Newspaper Page Text
Weather Forecast Guide for Readers’ Bunny, cool and windy, highest In mid 60s ^ ^ ^ fl Pag£ _... Page. today. Fair tonight, lowest near 50. Tomor- MAmusements ^ .B-22 Obituary ._A-4 row, mostly sunny, hlerhest near 70. (Full M I . . fl^B Church News A-8-10 Radio ----B-23 report on Page A-2) B B * | fl 17 Comics .B-22-23 Real Estate-_-B*l-14 “la.T‘'1? S'"..3 U JI MKy SKSassa:; SSy-.^JK!; -—-—-- V / J • An Associated Press Newspaper 96th Year. No. 143. Phone NA. 5000. W A SHTNGTON, D. C., SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1948—THIRTY-SIX PAGES. sundfiTauao Nism nn»i wmon.iuosndji.4o i*r Month. 5 CENTS Stassen s National Hopes Chilled With Dewey Leading by 6,000 In Vital Oregon Primary Contest New Yorker Takes Early Lead and Maintains It By Gould Lincoln Gov. Dewey of New York, with returns from more than half of the State’s precincts reported, today was leading Harold E. Stassen of Minnesota by about 6,000 votes in Oregon's presiden tial primary. The count in J.U5 out of 1.861 precincts was: Gov. Dewey, 53.025; Mr. Stassen. 47.056. If the Dewey lead persists—and the indications are it will—the faA flying former Governor of Minnesota will have been rocked back on his heels to such an extent that it may be impossible for him to make the grade for the Republican Presiden tial nomination. At the same time a victory in Oregon would immensely increase the prestige of the New York Gov ernor—a prestige which had sunk perceptibly because of his defeats in the Wisconsin and Nebraska primaries at the hands of Mr. Stassen. The voters w»ent to the polls yes terday in Oregon in great numbers. The Dew'ey-Stassen struggle for the State's 12 delegates to the Repub lican National Convention had aroused great interest, with Gov. Dewey campaigning the last three weeks intensively in a State which had been covered many times by nis opponent. Debate Was High Light. A high light of the campaign was a debate last Monday between Gov. Dewey and Mr. Stassen, with the latter favoring a law' outlawing the Communist Party. Gov. Dewey made a much better showing, and the debate, which was heard by thou sands in Oregon as well as through out the country, probably had its effect on yesterday’s primary voting. Just to keep the record straight. Gov. Dew'ey, if he wins in Oregon, will have defeated Mr. Stassen in two State primary elections—New Hampshire and Oregon. Mr. Stas sen won in Nebraska and Wisconsin against Gov. Dewey. In the Penn svlvania primary—in which neither Gov. Dewey nor Mr. Stassen was formally entered—Mr. Stassen ran ahead of the Governor in the num ber of write-in votes. Only a small percentage of the voters took the trouble to write in their preference, how'ever. The Oregon primary, although only a small number of delegates was involved, assumed in recent weeks major proportions in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination. Obviously, if Mr. Stas sen was able to continue his w'inning streak, he w'ould become perhaps the leading contender for that nomi nation. Further, it was of great im portance to the New York Governor. Gov. Dewey took an early lead in the count and maintained it. He displayed unexpected strength in territory generally conceded to Mr. Stassen. This included upstate cities and rural precincts. Gov. Dewey was strong in Portland and Multnomah County, which have about one-third of the voting popu lation. In the primary yesterday the voters expressed their preierence for Presidential candidates and also elected a dozen delegates to the Re publican National Convention. Under the Oregon law. the result of the preferential primary binds the dele- j (.See OREGON. Page A-2.) Boy, 12, Missing; Ransom Note Found By the Associa’ed Pres* LOS ANGELES, May 22.—A 12 year-old junior high school student was missing from his home today and police said they found a ransom note demanding $1,500. The boy, Alan D. McCauley, was missing from his room when his parents returned early this morn ing after attending an ice carnival. Police said the boy’s room had been ransacked. The ransom note, with several words misspelled, read: “If you don’t leave $1,500 at the parking lot next to Ralph's market at Crenshaw and Exposition Blvds., you’ll never see your son again. And I don't mean maby.” It was signed: "The Unkowan.” Officer Edwdn M. Rowe said a rock had been thrown through the boy's first-floor bedroom windowr. The boy’s father, John McCauley, • garment cutter for a swim suit concern, told police he knew1 of no enemies who would kidnap his son. Mr. Rowp said that from the ap pearance of the boy's room a strug gle had taken place. The note, printed on a piece of wrapping pa per, was found on a card table in the boy's room. 9,000 Pennies Spilled In Street by Clerk Draw Interest By Associated Press OAKLAND. Md.. May 22.— Prentiss Porter, First National Bank employe, was carrying a sack of pennies—9.000 of them —over his shoulder when the bottom of the bag dropped out. A crowd quickly gathered and. with the aid of a shovel borrowed from the town clean up truck and a broom lent bv a neighbor, helped the messen ger retrieve the coins. Back at the bank Mr. Porter laboriously counted up. The total: 9,002. ft1-i ’ \ 1 U. S. Consul in Jerusalem Shot While Trying to Arrange Truce D. C. and Navy Men Also Are Wounded In Other Incidents United States Consul General Thomas C. Wasson w&s shot and seriously wounded in Jerusalem yesterday after leaving an Arab Jewish truce meeting and two other members of the consulate staff have been injured in recent shootings, the State Department announced today. One of the wounded is a Wash ington man, Thomas J. Gannon, formerly of 5212 First street N.W.. a guard of the consulate staff. He was shot in the back May 14 while in St. Julien's Hotel. He is now out of danger, the department said. The other consulate attache wounded Is Chief Radioman Her bert M. Walker, who was hit by machine-gun lire and gravely in tured several days ago. He is a member of the naval communica tions unit sent to the consulate last week. Mr. Wasson. 52, a career foreign THOMAS C. WASSON. —Harris & Ewing Photo. service officer known for his per sonal bravery, was leaving the truce meeting in the French consulate when he was wounded. The department was unable to supply any further details of the shooting. He and Chief Walker A See'wASSOrt, Page A-2.1 Russia Gives Finland Hint She Might Cut War Reparations Moscow Papers Print Plea of 3 Finn Reds Suggesting Course MOSCOW, May 22—It is be lieved the Soveit Union may look with favor on any application by the Finnish government for a reduction in war reparations. Pravda, Izvestia and other capi tal newspapers published a letter today signed by three Finnish Com munist politicians suggesting their government make such a request at this time. While the Soviet press made no comment on the suggestion the fact the letter was prominently published here is significant. The three who signed the letter ■ were Ministers of Interior Yjro Leino. Deputy Social Minister Matt! Janhunen and Deputy Communica tions Minister Yjro Murto. (Since the letter was written | Leimo was removed as Minister j of Interior following a Parlia- ( mentary vote of censure directed j c Romania and Italy also pa _ war reparations. Romania and Hungary, like Fin-; land, have signed friendship treaties; with the Soviet Union. If the Finnish government acts on the Communists' letter and asks Russia for reparations reductions there would be nothing to halt Romania j and Hungary from doing the same thing. Italy, with no friendship pact, is hardly in the same category. (Under the terms of the peace treaties signed last year, Russia was awarded $300,000,000 each from Romania apri Finland and $200,000,000 from Hungary. She was awarded $100,000,000 from Italy. Finland has alreadv paid $100,000,000 » Finnish President Ousts Communist From Cabinet HELSINKI. Finland. May 22 i/P>. —President Juho Paasikivi today dismissed Communist Interior Min j isler Yjro Leino from the Finnish cabinet. Leino had been the subject of a Parliamentary vote of censure Wed nesday night that caused a cabinet crisis. No successor was appointed. Minister of Education Eino Kilpi, a Social Democrat, will automatically! I assume Leino’s duties. At its meeting today the cabinet noted that Leino had not presented j his resignation, although the consti- 1 tution provides that a cabinet official may not remain in the government after Parliament censures him. Leino was summoned last night by j Mr. Paasikivi, who told him to resign. Leino was criticized for permitting the extradition of 20 persons to the Soviet Union and for police treat ment of arrested Finnish officers in 1945. Los Angeles Threatened By Transportation Strike By Associated Pres* LOS ANGELES. May 22.—Threat of a crippling transit strike in the Nation's fourth largest city de veloped today after AFL transporta tion workers voted to walk out June 1, unless higher-pay demands are met. The strike, if effected, would in volve 5.000 members of the Amal gamated Association of Street Elec tric Railway and Motor Coach Em ployes who operate buses and street cars for Los Angeles transit lines and Los Angeles motor coach lines. The union announced last night that its membership had voted 3.268 to 204 to strike in support of de mands for a wage increase of 50 cents an hour and a pension system. Bus and one-man streetcar opera jj tors now receive $1.35 an hour. ^ * Sr. * 2 Drowned, 32 Saved As Party Fishing Boat Capsizes Off Jersey Captain Says Craft Rolled Over .When Men Ran to Side as Wave Hit By the Associated Pres* MANASQUAN, N. J., May 22.— At least two men were drowned and 32 persons rescued from the chill, windswept Atlantic Ocean today when the fishing boat Squirt capsized a mile of! Mana squan Inlet. The rescued, picked up by nearby fishing craft, included one woman. They were taken to Point Pleasant Hospital for treatment. Police and Coast Guardsmen, meanwhile, were checking to deter mine if there were any other casualties. Capt. John Bauer, owner and operator of the 50-foot craft, one of the rescued, said: "As far as I observed, the boat rolled and took water on the star board sjde. There was some spray. Too many men rushed to the port side. Boat Rolls Over. "She rolled over on the port, side and lay there. The men started sliding into the water. That made it worse.” The dead were identified by police as Charles R. Heidorn, Elizabeth, and John Soehler, about 57, of Cranbury. Capt. Bauer told police there was a heavy swell running as the vessel neared a bell buoy about a mile southeast of the inlet. He said the Squirt was traveling at halfspeed. When the vessel capsized. Capt. Bauer said, several men started to swim. Others held to the side. Held lTp Daughter-in-Law. The skipper said he held*up Mrs. Hans Bauer, his-daughter-in-law. the only woman aboard. She could not swim. Capt. Bauer’s son, Hans, was mate of the vessel. Capt. Frank Balders of the Laurel "A." 50 feet behind the Squirt at the lime, said he saw the vessel turn over on its side. It later turned completely over. Capt. Balders called the Coast Guard on ship-to-shore phone and a rescue craft in charge of Chief Boatswain's Mate Adrian Snltflr sped to the scene. By that time fishing boats in the area had picked up all survivors in sight. The Coast Guard towed the Squirt ashore. The Coast Guard ordered an in vestigation of the mishap. A daughter of Mr. Heidorn. Miss Louise Heidorn. arrived in Elizabeth yesterday from Kentucky for the first reunion with the family in two years, the family said. Mias Heidorn is a missionary with the Assemblies of God in Kentucky. Mr. Heidorn w’as chief engineer for the Krueger Brewing Co.. New ark. He is also survived by his widow. Therese and two other daughters and two sons. Way Clear to Distribute U. S. Food in Soviet Zone By the Associated Press NEW YORK. May 22.—Soviet i authorities have agreed to permit distribution of food packages in the Russian-occupied areas of Germany, a private relief agency official says. William Hamilton. European Di rector of Save a Friend in Europe, said yesterday arrangements for the distribution plan were completed through a Swiss intermedia^'. Truman Aboard Yacht For Week-End Cruise President Truman is spending the weekend aboard the yacht Williams burg on the Potomac, it was an nounced at the White House today. With only the usual Secret Service .guard, the President embarked late yesterday and is due back at the White House sometime tomorrow. The yacht anchored off Mount i Vernon during the night. 4 Egypt Planes Attacking Haifa Downed by RAF 3 Britons Are Killed In Raid on English Evacuation Area By the Associated Press CAIRO. May 22.—RAF fighters shot down four Egyptian Spit fires which raided the Ramit David Airfield in the British area at Haifa in Palestine today, British headquarters announced. Three Britons were killed. Cairo reports, meanwhile, said Egyptian troops pushed northward to Hebron and Bethlehem, linking with Arab Legion troops 5 miles south of Jerusalem for a possible drive against Jews putting up a last ditch fight in the Holy City. Israel's partition-drawn fron t iers still were virtually undented as her army began the second week of war against five Arab nations. Tel Aviv dispatches said the Jews, fighting on three fronts, were wag ing their fiercest battles well beyond their own frontiers. Six Britons Wounded Seriously. The British said the attack on the Haifa district used by the British for evacuation of troops, be gan with a lone Egyptian Spitfire plane which dropped bombs and strafed the Ramit David Airfield at 6:10 j.m. Four Egyptian planes took part in a second attack. The British sent up Spitfire fighters and .knocked down two of the attackers. Two planes made a third attack and born were shot down. Besides the three British ground personnel killed, six were wounded 1 seriously. Each of the Egyptian planes had dropped two 100-pound bombs and made strafing runs. One British DC-3 transport plane and one British Spitfire were damaged on the ground. Jewish reports on Tel Aviv said the Egyptian attack caused large fires at the Ramit David Field. Tel Aviv Attacked Again. Tel Aviv was attacked from the air again for the eighth straight day. Jewish air force planes bombed Arab Legion troop concentrations at Shafet, north of Jerusalem, for a second time, Jewish headquarters announced. The village is on the road to Ramallah. Other objectives were struck, mainly Arab cars, guns: and infantry forces. Jewish army headquarters in Tel Aviv said Jewish troops counter attacked in the fifth day of the blazing battle of Jerusalem. Jews in the Old City battled furiously ] with their backs to the wall against i heavy pressure from the Trans jordan Legion of King Abdullah. Jews Deny Claims. Premier Nokrashy Pasha's party j newspaper said a mobile force of j undisclosed strength speared north-] wTaid after reaching Hebron. 19 miles south of Jerusalem, linking W’ith Legionnaires at Bethlehem, scene of Jesus’ birth. There was no official communique on this action, but a Defense Ministry bulletin last night said the Egyptians swept into Hebron from Beersheba, which they claimed to have occupied earlier in the week. A Jewish officer in Tel: Aviv said the Egyptians had not] reached Beersheba, although the! Arab Legion was there. S. Pinckney Tuck, resigning as (See PALESTINE, Page A-2.) j Fire in Alabama Town Razes Business District By the Associated Press HAYNESVILLE. . Ala.. May 22 — Fire destroyed this little town’s entire business district of eight buildings last night. Efforts of a bucket brigade re cruited from the town's 700 people and one pump wagon were unavail ing against the flames. Modern fire-fighting equipment, rushed down from Montgomery, 20 miles to the north, had to stand by use less because the fire had disabled the town's water-pumping system. The post office was among the buildings destroyed. Also burned was one home. Sheriff O. C. Morrer ■estimated the damage at $50,000. 10-Week Strike Ends For 3 Big Packers; Wilson Still Tied Up Original Company Offer Of 9-Cent Raise Accepted At Swift, Armour, Cudahy By the Associated Press * CHICAGO, May 22.—The 10 week-old Nation-wide meat strike, which did not cause any severe meat shortages to con sumers. is ended against three of the four major packers. The striking CIO United Packing house Workers’ Union, accepting original company wage offers, called off the prolonged walkout yesterday against Swift, Armour and Cudahy, but not against Wilson. The end of the easily work stop page. union official announced, fol lowed a vote by strikers approving the company's offer of a 9-cent hourly wage increase. In rejecting the offer in prestrike negotiations, the union called out its claimed 100.000 members on March 16. It had asked for a wage increase of 29 cents an hour. Seven Plants Still Struck. The strike, which had been marked by some rioting at several livestock centers and the calling out of National Guardsmen in Minne sota and Iowa, will continue at seven Wilson plants which normally employ about 8,000 workers. Pickets at 25 Armour. 24 Swift and 19 Cudahy plants across the country were to be withdrawn today, ac cording to Ralph Heist ein. union president. He said the workers will return to their jobs Monday. A union spokesman said that while the strike had ended at the plants operated by the three major packers, it was expected strikers at Rath, Morrell and other smaller plants would take similar action. He added, however, that depends on "local cricumstances.” In Indianapolis workers began returning to Kingan & Co. after accepting the nine-cent wage raise. The company employes about 2,300 production workers. It is not ex-: pected that all will return before Tuesday. Some Troops to Remain. The Minnesota State Guard units policing plants in South St. Paul and Newport, Mirrh., were with drawn today but troops are to continue to patrol the Wilson plant at Albert Lea. Minn., pending settle ment. They were called out last week after a series of disorders. Iowa National Guardsmen con tinued to patrol the Rath Packing Plant at Waterloo, Iowa, where limited production was resumed yes terday. The plant was shut down after a riot Wednesday in which a picket was killed. Continuation of the strike against Wilson, union officials said, was because the company refused to ' (See MEAT STRIKE, Page A-?.) Blaze in Fire Alarm Box PHILADELPHIA, May 22 OP).— Philadelphia firemen had a new one to muse over Joday—a fire in a fire-alarm box. Policeman Albert Hewitt spotted the blazing box yes terday and radioed an alarm. The fire fighters raced to the scene and with chemicals extinguished the flaming alarm box. Democrats Hail 23-14 Triumph Over Republicans in Ball Game (Pictures on Page A-12.) Big league scouts were as thick as lobbyists on Capitol Hill today, I following the Democrats' landslide baseball victory < over, the Republi cans last night fn Griffith Stadium. The final score was 23-14, or 24 114. The official scorer wasn’t cer tain which. He was removed from i the premises during the sixth inning of the hectic seven-inning fray, with a severe case of writer’s cramps and nervous prostration. Manager Dick Richards accepted | the victors' laurels manfully and modestly. j “Our superlative stamina, superior strategy, calculated coolness and nocturnal nonchalance decided the issue,” he said. "We can lick ’em | every night in the week and twice on Sunday.” Manager Runt Bishop of the Re publicans took defeat philosoph ically. “They were lucky." he said. Sponsored by The Eve^ng Star (J for the benefit of a summer camp for underprivileged children, the game attracted more than 5,000 hardy souls, many of whom stayed until the bitter end. Rain threat ened to mar the program but, like many rival pre-game - threats, it blew over. The Democrats were lucky to have big Don Wheeler on their side. The sandy-haired, bespectacled pitcher was the game's outstanding star, al though honors were widely dis tributed. Wheeler today could write his own ticket for a berth on the New York Yankees. Washington Na tionals, or any major league club after last night's brilliant perform ance. For five innings the big fellow completely baffled his opponents by throwing the ball over the plate. John L. Lewis, in his most stubborn mood, never gave the Republicans more strike trouble than the robust Georgian. He fanned 10. walked ^Continued on Page A-12, Col. A.) Lord Inverchapel Sails; Lauds Ties With U. S. By the Associated Press NEW YORK. May 22.—Lord In I verchapel. retiring British Ambas sador to the United States, sailed today aboard the Queen Mary for England. The 67-vear-old Ambassador, com pleting 42 years in his country's | diplomatic service, told reporters he j would devote himself henceforth to | farming his 4.000-acre ancestral holdings in the West Highlands of Scotland. He described British-American relations as “'close, good, friendly and confident as they could be." and expressed the opinion differences over the Palestine issue would not weaken the ties between his country and the United States. Public Housing Part Of Taft Bill Rejected By House G. 0. P. Leaders Inform Senator Measure Won't Pass In Its Present Form By the Associated Press House Republican leaders were reported today to have rejected the public housing program passed by the Senate. Their decision, disclosed privately by one of them, has been relayed j to Senator Taft, Republican, of1 Ohio, co-author and chief backer of the multi-billion dollar Taft-Ellend er-Wagner housing bill. Senator Taft was not available for comment, but the House GOP lead ers made it clear that there will be no housing legislation this session unless the Senator agrees to some changes. The Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill provides for construction of 15.000. 000 homes over a span of 10 years,! ; with 500.000 public housing units ; to be built during the next five years. House leaders said they are in general agreement with all of the bill except the public housing sec tion, which would provide Govern ment-built homes for low-income families. This issue also was bitterly ’ fought out in the Senate before final passage. ‘Even some of the Democrats don't want that,” a House spokes man said. "There are some other things in the bill, too, that we don't like.'but we can work them out without trouble." The House Banking Committee has held some hearings on the Taft-Ellender-Wagner bill and is scheduled to resume them next Monday. Chairman Wolcott, who is reported to have taken part in the j leadership meeting, said the hear ings may run for a week or longer. If. at the end of that time, a com promise agreement can be worked out with the Senate, the committee is expected to start wwiting a bill. Nixon Is Passenger on DC-6 Forced Down in Texas By the Associated Press AMARILLO, Tex.. May 22.—An American Airlines DC-6 carrying i Representative Nixon of Whittier, Calif., was forced down at English Field today. , Airline officials were not imme diately available for comment, but Mr. Nixor. said the landing was “largely a precautionary measure." Mr. Nixon is en route from Wash ington to El Monte, Calif., to speak on the Mundt-Nixon bill. He told this story:. “We seem to be jinxed. We were grounded first at Oklahoma City and changed planes there because of some kind of trouble in the cock pit. "Over Amarillo the fire warning signal went on and we came down again. I understand something went wrong w'ith the electronic warning system, which is very delicate. Car bon dioxide was sprayed over the baggage, but there was no fire. You might say the landing was largely a precautionary measure." Bulgarian Party Goes Red SOFIA, Bulgaria. May 22 uP'.— Bulgaria's Social Democrats have merged with the Communists under an agreement binding them to fol low Communist party discipline. The agreement, signed May 13, was made public last nig^. v Dixie Senators Back Truman in Sustaining Of Atomic Bill Veto G. 0. P. Fails to Receiye Expected Support as 11 Southerners Decide Issue By J. A. O'Leary President Truman today had won the first round of a two round fight ^ith Senate Repub licans over the handling of; Atomic Energy Commission ap pointments. From the administrations stand point, the most encouraging part of’ the victory he scored yesterday was that more than half of the South ern Democrats helped sustain the President s veto of a bill that would have let the Senate order an FBI investigation of any future Atomic Energy Commission appointments. Republicans had counted on the Southern revolt against Mr. Tru man over civil rights to provide the margin needed to override the veto. They polled a substantial major ity—^47 to 29—but two-thirds is re quired to overcome a veto. This line-up was four short -of that requirement. Issue to Return. The issue will be back before the Senate within two weeks, however, on another bill by which the Re publicans, with some Democratic support, want to extend the terms! of the five present atomic energy commissioners for two years to avoid confirming some of them for a longer period. The fight is center ing around the renomination of Chairman David E. Lilienthal for five years. If the GOP can put. through the two-year compromise extension for the entire commission, there will be no necessity for acting on Mr. Truman's reappointment of Mr. Lil ienthal for five years. Administration lieutenants indi cate. however, they expect the Pres ident will veto the two-year bill also, and the second round of the fight will be on. 11 Southerners Help. Although nine Democrats joined 38 Republicans in' voting to over ride the FBI veto yesterday, 11 Southern Democrats rallied to the tupDort of the President. Two Re publicans swung over to the Presi dent's side, but their votes were not decisive, as it turned out. They were Senators Langer of North Da kota ana Morse of-Oregon. Some Democrats said the outcome indicates a trend toward greater party harmony than the Senate mi nority has displayed for some time '—though Senator McGrath of Rhode Island, the Democratic Na tional chairman, said he is not ready to make any claims one way or the other. Senator Sparkman, an outspoken critic of the civij rights proposals, said his veto vote w'as based solely on a constitutional question. His “ 'See VETO, Page A-2.)— Jews at Haifa Refuse Passage Via Egypt By the Associated Press HAIFA. Israel, May 22.—A hun dred and five Jews. 25 of them United States citizens, balked at sailing on the Marine Carp, from which 69 others were removed for interment in Lebanon this week. They had passage on the United States steamer, but, refused to em bark when she sailed yesterday for Alexandria. Egypt, because they had no guarantee of safety. They asked that the ship return here for them before going back to New York. There was no indication whether she would do so. The 69 Jews, including 41 Ameri cans, were taken off the Marine Carp Thursday at Beirut, Lebanon, when she stopped there inbound for Haifa. All were of military age. Lebanese troops removed them. The State Department protested to the Lebanese government yes terday. It said the United States “will view seriously any discrimina tion against United States citizens on grounds of race, creed or color.” Lowell Pinkerton. Minister to Bei rut, was told to try to get the Americans freed. « Department officials said Mr Pinkerton had objected to the Leb anese action, but had advised the passengers not to resist for fear of bloodshed. Leaders Agree On Sales Levy But Not on Date Bates, Long Foe ofTax, Sees It Needed July 1 If D. C. Pay Is Boosted By Don S. Worren Leaders of the Congressional Joint Committee on District Fis cal affairs today agreed on the necessity of imposing a 2 per cent sales tax on the city—but were not in agreement as to whether this should be effective July 1 next or in the following fiscal year. Their problem, they explained, was snarled by uncertainty whether Congress is going to enact a pay raise now for Federal and District ! government workers. If it does, it will make a difference of about ! $8,000,000 in the size of the city's i deficit which must be met in the year beginning July 1. Chairman Cain of the Fiscal Sub committee of the Senate District Committee was in full agreement with Senator Dworshak, Republican j of Idaho, who is in charge of the city’s budget, on the necessity of a sales tax beginning now. The third member of the joint conference. Chairman Bates of the Fiscal Subcommittee of the House District Committee, was not willing I to recommend a sales levy now | unless Congress orders the Gov I ernment pay raise. He did agree it would be needed at least by the following fiscal year. Mr. Bates has long been a foe of the sales tax. Three Other Major Steps. All three, however, were in agree ment that at least three other mador steps must be taken now to meet the city’s deficit which already amounts to about $5,500,000. These include: 1. A reduction of $1,600,000 in the record-breaking $101,164,900 budget, now awaiting final action | by the Dworshak subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Com mittee. To accomplish this, the group indicated, it would be neces sary to defer until the 1950 fiscal year some funds for permanent im provements. 2. To sell all of the remaining securities in the public works in | vestment fu;id, built up during the war, amounting to about $1,800,000. These funds would be turned to maintenance and operation costs. 3. To make available for main tenance and operation purposes about $1,600,000 of funds appro priated or to be appropriated for permanent improvements in the 1949 fiscal year, but which, city of ficials estimate, will not actually have to be spent for such projects in the fiscal year beginning July 1. These funds are called "cash carry overs.” Realty Tax Boost Possible. A possibility that the tax rate on real estate and tangible personal property might, have to be increased by 10 cents or so was kept in the picture. The leaders of the joint committee so far are not actually recommending this. But they believe that if Congress should enact a Federal pay raise, its effect on District government payroll costs would require that a needed layer of revenues would have to come from either the suggested $1,600,000 cut in the pending budget or from a direction to the Commis sioners to increase the property tax rate sufficiently to raise about the .same amount. If there is a Government pay raise, also, the group is in agree ment that an effort should be marie for a $1,000,000 increase in the Fed eral payment toward District costs. The general fund Federal pay ment now is $11,000,000. or about 11 : per cent of the District’s general fund costs. The three legislators agreed, it was said, that the Federal Government would have no know ing intention of benefiting from an additional Government tax bur den it imposed on the city. They had before them rough estimates that, a Government pay raise approximating $500 a year would “ See FISCAL. Page A-2.) ~ Three Boys, Two Firemen Drown inHuntington, W.Va. Speciol Dispatch to Th# Star HUNTINGTON. W. Va.. May 22.— Three unidentified boys and two I firemen, who had been attempting to recover the youths' bodies, drowned in less than an hour today in the Ghio River near the Twenty-sixth street ferry landing. The firemen were identified as Lt. Leonard Hartz, 39. and Pvt. W. E. Booth, about 40. The identification was made by Fire Lt. W. L. Davis. Lt. Davis said the men had rowed out into the river to begin dragging operations with a grappling hook He said their boat was pulled against the side of a barge by the swift current and overturned, pitch- ( ing the two men overboard. An undertow pulled them to the bottom before witnesses on the shore could go to their aid. Tne river is about 22 feet deep at that spot, he added. About a dozen firemen have been sent to the scene in an effort to re cover the bodies. Lt. Davis said. First Snapshot Winners In Pictorial Magazine The first week's winners in The Sunday Star’s Amateur Snapshot Contest will be pub lished tomorrow in the Pic torial Magazine. Four prize-winning photo graphs will be published each Sunday until the close of the contest. The winners of the four final prizes will be entered in the Newspaper National Snapshot Awards to compete for prizes totaling $10,000. ■4 I