Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 264, Decatur, Adams County, 9 November 1959 — Page 1

Vol. LVII. No. 264.

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Choii Proposes Buffer Zone

NEW DELHI (UPD—Communist Chinese Premier Chou En-lai today proposed creation of a 25-mile buffer zone to prevent further bloodshed along the disputed indi-an-Red Chinese border. He also suggested a meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the “immediate future.” It was the first concrete Red Chinese proposal for settling the increasingly bitter border quarrel between the two nations. Indian sources said, however, that the Peiping note reiterated Red Chinese claims to certain Indian territory which Nehru is pledged not to give up. Nehru called his cabinet into session at 11 o’clock Sunday night, apparently to consider the Chinese note which was dispatched from Peiping on Saturday. Also attending the three-hour cabinet meeting was Indian army commander K.S. Thimayya. A source close to the cabinet said Thimayya had been ordered to meet Communist force with force, but not to begin an offensive. The order to Thimayya would indicate Nehru considered the Chou proposal not entirely satisfactory, but open to consideration. Communist China premier Chou En-lai said India’s latest note on the clashes along the Sino-Indian borders showed “an attitude which is extremely harmful to the friendly relations between the two countries.” The Chou statement was broadcast by the New China news agency in Peiping and monitored in Tokyo. The Indian government released the text of the latest note to Peiping todayA source close to the cabinet said Thimayya had outlined defenses along the border. Thimayya was instructed to take vigorous action to stop further Communist advances but not to begin any offensive. Communist troops now occupy Longju in the wild northeast frontier agency and some areas in the WLadakh region. The note from Peiping that precipitated the rush meeting of the cabinet came only hours after the government released the text of its own latest note to Peiping. It warned the Chinese that India would use “all means available” to halt the Chinese creeping INDIANA WEATHER Partly cloudy with little temperature change tonight and Tuesday. Low tonight 26 to 34. High Tuesday 52 to 60. Sunset today 4:35 p. m. c.s.t., 5:35 p.m. ML Sunrise Tuesday 6:23 a.m. c.s.t., 7:23 a.m. c.d.t. Outlook for Wednesday: Mostly cloudy north to fair south. Lows 30 to 38. Highs • 52 to 62.

GIVE A oot. Crippled Children Soc. ■ 20 to 27 oi,i s.~t. $20,429.00 Salvation Army 1’59 GOAL . • o. IB Mental Health W’ PRESENT „ B/ DONATIONS Youth A Recreation V m cm. ' $19,494.13 THE UNITED WAY

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

aggression below the traditional India-Tibet-China border. Even as the cabinet met, there were reports from the Indian (Continued on page eight) Pryor Heads C. C. Industry Division The industrial division selected officers for 1960 this afternoon with M. J. Pryor, manager of the Northern Indiana Public Service Co. office, being named chairman, and also adopted a new policy of balancing its meetings with an educational program of problems on the local level and of those with a more widening scope. Gene Rydell, of Decatur Bag Service,' received the post of vice chairman and Cal Yost, of the Yost Construction Co., will be the newest director. Fred E. Kolter, of course, will remain as executive secretary for the group another year. All officers were elected by acclamation after being nominated by a committee, at the noon luncheon at the Youth and Community Center. Policy Established The group discussed the policy possibilities for the coming year with George Auer acting as moderator, .and settled on the idea of having outside speakers in on occasion to enlighten them on current trends relative to the industrialists within the state and nation. The group also ventured forth with the idea that they would support any local issue for the betterment of the community and indus'try after first having exhausted all research on the subject. A recommendation was also submitted that a membership committee be established for the coming year to increase the number and activities of the organization. The new chairman will appoint such a committee if the idea is acceptable. V... Adair May Speak A tentative speaker for the next meeting on Dec. 14 will be Congressmen E. Ross Adair, if he has an opening in his schedule. Auer suggested that Adair might throw some light on the Landrum-Grif-fith labor bill which is pertinent to all industrial-minded persons. Several of the members in at tendance pledged to increase the membership of their respective firms of the by-laws allowed for such an increase. A pro-rated membership is allowed for industries according to their number of employes. -

GIVE TODAY - - THE UNITED WAY

Former Decatur Men Seized In Virginia The federal bureau of investigation officers and Lee county, Va., sheriff’s department police arrested two of the three men Saturday sought in the shotgunning of a Bluffton resident Nov. 4 outside of a teenage hangout. Donnie Dewayne Sturgill, 25, and Billy Joe Sturgill, 21, both of whom had resided in Decatur until a couple of weeks ago, will appear before a U. S. commissioner in Virginia today before being returned to Wells county for prosecution in the case. Edward J. Powers, special deputy agent-ii\-charge of the Indianapolis FBI, said today that the pair had waived extradition and would be returned to Wells county shortly. He said that the two men were apprehended at Stone Gap, Va., after being sought for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for assault with a dangerous weapon. The Bluffton charge is for assault and battery with intent to murder. A third man, stjll unidentified, is believed to have been with the Sturgills during the shot gun blasting of Howard Vaughn, 26, of Bluffton, who was apparently mistaken for Lacey Lewis, another Bluffton, resident, who had been involved in a family feud with the Sturgills. The third man is still at large. The Sturgills, originally from Lee county, Va., have resided in Adams and Wells counties for the past two years. They are being held in Bristol. Va. Besides the FBI, the Bluffton city police. Adants and Wells county sheriff departments, and the Indiana state police were connected with the search for the gunmen. Purl R. Davies Dies After Heart Attack Purl' Roy Davies, 73, retired contractor, died at 6 o'clock this morning following a heart attack at his home in Blue Creek township, two miles south of Salem. He was born in Mercer county, O. Oct. 11, 1886, a son of Robert P. and Nancy E. Tricker-Davies. He resided in Fort Wayne for 35 years until retiring from the contracting business and moving to his farm in Blue Creek township. He was first married Nov. 4, 1907, to Hattie De Armond, who preceded him in death April 26, 1956. He was married Dec. 28, 1957, to Hazel Davidson, who survives. Mr. Davies was a member of the Salem Methodist church, of which he was a trustee. Surviving in addition to his wife are two daughters, Mrs. Helen Hine of Gary, and Mrs. Dorothy Campbell of Powell, Tenn.: three grandchildren, and two sisters, Mrs. Roy Miller of Blue Creek township, and Miss Cora Davies of Ann Arbor, Mich. One daughter is deceased. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p. m. Wednesday at the Zwick funeral home and at 2 p.m. at the Salem Methodist church, the Rev. Leon Lacoax officiating. Burial will be in the Tricker cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p. m. today until time of the services. Fort Wayne Woman Dies Os Injuries FORT WAYNE, Ind. (UPDMiss Teresa Hirschfelder, 75, Fort Wayne, died Sunday night of injuries sustained Nov. 3 when she was hit by a car driven by Marquita S. Hertig, 21, R.R. 2, Grabill, on a Fort Wayne street.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMB COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, Nov. 9, 1959.

Gasoline Fire Threat To Houston Believed To Be Under Control

Rural Power Users Seek City Release

The Rural Electric Association of Decatur today petitioned the Indiana public service commission for a hearing in preparation to fight for its release from a city electrical contract. The action results after the group felt it has not received adequate action to provide better service. About 20 members of the R.E.A. visited Henry I. Rumple, one of the three appraisers appointed by Judge Myles F. Parrish for the most recent of three appraisals of the city-owned power plant, Sunday afternoon in an attempt to gain specific knowledge of how the trio arrived at a figure more than $176,000 higher than the Indiana and Michigan Electric Co. offer. Rumple Talks Rumple admitted to the group that the appraisers did not take into account the plight of the rural users, nor the market available for power plants in their appraisal, saying, “We only investigated the property involved and the potential of the going business of the plant as charged by the court appointment. Although our estimate was higher than the consulting engineer from the Portland R.E.M.C. •had arrived at, the engineer said ,we could Justify our figure.’* Rumple did not elaborate on this statement of justification. Rumple, along with Mark A. Morin, of St. Mary’s township with law offices in Decatur, and Harley Reef, another Jefferson township farmer, were appointed by Judg Parrish and sworn in about a month prior to the election as the appraisers. The city had requested the judge to appoint the apprais-

To Observe Veterans Day Here Wednesday All county and city schools will be dismissed Wednesday for the 41st observation of the armistice which ended the First World War, and the Decatur post of the American Legion will commemorate the event with firing squad ceremonies at 11 a.m., and a public turkey dinner at 5:30 p.m.. Dr. Richard Parrish, chairman for the event, said today. All county school children, as well as veterans and dther interested persons, are invited to attend the 11 a.m. ceremony Wednesday at the flag pole in the Legion yard, corner of First and Madison streets. Historic Rites Ed Bauer, chaplain of Post 43, will give a brief address, recalling the events of World War I, and other past wars, and the memory of those who fought and died for America. Jack Dailey, Decatur high school senior, will play taps on his bugle in honor of the war dead. The firing squad will then fire in honor of those who gave their lives. Hie American Legion ladies auxiliary will serve the turkey dinner at 5:30 p.m., Mrs. R. C. Hersh, head of the ladies auxiliary, announced. The public is invited, and tickets are just $1 each. Closed Wednesday The state legislature passed a law last winter making Veteran’s Day an official holiday in Indiana, and requiring all schools to close. The First State Bank will be closed all day Wednesday, as will the court house and county agent’s office. There will be no regular mail or rural route delivery on Wednesday but the lobby of the post office will be open for box customers, and special delivery mail will be delivered. The Decatur Daily Democrat will publish as usual, with its regular delivery time.

ers in mid-September. Too High For Sale The appraisers filed their appraisal of $2,225,000, or about $176,000 higher than the I&M offer, four days prior to the election, nullifying the validity of the referendum vote. The question of whether the referendum should remain on the ballot then became an issue with the city requesting the county election board that it should. It did, and the voters favored the sale by more than 700 votes. The Association for the Betterment of Decatur, which was instrumental in getting the referendum on the ballot in the first place, has requested the city council to enact possible sale negotiations, complying with the voters’ overwhelming decision to complete the sale. The council will discuss the problem at its next meeting. Open House Tuesday Al Catholic Schools 4*. ! - In observance of national education week, the parents and friends of pupils at Decatur Catholic schools will attend an “open house” at the school building Tuesday from 7 until 8:30 p. m. The theme for the week is “Our Way, Our Truth, and Our Life.” All classrooms and offices will be open for public inspection. Classroom projects and posters will be exhibited in emphasis of the national theme. A recently released film, “Decision to Happiness,” which tells the story of the Order of the Sisters of St. Agnes, will be shown. The film, which was documented in Fon du Lac, Wise., will be presented to the school children later in the week. , Parents of the first four grades pupils will be allowed to take home the report cards of their children. Grades for the first quarter will be available Tuesday night. , A new type report card for the junior and senior high pupils will also be available for the first marking period. The new system will be operated quarterly.

Fourth District Os Legion Again Tops The fourth district, of which Adams county is a part, again won the boxcar roundup in the American Legion drive for membership, Frank Detter announced this morning. It reached 82.76% of its goal. Detter and Wendell Macklin, both past commanders, drove to Fort Wayne Saturday with the final count of 620 members for Post 43, the Decatur post. This is 78% of its goal, and is the usual number turned in at this time of the year, slightly more than during the past two boxcar roundups. The Berne post reached 93% of its goal, Detter reported. He received a telephone call from district commander Harold Knoblach in Indianapolis Sunday, telling the county that the fourth district had again won. The first district. Lake county, was second, with 63.39%; 11th (Marion county) third, with 62.46%; and the second district, fourth, with 60.98%. District commander of the winning district gets special honors at state level. Adams Post 43 has been averaging over 800 members a year, but many of these will be reinstated before January 1. The post will hold its regular meeting this evening, and all members ye urged to attend.

Spiritual Emphasis Services Underway Dr. John L. Schmidt spoke to a full church at the opening service Sunday night at the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church. His sermon topic was, “What Is The Gospel.” His text was the words of Paul, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (II Corn. 5:14, 15). Dr. Schmidt said the gospel is good news. First, "it is the good news of what God has done for us. The gospel originated with God. It did not come from man. It began with the love of God in Jesus Christ. In the second place it is the good news of what God does to us. On Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter we remember what God has done for us, and we fill our churches in celebration. Pentecost stands for what God can do to us. He can change our lives and fill us with His spirit. Most of us are more interested in what God has done for us than in what he can do to us. Here resistance to the Gospel is met because we are satisfied with ourselves. It is here that we either surrender to the will of God or we resist. If we surrender we become new creatures. We have a new prospective, a new sense of values, a new way of looking at trouble, and a new outlook on nature. In the third place the Gospel is the good news of what God can do through us. We become his witnesses and pray that that we may be worthy of the calling.” The Rev. William Feller presided at the meeting; the Rev. Benjamin Thomas read the scripture: the Rev. F. Hazen Sparks had the prayer and the Baptist Church choir, directed by Mrs. Stuart Brightwell, sang two anthems. Tonight, the Rev. Harold Bond will preside, the Rev. Huston Bever, Jr., will read the scripture, the Rev. Emmett Anderson will offer prayer, and the special music will be furnished b ythe ministers and their wives. Don Gerig will sing a solo. The meeting begins at 7:30 and the public is invited to hear Dr. Schmidt speak on the topic “What Is The Church?”

Scouts Undismayed By Rocket Failure

REDKEY, Ind. (UPD — Most spectators agreed today that the first licensed civilian missiles fired in Indiana proved a flop, but the youths who carried out the project said they were not discouraged and would try again. The rocket firings took place on the 40-acre Russell Ridgway farm three miles northeast of here Saturday- The project was originated by 14 members of Exporer Boy Scout Post 2214. Although neither of the two rockets got more than 25 feet off the ground, the youths gained the distinction of having the first licensed civilian missile site in Indiana and one of the frst in the nation. The first missile fired did not get out of the pipes of the launching platform and its failure was evidenced by a puff of black smoke. Hie second got more 1 than 20 feet in the air before it blew a hole in the side of its 3-inch aluminum casing. The rocket was packed with about seven pounds of a solid fuel composed of zinc dust and sulphur powder. Apparently the fuel was too much for the four-foot missile and the casing could not hold its power. It cleared the 12-foot high launching rack and then crashed to earth.

HOUSTON. Tex. (UPI)—A tow- , ering lasoline fire aboard the . 20,000-ton tanker Amoco Virginia appeared today to be under con- j trol after claiming the lives of at least seven crewmen and a fire- . man. The fire had threatened another ' Texas City disaster in the area for 18 hours Sunday. “We have managed to keep it contained through the night,” Fire Chief C.M. Bullock said. “But we still have an impending danger.” , At least 44 persons were injured in the series of eight blasts, including 19 of the 43-man crew and 25 firemen still were u accounted for. They had checked off the ship Saturday for shore leave and had not been heard from since. There was another brief flare-up about midnight, but firemen sprayed more foamite and water over the area and the billowing clouds of black smoke were snuffed out again’. However, the blackened ship continued to smoulder today in its slip. Find Captain’s Body Firemen were able to get aboard late Sunday night and found the bodies of seven crewmen- But while other firemen were spraying water over the deck to keep it cooled down early today, one of them, H.D. Chandler, slipped and fell into a hold partially filled with oil. He drowned in the black pool of oil before fellow firemen could fish him out. The body of Capt. R.R. Combs, the senior captain of the Amoco fleet, was found at th foot of a catwalk aft of tlje No. 7 cargo hatch. The Amoco Virginia was the fleet flagship. The ordeal that brought death to at least seven men, possibly more, and endangered 50,000 to 60,000 who live along the waterfront where the gasoline is stored began early Sunday morning. At 12 30 a.m. a barge was feeding gasoline to the 20,000-ton tanker Amoco Virginia, out of New York and ready to leave for home port at 4 a.m. Eyewitnesses said a fire danced across the water from the barge to the shipExplosion Rocks Houses The first explosion on the Am’co Virginia shook houses five »r six miles away. Jim Edmonds, 46, is a cargo inspector. Sometimes he is absentminded. Edmonds started to go aboard the Amoco Virginia minutes before it happened. Then he remembered he had not brought his inspection papers with him. He went back to his automobile

Larry C. White, president of the group, said another try would be made sometime between Christmas and New Years Day. The scouts devised the rocket idea when picking out a group project as required by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Post Advisor Charles V. Harper said he wasn’t completely sold on the project at .first, but his enthusiasm mounted as the boys began building the missile range. They obtained money for the project by broom sales and ice cream socials. Additional money was raised Saturday when the boys sold pies to about 240 spectators at the first firing. State police and Civilian Defense patrolmen provided a “security force” at the launching. The boys fired the missiles from a concrete blockhouse with bulletproof glass windows. Safety devices included flashing red lights, shrill horn blasts, warning flags and aircraft observers. Most of the scouts were obviously disappointed at the results of the test But their sentiments were summed up by Mrs. Ruby Ridgway, grandmother of two of the boys, who said: “They’ve had a lot more messups than this at Cape Canaveral.”

to get the forms. The first blast sent him diving for cover. Then there were two more blasts. Then three more. “I uess the good Lord was watching over me,” Edmonds said. “If I hadn’t forgotten the forms I would probably be dead now.” The Amoco Virginia was believed to have had a crew of 43 aboard when it burst into flames. Her decks became so hot that one of the crewmen who hopped across them, Howard Searcy of Houston, said the soles of their shoes sizzled like steaks on a griddle. Risks Life Joseph Dailey of Seattle was on watch when he saw the flames licking across the water. He risked his life running about the ship to awaken officers and men. Dailey also lost his life savings of $3,434.87, which was below deck. “I didn’t have time to get down the gangway,” Dailey said- “I jumped from deck to dock and ran. About that time the first explosion came. Pieces of steel rained down all around me. I was lucky to get away as well as I did.” Boatswain Rudolph Ozol of New Bedford, Mass., grabbed the ship's rail. “It was so hot I thought I couldn’t let go," he sad. Ozol, a bearded Latvian who now lives in West Lebanon, Maine, is 71 years old. He went to sea (Continued on page eight) Hospital In Black In Year Operations The Adams county memorial hospital made a profit of $1,125.58 during the month of October, Thurman I. Drew, hospital administrator, said today, making a profit for the year so far of $956.75, a check of the monthly reports shows .- Since November and December are generally good months for hospital collections, last December showing a profit of $6,517.08,' it is quite likely that the hospital will show a profit for 1959. Operating cash for the first of October was $10,447.43. A total of $28,904.10 was deposited, for a total of cash on hand of $39,351.53. Bills for the month were $9, 810.26, while the payroll of nearly 100 staff members was $17,968.26. Expenses totalled $27,778.52, leaving a cash operating balance on October 31 of $11,573.01. Review of Year On January 1 there was $12,263.37 in the hospital operating cash fund, with a profit of $3,250.06 made in 1958, plus a $4,542.88 tax draw. For the past ten months the following monthly reports have been received: January—deficit $6,380.85. February—profit $321 03. March—profit $3,192.29. April—deficit $1,483.07. May—profit $220.67. June—profit $2,739.76. July—profit $313.34. August—profit $554.74. September—profit $353.26. October —profit $1,125.58. A tax distribution of $2,352.95 was also received during May; $4,000 was transferred from the cash fund to the building and repair fund by the board of trustees, leaving $11,573.01 in the cash operating fund. This is the last year that the one-cent tax levy for hospital operation will be drawn. Admissions During the month of October, 159 adults were admitted as patients and 58 babies, including 28 boys and 30 girls, were born there. There were 48 adults and 12 babies present as patients on October 1; seven adults and two babies died ;172 adults and 64 babies were dismissed, leaving the patient load on October 31 at 28 adults and four babies, one of the lowest patient levels since the new addition was opened a year ago. A total of 208 outpatients were treated in the emergency room, laboratory, and X-ray rooms at the hospital during October.

Six Cents