Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 56, Number 43, Decatur, Adams County, 20 February 1958 — Page 1

Vol. LVI. No. 43.

> -!V* wi>i wiiiiii i i.miiMji, SIX DIE IN BLAST — Firemen remove a victim’s body from the shattered plant of the Reynolds Metals Co., at McCook, 111., where six died and more than 30 were injured in a furnace explosion. The blast shattered windows in most of the works’ 63 acres of buildings and caused damage estimated at a million dollars.

East Thawing - Out From Snow And Cold Snap Death Count From Accidents Caused By Weather Near 500 By United press The East thawed slowly today from two weeks of record cold and snows, but a Pacific storm whinned the West and touched off serious flooding in southern California. Although temperatures moderated by as much as 10 to 20 degrees in the eastern two-thirds of the nation, the crippling effects of the marathon sub-zero cold wave lingered. The death count in weathercaused accidents neared 500. Indiana Gov. Harold Handley Wednesday night declared snowburied sections of northwestern Indiana a “disaster area.” and called for civil defense teams to rescue marooned farm families. Handley asked for helicopters to supply stranded families with food, fuel and medicine and to remove the Sick. He also sought planes to drop feed to starving dairy cattle. —o governor said farmers who r.zve been snow-bound since last • zturday were in a “desperate situation” Ice Jam Blocks River In a dramatic rescue Wednesday, an Army tank broke through 10-foot drifts to lead a convoy carrying supplies to 30 families “in dire need” near South Bend, Ind. At Hudson Lake, Ind., two policemen waded one - half mile through, towering drifts to reach an 18-year-old boy stricken with pneumonia, then carried the youth through the snow on a stretcher to their squad car. A 36-mile ice jam blocked the Mississippi River North of Cairo, 111., halting scores of boats and barges. Three powerful tugs were inching their way through the pack ice, ranging up to eight feet thick, in an effort to open a channel. Traffic also was stalled on the Ohio River, which was frozen over at Gallipolis, Ohio. Dam 41 at Louisville, Ky., was closed in an effort to hold back the river and prevent formation of an ice gorge. Floods Threaten West Army tanks, helicopters aqd snow-cats also were pressed into service in the East to take food and fuel to rural families bogged down In a sea of snow in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Parts of Pennsylvania were under a state of emergency. A United Press count since the (Centene- r Page Five) INDIANA WEATHER Partly cloudy tonight, a little warmer most sections. Friday mostly cloudy and warmer. Low tonight 12 to 20. High Friday in the 30s. Sunset today 6:32 p.m. Sunrise Friday 7:30 a.m. Outlook for Saturday: Rain or snow becoming generally rain and continued wanning. Low Friday night around 20. High Saturday in the 30s. 12 Pages

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER W ADAMS COUNT*

Urges Federal Hike For Highway Funds Tennessee Senator Asks For Increase WASHINGTON (UP) Sen. Albert Gore (D-Tenn.) called today for a prompt increase in federal highway funds to combat unemployment and to keep the construction of 41,000 miles of superhighways on a 13-year schedule. Gore told newsmen that “If we don’t do something right now, the ’ whole (interstate highway) pro--1 gram will be aborted.” ' He said a speed-up in the pro- ‘ gram would provide “a most bene- ’ ficial stimulus” to the nation’s sagging economy. Idle workers ' could be given employment al- ; most immediately because plan- ; ning has been completed and rights-of-way secured for man v projects in the network of superhighways. Gore asked state highway officials to give him the amount of additional highway construction they could start this summer if the federal government put up its K) per cent share of the cost. ' Governors Averell Harriman of New York and Dennis J. Roberts of Rhode Island are scheduled to testify Friday before Gore’s Senate Roads subcommittee. They are expected to support Gore's demand for more federal money for ' highway constructionTwo other state governors and highway officials of four other states protested Wednesday against a stretchout in the 13 year urogram to 20 years or more. Such a stretchout appears inevitable unless more federal money is provided starting with the fiscal year 1960 which begins July I, 1959. Starting then, annual .Deeding of $2,200,000,000 has beer authorized for construction of the uperhighways But it is estimated ‘here will be an annual shortage ?f 600 to 800 million dollars for at least two years in the special highway construction fund. If the deficit is to be made up, Congress must appropriate more money, relax the present law to oermit spending in anticipation of later revenue, or earmark all of the revenue of highway use taxes for the fund. About 70 per cent of highway use taxes now go into the fund. Gore indicated he favored putting it all in the fund. Will Suspend Some Business Saturday Saturday, Washington’s birthday, a national holiday, will be observed by suspension of business by some offices and institutions in Decatur. Included in those closed will be the bank, library, post office and some of the county offices. The Daily Democrat will publish at noon, as customary. • The post office will deliver only special delivery mail, but will handle outgoing mail as usual, and the lobby will be open on usual holiday hours for the convenience of box patrons. Three county offices, auditor, treasurer and assessor, will be operi until 4 p.m. Saturday, also the following Saturday, for persons who need tax tsatements for purchase of auto license tags. Other ’' court house officee will be closed.

Gov. Handley Rejects Call To Legislature No Special Session Planned To Deal In Unemployment Woes INDIANAPOLIS (UP) — Governor Handley said today he has no intention of calling the Indiana Legislature into special session to meet the state’s unemployment problems. Handley said he favors a “positive approach” to the problems by prodding Washington for a fair share of “defense billions” scheduled to be spent in contracts with pfivate industries Handley made the statements after a conference with a group of labor union representatives, headed by State CIO President Dallas Sells. Sells said after the conference that despite Handley's objection to calling a special session, he intends to talk with legislative leaders about the possibility of persuading the governor to call such a session. Handley said he told Sells he “doesn’t intend to call the Legislature in, not knowing what they would do.’’ Discuss Road Building “I don’t intend to call a special session unless I have about 135 legislators come in and demand one,” Handley said. The Legislature is composed of 150 members. Sells inquired about the possibility of accelerating the state’s road building program to take up the slack in employment. Handley pointed out that by May 1 the highway department will contracted for about 50 million dollars in road work in about 16 months. - r Handley said he plans to go to Washington with Indiana Employment Security Division Director William C. Stalnaker within the next 10 days to confer with Indiana’s congressmen and senators and try to enlist their help in getting new defense contracts for Indiana. He agreed with Sells that the $33 a week maximum payment In unemployment benefits is “too low,” but added he believes defense contracts is the best approach to solution of the problems. “What we want to do is get our rshare" of the “defense billions” which have been allocated but not yet channeled into industry, Handley said. 53,000 Off In Month The conference came as figures showed more than 100,000 Hoosiers filed claims for jobless benefits last week and a state report indicated the number of non-agri-cultural workers dropped by 53,000 from mid-December to mid-Janu-ary. Handley said Wednesday it will be "sometime next week” before he reports on what action —if any —he will take in helping more than 100,000 Hoosiers who are out of work. The governor said he wotud meet behind closed doors with (Continued on page six) Heart Fund Drive Conducted By Mail Abandon Plans For Fund Drive Feb. 23 Due to cold weather and lack if volunteers to conduct a Heart "Sunday drive on Feb. 23, the heart committee has decided to nake the solicitation by mall. Persons interested In contributing to help heart and circulation disease research are asked to mail their contributions to Mrs. R. C. Hersh, heart chairman, 344 S. First street, Decatur. In the past ten years of heart research through the heart foundation, many outstanding milestones have been passed, Mrs. Hersh stated. “Surgeons can now repair previously hopeless heart defects. New drugs have appeared for high blood pressure. Improved drugs and diet therapy have helped heart failure patients. Anti-clotting drugs have reduced the death rate following first attacks. “Yet much remains to be done. What causes hardening of the arteries? How can it be diagnosed early, and prevented? Can strokes and heart attack be warded off? Why are only certain persons susceptible to rheumatic heart disease? These and countless other questions rfiust be answered. The American Heart association, backed by the American public, is doing its best to support this research.” Mrs. Dwight'D. Eisenhower is serving as honorary chairman of the 1858 national campaign, and Dr. Paul Dudley White is serving as honorary co-chairman.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, February 20, 1958

Nathan Leopold Given l _____ Freedom From Prison In Crime Os Century ft : .

Space Agency Criticized By House Group Voice Criticism In Approving Funds For Appropriation WASHINGTON (UP) — The House Appropriations Committee expressed fears today that a top space agency is “deficient” in basic research in the missile field. Its criticism was voiced in approving a $2,837,882,907 emergency appropriation for the Labor and Agriculture departments and other federal agencies. The bill’s total was $33,582,937 shy of administration requests One of the agencies—the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which conducts plane, satellite and missile research — came in for some sharp comments. The committee said that NACA in World War II was “roundly criticized” because Germany forged ahead of this country in aeronautics. - • Cut NACA Funds’ “The committee is fearful that NACA is again deficient in basic research in the field of missiles,” the report said. “Russia apparently is considerably ahead of us in this field now and the committee is of the opinion that NACA has devoted too few of its 8,000 employes to missile programs.” Nevertheless. the committee whittled NACA’s appropriation request from $11,780,000 to $9,500,000, knocking out $1,500,000 for personnel and $780,000 for construction and equipment. The committee refused to grant $2,054,000 in new funds sought by the administration for the U.S. exhibit at the forthcoming World’s Fair at Brussels, Belgium. Instead, it authorized the transfer of one million dollars from other funds to bring the total Brussels spending to $13,345,000. “The committee is of the opinion that with the proper management a full time, first rate exhibition can and should be financed with such a substantial amount of money,” it said. More for Acreage Reserve Also denied was a Commerce Department request for $400,000 to (Continued on page e s t) Funeral Sunday For Virgil M. Simmons Funeral services will be held Sunday for Virgil M. Simmons, president and co-publisher of the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, who died Friday morning while vacationing in Florida. Services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Thoma & Son funeral home in Bluffton, Dr. John W. Meister officiating.’> Burial will be in Elm Grove cemetery at Bluffton. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 o’clock this evening until time of the services. j

Lenten Meditation Rev. Stuart, H. Brightwell, pastor of Decatur Baptist Church “BRAIN CELLS” h Finally, brethren, whatsoever things arc true, whatsoever . things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be ,any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Our text says: “Think on these things.” The control of our thoughts is essential if we are to enjoy the peace of God. The governing of our minds is important for three reasons: 1) Thinking about things prepares us for doing them; 2) Thought is import because it influences our character; 3) also, our thoughts cause us to pursue our ideals. We are to keep our minds free of that which is false; we are to think about the things that are reverent and respectful; we are to be fair with others; we are to protect our minds from the Impure; our minds are to be free of selfishness; and wc are to fill our minds with that attitude that will please God and will help our fellow-men. We may say the ideal is high. Yes, it is hut it is attainable by faith. It is mere stoicism to sav, watch and keep your thoughts. It is Christian faith to sav. Let Christ keen your thoughts, testing them, casting out that which is evil, and filling the mind and soul with His Presence. The Lord abides where the heart and mind are kept free from evil and filled with the Spirit of His Son.

Temperature Heads To Above Freezing Warming Trend Is * General In State By UNITED PRESS Temperatures headed for abovefreezing levels in Indiana today for the second time in two weeks, but a three-county upstate section became a snowstorm disaster area and at least 27 weatherreleated deaths were on the record from the worst winter weather in at least 10 years. While wintry winds and belowzero cold eased a bulldog grip on Hoosierland as a warming trend developed, Governor Handley declared the snow-stricken Michigan City general area as a disaster area. Unofficial counts of weatherrelated deaths since the cold wave struck Feb. 7 placed the total at 27, including 9 from exposure, 7 from fires blamed on overtaxed heating facilities, 6 from heart seizures induced by the cold or snow-shoveling, 2 from carbon monoxide fames, 2 from traffic on icy roads and 1 from a plane crash blamed on snow and freezing rain. Above Freezing Due The mercury’ reached a high of 31 at Evansville Wednesday, one degree short of freezing- It was due to hit highs ranging from 26 north to 32 central south today and highs jaf 35 to 38 Friday. Saturday was expected to be even a little warmer. As the longest and most intense cold wave since 1948 for most of the state relented. Hoosiers counted hundreds of thousands of dollars damage, mostly from fires spawned by the weather. The effects of the cold on winter corps could not be determined this early, including fruit trees in southwestern Indiana orchard areas and the winter wheat crop in areas which had no snow cover to protect it from soil-eroding winds and below-zero cold. Michigan City’s weekend snowfall of 42 inches, and South Bend’s 23 inches, and drifting from brisk winds which whipped that part of Indiana around the southern tip of Lake Michigan, created the most serious weather situation in years. Scores Are Marooned Handley declared a disaster area all of LaPorte County and parts of Starke and St. Joseph Counties. He sent emergency requests for rescue teams and equipment to defense headquarters upon receiving information late Wednesday that scores of farm families marooned by snowdrifts since last weekend were in a desperate situation for lack of food, medical supplies, and fuel. Elsewhere, however, the temperature warmup eased the situation for most Hoosiers who were mostly inconvenienced by the weather. Temperatures climbed to 25 at Fort Wayne, 28 at South Bend and Indianapolis Wednesday and dropped during the night to the teens™ but generally several degrees higher than any night since last j i tinued on p age Five)

Disaster Area Declared By Gov. Handley Repeated Snowfall Leads Governor To Seek Defense Aid INDIANAPOLIS (UP) — Governor Handley declared LaPorte County and parts of Starke and St. Joseph Counties a disaster area Wednesday night. He asKed for civil defense aid including the “immediate dispatch of rescue teams to farm families in those counties.” Handley said he acted “as the result of the continuing serious situation in rural parts of counties caused by repeated snow fall.” The Michigan City area reported a snow avalanche of 42 inches last weekend. The governor telegraphed Civil Defense Administration Region IV headquarters at. Battle Creek, Mich., asking for “helicopters, planes and medical supplies.” He said he had received ‘“formal request from the county commissioners of the three counties." The disaster area includes western St Joseph County and northern Starke County. Handley said he was told “that high winds continued to block many rural roads and that scores of farm families are in a desperate situation.” “The Indiana State Highway Department will continue to handle the job of keeping open state highways,” Handley said. He said he “understood" that the rescue efforts will begin at once. Equipment “Worn Out” Earlier, the commissioners of St. Joseph County had declared the western portion of their County “an emergency area.” Manj r county roads in the area are covered by drifts up to 10feet deep and many farm families . still were marooned. St Joseph County Surveyor Bert McClellan said equipment was being sent from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. He said state and local equipment was “worn out" after a week of steady work. He said 10 pieces of county equipment was disabled by heavy snow. Meanwhile, an Army helicopter continued rescue missions in the Westville area. It took medicine to *a sick baby on the Earl Esminger farm, dropped fuel oil to the Richard Boyd farm family, and evacuated seven children and an adult from the Paul Hannon farm Officials began to air-drop feed (Continued on page eight) Local Lady's Father Is Taken By Death Funeral Saturday For William Martens William John Martens, 63, of Celina, 0., father of Mrs. Don Stover of this city, died at 5 o'clock Wednesday morning at the St. Rita’s hospital in Lima, 0.. where he had been taken a week ago after a heart attack. - Born at West Milton, 0., March 18, 1894, the son of the late John and Sophia Kroplin Martens, he had lived in Celina a number of years. He was a member of the Lutheran church and the Celina American Legion post. The widow, Iva Eblem, survives together with a son, John Martens, of Westminster, Col.; two daughters in addition to Mrs. Stover, Mrs. Chester Rhode? of route 2, Celina, and Miss Mary Lee Martens of Columbus, 0.; seven grandchildren and a sister, Mrs. Ed Taylor of route 5, Celina. Friends may call at Vale's funeral home in Celina after 6 p.m. today. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in St. Jahn’s Evangelical Lutheran church, the Rev. F. T. Florstedt officiating. Burial will follow in Swamp College cemetery.

Favor Expansion In Soil Bank Subsidies Recommenadation By House Committee WASHINGTON (IP) — T h e House Appropriations Committee recommended today this year’s soil bank subsidies for farmers be expanded 175 million dollars above the limit Congress imposed last year. The cpjnmittee ,in a surprise move included authorization for I the bigger outlay in a $2,837,882,- . 907 catch-all supplemental money bill. - ; It said entargements of the soit bank was necessary because the Agriculture Department failed to ration its funds and instead let farmers sign up for more than the available 500 million dollars. Department officials have' acknowledged that they failed to anticipate the big sign-up. But they had decided to resolve the problem by putting subsidies on a “first-come, first-served” basis. The plan prompted protests in the cotton belt and the committee assailed it as unfair. 4 The group said farmers who attempted to sign up within the announced “time-limits” should not be deprived of an opportunity to participate just because of the department’s mistake. The dispute is over this yew's operation of the soil bank’s acreage reserve. It is restricted to producers of five.xrops — wheat, corn, rice, cotton and tobacco. They are entitled to receive government payments for contracting to keep idle some of their planting allotment for those crops. At last report—on Feb. 7—these farmers had signed up — or attempted to sign up —for 641 million dollars in payments, or 141 million dollars more than the available 500 million dollars. This resulted because producers of cotton and corn signed up for more than their allotted share of the 500 million dollars. Miss Susan Custer Oratorical Winner Wins County Legion Oratorical Contest Miss Mary Susan Custer, a senior at IJecatur high school and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. Burdette Custer, was adjudged the winner of the Adams county American Legion oratorical contest, sponsored by the American Legion, department of Indiana, the state bar association, and Adams Post 43, Wednesday afternoon, at the Decatur high school. Miss Custer won the right to represent Adams county in the district four contest, which will be held in Fort Wayne March 7. She was awarded a cash prize of sls for_her first place speech on the constitution. Steve Sprunger, son of Mr. and ' Mrs. Vincent Sprunger, of route 2, Genevt, was the runner-up and re- ‘ cieved a cash prize of $lO. Judges for the contest were L. • Luther Yager, state representa- ’ tive from Adams and Wells coun--1 ties. Art Burris, safety and train--1 ing director of the Ceritral Soya company, and the Rev. Gerald 1 Gerig, pastor of the Decatur Mis- ’ sionary church. ’ Presence, poise and personality • amounted to 25 per cent of the - points awarded to the contestant. 1 The accuracy and effectiveness of the composition accounted for 5 50 per cent, and 25 per cent was ’ based on oratory and the power to convince the audience. • Runner-up Sprunger spoke first • and based his speech on answer- ' ing the question, “Is our constituition worth having; worth defending?” We as American citizens have not done all we can to make ■ a better country. In America we • have just about everything but ; what are we doing about it? Only by exercising and proving our 1 rights, dictated to us by the constitution, can we preserve them.” 1 Miss Custer’s winning speech (CciaUAued on Page Five)

Thrill Slayer Os 1924 Given Prison Parole Illinois Board Also Grants Parole For Prohi Era Gangster SPRINGFIELD, 111. (UP) — . Nathan Leopold, sentenced to both 99 years and life for the “crime of the century" slaying of Bobby Franks in 1924, today was grantr ed freedom: The state Parole Board gave i him a parole despite the injunction of the trial judge that he was never to be released. Leopold at the age of 19 with Richard Loeb—two brilliant, rich youths — killed neighbof boy Franks of Chicago for a thrill. . They used a chisel. [ The board also granted a parole to prohibition era gangster t Roger Touhy but for Touhy the , board action meant only another step toward possible freedom in August, 1959. The board three times previous- ’ ly had denied Leopold a parole. ‘ The board Said its decision to ’ free Leopold was not unaniraous- ' It declined to disclose the vote. Job in Puerto Rico 1 The duration of Leopold's pa- ’ role will be five years. He will be ’ under supervision for that period. . How soon . Leopold walks out from the Stateville Prison that has ■ held him since Sept. 11, 1924, de- ; pends on how soon the division of ■ parole supervision investigates and approves his housing and em- • ployment plans. # Leopold had asked the board to be permitted to take a hospital job in the mountains of Puerto Rico at $lO a month and room and board. At Stateville Penitentiary, a smiling Warden Joseph Ragen announced the paroles to a waiting crowd of 75 newsmen. “The location and occupation,” of Leopold during parole are “to be investigated by parole supervision immediately,” the board said. To Report Monthly A parole supervision spokesman said earlier that if Leopold would go to Puerto Rico it would take a month or more to investigate the situation there and he could not leave prison and shed his number 9306-D until the arrangements were approved. Leopold will have to report to a parole officer monthly. The board’s brief statement said: “In the case of Roger Touhy, a definite sentence parole has been granted on the kidnaping for ransom sentence. In the case of Nathan F. Leopold Jr. a definite sentence parole has been granted. “The location and occupation of subject to be investigated by parole supervision.” The parole supervision division rould reject Leopold’s arrangements in Puerto Rico and require him to serve tris parole elsewhere. Touhy must now serve a' sixmonth institutional parole in prison then start serving mini- — mum time on a three remaining years of a 199-year term for prison escape. He could then apply for parole on the second sentence and be freed in August, 1959. Loeb was slashed to death with a razor in a prison fight in 1936. Poet Carl Sandburg led the parade of witnesses who appealed to the board for Leopold's freedom. _ Years of Reform ' Leopold's own lawyer said Leoj y, -. ’’nire Late Bulletins WASHINGTON iff)—The Senate Post Office committee today approved a bill to increase out of town letter rates to 5 cents and local letters to 4 cents. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (IB——The Air Force launched another intercontinental Atlas missile today, but apnai-ently " . the nation’s biggest bird blew t up high in the sky for the second conseeutive time.

Six Cents