Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 47, Number 188, Decatur, Adams County, 11 August 1949 — Page 1

1 XLVII. No. 188.

HOUSE PASSES 75-CENT MINIMUM WAGE

•■feel Industry Oasts Truman wact-Finders 11 Steel Opens Cose Against Demands 11 Sought By Union York. Aug 11.—(UP)—The industry keynoted it* case 1E,., labor’ll fourth-round detoday with a charge that Truman has "repealed" - bargaining and instituted industrial revolution in Arneri opening blast for the Indus ■tt in It* case before the Presl - steel fact finding board was by Clarence l< Randall. of the Inland Steel com of Chicago He led off for steel companies which have days to present their argu Randall called the board proceed ■ complete madness" He said precedent established by a< to the board’s recomtnendawould commit us to boards government wage-fixing for He termed the hearings » al proceeding " ■I President Truman set up the ~ on July Hi to avert a nation steel strike The companies agreed to participate th. hearings shortly before the deadline. . John A Stephens, vice president the United States Steel corpora En said in a statement before the finding board that the union . E violating Its contract by in • its 11 23 cents an hour pen demands in the present dis- ■ Stephens introduced as evidence ■the context of telephone converse k ■tunic and discussions with Philip I ■ Murray CIO chief and president of ■the S’eel Work*#* union Stephens I ■uid that he repeatedly declared ■that tire companies were opposed j ■(<> any negotiations and pension* / ■before 1950, and Murray and other ■ anion leaders understood and a< ■ repted U 8. Steel’s position I ■ Stephen* said the vital Issue to ■ employers, employes, the public ■ and unions generally in the case * the board is: Bl ’ Will the parties to a labor con ■ tract live up to it. or is a labor , ■contract but a scrap of paper, an ■ instrument of inconvenience to be ■ deMtoycd When expedience so die tales T’ ■ The board will report its recom- ■ mendation* for a basis of settle- ■ Went of the steel dispute to the ■ Pre.ident on Aug 20. That dale ■i’ 15 days before the new strike' ■ deadline set by the I.OOO.OOOmem ■ Is-r I’nited Steelworkers of Amerl ■<a (CIO). In opening its case be- ■ tore the board last month, the ■ union presented a 3Ocent hourly ■ package" demand, which im lud ■-i pay Increases, pension*, and ■ social insurance. E "No thoughtful person should be B deceived by the naive suggestion ■ ’hat your finding* are to be recom B meadatlons only." Randall told the B threeman board "The moment B lour announcement is made every B power of the government will be B brought to bear to compel both ■ aides to accept your conclusions ■ " ls management in a particular ■ tteel company feels it must take ■ •’option to your findings, an at- ■ ’»mpt will be made to forget the ■ , “ r d "recommendation* ’ and to ■ ship up public opinion to force ■ company accew-.n- .». This I say ■ T company will resist.” ■ The union had contended that B the industry was making i»roflts in ■ 'he first half of 1949 at a rate of 9 We than 11.000.000 Obo annually ■ 'hat it would easily be able to ■ absorb the 3Ocent increase with ■ ost raising prices it had argued j B that declines in material costs .B alone would more than offset the ■ rost of the union demand ■ Randall said that Mr Truman ■ ha* proclaimed that wage* shall ■he fixed by government He said ■ that step always I* the first taken | ITwew To Powe Flvec J Craig Funeral On | Afternoon I Taseral services for Mr* Lena 1 wauu Craig, who died Tuesday I *>• h * ld B ‘ 2pm | at the C. M Sloan A Sons | J»*rai home in Fort Wayne, the i C. A. Schmid of Berne of ■ "'•iatiag. assisted by the Rev Mil ■ ** Bixler of Sauk City. Ml* Bur I ter/ I’* 1 ’* H U ’ M,eß ’ ood C< “ fr

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

105 Day Bus Strike Settled, Buses Move Minneapolis, Aug. 11 - (UP) — Northland Greyhound buses rolled in eight inidwestern states today for the first time in 105 days following settlement of an API. motor coach employes strike. Members of the union voted 1.051 tq 112 to accept a compromise wage proposal yesterday. The walkout tied up about 10.000 miles of bus routes in Minnesota. North ind South Dakota. Wisconsin. lowa, Illinois, Michigan, Montana and Manitoba. Can Adams County Farmer Killed In Auto Crash Edwin Beer Killed Wednesday As Auto Rams Into Bridge Funeral arrangement* have been completed for Edwin Beer, 61, prominent French township farmer. who was crushed to death beneath hl* car in an accident about four miles northwest of Berne at about 4 pm Wednesday It was the second such fatality in Adams county this year. There were no witnesses to the accident However, sheriff Herman Bowman, who investigated, said that Beer had apparently lost control of the ear. The pattern of the car’s tracks on the road indicated the car had weaved into a bridge abutment, hit it. then had turned over completely, landing on its wheels before rolling Into the ditch where it fell on the victim, whd had been thrown from the car Mr. Beer was a lifelong resident of French township, where he had also served eight years as town ship trustee. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 pin. Saturday In the St John’s Evangelical and Reformed church at Vera Unix, of which Mr Beer was a member. The Rev. H. H Mcckstroth will officiate, and burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call after Friday noon at the residence, where the body will be removed from the Yager mortuary. . Surviving Mr Beer are the wife. Hula; two sons. Karl, at home, and Rev. Howard Beer. Wichita. Kan., two daughter*. Miss Irene Beer, at home, and Mildred, lais Angeles, three brother*. Albert. Berne, MH bert. Monroe and Tillman, near Berne, and a sister. Mrs. Pearl Kauffman, near Berne Parking Ordinance Approved By Stale Will Erect Signs On Monroe Street The city of Decatur has receivol word from state highway official* that the state board will cooperate j with the new Iterator ordinance making parking illegal on the south side of Monroe street on the west part of Decatur. Robert Anderson, city attorney, said today. Approval of the state highway group was necessary because Monroe street through Itecatur is a i state highway. The new ordinance, which also affects several other Decatur street*, will become effective at once. The highway department will erect no parking signs along the several block* west of the Pennsylvania railroad crossing, it was learned The new ordinance was proposed by several member* of th? Zion Lutheran church, who. be petition presented by Phil Sauer, pointed out the haxards near the local church when parking was permitted on both sides of the street The proposal also received favor able support by many west *Me resident* The original proposal was to prohibit parking on the south side of Monroe street at c«rtain hour* on Sunday and other days during church service*, bet! the council felt that an ordinance of that type would be difficult to enforce, so the no parking at any time” ordinance was proponed and passed WEATHER Continued humid tonight and Friday; occa**-* north partis Not mwen

Bus Funeral Pyre For 15; Twelve Injured

'*EbA x

SMOULDERING RUIN of a huge Greyhound bus where 13 adults and two children met flaming death, and 12 others were Injured when It crashed into a culvert abutment north of Bloomington. Ind.

Ford Workers Vole In Favor Os Strike Heavy Vote Favors Nationwide Strike Detroit. Aug 11 —(UP)— Midi igan'* Ford Motor Company work ers approved a nationwide strike to enforce the CIO United Auto Workers' fourth round wage demand-t Tv a heavy seven to one majority, official return* showed today. With only a few thousand votes still to be counted In the slate->up ervised strike election. 6".585 voted to authorixe a walkout and 1.710 against, state labor mediations chief Noel Fox announced. ' The UAW victory was a resounding vote of confidence for UAW president Walter Reuther who is seeking old age pensions, healtn and security benefits and a cost of living increase for his 106.000 Ford Workers, about 81.000 in Michigan The UAW international executive iMiard was expected to give quick approval to a strike if economic demand* are not met. However. Reuther's victory statement took a conciliatory tone. • "The UAW is prepared io continue negotiations in a sincere and genuine effort to reach a fair and equitable settlement of issues in volved down-to-earth collective bargaining." he said. Fox predicted the total vote would top 74.000, with more than 90 percent of the Michigan Ford worker* casting ballots under terms of the state's new "Little Taft-Hartley Law.” Completion of the three-day strike vote was expected to spur negotiators in their attempts to write a new contract. Only two obstacles to a legal strike remained—approval by Hie UAW international executive board and five working days notice of termination of the present contract. Executive board approval i* neces(Tera Ta Paar Ft»e» Soft Coal Contract Talks Are Resumed Hold Slim Hope Os Ending Short Week White Sulphur Springs. W. Va.. Aug. 11.—(UP)-Soft coal opera tor*, preparing to resume new contract talk* with the United Mine worker*, today held slim hope* of ending the three-day week imposed on the industry by UMW chief John L. Lewi* Negotiations between the union, northern and western commercial operators, and the steel companies were to resume at 4 p.m.. (EDT). Begun here June 12. they have been in recess since July 27. Industry spokesmen said a new attempt would be made to persuade Lewi* to call off the curtailed work week in mine* east of the MiMiMippl. But only a minority favored pressing th* i»sa* to the point of risking a nationwide shutdown of operation* The *ixtk of the work week* ordered by Lewi* on June 3U ended last night with production again hitting close to the tonnage (Tur* T* Psu» FW»>

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAM* COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, August 11, 1949.

BULLETIN Mr*. Bell Kessler, aged about 87, for many year* a resident of Monros, died at noon today at a Fort Wayne ho*p't*l- The body will be brought to the Black funeral home In this city. American People Warned By Hoover Soys Nation On Way To Collectivism Stanford University. Calif.. Aug |j—(Up)—Herbert Hoover drew upon three-quarters of a century of experience last night to warn Americans they were riding to a "dead-end ... on the last mile to collectivism." Addressing an overflow crowd of an estimated 12.000 persons on the occasion of his 75th birthday, the former president spoke In his bluntest terms since his campaign days of the 1920's to drive home his conviction that America Is headed down the road to socialism or fascism. Mr. Hoover's theme was "think of the next generation" as h<pleaded for a halt in extravagant government spending which he declared threatens to "rob poiterlty of its inheritance.” Mr, Hoover's speech highli/hted a day-long celebration honoring his birthday. Earlier in the day. he lunched at Stanford Union with hl* family, including his sons, Herbert. Jr., and Allen, and their wives and five children. In the evening, he dined with his family at the home of university president Wallace Sterling. It was the same house Mr. Hoover once owned and gave to ( the university. from which he graduated in 1895. Before the ex-president made hia speech. Fred A. Wickett, chairman of the Hoover birthday fund, presented him with a bound vol ume of hia birthday letters and gift* totaling 1155,182 which will go to support the Hoover library and institute. Among the birthday messages wa* one from President Truman, who said he hoped many more birthday and "fruitful years lie ahead.” "This should be among your happiest birthday ... the year im mediately behind you has bdbu marked by the completion of a noble report which will always bear your name,” Mr. Truman's mesMge said. A* Mr Hoover stepped onto the speakers' stand, the overflow crowd rose and Mng "Happy Birthday Th* aging elder •talesman's voice rang strongly a* he listed "some Items for thought” for a nationwide radio audience and the throng gathered In the shadows of the famed Hoover library on the Stanford campus He urged the nation to consider that today one out of every 22 Americans draws hi* p*y from the government Twenty years ago. he Mid. it waa one out of every 40 persona And 147 yMra ago. when the government was In it* swaddling clothe* It hired only one person out of 120 He Mid the average cltlxen works 61 day* a yMr to support the government and pay its bills, •nd that proposed additional •pending would add another 20 (Tira Tt !***■ BMbt)

Bloomingion Crash Claims 16th Life Soldier Dies Today Os Crash Injuries Bloomington. Ind . Aug 11 (UP) A Ims crash near here yesterday claimed its 16th victim today when Sgt. Dale E. Aikman. 30. Uamp Campbell. Ky., died in Bloomington hospital. Coroner Robert E. Lyons' formal inquest into the accident opened with the questioning of bo* driver Wayne Cranmer. 25, Indianapolis. Laron* delayed the inquest yesterday because he said establishing the identities of the 15 victim* was more important. Fix other victims of the accident on Ind. 37, five miles north of here, were li*t<d in "fair condition in the hospital. Cranmer and five slightly in jured passengers were released from the hospital lust night Aikman'* wife. Joan. 24. of Kokomo. Ind . and their two children. Jimmie, six. and Vicki, four, were killed in the wreck. Aikman died of burn* and shock. A shipment of blood plasma ami an army doctor were flown here last night from Camp (jampbell for tlie soldier. Separate investigations of the accident l»y the Interstate commerce commission and the Indiana state police continued. They ■ear< hed the wreckage of the bus. which waa trucked to Indianapolis, in an effort to learn what caused the wreck. Tlie bus struck an abutment of a narrow bridge across a creek, toppled onto its left side, skidded some s<i yards and burst into flames. Cranmer told officers immediately after the accident he thought the steering mechanism failed or a right front tire blew out, throwing the bus into the abutment. Three charred bodies still re(Twee Ta Paar Plve» Record Heal Wave Now In Fifth Day No Relief In Sight From Present Wove By United Pres* The retard breaking heat wave burned through its fifth day over the eastern half of the nation today with temperatures In some seacoa..t cities higher than in towns on the western desert. No relied wa* in sight, forecaster* said. They expected the mercury to soar again to the record readings hit yesterday at Boston. Phlla<l»l---).hia and New York Boston reported 101. six degree* over the day * record set 51 years ago; New York had 98. a new high for the year, and Philadelphia had 97. tying the record set In 1900 It wa* expected to reach 98 in Philadelphia today Hartford. Conn, bad 100 degreee yesterday By comparison, the town oT Blythe. Cal. on the American De* ert reported a high of 100. one de gree under Boston » maximum yesterday Yuma Aria, another tradi(Tare Te Paa* Klsktl

3177 To Boost Minimum Wage Is Sent To Senate; Many To Lose Coverage

15th Polio Case In County Confirmed Berne Man Stricken; State Death Toll 41 This county’s 15th polio case na» confirmed today when diagnosis ol the illness of Richard Lehman, 23, of Berne, definitely showed poliomyelitis. The young Berne man was taken to the Lutheran hospital W'ednesday for diagnosis, which was completed late yesterday. Lehman has some stiffness of the back and neck and weakness of both legs, although no paralysis ha* developed as yet. Death Toll 41 Indianapolis. Aug. 11 (UP) Indiana's confirmed polio case total reached 399 today and the state board of health said 41 deaths from the dread disease had been reported. (attest to die were one-year-old Renne Stucker, lluhtington. at Lutheran hospital. Fort M’ayne. and Larry Konstanxer. seven. Crawfordsville. at Riley hospital, Indianapolis. Meanwhile, the ban on public gatherings in Jay county was partially relaxed. Jay county has not reported any new polio case* during the past 4* hours, though the total I* the highest in the state at 64. A county wide ban on gatherings was ordered July >O. Jay county health officer Dr George E Morrison said church service* could be resumed, provided no one under 19 years old attended an I there were no Sunday School classes. Taverns, poolrooms and cigar shops also were permitted to open during the daylight hours. Theaters, however, remained closed. Two of today's eight new cases were in Delaware county, where a similar ban on public meetings was proclaimed July 29. For the second straight day. four new cases were re[x»rted in Vanderburgh county, making a total of 22 cases there. Peak In September M’ashincton. Aug. II (UP) Washington, Aug. 11 (t'P) Public health service officials said today tlilt- the nation can expect four or five more bad weeks of polio They said that during the past 22 years the peak numlter of polio (Tara Ta Paae Threei May Ask MacArthur Testify On China No Objections By President Truman Washington. Aug 11 — (I’P) — The White House Indicated today that President Truman has no objections to Gen. Doug'.as MacArthur coming home to tell congress about the far eastern situation. A new MacArthur-come-home movement was building up in the senate. Sponsor* of the idea want him to testify on the China situation Presidential press secretary Charles G. Ross said he could not comment directly on that, but he recalled that Mr. Truman said more than a year ago that MacArthur is free to come home any time he wishes. The combined senate foreign relation* and armed service* com mittee. which are considering the president’* |1.45o.Oo(i.Ooo arm* program, expected to vote before night on the proposal to invite MacArthur to testify Meanwhl'e Ambassador W. Averell Harriman argued before the group that delay in providing arm* to Europe “will coat more in the long run ” Harriman, roving V. 8. Mar ■hall plan envoy in Europe, endorsed the statement of other administration spokesmen that "val uable time will be lost” unless the program I* approved immediately Harriman said the industrial po tentlal of the North Atlantic pact countries is ' enormously greater ” than that of Soviet Russia and its

Admits Trying To Sell Profit Scheme To Hunt Former Government Official Testifies To Probe Committee Washington. Aug. 11. —(t'P) — A former government official admitted today that he tried to sell "five percenter” James V. Hunt a scheme for grabbing big profits through sale of surplus property that was in the official's custody. To further his scheme. Clarence W. Oehler told the senate Investigation committee, he palmed off on Hunt "confidential Information" which actually was nothing of the sort. It all had been published, he testified. Oehler used to be in charge of the war assets administration's mid-western warehouse operation* with headquarters at Chicago. He now operates as the American Industrial development corp, at St. Loui*. His overture* to Hunt, selfHtyied "management conselor.” were disclosed when the committee made public letter* found tn Hunt's files. Oehler wrote them In 1947. Hi* purpose, Oehler said, was to impress Hunt and get a job with him. He didn't get the job. lie testified. At the time of his correspondence Oehler was in charge of automotive parts. "It looks." he wrote Hunt, "as though now is the time to strike * big future operation in both warehousing and care and handling of quartermasters operations." He suggested tiiat Hunt, who was a wartime lieutenant colonel in the quartermaster's office, "Hue up your top level contacts.” ”1 will line up bids and operating procedure* as you indicate." he wrote. But his plans neMer panned out. Oehler told the senator*. He *aid he met Hunt shortly after he joined WAA in May. 1946. Hunt then was a |5()-a-day consultant to the agency. Hunt left government shortly thereafter, and soon Oehler was threatened with loss of his job It was this threat of unempluym-nt. he added, that prompted him to start writing to Hunt The "confidential" information! (Turn T« l’s*r T«»l Inspect Highways Throughout County Purdue University Professor On Tour An inspection of highways in the county was made today by Prof. Ben H. Pettty, of the Civil engineering school. Purdue University, accompanied by Phil Sauer, highway superintendent, and the Adam* county commissioner* Dr Petty is making a state wide tour in the interest of county road*. Supt Sauer said that the local tour would cover the four corners in the county. At noon today. Mr. Petty spoke to a group of Decatur business nun and county official* at a lunchton held at Swearingen’s on U. S highway 27 The luncheon was given by the Krick-Tyndall company. This evening. Dr Petty will be guest speaker at the Rotary club meeting at the Knight* of f*ythias home. f Dr Petty I* a recognised auUiorlty on highway improvements and hl* visit* to Indiana counties furnish him wth road problem* that the ndivldual counties must cope with in the effort to keep the highways In good repair The Purdue engineer will tout Floyd county next week and will be in Henry county August M.

Price Four Cents

Coalition Measure Passes; Seen Both Victory And Defeat For Administration Washington. Aug. 11. — (UP) — The house today passed and sent to the senate a bill increasing the minimum wage to 75 cents The bill also would remove many worker* from coverage under the wage-hour act —- “at least” 1.000,• 000 according to administration leaders who unsuccessfully opposed that provision The roll call vote on passage of the bill was 361 to 35. A motion to send the bill l>a< k to committee was defeated. 242 to 41. Passage of the bill represented at the same time an administration victory and an administration de’feat. Democratic leaders sped it on its way to the *enate with the hope that the upper house will retain the victory and eliminate the defeat. Much of the measure was written and backed by a coalition of southern Democrat* and Republicans. It was substituted for the administration's wage-hour bill after a bit’er floor fight. The administration measure also would have raised the minimum wage rate from 40 to 75 cents an hour But it would have brought alaiut 600.000 additional workers under the wage hour act. It was intended to be the legislative pay-uft for one of President Truman’s campaign pledge*. Tlie coalition bill which was adopted was sponsored by Rep Wingate M. Luca*. D.. Tex. The vote on final passage brought some peculiar shift* in sentiment Some southern Democrats who voted for the measure yesterday reversed themselves and voted against it today. They had decided overnight that they could not swallow a 75-cent minimum wage Some administration Democrats who voted against the Lucas bill yesterday voted for it today. They decided that they would rather send it to the *«nate in its present form than have no bill at all Elsewhere in congress: (’lark Hearings on the nomination of attorney general Tom U. Clark to the supreme court were scheduled to wind up today. Hoover - 4101* congressmen reacted to former president Herbert Hoover’s warning that the nation Is headed toward collectivism with new- demands for cuts in taxes and «Turw -r« !••«» Five) Rural Youth T[ip Is Reported Cancelled The Adams county rural youth trip to Cincinnati, scheduled for this weekend, has been canceled, according to Robert Sprunger and Carol Kirsch, official* of the organisation The cancellation was made because of the Insufficient number of youths who responded. Officials noted this lack of r»* sponse was probably due to the polio threat in the county. Catholic Church To Defy Czech Reds Prague. Cre< hoslovakla. Aug 11. —(UP)—The Catholic church ha* decided to defy the Communist Cxechoslovak government by proceeding with the installation of two new bishop* next Sunday, a wellinformed source said today. The bishop* will be conMcratel without the "placet” (approval) of the government but will have full spiritual authority, the source said. He said the new bishops wera appointed a few week* ago by the Holy See President Truman To Address Amvets De* Moines la. Aug 11. — (UP) —President Truman will addrexa the national convention of the Amvgts here Sept k. It wa* announced today Aa Am vet official Mid the engagement wa* “a* definite aa aay date agreed to by the president caa