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GAS RATE TAKEN TO THE FEDER?LCOURT Rule to Show Cause; : Issued by Judge; - - Smith Against Sum- j ? ter City Council On; Petition of Sumter j Gas Company The gas rate controversy has finally landed in the courts, toward which it has been steadily drifting for .several months, notwithstahd-; ing the efforts of disinterested citi zens to bring about an adjust ment of the dispute between City , Council and the Gas Company that would protect the rights of the people of Sumter, who are patrons j of the gas company, and, at the ! same time be just to the Sumter j Gas & Power Company and those j Who liave money invested in that ; public service corporation. The City Council and the Gas Company having reached an im passe in the controversy over what ; is a "fair and just rate to charge j 'for gas under existing conditions, ! and: point of agreement apparent- j ly being impossible, the officials of the Sumter Gas & Power Co.. : have assumed the right to fix a j rate that they consider fair to the j stockholders of their company and j to their patrons, and have appeal- | ed to the- federal court for protec tion In the exercise of this right 'that they allege to be necessary to ibc. continued operation of the business. The people of Sumter are fully acquainted with the successive and various stages in the gas rates controversy and it is not necessary ; to recapitulate them. The whole matter was brought; to a head when City Council on Januarv 10th fixed the rate of ?1.60 gross or 51.50 net that the! gas company may charge its cus tomers. The gas company clams: that this rate is insufficient to pay] oj>erating expenses and a reason kble return on. the investment. Tito whole matter is set forth in j a lengthy Bill of Complaint filedj in the federal court in Charleston j Tuesday in behalf of the .Sumter! Gas & Power Co.. against "The! City of Sumter and L. D. Jen-j nihgs% its mayor, and D. R. Mc-: Callum and J. A. Raffield. as mem- j bers composing its city council." The complaint alleges that the! rate fixed, by the City Council is I Insufficient .to maintain the com- i pan:\ that a reasonable and fair; rate is $2.00 gross or $1.90 net' . per thousand cubic feet, and j asks .. -*hit:>the company be pro- \ tectcd from* interference by the] City Covmsal in the collection of! this rate, otherwise the company) will suffer irreparable loss and in-j jury. It is asked that the City] Council lie* restrained and enjoin- ] ed from- *-interfering with the] company, ihf the collection of the ' rate fixed by ihe company. The suites brought under certain! clauses of the Constitution of thej United States, including the pro-1 vision that to the effect that no j person shall be deprived of life, i ^eirty or . property without duel "wojffess- of law. After hearing the complaint' ^?adge.IT. A. M. Smith sig.ied the: following order: .._ Hole to Slum* Cause. On reading and filing the Bill of Complaint herein and on motion j ?f Purdy and Bland, and Hagood.! Rivers and Young. Complainant's solicitors: ? Ordered that City of Sumter. L. j I>. Jennings, D. R. McCallum, and] J. A. Rafheld. as composing the; City Council, Defendants above; named, be and they are hereby re ouired to show cause, if any they ' have, on the 15th day of PYbruury. 192? at 12 o'clock noon in and! before the District Court of the United States for the Eastern ' District of South Carolina, at the Court House of said Court. Post office building, Charleston, South Carolina, why an interlocutory; writ of injunction, restraining and j enjoining during the pendency of: this suit or until the further order of said Court, the said City of Sum ter, L. D. Jennings, D. It. McCal lum and J. A. Raffield. as compos ing the City Council, defendants above named, and each of them, its and their attorneys, representative, i agents, employees and servants and all persons whomsoever, acting for and on its or their behalf, from interfering with the Complainant. Sumter Gas and Power Company, in charging and collecting on and after the first day of February. 1322. Two ($2.00) Dollars per 1. Ot'U cubic feet lor gas delivered to the City of Sumter. or the inhabi-i tants thereof, from and after the"! 31st day of January. 1022. subject' to a discount of ten (io) cents per! 1.900 cubic feet for the prompt payment of bills and from taking any action, steps or proceeding to ward preventing Plaintiff in making said charges and collections pur suant to the prayer of the said Bill of Compk-'ot. Further Ordered That ;i copy of the Return by or oti behalf of the Defendants shall be served upon Messrs. Purdy and Uland. Sumter. S. C. Attorneys for Complainant. ! on or before the 13th day of Feb ruary* 1922 HE.NHV A. M. SMITH. United States District Judge. A true copy, attest: R. "VY. Hutson. Clerk U. S. Dis trict Court. Eastern District S. C. January 31st, 1922. Milidy's knickerbockers will dif fer fiom Mingentb-man's. anyhow! ?she'll keci hers pressed, Inheritance Tax To Conference? -. Opposition to Income Meas ure is Developing Strong er Every Day - Columbia. Jan. 31.?The tax j legislation that is before the gen- j oral assembly is coming to a dcfi- ? nite head. The inheritance tax j proposal is now further advanced ; than any of the other bills and j will probably have to go to free ! conference on account of some confusion connected with the i amendment of Senator Hart, re- j ducing the fees for the handling j of estates. Of course, the free conference committee can change the bill in whatever way it desires, but the impression is that the j house will adopt the bill as it j came from the senate, as the senate went over the bill at considerable pains to clarify it. One interesting feature of the inheritance bill is that where a person leaves life in surance, say to a wife or child and that beneficiary is specifical ly named in the insurance policy, under the proposed South Caro lina inheritance tax law such insur ance money would not become *a part of the estate and would not be taxable under the inheritance tax j law. The federal government in its inheritance tax law exempts; $40,000 when received from insur- ! ance. The state law does not car ry this exemption, if the insurance is payable to the estate. The theory of the South Carolina bill being that where a specific beneficiary is named, the insurance money does not become a part of the estate, but that when the beneficiary is an es tate, that it is only subject to the exemptions that apply to any other! inheritance. The income tax bill seems to encounter more opposition than 1 was anticipated. This does not j mean that the bill is destined to be detente'i but it does r,K*an that i there is decided opposition lo the1; house bill. These differences may be adjusted aaul the bill become a law. The bill is now before the fin- ' ance committee, and they will have | another important hearing this af ternoon on the measure. The com- j mittee is working as fast as it can .' but it takes time to unravel the i various kinks. Thus far the last J important action of the finance: committee on this particular bill | is to make a 50 percent cut in the j rate as passed by the house. Senator Padgett, of Colleton, has prepared and introduced a substitute plan?the basic principle of which is to reduce the exemp tions. In other words his idea is that all net incomes of $?0.0 and upwards should bear a propor tionate part of the income tax. His bill has a lower rate than is in the proposed house bill, beginning ! at one-half of 1 per cent. Funda- j mentally, the idea involved in Senator Padgett's bill is that if an income tax be just and proper, there is no good reason why the man who has a net income of ?500 : or $1,000 should not pay his pro [ portionate part as well as the man j who has larger income and would be called upon to x,ay a larger tax. This idea h:w oeen strongly urged ! by former Senator Beattie, of Ker I shaw county, who has had consid ! erable experience with the federal j income tax law. The finance committee has not ! yet aeted upon the suggestion of! making the proposcJ law more general in its provisions. Under j the proposed bill unmarried men i are called upon to begin paying the tax when they show a net in come of $1,000 and married men at ! ^2500. The pending proposition is to reduce these amounts, say to i begin with net incomes of $500 j ) and a considerable tight will be j made to have the law begin with lower exemptions than the house ? proposition. This promises to be j the real tight on the house bill j when it comes before the senate. - j May Postpone Meeting; As Result of French Note On; Near East London. Jan. 31.?The confer- j ence of the British. French and I Italian foreign ministers, originally scheduled to be held in Paris to morrow, is likely to be postponed a month as the result of the latest \ French memorandum regarding the . Near Fast, which Lord Curzon, sec- I rotary for foreign affairs, received yesterday, while preparing to go to ? Paris last night. According to offical circles to- j day. examination of the French j note indicates a wider divergence on the formuhi for a settlement of Near Eastern cpaestions than had been expected. It was pointed oui that it would be useless for tin* j Foreign ministers to confer until an agreement has been reached be tween Great Britain. France and: Italy, because, it was said, the pur- ; pose of the proposed conference! was the announcement of a pro gram which the three powers would 1 insist that the Greeks and Turkish ? Nationalists carry out with allied \ support. When Lord Curzon asked for a ; postponement of a few days it was considered that tie- conference j could be held on February but it was learned today that Field Mar shal Ailenby. the Egyptian high 1 commissioner, is expected to arrive in London February 10. His arrival j is likely to necessitate further de lay for government officials state : thai the situation in Egypt certain-: Jy will demand the foreign secre tary's Immediate attention. It was stated, however, that a postponement ot the X? ar East i conference would not necessarily j mean a postponement of the Genoa conference. A New Vork thief stole valu able violin. Wonder which side of the musician's house be lives on? j FORD'S OFFER NOW BEFORE CONGRESS Sec. Weeks Transmits; Bid and Contract! For Muscle Shoals j Without Specific! Recommendation Washington. Feb. 2.?Secretary of War Weeks transmitted to con gress today the oiler and contract of Henry Ford for the Muscle Shoals properties. The secretary made no specific recommendation as to acceptance or rejection, but pointed out several changes that J should be made if the offer were j accepted. He said there "were a number of advantages to the gov ernment in the present proposals) that were not apparent in the first offer," made by Mr. Ford, and con cluded by giving it as his opinion that "if .Mr. Ford's proposal be not accepted, it is my opinion that Dam Xo. 2 (Wilson dam) should be completed by the government." "At this time." Secretary Weeks wrote, "when there is a large amount of unemployment, it is not without importance to consider the advantage to the nation of the em ployment of the large amount of labor required in undertaking this development." "inasmuch as 1 am without au thority in law to accept Mr. Ford's o'-'ier or dispose of the property as a whole, cither by sale or by lease," Secretary Weeks' letter said, "it is peculiarly the prov ince of congress to weigh the con siderations which will pass to the respective parties to the proposed arrangement, and to determine whether or not the advantage to the government in having Xitrato I'lant Xo. 2 maintained in readi ness for the manufacture of ex plosives and in actual production of fertilizer, together with the im provement to navigation, is of suf ficient importance to justify the proposed departure from the pres ent policy of the law in regard to dealing with the waterpower re sources of the nation, and tu war rant leasing to Mr. Ford, govern ment property for so long a period a*, the rental proposed. "If Mr. Ford's proposal be ac cepted by congress, 1 suggest that there should be certain modifica tions made to safeguard the- gov-; ernment's interest. As heretofore; stated, there should be some assur ance that the conti acts made by his proposed company will be carried out. "I also suggest that the cost of acquiring the lands and llowage | rights necessary for Dam Xo. li should be included in the sum upon which Mr. Ford is to pay -1 per cent interest, as rent. "1 believe it would be better pol icy to limit tlie contract to a term of fifty (')()) years to conform to the established policy of the feder al government, as set out in the waterpower act. "While paragraphs 4 and 8 of the present proposal provide that Mr. Ford's company is to pay to the United States annually the sum of .>u5.000 on Dam Xo. 7 and $20, 000 on Dam Xo. ? foi repairs, maintenance and operation of the dams, gates and locks, congress may well consider whether it would be more desirable to have Mr. Ford maintain the property and omit those payments. "If Mr.' Ford's proposal be not accepted it is my opinion that Dam Xo. 2 (Wilson dam) should be completed by the government and that the power requirements for commercial purposes, the benefits to navigation, as well as the pos sible needs of the government would warrant this expenditure, if this were dor:e the govcr >ment may itself undertake to sell the product to Hie best advantage - - . "At this time when there is a large amount of unemployment it is not without importance to con sider the advantage to the nation of the employment of the large amount of labor required in under taking this development. I. there fore, 'urge thai congress give early consideration to this matter not i only to settle a controverted ques tion, but to furnish employment i n a large scab-." With the exhibits. engineers' Opinions, the Ford contract and j correspondence botwoik- Mr. Ford I and the war department, the docu- ; ments sent to congress math- up- j wards of 1 ?.oo?J words. Mr. Weeks'! letter of transmittal went into the history of the ncgotiatons exhaus- j lively., "(of duly 8. 1921." he j wrote, "in eonsequyco of some no- j gotiations with the chief of engi neers. United States army. Mr. I Henry Ford presented a proposal i in writing, in which he ffered a j fixed annual rental of $1,200,000 for Dam Xo. 2 and its power plant j and appurtenances, installation of equipment, capable of producing ! lue.mihi horsepower, and a rental' of $200.000 to be paid annually during the first six years of the! lease. On proposed Dam Xo. '?'>'? he offered a fixed annual rental of,' 54S0.OOO. commencing three years) after 80.000 horsepower should be developed, and $100.000 per annum ' for the first three yearn of the I lease period. Provision was made for certain upkeep charges and! payments to be made toward a! sinking fund estimated to suf-! tu n nt to amortize approximately ! $48.000.00:0 of the cost of the dams. | Under proposal the United j Siut?-s wits to undertake the com pletion of Dam Xo. - and the con-] ?I ruction of Ham Xo. ?':. This of-I fer was conditioned upon the Unit ed States selling to Mr. Ford Ni trate Plants No. l and No. 2. the IVacu Quarry and u-< equipment, i tod iis. Oorgas-Warrior strain I t'laii? an.] transniissi..n |;M. and! f appurtenances, all f<-r the price of 5.5,0 00.000. "Ai my suggestion, Mr. Fordf placed in one instrument Iiis of fer a-< modified, which was signed by him on January 25. nun delivered 'o me on January 27, and which I haw the honor to trans mit herewith fur such action as congress may deem appropriate." "In brief. Mr. Ford offers to un dertake the completion of Dam : Xo. 2 and tin- construction-of Dam No. :*. according to the govern ment's plan, for which we shall be reimbursed the actual cost, and to lea.-?.- the dams and power plants at an annual rental equi valent to I per cent (d* the cost to the government of completing Dam Xo. J and constructing 3'am Xo. 3 (exclusive of the cost of acquir-'i ing lands and llowagc rights nee- i essary for Dam Xo. 3). The ren tals of 4 per Cent, are to commence, respectively, in six years after Darn Xo. 2 has been completed to the point where equipment for 100.000 j horsepower is installed and ready for service, and throe years after the equipment to develop 80,000 ? horsepower is installed and ready, for service at Dam Xo. 3. In the; meantime, during the six-year and three-year periods, respectively, he offers to pay. upon Dam Xo. 2 an : annual rental of $200.000 and on Dam Xo. 3. $160,000. His offer places upon the* United Starts the responsibility for repair and main-: tenance of the two dams other than the power houses, which pow erhouses and electrical equipment lie agrees to maintain at his own j expense in efficient operating con-J dition. As compensation to the] United .States for the repair and upkeep of Dam Xo. 2 and locks.' he offers to pay the sum of $35.000 1 annually, and of D*m Xo. 3 and lock the sum of $20.000 annually.1 He also agrees to furnish electric ity for operating the looks at each' of these dams without charge to the government and in addition, he agrees to pay the sum of $23. 375 scmi-annually for the purpose! of building up a sinking fund to return to the United States at the end of the lease period, a sum of money which he estimates if In-1 rested at 4 per cent will be ap proximately $49.000.000. As a con dition of this offer he asks that the United States sell to him Xitrate 1 Plants Xos. 1 and 2, the Waco quarry, and tin- (iorgas-Warrior ' steam plant, with all appurtenances; for the sum of 53.000,000, payable $1,000.000 down and the .balance in annual installments of $1,000, 000 each with five per cent interest on deferred payments. As a furth er consideration to the government he agrees to operate Xitrate Plant Xo. 2 at the approximate present annual capacity of its machitn ty and equipment in the production of nitrogen and other fertilizer compounds throughout the lease period, and to maintain it in its ?present state of readiness, or its equivalent, for immediate opera tion in the manufacture of mater ials necessary in time of war for the production of explosives: He further agrees that the fertilizer produced at Xitrate Plant Xo .2 snail not be sold at a profit in ex cess of s per cent of the actual an nual cost of production thereof and io turn over to the United States Xitrate Plant Xo. 2 whencvej it shall be required for the national defense. He likewise asks for a preference in opportunity to- pur chase or lease the property at the end of the lease period ami for the right for a period not stated, to Ire supplied v it'n electric power at reasonable rates in an amount equal to his average consumption during the previous ten years, in case the plant is operated and his company does not purchase or lease it. He also states that his pro posal must Ik- accepted as a whole and not in pait. . . . "There are a number of advan tages to the government in the present proposal that were not ap parent in the first offer. Mr. Ford's original proposal of July 8, 1921. contained two paragraphs dealing with the matter of amortization of the cost of construction of the two dams. In the present proposal tin- subject of amortization is cov ered in one paragraph. Xo. 10, which reads as follows: "For the purpose of enabling the government to create and provide a sinking fund to retire the cost of Ham Xo. 3 at the end of ou< hundred (100) years, the company -v ill. at the beginning of the fourth (4th) year of the lease period, and scmi-annually thereafter for the remaining term of tin- 1< as..-, pay to the United States government the sum of three thousand five hundred and live dollars ($3.505) and for the purpose of enabling the government to create and provide a sinking fund to retire tie- cost of Dam Xo. 2 at the end of one hun dred (100) years, tie- company will at the beginning of the seventh (7th) year of tin- leave period and scmi-annually thereafter for the re maining t? rm of the lease pay to the United States government'the sum of nineteen thousand right! hundred and sixty-eight dollars ($19.$GS)." The provision for amortization in the last proposal is very much more favorable to the United States than it was in the offer of July S. 1321. Should the dams be constructed at a cost of not to exceed $42.000.000. as estimated by Mr. Ford's engineers, there would be lefl to apply on the investment of the government heretofore! made, whatever tin- amortization! payments would produce in excess of the $42.000.000. If the amorti zation fund should be invested con tinuously at 1 per cent tin re would be at least $7.00,l.0o?i to be thus applied, but sbculd it be invested at a greater rate of interest the amount would be increased as shown by the table. Tin- provision for renewal of the lease which was contained in the proposal of July 8. I92J, was num bered !!. and reads a^ follows: "At any tine- prior t<> tie- < \ piration ot said Iea>e period ??; one hundred i 1 o*?) yea rs, the company shall h:?v?. th" 1 -i^ 111 l<< negotiate j \. it h tie :: ? -\ '? 1 ii Uli tit for a 1 ? tu vi .11 of Mm- leases for thy two above dan:*, their power houses, etc. * The eltecl of this provision v..-is lu bind Lin.- L'nited Stales to a re newal <>f the lease for one hundred (10?) years on such terms as should be determined to be just bv a board of arbitration. Under the new proposal the renewal ?'lause is contained in paragraph 17. which reads as follows: "In order that said company may be supplied with electric pow er and the farmers with fertilizers: after the termination of Ihe said one hundred <!""> year leases.! should the l'nited Stales elect not to operate said power plants. l>nt determine to lease or dispose of same, the company shall have the preferred right to negotiate with J the Cnited States for such lease or purchase and upon sqch terms as may then be agreed upon. ... This paragraph docs not bind I the l'nited States to a renewal of the lease and is in no way an at- i tempi to control the policy of con- | gress beyond the one-hundred-year ' period of the present lease, except; to preserve to Mr. Ford's com pany "the preferred right to ne gotiate with the l'nited Slates for studi lease or purchase and upon such terms as may then be agreed: upon." There should be some assurance that the contracts made by tin proposed company will be carried out or some penalty imposed for failur<' to perform. In. the event Mr. Ford's propos al is accepted, the government j must make new appropriations amounting to $40.000.000 to $50.- i 000.000. of which Mr. Ford will have the benefit for approximately 100 years at 1 per cent. The com pany is. of course, bound to keep Nitrat?' Plant No. 2 in a condition to produce explosive which, as a matter of preparedness, is of gnat value to the government. Never theless, Mr. Ford is offering but $5.000.000 for the title to the two nitrate plants. th<- Waco quarry, tiie Gorgas-Warrior s*>aa; plant, transmission iims and appurten n in-?-.---. Th;i : you may the beft? r understand lite value oi" the prop erty for whioh Mr. Ford is offering this $5.t..000. I am attaching to this letter, a brief statement pre pared by chief of ordnance, show 1 ing the cost and estimated salvage value of these properties. From ? the table contained in this smte j ment it will be seen that these ? properties cost the l'nited States i approximately $8.1.000.000 and that as scrap they are estimated to be [worth $8.812.000. However, the last column of the table in Hxhibil "A" indicates that the chief of ordnance believes thy war deparl ! ment can dispose of the property i for $.16.272.000. Mr. Ford is j bound by his proposal to operate j Nitrate Plant No. 2. but there is no legal obstacle to prevent his dis posing of the other properties to which he gets title. Should he be j aide to obtain what the chief of ordnance estimates that the govern ment can secure for the various i items, namely. $3.000.000 for the j Warrior plants, which have an :n 1 stnliation of 10,000 horsepower, and $600.000 for Nitrate Plant No. , 1 and dispose of thy Warrior Mus i cly Shoals transmission line, as a ; transmission line and not as scrap. 1 for $675,000, and should he obtain [$357.000 for tin- Waco quarry. he ?would have h-ft the Nitrate Plant ! No. 2 with its S0.0?0 horsepower steam plant at a cost to him of less (than $400.000. The interest on tin J proceeds of such possible sales ? would amount to a very large sum [during the term of the proposed \ contract. The present revenue j from rental of the power plant ai 1 Nitrate Plant Xo. 2 is a minimum 'of $120.000 per annum with a pos . . ibility that, in '-vent of operation. ! it may run ;<? <2G0.0n?. The cosl ? of maintenance of Xitratc Plant I No. 2 was approximately $200.000 during the fiscal year F'21. The total horsepower developed by Ihe ?three steam plants, to which Mr. ; Ford will get title, is 125.000. which : 'practically doubles the all-season. : or primary horsepower to be de I velopcd at Ham No. 2 (approxi mately .".,000 of the horsepower that is to be developed at Dam No. : 2 will not be availably 363 days I in the year). ? ? ? T. P. A, Committee Hold Meeting {State Convention to Be Held . in Sumter in May. Local Post to Have Smoker A meeting of the committee of thy T. P. A. was held in thy Court House Monday evening looking forward to plans for ihe state con vention which meets in Sumter on thy lib and 5 th of May and also to plan for a meeting of the local post and the smoker which is to take place on Friday evening. February loth, at which it is hoped there will be a full attendance. President Scarborough in his re cent visits ?? obsts in thy upper part of the state linds thai these posts are looking forward to the convention in Sumter with much interest. Ii<- was repeatedly ask ed if Sumter was not going to givy them one ol our famous lish fries and chicken stews. Let every member of (he Sumter post be on hand at tin- smoker j uiih a view to taking pan in thy planning for an entertainment for < thy boys that will be altogether unique and at the same time in. keeping v. hi: tb> s< stringent times. Anticipating Coal Miners' Strike Department of Justice Work ing on Plans to Cope With Situation Washington. l-Vb 2. The de ?avrihen: of justice is working-o'vei dans to eoj.r with the situation m be t'Vesjj ?!., ....il moots strike M?4D00 ANSWERS CRITICISMS Director General Un-j der the Government Control Cities Fig ures to Prove His Claims of Effici-j ency Washington, Feb. 2.?Taking into consideration every expendi ture, by shippers, travellers, or by congressional appropriation, the railroad system of the United States only cost the American pub lie an average of $470.637.404 per month for s* 11 the war-time period when the government ran it. Wil liam G. .McAdoo. first director gen-j erai of the ad mini 'ration, testified today before a senate investigation committee, fie said it was costing: under private control now an aver-j age of $525.412.135 per month. "In other words, the cost of pri | vate operation, since federal con-: : trol. has been 32 per cent higher; than under the railroad adminis tration," Mr. McAdoo said in con-j i eluding. "Speaking on the general results, and effects of restored private con trol, and the return to the old so-, [called competitive system of rail road opera, n with its great wastes' fand inefficiencies, with the tre-j j mendouH burden imposed on the ! public of increased freight and pas- | i senger rates, the evil consequences S of which are reflected in the pros-1 tration of agriculture, labor and in dustry, of the colossal claims made! by the raiiroad corporations! against the government for alleged: unaer-maintenance, inefficiency of labor, etc. I am convinced that it j would have cost the American peo- : ; pie less money to have maintained ' control of a test period than has re sulted from their return to private 'control. "I am also convinced that the present level of freight and pas senger rates would have been mi ; necessary because there is no ques tion in my mind that awell-direct i ed and unified operation of the j railroads would enormously reduce ? the cost of operation, and greatly j increase efficiency." "WhiP- the time 'has gone by,' j he said, to urge retention of the 1 railroads by the government, in i the lirst year of government oper ations the total savings made by I the railroad administration in I "unified operation" was $118.000, , OUO, as against expenses under pri vate operation. Mr. McAdoo returned to the at tack on his critics among railroad I executives, today, dealing chiefly j with two charges, the first concern : ing under-maiutenance. while the second was a warm defense' of his j own labor and wage policies. Rail roads wont back to private owner jship; he said, with "more loeomo ? tives and more cars" than they had I given the government. As to the . charges of neglected repairs, he said that the total cost of titling ; freight cars for pcrvice after the government concluded was not j charge that the wages of railroad i labor were unnecessarily raised and ! that wages were thereby elevated ! more than $5.508,000, and turning i to reported conditions today, he j said it would cost railroads $33. ; 365.000 to repair the cars thai are I too damaged for service now. As to wag" increases under his I administration, Mr. McAdoo as I sertcd they amounted to $866,S02. (iiju per year. while increases granted to the employes in 1020. j under private operation, amounted to $1,091.000.000. ; "The fact is. railroad employes . worked for less pay during the : war than any other class of indus trial workers doing similar work.'" : he declared. "The realization I they were working for their gov ; ernment in the stress and strain of war. and that tiny would be fairly treated inspired them and spurred them to unusual effort and . faithful service." Taking over the roads, the ad ministration found "frequent and costly labor turnover, discontent. I and demoralization." with payra'tes far lower than either the cost of I living, or the scales in private in dustry justifiged. he added. He I recounted the setting up of wage boards, with management repre sentatives, and tin- granting of in I creases. j "There was not the slightest j complaint from any railroad exe cutive that wage increases in 1918 were loo high." he said. * ~ '*' The j throughout tin- country is false. jThe exact contrary is true. "The schedules of wages pro mulgated by the railroad adminis tration during 1918 were generally below those in other basic indus j tries, and well below the rates i fixed by tin- navy yards, the Nat-1 ion.'i! War Lahor Hoard, and by ih<- shipbuilding adjustment boards j . . Conditions in tin- war indus tries necessarily caused the ad vances in the rates of pay of rail way workers. The railroad admin-i I ist ration was itself a conservative! instead of an initiating influence in the general advances in wage pay-; ments. Its awards . . . did hot go far enough in meeting comne .... ... . . . 1 * titive conditions in increasing rates and classifying certain classes of workers." All the increases approved by him w i re recommended by the' management members of the heart!. In- said, except that which I involves the abolition ot piece work ia railroad repair shoos. The i piece work system, he said. had "Xo advanatge in etticieney over day work." resulted in "large pay ments to workmen which was not performed." Also it involved less1 than I" per cent <>i the employes . ? ?? i!o- raibonds; DEFINITE j RESULTS OF CONFERENCE Treaties Prescribing Naval Limitation and Prohibition of Unrestricted Sub- j marine Warfare Adopted in Plenary Session ??????? , Washington. Feb. 1 (By the As-j gociated Press).?The Washington j negotiations for limitation of ar- j mament reached their eonsumma- ? tion today when a plenary session) of the arms conference gave deb-I rifle public approval to the two! treaties limiting navies and re striding the use of new agencies of warfare. One of the covenants thus seal ed after 11 weeks of debate es-; tablishes a fixed ratio of capital ship strength between the five j great powers, and tin- other pledges them against unrestricted subma- j rinc warfare and use of poison t gas. Within a day or two the plen- j ipotentiaries of the United State? j (Jreat Britain. .Japan. France and; Italy will formally affix their sig-j natures. At the same session the Far East-] ern wing of the conference moved forward toward completion of its! tasks by announcing oflicially the) terms of the Shantung settlement and by giving final approval to nine of the resolutions adopted inj committee in regard to Chinese j problems. The agreement on Shan- j tung already has been put into a! draft treaty between .Japan and [ China and the other Far Eastern ! settlements tire to bo embodied in ( at least t\vb general conventions which will come before the con-1 ference shortly. ' As soon as Japan's intention to! withdraw from Shantung had been [ definitely stated, the British an- i nounced formally for the first time j that their government was ready to hand back to China the lease hold ( of Wei-Hai-Wei. The French let j it be known tonight, however, that i they expected to treat directly with china over possible retirements I from their leased territory at! Kwangchow Wan. a decision which! appeared to cloud the prospect ofj any generil conference agreement; regarding the Chinese leased terri- i tori es. Two other conference project?, one relating to the Chinese Eastern i railway and the other to the pro-! hibtion of importation of arms into i China, also encountered serious ob-j stacles when the committee work j of the delegates was resumed latej today. The Japanese- made some ? technical objections to the Chinese Eastern proposal which, coupled] with Chinese and French oppo- j sition to some features, resulted in. appointment of a Japanese-French, Chinese subcommittee to cosider aJ compromise. The Italians and! Japanese presented such pertinent' reservations to the arms iiripor-j tat ion resolution that it was vir tually decided not to press it forj adoption. The five power naval limitation ! treaty, whose text was made public | for the first time with its sub-! mission to today's plenary session.; contained no surprises and was ap- j proved by the conference witfiout j general discussion. Its terms, which ; had been completely forecast by i published accounts of the negotia-! tions. provide for a 5-3-:J-l-G?1-6; capital ship ratio for the United j States. Great Britain. Japan.! France and Italy, rcspocticly. im-j poses various retrictions on the j size and armament of other type] of ?r~reraft and establishes a for-j titicaJe ts '"status quo" in the Pa cific. In the separate submarine and j poison gas treaty an attempt is! made to outlaw submarines as, commerce destroyers and to pro-1 htbit chemical warfare altogether.! The language of the convention j follows almost exactly the terms of the Hoot resolutions adopted by ! the armaments committee several j weeks ago. Secretary Hughes presented the! naval limitation treaty to the con-: ference. aud in a speech of 40 min-! ut"s explained its provisions and j declared it preserved without vi tal change the American limitation proposal laid before the opening! meeting of the conference by him on November 12. lb* was followed ]>y Albert Sarraut. head of the French delegation, who disclaimed for his country the militaristic' purpose, he said, had been at- j tributed to it during the Washing-' ton negotiations, and then the roll of the five powers was called' and unanimous approval of the treaty given by nods of the head all around the table. The submarine arid poison ,;;is treaty was read by Elihu Boot. ; author of the proposals on which it was based. The covenant, he said, must rest for fulfillment upon the | humane public opinion of the > world, which he trusted to over-' throw the predictions of 'The cyn ical" that the rules laid down would be violated whenever any power in future found itself with its. back against the wall. The only other speech before the formal vote of approval was made by Senator: Schasr.er for Italy and voiced gen- I eral approval of the two treaties.! It was with even briefer discus-j sion that the Far Eastern resolu- j t ons were adopted and the big crowd tiiat bad jammed into Con- j iinental hall to see the first plenary session since December 10 showed ' many signs of inattention long be- i fore the three and a half hours j occupied by the meeting had clap sed. r.y the hour of adjournment large patches of empty seats had i r>ppenred in the galleries and many | of those who remained were en gaging in conversation among themselves J*s the conference wfetii through the motions of formally ratifying and "announcing" de cisions made known through the newspapers many days before. Secretary Hughes, as chairman of conference, read into the record the nine Chinese resolutions, hurrying through their involved phraseol ogy in a monotone like that of reading clerks in legislative, bodies. In every ease, when he had finish ed one of the resolutions, he an nounced the assent of the United States and then called in order the names of the otiter powers about the table. ICach delegation chair man responded with a nod of the head, and then after the announce-, men. I.. "Unanimously adopted," the chairman went on to the next page of the voluminous bundle of resolutions before him. The nine resolutions thus adopt ed cover a wide range of subjects. Briefly; they provide for withdraw al of foreign postoffices from Chi na January 1, 1923: maintenance of the open door policy: develop ment of the Chinese railways on a/ basis of equitable treatment to all nationalities; publication of all in ternational commitments affecting China's interests; delivery to Chi-, na of all foreign radio stations es tablished within her borders with out her consent; and consultation among the powers regarding with drawal of foreign troops which are in China without treaty sanc tion. One to which China is, not a party expresses the hope of the other powers that the Chinese| armed forces will be reduced. The resolution for revision of the Chinese tariff was not brought for ward at the plenary session, but* will be embodied in a separate treaty ti> be presented later. Work already has begun on this treaty "as well as-the one dealing with the other agreements on Chinese ques tions reported by the Kar Eastern committee. Drafts of the two treaties, will be considered tomor-f row morning by the delegations meeting separately. Announcement today of terms of settlement of the- Shantung con'-, troversy bringing to a close the long dispute . between China and Japan is expected to hasten action on all pending Far Eastern ques tions because it removes one of the chief elements of discord. Under the settlement Shantung'within five years will become Chinese terri tory governmental?}- as welt as-see-, graphically and thus after months of agitation in China and Janan the Japanese government definitely and finally has set a time for the. fulfillment of its promise. .Within" full view of the great powers, ?s China desired,. Japan has agreed to restore to Chinese ownership the Tsingtao Tsir.anfu railway, the heart of the controversy, at the, end of six months and full ??ntroT after five or 15 years at China's op tion, upon payment of the cquir?-' lent of 53,000,-OOG. gold German marks. China on her part agreed, that during the period of payment.- k Japanese national should occupy the position, of traffic- manager of the road together with a Japanese to,fill jointly with, a Chinese the post of chief accountant. These officials, however will be under rthe direct authority of a -Chines* ; managing director and could be discharged by him for cause. The railway will be turned over to a Chinese managing director ; within six months after the signing j of the treaty, the last date for the ! fulfilment by Japan of details oX the transfer of the entire lease ; hold. The treaty probably wiH t>* completed finally at another raect [ihs tomorrow morning of the Japr anesc and Chinese delegates. When ! it will be signed is uncertain. In his presentation of t^e naval limitation treaty at today's plenary session Secretary Hughes declared that although there had been i. banges of details with respect to capital ships "the plan proposed on behalf of the American goyern ; ment has been maintained, and th?? spirit in .which that proposal was 1 made and in which it was received, has dominated the entire negotia tions and brought them to a very successful conclusion. At .sonie I length he analyzed the American proposal in comparison with the final treaty agreements. In exmelusion. Mr. Hughes said: "Xo more extraordinary or signifi cant treaty has ever been entered into. It is cxtraordinarj- because we no longer merely talk of the de sirability of diminishing the bur?? dens of naval armaments, but we actually limit them. It is extraor dinary because this limitation is effected in that field in which na tions have been most jealous of their pe>wcr and in which they have hitherto been disposed to. re sent any interference with their power. "I shall not enlarge upon the sig nificance of the agreement. Of course it is obvious that it means an enormous saving of money and the lifting of the very heavy and unnecessary burden from the peo ples of the countries who unite in this agreement. The treaty ends, absolutely ends, the rac- in competition in naval armament. At the same time it leaves the relative security of tk? great naval powers unimpaired. "In this treaty we are talking v' arms in the languae of peace. The best thing about the engagement is the spirit which has been manifest ed throughout our negotiations andr to which is due our ability to reach this fortunate conclusion. In other words, we are taking perhaps the greatest forward step to establish tin.- reign of peace." Movie Director Killed William D. Lay ton Found Shot to Death at Los Angeles Los Angelds. Feb. 2.?William V. Taylor, director of a large film company, was found dead, shot in the neck. It is belie'ed he was? murdered.