Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 29, Number 105, Decatur, Adams County, 2 May 1931 — Page 1

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lOME IMPROVEMENT SEEN IN BUSINESS

"jIKLWIS far EMCRIRL nitty INVENTION >an Minister Presides n<i >3 jii K[f light Session of WILL || BE LAST DAY ■ I bulletin I "‘‘K* J. H Evans of Nappanee and Baumgartner of New ;iit were chosen t the Indiana ConO f the Evangelical Church less meeting held in the iM ' d*W,.|X| Church in Berne, shortKforfrioon today. These offi~'"""''Kwil| serve during 1931 and Sj K pr, ident of the conference ■be Josen late this afternoon. K pficers elected at the mornwere Rev. J. 0. Mosier. Kin Wert Ohio, re-elected conKce treasurer: and Rev. W. J. Ker of Kerdaliville. conference K Maser. ( memorial servj K weri In 'il Friday al'ter- ■ 1 Hu' Evangelical Kister- and wives of niinhave died during ■ last vear. at the sevenlyKh■nliaii;i Conference of EKigelieal Church which ! King In hl in the Evangel|ffdwi'ch in Berne. i ■.. • was i‘si»'' ially j Kttee to I:-'-, c. H. Burgener | Koflttvi;l .■: l!< v. T. Rauch of j K>n!: lt.-v K. flood of Ken-j Mrs M. W Sunderman and Mrs. S H. Baumx. Kjti2 the services, the quartet Kweral - >nts. anil Bishop 1.. KX nt LaMars. lowa, read Kpoer "Heart Strings." Io the er> mi io President 1100.■Frijn moon, congratulatstand concerning Kwiteei.tli amendment. A KstJi-'.' ci.■ a: was also sent to ■wn< Emmerson of Illinois, were examined I of Examiners ami preach. They , ■CON’) NEED ON PAGE SIX) | ■res-Teachers Club Kill Meet Monday P. AL >■!»’ JiHitli Ward Parent Teachwill meet at the ■BB'i.rd ~i linn!, Tuesday after- ■». M >■ .'. at 3:15 o'clock. The for the afternoon will be with Child Health H■t®. " le.iy Brown and Mrs. W. MH will give addresses at the IHB 11 program; Mrs. Brown Kfat| (l " the protection of chiland Mrs. Linn telling g'he briii,. i- sleep.and health for elected officers of MBiiciation will have charge ■the Meeting. Mrs. C. O. Porter HrWßent. other officers of the are Mrs. Brown, viceMiss Florence Magley, and Miss Mary Suttles. are urged to attend Ms TO HOLD I BRID6E PARTY id 0 ! Series of Spring gRK For May 4 |Eg*°‘’,' ill committee of Decatur has planned a public |B o^l I,ar,v for Monday night at |SW r|i atlfl a comra ittee of local has made all arrangements affair. member has been issued IKK' s to present to friends jE 3'' Openkllg P art X °f the spring ■W l,aity , " in ,>e heid in the p ar lid j. ' e *'° fS ‘'ome on North Sec|E,rtftk eet an< * 110 charge will be IBrwifa r Suests - Plans also are ttnleM 4i ■ Ol a ser ‘ es of parties to be spring. | ol W’'''" g *. lle Plains of bridge |J r e ' en ’ n ? refreshments will by the committee i)i I 1

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Vol. XXIX. No. 105.

Killer Confesses Murder Y ’ f . jgl e \ V \ 1L J IHR,. WN ? A L. ’ \ X . ■ Xl Wllfe' -IP** ■< .i /' ■ 'W y W'.J wk a a LW x \ / F f 'WW M A Frank Jordan. 33, confessed slayer of Policeman Anthony Ruthy, was indicted for murder within less than twenty-four hours after he killed Ruthy and seriously wounded Policeman Patrick Durkin in Chicago, Thursday, who tried to arrest him. He admitted having taken T 4,000 in a holdup of a bank in Neponset, 111., on April 22. Jordan also *■' wanted for several recent Lank roblieries.

DECATURMAN IS APPOINTED Harl ‘Spot’ Hollingsworth To Report As State Police Next Tuesday Harl “Spot" Hollingsworth, sheriff of Adams county for four years, today received word from Grover Garrott. chief of the Indiana state police to report at Indianapolis next Tuesday morning for service in the state police department. It has been known for some time that Adams county was being considered for a state police appointment. The telegram did not state what territory Hollingsworth would have or what the nature of his work would be. A plan is being worked out now by state officials to divide the state into police sections locate a police barracks in each section. Members of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce have been in communication with the state department in an effort to secure one of the (CONTINUED ON PAG® SIX) . o— Real Estate Deals In Decatur Reported Three real estate deals of city property was made here during the week. Col Roy Johnson, relator, reported today. Charles E. Baxter purchased the residence of Mrs. August Schamerloh on North Fifth street. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. King will occupy the house. Mrs. King is a sister of Mr. Baxter 'Mrs. John Hoblet, Willshire, today purchased the Ed Green property on Winchester street. Mrs, Hoblet and daughter and son in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Homer Myers will occupy the house An exchange of properties was made between Mrs. Amy Bockman. West Monroe street and David Zelir Marshall street. o- ' I Local Concern Places Double Petunia on Market The Decatur double petunia, propgated bv the Decatur Floral Company of which George W. and Don Stump are proprietors, is now on the market and meeting with success. It is regarded as one of beautiful plamts on the market and since the first of the year a thousand ot them have been sold The Stumps began working on it in 1928 and it hasdeveloped until now it is perhaps the most gorgeous petunia to be found any where. Don Stump brought one of the plants to tins office today and it has attracted much attention. The company expects to raise and sell at least 10,000 of the Decatur petunias next year. They have a number of them ready for sale for Mother's day and with a little care the plants will bloom the entire summer!,

Furnlslivil Hy I ultfd I‘reirn

Dan Schafer Injured In Fall From Pier I Daniel Schafer, son of C. C. Schafer of this city, and a junior at Culver Military Academy suffered d double fracture to his ankle 1 Friday afternoon when he fell from a pier at Culver, according to a telephone message received by Dan s father Friday night. Local physicians were unable to set the fractures and it was neces- • sary to take Dan to a South Bend hospital where the fractures were ‘ adjusted. The attending physician 1 stated last night that while the in- “ jury was painful.’that unless coml plications set in. it was not serious. o REBELS HALTED IN PORTUGAL Reports Say Revolutionaries Are Beaten In Important Battles Lisbon, Portugal, May 2 —(U.R) — .The government announced today that the federal military operations against revolutionaries on Maderia Island had been successful and the reibiels concentrated at the Port of Funchal had surrendered. The official announcement said that, with the surrender of the Funchal rebels, the entire insurgent force on Maderia Island had submitted to the authority of the government and the revolutionary movement was ended. In Lisbon the government troops and police restored complete tranquility today after an outbreak of violence during May day demonstrations, in which two persons were killed and 14 others injured. The government had taken wide precautions to prevent disturbances in Portugal in connection (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) o Commission Is Ordered Washington, May 2.—(U.R)' —Postmaster General Brown has directed that a commission as postmaster at Wabash, Ind., be sent (immediately to Arthur T'omson. After Tomson’s appointment had been confirmed by the senate but before his commission had been delivered, accusations of bribery were made against him. Brown said these allegations had been found baseless. He said: “A thorough investigation of the charges against Arthur Tomson of Wabash, Ind., by the inspection di vision has failed to develop any corroboration of the statement of Charles H. Brower that T< mson accepted a bribe while serving as county commissioner ten years ago.”

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Saturday, May 2, 1931.

NO DAMAGES • ARE ALLOWED Jury Deliberates Over 19 Hours In $5,000 Dam- • age Suit Case After deliberating for 19 hours and 20 minutes, a jury in Atlants Circuit Court founil'tor the defendant in the case of Florence Wagner vs. Mose Higgins, suit for 000 personal injury damages as the result of an automobile accident which occurred in Allen county in the summer of 1929. i The case was venued here from I Allen county on motion of the defendant. The jury stated in its verdict that it found in the evidence that “bc-th plaintiff and defendant were negligent." The jury retired at 4:30 o’clock Friday afternoon, and it is believed thlt at first a majority of the 12 men were favorable to allowing damages. As the hours wore on. the men were able to come closer to a decision and at 11 o’clock this morning, jury bailiff Raymond Harting announced to the court that the jury had reached a decision. The verdict was read at about 11:30 o’clock by Judge D. B. Erwin, who presided during the case. The report was signed by Luther Martin. jury foreman. After .each member of the jury had testified that the verdict was their finding, the jurymen were discharged and ordered to report Monday morning. Divorce Not Granted In the divorce suit of Gretchen (CONTINUED ON PaGE BIX. LOCAL MAN'S BROTHER DIES Charles Roth, Monroeville Dies At Local Hospital Today Charles Roth, 47, of Monroeville, brother of Kenneth Roth of this city, died at the Adams County Memorial hospital Saturday morning at 6:30 o-’clock. Death was caused Ijy nephritis. Mr. Roth was removed to the local hospital, Friday night. Surviving are the wife and nine children, Cleo, Orville, Lawrence, Norma, Dolores and Betty, all at home, Mrs. Lillian Nard of Fort Wayne; Mrs! Edha Yansui and Mrs. Mildred Titras of Chicago. Three brothers and one sister also survive, Mrs. Tom Hachija of Chicago; Clarence of Mishawaka, Walter of Fort Wayne, and Kenneth of this city. Funeral services will be held Tuesday morning at 10 o’clock in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Monroeville, with the Rev. E. M. Foster officiating. Burial will be made in the Woodland Cemetery ♦t Van Wert, Ohio. NEW RECORD IN MEMBERSHIP Adams Post of Legion Has 300 Members; New Record For County Adams post, Ameijican membership reached a high point in its entire history Friday night when the local membership totalled 300, the membership committee announced. It is believed that the local post will have the best membership record of the district when reports are filed at the district convention to be held at Bluffton all day Sunday. May 3, a large delegation of Decatur Legionnaires are planning on making the trip to Bluffton tomorrow. The Decatur post, is now under the leadership of Leo Ehinger as commander. Ehinger served in several other capacities of the local post being elected to the highest place last year. Among the various activities of the Legion in this country are the sponsoring of the junior baseball league; boxing tourneys; Decatur Free Street Fair and a number of civic enterprises. American Legion hall is in the Paul Graham buildng on Second street, where club rooms and an auditorium are located.

Ciern-Up Week To Open Tuesday The annual city clean-up week will open Tuesday morning, Amos Fisher, city street, commissioner, stated today. CiUiens are urged to put the cans, bottles and rubbish in containers and place them in the alley or along the street so that the men on the trucks can gather them up. The trucks will not start out until Tuesday morning in order to give the citizens an opportunity to gather the rubbish on Monday and clean up their premises the day before the round-up starts. Ashes will not be hauled away. Mr. Fisher stated. The co-operation of every citizen is asked. o AWARDS MADE IN PENMANSHIP Central School Pupils Receive Honors at Annual Award Program Five pupils of the Gentral school received high school penmanship certificates; thirty-one received final certificates of writing; sixteen got improvement certificates, and twelve were awarded progress pins, which were presented at the regular chapel period » of the school held Friday morning. The freshman girls' chorus of the high school sang several musical numbers, directed by Miss Gladys Schindler, supervisor of the music, and the remainder of i the chapel period was devoted to I the awarding of the penmanship awards. W. Guy Brown, principal of Decatur high school, presented the high school writing certificates to the five pupils qualifying for them, and gave an interesting talk on the importance of writing in the grade school. He stated that the grade school penmanship training is of utmost importance, as there are no writing classes in the high school. Bryce Thomas, principal of Central school, presented Tire final ' certificates, improvement certifi(CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR) o— e WINTER WHEAT DISPOSED OF — Make Room In Warehouses’For Export Business of Summer Months Chicago, May 2 —(U.R>- The grain stabilization corporation's holdings of hard winter jtheat at Atlantic and Gulf ports have been sold and will be moved to make way for such export business as may develop during the summer. George iS. Milnor, head of the cor-1 poration, announced today. The federal farm board subsidiary still has for sale to the export trade seaboard accumulations of durum and Pacific coast wheat that represent the unsold portion of 35,000.000 bushels offered for export some time ago. Deliveries of approximately 36,000,000 Mushels of wheat on May futures contracts, were accepted yesterday by the grain stabilization. Os this huge amount, 23,000,000 bushels w r ere taken at Minneapolis and Duluth. Minn., 3,931,000 bushels at Chicago, 3,843,000 bushels at Kansas City, and lesser amounts at other points. Although the corporation's wheat holdings have not been made ’public, it has been estimated that they total abiout 250,000,000 bushels. Additional deliveries on remaining May contracts are still to be taken by the corporation. Tax Paying Rush On The rush was on at the county treasurer's office today, it being the last Saturday of the spring tax paying season. At noon today about 20 taxpayers were waiting in line to get their receipts. More than $300,000 of Mie sprag installment of taxes remained unpaid ten days ago and this week has been a busy one at the treasurer’s office. Next Monday is the last day to pay the spring installment without a penalty being added.

certificates;

Miife, Wnllonfil And lii tt*rnn| lunitl Nrttw

TWO WOMEN ARE ACCEPTED FOR KIRKLAND JURY Defense Accepts Nine of 12 Jurors; Second Panel Ordered Drawn I GRANDMOTHER IS ON PANEL i Valparaiso, Ind., May 2.— ,<U.R)— Two women, one a grandmother and the other, the mother of a gown, unmar-! ried daughter, were added toj the seven jurors tentatively! accepted today to hear the seciond trial of Virgil Kirkland, former Gary athlete, on 'charges of murdering his high ! school sweetheart, Arlene ! Draves. With not a single juror definite!ly accepted and a third panel of: 75 called for Monday, when the trial j j re-opens, both defense and prosecution faced what appeared a hopeless task of selecting 12 jurors who ' who would admit they were “open minded" in the matter of determ- 1 ining Kirkland's guilt or innocence. I The majority of the 81 men and j three women who passed through ’ | the jury box this week admitted definite opinions derived from the first trial, in which the 20-year-old defendant was Sentenced to life im-j j prisonment on conviction of murd- [ ler as the result of a blow. Many] l of them, farmers, said they could! | not spare any time from their farm labors. The two women accepted yesterday by the state, and awaiting questioning by the defense said they i were “open minded” on the case. | i Mrs. Mattie Conover, 55, of Vai-, , paraiso, a grandmother, told de- i sense attorneys that, while a pro-] !hi bi tionist, she did not condemn I i modern youth "for violation of the I Volstead act.” She also indicated she was not disturbed by the liberal moral attitude of the young people of today." The oher woman accepted by the (CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO) o Decatur Law Firm Dissolves Partnership The law firm of Merryman and Sutton has -dissolved by mutual consent. Judge James T. Merryman I continuing his offices in the rooms he has occupied a number of years one and two of the Knights of Columbus .block while Judge Jesse C. Sutton has opened new offices in the front rooms of the second floor of the Odd Fellow’s block over the Lankenau store. Both men are well known in this oity and county and each has served as judge of the Adams circuit court. Each has practiced law in this city many years. The rooms now occupied by Judge Sutton have been remodeled and prepared for him the past few days and he began ' his duties there this morning. VIGILANTES GET NEW RANGE Shoots in County Will Be Held At Limherlost Golf Course Adams county vigilantes will establish permanent practice shooting range at Limberlost Miniature Golf course, on state road 27 between Berne and Geneva, it was ( learned today. ( The range is being built by E. C. Stuckey, owner and manager of the Limberlost course and will be turned over to the vigilantes organization, wiihout charge. The range is being built back from the golf course and will in no way interfere with the miniature course, which each week draws hundreds of tourists and Adams county golfers. Mr. Stuckey stated that the range would be open in a few days for public inspection. The vigilantes will hold their first spring shoot next Friday May 8 at 1 o'clock! central standard time) it. was announced today. The organization is complete in Adams county with, special deputy officers in each township. Sheriff Burl Johnson stated that he believed 20 armed men could be placed in service in 10 minutes in case of an emergency.

Price Two Cents

Clawed by Lion I V i Six-year-old Vivian Leischer, who was clawed ami mauled by I a trained lioness, which leaped ■ 1 upon het’ at the Whittier School ] jin Cincinnati on Thursday, will j I recover from severe scalp wounds I inflicted by the beast. | facultyTlaT SET NEXT WEEK ■ Cast Prepared To Give Local Theatre-Goers Rare Entertainment Members of the Decatur public school faculty are preparing for the presentation of the home-talent play, “The Deacon's Second Wife," I which was presented here by the faculty several years ago at Bosse I Opera House. • The play will be given again thi» year next Thursday and Friday nights at Decatur high school auditorium and several members of the original cast will again take part in the new production. Tickets for the play are being sold by members of the Decatur Junior Band, which organization will receive all proceeds from the play. When the production was. first given, S9O was made and the I money was used to purchase a victrola. Admission on both night will be 40 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. The play will start leach night at 8 o'clock. No seats will be reserved. o i- — Inspector Reavels Age Os Peggy Hopkins Joyce New York, May 2. —(U.R)t—Peggy Hopkins Joyce is pretty piqued at Uncle Sain's prosecutors, because they have revealed, of all things, a lady's deepest, darkest secret —her age. a A federal man, curious about Peggy's fortune, and doubting that she filed a complete income tax return, got to prying among some yellowed papers in the little Virginia town where the much-married Miss Joyce was born and found her birth certificate. And that, he said revealed her as being 43 years old. This revelation will not prevent Peggy, however, from going to the customs house on Tuesday and trying to explain away a $51,000 duty and fine the government has assessed on her for allegedly bringing some undeclared jewelry into this country in 1922. And when she leaves the custom house, the United States attorney says he may take the actress into conference on another matter, this is about her income tax. He estimates she is worth some $1,250,0(10. O - —— Make First Communion A class of 38 children will make their solemn Holy Communion at tire St. Mary's Catholic church Sunday morning at the seven o'clock mass. The children will receive the Sacrament during the mass and the Rev. Father J. A. Seimetz will be the celebrant. Impressive services will mark the ceremony. BULLETIN Fort Wayne May 2 —(UP) — A clean up of alleged vce and liquor activities in Fort Wayne by the city police department and safety board was ordered today by Judge Clarence McNabb, of Allen Circuit Court. The judge warned the police and safety board members he would hold a grand jury investigation of the situation unless they acted.

YOUR HOME PAPERLIKE ONE OF THE FAMILY

NATIONAL BODY SEES GRADUAL BUSINESS GAIN of Commerce In National Convention at Atlantic City • LEADERS ARE OPTIMISTIC Atlantic City, N. J., May 2. — U.R>—A gradual improveiment in business, of which the | signs already are appearing, is seen by industrial leaders who attended the U. S. Chamber of Commerce meeting here, according to a United Press canvass of sentiment and their public expressions showed that while business ■ leaders do not try to minimize the i seriousness of the slump through I which the country has passed and , in which it still finds itself, they 'see indications of an improvement, which, they agree, must be slow land steady. Seme of these views follow. Secretary of Commerce Robert P. Lamont: “After such a cataclysm as we I have been through, time and the | slow working of economic readjustments are necessary before the (world can return to economic health i and vigor. And there can be no doubt that many of the necessary adjustments have been and are being made, and that business even now is sluggishly responding to the stimulus of these needed changes. Whatever were the causes of our present difficulties, the corrective influences have now been at work for many months.’ ’ Retiring President William Butterworth of the U. S. Chamber of i Commerce: “We have reached the point when improvements are appearing in the news of the hour. Even in times of the greatest activity all fields and al enterprises are not prosperous. In a period of business recovery we cannot expect all news to be uniformly good but we must not make the mistake of allowing the I disappointing features to blind us (to those which reflect the realities of the situation and the trend of (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX. o BULLETIN Lafayette May 2 —(UP) —An autopsy performed on the body of an unidentified man shot to death near here today showed trace of alcohol in the victim’s stomach leading police to believe the slayng may have been the outcome of a drunken fight. Authorities first thought the man was killed by gangsters seeking revenge. o BULLETIN Tegucigalpa, Honduras, May 2 — (U.R) — Government reinforcements sped toward the city of Santa Rosa, 20 miles from the Quatamailian border today in an effort to save it from the hands of attacking revolutionary forces under General Gregorio Ferrera. Officials said it was almost certain that the town would fall to the rebels if federals were delayed in arriving with fresh troops sent from San Pedro Sulo. HUNGER MARCH STARTS TODAY Parade to Governor’s Office Draws Small Interest In State Hammond, Ind.. May 2 —(UP) — Scant interest was being paid communistic- activities as final plans were made for the "Hunger March” to Indianapolis, scheduled to start from Hammond today. Paul Bucha, 21. and Stella Chapa, 17. are leaders of the movement. Gary will be the second stop of the proposed calvalcade. Police here believe, however, that enthusiasm was weak and that few recalls for the march to the capital in quest of free food and clothing would be obtained. An exceptionally quiet May Day strengthened their belief. Authorities said the marchers would not be molested as long as (CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR)