Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 169, Decatur, Adams County, 19 July 1945 — Page 1

•• W e I* Chores!

vd ■ll. No. 169.

F29S, BATTLESHIPS POUNDING AT JAPAN

Mfcions And ■I x City Off Explosions ■Maval Arsenal •ga-HfeWJnly 19— (IT) — Fire «»Teftdinfft uncontrolled through or neaßff royal Canadian arsena continuous drumfire e? MaqMim niunition today, drivins; (htßrnds from their homes and Dartmouth and piiicingWetu against the sea. Xe, tKis were leaving or arriving all boats had fled the harbor. ‘,V:ldKniors began sweeping th;- < iijK dawn as residents ven-glass-strewn sleepless night heavy s(rm« aßter-'d windows through-ii>.Hl-ea, only 14 otfidailw reported injured. But St persons were k.ileii. were jammed and u|B was no way to check me rumors. The Kty was almost panic scrfejM®* The worst was waiting lot* ®®»ext explosion and not knowtßßwliere it would come rUB ’ 'i&HHv and city officials quickly the north ends of 1 and Dartmouth acISBjlife o Plans drawn up during TfoMfsenal area was entirely c'esrjjil Officials, admitting that os-mjKj were unexpectedly t\ MggMd the number might inV *beii communications waSfitaldished with the small Tuft's Cove and Bedford, arsenal. Evacuees said damage was both explosions had echothe arsenal at a. m., windows in towns alongMe bay. The sixth rocked Habra* from end to end and ;> ir.geß the city into darkness. Rsßßi.its fled as far as they (•.jtißrom the arsenal area, crowßk against the sea at the »idK<l of the two principal was bright all night -B tongues of fire shot hunfeet into the air over the ' almalllel >t depot. Expliv 1 kept all persons from ’ by land or sea to damage or how much ’ ammunition remainwelcomed daylight and ioa ■nee to make an aerial obof the area. IgHunition exploded all ,lle ni B ht - The ominous ■ of exploding shells sotrala distant battle. Some of its-. Klls exploded in the air and Jfeßfell into Bedford basin. "fipr.ately, there was no wind (lan B er of the fire spreadthe arsenal to evacuated was negligible. acte d quickly to prerepetition of the Halifax of R ’ when SSBbnd half the city leveled or I,y the ex-plosion of the ammunition ship Mount collided with a Belship inside the harbor, said damage in the Nova W?* cap{tas woald amount close W.-^B ft, b f *00 from broken windows Streets were littered with JJwßh'oni windows that had only »r® y l)een re P airetl after l,e ' in V-day celebraf cJaT llells WBr ‘ 3 reported to have /WB in Halifax or Dartmouth. | were blasted off their hin■|zW ld window panes and sashes "y’cm their f rames by the six that rocked the area. JWraTo Pass 21 Column 4) jOJocrat thermometer JWMPERATURE reading fy 66 S Uy 78 ||B 0 P-«n - 86 WEATHER UMMtear and rather cool toBl,nr, y ancl rather warm

DECATUR DAILY

First Picture Os “Big Three” Meeting In Berlin Area Mb - aEMMKK . 'SB wS Wj|. S 1 W ■ IML jM ME» '*► B ' \ JISEsV I f M ' WB|| A. S A I ' I. 11 y*“ —"iz, FMiHfe-- F : ' > ••$ 1 x -> ' sag™ '& < ■ ? BiEl K t £m ft ■ ■ MTR i HERE IS THE FIRST PICTURE to reach the United States of the historic meeting between President Harry S. Truman of the U. S., Premier Joseph Stalin of Russia and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain at Potsdam, outside Berlin. The “big three’’ conferences now going on will decide the future fate of Europe. Signal Corps Radiophoto.

Hoover Urges Senate Approval Os Charter Says Congress Must Retain War Power San Francisco, July 19—UUP) — Former President Herbert Hoover last night requested senate ratification of the United Nations charter. He recommended some provision requiring the United States delegate to the security council to obtain congressional approval before committing this country to war. The nation's only living ex-pre-sident, in an address prepared for delivery to a nation-wide radio audience (CBS), characterized the San Francisco charter as “better than 'Dumbarton Oaks and probably as good a<s could be obtained. . “It should be ratified by the senate,” he declared. Hoover said that ratification of the charter involves little commitment by America beyond those entered into by our representative on the security council—a post to be filled by former secretary of estate Edward R. Stettinius. “While there need be little worry about our representative using our 'military forces for minor police inincidents,” Hoover said, “Yet the congress should never part with its powers to declare war.” The ex-president pointed out that under the British and French parliamentary systems, the vote of their security council representatives will be the view of their legis(Turn To Page 4, Column 4) o Predicts Senate To O.K. Monetary Bill Bretton Woods Bill Passage Foreseen .Washington, July 19 — (UP) — Senate Democratic leader Alben W. Barkley predicted today that the Bretton Woods monetary proposals would be ratified by the senate before it adjourns for the day. He was confident on an administration victory despite promises of a last-ditch fight by Sen. Robert A. Taft, R. 0., and other oppouets of the Global money plan. The Bretton Woods proposals provide for United States participation in a $9,100,669,000 (B) world bank which would make and guarantee loans for reconstruction and development, and an $8,800,000,000 (B) inter-national monetary fund to stabilize the world's currencies. U. S. participation in both would coat $6,000,000,000 (B). Taft told reporters before the senate met that he would seek elimination of the bank. He said it “won’t be necessary” because congress la enlarging the export-im-(Turn To Page 5. Column-6)

Suit Is Appealed To Circuit Court The cause of Harold Thieme vs Joseph Kintz, suit to recover a gold wrist watch, has been appealed to the Adams county circuit court. The case was filed in the court of justice of the peace E. J. Stengel at Berne and alleges that Thieme left his watch with Kintz for repairs and that he .still has it. The court found for the plaintiff in the sum of $35, plus $6.40 costa, and the appeal followed. The case will come up at the September term of court. o Mrs. James Ward Dies This Morning Decatur Lady Dies Os Heart Ailment Mrs. Susie Frances Ward, 73, wife of James C. Ward, died at 7:30 o'clock this morning at her home, 610 Kekionga street after a three weeks illness of a heart ailment. She was born in Wqlls county December 4, 1871, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Drumm. Mr. and Mrs. Ward celebrated their golden wedding anniversary September 19, 1941. She was a member of the Church of God. Surviving in addition to the husband are five daughters, Mrs. Grace Messick of Liberty Center, Mrs. Frances Cash of Indianapolis, Mrs. Leona "Walters of this city, Mrs. Margaret White of Columbia City and Mrs. Vida Johnson of Fort Wayne: two sons, Charles Ward of this city and Harley Ward of Fort Wayne; one brother. Henry Drum of this city; one sister, Mrs. Edward Howard of Wells county; 21 grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren. Two sons, two daughters, two brothers and one sister preceded her in death. Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Saturday at the home and at 2:30 o’clock at the Church of God, with the Rev. Glen Marehall officiating. Burial will be iii the Decatur cemetery. The body will be removed from the Black funeral home to the residence Friday morning and friends may call after 10 a. m. Escaped Soldier Prisoners Caught Vincennes, Ind., July 19 —(UP) — Three soldier-prieonfers who escaped from the army disciplinary barracks at Fort Benjamin Harrison Sunday night, were arrested by police today. * They were Melvin A. Klein, 29, Jack McKewen, Sr., 29, and John L. Hancock 21. Police chief Sherman Montgomery said the three men were arrested wltlle driving a truck reported to have been stolen at Lawrence, near Fort Harrison.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, July 19, 1945.

Annual Exhibit Os 4-H Clubs Planned Two-Day Exhibit At Berne Next Month Adams county 4-H leaders met in a council session at the Berne Park this week to complete plans for the annual exhibit. C. W. R. Schwartz and Clifton Sprunger, representing the Adams county farm bureau and the Berne Chamber of Commerce, which organizations will sponsor the 4-H show, met with the leaders. The exhibit will be held in Berne again this year, the home economics, garden and soils exhibits being housed in the community auditorium and the livestock and tractors in a tent across the street. The show will be open to the public on August 2 and 3. The following schedule of events was agreed upon: clothing, canning, and victory exhibits will be brought to the auditorium Tuesday, July 31, and will be judged Wednesday; garden, soil conservation, rabbit, and tractor club exhibits will be in place by 9:30 a.m. Thursday, August 2, and judged that day; Friday will see dairy and pig exhibits in the tent and the addition of baking and food preparation exhibits in the auditorium. Food exhibits are to be in pla«? by 9 a.m. so that judging can ldß:om(Turn To Page 5. Column 4)

Lt. Dick Sheets Recommended For Distinguished Flying Cross

Lt. (jg) Robert D. L. (Dick) Sheets, USNR, son of Mrs. Addie Sheets Pitser of the Bellmont Road, has been recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the navy’s highest awards, after completing more than 60 missions with a navy air squadron in the Pacific war theater. Lt. Sheets, pilot of a twin-engine bomber, has been in the navy since June, 1942. He began his naval air cadet training immediately and on AugusT 4, 1943, was commissioned an ensign at Corpus Christi, Texas. He went to the Pacific area last year. On August 1, Lt Sheets will report to the naval air Base at Jacksonville, Fla., and in all probability the award of the DFC will be made at that place. Announcement of conferring the award on Lt. Sheets was received from the press section of the fleet home town news center in Chicago, by this newspaper. The squadron to which Lt. Sheets is attached is a part of a search and reconnaissance unit which made repeated successful strikes against the Japanese homeland. The group aided in the neutralization of Nauru, the Marshalls, Pagan and Rota in the Marianas, and Woleai and Yap In the Carolines.

Aussies Drive For Inferior Oil Supplies Inland Part Taken By Australian Men Without Jap Fight Manila, July 19 —(UP)— In an unopposed advance Australian troops driving for Borneo’s interior oil supply, swept today beyond the riverport of Marudi, 30 miles inland, which they had captured without a fight. iFighting remained elack as the Aussies, after taking Marudi which lies southwest of the Seria-Miri oilfields, were still unable to contact any sizeable Japanese force. In the Balikpapan area of eastern Borneo, Australian forces recovered quantities of abandoned supplies and equipment. Allied light naval units continued to support ground forces with a heavy bombardment of enemy installations near Balikpapan destroying four barges and a number of gun emplacements. (Tokyo radio, heard by the United Press in San Francisco, claimed that Japanese garrison troops in the Balikpapan area had launched counter attacks on Sunday killing or wounding 150 Allied troops. The broadcast also reported “intense fighting is now in progress on both sides of the Samarinda highway.) Heavy bomber patrois and fighter units pounded industries and communications in the Formosa area, hitting ammunition storage facilities at Mako. In the Pescadores, west of Formosa, planes bombed factory buildings near Tainan and damaged railway installa- • (Turn To Page 2, Column 7) 0 Pukiang Captured By Chinese Forces Closing In Now On Fortified Hangchow Chungking, July 19 —(UP)—The Chinese communique today announced Chinese troops have captured Pukiang, 60 miles southwest of Hangchow in central Chekiang province, and are now closing in on heavily fortified Hangchow Bay where the Japanese are prepared for a possible Allied landing. Pukiang is located approximately 15 miles west of the railway leading southwest from Shanghai to Changsa and the Chinese rice bowl. The communique also reported Chinese forces have recaptured a point 15 miles northwest of Kweilin, in north eastern Kwangsi pro-

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It also furnished an air screen for the fleet in attacks and landings in the Palaus, the Philippines, at lowa Jima, and Okinawa. The squadron was the firet me-dium-bomber unit to operate off Iwo Jima after the first landings there. After* the island was won the medium-bomber outfit used it as a'base for carrying out hard-hit-ting rocket and bombing missions against enemy shipping off the Japanese coast.

Greatest Superfort Raid Follows Bombardment Os Tokyo Bay By Battleships

Truman Linking Pacific War To Aid To Russia Speedy End To War With Japan Chief Aim At Conference Potsdam, July 19. —(UP) —President Truman carried into the third Big Three session today the most! potent bargaining stock of the con- ; ference — billions of dollars of American aid to be balanced off against military help in the Pacific. An official announcement —one of the few pieces of concrete information seeping through the rigid censorship—revealed that Mr. Truman was giving an official state dinner tonight. Churchill, Stalin, and five representatives of each government were attending. The Big Three had established a schedule of regular meetings. The foreign ministers were meeting daily at 11 a.m. to prepare the material for the following meeting of Mr. Truman, Stalin, and Churchill. This procedure began Monday with Secretary of State James F. Byrnes presiding and the chairmanship rotating thereafter. Charles Ross, White House press secretary, disclosed that Ge n. Omar N. Bradley was summoned to the conference compound Friday to discuss his new job as chief of veterans administration with Mr. Truman. Premier Stalin and Prime Minister Churchill are learning that Mr. Truman’s position in this conference is strictly give and take. The President's policy, it can be revealed, is essentially this. The United States will not pour out Rs tremendous material wealth without something concrete in return. It will not undertake fresh economic burdens without some concessions from the other side. And Mr. Truman is completely uninterested in concessions l involving goods or cash —because there simply isn’t any of either in Europe. Instead, he intends to fit. the United States’ material wealth to the situation of the different United Nations, including Russia. And the best legal tender in his view is anything that will bring the war against Japan to a speedy end. The President is a veteran of one world war and is mindful of the t — * (Turn To Page 6, Column 6) Q Indiana Liquor Code Sustained By Court Expect Democrats To Appeal Ruling Indianapolis, July 19.—(UP)— Democratic beer wholesalers, faced with , loss of their business to Republicans, today were expected to appeal a three-judge federal court decision upholding the 1945 Indiana liquor code. Circuit Judges Evan A. Evans and J. Earle Major of Chicago and district judge Luther M. Swygert ruled at Hammond yesterday that the laws enacted by the recent Indiana legislature were constitutional. Under the act, licensee of all beer wholesalers were cancelled May 1. A dozen northern Indiana Democratic dealers obtained a restraining order to prevent the state alcoholic beverage commissions from enforcing the law, which they said was unconstitutional. The decision dissolved the restraining order and left the Democrats with the alternative of losing their licenses or appealing the case to the United States supreme (Turn To Page 5, Column 6),

Resigns K -B BH u® r.V'' - : Kml Mrs. Faye Smith Knapp, director of the Adams county public welfare department since its inception in 1936, today announced her resignation, effective August 20. Mrs. Knapp To Quit Post As Welfare Head Welfare Director Resigns Position Effective Aug. 20 The resignation of Mrs. Faye Smith Knapp, as director of the Adams county public welfare department. effective August 20, was accepted by the department directors last evening. Mrs. Knapp, who has served as director since the welfare department was first established in May, <936, gave as her reason for resigning the change made in the administration of the office, through the law enacted by the 1945 general assembly. Her written statement to the board members follows: “Please accept my resignation as director of the Adams county public welfare department, to be effective August 20, 1945. I do not wish to continue my administration of the department under the new public welfare laws which | are to be in effect in the near future. The work of the department, including re-investigation of public assistance cases, is up to date and in good order. “1 wish to express to this board and previous board members my sincere appreciation of the cooperation and very constructive aid which have been given to me during my service as county welfare director.” The appointment will be filled by the county board, from an eligible list of candidates furnished by the personnel division of the Indiana merit system department in Indianapolis. Prospective candidates must file their application with the state merit division. In connection with her duties (Turn To Page 6, Column 4) 0 Mrs. Mary Rich Dies Early This Morning Mrs. Mary Rich, 83, widow of the late Joseph Rich, died early this morning at the St. Joseph hospital in Fort Wayne. She spent most of her lifetime in and near Berne. Survivors include a step-son, Noah Rich of this city. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Defenseless Meunonite church, west of Berne, with burial in the church cemetery. The body will be removed from the Yager funeral home to the Jacob Yoder residence near Berne.

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Price Four Cents.

Over 600 Superforfs Drop 4,000 Tons Os Fire Bombs On Four Industrial Centers Guam, Friday, July 20 —(UP)-— More than 600 B-29 superfortresses, following up the greatest fleet surface and air bombardment in history, showered almost 4,000 tons of fire bombs on four Japanese industrial cities of Honshu island early today. The newest and greatest superfort attack came While Tokyo bay echoed from the crash of American gunfire from a naval squadron which shelled the mouth of ‘he enemy stronghold in a bid to flush out the remnants of Japan’s imperial fleet. Today's targets were the Honshu cities of Hitachi. Choshi, Fukui and Okazaki. This raised to 47 the number of Japanese industrial centers blasted in the 20th air force’s knockout campaign. In addition, the superforts pinpointed the important Nippon Oil Co. refinery north of Osaka with a cargo of high explosives, making it the tenth oil center sought out by the silvery giants. The navy revealed that American carrier pilots sighted and attacked Japanese “combat shipping” at the Yokosuka naval base just inside Tokyo bay during yesterday's fleet attack. That suggested that major enemy fleet units might have been caught there, almost in range of Allied warships. Units of the great superfortresf fleet dropped their incendiaries over a 310-mile stretch of Honshu. Hitachi, Vital war production center 75 miles north of Tokyo with a population of 52,000, was still reeling from a bombardment by heavy fleet units Tuesday night. “Hitachi came up for its turn coincidentally,” a headquarters spokesman said. "It has been on our list for a long time.” Choshi, Honshu's most important fishing harbor, lies 60 miles east of the bomb-battered Japanese capital. Fukui, prefectual capital, is one of the leading industrial cities of western Honshu. Okazaki is an industrial suburb of Nogoya. The superforts streamed over their targets for ninety minutes, dropping their incendiaries into a combined population of more than 327,000 people, jammed together in areas as dense as 50,000 per square mile. Hitachi’s plants, manufacturing electrical equipment, machine tools, aircraft parts, tanks and locomotives, already had been devastated by the fleet bombard(Turn To Page 3, Column 6) 0 Ticonderoga Blasted By Suicide Planes 144 Men Dead Or Missing I • Attack Washington. July 19 ■— (UP) — Three hundred and thirty seven American fighting men were lost or injured when two Japanese (suicide planes crashed into the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga near Formosa early this year and left the ehip in flames, the navy revealed today. Os the casualties, 144 are dead or missing, the navy said in announcing that the 27,000 ton Essex class carrier already has been repaired and is back in the Pacific. The story of the Ticonderoga was a saga of a heroic crew’ and their iskipper, Commander Dixie Kiefer of Kansas City, who kept fighting for 12 hours despite 65 body wounds. The Ticonderoga joined the fast carrier task force in November. 1944. In her fiFst tour of duty, her planes sank two cruisers, two destroyers, four destroyer escorts, 23 other craft and destroyed or dam(Turn To Page 6, Column 5).