Richmond Times-Dispatch from Richmond, Virginia • 15

State City News 1J Industry Agriculture Section Sports Industry Markets Classified tRttP' Richmond 11 Virginia Sunday May 14 1944 Poll Tax Suit Filed lln Roanoke Wife of Soldier Seeks $3500 State GOP Committee Delegates To Chicago Convention ROANOKE The wife of I soldier who is serving overseas filed a suit in Federal Court here I yesterday challenging Virginia law that requires the payment -of a poll tax in order to vote Alleging that she was denied registration on the grounds that she did not pay a poll tax Mrs Dorothy Bentley Jones 21-year-old wife of an army corporal filed an action seeking $3500 damages from Hazeltine Settle Roanoke general registrar The case Is expected to result I In a long drawn-out legal battle that will be carried to the United States Supreme Court before final decision 4s reached Representing Mrs Jones are Arthur Dunn New York corporation lawyer and author of books dealing with economics and Moss Plunkett Roanoke attorney It is expected that Miss Settle wi be defended by A Staples Attorney-General of the Common wealth of Virginia Denies She Owes Tax In her complaint Mrs Jones I sets forth that she does not owe the tax under the State law' that the tax is unconstitutional and that the requirements for voting inVirginia are in conflict the Constitution of the United States Mrs Jones is a member of the I Parents and Wives of Fightinj Americans newly formed nationa organization of which Dunn one of her attorneys is national chairman Her other attorney Plunkett is vice-chairman In her complaint Mrs Jones I contends first that she does not owe the poll tax under the State law second that if this is not a valid contention then the tax is unconstitutional because the qualifications for voting as set out under the State law conflict with Nearly one in every four deaths! the qualifications as outlined by Heart Disease Leading Cause Of Death Here Cancer Is Runnerup Statistics Reveal niL WATCH THE BIRDIE Spectators lined up for several hours yesterday afternoon before Richmond Newspapers Inc to watch the attempts of a papa sparrow to feed his two offsprings nesting within two crevices left by lamp fixture bolts Dozens of flights were made during the afternoon and each return was greeted by two "outstretched bills from either crevice The pictures above show preparations for the flight the return and the feeding I Statewide Recreation Plan Given To Governor Program Viewed For Problems By Margaret Elliott A comprehensive Statewide rc-ration program touching ah the cultural a well Dhvical activity of Virginians i nnw before Corernor Darden for advice and action A drawn tin by a aubcommittee and approved bv the State Plan-nine Hoard the program has both and lore-ranee value" Raymond Ing director of the State Planning Hoard said vester-dav Mr Long aaid that if the recom tnendatlona ahould meet the approval of the Governor then might act a a powerful antidote to wartime problem such a juve mle delinquency and also recret' tion problems of adults All-Ace Group rian The program as outlined by the T'lanning Hoard meeting here last week is directed to serve persons of all age groups often thinking on recrea tion ends as soon as a baseball dia mond and park Is developed" Mr Long commented lie said that the blueprint for the new recreation program would include efforts to interest Virginians in art and music projects as well Following a scries of meetings which have been held periodically since December the subcommittee approved three maior proposals which were adopted by the Board at its meeting Proposal Listed (1) That the functions of planning for this arra lie within the responsibility of the State Fla ping Board (2) That because of the range and extent of recreation as a State-wide problem It may be desirable to create an advisory committee made up of representatives from the several State agencies whose responsibility touch upon the field of recreation profcssinnA persons and representativea from other lay groups related to this field (3) That there Is a need for technical service in the work nec- ess ary to he done by way of study and planning and that there should therefore be placed on the staff of the State Planning Board a person qualified In the Held of recreation and with competency to engage in I study and to serve in a consulting rapacity to the State Planning Board State agencies and to local Interests HuhmUted to Governor Finally the committee suggested that these recommendations he presented to the Governor for reaction and The sub-committee which drew i up these recommendations was composed of Dr II Stauffer State commissioner of Welfare Dr II Foster Dr Wilson Gee Dr Walter Newman assistant su- per in tendon of Public Instruction: Dr John Neasmith regional recrc- ation representative of the Community War Services: II Wyse Co-ordinator of the Office of Civilian Defense: Raymond Long and I Dr I A Thompson assistant director of the State Planning Board Varied Program Favored Dr Franci Gaines chairman of the State Planning Board said he favors a recreation program that I would bring together such activist iea as music both orchestral and vocal dramatics American youth hostel loops forums athletics ramping and picnicking hiking art and similar activities The recreation program if adopted involves State activity hut more primarily local activity Mr Long stressed yesterday He said the various State agencies concerned with recreation could determine the policies on a reported in Richmond in 1943 was caused by heart disease Heart disease killed more than twice as many people as did can- cer the runnerup in the main causes of death for the year Seventy-seven per cent of the deaths resulted from the following 10 leading causes of death listed in the order of their importance: heart disease cancer Parsons Says Action Is Illegal ROANOKE The factional fight that developed on the floor of the Republican State Convention here on April 15 was carried to the meeting of the State executive committee yesterday afternoon when the old-line group headed by Major Henry A Wise national committeeman of Albemarle succeeded by resolution in naming a slate of dclegates-at-large to the national convention at Chicago on June 26 after declaring that vacancies existed in the party offices The committee with some members failing to rote thus named as delegates -at-large the majority slate which according to the announced rote at the convention was defeated by the minority ticket by a margin of 1021 to 893 Vote Improperly Recorded Major Wise who announced this notion at the close of the meeting from which the press was excluded said photostatic copies of the tally sheets showing that Richmond's bloc of 154 rotes had been improperly recorded and counted for the minority ticket were presented to the meeting along with affidavits Last night Lester Parsons of Norfolk a member of the anti-Wise faction declared that the State convention had duly elected the delegates-at-Iarge and charged that the committee's action was il-legaL all simmers down to Parsons said are going to Chicago with two slates of delegates one elected by the convention which is a sovereign body and the other eclctcd by the executive committee a slate on which the convention never voted" Dovel Fights Action Mr Parsons declared that Randolph Dovel of Luray State chairman upheld his contention in the committee meeting that the committee was without power to override the action of the convention He said further that at a meeting of the anti-Wise group in Lynchburg some time ago the Wise faction proposed that the minority slate resign thus paring the way for the appointment of delegates to fill the vacancies a move which in effect was accomplished yesterday afternoon when the committee adopted the resolution in which It was set forth that had been discovered after the convention and that under authority granted in a resolution adopted by the convention the committee was empowered to fill any existing vacancies The proposal made at Lynchburg was rejected but at the committee meeting yesterday Mr Parsons asserted it was agreed to compromise by giving inch faction two delegates to the Chicago convention This proposal was rejected by the Wise group he added and when the resolution was offered he and others of the anti-Wise faction left the committee meeting The committee also elected a vice-chairman two vice-chair women treasurer and secretary Clarence Ahalt of Arlington who failed of nomination for re-election as chairman at the State convention was named vice-chairman replacing Ryland CL Craft Continued on Page 2 Column 6 Richmonder Gets Triple in Massed Dogfight Captain Henry Kucheman Downs Three Nazis Richmond Army Flyer Shoots At Only Two German Planes But Destroys Three Jerries AN EIGHTH AIR FORCE FIGHTER STATION ENGLAND Captain Henry Kucheman Jr Mustang squadron operations officer from Richmond Va shot at two enemy planes and destroyed three! The 24-year-old former State Highway Department draftsman described how he scored his first victory over the Luftwaffe a in a mass dogfight which blossomed over Munich when a great swarm of German planes slashed at bomber formation which the Mustang were escorting Richmonders Fail to Observe sShare-the-Ridc Program Continue Traveling-Alone By Lucile Wheeler The share-the-ride plan designed to stretch the gas supply ant decrease the streetcar jam has turned out to be a dream which refuses to come true as evidenced by the OPA survey last week in Richmond which showed that only 57 per cent of the automobiles coming downtown were filled The district office checked 10 strategic points on main arteries of traffic into the downtown section of Richmond between the hours of 8 A and 9 A on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday During the three-day check the total number of cars checked was 10746 which can carried a total of only 22902 persons including the driver Harry Duval district rationing executive said that this was an average of only 21 persons per car which Is considerably below the average same months ago The check revealed the fact that 417 per cent of all cars checked were occupied by the driver alone and 294 per cent of cars had only one passenger in addition to the driver while 131 per cent had three occupants 8 per cent four occupants and 57 per cent five passengers which is considered a full car However 21 per cent had six occupants Mr Duval pointed out that the check showed that no drivers of automobiles owned by the State or city carried' any Highway Jobs Arc Given To Contractors Manpower Shortage Makes Move Necessary Between $2000000 and $3000 000 for repair work to Virginia highways have been let to contractors because of the acute shortage of workers in the Highway Department it was learned yesterday Highway officials declared that the failure to obtain men to work on the roads resulted in letting of the Spring road United States process of plaintiff alleges that her right to register in order to vote in said election is a right and privilege arising out of the Constitution of the United States and is not subject to State taxation in any form Mrs Jones de-statistician added up the score dared in her complaint mi the prevalence of heart dis- In supporting the contention ease in Richmond in 1943 he found! that the right to vote In Virginia that in every age group the I is based upon payment of poll death rate from the disease is low-1 taxes the Eighteenth and Twenty er than the total and that the I first sections of the State Con-disease would appear as one of the I stitution are cited The Eight-10 leading causes on the basis of I eenth deals with the act of regis-the rate established in the age I tration and the Twenty-first sec-group between 25 and 34 years I tion states that voter) rates show that heart dis-1 shall as a prerequisite to the ease becomes a serious and signif-1 JSht to vote personally pay at icant cause of death much earlier! least six months prior to an elec-than is commonly thought It is tion all State poll taxes assessed as significant in the 35-44 age or assessable against him group as is cerebral hemorrhage further setting out that the or cancer in the 45-54 age group right to vote in Virginia is based and as serious as chronic nephritis! on payment of taxes it is averred in the age group from he I tjie Purpose commented of the 1901 Constitutional Con- Another significant fact about of thlMg OuSti the disease was revealed by the 1 CIause or tne 1869 Consti- tution of Virginia that Article A Section II Clause I of the United States Constitution "(election of United States Rep-sentatives by electors qualified to vote for the most numerous I I branc-h ot-the and further that such qualifications to vote are based upon the Fourteenth Amendment Section I United States Constitution in w'hich it is stated that State shall make or enforce any law and the journal of the said convention quotes Senator Carter Glass who said alterations we shall maKe to all per- sons and classes without distinction We were 1 sent here to make distinctions We expect to make distinctions We will make Important Ration Data Is Listed Here is the important ration data to remember this week: Fats Red Stamps through in Ration Book IV now valid at 10 points each will remain valid indefinitely Processed Foods Blue- Stamps through in Ration Book IV now valid at 10 points each will remain good indefinitely Sngar Stamp 30 and Stamp 31 in Book IV will remain good for five pounds of sugar indefinitely while Stamp 40 will be valid for five pounds of sugar for canning through Feb 28 1945 Shoes Airplane Stamps 1 and 2 in 'Book III will be valid indefinitely Gasoline coupon will renfein good through August 8 rants are not staying as close in line in price with each other on the plate feature as they did formerly There were only four violations on the plate special with the beverage and only two on the three-course luncheon Mr Lauritzen said that the whole the results are not too and he explained that out of 282 establishments surveyed there were only 33 which were found violating regulations Most of the violations were minor the price executive said phrt repair work to contractors which normally would have born done by personnel of the Highway Department If a portion of the work had nof been meted out to the contractors then highway officials were fearful that Fall would arrive with much of the necessary resurfacing and other repairs undone Handicapped by a shortageof some 3000 road workers authorities announced they are planning a new drive to recruit help Late in March the Highway Department began an intensive search for employees to offset the dwindling number of workers which dropped from 13876 in 1942 to 5760 in 19-14 High school students and women were considered as potential sources of aid but yesterday officials said these groups were mostly interested in clerical jobs leaving vacancies on the road jobs Just what new methods of recruiting labor will be used by the Iighway Department was not revealed Ellison in charge of the Division of Organization and Public Relations of the Highway Department indicated however that a new approach might be made to lure employees to these badly stricken ranks Meanwhile the department is making sure that when the war ends and workmen become plentiful they can go ahead on the broad construction program totaling $100000000 So that the present employees will be able to instruct newcomers a scries of schools is being held by the department The inspectors and resident engineers who attend these schools can then impart their Knowledge of construction and design to new personnel The schools lave the following study program: Selection and use of soil design and control of cement: mixers and pavements design and control of bituminous or flexible pavements development and use of modern construction and maintenance equipment Sweet Briar College Officials to Meet LYNCHBURG Directors and overseers of Sweet Briar College will hold semiannual business meetings at the school with Bishop Beverley Tucker Jr of Cleveland president of both boards in charge Committee meetings will be held Monday evening and on Tuesday morning with a joint meeting of the two boards scheduled for Tuesday afternoon Women Ride Alone And as for the women drivers 90 per cent of them drive downtown without single passenger Points selected for the check were Cary Street east side of the Boulevard: Broad Street east side of the Boulevard Monument Avenue east side of Boulevard Cham-berlayne Avenue at Lombardy Street Fifth Street at north end of Fifth Street Bridge Nine-Mile Road at Gordon Avenue: Govern-ment Road at Williamsburg Avenue: Semin es Avenue west side of Cowardin Avenue and Petersburg Pike south of Hull Street Cars traversing Cary Street Broad Street and Monument Avenue were carrying fewer share-riders than most other points checked Cars passing Semmes Avenue west of Cowardin topped the percentage of the cars with five passengers with a total of 79 per cent of 'the automobiles filled Cars coming downtown on Cary Street east of the Boulevard average 15 per cent with a filled car Meanwhile 517 per cent of can coming down Broad Street east of Boulevard carried only one passenger results of this check would indicate that the driving public has become indifferent to the needs of gasoline and tire rationing" Mr Duval said is foregoing a real opportunity to make direct contribution to the war effort in relieving public transportation of excessive load by sharing their car with othen "The OPA feels that the driven of Richmond have not realized the seriousness of the transportation problem nor do they realize the extent to which they are foregoing an opportunity of rendering a real Mr Duval said checks will be made by the district OPA in the rationing administrator said Captain Kucheman was leading his squadron a high-scoring outfit known as the on the assignment Meet 29 Jerries were climbing up to engage about 1 20 Jerries that were a sort of top-cover for about fifty he began my wing-man I were jumped by two others We rolled out of the way an followed 'em as they started almost straight down We were doing more than 550 miles an hour I was just lining up on the guy nearest me when he attempted to roll to the left His entire tail assembly came off an he went into a violent spin without me ever firing a shot! We zoomed up an I got chance to shoot at another 109 who was closing on a Mustang It scared him off but I didn't see any hits on him that time I saw three 109s positioning for an attack on the bom hers I couldn't head off the first two but I hit the third one hard he caught fire started to spin My wingman saw the pilot bail out 109 came at us from the left slightly behind I half-rolled an came up just behind him He started a tight turn to the left but fell out of it we started down in a steep dive We were really moving! I closed on him an started shooting pretty soon pieces of his tail started to come off over-ran him pulled up in a oop for him My wing-man who did a swell job all the way through told me that the Jerry had caught The "Bulldogs" one of the eading squadrons in the European theater destroyed 14 enemy planes without loss to themselves on this mission Captain parents reside at 1216 Windsor Ave Richmond Firemen Put Out Blaze ji Storage House Firemen early yesterday extinguished a fire estimated to have done $2500 worth of damage to the contents and building of a storage house of the Worsham Transfer Company at Ninth and Canal Streets The first alarm was pulled at 13 A by a policeman who was notified by an employee that fire had started 'in a pile of bagging in the' one-story brick tiding Meanwhile in Richmond the survey made showed that 20 per cent of the local restaurants were violating price ceilings and 18 out of 91 eating places which were former offenders are still overcharging The restaurant check disclosed that eating places were much more in line with price regulations than grocery stores Mr Lauritzen said A recent survey on grocery stores revealed that less than 50 per cent of the merchants were completely in line with price regulations Poll Tax Gains Indicate Warm Fight Republicans Gird for Battle By James Gibson Farther evidence that the Seventh and Ninth Districts are to be the political battlegrounds in Vir- gnia this year is seen by Capitol ill political observers in reports of heavy poll tax payments in the two districts The deadline for the payment of the poll tax was reached a wgek ago although some county treasurers continued to accept payments through Monday of the past week because of the fact that the final day of the payment period fell bn Sunday May 7 The statute requires payment of the tax at least six months prior to the date of the election which falls on November 7 this year Republicans in the Seventh and Ninth were responsible for much of the poll tax paying rush according to reports reaching Capitol Hill Members of that party appeared to have staged a grand rush in many counties to protect their voting qualification in preparation for what everybody concedes will be a real fight for at least two of congressional seats this FalL Democrats However the rush was not confined to the ranks of the hopeful Republicans Wary and sdmewhat uneasy Democrats likewise flooded the offices of county treasurers with cash in the final days of the tax paying period While figures on the number of persons who qualified in the Seventh District this year are not available here and probably will not be for two or three estimates in the Ninth place that qualifications at approximately 70000 These estimates were based upon superficial reports from treasurers in the 12 counties and one city Bristol comprising the district Many of the treasurers reported an unprecedented volume of payments of the poll tax for a period of three years which actually figure out to $301 So far there has been no outward appearances of activity on behalf of the Republican National Committee in the two normally strong Republican districts of Virginia but Democratic politicians assert openly their belief that the national organization will make an extra effort to unseat Democrats A Willis Robertson in the Seventh and John Flannagan in the Ninth Naturally the Republican leaders are not talking about that possibility right now Reasons advanced by Democratic leaders for their belief that the GOP will make strong bids in the Ninth and Seventh this year add up to practical political maneuvering to say the least These politicos point out that Continued on Page 4 Column 3 Continued on Tage 2 Column 2 Court to Decide Rubber-Stamped Summons9 Legality figures which show that the Negro rate becomes high in the 25-34 age group and rises sharply thereafter throughout the age nouns fxiwnlin? the wliitp rate I groups exceeding the white rate A glance at the 10 leading causes of death reveals that only two are communicable diseases tuberculosis and influenza The fact bears witness to the success of the medical profession in reducing the dangers of communicable diseases but at the same time is an evidence of the increased life span of Richmonders The so-called diseases arising from the general wearing-out of the physical machine aided and abetted by rapid-paced contemporary life have ushed their way to the forefront in the primary causes of death in the city An interesting sidelight mi Richmond population is Dr statement that the estimated population for -the city lists 15000 more females in Richmond in 1943 than males In spite of the fact that the weaker Is traditionally su ject to "palpitations of the heart" and other similar heart ailments Dr carefully compiled figures show that a higher percentage of men than women fall victim to heart disease The male rate is listed at 327 per 100000 population the female rate 234J3 per 100000 population Broken down along race lines the figures show that the white Continued on Page 2 Column 6 the base period between April 4 and April 10 1943 amounted to only about five or 10 cents The violations on the plate special far out-distanced either the three-course or four-course dinner There were 22 violations on the plate special out of the 109 restaurants surveyed while there were no violations on the fouij-course dinner Mr Lauritzen said that the reason for the violations on the plate special was that the competition in this field was not as high as it used to be and restau VMI Class of To Hold Reunion Today and Monday LEXINGTON Nine out of the 24 living members of the class of 1894 are expected to come to VMI for the semicentennial reunion Lieutenant-General Charles EL Kilboume himself a 94 man said yesterday The reunion will be held today and Monday the latter observed by the cadets annually as New Market Day marking the anniversary of the participation of the' class of 1864 in a bloody phase of the War Between the States at New Market A tentative program includes supper at the superintendent's questers today lunch in the cadet mess hall on Monday and a class dinner at the quarters on Monday The 94 classmates will visit Natural Bridge on Monday returning in time for a review and parade of the corps followed by the traditional ceremony honoring the New Market dead The class of 1894 has furnished wo superintendents for VMI the me other than General Kilbourne being the late Brigadier-General William Cocke Among the class members exacted for the reunion will be Stuart Marshall Washington 19 CL an older brother of General George CL Marshall (class 'Of 1901) Benjamin Blackford Staunton: Dr Lee Price Calfe Washington CL Dr Henley FU-gate Lynchburg Eugene Hyatt Norton: Major Henry A Wise Carter's Bridge: Frederick Lar-rick Middletown and William Steenbergen Point Pleasant Va The legality of a police court ummona rubber-stamped with he judge's signature will be argued before Judge Ingram of Hustings Court sometime in June on a motion made by Norman Flippen attorney for the Miller Motor Lines Inc The motion was made Friday when an appealed case against the truck company brought by the city for operating a truck on Richmond streets without a city license appeared on the Hustings Court docket I Henry Miller Jr assistant I city attorney asked for a continu-ance on the case the first one to praise the issue of the legality of summons rubber-stamped rather than signed The summons was issued to the truck company by Police Justice Jewett on Dec 16 1942 The case was appealed and was not brought before Judge Ingram until yesterday The practice of rubber-stamping summonses is common in Richmond and is followed by some city magistrates Two attempts to test the legality of a summons rubber stamped by a magistrate were made by Attorney Edward Haynes in the Civil Justice Court within the past year but in each rase the suit was dismissed before the question could be argued in court Plate Special Leads in Food Price Violations The plate special known to diner-outers as the headed the list of violations in the restaurant survey made last week by the Richmond district OPA Paul Lauritzen price executive reported yesterday The survey which covered 10 per cent of the restaurants in the district checked the plate special plate special and beverage three-course luncheons four-course dinner and club breakfast However Mr Lauritzen said that the increases in price over i 0.