The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 9

The Weather W0 PART II LOCAL NEWS TIMES OFFICE 202 Wttt First Street Los Angelei 53, Calif. MAditon 2345 United States Weather Bureau forecast: Partly cloudy with a few scattered showers over and near the mountains today; generally clear and warmer tomorrow. Highest temperature yesterday. 67; lowest, 44. CC VOL.

LXV TUESDAY MORNING, APRIL 2, 1946 CITY NEWS EDITORIAL SOCIETY Youth Project Legislators Hear Freeways Plea; Spending of $939,599,000 Urged Death Takes Noah Beery Film Veteran Passes After Birthday Fete of Brother Wallace with BILL HENRY First Priority Routes Given for Crowded City Los Angeles metropolitan Needs Cited More and Improved Facilities Required, Civic Leaders Told More and better facilities are needed in Los Angeles for boys and girls if the community is going to reach the roots of its youth problem. This need was cited by volunteers, civic leaders and field 1 area's urgent need for a freeway traffic system yesterday was presented to the legisla tive joint Fact-Finding Com mittee on Highways, Streets workers during the second an and Bridges which opened a nual meeting of the Los An geles Youth Project last night five-day hearing in the State Building. in the Friday Morning Club (PI photo MOURNED Noah Beery Sr.j veteran actor, stricken fatally at office. The Youth Project was organized two years ago under sponsorship of the Community Wel City officials, traffic and traffic experts converged to "sell" the State representatives on the critical for Immediate action to alleviate the area's traffic Frankenstein monster, now Los An fare Federation and is supported by Community Chest funds. Floyd W.

Forker, project chair geles' No. 1 problem. Shooting Star Pilotless Dive Tests Planned man, presided. Other Problems Outlined Other problems outlined dur Following a welcome by May the meeting were: need for de or Bowron and an opening talk by Sen. Randolph Collier of velopment of more co-education Yreka, chairman of the Assem al programs, enlargement of project boundaries to include additional areas in need, develop Terminal dive speed of Lock bly group, Lloyd Aldrich, City Engineer, presented the master plan for freeways which has universal support of the metropolitan area.

ment of a volunteer program for handling children before court action and expansion of a pro Timet photos SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THIS GAG Times Photographer Larry Sharkey, left, and Abercrombie pictured waiting in vain for approaching pedestrians to "grab for Sharkey's "empty" wallet, placed with string attached on City Hall walk as April Fool gag. Specific Proposals Outlining the history of the development of the parkway system, Aldrich concluded by offering specific recommendations of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Parkway Engineering Committee on the expedition of a Los Abercrombie Profits Angeles freeway plan eventually Clubwomen Hurt in Crash When Gag Backfires gram for girls. In reviewing Youth Project activities, Forker pointed out that 1200 groups with 22,000 members now are served, against 9000 reached in 1943 when the "zoot suit" trouble faced the city. Of all youths in the project, 19.2 per cent are Negroes and 29.3 per c.ent are Latin-Americans as'part of the 14,000 boys and 8000 girls in the entire program, Forker said. At present 22 per cent of the groups are meeting in churches, 30 per cent in schools and 18 per cent in places not connected with any heed's P-80 Shooting Star will be determined early this summer when the jet fighter pilot-less and remote controlled will be put through a series of tests at Muroc Army Air Field, it was announced yesterday.

Starting with oblique angle dives and building up to a perpendicular plunge from extremely high altitude, the tests will prove not only the highest speed at which the P-80 can be flown, but the resultant information will be used in the design of future high-speed planes. Plan Dangerous Tests "By using a pilotless P-80 remotely controlled from the cockpit of a 'mother' ship (also a P-80) and thus eliminating danger to the pilot, the plane can be put through paces never before attempted," explained Maj. Gen. B. W.

Chidlaw, deputy commanding general, A.A.F. Air Materiel Command. A television set will show the robot P-80's instrument panel. Noah Beery famed stage and screen actor, died yesterday of a heart attack only a few hours after attending the 61st birthday celebration of his actor-brother, Wallace. The veteran actor, 63, died at his office at 6500 Colgate in the presence of his secretary, Mrs.

Marie E. Blodgett. He had been ailing for several years. Noah had been playing the role of Boss Tweed in the New York stage hit, "Up in Central Park," for the last 14 months, and was here for a brief vacation before rejoining the company for its Chicago engagement, starting April 27. His son, Noah stars In western movies.

Billed for Broadcast The birthday celebration at Wally's Beverly Hills home was held Sunday night, a day ahead of schedule, so that the famous brothers and Wally's adopted daughter, Carol Ann, could appear in a radio show last night. As an old trouper, Wally carried out the tradition that the show must go on by appearing as scheduled with Carol Ann. Ed Max, radio player, substituted on the program for Noah. At the party Noah seemed in good spirits, and presented gifts to Wally and Will Beery, the eldest brother who is Wally's business manager. Will's 66th birthday is next Friday.

Noah had been separated from his wife Marguerita for many years. Last Joint Appearance Noah and Wally last appeared together in 1945 in a film called "This Man's Navy." His best-known screen role was that of the brutal Sgt. Le-Jaune in "Beau Geste" who set up his dead comrades' bodies about the parapets of a besieged desert fortress and stood off the enemy tribesmen's attacks. He wore a suit of armor in his first picture, "Joan of Arc," made in 1920, and in the ensuing years appeared in scores of pictures, among them "The Sea Wolf," "The Spoilers," "David Harum," "The- Isle of Lost Ships." "Girl of the Golden West," "Mexfcali Rose" and "The Passion Song." Started as Vender Born at Kansas City in 1883, he first smelled grease paint when he was a peanut vender in circuses and theaters. He headed for Broadway with just enough money for railroad fare and with two revolvers stuck in his belt He pawned the weapons to buy food a few days after arriving in New York.

Noah joined a stock company and toured the country, and later joined forces with Wally in another show troupe that played the national circuit for three years in "Trail of the Lone-some Pine." In 1920 he' entered pictures and soon began his rise to fame Dear Boss: just point at the inert pocket- Three prominent Southland clubwomen were in Madera Sani That loud squeal like a stuck pig or a stuck steam whistle you may of heard was emitting from the pipes of Times Photog Larry Sharkey when his April Fool book and pass it up. In disappointed disjection Larry says, "We gotta have a dope and you're just the guy what can do it, Ab." As you know, boss, I hardly tarium yesterday with injuries received late Sunday in a three- car collision 15 miles north of Madera on Highway 99. They are Mrs. Roy E. Steckel of 820 S.

Bronson wife of agency, he explained. the former Los Angeles Chief of Mayor Bowron Speaks J. D. Bruner, volunteer chair Police, Mrs. Benjamin F.

Warm er of Ontario, president of the man of the Youth Services Division of the Welfare Council, presided during a symposium which included Mayor Bowron, J. Paul Elliott and Mrs. Sumner Spaulding, who advocated con California Federation of Women's Clubs, and Mrs. Alma A. Cool of 4115 Irving Place, Culver City.

Mrs. Steckel was reported in a critical Condition with a fractured skull, Mrs. Warmer was said to have a fractured ankle, fractured shoulder and possible hip injuries, and Mrs. Cool, driver of the car, was reported Wr7 Vto? 1 1 irrwwiif il Li nm itrrri nwmwni iamw MMf -T -w- wir "im 1 1 ft Berkeley Divorced by Actress Wife Film Director Busby Berkeley, 50, yesterday was divorced by his fifth wife, Marge Pemberton, 22, M.G.M. actress.

His other four wives, also tinued support for the Youth Project as a means of reaching the community's youth to enable them to take their places as well balanced and progressive citizens. Rev. Joseph Hill, director, Catholic Youth Project, gave the invocation and Earl Robinson, composer, sang his own work, "The House I Live In." YORK. So you want to write a book? Well, you'll need literary ability, imagination, persistence, skill and most of all a lot of luck. Rich relatives who will support you will also come in very handy.

LITERATURE The current literary phenonemon is Capt. Harry Butcher, whose diary of life with Gen. Ike Eisenhower comes out in about a month. Butch Is pleasantly baffled by It alL He thought he had something pretty interesting as a result of his years as personal aide to Gen. Ike, but he hardly anticipated what has happened.

It is quite fabulous, though hardly as fabulous as some of the stories in circulation which credit Butch with making a million bucks out of it. Actually he got $125,000 from the Saturday Evening Post for republication rights; hell get about another $50,000 from the Book-of-the-Month Club which will put him In the best-seller class with more than half a million copies, and the first printing for public sale is 50,000 copies, bringing his total to roughly $200,000 which ain't hay. SUCCESS Butch will sell thousands of the books in Britain, where Eisenhower is extremely popular and where much of the action of the book takes place. He'll probably sell movie rights, cheap editions, eventually, and he is already launched on a lecture career. When he settles down to running the new radio station at Santa Barbara that he has applied for, Butch will be nicely fixed, even though agents and Uncle Sam will take a tremendous bite out of all this money.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, either. LUCK There is a lot of luck in this sort of thing, of course. There was a certain amount of it in the way Simon Schuster got to publish the book. They heard Butch had something of the sort up his sleeve and cast about for somebody, to contact him. One of their editors, Quin-cy Howe, broadcasts for C.B.S., of which Butcher was an executive before he went to war.

Howe called Butch at a New York hotel, went right over to see him, got him on the dotted line and while he was still in the apartment with him the phone rang and it was Quentin Reynolds, calling on the same mission on behalf of another publisher. Howe had beaten him by about five minutes. SUCCESS You hear a lot about this sort of thing, but very little about the books which are not best sellers. Most books do very well to sell a couple of thousand copies. Publishers, as a matter of fact, can probably Just about break even if they sell that many.

The average blood and thunder mystery book nets the author about $1000. Top authors, of course, get much more. The big money from that sort of book comes when it is sold to the movies. There i3 no telling what will catch the public fancy. War books are a drug on the market most publishers don't want any more of them.

The really fine novel of World War II, however, has yet to be written. SURPRISE One of the phenomenal surprises of the moment is "Starling of the White House," though it is far behind the top phenomenon, "The Egg and now heading for 300,000. For some reason perhaps because people were suddenly tired of the war the reminiscences of the ex-secret service man in the White House caught on. Life paid a fancy figure for prepublication rights I and the book, in almost no time at all, had sold 50,000 copies and i is in for a steady sale, probably 1 for a good many months to come. MYSTERY The public usually likes to read about something that has been a secret for a long time.

They liked the books about the cloak-and-dagger boys 1 in" this war. For that reason there is more than a good chance that Fred Eldridge's ibook, "Wrath in Burma," will (do very welL A lot of people have wondered what really hap-j pened to Gen. Vinegar Joe Stil-i well down in Burma. Eldridge was with him and has written about it and the book is likely ito be hotter than a $2 pistol when it comes out this month. to have head injuries.

The three were returning from Eastern Star meetings in Northern California. Mrs. Warmer was scheduled to speak yesterday at the Women's Club annual county meeting in Long Beach. Their car was struck head on by a northbound driven by Pedro C. Lopez of Artesia, N.M., after the latter had side-swiped another car driven by Horace E.

Caley of Los Angeles, investigating officers said. Banker Takes Chamber Post BACKFIRED Abercrombie, to provide a laugh at any cost, finally picks up wallet himself and, to Sharkey's dismay, finds the latter forgot to remove the money. James P. Kennedy, Pasadena banker, last night was installed as president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce at ceremonies attended by 500 guests at the Huntington HoteL James E. Shelton, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce president, installed the new officers and directors while Clifford Kenworthy, retiring president, presided.

Brown S. McPherson became vice-president and Philip S. Fogg, second vice-president. Sanction Expected for New Housing Final approval of the Los Angeles County Housing Authority's plans for two new veter Ac to encompass 613.3 miles of roadway at a cost of $939,599,000. The City Engineer urged "first' priority" development of the Arroyo Seco-Harbor Parkway, from Adobe St.

to Olympic the Harbor Parkway from Olympic Blvd. to Battery the Hollywood Parkway from Cahuenga Pass to Arroyo Seco; the Inglewood Parkway from Harbor Parkway to Sepulveda Parkway; the Los Angeles River Freeway from Ninth Long Beach, to Santa Ana Parkway; the Santa Ana Parkway from Aliso St. to Atlantic and the Santa Monica Parkway from Verrnont Ave. to Ocean Parkway. Specific Allocations Pointing out that the present method of allocating State highway funds will not accomplish the desired objectives, Aldrich recommended that any increase in gasoline or other special highway taxes be allocated to a specific undertaking and that any additional tax funds for highway development be spent with-in counties strictly on the basis of automobile, registration.

"Indications are," he said, "that the Los Angeles metropolitan area will continue to experience a rapid growth in population, estimated at 6,000,000 persons, and will have an estimated motor vehicle registration of 3,000,000 cars by 1970." Heavy Use of Antos Aldrich explained that a conservative estimate places passenger miles of travel in this area 80 per cent by automobile. He told the committee that adequate facilities have been provided in the master plan for parking. Use of freeways by rapid transit bus systems would increase their economic value 100 per cent, he said, and he told of other eastern areas where taxable lands near freeways increased in value 125 and 7S5 per cent in the period of years. Congested City Mayor Bowron emphasized unity of opinion for the master plan and told the State Senators and Assemblymen that in considering the traffic problems of this area they are serving approximately one-thirty-fifth of all the people of the United States and 44 per cent of the permanent residents of the State. "The problem is not a city p-oblem, but an area-wide problem," the Mayor said.

'The most practical consideration of the hearing must of necessity be one of financing thi3 extensive and expansive construction, as big in all of its aspects at this time as was the construction of the Panama Canal in its time." Sees Rise In Taxes Speaking of the financial end of the plan, Collier suggested that a "substantial increase in motor fuel taxes and possibly a rise In vehicle registration and license fees may be required to propagate the State highway development P. G. Winnett, member of the Metropolitan Traffic and Transit Committee, helped pound home the case for Los Anpeles freeways by declaring: "We cannot afford not to build freeways we are 10 years too late. The need is bo great and Turn to rage 2, Coin mm 4 and fortune as a "heavy." Among gag backfired to my personal financial retroactivity. Larry comes to me yesterday and says, "Ab, I got a swell idear for a April Fool pitcher.

We'll plant my empty wallet on the sidewalk and take a pitcher of the dope who picks it up. Some fun, eh kid?" Well, boss, we cache ourselfs behind the lacy fronds of a banana bush in the City Hall grounds and although plenty of citizens walk by the wallet they ain't no dopes among 'em, at least to the nude optic. They fit the part, but just to make Sharkey happy I steps out of character and become a dope. Or do When I pick up the poke I find five crispy, crunchy frogskins secreted in it what he'd forgot to remove. "Hey! That's my hideout dough.

Gimme!" moans Sharkey, turning a pale livid hue what matches his Frankie-boy bow tie. "All is fair in c'est l'guerre. Bon soiree," I reminds hira, poking his poke in my poke. ABERCROMBIE. i the classic Hollywood phrases is his observation, "Villainy is ans' housing projects, totaling its own reward.

Forest Lawn is in charge of funeral arrangements. more than 300 units, is expected today at a meeting between Rob Times cboto ert Wayne Burns, executive director, and Federal Public Housing officials. Plans for the projects, one at Anaheim-Telegraph Road and Atlantic Blvd. and the other at Central Ave. and 103rd tentatively have been approved by the Federal agency, and the County Housing Authority has applied for $200,000 in State funds for preparation of the sites.

Marge Pemberton actresses, were Esther Muir, Myrna Kennedy, Claire James and Myra Steffens. Superior Judge Kenneth M. Chantry granted her a decree after she said Berkeley accused her of being out with another man when she was really taking her mother to a show. New Flour Mill Planned Here In a postwar expansion program, General Mills, will construct a large new flour mill in Los Angeles as soon as building materials are available, it was announced yesterday from headquarters in Minneapolis. The new plant will be a completely modern flour mill and elevator, to be built on property owned by the Sperry division of the corporation adjacent to its present feed 'mill and warehouse at 4309 Fruitland Ave.

A new cereal plant for production of packaged food products will be erected at LodL Pickpocket Makes $3400 Haul When he reached for his wallet yesterday morning, Ray L. Honeywell, 208 N. La Peer Drive, Beverly Hills, found that he had been the victim of a pickpocket. He had attended a downtown theater Sunday night, he told police, and presumably had been robbed there. The wallet, he -said, contained $3400 in cash.

Scout Executive Honored for Work County Counsel Harold W. Kennedy has been awarded the Silver Antelope Award for Distinguished Service to Boyhood, for his long and outstanding work in the Boy Scout movement The presentation was made at the annual meeting of Region 12, Boy Scouts of America, last Saturday at Mission Inn, Riverside. The citation was recommended by the Scouts national council. At the Riverside conference Kennedy was re-elected to the executive committee of Region 12,. which has jurisdiction over scouting in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah; Demountable war workers' homes at Port Orchard, which have been allocated for the projects, already are being Find Causes Uncertainty Police at the Wilshire Station still are wondering whether Sam Stangis, 1155 Elden made them the victims of an April Fool joke.

Stangis yesterday brought a leather satchel initialed H. into the station and said that he had found it on the street. The officers, hesitant at first to open the bag, eventually investigated. Inside, they found five diapers and a nursing bottle. Stangis got a hearty laugh.

The officers are skeptical. disassembled ready for shipment and the first are scheduled to arrive April 15. Mangled Body Found The mangled body of Joe Agui-lar, 45, of 1822 Paducah was found yesterday on the Santa Fe roadbed beneath the North Broadway Bridge. Traffic Judge 7Gets Tough Seven Drivers Lose Licenses gil, 25, of 3625 Altura was sentenced to two days in jail Vandals Raid Junior High Steal Food and Cause Fire in addition to receiving a 30-day license suspension for driving 60 miles an hour in a 2o-mile zone. Six others were fined from $15 Attention Voters! To be eligible to vote in the forthcoming direct primary election June 4, residents who have not registered in Los Angeles County, have changed address or name or did not vote in the last direct primary or general election, must register before April 25.

Prospective voters can register in the lobby of the Times Building, 202 W. First Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Correct address and cross streets' names or numbers are required for to $25 for speeding and their licenses were suspended for 30 days. They are H.

B. Thomas, 25, of 759 N. McCadden Place; Suspending the licenses of seven motorists. Municipal Judge H. Leonard Kaufman announced yesterday that sentences for traffic violations will become increasingly severe if flagrant violations persist.

"If motorists don't care to drive safely, then their licenses will be suspended and they will be deprived of the use of their cars," Judge Kaufman said. Since the jurist was assigned to traffic court on March 11, he has suspended licenses of 167 drivers. One motorist, Raymond Mer- Cafe Burglars Even Take License Burglars with a bent toward collecting odds and ends early yesterday robbed the Colony House, 9236 Sunset of a safe containing $2600, liquor, bank books, a revolver, a set of keys and even carried off the liquor license. Van Otha Williams. 33, of 4266H The intruders first broke into the principal's office, police said, and ransacked desks and files.

In the cafeteria kitchen they stole hams from the refrigerator. In their haste they discarded a quantity of scarce shortening, oleomargarine and sugaT. Classes, dismissed yesterday, will resume today. There will be no cafeteria service, however, the principal said. Vandal3 who broke into Fo-shay Junior High 3751 S.

Harvard early yesterday raided the cafeteria icebox and then set fire to the building, causing damage estimated at $4000. Seven fire companies under Assistant Chief R. A. Williams answered the alarm and confined the blaze to the cafeteria building. S.

San Pedro Raymond Weis-man, 24, of 4423 Avocado Ray Mahoney, 23, of 2200 Lewis William Klutts. 36, of 905 S. Be-rendo St. and Edward W. Cook, 19, of 2S29 12th Ave..