Indianapolis Times, Volume 45, Number 274, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 March 1934 — Page 1

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PETTY GRAFTING IN STATE’S NATIONAL GUARD PROBED BY U. STHREE CAPTAINS QUIT

Funds Irregularities and Voucher Forgeries Are Among Charges. STRAUB OPENS SHAKEUP Resignations to Be Forced on Several Officers, Is Report. BY WILLIAM H. M’GAUGHEY Tim* Staff Writer The federal government is probing fund irregularities and pett" grafting in a number of units of the Indiana national guard, -The Indianapolis Times learned today. SupplemontinE the federal investigation, a shakeup of the guard officer personnel is being made by Adiutant-General Elmer F. Straub, who admitted that three captains have been forced to resign and that more company commanders will be supplanted. Evidence of voucher forgeries may bring a federal grand jury investigation. it was learned. Information from Washington indicates thousands of dollars in national guard funds have been taken in the last few years. Various types of irregularities have been discovered by investigators from United States Comp-troller-General J. R. McCarl's office in Washington. The Times learned. Two operatives have been in Indiana from time to time during the last three months and are reported to have discovered a number of coses of forgery and petty graft. Officer Charged Grafter In one instance, in which no name was disclosed, a national guard officer was being paid SIOO a month to guard the warehouse of one of the Indiana units. He hired a private to do the work for S3O a month, received the SIOO each month from the government, paid the private and pocketed the remainder, it was reported. General Straub attributes the guard situation to the setup which prevailed under Colonel Robert T. Young, who now is serving a federal sentence for embezzling several thousand dollars while serving as the United States purchasing and disbursing officer for the Indiana guard. Indiana guard officers who already have resigned are Captains Harry R. Piles, Company B. One hundred and fifty-first. infantry, Greensburg; James C. Gabriel. B battery. One hundred and thirty-ninth field artillery. Crawfordsvile. and Howard E. Roosa. headquarters battery and combat train. Second battalion One hundred and _thirty-ninth field artillery. Evansville. Discounts Importance Captain Piles is alleged to have forged the name of a guard lieutenant to a federal check for cleaning guard clothing at the Greensburg unit. General Straub said. General Straub discounted importance of some of the charges made by the federal investigators, designating them as 'mere rule infractions'’ rather than real corruption, and estimated the total amount involved in all units "would not exceed $3,500.’’ He indicated officers are to be retained in many units and permitted to make good funds shortages. Meanwhile, new company commanders have been assigned to units where officers have resigned. Captain George H. Kelly has taken the Greensburg command of Captain Piles and Captain Owen L. Grecelius that of Captain Gabriel at Crawfordsville. State politics are injected into the guard situation by the charge of Captain Piles hurled at General Straub. Officer Blames Politics The replaced Greensburg officer charges that while captain of the Greenburg unit, his orders were overruled by General Straub at the instigation of Anderson Ketchum, state tax board secretary and state senator from Decature and Bartholomew counties. Senator Ketchum picked a man for custodian of the Greensburg armory and dictated the appointment. to General Straub over the former captain's protest, the latter asserts. Piles told The Times there was *‘a small shortage” in the Greensburg unit's funds at the time of his resignation and that since the shortage has not been made good, he has been "placed on the inactive list.’’ Piles was appointed commander of the Greensburg unit on recommendation of Captain John Friday, according to other officers of the Greensburg unit, who assert the appointment was over the protests of a number of Greensburg citizens and the American Legion post thert. Captain Friday is successor to Colonel Young as disbursing officer. Noted Scientist Is Dead By United Pr>a SOUTHINGTON. Conn.. March 27. —Dr. Charles W. Fitch. 82. noted research worker whose studies of argon gas brought him high honor In England, died at his home here last night after a short illness.

NR A, Wt DO OUR PART

VOLUME 45—NUMBER 273 ’

STATESMANSHIP '•■■■ and RELIGION w”L. The second, of o series about the creed of secretary of anew and greater America. agriculture

The Spiritual Adventure of the Proply?ts THE mast fascinating thing in all history is the endeavor to discern the metaphysical, the psychological, the spiritual roots of those great movements in human behavior which take centuries to work out in the form of government, methods of transportation, music, literature and all the varied panoply of that which we call civilization. What we are today traces to an extraordinary degree to certain great spiritual adventures, among which I would list prominently the adventure of the Hebrew prophets and the adventure of the great reformationists like Luther and Calvin. The prophets were the first people in recorded history to cry out in a loud clear voice concerning the problems of human justice. The social conflict of the day was strangely modern in many ways. The wandering tribes of Israel had come into the Promised Land and while they killed off many of the Canaanites, a great many of them were undoubtedly left living. This puts in contrast two civilizations; differences within each one have been familiar, and more or less taken for granted, but because of the new’ contrast are-themselves sharpened. And so we have one of those situations where for centuries there is a conflict of views as to what is the right, just and proper method of living. Such a conflict, while it leads to great unrest, may also be very fruitful at times. We know how ihe Normans, settling among the Saxons, eventually produced the Magna Charta and the parliamentary form of government. And so we have the Shepherd tribes of Israel settling down among a Canaanite population, accustomed to a monetary civilization. The Canaanites were much more farpiliar than the Israelites with the ownership of land, the giving of mortgages, the taking of interest, the foreclosure of mortgages and the loss of property and even of freedom. All of these things seemed right and proper in a settled commercial civilization, but they never seemer right to those who had in their immediate background the traditions of wandering tribesmen. a tt a 808 THE military genius of David for a time welded togethed these diverse elements in a superficial form. It will be remembered that David started out by gathering around him 400 men of the discontented debtor class. After David became firmly seated, he forgot more and more about the downtrodden debtor class. Or perhaps the problem was such that no administrator could have handled it anyway. Absalom, seeing the discontent, led a revolt which Devid was able to put down because of superior military force. The same thing happened again after David died. Solomon with the support of the urban commercial element was able to triumph over Adonijah. representing" those who were discontented with what had become an urbanized administration. During Solomon’s time, commerce expanded enormously. It was a period of great public works. Taxes increased, but not to an unbearable point until after Solomon died.

The binding together of the city and country populations, of the worshipers of Baal and of Jehovah under David and Solomon w’as a temporary thing made possible only bv the striking personalities of an exceptional w’arrior and an unusual builder and wise man. It costs money to maintain armed forces and to construct great buildings. Increased commerce is often at the expense of the country people, and a resplendent court is not always a joy to the farmer. Samuel foresaw all this if we are to believe the eighth chapter of first Samuel in w’hich he predicts that kings would bring slavery and taxes and war. The battle which had been brewing for more than fifty years broke out the moment Solomon died. The tax-burdened people no longer had their imagination fired by a great and wise man. They saw their taxees instead of the temple, and when Reheboam was unable to furnish them either with a program of reduced taxes or commercial expansion, the break-up was inevitable. The richer country to the north which had been paying more than its share of taxes and receiving less than its share of glory withdrew’. And now in both kingdoms, but especially in the richer land of Israel, began that striking conflict between Baal and Jehovah, between the commercial point of view’ and the old-fashioned hillman's attitude, and between the kept priestly prophets attached to the courts and those lion-hearted independent prophets who first of all historic men on this earth denounced the way in which a commercial civilization so often enables the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor. It happens, fortunately it seems to me, that the biblical record is heavily loaded on the side of the progressive independents. The fight conducted against the standpatters worshiping Baal and running their commercial affairs according to ancient respectable Canaanitish traditions in its inward essence is as strikingly moddern as that between the Sons of the Wild Jackass and Wall Street. Os course today mat people thoughtlessly look on such vigorous prophets as Elijah. Amos. Micah and Jeremiah as respectable old grandfathers with long white beards. Asa matter of fact, they were as vivid as Senator Norris and at the time they made their pronouncements were as unpopular as the senator in the Coolidge administration. (Cops Tight. 1934, Round Tabl* Pros*. Inc.! ' distributed by Vnited Feature Syndicate. Inc.) TOMORROW—Biblical Farmers. NOTRE DAME STUDENT QUIZZED IN KIDNAPING Youth Says Michigan Girl Accompanied Him to Chicago. By United Prra* BUCHANAN. Mich.. March 27. Vincent Denardo. 18-year-old freshman in Notre Dame university, was held today on kidnaping charges in connection with disappearanee of Miss Ruth Strunk, pretty 17-year-old high school student. Police said Denardo admitted driving the girl to Chicago Saturday night, but insisted she went with him voluntarily. Hourly Temperatures 6a. m 27 10 a. m 24 7a. m 28 11 a. m 24 Ba. m 27 12 (noon).. 24 Ba. m 27 1 p. m 26

The Indianapolis Times Generally fair tonight and tomorrow; lowest temperature tonight 20 to 2 5; slow rising temperature tomorrow.

KANSAS ELECTION WORKER MURDERED Negro Precinct Captain Is Slain at Polls by Gunman. By United Press KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 27. An election worker w’as murdered today in a polling place as violence flared in the city election. William Fenlev, a Negro precinct captain, w’as working in a polling place when a gunman walked in, sought him out and shoj, him to death. % IRVINGTON RESIDENTS SEE NORTHERN LIGHTS Phenomena Not Unusual at This Season, Says Meteorologist. Irvington residents today reported Northern Lights were visible in the sky about 3 a. m today. J. H. Armington, meteoroloigst, said he had had no reports of this phenomena, but added that it is not infrequent at this season. Northern Lights, an electrical condition, gives the appearance of light emanating from a northern point, the light radiating in the forn>-of a wagon w’heel. sometimes having the appearance of revolving. State Tax to Be Distributed Distribution of $302,000 to the intangibles tax coUections w’ill be made to the ninety-tw’o Indiana counties April 15, it was announced today by the state tax board. Tw’eritv-five per cent goes to the county general fund and the remainder to schools.

Veterans' Bill Veto Will Be Upheld, Says Rainey Speaker Announces He Will Delay House Vote Until President’s Action Is Studied by Members. By United Press WASHINGTON. March 27.—Speaker of the House Henry T. Rainey said this afternoon that he would make “every effort to delay until tomorrow” a house vote on the President's veto of the independent offices bill.

Mr. Rainey said he considered it desirable for members to study the veto message before action on the bill carrying veterans’ compensation increases and partial federal paycut restoration. He predicted That the veto would be sustained by ihe house. President Roosevelt indicated that the veto would go to the Capitol some time this afternoon. Mr. Roosevelt's theory in revising the government's attitude toward veterans’ benefits was to eliminate entirely the practice of “presuming” disabilities to be connected with war service when in reality they might have been incurred after hostilities had ceased or even after discharge from the army or navy. His message w as concerned largely with this system and was expected to restate an earlier decision that the administration was prepared to

INDIANAPOLIS, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 1934

ARMY PROBER

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General Elmer F. Straub

Adjutant General Elmer F. Straub is conducting an investigation of funds irregularity in Indiana National Guard units.

STATE GRANTED RELIEF FUNDS Commission of Governor Gets $1,300,000 From U. S. Administration. A total of $1,300,000 has been received from the federal emergency relief administration to conduct unemployment and poor relief operations of the Governor's commission on unemployment relief during April, it was announced this morning by the commission. The civil works program in Indiana is scheduled to end Saturday night. It is planned to employ this grant to cover costs of the new’ works division of the FERA in Indiana. The money will be used to carry, on a program similar to that of the CWA in the cities and introduce a rural relief plan and carry on state poor relief. V Present estimates anticipate that the recent allotment will make it possible to employ about 25.000 persons during April. Industrial and farm operations, it is hoped, will assimilate the remainder of 43,500 unemployed CWA w’orkers. A special meeting of the commission tomorrow wall be held to plan means of following out instructions of the emergency relief administration. The new plan provides for rural rehabilitation efforts in nonindustrial areas and towns of less than 5.000. Works projects will go forward in the larger cities. Although the CWA w’eek Thursday night, employes will be permitted to w’ork a total of fifteen hours on Friday and Saturday, the last tw’o days of March, which'will be counted as a separate work w’eek.

MACHINE GUNS MADE FROM WOOD GUARDED 3 TERROR MOBSTERS

By United Preaa LIMA. 0., March 27.—John Dillinger. w’ho escaped frofh the Crown Point (Ind.) jail with a w’ooden pistol, had nothing on Ohio national guardsmen—they kept three of Dillinger's companions in jail here with four w’ooden machine guns. The hoax was revealed today as plans for transfer of the men to the Ohio prison were completed. Six machine gun nests have been located around the jail here for weeks to aw’e Dillinger or any one else who might try to raid 'the jail. They gave the jail the proper menacing atmosphere for more than a month. But today national guardsmen revealed that four of the machine guns w’ere manufactured out of wood and four-inch lead pipe.

U. S. Is ( On Road to Moscow City Business Men Told by Steel Firm Head

Charging that the United States is “on the road to Moscow" in recent developments which point to revolution, Stuart Wells Utley,

put back the “presumptive” cases only when they were made subject to review. The independent offices appropriation bill, to which the veterans’ an endments were attached, also carried provisions for gradual restoration of the 15 per cent government pay reduction. Both these matters, as well as the appropriations for the independent offices including the emergency relief units and even the White House itself —will be held up indefinitely by the veto. The veto message goes first to the house, where the bill originated. Veterans' supporters may attempt to pass it over the President’s veto. If successful, it would be sent on to the .senate for a similar effort there.

AIR MAIL GOES BACK TO PRIVATE LINE; ROOSEVELT ISSUES CALL FOR TEMPORARY BIDS AT ONCE

pmra pals m PRISON WALLS Hustled Into Ohio Pen After Speedy Trip to Columbus From Lima. By tnifed Pro*a COLUMBUS, 0.. March 27.—Three once-powerful lieutenants in the John Dillinger gang, all convicted of murder, were hustled into the Ohio prison here this afternoon after a convoy of seventy-five national guardsmen, deputy sheriffs and police brought them on a fast trip from Lima. The armed caravan was met north of Columbus by squadrons of police and deputy sheriffs armed with machine guns, rifles, shotguns and tear gas. The additional guards escorted the cavalcade, w’hich left Lima less than three hours earlier, directly to the stockade inside the prison walls. Authorities said the 100-mile trip from Lima was without incident. The entire area surrounding the prison was roped off to allow the caravan to enter with delay from downtown traffic. The prisoners, Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley apd Russell Clark, were taken immediately from the separate automobiles in which they had ridden and locked behind new’ steel doors erected at the prison last week. Pierpont and Makley later will be taker! to the death row’ to aw’ait execution for the murder of Sheriff Jesse L. Sarber at Lima last fall when Dillinger was liberated from the county jail. Clark will serve a life sentence. NEW DEAL PRAISED BY MRS. JENCKES Indiana Representative Speaker at Maine Convention. By Time* Special . AUGUSTA. Me.. March 27.—The New’ Deal ‘‘more than has made good,” said Mrs. Virginia E. Jenckes, Democratic representative from Terre Haute. Ind., in a speech before the Maine state Democratic convention here today. Mrs. Jenckes shared first place on the program with Senator Pat McCarran <Dem., Nev.). Restoration of confidence and jobs, conservation of homes, elevation of w’omen to high public office and abolition of child labor w’ere cited by Mrs. Jenckes as solid accomplishments of the New’ Deal. AUTOMOBILE STRIKE MEDIATORS CHOSEN Members from Industry, Labor and . Government Named. By United Pres* WASHINGTON, March 27.—Recovery Administrator Hugh S. Johnson todya announced members of the mediation board to carry out the automobile strike settlement as f ollow’s: Richard L. Byrd, Pontiac, Mich., representing labor; Nicholas Kelley, Chrysler Motor Company, for the industry, and Dr. Leo Wolman, impartial member for the government.

president of the Detroit Steel Casting Company, today told Indianapolis business men that the constitution must be* upheld, if this country is to avert chaos. Mr. Utley spoke before the members of the Indianapolis district branch of the National Metal Trades Association at the Columbia Club. “America was settled by those who fled from the dictation of the state; the American revolution was a protest against government in business; against the interference of the king in the private affairs of the people to obtain a fuller and larger liberty. “The ‘Roosevelt revolution’ is an attempt to give the government the dictation of all business; to place bureaucracy in a position to control all human activities; to again make the individual the creature of the state and to turn the control of the state over to a relatively few office holders who thereby become a governing caste.” Mr. Utley was impartial in condemning “radical elements” in both the Republican and Democratic parties. * * * “The most important of the amazing pieces of legislation by means of which the present revolution is being carried forward are the banking and currency acts: the security act; the farm mortgage laws: the Tennessee Valley Authority: the new railway act; the agricultural adjustment act, and the NRA. “Make no mistake,” Mr. Utley concluded, “the revolution is upon us. Unless we stay its hand, liberty is gone. The time to dream has passed. The tune to fight has come.

Storm Ties Up Traffic in Indiana Rain, Sleet and Snow Halt Transportation Service in City: Ice Forms on Trolley Wires Here. Transportation service in Indianapolis and Indiana was affected last night and early today by the worst sleet storm in the last four years. The northern section of the state w T as hardest hit, but the effect was serious here. According to experienced linemen and electric railroad men, the condition was unusual in that the sleet clung to telephone and trolley wires much heavier than is usual, causing numerous breaks and traffic tieups." During the night, a total of one and one-half inches of snow and rain fell in Indianapolis, of which .7 inches was snow, according to J. fi[. Armington. local meteorologist. Snowfall throughout the northern part of the state ranged from three to twelve inches. Temperature over the state ranged from a low of 22 in the northern cities to 32 at Evansville, w’ith 27 here at 6, 8 and 9 a. m. Clear Weather Predicted Forecast for Indianapolis is for clearing weather today, with fair tonight and tomorrow’. Temperature tonight Is expected to drop to between 20 and 25 degrees, with the mercury rising slow’ly tomorrow. Street car service w’as impeded here early today w’hen sleet formed on trolley wires to a thickness of several inches, it was reported by James P. Tretton. Indianapolis Railways superintendent. The West Indianapolis. East Michigan, South Meridian and Riverside, and Mars Hill lines were worst affected. Busses were substituted on the Mars Hill and the South Meridian and Riverside lines for a time. Interurban service, particularly from the north, also was hampered, many interurbans from the north running several hours late. One 'interyrban from Ft. Wayne due here at T8:35 a. m. did not arrive at all. it w’as reported. Air traffic was suspended temporarily by weather conditions, it w’as reported by air lines through the city. Phone Sendee Damaged Heavy sleet early today temporarily demoralized long distance telephone service, the Indiana Bell Telephone Company admitted. Local service w’as undisturbed. Company engineers estimated the loss at $25,000. One hundred forty long-distance circuits from Indianapolis north were out of commission, according to the telephone company, and 300 throughout the state. The worst part of the storm centered around Muncie and Alexandria, where telephone w’lres were torn dowm and long distarice service today was interrupted. French Masonic Temple Bombed. By United Pre*s CANNES, France, March 27.—A bomb exploded in the Masonic temple today, partly destroying the walls. The blast was attributed to a Centrist newspaper campaign accusing the French Grand Orient Masonry of protecting suspects in the Stavisky banking scandal.

Stop this vicious thing while there still is time lest you force your sons and daughters go through a bloody revolution to regain the liberty fast slipping through your hands.”

Roosevelt Signs Bill to Bring Navy Up to Limit Act Authorizes Construction of 102 Warships and 1.140 Airplanes Over Period of Five Years. By Unitrd Press WASHINGTON. March 27—President Roosevelt today signed the Vinson-Trammell navy bill which provides construction of new ships to bring the country's sea forces up to the limit prescribed by the London treaty.

Cameras clicked as Mr. Roosevelt, in the presence of Representative Fred Britten (Rep., 111.) and Representative Carl Vinson (Dem., Ga.) signed the document. The President issued a statement in which he said “it has been and will be the policy of the administration to favor continued limitation of naval armaments. It is my personal hope that the naval conference to be held in 1935 will extend all existing limitations and agree to further reductions.” The Vinson-Trammell act authorizes construction of 102 warships and 1.140 airplanes over the next five years to replace obsolete ships and bring the United States sea power up to treaty limits. If the President and congress carry out this authorized program in full, the cost is estimated as high as $750,000,000.

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

RELUCTANT TO NAME ‘REBELS,’ WIRT ADMITS ‘Naming of My Informants Won’t Solve Calamity,’ He Asserts. By United Press 'GARY. Ind., March 27.—Dr. William A. Wirt, the Hoasier schoolmaster who set out on the rocky road of "brain trust buster,” today expressed a disinclination to reveal thft names of administration advisers he has charged with plotting overthrow’ of the government. . "The naming of my informants — members of the brain trust—is not going to solve the calamity at hand,” Mr. Wirt said. “There must be action and it must come within the next two months if democratic, representative government is to be saved for the people. If we wait, the w’ill of the people will be of little or no consequence in governmental affairs. "If I were to go dowm to Washington and divulge the names of the brain trust members from whom I obtained the admissions there undoubtedly wmuld be rapid-fire denials from the persons so identified. “It wmuld be a whitewash, and the real issue—the American revolution taking place right now’ —would be completely submerged. Unless there is a sincere desire to avert this real calamity I w’ill not put myself in the ridiculous pasition of placing the names of these men before any investigating body.” ‘Traitor Hunt’ Is On By United Press WASHINGTON. March 27.—Officilas and public-spirited citizens today w’ere embarked upon a “traitoi hunt” as repercussions from the charges of an Indiana schoolmaster I hat members of the brain trust w’ere plotting a revolution, exploded louder and over a wider area. Some of the hunters were in dead earnest; others had tongues in cheeks. Congress was considering whether to give the hunt official sanction. In Chicago, Professor Harry Gidconse. University of Chicago economist. charged that Dr. William A. Wirt of Gary, Ind., was an organizer of a “lobbying organization.” the committee for the nation, and declared that his “outbinst” was inspired by the brain trust’s opposition to the “lobby's desjres.” Leg Pulled, Says Report In New York. here, and elsewhere members of the so-called brain trust were busy denying they had ever talked to Dr. Wirt. Many thought it a joke and a report current here said that a young intellectual attached to a government agency, listened to Dr. Wirt's serious-minded fears of some of the new’ deal's policies and to “pull his leg” remarked that Mr. Roosevelt was the Kerensky of the revolution and the Stalin w’ould come later. This report said the Hoosier schoolmaster missed the point of the joke. Professor Gideonse, generally recognized as one of the country's leading economists and a foe of the administration’s gold policy, leveled his attack on the committee for the nation. “When it is discovered that Dr. Wirt is a member of this lobbying committee what he has said about the barin trust will not be taken so seriously,” Dr. Gideonse said, ‘ "the committee's activities will reveal the motive.” Fairbanks and Son in Spain By United Press BARCELONA. Spain. March 27. Douglas Fairbanks and his son Douglas Jr., were visitors today to Sitges, the Spanish Riviera resort j w’here Max Schmeling is training for his prize fight with Paulino Uzcudun April 8.

High naval officers want to start this year twelve of the destroyers and six of the submarines authorized by the bill. They place the cost of the first year's work on these ships at $20,000,000. In addition the navy plans to lay down this year one heavy and three light cruisers provided for in the 1929 cruiser building program. Thirty-two other warships are under construction or will be laid down this year under the $238,000,000 program for which the public works administration provided funds. This program calls for two aircraft carriers and thirty destroyers, submarines and gunboats. Profits of private shipyards and airplane companies # on contracts under the act are * limited to 10 per cent.

HOME EDITION PRICE TWO CENTS Outside Marion County, 3 Cent

President to Confer With Postal Officials on New Policy. ARMY SERVICE TO END Fate of Companies Hdldinq Canceled Contracts I Is Undecided. By l ijitfd Press WASHINGTON, March 27. —President Roosevelt will rail for temporary bids for carrying the air mail, the j White House announced this afternoon. The President will go over the proposals relating to temporary contracts with pastoffice officials in a conference scheduled for this afternoon. He said the temporary bids would I be asked for immediately, but declined to amplify that brief an- | nouncement. Asked whether companies whose | contracts had been canceled as a ! result of the recent senate dis- | closures would be permitted to submit bids, the only reply from the i White House was “w r ait and see.” But inasmuch as practically all major lines were involved in the 1 cancellations, it w’as concluded that I they would of necessity have to be ! included in any temporary set up as there would be no time for reorganizations. President Roosevelt decided to rei turn the air mail to private operators without waiting for passage of permanent legislation. Administration forces in and out of congress have split half a dozen ways on questions of permanent i policy. j Determined to get the army out of tne air mail business permanently and as soon as passible, Mr. Roosevelt decided the only solution ! w’as to return the mail to private ' air lines on a temporary basis and I let the permanent legislation wait. Thase expected to confer with the j President included Posmaster-Gen-eral James A. Farley, first assistant William W. Howes, second asI sistant Harllee Branch, General Su- ! perintendent. Airmail Stephen A. Cisler and Solicitor Karl Crowley. City Officials Elated Local aviation and civic leaders today expressed elation over announcement that President Roasevelt, has decided to end army air mail service and restore the air mail to private operators on tempo- ; rary bids. It was felt generally that the move would restore Indianapolis to its former place on the air mail map. When the air mail was handed to the army, service between Chicago and Cincinnati, by way of Indianapolis, w’as abandoned, and later, j several w’eeks ago, when the in- ! creasing toll of fatalities caused a reduction in the number of army lines, the Newark-Indianapolis-St. Louis line w T as abandoned. Local representatives of American Airways and TranscontinentalWestern Air declined to comment on the President's order until further details are available. However, C. A. McCollum. T. W. A. local traffic manager, pointed out that resumption of service ! through Indianapolis would benefit former heavy users of air mail here, and probably w’ould restore personnel furloughed by his line, and also restore discontinued flights on the line. FRANCE MAY RELEASE TWO ALLEGED SPIES Freedom Asked for Americans Who Betraved Comrades. By Ur‘ted Press _ PARIS, March 27 —Robert G. an'd Marjoire Switz. young Americans held as leaders of a great international spy ring, may win freedom on bail on the ground that because they betrayed comrades they are entitled to clemency, it was indicated today. Andre Klotz. one of the Switzes’ lawyers, was expected to ask their freedom on bail under the 1886 law that permits freeing of persons accused of espionage if, before trial, they give information leading to conviction of others. It was regarded as likely that the Switzes would escape sentence entirely, partly because of their nationality. Times Index Page Berg Cartoon 10 Bridge 15 Broun 9 Classified 13, 14 Comics 15 Crossword Puzzle 15 Editorial 10 Financial 11 Good Old Days 3 Curious World 15 Hickman-Theaters 9 Let's Go Fishing 6 Lippmann 11 Monuments of Literature 9 Pegier 9 Radio 16 Sports 12. 13 State News 16 Woman’s Pages . i, 5