Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 45, Number 278, Decatur, Adams County, 25 November 1947 — Page 1

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annegan quits as postmaster general

forego Tax kigNow L Urged Until Cion Whipped, Le Bock On Own Lon Nov. 25.—(UP)— tauthorities on public fin/congress today it ought L tas cutting until inflaK hipP ed and western Lis put back on its feet. L a Mariner S. Eccles of Ll reserve board and secK s treasury John W. Snyder L this view before conL rJ l committees. Ls plans no tax reduction F„' in the current ernern.reig n aid session. But the jvs and means committee L“' a J4.000.000'. 000 .personal [ al re duction bill for early L li()n in the regular session E« about five weeks hence. Ljttees considering anti-in-LLoposals also heard: hplea by Eccles for longer Lwrk, increased product!vLratorium on wage increase L, and price reductions —or, L bo further price rises—by |A request by Snyder for Lith which to promote savLi sales which no longer Lnlated by the patriotic L of wartime. I j statement by Snyder tljat Lesion is boosted, the priceLationing controls asked by Lt Truman would not be hjreanent by Snyder and Liat consumer credit conL needed. But Eccles said Lother aspects of the Presikutiinflation proposals dealt Liptoms rather than cures. Id statement by Eccles that pment support of farm prices kbe stopped unless a price Wsystem is restored. kt senate banking committee, mile. delayed for several i rote on renewing the con-1 ■credit controls which expirkl. fc the senate continuing de-1 i« the 8597,000,000 bill for aid to France, Italy and Is. and the house conducting i te business and listening to te there were these other hsional developments: tan Aid—Sen. Tom ConnalI Tex.. told the senate that I® and long-range help for pis necessary to keep cold, P and despairing peoples l lie morass of Communism kmchy.” He pleaded for quick Wof the 8597,000,000 authta measure as the senate tai debate in the second day. tasnist Coup?—Rep. John kludge. R., Conn., predicted if house that Communists will taiae the Italian government < Hatch, Senator-Sen. Scott W. P 3? a 6 . Column "ij jutur Has First We Os Snowfall r Mature threw her white ‘ ot «now upon the city and for the first time today. 11 promised to be nothing , M-toeh cloak which she ”« r the Dakotas, it was the snowfall of the seatemperatures hovering « mark — four st:n T Zins point ~ a n ßht 1 ed at an early hour this - ™ mating that the snow Jody's Father '«en By Death ‘ erv ices will be held at Kist ? Bday at the Calvary K»j/ “ r e h in Rockford, 0., Sttidj Rumble - 86, who S.' o the home of a son L« r L ,llree daughters, ta th ' - Ivr tle Harmon of r : a a half-sisters. eathe r *t L“ dy and Colder to*fa*d ,day P a|, tiy I ’" d Whtinued rather

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

| President Planning Holiday At Key West Washington, Nov. 25 — (UP)— President Truman will fly to Florida on Dec. 3 for a brief holiday at Key West and will dedicate the Everglades National park on Dec 6. ——— Open Drive To Send General Meyers To Jail l Ask Indictments Os Retired Army Air Force Officer Washington, Nov. 25—(UP).— . The government today formally , opened its drive to send retired . air force Maj. Gen. Bennett E. Meyers to jail for his wartime financial maneuvers and his alleged false testimony to a senate war investigating subcommitte. U. S. district attorney George M. Fay went before a District of Columbia federal grand jury to ask criminal indictments against Meyers for perjury and trying to | induce others to commit perjury. These offenses carry maximum ; penalties of $2,000 fine and five years in prison on conviction. The government request is ■ based on Meyers' senate testimony, which was at variance i with that of most other witnesses on many points, and on his alleged efforts to get two other witnesses to teli the senators a false story about his interest in I an Ohio electric firm which got wartime subcontracts. ■ Later the justice department I will ask other indictments against Meyers that may include such charges as conspiracy to defraud ’ the government, income tax evasion. war fraud and bribery. First witnesses before the grand jury were Martin Smith, a ; stenotypist, and Kenneth Bowers, a transcriber. They formally identified the record of the seni ate hearings. These two were the only witnesses to appear beI fore the jury today. I In Albany. N. Y., meanwhile, it was learned that the New York state tax commission has started ' an investigation of Meyers’ wartime and postwar income. Meyers bought a palatial Long Island estate when he retired from the air force on Aug. 31, 1945, and established legal residence there. But a state official said the commission also was looking into Meyers actual legal residence during the war. when he is alleged to have made $200,000 as head of Aviation Electric Corp., VantTnrn Tn fi. Cnlumn 8) o Mutiny Quelled In Wisconsin Prison 'Sit-Down' Mutiny Ended In 15 Hours Waupun, Wis., Nov. 25 —(UP) —Sixty-nine prisoners who barricaded themselves in the Wisconsin state prison laundry gave . themselves up early today, 15 ' hours after they began their “sitdown” mutiny. Warden John C. Burke said the ( men marched out of the two-story , laundry building in groups of 20 . at 7 a. m. They also released . four guards whom they had held ( prisoner with them. Burke had used a loud speaker ( shortly before to warn the men ( that they were surrounded by ■ hundreds of law officials from , surrounding communities. , “We have the situation in , hand,” he said. “You haven’t a ( chance. We’ll let you stay there , until you starve unless you come j out now voluntarily.” 1 A few minutes later the men yelled from the windows that > they were ready to give up. “We had marvelous coopera- , tion from sheriffs' officials and . police and authorities from other - state institutions,” Burke said. He said he planned to question ( the prisoners and the guards j they had held in the laundry , (Turn To Page 5. Column 6)

Schuman's New French Cabinet Scores Victory Three-Quarters Os Postal Workers In Paris End Strike Paris, Nov. 25—(UP)—Premier Robert Schuman’s new cabinet scored its first major victory in a campaign against the strike of 1,250,00 ff French workers today when three-quarters of the postal employes in Paris went back to work. Signs of a reversal in the trend toward a nationwide general strike were seen. In a number of secret ballots, worers at widely scattkered points voted to stay on the job. The new cabinet put forth its work-or-else policy after its first meeting yesterday. When the postal workers in Paris struck, the government bluntly told them to get back on the job or they were fired. The mail began to move in a majority of Paris postoffices this morning. In a secret ballot last night some 70 percent of the postal, telegraph and telephone employes in the postal division voted to return to work. But the return of the postal workers was a mere rent in the strike clouds over France. AH major ports were tied up. Vital industries such as metallurgical plants and coal mines fluctuated as some employes went to work and others did not. The rail strike continued, in southern France and the Paris area. A few lines were trying to operate limited traffic. Strikers blocked lines with stalled trains. Lyons reports said signal devices had been sabotaged. (Turn Tn Pasc-e 5. Column 4) o r Community Marks Holiday Thursday Most Business To Be Suspended Here Many Decaturite “drooled” today in anticipation of that traditional i “turkey and all the trimmings”] menu for the family dinner table Thursday, as the community marks the annual observance of Thanksgiving Day. While they had been cautioned not to forget the real reason for the day—the commemoration of the time when the Pilgrim fathers paused to give reverent thanks for their safe arrival at Plymouth Rock —the thought of that loaded banquet table couldn’t be forgotten altogether. Despite the prevailing high prices on all types of meat and poultry, local merchants reported almost a normal sale of the “gobblers”—and in addition many chickens, roasts, etc., were being purchased by local consumers. Here and there a tame rabbit was to usurp the turkey in his customary place at the featured spot on the family menu— and in some cases “Dad” promises to furnish 1 the meat for the meal in a rabbithunting expedition today or tomorrow. Whether the chief course be turkey, rabbit, chicken or sausage, the family dinners promised to be as usual gala events with “the kids” back home for the day, and a host of other relatives gathered for the yearly reunions. In Decatur generally, the holi- i day will be marked by an almost complete suspension of business. No edition of the Daily Democrat ' will be published. The bank, post office, all public offices, most ’ stores and plants will be closed for the day, with only confectioneries, 1 service stations, theaters and a ! few others open at least part time Thursday. To the school children the event holds an added significance. They will be dismissed from classes Wednesday afternoon for the balance of the week for the yearly Thanksgiving vacation. The religious motif of the observ- ' ance will be found, among others, in the nightly spiritual emphasis services, opened Sunday by the 12 Protestant churches in the city.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Tuesday, November 25, 1947

Woman Joins French Cabinet

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MME. GERMAINE POINSOT-CHAPUIS, first woman member of the French cabinet since war’s end, shakes hands with new French Premier Robert Schuman, A Popular Republican Parly member, she becomes Minister of Public Health and Information in coalition cabinet. ,

Chicago Newspaper Workers On Strike Walk Off Jobs In Dispute Over Rules Chicago, Nov. 25 —(UP) —Chicago newspapers appeared today in greatly reduced photo-engraved editions after members of the Chicago Typographical Union walked off their jobs in a dispute over employment rules. The strike made Chicago the battleground for the fight on the International Typographical Union’s policy that it will not sign labor contracts so long as the TaftHartley law is on the books. The union hopes to evade the law and retain the closed shop by posting “conditions of employment” in shops across the nation. The photo-engraved editions did not require the use of machanical typesetters, all of which are operated by members of the Typographical Union. News copy is, instead, typed on a special machine, pasted onto forms, photographed, engraved and then sterotyped ,and printed. The compositors left their jobs at 9 p.m., last night after voting 2,330 to 61 for the walkout. John J. Pilch, president of the union said the strike was called to enforce the typographers’ demands for wage increases and for changes in employment rules. The strike vote was called after publishers of the six Chicago daily newspapers rejected a final union proposal that wages be increased to SIOO a week for day work and $lO6 for night work. (Turn To Pas'? 2. Column 5) 0 Describes Recent Trip To Arlington Legion's District Commander Speaks Fourth district American Legion commander James K. Staley, in an address before the members of local post 43 Monday night, delivered an interesting description of his recent visit to Arlington national cemetery. Commander Staley made the trip to Washington, D. C. on Armistice Day as a representative of the state of Indiana department of the American Legion. While there he placed a floral wreath from the state upon the tomb of the unknown soldier, during annual Armistice Day ceremonies. The speaker gave an interesting recital of the memorial rites, in which thousands of Legionnaires and delegations from other organizations throughout the nation took part. A business session of the post (Turn To Page 2, Column 7)

Lutheran Church Plans Thanksgiving Service Special Thanksgiving services will be held at the Zion Lutheran church Wednesday evening at 7:30 o’clock, with the Rev. Karl Hofmann, vacancy pastor, officiating. The church choir, directed by Walter Nagel, will sing, an-1 the public . is invited to attend. The board of ! vestry will meet in the church base--1 ment immediately after the ser- . vices. 1 Violence Flares In • Italy, Two Killed i Political Violence Is Renewed In Italy i ' Rome, Nov. 25 — (UP) —Two ' persons were killed today in a I revival of Italy’s three weeks of political violence. A communist and a Christian ’ democrat were killed in a fresh outburst in Calabria province, the southernmost part of Italy. Another communist was wound- 1 ( ed. 1 The fresh casualties raised to 22 the death toll in precisely , three weeks of sporadic rioting ' throughout Italy. ( Two communists were wound- , ed in a fight with police at Bisignano, near Cosenza. One died of . his injuries. , The trouble in Ca’abria start- [ ed soon after the peasants went I on strike, as they had done last week in “bloody Puglia” province to the north. Local authorities in many places called for police reinforcements and armored cars. As in Puglia, where the worst violencf of the three weeks occurred, the peasant cut the roads and iso'ated many small centers. The Bisignano incident occurred when demonstrators tried to wreck the local common man party headquarters and police opened fire. At Reggio Calabria, on the very toe of the Italian boot, a Christian democrat student, Antonio Trunfio. 21. was shot to death during a meeting of the Catholic action association. Police identified his assailant as a “communist sypmathizer”, ' but gave no details of the dispute which led up to the shootihg. Another outbreak occurred at the industrial - town of Modena, southeast of Milan. Communist rioters followed ''the pattern of three weeks of disorders by wrecking the headquarters of the common man party and besieging police within their own headquarters. (Turn To Pae" S. Co , ’imn 2) o NO PAPER THURSDAY The Decatur Dally Democrat, conforming to a practice of many years standing, will not publish %n edition Thursday, November 27, which is Thanksgiving Day.

Resigns To Devote Full Time To St Louis Cards; Donaldson Is Successor

Union Services At Christian Church Spiritual Emphasis . Week Is Continued Tonight Time: 7:30 o’clock. Place: First Christian Church. Presiding: Rev. R. A. Carter and Rev. H. A. Welty. Sermon: Bishop Grant D. Batdorf. Following two opening meetings, Sunday and Monday nights, at Trinity Evangelical United Brethren church, the spiritudj jemphasis week activities move to the First Christian church on South Second street for two nights starting at 7:30 o’clock tonight, with Bishop Grant D. Batdorf, Dayton, 0., as the guest speaker. Another large audience composed of members of all 12 local Pro-1 testant churches heard Bishop Batdorf give his second of a series of eight sermons last night at Trinity church. A half hour of congregational singing and special numbers by the choir and leader, Prof. Paul Halladay of Manchester college, opened the Monday night services. Bishop Batdorf’s address followed. I The guest speaker also gave an interesting address to members of the Decatur ministerial association Monday morning. Dr. M. O. Lester, pastor of the First Methodist church, presided at the Monday night session and the Rev. G. A. Eddy, pastor of the i Nuttman Avenue United Brethren church, had charge of the devotionals. Bishop Batdorf, in an easy to understand fashion, brings the pospel to his audience in masterful fashion, according to those attending the services. He is quickly winning a place among the favorites in local church circles. Ministerial association leaders predict that the attendance mark Turn To Paere 2. Column 6) OBaby Silter Admits Murdering Charge Confesses Killing Two-Year-Old Girl Keewatin, Minn., Nov. 25 —(UP) — Mary Sapan, 34, an “experienced” baby sitter, sat wild-eyed and nervous in the Itasca county jail today, after confessing that she killed the two year old girl she was hired to watch. She admitted she hacked to death Ann General, daughter of her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Tony General. but she could give no reason for the murder. Police chief Sig Lyndahl said Miss Sapan was guarded by sheriff’s deputies in the county jail at Grand Rapids. He said she appeared to be in a serious nervous state. She wept hysterically yesterday as she told police that she had hacked the General girl twice with a single bitted axe, nearly decapitating her. . “1 don’t know why I did it,” she sobbed. “I have always liked children. I've taken care of so many little ones in the past and 1 never have wanted to do anything like this before.” Miss Sapan’s sister, Lucy, 25 was horrified. She said she and her sister often had taken care of the General child and many other children. j “I can't believe it,” she said. “I just can’t believe that Mary would do a thing like that. There must be some explanation." Lucy Sapdn told Lyndahl that the Generals left Ann withjier and Mary while they went to Duluth. “I left Mary with the baby while I went over to a neighbor’s to make j Turn T» Page 2,

Ministers Os Big Four In Crucial Parley Meet On Key Issue Os Germany, May Offer Conciliation London, Nov. 25—(UP)—The Big Four council of ministers met in crucial session today on the key issue of Germany with the United States and Britain indicating a desire to make some move toward conciliation of the bitter dispute with Russia. Foreign secretary Ernest Bevin of Britain presided at the initial session. Secretary of state George C. Marshall represented the United States, foreign minister Viacheslav i M. Molotov sat in for Russia and foreign minister Georges Bidault for France. The first question confronting the Big Four was that of the agenda—the order in which their discussions will procede. For nearly a month their deputies wrangled about this issue and ended in a stalemate. Sources close to the British and American delegations said that Bevin and Marshall were prepared to make concessions to the Russians on this issue in the interests of a quick facing of basic problems. An atmosphere heavily charged with pessimism surrounded the initial session. One note of cautious optimism came in repeated suggestions from Anglo-American quarters that some concessions may be offered to Russia and that this meeting is not regarded as “a final showdown." The western attitude was expressed as one of willingness to see whether Russia is now ready to do business. However, it was generally expected that the Soviet would continue its present line of denunciation of the west, particularly its charge that Britain and the United States want to dismember Germany and establish an independent western zone under their domination. Marshall was expected to employ all of his influence in an effort to persuade Molotov that the United States is not basically opposed to German unity. Marshall is known (Turn To Page 6. Column 4) 0 Orders Two Pennsy Trains Be Removed Afternoon Trains Are Discontinued Two afternoon trains on the Pennsylvania railroad will make their last runs through Decatur on Wednesday. William Barber, local agent cf the railroad, was informed today. The public service commission of Indaina has ruled in favor of the railroad, which asked that they be permitted to remove the two passenger trains from Richmond to Fort Wayne. The ruling becomes effective November 28. Since Thursday is Thanksgiving and the trains wert not in operations on Sundays and holidays. Wednesday will actually be the last day. The trains have been the source of much discussion. At least two hearings were held by the PSC. during which residents from various towns and cities along the line protested their removal. * Trucks will handle mail and express shipments, wh’cW have been shipped on these trains, and will follow much the same schedule, Mr BarlsK: stated. ® The northbound train, number 501, has been arriving here at I 12:15 p. m. and the southbound, number 502, at 2:45 p. m.

Price Four Cents

Donaldson Is First Career Postal Man Ever Appointed As Postmaster General Washington, Nov. 25 — (UP) —> Jesse M. Donaldson, who started out in the postal service 44 years ago as an sll-a-week clerk, today was named postmaster general at $15,000 a year — the first career postal man in U. S. history to get the cabinet post. He will succeed Robert E. Hannegan, who will leave Dec. 1 to devote all his time to his new business venture — the St. Louis Cardinals baseball club. Donaldson's Horatio Alger rise in the postal service was climaxed this morning when President Truman summoned him to the White House and informed him of his promotion to the cabinet. Donaldson thanked the president and said he was completely surprised. Traditionally, under both parties, the postmaster generalship has been a political job. . Donaldson, a graying, heavy- : set man of 62. now is first assist- ! ant postmaster general. ' He has been in the postal ser- ■ vice since 1903 when he served as 1 part-time clerk in a Shelbyville. 1 111., post office where his father was postmaster. Five years later I he became a full-fledged letter I carrier. He was appointed post- * al inspector at Kansas City, Mo., - in 1915. ! | He subsequently served in a • similar capacity in various secI I tions of the country; came here ! in 1933 as deputy second assist ' ant postmaster general and mov 1 j ed, up successfully to deputy first ‘j assistant, chief inspector. first ‘ assistant and finally to the top. i Donaldson is a Democrat. He ■ said his appointment “came to me ■ quite suddenly.” He said the first | indication that he was to get the I job came this morning when he I I was called to the White House. “Os course, it is quite an honor . ■ for a fellow to start out in the ' lowest position in the postal ser- ■ vice and rise to the top of it,” he said. When asked if he was interested in baseball, Donaldson said it. was his favorite sport, but quickly added that he had no financial ! interest in any ball club. Hannegan and the president ! exchanged letters, with Mr. Trui man expressing reluctance and regret to see Hannegan leave. Hannegan, a St. Louis politician who hds been in the government for more than five years, resigned this fall as Democratic national chairman after an extended illness. Sen. J. Howard McGrath of Rhode Island took his place as party chairman. Donaldson, a veteran in the postal service, will be nominated for the remainder of Hannegan’s term. The postmaster general serves under a term that is unusual for cabinet members. It is ! (Turn To Page S. Column 8) , o Attends Funeral Os Nephew At Capital !. Mrs. Florence Des Jean of this city left this morning for Indianapolis where she will attend the funeral of a hephew, the Rev. Ronald J. Hostetter at St. Catherine church in that city. Rev. Hostetter died following an automobile acci- ' dent Saturday. His death occurred Sunday. r

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