Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 June 1938 — Page 1

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The Indianapolis Times

FORECAST: Occasional thunder showers tonight and tomorrow; not much change in temperature.

VOLUME 50—NUMBER 90

MILLIONS AID LOST

* STATE EXPERT SAYS

Indianapolis Houses Among Nation’s Most Dilapidated, Commerce Department Dwelling Survey Shows.

GRANTS TO SIMILAR AREAS

BAKER WANTS RIGHT TO MAKE BALLOT PROBE

Claims Prosecutor Cannot Investigate Because Aid Worked at Polls.

ASKS COUNTY FOR FUND

IN SLUM 10 CITY,

Feeney Gains 1764 Votes in

g NOTED| 459 Precincts; Board

FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1938

Hughes Poised To Take Off on World Flight

WASHINGTON, June 24 (U. P)). —Friends of Howard Hughes, millionaire sportsman-aviator, predicted today he will take off very soon on a round-the-world flight. Their predictions coincided with dispatches from Paris disclosing that Mr. Hughes has asked the French Government through the American Embassy to arrange for his landing at Le Bourget “after Saturday noon” on the flight. Mr. Hughes, it is said, plans a surprise takeoff, possibly within a few hours.

ASKS NEW STUDY

Entered at Postoifice,

as Second-Class Indianapolis, In

FINAL HOME

PRICE THREE CENTS

Matte: seenre

F. D.R. ASKS MORE FUNDS TO COMBAT SPIES IN U. ».

D President Favors Allotment to Army and

Navy After Expose of Recent Case; Tighter Laws Suggested.

SILENT ON CONFERENCE WITH NAZIS

Developments in New York Affair Are Called

eR CR S00 A NN

‘ ‘ ‘ Questions Markings. Venereal Disease, Insanity and Crime Traced Up ating

To Substandard Sections Here; 1200 Units Demolished.

(Photos, Page 3)

By TOM OCHILTREE

Failure of the City Council to establish a local housing board is preventing Indianapolis from receiving between six and seven million dollars in Federal funds for slum clearance and low rental projects, Walter E. Stanton, State Housing Board executive secretary, said today. Basing his statement on the population and housing need here, Mr. Stanton said other cities of similar size now

are receiving funds from the In Indiana 23 cities have created boards to take advantage of this program, he reported, and nine of that number have earmarkings totaling $5,570,000. A U. S. Commerce Department survey of 24 cities having a population range from 100,000 to 1,000,000 showed that Indianapolis in 1934 had the fifth worst condition of dwelling dilapidation. Survey Figures Listed

According to this survey, 20.7 per cent of all dwelling units here were either in need of major repairs or were unfit for occupancy. Other cities having a more accute condition than Indianapolis were Atlanta, 292 per cent dilapidation; Birmingham, 28.1 per cent; Jacksonville, Fla, 214 per cent, Knoxville, Tenn., 24.3 per cent. Mr. Stanton said that of this list only Indianapolis and Atlanta have created no machinery to take advantage of the U. S. Housing Authority program.

“Indianapolis, also, is one of the |

few large cities in the country which

has refused to create a local hous- |

ing board even though it has the State law empowering it to take such action,” he said. Bulletins from Federal officials

show the following allocations have |

been made to cities of similar size

to Indianapolis: Population Allocation 9.678 $4.500.000 15.000-000 4.000.000 2.225.000 000.000 500.0 3

Birmingham San Francisco Louisville chbabihus Omaha Buffalo Cincinnati Davton Pittsburgh . 669.000 Memphis ...ievennees 253.000 Dallas 260.000 San Antonio ven. 231,000 300.000 Defending the need for slum clearance, Mr. Stanton cited a 1932 study of Indianapolis housing which showed that 30 per cent of cases served by the City Hospital came from the most poorly housed 10

per cent of the population. 24 Per Cent From Slums

5 10. 00 3.000.000 13.500.000 5.000.000 3 000.000

During this same period 24 per cent of cases treated in venereal disease clinics lived in area. “This area was the home of felons, whose arrest, trial and imprisonment absorbed 36 per cent of the City’s expenditures along these lines,” the survey stated. “In the Central State Hospital, 191 per cent of the patients came from the slum area.” Attacking the slum problem ag a menace to public safety, the State Fire Marshal's office announced that it is forcing destruction of the dilapidated structures.

and

the slum |

U. S. Housing Authority.

WPA ISSUE IN LOCAL BUDGETS

‘Requests to Prepare for Direct Relief Stand in

Way of Cut.

The enigma of 1939 relief, bound | up in the nation’s business curve yet {to be plotted, is plaguing heads of [local governmental units as they | prepare their budget requests for

| next year. | On the one hand the WPA has urged them to include in requests { sums to be used as the sponsor’s share of projects that may be needed to keep the direct r@ief rolls suf- | ficiently high. On the other hand, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has announced it will sit in on all budget { hearings with the hope that the civil city’s tax rate can be lowered | next year from» the record high of { $3.20 this year. Mayor Boetcher has told all de- | partment heads that requests this | lear must be lower than appropriations last year. | PWA Affects Decision

i |

| Not directly affecting the levy but bound up with it are the problems

{ of how much direct relief to finance

| by bond sales and how many PWA projects to issue bonds for,

At the same time, County Auditor | Charles Grossart said that the | direct relief cost for the first five months of this year has been $1.- ( 151,002, an increase of $310,627 over | the same period last year. | City officials have tentatively ar- | rived at $250,000 as a figure to ask j for sponsor's share of WPA projects | for 1939, it is understood. They also have sent in many applications for PWA funds that would re- | quire matching city money to be | raised by bond sales.

| Relief Estimate Puzzle

Among the PWA projects asked | by the City are the South Side | track elevation program, which | would cost about $3,500,000, of which | the city’s share, under present plans, would be 34 per cent: the Widennig of S. East St. the con- | struction of the Warfleigh sewer, and the construction of an experi-

During the last 18 months approx- | mental hangar at Municipal Air-

imately 1200 units have been de- | molished, and of this total 400 were torn down since the first of the year. |

Not All Condemned

Not all of these were condemned | by the State Fire Marshal. Pub- | licity attending the recent govern- | mental efforts to correct housing conditions prompted many owners to demolish these structures, it was said. The U. S. Housing Authority makes 60-year loans at approximately 3 per cent interest to local boards to finance purchase and construction of projects. The loans | range up to 90 per cent of the to-! tal cost of the projects. A dilapidated unit is removed for every structure built. The new houses would be under the direct control of the local boards, Mr. | Stanton said, subject to the pro- | vision that low rents are to be | maintained. i In order to keep these rents within reach of small income groups, (Continued on Page Three)

TIMES FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES

Autos ........ 8}Johnson Books ....... 15 Movies ...... Broun ....... 18] Mrs. Ferguson Clapper ..... 16] Obituaries Comics 26 | Pyle Crossword ... 27 | Questions bad Curious World 26 | Radio . Editorials . 16 | Mrs. Roosevelt Financial .... 27; Scherrer .... Flynn ....... 18 | Serial Story . Forum ....... 18] Society 18, 19 | Grin, Bear Iit 26 | Spots = 20, 21, 22 In Indpis. .

3 | State Deaths. 11 | Jane Jordan. . 15 | Wiggam ....., 16!

| Hollywood today,

{ cameras will grind by | and by this’ time next year the tele- | manicurist. | phone-book sized novel

port. Mr. Grossart said he was not able to estimate 1939 relief requests, but

| said that the present policy is to | set a tax rate not to exceed the | present rate, and that if more is

necessary for relief, to issue bonds. William H.

said that very thing was the big-

whether it conservatively the forced to issue bonds for a deficiency (Continued on Page Five)

Criminal Court Judge Frank P. Baker today told the Marion County Council that it was “vitally important in the public interest that my Court, and not Prosecutor Herbert Spencer, probe the ballots of the last election.” He made the statement while asking for a $15,000 appropriation for the probe. The Council took his request under advisement until 9 a. m. tomorrow. Immediately after adjournment, the Council went into a closed executive session and declined to make a statement on the request. Cites Count Disclosures

“The recount of ballots has disclosed many apparent frauds and one of Mr. Spencer's deputies was an election clerk in a precinct that has showed some irregularities,” the judge said. “Under the law a prosecutor cannot investigate himself—and a deputy is himself. Therefore, the investigation must be conducted by some one else.” Prosecutor Spencer said that his

deputy who served at a polling place was not a deputy prosecutor on the day of the election. “His serving on the election board was entirely on his own initiative and had nothing whatever to do with his previous or present capacity as a deputy prosecutor,” Mr. Spencer said. “My office legally can conduct the investigation and stands ready to do so at any time, without much additional expense.”

Wants All Ballots Probed

Judge Baker in his appeal to the Council said that he had many reports that there were as many irregularities in the Republican pri-

| mary as have been disclosed in the

recount of the Democratic ballots. “Every ballot in that entire election should be investigated thoroughly,” he said. “The public will not be satisfied

| with an investigation conducted by | the Prosecutor, because of his of-

| fice’s

| |

direct connection with the election. “This is no reflection on Mr. Spencer personally. It is merely a case of law that prohibits a prosecutor from investigating anything

lin which his own office is a part.”

After Judge Baker spoke for 20 minutes, Councilmen questioned him at length on the need for the $15,000 and asked him who he intended to appoint as special prosecutor. “I have several lawyers in mind tentatively,” he said, “but I have not approached anyone. It will

| take a great deal of money to hire

a qualified lawyer to conduct the probe.” Councilman Cortez Blue asked if the prosecutor pay would be about (Continued on Page Five)

STOCKS DIP AFTER SETTING NEW HIGH

Public Buying Buoyed Prices

in Early Trading.

(Market Details, Page 27)

NEW YORK, June 24 (U. P.).— Stocks met resistance today after prices had risen $1 to $3 a share to new highs for the movement Heavy public buying offset profes-

| sional profit taking’and short selling

in early trading and the entire list

Book, Chamber of | moved forward ager y | : g | g essivel | Commerce, executive vice president, = Yio

sixth consecutive session of advance. Relative softness in the utility

| gest budgetary problem to solve — | section dampened sentiment in the was wiser to estimate! afternoon

and prices slipped off

| relief load for! from the highs. U. S. Steel, which rate levying purposes and then be | had run up to :

$53.75 a share, sold at $52.25 in late trade, up $1.50 a share from yesterday's close.

OF POOL PERIODS

Mrs. Markun Says Time Too Short; Revised Plan Termed ‘Farce.

(Photo, Page 14)

Mrs. Louis B. Markun, Park Board member, said today that she would ask the Board to reconsider its re-

vision of the municipal swimming pool hour and fee schedule at its next meeting. Civic leaders who demanded abolition of the 10-cent fee for childrenf today studied the Board's action before determining future moves. Toney E. Flack, West Side leader, termed the Board's revision a “farce.” Wants More Time

Mrs. Markun, agreeing that the Board's complicated ruling reduced free time at each pool by five hours each week, commented: “The swimming season is all too short to cut down the children’s swimming periods. I believe we not only should restore the five hours but should also give more free time than ever.” Mr. Flack declared: “The Board's revision of hours at pools is misunderstood. Citizens seem to think the Board compromised with their demands for abolition of the 10-cent fee at the pools. Instead, the Board actually deprived children of five hours of free time at each pool. “It is time that businessmen charged with the administration of governmental affairs rise above depriving children of free swimming.

Urges Abolition of Fee

“The great majority of the public, taxpayers and voters are in sympathy with the kids. What the Board ought to do is to eliminate the charge and supervise the pools better.” Mr. Flack claimed that “better pool supervision” would be the answer to the Board's objection that children would endanger their health by remaining in the pools too long if they were admitted free all day. Other civic leaders said they were uncertain what the Board’s ruling meant—whether it reduced or increased free time at the pools. Among them was Paul C. Wetter, Indianapolis Federation of Community Clubs president, who declared: “I believe that nothing we could say or do would change the Park Board's mind.” Edward R. Kealing, Republican Councilman, said he, too, wanted to study the ruling further before deciding on what action to take on his proposed resolution calling for abolition of the 10-cent fee. Prosecutor Herbert M. Spencer, the State Board of Accounts and Councilmen today received a request from the Park Board for an investigation into Mr. Kealing’s charges that only 2 cents of every 10-cent fee reaches the City treasury.

Request Not Filed

Mr. Cosgrove, State Board of Accounts chief examiner, declared that

he had not received a communica- |'

tion from the Park Board in regard to any investigation into the charges by Mr. Kealing. Mr. Spencer said his office will present to the next Grand Jury which convenes July 5 any evidence the Park Board or any one else has in connection with the city swimming pool fees. “No evidence has been presented to my office yet and I know nothing officially about the charges,” Mr. Spencer said. A. C. Sallee, park superintendent who bore the brunt of Mr, Kealing’s attack at the Council meeting Monday, said: “If there is anything to Mr. (Continued on Page Three)

Only Shirley Temple Is Unmoved as Norma Shearer Wins Scarlett Role

HOLLYWOOD, June 24 (U. P.).—

Tears of disappointment swept

flood, only wetter

With

Clark Gable will be the hero,

Miss

i i

the | Macy,

Mr. Selznick so far has spent $300,000 on the picture, mostly for

Hepburn,

he still has many a detail to iron out and a dotted line to sign. That's

ras. | why Miss Shearer and Mr. Gable spects included Margaret Sulla- [can’t talk. They're not even supvan, Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine posed to know

that they have

Paulette Goddard, Nan | landed the most sought-after jobs Pierson Brooks Brill, Mar- | in Hollywood until Metro-Goldwyn-

garet Tallichet, Tallulah Bankhead, | Mayer makes the official announce-

Mrs. Jock Whitney—and even Ar-

Christmas | leen Whelan, the red-headed ex-

The wig and the course of les-

Margaret Mitchell will be providing | sons in accents Georgian went to

thrills.

the world’s movie fans vicarious | Miss Shearer and she went imme-

diately to Lake Arrowhead for a lit-

The weeping and the gnashing of | tle boning up on how to say “you America’s most beautiful feminine all” with the proper flair. She didn't

the lady stars, vitually all of whom |

i i

5 | teeth took place in the homes of | answer her phone,

Neither did Mr. Gable have any-

—with the posaible exceptions of | thing to say about his part as the

' Louise Fazenda, May Robson and |swashbuckling Rhett Butler, who | Shirley Temple—thought certainly | ran through the Civil War block-

that Mr. Selznick would outfit them | ade to bring his lady-love a new in red wigs and teach them South- bonnet from Paris. Mr. Selznick alern accents for the part of Scariett | ready has the bonnet—either the O'Hara, the Georgia harridan.

Joriginal or one exactly like it—but|sin

ment a couple of days hence. The deal took a lot of doing. Miss Shearer and Mr. Gable work for Louis B. Mayer, who is Mr. Selznick’s father-in-law and who operates his studir down the street from Mr. Selznick’s own headquarters. Mr. Mayer wouldn't lend his top stars to his son-in-law, so the latter lent himself to Mr. Mayer. For this one picture, therefore, Mr. Selznick will move from his studio to Mr. Mayer's and there produce at long last “Gone With the Wind,” which he bought a couple of years ago and which has kept HolFuoed femininity in a dither ever

Re a TH 7+ rn ———-

Crimi A0 Wamu piedRaR Tass Foadhiaae

Guenther Rumrich, Otto Voss and Erich Glaser, left to right.

BARBARA MAY SEEK U.S. HIGHS AGAIN

Hutton Heiress Fears Loss Of Son’s Custody.

BULLETIN

LONDON, June 24 (U. P). —High Scotland Yard officials and a prominent British banker visited the home of Countess Barbara Hutton Haugwitz « Reventlow today, apparently in connection with new steps to guard her son Lance and her huge fortune.

(Copyright. 1938. by United Press) LONDON, June 24-—Countess Barbara Hutton Haugwitz-Revent-low is so fearful that an effort may be made to deprive her of her 2-

year-old son Lance that she may seek to regain her American citizenship, it was reported today. An atmosphere of mystery has surrounded what seemed to be a crisis in the affairs of the Countess and her handsome Danish husband, Count Court Haugwitz-Reventlow, who has been in Paris for several days after a visit to the south of France. This atmosphere was cleared today on authority believed to be unimpeachable. It was said that the Countess was acutely afraid that an (Continued on Page Three)

ASK REPEAL OF TERM NOW 20-YEARS OLD

A petition asking release of J. C. Crafton, 71, who was returned to the Indiana Penal Farm recently after

20 years of freedom, was received today by the State Clemency Commission. In making application for an old age pension, Crafton’s record was discovered and he was sent back to the Penal Farm June 15 to complete a six months sentence on a liquor charge. He escaped from the ine stitution in 1918. When State Police went to arrest him they found him hoeing potatoes in his little garden near Madison.

The petition asking his release was signed by Orrin 8. Good, Madison.

City Cools Oft As Showers Dip Mercury

TEMPERATURES NW 10am... 11am... 78 12 (Noon). 80 1pm...

(Photo, Page 12)

Heavy showers which began at 12:31 p. m. today cooled the city for the first time in several days. The temperature dropped nine degrees and in nine minutes a further drop was forecast by the Weather Bureau. The highest temperature recorded before the shower was 84. The Weather Bureau predicted the showers would continue tonight and tomorrow.

DISCUSS $8,000,000 BUILDING PROGRAM

State Budget Committee members met today with Governor Townsend to discuss the $8,000,000 building program for which officials hope to secure a PWA grant of 45 per cent. State Budget Director Edward Brennan said no decision has been made to drop the proposed $3,000, 000 State office building, although it was said plans would have to be rushed to get this to PWA officials. Bids were received by the Muscatatuck Feeble-Minded Colony trustees at Butlerville for the erection of a new hospital and superintendent’s residence.

FORMER EARHART NAVIGATOR INJURED

ROOSEVELT FIELD, N. Y,, June 24 (U.P) Capt. Harry Manning, former navigator for Amelia Earhart, and commander of several American ocean liners, was injured today when his monoplane crashed north of Roosevelt Field, Long Island. Manning's plane was reported to have fallen more than 200 feet. He was taken to Nassau Hospital. Physicians said he received come pound fractures of both legs and a possible fracture of the skull.

81 83 84 73

gr be;

“Serious”; Presid

ent Criticizes Re-

vealing of Secrets to Press.

WASHINGTON, June 24

(U. P.).—President Roosevelt

said today the Army and Navy should have additional funds for the purpose of combating espionage in this country. The Chief Executive, commenting on the New York spy disclosures, said that the intelligence branches of both services up to the present have had insufficient money to cope with what he termed a most serious situation.

ENVOY CONFERS ON ESPIONAGE

U. S. Ambassador Discusses Case With Officials Of Germany.

BERLIN, June 24 (U. P.).—#ugh Wilson, United States Ambassador, has taken up with the German Foreign Office the question of espionage in America, it was understood today. Mr. Wilson visited the Foreign Office late yesterday at the request of Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister. While the newspapers, When they mention the subject at all, vehemently deny that German officers are involved in espionage in the United States, official circles were concerned lest the great publicity being given the matter impair Ger-man-United States relations.

Rebels Form Pocket Around 2000 Foes

HENDAYE, June 24 (U. P.) —The Rebels claimed today they had penetrated the last Government defenges in the La Clavela Mountains, circled across the Saunto highway outside Sarrion, southeast of Teruel, and won the main Zaragoza-Valen-cia highway and railroad. Rebel right wing forces were sald to have been joined by Galicians advancing from Valbona, to the south, and both columns formed a pocket around 2000 Loyalists. The maneuver was said to have (Continued on Page Three)

CITY T0 ASK GRANT FOR WARFLEIGH LINE

PWA Funds Would Make Sewer Possible.

Works Board members today said they would apply for a PWA grant to aid financing of the long-dis-cussed Warfleigh sanitary sewer. Residents of the area, which lies north of Broad Ripple, asked that the sewer be constructed last year because they are without sanitary facilities. However, the project was dropped temporarily because the City had insufficient funds to finance it. If a PWA grant of 45 per cent cf the sewer’s estimated $145,000 cost can be obtained, members said they believed the City could raise the balance. Under present plans the 24-inch sewer would run from Meridian St. and Westfield Blvd. to College Ave. and 65th St. It would be about 9000 feet long. City Attorney Michael J. Reddington told the Board members today that a suit to prevent the City from collecting garbage from downtown hotels will be dismissed from Federal Court here. He said that four hotels which had challenged the City's right to dispose of their garbage have agreed to the dismissal. The final hearing on the assessment roll in the improvement in E. 11th St. between Colorado Ave. and Emerson Ave. was postponed until next Friday. More than 50 property owners appeared to protest their assessments today. Many claimed their property was being assessed in excess of its value.

BANK ALARM BRINGS POLICE, GUNS DRAWN

Machine guns and shotguns bristled at the corner of Virginia Ave. and Pennsylvania St. at 4 a. m. today as police surrounded the Indiana National Bank, 3 Virginia Ave, where the burglar alarm had sounded. The police emergency car and three patrol cars, carrying 10 men, screeched to a stop at the downtown corner. Sergt. James Senteny, followed by three officers, opened the front door and went in.

> The President’s statement was made as Chairman Key, Pittman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee de-

clared he was watching the espionage situation closely with a view to introduction of new anti spy legislation at the next session of Congress. Condemns ex-G-Man

The President condemned the ace tion of a former Government ems= ployee who, after unearthing spy information which led to the series of indictments, resigned his position before trial of the accused persons to write stories for the newspapers. The President did not mention specific names. However, Leon G, Turrou, Federal Bureau of Investie gation agent who handled the New York spy investigation, has resigned from Government service to write a series of newspaper articles, The series is being held up at the moment under a Federal Court ree straining order obtained by U. S. District Attorney Lamar Hardy of New York. The President made it clear that he was not condemning the press generally, as but one syndicate was involved. He declared that the issue was one of patriotism and ethics—a combination of both.

Pittman Studies Law

The President then was asked whether Ambassador Hugh Wilson's reported visit to the German Fore eign Office today was in connection with spy activities. He referred his questioner ‘o the State Department, In connection with his desire for additional funds to combat spies, Mr, Roosevelt was asked as whether such action would constitute coun ter-espionage. He replied that rune ning down spies in America was his version of counter-espionage. Senator Pittman doubted that the

quiring propagandists in the pay of foreign government to register with the State Department, would prove effective against spies. He considered the developments of the New York spy ring as serious, and described as ‘‘abhorrent” the practice of one government inter cepting the correspondence of ane other in time of peace. Eighteen indictments were returned in New York this week, naming alleged spies and including four high German of« ficials. Of the 18 indicted four are held in this country to face trial. One is Johanna Hofmann, German haire dresser on the liner Europa. The three others are Guenther Gustav Rumrich, U. S. Army deserter; Otto Hermann Vooss, Seversky Aircraft technician, and Erich Glaser, Army private,

Halifax Says Britain Ready to Mediate War

(Copyright, 1038. by United Press) LONDON, June 24.—Great Britain hopes to act as mediator to end the Chinese-Japanese war, it was disclosed today. An authoritative source revealed that Viscount Halifax, Foreign Secretary, told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee at a secret meeting last night that the Government was ready at any moe ment to. medéate. The United Press was informed that Lord Halifax, in addition to his statement on the Chinese War, made a guarded reference to the possibility of co-operation with the United States in improving the in ternational atmosphere. Those members of parliament who attended the secret meeting were said to be uncertain whether Lord Halifax meant the Government Lkeld hope that the United States might join in what he called a European ‘‘pool of peace.” Lord Halifax emphasized the worst danger spot in Europe now was Spain. He confirmed that Britain was seeking to negotiate a truce in the Spanish civil war, it was said, and that peace efforts there had suffered what he called a teme porary check. Lord Halifax commented that a “situation” might arise regarding Poland, informants said-but at the same time he expressed the opinion that if any “situation” did arise it could be settled by friendly negotia~ tion.

COLLEGE GETS $16,000 Times Special ST. LOUIS, June 24—-The National Convention of the Lutheran

bill passed at the last session re-’

The other men stood guard outside. It was a false alarm. An alarm light over the vault had gone out, sounding a bell in A. D. T. offices. The office phoned police. «

Synod of Indiana and other states today announced that the Concordia Teachers College will receive $16,000 and be authorized to replace the school’s service building.

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