Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 December 1942 — Page 1

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VOLUME 53—NUMBER 253

umor of Jail Roomers Puts Petit in Ill Humor

W ill Montague Bunk In? No; Will Hospital Be A Clubroom? No!

By EDWIN C. HEINKE

= IS OT PETIT (our new sheriff) going to run a rooming house at the-jail or isn’t he? Is Stanton Montague, Mr. Petit’s energetic chief deputy, going to bunk in with the boss, or isn’t he? Is the residence at the jail ready to fall apart, or is it a good, mfortable place in which to live? Did Mr. Petit ask for $2000 with which to fix up the living quarters or is he just going {0 spend a few dollars, repapering and tidying up after the movers? ‘Did Al Feeney (the present sheriff) train Mr. Petit’s help, or has he ignored Mr, Petit’s plea co-operation. the county commissioners " to take over the hospital t of the jail and make thenigs a little club house, a little szvous * to ‘steal. away from

JUMOR, rumor. rumor. They're up: the bucket, filling it to , laglling - out - generladling lavishly. They're dy immersing that fine old limestone building built ago. y don't quit ladling, the

' depending upon who is when the good ship is Otto Petit “Tes going to be epochal meeting tomorrow night at the stroke ‘midnight when Ot walks in and Al walks out. But the above “may. not. be ‘answered at‘least until the new sheriff is in or several months,

IST10N

MR. PETIT indignantly denies he’s going to run a rooming house. “I don’t know who made that .erack, Al Feeney or someone else,” said the sheriff-elect, “He never made it to me, so I don't kKhow. All I know is someone dela me it was Al

© «I want to state here miphat- % oJeally-that Stanton Montague and.

his family are not ‘going to move in’ with me, Teports to ire contrary. ” *I never made that erat ‘torted Sheriff Feeney. “All I know is that I've helped to train Mr. Petit’s men and I wish him a successful administration.” “I'm breaking in five of his men, training a matron, working his chief deputy and a desk man, also a couple of secretaries of his are getting experience.” “What?” exclaimed Mr. Petit, indignantly, when informed of this. “Well, I'm just not making any statement about that at all. I just won't say a thing.”

Al Feeney

No Comment?

SAID SHERIFF FEENEY: “He certainly ought to comment. I've certainly helped him out.” And queried on the rumors about the commissioners’ little + nook, Sheriff Feeney said: “Ridiculous! I've heard that before. But Petit is too smart a police officer to do anything like that. When this rumor came in, Mr. Petit couldn't be reached. He's still dodging dissappointed office seekers. And about the $2000. Sheriff Feeney says the county commissioners themselves said Mr. Petit asked for $2000. “I did not,” said Mr. Petit indignantly again. “All I will say about the jail residence is that it doesn't’ look good to me. It’s rin down. I've got to clean it up. It needs re~papering. But $2000. No, never.”

Quote Huh! Unquote

“HUH,” said Sheriff Feeney, after a visit by Addison J. Parry, presidegt, and other county council members last Tuesday, “I guess the county council didn’t think the place was in such a run down condition, after all.” Sheriff Feeney said he “enjoyed living at the residence and always thought the home was pretey nice. ” He has papered all the rooms al his own expense, furnished them with venetian blinds, laid linoleum on the floors and generally refurbished everything else, he said. But, Sheriff Feeney wound up ~With— “A lot of guys around Ot Petit, guys like Ot Ray (another exsheriff), hate me and I suppose they pass it on to Ot Petit. Ot himself is all right. He's o. k.” ‘He meant Petit, not Ray. “Mr. Petit said: = | : ad “Don’t you get us two sheriffs a in a fight the last night. When ett ves» 12] Mr. Feeney walks out at the end 3 a 71 of “his term, I want to be his ; IBF ness 13 Friend and I want him to be my e: It’s going to be epochal meeting tomorrow night at the stroke of midnight when Ot walks in and Al walks out. But the ahove

lerks, typists and stenographers s state health, welfare and ent security departments,

tomorrow will be started at 3 salary of $100 a month, W, Leonard Johnson, state personnel di- ,.- announced. The present salary for such employees

. Johnson said that the raises would affect several hundred peog and that they were being grantp keep employees from leaving enable the personnel board

said that some such employees are now getting $90 or $95 a - were ‘being raised to more 100 because it would not be : pay these older employees 8 same salary as that paid those| started work only a week or ago. There has been no change in the -month maximum for these jons, the personnel board diadded.

S REACH 1%42 HIGH

YORK, Dec. 31 (U. P.). — sached the highest general

year today and then backed irregularly on pre-holiday 4 Kl NE

Jane. Jordan... 5 Kidney Men in Service 10

?

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1942

Entered as Second-Class Matter a. Postoffice, Indianapolis, Tod. Issued daily «cept Sunday.

COUNTIES WILL GET TAX FROM WAR INDUSTRY

Agreement Reached Here To Place DPC Property

On Duplicates.

By EARL RICHERT

An - agreement. which will place between $40,000,000 and $50,000,000 worth of defense plant corporation} property on. the tax duplicates of various Indiana counties as of March 1, 1943, has been reached by the state tax board and DPC officials. The agreement, reached at a conference at the statehouse, will raise the total assessed valuation of all property in the state about 1 per cent. This, according to Henry S. Murray, tax board chairman, would be the equivalent to a 3 to 4-cent reduction in the tax rates in the various counties in which the DPC property is located.

May Not Cut Taxes

It wes pointed out, however, that the addition of the DPC property to the tax rolls does not necessarily mean a reduction in the tax rates. That depends upon the size of the budgets of the various governmental units and changes in other assessed valuations. But all other

ment should make possible a reduction in tax rates, it was said.

‘man Earl Wilson's story that 100,000

questions may not be answered at

Mr. Murray said that by the terms’ of the agreement approximately $8,000,000 worth of DPC plant property would be added to the tax duplicates as of March 1, 1942. Taxes on these assessments will be payable during the coming year vhile taxes on the assessments made in March, 1943, will not be payable until 1944. DPC to Pay Tages EN “The tax board chairman sald that only the buildings and grounds of the DPC pro will be assessed, Under the: charter of the defense plant corporation, personal property sich as machinery cannot be taxed. The taxes will be paid by the DPC itself and not by the léssees. The amount to be placed on the fax duplicates this year is only $8,000,000 because construction of most of the plants involved was just beginning last March 1. 7 The agreement pertains only to defense plants constructed by the - (Continued on Page Two)

HUGE PEPPER BUY FOR GAMP DENIED

Officer Says Amount Ordered Was Reasonable.

Lieut. Wesley Jones, public relations officer at Camp Atterbury, today answered Republican Congress-

pounds of black pepper had been purchased for the camp with the following statement: “A blanket order for a quantity far less than stated was placed, to be shipped as ordered over a period of time. Shipments are not excessive for the requirements of the camp.” It was explained that the exact amount of pepper ordered from the B. A. Railton Co. at Chicago could not be disclosed because from those figures it might be possible for enemy agents to figure out the stréngth of the camp. However, at Chicago, W. E. Wholihan, president of the B. A. Railton Co., also denied the congressman's story and gave specific figures concerning the shipment. “The order is for 10,000 pounds of imitation black pepper,” he said, “end it is to go tc all the army camps in Indiana. So far, we have supplied 1000 pounds. I don’t kiow where this man gets his figures because there isn’t 100,000 pounds of black pepper in the whole country.” Congressman Wilson had said he

der to “proper authorities” in Waihington. He said he had checked the facts concerning the reported order and asserted that it was more than enough pepper t0 feed the entire army for the duration.

WHEEL ER PROPOSES LEND-LEASE PROBE

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (U, P).— Congressional action to place a tight checkrein on lend-lease expenditures—ncw on virtual blank-check basis—wais predicted today by Senator Burton ‘K. Wheeler (D.-Mont.). Senator Wheeler, a leading prePearl Harbor non-interventionist, told reporters that demands would be made in the new congress for an investigation of lend-lease activities, and said he understood that Senator. Hutles (R. Neb.) w

things remaining equal, the agree-|

southwest: of Stalingtad was in imL.minent - danger of collapse “today |

sians had driven 15 miles down the

‘Rostov-on-Don, gateway to the

intended to refer the reported or-|.

Morrissey to Resign From Force Today

The Indianapolis Times learned today that Pclice Chief Michael PF. Morrissey will resign from the Indianapolis police department some time this afternoon. The resignation will be accepted by the outgoing safety board and the 44-year-old chief will be placed on a pension status. Chief Morrissey, reported to be in

line for a captaincy under the new

administration, could not be reached for comment, but reports were that he was prompted by his long-known

desire to engage actively in some

phase of the war effort. Served 21 Years The picturesque Morrissey has served more than 21 years as a police, officer, the last 12 of them as chief. He became chief at the age of 32, after nine years on the force. marked by daring work as a motorcycle policeman, and later as a lieutenant in charge of the gambling squad. - In the latter post, he won frequent commendation for the raids he staged, some of them spectacular one-man affairs. He was promoted to chief in.1931 following the death of Jerry Kin(Continued on Page Two)

LONG NAZI LINE MAY GOLLAPSE

Russians Reach Elista and Rich Voroshilovgrad Mining District. . MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (U..P.),—Germany’s entire front south . and

before an irresistible Red 3 which in 48 hours of unbrok vances at lightning speed is thousands of square miles of terri-

tory and seemed at the point of capturing Elista, capital of the Kalmyk republic, The official newspaper Izvestia reported that Germany has thrown crack troops into the middle Don country in a desperate attempt to stop the Russians and that one Alpine - division already has been shattered. Many inhabited places in the northeastern part of the rich industrial and mining district of Voroshilovgrad in the Ukraine, 50 miles west of the Rostov-Moscow railroad and 160 miles southeast of Kharkov, had been liberated.

Nazi Units Fragmented

The noon communique reported resistance’ only-by individual German units, broken into fragments, through which the Red army continued to drive. , Within the last 24 hours the Rus

railroad from captured Kotelnikovski, they had captured 11 towns and two district centers and had driven to within nine miles of Elista, 110 miles southeast of Kotelnikovski, and were in position to swing round their left wing in a direct drive for

Caucasus. ‘War spoils in enormous quantities and great variety were falling into Russian hands, from tanks and big guns to rifles, horses and cattle.

IT IS 1943 ALREADY FOR SOME U. S. UNITS

AUCKLAND,‘ New Zealand, Jan. 1, 1943 (U. P.).—The New. Year flashed across the . international dafeline today to United States forces in the far Pacific while people in the eastern United States were going to work yesterday and those in the West were still asleep. Jan. 1, 1943, came to the British Tonga or Friendly islands at 6:40

Michael F. Morrissey . . .

base ‘of: Tripoli, adding to. the peril directions.

a day of increased military and political activity in- thé African theater of war, Other develope

axis Le Sih ok 6 r- the Arsttime ir

aircraft fire permitted the planes to drop only a’ limited number of bombs. 2. The German official news agency admitted that patrols from the British eighth ‘army were operating south of Sipoll. indicating Gen. ‘Montgomery might have oy another. flanking movement around the retreating Afrika Korps. The Germans claimed the British unit was: defeated and its. commander captured.

175 Miles Away

3. Authoritative’ London quarters said that the main eighth army had driven to within 175 miles of Tripoli from the west. 4. A long-missing Fighsing French column, including planes. and motorized equipment. was revealed to be. in southern Libya, only about 450 miles ‘southgof Tripoli after an advance from the Lake Chad area. Americans Slash: Close to Gabes

5.-:An American tank and tototized’ infantry. unit was’ reported. to have cut to within 40 miles of Gabes, in Tunisia, threatening axis communications between - Tripoli ‘and Tunisia: There was no confirmation -of ‘the action here, and observers were inclined to believe it might

pedition.

6. A Cairo: communique said aerial activity "in ~ Tripolitania had increased and that allied fighters attached to the British eighth army had shot down eight German Messerschmitts without loss.

ORDER NEWSPRINT USE CTT WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (U. P).— The war production board, aciing on a recommendation of its newspaper ‘advisory committee, today ordered 1943 consumption of newsprint cut back to the amount that was used to meet net paid circtlations in 1941. This will have the effect of reducing ‘consumption: an average of 10 per cent below cur-

a. m. Dec. 31 (Indianapolis time).

rent levels.

now have the sea at their back: and ‘are under pressure

Announcement of the new bulwark’ io the allied cause Ci x

be nothing more than a ‘scouting ex-|.

wants a part in war effor:

Tripoli Threatened From Sides by Allied Advc ices

LONDON, Dec. 31 (U. P.)—A long-missing French desert ported today that-it was advancing from the south on the hi: German

‘orece re-

of ‘axis forces in North A ca which 71 ym three

during ® o

On the War Fonts

(Dec; 31, 1942)

; LimdssTa soviet forces, pushing 50

‘miles: west of . Rostov -1oscow, "railroad, reach Elista, now. are in position for direct ive oh Rostoy. ‘key: to’ ‘the Caucus,

NORTH AFRICA. “Gera: 2 csition becomes ‘increasingly | -tcarious as British patrols operatc south of Tripoli; American tank ec motorized unit threatens sxis communications between Tr:poli and Tunisia in drive towa:! Gabes; Fighting French. column. 450 miles south of Tripoli. A: is bombs Casablanca. BURMA—British bombers Akyab. . SOUTHWEST PACIFI (Light tanks and ground force: narrow Japanese beach head n Buna sector of New Guinea. (War Moves Today, Page Iive; U. 8. + Commuttiques, Page Three)

GIRAUD ARREST: 12, HINTS MURDER PLOT

‘No

sid axis

Attempt w Sol French’ Tolerate,

By C. R. CUNNING IAM United Press’ Staff Corresp: ncent ALLIED ' HEADQUART FES IN NORTH AFRICA, Dec. 3.. -No attempts ‘to- divide the Frenc: people in North: Africa will be tcl rated, a communique issued from tac office of Gen. Henri Honore (iiraud,

- | French high commissioner, sid to-|

day. The ‘communique follower an announcement by Giraud 1::: night that 12 prominent Frenciu en had been. arrested as a preventi e measure. Giraud said he belicy 2c. there might be attempts to &asassinate him and Robert: Murphy, . merican diplomatic envoy to North 1d West Africa. : The communique, explail ing that st*ps had been taken to ins irz tranquility ‘behind the fight: 2g lines, said most persons had accepted re{Continued on Page '[ FO) sik

New Owner Takes Over Claypool Hotel

Indianapolis’ oldest hotel, the Claypool, will become a part of the National Hotel Co. at midnight tonight. - Winthrop P. Younger, general manager of the hotel company, t0- me: day announced completion of the : transaction to’ take over the ownership and managerial part of the Claypool. Only necessary changes will -be made in the hotels physical makeup: for ‘the ww duration, Mr. AY oul Younger "sa nr. extens

will be the same, with Thaddeus E. Snodgrass ‘remaining as manager, Regarding reports that the landmark would. be taken over by the government ‘for housing service men, Mr. Younger said that “if they. had been considering it, we would have known something about

lit. Those things don’t happen

overnight.” Mr. Younger stated that the Claypool would be run as in the past, with-a coneerted effort being made to make it “a civic ‘and social center ‘of the community.” It Is already included in the com.- | Dallas

At Midnight as Part of National Chain

rooms. The personnel 1.mbers about 400. The National Hotel Co, . part of the ‘Moody interests of "cas, is} the largest group ' of nd v dually owned hotels in the countyy 1ving 35 hotels in 11 states. The . Claypool was buili in 1008 by Henry Lawrence. A tr his death it was managed by 1s who died in 1937. Wadhuo an Eastern ' Catholic’ in: then held control of the sic} until

hall,

‘Rupe & Son, inv: iment

s| bankers: of Dallas, Tex. Ii is bpilt on the site: of tie old

~|river near Terre Haute spill over at

; wife] ution, bt ora:

3 when it was: purch sid by}

PRICE THREE CENTS

WAR WO

to rampaging flood waters.

Critical problems existed

Kansas.

OHIO SPLASHES ‘OUR LOWLANDS

Hoosiers * Not Alarmed; Evansville Expects 37 | Feet by Saturday.

The Ohio river flood will cover some Hoosier lowlands and may splash into a few résidential areas, but weather observers are confident{

serious effect on Indiana. The only point on the lower Oh Ohio where flood stagé had been reached today was Cairo, Ill; although the waters still continued their steady rise.

Observer E. E. Unger at Evansville predicted the flood stage of 37 feet there would be reached Saturday with a high mark of 43 to 44 feet on Jan. 8. The highest level of the 1937 flood was 54 feet. Corn in Danger The chief concern at Evansville was for 500,000 bushels of corn in the field on both the Indiana and Kentucky sides of ‘the. river. River town residents in general were not alarmed by the situation, reporting they “expect something like this about once a year.” At Louisville, Ky., U. S. Meteorologist J. L. Kendall predicted ihe river will: reach “35 to 37 {feet within 24 to 36 hours.” Flood stage at Louisville is 28 feet at upper gauge (above the dam). Readings this’ morning showed 20.7 feet at upper gauge and 46.4 at lower gauge. Madison, Ind., which was hard hit by the 1937 flood, reported a stage of 38.5 feet, a rise of 45 feet in the past 24 hours. The water level was expected to continue upward. Madison authorities said they expected the river to “leave its banks” at 48-foot flood stage, possibly covering railrcad tracks and state highway 56. The weather bureau at New Albany, Ind. said the water would rise six feet above the flood stage of 53 feet, as the river rose today two-tenths of a foot per hour, Wabash Falling Within the state, J. H. Armington, U. S. weather bureau chief-at Indianapolis, reported the Wabash already was falling as far down as Covington but still was rising slowly south of Terre Haute, At Terre Haute the reading was 14.5 feet, a foot jn half under flood stage, and weather observers said that unless new rain fell, the levels all along the Wabash probably would be dropping by tomorrow. : A few marrow stretches of the

14 feet but the area that can be flooded by the overflow is described as “negligible.”

SAYRE IS APPOINTED AS LEHMAN DEPUTY Ex - Philippines Commis. sioner Also to Aid Hull.

York, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi,

fist the castéinr ood wil ANS no vib

. WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 1 (UP). —

RKERS

LEAVE OHIO AND PENNSY PLANTS

Huge Industrial Section of Pittsburgh Is Inundated; Wheeling, W. Va., Residential . Area Is Stricken; Roads Blocked.

By UNITED PRESS Thousands of families were homeless today, property damage was rising rapidly and war production was curtailed in many sections of eastern and central United States due.

Hardest hit areas, were the industrial sections of Pitts~ burgh, Pa., and Wheeling, W.

Va. also in many areas of New Mlinois and

After driving more than 7500 persons from their homes and forcing important industrial plants to curtail or Sus{pend operations, flood water rolled lo a crest in Pittsburgh

and sped down the Ohio valley today.

ed that the rampaging Alleghe and Monongahela rivers reach their greatest’ height at Pitts 36.6 feet—which is 11.6 feet above flood level—at 1 a. m., and then be= gan a slow recession of one-tenth : of a foot an hour. At 7 a.'m. the stage stood at 36.1 feet. The erest was the highest since the St. Patrick's day flood of 183 when the rivers rose to 46 feet a vaused damage of more than $150 000,000.

Wheeling Hard Hit

a Wa antic ted ton, o.; Ciniginnati, 3 souisvil Ky. and into the Mississippi at Cairo, IIL. : Many thousands were homeless) and property damage mounted the millions of dollars in Wheeling as the Ohio smashed into the highly

y

LOCAL TEMPERATURES

6am, ...31 10a. m ... 30 7am ... 30 1 am, 38 8a. m ... 30 12 (moon) . / 9a m . 30 i.

industrialized Wheeling area toward i

above flood level. was expected by noon. Wheeling island, with a popula

between Wheeling and Bridgeport, O., was entirely inundated, the was= ter reaching to the second floors of many homes. Approximately 7500 persons were evacuated from the island. The others, . reluctant to leave their homes, moved to upper floors. ; Approximately 10,000 already were homeless in the immediate Wheel= ing area, and the Red Cross, de partment of public assistance; civile ian defense and other agencies were preparing to care for another 5000.

Wellsburg Evacuated One of the hardest hit towns in the district was Wellsburg, W. Va,

tieally all of the community's 12,000 persons were reported fo

_; | have fled to the surrounding hills.

With the press room flooded, the Wheeling News-Register published today’s edition in the plant of the Moundsville, W. Va. Journal, . miles below here. The Intelligencer, morning paper, also printed today's edition at the Journal. Other communities hi y the h Two)

(Continued on N. Y. ENDS APPROVAL ‘OF CHICAGO DEGREES ALBANY, Dec. 31 (U. P).—Th state of New York has canceled registration of courses of

leading - to the undergraduate grees at the University of CI

missioner in charge of higher professional education, today. _The action was taken because] University of Chicago fails to the requirements of New York,

Ino in

The weather bureau opobte SE

a predicted crest of 52 feet—16 feet, A crest of 49 feet iF

tion of 10,000, situated in the Ohio =

16 miles upstream, where prace