Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 46, Number 66, Decatur, Adams County, 18 March 1948 — Page 1

io I. XLVI. No. 66

COAL CONSERVATIONMEASURES ORDERED

Hive Killed, live Missing In B-29 Crash I Superfort Crashes | I Attempting Landing I lAt Florida Field I ■Tampa. Fla.. March 18 —(UP) —I |Kh>- army airforce crew members I I B»ere killed and five were listed as I after a B-29 superfortress IHradaM today in an attempted land|K at Mae Dill field. Four men surI the crash. I I The bomber was enroute from the I IKpokane (Wash.) airport base. It I ■louJied into the southwest corner |Kf the field as it came in on instruI Kients during a heavy ground fog. I |As it struck the ground, the huge I Kraft burst into flames. Wreckage I Kras strewn over a wide area and I Hkf fuselage was demolished. I | pour of the crew members —two I Officers and two enlisted men — I Kscaped from the flaming wreckage | K u,t Mae Dill field officers said they I Kere in “pretty good shape.” I I Five bodies were recovered. I ■frasii squads .searched the twisted I for other bodies. It was beI K ieveti t!lat five more fliers P eiish - I K d in the cr ash. ■ I Cant George Burns, public rela- !■ officer at Mae Dill, said the I Kc- evidently was due to pilot lit He said the pilot apparentI By misjudged the landing in the fog. I K\ board of pilot officers began an I immediately. I I Survivors of the crash were listed I Has l<i Lieut. Roy M. Walsh* believI Bed to be the pilot; Ist Lt. R.’ H. I ■Hathaway. staff Sgt. C. C. Miller I Band Cpl. .1. M. Miller. Home "towns I Bof the men were not known here. I General Injured I Berlin, March 18 — (UP) — I ■ Brig. Gen. Telford Taylor and his I ■ « • were injured today when they I Hard nine other Americans parachutI Bel from a crippled U. S. army C-47 I Hover Berlin. I I All six passengers and five crewI ■ men wll ° hailed out have been reI ■ ported from. Taylor was hospitalizI ■ed for a sprained back, cuts and I ■ bruises and severe shock and the I ■ others suffered minor injuries, U. S. I ■army headquarters reported. I Other passengers who parachutI I ed were Mr. and Mrs. James ,E. McI B Haney. Little Rock. Ark., and Mr. I I - Benjamin B. Ference, New I ■ York. I Taylor is chief U. S. war crimes I ■ prosecutor at Nuernberg and McI (Turn To Page Eight) Cancel Immunity Os I Czech Anti-Reds Czech Parliament I Cancels Immunity I Prague, March 18.—(UP)— The I I Czechoslovak parliament today II cancelled the immunity of six nonII Communist deputies, the first to be I I handed over to the courts since I I the Communist coup. I The deputies were Bohuslav I I Deci, national socialist, under arI I rest for trying to flee the country; I I Vladimir Krajina, Ota Hora and | I Alois Cizek, national socialists reI I Ported to be outside the country; I I and Fedor Hodza and Jan Ursiny, I I Slovak Democrats. I The first four were charged with I I organizing an espionage network I I through the ■ national Socialist I I Party. The other two were chargI I ed with taking part in a Slovak I I conspiracy against the state which I I the Communists claimed they disI g covered last fall. | Foreign officials refused to com- | nient on President Truman’s speech. They called attention to I a speech by Vladimir Clementis, i acting foreign minister, a few I hours earlier which they said I contained some answers to Mr. I Truman.” I Clementis, foreign undersecreI tary who took over the office after I the death of Jan Masaryk last I week, predicted defeat for those I opposing “progressive” forces. I ‘The arousing of a war psyI I chosis, division among the nations, IB (Turn To Page Eight) WEATHER Increasing cloudiness and warmer tonight. Friday cloudy an d warmer with scattered showers.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Brother Os Decatur Man Accident Victim Funeral services for John H. McComb, 36, Fort Wayne businessman killed in an auto accident near Lorain, 0., Wednesday, will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Crescent Avenue Evangelical United Brethren church. Friends may call at the D. O. McComb & Sons funeral home after 7 p.m. today until noon Saturday, when the body will be taken to the church. The victim is survived by his wife, Margaret; two children; two brothers, Robert .McComb of Decatur and George of South Bend; two sisters, and his father, Hubert J., of Fort Wayne. o Senate Opens Debate Today On Tax Slash Senate Republican Leaders Confident Os Defeating Veto Washington, March 18. —(UP) — Debate on income tax reduction gets under way in the senate today with Republican leaders confident of mustering a veto-voiding majority for their $4,800,000,0(10 bill. Sponsors of the measure claimed they had all but two of the 51 GOP senators lined up to vote for a tax cut. And they predicted they would get at least the minimum of 15 Democratic votes they need to override a presidential veto. Chairman Eugene D. Millikin. R., Colo., of the senate finance committee which drafted the tax bill, said he looks for passage tomorrow or early next week. Elsewhere on capitol hill: Draft —Some congressional leaders left the door open for action of President Truman’s recommendation for a revival of the draft but were cool to universal military training. Among those said to be more receptive to the idea of temporary selective service. than to UMT was senate president Arthur H. Vandenberg. Air power—Congress appeared ready to vote additional billions for an expanded air force, no matter what it does on President Truman’s draft-universal training requests. Sen. Robert A. Taft, R.. O„ and house speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., emphasized GOP determination to give the U. S. the “strongest air force in the world.” ERP —The house foreign affairs committee turned its attention to China and the military aspects of its catch-all foreign aid bill. The group has agreed on a four-year European recovery program with an initial appropriation of $5,300,000,000. Rents —Sen. Charles W. Tobey,

(Turn To Page Eight) o Ernst Bauermeister Is Taken By Death Funeral Services Saturday Afternoon Ernst Bauermeister, 85, retired farmer, died at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday at the home of a son, Adolph, five miles southeast of Ossian in Wells county. Death followed a four weeks illness of complications. He was born in Germany Dec. 2, 1862 and came to Amerca in 1881. His wife, the former Caroline Werling, died JanV6, 1945. He was a member of the Bethlehem Lutheran church at Oseian. Surviving are three sons, Adolph, August and Otto Bauermeister, all of Wells county: one daughter, Mrs. Albert Bieberich of Adams county; 14 grandchildren; 10 greatgrandchildren. and two sisters, Mrs. Fred Graft and Mrs. William Roemke, Sr., both of Wells county. Four brothers and one sister are deceased. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Adolph Bauermeuster home and at 2:30 o’clock at the Bethlehem Lutheran church, with the Rev. Harry Behning officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The body will be removed from the Zwick funeral home to the residence gfc 7:30 o’clock this evening. Friends are asked to omit flowers.

Truman Terms Wallace Agent Os Communism Would Not Accept Wallace Aid For November Election New York, March 18. —(UP) — President Truman flatly condemned Henry A. Wallace as an agent of Communism last night. He said he would not accept Wallace’s support even if it meant defeat in the November election. “I do not want and I will not accept the political support of Henry Wallace and his Communists,” the president told the friendly sons of St. Patrick at the hotel Astor. “If joining them or permitting them to join me is the price of victory, I recommend defeat. “These are days of high prices. But any price for Wallace and his Communists is too much to pay. I’m not buying!” Thunderous applause from the 2,700 persons in the green-decked hotel ballroom greeted ttye president’s blast at the third party presidential candidate. Mr. Truman departed from his" prepared text to assail the former vice president. It came near the close of his address after he had attacked those who spread the “insidious propaganda that peace can be obtained solely by wanting peace.” This propaganda, Mr. Truman said, “is advanced in the hope that it will deceive our people and that we will then permit our strength to dwindle because of the false belief that all is well in the world.” Wallace, who was dismissed as secretary of commerce by Mr. Tru man jfter a speech advocating ap peasement of Russia, plans to answer the president's remarks in a broadcast tonight at 10:45 over the American Broadcasting Company network. Wallace, in telegrams to all the major radio networks immediately after the president’s speech, asked for “equal facilities to those given to Harry Truman for his personal and political attack on me.” (Turn To Page Seven) o —■ Report Household Valuations Higher

Assessors Report Average Boost Here Valuation of household goods in Adams county is some higher than last year, according to Albert Harlow, county assessor, who reported today on progress of the assessing work in full swing here. ’ Reports of the various assessors, compiled at their last meeting at the courthouse, have revealed an average boost. Mr. Harlow attributed this increase to the number of new electrical appliances in the homes of the county. Reports from the assessors have also shown assesment on milk cow and sows a little higher than lat year, Mr. Harlow stated. The work of assessing is practically on a par with other years at this time, he said, and would probably have been ahead except for the inclement weather during the early sasessing period. At their last meeting the assessors reported they have assesed a total of 1,185 home in the county. The number of other assessments reported to date: auto, 1,136; farm tractors, 325; milk cows. 2,087; other cattle. 1,843; sows, 553; other hogs. -3,450. The work of assessing, including the bookwork, is to be completed by May 15. o Jesse May Funeral Friday Afternoon Funeral services for Jesse H. May. Root township resident, who died Wednesday morning, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Zwick funeral home, the Rev. L. A. Middaugh officiating. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Included in the survivors is a half-brother, Leland May, of this city, whose name was erroneously listed yesterday as Leland Eaton.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, March 18, 1948

Asks Preparedness For Peace KKKKMKI Uni • I ■ I . : k * <■ ' Z I I : PRESIDENT TRUMAN, in his historic address to congress, laid down a five-point program which he called the “most urgent steps toward securing the peace and preventing war.” He called for revival of the draft to rebuild the nation’s might because of Russia’s “ruthless course of action” menacing world peace.

Interesl Shown In Organizing Jaycees Second Meeting Is Planned March 31 A representative group of local young men turned out to hear Andy O’Dwyer, president of the Fort Wayne Jaycees and other executives of the civic organization, explain the purpose of the Junior Chamber of Commerce at last night’s meeting at the city hall. Enthusiastic interest was displayed by the group and William Coffee, well known insurance agent of this city, was named chairman to make a survey on the possibility of organizing the Jaycees here. A meeting will be held March 31 at the city hall. In the meantime. Mr. Coffee will name committeemen to contact young men, 21 to 35 years, who are interested in forming a junior unit of the Chamber of Commerce. Jack Reich, of Indianapolis, assistant executive secretary of the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce, explained that the Jaycees augmented the work of the regular Chamber of Commerce. The young men carry on many civic projects and community building programs. Robert Shimel, secretary, Chet Schmidt, executive vice-president, and Dan Holthouse of the Fort Wayne Jaycees also attended last night’s meeting. In addition to Mr. Coffee, Robert Lane, president and Dick Pruden, executive secretary of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, attended. Representatives from several in(Turn To Page Seven)

Missing Candidate Blanks Are Found Blanks Believed Missent To Wabash Candidate declaration blanks which have delayed filing progress in the offices of county clerk Edward Jaberg are believed to have been found at Wabash. Clerk Jaberg said today that the “lost” shipment of blanks, supposedly sent from Lafayette last Friday, are believed to have been erroneously mailed to Wabash. He received notification from the postmaster there of a “postage due” package, addressed to the local office. Meanwhile, a temporary supply has been secured by the clerk and he said that candidates may again file their official declarations as office-seekers. Two more new candidates had filed up to a late hour today. They are: (Turn To Page Seven)

Former Local Lady Dies At Fortville Mrs. Charles Craig, former Decatur resident, died Tuesday at her | home in Fortville, according to' word received here by friends. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. I Friday at Fortville. Mr. Craig was employed by the Adams County Lumber Co. from 1924 until about 18 months ago, when the family moved to Fortville. o—, I One Woman Dies In Dance Floor Collapse 85 Others Hurt In Chicago Building Chicago, March 18 — (UP) — Fire department authorities today sought causes for the collapse of a dance floor where nearly 500 persons were celebrating St. Patrick’s day. One woman was killed in the accident and 85 persons, many of them children, injured, three critically. Police said the victim, identified a<3 Mrs. John Hunt, 35, Chicago, was pinned under a support girder which collapsed with the floor. Earle Dowmes, fire department attorney, said the investigation would seek to determine whether the third floor dance hall where the Connaughtmen’s social club sponsored the dance had more than the legal number of persons. John Jenkins, manager of the dance hall and the billiard parlor and bowling alleys located in the same building, said that larger dances had been held on previous occasions without mishap. Jenkins, who was in the cloak room near the floor at the time of the accident, said he heard a tremendous crackling noise and saw the ceiling start" to sag. “Almost at the same time, the floor slowly gave way and people began sliding toward the lowest spot. The floor broke loose completely on one side and the people were thrown into the billiard room directly below.” The flying plaster from the ceiling and the drop into the second floor billiary room were responsible for most of the injuries, police said, although many of those not trapped on the broken floor suffered minor injuries in trying to escape from the room. At least 50 persons were in the billiard room when the dance floor began to cave in, but there was enough time for all to escape without injury. o Legion's Birthday Observance Tonight The birthday celebration of the American Legion will open tonight at 6 o’clock with a dinner for members only at the Legion home. A program and entertainment will follow.

VirtucLl Embargo Placed On Exports; Slash Made In Service On Railroads

Selective Service Prepares For Draft Set Up Machinery If Draft Approved Washington, March 18 —(UP) — Top selective service officials Baid today they could stait inducting men into the armed forces within 45 to 60 days if congress passed a new draft law. Maj. Gen. Lewis B. Hershey, director of the office of selective service records, estimated that new induction machinery could be set up within that time if President Truman’s draft request is approved. Col. Daniel O. Omer, Hershey’s assistant, said he believes selective service could have the first draftees in uniform “in possibly 90 days” from the time the law is passed. The army is now working on a bill to revive selective service in line with the president’s request. It will be mergd with navy and air It will be merged with navy and air to the president for approval before I going to congress. i Hershey, who is touring selective I service depots throughout the country, said in Salem, Ore., that the i larger the draft, the simpler would ibe its operation. Under a small draft, he explained, more machinery would be required to screen the candidates. Omer said the selective service i office has “no official knowledge” of how many men or what age groups would be called in the event of another induction. However, best Washington opinion is that any new selective service legislation will call for registration and draft of men between 18 and 25 years of age. That would fit in with the president’s second request for universal military training, which would take youths between 18 and 20 years of age. It is estimated that a draft of 18 to 25-year-old eligililes would net a pool of about 3,000,000 men, or almost 10 times as many as are needed to meet the authorized strength ■ of the armed services. 0

Ben S. Colter Dies Early This Morning Funeral Services Saturday Morning Ben S. Colter, 74. retired farmer and school teacher, died at 2:40 o'clock this morning at the home of his son, Dean Colter, east of Decatur. He had been suffering from a heart ailment for several months. He was born at Bolivar, O„ Sept. 26, 1873, a son of Henry and Ellen Reynolds-Colter, but moved to Adams county when eight years old. He was associated with his father in the lumber business for many years and then taught -in the county schools for 13 years. He then operated a farm in St. Mary’s township until 1942, when he retired, moving to Hollywood, Fla. He returned to the home of his son last November. He was a member of the Mt. Tabor Methodist church, where he served as superintendent of the Sunday school for 17 years. Surviving are his wife, the former Mary Dailey, whom he married Nov. 27, 1902; three sons, Donald and Dean, both east of Decatur, and Robert Colter, of Decatur; five grandsons; and two brothers. Earl D. Colter of Decatur and Charles H. of Kendallville. One brother preceded him in death. Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Zwick funeral home and at 10 o'clock at the Mt. Tabor Methodist church at Bobo. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Meat Packers Strike Shoots Prices Upward Biggest Boom For Meat Prices Since Ceilings Removed Chicago, Mar. 18 —(UP) — The nationwide packinghouse strike sent wholesale meat prices spiraling upward today in the biggest boom since the one that followed removal of OPA ceilings. The strike, which has cut meat production in half, pushed the price of pork loins up as much as 12 cents a pound on the Chicago wholesale market in the last three days. The National Association of Retail Grocers appealed to housewives to buy as little meat as possible “so that there will be enough for everybody.” Mrs. R. M. Kiefer, secretarymanager of the association, said some retailers reported that their meat sa'es rose 20 to 60 percent since the strike started. Meanwhile, the big packers and the CIO United Packinghouse workers dug in for a prolonged work stoppage. President Truman’s fact-finding board summoned witnesses from both sides to appear at hearings on the issues beginning today. Eighteen pickets were arrested here yesterday in the first mass arrest of the nationwide strike. The pickets were arrested at an elevated railroad station which is a transfer point for workers enroyte to the stockyards. Part of the sharp increase in wholesale meat prices was attributed to the fact that farmers, afraid that their animals would find no market, had been holding off livestock shipments. Lem Wyatt, department of agriqulture representative at Chicago’s stockyards, said that farmers have not sent enough animals to market to meet the demand from packers not affected by the strike. There are 76 plants in Chicago still operating. Cattle receipts for the first three days of the week at the nation’s 12 biggest markets totaled only 61,000, compared with 158,559 during the first three days of the previous week. Hogs shipped to the same markets to(Turn To Page Five) _O

Examine Only Three Grades Os Children Other Grades To Be Examined Next Year A decision to examine only three grades of the children in the Lincoln school, plus the pre-school children, was made yesterday at a meeting of the P. T. A. committee in charge of the medical project. It was pointed out that there are too many pupils in the school to check up all of them properly in the two -Jays allotted to the examination. The second, fourth and sixth grades, in addition to those children entering kindergarten for the first time next September, will be examined by Decatur physicians on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Next year the second, fourth and sixth grades of the 1949 classes will be given a physical check-up, and in that way all children will have the benefit of a permanent record of their medical history. Decatur physicians and nurses will be on hand at the Lincoln school at 8 o’clock next Tuesday morning when the sixth grade pupilß and pre-school children will be examined. Parents of children who (Turn To Page Five)

Price Four Cents

Steps Are Taken By Government To Meet Threat Os Shortage Caused By Walkout Washington, Mar. 18 — (UP) Confronted with dwindling coal supplies, the government today ordered a virtual embargo on bituminous coal exports and a 25 percent cut in use of coal-burning railroad passenger trains. The twin moves were taken by secretary of commerce W. Averell Harriman * and the office of defense transportation to meet the coal shortage threat caused by the walkout of John L. Lewis’ coal miners. Meanwhile, Cyrus Ching, federal mediation director, was attempting to get a basis for settling the pension dispute between soft coal operators and Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers. He met separately with the UMW and the operators to “explore the issues.” Both government actions are effective Sunday midnight. Harriman suspended the issuance of licenses to export bituminous coal after March 21. The ODT told the nation’s railroads to cut passenger service on all coal-burning railroad trains by 25 percent. Since about 45 percent of the nation’s passenger railroad trains are coal-burning, this order amounted to an over-all cut of 12 percent in the nation's passenger service. Harriman took his action after the inter-agency coal-operating committee said the coal strike was cutting into U. S. reserves. And the ODT sail] railroad coal stocks are considerably lower than they have been during previous strikes. Under Harriman’s order bituminous coal actually in transit or on docks will not be affected. Shipments to Canada will not be affected. Government officials were fearful that the soft coal strike may weaken the nation's hand in its “cold war” with Russia. These officials said that a coal shortage would drastically curtail U. S. production of steel, machinery and other items needed in the

European recovery programOne steel producer, Sharon Steel Corp., Farrell, Pa., already has been forced to bank one of its blast furnaces and shut down five open hearths. Others are expected to follow unless coal production is resumed shortly. Industry and government representatives were to take steps today in an effort to end the four-day-old walkout over pensions which has spread to some 380,000 miners in 14 states. Cyrus S. Ching, federal mediation director, scheduled a morning meeting with Ezra Van Horn, the operators spokesman, and luncheon with Lewis “to explore the issues.” He said the work stoppage is “a serious matter of the country." Soft coal operators representing all segments of the industry called a meeting to plan their next step if Lewis ignores or refuses to meet their deadline. Van Horn has asked Lewis to join him by tomorrow in petitioning U. S. district court to appoint a third trustee of the union retirement fund. The third member would be empowered to break the LewisVan Horn deadlock over for the miners. o Attend Funeral Os Lawrence France Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lynch of this city have returned from Midland, Mich., where they attended the funeral of Lawrence France, 58, formerly of Pleasant Mills. Mr. France, who was a son of the late Charles France of St. Mary’s township, died last Sunday after a short illness. Mrs. Lynch was a cousin of Mr. France. Burial was in the Midland cemetery.