Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 35, Number 28, Decatur, Adams County, 2 February 1937 — Page 1

f XXXV. No. 2S -

I'uer Conditions K t Cairo Watched I By All Observers

K, To Beat River At Kiro Watched Closely ■hrouuhout lowlands ■. River Mounts. ■tROI.I.OIISMI 1 .K K~, F ,.|, 2- <U.R> 'll K?'nt woikin* 011 K; , mianl within Oil* w: 'll' H* tniill v waiting behind Its Ke ami .ai ti>-» bi"« s,w,,rk '‘ K, yellow uo-i "f "at ion’s ■ flood Kind down th- 'lissHsippt. Kmed northward to Cairo I > ■ hlt was going "> hu|»p.-n K major test between the K dollar levee system and ■real flood M° sl ,ownß felt K Cairo could beat it. they ■ too ■fO-U fe''t below the water ■ inpla.es stripped for bat■wn ami .liihlr-n bad been ■m< Military orders were K through the streets. bulkheads had been ■on top of ilie concrete wall ■ the town, and tlmre ■ 64-foot high obstruction Kt wiu.h the Ohio pounded, ■toward the Mississippi river the crest of the Ohio flood. Kime in the next 4S hours it ■ jtrike here. Then Hi. kman. B New Madrid. Mo.. Tipton- ■ Tenn , and Helena and Mell■.Ark., all on the Mississippi, ■blr will know their fate. ■ flood crest left disaster, ind disease behind it. I’aK Kr was a ruined, deserted ■where water lapped around Barn nests and :>■>: led houses ■t 34.000 persons once lived. Biisrille counted 211 dead as Bi opened for the first time B w "*-k The water moved out ■the threat of epidemic and a B>nt:ne was established over ■m of 12 squat- q,.. : in tlu» B" -' t the (thio and Mise■pi valleys thei were 385 per- ) ■ dead I.'"mi.ims ! homeless and ■ftti.iw worth of property B* latest flood victims were ■let who were - wept into the ■ tearXew Madrid. Mo., when ■el barer carrying 100 persons ■ in a spillway. ■e bodies wen recovered from BKronit flowing waters and a. ■ was located. Unofficial re- ■ were that ten more men ■ missing and probably drown- ■ Tile five bodies were idenli-I ■ it: ■rl Ballard, Clyde Scott, ajtd C. ■Barker. Wardell. Mo.; Frank ■. Matthews. Mo., and Jeff ■r. Catron. Mo. ■Ming toward this scene of ■ first major struggle between ■ made walls and the Missis- ■ were members of President flood commission ■of them an expert in the B Patrol Area ■iwlle. Ky, Feb. 2 - (U.R) — troops patrolled a. second ■nine area of 15 blocks of ■OXTISTEP ON page FIVE) pm CLAIMS MS. BIEBERICH fr Sophia Bieberich Pjs This Morning In I Preble Township f - Bieberich. 74, well Preble township resident ■-t her home this morning at ■ "doc!; after a three year IP.K due to convplica* deceased had been bedfaet I K. ’ ® Mt th fee days. She was ! ■ , ‘, ed,na Mun'y. Ohio JanuBA, 863 ' Her husband, John, preEj er to death 16 years ago. E ’ as a member of the St- ■ ' Lutheran church in Preble 1 ■■nip. ton?/ V 6 the following child-! fcm vri PrebletoWnehi P ; Emil, kp.'/, igan; Mrs - Otto Ehler■uier n WnShip: Mre ‘ K? ’ , 1,16 township and grandchfi ; j rcr . kd? 1 , Bervlces win b e he’d! Ke an/ erDoon at 1:30 at the K's Ltnh M 2 tfclock at the St. r Lutheran church in Preble Ke±* !w ® be made lha E'er »ni tery ’ The Rev - W. H. K Warned f ° ftl(:late - The body the z ’’ick funE. t 0 1116 home this after-

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

BROTHERHOOD HEARS MAYOR Mayor Holthouse Speaks To Evangelical Men’s Brotherhood Mavor Arthur Holthouse addresses! the men of the brotherhood of the Evangelical church last evening on the operation of the city government and the buildDecatur program. Robert Garard, who has been ! employed by the Daily Democrat i for more than 25 years, and a.sso- j elated with Mayor Holthouse in the newspaner business for >• ) nuarter century, was chairman of , the meeting. Alva Buffendw.rger. | president of the brotherhood, pre-! sided at the business session. t "The faith our forefathers had , in Decatur should inspire us to do > greater things in community endeavor." the mayor said in his opening remarks. Mayor Holthouse urged ths.' the proposed school and contmunitv j center building by wholeheartedly and enthusiastically sunnorted bv the peonle. "The building should be designed and constructed with the idea of serving the children and the public as a whole, making it a community gathering place, a recreational and educational center, and the city'o expression of its hospitality to guests. Let’s ; work it out before we bit lid it." the speaker stated The eartv historv of the water ".bd electric department was told ’ bv the speaker. He told that in ■ 1895. when the water works was ‘ established, the first ordinance provided for water charges based on the number of houses harbored by the patron. The electric department started ' with a 125 H. P. Corliss engine, sufficient to produce 125 kilowatts. Today the modern plant has 6700 H. P. and can produce 5.000 kilowatts by running the ' (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) SCOUT BANQUET NEXT TUESDAY Annual Bov Scout Banquet To Be Held At K. Os P. Home The fifth annual Adams County Boy Scout banquet will be held in the Knights of Pythias home Tuesday evening. February 9, at 6:15 o’clock. In addition to the Boy Scouts, members of the Rotary and Lions clubs will attend in a body. Regu lar meetings for these two organ iztaions will be suspended next week. Parents of the boys will attend. Members of the cub pack and officials have also been extend ed an invitation to attend. Tickets are selling for 2a cents for the boys and 50 cents for the men. They may be purchased from the scoutmasters. Pumphrey Jew . elry store, and the offices of the' Central building and the public high school. A talk will be made by Richard Van Horn, new Scout executive of the Anthony Wayne area council. This will be the first time for a number of persons interested in Scouting to meet the new executive. During the evening a court of honor will be held, with W. Guy Brown, principal of the Decatur high school, in charge. Boys will be admitted to each of the ranks of Scouting, which are second class, first class, star, life and eagle. Fred Carson, son of the Rev. and Mrs. H. R. Carson, will achieve the eagle class ranking, highest in Scouting. Don Bixler, who has already been admitted to this rank, will be given an eagle palm for obtaining five additional merit (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) Ministers To Meet Thursday Morning The Deca.tur ministerial association will meet at the Presbyterian manse Thursday morning at 9 o'clock. The ‘‘every member canvase” will be discussed. Early plans for Good Friday services will also be made, besides minor business.

Workers Seek Safety of Steamers F ■■ r er— — — I I ** . „ 7 " : A*'' • 1 ■ -— -“■* *ir Jaf —X<--< After the collapse of the Bessie. Tenn., levee, workers who had battled for days to hold the Mississippi River in check were forced to give up the fight and flee to the safety of the steamers, which a/e shown standing by as the flood waters pour over the retaining wall.

ANNUAL BAZAAR HERE TOMORROW Annual K. Os C. Bazaar Will Be Held Wednesday Night The annual Knights of Columbus bazaar will be held at the K. of C. hall Wednesday night. Games of various kinds will start at 7:30 o’clock, with card games, i consisting of rhum, pinochle, and bridge starting at 8 o’clock. Prizes will be given in each of the games i and contestsA dance will be held from 10 ' o'clock until 1, with music furnished by Hal Teeter. Both round and square dancing will be held, with Frej Schurger conducting the square dance. The entire K. of C- hall has been ' • attractively decorated, with 256 : lights strung on the ceiling, festooned with red. white and blue ribbons, the colors of the American K. of C. Admission price for the evening’s! entertainment will be 25 cents per , I person. A large crowd was in attendance at the regular meeting .of the Knights of Columbus Monday night, when final plans were made for the bazaar. Robert Gage, grand knight of the I local council, announsed at the meeting that the Decatur council, 'cooperating with 250 other K- of C. units in the United States and Canada, will seek facts concerning Com(CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) | LOCAL LADY'S BROTHER DIES Mrs. May Ketchum’s Brother Dies In Des Moines, lowa Word has been received here by Mrs. Mary Ketchum of the death of her brother, William F. Barr, dean ; of the Drake university whose home (is in Des Moines. lowa. Death occurred last Wednesday to the former school teacher of Ad\arns county, following a two-year ' il'ness. He was 71 years of age. He started his teaching in the Kelly school in Jefferson township 52 j years agoThe deceased was born in Newark Ohio but at an early age moved to Wabash township near Geneva. He left Indiana for Drake university in 1900. He was nationally known as an j educationalist and letcurer. In 1917 • he spoke at the Adams county in-j stitute. j Surviving are two brothers, Stan-, ley Barr, of Devil’s Lake, North Da-| i kota and Charles, of Frankfort; the sister, Mrs. Mary Ketchum, of this ■ \ city. Funeral services were held in lowa at the home Friday afternoon and burial was made at Greene, , jlowa. ...

Decatur, Indiana, Tuesday, February 2, 1937.

!♦ - ♦ SIX MORE WEEKS — Those who trust in the ability ! | of Mr. Groundhog as a weather | prophet can prepare today for i| six more weeks of wintry weath--11 er. The old fellow, unless | I j equipped with a pair of smoked glasses, undoubtedly saw his j shadow this morning, as he laz- | | | ily emerged from his winter quarters. According to the old time I i | fable, the groundhog, if as wise | ' J as he should be. crawled back into his lair for another six | weeks of hibernating. A bright sun this morning held the temp- | | erature around 20 degrees | | above zero. ♦ ♦ COL. LINDBERGH BEACHES HOME Col. And Mrs. Lindhergh Land At Rome Airport Today Rome, Feb. 2— (UP) —Col. and Mre. Charles A. Lindbergh landed at Littorio airport here at 5:05 P m. today from Pisa, Italy, where they had spent laet night after flying from EnglandLindebergh an<] his wife, flying the Colonel's new monoplane, a Milee Mohawk, left the airport at Pisa at 3 p. m. They made the 170mile flight south along the west cqast of Italy to Rome in 2 hours and 5 minutee, without incident. The flying couhple ’eft Lympne airdrome in Southern England yesterday, giving no details of their destination or route. Officials believed the Lindberghs were bound (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) 1

United Press Writer Tells Plight Os Flood Refugees

Rv Henrv McLemore (Convright 19X7 shy United Press) Caruthersville, Mo., Feb. 2 —(U.R) —For three hours l»f<t night I was a share-cronper refugee and lived the life of those pitifully wretched creatures whose everything has been swept away in the flood waters of the Mississippi. I ate their 14 cent dinner, with a main course of salted sow belly. I spra.wled with them on their coarse straw pellets. I listened to them tell of their frantic exodus from the bottomland shacks when the Mississippi surged over its bank to become a death stream, 22 miles wide, instead of a life stream, ba.rely two miles across. There are more than six hundred refugees in this little city, and more are straggling in each hour. They represent the ultimate in poverty. They had nothing before the flood. Now they have less. Caruthersville, safe behind a seawall as staunch as that of any Flemish town, is doing its best for 1

FIBE DAMAGES PADUCAH. KY. Threatens Business Section Before Flames Are Controlled Paducah, Ky.. Feb. 2. KUPJ —Fire originating in several unoccupied cottages in an unflooded section of I the residential district, threatened ; for a time today to destroy the portion of Paducah's business district that remained above flood I waters of the Ohio river. Three unoccupied dwellings, and the buildings of the Independent and Bradley coal companies were destroyed before the blaze was ■ brought under control and extingi uished by the coast guard. Half of the building occupied by the i City Consumers Coal company also was burned. The business buildings damaged I and threatened were located near the main business disffrief. Cause of the fire was not determined. although the cokst guard suspected that it resulted from fires started for warmth by a few hundred scattered residents who have not obeyed an order to leave the city until it is again pronounced safe for human habitation. Meantime, the Ohio, spreading out to a width of 10 miles, reached its crest of 60 feet and six Inches. It must drop more than 10 feet before steps can be taken to restore the city’s wrecked wat- 1 er w'orks. The remainder of the city's 34,000 normal population had scatter(CONTTNUED ON PAGE FIVE) o WEATHER Generally fair and warmer tonight: Wednesday cloudy and i unsettled, warmer.

the refugees. But Caruthersville is no Memohis, no Birmingham, i no New Orleans. It ha.s no huge i auditorium, hospitals, or other I buildings to use as shelter. The hospital is set up in the basement i of the Baptist church, the coml missary is in the town's one vacant building—a red front, frame affair sadly in need of repair, and the : sleeping quarters are everywhere ’ from the Frisco Ibox cans on the , railroad tracks to the floor of an , abandoned hand laundry. It was in the hand laundry that .’I stayed with the refugees. I ; stayed two hours. A minute more , i and I would not have been able to write this story. Visualize, it you can a bed room 30 feet by 14 feet, with fifty persons sleeping in it. There’s not a slither of ventilation, for there is not a single window in the room j and the door, which opens on a 1 main street, must be tightly clos'j ed if there is to be any privacy ‘ (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE)

DEVASTATION IS SHOWN AS WATEBSBECEDE Southern Indiana Damage To Mount Into Many Millions Evansville, Ind., Feb. 2.—<U.R> Slowly receding flood waters of the Ohio river today left behind them scenes of devastation along I the 250-mile southern Indiana border. Damage mounted into the millions. the actual amount only to be determined after at least two months of rehabilitation efforts. Engineers moving in with "mop up" crews said the flood receded so slowly the Ohio will not be back within its normal banks for two < weeks. Evansville, largest city along I the southern border, threw its resources to an early resumption of normal business as the first step toward rehabilitation and began putting men back to work at their . regular employment. Other cities eastward upstream were not in position to move so rapidly. National guard engineers surveyed New Albany, a city of more I than 25,000. and estimtaed loss anywhere from $10,000,?00 to SIOO,000.000. A WPA survey of the city showed 3.345 of the 6.617 homes affected by the flood. Nearby Jeffersonville was even more seriously damaged. Out of 3,900 homes, about 3,800 WeTe effected. At Aurora, population 5,000, the damage was estimated at $1,500,-1 000 with between 300 and 400 homes damaged. Evansville's preliminary estimate of its damage reached $17,1 000,000. Some of the smaller communities were wiped out completely. Plans were made to rebuild all of Leavenworth on higher ground. Major General Robert H. Tyn-; dall, commanding national guard troops enforcing martial law along ! the river front, established a new ' system of passes to prevent a cons fusing influx of sightseers and I premature return of residents be- ■ fore sanitary precautions can be - takeh. | Warnings against dangers of fire and epidemic were issued. I R. Earl Peters, state director of (lOONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) o FLOODS DAMAGE INDIANA ROADS Heavy Damage To State Highways Is Caused I i By Floods . Indianapolis, Feb. 2.~<U.R>—Flood damage to Indiana's highway system will total hundreds of thousands of dollars, highway commission engineers estimated today as . prelimnary survey of bridges and receding waters permitted a prepavement destroyed or weakened by high water. "Highway engineers will check all bridges and other structures to see whether they are safe for traffic,” James D. Adams, chairman of the commission said. "Dozens of small bridges and culverts must be replaced and miles of pavement and other highway surface must be rebuilt before normal traffic can be resumed on all state highways." Early reports showed bridges and temporary structures washed out or damaged on road 1 near Wayne-Randolph county line, Hagerstown and Pennville; on road 29 near Shelbyville; on road 42 near Terre Haute; on road 46 near Bowling Green and south of Spencer; road 47 west of Sheridan and road 257 near Pikesville. The high fill on rttad 37 north of Bedford has been damaged and similar damage has occurred on road 50 west of Brownstown, road 54 west of Bloomfield, road 46 south of Spencer, road 41 near Haeleton, according to the engineers. Damage to the fill and pavement (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) O Final Pre-Easter Dance At Elks The Decatur chapter of the B. P. O- Elks lodge will hold the final dance before Easter at the home on North Second street Saturday night, starting at 9:30 o’clock. A good orchestra has been obtained for the dance, which will be for Elks ana invited guests. AdmisIsion will be 50 cents per couple.

Strifee Situation In Auto Industry Growing Critical

FLOOD RELIEF DRIVE CLIMBS OVER $5,500 Adams County Fund Reaches Record Total; More Is Sought Zooming over the $5,500 mark this morning, the Red Cross relief [fund of the Adams county chapter continued In its climb to unpreced ented heights. Wai Wemhoff. chairman of the! chapter, stated that the fund is now fulfilling the highest expectations of the more optimistic members. The total figure now exceeds that of any fund raised by the Red Cross in Adams county for emergency relief, including last year's Pittsburgh flood, the Mississippi disaster of years ago. and all tornado and earthquake relief work appeals. The total at 10 o'clock this morning was $5,534.46. With the radio announcement last night from Cary T. Grayson, I Red Cross national chairman, that more than the first quota of $lO.-1 ! 000.000 would be needed, every Red Cross worker and sympathiz-l l ed was asked to redouble his ef- | forts in adding more contributions Ito the present total. Among the large contributions that swelled this morning' total were: Krick-Tyndall company employes. SSB; Zion Lutheran church,! $41.70; _ Zion Reformed church, $30.38; Geneva, $81.21; Monroe M. I E. church, $36.65 and the check 1 from Berne for $303.25. Citiens are now endeavoring to enlarge the total in every way possible, Mr. Wemhoff stated. In one instance, a local Adams county farmer made a special trip to 1 market, selling a hog for $21.50 and turning the entire sum over I to the fund. The drive will continue indefi-! nitely without a let-up. Mr. Wem-; hoff stated this morning. A complete list of donors from Saturday morning until 10 o’clock this morning will be found elsewhere in tonight’s issue of the Daily Democrat. | o Mrs. R. D. Myers To Review Book Mrs- R. D. Myers will review) “Gone With the Wind”, by Margaret | Mitchell at the Library Wednesday | evening at 7:30 o'clock. An admission price of 25c will be charged. —o Woman’s Club Plans For Party Thursday Tickets are npw on sale by the Civic Section of the Woman’s club for the public bingo party to be held at the Masonic hall Thursday evening at 8 o’clock. The ticket includes 15 games of bingo. Food will be served and the public is urged to attend. WILL DISCUSS SCHOOL MERGER Meet Thursday To Discuss Monroe-Berne School Merger School patrons and taxpayers of Berne, Monroe, and Monroe township are urged to attend a meeting in the Monroe high school assembly room, Thursday evening at 7:30 o’clock, to discuss the proposed plans to form a joint town and township school unit. The law pertaining to the organi-' zaztion of the unit will be discussed. Patrons will have an opportunity to ask questions and express their sentiments concerning the proposal. At the meeting plans will be discussed thoroughly on the possiblities of consolidating the Berne and Monroe township schools, and people Interested in the matter are urged to attend. A meeting was held here last Monday with taxpayers of Monroe township, and the town of Monroe attended- The plan was explained to them by Supt. E. MWebb of the Berne schools, and others, and a lot of interest was shown. It has been proposed to merge the schools of the entire township into two units, with one building here and one at Monroe. I)

Price Two Cents.

Lewis Leaves Washington For Detroit; Roosevelt Shows Growing Concern Over Conditions. STRIKERS HUNGRY Flint, Feb. 2— (U.R) —Circuit Judge Paul V. Gadola today granted General Motors Corporation an injunction ordering the evacuation of two Flaher Body Corporation plants by approximately 1,000 sit-down strikers, affiliated with the United Auto Workers of America. National guardsmen swarmed down on the Chevrolet Motor Company's plant No. 4 today, smashed down pickets' boxes, removed a union sound truck from inside the strike zone, and turned four men over to Flint authorities on charges of inciting to riot. Several companies of troops, armed with riot guns, tear gas, and rifles with bayonets marched to the plant shortly before 2 p. m. Without preliminaries the troops hacked down picket boxes with axes. Flint, Mich., Feb. 2-4U.R>—Hun-gry sit-down strikers in the Chev- | rolet motor company’s No. 4 plant went food less at the lunch hour today as John L. Lewis, head of the committee for industrial organization, prepared to leave WashI ington to fight their battle in this , strike-torn area. Lewis’ office announced at noon that the militant C. I. O. leader would entrain for Detroit this afi ternoon, arriving early Wednesday. At that hour. 1,200 or more ] sit-down strikers here were denied their second meal through the vigilance of the Michigan national I guard which permitted none save i accredited newspapermen to enter | the widespread strike area over ! which they maintain constant I guard. Almost simultaneously, officials ) of General Motors Corporation and the United Automobile Workers of America issued statements expressing their respective view of yesterday’s disturbances here — n riot in which 15 persons were injured, and the forcible occupation |of the No. 4 plant fey sit-down strikers. Lewis' associates in the committee for industrial organization. | strike sponser. did not immediate- ) ly explain the specific reason for his trip. It was thought possible however, I that Gov. Frank Murphy of Michigan may have arranged a new peace conference of some sort to be held in Detroit. Lewis will arrive in Detroit at 8:05 a. m. tomorrow. His sudden decision to leave the capitol for the scene of the bitter strike conflict came at a moment when federal mediation efforts here appeared at a virtual standstill. Administration concern over the situation was growing. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins presented a full report on conditions by telephone to President Roosevelt today. The possibility that Lewis was going to Detroit to be on hand for some new mediation effort was not confirmed. C. I. O. spokesmen said only that Lewis wished to confer on the scene with the leaders of his United Automobile workers union who have conduct(CONTTNTTED ON PAGE THREE) 0 Equipment Bought By Commissioners The county commissioners at 3 o'clock this afternoon announced the purchase of an Adams maintainer for the county highway department from the J. D. Adams i company of Indianapolis for $795 70. A Case tractor equipped with rubber tires was purchased from the J. I. Case company of consin. / o y Three Street Lighr Out Os Cq/ Three of the Ights on North Lh° tween Monroe as in the were knockemit of the last night, made reelther to apits will be on superintendcab’e.yxated. ■ — Mcxyr pay f