Newspaper Page Text
WEATHER. <U. S. Weather Bureau Forecast.) Local thundershowers this afternoon or early tonight: cooler tonight; tomor row' fair and cooler. Temperatures—Highest, 103, at 4 p.m. yesterday; lowest. 77, at 5:45 a m. today. Full report on page 3. Closing N.Y. Markets, Pages 13,14 &15 No. 31,493. CAMPBELL DROPS ALIBI BUT DENIES MURDER DEATH GUN OWNER ADMITS PRESENCE :AT CULVERT NEAR TIME OF SLAYING Realty Man Also Tells Inves tigators . Fatal Weapoh Never Left His Possession Despite Earlier Story. j BARRERE WILL BE FREED * AS SUSPECT IN MYSTERY| Formal Charge Made in Warrant Issued During Night—New.Pris oner Declares He Is Not Wor ried Over Developments Involv ing Himself. ! His “alibi” shattered and his presence near the murder scene established by his own admission, Herbert M. Campbell, well known Arlington County real estate op erator and self-confessed owner of the revolver used by the mur derer of Mary Baker, today stands i charged with the brutal slaying of the Navy Department clerk. By his statements to newspaper men Commonwealths Attorney William C. Gloth seemed satisfied ! that he was on thd right trail at; last as Campbell walked slowly from the prosecutor’s office to the same jail in which was confined Hermann H. Barrere, World War veteran and painter, Campbell had accused of the atrocity. “Barrere will be freed of the murder charge at once, but will I be held as a material State wit ness,” Gloth announced. The sensational over-night develop ments whereby accused and accuser exchanged roles in Washington's most famous murder mvstery followed the rapid collapse of Campbell’s alibi un der a gruelling inquisition conducted until 2:30 o’clock this morning by Gloth and Lieut. Edward J. Kelly, head of the Washington homicide squad. Says First Story False. After confessing that his fantastic tale of ‘a man with a wart on his nose" and of the strange discovery of his “stolen’ gun in his real estate of fice at Oak Crest were “all lies." con cocted to give himself a “thrill” and the authorities “some excitement,” the \ realty agent and miniature golf course owner turned to his interrogators and, \ according to the latter, said quietly: "Well, gentlemen, I can’t tell you I any more. “Everything I've told you tonight was the truth, and you’ve got enough now | to go through with it and indict and ! convict me. “But I did not, kill Mary Baker.” j During the quizzing early this morn ing Gloth told Campbell that the lat- ; ter’s telephone wires had been tapped ' for some time. “If you are innocent of this crime,” I the prosecutor asked, “why did you j telephone this woman companion on I that automobile ride half a dozen times j and tell her to keep her mouth shut about that ride, and if anybody asked her about being in your automobile to ! tell them you were showing her some real estate?” “I only phoned her once, Mr. Gloth,” was Campbell's only reply. After the prisoner had been shown a warrant sworn out before Magistrate Hugh McCaffery. charging him with the slaying, Campbell was brought out ! of the prosecuting office and taken be- j tween guards 10 the nearby jail. As ! the prisoner was met by a Large group of newspaper men and photographers, with whom he had been on friendly terms earlier in the day, Campbell Waved a greeting and said: “Boys, here goes the latest suspect In the Mary Baker murder rase.” The man’s voice was tinged with irony as he made the statement. Not Worried, He Says. "Are you worried”? one of his news- j paper acquaintances inquired. “Not a bit,” Campbell responded, j In announcing Campbell’s arrest j Under the warrant, Gloth stated: “Part of his alibi has gone. He admits j the man with a wart on his nose never j existed. He says he wanted merely j to give himself a thrill and to give In spector Shelby, Lieut. Kelly and myself gome excitement. “He says he was led to believe by newspaper men that he was a key man in the case and therefore decided to bring the gun up to Sheriff Fields and tell his fantastic story. Campbell admits the murder gun was i nxver out of his possession, yet he in ’ eists he did not murder Mary Baker, j He says he cannot explain how this is ' possrme. Admits Moving Gun. “He says that he himself changed : the gun from its location in his house at Oak Crest to a desk drawer in his office. He says he took it to the office on May li on which date he was to meet Hermann Barrere, Hermann’s brother Leon and Barrere’s wife. He •ays he thought he might need the gun for protection. “He denies he ever knew' Mary Baker and that he killed her.” Realizing that Lieut. Kelly. Gloth and ether Investigators had checked upon and disproved his original story, of his movements on the evening Mary Baker was cruelly assaulted and shot last April 11. Campbell blurted out early today: t “I’m sorry that I lied to you that way. I didn’t want to get mixed up in this on account of my wife. Now I’ll tell you the truth.” "The truth,” as Campbell then re pealed It, included admission that h* had parked with a woman companion, not Mary Baker, mar the culvert out side the Sheridan gate of Arlington Cemetery 3 o’clock in the eft<»r --*" ts ”, Cobfin 6 i Entered as second class matter post office, Washington, D. C. AFTER A NIGHT OF GRILLING 1 hi ||§|| JjH * lk 4 He fil§| yflEt: i bHhP! jxh&Wr Sr Herbert M. Campbell. Arlington County real estate man (right), with Sheriff Howard Fields as he was going to the Arlington Jail early this morning after a night of grilling about his whereabouts on the night Mary Baker was murdered. . —Star Staff Photo. MAIL PLANE PILOT CRASHES TO OEATU Flyer Dumps Fuel to Prevent Explosion and Burning of Cargo. * • By the Associated Ptess. | HURON, ' Ohio. July 22.—Wiliam j Frederick Martin, 26. of Bay City, Mich., j flying the airmail from East to West for the Thompson Aeronautical Corpo- j ration, was killed early today when his plane crashed two miles west of here. Martin was flying the airmail from ; Cleveland to Pontiac, Mich., at the time of the crash. The crash is believed to have occur red about 4:30 a.m. The plane fell on the farm of George Beatty, who said he heard a crash at that hour, but dis- I regarded it. An hour later, when he went into the field, he discovered the plane. It was crumpled, as if it had been squeezed between two huge hands. There was no blaze and no odor of gasoline. The pilot’s parachute was in its pack. The body w ! as crushed in the j cockpit. j Jack Parker, manager of the Parker I Air Field at Sandusky, who accom- ! I panied Coroner A. Grierson, said he; ! believed Martin had dumped his gaso- ; ; line as he fell to prevent the mail from : ! burning. I The fog and rain is believed to have j caused the accident. STREET CAR FARES ■ TO GO UP TOMORROW i | i Justice Bailey Signs Decree Al lowing Charge of 10 Cents. ■ * Washington street car fares were ad vanced from 8 to 10 cents cash today, i j with the signing by Justice Jennings j Bailey of the District Supreme Court of a decision of the court announced last week. The order becomes effective at 3 a m. tomorrow'. The ruling was taken Immediately to the District Court of Appeal* by the Public Utilities Commission and : Richmond B. Keech, peoples counsel. The decision of the Court was handed j down on appeals of the Capital Trac t tion Co., and the Washington Railway j & Electric Co., from the refusal of the j Public Utilities Commission to grant ! the companies’ request for a 10-cent j fare. The court valued the property ; of the Capital Traction Co. at $25,728.- | 683, and that of the Washington Rail i way & Electric Co. at $19,210,899.33. Decision to sell four tokens for 30 cents was reached by the companies. The court gave them the authority to charge this rate, to sell three tokens for 25 cents or seven tokens for 50 cents. The decree also calls for the issuing of free transfers to passengers who have paid cash fares and desire to go from ] street cars to feeder bus lines. This i privilege will cost token customers an I additional 2 cents. i PRESIDENT MAY RECOMMEND DEPARTMENT COOLING SYSTEMS Hoover’s Associates Cite Promotion of Efficiency—Cost Might Be Prohibitive. | The satiafpriory manner in which the newly-installed cooling and ventilating 1 system in the executive office of the i White House has performed during the present heat spell has given rise ; to speculation that the President may ' recommend the installation of this sys tem in the various executive depart ments. This probability became apparent yes terday. when various heads of depart ments discussed with the President the advisability of relieving their respec tive employes from work early in the afternoon because of the intense heat. It is understood that associates of the P,r Mrnt are convinced that cooling and ventilating systems such a.r^the + Uhc Jskf. - v J WITH SUNDAY MORNING IDITION WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1930—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. AO MISSIONARIES RESCUED IN CHINA j j 36 Are Americans, U. S.| Consul at Foochow Ad vises Legation. By the Associated Press. LONDON, July 22.—Forty American and British missionaries, lang stranded i in the Chinese War area, have been j reached by a party of rescuers 100 ; miles up the Min River. Announce i ment of the rescue was made officially \ \ today. American and British consuls headed the rescue party and found the mission aries after making the perilous journey in a launch. Missionary circles this evening said that the rescue had been confirmed by official advices. A message from Peiping, China, on July 18 said that John J. Muccio. acting United States consul at Foo chow, had notified the legation that he was leaving for Yen-Ping-Fu. The dispatch said 36 of the missionaries were Americans. | The chuchmen were marooned in an j area controlled by Lung Sing-Pang. ; the rebel general then menacing Foo- I chow. Both sides in the war promised j the consul rafe conduct through the firing lines. FATE OF FOUR IN DOUBT. Baptist Missionaries Were Trapped in Rebel Drive on Pochow. SHANGHAI, July 22 (£•).—’The fate 1 of four American missionaries, three of them women, who were trapped in the rebel-held city of Pochow during its re ! cent bombardment by Nationalist forces, i occupied the attention of United States 1 consular authorities today, i The missionaries. Miss Olive Riddell, I Dr. Mary Hing and the Rev. and Mrs. j G. W. Strother of the Southern Baptist I Mission with headquarters at Rich | mond, Va.. were caught in Pochpvf ! when rebellious Northerners occupied ; it prior to the recent outbreak of civil j war. . jr Two months ago, Nationalists be- I seiged the city with a small force, ex pecting the rebebt to surrender because lof a food shortage, when the North erners failed to capitulate within the desired time Nationalists began an artil lery bombardment. Gravely concerned, the missionary headquarters attempted to communicate with the quartet, but failed The aid of American authorities then was ! sought. j Missionary headquarters said the last communication from Pochow came via Kweiteh May 13. in which Rev. Stro (Continued on Page 2, Column 4.) TWO AMERICANS MISSING Reported Lost After Sinking ..of Launch in Collision. MEXICO CITY, July 22 oP).— Advices to the newspaper Universal from Tam pico today reported two Americans, their names not given, missing after the sinking of the small launch Santa Hilda, in collision with the sunken | steamship San Dustano. All others on the launch were said to 1 have been saved. one placed in the White House execu tive office would promote efficiency in the various departments throughout the Summer months. Those considering this proposal say that the matter of expense might prove a serious obstacle. The system in the White House executive office cost $30,000 to install without considering the cost of operation. The system in the Sen ate is said to have cost $140,000 and the one in the House of Representatives cost $185,000. The system in the White House has cooled and ventilated 17 rooms occupied daily bv 54 employes and the temperature throughout the present hot spell has been from 73 to i7B degrees. HOOVER LAUDSPACT AS HE PREPARES TO SIGN SENATE’S 0. K. President Asserts Treaty Will Renew Faith of World in Forces of Good Will. ENGLAND AND JAPAN STILL MUST RATIFY Convention Will Go Into Effect When Two Powers Join U. S. in Approving It. Characterizing the London naval treaty as “this great accomplishment in international relations," President ! Hoover announced today that he would i sign the resolution of ratification [ adopted by the) Senate at 3 o'clock this I afternoon. President Hoover’s announcement was made at a conference with the press at noon. He said. “I shall have the gratification of signing the naval treaty this afternoon at 3 o’clock. It is a matter of satisfac tion that this great accomplishment in international relations has at all steps bem given united support of both our political parties. “With the ratification by the other governments, the treaty will translate ; an emotion deep in the hearts of mil lions of men and women into a practi i cal fact of government and international ; relations. It will renew the faith of the ! world in the moral forces of good will and patient negotiation as against the I blind forces of suspicion and competi tive armament. Defense of U. S. Secured. “It will secure the full defense of the United States. It will mark a further long step toward lifting the burden of 1 militarism from the backs of mankind i and to speed the march forward of | j world peace. It will lay the founds ' tions upon which further constructive re | duction in world arms may b 3 accom- I I plished in the future. We should, by j this act of willingness to Join with i | others in limiting armament, have dis- | | missed from the mind of the world any i notion that the United States enter- j i tains ideas of aggression, imperial powf j er, or exploitation of foreign nations." I The treaty will come into full force ' and effect so far as this country is con ■ cerned as socn as ratification has been given in Great Britain and Japan and I all three nations have deposited In Lon j don their notices of ratification. The British are waiting to hear from [ all their dominions regarding the treaty j before submitting it to Parliament. Un j like the long debate in the Senate of j the United States, the British Parlia- I ment acts quickly on treaties. In Japan, it la reported, the treaty now is before | the cabinet and is soon to go to the i Privy Council and then to the Emperor | for ratification. It was confidently pre- J dieted today that ratification by both j j Britain and Japan would follow quickly j on the action of the Senate authorizing j the President to ratify the treaty. France and Italy on Portions. Prance and Italy are signatories to the treaty, but only in regard to certain j portions. The agreement to limit naval j vessels of all categories goes only to the | United States, Great Britain and Japan, and as soon as these three have ratified the treaty is in &ill force and effect as to those three nations, irrespective of j what the other two may or may not do in regard to the treaty. The Senate acted quickly yesterday r on the treaty after two weeks of debate. The vote on the resolution of ratifica tion stood 58 to 9. Had the entire Sen ate been present and voting, the vote for ratification would have been 81 to 15. The result bears out the contention of the supporters of the treaty that the country was behind it and that Senators : who voted against the treaty would be only a very small minority of the entire body. Only one reservation was accepted, ' that offered by Senator Norris of Ne- I braska, who voted for the treaty. His > reservation provided that no secret agreements should be binding if any exist, in connection wdth the treaty. • President Jioover and ooth Senator Reed of Pennsylvania and Senator Robinson of Arkansas, delegates to the London Conference, have assured the Senate i and the country that no secret .gree- j ments exist. Other Resolutions Downed. The other reservations, more than a i dozen in number were bowled over quickly by the Senate. One offered by i Senator Walsh of Massachusetts, de claring that the United States would build up to the full naval strength per mitted under the treaty, was supported by a larger vote than any of the reser vations which were turned down, but at that had only 11 votes cast for it. Senator Walsh, after his reservation had been defeated, declined to vote for the treaty which he had intended to support. He declared that he did not wish to be party to a treaty which would in the end continue the United States in a position of naval inferiority ' to Great Britain and perhaps to Japan, since he did not believe that President (Continued on Page 2, Column 1.) • ■ SEEK MISSING MAN Mine Shafts and River Valley Searched for Kidnap Victim. i PEORIA. 111., July 22 i/P).—Re inforced by State highway patrolmen, the police today were searching aban / doned mine shafts and the Spoon » River Valley for William Urban. Peoria j gambling house proprietor, kidnaped j yesterdav with his young son. Business t • associates denied they had been asked . for a ransom. j Urban, driving from his farm home s with his young son, Willard, waa seized P by three men yesterday, trussed up and 7 whisked away. The lad was later re s leased unharmed. Urban’s resort, the p 1 Empire sponsors a ba*e ball pool, which o is reported to net the houte upward of $75,000 a month. * ft P VOTE ON RECALL OF DETROIT MAYOR Opponents Charge Reform Candidate “Tolerated Lawlessness.” By the Associated Press. DETROIT, July 22.—Mayor Charles Bowles, elected last Fall, on a reform platform. Is before the voters today with an accusation that he “tolerated lawlessness” as one of the charges. I While Mayor Bowies was in Louis - | ville last May 17, attending the Ken tucky Derby, his police commissioner, Harold H. Emmons, ordered raids on race betting establishments in which nearly 300 arrests were made. The mayor returned to Detroit and fired Emmons, thereby precipitating the re -1 call move which culminated today in a special election to decide whether Mayor Bowles shall continue in office, j Friends of the mayor have declared i that Commissioner Emmons "double crossed” his chief in ordering the raids w'hlle the mayor was attending a horse ! race, and Mayor Bowles stated that he had intended to discharge Emmons for failure to enforce gambling laws and | “fired him in spite of rather than be i cause of” the raids on derby day. Ten Charges in Recall. But the discharge of Emmons was made the «*ntral argument for recall of Mayor Bowles. Within a few days recall petitions were placed in circula tion They contained charges that the mayor "discharged Police Commissioner Emmons for enforcing gambling laws ! while Bowles was out of the city,” tolerated violation of laws by law en forcing agencies, and eight other counts. More than 110,000 signatures w'ere obtained for the recall petition, and more than the necessary 90,000 were declared valid by the election commis sion The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the election must be held. The election campaign began two weeks ago after the mayor’s supporters had exhausted all means of preventing the vote. The campaign, conducted almost en tirely by addresses over local radio stations, has been the most intensive ; and bitter ever fought here. Robert Oakman, aged millionaire politician and supporter of Mr. Bowles, in the elec tion last Fall, has been a leader in the present attack on the mayor. John Gillespie, political enemy of Oakman in elections of 10 and 20 years ago, whose appointment as commissioner of public works is said to have turned Oakman against the mayor, has been generalissimo of the Bowles forces. Recall sponsors repeatedly charged that “sinister influences” control the ! mayor and urged the recall as the only | method of “restoring good government.” Charges Newspapers Lead. Mayor Bowles declared that the re call move is a “conspiracy led by the Detroit News and Free Press." He said today’s vote would decide “whether the press or the people shall rule." Election officials predicted that to day’s vote would be heavy, basing theif prediction on the unusually large num ber of requests for absent voter's bal lots. A simple majority of the votes cast is required to decide the issue. If Mayor Bowles is recalled, another election ‘to choose his successor must be held within 45 days, with the mayor automatically a candidate. The mayor wculd remain in office until his suc cessor is named. PARTY FAILS IN SEARCH FOR FLYER IN JUNGLE Eric Hook Still Missing After Crash on England-to-Australia Flight. By the Associated Press. RANGOON, Burma, July 22.—The party which has been searching the Burmese jungles for Eric Hook, missing British flyer, returned to Piome today baffled, saying no traces of the aviator had been found. Hook and James Matthews were fly ing from England to Australia when their plane crashed between Akyab and Rangoon early this month. Matthews was able to leave the wreck and reach ed Prome after days of wandering in wild country, believing that searchers could find Hook later. i : Valley Milk Supply Is Gut by Drought, As Pastures Dry Up Special Dispatch to The St*r. HAF v RISONBURG, Va.. July 22. —The continued drought through the Shenandoah Valley has brought a new danger in a di minishing milk supply. Deliveries here at the co-operative plant have dropped 1,000 gallons a day. The pasture lands have been burned up. Farmers, already suffering enor mous crop lasses, now are being especially hard hit because they must sell at a loss cattle they bought in the Spring for fatten ing. With feeding grounds and water gone, they have no alter native other than to sell. The loss in the valley is running into hun- | dreds of thousands of dollars. EMISSARIES DOUBT GANDHI WILL YIELD Two to Call on Nationalist Leader in "Jail to Make Peace Overtures. By (he Associated Press. LONDON, July 22.—Bombay dis patches to London newspapers say that | Sir Tej Hanhadur Sapru and M. Jaya- j kar will visit Mahatma Gandhi today in their peace-making effort, but are i rather hopeless of the success of their 1 mission. Sapru is quoted* as saying that while ! ! the conversations v.'ith the Nationalist ; ; leader m jail at Poona will last for two days, he is not confident of re- 1 suits He said he believed that Gandhi was not aware of late developments In the civil resistance movement, and j that he would emphasize the harm j done by the campaign in an effort* to induce the leaders to compromise with the government. After their talks with Gandhi the r peace emissaries will go to Allhabad I for interviews with bandit Motilal j Nehru and bandit Jawar-Halal Nehru, | | Gandhi assistants, who also are in jail. ! The Dally Mail reports that 12 per sons were injured by police sticks at Ahmadabad when a crowd stormed the j prison to demand the release of a 1 Moslem charged as a thief. MOSLEMS BACK RESISTANCE. Declare Simon Report Has Cemented Unity of India in Campaign. LUCKNOW, India. July 22 (JP). —A ! I representative gathering of Moslems j j here today adopted resolutions expres- j ! sing gratitude for the “retrograde and | ! reactionary character" of the Simon re- I port, asserting that the disappointing j report had cemented the unity of India and had shown that the country’s hope | lay in mutual adjustments, not in the intervention of a third and interested party. , While holding that the civil disobe dience program of Mahatma Gandhi’s followers was unconstitutional, the con ference decided that as the last resort mass action was justified and that re sponsibility for forcing the “down-trod den people” to take this method must be laid at the government’s door. The Moslems also considered that if (Continued on Page~27Columrf~s.) HEAT LOCKS ANACOSTIA DRAW, DELAYING BOAT TRAFFIC Metal of Span Expands Under Sun, Taking Up Space Provided by Engineers for Emergency. Locked by the heat, the lift span of the Anacostia Bridge yesterday could not be budged b v the draw mechanism and as a result passage of large craft through the Eastern Branch of the Potomac was suspended for several hours during the middle of the day. Expanding under the torrid rays of the sun, the metal in the span took up the gap of several inches provided by the engineers for just such an emer gency. and stuck fay, against the sta tionary spans at eacig- end of the lilt. “From Press to Home Within the Hour** The Star’* carrier system covers every city block and the regular edi tion is delivered to Washington homes as fast as the papers are printed. Yesterday’s Circulation, 106,309 (A 9 ) Meant Associated Press. LAWYER FINED SSO IN CONTEMPT CASE Judge Denounces Attorney, Who Wrote Employers of Witnesses. BY LESTER N. INSKEEP, 8(a(T Correspondent of The Star. ARLINGTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE, July 22.—Carl A. Marshall, Washington and Arlington County at-, torney, was fined SSO on a contempt charge in Circuit Court here this morn ihg by Judge Alexander T. Browning, sitting as a special judge in the im peachment proceedings against Super i visor B. M. Hedrick. Marshall’s penalty resulted from three letters which he wrote to the heads ■ of Government departments in which j are employed three of the witnesses summoned in the case. The letters ! called the attention of the Government departments to what he termed "the unusually and unnecessarily political activities of these witnesses and their families.” Letters Written Prior to Trial Date. These letters were called to the at tention of the court by Burnett Miller, special prosecutor, at the end of the proceedings on July 8. The dates showed that all of the letters had been written on July 5, three days prior to the date scheduled for the opening of i the trial. When summoned before Judge Browning this morning, Marshall ad mitted that he had not been “di i rected” to write the letters, as was I stated m the epistles themselves, but claimed that he had been making a personal study of the political activi ties of Government employes living in the county and felt it his duty to make reports to the Government departments. He had no thought to influence the ; testimony of these Marshall told the court in an almost inaudible voice while he was being questioned. Prior to the assessment of the fine, Judge Browning flayed Marshall for ! what the court termed an attempt either to influence or intimidate wit nesses. telling Marshall that of all peo ! pie, Marshall, as a lawyer, should know better than to even attempt to influ ence or to interfere with court proce i dure. Cites 30-Day Sentence. 1 Judge Browning cited an instance of an attempt to influence witnesses in his court in Orange during the last regular term there, stating Jhat he had | sentenced the offender to 30 days in | jail. He hesitated, however, to take | such drastic measures in this case, Judge Browning said, but felt that the ' circumstances warranted a penalty of j no less than a SSO fine. The trial of Hedrick w r as again con ! tinued today when the court was in i formed that Wilson M. Farr, common i wealth's attorney of Fairfax County and j the chief of Hedrick's defense lawyers, i was ill and unable to appear. The j prosecution offered no objection to the j continuance and the date for a re sumption of the case was set for Sep tember 2. This arrangement was con sidered highly satisfactory to Common wealth's Attorney William C. Gloth, since he is now actively engaged in an attempt to clear up the mystery sur rounding the murder of Mary Baker. Endurance Fliers Refuel. ST. LOUIS. July 22 t/P).—Dale Jack , son and Forest O'Brine, out to regain their lost refueling endurance flight record, took on a new load of fuel this morning and soared into their second day. At 10:11 am. (C. S. T.) they had been up 27 hours. Their monoplane, the Greater St. Louis, was running smoothly. Bridge engineers of the District High way Department reported that other than hold-up traffic on the river, the heat-locked span caused no damage. Neither the lift nor the stationary spans expanded enough to buckle the girders, it was reported. One large sailboat was kept waiting at the draw for the entire time the bridge was locked. As the afternoon wore on, the metal in the bridge con tracted and allowed the operation of the draw. TWO CENTS. EIGHT RAIN BRINGS SLIGHT RESPITE TO SWELTERING CITY Temperature Drops 10 De grees Between 12:30 and 2 O’clock as Clerks Quit. TYPISTS IN TREASURY COLLAPSE AT DESKS Showers May Relieve Water Situa tion in Montgomery County and Nearby Virginia. Hourly temperatures as record ed at the Weather Bureau since last midnight were: Midnight.. 83 8 a.m 86 1 a.m 86 9 a.m 94 2 a.m 84 10 a.m 95 3 a.m 82 11 a.m 94 4 a.m 82 Noon 97 5 a.m 80 12:30 10« 6 a.m 87 1 p.m 9l f 7 a.m 82 Forty minutes after the mercury hit 100 degrees at 12:30 o’clock for the ! maximum of the day, a shower, accom panied by a refreshing breeze, broke the heat wave in this territory. By 2 o’clock the mercury had tumbled 10 degrees. Indications pointed to a still lower mark before nightfall, with further showers predicted. With .03 inch of rainfall from 1:10 to 1:25 o'clock in Washington and heavy down pours in nearby Maryland and Virginia bringing relief from a scorching drought, the worst of the hot spell since last I Saturday apparently was over. The heavy thunder shower approach ing Washington from the North early this afternoon Droke the drought from which the city and neighboring Mary land and Virginia has been suffering for weeks. Heaviest in Northwest. The rainfall in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties was light, however, and, it is thought, will do little to relievd the serious water shortage there. The shower was most severe in the northwest corner of the District, while in some parts of the city no rain fell. Robert B. Morse, chief engineer of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which supplies suburban Maryland with water, said he would not be able to say definitely just how much the rain helped the water situation un til he heard the extent of precipitation on the water shed from which the Northwest Branch flows, feeding into the reservoir at Burnt Mills. Tomorrow will be “fair and cooler” In Wasinghton, the Weather Bureau re ported. “General shifting winds, be coming moderate northwest tonight.” Rain this afternoon or tonight will greatly help the water situation in Montgomery County, with its 50,000 population, who have been put to somfl inconvenience by necessary curtailmenl !of use during the worst of the heat i Nearby sections in Virginia also are suf fering from the worst drought in recent years. Stenographers Faint. As early as 10:15 o’clock this morn lng, F. A. Birgfeld, chief clerk of thl Treasury Department, reported that gill stenographers were fainting at their work. At that time complete reports ol the number of girls so stricken had ncl been totaled, but Mr. Birgfeld said there were a “good number. At tht same time the temperature on the tojJ floor of the Treasury Building was hov ering between 96 and 97 degrees and the architects and draftsmen workinj there were striving valiantly to pro tect their drawings and tracings againsl ruin from dropping perspiration. Birgfeld told The Star that if he had full authority he would have closed up all offices in the department as a "hu manitarian move” as well as an eco nomic one. He believes that if the de partmental employes were dismissed during the current hot spell they would be better able to perform their duties with dispatch when the heat breaks. When it. was learned the temperature had tumbled three points at noon, being 97 degrees, compared with 100 yester day, the War and Navy * Departments followed the suit of the Labor Depart ment in holding their employes on duty, This was in anticipation of a “break” in the intensity of the heat wave later in the day. The State Department and Treasury Department were two that closed at noon and 12:30 for all employes. As , yesterday, the District Building closed at 1 o’clock for the remainder of the I day. In Temporary Building No. 5. where the temperature registered 97 degrees at noon, all clerks were excused fc : the day. These were employes of the Bu reau of Navigation. Steamboat Inspec tion Service and some of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Denies “Unbearable" Condition*. At the Census Bureau temporary buildings, said to be one of the hottest places in town, 24 persons applies for relief at the emergency room yesterday between 9 and 12 o'clock, at which hours the employes were dismissed. At noon the temperature in the building was reported to have been 98 degrees. The chief clerk said this mornmg tr._l none of the heat cases was seripus and disclaimed reports current among em ployes that conditions in the building are "unbearable.” Some of the describing conditions, said young wom en were taken from wrok rooms “feet first” and that in the emergency room young women applied for relief in such i numbers it was necessary for them to lie on the floor. Partial relief of the threatened water shortage in the metropolitan area of Prince Georges and Montgomery Coun ties was available today following the completion late last night of a water connection with the District water sys tem at Chevy Chase Circle. The additional water from this source, and the 800,000 to 1.000,000 gal lons dally now being obtained through the connection at Mount Rainier, coupled with an expected reduction in the daily water consumption in accor dance with an order prohibiting sprink ling will prevent any shortage, Robert B. Morse, engineer of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, believed today. “As far as we can see there will be * sufß (; tent water for ordinary purposes,” tContinued on Page 3, Columu 1.) t