Indianapolis Times, Volume 40, Number 264, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 March 1929 — Page 1

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‘NOTHING SAID’ TO ROAD CZAR AT SHOWDOWN Expected Clash at Meeting Today Results Only in Faint 'Plop.’ 'OTHER BUSINESS FIRST’ Commissioners Go Out to Lunch With Williams After Long Confab. The “showdown” nceting at which the state highway commission was scheduled to tell Director John L. Williams his sendee at. a ttate official is at an end appeared k> be anything but decisive this afternoon. The commission locked itself up with Williams in Williams’ private office at 11:25 a. m. Word was passed around that Williams was gomg to be given his walking papers. At 1:15 the commissioners and Williams walked out, announcing they were going to lunch. Talk “Routine Business” Commissioner Albert J. Wedeking confessed to beseiging reporters that they had not even mentioned resignation to Williams,' but had talked about “routine business.” Asked if the resignation was to be broached this afternoon Wedeking said: “We might if we get through with our other business.” Commissioner Jess L. Murden (Rep., Peru), spokesman for the commission in the ouster movement, had changed front somewhat just before the meeting opened. Last week Murden emerged from a three-hour conference wdth Williams to announce that he had conveyed the word that Governor Harry G. Leslie wanted Williams to resign and give the directorship to John J. Brown, Rockport, now serving as the Governor's secretary. Today he declared that the resignation request was entirely a commission matter and the Governor ,had nothing to do with it. Hearing Required Formal ouster action was set for today with indications that Williams will fight on the grounds that he cannot be removed except for “malfeasance, inefficiency or failure to perform his duty” under the law. The law requires notice and hearing before the commission. Saturday a conference w'as arranged between Williams and Governor Leslie and the result was said to have been assurance by the chief executive that he would assume a “hands off” policy today. Those close to Leslie, however, feel that should the commission fail to carry out tire ouster program he will take a whip hand. “Up to Commission” The commission had before it a letter written by Luke W. Duffey, former member of the legislature and one of the framers of the highW3>y law "As joint author of both the halfbaked act of 1917 and the complete result-getting modern act of 1919, 1 assure you, after fully recalling all legisaltive deliberations over the road bills’ subject matter, of no intention on the part of the lawmaking body sitting in judgment on the merits of the law to provide for a director's sendees ‘beyond the will of the commission,’ ” wrote Duffey. “The director was to be noth: g more than the eye, arm, or din t working agency of your board. TL much-quoted ‘cause for removal' reciting “inefficiency, malfeasance or neglect of duty,’ was inserted *n the law to cover any blunder or official tardiness of the director and dees jiot suggest any great right of tax-spending heritage nor tjoes it propose or contemplate on the part of this mere hireling of your body a lifetime patronage at the public trough. Demand for Relief “Plainly there is a state-wide demand for relief from the Williams policy of free lancing in road build ing. There is a pronounced sentiment directing your body to assume more responsibility in the spending of these vast millions of hardearned tax funds. The purport and the spirit of the law charges you severally with strict accountability to the people’s chosen high officer, the accredited constitutional fountain head of authority—the Governor of the state.” 3 CITY ARTISTS IN SCULPTURE EXHIBITION Works TVill Be Represented in California Show. Three Indiana sculptors will be represented in-the exhibition of the contemporary sculpture arranged by the National Sculpture Society for the California Palace of the Legion of Honor at San Francisco. Cal., to be held from April to November this year. The local artists who will have work there are Robert Davidson. 1722 North Delaware street; Myra R. Richards, 14-16 North Alabama street, and Sotli M, Velsoy, 1421 North Delaware street.

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% * The Indianapolis Times Mostly cloudy and colder tonight and Tuesday, probably with showers.

VOLUME 40—NUMBEK 264

Lawyers of Nation Divide in 2 Camps on Jones Dry Law One Group Organizes to Fight Drastic Prohibition Weapon as Other Faction Is Being Organized to Spur Use of Drastic Measure. BY RAY TUCKER Times Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, March 25.—President Hoover’s prohibition enforcement program and the threatened use of its sharpest weapon, the Jones jail-sentence law—already has had the effect of dividing the lawyers of the country into two camps. While lawyers in many cities are forming anti-Jones law committees to “educate jurists” not to convict under its drastic prison provisions, another factor has launched an organization for the expressed purpose of supporting the act. Frederick R. Coudert Jr. of the New York bar is the author of the movement to resist conviction of prohibition offenders under the “five and ten bill.” William R. Vallance, assistant solicitor of the state department, was one of the chief originators of the counter-movement.

FLOOD TOLL IN TENNESSEE 32 24 Lose Lives as Factory Town Is Struck; Damage $2,000,000. By United Press KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 25. Chaotic flood conditions in the south were improved today with the advent of warm, sunshiny weather, but sorrow lingered over sections of Tennessee, where human lives were claimed Friday night by raging torrents resulting from cloudbursts. Stopping of the almost unprecedented rains of the past few weeks was welcomed by the homeless left by the receding waters, confined most part to the states of Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and some few in Georgia. The death toll at Harriman, on the Emery river in eastern Tennessee, is placed at twenty-four persons, while the property loss there w r as estimated at more than $2,000,000. Find Bodies of Seven Scouts Only one of the town’s major plants escaped serious damage by the flood waters which raged through the streets to a depth of thirty feet early Saturday morning. The Harriman hosiery mill was said to have escaped heavy loss, although five other plans were said to be practically destroyed. Find Bodies of Eight Scouts The bodies of eight members of a Bov Scout troop swept away by the waters of White's creek near Rockwood, Tenn., had been recovered today. Four of the victims were found Sunday by a searching party from Rockwood and a group of Boy Scouts from Chattanoga. Reports from the Caney Fork river country indicated that upward of 20,000 persons hei been driven from their homes by floods although no loss of life was said to have occurred. Nine power and storage dams of the Tennessee Electric Power Company in that region are reported out of commission and no lights available anywhere along the river basin. Train Marooned Heavy damage from floods is reported from Kentucky: Coal mines in the Harlan area have been closed: railroad and high - way bridges have been washed out and landslides have covered several roads. The Carolina special, a Southern Railway train, was still reported marooned between two landslides near the Tennessee state line. Mayor Gregory of Barbourville has appealed to Governor Sampson for 1,000 blankets, 400 cots and food for the refugees in that area. Guard Against Looting k 'QUINCY 111., March 25.—With the Mississippi river showing a gradual swell of five-tenths of an inch and flood relief work hampered by marauding bandits, twenty men of the Illinois highway patrol went on duty today to guard property abandoned by flood victims. The detachment under the command of Sheriff Kenneth Elmore patrolled districts where people u ave moved property to higher b .->und to prevent theft. A naval reserve patrol boat also has been ordered to the etneken area to assist in relief work. SENATOR. COOUDPE ? Declines Comment on Suggestion He Be Candidate. By United Press NORTHAMPTON. Mass., March 25. Cah-in Coolidge declined through his sercetary to comment today on a Boston newspapers suggestion that he be a candidate for the United States senate in 1930. til do not know whether Mr. Coolidge will care to discuss this matter at a later date,” the secretary’ said, “but I rather think he will not.” *

A THRILL IN EVERY LINE OF NEW TIMES SERIAL

MOVING more swiftly than the flicker of a movie film, the lives of Mildred Lawrence and Pamela Judson were swept into the web of Huck Connor, a Chicago racketeer. Mildred, like Saturday’s child, had to work for her living, but

t> u MEANWHILE, Presdent Hoover is said to be having difficulty in selecting the members of his proposed law enforcement commission of inquiry. He does not intend that it shall be regarded as a body to investigate the prohibition law alone, but circumstances are making hard for him to erase that impression from the public mind. Extreme wets and dry algo are adding to his troubles by insisting that the commission’s principal task shall be a study of the operations of the dry laws. So far Hoover neither has consulted with nor asked the advice of such dry organizations as the Anti-Saloon League or the Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals. On their part, Dr. F. Scott Mcßride and Dr. Clarence True Wilson say they have complete confidence in the President, and are willing to let him assume full responsibility for the project. tt tt tt npHOUGH they believe the personnel should be sympathetic toward prohibition, they deny that they want dry extremists only. But the suggestion of the name of President A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard university as a possible chairman drew criticism from dry leaders because of his recent attack on conditions resulting from prohibition. Hoover’s chief trouble is said to be that the type of men whose decision would count with the public are individuals of conviction. Most of them, like Lowell, have expressed their feeling toward prohibition, or their views are known. The same is true of the dry side. In explaining the purposes of his new organization, Vallance pointed out that it would consider prohibition from its legal rather than its moral aspect. “Our aim,” said the state department official, “includes enforcement of all laws, including the eighteenth amendment and the laws thereunder, and President Hoover’s program opens a way for the legal profession to build up the legal machinery so that it can meet present-day needs. New courts, new judges and new district attorneys must be provided; governmental machinery must be reorganized to function more efficiently. * tt tt TO carry out such a constructive plan, the President should have the whole-hearted cooperation and organized effort of the best legal minds of the country. So land as we are a government of laws and not of men, lawyers, in particular, who take an oath to support the constitution and the laws of the land, should be glad of an opportunity to lend their support to the President’s program.” An organization of 100,000 members is contemplated. Charter members of the proposed federal bar say that participants in the Coudert committee’s activities would not be eligible for membership. ZEP TO PALESTINE Conqueror of Atlantic on Longest Cruise. By United Press BERLIN, March 25.—The dirigible Graf Zeppelin, conqueror of the Atlantic last year, set out on another adventure, a nonstop flight from Friedrichshafen to Palestine and return, shortly aftermidnight today. It had aboard a crew of forty men and a passenger list of twenty-five The flight was scheduled to be the 'rest yet made by the dirigible. The dirigiblearrived over Rome at 3 p. m. today (Rome tmie), circled the city and at 3:20 continued southward. The passenger list, included many Drominent members of the Reichstag and other high officials.

Pamela had everything she wanted. You see. Pamela was the daughter of the owner ot the fashionable Judson hotel, and Mildred just worked there. \ You can watch the lives of these tfro modern girls unfold staxtlingt

INDIANAPOLIS, MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1929

FOCH FUNERAL TO RIVAL RITES FOR NAPOLEON French Marshal Will Have lVlost Elaborate Burial Ever Given Soldier. PERSHING WILL ATTEND Prince of Wales Also Will Be One of Mourners at Services. BY RALPH HEINZEX United Press Staff Correspondent PARIS, March 25.—N0 soldier in history, not even Napoleon, ever received such an elaborate burial as lias been prepared for Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who commanded the greatest number of soldiers ever assembled. While the body of the “Little Warrior,” lay in a quiet chapel at the Cathedral of Notre Dame today, the government plans were revealed after a night of labor on final details. The funeral service Tuesday will be attended by President Dou* mergue, the prftice of Wales, Prince Charles of Belgium, General John J. Pershing and a host of most distinguished French and foreign representatives. Abbe Verdrie of Foch’s parish church. Saint Clotliilde, will say low mass Tuesday morning and Cardinal Dubois will give the final blessing In the name of Pope Pius XI. President Doumergue, accompanied by representatives of the allied powers which the mild-man-nered little strategist led to victory, will sit in chairs of state on the center nave at the cathedral. The remainder of the church will be reserved for marshals, generals and diplomats and representatives of patriotic societies. The general public will not be admitted. Before the procession starts, the president and the foreign representatives will file past the coffin sprinkling holy water on the oaken box. The funeral procession is scheduled to start for the Invalides, where Foch will sleep near Napoleon, at 10 a. m. Two platoons of the republican horseguards will head the procession, followed by a general, probably General Gouraud military governor of PariDecorations to Be Displayed Then will come a battery of horse artillery, a battallion of infantry, the. band detachments, the French and allied delegations of former soldiers with flags of battle and flags from the demobilized French regiments. The marshal s favorite charger will precede the caisson on which the oaken casket will be drawn by six horses, surrounded by a company of infantry. The famous generalissimo’s decorations will be carried by sergeants on silk pillows. Next will follow Foch’s family and President Doumergue. Foreign representatives will come next, including Ambassador Myron Herrick of the United States; the prince of Wales, Marshal Caviglia of Italy, General Romer of Poland and Prince Charles of Belgium. Troops Will Parade Upon arrival at the Invalides esplanade the body will be placed on a catafalque and troops will parade past after Premier Poincare delivers his funeral oration, which will be the only eulogy at the services. The casket will be temporarily placed in the crypt in the presence of the family, the president of France, Foch’s staff, a few members of the government and the pallbearers. An unusually heavy police guard was stationed today outside the great entrance to Notre Dame cathedral, to prevent a repetition of Sunday’s crushing crowds. One man and one woman were killed and at least one hundred persons were injured when the great crowd massed around the tomb of the Unknown Soldier passed beyond control of police. Women were trampled in the confusion and several soldiers were overcome by the crush. RUSSIAN PEASANTS KILL OFFICIAL FOR DISASTER Enraged Because of Death of 114 in Fire; Man Innocent. By United Press MOSCOW. March 25.—Enraged peasants lynched . the president of the Association of Handicraftsmen at Igolkino village because they erroneously believed him responsible for the theater fire which took the lives of 114 persons, according to belated advices received here today. The mob hurled the man into the flaming ruins. The operator of the motion picture machine was drunk and set a film afire with his cigaret.

ly in the story of “Rich Girl. Poor Girl,” which starts Tuesday in The Indianapolis Times. Ruth Dewey Groves wrote this serial exclusively for The Times and NEA Service. When the racketeers enter the narrative, you will be held spell-

Long Walk — Lifetime! THE two hatless young men in these pictures are starting long walks—walks which will end only when they die, if the orders of Criminal Judge James A. Collins stand. Upper photo is Lawrence Ghere, 24, with Deputy Sheriff Roland Snider (left) and Sheriff George Winkler fright.) Below is Snider accompanying Rupert McDonald, 21. The two prisoners were taken to county jail this morning to await transportation Tuesday to Indiana state prison.

FL OVERJILANTIf •* forcej who set out Sunday to estab- f 1 ■ k . m' in Die airplane Jesus Gran Poder. meters an hour. It was from Dakar that they planned to strike out over the Atlantic for the South ArnerTheir big machine, driven by a p : . |§§ Hispano-Suiza motor, was fuelled . " > sHBf for 5,000 miles. JSUNKL* Primarily they were out to break #' tfflßKk the record established by Carlo Del MM Pa*ete and Arturi Ferrarin of Italy, Wm-

FLIERS SPEED OVERATLANTIG Spanish Aces on Way to Rio de Janiero. BY JEAN DE GANDT United Press Staff Correspondent SEVILLE, Spain, March 25. Spain awaited today for news of two crack fliers, Ignacio Jimenez Martin and Francisco Iglesias Braga, captains of the Spanish air force, who set out Sunday to establish anew world’s distance record in the airplane Jesus Gran Poder. They started on a projected flight from Seville to Rio de Janeiro late Sunday afternoon and last were reported skimming down the African coast toward Dakar, Africa, where th • were scheduled to pass some time this morning. When sighted over Cadiz they were flying high and fast and traveling at a pace of about 180 kilometers an hour. It was from Dakar that they planned to strike out over the Atlantic for the South American continent. Their big machine, driven by a Hispano-Suiza motor, was fuelled for 5,000 miles. Primarily they w’ere out to break the record established by Carlo Del Pa-ete and Arturi Ferrarin of Italy, who flew from Rome to South America, covering a distance of 4.449 miles but failing to reach their objective, Rio De Janeiro. The distance from Seville to Rio De Janeiro is 4,900 miles.

Pick Winners All of the solutions to the “Black Pigeon” murder mystery are in the hands of judges today’. No more letters will be received or opened by The Indianapolis Times. Since there were several thousand answers giving solutions to the crime, it will be several days before judges can open, read and arrange the letters. Their decisions will be announced this week in The Times. Be sure to watch every day for the prize winners.

FIGHT HAIL MERGER Monon to File Plea Against B. & 0. An intervening petition opposing absorption of the Monon railroad by the Baltimore & Ohio railroad will be filed with the interstate commerce commission* by AttorneyGeneral James M. Ogden, representing the Indiana public service commission. This announcement came today from the attorney-general after John W. McCardle of tjne Indiana public sendee commission, instructed Ogden that this is the desire of the commission. Ogden said the step would be taken as soon as he has had opporturity to inspect the petition filed with the commerce commission by the B. & 0., seeking to acquire the Monon.

MACHINE GUN BANDITS HOLD UP BANK IN GARY

B.u United Press . , GARY, Ind., March 25.—Machine gun bandits held up the Glen Park State Bank today and fled through town in an automobile exchanging fire with a motorcycle policeman

bound with their nerve and daring. They stop at nothing—except a woman’s love. Just how that woman’s love thwarted their evil plans is told in “Rich Girl, Poor Girl.” Start it Tuesday in The Times. 4

Eutered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice, Indianapolis

GIANT FILM CORPORATION TO MAKE ONLY TALKIES’; STIRS MOVIE INDUSTRY

Stage Stars and Noted Playwrights Signed in $15,000,000 Program. By United Press NEW YORK, March 25.—Decision of the Fox Film Company to confine its productions to dialogue and musical motion pictures was hailed in theatrical circles today as one of the most revolutionary steps ever taken in the industry’. Winfield Sheehan, vice-president of the Fox Films, announced he had signed several of the leading actors for talking motion pictures. Heading the list is Will Rogers, who will desert musical comedy to take a two-year contract. William Collier, George Jessel and J. Harold Murray are .others who will make pictures for Fox. Mentality sufficient to remember the lines of a three-minute scene rather than resonant vocal equipmt will be the deciding factor in whether many screen stars are retained for “talkies,” :.n official of the Fox Company said today. It was learned that Madge Bellamy and Charles Gilpin, two of the, best known stars, had failed to ; chieve great success at the talkies. Gloria Swanson, not on the Fox pay roll, is another none too happy about the popularity of the speakies. Her voice, it is said, does not match the glamorous personality her great following associates with her. Sheehan said the new policy required eighteen months’ preparation and an expenditure of $15,-

who had taken up the chase near the bank. One bullet struck the headlight on the poHfceman's motorcycle and another wounded a Negro. Bank officials who were herded into a rear room by two of the bandits carrying machine guns, said the loot was between $5,000 and $6,000. The same bank was robbed of $12,000 last fall. Five men, three of them carrying machine guns, took part in today s holdup. Hourly Temperatures 6-a. m ... 63 9 a. m.— 73 7a. m 71 10 a. m.... 75 Ba. m.... 73 Ip. m.... 78

GHERE GIVEN LIFE TERM IN CELL FOR HAAG DEATH, AFTER PLEADING GUILTY

000,000. He will leave for California Tuesday to take charge of the new $10,000.000 studio at Fox Hills, in which twenty-five recording units now are in operation. Theatrical men said the immediate results of the Fox policy would be that the talking motion pictures would become a inore serious rival of legitimate “road shows” in the smaller cities, and that Hollywood probably would become the international center for stage producers, singers, actors, dancers and writers. ' Other screen players who have met the qualifications for the new films and will be retained by Fox include. Janet Gaynor, Mary Duncan, Lois Moran, Sue Carol, Mary Astor, June Collyer, Louise Dresser, Sharon Lynn, Charles Farrell, Warner Baxter, Victor McLaglen, Edmund Lowe, Nick Stuart, David Rollins and Paul Muni. The so-called, “raid” on the talent of the theater was not confined to actors. Fox also has the following playwrights under 'contract: Paul Gerard Smith, Harlan Thompson, Walter Weems, Billy K. Wells, George S. Brooks, Zoe Akins, S. K. Lauren, John Hunter Booth, Gilbert Emery, Claire Kummer, George Middleton and Elliott Lester. m HOT WAVE TO END Mercury to Drop Tonight; 82.6 Sunday Mid-July temperatures chased the winter gloom from Indianapolis Sunday and this morning, but a return to more normal cooler weather is in prospect tonight, according to J. H. Annington, United States weather bureau head. The mercury reached a high point of 82.6 degrees at 5:30 p. m. Sunday, the second highest March day of record here. -A high point of 84.4 was recorded the same day of the month, March 24, in 1910. Today the mercury registered 71 at 7 a. m., 32 degrees above normal and 20 degrees above Sunday’s 7 a. m. mark. Possibility of a higher temperature than Sunday being reached today was unlikely, however, because of the cooler weather due to creep in from the west, Armington said. During the day the southwest winds will shift to west and north-' west and tonifcht the mercury prob- : ably will drop to about 40, he said. 0

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TWO CENTS

Tells Tale of Intrigue in Underworld, Startling Prosecutors. PLEADS FOR M’DONALD Declares Green Mill Killing Was Accident; Declares Friend Innocent. Lawrence Ghere, 24, Chicago, the man who shot and killed Wilkinson Haag, Haag Drug Company official, at the Green Mill barbecue on May 17, 1926, bowed his head to law and order today Pleading guilty to the murder of Haag, Ghere nonchantly heard Judge Collins sentence him to Indiana state prison for life. Then handcuffed he sauntered into Prosecutor Judson L. Starke’s office and talked, telling a story of underworld intrigue, murder and robbery which startled prosecutors and police authorities. Ghere was to have gone on trial for the murder netx month. His guilty plea in return for which he escaped death penalty, was arranged by his attorney Lloyd Claycombe at a conference with Prosecutor Starke this morning. Still Pleads for McDonald In his statement Ghere first made another attempt to exonerate Rupert McDonald, 21, of any connection with the Haag killing. McDonald was found guilty of the murder by a jury last Wednesday and this morning was sentenced to life imprisonment with Ghere. Prosecutors discredited Ghere’s statement that McDonald had no part in the shooting, as they did his testimony at McDonald’s trial. Says Shooting Was Accident Jewel Portugese, now dead, was with him and Arthur McClelland was waiting in the car near the barbecue when Haag was shot, Ghere said. “Boys, it was an accident,’* he stated, fidgeting in his chair. “I didn’t go out there to shoot Haag, but he grabbed my hand and pulled the gun and it went off.” With that he ended his tale of the Haag shooting and launched into his activities for the past few years. “Gentlemen,” he smiled,” I wa.s accused of being a hoodlum when I was arrested in Englewood, N. J. That, I assure you, is not true. I am a diamond racketeer. “A hoodlum is a low type gangster. I specialize in my work. Diamonds are my racket.” His reference to the hoodlum type was uttered with a contemptuous sneer. Not “Murdering Type” “Chicago gangsters operate like a corporation,” he went on. “There is no end to the chain and we will stop at nothing. As yet. I am not the murdering type, unless it is a s a last fesort. “There are gangs In Chicago and Louisville, and Indianapolis is more or less of a stopping off place. “This Portuguese was bumped off in Chicago a couple of years ago, and the guy that rapped him got it himself. Portuguese and I worked on a lot of jobs. We held up a fellow named Gibbons, who was state agency head for the Chrysler Company, here outside of his garage one night in 1925. “I got sore at Portuguese on that job because he cussed and used such vile language and the man’s little daughter was in the car. We got a diamond from him. In on Big Gem Robbery “I was in on that $200,000 jewel robbery in the Palmer house at Chicago. I was supposed to get $90,000 from a Chicago guy who was acting as our fence, but he double-crossed me and I only got $4 000. He’s in Germany now living high and wide. He skipped his bond. “Portugese and I also knocked off a guy named Gottlieb in the Republican building up there and took him for $375,000 worth of diamonds. I was supposed to get seventy grand ($70,000) on that one, but I didn’t, “You know that when one of the gang is in jail he gets, a cut on the working profits just like a business man away from his office for a while,” Ghere laughed. Can’t Stop at Anything "Gangster and racketeers can t afford to stop at anything. Killings are common, although as I said I try to keep out of those things. McClelland was a good racketeer and he is serving a two year sentence in the Bridewell house of correction in Chicago now. But McClelland had given me a nasty deal and that’s why I tied him up on the Haag shooting in that statement I made in New Jersey.” Aged Man Fatally Burned Hu United press MARION. Ind.. March 25.—John Quincy Adams, 86, Negro, died of bums received when his clothing caught fire while lighting a stove. He had been an inmate of the Negro Masonic Home here for many years.