St. Louis Post-Dispatch
April 18, 1928

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a © co) MIC F > p voknan pe APRIL 17, Full Page in One of the the Sunday Post-Dispatch TODA aac wv & #47 OFF Y word! WELL ANYEODy pee T.LOUIS POST- DISPATCH The Only Evening Newspaper in St. Louis With the ‘Associated Press News Service SPORT FINAL Stock, Bond and Curb Tables Complete BENEFIT OF A DOUBT. THe & DELORES CASTANET 4 A VER 1. L, 80 NO. 224 ST. LOUIS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 1928 —36 PAGES. PRICE 2 CENTS REAL LADY. SHE'S Gor a ISTOCRATIC NAME......NOW Aan” IS DON ALFERDO.........LET name INK....2-.2 SOMEHOW OR ER I JUST CAN’T,....00..W KNOW HE's SOMEBODY WORT BARS i Objects to Ex- ay J Head's Testimony Ground He Was Not Yet at Negotiations. Sy 4 fill FEARED STIR : en THE CAPITOL X , for the lease. a (Pal Wet Tesult, he faiieq of promo- 800n afterward retired. 4 practicing engineer in i mr City. = €0 Policy of Secrecy. Rover cross-exami- Wen J. Roberts, special _, ~ Prosecutor, Robison ite ‘that before negotiating a? M® and Fall agreed to Co, | Secret, believing _ 88s learned the truth, 2 be trouble.” ° Of that agreement, + y nel “ee 4S Tibia. Wrote to several ding two Congress- c peep had not been | Wane} & matter of fact, “i rece been signed. Other , b received incomplete or eae ‘Teports. “ . 5 Whole, Robison, consid- | “@F Witness for the de- a ered to give almost as : to the prosecution ,said Farmer afterward, questions.” damages in | hardt, a blacksmith of Oakville, St. 000 damages George Roth of Central Township, three of his Deputies or ed on Page 2, Column 5. rinse $150,000, some personal University under the terms of the 1 effects, and one-half the residuary estate during life. The will, dated Jan. 26, 1928, di- rects that his son, Chauncey M. Depew Jr., receive the great brown- stone family home in West Fifty- fourth street, $200,000 in cash, one. | fourth the residuary estate out- right and the income of one-fourth of the residuary estate during his life. Other bequests to relatives in- clude: Haze) Pingree Depew, wid- ow of his nephew, Sherman L. De- pew, Detroit, $50,000; Florence Al- iison, Detroit, his niece, Chauncey Depew de Granville, $10,000. Mr. Depew ward Sundell, for almost 40 years his literary secretary, and smaller bequests to house servants, Mr. Depew’s only surviving sis- ter, Mrs. Kate Strang of Pelham, receives the income of $150,000 during her life, and Anne Depew Paulding, his niece, receives a life income from a $200,000 trust. ‘LLOYD GEORGE FINDS IT PAYS TO LUNCH WITH FORD CHARLIE BIRGER ' Ex-Premier Gets a Promise of | | a New Tractor After Enter- tainine Auto Man. ' By the Associatec Press. LONDON, April 18.—The lunch.- | eon gave Henry (than paid for itself. Ford yesterday more which David Lloyd-Georg: | ‘Only One Witness Intro- The former | Premier complained the Ford trac- | tor on his farm at Churt, Surrey, did not plow deep enough. “IT will send you one that does, | as soon as I get home,” Ford said. “Thanks, that will help a lot,’ Lloyd-George. pay the freight.” “No, you won't,’” said Ford. freight and all are on me.’ Ford saw Lloyd-George at best. The war-time Premier, just “The | itive about the United States that he almost forgot to eat his chop. Ford accepted Lloyd George’s luncheon invitation with pleasure. and anticipated hearing much about British politics. He had al- ready met the King and the Prince | of Wales, but, of course, no foreign- er ever thinks of talking politics With royalty. Ford had many questions | mind, but Lloyd-George started ask- | ing enous the presidential cam- | paign what were chances, and Dawes’, and Smith’s. Then he got Ford's views on prohibition, on industry, on ex- ports, on imports, on agriculture-—-, the former Premicr being particu- larly interested in farmers. “My goodness!” exclaimed Ford “but that man can as BLACKSMITH GETS $11,000 VERDICT AGAINST SIX OFFICERS Jury at Second Trial Gives Judg- ment to George Lenhardt for Alleged Beating. A jury at Clayton this afternoon returned a judgment of $11,009 favor of George Len- in his suit for $100,- against Constal le Louis County, former Deputies, and two private dtec- tives. In the first trial, early in March, ‘after which the defendants were granted a new trial, the jury awarded Leonhardt $24,000 dam- ages—512,000 actual and $12,090 punitive damages. He alleged he was brutally beaten and subjectec d to third-degree methods while in the hands of Central Township au- thorities in August, 1925, being questioned in the murder of his wife, Sadie, who was found shot to death near Oakville Aug. 1, 1925. The second jury gave him $1000 actual and $10,000 punitive dam- ages. The other defendants against whom the judgment stands are Deputy Constables George Marin and Sam Scissors, former Deputy Constable Frank Robison and R. B. MecNeeley and Max Lan- der, operatives of the Hargrave Detective ABency. Lenhardt was digcharged at a preliminary hear- ing in the murder investigation. INQUIRY INTO CHAIN STORES BY U. S, TRADE BODY URGED House Measure Would = khbearn Whether Concerns Violate Anti-Trust Laws. Ey the Associated Press. WASHINGTON. April, 18.— -\ move to investigate the practices of chain store organizations to dete mine if they constitute a violation cf the Federal anti-trust laws, W2s | initiated in the House today in 2 measure introduced by Represenia- tive Stobbs (Rep.) of Massachu- ang, icant Al; “TH his | i | reach, " | Birger, back from the Easter holidays, was 6 'as keen as a whistle, and so inquis- FOUND SANE, WILL HANG TOMORROW duced by Defense at Gangster’s Mental Heai- ing; Jury Out 12 Minutes | | beneficiary | Philip D. By Ek. ROY ALEXANDER. A Staff Correspondent of the Post- Dispatch. BENTON, IIL, who once could boast that he and the ruffians in his gans $50,000, | Bresson, | France, son of his niece, | left $10,000 to Ed- ARMOUR'S WIDOW AND CHILD 10 PAY $10,000,000 DEB Mrs. Lolita Armour Mitchell and Mrs. Armour Assume _ Liability Also for $7,000, - 000 Bonds of Project. BAD ADVICE LED TO DECLINE OF FORTUNE Packer Died Heavily In- volved as Resuit of Series of Bad Investments After Building Up Concern. Special to the Post-Dispataoh, CHICAGO, April 18.—Mrs. Lo- lita:Armour Mitchell, daughter of the late J. Ogden Armour, multi- millionaire packer who died heavily involved, and her mother, Mrs. J. Ogden Armour, have come forward to clear Armour’s business name by paying $10,000,000 of his debts, it is reported by the Chicago Daiiy News. In addition, they have assumed liability for the payment of $7,- 600,000 worth of bonds of the Sut. ter Basin Co., a land enterprise .n | Which Armour had sunk a fortun:. The action of the packer's daughter and his widow—takine from their personal fortunes a tota} of $17,000,000 to meet the debts pe was unable to clear up before his death in August, 1927. is said to be unprecedented. ‘founder of the ; ; and April 1§8.—Charlie | | lence, Daughter Worth Millions. Mrs. s. Mitchell Chicago Jr., wealthy son of a banker—was the main of the estate of Mrs Armour, mother of J. Og- Armour and Widow of the packing company. through that bequest. frequent gifts from den Mrs. Mitchell, through -Cross-Ocean Flyer at Canadian Village —Copyricht. Pgrific & Atlantic—Pathe N ewes photo. By Wire to St. Louie. SIDENER AND GEIST SPLIT: WERE ALLIES EIGHT YEARS Prosecutor Says He Fired Clerk, but Latter Asserts He Resigned Post as Aid. CIRCUIT ATTORNEY MAKES NO CHARGES MAJ. JAMES FITZMAURICE, co-pilot of the plane Bremen (left) and the Mayor of Seven Islands | Official States Merely That at Seven Islands, Que. WIFE KILLS HUSBAND N ROW OVER DAUGHTER Louisville Woman Flees in Tax- icab, Finds She Has No Money, Then Returns. By the Associated Press. LOUISVILLE, Ky., April Mrs. Nadine Weinert, 28 years old, shot and killed her husband, Bruno 42, yesterday noon, follow- ¥ einert, orchestra, a rat , 'ing a quarrel over Weinert’s 14- year-old daughter by a marriage. The girl was in schoo! {at the time of.the murder. Mitchell—the wife of John | | Weinert, and flagged a taxicab. ‘apparently aimlessly, to a point 19 her father in the days of his Opu- | generally is accounted to ' have millions in her own name. were above the law and out of its | sat in court here .’esterdas with his hands manacled and saw his last hope of life crumble away iq | finding 'send him to the insane asylum. He 'before his narrowed eyes. He | heard a jury find that he was san: | when his only hope for escapinz the gallows for the murder of May- or Joe Adams of West City was ¢ of insanity which would ‘saw his lawyers abandon all hope | handcuffs shook together. ‘ibly hard and bitter, way der. ».|—say ‘this is the end.” Hoover’s | —S4y t ‘the court order that he be hanged of | } “~i the first State witness. (on uninterrupted until he came to; father. It the point where he told how Bir-j;in his heyday. , ' ' ) |the | eve of He heard tomorrow between the hours sunrise and sunset. y As he was led out of the court- though | (bank stocks, a room after it all he smiled, his face twitched with agitation and his hands trembled so that his Incred- he court and passed between two lanes of curious townspeople, wit his hair flying and his eyes to the front, before he took ap | highe | robbery, He will be hanged at 10 o'clock | tomorrow morning. The jury was out only 12 minutes. Only One Defense Witness, Thursday night within 13 hours 2f the time set for his execution so that a jury might inquire into his sanity, Birger already had exhaust- ed the possibilities offered by the courts, the Pardon Board and the Governor for clemency. The san- ity hearing, which Circuit Judz2 Miller was forced to grant under the law, was invoked only to give him a few more days of life. Hardly anyone believed that Birger had become insane since he was sen- tenced and that he no longer com.- prehended the nature of the fate that awaited him. Yesterday afternoon after the jury had been impaneled and sworn, Birger’s attorneys offered only one witness, Morris McGlas- son, a barbecue stand proprietor of Duquoin, who testified that Birger acted “queer” when Mc- Glasson visited him in jail two months ago. testimony and while everybody wondered how the defense expect- ed to gét anywhere with that line of attack, Attorney Robert C. Smith of Benton, Birger’s chief counsel, abruptly. rested. Apparently Birger realized that it was all over. As State's Attor- ney Martin put on his first of sev- eral witnesses to prove that Birger was sane the gangster straightened in his seat. An ugly sahdonic smile settled on his lips and his eyes narrowed to slits. Birger tnterrupts. Deputy Sheriff Roy Clutts was! He went last Thursday afternoon. on ger his execution day, It was unconvincing ! | range Mrs. lv wealthy, nents owing to financial made by ar- the packer during his life. _day | America, 'mystery. concern ,worth of i 'his his thead up and his back ‘ing financial figure in the middle stiff as he learned to carry himseif | west, ‘in the cavalry ‘the business of bootlegging, gambling and mur- | The story of the decline of the fortune of J. Ogden Armour. one of ‘the money kings is fraught with Inheriting the ing enterprise from his 1901, Armour built ic that did vast pack- father in up $182,000,000 business a year to « gi- gantic corporation which boasted an aggregate business in beef and food products of a billion dollars. The man who, in 1922, was ‘forced to sell his regally appointed Farm and huge blocks of | Melody few years earlier, had laughed at an outright pur- chase offer of $150,000,.000 for his left the | share of Armour stock, Learn All Parts of Business Taken out of Yale University by ‘ather, who was then a tower- Armour learned the busi- ness from the ground up. When he took contro] he pushed into South | America and broke the British beef monopoly there, opening the South American market to the world. to Louisville, 'a fur coat from a ' Armour also is independent- | pledged the garment with the cab | company | Other drivers in the office rec- | * Other roomers at the hotei, where the pair ‘“ived, heard the shots and attempted to stop Mrs. She had the taxicab chauffeur drive her, miles from Louisville, when shz discovered she had no money. She had the driver take her back where she obtained friend and for her fare. 'ognized her and trailed her to a in his | ct. much | ; by from a | over the presence in their apart- restaurant after notifying police. Arrested, she is said to have con- tossed. Police declared the argument that led to the killing was causcd resentment of Mrs. Weinert ‘ment of her husband’s daught-r. ne - ey — In addition to his packing com. | pany holdings, Armour went into the railroad and banking field and ‘for years was accounted the most rieved from the gallows last | ae gay i : /powerful banker in Chicago. Al- ways generous, he perpetuated his father’s gifts to charity and made large donations to hospitals. When he was forced to begin a policy of retrenchment in 1920, men ‘who had been associated with him in financial enterprises couid not be- lieve that *-is vast fortune : ad be- gun to feel the strain. His ‘riends said Armour began to take bad advice conce,;ning in- yestnients, and that he had put millions in schemes chat were ‘“‘bloomers.”’ Owed 318,000,000 at Death, Armour sold out virtually all his bank holdings. In January, 1923, a year after Armour & Co. had begun to feel financial straits, the big corporation was merged with Morris & Co., also packers. At that time Armour was forced to Ethel G. i borrow heavily to guarantee cer- | of the Armor the tain merger. Armour $60,000,000 provisions owed before merger. That debt had been cut finally to | $18,000,006. The $10,000,000 from his daugh- | ter and widow will be applied on | that debt, it Is understood. Armour guaranteed all the bonds of the romantic Sutter Bas- in project. The total of the bonds was $18,000,000. The daughter and widow are underwriting $7,- 000,000 worth. Bigures associated with Armour in business read of his tribute to a foyal was said that he “a social man.’ He wag wer devoted, to & Co.} | | | | into the action | wife and daughter their, husband and | of Armour. | was not. The pair had been married «tess than a year. $1,000,000 GODDARD ESTATE GOES TO THREE CHILDREN Will Filed in Probate; $1000 Be- queathed to Each of Three Friends. The estate of Mrs. Virginia A Goddard, valued in escess of $1,- (00,000, is left to her! » sons and a daughter in equal shares under Mrs. Godéard’s will, filed in "ro- kate Court today. It consists largely of Internation- al Shoe Co. stock, both commotr ond preferred, originally purchased by Mrs, Goddard's husband, the late George H. Goddard, St. Lois banker, and since accumulated. The heirs are the daughter, Mrs Biggs, wife of David C. Biggs, Governor of the Federal] Re- serve Bank of St. Louis, and Mrs Coddard’s two sons, Tyra H. and George H. Goddard. They are mamed executors and are directed to pay $1000 each to three friends of Mrs. Goddard, Amiter Jamison of New Orleans, Virginia’ Flad Deane and Mrs. Sarah B. Knapp. Mrs. Goddard, who resided at 5370 Waterman avenue, died last Wednesday. RAIN TONIGHT AND GOLDER TOMORROW; STRONG WINDS | THE TEMPERATU RES. oft icial forecast for St. Louis and vicinity, Rain to- night and tomor- row; colder to- morrow; strong shifting winds. Missouri: Most- iy cloudy tonight and tomorrow, probably with showers tonight: colder tomorrow. and in west and central portions tonight; probably frost in west por- tion tonight. Illinois: Rain tonight and to- morrow; warmer in east ‘portion tonight; colder strong. shifting winds. Sunrise (tomorrow) | tomorrow, Sunset 6:41. 5:19. Stage of the Mississipp! 18. 5 feet, Continued on Page 3, Column & “Continued on Page 3, Column’ ® tet et OR on a " ee leader of a theater former who fled from the hotei Runway Hit by Tail of Ship — Irish Ace Hops | Off in Rescue Craft for Murray Bay. By the Canadian Press. MURRAY BAY, Quebec, April 15. —Maj. James Fitzmaurice of the Bremen crew landed here at 2:27 o’clock in the Canadian Airways plane, piloted by. A. C. Schilier. They left Clarke City at 12:30 and fought a head wind on the way here. One of the kers, daughter of the builder of tae Bremen. Fifty persons immediate- ly surrounded the ocean flyer and there was a hubbub of shoutel The welcoming throng r?e- porters and camera men who haa heen waiting several days for the Irishman. Schiller’s, plane was slightly in landing on Lake St. questions. largely comprised newspaper damage a | Ag. soft ice. The second Canadian Airways Greenly Island at noon today. The plane, “piloted by R. Vacnon and carrying a Canadian Press reporter and cameraman, left Seven Islands to Greenly Island in five hours. {| CLARKE CITY, Quebec, 18.—(By the Canadian Press.)— Among the dangers encountered by the flyers @¢on_ the trans-Atlantic monoplane Bremen on its journey from Ireland to Greenly Island, listed in one of the first inter- views with Mag. James Fitzmaurice, was a collision with a sheep. Maj. Fitzmaurice, on his way from Greenly Island to Murray Ba/, told Pwd. Collier, representative of the Clarke Steamship Co. here, that ust as the plane was about tod tak runway. The Bremen bounced off the ground just in time to avoid grind- ing the animal up in the propelle- but the tai] of the plane struck the sheep and cut it badly. Although the collision of an air- plane and a bleating sheep may sound humorous, the danger was very serious actually. The take- off was considered one of the most critical moments of the flight. the plane being so heavily loaded with fuel, and a head-on ‘collision with the animal might easily have upset the ship. Shows Signs of Strain. | Fitzmaurice landed here last night in a plane piloted by C. A. (Duke) Schiller. They were on their way to get parts needed to repair the Bremen, which was damaged in landing on Greenly Island, in the hope that it could be flown on to New York. He had a four days’ beard and had not had a cpance to bathe or change his clothes’ since leaving Baldonne! Thursday. but he was grinning happily. After a shave and a bath he was again the jaunty “Witz” of the Irish air force. but the deep hollows of his eyes told their own story of the ordeal through which he and his German companions had passed. Maj. Fitzmaurice told the Ca- nadian Press correspondent at Seven Islands today he had not the “slightest idea” what Baron Huenefeld and Capt. Koehl, his companions on the flight from Ire- land. intended to do. “T jeft them fixing up the ma- chine.” he said. “and it seemed as though it would be ready very soon, | What they will do then or where they will fly I do not know. All! can say is that I left them be- cause I was anxious to get home Sheep That Strayed Onto || first. to greet Maj. | Fitzmaurice was Miss Herta Jun- | nes, the tail skid catching in the | this morning and flew the 400 mies | é 'same general region ag that in which the Bremen landad. April | the air at Baldonne! Airdrome ne*r | Dublin a sheep trotted across the | oe FITZMAURICE TELLS HOW BREMEN PLANE ESCAPED ACCIDENT AT TAKE-OFF BREMEN. WENT THROUGH FIERCE STORM AND FOG i ALL NIGHT, BARON SAYS By Canadian Press. POINT AMOUR, Que., April 18. REQUEST from the Mar- A coni wireless operator here to Baron Huenefeld for a description of his trans-Atlantic flight brought the following reply from Greenly Island: “Bremen time flight 36 hours and half. Struck heavy fog off Newfoundland coast. Forced fly above. Found im- possible.. Fog at 2000 feet high. Descended 50 feet of waves. Had to mount again. Very high seas. Steered west whole night. Heavy storm.’ SaW. stars occasionally. At dawfh ‘ flew over wooded country. Could not locate position. Also flew over large rivef, then large mountain loomed ahead. Rising, continued flight. At noon saw lighthouse, thought to be steamer. Landed quite exhausted. But happy. Fitz- Maurice gone to Murray Bay by Canddian plane. “HUENEFELD.” | ' and today I will go on up to Mur- ray Bay and then to New York to rlane to leave Murray Bay reached | take a boat for Ireland.” The Major said his experience inclined him to believe that other expeditions by air across the ocean from east to west had prob- ably met their tragic «nds in the “Flying conditions over the New- foundland banks,” he said, “are anything but pleasant. As a mat- ter of fact they are such as exist, I think, in no other part of the world.” 7 Ey the Associ QUEBEC. “mn 18,—The man-Irish Atlantic flyers planned to meet here to continue their flight to New York city in the Bremen’s sister ship, * ‘the Junkers F-13. Under these plans the Bremen would be left at Greenly Island for a while. The decision of Capta Hermann Koeh! and Baron Gunter von Huenefeld to give up their effort to repair their plane came as Maj. James Fitzmaurice fought a freez- ing northern storm in an effort to reach Quebec and start repair parts back to them. The Irish commandant and Charles A. (Duke) Schiller, Cana- dian pilot, spent the night | at Clarke City. Que.. where they were forced to land after a take-off from Natashquan in an.effort to fly to Murray Bay. F-13 at Montreal. The F-13 is at Montreal, it was flown from New Ger- where York, ready to take the Bremen crew to | the flyers’ the city they had set as their goal when they left Baldonnel, Ireland, six days ago. Miss Herta Junkers, daughter of the Bremen’s builder, is at Murray Bay, waiting to learn of yAans. The ice-breaking steamer Mont- calm, which the Canadian Govern- ment sent .to the flyers’ aid last Friday. was recalied yesterday. How this order would affect ‘the plans of the German flyers is un- certain. It was presumed their de- cision to leave the Bremen was prompted by the hope it could be shipped out on the Monteaim. The little steamer had been fighting a losing battle with the ice floes in Belle Isle Straits. At one time it was only 30 miles from its destination, but the wind had turned and swept it back. Fred Melchior, Junkers airplane expert, announced today that he would fly to New York thia after- | noon to get a propeller for the Bremen. ‘The propeller will be carried by air to the stranded ship. Fitzmaurice, said dispatches from Clarke City, is again ‘the rol- today | : Law Authorizes Removal of Employe and He Has Exercised Option. The bitter break in the exceed- ingly close friendship between Cir- cuit Attorney Howard Sidener and William Geist, who has been his chief clerk, most influential]: politi- eal adviser and a power in his of- has been Circuit Attorney, caused a local political sensation today; with Sidener asserting he fired Geist and Geist declaring that he resigned. .This ending of a political alliance which dominated the Circuit At- much speculation as to the extraor- dinary influence which Geist, a $200-a-month employe, exercised there, still is unexplained. Sidener. in a statement last night, spoke of taking action “after an investiga- tion.” Today, he said he was not “charging William Geist with of- ficial corruption.’ The inferences which the first statement left were not dismissed by the second state- ment to the satisfaction of politicai observers. . Much Talk About Geist. During four grand. jury investti- gations of Sidener’s office much talk and considerable testimony focused on the activities of Geist. It was cOmmon report at the Mu- nicipal Courts. Building that for months friends of Sidener had been urging him to “get rid of Geist” as a political liability. News that Sidener, facing an announced campaign for re-election, had dis- missed his Warwick and general factotum at once gave to the ‘question of whether Sidener had discovered facts which made such a move expedient if not impera- tive. His first statement last suggested this. It follows: “Today I dismissed William Geist as chief clerk in my office. “I took this action after due de- liberation and inquiry. “IT had been -Geist’s friend. He had appeared to be mine. I had absolute confidenceain him. His early services to me in my office were efficient and helpful. Says Geist Was Criticised. “During the past year or two, however, I have been subjected to criticism because of Mr. Geist. I was slow to believe the criticism leveled against him because of my confidence in him. ‘“T have made my own inveati- gation and am forced to the con- clusion that' his connection with the Circuit Attorney's office should be severed and, having reached that conclusion; there was nothing night ‘to do but to demand his resigna- tion, which I did yesterday. “I gave him one day to think about it. He refused to resign and today I discharged him. I shall make further inquiries and may have something more to say in the future.” With this statement in hand. a Post-Dispatch reporter called on Sidener to ask whether he had dis- covered anything wrong in the Cir- cult Attorney's office. He was asked to state whether his inves- tigations had given basis to recur- rent rumors that corruption exist- ed in his office; that certain law- Sidener was reminded that the im- putation of his statement appeared to place his office in a bad light and to thrust the onus upon Geist. Statement by Sidener, Sidener flatly declined to com- Continued on Page 3, Column 4, wey? oeeareun =e © — ~s — eta ae ee om ee oot s « — — _— os AA RO RA tN ES RN CE EON EELS A I ce | Nt CN NE OT NEA Lt | A eg A AL ROE AOL CA GD CII ct aA ely Nm fice for the eight years Sidener ~ torney’s office and gave rise to. ee Re er rs ee ee ee eee VAOw DEMME yma st art