Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 60, Number 175, Decatur, Adams County, 26 July 1962 — Page 1

VOL. LX NO. 175.

Convicted Russian Spy Soblen Loses Plea For British Court Freedom

Welfare Measure Signed By Kennedy

WASHINGTON (UPD — President Kennedy today signed a bill that contains most of the reforms he requested in welfare p rograms under which the federal government aids more than six million needy adults and children. Kennedy said in an accompanying statement that the measure marked “the real turning point in this nation’s efforts to cope realistically and helpfully” with welfare problems. “The problems which gave rise to this bill affect every community in this country,” he said. The new law liberalizes federal assistance for the state-adminis-tered programs. At the same time it puts new stress on rehabilitation services aimed at enabling recipients to get off relief rolls The most costly single feature, which was not recommended by the administration, will require the federal government to give states an extra payment of at least $4.20 a month for every one of the 2.8 million needy aged, blind and disabled persons on the relief rolls. The new law, as requested by Kennedy, provides federal matching grants to encourage establishment of day-care centers for children of working mothers. It also contains numerous provisions designed to encourage those on relief to seek permanent or parttime work. States w ill be encouraged to expand counseling and vocational guidance for the needy. States whose welfare services meet specified new federal standards will be reimbursed for 75 per cent, instead of the regular 50 per cent, of the cost of these services. Although the new law carried a S3OO million price tag, almost one-third of that is to cover the cost of underwriting retroactively welfare prograrrQ; which lapsed on July 1. It adds sllO million to Kennedy’s welfare budget for the current fiscal year which began July 1. This raises the total to $2.8 billion. INDIANA WEATHER Fair and cool tonight. Friday sunny, warmer in afternoon. Low tonight 47 to 53. High Friday 77 to 83. Sunset today 8:04 p.m. Sunrise Friday 5:39 a.m. Outlook for Saturday: Fair to partly cloudy and warmer. Lows in the 50s. Highs 75 to 85.

Nuclear Shot Fails Today

HONOLULU (UPI)—A nucleartipped Thor missile burst into flames on the launching pad Wednesday night in an unsuccessful attempt by U.S. scientists to explode the device h igh o ver Johnston Island. A spokesman for Joint Task Force 8 here said there was no nuclear detonation nor danger of radiation. No one was injured. The rocket and nuclear device were deliberately destroyed at 11:14 p.m. HST (4:14 a.m. CDT today) as a result of an undisclosed malfunction. ~"'A white-hot fire burst out over the launch area and raged out of control for at least 15 minutes. It was finally put out sometime after midnight. A task force statement said: "A check of Johnston Island discloses no injuries topersonnel' and no hazard from radioactivity as a result of the deliberate destruction, and burning, of a Thor booster and nuclear device on the launch pad last night. All missile fires have been extinguished.” ' It was the second unsuccessful attempt to detonate a nuclear device of less than a million tons

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Make Settlement Os $75,000 Suit The $75,000 damage suit filed by Francis and David Ellsworth against Larry D. DeLong, was day afternoon, as the case was settled by the attorneys Wednesready to go to the 12-meihber jury. Judge Lloyd S. Hartzler of Superior Court No. 3 in Allen county, was preparing to give the jurors l their instructions, when the attorneys representing the plaintiffs and defendant informed the judge that they had reached a settlement out of court. The trial had started Tuesday morning and continued throughout the day Wednesday, with the attorneys presenting evidence and questioning witnesses throughout the two days. State trooper Dan Kwasneskl, one of the investigating officers at the July 23, 1959, fatal accident, testified Wednesday. Jury Recessed The jury members, who had listened to evidence for two days, were recessed while the attorneys in the ease met in the judge's chamber,? and discussed instructions to be given to the jury. « TTie court reconvened after nearly an hour, and as the judge was ready to read the instructions, Gilmore S. Maynie and William F. McNagny, representing the Ellsworths and DeLong, respectively, announced that an agreement had been reached. No amount of settlement was revealed by any of the parties involved. One Fatality The Ellsworths had brought the suit against DeLong as a result of the acident in 1959, in which DeLong was the driver of the car, and Ellsworth and Howard O. Shaw were passengers. Shaw, whose parents reside in Van Wert, 0., was killed in the mishap, and Ellsworth was seriously injured. Ellsworth's medical bills had totaled approximately $5,000 as a result. Another suit against DeLong, brought by the parents of Shaw, is pending in Superior court No. 3, and is scheduled to come to trial in September.

of TNT some 30 to 60 miles over Johnston Island. It meant at least a two-week delay before the test can be tried again. A Joint Task Force 8 member who monitored the radio communication in the test area described the confusion that surrounded the final seconds before the rocket was to be launched. He heard the unofficial countdown and then a voice crackle: "Missile destroyed, take cover take cover.. .negative ... negative. . .negative.” ; . It was to be the 28th and perhaps final blast in the current U.S. Pacific series. One was made out to sea, 25 at Christmas Island, and one at Johnston Island. That was a mammoth blast 200400 mile/ high which lit up the Pacific/ skies from New Zealand to Hawaii. It was expected that the United States would make one more extremely high sub-megaton blast before calling a halt to its current Pacific test series. But it was not known whether repeated postponements would force cancellation of the final experiment.

LONDON (UPD—Convicted Soviet spy Dr. Robert A. Soblen lost a plea for freedom before Britain’s three-judge high court of appeal today, shortly after Israel rejected n:» request for permanent asylum there. The last known legal resort left to the ailing, 61-year-old psychiatrist to avoid being returned to the United States and life imprisonment is a pending application to the British government for political asylum. The asylum decision is up to Home Secretary Henry Brooke. A Home Office spokesman said Brooke could act "in five minutes” or at his discretion. Soblen took the rejection of his appeal with passive resignation, almost as if he had expected it. Soblen jumped SIOO,OOO bail in New York last month and fled to Israel, which expelled him after a few days there. The Israeli interior minister turned down a plea by his lawyer in Tel Aviv asking that Soblen be given a permit allowing him to re-enter Israel and settle there under the Jewish “law of return.” If he loses his appeal on the habeas corpus writ, his last hope of escaping return to the United States is a plea for political asylum now under consideration by the British government. He was being returned to New York in custody of a U.S. marshal on an Israeli airliner July 1 when he slashed his wrists ana stabbed himself in the stomach with a steak knife to force his removal from the aircraft at London. British authorities claim Soblen never was officially given grant to land in England, that he is being held in Brixton Prison pending full convalescence from his self-inflicted wounds, and is technically “in transit” to New York.

One of the arguments in the government’s case, presented at a Queen’s Bench Court last week, was that Soblen was so badly hurt by his wounds that notice of refusal to land could not be communicated to him and that he was taken off the aircraft to save his life. Dr. Frederick Miller, who examined Soblen at the airport, said as much in an affidavit read at the Queen’s Bench hearing. That court last week agreed with the government attorney-general that Soblen was not given permission to land. Soblen, in a new affidavit read at the appeal court today, challenged Miller’s testimony to the Queen's Bench Court. “I am surprised that I gave Dr. Miller the impression of being unable to speak to anyone particularly having regard to the fact that it was I who told him that I was suffering from lymphatic leukemia,” the affidavit said. "I can only conclude that Dr. Miller has forgotten who told him that. "Furthermore, I am surprised that I gave Dr. Miller the impression of being unable to understand what was being said to me, because Dr. Miller made no attempt to speak to me nor did anyone else in his presence.” It was Dr. Miller, who, fearing Soblen was dying, ordered him taken ofr the plane and sent to an English hospital. Adams Central Board Operates Under Act The Adams Central school board met Tuesday evening in the office of Herman Frantz, superintendent, with the board's attorneys, Custer and Smith, to review recent action in the school reorganization situation. Board members made an announcement of policy for the school patrons- They feel that the people voted for the law as it is written and it is therefore a mandate from the people that they want the Adams Central community schools to function. The board has organized under the reorganization act and will continue to operate as the Ipw prescribes unless forced to stop by a court order or other legal, action.

Decatur, Indio no, Thursday, July 26,1962.

Runaway Gas Truck Explodes last Night

BERLIN, N.Y. (UPD—A runaway propane gas truck overturned Wednesday night and exploded in this tiny community like a gigantic bomb. The truck driver was killed. Later a woman was found dead in her bed, apparently of a heart attack resulting from shock, and more than 20 persons were injured. The blast leveled 11 homes, a church and a garage. Fire rained through the air and turned a mother, her child and a man into torches. A witness said the trailer truck was racing down a hill when it jackknifed and exploded. The driver, identified by state police as Robert J. McLucas, 40, of Pomeroy, Pa., was hurled from the cab of the truck which was carrying compressed propane gas. His body was found in a driveway. , One witness described it this way. Big Ball Os Flame “I was at the bottom of the hill when the truck jackknifed and it blew. There was just a big ball of flame and then all I seen-teicl was a big bunch of flames the whole width of the town.” A woman who was driving behind the truck described the explosion as “a puff of smoke then a flash of light.” Another woman called it “a ball o f fire rolling down the street.”

Mrs. Ida A. Dague Is Taken By Death Funeral services will be held Saturday for Mrs. Ida Annice Dague, 80, a resident of Decatur most of her life, who died at 11:45 a. m. Wednesday at the South View nursing home at Bluffton, where she had been a patient for three years. Born in St. Mary’s township May 1, 1882, she was a daughter of Phillip and Carrie BlayneyGephart. She was first married in 1902 to George K. Jacobs, who died in 1912. She was then married Dec. 15, 1915, to James Dague, who preceded her in death Dec. 28, 1950. Mrs. Dague, a member of the Pleasant Mills Methodist church, lived with a daughter, Mrs. Clifford (Martha) Essex, Monroe, from 1955 until entering the nursing home. Surviving in addition to the daughter are two sons, Lawrence Jacobs of Decatur route 6, and Norman Jacobs of Dayton, O.; two stepdaughters, Mrs. Russel (Gladys) Gibson of Hoagland, and Mrs. Cecil Beam of Decatur; one stepson, William Dague of Berne; 10 grandchildren; 16 great-grand-children, and one brother, True Gephart of Fort Wayne. Two daughters preceded her in death. Services will be conducted at 1:30 p. m. Saturday at the Zwick funeral home, the Rev. Vernon Riley 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. Begin Placement Os New Street Lights The Weikel Line company of Fort Wayne has begun placement of the 31 400-watt, 21,000 lumen, lumenaires in the downtown business district. Approximately three weeks will be spent placing these lights, which will extend from Adams street to Marshall street along Secand street, also along Monroe street from Third street to east of the river bridge. The lumenaires require a space 36 inches by 28 inches and four feet deep. Lawrence Kohne, city councilman, and an engineer marked the spaces where the lights were to be placed with a red circle July 16.

The flames cut a deadly swath 200 yards wide for a distance of three football fields from the explosion site. A mother and her ch ild ran screaming with the pain of flames on their clothes. Another shrieking man ran and rolled down the road trying to extinguish his blazing clothing. Berlin’s two firetrucks were “hopelessly i n adequate at the outset,” a spokesman said. Equipment Rushed In Ambulances, fire equipment and rescue units from as far away as Pittsfield, Mass., rushed to this eastern New York community near the Vermont border. “It was the worst fire that I’ve seen in my 22 years here,” said Resselaer County Sheriff Harold Harriman. The injured were rushed to hospitals here, in Troy, N.Y. and Bennington, Vt. Ambulances made several 40-mile round trips to Troy. A relative of McLucas’, reached at the truckdriver’s home in Pomeroy, said he is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and three children, Bobby, 14, Linda, 10, and Debby, 7. He said McLucas had worked for the Matlack Transportation Co., of West Chester, Pa., for about eight years. Police were investigating the cause of the accident and explosion. They said the truck carried LP compressed propane gas.

State General Fund Surplus Badly Drained INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) — Indiana’s general fund surplus, depleted by deficit spending, faced the prospect today of being drained into oblivion by the middle of next year. — --- - The gloomy forecast of a possible depletion to only $3 million by June 30, 1963, was issued by State Budget Director John T. Hatchett as figures for the same date this year showed a balance of S2B million. Mrs. Dorothy Gardner, state auditor, reported the June 30 balance and said it was within a whisker of the all-time low mark of $27.9 million in mid-1957 j ust b efore gross income and gasoline taxes were raised 50 per cent. But Mrs. Gardner, a Republican, saw “no cause for alarm” provided collections of revenue continue as they have this month. However, Hatchett, like Governor Welsh a Democrat, said “we will have to watch our expenditures carefully every month this next year.” /Welsh warned a few days ago the general fund may be drained so low early in 1963 that there will be delays in making distributions of some funds to local governmental units. Hatchett and Mrs. Gardner probably will not agree on the general fund surplus. Traditionally, they come up with d iff er ent totals. Hatchett’s is not yet yet available. Mrs. Gardner reported the surplus dropped from $48.8 million a year ago. She said the Welsh administration went $15.7 million in the red last year, causing the state to spend $276.6 million while its income was only $260.8 million. A S2B million surplus would mean the state was within $3 million of reaching the amount which most experts have said in the past is a “safe” working balance.

Record Cool Front Chills Midwest Area By United Press International Thunderstorms bred tornadoes over Texas today while the Midwest was chilled by a recordbreaking cool front and parts of the drought-stricken East welcomed rain. The mercury dipped sharply over the nation’s mid-section, with Chicago and St. Louis, Mo., reporting record lows for July 26. At Chicago, the mercury dipped to 53 degrees, smashing the previous 51-year-old record mark of 55 degrees set in 1911. A low of 55 at St. Louis broke the previous mark of 59 degrees, also set in 1911. Other record lows included 45 at Minneapolis, 55 at Kansas City, Mo., 54 at Springfield, Mo., 52 at Springfield, 111., 50 at Milwaukee, 49 at Grand Rapids, Mich., 42 at Bismarck, N. D., 43 at Atlantic, lowa, and 49 at Sioux City, lowa. Meanwhile, another chilly day was the prospect for northern Michigan, where temperatures failed to rise above the 50s Wednesday. The Texas twisters caused relatively little damage. A funnel cloud was spotted three miles southeast of the Dallas, Tex., Airport today. Earlier, two tornadoes touched down in open country west of Lubbock, Tex., damaging crops. There were unconfirmed reports of two other tornadoes in west Texas. A tornado uprooted trees Wednesday afternoon at Americus, Ind. A thunderstorm at Union City, Ind., flattened a circus ten half filled with spectators, but there were no serious injuries. Watertown, N. Y., measured an inch of rain and Syracuse had .75 of an inch while many other sections of the New York drought area got half inch rains. In drought-stricken New Jersey, Millville reported a third <• an inch of rain. Up to a half inch of rain fell in the western Pennsylvania drought area, where the Interstate Commerce Commission granted permission to railroads for reduced freight rates on hay and feed shipments. Horse, Pony Show At 4-H Fair Tuesday Final plans are now complete, the committee hopes, for the 4-H horse and pony show next Tuesday at the county 4-H fair. There will be two horse shows this year, the first one starting at 2 p. m. with four events. In the model class, horses are shown at halter and judged on conformation, handling and condition. ...Colt Show Next .... Following the model class will be the colt show. Foals, yearlings and two-year-olds will be shown at halter and judged with the same rules as the model class. The senior horsemanship equestrian contest will be next, followed by the junior horsemanship contest. The evening horse show will begin immediately after the parade Tuesday evening, about 8:20 p.m. Opening the show will be a drill by the older members of the horse club, followed by a variety of action events. There will be an egg race, obstacle course, western pleasure class for ponies, speed and action, western pleasure class for horses, flag race and keg bending. Secaur Emcee Kenny Secaur will be master of ceremonies for the shows, and Mrs. Helen Deeter, of Gas City, will judge both shows. The sevfen handsome trophies donated for the 4-H horse shows are on display in the window of the Decatur Daily Democrat this week. Members of the 4-H horse club committee are Mrs. John Carroll, Ed Gerbers, Clark Smithy Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Burke, Robert Colter, and Verlin Burke. There are 57 members of the club, and officers are Cynthia Carroll, president; Paula Strickler, vice president; Debby Srtiith, secretary; John Carroll, treasurer; and Greg Schnepf, reporter. Grand Duchess To Visit Kennedys WASHINGTON (UPI) — Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg will visit President and Mrs. Kennedy at the White House from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, the White House announced Wednesday.

"K: ......... ra TC W3B . ■■mF _UIL bii' HIM z ■■ ■S fl S 1 ißhhaJlCw J J TEXAS BOUND — Astronaut John Glenn and his family, who are moving to Texas, march in a send-off parade staged by their neighbors in Arlington, Va.

Algeria Near To Civil War

ALGIERS (UPD— Newly independent Algeria today approached a state of civil war between rival nationalist factions that could spur 300,000 French troops into action. Twleve hundred tough Berber troops who support Premier Ben Youssef Ben Khedda’s Provisional Government (GPRA) were reported marching on the city of Constantine. The eastern port city was seized Wednesday by forces loyal to dissident Vice Premier Ahmed Ben Bella. Today the GPRA’s ambassador to Mali, Areski Boudida, announced at Tizi Ouzou that 30 I persons had been killed and dozens wounded in the battle. Other Ben Bella supporters captured Bone, apparently without a fight, and were cheered by joyous crowds. Issued Warning Premier Ben Khedda, practically the only member of the GPRA still in Algiers, issued a s taternent Wednesday night warning that the situation is becoming critical. “The dangers of civil war are becoming real,’’ he said. “This process of deterioration must be stopped.” The French government, concerned at the disappearance of several hundred Europeans in Oran, threatened to intervene to protect its nationals. Its 300,000 man army in Algeria has been confined to barracks and bases since Indepence Day but could move into action at a moment’s notice. Three of Ben Khedda’s ministers are in Tizi Oouzou, the Kabylia Mountain stronghold of the Berbers 55 miles east of Algiers, where they proclaimed their intention to defy Ben Bella’s attempted takeover of power.' All Three Veterans The three are Belkacem Krim, Mohammed Boudiaf and Abdel Hafid Boussouf, all veterans of the long fight against France for Algerian independence. The Berbers reported marching on Constantine were said to have been sent from the Tizi Ouzou area. There are about a million Berbers in Kabylia and their 20,000man Willaya 3 army provided the French with some of their toughest battle® during the seven-year war for independence. Ben Bella now appeared to control about three fourths of Algeria. Kenneth Wiegman Dies Unexpectedly Kenneth Weigman. 3§, husband of the former Sharon Hite, died of a heart attack suffered in a Fort Wayne restaurant Wednesday evening. Wiegman, who had not been ill, was pronounced dead on arrival at Parkview Memorial hospital at 9:35 p. m. Surviving in addition to the wife are two daughters, two brothers, and the mother, Mrs. Arthur H. Brandenburger. Mr. anti Mrs. Charles Hite of thia city are the parents of Mrs. Wiegman. Mr. Wiegman, who was well known in the Decatur area and had many relatives in Adams county, was employed as a foreman at the International Harvester company. The family lived at 5315 Buell Drive in Fort Wayne. Ths body was removed to the Chalfant-Perry fuheral home in Fort Wayne. Services will be held at the funeral home at 1:30 Saturday afternoon, and burial will be in the Greenlawn cemetery.

SEVEN CENTS

First Aid Workers Named At 4-H Fair First aid volunteers for the annual 4-H fair, which opens Tuesday, August 31, were announced this morning by Gerald Durkin, chairman of the first aid of the Adams county chapter of the American Red Cross. I The fair runs three days, TuesIday, Wednesday, and Thursday, ] and the first aid trailer will be open from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. each day of the fair. Two volun> teers will be on duty at all times. The Adams county sheriff’s department will have its equipment at the first aid trailer, which is again this year loaned by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Strickler of the Adams County Trailer Sales. On the Red Cross display table will be many pamphlets of the Red Cross services, disaster notes, etc. The public is invited to help themselves to the information. First Aid Volunteers Volunteers for Tuesday are: Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Rupp, Mrs. Paul German, Mrs. Hazel Fifer, Mrs. Leonard Johnson, Mrs. Donald Moser, Mrs. Aveline Tschannen, Mrs. Tom Burke, Mrs. Chalmer Debolt, Mrs. Robert Johnson and Mrs. Harvey L. Jones. Wednesday workers include: Mrs. Vernon Abbott, Mrs. Herbert Kitson, Mrs. Mark Colchin, a registered nurse; Mrs. Mary Barlett, Mrs. Glen, Manley, Mrs. Weldon Soldner, Mrs. Cora Drake, Mrs. Florence Anderson, Mrs. Ray McKean, Mrs. Helen Sills, Mrs. Roger Singleton and Mrs. Norbert Bleeke. Thursday volunteers are: Mrs. Noble Lobsiger, Mrs. Galvin Burnett, Mrs. Margaret Lengerich, Mrs. Roy Bixler, Mrs. Harold Idlewine, Mrs. Glen Ehrsam, Mrs. Henry Heimann, Mrs. Maxine Ford, Mrs. Mary Howard, Mrs. Arthur Shoaf, and Dr. Joe Morris. BULLETIN LONDON (UPI) — Prime Minister Harold Macmillan today publicly defended his “new frontier” cabinet purge and indicated the government is dropping its unpopular “little aus- -... terity” drive. - * ALBANY, Ga. ( UPI) — Georgia Gov. Ernest Vandiver said today that 3,000 National Guardsmen were poised to move integration leader Martin Luther King Jr. and any other “outsider agitators” out of this city if further racial violence occurs. DECATIR TEMPER ATI'RES Local weather data for the 14 hour epriod ending at 11 a.m. today. 12 noon 74 12 midnight _4B 1 p.m. 74 <1 a.m. 46 2 p.m 71 2 a.m. 44 3 p in. 60 3 am. ...-. 42 4 p.m 64 4 a.m 4<> 5 p.m. W ■ am. 3't 6 p.m 61 9 a.m. .... 18 7 p.m 58 7 a m M 8 p.m. 56 Ba,m. 58 9 p.m. 54 9 am 59 10 p.m 53 TO a.m 84 II p.m 50 tl a.m 14 . Rata Total for the 24 hour period ending at 7 a.m. today, .14 Inch**. The St. Mary's river waa at 1.10 feet.