Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 27, Number 15, Decatur, Adams County, 17 January 1929 — Page 1

WEATHER R »ln probable tonight and Frlda *' turning to •"»* northwest portion. Slowly ri«ino ternp«r»ture t o » • 0 *' ‘

PRESIDENT SIGNS ANTI-WAR TREATY

Harvey L. Smith Found Not Guilty Os Murder At Elkhart

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE FAILS I TO CONVICT MAN Ex-Detective Acquitted Os Murder Os Mishawaka Beauty Parlor Operator COLLAPSES WHEN VERDICT IS READ Ekharl. In<l-, 17.—Harvey L. Smith, 30-year-okl private detective, who has been everything from a chicken farmer’to a pulpit preacher, was acquitted bv a jury in superior court here today of the murder (ienevieve Stulls. 31 year old ] Mishawaka beauty parlor open- < ator. - .. , Th? jury returned a sealed verdict. reached at 11 p.m. Wednesday, six hours after the case went into its j hands. The jury took seven ballots, ] the majority being for acquittal from the start. Smith won his fight for life on the ground that the circumstantial evidence offered by the state never revealed him as the actual slayer cf the attractive lieauty cultnrlst, whcse mysterious disappearance last March temained unsolved until her tones were found in lime heap last October. Defendant Collapses Smith collapsed when the jury brought in its verdict, and the 51 year old father of the defendant who got duWii oti his knees Wei'uiesuay ill the court t jom and prayed as the jury went out to delilierate, grasped his sob-choked son in his arms. “I'm going into the ministry now,” < Smith said, his eyes red and grip- , aping with tears. He had formerly ( heen a preacher in the south and n . Moody Bible student. “But I would first like tr> clear up this case,'’ ad- ' ded Smith. “1 have some theories that 1 would like to work out with I' the police.” 1 HANK PRESIDENT ADMITS FORGERY ( President Os Shelburn, Ind., Bank Confesses; Tries j To Commit Sucide I Shelburn. Ind.. Jan. 17.—(U.R)—Jessup Bollinger, president of the First Sta.e bank of Shelburn, confessed to- , day that he had forged approximately , n 40,000 worth of notes to cover up , defalcations occnring during the past Tear and was arrested on a forgery charge by the sheriff from Sullivan, , according to banlj examiners. Bollinger went into his garage here L Wednesday morning and started the ' motw of his car. He was suffering sei'.ously from monoxide gas when , Directars - acting with Ken- ■ mo. i Ilrow ncll, state bank exam- < n es( ; a ‘'' S<> " "* P bank at nonn Wed- < slJtoo r " inR '° Br ° Wnel1 ’ P" 1 ° f the : I'eoX 't n ° teS WaS held by the < comn National Bank and Trust ( a »y of Sullivan, nearby cjty ,

Unusual Christmas Tree Attracts Many Decaturites

to? rh . aPB the m ° Bt vlaited P’ ace >n ’onl “he”! an<t atter the hoHday sea ’ Heuer For tTV* a ” d Mrß ' Pred ‘hey have J " me Six years ’ Christmas tr? ereCted their large house with ® e and decor ated their Presentin’ iH Und,edS ° £ fiKl,res rean<l nuserv T natlvify ’ Bible scenes Heuer, FoP l^‘y -‘wo years ea °h year / continue '' ‘he custom, coll <*‘ion until * n q V° v 7 thing t 0 ueath of Fan, X yoarSi af ‘er the “ was .u hryn Sellen)e >’er, a niece, ,he y 'hougM C °H tinued - Now becaua « h’eyer the unfa, r to Susan SeEe-one-year-old daughter of

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Vol. XXVII. No. 15.

New County Clerk ill t’.y hl ’ < Miss Bernice Nelson Miss Bernice Nels n, who was appointed Monday by the Adams county commissioners to succeed her father, the late John E. Nelson, as clerk of the Adams circuit court, is probably the youngest county clerk in Indiana. She is the first woman to hold that important office in Adams county. Miss Nelspn will serve until January 1, 1931. OTHO LOBENSTEIN HAS AUTO WRECK Decatur Undertaker Escapes Injury, But Car Is Badly Damaged Enroute to his home in Monroe tffls m. mine .•ihnnr 5 o’clock nTter having answered an early morning call, Otho Lobenstein, Decatur undertaker, had the misfortune to wreck his Essex coach. The accident occured at the right right hand turn on Winchester street extended, south of the O. R. and I. railroad tracks. Mr. Lobenstein stated that he had allowed his car to stand in front of his place of business while caring for a corpse, and believes that sleet and snow had gotten into the steering apparatus and frozen. He was unaware of the situation until ho attempted to turn the wheels of his car at the turn in the road. They refused to budge, anil he gently applied his brakes, but was unable to stop the car because of the icy condition of the paving. As a result, (CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO) o — Marshall Foch Reported Considerably Improved Paris, Jan. 17.—(U.R)—Marshal Ferdinand Foch. aged warrior, appeared considerably improved today after a complication of heart attacks and uraemia which had aroused fears for his lite.None of his six physicians followed the procedure of remaining at his bedside last night, and today it was said he was resting quietly. Clemenceau Much Better Paris, Jan. 17.—(U.R)— Georges Clem enceau, who won the title of "The Tiger" in his younger political days, still has spirit and is determined to outlive Marshal Ferdinand Foch, 10 years his junior. Clemenceau practically had recovered today from an attack of the grippe but his (Physicians said he must, remain indoors for several days.

Albert Sellemeyer of Fort Wayne, they have begun again. The Chiistnias tree is one of the traditions of the neighborhood. The tree conies within a few inches of reaching the ceiling and reaches from wall to wall. It is covered with sixty-five lights, tinsel, toys, stars, strings of popcorn, hundred of glass icicles, and inumerable golden threads. There is an interesting story about the threads which is always recited by the chindren at Christinas time. Many years ago, a fairy was trimming a large Christmas tree. After (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE)

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Slate, National Aad laieraatiuaal No.,

SLEET CAUSE OF MANY AUTO ACCIDENTS HERE Rain And Sleet Fall During Last 12 Hours Making Roads Slippery NO ONE SERIOUSLY HURT IN ACCIDENTS Rain and sleet, which has covered the toads the last 12 hours, has made it hazzardous f r automobiles and t. ticks on Adams county roads. Garage men were kept busy last night and all day today, answering calls of motorists whose cars had slipped fr in the icy pavements and roads into ditches. No serious accidents were reported but many cars skidded into ditches and had to be pulled out by tow machines. The cement roads leading out of Decatur east and we. t were the most hazzardous. and the tarvia covered roads north and south f Decatur also had their share of skids and slir Sidewalks were slippery this morning, after the sleet and rain of last night, and many pedestrians reported minor accidents because of the icy sidewalks and porch steps. A decided move upward in the temperature was the chief cause f the slippery condition of roads and sidewalks. followed by sleet and later rain. A drizzling min greeted early-risers this morning and itermittedly throughout the day rain fell in the county 'Hie shh .«M4a-.Xew efforts to bleak through the heavily clouded sky and piedictions were for more cloudy weather, and probably a drop in temperature. The most dangersoils road near Decatur was reported to be the pavement west toward ITeble, known as the Geoige E. Wemhoff road. It is a heavily traveled i ad and has 'been in a slippery condition for several days. Tiie rain added to the danger and at least a half dozen automobiles were reported to have skidded into the ditch on this road. Three cars, one of which belonged to Otho Lobenstein, local undertaker, and another to Joe Zacfri, of Bluffton, were wrecked at the turn on state road No. 27, just south of the G. R. and I. railroad crossing on Winchester street extended, when they failed to make the turn. The latter, a large Nash sedan, plunged down the (CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO) MANY FARMERS AT CONFERENCE Seventeen From Adams Co. Registered At Conference At Purdue Farmers from Adams county are well i epresented at the annual agricultural conference held at Purdue University, at Lafayette, this week. A total of seventeen people from this county have already registered and there is a possibility of mure registering befoie the week is over. Those 'who are attending from this county are Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey Clem, of Union township; Leland Ripley, of Blue Creek township; Otto D. Bieberich and E. J. Kruetzman, of Preble township; Peter B. Lehman, of Washington township; C. W. R. Schwartz Calvin R. Steury, Ben Mazelin, Martin Habegger, Caleb P. Habegger, Eli M. Schwartz and Franklin Mazelin, of Monroe township; Roy L. Price, cow tester, and County Agent Peril E., Christen. These men are attending the various meetings and demonstrations held in connection with the farmers’ week at the University. On Wednesday evening, they attended the banquet held by the Indiana Livestock Breeders Association and on Tuesday evening they will attend the banquet of the Indiana State Dairy Association. These men report a very interesting and attractive prgroam in all departments. They will return home Friday.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, .January 17, 1929.

Bandit Is Nonplussed By Woman’s Repeated Query Os “What For?” South Bend. Ind,, Jan. 17 —(Ul'i — “Wiiat for”, the reiterated query of Miis Mae Tasi her, manager of the public school thrift fund here, so nonplussed a bandit that he departed without taking students' savings which she guarded. "Open that d or", said the bold mid bandit in he (inked a gun through the grating of a window at thrift headquarters. “What for?" asked Miss Tasiher calmly. “1 want that $l,lOO school thrift find The man snappel. “What for?" repeated tile girl calmly, not moving a finger. “I've got an old ni dher 1 have to support", replied the bandit almost tearfully. “What for?" came the stony reply. The bniglar's reply, given as he dashed toward the front door, was unprintable. TRAIN STRIKES DECATUR AUTO —— Kem Williams, Local Auto Dealer, Has Narrow Escape From Injury Kem Williams, manager of the Imperial Chevrolet Sales in this city, had a narrow escape from serious injury at about In o'clock last night, when bis autom bile was stnick by a Big Four freight train, -south of Anderson. Mr. Williams was driving home trim Indianapolis. He saw the freight train approaching and tried to slop, but ' n account of the icy pavement could not bring his ear to a standstill. The locomotive struck the front of the car and spun it around and the rear end of the ear struck me of the freight ears. Mr. Williams jumped fiom the automobile when he saw the rear end was headed for the freight tiain. He did not receive a scratch Mrs. Wiliams accompanied him as far south as Portland, remaining there with friends. As a friend was assisting Mr. Williams to get his car off the niad, another car jammed into the cars. One man was thrown in the ditch but no one was seriously injured. 0 Coolidge Plans To Speak At Vincennes February 25 Indianapolis, Jan. 17 —(UP)—President Coolidge has assured those in charge of the George Rogers dark one hundred and fiftieth anniversary program at Vincennes, Feb. 25, that lie will attend and speak unless therwise detained at Washington. This announcement was made at a meeting of the George Rogers Clark Memorial commission committee of Indiana and the Clark Centennial commission c inmittee here. SALVATION ARMY HEAD IS REMOVED High Council Os Organization Ousts General Bramwell Booth London, Jan. 17—(UP) — Supreme command of the Salvation Army passed today from the hands of the Booth family, in control since the organization was founded by William Booth, and was placed temporarily with Commissioner E. J. Higgins, chief of staff. Sunbury-On-Thames, England, Jan. 17 —(UP)— The reform group, headed by commander Evangeline Booth, held control of the Salvation Army today as a result of the vote of unfitness against General Branwell Booth, but court action may be necessary before a new commander is found. Commissioner E. J. Hay, president of the high council, issued a statement today formally announcing the conn(CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO)

EXPENSE BILL IS PASSED BY LEGISLATURE Both Houses Adjourn Short ly Before Noon; More Bills Are Introduced TEACHERS TENURE LAW UNDER FIRE Indianap'lis, Jan. 17. - (U.R)— The $150,000 appropriation bill to defray expenses of the general assembly finally was passed by both houses today, after the senate amendment providing ors increases in pya for legislative clerks had been discarded. Indianapolis, Jan. 17. —(U.R)— Both houses of the general assembly adurned shortly before 11 o'clock today until tomorrow. Introduction of bills’ occupied the attention of the two bouses at today’s session. Teacher tenure repeal and utility valuation were gib morsels in the mouthful of legislation bitten off today by the house of representatives. Fifteen bills were Introduced in today’s session and sent to committees to join the twenty-two referred to them Wednesday Outright repeal of the teacher tenure law enacted in 1927 was the object of the measure introduced by Represenatives Harlan R. Denton, (Dem. Owen and Putnam) and John It ’V27. SCZit to the committee on education. iucr nun Col. Lindbergh Visits In Indianapolis Today Indianapolis, Jan. 17 (UP) — Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, was a visitor to Indianapolis today after landing at a local airport late yesterday unannounced. The famous flier said lie had been called back east and would probably leave here when weather conditions cleared. Fog and rain prevented him from hopping off early today. He was accompanied by several transcontinental air transp rt and Cui tis flying service officials. AGED FARMER DIES SUDDENLY William Baker Dies At Home Southwest Os Berne, In Jefferson Township Berne, Jan. 17. —(Special)— William Baker, SO, died suddenly Wednesday morning, at his home seven miles southeast of Berne, in Jefferson township. Mr. Baker had been suffering from high blood pressure for some time. He arose as usual, Wednesday morning, but collapsed and died soon after taking a few steps. Mr. Baker is survived by the following children: Otto and Danie'. ,of Jefferson township, Mrs. Emma Drauberger of Ohio: Mrs. Katie Smitley Mrs. Tena Wendel, Marion Baker all of Jefferson township, Noah of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Laura Bollenbacher of Ohio. A son JoJhn preceded him in death several years ago. Funeral services will be he'.d Friday afternoon at 1 o’clock at the Bethel Brethern church. Rev. Frank Johnson will officiate. Burial will be in the Mt. Hope cemetery. o Geneva Woman Slips On Icy Steps; Breaks Arm Geneva. Jan. 17 —(Special)— Icy sidewalks, steps and streets caused many accidents here today, one of them resulting in a broken arm for a well-known Geneva woman. Mrs. M. J. McCollum slipped and fell when she stepped onto an icy step on her back porch, sustaining a fracture of her right arm, just above the wrist.

Eumtahrd Ity (Jailed Prraa

In Campus Romance * I .A 1 K -U. < Miss Mildied Prless, engaged to wed Louis Behr of Rockford, 111., whom sh emet while both were students at University of Wisconsin Behr was Badger basketball captain and winner of prize for school's most Christian-like character. AGEDRESIDENT ' OF COUNTY DIES Mrs. Mary Jane Holmes, 86, Dies Os Senility At County Infirmary Mrs. Mary Jane Holmes, 86, died at one o'clock this morning. Thursday, January 17, 1929, at the Adams County Infirmary, from infirmities of o il age. Mary Jane Holmes, daughter of Ruben E. and Elizabeth Pierce, was born in Virginia, March 6, 1842. She united in marriage witli Wilson Holmes, who preceded her in death thirtytwo years ago. To this union, two children were born. A daughter. Amanda, died at the age of two years, and a son. Ira O. Holmes, resides in Toledo, Ohio. For the past forty-live years, the deceased has been a resident of Adams county. She is a mem her of the Christian church of Bluffton, where she lived during the early years of her married life. Besides the son in Mrs. Holmes is survived by one sister, Mrs. Ed. Zimmerman, of this city, and two brothers, George and Jacob H. Pierce, of Westport. Indiana. Funeral services will be held Saturday morning at 10:30 o'clock, at the Pleasant Dale cemetery. Friends desiring to view the body may call at the Ed. Zimmerman home, 61S North Second street, after 6 o’clock tonight. Schedule For U. B. Prayer Meeting Is Announced United Brethren cottage prayer meetings for Thursday evening will be held at the following places at 7:15 o’clock. Dist. 1 Mrs. Ode Barkley, N. sth st. Dist. 2, Air. Frank Baker. N. 11th St. Dist. 3, Mr. Janies Hurst, 1305 W. Monroe St. Dist 4, Mr. U, S. Drummond, 621 Adams St. Dist. 5, Mr. Geo. Oswalt, Elm St. Dist. 6, Mr. Frank Fisher, 112 S. 9th St, Whether you belong to the church oi not you are invited. —■■■ ■ ——•() — " Three Men Deny Murder Charge At Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Ind., Jan. 17 —(UP) — Three men, all of Muncie pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging them with the murder of Clem Foley, local grocery clerk, whei/ they appeared before Judge Sol A. Wood in circuit court here. The men, Lawrence Thompson, Wayne Williams and Carroll Cooper, were granted separate trials. Thompson's trial will be held Jan. 28, Williams, Feb. 11, and Cooper's Feb. 27.

Price Two Cents

HISTORIC EVENT IS RECORDED IN MOTION PICTURES Signing Os Document In White House Is Impressive Scene W L Pet. FRANCE REFERS PACT TO DEPUTIES TODAY Washington, Jan. 17. <U.R) In the presence of Hie cabinet. Vice President Dawes and members of the senate. President Coolidge signed the Kellogg anti-war treaty til 10:10 a. m. today. The signing tock place in the historic east room of the White House where a motion picture camera was set up to record the event for posterity. The treaty and the ratification document bedecked in red ribbon and gold seals reposed on the famous presidential desk, moved to the center of the great east room for the occasion. Several Dignitaries Present Senator Borah, first of the headliners to arrive this morning, thumbed over the treaty while camera men set up their spotlights, and remarked smilingly, “It seems to be all right.” Senators and cabinet officers arrived rapidly. Within a few minutes there was a great semi-circle of spectators on one side of the desk and almost, equally large semi-circle of cameras and spot lights on the other. When President Cool’dge and Secretary Kellogg entere ' Mrs. Coolidge stopped at the door to look on at the htstoric scene. The president scrutinized the documents for a moment and then took up a gold pen about eight inches long elaborately engraved and started to affix his signature. "Just one minute, Mr. President,” one of the movie men interrupted. 3'he president looked up inquiringly. rroJiTiNirwn paor TWm AL SMITH URGES PARTYJOREBUILD Recent Standard Bearer Os Democrats Urges Party To Plan For Future New York, Jan. 17 —(U.R) —Former Governor Alfred E. Smith wants the Democratic party to wipe out. its 1928 deficit and rebuild for the future along "progressive, vigorous and militant" lines. Addressing a national radio audience last night, the defeated presidential candidate sounded the keynote for a drive to get a fighting Democratic organization formed now. He called upon the rank and file for contributions to clear the $1,500,000 deficit in the party treasury; and proposed that the Democrats organize and mantain a permanent machine. The party, he said, should not he one merely of opposition, but should be prepared to function definitely and continuously for the "rights of all people; constantly laboring for the vindication of the policies and principles underlying the ostablisbment of our country.” Smith spoke as a private citizen, calling attention to his forthcoming southern visit and his present freedom from political office for the first time in 25 years. There was nothing to indicate iiis own future plans, and nothing—beyond the fact of his taking the initiative in the new party campaign—■ to show he intends to continue the role of party leader henceforth. Smith's ideas closely paralleled the views voiced by Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York Sunday. But there were no signs of bitterness at his defeat and no mention of trickery or sinister attacks, such us Roosevelt made. To meet the deficit. Smith proposed to have the Democratic national committee send to contributors of $2 or more a hook of his campaign addresses.

YOUR TIOME PAPER—LIKE ONI] OF THE FAMILY