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Λ~Μ. îê0 ·* DELAY IS FORCED ON «BILLS Proponents Await Recovery Moves and Attitude To ward Proposals. BY G. GOULD LINCOLV. Proponents of the 30-hour work week, having laid the groundwork for a campaign to push such legislation through Congress, are waiting for President Roosevelt's recovery pro gram to be fully revealed before go ing ahead. They are awaiting, too. the develop ment of the attitude of the adminis tration toward the 30-hour work week bills. In some quarters it has been predicted that the administration may hold the 30-hour work week as a club over industry, in order to make it ac cept not only the continuance of the N. R. A. and the codes of fair com petition, but also to make it willing to go along with the codes if and when all provision for price-fixing, or what amounts to price-fixing, have been removed from the codes. Senator Hugo Black of Alabama In the Senate and Representative Wil liam Connery of Massachusetts in the House have both again sponsored 30 hour work week bills In the new Con gress. These bills, while they have the same purpose, differ considerably in some important details. They both provide for the five-day week with six hours of work. They both seek to see that the same wages that are now paid for longer hours of labor, be re tained for the shorter working week. They do not merely present plans to "share the work" so as to place more employes on the pay rolls of indus try, but they seek to have the rate of wages increased, with a resulting very large increase in the size of in dustry's pay rolls as a whole. Foreign Work Barrier. Mr. Connery has again insisted on placing in his bill authority to halt, one way or another, imports coming Into this country from foreign nations where the 30-hour work week does not prevail ,and which threaten ruinous competition for American industries. In his present bill the President is given complete authority to deal with the matter of imports. Senator Black, on the other hand, not only does not have such a provision In his bill, but It is understood that he Is opposed to its inclusion. uniess tne administration comes forward with proposals to meet the unemployment situation which ap peal very strongly to labor, it will have a tough time heading off 30 hour work week legislation at the present session. In the opinion of House leaders, a 30-hour work week bill would pass that body if it was brought to a vote: indeed, it was only bv tying such a measure into a double bowknot, by parliamentary tactics and gag rule, that its passage ■was prevented in the last Congress. The Black bill did pass the Senate by an overwhelming vote. The American Federation of Labor is on record in favor of the 30-hour work week legislation. . . The plea was made by the admin istration during the last Congress that the N. R. A. be given full op portunity to work out the «-employ ment of labor at shorter hours and better wages, before anything like the drastic 30-hour work week bill was attempted. The supporters of the 30-hour week, however, now insist that the N. R. A. has not succeeded in restoring the workers to the pay rolls and the time has come to take ether steps. Before Labor Committee. The Connery bill has gone to the House Committee on Labor, of which Mr. Connery is chairman. It seems probable that he can get the bill reported out by the committee and placed on the calendar. Under such conditions it would not be necessary to invoke the committee discharge rule, which has just been made more difficult by increasing the number of names signed to a petition to a ma jority of the House membership in stead of 145. Provided the bill was reported out fairly early in the ses eions, there would seem to be no way of heading off a vote. The bill introduced by Mr. Connery declares a "national emergency" exists because of unemployment. It is be lieved to be water tight from the point of view of constitutionality. The President is empowered to declare the end of the emergency when he deems that the employment situa tion has been rectified. In certain respects. Mr. Connery has modified his bill this year to meet objections raised during the hearings on the bill by Secretary Perkins of the Department of Labor and by Donald Richberg, but in the main his bill remains the same. The Presi dent is authorized to make exemptions In the case of industries under the codes, where the hours are no longer than 40 a week, for periods of 90 days. The proposed law would become effective 90 days after its passage and approval by the President. Representative Snell of New York, the Republican leader of the House, Is waiting to see what his Democratic colleagues are going to do about this 30-hour bill. Undoubtedly some or the Republicans in the House would be found voting for its passage. And, in the opinion of Mr. Snell, it would pass the House. Whether it could be passed over a presidential veto, if the President disapproved the meas ure, is another matter. Senator Black's bill has plenty of "teeth." It declares that all goods in interstate commerce must have been made under the 30-hour work week. Exemption is made for farm produced goods when they are shipped by the farmer himself. There is exemption from the 30 hour work week also for employes of the Government. j Λ . The Black bill Axes a definite, two year period for its operation. It eeeks to prevent a reduction in wages •when the change is made from longer hours to the 30-hour week. It p:o vides that before any ^eduction can be made, the employers must give the workers every opportunity to organize and to deal collectively, and .hat the employers must then discuss thn mat ter of wages with them, it also provides that all of the codes of fair competition specifically must provide the 30-hour work week. And it de clares that every contract niade ty the Government shall call for the 30 hour week, and that the contractors doing business with the must agree to purchase materials that STLlde by 30-hour work week labor. FOULKES TO SPEAK Representative to Discuss "Hen· ace of Hitlerism." Former Representative George Foulkes, Democrat, of Michigan will speak on "The Menace of Hitlerism" before the Washington Open Forum at 3 p.m. today in the Roosevelt Hotel. Foulkes recently attacked the Nazi movement m a radio broadcast and issued a warning of an "American Hitler" attempting to set up a dic tatorship here. ! Copyright, A. P. Wirephoto. .m ψ Money was scattered along the roadside at Omaha, Nebr., when thie armored truck skidded 100 feet, left the road and crashed Into a tree. Two of the three men in the truck were severely Injured. The third refused medica' attention and stood guard with a shotgun until police arrived. Accident occurred at noon yesterday. Court Grants Injunction and Sets Hearing for Janu- · ary 25. By the Associated Press. NEW ORLEANS, January 12 — Senator Huey Long's industrial pen sion law was enjoined today in Fed j eral Court here while the "Square Deal Association," organized at Baton Rouge to restore "constitutional gov ernment," called on the people to stand by them in their movement to ••break" the Long dictatorship. It was announced in District Court that Judge Wayne G. Borah had signed an injunction temporarily re straining Attorney General Gaston L. Porterie from enforcing the industrial pension law passed at Long's request by the third special legislative session of 1934 and had set a hearing for January 25 before a three-judge Fed eral tribunal. Suit was filed by the Standard Oil Co. of Louisiana and the Standard Pipe Line Co., an affiliate of Standard Oil, was alleging their $40,000.000 in dustry in Louisiana was being de prived oi constitutional rights by the act. This law would force the company to provide a proportionate pension for an employe who is dismissed after having been employed as much as one-fourth of the years which make him eligible for a pension. Long said in his conduct of the special legislative session that the act was designed to prevent the discharg ing of employes who soon would be eligible for pensioning. BANKING PROGRESS CITED BY O'CONNOR Tells Democratic Club "We Are Within Sight of Last Strong hold of Depression." By the Associated Press. NEW YORK. January 12.—"Strik ing progress" in the national bank structure of the Nation since the bank holiday of March, 1933, was reported today by J. F. T. O'Connor, controller of the currency, in an address at the National Democratic Club. "Statistics in the controller's office prove conclusively that this sensitive structure is on a firmer basis than at any time in our history," O'Connor said. "The battle is being won. We are within sight of the last stronghold of the depression." O'Connor said that banlç failures numbered only 58 during 1934, as compared with an average of 901 yearly from 1921 to 1932. Only 1 of the 58 was a national bank, he added, and its deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. He said that of the 1,417 banks under the controller's jurisdiction at the end of the holiday only 5 of the 1,417 (unlicensed banks) remain un disposed of. Their deposits of $6,438, 000 constitute three-tenths of 1 per cent of the deposits of all the banks, he declared. Of the 1,417 banks, 1,089 with de posits of $1.802,285,000, have been re organized or absorbed; 31 have gone into voluntary liquidation and 292, with deposits of $151,540,000, are in receivership. Magazine Directors to Meet. Directors and stockholders of the National Parent-Teacher Magazine will hold their annual meeting here next Saturday. Mrs. Hugh Bradford of Sacramento, Calif., former presi dent of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and now presi dent of the magazine, is coming to Washington for the meeting. /^I 1 A Talks in Forum ATTORNEY GENERAL CUMMINGS ■MINGS LISTED FOR FORUM TALK Co-ordination of Enforce ment Will Be Subject of Address Tomorrow. Plans for a wider, more intensified war on crime will be discussed bj Attorney General Homer S. Cummlngi in an address tomorrow night in th( National Radio Forum, arranged bj The Star and broadcast over a coast to-coast network of the National Broadcasting Co. The subject he has chosen Is "Co ordination of Law Enforcement in th< Movement Against Crime." The pro gram will go on the air at 10:30 p.m Will Cite Conference. The Attorney General, It is under stood. will refer to recommendations of the National Crime Conference which met here recently at his in vitation and will make suggestions foi facilitating realization of the program of the conference. Attending the par ley were leading law enforcement offi cials and others Interested in th« crime problem. Delegate* came froxr all parts of the country. One of the major recommendation! of the conference was for "effective co-operation by all departments anc agencies of Federal, State, county and local authorities." The conference cited the "deplorable condition of dis organization which exists in local en forcement units" and advocated con sideration by the States of "a better form of co-ordinated control by means of a State, department of Justice 01 otherwise."* Follow Cnmmings' Idea. These proposals are in line witli Attorney General Cummings' cam paign for a closer, voluntary liaison between Federal forces on the one hand and State and municipal au thorities on the other, with a view to a concerted offensive on gangland One of his first moves in this di rection would be establishment of a national criminological institute foi the training of Federal, State and local officers in latest methods ol crime detection. ARCHE0L0GIST SPEAKER F. H. H. Roberts, jr., archeologist Bureau of American Ethnology, wil speak Tuesday at 8 p.m. at a meetins of the Anthropological Society o: Washington in room 43 of the Unite* States National Museum. His subject will be, "A Folsom Camj Site and Workshop in Northern Colo· rado," which will be illustrated. Thi annual business meeting of the so ciety will be held after the address. Stadium froject Advanced By Site Transier and Report Prospects for the proposed stadium at the end of East Capitol street seemed brighter yesterday, with the transfer of 208 acres of land there to the National Capital Parks' by the United States Engineer Office, and indications that a report of a special committee, headed by C. Marshall Finnan, park superintendent, will re ceive the speedy approval of Secretary Ickes. The park officials are hopeful of ob taining a Public Works Administra tion allocation at an early date for the building of the stadium, main taining It will be a "self-liquidating project." They visualize Army and Navy foot ball games being played there, as well as other major sports events, with the turnstiles raising the money for the outlay. Mr. Finnan will make definite rec ommendations to Mr. Iekes, advocat ing that the project be marked "urgent" on the priority list of the Public Works Administration. The Finnan committee Is making an esti mate of cost, and after Mr. Ickes peruses the report. It is considered likely that Arno B. Cammerer, director of the National Park Service, will employ a consulting architect and engineers to delve into detailed plans. The park chief made It clear that A his office has no Intention of blocking East Capitol street in the stadium development, but proposes to provide for a new bridge across the Anacostia River in the line of that thorough fare. with traffic diverted around the stadium. Maj. Robert W. Crawford, district engineer for the War Department ioi the Washington area, turned over the 208 acres, known officially as section F, to the park officials, with the under standing that his office will continue certain work. This Includes the back filling of the large sewer there, when it is abandoned, inasmuch as a new sewer is now being constructed in that region, and the completion ol the locks at Lake Kingman. All the newly-acquired park lands is on the western side of the Anacostia River. A number of objections to the an ticipated closing of East Capital streel by constructing the stadium havi been placed before the park authori ties. The National Capital Park and Planning Commission has considered devoting East Capitol street to ai "Avenue of the States," in which th« various parts of the Union would havi buildings of their own. exhibiting their different products, along the thoroughfare. . Λ .t.~* LETTER ON POWER HEED MISLEADING Writer Believes Roosevelt Can Eliminate Doubt by Stating Rate Policy. BY DAVID LAWRENCE. A notable example of how the ad ministration sometimes gives out only one skle ο( the story—the side that makes a favorable impression for Its crusades, but does not give the public all the facts in a controversy—was revealed last week in the letter written to President Roosevelt by the Federal Power Commission. The letter undertakes to say that "holders of life insurance policies and depositors In savings banks have no cause for concern regarding the se curity of that part of such institutions invested In electric utility bonds." Even the President at his press con ference told the newspaper men that he had been Impressed by the state ment of the Federal Power Commis sion and that it proved that operating company bonds are not affected by the Government's policy on utilities. But what are the facts? Inquiry of leading savings banks and life In surance companies discloses that the laws of the States, and particularly the State of New York, require that bonds cannot be retained for legal investmrnt unless earnings are main tained in a certain percentage or ratio. Would Force Dumping. Thus, if the Government Insists on cutting the electric rates down to the point that operating companies can simply earn the interest on their bonds and there Is nothing with which to pay dividends on outstanding pre ferred or common stock, the savings banks in New York State, for in stance, would be compelled to dump their bonds on the market because they would cease to be legal for in vestment of savings bank funds. As for life Insurance companies, they cannot invest in debentures or preferred stocks of operating com panies unless these companies shall have earned for the preceding five years at least 4 per cent on their total capitalization. The latest figures show that about $1,600,000,000 of life Insurance com pany assets are invested in utility securities and that virtually all cf these are bonds In operating com panies and not preferred stocks The Federal Power Commission statement confirms this. Expansion Blocked. As for savings banks. 3 per cent of their assets are In utility bonds of operating companies and the figure has been estimated at $2,000,000,000. The Federal Power Commission state ment emphasized that the market values of these securities had held up very well. The real reason is that other securities at the same or better yields have not been available for in vestment because the securities law and the Government's owp financing operations have prevented the normal expansion of the investment market. Another reason is that the decisions of the courte have heartened the holders of utility securities and caused them to feel that the Government's policy of competition or attempts at confiscation would not be upheld. Law Would Have Effect. If. however, the Government does force electric rates down to the point of permitting interest charges to be earned only once, then the follow ing extract from the New York State law will have plenty of eflect on oper ating company bonds: "For a perior of five fiscal years next preceding such investment the net earnings of such corporations shall have averaged per year not less than twice the average annual interest charges on its total funded debt ap plicable to the period for the last fis cal year preceding such Investment. Such net earnings shall have been not less than twice the interest charges for a full year on its total funded debt outstanding at the time of such in vestment. And for such period the gross operating revenues of any such corporation shall hve averaged per year not less than $1.000.000 and such corporations shall have for each such year either earned an amount avail able for dividends or paid in divi dends an amount equal to 4 per cent upon a sum equivalent to two-thirds of its funded debt. "The outstanding full paid capital stock cf such corporation shall be equal to at least two-thirds of the total debt secured by mortgage lien on any part or all of its properties, provided, however, that in case of a corporation having non-par value shares, the amount of capital which such shares represent shall be the capital as shown by the books of the corporation." Bonds will Depreciate. The foregoing shows how the capi tal structure must be set up and if the Government undertakes to say that all preferred and common stocks are watered and that only the bonds «re good, and that rates must be based wholly on the bond Investment, then the bonds will depreciate and become Ineligible for Investment in savings banks. Mr. Roosevelt has Intimated that ' he himself believes in a fair return on an agreed-upon rate base, but the yardstick In the Tennessee Valley, especially In the Knoxville transac tion, would not permit twice the ln : terest charges on the private com pany's Investment to be earned If the promised rates were established by the T. V. A. In the case of life Insurance com panies the various State laws merely require that bonds shall be adequately secured, but investments cannot be made in debentures or preferred stocks of operating companies unless they shall have earned for each of the preceding five years at least 4 per cent on their total capitalization. , In New York City taxes have now reached about 22 cents on every dol lar of gross revenues and If rates are forced down to a point which prevents interest charges from being earned twice, there will be a lot of hitherto gild-edge operating company bonds dumped on the market. Controversy Still Rares. The controversy over whether widows and orphans would be af fected is by no meant cleared up with the statement that only $3,500,000,000 In securities la involved and that these securities will not be affected, because they are almost entirely Investments in operating companies. If the Gov ernment in some Instances shall per mit competition by the construction of rival plant· or if rates are paid which do not permit net earnings as required by State laws and fixed by State utility commissions, the danger to the bonds of operating companies has by no means been removed. Mr. Rooeevelt can eliminate all doubts by stating clearly the Federal policy of competition and rate-making and announcing whether or not divi dends may be earned on any securi ties of operating companies other than bonds. If the attack Is against holding companies alone, there «111 Λ JOHNSON BEGINS FIGHT ON COURT Senator Says Ratification Would Be Only Step To ward League. Br the Associated Press. Opening the battle against American entrance Into the World Court. Sena tor Hiram Johnson, Republican, of California last night asserted adher ence would be because of a "maudlin" spirit of "Internationalism to muddle and meddle in world political affairs that admittedly has no concern for us." In a formal statement issued in ad Vance of Senate consideration of the ratification resolution next week, the veteran Republican independent rap ped the Court for permitting "poli tics" to enter its judicial rulings and said American accession would be "but a prelude to joining the League of Nations." "What a pity," he said, "that we must turn for even the briefest period from the trials of our own people to trials in a foreign moribund League of Nations and, if its proponents are right, its futile Court. Held First False Step. "Becoming a part of the Court offi cially is the first false step in the complete abrogation of the foreign policy from which our Republic never has deviated." Johnson said a hint of this abroga tion may be seen In the action of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in repudiating the reservation of 1926 to prevent this country from internal political situations In foreign states and to guard against relinquishment of Its traditional attitude toward pure ly American questions. This reservation «as offered in com mittee by Senator Vandenberg. Re publican, of Michigan, and was re jected, 11 to 9. Johnson said it would be reoffered on the floor. Proposal Held Futile. "We oppose as vigorously as we can such a new and startling Ameri can doctrine," he said. "We ought not to join this League of Nations court, because if it is merely what our proponents Insist, our entry would be an idle and futile action. "We have no controversy with any foreign nation that we cannot settle by arbitration. We have no inter national problem we desire to be passed upon by foreign judges. "Peace, it is asserted. Is brought nearer by the Court and by our ac cession. The present state of the world answers this plea. The condi tions existing in Europe, volcanic as they are, make this the most unpro pitious of all times for our Republic to join in controversy there, or to be a part in their decision. "All the high promises that were held out for the League of Nations' in 1919 and 1920 have utterly failed. With the treaty of Versailles over Europe like a sinister cloud, those promises of League advocates could not be and never will be redeemed. The old diplomacy is the order of the day across the sea." ORESTES FERRARA INDICTED IN CUBA Former Envoy to IT. S. Charged With Misappropriating $50,000 in Sugar Fund. Br the Associated Press. HAVANA. January 12.—Special Judge Joee Soublette of the National Court of Sanctions today indicted Orestes Perrara, secretary of state under former President Gerardo Machado, on charges of misappropri ating $50,000 of government funds. The Judge ordered Ferrara, who now is in the United States, held without bail if he is arrested and extradited. The former secretary of state, who also served as Cuban Ambassador to Washington, was accused of misappro priating funds set aside by the Na tional Institute for the Stabilization of Sugar for the purpose of advertising Cuban sugar in the United States and other foreign countries. Judge Soublette took into considera tion Perrara's claim that he spent the money lawfully for proper pur poses, but ruled the government Is now receiving unpaid bills which the money was intended to pay. Including one from Covington, Burlington and Rubles, New York attorneys. It was announced the government plans to ask the United States State Department for Ferrara's immediate arrest and extradition. CITY SUED FOR MILLIONS Coral Gables Bondholders' Com mittee Asks $5,000,000 Damages. MIAMI. Fla., January 12 G4>).—A suit for $5,000,000 damages against the City of Coral Gables was filed in Federal Court here today by the Bond holders' Committee, which Tuesday asked an injunction to restrain the municipality from spending more than 305.28 per cent of current revenues for operating expenses. Attorneys said the suit was a move toward reducing to Federal Court judgment the bonds deposited with the committee for collecnon at the time Mayor Vincent D. Wyman's bond refunding plan was approved. Counterfeit Suspect Taken. EL DORADO. Kans., January 12 (/P).—Robert Berkshire, 38, of Cin cinnati, Ohio, wanted on a coun terfeit charge, was held here today as authorities searched for a com panion, also sought for alleged passing of spurious money. Police said Berkshire had 11,405.55 in lawful money and $130 in counter feit $10 bills in his possession. They said information obtained from his luggage indicated he had been In several large Eastern cities lately. Two Die in Icy Waters. WATERTOWN. Ν. Y„ January 12 (JP).—Searchers today located an ice sled that yesterday plunged through the St. Lawrence River ice carrying two men to their deaths. The victims were Norris C. Night, 39, inventor 1 of the ice sled, and Richard An dress, 32, of Alexandrie Bay. Search for the bodies was continuing, be large Institutional losses. But it is also estimated that there are 1,500, 000 stockholders in operating com panies. They live in every State of the Union. In some States the own ers of stocks in utility companies are one out of every seven persons. Many are working people. Two-thirds of the stockholders are women. (Currish1. 1838.) I Banker's Child Threatened I Copyright, A. P. Wire-photo. ,mL· **, The safety of Thomas P. Beal, jr., 6, shown in the above Associated Press wirephoto with his mother, was threatened in .a kidnap note received by his father, president of the Second National Bank ol Boston. Mass. TWO JUDGES STEED 74 TRAFTO CASES Fines and Collateral For feits Bring in $926 During Day. Offenders of traffic regulations yes terday received severe jolts in the form of fines as two judges presided over traffic hearings in Police Court. A total of $926 was collected in fines and forfeited collateral yesterday in one of the week's largest dockets, list ing 74 offenses, ranging from driving while drunk and speeding to leaving the scene of an accident. Thirty-eight were tried on speeding charges. Presiding in Traffic Court was Judge Isaac R. Hitt, who in less than two hours dispoeed of more than half a hundred traffic cases, imposing fines that totaled $791. Judge Gus A. Schuldt. who sen tenced five persons in Police Court on more serious offenses, cleared his sheet in less than an hour, collecting $135 in fines. $75 for Reckless Driving. James A. Green, charged several days ago with reckless driving and tried by jury, was ordered by Judge Schuldt to pay a $75 fine or serve 60 days in Jail. Harold E. Brown, also tried by jury recently, was fined $25 or ordered to serve 25 days in jail after his conviction on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident. A fine of $25 or 25 days in jail was also imposed on Samuel S. Yaffee, charged with reckless driving. Jesse F. Rose, said to have operated an automobile without a permit, was fined $10. while sentence of Welby Carter, found guilty by jury of lea zing after colliding, was suspended. He was placed on six months' probation. Twenty persons out of the 24 charged with double parking and similar minor accusations forfeited collateral in yesterday's court sessions. Samuel H. Levy, charged with speeding, will be fined $10 when his case comes up Wednesday, he was ad vised by Judge Hitt. On a long list of speeders, fines of $10 were imposed upon Simon Gros field. Joseph Millett. Henry C. Zadoor ian, William C. Wright. Harry Cantor. Samuel RocksPn, Edwin C. Seaton, Richard I. Day, Jesse M. Numbers. Dean E. Crandall and John E. L. Ridenour. George Ellis, colored, a truck driver, was found guilty of speeding, failing to give a hand signal and passing a stop sign and was fined $20. Joseph P. Huffman, facing charges of a second offense of speed ing. was given a $25 suspended sen tence and placed on six months' pro bation. Safety Teacher Warned. Two school teachers, both charged with speeding, were given suspended sentences. Miss Thelma E. Fryer, a District teacher, who said she had charge of the safety troops of the school, was warned, and Mildred M. McDonald, a teacher of Silver Spring, Md., was given a $10 suspended sen tence. Elwood Z. Shipe. also charged with speeding, was fined $15, while Isaac Jones, charged with a similar offense, was granted a continuance but will be fined $25. Judge Hitt indicated. Pleading not guilty to a charge of driving while drunk. Crom Hansen. 304 G street northeast, was released on $500 bond for a jury trial. Catherine Davis, whose car collided with another when she failed to stop for a traffic sign, was fined $5 and warned by Judge Hitt as he placed her on six months' probation. · y SUSPECT IS ARRESTED IN BRUTAL SLAYING Colored Man Taken to Unan nounced Cell in Mississippi After Victim's Watch Is Found. By the Associated Press. CLEVELAND, Miss., January 12.— A watch owned by Aurelius B. Turner, mysteriously missing since he and his wife were found brutally slain in bed at their home In Cleveland De cember 10, turned up today, and with it officers arrested & colored man whom they said admitted being a grave robber. The man, booked as James H. Coy ner, was wearing the watch. He was spirited away by officers to an unan nounced jail. Deputy Sheriff Charles Mhddox and a post office Inspector who aided him in the arrest, said they regarded the finding of the watch and the arrest of Coyner as one of the most signifi cant developments in the perplexing investigation of the double slaying, which shocked this section cf the State last month. t CONGRU HOLDS KEY TO ADVERSE RULING ON GOLD f Continued From First Page.) days, and we would be back on the road to normalcy." * Most of the State Legislatures will be in session this Winter, so that the popular opinion would be registered quickly. Congressional inflationists mea* while were talking privately of the possibility of increasing the member ship of the Supreme Court from nine to 11 or 12 within the 25 days elaps ! ing between the decision and the ι court ruling upon a Government ap peal for reconsideration. Thomas Denies Authorship. Senator Thomas said that the dis cussion had included the enlargement : of the court to assure that the re covery program "get a new deal." Senator Thomas said he was not the author of this suggestion. At the outset of the New Deal there was some fragmentary discussion of the possibility of enlarging the court to assure a liberal majority. The subsequent attitude of the court, in the Minnesota moratorium and New York milk cases, did much to dispel talk of this character, and responsible administration officials refuse to admit that any such thought has ever been entertained. However, the court may be enlarged by act of Congress, and it was en larged during President Lincoln's administration to assure judicial sup port for his Civil War measures. It was recalled that the first of the ! legal tender cases, Hepburn vs. Gris woid. in 1870, which went against the ! Government, never was enforced, j President Grant filled two vacancies ; in the court, swinging the balance i the other way, and in about a year got a decision reversing the court's previous position. Assumed Power Criticized. Still an alternative course of action on which discussion of a purely I speculative character could be heard in congressional circles is the sub mission of a constitutional amend ment depriving the Supreme Court of j the power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional and making it retroactive so far as the gold cases are concerned. The court's power to pass on the constitutionality of an act of Congress is not stated in the Constitution, but has been assumed by the court. At various periods mem bers of the court have expressed re luctance to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional, and on many other cases the court obviously has bowed to the popular will without admitting that it was doing so. The assumed power of the court to overrule Con gress at any time has been criticized repeatedly. Former Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, in an address in 1913: "I do not think the United States would come to an end if we lost our power to declare an act of Congress unconstitutional. I do think the Union would be imperiled if we could not make that declaration as to the laws of the several States." May Declare Emergency. Another possible avenue of action may lie in the President declaring an emergency and asserting control over the currency under the old war-time laws which he invoked to bring order out of the banking and financial dis ruption which existed when he took office. The statistically minded were won dering how much indebtedness ac tually was involved in gold-''ause contracts of one sort or another. While Government counsel told the court it amounted to $100,000,000,000. it was contended that this figure cer tainly did not include insurance poli cies and mortgages. The total, it was suggested, might actually approach $500,000,000,000. Meanwhile, the nine Supreme Court justices yesterday were closeted in a five-hour conference, the first such meeting since the gold - clause cases were submitted to them for decision. The conference was behind closed doors and no intimation was forth coming as to what occurred. The conference lasted until 5 o'clock, an unusually late hour, and it was assumed most of the time was devoted to discussion of the many questions presented by the gold cases in which oral argument occupied most of the time during the week. Decision Seen February 4. It is not expected a decision will be delivered before February 4, and those closest to the court think it unlikely that a verdict will be handed down until even later. It is known, however, that the court desires to expedite its opinion in the gold cases as it did in the "hot" oil cases and other New Deal contro versies which may reach it for de cision. Demand for congressional retrac tion of the authority delegated the President to regulate the price of gold was viewed by some silver bloc Sen ators yesterday as a possible outcome of this week's monetary conference. « Roberts Reveals Commis sioners Weighing Plan. Defends Control Bill. A proposal for establishment of civil service for employes of the Dis trict government is being considered by the Commissioners, People's Coun sel William A. Roberts revealed last night In a talk before members oi the Mount Pleasant Citizens' Associ ation. The statement was made while Roberts was upholding objectives of the proposed bill for expanding the powers of the Commissioners. Control Bill Opposed. The association went on record op posing the provision of the bill as now drafted which would give the Com missioners veto and directional power over the acts of independent agencies whose operations are supported out of District revenues. The power of appointing members of the School Board should remain with the justices of District Supreme Court, it was resolved. A. Guy Reber was selected to present these views te the Commissioners at the hearing Wednesday on the subject. Political Spoils Feared. Fear was voiced by one member that the proposed change would lead to injection of political influence over the schools. Replying to this, Roberts reported that one of the Commission ers favors adoption of a District civil service plan. The association decided to send to the District officials a request for a traffic light at the intersection of Park road and Mount Pleasant street. ROPER VOICES PLEA FOR "CAPITALISM" Declares Schools Should Teach Principles to Maintain Democratic System. Secretary Roper said last night that the Nation's schools should instill and support principles necessary to "main tain a proper Democratic capitalistic system." I In a radio address, the Commerce Department chief said no government could guarantee complete economic security and an absolutely equitable distribution of wealth. "We can only seek to approximate it as nearly as practicable," he said. "Certainly vast improvements can be made over conditions which have ex isted in the recent past." He recommended : Safeguards atrainst excessive speculation and ex ploitation: proper development and ad ministration of natural resources: elim ination of unfair trade practices with out penalizing the consumer through prices: development in prosperous times of industrial and national re serves to "minimize and control" fu ture economic disturbances, and edu- · cation to encourage these principles. MURRAY VACATES MANSION "ON TIME" By the Associated Press. OKLAHOMA CITY. January 12 — Declining to use the executive man sion a second longer than the tour years the Constitution permits an Oklahoma Governor to hold office, William H. Murray moved today to make way for his successor, E. W. Marland. A line point was involved. Mur ray was inaugurated January 12, 1931, under the constitutional provision for a Governor to take office the second Monday in January. Marland's inaugural will not take place until Monday. January 14, giv ing Murray four years and two days in office. Murray, however, will spend the lan two days of his tempestuous term in a downtown hotel. The mansion will be unoccupied today and tomor row. WIDOW OF B. F.WRIGHT WILLED BULK OF ESTATE Leaving the bulk of a $119,420 es i tate to his widow, Mrs. Effie May Wright, the will of the late B. Frank Wright, local undertaker, has been filed in District Supreme Court. It was erroneously stated last week in The Star that the deceased was John R. Wright. Mrs. Wright was given the family home at 4404 Sixteenth street and the residue of the estate, after cash bequests to relatives, friends and em ployes. The will, filed through At torney Daniel W. O'Donoghue, jr., named A. Leftwich Sinclair and the Federal American Bank as executors. December Circulation Daily.. 119,616 Sunday 127,803 District of Columb'a. ss: S H KAUFFMANN, Assistant Business Manneei of THE EVENING AND Sl'NDAY STAB does solemnly swear that the ac tual number of copies of the paper nemel sold end distributed du-init the month of December. A.D. 1934. was as follows: DAILY. Days. Copies. Days. Copies, ι ir 125.700 3 125.823 18 124,0.-» 7 4 125.78ft 1!> 121.330 5 125.72» •JO 1W.IW7 β 120.082 Cl 123.507 7 125.11» 22 110.303 « 121,177 24 117.01» 10 121 .503 23 10«.8!it 11 125.153 20 12I.801 12 12."».007 27 122.011 13 J 20.380 28 12Ι.08·> 14 125/M5 TO IIO.IOI 15 121.050 31 118.8Γ.Λ 3.100.781 Less adjustments 80.772 Total net daily circulation 3.110.012 Average daily net paid circula tion 118.537 Dailv average number of copies for service, etc 1.070 DaUy average net circulation... ΙΙΟ.βΙβ SUNDAY. Days. Copies. Days. Copies. 2 132.280 23 130)110 0 132.402 30 128.678 10 132.701 650.201 Less adjustments 17,270 Total Sunday net circulation.... 030.015 Average net paid Sunday circula tion 127.120 Average number of copies for service 083 Average Sunday net circulation.. 127.803 S H. KAUFFMANN. Asst. Business Manager Subscribed and sworn to befor· m· this 9th day of January. A D. 1935. (Seal.) ELMER P. YOUNT. Notary Public.