Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 61, Number 20, Decatur, Adams County, 24 January 1963 — Page 1

VOL. LXI NO. 20.

Midwest, Southland Battered By Howling Winds, Bitter Cold

Bitter Cold Blamed For 143 Deaths By United Preu International The century’s worst cold wave smashed south today, shattering temperature records, closing schools and resulting in the deaths of more than 140 persons. Damage to grazing crops across the Southland ran into thousands of dollars and Florida citrus growers girded for another cold seige. Southern California crop damage ran into the millions. Citrus and vegetable crops in the lush Rio Grande Valley were imperiled by the latest onslaught of polar cold. Violent snow storms off the Great Lakes dumped 11 inches of fresh snow in Pennsylvania and New York. West Virginia was hit with 10 inches of new snow and lesser amounts fell elsewhere. Roads were treacherous from Michigan to the middle Atlantic states and drivers were warned to stay home. Many Schools Close Thousands of schools were closed by drifting snow and cold from Pennsylvania to lowa. The United Press International counted 143 weather-attributed deaths. Indiana led the nation with 29. Illinois had 19. Ohio had 11 and Tew and Michigan recorded 10 each. New England had 15 deaths. All-time records for the 20th century were set at Akron, Ohio, 21 below; Atlanta, 3 below; Bowling Green, Ky., 19 below; Cleveland, Ohio. 19 below; Lexington, Ky., 21 below; Louisville, Ky., 20 below, and Pittsburgh, Pa., 18 below. In the South Carolina cities of Anderson, Columbia, Greenville and Spartenburg Jan. 24 records were shattered with temperatures of above. In'Vickesburg, Miss., it wag 6 above, and Columbus, Ohio.'JS below, both new records for,the day. More Low Temperatures The mercury dropped to an unofficial 30 below zero at Kingston Springs, Tenn., gnd 28 below at Somerset, Ky*. The temperature at Tupelo, Mias., today was close to the name of the town—2 below. An elderly man in Monroe, Midi., near the Ohio border, was found frozen to death in his home Wednesday. He was sitting in a rocking chair in front of an open window. His death and another in Detroit raised the toll of storm victims in the Wolverine state to 10. In Detroit, the mercury plummeted to 12 below, a record low for Jan. 23 in the Motor City. It also was the coldest reading there since Feb. 8, 1934, when the temperature dropped to 16 below. Nonetheless, the Michigan weather story was not without its lighter aspects: —ln Nankin Township, a De(Continued on Page Eight)

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DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

INDIANA WEATHER Increasing cloudiness and and not quite so cold tonight. Friday mostly cloudy with some light snow likely and not quite so cold. Low tonight sere to 5 Below. High Friday 5 to 12 above north, to the teens above sero south. Sunset today 5:55 p.m. Sunrise Friday 7:59 a.m. Outlook for Saturday: Partly cloudy and colder. Lows 5 above to 5 below. Highs 8 to 14 above. Only Decatur Schools Open, Others Closed Bitter cold that has gripped Decatur and Adams county, along with the state and nation, has forced closing of all schools in the county, with the exception of the Decatur city schools. Decatur Catholic and Decatur high school held classes this morning, as did the St. Joseph grade school, Southeast and Northwest elementary schools, and Lincoln school. All other schools in the county, however, were closed today, including Monmouth, Adams Central, Pleasant Mills, Geneva, Berne, Hartford Center, the Jefferson grade school and all county Lutheran schools. The Zion Lutheran school in Decatur was one of the Lutheran schools which did not have classes today. Attendance Peer Drifting snow, coupled with the extreme cold weather, forced the school closing, and attendance at the Decatur schools was poor in most cases. Os approximately 500 students at Decatur high, a total of 125 were absent this morning, or slightly more than one-fifth of the enrollment. More than one-fourth of the enrollment of Northwest elementary were absent this morning, with 125 of 444 enrolled in the six grades and kindergarten net in class. A total of 46 pupils were absent in the Southeast elementary school, which has an enrollment of 269 pupils. The Lincoln school fared better than most, with 140 absentees- out-of approximately 600 students in eight grades. Although no figures were given, attendance at die Catholic schools was also reported as poor. Buses HMtfd Much of the absenteeism was due to buses not running. Only one at tour buses arrived today at the Northwest school, and one Washington township bus arrived at the high school. None of the Union township buses was running today. With temperatures plummeting to 18 dgerees below zero throughout the county, beating plants in all homes in Decatur and the nearby area were running "full-blast.” • Continued on Page Six)

Numbing Grip Is Extended Over State By United Press International A mammoth wave of recordsetting cold air hugged Indiana in a numbing grip today as temperatures shriveled far below zero and the toll of weather-connected deaths climbed to at least 30. Official temperatures at 7 a.m. EST today ranged from 10 to 16 below zero at all nine weather stations in and on the fringe of Indiana which are represented in the Weather Bureau’s daily check. It was 16 below at Indianapolis, shattering a Jan. 24 record of 9 below recorded in the long-to-be-remembered winter of 1936. At the same hour it was 15 below at Louisville and Cincinnati, 12 below at Terre Haute and South Bend, 11 below at Fort Wayne and 10 below at Lafayette and Chicago. But it was even colder at most of these stations earlier in the day, and LaPorte’s official 22 below was the worst reading reported. Overnight lows included 15 below at Evansville and Lafayette, 16 below at Indianapolis, 17 below at Chicago and South Bend, 18 below at Fort Wayne, 19 below at Cincinnati and 20 below at Louisvffle, ' — 11 Below At Noon Hoosierland became a gigantic refrigerator Wednesday in one of the coldest days ever recorded in 92 years of official statistics. Temperatures fell steadily throughout the day and at high noon reached 11 below zero at Indianapolis. A little relief was in sight, but nothing spectacular. Forecasters indicated it would remain generally “very cold” at least through Saturday, although lows tonight will range from 2 below to 3 above north, near zero central, and 4 above to 6 below tonight. The number of. schools closed because of snow-blocked roads, inadequate heating and a myriad of other weather-related reasons reached many dozens and the affected areas ranged from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. , Unofficial temperatures were even colder than those registered under standard conditions in precise government weather equipment. Portage reported 25 below Wednesday night, Hobart and New Chicago 23 below, Gary 21 below, and a thermometer outside a Perry County gymnasium, where a high school basketball tourney was being played, 21 below. While a clean slate for traffic fatalities was recorded Wednesday and early Thursday as motorists slowed down because of snow and ice-packed roads and frosty car windows, the weather death toll went up from heart attacks induced by the cold and by snowshoveling exertion. Journalism Pref Dies At Bloomington, James Mahler, (Continued on Page Eight)

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday, January 24,1963.

Kennedy Asks Congress Clamp Drastic Limits Over Tax Deductions

Pressing Efforts To Stop Strikes

United Press International The federal government pressed efforts again today to reach settlements in the Gulf Coast dock and New York newspaper strikes and head off a walkout at Boeing jet and missile plants. Federal mediators scheduled new talks at Galveston, Tex., New Orleans, La., and Mobile, Ala., with striking longshoremen and said unless the dispute is settled quickly “we can expect some positive action from Washington.” White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger and Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz planned to report to the President on their talks Wednesday with New York publishers and striking printers. President Kennedy appointed a special board of inquiry Wednesday in what could be a prelude to an 80-day cooling-off period in the dispute between Boeing and machinists. More than 130,000 workers have been idled in the most widespread labor unrest in months. If Boeing were struck, another 40,000 would be affected. Cost U Untold The cost of the strikes across the land is untold. The 33-day-old longshoremen’s strike, whiclf has idled more than 100,000, has cost $25 million dollars alone each day, or going on S9OO million. Other labor developments: —The strike of 1,200 off-train employes went into its second day on the Florida East Coast Railway, which serves Cape Canaveral and many resort cities. —Negotiators in the 10-day-old Philadelphia transit strike remained in session early today with no indication of a settlement. —Publishers of the Cleveland Press and Plain Dealer were to meet with representatives of four unions in an effort to end the eight-week-old strike. —Lockheed Aircraft Corp., at Los Angeles stood fast on its refusal to make- union membership compulsory in its dealings with the International Association of Machinists (IAM). —Talks were to continue today in the 159-day-old Shell Oil refinery at Roxana, Hl., where the issue was three workers the company would not reinstate. No Progress Reported —No progress was reported in talks between 184 striking electricians and the McDonnell Aircraft Corp., St. Louis, Mo., makers of space capsules and Phantom jets. > * MdH

Charles Werling Is Taken By Death Charles Werling, 83, a native of Adams county, and retired bridge construction worker and threshing machine operator, died at 4:30 p. m. Wednesday at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Robert Bienz, Grenada, Miss. He had been seriously ill for the past six weeks. He was born in Preble township July 28, 1879, a son of David and Augusta Bley-Werling, and was married to Cora Breiner Nov. 17, 1901. His wife preceded him in death Dec. 30, 1922. He had made his home with his daughters for the past eight years. Mr. Werling was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran church at Preble. Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Robert (Edna) Bienz of Grenada, Miss, and Mrs. Ralph (Julia) Straub of Preble; four grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; one sister, Mrs. Eli (Rona) Goldner of Kenadllville, and a halfsister, Mrs. Harry (Vera) Chalfant of Valparaiso. Two sons are deceased. Funeral services will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Zwick funeral home, with the Rev. Norman Kuch officiating. Burial will be in the St. Paul Lutheran church cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 2 p.m. Saturday until time of the services.

—Union officials said they expected to meet today with representatives of two stores in an effort to head off a walkout of 1,900 butchers in St. Louis Monday morning. —Negotiations resumed today between the striking United Mine Workers Local 14522 and Cliffs Dow Inc., at Marquette, Mich. —The 165 electrical workers agreed to go back to work at the Nevada test site after eight days off the job. Representatives of the National Electrical Contractors Association, the local electrical union and the Reynolds Co., main contractor at the site, worked out a formula for transportation to the advanced work area. Retail Division To Meet January 30 The retail division of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce will hold a general membership meeting Wednesday, January 30. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m., and will be held at the First State Rank. AH members have oeen urged to attend as 1963 promotions will be discussed. March Os Dimes Dance Here Friday Evening Tickets for the March of Dimes dance, which will be held at the American Legion home Friday night from 9 o’clock to 12 midnight, will be on sale at the door, committee members announced today. Admission will be only $1 per person, with the entire proceeds donated to the March of Dimes. Continuous dance music will be provided by 14 members of the Decatur local of'the American Federation of Musicians. These musicians are donating their services without charge, and the Legion is making no charge for the use of the home for the dance. Out-Of-Work Force Decreased In State INDIANAPOLIS (UPD — Indiana’s recorded out-of-work force decreased to 60,910 last week compared with 61,069 the week before, said Director Lewis Nicolini of the Indiana Employment Security Division Wednesday. AU but two divisions field offices reported decreases in initial claims, said Nicolini. Although total claims were down, the number of continued claims increased mainly as a result of delayed claims of anutomobile workers laid off for a few days earlier in the month. Fetters Funeral Services Friday Funeral services for Charles M. Fetters, retired farmer who died Wednesday morning, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the St. Mary’s Catholic church near Geneva. The Rev. Leo LandoU wiU officiate and burial will be in the church cemetery. Friends may call at the Zwick funeral home until time of the services. The name of a son, William J. Fetters, of Toledo, Q-, was unintentionally omitted from the list of survivors in Wednesday’s issue of the Daily Democrat. DECATUR TEMPERATURES Local weather data .for the 24 hour period ending at 11 a-m. today. 12 noon 12 12 midnight .. -8 1 p.m. & la.m. -8 2 p.m 6 2 a.m -7 3 p.m. 5 3 a.m. -7 4 p.m 4 4 a.m -7 8 p.m - *8 8 a.m ‘J 9 p.m* •• 9 a.m. 10 p.m. .— -I 10 am- « 11 p.m 8 11 am. - » » Total for’Xe’*?! 1 hour period ending at 7 a.m. today, .01 inches. The St. Mary’s river was at 1.6 S feet.

WASHINGTON (UPD — President Kennedy asked Congress today to recapture about a fifth of his proposed sll billion tax cut for individuals by clamping drastic limits on deductions. His proposal would limit deductions for such things as home mortgage interest, contributions, medical expenses and local taxes. Only that portion of the total amount which exceeds 5 per cent of the taxpayer’s income could be deducted. The sweeping nature of the plan was the surprise element in a 9,000-word message in which Kennedy spelled out his anxiously awaited request for a three-step reduction in personal and corporate, tax. rates. :— His blueprint also called for new tax preferences for most persons over 65, for many working mothers and for professional athletes, authors and others whose earnings fluctuate widely. He urged tougher tax treatment for the oil and gas industry, stock dividends and stock options enjoyed by some corporation executives. Cancels $2.3 Billion The President said his proposed “reform” in deductions would cancel out $2.3 billion on the sll billion tax cut he wants to give individuals to pump more purchasing power into the economy and revitalize business. He said it also would mean that some 6.1 million of the 25 million taxpayers who now itemize deductions would find it more, or equally, profitable to take the standard 10 per cent deduction and file a short* return. X__. -L However, Kennedy’s tax blueprint would give low-income groups a better break on deductions than they get now. It would establish for the first time a minimum deduction — S3OO for a single person or married couple plus SIOO for each dependent. Everyone would get that much regardless of deductible expenses or income. As a result, between 750,000 and 1,000,000 low income taxpayers would be removed from the tax rolls. This would be in addition to certain old people who would be relieved of tax liability under other rule changes. Raises Problems” Obviously aware that the deduction proposal will face trouble in Congress, Kennedy said “the present practice of allowing taxpayers to deduct certain expenses in full. . .raises difficult problems of equality, taxpayer compliance and tax administration and enforcement.” - As for his overall proposals, which would mean a net cut of $10.2 billion in taxes, the Chief Executive said: “Our economy is checkreined today by a war-born tax system at a time when it is far more in need of the spur than the bit.” He dismissed congressional complaints that the current period of heavy red-ink spending is no time to cut taxes. He said the deficit would be $9.2 billion next year even without a tax reduction. And he called the prospective revenue loss a piddling price for prosperity. As for proposals that he cut his record $98.8 billion budget to clear the way tor tax relief, Kennedy said he had proposed spending the minimum needed for national security and the Soviet challenge in space. He said it would be “a grave mistake” to cut it. Democratic leaders believe—and all advance signs indicate—that Congress will wind up voting a tax cut this year. But they believe Kennedy will get few of the revenue-boosting “reforms” he wants. No Signs Os Surrender The President showed no signs of surrender, how ver. He said “the largest single tat rier to toll employment -Df our manpower and resources and to a higher rate of economic growth is the unrealistic drag of federal income taxes. .. “One recession has foUowed another, with each period of recovery and expansion fading out earlier than the last. Our gains fall far short of what we could do and need to do.” As previously revealed, Kennedy’s plan would reduce individual income tax rates in three annual steps from the present 20 to 91 per cent to a new range of 14 to (Continued On Page Three)

David Swickard Is In Honors Group

David Swickard, Deactur high school senior, has been named in the honors group in the annual nationwide science talent search for the Westinghouse science scholarships, according to work received late Wednesday afternoon by Hugh J. Andrews, Decatur high school principal. The honors group consisted of the top 10 per cent of those who completed entries in the science talent search. From the select group of 327 honor award winners. 40 will be chosen for a five-day institute at Washington, D. C., where $34,250 in scholarships will be awarded. Swickard was one of only 11 honor award winners from -the state of Indiana, and the only one from the Fort Wayne area. The awards were based on a research project, a science aptitude test, and high school records. Swickard’s research, under the supervision of Harry Dailey, science instructor at the Decatur high school, had to do with chromatographic analysis for total xanthophyll and carotene content of chicken feeds. A large part at the work was carried out atXPurdue University last summer, where he was a participant in the national science foundation summer science institute. His project will be entered

To Iron Out Party Plans

INDIANAPAOLIS (UPD-Senate Democrats moved today to keep a variety of proposals within their own party from splitting the Indiana legislators into ineffective small groups on the vital reapportionment issue. A caucus of minority members resulted in agreement to create a four-man subcommittee to iron out the differing reapportionment proposals in the Democratic ranks, and thus prevent majority Republicans from capitalizing on the “divide and conquer” theme. The subcommittee includes Sens. Robert Peterson of Rochester, Paul Hatfield of Evansville, Keh~ neth Reagin of Cory and Charles Schenk of Vincennes. It was created after a new reapportionment recommendation was made by Peterson and another by Sen. Marshall Kizer, D-Plymouth, in addition to the modified O’Lessker plan worked out by a Wabash College professor as a party policy solution to the thorny issue of reapportionment. Meanwhile, in the House, a proposed constitutional amendment which blocked Republican action on reapportionment until it was defeated earlier this week, came back amid Democratic protests. The amendment, to remove the two-term limit on county sheriffs, was defeated by prearrangement of the GOP majority because as long as it was pending this session, no other resolution encompassing a constitutional amendment could be introduced. Republicans want to solve the 40-year-old thorny reapportionment issue by amending the Constitution. Democrats have another plan which does not involve changing toe Constitution. Rock Protests Action Reps. Glenn Slenker, R-Monti-cello, and William H. Herring, D-Linton, reintroduced the sheriff amendment resolution this morning, and House minority leader Robert L. Rock, D-Anderson, immediately protested. Rock said under the rules the matter could not be Considered again this session, since it was defeated and a motion for reconsideration tabled previously. But majority floor leader Rep. Charles Edwards, R-Spencer, said the rule applies only to the original amendment—not to toe sub-

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F k I &■ ' ’ V 9• David Swickard in the Indiana academy of science competition and the regional science fair at Fort Wayne in March. Swickard, son of Mr, and Mrs. Dayton Swickard, 215 Stratton Way, is a finalist in toa-«wticnal merit • scholarship competition, participates in football and track and other extra-curricular activities at the school.

ject matter. House Speaker Richard. W. .Guthrie ruled in Edwards' favor, and on a roll call vote on Edwards’ motion to table Rock’s motion for rejection of the measure, the vote was 53-41 to table. New Compromise Plan Earlier, the reapportionment picture was complicated by the unveiling of a “compromise compromise” plan and threat of renewed court action. Sen. Robert Peterson, D-Roches-ter, told newsmen he is preparing a bill and a proposed constitutional amendment, both calling for a percentage of population plan devised by himself and several other lawmakers. The Peterson plan would be established on the basis of 50 senators as at present, but toe author said the constitutional amendment would contain a proviso for adjustment on the basis of increasing population which could mean an upper chamber of 52 senators at some future date. Meanwhile Nelson Grills, Indianapolis attorney and former state senator who in past sessions has been the leading champion of reapportionment .in the legislature, said he plans to “dust off” two suits he has filed, one in federal court and the other in a state court. -- ■■■ Grills said next week he will file a protest in Indianapolis district federal court against the consolidation of his reapportion-! ment suit with that of the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. “They are not the same,” Grills said. “My suit says the last election was illegal and the Civil Liberties Union suit concerns only future legislatures.” Waste Money Grills argued the question of the legality of the current legislature should be settled immediately “because it costs about a million dollars to run a legislature and if this one isn’t legal we shouldn’t be wasting the taxpayers’ money like that.” Grills, who was defeated in his bid for renomination, said he also will file a new motion in Johnson Circuit Court where he has a suit pending that would prevent State Auditor Dorothy Gardner from paying toe lawmakers if he won it.