Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 45, Number 116, Decatur, Adams County, 16 May 1947 — Page 1

I XIV. No. 116.

65 Superforts iestroy' East Lst Cities It-Ws Sky Giants BEsplay Power Os Destruction n i Superfortresses. My*?,.. The nation's mightlof airpowerM superfortresses - ■L 'n ov.t N-* York City their iKtiion ' city nnd then K n on <»■ "' l,,r k “ y , i " PR ” n llU g,. metropolis war a fat T-t.inx target arn, y* ■ ,unin —I" ■ over Capo May. N. Jwent in at three IT- intervals in squadrons of |H Pa<l weather and low cellhad M-oth-d Plan* for “ raid of all 125 striking ring in al V4 ’ ft r '“‘‘ ■B“ han 200 mile* an hour, the |K' n found Sew York" shim jkyM rapern to he perfect K'\',w York came .he oth deiphia and Baltimore and final blow at Washing nation * capital. |Kom my position in the bom ■L post in the none of thin the sky over New York | saturated with planes. K’ plane* - which represent K the nation can muster K ( in heavy striking forceswept up over Manhattan |K> The weather was hazy |V^. r e but by no means oh|K-, flew on over the Bronx. ( ,< 5,.» York * boroughs, and tnwxrd Banbury. Conn Over we turned and wheeled h f or the run toward the major target cities. for a massed bombing K of all 125 giant planes were because of had weath l<>« ceilings. |Kn alternate plan was ordered effect Under the new plan plane* will group In 12 ship and then fly in over K nation's largest city. Phil* Baltimore am! Washingit approximately three min intervals. huge sky train was ex to stretch out over ap minutes to run over each M Tokyo with fire bomb* ztom ltombed Hiroshima anti made their rendezvous ■ the heartly overcasf skies Cap<- May shortly before They took off this morn from six bases In the west, and southeast. B Printers Return ■o Fort Wayne Plants ■Twt Wayne. Ind . May iff -(VP) Ul'-rk was resumed at four major ■k'tiU shops here today by about who failed to report for yesterday. away printers, members ■ k*al 78. International Typo a! union, said they protest|W refusal O s company officials to contract negotiation*. BV H Bickmeyer, president of fort Wayne Printing Co., eald ■“*'«« was still in effc- t and ■* w » ( 't expire until March 1948. ®OO Damage Suit B Filed In Court ■? tbtugs suit h „ , )ePn ni( . d ln ‘Tcuit court by Myle- F attorney for George L KF. tts ® in ff Otis Burk as de■Ft®’ The suit was filed aH Stt7“ °f a truck-auto crash on In Geneva December ‘ u The complaint charges ami negligence on the ML ® in. defendant's agent, who ‘ ,le « the car and demand* Hj ss Bessie Gates B es This Morning Buta 8 *? 1 * Ga,wi - aK *’' l about K., h* 1 10 30 oc,ock this mornHf Be™ * r J’°' ne Lhrw ’ mile* ei».t ■p,, * Bt> * had never married KL * are ,w ‘> sisters. Ml** Ola k “ me - and Mr*. Mane* KL 0,. Ho **- and one brother, ■ hut **' “ home ' ■actek\** rrlcw wi, ‘ h* he!d “* I mi Un<,By afternoon at the y•« dm e h Mclu

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Baccalaureate ■» ’ H ' I I ■ The Rev. Charles E. White, t pastor ul the Trinity Evangelical Vnlted Brethren church, will de l liver the Hermon at the annual , baccalaureate service* of the Decatur Junior-senior high school, to be held at the school auditorium Sunday evening. f — ; New Coal Contract ! Negotiations Open Southern Operators Not In Conference i Washington. May 16—(VT) — For the first time in nearly a - year. John L. Lewi* and a mai Jcrlty of soft coal operators be- ; gan work today on a new wagehour contract. The contract negotiation* - started In a Shoreham hotel ballroom with the operators and i lewis' United Mine Workers ’ (AFL) represented by eight men each. Lewis arrived 10 minutes late , for the beginning of bargaining I on a contract to replace the one - under which miners now work I for the government. Government ■ operation of the mines, dating from last May, automatically ; tjids June !)•. > The UMW chieftain and Char • les O'Neill, spokesman for 75 percent of the soft coal industry, agreed on resumption of i miner-operator relations at a i 'conference sponsored yesterday -by the federal coal mines administration. Most southern mine owners are boycotting the negotiations. Ezra Van Horn, vice president of the Ohio Coal association, is chairman of the joint conference. ■ Other operators’ representatives were O’Neill, George F. Cambell. Harvey Cartwright. Hubert llow ard. Harry M. Moses, Truman E< i Johnson, and M. L. Karkel. Lewis was accompanied by i John O’Leary, John T. Jones, who was appointed conference secretary. Hugh White, George Tltler, Percy Tetlow. Clarence Donaldson and James Mack. O’Neill represents operators of northern, midwestern, and western mine*, the “captive’’ mine* of the steel Industry, and southern mines owned by northern companies. The Southern Coal Producers association, representing mines in parts of Kentucky. Tennessee. Virginia, ami West Virginia and producing 25 percent of the nation’s tonnage, will not be repre(Turn T<> Page !, Column 4) New Trial Motion Is Filed In Case Petition Is Filed In Topcorn Case' A motion for a new trial has been filed before Judge J. Fred Fruchte In the Adams circuit court* in the "popcorn case," which was tried here recently. A Jury awarded Charles Dinger the *um of |1,92«40 which he alleged was owing him from the Confection Cabinet company for popcorn which he had raised for the company .under contract and for which they refused to pay. The motion for a new trial sets out Iff reasons as averred grounds tor a new trial. They Include allegations that the verdict i* not sustained by the evidence and alleged errors in instructions. The Jury found for the plaintiff on April 23 after deliberating only a few hours. Attorney D. Burette Custer, local counsel for the company, filed the motion. Attorneys DeVoss A Smith and Ralph Probst of Kendallville represented the plaintiff. _ .

Blames Press Coverage For Parley Failure Bevin States Full Press Coverage A Handicap To Parley fxmdon, May Iff— (UP) —Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin today charged in the house of common* that the full press coverage given to the big four conference in Moscow was one of the greatest handicaps in writing the German peace treaty. At the same time Bevin expressed hope that it “will he possible to conclude an early peace treaty with Japan." Bevin charged that the United States was primarily to blame for the press situation. "One of our greatest handicap*," Bevin said, winding up a two-day debate of foreign policy” —and I want to make It clear that I want no secret commitment*—is that I might not even think aloud without It is hurled over to the headlines of the pres*. “Im not blaming the Soviet government for It. It I* largely due to the United States press that thf* thing has come in but even the United States say that this thing that has developed Is of little value.” (All news concerning the Moscow conference was given out by official spokesmen of the British foreign office and the state department. Daily briefings were held by press officers of Bevin and of secretary of state George C. Marshall, outlining the course of liig four discussions. Correspondents were not permit ted to attend any big four meetings and virtually the sole source of news was the official spokesmen.) “I am a great belfcver In the' freedom of the press," Bevfn asserted. "hut I think theer arc limits. "The original Intention ot the foreign minister* was to be for the negotiating authority to issue communiques as they reached agreement. "Now it has gone beyond that and one of our biggest handicaps in this business of making peace I* not only that It is reported to the press every word that is said but. I am sorry to say. It has come down to the subcommittees and even the deputies"

Damage Suit Likely To Go To Jury Today Amended Complaint Filed By Plaintiff The >IO,OOO damage suit of David Thomas against Albert itninanowski was expected to go to the jury late this afternoon in Adams circuit court. Part of the final argument* and Instruction* from Judge J. Fred Fruchte were all that remained after lunch before the Jury was to begin it* deliberation*. Judge Fruchte this morning ruled for the plaintiff in his motion for permission to file an amended complaint, after evidence dis closed that Thomas wa» already sitting in a truck on Hanna street In Fort Wayne on .May 10, 1945. when the vehicle was allegedly struck by an auto driven by Romanowski. The complaint allefed that Thomas was Just getting into the truck when the crash occurred. Previously the court overruled motions for directed ' verdicts by both the plaintiff and the defense. Both counsel agreed by stipulation that Thomas' doctor bill was >l5O and hospital bill >304 25 for treatment of two fractured legs (Turn To Page Column 7) —o — Indiana Farm Price Index On Increase I-afayette. Ind . May 16 —(UP)— Purdue university and federsl statistician* eald today that the Indiana (arm price Index had jumped nearly 80 percent over that of last year. The index was 253 on April 15. compared with 159 in April. 1946. The index l« based on 1935-39 prices Potatoes and apple* were the only commoditie* fa drop in price. Other prices showed large increases.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, F riday, May 16, 1947

Soldier Faces Murder Charge / "' I CONFESSED SLAVER of Edna Lucille Kietzman (above). 21 yearold beauty parlor operator. Pvt. Socorro Villagran. 17, San Pedro, Cal., soldier stationed at Chanute Field. 111., is charge:! with murder in Urbana. 111. Stabbed, strangled and nearly nude, the body of Miss Keitzman was found in an alley In Rantoul. 111.

Two Officials Are Indicted For Blast Centralia Disaster Leads To True Bills Naahvllle. 111., May 16 —(UP)— Two officials of the state department of mines were under indictment today on charge* growing out of the Centralia, 111., mine disaster. They weie Robert M. Medill, former director of the department of mine* and minerals, and Robert Weir, an assistant director. A Washington county grand jury, investigating the March 25 explosion In which 111 miners lost their lives, accused the two official* of "palpable omission of duty.” Wilbert J. Hohlt, Washington county states attorney, said the four-count indictments charged the two men with "failure to enforce the law in regard to rock dueling the mine and allowing a large quantity of combustible coal dust to accumulate" The Centralia Coal company, I which owned the mine at the time of the explosion, was charged with “willful negligence" in an Indictment returned by the grand Ju<y Wednenday. Yesterday the company announced sale of the mine to the Peabody Coal company. Medill and Weir posted Ixind of >1,500 each They were slated to appear for arraignment Wednesday, but Charles Jones, their attorney, indicated the two men might plead innocent thiough him and waive personal arraignment. The charges against the two men carry a maximum |>eiialty of a (Turn To Pag* 5, Column t) Two Men Unhurt As Freight Hits Auto Two persons escaped injury about 11:30 o'clock this morning when an auto was struck by a backing freight train at the Line street intersection ot the Erie railroad. Police chief Ed Miller, who investigated. said that Ivan Byer, 48. of route six, Decatur, was driving and that he was accompanied by Floyd Byer, 57. of the *ame address.

Sculpture Work Os Decatur Native Draws High Praise

In the 1920’e ho was Just another Decatur high school student —a good student with apparently little more than ordinary talents and a likeable youth. Today, that same youth has become a tall, husky fellow of 36 whose most striking personal characteristic io a ebin-beard — and a man of whom at least one critic has said: "Already the best sculptor in America, (who) is creating out of a highly personal symbolism a sculpture which I* rich, inventive and pi ofouud. He ha* borrowed heavily from surrealism, but he has substituted for the symbol* of the subconscious, symbol* of conscious social experience." He is Rolland Smith of De catur high school days, known to the art world of America a* Dnvid Smith. His art It that almoat Incredible one of beating metal into surrealistic representations, which appear to the unlearned hardly more than grotesque, weird statutes. He is the son of the late Harve Smith and Mr*. Goldla Smith, a resident of Paulding. Ohio — and some of his works, along with

British Constable Is Killed By Mine Jer*ualem May Iff — (UP)— A British constable was killed and a Jewish criminal investigation officer seriously injured today when their vehicle struck a mine in the Mount Carmel road outside Haifa Two British soldiers were slightly hurt by the blast, touched off electrically by underground men hiding in a standing truck. The attacker* escaped in the vehicle. Berne Graduation Exercises Tuesday Graduates Os Berne School Announced Commencement excesses for the graduate* of the Berne high school will be held al the community auditorium in Berne Tuesday evening at 7:45 o'clock. Dr. Reuben H Mueller, executive secretary of Christian education of the Evangelical United Breth ren church, will deliver the com mencement address on "Buying the Future." Baccalaureate excercises will be held at the Mennonite church in Berne Sunday at 7:30 p. in . with the Rev. I. F Younger of the Berne Nazarene church delivering the sermon. Brice Fennig. son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Fennig, has been named das* valedictorian. The candidates for graduation are as follows: Paul Baumgartner. Roger Beitler, Robert Burley. Brice Fennig. Max Habegger. Howard Hirschy, Larry Lehman, Stanley Luginbill, John Smith. James Sprunger, Samuel Sprunger, Jerry Stucky. Mary K Amstutz. Flossie Beer. Rose Mary Beitler, Beth Cents, Bessie Habegger. Vera Habegger. Mildred Hartman. Mary Hewitt, Mona Sue Lantz, Alice Altie Moyer. Mgry Ellen Nussbaum. Dorothy Rutledge, Coleen Schindler, Evelyn Sprunger, Julia Sprunger. Alverda Steiner, Margaret Webb, Barbara Yoder. Jack Schug completed bis training for a high school diploma while in the armed services and will be awarded a diploma with the above das*

scores of photograph* of other of bis creation* will be on exhibit in the lobby of the Fort Wayne Civic theater from May 22 to 30. during the showing of the current production “Apple of His Eye " The exhibit will be largely photographic but some of his originals will also l>e there, accord.ng to Mis. Herman Binkley, arts chairman of the Fort Wayne branch of the American arsociation of university women, sponsors of the exhibit. Rolland left Decatur soon after his graduation from high school. Uter he went to Ohio. Notre Dame and George Washington universities. For a year he operated a riveting machine in a South Bend factory; then he became a pupil of the arts, studying In Paris and Greece During the war year* he worked in iron and metal factories. Then he turned to the surrealist — and the novel In material*. He uses aluminum, monel, stainless steel, bronse, scrap iron, colors with oil*, waxes, resins — In fact the same material* found in modern industrial productioa. "Rave notices" from prominent (Turn To Pa*« 3. Column I)

Republican Economy Axe Falls On Navy, Cut Os 10 Percent Recommended

Demands Action In Wabash Dredge Case Drainage Petition In Ohio Is Cited i Urging that action be taken in the famed Wabash dredge case here immediately to check damage which he expects to be caused by an Ohio drainage construe-! tion, Homer Teeters, commissioner of construction in the case, today filed hit current report before special Judge Henry Ulster in Adams circuit court. In hix report the commissioner declared that a drainage petition from the reservoir at Celina. <).. Io the Wabash river has already been approved in Ohio and that this will create an additional burden on the Wabash river in this area. It I* Imperative that land owners In Jay. Wells and Adams counties have some relief, his report declare*. The report states that the delay In carrying out the construction of the dredging here, ax ordered by special Judge Kinter. In "being caused solely l»y the delay of the special judge in deciding the mandamus proceeding* against the county commissioner*." Earl B. Adams, Decatur attorney, has had the mandamus matter under advisement for several months, after hearing th>- case in which the petitioners for the drainage seek to mandate the commiHsioners to Issue l*>nds for the dredging. The current report declares that the Beaver Creek Improvement AHSociatlon ar Celina. <>. has filed its petition at Mercer county. O, and that the petition hax been approved, which will call for dredging from the reservoir to the Wabash river and to within one mile of the Indiana Ohio state line in the Wabash. It declares that "much of the lands affected by the judgment In lha Wabash case are over flowed at this time and have been overflowed for a considerable period, which condition is an annual matter and causes (Turn To Bag* 2, Column 51 ——- - O ----- Four Berne Youths Taken Into Custody Juveniles Seized For Having 'Bombs' Four Berne boys were apprehended last night and four more may be Implicated as resuK of a wholesale raid upon illegal possessors ot “minature bombs." conducted by sheriff Herman Bowman. The four, all Juveniles, were rounded up last night and more than two dozen of the "overcharged firecrackers" confiscated by the sheriff, assisted by town marshal Dave Dubach and other officials. After conferring with prosecutor Myles F. Parrish today, sheriff Bowman said that it is likely charges will be placed against at least three of the youth* One may be absolved of all blame, he said. Damage Town Hall Pursuit of the owners of the explosive* was concentrated the past few days when the public rest room in the Berne town hall was damaged, the sheriff said. A porcelain fixture in the rest room was blasted into bits by one of the little bomb* dropped inside the fixture Complaints had also been made to the sheriff's office that the youths were tossing the explosives at passing motorists and in one of these instances a wreck nearly rusuited. At least two of the youths are under probation for former violations, the sheriff said, and are under the supervision ot proba tion officer C H. Muselman, who also participated in last night's Investigation, along with justice of peace Ernest Stengel and other*. The sheriff said that it is likely one or two of the boy* may be (Turn To !’»»• 1. Column I).

Warns Germans Buckle Down On Food Problems - I Warns Nation Will Alienate Desire Os Americans To Help Frankfurt. May Iff—(UP)-The Germans were warned today by a U. S. military government spokesman that they must buckle down to work on their fo<xl problem or the result would be strife in their own country and aliens tion of the American desire to help. James Newman, military governor of Hesse. In a warning aimed at the German people generally, told German labor leaders that the military government expected no work stoppage* In protest against the food shortage A hostile attitude was develop ing between the city and country German*, newsman said. He read a military government report which said that If the *ituatlon persisted, “farmhouse* may lie attacked by the city people this fall " In one of a round of conference* among various American, British and German represent* 1 1 1 fives on the food situation, new : ( j man told 16 labor leader* and .; members of the Hesse civil gov . ernment: , | “Your people are going tn be i awful hungry for tho next three to . * six weeks But you are not going . to accomplish one thing by fomenting strike* or work stoppages r “You will only alienate the feeli Ings ot the American people to I help relieve your suffering " Newman blamed the potato)- > shortage on consumption beyond the ration limit la*t winter when I "hundreds of thousand* of Ger- . mans ate extra pound* of potatoes daily, bringing the actual ration up to 11.800 or 1.900 cal- > orle*. and now the potatoe* are gone." i The people In the major cities i: of Hesse have been getting les* than 1.000 calorie* a day lately he said. 0 I Local Man's Father Is Taken By Death Bartimeit* Boice, 86. father of Forest Boice of this city, died Thursday at his hom« mat Van | Wert. O. He resided near Geneva for many years Other survivor* include two son*. William of Fort Wayne and John of Geneva; a daughter, Mr* Effie Huffman of Geneva. 11 grandchildren and 1 , eight great-grandchildren I Funeral service* will be held at 2 pm Saturday at the Hardy W Hardy funeral home in Geneva, with burial in the MRE cemetery at Bertie. I I To Install Eagles Lodge Here Tonight t Charter Meeting Os Lodge This Evening More than 100 Decatur men will become charter metpber* of the Eagle* lodge at 8 o’clock tonight 1 when the Stephen Decatur Aerie will he formally installed. Harry Milner, deputy organizer for the organization stated today. Mr Milner ha* been here the last three week* making plan*for the formal installation of De catur's newest fraternal order 1 Ixrdge room* have been set up in the Hoch building, thin! floor, once occupied hy the BPO before that organization purchaa-: ' ed it* present home. Notable* of the Eagles order in ' Indiana will attend the Installation tonight and fidlowing the cere- ' monies, refreshments will be serv 1 ed The local ffodge then will elect ' officers for the year. 1 Visitors from Fort Wayn. Huntington. Decatur and Warsaw will attend tonight's meeting and will ' take part In the initiation cere- ’ mony, Mr. Milner said.

Price Four Cents

Suggests Slash Be / Absorbed By Ridding Navy Os Some Os High-Paid Officers 1 Washington. May Iff- (UP)— The Republican economy axe fell today on the navy The house appropriation* comI mittee recommended a cut of almost 10 percent In the navy's 1948 budget The house will start work ion the recommendation Tuesday. Chairman John Taber. R. N V., suggested that the navy absorb the slash by getting rid of Rome "high paid officer*" w|tlle keeping it* enlisted men. The committee asked the house to give the navy >3,469.000,000, a* compared to the >3.847.01*),000 requested by President Truman. Other congressional developments’ Broadcasts- Secretary of state Gporge C. Marshall said the U. 8. must take "very definite action" to *pread understanding of the U. 8. across the world He and assistant secretary of state William Benton a*ke<| the house foreign affairs committee to approve a bill authorizing the state department to continue it* “Voice of America" broadcast*. Taxes The senate headed for a hot fight, probably later today, on whether to take up income tax reduction Monday or postpone it until about June 10. Republicans wanted an early vote. Democrat* ' favored delay. Labor—The American Federa- . tion of l.abor said enactment of I pending labor legislation would i give Communist agent* the chance they want to overthrow the gov ernment. The house labor committee prepared to re-open it* Investigation of union racketeering Wage* and prices Former housing expediter Wilson W Wyatt, chairman of American* for DemI ocratic action, criticised congre** ! for "Inaction, apathy and delay" j in developing a program to forestall depression. He said there had been “a conspiracy of silence” in congress on the economic crisis. Education A spokesman for a CIO teachers union asked a house education subcommittee to exclude religious and private school* from proposed federal grants for education The witness, Charles J Hendley of New York. Raid thl* issue separation of church and state was the "main blodk" to federal school aid. Reclamation Two more governor* Vai Peterson of Nebraska and Sam Ford of Montana asked congress to restore »ome of the fund* cut by the house from spending on reclamation projects. Presidential pension Rep C. Jasper Bell. D . .Mo . going to bat for a constituent, asked a house judiciary subcommittee to approve his bill to pension presidents Including Harry H Truman at >S6.O(N> a year. O— Conference Reports Given To Rotarians Reports on the 154th district conference of Rotary international, held recently at Gary, were presented at the weekly meeting of the Decatur Rotary club Thursday evening Reports were given by James I Elbetson. official delegate from the Ilecaiur club: the Rev William C. i Feller, secretary, who will become ! president July 1. and Earl Fuhr'man, president. Q VA Representative Here Next Monday William F. Boyce, representative lof the veteran’s administration. I will be at the Red Cross office '.Monday afternoon I-ocal veterans are Invited to contact him. I St. Mary’s Society To Recite Rosary The St. Mary’s society will meet at the Gllllg & Doan funeral home at 8 o'clock this evening to recite the rosary for Mr*. John R Weber. 0 WEATHER Cloudy tonight and Saturday. Occaalonal rain In south portion, gradually overspreading north portion tonight and Saturday. Cooler north portion tonight. >- '•* WW •- **>*■■■<