Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 29, Number 30, Decatur, Adams County, 4 February 1931 — Page 1

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IVER JURISDICTION BILL PASSES SENATE

;j'«IE MOK lltOl KILLED lehiW ■ -— 9 o f Dead Mounts In ■ Zealand Earthquake ■Rescue " <" k Starts ipß>iFß \XD SM ALL Bw\S I'l - LR<» El> ■llie death 101 l ■>> • W ZealaiHl t.irl hquttke J '*., | ra|>i<H v today as K. ii.ri't's in.uh their wav K], the sti ■' I’ ii I lawkt s Krilion. ... , ■c inotdi l| y ur ' , s Estimated dead 3<M) . 11l to 131 s. . "f I»‘1-SOI1S| in 'li’h'l' " r wrecked sHV.-r;.: ■.illnp'.s known e Imt us yet with-, drt'j.:'.. . of casu- j Tftp expected to j| . an 1 .'ill' less were in thousands. r,bodies from astini.t'' nt about 3IHI, boili.'' b.'lievml buried .J bra. search cont in A' Hastings ?n to 100 were ted and at Tardale 31 H' amt Fattier and seven -indents were| Klii- senii’iri \ collapsed at I Two students were j officers went to the and w- r- organizing relief ML ■ hindered by con,'^Kr r t’i'-- which destroyed frail::fier the quakes. hop-'d that railway conat once. Ktiattl X'.-.-. Zealand. Feb. 4, '..1.,: wav. and lire su.vivNapier m.d adjacent towns w: :le r.; 's indicated the toll won’;.l run into httnlatest .-'iir.ate placed the ■ at Napier alone at 300. were known dead at Mings. fc injured already totalled The ..pen air dressing erected at Napier had acfor 600 injured. Mres still «<-ri raging at Napier p. tn. today. Many victims itinerated. bodies had been refrom the ruins of the hos■nTINUED ON PAGE THREE) Be nd Jury Members | Are Still In Session Adams, county grand jury, ■'h was called into session Mon- ■ was still considering evidence ■ tnis afternoon. No information ■ available concerning the jury's E gS b ut il * a 1 bought they are ■ttlgating the death of Wilma ■" Case, which occurred several ago. B~ — —o fTTERtSSENT TO STATE DEPT, her Written by Cornells Vanderbilt, Jr., Received Today Washington, Feb. 4.—,'U.Rk-The e department has received front nelius Vanderbilt, Jr., a letter rn K upon his asserted part in criticism of Premier Mussolini a y which led to the court marof Major-General Smedley D. ->», V. S. M. C. •utler s case is based upon a y . he allegedly told at a lunch--1 >n Philadelphia to the effect Mussolini, while motoring with American friend” ran down a . ■ leaving the scene without ri 8 aid. Vanderbilt is supposed _’ave been the ‘American friend.’ he letter was forwarded by nderbilt from Tucson. Ariz., lto e u e now is » to Secretary of Henry L. Stimson. It reache state department yesterday. -refused to reveal ONTINUED on PAGE THREE) t

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Vol. XXIX. No. 30.

I Borah Joins War on Hoover

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i Senaior William E. Borah of , . Idaho has lined up with the Senate I Democrats in their threat to fili- ■ ' buster against appropriation bills . i unless President Hoover ceases ] his opposition to direct federal relief for sufferers from the drought . land business depression. Senator ‘ Borah's declaration of war on the administration was made in the Senate.

CITY COUNCIL HOLDS MEETING t I Franchise For Electric Line in Madison Town- jj ship Is Filed i ( The"'franchise and contract fori< building the electric line in Madison i| township, Allen county was filed' 1 with the city coimcil in session last i evening and approved. ; The Electric Light and Power de- j j partment of the City Plant will ex-1] i tend its electric lines to patrons in | > Madison township and a number of I farmers have already signed a con-j tract for service. The petition for placing four street lights on High s’reet. two north of Grant and two south of , Grant street, was filed and referred ' to the electric light committee. The bond of Grover (’. Cottrell as ' city night policeman was filed with the council and referred to the 1 public safety committee. The electric light committee re- ( ported that permission had beta given to the Schafer Company for 1 installing an electric alarm bell in 1 the fire engine house, connecting with the fire alarm bell in the Schafer building. Herman Gillig, chairman of the finance committee reported the following balances in city funds, February’ 2, 1931; electric light fund, $17,928.09; water works fund, $6162.62; general fund, $11,667.97. Bills were read and allowed and the session adjourned. Following the meeting ’ Amos Fisher, city street commissioner, treated the councilmen, city officials and others present at the meeting with ice cream. It was his birthday. State Checker Meet Will Close Today Rochester, Ind., Feb. 4 —(UP) — Lee Munger, Indianapolis, 1930 ( state checker champion, was favored to keep his title as the field of players narrowed to seven today. , Rev. H. M. Daily. Evansville, run-ner-up in the contest last year, was expected to repeat his former rating. The Championship play, which be- , gan Monday under the sponsorship of the Rochester Kiwanis club, was expected to end today. Those re- [ maining in the play besides Munger and Rev. Dally, were H. M. Steen, Gary; A. R. Sarget, Mishawaka; George M. Meeks, Evansville, H. 1 Kenny, Fort Wayne, and Edward Windsor, Michigan City. .. o Duvall Will Serve 30-Day Sentence Indianapolis Feb. 4 —(UP) —John Duval], former mayor of Indianapolis, 'convicted in 1927 on a charge of violation of the corrupt practices act, was expected to surrender him- ' self to the Marion County sheriff to- 1 day to begin serving a 30 day jail . sentence. 1 Declaring he already has been i sentenced and that he is willing to 1 serve his time, Duvall will end his < fight to reverse the conviction made ; three years ago.

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CITY ASSURED AMPLE SUPPLY. — City Water Department Will Drill Additional Water Well on City Lot As a safeguard of assuring the city of Decatur an ample water supuly, Orval Harruff, superintendent of the Water department of the City Plant, stated today that plans were being made to drill anoher water well on the city lot on Indiana . street. The city has eight water wells, 1 four of them being on the Clty’Plant | site on North Third street. These wells are pumped only part time, and the main wells being on the city lot on North Seventh street. Two of these wells are equipped with turbin pumps and deliver about 500 gallons of water per minute. The city at all times maintains a reserve of 350,000 gallons of water In the last ten years it has never plant in case of fire or emergency. In the last twe nyears it has never bee r.necessary to limit the consumption of city water, either for commercial purposes or for sprink-, ling in summer. Last summer when l most cities suffered front lack of water, the city of Decatur had an abundance of it and those who w'lsn-i ed to use it for sprinkling purposes! were permitted to do so. Mr. Harruff stated. It is planned to drill down about 440 feet for the new well , thus assuring a ggood water flow. The well j wil be equipped with a turbin pump l Mr. Harruff stated. o Work to Start Soon on New Postoffice Postmaster L. A. Graham has re-, ceived a copy of a telegram sent by the department at Washington! to The Anderson Construction Co. Chicago contractors the new federal building to be built here notifying him that the contractor's bond had been approved and . ordering, them to proceed with the work. It is also understood that a car of material has arrived here and it is expected that the work of excavating will start soon. Los Angeles Sails For Cuba Tonight Washington, Feb. 4 —(VP) —The Navy department was advised today that the dirigible Los Angeles expects to leave its Lakehurst, N. J., base for Guantanamo, Cuba, at 6 p. m., est, today. I.t. Comdr. V. A. Clarke, in charge of the Dirigible, has requested that the mooring mast at the Guantanamo naval base be in readiness ‘o receive the Loss Angeles at sunset tomorrow. JUNIOR CLASS TO PRESENT PLAY' Kirkland HDg h School Class Will Give Play Friday and Saturday The Junior class of the Kirkland high school will present a threeact comedy, “One Minute of Twelve” in the Kirkland high school auditorium, Friday and Saturday nights, February 6 and 7. The play will begin at 8 o’clock eacli night, and admission of 25c for adults and 15c for children will be charged. The public is invited to attend. • » The play is centered about Billy, whose father is very wealthy, and who is always falling in and out of love. In his fickleness, he invites four different young ladies to visit his home during the holidays “to get acquainted with the family.” They all come much to Billy's bewilderment and then begins the excitement. However, Billy becomes of age at 12 o’clock midnight and this spoils the plots o« the four young ladies. The cast of characters is as fol(CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) Peter Lehman Given Naturalization Papers Peter Lehman, resident of Adams county for a number of years was granted naturalization papers by Judge Dore B. Erwin in the Adams circuit court this morning. Mr. Lehman was examined by a government representative and passed his examination very creditably. First papers had been issued to Mr. Lehman many years ago.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday, February I, 1931.

Wins Fight Against Blindness

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Still wearing dark glasses, Booth Tarkington, the celebrated Hoos- | ier author, is shown in an interview with newspaper men in the Wilmer Eye Institute, at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Baltimore. Md.. after surgeons I had successfully removed a cataract from his left eye. The operation marked the success of a 14-year fight against blindness by the author, who is 61.

| Cripple Is Tortured And ! Placed In Coffin Alive

LOCAL PASTOR IS PRESIDENT Rev. A. R. Fledderjohann Elected Head of Fort Wayne Classis Rev. A. R. Fledderjohann, pastor of the Zion Reformed church of this I city, was elected president of the! Fort Wayne Classis of Zion Reform-, ed churches at the annual business meeting held at Huntington, Tuesday evening. Rev. R. Worthmaii. pastor of the Grace Reformed church, Fort Wayne, was elected I vice-president. I Rev. Beavers of the Salem Reformed church. Fort Wayne, is theretiring president and had charge of the meeting Tuesday. ,1. Fred Fruchte, local attorney, is attending the sessions as a delegate elder from the Zion Reformed church of this city, and C. E. Striker, county school superintendent, is the representative from the Berne Reformed church. the meetings began Tuesday and several items of business were disposed of including financial reports [and the election of officers. The jclassis wiil be in session until Friday. The Classis adjourned Tuesday night until today at one o’clock, so that the delegates could attend lite funeral services of Rev. Berchtol Ruf, former pastor of the Berne Reformed church, which were hel I at 8:30 o’clock this morning at Berne. FRIEDLE Y Bill ISNOTFAVOREB Senate Committee Votes Nine to One For Indefinite Postponement Indianapolis, Feb. 4 —(U.R) —The | Friedley bill for establishment of I a state high school athletic board ; was virtually certain to be defeat-! ed in the state senate today. The committee on judiciary B, I which held a long session yester-i day afternoon to hear argumentsl of senators, high school principals I and teachers and members of the j present athletic association, voted I nine to one to recommend indefi-' (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) o Special Meeting of City Fire Department — There will be a special meeting of the Decatur Volunteer Firemen in the City fire department building, tonight at 7 o'clock. All firemen are urged to be present at the meeting.

Chicago Salesman Kidnaped by Hoodlums, Hanged to Cross in Cemetery, Is Buried! Alive; Rescued by l Farmer. Chicago, Feb. 4. (U.R) —George j Wittbrod, 34, a crippled salesman.! was rescued today from a rough coffin in which he was placed by seven men who kidnaped him. beat | him. let him hang for an hour from la cross in a cemetery and then ! buried him alive. A farmer passing the, cemetery before daybreak heard stifled moans and called police. brod’s coffin was found in a deep j ditch, where he had been tossed I after a night of torture unequalled in the history of Chicago crime. He was suffering from cold, exposure. the beating and fright. Officials to whom Wittbrod con(CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) INTENSIVE HUNT ON FOR SLAYER Posse of 50 Men Search For Drunken Killer of Rushville Officer Rushville, Ind., Feb. 4—(U.R)—A man giving his name as. Wilbur Brown, Indianapolis, was captured near here today and rushed to the state reformatory at Pendleton as the suspected slayer of Patrolman William Garrison, 34, Rushville. Lieutenant Al Romine, of the state police, and Rush county I authorities hurriedly obtained re- | formatory commitment from Governor Harry G. Leslie as a move Ito protect the prisoner from posI sible violence at the hands of angry citizens. Brown was captured today by Ed Compton, deputy sheriff, about a mile from the scene of the fatal I shooting. Rushville, Ind., Feb. 4 —(U.R) —A I posse of 50 men', three state patrol- ; men and Rushville authorities with I bloodhounds were beating the woods south of here today in : (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) 0 Pleads Guilty To Bad Check Charge W. C. Haverstick, of Fort Wayne I former Decatur resident, plead ! guilty in Adams circuit court laid ;1 Tuesday to issuing a fraudulent I check. He was fined $1 and costs i land sentenced to 30 days in jail, by | Judge Dore B. Erwin. The costs ■ were paid and the sentence was sus- , pended during good behavior. Hav- ■ erstick passed a bad check on the South Second street Kroger store.

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CONTRACT FOR ROAD SUPPLIES Commissioners Awa r d Contracts For Furnishing Highway Material ■ Contracts for furnishing stone, I gravel, gasoline, oils and highway supplies to Hie county highway department were awarded by the commissioners late Tuesday afternoon. Eastern Indiana Oil & Supply Co.. was awarded the contract for gasoline and oil. Their bid was to furnish gasoline to highway trucks at three cents under the standard price at pumps throughout the county and three and one-half cents under the standard price in , Decatur. The price for oils rang-1 ed from 45 to 96 cents per gallon. ■ The contract for tires was also awarded to the Eastern Indiana Oil and Supply company, discount i of from seven and one-half to 15 per cent. The contract for pipe and cul-, verts was awarded to the Wheat Culvert Company. The contract for posts and lumber was awarded to the Berne | Lumber company and to the Deca-j tur Tie and Lumber company. The stone and gravel contracts. were awarded to several firms, oft their bid for stone and material delivered at different points in the I county. The bidders were, France | Co.. Erie Stone Co., Midwest Stone' Co.. Meshberger Bros., Blue Creek ■ Stone Co. Meshberger Bros, bid! j SI.OO a ton for stone at quarry, I which was the lowest bid. On the ! gravel contract the following firms’ submitted contracts, which were' accepted, American Aggregate, > Corp., Valentine Egley, Affodder ! and Affodder. Lucus Somers. The policy for compensation and ’ liability insurance was awarded to I thb Decatur Insurance Agency, irepreseiUed by Ira Fuhrman. A petition for a macadam road ; improvement in Blue Creek townshiip, petitioned tor under the i name of Amanda Hamrick, was I presented to the board by Attor-1 j ney (’. L. Walters. o Huntington Man Is Robbed of $1,576 Huntington. Ind.. Feb. 4.—(U.P.) — August Klump still has his stomach disorders but not his savings of $1,570. Obeying a gypsy woman who claimed she would cure his ailment, Klump brought her a suit of underwear and the money. The woman “sewed” the money i in the undergarment and told! Klump to wear it for a week. He did, but without effect. Re-1 turning to the gypsy camp to lodge > a he found it gone, and! examination showed the money l was not “sewed” in the underwear.! — - Everett Reported Little Better Today Mrs. Grace M. Everett, wife of George W. Everett, who died suddenly at his home south of this city, Monday night, is somewhat letter today following a heart attack she suffered from the shock. She is still in the care of a trained nurse. 0 DEBATE TEAMS ARE DEFEATED Decatur High School Teams Lose to Dunkirk and Madison Tuesday The Decatur High School affirmatime and negative debating teams were defeated Tuesday night in their contest witli the’Dunkirk High School and the Madison High School debating teams, respectively. “The local affirmative team was defeated by a score of 2 to 1 by the Dunkirk High School negative team in the Decatur Public library Hall, last night. The members of the Decatur team are Richard Schug Helen Hain, James Btirk, and Betty Frisinger, alternate. The Decatur negative team motored to Madison last night where it was also defeated by a 2 to 1 score by the Madison High School iatfirmatlve debating team. The loI cal negative team comprises Edward Martz, Eileen Burk, Paul Handler, and Milton Hoffman, alternate. < CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX)

Price Two Cents

Must Stand Trial

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Representative Edward E. Denii son. of Marion, 111., must stand i trial on the indictment charging him with possessing liquor in his [ office in the House office building at Washington. The District of : Columbia Court of Appeals has ■ ruled that Congressman Denison I | must stand trial on chargesi of 1 i violating the liquor law. LYCEUMCOURSEHERE THURSDAY Three-Act Comedy Will Be Third of Series Held At High School ‘Let's Go Somewhere” is the [name of the three-act comedy which Mr. and Mrs. Glen Wells will prei sent at the Decatur high school anI diterium, Thursday evening, under . [the auspices of the senior class. I This program will be a third of a J series of Redpath Lyceum course . entertainments being presented by the senior class. Mr. and Mrs. Wells present a number of different plays, but have chosen this delightful three-ae' comedy to be presented Thursday evening. A previous announcement [ erroneously stated they would present a program of two plays. These notable entertainers of music and drama have scored tremendous successes by the presentation of their programs, and the play, “Let s Go Somewhere," is consider ed one of their best. It was written by Robert Morrell Sand. A musical prelude consisting of (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) FRANKSCHNEPP DIES SUDDENLY Drops Dead From Apoplectic Stroke at Home of Son at Noon Today Frank Schnepp, 70, well known - St. Marys township farmer dropped dead in a field at the home of his son, Vai Schnepp, six miles east of Decatur at 12:30 o’clock this afternoon. According to Dr. .1. G. Grandstaff. county coroner who held an inquest this afternoon, death was caused by a stroke of apoplexy. Mr. Schnepp was helping his son Vai in the field and was apparently in good health when he suddenly dropped over dead. He had suffered with high blood pressure for some ; time but had not been bedfast. Mr. Schnepp was well known in St. Marys township where he had been a farmer for many years. He was born in Harrison township, Ohio. ’ His wife, Hannah Barrone Sch- ' nepp preceded him in death. Survivi (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE) 1 —o , Seattle Man Kills Three; Shoots Self * ■ ■ r Seattle, Wash., Feb. 4. — (U.R) — f Laverne Clark, 25, today shot and ; killed his estranged wife, their ’ daughter, and his wife’s brother. He then shot himself and was be- ’ lieved dying. ’ ' The dead: Mrs. Ellen Clark; 1 Gloria Clark, 3, their daughter; and 1 Jack Anthony, Mrs. Clark’s brother. Clark terrorized the neighborhood as he fired two shots while approaching his estranged wife's . home. One bullet barely missed a passerby.

YOUR HOME PAPERLIKE ONE OF THE FAMILY

CITIES TO HAVE CONTROL POWER I FOR 25 MILES House Battles Over Question About Equal Poll Tax For Women NEW PLAN FOR STATE REAPPORTIONMENT liulinnapolis, Feb. I. Ihe house of re|irescnl;:lives todav fought over the ••ight of women Io he exempt from poll taxes while the senate spent the morning in ;i '•nH session, passing seven hills. Among bills introduced were two measurees providing amusements and tobacco taxes, which would produce mi lions of dollars in revenue ■’(•cording lo estimates of the (Indiana Farm Federation, sponsors of both. A third plan for congressional reanportionment was idumped into the house hoo'•eihfc II would place Blackf< rw eountv in the seventh district and Adams eountv in lh” eighth. The measure providing for a $2.50 poll tax on both men and women was made a special order of business in the house for Friday morning after a lengthy delate. Among senate bills passed was a measure giving cities jurisdiction over streams for 25 miles beyond i the city limits, for the purpose of ' preventing stream polution. Whipping Post Bill Killed Indianapolis. Feb. 4. —(U.R) l —The much-discussed “whipping post” • bill, introduced in the state senat - by John S. Moorhead. Republican. Indianapolis, met insurmountablo opposition yesterday and was kill- ' ed by a vote of 22 to 12 when brought down for third reading. in a heated debate preceding th • vote, senators quoted fr ely from the Scripture, the Federal constitution, and referred to historic events. The burden of the argument op-' ! posing the measure was to th > f-» feet that a "whipping post" would place Indiana on a mediaeval basis.» “It would take us back to tho England of several generations ago,” one senator shouted. Supporting Senator Moorhead was Senator Winfield Mill r. also of Indianapolis, who said th • measure, if enacted, would do much in curtailing crime. Its purpose, he said, was to allow speedy punishment for criminals. After receiving from 10 to 60 lashes on tho bare back, as prescribed in the measure, a person convicted of committing a felony while armed, could be returned to his home on parole to support his wife and (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE) Postoffice Will Be Closed For Funeral The postoffice will close tomorrow afternoon from two to three o'clock during the funeral of George Everett who served as t clerk in the office the past twenty-seven years. o r FOUR INJURED WHEN CAR SKIDS Auto Skids in Loose Gravel and Turns Over; One Occupant Uninjured Berne, Ind., Feb. 4—(Special) — Four people were injured, and one escaped injury when a car driven by David Kauffman skidded in gravel and turned over near the Chris Augsburger farm in Hartford township at eight o'clock this morning. The occupants were enroute to the Missionary church to attend a [ sewing circle meeting. • The driver. Mr. Kauffman, and Miss Sarah Schindler, an occupant . of the car were the most seriously injured. Other occupants were Mrs. Kauffman and daughter, Daisy and I Mrs. Abraham Egly. The car skidded in the loose grajvel, turned over in the middle of the road, and landed on the top. The occupants crawled out of a door of the car and were taken to tlie Chi t. ’ Augsburger home where a physician (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE)