Nebraska Newspapers

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Dhe' Omaha Daily
. f
VOL. 50 NO. 161
THREE CENTS
tatend si Senai-Clsis M attar May 21. IMS. at
Onaha P. 0. OadK Act tt Much i, 1871.
OMAHA, WEDNESDAY, .DECEMBER 22; ld'2Q.
By Mall (I r). Istlds 4th Zoaa Daily tad 8ty. 19 : Oally Only, IS : Sunday, M
Oatilds 4th Zaaa (I ytar). Dally and Sunday, IK: Dally Only, 112; tnnday Only, IS
Mail Pilot Flies
To Finish School
Two Slayers
Scandal is
Revealed in
Coal Probe
Aged Man Has Sight
Restored After He Is
Blinded Five Years
Too Long Between Elections and Inaugurations
grims
Landed 300
Years Asfo
(Copyright: 1930: By The CbJco Trtbuue. )
Springfield, 111., Dec. 21. "Now I
can see the little ones at Christmas,"
exclaimed Thomas J. Hollingshead,
88, of Beardstown, 111., when he
opened his eyes and saw light of
day, first time in five years, today
after his sight had been restored at
a local hospital through an opera
tion. He told nurses at the hos
pital he lost his vision when his
eyes became affected with cataracts.
His first desire after leaving the hos
pital was to see and eat some oysters.
"You know my failing for oys
ters," he told the doctor.
feSiord
ii astu.rB
Bee
v
rercentenary of Landing of
Puritans t Plymouth Rock
j Celebrated by World at
Plymouth Today.
Lodge Delivers Address
n ; " '
By ths Associated rrrm. V
Plymouth, Mass., Dec. 21. On the
.v .-V
Cole, in Signed Document,
Implicates Grammer, Whose
Dying Statement Protests
His Innocence.
, shores of Plymouth bay, where "the
breaking waves dashed high' when
the Pilerifris set foot on Plymouth
Rock on December 21. 1620. their
descendants joined with other dis
tinguished men of this generation m
America, Great Britain and Holland
in observing today with due
. solemnity the tercentenary of their
llinry Cabot Lodge, a successor in
representation in the senate from
Massachusetts of Daniel 1 Webster,
who delivered the famous "Plymouth
' Oration" at the 2tK)th anniversary.
. Ap address was delivered by Gov
ernor Calvin Coolidge, vice presi
, dcut-elect, and a poem, " 1620-1920,''
'as read by Dean LeBaron R.
yBriggs of the faculty i arts and
sciences of Harvard university.
Hymns appropriate to the occasion
were sung, including the "Landing
of the Pilgrims," by Mrs. Felicia
Heniang, known to every American
school boy and girl for generations.
' Lodge is Orator.
Senator Lodge gave kS scholarly
outline of the Pilttrini stor and in
, drawing from it a lesson for present
uay America ne pointeu out inai
"they set character first." sought to
give men freedom both in body and
mind," und "tried to reduce the sum
of human misery."
"Whatever our faith." he said,
wnatever our Deiiet in progress,
there can be no nobler purposes for
man than thus to deal with the only
earth he knows and the fragment of
time awarded him here. While the
great republic is true in heart and
deed to the memory of the Pilgrims
of Plymoutfi it will take no de
determent even from the hand of
time."
In stately measures Dean Briggs
set forth the vsion of the Pilgrims
and their prayerful determination: '
Freedom thy naw-born nation nere man
cherish;
Grant us thy covenant, unchanging;, sure:
Earth shall decay, the firmament shall
. perish; ' '
Freedom and TputH. Immortal shall
endure"
The answer of their descendants
to this challenge came in these
words : : ., . , t "
Answer of Pilgrims.
Pilgrim's fnlth, th.Jlgrlm' couf-
tttg g.'VMl US, i, .
Still hluea the truth that tor the PII-
Krlm shone.
. TV are his seed, not life nor death shall
daunt Us:
, Th port is Freedom 1 Pilgrim heart.
sun on.' , .
The official party came from Bos
; ton oil a special train and proceeded
immediately to the Old Colony thea
ter, where the exercises were held.
In their number, in addition to the
speakers of the day, were official
representatives of Great Britain and
Wrtllanrl Meveral Mw Pno-l-infl
n . B .141.
governors, members of the New
England . judiciary, Senator Oscar
W. Underwood of Alabama and
members of patriotic societies, in
cluding the Society of Mayflrrwer
B scendants. The presiding officer
was Louis K. Liggett of Boston,
chairman of the Massachusetts Pil
grim Tercentenary commission.
After the formal exercises the
guests of the day were entertained
at luncheon. The remainder of the
day they gave over to a pilgrimage
to Plymouth Rock, the Cole's Hill
burying ground and other parts of
ine town ultimately- connected wii
the Pilgrims' history. . '
Members of Philippine
I nnero
? Guilty to. Sedition
Manila, P. I., Dec. 21. Seventy
members of the Philippine constabu
lary pleaded guilty on charges of se
dition in connection with the riot
with Filipino Manila police last
Thursday night which resulted in 11
Seven other constabularymen ar
rested in connection with the riot
pleaded hot guilty.
Hearing of the cases of the seven
pleading not guilty was set for Jan
uary 5. -Sentence upon the 70 plead
ing guilty will not be pronounced un
til the trial of the other seven is com
pleted. The maximum penalty lor
sedition is 10 years' imprisonment.
, Mufder charges against the con
stabularymen will not be tried un
til the sedition charges are disposed
of. Attorney for the defense an
nounced' ' the constabularymen
would plead not guilty to the murder
charges and the cases would be
fought thnugh the highest courts,
if necessary.
Crown' Forces Reported
To Have Burned Village
London, Dec. 21. The Press As
sociation's Dublin - correspondent
quotes a dispatch from Tulsk, Coun
ty Roscommon, as saying that crown
forces burned the village of Ballina
lcc. County Longford, early this
morning as a reprisal for the recent
attack on the police barracks there,
in which one constable was killed
and three wounded.
Shops and houses were destroyed,
the dispatch states, some outlying
farm houses burned and stock shot.
Tne military commandeered and tor
tified the school house and most of
the inhabitants fled, according to the
dispatch.
Home Rule Bill Passed
London, Dec. 21. The Trish home
ule bill, as slightly modified by the
I
House of Lords, was adopted by the
House of i Commons today. The
measure now needs only the royal
signature to become a law,
a
Air Mail Pilot C A; Braukman
holds the record mileage for' the
month of December on the Omaha
Cheyenne division of the air mail
service. He is counted in the money
at present in The Bee's $1,000 prize
contest for mileage by air mail pilots
during the first six months of the
transcontinental service.
Pilot Braukman plans to leave the
service the first of the year, how
ever, to return to his studies in the
University of Colorado. He learned
to fly while in the United States
army during the war, and entered
the air mail service t& get funds with
which to continue his college work.
Sixteen Believed
Killed in Fresh
Riots in Ireland
Many Persons Wounded in
Clashes Between Civilians
And Soldiers Between Cal
lan and Glenbower. .
. i Bj The Associated Press.
Dublin, Dec. 22. Heavy fighting
has taken place between large
forces of civilians on one side and
soldiers and police on jthe other, in
the section lying between Callan,
county Kilkenny, and Glenbower,
county lipperary, the military ana
police were ambushed at not less
than three different places yesterday
and numerous casualties resulted on
both sides. These included Sergeant
Walsh, R. I. C, killed, some soldiers,
number unknown, killed, .10 or 15
civilians killed and Sergeant Shan
non and several soldiers wounded.
About 30 civilians were wounded or
captured. i
An official communication issued
bv eeneral headquarters tonight esti
mated the casualties among the at-
tackingforces at 16 -and gives fue
military casualties as one private se
verely, wounded. No police casual
ties are mentioned. ' lne statement
says the details are still in "doubt
and that no information has yet
been received regarding the ambush
of police reinforcements from Clon-
mel.
Inhabitants Flee From Homes.
THe inhabitants of the countryside
are in a state of terror and many are
fleeing from their homes.
The first contlice occurred eariy
in the day at the foot of Seivtnamon
hill. After a sharp, fight, the military
lorry got through and sent a mes
sage to Callan for . reinforcements.
In this instance it is believed,1 the
ambushers escaped unscathed.-
Reinforcements ot Koyai xinsn
constabulary and soldiers left Cal
lan late in the afternoon and when
twn miles out ran into another am
bush near Carrickgricken, the Earl
of Ossory's shooting lodge. At the
first volley trom tne ampusning
nartv the soldiers and oolice dis
mounted from the lorry and spread
Tiut and a brisk fight ensued, the tir
ing being intense at times.
- Sergeant Killed
The fictitine was still in progress
when County Inspector Whyte of
Kilkennh with a dozen men of the
constabulary dashed up on another
lorry, running into the tmcK ot it.
It w now becoming dark and the
police lorry was subjected to a verit
able hail of bullets It was riddled
and Sergeant Walsh was shot
through thp head, dying instantly.
bhannon received wounas in tne
haed and arms. The battle was
vary fierce. District Inspector Bayn
ham had a narrow escape, his rifle
being shattered in his hand.
At about the same time, rein
forcements irom Colnmel were at
tacked near Glenbower where the
biggest battle of the day occurred.
Red Cross Not Allowed' to
Transfer Surplus Funds
. Ord, Neb., Dec. 21 (Special Tele
gram.) George Parkins of the
Valley county Red Cross chapter
received a telegram from the cen
tral division ' manager at Chicago,
stating that if any a.ttempt were
made to transfer any- of the local
surplus funds to any other prganiza
tton, the surplus money would be
withdrawn from the local chapter
and transferred to the jurisdiction
of the central division.
Scotts Bluff Farm Bureau
Will Join National Body
Scotts Bluff, Neb., Dec. 21. (Spe
cial Telegram.) The. Scotts .' Blulf
county farm bureau voted at its
annual meeting to join forces with
the state bureau and the American
farm Bureau federation. President
James Elliott of the county organ
ization spoke for the move, declar
ing that it would help all farmers in
their common fight to smash the
food gamblefi, . ' .
Describes Third Degree
Signed statements made by Alson
B. Cole and Allen V. Gramnuir,
Howard, county youths electrocuted
Monday at Lincoln for the murder
of Mrs. Lulu Vogt in 1917, while
under sentence of death, and made
public following their execution, dis
agree. Cole's statement, like his two con
fessions which he later repudiated,
implicates Grammer.
Grammer protests his innocence in
his statement, which was issued but
an hour before his electrocution.
"I am innocent of anything what
soever of anything to do with the
murder of Lulu Vogt, my wife's
mother, and I am meeting death
with a clear conscience," his state
ment reads. '
Cole accused Grammer of-threatening
to expose him of cashing bad
checks if he did not. kill Mrs. Vogt.
His statement, made Noverrfber
30, 1919, and given to spiritual ad
visers to hold until after his death,
declares ' he had been ' drinking
whisky during the day before the
murder, and on that night he went
to the Vogt home and took the aged
woman in Grammer's automobile on
the ruse there had been a wreck.
"Out east of Elba somewhere a tire
went down on the car." the state
ment; written in Cole's handwriting,
reads. I took the tire off and put it
in the car. - ;
"Then I took the bottle from the
car door and, drank the rest of the
whisky, which was about one-half or
two-thirds of a pint.
Drives On. '
" then drove on, but I do not re
member where I drove or what took
place.
"The next thing I remember was
finding myself near Central City and
Mrs. Vogt was not in the car. I
drove on to Central City. : The next
morning I drove to Grand Island.
"That i afternoon I heard Mrs.
Vogt had disappeared mysteriously
from her home, and I remembered
what I had intended to do and start
ed to St. Paul to give myself up. I
didn't get on the right road, so I
decided not to give myself up."
Then he describes how he fled to
Minnesota, wrote Grammer for
money under the name ."Floy Mc
Rae," and was arrested in Janesville,
Wis.
In the statciruivt Cole declared he
previously had given his revolver to
Grammer upon urammers request.
Third Degree.
Detailed description of alleged
third degree methods used by offi-
(Tnrn to Pairs Two,- Column Six.) j
Alliance Launches
Drive to Rid Citv
Of All Undesirables
Alliance, Neb., Dec 21. (Special
Telegram.) Alliance police are on
the trail of the "lonsome bum." Vags
and'other undesirables are their tar
get and they have entered into a
cleanup campaign to rid the city of
this class of visitors.
For weeks past, floaters of all
breeds and color' have been drift
ing into town, since which time a
series of crimes and misdemeanors
have been committed. Alleged gam
bling' games, thefts and like offenses
have kept the officers. busy.' Earl
B. Anderson, alleged gambler, was
murdered in an alley two weeks ago
following a drunken brawl alleged
to have started in a rooming house
of disrepute. Mrs. Evelyii Preiss
McElhaney, 21, proprietress of the
rooming house, has been convicted
of second degree murder for the
killing .of Anderson.
More than two dozen undesirables
have been ordered to leave town or
go to jail and there is a list of oth
ers slated to receive similar order?.
Mayor Rodgers has instructed the
police department to clean up all
rooming houses and resorts of ques
tionable character and to jail all
those who refuse to leave town when
ordered to do so. .
!
McLaughlin Has Bill to
Stop Step Rate Interest
Washington. Dec. 21. (Special
Telegram.) That portion of the
federal reserve act which gives mem
ber banks the power to enforce step
rates of interest is revealed by the
provisions of a bill .introduced to
day by Representative McLaughlin
of the Fourth district.
"In some instances of which I
know, the reserve banks have
charged "as high as 17 per cent,"
said Mr. -McLaughlin. : "My infor-,
mation is that the Kansas City bank
is the principal district in which the
step rate of interest has been put'
into practice and that it has done a
great deal of damage. In my judg
ment it is a bad power and ought
to be abandoned."
Minister Found Not Guilty
Of Fraud in Mining Deal
Pittsburg, Kan., Dec. 21. Rev.
Juett Noble McDonald, former pas
tor of the First Presbyterian church
of Pittsburgwas found not guilty
of defrauding two members of his
congregation and another man in a
mining deal. The jury was out more
than five hours.
.
Woman Dies of Injuries.
Norfolk, Neb., Dec. 21. (Special
Telegram.) Miss Etta Durland,
popular Norfolk woman, died this
morning following fatal injuries re
ceived when she was run down by
M Mtoaobile last pight,
Wave of Crime
Is Unabated ; in
All Parts of U.S.
Woman Found Slain in New
York New Jersey Bank
Is Robbed Whisky
Runners Arrested.
f Long Beach, N. Y., Dec. 21. The
body of a well dressed woman about
30 years old was found half buried
on the beach here with a bullet hole
over the right eye. A coroner's
investigation was under way today
to determine her identity and wheth
er she was murdered or committed
suicide
Bank Robbed.
New Brunswick, N. J., Dec. 21.
New, Jersey's crime wave engulfed
pMilltpwn early today, when four
L.l . 1 T?- . TlT
iiicji aitcmpicu to iqo ine nisi na
tional bank. A posse of 30 citizens
armed with guns, pitchforks and
other weapons, captured two of the
alleged robbers after a fight in which
scores of shots were fired.
Investigation showed that the
bahk had been entered by digging
through a brick wall. Bank officials
began checking up to see if any prop
erty had been taken.
Rum Runners Taken.
Minneapolis, Dec. 21. Seven men
smuggling gang, were arrested here
by federal prohibition enforcement
agents, were arrested here last night
by Paul D. Keller, northwest di
visional prohibition enforcement
agent. The agents were said to have
located approximately 250 cases of
whisky which it is alleged were pur
chased at the Canadian border for
$37.50 a case and sold here for $250
Convict is Returning.
Cincinnati, O., Dec. 21. Edward
von Walden, ,who escaped from
penal institutions in Calitornia and
Michigan and was arrested in New
York in 118 after he had robbed a
Cincinnati bank, will start for Cali
fornia tomorrow accompanied by a
guard of the Stockton penitentiary
where he is to serve the remainder
of his sentence on a charge of hav
ing robbed a bank in San Francisco
in 1915.v
When returned to Cincinnati Von
Walden was indicted and sent to the
state hospital for criminal insane.
He was discharged as cured three
months ago. , v '
Bogus Officer Indicted.
Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 21. Pat
rick J. Kelly, arrested here last Wed
nesday, charged with impersonating
a- naval lieutenant was indicted to
day by a federal grand jury.
At the time of his arrest Kelly
told the police how he had fled from
Ireland, his native country when
"the British government brought
pressure to bear upon m? in trying
to make me prosecute my owm
brother who had been placed in
Brixton prison for Sinn Fein activi
ties." He said he had gone to Aus
tralia and then to San Francisco,
and that he dpnned the naval uni
form to hide his identity. He posed
here as one of the men who made the
transatlantic flight 'on the NC-4,
police say. His tale of adventure
captured Miss Opal Parker of Kan
sas City and they were married here.
Police officials said the prisoner's
true name .is Verne Connelly and
that he is a' son of a Kansas City
railroad brakeman.
Couple Found Dead.
Chicago, Dec. 21. The bodies of
Paul Wuillemuir and his bride of
two weeks' were found in their apart
ment today. An empty wine bottle
lay on the floor and the police be
lieve that death was caused either
bx the contents "of the bottle or from
gas fumes from a coal fire which
was still burning in the kitchen
when the bodies were found. There
was nothing to indicate suicide or
murder, the police said. Wullemuir
was a chef in a large residential ho
tel. G. 0. P. House Leaders Agree
On Roads Appropriation
Washington, Dec. 21. Republican
leaders of the house have agreed
upon an appropriation of $100,000,000
for state road aid, it became known
after an executive session of the
house roads committee.
A bill introduced by Representa
tive McArthur, republican, of Orc
tron. now before the roads commit
tee, would make $400,000,000 of feM
eral funds available during the next
four years, but it developed lhat the
republican steering committee has
decided that in the interest of econ
omy the appropriation should be
limited to $100,000,000 and should
not cover more than a two-year
Committee Named to Study
State Price Control Laws
Washington, Dec. 22. Appoint
ment of special committee to study
the subject of state control of prices
as provided by statutes now in' ef
fect in Montana and Indiana was
announced by the Chamber of Com
merce of the United States. , The
committee is headed by Charles Na
gfl of St. - Louis,r former secretary
of the department of commerce and
labor. Litigation to determine the
constitutionality of both the Mon
tana and Indiana price control laws
is now before the United States u-
oreme court
Death of Doctor
Caused by Shock
Examination of Alliance Phy
sician Body Discloses Burns
From X-Ray Machine.
Alliance, Neb., 'Dec, 21. (Spe
cial Telegram.) The death of Dr.
Charles" E. Hershman, physician and
surgeon and president of the Guard
ian State bank pi Alliance, who died
suddenly- while -treating a 'patient
with anX-ray machine Monday, was
due to electric shock when he acci
dentally touched two live wires;
carrying 105 volts, connecting the
generator with the X-ray apparatus,
according to statements of doctors.
The cause of death was first giv
en by attending physicians as con
gestion of an artery in the brain.
Not until after the body was being
cared for by undertakers was evi
dence discovered that death had been
caused by electric shock.
The undertaker found that two
holes had been burned through the
physician's clothing on' his right
forearm and there were two burned
spots on the arm where the current
had entered. It was stated that he
had been afflicted with heart trou
ble and that the electric shock
brought on an acute attack. The
voltage was not sufficient to cause
death ordinarily, but the weakened
condition of the ; victim's heart
caused him to succumb to the shock,
physicians said. I ' , '
Dr. Hershman was j36 years old
and had practiced medicine in Alli
ance for nice years. He was a
member of the Scottish Rite Masons
and a Shriner of Tangier Temple,
Omaha. ' . ,
Funeral services will 'be held
Thursday afternoon 'at the Christian
church, in charge of the local Ma
sonic lodge. The doctor is survived
by his widow and two small sons.
Army Aviator Takes
Air in Attempt to Set
' Endurance Record
New York. Dec. 21. Lieut. Ross
C. Kirkpatrick, army pilot, took the
air early today from Mitchell Field,
Long Island, with one companion,
in an attempt to break the world's
record for endurance flying. Before
leaving the ground he expressed the
hope of staying up 34 to 37 hours.
Ine machine used for the test is
a tu-passenger biplane, one ot tne
four which flew to Nome, Alaska,
and back last fall.
'Kirkpatrick and his mechanician
took enough food with them to last
35 hours.
The World's record for an endur
ance flight is held by tne i-arman
Goliath two-motored French ma
chine, which remained in the air24
hours, 19 minutes and 7 seconds on
June 3-4. at Villesauvage La Marno
gue, France. The army machine had
one 400-horse power, high compres
sion Liberty motor. tMood, lights
and flares have been prepared at
Mitchell field to assist the machine
during . the night. . ' x
Hamon's Nephew, Frank,
Sues His Wife for Divorce
Phoenix, Ari, Dec. 21. Frank
Hamon, nephew ofthe late Jake L.
Hamon, republican national commit
teeman from Oklahoma, filed suit
for divorce from Gertie Ruth Hamon
in the superior court here today.
The complaint said the couple were
married at Tucson, Ariz., August 14
1919, and that Mrs. : Hamon now
was living in Sacramento. Alleged
cruel treatment was made the basis
for the divorce action. Hamon pre
viously had been married to Clara
Barton bmith, now being sought in
conection with the death by shooting
t) Jakt L. Hainan.
Heavy Blizzard
In Progress in
Central West
,
Snow Impairs Train Service
On Nebraska Rail Lines -Telephone
Service Also
Hampered by Storm.
Ord, Neb:, Dec. 21. (Special Tel
egram.) A blizzard raged in the
Loup valley all day Monday and
Tuesday and roads are now impas
sable. The Burlington passenger
train Jrom Burwell to Palmer and
Aurora has xnot come through and
will not probably run until Wednes
day. There is no service of any
kind on this branch of the Burling
ton. , t (
The snowfall is heavy and a low
temperature prevails. Telephone
lines over the county are- damaged
considerably. Union Pacific trains
on the Ord-Grand Island branch
have made runs today, although they
were somewhat late.
Norfolk, Neb.. Dec. 21. (Special
Telegram.) A heavy fall of snow
has been experienced here. In some
parts of the district the snow is
drifting. Temperature appears to be
falling.
Scotts Bluff, Neb., Dec. 21. (Spe
cial Telegram.) Snow fell through
out the norjh Plattevvalley today.
covering the ground to a depth of
eight inches. The snow continued
tonight. Stockmen were warned to
protect cattle against ' predicted
northwesterly winds. Train serv
ice had not yet been interrupted.
Des Moines, la., Dec. 21. Snow,
varying in depth from two to nine
inches, was" reported' from different
parts of Iowa today. At Sioux City
the fall last night was nine inches
and in the central part of the state
2J4 inches, the weather bureau re
ported. Prospects were for considerably
colder weather tonight. v-
Geddes, S. D., Dec. 21 (Special
Telegram.) A blizzard of consider
able intensity is raging in this sec
tion. Drifts are already four to five
feet deep and it is still snowing.
Son of Secretary of
Commerce Alexander
Killed by Airplane
Washington, Dec' 21". Walter A
Alexander. son of Secretary Alexan
der of the, Department of Commerce
was instantly killed today at "Boil
ing field here by the propeller of an
airplane in which he was preparing
to make! a flight, striking him' on
the head.
The commerce r-ccretary's son was
a commissioned officer, in the army
air service during the war and had
gone to 'the aviation field to make
a flight to keej) in training.
Mr. Alexander, who was 28 years
old, had been connected with the
shipping board and had recently re
turned .from .a trip to Europe on
government business
Newspaper Publisher of
Cuba Dies at Havana Home
Havana, Dec. 21. Dr. Manuel M.
Coronado, 62, vict president of 'the
senate and owner of La Discusion,
one of the oldest newspapers in
Cuba, died here yesterday. He was
a veteran of Cuba's war of independ
ence, during which he attained the
grade of colonel.' Death resulted
from cancer of the lungs. -
Civil War Veteran Dies.
Ord. Neb., Dec. 21 (Special Tele
gram.) Peter Jones, civil war vet
eran, died at - his home here this
morning.
: : ! i
Landis Refuses to
Sentence Six Men
Judge Continues Case of Sugar
' Thieves Due to Pardon
Wilson Granted.
Chicago, Dec. 21. Judge,Renesaw
M.- Landis today refused to sentence
six men charged with stealing 600
sacks of sugar from trains in inter
state commerce, after learning that
President Wilson had last week
granted a pardon to James J. Dorsey
of Gilbert, 111., known as the "mil
lionaire cattle king."
Dorsey was sentenced to eight
years rn Leavenworth prison oy
Judge Landis after conviction of sell
ing tubercular cattle through the west
under false papers representing them
as government tested and healthy.
He began serving his sentence June
4, 1919. Last July President Wilson
cut the sentence to four years. At
that time Judge Landis, in open
court, declared he could not "under
stand the workings" -of the presi
dent's mind.
"I can't sentence these-men with
the Dorsey thing fresh in my mind,''
Judge Landis declared in court to
day. "Dorsey's activties ran into
the thousands of dollars, while these
men stole only a few hundred dol
lars worth of merchandise. I will
continue this case indefinitely." .
Mail Plane Wrecked
In Crash Near Wiota;
Pilot Is Uninjured
' i
Atlantic,, la., Dec. 21. (Special
Telegram.) An airplane, west-t-ound
from Chicago to Omaha and
in charge of Pilot W. C. Hopkins,
crashed lo the ground near Wiota
shortly before noon today and was
completely wrecked. The pilot es
caped without injuries. .
. The heavy accumulation ' of sleet
on the wings of the plane caused
it to become unmanageable. Pilot
Hopkins had been having trouble
after passing Des Moines in attain
ing the proper altitude.
When passing the farm of Wil
liam Waters the plane suddenly
took a -nose dive, turning over
three' times before it -struck the
ground, a complete wreck. , There
was 400 pounds of mail ' aboard.
This was sent to Omaha by train.
Search for Lost Balloon
In .Vicinity, of Ottawa
;Rockaway, N. Y Dec. '21. Lieut.
Albert W. Evans( naval aviator, bal
loonist and dirigible pilot,-was '"or
dered to leave for Ottawa to direct
search there for the balloon missing
from the Rockaway naval air sta
tion for more than a week.
While the authorities at the naval
station hive not given up. hope for
tSe three men in the ballon, they, ad
mitted that the situation was serious.
They now are working, Lieutenant
Evans said, , on the theory that the
A-5598 did not land in the Adirondak
mountains, ' but passed on toward
Ottawa. ;
The search of the Adirondaks by
army aviators, howeyer, will contin
ue until hope has vanished. ' -
The Weather
Forecast . ,
Wednesday fair and much colder.
1
Hourly Temprratorra.
C a. m 27 1 p. m...,
. -m..... IS I p. m....
7 it. m .......... JK ,1 p. m..,,
s" a. ni 9 4 p. in....
a. m ti i p. m. . . .
1" a. ni i 0 p. ni....
11 a. m -....59 7 p. m....
Mi Boon :9 8 p. m....
, . Nhipiwra' MulMlu.
Prolot ahlpmenU during th ntit : tn
Sfi hours from temperatures an follows:
North and west, A dgroe bolow; st and
south, aero,
Government Officials Are
Charged With Rakeoff of
Millions During Recent
Shortage of Fuel.
Names Are Kept Secret
By ARTHUR SEARS HENNINO.
Chictfo Trlbunc-Omana Dee Leased Wire.
Washington, Dec. 21. A sensa
tional scandal, involving a ring of
government officials, In a rakeoff
of millions of dollars in coal trans
actions during the receut fuel short
age, was unexpectedly uncovered
today by the senate coal investiga
ing committee. . 1
George H. Cushing, general man
ager of the American Wholesale
Coal Dealers' association, inadvert
ently disclosed in his sworn testi
mony before the committee, that
government officials taking advan
tage of advance information on the
fuel stringencies obtained in their
confidential positions, declared
themselves in on the coal price
boosting and "cleaned up" millions.
The committee immediately deter
mined to go to the bottom of the
charges. ' ,
Mr.. Cushing told the committee
of one instance in which government
officials closed a profit of $675,000
on the sale of .450,000 tons of coal.
He stated that he was offered a
sharf amounting to over $100,000 to
participate in the deal but declined.
There were -many other such in
stances, he told the committee.
To Reveal Names ' v
Much of Mr. Cushing's testimony
was given behind closed doors and
was not made public. He furnished
the committee with the name of the
ring leader, said to be a dollar-a-year
man. The committee expects to is
sue a subpoena for this man. Mr.
Cushing will return to the witness
stanJ probably tomorrow, armed
with papers that will enable him to "
furnish the committee with the names
of other government officiate who
drew down huge profits in coal. The
committee plans to make a thorough
investigation and reveal to the coun
try the names of all officials engag
ta hi- the coal deals.
Members of the committee, after
hearing Mr. Cushing's estimony ir. ,
secret session, explained that th
coal handled by the ring was noi
sold to the American government
and they doubted therefore whethe:
any graft prosecutions could be in
stituted. . The coal was sold it wa!
said, .sometimes to American con-'
sumeri in regions where the short
age was acute and sometimes to for
eign governments who were badlj
in need of fuel for their shipping
and industries. .
The practice of the ring was to get
secret orders from persons and con
cerns badly in need of coal, enter
into negotiations with coal dealers
with whom they usually offered to
share their profits, and then deliver
the coal at a price about $1.50 a ton
in excess of the purchase cost. The
officials were in position to obtain
information as to coal' needs and
give assurances to their customers
of their ability to get he coal by
reason of their position, it was
stated.
- Revelations Accident.
Mr. Cushing's revelations slipped
out accidentally. He was asked to
give a list of those who took profits
in the handling of coal from the
mine to the consumer. He stated
that 'profits were taken by the min
ers, - the operators, the railroads,
wholesale dealers, retail dealers, etc.,
and then to the surprise of the com
mittee, added: "And officials of the
United States government who got
into the coal business."
Instantly the committee was on
the alert. He waspressed bv Sen
ator Kenyon of Iowa to ' furnish
more light on this charge. . He stead
ily declined to do so.
"You know that government of
ficials secured a profit in the hand
ling of coal?" asked Senator Ken
yon. "Yes, I do," replied Mr. Cush
ing. "But there is no good digging
in the graveyard. My muckraking
days are over."
; When the committee insisted on
further information, ;' Mr. Cushing
finally agreed to arjsjwer questions
behiwd closed doors. The commit
tee accordingly went into secret ses
- (Turn to Face Two, Column One.
Committee. to Redraft Bill
For .Penahy on Delinquents
Washington, Dec. 21. The house
ways and means committee voted
today to recommit iot redrafting the
Edmonds bill proposing to defer the
date when penalties become effective
for failure to pay federal taxes.
Representative Green', republican,
Iowa, explained that as the bill was
reported to the house, it would defer
penalties on all uncollected taxes of
this and previous years, although t(
was intended to apply only to taxe;
cn this year's incomes and profits.
Plane Searching Hills
For. Balloon Catches Afire
Albany, N. Y., Dec. 21. One ol
the two airplanes which were to have
searched the Adirondack region foi
the missing naval balloon took fin
soon after hopping off l-ere for Glent
Falls this morning and was forced
to make a landing at Westerlo island.
The plane was destroyed, but Lieut
F. B. Johnson, pilot, and Sergeant
George Sicke, observer, are reported
to have escaped injury
Wage Reduction Announced.
Chicopee, Mass., Dec. 21. Wages
of the 2,000 employes of the Dwight
Manufacturing company here, mak
ers of textile, will be reduced 22'A
per cent beginning January 10, ac
cording to announcement. The
plant will be closed tomorrow night
and. will tje-open January K(,
- 1:
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