Evening star., 1938-02-11
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC HILLIAN WJLE.

To the Department of Justice no
stranger to human interest cases. there's
just been batted up one OF the most ap-
pealing episodes of its sort on record.
The Department was visited this week
by Al w. Hosinski United States marshal
Tor Northern Indiana. His purpose was
to ask to be excused from acting as
eAecutloner of James DalhOver, Brady
gangster who is to be electrocuted at
the Indiana State Prison in Michigan
City on April 8. Dalhover was convicted
in December of killing Hoosier State
policeman on April 81. 1886 in connec-
ton with bank robbery. Between his
arrest and death sentence. Marshal Ho-
snski came to know and rather like
Dalhover. though in no sense condoning
his crime or believing he should escape
punishment. AS the Indiana chair is
operated. Hosinski would be required to
apply voltage for a full minute. shoot
ing varying degrees of the fatal juice
into the condemned mans body at in
tervalS of 10 or Is seconds Having de-
cided he couldn't bear the idea of en-
acting the role, Hosinski determined to
request the Attorney General to assign
somebody else the grim chore of dis
patching Jim Dalhover to another world
The marshal found that the gangster
even in the shadow of the chair. has
preserved sense of humor. Having
been notified that before imposing sem
tence. the Judge would ask If the prisoner
had anything to say. Dalhover replied:
Il guess III apologize Quoth the
marshal: "Whaddya mean. apologize? 2"
The gangster said: We'll. hasn't Japan
apologized for sinking the Panay?"
y
There are indications that the Presi-
dents appeal for 81 100000 Red Cross
fund for the victims of war in China
ism meeting with either prompt or gen.
erous response. 1t will be several days
yet before Red Cross national headquar-
ters in Washington has first returns from
its 3,700 local chapters throughout the
country, but officials fear these aren't
going to come up to expectations. OF
almost universal American sympathy
with the plight of the Chinese people
there's no doubt. For some inexplicable
reason, we're not saying it with dollars.
Business recession and Uncle Sans own
needs to resume charity at home, as ex-
emplified by F. D. RS new $250,OOO, 900
relief proposal, may explain matters.
Mrs. Roosevelt coined an apt slogan in
her radio appeal for the Red Cross China
fund the other night when she urged
Americans to adopt human being for
month" What she meant is that even
a $l.25 subscription will keep a Chinese
war refuge, man. woman or child, for
four whole weeks.
=
President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull
have pretty effectually silenced the con-
gressional guns of suspicion and criti-
cism which have been barking at the
administrations foreign policy. The
isolationists, captained by Senator Hiram
johnson. feel they have nevertheless
achieved one result which, it's suspected,
was their primary purpose. They sue
ceeded in putting: the White House and
State Department on notice that Con-
eress and the country are adamant
against anything savoring of foreign
commitments capable of hamstringing
the United States independence of ac-
ton. Perhaps the isolationist group fig
ures it has handed Secretary Hull
Scotch verdict: Not guilty, but don't
do it again" Some of its exponents go
the length of claiming that recent events
extorted from the administration vir-
tual pledge of non n-entanglement policy,
at least as far as Great Britain is con-
cerned.
Admiral Bill Leahy. chief of naval
onerstions came out of his recent seven