Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 50, Number 276, Decatur, Adams County, 21 November 1952 — Page 1

Vol. L. No. 276.

Zoning Board Will Appeal Court Ruling

f ’ i? • * In a 56-page opinion. Judge MyUs F. Parrish Thursday afternoon • culminated a six ' months court battle and ruled in favor of the Jehovah’s Witnesses yi their dispute with the city board of zoning .appeals over whether or not a church building .should be constructed at the corner of Monroe arid Nipt ll streets. • \ ’ . Said Judge Parrish in Ais opinion: “It has been said ’that the function of the court in protecting religious liberty is to check .and rebuke over zealous local officials who have sought to cloak religious persecution in respectable clothing In order to crush the religions minorities_of whose doctrines the majority of the community do not approve.”* — ?; And in his summary, said: “The court . . , finds that the action of said board in denying the issuance of a permit to the Jehovah's Witnesses is ‘arbitrary,’ in that the application of the ordinance requiring that all places of assembly, apd ip particular, churches, have space for off-street parking, as a cdnditlon precedent to the construction of a building, does not have any relation to the public health, morals, safety yr welfare when applied to the church.” A tense, partially-filled courtroom I —mostly of Jehovah’s Wit-, nesses from the local and sur--1 ' rounding congregations—-had no inkling of what she judge's ruling would be. almost to the end of-his long pronouncement. Howevei, as the judge spoke, it'Jbecame evident that the case was being decided on strictly a religious level — what the defense had always feared. f Throughout l the tedious case (he city held that their deCt* v sion had nothing to do with religion or religious persecution. - . The judge’s decision indicated - without a doubt s that he was in _■ disagreement with the city’s decI laration. He called the refusal of , the city engineer, Ralph Roop, to \ grant a building permit, “arbitrary and unreasonable.” - “. . . The exclusion of a church in a residential district of Decatur, has not been adequately’ shown' J that that would be in the further-; ance of the public health, safety, morals or welfare . . . (the refusal) is in violation of the petitioners right updeif the federal arid state constitution." < i Specifically, the city board of zoning appeals refused to build on two grounds. To provide off-street parking, • 6,2?0‘ square feet of space were required —- the application of the. Witnesses included only 2,244.? (2) extend beyond 18% feet from the property line; the application of the Witnesses calls for their proposed building to be 14% feet from/ their property Jine. ' Early in- his lengthy opinibri Judge Parrish listed several premises upon which his decision was based. Point 3 of these is: The court must be fearless of public clamor, regardless of public praise, and indifferent to private or partisan InfTuerfces,” Judge Parrish was evidently aware that public opinion was against the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and felt called upon to make the- obvious above statement. He continued in Point 5. ”... A judge should not administer his office for the purpose of advancing his personal ambitions or increasing his popularity." , Present at the table "with local ~ attorneys for the plaintiff, Ouster ’ and Smith, was Hayden C. Cov ington, a dynamic lawyer who (s retained by the Jehoyari’s Witnesses on a permanent basis, and lb, in fact, a Witness himself. The victory for the Witnesses \ represents another in a long, line of them for the religious sect. They were recently einbroilrid in a supreme court battle over whether or not the parishioners of their church should salute the Ameri-V can flag. The supreme court ruled Tin their favor and upheld their right to show no allegiance to the nag. _______ BULLETIN Berlin V. Gauze, 68, of 219 ; North Eighth street, died a|t 1:30 o’clock this afternoon at ? the Adarris county ' hospital. The body was removed to the Black funeral home. : Funeral arrangements have flot_/? been completed. \ - I " . A • INDIANA WEATHER Mostly cloudy tonight and Saturday. Not much change In temperature. Low tonight 30 36. High Saturday 39-45. •

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT * ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY •■■?■ >■ ■ ‘ L— ?. . ..i & ! ■ . > ?' ' \ \ ' U '■

Clarence Ziner, chairman of the Decatur boardot zoning appeals, stated today .thftt with the consent of the entire board, be had authorised Robert Anderson, attorney for the board, to take immediate Steps to appeaLthe decision rendered yesterday by Judge Myles Parrish in favor of the Decatur company of Jehovah's Witnesses against the Decatur board. The cause will be taken to the Indiana Appellate court within the 30 days allowed by statute. Judge Parrish ruled, that the board acted “arbitrarily” when it, refused to grant a building permit for construction of a building by (he Witnesses in the west part of the city. The refusal was granted after a public hearing, at which time,more than 75 percent of the adjoining property owners protested issuance of a permit on the grounds that it would add a “serious traffic hazard to an already dangerous street intersection unless sufficient offstreet parking was provided.” The proposed site does not leave suf-, flcient size to comply with the’ parking provisions. Tjhirorigh its chairman, all five board members, who are Zlner, Sylvan Rupert Robert Yost, Charles Cloud, and Dick Heller, issued the following statement : “The hoard pf zoning appeals regrets the decision rendered by Judge Myles R. Parrish in the case entitled “Decatur Ind. Co. of Jehovah Witnesses ys board of zoning appeals,” and has instructed its attorney, Robert S .Anderson, to take appropriate action to appeal the decision. ■ “The finding of the court that our board acted “arbitrarily and unreasonably” *is regretable inasinuch as we hive attempted to administer the various provisions of the Zoning Ordinance in a fair and impartial manrier to the best of our ability. Tp this !end, ;we hive devoted numeroup hours of time and effort being compensated only by our desire to help our community. ■ "The board is alarmed by the Court’s finding that ‘thie zoning ordi.nance may be Valid and constitntiorigl,’ inasmuch as the board does not' know whether thii means that the zoning' ordinance; is constitutional, or whether unconstitutional, and therefore a nullity] . “If the entire ordinance is in doubt, the subsequent , results, would, in the opinion of the board, be detrimental Ito Decatur. With this thought in mind the board has Instructed its attorney to study the opinion further] and will have an early meeting to decide whether the entire zoning ordinance has ? been vitiated by the‘ court's decision. ? ; “The board sincerely hopes that some workable ■ solution can bis evolvpd for it feels that the zoning ordinance, is vital to our city. Sincb the .tiine that the original planning commission wait appointed in 194?7 by former Mayor John B. Stulti, and continued to operate under the admiriistration of Mayor John M. Doan, manyJ able Citizens haVe devoted hours a successful ordinance. “Col. Lawrence V; Sheridan, Indianapolis, a nationally known planning consultant,; wfote the ordinance for Decatur which was modeled after many .other simillar ordinances. ■■'— : Colonel Sheridan in a recent letter to the board, in Commenting on this case wrote ps follows: ‘The trend towards; churches providing parking observable everywhere. Churches themselves are proceeding to | ptovide parking space. On (East 38th Street in Indianapolis, First Church Christ, Scientist; Prentice Presbyterian, and i a Catholic church; within a mile of each other, hate recently built new buildings, all of which furnish as much parking as we require in the Decatur ordinance. ‘Second Church of Christ Scientist at 12th and Dele ware in Indianapolis, built asout 1914, recently boughtthe house next door and constructed a parking lot, at a cost, I am i told, of about 838,000. Northwood Christian church here recently built a new church and provided at one space for each 6 seats. You could find many other examples. ‘I think you could proceed on two lines! - i ‘l. modern church simply can riot afford to build without providing parking for th® convenience of its orin members. (Father Lefko jfrom Whiting, who is president of (T.r. Te Were sight)

Ike’s Cabinet Shapes Up

... 1 V\ . - ! Bl ’WMI 5 KB I Aerate-- : M o \ I BL J H yah, b J IS

PRESIDENT-ELECT Dwight D. Eisenhower shakes hands with John Foster Dulles (top) noted foreign expert, after naming him to the post of secretary of state in his cabinet. Others named simultaneously were (lower right) General Motors president Charles E. Wilson. as defense secretary, and (lower left) Oregon Governor Douglas McKay a£ secretary of the interior.

Report Truman Budget Pared To 80 Billion Defense Spending Slowdown Permits Five Billion Cut WASHINGTON, UP —President Truman’s budget for the next fiscal year has been pared within the last two weeks to a figurp in the neighborhood of $80,000,006,000, reliable sources disclosed toririy. That is about $5,000,000,000 less than the fiscal 1954 budget was expected to total on the basis of preliminary estimates earlier this month. Informants said the lower figure reflects a slowdown in defense spending, which constitutes by far the biggest Item in the 1 budget. Mr. Truman will submit the budget to congress next January, juet a few dayp before he surrenders •his office tb President-elect Eisenhower. Eisenhower, will be free to revise the spending requests as he sees fit by sending supplemental messages to congress. Earlier estimates that the Tru : man budget would run close to s|s, 000,000,000 prompted Republican leaders of congress to predict that any such request would be slashed ’by up to A(fr. Truman replied Thursday by telling hii news conference that he will send a tight, honest budget to the lawmakers as, he said, he always has done. He predicted topi the GOP-led 83rd congress toll find itself unable to make aj n y major cuts in his spending proposals. i ' ' ' Informants who quoted the $85,000,000,000 figure earlier this month emphasized at that time that ithe budget will be substantially revised. The same precaution applies to the new $80,000,000,000 total. \ I StiH to come is the “supreme meeting, where the President, ihis council of economic adj To P»ge KlarhO Annual Student Day Sale Here Saturday H Bright and early Saturday morning, Approximately 110 students of Decatur high school, will pry open weary eyes a little earlier than usual for a Saturday morning, stretch, bemoan theii- fate — and go to work.Easy! It’s not that they've all quit school to take their places in the business world prematurely; it’s an annual thing where each of the young people is placed for the day in almost all the businesses and shops in the city—“to earn their pay for aid alma mammy.” Correct! The boy's and girls will ba paid, and the money will go 4nto the coffers of the senior class.

\ Decatur, Indiana, Friday* November 21, 1952.

Open House Is Held Al Lincoln School Precedes Meeting Os Lincoln PTA A good turnout pf members and* guests attended the open house and PTA meeting at the Lincoln school last evening. A 1 tour of classrooms ; was made where pupil’s work was prominent-' ly displayed. Explanations and suggestions were given by the teachers. The program was arranged by Miss Frances Dugan, former girl’s school dean, of this city. The Rev. Romaine Wood gave the invocation and the Rev. William Feiler led in group singing. Edward Wert, PTA president, read a letter from the Indiana congress of PTA, warning that any solicitation for funds for the PTA should first have the approval of the local chapter. In the business session, a teport was made that the fall festival was highly successful. In the panel discussions a number of'speakers were introduced by Miss Dugan. ! C. I. Finlayson, manager of Central Soya company, emphasized the Importance of education for adult success. He stated that parental attitude toward education determined a child’s attitude. “We should sell the importance of education to our children by example, interest in his school work, interviews with his teachete and participation in (Turn To Paae Six) ■ ■ ' ' p Adolph Dittmer Dies Thursday Evening Former Resident Os T- Union Township Dead Adolph Dittmer, 76, a former resident, of Union township, died at 8:55 o’clock Thursday at th a Whitley corinty hospital. He had Jjeen a patent at the hospital one week and underwent surgery last! Saturday. 'He was born in Hamberg, many in 1876, and came to Adams j county when 17 years of age. He was married; to Martha Schelmann April 15. 1905. •j 1 : . '| _ | Mr. Dittmer was a member I of St John’e Lutheran church near Columbia City. \ (Surviving in addition to his wife are three sons, Reinhard, Victor H. 1 and Ervin F. Dittmer, all of Union township, and six grandchildten. ) s U '"'/1 Funeral services wil be conducted at 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon $t St. John’s Lutheran church near Columbia City, the Rev. Valentine Hennig officiating. Burial will be in cemetery. Friends may! call at the De-Money-Holllngs-worth funeral home ofter 7:30 ,ori clock this until noon Sunday, when the body will be removed to the church to lie in state until time of the services.

Two More Named By Eisenhower As Cabinet Members

Slight Increase In living Cost Index Increase Announced By Bureau Os Labor . . Washington up — Thg gov-, erpment’s cost of living index rose a tenlh of a point last month, bnt dipt .in two previous months automatfcAlly clipped a cent an hour frbs> theitpay checks of more thab 1,|00,<100 into workers. TW increase announced today by the bureau ;of labor statistics was. aUrJbbted largely to a 0.5 per cent increase for f,uel, electricity, and and smaller increases* ' fpi‘| residential rents, goods, and j Retail foods dropped 0.3 1 peri cent. Lesser decreases were riepogted for apparel and house furnishings. L; The new. cost nf living index, oosiertog the period Sept. 15 to Oct. .15,*,toise toi 190.9, 0.1 of a point higher* than September but still below (he all-time peak of 191-1 in August. j. 1 The so-called “old” index, on Which cos\t pf living escalator payriiehto tor more than 1,000,000 auto an,d other workers are based stood at 191.5, ari increase of 0.1 of a point above September. The auto workers . cost living r»^prCn ts are determined quarterly arM. their loqs of one eent lan bouv today wds due to k dropTn the mt \i»dex from 182.4, the all-time peak reached in July. The auto workers since 1948 now have a net gain of 25 cents an hour In cost of living increases. The United Auto Workers CfO already has served notice they want a change in their contract to mage permanent some of the cost of living boosts so that they cannot be taken away by sharp drops in the cost of living index. .The bureau reported residential rents giveraged ‘0.4 per cent higher Oct. 15 than ;Sept. 15 and 0.8 per epnt above July. Largest increase, {Turn To P«<e Klsht) , Staig Agencies To Seek Added Funds Kendallville Man Heads Committee INDIANAPOLIS UP State Budget Director Lytle J. Freehafer said he believes the! Indiana budget if of the next biennium will be another reriord-breaker of “well oter 1600,000,000” and the general fund« surplus (pay dwindle to $lB,800,000 by July 1955. Freebafer, terming his remarks “purely^speculative,” gave the estimates as the state budget committee .continued a prCliiniriary study pf material which will go irito bill form for submission to ' the- in January. 1 Among factors likely to raise the budget above the $554,000,000 level 1 of .-the current twojyear period, Freehator J’satd, are an increased : cost 'of living, “considerably larger’’ appropriations sos mental hospitals, and the increase in school ' population which raises the state ‘ distribution to local schools unless thte?disftibutiori foririula is changed. Ip this Hast fiscal year, FreehaJrir said, thp state spent $125,* ‘ 100.000. .? 1 He expects expenses will be about ' si3l,oOO,4H><> in the present fiscal 1 year, $186,700,000 in the next, and ' in the next!. * p During that; period, he* said 1 “purely u guess,” the receipts from taxes and other sources will remain about steady with the $133,200,000 taken In last year. ' ' If his on both intake and outgo are about right, the 1 gen- j eril fund surplus will be cut from $69,400,D€h0 last June to 618,800,000 1 in Jime, 1955. \ ' The state budget committee held ' an bfgabizational meeting Thursday. elected Rep. Laurence D. Baker R-Kendallville as its chair- : man.and heard requests from five 1 agencies. ;Their total requests were ’ about $11,000,000 higher than two 1 years ago; , 1 Selection of Baker for the chair- 1 (Thru Te Pa«e El*ht)

AFL President! William Green Dies Suddenly : > I Noted Labor Leader Dies Today At Home In Coshocton, Ohio WASHINGTON UP — AFL President William Green died today at hiri home at Coshocton, 0., AFL headquarters announced. The announcement said Grerin ?led at 12:22 p.m., c.s.t, of heart allure. He was 79 and had been president of (the AFL since 1924. He was the" second top labor leader to die of a heart ailment within two weeks. CIO President Philip Murray died at San Francisco Nov. 9. . »Green had gone to his native Coshocton, from Washington early in October. He was in Coshocton Hospital sos two days for what doctors at the time described as a “routine checkup.” Later, lie was taken home and confined to his bed for a time. AFD headquarters here said it was advised Green suffered a heart -aM«t»ki Thursday might and that he “rank rapidly during the night.” It quoted doctors as saying “his heart jUst gave out.” Headquarters said Green had been in daily touch with Washington headquarters up to Thursday. He had beeri ill during the AFL national contention in New York City in September, came here briefly after! the convention and then went to his Coshocton horde. Funeral services were set tentatively for next Monday at Coshocton. ■ ! . The AFL executive council was expected to meet soon to decide on, a successor Green became AFL president succeeding the late Samuel Gompers, one of the founders and the first president of the federation. Green led the American Federation Labor in almost three decades of growth and turbulence. Under him the AFL maintained its place as the countrys biggest and Jongest-establishted trade union (Tura To Pace Ei*bt) ■ . .-4- — ? .. I Cora Bilderback / Dies This Morning Funeral Services Monday Afternoon Mrs. Cora Bilderback, 85, widow of the; late Jahies G. Bilderback. died at 9 o’clock this morning at i the home of a daughter, Mrs. George Buckley, Homestead 37. She had beeh a semi-invalid for 10 years and bedfast since January. 1 She* was born in MCrcer county, O.;. Oct. 14, 1867, f daughter of Charles and Maty Exfine-Bevington, and was married Nov. 10, 1889. Her husband died May 8, 1940. s ’ She had lived most of her life in Willshire, 0., where she was highly active in church and civic circles until her illnebs. Mrs. Bilderback was a member of the Willshire Methodist church,'the WSCS of the church, a member of the EasterfeStar and a charter member of the Pythian Sisters. Surviving are the daughter, Mrs. Buckley; two grandchildren, Dick Buckley of Indianapolis and Mrs, George Bell of Reading, Calif.; two great grandchildren; three gnat-great-grandchildren; and one brother, Charles Bevington,' all of California. One son, one daughter, one sister and two brothers are deceased. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:15 p.m. CST Monday at the Zwlck funeral home and at 2 o’clock at the Willshire Methodist phurch, the Rev. Wallis A. Turner official- 7 ing. Burial wjll be iri the Will* shire, cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home gfter 7 o’clock Saturday evening.

Young Plans Ruling On Amish School: Hearing Is Held At Capital Thursday INDIANAPOLIS UP — Indiana superintendent of public instruction Wilbur Young will rule next week whether Amish children in Adams county receive as much education in their religion’s schools as they would in public schools. The months-old fight of the religious group to save t|ieir Wabash township schpol turned the Indiana supreme court chambers into a classroom Thursday as Amish children paraded their knowledge before Young. Adams county school Stipt. Glen B. Custard previously ruled'i education afforded 32 Amish children in the religious sect’s frame schoolhouse was about one-half the instruction they would bbtain in a public school. The Amish appealed Custard’s ruling the children should go to public school. ■ i A Young said he will rule-4probably late next week—after a transscript of Thursday’s proceedings is finished. The losers in his ruling then may appeal to the courts. Ten black-qlad Amish adults — the men wear beards and the women wear bonnets — listened quietly Thursday as eight Amish children Were quizzed by the group’s attorney, Robert B. Hartzog of Goshen. The. examination was intended to show the Amish children learn as much as pupils in public schools. \ The Amish said they opposed fiublic school education because heories of evolution taught there contradict BiblicaLaccopnts of the creation of man. , , David P. Girod, 22, teacher of the Amish school, said he does not have a high school diploma nor a teaching license.

Audio Pupils Make Steady Progress J Shutins Visited By Officials Os School Noting the progress of the school’s two audio pupils and their promotion from the fifth to sixth grades, W. Guy Brown, superintendent, Floyd Reed and Hubeft Zerkel, Jr., teachers, rind JHarvy Irwin of the Decatur school board, visited the shutins at their homes yesterday. It will be recalled that a year ago, the Decatur school board, with the cooperation of the Citizens Telephone company, madd, classroom instruction available to the two pupils { in their homes through a telephone* hookup with the classroom. The children are: Naomi Sheets, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Sheets, 803 N. Fifth street and John Paul McAhren, son of Mr. arid Mrs. Paul McAhren, 1212 West Madison street. During the year thriy were promoted to the sixth grade, Supt. Brown reported favorable progress by the two pupils. The children, despite their affliction and long illness, are enthusiastic and cheerful. They follow the regular day’s course of study which cqmes to them through the amplified speakers on the telephone sets in their rooms. ' Families of the two children ex-(Ttu-a To P«<e Eight)

Draft Board Issues Calls For December 4 Fifteen Adams county young men will be called for physicals and nine others will be sent for active induction December 4, it was announced today by the local draft board. It first call received here for some time, it was stated. z S- • The Adams county contingent will go to Indianapolis in a chartered bus, where both groups will be received. Names of those to be inducted will be announced on the date of departure.

Price Five Cehti

Humphrey And Brownell Named To Ike Cabinet . Stassen Appointed . Director Os Mutual 1 Security Agency j i NEW YORK UP — Presidentelect Dwight D. Eisenhower today appointed two mote members of. his cabinet. They are George M. Humphrey, Cleveland, 0., as secretary of treasury and Herbert Brownell Jr., New York City, as Attorney general. Elsenhower h lso announced he Would name Harold E. Stassen, long-time contender for the Republican presidential nomination, as director of the mutual security agency, succeeding W. Averell Harriman, c Brownell was 1944 chairman of the Republican national committee, 1948 director bf the unsuccessful presidential campaign of Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, and iri the current campaign cue of Eisenhower’s top strategists.! Humphrey i< president of the , Mark A. Hanna Co., steel manufacturers, of Cleveland, 0., and . hblds positions on many; industrial ? firms. He Was born in Cheboygan, Micli. rind prdcficed jaw In Saginaw, Mich., before becoming attorney for the Hanna Co. i Stassen, former governor of Min* nesota, has been a perennial contender for the GOP nomination and during the recent campaign was a frequent advisor to the Eisenhower staff. Elsenhower headquarters announced the president-elect would leave by train at 2:30 p.m! for Washington and a reunion of his 1915 West Point class.

James C. Hagerty, press secretary to the president-elect, said Eisenhower would have no other appointments in Washington other than the reunion and would spend Saturday in his residents! quarters at 60 Mornirigsidri Drive, New York City. Otte of Eisenhower’s visitors today said the Ptesident-elect will bypass Japan on his forthcoming Korean trip. “He is just going to Korea and he is not going to Japan," reported Sen. H. Alexander Smith N. J., one of the ranking Republican members of trie senate foreign relations committee. ; This was the first precise news about the Far Eastern trip of the president-elect But merely confirmed Eisenhower’s intention to make a flying trip into war zone and nothing more. Smith, after talking with Eisenhower at his Crimmodore Hotel headquarters, said he thought Eisenhower was 'going to Korea because “it is a number one item and we can’t let the dust settle any longer.” Smith undertook two missions to Korea himself, One in 1949 and another in 1951. ] Smith said he is convinced further negotiations are a waste of time and he proposed, instead, some form of economic blockade against the mainland of China. “The Commies don’t want a truce,” he said. ( \ ,He felt it was a “serious mistake” not to (cut off waterborne commerce with the mainland* of China. Elsenhower also receipted a reI (Torn T® page Etrfct)

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