Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 January 1938 — Page 1

The Indianapolis Times

FORECAST—Occasional snow or rain probable tonight and tomorrow; not much change in temperature; lowest tonight 25 to 30.

VOLUME 49—NUMBER 268

ROSS KIDNAPER IS LINKED WITH MATTSON CASE

Suspect Was Logger in Washington State, Site

Of Boy’s Abduction. EN ROUTE TO CHICAGO

Slew Companion as Well as |

Manufacturer, G-Men Reveal.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Jan. 18 (U. P.).—Two Federal agents and a prisoner believed to be Peter Anders, kidnap-slayer of Charles S. Ross, stopped here for 35 minutes today on a plane and then continued to Nashville,

LOS ANGELES, Jan. (U. P.).—A man who confessed kidnaping and killing Charles S. Ross, elderly Chicago valentine manufacturer, was rushed back to Chicago by G-Men today with secrecy that indicated other developments may be impending. The prisoner was Peter Anders, 30, a husky curly haired logger from Washington state. Arrested at a racetrack window, gambling part of the $50,000 ransom, he confessed not only to killing his victim, but also his partner who helped him abduct

Mr. Ross. J. Edgar Hoover, Federal Bureau of Investigation director, came here to handle the case and announced the confession last night only after Anders was on his way back to Chicago. Mr. Hoover said Anders made a 29-page confession, detailing how he kidnaped Mr. Ross with the aid of a confederate, collected the ransom, and then shot both men through the head. Statement Is Brief

But Mr. Hoover made only a brief statement of the confession and refused to elaborate. He made no mention of a third kidnaper described to police in Chicago by Mr. Ross’ secretary. He told no details of how or where the 72-year-old Mr. Ross was taken and held prisoner, or of the circumstances that led Anders to shoot his own partner as well as the kidnaped man. Mr. Hoover said Anders had a long criminal record but neither the F. B. 1. chief nor his aids would reveal it. Mr. Hoover ignored all inquiries and went to bed. The secrecy brought reports that Mr. Hoover has not yet completed his investigation of the case; that he still is hunting a third man; that Anders may be suspected of other crimes. Anders was a logger in Washington, where Charles Mattson was abducted and slain in what Federal agents regard as now their only unsolved kidnaping case. John H. Hanson, head of the Los Angeles FBI Bureau, said Mr. Hoover left last night for Chicago in a chartered plane. Mr. Ross was kidnaped near Chicago the night of Sept. 25, 1937. His family received proof that he was alive before they paid ransom, but nothing was heard frem the kianaper after the money was deliv-

ered, and Mr. Ross’ body was not |

found. Anders sai' he hid the bodies near Rock .d, III, presumably across the state line in Wisconsin. G-Men early today were seeking them. $14,000 Ransom Recovered

Only $14,402.28 of the $50,000 ransom was recovered. G-Men believed the rest had been spent in race track betting and high living. He had left an unmistakable trail of ransom bills at race tracks. G-Men following it stalked him across the continent twice before they caught up with him at a pari-mutuel window of the Santa Anita track, a ransom bill in his hand, on. Friday. He was taken at once to the Department of Justice offices here and questioned. Through Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night and part of Sunday. Anders denied any connection with the kidnaping. Confeonted with an ever increasing quantity of circumstantial evidence, he finally confessed. Mr. Hoover said that Anders killed both Mr. Ross and Gray Oct. 10 or 11, more than two weeks after Mr. Ross had been seized from his automobile on a road 12 miles west of Chicago. Mr. Ross was killed to eliminate any possibility of there being an identification witness against his kidnapers. Gray was killed because Anders wanted all the ransom money.

Widow Reported Near

Collapse in Chicago

CHICAGO, Jan. J8 ‘U. P) —The sumptuous apari..ent-home of Charles S. Ross, kidnap-murder victim, was veiled with secrecy today. His widow was reported near collapse, Occupants refused to discuss the case. Apparently, G-Men had advised Mr. Ross’ relatives and the family attorney, Edmund S. Cummings Jr., of solution of the case long before official announcement was made in Los Angeles. It was apparent, too, that the family had been warned to make no comment. A woman, believed to be Miss Florence Freihage, Mr. Ross’ former secretary, answered the telephone ‘at the Ross home. She wept as she said she could not discuss the CRBC,

Tn

18 |

“ul

Captured at Betting Window

Peter Anders

M'NUTT HEADS FOR SHANGHAI

Chautemps Gets Support of Socialists; Tokyo Recalls Emissary.

MANILA—McNutt leaves for Shanghai to confer with Yarnell on infiltration of Japanese into Philippines.

SHANGHATI—Chinese irregulars attack Japanese near Shanghai. Claim capture of Japanese garrison with 270 troops.

TOKYO—Japanese ambassador to China ordered to complete business and return home.

TERUEL—Rebels report gains surprise offensive. HONGKONG—Large-scale Japanese offensive hinted. British warned air raids imminent on HongkongCanton highway.

MANILA, Jan. 18 (U. P.).—Paul V. McNutt, American High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands,

left for Shanghai today to confer with Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, Commander in Chief of the United States Asiatic fleet, about Japanese infiltration into the Philippine Islands. Mr. McNutt is expected to return here and leave on a Pan American Airways clipper airplane for Washington Jan. 29 to report personally to President Roosevelt. He left for Shanghai in the Cruiser Augusta, formerly Admiral Yarnell’s flagship, which arrived here last week. It had been planned that Mr. McNutt and Admiral Yarnell should confer here on the Japanese situation. But it proved impossible for the Admiral to leave Shanghai so Mr. McNutt asked—and apparently received—Presidential permission to go to Shanghai, now a war zone. Admiral Yarnell is a veteran student of foreign affairs and Mr. McNutt has consulted him frequently. Mr. McNutt returned here only yesterday from Davao, in Mindanao Island, where it is estimated that 15,000 Japanese, of a total of (Turn to Page Three)

‘ROBINSONS’ HELD, SOVIET TELLS HULL

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (U.P) .— Secretary of State Cordell Hull today revealed that ‘the Soviet Government finally has admitted officially that the mysterious “Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Robinson” are under arrest in Soviet Russia. The Soviet authorities indicated “Robinson” is being held on espionage charges and that Mrs. Robinson, actually Mrs. Ruth M. Rubens of Philadelphia, for the time being, is held for questioning but is definitely suspected of the same activities.

Subzero Winds Sweep Across

Northeast U. S.

By United Press Subzero winds swept across most of the northeastern states today in the most severe cold wave of the winter. New England experienced its coldest winter in two years. Northfield, Vt., had a reading of 24 below zero. TEMPERATURES 20 10a. m.... 29 11 a.m... 28 12 (Noon). 9 a. 28 1p. Mm...

Already having piled up 11 per cent more sunshine than normal for this month, the weather today turned surly and there will be occasional snow or rain tonight and tomorrow, the Weather Bureau reported.

JK LILLY I ELOPES WITH BUFFALO GIRL

Married Jan. 14, Bride's Parents Reveal.

.m «ms. 2 m 2% m.... 29

ITHACA, N. Y,, Jan, 18 (U.P.).— Josiah Kirby Lilly III, Cornell University student and scion of a prominent Indianapolis family, was honeymooning ‘somewhere in the South” today after his elopement with Miss Jeanne Heller of Buffalo, a student at Wells College, Aurora, N.Y. The secret marriage was revealed last night by one of Mr. Lilly's Cornell fraternity brothers who said he had received a message from Mr. Lilly. The message, sent from Philadelphia, said Mr. Lilly and his bride were heading South, but did not state just where they were going. Mr. Lilly is the son of J. K. Lilly Jr., vice president of Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis. The bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund J. Heller, denied reports that the marriage ceremony was performed in their Buffalo home. “They were married Jan. 14,” Mrs. Heller told the United Press. “I don't know where as they are stepping about quite a bit. I don't know where they are going on their honeymoon or where they will live when they come back. Mr Heller is an auditor. The bride was 20 years old on Jan. 3. Mr. Lilly is 21. Mrs. Heller said they had known each other “for quite a while.” She said she was informed of their marriage in a telegram Saturday but refused to reveal from what city the telegram was sent.

J. K. Lilly Jr. today said his son and his bride were on a wedding trip to Florida. The bride visited at the Lilly summer home at Cape Cod, Mass., last summer, Mr. Lilly said.

{ conversations

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1938

GON CLANED BY MRS. JONES, SHERIFF SAYS

Ray Testifies Weapon Was Identified as Own by Defendant.

RULING FAVORS STATE

Statements Obtained in

Conversation Held Admissible.

By SAM TYNDALL Times Staff Writer

DANVILLE, Jan. 18.—Sheriff Ray of Marion County today told a Circuit Court jury here that a gun found near the Beech Grove scene of the murder last July of 13-year-old Helen Schuler was claimed by Mrs. Etta Jones as her own. Specially privileged by a new ruling of Circuit Court Judge Edgar Rice, Sheriff Ray testified that in conversations with him immediately following the slaying, Mrs. Jones had identified the gun as her own. Following a counsel squabble yesterday over the admissability of statements given by Mrs. Jones in allegedly with the sheriff, Judge Rice today ruled that such statements were obtained without duress and therefore admissable as evidence.

Third Degree Unproved

In his ruling, Judge Rice said: “There is not a strong case of third degree. Society expects officers and sheriffs to use due diligence in investigating crimes of this importance. “It is their duty to find out at the earliest possible moment the guilty party and the law gives them the right to ask questions . . . there has been no showing that the law was violated in this case.”

Sheriff Ray said that when he talked to Mrs. Jones after the slaying he showed her one gun and she said it was not hers. Then, he said, he showed her a gun that is now State's Exhibit No. 2—the gun identified as having been found near the Schuler home, with blood on it. She said it was her own, the Sheriff testified. He said that she previously had denied and then confessed she owned a gun and denied and then confessed that she brought it from Louisville to her Indianapolis home. Prosecutor Herbert M. Spencer recalled Charles McCallister, Marion County deputy sheriff. The following testimony recorded: Q—Tell the court and jury of your conversation with Mrs. Jones concerning her struggle with Mrs. Schuler, A—Mrs. Jones said the gun fell out of her pocketbook and that Mrs. Schuler picked it up and threatened her and that the struggle started in the living room and proceeded into and out of the bedroom. Q—Did you have any later conversation with her? A—Yes. The next aay. Q—What did she say? A—Mrs. Jones then told me she and Mrs. Schuler entered the Schuler home and Mrs. Schuler went into the bathroom to comb her hair. Then she said Mrs. Schuler called to her to come quick that something had happened to Helen. ‘She said she and Mrs. Schuler went into the bedroom and that that was where the struggle started. She said she heard no shots and did not know how Helen was shot.

No Signed Statement On cross-examination by Miss Bess Robbins, defense attorney, Deputy MeCallister testified that it was usual procedure to take written and signed statements from prisoners accused of serious crimes, but that none had been taken from Mrs. Jones. @Q@—Did you say Al Casse was present when Mrs. Jones was questioned? A—Yes.

Q—Is he a regular deputy sheriff? A-—No.

was

wears badge? A-—Yes. Q—Did you ever hear Sheriff Ray threaten to take Mrs. Jones’ child away? A--No. Dr. J. C. Rhea, jail physician, described a bullet wound on Mrs. Schuler after the death of her daughter, and said there were no powder burns. Miss Robbins objected to that testimony on the grounds that it was a collateral crime, but the objection was over-

only a courtesy

ruled.

Fasting Pastor Forbids His Flock

By HARRY FERGUSON United Press Staff Correspondent MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 18.—The Very Rev. Israel H. Noe today forbid any of his 1200 spiritual followers to give up food and water in sympathy for his personal fast to prove that he can live indefinitely on a spiritual fare. He will walk this road alone, he said in the 18th day of his fast as reports circulated that a small group at the Episcopal Cathedral of 8°. Mary, where the Very Rev. Mr. Noe is dean, planned to begin a fast. Dean Noe said today: “I do not know that any of my parishioners are doing such a thing. But I do not want anyone to follow me. I am leading my own life and setting my own example. Each individual

a, er We wo

Dean Noe's course takes him today on a tiring trip to Knoxville where the convention of the Tennessee Diocese is in session. He leaves behind a congregation divided on the wisdom of the exerience he is undergoing, but almost unanimous in the hope tht he will emerge from it and continue to preach. What is in the minds of the people who Sunday after Sunday go to the Cathedral and see Dean Noe getting thinner and weaker and grayer? Most of them will not say and those who do, invariably ask that they be nameless in print. A man who is a close friend of the Dean and a worshipper at St. Mary’s but who still has an objective view point on the matter put it this way:

To Adopt Spiritual Fare in Sympathy

among the parishioners. One group regrets that the Dean has chosen to jeopardize his health in the terms of medical science. ‘This group probably would be happy if the Dean could find it possible to end his fast, but they will do nothing to try to persuade him to do so. The other group believes whole-heartedly in what the Dean is trying to do. Some of them think it is a personal thing and that it is none of their affair.”

It seems certain that no formal action will be taken by the laymen to try to persuade the: Dean to abandon his fast. Bishop Maxon could intervene officially only if there were allegations that the Dean had violated Canon law by negies Gf

‘are two groups | ties.

‘

his du- |

Christy Walsh Loses Fight for Son’s Good Will

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 18 (U. P.).— Walter Christy Walsh writes of sports, attends the biggest sports events and has sports heroes for chums. He made all these things available to his 12-year-old son in a vain effort to win the boy's friendship. But the boy spurned them all and continued to sulk in his father’s presence. So today, Mr. Walsh made a sportsman’s sacrifice and surrendered the boy completely to his mother, Mrs. Madeline S. Walsh, from whom he is divorced. “It is the greatest sacrifice I ever made,” he told Judge Goodwin J. Knight. He explained he had made the supreme test New Year's Day, taking the lad to the Rose Bowl game, where he could sit between his father and Lou Gehrig, the baseball hero. The boy never spoke a word.

W. H. PENCE DIES: LUMBER DEALER

Vice President of Balke & Krauss Co. Was Prominent Mason.

William H. Pence, 5254 Broadway, Balke & Krauss Co. vice president, died today at Methodist Hospital. He was 69. Mr. Pence, widely known industrialist and lodge member here, had been in the hospital since Jan. 5. Mr. Pence, a native of Milton, had been in the retail lumber business for 53 years, most of them in Indianapolis. Prior to his affiliation with Balke & Krauss in 1924, he had been vice president of the Capitol Lumber Co. i He was a member of Center Lodge, F. & A. M. No. 23, Prather Chapter, Raper Commandery No. 1, Murat Shrine and the Universal Club. He is survived by his wife, Anna E.; two sons, Robert A. Indianapolis, and George A. Ft. Wayne, and one daughter, Mrs. C. J. Sanders, Indianapolis. Funeral services are to be held at 10 a. m. Thursday at the Shirley Brothers Funeral Home. Burial will be in Crown Hill,

REDUCTION OF GUARDS AGREED TO IN STRIKE

State Labor Commissioner Thomas R. Hutson today announced the Kennedy Car Liner & Bag Co. of Shelbyville and the Pulp Workers’ Union had agreed to reduce company guards and pickets at the strike-torn plant. The announcement said that the union, an American Federation of Labor affiliate, had agreed to maintain a maximum of five guards and the company 18. Mr. Hutson said that he would go to Shelbyville later today in the hope that the agreement might speed negotiations to end the strike.

MISSING HARVARD STUDENT IS FOUND

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (U. P).— A nation-wide search for Wilbur James Gould, 18-year-old son of a New York manufacturer who disappeared from Harvard University nine days ago, ended here today. Suffering apparently from Amnesia, young Gould walked into a police station last night and said that the last thing he remembered was “a Sunday at Lowell House” (a dormitory at Harvard).

'HOW THEY VOTED'

Keep track of your $10.-000-a-year men in Washington—your U. S. Senators and Representatives. Hoosiars are entitled to know how well Senators VanNuys and Minton, and Reps. Ludlow, Larrabee and other members of the State's delegation are serving them in Congress. The Indianapolis Times proposes to continue telling its readers "How they voted" on every important issue, by publishing at reqular intervals sharply analytical news features about their votes. The reports, which The Times also carried during 1937, are prepared for this newspaper by a Washington research organization with a high reputation for accuracy and thoroughness.

"How They Voted," therefore, is not an effort by The Times to put the Hoosier Congressmen "on the spot.” The record is of their own making. Through the regular reading of their record you will be able to form an intelligent, fact-based opinion as to whether your elected representatives are doing the job as you want it done. The first report on "How They Voted" appears in this issue on Page 12,

Entered as Second-Class Mutter

at Postoffice, Indianapolis, In

NEW TRAFFIC SYSTEM AIDS PEDESTRIANS

Extra Police at Busy Corners Stand on Curb to Direct Crowd.

WHISTLE SIGNALS USED

Plan Inaugurated Today Will Be Extended to Main Intersections.

Anew system of downtown intersection control, designed to protect pedestrians caught in the middle of the street when signal lights change, was inaugurated today by Police. Capt. Lewis Johnson of the Traffic Department said the system would be extended as soon as possible to all downtown intersection Two men will be assigned to each intersection, he said. Neither will stand in the middle of the intersection, as heretofore, but both will be near the curbs on corners where pedestrian traffic is heaviest.

Whistles to Be Used

At corners where there are no lights, officers will blow their signals from the curb—one blast for north and south traffic, two for east and west traffic and three for avenue traffic at triple intersections. Then the police will hold back vehicular traffic until the pedestrians have gained the other curb and ask pedestrians who have not entered the street to wait for a green light or the proper signal before proceeding. Capt. Johnson said the system was designed to educate and protect the pedestrian and to make the motorist conscious that he is at an intersection and has more to watch than for just a signal to proceed,

All Principal Corners

He said he would make the change on all principal corners as soon as he could train the men and would make personal inspections of the new plan. Bert Shieve, 53, of 16221; E. Washingion St. died at Methodist Hospital today of injuries received in an auto accident in December, near Marion. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Ora Shieve, Meanwhile, 20 persons appeared in Municipal Court on traffic charges. Fifteen were fined and five received suspended sentences. Ten speeders were fined $86 by Judge Pro Tem. Silas Lipman and five violators of preferential streets were fined $12. John Suhr, 23, R. R. 3, Box 697, was fined $91 and given a suspended 60-day jail sen(Turn to Page Three)

THREE BUILDINGS AFFECTED BY STRIKE

Owners Charge ‘Breach’ In Elevator Walkout.

Elevator operators in three downtown buildings struck at noon today. The strike was called by the Building Services Employees Union, Local 41, an A. F. of L. affiliate. Buildings affected were Merchants Bank Building, Meridian and Washington Sts.; the Big Four Building, 105 S. Meridian St., Underwriters Building, 445 N. Pennsylvania. The building managements in a formal statement, charged that the union had been guilty of a breach of faith. Union officials could not be reached for comment and at headquarters it was said there would be no statement until late this afternoon. The Circle Tower also was notified tha toperators would strike, union officials said. The strikes came after long negotiations between building owners and the union. Orval Peats represents the union and Gerald Redding of the law firm of Baker & Daniels, represented the building owners. There are 140 offices on nine floors of the Underwriters’ Building, snd (Turn to Page Three)

18 PLANES BEGIN FLIGHT

SAN DIEGO, Cal, Jan. 18 (U. P.). —Eighteen powerful aircraft roared away from San Diego today on a 2570-mile nonstop flight to reinforce the Navy’s mid-Pacific base at Pear] Harbor. A tentative schedule calls for arrival in Pearl Harbor in about 18 hours.

HOME

FINAL

PRICE THREE CENTS

13 DIE, 20 HURT

AS FIRE

SWEEPS

QUEBEC SCHOOL

Bodies of Priest and 10 Others Are Removed From Ruins of Sacred Heart School At St. Hyacinthe.

12 ARE MISSING; PANIC ADDS TO TOLL

Children Escape by Leaping From Windows In Night Clothing; Several Shoved From Fire Escapes.

ST. HYACINTHE, Quebec, Jan. 18 (U. P.).—A priest and - 12 pupils were known dead today following a fire in subzero

weather which destroyed a dormitory

and * spread panic

among 160 boy pupils of the Sacred Heart College here. Eleven bodies were recovered from the ruins, including

those of Father Jean Baptiste and several children.

Two

victims died in the hospital and a dozen still were missing.

®

DRUNKOMETER TEST ACCEPTED

Mrs. Davis Drunk After Fatal Accident, Dr. Harger Says.

Dr. R. N. Harger, Indiana University chemist and inventor of the “drunkometer,” testified today during the involuntary manslaughter trial of Mrs. Florence Simmons Davis that his breath test showed she was intoxicated when her car struck and killed 14-months-old Barbara Condit. Special Judge James A. Emmert overruled defense objections and for the first time in court history here accepted the “drunkometer” as a method of determining drunkenness, Dr. Harger said that his test three hours after the accident at Virginia Ave. and Noble St. last June, showed that the defendant had at least 10 ounces of liquor in her body. Jury Hears Parents Patrolman Otto Fulton testified that as the accused passed the accident scene on her way to the police station after her arrest all she could say was “I don't hear so good.” The jury of seven women and five men yesterday in Criminal Court heard the parents, both injured in the accident, tell of the tragedy that occurred while a group of six were standing in a safety zone waiting for a streetcar. “My wife, the nursemaid, Ruby Minnix, holding the hands of the two older children, Betty, 8, and Ralph, 7; myself, with Barbara in my arms, and another woman were waiting for a car,” Harold Condit, the father, testified. “I saw the machine coming a block away. It was in the center of the street. When it got almost to the zone, it suddenly cut in, as though to pass to the right. “Then it straightened out and came through the zone, knocking us all down. Barbara was thrown from my arms and I was knocked down. I never saw my child alive after that.” Nurse Saves Two Mr. Condit, still suffering from the injuries received in the accident walked to the stand supported by a crutch. He said Miss Minnix saved the two older children by hurling them from the path of the oncoming car. Mrs. Condit was unable to give any details concerning the accident. She said she was knocked uncon-

scious and did not regain conscious- |

‘Firemen Don Asbestos ‘Suits to Fight Blaze

ness until three days later. The State's star witness, Edwin Walker, a taxicab driver, of «459 Highland Ave. gave an eyewitness account of the accident and told of a 60-mile-an-hour chase that ended with the arrest of Mrs. Davis. Mrs. Davis has denied being the driver of the hit-and-run machine.

CARDOZO “UNCHANGED” WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (U. P.) — Dr. J. P. Earnest Jr. reported today that the condition of Associate Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo is “unchang

$100,000 Gift Accepted For City Cancer Clinic

A new cancer clinic is to be in

machine, will be installed in the

operation at City Hospital about| new hospital wing, now under con-

today fol-

of an ordinance accepting a gift left to the City by ® the late | Kathryn Cones Patrick. . The Council passed the ordinance under suspension of rules, It re.

vides for allocation of the |e the clinic. The gift, Cons er

eral months ago by Edin 1. Bat rick, husband of Mrs. Patrick

trustee of the estate, ee

memory of Mrs. Patrick's p Constantine B. and Mary L. Cone: According to the ordinance, | 000 is to be made available imme diately for the purchase of ‘eq ment for the clinic, whic

JY UR

cupy Ward B32 a Oly 3 It was und

Authorities said they feared the deaths might finally total 25. Twenty per sons were in the hospital, seve eral of them in serious condition. Church bells roused the towne folk to the worst disaster in St, Hyacinth's history shortly after a workman discovered the fire at 2 a. m, Hundreds hurried to the scene and stood helpless, unable to approach near enough the blazing east wing to aid the fire-blocked corridors.

After the fire was brought under control the hysteria continued— among grief-crazed parents whose sons were among the missing. The children who escaped did so by leaping from windows or scrambling down the fire escape, many of them falling the four stories to the frozen ice-coated ground.

Priests went among the more seriously injured boys administering the last rites of the church while nuns from the nearby convent attempted to console bereaved pare ents.

Those who escaped without injury were exposed in their night clothes to bitter cold. It was eight degrees below zero.

Fire Cause Unknown

Officials believed the fire started in one of the dormitories, but the cause was not learned. Boys sleeping in the east wing awoke to find themselves surrounded by flames. In the panic which followed many were crushed and left unconscious in the burning building. Many were pushed from the fire escape landing by the pressure of straining bodies from behind. Volunteers aided police, firemen and church officials in the search for bodies in the smoldering debris. Survivors not in need of hospital care were taken to a building at the convent where a check of the dead and missing was started. An improvised morgue was set up in a barn. At St. Charles Hospital doctors and nurses administered first aid and performed emergency operations.

Four Priests Missing

Among the most seriously injured was Brother Alexis, 27, of Woon= socket, R. I. His name before taking holy orders was Tessier, Four priests were missing. As each body was removed from the ruin, it was carried to the emergency morgue where attempts, often futile, were made to establish ist identity. Many were so burned that authorities said identification would be possible only by process of elimination.

KILGORE, Tex., Jan. 18 (U. P). —Home-town firemen, wearing as bestos suits, edged in on a blazing oil well in the center of the business district early today and extinguished it while National Guardsmen restrained onlookers. Several buildings were destroyed at a loss of more than $130,000; bile lowing flames were reaching 200 feet into the air and a worse dis aster was threatening when Fire Chief Jess Pool and his men took over the fight. He clad himself and four assistants in asbestos suits, lined up dozens of men to play streams of water on them “is they approached the blazing geyser, and then, worke ing in rotation, one man at a time they advanced with a shovel to dig. Within 30 minutes they completed a trench to a pit surrounding the burning well.