Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 52, Number 295, Decatur, Adams County, 16 December 1954 — Page 1

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Vol. 111. No. 295.

■ Life Terms For ‘Thrill Kill’

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“THRILL KILLERS’* Melvin Mittman, 17 (second from left), and Jack Koelow, 18 (second from right), are led from court in New York after being sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnaping Willard Menter, 34, beating him and throwing him into the East river to die. Their record shows a list of brutal "thrill" beatings committed in Brooklyn. N. Y„ barks and elsewhere.

Secy. Wilson Maps Slash In Army Strength Defense Secretary Plans Program To Build Up Reserves WASHINGTON (fNS)—Defense secretary Charles E. Wilson today mapped a further reduction in army strength to correspond to an Increase in civilian reserve forces during the next 18 months. The proposed reduction, to be paid before the new congress in January, would cut the army close to one million men. as compared with 1,409,600 last June 30. The army is reducing its forces by more than 200,000 during the current fiscal year. Wilson, returning from a trip to Louisiana, told newstften Wednesday night that the net result would be armed forces Totaling "something less" than the 3,047,000 men they are now scheduled to have when the fiscal year closes next June 30. The secretary pointed out that be has proposed • a sweeping program to build up the reserves. He added: "A sound reserve program should mean fewer men in the standing forces. This is especially true of the army, which benefits most from the reserve plan." The air force and navy are to be permitted to stay close to their present manpower goals. The- defense department has announced that It will ask a fourv < year extension in the draft and will couple this with a proposal that would Increase the active reserves from 750,000 to 2,500,000 men. — Instead of being drafted, a youth •would be permitted to take a sixmonth training course and then serve in the reserves for eight years. Wilson was asked about reports that the army would be cut another 100,000 men—-the same question asked President Eisenhower at his news conference Wednesday. The President said jokingly that the report would have to be accepted as authoritative. The defense secretary refused to give definite figures, but said he may be able to do so at a news conference Friday afternoon BULLETIN RENO (INS) — A sharp earthquake jarred Reno and surroundings today and was' also felt pyer a wide area of California. There were no Immediate reports of property damage. In Reno a tremor was felt at 3:09 a.m. (PST) and a more severe shock at 3:15 a.m. Cropping J o • IA 0 o • ® rw?J 1 o O o o ° '*» W aQ —X — 1 • (Y U 0 SpjtM 4 °-

Defense Describes Sheppard As Gentle Murder Case Slated For Jurors Friday CLEVELAND (INS) — Dr. Sam Sheppard was described today as a man with the heart and hands of a gentle healer inqapable of murder. Chief defense counsel William Corrigan, in an emotion - packed » summation to save the sobbing osr teopath from the electric chair, i held alopt the hands of the ap- > cused wife-killer and thundered: “These gentlemen (the state) would have you believe that ’he J committed the act of a depraved i person, committed an act with a ! malicious heart. 1 “That with these hands he killed his wife. With these hands which s he worked over a little boy that > same day and tried to bring him back to life. j “With these hands that have tended the sick and the wounded, j “With these hands that have been trained to cure and not to i kill. , “Ladies and gentlemen will you t accept it’” Corrigan declared that while Dr. . Sam “strayed from the path of rectitude” with hie admitted mis--9 tress. Susan Hayes, he loved deeply his wife, Marilyn, and seven- } year-old son. Chip. The final arguments before the ? nine-week old case goes to a jury Friday morning, heard the defense } plead with the jury to believe Dr. . Sam did not have the capability to commit “so revolting a crime” as the bludgeon murder of his pregnant wife. Corrigan declared the police and 1 prosecutors made a mistake in 1 charging the handsome osteopath with the 4th of July crime and * "are not big enough to admit it.” Associate counsel Fred Garmone 1 charged police bungling of the in- - vestlgation and a pattern of "coni viction by whip rather than wit" 1 began from the moment the probe began. i Throughout the morning as his . life was placed on the line. Dr. . Sam broke down and wept as his wife, child and his unborn son. . were mentioned. r The prosecution will make its > final move this afternoon to convince the jury Dr. Sam is a de- > praved love- cheat and killer who , , should be sent to the electric , chair. Couple Found I)ead In Parked Automobile VALPARAISO. Ind. (INS) ~ Tests were run today to determine cause of death of an Indiana state prison guard and a young woman, whose bodies were found In a car parked along Lake Michigan. Dead were Walter D. Dill, 31. ; of Mishawaka, and Miss Marcella Lublnieckl, 24, believed to have : been, the victims of carbon mon- : oxide poisoning. Grand Jury Files Report Saturday The grand jury for the Novem- 1 ber term of the Adams circuit 1 court will file a report Saturday. ' Jury members, who have met in several sessions since they were 1 called Dec. 7, will be dismissed but not discharged when the report I 1 is. filed. INDIANA WEATHER , Cotidy tonight and Friday. Rain south and rain or snow i north beginning late tonight i or Friday. Warmer central and ■ south tonight. Low tonight 3035 north, 36-44 south. High | Friday 35-40 north, 42-48 south.

Dispute Over Saar Threat To Paris Accords Crisis Threatens Ratification Os Paris Agreements PARIS (INS) —A grave FrancoGerman crisis over the Saar threatened today to endanger the ratification of the Paris accords on German rearmament. International News Service learned that this issue has assumed such serious proportions that French Premier Pierre Men-des-France decided to place it at the top of his agenda for his meeting today with U. S. secretary of state John Foster Dulles and British foreign secretary Anthony Eden. Mendes-France, who also is foreign minister, and his AngloAmerican counterparts will discuss the possibility of inviting West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to come to Paris immediately to discuss the problem. The new dispute might delay, if not imperil entirely, the French and possibly the German, ratification of the Paris agreements. Because of this danger, the issue overshadowed all other problems confronting the ministers of the 14 North Atlanta treaty organization nations who gathered in Paris for the Atlantic Council meeting beginning Friday. The Franco - German difficulty resulted from the different interpretations Paris and Bonn were placing on the Saar agreement which Mendes-France and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer reached iu Paris in October. Adenauer maintained that under the terms the Saar remains part of Germany although temporarily separated. Mendes-France, for French internal political reasons, was compelled to oppose vigorously this interpretation and take the position that the Saar must remain permanently detached from Germany. French government sources feafr ed that reluctant supporters of the Paris accords giving Bonn sovereignty and a national army might use the Saar dispute as an excuse to reject them and blame Germany. Mendes-France's ) own political future was involved in the complicated issue. \ Convinced that a political plot exists to overthrow his government soon after ratification of the accords, some of the premier’s advisors were urging him to bring about his cabinet's defeat on some other issue. He would thereby avoid responsibility for having provided for German rearmament. Concert And Dance Here Friday Night To Provide Funds For Band Uniforms Clint >Repd, director of the Decatur high school band, has announced the program for the concert which the band will present Friday night to raise money for new uniforms. The concert will open with exerpts from Mozart's “Magic Flute" followed by “Malaguena" by the concert band. A medley including “Sophisticated Lady" and "Summertime” will feature Jerry Kaehr, saxaphonist. and Sheila Ahr, soprano. "Begin the Beguine” will be next on the program and a vocal solo will be presented by Bob Sprague, who will sing "Count Your Blessings.” Ronnie Robinson, trombonist, will be soloist in a swing arrangement of "Sleepy Time Gal.” “Mr. Sandman” will be sung by the Melodears, a girls qaaftet including Sheila Ahr. Dana Dalzell, Jane Rentz and Anita Smith. “St. Louis Blues” will complete the first portion of the program. One of the highlights of the concert will be a medley of Christmas numbers composed by members of the band. The Christmas portion of the concert will also include an unusual number entitled "Indian Christmas Carol,” featuring Sheila Ahr and the Melodears. A novelty number, "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth," will be presented by Jerry Kaehr during the Christmas section. ’ 1 . John Paul McAbren will be featured In another novelty number, a hillbilly entitled "Onions." The program will close with the "Bay State March” which is composed of several Christmas carols. The program which begins at

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur; Indiana, Thursday, December 16, 1954.

' ' - ' - 1 —• ’ ——, — r , 48 Persons Meet Death On Nation’s Highways On Safe Driving Day - . -

- UN Assembly Slated To End Session Friday Awaits Answer By . Peiping To Bid On Freeing Prisoners (UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. (INS) —The UN assembly was to clear the decks today for Friday's windup session while still awaiting a Peiping answer bid to discuss UN personnel held by Red China. The political committee debated Tunisia today, last of the sore spots on the agenda, following two other issues were disposed of Wed- ' nesday in committee action. iMeanwhile, tiie UN secretary ' general made plans to fly to Stockholm Friday night at 6 ' o'clock EST amid hopes the Pei--1 ping regime would invite him to the capital for face-to-face talks on freeing 11 U. S. fliers imprison- ; ed as spies and other UN POWs, Hammfartlkjold was fully confident that he would know by the • weekend whether to return to UN headquarters from Stockholm next i Wednesday or begin his “mission . to Peiping" from the Swedish capL ital. The UN chief was directed by an assembly resolution to report , back to the global body on wbat> ( has been done to Secure the 'r«fc . lease the American airmen and • other UN personnel held in violaj tion of the Korean truce. Veteran advisers strongly urged Hanrmarskjold to “sit tight” despite the five-day silence from the Peiping government to the UN chief's cabled request of last Friday for sac to — face talks with • Premier Chou En-Lai. The political committee virtually ' wrapped up Its agenda Wednes- ’ day by disposing of the Greek ’■ item calling for self-determination 1 for the British-held island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. By a vote of 49 to 0. with 11 absentions, the committee voted to shelve further consideration of the question. Cardinal Mindszenty Reported Released No Confirmation Os Reported Release VIENNA (INS) — Joseph Cardinal Roman Catholic primate of Hungary, was reported today to have been released from prison by the Communist Budapest government. He was said to be living afc his former Archbishop's residence at Esztergom, 60 miles northwest of the capital. The report, however, could not be confirmed Immediately, and the Cardinal’s whereabouts remained a mystery. The source of the report was a Catholic official In Vienna who received it from a French businessman just returned from Budapest. Prelate Jacob Fried, the head of the Catholic press in Austria confirmed that he had received the report of the Cardinal's release Wednesday night "from a source which I consider extremely reliable.*' However, a telephoned query to the Archbishop's palace at Esztergom was answered briefly “The Cardinal is not here.” When the person at the other end df the line was asked about the report of the Cardinal's release, he would say only: “I cannot say anything.” When informed of tire negative response at Esztergom, Fried said: “They might not be interested In giving publicity to the release yet." The church official said he did not consider the statement from the Archbishop's palace a straight denial. Viennese church authorities were (Continued on Page Five)

Reassuring Report On Pope's Condition X-Ray Examination Made This Morning VATICAN CITY (INS) —Physicians who took an X-ray of Pope Plus XII today presented a "reassuring” report that the Pontiff Was not euffering from an ulcer or malignancy but a "hiatus of the esophagus and accompanying gastiitie." The hiatus is described as a break in the canal between the throat and the stomach. This was established by the Pontiffs doctors on the basis of X-ray plates taken this morning during a. two-hour examination of the 78-year-old patient's stomach. His intestinal tract will be X-rayed this afternoon. The possibility of a malignancy or an ulce’r in the stomach was excluded, and the, Vatican Press -Service announced: ‘The results of the radiological examination of the Holy Father are reassuring." The Pope’s ailment, described in some reports as a hernia of the diaphragm, was said by one Vatican source to be “not a serious condition.” The informant added; “I think the Pope will get well. He will he able to resume normal feeding and work." The official bulletin issued by the panel of specialists after consultations with the radiology ex- * pert* who made the examination said: « ’. • ''Radiological examination established the existeoce of a small diverticulum or hiatus of the esophagus ahd accompanying gastritis." The esophagus is the canal between the throat and the stomach. A diverticulum or hiatus is a blind tube or sac branching out from a canal. This sac is at the point where the Pope's esophagus passes through the diaphragm. One of the doctors who partici(Continued on Page. Five) Wayne Rothgeb Will Be Banquet Speaker Banquet Sponsored By Lions Os County Wayne Rothgeb, farm director of radio and television station WKJG, will be the main speaker at the annual junior leaders achievement banquet at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church December 28 at 6:30 o’clock, Miss Gloria Koeneman, county ~~ 4-H leader, said today. The banquet will be sponsored by the five Lions clubs of Adams county for the young leaders of the county’s 29 4-H eluhs, representing 800 boys and girls from all the 12 townships of the bounty. JBhn Ripley, president of the junior leaders, Is arranging the program for the evening, which will include many awards. Junior leadership awards will be presented to Roger Koeneman, of Preble township, a*d Audrey Kuhn, of Jefferson township. A total of 17 special award badges will be presented to 15 winners in various fields. Included in the ceremony will be Alan Miller, of Washington township, electricity: Mary Lou Lewion, Root township, electricity; Elaine Blakey, Union township, health; Carolyn King, St. Mary’s electricity: Norma Jean Bailey, St. Mary’s, home improvement; Charles Wolfe St. Mary's township, electricity; Dianne Liechty, Monroe township, frozen foods. Mark Hylton, Wabash township, gardening; Ruth Teeter, Wabash township, clothing; Colleen Egly, Jefferson township, girls record and health; Alice Stuber, Jefferson, clothing and frozen foods; Rachel Stolz, Jefferson township, home grounds beautification; Patricia Bollenbacher, Jefferson township,'canning; Esibell Burkhart, Jefferson, clothing; and Carol Wall, Jefferson township, clothing. ' Junior leaders who plan to attend the banquet should return their cards by December 23. I

Russia Makes New Move To Block Accords Warns Step Would i Be Annulment Os Pact With France MOSCOW (INS) — Russia in another attempt to block ratification of the Paris agreements to rearm a sovereign West Germany warned officially today that such a step would mean annulment of the 1944 Franco-Soviet mutual assistance treaty. The French national assembly is scheduled to begin debate on the Paris agreements Monday. The Soviet note was handed to French Ambassador Louis Joxe in Moscow by Soviet foreign minister V. M. Molotov. Molotov last week rebuffed French efforts to sound out the Soviet government on a possible . Big Four confeence on Germany . next spring — after ratification i of the accords. ~ Molotov’s note said: "The whole responsibility for I this (any treaty annulment) will fall on France and the French gov- ' ernment.” In Paris sources close to • French Premier Pierre Mendesl France said Russia’s virtual ultimatum on the alliance will not ' deter him from seeking ratlflca- ' tion of the Paris accords. ; However, it is feared that the note will strengthen Parliamen- ' tary opposition and may lead to a demand for postponement of the 1 debate scheduled to start Monday. 1 The Soviet note topped the ‘ Franco-German dispute over the coal-ich Saar territory as' a priority item of discussion when the big three western foreign ministers meet prior to-Friday's 14metnber NATO council meeting. I The 1944 Franco-Soviet treaty of i alliance and mutual assistance was negotiated by Gen. Charles De Gatilie, the free French leader who then was French chief of state and who went to Moscow for talks with then Premier Stalin. Britain also has a similar 20-year mutual aid pact with 'Russia negotiated in 1942 after the Nazis attacked Russia. Elkhart Fire Loss More Than SIOO,OOO ELKHART, Ind. (INS) —Damage was estimated today at more than 1100,000 from the fire which swept through a store in Elkhart. An overheated furnace was believed responsible for the Wednesday blaze which damaged most of the inside of the Wambaugh garage and appliance store. Roy 0. Wells Dies Here Last Evening Funeral Services On Friday Morning Roy Otis Wells, 75, lifelong resident of Adams county, died at 5 o’clock Wednesday evening at the Adams county memorial hospital, where he had been a patient for the past six weeks He was born in Adams county Jhn. 20, 1879, a son of David T. and Hannah L. McGath-Wells, and had never married. An employe of the Decatur Cooperage Co. until it was destroyed by fire, he had lived at the county home for the past 17 years. Surviving are a sister, Mrs. , Maud Merriman of Decatur, and a brother, .Clarence A. Welts of Muskegon, Mich. Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Friday at the Zwick funeral home, with burial in the Tricker cemetery near Salem. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 o’clock this evening until time of the .services.

1000th Traffic Death In Indiana Indiana Records I,oooth 1954 Death INDIANAPOLIS (INS)—lndiana recorded its I,oooth highway death of 1954 today on the "strength” of a nation-leading S. D. Day fatality toll. ‘ Five deaths on President Eisenhower's safe driving day led all states, surpassing New Mexico’s four, and today’s deaths pushed the state total to the 1,000 figure state officials had hoped to avert this year. Indiana took the lead in the accidental death department for S-D Day when Byron E. Tonnls, 43. of Indianapolis, died today of injuries suffered Wednesday night when his car struck an abutment in the capital city. Today’s victims were Robert E. Anderson, £2, of Martinsville, killed when he stepped in front of a truck driven by Jesse Lee Tribby, of Bloomington, along Ind. 37, and George O. Johnson. 38, of Cleveland, killed when his .car rammed a tree along IT. S. G west of Ligonier. State police today reported the fourth S-D Day fatality-Woodrow Kennedy, 36. of West Lebanon, who was injured fatally along U. S. 41 when he was pinned under his overturned coal truck northwest at Indianapolis. 'South Bend appeared to have won a safety cohte|t with Gary, Fort Wayne and Evansville. The . demerit Count was South Bend six, Evansville seven, Gary' 10 and Fort i Wayne 26. Belated accidents reported, however, may upset the standings. A mother and son died instantly when tbeir car collided head-on with a dump truck on Road 150 in Libertyville (Vigo county). The victims were Mrs. Jenny Gwinn. 83, of Newman, 111., and Edward Gwinn, 54, of Oakland, 111. Mrs. Gladys Gwinn, wife bf the victim, was hurt critically. Virgil Keith, 39, of near Rising Sun. died when his pickup truck skidded on icy paving and plunged down an embankment along Road 262. a half mile west of Rising Sun.. Two others died on safety day of injuries suffered in previous accidents. They were Elmer J. Fortner Jr., 27, of Mount Carmel, lit, and James R. Ballenger. 46, of Fairmount. Fortner was Injured in a twp-car collision late Tuesday on Road 64, six miles west of Princeton in which Harold Deal, 31, of Owensville, was killed instantly and Wil(Continued on Page Five) Suspends Sentence For Check Forgery Ohio Man Is Given Suspended Sentence A suspended two to 14 year sentence was given Wednesday to Urban George Wlrkner, 43, of Fort Recovery, 0., who entered a plea of guilty to a charge of forgery in Adams circuit court. Wirkner has been held in the Adams county jail under a >3,000 bond. He was charged with cashing a forged check In the Glenn Moote store at Geneva. In Suspending the sentence, Judge Myles Parrish stated that he had considered the fact that Wirkner had made full restitution for the forgery and appeared genuinely sorry for the offense. Judge Parrish also warned him that the suspension could be revoked if Wirkner failed to conform in the future. Wirkner Is now being held in the local jail on a detainer for parole violation Issued by Ohio authorities. (Prosecuting attorney Lewis Lutz Smith pointed out that the suspension does not mean that Wirkner will be released. Since he man Is a parole violator be will be imprisoned by Ohio official*. By suspending the senter.ee here the expense of incarcerating him Is shifting from Indiana to Ohio taxpayers.

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Indiana Leads Nation With Five Deaths Safe Driving Day Not A Complete Success In U. S. i CHICAGO (INS) — Delayed reports indicated today that at least 48 persons died in traffic accidents during the nation’s first, safe driving day, 12 less than on the comparabe day last December. Rear Admiral H. B. Miller, director of President Eisenhower's action committee for traffic safety, shid S-D Day was not a complete success but it demonstrated that citizens can “bring about a substantial reduction” in accidents. Latest International News Service reports based on police records listed 1,603 persons injured in 3,617 accidents. During the comparable Wednesday last year 60 persons died, 1,807 were hurt, and there were 4,907 mishaps. Indiana led the nation in S-D Day deaths with five, pushing the , Hoosier state’s 1954 traffic fatalities to 1,001 for 1954. New Mex- , ico recorded four deaths for the > runnerup spot in fatality tolls Wednesday. • > Miller declared the reduced toll . offered encouragement that “arous- > ed public opinion and concerted > effort can and will bring about a - substantial reduction in the traffic ' toll—and sooner than we think.” ' He added: "We thank the millions of Americans who sincerely tried Wednesday to avoid an accident and succeeded. If we can do it on S-D Day, we can do it every day.” S-D Day, the first nationwide safety campaign of its kind, was launched after President Eisenhower’s appeal to try to go 24 hours—from 12:01 a.m. Dec. 15 to midnight—without a single traffic accident. He urged Americans to obey traffic regulations, use common sense and keep alert. School children, civic groups, women's clubs and the man on the street joined with traffic officials and police in an all-out effort to put S-D Day across. But the unexpected intruded. A few minutes after midnight, Adelbert Jacobs Jr., of rural Waterford, Wis., was killed when his cat* rammed into a utility pole. This- was believed to be the nation's first death on S-D Day. Then, the shriek of tires and crash of metal sounded across country highways and city streets " alike. The heaviest toll came in the early mording and late evening as millions went to and from their jobs. Fifteen hours after the starting point, the District of Columbia counted 24 accidents, equaling the toll of the 1953 December day. But in the President’s boyhood home of Abilene, Kas., only one dented fender was reported. The vigilance of traffic police helped curb accidents everywhere, but in Elk City, Okla., it curbed pianist Liberace's brother, George. Justice of the peace George Hester fined him >lO for speeding*. Founder Os Hooper Rating Is Killed SALT LAKE CITY (INS) —C. E. Hooper, whose “Hooper ratings” determine the popularity of television and radio stars and shows, was killed Wednesday night by the whirling propellor ot a boat while duck hunting near Salt Lake City. The 54-year-oM Hooper, who founded the famed Hooper. Inc., television and radio popularity rating service, was hunting with Salt Lake City radio executive Frank McLatchey on a lake owned by the Lake Front Duck Club near Salt Lake City. M-PAQK