Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 49, Number 296, Decatur, Adams County, 17 December 1951 — Page 1

Vol. XLIX. No. 296.

NEW SNOWSTORM SWEEPS INTO MIDWEST

56 Killed As I Plane Crashes In New Jersey Airliner Crashes Six Minutes After Takeoff On Sunday Elizabeth' N. J . Dec. 17— (UP) t — Investigators sought to determine today whether a non-schedul-en. war surplus airliner was inspected properly before it took off on a cut-rate flight to Florida that ended? six minutes later in fiery A death for all 56 persons aboard. Smoke poured from the. right 'motor of the twip-engine converted Curtiss Commando as it lifted .off the runway at Newark airport . at 2:03 p. m. CST yesterday with its 52 jAssengcrs and crew of four. CApt. (\ A. Lyons of Miami, Fla.. v pilot of the doomed plane, tried to bank the ship to return to the field for an emergency landing I when the right wing snapped. The ' hlane burst into flame and plum-1 meted into the shallow Elizabeth * river. Those who were not killed instantly were trapped in the flaming wreckage and died screaming as would-be rescuers were held tack by the intense heat. It was the worst <air crash of the year and the second worst. In the nation’s history. Another tragedy was averted yesterday at Amarillo. Tex., when a • crippled Trans- * World airliner landed safely in a v.heat field without injury to any of the 61 persons aboard. The worst plane crash In the nation’s history occurred when a Northwest Airlines DC-4 plunged into Lake; Michigan. June 34, 1960, killing a l 58 persons aboard. Patrolman -Nicholas Bilsky, on duty near the Elizabeth crash s’cene. said the pilot seemed to be searchihg for a clear place to crash land in the heavily' populat'cd area. T I • <Th£ plane suddenly dipped and zoomed to the ground, shearing off the roof of an unoccupied three story frame dwelling hit the E’.irbaethtpwn water works,” Bilsky sajirf-* ■ “I heard cries from inside the plane.” Bill Kapio of Union City, , N. J., said, “but I didn’t know what . tO dO.” . - ' Joseph O. Fluet. chief.; of the -‘ New York regional office of- the civil aeronautics board, hurried to the crash scene to make a preliminary inyesjigation. - - “It is self ,evident,” he said, ■’‘•that the plane started to break np miles away from the scene of the crash.” - v Fluet said a conference of federI al. state and local officials-will he held today to organize an official 'nquiry. Fluet said th| investigation will seek to determine what inspections should have l>een made to the plane before its takeoff and whether they were made. . I nion. City prosecutor Edward : Cohn said office would take ac!t?on, if the official Jnvestigation. showed any criminal negligence on the- part of any organization connected with the plane. The airliner was operated by Miami Airlines. Inc., 2 hon-schedul-h ed carrier operating five planes between New York and Miami. . The (Wash was the line’s first since it started operating in 1946, a company spokesman said. : Safety regulations for scheduled and non-scheduled airlines are “almost identical.” the CAB said. O specific limit on .the number of passengers and crew members is net sst, it said, a maximum takeoff weight is established for each type of plane. ; Good Fellows Club i Previously reported 1742.32 • A.. Goodfellow —— 10.00 Rhubarb —. Central Soya Co. — 25.00 A Friend - 5.00 Sheets Cleaners , 2.00 A Friend — 5.00 The .Mirror Inn -—<- 4.00 A Friend 5.00. Johnny Ginter 1.00 A. Friend _— — 5.00 A Newsboy , —- 100 Maryann. Frederick and Barbara Zwick ...—--- 10.00 Sam ------- -08 TOTAL - 1815.88

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT > ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER'IN ADAMS COUNTY S•.i'■';l' ’ l ■ - . 1 • ‘ !

Christmas Music Tonight, Stores Open For Shoppers music, provided . by he various church choirs of the city, wiji he presented each night this wapk from the court house, LeyinnWig this evening. - The Bethany Evangelical United choir will sing at 6:45 e’cfiSjk this evening, followed by : the; First Methodist choir at 7:30. ■ BeuaiiSe of the severe, weather, the : chai r s will sing in the court huose I corridor, with loud speakers in the i bouri house windows carrying the music to the downtown district. Retail stores will be open tonight and every night this week until 9 o’clock. Choirs which will »ing Tuesday evening are the Church Os the Nazarene at 6:45, followed by the Union Chapel Evangelical. United Brethren at 7:30. - ~ ' White House Is Silent On Plan For Cleanup Refuse Comment On | Reports Murphy To Lead Cleanup Job Washington, Dec. 17 —■ (UP) —- The White House remained silent today on-' President Truman’s plan for a government cleanup Inta commissioner John B. I>un|a^an- r nounced that the bureau of,’internal revenue is investigating reports qif alleged tax shakedowns in New loek. _ j j Dunlap said a 65-m ember specRlsquaddf agents is checking ail tax fraud cases which werif nbt ; prosecuted since 1&44 in NeW lock. The White House refused comment on reports that fedepal judge Thqmas F. Murphy of New York had accepted the* job to clean up any corruption in government and eliminate “Wrongdoers.” Press secretary Joseph -Short sak! there was nothing to add to his ahonuncemeni of la.-ft Thursday that Mr. Truhian had conferred twice with the successful prosecutor of Alger Hiss. Asked when he’expected to have an announcei lent. Short said “there is not a thing I can tell you.?' feunlap. whose bureau has been hryolved in the tax scandals , uncovered, by the house ways and means subcommittee headed by Rep. Cecil R. King 1 (D-Cal.), said he could not give names involved in the New York cases under study. He said the inquiry is ‘‘fkced with exceptionally - rough problems” and that it “covers the (Turn To Page Foir) : - T ‘ ' ? ■ ;■• v Mrs. Lydia Gerber. Is Taken By Death . Funeral Services ' Tuesday Morning Mrs.' Lydia .S. Gerber, 66, of ropte 4. Bluffton, died Saturday at the Clinic, hospital in Bluffton after a short illness of coronary ■ ori lusion. ’ , J \ | • ; : She was a member of the Apostujijc Christian church. . Surviving-Me her husband, Jehu W'. Gerber;"‘seven sons, Gaius, Sylven and Truman, all of near Bjuffton, Alvin and Edward, both of Bluffton. Floyd at Craigville, ahd Lloyd of near Decatur; seven -laughters, Mrs. .Roy Gerber, Mrs. Rplph Schwartz and Mrs. Ervin Sphwartz, all of Bluffton. ? Mrs. liomer Aschliman of near Craigvjlle. Mrs. Ervin Isqh and Mrs- EdA.iurd rSchwartz of near Bluffton, and Mrs* Roland Beer of near Berne; 29 grandchildrer ; three brothers, Joel Mailer of near Decatur, and Samuel and Levi Mailer of Bluffton, and two sisters. Mrs.’’Lewis Gerber of near Decatur and Mrs. Amos Bertsch of Elgin, 111. . fV Funeral’serrices will be cbnduct- . ed at 10 at m. Tuesday at the residence and at 10:30 o’clock at the Apostolic Christian chufch, the Bev. Sainuel Asciiman officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. The body will be removed from the'Thoma funeral home to ihe residence, where fridnds may tall after 6 o’clock this evening. £ - i’-. u! - l ” \

■ . • ! ■ - - | Ves Sir—lt Was A Cold Weekend . 1 • ' . iT , ■ • i \ isl B ■ ■ /IV JH I .1 H EK u>. ■r ' ' ; ■ * ■ NO MATTER HOW COLD IT GETS, there’s always the humorous sidw. a» shivering Chicagoans (12 below) at the right, and the skiing secretary (left) attest. An enterprising airline features a bathing girl to entire citizens to southern climes, and Carlyn Ring of Pittsburgh (6 inches of snow) saves herself a trip to mountain ski-runs by using Pittsburgh streets. Incidentally it was 27 degrees at Jacksonville, Fla., and 25| in New Orleans. On the serious side, nearly 150 deaths were attributed to the far-flqng cold wave hnd storms. r fl * T . \ : —1 _ -1 ’■

—; —^4—l Ex-Trustee Arrested ;-• .V ~ .J r . ’ ~ I Oh Jury Indictment High Arrested For Purchase Os Buses Hibbard H. High, ex-trustee of Kirkland township, was arraigned before Judge Myles F. Parrisb in the Adams circuit court today on a charge of being a public official interested in a public contract. | The charge against High is the result of the recent grand jury investigations) It, is' notu known whether “airy further arrests will be made. . The indictment alleges that High, as a member of the board of the Adams Central Consolidated school corporation, *was also holder of the position as ageiit for the Union City Body company when he sold the board four school buses. His bid at the |ime was the lowest of those submitted. High was represented at the arraignment by DTBurdette Custer .and Robert G. Smith, Decaitur attorneys. who asked the court \ for “further tiipe” before entering a plea. No hearing date was set; the court simplyl awarded the defendants “a time" in which, to make full preparations before answering. ; ,• 1 i" I is charged that High, as a school board member, sold to the school board, as the bus; company agent, four buses at a total sale price of $12,928.43. Further, that High received - $1,142.69 for nis share of the sale. | . The indictment proclaims that High performed these transactions ‘‘knowingly, wrongfully and unlawfully.” . It further v states that the ex-trustee purchased spur used school.buses as part of the transaction for SBOO. and later soM them for $1,425. | The indictment charging such specific malfeasance wai by the grand jurors November 30, ghd a warrarit was issued for High’s arrest immediately thereafter. High was arrested at his home Sunday by Sheriff Bob Shraluka and remained in the Adams county jail until, his arraignment today. He was released following his arraignment on a $2,000 bond set by the court. The charge carries with it —upon convietio^ —either a prison term of from two to 14 years or a fine of from S3OO to $5,000, or both. Further action in the case will be a hearing at which time High will epter a plea to the charge; a subsequent jury ’trial would follow if the plea is not guilty, i High’s position as trustee of Kirkland township,; pointed 4fct the indictment read by clerk Ed Jaberg, made him ; an ex-officio member of the Adams Central school board. It is while thus a member, on October 17, 1950, that the transaction for the buses was completed by High and the board. Judge Parrish explained to High that “this arraignment is merely to advise you of the offense.” He said that the defendant could enter a plea at this time, or seek, more time? High’s attorney asked for the latter, j

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, December 17, 1951.

,— Christmas Program. L By Lions Tuesday * of the Liotfs club Tuesday will bold their' annual Christmas party: instead of their regular meeting, according io the remtadei* to members issued today by Alva Lawson, chairman for the As customary, Lions Will entertain their children plus |nvited guests Rawson said. y J ' —|L- .. let-up From Severe; Weather Only Brief Hoosiers Bracing For New Onslaught Indianapolis, De|c. 17. —(UP) — The wintry blast paused for a deep breath in Indiana, today before It unleashed another attack on a state already \ plagued by below-zero temperatures and? ice and snow. The weather bureau promised a let-uj) in the record breaking low temperatures but added quickly that snow and sleet would come with the warmer; temperatures. It forecast above zero readings through tomorrow but said temperatures .would take a down swing again by late tomorrow. Marion reported a low of 13 degrees below zero for the lowest reading in the state early today Goshen had 12 below, South Bend 10, betota- Fort Wayne seven below and iLafayette four below. K It (was two f kbove at Indianapolis and three above at/Terre Haute. At: least 16 deaths were blamed on jthe w'eatherl Heart attacks which accounted for five deaths were) the leading; killer and traffic deaths on icy and snow-packed highways were a kilose second with four.? Two drownings were reported, two deaths from exposure apd one from a fife caused by an over heatbd stovepipe. Two men were killed by a train at Fort Wayne, The forecast was for increasing cloudiness and not quite so cold today wtah temperatures from 10 to 15 in the north and 15 to 25 in the south. Weathermen said 1 would snow and sleet by night and the south would have snow ani sleet mixed with, rain tomorrow The mercury Wasnt. expected to dip below zero tonight for the time since Saturday when the (Turn To Pace Six) ■ f [' , i ■ i Elizabeth Werling Is Taken By Death Miss Elizabeth whriing,. 62, a native hf Adams county, died Sunday mornihg of a cerebral hemorrhage at a Richmond hospital after a long illness. She was the foster daughter of John and Louise Dam-meyer-Werling. Surveying is a foster brother, Oscar Werling of Ossian. ‘ ■ ’j . -. 4 Funeral services will be held at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Zwick fuoeral home and at 2 o’clock at the Bethlehem Lutheran church, of which she waa a member, the Rev. Harry Behning officiating. Burial will be in the' church cemetery. Friends may call at the tuneral home until time of the services.

1 ■ ■ ■ - ■ Berne Annexation c Plea Is Overruled Special Judge Byrd Vetoes Annexation - ’V.' ' L ■V V . L Special Judge Homer Byrd, of the Wells circuit court, today overruled the annexation of certain terrftoiy to the city of Berne, stating ihnt such awnexaUon le unreasonable, illogical “and would set a dangerous precedent.” The decision culminated several weeks of court action that was tea. lured by witnesses for either side in the matter parading to the stand to testify, in the case of Virgil Haines vs the city of Berne. , Judge Byrd said in his written opinion which was read in court, that “the sole reason for the, annexation was to settle school problems • '■ He went on to state that “Using the T annexation laws to circumvent the school laws to solve school problems is .a doubtful procedure." The judge went on to state that it ii| doubtful that the persons living in the contiguous area sought to be annexed have need for protection of city ordinances, city government pr- immediate improvements. “Thp- court is of the further opinion that the annexation would not encourage the growth and pros-, perity of Berne; that Extension of streets, sewers, drainage, electric,' gas or water systems, or police regulations, is not practical , . > The judge consraefeu that Berne “became a city of the fifth class for the. express purpose of annexing this; area . . .” but the matter resolved itself into a school problem. ?— Fire In Apartment Here Extinguished Fire In Downtown ’i ' 1 Apartment Building Firemen fought the, fire that started shortly before noon today and; raged for almost an hour in the: McConnell apartments, at the corner of Second and Monroe st-eets. The fire ; was believed caused by an acetylene torch which was being used in an effort ’to thaw froaen water pipes. Most of ttyte damage was confined ;to an attic and a bathroom on the second floor of the apartmefetp, at the rear of the building. A wooden structure, which protruded from the* building, was clawed Into by firemen’s picks to fight the flames; other firemen weht into the attic to get the firehose in play. I : ’Considerable damage" — which was not estimated yet —was incurred by the fire that brought two Decatur fire department trucks as well as several score of on-Jookers to Jthe scene. T 1 .

Second Severe Sub-Zero Cold Wave Predicted To Follow New Snowstorm _ £. .... ...... L —U i iL —— i 4 —4 —4 -f-u— . • I ' ■ 1 ■

—i =r-> • —f- i : .' ! ‘ ‘ I . Two Communist Jel j Fighters Damaged f Raiding Parties On Korea Ground Front Bth Army Headquarters, Korea, Dec. 17— (UP) —United , Nations force* damaged two (Communist Jet fighter*, in an aerial 'dogfight and traded blows with Communist raiding parties on the', frozen Korean ground front today. Twenty American sabrejets cornered 10 Soviet-built MIG-16 jets out of 80 to 90 Sighted over northwest Korea fcnd damaged two of them in a badfla. , All sabrejets returned safely from the dogfight, which ranged from 251000 to 35,000 feet. The brief fluryies of ground action followed the first day since last August when not a single American soldier was killed in combat. The no-fatality record was achieved Sunday despite scattered patrol activity. v An Bth army communique . reported Monday’s biggest engagement was touched by a UN raidihg party which pushed out into no-man’s-land northwest of Korangpo on the western front. Three enemy groups totalling;.* company in' strength challenged the raiders. Two were dispersed in an 105-minute skirmish before the UN troops returned to their m fine*. ’ •’ • ■ Other UN elements repulsed a light probing attack by Com(Twra To Page Six) Decaturites Shiver In Freezing Weather Some Thermometers Register 18 Below I v i . * ■ -There was a day in the not too distant past—perhaps a week ago, maybe a little longer—‘When those of a poetic nature were constructing their odes to spring. Spring, the ol’ gal who usually wears a flower in bes hair, was with us, and for the most part the subject of most conversations. , In away, shp was Out of place, and perhaps knew it- . For she fled quite hurridly the latter part of last week, and ol' man winter—riding high on an east wind—shoved back to. her proper place in line. \ While a couple of weeks ago there was a predominance of sport coats, and. most men left their topcoats at home, today there is the general feeling that a snug oyer coat is not too much. For winter is here in earnest. Local thermometers pushed their way downward as much as 18 below zero, unofficially, according to* some of the reports received in the Daily Democrat office. ,-j Today, it was 19 below at 4 a.m., and by 8 a.m. it had climbed to zero on the Daily Democrat’s thermometer. The temperature was slowly notching its way upward, but no one expected it to get too warm. There’s not much respite in sight, says the weatheirman. It’s supposed to warm up a bit today, says he, thep turn much colder'Tuesday. Mrs. Contad Frosch Is Taken By Death Mrs. Conrad Frosch, of the Hessen Cassel road, died Sunday at the J»utheran hospital in Fort Wayne, where she had been, a patient the past 17 days. Surviving in ( addition to her husband are a son, Arnold, at home; two daughters, Mrs. Algunda Trier of Fort Wayne and Mrs. Viola Werling of Decatur; three grandchildren and two brothers, William and Fred Gerke, both of. Fort Wayne. Funeral services will be heWTSt 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Rod-enbeck-Pook funeral home \ and at 2 o’clock at the Suburban Trinity Lutheran church, the Rey. Werner Scbmidtke officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. •. If, • - i

■‘• t \ Hope Os Truce By Christmas Fast Fading UN Planes Ordered To Attack Unmarked Vehicles On Roads Munsan, Korea, Dec. 17—*-(UP)—t-The United Nations ordered its planes tonight to attack all unmarked vehicles on the main highway between Pyongyang, * the North Korean capital, and Kaeof the Communist truce team. “The honeymoon is over,” UN spokesman Brig. Gen. William P. Nuckolsf said. “Tomorrow morning, they will be! shot at. instead of looked at.” The UN hag refrained from attacking the Pyongyang-Kaesong i-oan since Nov. 27, when agreement was reached wtih the Reds on a cease-fire line good for 30 ' days, because the allies wished "tor avoid any unpleasantness," Nuckols said. But, he said, the Communists tdbk advantage of the immunity to move 18 to 20 vehicles a day toward the front in addition to the truce team’s own cerise-marked vehicles. Henceforth, the Communists wjll be restricted to two truce team supply convoys a day of not more than six vehicles each, all marked with h cerise-cherry red—panels, Nuckols said. All others will be subject to attack. The order was jnterpreted in part as a sign of the UN command’s dissatisfaction with Communist stalling tactics in the armistice negotiations. Both subcommittees struggling with the truce at Panmunjom again reported “no progress" after brief sessions today. ■ j p ; i ‘ Hope for an armistice by Christmas was fading fast. The Communists were repbrted planning to seek a 30»day extension of the trial cease-fire line. However, both subcommittees will meet again at Panmunjom at 11 a. m. Tuesday (8 p. m. today CST.) The Communists were- told of the UN decision to bring the Pyongyang-Kaesong road under attack again at a meeting of liaison (Tarn To Pace Fexr) ) . ’’ . ■ u Li. ,'f Glen Hirschy Home Destroyed By Fire Farm Residence Is > ■- By Fire Fire of undetermined origin completely razed the! Glen Hirschy home, on route 4, while Decatur firemen were unable ton fight the blaze because pf “lack of water.” No estimate of the total damage was made yet today; while the* structure itself —which is owned by Bill Allfather —was lost.- some of the was brought from the flaming house. Hirschy told i firemen he was awakened by the smell of smoke about midnight Saturday night and learned that the house was on fife. ' He called Decatur firemen who exhausted their limited water supply in fighting the fire which was raging when they arrived. It is believed that the fire “might have stained” because of a defective chimney or overheated meter bol. Firemen also answered .two other alarms over the weekend, both of them Saturday, one at the Mrs. Sam Harkless residence at Tenth and Monroe streets, where “considerable” damage was done to, the outside of the home, the attic and inside walls. ' Another fire was at the Carl Hitler residence, on Line street, where little damage was reported. Both the Bitler and Harkless’ fires were attributed to “defective chimneys.”

Price Five Cents

' ■ —— ; . . Expert New Storm To Hit In Chicago Tonight; 150 Lives Are Already Taken < By United Press A new snowstorm swept into the [1 midwest today and forecasters said it would be followed by another severe sub-zero cold wave. The storm,.the second to hit within three days, developed Over northern Oklahoma and southern . Kansas and began moving northeastward on winds of 25 to 3D miles an hour. , -I Forecasters said it would lay three to six inches of new snow over an area stretching from Nebraska to New England. The bad weather that began last Friday already has taken a toll of " 150 lives, a crobs-country check > . * showed. Sixty-six persons’died as a result of weather-induced heart attacks, 46 in weather-caused traffic accidents, and 13 by freezing or exposure. Twenty-five died from mis- „ cellaneous causes. The new storm was moving so fast that forecasters expected it to 'hit the Chicago area tonight. Sleet and (freezing rain was expected directly along the storm’s path but the forecasters said it would spew \ snow fo|r a wide area to the north, already, they said, snow was falling in lowa and'Nebraska.; Most of the nation enjoyed .a •) ’ slight respite today from the numbing weekend cold wave but the weather bureau warned that another surge of arctic air would hit in the wake of the storm. f Chicago expected eight-below-zero temperatures Tuesday night and io below Wednesday morning. ; -The Chicago Motor Club urged motorists to take advantage of today’s slight warming to have bat- ’ teries cheeked. The ’’club's (emergency service answered ja record total of 400 calls an hour from stalled drivers. It handled 8,995 calls in Chicago Saturday and Sunday and 17,5»90 throughout Cook county. At Boxford. Mass., the nude bodies bf a married man and a 19-year-old neighbor girl were found frozen “hard as> marble” in the rdar of his station wagon. Authorities said the victims, Adam F. Piotrowski, 30, and Miss Mildred Pooler, apparently were overcome by icar- 7 bon monoxide and then died of exposure. \ ‘ , ••.., < The new cold wave was beginning to make itself felt in the northern plains ,states. A separate cold fnjmt hit northern New York and-. Njew - England, | Rumford, Me., had the cbldest reading in ' the nation —29 -belbw zero. It was 26 below at Bemidji, Minn., -26 fat Bismarck, N.D., ,1-25 at Pierre, S.D., 1-22 at Concord-, N.H., -21 at Caribou, Me., -1J at Rockford, 111., -12 at Parik, Falls, Wis., -7 at. Chicago and -5 at Albany, N.Y. INDIANA WEATHER \ x Snow spreading over most of state by evening, changing t> freezing rain or sleet south portion this evening. Three to six inches new snow likely north portion, inow diminishing tosnow flurries nortl’i ani precipitation changing to snow flurries and ending south late tonight. Not so cold tohigh':, . Tuesday partly cloudy and coming very cold again witi snow flurries in extreme nottli. Low tonight 5-15 High '- i Tuesday 10-15. a SHOPPING O ; ——KuEtLj Ibfiil ; — —— JNU.f. ■■■■■}■— J