Capital journal., February 21, 1922, Image 1

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CIRCULATION
Average for January B663.
Population ot Salem, 1900, 4251;
1910, 14,094; 1(20, 17,479.
Marlon County. 1920, 47,177; Folk
County, 1920, 14,181.
Member of Audit "Bureau of Circu
lation. Associated Press Full
Leased Wire.
FORTY-FOURTH YEAR NO. 44
PHONE RATE DECISION STANDS
. : : .
PETITIONERS FOE
REHEARING SCOR
IN ORDER
Attorneys and Experts
Useless Expense On Taxpayers and Wasting
Time of State Officials; Assertions of Error
Not Supported by Evidence, Claim
The order of the public service commission of February 28,
1921, carrying with it material increases in rates to patrons
of the Pacific Telephone and
in every particular in an order
sion this morning, based upon
order conducted by the commission last July and August.
In affirming its previous
that "the evidence produced
the petitioners is insufficient
tions or modifications of any
which the telephone company is now operating.
Not only does the commission affirm its previous order in
today's order but it takes occasion to score attorneys and
experts representing the petitioners for the rehearing for
what it refers to as the extraordinary manner in which they
have imposed upon the people of the state and wasted the
time of state officials.
"In spite of positive assertions of error in the findings of
the commission not a scintilla
was offered in support of the
the order reads.
"In saying this we do not im-
pugn the motives or the intelll
gence of the witnesses In the
least. The responsibility for of-
ferine Irrevelant testimony on
matters at Issue or on subjects al
ready fully covered must rest on
those conducting the case."
Under the order of February
1921, telephone rates in Oregon
were Increased from 20 percent
to as high as 200 percent in some
classes of service. The order met
with a general protest from all
sections of the state affected by
the Increase and a netition for a
rehearing of the order was filed
with the commission by attorneys
representing the city of Portland
and numerous other Oregon cities
as well as farmer lines. The order
granting the rehearing was hand
ed down on May 21, 1921, and
the rehearing was opened in Salem
on July 18, 1921, sessions being
held alternately In Salem and
Portland for a period of six weeks,
a total of 130 witnesses being ex
amined, 136 exhibits being In
troduced and a record of some
5,000 pages of testimony made.
"The rehearing was asked
ostensibly for the purpose of
pointing out the errors In the con
clusions reached by the commis
sion in order 689 but the attacks
of the petitioners were directed,
not against the order but against
the evidence by which the com
pany supported its claims at the
faring which led to that order,"
the commission declares. "We
thus have the strange spectacle
a 'rehearing' devoted chiefly
to arguments against claims made
by the company and already re
jected by the commission. The
tnaneuvre could have had no other
object, than to divert the atten
tion of the public from the fact
that the commission had granted
much less than the company asked.
"The commission listened with
interest to dissertations on tech
nical matters by a telephone
engineer of undoubted scientific
attainments, who dwelt on the
advantages of equipment other!
than that used by the company.
The responsibility, however, of
Prescribing the equipment to be
o by the utilities of the state
noes not rest on the commission.
The testimony of this witness was
OF BOO
Rapped for Imposing
Telegraph company is affirmed
handed down by the commis
the rehearing into the previous
order the commission declares
at the rehearing on the part of
to justify any changes, altera
provisions" of the order under
of evidence worthy of the name
contentions of the petitioners,"
City Council Ignored;
Hotels Never Closed;
Police Chief Is Scored
Moffitt Is Called On
Carpet at Meeting;
Warm Words Heard;
Licenses Granted
His specious reasoning to the
contrary notwithstanding, oniei
of Police Verden Moffitt failed to
close certain local rooming houses
whose reputation he had sweep-
ingly declared unsavory, despite
he fact that the city council, act
ing on his urgent request, had, at
its last meeting, ordered that tne
houses In question be denied li
censes and that their rooms De
emptied forthwith.
This became known at tne regu
lar meeting of aldermen last night
when Chief Moffitt was questioned
at some length and with consid
erable heat by Acting Mayor John
Giesy and members of the coun
cil who endeavored to determine
by what God-given right the chief
had "told the rooming houses they
could operate," after tne council
had ordered them closed.
At the former meeting 01 ine
Asylum Patient
Takes Own Life
Frida Motz, 33, a patient at the
state hospital nere,
suicide this morning by hanging
herself with a bed sneei io uu
window guard. The body was al
most cold when discovered by hos
nital attendants this morning in
dicating that the deed had been
committed several nours eai.
nother patient in the room with
Mrs. Motz knew nothing of the
suicide until awaKeneo. uy t
ants. Records at the hospital show
that two brothers or jars, -non
have taken their own lives. Henry
Motz, husband of the dead wom-
i TJ.-i.-t 1 a n rl has
an, wno nve m
been notified as also nas
XL
M1P 5? pi
: -
Harding Names
Debt Finding
Committeemen
Washington, Feb. 21.
Nomination ot Secretary
Mellon, Secretary Hughes,
Secretary Hoover, Senator
Smoot and Representative
Burton to be members of
the allied debt funding com
mittee will be sent to the
senate today, It was an
nounced at the White House.
DEVALERA
ADVOCATES
OPEN SPLIT
Sinn Fein Leader Says
Two Armies To De
fend Irish Cause Bet-
er Than One
Dublin, Feb. 21. (By Associ
ated Press.) Eamon DeValera,
apparently regarding a split of the
Sinn Fein party as inevitable,
openly advocated such a division
in addressing the Ard Fehish, the
national Sinn Fein convention at
its extraordinary session, saying
it would be better for Ireland to
have two armies, each ready to
assist the other If the country
were Impelled, rather than one
army divided in itself.
Speech Wins Applause.
Mr. DeValera's speech was the
(Continued on page five)
council Chief Moffitt, talking
chiefly in generalities, had insist
ed that the houses in question had
been harboring roomers of ques
tionable repute, that their regis
ters were not in proper shape, and
that they had, in various ways
given the police a large portion of
trouble. Whereupon, over the dis
senting vote of Alderman Hal Pat
ton, the council voted to deny li
censes to the houses in question
and ordered them closed.
"These houses are not only still
operating they have never closed
for a day but they are operating
without even a license," Alderman
H. H. Vandevort charged. "What
has the chief of police to say to
that?"
The chief had something to say.
He said that the rooming house
proprietors had, in effect, promised
to be good, and had declared that,
if they were found wanting again,
they would offer no word in pro
test If their licenses were revoked.
"I Told Them." Says Chief.
"I told them that, as far as I
was concerned, they could go
ahead," Chief Moffitt explained to
the council.
In view of the fact that the
council had formally closed the
houses, this assertion apparently
proved a bit too much for Acting
(Continued on page six)
Mary Garden Will
Quit As Director
of Opera Company
New York, Feb. 21. (By As
sociated Press.) Mary Garden in
tends to resign her position as
director of the Chicago Opera
company at the close of the cur
rent season, if some one can be
found to take her place, but she
experts to continue with the com
pany as an artist "where she be
longs." It was announced today
by her secretary, Howard E.
Potter.
SALEM, OREGON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21,
CITY HALL
NOT TO BE
DONE OVER
Plans of City Council
Changed; Ordinance
Held Up; Aldermen
Called "Cheap"
The Salem police department
will not get the commodious new
quarters to which it was looking
forward following the adoption by
the city council on February
of a resolution providing that the
city hall be remodelled and that
the police officers exchange quar
ters with the city treasurer.
The blow fell last night. After
Alderman H. H. Vandevort, chair
man of the building committee,
had explained that the renovating
would require a much larger ex
penditure than was originally un
der contemplation and further an
nounced that the building commit
tee's financial standing wouldn't
warrant the purchase of a good
sized package of nails, the alder
men voted to postpone indefinite
ly the proposal which was made
two weeks ago by Alderman John
Glesy.
Ordinance Held Up. "
Very little other business of
moment was transacted by the
council last night, although the
(Continued on page eight)
Eugene'Lawyer
Disbarred By
Supreme Court
Leon A. EdmunBon, Eugene at
torney, is disbarred from the fur
ther practice of law in Oregon In
an order written by Justice Brown
and handed down by the supreme
court this morning.
Disbarment proceedings were
instituted against Edmunson sev
eral months ago by the grievance
committee of the Lane county bar
association, on grounds of miscon
duct in his profession and con
viction of misdemeanors involving
moral turpitude. Edmunson, it
was charged, had been found guil
ty of violating the prohibition act.
In his opinion Justice Brown
declares that Edmunson is a vio
lator of the law.
"It Is made his duty by statute
and by oath to support the consti
tution and laws of the United
States and of this state," the opin
ion reads. "He has not only fail
ed to uphold the laws but he has
knowingly become a lawbreaker.
He has violated a statute de
nouncing an a crime the act of
wilfully and knowingly, with in
tent to injure and defame, pub
lishing of and concerning another
false and scandalous matter. Such
Is the character of EdmunBon the
man and citizen."
The court orders that Edmun
son be disbarred from the practice
of law In any of the courts of this
state and that his name be strick
en from the roll of attorneys in
this court.
C. J. Koon Said
To Be Recovering
C. J. Koon, of 671 North Win
ter street, the elderly man who
was suddenly afflicted yesterday
with a paralytic stroke while
waiting at the Oregon Electric
station to take a train, is report
ed improving. He is at the home
of hiB daughter, Mrs. J. R. George.
Mr. George Is proprietor of the
White House restaurant.
Through misinformation It was
reported that V. E. Kuhn was 'the
person stricken. This report was
incoirect. Although Mr. Koon'e
condition is considered very serl-
jus, he Is expected to recover, ac
cording to a report given this aft
ernoon by his daughter.
Controls Are
Carried Away
Before Crash
Washington, Feb. 21.
The accident to the Roma oc-
I curred when the vertical
I controls were carried away,
Captain Doyle of the naval
air station at . Hampton
Roads said in a telephone
I conversation late today with
I Rear Admiral Mof feet at the
navy department.
This, he said, caused the
dirigible to dive nose first
I and in its descent it Btruck
a high tension electric wire,
I causing the airship to catch
.fire. Captain Doyle report
ed that 38 were believed
I dead and that 10 or 12 had
$ escaped.
BOWMAN
WILL HEAD
CLOTHIERS
Bishop Elected Chief
of State Retailers;
Later Refuses to Ac
cept Office
C. F. Bishop, of Salem, this
afternoon declined to serve as
president of the Oregon Re
tail Clothiers' association,
and D. E. Bowman, of Port
land, was elected head of the
organization. Henry Harth,
of Roseburg, was chosen vice
president to succeed Ben
Selling.
C. P. Bishop, proprietor of the
Salem Woolen mills store, was this
morning re-elected president of
the Oregon Retail Clothiers' asso
ciation at the opening meeting of
Its convention held in the audi
torium of the Salem Commercial
club. Ben Selling, ot Portland,
was chosen vice president, J. Deo
McClain, of Albany, was made
secretary and Gus Kuhn, of Port
land, was elected treasurer.
Although no formal resolutions
were adopted at the meeting this
morning, an informal discussion
of the sales tax recently proposed
by President Harding as a means
of providing a soldiers' bonus, ap
peared to meet with favor among
Individuals who addressed the
meeting. If such a tax Is levied,
however, the speakers felt that it
should cover many lines of en
deavor so that no hardship would
be worked In any particular field.
Indications were early this af
ternoon that members in conven
tion here probably will vote to re
duce the association's membership
fee from $25 to (15.
R. E. Bigelow, of Seattle, a di
rector of the national association
of retailers and president of the
Washington-Idaho Clothiers' asso
ciation, explained this morning
that a recent ruling of the Wash
ington state board of health which
denies patrons the right to return
merchandise has tended greatly to
alleviate the "on approval" evil
In the northern state. The ruling
was made as a health measure, be
said.
Birth of George
Washington Is to
Be Observed Here
Through special program in the
morning and a half-holiday In the
afternoon, Salem public school
children will tomorrow celebrate
the anniversary of the birth of
George Washington, first presi
dent of the United States.
Exercises covering an hour and
a half will be held In all of the
grade school In the morning, offi
cials announced this afternoon. A
program also will be rendered at
he high school.
1922
TWO SCORE KILLED WHEN BIG
ARMY AIRSHIP EXPLODES AND
CRASHES AT LANGLEY FIELD
1 Survivors
Captain Reed, U. S. A.
lieutenant Byron T. Burt.
Walter A. McNaire, of the bu
reau of standards. Washington.
Major D. Reardon
Harry Chapman, master ser
geant. Charles' Dworch, master ser
geant. First Sergeant C. H. Welch,
Sergeant Peek.
J, M. Biedenback, engineer.
Rot Barley, aviation.
Lieutenant W. E. Reilly died
while bein brought to the United
States publio health service-
Indians
Run Away
Are Caught
There was something ot an up
rising at the Chemawa Indian
school last night and seven of the
dusky lads elected to leave their
alma mater in the manner com
monly accredited to- the French
The uprising, however, was fol
lowed by a downfalllng.
All of the youths were taken in
to custody as they awaited a train
at the Southern Pacific depot
They were hustled to the police
station by Patrolman Putnam. It
was at headquarters that they
spent the night.
This morning school officials
returned the boys to Chemawa.
They are Normand Blackwell, 13,
Aleck Horton, 12, Henry Mofln,
15, Henry Hays, 18, William
Hidteman, 16, Johnnie Sooner,
16, and Rudolph Loranttan, 15.
Big Stick Is
Only Remedy
For High Rates
Portland, Or., Feb. 21. The re
hearing of the Pacific Telephone
and Telegraph company rate case
was granted by the public service
commission on the petition ot the
city of Portland, the Oregon Tele
phone Federation and other or
ganizations and municipalities af
ter a movement had been started
in Portland for a recall ot certain
members of the public service com
mission. H. M. Tomllnson, deputy city
attorney of Portland, who handled
the city's case in the rehearing,
said he was much surprised at the
commission's action, announced
today.
"The only remedy of the peo
ple Is the big stick and the bal
lot," said Tomllnson. "I am con
vinced the people are entitled to
relief."
Indian Athletes
and Oregon City
Tangle Wednesday
Chemawa wrestlers and boxers
will meet Oregon City high school
athletes tomorrow afternoon In
the Indians' gymnasium at 8
o'clock.
A feature of the event will be
a wrestling match between Ellis
White of Salem and Howealtle cf
Chemawa who will wrestle to a
finish.
Kream ot Chemawa will meet
Dorman of Salem In a four round
boxing bout and the match is only
second In importance on the card.
Kream has fought several times in
Salem in the company F prelimin
aries and has made a good show
ing. Nine wrestlers and boxers will
be down from Oregon City.
DBTnt? rruTrrv rT?rrnci on trains and nkwh
J. AVJ.VJ.lil XtlW
Norfolk, Va.,"Feb. 21. The number of dead
from the Roma disaster was estimated late to
day at 33, while it was said that there were a
total of 43 on board when the explosion oc
curred. Ten persons have been rescued, many,
of them seriously injured.
Twelve men were taken from the twisted
mass of steel and flame, but two died on their
way to the hospital.
As the work of rescue was organized, burned
and charred bodies were discovered in tho
debris.
Norfolk,, Va., Feb. 21. Seven civilians from
McCook field, Dayton, Ohio, were on board the
Roma when she was destroyed today. Accord
ing to a list given out tiiey were: McNaire,
Stryker, Hurley, Dworak; Henson, O'Leaugh
lin and Harriman.
Norfolk, Va., Feb. 21 Exploding after crashing down
ward during a trial flight, the army's Italian-built airship
Roma was destroyed today near the naval base here with
the loss of an undetermined number of lives... Estimates an
hour and a half after the disaster placed the dead from half
a dozen to nearly 40 out of (he more than half a hundred
persons on board.
The naval 'hospital at Ports -
mouth was officially Informed
that 38 of those aboard the air
ship, the largest semi-rigid dirigi
ble In the world, were killed, while
undertakers in Newport News
were offilcally notified that thirty
or more persons bad lost their
lives.
Heat Prevents Search.
It was officially announced at
the army base at 8:40 o'clock that
only ten survivors have been res
cued from the Roma. Eight are
seriously injured and two slight
ly. All are in nearby hospitals.
Difficulty In definitely fixing
the number of killed and injured
was caused by the fact that in
tense heat from the burning
wreckage prevented close inspec
tion.
Eye witnesses said the Roma
was flying at a helglrt of from 600
to 1000 feet when she was seen to
be In trouble. A thin wisp of
smoke appeared and the craft
started downward obliquely.
Before the ship struck the bar
racks building a number of men
were seen to leap, some with para
chutes and Borne without. Some
of those removed from the wreck
age were badly burned, but others
escaped virtually without injury.
The Roma, which was the larg
est semi-rigid airship in the
world, was sailing In a southeast
erly direction, when, according to
observers, she suddenly burst into
flames and fell like a comet to the
earth. The explosion occurred
shortly after ten o'clock.
Authorities at Langley field,
the home station of the Roma, and
the point at which she was assemb
led after being brought here
from Italy, said that fully forty
men were aboard the big airship.
Men Seen Jumping
Reports from Portsmouth which
is near the naval base, said the
Roma, after a slanting plunge of
hundreds of feet, struck one of
the barracks buildings at the base
and then exploded, with a rip
ping crash. A sheet of flame leap
ed from the rent in the gas bag
and the passenger compartments
slung underneath dropped twenty
feet to the ground.
One man was seen by observ
ers at the Standard Oil company's
plant at Sewell's Point to jump
from the ship while she still was
several hundred feet in the air.
Fourteen men according to oth
er observers at Portsmouth, were
seen to leap from the ship as it be
came apparent that the would
XHE WEATHER
OREGON: Tonltrht and Wednes
day rain west, eloudy east portion.
Moderate westerly winds.
LOCAL: No rainfall southerly
winds; part eloudy; max 11, mln.
SO; river 7.1 feet and falling-.
AO STANDS FIVH C1NT4
-
strike one of the naval base bar
racks buildings. Some, It was re
ported, clung to parachutes while
others Jumped straight to the
ground, choosing to take their
chance in that manner rather than
staying aboard the blazing ship.
Kiwanis Ask
Federal Fun &
For Chemawa
Further appropriations front
the government to supply addi
tional buildings .nl equipment
for Chemawa were urged in a res
olution presented to the Klwanig
club this noon at its luncheon in
the Marlon hotel.
The congressional delegates ot
the state are urged In the resolu
tion to use their influence in ob
taining the needed appropriations.
No action was taken on the
matter by the club this noon pend
ing a report in detail of the work
of the institution. This report
will be read a ihe next meeting.
Fred Lockley, special writer for
the Oregon Journal, was the prln
cipal speaker ot the luncheon, de
livering a brief address ot "Your
Job."
Judge Kelly To
Be Candidate
Percy R. Kelly ot Albany today
formally entered the lists as
candidate tor reelection to his po
sition as circuit Judge for the
third judicial district comprising
the counties ot Linn and Marlon,
"Justice, after all, is harmony
between the law and common
sense," reads the slogan under
which Judge Kelly will seek sup
port of the voters ot the two coun
ties according to his formal decla
ration for the republican nomina
tion which was filed with Secre
tary of State Kozer today.
Judgo. Kelly in his platrorm
promises to "continue to devote
my best efforts to a full and con
scientious discharge ot official
duty, applying thereto the result
of my experience tor twelve years
as a Judge and SO year as a mem
ber ot the legal profession."
(Continued on Page Five.)
Rigdon.