Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 7, Decatur, Adams County, 9 January 1959 — Page 1

Vol. LVII. No. 7.

- v* / j FAMILY WIPED OUT Di HOME BLAZE— Firemen and police probe ruins of a frame home near Boswell. Okla., where fire claimed 16 lives. Mrs. Aire Gardner, her 10 children and 5 nieces and nephews were found huddled together in one of the bedrooms The father, farm laborer Booker Gardner was away on a coon huntin? trip at the time of/The fire. _ v,

Seek Answers For Questions Over Election

At noon today, county attorney Robert S. Anderson had prepared, and planned to file this afternoon in Adams circuit court, a complaint for declaratory judgment against the city of Decatur to resolve four questions arising in an opinion received Thursday from the state election board concerning the city election on the sale of the electric utility. Latest developments in the official squabble over the election include the receipt of the official opinion from the state election board, a meeting between the county commissioners. county election board, mayor of Decatur, city attorney, city clerk-treasurer, and county attorney to attempt to resolve the question, the delivery of the city-printed ballots by the clerk - treasurer to the county clerk, and the refusal of the clerk and the election board to accept the ballots. State Asked Dec. 12 When the county commissioners were notified that the city planned to hold an election, Anderson . studied the notification, discovered some questions, and wrote to the state election board on Dec. 2, asking for an immediate opinion, since some of the dates on the calender were as early as Dec. 24 of last year. The state election board’s letter of Jan. 7 arrived Thursday. Two questions were still left by the tetter, so Anderson called a meeting of the county commissioners, county* election board, and city officials in an attempt to resolve the differences. Letter Given -- The letter from the state election board reads in part as follows: “. . . Under such circumstances and in accordance with this notice (the city’s notice to the Democrats, Republicans, and county) we believe that the clerk of the circuit court and the county' election board are fully authorized and required to participate in — the holding of an election or referendum to determine whether or not the public utility in question should be sold . , . “You point out a seeming conflict between those sections of the cited acts dealing with the preparation of the ballots. In our opinion the two acts are supplemental. If these duties are performed by the city authorities in conjunction with the county auth--H orities, any conflict between the statutes is resolved and ,the elecfion cannot be attacked on the grounds that certain duties ’ were performed ty unauthorized officials. Mrs. Hall Right “Thus, in answer to your first specific question, it would be proper for the form of ballot to be prepared by the clerk-treasurer (Mrs. Miriam Hall who did prepare the form of the ballot). It would appear hat the expense of printing such ballots should be paid by the city. f ~~7 t “In answer to your second specific question, the appointment of the precinct workers for the election is to be made by the county election board, acting in fulfillby certain provisions of acts 1945. ment of the duty imposed upon it “John L. De Voss, city attorney for the city of Decatur, has submitted to us a calendar for special election to vote on sale of , Continued on page five

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

rl .— . - < Annual Report Made •By Commissioners Balance On Hand is Under Last Year ■ The annual report of the Adams 1 county commissioners, accompan--1 ied by the annual statement oT the 1 auditor for receipts and expendi- ; tures for the year ending 1958, r was released today by county aud- ’ itor Edward F. Jaberg. ’ The balance on hand in the coun- ’ ty general fund as of January 1, ' 1959. $73,318.32, shows a decrease ; of $11,188.71 over last year’s bal--7 ance of $84,507 03. General Fund The report of the receipts and disbursements of the general fund . are as fololws: balance on hand j January 1, 1958, $84,507.03; general j property taxes received, $227,881.- . 25; bank taxes received, $2,133.35; , intangible taxes — county’s share from state, receipts $4,859.91; Uq- ■ uor excise taxes—from state, re- , ceipts. $133.34; clerk of circuit court—fees and expenses, receipts $4,366.35, paid out, $15,135.84; (a) • costs of insanity cases, $360« audi- > tor—fees and expenses, receipts, ■ $608.80, paid out, $15,200.50; treas- . urer—fees and expenses, receipts, $2,216.99, paid out, $15,696.42; sUr-l - veyor—fees and expenses, paid , out, $11,246.25; sheriff — fees and expenses’, receipts, $475.03, paid out, $20,404.01; recorder—fees and . expenses, receipts, $4,523.70, paid . out, $12,415.82; prosecuting attor- . ney—fees and expenses, $3,425, , paid out, $1,944.41; agricultural , agent, paid out, $8,836.88. [ Superintendent of schools, re- . ceipts, $3,698, paid out, $11,335.75; > superintendent teacher's retire- . ment, receipts, $424; coroner, ret ceipts, $1,300; county assessor, re- . ceipts, $191.50, paid out, $9,131.92; • circuit court, paid out, $12,880.32; ! (a) special judges, receipts, $340; court house, receipts, $26.70, paid . out, $12,504.35; health officer, paid out, $1,030.60; jail—operating ex- . penses, paid out, $5,307.35; probation officer, paid out, $2,202.92; in- . firmary — receipts and expenses, receipts, $17,670.35, paid out, $29,i 192.12; home demonstration agent, . paid out, $2,027.85; surplus dog, , receipts, $1,061.93; telephone stock, . receipts, $144; city of Berne figur- . ing taxes, receipts, SSO; commisl I stoners expenses, paid out, $4,050; | . city dump, paid out, $300; premiums on officials’ bonds, receipts, $82.97, paid out, $797; insurance—all kinds, receipts $327.36, paid out, $5,089.77; public printing and advertising, paid out,' $3,746.14; donations—Memorial Day, paid out, (Continued on page eight) INDIANA WEATHER Fair and continued cold except partly cloudy with scattered snow flurries extreme north portion, mostly near Lake Michigan, tonight and Saturday. Low tonight aero to 10 above north, 8 to 15 south. High Saturday in the 20s. Sunset today 5:39 p.m. c.d.t Sunrise look for Sunday: •Fair with higher afternoon temperatures. Lows Saturday night 10 to 15. Highs Sunday in 30s.

X .. - — ■ ....... . - .. —... ***■" G.O.P. Leader Implies Charge Reuther Boss Senate Democrats Protest Action On Chief Committees INDIANAPOLIS (UPD—A republican leader made an implied charge today that United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther may be calling signals on Democratic party strategy in the Indiana Legislature. Rep. Cable G. Ball (R-Lafay-ette) mentioned Reuther's name in commenting on an impasse which developed over legislative committee appointments when Democrats complained of improportionate representation on Senate committees,, where they are in the minority,' and delayed ahnouncirig committees in the House, where they are in the majority. “There is no reason why the House should be controlled by difficulties—if any—of the Democratic senators,’’ Ball said. “I am beginning to wonder if this is a case of Reuther to Welsh to Bayh.” Ball referred to Sen. Matthew Welsh, Democratic minority floor leader in the Senate, and House Speaker Birch Bayh. House Gets 9 Buis The House was in session less than an hour this morning. It received nine bills before recessing until Ip,m.c.s.t. Monday. Among them was a Democratic bill to repeal the state “right to work” law, similar to cme introduced in the Senate Thursday in the 1959 session’s opening hour. The authors were Reps. William E. Babincsak (Munster) and James S. Hunter .(East Chicago). (Continued on page eight) 90 Blood Donors Needed Wednesday Bloodmobile Unit Here On Wednesday The Adams county chapter of the Red Cross still needs 90 blood donors for the bloodmobile visit scheduled for January 14 at the Decatur Youth and Community Center, according to Mrs. Wanda Oelberg, executive secretary. ‘ -Included in the local chapter’s announcement, was the plea for the following types of blood, either positive or negative: type O, 40 pints; type A, 25 pints; type B, 15 pints; and type A-B, 10 pints. Thirty two pints of blood were pledged the first day of calling, Tuesday. Thirty eight pints were scheduled the second day by volunteer workers, according to Mrs. Oelberg. lb avoid waiting at the Youth Center January 14, blood donors may obtain a specific scheduleing by contacting the Red Cross office. Other information may be obtained concerning the bloodmobile visit by calling 3-3166 or 3-3107. Lewton Funeral Rites On Saturday Afternoon Funeral services for Edgar W. Lewton, former Decatur resident who died Wednesday afternoon at Fort Wayne, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the C. M. Sloan & Sons funeral home in Fort Wayne. Capt. Frank Hovelman and Emmett Culver will officiate, and burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home until time of the services.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday^January9,l9s9.

Eisenhower Delivers Annual Message Today On State Os The Union

Spain Village Is Inundated By Dam Burst First Reports Say 100 Or More Dead In Disaster Today ZAMORA, Sain (UPD— Rainswollen waters crumbled . a huge new lower dam and cascaded a watery wall of death onto the slumbering village of Riva del Lago early today. First sketchy reports said 100 or more ersons may have been killed. The disaster struck at 4 a.m. in northwest Sain, near the Portuguese border, when the 2-year-old Vega de Tera hydroelectric dam, a 70-foot high giant, collased before the pent-up pressure of weeks of rainfall. Down rushed the waters of the Tera River along a deep mountain valley resembling a declined bowling alley. Riva de Lago, a hamlet nestled in the mountains of northern Sain, lay three miles downstream. The village was shattered and then engulfed. The full story of the destruction was yet to be told. In its steep plunge, the wall of water ripped out the only road leading to the village and bad weather made flying to the scene impossible. There was no other form of communication to the' desolate mountain badlands, about 165 miles northwest of Madrid. , Survivors apparently made it by boat downstream to give the alarm. A joint military-civil mission led by Zamora Provincial Governor Juan Murillo de Valdiviay Martinez set out immediately from this provincial capital to aid the survivors. It had more than 30 miles to go overland through craggy mountains and by boat up througtr the surging Tera River. • The seemingly incessant rain and overcast bottled up U.S. Air Continued on page five Leonard Kingsley Is Rotary Speaker Tells Experiences While In Indonesia Leonard Kingsley, a teacher at the Berne-French high school, who had spent several, years on the island of Timor in Indonesia doing agricultural relief, work, spoke to the Decatur Rotary club at its regular weekly meeting Thursday evening at the Decatur Vouth and Community Center. Ivan Stucky was program chairman. He had taught native youths, ages 18 to 24 years of age, how to improve their agriculture under auspices of the church world services and the Mennonite central committee. Kingsley told of this rich group of islands which represent the sixth largest. nation in the world. They had been under the domination of Holland for centuries, but were overrun by the Japs in World War IL After the war, they Cast off Dutch control and consider August 17, 1945 as their independence day. On that date there were only 80 professionally trained individ-. uals atnong the 80 million population. President Sukarho has had his problems due to inflation, and the country is still ruled by an interim government until its Constitution is approved. Strict censorship is enforced. Robert Murphy represented Decatur Catholic high school as student guest and Terry Marbaugh did the same for Decatur high school. Eton Stafford, manager of the G. C. Murphy Co., store, was introduced as a new Rotarian. President Gail Grabill reminded the members to send their checks for the ladies night program tickets next Thursday to be held In conjunction with the Decatur Chamber of Commerce annual meeting.

Edward D. Engeler Dies This Morning Prominent Decatur Man Taken By Death Edward D. Engeler, 82, of 105 * West Adkins street, prominent Decatur business man, church leader and sportsman, died at 4 o’clock this morning at the Adams county memorial hospital. He had been in failing health for the past few - years and his condition has been » serious for several weeks. i A native of Vera Cruz, Mr. EngJ eler first entered the mercantile I business in Berne in 1901, and had been a resident of and a -business r man in Decatur since 1812. He op--1 crated a department store in the K. of C. building here until 1924. 1 In 1933 he took over the John S. I Peterson insurance agency, which he operated until his death. ’ Highly active and interested in jj sports circles all his life, he played on Decatur city tennis teams for ; many years, and in later years was! -a frequent visitor to golf courses 1 as an active participant. 1 Mr. Engeler was confirmed in ’ the Reformed Church in Vera Cruz ’ as a ycung boy. and became a ■ member of the First Presbyterian church in Bluffton in 1897. He had t been highly active in the First , Presbyterian church here since be--1 coming a resident of Decatur, serv- » ing aS a trustee and other offices at the church. Bom in Vera Cruz Nov. 18, 1876, he was a son of Frederick and Ros- ■ anna Bieberstine-Engeler. He was ’ married Dec. 31, 1902, to Hazel r Karns, who survives. ; Surviving in addition to his wife are three sons, Gordon F. Engeler [ of Gamaliel, Arka., Dr. James E. • Engeler of West Lafayette, and Robert D. Engeler of New York City, N.Y.; seven grandchildren; two brothers, F. F. Engeler of Bluffton, and Henry Engeler of - Fort Wayne, and one sister, Mrs. George. Kocher of Elida. O. Two daughters, three brothers and three sisters are deceased. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Zwick funeral home and at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian church, the Rev. Harold J. Bond officiating. Burial will be in Fairview cemeter yat Bluffton. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m. Saturday until time of the services. The family suggests memorials be made to the Presbyterian memoriaTfund. Sweeping New Farm Legislation Sought Eisenhower Cites Legislative Need WASHINGTON (UPD — President Eisenhower told a joint session of Congress today he wanted sweeping new farm legislation to cut the government’s six-billion-’ dollar yearly outlay to support agriculture prices. 1 He said in his State of the Union address that the government gladly would fork out this amount temporarily "if it were leading to a sound solution” of the nation’s farm problem. ' “But unfortunately that is not true,” he said. “We need new legislation.” He promised to spell out his specific proposals in a . separate message. The aim of the new farm laws, I the President said, should be “to make more effective use of the large federal expenditures for agriculture and to achieve greater fiscal control in this area.’*--Eisenhower noted that Congress had agreed in the past to his requests for legislation giving “greater freedom to our farmers to manage their own farms and greater freedom for markets to ’ reflect the wishes of producers and consumers.” But, he said, that legislation “did not go far enough.” The chief executive said the Agriculture Department, would pay out more than five billion dollars in farm price supports this fiscal year. This is equal to twoCoftttriued on page five

Wreckage Os Missing Plane Spotted Today Report No Sign Os Life At Wreckage; 10 Persons Aboard Kingsport, Tenn. (UPD —The wreckage of a Southeast Airlines plane missing since Thursday night with 10 persons aboard was spotted today about 400 feet from the top of rugged Holston Mountain. There was no sign of life at the scene of the wreckage. An Air National Guard plane spotted the wreckage at 11:50 a.m. about 10-15 miles east of Holston dam in the rocky, heavily forested east Tennessee area. Capt. Robert A. JackSbn of the Civil Air Patrol led a mobile unit 1 to the scene. He was accompanied by 15 members of the Greeneville, Tenn., rescue squad. It Was believed that it would take the rescuers several hours to reach the scene, about 35 air miles from the Tri-Cities Airport where search headquarters was centered. The two-engine DC3 was within minutes of a landing at the TriCities Airport near Bluff City. The pilot. Robert Gollmier, radioed at 8:32 p.m. e.s.t. that he was making a turn preparatory to landing on instruments when his radio went out. —- —— The plane was five to eight miles east of the Tri-Cities Airport when it swung into its wide turn. It was not heard from again. Southeast officials held out hope that the plane might have proceeded to another airport, possibly Knoxville, Tenn., Asheville, N. C., or Lexington, Ky. The crew consisted, of Gollmier, a veteran Southeast pilot. Co-pilot Robert Erwin, and Stewardess Wanda Nalley. There were seven passengers. - - — Under normal flying conditions the plane’s fuel tanks would have been empty at 11:40 p.m. e.s.t. But a Southeast spokesman said that under emergency conditions, which would include throwing out baggage and all extra weight the plane could have stayed aloft until nearly 2 a.m. The Civil Aeronautics Commission said flatly the plane was down and rejected the possibility that it could have flown past midnight. The flight originated in Memphis and made stops in Nashville and Knoxville on its way to the TriCities air field. Mrs. Ada Stucky Is Taken By Death Funeral Services Sunday Afternoon Mrs. Ada Stucky. 72, of Berne, widow; of Walter Stucky, died Thursday at the Adams county memorial hospital of a coronary thrombosis. She had been bedfast since Tuesday. Mrs. Stucky was a member of the First Mennonite church at Berne. Surviving are two sons, Sherman Stucky of Berne, and Horace Stucky of Fort Wayne; two daughters. Mrs. Elmer E. Llechty of Berne, and Mrs. Harry Musser of Garrett; nine grandchildren; five great - grandchildren; a brother, David D. Lehman of Berne, and six sisters, Mrs. Elda Moser, Mrs. Elmer W. Baumgartner, Mrs. Ida Stauffer, Mrs. Menno B. Habegger and Mrs. Tillman Steiner, all qf Berne, and Mrs. Archie Simpson of Fort Wayne. ■ Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the First Mennonite church, the Rev. Gordon J. Neuenschwander officiating. Burial will be in the MRE cemetery. Friends may call at the Yag6r funeral home after 7 o'clock this evening. • • '

Battle For Direct Primary Foreseen Legislative Fight * Seen In Assembly INDIANAPOIJS (UPD—Watch for the biggest campaigh for a direct primary in many Indiana legislative sessions, A bill to change from the state convention to the primary system for nominations for senator, governor .and state officials is sure ■ to be introduced soon. Sen. Paul Bitz (D-Evansville), who was cainpaign office manager for U.S. Sen. Vance Hartke, today ' predicted to the writer that the primary bill would be introduced i and would pass. Bitz and maverick Sen. Roy • Conrad (R-Monticello) introduced . a primary bill in the 1957 session, i. It was bottled up in the Senate [ Elections Committee, headed by Sen. Burr Sheron (R-Marion), a , Handley faction member who no j longer is a legislator. . The primary bill Will strike at the heart of the Republican or- ’ ganization, headed by Governor Handley and State Chairman Rob- ! ert W. Matthews, and the Demo--1 cratic state organization, headed 1 by State Chairman Charles E. 1 Skillen and supervised by forces boosting Sen. Matthew E i Welsh, Vincennes, for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Curiously, the Democratic state ; platform for many years conj tained a primary plank, but it i was missing in the resolutions t adopted this year. Through county and ditcitsr , | chairmen and -vice-chairmen, the ’ professional politicians of both ‘ parties have had the deciding 5 voices on nominations for these high offices. A primary would 5 smash this power. In the contests for both Repubf lican and Democratic officials of . the General Assembly, there were many disappointed losers, of , whom some blamed pressure of t their state organizations for their s defeats. i These same lame ducks and a growing number of maverick senators and representatives in both 5 parties are expected to vote for > the primary law and may have t enough strength to force it out of t committee where there is certain 1 Continued Ton page five sth Prayer Service Held Last Evening Series Concludes ~ ‘ ; On Sunday Evening Increased attendance was reportj ed Thursday night at the fifth in the series of the Week of Prayer services, held at the First Missionary church. The sermon, “Intercessory Prayer,” was delivered by the Rev. Emmett Anderson, pastor of the Union Chapel Evangelical United Brethren church. Rev. Anderson said, “Intercession lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It tonight and Christian , to pray for one another. Jesus I prayed for His disciples and for ■ those who would believe through r their preaching. Jesus also taught t us to pray, even for our enemies. “We become spiritually involved 1 in those for whom we pray. We t take them into our hearts because we are concerned for them. Finali ly, we become self-centered in our > praying unless we pray for others.” Gerald Gerig, Monmouth school f music director, sang a solo, “Jesus f Seems Nearer When I Kneel to ; Pray.” The Rev: C. E. Lykins read . tfee scripture and the Rev. Edward I Pacha led in prayer. The sixth in the series of servi ices, sponsored by the Associated ' Churches of Decatur, will be held r at 7:30 o’clock this evening at the 1 First Presbyterian church, with the Rev. Hazen Sparks, of the First t Methodist church, as the sneaker. ■ No service will be held Saturday, and the series will conclude at 7:00 1 p.m. Sunday at the Trinity Evangelical United Brethren churcS? With the 'Rev. William C. Feller, of the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church, as the speaker.

To Slash Cost Os Government Predicts All-Time Record Prosperity For United States WASHINGTON (UPD — President Eisenhower in his State of the Union message today predicted America will achieve all-time record prosperity in the coming 18 months. With the 1958 recession fading into history, he admonished the heavily Democratic Congress to help maintain “the marked forward thrust of our economy” by cutting the cost of government and adopting his forthcoming balanced budget — If Congress will do this, the President held out hope for tax reductions “in the foreseeable future,” although not this j>ear. He will have the Treasury prepare proposals to overhaul the tax structure “at the proper time.” He called for resolute action by government, business and labor “to curb the wage-price spiral” and. prevent further declines in the value of the dollar. Surveying the troubled world scene, the President denounced the Soviet Union for welshing on international agreements and twisting treaties, particularly in Berlin. The Communists regard treaties as “mere scraps of paper,” he said. Can Afford Necessities He was cautiously confident, however, of avoiding major conflict as long as America remained powerW and dedicated to "a genuine rule of law among nations.” He told Congress that national security will cost more than 47 billion dollars a year—roughly 60 per cent of the total budget. Ibis estimate covered the armed forces, the Atomic Energy Commission and military aid to other nations. The President felt it was possible to maintain “a sensible posture of defense” and still have a less expensive federal government, even with such high-priced weapons as missiles at 35 million dollars a shot and space age bombers that “cost their weight in gold.” “We can afford everything we clearly need” for the military and for the nation’s progress, he said, "but we cannot afford one cent of waste.’.’ The chief executive delivered his 5,000-word message in person to a crowded joint session of the House and Senate at the Capitol. His remarks were carried to the nation and the rest of the world by television and radio. It was the fifth straight year that he had had ’to submit his program to a Congress dominated by his political opponents. Need Set Goals The President appealed to lawmakers of both parties to join in “cooperative work to build a better America." “The basiq question facing us today,” he said, “is more than mere, survival. — the military defense of national life and territory. It is the preservation of a way of life. *‘We must meet the world challenge and at ..tije same time permit no stagnation in America. Unless we progress, we regress.” And to spur the pace of progress for the rapidly expanding population, he said, there should be clearly defined goals to be achieved in five or 10 years. He announced that he will ask a committee of leading citizens to set goals for such things as “the living standards of our people, their health and education, their better assurance of life and liberty and their greater opportunities.” The President hit hard at the dangers of inflation, which could tarnish, prosperity and which hurts worst those who are the least able to protect themselves. Protest Buying Power To prevent further loss in the dollar’s value, he said, “we must encourage the self-discipline, the restraint necessary to curb the (Contlneed on pair® eight)

Six Cenb