Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              CONFESSION SOLVES BLOWING UP OF HOMES HERE
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Wyoming Valley's
Great
Home Paper
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
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LEASED WIRE TELEGRAPH REPORT TO 3 A. M. SUNDAY
THE WEATHER
Waahington, March 29.—Elastem Penna-: Partly cloudy Sunday, prob¬ ably rain in early mornlnB; colder by Sunday   nlRlit.     Mond.ny,   fnlr,   colder.
FORTY-EIGHT PAGES
Kntered   nt   whkp.s-Barre,    Pa., as   Second   Class    Mail   Matter.
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, MARCH 30,1924
The   Only    Sunday    New.^ipaper Covering   the   'Wyomlngr   Valley
PRICE EIGHT CENTS
ROBBERS FATALLY SHOOT MAN AT PITTSTON;
RAIN AND FLOOD SWEEP THROUGH THE EAST
FIRST STOBM OF THE SPRING SEASON LEAVES DESOLATION IN ITS PATH
CRIMINAL CHARGES EXPECTED
Probe Of IMatlonal Scandals Extend To Facts In Several Money Deals
WITNESSES READY
,ale Of German Property Is V   Mentioned As a Point From Which To Start
MILLIONS INVOLVED
WashinRton, March 29.—Spurred on by the fir.st testimony It lielieved directly linked fonner Attorney Oon- criU DiiUffherty with alleped Irregular¬ ities in the Department of Justice, the Senate Investigating committee will redouble its efforts to dip up evidence for criminal   prosecutions.
Thi.s announcement w,a.s made to¬ night by Chairman Hrookhart, follow¬ ing charges ngain.st Daugherty by Captain H. 1.. Scalfe, former Depart¬ ment of Justice investigator. Scalfe charged:
That after he had uncovered datii concerning the sale ot the IJosch Mag¬ neto Company by the Alien Property Custodian to .Maitin E. Kern at what he termed a "grossly Inadeuuutc price." Coiond Thomas Felder, New .York attorney for the company, of¬ fered him a tlO,000 retainer to take the "other side"  of thc case.
That Felder told him of a confer¬ ence with Daugherty who "agreed to co-opcralc  with us"  on the cose.
That Colonel Guy D. C.off, former flrst assistant to tho Attorney Oen¬ eral, nlso told Felder that "everything had been arrangd for us to iiroceed." "This Is the first positive direst tesUmony connecting tho Attorney General," remarked Senator Jones, Washington, after Scaifc spi-ung his testimony,
Scaife explalnod that ho nnd Ca.ston B. Means, then a Depurtment of Jus¬ tice agent, investigated the .sale of the Bosch Compuny to Kern for »1.150,- too during Ihe uilmlnistralion of A. Mitchell Piilmer as Alien Properly Custodian in   litis.
No ^^uit Kile«J After the investigation, Scaifa -said the Alien Property Cu-stodiiin'S odico prepared a ca.-c for the recovery of the property. No .suit for recoveiT ha.s yet been filed by the Dciiartment of Justice.
H was dlFgu.st with the Attorney General's Inaction in tho liosch case which caused lim to icsIbh. t'eaite mild. Tliu day following his resigna- tlon, Scaife said, Felder oflerod him the J10,000 retainer to "go on the other side" and "silence mo and the evidence 1 dug UP ag-.Un6t the Bosch Cora¬ pany.
"1 never knew the details of the deal because I thought the offer leprchen- Bililo and refu.sed to accept il", siUd Kcaite, "but 1 know ll was a pian to meal four or five million dollars from llie government."
Scaife declured that Colonel Goff, his Immediate superior, was a "Jelly tlsli" and when ho failed to gel action on the caso through Goff, hc got Feliicr to arrange for a conference for him with llie Attorney Gcneiiil. Dougli- city. he siiiil, i)ioniised a further con- ttircDcc whicli failed to miitiriailze. Ills Hands Tied "When that conference didn't nialer- Inllze", Sillll Scaife, "1 knew thai Diiugherty's liands were lied or lie wouldn't let an agent tell him that his department wiis a tir.st aid to crooks. Tlun 1 resigned In disgust, delci- mlned to lake tlie case to Congres.s."
The banking liou.se of Hornblower and Weeks, with which Secrclary Weeks wiis formeriy connectenl, ti- niiiiccd thc Mo.sch Magneto .sale, Scaife Siild. Furtlier delails of the "blocking" of the invesllgation of the Standard Aircraft case were related by Scaife. He charged A. I-. Meyers, .special iLssLstiint Aitorney Genenil in charge of the ca.se witll  responsibility.
William J. llurns, director of thc Bureau of Invesllgation, declared it was an outrage to have Miyers in charge of thc case, Scaife said. Burns told him to "so after the crooks, hCiilfe .said.
A Japanese "spy system" in he United Stiit-s wus ile.scrilieil by Scaife. He s.iiii tliat he knew "relations with Japan were critical" in 19:!1. hut noth¬ ing waa ever done about his reports of Jaiianew liiking pictures in Boston liiirijor !U»d studying Americun artil¬ lery  methoiis.
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PHILIP S.WIT/ IMPItOVINO
I'hilii) Savltz, manager of the championship V. M. H. A. basket ball team, is well on Ills way lo reci)ver> following a recent operation at the City  Uuspitul,
Plant Robbery Brought To End
Two robberies of tho paat week were said to have boen cleared up hy thn city poilce late yesterday when City Detectives Olds, Dough¬ erty and Kolis arrested Fi-ank Slelnklrchner, aged 34. Grant street; Max Wrubel, aped :!l, Ea-st .Market .street; and Frank Cunlus, aged ::, East Northa:nplon stieet. city. Slelnklrchner is charged wilh breaking Into the meat houfes of Armour and Company on South Pennsylvania avenue and the Ix"- hlgh Beef Company on North Pennsylvania avenue. The former rol>lipry took place la.<it .Monday night, while the latter occurred early Friday night. Wrubel, who is a Heights merchant. Is charged with receiving the stolen loot. Cunlus drove the automohlle which was s,a|il to be ready to carry away the merchandise from the I.ohigh me.'it hou.se, but for tho Interfer- enco of the police. Steinklrchner, it is said, admitted to polico hav¬ ing taken hams and tubs of butter from Armour and Company and other thefts. Implicating the mer¬ chant. Frid.ay night, according to the report of the police, prowlers liroke Into Ihe Lehigh beef house llirough a cellar window and then c.nrrlqd merchandise to the street. The loot w,as to have been carted awny by automobile. Steinklrch¬ ner was detected by the police. Hc ran away. Detective Olds giving chn.se. Tho Intter was forced fo flre several shots Into the air to bring his fleeing quarry to a hait. Cunius was arrested in his auto¬ mobile. The three were held In )1,000 ball each for a hearins to¬ morrow.
LAUREL LINE CASE
state Police Obtain a Confes¬ sion After Arrest Of Two Men At Inkerman
OTHERS SOUGHT
Early Solution Is Expected Of Outrages That Shock Up¬ per End Of County
HOMES IN TERROR
T
Man Involved In Raid Upon Train Is Suspected Of Fatal Holdup Here
CHARGES PENDING
I'olice authorities of .Nortlica.stein Pennsylvania were confldent last niglit thill partial success had finally crown¬ ed efforts made fo aprehend the ban¬ dits respon.sihio for the $72,000 hold¬ up and robber.v on tlic Laurel Line at Moixsic last August. Word was re¬ ceived hero that Tarso Burchianli, alias Louis Bianco, held at Pittsburgh for iittcmpted rolibery of a $100,000 payroll, hiid lioen definitely identified as one of llie desperadoes in the Laurel   Line  case.
.\ photograph and fing»rprints of Biiivhianti will be forwiirded to the Wilkes-Biirre nnd Scranton police as well as to Cax'tpin William .\. Clark of fhe State police. These will be re¬ ceived within the nexl forty-eight hours. X partial description of the Pittsburgh prisoner has already led local authorities to express satisfac¬ tion tllill al least one of the bandits wanted here has lieen caught.
Captain Clark announced lasl night tho receipt of information that State IKiIico lit Greensburg hiid idenlifled the prisoner ;is one of the suspects in the Laurel Line hold-up. The Greens- burg troop worked on lho ca.se some months jtgo and was familiar witli all of the men wiinted. "There isn't much doubt l)Ut \\linl one of the ringleaiieis has been. landed," Captain Clark fold the .Sunday Independent.
When news dispatches .several diiys ngo announced fi'iistration of a plot to liold up il Peiinsylvaniii train i*arr.\ing JlOO.OOf). police compareii the methods of the bandits lo those in the Laurel Line ctise. In the Plttsliurgh plot the triiin was lo be halted hy members of fhe giing on lioard and the money wns lo be thrown off at a lonely spot where il was to lie re¬ trieved iiy nutomohlle. Police broke up fhe plans of tlie robbers and in an autonuibile chase that ensued caught Burchianli, aliiis Bimco.
In the Laurel Line case, liandits nn hoiird flie Limited liound for Wilkes- Bari'Q en the memonible mornins: in August, sliiit up tlie fi-iiin, killing Kd¬ ward Murphy of .Scranton. wounding the crew and escaping wifh a payroll belonging to Ihe West End Coiil Com¬ pany.
Suspect Ts Held
Information received from Pitts¬ burgh yestenlay pointed to Ihe firis- oner held tiiere as one of the Laurel Line bandits. .M Ihc same tlrne if wns learnel that the prisoner iKid been miis<iuenidlng under the name of Hiancii. His real name was detei'- mlned   as   Burchiiinfl.
Deiiiity Sheriff Hershoy of Wcsf- moreliiiil county, who wns a State pollceniiin ;il Ihe time of thc Moosle oiltr.ige. is reported lo hnve identiflnl fhe prisoner us one of the fugitives. Hcishcy   worked   for   months   on   the
A confession revealing the Identify of a dynamite ring whose members satisfied personal disputes by nefar¬ ious attacks on homes and families was in the hands of Stale Police last night foiiowing the arrest of two men for a dynamite outrage early yester¬ day morning at Inkerman. Besides the two men held at Wyoming bar- liicks, the arre.st of others suspected to be in the terror band is expected today,  aulhorilies declared.
The men being held in Stale Police cells are .August Remaka und William Bnule, both boardors at 21 North Main street, Inkerman. They were arre-sled il short time afler ilynamife had dam- iiged fhe homes of Stanley Bublcski at 45 Main street, nnd Michael Kaa- illas, 43 Main street,  Inkerman.
Early today Captain William A. Clark had a^ilhorized Issuance of the following statement from Wyoming barracks: "A statement haa been made hy one of the prisoners, impli¬ cating hirriflelf nnd others. We expect lo make  moro arrests shortly."
Arrangements were being m.ide nl thill time to gather In tho rest of the dynamifo ring. When the band of terrorists Is rounded up. the author¬ ities beiievo they will have ended a reign of outrages tliat has .struck terror lo residents of llie upper end of the counly nt various Intervals in re¬ cent years. For some time Piltston has been marked by numerous dyn:i- mitings and In the majority of in¬ stances fhe guilty parties have eluded capture. One of fhe dynamllings resulted in a double murder for which the slayer wa.s  later ncquilfed.
Thc ilynnmiting nt Inkerman early yesterday was lieanl for miles around. The charge was placed under a porch nt the home of Bublcski and besides doing henvy damage to that dwelling, nlso fore away parts of tho home of Kasilin.s.
Constable Aiex Gargis of Inkerman aaw two men slinking away from the .scene. He notlfled the State Police and counly defectives who arrested the two men now held. When their boaniing place was searched a quan- tit.v of dynamite, caps and fuses was confiscated.
Fire Threatens South Main St
A flre, the origin .of which has not yet boen determined, threat¬ ened the buainesa bloclt between Northampton street aJid Public Square, on South Main street, last night, when Ihe store of N. Leib- son, 61 South .M.ain sfrcet, was gut¬ ted. The flre was di.scovered In the cellar of 63 South Main .street, un¬ der fhe Herman millinery slore. When fhc tiramcn had extinguish¬ ed Ihls blaze they were forced in¬ to the I.*ibKon store, ndjolning, only to combat a roaring furnace. Tlio fire hail a good start and fho sraoke-fllled store offered consider¬ able resi.stance to tho flro lads led by Fire Chief Fnink Hochreifer nnd his asslstanf. Thomns Flan¬ nery. Tho flre wns rapidly caliiig Its way to the upper floors. The Intensify of the heat broke all of the gin.-is in tho display ca.s-es on the floor and walls. Tho fire de¬ partment offleials could not ad¬ vance any causo foi the blaze which did several thousand dollars damage. According to Leibson, the jeweler, who conducted Ihe es¬ tablishment, he left the sloro at 9:45 o"cloi?k and fifteen minutes later the flre was discovered nnd Ihe .alarm sounded. At flrst it was belleviHl the flrc would spread; for thc flames shot to thc celling of tlie store-room and had begun ifs path of destruction toward tho up¬ per fli'o rs. However, Iho exception¬ al work of thc flre bureau confined the blaae wiihin Ihe room. Tho building Is owned by the Hershey estate.
-4v-
BY FLOOO WATER
Families Homes
Forced  To   Leave As    Rivers   And
Creeks Go Over Banks
BUSINESS HALTED
Rain Accompanied By Lightning
Creates Havoc All Over Valley
E
NEAR LARKSVILLE
stolen Firearms Are Among Many Articles Found In Raid By Police Chief
HAVE BRIEF CAREER
WOMAN IS STRUCK
BY A STREET CAR
Miss .\da Sharpe of .atherton street, Kinglilon. was sti-uck by nn incoming street car of the Wilkes-Barre Rail¬ way Company al Welles sireet. West¬ moor. last nighl lit eleven o'clock. The | dono'l woman, suffering from shock and slight injuries, was taken fo her home. It wns nt this crii.ssing Mrs. Ida Cus¬ ter Wiis killed and Mi.ss Leila Felter was injured and later died.
l.aurcl Line case nnd it was he who broke down the alias assumed by Bianco.
The Pitt.sbursh su.sjiect nnd his pais are believed lo have lieen involv¬ ed In the roliliery of a $30,000 pny roll ill H^lilorailo two yeiirs ago; a $36,000 iMhbcry at Brow nsvill#tw o years ago; Ihe robbery of the First Nallon.ii hank, at Caslie Shannon, flve years ago; tho Laurel Line job and the at¬ tempted daring Imin robbery at Homestead. Pn.. InsI Wednesdiiy. Has find  Kecord
Burchianli Is known lo Ihe Pilts- burjrh police ns a had man, a desper¬ ado who would stop nt nothing to at¬ tain his ends. Chief County Detective Bniun, of the Snoky City, lielieves | thaf the prisoner is wanted In a small western Pennsylvania lown for mur¬ dering a poslmiister during a holdup. The man niiilntains fhat he Is not a "squealer" and has refused lo give the authorities any informallon about himself or his conrederates.
Police here lasl night were uncer¬ tain whether fhe prisoner will be turniKl over to them evon should iden¬ tification lie completed. Burchianfi may luive fo fiice trial In Pittsburgh before lieing cullel for pro.seculion in Luzcinc or Lackawanna county.
Youthful banditry which promised lo Ijriiig serious results was nipped in the bud yesterday when flve iMiys, ranging in ngo from It lo 20 years were taken Into juvenile court here charg«d with burglary nnd reckless- discharge of flrearm.s. According to stories told by Ihe boys, somo of Ihem burglarized a cenlral city slore, car- rj'ing off firearms and ammunitions with which lliey jirocceded to fit up a deserted houso in Larksville as an armed rendevous.
The young defendants wero Hiirry Wiijlers and George Reed, both of this cily; Jo.scph Slrish. Thomas Ridier and John Sopanek, all of Larksville. They were taken into court by Chief {Thomas Lar.son of Larksville and County Detective Allerdyco of the dis¬ trict   attorney's   ofllce.
The bnndit career of tho boys was ;i brief but uctive one, according to police. It Is claimed some of them recently started their escapades by forcing entrance to a Jewelry store here. They gathered together revol¬ vers, Ciirtridges. fleld glasses aiv.I other merchandise which they thought would be   useful   In  Ihelr  program.
.\ugmenting Iheir equipment wifh an a.ssortment of hiilchesf. daggers "":!."'''¦''_,'!','?";"" and other weapons, Ihe boys decided fo establish headquarters .n an ubiin- dw'olliiig in Larksville. The house had been vacated previously be¬ cau.se of mine caves but hy using a celliir window aa cnfrance tho youths found if a handv rendezvous.
AVith headquarters estalillshed, the boys proceeded lo make themselves proflcient In thc handling of Hrcarms. Selecting a fleld In Liirksville they comlucted target practice until the continual discharge of cnrtridges al¬ tracted fhe poUce. Their arrest Immediiilely  followed.
In juvenile court yestenlay, four of tlie hoys were paroled because of llieir youlii. but Wallers was held under bail for a further hearing.
N.ANTKOKK KUIK AL.VK.M
The Nanticoke Fire Depaitnuiil las1 night answered a cull from Box iiti. It was a false alarm but lho offenders have not been detected.
BABE SCALDS TO DEATH AT HIGH STREET HOME
Scalds resulting from a fall Into a tub of hot wafer caused fhe death la.s; niglit of Molly Cros.s, two year old daughter of Mr. iind Mrs. Anihony Cross of no High street. Mr. Cross conducts a grocery store al 206 Nortii Pennsylvunia avenue. The tub of wuter had boen placed on the floor fo give baths fo tlie children of fhc Cross family. The child wa.s fiiken to ihe Wyoming Valley Homeopathic hos¬ pital and died two liourii later.
Pitlsbureh, Pa., March 29.—Five persons have been drowned in tlio turbulent waters of swollen creeks and rivers In Western Pennsylvania and lonight towns nml villages along Ihe Ollio. Monongaiiela, .Mlegheny, Youghiiigheny and Conemaugli rivers were llireiilen^d by serious flooils.
Property datnagc ot nearly a miillQU doliiirs hiis already been dono by the raging waters and tho weather bureiiu here predicted thnt tho crest of Ihe flooiLs would not be reached until noon Sunday.
Thu    .Allegheny    and    Monongahela
rivers al  Point Bridge,  where Ihe two
streams  form  fhe Ohio  river,   roso  fo
B.l  feet at midnight.    Flood stage is
22 feel.
Ivowliinds along the river banks are flooded with severui feet of Wiifer and miiny residents along the river front have abandoned their homes.
Tlio river is still rising nnd tho we.afher bureau predicted tlio flool stiige would rciich at least 26 feot by noon Sundiiy.
Four bridges hnve been washed away between Cumberland nmi Hani- ers Ferry, 40 miles down fhe Potomac river, it Is reiiorted. One bridge, cjir- ried a half mile by n roaring current, cra-shed into a .second bridge and lore it from ils foundations.
Meanwhile, while a fear stricken city Ls in darkness. It conlinues lo riiln. Water Is rising at 6 Inches an hour.
Flop lo Hills Power nnd light ing plants nre ills- alilcd and telephone communications are limited lo a singlo trunk line. Riiilroad fiicilitles hiive been suspend¬ ed since 11 a. in. If tlie waters con¬ tinue fo rise the eitlzeiLs fear n coniplefo  isolation   liefore  morning.
Hundreds picking their way through mud and water are miivlng, bng and baggage, to the hills tonight. A lute report thai the Stoney river dam. ne.ir Piedmont, hild broken, ndded to the hurried exodus. Efforts fo confirm this report were futile.
Elarly this evening a temporary h.-ilf in thc steady drizj'.le of rain raised tlie cil.\'s hopes. The liiinks of Wills Creek, grown In ii few hours from a creek to a fliick. bulibling river, were lined with liip-biioled persons, looking for hints of falling waters.
But the r.iin resumod and at 10 p. m. Ihe crest of the flood apparently was far iiway.
Hescuers Drown Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cralier, of Pittsburgii, were drowned in Sawmill Run Creek when their two children. Joseph, Jr., 4. and Anna, 7, fell Info the waler while playing on fhe bank of Iho slienm. Tlie parents Jumped Into fhe stream to .save their clilldren In a few minutes. Tho children floiited down fho creek, unharmed. Patrick McTrlgan. ,a railroad engineer, snw them bobbing In thn current. leaped from his Ciih nnd. nflor a swim of 300 yards, reach¬ ed Joseph and diiigged the boy lo shore. Plunciiig hack Into the water, he swam afler the girl, but became exhausted and sank.
Frank Tulczek. seeing the engin¬ eer's plic-lit. Jumped into flio creek and rescued .Anna. McGrigan was siived bv n man In a row boat.
At   Bentleyville.   Pa.,   Rnliind    Rus- ,sell,  12,  nnd an unldontifled playmate wero   drowned   when   a   log   tho   two; Ikiv.-;   were   riding   on   tho   surface   of Pigeon   Creek   overturned.
Che.sler Spakmnn, 4, fell Info Ihe swollen wnlers of Klk Run, near Johnstown, and wiis drowned when he was Ciirried tlirough ii .subterran¬ ean sewer Into Coneniiiugh river. Families Forcwl Out Small triiiutiiries of fhe big rivers In Western Pennsylviinla nro on a rampage tonight, roaring down tholr course and over their banks upon farm lands, necoriiing to reports here. Torrent.s of niin, comliinrd wllh the genenil spring thaw, are responKlblo for the floods.
Al ConnellsvIIle, Pa., Iho Yough- logheny river has readied a stage of 19 feet and was continuing to rise. .Scores of houses were flooded in the lowlands iind many residents of the water front were moving their pos- .sgssions fo higher ground.
Myersdale. Hooversville and Kat- ner, Somerset county, liavo lieen floodoil from Cnsselman river and SluuBhtcr Creek.     Residents    of    the
.\ fliiinder sinrm, tlie first of the year, wifh a rain thaf rame in lorreiifs, visited Wyoming Vnlley Inst niKh'«aBA-''y r.(reels w.rt i.iiiii- daled, cellars flii'>'!"(!, puflRT iiglitiiig systems rendered Incapable of seriire, a'lid tliousands of busy shoppers in the central city stood slranded^'nuiiht in llie rainfall, wilh'lrnlley trafllc on most lines of Ihe Wilkes-Karrii Uailivay Compniiy hailed because of the flooding of  fho sireets.
About 8::{0 o'clock last night the flrst drops of rain came, and wiihin ten inliiiilrH the lieaveiis seemed lo Imve deluged Ihe earfli Willi a ruin slorni nnequalled tor sniiie time in these parts. The liglifning liolfs struck the feed plants of tlio I*entis> Ivaniii Power und Light Conipany in this city iind at .Ashley, putting the city in diirk- ness for iiearl.v len ininiiles, while the I.uzerne Coimty Gns antl Kiectric Conipan.v e.vperieneed trouble with its service plant too, and Ihe entire West Side, sprvc<l b.v this compiiny, was in darkness.
Cars were halted on llie slroets Iiecause of the high water. Tho liradliElils of automnhiles groping their way tlirniigli the dark sfreels, and the occasional flash of a stroke of lighliiing gave In the shoppers who wero taken unawares hy the slonn, Iheir onl.v nieans of gelling lo places of shelter lo wail the return of Iheir home-Boine cars lo a regular schedule.
SF.WERS FI.Onill':il City offleials were cidird out because of llio high water on a do/en busy streets of the i-itj'. Police ileiiartmeiif ofllciiils were ap¬ pealed lo by frightened houselmlders whose cellars were lloiide<l. The sewer system of the city, througli many of ils branches, failed to function. The water in most places was more thiin a foot deep, and in many instances hroUe the houndarirs of curbs and rushed upon Ihe sidewalUs. Servico on the .\shley, Siiijar Nolch antl (irove and Hrown lines was halted h.v the IukIi water on South Washington street, near South street, where one was reminde<l of a creek thai had left its hunks.
.\f Hanover and .South .Main streets the traclion cnnipany ufliciuls found if impossilile to carry on any street car tralTic for more than a hair hour hecause of the high walrr. This tied up IrafTic to I'lymouth and Nanticoke. High water was also exfM'rienced on West Markei sireel, on Iteseiit street and al Kim street. South Kranklin street and Kast ilackson street were Inundated too.
Suporvisor of Streets Ted Henderson, at Ihr direclion of Superiii- tendciil of SIreels James (•ihhoii, had « force of men Ihroiighout Ihe ril.v immediatel.v afler flic storm relieving conditions. .Supervisor llendersoii wns making an investigation of sewer condilions long niter thc niidiiishl  hour.
( AKS DKKAH.KI) The rain  fell fur nearly an hour, coming in  lorrential slyle.    In olher parts of  Ihe  valley there came  reports  of  flcudiniE; of  streets wilh no particular duiiiago as tho resiill.
Passengers on the Georgetown car of the IimuI railway company, enjoyed a novel experience during the storm. .\t the lanpire switch on Kast Northampton street, there was lliree feet of Wiiler. Two cars were derailed. Women passengers had fo he carried through the water hy ^'allant youiiK men wim volunteered lo wade thruiij;li llie inundated area.
.\ sfrnu'^e incident caine whicii pul Asliley and llie entire city in diirkiiess dining ten mhintes ol flTe sfiiriii, wlien a liolt of ligliliiing hit the transforiner feed of the Prnnsylvuniit Power and Light Com¬ pany ill .Vshley, renderiii:; il useless. This feed line leads here Ironi Hii/lefou. .Xhiiiif the same time another liglitniiig hulf llil anntlier transformer hwaled in the rear of the Capitol Tlieatre on Public Square, putting out all service lines of the central cily, Streel liuhl servico, business houses, Iheatres nnd municipal buildings were in darkness diiring Ihe liiisy shopping period of the entire day. .Mer- rhiinls hurriedly secured candles, wliile soHichliglifs, gas and even lanterns were pressed inlo action to assist the slinpprrs. The service was out for nearly ten minutes. \ similar exiierioiice was jiveii Ihe residents and business men of the entiie West Side where the loss uf light conlinued fur neurly  Iwo hours.
This was the flrst electrical storm of Ihe .Spring.
MNMOEAD J IHEARLI REPORT ^
Tornadoes Sweep East From The Rockies And Great Property Loss Is Result
TOWNS ISOLATED
storms which lashed down on more that a dozen .slates Friday night and Satunlay look ii toll of nt lea.st 28 lives, crippled wire an.l railway com¬ munication, damnged property and left floods In their wiike which Ktill raged tonight, tlirca'ening many tpwns.
Pennsjiviiniii. wilh eight personn drowned, mostly children. repoited the heaviest loss of lifo of any stale. l'"our lost their lives in .Mi.s.souri. two in Illinois, four in Ohio und eight in Iho  Southwest.
Floods prevailed throughout manv .sections of Wcstorn Pennsylvaniiv and in Ohio, Maryland and West VIr¬ giniii.
Tlio Allegheny and Yniighioghenj rivers in Western Pennsylvania were both out of their bunks, InundatlnB i-uiiwuya and streets in muny towns.
Revolver Duel With Four Gunmen Is Fought On Street Of Pittston; Brave Victim Dying In Hospital
At 3:l,"i o'doik llil.s morning Pittston polico carried Joo Tolulltano, 17 ye.ars old, of 68 Vino stroot, Piltston, Into tho Pittston hospital. He was suffer¬ ing from a bullet wound In fhc chest. Police declared he was ono of the rob¬ bers responsiiile for Ihe shooting of Piiul Wiilnouskl, two hours earlier. Ho was fnund on the .street near his home.    His condition is fair.
In R thrilling gun duel In which .i dozen bullets were flred at clo.se range, Paul Walnou.skI, 3,"i years old, married of 28>i Hailroad street, Piltston, was shot and perhaps fatally wounded early toilay by robbers. He is in tho Pittston .Stale hospital with a bullet wound In his abdomen. Surgeons .if 3 o'clock declared ho hnd only a poor chance to survive.
Iiollce believed Ihat one of the rob¬ bers Wiis wounded by Walnou.skI he fore     lie     wns     struck     down.       The
flooilod urea havo abandoned their homos .
BiLsemcnls of business houses, resi¬ dences ,an 1 churches In the cenlrnl part of Johnstown wero floodeil to¬ night from the Conemaugli river. Kushing waters broke a gas line I» iiv¬ ing hundreiis of families without lieat or light. Doi-ricks for a now bridge wore wushod  uway.
The .Vllegheny and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburgh will rise to 29 feet wiiere they enter tlie Ohio river liy noon Sunday, iiccortling. to. lho Weather Bureau. Flood stage is 22 (cet.
wounded bandit, it wiis said, wiis carriod away by his companion.s, all of whom had managed lo elude thc dragnet spiuad by iiuthorltics early today.
Tho gun duel occurred nl 1:10 o'clock ns WulnouskI was nliout fo enter his home. He had reached a spot near tho place wliero Detective Samuel Lucchino was murdered sev¬ eral yoars ngo. Four nrmeil men Jumped from tho shadows ami com¬ manded him to hold up his hand.s. .M lho same lime they demanded his money.
Walnouskl complied with the "h.ands up" onler but managed to jerk a re¬ volver from his pocket. Ho stiirleil to flro directly Into the group of robbers. He liiid dLschurged four bullets when the leuder of tho band produced an¬ other weapon and returned the flre.
.K dozen shots were flred befoie Waihou.ski went down wifh a bullet in thc ubilomen. Beforo he fell, he later fold the police, he saw one of his as- sailiinls stugffer as if struck by ii buUet.
The fusilade aroused nearby resi¬ dents who called the pohce. Lieutenant Price, wilh a group of patrolmen, re¬ sponded. They found the victim in .i pool of lilcod and hurried him to the hospital where he told them the story of the shooting. He was also able to give .a partial description of his as-sailants.
The nelghborhooil in which the shooting occurred has beon notorious for yoars for its murder connections. Besides the a.ssussinalion of Defective Lucchino, there have been a half dozen otlier murders committed in that section of Plttatoil,
Thiriy  .Are  Head
New ^'ork, .Miiich* 21i.—Sweeping oaHtivard fiom the Itockiis. feii line ¦Spring .storms today took a tremen¬ dous loll of life and pioperty througli¬ out tho central .section of the l'niled .Stiites. In the patli of the storms, eastern rivers were swelling pa.st flie flood slago with lives lost and much property  damage  reported.
Upwards of thirty per.sons were drowned, crushed in falling houses, or olIierHisc killed in tin- lui-y of thc elements  during  flie  past   21   hours.
Fate  of  1,000  Inhabiliints  ot Heath Lamonl and Maxon—three Iitlle ham lols    in    western    Kentucky    reporled r.ized by a tornado, Wiis uncertain lliij afternoon.
While bizziirds disrupted transpor¬ tation and isolated communilles in the noi'lliwcsl, luistci\s i.iged across Iho flat stiites of thc southwest, level¬ ling houses and destroying crops. Hivers flooded Iheir banks in Ohio nnd tho middlewest and In Pennsylvani:i wlierc considerable destruction was cau.sed.
Rail trafflc in Minnesota was para¬ lyzed by ten foot snow falls; thous¬ anils of miles ot wire were down under tl.e la.sh ot sleet; river shipping on tiie Mississippi and Ohio rivers w.ic ontlroiy tied up.
So violent was the storm in south¬ west Missouri that hi>u.«s wer< wliirled inlo tho air and fell with fhelt humiin occupant.s crushed within tliem. .
De.ath lists, partly compile, show th| following casualties;
Cape Girardeau, Mo., 1 dead, 1 In¬ jured.
Silkeslon, Mo.,  3 dead,  15 injured. Priivo, Plah,  5 dead, 7 injured. Bentleyville,  Pa.,  2 dciiil. Newark, O.,  4 dead. Shawnee, Okla., 8 dead, 100 Injured In   fhe  east,   floods   swept   Cumber liind,  Maryland, and townships in thf vicinity of Johnstowai.  Pa., scene of a lilstoric flood nearly two decades ngo. The   Potomac   river   overflowed   ils lliinks,    inundating   tlie   business   dis¬ trict    of   Cumhirland     and     covering liiili-oiid   briilscs   nt     sevenil     points. The Casselniiin river flooded as did tiK Youghloghcny,   unother   Pennsylavniii stream.
Three   Cliildren   Hrown
Mclcroff, Pa., Miirch 2'.i—Searching liiiriios tonight lined both bunks of flood-swollen Indian Creek in an ef¬ fort fo find fhe bodies of throe chil¬ dren, drowntd here while playing "ferry boat".
The victim.s aro:
Viola Strauss. II; John Doskey, 10; Frank  Stoss,   12.
¦ The children, with Mary Strauss, 8, launched a wooden trough as a boat In the niging waters and climbed aboanl. Mary becume frightened and leaped out. Tho other three young¬ sters puddled to raidstreara und were drowned.
 S,	
MUS.   M.ARY   KASIINSKI
Tlio funeral of Mrs. Mary Kamln¬ skl, lute of I'iirk street, Nantlcoka. will be held tomorrow morning with .sci-vicos in St. Stiuiislaus church, an»l hurial in Sf. Stanislaus cenicterf. .Mrs. Kiiminski wus eighty yeurs obi and had Imm-u a resident of Nunflcoke for the liu.st two scoro >ears. In ail- liition to six children she is survival' by twenty-eight grandcliildren ulir ' thirty-two   ercut-tfrundchudrwi.