Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 47, Number 217, Decatur, Adams County, 15 September 1949 — Page 1

XLVII. No. 217.

MINTON NOMINATED TO SUPREME COURT

■Z S. Labor Picture Darkens

possibility Os ■al And Steel ■ikes Loom Hitter Threats Os ■Trikes Issued By Murray And Lewis ■M l!y United Pre** nation* prospect* for labor dark-t*"! swiftly toiay with <>f strikes in the islustrle* of coal and threatening to throw more ] i ,u oihi worker* Into itil* - ■ tJy v.iletl and. bitter strike were issued by two of the s nv>*t powerful labor leadaKie.nieiit Philip Murray of the Ii nited Sled Worker* and I. Lewi*, head of the United Worker*. .oal mine*, it was feared general strike may already la.-un despite no announceJ* l,y thy union Nevertheless, operator* promised a the steel skirmish. Murray that US. Steel Corp and firm* are deliberately seek force a strike upon the ■nl the American people." ty made hl* charge in a to Benjamin F Fairies* Steel president. who had <| the union yesterday that ,rpotation would not accept 99t.p ,r of President Truman s board as P applied to a strike is called when the truce ends Sept 25. it idle 500.000 steel worker*. th.- coal mine dispute, a walk would idle another don.oho Sulphur Spring*. W Ma. with la-wis. said fßra* possible that the miners. idle under the union's three- «■ work week would not return pits Monday. who demanded that the continue their payment* ■lo- lu-al'h and welfare fund deHi- tact the union's contracts them have expired, said that to pay could "cause reacdeterrent to the constructive of the Industry." '■lite owner* regarded the as a strike threat. than 87.00(1 workers al- ■ v are idle in other industries. j9tlie.e almost 40.000 are on ■k>- and 11.000 have been force/i electrical workers negolit recommended a Joint union Sept 20 to fake a strike Br against General Electric and to back up d-mands ■ ■■ yearly package ware -^B'' a *e for 2'to.oop production in 15 states. They the firm* with "stubborn ■"•ar to consider employe ■d* ■■ pr-sentatives of 5.00 ft striking trainmen, firemen and ■' l '' ,, '"’« were considering a ■b-al by the Missouri Pacific ■ 1 to settle 59 of the 2‘2 iTwrw To Flvel ■earing On School Hilding Sept. 27 state board of tax commisgOher* has notified Glen Work -■ frf secretary of the Adams ■“'7 (ent raj Consolidated Corp that a hearing on the for reduction or revision ’^B’ 1 "' an nual cumulative building of the school corporation l>e held in Decatur nt 2 p. m K. n - ■ hn bearing wl l be held at the Blltor* office. the notice stated notice dlcl not make reference new school corporation bud W Th « Adam* county tax ad ■’tnent board approved the corporation's budget and B. rr>><l **• building fund levy to ■ *«« board. The, building fl « lavy is for 75 cents on each of taxable* in the school WEATHER ■ F * ir meetly cloudy ■*“” come i lßht ralß MMth I '«« today. Generally fair to- ■ and dr.day. Warmer Feb

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

To High Court ■ ap‘ ? .*7' IB Sherman Minton Decatur lodge Hall Robbed Wednesday Over SSOO Is Taken During Lunch Hour I Police today had no further Ini formation concerning the burglary lof the Knights of Columbus hail at Second and Madison, although I a late check of the premises reI vegled the possibility that entry i might have been gained through 1 a door leading to the card room First report* made by the police concluded that either someone • had a master key to the rooms or someone remained hiding, pilfered the place, and left while no one was there. John Kohne. In charge of the ; hall, told police Wednesday, short- ' ly after the loot was reported mis- : sing, that only Frank Gllllg. Jack Deienger, Carl 81‘lgmeyer and i himself were in the hall* when he locked up during the lunch hour. An early estimate of the loss was reported at approximately 11.000; however, a subsequent I tabulation revealed that there was actually >580.91 taken. There I were 175 in.dime*: 1200 in quart ] era. slOo In (1 bills: the rest was I in five, ten and twenty dollar bill ' d» nomination*. The money was hidden in hook*. ■ and boxes in compartments behind the bar. The silver was loose in a bag from the bank It is believed that whoever committed the burglary knew wher- the surplis 1 money was kept became otherwise | nothing was disturbed Official* stated that there is usually a larger amount of money in the hall on Wednesday to enab'e them to cash 1 checks brought in then. Police officials, adding that they i believe it was either someone wi h access to the building or someone hiding there, do no- believe there ,la any connection between this robbery and the one al the Stewart bakery during the Labor Dry weekend. M. F. Shirk Dies As Home In Fort Wayne Former Monroe Man Is Taken By Death M. F Shirk. «1. Fort Wayne : building contractor and former resident of Monroe died at hi* home late Wednesday night according to word received by friends In Decatur today Mr. Shirk bad been at home for ‘ several day*, but hl* death w*» un expected. He went to Fort Wayne ' from Monroe many years ago and ! had since been engaged in the con i struction business. I. Surviving beside* the widow are five brother* They are Ben F Shirk. Fort Wayne. Carl A. Shirk. ; Fort Wayne. Robert Shirk and John Shirk, both of We*t Palm Beach. Fla. and Lynn Shirk of Fort Wayje One brother and the parent* pre c eded him in death Funeral service* will be held Saturday afternoon at McComb funeral home at IJO ©clock Bur tai will be In Greenwood cemetery at Fort Wayne.

Suit Filed To Break Up AP's Food Combine Government Files Civil Suit To End Huge Food Chain Washington. Sept 15— <t’P» — Attorney general J. Howard McGrath today announced that the ■ government has filed a civil anti-! trust suit to break the Atlantic A Pacific food chain store* into seven retail food chain* McGrath, in hi* first anti trust action since taking office, said the suit was filed in federal court in New York City again“t the New York Grat Atlantic * Pacific Tea Co.. Inc., of New York, and It* nine subsidaries. and the two owner* of the business. The suit seek* to eliminate practices which were found Illegal ini September. 194 d. when A & P was convicted in a criminal anti-trust case at Danville, 111. The suit also would require the New York A He P Co., the parent firm, to separate its manufacturing and processing business from its buying and selling business and the dissolution of the Atlantic i Commission Co., A & P's wholesale purchasing and sale* agent, i The suit, by asking that A A P sell at least six of it* seven retail division*, would reduce the parent, erftnpany from ownership of 8.000 • stores around the country to about 800. The suit described A & P as the ■ nation's "largest enterprise in the! food industry" and accused It of obtaining "systematic dlscrimina-’ tory price preferences" over it* re.tall competitors. It said A * P gets "secret pre ferential price* and rebates" from supplier* by the dual threat to I stop purchasing from supplier* or to manufacture tor itself Herbert A. Bergson, assistant at'orney general in charge of the anti-trust division, raid that "in effect, every other food store I* subsidizing A A P" because of the lower prices suppliers must offer A A P. He said the effect of tlie suit would be to step up competition and perhaps to lower food prices in general. He pointed out that A A P, in 1947, sold a'most seven pen ent of the national total of (Turn T« I'age Neves> Wild Life Exhibit i I Here During Fair Plans Progress For Fair Here Oct. 10-15 The Indiana conservation department'* famous wild life exhibit will be brought to Decatur for the annual free street fair and agricul rural show, it was announced today by Clarence Ziner, general chair man of the event. The state show, which is free to all Interested persons. will be In Decatur throughout the fair, October 10 to 15. Inclusive. Location of the wild life show will be determined soon. Ziner said, but It Is certain the exhibit will occupy a prominent place near the midway. Robert Helm, concession chairman. stated today that almost all space on the main midway, which will stretch thvough Second street, had been contracted for. Many concession operators, who had not planned to come to Decatur during the previously scheduled week for the fair. |>ow have contracted to appear. Mr. Heim »aid. Plans are underway for an agri cultural exhibit of some type. It* was announced, but because of the lateness of this year's show, it I* not yet known just what type of farm exhibit will be featured There U considerable talk about a tract or-pul I Ing contest to replace horse-pulling exhibits, and it will be decided soon whether Decatur will have thii type of show this year. • Space I* still available in the au'o and farm machinery, display tents. It was said, but several con tracts have been confirmed the last few days.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, September 15,1949.

Plans Solo Global Flight I Bi DONALD E. BUSSART, 29. Dudley. 111 . pilot who finished fourth in the Bendix Air Race at Cleveland last week stand* b side hi* twinengined plywood plane "Wooden Wonder" in which lie plan* a solo round-the-world flight. He i* shooting at the global record of 73 hour* set by the late Bill Odom in 1917.

Three Accidents Are Reported To Police Auto Badly Damaged When Hit By Train Three accidents were reported to police and Adams county official* ! today, and one man wa* at rested by police and later fined in justice of the peace court. A car driven by Miss Lorene Rich. 217 South Second street, collided with a freight engine at Winchester street and the Nickel Plate track* The train, according to the engineer, was switching at the time, and the Rich car started across the track*. Police estlmated the damage to lhe front end of i the car at |SOO. A tru'k. driven by CarlffMff Freed. Mineral City. O. damaged a gas pump, corner of the building, and a jutting roof over the drive of a service station at I'. S high way 224 and the Bellmont road, owned by Miss Eleanor Reppert. I There wa* no estimable damage ‘ to the truck. A car driven by Alton Biberstein, route I. Betne, skidded on state toad 118. hit a parked car owned by Ephriam Reinhard, also of route 1. Berne, then flipped over onto a fence owned by John Meyer. The road was under repair at the time of the accident and there was fresh oil spread on the road which. Blberstein told sheriff Herman Bowman, who investigated, he fail ed to see in time He applied the brakes, hit the Reinhard car. then the fence. The sheriff estimated that the 1940 sedan driven by <Tnrt> fa Fleel

Roger Babson Sees Hope Os Continued Prosperity

(Editor's note: Economist RogerW Babson, who predicted the 1929 stock market crash, sees hope of prosperity lasting five or Io more years In the following dispatch., Babson sees encouraging signs in current steel Industry labor n« gotiations t BY ROGER W. BABSON (Written For United Press I Wellesley. Mas* . Sept. 1&-(UP> —ls labor in general Is not to ask for fourth round wage increases , during 1949, It is the most hopeful event thus far Ibis year, or In fact since 1946 Os course a further increase in wage* may now be Justified in cer tain industries or localities, but the major industries which set th* pattern should be content with present scale*. Jhe three things which caused ths recent depression were: -fl) threatened higher taxes (?) an ex cess of manufactured good* and ! (J) demand for a fourth round, meaning still higher wages - President Truman removed the’

Youth Is Killed In Cycle-Truck Crash Peru, Ind. Sept. 15. - (UP) Martin Francis. 24. Clay City, was ’ kille<l when his motorcycble collided with a truck in U. S. 31 south of ’ here yesterday. i -The truck driver. Lyell Lauden- ’ schlager. 58, Peru, told police he wa* turning into a driveway aad did not *ee Francis coming from th»- opposite direction. I Concert Group Here Wednesday, Oct. 5 Decatur Ministers Sponsor Appearance The "Wings Over Jordan" cob cert group will appear in Decatur for a concrrt Wednesday night, October 5. at Decatur high school audßorhim under the auspice* of the Decatur mini*terial association, it was announced today. The concert group is nationally known and thrir coming to Deca lur will mark the first visit to this part of the state The local ministerial group also announced that Dr Gerald Junes, pastor of the First Methodist church here, would be the princlpal speaker at the annual reforma tlon Sunday services sponsored by the association The place and time of the reformation services will be announced later. Several member* of the,, local group also have recently gom on record as favoring erection of directional highway signs, telling (Tana T» !•■«» ••• •

first fear of higher taxes; consum er* have gradually been using up th* excess inventories; and now labor has come out in a manly way by eliminating the fear of a fourth round of wage Increases. Most students of the business cycle do not object to pensions Unlike higher they do not immediately result in higher prices and perhaps not at all Like unemployment insurance, however, they lend to flatten out the buxines* cycle, making the booms less reck less and the depressions less se vere. Pensions can become a great far tor in helping the working classes and thereby enabling them to buy more good* in their latter year* Thi* not only will help the retail trad*, bu' alto cause retailers te buy more goods and factor!** to give greater employment A year ago I gave the Untied Prts* a pessimistic interview believing that prices would tumble, business Would decline and unem plcyment would Increase This has (Tars Te raae Fives

Indiana Judge Named By Truman To Fill Vacancy Caused By Rutledge Death

Intensive Drive For Polio Fund Launched Decatur And County Thoroughly Covered The city of Decatur and Adam* county were thoroughly canvassed for the polio emergency epidemic] drive for fund* Wednesday, as ap- ] proximately 75 Decatur Girl Scout*, and Boy Scout* visited every home I in the city, and all rural mail, pat-1 ron* served by the post offices of I the county received appeal* for contribution* to the polio fund Starting from the Decatur high school at 5 o'cliM-k last evening, the city's Scout*, supervised by Edwin Kauffman, city drive chairman. with the aid of a dozen adult volunteers, distributed folders carrying the appeal to the homes of the city. The folders were accompanied by envelope* addressed to the Adam* county chapter of the National Foundation for Infantile i'aralysi*. in which donations may be placed These envelopes may be mailed or may be dropped In boxes placed thi* morning at the city hall, the First State Bank, the Holthouse Drug store end the I tally Democrat. In event any residents were missed in the distribution Wed--1 nesday evening, they may make 1 their contributions in these boxes or by mail to the Adam* county chapter Volunteer workers will canvas* the city's business district Friday afternoon, distributing the folders and envelopes. The Berne Boy Scouts, supervi*ed by Bilee Baus< rman, Berne chairman, are to make a similar canvas* of that town this evening, and Ramon O. Hunt. Geneva princl pal and drive chairman, will conduct a similar campaign In that town The Adam* county campaign is part of the nationwide emergency drive, launched a few day* ago to <Tara T» l*a«e «•*» Printers, Chicago Papers End Strike Formal Vote Sunday To End Long Strike Chicago, Sept. 15 — (VPI Tlrnation's longest ami bitterest pr > ' test against the Taft-Hartley law apparently collapsed today a* :m \FL printer* union agreed to end It* strike against five Chicago new*, papers, almost two year* after the men walked out of the comp isi.u r<M>ms The agreement, reached last night, will be submitted to a rank and file vote of the Chicago typographical union next Sunday John J Pilch, local president, said the terms were approved by Woodruff Randolph, internatlon.il president, and that the printer* would be advised to accept them •'I feel very happy about the e»i tire situation," Pilch said The joint announcement by lalxir and management said that thprinter* would receive a 110 a week pay increase. No mention was made of lhe working conditions provided by tienew contract. The closed shop han j of the Taft-Hartkey law was the core of the dispute Pilch saM that "union protection <T«rn Tn !••«* Carl Gerber Heads Easter Seal Sales Carl _Gerber wa« named chair man of the Easter seal sales a> I a recent meeting of the Adams i lonnty society for crippled child- 1 ren Two youths. Gordon Black and John W Lough, who attended <ag>p the past summer, reported on the camps and oxpresaed their appreciation to the society Bri«f talks were made by Dennis Norman, county recreation direct or. and R 0. Hunt. Geneva school principal The next meeting of the society will bo Tuesday. Oct. 11. ■

Diesel Engine Blows Up In Power Plant One Man Killed, One Missing In Blast At Rushville Building Rushville. Ind.. Sept. 15 (VPi A diesel engine blew up In a , ti. 000.000 power generating plant today, wrecking the building in which it wa* housed One man was killed, another was missing and three other employe* escaped with their lives, according , to Indiana state police. The blast blew the roof off a big 1 brick building and piled a heap of, rubble inside. At first, authorities' believed many persons were trap- ' ped in the wreckage Police said an engine In the east end of the turbine building, which I generate* electricity for 11 Indiana 1 counties. d< veloped a hot piston ' Th< y said the plant exploded with ‘ a tremendous roar before workmen could stop the engine. The explosion happened at the plant of the Southeastern, Indiana ‘ Power Co., which serve* small '■ i town* and rural area* only. , The crushed body of John Wood. 1 33, a company employe, was found 1 by police in the wreckage But I hours later, it had not been remov1 j ed and rescuers were digging fran-1 tically in the debris trying to reach ' it. 1 Elbert Cross, 34. Rushville, was missing and presumed burled un- • tier tons of brick and metal One of three employes who es-| caped death was Robert Ratikin "It was a miraculous escape.” I Ratikin said "A girder fell and l . landed on one of the big diesel ' engines near where 1 was standing ' 'I "I crawled through the ruin* | after the blast. I think a hot pision, caused the explosion " Ratikin'* lift arm was cut Two companions. Tony Barringer and George Kreher, the plant supeiin tend*nt. were unhurt. The plant served approximate ly 8.500 consumers in 11 counties but furnished power for no large town* The largest town wa* Morristown (Shelby countyt. with a ( population of 650 persons. Most of the area was rural, in eluding ail customer* on the itu*h ; county rural electric membership corp Otto Boerger, Sr. Dies This Morning Root Township Man Is Taken By Death Otto Boerger. Sr . 86. prominent retired farmer of Root township, died at 5 o'clock thi* morning at his home, five mile* north of Decatur. after an Hine** of only a few day* He was born in Fort Wayne April 25. 1863. a son of Jacob and 'Engel Fuelling Boerger. but had lived in Adam* county for many years He wa* married May 12. I 1895. to Friederike Reichert He wa* a member of St Peter's Lutheran chureh. Surviving in addition to bi* wife are four daughters. Mr*. Flora Schlenker. Mr* Lydia Rahe and j Mis* Della Boerger. all of Fort| Wayne, and Mr* Alma Gasdorf. of Lima. O ; four sons. Hugo. William. Otto and Herbert B<-ejger. all of Root township, and 17 grandchil dr*n. One son. four brother* and | three sisters preceded him lu I death Funeral services will be held at 2 o'clock Sunday afternoon at the i home and at 2 20 pm. nt the St Peter's Lutheran church, the Ret < Karl Hofmann of I-la ting Burial i will be In thn chutvh cemetery i The body will be romovod from the i Zwick funeral home late Friday i afternoon to the residence, when- i -friends may call. '<

Price Four Cents

Sherman Minton Is Choice Os President To Fill Vacancy On U. S. Supreme Court Washington. Sept. 15.—(UP) - President Truman today reached I into the ranks of his old tline new ; deal comrades to pick Hoosier i judge Sherman Minton for the j i-upreme court vacancy created by ' the death of associate justice i Wiley B Rutledge. The President told hfs While House new* conference that the I high court post will go to Minton, an Indiana Democrat who once sat next to Mr Truman in the V. S. senate. Minton, who has been on the federal court of appeal* In Chicago since May. 1941. became a dark horse in the supreme court compe- . tition only yesterday, when some highly-placed persons passed tho word that he wa* "in." Until then, speculation had ceni tend on attorney general J Howard McGrath, who appeared to have moved into line for the high ' court a month ago when attorney general Tom C. Clark succeeded the late Frank Murphy on tho supreme court Mr. Truman had bet n expected to give Murphy's seat to a Catholic. but it w<nt to Clark, a Presbyterian. When McGrath resigned front the V S senate and from hi* i Democratic national committee i chairmanship to become attorney . general, capital speculation wa* i that Mr. Truman would handle the religious angle by giving the next | supreme court vacancy to McGrath. a Catholic But today the President crossed , up the guesser* again He said hi* ' choice wa* Minton, a mason who I lists hl* religion a* Protestant, but t claims no particular church isXHliaI tlon The nomination i* expected to i be sent to the senate* shortly, and Minton’s confirmation appeareel i certain The 58 year-old Minton is mar- . ried and ha* three- children In hl* < ne term in the senate, from 1935 to lU4I. he- won a reputation as a down-the-line battler for President Roosevelt's new deal program right up to and in< luding the late FDR's "court packing" plan From hi* senate seat beside the* then Missouri Sen Harry S Truman. he backed Mr Roosevelt in his effort to overbalance the "nineold men" on the- high court by th*appointment of young liberal* He said new deal laws were entitled to "open minded consideration" by an enlightened supreme court. Minton and Mr Truman were close friend* in the senate In announcing hi* supreme court choice, the President also disclosed a serie* of other judicial shift* Judge Walter V. Lindley, now judge of the U. S district court for eastern Illinois at Danville, will be nominated to succeed Minton ou the circuit court of appeal*. Ca*per Platt, now judge of tho fifth Illinois circuit, will succeed Lindley on the federal bench for the eastern district of Illinois Ernest Gibson, former Republican governor of Vermont, wa* nominated to become the federal district judge for Vermont. Minton Grateful New Albany, Ind. Sept. 15 - - (VPt—Judge Sherman Minton today said he wa* "profoundly grate sTwrn T» I’nae KluMi Mrs. Rose Folk Dies At Home In Arkansas Funeral service* for Mrs Rose Falk will be held Friday morning In Jonesboro. Ark . according to word receiveet here thia morning by Mrs Minnie Holthouse of Madison street A former resident of thi* city Mrs. Falk's death occurred Wednesday She was 80 years old. A daughter of the lute Mr and Mrs. Anthony Holthouse. pioneer real dent* of this city, the family mor ed to Jonesboro about 45 yeors ago Her husband. Fred Falk, died a number of years ago She io survived by five daughters, two sons, four slaters and two brothers. Burial will be in Joneeboro.