The Washington times. [volume], November 24, 1933, Image 1

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Charges Filed Against Fire Chief Watson
THE WEATHER
Mostly cloudy tonight; Saturday fair; not
much change in temperature, lowest tonight
about 34 degree!; gentle shifting winds.
Temperature yesterday—Highest, 50; lowest,
40. (1932 —Highest, 45; lowest, 27.)
Humidity yesterday—Highest, 93; lowest, 55.
Full Weather Report on Page 2.
Tbe Wasblnston Times Is ills only afternoon paper In
tale oily publishing the news dispatches of Inter
national News Service and Universal Service.
DR. WYNEKOOP CONFESSES KILLING GIRL
Wiggin Defied Hoover, Fox Testifies
SENT WORD IT
WAS ‘NONE OF
HIS BUSINESS’
Movie Magnate Says Message
Was Given Huston; Bank
Records to Be Examined
By International New* Service
Albert H. Wiggin, former
head of the Chase National
Bank, was so powerful a
figure in December, 1929, he
Bent word to President Hoover
to “mind his own business,”
William Fox, movie magnate,
testified today at the Senate
banking inquiry.
Fox said Wiggin sent this mes
sage to Mr. Hoover through
Claudius H. Huston, then Re
publican national chairman, when
the latter attempted tfajlpcate
the banker’s enmity for tne movie
magnate.
Dramatie Recital
Fo< said Huston first had told
the President about his troubles
with the New York bankers. Then,
Fox added, Huston went to see
Wiggin, trying to rescue the Fox
film empire from the bankers.
Fox said:
“Mr. Wiggin told Huston to
tell the President of the United
States to please mind his own
business.”
Fox made a dramatic recital
of the appeal to Wiggin. He pre
viously told of a personal appeal
to President Hoover in June 1929
when the Department of Justice
was threatening him with an anti
trust suit after the Coolidge ad
ministration had approved the
merger of his Fox Film Company
With Loew’s Inc.
Fox then recited how in the fall
of 1929 a New York banking group
was denying him credit. He
charged the group was tryinig to
drive him to the wall. Fox said:
“Claudius Huston appeared on
(Continued on Page 2, Col. 8.)
Negro, Singing, Dies in Chair;
“Legal Murder” Charged
Frantic last minute efforts to
obtain a commutation of sentence
having failed. Charles E. Wash
ington. colored, went to his death
in the electric chair at the Dis
trict Jail a few minutes after 10
o’clock today.
He was convicted as an acces
sory in the murder of Mannie
Solomon, a taxi driver, on July
29, 1931.
Sings Spiritual
Washington, in whose behalf
many persons had worked, walked
calmly to the chair. He was ac
companied by two guards and
by the Rev. James Penn, colored
minister of the Good Will Baptist
Church. The condemned man
and his spiritual adviser sang the
old negro spiritual, “We Will Un
derstand the Story Bye and Bye.”
He continued to sing as he sat
in the chair, but stopped when the
mask was placed on his head. At
10:05, about a minute after he sat
down, the first shock surged
through his body.
For 90 seconds the rheostats
hummed as the electricity raced
through them. Dr. A. Magruder
MacDonald, acting coroner, and
Dr. Walter K. Angevine, jail physi
cian, applied their stethoscopes to
his chest, and were amazed to
find his heart still flickered.
The current was again applied
and at 10:12 he was pronounced
dead.
Hoped to Last
Washington had believed up to
the last minute that President
Roosevelt would commute his sen-
Joseph B. Thomas Tells About Virginia’s Famous Fox Hounds—Today on Page 3
Accused
St i
w j|
/Er C iSHi
' Jsß
GEORGE S. WATSON
iLfflslTP
NBA SET-UP
NEW YORK, Nov. 23 (1.N.5.).
A counter-barrage was laid on
the NRA today by counsel for
the Hercules Gasoline Filling Sta
tions, Incorporated, whose execu
tives, David Lind and Moe Levine,
on November 16 became the first
defendants to be named in Fed
eral indictments charging viola
tion of the code.
Defense attorneys moved before
Federal Judge Galston for de
murrers, declaring the NRA is un
constitutional, the petroleum code
is invalid, Congress had no
power to delegate the right to
make codes to the President, and
that, anyway, the NRA does not
cover the defendants, as they
never signed a code or flew the
Blue Eagle.
tence to life imprisonment as he
had done for Leonard Layton, con
victed with Washington as an ac
cessory. William C. Robinson, the
actual killer, was executed Octo
ber 27.
Soon after Washington was
executed, his mother, Mrs. Mattie
Washington, was stricken in her
home in the 400 block of Sixth
and-Half St. N. W. An Emergency
Hospital physician, after render
ing first aid, said her condition
was not serious.
The condemned man ate a
breakfast of ham and eggs, fried
potatoes, muffins and coffee. Jail
guards said he ate with relish.
Called “Murder”
The execution was called “legal
murder” by Joseph A. Berberich.
chairman of the special works
committee of the St. Vincent de
Paul Society, who had led the
fight to have Washington's sen
tence commuted.
A telegram was sent by Ber
berich to President Roosevelt at
Warm Springs yesterday, but no
reply was received, he said.
John Sirica, Assistant United
States Attorney, who prosecuted
the trio; Leo A. Rover, United
States Attorney: M. M. Barnard,
superintendent of District Penal
Institutions; Thomas M. Rives,
superintendent of the Jail, and
Col. William Peak, superintendent
of the Lorton Reformatory, till
expressed the belief the execution
of Washington was wrong in view
of the commutation of Layton’s
sentence.
REP. JENCKES
ASKS PROBE
OF WATSON
D. C. Fire Chief Charged With
“Improper Practices” in
Administration
Investigation by joint con
gressional committee into
charges of improper practices
on the part of District Fire
Department heads was asked
today by Representative Vir
ginia E. Jenckes (D.) of In
diana.
The Indiana Congresswoman,
who is an active member of the
House District Committee, was
prompted to make the request for
the .probe on receipt of a sweep
ing list of allegations made by
Paul E. Jamieson, aWWlitf’-for
the City Firefighters Association,
of Washington, D. C., to which
virtually all local firemen belong
Has Observed Rulings
In a letter Mrs. Jenckes wrote
today to Senator William H.
King (D.) of Utah and Represen
tative Mary T. Norton <D.) of
New Jersey, chairmen of the Sen
ate and House District commit
tees, respectively, calling for the
joint inquiry, she said:
“I have had an opportunity
to observe personally certain
rulings and regulations which
are in effect which place fines
which seem excessive and un
reasonable upon members of
the Fire Department for infrac
tions of the rules. I under
stand that at the present time,
the chief engineer of the fire
department is physically inca
pacitated and one of his im
portant deputies is physically
afflicted.”
Among the charges which
Jamieson alleges are that Fire
Chief George S. Watson is dis
criminatory and shows favoritism
in his dealings with members of
the force: that he arbitrarily lays
down orders which place unneces
sary hardships on the firemen
and are, in some cases, in con
flict with the Constitution of the
United States, and that he influ
ences members of the fire de
partment trial board.
Penalties Excessive
Jamieson also has presented to
the Indiana Congresswoman spe
cific cases in which Watson has
upheld actions of the trial board
in making out what he contends
are outrageously excessive penal
ties for minor infractions of the
department regulations.
The attorney also has contend
ed that the fire department head
is not qualified for the office
which he holds due to the fact
that he never has actually been
a fire fighter, but was only tech
nically a member of the fire
department, having held only the
position of fire marshal before be
coming chief of the department.
Mrs. Jenckes explained she does
not know either Watson or
other fire department heads per
sonally, but believes the conten
tions advanced by Jamieson merit
a Congressional investigation.
Litvinoff N. Y. Guest
Os Head of Amt org
NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).
Maxim Litvinoff, Soviet commis
sar for Foreign Affairs, who won
Russian recognition from Presi
dent Roosevelt, was a visitor in
New York city today. He came
here quietly from Washington
to avoid publicity. He slipped
out of Washington by automo
bile. He is the guest of Peter
A. Bogdanov, head of Amtorg,
the Russian trading corporation.
WASHIBWTIMES
Entered M Second Olaae Matter
At Poeioffloe ot Waehhurton. D. C.
NO. 16,329
Holdup Men
Get Nothing,
Beat Clerk
Three armed holdup men shortly
before noon today waylaid George
M. Thompson, of the 1000 block
of Girard St. N. E., clerk, em
ployed by the Peoples Drug Stores
Company, behind the company’s
warehouse, First and Q Sts. N. E.,
struck him several times and es
caped after finding he carried
nothing but cancelled checks.
Mr. Thompson told police the
men had followed him in a black
bodied sedan, bearing Virginia
licenses, from the American Se
curity and Trust Company branch
at Seventh St. and Massachusetts
Ave. N. W. to the warehouse.
As he stepped out of his auto
mobile, two of the men jumped
from their car and rushed toward
him with drawn pistols. Finding
nothing but the returned checks,
one of the thugs said to the others:
“Hell—it’s no money. Let’s
go.”
As they started out of the alley
in their car, Irvin A* Farrell, man
ager of the company’s store in
the 1400 block of H St. N. W., ar
rived on the scene. He was or
dered to stand beside Mr. Thomp
son until the thugs escaped.
l Don™
CANARY GOAL
LISBON, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).—
Col. and Mrs. Charles A. Lind
bergh landed at Las Palmas in
the Canary Islands after a non
stop flight from Ponta Delgada,
the Azores, at 4 p. m. today (11
a. m., E. S. T.).
The Lindberghs flew first to the
Madeira Islands, circling over the
harbor of Funchal before con
tinuing on to the Canary Islands.
They covered a distance of ap
proximately 900 miles in seven
hours.
The Canary Islands are on the
route used by German fliers in
crossing from Europe to South
America.
Shopld Colonel Lindbergh de
cide to continue over this route,
he would probably fly next to
the Cape Verde Islands and from
there to Senegal on the west coast
of Africa.
GETSrADDED DUTY
Rear Admiral Christian J. Peo
ples, chief of the Navy Supply
Corps, was today ordered by the
Bureau of Navigation to serve
additional duty as director of pro
curment for the Treasury Depart
ment.
Police Bribe Jury Asks Judge
About Department Rule
Still deadlocked, the jury in the
case of two Washington police vice
squad members charged with ex
tortion returned to the Court
House today after having been
locked up in a hotel for the night
and continued deliberation of the
case.
Shortly after noon the jury
filed into the courtroom and
asked information of Justice Gor
don. The question asked was if
there is any law that compels a
policeman to tender to his su
perior officers information, con
fidential or otherwise, which he
may possess.
“Must Obey Superiors”
The justice informed the jury
there is no such law, but pointed
out there is a rule in the depart
ment which makes it mandatory
for a policeman to obey the com
mands of his superiors.
The question was believed to
have reference to the refusal of
the two policemen to give up an
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1933
UNDERMINING
U. S. BONDS
PROBED
Sen. Harrison Promises New
Legislation to Curb Wall
Street if Necessary
By International Newi Service
New banking legislation to
safeguard Government credit
against “treasonable attacks”
was demanded today by Sena
tor Pat Harrison (D.) of Mis
sissippi.
Harrison’s demand was made as
the Administration launched a
sweeping investigation into charges
that a group of New York bankers
have conspired to wreck the Gov
ernment bond market through
short sales of securities held in
their own portfolios.
Probe Under Way
The investigation into these
charges is being conducted by the
New York Federal Reserve Bank
and by the Government.
Describing the charges as “of
utmost seriousness.” Harrison ex
pressed confidence that the true
facts will be ascertained speedily.
He declared:
“If there is any movement on
the part of any bank or banker
to loan Government securities
for the purpose of affecting the
credit of this Government, the
facts ought to be ascertained
and if the law has been violated,
the perpetrators should be con
victed.
TREASON, HE SAYS
“To deliberately depress the
Government bond market in an
effort to destroy the credit of
the United States in my opinion
amounts to treason.”
James H. Rand, jr„ president of
the Remington-Rand Company and
chairman of the Committee for
the Nation, asserted that the mo
tive for apparently concerted bond
selling operations was to discredit
the Administration’s monetary pol
icies and force a return to the old
regime of banker domination over
the Treasury.
Climbs Into Bathtub
To Escape Flames
HAYWARD, Cal., Nov. 24
(I.N.S.). —Fred Rader, 52, today
had a good idea to circumvent
a fire, but it didn’t quite work
out. Trapped by a fire at his
home, Rader jumped into a bath
tub filled with water and pte
pared “to sit it out.” He leaped
from a window, however, when
him in the tub.
envelope, which contained the al
leged bribe money, on the ground
it contained confidential informa
tion.
The case of the two suspended
policemen, Harry G. Bauer and
Rudolph Schleichert, was placed
in the hands of the jury of 11
men and one woman at nnon
yesterday.
Locked Up For Night
After receiving instructions
from Justice Peyton Gordon the
jury retired and started its de
liberations. Later the jurors were
taken out to dinner, returned,
and finally were taken to a hotel
about 9:30 when it appeared cer
tain no verdict could be reached
last night.
The two officers were charged
with taking a SSO bribe to drop
a liquor transportation case. Their
defense was that Jhey thought the
envelope with the money con
tained evidence on another boot
legger.
.KWg. three cents]
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MRS. RHETA WYNEKOOP
HERE ARE Mrs. Rheta Gard
ner Wynekoop, 23, victim of the
"operating table” murder, and
her husband, Earle, who is being
held by Chicago police in con
nection with the slaying. Wyne
koop’s mother has confessed the
killing. Photo by International.
DOLUT NATES
GOOD GAIN
NEW YORK, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).
The dollar soared 1% cents to
the best price in recent weeks
at 63.38 cents in terms of the
French franc as bear speculators
were routed by growing rumors
of some measure of stabilization.
The fact that the Washington
gold prices again was unchanged
aided the dollar. Today’s price
of 63.38 cents of the dollar In
terms of the franc compares
with 61.88 yesterday and a re
cent low of 58.46.
LONDON, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).—
The international gold price was
raised five-pence (about 10 cents)
today to 126 shillings, one penny
per ounce, with a premium of
nine-pence over the French rate.
This was equal to about $33.29
in American currency at today’s
opening exchange rate.
The sale of 122 gold bars, val
ued at 307,000 pounds sterling
(approximately $1,625,565) was
announced at the new rate.
The American dollar failed to
hold all of yesterday’s spectacu
lar gains and opened on the Lon
don exchange 2 cents weaker at
$5.29%.
The pound opened at 83 9-16
French francs, up 9-32.
Mother-in-Law
Killed Her
■ Hix
EARLE WYNEKOOP
r
■ Winter Construction
• Will Be Expedited
; By International News Service
Winter construction under the
Public Works program will be
■ “pushed to the limit,” Secretary
' of Interior Ickes instructed his
aides today. He added:
“Hundreds of men now receiv
ing pay checks from projects
should not be forced on relief
rolls because of a mere preju
dice against winter construc
tion.”
FINAL
J J - H y—
HUME:
' / ' ' //'/' ‘ ■ //// ' / ■
EDITION
ILL HEALTH
OF IM
WAS HER
IM
Break Comes After 48-Hour
Grilling and Plea of Son
to Tell the Truth
CHICAGO, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).
Dr. Alice Lindsay Wynekoop’s
confession of the murder of
Rheta Gardner Wynekoop, as
ri norted by Sergeant Peter
I* ,'ciewicz, was as follows:
knew that Rheta wae
anemic, sickly, and tubercular.
I gave her some chloroform,
and then took her down to
the basement and. shot her. I
did it about 5 o’clock in the
afternoon. We were alone in
the house at the time.”
CHICAGO, Nov. 24 (1.N.5.).
Dr. Alice Lindsay Wynekoop
today confessed she killed her
daughter-in-law, Rheta Gard
ner Wynekoop, police an
nounced.
While police were grilling the
62-year-old woman and her 28-
year-old son, Earle, husband of
the pretty woman who was shot to
death on the doctor’s operating
table, Lieut. Otto Erlandson of the
homicide squad announced:
“Dr. Alice Wynekoop has con
fessed she did it.”
Broken by Long Grilling
Erlandson stepped from a room
in Fillmore police station to make
his announcement and then im
mediately returned to the room
where the gray-haired physician,
former leader in community and
humanitarian affairs and lecturer
on child health, had broken down
after more than 48 hours of
grilling.
Rheta’s body, pierced by a
bullet in the back, was found in
the basement operating room of
the doctor's West Monroe Street
home last Tuesday. The body
had been carefully wrapped in a
blanket and placed on the operat
ing table beside a gun, wrapped
in gauze.
Almost immediately from the
closely-guarded quarters in which
the gruelling inquiry had been
conducted came word disclosing
that the confession, expected for
hours by investigators, had fol
lowed a verbal slip by Dr. Wyne
koop in answering a barrage of
questions flung at her.
Admitted Her Presence
Inadvertently, it was said, Dr.
Wynekoop admitted that she had
been in the operating room of
her gloomy mansion at the time
Rheta, unconciously going to her
death, had disrobed.
When the body was discovered,
it was attired only in a slip,
which had been pulled down to
the waist.
On the heels of the announce
ment of the confession, police left
(Continued on Page 2, Col. L)
In The Tinies Today
Amusements 18, 19
Army and Navy Orders.. 8
“Around the Capital”.. 27
Comics 126, 27
Death Notices 34
Fashion News 14, 26
Financial News 28, 29
tusic News 8, 9
Radio 17
Seldes’ “True to Type” Local
Serial 27
Society 24, 25
Sport .... 30, 31, 32, 33, 34
W’ t’s Doing 12
Woman’s Page 14