Evening star. [volume], April 28, 1947, Image 17

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

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SOCIETY AND GENERAL NEWS
WASHINGTON, D. C.
©letting
WASHINGTON NEWS
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 1947
Β
Probers Hear
Of Overbuying
By GSI Agent
Items Were Resold
To Jobber Who
Reaped Profit
By Joseph Young
Over-purchases by Government
Services, Inc. of hard-to-get items
during the war, which Ultimately
were resold by a New York jobber
at a handsome profit to the Balti
more Se Ohio Railroad and Gimbel's
Department Store in New York, to
day came under fire of the Senate
Civil Service Committee.
The committee heard testimony
from its investigators that GSI
during the war overloaded on pur
chases of dungarees, shirts, coats
and cans of vegetable juices and
then resold them to the New York
broker.
W. E. Posev, the committee in
vestigator. said the jobber lost no
time in reselling the goods to Gim
bel's and the B. & O. Railroad at
a substantial profit.
Purchasing· Agent Criticized.
This disclosure brought an ac
knowledgment from F. W. Hoover,
GSI manager, that the nonprofit
corporation's purchasing agent
"must have gone haywire" in over
purchasing the items.
Senator Baldwin, Republican, of
Connecticut, chairman of the spe
cial subcommittee investigating the
operation of GSI's 53 Federal cafe
terias here, replied:
"I can understand how a com
pany could make a mistake and
overpurcha.se one item, but I don't
see how you could have been un
aware of the overpurchasing of four
items."
Senator Baldwin added that the
committee would inquire more
closely into the realtionship between
GSI and the New York jobber who
was identified as Jack Freeman.
Mr. Posey said that from 1941 to
1946, GSI purchased 1.998 dozen
pairs Of dungarees for its male em
ployes. GSI officials acknowledged
that they only employed a few
thousand men at that time.
Dungarees Are Resold.
A total of 1,160 dozen of the dun
garees was purchased by GSI in
1942 and later that year 900 dozen
were resold to the New York jobber,
the committee was told. Mr. Hoover
told the committee that GSI made
a slight profit on the transaction.
Mr. Posey declared that the job
ber in turn resold the garments at
a profit of 75 cents to $1.50 a dozen.
Likewise, Mr, Posey said GSI sold
310 dozen work short and 340 dozen
work coats to Mr. Freeman, who
in turn, sold the garments to Gim
bel's for a substantial profit,
The committee was further in
formed that GSI purchased 5,000
cases of canned vegetable juices and
sold 2,329 cases to- Mr. Freeman.
The Jobber, in turn, rèsold the cases
»t a profit to the railroad, he added.
George D. Riley, the committee
(staff director, wanted to know if
GSI had taken advantage of its
Government priority to purchase
these items during the war. Mr.
Hoover said he did not believe that
this was the case.
Regar Feted on Retirement
As Sunday School Head
Members and teachers of the First
Evangelical and Reformed Church
Sunday school class yesterday paid
tribute to Robert S. Regar, retiring
after serving for over. 30 years as
Sunday school superintendent of
the church at Thirteenth and Mon
roe streets N.W. He was presented |
with a clock, a testimonial scroll and
flowers.
Mr. Regar, who is 65, has been
teaching Sunday school here and in
Pennsylvania for nearly 50 years.
He came to Washington in 1909. As
an official of the Post Office Depart
ment. he rose to the position of
Third Assistant Postmaster General.
He is now chairman of the depart
ment's welfare and recreation serv
ices and superintendent of office
procedure and forms.
He was graduated by Georgetown
University Law School In 1912.
Five Hurt as Car Rams
Electric Light Pole
Five persons were injured yester
day when an automobile driven by
Nick William Koustenis, 23. struck
an electric light pole at Minnesota
avenue and F streets S.E.. police ι
reported.
Mr Koustenis was admitted to
Casualty Hospital with possible in
ternal injuries, face cuts and a pos
sible fractured arm.
Three members of his family and
* fourth person of the same name
but unrelated to the Koustenis' also
were injured. The non - relative,
Harry Koustenis, 23. of 3517 Minne
sota avenue N.E.. did not require
hospital treatment, police said.
The driver's brother, John, 19,
and sisters, Jennie. 25. and Helen,
22, suffered cuti and bruises. The
Koustenis live at 2709 Branch ave
nue S.E.
Mitchell Will Discuss
Truman Loyalty Probe
President Truman's loyalty inves
tigation order will be discussed by
Harry B. Mitchell, president of the
Civil Service Commission; at 6:30
ο clock tonight at a dinner meeting
given by the Society for Personnel
Administration.
TTie meeting *111 be held in the
YWCA. Seventeenth and Κ streets
N.W. Luther Steward, president of
the National Federation of Federal
Employes also will speak.
St. Louis Man's Death
Due to Natural Causes
Deputy Coroner Richard M. Ros
enberg. today issued a certificate of
•"leath due to natural causes in the
"ase of J. F. O. Relier, 83, a real es
'ate dealer from St. Louis, who was
found dead in his room at the
V'ashington Hotel yesterday.
Police said Mr. Relier checked in1
*t the hotel at 8 a. m„ and was
found unconscious two hours later.
He was pronounced dead at Gal
linger hospital. /
Price Cut Plan
Gets Slow Star!
At Hyattsville
Survey Shows Only
30 Pet. of Stores
Are Co-operating
Hyattsville got off to a slow start
today in the announced plan of the
town's merchants to reduce their
prices 10 per cent in line with the
! Newburyport plan.
A survey indicated that no more
than 30 per cent of the Hyattsville
merchants were adhering to ,the
plan. Those who had pi ι the plan
into effect said that so far there has
been no noticeable stimulation in
I trade.
The owner of a men's clothing
store, Samuel Wolloch, said he was
I vigorously opposed to the whole
! scheme.
"Price cuts will have to originate
with the manufacturer and distribu
tor," he said. "This 10 per cent plan
on the part of the retailers is ruin
ous and would eventually put us out
of business."
On the other hand, L. W. Carr
proprietor of a large, independent
market, expressed the opinion that
the plan should result in a worth
while stimuiatien of business. He
added that he could not guarantee a
straight 10 per cent cut, but would
reduce prices in line with the mark
up profit.
Drug Price Cute Limited.
Such items as milk, bread and
sugar, he said, could not be reduced
in price because of the low margin
of profit "at current prices."
At a men's wear store and at
least one women's apparel shop,
prices were being cut a straight 10
per cent on almost all items, from
women's stockings to men's felt
hats.
A druggist said that the drug
business could not very well follow
the plan because of fair-trade agree
ments regarding fixing the prices of
most drugstore items.
The price of a haircut and a shave
in Hyattsville was the same as usual
this morning, but at at least one
jewelry store a shopper today could
buy watches, fountain pens, earrings,
etc., and have repair work done at
the 10 per cent reduction.
At one hardware store it was said
that prices of items such as paints,
garden hose and lawnmowers would
be reduced later in the day. The
owner of another hardware estab
lishment, however, said he did not
plan to cut prices.
D. C. Businessmen Skeptical.
Washington businessmen, many
of them frankly skeptical about the
plah's effectiveness here, will watch
results in Hyattsville with more
than passing interest.
Hyattsville is the first community
in the Washington area to adopt the
Newsburyport plan, which is spread
ing through the country in the wake
of President Truman's appeal for
price reductions to avert inflation.
Georgetown businessmen also are
watching Hyattsville. Seventy-six
merchants already have agreed to
cut prices 10 per cent starting
Thursday invwhat proponents have
termed the Georgetown plan. At
the end of the month customers will
receive an additional 2 per cent re
bate on every $100 worth of mer
jiVinytflixA '
ν..ν·-·ν«<Μν j/uiVituOUU>
160 Expected to Join.
James P. Fitch, spokesman for the
Georgetown Trade Guild, which is
sponsoring the drive, said workers
were continuing to canvass mer
chants. He said he was confident
that at least 150 businessmen in
Georgetown would sign up.
On the national price front, Leon
H. Keyserling, vice chairman of the
President's Council of Economic
Advisers, called on industry for
"systematic and orderly price reduc
tions on a large enough scale to be
significant." He added that price
reductions already made are en
couraging but "they do not measure
up to what needs to be done."
Other price developments in
cluded :
1. The National Federation of
Small Business, Inc., urged Presi
dent Truman to order more vigorous
enforcement of the anti-trust laws
as a means of bringing prices down.
2. Senator Flanders, Republican, of
Vermont, chairman.of a subcommit
tee of the Senate-House committee
charged with considering the eco
nomic reports of Mr. Keyserling's
group, announced plans to size up
the effects of the Newbuyport plan.
Synchronization Needed.
Mr. Keyserling. without referring
directly to the program of mer
chants at Newburyport. said that
reductions in wholesale and retail
prices need to be "carefully syn
chronized." He added that "it is a
difficult feat of business engineering
to accomplish price reductions with
out bringing on corresponding de
flation in employment and produc
tion" but "it can be done,"
Mr. Keyserling. a former Federal
Housing official, declared that there
are "crucial spots in our. economy
where the price level is still too high
to comport with continued large
volume operations" and cited the
construction industry.
Big Companies Blamed.
The National Federation of Small
Business, a private organization,
made oublie a teleo-mm fmm itc
president, C. Wilson Harder, to Mr.
Truman, which declared that most
high prices result from "allowing too
much economic power to get into
the hands of a few giant corpora
tions." They can maintain artificial
prices and control the market, he
asserted.
Mr. Harder urged more vigorous
enforcement of the anti-trust laws
as a means to encourage competi
tive price levels. He asked addi
tional funds to help the anti-trust
division of the Justice Department.
Senator Flanders, telling news
men of his intention of looking into
the Newburyport. plan, called it "a
commendable experiment" but not
the final answer to the national
problem. Whether it can succeed,
he added, will depend not alone
on the merchants but on the whole
sale prices they must pay.
Sylvan Deitz. spokesman for the
Hyattsville unit of the Prince
Georges County Independent Trade
Association, predicted that another
10 or 12 merchants probably would
join the campaign within a few
days.
Another price development finds
the Crosse & Blackwell Co., in Bal
timore, reducing its canned soups
15 per cent "to help prevent a gen
eral business recession."
NEW MEDICAL FACILITY NEARS COMPLETION — This view from the air
shows extent of the new George Washington University Hospital at Wash
ington Circle, the exterior of which virtually is finished. Work of outfitting
the 405-bed structure is in progress, and it is hoped first patients can be
admitted by late summer. The small building visible at the corner of Twenty
third and I streets was left standing for use as builders' offices, but is marked
for eventual razing. The new hospital will be the largest private building in
the District. —Star Staff Photo by Ffancis Routt.
National Theater Suit
On Racial Ban Settled
With Ticket Refund
A suit against the National The
ater for refund of the purchase price
of tickets hgld by colored persons
: who were refused admission was set
tled today before Judge Nadine Gal
lagher in small claims section of
Mùnicipal Court.
After a long conference and a
telephone call to New York to Mar
cus Heiman, owner of the theater,
opposing attorneys came before
Judge Gallagher with an agreement.
Robert E. Kline, jr., attorney for
the theater, said his client would
confess judgment of the $77 sought
by the plaintiffs. He agreed the
judgment should be entered on the
record and that the money, purchase
price of 22 tickets, will be refunded.
The policy of the theater will not
be changed. Mr. Kline said, and the
agreement to settle was without
prejudice to the theater's defense of
similar future cases, should any
occur.
L. A. Ransom, chairman of the
the Committee for Racial Democra
cy, said that neither the plaintiffs
or the committee would buy blocks
of tickets for use of colored persons
until June 1, 1948.
That date is the dealine which
Actors' Equity, the union of actors
with headquarters in New York,
has given the theater to change its
policy of barring Negroes. Members
of Actors Equity will not play in
the theater after that date, if a
change has not been made, the
union has informed the manage
ment.
The suit was brought by seven
white persons whose Negro guests,
holding tcikets, were refused ad
mittance to the theater on Decem
ber 11. Those who sued were Jean
Campbell Clements. 1909 Nineteenth
street N.W.; David Lachenbruch,
1635 Connecticut avenue N.W.;
Helen May Gould. 3051 Ε street
N.W.; Herbert C. Holdridge. 3541
Τ street N.W.; Joseph Bierstein,
1445 Clifton street N.W., and Helen
Rice, 1837 Monroe street N.W.
Three of the plaintiffs, accord
ing to Mr. Ransom, are members
of the Committee for Racial
Democracy. j
Paul A. Porter Will Join
Arnold-Fortas Law Firm
Paul A. Porter, former price ad
ministrator, is joining the Wash
ington law firm of Thurman Ar
nold, former assistant Attorney
general, and Abe Fortas. one-time
undersecretary of the interior, on
May 15.
On that date. Mr. Porter will be
come a partner and the firm will be
known as Arnoldd, Fortas and
Porter.
Mr. Porter has just resigned as
head of an economic mission to ;
Greece, with the rank of Ambas- ;
sador.
The law firm has offices in the!
Bowen Building.
Before joining ΟΡΑ, Mr. Porter
was chairman of the Federal Com
munications Commission.
Senator Hoey Conducts
Sunday School Class
The Mount Vernon place Meth
odist Sunday school class was con
ducted by a United States Senator
yesterday.
Senator Hoey. Democrat, of North
Carolina, told the class the United
States should become the spiritual
leader of the world and that God
I is the only source for leadership in
such a restless world. The Senator
taught Sunday school in his own
State for more than 40 years be
fore coming to Washington. ι
Sun Found to Have Heartbeat;
Affects Earth Τemperatures
Kadiatton Lnanges
May Aid Forecasts,
Academy Is Told
Atlantic Ocean has
Double Bottom,
Geophysicists Learn
By Thomas R. Henry
Science Editor of The Stor.
ine sun na,s a weekly heartbeat.
Once every 6.6456 days, precisely,
its radiation of heat and light into
space, upon which the life of the
earth depends, ebbs or rises by ap
proximately one two-hundredth part.
This heartbeat, which may play a
vital role in various physical phe
nomena on earth, is so feeble that
it never has been observed before.
The discovery was reported to the
National Academy of Sciences,
meeting here today, by Dr. Charles
G. Abbot, former secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution. It resulted
from an intensive statistical analy
sis of measurements of daily varia
tions in solar radiation for 35 years
made at the Smithsonian Observa
tory on the summit of Mount Mon
tezuma in Chile.
The heart bea.t, Dr. Abbot says, is
reflected in temperatures on earth
and may eventually prove of value
in weather forecasting, although the
mechanism of the reflection is ex
tremely complicated. The time
period of temperature fluctuations is
almost precisely the same, but is not
necessarily parallel in time. %
In Class by Itself.
This radiation fluctuation places
the sun in a class entirely by itself,
he explained, and the necessary
observations are so delicate that it
probably never will be possible to
find out whether any other stars
behave in the same way. Many
variable stars are known in the
Milky Way system. All of them are
from 100 to 100,000 times brighter
than the sun and their fluctuations
are relatively enormous, so that they
easily can be observed from the
earth. The variations are known to
be due to expansions and contrac
tions in the orbs of the stars them
selves, like the rising and falling of
the chest in breathing.
This explanation, Dr. Abbot said,
is impossible for the solar "heart
beat."
The temperature effects on earth,
as shown by United States Weather
Bureau records, often are quite pro
nounced, he explained and cannot
be accounted f Dr by actual increases
or decreases in the heat received!
from the sun.
The earth, however, is surrounded
by a continuous sheet of the rare
gas. ozone, a form of oxygen, at an
altitude of about 40 miles. It plays
an important part in shielding the
surface from the deadly ultraviolet
radiation of the sun and in keeping
the heat of the earth itself from
being radiated into outer space. The
thickness of this ozone layer, how
ever, is largely determined by the
amount of the solar radiation of
invisible ultraviolet light.
Cosmic Ray Storms Aid Study.
The most probable hypothesis is
that the apparently minute varia
tions due to the sun's heartbeat are
quite large in the ultraviolet region
of the sun's spectrum with corre
spondingly great effects on the
ozone layer. This would account for
the temperature differences but
science has no way now of knowing
whether it actually happens.
Three great cosmic ray storms in
the past 10 years, each of which
lasted several hours and were ob
served simultaneouslv in different
parts of the earth except at the
equator, may serve as the basis for
a new theory of the origin of these
mysterious radiations, reaching in
tensities of several billion or more
electron volte, which bombard the
earth from outer space, the academy
was told by Dr. Scott E. Porbush
of the Carnegie Institution of Wash
ington. I
Each of these storms was accom-1
rne Atlantic ocean has two bot
toms.
Evidence of this was presented
before the American Geophysical
Union, which started a three-day
meeting at the National Museum
today, by Drs. J. B. Hersey and
Maurice Ewing of Columbia Uni
versity.
Along a line from New York
through Bermuda and Puerto Rico
they exploded small bombs near the
surface and measured the return
ing echoes from the sea bottom.
They found that constantly they
were getting back two echoes from
each explosion—one from about
two-and-a-half seconds to an in
terval too small to be measured
later than the first.
First Echo From Sediment.
The conclusion was that the first
echo came from the thick layer of
sediment and sedimentary rock
which forms the apparent ocean
bottom, but that some of the sound
continued through this medium to
much harder rock below. This ap
parently is the true sea bottom and
lies at a maximum distance of
about 9,000 feet below the apparent
bottom.
While these measurements were
made only in the off-shore area
along the American continent the
probability is high that the same
conditions continue to a much
greater distance eastward.
One of the moet titanic natural
features on earth is the 250,000
square-mile Ross Ice Shelf which
forms the southern end of the Ross
Sea south of New Zealand in the
Antarctic. Ships are confronted by
a 600-mile-long wall of blue ice
from 50 to 100 feet high into which
extend occasional narrow bays, such
as the Bay of Whales where the
Byrd Antarctic expedition was
based this winter.
Survey* Reported to .Union.
Prom the open sea the shelf ex
tends 400 miles southward to the
foothills of the Queen Maud Moun
tains which constitute the rim of
the Antarctic Continent. Results of
extensive surveys of this mammoth
sheet of ice were reported to the
Geophysical Union today by Dr.
Thomas C. Paulter, geologist of the
last Byrd expedition. Dr. Poulter
traveled for more than 2,000 miles
over this shelf with a seisomograph
by which he could measure the rate
of shock waves sent through the ice
and made more than 200 measure
ments. Much of this work was done
in the terrible cold and darkness of
the Antarctic winter.
His conclusions were that the
average thickness of the shelf is
about 750 feet and that a large part
of it is floating on top of the sea.
Below it flows at least one ocean
current with a maximum speed of
about a mile an hour. He has defi
nite evidence, however, that some of
the ice reste on dry land.
panied by intense radio iade-outs
all over the earth and by great
flame eruptions from the face of
the sun, reaching thousands of miles
into space. The evidence indicates.
Dr. Forbush said, that changing
magnetic fields associated with
such a solar flare may act as mag
netic accelerators for charged
particles and similar processes on
the stars of the Milky Way galaxy
may account for all cosmic ray
phenomena.
The National Academy this morn- ;
ing started its annual two-day meet
ing in the National Academy Build
ing on Constitution avenue. This
is the first of its meetings held
there since the start of the war.
Delegates 'Talk Shop'
At U. S. Chamber
Before Convention
By Vincent Dwyer
Delegates to the 35th annual meet-'
ing of the United States Chamber
of Commerce spent today Inspecting
the chamber headquarters at 1617
H street N.W., and "talking shop"
with chamber officials.
By 10 a.m. tomorrow, when the
meeting formally opens, between
2,500 and 3,000 businessmen from all
parts of the Nation are expected to
be in attendance at the first annual
meeting to be held here in six years.
Ralph Bradford, executive vice
president of the chamber, welcomed
the delegates at the "shop talk"
session in the Hall of Flags at the
headquarters at 1:30 p.m. today.
He explained how the "machinery"
of the chamber operates to carry out
"the broad policies and principles
we stand for."
Fire Contest Awards Presented.
Arch N. Booth, chamber manager,
presented awards to representatives
from six cities which won the cham
ber's 1946 Fire Waste Contest. He
said the contest judges estimate that
the cities "saved" approximately 100
lives, two schools from being burned
and over $22,000,000 worth of prop
erty.
Grand prize was won by Mans
field, Ohio, for cutting its five-year
average fire loss nearly 80 per cent—
from $4.62 a person to 86 cents. The
national average showed a grain of
30 per cent, Mr. Booth said.
Chicago won first place among
cities of more than 500,000 popula
tion. Cincinnati won for cities of
250,000 to 500,000. Tulsa for 100.000
to 250,000, Newton, Mass., for 50,000
to 100,000, and Beatrice, Nebr., for
cities under 20,000. More than 700
cities participated in the contest.
30 Dinners to be Held Tonight.
Chamber officials said heavy at
tendance was expected tonight at
the 30 or more dinners to be held
by delegates and Senators and rep
resentatives from their home States.
Thirty-eight members of Con
gress from New England will meet
with chamber members from that
section in a dinner at the Mayflower
Hotel, Dudley Harmon of Boston,
executive vice president of the New
England Council, announced.
Problems of the United States and
of the world will be discussed dur
ing the meeting which ends Thurs
day with the annual dinner.
Forrestal to Speak on Defense. |
At tomorrow's morning session
Navy Secretary Forrestal will speak
on national defense and Walter
Lippmann, author and newspaper
columnist, will outline America's
new role in the world. Radio Com
mentators Albert Warner. Raymond
Swing, Eric Sevareid and Richard
Harkness will participate in a pane!
discussion on "Waging World
Pe^ce."
Henry Ford II will talk on the
obligations of business management
at a dinner in the Hotel Statler at
7 p.m. tomorrow.
Speakers who will appear before
the chamber delegates include Sec
retary of Commerce Harriman, Dr.
Paul Douglass, president of Ameri
can University; Senator Ball, Re
publican, of Minnesota; Dr. James
B. Conant, president of Harvard
University; Gov. Kim Sigler of
Michigan; W. Randolph Burgess,
vice president of the National City
Bank of New York; Mildred McAfee
Horton, president of Wellesley Col
lege. and Rear Admiral Emory S.:
Land, retired, president- of the Air
Transport Association of America.
Arlington Student Wins Test
WILLIAMSBURG. Va., April 28
v^P).—Allen Lee Bowman, senior at>
Washington-Lee High School, Ar
lington, won the chemistry contest
conducted Saturday by William and
Mary College. '
Sudden Chill Breaks
Summery Week End
That Filled Parks
Thousands who basked in a
warm spring sun yesterday put
on heavier 61o*ftlnf again tejlay
as thé thermometer took a Sharp
drop"/;#
Bumper-to-bumper traffic lammed
Hains Point yesterday afternoon as
Washington residents and visitors
thronged to see the unfolding beauty
of the double cherry blossoms.
The double blossoms had reached
the peak of their beauty. They will
continue at the height of their
splendor for several days, according
to Edward Kelly, assistant to the
commissioner of National Capital
Parks.
Temperature Rises to 77.
Parks and countryside were filled
as city-dwelling workers took ad
vantage of sun, high temperatures
and a week end to enjoy the out
of-doors.
The temperature rose to 77 at
3:55 o'clock yesterday afternoon, be
fore clouds and a cool breeze sent
many picnickers and sight-seers
home.
The balmy sun also brought scores
out on the Potomac River and gave
harbor police a busy afternoon.
Several small boats capsized and
brisk breezes late in the afternoon
resulted in calls from stranded
sailors who couldn't get their craft
bark t.n nnrt
Sail Boat Capsizes.
John Summons, 4408 Fourth road.
North Arlington, Va., was rescued
by harbor police when his .16 foot
sailboat "Bette" capsized in the
Washington Channel near the Army
War College.
Richard Hull, 7320 Thirty-first
street N.W., was fished out of the
river by George C. Jones, Robert
Kreds and Joe Belohlabek of Naval
Air Station, who were passing in a.
rented craft when his outboard
motorboat overturned^ in George
town Channel. Harbor police
rescued his companion. Dr. L. Car
ran, 40, of 208 Maryland avenue.
Also rescued were three women
whose 16-foot boat capsized in
Georgetown Channel. They were
Janet Mitchell, 37, of 1089 Twenty
eighth street South, Arlington;
Merle T. Levine, 23. of 126 Danbury
street S.W., and Susan Massonneau,
21, of 2121 Virginia avenue N.W.,
according to harbor police.
Mike Logan, 37, of 3356 Ν street
N.W. and Richard Handler, 24, of
616 Rittenhousê street N.W. were
rescued when Mr. Handler's canoe
tipped over near Three Sisters
Island.
Low Near 40 Tonight.
Cold air moved in durihg last
night, with brief showers, and drove
the thermometer down to 40 de
grees by 5:40 a.m. today. The fore
caster said it would be sunny all
day today, with the temperature
rising to the upper 50s. It will go
down close to 40 degrees again to
night, he said, witn warmer weather
expected tomorrow.
Temperatures plummeted to below
freezing early today from Northeast
ern Illinois through Central Indiana,
Central Ohio, Western Pennsylvania,
most of New York State and New
England, .but a rapid recovery was
predicted in all but the North At
lantic States.
Cadillac, Mich., reported a low of
16 degrees and Chicago broke its
record for the date with 29.6.
Considerable frost accompanied
the cold in the lower Great Lakes
region but thé season has been so
backward that not much damage
was done to young buds.
Science Academy to Meet
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., April
28 OP) .—The 25th annual meeting of
the Virginia Academy of Science will j
ae held May 8-9-10 at the University
jf Virginia. '
Two Policemen
Go on Trial in
Jail Escapes
Negligence Charged
In Break by Killers
Let Out of Cells
The trial of two Washington
policemen on a charge of negligently
permitting two murderers to escape
from the District Jail death house
began today in District Court before
Justice Alexander Koltzoff.
The accused men are Pvts. Hubert
C. Davis, 30, and Oscar C. Sander
lin, 39.
The murderers, since executed,
were Joseph D. Medley and Earl
McParland. They tied up the two
policemen and escaped from the jail
with the help of a can opener on
April 3, 1946.
Killers Let Out of Cells.
John Conliff, assistant United
States attorney, told the Jury in his
opening'statement the Government
ι would show that "in utter disregard
I for their duties" the defendants lefc
I the two murderers awaiting execu
tion room and got in a card game
with them.
In addition. Mr. Conliff said, San
derlin went into one of the cells and
reclined on the bunk, and Davis
went to sleep on a table.
It was then that Medley and Mc
Parland tied the policemen and es
caped.
Davis' attorney, James J. Laugh
lin, told the jury in his opening
statement that Davis was placed
"between two bitter factions in the
! jail fight," resulting from conditions
! which led to numerous previous es
! capes from the jail. He said Davis
I was given conflicting instructions
1 and he would prove that what was
done was "common ^practice at the
jail" *nd known to jail officiais.
N^ury Selected Quickly.
Charles E. Ford, attorney for the
other defendant, said he would show
; that Sanderlin did lie down on the
Ê cot in the cell when stricken with
I severe headaches, "something be
| yond his control."
I The jury of 10 men and two
women was selected and sworn in
5j within 20 minutes after the trial
began.
The maximum possible sentence
for such an ofTense, on conviction,
is 20 months to five years' imprison
ment.
~ Mr. Conliff said the Government
would call approximately 18 wit
nesses. including jail officials,
Metropolitan policemen and FBI
agents.
Razing of Units Begins
At WAVE Quarters D
Workmen today began tearing
down 39 frame buildings which had
been used as WAVE quarters during
the war. The buildings were known
as WAVE Quarters D and coyer some
j 30 acres at Massachusetts and Ne
! braska avenues N.W.
Those buildings on the grounds
j which have been turned over to
! American University will not be
demolished, according to the con
tractor, H. Herfurth, jr., 60 Ο street^
S.E. The buildings are near the*
university's Ward Circle campus.
The barracks were built in 1942
and enlisted Navy men were the
first occupants. Later the buildings
I were turned into WAVE barracks.
! The WAVES moved out about a year
; ago.
i Since then. Navy officials said,
I numerous attempts have been made
i to dispose of the buildings, but
! American University was the only
interested party and did not need
! all the buildings.
! The barracks at one time accom
modated about 3,500 WAVES. A
general recreation hall and a swim
ming pool are among the facilities
I taken by the university.
Rail Service From D. C.
To Harrisonburg Resumed
By the Associated Pr*si
HARRISONBURG, Va., April 28.
—More than 1.000 persons jammed
the railroad depot here yesterday
,to see the first Southern Railway
[passenger train in five years puff
in here from Washington.
I For at least one of the passengers,
Thomas Rowan of Alexandria, it
was a nostalgic trip. Mr. Rowan
ί was the engineer at the throttle
: when the first Southern train rolled
i into Harrisonburg In 1896.
Southern Railway officials took
, the Washington - to - Harrisonburg:
'train off shortly after war started
i because the equipment was needed
ί to move troops. At the insistence;
oi a Harrisonburg, Rockingham and
! Shenandoah Valley committee, the
! State Corporation Commission re«
|cently ordered the train service re
stored.
! On hand to greet Engineer J. C.
; Crump and present him with %
I Virginia ham were Mayor B. Tt
I Denton of Harrisonburg, Mayor
J. P. Harpine of Broadway, Mayor
Raymond Hoover of Timberville,
Secretary Russell L. Stultz of the
Harrisonburg Chamber of Com
merce, Chairman Howard Heatwol#
of the Board of Supervisors and
J Delegate J. O. Stickley.
1 1
Georgia Avenue
Underpass Work
To Detour Cars
Traffic on Georgia avenue in
Silver Spring is scheduled to be re
routed around the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad underpass tomorrow.
The detour, caused by widertps
of the underpass, will route Wash
ington-bound traffic along Colèf
ville road to the East-West high
way and back to Georgia avenue
about two blocks south of the m·
road tracks. Traffic coming freei
Washington will turn to the riggt
along Burlington avenue, to 3pgp
avenue and back to Georgia avenué.
James English, representing lift
J. D. Hedin Construction Co., çbaf·
tractors for the widening job, alfd
Montgomery County police Wtth
announced plans to start the detour
tomorrow, although a foreman said
that the move might be delayed.
It is estimated the detour will be In
effect for about a year.