Evening star. [volume], July 24, 1925, Image 1

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
WEATHER.
<U. S. Weather Bureau Forecast 1
Fair tonight; tomorrow partly
cloudy and slightly warmer.
Temperatures—Highest, 84, at 4:15
p.m. yesterday; lowest, 61, at 5.45 a.m.
today.
Full report on page 7.
Closing N. Y. Stocks and Bonds, Page 16
-vr 9Q Entered as second class matter
O. «c/,UUct. post office, Washington, D. C.
MINER CUT ‘GOD’
AND’SWEAR’FROM
I OATH IN TREASURY
Special Ruling May Be Asked
to Determine Status of
I Avowed Atheist.
“DISRESPECT TO BIBLE”
MAY GO TO CONGRESS
Stephens Studies Bill to Bar Pay
ments to School Heads in
Evolution Fight.
Loren H. Wlttner, clerk in the sup
ply division of the Treasury Depart
ment. has entered the Treasury serv
ice three times, it was learned today,
under oaths which were altered from
the prescribed form, which evidently
have escaped the attention of depart
ment officials up to today, and which
may require a special ruling from the
solicitor of the Treasury or the De
partment of Justice as to their
legality.
The question raised today involves
the possibility of any one holding a
"Federal position without taking a pre
scribed oath, and the meaning of the
word “God” as it is employed in the
formal oath.
Treasury Workers’ Oath.
The oath supposed to be taken by
ar.y one who enters.the Treasury em
ploy reads as follows:
"i do solemnly .swear (or affirm)
that 1 will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and do
mestic; that I will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same; that I
take this obligation freely, without
any mental reservation or purpose of
evasion, and that I will well and
faithfully discharge! the duties of the
office on which I am about to enter:
So help me God.”
On the three oaths taken by Witt
ner the word “swear” and the words
“So help me God” were crossed out
with a pen. He has taken the oath
on entering the service of the Veter
ans’ Bureau when it was under the
jurisdiction of the Treasury, of the
appointments office and of the supply
department, where he now works.
Case Without Precedent.
The case apparently is without prec
edent, Treasury officials said today.
Chief Harper of the appointment di
vision of the Treasury expressed as
tonishment this morning when he
was asked to look up Wittner’s oaths
and fotind the words “So help me
God” crossed out. The papers never
would have been allowed to pass
■without an investigation of their le
gality, he said. If they had come to
the attention of himself or any other
official of the division.
Provision is made in the printing
Os the oath Itself for striking out the
word “swear,” for the benefit of mem
bers of religious sects, such as the
Society of Friends, whose faith for
bids them from taking an oath. No
provision is made, however, for cross
ing out “So help me God,” and the
question arises as to whether the
words would not have been placed in
parentheses and an alternative clause
offered if the framers of the oath
had intended that any one be freed
from making a promise in the name
of a Divine Being.
No Decision on Status.
Mr. Harper today was unable to
pass on the legality of Wittner's act
or the present nature of his status
in the service. He plans to refer the
issue to the solicitor of the Treasury,
who may in turn refer it to the De
partment of Justice. Mr. Harper was
unable to recall any precedents.
One case, it was stated, which may
be pertinent to the present issue is
that of Walt Whitman, the poet, who
was ousted from the Treasury service
shortly after the Civil War on the
grounds that atheistic tendencies
were shown in "Leaves of Grass.”
the book upon which rests his fame
as one of America's greatest poets.
Papers in the Whitman case were
unavailable this morning, having re
cently been sent to the Congressional
Library as historical exhibits.
“I cannot understand how this mat
ter has escaped our attention,” 'Mr.
Harper said. "Evidently it has gone
three times through the hands of all
those who handle employment papers
without being detected. The facts are
that the oath is so much a matter of
form that any one handling such pa
pers would not be apt to read into the
body of it unless for some special rea
son and consequently would let it
slip by.
Purely Legal Question.
"This becomes purely a legal ques
tion for a ruling by the solicitor of
the Treasury. It is a question as to
whether Wlttner has taken the pre
scribed oath, whether there is a pre
scribed oath, or whether the oath he
took constitutes any oath at all ac
cording to law.”
As soon as the alleged defects in the
Wittner papers were called to his at
tention there was a hasty conference
between Mr. Harper, his assistant,
who actually administered the oath to
the clerk, and Elmer L. Irey, chief of
the intelligence division of the De
partment of Internal Revenue. Witt
ner theoretically is on Irey’s pay roll,
although the supply division does not
come under the Bureau of Internal
Revenue in any other respect.
The question also arises, it was
brought out. as to whether an avowed
atheist, such as Wittner has publicly
declared himself, could take the pre
scribed oath with the words "So help
me God” ■without taking a false oath,
and this might involve how liberal a
personal interpretation of the word
“God” would be permissible.
William C. Deming, president of the
Civil Service Commission, this morn
ing said that he could recall no case
on record where the wording of the
oath had been questioned hitherto. A
standard oath is furnished by the
Civil Service Commission for use of
all Government departments, but each
department is free to change this as
it sees fit. The Treasury, however,
never has seen fit to make any
changes.
While Treasury officials wondered
as to his status in the service this
morning, it seemed likely that Witt
ner, although his suit for an injunc
tion against the payment of salaries
to Supt. of Schools Frank W. Ballou
and W. P. Hay, head of the biology
and chemistry departments in the
local high schools, on the grounds
l hat they permitted to he taught mat
(.Contlaue4 on Page 4 fipiuinft I±~
MacMillan Crosses
Arctic Circle as
Sun Dispels Fog
By the Associated Press.
In a delayed dispatch received
today the steamer Bowdoin of the
MacMillan expedition reported that
at 7 p.m. July 22 she was off
Simintak, within an hour’s sailing
of the Arctic circle.
“At 7 this evening,” the message
said, "we are coasting north along
the Greenland shore with the dark,
sharply serrated coastal peaks
gashed with glaciers and streaked
with snow', which glitters brightly
in the low lying sun, which is most
welcome after a day of thick fog
and overcast skies.
“We are now ofT Simintak and
making about eight knots. We
cross the Arctic circle in about an
hour. All well.”
The message was picked up by
Alfred W. Everest,’ an amateur at
Pittsfield, Mass., and forwarded by
him to the National Geographic
Society.
FRENCH SHELL RIFF
TRIBES IN FLIGHT
Ignore Overtures of Abd-el-
Krim Until They Come
Through Proper Channels.
By the Associated Press.
PARIS, July 24. Vigorously
shelled by pursuing French artillery
the rebellious Rifflan tribesmen in
Morocco are hastening their retreat
from the Ain Aicha and Ain Matouf
regions on the center of the line,
taking with them the civil popula
tions of villages and their flocks.
Peace terms alleged to have been
made by the Rifflan leader, Abd-el-
Krim, have been published in Lon
don and Paris newspapers, but the
French foreign office makes It clear
that unless such proposals are made
through authorized diplomatic chan
nels no cognizance can be taken of
them.
Gen. Stanislas Naulin, the new’
French commander-in-chief. Is making
plans for an offensive with the object
of bringing Abd-el-Krim to the
point where he will have to sue for
peace. Gen. Naulin Intends to pro
ceed to Taza immediately. It is ex
pected the French offensive will be
made from Taza, about 60 miles east
of Fez, instead of from Ouezzan, as
called for In the original plans.
The government Is determined to
take drastic measures against the
communists who are particularly
active in connection with the cam
paign in Morocco. They have even
made attempts to burn the great air
service depot at Casablanca and near
ly succeeded.
Belgians Join France.
Following the example of the group
of American aviators who volunteered
for service for France in Morocco,
several Belgian pilots who served in
the European war have made it
known that they are desirous to fight
“for the cause of France,” which is
also that of civilization.
They have met with the same diffi
culties as did the Americans and more
besides. Not only were they refused
by the French war office unless they
enlisted for five years’ service with
the foreign legion, but the sultan's
army declined to enroll them. They
now are appealing to the newspapers
to help remove the obstacles.
The American aviators who will
pilot their own planes to Morocco next
week, are joking about the full dress
uniforms they will have to wear by
order of the sultan. They are grate
ful, however, that they will be per
mitted to wear cool khaki, such as Is
used by the French colonial troops,
while'flying, as their official Moroccan
uniforms consist of roomy red trous
ers, blue tunics, set off with red fezes
and hip boots of Moroccan leather.
All of them will receive one franc
daily for their services.
■ • ■
COOK’S HEALTH FAILING.
Self-Styled Pole Finder May Npt
Live Through Prison Term.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 24 OP).—
W. I. Biddle, warden of the Federal
penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kans.,
who la visiting here, today that
Dr. Frederick Cook* self-proclaimed
discoverer of the North Pole, who is
an inmate of the prison, is in such
a bad mental and physical state that
he may never finish his term.
Cook is serving a sentence of from
1 to 14 years for oil stock frauds.
He has become an expert at needle
work.
35,000 STRIKE IN MILLS.
BRADFORD, England, July 24 OP).—
A shutdown in the wool textile in
dustry over wage disputes affecting
135,000 workers occurred here today.
Free-for-all fighting occurred at
Barker End Mills, where many girl
workers w’hose wages have not been
reduced stuck to their posts. A
crowd of 200 girls from other con
cerns marched upon the mill and de
manded that all workers leave. The
doors were stormed and some of the
employes inside the buildings were
attacked, hut the -olice stopped hos
tilities before there werfe any casual
ties.
8-Year-Old Boy Braves Death to Save
Chum Who Fell in Pool 15 Feet Deep
Youthful heroism staved off a
tragedy yesterday, when 8-year-old
Burton Webb of 4508 Thirteenth
street pulled his chum, Blair O'Con
nor, -also 8, of 4510 Thirteenth
street out of a hole with 15 feet of
water In It at the rear of the bus
barn at Fourteenth and Buchanan
streets.
For weeks a large, deep test hole,
for the foundation of some build
ing, has been a halcyon spot for
youngsters In the neighborhood of
Arkansas avenue and Buchanan
street.
That hole looked just the same
yesterday as it had in days past.
Quiet, with stagnant water filling
it -to a depth of more than 2
fathoms, it silently beckoned mag
aatiaed xsuag&gx Ifi Sft EMU.
W)£ Eti cuing §?kf.
V y J V V WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION L/
RUDOLPH ASSUMES
ENTIRE AUTHORITY
FOR KLAN’S PARADE
Asserts Responsibility in
Matter Is Out of Hands
of President.
SCORES PUBLICITY GIVEN
TO DEMONSTRATION FIGHT
Agitation Started by One Person,
Who Has Been Silenced,
He Explains.
I
BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG,
Staff Correspondent of The Star.
SUMMER WHITE HOUSE. Swamp
seott. Mass., July 24.—President
Coolidge was cleared of any responsi
bility incident to the holding of the
Ku Klux Klan demonstration in
Washington next month by a state
ment made late yesterday afternoon
by Cuno H. Rudolph, president of
the Board of District Commissioners,
to a group of newspaper men at the
White Court gate.
Commissioner Rudolph stated that
if there was to be any stopping of
the contemplated Klan demonstration
at the Capital such action would be
taken by the District Commissioners
and no one else. He declared that
they are the responsible parties, but
that they see no reason why the
gathering should not be permitted,
and have issued the necessary per
mission. He stated that he does not
look for more than 6.000 men in the
parade, instead of a hundred thou
sand, as was estimated at first. He
explained that much of the agitation
in connection with the Klan parade
was started by one individual, whose
identity was learned by the local au
thorities and who has since been
silenced.
Thrives on Criticism.
“The Klan thrives on criticism and
publicity,” Commissioner Rudolph
said. "If the newspapers would stop
giving the kiansmen so much pub
licity, the order would die out in a
short time, but every time you print
a story about them you help swell
their membership.”
While Commissioner Rudolph's
views were not expressed to the
President, they have been carried by
papers over the country, and the opin
ion was expressed afterward by
friends of the President that they
should serve to satisfy the public gen
erally that the Klan demonstration,
about which so much has been written
and against which protests have been
received by President Coolidge. has
been, and will continue to be. in the
hands of the Washington city author
ities. In other words. Commissioner
Rudolph’s frank statement should
serve to “clear the President’s
skirts.”
Visit Not Official.
Commissioner Rudolph said he had
nothing whatever to take up with the
President and that he and Mrs. Ru
dolph, who are staying at Magnolia.
20 miles up the shore from Swamp
scott, merely motored over to White
Court to leave cards for the Presi
dent and Mrs. Coolidge. They did
not go beyond the gate. From these
grounds they went to Red Gables,
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank W.
Stearns, friends and neighbors of the
Coolidges, where they paid a brief
visit.
The Commissioner stated that while
he knows nothing of the suit filed in
the District courts which might re
sult In opening another evolution
trial, except what he has read In
the newspapers, he does not believe
it is of sufficient importance to cause
any concern. He said he is used to
jokers in riders on appropriation
bills and he feels confident that the
matter will be disposed of satisfac
torily by the courts.
Mr. Rudolph said he was enjoy
ing himself. This is his first vacation
in a number of years, he explained.
He expected to be back in Wash
ington to be on hand during the Klan
demonstration.
DE LA HUERTA PACT VOID.
Mexico to Rescind Debt Payment
Plan, Pani Says.
MEXICO CITY. July 24 OP).—Sec
retary of the Treasury Pani an
nounces that during negotiations he
tween the Mexican government and
international bankers it was agreed
th # at the Lament-De la Huerta
agreement providing for the pay
ment of the outrtarding debts of the
Republic of Mexico would be rescind
ed. But, he added, no arrangements
have yet been made as to the date
when the agreement is to be abro
gated.
The government, the minister said,
has studied a form for renewing the
debt service, to be announced once
the agreement is declared invalid.
»
Mrs. Wilson Going to Geneva.
GENEVA, July 24 OP).—Mrs. Wood
row Wilson, who is now staying in
Venice, is expected to visit Geneva in
September and be the guest of friends
who have taken a villa here.
and Burton went. They live next
doer to each other.
While exploring, Blair slipped.
He sank down in the water. Bur
ton saw him. A chilling wave of
fear paralyzed him for an instant.
He edged his way to the treach
erous side of the pond, where Blair
had slipped. He wiggled his feet
into a foot hold and stretched his
arm out. Blair was just close
enough to grasp his hand.
Burton pulled him out. Blair
scrambled up, wet and muddy, but
safe. Burton doesn’t know just
why it was that the act created
such a small sensation round
about. It was Just the act of a
chum helping his chum.
Folks In the neighborhood, In
censed about the frog pond-test
hole, have set a movement on foot
WASHINGTON, D. 0., FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1925-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES.
7V N V
SPINSTERS SLAIN;
MANIAC IS SOUGHT
Police Baffled by Absence of
Motive for Murder of
Two Sisters.
By the Associated Press.
HUDSON, N. H., July 24.—Investi
gation of the murder of Miss H. Geor
giana Gillis, 77, and her 80-year-old
sister, Helen, in the house they occu
pied alone here, seemed balked today
by the complete absence of any motive
for the crime.
The bodies of the aged women were
found lying on the floor by Mrs. J. A.
Locke and Mrs. Eugene Center, neigh
bors, who had called and received no
answer to their knocks at the unlatch
ed door. The skulls of both women had
been crushed with some blunt instru
ment. No trace of any such weapon
was found in the house.
The county and State officers investi
gating the tragedy, headed by County
Solicitor George I. Hazelton of Man
chester, were pressing a search to
night for Demetrius Papponikrious,
who escaped last Monday from the
State asylum at Concord, 40 miles
away, where he had been confined for
five years for homicidal assault on
a man.
They also searched a Summer camp
on the Merrimack River nearby which
had been broken into, but all they
found was evidence that some one had
prepared a hasty meal there. So far
as the authorities could ascertain, the
murders were committed about 20
hours before the bodies were discover
ed.
Detectives last night traced to
Derry an automobile which had been
left in a garage here last Wednesday
under circumstances regarded by the
authorities as suspicious. The
driver, whose description has been
given to the police, took his car to
the garage on Wednesday and asked
if he might leave it there several
day's. On Wednesday night, when the
proprietor of the place was absent,
he returned hurriedly and drove the
automobile away-.
WARNS AGAINST BOLIVIAN
COLONIZATION SCHEME
Plan to Send 300 Americans to
South America Held Im
practicable.
By Cable to The Star and Chicago DailJ- Newg.
BUENOS AIRES, July 24.—Com
mercial Attache Feely has cabled the
United States Department of Com
merce that it is advisable to investi
gate the scheme of an association of
Portland, Oreg., to establish an Ameri
can colony in eastern Bolivia and to
warn prospective investors of the dan
ger of loss of money and time.
Information has reached here that
the association is petitioning the
Bolivian Congress for a concession of
approximately 700,000 acres, agreeing
to settle 300 families.
Failure of the Murray colony of
Oklahoma farmers in the last year is
compelling Americans in Buenos Aires
to raise funds to send these farmers
home and to warn the people back
home that racial differences and dif
ferences in the standard of living
make such colonization schemes im
practicable.
(Copyright. 1026. by Chicago Dally New*.)
PRUSSIAN FOREST FIRES
SWEEP THREE VILLAGES
15,000 Acres Aflame German
Troops and Firemen Battle
Blaze in Vain.
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, July 24.—Serious forest,
moor and heath fires are reported
from various parts of Prussia. They
are spreading steadily, owing to the
drought, and efforts by troops and
firenten to put out the flames have
met with little success.
Fifteen thousand acres of forest are
aflame around Rathenow, Havelberg
and Standal, and communications be
tween these places are interrupted.
The villages of Karsthal, Kleitz and
Steckelsdorf were hurriedly evacuated
by their inhabitants, who were unable
to save even personal belongings.
Thousands of acres of heath are afire
in the districts of Burgdorf and Neu
stadt.
Busses to Supplant Cars.
MERIDIAN, Miss., July 24 OP).—
Meridian voted yesterday to substitute
motor busses for street cars, in a spe
cial election held on the proposition,
& a Let® ta
“Movie Set” Dupes
Men Into Bringing
Liquor to Sheriff
By the Associated Press.
TILLAMOOK, Oreg., July 24.
A romantic-looking fisherman’s
cottage especially built on the
edge of this seaport town as the
purported scene of a motion pic
ture, an order at a hotel for 40
rooms and announced arrange
ments to build a lighthouse w-here
a ‘‘storm’’ was to be enacted duped
seven alleged bootleggers into
making deliveries of liquor last
night for 40 moving picture actors
who were to have arrived today.
District Attorney Claude IJar
rick and Sheriff John Aschim took
Into custody the alleged boot
leggers when they made deliveries
half an hour apart by prearrange
ment.
The officers were assisted in
their arrangements by a man who
called himself “W. R. Francis,
technical director for the Lee Film
Corporation of Holly wood,” here to
film "The Daughters of the Sea.”
AOTOIEATHSDROP;
73 HERE IN YEAR
Annual Report Shows Nine
Less Than Preceding 12
Months’ Period.
Automobile accidents claimed only
73 lives in Washington during the
fiscal year ended June 30, as com
pared with 82 deaths in the preceding
12 months, according to the annual
report of Inspector E. W. Brown,
chief of the Traffic Bureau, filed with
Acting Supt. of Police Evans today.
The total number of deaths classed
as traffic accident fatalities was -86
for last year, as against 103 the
previous year, but these figures In
| elude deaths caused by vehicles of
all kinds, as well as automobiles.
Death Record.
The itemized death record for the
past fiscal year follows: Bicycles, 2;
motor vehicles, 73; street cars, 9;
steam railroads, 1, and horse-drawn
vehicles, 1. Total, 86.
Inspector Brown reported that in
the 86 fatal cases the drivers in 13
instances were held for the action
of the grand jury and in 73 cases the
deaths were held to be accidental.
The record of how deaths were
divided in the fiscal year 1924 fol
lows: Bicycles, 4: motor vehicles, 82;
steam railroads. 5; street railways, 9,
and other vehicles, 3. Total, 103.
Serious Injuries remained about the
same, with a record of 47 in the fiscal
year 1925 and 46 In 1924.
Minor Injuries In the last 12 months
aggregated 2,987, against 2,772 the
preceding year, or a slight Increase.
33,109 Traffic Arrests.
Inspector Brown’s report showed
the Traffic Bureau made a total of 33,-
109 arrests during the last fiscal year,
of which the outstanding groups were:
Speeding, 9,861; light regulations,
2,262; colliding, 1,207; colliding and
failing to make self know’n, 335; driv
ing while drunk, 736; failing to show
permit, 1,632; failing to have a per
mit, 1,270; parking abreast, 1,679;
parking overtime, 1,003, and passing
a signal, 1,125.
Accompanying the report of Inspec
tor Brow’n was a memorandum from
Lieut. Maurice Collins recommending
that all cabs for hire be required to
use meters. He also suggested that
more hack stands be established to
eliminate the practice of hackers
standing at other than designated
points w’hile waiting for customers.
FOUR GIRLS DIE IN FALL.
Riding Freight Conveyor as Lark
When Cable Breaks.
BERLIN, July 24 (/P).—Four girls
were killed and a young man was hurt
seriously today near Rastatt, Baden,
by the fall of an overhead freight con
veyor in which they were riding as
a lark.
The conveyor was suspended from
an overhead steel cable running be
tween two industrial plants for the
carrying of cement and other ma
terials. The young people slipped into
the car as it was about to start.
About midway the cable broke and
they were dashed to the ground.
Radio Programs—Page 10.
RUMANIA TO SEND
DEBT BOARD SOON
Commission Will Arrive in
September—Members
Not Yet Named.
BY JUNIUS B. WOOD.
By Cable to The 9tar and Chicago Daily New*.
BUCHAREST, July 24. —Rumania's
commission to discuss the nation’s
$46,000,000 post-war debt to the United
States ought to arrive in Washington
in September, according to Jean Duca,
minister of foreign affairs. Although
it is declared in unofficial quarters that
Antoneacu is likely to head the com
mission with Duca, neither the person
nel nor the number of members has
been decided, and the final selections
will not be made until the arrival in
Bucharest of Minister “Prince” Bibes
co, who was recalled from Washington
for the purpose of discussing the
American attitude and also the pos
sible outcome of pourparlers.
Official notification that Rumania,
after many months of delay due to an
exchange of notes of Increasing tart
ness, was prepared to discuss its debt
was made In an extremely informal
manner by Minister Duca, who called
at the American legation and orally
notified Benjamin Riggs, the American
charge d'affaires, that the government
had decided to send a commission, and
that he already had cabled Minister
Bibesco to return and assist in ar
ranging the preliminaries of the com
mission, which will consist of financial,
economic and other experts.
Brat is no Not Coming.
According to the foreign office, Vin
tilla Bratlano, minister of finance,
who a month ago proposed to go to
the United States, will not be included
In the commission. According to
present plans, the commission will not
include any member of the cabinet.
Antonescu, who Is the only possible
member mentioned, Is judge of the
Supreme Court and also is a member
of the' Mixed Claims Commission for
regulating debts between Austria and
Rumania. He was chairman of the
Rumania Debt Commission to the
United States In 1921, which failed to
reach an agreement, and also was a
member of similar commissions to
Vienna and Paris.
Local newspapers are taking an un
favorable attitude toward the United
States on acocunt of Insistence of dis
cussion of the debt, contending that
Rumania, though preferring to dis
cuss the question Jointly with other
powers, is forced Into an individual
conference, following the acceptance
by other countries of the American
plan to discuss it separately.
The newspapers Invariably misrep
resent the debt as being a war loan
used In the common cause of winning
the war. Instead of truthfully showing
It was a loan made after the war for
rehabilitating the country, or explain
ing the terms of settlement of Eng
land's smaller rehabilitation loan al
ready agreed on.
(Copyright. 1926. by Chicago Daily News Co.)
FLEET PARADE STAND
COLLAPSES; 113 HURT
Some Seriously Injured in Mel
bourne Watching United States
Sailors From Theater.
MELBOURNE, Australia, July 24. —
One hundred and thirteen persons
were injured, some seriously, when
the veranda of a motion picture thea
ter collapsed during a parade of sail
ors of the visiting American fleet to
day. No one was killed and none of
the American sailors was hurt.
A record crowd turned out to wel
come the visiting bluejackets and
many hundreds of people crowded
onto the veranda cheering enthusias
tically. Without warning the veranda
gave way and the spectators were
plunged in a heap. The theater was on
Bourke street.
Alimony Dodger , 72, Is Going Free
After Serving Three Years in Jail
B y the Associated Press.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J., July
24.—Jonathan T. Meeker, 72-year
old alimony dodger, will soon be
free from the Middlesex County
Jail, where he has been Imprisoned
three years for failure to pay his
wife sl2 a week. The litigation be
tween the couple has covered 33
years, and many of the judges and
counsel who have been connected
with It have long since died.
Meeker had stated consistently
lie would not pay, the alimony,
“From Press to Home
Within the Hour**
The Star’s carrier system covers
every city block and the regular edi
tion is delivered to Washington home*
as fast as the papers are printed.
* C 4») Means Associated Press. TWO CENTS.
Great Fire Rages
In Danish Harbor;
Ships Endangered
By the Associated Press.
LONDON, July 24.—An Exchange
Telegraph Agency message states a
great fire is raging in the new har
bor of Odense, Denmark. Four
warehouses and a number of ships
are in danger. Thousands of tons of
grain are burning. The military
forces have been called out.
The conflagration has spread to
coal stacks on the wharves. Fall
ing warehouse walls have greatly
handicapped the fire fighters.
MONTANA SWINGS
10 CONSERVATISM
Prosperity on Rise and State
Has Turned Its Back on
Radicalism.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Staff Corresnondent of The Star.
HELENA, Mont., July 24.—Mon
tana, perhaps more than any other
State in the Northwest, is typical of
the complete preoccupation with its
own affairs which is characteristic
of the region at this time. Ask the
average Montanan what is most on
his mind nowadays and the al- |
most invariable answer is: "Getting
out of debt.” He says it with a smile
and the explanation that Montana
faces a year of unparalleled good
times. He tells you that wheat,
copper, oil, wool, mutton, timber,
cattle, sugar and peas are going to
bring into the State during the next
twelvemonth $200,000,000 in red gold.
"Divide that treasure among 500.000
people." he jubilates, "and you can
figure out what prosperity means for
Montana.” It means, too, you are
assured, that Montana has “come
back” following a distressing and
almost disastrous period. Her cour
age and inherent solidity between
them did the trick.
Politics in Adjournment.
Politics in Montana is in adjourn
ment because of these satisfactory
economic conditions, present and
prospective. For five years the State
was under a double blight of too much
politics and too bad times. To both
of these Montana has said an eager
and, as it hopes, a long farewell. If
each of them will stay away long
enough the State is confident it is
headed for a protracted period of un
exampled calm and welfare. Mon
tana's fondest prayer is to be left
alone, especially by Washington. It
has placed Its faith in nature and
not in Congress, and in the lessons,
too. which its farmers and bankers
have learned from the bitter ex
periences undergone by the Western
country since 1920.
The theory that the Federal Gov
ernment can solve agricultural and
business problems by legislation, such
as price-fixing measures for farm pro
duce. has been scrapped in Montana.
Here and there the opinion is ex
pressed that sooner or later there
must be some revision of the tariff
that will facilitate our export trade
and the liquidation of our foreign
owed debts. But except for the tariff
on wool and sugar, the tariff is no
more of a live issue in Montana than
the World Court, Senate reform, the
European debts, Mexico, China, Ger
man reparations, or any of the other
so-called paramount questions which
more or less agitate Washington and
the Atlantic seaboard. Taxation is
about the only national issue that has
any chance of diverting Montana's
attention from the prosperity issue in
which it is engrossed, to the exclu
sion of all else.
State Grows Conservative.
With its steady and substantial
economic recovery, Montana has be
come conservative to a degree not ex
perienced for years. There is every
indication that the State has turned
its back on the radicalism that once
threatened to sweep across Montana
from North Dakota. A. C. Townley,
the founder of the Non-Partisan
League, made a bold thrust to in
trench the league here as he in
trenched it in North Dakota. Those
were the days, four or five years ago,
when Burton K. Wheeler coquetted
with radicalism and was defeated for
the governorship, when he ran with
league indorsement. Then came the
drought, the post-war deflation of the
farmer, the copper slump, agricul
tural distress, the live stock crisis,
bank failures and all the other trials
and tribulations that beset the West
between 1920 and 1924.
Economic Quacks in Disrepute.
All these things are now rated in
Montana as ancient. history. The eco
nomic quack has no standing. There
is no patience with his panaceas. Poli
ticians generally are in disrepute.
Throughout the State- so long steeped
in political bickerings of the bitterest
type, there is a fierce anxiety to con
centrate exclusively on matters of real
moment. These matters are the liqui
dation of the past, in every direction,
and the setting of the stage for the full
play of Montana's limitless energies
and resources, unrestricted by extran
eous factors of any kind. The grim
purpose of the State is to bar any
thing and everything that takes Mon
tana's mind off of that business. "Let
us alone,” is Montana’s message to
Washington, "and we'll work out our
own salvation.”
The substantial majority that Presi
dent Coolidge received in 1924, is an
unmistakable symptom of Montana's
conversion to conservatism. Lust
year's agricultural and industrial pros
perity did its big share in making
the State conservative: and this year’s,
which promises to be even greater,
will make the foundations of conser
(Continued on Page 2, Column 4.)
Finally the county solicitor de
clared the taxpayers no longer
cared to support Meeker and moved
for his release. Now he won’t have
to pay, and the litigation is ended.
Says Meeker of jail life:
"It was great in there. I had a
fine time; had soft jobs: they treat
ed me like a star boarder. I had
all the freedom I wanted—more
freedom, I should say, than I
would have as a married man. I
could go any place I wanted to.”
He likes the jail so well that he’s
going; to work there for pay,
Yesterday’s Circulation, 94,397
SCOTT FOILS ROPE
AGAIN WHEN SANITY
PROBE IS ORDERED
Stay Granted at Midnight
After Plea for Reprieve
Had Been Denied.
NOT CRAZY, HE ASSERTS.
THEN SAYS ‘NOT NORMAL’
Report That Brother. Accused as
Actual Slayer, Was on Way to
Chicago, Proves Hoax.
By the Ansociated Pre»#
CHICAGO. July 24. —Russell Scott
early today escaped the gallows for
the second time within a week.
The former Canadian financier,
twice reprieved from paying the su
preme penalty for the murder of a
Chicago drug clerk in a holdup, dodged
the noose for the third time less than
four hours before he was to have
been executed, when Circuit Judge
Joseph B. David granted a stay of
execution pending a hearing into his
sanity.
A week ago, six hours before Scott
was to hang. Gov. Small granted a
one week’s reprieve, which expired
this morning. Judge David, called out
of lied a few hours before the time
for the execution, convened a special
session of court and granted the stay
after Gov. Small and the State Board
of Pardons and Paroles last night al
Springfield refused further clemency.
Had Abandoned Hope.
This morning the gallows trap, set
for springing a week ago. stood witii
! out its victim and jail officials who
I had left it standing during the week
| of grace were considering dismantling
i it. The sanity hearing will be August
|3, Judge David said.. Scott’s escape
! from death today, like that a week
! ago, came after he and his relatives
had virtually abandoned hope. Thomas
Scott, his father, had called at the
jail three hours previously to bid him
a last farewell, the second such visit
in a week.
Mrs. Catherine Scott, his faithful
\ wife, who for weeks fought to obtain
a commutation, played what she be
j lieved to be her final card in Spring
field, where she appeared before the
; Pardon Board, and when the stay was
[ granted was rushing from Springfield
|to Chicago by automobile to bid her
! husband farewell almost at the min
! ute of his execution. She arrived
to find the court action stopping the
hanging.
Scott "Tickled to Death.”
Scott, who had been surly and de
fiant throughout the night, and who
apparently was completely resigned
!to his fate, received the news that
: his life was spared, at least teznpo
• rarily, with considerable surprise. He
| had known nothing about the lasi
minute appeal to the courts.
| "I’m tickled to death," were his
: first words.
I Then, upon learning that the stay
| had geen granted to find out whether
j he were sane. Scott added:
”1 am no more crazy than the
judge who granted me a stay on that
account. I am not asking for any
sympathy from any one, either. I
am innocent."
In his ceil, later today, however, he
told reporters that “I was about 10
per cent guilty and 90 per cent inno
j cent.” The “worst I did was to help
I my brother escape."
In the later interview he said, too.
“I do know that no man can spend
19 months such as I have spent In
jail and still be normal.”
He said he had given up all hope
! of living last night, but expressed be
lief now that he would be saved. He
| said he did not believe his brother.
' Robert, had heard of his trial and
sentence, else he would have ap
peared. but showed no interest in
rumors that his brother was on the
way here.
Escape Was Dramatic.
Scott’s sudden and unexpected es
cape from the gallows was as dra
matic in its way as the desperate
1 last-minute efforts in his behalf a
I few hours previous that had proven
; so unsuccessful.
j New counsel, hastily summoned
I vesterday by Scott’s friends, hurried
j to Springfield, where they met the
I governor and Board of Pardons and
! presented a plea for a reprieve, at
| tacking some of the State's witnesses
i and maintaining that they had un
j covered new leads which they had
i not had time to develop. The board,
i however, refused further clemency
i and Gov. Small concurred in the ac
j tion, pointing out that Scott already
: had received two reprieves.
Shepherd Lawyer Retained.
Upon receipt of this news, which
apparently sealed Scott’s fate, Mrs.
William McGraw and Mrs. Isobel
Hurst, both of Detroit, representing
Detroit clubwomen who raised $5,000
for Scott's defense, hastily retained
| William Scott Stewart, noted crim
i inal lawyer, who recently successful
! ly defended William Darling Shep
l herd, accused of the murder of Billy
McClintock.
I Stewart it was who conceived the
i idea of asking for a stay of execution,
an action similar to that taken three
years ago to save from the gallows
Gene Geary, gunman, whose
execution was stayed while his sanity
was tested. Later he was sent to an
asylum.
At midnight, their last desperate
step decided on. Scott's friends and
Stewart started their hunt for a judge
to issue the stay. Judge David,
called from his bed, agreed to call a
session of court if his bailiff and clerk
could be found. Then, with the min
utes ticking away, clerk and bailiff
were rushed to the county building,
where. In a dimly lighted courtroom
on the tenth floor, the hearing was
held.
“Insane,” Father Says.
i A little group of newspaper men.
I the judge, the attorneys, Scott’s
friends and his aged father made up
the gathering. The petition, signed
by Scott's father, recited that the
condemned man had become Insane
since his incarceration 15 months ago
In the county Jail.
After asking a few perfunctory
questions. Judge David Immediately
announced that he would sign the
order, and within 20 minutes from the
time court had been convened the stay
of execution had been granted.
Robert E. Crowe, State’s attorney^
(Continued on Page 5, Column 1.)