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rHIRXY-EIGHTH YEAR—No. 182 BROWNSVILLE, TeXAS, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 81, 1929 EIGHT PAGES TODAY 6c A COPY ] 014 rMUraal Rings Modernised by Treub. Oenulne Orange Blos som. Ask os about this jjjgL. GINES A TJrj# far «nrr Parpot* Alamo Iron World valley< By CHARLES HALL j ['report*, which seem unof ficially authentic concerning the closing of the port at La >. business men of that city are either taking steps which they con sider necessary to keep it open, or they are unduly panicky. A mass meeting was held last flight, at which it is said 400 signed petitions asking the resignation of Judge John A. Vails, and in case of his refusal to ask his removal from office by Moody. Out of the Laredo port situation there arose, for a while at least, a rather peculiar feeling toward Brownsville. Some of the people of Laredo seemed to think that Brownsville was aiding and abetting some of their many troubles, which have descended upon them lately. They could hardly be more wrong. Many were the expressions heard in Brownsville Chamber of Commerce and banting circles Monday, all to the effect of sincere regret that such a situation should have arisen in a sister city. Brownsville's position in the mat ter has been made very plain, at least to the chamber of commerce at Laredo. No such misfortune as losing their port is wished here. In fact, the very opposite is wished. Brownsville merely wants the business, if the Mexican government insists on penalizing Laredo, which is only natural. Brownsville feels that it the customs business is go inglng aome where else, it should rightfully come here. Laredo, we sympathize with you. C airplane crash at Amarillo yesterday had one principal in the tragedy, who was known in Brownsville. At least he visited here with the Fort Worth aerocade last fall. This was Lieut. Robt. Gray. Lieut. Gray had probably more to do with the establishment of air In terest at Amarillo than any other single person. For months and months he Hew In and out of the city, with planes not one half so good as that In which he was kill ed, making barely enough money In the venture to keep body and soul together. He might have been termed the pioneer of air minded Amarillo. It seems strange that fate should take a hand Just as the young man was beginning to realise some fi nancial gain from his many years of labor, that not only his own life, but that of his lovely young wife. fid be snuffed out along with i other business men of the city, never knows how providence proceed, its own plans to pur sue. fVROM what can be gathered by ’ I* - press dispatches it seems that Weslaco, temporarily at least, has lost Its proposed bridge across the Rio Orande. President Hoover pigeon-holed the bill in the first pocket veto. He gave as hit reason that the proposed bridge would not connect with an approved highway, and that It had not been approved by the chief of bureau of public roads. Representative Oamer worked hard to get the measure to Hoover, but It seems that about all they have to date is the reputation of present ing the first bill to be pocket-ve toed. Weslaco and those interested in the Valley feel grateful to Mr. Garner for his Interest, but at the same time cannot help but feel that they cannot walk or drive over the river on a bill laying in a White House drawer. MONEY may be the root of all evil, but booze certainly seems to be at the bottom of a lot; of it these days. One paper picked up in our sanc tum sanctorum today has the fol- I lowing headlines on a single page: Liquor slayers to be arraigned”; “Attorney to appeal whiskey rebel-; Hon verdicts”; "Wets take advan tage of enforcement row to ask change in Volstead law”; “Rum slaying quia starts”; ‘ Moran avoids raiding party.” Read all of those and then got Kajrvd to turn Inside. A cork prob ably would haw popped right out in our face. rlAOO tourists lead in visitors to Brownsville and the Valley, is the sense of a headline in our own incomparable paper. And there has not been a single gangster meeting, or a machine-gun killing. If they keep on coming, we may get some new ideas about Chi cago as well as the Windy City peo ple get new ideas about the Val 'fiy. * _ A FEW more from Wisconsin ought to come on down and find out that the Valley na tives are not web-footed, and that I i they, themselves, can find & to walk around on dry land. *A ask the indulgence of our readers today, while we get an early start up the Valley. S^ve to drive up it once in a while and then ocac back and dream over how pretty it is. - M Unconsicous Man Is Found Shot Today HARLINGEN. Dec. 31.—W. S. Ed mundson was rushed to Valley Bap tist hospital shortly afternoon to day with his left hand badly torn from what appeared to be a bul let wound. Edmundaon was unconscious. It was not immediately known where he lives nor how the accident hap pened. BORAH SENDS SECRET NOTE TO HOOVER No End to Bitterest Dry Controversy In Sight WASHINGTON, Dec. 31—<*)— Contents of a letter on prohibition sent to President Hoover by Sen ator h today were a closely guarded secret while official Wash ington turned to speculation on the nature of the senator's latest con tribution to the present bitter con troversy. The communication was regard ed as climaxing Borah's participa tion in the current discussion, in the course of which he had issued two denunciatory statements, scath ingly arraigning the federal per sonnel to which prohibition en forcement is entrusted and had discussed the situation personally with the chief executive. The White House announced the j letter h ' been received late yes terday with the added statement It would not be made public and that thus far no reply had been drafted. Borah declined to reveal what was contained in it. Present Personnel Scored In his previous statements, the Idahoan, one of Mr. Hoover's most prominent campaigners, asserted the faults of prohibition enforce ment lay with those charged with making the law effective and that with the present personnel “from top to bottom'' nothing ccukl be done. Later he declared saloons were running wide open In the Jurisdic tion of “district attorney after dis trict attorney’’ and charged a "scandal" exists in the adminis tration of the alcohol permit sys tem. Meanwhile, senator Borah re viewed the situation with Presid ent Hoover at a lengthy luncheon conference, but what was said was not revealed, although the senator made it clear his position had not been changed. May Contain Evidence One view of the letter to the President was that it contained evidence of liquor law violations which had come to Borah’s atten tion. In this connection. It was recalled that when senator How ell, republican. Nebraska, made charges of non-enforcement of the prohibition statutes in the District of Columbia and asserted the res ponsibility lay with Mr. Hoover, he was requested by the White House to submit evidence supporting his charges with tire promise it would be thoroughly investigated. A statement Is expected later this week from senator Jones, re publican, Washington, author of the law providing heavy maximum penalties for prohibition violations. He called yesterday at the offices of the Hoover law enforcement commission and after a two-hour conference said he would make a statement within a few days. Meanwhile, members of the house pitched into the fray, providing comment from that branch of con gress heretofore noticeably lacking. Harlingen Host To 1500 Visitors Monday HARLINGEN, Dec. 30— Harlin gen entertained approximately 1500 prospective Valley residents Mon day. according to Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific officials. One railroad reported a special train bringing 370 homeseekers, and the other line stated that they brought in almost 1,2000. The visitors breakfasted in Harlingen and were then furnished cars to carry them through the various developed areas. Ring Out the Old! Ring In the New! FIRST BABY TO GET PRESENTS Brownsville Merchants And Herald to Play ‘Godparents* The first child bom In the Val ley In 1930 will be a lucky kid. The proud parents will be showered with good wishes and gifts from Browns ville merchants. The youngster is not likely to un derstand the generosity, but it's ail because The Brownsville Herald and progressive Brownsville mer chants have agreed to play god parents to the infant heraldev of the new year. The presents Brownsville busi ness men have set aside for the young “first arrival ’ are varied and very complete. The qualifying rules for the lucky baby are simple: He only has to see to it that his parent* notify The Brownsville Herald by 6 p. m Jan. 2. Names of the parents and baby, if possible, must be given. The official birth certificate by the attending physician must be turned in. 60 Children Perish in Fire Movie Theater in Scotland Ignited During Special Matinee for Kids PAISLEY, Scotland, Dec. 31.—(JP—Between 60 and 80 persons, most of them children, were officially estimated to have perished in a fire which swept throi a motion picture theatre here crowded with youngsters on a holiday matinee. More than 150 children were taken to a nea/by infirmary suffering from burns and injuries received in the mad rush from the building. A stream of tram cars and wagons pressed into service arrived at the infirmary bearing the little victims, many dead and others in a comatose BLUEBEARD Two Wives Died From Poison, Exhumed Bodies Show RUSHVILLE. Ind.. Dec. Sl-tf**— 'Chemical analysis of the body of Mrs. Maggie Rhodes Kolb, rnwgifr exhumed, showed death was caused by poison, according to reports re ceived from Indianapolis today. She was the second wife of George Kolb, a farmer near here. At the time of death, April 28. 1928. heart disease was ascribed the cause. Ex humation was ordered as a result of an investigation into the sudden death in October this year of Edna Dagler Kolb, third wife, who, ac cording to a recent verdict of a cor oner, died of poison. .condition. So great was the crush of etrug-1 gllng boys and girls who only a short time before had been watch ing a program which featured “The Crowd" to gain safety from the holocaust that firemen had the greatest difficulty in dragging Ihem through doorways. Outside stood many parents, hor ror stricken and helpless as fire menr aons tables ard civilians re aaatedly braved the flames to bring <he children to safety. Dense clouds of smoke which came from the structure made it necessary to use gas masks, some of them improvised. The fire started in the operator’s box and sped with terrifying rap idity through the crowded auditori um. Paisley is a town of 84.000 In habitants on the White Cart river three miles above its junction with the Clyde. It is seven miles from Glasgow. -1 fp ♦ T T T Filled to the brim with smiles as bright as the balmy sunshine, Brownsville was ready today to forget all the disagreeable thingi of 1929 and greet gaily, noisily and reverently the coming of the New Year. t Midnight services were scheduled at many churches. Numerous small and large ‘ watch’’ parties were planned at private homes, while Mata moros made ready for the liveliest night in years. The bridge will remain open all night both tonight and tomorrow night and two new cafes will be open to merry-makers across the river. Brownsville police are all in la-5 vor of celebrating the occasion but they have their own ideas about how it should be done. It is all right to be noisy, they say, but not too noisy. Shooting of firearms in the city is absolutely taboo. Those who think otherwise it was stated, will be convinced via a fine of $125. _ Theatres here and in other Val ley towns will hold "whoopee' par ties. Coming of the new year in the Valltv Is a haDnv event. TROPHY GOES TO HARLINGEN (Special to The Herald.) HARLINGEN, Dec. 31—Harlin gen is custodian of the silver rose cup awarded by Monty’s Tenthly magazine for the year 1930, accord - I WASHINGTON GAY WASHINGTON. Dec. 31—{A")— j Washington will sec the new year ; In tonight with all the frivolity and merry-making usually a sso- ; elated with that event. In spite of a dignified example j set by President and Mrs. Hoover. I who plan a quiet evening at home, hotels and night clubs prepared for a maximum of patronage and the police department made ready to supervise throngs of New Years eve revelers. Although their New Years ave observance will be of a quiet nature. Mr. and Mrs. I.jover will make up for It tomorrow with the tradition al White House reception. NEW YORK NOISY NEW YORK. Dec. 31—</P)—Pre dicting a noisier, more boisterous welcome for 1930 than has been en joyed by any of its recent predeces sors, hotel and restaurant man agements today prepared to enter tain thousands of New Years eve celebrants. Police commissioner Grover A. Whalen announced the curfew will drown out the blare of Jasz, tin horns and other noise makers In night clubs promptly at 3 a. m.. Wednesday. Hotels, which are Im mune from curfew restrictions ad vertised "dancing until dawn.” Cover charges will run as high as $20 a person. ■ HOTELS CROWDED CHICAGO. Dec. 31—<4n—Twenty thousand tables in the better known cabarets and hotels have been reserved for Chicago's welcoming of the new year. Although most places banned setups for the evening, the govern ment made its usual preparations to have agents in and out of var ious celebrations. Accident Victim To Leave Hospital (By The Associated Press) HARLINGEN. Dec. 31.—Maria Volindo. victim of a hit-and-run driver near San Benito 8unday night, is to be released from the Valley Baptist hospital Tuesday aft ernoon. hospital attaches have an nounced. No areata have been made in the case. Ing to the judges’ decision amvea at late last night at the close of the annual Valley-wide city beau tification and cleanliness contest, j Harlingen scored 131 points on im provements counted in the competi tion and Mission was second, with 117 1-2 points. McAllen and San Benito each rated 111 points. Brownsville 106. Weslaco 88 and Mercedes 72. Scorings in the beautification contest are counted twice each year in June and December. Browns ville ranked highest in the June counting. Mrs. J. K. Bull represent ed Brownsville among the judges in in the recent scoring. The cup. a handsome solid silver trophy, awarded in the contest as a memorial to the mother of Mrs. Julia Montgomery, publisher of the magazine, is valued at $300 and re mains in the possession of Harlin gen until the next scoring in the annual event. Mrs. Montgomery has announced that as an additional feature of the con tie st she plans to have exact miniature silver duplications made of the rose cup, which is her own design, to be permanent trophies for each town winning the cup, begin ning next year. MYSTERY DEEP COLUMBUS, Texas, Dec. 31—</P) —Denied permission by the express company to bring three suitcases belonging to the late Jonathan W. S. Carver, killed near here in an au tomobile crash Saturday night, from Houston. Sheriff T. W. Hollmer planned to get a court order today to obtain them. Meanwhile, two messages came in response to more than a doz^n sent from here, but shed little light on his identity. Officials have made strenuous ef forts to identify the man, princi pally as a result of early reports lie was a member of the expedition which discovered and opened the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen Papers found in his suitcase indicated he was widely traveled. Some men who professed to have known him characterized hi mas a “wanderer;*’ others, as a distinguished scientist. Insurance I* An Asset 1 Rot Grande Valley Trust Co.—Adr. FAIR SKIES ENTICE BIG GAMECROWD Both Teams in Good Shape for Battle Of Grapefruit Fair weather of the real Valley variety was indicated Tuesday for New Year’s day and preparations were being made in Brownsville to entertain an overflow crowd at Tucker athletic field, where the first annual Battle of Grapefruit is to be played. A classy fast team which Coaches Dutch Rektorlk and L E. Martin TICKETS FOB ROOTERS Authorities In charge of the I tilt have asked that girls to participate In the cheering sec tion wear white dresses. These girls will be given tickets when they apply to the mal gate at Tucker field. have molded from the Valley All Stars will face a hard hitting ag gregation from Cisco* under the leadership of Coach W. B. Chap man. Workouts Monday afternoon of the All-Stars in Harlingen and the Big Dam Loboes in Brownsville proved to spectators that two teams of high abUity will be seen In ac tion. Work Smoothly The AU-Stars clicked off plays with smoothness and precision which would indicate a much long er training period than the squad has really had. Long runs were the order of the day In the face of the most stubborn opposition that could be mustered from the 30 men who are at Harlingen. Adamson of San Benito, the Lawrence brothers of Harlingen. Cox of McAllen. Jamison of Wesla co. and Murray of Harlingen all are turning in consistent perform ances at every workout. The Loboes. although Inactive since the day after Thanksgiving, appeared to be In top form and ready to put up the battle of their lives. Average 160 Pound* Ray and Willard Miller, all-state guard and all-district fullback, re spectively. looked poison, and Red Christian performed up to his repu tation as an all-star end. The starting lineup of the AU Stars will average about 160 pounds and the Loboes will average about three pounds heavier, their weights indicated. Committee heads In charge of va rious features of the entertainment to be presented in connection with the game reported everything in readiness. 100 In Band The band of 100 musicians, the cheering section, the pageant, the American Legion drum bugle corps and members of the Twelltn cavalry who are to assist in stag ing the spectacle at the half all fContinued on page seven) Moody Asked to Make Vails Quit Laredo Business Men Sign Petition Urging Governor to Demand Resignation As Town Faces Commercial Crisis LAREDO, Dec. 31.—(JP)—Business leaders leeklng the resignation of John A. Vails, district attorney, as a solution to the recent closing of the Mexican consulate here, today sought more signatures to a petition approved by a mass meeting of a large number of Laredoans last night before sending it to Gov. Dan Moody, through whom action would be takan. The meeting was called to order by Hal L. Brennan, who was elected permanent chairman. Brennan said the meeting was called by busi ness men of Laredo, to take action on the crisis In the business life of CITY FINANCE I PLANS TALKED! Bankers and Commission Seek Retrenchment Of Budget Work on ways and means of re trenching city finances began Tues day nr-rning when the committee of bankers appointed to work with the commission held their first meeting. After considerable discussion ad ditional data was requested from the city officials, and the com mittee announced that they would probably be ready to make a re port to the commission at the meet ing at 2 p. m. Tuesday. Composing the committe are P. M. Lamberton. of the Merchants National; Joe Celaya, of the Tex as Bank and Trust company; Gor don Street of the Rio Grande Val ley Trust company; Bert Cromack, of the First National, and A. H. Fsrnandez, of the State National. The committee Is working on plans for handling all branches of city finance, both for operations and for bonded indebtedness Child’s Body Sent For Illinois Burial (Special to The Herald) HARLINGEN, Dec. 31.—The body of Agnes Poster. 13-month*old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Homer Poeter. who died Sunday night of dip then*, was forwarded to El Do rado, 111.. Monday night for burial by Thompson mortuary'. The body of Mrs. Mary A. Bucy of RaymondvUle. who died Sunday night, was also forwarded to Vernon for burial. Bandits Fight DAYTON, Ohio, Dec. 31.—<AV Five bank robbers engaged in a gun right with citizens and officers at Phillipsburg. Ohio, after they had kidnaped Ralph Davenport, cash ier, in an effort to loot the bank. Cold Snap Helped Citrus Expert Declare* Fruit Will Have More Color Tree* Al»o Greatly Benefited The recent cold snap was of great benefit to the cltm* Industry _ This is the terse and encouraging opinion of A. R. Sandlin, an official of the Texas Citrus Fruit Growers exchange. Recently from Florida. Mr. Sandlin is an expert grower He owns 600 acres of groves in Florida. tt ••On account of the previous rains end warm wee.her, Mr. S ndlin continued, "the eltru. had put out new growth md WM not plUttog on color « tart ,* It Aould. Forth!. reaeon the cold mmp hMtoeo » FIGHTS BACK Wisconsin Official Scores Texas ‘Interference* MILWAUKEE, Wte., Dec' 31.—(**> —John L. Newman, secretary of the Wisconsin Real Estate Brokers’ board, has made public a statement reolying to Texas organizations “seeking to sway” that board s con sideration of the merits of Texas land development companies by any • propaganda or communications. Hjs statement was especially ad dressed to the Ban Antonio Manu facturers’ association, which sent the board a copy of resolutions adopted following refusal of the board to license certain Texas com panies and brokers in Wisconsin. Newman reiterated Wisconsin had no unfriendly feeling toward Texas and each applicant was Judged on merits. „ , The San Antonio manufacturers resolution stated the board was making an “unwarranted attack upon the good name and reputation of the state of Texas.” blessing to us; It nas not nun, me citrus Industry nor the fruit in the least. “On the other hand, we consider it a very fortunate Incident for the reason that it will both color and sweeten up the fruit now on the trees remaining to be shipped, and has likewise stopped the flow of the sap in the trees forcing them Into a dormant condition, giving them a rest and an opportunity to store up energy for the spring growth and bloom. "What few leaves appearing on the trees showing scorched, does not hurt nor damage the tree or the fruit. It is unnatural for the tree to have this young tender growth at this season of the year. The cold has scorched the leaves only, not the wood, and growers are ahead of the game to the extent that they have the new wood for next season s crop. The arid will force the trees to store energy and this wood will tyear blooms and fruit in the spring and year of 1930.” Condition of Burned Man it Improved .Special to The Herald.) HARLINGEN. Dec. 31.—The condition of L. G. Lin cecum was re ported slightly worse Tuesday morn ing at the Valley Baptist hospital where he was taken Sunday after he was severly burned by a high tension wire on a pole near Sebas tian. CRASH PROBED AMARILLO. Dec. 31—<A*>—Avia tion Inspectors here today sought the cause of an airplane accident at the Hlllcrest Golf and Country club of Amarillo that resulted In the death of five persons. Including a woman. The lives of the victims, only oc cupants of a six-passenger cabin monoplane, were crushed out as the craft went into a spin from an al titude of 200 feet, apparently as the pilot was attempting to land on the golf eoursa. Laredo, brought about by actions of /alls in attempting to arrest Oen ?ral Plutarco Ellas Calles on an jld charge against him when he passed through here Dec. 10. O. W. Klllam, second speaker, told of efforts of the board of di rectors ' of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce to solve problems caus ed by the closing of the consulate, which to date had tailed. He said the time had come when something definite must be done. The speak er praised Vails as an official and friend. He also told of a delusion under which the people of Laredo had been laboring the past few days believing everything would adjust itself, but instead, he said. Laredo was facing a commercial crisis that would "sap Its life.'’ The following petition was sign ed by approximately 400 persons: "Hon. Dan Moody, Governor of Texas. "We. the undersigned citizens of Laredo, Webb county, Texas, in public mass meeting asembled in the city of Laredo. Monday. De cember 30. 1929. most respectfully represent to you that there Is a condition now existing In Laredo that is bringing great financial loss and distress to the people of this community. "The situation Is occasioned by certain acts of our district attorney. Hon. John A. Vails, and while we deplore the public statements of the consul general of Mexico requesting his resignation and believe that it Is an unwarranted Interference in the affairs of this state, we believe that the only Immediate solution or set tlement of this question la that Mr. Valla resign his office or that he be removed and that we. the under signed citlsens of Laredo, and Webb county. Texas, most respectfully petition you to request Mr Vails resignation and in the event it la not tendered you remove him from his present office.” New Tariff Law Is In Effect Jan. I Beginning Jan. 1, only one duty Is to be paid on goods going into Mexico through Brownsville and Matamoros. The new tariff law re cently passed by the Mexican gov ernment will go into effect at that time. While no reduction In amount of duty Is made by the new regulation, considerable time and possible con fusion will be saved under it. For merly three duties were paid on all goods, a ten per cent ad valorem duty, paid at the consuls office, and two Importation duties paid at the customs house. Under the new ruling all these are to be paid in one at the customs house. A consular visa will be required on all invoices of merchandise, as heretofore. Detailed instructions as to the handling of shipments through the local port had not been received by the consuls office here Tues day. San Benito Man's Leg Is Broken HARLINGEN, Dec. 3f—Francisco Sebedra was brought to Valley Baptist hospital Tuesday morning in a Thompson ambulance for treatment of a broken leg, suffered when he stumbled and fell at San Benito. Ha is reported resting easily I THE WEATHER | For Brownsville and the Valley: Partly cloudy tonight and Wednes day; warmer* tonight. Moderate to fresh southerly winds on the west coast. . For East Texas. Cloudy tonight and Wednesday; probably showers in east portion exoept in the Lower Rio Grande Valley; somewhat cold er in northwest and warmer in ex treme east portion tonight; some what colder in west and north por tions Wednesday. Fresh southerly winds on the coast probably increas ing. RIVER FORECAST There will no material change In the river during the next lew days Flood Present 24-Hr 24-Hr. Stage Stage Cbng. Rato Eagle Pass ...16 26 00 .00 Laredo .27 Rio Qrande ..21 Mission .22 AS -0.2 .00 San Benito • 23 6* —0.1 >W Brownsville ..HI A1 -0.1 00 TIDB TABLE High and low tide at Point Uibel today, under normal meteorolo gical condition*: High . 6 48 p. m. Low.10 06 a. m. MISCELLANEOUS DATA Sunset today today . 3:30 * Sunrise tomorrow .7:1*