Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 56, Number 268, Decatur, Adams County, 13 November 1958 — Page 1

Vol. LVI. No. 268

Is: : ■ x \ " Vvrv IS- - X * \ 7 > 1 . L ■ * - ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■ — ■■IHMI. ■! .11 — .I'li ■ ■—■, I . W II I . I «I»H W , I 111 im I ■■ ' . DECATUB ELKS PLAN NEW HOME— Pictured above is an engineer’s drawing of the beautiful ranch' type home which will be erected by the Decatur B. P. O. Elks lodge on the fraternal organization s property on North Second street. As planned, the present old colonial style lodge home which has been a picturesque Decatur landmark for nearly a century will be torn down to make room for the new home and ample parking facilities. Lodge members, at a recent meeting, voted almost unanimously to erect the new home and at the same time granted approval to sell the three lots on Third street, also part of the Elks property. Robert Hammond, exalted ruler, stated that the lodge’s building and finance committee have been authorized to proceed with necessary arrangements, subject to final approval of the grand lodge. Details for grand lodge presentation are being prepared by Hammond and his staff of officers, assisted by district and grand lodge Elks representatives. The Elks is the second oldest fraternal lodge in Decatur. It was organized in 1905 and for many years was located on the third floor of the Bocb building on South Second street. In 1025, the Elks purchased the present home from the C. C. Schafer family and has maintained the home as a Decatur beauty spot since that time. Three charter members are still living, L. A. Holthouse, I. A. Kalver and Earl B. Adams.

United States Offers Plan On Space Policy Willing To Permit Foreign Scientists To Work In Program UNITED NATIONS (UPD—The United States said today it was willing to have foreign scientists participate in its program to develop a peaceful outer space policy under the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge introduced before the General Assembly's Main Political Committee a resolution co-spon-sored by 19 other countries calling for a study group to report next year on possible U.N. space steps. Lodge said the U.N. should “take immediate Steps to prepare a fruitful program" withart waiting for big-power agreement on a comprehensive dtsarmameirt agreement. The Soviet Union, which refused to join the United States in a joint East-West spatial aproach in the U.N., previously submitted a resolution linking a ban on the use of outer space for military purposes with a demand for the elimination of all military bases on foreign territory. Noting that “a new dimension has been added to man’s existence’’ by his penetration of space, Lodge said “each of us has been struck by the sudden realization that despite the things that divided us, we are all living on the same planet.” "The challenge is great and the stakes are high,” he said. “We can destroy ourselves through rivalries or we can use our discoveries as a vehicle for international harmony... “The United States will cooperate with the international scientific community. The United States is willing to have foreign scientists participate, in an appropriate way, in the U.S. space program... We hope a truly new world awaits man’s curiosity and discovery. It may well lead to discoveries of a kind we can not now imagine.” Joining the United States in sponsoring the resolution for the year’s study by the committee were Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, (Continued on oag* five) Damage Slight From School Bomb Blast CHICAGO (UPD — Between 200 and 300 parents and children attending an open house at an elementary school here panicked Wednesday night when a homemade bomb exploded in the vestibule. Damage ftom the black powder bomb, however, was - slight. Six windows were broken and a few others cracked. Flight For Atlas Missile Postponed CAPE CANAVERAL (UPD - Liquid oxygen poured intermittenly for several hours from an intercontinental Atlas missile early today, but a scheduled 3,100-mile flight finally was postponed. The Air Force did not explain why it “scrubbed” the 80-foot missile which would be the 14th fired since flight testing began in June of 1957. It was the first Atlas firing attempt since Sept. 18, when a try at sending the 100-ton missile the full 6,325-mile , intercontinental distance 1 ended in an explosion only 80 seconds after launching. 14 Page*

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ; ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY ■ ■■ ' I

Record 1958 Crop Is At Epic Proportions 11 Per Cent Higher Than Record Crops WASHINGTON (UPD — The record 1958 crop is reaching epic proportions. The Agriculture Department’s next-to-last crop report for the year, issued Wednesday, estimated the 1958 output to be 11 per cent above the volume of previous record crops of 1957, 1956 and 1948. The crop is 18 per cent larger than for the 1947-49 base period. The 1958 crop was grown on the smallest acreage in 40 years. The bigness of the 1958 crop stemmed from the fact that good growing weather coupled with improved farming techniques, better insecticides. better herbicides and better fertilizers produced recordbreaking yields per acre in practically all types of food, feed and fiber plants. The index of crop yield as of Nov. 1 was 143 per cent of the base period. This was an increase of 12 per cent over the previous record yield of 1957. Record Corn Output In Wednesday’s semifinal report the department said slight to important gains over Oct. 1 estimates were shown for corn, soybeans, sorghum grain, dry beans, rice, peanuts, potatoes, sugar beers and grapes. Slight to moderate declines were registered for sweet potatoes, tobacco, apples, pears, and nut crops. Corn was the standout commodity in the abbreviated report. The crop reporting board estimated the corn output at a record 3,785,544,000 bushels, up 3 per cent from Oct. 1— 11 per cent above 1957, and 20 per cent above average. The previous record corn crop was 3,605,000,000 bushels in 1948. The 1958 yield per acre was estimated at 51./ bushels compared with tr.e previous record of 46.8 bushels in 1957. Feed Grain Record lowa’s share of this huge pile of key feed grain was estimated at almost 678 million bushels. Illinois, some time competitor with lowa as the No. 1 corn state, had an estimated crop of 585 million bushels. Sorghum grain production was estimated at a record 639 million bushels, 14 per cent above 1957 and almost four times the 10-year average. The record corn and sorghum grain crops, plus record barley and above-average oats crops harvested earlier, add to a total feed grain production almost 11 per cent above the 1957 record. Other Nov. 1 production estimates: Soybeans, 75 million bushels, up 20 per cent from 1957 and nearly double the 10-year average; fall potatoes, 179 million hundredweight, 14 per cent above 1957 and 18 per cent above average; apples, 125 million bushels, 15 per cent above average. City And Railroad Officials Confer City officials and representatives of the Pennsylvania railroad met Wednesday on the matter of the two flasher signals and a watchman for the Dayton street crossing that the city is seeking in a new city ordinance. The city officials informed the representatives to present their problem to the city council at the next meeting Tuesday evening at the city hall. 1 The city ordinance, when passed, will require that the signals be installed and a watchman on duty at the crossing from 7 a.m. tb-’3 p.m. within 90 days of the effective date of the ordinance. If the ordinance is passed, the railroad will be fined $lO to SSO a day for violation of the ordinance if the ruling is not followed.

Renew Demands Western Allies To Quit Berlin West Berliner's Fear Os Blockade Somewhat Abated BERLIN (UPD ir The official East German Communist newspaper Neues Deutschland renewed demands today the Western Allies get out of Berlin. It said the Western Allied occupation of the city could start a third world war. But despite a new rash of threats, West Berliners’ fears of a new blockade abated somewhat in the face of the backdown Wednesday by East German Premier Otto Grotewohl and West Berlin Deputy Mayor Franz Amrehn said “there will be no new blockade.” Mayor Willy Brandt added that the Communist attempt to find a weak spot in the West’s armament had boomeranged in the face of the Western promise to fight if necessary to save the city. The latest threat came from Hermann Matem, deputy president of the East German parliament, whose statement was printed in Neues Deutschland. “It is necessary to point out clearly that* as long as troops of the Western powers are in Berlin there exists the danger of a provocation that could start a world war,” he said. Matem, who also is member of the Communist Party Politburo, said the Western troops must withdraw to restore Berlin life to normal. East Berlin Mayor Freidrich Ebert sajd the occupation regime must be eradicated in all of Berlin. He recalled that the Soviets said in 1948 at start of the starvation blockade that all of Berlin is part of the Soviet Zone. No one thought the danger was past forever, but the feeling was that the exposed Western outpost had gained a breathing spell for the time being. New threats might come tomorrow, but the blockade measures expected ever since Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s speech in Moscow Monday had not materialized. Khrushchev posed the greatest danger to the city since the 19481949 land blockade when he called for an end of the four-power agreements under which the United States, Britain, France and Russia occupy the former capital. He raised the specter of a new blockade by saying the Soviets would transfer to Communist East Germany control over the Western air, road, rail and canal lifelines to the West. The East German Communists followed up Khrushchev’s statement with a demand the Western powers get out of Berlin. Grotewohl failed to foUow through at a press conference Wednesday. Instead he halted the Communist campaign and said Khrushchev had been misunderstood. The East German news service ADN distributed the text of Grotewhol’s statement to deny false Western reports that Grotewohl said the Soviets were planning to withdraw their troops. -- INDIANA WEATHER Considerable cloudiness and mild through Friday. Some scattered showers likely, especially in north portion and mainly tonight and Friday. Low tonight 48 to 56. High Friday 6$ to 72. Sunset today 5:32 p.m. e.d.t. Sunrise Friday 7:26 a.m. c.d.L Outlook for Saturday: Continued unseasonably warm and partly cloudy. Lows 45 to 55. Highs 66 to 76.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, November 13, 1958.

Seven Children Die At Fort Wayne As Home Is Swept By Flames -

Move To Break Deadlock Over Nuclear Bans U. S. Offers Russia Treaty On Test Ban And Control System GENEVA (ITPI) — The United ' States, in a new move to break the present Geneva deadlock today offered thq, Soviet Union a treaty for an East-West ban on nuclear tests and a control system to police it. A draft of the treaty was handed to the Soviets by U.S. Ambassador James J. Wadsworth when the bogged-down East-West conference on ending nuclear tests met for its eighth formal session. The conference recessed until next Monday to give the Russians time to study it. The U.S. move to break the current deadlock in the nuclear ban talks came a few hours after a renewed frontal attack on the West by the Communist block in the other East-West Geneva conference now underway—the parley on prevention of surprise attacks. The surprise attacks meeting also is deadlocked over its agenda and showed no signs of progress today. Details of the U.S. draft treaty on nuclear test suspension were not disclosed. The Soviet Union had submitted Ji nuclear ban draft treaty of its own at the start of the present talks. But the West turned it down because the Russians demanded an advance pledge to prohibit nuclear testing immediately for all time, the West has insisted throughout that a control system must be set up first. The U.S. draft presumably was in line with this Western condition and provided for a ban on nuclear testing simultaneously with agreement on a control system. •- The renewed attack by the Communist bloc was another .outlnued on Hold Rotary Speech Contest November 20 Six Decatur High Students Compete The annual Rotary speech contest for high school students will be held at the Decatur Youth and Community Center Thursday evening, Nov. 20, according to an announcement today by Gail Grabill. president of the Decatur Rotary club. Next week’s meeting will be held 30 minutes earlier than usual, Grabill emphasized, with the dinner to be served at 6 o’clock, followed immediately by the speech contest. Six Decatur high school students will compete in the Rotary contest. They were selected from 40 speech class pupils under direction of Dehne Dorwin, speech instructor at the school. The six contestants are Miss Cheryl Ashbaucher, Peter Friederici, Miss Judy Rhodes, Robert Shraluka, Jr., Miss Sharron Sheets and Miss Betty Smith. William Jacobs, another speech student, will act as master of ceremonies. W. Guy Brown, Decatur school superitnendent, is chairman of the local contest. Subject for this year’s contest, as outlined by Rotary International, is “Education is the Answer.” The winner of the Decatur contest will be entered in the group contest, and the grotip winners will compete in the sectional contest. Sectional winners will then meet in the district, or final, contest during the annual district conference, which is usually held in April. 1 All contestants prepare their own speeches, which should not exceed 10 rAinutes in length nor : less than eight minutes. 1

Bluffton Man Heads Boy Scout District Lyle Cotton Named South District Head Lyle J. Cotton, Bluffton businessman and institutional representative for the past three years Os one of the best Cub packs in the district, was elected chairman cA the south district of the Anthony Wayne council of the Boy Scouts of America at the Decatur Youth and Community Center Wednesday night. * Cotton will replace E. E. Rydell, present chairman, of Decatur. County zone chairmen are: John Flabingam, of Bluffton, for Wells county; Harold Sprunger of Berne, for Adams county; and Minor Burgess, of Dunkirk, for Jay county. Sprunger will be assisted by George Auer, of Decatur, a former council chairman in southern Indiana. Active Scouter Cotton has served for two years as a member of the leadership training committee, and has been district chairman of leadership training for the past year. An active council member, he has personally supervised many fine training courses. Mrs. Cotton is <a den mother, and the family has three Scouts: David, 9; Steve, 8, and Claudia, 10, a Girl Scout. Cotton was program director for the dad-lad camporee held at the game farm in October, and is the chairman of the special training team for the new explorer scout program. He is also director of the commission on education of his church, and a Lions club member. (Cointinuea on page slxj Sale Os Christmas Seals Is Launched Annual Campaign Is Launched In County The opening of the 52nd annual Christmas seal campaign was announced today by Robert Zwick, president of the Adtms county tuberculosis association. More than 6,000 letters containing seals, and prepared by the Decatur high school commercial department and many other volunteers, are being mailed to individuals and business houses. Zwick also announced that health bonds in denominations of $5 to SSO will be available to organizations of the county who wish to contribute in that way. During the campaign last year, 36 organizations contributed through health bonds. Christmas seals may be purchased from the schools of the county if they failed to arrive at the homes. The program of the Adams county tuberculosis association includes: health education; mobile X-ray surveys in co-operation with the Indiana state board of health; patch testing of school children; co-operation with Irene Byron hospital in Fort Wayne; participation in rehabilitation program for tuberculosis patients; participation in state and national research projects, etc. Os the proceeds of the Christmas seal sales, 18 per cent is sent to state and national organizations, with the remaining 82 per; cent retained for financing the local program. The Christmas seal sale is the association's only means of raising funds. Each year more than 1700 new cases of TB are discovered in Indiana and more than 300 Hoosiers die from TB. Much remains to be done in the fight against TB and contributions will make possible the continuation of tiie services offered by the Adams county association. During this year, over 1417 school children were patch tested in Adams county, over 2,578 adults received X-ray services at the mobile unit; and 30 persons received help at the diagnostic clinics.

Auto Workers i Union Strikes I At Harvester 5,000 Workers At Fort Wayne Branch Affected By Strike CHICAGO (UPD — The United Auto Workers union called a nationwide strike today against International Harvester Co. following a breakdown of last-mute negotiations. The walkout, which began at 7 a.m. (local time), idled 36,500 employes at 15 Harvester plants. It was expected to affect at least 21 other plants which are subsidiaries or have connections with the giant farm equipment firm. A three-way meeting of UAW representatives, company officials and two federal mediators was scheduled for 1 p.m. c.s.t. today, too late to avert the walkout scheduled last week. Last-minute efforts by mediators Douglas D. Brown and William G. Murray failed to settle the dispute Wednesday night. The strike action followed five months of bargaining talks for a new contract to replace one which expired Aug. 1. Work has continued since that data under an agreement subject to cancellation by either side on a week’s notice. The UAW served notice last Thursday that it was calling a . strike for today with "the over- . whelming support of Harvester ; workers across the country. Brown and Murray said after Wednesday night’s 1%-hour session that there was little agreement between management and labor representatives. Union sources said the UAW was attempting to negotiate supplemental unemployment revisions, pensions, health plans and wage increases. The first major settlement in the farm implement field in 1958 was reached last Wednesday by 1 representatives of the UAW and . John Deere Co. The next day the union announced plans to strike ’ against Harvester. Harvester plants involved in the on page five) : Malinda Reichard , Dies lasi Evening ! Willshire Resident Is Taken By Death 5 Mrs. Malinda Mae (Minnie) • Reichard. 86, of Willshire, O„ ‘ died at 8:40 o’clock Wednesday ' evening at the Lutheran hospital ! in Fort Wayne of complications following surgery. She had been ■ ill for Several months and hospit- ■ alized for the past 19 days. ‘ She was born near Ansonia, 0., i May 3, 1872, a daughter of Adam ; and Susanna Shook-Sonday, and was married to James Henry ■ Reichard June 9, 1889 in WUli shire, where she had resided for ■ more than 70 years. Her husband i died in 1945. Mrs. Reichard was a member or the Willshire Methodist chuch. Surviving are four sons, William D and Charles R. Reichard of Colon, Mich.: Fred Reichard of De- ’ fiance, 0., and John E. Reichard of Willshire: five daughters, Mrs. June Butz, Mrs. Elmer (Ethel) , Spillers arid Mrs. Ernest (Mil- ; dred) Linn, all of .Fort Wayne; ' Mrs. Gladys Springer of Decatur, and Mrs. Lester (Jesse) Hoverman of Willshire; 26 grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; 56 ’ great-grandchildren, and eight step-great-grandchildren. One ' daughter, two sons, four sisters 1 and two brothers are deceased. 1 The body was removed to the Zwick funeral home, where : friends may call after 7 o’clock this evening. The body will lie in state ; at the Willshire Methodist church from ,12 noon Saturday until services at 1:30 p. m. The Rev. William D. Powers will | officiate.

State Officer t " ’ * - w ’ r 1 ■ J Miss Sally McCullough Sally McCullough Is State Officer Named Treasurer Os State Rural Youth At the 21st annual state rural youth convention held Wednesday in Indianapolis, Miss Sally McCullough of St. Mary’s township was elected treasurer of Indiana rural youth tor 1959. She will serve on the state board of directors along with the other state elected officers and the district directors for the year. The convention was held at the Murat Temple and the morning program was opened with a message from George Doup, president of Indiana Farm Bureau who welcomed the rural youthers to the convention. Reports of the various state committees were also given in the morning session. Miss Gloria Koeneman, Preble ’ township, who represents the Indi--1 ana organization on the national young people’s committee, gave i her report of the activities of the I national committee during the morning session. 1 Election of officers featured the afternoon session with the following being elected to serve as state rural youth officers: president, Meredith Speicher, Wabash county; first vice president, Doris Irvin,' Henry county; second vice president, Dave Warner, Fulton county; secretary, Clara Biggs, Jasper, and treasurer, Sally McCullough, Adams county. The state public speaking and talk meet contests were held during the afternoon and evening sessions. The winner of the public speaking contest was Dave Spurgeon, Jackson county, and the talk meet contest winner was Lee Cloe, Hamilton county. Cloe will represent Indiana in the national talk meet contest to be held at the national convention, Boston, Mass., in December. The evening banquet was held in the Marot Temple and Bob White, 1952 president of Indiana rural youth, installed the new state officers in a candlelight ceremony. The membership, newsletters, and community service awards were also presented at the banquet. The * entertainment featured the '’Embers,” winners of the state talent find contest who will also appear on the national convention program at Boston. Following the banquet, the rural youth members met with the Farm Bureau in a joint session which featured talks by Governor Harold Handley and Gwynn Garnett. The rural youth party and dance brought the convention to a close Wednesday night. Attending the convention from Adams county were Legora Markle, Glorie Koeneman, Sally McCullough, and Leo Seltenright, county agent. Grocery Robbed Os $1,400 Wednesday INDIANAPOLIS (UPD — A bandit wearing a stocking for a mask held up Miss Mary Lou Ooley, 19, as s|ie worked as clerk in a grocery here Wednesday and escaped with $1,400.

Parenls, One Child Escape From Inferno Seven Os Family Die As Fort Wayne Home Is Swept By Flames FORT WAYNE, Ind. (UPD — Seven children in one family were burned to death today when, fire swept the Fort Wayne home of Mr. and Mrs. George Gammons. The parents escaped with their lives after tossing their 4-year-old daughter Connie Sue. only surviving child of the family, through a window. Gammons, 34, and his wife, Audrey, 31, were taken to Lutheran Hospital suffering from shock and smoke inhalation. The fire was blamed on a defective oil stove. Police quoted Mrs. Gammons as saying the family had had trouble with the stove. The dead children ranged in age from 7 weeks to 11 years. Four of them were boys, three girls. They were identified as George, 11; Chester, 9; Irene, 7; Alvis, 5; John, 3; Carolyn, 1, and Georgia Ann, 7 weeks. The Ganunonsqs lived to what authorities described as a "tworoom frame home" several miles from downtown Fort Wayne. The fire was discovered shortly before 8 a.m. c.d.t. The surviving child also was taken to the hospital where her . parents went. All three were re- ■ ported in fair condition from j shock and cuts. Mrs. Gammons - also sustained third-degree bums. > Gammons is an oil company . truck driver. : Details of what started the fire ■ were sought. Authorities believed 1 the explosion of the space heater ! did not occur until after the fire ■ started. The flames were believed to have been fed to inferno propor--5 tions by oil leaking from a tube ■ running from tank to heater after 3 the tube was melted by the heat. Authorities believed most of the } victims were in a bedroom at the ’ time the fire started. They said ; Mrs. Gammons arose at 7 a.m. 1 when an alarm clock rang. She ’ was believed to be the only one ’ up. ■ The Gammonses were incommunicado at the hospital, appar- , ently stunned by the loss of their children. > Meanwhile, community commitI tees and civic groups organized I relief for the stricken family, in- . eluding fund solicitations. Frank Mangano, a neighbor, I told firemen he noticed flames . enveloping the house and tried to smash windows but the fire was too hot. When the first fire comi pany arrived, flames were shooting 40 feet into the air. The Gammons home was a tiny frame structure covered with imitation brick siding in a run-down neighborhood. Hundreds of curious thronged the area when word of the fire spread. But neighbors tacked sheets of plywood over the charred windows to prevent sightseers from looking inside. Grand Jury Called To Meet December 1 The grand jury will meet in the Adams circuit court room December 1 at 9 o’clock, for their annual inspection of the county home, court house, and county jail. On the meeting day, the jury will receive instructions on their duties as jury members, and will investigate any criminal cases brought to their attention. The petit jury will be called to the court room November 24 to try the Case of the state of Indiana vj McOmber. The hearing will be : to determine a fair purchase price for the ground purchased by the state on the construction of U.S- 27. > The case was first opened December 2, 1954.

Six Cento