Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 32, Number 104, Decatur, Adams County, 30 April 1934 — Page 1

I - — - ■ RjvvF AT HE P ■ cLrv', n,l,i ■K., KT. T T-..iay I'" -

IDMITS PART IN BREMER KIDNAPING

■LICE SQUAD BOIS ARMED |yGANGSTERS ■ Men Are Identified ■ Members Os Dill- | inger Gang ■.INGER NOT ■l()\(. GANGSTERS Kano. Apr- 30 - Lg i|es|)era<lot s. identified ■mlx is of the John l)il- ■ outlaw gang, disarmed ■urhan police squad to— Kxl fled alter slugging ■mao Harry Wavland. ■ encounter took place ■{wood, western suburb. ■:i a. in. The gangsters identified as John Homer Van Meter, (Baby Face) Nelson, and ■ Fox. all known associates Dillinger. said they felt sure of the of Hamilton. Van Meter, Nelson hut that Dillinger was not in the group. killers carried two guns. They fired two to intimidate the Wayland was knocked when he attempted to ■ a pistol, and the other two were forced to give up ■ g ins and walk away from Kbits' car with their hands occurred in the Me filling station of Harry in Hellwood. The police M car had been parked near of country roads, automobile drove a red light at high speed Me police pursued them witli Mounding. Motttlaws accelerated their Mbile and opened a wide gap the cars. At Nieman's the gunmen stopped for ■ gallons, quick!" a gunman as Hamilton ordered. Mian stepped out of the auto■to watch the road over ■ tlie police were coming. M gangster, believed to be ■ left the automobile. The ■ratified as Van Meter re- ■ at the wheel. B" Nieman could finish his police automobile drove ON’ PAGE SIX) H o — ■va Theater Damaged By Fire B>roke out in the Star TheatMeneva at 10 o’clock Sunday ■hen a film broke. The fire ■ spread and six other films Mstroyed by the blaze. The ■» quickly extinguished and ■niate of th e damage was not ■ ■ Jial Electric ■ Plant On Fast Time ■kli! saving time will be ob-' Mat the Decatur works of the ■ Electric company. The new Me started this morning. The ■egins work at seven o’clock ■id closes at 3:12 p. m. cen■ndard time, or Decatur time. M of tnen is busy at work at y 1 Plant installing the new ■ery and regular operations ■ resumed next month. ■ o- | Infant Dies I At Geneva Sunday j? —-I. ■rd Duer, two month old son | B and Mrs. Charles Duer of; B, died Sunday morning at 3 j B of the measles. Graveside B services were held Sunday 800 at New Corydon. The parBx brothers and sisters surB —— o ■Fires Cause Slight Damage ■fires in this city Sunday ■ ls, -d slight damage, it was •'I today by Jack Friedt, city Bet. ■first of the two fires took Mt the home of Mrs. Alice 316 Winchester street, ■ o’clock Sunday morning. B e started from a spark from friiney and damage was estigat $25. fcepond fire was at the Zeke ■>'s home on Walnut street |a hog house was destroyed ■ The blaze was started tby ■timers children and no damF reported.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Vol. XXXII. No. 104.

Suspect Jr. '' • I I ’ 1 bXL ? I ■ liF\x : / j ? XXL -cist wr ', William E Vilder. a Chicagoan I and an ex-convict, who is said to , he one of Outlaw Joint Dillinger’s , aids. Who was arrested in Chicago , > Friday. On him was found $2,665 I I of the money collected by kidnap ‘ , { ers when the ransom for Edward , G. Bremer, St. Paul banker was , paidI ; PRISON BREAK REPORT GIVEN Secretary Submits Report Os Escape Os Trusties Today ' I ■—r -! Indianapolis, Apr. 30 — fU.R) Liberties permitted trusties at the { state prison gave at least two of, them sufficient leisure to slip away in the afternoon for dates . i with women, it was revealed toI day in a report made public by ' Gov. Paul V. McNutt. Tile report was submitted by| ; Wayne Coy. secretary to the gov- ; ernor, who investigated tlie re1 cent escape of five trusties within I . five days. There are more than 300 trus- ( ties at the prison, Coy said. They i are divided into several classifications and those with the best , , records are employed outside the walls. Coy said he interviewed two, ' trusties. Willard Butler and Char- ; les Irwin, both serving life terms on murder charges, who escaped ' April 22, and were captured a ; few days later in Indianapolis. "Butler, a cook in the heme of ; i Warden Louis Kunkel said that ’ ; after the noon meal was cleared J i away he had a couple of hours ■ I with nothing to do until time to , , ' prepare Hie evening meal,” the [ report said. I ‘ During this leisure time, he | slipped away and had dates two , or three times a week with a wo-1 (CONTINUED ON PAOE FOUR) DEATH CLAIMS MAYORKELLEY John W. Kelley, Mayor For Five Years, Dies This Morning Bluffton, April 30 — (Special) — I Mayor John W. Kelley, 52, of Bluff- : ton, died at 10:15 o'clock this morn-j ing at his home on South Main street. He had been ill from heart trouble for the past week and an j oxygen tent had been used for the last three days to keep him alive. Mr. Kelley had been mayor of Bluffton for the last five years and and previous to that time had been councilman He was born at Geneva, April Id, 1882, a son of B. C. and Rebecca Nelson Kelley. He was married in June of 1902 to Bessie M. Kelly, who was also born near Geneva. Their entire married life was spent in Bluffton. Surviving are the widow and the following children; Mrs Paul Hiss , and Mrs. Harold Srhoner of Plymouth; Mrs. Cletus Geels of Bluffton; Martha Jane and Joseph W. Kelley, at home. Mayor Kelley was a member of JEXYBI

State, Nntlonnl And Inlernnllonal .News

DAVID D. DEPP IS APPOINTED COUNTY CLERK Berne Clerk-Trcahirer Is Named Clerk of Adams County — MISS CLEO WERLING APPOINTED DEPUTY David 1). Depp, clerk-treasurer of the town of Berne, today assumed Illis duties as clerk of the Adams j circuit court, following his selection to tile post late Saturday after- , noon by the board of county conii tnissioners. Mr. Depp succeeds 'Milton C. I Wel ling, who resigned, effective i Friday afternoon, following his eon- i viction in federal court, on counter- I tiet conspiracy charges. He will ; till the unexpired term, which runs ■ until January 1. 1936. Miss Cleo Werling, sister of Mr. ' Werling was named deputy to Mr. Depp. Mr. Depp offered the place j to her and she accepted the appoint- , ment at ten o'clock this morning. Miss Werling was deputy to her in-other and is well acquainted with tlie duties of the office. Mr. Depp officially became county clerk with the tiling of bond and tlie taking of the oath of office. A personal bond for SIO,OOO was filed and the oath was administered by I county attorney Henry B. Heller. Due to the fact that the county | clerk holjls only trust funds, a surety bond is not paid for by tlie county, as is tlie case of other ; county officials where bonds are ; required. Mr. Depp operates an electric shop in Bertie. He was elected clerk-treasurer of Berne last NovemI her and assumed office January 1. 1934. He submitted his resignation to tlie town lioaiil Saliuday ning. I For the present, Mr. Depp will > (CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR) THREE ESCAPE OHIO STATE PEN — Crooked Guard Is Blamed For Escape Os Three Convicts Sunday Columbus. O , Apr. 30— (U.R) Warden Preston E. Thomas today ! blamed a "crooked guard" for the daring escape of three long-term prisoners Sunday afternoon from i the Ohio penitentiary. Officers searched the state for I the three convicts who, armed i with a .45 automatic pistol, held ‘ up two guards, forced 14 other | prisoners into a power plant ash I pit, compelled a guard to help I them carry a ladder to the northI west prison wall where they dropped to the street, command- ! eered an automobile and fled. The escaped prisoners are: j Arthur R. Koontz, 40, sentenced to three to 20 years for automobile stealing; Rufus Deeds, 39. sentenced to 10 to 25 years for robbery; and Martin Scymidt, sentenced to 20 years to life for bank robbery. All three have been J admitted within the last ten years. It was the first prison break at the Ohio penitentiary in four j years and followed closely on adI (litional precautions taken Dy the warden to prevent any attempt to liberate the three Dillinger gangsters detained here for the murder of Sheriff Jesse Sarber at Lima, O. Two of them are awaiting j execution. The warden investigated the ' escape into the early hours of the : morning. "This wouldn’t have happened." he said, "if this crooked guard had not smuggled in a pistol to the three convicts.” He refused to reveal the name of the guard whom he suspects ~»f having supplied the escaped prisoners with the gun. o Invite Legionnaires To Party Thursday Members of Adams post number | 43 of the American Legion have tbeen invited to attend a stag party 1 at Riverview park in Fort Wayne | Thursday evening at 8 o’clock. The party has been planned as a celebration ending the mem'bership drive. An admission price of 50 cents will be charged.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana. Monday, April 30, 1934.

County Clerk ■■■■MBKiLT IsSi IF O L .. j3| wk Zw David D. Depp, for the past four 1 months clerk-treasurer of tlie town of Berne, assumed the duties as ’ clerk of tlie Adams circuit court this morning. Mr. Deqip was apI pointed by the county commission- ’ ers late Saturday afternoon, following the resignation of Milton (’. Werling. WILL MAINTAIN THE‘OPENDOOR’ Japan Promises To Con- | tinue Observance Os Nine Power Treaty London, Apr. 3b— (U.R) —Japan has promised to maintain the , "open door" in China and to continue observance of the nine powI er treaty. Sir John Simon, foreign ' secretary, informed the house of j commons today. The .assurance was given by i Koki Hirota, Japanese foreign ' minister, to Sir Francis IJndley, ; British ambassador at Tokio, Sir John said. The announcement was received j with intense interest by the I house, which had gathered to hear j Sir John's promised statement on i the Japanese declaration of policy | in the Far East, a source of i world wide agitation. I Tlie nine power treaty, signed at Washington in 1922. bound tlie j signatories "to respect the sovI ereignty, the independence and the territorial and administrative [ integrity of China," and “to refrain from taking advantage of I conditions in China in order to -' sell special rights or privileges . which,would abridge the rights of . subjects or citizens of friendly , states, and from countenancing , action inimical to the security of such states." It was signed by the United States, Great Britain. Japan, Bel- , gium, China. France. Italy. Hol- . land and Portugal. Sir John's statement was re- ( garded as going far to allay fears aroused by the Chinese declaration. Reporting on the conversations between Hirota and Lindley, he (CONTTNURP nN PAGE TWO) O WIRT SAYS HE WAS‘MUZZLED’ Gary Educator Tells M ar Veterans He Was Hammered Into Silence Chicago. Apr. 30.—4U.R>—Dr. William A. Wirt, the Hoosier schoolmaster who startled the country with his “red plot" charges, today told 400 war veterans that he was "hammered into silence” and “in--1 timidated” when ba went to Washington to prove his claims. The 60-year-old Gary educator, cheered loudly in his first platform appearance since a congressional investigating committee found his charges to be "baseless,” spoke at a luncheon sponsored by the American Legion. "As a free American citizen 1 had a right to know which way our country was headed," he said. "But all efforts w-ere met with ; stubborn official resistance, actual slander, Intimidation and other j hindrances and do not rest well with free citizens.” His treatment in Washington and the efforts of the "brain trust” to hide its real motives “bode ill for our traditional justice and liberty,” * * *ON* PAgL BIX).

ALBERT WALKE BADLY INJURED Salesman For McConnell And Sons Is Critically Injured Albert Walke, 22. Fort Wayne, a salesman for McConnell and Sons of tills city, is reported in a critical condition at a Fort Wayne hospital today, as tlie tesult of injuries sustained in an accident at Fort Wayne shortly before 3 o'clock tills morning. Walke’s fiancee, Miss Mary Herring, 26. Fort Wayne, was killed instantly in the wreck and four other occupants of tlie automobile recetive less serious injuries. Walke was driving a new car 1 owned l>y tlie local company, and I , as the auto left the bridge on Pari 1 nell street, he lost control of the car i the auto striking a tree. Miss Herr- . ling was dead when picked up by po- i . lice. Other occupants of the car were | i . Miss Erma Cohen, Fort Wayne;, j Miss Alfretta Dimmitt, Yeoman,; land James Whitney and Robert j 1 Feltz. both of Fort Wayne. Walke was hired only recently by the local firm, having worked | only six weeks. The car he was I driving was owned by McConnells, i Two Killed Fort Wayne. Ind., Apr. 30. —(U.R) —Traffic accidents took the lives of two and sent a score of others ‘ to the hospitals here this week-end. j Robert C. Golden. 12. son of Mr. i and Mrs. C. W. Golden, died today of a fractured skull, the result of l OX PAGE SIX) ,! o District Meet At Warsaw Thursday i i A district meeting of the Poca- 1 hontas lodge will be held in Warj saw next Wednesday. The meeting 1 ; will be held allslay, with sessions ■ i in the morning, afternoon and evening BLUFFTON FIRE l LOSS $75,000 I Huge Tank of Crude Oil Explodes. Burns Near Bluffton Sunday ; — Bluffton,-Ind., April 30 —(UP) ' —Fire which destroyed 33.072 ? barrels of oil at the Illinois Pipe line company south of here slowly burned itself out today after causing damage estimated at $75,000. ‘ Bluffton. Ind.. Apr. 30. — (U.R) —i \ Fire which followed an explosion ’ of a 35,000 barrel tank of crude oil here yesterday morning resulted in I a loss estimated at $75,000 at the . Swayzee storage field of the Illinois Pipe Line Company. The blast rocked the city, and , was heard tor a distance of about j 12 miles. As far as could be de-1 termined no one was hurt. Cause of the explosion yet today i was undetermined, according to company officials. "There is no 1 way telling just what happened,” E. A. Marshall, Lima, 0.. district ' manager said. “It might have been caused by someone smoking neat' the tank.” Nine other tanks, containing at ’ (CONTINUBTD ON PAGE SIX) o———0 ——— Two Arrested For Public Intoxication —.— Harry Spencer and Ott Johneon were arrested late Saturday afternoon by chief of police Sephus Mel- j, chi and lodged in the Adams county jail Both men will be arraigned |, in mayor George Krick’s court at I ( 7:30 o’clock this evening on charges ! of public intoxication. ( I THE SAMPLE BALLOTS | ■ , —— ’ i ' The county election commis- j ■ j sioners have granted permis- j | sion to the Daily Democrat to | ' I publish the forms of the sam- | 1 ! pie ballots of the primary | | election. | The ballot will be printed | 1 | the last of the week or as soon j 1 j as the commissioners have fin- j 1 | ished with the printing of the . | tickets. Both the Democrat |- ' 1 and Republican ballots for the I 1 j county and city tickets will be | I I printed. * « 1

Fin-nUhril II) I ultrd I‘rraa

MISSING GIRL FEARED KILLED BY A MAD MAN Fede ra I Government Takes Charge of Search For Young Girl FAMILY IS READY TO PAY RANSOM Tucson. Ari/.., Apr. 30 — (U.R) — The federal government assumed entire charge of the search for June Robles. 6, kidnaped heiress today, as fear grew ttiat tin- child had been killed by a mad man. Local authorities surrendered I the case to Joseph Dunn. Los j Angeles, chief department of jusi tic agent. It was agreed to halt all police activity in a final hope i the child's aliductors might negoi tiate with her frantic family. June was kidnaped late Wedi nesday by a dark man in a green - automobile as she returned home from school. A ray of hope that the child still was alive came with the : secret departure of her wealthy grandfather. Bernable Robles, for i Santa Ana. Sonora. His trip beI came known when he arrived at Nogales and crossed the border ; with two friends, Henry Dalton, I Tucson alderman, and another t believed to bi» Al Aguirre, busi- : ness associate. A slight stir was caused here when the party failed to return 1 early today but Robles' wife was not apprehensive. She said her (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) o Various Speakers At Schools Today Youth Day in the church was observed Sunday by sermons and programs in most of the city churches. The theme of tlie (lay was “Youth." Today is Youth Dav in Vocations. The plan was followed this year of haling representatives of the industries visit the schools. O. L. Vance. Decatur merchant, spoke to tlie Central grade school. ,L. E. Archbold, Adams county i agricultural agent, spoke to Uie | Lutheran school. W. A. Klepiper i of die Cloverleaf Creameries. Inc. will combine his vocation day I talk with that of his Youth Day lin Schools talk which will lie I given to the Catholic school , Thursday afternc on. Q Boys, Girls To Make Communion Sunday A large cla.se of boys and girls l will make their solemn Holy Comj munion at St. Mary’s Catholic church next Sunday. The children i will, attend the seven o’clock mass and impressive services will bi held. The masses next Sunday will ibe held at seven, nine and ten j o’clock. On Tuesday, May 8, confirmation services will be held at St. Mary’s I churt h. the Rt. Rev. Bishop John ' F. Noll, officiatingROAD PROGRAM IS ANNOUNCED — Highway Commission Announces Program For Surface Treatment Indianapolis, Apr. 30. — (U.R) — A program of surface treatment for more than 1,000 miles of state highways during the spring and summer months was announced today by Janies D. Adams, chairman of the state highway commission. Work already has begun on road 60, east from Mitchell, and road 24. from road 61 to Stendal. Bids have been received on projects in the Vincennes and Crawfordsville district and the commission will receive other bids within the next 10 days on work in the Greenfield. Seymour. Fort Wayne and Laporte districts. Approximately three and a half million gallons of tar or liquid asphalt and about 200.000 tons of crushed aggregate, gravel or slag is expected to be used in this work. The mileage to be treated in each district follows: Laporte. 71.89; Greenfield. 222 72; Crawfordsville, 94.31; Fort Wayne, 111.27; Seymour, 185.40, and Vincennes, 342.47, making a total of 1,028 miles.

Price Two Cents

Seized in Kidnaping IF I 1 I’* gvl 1 & :;; I John .1. McLaughlin of Chicago, ' I former Illinois State legislator and ‘ old-time politician, was under j arrest Saturday on a federal , ( barge in the kidnaping of Edward ' i Bremer, wealthy St. Paul banker I who paid $200,000 ransom several i months ago. McLaughlin was I ■ ; seized on a warrant issued by United States Commissioner Wai-1 ker, alleging that he possessed i part of the Bremer ransom money. 1 1 > I BOARDS NAMED i ; FORELECTION , Democratic Election i Board Members Are Announced Todav - Democratic members of the elec‘ition boards for the primary elec-1 ! I tion. Tuesday. May 8, were ani nounced today by John H. Heller, (acting Adams county chairman. ’ I Extra clerks will be hired in nine ; voting precincts in the county. Pre- ! cincts in which extra clerks have ’' been ordered are 1-A, I B, 2-A, 3-A. . ■ 3-B in Decatur; West Root. Geneva 1 ■ 1 A and Berne A and C. Tlie complete list of Democratic 11 board members follows: East Union Inspector. Frank Mclntosh. Judge, John Drake. Clerk, Chauncey Clem. Sheriff, Ernest Thieme. ; West Union Inspector. C. D. Spuller. 11 Judge. Thurman Drew. Clerk, Fred Shaffer. , Sheriff, Alfred Grote. East Root Inspector, Otto Fuelling. , ] Judge, Jacob Weidler. Clerk, Lawrence Beckmeyer. Sheriff. R. K Fleming. West Root Inspector. Fred Schurger. Judge, Henry Selking. Clerks, Ella Schroeder, Martin ’ Heckman. Sheriff, Charles Longenberger. North Preble Inspector, Louis Reisstack. Judge, Henry Schuler. Clerk. Rudolph H. Buuck. Sheriff, Louis Bultemeier. South Preble Inspector, Charles Offholder. Judge, August Koenemanu. Clerk, Gerhard Gaiser. Sheriff, George Gerber. North Kirkland Inspector. Ernst H. Kruetzman. Judge, Harvey Bucher. Clerk. Albert Beineke. Sheriff, Janies Hower. South Kirkland inspector, J. O. McKean. Judge Wiliiam Burch. . I (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) t o- j 25 Memberships i Obtained By Post 1 Albert Miller, commander of the • local American Legion post, Walter * Gladfelter, adjutant, Herb Kern, fin- ‘ ance officer, ami Floyd Hunitetr, ’ took 25 membership cards to Fort ’ Wayne Sunday as the local post's ' share toward the annual aerial 1 drive. The Deleatur post’s quota was 20. 1 Membership in the Adams post now * totals 140. 'As a result of tlie fine ' showing, Walter Gladfelter has been awarded a free ticket to a banquet at the Antlers hotel in Indiana- 1 polis, Tuesday evening. National 1 commander Ed Hayes will be the ' principal speaker.

w qua MMir.

ADMITS TAKING PART OF MONEY IN KIDNAPING Boss McLaughlin Confesses Handling $53,0(H) Os Ransom Money McLAUGHIN’S SON IS UNDER ARREST Chicano, Apr. 30 <U- R) — John J. (Boss) McLaii.nlilin, reputed Chicago gambling lord and lormer state legislator todav confessed to handling $53,000 of the ransom money ptiid for tlie release of Edward G. Bremer, wealthy SI. Paul banker, the department of justice announced. The confession was the latest development in tlie war of the government against John Dillinger and his henchtnen. While one section of the justice department was obtaining the statement of guilt from McLaughlin, other agents searched for three Oklahoma gangsters allegedly allied with Dillinger, who are believed to have engineered the actual abduction of Bremer. Working swiftly in their roundup of those alleged to have engineered the Bremer kidnaping tlie government agents spread a net for William E. (Christian Kid) Mead, notorious swindler who has been charged with serving as the "finger man” for the abduction. Mead became interested in the i possibilities of kidnaping Bremer, federal agents said, as a result of his mulcting of $200,000 from Martin Wunderlich, wealthy contractor and friend of the St. Paul banker. Melvin 11. Purvis, chief of the department of investigation here, told newspaper men that McLaughlin mad > a detailed confei(CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE) —_____ o Miss Baumgartner Is Named Valedictorian .Miss Marjorie Baumgartner, has been named valedictorian of the Senior class of the Berne high school, it has been announced. Commencement exercises will be held May 21 at Berne. Mr. Itaumgartner is cashier of the Bank of Berne. o Democratic Women Will Meet Tonight A number of Decatur and Adams County women are planning to attend the Adams County Democratic Woman’s Club spring party which will be held in tlie Decatur Library tonight at 7:30 o’clock. Mrs. John Tyndall is chairman of the program committee and an interesting program lias been planned including musical selections, a playlet and a talk by Mrs. John Parrish. A social hour will follow the program. SCHOOL ANNUAL TO GO ON SALE “Tattler”, Published By Catholic High School. On Sale Wednesday The "Tattler” a year book published annually by the senior class of the Decatur Catholic high school will be placed on sale Wednesday. Two hundred copies were printed this year. Helen Barthel is editor in chief tills year and William Lose (business manager. Sr. M. Vera. C- S. Ais staff advisor and Sr. M.. Helen Clare C S. A. financial director. Other members of the editorial staff are: Patricia Ftillenkamp, assistant editor; Dorothy Lengerich alumni editor; Albert Hain, sportseditor. Edward Lose, assistant sports; Alvera Vian, school notes editor; Mary Margaret Keller, copy editor; Mary Wolpert, assistant photographic editor; Marcelline Gage, photographic editor; Robert Cook humor editor; Rosemary Rumsvhlag editor of histories; Dorothy Miller, copy editor. Members of the business staff are: Herman Knapke. assistant business editor; Marjorie Carroll, art editor; Mary Margaret Klepper, **(CONTINUi*D *ON PAGE SlX)**