Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 35, Number 297, Decatur, Adams County, 17 December 1937 — Page 1

V. No. 297.

SOWNSEND PLAN FOR INDUSTRY j* r ' i - *'• 01 *'■ Offlek'l - Guests Al I ■Luncheon <u,R) ;| 111 T D’ " ■U M■> 1 'i'‘’' v||S '' llll '"'i-y 1, . . . ,r.. U|;|l «B«i|( J ,| | >' ; :■>■’■' fgrßLw | l.::ts in Inilimn goVSHI)' suggested that all " ,|F fclerest4d ninii’iii i<-s inform lie the '“Siffi > r .'ire able to offer miirms should list property, estimai g < E„„ jK-. lion facilities ■^■Biuswoi s n ’" Townsend said. Mwel”"" recovering from a B I' qieration. was nn to at' '*>•• me. line and hiKLjgJas id by Dick Heller. i* 1 American industry, after several iBreWS ot Bcomparative inactivity, crowing ■send said. "It is reaching out and It is searching for new like the average houselooker, 111 wants to find a place ■where it will lie comfortable and Is.mre. ■ wants a home that will ■ down over night." I Indiana able to offei* this ’ industry, the Mtu lareßdust .Jos to Indiana by ' '' IUS discriminating ibdustries. We have Wnotlsaie ■■'> to such extri mes a< HufSfl^Kpnt free and tax free ■ siujSMfe lave not found it nev-e our labor and hold ■ out th«jbrnt of cheap labor. W> \ ■ can Msutd n our record.” I The joi rnor listed five ma i r ■ reasag®*’y industry should be ■ kwate I EediaS ■ liter of Arnerh :i. is 'he ' ■''crtMEß*' (,f the nation.” with s J excellent transportation laciiiii- - I of * I 2. Jffliia a has a "peaceful labor il i-latiouK policy no other state can I (COfJßl' I’llD ON PAGE SIX I

WOR BLIND HERE S 11113(1 SI 1 vnß **i “Flower Sale" Conducted In Saturday I Is within. Yet being || A I book is all they find. Tte'Mok is open- and t!" y see.' There it no work more worthy than that done in belialf of the j biin&'MMcat iir -will have the opporj !a Mty nf sharing in this work SatI ntiitMM a "Elower Sale” will 'be p'ea is written in be'la« blind of the country it brings mind what Helen Keller aptljf ity. "There is no lovelier wa f fft lhank God for your sight iltaa by lending a helping hand to somjonehn the dark." the local sponsors ar" O/M Prugli, Rev. Fr. Joseph jeiafe'Sl Mayor A. R. Holthouse. Lozier. Rev. R. W. Graham. Drland Mrs. Fred Patterson. Mra. Wn, a. Klepper, Mrs. Joint T DMaU.|Miss Elizabeth Frisiuger •'iliße .jp change of the sale and 'imncestwith headquarters in the city halt. ~ Brotherhood exists ON PAGE SIX) /£{t> e ryb o dy and uses Christmas Seals f|»t,SCREENINGS GlkL j < SC °L : i-djlfe ! WHO - B i tHmt A. Ar”’rrooii 6 Shopping Days Left

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Free Clinic For Motorists Monday A free clinic for motorists will be held ut the Riverside Super Ser- i I vice on east Monroe street next' Monday under the supervision of ■hick Ellsworth, garage proprietor. ' Motor, Ignition, carburatlon and : all units of the ears that enter the station will be checked with a MotoLab, newly installed equipment of ' the garage. The clinic will be conducted all , day Monday with a staff of service | men in attendance. CHURCHES PLAN XMAS PROGRAMS Churches Os City To Present Christmas Programs Sunday Vari ms churches of the city are planning special Christmas pro-1 1 grams, which will be presented' [ Sunday. December 19. Programs 1 for these special services, as an- 1 nounced today, are as follows: — FIRST EVANGELICAL 10:10 a. m. Organ prelude—Selected. Invocation. Recitation —“Welcome”— Jac- ’ quelin LutzRecitation —“Welcome” — Roger 1 ' Johnson. Recitation —“One Word"— Clar- > ence Cottrell. I Recitati.n —“Your Presents"— I ! Jack Hahnert. Exercise —“Christmas Messeng j ers" —David Cole, Amy Lou Reyn- I I olds. Eloise Feasel, Clara Bell I ; Brown. Recitation —“The Answer"—Mar-' 1 ! vin Stucky. ’ Recitation —“The Longest Day" j < —Richard McConnell. Recitation—“ The Lovely Story" 1 —Joan Mitchell. ■' Vocal solo — Selected, Bobby I Smith. 1 1 Recitation — “The Christmas 1 I Guest’'—Rodger C-le. Recitation—“My Gift for Him" < ; —Dwight Sheets, Jr. ' Recitation—“ Orders Are Orders” |( I —Marcus Foreman. Exercise — “The Star on the 1 Tree’ ’— Dora Bruunegraff. Jane, I Hooten. Ruth Smithly. Barbara 1 1 Anspaugh, Norma Johnson, Jac- 1 quelin Warren. Recitation —“Our Wish”— Ned, Myers. ' 1 Recitation — Selected — Jimmy i Cairns. Recitation— “My Christmas Penny”—Eddie Swager. Message —“The Spirit of Christmas"—The minister. Offertory and offering. Exercise —“Christmas Carols Junior Myers, Carl Kolter, Donald Brunnegraff. Jerry Ketchum, Gene 1 Myers. Richard Cottrell. Recitation — “The Christinas Face”—Dale Smitley. | Recitation—“ Christmas Candles" | c —Roberta Swager. d Vocal solo - Selected — Hubert 1 1 Feasel. I r Recitation —“The Secret - Co-j leen Edgell. 8 Recitation —"The Reason Why —Bobby Smith. |g Exercise —"Christmas”— JackReynolds, Roberta Swager. Norma 1 j Wilson, Rodger Gentis. Billie Wey-p ant Ralph Schnitz. Jane Daily, y - . t

I '(CONTINUED ON PAGE SEVEN) | ESCAPADES OF YOUTHS PROBED I Three Young Men ReI ported To Have Knocked Over Mail Boxes The escapades of three local voting men were under the surveillance of federal postal authorities today as Postal Inspector Lytle of Fort Wayne, opened an investigation into wholesale upsetting of ■ rural mail boxes. ' The three young m en, according to local authorities, were returning from Bluffton Tuesday nigh*, aLegledly under the influence of intoxicating beverages, when they con-j jceived the idea of bowling over I mall boxes. , Using a car, "borrowed from a I local car dealer, employer of one of .the boys, the lads allegedly ran ! down 13 mail boxes. posts and all, i before returning to the city. The car they were driving was oqquipped with a large wooden ) plank on the front, used to push-in I cars as a wrecker auto During the series of mail box upsettings, the p’an.k was broken off but the lads reportedly coutinu„H ’ in their (property damaging "spree." One of the lad’s shoes was also found along the route. After several calls from residents along the route, Sheriff Dallas (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX)

LUDLOW VOTING PLAN OPPOSED BY ROOSEVELT President Opposes National Referendum On M ar Proposal Washington, Dec. 17 — (U.R) President Roosevelt was asked today whether lie thought a national 1 referendum on war was consistent with the representative form of; government. He answered with an , emphatic no. A national referendum before , any declaration of war —except in , ease of invasion—would be provided by the Ludlow proopsed amend- . ment to the constitution. A petition forcing the Ludlow proposal 1 to the house floor Jan. 10 just has ; i been completed. Mr. Roosevelt's sharp no was his only statement on the war refer-1 endiini issue. When the question was asked he replied simply that 1 the easiest way to answer that j question was in the negative and t j said nothing more. Mr. Roosevelt's opposition to the proposal of Rep. Louis Ludlow. D., Indiana, followed vigorous objection to the referendum plan expressed by Secretary of State , 1 Cordell Hull on Wednesday. , Mr. Roosevelt offered no com- I 1 ment on developments resulting 1 from the sinking of the U. S. gunboat Panay. He referred inquiries ( to the state department. The president's press conference ', today was brief. It opened with a question as to,, whether he had rejected an offer' 1 from private sources for the pur- ' chase of government barge lines operated on the Mississippi and ; ; Warrior rivers. Mr. Roosevelt ■ said he had not thought of the matter for a year but that the lines were operating at a profit [ and there appeared to be no particular reason for their sale. He said he had not yet fixed a definite date for resumption of meetings with private utility executives seeking a closer understanding between the administration and the utilities. Speaking of railroad loans, he I said that small loans in FArtatn 1 emergency cases did not mean a (CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE) O DEATH CLAIMS MRS. RAINIER — Well Known Decatur Lady Dies Early This Morning Mrs. Nancy Jane Rainier. 87, one of Decatur’s best known citizens, died this morning at 2:45 o'clock at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Agnes Andrews, 615 Madison street. Death followed a two days’ illness She suffered a heart attack Tuesday j night at 10:30 o'clock and never regained consciousness. The deceased was a lifelong resident of Adams county and had lived in the city for the past 37 years. She was born in Blue Creek 1 township May 20, 1850, the daugh-1 ter of Washington and Mary Bro- ■ kaw-Gllpen. On October 27, 1866 she was married to Dr. C. T. Rainier, j who preceded her in death June 27,

11816. She was a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of this city. Surviving are the following children: Mrs. Agnes Andrews, with whom she made her home; Mrs. !Forrest Andrews, of Monroe; Mre. | Walter Rosenwinkle and C. L. Rainier, both of Fort Wayne. Eleven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren also survive. Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock at the home and burial will be made in the , Decatur cemetery. The Rev. R. W. | Graham, ipastor of the First M. E. church, will officiate. The body was to be returned to i the home at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon from the S'. E. Black funeral home and may be viewed there un-, [til time so rthe funeral Sunday. | o Buys Health Bond ♦ -*1 The Junior Arts club of this city has voted the purchase of: a $5 health Christmas Seals! “co“n- --■ ty tuberculosis association, W. Guy Brown, president, announced today. Proceeds of the sales Buy and Use Them aid victims of the disease and to give milk to un- ; dernourished children of Decatur. ,

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN A DAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, December 17, 1937.

Dispute Rages Over War Bill • a Dudley A. White Louis Ludlow Widespread support to keep the United States from entering a war. unless attacked, until after a vote l>y the people in a nation wide referendum. was evidenced in both house and senate as the issue was brought to a head by a bill introduced by Congressman Louis Ludlow of Indiana, standing. Although at first deadlocked in the judiciary ! committee, the measure was released for consideration by tlie house when Congressman Dudley A. White. Republican, of Ohio, seated. I became U e 2LBth member to sign the petition disclffirging the committee. Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin announced that he would introduce a companion bill in the upper chamber when the | regular session convenes in January. The move is opposed by the administration on grounds that the process might be dangerously slow in event of actual threat of war.

HOUSING BOARD SEEKS PROJECT Decatur Housing Authority Makes Federal Application The Decatur housing authority is taking immediate steps to effect k fl»e local cooperation in order to participate in a $50,000 project to I construct homes for low income j classes of this city A meeting of the board was held Thursday as- . ternoon. Decatur's application for ear- - marking of government funds to ' pay 90 percent of the cost was ! tiled in Washington, D. C., last week by Robert Heller, secretary lof the Decatur authority and. as I such, was the first small city in the United States to seek a project from the national authority. Minton Approves Senator Sherman Minton, of Indiana, one of the leaders in the ; senate fight to provide adequate' housing for the lower income fami-1 lies of the country, has taken a personal interest in the Decatur project. He was contacted in j Washington last week by the board’s secretary and also by latter this week from Nathan C. Nelson, chairman of the Decatur authority. In a letter received by Mr. Nelson, Senator Minton said: , "I have already expressed my personal interest in this housing I project to Nathan Straus, admin- ’ istrator of the United States housj (CONTINUED ON PAGE SEVEN) Cases Os Measles Reported By State The weekly report from the Indiana state board of health for the j week ending December 11 shows that nine cases of measles were reported i nthe county for that period. No other contagious diseases were reported.

Join The Good Fellows, Help Make A Happy Christmas

One week fr.<m tonight is Christmas Eve. I Have you made your donation to I the Good Fellows Club- | The less fortunate families of l Decatur are dependent on the gen- ! erosity of citizens of Decatur for j a measure of joy and happiness during the holiday season. Members cf the Delta Theta Tau j sorority, sponsors of the Good Fel-! lows club, report that their personal investigations have disclosed as much need for aid in spreading Christmas cheer as in past j years. Some families who thought they would be able this year to bring Christmas joy t?. their own kid-J dies, have been unable to do so ; because of illness or unemployment ■ I and need the help of the Good Fel-1 I lows club. Adding to the unfor-

Charles E. Hocker Greatly Improved Charles E. Hocker, deputy postmaster, who is recovering from a serious illness, was up town yesterday afternoon calling on fi lends. His condition is much improved, he has gained several pounds and hopes to be able to return to his work in the near future. He asked the Daily Democrat to thank all his i friends who so kindly remembered I him with flowers and cards during ' his illness and expl'esse dhis aippre- ! elation to everybody. Mr. Hocker is a veteran in point of service in the , Decatur post office and regrets he cannot return to work during the holiday rush. to G.E. EMPLOYES ; SHARE IN FUND Decatur Employes To Receive SIB,OOO Share Os Profits Nearly $18,006 will be distributed : to employes of the Decatur works of the General Electric next week, when the comipany distributes checks under the general profitsharing plan. E. W. Lankenau. local factory superintendent, stated today. While no definite figures are available, Mr. Lankenau estimated that the average check will amount , I to approximately SSO. Based on the fact that about 350 j employes of the local General Electric plant will share in the distribu-1 tion, a total of more than $17,500 | i will be paid to employes. The checks will be given under the plan for the last six months of 1937. Distribution will be made to employes on Monday of next week. Coming at an opportune time, just prior to the holiday season, much of the money is expected to stimulate business in the city and I (CONTINUED ON PAGE SEVEN)

• tunate, are the deaths of bread winners who in past years have | , been able to supply Christmas de- ■ sires of their families. It is not necessary to be a member c.f an organization to help the . I city’s less fortunate. All that is needed is a generous heart, perhaps entailing some slight sacri-i 1I fl< ’ e - Buying of food, clothing and toys and the necessary sorting of these] articles requires many hours of \ work by members of the sorority, : and Good Fellows planning t.-. donate to the club are asked to make . I their contributions at once in ord- . | er that this work may be simplified. J Club members have urged early contributions to the fund, to aid , the buying committee in its work. (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX)

Wounded Officer Os Gunboat Panay Charges Jap Attacks On U. S. Vessel Deliberate

SEEK CONVICTS ESCAPING FROM ALCATRAZ PEN Two Oklahoma Desperadoes First Ever To Escape Prison %■■ ■ - San Francisco, Dec. 17— (U.PJ<— Soldiers, coast guardsmen and police blockaded San Francisco Bay today to search for two Oklahoma desperadoes who escaped from Alcatraz Island, the terror of every federal prisoner. Police searched the wharves and docks: soldiers patrolled the shoreline around the several forts and army posts; coast guard boats churned through the bay in a blinding fog. with guns stripped for action to challenge every suspicious craft in the waters. All criminals know Alcatraz as “the rock." No one had ever escaped from the island before, since the department of justice took it over in 1934 and began congregating the worst men of its prisons there, behind high, rocky walls a mile and a half out in the bay. tyhether Ralph Roe and Theodore Coel from Oklahoma made it safely to shore was problematical. Warden James A. Johnston said it was highly improbable that they could have swam through the treacherous currents and that unless a boat picked them up. they probably drowned. They broke a lock on a high wire fence, leaped to a rock ledge | and reached the water yesterday j afternoon when the fog was so ‘ thick that guards could not even , see the coast guard boats that I approached to within a few yards jof the island in response to calls by radio. Roe is 29; Cole 23. One was a : robber, the other a kidnaper. Cole. I especially was known in Oklahoma as a desperate and slippery fellow, an escape artist who tried three ; times to brak jail at Oklahoma ; City, once l»y hiding in a garbage | can. He was a killer. Little was known of either man's i swimming prowess, but Sheriff , Stanley Rogers at Oklahoma City said “Cole was like a greased pig and I wouldn't be surprised at any(CONTINUED UN PAGE FIVE) o TEMPERATURE READINGS DEMOCRAT THERMOMETER 8:00 a. m 32 10:00 a. m. 32 Noon 34 2:00 p. m 33 3:00 p. m 33 WEATHER Rain tonight; slightly colder extreme south portion; mostly cloudy Saturday. BEET GROWERS HOLD MEETING New Sugar Act Is Explained To Beet Growers Thursday Night Federal payments of at least SI.BO a ton for sugar beets will be made to beet growers in this section next year, J. W. Calland, vicepresident and field manager of the I Central Sugar company, Decatur, I told a gathering of more than ! 500 farmers assembled in the high school auditorium here last night. This figure can total beI tween sl6 and $32 per acre depending on the beet yield. E. W. Busche of Monroe, president of the Central Beet Growers Association, and M. J. Buschen, agriculturist for the Farmers and ' Manufacturers Beet Sugar AssoI elation, also joined in explaining the new government sugar beet ; program. Mr. Busche recently returned from Washington where he was ' called by the department of agriculture to discuss with sugar sec- ; tion officials farming practices and labor requirements to be met l>y I beet growers in order to qualify i for payments under the new sugar J act of 1937. According to Mr. Busche, none of the growers in this i (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX)

BOARD HOLDING FINAL HEARING State Tax Board Holds Hearing On Bond Issue Petitions The state tax board is to hold the last of the hearings on the new Decatur school house today In Indianapolis. Word is expected late this afternoon or Saturday morning as to the results of the hearing. The state tax board is acting on the petition of the civil city to appropriate $50,000 to be raised liy bond issue, and a petition l»y the school city to appropriate the following sums for tlie new building: donation from the civil city, $50,000; to lie raised by bond issue by the school city. $90,000 and to be donated by the government in the form of a 45 percent PWA grant of $110,045. Some smaller amounts for preliminary expenses are also being appropriated. Due to the fact that no objections nor remonstrances were filed against the appropriations at the hearing held in Decatur this week under the supervision of Paul Weber, of Huntington, field man for the state tax board, the Indianapolis hearing is expected to be I only a formality. ' Just before noon today, school i officials removed the last of their supplies and equipment from the old Central building to the high school and to a space donated by the Decatur Produce company, where they will be stored until the new building is ready for occupancy. Yost Brothers have a crew of about 20 men employed in the razing of the old building and expect to have it completely removed; sometime during the month of I ‘ February. However, enough of the | 1 building will be out of the way; shortly after the first of the year l for the technical beginning of con-1 struction of the new building This is required Dy the PWA. ANNUAL MOOSE PARTY MONDAY Annual Christmas Party Will Be Held Here Next Monday The annual Christmas party of the Loyal Order of Mooso will be staged Monday night at the Decatur Catholic high schol, members of the lodge announced today. The (party will open at 7:30 o’clock with all members of the Moose and their families, invited. Special entertainment will be provided for the children of Moose members, with Santa Claus appearing in person to distribute treats. A big Christmas tree will be set up in the center of the auditorium and will be loaded with candies and gifts for the kiddies. An entertaining program, arranged by the Women of the Moose, will be presented during the evening. I Following is the complete piogram: | Song—Joy to the World. Recitation —Norma Burnett. Geels orchestra. . Tap dance —Don Ixxbsiger. Piano solo—Joan Blerly. Recitation—Dwight Egley. Music—Strahm girls. Tap dance —Virginia Lee Kuhnle. 1 Guitar —Ruth Yost. ’ Song—Sammy Yost. Tap dance —Colleen Edgell. Tap dance —Jimmie Brennan. ’ Recitation —Leonard Egley, • Song—Bright girls. 1 Tap dance—Billy and Joan Lich1 tensteiger. 1 Piano solo —Donabelle Roop. Cornet —Betty Foughty. Music —Bright’s orchestra. All members are urged to attend • and bring their families. I ■ n i I Good Fellows Club J ■ « 4 ' Previous total $279.84 1 Patsy and Shirley Berling ... 1,90 Bob, Dick, Pat and Tom 1 Briede 1.00 ’ Good Fellow 02 ’ Friend from Berne 1.00 ‘ A Friend 50 1 Good Fellows 30 ' Business and Professional Women’s Club 1000 ’; Knights of Columbus 5.00 Rotary Club 14.63 t T0ta15313.39

Price Two Cents.

Lieut. Geist Asserts Jap Attack And Sinking Os Panay Deliberate; Open Court Os Inquiry. MACHINE GUNNED Tokio, Dec. 17—(UP)—The Japanese government was reported today to be considering the recall of ’ its crack third battle fleet to symbolize its regret of the Japanese airplane attack on United States and British warships. The report was not confirmed but its mere mention was evidence of profound regret of the government over the attack. (C.pyrlght 1937 by UP.) Shanghai. Dec. 17.—(U.R) —Lieut. J. W. Geist, one of the wounded officers of the American gunboat Panay charged here today that the Japanese sinking of the ship was unmistabeabiy deliberate. Lieut. Geist, who arrived with the American and British rescue fleet, recounted how the Japanese planes bombed the plainly marked gunboat and a Japanese boarding party swept her deck with machine gun fire, although the Stars and Stripes floated from the mast. “I was at my position aft as the planes came .over us." he said. "The Panay’s decks buckled, i Shrapnel was tearing through the j gunboat's light armor like paper. The attack was so unexpected that we were all stunned and unable immediately to realize that we were targets of a deliberate attack." Meanwhile, a United States naval court of inquiry was underway aboard the flagship Augusta and it was learned a small iifeboard from the Panay had been taken aboard the Augusta as evidence that the Japanese machine gunned the sur- ; vivors after the bombing. The boat was full of machine gun blI let holes. “The first attack was made by | three bombers from 7.000 feet.’’ Geist said. "They made either Dno ■ direct hit on the port side or a bomb exploded so close that the (CONTINUED on PAGE FIVE) BULLETIN An intensive program of expansion is being outlined at a conference of mayors of Indiana cities with Governor M. Clifford Townsend and his staff In Indianapolis in connection with a meeting of the state Chamber of Commerce. The following telegram was received late this afternoon from Mayor A. R. Holthouse: “Dick Heller represented Governor Townsend and read Governor's speech at state Chamber of Commerce meeting. outlining a build Indiana program. Carl Fritsch, managing director national farm chemurgic codhcil paid tribute to Dale W. McMillen for developing of Soya bean industry, recognized as one of largest in country." DECATUR WOMAN STRUCK BY AUTO Mrs. Susie Reppert Escapes Serious Injury At Monroe Mrs. Susie Re.ppert. of tlife city, escaped serious injury yesterday when she was struck by an auto in ' Monroe. Mrs. Reppert. who is employed I in that town, was crossing a filling station driveway when the accident occurred. Thinking the car would pull up to the gas tanks, she proceeded across the drive. The driver, C. A. Haggard, however, turned around and started out, striking her and knocking her to the pavement. While she sustained no broken bones, she is suffering from ■ shock and severe bruises. After treatment at a physician’s • office, she was removed to the ; home of her sister, Mrs. M. F. I Worthman of Sixth street, where she is confined in bed. ) Cars Damaged ! Two cars were damaged last eve- ) ning about 7 o’clock when an auto > driven by W. M. Dlckason, of Gene- > va, struck a parke dear, belonging to Paul Conrad, of this city. ) The accident occurred on Win- ) Chester street. Dickerson told police ! that rain on the windshield of his - car obscured his vieion. Both cars ) were damaged.