Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1921)
The Omaha Daily Bee VOL. ,50 NO. 197. tnttrat m 8mm-CIim Mttur Mir 31, IM. I Oman P. 0. Ur Art ( March I. 1171. OMAHA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1921! By Mall (I tut). I Hilda 4th Znnt, Dally la Suada;. Mi Oally Oaly, IS; Sunday. 14 Outilda 4th Zaaa (I yaar). Dll a4 Sunday, lit: Daily 0''y. Sli; Suaday Oaly, S) THREE CENTS V TT . Mayor nits Light Bill Bv Letter J. B. Howell, Afler Boasting Smith Not Opposed to II. R. No. 1, "Astounded"' By Answer. Committee Has Hearing Lincoln, Fob. 1. (Special.) Astonishment, anger, and chagrin registered successfully on the face of K. '. Howell, manager of the Oma ha Metropolitan water district, at a hearing today before the commit lee on cities and towns when J. A. C. Kennedy counsel for the Nebras ka Tower Co.. read a letter from Mayor Ed P. Sn.im of Omaha de claring the mayor's absolute opposi tion to house roll No. I. the water district's electric light bill. Time and again at the hearing todav and at a hearing last week Howell, with his arm extended and his finger pointed at officers and attorneys for the Nebraska Power Co., shouted: "You will .never get the mayor of Omaha to take any hand in legislation against this bill . . , . i , .. " tins year as lie uici two ycais au. Tt was the third utterance of this defi today which brought Kennedy to his feet. "I will read for the benefit of Mr. Howell and members of the commit tee a letter from Mayor Smith to - Representative T. B. Dysart," Ken nedy said. Mayor Against Bill. Howell drew hack astounded. Various expressions flashed with machine gun rapidity across his face. The large audience which filled the room was tittering, with many ap plauding. Finally, Howell grinned lor just a second. Then, he leaned against a desk and his fingers nerv ously playing on his lips, as Kennedy 'read one driving argument after another of the mayor of Omaha against house, roll No. 1. . Briefly the mayor's letter covered these points:1 Omaha wouldn t profit as a whole with two competing plant where city council already has power to regulate rates. To create a competing plant would entail years of expenses and the tearing up of paved streets for ' conducts, at a great cost to tax pavers. , . The water board might cut rates to big downtown ' concerns and force the Nebraska Power Co. to serve the small property owners, as the water board couldn't, and thereby force the company to raise ratei to small property owners.., II. R. No. 1, would force city ' to get street lighting juice from the water board, no matter what the competing: .rate might be. , Hoyell Astounded. "I admit I am astounded," Howell Then he indulged in scathing de nunciation of Mayor Smith's alleged (Turn to rae 8ven. Column Bte.) Berger Scores Wilson For Refusal to Grant Pardon to Eugene Debs Milwaukee, Feb. 1. Criticizing , President Wilson for refusing to commute the sentence of EugciK V. Debs, Victor L. Berger, in a state ment issued, expressed hope that the new administration would take favorable action in the socialist cases in general.- "The decision of the supreme court in the Chicago socialist cases shows that there are signs of sanity returning to some of the depart ments of our government," he said. ' "Sanity will not return to the White House, however, so long as Wood row Wilson holds sway there. "It is not too much to expect, nevertheless, that the 4iew national administration will sec the prosecu tion of the socialists m general a Ha of Eugene V. Debs in par.icutor, in the proper light." Japanese to Fight. V ; . Alien Property Bill " Lincoln, Feb. 1.--(SpeciaD The alien property bill, similar to the California law, introduced by Repre sentative E, S. Davis of Lincoln county, will be considered before the house" judiciary committee Thursday afternoon. . Copies of letter written to Rep resentative Davis from A. S. Allen, county clerk, relative to large quan tities of land owned in Lincoln cotinty by Jnpanesc and charging members of that race with dodging personal taxes were placed on desks . of members todiy bv Davis. It was reported that Japanese will appejr before the committee to plead for their property rights. Union Foundry for 30 Years Adopts '"Open Shop" Policy I Deafer. Feb. 1. The Queen City i foundry of Denver, a union shop for ' ,0 years, today began operations as :,n "open shap" under police pro tection, according to an announce .iiicnt by George' Cordingly. general ..manager. The action taken by the Queen City company will be fol lowed by nearly all the foundries in the state, according to officials of the Colorado Foundrymen's associ ation. Murderer Escapes From Utah State Penitentiary C ,1. 1.1. -:.. T?..l.' 1 C 1. A - odii i-ahe vuy, fi'U. i. i iauh. uc jPratio. convicted in 1916 of com jp plicity in the murder of Eugene Allen, a grocer at Bingham, Utah.. l V P. 11 Hi 111. VV1 IVS UlBtH. k the sentence being later commuted to life imprisonment and last f , November tc five years imprison ment, escaped from the state prison last night. . Text of Mayor Omaha Chief Executive Transferring. Municipal Electric Light Po? From City Council to Water Board.. , Lincoln, Feb. 1. (Special.) Mayor Ed P. Smith's letter to Rep resentative Dysart, in which the Omaha chief executive declared his opposition to House Roll No. 1, the metropolitan water district's elec tric light bill, follows: . , "Two years ago, when a similar measure was before the legislature, I took somewhat of an active part in opposing it, but because of the pendency before Hie city council of the application of thc Nebraska Power company for an increase in rates, I have thought it proper to take no active part in the contro versy at this time. But since you ask my opinion, I see no reason why I should not give it. "I believe in municipal ownership of public utilities such as the electric light plant, and when the time is ripe for the city to take over this plant, either by purchase or condemnation, I. will lie in favor of its acquisition bv the city. As long as it is operated by private ownership, I am in favor of strict regulation of its rates, but I do not favor House Roll No. 1 for the following reasons: Evils of Duplication. "First: Where the power to regu late exists in the city council, as it now does, I do not believe the city of Omaha would profit by having two separate organizations or com peting companies furnishing the same service to the people. I do not believe it would be beneficial to Omaha to have two street car com panies, two electric light companies, or two gas companies, each occupying our streets and com peting with each other for business. We learned by experience that two telephone companies were neither desirable nor profitable. Two com panies, each seeking to perform the same public service, will necessarily result in a duplication of equipment Crown Forces in Ireland Using Bloodhounds Youth Killed 'in Dublin When Auxiliary Police Fire On Congregation Leav ing Church. By JOHN LESTER. CMeaco Tribune Cable, Cpvrrll t, 19!t. Dublin, Feb. 1. Col. Maurice Moore, who commanded the Lon- pughtraogerj in the.. South African war, was arrested by the military" at his home in Dublin today. In recent years the colonel has taken an active interest in the na tionalistic movement, and was con nected with the nationalist.volunteers ia the early days of the war. He is a brother of George Moore, the fa mous novelist. Lord Diuisany will be court-mar tialed this week charged with al leged illegal possession ot ammuni tion. The king's bench today unani mously decided that they were pow erless to stop the execution of Jos eph Murphy, condemned to hang in Cork jail. But the bench held that the court-martial had erred in bar ring the examination of military wit nesses on testimony previously given, and recommended that Murphy be given air opportunity to make further application under the army act, and that a reasonable time be granted for this purpose. . Murphy's execu tion, at present, is fixed for tomor row morning. - ' Bloodhounds were used in Dublin yesterday by crown forces following the finding of a man's cap at the scene of an attack on military at Tercnure. The hounds took auxiliary police on a long trail, in which they crossed two thoroughfares, the scent finally ending at a vacant house, with no results. When the congregation was leav ing the Catholic cathedral in Dublin, last night, a half dozen shots were tired by auxiliary police. Thomas Ivory. 13, who was standing near the cathedral steps, w as shot through the brain and instantly killed. . Dissolution of Eastman Kodak Company Ordered Buffalo, Feb. 1. Federal Judge Hazel entered an order in the case of the United States against the Eastmas Kbdak company under the Sherman anti-trust law. directing the dissolution of some of the com pany's lines. The corporation with drew its appeal , to the supreme court yesterday. ' - The decree 6rd.-rs.the sale of the Premo factory and the Century, Folmer and ' Schwing factory in Rochester and the Aristo plant in Jamestown. These lines represent an investment of approximately $3, 786.000 and the total sales in them in 1920 totalled more than $7,000,000, it was said. Woman Serving Life, Freed by Confession of Another, Dies in Pen Raleigh, N. C. Feb. 1. Sarah Wyckoff. 76, is dead today in the .state prison after -12 years' imprison ment, during which she five times declined a pardon, after she had lived to learn that a death bed con fession had completely exonerated her from the charge for which she was sentenced. Forty-two years ago Sarah Wyck off entered the state prison to serve a life sentence, as the convict ed accomplice in the murder of her husband in the mountains of North Carolina. The convicted principal, a negro,' was hanged. Three years ago irom the mountains came wtrd that a deathbed confession had ab solved the woman of connection with the tragedy. Smith's Letter Tells Why He Opposes' and a duplication of overhead ex pense, all of which must ultimately be paid bv the consumers. "Second: For the water lioard to lay conduits and wires throughout the entire city, would take years of time and tremendous expense and would be a waste of money; to lay these conduits and wires through out the business section of our city (and all admit there is where they would first seek to furnish light and power), would necessitate the tearing up of miles of pavement at very great cost to the taxpayers of .the entire city, to say nothing of the annoyance resulting therelrom, and only a small portion of our taxpay ers could hope to profit thereby if the service were furnished only to the downtown district. Who. Would Profit? "Third: If the water board fur nished light and power at reduced rates to the downtown district', as it is probable they would, the big downtown stores, the large hotels, 'and the office buildings would be the ones that would profit by this reduction in rates; but to take that business away from the Nebraska Power company, leaving it with the same investment, the same under ground system of distribution and practically the same overhead ex pense that it now has, might so de plete its revenues that an increase in rates to remaining consumers would be inevitable. "Under those conditions, that in crease would fall on those in the outlying business districts, the smaller stores away from the busi ness center of the city, and on the people who use electricity for light ing thejr homes. The department stores, big hotels,' office buildings and large consumers of electricity for advertising, might, profit by fTurn to Face Six, Column Two.) Farmers Will Be Asked to Donate i Corn for Relief Nebraskaus Urged to Help in Contributing 500,000 Bush els of Grain for Hungry European Kiddies. The starving kiddies of Armenia hold out their hands to the world, begging piteously for food. The farmers of Nebraska have been giv en. an opportunity, to fill those little, ; scrawney hands with food by donat ing corn for their relief. . Dr. J. E. Kirby, Des Moines, rep- j resenting the National Near East Re lief council in Illinois. Iowa, Ne braska, Kansas and Missouri, was in Omaha yesterday conferring with D. Burr Jones, state secretary and director of the. Near East Relief committee. Today they will ask all farmers of Nebraska to help in donating o00. 000 bushels of corn to be converted- into corn food products to be shipped to orphanages, hospitals and hungry kiddies in the near east. Last week Dr. Kirby directed the shipping of 160 tons of corn to Constantinople, where it will be dis tributed through the famine district. All Corn Used for Food. All corn donated by the farmers in this district will be used as food. Not one pound will be sold. Dr. Kirby says. D. Burr Jones will handle all the shipments of corn and will furnish any information to farmers inter ested in the proiect. His office is at 321. Railway Exchange building, Omaha. All corn donated, from western Iowa and Nebraska will be convert ed into edible ci-reals by the Miller Cereal Co. of Omaha. The cost of conversion. 15 cents a bushel, trans portation and shipping to Armenia will be born by the relief com mission. ' ; All farmers, who can donate enough corn to make up a carload, are asked to notify D. Burr Jones in Omalia and be will direct ship pin? to Omaha. The corn in each car should cither be all yellow or all white, and does not require sacking. Moisture Extracted. When it has been milled, it is put through a process which extracts the greater portion of moisture. It is then sacked in 10-pound sacks and thesei sacks wrapped in burlap for shinpintf. President Howard of the Ameri can Farm Bureau is heartily in fa vor of disposing of the excess corn supplies of the 1 middlewest in' this manner. He has appointed Cai! Vrooman, former assistant ferretary of agriculture, to represent the na tional farm bureau in making the anneal for corn to the farmers. 4 lie jio.n i iu Kl i" Cci iuau oi eorn from Nebr&sVa within the next five or six weeks. Dr. Kirby says. The corn product.-, when hipped Ti.. :.. ,. . inn i j to Armenia go to feed 112.000 starv ing children in 222 ornhanapes and the inmates of oO hospitals. Besides these institutions there arc several hundred feeding station and 100,000 Russian refugees who fled into Ar menia when. General Wrancrle's armv was destroyed, to he supplied. There are 600 American men and women in Armenia directincr the work of relieving the hunger of Jews and Christians of the famine-stricken territory. Montana Copper Company To Suspend Operations Butte. Mont.. Feb. 1. Zinc onera tions of the Anaconda Copper Min ing company, will be suspended to night, according to an annouccment by the company. Seven hundred men'. 400 of them at Great Falls, and 300 in its smelter here, will be affected. Accumulation of large stocks of zinc was the rea son assigned for the shut-down. - Lost, 1 1 in Leaps Into River Stenographer Jumps to Her Death From Douglas Street Bridge to Missouri River t Below. Brother Explains Cause : In the icc-covorcd waters of the Missouri river the final chapter in another broken romance was writ ten at 7:20 yesterday morning. While employes of the smelter stared amazed a girl calmly climbed over the guard railing of the Doug las street bridge and leaped into the river to her death. Through an Omaha & Council BlurTs street railway commutation book, which was found in her purse,' the girl was identified as Miss Alice Hatch, 28, 921 Avenue A. Council Bluffs. i Disappointment in love was given as the cause ot the girl's act by co workers at the Fairbanks-Morse company, w hore she ' was employed as a stenographer, .md by her .broth er, Lcroy C. Hatch, Oakland court, Council Bluffs. Inmate of Asylum. Miss Hatch was committed to the state insane hospital at Clarinda on October 22, 1914, by the Pottawat tamie county insanity commissioner, sitting at Council Bluffs. Informa tion was filed by Charles D. Camp bell, her consin, who is now a city alderman. Dr. J. M. Barstow con ducted the medical examination which resulted m her commitment. Later she was paroled into the i custody of Mr. Campbell upon the recommendation, of Dr. Max E. Witte, superintendent of the state hospital.. ' On February 28, 1916, her parole ivas extended for six months p.nd on March 27, 1916, the received her final discharge from the institu tion. No 'inquest will be held in the case, according to Henry Cutler, coroner. Body is Recovered. Th-mutilated body of the dead girl was picked up from the ice in the river Hdv Emergency officer Buglcwicz and Motorcycle Officer Emery, who. carried her to a shack on the east side. She had missed the stream of water in the center of the river by a !-cant 10 feet. Her life had been crushed out by the force of her fall. Both legs, arms, spine and her skull were fractured. Smelter employes who saw the girl's fatal leap notified C. E. Har vey, 3116 Avenue D, Council Bluffs, who ran to thclwydge and told Jesse James, 1716 , Avenue B, Council Bluffs. James notified the bridge tollman, who summoned police, and then, in company with Harvey, ran to the river bank, where they were joined by Officers Buglewicz and Emery. Engaged to Beloit Man. Leroy C. Hatch, the girl's brother, said she had been engaged to Sanr ' (Turn lo Pare Two. Column Two) Missing Teacher Found In Her Own Apartment In Hysterical Condition Miss Lucile Erazin, .24. public school teachcer who mysteriously disappeared Monday morning, was found in a wall compartment in her flatat the St. Claire apartments yes terday morning by her sister, Miss Elizabeth Erazin. and Miss Marie Hiber, another. .teacher. Police, Pinkerton detectives and friends had conducted an unavailing 24-hour search for the missing girl. She had lain in the compartment, which is low and contains an under slung bed. the entire time, in the opinion of her sister, who says she was not feeling well and probably hid there rather than alarm her. The girl was in a hysterical con dition and gave no cxolanation of how or when she entered the wall compartment. May Tighten Regulations For Sacramental Wines - Washington, Feb. 1. New regula tions covering the use of sacramental wines lor the coming Jewish holidays may be issued by the internal revenue bureau, as a result of a conference between bureau officials and a delega tion of rabbis from various parts of the country. Spokesmen for the delegation said prohibition enforce ment officers had expressed a wil lingness to, adopt any reasonable regulations consistent with theN en forcement of prohibition laws. Sheep Growers of Utah Reduce Shearers' Pay Salt Lake City. Feb. 1. The Utah Wool Growers' association an nounces that it will pay shearers this year 9 cents a head for very sheep sheared and will charge $1 a dav tor boarding the shearer?. The shear ers' .union announces thai it will ieek to have contracts calling for 12. cents per head of sheep with employers providing the board. Man Who Sought Family With Children Rents Home Pine niuff. Ark.. Feb. 1. -The home of Thomas Ashcraft, banker, which he advertised yesterday he would rent only to a family with children, the rent to be reduced in proportion to the number of children was leased yesterday to a family with six children. Sugar Prices Hit Lowest Mark Today for Last 2 Yearn New York, Feb. 1. Fine granu lated sugar was quoted at 7'A cents a pound by several large refiners in the local market today. This price represents a decrease of a fourth cent and is the lowest price quoted for two years. This Ground Hog Sees His Shadow II Detective Shot By Thief Loses j; Fight for Life Wife Is at Bedside at Hospi talMurder Charges WilL. Be Filed Against Assailant. Detective Arthur Cooper died at 2:45 yesterday afternoon in the Clarkson Memorial hospital. At his bedside when the end came was, his wife. Detective Cooper was shot in -.a revolver duel with Norman "Nels" Johnson, confessed burglar, last Friday night at Eighteenth and Howard streets. His wounds were in the abdomen, wrist and leg. Late Monday afternoon he went into convulsions, which left him un conscious until his death. Comrades Notified. His comrades on the police force were notified at noon yesterday the end was near and if they wished to see their friend alive again they should go to the hospital. A number of the officers took ad vantage, of the warning. Funeral services for the . officer who died in line of duty have not been arranged, but will probably be. in charge of the police department. File Murder Charges. Johnson, who fired the fatal shot which killed Cooper, is held for trial in the district court on' two charges of burglary. Murder charges will probably be filed against fiim today, according to the county attorney. j Efforts will be made by the po lice department to send Johnson to the electric chair. Acting Chief of Detectives Jack Pszatowski de clared yesterday afternoon, im mediately after the report of the of ficer's death. In Many Gun Battles. Detective Cooper was one of the best-liked men in the department. He was known as the most ret icent chap on the force and had no enemies from the head of the dc oartment down. He had been in more gun battles with criminals and desperate char s.ctcrs in Omaha than any other of ficer now on the force. He was promoted to detective three' years atro when he captured Roy Green of Council Bluffs dur ing a running gun fight through the raiiroad yards. He is survived by hi wi't'e and 1 : i 'lifunt daughter. 7(1 Ttatlipal Dpnnrtps Sail from United States New York, Feb. 1. Seventy ' radicals, including several women, ordered deported to Russia, lett here today aboard the steamship Esthonia tor Libau, Latvia. From there they will be -sent by rail at government expense as far as Riga and thence across the Russian frontier. Most of the radicals were sent to the Ellis island . immigration station from Boston and Philidelphia, where they have been held. Dividend Passed New York. Feb 1. The hoard oi directors of the American Hide and Leather company passed the regular quarterly dividend of 1-U per cent on prciered stock. This rate has been paid since January 2, 1920. .kissed Mrs. Harding Opens New Clothes Campaign From New York Hotel New York, Feb. 1. Mrs. W. G. Ha-rdi. Jjegan - selecting the . coji tents of her White House clothes cabinet today. She did not go shop ping, but conducted a hotel suite campaign for clotUes. Modistes, tailleurs. furriers and jewelers fol lowed one another into-her rooms, where she pent nearly eight hours inspecting their offerings. Scores of fabrics, gowns, hats and a few models were taken to her suite, but the crowd that momenta rily expected Mrs. Harding to ap pear, for an automobile ride or shop ping tour waited in vain. Style dictators predicted that the laws of fashion will be blue after March 4. That is flic favorite color of Mrs. Harding. Mrs. Hai ding also made it clear that there will-be no foreign frills in her wardrobe. "I'm 100 per cent American," she said. Her jewels also were "All American." the favorite being colonial types. Son of Wealthy Tacoma Man Kidnaped by Lone Bandit; Gains Freedom Tacoma, Wash.. Feb. 1 Arthur Rust, 20, son of W. R. Rut, wealthy Tacoma resident, was kidnaped here today by a lone bandit and forced, at the point of a revolver, to write a note to his father for $25,000 ran som, according to reports to the police. Rust later was found bound in a garage on the tide flats below the city. He said he had accepted a stranger's invitation of an auto mobile ride to work, and immediately was driven to the garage where he was tied with a rope and a heavy blanket thrown o.ver his head. After binding the boy, the . kid napers, police believe, left to sum mon a messenger to notify Rust's father. While his captor was away the boy said he chewed a"hole in the blanket aaid attracted the at tention of a negro, who called the police. The messenger who took the note to Rust's father was arrested. The tlder Rust, head of the big Tacoma smelter, sard he would have paid the ransom. French Deputies Defeat Strict Economy Program PaKc. Feb. 1. The Briand cov- rrnll,cnt fa'lfd to obtain cqinpliance by the chamber of deputies with the government's economy program in its first parliamentary assault fii made by Finance Minister JJ.'Utiier, when he opposed efforts to raise the agricultural appropriation tor -regional offices from 15,000,000 francs to last year's figure of 22.200,000 francs. The deputies insisted on a larger sum. however, and the min ister finally consented to the in crease. Southern Pacific to Lay Off 1,200 Men on Saturday Sacramento., Cal., Feb. 1. Twelve hundred men employed in the South ern Pacific railroad shops here will be laid off on February 4, owing to a slump in business, it was an nounced today by A. D. Williams, superintendent of motive power for tint company. Harding Asks for Special Session of Senate Marxh.4 Wilson Requested to Convene Body So It Can Confirm Cahinet and Other Ap pointments. Washington, Feb. 1. A request from President-elect Harding that a special session of the new senate be celled for March 4 to confirm cabi net and other appointments to be made by tne incoming executive was conveyed today to President Wilson. Such a session is customary when there is a change of administrations, and it usually lasts only a week at most. The request was made i through Senator Underwood, demo cratic leader. Nearly a score of new senators were elected last November and in order for them to be here by March 4 the call for the special session I would have to go out lt days or more m aavance ot that date. Alter the present session ends the new senate would meet ond the new members would be sworn in. The senate . then would be ready to act upon Mr. Harding's nominations. The call for the special session of the new congress will be issued by Mr. Harding after his inauguration. Jr is expected that this session will begin either late in March or early in April. Robher Steals $22,000 Jewel Bag on Pullman Atlantic City. N. J., Feb. 1. The police of Atlantic City, Philadelphia and New York, together with rail road detectives, are searching for the robber who stole $22,000 in jewels, the property of Mrs. M. R. Gano of Philadelphia, last Friday while she was on her way here in a Pullman car from Philadelphia. The jewels were in a beaded bag and Mrs. Gano had gone to the washroom in the car. She laid the bag down on the stand and a minute or two later left the room, forget ting the bag. As soon as she dis covered her loss she hurried back, but the bag had disappeared. Confessed Wife Murderer Is Sentenced to 50 Years Algona. Ia.. Feb. 1. L. T. Benja min, confessed wife slayer, was sen tenced to 50 years in the state prison today by District Judge D. F. Coyle. Sentence was passed after Benjamin had repeated a confession made last week. Benjamin said his wife had accused him of interest in other women and in anger he had seized a hammer and struck her. The Weather Forecast. Fair and colder Wednesday. Hourly Temperatures. 3 n. m '.'Ill p. m ST H it, ni 17 i p. ni IIH 1 a. m :s S p. ill 3!) K n. in. ? 4 p. m SH 0 a. n !' 5 p. ni Sit 10 a. in .til A p. ni .17 11 a. in : 7 p. m. .17 12 noon Si I R p. ni 38 Mlilppnr' Bulletin. Protect xhlrmenti durlnir th nxt 54 lo 3d hours tram tmiiprratum .is fol Inws.. norlti, 16 ilwrta; 1(1 do. erpw; south. Si tU-grcej; wat, 19 dc House for Army Force Of 150,000 Strong Sentiment for Reduc tion in Present Strength Shown in Dehate on An nual Appropriation Bill. U.S.NowWdl Prepared lly Ttie AuMiiliilril rre. Washington, D. C, Feb. 1. Tak ing up the $328,000,000 army appro priation bill, the house in its debate today showed it was ready to fight any attempt to put the enlisted per sonnel above 150,000, provided in the measure. Chairman Anthony of the appropriations subcommittee, de clared that in reducing the amount provided for the army's maintenance, it had responded to public demand and effort to end "waste and extrava gance that has characterized the mil itary establishment for the last few' years." The chairman was interrupted by a vollev of nuestions. indicating srroug support ior an rmv ui uu. Oflfl men and amiroimitel v 14.0U0 ....... .. . .. ,. f t:n commissioned officers. Guarantees Reduction. ) At ' A .,t!m,r l...:clf,4 tlit'c tMtniliri w .,ii niiinuii, IH3I3LVU IIH3 iiniuiv . would be sufficient, that the national guard would become an invaluable adjunct if given the support and sym pathy of the War department, and that there would be no difficulty in bringing down the present total by T,,t ip 1 "After March 4, I can guar.uitei: that the army will be reduced," tie ; said.' In fixing the maximum, he de clared it had been agreed upon after careful study of the country's actual needs, adding that the United States, was better prepared than any other, nation to fight, as it had ammunition on hand that it could not use in 20 years. Discussing civilian eipployes. the . chairman said: . "If this bill is passed, the War de partment will be called on to per form a surgical operation that will rid it of 40,000 civilian employes." Big Appropriation Asked. The total cost of the military es tablishment this year was $494,000. 000, he said, while for the next fiscal vcar the department had asked for. $692,000,000. Representative Sisson of Mississip pi, ranking democrat on the sub committee, declared that in adopting a resolution directing the secretary . .' .. . i . .. i , i.rnnft ji war hoi io recruit dcvouu io.uwu, congress was not' prevented from insisting on a less figure. He said there were too many civilian cm-, ployes. . State Department to Leave Jap Question to New Adirunistration Washington. Feb. 1. State de partment officials indicated that t'.io i-olution of the qvestion growing out of the enactnu nt-of the California anti-alien land law would be left to the Harding administration. Officials said the present negotia tions between the American and Ja panese governments were designed to effect a bcrtnanent settlement of a question which had been open for nearly 30 years and that a final set tlement probably would require con siderable more time than was left to the Wilson administration. w Conversations between Ambassa-. dors Shidehara and Morris, which were concluded last week with the submission of their reports and rec emmendatioris to their government, plight have to be reopened, it was indicated, after the respective gov ernments had studied the agreement arrived at. Daniels in Favor of Petroleum Embargo Washington, Feb. 1. Secretary j Daniels has given hi approval to a I bill by Senator Phclan. democrat. California, autiiotizmg the president to embargo petroleum exports. The Phclan bill is pending before the senate naval committee and with the endorsement of the Navy depart ment head, ,thc California senator said he would press the measure-. In reply to an inquiry from Chair man Page of the committee. Secre tary Daniels said: "I am in" hearty accord with the provisions of the bill, and I am of the opinion that the enactment of this legislation is highly desirable"' Texas Governor Attacks Suspended Sentence Law Austin, Tex.. Feb. 1. flntn'.lir ; repeal of the law providing for sus pending sentence wa recomcndctl to the legislature by Governor Nei"t in a niessagc"Ielivered todav. lie declared tlic law was a "conven ent vehicle" by which a great number of criminals escape punisnmcnt and characterized it as "the incubator of professional sriminals." Commission Proposed To Select a State Flag Lincoln, j cd. I. ( spcciaH Ap pointment of a commission to select a state flag for Nebraska and present the emblem to the next legislatnre for lcgaUadoption as the "Nebraska state flag." is proposed in a bill in troduced in the lower house by Rep resentative Williams of Fillmore. Nashville Firm Fined Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1. The Nashville Railway and Light com pany was fined $2,000 in a case in which it was alleged to have violated the statute providing for the separ.i tion ot the raccoon street ep case will be appealed to court for a test oi