St. Louis Post-Dispatch
November 16, 1928

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C PAGE RSDAY, BER 15, 1928, a oT. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH The Only Evening Newspaper in St. Louis With the Associated Press News Service ST. LOUIS, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1928.—64 PAGES. PRICE 2 CENTS » | CONSIDERS Sears Re 4 FOR A DIRECTED ~ VERDICT FOR HIN : : Defense Motion for Ac- quittal Presented When Government Concludes Its Case in Perjury Trial. ‘ i, oe . s bis a be Lad ny ee a a ’ wh c. eee ae ag ae fie . - " a t es ek EE PEt ens F Sous Ba TE a a a ho Sea jn, Soe eS ~? — Soyo i ete: —_ “4 ais ja: Yr al et ed Ly: Rens See Sa 155, OPER, Sines Lo J ERY RA ee cert Site ack me BID hon Bint * es 4 " ,oMITS RECEIPT OF $759,000 IN BONDS § 3 Two Reporters Testify De-. fendant Denied Knowl- edge of Continental Se- _curities in Senate Hearing -——>- * By RAYMOND P. BRANDT, A Staff Correspondent of the Post- Dispatch. "WASHINGTON, Nov. 13.—After the Government had _ rested its case today in the perjury trial of Robert W. Stewart. head of the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, who is being tried on the charge of having -festified falsely before the Senate ® Teapot Dome Committee last Fe - 7 a ruary, the defense ™ moved that the Court direct | jury to return a verdict of immediately the not guilty. > dustice Jennings Bailey, in the j District of Columbia Supreme Court, took the motion under ad- _ visement and later adjourned the ® tral to Monday without ruling on the defense motion. With the yury excluded, Jesse C. Adkins argued for the defense that @f acquittal should be dire@ed by P the Court on the ground that evi- » dence had not been produced to Wpport the charge. - 8 the last witness, Senator Nye | North Dakota testified, Stewart } had sworn to the Senate committee ® last February that “he had never | feceived personally” any of the a of the Continental Trading Senator Walsh Recalled. Senator Thomas J. Walsh of S Mouthina testified today as to the , ules and customs followed by Sen- ate committee meetings. The propriety of the Public Lands Committee meetings last February, before which the oil man is charged with hAving sworn that he knew nothing about bonds of the bogus tae elinate company has been challenged by tne defense. Cross-examining Walsh, | Frank J. Hogan, chief counsel for | Stewart, dwelt particularly on the lack of an actual quorum present When Stewart appeared. Earlier Roy J. Barnett, tax com- missioner for Stewart's company, completed his testimony about the trust agreement made between him and the defendant in Novem- ber, 1921, by which he took cus- tody over the $759,000 in Conti- nental bonds assigned to Stewart from that company’s profits. Bar- Nett said the bonds had been given to him by Stewart in five differ- ent batches, sealed in unmarked envelopes. Among the spectators in court today was “Chick” Evans, famous golfer and a friend of Stewart's, Who defense counsel said would testify in the case as a character witness, Describes Secrecy Stewart Threw Around Continental ‘Bonds. Yesterday was the best day the Prosecution has had since the trial began. From Barnett it obtained & reluctant but illuminating de- scription of the secrecy which Stewart threw around his posses- sion of the Liberty Bonds that be received from the Continental conipany. It also obtained the right to introduce in eviderce Stewart's testimony before the Committee, April 24, in which he admitted receiving and holding the bonds. This. coupled with his tes- mony of the preceding Feb. 2. that he had never received the bonds and knew nothing about their distribution forms the basis of the perjury charge. Newspaper Men on Stand. . Warned by indications that tewart might take the stand and a Geny that he gave the answers _ SScribed to him in the stenographic ‘Tecord of the committee hearings, “a Government also called two Anan correspondents, Paul Y. : *fson of the Post-Dispatch, | £4 Elliot L. Thurston of the New | *0rk World. who testified that they, aa Were Present during Stewart's ap- | Pearances and heard him declare had never received any of the’ | Sonds, and knew nothing _ their distribution. Barnett told how he was called nto Stewart's office, in Chicago in 7 Ovember, 1921, and asked to be- | Come a trustee of certain Liberty ds which Stewart expected toe ee s eive at intervals in the future about _ Continued on Page 8, Column & RAIN TONIGHT, TOMORROW, TURNING COOLER TOMORROW THE ene PERATURES. COIR SIT PPPSP ABAD LAD> Y —~ 2k 2p Meee or © ~ Official fore- cast for St. Louis and vicinity: Rain tonight and _ to- morrow ; cooler tomorrow. Missouri: tonight and morrow; morrow, and in west and north portion .tonight. Illinois: Rain tonight and to- morrow; cooler tomorrow, and in north portion to- night. Sunset 4:46. Sunrise (tomor- row), 6:47. Stage of the Mississippi, 11.0 feet, a fall of 0.3. , THE ELEPHANT HAS UNPACKED HIS TRUNK AT JEFFERSON CITY ees to- cooler pee $1 60000018 CAMPAIGN DEFICIT OF DEMOCRATS Treasurer Gerard of Nation- al Committee Estimates Expenses at $5,300,000 —$3,736,000. Donated. Py the Associated Press. NEW YORK, Nov. 16.—James W. Gerard, treasurer of the Demo- cratic National» Committee, today estimated that the party’s deficit in the recent campaign would be approximately $1,600,000. Contributions to the campaign fund, said Gerard, amounted _ to date to $3,736,000. Since the elec- tion 24,000 contributors had sent in money and he estimated that the.total number of persons mak- ing donations «te the Democratic war chest would be between 125,- 000 and 150,000. He placed the campaign expenses at about $5,- 300,000. COUNTY DEPUTIES INDICTED: FOR REVENUE STAMP FRAUD Two and a Saloon Keeper Accused of Possessing Counter- feits. ! Sam Scissors and Morris Levin- son, deputy constables of Central Township in St. Louis County and Pete Palazzolo, saloon _ proprietor, were indicted today by the Federal grand jury on charges of conspir- acy and possession of counterfeit obligations of the United States, both felonies. . Specifically the deputies are charged with possession of counter- feit Internal Revenue strip stamps. It is charged that the stamps, sev- eral thousand of them in strips of 12 stamps, were seized in a raid on the saloon of Palazzolo in St. Louis County and that subse- quently Palazzolo bought the stamps back from the deputies for $500. Palazzolo was a witness before the grand jury and is understood to have said that the stamps be- longed to a cousin who has since returned to Italy. He is said to have testified that he destroyed the stamps after getting them back, possession of the stamps being a felony. a The raid on the Palazzolo estab- lishment was made in November, 1925, and the statute of limitations, outlawing the case from prosecu- tion, would have run within the next few days Rad not the indict- ment been returned today to keep the case alive. The maximum penalty for »yos- session of counterfeit obligations is five years in the penitentiary and a $5000 fine. The maximum pen- alty for conspiracy is two years and a $10,000 fine. Anothér “High Record 86 COLUMNS OF NATIONAL ADVERTISING Yesterday's Post-Dispatch earried 86 columns of Na- tional advertising which: is the greatest volume ever published in any daily issue of the Post-Dispatch. Concentration in St. Louis’ One Big Newspaper always pays the advertisers far bet- ter than scattered effort. tax 1S te m 64 J aterday’ . higth, 6. 112 ‘noi? ‘low. nn PRICES SHOOT UP IN FRENZIED DAY UN STOCK MARKET Forty Issues Reach New High Level on Exchange, With Gains Running Up to $21. 6,000,000 SHARES IS EXPECTED TOTAL Boom Stimulated by Small ; Increase in Brokers’ Loans Announced by Federal Reserve. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, Nov. 16.—A 6,000,- 000-share day seemed imminent on the New York Stock Exchange to- day, when a tremendous flood of buying orders poured on to the floor, lifting 40 issues to record high levels on gains that ran as high as $21 a share. Trading facilities of the exchange again were swamped by the wild orgy of buying, which received its chief impetus from the unexpect- edly smali increase of less than $2,000,000 in Federal reserve brok- ers’ loans, as against early esti- mates of $100,000,000 or more. The ticker -had fallen. more than an hour behind the market -before 1 p. m. New high records were estab- lished by such popular issues as United States Steel common, Beth- lehem Steel, Anaconda Copper, Texas Co., Packard Motors, Mont- gomery-Ward, Westinghouse Elec- trice, Johns Manville,.North Amer- ican Co. and Northern Pacific, All Losses Are Recovered, Waves of profit-taking swept through the market at intervals, carrying several issues down $1 to $5 a share below their high levels, but fresh buying support was inva- riably supplied and. new leaders brought forward. ‘ Twenty stocks opéned wth blocks of 5000 to 20,000 shares, total sales in the first 15 minutes of tape time aggregating nearly 600,000 shares. Postum Cereal opened with a block of 20,000 shares at $71.50, up $2.50; Consolidated Gas with a block of 13,580 shares at $87.37 %. up +$1.37%, a new high record, and Chrysler Motors with a block of 13,000 shares at $134.87%, up $4.62 %. 3uying orders for 30,000 shares ; of Packard Motors were in the market at the opening, with offer- ings of only 10,000 shares. A Stock Exchange committee was named to establish the opening price, which was fixed at $114.87%4, tp $5.37%. Greene Cananea Copper opened with a block of 8000 shares at $164.75, up $7.25, and New York Central with a block of*® 7300 at $184.50, up $2. Montgomery-Ward Up $16. Montgomery-Ward, which opened $10.50 a share higher, at $404.50, quickly extended its gain to $16 a share by touching a new high rec- ord at $410. Radio, du Pont, In- ternational Harvester, Allied Chemical, Allis Chalmers and R. H. Macy quickly advanced ,4 to $8 a share. In the last hour of trading Ra- dio took the leadership from Mont- gomery Ward by extending its gain to $22.50, selling at $297.50 a share, in contrast to the year’s low of $85.25. More than two dozen issues chalked up gains of $5 to $20 and gains of around $10 were conspicuous in all sections of the list. Coppers displayed the greatest group strength, leadership of Greene Cananea. which mounted $9.50 to a record price of $167. Wright Aero soared $18 to $210. United States Steel] mounted — to a new high price at $172.5( In cep of the tremendous vol- ume of trading this week, which has averaged more than 5,000,000 shares daily, and the brisk rise in prices, Wall Street had looked for a huge increase in loans, few of the preliminary estimates running below $100,000,000. “Bear’’ trad- ers, who had sold stocks heavily in anficipation of such an _ in- crease, were forced to cover their committment at substantial losses. eee a LEONIDS BEAT THE PERSEIDS, 2 T0 I, IN METEORIC SHOWER WILLIAMS BAY, Wis., Nov. .6. ~— Astronomers at the Yerkes Ob- servatory last night counted me- teors at the rate of 40 an hour. “In one case,” said Prof. Frost, “we observed the passage of one meteor for one and one-half min- utes. Early in the evening the dis- play was made equally by Leonids and Perseids, but later the Leo..ids were winning two to one.” Leonids are meteors which come from the direction of the constella- tion Leo, while Perselids come from | that the jewels had vanished over- the direction of Perseus, under the) VESTRIS PRIVATELY WARNE OWNERS “WE MAY N DAY BEFORE S NEW WATCHMAN SHOOTS BURGLAR PETS ACCOMPLICE Laborer, Recently Promot- ed, Fires on Pair He Finds in Granite City Lumber Company Plant | WOUNDED MAN CAPTURED HERE Earl Worthen Considers In- cident Only Part of Night’s Work—Took Job After Safe Was Robbed. A young married man, promoted from laborer to night watchman at a Granite City lumber company plant, made good when two burglars broke into the office ear- ly today. He blazed away with his shotgun, wounding one man and capturing the other on the spot. The wounded man was taken in custody later as he crossed McKin- ley Bridge in search of a doctor. Earl Worthen, the watchman, considered the shooting and cap- ture all in the night’s work, and when he went home to sleep at daybreak, left word with his em- ployers, the Coudy Bros. Lumber Co., to keep his name ‘“‘out of the papers.” Man Seriously Wounded. The wounded man said he was Anthony Somrek, 39 years old, of Chicago. He is being treated at City Hospital for buckshot wounds in the back, arms and legs. His condition is serious. An operation may be necessary. His accomplice, held in Granite City, said he was John Moder, 32, of Chicago. Worthen has been employed by Coudy Bros., whose plant is at Twentieth and Adams streets, for six years. Last week the office safe was hammered open by bur- giars, who got nothing, passing up valuable papers. New safe doors were ordered, and Worthen was appointed watchman. Watchman Describes Shooting. “Il was waiting in the dark of- fice at 3 a. m.,’” Worthen report- ed to his employers, “when I heard a noise and saw two men walk into the office through the ware- house door. They were at the cash registered and safe when I or- deréd them to surrender. One ran out and I fired at him. The oth-| er one I caught hiding in a cor- ner of the warchouse. A trail of blood led from “he office in the direction taken by the man who got away.” The burglars were not armed. Each carried a flashlight, which they dropped in the office. Two hours later Somrek was ar- rested by Detectives Carten and Howard as he staggered across the bridge, covered with blood frdém his wounds. He had walked near- ly four miles from the scene of the shooting. “The two of us went to the lum- ber yard and raised a bar on the warehouse door to get into the of- fice,”” Somrek related at City Hos- pital, “I looked at the cash regis- ter and found it empty. We were just foolin’ around with the regis- ter and were about ready to leave when I heard someone say ‘Halt.’ Moder stopped, but I ran. I heard some shots and felt some terrible pains, It was awful.” Moder was sullen when = qués- tioned by Granite City police and refused to detail his movements. Lays DownfaH to Drink. “I’ve got a wife and four chil- dren in Chicago, the youngest 3 weeks old,” Somrek said “I had a chain of barber shops there and was prospering. but prosperity drove me to drink and the moon. | shine made me feel no good. TI ran | away from Chicago to avoid the | moonshine. I was alone in Gales- burg, Ill., when I met Moder, and | we came on together to Granite City, I don’t know why we decided to rob the lumber office. I had money—$9.65.” ; The new doors for the lumber company’s safe had been delivered yesterday,’ but had not been in- stalled. The safe was empty. erick L. Dennis, assistant inspector U. S. Banker Robbed in Berlin. BERLIN, Nov. 16.—William Hanway, a New. York banker, dis- covered yesterday that he had been victimized by a_i hotel thief to the extent of $20;/000 worth of jew- elry and letters of credit. He made thediscovery when’ he missed his passport. On telephoning to his wife at the hotel, he learned night from an unlocked trunk. I4-INCH LEAK IN “ASH HOPPER AND UUAL DOOR PORT, STORER DECLARES: Negro Landed at Norfolk by Wyoming Thinks Valve Was Cracked : Before Leaving New York. TWO COMPANIONS CORROBORATE STORY Women Rescued by War- ship Are Not Yet Able to Make Statements to U. S. Inspector. ? By the Associated Press. | NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 16.—John Boxill, Negro member of the fire room crew of the’ sunken liner Vestris, today testified under oath that a leak in the ash hopper and a smashed port in a coal door, which turned a 14-inch stream of water into the ship, were among the leading factors contributing to the loss of the vessel. The statement was made to Capt. J. T. Hanlon,- United States steamboat inspector, who conduct- ed an inquiry at the Naval hospital at Portsmouth where the survivors who were brought in on the bat- tleshin Wyoming were taken” for medical attention. Because of the condition of the five women passengers of the Ves- tris, who were brought here, Capt. Hanlon was unable to hear state- ments by them. Capt. Hanlon, however, interrogated the three Negro fire room crew survivors, and in general the statement. of John Morris and Gerald Burton corroborated that of Boxill. Boxill told Capt. Hanlon that the steam- er ran into bad weather at mid- night between Saturday and Sun- day, about 12 hours after she had sailed from New York and that at that time a leak developed in an ash hopper. The stokers told the Wyoming's officers that they thought @ £&€a valve leading to the ash hopper had cracked and that tis ad prob- ably happened before the vessel left port. The steamer’s list, according to the stokers, began Sunday morning and became greater Sunday night, and the Captain of the Vestris was asked to make an appeal for aid Sunday night when the passengers became alarmed. The stokers said that if the S'‘O S had been sent Sunday night, vessels could hav2 reached the Vestris in time to have rescued all the passengers. The Vestris ran into ¢ storm which raged fiercely Sunday night, and water began to rush into the vessel. The listing became -90 pronounced, the survivors on the Wyoming said, that a leaking coal- ing hatch bezame suyvmerged and more water poured into the ship. The part of the cargo, including huge automobile trucks, began to shift and the Veseris rolled until she stood on her beam ends. The pumps had been going since Sun- day morning, but the water got in- to the coal, filled the drain and kept the pumps from functioning properly. Sunday truck, smashing night an pay erat like a gigant | hammer, battered its way foeon a bulkhead into the crew quarters’ forward. ' Says Valve Wasn’t Inspected, but ! Couldn't Have Caused Sinking. | By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, Nov. 16.—Fred- of boilers of the United States Steamboat Service, one of the three men who passed the steamer Ves- tris as seaworthy, said today that he had not inspected the ash hop- per valve in the bottom of the ship, but even if it was cracked, as some of the crew are reported to have said, it could not have caused the sinking. Dennis said this valve is in a small iron pipe used to pump water from the bottom of the ship to the ash hopper, from which the liquified ashes are then pumped overboard. If the valve were cracked, or even open, Dennis said, the amount of water allowed to en- Continued on Page Ten. a Al 33 S WAS SENT. Captain of ae o-—- the Vestris Wide World Photo. CAPT. WILLIAM J. CAREY, who went down with his ship. > LADY HEATH'S CREDIT CUT OFF BY HUSBAND Sir James, 76, Publishes Notice Concerning Airwoman, 31, His Third Wife. By the Associated Press. LONDON, Noc. 16.—Sir James Heath, husband of Lady Heath, widely known British airwoman who now is in America, today made public through his solicitors an official notification withdraw- ing authority for her to pledge his credit. The notice, which appeared in the newspapers, also stated that he would not be responsible for her debts. The notice declared that since their marriage Lady Heath had been in receipt of an allowance sufficient to provide herself with all suitable necessities. Sir John Heath is an iro~ master and colliery proprietor. The pres- ent Lady Heath is his third wife. His first wife died tn 1921 and his marriage to his second wife, Joy Nitch Smith, was annulled in 1927. He is 76 years old. The present Lady Heath is 31. The present Lady Heath was Mrs. Elliott Lynn and married Sir James on Oct. 11, 1927. She com- pleted the first solo flight by a woman from Cape Town to En- gland when she arrived at Croydon Airdrome on May 17 after flying 10,000 miles. ‘DR, GEORGE HOMAN, FORMER HEALTH COMMISSIONER DIES Served in 1914; Funeral to Be Held Tomorrow; Ashes to Be Sent to Quincy, Hl. Dr. George Homan, foremr Health Commissioner of St. Louis, died last night at Missouri Baptist Hospital, at the age of 83, of the infirmities of age, after a prolonged illness. Dr. Homan had a long service 'n the City Health Department, bde- ing for a numbers of year chiof sanitary officer and previously an institutional physician. When Mayor Walbridze removed = the Health Commissioner, in 1894, the Council filled the vacancy by elect- ing Dr.. Homan, and her served two years. He was a bachelor, and is sur- vived by a brother and several nieces. After a private funeral to- morrow afternoon, the body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Quincy, Hl. 4 4 NAVY EXPERTS ASSAIL DELAY IN VESTRIS $08 Captain’s Error of Judgment Caused Loss of Life, Ad- miral Thinks, By the Associated Press. WASHINGTON, Nov. 16.—High naval authorities generally eXx- pressed perplexity today over the cause of the sinking of the steam- ship Vestris., Admiral Charles F, of naval operations,, was of the opinion that had Capt. Carey sent his SOS call 12 hours earlier, every person aboard could have been saved, When he learned of the ship’s list to starboard and its quick sink- ing, Admiral Hughes told fellow officers that the vessel acted as if it were “fa victim of free water,” washing about in its interior. In the opinion of Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, retired, one of the world’s foremost naval con- | struction experts, the Vestris dis- aster likely was due to an “error of judgment” by Captain Carey. He cautioned against condemning the captain, however. until all the facts were available. « Criticism of the crew, Taylor said, for alleged mishandling of the lifeboats, should be made only with consideration of the knowl- edge that the Vestris was listing at a sharp angle when the boats were launched, “I do not know of any crew aboard any ship that could launch boats in a high sea and with a ves- sel listing at such a degree as the Vestris was without encountering 4 grea‘ difficulty,” he said. Rear Admiral W. H. Standley, Assistant Chief of Naval Opera- tions, said Cept. Carey probably } firmly believed he could keep the ship afioat or he would not have hesitated to send the call. He add- ed, however, that conditions aboara the vessel should have prompted Carey at least to notify shine In his vicinity of his shin's condition. LINDSERGH FLIES OVER VOLCANO MEXICO CITY, Nov. 146.—Col. (harlies A. Lindbergh, with Mra. Dwight Morrow, wife of the Amer- ican Ambassador as a passenger, made a flight over the famous Popocatepet! voleano today. The plane made a rapid ascent and circled a few times above the always snow-capped volcano which stands guard over the valley in which Mexico City is situated, and then returned to Valbuena Field, the whole flight taking about an hour. Hughes, chief i > OPERATOR ON STAND ADMITS CALL WENT OUT Charles Veschere So Evas- ive at U. S. Inquiry That. Attorney Asks Who Told Him to Forget. OFFICERS KNEW | OF SHIP’S DANGER Member of Crew Says Three Hours Were Spent in Futile Attempt to Low- er I wo Boats. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, Nov. 15.—Chartes Veschere, 18-year-old radio man on the liner Vestris, testified today at the investigation into the steam- er’s sinking, that he had told United States Attorney Charlies H. Tuttle that, before the 8 O 8 went out, a message was sent from the Vestris to the owners, the Lamport help.” Veschere said on the stand that about it. me downstairs that, before - S O 8 was sent, a message a from the Vestris saying, anay need help?’ ” Memory Fails. The boy. who was third assiet~ ant in the Vestris.radio room nod- ded. , “Isn't it a fact?” Tuttle demand- ed, “that when you went on duty Sunday night at 8 o’clock the mes- sage had gone out and that yes read it then?” “IT don’t remember,” replied. Tuttle announced in opening to- day’s session that he had received reports from confidential sources We Veachere who attempted to prevent the full testimony of witnesses as to the sinking would be most coven, dealt with, When the session opened a “ttle after 2 o'clock, chief officer John- son, senior surviving officer of the Vestris had not appeared. here on a rescue ship was afn- nounced this morning by Tuttle. Leaking Cargo Port Hole. Before calling any witness, Tut- tle read an affidavit from Edward A. McCormick of Syracuse, N. Y,, a passenger on the Berlin in which McCormick quoted Harry Forsythe, third assistant engineer of the Vem tris, who was among those rescued by reason of water that entered the hole above the water line.” tively aboard the Berlin after his affidavit. and were not -vorking.” The first witness was Veschere, He told of having made one pre- vious round trip on the Vestrig, his entire sea experience. Messages sent by him, he said, were picked up at the erton, N. J. office of the Radio Corpora. Company in New York also t the, messages, He then told of “trouble” Basin a few days before it — ¢ its last voyage. = Doesn't Know. Engines As the Vestris wae leaving dock, he said, it collided with an. in the basin. Veschere said he did not whether the engities stopped from the time of its departure poe until it sank Monday. a “So far as I know they never er ong he said. “But passengers have sald the boat stopped Sunday,” “I did not notice it.” other cargo boat. The Vestris 7 to be laid up over night, 2 Dell & Holt line, saying, “We may need he did not send it himse:f, and he could not remember who sent it, when it was sent, or how he knew _ After prolonged questioning, Tut- 4 tle demanded: “Son, didn't you tell that led. him to say that anyone — disappearance since he was brought by the Berlin, as saying that “the — vessel filled with water and gank | hold through a leaking cargo port “He made this statement posis rescue,” McCormick stated in hig “He sald the cargo port — hole was insecurely fastened 7 that the bilge pumps got pe Veschere said his hours on duty Ee were 8 to 12, morning and night. — tion of America. The Marconi * — Vestris had in drydock In the Erie : Tuttle sald, a “What messages dia yea send as Continued on Fage 2, Cotemn - See ne O