Indianapolis Times, Volume 43, Number 197, Indianapolis, Marion County, 26 December 1931 — Page 1

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RELIEF BILLS ARE STUDIED BY CONGRESS Enactment of Measures Is Expected Soon After Jan. 4. ALTER HOOVER DRAFT Plans for Reconstruction Finance Corporation Are Changed. RV LYLE C. WILSON t'nilrl I’rrs* Staff Correspond?nl WASHINGTON, Dec. 26—Congressional’ committees and their drafting clerks are laboring today with the relief bills which will touch every sector of American life, j from the Wall Street bankers to the, ragged, unemployed mechanic, or even the hobo who has no job and does not want one. Bills for relief of financial institutions and farmers have been given a priority which should enable their enactment shortly after congress [ meets again Jan. 4. Railroads, banks, insurance eompanie.s and corporate interests in j general are concerned most, vitally with a bill t.o create a reconstrue- j lion finance corporation. President Hoover sponsored this legislation, introduced in both houses of congress. In a week of hearings, the senate finance comumttce has heard testimony from Bankers and insurance company presidents which has convinced it of the necessity for vital alterations in Mr. Hoover s measures. Changes Are Planned The United Press is authoritatively informed that the reconstruction finance corporation act will be changed In the following particulars: 1. Instead of issuing debentures for $1,500,000 of its capital resources, the corporation will issue straight government bonds, thus avoiding the necessity for making the corporation’s paper discountable by federal reserve banks. Senator ; Glass (Dem., Va.) vigorously op-; posed involving the. federal reserve; system in the emergency relief pro- j gram. 2. The interstate commerce commission, instead of the corporation's hoard of directors, will pass upon loans to railroads. As originally, drafted, the bill vested this authority in the directors, who would have consisted of Secretary of Treasury j Mellon, Governor Meyer of the fed-: eral reserve board; Paul Bestor, | federal farm loan commissioner,! and two directors, to be appointed by Mr. Hoover. Democrats Voice Protest rt. Democratic objections eauspd Mr. Hoover to agree that there ! should be four instead of two presidential board members and that the hoard should be nonpartisan. The objectors complained that under the proposed five-man setup, Mr. Hoover would have too great, influ- j ence with the board members. Farm relief is pending in the i form of a bill to increase by SIOO,000,000 the sum of treasury subscriptions to the capital stock of federal land banks. These banks have outstanding about $1,117,000,000 in loans on first mortgages to i 40R.000 farmers throughout the country. Os these borrowers 23.5 per cent were delinquent Nov. 30. 1931, compared with 10.1 per cent of delinquents a year agp. Land banks j which loaned $102,000,000 in 1929 have loaned only $40,000,000 to farmers this year. Passed by House The bill has passed the house, with an amendment providing for a five-year quasi-moratorium of federal land bank loans. The administration is opposed to this amendment in its present fonn and its! scope may be decreased considerably by the senate. Relief for America's unemployed Js proposed in bills introduced by Senators Costigan (Dem., Colo.), and La Follctte (Rep.. Wis.). They would appropriate, respectively, $375,000.000 and $250,000,000 for direct federal relief—a policy to which Mr. Roover is opposed firmly. La Follette also proposes a $5,000.000,000 bond issue to promote public works which would provide jobs for the idle. DROWNED BY FIREMEN Hotel Guest Killed in Room by Streams From Hose. tty United Press MOBILE. Ala., Dec. 26.—J. R. Goodman. Mobile, was drowned today by water thrown into his room during a fire in the St. Andrews hotel. He was found face down upon the floor. He had registered a short time before the blaze. Firemen said his escape had been barred by smoke and flames. Physicians said hr died by drowning when the firemen turned large streams of water * into his room. Seventy-five other guests were forced to flee in night attire. Damage to the hotel was heavy.

Marts Closed Principal markets of the United States will remain closed today in observance of the two-day Christmas holiday. Trade wall be resumed Monday morning.

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- - */ v ■ ’fThe Indianapolis Times Fair tonight and probably, Sunday; rising temperature, lowest tonight about 35.

VOLUME 43—NUMBER 197

Man ‘Never Out of City’ Kills Self

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Charles Kunkie Armory Custodian, Known to Hundreds, Ends Life With Bullet. Charles Kunkie,, 85, who boasted he ‘ never had been farther from Indianapolis than Ft. Benjamin Harrison,” killed himself today in a rooming house at 606 North Delaware street. Known to hundreds of residents whose furnaces he had fired for years, Kunkie for a long time had lived on charity, and often threatened to end his life, police said. At 4 a. m. today, two shots rang out in his meagerly furnished room. Four hours later, his body, with two bullet holes through the head, was found on a small cot. A revolver was clutched in one hand. Awakened by Shot Miss Lilliam Caster, a roomer, told police she was awakened by tha shots, but feared to leave her room. When she left the house this morning, she told Orville Bray, owner of the house, who investigated and found the body. Kunkie is survived by a niece, living at. 1109 East, Washington street. His wife died several years ago. For a number of years Kunkie was custodian at the armory. Scores knew him there. It was said he never had ridden on a train. “I never rode on a train because I didn’t wish to go anywhere,” Kunkie told his friends. "That’s reason enough, isnt’ it?” Satisfied With City “I’m satisfied with Indianapolis. I’ve grown up with the city. When I look at the parks and the big buildings, I think of how different it was bark in Civil war times, and of how I used to ride along Washington street, in a wagon when the mud would splash in my face.” Kunkie said he sold pies at Camp Morton during the Civil war. He later was custodian at the Benjamin Harrison home at Sixteenth and Alabama streets. Eccentric in his old age, Kunkie always carried one pocket full of pepper. It was said that attaches of the armory once jokingly warned Kunkie against bandits. Several years later Kunkie was held up. but frustrated a robbery by tossing a handful of pepper into the bandit's eyes, his acquaintances say. The aged man had been supported by the township trustee for more than two years. He was a member of the Red Men's lodge. CAR HITS HYDRANT WituefSes DrenohPd as Water Plug Breaks Off in Crash. Struck by a bus at Twenty-eighth and Delaware streets today, the car of Frank Sourbier. 58, of 5900 Winthrop avenue, crashed into a fire hydrant, breaking it off at the base. Sourbier, witnesses and bus passengers were drenched in the pillar of water that spouted from the broken main. Sourbier was not admitted to city hasiptal. Physicians said he probably fractured a rib. Mutes “Sing' Carols By United I'm* NEW YORK. Dec. 26. —Christmas hymns were “sung” silently here yesterday for deaf mutes. The choir faced the congregation so movements of the hands might be observed. Each word in the text of the hymns had a symbol.

BURY CHILD VICTIM OF CINCINNATI FIEND SLAYER

By T'nUrri Prrsx CINCINNATI, Dec. 26.—Marian McLean, 6-year-old, who was attacked and slain just at the approach of Christmas, was buried in Mother of God cemetery, near Covington, Kv., today. Mildred and Joseph McLean, the mother and father, who had been separated for two years, were reunited by her death. They attempted to comfort each other as they rode in an automobile in the funeral procession that wove through the city traffic. Police authorities* meanwhile, continued questioning of Charles Bischoff, who found the. little girl’s body Tuesday in the cellar of the tenement house in which he lived. Officers said they did not believe Bischoff was connected with the crime, but suspected him of having mom knowledge than he has adof the slayer.

HUGE WALL OF WATER PERILS VALLEY TOWNS Break in Levee Is Feared; Food Supplies Low; Disease Is Menace. CONVICTS FIGHT FLOOD 300 Drafted From Prison Camp; Christmas Tree Set Up on Barge. By I nitcd Pm>s GLENDORA, Miss., Dec. 2S.—Two nearby towns are isolated and this community practically is abandoned through fear of a break in the levee that holds a six to ten-loot wall of water. Rescue of Negroes living at Sumner practically was completed this morning by relief workers using motorboats and other craft sent from Webb, southeast of here. They had been isolated by high waters of the Bayou Cassidy, a tributary of the Tallahatchie river. Many were suffering from lack of food. Some had been forced to sprawl on housetops for safety because of rising waters. Webb also was isolated, with most residents busy at the levees. Others plodded with their families through the mud, seeking shelter if not safety. Negros huddled about makeshift, camps, in barns and vacant buildings. The town did not go without its Christmas celebration. With every street inundated by four feet or more of water, a Christmas tree ; was set up on a barge and moored l in the center of the town. Residents rowed to the barge to participate in the festivities. Workers struggled against the flood waters all day Christmas in this community to save their homes from complete destruction. The whole town was under water, as were a half-dozen other communities. • Flood workers were reinforced during the day by 300 convicts, who were released from Parchman prison camp so they might help strengthen the levees.- * There was fear of disease over the entire flood area/Tf M SET TENTATIVf TSaII FOR WAR DEBT PARLEY Jan. 18 Is Agreeable to France and Britain for Hague Session. By United Press PARIS, Dec. 26. —The tentative date of Jan. 18 for an international conference on war debts and reparations at the Hague is agreeable to France and Britain, quarters close to the government, said today. It was understood that France and Britain have agreed on the time and place and are, consulting ' other interested governments, al- | though no official announcement lias been made. Paris morning newspapers generally commented favorably on the report of the Young plan advisory ; committee which found Germany unable to resume reparations payments, and urged an immediate international reparations and debts conference. The press assumed the meting would begin at the Hague Jan. 18. RENEWED RACE RIOTS THREATEN^ HONOLULU Guards Patrol City Following Charge Against U. S. Sailor. By United Press HONOLULU, Dec. 26.—Heavy patrols continued to guard the city today to prevent new outbreaks of race hatred as the result of charges preferred against a navy enlisted man by a Japanese servant girl. The accused seaman, reported attached to the U. S. S. Oglala, flagship of Admiral George to Pettengill, was held for general courtmartial. The admiral admitted the navy trial was planned, but referred questioners to Rear Admiral Yates Sterling Jr„ commandant of the fourteenth naval district here, . for details of the charges. I. Torn by riots which followed the trial of five men accused of attacking a young navy officer's wife, Honolulu is seething with an undercurrent of belligerence. Hourly Temperatures 6 a. m 30 10 a. m 34 7a. m 29 11 a. m 35 R a. m 30 12 (noon).. 37 i 9a. m 32 Ip. m 39

“The man who committed this crime w'ill confess before Sunday,” said Bischoff. “Why do you say that?” demanded his questioners. “He wouldn’t be able to keep it on his mind any longer,” Bischoff replied. Joseph McLean met his wife at the home of her relatives in Elsmere, Kj., when he arrived from his Phoenix .tAriz.) home. They embraced. Both wept convulsively. Malian’s body lay in an adjoining room, in a tiny casket surrounded with candles. McLean entered, the room alone. He returned to comfort the mother. Dr. Otto P. Behrer, city chemist, was making analyses of stains found in the cellar and of the viscera of the child. Police said, however, they were witlgput definite ciew r s.

INDIANAPOLIS, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1931 .

Twelve I. U. Co-Eds in Beauty Contest

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MERCURY m SLIDE Drops to 29; Rise Seen in Next 24 Hours. Failing to deliver Christmas weather, the mercury tumbled to 29 today in a feeble effort to give Indianapolis a touch of winter. The mark was the lowest recorded for many days of spring-like weather, during which flowers bloomed, grass sprouted, and birds from sunny climes made their appearances. The weather bureau predicted temperatures will rise in Indianapolis and Indiana, the next twen-ty-four hours. SAVED BY INSTINCT Flier ‘Bails Out’ After He Is Knocked Unconscious. By United Pres.x NEWARK, N. J.. Dec. 26.—An air mail pilot who fell unconscious almost two miles, owed his life and the safety of 1.490 pounds of Christmas mail today to his flying instinct. James Johnson, Cleveland pilot, was flying the' regular route east Thursday when the left wing of his plans broke loose near Allport, Pa. As the wing fragment flapped, it store in the side of the fuselage, tearing out the instrument board. The board struck Johnson on the head and knocked him unconscious. The plane tipped and began a j two-mile dive toward the jagged Pennsylvania ridges. As the plane sped downward, the pilot partly regained his senses. By instict he ••baiied out,” when he became. fully conscious, he was on the ground, tangled in the folds of his parachute. Two farmers said chey saw Johnson jump w'hen the plane was about 500 feet from the group. The mail was taken to Bellefonte by motor truck, then flown here. It | was undamaged. CHINESE SEIZE TEACHER Capture Missionary as She Plans to Return on Furlough. By United Press WELLINGTON, Kan, Dec. 26. The capture of Miss Harriet HalverI stadt. missionary teacher, by Chinese bandits near Foochow, came as she was planning to return to the United States on a furlough, relatives here said today. Miss Halverstadt, about 40. has been a teacher in China for twelve years. For the last seven years she has served as superintendent of the Methodist Missionary school at Foochow. Two married sisters. Mrs. G. A. Meredith and Mrs. W. J. Bartley, 1 live here. £

Top Row (left to right)—Betty Ayers, Helen Hamilton. Eloise Coffing and Elizabeth Westerfield. Center —Frances Jordan, Miriam Hahn, Helen Siefert and Frances Sears. Bottom Row—lrene Scherer, Margaret Morgan, Annabelle Pryor and Katheryn Lewis.

Here are the twelve Indiana university beauties who have qualified for entrance in a contest which is being conducted by the Arbutus, the university yearbook. Special pictures of the twelve are being made for j submission to the Hollywood (Cal.), : committee of judges, which will include Robert Montgomery, movie , star. Pictures of the six co-eds judged 1 the most beautiful by this committee will appear in the 1932 Arbutus. Herman Brecht of Indianapolis is managing the contest. Those entered in the contest and their organization sponsors, are as follows: Eloise Coffing, Attica, Kappa Alpha Theta; Helen Siefert, Indianapolis, Zeta Tau Alpha; Frances Sears, Bloomington, Alpha Chi Omega; Margaret Morgan. Austin, Pi Beta Phi; Katheryn Lewis, Vincennes, Kappa Kappa Gamma; Elizabeth Westerfield, Indianapolis, Alpha Omicron Pi; Annabelle Pryor. Bloomington. Phi Omega Pi; Irene Scherer, Hammond, Chi Omega; Betty Ayers, Indianapolis, Delta Delta Delta; Miriam Hahn, Wakarusa. Delta Zeta; Helen Hamilton, Linton. Delta Gamma, and Frances Jordan, Mishawaka, Phi Mu. WALKER MAY MEDIATE IN DISORDERS IN CUBA Gotham Mayor, Friend of Machado, Would Act Only as Citizen. By United Press NEW YORK, Dec. 26.—Mayor James J. Walker, personal friend of President Gerardo Machado of Cuba and anti-administration leaders there, is reported ready to accept an invitation to arbitrate political differences in the Latin republic. Such an invitation and ac- | ceptance, if concluded as reported, would make the Irish mayor of the city of New York virtual dictator of the destinies of a Latin republic where thousands have died in poI litical revolts. The mayor would serve as a private citizen, it was reported, so that his act in in no way would involve the United States government in the arbitration of the Cuban political troubles. ENDS _ LIFE AT GRAVE Decorates Tree. Shoots Self at Cemetery Christmas Day. By United Press LOS ANGELES, Dec. 26.—Happiness passed for Harry Travis with the death of his wife and son. He trimmed a stately Christmas i tree for them, ydsterday with bright tinsel and the ornaments of the season. At the foot of their grave in Inglewood cemetery he placed the tree, and as it stood glittering in the rain, trdvis, raised a revolver .to his head and fired. A note requested his body be I placed beside them.

Santa Capone By United Press CHICAGO, Dec. 26—Alphonse (Scarface Al Capone, who used to feed thousands in his breadlines, found a way to play Santa Claus again Friday, despite the fact he was in jail. Capone furnished turkey dinners for seventy-one members of the alimony club, men in jail for failure to pay alimony. Due to the fact the courts released twenty-seven members of the club for Christmas, Capone's "party” was not quite as big as had beqn expected. Thanks principally to Capone and his turkeys, the nonpaying ex-husbands had a comparatively pleasant day in jail. Capone, however, was about as glum as usual at the prospect of going to Leavenw'orth prison for violating the income tax laws.

BREAK FROM PRISON IN GLIDER IS THWARTED

By t nited Press LEAVENWORTH Kan., Dec. 26. —lnformation supplied by a telltale convict prevented two prisoners from flying out of the federal penitentiary here in a glider they had assembled on the roof of the prison’s shoe factory, it was learned today from an authoritative source. The glider was seized before the convicts had a chance to use it. It appeared capable of taking off from the four-story building and flying over the prison’s high walls with two passengers. It was constructed, it was said, by an expert aviator, serving a sentence of eighteen

Cap This One By United Press AKRON, 0., Dec. 26—A young lady flounced into a local sporting goods store Christmas eve and with that I-wonder-if-he’d-like-it-look in her eyes, accosted a clerk. “I want a cap for my husband,” she said. “Just what kind of a cap do you want,” the clerk asked, politely. "Well, I don’t know exactly,” the young lady admitted. "But you see my husband plays golf a lot and Ive often neard him say he could do better if he had a bigger handy cap. Now. I think he'd wear about a size seven.”

Entered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice. Indianapolis. Ind.

TRAIN BLAST KILLS 2 Locomotive Split in Three Pieces by Explosion. ! By United Press RICHVALE, Cal.. Dpc. 26—A : mysterious blast split a speeding railway locomotive in three pieces late Thursday, killed the engineer and fireman, and endangered the lives of 185 passengers on a South- | ern Pacific limited train en route from Portland, Ore., to Las Angeles. Joseph Strum. 65, engineer, and : W. D. Stone, 40. fireman, were killed | instantly. None of the 185 passengers was hurt enough to require first aid, but all were shaked up and badly frightened. The train was traveling at mod- : erate speed when the explosion ocj curred. The boiler, wrecked, was I hurled far to one side of the track. The cab was tossed, spilling its occupants as it flew through the air, in the opposite direction. The undercarriage and tender were torn loose from the passenger cars and streaked down the track j for a mile before stopping. Air j brakes stopped the rest of the train , immediately.

months for smuggling liquor in his airplane from Canada to Detroit. There were conflicting reports as to identity of the aviator convict, but Russell Hosier of Detroit, who achieved nation-wide prominence in the 1930 all-American air derby, was known to have been an inmate of the penitentiary when the plot developed. The glider, with a wing spread of i fourteen feet, was complete even to a landing gear made with bicycle wheels, which had been smuggled into the shoe factory. The designer and his companion, it was revealed, were awaiting only a strong south wind before taking off from the high building and attempting to soar to liberty. They planned to land in a patch of timber not far from the prison. NICHOLSON WILL FILED Wife of Author Left Estate Worth 8100,000, Is Estimate. Estate valued at SIOO,OOO was left by Mrs. Eugenia Kountze Nicholson, wife of Meredith Nicholson, who died last week, according to attorneys who filed the will today in probate court. Effects of the home at 5417 North Meridian street, and personal property were left to Nicholson, and stocks in two banks in the west were divided equally between Nicholson and two sons. Charles L. and Meredith Jr., and Mrs. Nicholson’s surviving brother, Herman D. Kourtze, as trustee for slaughter.

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CHINA BLAMED FOR NEW DRIVE BY JAPANESE Tokio Reply, Sent to Three Great Powers, Claims Self-Defense. DIET TO BE DISSOLVED General Election Expected in Nippon: Plot Bared to Kill Envoy. BY MILES W. VAUGHN United Press Staff Correspondent TOKIO, Dec. 26.—The Japanese government replied today to notrs from Washington, Paris, and London. expressing apprehension over possibility of a Japanese advance on Chinchow. Simultaneously, it published a declaration placing the responsibility for developments in the Chinchow area on the Chinesp. The replies to the three powers were not published here. The declaration, however, stated: "So long as officers and men of the Chinchow army mingle in large numbers with bandit groups, making it impossible to distinguish the latter from regular Chinese forces, so long must the responsibility for consequences of any action which may be entailed on the Japanese army in self-defense, rest entirely with the Chinese." Political quarters believed that (he Japanese diet might be dissolved Sunday. The diet voted on Thursday so adjourn until Jan. 20. following receipt of the imperial rescript, or the emperor’s reply on important, questions upon which he has been consulted. The rescript will be read Sunday, and Emperor Hirohito will express appreciation of the army’s services in Manchuria. He was expected in some quarters to recommend dissolution, which would be followed by a general election. Dissolution is considered inevitable, because the Seiyu party, which formed the present cabinet, has a minority in parliament, although disolution may be delayed until January. Rush Reinforcements By United Press MUKDEN, Dec. 26.—Heavy rem - forcements were dispatched by Gen. Shigeru Honjo. Japanese commander in Manchuria, to many stations along the Mukden-Antung railway today, to relieve small garrisons, hard pressed after a night of fighting Chinese bandits. One of the largest contingents was sent to Hsinminfu, where Japanese troops had established martial law. They asked for aid after a clash near Tahungchipao. Murder Plot Bared j By United Press MOSCOW, Dec. 26.—Soviet political police charged today that Carl Wanek, Czecho-Slovakian diplomat, plotted assassination of Japanese Ambassador Koki Hirota, hoping to cause a break between the Tokio and Moscow governments. Wanek is to leave Moscow'. Wanek’s identity was revealed in dispatches from Prague. First charges were made against “a certain diplomat.” Czecho-Slovakia is without dejure recognition from Russia, but main- ; tains a fully privileged diplomatic mission here. The Czech personnel ; usually is out of the diplomatic limelight. It w'as learned that the head of i the mission. N. Koshek, at first refused to believe the allegations and told Soviet officials that one of his charges could undertake political i action without his knowledge. Later, Koshek said that Wanek w'ould be sent home. He notified the Japanese embassy that Wanek was leaving for Prague on an in- . definite leave of absence, due to illness. Plot Story Confirmed By I mled Press TOKIO, Dec. 26.—Existence of a plot against Ambassador Koki Hirota at Moscow was confirmed today by the government. The diplomat, alleged to be responsible was identified merely as a non-oriental. It was stated that Ambassador Hirota would remain at Moscow'. Resistance Ordered By United Press NANKING. China. Dec. 26 The central executive committee of the Nationalist party today instructed Marshal Chang HseuhLiang to meet any Japanese advance toward Chinchow with “utmost armed resistance.” General Yen Shi-Shan and other Chinese military leaders urged the committee to send 100,000 men to defend Chinchow, where the last of Marshal Chang’s troops in Manchuria are concentrated. It was expected that the party would name anew government later in the day and end its session. The party leaders were commissioned to replace the cabinet of General Chiang Kai-Shek which resigned suddenly and practically in a body, last week. CAR LINE IS SOLD Proceeds From Utility Auction Barely Covers Sales Cost. By United Press SCRANTON, Pa.. Dec. 26. The | Northern Electric Street Railway ; Company of Scranton was sold at ; a sheriff's sale today for t 1.32.45. P. Archer Morgan, an attorney, w'as the only bidder. The purchase, price barely covered the cost of the sheriff’* sale.