Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 121, Decatur, Adams County, 22 May 1959 — Page 1

Vol. LVII. No. 121.

Youthful Mass Slayer Granted Last-Minute Stay Os Execution

LINCOLN, Neb. (UPD—A dramatic middle-of-the-night appeal by his sleepless father early today won a two weeks stay of execution for mass slayer Charles Starkweather. The delay was announced just 90 minutes before Starkweather was to have died in the Nebraska State Prison electric chair for one of 11 murders he committed 16 months ago during the Midwest's bloodiest slaying spree. Starkweather, told by the prison chaplain that he had at least two more weeks to live, reacted by saying, “I'm more nervous now than I was all night.'* ’Die chaplain, the Rev. Robert Klein, said that when Starkweather got word of the stay “he broke out in a big smile and shook my hand." I “Starkweather ~ was all set to go," the Rev. Klein told newsmen. "We had discussed everything and he was showing no emotion whatsoever. He clung to a slim thread of hope until the very last and reaffirmed in our conversations the thought that as long as there is life there is hope.” Father Requested Stay The chaplain added that “one of the first things he said after he got the word was 'this is sure going to make my mother happy ’ ” U.S. District Judge Richard E. Robinson of Omaha granted the stay at the request of Guy Starkweather, the 20 - year -old condemned murderer's father. The judge said -it appeared Starkweather “is and has been without the services of an attorney” so there was a pdjtstbtttty he was being held in violation of his constitutional rights. Starkweather and his family had dismissed their court-appoint-ed lawyers after the youth was convicted and sentenced to die. The family contended the lawyers did not represent their son properly in trying to win his freedom on the grounds he was insane at the time of the slayings. Robinson’s stay, effective until June 4, was granted to allow Starkweather time for an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals against the denial, earlier this week, of an application

Living Costs Equal Record

costs climbed back to a record high level in April, the government said today. Higher costs of transportation, medical care, recreation and personal care pushed consumer prices up .2 of 1 per cent during the month. The rise brought them to the reord level reached in July and November of last year. v The Labor Department’s consumer price index rose to 123.9 per cent of 1947-49 prices, .3 of 1 per cent higher than April, a year ago. Food Prices Decline Sharp reductions in egg, milk and dairy products prices led to a slight decline in food prices, the department said. Rising state and local taxes on tobacco, telephones, gasoline and sales helped push the level of living costs back to a record peak. Despite the rise, only 160,000 workers whose wages are tied to the index by escalator clauses will receive penny-an-hour pay boosts. Take-home pay of factory workers—weekly earnings after federal taxes—climbed to a new record in April. A factory worker with three dependents averaged $80.68 a week, about 50 cents higher than In March. A longer work week and higher hourly wages accounted for the rise. Despite the Increase in consumer prices, the buying power of his earning also hit a record level. Take home pay has increased about 10 per cent since april, 1958. Buying power has increased about the same over the year. Index Continues Stable Today’s index also set a record for sustained stability. For 10 months the level of consumer prices has moved within .2 of 1 per cent. During April, the department

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

i for a writ of habeas corpus. Wanted to Prepare Appeal Guy Starkweather, admitting he ’ was “very tired because I have been up all night,” told United . Press International that he called ; Robinson after talking with other jurists and being told to consult ‘ with the senior federal district i judge. , I "I wanted to stay the execution so we could prepare an appeal,” the elder Starkweather said. ■ “Charlie did not have adequate counsel in his attempt to get the writ. In fact, he didn't have any counsel at all, and it seemed like we could get none." Starkweather specifically was convicted of first degree murder for the death of Robert Jensen, 17; high school student at nearby , Bennett. Jensen’s father, Robert Jensen Sr., was at his son’s graveside when he heard on his car radio of the stay. He said he was "not too surprised” by the delay but was confident Starkweather eventually will be executed for his boy’s death. Starkweather had been scheduled to be strapped in the electric chair, in the basement below the warden’s office, at 7:01 a.m. c.d.t. At 7:05 a.m., c.d.t., five state troopers, three Lincoln policemen and a Lancaster County sheriff's deputy, who were to have assisted with the execution, picked up their weapons at the reception desk and left. I Resigned T* Fate Starkweather hid appeared resigned to his fate when he met With his family Thursday night. INDIANA WEATHER Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thundershowers tonight and Saturday. Cooler extreme north tonight and Saturday, turning cooler central and south Saturday. Low tonight near 50 extreme north to - near 70 extreme south. High Saturday upper 50s extreme north to near 80 extreme south. Sunset today 7:39 p.m. Sunrise Saturday 5:25 a. m. Outlook for Sunday: Somewhat warmer. Lows 55 to 65. Highs 60s north to 70s south.

said, prices of gasoline, tires, used cars and auto insurance increased. Dealers’ selling prices on new cars declined. I Theprice of eggs was at its lowest point in 13 years. Poultry also was cheaper. Coffee prices fell for toe 14th month in a row. But fruits and vetables, meats, and fish increased in price. Higher hospital insurance premiums and higher fees of doctors, dentists and hospitals contributed to a .3 of 1 per cent rise in medical care. H.E. Riley, chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics price division, predicted state and local tax increaseswill play a significant role in inflating living costs in toe future. Ri|ey said five cities reported higher real estate taxes for toe April index, and many states apparently are considering tax increases. About 120,000 Westinghouse Electric workers will get 1 cent an hour wage boost, resotring a penny lost in December when toe index declined. Portland Youth Dies In Two-Car Accident PORTLAND, Ind. (UPD—Jesse Cash, 20, Portland, died early today in Jay County Hospital from injuries sustained Thursday night in a two-car collision on U.S. 27 just south of Portland. Rex Kroner, 18, Bryant, his brother Joe, 19, and Floyd Norton, 20, Bryant, were injured. Rex Kroner, his skull fractured, was taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. Police said Cash’s car swerved into the path of one in which the others were riding.

Eisenhower Confers With UN Secretary

WASHINGTON (UPD — President Eisenhower had a breakfast table conference today with United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold who has suggested New York as a site for a summit conference. After the meeting, Jlamarskjold said the talk was “private” and resulted from an invitation by the President. Asked if, iside from the meeting, "any thought is being given to injecting the United Nations into the Berlin situation,” the U.N. official apoloized and said he could not go beyond his careful press conference remarks 'Thursday. In his New York statement he said it might be helpful to have U.N. headquarters as the site for a Big Four summit meeting to provide a link for countries which would not be represented. But he noted that the U.N. was not the only or necessarily the best site tor such a meeting. I Hammarskjold described his public statement Thursday as “very wait and seeish.” Joining Eisenhower and Hammarskjold at breakfast were Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., U.S. ambassador to the U.N., and C. Douglas Dillon, deputy secretary of state. K The president atsb will confer with his cabinet and with French Finance Minister Antoine Pinay before flying to St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., to speak at the dedication of three buildings. He then will go to his Gettysburg, Pa., farm for the weekend. Hammarskjold said in New York Thursday that there should be a direct link between any summit conference and the countries which would not be represented at such a meeting. “One way of expressing that relationship is, of course, for the meeting to take place at (U.N.) headquarters," he told a news conference. “It is not the only one and not necessarily the best one.” The White House said Eisenhower’s meeting with Hammarskjold was the result of a longstanding invitation from the President and had nothing to do with the current foreign ministers meeting at Geneva. Eight-Year-Old Girl Drowned Near Home GARY, Ind. (UPD—The nude body of an 8-year-old girl was found in a swampy water hole near her home Thursday night. Authorities said Elizabeth Ann Null of East Gary drowned. But they scheduled a post mortem examination today in an effort to solve the mystery of why all her clothing had been removed. The little girl’s clothes were found lying in a heap about 300 feet from the hole. Neighbors reported seeing three boys running from the area shortly before dark, and shortly before a searching party began looking for the child when her clothing was found. The body was found in a waterfilled depression five to 10 feet deep in a new subdivision near the dividing line between East Gary and New Chicago. Authorities said there were no marks of violence on the body. Deputy Sheriff Bernard Bagley found the body after spending 25 minutes grappling in the hole. Elizabeth Ann was the daughter of the Howard Nulls. She was a second-grade school pupil. Authorities said the three young boys were located and released after questioning. They said they admitted having L»en with Elizabeth Ann earlier Thursday but not in the area where her body was found. Police were also checking footpirnts found around the water hole in an effort to determine whether all were the girl’s.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER Pf ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Friday, May 22, 1959,

Graduate Exercises Held Last Evening The coming generation’s biggest, world problem will be in the field of human relations, said Dr. John H. Furbay, to the 83 graduates of Decatur high school Thursday evening. Dr. Furbay, noted world traveler and lecturer, was the main speaker to a crowd of 3,000 at the 78th commencement of Decatur high school in the school's gymnasium. Furbay knows well of what he speaks, for as director of air world education for Trans World Airlines, he has circled the globe at least 40 times. Drawing from a vast knowledge of conditions in every populated, and some unpopulated, spots in the world, Furbay thoroughly entertained, enlightened and educated the large crowd. The annual exercises opened with toe traditional processional of the graduates. The invocation was given by the Rev. William C. Feller, of toe Zion Evangelical and Reformed church. Ths high school choir, under the dir ectton of Mis* Helen Haubold, then presented “With a Voice of Singing,” by Shaw, ■ and “America, Our Heritage,” by Steel-Ades. W. Guy Brown, superintendent of Decatur schools, then thanked the citizens of Decatur for their fine support of toe school system during the year. He introduced Harry Meyer,, president of the class, of 1936, to introduce Dr. Furbay. Moyer expressed his gratitude at being invited back to his Alma Mater. It was through his efforts that Dr. Furbay was secured for the address. Moyer was the student who originated the idea of the student day sale during toe depression, as a means of helping the classes make money. Furbay assured the graduates that the old theory that toe world is waiting for them with open arms is a lot of bologna. He said the opportunities are there, but they have to be earned, they aren’t just waiting. He hoped that all of the graduates would have to work long and hard for the next ten years, as only through hard, almost desperate, work, will the graduates find out their needs and capabilities. He said that the only real security the young people will have is knowing what they are capable of achieving. Furbay then related some of the world’s great men he has been fortunate enough to meet, and pointed out that they have one quality in common. They could all get along with all people, not just those people they liked. He stressed the importance of* the need for getting along. .... The speaker then yrent into some of his own experiences to show that it is easier to get along with all people than many believe. He said toe peoples of the world are a lot more alike than they are different. They all have toe same basic wants and needs. From his travels around the globe. Furbay pointed out that all people need the same four things: home, food, love and God. The rest of the differences that distinguish one race or nation from another are superficial. These four basic needs are common to all men. Furbay ended his brilliant talk by urging toe graduates and all others to "join the human race,” and help the world improve by helping in the field of human relations. Everett G. Hutker, president of the Decatur school board, then presented toe 1959 graduating class, and distributed their diplomas. The benediction was given by the Rev. Harold J. Bond, pastor of the First Presbyterian church. The ceremonies were closed as the graduated class filed out in the recessional.

Clinic Planned Here On Library Budgets The Decatur public library with Miss Bertha Heller, librarian, will conduct a library budget clinic June 4 under toe auspices of toe state library, toe state board of accounts, and the state board of tax commissioners. Libraries throughout the state may send representatives to Deqatur, or any of three other librari its, which will conduct similar clinics. On June 2, toe Indianapolis public library will offer toe clinic in room 409, while on June 5, the Plymouth public library will meet in the Plymouth Methodist church for its clinic. The fourth clinic will be Spring Mill state park, sponsored by the extension division of the state library. Luncheons will be served at each community with the exception of toe Indianapolis clinic. Reservations must be at least three days in advance. Library representatives are requested to bring their budgets and financial records in order that questions may be answered by toe authorities on the subject. Budget will be issued at each session. Representatives may attend more than one clinic, and may attend all four if possible. Harriet I. Carter, head of toe, library extension division, urges ; all librarians to attend at least one I Session. The clinic hours at each I site will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 I[p.m. T I Spring Collection Os Taxes Reported ! Spring taxes collected this year on 1958 poll and property assessments total $1,068,946.18, or $31,754.35 more than was collected last year, Waldo Neal, county treasurer announced today. In 1958, the taxes collected in the spring for the previous year totaled $1,037,191.83. According to figures released by the Adams county treasurer’s office, taxes collected for the townships are as follows: Union, $23.323.03; Root, $56,759.44; Preble,. 434,539.24; Kirkland, $42,351.80; Washington, $69,856.36; St. Mary’s, $41,589.47; Blue Creek, $24,365.66; Monroe, $60,870.11; French, $39.313.28; Hartford, $33,360.02; Wabash, $53,851.38; and Jefferson, $26,081.87. Taxes collected in Decatur total $377,034.47, or Decatur - Washington, $303,248, and Decatur - Root. $73,786.47. Taxes paid last year were $351,198.62, or Decatur-Wash-ington, $286,180.73, and DecaturRoot $65,017.89. Assessments from Monroe were listed at $12,378.61, with MonroeMonroe paying $10,447.21, and Monroe-Washington assessed sl,931.41. Geneva assessments are listed at $36,574.60, while Berne assessments were reported to $136,696.83. Berne paid $135,230.78 last year. Man, Four Children Die In Home Fire ONTARIO, Calif. (UPD — The father and four small children of a family which recently moved here from Missouri were killed in their sleep Thursday night when fire swept their seven-room frame house. Robert E. Burke, 29, truck driver at a nearby Chino poultry ranch, was found burned to death on a sofa in the living room of toe modest home in this city about 45 miles east of Los Angeles. A daughter, 6, died in an adjoining bedroom. The three other children, all boys, were carried from the house by firemen but were pronounced dead of asphyxiation. They were Tony, 7; Terry, 4, and Bobby, 2. The children’s mother, Joan, 26, moo nt wnrlr <- Fire Chief L. H. Hopkins said the blaze was believed caused by a defective wall heater or a mislaid cigarette.

Lion Like May Continuing In Some Sections United Press International Fatal bolts of lightning in Arkansas and Illinois, a swirling waterspout in Florida and overpowering winds in Texas prolonged the nation’s lion-like May weather Thursday. But toe U.S. Weather Bureau saw relief for the battered midsection of toe country Friday. The weathermen predicted a break in toe hot, humid air that has gripped toe Mississippi all week but forecast rrtore showers and thunderstorms from , the Southern states through toe East. A lightning flash struck two elderly fishermen Thursday evening, killing W. Clifford Thompson, 68, a Conway, Ark,, city councilman, and critically injuring Rollin H. Carter, 76, also of Conway. The two men had rowed their “boat beneath an overhanging tree shortly before toe bolt struck. John A. Hoblitt, 48. president of toe Atlanta, R],, National Bank, was killed when he was struck by lightning while trying to bring in a tractor during a thunderstorm. The water spout—a water-borne tornado —erupted from Tampa Bay late Thulrsday, damaing three Tampa homes, disrupting power in. the area and uprooting several trees. I A vicious squall bearing winds up to 87 m.p.h. whistled out of toe Gulf of Mexico along 400 miles of Texas coastline. Two teen-age boys at Gilchrist, Tex., were reported missing. The winds inflicted $50,000 damage to Gavleston, Tex., forced the tanker SS Maxton aground and shoved 16 railroad cars 16 blocks down the tracks. Two other persons drowned Thursday at Liberty Center, lowa, when toe normally quiet Otter Creek flooded, stalling an auto which bad tried to pass over a bridge. I Heaviest rain Thursday night fell from the western Mississippi Valley and the Texas panhandle northward through into the central Rockies. Vichy, Mo.. reported 1.85 inches and Grangeville, Ida., had 1.37 inches during a six-hour period. A thunderstorm bringing 50 m.p.h. winds and small, hail stmek- Jacksonville, 111., shortly before midnight. Cooler temperatures were predicted Friday in the Great Lakes region and toe mid - Mississippi Valley. Widely scattered thundershowers were expected from the Mississippi Valley southwestward and westward into toe Rockies, with a few showers extending into the California mountains. I Drive On Pinball Machines Growing INDIANAPOLIS (UPD — The crackdown on “free-play” pinball machines appeared to assume state-wide proportions today, with the exception of Gary. Gary officials announced they considered pinball machines perfectly legal and stated they would rather tax the devices than confiscate- them. The anti-pinball campaign picked up when Marion Circuit Judge John Niblack ruled in a test case that machines with free play counters are illegal. But the ruling applies only to Marion County. Marion County authorities were acting on it. Indianapolis police 'seized more than 100 machines in warehouse raids, and arrested at least one machine owner on a charge of possessing gambling devices. The raids were conducted on a friendly basis, however, with toe owners co-operating by hauling the devices away in their own trucks. But at Gary, City Council President Glen Vantrease said an ordinance was being which would allow the city to tax the machines. The proposed ordinance would also put a minimum age limit of 18 years on pinball players. ■ ■ >■ —. Evansville officials, meanwhile, gave all pinball operators and owners until June 1 to get rid of their machines. Police Cheif Charles Gash, Vanderburgh County Prosecutor O.H. Roberts, and Sheriff Gresham Grimm served notice that any machines found in public or private establishments after June 1 would be subject to seizure and operators would be liable to arrest Law enforcement authorities in several other Hoosier cities announced they will “clean out" any illegal pinball machines, beginning immediately. ■ >

i -Hr '-''if M A ■ yjr'• < 3 < iMMfe W^F WkXL Beverly Fuelling Donald Fuellint COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES were Tield at the Monmouth school Thursday evening for the 29 graduates of the Monmouth high school. Miss Beverly Fuelling, daughter of Mr. and: Mrs. Gustav Fuelling, route 3, was class valedictorian. She plans to enter International Business College in Fort Wayne. Donald Fuelling, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Fuelling, route 3, was salutatorian. He plans to enter Valparaiso University.

Both Sides Standing Firm On Steel Pact

NEW YORK (UPD—Steel wage negotiators, striving to find some basis of agreement, met today with both sides standing firm on their diametrically opposed positions. _ The negotiators for the steel industry and the United Steelworkers Unibn are winding tip their second week of joint bargaining talks without any sign of progress. They are split on the basic economic issues and recent statements indicate no narrowing of the gap. The industry, concerned about inflation and increasing foreign competition, wants a 1-year wage freeze. The union, arguing that purchasin power must be increased to keep the economy growing, wants a substantial wage Increase. David J. McDonald, president of the USW, has received toe full support of organized labor in his drive for a better contract and i has been urged to tight toe wage . freeze that could become a pat- ’ tern in other industries if accepted by the Steelworkers. R. Conrad Cooper L chief industry negotiator, has said there is no justification for a wage hike this year. He received support Thursday from two of the industry’s top leaders. McDonald declined to comment on the speeches made by Roger M. Blough, chairman of U.S. Steel, and Clifford F. Hood, a U.S. Steel director, beyond noting that “They have said nothing different from what they have said before.” Blough spoke before toe National Press Club in Washington. Me-

No Red Move To Halt Deadlock

GENEVA (UPD — Responsible diplomats said today failure of Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko to. end his propaganda outbursts and get down to serious bargaining on the Berlin crisis was seriously jeopardizing chances of a summit conference. A dinner given for Gromyko and the other Big Four foreign ministers Thursday night by Secretary of State Christian A. Herter apparently was a flop. Gromyko made no move to end toe EastWest deadlock as hoped. The ministers dined in style, they admired Mont Blanc by moonlight, and they chatted from facing loveseats but they failed to get anywhere on a solution to toe Berlin crisis. The closest they came to reality came when a cloud scudded across toe towering peak and Gromyko was quoted as saying ? “A magnifient view but the summit is still clouded.” The western ministers—Herter, Britain’s Selwyn Lloyd, France’s Maurice Couve de Murville and West Germany’s Heinrich von Brentano—met again today seeking away out of the impasse. Demand Still Unmet “Unless somebody makes a move,” one observer said, “it’s hard to see how there can be a summit.” The United States had demanded, “progress” as the price of an Eisenhower - Khrushchev meeting and none was in sight as toe second week of the EastWest meeting drew to a close. Western sources expressed hope Gromyko would rceive new instructions from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev this weekend before Khrushchev leaves Moscow Monday for a two-week jaunt to Albania. But in toe meantime the Western ministers had heard so much propaganda a U.S. source said Herter was “fed up."

Six Cents

Donald will address the same group next Wednesday. Hood, speaking before the National Industrial Conference Board here, said that about onequarter of steel industry production is going into stockpiles against a possible strike. The mills are producing at 94 per cent of capacity, he said, but consumption is only 70 to 75 per cent of the production. The size of the stockpile could be crucial in the union’s decision whether to follow its usual “no contract, no work” policy if a contract decision is not reached before the expiration date of the present agreement. Other industry reports indicated earlier this week that consumption had increased, reducing the amount of steel on hand for advance needs. They said a>to manufacturers were believed to have steel on hand to meet their neds ‘for gverai months after the contract deadline but that other users might feel the pinch within weeks. One Killed And Six Injured in Crash ELKHART, Ind. (UPD—Mike Joseph, 66, Lansing. Mich., was killed and six persons were injured, one critically, in a two-car crash near here Thursday night. Police said Joseph’s car apparently ran through a stop sign and collided with another car driven by Rae Allen Johnston, 19, Ligonier.

Today the West dug in for more bitter wrangling at the tenth formal session and the end of two weeks of fruitless devate in which each side repeatedly has scorned the other’s plan for solvin the problems of Germany and European security. ■ Hoped For Break Western officials had hoped that some sign of Russian willingness to switch the Geneva talks to secret bargaining sessions — possibly on a stopgap Berlin settlement — might emerge durin the three - hour dinner. Reports from the dinner said nothin much happened. “It was a social dinner, but naturally we did not stay there three hours without talking,” one Western participant said. The official U. S. spokesman said nothing of su-stance was discussed. The British and French spokesmen said things of substance were discussed but not resolved. The dinner began with cocktails. Then Herter, Gromyko. French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville and British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd sat down to a dinner of fish, chicken and strawberries with appropriate wines. Each minister was accompanied by two delegates. . ■ Dinner Amiable The dinner conversation was “small talk” according to a Western source. Then the ministers strolled into the garden, admired the breath - taking view of the Alps, returned inside and sat in front of an unlighted fireplace. Herter and Gromyko sat on one loveseat, Couve de Murville and Lloyd on a facing loveseat. The dinner was far more amiable than Thursday’s session when an American spokesman said Her(Contlnued on page eight)