Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 47, Number 103, Decatur, Adams County, 2 May 1949 — Page 1

ivil.No. 103..

iWAIT CALL FOR MEETING OF BIG FOUR

sfclnhf A Measure ■ pe With Strikes ■Jecting National ■elfore o f Country May 2—(UP)— jK, sun Rayburn said after a with President Truman ■X: some emergency injunc- «■ should be added to the IK-iroiou's new labor bill to strikes affecting the naWelfare. . ■burn is the administration s i spokesman in the there the President's fol- > ■arefightmc an uphill battle ■e their Taft-Hartley repeal jHotn defeat. ■ surprise statement seemed it plain that the adminis■K,ready to abandon its op- ■- to the injunctive provision to win support in the |H test vote expected tomor■n Taft-Hartley repeal. the biggest concession the has made in the bit—fight, and one which certain to provoke angry from organized labor. CIO leaders have attacked the provisions of the Taftlaw as one of the main why tin y want it wiped off books. did not say whether Truman had approved Hut it was assumed '- Preside nt bad given it his hope that it Would pull bill out of the fire. was oni of the congres"bie four" who called at the hBcIP:.-- this morning for their Star iegisiaiiu- Strategy cOllfer■Hllth the President. president Allien W. Barkley. majority leader FranMeyers. Pa., and house leader John W. McCorof Massachusetts sat in on They iet Hayburn them on their way out. said he informed Mr. he thought the house reject the proposed Wood by a coalition of and southern Demo- ■ as a substitute for the adrepealer. Wood bill is expected to ■to a vote tomorrow. The | J#!ii bill, which is backed by will not be conunless tin Wood measure the Lesinski bill now stands. cooling off period would, in strikes affecting the I jovial interest. Hut there would j but a presidential re-: public opinion to back up off period. Mood bill would continue cooling off period of the act, backed up by for the President to seel; injunction. said he would suppor changes in the original ad bill, including clarifi u! President’s einerg- ■ Powers and a "free speech" ■*" ■ r employers and workers Ulpcwtrs for the President tha' W lT «n T» p aKr Tkre*> ■Bthodist Church ■ Tuesday |BJ t Hut Mayne district confer- ■ ’ ' he Methodist church will ■ ' ’“esday at the First Meth■„T’b in F "r Wayne, open > a. m. ■''inference meets each vear ■ for the annual Indiana conference. W,. J1 M held at Richmond Communion Is ■® de Class Os 27 Bt’? j U c 8 Wl:h ,he V «>T Rev ■ibntrt 4 . e: * pastor, was ■nit; J 3 ' l o clwk Bunda > ‘ St Mary s Catholic sude "s ,* kifh 27 toy’ and Jmu, ' helr Holy Com Kd?< n ’ fre hfau ' iful| V dec ' " e n ° Wm and Ih « the m «’ The J ‘tended by W ” d ‘ of tfce flr,! Blolh?r ’ day will ■ •V' ,rch with a ; O ' elock Tfce l ■’’Cftlta- en will ■I ' OS dartn * the m »»e

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Officials Are Named For School Election Election Thursday On School Merger Election board officials for two Washington township precincts for the special election Thursday on the proposal of school consolidation for schools in Washington, Monroe and Kirkland townships have been announced by John _j Stoneburner, trustee. j . The officials are as follows: ' j South Washington (vote at Ren- , niger school.) B Inspector, Freeman Walters; j judges, W. E. Faurote. Floyd . Slitchell, clerks, Frieda Crist, Genevieve Strickler; sheriffs, 5 James Kessler, Dan Railing. j North Washington (vote at Ben . Siting home.) j Inspector, Harry Beavers; I judges, John Kintz, Ernest Tumbleson; clerks, Vera Lehman, Mrs. i Bob Biting; sheriffs, Walter Hei- . man, Gail Nidlinger. Elections will be held in Monroe ] and Washington townships only. It ; was pointed out that no election . was necessary in Kirkland township because no request was peti- > tioned for by voters of that township after the advisory board pass- , ed a resolution favoring consoli-] r dation. ) Such requests were made, hows ever, in the other two townships and elections were necessary. ! There are four voting precincts in [ Monroe township. Only voters residing in the township and outside r of the Berne school town are eligi-i I ble to vote, but it is necessary to [i have two Berne voting places, bes I cause there are voters in each of I these precincts who reside outside the town of Berne and are therefore eligible To vote in the school > election. Following are the Monroe township boards. Berne precinct A—Menno P. Eicher, inspector; Osia von Gunten and Wilbert Nussbaum, judg- , es; Mrs. Sulicia Barrett and Edison . Lehman, clerks; Menas Liechty ! and Caleb Sprunger, sheriff. |Berne precinct B—John A. Meyer, inspector; Walter Lehman I and Albert Lehman, judges; Jesse' J D. Wittwer and Irvin Sprunger, I clerks; Oren Moser and Albert [ Fox, sheriffs. Middle Monroe—Jonas Sprunger. inspector; Carl Sorgen and Rufus , Sprunger, judges; Mrs. Edith Beer , I and Mrs. Naomi Bauman, clerks; (Turn T« Pug» Two I ' ! Southern California Is Shaken By Quake [I Los Angeles, May 2—(UP)—An. earthquake that rattled dishes and j ; l light fixtures sway shook south-1 . ern California early today but noj i j appreciable damage was reported., The shock, at 6:27 a.m. EST, was' i felt in sections from Los Angeles I > south to the Mexican border. It i was reported especially sharp in| Indio, Banning. Riverside and Palm; Springs. Juveniles Slated To Appear Tuesday Final Investigation Requested By Judge Summons were issued over theweek end for four Decatur youths and their parents to appear in juvenile court Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock, it was learned today • Their appearance probably will close the investigation conducted into a series of alleged thefts - which have occurred in Decatur, and Adams county during the last , several months. The final investigation has been made at the request of Judge Myles F. Parrish by county proba tion officer C. H. Muselman and sheriff Herman Bowman, it was reliably reported, after prosecutor Severin Schurger filed a nolle pros action in the four remaining cases. It is understood that the court ordered the investigation on the theory that all of the youths in volved should receive the same treatment. Os the first 10 boys to appear, four were committed to the Indiana boys school at Plain field and the other six were placed on probation, according to reliable reports. Tuesday's hearings will be held in the court's private chamber and i 1 are not open to the public. Records, I of juvenile cases are not public ' records, it was pointed out by of- 1 ficlals /

10 Known Dead As Tornado Hits In Three Stales Oklahoma, Texas And Kansas Swept By Major Tornado i ■ , By United Press The second major tornado of the spring, spreading destruction across Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, today left 10 known dead and more than 90 injured. Property damage, heaviest in central Oklahoma, promised to run into the millions. In addition to the twisters in the southwest, windstorms and heavyrain struck northern Mississippi yesterday, destroying houses, uprooting trees and cutting off electric power. No casualties were reported, however, and serious damage was confined to the towns of Houston and Okolona. In Louisiana, twelve negroes were injured, three seriously, when tornadic winds hit a small plantation southwest of Homer and blew down several tenant homes late ' Sunday. I A windstorm, which the South (Bend. Ind., weather bureau said! was a “heavy squall of light tor-' nado intensity." tore through the! east side of Mishawaka. Ind., last night, damaging factories, homes, trees and'power lines. Police estimated damag4 at SIOO,OOO. None was injured. The tornadoes that struck 16 Oklahoma communities Saturdaynight claimed six lives. Four others were killed in Texas, near Bonham. A pair of tornadoes, riding the i tail of a thunderstorm, struck Iswestern Kansas, at Great Bend and | Oakley, but these caused onlyslight damage and no injuries were reported. The tornadoes struck early Sat-, n'-day night. The one in Texas hit' first in Fannin county, 80 miles. ! northeast of Dallas, Tex. The one; in Oklahoma struck Norman, then skipped craisiy across the state. | 1 hitting 15 other communities. For the most part, only sparsely- ‘ populated areas were hit, keeping! casualties down. Farm homes andother buildings were damaged.' trees uprooted, power lines torn i down and motor cars smashed. Three companies of national: I guardsmen, on the rifle range at a j Norman naval air base, suffered (Turn To Paar Two) Four Accidents Are Reported By Sheriff i I Heavy Damage Done, No One Is Injured Four automobile accidents, with ! estimated damage totalling ‘more I than SI,OOO. but no serious per i | sonal injuries, were investigated I I Sunday morning by sheriff Herman i Bowman. All of the mishaps occurred between 1:30 and 9 o clock Sunday morning. Automobiles driven by Lawrence Ryan, New Haven and Robert Mar hende. Fort Wayne figured in a mishap on road 27 north cf Decatur at 1:30 o'clock Sunday morn ing. The sheriff's report stated that the Marhende car drove into the rear of the Ryan car. Damage, was estimated at $250 on the Ryan I au'omobile and $350 on the Mar-| hende car. Cars owned by Marvin Bauer-1 meister. Ossian, and William Kiracobe, \Vren, 0.. figured in an other accident a short distance from the first one on road 27. No| one was injured and the combined! damage was $75. according to the! report. Jesse P. Velles. Geneva, report-j ed that he was blinded by oncom : ing lights from another car and struck a bridge south of Geneva at, 3:30 o'clock Sunday morning. Dam- 1 age to the Velles au'omobile was; estimated at $275 but the driver] was uninjured. The last of the four mishaps occurred near Berne at a county road intersection. Automobiles owned by Gene Amstutx of Geneva and; Joshua Zurcher of Monroe collided Damage was estimated at S2«O on the Amstuti car and $250 or the) Zurcher car. No accidents were reported in iDecatur over the weekend, according to city polio* records, and no arrests were made Several warnings to motorists were issued by city police for minor Infractions.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, May 2,1949.

Headliners For Alumni Banquet 3jhW Ji - Est ® I " ' < • 1 | • '»>/ Ok. Jct -- i I Dr. Ernest Linton Judge Myles F. Parrish i Dr. Linton, authority on international affairs, will be the principal • speaker at the annual Adams county dinner of the Indiana University ■ alumni association, to be held Wednesday night at 6:30 o'clock at . the K. of P. home in Decatur. Judge Myles F. Parrish, former as- . sistant to Dr. Linton and youngest circuit court judge 4n Indiana, will ; preside at the meeting and introduce Dr. Linton. Former students, their families and friends of the university are invited to the annual . affair. Reservations may be made by calling Robert Anderson, presi- ! dent of the group, at telephone number 209 before 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon.

r Tax Distribution 11 Checks Received To Aid Repairs Os Streets, Highways Adams county and the city of Dei catur today received checks from ' the auditor of state of gasoline ' taxes distributed to counties and ‘ municipalities for highway and street repairs. ’ The county government received ■ ! $55,254.16 and the city of Decatur. | 11 $7,328.12. The distribution includ- ■ ed the quarterly gasoline tax col- ‘ lections and local government’s share of the $6,300,000 which the • j court ruled had to be returned to • j counties and cities. t, In the case of the county, the ’ I highway department received ap--11 proximately $28,000 extra. The ■ J regular distributions total $27,000 | each quarter. ' The money will be used in ex- : i panding the highway repair proI [ gram in the county, the county ■ I commissioners stated. This departiintent is under the supervision of i Phil Sauer and the work is alI I ready underway. i The city’s windfall of extra funds I figures about $5,000, records at the 'city call indicate. The quarterly 'distribution in January amounted to $1,986.66. The county and city will receive two more quarterly distributions in 1949. which amounts will be exI pended for road and pavement re- ■ pairs. it will not be necessary to call the county council to appropriate the highway funds as the amount so. far received is under the sllß,1 000 budget for the year. ‘ Congrjessman Asks School Merger Dale Seeks Information On School Problems l Congressman Edward Kruse has i asked for all available information 1 concerning the school consolidai tion problems in Adams county, he ; revealed in a telephone conversai tion with Daily Democrat recently. Mr. Kruse made the request after a conerence with H, H. High. Ezra Kaehr. Everett Rice and other Adams county citizens. ! The conference was held recently in Fort Wayne and the Adams 'county men asked the aid of the ■ fourth district congressman in get- I I’ing a federal grant for a building I lin this county, provided the school i merger was voted. < | Congressman Kruse indicated i that he would help in every way t • possible but said he did not want ito make a definite statement until 1 he had studied the problem and i also ascertained if any federal funds were available. Information is now being collect- | ed and will be forwarded to the | congressman in the next few days, . jit was learned. He has assigned a i 'member of his office force to the ’ work of ascertaining what federal ] funds, if any, would he available. | WEATHER ( Fair and a little cooler to- j night. Tuesday fair and mild.

BULLETIN Detroit, May 2—(UP)— The Packard Motor Car company today announced price reductions from $lO3 to $246 on its golden anniversary automobiles. The price cuts were the second largest in the current wave of price rollbacks by the automobile industry. The price cuts do not affect custom models. ■ I Durkin Funeral Is i Held This Morning i Visiting Priests Attend Final Rites A mass of solemn requiem was celebrated for Thomas J. Durkin, former Adams county sheriff and early automobile dealer of, this city, by his son, the Rev. Thomas L. Durkin, pastor of Sacred Heart , church. Fort Wayne, at St. Mary’s I Catholic church at 10 o’clock this) morning. The funeral services were largely attended by friends and relatives of the deceased, four monsignori and 35 vl.iting priests. Burial was made in the Catholic cemetery. Two nephews of Mr. Durkin were deacon and subdeacon of the high mass. They were the Rev. Simeon M. Schmitt, pastor of SS. ! Peter and Paul church. Huntington. and the Rev. Dennh Schmitt. I S. J., of West Baden college. West Baden. Other officers of the mass were the Rev. Joseph Herod, C. PP.S., St. Mary’s Academy, Fon i du Lac. Wia.. and the Rev. Igna tius Vichuras. as.-istant pastor o* St. Mary’s church, fir t and second master of ceremonies. The Very Rev. Msgr. J. J. Seim etz. pastor, delivered the sermon. The viiting monsignori from Fort Wayne were: the Rt. Rev. D J L. Monahan, the Very Rev. C. J Feltes, the Very Rev. J. A. Bapst and the Very Rev. H. A. Hortsman The clergy who attended were the Rev. George Gaynor. Adrian Mich., the Rev. Russell Gillig. To ledo; the Rev. Harard Raesler Roanoke; the Rev. Leo Ros wor. Lagro; the Rev. Herman Schoudel. Waynedale; the Rev Lawrence Fettig. Waterloo: the Rev. Anthony Quiniisk. Auhurn: the Rev. Josph Hennes. Monroe ville; the Rev. Edward Dillon Huntington: the Rev. Charles Weber, Huntington; the Rev Lawrence Gollner. Hessen Cassel; the Rev. John Frawley. San Pier re; the Rev Andrew Mathieu. Kendallville; the Rev. Stan Manowski. the Rev. Phillip Fusco, the Rev Gene Zimmerman, the Rev. Ed ward Keever, the Rev. Robert Zahn, the Rev. Leo Armbruster, the Rev. Richard Drbine. the Rev Timothy Doody, the Rev. Robert Hoevel. the Rev. Vincent Lenger Ich. the Rev. Charles Girardot. the Rev. Joseph Jacobs, the Rev Junes O'Connor, al) of Fort Wayne: the Rev. William Ehrman. New Haven: the Rev. Henry Aem ling. New Haven, and a Capuchin father from Huntington Out of town friends who attended the services Included Judge and Mrs. Edward Myers. Frank Geary iT»r« Te P«a« Twe»

Agreement In Principle Is Reported Reached On Lifting Berlin Blockade

Violent Death Toll Is Heavy In State At Least 11 Dead In Traffic Wrecks By United Press Indiana counted a heavy violent death toll today as a result of week-end traffic accidents which came as motorists packed the highways to see the new spring greenery. State police, reporting a heavy volume of traffic throughout the state, and local authorities counted at least 11 dead in motor mishaps. Another victim of violent death was Richard Yagel, 23, Terre Haute, who drowned in the Wabash river when a fishing boat upse'. His wife and brother were saved. At Elwood. Bert Roberts, 46, Detroit. and James F. Bollhoefer. Gas City, were burned to death yesterday when their big truck was wrecked after hitting a hole in the pavement of Ind. 37. A third Sunday death in Madison county was that of Roy Arthur Stringer. 17. Alexandria, whose body was found on Ind. 28. apparI ently the victim of a hit-run vei hide. ■ Eight-year-old Anthony Nielsen. Knox, was killed Saturday on a country road in Starke county when he was hit by an automobile driven by Frank Fisher. 25, North I Judson, a cousin of the boy's mother. Miss Clara B. Miller, 69. Benton Harbor, Mich., was killed when her automobile collided with a big truck at the intersection of U. S. 30 and Ind. 43 near Michigan City. Diane L. Hartman, two-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert ; Hartman of Indianapolis, was kill-1 ] ed when she fell from an automo-1 bile driven by her mother and was I j run over by a car driven by Rob-. ert Baitz, Kokomo, on U. S. 31 near (Turn To I’ntr Tw<>> I Hearing July IS On i Recreational Control i 1 Switch Recreation To County Control ! A public hearing on the petition to switch the rural recreation pro-! gram from township to county con-: trol, will be heard on Juy 18, the' county commissioners decided in] session today. County auditor Thurman I. Drew submitted a certification of the signatures to the petition to the, board this afternoon and the next | legal step is to give notice to resi t t dent freeholders of the public hearing. The original petitions, which sought the establishment of the rural recreation program under county commissioner appointments, contained 586 names. A check of these names with the real estate transfer records revealed that 487 signers were eligible to sign. The 99 names eliminated from the petitions included those who were not resident property owners in the 12 townships. if the petition is granted. the| ural recreation program will be operated by a county park board. - o be named by the county commis doners. This change would be ;ome effective next year. The counry would levy the tax rate for funds instead of the township. The levy would not apply to property in Decatur or Berne, where park hoards are operated by the munici palities. The petition was filed last month and under law had to be checked! and verified by the county auditor The law also fixes the interval fori the hearing of the formal petition and the nearest date falls in July. Mr. Drew said. Dennis Norman it director of the rural program He was employed by the township trustees following the making of a SII,OOO grant by the McMillen Foundation of Fort Wayne, to establish the program in Adams and Allen counties.

Communists' Attack Slowed Near Shanghai Nationalist Forces Repulse Communists West Os Shanghai Shanghai, May 2. — (UP) — Nationalist headquarters reported today that Chinese Communists had • been checked in a heavy battle some 30 miles west of Shanghai, , but a many pronged push against Hangchow had brought this last exit from' Shanghai under enemy punfire. Shanghai garrison headquarters reported that the Nationalists repulsed a Communist attack on Chingyangkang, two miles west of the strategic rail town of Kunshan; on the western approaches <»f Shanghai. To the south. Communist col- 1 . umns pushed s.eadily east above , Hangchow in an effort to block! . the rail line running southwest, from Shanghai. The big rail town itself was not yet occupied by the Communists, although Its approach- ! es had been wide open for three , days and at last account they , were only eight miles to the north. Fighting flared close to Kashing. ! on the railway 70 miles southwest of Shanghai. Two communist for-! Ices advanced to Shengchih, 10j miles northwest of Kashing, and Hsinsheng. 10 miles Io the west. I The limitations on reporting from Shanghai were becoming more severe, and it was hard to I get a clear picture of what was go-; I ing on. Censorship was establish-1 ed, checking all local news copy! and outgoing reports filed by cor respondents of any nationality. Onlly meager information was avail-; able, and garrison headquar ers; was practically the only source oi official information. I (The Communist radio at PelpI ing said eight* Nationalist armies ; had been destroyed and four more 1 partially destroyed in the NankingI Shanghai-Hangchow pocket. The , Chinese army is roughly the equiv- , alent of a U. S, division.) 1 The Communists were repor'ed I thrusting spearheads toward the ! Hangchow rail line at several points. One report said they were threatening Changan. on the rail;way 30 miles northeast of Hang-, chow. i A government communique said! I Nationalist troops threw back a ' Communist assault on Chingyang I I kang, two miles west of Kunshan, j last night. Chinese reports said I the Communists were forced to re‘Turn T« !’■.«* Mill Mrs. Sarah Moser Is Taken By Death Funeral Services Tuesday Afternoon Mrs. Sarah Moser. 67. who resid led two and one-half miles west ot' | Berne, died at I 15 p.m Saturday I at the Adams county meiflorial hos pital following an illness of 10 days ! She was a native of French town ' ship and a member of the Evan gelical Mennonite church. Surviving are her husband. John X. Moser; three sons. Vilas Moser of Decatur route 3. Freddie and Nelson, both of near Berne; a daughter. Mrs Russell Myers of Berne: nine grandchildren: three brothers. Mike Biberstein of De catur. Abraham Biberstein of Bluff ton and Menno Biberstein of near I | Berne, and two sisters. Mrs. Bar ; bara Habegger of Decatur and Mrs | 1 Noah Stauffer of near Berne Funeral services will be held at ' 2 pm. Tuesday at the Evangelical j 1 . Mennonite church, the Rev Noah J Schmucker officiating Burial will be in the MRE cemetery The body was removed from the Yager funeral home to the residence last ( ; night.

Price Four Cents

Step Understood To Be Final Barrier To Easing Berlin Blockade At Once New York, May 2 — (UP) — A high Soviet source said today that Jacob A. Malik, Russian delegate to the United Nations, is awaiting a call from American ambassador-at-large Philip C. Jessup convoking a meeting to decide on the agenda for a council of foreign ministers’ meeting on Germany. That step was understood to be the last barrier holding up an announcement on the lifting of the Russian blockade of Berlin and the western-imposed counter-blockade. The source said that Jessup and Malik had reached "agreement in principle" on the blockade lifting and that all that remained to he discussed by the two diplomats : was the agenda for the big four ! foreign ministers who are expected to convene in Paris late this month. His most recent meeting with Malik, held last Friday, was ar- ! ranged by the Soviet delegate who asked the American to come to headquarters of the Russian delegate to the UN. At that meeting, , Malik was understood to have offered official assurance from the Kremlin that Russia was agreeable to lifting the blockade. Jessup will meet with British delegate Sir Alexander Cadogan and French delegate Jean Chauvel at headquarters of the United ' States UN mission at 2 Park Ave. at 3 p. tn.. EDT. No arrangements have been made for a new meeting between [Jessup and Soviet delegate Jacob A. Malik or for a four-power dis- : cuFsion here. Jessup, who has talked will i Milk seven times on the (lerma t 1 question. left Washington for New j York this morning after consults- | tions with secretary of state Dean Acheson and other state depart- ! ment officials. The announcement rais'd the i prospect of another meeting soon — possibly tomorrow — between Jessup and Malik, and the chance 'hat Cadogan and Chauvel might join the talks for the first time. Announcement of the conference of the western representatives working on the Berlin talks followed a suggestion made Ya Paris by French foreign minister Robert Schuman that a date might be set this week for the proposed council of foreign ministers' meeting on Germany. Won't Assure Peace Washington, May 2 — (UP) — ; Government foreign affairs exI ports expressed the belief today that Russia wants to call off the B> rlin blockade merely because it is a failure and not because of any desire to promote peace. They said the success of the airj lift and the west's counter-block-ade has convinced the Soviets that their own blockade is costing them more than it is worth. There experts, whose job is to analyze Moscow's confusing diplomatic strategy, warned that the lifting of the blockade "would not m an that the Kremlin wants peace.” I "The Russians are realists." said I one official. "They will discard ! anv plan that is not successful. But in the act of«discarding it. ; they will attempt to gain political advantage." He pointed out that Russian propaganda. beamed to Germany, now Is s'ressing that the Soviet Union is willing to end the blockade to prevent a war which “aggressive western circles" are plotting. Local Mon's Brother Dies In Cleveland Valentine J Steiner. 52. brother of Clifford Steiner of this city, died suddenly of a heart attack Sundav nigh' at his home in Cleveland. 0. Also surviving are another brother. Hugo at Chicago, and a sister. Mrs Flossie Dubach ot Berne Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m Thursday at Cleveland. ' with burial in that city.