Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 May 1939 — Page 1

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VOLUME 51-—-NUMBER 52

The Indianapolis Times

FORECAST: Fair tonight and tomorrow; cooler tonight.

THURSDAY, MAY

11 Missing in Blast at Chicago Elevator

Times Telephoto,

Somewhere in these ruing 11 men are believed to have perished today in a grain elevator fre.

EXPLOSIO

N ROCKS |

MILE-SQUARE AREA

100 Pieces Fire Fighting Apparatus Called;

{

Flames Seen in Loop 12 Miles Distant;

Damage Put as H

CHICAGO, May

igh as $1,000,000.

11 (U. P)).—Eleven persons were be-

lieved to have been killed today in a fire and explosion which destroved a huge grain elevator and shook a mile-

square area of Chicago's industrial South Side. Ihe 11 still were missing

hi hours after four other eriti-|

cally burned emplovees had been removed to South Chicago!

hospital. Fire Marshal Mich

ael J. Corrigan said he was.

convineed the missing men had perished in the flames.

An almost City-wide alarm called 100 pieces of fire fightapparatus and 400 fivemen to the scene but intense heat from the burning grain prevented effective operations. A stiff breeze from off Dake Michfgan further hampered their efforts One pumper truck which pulled up to was caught beneath Eight Firemen Injured

only fire met Ri er Able to get ter on the At least med by them critically Damage estimates £800 .000 placed by H. Van Dyke, office manager for the owners. Rosenbaum Brothers, to more than a n dollars placed by First

building falling wall

close the

boats plying the Caluthe elevator were enough to play wa.

beside

“1

firemen

walls

inim

were one

elgnt

erumbling

ranged from

million Deputy Fire Marshal Anthony Mulfaney. Mr. Van Dyke said more than 800.000 bushels of grain was stored in the three elevators He said the company carried 42 emplovees on the regular payroll Hut he was unable to estimate how many of the number were working when the blast rocked the South Side industrial district about midmorning. Four in Hospital tdentified

About half whatever force was on duty at the time would have been in Elevator A, where the ex- | plosion originated.” he said | Four of those taken to the hosal were identified as David Mayr-| 27, Clifford Oberg. 31. Frank! 27; Clifford Oberg. 31: Frank employees, | Mr. Marvin and Mr. Oberg were not | expected to survive, hospital attaches (Continved on Page Three) |

TEST OF BINGO BAN | FAILS TO MATERIALIZE

Plans to operate a bingo game “eo force a test of the validity of the Safety Boards ban failed to mae rerialize last night Members of the Bingo Overators'| Association, who had planned the! rame, sald they were “unable to get a hail”® Managers of several places where operators have been meeting refused to rent the Association space alter It announced the “test game” Roy Grow of Rushville, assoeiac! von secretary, said that more than 17000 Indianapolis bingo players! have signed petitions seeking have the ban lifted. Boyce Eidson.! "12 Day St, sociation.

Pt vin vin a

i i

to 8 Is president of the as- bert Clements of making an [trates

SAYS MATE DIED OF ‘LOVE POTION'

Wife Is Arraigned as 24 Are Grilled in Mass Murder Syndicate.

PHILADELPHIA, Mav 11 (U.P) | —An arsenic widow accused of complicity in her husband's death at the hands of the Philadelphia murder syndicate protested at her arraighment today that she innocently fed him a “love potion” furnished by a

[confessed woman leader of the ring

Meantime, 24 suspected wholesale murderers were herded into two police stations for mass grillings Their screams and shouts of “liar” could be heard in the streets Later six of the 24 were arraigned | in three different courts as new evidence confirmed belief of investigators that the syndicate operated branches along the Northeastern Seaboard Mrs, Josephine told of the “love potion.” issued through her attorney a statement that she was a believer in “hex” But was not a murderess, Thirteen of the 24 in the mass grilling were women whose husbands were the prey of this most widespread and ruthless eriminal conspiracy of recent times. Most had confessed to one or more murders; one man had confessed 21.) Several had tried to kill themselves | and others had babbled out confessions in horrifying detail. An announcement by the district] attorney's office that his mass ques tioning of all prisoners was a pre-| jude to a mass trial and a mass) execution put the prisoners in a freney. . ! District Attorney Charles F. Kel- | ley hoped that by bringing the prisoners race to race, some would break | down and supply more details of the! conspiracy, and reveal the leader.

TEST CASE FILED ON |

‘SPEEDTRAPS’ LAW

Romualde who

An appeal testing the constitu- | tionality of the new 1939 law prohibiting constables from aking traffic arrests without a warrant, was filed in the Indiana Supreme | Court today. | The appeal, filed by Prosecutor! Arthur Scheer, South Bend, was) from a ruling of the South Bend | rior Court which quashed an| affidavit accusing Constable HerArrest under the new law,

| automobile on an

RATA NAMED TO |

Triangle

Youth Says Rival for Girl's Hand Sought To Kill Him.

AIRFAX, Va, May ii (U. BP). |

—A bizarre story of rivalry in love was unfolded by police today who accused one of two suit- | ors of a pretty 19-year-old girl of | trying to dispose of his rival by | having him killed by a speeding express train Douglas Goodnough, 27. a paint- | er, was held without bond on a charge of assault and attempted

| murder on Blair Cupp, 22, a WPA

worker. Cupp accused Goodnough of attempting to force him at

isolated grade crossing while an express train | approached at 80 miles an hour. Cupp jumped {rom the car, however, because “I would rather be shot than mangled by a train,” he told police. Goodnough shot | at him, he said, but missed. | The automobile was completely | wrecked, and railroad officials said only a “miracle” prevented the train from being derailed.

i | i

STATE LIQUOR JB Succeeds Morton on State

Beverage Commission.

Harry C. Fenton, secretary of the State Republican Committee from

1925 to 1937, today was appointed WAS the most important pronounce-| dent Roosevelt

by Governor Townsend as a member

of the State Alcoholic Beverage months. Its publication in Tavestia | js considering further steps to be|

Commission He takes the place of Gaviord Morton, whe died Saturday. Mr. Fenton, who lives at 438 E. Fall Creek Blvd. was removed from the State Republican post during a factional fight in

vears ago. Born at Crawfordsville, posals made by Britain and France: | its | last-minute effort to save the Ap-|

he was graduated from Wabash

| | pistol point to remain in a stalled | 1 1

RUSSIANS URGE

STATE MINERS | FORREOPENING

11, 1939

AWAIT ORDERS

President Still Hopeful as Negotiators Work to Save Parley.

Wrst co tii

COAL SITUATION AT A GLANCE INDIANA==Miners await Lewis’ word to resume work. WASHINGTON President hopeful; Perkine inquires into U. 8. powers for breaking deadlock,

NEW YORK-=Negotiators strive to avert conference collapse,

TERRE HAUTE, May 11 (U. P). «Indications grew today that Ine diana soft coal miners will return to their jobs within a day or two, ending the walkout which began May 5 and averting a coal famine

in large cities throughout the state. Harvey Courtright, District 11 op-| erators’ head, said this morning that | operators would meet as soon as ible to discuss the request of] , John R. Steelman, Federal | mediator in the negotiations be«| tween Appalachian bituminous op- | erators and United Mine Worker's in | New York, that individual operators sign individual contracts with the union. This proposal was reportedly | sanctioned by John L. Lewis, UM W. president. Await Notice From Lewis Charles Funeannon, president of U. M. W. District 11 said, however, that no official notice had been re- | celved from Mr. Lewis regarding |

| { | |

Hoosier part of the strike.

in effect in Indiana for some time.

Mr. Courtright recently pointed this

A-POWER PACT

FOREIGN SITUATION MOSCOW = British-Frenchs Soviet-Polish treaty asked. LONDON == Chamberlain says Danzig coup means war. PARIS—Spain threatens break relations. WARSAW-Government hints end of trade pact with Nagis. BERLIN—Expoiis to Southeast Europe rise. BUCHAREST Britain and Rumania sign trade treaty. ” » ” SHANGHAI--Chinese reported trapped. COLUMBIA, Mo.—Stomachache may start war, Webb Miller says (Page Six).

division

MOSCOW. May 11 (U. P).-—Rus= sia has proposed a four-power pact of mutual assistance, to include

{Great Britain, France, Poland and, | Russia, as the most effective means |

of guaranteeing European security, it was disclosed today. Alternatively, Russia proposed a three-power pact including Britain, France and Russia which would bind them to mutual assistance, on the principle of reciprocity, and would guarantee the security of other states of Eastern and Central Europe. Russia makes its proposals on the ground that Fuehrer Hitler's denunciation of treaties with Britain and Poland, and the Germans Italian military pact, has altered the entire European situation and makes the prompt creation of a united “peace front” imperative. The proposals were disclosed (oday in an editorial in Izvestia, the official Government newspaper. It ment of Russian policy in many demonstrated that it was a econ« sidered statement of the Governe ment's position at a moment when Russia was the key country in “security front” efforts.

Izvestia complained that there was | the party two ho element of reciprocity in pro-| |

that Russia, because of

out to Mr. Lewis, requesting that Indiana miners be allowed to return to work. Any agreement by which Indiana mines may be reopened will effect approximately 5000 miners. Ale though the union has 9800 mems= bers in the state, only about half that number have been employed during recent months.

Small Town Payrolls Hurt

sighing of individual contracts. As soon as this notice has been re«| y : Tis y ceived. he indicated, the way will| judgment todsy on Louis Green-|all real estate listed in the petitions that were granted.” be open for quick settlement of the | field, who chloroformed his imbecilic | [son, Jerome, Miners in Terre Haute expressed | the opinion that there would be lit | tle difficulty in obtaining an agree- | ment since the point of contention | between Appalachian operators and | the union-—the closed shop--has been |

The strike left numerous small

The coal walkout has not

operators were able to build up a period preceeding the shutdown. Michael Scollard, speaking for dicated that an early agreement was expected which would permit

strip miners to return to work also

Perkins Seeks Extent Of U. S. Power to Act

WASHINGTON, May 11 (U. P) | Attorney General Murphy said to-! |day that Labor Secretary Perkins {has asked his opinion on Govern j ment powers to deal with the stop- | page of coal mining, Mr. Murphy declined to discuss! | details of his discussion of the legal | Phase of the coal deadlock except to (say that he had not given Miss | Perking a formal legal opinion of | | the Government's powers, He said that he had not been | |asked to participate in discussions | | seeking to solve the coal deadlock | {and denied that the question of | | Government operation of the bituminous mines had been raised durjing his conference with Miss Perkins Mr. Murphy's statement came after the White House said Presi«| is still hopeful of | | settlement of the coal deadlock but |

i i

Negotiators Work To Save Conference

taken in event mining is not re]

sumed.

NEW YORK, May 11 (U P) =A

College. His new position pays $5200 geographical position would have to palachian joint wage-hour confer

a year

My. Morton had served as a Re«

Commission since early in 1037.

(bear the brunt of any fighting in aid of Poland and Rumania

(Continued on Page Three)

A today was acclaimed as the vietim.

lence as the bargaining organization |

but | for labor and management in Eastpublican member of the Beverage would get no pledge of aid if she ern soft coal fields was made today and another at 38th and Meridian

(Continued on Page Three)

Quick-Thinking Former Butler Halfback Credited With Saving Life of 10-Year-Old Traffic Victim

FORMER Shortridge High School and Butler University halfback

savior of an eight-year-old traffic

The hero was John Compton, Jr, 26, of 3110 N. Capitol Ave. The child was Phyllis Viola, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George

Viola of 3205 N. Capitol Ave.

“I can't get up,” the girl screamed late yesterday as she lay in jured in the street near her home. Her sister, Christine, 10, saw her struck. There were other on lookers, too, but all apparently were so horrified by the sight of the

accident that they were unabre to

Mr. Compton, accompanied by his mother, drove by.

act, He halted

his car and rushed to the childs aid. He carried her to the porch of

her home.

Phyllis’ leg was broken and she was bleeding profusely. Mr. Comp

ton wrapped a handkerchief tightly around her leg to stop the bleed ing Until a physician arrived on the City Hospital ambulance. The girl was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital. Her condition was

described today as serious. Phyllis had run into the side Mitude C. MeInti

of an automobile driven by Mrs.

re, of 6415 Riverside Drive. took a Red Cross life-saving course and for four

years was a guard at the berger Park pool, where he rescued ihree

small reserve during the two weeks'|

FIVE

producers operating strip mines in« |

Entered as Second-Class at Postoffice, Indianapoli

FINAL HOME

Matter s, Ind.

PRICE THREE CENTS

‘| Loved Him

JURY TO STUDY MERCY SLAYING

12 Parents to Decide Fate 0f Man Who Killed Imbecilic Son.

NEW YORK, May 11 (U. P) = Seven men and five women, all but! one parents of healthy children, pass |

after watching him suffer for 16 vears. It had been brought home to each that this broken and prematurely | old man of 45 had suffered a trag-| edy of nature that might have happened to any of them. From the witness stand yesterday, Greenfield told them that he, like they, had been full of high hopes for his first and only child of his, that “my first thought after the boy was born was to give him the education I had missed,” but that he had been forced to watch the boy grow into a senseless “lump of flesh.” who at the age of 16 could Rot walk, talk, dress or feed himself. It was within the province of the jurors to conviet him of mane slaughter. the punishment for which | is up to 20 years imprisonment. Both | state and defense had rested and] the case was going to the jury after | closing arguments and the court's | instruetions.

GENT CHEAPER BEER 1S PREDICTED

Brewers, However, Point to

| “td

|' Tax Board member, said.

2299

STATE ORDERS PIECES OF

LAND REVALUE

sama—

New Assessments Asked for 1940 Tax Purposes as Board Grants All but 68 of 2327 Petitions Seeking Eight Million Cut.

MOVE WILL ENTAIL HEAVY EXPENSE

Increase in General County Levy Seen as Necessary Counterbalance to Any

Reduction

Effected.

By NOBLE REED The State Tax Board today ordered reassessment of

OO =

poses. The order was made on

cial hearings two weeks ago.

ago.

9 parcels of Marion County real estate for 1940 tax pur

the petitions of the property

‘owners who appeared individually before the Board at spe

The Board denied only 68 of

the original 2327 petitions for reassessment filed six weeks

The petitions granted asked a total of more than $8,000,000 reduction in property valuations. “This does not mean that assessments on these proper ties will be reduced by $8,000,000,” Marshall Williams, State

“It ship assessors have been ord

merely means that the towns ered to make reappraisals of

Board members explained that the reappraisals wera

they were not needed.

|ordered because there was no evidence presented to show

“The only evidence we had was that given by property

TRIAL SPEEDED

Signed Name to City Brick | Claim as Accommodation, |sroup of taxpayers created a dis

Businessman Says.

A purported statement by a Kokomo businessman that he had permitted a city official to use his name in filing a claim against the city was read into evidence today in the Federal Court trial of 11 former | Kokomo City and WPA officials. The defendants are accused by the Government of conspiring to defraud the government through the use of WPA labor on private jobs. Eleven

WPA workers told of being |

KOKOMO FRAUD |

owners themselves, all of whom protested at recent hearings that valuations were too high,” Mr. Williams said.

The hearing procedure in the State House brought criticisms from hundreds of taxpayers who had to wait in line for several hours over a two-day period merely to give their names and addresses and verify verbally their petition requests. Angered by the procedure, one turbance and a fist-fight was nare rowly averted. The State Board summoned

James Cunningham, Center Township assessor, to give an estimate

{on the cost of reassessment. Most of

the petitions for reappraisals are for Center Township. It was believed that the cost of the reassessing will run high. The State Board, after receiving an esti« mate, will approve a special appro= priation out of county funds for the work Average Rate $2.24

If the reappraisals should reduce

{instructed to haul used brick, owned | property valuations to half of the |by George Mix, former assistant | amounts asked in the petitions, it

Reduction of beer retail prices from 15 to 10 cents a bottle in some sections of Indiana may result from the new open competitive policy on wholesale permits, Hugh A. Barnhart, State Excise Administrator, said today. The Alcoholic Beverages Commis= sion will issue the first wholesale ermits under the State's revamped liquor laws next Monday. The 1939 beer amendments removed the limit on the number of wholesalers in each county. “Through open among wholesalers it may be pos- | sible that price adjustments can|

competition

| be made between the retailers and today.

wholesalers, and reduce the price to consumers,” he said. The Indiana Brewers Associa-| tion, however, reported its members would not contemplate any | price reductions to wholesalers. “The present heavy tax will prohibit any price adjustments among brewers in the state,” Harold Feightner, association secretary, said. OFFICER SUSPENDED HERE Patrolman Thomas McCormick was suspended from the police force today “pending further action.” Chief Morrissey announced. The suspension followed an accident between Mr. McCormick's private auto

Sts. last night, the Chief said.

| Bureau said today. Cooler tempera-

|there will be a light frost on low

{submitting claims for brick sold to

City engineer, from two razed fac-| tory buildings to a vacant lot where other WPA workers cleaned them before they were sold to the City.

Tell of Hauling Bricks

Earlier Government witneses in the trial, which was opened Monday, told of hauling brick from other razed builidngs, and of WPA workers repairing a concrete mixer and other equipment owned by a WPA supervisor who then rented the equipment to the city. District Attorney Val Nolan meanwhile was knitting the loose ends of his testimony in the hope of being able to rest his case late Testimony of defense wit-| nesses is expected to continue into | next week. The statement read to the jury was presented during the testimony of Joseph Ryszelesky, WPA investigator, who said he had obtained it from Thomas C. Heady, president of the Sumption-Heady-Hunt Co, Kokomo. In the statement, read over the protest of defense attorneys, Mr, Heady, one of the defendants, allegedly admitted agreeing to permit Mix to use his (Heady's) name in

the city in July, 1938. Check Enters Testimony

It described how Mix and Mel Good, former city clerk and also a defendant, met Heady at the Elks Club a few days later and gave him a $600 city check made out to him. Heady, according to the statement, said he cashed the check and gave the money to Mix. Mr. Heady, according to the statement, said he had no idea he was doing anything wrong in permitting use of his name, that he had asked Good about it and was told there was nothing wrong about it, and that he merely considered it an accommodation to an old customer. Earlier it had been testified that (Continued on Page Three) FROST IS SCHEDULED | WITH MERCURY DIP

LOCAL TEMPERATURES a.m... 58 10 a.m... 62 Tam. 3 11a. m. ., 62 Sam... 5M 12 (noon). 63 9am... 60 1pm... 66

The weather will remain fair tonight and tomorrow, the Weather

tures were predicted for tomorrow, The forecasters said that tonight

ground in the northern section of

would mean an increase of about 2 cents on all county tax rates to make up the valuation loss. Using $2.24 as the average rate of all county units, a valuation cut of four million dollars would mean a loss of about $90,000 in collectible taxes next year. If all the reduce tions were made in Center Township property the tax loss would be about $134,000 in that township. Meanwhile, the State Board cone tinued deliberations on 5383 peti« tions for property reappraisals in other counties. Reductions asked by petitions in all 92 counties totaled $17,808,000. The reassessment problem has ree sulted from the fact that there has been no appraisal of real estate for tax purposes since 1932. A law passed by the 1935 Legislature abolished the plan of appraising real estate every four years.

Reassessment Expensive

This law delegated to the State Board the authority to fix the year for property reappraisals depending upon current conditions. The Board however, has never ordered a general reassessment because of the heavy expense, Philip Zoercher, State Tax Board chairman, said a general reassessment of real estate cannot be ore dered for next year because of the presidential election and an order probably will be issued for the work in 1941.

STOCKS SNAP BACK AFTER EARLY SLUMP

NEW YORK, May 11 (U. P) Stocks snapped back to within a fractional range of the previous close as the list staged a rally in midsession dealings today. Trading picked up. In early trading, the list had de clined fractionally. All sections par= ticipated in the recovery.

TIMES FEATURES ON INSIDE PAGES

17| Sta ths.. 11 18 Wij eens 8

Autos ... Books Broun .... Comics

ERE

Grin, Bear It. In Indpls. ... Jane Jordan. .

Saree