Indianapolis Times, Volume 44, Number 234, Indianapolis, Marion County, 8 February 1933 — Page 1

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POLICE BARE FEW CLEWS IN SLAYER CHASE Five Gunmen Involved in Sergeant Jones Killin'’ Make Getaway. POINT TO PURPLE GANG One Tip Leads to Ft. Wayne, Suspect Car Last Seen on Road 52. Police today depended on authorities of other cities in their attempt to capture the machine gun bandits who murdered Sergeant Lester E. Jones early Tuesday during a robbery. Without clews as to identity of the brutal killers and daring robbers. police and detectives still continued their search of the underworld in Indianapolis, hoping that a tip might lead to the hiding place ol the criminals. The demand for rapture of the five bandits has been broadcast throughout the midwest and local authorities believe the gang escaped from Indianapolis, southeast on load 52. Reward to Be Offered Chief Mike Morrissey and members of the safety board announced that a city reward, either $250 or S3OO, for the capture of the gunmen, soon will be offered. Morrissey said that when local police believe they have exhausted every possible clew the reward might bring information concealed since the crime. Sergeant Jones was shot through the body with machine gun bullets when he opened the sliding doors of the Peoples Motor Coach Company, Twenty-second and Yandes streets. He had been sent with his squad on a radio report of trouble. He had no opportunity even to draw his revolver. The machine gunner, No. 1 man in the description lists that have been issued, stood near the bandit car, weaving back and forth, while his machine barked death. Patrolmen Michael McAllen and Willard Hawkins, members of Sergeant Jones’ squad, emptied their guns in a subsequent duel with the bandits, who escaped on foot. Point to Purple Gang That the gangsters may have been members of the Purple gang and may have staged several other holdups in Indianapolis in the last four months was the theory advanced today. Information in the last week from Ft. Wayne said members of the gang had been in that city, but had not committed any crimes there. It was said, however, that they were spending money lavishly and. at times, had been absent from their roadhouse hangouts for a day or two at a time. Police here are convinced that the bandits escaped in another car, probably a Buick sedan, hidden at the southeastern limits of the city. Whether the entire gang, which split after the shooting, escaped in this car. is not known. Last Trace on Road 52 Last trace of the suspected auto was southeast on Road 52. which would have taken the gangsters into Cincinnati. They could have shifted their course into Dayton, Detroit, or north into Ohio, and then returned to Ft. Wayne. Several men and women were taken from a North Capitol avenue apartment late Tuesday night, and questioned on a report that a machine gun had been seen there. Police did not find any trace of the weapon and said they did not believed the group was connected with the slaying. Robberies which police believe may have been committed by the murderous quintet in the last few months include McLean place car barns, Roberts Milk Company, Hilgemeier and Son. packers; Thirtieth street garage. Polk Milk Company and the Buckeye Finance Company. Machine Gun Seen In each of these robberies at least one or two of the men answered the general description of Sergeant Jones’ killers. In some of the robberies, vie/ saw a machine gun. Deputy sL. .iffs said today that they probed a report Tuesday that five men had sought a physician in New Bethel, but that each of the men had been identified satisfactorily. They had left a sixth man from their car in search of a doctor, deputies said. HIGHER TAXES URGED FOR MOTOR TRUCKS North Side Civic Clubs Hold Measures in Assembly Insufficient. Declaring legislative measures levying taxes on motor trucks are insufficient, members of the North Side Federation of Civic Clubs Tuesday night adopted a resolution urging that the tax on certain classes of trucks be raised and that exemptions be taken out of the bill. The resolution was aimed at House Bill 125 and its companion bill, which would tax trucks $1.50 for each 100-pound load. While the proposed tax is sufficient for trucks with pneumatic tires, the resolution set out. trucks with hard rubber tires should be ..taxed at least $2.75 a 100 pounds. The federation also voted against proposed appointment of Marion county judges by the Governor, on grounds that it would take away the voters’ rights.

The Indianapolis Times Generally fair tonight and Thursday; colder tonight with lowest temperature about 10 below zero; continued cold Thursday.

VOLUME 44—NUMBER 234

GOING DOWN! AND YOU DON’T NEED A THERMOMETER TO PROVE IT

.n’V'* msm /■" 1 nitcii / >•<-. ! j FT. WAYNE. Ind., Fob. B.—7T W . .... w church trial of the Rev. G. Lemui W W Conway, suspended pastor of tl ff Madison street Mcthcdist churc , 1 at Muncie, will be held in Munc % - , March 15 and 16, Bishrop Edgs T4IQ notrriit onnniinooH V>rvo

“Going down!” Those are the chill words the weather man passed out today, and those who had to traverse the downtown streets didn’t stop to argue. Upper Left—lndianapolis Street Railways employes cleared snow and ice from tracks in the downtown section. The staff worked on all lines to prevent t.ieup of the city's transportation system. Upper Right—Miss Marjorie Horn, 3510 North Meridian street, smiled bravely when she saw a street thermometer resting at zero when she went to work Lower—Heads down and coat collars ud was the order of the day as the snow swirled under a stiff, cold wind.

MUTINEERS TQ FACE WARSHIPS Dutch Squadron Closing In on Cruiser; Seaplanes Scout Craft. By United Press THE HAGUE, Feb. B.—A Dutch squadron of warships is prepared for immediate action against mutineers aboard the cruiser De Zeven Provincien who threatened to fire on a government vessel pursuing them, the ministry of colonies told the United Press today. “The mutineers are showing a fighting spirit and threatened to fire on the government vessel Eridanus if the vessel comes too near,” an official of the ministry said. “The squadron is therefore prepared for immediate action, while seaplanes are scouting the cruiser and reporting its movements. “The squadron reached Sourabaya, Java, Tuesday, refueled, and departed immediately at a speed of twenty-five knots in the direction of the De Zeven Provincien, which was making seven knots along the west coast of Sumatra. “The squadron expected to encounter the cruiser in Sounda strait, between Java and Sumatra.” BILL AMENDED TO PERMIT BEER ADS Walsh Moves to Strike Out Committee's Ban. By I nitrd Press WASHINGTON. Feb. B—Senator David J. Walsh. (Dem., Mass.), today introduced an amendment to the senate 3.05 per cent beer-wine bill to permit national advertising of all beverages which would be legalized if the measure becomes law. As reported by the senate judiciary committee, advertising in dry states would have been prohibited. POPE TO BLESS WORLD Former Easter Sunday Custom Will Be Renewed by Pontiff. By l nited Press VATICAN CITY. Feb. B.—The pope for the first time since 1870 will bless the world on Easter Sunday from the loggia of St. Peters, after officiating at mass in the basilica. The point iff is restoring the former custom to give solemnity to the approaching holy year.

Bright Spots

Rv Vnited Pres* Bradstreet's reports business failures in week ended Feb. 2 numbered 567, against 728 in corresponding 1932 week. American Iron & Steel Institute reports January ingot output was I. tons, against 844.618 tons in December. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad reports freight loadings last week were 12.164 cars, against 11. cars in previous week. Wall Street Journal reports steel ingot output increased this week from 18 1 - to 19 per cent of capacity. St. Louis-San Francisco railway reports freight loadings last week numbered 10.695 cars, against 10,669 cars in previous week. Bureau of Railway Economics reports December net income of class one railroads as $32,856,895. against $27,618,392 in December, 1931.

YOUNG MOTHER BADLY BURNED Dress Catches Fire; Injuries May Prove Fatal, Doctors Report. When her dress caught fire as she stooped before an open grate to lift her 2-year-old son. Mrs. Helen Williams, 23, of 34 North Bloomington street, suffered burns today which may prove fatal. She was taken to city hospital where it is said her condition is critical from burns on her back and legs. Her husband, Victor Williams, 22, was given first aid for burns on his hands received when he attempted to beat out the flames. Police were told that Mrs. Williams had received anew dress from the Red Cross clothing relief station and had put it on for her husband and Mrs. Caroline Bireley, 27, her sister-in-law, to see. She was standing in front of the grate when the son, Kenneth, approached her with outstretched arms. As she stooped to clasp him, the rear hem of the dress caught fire and in an instant it was ablaze. Williams and Mrs. Bireley attempted to tear away the dress, but succeeded only after Mrs. Williams had been burned severely. For a number of months Williams has been out of work and has supported his family by working for the township trustee. Only other provision for heating the house in today's near-zero weather, besides the grate, is a cook stove in the rear of the house, police reported. ROOSEVELT IS FISHING What Luck, If Any, on Cruise Is Not Disclosed by Party. B\/ T nited Press MIAMI. Feb. B.—As his friends debated the patronage problem. Presi-dent-Elect Franklin D. continued to enjoy himself far from cares and worries. He last was reported aboard Vincent Aster’s yacht, Nourmahal, off Green Cay, in the Bahamas, where the party went fishing and swimming. What luck, if any, in the fishing, was not disclosed in the V rief bulletin sent from the yacht. The President-elect will return to Jacksonville Feb. 15 and board a train immediately for New York city.

President of Closed Bank Is Ordered Into Court

Ordered by Circuit Judge Earl R.; Cox to appear as witness in the probe of defunct banks in circuit court, Dick Miller, president of the defunct City Trust Company, was to testify this afternoon concerning i transactions of City Trust before it ! collapsed in 1930. Miller is the first bank president to be called in the investigation of three city banks whose receiverships are under jurisdiction of circuit court. Asserting “it seems a trifle unusual that the president of this institution has not been here to testify.’’ Cox Thursday refused to close a hearing involving the City Trust, “until Miller can be located and brought into court " Cox instructed Curtis Rottger, City Trust receiver, and Henry M. Dowling, the receiver's attorney, to summon Miller as a witness in the case of Raymond D. Brown. Postal Savings State bank receiver, against the defunct, trust company. “Get Miller in here, if he has

INDIANAPOLIS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1933

CHURCH TRIAL DATE IS FIXED Muncie Minister Will Go Before Methodist Jury March 15, 16. Hit United peris FT. WAYNE. Ind., Feb. B.—The church trial of the Rev. G. Lemuel Conway, suspended pastor of the Madison street Mcthcdist church at Muncie, will be held in Muncie March 15 and 16, Bishrop Edgar Blake, Detroit, announced here. Bishop Blake will preside as judge. The Muncie pastor will be tried on charges involving Helen Huffman, 18-year-old Muncie high school girl. A Delaware county grand jury last week returned an indictment charging Conway with assault in an attempted criminal attack on the girl. Prosecution and defense counsel and a jury of twelve pastors were selected at a meeting of Methodist officials of the Detroit-Indianapolis area here late Tuesday. The Rev. W. B. Freeland, Muncie, was named prosecutor and the Rev. H. A. P. Homer, Hartford City, associate prosecutor. The defense will be directed by the Rev. Manford Wright, Kendallville, and the Rev. John F. Edwards, Huntington, associate counsel. Names of the jurymen will be announce at the opening of the trial. Charges growing out of a fight at the Madison street church Jan. 22, between Conway and his choir leader, William Aurand, also will be considered by the church jury. Aurand charged the pastor knocked him over the chancel rail. Conway is scheduled to be arraigned before Judge L. A. Guthrie in Delaware circuit court Friday to answer grand jury indictments on both chages. DRASTIC RED RULE ORDERED FOR FARMS Thousands of ‘Dictators’ Are Sent to Grain Regions. Fjl United Press MOSCOW, Feb. B.—Thousands of Communists, granted unusual disciplinary powers, were ordered transferred from cities to the “agricultural front’’ today to supervise the crucial spring grain sowing campaign. It was another step in the Soviet government’s drastic and dramatic drive to overcome apathy and discontent in Agrarian regions. Intense class warfare prevailed in the most important grain regions. Thousands of Communists, among them boy and girl members of the Communist Youth Society, were mobilized to assume leadership in hundreds of villages. The Communist supervisors were concentrated at collective farms and villages where discontent has been most evident. HOOVER TO VISIT CANAL Hopes to Do Some Fishing in Panama on Way to Palo Alto. By l imited Pres* WASHINGTON. Feb. B.—President Hoover revealed today that his j only plan for leaving the United I States in the near future contemplates a trip through the Panama canal after he leaves office. The President hopes to do some fishing in Panama waters and then continue on to his home at Palo Alto. Cal.

any information, I'd like to have it, and, moreover, I am going to have it,” Cox told attorneys as they sought to rest their case late Thursday. Dowling reported to Cox today that Miller would be in court. Three witnesses at Tuesday's hearing, involving huge stock selling deals between Brown and officials of the City Trust Company, were: Dwight A. Murphy, secretary and vice-president of the City Trust; C. Milton Kelly of Acton, vicepresident of the company, and Rottger. receiver. Witnesses told of an agreement between Brown and Miller, by which the bank was to float a $700.000 stock issue to construct the Postal Bank building in Indianapolis. In negotiations that followed, evidence revealed, the bank's officials became interested in a $5,000,000 corporation to erect postoffice buildings in twenty other cities.

MERCURY IS HEADING TO 10 BELOW MARK

BEER BILL IS PUSHED NEAR GOAL IN HOUSE Measure Greatly Amended: Sent to Third Reading by Representatives. CUT IS MADE IN TAX 3.05 Per Cent by Weight is Provided; License Fee Lowered. Legalizing malt beverages 3.05 per cent, by weight, the muchamended administration Ijeer control bill was passed to third reading in the house of representatives today, with the amednments accepted by an overwhelming voice vote. The measure referred back once from second reading to the public morals committee, is in a more liberalized form and reduces several tax levies. The “3.05 per cent, by weight,” provision was inserted in place of the “one-half of one per cent” clause and its definite limitation is based, it is understood, on the supposition that beer legislation to be passed by congress will contain the same figure... Believed Constitutional Senator Jacob Weiss (Dem., Indianapolis), administration leader in the upper house, said he believes i there is little doubt, that the control bill will be constitutional. Enactment of concurrent legislation by states, Weiss asserts, is not unconstitutional. The law merely is inoperative until congress acts, he says. Other changes in the beer bill are: Abolition of the proposed 50 cents a gallon grain alcohol tax. Reduction of the medicinal whisky tax from 50 cents a pint to 25 cents. License Fee Cut Reduction of the retail license fee from S3OO to S2OO. Abolition of penalty for home brewing for home consumption only. Reduction of the tax on malt from 40 cents to 2 cents a pound. Fixing of a $2.00 license fee for importer’s agents. A minority committee report for indefinte postponement, signed by Representatives Harry Matlock (Dem., Kokomo) and Hobart Creighton (Rep., Kosciusko), was shouted down. 5 PERSONS KILLED WHEN HOTEL BURNS Structure Is Destroyed With Mercury 40 Below Zero. By United Press TISDALE, Sask., Feb. B.—Four \ women and a man were burned to death today as fire destroyed the Imperial hotel and two other buildings in 40 degree below zero weather. A biting northwest wind hampered volunteer firemen fighting the blaze as it swept toward the Bank of Montreal building nearby. MRS. GANDHI IS JAILED Six-Month Term Is Given Wife of Mahatma by British. By United Press BORSAD, India. Feb. B.—Mrs. Gandhi, wife of the mahatma, was sentenced to jail for six months today and fined 500 rupees in lieu of another six months. She was convicted of leading a disturbing procession from the village of Ras into the countryside for agitation among the farmers. CORBETT IS UNCHANGED Former Heavyweight Champion Still in Critical Condition. By United Press NEW YORK, Feb. B.—The condition of James J. Corbett, former heavyweight champion, remained unchanged today. He is suffering from a heart ailment, his physician, Dr. R. Willard Dickie, stated.

Rented! Cost Was Only 44 Cents SEW JERSEY, 418 X.—Large furnished front room, SB..V>. also sleeping room *1.50 and *2. Tho room arl above appeared only two days in The Times and the rooms belonging to Mrs flmeeraft were rented. The east to rent tlip rooms was only 14 cents. REMEMBER, if you have a vacant room, don't let it stand vacant another day. I’honc a Times room ad to RI-oSol. The cost is ever so small. Only 2 cents a word (the lowest want ad rate in Indianapolis.) To place your room ad, call RI. 5551 or bring your ad to The Times Want Ad Headquarters, 214 West Maryland street.

Blind Search Jobless for 2 Years: Loses His Sight in Hunt for Work. By United Press CHICAGO, Feb. B.—For two years, Duane Giesey, 23, hasn’t been able to find a job. Six days ago he arose from his brother-in-law's breakfast table and said: “I’m going out again to look for work, and I’m not coming back until I find it.” Police Lieutenant Mathew Hoff saw Giesey stumbling along a street in the blizzard that howled down upon Chicago Tuesday. The officer touched the young man's arm. “What are you doing out in this storm?” he asked. “I’m looking for work,” answered Giesey. Back at his brother-in-law’s, a doctor found Giesey had gone blind fruitlessly looking five days for a job.

British Airmen Set New Non-Stop Distance Mark Bring Big Plane Down on Coast of West Africa: Beat Record of Boardman and Polando. By United Press CAPETOWN. South Africa, Feb. B.—Two British royal air force fliers brougTit their big monoplane down at Walvis bay, on the west coast of Africa, 800 miles north of Capetown, today, after setting anew world’s straight-line distance record on a flight from London.

BORAH ASSAILS DEBT PROPOSAL Lump Sum Payment of No Benefit to America, He Asserts. By United Press WASHINGTON, Feb. B.—Chairman William E. Borah of the senate foreign relations committee today condemned lump sum war debts settlement on the ground that it would be of no lasting benefit to the United States. Meamvhile, House Majority Leader Henry TANARUS, Rainey dismissed lump sum payment proposals as “sheer nonsense.” Shown London dispatches regarding European proposals to pay upwards of $1,000.000 000 in final settlement of the original $12,000,000,000 claim. Borah said: “I am not interested in any plan which deals with the debts which doesn’t include adjustment of the currency question and certain other problems which stand in the way of opening world markets and restoring trade and commerce.” “A lump sum payment would not do us any good of a permanent nature unless we can find markets and restore the purchasing power of the people,” Borah said. Borah consistently has insisted that any debt settlements must deal with currency, armaments, and trade barriers. He feels that demonetization of silver had adversely affected American foreign trade and that the silver question must be approached by international agreement if it is to be dealt with at all. 0E VALERA IS PRESIDENT Re-Elected as Head of Irish Free Slate by Dail. By L nited Press DUBLIN, Feb. B.—Eamon De Valera, victorious in the recent general election, was .re-elected president of the executive council of the Irish free state today by the dail at its first meeting.

Morgan Ousted as G. 0. P. Chief; Don Irwin Named

Ivan C. Morgan. Austin, head of the large canning company that bears his name, was ousted as chairman of the Republican state committee, and Don B. Irwin, Frankfort attorney, named to succeed him at a meeting of the committee Tues- 1 day at the Claypool. Election of Irwin, chairman of the Fifth congressional district and the ; youngest man ever to hold the state post, was unanimous after the chairmanship was declared vacant by a 16-to-5 vote. Schuyler A. Haas, Mrs. Paul C. Wetter and Mrs. Ida Schneider, Indianapolis; Harry Meloy, North Vernon, and Luther O. Draper, Spiceland, were the five who stood by Morgan when the chair was declared open on a resolution by Ewing Emison, Vincennes. Morgan did not attend the committee luncheon, but came to the meeting afterward armed w T ith a statement defending his reign and a detailed account of the committee finances.

Enteral as N*rn<l Class Matter at Post off ire Indianapolis

Temperature Falls to 3 Above at S as Blizzard That Is Lashing Entire Middle West Makes Itself Felt in City. TERRE HAUTE IS COLDEST IN STATE Highway Commission Prepares to Use Every Means to Keep Roads Open; Air Traffic Almost at Standstill. Alter leaving its mark of death and suffering in the west, icy winter whirled over the city and state today forcing temperatures down to near zero and disrupting upstate traffic over a wide area.

Hourly Temperatures

12 midnight 14 7 a. m 5 1 a. m 12 8 a. m 3 2 a. m. . . .11 9 a. m 3 3 a. m 11 10 a. m 3 4 a. m 10 11 a. m 3 sa. m 9 12 (noon) ~ 4 6 a. m 6 1 p. m 4

Squadron Leader Oswald R. Gayford and Flight Lieutenant Gilbert E. Nicholette, who lewt Cranwell airdrome, England, Monday landed at Walvis bay after a flight of approximately 5,175 miles without a stop. They thus exceeded by 163 miles (by unofficial figures) the previous record of 5.012 miles set by Russell Boardman and John Polando on their flight from the United States to Istanbul, Turkey, in 1931. The unofficial time for the flight was 57 1 2 hours, indicating an average speed of about ninety miles an hour. Boardman and Polando averaged approximately 100 miles. Mollison at Senegal By United Press THIES, Senegal, Feb. B.—Captain James A. Mollison landed here at 8 a. m. today, and said he was ready to begin his hazardous solo flight of 2,000 miles across the South Atlantic. Young Flier Crashes By l nited Press ORAN, Algeria. Feb. B.—Victor Smith, 19-year-old South African flier, attempting to beat Amy Johnson Mollison’s record for an Eng-land-Cap Town flight, crashed when he attempted to land at Senya airdrome today. His plane was wrecked, but Smith was not seriously hurt. HOOVER FOR PROMPT ACTION ON IMPORTS Believes U. S. Must Act to Bolster Price Levels. By United Press WASHINGTON, Feb. 8. President Hoover was represented today as believing that the fall in American price levels attributable to increased imports from countries with depreciated currencies must be dealt with promptly and effectively. Secretary of Commerce Roy D. Chapin, it was learned simultaneously, has prepared a report on this subject to be made public later today. It is expected to show that imports of 150 separate commodities are increasing.

Adamant to the last against requests for his resignation, Morgan asserted before the meeting: “I understand there were enough votes in caucus to remove me, but I won’t quit. They’ll have to threw me out.” Morgan's wasn’t the only ouster. Newspaper men were barred from the meeting on a motion by Meloy, despite the statement by Morgan, then still presiding, that he had no objection to their presence. The retiring chairman’s statement said he took the post at the insistence of Senators James E. Watson and Arthur Robinson, exGovemor Harry G Leslie and many other county and district workers and that he felt the organization built up under his regime had prevented Republican rout in the face of a sweeping Democratic victory. He paid particular tribute to organization of women voters under leadership of Mrs. Beryl Holland, state vice-chairman, and warned against dissolution of the present organization.

HOME EDITION PRICE TWO CENTS Outside Marion County. 3 Cents

Blizzards and bleak arctic weather gripped the entire nation causing at least twen-ty-five deaths from accidents and exposure and widespread suffering among unemployed and destitute. There is no indication of a letup for many hours. Great Loss of Life Greatest loss of life was reported in the Chicago area where the storm toll was seven. Other deaths were reported from as far as southern California and Pennsylvania, and in most intervening states. Deaths were reported in the following states: Illinois, 11; Missouri. 3; Oklahoma, 3: Indiana, 2; Wisconsin. 2: California, 1; Pennsylvania, 1, and Montana, 1. One death was reported in Canada. Blasting a fine, stinging snow before a strong northwest wind, the blizzard hourly grew more intense here today, increasing road hazards, but giving no indications (hat snowbound conditions may prevail here, as in parts of northern Indiana and western states. The mercury clung to subzero levels in an area extending from the Illinois line west and south, to north Texas. Air traffic was at a standstill here and at all points to the Pacific coast. Suffering Is Acute Train, interuroan and bus schedules were being maintained in most of the state, with exception of the lake region. Lowest mercury reading here since Sunday was 3 degrees this morning, but the mercury will droo to 10 below sometime tonight, according to a weather bureau forecast. Little additional snow, if any, is expected for central Indiana today or tonight. Terre Haute felt the coldest weather in the state Tuesday night as temperature dropped to 2 above. Slightly higher readings were reported downstate and here. No interruptions in service of Indianapolis railways or bus lines were reported in the city, but bus and train service was at a standstill near Chicago and motorists found perilous driving conditions in northern Indiana. The state highway commission was making available every means of keeping roads open. Driving Conditions Hazardous Driving conditions from Lafayette northward were hazardous due to ice-coated pavement. Drifting snow made it probable that four state roads near LaPorte and others near Goshen and Warsaw would be closed before night. All township schools in Elkhart county were closed because of impassable roads. Nearly all, except main thoroughfares, were blocked by high drifts. U. S. road 43 was blocked from Westfield to Wanatah as was road 6 in vicinity of Valparaiso, where two feet of snow fell Tuesday. No roads were reported closed south of Indianpaolis. Several out-state airplanes were grounded at municipal airport, where only mail service was operating at intervals. Air Service Halted Officials of Transcontinental & Western Air Lines, Inc., said passenger service was halted from the Alleghenies to the Rockies because of danger of ice forming on wings. Visibility in many sections was reduced to zero from heavy snowfall. As the cold began its grip on the city late Tuesday, filling stations reported record sales of radiator alcohol. Battery troubles brought a flood of motorists to service stations. Few fires were reported and damage in all cases was less than $25. Snow and sleet, which fell Monday night, turned to rain Tuesday with above-freezing temperature. Downward trend of the mercury began at about 8 Monday, dropping to 14 at midnight. Many Deaths Reported Coming from the Canadian northwest, the cold followed a blizzard that blanketed dozens of states. It moved eastward on a nation-wide front. The Atlantic seaboard was to feel its effect by tonight. Numerous deaths from exposure and privation were reported. Livestock and crops in the area east of the Rocky mountains suffered heavily. All schools in Chicago officially were closed, giving 500,000 children a mid-winter vacation. They may be reopened Thursday if snowdrifts that piled several feet high are cleared. Coldest weather was reported in Colorado. Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Idaho and Montana. At Moran, Wyo., the mercury fell to 55 degrees below zero and continued its decline.