Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 37, Number 1, Decatur, Adams County, 2 January 1939 — Page 1

Kl. XXXVII. NojOne.

RANK MURPHY APPOINTED TO 1 CABINET POST L r m e r Governor Os ■ichigan Is Named At-torney-General Jan. 2 — <U.R> | Kner Gov. Frank Murphy, of will Join the cabinet as atto iey general today to compie# a pre-congress shakeup wWh supplanted two life-time politicians with young ai d* nt now dealers. 10b per cent new deal cab-j circle Is almost complete. K Roosevelt may name a new sufleme court justice before nirfktfall and he is reported to be gfi. to nominate lame duck Sen. H. Brown. D., N. H.. to be com "H* r general of the I nlted fell tn the November ■Khun liarrage that hit Brown and more than a score of other senators and governors His nomination was anby the White House yesHe was scheduled to be there abou* noon. of Murphy to the cabiiietTprtn ides politics with an outeligible batchelor. He soft spoken, rather Ksome and 45 years old. But important is the fact that Morphy takes his seat In room, the 100 per cent M deal circle around the big will be nearly complete. Postmaster General James A.yarley and Secretary of State Kell Hull stand between Mr. and a cabinet in which Democrats would not at all. Vlce-presi-John N. Garner, however. with the cabinet and his is raised loudly and often of the conservative other cabinet changes are BMcted immediately although rassey s departure depeids almost mßf-Iv upon development of an business connection w’*'-’ permit him to make some while continuing as chan of the Democratic national Hull, whose handling if ■reign affairs is judged to be ufMir the triumphs of the Roosevelt.|adminlstratlon — there are icm challenges to that statement to remain for the He and Farley are t:>e list of potential 1940 Deaßcnuic presidential nominees. the party conservatives onld name the ticket. Mwphy enters the cabinet just •nor® than a week after Mr. Roose- ■ elißewarded WPA Administrator HmH.L Hopkins with the secreof commerce. Hopkins tot ffily was rewarded. He was WMy out of the line of fire in pending tjMßer relief spending and charges Shat WPA played politics in he »38 campaign. The promowas interpreted as a posof Hopkins toward the t94#lpr* sidential nomination if Mr. Woosevelt prefers not to be 1 ca fr' i(,ate again but insists that he per cent new deal line of ■MVsion be continued. o—?iv« Mad Convicts Are Still At Large 0., Jan. 2 — (UR) — Five who escaped from he Kima state hospital for the insane, armed with raz•*Oyd an ax. still were at large of several midwest states them. The five fled the in- ,'' tu aP n early yesterday after lir& S? ning the superintendent hatchet and razer and lue » g ,wo Ruards Hflßpital authorities said the W’lllard Brucks, 34, murdered; William Jlati, 31, Cleveland, robber; Haines, 36, Columbus, robe*tiyarion Pierce, 42, negro, ftiMBblis, robber, and Russel " c *Wfe 25, West Virginia, robber. M-

Buys Heaßh Bond Th® Decatur B. P. O. E. have votHHSTmac ed Purchase of jJaLS a health bond. Ouy Brown. I’’’W jrt 11 chairman of the ■ Jf SM Vi chrlßt nias Seal s drive, announced !; today. Proceeds /7 from the health |j; bond fund are used to aid In the fight against tuMjfr Protect berculosis and to provide milk for |M*Cufost« unde rnouriehod children.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Township Trustees To Meet January 9 The first meeting of the year for the new board of township trusI tees will bo held in the office of C. K. Striker, county superintendent of schools next Monday. o — - OVER SIXTEEN MILLION PAID Unemployment Compensation In State Over $16,250,000 In Year Fort Wayne, Jan. 2 — (Special) I — Standing out among milestones set up in recent years along the road of social progress is the un-, I employment compensation program which was pnt into foil effect in Indiana in 1933 and for the first time in history gave covered Hoosier unemployed persons an assur-1 ed income during temporary jobless periods. In a year-end review, officials of the Indiana unemployment compensation division today declared that 1,500,000 weeks of total or . partial unemployment suffered by . covered workers since April had . been compensated to the extent of ■ more than sixteen and a quarter million dollars. Out of the approximately 49,000 insured workers in this district, i which covers, Allen. Wells. Whit- ■ ley and northern Adams counties, there have been 13.400 who drew some of the $1,450,000 in benefits i paid here to date. The record in : this territory was 6.881 payments : totaling $79,850.37 in the wees ending November 5. As the year > wound up, payments were running t, around 2,800 for $90,000 per week. The plan, in coming to the aid 1 of distressed workers during last ’ spring and summer as the reces- ‘ aion reached its lowest ebb, sue- ■, cessfully met the most severe test i likely to be encountered. Benefit 1 ' payments carried thousands of per- ‘ sons through abnormal layoffs, helped other thousands until they found new employment, and 1 through partial benefits helped maintain the income lev<4-e* many ' others whose regular earnings were sharply cut. ! Hoosiers had the advantage of job insurance earlier than work- ' ers in neighboring states by 3 to J 15 months. Michigan did not start paying benefits until July and will ’ not start compensating partial unemployment until January, while ’ Indiana has covered both phases from the start. Benefits will not i become payable in Ohio and Kentucky until after the first of the ‘ year, and in Illinois until next July. | By the end of the year abou* ' .$400,000,01)0 was paid to more than . 5,000,000 individuals who had been unemployed for varying periods i 1 since January 1 in the thirty bene- , fit paying states. How closely the insurance plan I • is geared to employment conaitions has been demonstrated in | this and other states which were paying benefits before the recession reached its lowest point. When I unemployment hit bottom in midsummer, Indiana benefit payments reached a weekly high of 59,400 checks for $689,000 the first week in August. With a large part of the 174,000 who have qualified for benefits back to work, benefit payments dropped to around 30.000 checks for $300,000 per week as the year closed. Right after unemployment reached the low point, the legislative repeal of the $lO earning requirement became effective August 15, making eligible thousands (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) o ;, ABANDON AUTO AT MONMOUTH Sheriff Miller Investigating Abandonment i Os Auto Sheriff Ed P. Miller is holding a ’ 1935 Ford which was abandoned ‘last Tuesday at Monmouth. Monmouth residents told Sheriff Miller that an unidentified man had ( left the car there on Tuesday, say- ( ing that he would send someone f after it. Parking the car near the filling . station, he picked up a taveling bag and left, they stated. His destination was not learned. Sheriff Miller stated that investigation revealed the engine number j had been tampered with, the car t bad a false set of license plates and , that it had not been registered in; - Indiana. ‘ The car was pulled to a local * age until the investigation is com- r pleted. ' (

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

WHIPPLE CASE HEiETHURSDAY Tod Whipple To Face Contempt Proceedings Here "Fire works" are anticipated Thursday morning at 9 o’clock when Tod Whipple is to be in ought before Special Judge Henry F. Kister, of Princeton, to an swer contempt of court proceed ‘ Ings charging him with "attempt ing to 1 iterfere with the proper and orderly procedure and pro cess’’ in the Wabash ditch case. The court recently discharged Mr. Whipple as attorney for Homer Teeters, commissioner of construction, in the drainage | case, and then cited him to appear i in court Thursday morning at 9 > o’clock to show cause why he should not be punished for conI tempt of court. This was done following the filing of a petition by Mr. Whipple ! before the Jay county board of comm’ss’oners, asking that body 'to join with the Adams county i commissioners ,in a protest against the issuance of bonds in the case. He alleged that the amount of the bond issue was $30,000 i.i excess of the actual [ needs. Special Judge Kister alleged Mr. Wh'pple was “unloyal" to his I clients, the petitioners in the , case. Mr. Whipple last week filed a sensational answer to the citation. charging “corruption” in the handling of the case. A possibility, which may further entangle the case, is that Mr. Whipple will object to Special Judge Kister acting on citation, on the grounds that if there were contempt, it would be in contempt of the Adams circuit court and not in contempt of the special judge If this were true, as Mr. Whipple may allege, the contempt proceedings would come under the jurisdiction of the regular judge of the Adams circuit court. J. Fred Fruchte. It is anticipated that a largo _ crowd will attend the hearing, attracted both by financial interest in the erse and by the sensational chaiges hurled by both parties. PRODUCTION AT PLANT RECORD Municipal Plant Production Sets All-Time Record Kilowatt production at the city , light and power plant for 1938, toi taled 15.485,800, an all-time high in I the history of the plant, Frank I Burns, chief engineer reported today. In 1937, the largest year in production until last year, kilowatt production reached a total of 11, ’ 787,200. The big increase last year resulted from the increased of city power in local industry, principally at the Cental Soya company and the Central Sugar factory. Last year the sugar factory operated with city power. In October 1765,000 kilowats of power were produced at the city plants The year’s production is not onlv a record for the city plant but is considered one of the largest produced by a municipal plant in a city, the size of Decatur. Mr. Burns’ log of monthly kilowatt production at the plant follows January, 1,199,400; February 1,106,500; March 1,179.000; April 1,177,100; May 1,154.700; June, 1,000,000 July, 1,180,000;. August, 1,379,000; Septembe, 1,283,000; October 1,765,000; November 1.639,000; December 1,414,000. The financial report for 1938 will reflect substantial earnings, it was stated today. Up to December 1, net earnings in the electric department exceeded $58,000. - Moose Drill Team To Meet Tonight Member of the local Moose drill team will practice tonight at 7:30 o’clock. All members are asked to be present. o Reports Fence Is Damaged By Auto H. P. Schmitt reported this morning that an auto tore through the fence on his property east of the river and went down into the field. Tracks disclosed that the car pulled back up on the road with its own power. The accident was not reported to police and the identity of the driver was not learned. ,

Decatur, Indiana, Mon day, January 2, 1939.

New City Officials Take Office ii Forrest Elzey H. Vernon Aurand Decatur's civil affairs are under the rule of Republicans for the first time In more than 20 years, as Forrest Elzey, local barber, takes office , as mayor and H. Vernon Aurand as city clerk-treasurer. These two , officials and the city council, four of the five Republicans, formally , assumed office at noon Sunday, although they had taken the oath of office previously.

CLOSE RECORDS | ON TWO BANKS I] Linn Grove Bank Only One In County Still In Liquidation 1 Two bank cases were closed on the records of the Adams circuit i court Saturday afternoon, leaving I only one bank in the process of ■ I liquidation in the county — the ' i Linn Greve bank. ’ The special representative, Robert Kramer, for the state department of financial institutions, filed a petition in the Old Adams ■ County Hank to pay court costs, ' i amounting to $270. This was ap- ' proved. A petition to make “service charges” was made. This also 1 was appioved. Service charges ; wore made in accounts under sl. ’ ‘ on which no efforts were made by depositors to collect them. This removed them from the books. The larger accounts, on' which depositors have made no collections or only partial collections ere to be carried on tue records at the county clerk's office, (or three years. Then, if no collections are made by depositors they are turned over to the state. The supplemental and final renorts —showing the final business of closing the hank, were submitted. No objections were made to these and they were approved. l . The trust was closed and the special representative was discharged. i The only business yet to be finished is the closing'of the corporation. whose charter is issued by the state of Indiana. A written dismissal of his exceptions to the final report was' filed by William W. Widows in the receivership of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Geneva. The ' exceptions had been filed by Mr. Widdows, on behalf of the depositors and stockholders, earlier Saturday morning, objecting to; rhe manner of the administration , —as to fees paid and claims com-1 (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) o THREE YOUTHS ESCAPE DEATH Slightly Injured As Auto Plunges Into River Today Three Cincinnati young men miraculously escaped serious injury and possible death this marning at 5 o’clock when the car in which they were riding plunged 25 feet through a guard rail on the north bridge into the icy waters of the FSt. Mary’s river. The driver, Edward Poppe. 24, told authorities that he had fallen asleep. The car, enroute south, tore off the east side of the road just north of the bridge, broke through the metal guard rail, leaped off the cement and plunged to the ’./iter 25 feet below. Striking a tree, the car hit the ice on the north side and careened almost entirely across the river before breaking through the ice. Poppe, Maurice Davidson 22, and Russell Dee, 23. all of Cincinnati were taken to the hospital but released several hours later after I treatment for bruises. Officer Roy Chlloote and Police Chief James Borders invertigated. The lads were enroute home from i Chicago. The car was demolished. t

Finding Is Returned For Remonstrators Judge Huber M. DeVoss, Saturday afternoon, found for the remonstrators to the John H. Scheiniann drain in the iiorth part of Adams county. The case had been submitted to him December 7 and at that time he took his decision under consideration. The case was appealed to the circuit ceurt after the ditch had been approved in the commissioner’s court. On De member 7, Judge DeVoss overruled a petition to strike out the remonstrance. Saturday afternoon he rendered both a finding and a judgment Tor the remonstrators. OBSERVANCfOF HOLIDAY QUIET No Disturbances Reported Over New Years Holiday An unusual air of* quietude prevailed in Decatur today as residents sat back and relaxed after joyounsly commemorating the advent of the new year. Today, the second of the twotlay holiday, was expected to be , spent for the most part in relaxa--1 tion, with family gatherings theaters, and basketball games as the i main attractions. Business for the most part remained suspended today with the newspaper office, confectioneries, filling stations, theaters and only a few other places of business open , to the public. | Newly-elected public officials > were the busiest of all residents to- ‘ today as they officially assumed their duties at the respective posts. Basketball fans this afternoon ■ will attend the opening games in ■ the four-team tourney at the new | junior-senior high school gym. The tourney will be continued to--1 night. Police authorities reported a noisy but orderly celebration Saturday night. No arrests were reported and residents stayed within the bounds of the laws in their commemoration of the event, police reported. Dances, private parties, gatherings in local confectionores and beer parlors did not break up until the early hours Sunday morning following the climax of the celebration Saturday at midnight. Whistles, bells, horns, shotgun discharges and scores of non-paten-(CO"”'INUED ON PAGE SIX) o Dolan Tranferred To Muncie Office Gene Dolane, assistant manager of the Local Leon company here, ha-s been transferred to a similar post in the company office at Muncie. He is to assume his duties there Tuesday. No Births Here On New Year’s Day For the first time in several years no births were recorded at the Adams county memorial hospital on New Year's Day. Hospital attaches reported, however. births less than two hours before New Year’s Day and less than two hours after. A baby girl was born Saturday night, at 10:44 p. m. to Mr. and Mrs. Luther Hoffman of Monroeville, route one, and another girl at 1:26 today to Mr. and Mrs. Carl William Heckman of route one. 11

VIOLENT DEATH I TOLL IN NATION IS NEAR TO 300 Automobile Accidents Head List Os Violent Deaths By United Press The number of violent deaths! on highways, in homes and in the, air increased steadily toward the 3UO mark today as the three-day New Year holiday neared its end. Automobile, railroad and air, plane accidents, fires, bullets and gas had taken at least 242 lives. early today. As usual, automobile accidents headed the list, aci counting for 148 deaths. Indicai tions wore the figure would be doubled before midnight. Illinois reported 41 violent deaths, 24 of them the result of accidents. New York had 36 fatalities, California. 19. Alabama had two of the most tragic automobile accidents. Seven members of a family drowned ' at Greenville when an automobile crashed >hrough the railing of a ■ bridge and fell into a creek. Four ■ high school youths burned to • death near Roanoke when a t school bis caught fire after it i collided with an automobile. At Rvnford, Me., five persons i burned to death in a fire which i broke out in the Falls View . hotel during the height of New , Year’s Eve festivities. A woman . burned to death at Fort Madison, la. At Clinton. Ind.. 19 miners, enL tombed (or 12 hours by a raging fire in a coal mine, were rescued by co-wirkers and volunteers. Another, crazed by deadly “black damp," ran amuck and died in a side ccrridor before rescuers could find him. Dr. Henry Steil 67. shot and 1 killed himself at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve in a New Yo’k hotel. i At Sheffield. la, an amateur aviation enthusiast, was killed whan the airplane he was piloting crashed into the side of a grain elevator during a takeoff. In other accidents, a conductor was run over and killed by his >wn train at lowa City, la. Four persons, three of them children, were killed in ai. automobile accident at Cloverdale, Cal., and a! 14-year-oB Chicago boy was killed ! when he fell and struck his head on the ice while playing “crack-j the whip.’ Dies In Mine Clinton, Ind., Jan. 2 — (U,R> — Nineteen of the 20 miners who i laid helpless 12 hours in the depths cf Crown Hill coal mine No. 6 near here while fire and deadly “mine damp" teamed in a duel tor their lives against rescue crews, were anxious to return to ■ work today. The 20rh, their companion, was in a funeral home The fire was still raging today but miners have surrounded it with bulkheads and will let it burn out. It will take two or three days, they believe. Only casualty of the New Years’ Eve near-disaste*- was Jesse Hayes, who wandered from the group partially crazed by the mine gas and became exhausted. He was found dead 400 feet down the subterranean corridor, victim of gas and smoke. Another who left the main body| (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) . o GILL IG NAMED RIDING BAILIFF Deputy Sheriff Is Appointed By Judge Fred Fruchte Judge J. Fred Fruchte today announced the appointment of Leo Gillig as riding bailiff of the Adams circuit court. By custom, during recent years, this position has been given to the . deputy sheriff. Mr. Gillig was recently appointed deputy sheriff —a position he held during the last four years under former sheriff Dallas Brown. The duties of the riding bailiff consist in serving of summons and other details outside of the court house at the order of the court. Judge Fruchte today also officially made the appointments of Fred Kolter, as court bailiff and Mrs. Robert Aeschliman, as court reporter. Mr. Kolter succeeds E. A. Beavers, and Mrs, Aeschliman, Miss Anna Smith. Only formal business of the court was done today. Much new business is expected to be transacted Tuesday. |

Many Great News Stories “Broke” In City In 1938

COUNTY BOARD IS ORGANIZED Moses Augsburger Is ReElected President Os Board — The Adams county commissioners met today for the first time and organized its new board, con- ; sisting of Moses Augsburger, ! Frank Liniger and Phil Strahm. Mr. Strahm replaced Phil Sauers, who served two three-year terms. The board re-elected Moses Augsburger president, and elected Frank Lminger, vice-president to : succeed Phil Sauers in this position. Victor Eicher, new county audi- ' tor, by virtue of his office, beI comes clerk of the board. After the formality of organizing, the board left for the county ! infirmary, where the annual inventory is being taken today. William Ulman, of Root township, and Amos Huser, of Blue Creek township, December 19, were appointed appraisers for the taking of the infirmary inventory. ! They will make the official report. The commissioners will meet ! again Tuesday morning, in its regular monthly meeting. Claims, ;if any. may be allowed at this ' time. However, there will be few claims at this session, due to the special'* meeting December 19, which was held for the purpose of allowing all claims for 1938. The commissioners have a num ber of appointments to make, including une county highway supe intendenl and the four highway superintendent deputies. o FRENCH LEADER VISITS COLONY Premier Daladier On Visit To Corsica And Tunisia Ajaccio, Corsica, Jan. 2. —(U.R) — Premier Edouard Daladier dramatically emphasized his stand against Italian territorial demands today by visiting Corsica at the outset of a journey—described in the Italian press as “provative”— which will also take him to Tunisia. Accompanied by navy Minister Cesar Campinchi, a native of Corisca and bitterly antl-ltalian, Daladier arrived aboard the cruiser Foch, escorted by a flotilla of destroyers. He was greeted enthusiastically by residents of this important naval base who interpret-1 ed his tour as an exclamation point to his recent assertions that France will never give up “a single inch." of he colonial possessions to Italy. Crowds line 3 the quay where a symbolic triumphal arch had been erected and decked with French I and Corisan flags. Streets and buildings, public and private, were similarly decorated. After visiting at Bastia, 67 miles from Ajaccio, Daladier will re-em-bark tonight for Bizerta, France’s vital North African naval base where huge guns dominate the Sicilian channel. En route the Foeh will steam past Italian Sicily and Sardinia, arriving at Bizerta tomorrow morning. From Bizerta Daladier will trav- ■ el overland to Algeria before re-' joining the Foeh, on which he embarked from Toulon last night, i Preceding Yiim to North Africa were military and naval reinforcements rushed there to cope with any situation that might arise from Italy's territorial demands affecting Corsica, Tunisia. Djibouti and the Suez canal. A battalion of 1.000 Senegalese troops left Marseilles for Djibouti, terminal of the railroad to Addis (CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX) O TEMPERATURE READINGS DEMOCRAT THERMOMETER 8:00 a.m 36 11:00 a m 40 10:00 a.m 37 S - WEATHER Mostly cloudy tonight and Tuesday; rising temperature Tuesday. i

Price Two Cents.

Stirring Events Marked History Os 1938 For Residents Os Decatur And Vicinity. MARK HIGHLIGHTS • The year 1938 was one of great tragedy and great accomplishment for Decatur —a year in which the - local news tugged at the emotions , —a year in which the spirit of cooperation was born anew. Industry, education, religion, ’ politics and economics headlined ’ the news, in events as stirring as ' any the oldest resident can re- ( member. The year was born in the midst i of an economic recession which gradually turned for the better until December when most merchants reported a better season than in ' 1937. Swiftly passing through the columns of the Decatur Democrat, . were disclosed Luge industrial fires, throwing more than 150 persons out of work, the Centennials of three churches, in the north . part of the county, the remodelling and rededication of others, the i change of city administration, the collection of a SIO,OOO local fund . to rebuild a factory, and a score of lesser but Important which sank home to many. i A murder, numerous suicides , and fatal accidents were reported. ; Prominent citizens died while babies were born and marriages sol- ■ emnized at the usual rate. More . couples than usual celebrated their golden wedding anniversaries. But if 1938 is to be remembered for any one thing, it probably will be the construction and dedication of the new Decatur $250,000 juniori senior high school and the demolishing oi tue old Central, North Ward and Riley school buildings. Not only has the city gained a more adequate plant for education I of its children, but it is now provided with a community hall of adequate size to handie the largest crowd, something which has ! on occasions been sorely needed [ in past years. Start Construction On January 4, 1938, work officially began on the new juniorsenior high school, although some time was required before the conI struction began in earnest. On January 20 petitioners in Root township began a campaign to build a $45,000 addition to the Monmouth school house. A successful boom was launched February 9 to seat Judge Huber M. DeVoss on the state appellate court as the first state defected officer this county has had in 30 years. Sunday, February 27, the I Friedheim Lutheran church of northeast of Decatur held the first of its special Centennial services. Citizens of Decatur learned of a $15,000 reduction of their ligjht rates, March 16, when the state was asked to approve a petition of city officials to cut the rates. The first of a number of serious fires of the year occured March 17, when the front end of the Hite Grocery building was gutted by a i blaze. Plant Destroyed At 10:30 o’clock on the evening of April 6, the year’s most spectacular event occurred — the fire at the Krick & Tyndall Tile mill, which employed approximately 80 men and was planning to take on more as sales increase. The blaze started in a “tunnel” — but the exact cause was never learned. Spreading with rapidity and fannI ed by a high wind, it spread rapidly, casting a reddish glow over the sky for miles around. Firemen battled it all night and were aßle I to save some portions of the plant although the main building and much of the machinery were ruin- ! ed. This was the second great industrial fire in the city’s history, the first being the destruction of the Schafer Saddlery in 1920. On Good Friday, April 15. during the hours while the city was commemorating Christ’s crucifixation, a favorable wind saved the Wayne ' Novelty company from probable destruction when a fire of unknown origin destroyed a storage shed a few feet from the main building. The wind blew the flames away from the plant. Religion Religious services reached one of the high points of the year, Eas- : ter Sunday, April 17, with all ■ churches in the community holding special programs. The newly remodelled and enlarged Monroe M. I (CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE)