Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              DEMOCRATS APPOINT-NEWTON D. BAKER DIES
A Paper For The Home
ITF
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Weather
IFTY-TWO PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, DECEMBER  26, 1937
Sunday:   Partly cloudy, colder. Monday: Partly   cloudy.
PRICE TEN CENTS
U. S. ACCEPTS JAPAN'S APOLOGIES TOKYO WARNED AGAINST REPETITION
SCHMIDT, TORLINSKI, ROSMAREK, SELECTED FOR IMPORTANT POSTS
To Be Deputy Attorney Gen eral, Coal Commission At¬ torney   And   County Mercantile Appraiser
COURT HOUSE DECISIONS
Democratic county leaders par¬ tially solved their patronage problems on Christinas Eve. They will complete the task this after¬ noon, when the war board will sjsemhle lo distribute the two •core, jobs that came to them as a re.iult of the capture ot three court house offices at the Novem¬ ber election.
Three exceptionally good berths at Harrisburg and Washington were awarded to three newer na¬ tionality attorneys at the Christ¬ mas  Eve  session.
Former County Controller Paul J. Schmidt has been selected for a deputy attorney generalship at $4,000 a year. He will be attached to the Social Security section of the state government and will be in charge of claims.
Former Assistant District Attor- niy M. J. Torlinski of Nanticokc, graduate of the Naval Academy at Washington, has landed a $S,000 attorneyship with the Bituminous Coal Commission and will be lo- cited at Washington. Rounarrk Mercantile Appraiker Third plum goes to Attorney Charles Rozmarck, who on Decem¬ ber 31 will be appointed mercantile appraiser for LuiernS county by Auditor-tJeneral Warren Roberts. This appointmpnt is made for one year and the emoluments are based on feps, which usually amount to approximately J,''),000.
Attorney Schmidt served a.s county controller for about five years. He was appointed by the late Governor Sproul on the death of Fuller R. Hendershot and in IMl was elected for a full term of four years. He aspired for re¬ election in 1925 and was defeated by former Controller Harry T. Butts.
Attorney Torlinski was selpctpd as an assistant In the district at- torney'.s offlce by Superior Court Judge James, following the jud?o':i election for his first term as public prosecutor.
Hpaded November Drive Attorney Charles Rozmarck has hppn doing special woik for Attor¬ ney General Margiotti the past two years. He has been artive in Dprn- ocratio politics for several years. In the Novembpr battle he. Tor¬ linski and Schmidt headed the drive for newer nationality votes, a drive that was perhaps as much responsible for the Democratic vic¬ tory as any other iihase of the Democratic pnd of the campaign.
I'pmorratic Ipadpr.s also have made some head vay in their very Iroublesomo work of separating tho wheat from the chaff in the list ^ of applicants for the jobs that must ' he awarded in the offices of the prothonotary, clerk of the courts and county controller.
.Appointres SelPrted Though  no  announcements  have RS yet bppn officially made, it can ' be  stated   on   the   highest   author-! Ify   thnt    John    Owens    of    Plains! Township, who has bepn an assist- j ant   in   WPA   work   under  Jospph G.    Schuler.    will    be    the    deputy under   Controller-elect    Robert    N. | Bierly.     The   accountant   will    be j Robert Kdgerton   a  personal selec- i tion.    The   solicitor   for   the   oflfice; will  he  Attorney  William  L.  Pace j of Jenkins  Township.
Mrs. Sydelle Hyman, one of the leaders of the fpminine end of the local bar. will be the npw deputy prothonotary under Prothonotary- elpcl. Peter Margie John Novak of Freeiand. at present a clerk In the officp for ovpr twenty years, 'Continued on  Pnge A-IO)
ATTV.  M. ,1. TOKI.I.N.SKI
Coal Commisaion Solicitor
A'l'iv. ( u.\i:i i;s »;>y i.AKi;i\
.Mercantile   Appra'ser
ATTY.   PAI I.  J.   S<;H.MII)T
Deputy   Attorney-General, Social  Security   Division
Police Answered Her Second Call
New York, Dec. 2,'i. (UP) — Lillian HIavatl. a frail, blonde gl,rl of 20, paid two visits to a jpdli'-p   station   today.
The flrst time she complained
ISt her father, John, had come lome  drunk  from  a  Christmas
llebratinn and was threaten- . ig to beat her mother. .She •aid Ihe police declined to do anything  about  it.
The second time her hands were stained with blood and her  eyes  were  wide  with   tear.
"I've stabbed my father," she said.    "You'd better come now."
Hlnvati died in Lincoln Hos¬ pital and the girl was held In W,000 ball for a. hearing Tues¬ day.
ATTV.  SVDKI.1.K  B.  HV.'MAN
Deputy Prothonotary
DK VALKRA HOFEFl'L
Dublin Dec. 25 (UP) Eamon de Valera, president of the Irish Free State, in a Christmas message to¬ da.v, expressed the hope that the new constitution will be "an earn¬ est and fuller .larvest nf cpnturi.-s nf sacrifice and freedom from Im¬ posed  obligations."
PENN. TRAIN IS WRECKED TWO KILLED
Engineer And Firemen Die
As Rain-Loosed Boulder
Falls Upon Tracks
CAUSES AUTO CRASH
Aga's Grandson Rides In Sleigh
Bus Hits Car In Swerve To
Avoid Being Crushed As
Locomotive Topples
Pittsburgh. Dec. 2,5. (UP) The engineer anri fireman of a Penn¬ sylvania Railroad train were kill¬ ed and seven other pprsons in¬ jurpd, includins thrpe motorists, when the speeding locomotive strurk a big boulder which had rolled from a hillside overlooking the right-of-way. The locomotive toppled off an embankment and into   a   street   ten   fpct   below.
The injured motorists were In- volvpd in a two-c.nr wrpck which resulted  when   one   driver  swervpd
90'Day Driving Suspension For Violation Of State Speed Limit
Philadelphia, Dec. 25 (UP)—A minimum 90-day .suspension of drivers' license.s will be imposed on all motorists convicted of violating Pennsylvania's 50-mile speed limit after Dec. 31, Governor George H. Earle said in a statement issued here today.
Governor F>arle said that the suspension by the State Department of Revenue would be in addition to any other penalties imposed by the courts.
"While this action may he deemed drastic by some persons," the statement said, "it is not only justified but wholly unavoidable if we are to stop the dreadful carnage on Pennsylvania highways."
The stntement pointed out that approximately 2,700 per'sons woul(i have heen killed and 60,000 in.jured in Pennsylvania during 1937 when the year ends. It added that out-of-state motorists who violate the speed limit be reported to their own state author¬ ities in addition to any punishment given by Penn¬ svlvania courts.
PANAY AFFAIR ENDED
Given Amicable Finish Bul Japanese Claim Of Acci¬ dent   Is   Rejected
U. S. NAVY SUPPORTED
WARTIME U. S. LEADER DIES DURING REUNION
Pacificist Who Became The
'Greatest  Secretary  Of
War' Passes Suddenly
FAMILY WAS AT DINNER
Little Prince Kharim Khan, son of AU Khan and grandson of His Highness the Aga Khan, fabulously rich Indian ruler and spiritual his automobile to avoid having thn ^ iggfjer of 100,000.000 Mohammedans, Is taken for a slpigh ride by his hurtling locomotive drop on top nursp at a winter resort in Switr.prland. His parents are in India, but of  him. his younger brother, 2'i  months old, is also in Switzerland.
t'«rrie<l   No   Passengers | ____^ _________^^_^^________^____^^^.^_^^___
The dead were O. E. Rhoads, 47, of Columbus, Ohio, the englnppr, and W. H. .Strouse, 4(1, Carnegie. Pa., the /ir^mnn.- Rhoads wa?: thrown clear of the wreckage, but .Strouse was pinned beneath the wrecked lorcmotive and had to be freed with acetylene torches. j
F'our of the in.jured were Negro j waiters    who,    with    seven    other waiters   and   flve   crew   members, were    the    only    persons    on    the .spvpn-car  train.
The injured autoists were R. E. Kincaid, a bus driver, who swerved his machine tn avoid the hurtling locomotive, and Edward Nagel, .54. and his wife, C^ora, 52, into whose automobile Wheeler crashed. None of the injured was in serious con- diHon.
All of the cars pxcppt the rpar coach left the rails. The conductor, aagmnn and brnkeman riding on the la-'st car were the onl.v ones who escappd bping shaken up. Kalna   Loosed   Rock
Ppnnsylvania Railroad official.s said heavy rains of the past few- days apparently had loosed the hire rock i'rom an embankment. A crowded train had passed safpiy just 17 minutes before the acci¬ dent.
T.he locomotive was traveling 50 miles an hour when it struck the boulder, whirl/ lay squarely be¬ tween  the  two  tracks  on  the  ties.
The stone was shattered into small pieces as the 200-ton engine ro.'Je into the air .and toppled into Carson street which parallels the tracks. Part of the retainiiij: w'all was torn away and a telephone pole was snapped In two. The locomotive came to re.'^t on Its :ide.
Would Mean Increased Sal¬ aries And Probably Office For Newport Township
BUSINESS INCREASED
PilCIFIC PATROL
Moving  Picture  Record Of
Bombing Flying Ocean
Under Heavy Guard
Cleveland, Dec. 25 (UP)—New¬ ton D. Baker, a man who loved peace but was called upon by his destiny to direct the United States war machine in the greatest con¬ flict in history, died suddenly to¬ day while a Christmas family re¬ union was in progress at his modest suburban home here. He w-as  6«i.
The one-time Secretary of war in President Woodrow Wilson's cabinet died of cerebral thrombosis after a series of strokes, the first of which occurred last July while he was vacationing with his fam¬ ily at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. Death came shortly after 2 p. m.
Thomas Sidlo of Baker's law firm Raker, Hosteller, Sidlo and Patterson—said that Baker had an attack ypstprday at i p. m. but by morning, Sidlo said, he appeared to have "come out of It miracu¬ lously well."
Family At Christmas Dinner
He wa.'i sufficiently recovered to receive his family in his bedroom.
One-Fourth Of World In Reverence Of Christmas
Churches And Ruhers Make Pleas For Peace While
War And TraRcdy (arry On Unheeding; Ends
Of Earth Are United In Spirit Of Holiday
By I'nited Press
One-fourth of the civilized world paid reverent tribute Saturday to Christendom's holiest holiday w-hile war, disaster and crime marched on, much as they had during the preceding  twelve  months.
In the 600-year-old Church of the Nativity, built on the site of the birthplace of Christ, hundreds of Christians, including a score of Americans, marched in the proces¬ sional of the Latin patriarch, while 4,000 troops patrolled nearby hills of Bethlehem, guarding against new outbreaks of Arab terrorists. From Cliurch and Stat«i
In Washington, President Roose¬ velt steering the United Statea through its gravest international crisis since the World War, heard a sermon on world peace at the Church of the Covenant, in which nations were told they "cannot live peaceably until they learn the meaning of peace."
King George VI. in his first Christmas address to the vast British empire, broadcast a plea to his subjects to dispel "the shadows of ermilty and f»«r .. .and turn  to  the  me5.sage  that  Christ¬
mas will.
brings    of   peace   and   good
I Pope Pius XI celebrated mid¬ night mass at a little chapel near his bedroom in the Vatican while church bells rang over Rome. On I Christmas Eve the 80-year-old pontiff rose from his throne in the presence of his cardinals and In a voice, choked with emotion, de¬ nounced "persecution" of th» Cath¬ olic church In Germany "so grave, so terrible, so painful, so sad In its deep effects. . . ."
Explorer* Carry On
From the polar cap to th* Flquator Christmas observances were carried on.
The McGregor expedition on Greenland and the Holden expedi¬ tion in British Guiana were hook¬ ed up in a national broadcasting circuit to Christmas celebrations In  New  York.
The Dionne quintuplets had Christmas dinner at their nursery at Callander, Ont., with their mother and father ,Mr. and Mrs. Oliva Dionne. and their aix brothers and sisters.
Out   in  Hollywood  eight-year-old (Continued on Page A-10)
NEWTON  D.  BAKKK
• . .Loved peace enough to fight
for it . . •
Present were Mrs. Baker, the for¬ mer Elizabeth Leopold of Potts¬ town, Pa., and two of his three children, Mrs. John P. McGean and Newton D. Baker III. The third child, Mrs. Fulton Wright, is in California.
"There wpre five or six grand¬ children in the house," Sidlo said.
The family sat down to dinner downstairs at about 2 p. m., Sidlo said. Five minutes after they had taken their places, Baker's nurse entered the room and informed them that he was dead.
Baker, whose gift for the orderly marshaling of facts made him one of the greatest attorneys of his time, was engaged as counsel for Southern Utilities Companies in fighting the Tennessee Valley Authority at the time of his death. Suffered   Seoond   Stroke
After his first attack last July- he returned to Cleveland and, re¬ maining behind the scenes in the T. V. A. litigation, directed from his home the proceedings before three federal judges at Chatta¬ nooga, Tenn.
His health was not rugged, how¬ ever, and he visited his office oniy occasionally. Hia flnal visit was made the latter part of laat weel^ He suffered a second stroke on December 18, but rallied quickly, aa before, and it was believed he would  recover  completely.
As counsel for the Alabama Pow-er Company, the Texas Utili¬ ties Company, the Duke Power Company and the Georgia Power Company, Baker contended that the government In attempting to establish a "yardstick" with which to measure reasonable electricity rates was seeking illegally to sup¬ plant or supplement state regula¬ tion.
l..«iTeil Peaca And Home
Peace and his home w-ere Baker's (Continued  on  Page  A-S)
Nanticoke post office soon will get first class rating and delivery service ma.y be inaugurated in ad¬ jacent Newport township, it ap¬ peared last night, with nnnounce¬ ment from Postmaster Stanley Janowski that receipts of the year are "ic-'er than ever." A gratify¬ ing diristmas business swellpd revenue for the year and if the office does a fair business this week, ranking of the office will be par with  that of the larger cities.
Changing of the office from seo¬ ond to first class will result in in¬ creases of wages to cniiiloyces. There also is strong possibilit.v that the township will get the delivery service residents have bepn de¬ manding for years. Petitions re¬ cently were forwarded to the postal department, requesting considera¬ tion in the matter.
No Delivery in Township
While Glen Lyon and Wanamie, two communities of the township, have post offices, no delivor.v ser¬ vice Is maintained. People have to call at the small offices for mail matter and, if they are not expect¬ ing parcels or communications, it often is uncalled for for months.
Moving of Nanticoke's office to the first class bracket w-lU reduce the number of second class offices in this territor.v and it is expected that a regular office then can be pstablishpd in Newport. Tt is statpd, however, that offices in Wanamie and Glen Lyon may have lo mprge in order to realize this improvempnt. Wednesday   Greatest  in  History
Thp biggest day's businpss in the history of Nanticoke's office, ac¬ cording to Postmaster Janowski, was on Wednesday of last week. More than 48,000 cancellations were made. Cancellations for the week also showed a big increase. The office has been running ahead during most of the months this year and this extra revenue swells the total to a commendable  figure
Greater Nanticoke Board Commerce is cndpavoring to get spvpr.al new bu.siness housps for the communit.v at the present time. .\ first class post office will offer further encouragement to such movements.
Washington, Dec. 2,5 (UPi—ThJ United States tonight accepted Japan's apologies and diplomatia gestures over fhp bombing of th» gunboat Pana.v but coupled th« acceptance with a stern warninj against  repetition   of  the   incident.
After stud.ving .Japan's latesd representations throughout Chri.st« mas Da.v, Recretary of State Cor¬ dell Hull seemingl.y hrought tha long diplomatic negotiations to an amicable rlose with his answer to Japan's expressions of regret nnd its offer of full indemnification and measures to preclude a recur- renpp.
President Roosevelt and Hull collaborated through Christmai Eve and Christmas Day in theiP study and analysis of tha reply to the United States' protest over th* bombing and sinking of the gun¬ boat Panay, the machine-gunninf San Francisco, Dec. 2.5 (UP)—'"' ''" survivors and the attacks on The   navy   lightened   its   patrol   of   """'   Standard   Oil   steamers   on
More Mail Seized And Espi¬ onage Plot Suspected; Boats Are Examined
MEXICO LENDS AID
California waters tonight and cus¬ toms  officials  made  new  seizures
Dec.  12.
Apologies Repeated
, . ¦,    ,       J  , i     The   Japanese   reply   arrived   on
of consignee mail aboard Japanese   p-riday.  II  repeated  previous apol- liners,   giving   further   impetus   to   ogles  by  that  government  for  ths
reports that the federal govern¬ ment is actively investigating a possible widespread espionage plot. Packets of approximately 400 letters were reported seized by a customs officials aboard the Hok- kai Maru, the Kinai Maru and a third Japanese vessel at Los Angeles.
Skipped PoHtal C'hannpla
The consignee mail had not gone through regular postal channels but was included with company papers in [lackages handled only by   company   agents.
At San Diego, the navy sent two of its speedy "pocket cruisers", the U. S. S. Clark and McDougal, to reinforce ships patrolling Coronado Channel in sparch of unlicensed craft  of  alien  origin.
Customs officials refused to dis¬ cuss mail seizures. They said the seizures   "presumably"   were   made i
attack and previous assurance! that full indemnifications will o» made by Japan.
The note then cited the steps w-hich had bppn taken to guarantee against a repetition of such inci¬ dents or other attacks upon or interfercncp with American na¬ tionals, thpir property and rights in China by .Japanese authorities or armed forces.
The note was sent from t|ie State Department today to American Ambassador .Joseph C firpw in Tokyo for communication to ths Japanese foreign office.
It accepted Japan's statements and actions as reassuring lo tha United States that similar incidents will be avoided in the future.
Claiin   of   "Accident"   Rejected
The American note however, re¬ jected the .lapanese claims that tha attack on the Panav w-as purely ac-
because   consignments   aboard   the   eidcntal    and    unintentional.     Tha
Japanese   ships   were   In   violation of postal laws.
It was reported unofficially th;it tiie Mexican government is co¬ operating with the U. S. Navy in checking and inspecting "alien i craft". Several fishing boats have been stopped and examined, in¬ cluding the Nancy Hanks, alleged¬ ly owned by an American-born Japanese.
One report said alien hydro- graphic experts had been discover¬ ed making soundings and charts of Southern California waters.
The    customs    service    said    the
note said that the United Statst preferred to bplievp the formal findings of thp naval court of in¬ quiry which investigated the inri¬ dent and rendered a rpport w-hictl al! officials here believed to indi¬ cate that the Panay attack was deliberate.
In this connection the Amerleaa note  said:
"With regard to the facts of tha origins, causes and circumstances of the incident, the Japanese gov¬ ernment indicates in its note of Dec. 24 the conclusion at whiclt the Japanese government, as a re¬ sult   of   its   investigation,   has   ar-
"channel patrol" at San Diego was i rived.  With  regard  to  these  same
matters, the government of tha United States relies on the report of findings of the court of inquiry of the United States Navy, a copy of which has been communicateil officially to the J,-ipanesp govern* ment."
Amerira   Servei*   Warning The   American   note   w-as   genpr« ally regarded as practically closing • (^ontinued  on  Pagp  A-IO)
part of the greatest drive since World War days against illegal registration of American boats. It is against the law for a pf foreign owpcr to place his boat in American registry through a dum¬ my. The Nancy Hanks was sus¬ pected of carrying such a registra¬ tion. A large percentage of the fishing hoats operating from Cali¬ fornia are Japanese-ow-ned.
POLICE RECOVER AUTO IN   JUST   12   MINUTES
Twelve minutes after Wilkes¬ Barre police were Informed of a stolpn car within city limits, Ouispr Officers Fisher and An¬ stett recovered the machine.
Mrs. Ruth Hanson of 270 West Main street, Nanticoke, visited the police headquarters at 11 oclock last night and informed Sergeant Rittenmeyer that her 1937 model Chevrolet sedan had been taken from a parking lot on North Wash¬ ington street.
A message w-as Immediately sent to Wyoming Barracks and the ser¬ geant sent w-ord by radio to cruiser officers. Fisher phoned back twelve minutes later that the car was found on North Washington ahove .lackson street. Mrs. Hanson re¬ tained her parking stub and at least saved the regular fet.
Suicides From Pittston Bridge Before Brother Could Stop Him
Deciding suddenly upon suicide as he crossed the Fort Jenkins bridge from West Pittston, Arthur Stein, fli, grocer of 632 South Irv¬ ing street, Scranton, leaped w-ith-' out warning to the w-ater below. His  body  has  not been  recovered.
Stein was accompanied at the lime by his brother, David Stein, 220 Exeter avenue. West Pittston, who was unable t prevent his lunge into the Su/ anna, which is about 15 feci, ueep at that point.
He had spent Christmas with his brother and family and was on the way to Pittston tn • e a train for home. Giving no sign and moving so quickly that Ihe brother was   hardly   aware   of   hli   move¬
ments or intentions, the elderly man mounted the high concreta railing nnd flung himself to tha water below. Darkness shrouded his  de.scent.
David Stein notified West Pitt¬ ston police and in company with State Motor Police a search fop the body was started. Police com¬ manded a row boat and with grap¬ pling hooks, aided by floodlights, dragged the river. They gave uji their  search   late   last   night.
West Pittston police inferred that the man had been in ill health. He was unmarried and, besides his brother, David, he !• survived hy a sisler In Scranton. Communities along the river wara notifled to watch (or ths body.