial -'flivver" has arrived at
last.
It made Its initial flight over the
muddy reaches of College Point, L. I.,
yesterday in view of a large number of
aeronautic enthusiasts. The new fliv?
ver is a tiny monoplane, one of the
smallest in the world, with a wing
spread of but twenty-five feet. Its
manufacturer has called it "Butterfly."
The Butterfly is designed for the
sportsman aviator and will retail at
$2,500. It carries one person only, and
despite its Liliputian dimensions flew
with ease.
Captain Jack Foote, chief test
pilot of the L. W. F. Corporation, took
the fledgling into the air for the first
flight, which was witnessed by repre?
sentatives of the Manufacturers' Air?
craft Association and the American
Flying Club.
The tiny monoplane "took off" from
the snow-covered field after a short
run of seventy-five feet. It mounted
the air rapidly and reached a speed of
seventy-two miles an hour. After
circling the field a number of times
Captain Foote returned to a perfect
landing, coming to a dead stop after
a run of fifty feet. In this he was as?
sisted by the" skid digging deep into the
snow.
The new aerial "flivver" weighs only
590 pounds when empty and hut 918
pounds fully loaded. It is equipped
with fool-proof controls and a fire ex?
tinguisher. Its motive power consists
of a new type of two-cylinder motor
especially designed for it. The cylin?
ders are horizontally opposed.
Owing to its small size and low land?
ing speed the Butterfly can be landed
on the grounds of almost any country
house and can be housed in any mod?
erate sized garage.
Harbor Police Get Boat
Worth $400,000 for $1
Navy Recognizes Gallantry in
Recent Rescues and Re?
tires the Patrol
The Patrol, flagship of the harbor
police squadron for twenty-six years,
won honorable retirement, it was
learned yesterday, by the rescue of the
passengers of the stranded Ward liner
Princess Anne. Influenced, it is be?
lieved, by the pluck cf the seamanship
shown by Captain James W. Hallock's
nautical cops in that rescue, Secretary
of the Navy Daniels notified the Police
'. Department yesterday that the navy
had a $400,000 boat it would sell to the
! department for $1.
Fourth Deputy Police Commissioner
I Frederick A, Wallis, who has been try
j ing for months to get a more sea
: worthy vessel for the harbor police, re?
ceived the message of the Secretary of
the Navy and at once sent him a check
for $1. The boat which ?3 to supplant
the Patrol is the Penobscot, which did
patrol duty off the French coast dur?
ing the war, and is a larger, swifter
boat than the Patrol, carrying a much
' more genorous coal supply. The
Penobscot was launched three years
years ago. It will be renamed the
Police.
I -.-_
Says "Reds" Menace Family
Religious Freedom in Russia a
Sham, Declares Observer
Declaring that recognition by the
Allies of Russian Bolshevism Is help?
ing L?nine and Trotzky to spread their
doctrines throughout the world, Lieu?
tenant A. W. Kliefoth, who was in the
diplomatic service in Russia during the
war, told members of the New York
Advertising Club at a luncheon yester?
day, at the clubhouse, 47 East Twenty
fiftn Street, that such a course contains
the gravest danger to American insti?
tutions.
Lieutenant Kliefoth said that Bol?
shevism aims to destroy the family.
"The Soviet government is the most
autocratic ever established by a mi?
nority," he said. "It allows ostensible
freedom of religion but in realty the
Church is being insidiously attacked.
A slow process of corruption has de?
stroyed the army and is destroying
every other institution that could con?
tain the germs of good."
mcft?btom & c*
1 AND 3 WEST 37TH ST.
ONE DOOR FROM FIFTH AVENUE
OVERSTUFFED FURNITURE
OF QUALITY
INTERESTINGLY PRICED
WING CHAIRS?SOFAS?EASY CHAIRS
CHAISE LONGUES?SLIPPER CHAIRS
LAMPS AND SHADES
UPHOLSTERY
LACE CURTAINS
DRAPERIES
McGIBBON IS THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED
TO HANDLE YOUR UPHOLSTERY AND
DRAPERY PROBLEMS. ALL WORK DONE
IN OUR WORKROOMS BY COMPETENT
PEOPLE SELECTED FOR THEIR ABILITY.
ESTIMATES SUBMITTED
Affidavits Filed
By Mrs. Frost in
Suit for Divorce
Man Named by Millionaire
Shipbuilder Denies Inti
| niacy Charges ; Case Comes
Up Tuesday in Jersey City
Several affidavits In answer to the
suit of Elihu B. FroBt, millionaire ship?
builder and president of the Submarine
Boat Corporation, for a divorce from
Mrs. Rosalind Harrington Frost, of
Garden City, N. Y., and her cross
petition for divorce on the ground oi
extreme and unnRtural cruelty wer?
filed in Jersey City yesterday.
Frost ?Charges his wife with infi?
delity, naming George H. Hassan. H(
alleges that she was wfrlh Hassan a<
the Harris Hotel, Atlantic City, oi
several occasions lost year.
Hassan,.in his affidavit,? declared tha
the charges against him are false, say
ing that only friendly relations ex
isted between him and Mrs. Frost. H
swore that just before Labor Day "on
Jack Canavan, who represented tha
he came from Mr. Frost's lawyei
Maurice Deiches, told me that he ha
heard from bellboys that there was a
intimacy between mo and Mrs. Frost.
Canavan, according to Hassan, fre
quented the hotel at Atlantic City.
Cook's Affidavit Filed
In his affidavit, Hassan swore thn
Canavan brought Deiches to see hin
Hassan said he'refused to discuss Mn
Frost except to admit that he kne
her.
An affidavit of Mrs. Catherin
Keeley, of Atlantic City, who was
cook in the Frost household, said
"After Mrs. Frost left home last Ma
I went with Mr. Frost and with Mr
Elsie Graham and Miss Adeline Marti
to 290? Pacific Avenue, Atlantic Cit;
where they lived until the first wee
in June, 1919.
"Then we returned to 270 Park Av<
nue, New York, and were there tint
July 16, when we went back to Atlant
City. Before I left I was told by Mr
Elsie Graham that I did not have 1
do any work and could stay as lor
as I wanted to."
According to Mr3. Keeley's affidavi
Mr. Frost was frequently under tl
'? influence -of liquor. Mrs. Keeley d
! clared further that Mrs. Frost le
the Park Avenue house May 8, 191
and that a few days later Mrs. Graha
appeared. She occupied a room in tl
apartment next to Mr. Frost's, accor
ing to the affidavit, and sat at the tab
with Mr. Frost at all meals.
Trained Nurse Testifies
Arthur W. Salisbury, a lawyer,
i Reno, Nev., in his affidavit, said th
Mrs. Frost did not consult with h
firm professionally at Reno until aft
Deiches had visited her. Mrs. Fro:
he said, lived in Reno with her broth?
Robert Harrington, and a maid.
Bertha Hoffman, a trained nun
: swore in an affidavit that she attend
| Mrs. Frost both before and after h
marriage and that in December, 19!
I and January, 1918, Mrs. Frost had
nervous break-down and was greatly e
cited by her husband's conduct.
Mrs. Mary H. Earnshaw, of Gard
j City, a sister of Mrs. Frost, swore th
the separation of the Frosts was r
! caused by Mrs. Frost's usev of liqu'
? as Frost asserted in his petition.
The Frosts were married June
? 1915, in Newark, and separated May
, 1919, when Mrs. Frost went to Neva?
\ She is twenty-five and he is fifty-li
| The case will come up in Jersey C
{ next Tuesday on the application
' Mrs. Frost for alimony.
j -_?_-.
Flu Lowest Since January ?
\ Only 445 Case9 Reported ; Pne
monia at Low Mark
The Health Department announc
yesterday that during the twenty-fc
! '-:
I_
hour period ending at 10 a. m. 445
cases of influenza nad been reported.
This is the lowest number since Jan?
uary 20.
New cases of pneumonia recorded to?
taled 268, another low-water mark.
This is the lowest epidemic record of
this disease since January 8.
Yesterday's influenza record showed
501 cases loss than were reported the
day before, pneumonia cases 234 loss
than on Tuesday. Deaths from influ?
enza yesterday were 55, or 81 less than
on Tuesday; pneumonia deaths were
98, a decrease of 36 from the day bo
fore.
-???'
$30,000 Fire at Shcepshead
Former Famous Club Building
Is Destroyed by Blaze
A three-story frame building, for?
merly the Shcepshead Bay Club, at Je?
rome and Ocean avenues, Shcepshead
Bay, was destroyed by fire yesterday
morning. The damage is estimated at
$30,000.
The building was erected in 1901, but
was sold in 1910 and became known as
Ocean Inn. Workmen were engaged in
transforming tho building into an
apartment house when the fire broke
out.
W. K. Vanderbilt, August Belmonl
and other prominent racehorse owners
were members of the old club.
??
Blast Punctures
Subway Wall; Six
On Train Injured
Excavators for New Cunare
Building Explode Dyna
mite Too Close to Tub?
and Permit Is Revokec
A northbound B. R. T. subway trail
was slowing down for the Rector Stree
station yesterday morning when th
passengers of the first car thought the;
had been hit by a 12-inch shell. Ther
was a deafening explosion, and a grea
cloud of dust and fragments of glasi
came showering into tho train, wound
ing six persons.
For several minutes no one couh
learn what had occurred. The motor
man of the train, Michael White, al
though dazed by the concussion, wa
able to run into the Rector Street sta
tion, and there the injured were at
tended by ambulance surgeons fror
the Broad Street Hospital.
Investigation by the police disclose
that the damage had been caused b
blasting in the excavation for the Cu
nard Building at 27 Broadway. At on
point the hole is close to the B. R. 1
tube. A flaw in the rock or an extr
heavy charge of dynamite, explode
just as the train was passing, was re
sponsible for the breaking in of th
tunnel wall.
Twenty windows in tho first car wer
| smashed, and those passengers not ir
I jured suffered from shock and frigh
| Two of those cut by flying glass an
' j rock fragments were taken to th
: Broad Street Hospital. They are Irvin
'Steinberg, 1581 Eastern Parkwa;
Brooklyn, and Miss Sophie Walsh, 146?
i Eighteenth Street, Brooklyn.
Four others attended by ambulanc
' surgeons are Bernard Dempsey, 52
' Saratoga Avenue, Brooklyn; B. Mer
: ders, ,'59 West Eighty-ninth Street
; Walter X. Beckwith, 334 West Fiftj
' ; eighth Street, and Harry Koch, 21
! Lenox Avenue.
According to John Craft, in charg
, of the excavation work, only one-thii
: of a ?tick o? dynamite was set off i
the blas't. The work is being done t
? the Foundation Company, of 233 Broai
1 ; way. Inspector Owen Eagan, of ti
j Bureau of Combustibles, after inspec
, ing the scene of the explosion, revoke
j the concern's blasting permit, confi
cated its dynamite and ordered officia
i of the company to appear at Fire Heat
quarters to-day for an investigation.
The Wisdom
of Facts
Sound business judg
ncnts are guided by facts.
The business interests
served by the National Bank
of Commerce in New York
are large. Through its ex?
tensive relations with the
structure of "commerce and
industry, this bank is able
to draw widely from orig?
inal sources for the facts of
business. It devotes un?
usual effort to gathering and
presenting these facts to its
friends.
National
Bank of Commerce
?inNew\brk
Capital, Surplus
and Undivided Profits
Over Fifty Million Dollars
?MURRAY'S
?" ROMAN GARDENS ^^
42d STREET, just WEST of BROADWAY Phone Bryant 4535
Regardless of Prohibition we are still
doing an excellent business-?good food
and good service tell the story.
Table d'Hote Luncheon 90c
SERVICE A LA CARTE AT ALL HOURS
Dancing on the Famous Revolving Floor
M. H. Cox. Vice.-Pres. and Gen'I Mgr.
Day of Lower
Prices Is Near,
Says Retailer
President of National Dry
Goods Body Says Drop
Is Coming; High Cost
Laid to Taxation System
The day of lower prices is almost
here, according to Salmon P. Halle,
president of the National Retail Dry
goods Association, who said so in his
address at the opening of the ninth j
annual convention of that body in the
Hotel Pennsylvania yesterday. The
convention will be in session three
days.
Mr. Halle attributed much of the
present price inflation to ill-balanced
taxation by the government, but he
added these cheering words:
"Present high prices will not last
much longer. Everybody knows that
and it's up to the retailers to prepare
for the readjustments that must fol?
low."
Mr. Halle added that merchants are
becoming impatient over the unneces?
sary expenditure of public money and
the inefficient methods of taxation. He
said that merchants were as willing as
any Mother class to bear their proper
share of the burdens of supporting the
government, but they did wish for am
need a better system of levying taxes.
The high cost ot living was also dis?
cussed by Howard ?. Figg, Assistant
Attorney General, and Professor David
R. Muzzey.
Mr, Figg said that profiteering was
the least of the reasons for the present
prices and gave six contributing causes
to the general inflation. In discussing
profiteering, he said:
'I think some of the violators are
members of this association. And I
wish to say they are guilty. They are
guilty without trial, in my opinion. I
hope that convictions may be procured
in each individual case. I know it is
true that if any of your membership
are willful violators or profiteers, as
we commonly call them, you want them
eliminated from your association and
from your business.
I "The principal causes for the high
cost of living are six, in my opinion.
The first is the increase in volume of
money and credits. The second is tha
widespread increase in wages, due, In
part, to war-time necessities and to
government wage scales. The third is
the lessened world production, the oat?
come of shorter hours and war labor
employment.
The fourth is the increase in the cost
of distribution as well as of produc?
tion. The fifth is reckless extrava?
gance in expenditures and a spirit of
speculation. The last, in my opinion
the least, is profiteering."
Professor Muzzey said that retailers
in particular could do much to curb th?
tendency to reckless expenditure by
using care and diplomacy and teaching
their customers that price is not neces?
sarily the test of value.
OUR DISABLED SOLDIERS
Neglected?Exploited?Forgotten
The Public should Jbe heard
from in no uncertain terms
Without the courage of conviction to speak
aloud upon injustice, maladministration or in?
competence a newspaper is false to its trust. *
For 119 years, News Value and Journalistic Merit
have been characteristic of articles appearing in The
Evening Post.
Since its establishment, in 1801, successive generations
of Americans have formed the habit of depending upon its
columns for facts.
The Evening Post is an independent, not a partisan,
newspaper. It will consistently follow the course of pre?
senting facts and its utmost endeavor will be to see that
these facts are fundamentally sound, uncolored by partisan?
ship or personal feeling.
Such an occasion has now arisen?a most im?
portant "Draft upon the country's honor" has been
dishonored.
The injustice touches not only the honor but
the pocketbook of every American citizen.
With due regard to its responsibility?to its standing
as a conservative and non-partisan publication?and only
after very .careful investigation, The Evening Post is print?
ing a series of articles on the utter failure of the officials
charged with the duty of so doing, to pay this " draft of
honor," in so far as the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers,
sailors and marines is concerned.
Every American with red blood in his veins
should read Harold Littledale's story on the treat?
ment accorded our disabled ex-service men.
i
The remaining three articles of the series will appear
Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week in The Even?
ing Post.
This information should reach every American citizen,
from New York to San Francisco.
And to this end The Evening Post will reprint the en?
tire series of articles as soon as practicable, and will supply
them at cost, in any quantity, to individuals or organi?
zations.
What is wrong must be righted?as far as is now
possible.
Condemnation,?destructive criticism, so richly
merited, must be followed by a plan, some plan,?
your own plan perhaps, that will bring order out of
chaos.
But first?read the facts.