Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 19, Decatur, Adams County, 23 January 1959 — Page 1

Vol. LVII. No. 19.

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HO, HUMMM FOR EIGHT DAYS— Disc jockey Peter Tripp chats with nurse Joanne Hamer in his glassed-in booth on Times Square in New York, where he is trying to remain awake for eight days and eight hours. Hie idea got underway as a boost for the March of Dimes, then science got interested, too. Tripp will continue his regular record show.

Storm Damage Mounts, Death Toll Increases Clear, Cold Spread Over East In Wake In Severe Floods United Press International Clear, cold weather overspread the East today on the wake of rain-fed flash floods which drove more than 20.000 persons from ----- their homes in Ohio and Pennsylvania and trapped a dozen coal mlnertunderground. The death toll in the succession of snow, wind, sleet and kain storms which began Tuesday neared the 100 mark. Damage mounted into the tens of millions of dollars. Gov. David L. Lawrence of Pennsylvania declared a state of "extreme emergency” in the flood stricken area stretching from the New York state border to Pittsburgh. He appealed to President Eisenhower far federal aid. Ohio Gov. Michael V. DiSalle said he also would seek federal aid. -777 The Small Business Administration declared three Ohio counties disaster areas. The Office of Civilian and Defense Mobilization sent teams of disaster surveyors to Pennsylvania and Ohio to recommend action on federal aid. Rescue Operations ContirJue Near Pittston, Pa., rescuers worked through the night in a dramatic attempt to save 12 miners trapped when the flooding Susquehanna River tore into a coal mine tunnel. Forty-four other mud-caked miners were rescued or escaped the Thursday cave-in, many of them . clawing their way to safety “like chipmunks.” In Ohio, at least 16.000 persons were forced to flee homes inundated by two days of flooding. Licking, Knox and Muskingum counties in Ohio were declared disaster areas. An estimated 8,800 persons were homeless in western Pennsylvania floodlands. A United Press International count since the start of the storms showed at least 90 weather-con-nected deaths in traffic, overexertion, drowning, exposure or tornadoes. There were 16 in Ohio, 13 in Wisconsin, 11 in Illinois, 10 in ’ Michigan 9 in Indiana, 6 in New York state, 4 each in lowa, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, 3 in both Missouri and Oklahoma, 2 each in Kansas, New Mexico and Texas and 1 in Washington. Barges Break Loose As the floodwaters drained into the swollen Ohio River, nearly 100 barges were torn loose from moorings and drifted free down the river, ramming bridges and shore installations. The Ohio was expected to crest 10 to 12 feet above flood stage in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Hundreds of families were evacuated from homes in the tri-state area. Although the widespread storm ended late Thursday, much of the nation struggled to clean up its aftermath. In Missouri, authorities sought an Air Force officer and two enlisted men feared lost in their car in deep snow between Springfield, Mo., and Kansas City. Firre Destroys RR Shop In Wisconsin, four persons died Thursday shoveling deep snow from sidewalks or trying to push cars out of snow drifts. Fire added to flood miseries in South Buffalo, N.Y., where a Pennsylvania Railroad shop was destroyed Thursday by a threealarm blaze. No ope was, injured. Two highway employes were found unconscious in a snow plow near Chicago Thursday after being buried beneath drifts for more than 10 hours. The cold air mass covering much of the nation pushed into

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

River Levels Drop Throughout Stale Dry Weather Eases Indiana Situation United Press International River levels dropped over much of Indiana’s flood area today and temperatures fell below zero in the state’s frozen northlands. A full day of dry weather Thurs- ! day contributed to the easing of the flood situation, although crests of major streams moved southwestward to pose overflow threats to new areas. Flash floods which sent lowland householders scurrying from their homes in Madison and Brookville and other communities receded almost as quick?-’ as they developed. A state cf emergency at Madison war lifted and the cleanup process began. Ice jams, mainly on the Wabash River in North Central Indiana, posed a new threat. But officials watched the situation closely and demolition crews stood by to dislodge the jams with expllfcives if necessary. Below Zero North The tnereury fell below zero over most of the northern third of Hoosierland. Chicago reported 8 below. South Bend 6 below, Goshen 5 below, Fort Wayne and Lafayette 1 below. Elsewhere the overnight minimums were warmer, including 3 above at Terre Haute, 5 above at Indianapolis and 18 above r.t Evansville. The day dawned mostly clear. Except for snow flurries in the northwest portion today and light snow in the central portion Saturday, no precipitation lay ahead for Hoosiers plagued by deep snow in the north and torrents of rain in the south earlier this week. The cold weather will continue, however, temperatures averaging eight degrees below normal for the five-day period ending next Wednesday. However, a slow moderation will begin Saturday and continue through Monday, turning a little colder Tuesday or Wednesday. Little precipitation was predicted. A wide range of low temperatures was expected tonight, from zero to 10 below in the northeast to 8 to 16 above in the southwest. Highs today will range from 10 to the low 20s and Saturday near 20 all around the state. Thursday’s highs ranged from 15 at South Bend to 24 at Evansville. The east fork of the White River was falling as far south as Seymour this morning as crests moved toward Bedford.— Shrine Club To Take Children To Circus Annual Circus For Children Feb. 7 • The Adams county Shrine club will take more than 500 third grade children to the annual Shrine cil»cus at Fort Wayne Saturday, Feb. 7. The group will include those from all the schools, including the Vera Cruz opportunity school. This is the seventh consecutive year that the local club has sponsored the project. The Shriners buy a large section of tickets, and arrange with local trustees for school bus transportation for the children and their teachers. A Shriner rides on each bus to be responsible for the children. The buses will leave at varying times after '8 a. m. Saturday, and upon arrival at Fort Wayne will join large caravans of buses headed for the coliseum through that city. The 10 a. m. show usually draws some 12,000 children from the norttheastern part of Indiana and the northwestern section of Ohio. J ■

May Postpone Election On Utility Sale Indiana-Michigan < Attorneys, County Officials Confer The possibility that the election on the question of selling the city light plant will be postponed, perhaps until April 14, grew today following a meeting on the question Thursday. • Two attorneys representing In-diana-Michigan Electric company met in private Thursday afternoon with the county election board, county commissioners, county cleric, circuit court judge, and county attorney, and came to an agreement on three important questions concerning the electric power election. Fort Wayne attorneys Alex M. Campbell and Von E. Livingstem called the meeting for a better understanding of certain questions concerning the sale. The public was excluded trom the meeting. According to those who attended, however, Indiana-Michigan made four points clear: i 1. For them to continue interest in the sale, the declaratory judgment on the four questions raised by the county attorney would have , to be decided promptly in February, and for them to agree to the legality of the election, would have to hold that the county election officials would be in charge of the election. , 2. If this is held, the date of the election would have to be changed to 60 days after the decesion .to allow a full election calendar . of activity. 3. The ballots, printed by the city, would not be used; new ballots would be printed, designed by the city clerk-treasurer, but printed under the direction of the county election board, including city witnesses. ' 4. The city would pay for all the costs of the election, being billed direct, rather than through the county. Oomtlnued on page rive Says East Germany To Control Berlin Says Recognition Is Not Demanded BERLIN (UPl)—East Germany’s Communist chieftain Walter Ulbricht declared today that his country does not demand diplomatic recognition by the West as the price of peace in Berlin. Ulbricht added, however, that it is “absolutely certain” the Communists will take over control of all routes to the city, The question of recognizing the East Zone regime has been a major roadblock in framing an answer to Communist claims over control of Berlin. Ulbricht’s declaration in an exclusive interview suggested a slight —- but very guarded — softening in the Communist stand. “We would not insist on diplomatic recognition,” the deputy premier and party chieftain declared. “We are patient and pedagogically minded in this respect. “It is not of prime importance to us what the Western powers call such negotiations (over Berlin) between ourselves and the Western powers.” Ulbricht said the Western Allies must negotiate with his government if they want to supply their Berlin garrisons after May 30. It is “absolutely certain,” he said, that the Soviet Union will carry out its plan to transfer control of Western Allied traffic to East Germany. He warned that the vital Western Allied commercial air traffic to the city will be allowed to continue only if the airlines conclude contracts with the Soviet Zone government. Ulbricht added that the Soviet plan to give Germany a peace treaty does not represent a Soviet backdown on Berlin. He said the Russians are determined to carry out their proposal to make West Berlin a free, demilitarized city. In his exclusive interview, Ulbricht clarified as has not been done before the Eastern stand on Berln. He said explicitly and clearly what the Communists until now have only hinted at or expressed in ambiguous terms. He emphatically rejected U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles’ suggestion that Germany be reunified on the basis of security guarantees that what is now East Germany would be neutralized. He said East Germany “never" would agree to unity on the basis of free elections, as demanded by West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, January 23, 1959.

Hope Fades For Twelve Men Trapped By Icy Waters In Coal Mine

Living Costs Show Decline In December Lower Food Prices Reduce Cost First Time Since August WASHINGTON (UPI) — Lower food prices sent the cost of living down in December for the first time since August, the government said today. The Labor Department’s consumer price index declined .2 per cent last month to 123.7 per cent of average 1947-49 prices. . The wages of about 700,000 workers, whose pay is tied to the cost of living index by escalator 'clauses in labor contracts, will stay the same because of stability in the index. Earnings of the average factory workers — after taxes — rose to all-time highs last month, at $79.60 a week for a man with three dependents and $72.10 for a single factory hand. The earnings were about $1.20 above the November level. ■ _ ~ ' ■: . r-j Although the cost of living dropped last month, the index Was 1.7 per cent higher than for December, 1957. Lower food priced in December were accompanied by lower prices for new cars, women's and girls’ coats, suits and dresses, recreation and personal care. Oranges, eggs, coffee, poultry and pork cost less last month, according to H. E. Riley, Labor De| partment price chief. Riley said food prices probably will rise this month, but that the over-all living costs are not expected to rise very much if at all. Riley said he expected vegetable prices to decline this month "because of good crops. He said beef prices may rise, offsetting lower price tags on apparel and new cars. The December food price drop marked the fifth successive month of decreases. Oranges and other fresh fruits were 6.9 per cent lower, but fresh vegetable prices rose 5.2 per cent last month. Street Department Hampered by Illness Work Day And Night At Clearing Streets The Decatur street department, working day and night since 3:30 a. m. Wednesday to clear Decatur’s streets of water and ice, was hampered today by illness of three workers. ~~ Max Knavel, driver of the city garbage truck, is ill with ulcers. Art Mayer, who also works on the truck, is in the hospital for observation, and John Meyer, of the street department, is ill at home. Two regular street employes have been put to work on the garbage truck to keep up collections. There wilTbe no trash pickup this week because all available men will be working on the streets. Wednesday the crews worked all day at clearing limbs from the street, and in grading the ice so that water would drain from the standing puddles six and seven inches deep at many places. The remaining days of this week will be spent in spreading salt and cinders on the streets to make them all passable, Clark said. Pickup of limbs and other debris in yards' will begin as soon as actual storm damage to the streets and sewers has been cleared, but this will not be until next week, at least, he predicted. City residents are asked not to phone in about debris in yards until the streets have been cleared.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Michigan City Fire ' L < .• ■ Officer Feared Dead Fireman Is Missing After Costly Blaze MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (UPI)— A fire official was missing and presumed dead today in the smoking ruins of a $500,000 fire which razed a men’s store, theater and cleaning establishment in the heart of the city Thursday night. Seven firemen were injured ■ fighting the blaze, which brought ’ fire equipment from virtually ■ every major city in northwestern Indiana to the scene. Three firemen were hospitalized for smoke . inhalation. The other four were • treated for cuts and bruises, t More than 100 children, tree for the. day because of the snowstorm closed schools, were attending a ' matinee in the Liberty Theater ! when the fire broke out in the basement of the newly remodeled i Edwards Store for Men in another ' part of the building. The children all were led to r safety. , The fire’s lone victim apparI ently was Fire Capt. Inspector Lee Brady. It was feared he was overcome by smoke while fighting ’ the fire in a basement. Offic’ols said it was probably the worst fire here in 20 years. r Owners of the business firms ; and an insurance inspector esti- ; mated the loss at about a half ’ million dollars. ' > The multi-unit building housed ’ in addition to the' theater and i store a cleaning establishment in 1 the rear, and upstairs, an Indiana . Employment Security Division of(Co'n'Utrued on page eight) t Areas Near Decatur Continue To Suffer Ice, Cold Continue To Plague Areas Areas near Decatur continued to suffer from the ice and cold wave which struck the north central states late Tuesday. Willshire. 0., reported water six inches deep over highway 49, but traffic can get through. In Wells, county, school was cancelled in all townships except Lancaster Central. Union Center has been without electric or telephone service since late Tuesday.*Wells county gravel roads remained -extremely slippery. Telephone service is back to normal in most instances with about one-fourth of the lines repaired by noon Thursday. North of Craigville, additional breakdowns were reported, Indi-ana-Michigan crews were reported working around the clock since Tuesday. Tocsin telephone service is reported interrupted because repair crews are not yet available from Decatur. At New Corydon, on the AdamsJay county line, water was reported eight inches deep over most of the community because of flooding conditions on the Wabash river there. It was five inches higher, according to one report, than in the big flood of 1913. Water has cut off most of the town, and closed the school. Portland has returned to near normal, but no school whs held at Bryant, Madison, Gray, Pennville, Poling, and Noble townships Wednesday. Only one intersection in Portland was under water. Wednesday, water was reported over the main street of Berne by the post office and by the Nazatene church. - At. Huntington 11 county schools were closed, but the Wabash crested just slightly over the flood stage there lafo Thursday, tn Blackford county, only Roll school was closed. At Van Wert both the New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads had traffic interrupted because of high wat?r Thursday. Most of the highways in the area were also closed. Trucks arriving at Fort Wayne and Decatur had to radio ahead by police facilities to find open roads through to the east.

Indiana House Passes Bill On SUB Payments Bill To Legalize Supplemental Pay Approved By House INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) —The Indiana House passed and sent to the Senate today a bill to legalize supplemental unemployment benefits. With 10 minority Republicans joining the Democratic majority, the measure was approved by an 82-10 vote after Rep. Harry Dougherty (D-Indianapolis), one of the authors, told the House that Indiana was one of only four states banning SUB. The bill would permit la id-off workers to receive state unemployment benefits while at the same time drawing supplemental benefits from company - union plans. The present law, enacted by the heavily Republican 1957 Legislature, prohibits ’ supplemental benefits — : ■ .--t— Republicans made a token effort to postpone action on the measure when minority floor leader Cable G. Ball of Lafayette moved to make the issue a special order of business next Monday. Ball’s motion Was tabled by voice vote. During brief discussion before the roll call vote, several lave makers expressed their opinions of the bill, but nobody stood up to flatly oppose it and call for its defeat. Rep. Maurice Chase, a Bedford Republican, said he felt obligated to vote for the bill “because no voices was raised from the Republican said in direct criticism of it.”Chase and nine other*'-‘Republi-cans voted with 72 Democrats to pass. Ten Republicans voted against the measure. Seven representatives—6 Democrats and 1 Republican—plus Speaker Birch Continued on page five Legion Oratorical ■ 0 ■ _ ■ " Contest Next Week Will Name Decatur High Representative Finalists in the Decatur high school-American Legion oratorical contest will be determined in two school programs to be held at 1:10 o’clock next Monday and Tuesday afternoons at the high school. Six have qualified for the final contests. They are Judy Rhodes, Kathleen Schultz, Larry Ritter, John Paul MeAhren, Bill Bond and Peter Friederici. Faculty members, of the high school will be judges for the local contest, which will determine the school’s entrant in the Adams county contest. Connie Baxter will act as chairman for both sessions. The school representative, and alternate, must be chosen and certified by Feb. 13, a and the countywide contest, yet’to be arranged, must be concluded by Feb. 27. The local contest is sponsored by Adams Post 43, American Legion, and the county winner will advance to district competition, with a national winner eventually to be determined. INDIANA WEATHER Partly cloudy and cold tonight Saturday partly cloudy with moderating temperatures. Low tonight aero to 10 below northeast to 8 to 16 above extreme southwest. High Saturday 15 to 25. Sunset today 5:54 p.m. CDT. Sunrise Saturday 8 a. m. CDT. Outlook for Sunday: Variable cloudiness and warmer with periods of light snow north and central. Lows Saturday night 10 to 20. Highs Sunday near 30 north to near 40 extreme south. ” ,; x : X

Widespread Hunt On For Baby's Kidnaper 23-Day-Old Boy Is Kidnaped Thursday NEW YORK (UP)—Police and FBI agents searched the city's populour Spanish-speaking slums today for the pregnant woman who kidnaped a 23-day-old boy entrusted to her by a mother who fell for a clever apartment-hunt-ing ruse. The kidnaped child was identi- ' fied as John Tavarez, the son of ' Dominican immigrants. The baby ■ was ill with a heavy cold when he was taken from his crib shorti ly before 4 p. m. e.s.t. Thurs- . day. i The Tavarez apartment .where - the kidnaping occurred is located > on the West Side Manhattan block t of 158 W. 84th St. known as “the . worst block in New York" because y»f sordid slum conditions, [ prostitution, dope peddling, muggings and thefts. ’ Folow Up Clues I Authorities hoped that several clues supplied by John's mother, [ Mrs. Doraliza Tavarez, 31, would 1 lead them to “Mrs. Gladys Gar- ' cia”, the Spanish-speaking worn- ■ an about 30 years of age who took the baby While Mrs. Tavat rez was on a wild goose chase in ; the Bronx. » Mrs. Garcia told Mrs. Tavarez • she was married, had three chilf dren, and lived oq Southern Boulevard in the Bronk, an area with many Latin - American residents. Mrs. Tavarez gave police several , addresses on Southern Boulevard but a search failed to locate ’ Mrs. "Garcia. Mrs. Tavarez said she met the woman Wednesday afternoon at I Continued’ on page five 1 : Price Os Pork Is ; On Way Downward Higher Production Os Hogs Brings Cut WASHINGTON (UPI) — The price of pork is on the wav down and is likely to stay down throughout 1959 because there is too much production to meet consumer demand. The Agriculture Department reported today that hogs from the big 1958 fall pig crop—up 17 per cent from a year earlier — were coming to market. Large supplies for next fall already are assured. Farmers plan to produce 13 per cent more pigs this spring than in the spring of 1958. Rising hog marketings already are pushing livestock slaughter and meat production above 1958 levels, ending a twoyear decline, the department said. The prospective increase in this spring’s pig crop was the largest since 1955, the year when -prices plunged from an average of $17.70 per hundredweight in June to a low of $10.60 in December. Retail prices of pork in 1955 reflected the huge production, and are due to do the same this year. The department forecast, however, that pork prices would be higher in the fall and winter than this spring because of smoother distribution of spring farrowings.. Data for nine big hog-producing states indicated farrowing for De-cember-February, the first half of the spring season, might be 29 per cent above those of 1955, while March-May farrowings will be 13 per cent less. This more even distribution of farrowing points to more even distribution of marketings and reduces the possibility of a big marketing bulge next November-January. The department predicted only a small gain in beef production this year, and said a price decline would be slow. The depart'ment said egg production throughout the year is expected to be above 1958,' with lower prices through the spring. Broiler supplies through April will be around 15 per cent above a year ago. The department also predicted cotton exports, which have been moving slowly so-far this marketing year would fall short of the four million bales predicted earlier. I -L- r - r r-- - ■ ' ..

Six Cenb

12 Trapped By Icy Waters In Pennsylvania Swollen River Near Mine Breaches Hole, Swirls Into Mine PITTSTON, Pa. (UPI) — Hope faded today for 12 miners trapped by icy waters in an anthracite mine after the swollen Susquehanna River breached a hole in a tunnel below the river bed and swirled into the honeycomb of diggings. Under the unwritten law of the coal mine fields, “never leave a buddy down below,” rescuers spared no effort or expense in a frantic effort to reach them. Their only hope was that they managed to crawl into ajr pockets above the still rising water level. ■— Robert Groves, superintendent of the Knox Coal Co. mine, said efforts to dig through to the men from other shafts had to be abandoned because "all the holes are now filled with water.” ’ Groves said the river still was pouring into the mine and the water had to be halted "before we can do anything else.” Additional railroad cars, bales of hay, telephone poles, and other items were pushed into the hole in the river bottom in an effort to stem the flow. But the river seemed to be defeating the efforts of rescue workers. The whirlpool above the hole in the river bottom eroded the east bank, undermining the Lahigh Valley Railroad tracks separating the river and the main entrance to the mine. A watch was stationed at each of the mine shaft entrances for any possible signs of life below. Flood Underground Shafts Forty-four of the miners working deep underground managed to reach safety after the ice-clogged river drained through a hole 20 feet in diameter into the quartermile long tunnel like an emptying bathtub Thursday. They were greeted with whoops of joy by relatives and friends standing vigil around the numerous entrances to mine shafts. The financial loss also may fur- J ther cripple the anthracite fields already depressed because of the decline in demand for hard coal. Th flood waters kept pouring into the interlinked mine shafts, tunnels and slopes, reaching some diggings eight miles away. One mine engineer estimated it would take two years to pump out the water if such a huge project could be financed. “You never saw such a mess as there is down there,” veteran miner Anthony Krywicki, 53, Pittston, said. “Everything is so caved in. Whole sections are caved in. It’s 1 a terrible mess.” Wander In Max® Krywicki was one of a group of men who wandered fpr hours through the dungeon darkness be- ‘ fore finding a light and safety. "I wouldn’t go back down in the mines for a million,” he vowed. “I'm finished. I don’t want no more of that. Forty-two years of it is enough.” St Mary's River Continues To Rise Above Flood Stage • The St. Mary’s river has risen „ one foot within the past 24 hours, bringing the level to 17.36 as crf'7 o'clock today, according to Louis Landrum, Decatur weather observer. The river is now 4.36 feat over the flood stages, and is expected to rise more within the next few days or hours depending on the weather. Landrum stated today that another check of the depth of the river would-be taken at 12 o’ clock noon to determine how fast the river is rising. Thursday at 7 a.m. the river was 16.37 feet as recorded by Landrum. „ Included in the river report was the amount of snow received in Decatur during the night. It was stated that .02 inches of snow was recorded that had fallen from 10 o’clock last night until early this morning. , » .