Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 56, Number 306, Decatur, Adams County, 30 December 1958 — Page 1

Vol. LVI. No. 306.

. K|i Ji' I . w ■ Bk I < Iwh* ' ■ A ■ oiwwWp 4 ' '"^ r ' i£3HMHMMMHMNHMMMHMMMHL’' -.. OUT ON THE UMB—His leg in a cast as a result of a* dislocated kneecap and sprained ligaments sustained in a disastrous ride in a youngster’s soapbox racer the day after Christmas, Sen. Estes Kefauver (D.-Tenn.) has the plaster autographed by John'Daugherty, a young admirer. The Senator is on the mend at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

Blackwells Store Sale Is Announced Model Department Stores Chain Buys Local Store Today Blackwells Department store. North Second street, has been sold to Model Department Stores chain, effective today, Ed A. Langhorst and Carroll Blackwell, former owners, and Samuel H. Goldman, president of the new corporation, announced today. The new owners have three other departm'ent stores in Indiana, at Boonville, Mt. Vernon, and Tell City, and have operated in the southern part of the state for 20 years. This is their first venture in northern Indiana, and Decatur was chosen as the most likely enterprising community in this area. Langhorst and Blackwell, former owners, thanked the people of Decatur for the fine acceptance given the store during the past years. They bought the store from John Halterman four years ago. Other business necessitated the / sale, they explained. The two New Haven men operate a store presently, in that community. Blackwell’s will continue operation under Robert Lane as store manager, and all the employes will be retained, Goldman stated. Local resources Will be used whenever possible, and all work on the local store will be done by local people. The Model stores have always been interested in civic enterprises, and will continue their interest in Decatur, Goldman said. Administrative and warehouse offices for the firm are in St. Louis, Mo., although all the stores are located in Indiana. Feliz Lilienthal and Co., Inc., of New York, N.Y. is the purchasing agent for the company. “Lilienthal is one of the largest agents in the world, and the tremendous direct mill and manufacturing resources of the company enable us to bring to the consumer quality and style merchandise at lowest prices," Goldman stated. - The local store will continue with the fine lines of merchandise carried at present, and additional lines will be added from time to time.” J. G. Goldman, son of the president, and executive assistant, will supervise the Decatur store, and manage buying for the Indiana stores. The founder of the corporation was Charles Gojdman, father of S. H. Goldman, who started the company in 1922 after a lifetime in merchandising. S. H. Goldman entered the firm in 1925, and his son began in 1951. The firm was in the wholesale business before entering the retail market. INDIANA WEATHER Partly cloudy extreme north, cloudy south and central through Wednesday with some drizzle in south portion this afternoon, becoming mixed with a freezing drizzle or very light sleet or snow tonight and Wednesday. Colder most sections tonight. Little temperature change Wednesday. Low tonight 17 to 25 north, 24 to 39 south. High Wednesday 37 to 34. Sunset today 5:30 p.m. c.d.L Sunrise Wednesday 8:06 a.m. c.d.L Outlook for Thursday: Partly cloudy north, cloudy south with some light rain or snow south. Low Wednesday night around 20 north to mid 20s south. High Thursday mid 20s north to around 30 south.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Careless Driving Problems Discussed John Doan Speaker At Lions Meeting Indiana’s problems with careless drivers, and the point system for removing dangerous drivers from the road were discussed by John M. Doan, .hearing judge with the bureau of motor vehicles, with the Decatur Lions Monday night. The former mayor was introducj ed by Herman H. Krueckeberg, program chairman for the evening, i Two guests were present: Dan . Krueckeberg, son of Herman, and . John Spahr, of Lafayette, son-in- . law of Noah Steury. Thirteen Boy Scouts from troop 62 were guests r of the club tpr the speech. t The former Lions club member 1 explained that there were no hear- > ings during-the holidays, and he 1 was traveling around to various or- : ganizations explaining the job of r the bureau of motor vehicles. . He had first been assigned to the • financial responsibility division, he ' explained. Indiana law does not • require a driver to have insurance. ■ but it does require him to prove financial responsibility in case of 1 an accident. The easiest way to do this is to carry adequate insurance, in which case the agent signs ! the statement, Doan explained. If 1 the driver has no insurance, he must get a release signed by the ■ other party in the accident, or he ' must post a bond large enough to 1 cover the estimated damages for ■ one year. If ho law suit has been • filed in that time, the rtioney is re- ! turned. If the driver does not have 1 the money to raise a bond, and • cannot secure a release, then his driver’s license is revoked. A hearing judge operates under the driver improvement depart- ‘ men) established by the state leg- • islature in 1949, and improved in ’ 1951. The purpose of this depart--1 ment is to encourage border-line drivers to iriiprove their driving ■ habits, and then, if they refuse to improve, to take their licenses, as ; provided under the statute. A good example of his work, Doan explained, was that of a case coming up soon. The man is 45 years old, a truck driver. He has : had four arrests, all for speeding in his truck, usually 60 miles per hour. Since these four arrests have occurred in a three-year period, he must appear before the hearing judge. In this case, where all the arrests are due to speeding, and there is no indication of recklessness otherwise, the driver will probably be placed on probation for six months. Any offense in this period, or absence from the hearing itself, would cause of the probationary status, and loss of the driving privilege. About 1,200 persons a year are killed in Indiana on the highways, Doan stated. There are 30,000 persons injured, and 20% of these are permanently disabled; property damage amounts to more than $3 million. When a person accumulates 12 points in three years, or nine points in 18 months, he is sent a x notice by the bureau. He must return the notice in 15 days if he wishes a hearing; if not, he loses his license. Many people lose their licenses without even knowing it, because they fail to report, as required by law, any change in their address. If this happens, it is file fault of the driver, not the motor vehicle bureau, Doan continued. Each driver is responsible for having his correct address on file with the department. Occasionally cases of mistaken identity occur. A few weeks ago in Bluffton (Doan covers the fourth congressional district) a young man appeared with 12 points Continued on pags flvs V' ■ ■

New Defense Plan Listed By De Gaulle Dramatic Program For Streamlining Military Defense PARIS (UPI) —Premier Charles de Gaulle issued a dramatic program today for streamlining , France’s military defense to meet the requirements of the nuclear age. The defense plan followed his weekend economic “revolution,” which brought rumblings from French labor today. Information Minister Jacques Soustelle announced the defense reorganization after a three-hour meeting of the De Gaulle cabinet. The program in effect scrapped the existing French system, which was designed to meet conditions made obsolete by the advent of - nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. Patterned on U.S. Agency The defense and economic reforms are part of a series of measures De Gaulle is pushing through before he relinquishes the premiership to take over the presidency Jan. 8. The new defense program is designed to keep France on a permanent state of alert against sud- : den and unexpected attack. It also • takes steps to defend the nation i against peacetime subversion, , particularly the kind practiced by , Communism. The program, clearly based on De Gaulle's own long military experience, apparently was based on the theory that nuclear warfare would leave no time for the old-style progressive mobilization 1 of the armed forces. I One of the main features of the - streamlining program was the ’ creation of a national defense i committee similar to the National Defense Council in the United . States. It would be under De Gaulle as president; other members would include the new pre- ’ mier and the ministers of interior, J the armed forces and finance. ; Reds Attack Reform The program also, called for a scientific action committee to organize research. France hopes eventually to become the fourth atomic power and to produce nuclear bombs. Informed labor sources predicted a wave of Communist - led strikes during the new year when predicted price rises and pegged wages hit union members in the pocket book. The average Frenchman, who Continued on page five Louis A. Holthouse Dies Monday Night Prominent Decatur Resident Is Dead Louis A. Holthouse, Sr., 76, prominent retired Decatur business man and salesman, died at 9:15 o’clock Monday night at his home on U. S. 224, east of Decatur. He had been in failing health from complications for several months and seriously ill for the past several weeks. A native and lifelong resident of Decatur, he was born here July 6, 1882, a son of John and Mary Gase-. Holthouse. He was married to Mary C. Niblick Sept. 15, 1907. Mr. Holthouse operated a livery barn, later converted to an auto livery, on North Second street for many spars. He later was salesman for McMillen Feed Mills for a number of years until his retirement in 1950. He was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic church, and a charter member of both the Knights of Columbus and the B. P. O. Elks lodges. Surviving in addition to his wife are two sons, William J. Holthouse of Wabash, and Louis A. Holthouse, Jr I, of Decatur; two daughters, Mrs. Harold (Rosemary) Grant of Albion, and Mrs. William (Patricia) Gass of Decatur; nine grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; one brother. Felix W. Holthouse of Louisville, Ky.; three half-brothers, John, Hugh and Robert Holthouse, all of Decatur, and three half-sis-ters, Mrs. Jack Brunton and Miss Margaret Holthouse, both of Decatur, and Mrs. Hugh Kent of Chicago, 111. Funeral services will be conducted at 9 o’clock Friday morning at the St. Mary’s Catholic church, the Very Rev. Msgr. J. J. Seimetz ofificiating. JBurial will be in the Catholic cemetery. The body was removed to the Gillig & Doan funeral home, where friends may call after 2 p.m. Wednesday until time of the services. The rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Tuesday, December 30,1958.

Two Kentucky School Teachers Taken Off U.S. Plane In Cuba • • I • • I ' V?'

■ mi. i i« —W—Sto— Cuban Rebels Stage Daring Raid On Depot Rebels Boasting Os , Early Triumph Over Government Forces HAVANA, Cuba (UPD— Cuban rebels struck into the heart of Havana Province today with a daring raid on an explosives depot in which they dynamited the huge stores of ammunition they could not carry away. The raid on privately owned explosives depot I Guanabacao across the bay from Havana followed rebel claims to have smashed government forces in and eastern Cuba. The rebels were boasting they were “at the doors of triumph.” Government sources disputed the sweeping rebel claims but admitted there was heavy fighting around the city of Santa Clara in central Cuba where the rebels have claimed major successes in street fighting. The army said its forces were on the offensive in central Cuba and were driving the rebels ahead! of them despite rebel propaganda! broadcasts to “create unrest.” f The blast of the Guanabacoal explosives rocked lower Havana.* Police called in all reserves and alerted the 19 precinct stations in the greater Havana area. Roads and airports were blocked off. First reports sid several armed men aboad a six-wheeled truck pulled up in front of the explosives storage of the “Armera de Cuba," importers of explosives, at 6:30 a.m. and, with the aid of two of the three soldiers on guard, loaded the vehicle. Bridge Also Blasted They tied up a civilian watchman and the third soldier and dynamited what explosives were left. It was the second rebel-authored incident of sabotage in Havana province in 12 hours. A small, bridge was blown Monday night at Guira de Melana. Adams County Man Shot Accidentally Howard Baumgartner Is Wounded Monday An Adams county resident was accidentally shot in his left hand Monday afternoon at 4:50 o’clock when attempting to remove a loaded shotgun from his auto to another vehicle. Howard L. Baumgartner, 28, son of John Baumgartner, of Baumgartner’s Hatchery, 1% miles east of Vera Cruz iq French township, wats taken to the Caylor-Nickel clinic at Bluffton following the shooting for surgery. It was not known today the seriousness, nor the full extent of the injuries. The mishap occurred when Baumgartner was attempting to move a cased gun from his car to a truck belonging to Bill Patterson when he accidentally dropped the gun .and grabbed for it just as it hit the ground, discharging a shell in the chamber. Baumgartner’s left hand was over the muzzle of the shotgun when it discharged. The sheriff’s department was called to the scene of the shooting to conduct an investigation. Deputy sheriff Bob Meyer stated that the investigation is continuing and that Baumgartner will be questioned as soon as his condition permits. Truck Driver Killed In Toll Road Crash 7 ELKHART, Ind. (UPD—Peter Altenhofen, 23, Oneonta, N.Y., was killed Monday when his truck crashed into another van along the Northern Indiana Toll Road 12 miles east of here. Altenhofen’s truck hit one' which had broken down and pulled off the road, police said.

■4 Social Security Tax Increases January 1 Benefits Increase In Early February WASHINGTON (UPD—A boost in social security taxes will re- 1 duce take-home pay of about 57 million jobholders, starting Thursday. ? About four million employers also will be hit by higher taxes. Employers must match penny for penny the contributions of employes covered by the social security system. The tax increase will bring 1 close to one billion dollars in ‘ added revenue into the social se- 1 curity fund next year. This will more than pay for the ; 7 per cent increase in monthly ; checks which the 12,500,000 persons on the benefit rolls will receive, starting in early February. The changes in the program, 1 enacted by Congress last summer, • will improve the actuarial sound- ' ■ ness of the social security fund. For two years the fund has paid out mote in benefits than it has ' collected in taxes. But the fund 1 Won’t be operating in the black ' again until 1960 when a second 1 fox boost goes into effect. Starting with a covered worker’s first January paycheck, the government will deduct in social ■security taxes 2% per cent of the first 84,860 he earns in 1959. The ’ Ifox rate was 2V« per cent on the Hirst $4,200 in earnings this year. 1 For a S6O-a-week worker take- ’ home pay will be cut only 15 cents a week. He will pay $1.50 a week i instead of $1.35. For workers who earned more i than S6O a week, the social se- : curity tax bite will be deeper, naturally. For some, the bite will ; seem sharper than it actually is. S For example, take-home pay in January will drop $2.50 a week for the SIOO-a-week workers, $3.75 tor those earning $l5O a week, and $5 for those earning S2OO. The workers in these higher i brackets — $100; $l5O, and S2OO i weeks — aren’t paying social se- 1 curity taxes at this time of the year. The payroll deductions sfopped after the government collected the tax on the first $4,200 Os their 1958 earnings. The total collection fiom each was $94.50. They will go back on the tax rolls at the higher rate in January. Psychologically, they will be betting a sizable pay cut. Employes who earn $4,800 or more in 1959 will have to pay $l2O in social security taxes. That’s $25.50 more than they paid this year. The tax increase for selfemployed persons will range as high as $38.25. The self-employed pay a 50 per cent higher rate. Mother, Two Sons Found Shot To Death Farm Mother, Two Os Four Sons Are Killed FARMERSVILLE, Hl. (UPD — A farm mother and two of her tout sons were found shot to death in their beds early today. Montgomery County State’s Atty. Otto Funk identified the victims as Ann Beierman, 53, and her sons, Tom, 13, and James, 9, Funk said the bodies were discovered by Mrs. Beierman’s husband when he returned home from work early this morning. The woman and two boys were killed with a shot gun, Funk said. He said other details of the shootings were “pretty uncertain right now.” It was not determined yet, Funk said, who did the shooting. Funk was at the Beierman home with sheriffs officers investigating the shootings. He said there were two other boys in the family and both were at home. The shootings apparently occurred during the night, he said. The body of the mother and one boy were found in her bed. The body of the second boy was found in another bedroom.

Record Snows Are Reported In Southwest Traffic Crippled, Drivers Stranded In Parts Os Area United Press International — A record southwestern snowstorm raged thrbugh the night, crippling traffic and stranding motorists in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. A record 14 inches of snow stalled traffic in Albuquerque, N.M., Monday, snapping utility lines and knocking out electricity to at least 50,000 persons. Up to 15 inches of snow hit other sections of the southern plains of New Mexico and drifting snow of six to seven inches swept the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles. Drifts of nearly eight feet closed all roads in • the Oklahoma panhandle during the night, and other roads in central and northwestern Oklahoma were reported as hazardous with packed snow and freezing rain. Many Persons Stranded In Texas, scores of persons were stranded by the heavy snow along U.S. 287 from Amarillo to Dumas Monday before highway crews opened the highway Monday night The Texas Highway Patrol said roads into New Mexico north of Amarillo were blocked by snow, and plows worked through the night to restore traffic. The snow storm was blamed for a car-truck crash Monday which killed Mrs. Elizabeth O’Dell Whiteside, 39, Amarillo, and her daughter, 10, at Vernon. Tex. The snowstorm continued during the night from Oklahoma and southwest Kansas westward into southern Colorado and eastern New Mexico. Continued on page five Suspect Arrested For Bank Robbery Loot From Ladoga < Bank Is Recovered LADOGA, Ind. (UPD—A suspect was arrested today and $2,275 loot recovered in connection with a holdup of the Ladoga State Bank, Indiana State Police reported. The suspect was identified as Henry Ray Persinger, 37, R. R. 1, Jamestown. Police said they did not know where he was arrested. But two ISP detective sergeants and two FBI agents who arrested Persinger took him immediately to the robbed bank to see if Mrs. Eva Williamson, victim of the noon-hour holdup Monday, could identify him as the gunman who forced her to surrender a stack of bills of small denomination while the bank’s directors were meeting in a back room. Detective Sgts. Ivan McCurdy and Bernard Leavitt arrested Persinger, whose home in only a few miles from the bank. The early - afternoon robbery caught officials of the Ladoga State Bank unaware.. The gunman, about 35 years old and nattily dressed in a gray suit and matching topcoat, forced Mrs. Eva Williamson, the teller, to hand over the cash despite her warnings. “I don’t think I would do that if I were you,” Mrs. Williamson said she told the bandit. “You know you'll get caught.” But the bandit ignored her warning, forced her and a customer to the floor while he escaped in a black, sedan bearing a mud-covered license plate. Authorities said the bandit disappeared without leaving any apparent trace or clues. It was the first time the bank was held up in mere than 24 years when a father and son got about $350.

Ike Will Address Congress Jan. 9 Message On State Os Union To Congress GETTYSBURG, Pa. (UPD— The White House announced today that President Eisenhower will deliver his State of the Union message in person to a joint session of Congress on Jan. 9. The document will be a broadly based review of world and national affairs and will be followed later by special messages on specific domestic problems. The President is devoting much of his New Year’s holiday on his farm to work on the State of the ' Union and the message to Congress later next month which will accompany his 77 - billion - dollar budget. A preliminary draft of the State of the Union address was under study in Washington at the White House today. The President summonded his chief assistant, Maj. Gen. Wilton B. Persons, and Dr. Malcolm Moos, the top White House speech writer, to Gettysburg Wednesday for a conference on the highly important message. The new Congress opens Jan. 7. The President will give a general preview of his State of the Union message to congressional ’ leaders of both parties at a White ( House conference next Monday. . The emphasis in this conference will be on foreign affairs and defense policies. i Earlier, it was announced that ‘the President plans to usher Alaska formally into the union as the 49th state later this week. With the formal proclamation of Alaskan statehood will come an executive order setting forth the ’ design of the new 49-star Ameri- ‘ can flag which will go into use next July 4. Details of when and where Eisenhower will sign the statehood I proclamation and the executive , order were to be announced by ithe White House shortly. Press Secretary James G. Hagerty indicated that the ceremony would not be in Gettysburg where tiie President and his family are spending the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. But he said Eisenhower would not fly to Alaska. The way was cleared for the statehood proclamation by White House receipt of the certified results of Alaska’s election last month- The proclamation will enable Alaska’s two senators and one congressman to be seated t when Congress convenes on ; Jan. 7. * . The flag design represents . months of study by a special presidential commission of cabi- ’ net officers, the Army Quartermaster Corps and the Fine Arts ’ Commission. Nearly 2,000 differ- • Continued on page five : Cyrus Johnson Dies ; In West Virginia * i Native Os Monroe ’ Is Taken By Death 1 CyYus Johnson, 85, a nativd of 5 Monroe, died Sunday at a hospital in Morgantown, W. Va.y of comp- ’ lications following a fall at his ‘ home in that city Dec. 21, in which r he sustained a broken hip. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. ' James -H. Johnson. His youngest 1 brother, Sam Johnson, died two • weeks ago at Rome City. A sister, Mrs. Eliza Hahnert, of 1 Monroe, is the last surviving mem- • ber of a family of eight children. > Mr. Johnson is also survived by • his wife and seven children, Including a son, Paul Johnson, of f Roanoke. Mrs. Mary Colter and 1 Mrs. Dorothy Robinson of Decatur, f and Mrs. Ralph Shady, of Ossian, are nieces, and Herman Kirkenf dall, of Monroe, is a nephew. Mrs. Hahnert and her daughter . left today to attend funeral serv- , ices, which will be held at Morgantown Wednesday afternoon. NO PAPER THURSDAY In accordance with a custom t of many yean, the Decatar 1 Dally Democrat will not pubt lish an edition Thursday, Jan. 1, which to New Year's Day.

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• « , Cuban Police Storm Aboard U.S. Airplane Louisville School Teachers Taken Off Airplane At Havana NEW ORLEANS (UPD—Cuban nationalist policemen stormed aboard an American airplane at Havanna airport Monday and seized two Kentucky school teachers homeward-bound after a Caribbean vacation. Passengers on the plane said the two seized then had been discussing the Cuban revolution in the Havana airport shortly before the incident, and that was apparently the reason for the arrest. The State Department instructed the U.S. embassy in Havana to inquire into the case. The teachers were identified as James Reid, 38, and Larry F. Brantley, 22, both faculty members of Waggener High School, Louisville, Ky. Brantley’s father said his son and Reid went to Jamaica for a holiday vacation. “Larry had no interest in Cuban politics beyond what he read in the paper, tike anybody else,” he said. “He was just traveling through there.” Elma Sebastian, one of three stewardesses on the plane, said the police stormed aboard the craft and seized the men before she realized what was happening. Pistol at Back “I was standing at the rear door checking the passengers aboard,” she said. “Reed and Brantley were near the middle of the cabin. The plaincjothesmen pushed past me. “They grabbed Reid from his seat and he asked: ‘What’s this for? You can't do tnis. I’m an American citizen.’. ” she said. “Then one of the Cuban police said: ‘lt has something to do with what you said in the terminal.’ " Another passenger said the two men were wrestled, protesting, from the plane, a cocked pistol at their backs. The pilot, Capt. Ben Catlin, said there was nothing he could do to prevent seizure of the men. “I wanted to help," he said, “but these are Cuban officers of the law,, armed, and I’m in a foreign country. What could I do?” Delta said it had instructed its legal department to iavestiagte the case. A spokesman at its Atlanta headquarters said the stewContinuod on pare five New Year Welcome To Be Observed By Decatur Residents Decatur residents are planning in various ways to celebrate the birth of 1959 at midnight Wednesday night, New Years Eve. Business generally will be suspended in the city Thursday, Jan. 1, with a few exceptions, such as the theater, some restaurants, confectioneries and service stations. AU federal, state, county and city offices wiU be closed, as will the post office and the bank. The Daily Democrat will not publish an edition Thursday. Special church services are ; planned to welcome in the new > year. A number of churches are planning watch night services ! Wednesday night, and Zion Lutheran church will hold Sylvester Eve services at 7p. m. The regular Sunday schedule of masses ■ will be celebrated at St. Mary's ! Catholic church, with the first 1 mass at 6 a. m. Thursday. Family gatherings, and special • parties at various lodges and ’ clubs in the city will welcome the new year tomorrow night BULLETIN WASHINGTON (UPD — Liberal Senate Republicans decided today to nm Sen. John Sherman Cooper (Ky.) against Sen. Everett M. Dirksen (DI.) for the Senate Republican leadership, a reliable informant told United Press International.