Evening star. [volume], May 07, 1937, Image 1

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

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Remarkable Wirephoto Account of the Hindenburg Crash—Pages A*8-9
t ^_
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85th YEAR. No. 33,974. w«htMto“,mD.ucr WASHINGTON, D. C., FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1937—FIFTY-EIGHT PAGES. *** (*>> Mean. Associated Press. TWO CENTS.
HINDENBURG DEATH LIST
SET AT 30 AS PROBERS
GATHER TO FIX CAUSE
Many Survivors
Are in Critical
Condition.
SABOTAGE HINT
HEARD ABROAD
Those Who Leaped
to Safety Tell of
Horrors.
(List of dead and surt'ivors, page A-6.J
By the Associated Press.
LAKEHURST. N. J„ May 7.—The
flaming destruction of the once-seem
ingly impregnable dirigible Hinden
burg brought swift action today by the
American and German governments
to determine the cause of the disaster.
Thirty persons were known dead or
missing.
Of the 97 passengers and members
of the crew aboard when the greatest
of all airships exploded, burst into
flames and crashed to earth last night
—just as it was lowering to the moor
ing mest, and only 200 feet above the
ground—68 persons survived. One
of those killed was a spectator, burned
to death in the falling, fiery debris.
The ruins of the luxurious liner of
the skies lay crumpled on the landing
field at the naval air station—a junk
heap of black metal, a mass of ghastly,
grisly framework.
On the lips of every one was the
question—what caused the crash, what
was the matter? Twenty times had
the Hindenburg crossed the North At
lantic safely.
Eckener Gives Opinion.
As Washington officials and Dr.
Hans Luther, the German Ambassa
dor, opened inquiries, three possible
causes—all, however, relating to the
highly-inflammable hydrogen used in
the German Zeppelins—were outlined
by the ship's designer and pilot on
numerous voyages, Dr. Hugo Eckener.
‘‘I should say that if this disaster
was caused by sabotage,” said Dr.
Eckener, who was in Austria on a
■peaking trip, “only the firing of a
burning bullet into the bags * * *
could have accomplished it. That
•eems highly unlikely.”
”From this distance and on the
basis of incomplete information,” Dr.
Eckener pet forth these possibilities:
“1. When the ship is lowered, some
hydrogen usually is released. This
free hydrogen in the air might have
been sufficiently concentrated to be
ignited by lightning or a spark.
2. When landing, the water ballast
is released from the tanks. A stream
of water, connecting with the earth,
might have served as an electrical
conductor to bring up a spark from
the ground.
”3. Some one aboard may have made
a fire; a spark, possibly, from a
cigarette lighter. I regard this also
as unlikely, for the conduct of pas
•engers and crew is watched carefully.”
Smoking on the Hindenburg was al
lowed only in a spark-proof compart
ment.
Comdr. Charles E. Rosendahl, com
mandant at the naval station, said the
fire originated at or near the stem
of the ship about 6:25 p.m. (Eastern
Standard time),
Report to Navy Department.
In his report to the Navy Depart
ment the commandant, a veteran in
lighter-than-air craft service, said:
"About four minifies after the ropes
had been dropped a fire appeared in
the after part of the ship and wofked
progressively forward. The ship set
tled to the ground tail first and was
practically cbmpletely ablaze for her
(See HINDENBURG, Page A-4.)
U.S.AIDTOVICTIMS
LAUDED BY LUTHER
“No One Knows" Cause of Dis
aster, Envoy Says at
Lakehurst.
By the AssocUted Press.
LAKEWOOD, N. J„ May 7.—Dr.
Hans Luther, retiring German Am
bassador to the United States, said
today that "no one knows” what
caused the Hindenburg disaster. He
said he was expressing the attitude of
Chancellor Adolf Hitler.
Dr. Luther spoke over the radio,
part of the speech being in German
for broadcast to Germany, after he
had interviewed a number of sur
vivors at Paul Kimball Hospital here.
"On just coming out of Paul Kim
ball Hospital,” he said, “my first feel
ing is to extend my sincere thanks
and the sincere thanks of the German
government for everything that has
been done by doctors, nurses and
volunteer helpers to help the victims
of the terrible accident on the Hin
denburg.
ine spirit of the men in there (in
the hospital) is the finest possible. All
those I talked to expressed their thank
fulness and retained their lasting faith
in airship -service.
“Some of them mentioned that it
was just an accident and that every
thing had been done to keep the ship
safe.
“I want to mention especially the
help of the Naval Air Station, which
was certainly admirable. It is a hard
experience for all those who suffered.
It is hard, too, for those who lost their
lives. But it is a proof of the co
ooeration that we need for each other ”
> *
••
Naval Inquiry Board Convenes;
3 Other U. S. Units Study Blast
Fagg Directs Commerce Department
Investigation and Copeland That
of Senate Committee.
1 Pour Federal Investigations were*
launched today to determine the cause
ot the fire which touched off millions
of cubic feet of hydrogen gas in the
cells of the Hindenburg last evening
and converted the German dirigible
into a blazing pyre for 32 of her pas
sengers and crew and one spectator.
A naval board of inquiry was con
vened at the scene of the crash, the
Naval Air Station at Lakehurst, under
direction of Rear Admiral Arthur B.
Cook, chief of the Navy Bureau of
i Aeronautics, who flew there from
! Washington this morning.
A Commerce Department investiga
tion was ordered by Secretary Roper
and Fred D. Fagg. jr.. director of the
Bureau of Air Commerce, and Maj.
Rudolph W. Schroeder, assistant di
i rector, were sent to the scene last
; night to take charge of the work of
i Commerce Department inspectors who
! witnessed the tragedy.
The senate safety committee, head
ed by Senator Copeland of New York,
launched an investigation, the chief
purpose of which is to determine
whether the disaster was due to
"sabotage.” as had been suggested by
Dr. Hugo Eckener.
The Bureau of Mines ordered
: George W. Jones, explosion expert, at
Pittsburgh, to Lakehurst, in view of the
fact the bureau, charged with pro
duction of helium gas, is interested
(See INQUIRIES, Page~A-4‘) ~~
Writer for The Star, Crash
Witness, Describes Their
Heroism.
BY ALICE ROGERS HAGER.
<Special writer for The Sunday Star, who
witnessed the destruction of the Hindenburo)
LAKEHURSr. N. J.—The gigantic,
flaming funeral pyre that was the
proud Hindenburg blazed itself out
last night after two fierce hours, leav
ing only a charred and twisted skele
ton on the muddy Lakehurst Air
Field. Those of us who saw it sailing
in peaceful beauty above New York in
th® middle afternoon and then a half
hour before landing time, below the
edges of the storm above the Jersey
meadows, still are unable to realize
fully the horror which followed.
One moment were were laughing,
joking, admiring groups of people,
watching this wonder ship come into
port, and the next a frantic, scream
ing, fleeing mob, tom between fear of
further explosions that might fling
wreckage far and wide and the ago
nizing desire to help those who seemed
beyond all human help.
It is only through a series- of mir
acles and of determined courage on
the part of men near the wreck, most
of them in the Navy ground crew, that
any one is alive. Those men stood
their ground and as the survivors
jumped or were thrown clear, dragged
them to safety.
The Hindenburg had been very late
in coming in.- Delayed by head winds
•over the Atlantic, she w-as due to
arrive about 12 hours behind schedule,
at 6 in the evening instead of 6 yes
terday morning. Storm followed her
and it was thought that Capt. Max
Pruss and Capt. Ernst Lehmann, his
adviser, were holding her back to ride
out the worst of the weather.
Those of us who were to meet the
(See HAGER, Page A-3.)
- »
HINDENBURG IN MOVIES
Remarkable Shots of Disaster
Shown Here Today.
Rushed here by plane immediately
after the disaster, newsreels of the
burning of the Hindenburg were being
shown today in Washington theaters.
The reels, Including many remark
able close-ups of the flaming ship, were
on display during the, day at the
Trans-Lux, Capitol, Palace, Earle, and
will be shown tonight at Keith’s.
Others also will have them.
Most of the theaters are planning
to run them for a week.
Senators Approve
Export of Helium
To Prevent Disasters
By the Associated Press.
The Senate Military Affairs
Committee, jtirred by the Hin
denburg catastrophe, today ap
proved a bill to liberalize com
mercial sale and export of non
inflammable helium, of which the
United States has a monopoly.
The bill would permit export of
quantities of helium “that are
not of military importance,” sub
ject to regulations approved by
the President and the Secretaries
of War, Navy and Interior.
Sale of helium to citizens of
the United States, or domestic
corporations, would be author
ized subject to regulations ap
proved by the President on the
condition that the Government
would have the right to repur
chase the gas for national de
fense purposes.
Members of the committee were
not sure whether the bill would
permit sale of enough helium to
Germany for operation of her
commercial dirigible service.
Belin’s Parents
See Crash, Then
Son Walks Out
Only a half an hour after the Hin
denburg fell in flames last night, Mr.
and Mrs. Ferdinand Lammot Belin,
1823 Twenty-eighth street, who had
gone to Lakehurst to meet their son,
detected a familiar whistle in the
maelstrom of noises and excitement
that followed the tragedy.
Then they knew their only son,
Ferdinand Lammot Peter Belin, jr.,
was safe. For the whistle they heard
was one that is peculiar to the Belin
family, it was learned here today.
Blinded by the explosive flash and
still stunned at what they thought
had been certain death for the 24
year-old youth, the parents turned to
see him walking toward them.
Previously the former diplomat and
his wife, accompanied by Mr. and
Mrs. De Witt Clinton Poole of Prince
ton, N. J., had feared no human
could survive the blazing skeleton of
the ship.
Young Belin, the only Washing
(See BELIN, Page A-5.)
GRAF GROUNDING
Expert Says Dirigible
Should Be Flown Only
With Helium.
By the Associated Press.
BERLIN, May 7.—A shocked and
tearful German nation summoned an
official commission today for a quick
trip of investigation overseas to fix the
cause of the tragic Hindenburg dis
aster, yet rallied amid the deepest
mourning to follow “the same path”
of aerial trail-making.
The Nazi air ministry called an early
afternoon conference of officials of the
Zeppelin Construction Co., the Zep
pelin Airlines, and the German In
stitue of Aeronautical Research to de
cide the personnel of the commission
that will speed by plane and ocean
liner to Lakehurst.
The German people, from Reichs
fuehrer Adolf Hitler and Dr. Hugo
Eckener down to the poorest workman
in the stunned and tearful knots that
gathered In the streets, were plunged
Into profound and amazed, grief.
Dr. Eckener, tired and haggard, ar
rived by airplane from Vienna and
went immediately to the air ministry.
The veteran Zeppelin builder indi
(See BERLIN, Page A-6.)
Kidnaping Story Holds Three,
But Police Can’t Find Victim
By ■- Staff Correspondent ol The Star.
BETHESDA, Md., May 7.—A miss
ing man. reported to have been kid
naped, robbed and thrown out of a
car “somewhere in Montgomery
County,” was being sought today by
police here and in Washington.
Three men arrested in Washington
yesterday and being held at the sev
enth precinct are alleged to have con
fessed the kidnaping and robbery, but
so far the victim has not been found.
Acting on a tip from a woman liv
ing in Georgetown that she had seen
three men 4orce an elderly pedestrian
into a car in Georgetown Wednesday
night, Officer S. T. Creech of the sev
enth precinct arrested the trio.
According to Washington police,
they made a statement regarding the
alleged kidnaping and produced a
wallet, the only identification in which
was a street address, 114 Liberty
street.
' Washington police then took the
three men to Montgomery County in
an effort to identify the road on which
the man was reported to have been
thrown out of their car, but they were
unable to find it.
A check of hospitals failed to reveal
a victim fitting the description given
out and Montgomery County police
were asked to search for th^ victim.
COURT BILL FOES
UNSHAKEN OVER
BERRVSELECTION
Senator Bachman’s Succes
sor Just One Vote Gain
for Roosevelt.
FIVE NEW OPPONENTS
CLAIMED BY SHIFTS
50 to 46 Reported Against Meas
ure for Increasing Supreme
Tribunal to 15.
BACKGROUND—
Facing defeat in the Senate Ju
diciary Committee on the Presi
dent’s bill to increase the Supreme
Court membership by a maximum
of six unless justices over 70 re
tire, administration supporters in
Senate have offered an assortment
of compromise proposals, majority
of which would limit increase to
two. As yet, however: there has
been no indication any compromise
would be accepted at White House.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
Appointment of Maj. George L.
Berry, head of labor's Non-Partisan
League and an ardent supporter of
President Roosevelt's plans for the
Supreme Court, to be Senator from
Tennessee in place of the late Senator
Bachman failed to shake today the
confidence of Senators opposing the
administration court bill.
“The loss of one vote in the Senate
is not so important or so impressive
today as it might have been some time
ago.” said one of the leaders of the
opposition. It had been expected that
Senator Bachman would vote against
the President's plan to increase the
Supreme Court by a maximum of six
additional justices.
The Berry appointment had been
rumored here for several days. Gov.
Browning of Tennessee was asked to
come to Washington to see the Presi
dent immediately after the death of
Senator Bachman. He did see the
President, it is reported, and it was
after that the rumor spread Maj.
Berry would be appointed to the Sen
ate, although previously it had been
expected the Governor would appoint
either Chairman Long of the Demo
cratic State Committee or Represent
ative McReynolds, chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Five New Vote* Claimed.
The opponents of the court bill to
day claimed that five Senators who
had previously been regarded as un
committed have now swung over defi
nitely to vote against the President's
bill. If these Senators stay "hitched”
to their present attitude, the opposi
tion leaders say they will have at least
50 votes in the Senate against the bill
in its original form, leaving 46 to the
administration.
One of the hardest blows to the bill,
it is said, is the definite break of Sen
ator O'Mahoney with the administra
tion on the measure. His declaration
in the Senate Judiciary Committee
that he would oppose the plan to add
six new justices to the Supreme Court,
followed by his radio address in which
he hammered the proposal, has been
effective in winning others to the
opposition.
Members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee are swinging away from
the Logan suggestion that the com
(See BERRY, Page A-2.)
Ship Insured for $2,500,000.
LONDON, May 7 (A>).—Insurance
authorities here said today the Hin
denburg was insured for $2,500,000,
with the $2,000,000 spread thinly
among numerous Lloyds underwTiters,
the remainder held by German in
terests.
ANARCHISTS SEIZE1
TOWN IN SPAIN
Officials Ousted in Renewal
of Revolt Against Cata
lan Rule.
BACKGROUND—
Four hundred persons were killed
and 1.000 injured in two days of
fighting in Barcelona early this
week. Dissident anarchists were
said to be still holding out for
greater representation in the gov
ernment of the autonomous state.
By the Associated Press,
CERBERE. Franco-Spanish Fron
tier, May 7.—The anarchist revolt
against the Catalan government
spread today from Barcelona to towns
and villages outside the regional cap
ital.
The anarchists, border advices said,
seized the town of Figueras with the
aid of soldiers garrisoned at San Fer
nando Fortress.
Public officials were ousted there
and at Gerone by militant anarchists
protesting against what they consider
too conservative an administration by
the autonomous Catalan regime, al
lied with the Madrid-Valencia govern
ment.
A Valencia column en route to Bar
celona to help restore order was re- i
ported to have clashed with a band
of revolters seeking to barricade the
Bee ANARCHISTsTPage A-2.)
MEDIATORS TO REPORT
President to Hear of Bail Labor
Dispute.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 7 (JPj.—
Members of the Federal three-man
Emergency Mediation Board, their
hearings in the Southern Pacific labor
controversy virtually ended, began
working on a recommendation today to
submit to President Roosevelt by
May 14.
The board seeks to avert a strike of
8,500 members of the Brotherhood of
Railroad Trainmen, and the Brother
hood of Firemen and Enginemen.
Summary of Today’s Star
Page
Amusements. C-6
Comics_ D-5
Editorials.. A-10
Financial_A-15
Lost & Found.A-3
Obituary A-12
Page
Radio.—_- D-6
Short Story— C-2
Society_ B-3
Sports-D-l-3
Woman's Pge. D-4
FOREIGN.
Anarchists seize town in renewal of
Barcelona revolt. Page A-l
Berlin speeds probers of Hindenburg
crash to U. S. Page A-l
NATIONAL.
Court bill opponents weigh Berry ap
pointment. Page A-l
j Economy drive creates sentiment for
jobless census. Page A-l
Heroism of ground crew in Hindenburg
disaster praised. Page A-l
Three Federal agencies assisting in
Hindeqjmrg inquiries. Page A-l
Death toll in Hindenburg crash put
at 32. Page A-l
Congressional probe of “educational
lobbies” urged. Page A-8
Borah attacks fascism's methods in
strong language. Page A-13
Ford to fight undistributed profits
tax. Page A-14
WASHINGTON AND VICINITY.
Steamer Northland runs aground off
Mathias Point. Page A-l
Probe of District police is planned
in House. Page A-l
Educators here on tour of eight
cities. Page A-Z
Dr. Powell formally inducted as dean
of Cathedral. Page A-3
Six thousand see D' nbar win company
cadet competition. Page A-12
Emergency job holder* face ax with
quota law. Page B-l
Traffic toll rises to 44 as auto strikes
pedestrian. Page B-l
Liquor law study to. be made here by
House unit. Page B-l
200 District bakers oq strike for wage
. increase. ^ Page B-l
SHAKING OF JIM AND SIR WALTER
Winchester apple fete queen to be
crowned today. Page B-l
New law is cited in new plea filed in
Jordon case. Page B-£0
Three are injured in North Capitol
street fire. Page B-20
EDITORIAL AND COMMENT.
Editorials. Page A-10
This and That. Page A-10
Political Mill. Page A-10
Washington Observations. Page A-10
Answers to Questions. Page A-10
David Lawrence. Page A-ll
Paul Mallon. Page A-ll
Dorothy Thompson. Page A-ll
Constantine Brown. Page A-ll
Lemuel Parton. Page A-ll
SPORTS.
Crowd of 65,000 to witness wide open
Derby tomorrow. Page D-l
Chapman keeps Nats peppery despite
defeat by Tribe. Page D-2
Little sees bright future for amateur
golf in America. Page D-2
Doctors will study Dengis in title
marathon race here. Page D-3
FINANCIAL.
Bonds improve (table). Page A-15
Weather spurs trade. PageA-15
Freight loadings rise. Page A-15
Stocks unevenly higher (table).
. Page A-1S
Curb list mixed (table). PageA-17
Acceptance rate cut. Page A-17
MISCELLANY.
Washington Wayside. Page A-t
Traffic Convictions. Page B-8
Young Washington. Page B-ll
Vital Statistics. Page B-13
City News in Brief. Page B-17
Shipping News. Page B-17
Bedtime Story. Page C-S
Dorothy Dix. Page D-4
Betsy Caswell. Page D-4
Crossword Puzzle. Page D-s
Letter Out. Page D-7
Service Orders. Page D-ll
La Follette Gets
Invitation to
Investigation
$50,000 Bond and
$100 a Day Ex
penses Offered.
Bj the Associated Press.
Chairman La Follette of the Senate
Civil Liberties Committee said today
he had received an invitation from a
group of Harlan County. Ky., coal
operators to make a personal investi
gation of labor conditions there.
He said the operators offered to post
a $50,000 bond to guarantee safety
and to pay $100 a day expenses for
each member of the Senate commit
tee making the trip.
The telegram containing the in
vitation was signed, by T. R. Creech
on behalf of the operators’ commit
tee.
La Follette said he did not know
if Creech is the T. R. Creech who
was charged with perjury after testi
fying before the committee three
weeks ago.
La Follette declined to comment on
whether he might accept the invi
tation.
The message came only 24 hours
after the Senate investigators com
pleted an inquiry into “violence and
anti-union terrorism" in Harlan
County.
Present Congress Must Fix
Relief Sum Without
It, However.
BACKGROUND—
Economy drives in Congress
started after President warned fall
ing tax receipts necessitated re
trenchment. House proposal would
authorise discretionary 15 per cent
cut in appropriations, with Presi
dent deciding when cut should
apply, while Senate wants straight
10 per cent cut on all but fixed
charges.
BY J. A. O'LEARY.
The wide range of proposals to slash
or raise President Roosevelt's $1,500.
000.000 relief estimate is creating
added sentiment In both branches of
Congress for an unemployment
census.
As the House Appropriations Sub
committee, presided over by Repre
sentative Woodrum, Democrat, of Vir
ginia, closed hearings on the relief
problem late yesterday, there were
propositions in both Houses running
all the way from $850,000,000 to
$3,000,000,000.
When the subcommittee meets Mon
day to arrive at a verdict, however, it
is more than likely the decision will
fall somewhere between the Presi
dent's recommendation and the
$1,000,000,000 figure some members
have indicated they regard as ade
quate.
While informal discussion of a cen
sus is in progress, such a move could
serve only to guide future sessions.
(See ECONOMY, Page A-3.)
90 ARE MEN OFF
Two Coast Guard Vessels
Attempt Aid at Mathias
Point Mud Bank.
Two Coast Guard vessels sought this
afternoon to tow the Norfolk & Wash- -
ington steamer Northland from a mud ]
bank off Mathias Point, where she ran
aground last night while en route to
Norfolk with 130 passengers.
Ninety or the passengers were trans- !
ferred by life boat to the District of !
Columbia steamer early this morning !
and returned to Washington. Most of
them later left by bus for Norfolk.
The channel is narrow where the
Northland ran aground about 10:30
o’clock last night, at a point 55 miles
south of Washington by river.
Capt. George H. Nowell, veteran
riverman, sent a lifeboat ashore and
members of the crew telephoned for
assistance. The District of Columbia,
on its regular run from Norfolk to
Washington, came alongside before
daylight this morning and the trans
fer was effected.
The Northland listed slightly where
she lay on the soft bottom, but ap
parently was undamaged. Officials
of the company expressed doubt that
the Coast Guard vessels could dis
lodge the steamship. They said a
salvage ship probably would be re
quired. possibly tomorrow.
Meanwhile, arrangements were be
ing made to attempt to take some 20
automobiles from the hold of the
stranded vessel onto a ferry boat.
Some of the passengers, including a
fishing party of about 35 local den
tists, elected to remain on the North
land. Half a dozen Representatives
were with the fishermen, who expected
to proceed to Oregon Inlet later today
by bus.
Regular service will be maintained
by the steamship company except for
the scheduled sailing of the North
land from Norfolk tonight, officials
announced.
DENHARDT RESTING
AFTER HUNG JURY
Released Under $25,000 Bond
Pending Another Trial on
Murder Charge.
By the Assoclatefl Press.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky„ May 7 —
Brig. Gen. Henry H. Denhardt, whose
trial on a charge of murdering his
fiancee. Mrs. Verna Garr Taylor, re
sulted in a hung jury at New Castle
yesterday, rested here today at the
home of his brother, J. D. Denhardt,
a newspaper publisher.
The burly, 61-year-old soldier-pol
itician, who termed the outcome of
the two weeks’ trial a “vindication,1’
was released under $25,000 bond
pending another trial at the Septem
ber term of court. He had sought a
change of venue from Henry County
on the ground opinion there was
hostile to him.
Borne Shocked by Disaster.
ROME, May 7 C4>).—Italy, linked
with Germany in a friendship accord,
was shocked today by the wreck of
the Hindenburg.
Newspapers expressed condolences
to the German people and government.
Odd Objects Revealed in List
Of Van Sweringen’s Property
■5 tbc Associated press.
CLEVELAND. May 7.—A hundred
pages of finely typewritten legal paper
—which probate clerics said made up
one of the oddest documents ever filed
at the Court House—revealed today
the penchants of the late Van Swerin
gen brothers in many respects more,
vividly than did O. P. and M. J. in
real life.
Few lenew that among some 8.000
objects in the Van Sweringen personal
effects was a “life-sized electric clown
on a stool,” as the document, a minute
inventory of the Van Sweringen part
nership estate, d^crlbed it.
»•
The item was one of thousands that
included pottery cows, china roosters,
chalk Scotty dogs, stone sheep. Orien
tal rugs, antique tapestries and rare
plate, lace and books found by J. Paul
Thompson, receiver of the estate, in
the 40-room mansion of the brothers’
suburban Daisy Hill Farm.
"The Art of Making Money Plenty,”
a picture by Benjamin Franklin,
adorned the Van Sweringen study,
and a 10-inch painted dish labeled
"Dr. Syntax Disputes His Bill With
the Landlady,” was among the hun
dreds of pieces of porcelain in the rail
magnatea’ "million-dollar set” of
Staffordshire.
PROBE IS PUNNED
BY ROUSE GROUP
Kennedy Committee to Take
Up Criminal Justice
Report.
ACTION PROMISED
WITHIN FEW WEEKS
Supt. Brown and Other Officials
to Be Called to
Testify.
BACKGROUND—
Following last “exposure“ of
crime conditions in Washington,
the Washington Criminal Justice
Association was organized as an
impartial, fact-finding body to
study causes and remedies. Its
initial report, critical in tone, is ex
pected 10 provide basis for confer
ence of local officials to correct
weaknesses in enforcement ma
chinery.
A sweeping investigation of crime
condition.? in the District will be made
within the next few weeks by the
Kennedy subcommittee of the House
District Committee, it was disclosed
today.
Concerned by newspaper reports of
the findings of the Washington
Criminal Justice Association, Chair
man Kennedy announced that he will
begin the crime investigation as soon
as his subcommittee completes its work
on the District's new tax program.
Mr. Kennedy said he plans to start
with an investigation of the Police De
partment because it is such a vital
cog in the municipal machine and be
cause its efficiency is so important to
the welfare of the public.
Police Supt. Ernest WT. Brown and
other officials will be called before the
committee to outline any plans they
may have for increasing the efficiency
and effectiveness of the force.
Kennedy said he will ask the asso
ciation for a copy of its report on
crime conditions in Washington and
study it carefully before beginning the
investigation. He said he was par
ticularly interested in the charge that
only about one-tenth of serious crimes
reported in the District last year had
resulted in convictions.
Meanwhile, the assertion that two
prisoners were allowed to “languish”
in the District Jail for nearly a year
without being able to secure a trial
was denied by their own attorney.
Charges Nolle Prowed.
The prisoners, Edward C. John
son and Walter Dietrich, were indicted
September 25. 1936. charged with
forgery and uttering. They were
arraigned and pleaded not guilty on
October 9, 1936. and on December
2 of that year they filed a motion
asking for the suppression and return
of the evidence against them. This
motion was granted Monday and. with
the evidence suppressed by the court,
the charge was nolle prossed yester
day.
Their attorney, Charles E. Ford,
said there tvas no delay for which the
court or prosecuting officials were re
sponsible.
“The length of time required for the
final ruling on the motion to sup
press.” Ford said, “resulted from the
fact that I had to leave the city for
a long period of time. I obtained the
permission of my clients In this case
before leaving the city.”
Johnson and Dietrich were ar
raigned in Police Court today on a
fugitive warrant from Tampa, Fla.,
where they are wanted on a charge of
false pretenses in connection with a
check for $405. Hearing on extradi
tion was postponed for 30 days at their
request and bond was fixed at $2,000
each. Police said they are also
wanted by authorities in South Da
kota.
After conferring with Supt. Brown,
District Commissioner Hazen yesterday
(See PROBE, Page A-3.)
ALUMINUM COMPANY
ORDER IS EXTENDED
Injunction Continued for Ten
Days. Holding Up Anti
Trust Prosecution.
By the Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH, May 7.—Federal
Judge R. M. Gibson extended a tern.
porary restraining order for 10 days
today, holding up the Government's
prosecution of an anti-trust suit
against the Aluminum Co. of America.
He took under advisement a motion
by Assistant Attorney General Robert
H. Jackson to quash the temporary
order on the grounds that the Gov
ernment could not be restrained with
out its consent.
Judge Gibson issued the order last
April 29 temporarily halting action on
a suit filed last month in the southern
district of New York seeking to reor
ganize the properties of the aluminum
company, which Jackson today called
“the most perfect monopoly in the
country.”
Jackson denied the company's claim
that the New York suit was identical
with an action brought in Pittsburgh
In 1912 and settled by a consent decree.
HITLER STARTS FUND
Gives $12,000 in Launching Drive
for Victims' Families.
BERCHTESGADEN, Germany, May
7 <i*P).—Reichsfuehrer Adolf Hitler
started a fund for bereaved families
of the Hindenburg disaster victims
today with a gift of (12,000.
He also sent his deep sympathy to
the Zeppelin company.
I —