Evening star. [volume], May 15, 1951, Image 23

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

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FASHIONS—READERS' CLEARING HOUSE Qgj ^PS|iW)N ^^R'PPiWMCOMICS-RADIO
SOCIETY—CLUBS—RECIPES UlAlfiES Attiti 1951
■ —■■ - - - - - - . - -A' _ ... __ - -. ...L_
f Donohue Shifts
* Stand, Favors
Fluoridation
Tells Commissioners
Water Supply Should
Be Treated at Once
District Commissioner F. Joseph
Donohue today recommended to
I the Board of Commissioners that
sodium fluoride be mixed with the
city’s drinking water to prevent
tooth decay.
His written recommendation
Indorsing the proposal reversed
f his earlier stand on the matter
On March 29, Mr. Donohue had
advised against fluoridation of
the water supply as an unjusti
fied expense.
Commissioner Donohue told re
. porters yesterday he had made his
first decision on the basis of in-1
formation that the fluoridation j
process was still in the experl- j
mental stage. Since then, he said. J
K he had received bulletins from the |
United States Public Health Serv
ice and the American Dental As
sociation; favoring the process. In'
addition, he had read 20 studies
on various aspects of fluoridation.'
he said.
Answers Satisfactory.
"Two questions concerned me,"
\ he declared. "Does it work, and
is it harmful?" Mr. Donohue said
. he had found satisfactory answers
k to both questions.
ft Referring to the March 20 deci
ft elon as a mistake, he told re
r porters:
I "I am going to recommend to
' the Board of Commissioners that
they Reverse my original error and
recommend fluoridation of the
water supply as soon as possible.'
He estimated that the equipment
and ths chemical can be ob
tained and the process in opera
tion “within a matter of weeks,”
if the board gives its approval.
Noting that, in controlled ex
periments, the use of sodium
fluoride has been shown to re
duce tooth decay by 65 per cent
in Children, the Commissioner
declared that “this is a program
we not only can afford, but one
that we cannot afford to do with
out.” The yearly cost has been
estimated at $130,000.
Mr. Donohue said his thief
concern now is for those who may
still fear some ill effect from the;
chemical.
Sees Fears Allayed.
“I think it’s important to get
across the fact that some 2 mil
lion people have been drinking
water for years that contains
many times more fluoride in it
naturally than what we propose to
use here.” he explained. The mix
ture Tn the District would be one'
part of the chemical to one mil
lion parts of water.
The mixture is entirely tasteless,
odorless and has no discoloring
effects on the teeth, Mr. Donohue
said.
“In a way.” he added, “my first
decision may have been a good
thing. If we had approved it the
first time, no one would have
known anything about it. Now
there has been enough free discus
' sion of the process to allay much
of the fear that people might have
had at first.”
Mr. Donohue said he had re
ceived many letters from indi
viduals and organizations on the
subject of fluoridation — “over
whelmingly in favor of it."
Indorsed by Falls Church.
Fluoridation of the District
water supply also has the indorse
ment of the city council of Falls
Church, which draws its water
from the District system.
The eouncil at a meeting last
night adopted a resolution agree
ing to pay the city’s proportionate
cost of adding the chemical for
the water supply at Dalecarlia
reservoir.
Falls Church draws its water
from the Arlington supply at
Chain Bridge, and Arlington is
supplied from Dalecarlia
Councilman Samuel E. McCrary,
who sponsored the Falls Church
r resolution, said fluoridation has
been indorsed by health author
ities.
Copies of the council’s resolution
were ordered sent to the Arlington
County Board and the Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors.
Special Taxing District
Unit Adds 2 Members
Two new members were added
to the Citizens’ Committee of the
special taxing district of Friend
ship Heights and the Hills, Md.
in elections yesterday.
They are Robert L. Hughes and
Bernard B. Caviston. ' The five
members re-elected are MdTk M
Shoemaker, present chairman;
Frank B. Sermon, Lawrence
Myers, Harry O. Raup and Aubrej
G. Richmond.
The./Seven-man committee wil
meet within a week to elect it!
owh officers. The committee serve!
/as the governing body for the
/ taxing district.
. Bladensburg Town Budget
s. Hearing Called Tomorrow
Mayor Vincent J. McCarron an<
the town council of Bladensburj
will hold a public hearing at I
* pm. tomorrow in the town fin
house on a $44,100 proposer
budget for next fiscal year.
The budget is the largest in th<
town’s history- This year’s budge
, totaled $38,850.
Biggest increase contemplate!
is hi street repairs and malnte
nance. The new budget propose
a raise in this expenditure fron
$8,500 to $14^00. Some othe
items in the new budget would b
cut.
y.
Army Career to Cap Tall Story
Of Navy's Biggest Midshipman
i_ __ 1
Miss Rena Futter, 18, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, looks up
to Midshipman Robert A. Renneman, 6 feet 6 inches, to whom
she has just been introduced. —Star Staff Photo.
By J. L. Michael
Star Staff Correspondent
ANNAPOLIS, May 15.—Mid
shipman Robert A. Renneman
stands head and shoulders above
this year’s Naval Academy gradu
ating class—so much so that he
will be commissioned in the Army.
The 26-year-old middie from
Nassau, N. Y., is 6 feet 6 inches
tall, or 2 inches more than the
Navy’s maximum limit for officers.
For years now?, he has been
jumping up and down—literally—
to shake down his tall frame so he
will meet Army and Navy maxi
mum height limits.
But, it seems, he just won’t
shrink any more.
Served in Infantry.
Midshipman Renneman tried to
enlist as an Army air cadet when
he was 18. He stood 6 feet 5
inches then, 1 inch more than
the limit, and it appeared that
his ambition to become a flyer
would be thwarted.
“But some one told me,” the
middle said yesterday, “that if
you jump up and down hard
enough and sort of shrink your
self you can reduce your height
an inch or more and you will
stay that way at least an hour.
It worked so well I was accepted.”
Mr. Renneman served a year
and a half as r- enlisted man be
fore receiving a temporary com
mission as a lieutenant of in
fantry. At the end of two more
years he found himself in Schwa
bach, Germany, yearning for a
permanent commission.
He wangled an appointment to
the Naval Academy and upon
reaching Annapolis, started jump
ing again to make Navy’s 6-foot,
4-inch maximum. He said he was
6 feet, 5 inches tall at that time.
His height has increased 1 inch
during the last four years.
"I almost jumped my head ofl
Zoners Deny Permit
For Bethesda Clinic
The Montgomery County Board
of Zoning Appeals has denied an
application for a permit to operate
a medical clinic on the former
White Fathers of Africa property
on the Rockville Pike near Be
thesda.
In a * notice sent yesterday tc
the applicant Warren Browning
Washington attorney, the board
said it believes the proposal would
interfere with the future develop
ment of the surrounding resi
dential area.
At a hearing on the applicatior
May X Mr. Browning said he
planned to remodel the churct
ilfto a two-story diagnostic clink
to be operated by a group of Be
thesda physicians. He explained
the physicians have been ordered
by the county to give up theh
offices because they are violatinj
the zoning ordinance.
Strong opposition to the clink
was voiced by residents of th<
nearby Locust Hill estates anc
Maplewood subdivisions.
Cheverly Man Gets $1,1511
For Bite by Pedigreed Pig
A bite by a pedigreed pig wai
worth $l,55t) to Arthur Phillii
Shultz, 3008 Crest avenue, Chev
I erly, Md., the Associated Press re
r ported from Pittsburgh today,
l The 700-pound pig, Jumbo Rol
* lerhead, tried to make a meal out
I of Mr. Shultz’s right hand during
the Somerset (Pa.) County Fail
( September 1, 1948. When the vie
t tim sued for $10,000, the fair as
sociation said he had teased Jum
I bo. Mr. Shultz said he did not.
■ The association and Mr. Shulti
5 agreed to settle for $1,550 ant
l Federal Judge Nelson Stewart ap
r proved. Mr. Shultz works in thi
; service department of the Wash
ington Gas Light Co.
•
then,” he said, “and now I can’t
jump down the necessary 2
inches."
The Army, however, likes tall
men—its limit is 6 feet. 6 inches—
and will commission the dark
haired 190-pound Middie if he
passes final examinations and is
graduated.
Midshipman Renneman’s feet
did not stick out of the end of
crib when he was a baby. His
unusual height did not aid or
hinder him until he began high
school athletics. Then it showed
up as an advantage in football,
basketball and lacrosse.
He became a member of the
National High School Honor So
ciety and later, while attending
Buffalo University, gained a place
in the Who’s Who in American
Colleges and Universities. He
earned the Navy “N” in football
in 1948 and 1949 but did not play
last year. Throughout the four
years his scholastic record has
been in the upper brackets.
Sleeps in Regular Bunk.
“It has not been necessary at
the academy to make any special
arrangements for me,” the middie
declared, “except to keep my plate
well filled at mess time. I sleep
well in the regular bunks if 1
stretch out cater-comered.”.
Asked whether he prefers short
or tall girls, Mr. Renneman said,
“I like all of them.” He goes
steady back home with a girl 5
feet 4 inches tall.
In Army training, he said, he
had trouble getting into the cock
pits of the little artillery liaisor
planes. Now when he goes aboard
Navy ships he has to walk stooped
over when below decks.
Mr Renneman’s father is 5 feel
10 inches tall and his mother i
feet 9 inches. Both his grandpar
ents and two of his uncles are (
feet 6 inches._ _
Drunk-Driving Ruling
Is Appealed by Chew
The drunk driving conviction o
Arlington County Board Membe:
F. Freeland Chew was appealei
today before a iury of five mei
and one woman in Fairfax Cir
cuit Court.
Mr. Chew was fined $100 an<
given a 30-day suspended jai
sentence in Fairfax Trial Jus tic
Court on January 25 after con
viction of driving while drunl
September 30.
Mr. Chew, who earlier thi
month was cleared in Arlingtoi
Circuit Court of malfeasano
charges, appealed the drunkei
driving case at the time of hi
conviction, and asked that the ap
peal be heard by a jury.
At the Trial Justice Court hear
ing Virginia State Trooper J. S
Atkins, who arrested Chew, testi
fled that he stopped the official’
car because of another motorist’
complaint. The trooper said Mi
Chew had difficulty walking in i
straight line.
Interfaitb Scholarship
Offered at Maryland U
Applications are being accepte*
for the Rabbi Edward L. Israe
Interfaith Scholarship award o
$200, to be given the University o
Maryland junior student of an:
faith who has contributed thi
most toward promoting amicabli
relations and aiding campus re
ligious life.
The announcement was madi
today by the B’nai B’rith Hille
Foundation at the university. Pro!
Charles A. Shreeve, jr., chairmai
of the religious life committee, t
in charge of gathering nomina
tions. Leaders of various campu
: religious groups have been aske<
1 to nominate students.
Rabbi Meyer Greenberg direct
i the foundation and Harry C
■ Wechsler is president of the asso
elation sponsoring the award.
*
Utility Bill Tax
Asked in Budge!
For Alexandria
^Ancell Proposes
Record Outlay of
$5,123,143 for Year
By Mary Lou Werner
A proposed consumer tax on
utility bills was being considered
$y Alexandria city councilmen to
day as they begin deliberations
on a record budget recommenda
tion of $5,123,143 for the fiscal
year beginning July 1.
City Manager W. Guy Ancell,
Who presented the proposed bud
get yesterday, suggested a 10 per
cgnt tax on utility bills to raise!
revenue without increasing real:
estate taxes.
Mr. Ancell had recommended
the utility tax for the 1950 bud
get, but councilmen refused to im
pose it after receiving a barrage
of protests.
Alexandria is going on a July
j-june 31 fiscal year for the first
time this year, having operated
ip the past on a budget coincident
With the calendar year. A budget
of $4,831,667-was adopted for the;
current calendar year.
Cost-of-Living Raises Cited.
Mr. Ancell said most of the in
crease in the new budget is
brought about by a proposed $300
annual cost-of-living salary raise
for all city employes, and a $250
annual increase in the teachers’
salary scale which the School
Board requested.
The city manager pointed out
that all communities in the area
had increased employes” salaries.
Mr. Ancell made no request for
an increase in his own salary.
The budget shows a $535,000
deficit, brought about partly by
the proposed salary increases.
More than $390,000 of the deficit,
however, results from carrying
over the capital improvement pro
gram of the current budget.
Improvements Are Planned.
‘‘And in my opinion this should
be deferred as much as possible
due to the lack of labor and the
appeal of the United States Gov
ernment to curtail such expendi
tures which are not of an emer
gency nature,” Mr. Ancell said.
The capital improvement budget
inc'udes such items as $125,000 for
an incinerator, $75,000 for a col
ored swimming pool for which
Federal authorization already has
been requested, $55,000 for new
court rooms and a law library,
$15,000 for parking areas and a
number of other smaller items.
The city manager said he favor
ed the utility tax because it would
reach people who now use the
city’s schools and other facilities.
out pay only a small percentage ox
the tax burden.
"We have a large number of
service people who claim exemp
tion on automobile tags as well as
personal property,” Mr. Ansell
said.
Other Cities Have Tax.
He added that eight of the
larger cities in Virginia have such
a tax.
Councilman Marshall J. Bever
ley said he didn’t like the idea
of a utility tax because the utility
firms were sure to increase their
rates.
If the councilmen decide to
raise the extra revenue with a
real estate' tax, Mr. Ancell said
it would require an additional
levy of approximately 50 cents
per $100 of assessed valuation.
The city’s current tax rate is
$2 60.
A public hearing on the pro
posed budget will be held in the
council chamber at 7:30 p.m.
May 29.
Polio Foundation Donates
$8,700 to Prince Georges
The National Foundation for
Infantile Paralysis has had to
chip in $8,700 to pull the Prince
Georges County chapter out of a
hole.
The Maryland County chapter
; has used up virtually all of the
, money collected so far this year to
; pay for treatment of 47 polio pa
| tients stricken last year. It has
had to care for only one new polio
I natient since the first of the year
l Harry A. Styne, jr.. chairman
, of the chapter, said a little over
I $15,000 was collected in the 1951
: campaign which ended March 1
Half of that amount, however
. had to go to the National or
j ganization.
, Mr. Styne said the Prince
[ Georges chapter is only one ol
5 many county chapters in which
. 1951 March of Dimes funds had
been committed to payment of old
bills before this year’s first case
’ had been reported.
ANNIVERSARY OF PRELUDE TO INDEPENDENCE—Williamsburg, Va!—In observance of the
175th anniversary of Virginia’s declaration of her independence, this group gathers in Colonial
costume. They are: Ben Spraggins, driver; Mrs B. M. Blount, Mrs. Frank Adolph and Dudley
Wilkins, footman, all of Williamsburg. —Star Staff Photo.
Federation Opposes
Central Fire Protection
Plan in Montgomery
Opposition to a proposed cen
tral fire protection service for the
suburban area of Montgomery
County was voiced last night by
the County Civic Federation.
The Federation considered the
same resolution last month but
held it over for further study when
Henry Marschalk of Takoma Park
spoke against hasty consideration.
The action followed a report by
Mrs. Rose Poli, chairman of the
Public Safety Committee, in which
she claimed the proposed con
solidation of the seven independ
ent suburban fire departments
would increase fire taxes in areas
involved by ond1 third, decrease
the efficiency of the fire depart
ments, and result in less demo
cratic representation on the Fire
Board.
“Can’t Do Better Job.”
“The proposed consolidation
could not possibly do a better job
than is now being done by the
present organization nor give as
good service to the taxpayers of
the fire areas concerned,” she de
clared.
In other action, the federation:
1 Approved in principle a pro
posed amendment to the zoning
ordinance requiring that provision
be made for off-street parking in
connection with new residences in
A and B residential zones.
2 Expressed objection to a pro
vision in the same amendment
that the p&rking space be "per
manently maintained’’ on the
ground that enforcement would
pose serious practical problems.
3. Urged greater surveillance
by the Traffic Division of tihe state
Roads Commission in apprehend
ing overloaded trucks.
Legislation Urged.
4. Urged enabling legislation bj
the Maryland Assembly to permit
county authorities to weigh vehi
cles suspected of being overloaded
and to penalize their operators.
5. Recommended legislation
lowering the maximum weight
limit on county roads.
Allan B. Fay, chairman of the
Sanitation and Public Health:
Committee, reported on the Med
ical Care Committee’s recommen
dation that the county construct
a centrally located health center
He said “there were too many un
answered or controversial ques
tions in the report of the commis
sion and in our committee’s dis
cussion to allow us to make a rec
ommendation ”
The federation also heard a dis
cussion of nine bills pending before
the County Council, but withheld
action until a special meeting car
be called to study these and othei
pending bills.
Boy Drowns While Wadinc
In Little Patuxent River
An 8-year-old boy drowned a
Savage, Md., yesterday whil<
wading in the Little Patuxen
River.
Maryland State police said Ro
land Haynes of Savage steppei
backwards into a deep hole whili
wading with two playmates
Charles Holmes. 10, and Edwan
Raymond, 8.
Charles and Edward ran fo:
help and returned with Davi(
Mathews and James Heishman
The two men retrieved Roland’
body.
* ■' ■ * 1
Barrett PTA to Elect
The Kate Waller Barrett Ele^
mentary School PTA will elect an<
install new officers at 8 p.m
Thursday at the school. 4400 Nortl
Henderson road. Arlington.
Election Official Is Fined $50
1 For Refusal to Register Soldier
By In* Associated Press
JONESVILLE, Va., May 15.—
Paul Lipps, election registrar at
, the North Jonesville precinct, was
I fined $50 in Trial Justice Court
I yesterday for refusing to register
r a 23-year-old soldier who is home
p on furlough.
r Mr. Lipps noted an appeal from
, the judgment of Assistant Trial
[ Justice J. O. Woodward and the
conviction will be carried to Lee
County Circuit Court.
> Pfc. Harold Bledsoe, who said
1 he is on a 10-day leave pend
. ing his departure for Korea, was
i the prosecuting witness. He gave
; the following account of his at
. tempt to register:
i He first went to Mr. Lipps’ home
I last Thursday and was told “The
books are locked up in Jonesville.”
> He returned Friday night, ex
. plained that he would leave soon
• for Korea, and saw the registrar
leave his home by a back door
1
But Pfc. Bledsoe reached Mr
Lipps as the latter was enterinf
his car, and was advised by Mr
Lipps that he did not register peo
ple after 6 o’clock.”
Last Saturday afternoon, Pfc
Bledsoe testified, Mr. Lipps tol(
him he did not register peopli
after 12 o’clock on Saturday
whereupon a warrant was ob
tained.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Glenr
Williams, who handled the prose
cution, said he is "considering’
asking for the removal of Mr
Lipps.
“A majority of the registrars ir
Lee County are doing a good job.'
Mr. Williams said, "but we hav<
four or five who have openly sale
they won’t register Republicans
People have gone to their home*
and they have refused to registei
them. It’s a deplorable situatior
and I am going to try to see tha
it is corrected.”
A
50 Men Drag River
For 2 Small Girls
Playing in Safety
Four-year-old Jerry Peacock
saw some bubbles in the Anacostia
IRiver’s eastern branch near Bla
|densburg road yesterday and
within minutes five rescue squads
were dragging the stream.
Jerry’s sisters, Linda. 5, and
Sandra, 3, were missing from their
home at 4300 Newark road, Col
mar Manor, but it turned out that
the bubbles weren’t made by bis
sisters as he had thought.
The sisters were playing in a
nearby yard, unaware that Prince
Georges County police were scour
ing the neighborhood seekihg
them, and that 50 men were drag
ging the river on the theory that
they had drowned.
Rescue squads from the Dis
trict. Cottage City, Mount Rainier,
Bladensburg and Berwyn Heights
rushed to the area. The 50 fire
men donned hip boats and waded
into the stream. Some of them
launched a rubber life raft to
help.
More than an hour later Sandra
and Linda came home.
‘‘We were just playin’,” Linda
said. The rescue squadron climbed
out of the river. During the ex
citement, the father, Paul A. Pea
cock, jr„ was at work with a con
struction company and could not
be located. His wife is in a Bal
timore hospital and a maid was
with the children.
“HA to Keopen Talks
Soon on Greenbelt
Sale to Veteran Co-op
i The Public Housing Administra
tion will soon resume negotiations
iwith a non-profit veterans’ co
operative on the proposed sale oi
: Greenbelt.
The Greenbelt Veterans’ Hous
ing Association, a co-operativs
composed of veteran occupants
and others organized to buy the
property, has qualified as the sole
purchaser, a PHA spokesman said
The exact sale price and terms
have not been worked out yet.
Prior negotiations were broker
off in August after the Korean wai
brought to a halt Government
plans to dispose of certain publicly
owned property.
Housing Administrator Ray
mond M. Foley has notified PHA
now, however, that it may proceed
with earlier plans to sell Green
belt and Greendale, near Milwau
kee. A third of the “green towns'
developed early in the Rooseve*
administration is near Cincinnati
It was sold to a co-operative grout
! January 1, 1950.
| The Greenbelt property was firsi
| advertised for sale last June. FHA
appraisers put a price of $8,522,35(
| pn the property. A spokesmar
'Isaid it may now be valued at f
higher figure.
Estranged Wife Charges
Husband With Gun Threat
A man accused by his estrangec
I wife of spiriting their two childrer
> off to North Carolina faces Princi
Georges County grand Jury actior
j on a charge of assault with intern
to kill.
Thomas L. Pardon, 31, of Wins
I ton-Salem, N. C., was released or
$1,500 bond for the grand ‘ jurj
; after a hearing before Judge Nitt
Hinman Crane in Hyattsville Tria
Magistrate Court yesterday.
His wife, Mrs. Erris C. Pardon
of 6700 Walkerville road, near Up
• per Marlboro, testified thal
l Pardon seized their two children
aged 9 and 6. at the point of a
i gun on April 9 and took them
back to North Carolina with him
in his car. She said he threatened
to kill her if she tried to stop him
Pardon maintained the childrer
came willingly and that he did
nrtf HOa <1 •
Manassas Woman Dies
Of Auto Crpsh Injuries
Miss Wanza Walters, 23. of
Manassas, Va., died last night in
; Arlington Hospital of injuries re
| ceived Saturday morning in an
1 automobile accident at Bull Run
Bridge. Prince William County, Va
Three other young women from
Manassas were treated at the hos
pital and released after the acci
dent. Police reported their car
struck the bridge on the Centre
ville-Manassas road.
Those treated and released were
the Misses Marian Marin, 23;
Beatrice Underwood. 18. and
Katherine Mertford, 18, all of
Manassas, according to police.
; Surrattsville PTA to Vote
The Surrattsville (Md.) School
Parent-Teacher Association will
' elect next year’s officers at 8
o’clock tonight at the school.
y
Falls Church, Fairfax
Facing New Feud on
Sewer Service Bills
A new feud over sewer service
charges was brewing today be
tween Palls Church and Fairfax
County despite a court decision of
last week which was expected to
settle the debate.
City Attorney LaRue Van Meter
told the City Council last night
that the court decision m*ans
Falls Church will bill the county—
rather than individual home
lowners—for each county home
connected to the sewer. He said
the charge per user will be $1.75
I a month, the rate at which Falls
Church billed county homes be
fore the court ruled that the
county was entitled to collect the
charges.
James J. Corbalis, jr., county
sanitary engineer, when informed
of Mr. Van Meter’s statement, said
the county would not consider
paying the $1.75 rate. He said
sewers of the county homes in
volved are connected to the city
system, but eventually flow back
into county sewers. Mr. Corbalis
said the county is willing to nego
| Mate a settlement.
Mr. Van Meter plans to ask the
| council to appeal the Fairfax Cir
! cuit decision in the case.
June 12 was proposed by the
council last night as the date for
a referendum on a proposed $500,
000 bond issue for school improve
ments and storm sewer projects.
A petition will be presented to
Fairfax Circuit Court asking that
the election be set for that date.
The council reappointed as reg
istrar of vital statistics Mrs. Jtohn
E. Boland of 1000 Parker street
W. Rhodes Woodbury, the city
manager, reported that only one
birth was registered in the city
last year. This is because most
mothers go to hospitals in Arling
ton, Alexandria or Washington.
Falls Church has no hospital.
Planning Group Cool
To Off-Street Parking
The Maryland-National Capital
Park and Planning Commission
today questioned the advisability
of the Montgomery County Coun
cil’s proposal to require off-street
parking for all new homes.
A hearing on the proposal will
be held at 8 pun. tomorrow in
the County Building, Bethesda.
The commission raised several
objections to such a requirement,
i including the question of its
legality.
Another objection cited by the
1 commission was the requirement
that off-street parking facilities
be paved either with bituminous
or concrete material. The plan
ning agency pointed out that other
areas, including Arlington, require
only that a paved area should be
provided, with the particular ma
terials left to the builder’s dis
cretion.
The commission also said that
in cases where yards are above
the street level because of topo
graphical conditions the cost of
providing off-street parking facili
ties would be excessive.
The commission said that while
it believes parking regulations in
residential areas are desirable, it
feels such a problem can be solved
more effectively by police ordi
nances.
Sex Motive Charged
In New Edwards' Appeal
Sy th» Axociatod Prm
ANNAPOLIS. May 15.—The
State insisted today that Thomas
A. (Gabby) Edwards die for the
Glen Bumie murders and de
clared rape was a likely motive.
It was the first time the prose
cution emphasized a sex angle to
the twin slayings that rocked
Maryland nearly three years ago.
They did so as Edwards. 26
year-old colored gardener, ap
pealed his second conviction.
The Court of Appeals threw out
a purported confession and or
dered a new trial last year. Judges
of Baltimore’s Criminal Court
once again found Edwards guilty
of fatally shooting a young Glen
Bumie couple in the light of a
full moon the night of September
17. 1948.
Bodies of John H. Mahlan, 25
year-old postal clerk and Mary
Kline, 18, the pretty redhead he
dated occasionally, were discov
ered three days later in a honey
suckle clearing.
Mahlan’s blood-stained car had
been found the morning after the
murders in a bean field near Glen
Bumie. The clearing where a
roads worker stumbled across the
bodies was off a back road 26
miles away. i
ft
Williamsburg
Marks Colony's
Freedom Vote
Rockefeller Opens
Exhibit of Portraits
Of Victory Leaders
By George Kennedy
Star Staff Corraiipondant
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.. May 15,
—One hundred and 75 years ago
today, when this was the Colonial
:apital of Virginia, a convention
assembled here voted to instruct
the Virginia delegates in the Con
tinental Congress in Philadelphia
to declare the united colonies
‘free and independent states.”
The resolution was offered by
Edmund Pendleton of Caroline
County. It passed unanimously.
Three weeks later Richard Henry
Lee of Virginia arose in the Con
gress and introduced the resolu
tion. A committee of five mem
bers was appointed to draft a
formal declaration. One of them
was Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.
He drafted it.
That was the beginning of fire
crackers on the Fourth of July,
because that was the day on
which it was passed without one
colony dissenting.
Show to Draw Pilgrims.
Mindful of the value in times
like these of an anniversary that
rekindles love of country Colonial
Williamsburg is putting on a show
here that should bring pilgrims
from the sun-kissed shores of
California, the rock-bound coast
of Maine and all points between.
This is a freedom train that is
easy for the fortunate Washing
tonian to board. All he has to do
is to get into his car and enjoy
a four-hour drive through lush
Virginia countryside.
As John D. Rockefeller, 3d,
whose family has spent so many
millions so well in recreating this
Colonial capital, said yesterday,
the finest tribute tourists pay Wil
liamsburg is: “It makes American
history seem so real.”
He was opening an exhibit of
portraits that makes it seem real.
Entitled “They Gave Us Freedom,’*
it is a wealth of national heritage
that will make every American
proud that he belongs to such a
distinguished familiy.
These pictures have been gath
ered from far and wide. Not even
months of travel and gallery trot
ting would reach them all, for
many of the most interesting are
from private collections.
Patrick Henry Pictured.
i There on one wall is Patrick
Henry, pictured making the speech
right here in the Capital that was
so disturbing. And well it might
have been. The re-creation of
the scene by the German artist
Peter F. Rothermel is understand
able, the gantlet thrown on the v
floor, the dark looks of two mem
bers in the aisle, the half-drawn
sword of a member in the benches
and the shocked looks of the ladies
in the gallery. For Patrick Henry
is reported to have said:
“Caesar had his Brutus, Charles
I his Cromwell, and George III
He was interrupted by cries of
“Treason! Treason!” And he an
swered: "If this be treason, make
the most of it.”
The picture has ben loaned the
exhibit by the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts at Phila
delphia.
Famous Naval Battle.
On another wall is the original
of a picture familiar to every
schoolboy—the “engagement be
tween the Bonhomme Richard and
the Serapis.” It is from the Naval
Academy at Annapolis. Painted
by Richard Paton. it shows the
moment when the decks were
ablaze on the ship named for
Benjamin Franklin—the moment
when its commander, Capt. John
Paul Jones, replied to a surrender
demand with, “I have just begun
to fight.”
There are several interesting
primitives in the exhibit. One is
about Francisco Gallant, a Paul
Bunyan of Revolutionary Virginia.
Gallant, a stalwart Portuguese,
carried a 9-foot sword, according
to legend, and once won a bet by
lifting a man and horse over a
fence.
Here he is pictured defeating
Jfour British horsemen single
handed while a regiment of 400
iredcoats does a right about face
jto avoid the terrible swordsman.
'The picture is owned by Frank
Mason, former vice president of
the National Broadcasting Co.,
who lives near Purcellville.
And in a comer is a bust of
Jones made in Paris right after
the fight by Jean-Antoine Hou
don. the sculptor who later came
to America and did the life-size
statue of George Washington in
Richmond. Busts usually portray
more likeness than spirit, but
Houdon reveals in it how cocky
was this Scot who called himself
a "citizen of the world.” This also
is from the Naval Academy. The
show also includes the Houdon
busts of Lafayette and Benjamin
Franklin.
Hagerstown Jury Told
County Is Crime-Free
By the Associated Press
HAGERSTOWN, Md„ May 15._
Washington County is free of
crimes of serious nature, at least
for the time being.
Chief Judge Joseph B. Mish so
told the Washington County grand
jury yesterday shortly after it was
sworn in.
PTA Installs Tonight
' The Charles A. Stewart School
-’TA will hold its last meeting of
the school year at 7:45 o’clock to
night in the school in East Palls
Church. The group will install
officers, hear talks by two Arling
ton County school officials and
listen to a music program by
classes at. the Reboot
•A