Evening star. [volume], December 16, 1951, Image 1

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

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Weather Forecast
Sunny, windy, cold today; high 26.
Cold tonight; low 18. Tomorrow, fair,
warmer. (Pull report on Page A-2.)
Yesterday’s Temperatures.
Noon —34 6 p.m.—29 11 p.m.—24
2 p.m—33 8 p.m—27 12 a.m—21
4 p.m—32 10 p.m—26 1 ajn.„19
" 1 _ An Associated Press Newspaper
99th Year. No. 350.__* WASHINGTON, D. C., DECEMBER 16, 1951—184 PAGES S TEN CENTS. “ST
T ruman Holds'Profitable'Talks
With Murphy; Judge Is Expected
To Head Scandal Cleanup Drive
Secret Conferences
Hint Action Is Near
On Major Project
By George Beveridge
Federal Judge Thomas F. Mur
phy slipped Into the White House
for two “highly profitable" talks
with President Truman yesterday,
but he left with a cloud of secrecy
still hanging over any plans the
President has for a major govern
mental “cleanup" project.
The Jurist’s White House ap
pearance increased speculation
Everything Is Mode for Love Except Guilt,
Boykin Believes. Page A-10
ADA Unit Asks Quick Cleanup to
Thwart Reactionaries. Page A-12
that a high-powered, independent
action against corrupt officials is
in the offing, and the New Yorker
did nothing to discredit reports
that he at least is the President’s
choice to handle the job.
As to the conference itself, how
ever, Judge Murphy countered
newsmen’s questions this way:
“The only thing I am at liberty
to say is that I saw the President
and had a very long talk with him
on matters of interest to the
country.
Declines Further Comment.
“Any further comment will have
to come from him.”
Meanwhile, two House Republi
can members of the King investi
gating subcommittee, which has
disclosed sensational incidents of
irregularities within the Federal
tax system, said they did not
think any separate administra
tion campaign should have too
great an effect on the subcom
mittee’s future investigations.
Representative Byrnes, Repub
lican, of Wisconsin, said such a
move "might lessen somewhat our
present responsibility of house
cleaning.”
“But I don’t think the country
can be satisfied with just a
present-day housecleaning job,”
he declared. “We will still have
to go into the subject in order to;
report on changes that will have
to be made to avoid recurrences.”
Some Measures In Mind.
Mr. Truman has Indicated that
he also had measures in mind,
some for his own action and some
for legislation, to help eliminate
corruption in government.
But the main interest has
centered around Mr. Truman's
hint to reporters on Thursday that
he might have something to say
about an independent cleanup
project by the week end. White
House Press Secretary Joseph
Short served notice this deadline
wouldn’t be met when he told
newsmen they could expect no
executive move through today.
President Truman embarked on
the yacht Williamsburg at the
Naval Gun Factory late yesterday
for an overnight cruise on the
Potomac River. He will return
this afternoon. A few friends ac
companied him. but the White
House withheld their names.
Persistent reports are that thei
President’s plan might be carried
out by some sort of anti-corrup
tion commission, with powers to
investigate and possibly to prose
cute wrongdoers in Government.
Mr. Truman, however, made plain
that he wants also a clean bill of
health to be given honest officials
who do their jobs well.
FBI Intervention Seen.
Some reports have it that the
FBI will be called upon to play a
key role in any extensive adminis
tration cleanup program. Tradi
tionally, however, Director J. Ed
gar Hoover has sought to keep the
FBI out of any situation which in
any way has smacked of politics.
Mr. Truman conferred with Mr.
Hoover last week and—asked later
if that agency might be called on
for investigative work—told re
porters only that the FBI would
continue to do its duty.
Advance information about
Judge Murphy’s visit had news
men keeping a close check yes
terday on the city’s hotels, as well
as incoming planes and trains.
And the towering, mustached ju
rist, who gained fame as the pros
ecutor of Alger Hiss and as a
police rackets buster in New York,
is a man who stands out in a
crowd.
Announced by White House.
But the first official word of
the secrecy-shrouded White House
meetings came when Mr. Short
called reporters in at about 1:15
p.m. and announced:
“Judge Murphy was in to see
the President this morning and
the President reported he had a
(Continued on Page A-4, Col. 1.)
Original Santa Claus
Probably a Bishop
Legend has it that the original
Santa Claus was a bishop who lived in
Asia Minor and gave gifts anonymously.
You can find gifts for your family
and friends this
Christmas
through the
"m i s cellaneous
for sale" col- j
umns of The '
Stars classified section. The Star
offers more classified selections than
the three other Washington news
papers combined.
So use this tremendous showcase
when you wont to buy or sell toys
and other gift items as Christmas
approaches. Phone Sterling 5000.
1
Congress to Demand Economy
And No Tax Rise, Senators Say
Election-Minded Legislators Will Pare
Spending, O'Mahoney and Johnson Predict
By J. A. O'Leary
Two Democratic Senators
agreed yesterday that holding
down Government spending to
avoid another tax boost will be
the principal job of the Congres
sional session which starts Janu
ary 8.
Senators O’Mahoney of Wyo
ming and Johnson of Colorado
j both predicted Congress will not
igo for another increase in taxes,
leaving economy as the only al
ternative.
Senator Johnson said the fact
that 1952 is election year will help
make an economy drive successful.
1 As chairman of the subcom
jmittee on Defense Appropriations,
Senator O’Mahoney has charge of
about half the total involved in
the current budget, and will,
therefore, play an important part
in any effort to reduce non-essen
tial expenditures at the coming
session.
Senator O'Mahoney said yes
terday he welcomes reports that
Defense Secretary Lovett “is
again vigorously applying the
pruning knife to military expen
ditures.”
The Senator recalled that a year
ago the various branches of the
armed services submitted original
requests amounting to $104 bil
lion. The defense budget finally
approved by Congress called for
approximately $57 billion. A sub
stantial part of this total was for
procurement of heavy weapons
and will not be spent until fiscal
1953 or later. At the same time
the defense establishment has
large allotments from earlier years
which will be spent this year and
in 1953.
When Congress quit in October
preliminary estimates were that!
military expenditures in fiscal 1953
would reach $63 billion.
Senator O’Mahoney said he un
derstands the estimates again are
being cut in the Department, and
added, "this is all to the good,
for our greatest danger continues
to be on the home front, where
the passion for profiteering and
easy money could undermine our
ability to preserve our economic
and political freedom.
"The Defense Department must
prepare the new budget,” Senator
O’Mahoney said, "with its eye on
two facts:
"1. That there is no possibility
this session of Congress will in
crease taxes.
“2. That the primary concern of
Congress must be to avoid infla
tion bj preventing all unneces
sary expenses, even in the Depart
ment of Defense, This is much
more clear now to Congress and
the country than it was on August
15 last, when I submitted the
unanimous report of the Joint
Economic Committee, that there
is urgent need ’for renewed efforts
to i«educe and postpone less essen
tial Government expenditures'.”
Senator Johnson said the ap
proaching session “will occupy it
self mainly with retrenchment for
everybody, including the military,
in a supreme effort to balance the
budget.”
When congressional leaders re
turn to the Capitol after the
Christmas holidays their first con
cern will be to consider how the
appropriation bills can be expe
dited. There will be a strong
desire to complete the work of the
session before the political con
ventions are held in July. To do
this the House will have to get
off to an early start on the ap
propriation bills, which always
originate in that branch. •
U. N. Rejecting Offers
From Reds Until They
List Allied Prisoners
Negotiators Also Insist
On Better Arrangement
For Truce Supervision
By th« Associated Press
MUNSAN, Korea, Sunday, Dec.
16.—Allied armistice negotiators
are refusing any more bargaining
offers until the Reds present in
formation on prisoners and a bet
ter truce supervision proposal.
The United Nations is standing
pat on a demand for a list of
'Deep Freeze' Grip* Both Sides in Korea;
Sab® Jets Doubled. Page A-2
Allied prisoners and where they
are held.
“We want all of the men back,"
said Brig. Gen. William P.
Nuckols, U. N. command spokes
man. “We don’t want some of
them to wind up in slave labor
camps in China or Korea or any
where else.”
Gen. Nuckols added that there
can be no progress on armistice
supervision discussions until the
Communists offer “a new propo
al, better than the one they came
up with yesterday.”
Another Meeting Set,
He said the only thing the
truce negotiators agreed upon
yesterday at Panmunjon meetings
was to meet again today.
The Communists want agree,
ment now on their proposal for
an all-for-all exchange of prison
ers. They insist that such things
as lists and locations of prisoners
are secondary “technical details.”
The Reds also have refused to
permit International Red Cross
inspection of prison camps.
More than 100,000 Allied sol
diers (the bulk of them South
Koreans) are missing or captured
—the great majority of them be
lieved captured. Of these, some
11,000 are Americans—but Com
munist sources indicate that less
than 4,000 United States troops
could be expected to be returned
as prisoners.
Red Proposal Rejected.
The others either were atrocity
victims or were battle casualties
whose bodies were never found.
Maj. Gen. Howard M. Turner,
head of the Allied sub-committee
working on a program of armistice
supervision, rejected flatly the
Reds’ six-point proposal yester
day.
“You seek to gain through ne
gotiation what you could not win
through fighting,” ... he told
them. “ . . . We are not talking
as a victor over the vanquished.
We are talking military realities
on which this armistice must be
based.”
-£
Korean Official Relieved
TOKYO, Dec. 15 _(/P).—The
North Korean radio said tonight
that Lee Sung Yup had been re
lieved of his post as North Korean
minister of justice. It gave no
reason or details.
k
Only 4,000 Prisoners
Of 11,000 Americans
Expected to Return
Enemy Source Indicates
High Percentage of
Others Died of Wounds
By th« Associated Press
PANMUNJOM, Korea, Dec. 15.
—An enemy source indicates
that of more than 11,000 Ameri
cans missing in action In Korea,
less than 4,000 can be expected
to come down the road to this
truce camp if the war ends.
There is good reason to believe
this appraisal is true.
Refusal of the Communists to
list the prisoners they hold has
been hindering armistice talks. j
Thus far, no Allied spokesman
has said officially how many
prisoners the United Nations com
mand believes the Communists
are holding.
Deaths From Wounds Cited.
One Allied report recently esti
mated that up to 8,000 U. N.
soldiers have died of wounds or
| atrocities. This would support the
general figure of something under
4,000 being still alive.
The same enemy source that in
dicated the total being held, con
firmed that many captives had
died of wounds.
He said that if there had been
any possibility of providing medi
! cal aid immediately, the number
of prisoners alive now would have
been much larger.
“However,” he said, “the one
third figure is more or less com
parable to other wars.”
Uniforms Reported Issued.
Late information from the
prisoner of war camps in North
Korea, he said, is that the prison
ers have been issued blue winter
uniforms, similar to the Chinese
brown winter uniform. The
prisoners have also been issued
new winter boots, he said.
He admitted that conditions in
the camps had been much worse
in the past, "especially last win
ter when there was a shortage of
food.”
There had been a real effort re
cently, he said, to improve food
and living conditions.
There has been great concern
! on the U. N. side that many
prisoners died from lack of food
and proper care.
Senator Watkins of Utah
Backs Taft for Nomination
By th* Auociated Preit
RICHFIELD. Utah, Dec. 15.—
Senator Watkins, Republican of
Utah, said today he would “defi
nitely back Senator Robert A. Taft
for the Republican nomination to
the presidency.”
In an interview Senator Watkins
, said he did not favor nomination
of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower be
cause the Republicans "shouldn’t
nominate a military man.”
^ A
Effort to Avert
Steel Strike Due
To Be Made Here
CIO Union Expected
To Authorize Tieup
Starting January 1
By James Y. Newton
The Government last night was
expected to call deadlocked steel
negotiators here this week in an
effort to head off a possible strike
January 1.
This plan was based on the as
sumption that CIO United Steel
workers tomorrow will authorize
a strike of their 1 million mem
bers.
CIO President Philip Murray,
who also heads the Steelworkers,
has called meetings in Pittsburgh
tomorrow of the union’s 36-man
executive board and 170-member
wage policy committee.
The meetings were arranged so
Mr. Murray could report the sta
tus of wage talks with the steel
companies. He also will receive
any instructions the union leaders
may give.
Contracts Expire December 31.
It was generally expected by
Federal labor officials that the
union will issue a strike call since
little or no progress has been
made in new contract negotia
tions. The present industry-wide
contracts expire at midnight De
cember 31 and the steelworkers
are free to strike after that.
Government officials, who have
described a steel strike as "un
thinkable” and "catastrophic” at
this stage of the defense program,
are gravely concerned.
Federal Mediation Chief Cyrus
S. Ching was expected to invite
union and company representa
tives here in an effort to settle
the dispute over the union’s de
mand for a "substantial” wage
increase and 21 other concessions.
Clyde Mills, Mr. Ching's chief
lieutenant who returned yesterday
from conferences with the dis
putants in Pittsburgh, indicated
Mr. Ching may be ready tomorrow
to say what his next step will be.
Could Be Sent to Board.
It was uncertain whether Mr.
Ching will invite officials of all
major companies or only those of
the United States Steel Corp.,
giant of the industry. Mr. Mur
ray and his men have concen
trated on the negotiations with
United States Steel which cus
tomarily takes the lead in such
matters.
If the attempt to mediate the
dispute falls, Mr. Ching then was
expected to report the impasse to
President Truman. The President
then would certify the dispute to
the Wage Stabilization Board
which would make settlement rec
ommendations provided the par
ties agreed in advance to accept
its findings.
The steel industry has said it
cannot give the workers a wage
boost unless the Government per
mits a price increase of corre
sponding size. Roger L. Putnam,
Economic Stabilization Admin
istrator, has told the United
States Steel president, Benjamin
F. Fairless, that price ceilings will
not be raised to reflect any new
wage costs.
But the steel industry may get
a price increase of undetermined
size under the so-called Capehart
amendment to the price control
law. The amendment requires the
Government, in setting ceilings,
to allow for nearly all increases
in costs incurred by manu
facturers from the start of the
Korean fighting to last July 26.
DiSalle Calls Conference.
Steel prices have not been ad
justed to reflect provisions of the
Capehart amendment, although
adjustments have been made for
many other manufacturers.
Along that line, it was learned
that Price Director Michael V.
DiSalle has called steel industry
(See STEEL. Page A-5.)
Senator Capper Improves
TOPEKA, Kans., Dec. 15. (JP)—
Arthur Capper, former United
States senator who has been criti
cally ill following an attack of
pneumonia, was reported showing
marked improvement tonight.
I SEE TRUMAN
RE-ELECTED IN
1952!
r
1 * >\\
IS THAT BALL
TH' SAME ON
BOTH SIDES.
SENATOR ?
fW. Anderson.
Crystal-Gazing
Laborer Saves 4 Small Children
In 3 Trips Into Blazing Home
Determined Rescuer Smashes Locked Door,
Defies Choking Smoke to Carry Out Babies
Four small children were
rescued from a burning bedroom
yesterday afternoon by a quick
thinking laborer who made three
trips into a smoke-fllled house to
get them.
The fire occurred in a two-story
house at 729 Tenth street S.E. at
Picturei on Page A-3.
2 p.m. while the mother of the
children. Mrs. Mary Wheeler, 25,
was at a corner store.
Frank B. Dancy. 38, colored, of
2011 Portner place, N.W., em
ployed by a trash collection con
tractor who lives in the block,
was shoveling snow from the side
walk next door.
"I heard a woman scream,” he
said. "She pointed to the house
next door and I could see smoke
coming out the second-story win
dows—lots of smoke.
"I dropped my shovel and tried
the door. It was locked. I put
my back to it and pushed as hard
as I could. The door broke open.
"I went upstairs and the smoke
seemed to be coming out a back
room. I opened the door and it
almost knocked me over. There
were two little boys standing at
the door crying.
‘‘I grabbed them and carried
them downstairs. The woman who
saw the smoke first was shouting
that there were two babies still
.upstairs. I went back up. I felt
around and found a crib and
picked a baby up and got out of
there.
‘‘After I got downstairs a
man named Nubby—he’s a baker,
that's all I know—tried to go up.
Cutler Combs River Flats
For 3 Lost Duck Hunters
A Coast Guard cutter out of
Washington was searching the
Potomac River flats 35 miles south
of here last night and early today
for three duck hunters reported
marooned on a duck blind off
Maryland Point.
The report originated during the
afternoon when Thomas J. Pou.
jr.. of Marshall Hall. Md.. told
State police he saw a boat, pre
viously occupied by three men,
drifting ashore.
Early today. Coast Guard head
quarters in Norfolk said no word
had been received from the cutter,
but added that communications
upstream on the Potomac often
were faulty.
Colder Weather Forecast in '52
Because of Philippine Volcano
By th« Associated Prtst
RICHMOND, Dec. 15.—A Rich
mond man, who stumbled upon a
gold mine in the sky when he
started probing the mysteries of
the weather, came forth today
with the prediction that it’s going
to be cooler and colder in Virginia
during 1952.
And, says Louis D. Rubin, all
because a volcano 8,500 miles
away has been blowing its stack.
Mr. Rubin, who’s been studying
weather habits for 20 years, ex
plains it this way:
The dust which has been spiral
ing skyward from Hibok-Hibok
volcano, on an eruption bender for
a week in the Philippines, will
float around in the upper air
channels about eight to 12 miles
high.
This will be too high for rain,
snow or descending air to bring
the dust down. The result will
be a thin veil of dust around the
upper air mass that will reflect
and absorb the heat rays from
the sun. The rays, consequently,
s
won t reacn tne eartn s suriace in
their usual abundance.
Since all weather patterns fol
low a general western to eastern
movement, Mr. Rubin thinks the
dust veil will reach North Amer
ica in four or five months. Thus,
his prediction:
A cooler spring, a summet that
won’t be quite so warm as usual
and a winter in 1952-53 that
should be somewhat more frigid
than the upcoming winter.
Does Mr. Rubin’s theory hold
any weight?
The 56-year-old 'amateur me
teorologist, whose copyrighted
booklet on forecasting the weather
by sky signs is returning him a
small fortune, brings out the his
tory book to argue his case.
He notes that Napoleon’s retreat
from Russia was due to extremely
cold weather—which followed vio
lent volcanic eruptions in the
West Indies in 1812.
He further notes that the Na
tion had an unusually cold winter
in 1912—on the heels of the Alas
kan volcanic eruption of ♦ Mt.
K&tmi.
I
He came down saying ‘I can't do
it.’
“I took a long breath and went
up again. I couldn't see anything
in the room. But I could hear a
baby crying softly—kinda trying
to breathe. I felt around and came
on another crib. There was a little
bundle in it and I carried it out.”
The two little boys were Louis
Cooke, 5, and William Cooke, 4,
sons of Mrs. Wheeler by a previous
marriage. The third child rescued
was Joanne Wheeler. 2, and the
last was Marguerite Wheeler, 10
months old. She was black with
soot and was given oxygen by a
fire rescue squad.
W’hen the mother returned from
the store. Fire Department equip
ment was in front of her house
and her children were safe. The
firemen made quick work of the
file, a blazing floor and smoldering
mattresses. The cause was un
known. None of the children was
burned, but all were nearly
asphyxiated by smoke.
The father. Theodore Wheeler,
24, a veteran of the occupation of
Japan, arrived shortly after. A
laborer, he had been working at
a construction job in the neigh
borhood. All the Wheelers knew
was that a colored man named
"Frank'’—they didn’t know his
last name—had saved their child
ren.
School Board Group
Reaches Decision in
Corning Evaluation
Findings Kept Secret
By Personnel Committee
Until Meeting Tuesday
The Board of Education’s
Personnel Committee yesterday
reached a conclusion in its eval
uation of School Supt. Hobart M.
Coming but kept silent on what it
will report to the full board this
week.
The board will meet in special
session, probably Tuesday, to
hear the report of the Personnel
Committee and decide whether to
reappoint Dr. Corning.
Adelbert W. Lee, chairman of
the Personnel Committee, an
nounced after a three-hour ses
sion yesterday that the group had
“reached a conclusion.” He would
not say if a definite recommen
dation was to be made on whether
Dr. Corning should be reappointed.
Groups Work ‘Confidential’.
‘‘We will present a report on our
findings to the Board of Educa
tion.” Mr. Lee said. "The confi
dential nature of the commitee’s
work makes it impossible for me
to comment further than that.”
Dr. Coming’s term expires on
March 1. The Personnel Commit
tee has been studying his record
as superintendent of the city’s
schools since he first was ap
pointed in 1946. The instructions
to the committee by C. Melvin
Sharpe, School Board president,
were to make an evaluation of
Dr. Coming’s service and did not
specify that a recommendation
be included.
It is assumed the committee re
port, as it now stands, lists the
areas in which Dr. Corning has
been found lacking and the areas
in which his work has been satis
factory.
Corning Attends Meeting.
Five members of the nine-mem
ber School Board, besides Mr. Lee,
attended yesterday’s session of the
committee. They were Dr. James
A. Gannon, Albert E. Steinem, Dr.
Phillip T. Johnson, Mrs. Arcadia
Near Phillips and Mrs. James W.
Williams. Dr. Johnson and Mr.
Steinem are the other two mem
bers of Mr. Lee’s Personnel Com
mittee.
Dr. Corning also was at the
major portion of the meeting. Mr.
Lee said the board members ques
tioned Dr. Coming at length dur
ing the session.
Great Changes Urged
In Prince Georges to
Improve County Rule
Chicago Survey Firm
Submits 85-Page Report
After Lengthy Study
By Gene Goodwin
What Prince Georges County
needs, above all. is to be able to
govern itself “democratically and
efficiently’’ through a home rule
charter-county manager type of
government.
That is the most emphatic of
several drastic governmental
changes recommended for the
nearby Maryland county by Public
Administration Service of Chicago,
the professional survey group
which has had Prince Georges
under its microscope since last
March.
The survey firm's 85-page,
printed report, released yesterday,
suggests that the present five-man
Board of County Commissioners
be replaced by a County Council,
elected to set policy, and a county
manager, appointed by the council
to carry out that policy.
The council would pass all local
laws now enacted by the General
Assembly in Annapolis. Such a
system is in effect in neighboring
Montgomery County, which adopt
ed its charter in November, 1948.
Report Has Criticisms.
The report is sharply critical in
spots, particularly where it dis
cusses the way the county has
handled public funds in recent
years, but unexpectedly mild in
other aspects.
It calls for abolition of the
Maryland-National Capital Park
and Planning Commission, the
j Board of Education, the Board of
Supervisors of Elections, and the
elective positions of county sur
veyor and county treasurer.
It urges that the sheriff’s office
serve only as an agent of the
courts and that the sheriff be
appointed by the Circuit Court,
instead of being elected.
It does not recommend a specific
size and salary scale for the
county police force, as many ob
servers believed it would. Nor
does it advocate that town police
forces be done away with, pointing
out that “if the county provides
adequate police services, the duty
of town police will be limited to
i providing special police services in
I the towns and thus in many in
stances the towns may decide
gradually to eliminate their police
organizations.”
Nine Departments Suggested.
It proposes what amounts to a
merit system for county employes.
It urges that the volunteer fire
departments submit complete fi
nancial statements to the county
and have an annual audit per
formed, since they receive about
(See SURVEY, Page A-5.)
Pan American Airline
Strike Starts in New York
By the Associated Press
NEW YORK (Sunday), Dec. 16.
—Ground and flight personnel of
Pan American World Airways
went out on strike early today
at Idlewild and La Guardia Air
ports — jumping the gun on a
Monday strike threat by 24 hours.
Pickets appeared at the two
New York airports just a few
hours after the National Media
tion Board at Washington re
quested the CIO Transport
Workers Union to postpone "in
definitely” their strike deadline.
At Idlewild airport, where about i
600 persons were waiting for 10
scheduled flights, the company
announced over its public ad
dress system that all flights would
be delayed.
The airline said it was trying!
to round up supervisory person
nel to take over.
Iciest Weather
Of Season Pufs
Grasp on D. C.
Here 2 Days, Forecast
Says as Officials
Confer on Traffic
Stiff winds brought the season’#
coldest weather into Washington
last night. Ice on the street#
and highways made driving haz
ardous.
The Weather Bureau warned
that the cold snap will last at
Snow and Cold Grip Much of Nation;
Toll of Deaths Is 86 Page A-2
least two days, with the mercury
expected to drop to 15 above zero
by this morning, and to go no
higher than 26 during the after
noon.
By tonight, it was expected to
get back down to 18. Skies were
expected to be sunny most of
today.
Although the chill winds dried
many of the main thoroughfares
yesterday, the less-traveled road#
still were expected to be hazard
ous for motoring. Even the main
routes were expected to contain
icy spots which might trip up
the uncautious driver.
New Perspective on Traffic.
Some more snow might come
next week. Forecasters mentioned
snow in the long-range forecast
for Tuesday or Wednesday. How
ever, no repeat performance of
the rush-hour traffic tie-up of
Friday was expected.
The weather-born traffic snarl
of Friday night brought these de
velopments :
Commissioner F. Joseph Dono
hue, in his weekly radio broad
cast, indicated the three-inch
snow might bring a new perspec
tive in studying emergency traffic
situations. He said he would be
surprised if some measures were
not taken to "re-assess” the whole
problem in the light of Friday's
slippery nightmare.
Traffic Director George E.
Keniepp said he is calling a special
meeting this week of a long-exist
ing committee formed to study
snow emergencies in the highway
system.
Store Business Catches Up.
Downtown merchants, expecting
their biggest pre-Christmas Sat
urday. saw only a trickle of shop
pers in the stores before noon.
But the flow reached expected
proportions by afternoon.
Mr. Keneipp. his ears still ring
ing from dozens of caustic tele
phone calls and personal visits to
his home yesterday, laid the blame
on the motorist. He declared:
"Tire chains—that would have
been the answer. But only a few
of the thousands of drivers had or
used chains. People will not make
themselves ready for such an
emergency, it seems.”
One of the chief purposes of the
proposed meeting, he added, is to
get a legal opinion on massing the
city’s towing trucks to clear the
highways of stalled and aban
doned vehicles.
3 Inclined to Favor Pool.
He said the idea of pooling all
District and privately owned tow
trucks for a snow emergency is
generally regarded with favor by
the committee.
“The first thing,” he pointed out,
"is to keep the highways open.
How can the sand spreaders and
snow plows do the most good when
they’re caught in the middle of a
traffic jam themselves?”
Mr. Keneipp said William A.
Xanten, Sanitation Department
director, and John N. Robertson,
highway director, had told him
that the best use possible was
made of available equipment Fri
day.
Despite his remarks about
chainless motorists, Mr. Keneipp
said he sympathized with the
driver’s plight.
commends Doctor’s Idea.
"There has been no major im
provement in car chains for as
long as I can recall,” he declared.
“As it is now, it’s a major opera
tion. especially for women, to in
stall chains. And when a crisis
has actually arrived, it’s almost
impossible to get into a gas sta
tion to have the job done.”
He said he liked the idea of
one of his visitors yesterday—a
physician who is trying to perfect
a snap-on type of chain that can
be attached in a few minutes and
with a minimum of exertion.
The Board of Trade's second
general membership luncheon at
12:15 p.m. Tuesday in the May
(See WEATHER, Page A-2.)
Featured Reading
Inside Today's Star
A NEW LINCOLN PAPER-Tha
official dedication of the New York
Avenue Presbyterian Church next
Thursday will be the occasion for the
display of a first-draft of Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation. It is
described and pictured on Page A-29.
HOME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS
—An Army-Air Force collaboration
permits some Korea-wounded war vet
erans from Walter Reed Hospital to
go home for Christmas. Accompany
Sergt. Angelo Rosella to his home in
Columbus, Go., in picture and story on
Page A-12
GUNS OR BUTTER?—The United
States is facing a showdown on what
it will sacrifice to gain a workable air
supremacy in the air. It will be up to
the next Congress. The issues are
described in an analysis on Page C-l.
Complete Index, Page A-2
Radio-TV Programs, Pages C-8-9