Evening star. [volume], May 22, 1937, Page A-12, Image 12

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
TELLS OF THREAT
Says Ex-Sweetheart Prom
ised to “Kill Her, Too,” if
She Aired Murder.
By the Associated Press.
JERSEY CITY. N. J . May 22—Ac
cusing her co-defendant and ex-sweet
heart of the hatchet slaying of her
mother. Gladys MacKnight, 17. testi
fied at her murder trial today that
the youth threatened to kill her, too,
If she told about it.
She said she suggested telling a
neighbor, Mrs. Elizabeth Feury, what
had happened in the MacKnight home
the night of July 31, last, and Donald
Wightman told her:
"If you do. I'll kill you, too.''
Gladys, talking in a calm, low voice,
said she tried repeatedly to get Donald
to return as they drove along New
Jersey roads in the MacKnight car
after the slaying.
"He said he could put me on a spot.”
ahe testified.
"He said he could tell them I killed
my mother and that when I finally
got out he'd be the only one I could
turn to, and I'd have to marry him
because my father wouldn't have
anything to do with me,” she con
tinued.
Feared What People Would Say.
Another time, she quoted him as
Raying, "Why are you worried? It
isn't your neck.” and "when I asked
him why he did it, he said. 'Oh. can't
you shut up about that?' ’’
When he finally stopped the car in
a side road, said Gladys, "Donald said
there was only one reason he didn't
want to go back.
"He said it was because of what
caused the attack.
"He said people would think he
didn't regard me in the proper light
and show the proper respect.
“So we agreed to say that just kiss
ing was the cause of it.'1
The girl frequently stopped to sip
water from a glass on the judge's
bench. A few times she appeared at
the point of crying, but in general she
was calm and sometimes spoke with
a detached air.
Boy Angry at Testimony.
Donald's most frequent expression
was a bitter, sardonic half-smile and
his face was flushed and angry.
Gladys was still on the stand un
der direct examination when Judge
Thomas F. Meanev adjourned court
until Monday.
The girl said she was grappling with
her mother for possession of a knife
when Mrs. Mac Knight screamed and
collapsed In her arms.
"I turned around and saw Donald
standing there with the hatchet in
his hand,” she said. Wightman shook
his head in denial.
"There was blood dripping from it
* * * he had struck my mother,” she
continued.
"I said ‘What did you do that for?’
He said 'I thought she was trying to
kill you’.”
Weeps at Girl’s Charges.
The boy buried his face in his hands
and wept.
Gladys never glanced in his direc
tion.
Looking alternately at the floor and
ceiling, sometimes with closed eyes,
she told how her mother advanced
with a knife when she found Donald
“with his arm around me, kissing me
and hugging me and running his
hands over me."
"I turned and saw my mother stand
ing just inside the doorway,” she re
lated. "with a black-handled knife
in her hand.
“She seemed very angry. She ap
peared almost wild. Her eyes were
going from one to the other of us
and her face was very red.
"She w»as trying to speak, but didn’t
eeem to be able to get anything out.
I thought she was trying to stab
Donald. * * * She took a step
toward him.
"I immediately grappled with her
and tried to take the knife aw-ay from
her."
Boy armies Bitterly.
Donald, with two court bailiffs on
puard behind hint, eyed the girl and
smiled bitterly.
Gladys took a sip of water.
She seemed about to cry.
"I used both hands.” she continued.
"There was quite a struggle. I got
the knife away from her but her right
hand was cut.
"Mother screamed.”
She said some of the blood from the !
cut on her mother's hand dripped on
her.
Then, she said, her mother ad
vanced with a second knife, point up.
Gladys closed her eyes and averted
her face, saying "I tried to get that
knife away from her. but was never
able to."
"My mother screamed a couple of
times, the last ending in a gasp, and
she sank in my arms."
"I thought she had fainted. I
couldn't hold her up any longer," she
went on.
"What caused her to fall?” her at
torney asked.
"I don't know," said Gladys.
"Then I turned around and saw
Donald standing there with the
hatchet in hand.”
--•--—--.
SWINDLES BARED
IN GRAIN WEIGHING
Indiana Detectives Hold Four
for Probe of Midwest
‘■Racket.”
®y Lha Associated Press.
INDIANAPOLIS, May 22—State
police sought yesterday to tie together
etray ends of a widespread grain
weighing “racket,” which they as
serted has resulted in the swindling
of thousands of dollars from elevator
Operators of the Middle West.
Held by detectives here were four
men giving their names as Herman
Folk, 50; Glenn A. Folk, 20, and Alva
Price, 29, all of Coffeyville, Kans., and
Ora Folk, 45, of Indianapolis.
To Verne Shields and Russell Coons,
State police detectives who arrested
the men. they told a story of belong
ing to an organization which paid
''royalties” to an ingenious “master
mind” whom they knew as William
Howard of St. Joseph, Mo., now serv
ing a prison sentence in Kansas, for
the use of a hydraulic jack used in
their operations.
The jack arrangement, State police
said, enabled truck drivers to in
crease the weight of a trailer-load of
grain as much as 30 bushels. A long
steel bar, electrically operated, trans
ferred part of the truck weight to the
scales where the grain was being
weighed for sale. Grain was bought
from farmers and then taken to cen
tral elevators in the specially-equipped
truck-trailers, the four told officers.
Diesels for B. & 0.
This is one of two 3.600-horsepower Diesel locomotives built
at Lagrange. III. (by Electromotive Corpj, for the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad. The two new locomotives are being used, on the
Royal Blue between New York and Washington, forming the last
link in transcontinental service by Diesel-powered trains.
__ —A. P. Photo.
Man, Attorney for Self, Calls
Two Prosecutors as Witnesses
Unperturbed by his first experience
in acting as his own defense counsel,
Ezra Ravven. jeweler and dealer in
antiques, made plans today to again
be "Attorney" Ravven when he faces a
Police Court jury next Tuesday on an
assault charge, preferred against him
by Miss Madeline Veach, a former
employe.
Ravven. who operates a jewelry and
antique shop at 1928 Pennsylvania
avenue, was found guilty by Judge Ed
ward M. Curran late yesterday on a
chargp of threatening bodily harm to
Miss Veach. who lives at 2119 H street,
if she refused to drop the assault
charge.
Judge Curran sentenced the de
fendant to serve 90 days in jail or post
a $300 peace bond After telling the
court he would appeal the case to the
Court of Appeals, Ravven posted the
bond.
The trial, which had been started
Thursday, but was recessed several
times for one reason or another at
Ravven's request, was one of the most
unusually conducted cases ever heard
in Police Court. Choosing to act as
his own counsel after he had engaged
Attorney Saul Liehtenberg when the
charges were placed against him, Rav
ven summoned as his own witnesses
Assistant District Attorneys David
Hart and Karl Kindleberger, Capt.
Arthur Miller of the third precinct
and several officers from that pre
cinct, the attorney for the plaintiff, his
bondsman and Liehtenberg.
He called Hart as his first witness
and asked: "Di ' you in your official
capacity recommend that my bail on
this charge be fixed at $500?"
"Yes, I did." replied Hart, "and it
ought to have been $5,000. We know
the sort of man you are.”
Three times during the trial Ravven
asked that the charge be dismissed,
and each lime Judge Curran refused.
After all available witnesses had
been heard, the judge asked Ravven if
he wished to take the stand.
“Well, your honor, I'd like a little
time to think that over,” the defend
ant replied.
“I told you once you could have
no more time," said the judge. “I've
heard the testimony. You can try
to confuse the witnesses if you wish,
but don’t try to confuse me.”
Ravven asked if he could call the
plaintiff to the stand and this was
granted. When Miss Veach stepped
into the witne.ss box, she looked at
Judge Curran and asked: "If I lose
my patience, can I cut loose?” The
judge advised her to keep her patience.
Miss Veach had sworn to a warrant
charging Ravven had threatened her
at her home April 4. The alleged
assault took place at the jewelry store
when Miss Veach called to get her
typewriter.
Some of the witnesses called by
Ravven admitted they were not ac
quainted with the facts in the case,
and didn't know why they were called.
When Miss Veach returned to the
witness stand at Ravven's request, she
said Ravven had brandished a gun
and threatened to kill her if she re
fused to drop the assault charge.
"Then if I said that, why didn't
I kill you," Ravven asked.
According to police records, Rav
ven was convicted of making threats
in June, 1935. and of arson in 1931.
In the latter case, he was sentenced
to three years.
Keene
(■Continued From First Page.)
an old soldier from the Old Soldiers'
Home, near Old Point Comfort, Va.
The man first appeared at his stand
alone. Ebv related, and ordered a
bottle of beer. In a few minutes
Keene walked up to the stand. With
out a word, the stranger shoved the
bottle of beer to the real estate broker,
purchased a soft drink himself and
walked away alone.
In Norfolk the detectives also will
concentrate on finding the client
whom Keene said he planned to visit
to discuss a real estate deal. Keene,
before he left, told friends he had
high hops of completing the deal. He
carried with him pictures of the Po
tomac River property he expected to
sell. But search of his files failed
to reveal any correspondence with a
Norfolk client, and police have been
unable to locate any one who expected
a visit from the Washington broker.
One element of mystery in the baf
fling case was cleared up yesterday
when Mrs. R. F. Loper, gray-haired
Norfolk matron, revealed she had oc
cupied the cabin adjoining Keene’s.
She had been labeled a “mystery wit
ness" following reports that she had
telephoned Norfolk & Washington
Steamboat Co. on the day of Keene’s
disappearance and said she had im
portant information. Police said she
could not be found.
Mrs. Loper declared __o effort had
been made to locate her. She denied
she had telephoned the steamboat
company. Although a light sleeper,
she said, she heard no sound in
Keene's cabin during the night and
did not know it had been occupied
until Wednesday, when she saw her
name in a newspaper.
From the only person abroad in the
early morning in the boat's sleeping
quarters—Walter H. Bowen, the night
watchman—came testimony that a
noise like a muffled shot came from
the rear end of the vessel, where
Keene's cabin was located, at about
1:45 am.
The Federal Board of Inquiry will
meet again in 10 days or two weeks
to consider any new evidence which
may develop in the case. Chairman J.
Frank Staley of the Justice Depart
I ment, said.
A Coast Guard patrol boat is con
tinuing its search for the body of
Keene in the lower Potomac River.
Until the body is found, authorities
pointed out, the possibility that Keene
is still alive will not be overlooked.
Although no motive which might have
prompted the real estate man to walk
off the boat after leaving behind clues
pointing to foul play has been uncov
ered, neither has a motive for murder
or suicide been established, it was
pointed out.
Dog Proves Worth.
MURRAY, Nebr. (fP).—Mr. and Mrs.
Hobart Blake felt they Just couldn’t
afford to keep their dog, so they
abandoned it far from home. Later
they discovered the loss of a pocket
book with their money and they re
traced their route. On the way they
found the pup seeking them. He had
the pocketbook in his mouth. Pup and
purse went back to the Blake house.
i
SHE HELD TOOL
FOR PERSONAL GAIN
Schenck and Stage Union’s
Spokesman Hit Leader
of Film Faction.
F? the Associated Press.
HOLLYWOOD. May 22. — Sharp
words were flung today at the central
figure in Hollywood’s film craft strike.
The oral fireworks apparently
blasted reports that an immediate
peace settlement was in prospect.
Joseph M. Schenck, chairman of
the film producers' special Commit
tee on Labor Relations, denounced
Charles Lessing, head of the Feder
ated Motion Picture Crafts, as having
called the strike April 30 “to further
his personal, selfish interests.”
Schenck accused Lessing of mislead
ing and misinforming the strikers,
members of the federation. He as
serted the producers have been willing
to negotiate all legitimate demands,
and called upon the workers still on
strike to end the walkout.
An equally strong statement, urging
strikers to "purge themselves of Com
rade Charles Lessing and his inner
circle of communistic troublemakers,”
was issued by George Browne, inter
national president of the Interna
tional Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employes.
Replying to Lessing’s charges that
the I. A. T. S. E. "conspired” with
the producers to break the strike,
Browne declared:
"The time has come to refute the
inflammatory and untrue propaganda
of the F M. P. C. Reams of unsub
stantiated rumors and denunciations
of the I. A. T. S. E. have come from
the F. M. P. C. strike headquarters in
the last few weeks in an attempt to
brand the I. A. T. S. E. as a company
union. These are all untruths.”
As the strike entered its fourth
week, the American Federation of
Labor prepared for a labor jurisdic
tional battle between the striking fed
eration and the I. A. T. S. E., which
last month signed a labor agreement
with the producers.
GEN. CROFT TO RETIRE
Maj. Gen. Edward Croft, chief of
Infantry, will retire from active serv
ice at his own request on October 31
after more than 39 years of military
duty.
Gen. Croft is a native of Greenville,
S. C. His four-year term as chief of
Infantry expires Monday. He will be
succeeded in that post by Maj. Gen.
George A. Lynch.
Georgia Man Electrocuted.
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga., May 22 UP).
—Leaving behind oral and written
protestations of innocence, Ell Melton,
29, of Columbus, was electrocuted yes
terday on a charge of criminally as
saulting a young woman in February,
1936.
COURT SETS SAIL
FOR ALEUTIANS
Cutter Carrying Federal
Judge and Staff Leaves
Seward.
By the Associated Press.
SEWARD, Alaska, May 22—The
Coast Guard cutter Haida steamed out
today on a 3,500-mile voyage to bring
the justice of Alaska's unique floating
Federal Court to the bleak Aleutian
Islands.
For 37 years, judges of the third
Alaskan judicial district periodically
have carried justice "to the Westward”
in revenue, Coast Guard and similar
craft.
Judge Simon Hellenthal’s voyage
this year stops first at Kodiak and
then provides for 30 days of cruising
among the rocky little islands of the
Aleutian chain.
Court dates are advertised 30 days
ahead. Last year’s floating court
made every port of call on schedule
despite stormy seas.
From the time when former Judge
James Wickergham made the first
floating court voyage to the scattered
settlements in 1900, until last year, it
was a men-only affair. This year, for
the second consecutive time, women
are permitted to accompany the court.
They include Mrs. Hellenthal and
daughter, Mary Claire; Peggy John
son, court reporter, and Anna Mae
Thomas, deputy clerk.
Warren A. Taylor, assistant United
States district attorney, and J. B.
Carlyle, territorial license collector,
also are aboard the cutter.
Court is held in any available build
ing—school house, dance hall, trading
post or church. If there are no ac
commodations ashore. Judge Hellen
thal holds court on the Haida.
All but the most serious cases are
handled on the spot, many date back
to the preceding Autumn when ice
closed navigation for the year. The
most serious matters are bound over
to the Fall term of court at Valdez.
Coast Guard officers on Bering Sea
and Arctic patrols are United States
commissioners, handling inquests and
minor law violations.
Taxes
_(Continued From First Page.l
are intended only for highway pur
poses.
5. Sales tax, estimated to produce
$5,300,000. On this proposal the com
mittee said:
“The committee concludes, after
consideration of all the circumstances,
that a sales tax is the most logical
method of raising the additional fund
necessary for balancing the budget.
Food Is Exempted.
“The principal objection to this
form of taxation is that the poor man
pays equally with the rich in the pur
chase of necessities. This objection,
however, is obviated by exempting food
from the operation of this tax. which
exemption this committee recom
mends. The purchase of other com
modities is in a fair proportion to in
come and ability to pay.
'The committee is informed that
during the past calendar year, retail
sales in the District amounted to
$335,000,000, of which $70,000,000 rep
resented sales of food. This leaves ap
proximately $265,000,000 upon which a
2-cent tax could be levied, and would
produce approximately $5,300,000.
Many States have enacted sales tax
laws, one of the mcwt successful being
California. That law was approved on
July 1, 1933, and the committee un
derstands it is working satisfactorily.
In the opinion of the committee the
burden of collecting and paying the
tax should be placed upon the re
tailer."
The committee and the Commis
sioners turned to the sales tax as a
substitute for a suggested income tax
because of serious doubts as to the
constitutionality of the District taxing
the incomes of Federal workers and
because of the argument that such a
levy would be inequitable if the many
thousands of Government workers
were exempt. They argued that there
was a reasonable certainty as to the
amounts to be collected under the pro
posed five-point program, that none of
the proposed new items involved the
repeal of existing tax laws and that
there was ample precedent for the new
levies proposed.
Avoid Business Privilege Tax.
The committee and the Commis
sioners stated that the suggested busi
ness privilege tax had been laid aside
for the time being because such a levy
would require time for consideration
in order to determine the treatment to
be given peculiar classes of business,
the effect of the tax on wholesalers
and retailers and the resultant effect
on consumers or users of commodities
or services. The proposed business
privilege tax. as well as the existing
real estate levies and the suggested
District income tax, all would be
studied during the recess of Congress
under the proposed survey of the Dis
trict’s tax structure.
The Commissioners made plain that
they recognize there would be need
for provision of additional personnel
in the administration of the estate and
inheritance tax and the sales tax, and
said it was possible additional per
sonnel would be needed In connection
with the motor vehicle weight tax.
One further point emphasized by
the Commissioners was that it would
be essential for Congress to give the
District authority to obtain advances
from the Treasury during the next
fiscal year, so as to avoid creation of a
deficit, for the reason that under the
new tax program much of their ex
pected new tax receipts might not
come in early enough in the year to
meet current bills.
The report of the Commissioners
was signed by all of the committee,
Maj. Daniel J. Donovan, District
auditor and budget officer, who was
chairman; Corporation Counsel El
wood H. Seal; his principal assistant,
Vernon E. West; Highway Director H.
C. Whitehurst, Richmond B. Keech,
vice chairman of the Public Utilities
Commission; District Assessor Fred
D. Allen and one of his assistants, H.
D. Scantlin.
POLICEMAN HURT
Struck When Base Ball Bat Slips
From Player’s Hands.
Policeman Joseph D. Loughrin, 28,
of 3025 Dumbarton avenue is in Emer
gency Hospital today suffering from
a head injury received in West Poto
mac Park yesterday when struck by
a base ball bat which slipped from
the hands of a player.
Loughrin, who was in his base ball
uniform, was walking behind home
plate when struck. He is attached
to the seventh precinct.
Blaze Damages Army Transport
The United States Army transport Gen. Rucker, pictured at her dock at Fort Washington,
Md., where a fire destroyed most of her superstructure early today. Damage was estimated at
$40,000 to $50,000. The crew of eight and the captain escaped iLnhurt when the flames were
noticed by a sentry on the wharf. —Star Staff Photo.
PRESS HELD SLAVE
TO POPULAR DEMAND
Bishop Kelly of Oklahoma Urges
Newspapers to Enshrine
"Responsibility.”
By the Associated Press.
ROCHESTER. N. Y., May 22.—As
serting that the secular press is the
slave of popular demand, Most Rev.
Francis C. Kelly, Bishop of Oklahoma
City and Tulsa, Okla., last night urged
American newspapers to enshrine "re- i
sponsibility’’ along with news value \
as their ‘'saint."
He spoke at a meeting of the Cath
olic Press Association.
“It is unfortunate for this most!
popular of all teachers," Bishop Kelly
said, "that it is rarely free to teach
anything but what its pupils demand
should be taught. * * *
"It has to accept popular prejudices
and teach them not only on the edi
torial pages, but in the news columns. !
* * * With some notable and creditable
exceptions, it goes along with the
crowd instead of trying to educate
it. • * *
“It has made a cononization and
proclaimed a saint, news value. It !
wants no other. It is the best paid on |
earth: if not in money, in loyalty, for I
everybody reads it. * * *
"One would think that there might
well be another saint in the press
calendar: Saint Responsibility. If the
press is to maintain its position as a
teacher, it should consider its respon
sibility to its pupils. It's one saint
towers too high."
Bishop Kelly said the amount of
money spent on education today would
have "staggered the beliefs" of people
50 years ago.
“But what has been the harvest?"
he continued. "Everybody can read
and write, but few can reason."
BRAINS REPLACE BEAUTY
- i
Georgia Business Woman Sees
Change in Employers' Views.
ATLANTA. May 22 </P).—A pretty
face definitely is off the •must” list
as an employment requisite, a Georgia
business woman said today.
What employers want is brains, said
Mrs. Clara C. Conroy of Albany, pres- |
ident of the Georgia Federation of 1
Business Women's and Professional !
clubs. |
The beauty requirements as job get- j
ters are symbols of the flapper era, i
she said, emphasizing that ‘‘the worn- j
an seeking employment today must be i
qualified. She must have a broad- i
ened knowledge of the world ”
Strike
<Continued From First Page.!
strikers who returned found the doors
locked. Plant No. 2 was unaffected.
Saxton indicated he expected the
strikers to return to work Monday.
The plants do not operate Saturdays.
The factory was moved to Saginaw 1
from Toledo some time ago because
of labor troubles in the Ohio city.
Says Operations Unprofitable.
The Yale & Towne Manufacturing
Co. announced late yesterday that it
was discontinuing its operations in
Detroit, saying they had not been
profitable. The factory produced
automobile locks and its employes
varied from 400 to 800—mostly women
—depending upon the demand for its
product.
The plant had been closed since
March 9, when U. A. W. A. members
W*gan a sit-down. Police and deputy
sheriffs ejected the strikers April 14.
Maurice H. McMahon, company at
torney, said that "although we have
been told repeatedly by the U. A. W. A.
that they knew more about our
affairs than we did, the operation
was not profitable. We have had
meeting after meeting with the union,
but have been unable to reach a
settlement.”
Walter Reuther, president of the
union’s West Side local, disputed this
last statement, asserting that the
U. A. W. A. members had "accepted
a very unsatisfactory settlement for
the sake of industrial peace” and
that the announcement the Detroit
division would be closed followed this.
The union announced that a staff
of organizers officially will open an
intense campaign to enlist employes
of the Ford Motor Co. Monday. Rich
ard T. Frankensteen, U. A. W. A.
organizational director, will supervise
the drive and J. J. Kennedy, an or
ganizer, will be in charge of the two
offices being opened near the main
Ford plant in Dearborn.
Homer Martin, the union’s inter
national president, said recently that
the U. A. W. A. already had enrolled
about 10,000 Ford workers.
Cards bearing Henry Ford’s anti
union views have been circulated
among the company’s 150,000 employes
in the United States this week. There
are 90,000 employes of the company
here, where the union is concen
trating its campaign at present.
Warns of Strike Spread.
“It may be inevitable that the
strike will be spread to the company’s
other plants,” Reuther said. He
added that the union would fight the
company’s action “through every
channel, legal or otherwise,” and that
Gov. Prank Murphy would be asked
to Investigate the factory’s discon
tinuance.
U. S. Spurns Offer of One Cent
For Lighthouse, Explains Error
By the Associated Press.
The Government flatly refused an
offer of 1 cent yesterday for the fa
mous Mattapoisett Lighthouse on
Buzzards Bay. Mass
Seeking to drive some hard bargains
with three New England lighthouse
sites, the Treasury Procurement Di
vision offered them for sale a couple j
of days ago.
Yesterday the postman brought a
letter from J. A. Stowell, Crescent
Beach. Mattapoisett, which said:
"I read the enclosed adv. that the |
Neds Point lighthouse property is soon
to be offered for sale to the lowest bid
der. X therefore enclose herewith the ;
sum of one cent—my bid and payment
in full.'’
An official shook the envelope. Out
rolled a bright new penny. With con- j
sidcrable astonishment, he continued
reading.
■'Please have the necessary papers
made out to me and forwarded at
your earliest convenience."
Accompanying the penny was a
newspaper clipping. Swooping upon
it, the official searched its wording.
Sure enough, there it was—“To the
lowest bidder."
Consternation spread through cer
tain sections of the Procurement Di- ;
vision. Buttons were pressed. Buzzers
buzzed and clerks came running.
They got out the original order.
It said that the Government would
open bids June 7 on the lighthouses
and sell to the “highest” bidder.
A departmental sigh sounded
through the division.
A few minutes later a letter was on
its way to Stowell—along with his
penny.
Thanks for the offer, it was ex
plained, but there has been a mistake
somewhere between Washington and
Massachusetts.
Just to keep the record straight, the
Government continued. “Little Dia
mond Lighthouse." off Portland. Me.,
and “Straitsmouth." of! Rockport,
Mass., are not for sale for a penny,
either.
The terms are to the “highest" bid
der. not “lowest.”
POPE HIE BOOK
10 ASSAIL NAZIS'
Document Completed After
Long Period and Soon
to Be Issued.
By the Associated Press.
VATICAN CITY. May 22.—A while
book" attacking the German govern
ment's treatment of German Catholics, ;
may be published "at any moment” i
by Pope Pius, Vatican prelates said [
yesterday. I
The Pontiff has completed the doc- '
ument on which he has been working j
for many months despite his illness, 1
they declared
The book is intended to show that if !
the German-Vatican concordat of
1933 has been violated, the German ,
government, not the Holy See, was the
violator.
The concordat prescribed separate
fields for the church and the govern
ment in Germany. Catholic spokes
men have asserted the Hitler gov
ernment tried to deny the church its
guaranteed privilege of religious train
ing for Catholic youth.
tThe Pope, in a pastoral letter cir
culated to German Catholics in March,
asserted the Nazi regime had violated
the concordat and encouraged anti
Christian movements.)
Concerning the anti-Hitler remarks
of George Cardinal Mundelein of Chi
cago. Vatican informants declared the
papal administration would take no
action. He is free to speak as he wishes,
they said.
NAZI PASSPORTS REFUSED.
14 Lutheran Opponents of Policy j
Banned From Parley.
BERLIN, May 22 (/P).—Police re
fused today to issue passports to 14
Lutheran opponents of Nazi church
policy who had been named as a dele
gation to the Oxford ecumenical con
ference in England
Rev. Martin Niemoeller and Rev.
Friedrich Otto Dibelius. leaders of the
Nazis’ confessional clerical opposition,
were to have been members of the
deputation. Both have been in re
peated difficulties with the Third
Reich. Rev. Mr. Dibelius, former
evangelical church superintendent for
Brandenburg, has been suspended.
Rev. Mr. Neimoeller was prohibited
from delivering a Whitsuntide sermon
last Sunday.
An official delegation, appointed by
Hans Kerri, head of the Reich De
partment of Church Affairs, mean
while, canceled its acceptance of an
invitation to the conference, which is
to discuss “state and church."
Government sources reported that
the German secret police is seeking
suspects who may have given George
Cardinal Mundelein of Chicago infor
mation for his anti-Nazi speech and
who, under German law could be
charged with treason.
Death from the executioner's ax is
the penalty upon conviction.
Foreign observers believed, however,
that retaliation would be directed
against religious organizations rather
than individuals if there is evidence
that information was supplied from
German sources.
Cardinal Mundelein in a Chicago
speech Tuesday said the German gov
ernment was inspiring stories of whole
sale immorality among priests and Lay
brothers in monasteries “in compari
son with which the war-time propa
ganda is almost like bedtime stories.”
Marine Barracks Contract Let.
J. Gecrge Bensel Co., 1535 East
North avenue, Baltimore, today was
awarded a contract for $9,100 for
remodeling the heating and pumping
systems of the Major General Com
mandant’s Quarters at the Marine
Barracks here. This was part of a
public works program, under the
Bureau of Yards and Docks, Navy
Department, for $30,420, in various
sections of the country.
President Begins
First of Summers
Week-End Cruises
Secretary Morgenthau,
Mrs. James Roosevelt
in Party on Yacht.
President Roosevelt is to embark
on his first week-end cruise of the
season tills afternoon aboard the
presidential yacht Potomac. He plans
to be back at the White House about
5 p.m. tomorrow.
With the President on his outing
will be Secretary of the Treasury Mor
genthau and Mrs. James Roosevelt,
wife of the President’s eldest son and
Sara, her 5-year-old daughter
James Roosevelt, who is scheduled
to make an address at Brooklyn. N. Y.,
tonight, has arranged to join the boat
ing party somewhere on the Potomic
River tomorrow morning.
The President will board the yacht
at the Marine base dock at Quantico.
Va On his way to the waterfront he
will throw out the first ball starting
a ball game between the National Press
Club and members of Congress.
M’GRADY LINKED
WITH NEW POSITION
Assistant Secretary of Labor May
Head Distilled Spirits
Institute. Inc.
Er thp Associated Press.
NEW YORK, May 22 —The Herald
Tribune says Edward F. McGrady. ace
trouble-shooter for the Labor Depart
ment. may be elected president of
the Distilled Spirits Institute. Inc.,
the liquor industry’s self-regulatory
organization, when its board meets
here Tuesday.
The paper said it got its information
from ‘'sources close to the board.”
although members denied that the
Assistant Secretary of Labor or any
other person had been decided upon
definitely.
The post has been vacant since the
death of W. Forbes Morgan. April 20.
McGrady was pictured as long de
sirous of leaving his Government post,
but as planning to carry out one more
assignment—that of representing the
Government at the International Labor
Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
June 3.
Mr. McGrady was out of Washington
today and his office admitted to no
knowledge of the reported appoint
ment. It was said that he has made
plans to leave next Wednesday for the
Geneva conference.
-•
D. C. CONSUMER COUNCIL
ASKS FOR MILK PROBE
President Thinks Federal Trade
Commission Could Air Facts
on Prices.
The Washington Consumers’ Coun
cil today suggested that the Federal
Trade Commission investigate the
milk industry in Washington. Mrs.
John Boyle, jr., president of the coun
cil, an independent group of citizens,
issued this statement to support her
request:
“The Consumers’ Council believes
an investigation at this time would be
decidedly wholesome for the welfare
of the general citizenry and might
disclose some of the reasons why
Washington milk consumers pay a
price which is among the highest in
the Nation, though we are located in
the midst of a great milk-producing
area.”
Alumnae at Exercises.
Washington alumnae of Wilson
College were in Chambersburg, Pa.,
today 4o attend the Inauguration of
Paul Swain Havens as president of
the institution. Representatives of
200 colleges, universities and sec
ondary sohools throughout the coun
try also were present.
ARMY TRANSPORT
SWEPT BY FLAMES
Captain and Crew Flee Blaze
Aboard General Rucker,
at Fort Washington.
By a Staff Correspondent of The Star,
FORT WASHINGTON. Md . May
22.—Eight crew members and the
captain of the United States Army
transport Gen Rucker, tied to the
dock here, fled to safety early today
when flames swept the ship's super
structure to be checked only after a
45-minute battle by soldiers sum
moned through a general post alarm.
The blaze, apparently originating
from a smouldering cigar or cigarette
in the officers’ smoking room, was
first noticed by a guard on the wharf
shortly before 2 am. The sentry
wakened the men asleep on the trans
port and sounded the alarm.
Damage was estimated at $40,000
to $50,000
A board of inquiry convened at the
post today.
Floats With List.
Still floating with an acute list at
the dock this morning, the Gen.
Rucker was famed for her concrete
hull. Her sister ship was recently
damaged by an explosion at the Canal
Zone, where she is undergoing re
pairs. The two craft, built about 17
years ago, are the only ships with
concrete bottoms still in United States
sendee.
Utilizing a hydrant on the dock,
firefighters from the post department
were able to check the flames before
they reached the engine room and
other quarters in the hull. Five hun
dred soldiers, the entire post per
sonnel, gathered at the wharf in re
sponse to the alarm to witness ths
spectacular blaze shooting 100 feet
high.
Although no injuries were reported,
several firefighters were endangered
when a 60-gallon fuel oil tank behind
the pilot house exploded shortly after
the alarm was sounded.
I'sed on Excursions.
Commanded by Paul Gau. the ship
Is principally used to transport mate
rials between the Army War College in
Washington and the fort. The trans
port Is familiar to thousands of Wash
ingtonians, however, who have taken
excursions on her, since the craft was
frequently used by organizations for
trips down the Potomac.
The General Rucker was used yes
terday by a group of officers from the
War College who sailed down the
river to the Chesapeake Bay.
THE WEATHER
District of Columbia—Showers and
thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow;
cooler tomorrow, moderate south shift*
ing to northwest winds.
Maryland and Virginia—Showers
and probably thunderstorms tonight
and tomorrow; cooler tomorrow.
West Virginia — Showers and
thunderstorms tonight probably end
ing tomorrow morning; cooler tonight
and tomorrow.
River Report.
Potomac and Shenandoah River*
clear this morning.
Rrport for Last 11 Honrs.
„ , Temperature. Barometer
Yesterday— Degrees. Inches.
4 pm. 79.9:;
8 n m _ _ 77 *29 9:;
Midnight _ 64 29.97
Tod a y—
1 a m.__ 59 29.88
8 a.m. -.'9 91
Noon 84 29.90
Record for Last 21 Hours.
‘From noon yesterday to noon today.'
Highest, 84. at noon today: year ago. 72.
Lowest. 59 at 4 a.m .. year ago. 51.
Record Temperatures This Year.
Highest. 93 on April 1R
Lowest. 19. on February 28.
Humidity for Last 21 Hours.
'From noon yesterday to noon today.)
Highest. 67 p*»r cent at 4 a m.
Lowest. 48 per cent, at noon today.
Tide Tables.
I (Furnished bv United States Coast and
Geodetic Survey.)
I Today Tomorrow.
High -- 5.57 a.m. 6:40 a m.
Low - - 12:15a.m. 1:00a.m.
; High 619 p.m. 7:(Hipm.
Low - _ 12.55 pm 1.39 p.m.
The Sun and Moon.
FLses. Sets.
Sun. today __ 4:50 7:19
Sun tomorrow 4 49 7 2o
Moon, today 5:11p.m. 3:00am.
Automobile lights must be turned on
, one-half hour after sunset.
Precipitation.
! Monthly precipitation in Inches In the
Capital icurren; month to date):
Month. 1937. Avge. Record
January _ 7.83 3.55 7.83 37
February_ 3.33 3.27 6 84 's-4
March_ 1.50 3.75 8.84 '91
April _6.85 .“.7 7 9.13
May _ __ 1.66 3.7o 10 69 89
June__ 4.13 10.94 *oo
1 July _ 4.71 10.63 86
August _ 4.01 14.41 *28
; September _ 3.24 17.45 *34
1 October _ 2.84 8.57 ’86
Novemoer _ 2.37 8.69 '89
j December __ __ 3.32 7.56 *01
Weather in Various Cities.
Temp Rain
' Stations. Baro Hh.Low .fall. Weath’r
i Abilene. Tex 20.SO 04 04 Clear
i Albany N Y 20.SO 70 52 Cloudy
1 Atlanta. Ga :tnn4 on 00 0.01 Clear
Atlantic City 20.02 TO 58 Clear
Baltimore. Md. 21000 ?s 00 Clear
Birmingham 90.02 02 04 0.04 Clear
Bismarck N D :;o.o2 os 44 Clear
■ Boston. Mass 20 !»4 74 50 Cloudy
Buffalo. N Y 20.1 s OS 50 0.18 Cloudy
I Charleston. S.C. .io.io so os Clear
1 Chicago 111 20.S4 S2 on Cloudy
Cincinnati O. 20.On ss 04 Ram
Cleveland. O. 20.so is on 0.12 Cloudy
Columbia. S. C. oo.oo so 00 Clear
Denver Colo. on. is OS OS Clear
Detion. Mich. 20.TS 70 On 0.78 Cloudy
PI Paso Tex. 20 7 4 02 02 Clear
Galveston Tex. 20.04 S2 74 Clear
Helena. Mont 20.02 00 40 Clear
Huron. S. Dak. On.04 os 4s Clear
Indianapolis * 20.84 So 02 0.10 Cloudy
Jacksonville on.ns s4 os Clear
Kansas City 20.00 10 02 0.60 Cloudy
Los Angeles 20.80 OS 5S Ram
Louisville. Ky. 20.00 ss oo Cloudy
Miami. Fla. 10.04 so 70 Clear
Minneapolis 20.On 02 4H _Clear
New Orleans 00.02 on 7n Clear
New York N Y 20.92 74 02 Clear
Oklahoma City 20.88 80 on 0.02 Cloudy
Omaha. Nebr. On on sn 5n Cloudy
Philadelphia 29.92 70 58 . Clear
Phoenix. Ariz 29.72 Ion OS Cloudy
Pittsburgh Pa. 29.88 Sn 02 0.02 Cloudy
Portland. Me 20.00 00 48 Clear
Portland Oreg. 90.14 7S 59 _ Cloudy
Raleigh. N. C. 0002 80 02 Clear
Salt Lake City 20.82 70 44 Clear
San Antonio 20.so 00 in _ _ Cloudy
San Diego Cal. 29.84 02 50 _ Ram
San Francisco 29.82 5S 5<» Cloudy
St Louis. Mo. 20.72 S4 02 0.02 Ram
Seattle Wash. on. in os 40 0.04 Cloudy
Spokane. Wash. 20.is 7S ."*0 0.02 Cloudy
Tampa. Fla 90.04 90 OS Clear
WASH.. D. C. 29.90 78 50 ... Clear
Washington Produce
BUTTER—92 score 1-pound prints. 35:
Va-pound prints. 'Mi: tub. 34; On score. 1
pound prints. 34: ’4-pound prints, 35;
tub. 33.
MEATS—Choice beef. 1K: calves. 10:
veal. 10; lamb. 23: pork loin. 28; frozen
pork 23: fre.sh ham. 22; smoked ham. 25;
sliced bacon. 33: slab bacon. 28; com
pound. 13*2: lard. 14*^
LIVE STOCK—Piss. O^alO: light hogs,
10*4ainI-2: mediums ln'.-aln3^: heavies.
i>34alo*i: sows. 8*/4a834: calves. oaiO;
lambs. 9a 13.
Prices paid shippers net f ob. Wash
ington By the United States Bureau of
Agricultural Economics
EGGS—Market steady and unchanged.
Current receipts. IK-181 hennery whites.
19-20. Government graded and dated
white eggs—U S. extras, large. 24: U S.
extras, mediums. 20; U. S. standards,
large. 20*6.
LIVE POULTRY—Market quiet and un
changed. Fowl—Colored, heavy. 10-17,
A few at 18: Leghorns. 13-14. Chicken%
crosses. 23-24Vi: Rocks. 25; Leghorns. 2
pounds. 19-20; less than 2 pounds. 17-18.
1 Turkeys, old hens. 17; old toms, 14.