Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 47, Number 105, Decatur, Adams County, 4 May 1949 — Page 1

Lyn. No. 105.

ERLIN BLOCKADE TO BE LIFTED MAY 12

House Kills Taft Act Change

| le Shelves t Moris To fliie Measure Mouse Vote Leaves i BBaft-Hartley Bill -'flu Statute Books . May 4 “ < UP) ~ today shelved mdeftall efforts to revamp the arl by labor law. It did so tn send the Wood bill committee. decision was taken by a vote announced as 212 K in favor of reconintital of Me voa- left the Taft-Hartley || r . books, with no appar"f :iny new labor being acted on by the , ibis ses ion of congress. H.irb-v law repeal to the Ilir committee was (epre,lS a "face-saver" for tite who didn't like the hill. Li .,v the voting of the past ill til- house was a major fur president Truman who last year on a promise |K> ; -. da- Taft-Hartley law oft hooks if elected and Ha I).nuxratic congress. motion to send the Wood back to the house labor was offered by Rep. Krd .1 Welch, R„ Cal., who against the bill yesterNt the motion see-saw-all the way. K th.- final result, 193 DemoP Republicans and Rep. Alp, N. A'., vot|Hlo send th- bill back to the ■Btnittee. Again t recommittal SH^He 62 Democrats and 1-17 RepubgH.'< die clerk finished calling the count was 214 to Bin I! p. Lloyd M. Bentsen. |Hb.T.-\, protested he had been recorded." His vote K switched from "aye" to 1 Walter E. Brehm, R„ ().. «annn U „ce<! that he had voted |Hke the tact that he had a si. agreement with an ab- ' member not to vote. Therehe withdrew his “aye" vote The two changes the final total to 212 to Truman lost his chance yesto make good on his camPledge when the house first a compromise - which |M <l* blessing of the Demo ■H (Turn To p Hltr I Women To Warships holarships Graduates chapter of the Busiofessional Women's i 1100 each to a girl Decatur high school Catholic high school, with certain specif! “Hing to enter coll•f any girl planning r education by any igible for the award, e asked to submit a xwition. stating her the reason for her >** on the applicaobtained from the each school. The 11 entries is Monday. 1 include: Myrtle Zeigler Dohm. and •**- »U members of '« Business and Pro- «• club. Their decifonrarded to the •bo win i B ( Urn tn _ “nets and make the ! thereafter. Forthalso be obtain comWemhoff. Glennys ticks, and Rosemary

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Ask Prosecution 01 Russian Satellites Charge Violations Os Peace Treaties Washington, May 4 — (UP)— This country will seek “prosecution” of three Russian satellites on charges of violating their World War II peace treaties, secretary of state Dean Acheson said today. Acheson said the action will be aken against Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary for political and religious persecutions in violation of “human rights” treaty clauses. The treaties provide “trial” machinery. What punishment could be meted out in event of conviction remains to be seen. -Acheson disclosed the U. S. plans at his weekly news conference. The charges were detailed in notes dispatched by this country on April 2. They specifically mentioned the conviction of Josef Cardinal Mindszenty for alleged treason in Hungary and the trial of 15 Protestant clergymen in Bulgaria on similarly political charges. Acheson said the way was open ed for trial of the charges against the satellites by notes from Ro mania, Bulgaria and Hungary deny ing the alleged treaty violations. This, he said, confirms existence of "disputes" as defined in the treaties restoring peace to the former satellites of Nazi Germany. This country. Acheson said, is now “consulting with interested signatory governments with a view to proceeding under the provisions of these (treaty) articles." The first step. Acheson said, "would be to bring the dispute before a board composed of envoys of the United States, Great Britain, and Russia in each of the three satellite capitals." Presumably Russia would block agreement by this board. Each dispute then would be referred to a three-man commission consisting of a satellite representative, a representative of the complaining power, and a third member. The third member would be chosen bymutual agreement if possible; if (Turn To I’na* Mil BULLETIN Turin, Italy, May a—(UP)— Thirty-one persons, including the entire Turin football team returning from Portugal, were reported killed today when their plane struck a church tower in Turin and crashed. Si. Joseph School Will Graduate 37 Give Diplomas At High School Rites Thirty-seven boys and girls will be graduated from the eighth grade of St. Joseph’s school at the bac calaureate-commencement services in St. Mary’s Catholic church on June 3, school officials announced today. x The eighth graders will receive thetr diplomas following the exercises for the Catholic high school graduates. The awards will be distributed by the Very Rev. Msgr J. J. Seimetz. pas’or. The Rev. Michael J. Vichuras. instructor at Central Catholic high school. Fort Wayne, will deliver the address. The graduates are: William Bowhrs. Honora Braun. Phyllis Ann Braun. Roger Braun. Aloysius Brite. Philip Brunton. Joseph Costello. Dolores Coyne. Ted Gage. Steve Gass. Vera Geim er. Donald Gillig. John Girard. James Hackman. Margaret Heimann. Mariorie Heimann. Jean Kable. Ann Keller. Martha Kelley. John Kintz. Ger aid Lauren’. Jane teurent. William Idchtle. Manuel Mendez. Gera|d Mever. Robert Mever. Maureen Murtaugh. Michael Nagle. Patricia Omlor. William Rumschlag. Dar and Sautbine. Janet Sautbine. Mar garet Schmitt. Thoma® Smith. Cor inne Steigmever. Barbara \ oglewede. Donald Wemhoff. —TWEATHER Partly cloudy, warm and humid tonight and Thursday. ; Scattered thundershowers possible Thursday morning near Lake Michigan.

Plans Dropped For Enlarging 01 City Plant

Plans Abandoned For Improvements At Municipal Plant The city administration will not carry through the proposed $3,000,GOO enlargement and improvement of the ci y light and power plant, it was announced last night by Mayor John M. Doan and members of the council. The order for a 11,500 K. W. turbine generator placed with the General Electric company in September, 1946. has been cancelled and contract negotiations have been completed whereby the city will pay the G. E. $15,000 for renegotiating the sale of the tprbine to the city of Wyandotte, Mich. The price of the turbine advanced from $2X3,368 to $332,000, when completed. All former plans for constructing a new power plant which entailed an expenditure of $3,217,278 and one for enlarging the Third street power house totaling $2,612,000 have been dropped, city officials announced. Only two contracts for equipment had been let by the former city council on either one of these enlarging programs. One was to the G. E. for the turbine and one to the Westinghouse Electric company for a condenser. The city has notified the latter company of its cancellaiton intent, along with a request that if damages have been incurred that the city be notified. So far Westinghouse has not opened negotiations with the city. Plans for both developments were prepared by Emery, Marker and Emery, consulting engineers of Toledo. Lester Pettibone, superintendent of the municipal plant, stated that the engineers had received a portion of their fees and that settlement would have to be made for the balance. Edwin Kauffman, auditor for the city water and electric utilities, informed the council last evening that the $15,000 payment to the G. E. would be charged against the plant's surplus account. He explained that it could not be charged as a current operating expense. On December 31, 1948, the utility's surplus account was (Turn Tn I’aire Kight)

Rebecca J. Sanders Dies This Morning Funeral Services Friday Afternoon Mrs. Rebecca Jane Sanders. 74. who resided with a daughter. Mrs. Ethel Connelley, five miles southwest of Decatur in Washington township, died at 3:20 a. m. today at the Adams county memorial hospital after an extended illness. She was born in Mitchell Dec. 24. 1874. a daughter of William anJ Nancy Pruitt-Landreth. She was married to Charles Sanders Jan. 27. 1892. her husband preced ing her in death Sept. 27. 1946. The family had resided in Adams county since 1918. She was a member of the First Baptist church in this city. Surviving are the daughter: one son. Vincent C. Sanders of Los Angeles. Cal.; one grandchild; one great-grandchild, and five sisters. .Mrs. Edith Davis of Cham paign. 111.. Mrs. Maggie Downs of Lexington. Ky, Mrs. Elizabeth Davis of Littleton. Colo.. Mrs. Em ma Terrell of Mitchell, and Mrs Naomi Clark of Hume. 111. One son. four brothers and one sister are deceased. Funeral services will be held at ♦ p m. Friday at the Connelley home and at 2 30 o’clock at the First Baptist church here, the Rev. R. H. Hammond officiating Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. The body will be removed from the Zwick funeral home to the residence at 10 a. th. Thursday.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER Iff ADAMB COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday, May 4,1949.

Zoning Ordinance Submitted To City Preliminary Plan Submitted Tuesday The preliminary proposal for al zoning ordinance for Decatur was; formally submitted to the city council Tuesday night by the Decatur plan commission and the proposal was tentatively accepted for study and probable official action by the council. The proposed ordinance was unofficially presented to the members of the council some time ago so they could review the plan and suggest changes before the formal presentation. Before the plan can be adopted as an ordinance, it is necessary lor the council to hold a public hearing and if thanges are made the proposal is then returned to the plan commission so that the changes may be incorporated into the plan. One petition has been submitted to change a strip of land behind Mercer avenue, just beyond the Erie tracks from residential to manufacturing. No action has been taken on this petition. The council will set a date for a public hearing and all interested persons will be invited to attend the hearing. Plan commission members include Mayor John Doan, Ralph Roop, Charles Kent, Kenneth Hirschy, Clarence Ziner, councilman Al Beaver and Dick Heller. Col. Lawrence V. Sheridan, planning consultant, who has written many Indiana zoning ordinances, was the local consultant in drawing up the proposal.

Revenue Bonds For City Recommended Bonds For Sewer, Treatment Plant Decatur's urgently needed relief sewers and proposed sewage treatment plant should he financ-' ed by an issue'of revenue bonds, according to G. W. Brunkhorst, of Consoer, Townsend and Associates, consulting engineers. Brunkhorst, whose firm has pr» pared plans for the mammoth project, made the recommendation Tuesday evening at a city council discussion of methods by which the city can rai e money to build the projects. The value of the revenue bonds which iould have to be issued will depend on a revised estimate of the sewers and treatment plant cost. Brunkhorst previously set the cost at $1,285,402.50. but said the estimate must be cut to reflect recent lowered prices. Brunkhorst ruled out issuance by the city of general obligation bonds to finance the building of the relief sewers. By this method, the city could borrow only sllß.000. not enough for the purpose. BrunkhOrst said. Court 01 Honor Is Held For Troop 61 Scouts Honored At Meeting Lost Night A court of honor and parent's night for Rotary troop 61. BoyScouts. was held at the Decatur high school Tuesday evening, with W. Guy Brown presiding as chairman. An investiture ceremony (or 14 new members of the troop was conduc ed by Kenneth Secaur. scoutmaster of the Rotary troop, and Kenneth Nash led in a silent signal drill. Members of the court of honor, in addition to the chairman, were Sylvester Everhart, scribe; Bryce Thomas, second class: John McConnell. first class: W. F. Beery, merit badges, and Mr. Brown, s ar ’AwaAs made during the court of honor were as follows: Second class - Charles Butler and Jim Helm. First class — Don Aurand. Robert Baker. Ronny Murphy, Jack Nelson. James Rowley and Jerry (Tara Ta !’•<» Tfcreel

Hangchow Is Captured By Chinese Reds Launch Powerful Drive On Shanghai Southwest Defense Shanghai, May 4 — (UP)—Com munist troops have captured Hangchow and have launched a powerul drive up the railroad toward Shanghai’s southwest defenses, Nationalist garrison headquarters admitted today. Hangchow, great seaport city and rail hub guarding the back door to Shanghai, fell at 3 p. m. yesterday when an advance guard of 4,000 Communist troops marched in and took over with the help of a local Communist fiftt) column. At the shme time the Communists threw 30,000 troops into a powerful frontal assault on Kashing, last major Nationalist bastion on the rail line between Hangchow and Shanghai. Reports from the front said Kashing’s defenses were being blasted by one of the heaviest artillery attacks yet made in the Shanghai area. Kashing is midway Retween the two cities, 50 miles northeast of Hangchow and 50 miles -south east of Shanghai.

The Communist drfve apparently was intended to carry- the south west approaches of Shanghai, placing two powerful armies at the gates of the city. Another Communist force now stands at Kunshan, 25 miles west of Shanghai on the rail line from Nanking. Many quarters believed that Shanghai would suffer the same fate as Nanking and Hangchow — a bloodless conquest by the Communists with the help of a local fifth column. The Shanghai fifth column now is repressed by the severest martial law ever imposed on Shanghai in- modern times. Chinese sources said that com-l iplete order reigned in Hangchow as the scenic city of 600,000, once the capital of all China under the Sung emperors, fell without a shot. Sgf. Railing Body Enroute To Stales War Veteran Body Home For Burial The body of Staff Sgt. Alton S. Railing, son of Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Railing of Decatur route six. is enroute home on the U. S. ArmyTransport Haiti Victory, the parents have been advised. Sgt. Railing, a member of the Eighth Air Force, met death over Bremen, Germany, on Nov. 26. 1943. He was a radio technician on a bomber and had participated in one of the major bombing expeditions over Germany. > Born in this county October 9. 1920. Sgt. Railing attended the Brandyberry and Pleasant Mills schools. He enlisted in the army in September. 1942. and was overseas three months. His body had been buried in the American cemetery in Belgium. Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers, who also served in the army, and three sis ters. The message from the war department did not state when the body would arrive in this country. Local Students Place In Purdue Exhibit Decatur high school students made an excellent showing in the industrial arts exhibit held at the Purdue center in Fort Wayne Mon day and Tuesday, for high schools in Northeastern Indiana. Ronald Price won first place in welding, regular school project. Ed Marbach was awarded second and Vernon Thieme third in the same project. Marbach also was awarded third In welding project selected by Purdue, and Bob Smith was third in architectural drawing All are students of Amos Ketchum. 1 head of the Decatur high school in dustrial arts department

Soviet Union, Western Powers Agree To Lift Blockade, Set Parley

Plan Iron Removal Treatment Planl City To Take Bids For Removal Plant The city council has authorized Ralph Roop, superintendent of the water department, to prepare plans for specifications for the construction of an iron removal treatment plant, at the wells east of the city. Bids on the project, estimated at $5>,500, including building and equipment, will be received at a later date, Mr. Roop said. The building would be located west of well No. 7 at the east ' end of the city's property directly across from the Monroe street river bridge, on the north side of the highway. The three wells on the site would be tied in with the treatment plant. Mr. Roop said. The capacity would be one million gallons of water each 24 hours. Mr. Roop has conducted extern i sive investigation of the iron removal equipment and recommendled to the council that something ' be done about removing rust from . the city's water supply. I The department is pumping J approximately 650,000 gallons of | water a day and with warm weather coming on, Mr. Roop estimated that the demand would climb to around one million gallons over a 24 hour period.

Mechanical Engineer Lions Club Speaker A widely traveled mechanical engineer from India spoke on U.S.Russian relations at the Lions club meeting, held in the K. of P. home Tuesday evening. Nilkanth Chavre. who has helped to build automobile plants in his native India and in Russia, told the meeting he does not think this country has anything to fear from Russia, which, he said, has too many internal problems of its own to challenge seriously the U.S. The Rev. Gerald Jones had charge of the program and introduced the speaker.

Final PTA Meeting t Thursday Evening Safety Parade Will Conclude Meeting The final meeting of the Lin-[ coin parent-teachers association.' to be held Thursday evening, will be featured by the installation of new officers, an athletic exhibition by Lincoln school students, and a bicycle safety parade. The final meeting will open at 7 o’clock Thursday evening, with the new officers installed and final reports for the year present ed. Following the short business meeting, an athletic exhibition will be given by pupils of the fifth and sixth grades, under the direction of Miss Rebecca Walters and Sylvester Everhart. At the conclusion of the exhibition. the safety parade will be held. The line of march for the parade at 8:30 o'clock was announced today by Janies Borders, chief of police. All bicycles which were marked with the luminous safetytape by the PTA two weeks ago will be ridden in the parade. The line of march will start from the Lincoln school and go east on Adams street to Second street and north on Second street to Marshall street: then west on Marshall street to Fifth street and south on Fifth street to the school. Police will escort the paraders and music will be amplified from an automobile by the Publix Co. of this city. Several automobiles will bring up the rear, so that the lights of the cars can illuminate the bikes. Bryce Thomas, principal of Lin coin school, and Hubert Zerkel. Jr., will be parade marshals, it was announced.

Over 80,000 Are Idled By Labor Disputes Tomorrow Noon Is Deadline For Ford Strike At Big Plant By United Press More than 80,000 workers were idled by labor disputes today and a scheduled strike against the Ford Motor company threatened to swell the total by 100,000. The CIO United Automobile workers set tomorrow noon as the deadline for a walkout at Ford's mammoth River Rouge plant near Detroit. A shut down of the key plant would force about 100.000 Ford workers across the country into idleness. The union charged that the company had instituted a speedup on its assembly lines. The union also scheduled a strike hy about 3,500 workers at Ford's Lincoln plant in Detroit tomorrow. The automobile industry as a whole already was suffering the effects of a strike against the Bendix Aviation Corp, at South i Bend, Ind. The strikebound Bendix plant is a major supplier of automobile parts. The Bendix strike, now in its 15th day, had thrown about 40,006 employes of dependent firms out of work. Because of the lack ot Bendix parts, Packard, Hudson and Nash were forced to close their plants. The Hudson shutdown at Detroit | involved 25,000 workers. Nash had | closed two plants at Milwaukee | and Kenosha. Wis., idling 7,000. I Packard closed its Qetrolt plant, throwing 8.000 out of work. In the Bendix strike itself. |,500 | members of the CIO United Auto--1 mobile workers were idle. OffiI dais of the striking local called on j Mayor George A. Schock of South I Bend yesterday for "help in liquii dating communists from our unI ion." ' Shock told the union leaders it I was an “internal matter within | your union." The union officials > bad charged that newspapers had ’ raised the communist issue. Local vice president James Me- ; Ewar told the mayor that Bendix (Turn Tn I’ture Three)

Mrs. Ida K. Poling Is Taken By Death Funeral Services Saturday Afternoon Mrs. Ida K. Poling. 84. lifelong resident of Decatur and vicinitydied at noon today at the home of a son. Roland Poling, three miles south and one and one-half miles west of Decatur. She had been ill nine years and serious for the part three months. She was horn in Washington township April 6. 1865, a daughter of Joshua and Deborah Parrish Her husband. Charles Poling, pre ceded her in death. She was a member of the First' Methodist church in this city. Surviving in addition to the son. with whom she made her home are a daughter. Mrs. Merle Evans of Fort Wayne; three grandchil dren; four greatgrandchildren, one brother. John Parrish of Deca tur. and a sister. Mrs Mary Beavers. al-o of Decatur. One daughter. one sister and two brotherpreceded her in death. Funeral services will lie held at 1:30 p. m Saturday at the Gillie A- Doan funeral home and at 1:45 o'clock at the First Methodist church. Dr. Gerald H. Jones officiating Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery Friends may call at the funeral home after 2 p m Thursday.

Price Four Cents

Foreign Ministers Os Big Four Meet May 23 To Talk Germany Problem London, May 4 — (UP) — The Soviet Union and the western powers have agreed to lift the blockade of Berlin on May 12 and to hold a big four council of foreign ministers meeting May 23, it was learned today. Informed sources here said the three western powers and Russia now would start detailed discusi sion on the method of lifting the blockade. Those talks were scheduled to start in New York today. The United States announced officially earlier that the discussions would start today at U. S. United Nations headquarters. The United States announcement said that American-Soviet negotiations had reached the point “where j it is now possible to consider detailed arrangements" for lifting tho I blockade and for tie council meeting. | (AU. S. spokesman said British and French representatives were [joining talks this afternoon to consider the blockade arrangements.) | Some officials still were cautious |in forecasting concrete results from the current negotiations. ! They recalled that last summer , there was an agreement "in principle" with Premier Josef Stalin ( for lifting the blockade. But It didn't come off. The four powers finally disa-* greed and broke off all direct nego'iations when they failed in , their efforts to lift the blockade 'and solve the Berlin currency problem. "This is similar to the situation after the Moscow agreement on Berlin last summer," one official said “But this time the Soviets show a greater disposition to agree." Despite the caution, official quarters here were more optimistic than in many months that this time the end of the Berlin blockade was in sight. Barring snags in working out tho details of how the land and water communications between Berlin and West Germany will be res’ored. the blockade should be lifted a week from tomorrow. Ten days later the big four foreign ministers should assembly in <iurn In I’nur MlI

Safely Campaign In Decatur May 16-28 Daily Awards Will Be Made In Drive A campaign to make automobile drivers and pedestrians safety conscious with daily awards for both drivers and pedestrians was announced today by Walter J. Hockman. chairman of the safety committee of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce. Local insurance agents will award $5 cash each day from May 16 to May 28 to a driver selected for the way he manipulates his car and observes traffic laws, and a local retail store will award a $5 trade certificate to a pedestrian for the way he observes the safety code. A different Decatur citizen will be selected each day to make the selections for the awards and the awards will be made the same day at the Daily Democrat office. Other members of the safety committee who have worked out the campaign are Dan Brant. Steve Everhart. Robert Gay. Cedric Fisher. James Borders and Mayor John Doan. Warning signs will be painted at ill street intersections to remind pedestrians that they should observe the safety rules in crossing streets and local police officers will cooperate with the committee in instructing people concerning the safety campaign and its purpose. The campaign will not be limited to street safety, and a general safety program is being worked [out for the 13 days. All children joining in the cam (Tara Ta Paae ElgkO