Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 172, Decatur, Adams County, 23 July 1959 — Page 1

Vol. LVIL No. 172

I v LAST WORD FROM THE CHIEF— On the eve of his departure for a visit to Russia, Vice President Richard Nixon gets a last-minute briefing from President Eisenhower following a 45-minute visit to the White House. Mr. Nixon said afterward that he hopes his visit to Russia will "clear the air” on basic differences with the Soviet.

Boy Seoul Leaders Plan Activities Nearly 100 Boy scout leaders from three counties met at the Wells county game preserve Wednesday night to pick up their program planning guides for the 1960 scout year. Two of Decatur’s four troops were represented, including J. K. Ehler, Robert Zwick, and DeVon Cliffton of troop 62, and Herald Hitchcock and John Kelley, of troop 65; Monroe’s troop and cub pack had the largest delegation present at the meeting, including ten or 12 members and their wives: Berne was represented by Karl Hilty and Melvin Sprunger, and Geneva by Dave Stuckey. Watson Maddox, district commissioner, presided at the meeting following a pot-luck supper in the east shelter house. John G. Carlson, district executive, aided Maddox in passing qut the material for each troop. The jubilee year celebration, on a national, council, and local level, was explained by Dick Heller, Jr., district public relations chairman. Each troop was urged to keep the 50th anniversary foremost in planning events for 1960. The patches available to every scout who advances one rank and brings one new boy into scouting in 1960 were shown to those present. Every troop was asked to have its planning for the next year completed by September; the district and council programs will be published and released before that time. The new scout council office in Fort Wayne was described by Maddox and numerous tips were given in planning the program for 1960. Driver Is Killed In Station Wagon Crash NEW CASTLE, Ind. (UPD — Robert J. Deusser, 34, Indianapolis, was killed early today when he apparently dozed off and his station wagon crashed into two utility poles along U.S. 40 near Dunreith and ouerturned.

Tax Valuations In County New Record

The tax value of Adams county property advanced $863,190 to a record $45,715,190, county auditor Edward F. Jaberg reported today, after compiling local and stateassessment figures for personal, real, utility property, and subtracting exemptions. This means that a 1-cent county wide levy will raise $4,571.52 next year, instead of the $4,485.20 that it raises this year on each SIOO assessed valuation. This information is necessary for each budget unit to have in figuring its local rate. The county valuation is now $45,715,190, as compared with $44,852,000 a year ago. Decatur’s assessment accounted for two-thirds of the county gain, going up from $11,282,850 to sll,928,600, a total of $645,750 gained. Three-fourths of this is in DecaturWashington tax unit. Towns Increase Monroe’s assessment also increased frofn $490,810 to $533,490, an increase of $42,680 in valuation. Berne increased from $4,185,710 to $4,233,950; Geneva, from $1,147,710 to $1,190,840. Washington, Union, Hartford and Jefferson townships were the only taxing units recording decreases. Washington township went from $3,287,120 to $3,281,370. Unicm township went from $1,850,110 to $1,675,480; Hartford, from $1,903,690 to $1,901,560; Jefferson, from $1,432,210 to $1,416,120.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Living Cost Boost For G. E. Employes Effective July 27, all local General Electric employes who have a wage contract stipulation, granting an automatic cost of living increase, will receive an addition of approximately one-half per cent in their pay envelopes. The company released the data today after a government consumer price index for June, 1959, indicated the rise in the overall cost of living. The basis for the adjustment is a figure of 114.9, noted in September of 1955. The current figure is 124.5, on a quarterly computation. The increase over the last quarterly computation is .59 per cent. This increases the overall figure from 38.88 per cent to 39.47 per cent for the G. E. employes. Os this figure, 15 per cent was effective prior to the September 1955 date. Mrs. Ida Fisher Dies After Long Illness Mrs. Ida Fisher, 86, former Adams county resident, died at 1 o’clock this morning at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Tulia Phillips, at Paw Paw, Mich. Death followed an extended illness. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gottlieb (Jook and was born March 15, 1873. Her husband, Lemuel Fisher, preceded her in death. Surviving in addition to Mrs. Phillips are two other daughters, Mrs. Naomi Haight of St. Thomas, Ontario. Canada, and Mrs. Irene Troffman of Lagro; one son, Erwin Fisher of South Bend; 15 grandchildren; eight great-grand-children; two brothers, Charles and David Cook, both of near Decatur, and one sister, Mrs. Edith Singleton of Albion. Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Zwfck funeral home, the Rev. Joe Bair of Albion officiating. Burial will be in the Decatur cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after noon Saturday until time of the services. -

Townships Increased Increased were: Blue Creek, from $1,575,680 to $1,588,500; French, from $1,833,010 to $1,845,160; Kirkland, from $2,163,600 to $2,232,090; Monroe, from $3,095,150 to $3,105,120; Preble, from $2.631,740 to $2,696,290; Root, from $3,378,010 to $3,412,570; St. Marys, from $2,320,710 to $2,302,720; and Wabash, from $2,273,890 to $2,371,330. Root, Washington and Monroe townships remained the most valuable in that order, and Jefferson, Blue Creek, and Union, three of the smaller townships in the area, remained the townships with the lowest valuations. In Wells county, the valuation jumped $963,960, to $40,821,030 from $39,857,070. Five of Wells county’s nine townships declined in valuation, as compared with four of Adams county's 12. None of the four Adams county towns and cities declined, while in Wells count* two of the 11 declined slightly. Bluffton gained $303,490, as compared with Decatur’s gain of $645,750. County valuation totals were: real estate, $28,130,260; personal property, $14,917,320; state assessments of utilities, $5,304,570; mortgage exemptions, $1,990,700; soldier’s exemptions, $292,700; old age exemptions, $353,560; total pols (men 21 to 50), 3,884.

Canning Plant Heads Honored ByC.OfC. Mrs. Mabel Schmitt, president of the Decatur Canning company, W. E. Schmitt, vice-president, and Larry Elliott, plant manager, were honored at a dinner Wednesday afternoon by the Decatur Chamber of Commerce industrial committee. Mayor Robert D. Cole and Earl Fuhrman, committee chairman, pledged the continued aid of the city and Chamber of Commerce in helping industry in this city. Mrs. Schmitt was then called upon to make a few remarks. The Decatur plant will operate with an increased capacity this year, because of machinery moved here from the Ohio plant, she explained. It is hoped that within a few years the plant here can be greatly expanded. Problems Explained "The tomato canning industry is undergoing strenuous and trying changes today. Most of the small canning factories started up during the second world war, with government backing, and a ready market for every can produced. At the end of the war the market conditions changed overnight. “Competition from California growers, who produce in a single day as many tomatoes as Indiana produces all season, has forced many companies to the wall. Indiana tomatoes have a definite taste advantage over the western varieties, as they are not so sweet. However, the California industry is now trying to get the food and drug commission to a)low them to add acid to their product. Since the growers there can grow, can, and ship their tomatoes to Chicago cheaper than an Indiana factory, new ways must be found to compete,” she continued. Work Year 'Round "While it seems to many casual watchers that the tomato cannery operates orly a few weeks a year, management is busy the entire time. Last year’s cans must be shipped; next year’s acreage must be contracted for by contacting all the individual farmers: migrant labor in Arkanses must be contacted; the plant and the living quarters for the pickers must be maintained; seeds and plants must be secured, crops must be dusted. The uncontrollable element of the weather is a constant factor, determining the size of the canning operation even more effectively than the area seeded. “Then, when ihe canning factory actually opens, hundreds of workers appear. They must be put to work peeling the tomatoes, although the factory usually operates at half-force until all the machinery is adjusted, taking two or three days. Terrific pressure is on workers and management during the six weeks of canning. “Unfortunately, by Labor Day many of the workers have tired and quit, just at the time when the season reaches its peak, and the most tomatoes are on the dock for processing. This poses a real labor problem, and all .of the steady help available will be registered this year, and put to work.” Smoke Problem Abated Elliot tand W. E. Schmitt then explained that they were very sorry that smoke from the factory had bothered nearby residents last year. They explained that their chimney was of the required height according to the city ordinance, and that they were located in an industrially-zoned area. An experienced fireman who is excellent at smoke control has been hired this year, and new regulations concerning cleaning of furnace every three days have been put into effect; this should lower the soot by more than 50%. At the same time, when the factory is enlarged, it will be necessary to change the entire boiler system, and convert it to gas. which burns clean, they explained, so at worst the inconvenience is temporary in nature. Industrial committee members and guests present included Dr. John B. Terveer, city health officer; businessman Robert Ashbaucher, attorney David Macklin, broker George Thomas, and publisher Dick Heller, Jr. ‘ Albert Miller Is Reported Serious Mrs. Charles Brodbeck received word today that her brother, Albert Miller, former Decatur resident, is seriously ill in the Prince George hospital in Chederly, Md. His room number is Sec. K, room 407. The Miller family now resides at Hyattsville, Md.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, July 23,1959

Khrushchev Fires New U. S. Blast As Nixon Arrives In Moscow

Okays Labor Reform Bill

WASHINGTON (UPD — The House Labor Committee today approved a labor reform bill. The measure is a toned-down version of the bill passed by the Senate. Its main features would provide curbs on labor racketeering and abuses by both management and labor. The bill is expected to go before the House in about two weeks after clearance by the Rules Committee. It is expected to touch off a major legislative battle. House epublican leaders have objected to the committee bill as too weak. Other congressional news: Foreign Aid: The President sent Congress a special study committee's report on foreign aid. It acknowledged that the overseas assistance program has been badly handled and wasteful in some instances, and recommended corrective measures. The committee also recommended a longrange plan for financing the overseas development loan fund, along with 13 other proposals. The report came a day after Congress completed work on a $3,556,200,000 foreign aid authorization bill and sent it to the White House. Highways: The House Ways and Means Committee held its second day of hearings on the interstate highway program, which is running short of funds.’ Budget Director Maurice H. Stans told the committee that Congress should approve the President’s request for a IVi cent gasoline tax increase. He said a cutback in highway construction could inflict a serious blow to the economy. Congressional Democratic leaders

Negotiators To Meet Mediator

NEW YORK (UPD — Federal Mediation Director Jqseph F. Finnegan announced Wednesday night that the striking steel union and industry negotiators had agreed to meet jointly with him on Monday, but he said that didn’t mean they were any closer to contract agreement to end the na-tion-wide strike, now in its eighth day. A few hours later the Big Three aluminum producers turned down wage demands of the United Steelworkers of America (USW), I posing the possibility of a shut-, down of the bulk of the nation's production of that basic metal at the expiration of contracts July 31. Finnegan left for Washington Wednesday night to report today to Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell on the steel situation, in which Mitchell has placed himself as a one-man fact-finder. Finnegan told newsmen that his statement of last week that there can be no quick or easy solution to the strike “still stands.’’ Monday’s meeting will be the first meeting of industry and union negotiators since 500,000 basic steel workers went on strike at midnight July 14. An estimated 35,000 more persons in supporting industries have been laid off as a result of the shutdown of 85 per cent of the nation's steel production. The industry, whose 12 biggest firms are represented by the fourman negotiating team, has refused to consider an increase in overall labor costs, demanding instead a wage and price freeze to combat inflation. The union claims the industry can raise wages without raising prices. The aluminum industry apparently lined itself up behind the steel industry in rejecting the USW’s 15-cent wage package demand. About 30.500 steel workers are employed by the Big Three firms —Aluminum Co. of America, Reynolds Metals and Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp.

have stoutly opposed the tax boost. Loyalty Oath: The Senate was expected to vote on a bill to abol--1 ish the loyalty oath that students must take to qualify for federal aid-to-education loans. Sen. Harrison A. Williams Jr. (D-N.J.) said he saw “no valid reason” for the ’ oath. Housing: The Senate housing subcommittee called in officials of the Budget Bureau and Housing and Home Finance Agency to give a “line by line” explanation of President Eisenhower’s objections to the big Democratic housing bill. The subcommittee will decide after seven days of hearings whether to try to overturn the President’s veto of the bill or to draft a less costly compromise. Atomic Plane: A congressional atomic research subcommittee opened hearings to find out why progress on a nuclear-powered airplane is lagging. It was the first public hearing on the top-se-cret project which has cost nearly one billion dollars in 13 years. Contracts: A House subcommittee questioned three more retired military officers now working for . defense contractors in its investiI girtion of possible influence by for- • mer military men on the award ■ of defense orders. The witnesses were Lt. Gen. Clarence S. Irvine (Ret.,) former Air Force deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Herbert M. Jones (ret.), one-time deputy Army adjutant general, and ear Adm. Stulart Shadfrick Murray (ret.), former commander of the battleship Missouri and the Pearl Harbor naval base.

They also employ about 28,000 workdrs represented by dther unions. The aluminum contracts normally follow the pattern set by steel contracts, and the USW has not indicated whether z it will call a stike against them at contract expiration or extend contracts pending a steel settlement Farm Purchase Made By McMillen Feed The purchase of a farm of 162 acres of gently rolling land to facilitate the expansion of McMillen feed research has been announced by. McMillen Feed Mills. The land is located IMi miles north of Decatur just off the old Piqua''road in Root township, formerly owned by Marvin Decker. The additional land will permit an expansion in two areas of research: fundamental research with laboratory and farm animals for new facts and principles, and application of these facts and principles in large scale practical farm tests. Buildings now a part of the McMillen feed research center on Second street extended, adjoining the feed plant, will be remodeled to provide larger number of small pens and permit more rapid progress in research. INDIANA WEATHER Showers and scattered thrndershowers tonight Friday partly cloudly and turning less humid north, scattered thundershowers and warm south. Low tonight 66 to 73. .High Friday low 80s north, upper 80s south. Sunset today 8:06 p.m. -Sunrise Friday 5:37 a.m. Outlook for Saturday: Fair and pleasant north, partly cloudy with little temperature change souh. Lows 66 to 72. Highs 83 to Bs.

Inch Os Rainfall Is Reported In County Thundershowers left an average inch of rainfall Wednesday afternoon and this morning throughout the county. With July’s drought ended and the hot, humid dog days begun, the county lacks only a half inch of rain needed for a bumper corn crop, Ben Mazelin said this morning. Purdue recommends eight inches of rain between June 20 and August 20 for a good corn crop. Much April-seeded oats is still in the fields. Early oats, in contrast to the low yields and low quality expected from the late planted oats, had good quality and fairly heavy yields. Ed Neuhauser got a yield of 85 bushels of oats per acre, as did Franklin Steury from some Clintland oats. There were unconfirmed reports of some fields in the county yielding almost 100 bushels per acre. The county rain picture this morning, by townships, looked like this: In Preble township, at the Arthur Koeneman farm, .80 inch fell; Root, Cecil Harvey, .70, .20 of this Wednesday evening, making a three-inch total for this month; Union, Erwin Fuelling, .80; Kirkland, Peter J. Spangler, 1.60, and Dan Fiechter, 2.70; Washington, official weather observer Louis Landrum, .75. the St. Mary’s river, 1.56 feet; St. Mary’s, Richard Speakman. .80; French, Harold Moser, 1.20; Monroe, Ben Mazelin, LIO, .70 of this Wednesday evening; Hartford, Ivan Huser, .65; Wabash, Jack Hurst, .90; and Jefferson, Harley J. Reef, .50. At Bluffton, indicating that heavy rain fell west of the area, 1.78 inches fell. Fort Wayne received .25 inch Jf rain this morning about 6 o’clock in less than an hour. Muncie Lad Killed As Auto Hits Tree MUNCIE Ind. (UPD — David' Hyder, 17, Muncie was killed Wednesday night when a speeding automobile went out of control near Eaton, struck a tree and overturned. Two other teen-agers were injured. Weekend Death Toll Is Increased To 10 RUSHVILLE, Ind. (UPD — James W. Lemmon, 42, Clawson, Mich., was listed today as Indiana’s 10th traffic fatality of last weekend. Lemmon died in Rush Memorial Hospital Wednesday from injuries sustained in a headon collision on In. 3 north o f Rushville last Saturday.

County Agents Attend Clinic Here

County extension agents from Adams, Wells, Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Whitley, and Kosciusko counties met at the Hugo Bulmahn farm, in Preble, Wednesday afternoon for an experimental clinic on corn and soybean diseases with Dr. Eric Sharvelle, plant disease pathologist from Purdue. Assisting Dr. Sharvelle was James Williams, disease specialist from the extension service. The two-part clinic started with a field Study of soybean and corn infections and other damage. The second phase was a discussion period with various infected plant specimens being explained by Dr. Sharvelle and Williaths. The specimens were provided by the county agents as samples of the type of problems they are facing in their various regions. Bacterial Blight Explained Dr. Sharvelle went into great detail to acquaint the group with bacterial blight of soybeans. Because the Adams-Wells area is productive in the bean, he outlined the cause, effect and control of blight. Dr. Sharvelle noted that the characteristic of the blight is an angular black patch on the leaf with a yellow zone bordering it. An effective control of the disease is to rotate crops. But, he added, if this is not possible, then use one-third of the field for Blackhawk soybeans,

MOSCOW (UPD—Vice President Richard M. Nixon landed here today in clear, balmy weather, but an icy anti - American blast from Radio Moscow had chilled the international air. Clouds which hasb»yeiled the sky over Moscow when Premier Nikita Khrushchev returned from Warsaw earlier in the day cleared about half an hour before the arrival of Nixon and his party. The temperature was about 70. Krushchev was not in the welcoming party. However, Russia’s official welcome was cordial. First Deputy Premier Frol Kozlov, who recently visited the United States, expressed hope in a welcoming speech that the vice president’s 11-day stay here would help to clear up "prejudices and misunderstandings” between the two countries. Nixon’s formal arrival statement acknowledged the grim tension existing between the United States and Russia, and promised that he would help to achieve better understanding because “we have reached the point where we must either learn to live together or we will die together.” No Disorders at Airport Khrushchev, in a speech coinciding with Nixon’s arrival, accused the United States of "direct interference in the Soviet Union’s internal affairs.” He was referring to the “Captive Nations Week" proclaimed by President Eisenhower. A few hours earlier, a Radio Moscow broadcast on the same subject had charged that certain persons in the United States were trying to force their dictates on the entire world. The Communist organ Pravda accused the United States Wednesday of new anti-Soviet provocations and reminded Nixon of the “Latin sticks and stones” which greeted him in South America last year. No disorders marred the vice president’s arrival at the airport. On hand to welcome him, in addition to Koxlov, were U.S. Ambassador Llewellyn Thompson, Soviet Deputy Premier Vassily V. Kuznetsov, and a party of diplomats from the U.S., British, French and Canadian embassies. Nixon shook hands warmly with members of the welcoming party. Curious Russians crowded the airport waiting rooms, pushing up to the Windows to get a glimpse of the U.S. official party. Murmur of Approval When Nixon, after delivering his arrival speech in English, spoke the Russian words “druzhba prinsit mira” (friendship brings peace) into a microphone, there was a murmur of approval from the crowd. The Nixons, with Thompson and his wife, left the airport in a black Russian limousine at the head of a motorcade carrying | other U.S. and Soviet officials.

I —- — ’ instead of Harosoy, which gives * the best yield, but is most suscep--1 tible to the blight. He explained that the infecting 1 microrganism lives on soybean debris from season to season and enters the plant htrough an abrasion terS the plant through an abrasion bris against the plant can produce 1 the break in the leaf, leaving an opening for the bacteria to enter and infect the plant. Another soybean infection, he explained, is phytopthora root rot. A soil born fungus that destroys the vascular tissue, phytopthora usually infects early in dry weather. The plant characteristics produce a withering and girdling of the stem. 2,4-D Damage Noted Also explained in detail was the effect of 2,4-D damage. The weed spray, used to kill broadleaf weeds, has an adverse effect on certain productive plants, including corn. The characteristics of this injury are puckering of the leaf, feathering on the margin of the leaf and curling. On watermelons, the plant will blossom without pollenating. Among other disease and bug damage discussed were corn smut, which favors,dry weather and produces a growth on the tassels and stems; thrips, which brings about a blue, glazy finish on the leaf, and

Six Cents

Both, the Moscow Radio blast and the attack in Pravda were touched off by U.S. congressional action in calling for a week of pr'ayer for the enslaved nations of eastern Europe. Today Moscow Radio said the U.S. was trying to turn the world back into the poisoned atmosphere of the cold war. Provocative Campaign Charged After the congressional action President Eisenhower proclaimed “captive nations week” and asked for prayers for the people of eastern Europe. Pravda Wednesday called this a new anti-Soviet provocative campaign aimed at disrupting American-Soviet relations. Moscow Radio noted today the action had been “raised to the official level.” Premier Nikita Khrushchev, speaking to newsmen in Warsaw Tuesday night, openly questioned the purpose of the Nixon trip—a statement that led Nixon to say before leaving Washington; “I’m quzzled as to why he is puzzled.” Khrushchev abruptly cancelled his projected tour of Scandinavia earlier this week because of an anti-Soviet press campaign. Pravda’s three column editorial accused the United States of similar anti-Soviet propaganda. Khrushchev Leaves Warsaw Khrushchev was flying in from Warsaw a few hours earlier than Nixon. They are to meet Sunday at the premier’s residence in Moscow’s suburbs when Nixon has pledged to tell him the Americans are solidly behind President Eisenhower. Although Nison may be subjected privately to blunt probing conversations in the talks he is expected to have with Khrushchev and other Soviet leaders, th*. Russians are sure to maintain the required diplomatic standard of courtesy to an illustrious foreign guest. Although Nixon does not rate as the head of a state of government, he is the highest-ranking American office holder to visit ussia since the end of World War 11. The war brought President Roosevelt to the Yalta conference. Former Vice President Henry Wallace and Secretaries of State James Byrnes, Edward Stetinius and George Marshall also visited Russia while in office. Nixon came here to open the American Exhibition at Sokolniki Park Friday and let in the first of the four’ million visitors who will get their first look at the American way of life. The ceremony will be broadcast to the nation. and top Soviet leaders, possibly incliiding Khrushchev, are expected to attend. 12 Pages

alfalfa leaf spot, which stunts 1 growth and produces a spore that ’ spreads the infection. For the alfalfa damage reduction, Dr. Shar- ! velle recommended an earlier than ’ usual cutting of the alfalfa when ' an early infection is detected. This 1 will grant the plant an immunity 1 for later growth. 1 In manganese deficiency, the 1 green veins on the leaf are balanc- ' ed by yellow strains adjacent to the veins. This indicates a high ■ amount of akaline in the soil. A control measure is to use a manganese sulphate mixture in water soon after planting. Leaf Scorch Problems For local tree growers of maple who have encountered leaf scorch, indicated by a browning at the margin of the leaf, Dr. Sharvell said it indicated a young tree with I a poor root system. The following year will be the crisis year after i detection of the scorch. If it survives the next year, it will recover, he concluded. The demonstration extension proi gram. Dr. Sharvelle said, will be- ■ come an integral facet of the organization next year, if the county : agents are inclined to agree. The opinion voiced at yesterday’s meeting was overwhelmingly in favor I continuing the program on a more substantial and permanent basis.