Evening star. [volume], August 10, 1955, Page B, Image 43

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

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SOME OF THESE EYESORES MAY COME DOWN SOON
Now being deserted by Atomic Energy Commis
sion employes for new quarters are two unsightly
temporary buildings (Tempos 3 at right and 5 in
foreground, marked by dotted lines) m this group
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A CLUTTERED VIEW —The tempos present this ob
struction in the vista to the Washington Monument
from Seventeenth street. A part of Tempo 3is seen
Schools Expect|.
Student Peak
School officials are expecting ,
a record-breaking enrollment in ,
D. C. public schools this fall, ,
they disclosed yesterday. ]
The figure will be 106,358, or j
1,000 more students than the ,
top figure reached last year. 3
The peak will occur about six {
weeks after the start of school on
September 12, school officials i
say. jj
The jump in enrollment will | j
be felt particularly in six ele- (
mentary schools, already operat-j(
ing at top capacity. These are:'t
Keene, Rock Creek Church and 1
Riggs roads N.E.; Young, at j
Twenty-south street and Ben- j
ning road N.E.; Shadd, at Fifty- r
sixth and East Capitol streets; ,
Richardson, Fifty-third and t
Blaine streets N.E.; Logan, Third ! £
and O streets N.E.r and Payne at
Fifteenth and C streets S.E. I
Crowded conditions will be j j
eased somewhat, officials said, j
when temporary demountable B
classroom buildings are con- j
structed by November or De- f
cember. a
Also expecting enrollments c
above capacity are the junior t
high schools, Kramer, Miller
and Taft. s
Anacostia High School also j
plans temporary construction to c
ease its swollen enrollment.
Old Radio Station li
Damaged by Fire ,
An abondoned radio transmit- c
ter station was damaged by fire 1
yesterday at 1600 Tower road, c
Falls Church. I
Fire Capt. H. E. Sterling said
firemen fought the blaze in the 8
metal building for about an t
hour. He said radio equipment c
was stored in the building and;
firemen could not estimate the f
damage. s
The transmitter was owned by s
Falls Church station WCFM t
which discontinued broadcast- li
Ing last fall. F
*
READERS' CLEARING HOUSE
SOCIETY—CLUBS—AMUSEMENTS
Judge Pays His Tax Bill,
Then Hears Other Cases
Judgments were entered yes
terday against 16 Fairfax County
delinquent taxpayers by Sub
stitute Trial Justice Ernest N.
Hudgins, who had paid some back
State income taxes of his own
just before he was scheduled to
appear in court for failure to pay.
Mr. Hudgins paid $345.33 in
back taxes plus interest for a
five-year period from 1948 to
1953. Ten minutes before court
opened yesterday, he presented a
check for his delinquent taxes
to R. A. Carlisle, the State’s col
lector of delinquent taxes.
The motion for judgment
against Mr. Hudgins was dis-<
missed along with 32 others in
which the delinquents paid their
back taxes before they were to
appear in court.
Mr. Hudgins sat in on the 16
other cases along with Trial
Justice John A. Rothrock.
Judge Rothrock called the cases
and Mr. Hudgins entered the
judgments for amounts ranging
from s2l to $lB6. Two judges
are used to speed up the pro
cedure, officials said. None of
the 16 cases was contested.
Judge Rothrock said he would
sign the orders dismissing Mr.
Hudgins’ case and those of the
other 32 who paid up.
After the cases were disposed
of Mr. Hudgins said he believed
publicity about his case was
’’politically inspired’’ by persons
who opposed him in his unsuc
cessful race last month for the
Democratic nomination for
commonwealth’s attorney for
Fairfax.
No newspaper stories appeared
about Mr. Hudgins’ back taxes,
however, until the election was
over.
He also said he believed the
publicity might have been re
sponsible for his not being con
sidered for the post of associate
trial justice, which was filled
last week. Circuit Court Judge
Paul E. Brown, who makes the
i
at Seventeenth street and Constitution avenue N.W.
The buildings are on the priority list for destruc
tion, according to the General Services Administra
tion, but no time schedule has been worked out yet.
at left. The AEC employes’ new quarters are at 1717
H street N.W,—Star Staff Photos.
■ appointments, said Mr. Hudgins
' was not recommended for the
•ipost by the Fairfax County Bar
.Association.
: Mr. Hudgins, who has served;
( as Substitute Trial Justice since
1952, said he feels he has “done
a good job on the bench" and
•i plans to continue sitting as sub
stitute justice.
i! “It's no disgrace for me to be
• sued,” he said. "Officials have a
; right to their day in court just.
l like anyone else.” He said, how-!
s ever, that publicity in his case
■;"made it impossible for me to
! defend the suit, even though it !
, is possible I had a good excuse
.jfor not paying the taxes.”
i| ' ~
! Starlight Movies
Playground Film
Programs forTonight
Program sponsored by The
Evening Star in co-operation
with the Film Center of Wash
i ington and the recreation de
partments of the District and
Alexandria and Arlington, Prince!
Georges and Montgomery Coun
ties :
Washington. at Dunk
Palisades. Dana and Sherrler place
Takoma. Fourth and Van Buren streets!
j Edgewood, Third and Evarts streets
[ Happy Hollow. Eighteenth street and
Kaloratna road N.W.
Thomson. Twelfth and L streets N.W.
Hayes, Fifth and K streets N.E,
’ Kelly Miller Forty-ninth street and
Washington place N.E.
Jefferson Eighth and H streets B.W.
Barry Farms, 1230 Sumner road S.E.
Hlllcrest. Thirty-second and Denver
streets B E
Arlington Coanty. R:3O p m.
Patrick Henry, 700 South Fillmore
I street.
1 Carver Center. South Queen and South
Thirteenth streets
; Prince Georges County. H:3O p.m.
Forest Heights Playground. Huron and 1 ]
Benara drive. Forest Heights. J
Carole Highlands Elementary School.!
Sixteenth and Hannon streets. Carole
Highlands.
Montgomery County, 8:30 p.m.
, Kensington Elementary School, Warner
and Detrlck streets. Kensington.
I North Bethesda Recreation Center, j
Oak place, off Old Georgetown road,
! Bethesda. <
, School. Crabb avenue. Rock
" i
ffjc gaming JMaf
Colesville Man
Dies in Crash
James Edward Mobley, 28, of
, Bonifant road, Colesville, Md.,
was killed and two women were
"seriously injured yesterday when
[their car skidded on a curve and
1 smashed into a tree near Ashton,
Montgomery County police re
ported.
Mr. Mobley, who was single
and lived at home with his par
ents, was pronounced dead on
arrival at Montgomery General
Hospital.
[ Mrs. Gladys L. Williams, 21,
of Olney, who police said was
driving the car, was admitted to
the hospital with a fractured
jaw and face cuts.
Miss Geraldine Sage. 17, of
Germantown, also was admitted
to the hospital. The hospital
said she had possible internal
injuries.
Police said the crash occurred
at 5:45 p.m. on Route 116.
Richmond Woman,
Hurt in Crash, Dies
A Richmond, Va., woman died
in Arlington Hospital last night
from injuries suffered in an
{automobile accident in Fairfax
County Sunday.
Miss Viola Barnes, 58, suffered
head injuries when the car in [
which she was riding ran off a
road near Route 50 and struck a
tree, Fairfax County police re
ported.
Her sister. Miss Ella Barnes,
also of Richmond, who police
said was driving, is in serious
condition at the hospital. Miss
Barnes has not yet been told of
her sister’s death, the hospital
said.
The 58-year-old crash victim
iwas a clerk at the Richmond
Federal Reserve Bank, where she
had been employed for 38 years.
Apple Growers Tour
HANCOCK, Md., Aug. 10 (/P).—
About 150 apple growers from the
Rochester area in New York State
came here yesterday to observe
the operation of big orchards.
\
Board Taking
Pupils'Requests
For Transfers
i
Initial Move for
Desegregation Made
In Prince Georges
Prince Georges County's Board
of Education today was ready to
tackle the problems of starting I
racial desegregation in public
schools this fall.
The first step under a policy
resolution adopted yesterday, will
be to accept applications for
pupil transfer to schools of their
choice.
The applications—to be made
by parents—were to be received
starting today and continuing
through August 26. The school
board, however, reserved the
right to disapprove such applica- 1
tions.
j Those approved will be enrolled 1
| on September 1, in preparation 3
for the start of classes in Sep- '
j tember 6. The county’s expected 1
enrollment for the coming year 1
is some 50,000 pupils, of whom 1
I 6,500 are colored. Most of these 1
| attend schools in their own all- 1
j colored communities. For this
! reason, school officials said, it 1
I is difficult to determine now how
I many pupils will ask for trans- 1
fers.
Move Amended
|j Yesterday's resolution was the ;
same as the draft announced ;
• last week, except for one minor i
change. That dealt with the i
problem of pupil transportation."
Action on the resolution,
which sets up the policy for the
coming school year, was ap
proved unanimously by the five
School Board members present
at the Upper Marlboro session.
Two members, J. Frank Dent,
the board's vice president, and
Raymond Steele, were absent.
It came despite an exchange '
of arguments for and against
integration in the schools earlier
in the meeting by a group of
county residents. One of those ‘
involved, John H. Pearce, of Ed
monston, handed a petition to 1
the board, which he said bore
more than 1,000 signatures of 1
county residents who opposed
the end of racial segregation in 1
public schools.
Mr. Pearce, whose statements!
were backed by two other men
during the meeting, H. T.;'
Pearce, his father, and H. S.
Willis, said his petition had ap- 1
proval of the Maryland Petition
Committee, with headquarters at
Jessups, Md. The committee,
Mr. Pearce said, is a State-wide :
group of citizens “who do not
want integration.” j,
Private Schools Asked
The petition asked the State;
of Maryland “to make provi- ■'
sion for the establishment of j
a system of private schools for
any group or groups which may
wish to protect the continued j
existence of its own race; and
make provision that any citizen
who subscribes to the support of ]
such a school shall be entitled
to and, in fact, shall receive
a rebatement of, or a freedom (
from all taxes collected or to {
be collected from him. hence- 1
forth for all purposes of public
instruction.”
Mr. Pearce's remarks, espe
cially those aimed at the'Na- 1
Itional Association of the Ad
vancement of Colored People,
drew immediate response from
several colored women present.
Mrs Cora L. Pinkey of
Clinton, president of the Prince
Georges County Council of PTAs,
Inc., said: "We are still people
. coming from God. We could not
say God has set a pattern be
cause of race or color. We are
people of America. We are sup
posed to set a pattern for other
peoples of the world.”
Mrs. Hester B. King, of Eelts
ville, president of the county
chapter of the NAACP, said the i
NAACP "will do everything in ;
f; its power to bring about inte- 1
.gration.” ji
; Mrs. Irene Gross, representing;
i the Beltsville Heights Civic As-!
i sociation, said: “We hope inte- ;
, gration will come about. Our
. county will be better. Our State
and Nation will go forward.”
; The resolution, in part, said:
"No child will be denied the
i privilege of attending any school
1 he wants to attend unless it is
administratively not practical to
. admit the child because of over
s crowded conditions, or other
) valid reasons."
1 On the secondary level, the res
olution stated, “it will not be pos
sible to give unlimited choice of
lj schools because of already badly
1 overcrowded conditions. How
-1 ever, cases of admission will be
-decided on their individual
I merit.”
School Supt. William S.
Schmidt explained later there
may be exceptions to the merit
selections.
Plan Not Yet Drafted
The resolution declared: “While!
[ the board has no intentions ofj
. compelling a pupil to attend aj
specific school or deny him thei
I I privilege of transferring to an
. other school, the board reserves
'the right, during the period of
[[transition, to delay or deny the j
admission of a pupil to any)
school if it deems such action
wise and necessary. All reasons
! for delay or denial of the request
. will be made known to the ap
’ plicant."
Just how the integration prob-
I lem will be implemented remains
to be worked out, Mr. Schmidt
t said.
Mr. Schmidt, in answer to a
question about the length of the
transition period, said the reso
lution "permits a great deal of
flexibility without defining the |
time.”
"You don't change with the
i bat of an eye,” he added.
: Another need, he said, is to “edu
i cate our adult-parent level on
, the problems of desegregation.”'
WASHINGTON AND VICINITY
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1955
Bill Curbing Phony Pleas!
Os Insanity Becomes Law i
By MIRIAM OTTENBERG ]
President Eisenhower has
signed the bill making it more
difficult for offenders to escape 1
punishment by feigning insanity. |
The measure, which cleared;
| Congress in the final days before
adjournment and was signed
{yesterday, is aimed at giving!
the public more protection in
criminal cases where insanity is :
[the defense.
The bill was pushed by The
Star after prosecutors reported
their hands were tied by a series!
jof court decisions and psychi-j
atrists protested that one court;
decision had enabled them to j
testify more freely while a later;
court decision virtually shut the|
door on their testimony
Under the measure, defendants
who are acquitted on grounds of
insanity will be automatically
committed to a mental hospital
until they are considered safe
to be at large again. Dr. Win
fred Overholser, superintendent
of St. Elizabeths Hospital, has
predicted that this provision will
discourage phony insanity claims
;by offenders who have previously
gambled on freedom after ac
quittal.
The bill makes these changes
in District laws:
1. Defendants will have to
show some evidence of mental
; unfitness to stand trial before
! the court orders a mental exami
nation. Previously, any defend
ant could have a mental exami
nation as long as the request for
it was not frivolous and was
made in good fatih.
2. Defendants will go to Dis
trict General Hospital for these,
mental examinations, where they
I will be under 24-hour observa
New Report to Be Made
On Rollingwood Issue
Montgomery County Schools
Superintendent Forbes H. Nor
: ris will report to the school
board again Monday night on
the bitterly disputed plans to
transfer 32 colored pupils from
the Lyttonsville area 2 miles to
the Rollingwood School.
The school board maintained
a hands-off attitude on the Rol
lingwood situation yesterday,
contending it was an adminis
trative matter to be handled by
the superintendent.
Dr. Norris said late yesterday
there still was some chance the
new six-room addition under con-'
struction at Rollingwood would
not be completed in time for the
[opening of schools September 12. i
iHe said construction reports in
idicate it is about 80 per cent
completed.
More Classroom Space
The plan to transfer the col
ored pupils to Rollingwood was
based on availability of class
room space at the school.
Some Rollingwood residents,'
meanwhile, were considering
what legal action they could
take to block the transfer of the
colored students over two school
districts into Rollingwood.
One possibility under consid
eration is an appeal of Dr. Nor
ris’ decision to the State Board
of Education. . j
The board discussed the sit
uation for nearly an hour but
failed to come up with a reso
lution after Board President
Willard G. McGraw had declared
tlie matter one for the superin
i tendent to handle and on which
the board “has got to go forward
[with firmness.”
The board left the matter in
the hands of the superintendent l
;shortly after he had declared:
"I think the decision has been
made and we should stick to it.”
Board member Helen G. Scharf
had suggested that before “we
move to assign or re-assign" :
students the board “assess the
temper or feelings” of the com
munities involved.
Mrs. Scharf had suggested that
■B
ARLINGTON PUPILS SURVEY PAST
The Pageant of Arlington, an annual production of the Arlington Department of
Recreation and Parks, will be presented tonight and tomorrow night at 8 o’clock
at Lubber Run Park, Second and North Columbia streets. In case of rain the
performances will be in the Barrett School. Shown are Nancy Brown (left) play
ing Martha Washington; John Moore Reade (center), George Washington, and
Goel lan Trent, a surveyor.—Star Staff Photo.
i > I
]tion for a considerable time. 1
Previously, examinations of de- I
fendants accused of felonies have'
been made in District Jail. Psy- |
chiatrists have said it was diffi
cult to detect malingerers on the
one hand or persons with deep
rooted mental illness on the
other during half-hour jail visits.
3. Once a defendant is found
mentally fit for trial, the pro
; cedure for getting him to trial,
jis streamlined. Previously, psy
chiatrists have had to testify at 1
a hearing to what the hospital;
has already re
ported in writing. Now, hear- ’
ings will be granted only if the 1
, defense requests it.
4. During the trial, if the de- !
, fendant pleads insanity, the
Government will be allowed to 1
s present psychiatric testimony to 1
; rebut insanity claims. Previous- ,
.ly, this testimony has been;
i banned as a violation of the' 1
i confidential relationship between :
doctors and patients.
5. If the defendant is ac-'
; quitted on grounds of insanity,;
i he must be committed to a men
; tal hospital. Previously, com
mitment has been discretionary. 1
6. When the superintendent l
believes the defendant has re- 1
; covered his sanity and is no 1
longer a danger to himself and
i others the court must approve
; before the defendant is released '
: and the prosecution has 15 days
in which to register protest and 1
demand a hearing. Previously,!
release was by the superintend-;
■ ent alone.
, 7. Defendants can be released;
conditionally with the court set-!
■ ting the terms. This conditional [
release, which provides for a
’ probationary period under super
vision, is entirely new.
a study be made of the area to
utilize all classrooms in the Rock
Creek Forest, Rollingwood and
other nearby schools to avoid
double sessions.
Dr. Norris and other school
authorities have reported that
the Rock Creek Forest school;
will have several classes on dou
ble session this fall while the '
Rollingw’ood school, two school
districts away, still has vacan
cies for some 100 students.
Mr. Norris yesterday said he
had been informed that the
'school administration has legal
authority to assign the Lyttons
ville children wherever it pleases.
Lawsuit Mentioned
Board Member Harrison C.
King suggested that the Linden
[.school in Lyttonsville be kept,
'open this fall to help alleviate ;
the double-session problem in;
adjoining schools.
Such an action would result 1
["in a lawsuit in 24 hours," Mrs.;:
Rose Kramer, another board:
member, retorted.
Board President McGraw op- :
ened the Rollingwood discussion'
with the statement that he felt!
there was "no occasion for action i
of the board.” j:
The board, in effect, directed
Dr. Norris to make certain that i
all classroom seats were being
utilized in all schools in the!
area and that the board would :
;await "further recommendations '
from Dr. Norris” on the matter.
A delegation of residents from i
Rollingwood was present, but
took no part in the meeting. i
Shop Contract Let
CUMBERLAND, Md., Aug. 10 i
</P). —The Western Maryland'
Railway yesterday announced the J
awarding of a contract for build- j
ing a $150,000 Diesel service shop
at Maryland Junction in adjoin- 1
ing Ridgeley, W. Va„ in the first I
step toward eliminating all serv- f
ice facilities for steam locomo- i
tives in the Cumberland area. S
B
Pullen Clouds
{Plan for School
Purchasing
Declares Board
Cannot Delegate
Power to County
Maryland Schools Supt.
Thomas G. Pullen has clouded
the Montgomery County School
Board's consideration of a plan
to delegate its purchasing
authority to the county govern
ment.
j Dr. Pullen, in a letter to the
i county School Board, said
Deputy Attorney General Nor
man Ramsey had ruled against
such delegation of authority.
! The School Board is an
"autonomous body” required to
administer the public school
system. Dr. Pullen quoted the
[deputy attorney general as
i saying.
Remain Independent
! The board “cannot delegate
any of its sovereign power” to
county governments and must
remain independent of all other
departments of the county
government. Dr. Pullen said.
The advise from Dr. Pullen
was sought as the board con
sidered a proposal from County
Manager M. L. Reese to have
all school board purchasing done
[through the centeralized pur
chasing office of the county
! under his authority.
The School Board, for years,
[unofficially has been using the
county purchasing facilities for
many of its acquisitions.
The board yesterday also
learned that its administrative
staff had rejected a bid on li
brary furniture because it was
not accompanied by a requested
bid bond. Such bonds now’ are
required by the county.
Wayne Birdsell, board member,
said he feared such a require
jment would result in higher bids
by vendors.
The board still has not acted
on a proposal that would put it
further under the county pur
chasing setup. An opinion as to
some phases of the agreement is
being sought from County At
torney Charles M. Irelan.
The board yesterday took three
other actions expected to draw
criticism from Mr. Reese and the
County Council, which controls
the board’s purse strings.
New Job Setup
The board created a new
$8.500-a-year job for an ad
iministrative assistant to Supt.
Forbes H. Norris.
The. Council had refused to
appropriate funds for the new
position, but the board decided
to get the money through a raid
on capital funds.
Duties of the new’ position in
clude planning and site acqui
sition negotiations.
The board also voted, 5 to 2,
to create a lay professional com
mittee of 15 persons to study
schedules and other fringe bene
fits for teachers and other per
sonnel.
Board Member Wylie W. Bar
row opposed the action on
grounds he did not w’ant new
salary schedules submitted to the
board under pressure.
Mrs. Helen G. Scharf, who
sponsored the motion recom
mended by Dr. Norris, said there
is a need for recommendations
of a committee that would not
have a "vested interest” in the
new’ salary proposals.
County teachers received a
new salary schedule and raises
averaging nearly 4 per cent on
June 30.
Dr. Norris and his staff drew
a sharp rebuke from Mr. Bar
row as the result of a report
that the school board had over
spent last year’s budget by $199,-
008.
Mr. Barrow said there had
been “no sincere, earnest effort
to cut back spending" last spring
after the staff first reported that
it expected to go in the red
$139,740.