Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 45, Number 90, Decatur, Adams County, 16 April 1947 — Page 1

I XLV. No. 90.

HUNDREDS ARE KILLED OR INJURED AS EXPLOSIONS ROCK GULF COAST REGION

lan To End Kone Strike ■Rejected ■■hone Union Head l|oys Wage Boost IKust Be Offered oK* hi " c '‘’'’' ' ,,ri1 p>— jk Kh \ UHinif. president of the ■K nation;*! federation of tele 1 HE, workers, -ai.l today that (.pacific wage offer can IK ilw .l-adlo. k io t egoliatioiss ■ K I'.e 10-l.s "Id national tele strike 1 Keim.- ...id ne »;u "confident will win" Its fight for wages and improved .oiiditions atid added: ■ K strike will go until we do ■K. ..!•• .'.r.-inel ! after liolh and th" \nierican tele A telegraph rejected tile to’iniilu whereby the had hoped to end the IK,, a pm tomorrow. Secret ■ Kfl.-... la-Wi It wellelihrn II broadcast an appeal to tn demand" that the lie health and safely and the lhe people of the United dep.-nd ii|.on constant of the telephone illS< hwellenlgtch said ”1 HKm**-:- in fulepiionr KK'e al : all" pa. th tel.-piiolte UK d- hand id each side that ESgai-cept tiie proposal” ■HMm*- aid lie did not think the ■HMW- t„p policy lOllimillee KK s.iioii.ly consider' any .. nimpaiiy propixa! ■IM fa,h-1 to include a specific ra!®"' 1 demand for a ■ Kv'kt. l ”' 1 *■' l! >eni ■ "’ i. ni't." must approve &<■>«> > |"II'111 i.efoie the nation's HK hack to their jobs. B'S* union laired ti.e principal *< hwellen K|B‘ a't'ii alum proposal, bear EJb**" !i ‘ 1 " 1 "" KK a aen.-ral wag. offer and g'K'e gov Turnout officials be- ■ *■* • he union might be ready to T ‘> t'.g- Column () shh ** Mwoe High School lEadudles Listed I Commencement To | ■ * of tne Monroe high ■KjV * ,l “ Wl| l receive diplomas HK "cnnieio ement exer ■■MMoii'lay May 5. have been et 1 " 1 "I Ville Hille. School gipai R9r* Armanda Inniger, daughter M,l<l Mr * ,{uflls Inulger, Hm' class valedictorian, and E ■ r,,| ee" Wagner, daughter of |iK Mr " <'• W R. Schwartz. ■ w* flMl * ttahttatorian. H I’ruith. dean of men at university, anti former IWn th * Zlon Evangelical » lid*i t ” h " r ' h *" ,hta chy ' ' h ' - 1 "uiniencenient ad ■■ lnl "' rs "f the graduating class ■K-s u, o ** Armanda Inniger. " Wagner. <lt„ty Rich. Ed PK « ' Joyc * Hotter. Ad ■ Kha u" n * , ' r ' Irvl " 118 ti r *' Je " et Mrya ». V«rI hly ‘ H * rl * rt Myers, IK .. If, ht ‘ r ' v -n.on Zurcher, IX* l,,>n " ie Hurl “h Jane | ~y Hirachy. Charlotte I /L Vern# k i'itwiller. I n *' an <l Kleiwon BrandyShe™™ I.leehty. ■ KL. s’. * n •’’ ■•'■viceman, will hl« dlph’ma. having taken G 1011 rae to complete a ■ <n M 'hooi work. I K<r ina * OtMr I BUm e ° ld * r | K aa,’ ‘*"Hratueoa north, ! KrZ 1 fro,t Mu,h Portion. I >O"* r «iiy fair and HE > i

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

City Hampered By Material Shortage Shortages Hamper Light Department An nciitn shortage of materials alill prevents the city light department from making a number of improvements and inatalling requested lighting facilities. Thia wan the declaration of - {.enter C. Pettibone, superintendent » of the city light department in a s re|M>rt Tuesday night to the city t council. i Many petitions and requmtn for « street and alley lights have been s temporarily pigeon-holed Itecause of the shortage, ho said. t While the department crews have r been attempting to make all necenI nary repairs and fttrnish most vitally needed lighte with the amount > of materials that could lie secured, the amount is far inadequate, he i said. » The shortages during the war ■ years left th« department far bes hind in supplying needs, he said, s and since that time not enough - materials have been released to t permit the crews to “catch up.” > Garbage Truck Here -> k Street and sewer commissioner Phil Sauer reported to the council f that the new garbage truck, reI cetitly purchased hy the city, has t arrived. The specially constructed • garbage pirkttp bed. however. Is I not expected to arrive for another • week, he said i Department workers and city ofI ficial>« are hoping that the truck will bo ready for use May 5 to 10. t which has Iteen designated by a Mayor John li. St nits an clean-up f and fire prevention week. I A |»etition for a niral electric : line extension, filed by Cloice t Kichar, was referred to the light ■ commiltee of the council during » last night's meeting. Agreements t covering extension services to - Wayne and Esther Boerger in Root I township and iticluird Shaffer in I St- Mary's township were approved -by lhe council. o i Grand Jury To Probe Shooting By Youth ’ Indianapolis. April H—(UP)—| Richard Dale Intel, 11. faced a grand jury Investigation today in the shooting death of his stepmother, Mrs. Lillian Intel. The Indiana supreme court ruled yeserduy that the boy must face a charge of tnnrder as an adult. Prosecutor Judson L. S.ark said he would ask for a first or second degree murder charge if Richard was ordered held for the grand jury. ——— o—- ■ Mrs. Mabel Teeple ' Dies This Morning i Funeral Services Saturday Afternoon Mrs. Malte) I. Teeple. 17. of near Salem, ami a lifelong resilient of I Blue Creek township, died at 1:05 o'clock this morning at the Adams ' county memorial hospital. She had been ill for two years and critical for the past rtve years. She was Itorn in Adams county J October 12. 18M. a daughter of Clarence and Maggie Burdg-Cot-trell. She was married to Oscar ’ Teeple October 3. lf»lf». She was a member of the Union ' IT. B. church. , Surviving in addition to the ! husband are a daughter. Miss Rebecca C. Teeple of Fort Wayne: ’ one sister. Mrs. Daniel Barnhart of Fort Wayne, and a num Iter of nieces and nephews. I Funeral services will be held at i 1:30 p m Saturday at the home, i one mile north of Salem, and at 2 o'clock at the Union U. B. church, with the Rev Marks and the Rev. C. E Roberts officiating. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. The body will be removed from the Zwlck funeral homo to the residence st 2 p. m. Thursday.

Union Control Bill Denounced By Democrats — I Promote Industrial ; War; Easy Passage In House Foreseen Washington, April 14— (UP)— 1 House Democrats today denounc1 ed the GOP union-control bill as a ' measure to promote industrial war. , But the Republicans had the ( votes—including a good many , southern Democratic ones. They predicted passage by a twoto-one , margin tomorrow or Friday. . Hous? Democratic whip John W. . McCormack said the hill was evidence of “confused, uncertain, , desperate" GOP leadership. Rep. > John F. Kennedy, D.. Mass., said the measure would "strangle” the r lalrnr movement. But another Democrat. Rep. O. . C. Fisher. Teg., thought the bill > should be toughened. It now > would outlaw the closed shop, industrywide bargaining, jurisdictional strikes, and secondary l»yp cotta. Fisher wants It to ban I union shops, too. Chairman Fred • A. Hartley, Jr., of the labor cum--1 mittee was opposed to such an 1 amendment. Other congressional developments included: Foreign policy The house foreign affairs committee approved President Truman's 4100,000,000 program to help Turkey and Greece resist Communism. It ' wrote in a provision to permit the United Nations to intervene in the program. Prices The senatejiouse economic committee voted to seek depression-preventing. waiO-price 1 advice from industry, labor, and * fafln leaders. Henry Ford II and: Fowler McCormick of the farmi - (Turn T<> Page 3, Column &) Witte Youth Dies Late Last Night — Funeral Services Friday Afternoon Clarence Witte, 16, lifelong resident of Preble township, died at 110:20 o'clock Tuesday night at the Robert Ixmg hospital after an illness of two and one-half weeks of pneumonia and meningitis. He was taken to the hospital one week ago. He was Imrn in Preble township October 17. 1030. a son of Wilhelm and Anna Weber-Witte. He attended the Zion Lutheran school at Friedhelm and the Monmouth high school until January of this year. He was a member of the Zion Lutheran church at FriedheimSurviving In addition to the parents are three brothers, Gerhart, Alvin and Wilhelm Rufus; five sisters. Marie Ixiuise. Dorothy. Laura, Lorena and Laveru Witte, all at home: and a grndmother, 1 Mrs. Ixjulse Witte of Preble township. Funerl services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the home and at 2:30 o'clock at the Zion Lutheran church at Friedheim, with the Rev. E. T. Schmldtke officiating. Burial will Im In the church cemetery. The body will be removed from the Zwlck funeral home to the residence, one-half mile north of the Friedheim church, at 2 p.m. Thursday 0 Prominent Convoy Dairy Farmer Dies Harley A. Baxter. 63, prominent dairy farmer of near Convoy. O. died Tuesday at the Van Wert. O. county hospital of a heart ailment. Surviving are seven children, bis stepmother, two stepsisters, and nine grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 1:20 pan. (EST) Friday at the Convoy Methodist church, with the Rev. Otto Wortman officiating Burial will be in the IOOF cemetery at Convoy. •

OMLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decotur, Indiana, Wednesday April 16, 1947

Ask Establishment Os Recreation Site City Council's Aid Is Sought By Group A movement la underway here which will seek the establishment of "Krick's pund" as a fishing site and recreation grounds for Decaiurites. It was made known Tuesday night. Representatives of practically all of the city's fraternal organizations appeared before the city council last night, asking that the city attempt to lease or contract for the grounds from the Krick-Tyn-dall Tile Co., owners of the land. Robert Hill, president of tbq Adams county conservation dub, acted as chief spokesman for the group in making the appeal to lhe council. He said that much time and money had been invested in the pond In recent year a and that eeveral ot the city's organizations had agreed to fiance further improvements — in event a contract or lease could Im secured from the tile mill company by ttre citylie pointed out that work on the pond could result" In a -better fishing site with better flavored fish as a feature; that surrounding grounds could be beautified and in the future perhaps be used as a picnic site. He said that organizations In the city had signified their willinguexs to aid In the program, but asked for a contract to protect their investmeni in later years. Besides the conservation club, lhe following organizations were t epreseated: American Legion post 13, Loyal Order of Moose, Knights of Columbus and Decatur Lions club. Others have been contacted and expressed their desire to cooperate, Mr. Hill said. Original cost of the improvement would Is* about 2300, he said. Those present last night as re- . presentatlves of the organizations, each of whom spoke briefly, were Hubert Cochran. Tilman H. Gehrig. Roliert Osterman. Charles Zimmerman, Henry Braun. Charles Knapp. Virgil Andrews, Francis Costello, Phil Sauer and Mr. Hill (Turn To Page 3. Column 1) 0 Blame Heavy Rainfall For Traffic Deaths Indianapolis, April 16— (UP) — Police blamed a heavy rainfall today for the traffic deaths of two persons. Richard Berry. 69. was killed when he stepped into the path of a car during the heavy rain last night. Police said he was the 22nd traffic victim in the city this year. The second victim was John lx>we. Junior, 22, a Butler University student. He died early today of a skull fracture, fractured right arm. left leg and Internal Injuries after his car sideswiped a truck on Ind. 67 south of Lawrence.

Reporter Gives Eyewitness Account Os Texas Explosion

(Editor's note: Bud Myers, reporter for the Houston Press, was among the first to reach the scene of disaster at Texas City tolay. His eye wiiness account follows.) By BUO MYERB Texss City. Tex., Apr. 16 — (VPl—There Isn't an unbroken window In this town on the Galveston Bay and confusion holds the upperhand everywhere. Ok our way into town we passed ambulance after ambulance leaving the city with the dead and injured. They were being taken to Galveston. There Is no douht that casualties will run into the hundreds. People are running In every direction, many of them showing blood through their clothing where they have been cut hv flying glass The word we got when we reached Texas City was that a nitrate ship had blown up in the Houston ship cbanael. There are broken hunks of the ship to be found four and five miles from

Marshall And Slalin Parley Is Fruitless Face To Face Effort To Break Deadlock Brings No Results Moscow, April 16-(UP)~Sovftn foreign minister V. M. Molotov announced tonight that it was the Soviet's intention to “try for”, completion of the Austrian peace treaty at this session of the Big Four. His statement was made at the 31st council meeting at which ministers started paragraph by paragraph examination of the draft Austrian treaty and eliminated some previous minor disagree ments. However, the ministers did nut touch any of the tough issues such as German assets in Austria or the disposition of thousands of dis- J placed persons. The council decided to hold its first morning meeting tomorrow to hear Yugoslav vice premier Eduard Kardelj and Austrian foreign minister Karl Gruber on Yugoslavia's territorial and reparations claims. Kardelj will he heard at 11 a.tn. tomorrow and Gruber the next day. The council will meet in; regular session at 1 p.m. tomorruw to continue study of the Austrian treaty. Molotov's promise to try and complete the Austrian treaty before this council session ends came during discussion of the preamble to the Austrian treaty, specifically of a British clause which had been objected to by Russia. A few hours earlier authoritative sources said that secretary of state George (I Marshall and generalissimo Stulln bad failed to| make any progress In breaking the council's deadlock on Germany; at their Kremlin conference. A few hours earlier authoritative sources said that secretary of state George C. Marshall and generalissimo Stalin had failed to make any progress In breaking the council's deadlock on Germany at their Kremlin conference last night. Referring to the stalemate of' the council of foreign ministers on such vital German issues as reparations, economic unity and a four power disarmament treaty, an authoritative Informant said: “The situation has not change:! one iota from before lhe meeting. It accomplished nothing." Asked whether that meant the Moscow conference would end abruptly, the informant said be, did not think so. He said the ministers would need several days I (Turn To Page J. Column 1»

the scene. ( A towering fire has broken out' t among the oil tanks and refinery 1 1 along the waterfront. The heat ( 1 ot the flames hums my cheeks— i even from this distance. 1 It seems an Impossible task to get any closer to the scene than i 1 am now—about a mile and aI * half away. In all. there must be 59 oil stor- 1 age tanks on fire. They are burning out of control and fire equip- ' ment seems to be helpless. A huge cloud of smoke is spiraling over the scene and reached about ’ 10 miles into the sky. h, is almost like night in some places ’ Fire equipment from every town ( In the area has been rushed here. , and the whine of the sirens and | clang of the fire bells Is deafen- , Ing. ( There are wrecked cars all over | the streets and debris litters the toofs of almost every building. It 1 looks as if the town had been hit 3 by a four-ton block-buster. t A bomb couldn't have done < worse. I

Series Os Explosions In Texas City Start Flames Raging In Oil Refineries

Gas Fumes, Feared Poisonous, Filtering Over Region, lx*ad Authorities To Order Evacuation Os An Estimated 18,000 Persons

Texas City, Tex.. April 16—(UP)—A series of explosions in Texas City rocked a 140-mile Texas gulf coast area totlay and a police radio report said gas I times, feared ' |K>isoiious, were filtering over a region where several hundred persons were killed or inill I The report, picked up by Galveston police 10 airline miles away and relayed to Houston, said authorities were ordering the evacuation of an estimated 18,000 persons. Huge fires raged among oil refineries flanking Galveston Bay, covering the disastei area with black smoke visible for 10 miles. Bud Myers, Houston press reporter on the scene, said 400 to 500 persons were killed. He said highways leading from the area were clogged with ambulances and cars bringing out more dead and injured. The disaster was touched off when a French Lines freighter, loaded with ammonium nitrate, blew up at a dock wh *re police chiel W r. I-'uldish

May Offer Reward For Finding Body May Make Offer To Spur River Search A possibility was seen today . that u substantial reward will be j given lhe finder of the luidy of Mrs. Minnie DeVor, lielieved to have drowned April I in lhe St. j Mary's river near Pleasant Mills. I The reward. It Is reported, will i be offered to spur efforts of . searchers, who have worked al-1 most constantly through all day | light hours since the local lady was first reported missing Sheriff Herman Bowman start I ed the reward fund when he made known that he would personally \ contribute 625. Members o! the local American la-gion post, of which lhe missing woman's husband I ( a member.' have indicated that they would: favor the post contributing to the reward fund. Members of the DeVor family and several other interested persons ami searchers have signified their intentions of ■ swelling the fund Advocates of posting the reI ward state they believe more per sons would participate in the search during their spare time, thus Increasing lhe chances of finding lhe hody at an earlier. (Torn To Unae 4- Column «l o Local Man's Mother Dies Tuesday Night Amanda Edwards Is Taken By Death Mrs. Amanda Edwards. 81. a life long resident of Blue Creek township, and mother of Paul Edwards. Decatur businessman, died at 11:30 o'clock Tuesday night at the home of a daughter. Mrs. Guy Byer. 5310 Fairfield avenue. Fort Wayne. Death was caused hy complications after an Illness of nearly three years. She was born In Blue Creek township October 21, 1865. a daughter of latwls and Ellen Rces-ljautzen-helser. She was married to Hor-j ace 'Edwards Novemlier 22. 1888. | She was a mei»ber of the Methodist church at Willshire, O. Surviving in addition to the husband and the son in this city are another son, Homer Edwards of Dayton. O; two daughter*. Mrs. Guy Byer of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Dewey Byer of Paulding. O.; one sister, Mrs Clinton Stove of Fort Wayne; one brother, Jess l.autzenheiser of Dlxbn, III.; 19 grandchildren and five great-grand-children. Three sisters and three brothers preceded her in death Funeral nervier* will be held at 10 o'clock Friday morning at the Zwlck funeral home, with burial in lhe Tricker cemetery. Fribnds may call at the funeral home after 2:20 o'clock Thursday afternoon.

of Texas City said “hundreds were working." The ship explosion touched off a series of blasts at the nearby $19,000,000 Monsanto < 'hemical company plant. Fire spread to refinery and oil stirage proiierlies flanking the dock area. Chief Laddish said there was “no possible way to estimate how many are dead and dying." He said the toll wptild run into the hundreds and tha force of the blast demolished the city hall a full mile from the scene. Red Cross estimates of the dead ran from 200 to 700. Galveston newsmen placed the toll at more than *2OO. ■ Hospitals in Galveston

Convert South Ward Tor City Playground City To Condition School Playground Plans for transforming the old South Ward school "He into a city playground and gmyeation center have been started here. | Mayor John B Stulls said to day that the city will condition . the grounds to make them suitable for a playground. The land is owned by the school, city and is expected to be leased to the civil city at the $1 per year rate, now effective at the former North Ward school site. Mayor Stults said that the De catnr Coinmitnlty Fund, Inc., has already pledged its financial sup I port in furnishing swings, slides, j , etc., for children using the play j ground facilities. Advocates of the playground de ! ria red that one or two trees might ; have Io lie removed In order to , erect a fence around the site for ' the protection of the youngsters Work is expected to ttegin as soon as theweather permits. Start Cleaning Os City Waler Lines Flushing Process Is Done At Night Cleaning out of all city water lines was started last night, it was reported today by Ralph E Roop, city water department super- 1 intendent The flushing process will be started each night at 10 o’clock and continued until an early morn- ' Ing hour, he said, until all lines have been cleaned. Work began last night* at the Homestead and the cleaning work will move northward throughout the city. Rust will be flushed from the lines by opening and closing of all valves, Mr. Roop stated. The work will be done during the night to eliminate rust colored water during the daylight hours as much as possible, Mr. Roop stated. Under the present filtering system. about 90 percent of the Iron is removed, he said and the cleaning process should afford still better city water. He also reported to the city council Tuesday night that 50 feet (Turn To Page 5, Column ?)

Price Four Cents

were overflowing wilh and injured. Highways into Houston, 38 airline miles away, were clogged with ambulances and hearses. The gas fumes were believed Io be from lhe burning chemical plant and from nitrogen stocks piled on the ' docks. One re|x>rt said half ' of the plant was in shambles and the rest was burning. The Toxas City polite department said 300 small homes occiiI pied by dork and refinery workers wore near the ship which explode I and were hardest hit. Myers, from the scene, said i pieces of the French Lines ship , the Grand Camp, former American Liberty ship were blown as far as four and five miles away. Dr W H. lame, a Monsantom chemical company official, said up to 500 Texas City residents had lined the dock to watch lhe ship burn when the explosion hit. i "The ship disintegrated." he aid. "J am t.'ld that two other ships loading nitrate blew up too Reddish brown fumes of ni|rogen dioxide l>egan pouring out at once.'' Hampton Ellis of Houston, who wa.i sitting in a 10th floor room of the Buccaneer hotel in Galveston •12 miles from the blast scene 'said it felt like an earthquake had i hit Hr said lhe Idast “almost knocked me off the l»ed.” llejMirts that the blast was felt came from Beaumont and Port Arthur. 70 al,line miles away, and from residents of Palestine, more Gian 150 miles north Gov Branford H. Jester said In Austin two battalions of the Texas , stale guard at Houston had been ' alerted for duty at Texae City. I Some 159 state guardsmen from La Porte already were on the acene. All available highway patrol and police cars converged on the scene. 1 along with fire departments from jall over the populous. industralis«d gulf coast. Doctors and nurse* were Itelng rushed into the area along with every available highway depart- ' ment truck and every ambulance in a 190 mile range. Huge fires. sending smoke ; spiraling into the air for miles, raged in oil storage areas along the busy waterfront. The 219.000.009 Monsanto Chemical company plant, ripped by blasts which followed the ship explosion, was ; afire. Acrid, chemical fumes covered the city where the explosion had headed debris and injured perhaps hundreds. Fire equipment from the entire gulf coast area was on the scene. Telephone lines were down and the power was clipped off. In Dallas, Magnolia Oil com(Tore To Page 2, Column I)