Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 45, Number 79, Decatur, Adams County, 3 April 1947 — Page 1

L XLV. No. 79.

KRUG ORDERS HAZARDOUS MINES CLOSED

■Study Truman I power To Halt K " [phone Strike I CIO Opposition To I Anti-Strike Bill I Is Voiced Today I Washington. April 3 HT» ■ <lix< Immd «<>• K V that they seanllillg ''Xixl ■T .tj'lte* ti> determine whether Trimun ha* authority to ■ the teleph.'tie companies to ■* r .. a nationwide strike net for a ;n. Monday Bon., lawyer laid the study ha* ■ mtered "It the federal < ommuni H jtuti- a*' which, he -aid. gives I ,e president ■ ertain powers to I ikeo'.er and utilize equipment "In I tent of »ar." D Th* government'* specific war ■ g„ seizure powers under the Kith-Connsliy ••**' expired last K,- 31, When Mr Truman pro cessation of hostilities t h* did not proclaim Hie end of war That will be done only all ttie peace treaties have ■ K signed ■ •Techniially were Still at war." B,- government attorney said. ■Hr said the decision a* to ■ t -.ether the government has any ■ pliur* power under the federal ■•m»iinl<atioiis act is up to st-Kr-.».v general Tom Clark IB)'('(' sources said no comintinii a ■ itfos ever have been tak ■ ;lt of ,i labor dis. (K > ■Meanwhile the CIO told chairman Er.J Hartley. R.N.J .of the I Buie labor committee that his bill ■ forestall the scheduled strike ■ federal injunction is "blatant ■<l opea interference in a labor ■- ite or the -id-- of employer* ' ■ Allan 8. Haywood, CIO vice ..nd director of organi■tM expressed CIO opposition to measure in a letter to Hartley. hulls- labor (omilliltee ap ■'•'• I t .e bill yesterday but there little chance of congressional before the deadline for a Hk *bk telephone strike at 6 I Monday The bill would give President temporary authority *k a court injunction against m that affect the public wel and safety. e government promised day night conferences right down >« deadline in hope of avert j the Walkout, but negotiations r have shown no apparent pro i. bitration appeared the best of settling the dispute in to prevent the strike. Repre Hives of the telephone work and the various Heil System >anies were willing to arbi but have been unable to t on terms. ywood said Hartley's proposal *’ upon employes involuntary "tde for indefinite periods of lywood suggested that the bill r “ r "_To Hags I, Column S) ket Stolen While iting For Body *« "Beach" Beery, brother- _ ‘ «f .Mrs. Minnie DeVor. be-1 K , t" be a drowning victim, de-1 May that he had learned *‘’ rid * n:eane »t man " Ch * !"■*** in a gtappling £■ °f the Decatur lady, ES ,"d authorities someone took i B.'? Vy * ,K ’ l f'otn hte car. Kt... I ‘ t ' ar ' iy Mr •’••nt. a veter Ku ° f ,h " o * n *t“* Electric Police force, said a G E em BBT 1 ' *** "f**d to the jacket E'atd removed, Kote Wide Search B Dr Alieg e( j Killer Kk^’ IK Ap! “ 3 -<up»Kh or n 3 *“>- Krged .in Z ' Pen,M - 30 - *ho it Kt dnth ? ?" rd ‘‘ r tn the * ub K F U '^’ f JjT ,i “" < e ' Mr " Hilda ■ And. I '/*' 1 * m ‘* hw - Mrs. LiliWho * l *’ »•* stab- ■ 81,. «a d she’* n,M “* ’ he •*<Xhtl ,ro ' bu * Ker., i WEa< THER Kir fonlL e ‘* W,,MM: " ot “ Brio* ’**' C ' oUd> and mUd I I •

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Search Continued For Woman’s Body Authorities Keep Up Search For Lady latte this afternoon i<ore~ of, 1 workers, including slate and cnun ' ty police authorities, wi re still [ searching the St. Mary's river near I’h-usunl Mills for th<- body of .Mrs. Minnie DeVor, -11. wife ot a Decatur dentist, who is believed tc have drowned there. Mrs. DeVor has been missing ■ I from her home since n a. tn. Tuesday an I footprints leading to the water's edge near Pleasant ' Mills led ai’thoiitie* to believe ’ that she had taken her own life Police res<Ue units from Fort Wayne. Steuben county, the state ' police system at Ligonier, and i Asks For Aid > Sheriff Ih-rman Bowman i late this afternoon asked for help from Adams county men in searching for the body of Mrs. Minnie DeVor. believed I to have drowned in the St Mary's river near Plei.sant Mills. There are a number ’ of grappling hooks lying idle, ho said, because there are not ‘ enough workers to aid in the search. Van Wert, Ohio, were still being , j used late toilay in an effort to I .(locate the body of the local lady. I The workers temporarily abati dotted their searc h at darkness last night, to begin at early dawn 'today Concentrating their efforts in a 2fiO-foot area, the worker* search :ed all day Wednesday and then i began their tedious task again tliie . morning I Meanwhile, the Adams county , . chapter of the American Beil | J Cross furnished hot coffee and I 1 j sandwiches to the official and j volunteer searchers. • Phil Saner, chairman of the J chapter's disaster committee, --u >■ pervised the distribution of food stuffs to the colil. wet and hungry ■•archers who can led on their job - despite a biting wind and inter mittent rainfall last night Ken j neth Runyon acted a* steward at the scene, seeing that each work -er received hit proportionate share. A fire was built early last even ! I Ing by some of tin- searching par ■ ty and this helped somewhat to take away the chill of the damp spring evening. , The metal boat of the Indiana ' state police, dispatched here from , Ligonlt#. was given an outboard i motor and the men in that boat - moved northwest in their search. Despite the fact that about hall a dozen boats and three times that many men have been pressed into service during the search, no trace of the Irody had been found at a late hour. The road alongside the river has I become extremely treacherous and motorists have Ireen warned tot (Turn To Pare C. Column &) ■ - "O De Gaulle Back In French Politics Communist Party Alarmed At Move Parin. Apr. 3 — (UPI — Gen. < Charles DeGnulle returned from 1 retirement to the French political arena today, and the powerful 1 communist party reacted in sudden alarm to his emergence At an incredible meeting with ' Premier Paul Ramadier Monday ' nightyijeGaulle left no doubt that he was hack In politics and , swinging at the shaky coalition ( cabinet. When his intentions became ( clear, the communist party announced a mass demonstration tonight at the Palais Des Sports ( to protest “the attempted seizure , of power by one man”—De Gaulle. ( AH party members were asked ( to attend in the interests of "the , defense of the republic." Ramadier, alarmed by De ( Gaulle's attack on the government ( in a Bruneval speech last Sunday. , asked the wartime leader of the , Free French to visit him in Paris. De Gaulle did not appear Rama t dier motored to his home 130 miles ( from Paris for the precedent sha’- | (Turn fTo Page t, Column I) 1

Woman Found Murdered At Indianapolis I Estranged Husband Os Attractive Blond Sought By Police Indianapolis, April 3 (If’l An attractive blond woman was found shot to death along a bi idle pith today and near her body lay a mystery novel. Police identified th»* woman as Mrs. Jeannette ('. Griffin. 39, (250 X Tacoma Ave i. They sought for questioning her estranged husband. Stanley, from whom she had been separated about a year. The fully-clad body, a bullet wound through the heart, was discovered on the g-ounds of the Silver Hills riding stables by a IT-year-old boy taking a short cut to the home of a friend. A copy of a book, "House of Darkness," the scattered contents of a woman's purse, a hat. a pair of gloves were lying nearby. Police found footprints and the marks of automobile tires in the soft earth of the bridle path. Mrs. Griffin's mother. Mrs. ! Loretta Crider, said a description ' of the woman tallied with that of her daughter. But deputy sheriff Virgil Quinn delayed having the mother attempt to identify the body because she was nearly hysterical. The death weapon could not lit found Coroner C. P. Van Meter said the -hooting occurred sometime last night or early this morning. I The body was found shortly before ! H a.m. A hospitalization insurance identification card issued to Mrs. Griffin was found in the purse. The woman wore a rose-colored dress and high-heeled shoes. The purse, a black hat and a pair of black gloves were found 15 feet from the body, and a book. "House of Darkness." also lay nearby. Police found papers from the purse scattered over the ground The body was discovered by William Simpson. 17, who told police ' he was taking a shortcut to the home of a friend shortly before s a m today when he saw the body lying at the edge of the bridle path. Police found a footprint they said appeared to have been made by a man near the body in the soft mud of the bridle path. Deputy sheriffs said the woman appeared to have been dead since last night Employes of the riding stable (Turn To Page T. Column t> 0 Good Friday Will Be Observed Here Suspend Business During Three Hours Decatur will Join with the rest of the nation tomorrow in observing Good Friday, commemorating the Three Hours tha‘ Christ spent on the Cross at Calvary. For three hours — from 12 o'clock noon until 3 pin — practically all activity in the city will be at a standstill. Ail buaiiness will be suspended and stores in the city will be closed. The three hours will be observed in the annual Good Friday union services for all Protestant churches at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church. One of three gervices at the St. Mary's Catholic church will also he held during that time. Schools in Decatur were closed today as students enjoyed their annual Easter vacation. In the public schools, students will resume their studies Monday morning, while at the Catholic school here they will not go back until Tuesday morning after observing Easter Monday. Special services marking the occasion will be held at various < times, some being scheduled for early Sunday morning in Sum tee services. The annual Easter egg hunt at the B P. O. Elks will be a feature of the observance on Sunday, with hundreds ot kiddioi from the community taking part

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, April 3, 1947

Shift Telephone Talks To Capital it ; w Ek MK la* EX oSKjlba •£**—*"JBAjjwjf ? j i I" r_<._. AS THREAT of national telephone strike drep«-ns. top union and telephone company officials have moved into Washington, I) c. from , New York Io participate in conferFnces aiim-J at halting April 7 walkout of 2M7.000 worker* in 39 affiliates of the National Federa- , Hon of Telephone Workers in support of |l2 weekly pay boost de hand. At th<- laibor department (from left I, George S. Dung, assistant vice president of the American Telephone A Telegraph Co ; William .Margolis, federal labor conciliator, and John .1 Moran, head ’ of the long lines workers, get their heads together.

I. ■ I 11 Persons Killed In Fireworks Blast Gunpowder Touched Off In Missouri i I Clinton, Mo., April ' (UP> > Th«* Gaming death* of 11 worker* in an explosion-ripped fireworks • plant was attributed today to ai small blaze of unknown origin which touched off gunpowder used in making Fourth of July 'buzz bombs.” Five other workers were injred.i Five other workers were injured. and 12 escaped, when fire and ex-i plosion leveled all but the front wall of the one-story Brown Manufacturing company's plant on the city's eastern outskirts yesterday. Mrs. Morton Johnson, tit. died, early today of burns received in the blast. Some of the workers began to race for the door when they saw) the tiny blaze. Others knew nothing until the explosion hit Clyde Knowles, one of the* survivors. was working 15 feet front the door. "I saw a little flicker of fire on a batch of finished bombs. By the time I got to the door, the whole damn place was on fire." "There was a sheet of flame and then it seemed like a sheet of' smoke, like you'd puff from a dgar." one survivor said. Three victims were blown out of theHiuilding Their bodies were found in a drainage ditch 25 feet away. The other charred bodies were recovered from the ruins Survivors said the fire started in the saw room a small, sealed-off compartment when- cardboard tubes loaded with black powder were notched to permit attachment of cardboard wings. Husbands and wives worked side by side in the plant J W. Moyer, 70. and his wife. Edna. 60. of Deepwater, Mo., were killed. Two workers. Floyd Shephard and W. K. Belton, escaped. When they couldn't find their wives outside. they started to run back into ' the plant to rescue them. Belton perished in the flames, not know(Turn To Page S Col item 8> o . Church Officers Named Last Night Three elders, two deacons and two trustees were elected by the' congregation of the First Prenby-j terian church of this city at the annual meeting of that congregation j 1 held Wednesday night following a family supper at the church. The Bev. J. W .McPheeten. Jr. 1 presided at the congregational meeting as moderator and Sim Burk, president of the trustees, presided at the corporation meeting 1 Paul Blackburn, Roscoe (llendenning and J. L Kocher, Sr. were elected to three-year terms an elders ' and Mrs. M. A. Frising-r and Mrs I Roscoe Glendenning were named to the board of deacons. W E Pet- i rie and Dick Heller were named < trustees of the church. I Representatives of all groups and | societies of the church submitted . annual reports.

Expects Price Line Decrease Next Month Albuquerque. N M . April .1 tt'Pi Secretary of agriculture Clinton P. Anderson Maid today that be expected the price line on in dustrial equipment and manufactured goods to start a downward curve after May 1. to be followed by a drop in food costs later. Farm product prices, he said, 'might "stay up until the spring wheat crop is -ate.” "It is whale of a cron and might uni to |.2sii ono.fmo <B» buahels a real record breaker." Anderson predicted | UN Approves U. 5. Conlrol Os Islands Plans Up To Congress For Final Approval Lake Success. N V . April 3 (VP)—American claims to per manent control of the Japanesc m.indated islands in the Pacific headed for final approval by con gross today with the unanimous en dorsement of the United Nations; security council. As soon as congress approves either by a two thirds senate vote lor joint resolution the United States will hold exclusive custody of the islands under the UN's first strategic tifisteeship agreement The council endorsed the plan without a dissenting vote last night, giving this country full title to the 62,1 Marianas. Caroline ami Marshall islands which freckle an soii.ooo.mile shoreline stretch of the Pacific. Heralded by American delegate Warren Austin as “proof that the UN Works." the council's decision gave America virtual sovereignty over the islands once controlled by Japan, and the right to dose; off and fortify any of them at any time for security reasons. The American government can' forbid foreign nations to enter the territory, some of which lies closer to Vladivostok. Russia's Idg Pacific port, than to San Francisco British and Russian efforts to amend the terms were put down after Austin served notice that any major alteration* might cause withdrawal of the the trusteeship agreement. That meant the United States would go through with its I plan to maintain exclusive control of the islands whether the security council agreed or not. The council's action virtually completed the first major territorial change to result from the war However. Soviet Russia now controls the formerly Japanese controlled Kttrile islands under a Yalta agreement of the big three. The in other nations on the council, wearied by hour* of debate over the proposed British and Russian changes, stamped their approval on the agreement after days of debate In recognition of the major role American troops played in wresting them from Japanese control and winning the Pacific war. »

518 Closed Indefinitely, Others Must Be Certified Safe; Lewis Lashes Krug - ■ -— I -

Open Hearings Into Centralia Disaster Testimony On Mine Tragedy Conflicts '’entrails. 111 . April 3 (CPt The assistant superintendent of Centralia mine No 5 admitted be fore a C S -enate sub committee I today that “it wo a dusty mine.” The sub-committee, which came here to seek tile cause and fix responsibility for the disaster in which 111 miners perished, opened it hearings with testimony by assistant superintendent Harry Niertnann Niermann te-tified tli.it in bis ' opinion the explosion whic h swept the mine March 25 was caused by Ignition of "an excessive amount of powder from somewhere, someplace, somehow " He said he noticed powder smoke in the mine shaft immecliately after the explo ion Xic-unan's testimony conflicted with statements by three other mine- company supervisory em ployc-s made- today before- a special investigating cummittc-e formed by Gov. Dwight E Grec-n. They said they- neither saw nor detected powder smoke The three were William N. Brown, underground mine mana- , ger. ('. V Zinkwic z. lift manager; land A .1 Sltndermeyer. night superintendent. Zinkwicz said the smoke smelled like coal smoke I t'nder questioning by Sen Guy j Cordon. 11. Ore , Niermann admitted that rock du-ting of the 1 mine was not carried out "to the letter of the law Hock dusting is i the spreading of rock chi t to cut down explosive coal dust "Niermann said the mine was rock dusted "whenever possible." , He said the comfcanv planned to rock dust the- weekend before the 1 disaster but was prevented from { doing so by equipment f cilure* "We tried to rock dust mid or f wic ea year." he said He admitted how-ver. that (Turn To Page 7, ('ol-imn — . QMay Redistribute City Mail Routes Postmaster Asks Additional Route There is a strong possibility that the c ity mail routes operating out of the Decatur post office will be redistributed and the four piesent routes made into five- routes [with the addition of an auxiliary (carrier. Leo Kirsch, postmaster, stated today Mr Kirsch said that «(forts along [that line so that Residents cd McMillen and Stratton additions could [get city catrier service Instead of ! rural carrier service, were- started several months ago A representative of the ('incinnatidistrict postal inspection office was in Decatur recently and the rec ommeiid itions for the- change are now in the hands of the first assistant postmaster general Mr. I Kirsch stated that he did not know I just when the proposal would be [acted on. but indications are it w ill be fairly soon. The local postmaster stated that ' incoming mail had increased rapidly the last few months, especially i magazines and parcels. In many instances It is impossible for the present four city carriers to make their routes twice in the eight hours they are permitted to work It is believed that the addition of a fifth man would improve this condition In all probability residents in McMillen and Stratton' additions will gel only one mail [ delivery daily, but this will be an improvement ove: the present setup Incidentally, the local post office has it* troubles too At preßent five of the 22 regular postal employes ate confined to their homes with sickness t

Truman's Aid Program Wins Committee OK Foreign Relations Committee Approves Greece, Turkey Aid Bv I’nitcci Pr< i Presicb Tinman* top-com- , niunism program for Greece and , Turkey today received senate fol eign relations committee approval 4 amid sign* it i influencing hoih t British foreign policy and d<iib , , orations of the big four at Mo- , I eOW The senate committee approved Mr Truman's plans with some i [ reservation*, including a contpro 'mine amendment by Sen Arthur If Vandenberg. It.. Mich which II would give tin- I'nited Nations arl theoretic al veto power ovc-r the! program The FN would be aide (o halt i . the Truman program if it was ,- willing and able- to take over the . situation in Greece- and Turkey itself In Moscow there wore signs . that both British foreign secretary Ernest Bevin and Frem h sot I elgn mini ter (Dorges Bidault ■ would be reluctant to return home tc face leftwing critics without r some solid achievement* to report In both countries there- was • growing concern over the sharp [ • ness of the split between the' I'nited States and Russia which: > would be macle more acute bv ■ failure of the Moscow conferenceIn Britain. Bovin wa- tindet i heavy leftwing fire- within hl-' i own party In France the politicalstruggle* bc-iwe-en left and right I was intensified further ny the- re emerge nce of Gen ('hades De-1 Gaulle- ami his apparent intention | to enter the political arena in op position tn the present coaii'ion government. In Washington, chairnian Char les A Eaton of the house- foreign I affairs committee charged that [ the I’nited Nations was unable to! deal with the situation in Greece and Turkey because Russia had blcM-ked c reation of an international military force He also said c Turn To I'age 7. Column 5» — 0 Spencerville Bank Robbed Wednesday More Than $3,000 Obtained By Youth Spencerville Ind April .'! (('Pi Ohio and Michigan authorities joined Indiana police today in a search tor a youthful, freckle-faced bandit who held up the- Fanners and Merchants bank late yesterday ' and escapeci with between fa.(MH( [ and fl.mm Miss Margaret Schaney. 27. wae the only clerk on duty when th«-| young man. wearing a light scarf! over his (ae e. entered the Icatlk | shortly before closing time Keeping one hand in his overcoat pocket, he demanded that Mis* Schaney give* him a large amount of cash on the counter liefore her. The bank cle k said she didn't: hesitate “It looked like he had a revolver." ehe- said. The amount taken was estimated between |3.IMM* and *4.0(10 bv cash-' ler Clyde Rec-tenwall The bandit fled toward Fort 1 Wayne. 25 mile* away, in a new [ Studebaker bearing Ohio license plate*, police said. A imlice blockade was set up around the urea. The youth was degc-ribed as being about five-foot-fou:. weighing about 140 pounds, and freckled faced with light brown hair State police checked the hank for finferpriiita

Price Four Cents

Mine Union Leader Demands Krug Fired As Aftermath Os Centralia Blast Washington. Apr 3 tl'l’t — S<-c n-tary of interior .1 A. Krug today ordered SIX hazardous soft coal mine- c -lom-cI indefinitely an actic.n which will cut production <by one-sixth and retard the steel industry. A ting in the- wake- of the Centralia mine disaster in which 111 miner- wc-i«- ktlh-l Kmig al <> diI rec ted that the- industry's other 12,(H3 mine remain clo-el until their managers certify they arena fc-. All soft coal mines are rinsed Hils week ill a “me-morlal" shutdown ordered by president John L [ Lewis of the I'nited Mine WorkI ers ( AFLt Krug's ac tion meant that most, and probably all. of the 51s "hazardous" mines will remain closed after the mourning jo-rlod ends at midnight Sunday Some o' them may nev-ci reopen Many* e l the- 2.013 other mines also will ' remain eIo ed until safely certificates are issued Most of these, [however, are expect<• I to be re ' opened within a week after the 'memorial" shut down ends. As Krug announced th®, drastic ord< r big John 1. la-wis wade - nouncing him before a house Inlwir subcommittee- in his be - -tyle-Le-wi- boomed out a thundering demand that Krug Io- removes! from office for failure to enforcesafety rule--Thc mine workc r* leader a-ke-d fo>- coiigression.il action to return to his union the |7<wt.(((»o contenipr. j fine- imposed for calling a strike* last fall He- propose! that themoney be- u-ee| as a trust fund to ' care for widows eef the- victims of i the- Centralia dixa-te-i and of an[itthc t mine disastet in Kentucky | last year IL- asked for a law- making It mandatory for federal coal min--inspector* to c lose- clown unsafe* : min*-* And he- again accused i K i ug of negligence A spokesman for the- coal mines administration estimated that theproduc tion loss from the- 51S e liee I mines Would be- 351t.(e0(l I >ns 1 daily Normal production now Is about 2.|(m.00(» ton* daily He lie , lie-ve-d that many of these- mines might never reopen Some* of the mines, he- said, se-rve- the steel Industry. Ce-rtaln conditions were- prescribed for reopening of the- s|s hazardous mines, lt.-fore themines may tie opened, the local CMW mine- safety committee- must agree to certification of them a* safe or the- coal mine* admlnistraI tor may i-sue- an order authorlz ire them a* safe after they havebeen re-examined by federal coal Inspectors and found to be In conformance with safety code* la wis insisted that Krug should (Turn T- Page *. Column (c Late Bulletins Evansville, Ind. April 3— (UP)—Mayor Manton Reichert was indicted and arrested today on charges of collecting pohtical funds under false pretenses, corrupt practices, and nvalconduct in office. Three other city and Vanderburgh county officiate were indicted on similar charges. Santa Ana, Cal., April 3.— (UP)—-Blood on the clothing of George (Bud) Gollum, 21, was identical in type and chemical composition to that of Walter Overeil, murdered with his wife. Beulah, on their yacht March 15. investigating authorities disclosed today. Philadelphia. April 3.—(UP) —Commissioner Bert Bell of the National Football league today suspended indefinitely Merle Hapes and Frank Filchock in connection with the bribery attempt before the New York Giants • Chicago Bears ehsmpionship gams test Dec. 15.