Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 56, Number 67, Decatur, Adams County, 20 March 1958 — Page 1

Vol. LVI. No. 67.

■MB s WfrOßWs|£C * '“»”' * k *tv i ' ' / life a ■lpfrfJ JF) ■bF 9R s? W>/ f; BL* M BmL ECONOMIC RECOVERY HUDDLE— In a prelude to President Eisenhower’s Wednesday meeting with eight State Governors in which he sought their support for his plan to extend unemployment benefits, Treasury Secretary Robert Anderson (left>; Budget Director Maurice Stans (center) and Commerce Secretary Sinclair Weeks peruse his plan. The three economic experts met with the President before his meeting with the Governors.

Foresee New Increase In Unemployment Economist Expect Further increase For Postwar Record WASHINGTON (UP) — Labor Department economists predicted today that unemployment will show another increase this month, setting a new postwar record They declined to forecast how much the March figure may exceed the February high of 5,173,000 jobless But they expected the increase to be slight. The government’s figures on March unemployment will be announced early next month. Increase Expected The economists said they expected an increase because of layoffs in the auto industry and slow-ups in construction and other outdoor work caused by bad weather in many areas. Other developments: —Vice President Richard M. Nixon said in Chicago Wednesday night the Eisenhower administration has evidence the business slump Is "levelling off” in some sectors of the economy. He did not elaborate. —Conflicting statements from governors and federal officials left confused a crucial point about President Eisenhower’s plan to ' pay extra unemployment compensation to jobless workers who exhaust their benefits. Gov. Goodwin J. Knight of California and other governors who conferred with Eisenhower Wednesday said the President offered the states outright federal grants to finance up to 13 weeks of extra payments. But an administration spokesman said the states would have to repay the federal funds later. The administration plan was expected to go to Congress in two or three days. Farm Bill Up —The House called up for almost certain passage today a bill to cancel cuts in farm price supports ordered by Agriculture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson—The President was expected to sign the Democratic-sponsored $1,850,000,000 housing bill despite objections to some of its financing features. The bin, designed to create up to 500,000 new jobs by 'opening the way for construction of 200,000 more homes this year cleared the House Wednesday without a word of debate. —Stocks rose Wednesday on the basis of new administration and congressional action to pump billions of dollars into the lagging economy. The market was given a spur by Army plans to place 100 million dollars in defense contracts with the hard-hit auto industry and the President s action to speed spending of $2,250,000,000 for housing and rural electrification projects. The President talked for two hours and 35 minutes Wednesday with a delegation of eight governors about his plan to extend the period of state - administered - ’ Unemployment compensation payments. The administration considers this an urgent measure since many jobless workers have used up their weekly benefits ? - . The Payment Plan Neither the White House nor (Continued <xn page five) INDIANA WEATHER Mostly cloudy and cold with scattered snow flurries tonight and Friday. Chance of occasionally heavy snow flip-ries near Lake Michigan. Low tonight in the 20s. High Friday mostly in the 30s. Sunset today 8:57 p.m. Sunrise Friday 6:18 a.m. Outlook for Saturday: Partly cloudy, a little warmer south with scattered snow flurries north and central. Low Friday night 24 to ■ 32. High Saturday 35 to 48.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTV

Circus Scheduled In Decatur June 7 Retail Division Is Sponsor Os Circus The Mills Bros, circus is scheduled for two performances in Decatur Saturday, June 7. The circus appearanee is sponsored by the retail division of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, and will be the first circus to show here for some time. Proceeds received by the retail division will be used in its promotional program. Advance sale of tickets will be started in the near future. Purchase of tickets in advance will mean a considerable saving to cir-cus-goers ar tne tickets will be higher priced at the show grounds in the buy cf the eircus. Mills Bros., which has winter -quarters and base of operations in Jefferson, 0.. has built an excellent reputation in its 20-year history. and-produces. one<?of the largest circuses to appear under canvas today. Beth Arnott, advance representative .stated. “Mills Bros, makes every effort to keep the circus free' of adverse criticism, and no gambling or obscene sideshow acts are permitted. This circus has also eliminated the ‘reserve seat’ problem, by which a high percentage of seats are held as reserved, with a high price charged.” Mills Bros, also carries a large circus band which presents a concert before each performance of the three-ring circus. Veterans May Obtain High School Diploma Complete Service Test For Diploma Soldier? and other veterans who did not graduate from high school before entering the service may now obtain a high school diploma by successfully completing a service GED test, and relaying this information to their local high school, Hugh J. Andrews, principal of Decatur high school, announced today. Men now in service should report to their USAFI (United States Armed Forces Institute representative) and ask to take the GED test. The general educational developmental test is given on request, and if no score is received below 35 and the average of all scores is 45, the individual is qualified for a high school diploma ip : Indiana high schools. If the serviceman fails in his first try, he . may take courses to improve his i knowledge, and then take a retest i in the weak subjects. Veterans may inquire from USAFI, Madison, Wis., as to the 1 nearest location of a veterans testing service of the American council on education, which can give [ the tests to veterans. The tests are then . graded and scored through USAFI. Many previous students at De- ’ catur high school have applied in the past for diplomas, but this was not authorized until this year. The ■ diploma, called the state of Indiana military achievement test diploma, states that the student has qualified for graduation by passlevel, in conformance with the ing the GED tests, high school provisions of chapter 199, acts of 1957, and is awarded the diploma at (blank) high school in the state of Indiana. Each diploma will be signed by the school superintendent and principal, and the township trustee or school board members. Decatur high school is now processing requests for diplomas received before such graduation was authorized by state law.

24 Killed In Factory Fire In New York 15 Others'lnjured As Flames Sweep Garment Factory NEW YORK (UP)— Twentyfour men and women died Wednesday night in one hour of screaming horror in a flameswept garment factory. Fifteen were injured, several were in critical condition as a result of a fire that started When a gas oven exploded. The fire toll was the city’s worst in 12 years. City and state officials met in emergency sessions today to determine whether tighter laws are needed to protect workers from fire in the teeming jungle of old downtown commercial buildings. It appeared that most of the dead were cut off from safety by no more than smoke and fear. Four women leaped from the fourth floor Monarch Underwear Co. factory to firemen’s nets. Others were led or carried down firemen's ladders. Only a few reached safety down the . fire stairway, which remained intact throughout the blaze. The fire broke out in the floor below the garment factory when a gas oven used to dry freshlyprinted textiles exploded as it was lighted. Three nearby workers made brief but unsuccessful efforts to halt the flames and then fled down the fire stairs Fire leaped to the ceiling beneath the underwear factory. Fire Commissioner Edward F. Cavanagh Jr. said both floors were blazing when the first company reached the scene. Survivors told of panic, screaming and confused running about as smoke and then flames burst through the floor. “Abe Becker, my boss, broke a window open,” survivor, Mrs. Ann*.. rlßgitey* said- “I dpn t know what happened to mm. “You all get out,” Becker told his workers. "I'll be the last to leave.” But he was unable to persuade the hysterical workers to brave the hot smoke in the dark stairway. He was found _ dead with them, near the door. One man and one woman amazingly were found alive when firemen were finally able to enter the gutted garment shop more than two hours after the blaze started The woman had jumped into a metal storage box. Cavanagh said the box would normally have been like an oven, quickly roasting any one inside it. He surmised that water which poured through the factory’s windows in heavy streams had kept it cool enough for perilous survival. Cavanagh was at the scene of the blaze shortly after the second of five alarms was sounded. He said the building appeared to have been free of fire law violations, but that the entire neighborhood “stinks in fire prevention” and is full of hazardously “poor housekeeping” which the fire department, he said, is presently powerless to correct. Speech Contestants To Be Entertained Banquet And Dance To Follow Contest Judge Myles F. Parrish, of the Adams circuit court, will speak a* the banquet Friday night in honoof the state finalists of the Ameri can Legion oratorical contest, Hugh J. Andrews, chairman of the event, said today. The oratorical contest will be held at Decatur high school at 2. p.m. Friday, and following the speeches the out-of-town guests will be taken on a tour of the city At 6:30 the banquet will be served at the Legion home, and following Judge Parrish’s address to the group, a dance will be held at the Decatur Youth and Community Center. Each of the contestants here will receive a four-year scholarship to Indiana University, and the state winner will receive a trophy and cash award. \ Bud Ewbank, of Winchester, national alternate executive committeeman of the Indiana department. the American Legion, and Richard C. Smidley, of Indianap-, oils, director of Americanism, will present the'awards. Tickets are available to the public for the banquet. They may be obtained at the American Legion home. 12 Pages

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday,, March 20, 1958

Report Heavy Fighting As Rebels Battling To Retake City In Sumatra

House Action Near On Block Os Price Cuts Legislation Aimed At Preventing Cut In Price Supports WASHINGTON (UP) — The House was expected to pass legislation today aimed at blocking plans of Agriculture Secretary Ezra T. Benson to cut farm price; supports and planting allotments. Democratic leaders claimed the move would help in the fight against recession. They said Benson's scheduled price and planting reductions would cut farmers’ income by a half billion dollars this year. The resolution would cancel pending slashes in support prices i for milk and butterfat and nine other farm commodities. It would also wipe Out reductions expected next year in planting allotments for cotton and other crops. Some foes of the measure said it would wreck Benson’s promise of lower priced milk and butter starting April 1, when lower dairy price supports were ■ scheduled ,4q take effect Others said it would actually hurt taxpayers by driving up the cost of the farm program. And Still others said the move "dangerously” disrupt the farm program and thus hurt farmers themselves. Benson has all but said publicly that President Eisenhower would veto the resolution if it’s approved by the House. Chairman Oren Harris (D-Ark.) of the House legislative oversight subcommittee said his group will study mdre television decisions by the Federal Communications Commission to look for possible “White House influence.” The Senate Rackets Committee today began hearings on a unionbacked boycott of plumbing products made by the strike-bound Kohler Co. of Wisconsin. Other congressional news: Housing: The House completed congressional action on a $1,850,000,000 Democratic - sponsored housing *bill, designed to create 500,000 jobs by encouraging construction of 200,00 more homes this year. President Eisenhower was expected to sign the measure, even though the administration doesn’t care for some of its financing features. Resolutions: The House passed by lop-sided votes two Democratic resolutions calling on President Eisenhower to speed up construction of public works to provide more jobs for the unemployed. At the same time. Speaker Sam Rayburn accused Eisenhower of wishful thinking about the economy. He said the President seemed to think “everything is all right," but “we heard a lot of that kind °f talk in 1928, 1929 and 1930. Space: Dr- Hugh L. Dryden, & rector of the National Advisory Committee sos Aeronautics, said the United States may try to launch and earth satellite which (Continued on pare live)

Lenten Meditation (By Rev. William C. Feller, Zion Evangelical & Reformed Church) “THE CHOICE” “And Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping between the two sides? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” —1 Kings 18:21 Israel’s failure is the failure of many today. They would not declare themselves: they would not take a stand. They were* fence-straddlers, trying to.win the favor of Jehovah God and at the same, time endeavoring to appease Baal, the god of the world. Many of us today too often court the favor of the world and still try to be on God's side. Like Peter of old, we may belong to the disciples of Jeaus, but we still want to warm our hands by the fires of the enemies. We want to own the name of Christian but we also want to keep the welcome sign out for the things of the ’ world. Men who are unresolved in their convictions, unsteady in their purposes, who make fine promises but do not perform, who begin well but do not continue on, who are indifferent and lukewarm, i are among the limpets. Those who continue to limp between the i two sides are in danger of losing their souls. No man can serve God and the world. We need to choose, this day, whom we will serve. We need to let the world know where we stand. To choose God is the only wise choice; the only choicenhat will bring lasting joy, peace of heart and mind, and eternal salvation. “Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.”

Indicted Livestock Dealers Arrested Eight Dealers Are Released On Bond ' INDIANAPOLIS (UP)—Eight.pf 15 livestock dealers indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to falsify hog weights at the Indianapolis Stockyards surrendered to the U.S. Marshal here Wednesday. “The oth£*t. whose names were! withheld, were expected to be ar- ; rested today. As a result of investigations by 1 the Department of Agriculture, stockyards weighmasters were ' fired in October, 1956, and the 15 dealers and five firms were suspended by the government in January, 1957, for bribing the weigh- ( ers to hike weights. The eight who surrendered Wednesday were released on SI,OOO bonds pending arraignment March 28 before Federal Judg William E Steckler. The criminal chargs carry penalties of five years in prison and SIO,OOO fines. The eight are Charles J. Renard, 67; Fred Deboer, 45: J. Wallace Copeland, 50; Walter J. Nolte, 40; Thomas D. Graves, 59; Wayne McGuire, 43. and Maxwell Herfell, 65, all of Indianapolis, and Harry Herrell, 57, of Noblesville. The Herrells are, brothers. Assistant U.S. Atty. Philip RAie|angton Jr. said the weightjuggling “was not on scales Where farmers got hogs weighed ” But, he said,, “the falsification of weights for hogs sold by the dealers to two Eastern packers may have affected the farmers’ prices indirectly.” Weighmasters involved were not indicted. They testified before the federal grand jury. . Melangton said they will be subpenaed as government witnesses at the dealers’ trials. "The weighmasters were paid by the Belt Railroad and Stockyards Co., Inc.,” Melangton said, “but Renard determined which scales they worked on, approved their substitutes, and dictated weighing policy to the stockyard company’s supervisor,” New Memberships Sold In C. of C. More new memberships to the Decatur Chamber of Commerce were reported today by co-chair-men Dale Morrissey and Dr. R. E. Allison of the 1958 membership drive. Workers Chalmer Bollenbacher and James Basham of the Art Burris team reported a $25 membership sold to Ncfcman Guard, owner of the Decatur Floral company. Captain John Margerum reported a $25 membership sold to Dr. Mel Weisman, Decatur podiatrist, by worker George F. Laurent. Worker Laurent also sold a new membership to Ray Fager, owner of Fager Appliance store.

Woii Resumed . At Decatur's | G.E. Factory 1 Resume Production As Sitdown Strike Is Ended At Pont Production was resumed Wednesday afternoon and this morning at the Decatur plant of the General Electric Co. as workers in the rotor die casting and stacking department returned to their jobs. The plant had been idled since Monday afternoon after employes in the department staged a "sitdown” strike over a disagreement on pay for piece rate work in the department. Members of the department returned to work when the second shift opened Wednesday afternoon, and other members on the first shift began work this morning, enabling production to be resumed. The work stoppage began after the company and officials of Local 924 (UE), bargaining agent for the employes, failed to reach agreement on, setting piece rates for. . workers in the rotor die casting and stacking department. It was learned this morning that negotiations between management and union representatives were renewed today after the resumption of work. A session was held today and representatives of the company and union will hold further discussions on the piece rate question for the department Friday morning. Negotiations have been underway for several weeks following a request by employes in the affected department that their pay be based on a piece work rate, rather than on hourly-rated wages, as have been paid in this department for several years. Monday, the company presented its offer to the employes on piece work rate or to remain on the hourly-rated scale. The workers refused to accept the rates as proposed by the company and the work stoppage resulted. Mrs. Gustav Miller Dies This Morning PreMe Twp. Lady Is Taken By Death Mrs. Martha Miller, 69, wife of Gustav Miller, died at 11 o'clock this morning at her home in Preble township, three miles north and two miles west of Preble.... She had been in failing health for 18 months and seriously ill for the past four months. She was born in Preble township Dec. 24, 1888, a daughter of Christian and Louise MittelkampConrad, and was a lifelong resident of the township. She was married to Gustav Miller June 3, 1915. Mrs. Miller wfs a member of the Zion Lutheran church at Friedheim. Surviving in addition to her husband are two daughters, Mrs. Elbert Berning of Fort Wayne, and Mrs. Edwin Reifsteck of Preble township; five grandchil- r dren; three brothers, Henry Conrad of Preble township, Edwin Cpnrad of Fort Wayne, and Roy Conrad of Hoagland, and three sisters, Mrs. William Koenemann of Hoagland, Mrs. Martin Boese and Mrs. Rudolph Eickhoff, both of Preble township. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p. m. Sunday at the Zwick funeral home and at 2:30 p. m. at the Zion Lutheran church at Friedheim, the Rev. A. A. Fenner officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 o’clock Friday evening until time of the services.

Banquet Speaker II 8! ■ g I I 1 I < I i 1 John W. Hicks, assistant to the president of Purdue University, , will be the principal speaker at the annual Adams county farm- ’ er’s achievement banquet Mon- ; day evening. The banquet will 1 be held at the Berne auditorium. Associated with Purdue siflCe 1 1947, Hicks was appointed assistant to the president Jan. 1, 1955. i ■ < Kills Self In Taxi Following Shooting Cab Driver Slightly Wounded By Trooper PLYMOUTH flh - William Fahlgren, 54, Knox, an unemployed laborer, Wit himself to death in a taxicab today after wounding th „ son of a widow he dated. b Fahlgren fired a fatal bullet into his head a moment after an Indiana State Police trooper shot at the cab containing the armed man but hit the cab driver instead of his fleeing passenger. Harold Dill, a Plymouth cabbie, was hospitalized but not seriously injured by a bullet fired by Trooper Forrest Kent, who fired, just as Dill rolled out of the cab to avoid being caught in crossfire between the officer and Fahlgren. Authorities said Fahlgren went to the home of Mrs. Norma Cramer.v 53, in Plymouth. They quarreled and Fahlgren slapped her, Mrs. Cramer said. She. shouted for her ’on, Ned, 23, and when Cramer enured the room Fahlgren shot at him, a bullet grazing his chest. The Cramers ran from the house and called police. Fahlgren left, meanwhile, and called a cab. Dill drove Fehlgren out Ind. 8, apparently on instructions to take him home. Police chased the cab and caught up with it about eight miles southwest of Plymouth. Kent and Plymouth policeman Les Thomas stopped the cab and drew their guns, expecting trouble when they approached Fahlgren to arrest him. Kent's bullet pierced Dill's arm and grazed his abdomen. Fahlgren fired before the officers could get him out of the cab. He died a few minutes after admission to Parkview Hosptlal. — ■■■■:. One-Auto Smashup Takes Third Life GARY (IP» — A one-car smashup claimed its third life late Wednesday when Bobby Jennings, 15, a Hobart high school student, died in Methodist hospital. Two 14-year-old students were, killed outright on U.S. 6 on the outskirts of Hobart. The driver, Robert Stumpke, 19, was in critical condition. Says Highway Plans To Employ Million MILWAUKEE — (W — Sen. Albert Gore D-Tenn. predicted that passage of his federal highway bill would provide employment lor one million persons. The, bill, up for Senate action next week, would prove a major i step in "putting America back to work,” Gore told the Wisconsin Road Builders Assn. Wednesday. The senator said no public i works program could compare ey into circulation to ease the • with road building in getting moncurrent recession.

Civilians Os Foreign Lands Fleeing Medan Rebel Forces Mass For Counterattacks On City In Sumatra SINGAPORE (UP)—Rebel quarters reported heavy fighting tonight around the North Sumatran capital of Medan, from which 500 American, British and Dutch civilians fled aboard the 20,000-ton Dutch liner Oranje. Revolutionary quarters here told the United Press that rebel forces were massing with seven battalions of troops north and south of Medan for counterattacks on the important city of 300,000 persons. The sources said the heaviest fighting now was in jrr ug res s—around Lake Tobo, which is approximately 44 miles south of Medan. They said fighting also was in progress in the Pakanbaru oil center* area, with rebel forces attacking government troops who had seized the region last week. Pakanbaru is the focal point of the U S.-owned . California Texas Pacific Oil Company's operations" in Central Sumatra- ■ The revolutionary sources here also told United Press that the rebels will blow up the multi-mil-lion-dollar Caltex oil installations at Pakanbaru if the central gbvernment attempts to export oil. Achinese Join Rebels The revolutionary sources said rebel forces seized more than 200 million rupees while they held Me-. dan briefly during the weekend. They said the rebels, who were under the command of Americantrained Maj. W.F. Nanggolan, also captured 70 trucks loaded with ammunition and supplies while they were in Medan, 11118 booty, was moved into the i mountains near Lake Tobo, where fighting now was underway.■ In addition, the sources said two battalions of Achinese troops who have thrown in their lot with the rebels were grouped in the jungles northwest of Medan and were expecting reinforcements from the (estimated 150,000 - man Achinese army. The Achinese are a warlike people who live in the Atjeh region of extreme northern Sumatra. The sources here also claimed that some jrebel forces still are inside Medan and, with help from outside, are determined to recapture the city and deal the central government forces a serious blow. Charge’ U.S- Interference The Indonesian Antara news agency reported in a dispatch from Jakarta, however, that Lt. Col. Sjamuan Gahara. commander of the Atjeh military district, claimed that no elements of the tough Achinese soldiers in his command had defected to the rebels* , The Communist New China News Agency in a broadcast heard in Tokyo quoted the Indonesia® Communist-newspaper Harian Rakjat as charging that the US. diplomatic mission in Medan had helped the rebels withdrawal from that city. NCNA said the newspaper reported the U.S. mission there had contact with Nanggolan before he withdrew from Medan. Observers in Jakarta, it added, “held such an act of the U.Sdiplomatic organization to have been a direct intervention Ih Ihdo- ■ nesian domestic affairs.” Continued on page five) bulletin Mr. and Mrs. John Alberding, of near Decatur, received word today that their granddaughter, Miss Marilyn Louise Fenker, 23, a member of the Waves of the U- S. Navy, died this morning of injuries sustained in an aqto accident Wednesday night near the Navy base at Bainbridge, Md. t She was the daughter of Mr. i and Mrs. Frank Fenker, 2817 New Haven avenue*, Fort Wayne. Mrs. Fenker was Miss Mary Alberding before her marriage. No details of the accident have been received hero.

Six Cents