davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Amateur Thespidns
Rehearse TONIGHT

Local players who will give four
presentations Of 1.-THE Other Wise
Man" Christmas week will hold
rehearsals tonight, and tomorrow
night at Luther Place Memorial
Church, Fourteenth and N Streets
Northwest. The play is to be pre-
sented on the evenings from De
cember 26 to 20. The committee
in charge of the production in
cludes Harold H. Rowland, Irving
L. Koch, Robert Blocher, Lloyd
Nelson, Miss Hazel Anderson, Miss
Ruth lackburn Miss 10
SchwartzenStein and Miss BesS
Davis Schreiner.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Firm Hired
Lobbyist

WATERBURY, Conn.,, Dec.
IA I.N.SD.-The bankrupt
McKeSsOn & Robbins drug
frim paid a lobbyist $1,000 a
year and expenses at the
1885 and 1897 sessions of the
Connecticut general assem-
bly,, an examination of the
grand jury report on the tan
gled municipal affairs of
Waterbury showed today.
He was Harry E. Macken-
zie, One-time Fairfield county
Republican leader, who has
pleaded guilty to conspiracy
charges in Waterbury, where
Lieutenant Governor T.
Frank Hayes. mayor of
Waterbury, and FL others are
on trial on charges of con-
Spiracy to defraud Waterbury
of more than a million dol
lars.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
.ICKES DECISION
!. ON MAYORALTY
is SEEN AS mo-
Needed for PWA Work,
Friends Point Out
BY EARL GOODWIN

Secretary Of Interior Ickes will
announce his decision as to the
Chicago mayoralty tomorrow anc
indications are he will refuse to
leave the Cabinet.
1t is barely possible he may de
eide to make the race, however
for he is said to harbor a strong
ambition to do for Chicago what
Fiorella LaGuardia has done for
New York.
you NEVER CAN TELL"
His close associates, who have
good idea as to the decision,
do not give the impression Secre-
tary Ickes will leave the Cabinet,
but there is an air of you never
can tell" about the whole business.
Surveying the Chicago field.
Secretary IckeS finds that he
might have to campaign against
Big Bill" Thompson who, despite
the fact that the doctors gave him
up eight years ago, still has
strength enough to toss his SOM
brero into the ring.
The Secretary also finds a ire
mendous sweep Of reform in the
civic movement which has de-
manded that he run as mayor and
clean up a city which is still in
the old-fashioned vice-and-gam-
bling racket and controlled politi-
cally by city council whose alder
men resent any interference.
MACHINE VULNERABLE
He finds that the city machine
which gave Mayor Kelly the
largest democratic majority ever
handed a politician on the Ameri-
can continent has broken down
couple of times since then: that
the machine could be beaten; that
States Attorney Tom Courtney
apparently has the bsSt chance
for the Democratic nomination as
Mayor the way things stand.
Secretary Ickes could run in the
primary and be defeated and still
file as an independent candidate in
time for the election in April. Also
it is easy, and not unusual, for Re
publicans to enter a Democratic
mayoralty contest in Chicago and
help elect the candidate they want.
1t is believed the President
has not encouraged Secretary
Ickes to leave the Cabinet.
NEEDED BY PWA
It is pointed out that as PWA
he is just complet-
ing the initial steps of a perfectly
coordinated building program.
PWA officials associated with
PWA Administrator Ickes may be
expressing their wishes rather
than their predictions, but they
anticipate Mr.. Ickes will turn
down the Chicago bid, and will
also head a new PWA program
apparently being devised by at
least SO congressman.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
DOCTOR SEES
K|DNAP VICTIM

Continued from Page II
snatched while walking near her
Oxon Hill CMd0 home with her
15-year-old sister, Lucy.
The younger girl raced home
and sobbed out a story of her sister
being seized and dragged into a
light-panel truck. A search was
organized, with close to 1000 men
beating the woods for some trace
of the girl.
The following night, just 30
hours after she had been seized,
the girl staggered home through
the rain and snow and said the
men had held her prisoner in a
shack, taken her clothes from her,
and beaten her.
Later, she said, when she told
them her father was only a poor
farmer" and could not pay ran
som, they drove her back and re-
leased her about half a mile from
her home.
Taken to police headquarters
two days ago, she looked through
the pictures in the rogues' gallery.
Members of the family said she
pointed out two men as IRE
sembling" the kidnapers.
On the other hand. police said
she positively identified one of
the men as the kidnaper, and that
investigation showed he had been
in the workhouSe at Occoquan
since last April. A second man
she partially" identified is being
sought.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Rep. Bloom Stresses
Blessings u. 5. Enjoy!

"The suppression Of individual
rights and liberties in many ma
lions today sharply emphasizes
the blessing enjoyed by Amer1-
can citizens" Representative Sol
Bloom of New York declared
last night in an address before
the Sons of the Revolution.
Charles Colfax Long, $500 block
of Massachusetts Ave. N. w., was
reelected president Of the organt
zation in its forty-eighth annual
meeting in the Willard Hotel.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14

F. Donald CoSter, the company
president, was seized. along with
the assistant treasurer, George
Dietrich, at CoSter's Connecticut
home this morning on Federal
warrants charging violation of the
security and exchange act of 1884.
George Vernard, Brooklyn rep
resentative of the w. w. Smith
Company, firm reported to have
handled crude drug sales for the
company through Canadian
agencies. was expected to surren-
der today on a similar charge.
S1S,OOO,OOO MISSING
One mysterious angle in the
case is the absence of $4,000, 900,
of McKesson & Robbins listed
assets. Investigators seeking tan
gible evidence of such assets have
found only a trail of dummy brok-
erage accounts and phantom ware
houses.
Federal subpoenas, repeatedly
numbering at least 100, were being
served today throughout Wall |
Street brokerage houses, calling
for Federal grand jury appear
ances of brokers and officials of
& Robbins. In addi- |
ton, the county district attorney
and the States attorney generals
office were conducting separate
probes, and the stock exchange
Speeded its own investigation.
DISCRETION PROBE ON
The exchange announced today
it will make thorough examina-
ton into the discretionary
power" exercised by Harold Spear,
stock specialist in McKeSson &
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14

appraisal value of $4,000, 900 on
the property, Of which the COM
mittee was told by Wendell L.
Willkie, president of the Common.
wealth and Southern Corporation,
parent company Of the Tennessee
firm.
Willkie emphasized to the COM
mittee that the appraisal had
been made by impartial auditors
and certified by the Tennessee
Utilities Regulatory Commission.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
IVA Power Valuation
Far Below Wilkes

U.N.S) The Tennessee Valley
Authority's top price for the prop
critics of the Tennessee Electric
Power Company was put at $751;.
100000 today by J. A. Krug, the
Twas chief power planning en-
gineer, in testimony before the
joint congressional committee in
Vestigating iva.
Krug's figure for the private
utilities. located in the midst of
the iva area, was far under the
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Club Election

Election of officers at a meeting
tomorrow of the Cosmopolitan
Club will be simple procedure, it
is announced by officials of the
organization, because those no.
minated are unopposed. Edmund
0. Carl will be the next president.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Key Figures Seized
On Federal Charges
In M'KeSsOn Failure

NEW YORK, Dec. II GNS.).-Two of three key figures
mystery surrounding the financial affairs of Mckesson
Robbins $S6OOOOOO wholesale drug which has in
stuted bankruptcy proceedings. were arrested today
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Notables on Board

Among the directors listed by
the company's financial statement
on June 80, 1888, are:
John Marshall, of Washington,
chairman of the board, former
Assistant Attorney General of the
United States, and Carmi A.
Thompson, Cleveltnd, Ohio, presi-
dent, former Treasurer of the
United States, and now a director
of the Ohio State Life Insurance
Company.
Others are Howard Sutherland,
Elkins, w. Va, former U. S. Sena-
tor from West Virginia. and for
mer U. S. Alien, property GUS
todian Arthur B. Koontz, Charles
ton, w. Va, director of the Fed
eral Home Loan Bank of Pitts
burgh, and vice president of the
Charleston National Bank Louis
B. Hanna, Fargo, N. D., former
governor of North Dakota, direc-
tor of the Providence Life 1nsur-
ance Company.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
Speculation Charged

The company also was accused
Of operateing margin trading
account in speculative securities
while at the same time overdraw-
ing cash for it's general fund from
specific contract funds.
The commission stated further
that the company, through its in
vestment committee and directors,
purchased, with money from con-
tract funds and general fund,
securities in so-called special
situations" in which officers, di-
rectors and members of the invest
ment committee were interested in
capacities other than in connec-
ton with their duties to the firm.
The commission stated that 1t
knew of at least one instance
where such transaction was car.
ried on to the personal benefit OF
various officers and directors.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-12-14
FRAUD CHARGE
FILED AGAINST
SECURITY FIRM
SEC Accuses Fidelity
Investment Assn.
Continued from Page II

Continued from Page II
Of the United States and has
headquarters at Wheeling, w. Va.
Its latest financial statement lists
among its directors a number OF
prominent financial officials and
former high ranking Government
leaders.
At the present time there are
$276, 223 ,450 worth of investment
contract certificates issued by the
firm outstanding.
Specifically, the SEC alleged the
company failed to purchase and
deposit in trust sufficient bonds
and other securities as required
by the laws of the State of West
Virginia.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
DROPS
TO 20 DEGREES.

Washington had a real taste of
winter weather today, when the
temperature fell to 20 degrees, IL
below the freezing point.
Today will be fair and cold, with
cloudy weather and slowly rising
temperatures in store for tomor-
row.
While the District escaped
snow, Southwestern Virginia and
Western Maryland were blan-
keted, and traffic was halted as
the subfreezing temperatures
coated highways with ice.
Cumberland, Md, reported a
10-inch snowfall, while several
inches fell in Virginia. and high
winds in the Tazewell section un-
rooted houses and did damage es-
timated at more than $4,000.
Storm warnings were still
posted in the Chesapeake Bay
area and along the coastline from
Cape HatteraS north.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
WOMAN SAVED
IN fire HERE

Trapped on the third floor Of a
blazing apartment house in the
14OO block Eleventh st. NV,
shortly before noon today, Mrs.
Pearl Meredith, Is, was rescued
by firemen who raised a ladder
and carried her to safety.
Mrs. Georgia Byrd, 26, trapped
on the fourth floor, crawled out
on a narrow ledge and made her
perilous way to another window
in the rear Of the building, where
she escaped down the back stair
way.
Her two sons, James, jr., 8, and
Wanamaker, S, almost trapped in
a smoke-filled hallway, escaped by
racing down the stairs and leap
ing to safety through the flames.
Several other occupants of the
building fled to safety in the
streets. The blaze, the origin Of
which has not been determined,
started on the second floor and
swept through the entire building.
Two alarms were turned in before
the fire was brought under control.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Kennedy Quit?
Wife Says NO

LONDON, Dec. % G.N.S.),
Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, wife of
the United States ambassador to
London. in telephone interview
with the London Daily Express
denied today that her husband
is planning to leave his post.
Speaking from st. Moritz,
Switzerland, where she is spending
the holidays. Mrs. Kennedy said
the ambassador would return to
London in February. She added:
I'VE hope to stay in England
for long time, perhaps years.
We like England and just love
the English. spoke to my hus-
band by telephone on Christmas
Day, but he did not mention the
resignation story"
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Error Cost Him
Holidays in Jail

Thomas O'Hara, At, Of Da-
mascus, Nd, will spend New
Years day out of jail.
But he passed Thanksgiving
and Christmas in the Montgom-
cry county bastile through error,
it was disclosed today.
O'Hara, a world War veteran,
was sentenced to serve 80 days in
default of a $25 fine for disturb
ing the peace, and demand was
made by the complaining witness
that he file a peace bond.
His sentence was up on October
26, and the bond action should
have been taken up at the No
vember term of court. Through
some oversight, it was not, so
O'Hara remained in jail.
When States Attorney James
H. Pugh learned of the error he
ordered O'Hara freed.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28

house Corporation, of Winchester,
were convicted on all IL counts of
the indictment charging conSpir-
acy and using the mails to de-
fraud.
Kenneth P. Kimball, of st.
Louis, president of the defunct
Kim-Murph (bean) Company, of
Lansing, Mich, and Ralph S.
Phillips, of Toledo, Ohio, former
Secretary-treaSurer Of the Mineral
Felt Company, Of Toledo, were
convicted under two counts.
Russell E. Wise, Union City at
torney and banker, who was attor-
ney for the Continental, manager,
and later receiver, was found
guilty on two counts.
Judge Robert G.. Baltzell said
he would impose sentences Jan.
uary 8.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Hope for Mental Patients
Seen in Drug Treatments

Continued progress in the use
of new drugs in treating mental
cases at st. ElizabethS Hospital
was revealed today by DR.. Winfred
Overholser, superintendent, in his
annual report for the year ending
June 80.
In a special ward at the hospital
more than 100 patients underwent
the spectacular insulin and metra-
zol shock therapy, DR.. Overholser
reported. Treatments were diScon-
tinued during the summer months
but were resumed again in the
fall.
Hospital scientists are studying
the effects o. benzedrine sulphate
in depreSsionS and of amniotin
and theolin in the depressions of
of later life. Dr.. Overholser re-
ported.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
FLEET TO TOUR :.
SOUTH AMERICA

G.NS) Further cementing cor
dial relations with South Amer
ica, the United States plans to
send a division of its new cruisers
on good will tour of South
America next month, it was dis
closed today.
The cruiser division, composed
of the San Francisco, Quincy,
Tuscaloosa and Vincennes, is ex-
pected to leave the West Coast
shortly after the New Year for
a cruise which will take it down
the west coast of South America
through the Straits of Magellan
and up the east coast.
The cruisers, representing the
latest type of fighting ships in the
American Navy. are expected to
make good will calls at most of
the important South American
ports.
UNITED StGtaeS delegation to
PGn-AmertcGn Conference salts
for home. Details on Page A.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28

He also referred to studies
touching on the relationship be-
tween hearing defects and para
mold tendencies and the effect Of
a new drug, dilantin upon epilep-
tic convulSionS.
The malarial treatment of pa
retics which was introduced in
this county at st. Elizabeth's is
being continued, DR.. OVerholser
reported.
An appeal for accommodations
for $50 new beds to cover imme-
diate needs, including the replace
ment Of ramShackle buildings
erected in 1918 was voiced by DIR.
OverholSer. He pointed out the
hospital population is growing SO
rapidly it has become necessary
to put additional beds in already
crowded wards.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Fiue Guilty in Mail Fraud
Inuolving $1,2OO,OOO

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Dec. %
G.N.SD.-All five defendants were
convicted by jury in Federal
court in Indianapolis today on
charges Of mail fraud resulting
from an alleged 81 ,200,0 900 swindle.
The defendants, all officers of
the Continental Credit Corpora
tion of Winchester, Ind, and aSSo.
ciate companies, were alleged to
have conducted financial manipu-
lationS that wrecked three banks
and caused losses of hundreds of
thousands of dollars to other
banks and investors in Indiana,
Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky.
John w. Moore, ST., president
of the Continental, and his son,
John w. Moore. jr., 35, secretary
treasurer of the Continental and
vice president Of the Indiana Ware.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Man Nearly Sed|ped
By Tomahawk Here

John R. West, 27, of the 100
block of Third st. S. w., almost
lost his scalp early today when he
was struck in the head three times
with tomahawk, said by police
to have been welded by a room
mate. West was taken to Provi-
dence Hospital suffering from Sc
we're decorations of the head and
a possible skull fracture, police
said.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Chinese Order
Trucks in u. S.

DETROIT, Dec. % G.N.S3-A
81, 100000 older for 1000 General
Motors and Dodge trucks was
placed here today by the Chinese
government through the Univer.
sal Trading Corporation, which
was granted a $25,0OO,O0O loan
by the United States Govern
inent last week.
This was the first of a series
OF truck orders expected from
China. Great numbers of trucks
will be used to carry the freight
handled by railroads now Japa-
neSe control, Chen Kwang Pu,
who placed the order said.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Mother, Son Killed ,
Wife Hurt in Crash

FREDERICKSBURG, Va., Dec.
28.-Qeath wrote tragic ending
to a joyful Christmas holiday
early today when two members of
a Clinton IN. C0 family were
killed and two others injured, one
seriously, in an automobile crash
about Il miles south of here. on
Route No. 2.
Police identified D. w. Ray, 81,
Of Clinton, who was killed in.
Stantly, while the other victim
was tentatively identified as Rays
mother. The injured were Mrs.
Ray, 81, wife of the dead man,
and their 8-year-old son, Wilbur
Ray, who was slightly hurt.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Liths Due to Yield

Before that transpires, how
ever, it was believed the world
will witness the incorporation of
Memel into the Reich. the in
crease of German domination in
Danzig, and the acceptance by
Lithuania or peaceful coopera-
ton" with Germany, by which
Lithuania will come under Ger
Continued on Page 2, Col. ~
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
100000 Blaze
Sweeps Refinery

PORT ARTHUR, Tex. Dec. 27
"A terrific explosion, heard 10
miles away, started a fire that
swept through the polymerization
unit Of the Atlantic Refinery in
Port ARTHUR last night, causing
damage estimated unofficially at
more than 500 900.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Recession Is Name
OF New Rogers Baby

SHENANDOAH, Iowa, Dec. 20
Q.N.S0.-Newly-born Franklin
Delano Roosevelt Recession Rog-
ers" today took the spotlight from
his older brother, Herbert Hoover
Depression Rogers" in the Rogers
family of Shenandoah. Recession
is the newest addition to the John
Rogers household. Both names
we're supplied by DR.. ]. D. Kerlin,
attending physician.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
FiUe More Sought
200 Hotel Owners
Sign AFL PAY PaCt

NEW YORK, Dec. % G.N.S.).
Two hundred New York hotel
owners today ratified a proposal
to sign an American Federation of
Labor contract that would provide
wage increases and union shop
for 10000 workers. It was said
their approval of the document
would not be binding on individual
establishments unless the union is
able to show that it represents a
majority of the employees.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
NEARS
ON UKRAINE
BY CHARLES A. SMITH
Copyright, 1889

LONDON, Dec. % Q.N.S0.
Germany will force a showdown
with Poland over the Ukrainian
problem" by mid February at the
latest. it was declared today in
well-informed diplomatic circles.
With the Reich pursuing a Wig
orous diplomatic offensive from
the shores of the Baltic to the
Black Sea, it was felt the "solu-
tion" of the Ukrainian issue could
not be expected to be delayed be-
yond that date.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Treasury Condition

I.N.SJ Treasury balance De-
cember %: $3,166, 6,Os5, ,s92.49; in.
ternal revenue, $5,474,0e7.28; Gus
toms receipts, $2O,831 ,201.82: re-
ceipts, $2,Ss5, ,2S2,S0s; expendi-
lures, $4,38S, ,184,821.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
TRANSPORTS
READYTOSAIL
FOR COLONY
Italians Occupy
Disputed Area

PARIS, Dec. % (I.N.S.).
[Censored1 The French trans
ports Chantilly and Sphinx
will sail December 81 from
Marseilles for French somali-
land with a battalion Of
French colonial infantry, it
was revealed today.
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
COSTER CASE
WITNESS DIES
IN MYSTERY
Name Kept Secret
In U. S. Probe

NEW YORK, Dec. % U.N.S).
Death Of a key witness under mys-
terious circumstances just as he
was about to be taken into custody
in the F. Donald CoSter scandal
was revealed today by Federal au-
thorities who have arrested three
persons as alleged blackmailerS of
the suicide head of the century
old McKesSon & Robbins drug
firm.
Death of the man whose name
was being withheld may conceal
full ramifications of the blackmail
plot against Coster who is believed
to have paid untold thousands of
dollars to keep secret his true
identity as Philip M. Musica. a
convicted swindler of pre-war days.
Mysterious Death
When he was unmasked as Mu-
Sica, CoSter shot himself to death,
leaving Federal, State and county
agencies to untangle the financial
affairs of McKesson & Robbins.
Although Federal agents would
not say whether the witness died
violently or from a sudden illness,
they stated his end came under
circumstances sufficiently mysteri-
Gus to warrant an, investigation.
This witness, they disclosed, for
merly was in the drug business
and also had been engaged in IL
licit alcohol diversion, one of the
means by which Coster accumu-
lated the million dollars with
which he purchased control of NC
Kesson & Robbins in 1926.
FiUe More Sought
The trio held for extoring money
from Coster consists of a disbarred
Brooklyn lawyer and a brother
and sister who were Musica's
partners in the Adelphi Drug Com
(COntinued ON Page 4, Col. ~
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
BY KENNETH T. DOWNS
Copyright, 1880

PARIS, Dec. 2S G.N.S0-PoS-
sibility of a sudden italian attack
upon French Somaliland is cauS-
ing serious concern in high French
government quarters.
Paris authorities admitted the
French military situation, in the
event of such an attack, would be
extremely difficult. They said
the Italians would be favored by
heavy odds if fighting should
break out in the French East
African colony in view of the over
whelming Fascist military super.
iority in nearby areas.
War on Mediation
Fears we're expressed in Paris
that Premier MuSSolini'S tactics
may be to seize Somaliland, vir-
tually surrounded by italian ter.
ritory, in a sudden coup-thuS
putting France in the position Of
having to declare war or submit
to mediation.
These fears explained the speed
with which the government Of
Premier Edouard Daladier dis
patched one battalion Of infantry
to Somaliland and held second
battalion, largely composed of
anti-aircraft units, ready to leave
on an instant's notice.
The government also ordered
CONTINUED ON Page 2, Col. 81
The Washington times., 1938-12-28
Grace to Fight

Trial Examiner Frank Bloom
called foE disestablishment of the
employe representation plans, but
Grace declared:
THAT should be. for our en-
ployes to decide. They have
continuously shown their desire
that those organizations be con-
tinued.
''We intend, therefore, to con-
test the findings Of the report.
They are not supported by the
facts and are contrary to the
intent Of the labor act"