Evening star. [volume], July 25, 1931, Image 1

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
WEATHER.
(V. 8. Weather Bureau forecast).
Fair tonight and tomorrow; slightly
warmer tomorrow.
Temperatures—Highest, 86. at 3:45
p.m. yesterday; lowest, 70, at 6 a.m.
today.
Full report on page 14.
Cloting N. Y. Markets, Pages 9,10 &11
V r Q1 Entered as second class matter
»S±,oDJ.. post office, Washington. D. C.
RECKLESS DRIVING
CHARGED TO TAXIS
AS WAR GOES ON
Traffic Officers Instructed to
Keep Close Watch on
Hackers.
RATES CUT BY YELLOW
AND BLACK & WHITE CABS
Borne of Flat-Bate Companies May
Move for Truce Monday by
Adopting Uniform Price.
Complaints of reckless driving on the
part of Washingtons taxicab drivers
engaged in an intensive “cut-throat
rate war caused Inspector E. W. Brown
in charge of the Traffic Bureau to issue
special instructions today for traffic
officers to keep the cabs under close
observation.
Inspector Brown also received com
plaints that the taxi drivers were cruis
ing along regular motor bus routes and
street car lines, picking up fares, but
Just as long as the cabs observe the
traffic regulations, the police can do
nothing to stop this practice.
Some taxi drivers under normal con
ditions. Inspector Brown said, are reck
less and take chances that the average
motorist would avoid, but since the rate
war started there has been an increased
tendency on the part of taxi men to
speed up in an effort to make money
on the lowered schedule of fares. Thus
far. however, there have been no re
ports of violence on the part of the
keenly competiting taxi drivers.
Move for Truce Likely.
In the meantime, there were indica
tions that some of the large flat rate
companies may bring the rate war t<
an end Monday by agreeing to adopt
a uniform rate.
Leon Brill, jr.. president of the Bel
company, who has been instrumenta
in steps already taken to bring the
warring taxi factions into ag:eement
said he hoped to arrange a conference
some time Monday at which officia
representatives of the flat rate com
panies would be invited to participate
with a view to working out a plan tc
end the rate hostilities. The Publie
Utilities Commission, he declared, alsc
will be requested to take part.
Rate War Continues.
As the rate war continued, taxi opera
tors who have stuck tenaciously to the ]
old 35-cent city proper rate finally sue- .
cumbed to the competition and an
nounced reductions that brought their
fare down on an even basis with the
cut-rate cabs. The latest to fall in line
are the Black & White and Yellow Taxi
Cos., which have a monopoly on the j
Union Station and leading hotel busi- j
ness. I
Notice of a reduction to 35 cents in .
the so-called cltv proper zone was filed .
with the Public Utilities Commission
this morning by the Black & Whits |
and Yellow Cos. The new rates are to ;
become effective Monday.
The Black & White and Yellow com- :
panies have operated on a meter basis
ever since the advent of the flat-rate
cabs more than a year ago, charging
30 cents for the first mile and 20 cents
for each succeeding mile. Under the
new schedule, the meters will continue
to be used, but they will not show a
charge In excess of 35 cents for any
where in the city proper zone. For the
second zone the charge will be 60 cents.
The charge for transportation into the
third zone will be 85 cents. Each zone
Into which the cabs go will be registered
on the meters the companies explained,
to prevent the driver from overcharging
the passengers.
Commission Meeting Monday.
The seriousness of the rate war final
ly moved the Public Utilities Commis
sion. and preparations were made this
morning by twth Maj. Gen. Mason M.
Patrick, chairman, and Harleigh H.
Hartman, vice chairman, to discuss the
situation at a meeting Monday. Rich
mond B. Keech, people's counsel before
the commission, also planned to take
part In the discussion.
What action the commission plans
to take, if any, w-as not indicated, but
Keech said he proposed to take steps
if necessary to bring about a “sensible
solution” of the problem. If the com
mission fails to do anything, Keech
indicated, he would probably call a
conference of the major taxicab oper
ators and attempt to work out a plan
that will restore the taxicab business
to normalcy.
The commission, Keech pointed out,
has the authority to regulate the taxi
cabs and establish “reasonable” rates,
but its idea for some months has been
to do this by requiring all cabs to carry
meters. Keech contends the installation
of meters will not solve the existing
problem, because it will force many of
the flat-rate drivers out of business.
The situation can be remedied, Keech
explained, by the establishment of a
fair meter rate for cabs that want to
operate on a meter basis and a reason
able flat rate for those that want to
run on a flat-rate basis.
Keech declared the taxicabs cannot
give the public efficient and safe serv
ice under the existing cut rates. Drivers,
he said, are entitled to make a fair
living wage, and that is impossible on
a 10-cent or 20-cent flat rate.
SOUTHWEST HEAT WAVE
FATAL TO FIVE PERSONS
Four Die at Phoenix, Ariz., Where
Temperature Reaches 114—One
Expires in California.
By the Associated Press.
IOS ANGELES, July 25—An oven
like scourge of heat killed at least five
persons in the Southwestern corner of
the United States yesterday.
Four deaths were reported from
Phoenix, Ariz., as the result of temper
atures reaching a maximum of 114 de-
Eees. At El Centro. Calif., in Cali
mia’s Imperial Valley, a sunbeaten
Expanse being reclaimed from the
desert, Paul W. Robert, 36, succumbed
to heat prostration.
Normally one of the hottest sections
< es the country, the low desert country
of extreme Southern California and
Western Arizona registered the highest
average temperatures of the Summer.
Needles, Calif., experienced 119 de
crees. Yuma and Tuscon, Ariz., 112
each; Brawley. Calif.. 106.
“World's Oldest Mason" Dies.
CHARLTON, Mass.. July 25 <4b.—
Eeprelet Logee. 105 years old. believed
to have been the oldest Mason in the
world, died today in the Massachusetts
Masonic Home here. He was a mem- '
'Sir of Granite Lodge, A P. and A M.
ei Whitinsville.
Slaying Victim
STUDENT STUDYING INDIAN
LIFE STRANGLED TO DEATH.
HENRIETTA SCHMERLER.
Apaches are being questioned on theory
j that Columbia co-ed was killed because 1
she had gained knowledge of ancient
tribal secrets. —A. P. Photo.
GERMAN CABINET
DISCUSSES PLIGHT;
STIMSDN AWAITED
i
! Delegates Return From Lon
don and Report Results
to Hindenburg.
BERLIN. July 25 </P' Secretary !
of State Henry L. Stimson arrived
from London this evening on what
he has described as a "purely un
official visit.”
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, July 25. —Germany's “iron j
chancellor” Heinrich Bruening re
turned with Foreign Minister Curtius
from the seven-power conference today
and almost immediately proceeded to
the presidential palace to report the re
sults of the London meeting to Presi
dent von Hindenburg
j Then Herr Bruening hastened to the
' chancellery for an urgent cabinet ses
! slon, at which Germany's plight was
discussed.
Meanwhile, observers declared it 1
; would require all the iron in both |
■ Bruening and Hindenburg, as well as
| other national leaders, if the Reich is
• to withstand the economic crisis.
Stimson Arrives Today.
I The cabinet session was expected to
i last until a few minutes before the ar
j rival late this afternoon of Secretary (
of State Stimson.
One of the many sober actualities j
which had to be kept in mind by the j
cabinet members was the fact that the [
Stimson visit held out no hope of im
mediate new credits from abroad, but,
at the most, would bring to the sorely
beset government advice from a friendly
source.
"Self help," therefore, was the key
note of ths session, and one of the j
most urgent Items was the problem of
how to effect quick resumption of for- j
mal bank payments w ithout risking j
runs by depositors and subsequent big
bank failures.
Lather May Be Shifted.
Linked with this urgent matter is
the problem of Reichsbank direction.
The storm of criticism against Dr. Han*
Luther, head of the bank, has not been
confined to the press—even some of his
friends in government circles privately
point out that he is a capable man, but
ihould hold a cabinet post rather than
the bank presidency, at such a time as
this.
It was not out of the question, there
fore, that Dr. Luther might emerge
after today’s cabinet meeting as min
ister of finance, with the fiery Dr.
Hjalmer Schacht supplanting him as
head of the Reichsbank.
Despite his brilliance as a banker,
there is objection to Dr. Schacht be
cause he is a man who likes to play a
lone hand. In view of this it is possi
ble that some one else may be appointed
head of the Reichsbank if Dr. Luther
relinquishes that post.
The cabinet had two small items of
consolation as Its meeting began. One
was the Reichsbank report showing the
gold coverage had increased 3 per cent
to 36.1, Instead of dropping still lower.
The other was that there was no hostile
demonstration when Dr. Bruening and
Dr. Curtius arrived.
The heads of the government looked
forward to conferences with Prime
Minister McDonald and Foreign Sec
retary Henderson of Great Britain.
Dinner for Stimson.
Arrangements were made to take
care of Secretary Stimson at the resi
dence of the American Ambassador,
Frederic M. Sackett. This evening
there will be a dinner at the American
embassy, tomorrow the chancellor will
be host at a luncheon and in the
evening Mr. Curtius will give a dinner
in Mr. Stimson’s honor and Monday
the Secretary of State will confer with
President von Hindenburg.
The Secretary of State has said that
his visit will not concern financial
matters and It was reported that the
“(Continued on Page 2, Column 6.)
BIGGER TIPS AND HIGHER SPEED
KEEP CAB DRIVERS GOING
Most of Them Admit They Must Drive Faster and Work
Harder Under Cut Rates.
Only the fact that Washington's,
( taxicab riders have become more gen
erous m the matter of tipping is en
abling drivers of zone cabs to carry
on In the face of the present rate war.
it was Indicated by an inquiry made
today by The Star.
Drivers charging 10, 15 and 20 cents
for the "city proper” zone were ques
tioned and all of them declared if it
were not for their tips they would be
unable to "keep on goinjf.”
W\t ©retting iskf.
WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, JULY 25, 1931—TWENTY-SIX PAGES. **
APACHE STOICISM
HAMPERS SEARCH
IN GIRL SLAYING
Young Indian, Held After
Finding Body, Denies
Escorting Victim.
EVIDENCE OF DESPERATE
DEATH STRUGGLE FOUND
Party Finds Corpse in Ravine After
Long Hunt —Student Warned
of Mingling With Tribe.
j By (he Associated Press.
HOLBROOK. Ariz., July 25—Henri
etta Schmerler, 23-year-old Colum
bia University student, who ventured
alone Into the wild Apache country
here In pursuit of her studies of eth
nology and anthropology, was found
dead in a ravine near the Fort Apache
Cemetery yesterday.
The body, found by a searching party
which had started a hunt for the girl
after her unusually long absence from
her shack on the edge of the White
River Indian reservation, indicated she
had been strangled or smothered after
a desperate struggle.
The ground where the body lay was
gouged and trampled, indicating vio
lence.
Secret tribal customs of the Apaches
were believed by authorities to hold the
key to Miss Schmerler's death.
Convinced of Slaving.
Convinced the young woman was
i slain, although the coroner had yet to
; make his report, special officers of the
; reservation called leaders of the tribe
into conference as the investigation
progressed.
In her studies, authorities believe, she
came upon the guarded secret rites of
the once fierce tribe of the southwest
and in so doing aroused the emnity of
its members.
Indians Are Silent.
Working against the taciturnity of
the Apaches, the investigators obtained
but little information from them. Sev
en’ Indians were questioned.
Claude Gilbert, a 25-year-old Apache,
was held on a liquor charge and also
for questioning in connection with the
case when It was learned he had plan
ned to accompany Miss Schmerler to
a dance last Saturday night. Neither
the girl nor the young Apache ap
peared at Fort Apache, the scene of
| the dance.
Gilbert denied he had taken the girl
, to Fort Apache Saturday night and
, said the last time he saw her was
Saturday afternoon. Miss Schmerler
disappeared Saturday.
Ignored Warning*.
Described by Columbia University of
ficials as a most promising student. Miss
I Schmerler had come here on a scholar
ship grant and had lived alone for a
month in an Isolated cabin 4 miles from
! the reservation. She had mingled freely
J with the Apaches, despite warnings that
i some of them might misunderstand her
j presence there.
i Search was started for the girl two
days ago. and the services of Gov. Hunt
of Arizona were finally asked by Frank
D. Fackenthal, secretary of the univer
sity. The finding of the body soon fol
lowed.
The special officers worked quietly on
their investigation. They were ham
pered by a lack of knowledge of Miss
! Schmerler's activities since she came to
i Arizona.
Lived Alone in Cabin.
| Living alone in the cabin, MLss
; Schmerler had assured officers she could
take care of herself. She had mingled
freely with the Indians, and went un
hampered about the reservation.
Reports that the purpose of Miss
Schmerler's visit was to obtain data on
secret Apache tribal customs for a thesis
were not confirmed.
Officers admitted it was possible MLss
Schmerler may have aroused ill feeling
among certain members of the tribe, but
they had nothing deflnl.'e on which to
base their conjecture as the Indians re
mained aloof.
CHINESE BANDITS ROB
THREE U. S. WOMEN
Trio Shot After Being Stripped of
Valuables —One Has
Brother Here.
By the Associated Pres*.
PEIPING. China. July 25.—Bandits
today held up three American women—
Mrs. Edmund Locke, Mrs. Catherine Carr
and Miss Elizabeth Palmer of Los An
geles. Calif—as they were on their way
to the Great Wall.
The bandits took their watches, jew
elry and money. A bullet pierced their
automobile, but they were unhurt and
continued their journey by train.
Victim's Brother Here.
Miss Elizabeth Palmer of Los Angeles,
one of the three victims of the bandits,
is a sister of Dr. Theodore S. Palmer,
1939 Biltmore street. Dr. Palmer, a
biologist at the Department of Agri
culture, said today that his sister was
in China on a vacation trip.
A report of the Incident was received
at the State Department today from
American Minister Nelson T. Johnson
at Peiping. The dispatch said the three
women were liberated shortly after the
robbery, which took place between
Peiping and the Great Wall.
N I
. As it is, they agreed, their fares are
averaging little, if any. more than they
did before the price-cutting contest be
; gan. but they have to work nearly twice
as hard.
And this, they admitted, means that
they have to drive faster—much faster,
I in fact—if they are to "break even.”
“We can't afford to go slow; when
we're driving for almost nothing,” one
of them pointed out. “We have to drive
like the dickens in order to -crowd
(Continued on Pag* 2, Column l.) ""
P
LADY ASTORS PLEA CHEERS
MOTHER DETAINED IN RUSSIA j
Yale Professor’s Wife Will
Be Visited by Shaw and
British M. P.
U. S. Advises Husband Mate
Cannot Be Admitted Until
She Quits Country.
Br the Associated Press.
MOSCOW, July 25—Mme. Dmitri
j Krynin, wife of a professor at Yale Unl
j versity. was both pleased and diffident
i today about the news that her husband
' has asked Lady Astor and George Ber-
I nard Shaw to help her obtain permis-
J slon from the Soviet authorities to Join
I her family in America.
She was eager to see her husband, j
I who went to the United States two
] years ago. and her son. from whom she 1
I has been separated since 1925. But
! when she heard that within a few days
she would have to play hostess to Lady
Astor in her sunless room in a bleak
lodging house, her housewifely pride;
was touched.
"She would not be used to such sur-
PRESIDENT ORDERS
DRASTIC ECONOMY:
Government Finance Condi
tions Serious, Department
Heads TolcHn Letter.
By the Associated Press.
Drastic economy in Government ex- j
penditures in the current and forthcem
ing fiscal year has been demanded by
President Hoover to meet sharply de
clining Treasury receipts.
The Chief Executive has ordered
Government heads to withhold funds
not needed for actual operation pur
poses this year and to pare to a min- j
imum estimates of expenditures for the 1
next fiscal year.
In a letter to all Government de-1
partment and agency heads, dated July j
19. the Chief Executive described the j
financial condition of the Federal Gov- ;
ernment as "a serious one."
"The July 1 estimates of expenditures
for the fiscal year 1932, furnished by
the departments and establishments to
the Bureau of the Budget,” the letter
said, “indicate that, in spite of all ef
forts for economy, the expenditures are
now contemplated by the departments
and establishments will be in excess of
those estimated as of June 1. and also
in excess of those made actually during
the fiscal year 1931.
“In view of the fact that our receipts
are materially falling off from the
amount estimated at the time of the
preparation of the budget for 1932, and
a consequent large deficit Indicated for
the current year, I wish again to bring
to your attention the seriousness of
our financial situation and desire that
you assure yourself that all those in
your department are impressed with the
urgent need for economies and post
t Continued on Page 2, Column 1.)
SIXTH YACHT FINISHES
Ilex Sails Into Plymouth in Race
From Newport, R. I.
PLYMOUTH, England, July 25 UP).—
The Royal Engineers Yacht Club entry,
the 50-foot cutter Ilex, skippered by
the British war veteran, Lieut. W B.
Louard, sailed into Plymouth Harbor
today at 1:00:25 p.m. (8:00:25 a.m.
E. S. T.), the sixth of the 10 yachts
in the 3,000-mile race from Newport,
R. I„ to Plymouth to finish.
OUn Stephen's Dorade won the race
Tuesday, finishing almost 48 hours
ahead of Paul Hammond s Landfall
and D. P Wolfe’s Highland Light, two
of the larger boats in the race.
R. P. Lawrence’* yacht Skal put in
during the night, making harbor in a
sale with rains so heavy that search
fights could not penetrate the darkness.
She was not officially timed. The
Wanderbird of San Pranclsco which ac
companied the yachts, arrived today.
ACTRESS IS RECOVERING
PARIS, July 25 (JP)- — Gloria Swan
son, movie actress, was resting quietly
tßdiv after a minor operation which
she underwent at a private clinic yes
terday, her doctors said.
Radio Progitm* «» ?•*« B-4
SJpF WL'
MRS. RAISA EFREMOVNA KRYNINE, !
—A. P. Photo.
I
rounding.” Mme Krynin told an Asso- |
elated Press correspondent who brought
her news that her husband had cabled j
Lady Astor and Shaw, asking them “in :
the name of humanitarian principles” I
I to help her out. The English woman ;
(Continued on Page 2, Column 6.) |
MYSTERY PAIR TRIES
TO ENTER LANGLEY
Laboratory Secrets Believed
Object of Foreigners Pos
ing as Aero Men.
The story of an attempt by two un- |
, authorized foreigners to get into the
Langley Memorial Laboratories of the
National Advisory Committee for Aero
nautics by posing as members of the
National Aeronautic Association is being
investigated by the association today.
The two men attempted to buy steam -
■ ship tickets at Mayflower Hotel conven
-1 tion headquarters to accompany mem
bers of the National Aeronautic Associ- 1
! atlon on the trip leaving Washington I
; yesterday evening, it was learned. They :
i were refused the tickets when John F.
i Victory, secretary of the National Ad-
I vlsory Committee for Aeronautics and
j treasurer of the National Aeronautic
; Association, got wind of the incident.
Special Permits Required.
“It is against the law for representa
tives of foreign governments to go
through the Langley Field laboratories
without special permission from our
Government,” Victory said. “I do not
know who these men are but I do not
think they had any business at Langley
Field. If they are official representa
tives of a foreign government their
action was entirely Improper and I
think It la a matter with which the
State Department should deal.”
It was explained that the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,
which is the aviation research body of
the Federal Government, has at Langley
Field research equipment u’hlch has
not been duplicated anywhere in the
world.
Nation's Research Leads.
“We feel that the United States Is
many years ahead of any other coun
try in its aeronautical research work,”
one of the officials of the National
Aeronautic Association explained In
discussing the alleged “spy scare.”
“I understand that no representative
of a foreign government ever has had
an opportunity to examine the Lang
ley Field equipment, though many have
expressed a desire to do so.”
Equipment at Langley Field, which,
it is said, exists nowhere else in the
world, Includes the variable density
wind tunnel, high-speed wind tunnel,
full-scale wind tunnel and seaplane
! channel. The full-scale tunnel and sea
plane channel have Just been completed
and test work in them now Is getting
under way.
Officials of the association have the
name and New York address of one of
the two men, but have not yet decided
what action they will take, it was said
today. The National Aeronautic Asso
ciation la composed of local chapters in
virtually every large city In the country
and numbers thousands of members, all
of whom were eligible to make the trip
to Langley.
BANKER FOUND HANGED
BERLIN, July 25 (/P).—Wilhelm Tang,
a director of the Deutsch Suedameri
kanisch Bank, was found hanged in
the garden of his villa. In the fashion
able West End suburb of Orunewald, to
day. He had been In bad health for
some time.
IZEPPELIN LEAVES
BERLIN FOR ARCTIC
Graf Flying to Leningrad on
Second Leg of Its Trip.
Crowds Bid Farewell.
By the Associated Pres*.
BERLIN, July 25 —The Graf Zep
pelin passed over Dagoe Island, in
the Baltic Sea near the entrance to
the Gulf of Finland, at 12.55 p.m.
en route to Leningrad, second stop of
her Arctic cruise.
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, July 25.—The dirigible Graf
Zeppelin arose from Staaken airdrome
this morning and pointed her nose into
" the rising sun, bound for Leningrad on
the second leg of her flight to the
Arctic.
A few hundred early risers shouted
j "Hoch” and “Gute reise” (good jour
ney) as she cut her ground connections
j at 4:40 a.m. (10:45 p.m. Friday, E. S.
; T.) and, after circling the field, hit her
course to the east.
Party Crowd* Window*.
Cabin windows were crowded with
members of the crew and of the scien
tific party aboard, who waved their
I good-bys to Berlin.
The crew had rested a short time
after completing the first leg of the
j flight from Friedrichshafen to Berlin,
and then they put In busy hours com
pleting the preparations for the journey.
Shortly after 2 a.m. the work of re
plenishing the water ballast was start
! ed. Meanwhile 13,600 additional cubic j
meters of hydrogen were blown into the
gas bags, and 10,000 kilograms of- gaso- j
line disappeared in the tanks. Eight
big cases of canned goods and bread
were added to the stores.
Weather Indications Good.
Incoming weather reports indicated
the Graf would have excellent weather j
on the flight to Leningrad. Dr. Hugo |
Eckener, in command, expected to ar
rive there late in the afternoon.
Dr. Eckener docs not plan to en- j
circle the North Pole on this cruise, but
will go from Leningrad to Archangel, I
thence northward to hover over Nowaja \
Semlja Island for observations of tne
glacial sheet.
Then the big ship will sail up to
Franz Josef Land, thence eastward to
Northland for geographical observa- j
tlons. The observers will be looking for j
unknown land along the Siberian coast, i
The farthest point north w hich is
likely to be reached probably will be
about 82 north, 150 east.
DESCRIBES GRAF'S FLIGHT.
Party Spends Time at Start Taking
Photographs.
BY ARTHUR KOESTLER.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
ABOARD GRAF ZEPPELIN, July 25
(By Radio Via Berlin) (N.A.N.A.). — I
The great adventure has begun. We are
sitting in the cabin partially wearing
(Continued on Page 2, Column 7.)
SPAIN’S PROVISIONAL
GOVERNMENT TO END j
Cabinet Will Resign Monday When
Legislature Is Formally
Constituted.
By the Associated Press.
MADRID. July 25—The Assembly
today completed examining the creden- j
tials of Deputies and it was announced I
that on Monday, when the legislative {
body is formally constituted, the pro
visional government will resign.
Whether the cabinet that has served
under Provisional President Zamora will
be given a new mandate, or whether a
new government will be formed, was
uncertain. Many observers believed
that Alejandro Lerroux, now foreign
minister, will become the premier.
POLICEMAN’S AUTO STOLEN AS HE
GUARDS OTHERS’ FROM THIEVES
Plods Streets Tagging Careless Motorists* Cars Only to
Discover Himself a Victim.
B r the Associated Press.
CHICAGO. July 25 —Every one who
talked to Policeman Thomas A. Kelly
agreed he was Justified In feeling a
bit glum.
All night long he had been plodding
the streets, with an armload of bright
new tags, one of which he placed on
each automobile he found unlocked.
He was aping his bit In the police de
partments campaign to want autoists
The only evening paper
in Washington with the
Associated Press news
service.
I ■ II ■■■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■■■ 1
Yesterday’s Circulation, 108,597
(A*) Mean* Associated Press.
26 DEAD, 217 INJURED
AS HOME FOR AGED IS
DESTROYED BY BLAZE
Death List at Pittsburgh Institu
tion Expected to Mount—Ruins
Searched for 15 Missing.
MANY HEROIC ACTS ATTRIBUTED
TO VOLUNTEERS AT TRAGIC FIRE
Inmates, Seeking Divine Aid, Fight Off
Rescuers—Hospitals, Schools and
Homes Filled With Seriously Hurl.
Br the Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH. July 25.—Twenty-six persons. 25 of them br ieved
j inmates of the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged and 1
nun, were burned to death and 217 others are ir. hospitals, victims
of fire that turned the haven of the old and helpless into a place of
horror and suffering last night and early today.
The coroner’s office reported 15 persons still were unaccounted
for, but the ruins of the Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of
the Poor had been searched thoroughly, dissipating belief that more
had died in the flames. Twenty-six bodies, only three of them Iden
tified definitely more than 12 hours after the fire was discovered,
were in the county morgue.
Physicians feared the shock of terror and confusion among the
aged would increase the number of fatalities. Many of them were
calm and helped their inmates as the fire raged through the
home last night and early today, but later collapsed when the danger
was past.
Fire Chief I.».enard L. Smith estimated the property damage tu
; day at between $45,000 and $50,000.
Fire Sidelights
Pittsburgh Physicians Face
Huge Task.
By the Associated Pres*.
PITTSBURGH. July 25 (&).—'The
animosities of Pittsburgh's lor.g-stand
ing taxicab strike, which has been 1
characterized by brisk clashes between ,
the strikers and the men who are
taking their places, were forgotten last
night during the fire that destroyed
the Home of the Little Sisters of the j
Poor.
"Den t stop me now. buddy,” pleaded
a cab driver to two men who menaced
him as they mounted the running-!
board of his machine. "I'm going out
to haul some of the old people hurt in
the fire at the home.”
"O. K.,” the strikers chorused when
told of the fire. They got into the front
seat and when they reached the home
helped the driver carry injured persons
to a nearby hospital.
While embalmers w-ent silently about 1
their grim work among the rows of
dead in the County Morgue today j
i city and county officials joined in
checking over the records of the Home
of the Little Sisters of the Poor in the ;
hope of reaching a definite toll of those
who lost their lives in last night’s fire.
Meanwhile, crowds milled about the
bleak stone building. Eager ones whose
: kin or friends were listed among the
j inmates cf the home mingled with the •
; merely curious.
Sister Agatha, mother superior of the
. institution, and Sister Mary Louise, her
assistant, braved the flames to lead .
I firemen to the office in which the j
i records of the heme were kept. These
I books later were turned over to the
coroner's cffice.
That old gang that hangs around the
! corner near the home of the Little Sis
l ters of the Poor, and whose nocturnal
I renditions of "Sweet Adeline” and other j
old favorites has so frequently brought
i down the wTath of the neighborhood.
! stood today among the heroes of last
1 night's fatal fire.
| More than a score of young boys,
about their usual pranks at the corner,
| ran with glee as the first fire trucks
streaked around the corner.
Less than half an hour later this
i gang, many of them near collapse from
smoke and burns, had more than a!
score of rescues to its credit.
The medical profession of Allegheny j
County faced a gigantic task today.
On the white beds of four of the city's
1 largest hospitals—St. Francis, the |
Homeopathic, the Pittsburgh and the j
1 West Penn—more than 200 persons
| burned and injured in last night’s fire .
i at the Home of the Little Sisters of the
i Poor writhed in agony.
Scores of physicians from all sections |
1 of the Pittsburgh district and hundreds ;
of nurses responded to the call for as- !
sistance.
In trucks, in ambulances, in taxi- \
cabs and in commandeered private auto- i
mobiles the injured were rushed to the
hospitals. ;
Meanwhile more than half a hundred
j (Continued on Page 2, Column 7.)
Fire Death List
PITTSBURGH, July 25 (JP). —A meager
list of identified dead was prepared to
; day more than 12 hours after 26 persons
j were killed in the fire that swept the
Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the
Aged. The list: •*
Mrs. Mary Waldier.
Mrs. Mary Thomas.
Mrs. Martha Tilley.
Catherine McGuire, partially identi
fied.
J. Stewart, partially identified.
One body partially identified as that
of a nun.
Twenty others were not identified.
to keep their cars locked to prevent
them from being stolen.
Finally he made his way to the sta
tion. fagged out, but convinced that
he had done a good night’s work—one
that at least entitles him to a ride
home in his .own car.
But when he went to hop in his
machine It was gone. He had left it
unlocked and some one had stolen it
from beside the police station.
TWO CENTS.
Chaos Follows Alarm.
The alarm came from the outside,
and heavy barred gates and a high stone
l wall faced those who sought to warn
I inmates ana their protectors. Once
I warning was given chaos ruled. The
i few nuns, the staff of the home, strug
gled to lead to safety those of the 250
patients— 145 men and 105 women—
they could reach. Os the inmates them
se* es, the stronger helped the weaker;
those who could struggled from window
j to window, crying for rescue; those
w-hese infirmities pinned them to their
j rooms, followed the example of blind
Mrs. Mary Kline. 80, who “dropp:d on
! my kn-es and prayed to God,” and
many of them were saved.
Outside, firemen battered down the
h°avy gates to get in their equipment;
fought futilely for a time to maintain
I aga.'hst the walls ladders that burned
as jhey were reared, and then turned
to fife n:ts. frantically calling to the
imprisoned to leap for their lives.
Fven before firemen reached the
1 scehe scores of the men of the poor
i neighborhood in which the home stood
had scaled the walls and begun the
! work of rescue. Before fierce heat
drove them back thev raced into th*
burning structure, bearing cut the help
less. When heat within frustrated them
they formed human chains on fire
escapes passing old men and women
one to the other until the ground was
reached.
Physicians Kept Busy.
On the wide lawn below physicians
and nurses from throughout the city
plied their tasks. Nearly all these
brought out required treatment of some
nature. A few were administered
oxygen in the shadow of the inferno
! that had been the home of their dying
days.
Within and without, priests gave the
last sacrament to the dying at the risk
; of their lives.
i Yet the terror of the sudden alarm,
I their helplessness and the doubts as to
; whether they could or would be saved,
, wTre not the first concern of many of
j those borne to safety. Os those who
! were given first aid on the lawn of the
home many had clasped in their arms
j the holy emblems of their faith.
The fire, it was established hours
later, started in the morgue in the base
ment of the four-story brick charitable
institution at Penn and South Aiken
avenues in the East End section. What
ever the cause, flames soon raged
I throughout the structure. By the time
I firemen had begun their work the cu
pola topping the building collapsed, in
juring three of the rescuers below-.
AH Turned to Rescue.
Such headway had the fire gained
that all hope of saving the building was
abandoned. All concentrated on res
cue—firemen, police, nuns, priests and
: every man who could get through the
i fire lines, quickly established. On every
i floor nuns remained at their posts,
j trying to rescue where they could, re
! fusing to be rescued and insisting that
| their charges be taken first when help
i was at hand.
Madly eager was Sister Agatha, moth-*
jer superior of the home. Tak:n from
j the building, she tore herself from her
j assistants and rushed indoors once
I more. Nuns pleaded with firemen to
i save h:r. An hour later she was found
I struggling to help the'enfeebled, crying
1 hysterically, exhausted from her labors,
1 barely conscious amid the confusion of
j smoke and falling debris.
Os the 250 psrsons confined to the
home, not one was under 60 years old,
! and most of them were much older. So
many were Infirm that firemen ad
i Continued on Page 2, Column 8.)
VIRGINIA LEGISLATOR
STRIKES EX-MAYOR
Fight on Winchester Street Is
Started by Rivalry in Elec
tion Campaign.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
WINCHESTER, Va.. July 25.— A fist
fight between Democratic political
leaders threw the downtown business
; district into a turmoil of excitement
| today, when former Mayor William W.
I Glass was struck and knocked down by
| Joseph S. Denny, White Post, Clarke
County, candidate for renomination as
State Assemblyman in the August
primary.
As Denny struck Glass and the lat
ter fell to the sidewalk. Denny s feet
flew- out and he also went sprawling to
the pavement. Both men finally re
gained their feet and sat side by side
on the curbstone as a large crowd gath
ered.
Bystanders said Denny approached
Glass and accused him of circulating re
ports in Clarke County, part of the
local legislative district, calculated to
, injury his political ambitions. Denny
said Glass replied by calling him a
“liar.” whereupon Denny struck Glass
on the shoulder, felling him.
. Glass Is espousing the candidacy of
: Boyd R. Richards, Winchester, candi
date for Denny’s seat in the House of
i Delegates, and is also a business as
; soclate of Richards. The encounter had
i th#, effect of injecting interest in aa
ots£rwfce apathetic primary jimpalpi.