Evening star., 1926-05-01

| charter fare of cents you would get
quick action"
Mr.. Blanton then reminded Mr. Ru-
dolph that he had mentioned calling
on Francis II. Stevens. the corpora
| ton counsel, for law opinion He
reminded him that George T. Hamil-
| ton Is president of the Capital Trac-
| ton Co. and dean of the Law School
at Georgetown University He said
| that in a revaluation case in court
where the Capital Traction Co. had
| its valuation increased $11 ,000, 900 Mr.
| Stevens appeared for the people and
| the judgment of the court recited that
he had made no protest.
Faculty Changes Noted.
Mr.. Elanton called Mr.. Rudolph's
| attention to the allegation that since
| then Mr.. Hamilton has arranged for
| Mr. Stevens to lecture at the law
| school and get a salary and that the
| judge who made that decision also
| has a job in the law school. Mr.
| Blanton told Commissioner Rudolph
That is something you didn't know,
| isn't it? You ought to look into it.
| Those are serious matters affecting
| the rights of the people"
Mr. Gilbert put into the record that
| both Judge Van Orsdel and Judge
| town University Law School, Of which
| Mr. Hamilton is dean.
Mr.. Gilbert then said that after Mr..
Fenning had been in Office ID days,
and Inspector Headley had given un-
| usually good service to the Police De-
partment for 80 years. the former had
denoted the latter, and that this was
| a very serious action affecting the
morale of the entire department. He
4 Nlx..-
experienced. Then he asked Mr.. Ru-
| dolph: Did you think you were full
! filling your full duty when a new
| Commissioner made such recommen-
| dation To concur in 1t at once without
| requiring any postponement? DO you
| not think the public is entitled to
know and the police force is entitled
| to know why this action was taken
with no charge against Headley?"
Suggests Eldridge Appear.
Mr.. Rudolph said the implied charge
was that there was not cooperation
! in traffic matters. Mr.. Gilbert asked,
| Don't you think action should have
been postponed while you tried to iron
out the misunderstanding and lack of
cooperation" Mr.. Rudolph said that
Mr.. Fenning had studied the question
| carefully and that if the committee
| would call Traffic Director Eldridge he
would soon convince them, "as he con.
vinced Col. Bell and myself" that
there was sufficient ground.
AT this stage of the hearing Mr.
| Gilbert. Democrat. disavowed any
| intention to inject any political bias
| for any effect on the political situa-
| ton. and explained that in mention
! ing Republican party affiliations he
did so to establish that the persons
were intimately associated.
Mr.. Blanton asked Mr.. Rudolph if
| he and Commissioner Bell did not talk
about creating a third inspectorship.
in which Mr. Headley could be placed.
| Mr. Rudolph admitted this, but said
| that the Commissioners have no au.
| thOrity to create another inspector.
| ship, that that is a matter for Con-
gress.
Vote Issue Brought In.
| Mr.. Blanton also called to the at.
| tention of Mr.. Rudolph and the COM
mittee that when Mr.. Rudolph had
| been absent from some meeting. Mr..
Fenning raised the question as to his
eligibility to vote. arguing that read
| ing of the stenoSraphic record did
not give him the right TO vote, but
| that the Fenning contention was not
sustained.
Charleston +. Grier, employed by the
Veterans Bureau in the Washington
regional Office since January, 1923,
and at present an inspector, was next
questioned by Mr.. Blanton. He said
that he was in Augusta, Ga, when
Mr.. Blanton was seeking him as a
witness before the committee. In re-
ply to questions, he said he had been
assigned for q certain time to st.
| Elizabeth's.
Cites Murdie Case.
| 1t is part of his duty to claim bodies
| when veterans die and are taken to
| the morgue. Mr.. Blanton questioned
| him regarding the body of Bernard
Murdie, who was drowned in the Tidal
| Basin. He said he had asked for the
| body for the Veterans Bureau when
| the coroner was through with 1t so
| that it could be turned over to the
contract undertaken. The morgue
| master promised to notify him, and
| he waited for a call, and two days
| later, when he again questioned the
morgue master, was told that the body
| had been turned over to the Ameri-
| can Legion.
He was told that it had been given
| to bill" Franklin, whom he did not
| know, but who, he has since learned.
works for the Water Department of
| the District under the District Com
] missioners. An undertaken named
| Tolliver got the body and the contract
| undertaken for the Veterans Bureau
| did not get it. If the contract under
taker had received it the funeral would
| have cost S49-just as good a funeral
| as other people pay $3.50 for, he con-
| tinued.
This witness was then asked by
xxyho no hod
been told by another employe of the
Veterans Bureau regarding bodies of
veterans from st. Elizabeth's Hospi-
| tai. Representatives Gibson and Bow
,, man protested that this was not COM
petent testimony.
Says FL Were Taken South.
Mr.. Blanton then questioned Mr.
Grier regarding the trip he had made
| to Augusta, Ga, in a special coach
| chartered by the Veterans Bureau,
| with attendants from st. Elizabeth's
| taking 21 patients to hospital in
| Georgia. In reply to a series of
questions he admitted that this had
never happened before, that he knew
an investigation of St. EliZabetk's 8
was being made by the Gibson sub
! committee, checking up on boys at
| st. Elizabeth's, and that most of the
81 boys taken to Georgia were from
| the South. He was asked by Mr.
Blanton about certain ward at st.
| Elizabeth's, and he answered that
while he was on duty over there he
had been told that when they wanted
to discipline an attendant they put
| him in that ward
Mr.. Blanton put into the record that
this witness Is a valuable employs of
the Veterans Bureau with an A No.
record as an investigator, on which
| he himself had checked up. He was
instructed to prepare for the subcom-
mittee a list giving the names of
those 81 boys from st. Elizabeth's
who were taken South.