Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 163, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 November 1927 — Page 1

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SCRIPPS-HOWARD

BALLROOM IS SAFE, VERDICT OFENGMEERS Indiana Directors 1 Answer 'Rumors Spread With Malicious Intent.’ V - 'NO TRUTH IN REPORTS’ Building Is Able to Stand Far Greater Strain, Say Experts. As an answer to gossip and whispered reports concerning the safety of the Indiana ballroom, the directors of that enterprise today gave to the public the reports of expert engineers of national reputation and standing. The reports of unsafe conditions are declared by the directors to have been originated by designing persons with malicious intent, to whom truth and decency are unknown.” Once started, the rumors spread from lip to lip, taking on different forms. And as they spread they grew. It was whispered that the building had been condemned. It was said that a part of the balcony had been roped off for safety* It was said that there was imminent danger of catastrophe. Gossip Is Challenged It is believed that this is the first time a business enterprise has challenged the effect of gossiped word, repeated thoughtlessly. As evidence of their own faith and as a complete answer to any suspicion, the directors point to the fact that they have been almost nightly visitors to the Ball Room and that they have taken with them their wives and daughters and sons and invited their closest friends. That their evidence might be most convincing, they employed the most careful engineers in the nation, using the most modem methods of science, to examine the building thoroughly, to test it in every possible manner and today have made public those reports. Safe, Say Engineers These engineers are unanimous in their verdict that the building is not only safe, but would be safe even if subjected to dancing by three to four times the number of persons who could be crowded into its hall. The directors who submit the reports and back it with their owns reputations are all prominent citizens of Indianapolis. Each has other large interests in the city. Each had a pride in furnishing to Indianapolis what they intend to be the most beautiful and the most modem amusement place wihich could be built. As added evidence of the safety of the building, the directors point to the fact that liability insurance companies, after‘a complete investigation, have issued policies at the (Turn to Page 16) TWO HURT IN CRASH Slippery Pavement Is Blamed for Auto Collision. Slippery pavement was blamed for a collision today of an auto driven by Virgil Jones, 16, of 130 W. Vermont St., with a car driven by William Begley, 125 W. TwentyFirst St., at St. Joseph and Meridian Sts. Jones suffered a broken right hand and his companion* Charles Hendricks, 15, of 110 E. St. Clair St., was injured on the head and right hand. Fire Routs Two Families Fire that started in a paper baler at the Harry J. Borst drug store, 3929 E. Tenth St., at 2 a. m. today c?used S2OO damage and routed two l families from their apartments above.

UP TO THE MINUTE M. E. TRACY, editorial columnist for The Times, gives you up-to-the-minute editorial comment oh the news of the day. In yesterday’s Home Edition of The Times, Paul W. White described the Cincinnati trial of George Remus, charged with murdering his wife. He told of the prsecuting attorney’s piea that “it is ridiculous for a man whose defense is insanity to conduct his own case.” TRACY, in yesterday’s noon edition, two hours before hand, raised the question: “If George Remus, the accused, was insane, was he in fit condition to employ George Remu§ as an attorney?” In other words, TRACY had predicted one of the main questions that was to arise In the trial, in which Remus Is acting as his own attorney. THAT'S TRACY Everyday in THE TIMES.

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The Indianapolis Times Mostly cloudy tonight and Thursday; slightly colder tonight with lowest temperature about 28.

VOLUME 39—NUMBER 163

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Bu United Pres > ' ~ NEW YORK, Nov. 16—Ruth Elder, the aviatrix, this afternoon signed a contract with the Lo£w theatrical circuit to appear in Leow over the country for 100 days for a total payment of SIOO,OOO. George Haldeman, her pilot, will appear with her and will introduce Miss Elder to the audiences. She said,her purpose in going on the stage is to for another overseas flight or perhaps for a trip around the world. After the stage contract is completed, she said, she may go into the movies to gather additional funds. Metfo-Goldwin-Mayer Company, it was indicated, has an option on her services. Miss Elder will make her debut on the stage at the Capitol theater in New York Saturday night in a brief revue to be entitled .“Hello, Ruth.”

FORECAST VICTORY NEAR FOR BRYSON

Bulletin Joel Baker, Democrat, attorney, former deputy clerk of Supreme Court, this afternoon was appointed city purchasing agent by Mayor L. Ert Slack, succeeding John J. Collins, effective Thursday morning.

GET LICENSE; GIRL VANISHES No Record of Marriage; Fiance Accused. The words “No record of marriage” appearing on the county clerk’s books, indicated the sorrows that troubled Mr. and Mrs. Albert Wallace, 134 N. New Jersey St., today. Their daughter, Alta Mae Wallace, 20, has disappeared. But she is not with Thomas Graham, 23, Palace hotel, whose name appears with hers on the marriage license application obtained Nov. 7. Her parents returned from Illinois to find the daughter had left home to get married. They found Graham, who denied they were married, and said the girl had eloped with another man. No significance was attached to the situation until an envelope, containing the torn fragments of the blank to be signed by the justice of peace or preacher after the ceremony, was received at the clerk’s office. Employes believe that someone found the remains and following instructions on the card, mailed the envelope. Wallace went to Deputy Prosecutor John Caylor and swore out a warrant for Graham. He has not been arrested. FLAGMAN IS KILLED Hurled 39 Feet When Struck by Engine. J. E. Butler, 65, of 31 Frank St., crossing flagman, was killed at 8:35 a. m. by a west-bound freight train on the Chicago division of the Big Four RaUroad at Barth Ave. and Belt Railroad today. He 'was flagging an east-bound train and stepped in front of the west-bound train, of which Robert E. Byers, 50, of 306 S. Walcott St., was engineer. Butler was hurled thirty-nine feet, according to Sergt. Frank Owens. James Mitchell/ 1845 Orleans St., trackwalker, was the only witness. MITCHELL BACK IN FIGHT Air ‘Stormy Petrel’s* Views Will Go Before Congress. Bu United Press WASHINGTON, Nov. 16. —The name of “Billy” Mitchell, former Army air service chief, will be injected again into Government aeronautic policies at the coming session of Congress. The erstwhile colonel has anhe intends to place before Congress his opposition to Federal enforcement of air regulations, believing they can be f handled better by the States. Mitchell appeared Tuesday before Commerce Air Secretary MacCracken to furnish “expert testimony” in the hearing of Stuart Reiss, pilot charged with killing a pony while flying low over a Virginia air field.

mHREATENING to “blow her head off” if she cried out, two men entered the home of Mrs. Esther Lemon, 32, of 114 N. Noble St., at,l a. m., beat her, tied her hands and feet and ransacked the house. Mrs. Lemon, who had returned ' from the hospital a little more than a week ago, was alone In the house, sleeping on a couch in the dining room, with the light on. ,

SIOO,OOO Stage Plum for Ruth; Papers Signed

Updike Is Expected to Lose Postmaster Battle; Denies 'Pact.’ Appointment of Postmaster Robert Bryson will be confirmed by the United States Senate at the coming session, it was predicted today by Senator Arthur St. Robinson, upon his return from Washington. This prediction, coming on the heels of the Marion County grand jury special prosecutors’ report Tuesday, revealing a contract of Congressman Ralph E. Updike to permit D. C. Stephenson to dictate Seventh district patronage, means a complete victory for Postmaster General Harry S. New. Bryson’s appointment has been fought by Updike and never confirmed by the Senate. Both Senators Robinson and Watson refrained from taking a hand in the affair, giving the reason that precedent permits the Seventh district Congressman to dictate the Indianapolis appointment. Watson Predicts Victory Interviewed at Washington, Watson also predicted that Bryson’s appointment would be confirmed. Bryson’s appointment, backed by New, was fought before the. Senate committee on post offices rind-post roads by Updike, who contended that the position should be awarded through competitive examination. President Coolidge twice sent the New recommendation to the committee, which is headed by Senator Moses of New Hampshire, but the committee never reported it to the Senate. “It is quite likely that the President again will recommend Bryson," Robinson said. “If the committee then repotrs favorably, which I consider very probable, it will undoubtedly be confirmed by the Senate.” Watson Not Discussed Watson asserted that the matter had not been discussed at his conference in Washington Monday with senator Robinson. He sent for the junior Senator to aid in blocking removal of troops from Ft. Benjamin Harrison. “The Senate committee held up confirmation to give Updike a chance to introduce testimony supporting his stand for examination,” Watson declared. “I think probably all this testimony has been presented at this time.” Denies All Allegations Representative Updike today denied that the Holtzman-Johnson allegations were true. “I never had a contract or-under-standing with D. C. Stephenson to the effect that he was to have con-* trol o vet patronage or to any other effect,” Updike said. “Any such allegation is false and is a cooked up scheme, in my opinion. “I never heard of any such contract until the claim was reported to me that such document existed. If they say it is true, why don’t they bring indictments? This statement will make no difference in my attitude on the matter of Postmaster Bryson. “I have maintained consistently all along that as Congressman from the Seventh District I have a right to ask for a civil service examination, and without any personal hostility toward Bryson I am going to maintain that attitude.” FARM RELIEF STUDIED 15,000 Attend Opening of National Grange at Cleveland. Bu United Press CLEVELAND, Nov. 16.—Farm relief, Mississippi flood legislation and tax reduction ware dominant problems before the annual convention of the National Grange today as 15,000 delegates from all parts of the k United States met to make recommendations to Congress. More than a score of State grange masters were present when the convention opened. The sessions will continue until Nov. 25. '

BURGLARS BEAT AND TIE WOMAN, JUST RETURNED FROM HOSPITAL

Her husband is employed ifi Dayton. “Spot woke me up, barking, she said, patting the head of her pet fox terrier, “and I saw two men coming in at the kitchen door. One was $ little fellow, young, and he wore a li&it cap and blue suit. The other wot big, older, and wore a raincoat and dark hat. ) * "Spot would have bitten them, but they kicked Jiim across the

INDIANAPOLIS, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16,1927

VOTERS ROOT DRYS, SWEEP OOTKLUXERS Colorado Deals Smashing Blow to Volstead Act in Democrat Victory. " # COMPLETE G. 0. P. UPSET Normal Republican District , Swung Over JSolely on Booze Issue. Bji United Press DENVER, Nov. 10.—Running on a platform denouncing the Volstead act and calling for its modification, S. Harrison White Tuesday was elected to Congress from the Der ver district in perhaps the most sensational special election in the city's history. White, a Democrat, won a convincing victory in a city which Is normally Republican by at least 5,000 votes. White ran on an out and out dry law modification platform, while his opponent, State Senator Francis J. Knauss, Republican, adopted an uncompromising dry stand and was actively supported by the Anti-Saloon league, the W. C. T. U. and the Ku-Klux Klan. Complete returns gave White 32,177 votes and Knauss 27,457. Two independent candiates, George Kindel and Huston M. Marrs, polled less than 3,000 votes. Death Knell of Klan Not only was the White victory a staggering upset for prohibition forces, but it also marked the death knell of the Ku-Klux Klan in Denver. The Klan, which only a few years ago had controlled Denver politics, rallied behind Knauss under the leadership of Fred Arnold, grand dragon of Colorado. White was elected to the Congressional seat made vacant by the recent death of Congressman Will Vaile of Denver. The Democratic nominating convention, in which 55 per cent of the delegates were women, adopted a resolution denouncing the Volstead act as a failure and calling for its repeal and the candidates fought the campaign out on the question of prohibition, with other issues almost completely disregarded. National Tinge Given National significance was given to the campaign by Republican charges that White was nominated and backed by the A1 Smith group of Colorado Democrats 'and that this victory would be used as a lever to get an instructed Smith deleation from Colorado. Although White denied that Smith forces were interested in his campaign or had contributed toward his election fund, the Smith charge was hurled by Knauss throughout the campaign. The election was a sweeping upset for the Republicans, as Denver normally gives that party a heavy lead in State campaigns. It was also a heavy blow to the Anti-Saloon League in a State which has been dry since 1914 and which has been regarded as a prohibition stronghold. Party Lines Thrust Aside. Party lines were cast aside as a result of the prohibition issue. A number of leading dry Democrats bolted' the party, while Republicans admitted that even some of their precinct captains went over to the Democratic ranks. Republican forces today blamed their defeat partially on the fact that they were forced to -change candidates in the midst of the campaign. Finley L- MacFarland, auto dealer and capitalist, originally was nominated in a convention which carefylly dodged the prohibition issue. In a statement on the night of his nomination, MacFarland demanded that the Volstead law be strengthened and thus drew the prohibition issue clearly. A week later he withdrew on a plea of ill health. Knauss, accused of Klan affiliations, then was chosen as a substitute candidate The newly elected Congressman formerly was chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Although the electioft was local to Denver, White received the backing of the Democratic State administration and Governor William H. Adams issued a strong statement denouncing the Volstead law. Hoosier Students Strike 8,1 l United Press KOUTS, Ind., Nov. 16.—Sixty-five of the eighty-five students in the Kouts High School are on strike today because township officials refused to approve plans for a $7,000 school_gymnasium.

room and Hocked him in the pantry. ‘Oh please don’t hurt my little dog,’ I said. But that was all I spoke, for they drew guns on me and told me to shut up. The little one choked me and the big one hit me on the head. a m mHE men asked the terrorstricken woman for money, and she showed them $2 under her pillow. “If that’s all

Pretty Flowers and Girls at Show

* &£££s. |p % ' John Thomas Shaw. 25. Negro, V .*j three times tried and finally acr ’ > Os Helen Hager Whelchel. today was indicted by VV. < tn* Marion County grand Jury upon nv ' •’ a charge of failure to stop after an jjmd accident. >A- ■ Criminal Judge James A. Collins ft I sail the trial will be held as quickly Cas possible. Shay* was held in county jail nnBnL' der * 2 000 bond - RKf I Shaw was hold to the jury TuesI; ■§ * • dfty by Municipal Court Judge Paul JW *’ *J§ He was arrested Monday night L WIWR* 1 after he had run into two automobiles and fought two men. He 111 damaged the cars when trying tc

Think the municipal flower show at Garfield Gardens is not worth seeing? These pictures are the answer. Miss Clara Grande, 907 Grande Avs., is shown with beautiful speejments of Honey Dew and Celebration chrysanthemums.

LIQUOR PARTY MAY YIELD FIRE CLEWS

Three alleged liquor parties said to have been held at the Graystone Apartment Hotel Saturday night are being Investigated by police to determine whether a lighted cigaret carelessly tossed into the elevator shaft started the midnight blaze which claimed eight lives. Meanwhile, State Fire Marshal

BEAUTY HOW and WHY

is the title of anew series of articles on the scientific way. to prettiness offered by The Times. The introductory article appears on PAGE 6.

By Ann Alyeis \

FUND SHORT Drive Will Continue for Last $6,337. i Indianapolis Community Fund fell $6,337.67 short of its $722,600 quota, it was reported at the final luncheon at the Claypool today. Today’s total was $32,351.98, bringing the grand total to $716,262.33. The Women’s Army was awarded the sweepstakes title for raising its quota, though the Employes’ Division also passed its quota. Today’s donations by divisions were: Special Gifts A, $10,444; Special Gifts B, $1,220; Branch House, $284; Mile Square, $2,559; Women’s Army, $3,012, and Employes, $14,821. The campaign will be continued until the quota is raised, Walter C. Marmon, campaign chairman, said.

you”ve got,” said one, “we don’t want it.” Then they drew a large knife and cut a clothesline from the kitchen. “I thought my time had come,” said Mrs. Lemon. “When I saw them edming with the rope T thought they were going to hpiig me. I thought of mother, but after that I can’t remember what

Entered a a Second-Class Matter at Postoffice, Indianapolis ,

Alfred H. Hogdfbn and his deputy, George Coogan, in checking arson clews this morning, questioned Miss Frances Welding, Greystone manager, and two Negro employes several hours. " The three were to return this afternoon for questioning by Albert Fowler, a'rson division head. A man and woman left the building by the rear door, following a drinking party about twenty minutes before the fire was discovered, city detectives learned. The elevator in which the blaze started is just inside the rear door. The man told detectives that he and the woman drove to a sandwich shop on N. Meridian St., returning about an hour later to find the building in flames. Witnesses before Coroner C. H. Keever today were Miss Lida Bell, 808 N. Keystone Ave,; Miss Anna Roache, Apt. 124; Mrs. H. W. Avery, Apt. 108; Laura'Allison, Apt. 318; J. A. Cudworth.i Apt. 319, and his sister, Miss Mayme Cudworth, Apt. 311. WOMAN SHOT TO DEATH Companion in Parked Car May Die of Wounds. Bu United Press WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 16.—A young woman was killed and her man companion perhaps fatally wounded today In a mysterious shooting in a parked automobile on this city’s main street. Miss Grace Mills, 19, Waltham, was dead on her arrival at a hospital. Joseph F. Buckley, 23, Weston, who was with her, later was reported dying at the same hospital. Hourly temperatures 6 a. m 37 10 a. m 37 7 a. m 37 ll a. m...... 38 8 a. m 37 12 (noon) ... 39 9 a. m 37 1 p. m 39

“They told me to turn over on my stomach and put my hands behind me. Then they tied me. The little one stood over me with p- gun and the big one went upstairs and tore up everything. When he came down they both . went out the kitchen door. . “I don’t know how I got up, but the next thing I remember I was screaming out of the kitchen

JURY INDICTS NEGRO DRIVER Man Freed in Slaying Case to Face Charge. John Thomas Shaw, 25, Negro, three times tried and finally acquitted of the murder of Helen Hager Whelchel, today was Indicted by the Marion County grand Jury upon a charge of failure to stop after an accident. Criminal Judge James A. Collins sail the trial will be held as quickly as possible. Shaw was held In county jail under $2,000 bond. Shaw was held to the jury Tuesday by Municipal Court Judge Paul Wetter. He was arrested Monday night after he had run into two automobiles and fought two men. He damaged the cars when trying to get out of a parking place at Delaware and North Sts., police said. Starr Blauvert, 606 N. Delaware St., jumped on the running board of Shaw’s car, but was hurled to the street by a punch on the jaw. Roscoe Ruffin, 1424 Montcalm St., and W. G. Higgins, 737 Congress Ave., also boarded Shaw’s car. Shaw punched Higgins until he fell to the street. Police were called and chased Shaw to the 700 block on N. Pennsylvania St., where he was overpowered. Wetter fined Shaw $25 for reckless driving and $5 for failure to stop at a preferential street. The court continued the charge of assault and battery and dismissed the vagrancy charge. Shaw, when arrested, gave the name of Frank Martin, 713 W. Twenty-Fifth St. He told Wetter he now lives in Cleveland. ICE TIES UP SHIPPING V Lake Superior Region Hit; Colder Today. Bp United Press CHICAGO, Nov. 16.—Snow and heavy winds sweeping over Lake Superior have tied up shipping temporarily. Reports from Port Arthur, Ont., said shipping was held up from Saulte Ste. Marie to the head of the lake. Cities reported near snowbound are Ishpeming, Mich., Ashland, Wls., and Ontario towns. The cold wave was to strike the Middlewest today. Weather bureau forecasts predicted that rain, which fell early today, would turn to snow in the face of a cold wind. BYRD ARRIVES IN CITY North Pole Flier to Address Tippecanoe Dinner. Commander Richard E. Byrd, who flew around the North Pole, arrived in Indianapolis this afternoon to speak at the University Club Tippecanoe dinneer tonight. Edward E. Stafford, national commander of the American Legion, will speak, and Col. William Guy Wall will be toastmaster.

door and the neighbors came in and called the police.” Mrs. Lemon bled copiously at the nose and mouth, and was in an hysterical condition. She could attribute no motive for the attack. From time to time she has/liad considerable cash about the hpuse, but at the time of the attack her funds were low, due to the fact that she just had paid the rent.

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REMUS LOSES PLEA TO GET U. S. RECORDS Judge Refuses Motion for Calling Labor Secretary as Witness. SANITY IS CHIEF ISSUE 'Delusions of Grandeur’ May Be Put Forward as Defense. • BY PAUL W. WHITE United Press Staff Correspondent CINCINNATI, Ohio, Nov. 16. George Remus, ex-bootlegger king, on trial charged with the murder of his wife, Imogene, today moved to subpoenae James J. Davis, secretary of labor, so that immigration records could be introduced in defense of the former king of bootleggers. He lost his plea. - Judge Chester R. Shook, after lengthy debate between Remus and Charles P. Taft 11, county prosecutor, overruled the motion as being “unnecessary and beyond the jurisdiction of the court.” , Remus asked that Secretary Davis be directed to appear with the “entire file of defendant in the Department of Labor, bureau of immigration, introducing therejn especial reference to the honorable secretary of certain anonymous letters relating to the defendant.”* Roars His Protest In explaining his motion, Remus said that if the records were brought into court he could prove that Mrs. Remus and Franklin L. Dodge, former operative of the Department of Justice, conspired to have him deported. When Tafft, the youthful son of the former President, opposed the motion, pointing out that while depositions were being taken in Washington recently no effort was made to obtain the desired material from Secretary Davis, Remus arose. The stocky little defendant, with decisive sweeping gestures, roared that the prosecutor was not acting as an officer of the court should act. “The prosecutor should try to get all the evidence, not merely that beneficial to his own side of the case,” Remus stormed, and he continued in that vein for some time. “It is quite evident,” Taft observed quietly, “that the only reason for the motion was to give Remus the chance to make a speech.** Demands Dodge Subpoena Judge Shook then said he would entertain no further motions along that line and directed Remus to go to the clerk of the court for any subpoenas he wished issued. But Remus was not done. “I understand the prosecutor knows where Franklin L. Dodge can be reached,” he said. He was suffering from a cold and his voice was throaty. “I ask that the sheriff be told Dodge’s address so that the latter may be served with a defense subpoena.” The court again ruled against* Remus, who cried out that the prosecution was concealing witnesses. Dodge has been accused by the defendant of stealing the love of Mrs. Remus and conspiring with her to rob Remus of his huge bootleg fortune. Remus came to court today aggressively fighting his own case. As court opened he handed to newspapermen copies of a petition he said he would press, asking an order directing that 1,500 law books, allegedly held by a garage owner who was said to have procured them from his wife, be returned to him forthwith. Objects of art, business papers and house furnishings also were demanded by Remus in his petition. Whether Remus was insane at the time he killed his wife had emerged as the paramount issue of the case. Only his mental powers as of Oct. 6, the day he shot and killed his wife, while she was on her way to appear against him in a divorce hearing, vitally affect the trial. The alienists, Drs. Charles E. Kiely, David I. Wolfstein and E. A. Baber, attend every session of the trial to watch Remus’ actions and make their report at any time. Delusions of Grandeur -—They have been cautioned not to speak of the nature or trend of their examinations of the defendant, but the United Press was informed that the question of whether was suffering from "delusions of grandeur” figured largely in the preliminary study. Such delusions, the informant went on, under certain stimuli, could bring the brain to a point over the border-line of sanity.. The specific queries, the psychiatrists will answer, are: 1. Was the accused a free agent in forming the purpose to kill? 2. Was he, at the time, capable of knowing whether that act was right or wrong? 3. Did he know at the time that it was an offens • against the laws of God and man? , WE fiFFER THE BEST Jbt foods at low prices. Try it for dinner tonight. Fletcher Cafeteria, 18 E. Market.—Advertisement. v v • i ■■ .-.ft; V *

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