Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 39, Number 182, Decatur, Adams County, 2 August 1941 — Page 1

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OUNTY INFIRMARY IS RAZED BY FIRE

UFREE k TO CLOSE lUERETONIGHT I iti**- ■(>»’* PrompOy *B I Midnight ■ —‘ """" L|,,i ’oinuli’ !•*■ uriraltsral wtn after 4 full **‘*k 1' ill '"l l '* II ,|i| hr lal'wi a' 12 o'°f th*’-*’ enterLt. r." start te*wr»>sUt down prrpara'.ury ' > 'll"' ing Lyl iorat'us. i*> >! 4*t’4<■•!•«• lx’" 11 jftemoou and evening. • fu. M •'! '!>•■ !•*" 4"l r f‘* ,r pip licrd a. carnival <hiy <> ■iduy 'im*-d over to for a tout nine , r .»»d (jthrr-d early today. w a»yr!ir!>eavy». iaht horse ■m;h: ai th- A hini't field. I<#y» midway wa« jammed pi rayan'y »« J1 " Friday L att tW parade of prize Uliwstoft and the 4 11 club pane a* inviting sttnn fiotia tri .trrat and Flrat afreet iftstk irnad with ape. latnra to Mm- uaaty'* finrat florae* «!it parade The line of liu >4 by the ftm atur comlarM hand, followed iiy the l*ryi*< the 4-H king and I cH the Cloverleaf ('resinimcn nx PAO»t rHItKEt —■ n NRtSuith Filed In Court n R Roop of thia city, haa M hr Own from Klien F. Ik Adam, circuit court, chargg*< nd io human treatment, tmyhiii' Matea that they lavrted AngtM 11. 1023 and MHJtlyh IMI » pteiotiff aaka custody of ttbiidm and |ls per week htrtappo'! Nathan C Nelson **» for the plaintiff. "" o—t»t«r Fair King Aid* Pull ini' Team Wrt Rprangar, ion of Mr and ■•tta Sprunger of Kirkland *» »b reigned aa 4 H King » Dwtir atreet fair, can do ’ lkisU quite well, too. Vesterb mated hli father In win•Wd place |ft the llght- " Wllia< content!, and y** 4 netted |25 y believed that the friend- ■■ th* hack Edward gave between rounds helped *** fb* rtowfng. ktate 123,500 “hurinceOn Winniry In force on the building, content" total 325.300 recauditor', offlce * how a**,. *? r ,!> * Pftt-mt* g" be biller bourn. COte J”* Bkh,r nwtimateo h r ranee Will apply ? >r * B *> ** »ome uwrioni for M |v are and »tb»!la U *** Wll ‘* n °' ,OUf ht n.‘ ‘•"“"'O '»>•« the tea s ’’-* Nit ** * brlck ' ‘h* XTV ,rrl "‘ W1 * Ml by Insurance fer-*’ ***tv.’° f ‘ be ; woo ° L*Mry.Ul' , * lß lad e<J>. On ,b * mB1 “ S U mt. r b ° ni,e ,nd lb k * r kollcie, lota |

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

DISCONTENT IN AXIS OCCUPIED AREAS GROWING Occupied Nations Os Europe Restless Under Axw Control Ry United Prean Adolf Hitler * blltnkrleg atlll wan Imaged down In Runala today and in the occupied countriea of Hurope appeared algna of a rialng chorua of dlacontent. In th* far emit Tokyo’n atrldent preaa warned agalnat ponalble Amerlcan Ruwnlan cooperation to "encircle" Japan and (’hlneae aourcea Inalated Japanese penetration of Thailand 4Riant t already wae underway. The Herman high command claimed that Nani forcea hare lannched a great new “annihilation battle" In an area IM mllea aouth of the I'kralne and other Nail wourcea claimed that the retreat of Horiet troopa frohi the Rmolennk area baa been cut off by Nail troopa ant ride the Smolensk Mottow motor highwaya. Ilowerer. report* at Ixtndon and Moacow indicated that the Naii offenalve Into Ruttala haa been brought to an almon complete hah with terrific loaaea to the German attacking unita. Soviet aourcea In London heard that 10 German armored dlvlalona. probably half the armored atrength of the wehreacht. have been amaahed or crippled In the 42 daya aince Hitler launched hit legiona into action in the eaat. The defeat of theae divlaion* have put out of action an elite force of 110.04 M) German armored troopa. 4.500 tanka and 3.000 other vehiclea. it waa believed, aud have forced thy Germane to reorganise their armored divlaion. reducing the number of tanka per divlaion to maintain their dlvialonal forcea at the rated atrength. The Germana revealed that increaalng num I ver a of children are Iwlng evacuated from Berlin and the cltlea of weateru Germany to area* of Auatria and Ciechoalova--'WPNTINIIKIP ON PAttlS TMRKgII ROSELLI HAINES REVUE WINNER d Monroe Girl Is Winner Os County 4-H Club Dress Revue Roaella Hainea of Monroe won the grand championship In the Adame county dreaa -revue conteeta held Friday afternoon at the Lincoln achool. Aa a reault ahe will represent the county at the atate dreaa revue conteat to be held at Indianapoila during the atate fair. A large throng of people laat evening attended the public dreaa revue ataged on the free act platform on the corner of Third and Madison atreeta OHM revue wtnnera eelected yeaterday afternoon are aa followa: Flrat divbion — Margene Bauer, final; Mary Ann Ewel, aecond; Bonnie Schiefcratein. Second divlaion — Gwendolyn Rice, first; Jane’ Palmer aecond; Oelorea Bultemeier, third. Third divlaion — Evelyn Frohnapfel. flrat; Elenore Meyer, aecond; Evelyn Scheumann, third. Fourth divlaion — Verna Steury, flrat; Willa Mae Moaer. aecond; Helen Glendenlng. third. Fifth divlaion — Roaella Hainea. flrat; Irene Bultemeier. aecond; Ruth Hainea. third. o Official Program Saturday Afternoon I:oo—The RoMllea, Monroe and Third. * 3:oo—Paige A Jewett, Madiaon and Third. 4:oo—The Cardovaa. Monroe and Third. 1:00— Violetta 1 Hooka, Jackaon and Second. Saturday Night 7:oo—The Roaellea, Monroe and Third. • 00-Paige A Jewett, Madiaon and Third. • :00—The Cardovaa, Monroe and Third. , 3 ; 3S~Violetta ft Rooka, Jackaon tad Second,

County Institution Destroyed By Fire ’ ,«d - rjirv' i l "jjjr; 2 1 ! ‘ Pictured llopt are the rulna of the Adama county Infirmary, which waa <ompletely gutled by fire early Friday evening The lower photo la one of the Infirmary taken shortly after the building waa completed In IMI The Infirmary waa conatructed at a coal 0f535.M0 4<» yeara ago. Loaa haw been eatimated at approilmately SM.IMM. < Photo* by Cecil Melchli

Democrat Reporter One Os First At Scene Os Fire

By SIMON SCHWARTZ iStuff Correspondent I I wa* an eye witness last evening to one of Adam* county’s largest individual fires. In Ihose two hours or more from the time smoke first started pouring out of the top part of the Adams county infirmary. to the time when the flames haki gutted tiu- large structure which was home to forty four aged. si< k and needy persons. I observed many stirring scenes in which were written tragedy, hopelessness, resignation. desperation, and grief. Four of us were on our way to Decatur soon after 7 o’clock last evening, traveling north on highway 27. As we came north of Monroe we noticed a small cloud of smoke In a northeasterly direction. Having plenty of time before the start of the parade at the fair, we decided to investigate the origin of the smoke. As we approached the county farm we could tell It was coming out of the top part of the large Infirmary building. Arriving on the scene, we saw utter confusion. Just a handful of people were there and they had just started to move some of the sick and feeble inhabitants out of the building Home were carried out. some were taken out in wheel chalru and some walked out. We arrived there several minutes before any flames were visible, even on the Inside, but the entire building was filling rapidly with denae. black smoke. The few persons already on the scene had started to throw bed clothes, and other articles out of the upstairs windows, while chairs of all descriptions were being carried down. After the upstairs rooms were emptied, work of saving the beds, chairs and other pieces of furniture on the first floor started and by that time there were a large number of volunteers on band, all willing to help Among the first persons on the acene, or already there when we arrived were Roy Price, Arthur Bcheiderer, and his wife. who. driving toward the Infirmary from Decatur saw the smoke, Richard. Ralph and Robert Martin. Herman Losbe. Chris Eicher, gnd a few

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Saturday, August 2,1941.

others. All of these worked hard and faithfully and several of us were almost overcome by the smoke as we dragged the contents of the infirmary outside. Another one who was on the scene early waa William Linn, local merchant, who did more than his share in helping to save so many of the contents. The blase spread with amazing speed, and soon the flames were shooting out through the windows. But the volunteers continued to drag articles out of the burning building until large pieces of the celling started to fall down, then a halt was called. But even after burning embers were falling (CONTINUED ON PAUK HIX) i ■■ ■ "-O - " Sheriff Commends Motorists’ Attitude At Infirmary Fire Sheriff Ed Miller today issued a statement, expressing his appreciation for the cooperation given last night in handling the huge flow of traffic attracted to the Infirmary fife. Aided by State Police Officers Truman Blerle and Earl W'arnock. City Police Chief James Borders. Willlsm H. Bell end several volunteers. the sheriff wss sble to keep the Inflrmsry road open for ambulances. fire trucks and police going to and from the scene. With few exceptions, Sheriff Miller stated, motorists attracted to the scene, were exceptionally courteous when informed that no traffic was permitted on the infirmary road. Remembering the traffic tieup that occurred when the county farm barn burned, police officials made every possible effort to prevent a reoccurence of the Incident. Since literally hundreds of persona enroute to the street fair were attracted by the flame-colored sky, the traffic jam last night could have been the worst in history had it not been for the cooperation of the general public the sheriff stated.

DAMAGE SUITS ARE ON FILE Al Schmitt. Elton Archer File Damage Cross Complaints The legal status of the a.’tion following an auto accident in Randolph county on August 11. IMS. in In which Al D. Schmitt and Elton Archer, two local residents were injured, has taken a new twist in Adams circuit court. The driver of the. other car. Michael .Masslilo. had originally brought damage suits against the local men as had his wife and daughter. Now cross complaints have been filed in the suits of Michael Massilto against the two men. asking damages for personal injuries. The suit of Mr. Schmitt asks 325.ttoo damages, while that of Mr Archer demands |3.oo<i. 'New damage suits have also tieen filed by the local men against Masslllo. charging negligence and carelessness on bis part as the cause of the accident. These suits also ask 136.000 and 33.000. Arthur E. V’oglewede is attorney for Mr. Hchmltt and D. Burdette Custer la counsel for Mr. Archer. - --ft Infirmary Inmates Taken To Hospital Ten persons making their homes at the Adams county infirmary were admitted to the local hospital last evening after the home burned. The women. Including those who are helpless or bedfast, have had quarters arranged tor them in the basement of the houpltal and the men are being cared for on the first floor. Miss Kitty Fought Is in charge of the women. They are Mrs. Mars Falb, Mrs. Emma Rhode*:. Mrs. Rosie Everhart. Mrs. Angelina Bchlerllng and Mrs. Mary E. Rice. The men are In charge of Charlie Cook and include William C. Martin. William Highlen. Alec Durbin and Jim "Frenchy.”

44 Inmates Escape Flames As County Institution Is Raked By Fire Early Friday Evening Brick Building, Erected in 1901, Is Completely Destroyed By Fire At 7 O’clock Friday Evening; Inmates Removed From Building With Only Slight Injuries; Starts On Second Floor By Bull Shraluka tStaff Reporter) A barren, jfiitted ghell, yesterday a home for 1 h«* ag4«<l anti poor, was all that remained today of the Adams county infirmary—a grim reminder of the roaring h<d««caust which swept through the institution early last night, forcing th<« inmates from their last worldly refuge. Pathos and tragedy were written into the annals of the county last night as hundreds watched the 40-year-old. two-story brick building being completely destroyed in the conflagration. This morning as they walked through the scorched and twisted metal debris that littered the site once occupied by the building, county officials were faced with the herculean task of caring for the 41 persons who had been confined in the building. While no estimate of the damage was officially ventured

RUSSIA HALTS GERMAN DRIVE ON LENINGRAD Stall Nazi Army; Reds Report Victory In Smolensk Area 'Moscow, Aug. 2 < IT’)-Private J Russian advices reported today I that the Red army has stalled GerUMM «»ttaM'ls» ImhU tr«NU lira MurU) j and south on lam ingrad and that the second largest Soviet City is In ! no danger at present. Th<- successful halting of the drives upon Leningrad was report- | ed as the official communique in- i dlcated that after 17 days of fighting German's second major offensive still has fail)*d to break through Russian defense< in the Smolensk area. Russian forces. It was reported 11 carried out successful counter-at-tacks in the Smolensk region against the Nazi armored spearhead and (rattles riged all night. German forces were said Io have been unable to improve their positions in the region where they have been badly buttered by powerful Russian forces. Other battles raged In the Porkliov -and Nevel sectors to the north I and the Zhitomir region in the south but no essential changer in position occurred. The Red air fleet was said to have concentrated its offensive punch in the central sector where the heaviest fighting of the war is In progress in an attempt to reduce the German salient a* Smolensk. They pounded Nazi communication* with particular ferocity it was said dn the Baltic the Red naval air (CONTINUKp ON PAGE HIX) ft ft | County Infirmary Wa* Built In 1901 At Cost Os $35,009 ft ! , " " ft Contract for the construction of the county Infirmary building which was destroyed by fire last evening, was awarded by the commissioners to Cal Miller, contractor , of this city, on January 23. I9o|. The general contract, exclusive of plumbing, heating, wiring, was 322.65*. Cuno Ktbele of Bluffton was the architect for the *0 room house. The commissioners at that time were Samuel Doak. J. E Mann and Fred Reppert. the latter the father of Col. Fred Reppert of this city. The total cost of completing the building Is estimated at 335.004). In the paat 40 years many improvements have been added. Last fall the tubular fire escapes were Installed at a cost of 31153. They were ordered by the state welfare board. In October of last year the build- ( ing was rewired throughout at a coat of 3411. New cable circuits were run throughout the building and on Inspection by the state Investigator were approved. A conservative estimate of the present value of the main building, exclusive of the boiler house and laundry, was placed at 350,000.

by county official*. it was estimated that the loss would amount to $50,000 in actual value with replacement value running dill higher. A check with officials this morning revealed that insurance on the building totalled $25,800, which, allowing for salvage deductions, would lie reduced considerably. Although the cause of the blaze had not been definitely established late today, the opinion was ventured that defective wiring had created the spark, which later was to spread

Rescued Inmate L * 1 Mrs. Mary Rice Is pictured aleive. seated <m th>* lawn of th*- county infirmary, shortly after »he was carried to safety from th*- burning building. SEER HOMESTO HOUSEIHMATES Infirmary Inmates Temporarily Housed In Private Homes The 44 inmates 34 men and lo women who were forced to flee from the Adams county infirmary last night were found scattered throughout various places in and near the city of Decatur t<»day as county commiaaloners. trustee* and other officials feverishly made negotiations to place them in other institutions A call from the superintendent at the Marion county infirmary revealed that he could accomodate 15 of the inmates. Efforts of the Columbia City Infirmary to reach local authorities late this morning Indicated that institution could care for at least a few. Ixx-al officials were In Fort Wayne discussing the possibility that a few could be admitted lo the Allen county infirmary. Nine of the Inmates were still at tbe infirmary site today, living In the wash house and the cell block nearby, which Is ordinarily used to house Insane patients. These men are expected to continue farm labors and caring for stock. Six women, one of whom was placed in charge, and four men were taken to the hospital. With ths one exception these are the bedfast and sick Inmates Two were taken to the home of Harve taFountaine. former Infirm ary superintendent. Two were placed In a house trailer at First and Monroe, which happened to be vacant and for rent. Two were permitted to sleep In .COMTINUMD UN PAGE THimiF

Price Two Onto.

lover the entire structure. Superintendent Sam ReinIhart, members of his family, workmen at the institution and 44 inmates either t**cape<l | ; or were carried to safety before being reached by the I flames that enveloped the building. I It was shortly after 7p. m. I when passersby. including Richard and Robert .Martin, first saw the I smoke issuing from a northeast i attic corner. Superintendent Reinhart and Infirmary workers were hardly more II than notified when the tiames broke through the roof, hungrily spread to other parts of the buildI Ing and leaped Jo feet In the air. The gigantic work of speedily yel carefully removing bedfast. 11l and feeble-mlnd.-d inmales and patients was hurriedly conducted with the aid of Infirmary workers, and a score or more of persona first to arrive on the scene after they saw the red-hued sky above the blazing Inferno Only one Injury — and that (relieved a minor one was reported in a checkup of the inmates, while a fireman was also superficially hurt Within a few minutes aft«r the blaze was first noticed, the st adotis lawn of the Institution was littered with inmates. IWsls. cots, chairs ami 1 hundreds of pieces of furniture inti equipment that they managed to save from the flames. Tear-stained eyes of Inmates who regarded the institution as their own home were prevalent on all aides as they were carried to ambulances or made comfortable on makewhift beds out of the range of the blistering h-at from the burning structure. Several barely escaped burning to death or serious Injury as they repeatedly made attempts to reenter the inferno after items which made up their last possessions!. Today It was made known that the fire actually started sometlmo earlier In the shoe cobbler"* room on the second floor of the Institution. With the contents of four* fire extinguishers, Superintendent Reinhart, It was thought hud put out the blaze. The possibility Was suggested t >• day that the flames had entered th.» walls from this first blaze and un« , known to Infirmary occupants had spread to the attic. .Members of the Decatur and Berne fire departments and score* of volunteers frenzledly poured cun- ’ tinuous streams of water on th<» blaze in a futile effort to save aC least a wing of the building. The kitchen, womens dining room and a small section of th»» fCONTINUICn ON PACK THKKKt TEMPERATURE READING DEMOCRAT THERMOMETER 8:00 a. m. 70 10:00 a. m. 7S 11:00 a. m. 82 WEATHER Fair tonight and Sunday; little temperature change.