Indianapolis Times, Volume 41, Number 206, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 January 1930 — Page 1

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BANK BANDITS FLEE TO CITY AFTER HOLDUP -airland Robber Trio Hiding Here: Car Abandoned on Street. ESCAPE IN GUN BATTLE Cashier, Other Residents of Village Chase Thugs for Miles. Three bandits, at least one of whom is wounded, were sought in Indianapolis after robbery this morning of the Fairland National bank of Fairland, twenty miles southeast of Indianapolis. Loot of the three in the holdup was •51,250. In a gun battle with D. G. Gordon, bank cashier, and Robert Smith, Fairland business man, as the bandits fled from the bank, more than twenty shots were exchanged. A running gun battle developed as the bandits left Fairland, when C. R. Hughes, bookkeeper of the bank, in a car driven by James Kasper, 15, Fairland school boy, gave pursuit. Hughes got near enough to the bandit car to fire one charge from a shotgun. It was this shot which tore out the rear window of the stolen Studebaker roadster. Near Greenwood the car driven by the schoolboy skidded off the road and hit a telephone pole. Kasper and Hughes were injured slightly and their pursuit ended. Car Abandoned Here The search turned to Indianapolis a short time later when the bandit car was found abandoned in front of 1120 South Pennsylvania street. So hurried was the abandonment that the bandits left in the car a revolver, a holster and two masks. Just outside the car one of the bandits dropped his iiat. A pool of blood on the floor of the car testified to accuracy of the revolver fire of Gordon and Smith. On* bullet penetrated the windshield of the car. while another struck the canvas covering at the rear of the car. Police declared the bullet which struck the rear of the car hardly could have missed one of the three men in the seat. Front of the bank building was struck by several bullets. Gun Found in Auto A gun found in the car contained four empty and one unfired cartridges. On the floor of the car were found spent shells of .32-caliber, while the recovered gun was of .38caliber. The masks were of the cheap Halloween variety, one red and the other orange in color. The bandits did not wear them in the holdup. The abandoned car was owned by Evans Montgomery of 1335 Nordyke avenue, and was reported stolen from the south side of the statehouse at 11:35 Monday night. Police believe the bandits had another car parked near the spot where they abandoned the stolen car. It was the second holdup of the Fairland bank in less than .wo months. On Nov. 20 two bandits held up Gordon and his daughter and escaped with $725. Bandits Flash Gun This morning at 9. two of the three entered the bank and flashed guns. Cashier Gordon, the bookkeeper, Charles Hughes, and Postmaster Luther Able of Fairland were in the bank at the time. Gordon was forced into the vault and compelled to hand the money to one of the bandits. Miss Laura Gordon, daughter of the cashier and assistant bookkeeper of the bank, approached the bank and the third bandit, waiting in the car outside, stepped out and with drawn gun, forced her into the bank. Cashier Opens Fire As the three prepared to leave the bank, Gordon reached a drawer and opened fire. The bandits returned the gunfire as they fled. Smith joined in the battle on the outside of the bank. HOOVER PARTIES GUEST Attends Curtis Dinner Tonight and Then Club Reception. Pv CnifcJ Pres * WASHINGTON. v Jan. 7.—President Hoover is to attend two social events outside the White House tonight, a unique occurrence for Washington's social calendar. Mrs. Hoover may be unable to accompany the President because of a cold. FILMS REPEAT JOHN D. Standard Oil Head's Speech to Be Relayed by Talking Movie. Sv United Press CLEVELAND, Jan. 7.—John D. Rockefeller Sr., through medium of a talking motion picture film, will addresa his associates of the Standard Oil Company when they assemble In a banquet here Friday to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the company which he founded.

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The Indianapolis Times Cloudy tonight, probably preceded by snow or sleet and followed by fair Wednesday; lowest tonight 5 to 10 above; cold Wednesday.

VOLUME 41—NUMBER 206

New Zero Swoop on Way Here Hourly Temperatures 6 a. m 52 10 a. m 39 7 a. m 52 11 a. m 38 8 a. m 42 12 (noon).. 36 9 a. m 38 1 p. m 36 Spring weather that ushered in the new year here faced an abrupt end today, as a cold wave, preceded by snow and sleet, crept eastward from the Mississippi valley across Indiana into Ohio. Temperatures here fell 14 degrees between 7 a. m. and 9 a. m.. from 52 degrees to 38 degrees. The fall will continue rapidly until tonight, when the mercury will stand between 5 and 10 degreees, according to J. H. Armington, United States weather bureau meteorologist. While at 7 this morning Indianapolis had not been touched by the cold wave, Terre Haute reported 34 degrees; Springfield, 111., 16 degrees; Keokuk, la., 8 degrees, and Des Moines, la., 0. Rain which set in here Monday night was expected to change to sleet or snow this afternoon. Wednesday probably will be fair. Armington said. Warnings were broadcast to shippers and motorists to prepare for zero weather, which Is expected to continue for several days. There probably will be little or no snow after this afternoon, Armington predicted.

46 NOW TOLL OF MENINGITIS Child Is Latest Victim of Spinal Malady. Total fatalities from spinal meningitis in Indianapolis and vicinity mounted to forty-six today with the death of Melvin Mericle, 3, of 1011 South West street. Two new cases at city hospital brought the total number of cases in the last five weeks to sixty-nine. Lawrence Bell. 20, of 321 North Elder avenue, and Thelma Allen, 7, NVgro, 430 Minerva street, were taken to city hospital with the malady. Continued precaution against spread of the disease by use of mercurophen solution in the nose was urged by Dr. Herman G. Morgan, city health commissioner. Dr. Morgan issued a statement declaring that newspapers have printed accurate accounts of the number of cases in answer to rumors that “the facts have been suppressed.” Although Indiana Central college has not closed, strict precautionary measures against spread of the disease are being taken there. All students who room at dormitories have been forbidden to go downtown, while students living in the city are being examined by doctors. All gatherings for the week and the Central-N. A. G. U. basketball game, scheduled for Wednesday night, have been called off. SEEK CRASH BODIES Tugs Battle Rough Seas in Air Disaster Work. Bu United Prrs* SANTA MONICA. Cal., Jan. 7. Three tugs which have battled rough seas for days attempting to raise the wreckage of tw T o airplanes that plunged into the ocean, killing ten men. were ready today to renew their efforts to recover bodies of five victims. A driver Monday brought up the bodies of Kenneth Hawks, film director, and Tom Harris, movie property man. Hawks, who was the husband of Mary Astor, screen actress, Harris and eight others engaged in the filming of a motion picture, were carried to death Friday. Bodies of Max Gold, Ben Frankel and Conrad Wells were picked up soon after the crash. Still held in the wreckage are the bodies of George Eastman, Otto Jordan and Henry Johan Ess. studio workers, and Ross Cook and Hallock Rouse, pilots. HOUSE OF DAVID SUED “Queen” Mary and Followers Demand $3,000,000 Damages. Bu United Prr** ST. JOSEPH, Mich., Jan. 7.—The House of David colony here was rocked today by a suit for $3,000,000, filed by “Queen” Mary Purnell and 217 of her followers. The suit is the result of the fight for control of the colony between "Queen” Mary and H. T. Dewhirst. Services, work for the colony and property turned into the common treasury are covered in the claims. START LICENSE BUREAU Otto Ray Will Be in Charge of New City Dep&rtment. An ordinance, creating a city license bureau with a salary of $3,300 a year, was pending today before city council. The measure was recommended to the council Monday by the new Sullivan safety board. Patrolman Otto Ray. assigned to the city controller’s office as city license inspector, will receive the position.

0. S. OPPOSES BUILDING OF BATTLESHIPS Stimson, Aids Will Seek to Continue Holiday at Naval Parley. STAND IS MADE CLEAR Strive to Place Limit on Cruisers, Destroyers and Submarines. Bu United Pres* WASHINGTON, Jan. 7.—Secretary of State Stimson announced today, on the eve of departure for the London naval conference, that the United States would seek there to continue the battleship building holiday and to limit cruisers, destroyers and submarines. His announcement of aims was made after he and other American delegates to the conference had discussed the parley at a White House breakfast with President Hoover. It was made through the medium of a talking moving picture. Stimson made the address before the microphone after leaving the breakfast. He also posed for a picture to be released later. The secretary of state will leave here late today for New York, in advance of the other American delegates, for a day of rest in New York before embarking on one of the greatest peace pilgrimages of modern days. The American people and the administration at Washington stand solidly behind the American delegates to the London naval conference, President Hoover said. President Hoover told the delegation progress of the peace of the world depends to a very large degree upon the success of the conference. Colleagues Introduced The delegation will sail Thursday on the George Washington, historic ship that carried Woodrow Wilson to the Versailles peace conference. In his talk before the camera today, Stimson introduced his colleagues, Secretary of Navy Adams, Senator Robinson (Dem.. Ark.), Senator Reed (Rep., Pa.) and Ambassador Morrow. “Eight years ago.” Stimson said, “a. treaty was signed in Washington which ended the possibilities of compettive building of battleships between the United States, Great Britain, France. Italy and Japan. “Since then except for ships, then being designed, not anew battleship has been built in the world During this period of holiday from battleship building, a far greater sense of security has prevailed than existed immediately before that treaty. Face Opportune Time “We have now come to the time when under that Washington treaty battleship building is about to begin again, not competitive building, but mutually agreed on building. “Yet it will be extensive building and it, therefore, seems a most opportune time for the United States to meet these same powers to see if we can not still further delay or decrease expenses of the battleship fleet. “At the same time, we shall endeavor to find a mutually satisfactory arrangement lor limiting the building of cruisers, destroyers and submarines, and thus still further increase that sense of security essential to international good will. “These are the purposes es the American delegation as it sa ls for the navai conference in London and the purposes of the delegates from the other four countries with all of which we have had most friendly preliminary interchanges. Find “Happy Medium” “Too little means of defense gives a nation a feeling of insecurity. Too much gives its neighbors a feeling of insecurity. Our object is to try to find a happy medium that will be mutually satisfactory.” President Hoover’s meeting with the delegation at the breakfast today was the last before its departure. The breakfast was a finale to long months of preparation which beg:.n before Hoover's inauguration with a summons to Ambassador Gibson to return here for discussion of the naval conference. These culminated in invitations to the London conference, which begins Jan. 21. SULLIVAN ON THE JOB New Mayor Plunges Into Duties: Confers With Safety Beard. Mayor Reginald H. Sullivan believes that the "early bird gets the worm.” The new chief executive was at his office at city hall shortly after 9 a. m. today and plunged into his new duties. Conferences were held with the safety board and other members of his official family. "I want to get things started so That 111 be familiar with what's going cn. ’ Sullivan said. Several Rivers Overflow Bu T'niti < Prr** BARCELONA. Spain. Jan. 7. Heavy rains in the Cataluna region have caused the overflow of several nearby rivers.

INDIANAPOLIS, TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1930

Scene of Tragedy ; Victims and Heroes

Upper left. Mr. and Mrs. Donald Kluesner, victims of a gasoline explosion in their home today. Mrs. Kluesner is holding a daughter, Florence Lottie, now 5. and in front of Kluesner ,is seated an-

FIND COUPLE DEAD; MURDER, SUICIDE

Eji Timea Sveeial LOGANSPORT, Jan. 7. Earl Packard, 55, and his wife Pearl, 46, were found dead, in their home south of here Monday night, victims of shotgun wounds, in what authorities declare, was a case of murder and suicide. Mrs. Packard, neighbors said, had

LINDY IN BACK SEAT Watches While Anne Puts Planes Through Paces. Bu United Press LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7.—Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh took a back seat while h4s wife, in the front cockpit of their new Lockheed Sirius monoplane, helped put the ship through its initial air paces over Burbank flying field. The Lindberghs took turns in testing the dual-controlled plane built for them in the Lockheed factory at Burbank and remained aloft more than an hour Monday. “It. is very satisfactory,” Lindbergh said. “We are highly pleased with it.” The flier and his wife will remain in Los Angeles two weeks, inspect- | ing transportation facilities of the j T. A. T.-Maddux airlines and mak- • ing trips to San Francisco. PEACHES TO~GET CASH “Daddy” Browning Asks Court Order to Sell Real Estate. i Bu United Prr** NEW YORK, Jan. 7-Peaches Browning today seemed likely to secure in her own name a good-sized portion of the wealth of Edward W. Browning, the “daddy” whom she married four years ago and whose bed and board she has since left. Browning yesterday asked permission of the supreme court to sell $667,000 worth of his vast real estate holdings in which Peaches has dower interest. If the court approves the sale, Peaches will automatically get a third of the proceeds, her share being estimated at SIBB,OOO.

other daughter, Mary Alice, now 6. All are dead. Right, above, the. stove which exploded when Kluesner attempted to start the fire with gasoline or kerosene, and showered the room with flaming liquid.

told them her husband had threatened to kill her, but at no time did she appear to consider his words seriously. They had been married a year. John Phillips, who lives across the road from the Packard home., said Packard called across to him, “I have killed my wife.” Phillips declared he was afraid to make an investigation and telephoned for aid to Walton, a town four miles distant. The ca l ) brought Dr. A. E. Spohn and Edgar Kitchell to the home and they found the bodies. The body of Mrs. Packard was in a pantry while her husband's body lay on the kitchen floor. Near it was a shotgun. Packard probably was temporarily insane at the time of the shooting, it w r as said by physicians who had attended him during periods of illness. They declared they heard Mrs. Packard remark to her husband. “You will not live long,” and it is believed w T ords from her of similar meaning caused him to become insanely angry. The couple together weighed more than a quarter of a ton—Packard 314 pounds and his wife 240 pounds. ASSESSORS MEET HERE Annual Conference With State Tax Board Is Started. Tax assessors from over the state convened with the state tax board this afternoon for a three-day annual session on taxation problems. Standardization of procedure in making assessments, and personal and real estate valuation problems will be discussed, it was announced by Chairman James Showalter, presiding. Pliny H. Wolfard and Phil Zoercher, other tax board members, are scheduled to address the conference. Investment Firm Head Dies BOSTON. Jan. 7.—Robert Winsor, 72, senior active partner of the investment house of Kidder, Peabody & Cos., died after a heart attack at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York today, according to word received by company officials here.

Left below, the bedroom, In which the mother and twin babies were imprisoned by the flames. Right center, exterior view of the Kluesner home. Right, below (in oval), Charges Vomehm, neighbor who assisted

Fig Leaves Bu United Press EL PASO, Tex., Jan. 7.—El Paso’s Garden of Eden was closed “for repairs” today. It will not be open, said Mayor R. E. Thomason, until the Eves and Adams who disported there wear more “fig leaves.” The Eden theater played to men only, and, citizens told the mayor, the players were adorned much as the original Adam and Eve, only minus fig leaves. Emma Reyna, leading lady, does not agree with the citizens. “There’s nothing to it,” she said. “Why, the police even gave us the once over and they liked the show.”

HIT BY JRUCK; DIES John Elmore’s Death Second 1930 Auto Fatality. Death of John Elmore, 67, of 1338 Eugene street, at city hospital Monday was the second auto traffic fatality of the new year here. Elmore was struck Monday morning at Thirtieth street and Elmira avenue by a truck driven by Irwin R. Lambert, 26, of 3027 Central avenue. Lambert was arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter following Elmore's death. Elmore is survived by his widow, an invalid for five years, and five children. Doris, Roosevelt and Maxine, living at home, and sons in Cincinnati and New York. ORDERS BADGE !RETURN Safety Board Head Calls in All Former "Courtesy” Emblems. Return of all police badges which were given out as a “courtesy” by former city officials was ordered today by Charles R. Myers, safety board president. A number of police badges are in the hands of persons without authority. Myers said. The type of police badge will be changed if the courtesy badges are not returned to the board office at city hall, he said.

Entered as Matter at Fostoffice, Indianapolis

in putting out the blaze, and. in the extreme lower right corner, Carl Merick, hero of the tragedy, who carried the twins from the flaming bedroom, then re-entered and dragged out the father, his clothing ablaze.

ROADS BODY TO RECEIVECHIDING Pointed Advice by Accounts Board Scheduled. When the state highway commissioners assemble here Wednesday they will be confronted with a report on conduct of their department, v/ith some pointed advice from the state board of accounts. The report was presented to Director John J. Brown today by Ross Teckemeyer, who conducted a several months’ examination of department records and procedure as field examiner for the state board of accounts. Badly needed reforms are pointed out and some action on the recommendations already has been taken. This applies particularly to the motor transport department under Omer S. Manlove and the creation of the new accounting department with Ralph E. Simpson as chief clerk. The report sets out that records in Manlove’s department are “very bad.” CHIEF JUSTICE BETTER Taft Walks, Unaided, Into Hospital for Week’s Rest. Bu United Press WASHINGTON, Jan. 7.—Chief Justice William Howard Taft was feeling much better and appeared in good spirits as he entered Garfield hospital here today for a week’s rest before taking a longer vacation from his supreme court duties at Asheville, N. C. The 71-year-old former President walked unaided into the hospital shortly after 11 o’clock today. Unidentified Man Killed Bv United Press TERRE HAUTE. Ind., Jan. 7.—An ! unidentified man, about 50, was I killed instantly by a Pennsylvania railroad passenger train here. The ; man is believed to be from South ; Bend. In his pockets were a letter 1 addressed to J. R. Fields, mailed ! from Charleston, Mo., and a tool or--1 der from the Studebaker automobile factory.

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FLAMES TRAP FAMILY; FIVE DIE OF BORNS Twins. 6 Months Old. Are Only Survivors in Fire Tragedy. BLAZE FOLLOWS BLAST - Gasoline Tossed in Stove Is Origin: Neighbor, 111, Tries Rescue. A boy and a girl, 6-mor.ths-old twins, this afternoon were the only survivors of a gasoline explosion in a small bungalow at Lyndhurst drive and Raymond street early this morning. The parents and three children died in city hospital from bums, several hours after the fire. Thr dead: DONALD KLUESNER Sr.. 31. MRS. HATTIE KLUESNER. 25. MARY ALICE KLUESNER. 6. FLORENCE LOTTIE KLUESNEK, 5. DONALD KLUESNER Jr., 3. The injured: EVELYN and EVERETT KLUESNER, 6 months old (twins). The little boy was the first to succumb and Mary Alice died an hour later. At noon Florence Lottie and her mother died, and the father gave up his battle for life at 12:30 p. m. Physicians held little hope for recovery' of the twins. Shortly before 6 a. m., Kluesncr arose to kindle a fire in the living room stove. Picking up a gallon can, which he thought contained kerosene. he tossed the liquid on live cods. It was gasoline, however, and a terrific explosion blew the can from his hands, shattered windows, and put out the electric light. Flaming gasoline was sprayed on his clothing from head to foot, and scattered to all parts of the room. Children Are Drenched The three eldest children. Mary Alice, Florence Lottie and Donald Jr., sleeping on a davenport a few feet, from the stove, were drenched with dazing gasoline. Hearing the explosion, the mother, clad in night clothing, ran into the flame-filled room. She found her husband lying on a trunk and burning chair, unconscious, his shirt torn open in efforts to free himself from the flames. Frantically she struggled to drag him outside, but failed. Then she smashed a window, picked up the three children one by one and hurled them to the rain-soaked ground. Groping her way through the front doorway she pitched forward into the mud. Carl Merick. 34. a neighbor, who reached Mrs. Kluesner as she fell, was first on the scene. 11l all night, he was sitting by his window when he heard a woman scream. Heard Woman Scream “I looked out and saw lights flickering in Kluesner’s house,” he said. “She screamed again, so I pulled on my boots and ran over. “Mrs. Kluesner was just falling from the porch. I could see the house was filled with flames. '“Get my babies,’ Mrs. Kluesner cried. I ran into the house, found my way to the bedroom, and fumbled around until my hands touched the twins, lying on the bed. “With them in my arms I ran outdoors. I gave the twins to Mrs. Kluesner, and then saw the other children lying in a heap on the ground. “ ‘Please find Don,’ she implored, so I went back. “ ‘Where is he?’ I yelled. Then I heard him answer, very faintly; ‘Here.’ Drags Out Man “Kluesner was lying over a trunk and a chair. I grabbed one arm, but the skin pulleci off. I took bold of his wrist and dragged him out on his back. Merick, Le Roy Wakefield and Charles Vomehm, other neighbors, picked up buckets and a large pan, filled them with water from a rivulet running in the Kluesner driveway and splashed out the flames. Damage to the interior of the home probably will be SSOO. Two sheriff’s emergency cars, bearing Deputies Fred Fox, Dale Brown, Foster Regan, Harvey Shipp, Charles Bell and Olllle Mays, answered Merick’s alarm. They called three physicians and summoned three ambulances from city hospital. Merick, Wakefield and Vornehm took the mother and chidren into their homes, while the father was taken to the hospital. Although the twins appeared not seriously burned, Dr. T. B. Johnson of Ben Davis, one of the first physicians on the scene, declared that inhalations of flame and gas fumes might prove fatal to the entire family. Dr. A. W. Hadley. Dr. O. H. Bakemeier, Marion county deputy coroner, and an ambulance surgeon, administered first aid before the family was taken to city hospital. Kluesner, an employe of the Link Belt Company, two months ago dislocated an arm while cranking his automobile, and returned to work only two weeks ago. Coroner Bakemeier was unable to learn addreseet of relatives.