Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 54, Number 22, Decatur, Adams County, 27 January 1956 — Page 1

Vol. LIV. No. 22.

SALK HONORED *K ' >kH :Ik*. Bk Ai MBBn Bf ' v jnOfl \ ssSSS ' ' ■'Mliiu ■ 111—IM1B r naH■r DR. JONAS E. SALK, developer of the first anti-polio vaccine, displays a special gold medal awarded him by Welfare Secretary Marion B. Folsom in Washington. The award, authorized by Congress as a special tribute, was given for Salk's “outstanding achievements” in research on the vaccine.

Ouemoy Island Is Pounded By Red Artillery Matsu Isles Are Also Bombarded By Red Artillery TAIPEI (Saturday) — (INS) — Communist Chinese big gun; hurttd'Tß? shells into QuemoyS*land and struck the Matsu isles with 36 rounds of artillery fire late Friday in twin bombardments of both ends of Nationalist Formosa's outer defense chain. Midway between the Quernoy southern and Matsu northern anchors of Free China's island perimeter off the Red mainland, Nationalist patrol ships were credited with sinking a Communist gunboat in a naval clash before dawn Friday. Naval headquarters in Taipei said the sea encounter on the western side of the Formosa Strait broke out whej the Nationalist patrol ships intercepted a Communist gunboat flotilla off Wuchiu. The Nationalist warships suffered no damage or casualties, the communique saidThe heavy Red artillery attack on strategic Quernoy, 126 miles west of central Formosa, began at 4 pm. Friday and lasted one hour and 40 minutes, a nationalist army announcement said early Saturday. The rain of 768 projectiles came from Communist batteries on the Fukien province harbor island of Anfoy andTtearby Tafbng isle. Nationalist guns on Quernoy returned the fire and hit a Red munitions depot an Tateng, the Taipei communique stated. The bulletin said there were no reports of "military tosses” on Querns but. added that six houses on the Nationalistheld outpost island were* destroyed by Red shells The Matsus, guarding the northern entrance of the r Formosa Strait, experienced an air alert as Red artillery pumped three dozen shells into the isles, 150 miles northwest Os Formosa. Kaoteng in the northern Matsus was bombarded twice last WednesThe air alert went into effect when Red planes were sighted some 40 miles north of the Matsus. The communique said, however, that no hostile planes actually appeared over the islands. Nationalist sources said the apparent purpose of the Red shelling was to draw retaliation from Nationalist guns so their positions could be spotted. These sanie sources reported that the Communists may have closed (Continued on Page Five) INDIANA WEATHER Cloudy tonight with occasional light snow or freezing drizzle developing north portion late tonight and occasional drizzle south portion. Saturday occasional rain probably mixed with enow In extreme north. Slowly rising temperatures. Low tonight 2+32 north, 32-35 south. High Saturday 30-53 north, 3+40 south.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Two Appointed To Red Cross Campaign Two Women Named In Decatur Drive Carl Braun, county chairman of the 1956 Rdd Cross fund drive which will be conducted in March, has announced the appointment of Mrs. Margaret Freeby and Mrs. Eugene Durkin to head the residential division of the campaign. They will have charge of canvassing the residentlal areaa of Decatur during the fund drive. They will be working during th* next few weeks to organize chairmen and volunteers for the city's 18 zones. It is hoped that those who assisted last year w-f 11 again be available to serve during the March campaign. An appeal is being made by the co-chairmen for volunteers. Any person who is not contacted but wishes to assist may contact either Mrs. Freeby or Mrs. Durkin. The solicitation will not begin until March 1 but the planning and organizing must be handled well in advance of the project. According to the budget compiled recently for 1956, there will be a 25 percent increase in the donations necessary to meet the requirements of the county. For this reason it is especially important that an efficient organization is formed to conduct the campaign for donations. : —«_±.— . — —r i i i~ mi—iwi u i Little Damage Done By Fire At Plant City firemen were caltod this morning when a fire broke out in a drier at the Central Soya plant The fire was confined to the beans in the drier and company officials stated that the damage was negligible. Attempt At Arson Reported At Berne * Little Damage Done At Berne Factory A suspected attempt at arson was uncovered this morning at the Dunbar furniture factory in Berne. A blaze was discovered at about 7 a.m. and extinguished before much damage was done. The fire was in the factory’s rough storage room on the second floor above the mill room. The room contains furniture parts and is almost completely filled with wqod items. If the fire had. spread it could have caused disastrous damage. A sack of wooden “doll’’ pins was the only item damaged by the fire. This sack was placed in a stack with several other similar sacks. The fire was started there. Called in to investigate the blaze were detective sergeant Truman Bierle of the state polie, Berne police chief Karl Sprunger and sheriff Merle Affolder. The investigating officers said that they found evidence leading them to suspect arson. They are continuing the Investigation.

Red Satellite Leaders Meet In Conference Eight Warsaw Pact Countries Meeting Today In Prague LONDON (INS)—A Soviet satellite general charged today that the United States and other western nations wanted to renew the “cold war.” The speaker, Czech defense minister Gen. Alexei Cepicka said that this alleged U. S. move should be met by a “re-examination” of military policy by Russia and her European allies. - £ Cepicka was the welcoming speaker at the opening in Prague today of the eight-nation political consultative committee of the Warsaw pact, the Communist version of NATO. Dispatches reaching London, said Cepicka, in the presence of Soviet foreign minister V. M. Molotov and other Russian leaders, claimed that Russia’s efforts had been responsi ble for some easing of East-West tension. But he added: “TTie forces of war, however, have not given up their aims. Many important international questions remain unsettled and in some western countries, especially the United States, there are again clear trends to frustrate peaceful development and attempts to renew the ‘cold war.’ ” In view or tnis, Cepicka said, the Warsaw allies should “reexamine the present international situation and discuss questions of joint measures resulting 'from our treaty.” Cepicka’s address apparently was to keynote discussion at the closed conference. Most western observers have been expecting that the Reds will formally admit the newlynamed East German army into the Communist alliance. Chairman of the committee meeting was premier Mehmut Shehu of Communist Albania. The Communist alliance, wffteh was- signed in the Polish capital last May,.is considered w ftMpat version of the North Atlantic treaty organization. Dispatches reaching London said the main sessions of the conference would be closed, with newsmen being briefed and the texts of speeches distributed. The opening session got under way in the vast hall of the 17th Century Cernin Palace, home of the Czechoslovakian foreign ministry. The hall was lined with banners In the national colors of the eightmember nations: Russia, Poland. Czechoslovakia. Hungary, Bulgaria. Romania, Albania and East Germany. The premiers or foreign ministers as well as the defense ministers of the eight red powers were present. Communist China was represented by Marshal Nie Jung Chen. But even more significantly, Peiping’s (Continued on Page Five) Oliver V. Dilling Dies Thursday Night Prominent Farmer Is Taken By Death Oliver V. Dilling, 73, prominent Kirkland township farmer, died at 10:45 o'clock Thursday night, at the Clinic hospital in Bluffton. Death was caused by myocarditis. He had been ill five weeks ind serious for the past three weeks. Born in Adams county April 7, 1882, he was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dilling. Mr. Dilling, highly active in farm organizations, was a member of the Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren and was a leader in affairs of his church. He had lived his entire life in Adams county, with the exception of ohe year spent in California. Surviving are his wife, Mary C.; two daughters. Mm. Dorothy Drabenstot of rural route 5. Huntington. and Mrs. Fern Grossnickle of Elgin. Ill.; nine grandchildren, and a sister, Mrs. Viola Carls of Chicago. A son, F|. Wayne Dilling, died May 30. 1955. A sister also preceded him in death. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p. m. Sunday at the Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren, the Rev. 3. D. Mishler officiating. Burial will be in the Pleasant Dale cemetery. The body was removed to the Gillig & Doan fnneral home, where friends may call after 10 a. m. Saturday until time of the services. Friends are requested to omit flowers, but may make contributions to the missioh board of the church.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, January 27, 1956.

Hint Red Proposal Os Non-Aggression Pact To Pres. Eisenhower _3 .. - - ! K

Story Os Ike Intervention 73 Hotly Denied Columnist Story Denounced As Lie From White House WASHINGTON (INS) — T h e White House today denounced as a "scurrilous lie” » published report that President Elsenhower l-ersonally intervened to encourage sale of government timber rights in Oregon. Presidential news secretary James ,C. Hagerty made the charge in the strongest language he has ever used in denying a published story involving the President. The report was published by Drew Pearson in a column on the sale of the timber rights to the Al Sarena company, owner of the 303-acre property in Oregon’s Rogue River national forest. In his column, Pearson referred ' to a letter which he said was i “buried in the senate interior committee files.” Hagerty angrily read excerpts from the Pearson column and declared: “The story is a complete falsehood and in my opinion a acurri- ’ lous Me.” . ■ ■ The Pearson column also touched oft & explosion 'Wurtday w ‘ the senate hearing on the Al Sarena case, which has been attacked by Democrats as an example of what they call ‘giveaway” of the nation's resources. The case itself was all but forgotten in an angry clash between Democrats and Republicans when GOP members challenged the Pearson report that Mr. Eisenhower had intervened with interior secretary Douglas McKay on Al Sarena's behalf. The inquiry centers on whether the interior department improperly overruled a 1950 decision that there was insufficient mineral value in the claims to justify selling the property to the firm. Three High Court Judges Candidates Three Judges Are G. O. P. Candidates INDIANAPOLIS ((NS) —Two of the Indiana supreme court judges named to the high post by Governor George-N. Craig and a third judge seeking his second full term announced their candidacies for the same posts in a joint news ferencef > They are; Judge Norman F. Artenburn, of Vincennes, named by Craig to replace the late Frank E. Gilkison, of Washington, In May, 1955Judge Frederick Landis, of Logansport, named to succeed Floyd 8. Draper, of Gary, who resigned. Chief Justice Arch N- Bobbitt; ‘ of Indianapolis, who is the only one of the three to have been nominated at a Republican state convention and elected to the supreme court previously. The three men are the only ones, thus far, to announced for the supreme court judgeships which pay 315,000 annually. They will be candidates at the June 29 GOP state conventionThe terms of Draper, Gilkison and Bobbitt all expire Jan. 1, 1957. The judgeships are for six-year terms. Chief Justice Bobbitt, a candidate from the third judicial district, was Republican state committee chairman front 1937 to 1941, during which time he led the party to its first victory in 10 years. Bobbitt started.his political career wih election to the office of Crawford county auditor in 1920 and later moved to Indianapolis as auditor of state from 1928 to 1930. Then he was Indianapolis city attorney 1943-44, and city cor(Contlnued on Page Five)

Woman Electrocuted In Automobile Crash Two Babies Saved By State Trooper MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (INS) —A woman was electro- i cuted and five other persons were injured, some critically, in a high speed crash in which a car, driven by a nonlicensed motorist, hit two I power line poles and a parked car. Only the quick action bf state trooper Timothy E. McCarthy of the Chekteron post prevented the immediate death toll from being three lives- He grabbed two babies from beneath falling high tension electric lines before the wires could fall on them. But for 24 - year -old Angle Clemons, of Michigan City, rescue came to late- Trooper McCarthy, using a rope, removed her- body from the live electric wire upon which it was tossed. However, resuscitation efforts failed. Police said occupants of the car, driven by Collins Gwin, 24, of Michigan City, and the wreckage of the two cars and the tangle of poles and wire were strewn for l.Mi fee* along U. 8. 12 near Michigan City, Thursday. Police charged tnat Gwin has been arrested twice by Alabama authorities and once by Indiana officers on charges of driving withoat a license The troopers reputXed Gwjn was miles An hour in k to nftte zone at the time he passed a truck, rounded a curve, went out of control and hit the pedes and a parked auto. ‘ The car burst into flames when it hit the second pole, but Chesterton fire fighters put out the blaze. One-year-old Shirley Clemons, who was tossed from the car and hit a nearby house was'reported in critical condition today in a Valparaiso hospital. Also critical in Doctors hospital, Michigan City, is Aiea Gwin, 23. In fair condition in the same hospital are James Gwin, 10 months old, Barbara Clemons, 2, and Gwin. Three Are Killed BREMEN, Ind. (INS) — Three persons were killed in a truck-car collision Thursday night on Ind. 6 four miles east of Bremen? Killed when their car swerved across the center line and into the (Continued on Page Five) Big Crowd Attends Polio Dance Here Proceeds Os Dance To March Os Dimes A large crowd enjoyed round and square dancing at the polio benefit dance Thursday night at the Decatur Youth and Community Center. According to Robert Tracey, a member of the committee in charge, $184.60 was brought in by the sale of tickets and orchids. This amount has been turned ovpr to the 1956 March of Dimes fund. Rent for the Community Center was donated. Arthur Suttles, with a bid of |3O. was high bidder in the auction of the Indiana auto license number JA 1956. The auction was officially closed at 11 p.m. Thursday during the dance. The J3O will also go into the polio fund. The regular license fee is still due. The number was set aside for the high bidder by Mrs. Dale Death, manager of the license bureau. Door prizes were awarded ihet night to M.' R. Watson. Mildred Childs, Irvin M. Worthman. Oral Fulton and Mrs. H. Kreischer. Tickets and orchids were sold at the door by three students of Decatur high school. They were Marlene Deßinger, Ellen McCaren and Helen Roth. Roth. Carl Geels And his orchestra presented the music during the evening. Geels did the square dance calling. His orchestra included Bob Huff, drums; Carey Collett, guitar: Ver* Geels, saxaphone, end Dollie Geels, fiddle. v ~

Flood Waters Are Subsiding In California Southern Part Os State Hit By Worst Storm In 20 Years LOS ANGELES (INS) —Thousands of persons began returning to their homes today in the Los Angeles area as rains slackened and flood walers from Southern California's worst storm tn 20 years began to subside. During less than two days of steady downpour inches of rain fell in the Los Angeles area, causing some 1506 persons to flee from flooded homes and hundreds of others to seek safety when waters for a time threatened to inundate the city of Long Beach. The Los. Angeles river, which was no more than a trickle two days ago, became a rampaging giant that scraped away at concrete along its levees and threatened to flood an area in Long Beach with 10.000 homes and a population of 35.000. Residents were warned to evacuate the area and hundreds of officers and soldiers worked on the weakened channel hanks until the i danger passed. Hospitals in the area «vacnatefi. . The* storm caused rndhy large factories to close-down and school children were told to stay home. Traffic in the city came to a standstill in hundreds of areas where water rose as high as eight feet at some low spots. Hardest hit by the storm were the communities of Venice. Tor(Continued on Page Five) Logansport Country Club House Fired LOGANSPORT, Ind- (INS) — A boiler explosion and fire destroyed the Logansport Country Club house Thursday night with damages estimated at 1106,000. Caretaker Tom Hamilton, who was alone, suffered serious leg injuries when he smashed a secondstory window with a meat cleaver and leaped th safety. Kefauver Enters Minnesota Primary - Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn.) announced today he has authorized entry of his name in Minnesota’s March 20 presidential preferential primary and conceded he faces an “uphill" fight. Kefauver’s announcement came as a surprise since Adiai Stevenson already has entefed the Minnesota contest and Gov. Orville Freeman and other Democratic leaders have thrown their support behind him. Charles H. Miller Dies Last Evening Willshire Resident Is Taken By Death Charles H, Miller, 71, lifelong resident of the Willshire community. died at 5 o’clock Thursday evening at the Clinic hospital in Bluffton. He had been in the hospital since suffering a coronary occlusjon Sunday. He was born in Mercer county. 0., Nov. 19, 1884, a son of Harrison and Sargh Miller, and was married to Bessie Smith, Jan. 8, 1913. Mr. Miller was a retired farmer. Surviving in addition to his wife is a sister, Mrs. Bessie Morrison of Willshire. Funeral services will be conduct-’ ed at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Zwick funeral home, the Rev. James R. Hipkins officiating. Burial wifi be in the Pleasant Grove cemetery, east of Willshire Friends may call at th* funeral home after 7 o’clock this evening until time of the services. -yr

Sheriff Blameless In Inin's Escape Grand Jury Favors Strengthening Jail PRINCETON, Ind. (INS)—Gibson county authorities undertook to lock their jail more securely today in the wake of the escape of mass killer Leslie Irvin. A Gibson county grand jury ruled that sheriff Earl Hollejr from whose custody the so-called “mad dog kfller” of six persons fled, was blameless, but it did recommend seven improvements to strengthen security at the jail. Irvin, who was awaiting transfer to the Indiana state prison and death in the electric ..chair, made his escape uaing an ingeniously contrived key made of cardboard, glue and tinfoil, Jan. 18. ' Meanwhile the hunt for the dangerous escapee went on throughout the nation, with hundreds of tips being followed up. So far, there has been no positive trace of Irvin, since he walked out of the jail basement in a heavy snow storm, so far as is known. However, three letters mailed from Mt. Carmel, 111., have been identified as his, and brought the FBI into the case only a day after the escape. There have been many reports of person*] who thought they saw 'lrvin, or had heard from Mm. Among them were: Two IndianapoVs reports, en» from a filling station attendant, and the other from a truck driver. The attendant gave police a soft drink bottle from which a man resembling Irvin had drunk, but fingerprints did not match. The car desqgjbed by the truck driver also was stopped by Greenfield police but the driver proved to be an air force official en route to his station in Ohio. Reports from Irvin’s home town of Evansville, Ind., where several persons are under guard for fear the convicted slayer might seek vengeance. Two separate reports came froiii Evansville residents that they had seen Irvin in a dark brown ear with a woman. Both Evansville reports tallied as to the car description and the woman, but so far the escapee has not Been found. Other reports in the last 24 hours have come from Racine; Manitowoc and Green Bay, Wls., from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Biltomore. Md., and Peterson. N. J. Irvin was convicted and sentenced to die June 12 for the murder of an Evansville filling station attendant. He also has confessed the slayings of two Indiana women and three members of a Henderson. Ky. family. Election On School Merger February 14 Jefferson Township Election Date Set The question of Jefferson township school system merging with the Wabash township schools at Geneva, will be settled in a Jefferson township election set for February 14, it was learned today. The advisory board and trustee of Jefferson will meet February 7 to act on a special appropriation to obtain funds to hold the election. All qualified voters will be eligible to cast their votes on whether Jefferson should abandon its present school facilities and consolidate with Wabash township. The election follows the filing of a remonstrance by more than 50 residents of Jefferson against the action of the advisory board and trustee in favoring the merger. ’ No election Is required in Wa- J bash township, because no remonstrance was filed.. The proposed plan is to consolidate the entire school systems of the two townships into single elementary and high school units at Geneva. The governing set-up would be similar (Continued on Page Five)

Five Cents

Clamp Secrecy On Bulganin's Letter To Ike Diplomatic Sources Speculate Proposal From Soviet Russia WASHINGTON (INS) — Diplomatic sources in Washington speculated today that Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin has proposed a U. S. - Russian non-aggression pact to President Elsenhower, It was thought that either a nonaggression agreement or a lesslimiting treaty of friendship was the main point in the secret message handed President Eisenhower on Wednesday by Soviet ambassador Georgi Zaroaubin. The sources believed the Kremlin was trying to pick up the thread of the "spirit of Geneva" again. The rumor took on momentum 4n foreign policy circles as a result of the heavy lid of secrecy clamped on the message by both the U.S. and Russian governments. Sources pointed out. however, that the White House had said Bulganin advanced "ideas ... for promoting world peace” and reasoned that the next basic move to be expected was some sort of agree ment barring war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The message was delivered with dramatic fanfare by the Soviets while British prime minister Sir Anthony Eden is enroute to the U.S. for high-level policy talks with Mr. Elsenhower, opening next Monday in Washington. Eden has been under fire In London political circles, just as the Elsenhower - Dulles foreign policy has become a major controversy in this country. Thus, if Bulganin proposed any idea which would change the course of Western planning, the response would have to be considered with extreme care. George said Russia wants to “attract the neutrals” and noted that the Soviet foreign aid program is "based largely on loans” and a desire to send Soviet technicians and engineers into neutral countries. George has stated bis opposition to President Eisenhower’s request for authority to proceed with longterm aid projects, such as the Aswan High dam in Egypt. Senate GOP leader William F. Knowland (Continued on Page Five) Paul Schmidt Wins Rotary Discussion Group Contest Is Held Last Evening ’ Paul Schmidt, Decatur high school junior, won the group Rotary discussion contest, which was held Thursday evening at the weekly dinner meeting of the Decatur Rotary club at the Youth and Community Center. Schmidt, son pf the—Rev. and Mrs. Edgar .P. Schmidt of this city, will next represent this group in the sectional contest, date and place to be announced later. Sectional winners will then compete in the district contest. Miss Shirley Shroyer, senior at Fort Wayne Central high schooT, placed second.. Other contestants were Miss Linda Smith, of Ossian, representing the Bluffton Rotary club, and Jim Grant, of Columbia City.. Topic of this year’s discussion contest, conducted by Rotary International, is “Application of the four-way test to the American way of life.” W. Guy Brown was chairman of the program and presented the award to Schmidt. Judges for the contest were the Rev. Otto C. Busse, pastor Os, St. Paul’s Lutheran church at Preble: Jack principal of the Geneva high school, and Ronald Walton, speech instructor at the Berne high school.