Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 52, Number 21, Decatur, Adams County, 26 January 1954 — Page 1

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Vol. Lil. No. 21.

Reds Agree To Take Custody Os Prisoners Will Take Custody Os 347 Pro-Red Allied Prisoners PANMUNJOM. Korea, VP —The Communist military command agreed today to take custody of the 347 pro-Red Allied war prls-, oners after a spokesman for the group asked the Reds to make them civilian “peace fighters.” •Radio Pyongyang, Communist North Korea's propaganda outlet, said North Korean Gen. Lee .Sang Cho had asked that the POWs be turned over to the Red command Jan. 28. The request was made in a letter to Lt. Gen. K. S. Thlmayya. head of the Indian custodial force and chairman of the neutral nations repatriation commission. The prisoners,' who have refused repatriation to their homeland, have been in their neutral zone compound since the beginning of the "come home" explanation period. The Communist note said the joint North Korean and Communist Chinese Red Cross had agreed to accept the POWs “to reduce tension in the camp.” The Reds previously had. refused to take the men back on grounds they should be held until a full Korean peace conference decides their fate. The message was broadcast a few hours after the prisoners, including 21 Americans and one Briton, participated in a “press conference" staged by Communist correspondents for a handpicked contingent of Allied reporters. Lee said in the note that with Thimayya’s approval the pro-Reds would be removed from the neutral tone Thursday. The Indian command made no immediate coniwgint. ... .... In another development, the Reds asked special U. S. envoy Arthur H. Dean to reopen the Urtrean peace conference at Panmurijom next Monday. Communist liaison officers walked out of a meeting here after giving an Allied representative a sealed letter addressed to Dean, now in Washington. A Peiping broadcast said the letter proposed that "preliminary talks be resumed on Feb. 1 at Panmunjom." “If you have any sincerity in regard to this problem you will have no reason whatever to reject our proposal,” the , broadcast quoted the letter. "If you intend to propose a date for reopening the preliminary talks, we are ready to. give it our careful consideration.” The broadcast said nothing to indicate that the Communists aro ready to retract the insults or abandon the unacceptable proposals that led to the breakdown of the talks six weeks ago. The Reds refused to say whether (Coatlnued on Pave Et<ht> Order Dishonorable Discharge For 21 Drastic Action Is Ordered By Wilson WASHINGTON UP — Twentyone American Gls who chose communism in Korea faced dishonorable discharges today as congress debated punishment of those who goopersted ” lth Reds hut returned to freedom. Defense secretary Charles E. Wilson ordered the army to take the drastic action against the 21 war prisoners who elected to stay wlththeßedsafter the -J am 22 deadline for repatriation expired. The action halted pay and benefits that have been building up for ‘ the 21 holdouts who are living in the neutral “no-man’s land” of Korea between Communist and United Nations lines. But Wilson said If any of the men return to the United States they can petition the army for are View of theii case and the army secretary could overturn his ruling. The military, meanwhile, drew both congressional support and criticism in its action against a prisoner who changed his mind about staying with the Commu- > nists and another who confessed to “germ warfare” charges. Three relatives of Cpl. Edward Dickenson, the 23-year-old Virginia mountain boy who changed his mind about communism and now faces possible court martial .are en route here from their remote Cracker’s Neck, Va., home. They are his bride, ate, a halt-brother : and a brother-in-law. ’ • A spokesman said the “army is (Cobtinned oa Page Five)

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Begin Four Power Talks E|JL ' I . JwanK BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY Anthony Eden (left), and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov (right), talk with other representatives of the Big Four powers in the conference room of the Allied Control Authority building in West Berlin before the opening of the fournation talks. Molotov later threw cold water on Western optimism that the talks would move smoothly toward a unified Germany and’ Austrian peace without consideration of Red' China.

Coffee Prices = Continuing On Upward Spiral tittle Resistance To Buying Reported Throughout Country By UNITED PRESS — Coffee prices rose in a steady spiral today with only scattered re-sistauc*-4rem housewives and restauranteurs. -— In fact, retailers in many localities reported that sales had increased recently as householders rushed to stockup on the beans needed for America’s favorite hot beverage. Experts warned that the worst was yet to come with prices possibly hitting f 1.25 a pound at the end of February. They bald retailers still had not passed on to their customers the latest wholesale price raisek. Coffee was becoming so precious that at Chicago, a gang of burglars high-jacked 12,000 pounds — valued at $1 a pound — from a warehouse, and police said coffee had joined liquor and cigarets as a high grade form of loot. In Southern California, housewives were reported sending chain letters urging recipients to switch to some other beverage for a month to force prices down. Los Angeles housewives were talking of possible ‘‘coffeeless Wednesdays" and a mild buyer’s strike was reported there. Retailers at Washington, D. €., reported some customers were switching, from luxury blends to standard brands. • , Radio station KSWI at Council Bluffs, la., said a .telephone survey showed -coffee consumption there and in nearby Omaha, Neb., is down "20 to 40 percent.” The station, campaigning to bring prices down, has played a jingle over the air: “I like coffee, I like tea — but coffee is Loo high for me.” The Rhode Island. Wisconsin and lowa Restaurant Associations joined New York food retailers in urging their members to push sales of milk and tea to customers to bring coffee prices back "within reason.” New York food retailers took similar action. At Boston and Des Moines, several stores were selling coffee at cost or taking a less, using tire commodity as a “leader” for other, sales. One Des Moines retailer, for example, sold coffee at 79 cents a (Continued on Paise Five) Monmouth Mothers 1 March On Thursday The Mothers March of Dimes in Monmouth and Root township, will be staged Thursday evening. Mrs. Harold Owens, chairman for the district, announced today. A corps of volunteers was being organized today by Mrs. Owens for the house-to-house soliciting Os funds in the polio drive. Residents are asked to turn on their porch light, or display other evidence in front of their house that they are home and will welcome the solicitor?. ..The Mothers March of Dimes canvass will be made ta Decatur Friday evening between 6:30 and 7:30 o’clock.

County 4-H Clubs Buy Monroe Site 10-Acre Tract Os Land Is Purchased Adams county's 4-H clubs have a new home and Peter B. Lehman, prominent Washington township farmer who sponsored the project, heads the list of contributors for improvement of th? new grqunds with a JIOO gift. The new home is a 10-acre tract of land directly east of the new Adams Central school property iu Monroe. The tract waspurchased from‘Mr. and Mrs. Gall Hendricks and Mrs. Elizabeth Hendricks and the Adams county extension committee also has a working agreement with Adams Central school board concerning use of the school property. Final vote for the site totalled 51 of the 54 voting members present. Other sites considered included the old country club .tract at the south edge of Decatur; Hanna-Nuttman park in Decatur and the present site on the Haggard property near the old Monroe school building. Following the acceptance of the new proposal yesterday, which was presented by Lehman, the executive committee and Lewis L. Smith, extension committee attorney, met with the Hendricks and worked out a sales agreement, calling for a total price of about 87,000. Retiring treasurer Henry Getting made the first payment of $3,000 on the land. The agreement was signed for the 4-H group by Benjamin Mazelin as president and Mrs. Harold Ziegler as secretary. Construction plans, and also the building of a road to connect the tract with Adams Central school, will be made soon, it was learned. The 4-H area, purchased yesterday, runs from the Adams Central property Jine eastward to old state road 27 and extension committee members point out that this area with the use of the Adams Central facilities will give the 4-Hers plenty of room for future expansion. I — ■ i Triple Murder In Minnesota Home Report Family Car And Son Missing ~ SHERBURN, Minn., UP — A businessman, his wife and mother-in-law were shot to death in their home here today. The bodies of Tony J. Wisdorf, 50, his wife, and mother-in-law, were found in the home here. Wisdorf operates a grocery store here. Officials said it was an "apparent triple murder” and said the family car was missing. The family's son, Richard Wisdorf, 15. also was missing. Authorities said they believed his disappearance might have been connected With the deaths. The three had been shot with a ,22-caliber rifle. The bodies were found in the combination home and store here. State crime agents were alerted and the bodies were left in the position In which they were found until crime bureau aggnts could arrive from St. Paul. The family car was a 1950 twodoor Dodge, bearing 1954 license plate numbers 717-837. Officials (Tara Ta Page Five)

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY ... . .

■ , .... ~ , ;T ■ ■ Decatut Indiana, Tuesday, January 26,1954.

Dulles Rejects Russian Demand To Include Red 1 j '■ ry China In Peace Parley

President In Bitter Attack On Amendment AleshinaAttack By Eisenhower On Bricker Proposal WASHINGTON, UP—President Eisenhower's slashing attack on the Bricker amendment made senate Republican leaders more confident than ever that they can defeatthe hotly disputed proposal. In the strongest terms he has used yet, Mr. Eisenhower charged late Monday that the plan to curb his treaty-making powers could destroy the government’s ability "to achieve and maintain peace." GOP leaders believe the statement dealt a heavy blow to the) Bricker forces. They still are bending every effort io get Sen. John W. Bricker, R-Ohio to agree to a compromise to prevent a fight that would split the party wide open. But senate GOP leader William F. K nowland said the amendment probably will come up for debate Wednesday and Bricker indicated today he has no intention of retreating an inch. .The Bricker amendment would rSjuire both the house and senate — and in some cases state legislatures — to pass special leg; islation before treaties can become law. They now become law with only senate approval. In a letter to Know land, the President said he is “unalterably opposed" to the proposal because “we cannot hope to achieve and maintain peace if we shackle the federal government so that it is no longer sovereign in foreign affairs.” "The president must not be deprived of his historic position as the spokesman for the nation in its relations with other countries,” he said. He warned that the proposal “would impair our hopes and plans for peace and for the suc(Continued on Page Six) Outline Districts In County Election And Council Districts Ed F. Jaberg, county clerk, said that at the request of several Adams county people, he was stipulating the territory Included in f ebShtyeommissibnerdistfictFlfnd’ also councilmanic districts. The first commissioner district includes Preble township, Root township. Union township, Kirkland township, the north half of French township and the north halt of Blue Creek township. The second district include? Washlngton township and the north half of Monroe township. _■ The third district includes Hartford township, Wabash township. Jefferson township, the south half of French township;.the south half of Monroe township and the south half of Blue Creek township. All voters of the county vote on candidates from each of the three districts, but candidates must reside in the district which they desire to represent. There are four councilmanic districts and the voters of each of these districts vote only for the candidate from their own district plus three candidates at large, which may be from any part of the county. The councilmanic districts are: First district’: Preble, Root. Union, Kirkland and St. Mary’s townships. Second district: Washington township. Third district: Monroe, Blue Creek and Jefferson townships. Fourth district: French, Hartford and Wabash townships.

Candidate ' John A. Kintz Kintz Is Candidate For Commissioner To Seek Nomination On Democrat Ticket John A. Kintz, lifelong Washington township farmer who operates his own 90-acre farm west of DecatWr, today announced'hTS Candida*'y tor • commissioner of the second district, subject to the decision of Democrat voters,in the May primary election. Kintz, if successful in his bid, would succeed Otto Hoffman, who is serving the second district a second three-year term. The candidate is a former Democrat precinct cotmmitteeiman, but he has never held an public Office. *- The father of 10 children, Kintz has long been active in farm and 4-H eTub circles of Hie county: He is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic church, Decatur, and served for. four years as a trustee of that church. He is a member of the Decatur lodge Knights of Columbus and of the Preble volunteer fire department. Kintz is the first candidate to announce for commissioner of the seco“nd district. Harley Reef, incumbent in third district, recently his intentions of seeking the c?stomiry second term. Kintz said that he would maike an active campaign for the post for which he believed he was qualified through his numerous county activities. Os his 10 chllden, one son, William, is serving in the United States navy in California. New ABC Chairman H. De Witt Owen Is Appointed By Craig INDIANAPOLIS, UP — Gov. Craig today appointed 11. DeWitt Owen as new chairman of the Infl iana alcoholic beverage commit sion. Owen, former Vigo circuit judge at Terre Haute, has been state public welfare administrator since early in Craig’s administration. The governor promoted Richard H. Sweitzer Jr., Knightstown, now assistant administrator, to succeed Owen. He said the appointments are efefetive Wednesday. The appointment was regarded as a surprise—Owen's name had not been included in almost half a dozen speculated as successors to Joseph B. Kyle. The governor forced Kyle to resign last week. Craig by-passed Dan M. Cravens of Franklin, other Republican member of the ABC, in selecting a chairman. Cravens had been acting chairman since Kyle’s resignation, and tome sources believed he would get the. post permanently. Cravens said he wants to avoid deadlocked votes on future beer (Continued on Pace Eight)

Senate Group Favors Beeson On Labor Board Democrats Charge Steamroller Move By GOP MembeflF WASHINGTON, UP — Democrat?;, charged “steamroller” today as the Senate labor committee overrode union protests and approved the nomination of Albert C. Beeson to the national labor relations board. The vote was seven Republicans for the nomination to six Democrats against. It came shortly after CIO secretary treasurer James B. Carey joined United Mine workers president John L. Lewis in opposing Beeson, who until recently was industrial relations vicepresident of the Food Machinery & Chemical Co. Carey personally and Lewis in a telegram accused Beeson of antilabor bias. Sen. Herbert H. Lehman (D-N. Y.), who said he was speaking for other Democratic committee members. made the “steamroller” charge immediately after a short closed committee meeting at which the 7-6 vote was cast. Committee Republicans replied to Lehman’s charge by assailing “delaying tactics” of the Democrats. Lehman accused the Republicans of "an attempt to steamroller the nomination through the committee without hearings sufficient to disclose all the facts." In its short secret session, held after Carey had completed his testimony, the committee unanimously approved the nomination of Robert O. Boyd to the federal mediation board and Edward Steidle to the coal mine safety board. Lewis had charged Beeson by his own testimony before the committee in the. past had shown a “vengeful attitude toward labor which borders on hysterical malignancy.” Lewis’ telegram, made available by a senator, called attention to (Turn Tn Pare HUrbt) Elks Cancer Parly Is Aided By Public Organizations And Individuals Assist The cancer fund drive, sponsored by the Decatur Elks, is part of the state wide project of the Inproceeds of which are prorated to Indiana and Purdue Universities to assist those institutions in their cancer research work. •Exalted ruler George Bair stated, “the Decatur Elks chfb is proud of the part it has played in this worthwhile project. While recogSizing our local lodge and its members for the part they have token, we are also especially proud of Decatur, its business organizations, who have assisted us in putting our cancer fund drive over-the-top and giving Decatur much favorable publicity throughout our state Elks affiliations”, he commented. Bair further stated, “we have been highly honored by the offers trf assistance from other local fraternal lodges and sororities and by the free wiH offerings from business establishments of gifts to give away at our fourth annual cancer fund party, Saturday, February 6. He also stressed the work of the Emblem club, the Elks ladies auxiliary, as being one dt the main reasons for success of past cancer fund drives. The Emblem club will again feature a smorgasbord for all who attend the party this. year. Tickets are selling for $1.50 and many be obtained from Elk members or at the lodge home on N. Second street.

Drive Chairman Rev. L. T. Norrie r Rev. Norris Heads Red Cross Campaign County Chairman Os Annual Fund Drive The Rev. Lawrence Norris, pastor of the Union Chapel Evangelical United Brethren church, northeast of Decatur, jsas eleeted county chairman of the T9®4 Red Cross drive, which opens here and throughout the nation March 1. The quota for the county is $14.200, In which the county chapter will share GO percent and the National Red Cross 40 percent. The total includes a ten percent overage as a goal to wipe out the deficiency in last year’s campaign. Last year, was raised in this city and county. Contributions to the 1953 fund from the different- localities in the county follow: County rural areas, $2,645.25; Berne, $1,231: Decatur, $4,800.67 Geneva $343; Linn Grove, $100.75; Monmouth $3.50; Monroe. $92; Pleasant Mills, $30.40; Preble, $35. To meet this year’s quota, contributions from these areas will have to be Increased about 21 percent, Rev. Norris stated. Ministers in the county will head the campaign in the various townships, towns and cities in the county. Enrolled under the slogan, “Answer the Call—Join and Serve”, the ministers wil Ispread the Red Cross message of “People Helping People". A majority of the ministers attended the Monday luncheon and meeting at the Rice hotel and Rev. Norris announced that he would appoint chairmen for the towns and cities and townships. Special chairmen will also be named to head the different departments for the drive, including those for business. industrial, professional and special gifts. •• ... - - Alva J. McAndless z Dies In New Orleans JOva J. McAandless, 63, president of the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., of Fort Wayne, business and clrtc leader, died unexpectedly of a coronary attack last night in New Orleans. Mr. McAndless, who became president of the insurance company in 1939, had been attending business conventions in Florida and Louisiana for the past three weeks. He was, recognized as one of the outstanding insurance company executives in the country. During his presidency Lincoln Life climbed from 19th to ninth place in size. He is survived by his-. wife and a son, Hugh McAndless, the latter a student at Hanover T®geINDIANA WEATHER Cloudy and somewhat colder tonight and Wednesday with occasional snow likely extreme north, snow, sleet or rain central, and rain extreme south. Low tonight 22-28 northwest, 28-35 southeast; high Wednesday 30*35. '

IJ'mothers’ A ON POUOjg

Price Five Cents

Dulles Agrees To Discussion On Red China Secretary Os State Disappointed Over Molotov's Address * t"' "* —" • BERLIN UP — Secretary of state John Foster Dulles today rejected Soviet Russian demands for a Big Five world peace conference including Communist China. But he accepted Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav M. Molotov’s proposed agenda for the Big Four foreign ministers* conference which would make a meeting with China its No. 1 item for discussion. "The United States is willing to deal with and to dispose of* the item dealing with Red China, Dulles said, apparently meaning he would discuss it but warning in advance Be would also reject it. Point by point, in a 27-minute speech, Dulles replied to the blast Monday in which Molotov demanded virtual western capitulatlon ta the Krefnlin as the price for world peace.. He warned that by trying°to keep Germany helpless, Russia was gofog back to the days of the Versallies peace conference and risking another world war. Expressing “profound disappointment” at Molotov's speech, Dulles said: “Mr. Molotov evoked the spirit of vengeance and of hatred which ■ marked the il-fated treaty of Versallled.” Rejecting Soviet demands for the neutralization of Germany, he warned that the World War I Versailles treaty showed that a great country can not be kept down. White he offered to “dispose of” the Big Five conference question, Dulles said: "Germany is a matter which primarily concerns us here, and the sooner we can get ‘ to it, the better.’’ — . The German and Austrian trea- ■- ties were the second and third items on Molotov's agenda. Dulles branded as a “grotesque inversion of history” Molotov’s threat that the North Atlantic treaty organization and the European army treaty might force Russia to set up rival alliances. “It is said that today, nine years since the German armistice, one of the parties to the Yalta conference should attempt to re viva the bitterness.and the hatred of those days and the cruel decisions which that hatred and bitterness occasioned,” Dulles said. —Turning to Molotov’s attack on Western .European defense plans Dulles said: “The Soviet foreign minister suggested that the formation of a European or North Atlantic treaty military force might lead to the creation of a defensive alliance of other European countries, thus splitting Europe into two opposing military groups of states. ’This is a gross inversion of history.” After World War II Western Europe was left ‘t’otally devoid of military strength," Dulles said. The western nations, he said, depended on the peace pledges of the United Nations. Russia’s insistence on the acceptance ot Red China* as one of the “so-called five great powers” was “another disheartening aspect” of Molotov’s speech, Dulles said. Dulles termed Red China £ “convicted aggressor.” T would like to state here plainly and unequivocally what the Soviet foreign minister already knows —the United States will not agree to join in a five - power conference with the Chinese Communist agressors for the purpose of . dealing generally with peace of the world . . . “Moreover, the United States rejects the Soviet concept that any so-called "five great powers’ have a right to rule the world and to determine the desfinitiea of other (Tara To Page Six)