Wilkes-Barre Sunday Independent

              G-MEN PROBING COUNTY WPA MAKE ARREST
A Paper For The Home
SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Weather
Sunday:   Fair, local shower*. Monday: Local thundershowerii
FORTY-EIGHT PAGES
WILKES-BARRE, PA., SUNDAY, JULY 25, 1937
PRICE TEN CENTS
MAN STABS WIFE AND SELF IN HOME AT WEST PITTSTON
NANTICOKE MAN HELD ON FORGERY CHARGE
PEN FUGITIVES ROB WEST SIDER
Caught Stealing Checks Of
WPA; Sift Other Claims
Of   Irregularities
MANY ARE HEARD
Federal investigation of alleged Irregularities among WPA workers tn Luzerne county was definitely under way here last night with an- f»«uncemcnt that a Nanticoke man nad been arrested on a charge of forgery. Prosecutors in the case are G-men sent here by the United States Department of Justice as a result of complaints originating In Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
One of the investigators' prime aasignmcnts is to determine whether certain men employed un¬ der Works Progress Administration are collecting wages for two jobs while doing the work of one. An¬ other angle of the new investiga¬ tion is the complaint that some jobholders have been collecting their salaries regularly but falling to report for work.
Frank Meek Arrested Frank Meek, 24, of 154 West Nobel street, Nanticoke, was re¬ leased from Luzerne County Prison yesterday afternoon af^r posting $300 hail on a charge of forgery. He was arrested twenty- four hours earlier by G-men who claimed he had cashed government checks Intended for WPA worken in the Nanticoke district. Mick" was taken before United States Commissioner Roscoe B. Smith who accepted bond after the Nanticoke man waived a hearing. His case will go before the next federal grand jury. ...
Meek, according to Commissioner Smith, admitted trailing a postal carrier who was delivering govern¬ ment checks to homes of WP.\ employees. As soon as the mail¬ man got out of sight, Meek, it was claimed, picked the letters from the front door mail box in each case. Next he forged the workers' names and cashed the checks. At the time of Meck's arrest there were reports that the Nanticoke man had employed a number of boys to steal the govern¬ ment envelopes and turn them over to him. paying the boys so much per letter. This, however, was de¬ nied by Commissioner Smith, who declared the four checks admitted stolen by Meek aggregated not more  than  $100.
Twn-Timing   Claimed
The G-mon sent here by the De¬ partment of .Justice arc dividing Iheir time between Luzerne and Lackawanna counties as a result of numerous complaints of irregu¬ larities. Some of these complaints, it is believed, are leveled at job¬ holders by others who lost their jobs through retrenchment policies ordered by the government, but there are other cases where tho investigators believe they will find cause  for  criminal  prosecution.
In recent weeks reports have been heard that some WPA salaried employees are two-timing the fed¬ eral payroll. This has been ac¬ complished, it i.i claimed, througii the same man holding down jobs on two different projects while per¬ forming the duties of a single posi¬ tion. Officials last night declared they had no concrete evidence of this practice but said the rumors will be thoroughly sifted. The use of trucks under aliases and ques¬ tionable titles is also being investi¬ gated.
Trouble in I^ackawanna i
While watching developments j closely in Luzerne county, the i G-men have already found cause | for investigation in Lackawanna : county where Burgess John L. Kil¬ cullen of Olyphant yesterday de- j (Continued  on   Page  A-4) I
Three armed convicts, objects of a state-wide search since their es¬ cape from Rockview penitentiary, were sought here early this morn¬ ing after a hold-up on a street in Kingston  borough.
Charles Dertingcr, 24, of 283 Reynolds street, Kingston, told police that a 1:50 oclock he wa.s held up by three men and robbed of $2.50.
The robbers escaped in an auto¬ mobile carrying license plates B6469. This number was the same as that carried by an automobile stolen by the convicts when they fled yesterday morning from Rock¬ view.
Dertlnger told police that he waa walking along Bennett street In Kingston, approaching Wyoming avenue, when he noticed three men seated in a parked automobile. The men jumped out as he reached the car. One of them produced a revolver and the others went through his pockets, but all they got was $2.50. After the hold-up, the convicts disappeared in the direction  of Wilkes-Barre.
WIELDS KNIFE IN SALVATION ARMY HOTEL STRUGGLE
Young Man Wounded In Hec¬ tic Brawl With Boarder Known   As  Bully
JAPANESE ENTERING SHANGHAI
Mysterious Report Of Kid¬ napping Of Seaman By Chinese Brings Move
DEFENSE BARRICADED
w
Troops March Through In¬ ternational  Settlement In Warlike Search
SERIOUSLY HURT
Shanghai, Sunday, July 25. (UP) —Modified martial law was de¬ clared today in Chapel—Chinese section of Shanghai—as Chinese soldiers entrenched themselves be¬ hind barricades following a march of Japanese bluejackets into the city.
The bluejackets, wearing steel helmets and carrying full war equipment, landed to hunt for a Japanese seaman who was reported to have been attacked and kid¬ napped by unidentified Chinese. Chinese  Barricaded
It was estimated 2,000 Chinese "defense police." wearing tin hats and carrying hand grenades, had barricaded themselves in the Klangwan (civlo center) district.
Thousands of Chinese streamed out ot the International Settlement as the Japanese troops clattered through the streets, convoyed by a truckload of armed troops with drawn pistols.
The   Chinese   foreign   office   an¬ nounced that the Japanese had in¬ dicated   they   would   withdraw,   as i tension in the city increased.
The sudden appearance of Japa¬ nese armed forces in Chapel—re¬ calling the "Shanghai War" of 1932 —threatened further to embitter the relations bet'veen the two na¬ tions, already tense as a result ot the North China crisis.
Meanwhile It was reported 3,000 troops of the Chinese "peace preservationist" group had mobi¬ lized in Chapel and thrown a cor¬ don around the North Station, ."scene of the bitterest fighting in the attack on Chapel in 1932. Incident Rather Mysterious
The fight between the Chinese and the Japanese seamen occurred at the intersection of North Szechuen and Dixwell Roads. An element of mystery entered the case when it was disclosed that a Japa¬ nese civilian who reported the in¬ cident had given a false name and address. The missing sailor, pur¬ portedly* kidnapped, was Sado Miyazakl.
A landing party of bluejackets Immediately   made   for   the   naval
French Report
Vast Spy Ring
Paris, July 24. (UP)—The newspaper Ce Soir said tonight French police had uncovered a vast spy ring operating along the Franco - Spanish border, which not only supplied Burgos, the Spanish Insurgent capital, with information but reported to Rome and Berlin.
Police said the asserted spies checked movements of French ships and passage of persons from  France  to  Spain.
The report said a similar or¬ ganization was raided at a villa in Biarritz iast April and was believed to have been disband¬ ed. Police reported the group had moved Its headquarters to another villa and continued its work.
The villa assertedly had a secret radio station, which trans¬ mitted dally reports on military affairs, allegedly communicating with a station at Palma, on the island of Majorca.
Ce Solr said the organization was headed by Bertrand Y. Musltu, who was described as a "big Spanish financier who during the great war represent¬ ed German financial Interests In Argentina."
¥
To Plow A Huge Furrow Six Feet Deep
I,
AERIAL AHACK IS TURNED BACK
Franco's   Bombing   Planes Lock In 6-Hour 'Dog¬ fight'  Over   City
AMERICANS IN ACTION
Climaxing a rough and tumble battle In the Salvation Army Hotel on Hazle street last night about 6 oclock, Louis Keeler, 60, stabbed above the heart and battered Samuel Cook-^or Moore—2fi, both boarders. Taken to the Homeo¬ pathic Hospital by Officers Dunn and Blank of the city police, five stitches were needed to close the wound. In addition, the youth dis- j played a bruised jaw and his con- I dition was only fair last night.        I
Wltnes3es and boarders at the} Army quarters claim Keeler had j been drinking and entered the j rooms with a flask, half-filled with i bad whiskey. He was accompanied ' by Moore and the men were en¬ caged  In  a  heated  argument.    As i ....,i.......j.^...j    ^^    ..^.    ...^    «.; * l  .     i <
one   word   led   to   another,   Keeler   landing wharf In the International   f^""-" .of combat planes in one of
struck  Moore  over  the  head  with   Settlement.     Before   foreign   resi-    he   mightiest  aerial   battles   since
the bottle.   The younger man then j dents   were   aware   anything   was;'"^ K"*'^^"/
retaliated with a horse.'ihoe used at, amiss,  the  trim  hnes  of  b]xie-c]R<i [ ..^^\\"   '\l^''°}'^^^
the quarters for pitching quoits. As   troops were marching through the   l'5.';'."'?Fj.)'''„P'_?J\^.:!"l!i"Z.-°"
the battle raged, they rolled about , settlement.
the   floor,   locked   in   each   other's >     They   halted   numerous  Chinese,
arms, and  then  rose to their feet | compelling    them    to    hold    their
to start throwing the horseshoes at i hands over their heads vWiile they
Madrid, July 24. (UP)—Gwi. Francisco Franco sent giant Ger¬ man bombing planes roaring over the western front of Madrid today in a supreme effort to destroy the city's key defense lines from the air but, according to government reports, the rebel planes fell back after a day of bitter dog-fighting wilh Loyali.st air forces.
The   big   Junker   bombers   swept
eastward    over    outlying    villages,
leaving   a   wake   of   fire   and   de-
I struction,    but    were    stopped    by
I anti-aircraft fire and the stubborn
I fighting   of   the   smaller   Loyalist
plane.'. I Worst Air Fight Of War
;     The attack, one of the most con¬ centrated  aerial  bombardments  of the  civil war,  started  early  today j when   the   government   air   forces I had retired from the front. ]     Immediately,     the     government Chatos   bombers   and   lighter   and j faster    Moscas    returned    to    the I fighting   line,   batthng   more   than ' 40   rebel    tri-motor   Junkers    and
This mighty plow has been de-1 signed to drive a furrow six feet ] deep.   Pulled by two huge tractors, |
it will be hauled across the Santa I under six feet of sand. The mold- Ana River plains in California to I board, seven feet high, was fash- turn rich loam buried by 1916 flood! loned from one piece of sheet metal.
BERRY IN NOSE BRINGS DEATH TO CITY CHILD
Lockiaw   Caused   By   In¬ fection Proves Fatal For Edward Humpleby Jr.
STRIKES SUDDENLY
Schwartz To Ask Special Grand Jury Session Here
Wants   Quick  Indictment  In   Registration  Cases;
Hears Of WPA Coercion While Democrats
Term Whole Affair Prejudiced
each other. Again coming to close quarters, they struggled again until Keeler pulled the knife and stabbed his opponent.
Lifting himself from the floor, Moore fell on the bed, murmuring for the others to "Pray for me boys." Keeler, reported as a bully of the quarters, tossed the knife on the bed and exclaimed "There Is the evidence. Give it to the judge.    This lad ought to die."
The burly Keeler. believed over 200 pounds and standing five foot (Continued  on  Page  A-4i
Kills His Wife In Family Fight When Served A Breadless Supper
Butler, Pa., July 24. (UP) — Kozman Sasuta, 46, told State Motor Police today a story of how
job
oft relief when Wallace got a in June.
Wife  Defend* Son
.        ., .   ,  J   ... His wife. Rosei, 42, defended her
a  breadless  supper   reminded  him   ^^^   ^^^   Torfan,  22,   another  son.
i
so keenly of his struggles against a meagre living that It touched off a family quarrel in which he fatally stabbed his wife.
"I raised ten children," the offi¬ cers quoted him as saying, "sonte of them are grown and now I can't even  have  bread  to  eat."
Returning from the fields of his five-acre farm late yesterday, he found only a pot of beans on the supper table. This led to a re¬ newal of an old quarrel with his wife over the oldest son, Wallace, and what he did with the money he  made.   The  famlljr wa<  taken
also took  the  part of his mother
During the bitter dispute, the father
picked up a knife from the table,
started   for   Torfan,   then   turned j offered "all  possible assistance"
aside   and   stabbed   his   wife,   who j searching for the missing seaman,
died almost instantly. In struggling  although they were frankly pi.z^led
searched them, and extended their search along streets In the vicinity of North Szechuen Road.
The landing party filed through the darkened streets shortly before midnight. Headquarters of the bluejackets at the naval wharf, which had remained quiet during the height of tension over the North China dispute, hummed with activity.
Warlike Search
Officers passed along the lines, lights flashed as the sailors fell Into marching colum.is and moved quickly out of the courtyard.
A crowded truck rumbled along the street ahead of the marchers, while two squads were afoot. Sen¬ tries were posted at frequent in¬ tervals along the streets. The sig¬ nal corps began stringing telephone lines.
The advance had all the appear¬ ance of a warlike gesture. Motor¬ cycles with mounted machine guns In sidecars raced along the streets ahead of the marching columns. The bluejackets on the truck car¬ ried drawn revolvers.
Chinese   authorities   immediately
in
both sides. Republican headquar¬ ters claimed the rebel air attack had been repulsed.
Meanwhile    field    observers    re¬ ported a fierce attack of Insurgent (Continued  on   Page  A-4)
A small green berry which be¬ came lodged in his nose cost the life of Edward Humpleby jr., five, of 171 Carlisle street, city. He died last evening at 6 oclock in Muni¬ cipal Contagious Disease Hospital, a victim of dread lockjaw. Infec¬ tion caused by the berry before it was removed from the boy's nostril was blamed for the attack of tet¬ anus. The young victim was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Humpleby sr.
One week ago yesterday the youngster Is said to have picked up a small berry from the sidewalk in front of his home. A short time later he went to his mother com¬ plaining that he had stuffed the berry up his right nostril. The boy was taken to Dr. W. J. Davis of Barney street who removed it and then treated the youngster against possible infection due to poisonous matter that the berry may have gathered from the sidewalk. Taken III on Trip
Early this week Edward's par¬ ents started their vacation, a mo¬ tor trip to Now .lersey, Allentown and Harrisburg. The youngster was taken along in apparent good health but at Harrisburg he showed symptoms of a stiff neck and final¬ ly was unable to open his mouth. (Continued   on   Page  A-4)
WEST PITTSTON BOY DROWNS NEAR HOME
with his father, Torfan was slash¬ ed three times.
Another ion. John 15, hit his father with a brick and a daugh¬ ter, Mary, 19, wrested the knife from his hand.    State Motor Police
by  the  fact  the  original  info.r.ier had given a fictitious name.
The Incident was the first break in the cautiously controlled neu¬ trality of Shanghai in the current dispute of Peiping.    The Japanese
Richard Scoval, eight, who re¬ sided with his grandparents, Mr, and Mrs. Frank Jones, 323 Free- mon street. West Pittston, drowned in the Susquehanna river shortly before noon yesterday at a point near West Pittston Cemetery, Tunkhannock and Exeter avenues. The body was not recovered until i two   hours   later.
The victim and his cousin, Frank | Jones, ten, were wading in the | river when Richard slipped on the clay bottom and di.sappeared under water. When he did not reappear, young Jones hurried for aid to the plant of the Pure Oil Company, a short distance away. One of the oil men immediately put in a call to West Pittston police while the others rushed to the scene of the accident accompanied by the Jones child, who pointed ont where his cousin  had  gone   under.
Rescue   Effort  Fails
Other   volunteers   appeared   and
for two hours they and members of the West Pittston and Exeter departments combed the river. Four row boats and a motor boat were utilized. From time to time more volunteers arrived and joined in the search. The river was combed for several hundred yards.
The child's body was found by Undertaker Edward Maury of West Pittston. The family had been no¬ tified and Mr. Maury was dispatch¬ ed to the scene. Armed with a grappling hook he entered a boat and began to drag the river at a point 100 yards below where young Scoval disappeared. Maury was successful in the first ten minutes of his search. Tender hands took the body to the waiting ambulance. To  Be  Buried  Tuesday
The remains were taken to the Maury establishment and prepared for burial. The child, in addition lo his grandparents, is survived by these brothers and sisters: Robert, Lester and George, who live with
arrested him and he is held with- previously observed a curfew law out bond pending arraignment on and were under strict orders to a charg* of fatally stabbing his take no action which might b" con- wife. .1        (Continued on Fas« A-i;.
an   intensive  search  for  the  child  Mr. and Mrs. Jones, and Arreda of
began.    Some    plunged    into    the I Forty Fort.      «
water   and  searched   over   a   wide :     The funeral will be held Tuesday
area, while others commandeered boats along the river bank. State Police had been notified and came
afternoon at 2 oclock from the home. Services will be conducted in the residence and Interment will
promptl;^ wilh grappling books aodlbt in I^lunaa Cemetery.
District Attorney Leon Schwartz this week will ask for a special session of the Grand Jury, it de¬ veloped last night. Several hun¬ dred warrants have been Issued to date, with flagrant violations of the registration law charged. It Is expected arrests will total 1,000 before the week is out.
"I will go before the court in the middle of the week," said Mr. Schwartz, "and ask that all guilty persons be quickly Indicted and brought to trial. Deliberate per¬ jury by the voters is a deliberate challenge to decent government and it Is my aim to see that they are convicted."
The penalty for perjury, accord¬ ing to the district attorney's off-ce, is that the person, upon conviction must pay a fine not exceeding $.500 j or to undergo an imprisonment of not less than three months nor more than two years, or both. In the discretion of the court. WPA   Coercion   Alleged
Reports  have  been  made to the I district   attorne.v   that   supervisors i of   various   county   WPA^ projects j have   been   coercing   thrfworkers by probing into their perpnal reg¬ istration.   A   weekly   checkup   has been made,  it is alleged, and em- j ployees must bring their registra-1 tion card on the job whenever rcg-; istration     has     been     completed. The  card  then  must  be shown to the supervisors,  it is said.
"There has been no independent investigation made Into this mat¬ ter," stated Mr. Schwartz, "al¬ though many complaints have been made. Our investigation right now has to do with the actual registra¬ tion and perjury by potential voters."
He asserted that a foreman has the right to persuade a voter either way, but that any attempt at coer¬ cion will bring recourses from the law. Although this Is regarded as "hard to prove," the district at¬ torne.v said the matter will be fully Investigated when other work has been completed. The offense is more serious than perjury.
Democrats Call It "One Sided"
Democrats term the district at¬ torney's probe Into the registra¬ tions as "unfair and one-sided.' It is reported most of the investi¬ gating is being done in wards hav¬ ing a big Democratic registration. Republican wards hnve not been affected, it is reported. In view of this, .Teffersonian leaders term the  probe  "a  political move."
Many of those arrested on war¬ rants issued from Alderman S. Miles Barber's office, Wilkes-Barre assert that they are not guilty of any wrong-doing. Many of the voters assert that they merely signed as witnesses at various poll¬ ing places, attesting that voters, who requested "assistance" be marked on their registration card had voluntarily asked for it. They deny that they swore "under oath" that such persons were Illiterate or incapable of voting them.selves. More Warrants Monday
Preliminary hearings, before Alderman Barber, will get under¬ way tomorrow morning with the exception that a full week will be reijuired before all cases have been
tried. All arrests have been made on irregularities noticed on the registration cards of the first day. Scores of new warrants will be is¬ sued beginning tomorrow on later registrations.
Past history of political Investi¬ gations, charges, etc., does not give cause for undue fear of the final result. If the usual program is followed there will be a big hulla¬ baloo by newspapers nnd prosecut¬ ing officers for a week or two. All charged with political crimes will be formally arrested. When they are taken before the squire or alderman they will have a hearing, furnish bail for appearance before tbe court and that will be the last the public will hear of the matter.
ICE PICK USED IN ATTACK
Donald McDonald Turns On
Wife As She Scrubs
Kitchen Of House
MAN NEAR DEATH
LAW WILL AID OPENING OF STRUCK STEEL PLANT
Cumberland, Md., July 24 (UP) — The N. and G. Taylor Company, subsidiary of Republic • Steel Cor¬ poration, today was assured the co¬ operation of state, county and city law enforcement bodies if it de¬ cides to re-open Its struck plant here Monday.
The pledge of co-operation was given shortly after Qhlef Judge D. Lindlcy Sloan dismissed a petition seeking to set aside a city ordi¬ nance that limits the number of pickets at an industrial plant to six. These pickets, the city ordi¬ nance provides must have been employees of the plant at the time | the strike was called. I
The local Taylor plant Is the I only Republic mill which has not i reopened since calling of the strike \ by the CIO. !
A petition signed by 285 of the [ 410 Taylor employees this week j asked city authorities for protec- | tion.
Woman Pulls Weapon From
Husband's Body Before
Fleeing   For   Help
Either temporarily deranged or in the heat of a family quarrel, Donald Williams McDonald, 34, plunged an ice pick Into the head of his wife as she scrubbed tho woodwork In the kitchen of their West Pittston home at one oclock yesterday  afternoon.
In the struggle that followed tha woman five times more was stab¬ bed and then, after she had es¬ caped and fled from the home with blood streaming from her wounds, McDonald turned the weapon on himself. Last night he was in Pittston Hospital in a serious con¬ dition from a wound near the heart while his wife, the former Clarice Lewis, also in the hospital, was reported as fair.
Neither West Pittston police who handled the case nor neighbors Interviewed after the stabbing could produce any motive for the wild attack. McDonald, unemploy¬ ed since laid off by the WPA, is known as a sober young man and drink is reported to have played no part in yesterday's near tragedy in his home at 229 Warren street. Jealousy  Considered
To the police as they rushed him to the hospital he kept repeating, "I love my wife." Because of this, Chief of Police John J. Stutz of West Pittston was inclined to the belief that jealousy might have been the cause.
Residents of the section were un¬ aware anything was amiss until Mrs. McDonald dashed from the house and fled to the home of Mrs. Oscar Houck, next door. Badly shaken by the affair, Mrs. Houck could give little account of what had happened.
"All I can say," she asserted, "is that It wars a terrible experience." It was claimed by others that a quarrel had taken place.
Mrs. McDonald first was stabbed in the head, it Is reported. Then, In a scuffle, twice in the left arm and three times in the side. Her husband then plunged the pick into his body, up to the hilt. Although his wife was badly hurt, she Is said to have withdrawn the pick from his body, then to run screaming to the sidewalk to make her way to the home ot the neighbor. Aids  Her  Assailant
Shouts from the Houck residence prompted another neighbor, whose name could not be learned, to put in a call to the police station, only a block away. Chief of Police Stutz was the first to arrive. He entered the McDonald home to find the husband slumped on the floor. Inquired into the wife's condition and learning that she was lest (Continued  on  Page  A-4)
Officials Who *Con firmed'Gold Find AreRemovedBy Governor Of Panama
Panama City, July 24. (UP)—An embarrassed    government   today ousted    two    officials    who    "con¬ firmed"-without    seeing    it-that 1 three tons of ancient conquistador i gold   had   been   unearthed   in   the I Chirlqui jungles.
President    Juan    Demosthenes ! Arosemena    removed    Gov.    Oscar \ Teran and Chief of Police Nicolas j Sagel, both of Chirlqui province, for I their messages that Johannes Van i Steck,   a   French   prospector,   and I two    companions   had    found    the gold.    On  the   basis  of  the   "con¬ firmation" the government ordered special  police  to  guard  the  cache and   even   sent ' planes   to   David, nearest   cily   to   the   jungle   settle¬ ment of Pledra Candela where  It was reported found, to fly the gold here.
Teran and Sagel adm.tted they had not seen the 120 gold bars of 50 pounds each, which Van Steck, who later committed suicide, said he unearthed. They asserted they took the word of policemen sent to the  scene,  who  in  turn  believed
J
I what the Frenchman told them. I Authorities believed Van Steele ! shot himself after leading tha j police to an empty tunnel either I because he was mad or because ha I realized that his hoax would b« j discovered. Arrin G. Thorpe, an ' American named by Van Steck j with Anton Hill, a German, as co- I finders, disclaimed all knowledge of the treasure. Hill could not b« I located.
Native* Still Hopeful ! National police sent to PiedrA Candela have returned to David, leaving behind thousands of natives still hopeful that the gold might ba stored in some hidden tunnel. Be¬ fore he died. Van Steck told the police the treasure was not In tha tunnel to which he led the authori¬ ties but in another one.
An official Investigation into the entire story, which upset the national life for more than a week, will begin* in David on Monday. The government then Is expected t» confirm that its "confirmation" wM premature.