Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 34, Number 159, Decatur, Adams County, 6 July 1936 — Page 1

VftfBXXIV. No. 159.

CORNER STONE ; IS RELAID AT LOCAL CHURCH 55th Anniversary Os M. ■ E.Rorner Stone Lay-iu-j Is Observed anniversary of the laying c the corner stone of the Methodist Episcopal church I was observed Sunday inornifl with a special ceremony the regular church and services. ■The Rev. 11 R. Carson, pastor nf the Ihilieh. delivered an hispreceding the special sertiees. The <|orn " stone was opened SETcral keeks ago by church officiahs liter authority had been the official hoard to use appropriated by the Ssthday [school for the purpose. The MPtrnts of the enclosed box have Sen examined and tranjßMjitf made of the histories of the 'flKrch. church organizations, ghd Otti*'' organizations of the SevhP persons were present Hm|b, who were members of the dwelt. Inly 4. 1881. These 3da.>ion Elzey. Mr. and Mrs. J. T. ■‘•rrynian. Mrs. Samantha wfehcli. Daniel Sprang. Mrs. A. J. Smith! l ' 1 Mrs. E. N. Wicks. The 201 ftß member's and, the 26 probatfont on the church roll In 1881 | by Rev. Carson. Rev. Carson also read a letter from Be Rev. J. B. Ca.rnes. pastor of t|» hui' h in 18S1 who laid the corner stone. Rev. Carnes was sealed tty Charles llrodß During the services. Mr. Broqßnade a short talk, explaining WV he resealed the box and in it additional historical doniKnts. including copies of Democrat. His father. John block, buiit the box which in the corner stone f»5 As ago. GB) e Wemhoff of this city, ! whod| father, Bernard Wemhoff. pionew resident of Decatur, prestone for the first dediassisted Mr. Brock in rethe box and corner stone, corner stone was formally re-dßcated with the ritual serthe Methodist Episcopal HMIs address, the Rev. Mr. (jflKi spoke on “The Origin and ment of the Methodist Meeting." He traced the camp [meeting movement back to the eirly field preaching of the WwA.' -i and George Whitefield ■K the leadership of Bishop F?®Bis Asbury in America in the immediately following the the Revolutionary war ' Byjll’' there were between 4()0 i camp meetings each sum-1 the attendance of some | high as 20,000 people. Baptist and PresbytertaSinisters and people united in evangelistic efforts in i th|Smn air. a place made neces- 1 the lack of churches or | enough to accomodate , While excessive 1 O®NTINUED OX PAGE FIVE) ■UNTY BOARD |TO TAKE BIDS |®iinissioners To ReMeive Bids Tuesday, July 21 will ibe accepted for the ; etisftructiou of a coal bin at the house, a coal Ihin at the infirmary, a new drinking f°®ain at the court house and a new chimney at the : jail. Tuesday evening. July h«Wd of commissioners. The new coal bin will be on ■ the south side of the court house will be below the surface. ; will be cemented over and <*lMings left for dumping coal, trucks will he able to drive «'*>'ly over the bin, the county save 25 cents a ton spent in for shovelling the coal a window' to the bin now lo- ( * n a >oom on the north side court house. surface of the new CoaJ bin 'be used for parking Mrs beto the sheriff and other ■B 1 " officials. bin at the county infirmary * )e used to store coal for the er installed last year. The V in the past has been left in ™B open. Considerable difficulty jl mp t in this practice during when the coal froze. ON PAGE FIVE)

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

JURY RETURNS FIRST DEGREE MURDER CHARGE Thomas Indicted For Brutal Killing Os Harry Zumbrun Columbia City, July 6 — (U.R) — The Whitley county grand jury returned a first degree murder indictment shortly before noon today against Clarence E. Thomas, 31. of Tri Lakes, in connection with the slaying of Harry H. Zumbrun, 21. near Churubusco Friday. Thomas, who allegedly confessj ed the crime tot state police, may be arraigned this afternoon. Police today continued their search for additional evidence for use in sending Thomas to the electric chair for the murder. As fears of mob violence subsided after Thomas was removed to an unannounced county, authorities reported finding the hammer used to crush Zumbrun’s skull in his filling station four miles northeast of Churubusco. The victim’s billfold and monejf changer, and the butcher knife used to slash Zumbrun’s throat, had not yet been found. Glenn Thrapp. Kendallville, joint prosecutor for Whitley and Noble counties announced that the state will seek the death penalty. Authorities would not comment on the report that the slayer had of- : sered to plead guilty if he were Riven a life sentence instead of the death penalty. Thomas’ story, wrung from him by state police after he was confronted with his blood-splotched shirt and a picture of Zumbrun’s battered head, told of losing his money gambling in Fort Wayne. He stopped in the station, intending to rob Zumbrun. He hit his victim with the handle of the hammer first, but when Zumbrun fought beck, reversed the weapon and struck him several times about the left side of the head, j- (coNTuman on pagk two) WILL EXHIBIT NEW VARIETIES Demonstration Will Be Held At William Patterson Farm Farmers of Adams county are invited to visit the farm of Win. Patterson in Blue Creek township Wednesday at 10 a. m. to see a demonstration of some of the new oats and barley varieties furnished by the agronomy extension diI vision of Purdue University. Os I the nine oats varieties and four | barley varieties sent out by Purdue, which include the pick of the best varieties developed by the corn belt experiment stations, a I few of them will be seen on Indiana farms for the first time. Rapid strides have been made | by plant breeders in the past few I years in developing new varieties of early oats which have outstandi ing yielding ability and stiff straw I of medium size, along with other desirable qualities. The ability of the different varieties to produce despite the drought should be a matter of special interest this year. Mr. Beson of the agronomy department of Purdue will be present to discuss oats varieties and culture with Adams county farmers. In carrying on these field demonstrations one drill width of each variety is planted across the field so that an excellent opportunity is offered to compare their time of maturity, length of growth, stiffness of straw, disease resis-’ tance, yielding ability, etc., under similar soil conditions. As a I check on the value of these new varieties one or more local varieties are being grown for purposes of comparison. Among the most promising of the early varieties being tried are the Gopher and Wayne oats, especially well suited to the rich black soils, and the Columbia, adapted to the southern half of the oats belt in Indiana. Preliminary tests of these varieties have al-1 (CONTINUED ox PAGE FIVE) 0 Asks Concessionaires Apply Early For Space Dee Fryback, chairman of the; concessions committee for the Decatur Centennial celebration, to-. day urged all local persons desiring concession space to notify him at once. A large number of out-1 of-town requests for space have been received and iJecatur residents are warned to make their, reservations at once.

Three Die as Texas Flood Wrecks Train — —— ■ —■ — T" - MA ‘

The bodies of three persons, one a 10-year-old boy, were removed from wreckage pictured above, after a. Missouri Pacific freight train was derailed by flood waters near Kyle. Texas, boosting the known

CROP DEPLETING BASES ARE SET Township Committees Setting Agricultural Erosion Base The township allotment committees for the new agricultural soil erowion program in Adams county are now setting the official crop depleting bases for the various parts of the county. The bases are determined from the figures given as to soil depleting. soil conserving and idle land in the past, from the work sheets prepared by the owners-operators. Comparisons are made witTT other farms in the community. Consideration is made in determining the soil depleting crops this year for farmers who have participated in crop limitation programs in the past. The township committees will probably complete their work of setting the bases Tuesday or Wed-| nesday. At this time notices will be mailed all owners-operators | with the base announced for each farm. A limited time will be permitted for filing of appeals with the township committees for owners-operat-ors who are not satisfied with their bases for the year. The county base has already' been set by the state. For thisl base, consideration was given the, census figures, the yearly report on crop statstics in Indiana and the farmers own work sheets. WEATHER Generally fair tonight and Tuesday; warmer north portion. LOCAL MEN TO ATTEND MEET Avon Burk, I). W. McMillen To Be Honored By Hay Dealers Avon Burk, prominent Decatur grain deader, and D. W. McMillen, head of the McMillen industries located here, will be among the 21 past presidents of the National Hay association who will be honored at the meeting of the Northeastern Indiana Hay and Grain Dealers’ association tonight in ' Indianapolis. A banquet will be held for the past presidents of the organization in the Lincoln hotel. The meeting will continue over Tuesday, with election of officers scheduled for Tuesday a/ternoon, shortly before adjournment. Between 300 and 400 members ■ of the association are expected to attend. This is the forty-third I convention of the association. The meeting of the state grain dealers was held in Decatur several weeks jiago. Other Indiajia men who have headed the national association i and will be feted at the banquet tonight are: E. A. Wasmuth of ; Huntington, P. E. Goodrich, of | Winchester and Harry Diniue, of Roanoke. These four, with Mr. Burk and Mr. M'cMillen. are the i only Indiana, men ever to head the | national association.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, July 6, 1936.

» « STOPPED CLOCK ■I I Pranksters are suspected of ; upsetting Father Time's routine here. The courthouse clock, | | standard of time in the city j I | and county, was in an uproar j '; | today. The clock stopped at ] 3:20 Sunday morning, only to I start several hours later on a j . j “haywire" schedule with the l result that working hours were ' j thrown into confusion today. Clarence Beavers, local jewel- | | er. who winds the clock every [ week, states that he made his j 1 : | regular round Friday, and found | everything O. K. As very few j are familiar with the clock he i ■! | suspects Fourth of July cele- ! > i brants with having disturbed | i i | “Old Faithful.” nuWhonm IS announced I I Names Os 12 Girls To Attend Queen Are Announced Today The names of the 12 girls who i will form the “court of honor" for the Queen of Decatur and Adams county’s Centennial celebration August 2 to 8 were announced to- ; day by the publicity committee. One girl from each township was ' selected by the committee, through the cooperation of Mrs. E. W. Busche and the various home economics clubs. The girls se'ected and the respective township: Kathleen Kenney, Jefferson. Irene Girod, Kirkland. Helen Bohnke, Root. Mildred Helm, St. Mary’s. Beulah Barkley, Union. Wilma Miller, Washington. Leona Peck. Preble. Mildred Beer, French. Carol lluser. Wabash. Lola Patterson, Blue Creek. Ruth Bahner. Monroe. Betty Meshberger, Hartford. These girls will form the court of honor during the coronation of Freida Scherer, as Miss Decatur, with her two attendants. Mildred Teeple and Ruth Elzey, as Mies Indiana and Miss Adams County. The 12 girls will also receive special invitations to the luncheon held in the Holsum bakery in Fort Wayne Tuesday, July 14, in honor of the queen and her company. The coronation ceremonies will be a part of the huge pageant, held iin Niblick field, east of the St. ' Mary's river on August 2,3, and 4, the first three days of the celebration. o Jacob Wahli Rites Held This Morning Funeral services for Jacob Waitli, 64, who died at 5 o'clock Saturday morning at the Adams county infirmary, were held at 10 o'clock this morning at the L. L. Yager funeral home in Berne. Burial was made in the M. R. E. cemetery. > Mr. Wahli's death was due to dropsy. He wa» a resident of the Berne community for many years. Mr. Wahli was a native of Switzerland but spent the greater part of his life in and near Berne, where he was employed by farmers. He was never married. One brother, Abraham, is deceased.

death toll in the floor area to 21. Walter Teague, the youth who wias killed, was a partially blind boy on his way to a sight-saving school, accompanied by his father, who escaped.

■ SAFE AND SANE ! UNOBSERVED I No Serious Accidents Reported Over Double Holiday Decadur observed its most safe hnd sane Fourth of July in many years Saturday, with no serious accidents of any nature reported. No accidents nor injuries of i serious import were reported over the double holiday, despite the heavy flow of traffic by motorists taking full advantage of the Saturday and Sunday vacation. , Many hundreds of persons were . attracted to this city Saturday night to' witness the brilliant display of fireworks, staged Iby Adams post number 43 of the American Legion, as the climax to the I annual fourth district conference of the organization, held here all day the< Fourth. The legion conference opened with registration during the morning. A brief concert by the ! American Legion city band at 1 o'clock, was followed by the usual parade through the city’s business , district. Entertainment was pro- . vidcd at the Legion home at First . and Madison streets throughout 1 the afternoon and evening. . t The Decatur girls' band presented a long concert Saturday evening preceding the fireworks display. A dance at the Legion home 1 concluded the conference. ’ I The Decatur business district was a veritable bedlam of noise , Saturday night following the fire- •' works display. Young and old alike joined in the fun, and as long as the firecracker supply held, there was plenty of noise. Business generally wa# suspend(CONTiNUED ON PAGE FIVE) APPROVE FUND ALLOWED HERE State Tax Board Approves Special Appropriations By Council County Auditor John W. Tyndall today informed the county commissioners that the state tax board had approved the special appropriations, totaling $9,678 allowed by the county council a few weeks ago. This action will permit the letting of contracts for county improvements and repairs. Included in the special apppropriations were SBOO for the improvement of a room in the court house basement, and SI,BOO for the construction of a coal bin. ' The tax board allowed the bill for the repair of the side walks arourfd the court house and reducing the width of the north walk to permit diagonal parking. Appropriations of $175 for a new chimney at the county jail, $1,600 for a coal bin at the county infirmary and $l5O for books and stationery for the county assessor were allowed the county clerk for special deputy hire during the time when the registration books and cards were revised before the primary election. A request of SIOO for over-time and mileage during the registration period had been (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE)

EDDIE FREED SURRENDERS TO CHICAGO COPS Husband Os Suspected Chicago Killer Surrenders Today Chicago, July 6. — (U.R) —Eddie Freed, moon-faced "collector” for the Al Capone syndicate in prbhii bition's hey day, surrendered to po lice today to tell what he knew of events leading to the slaying of beautiful Annabelle Blake. Freed, part-owner of a "Hot-Cha Spot” along North Clark street's, tinseled "white way,” presented himself with his attorney, Abe Marovitz. He declined to give specific in-1 ■ formation on incidents which might have been responsible for the sudden, gun-climax which terminated ’ the career of the blonde play girl. | His pretty, burnette wife, Ruth, whom police suspect of a jealousy motive, did not appear but officers said she was expected either to- ! day or tomorrow. She was believled the mystery woman who fled from the Blake girl’s apartment a moment after the shooting. The United Press learned Mrs. Freed planned to walk into the Hudson street station shortly before 9 a. m. CST tomorrow. She has contacted her attorney through friends. Freed, brother-in-law of Jack Guzik. a Capone vice chief, said he had not seen his wife since the day of the killing. Shaken and haggard, he repeated over and over: "I can't believe It. I can’t believe that Ruth did it.” He was evasive when it came to explaining his acquaintance with the pint-a-day Annabelle whose diary told of drinking sprees with ’’Eddie.” "Oh. I knew her,” he said. “She used to come around the Nut House now and then.” Police have suggested that the (CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR) 0 RESOLUTION IS PASSED TODAY Township Trustees Take Action On Aid To Aged A joint resolution was passed today by the township trustees of Adame county in their regular monthly meeting banning persons from township aid who are eligible but refuse to apply for old age assistance. The action was taken after it was discovered that a number of persons over 70 years of age have reI fused to ask for old age assistance because of the necessity of placing liens on their properities. The liens are for the amount of money actually received from the county. By accepting township aid, aged persons can escape the liens. The trustees also agreed to continue the (practice of doing without a county truant officer. This is the third year since one has been employed. Ira Fuhrman, president of the Del catur school board, ami Hiram 1 Liechty, president of the Berno' [ school board, met with the trustees i this morning. It was agreed to have j the county superintendent and the ! city superintendents to act as attendance officers in their districts. The matter of hiring school bus drivers for the next school year was , discussed. o— Idlewine Infant Dies Last Night John Charles Idlewine of Geneva. one year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Idlewine, died at his parental home Sunday night at 11 o’clock of meningitis. Mr. Idlewine is employed at the Central Soya company in this city. The baby was 'born June 12, 1935, 'a son of Harold and Nellie Bixler-Idlewine. Surviving besides the parents is a two year old sister. Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 o’clock at the home and burial will be made in Linn Grove. — o — Berne Youth Hurt By Firecracker Edward Sprttnger. 16 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Sprunger of Berne suffered a burst right ear drum Saturday ■when a firecracker exploded in his hand.

Nations Holiday Death Toll More Than 400 Lives

LEAGUE VOTES FOR LIFTING OF SANCTIONS Committee Os 52 Lifts Economic Penalties On Italy (Copyright 1936 by United Press) Geneva. July 6 — (U.R) — The league of nations committee of I fifty-two — the assembly’s sanctions general staff —voted to lift economic penalties against Italy today. It ended an unsuccessful economic siege of Premier Benito Mussolini’s government and comIpleted the league’s abandonment of Ethiopia. Italy now is able to resume her exports of wines, fruit, olive oil. textiles, and other products to league members, thus checking the heavy drain on Rome’s gold reserves. She may also obtain loans and credits from league members to assist in the exploitation of Ethiopia and to help cover heavy war expenditures. The unsuccessful experiment with sanctions appeared to make it certain that never again will the league apply economic sanc- ' tions unless the nations near the zone of conflict are willing to apply military as well as economic penalties. In such an event the might ht? sskftd to vote economic measures to supplement whatever military efforts might be made against an aggressor. The resolution voted by th" committee of 52 today provided that sanctions would be terminat‘ed officially on July 15. M. Stev- ! enson of Great Britain formally proposed the lifting of sanctions ‘and set the date for effectiveness of the resolution. Portuguese and Swiss delegates had recommended July" 10 as the date. Coincident with the committee of 52’s meeting, the league secretariat published latest sanctions statistics showing that Italy lost $92,500,000 worth of gold between | November, 1935. and May. 1936. The figure one half ■ of the gold reserve maintained by | the Bank of Italy before the aprnvrvi'Rn ov P\GF TWO) Chamber Os Commerce Meeting This Evening The executive board of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce will meet at the Ric hotel tonight at 8 o’clock. All members are urged to attend, as important business will be discussed. o WORK MOVING AT CITY PLANT Excavating Work Progressing For Addition At City Plant Work is progressing on the excavation for the basement of the new addition at the city light and power plant building, North Third street. The basement will be 12 feet deep. The foundation for the 2,000 KWH turbine will be built from the ground floor level to the height required. The condenser will be located in the basement. The general contract work is being done by the Indiana Engineering and Construction company of Fort Wayne. Removing of the dirt will be completed this week. The Yost brothers’ steam shovel is being used in making the excavation. W. C. Bevington of the engineering firm of Bevington and Williams, Inc., Indianapolis, consulting engineer on the job, will be in the city again Tuesday to confer with city officials relative to the project. George Hereth is the PWA engineer on the job and David Baker has been employed by Mr. Bevington to represent the city. The building and turbine foundation will be constructed as one job and separate bids will be received by the city for* the piping and necessary connections to be made to the condenser and turbine.

Price Two Cente.

Double Holiday Death Toll Less Than Predicted ; Deaths By Fireworks Abnormally Small. ( ROW!) BEACHES (Copyright 1936 by United Press) The nation today counted its toll of lives in mishaps during the independence day celebration at more than 400. A United Press survey by states showed that at least 408 had died by accident. The number of fatalities resulting from fireworks was abnormally small, only seven, and in view of the record breaking movement of the population to resorts, parks, lakes, and beaches the toll from other accidents was considerably smaller than predicted by insurance company statisticians. Millions crowded highways to seek relief from the hot summer July 4 at resorts and at least 207 of them were killed in automobile, mishaps. Os the hundreds of thousands who went to rivers, lakes, and beaches, 111 were drowned. Five died in airplane accidents, and other accidents claimed a toll of at least 78 lives. The death list was regarded as surprisingly small by safety authorities who had anticipated a greater loss of life than at any time since the start of the depression. More people were on the move, more money was spent by celebrators and the general tenor us the holiday was of more hilarious nature than at any time since 1931. Officials of the national safety council attributed the relatively small automobile casualty list to safety campaigns conducted in newspapers. Likewise, “safe and sane" campaigns and drastic re(CONTINUED ON PAGE TWO) FAVOR PETITION FROM TRUSTEES . School Superintendent’s Office Will Not Be Changed The county commissioners today allowed a petition presented by township trustees requesting that the office of the county superintendent of school's office be left in its present location on the second floor of the court house. The resolution was prepared at the regular meeting of the trustees in County Superintendent of Schools Clifton E. Striker’s office this morning. It read: "We, the undersigned township trustees of Adams county, respectfully petition your honorable 1 board and ask that the office of the county superintendent of schools 'be left to occupy the same rooms now occupied by that, office.” It was signed by 11 trustees. Eli Dubach, trustee of Hartford township, was unable to attend the meeting today. The petition followed the suggestion that the county superintendent’s office be moved to a basement room in order that the second floor rooms might be occupied by the new county welfare board. As the work of the welfare director of Adams county is also combined with probation work through the Adams circuit court, it had been suggested that it would be advantageous to have the two rooms on the same floor. Several township trustees stated they were opposed to the change because of the expense of moving the equipment now located on the second floor. The library for the township schools is now located on the second floor across the hall from the superintendent’s office. The commissioners announced that they approved the petition because of the difficulty some of the older persons might meet in climbing the three flights of stairs to make application for old age assistance and to visit the director or members of the board. Bids will be advertised for the refinishing of the room in the Court house basement and for the construction of an outside stairs as soon as the specifications are prepared. The room is now used to store coal.