Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 August 1947 — Page 1

Page PDF (8.74 MB)

Back to issue view

ndianapolis

FORECAST: Fair and warmer today and tomorrow.

Lad

imes

—

SCRIPPS ~ HOWARD 58th YEAR—NUMBER 131

Entered as Second-Class Matter at Postoffice Indianapolis, Ind. Issued daily except Sunday

PRICE FIVE CENTS

MONDAY, AUGUST 11,

1947

U.S. General Keeps Old Caste System, | ‘Ruark Asserts

‘Chicken’ Practices Kept Despite Promises By Washington to End Rank Discrimination

(First of a Series of Articles) By ROBERT C. RUARK, Scripps-Howard Staff Correspondent LEGHORN, Italy, Aug. 12.—I am going to blow a loud whistle on Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee, the supreme commander of MTOUSA, which means Mediterranean Theater of Oper1 hope my beefs reach the eyes of Gen. Lee's bossman, Ike Eisenhower, and I hope, furthermore, that the general ~ gets a royal eating-out. He's got one coming. In Leghorn, headquarters of what's left of our arm there are abuses, condoned and fostered by Gen. Lee, that make any of the wartime “caste-system” howls mighty puny. The army’s promises to the enlisted men of our new military have been broken right and left. The result is sure, if those abuses aren't swiftly checked. 1 haven’t met an enlisted man so far who intends to reenlist, and all of them have sworn to head for the nearest newspaper when they return to the States, with a bill. of grievances as long as your arm. I aim to save them some

p ’

G.l's Now in Italy Mistreated, Ill Fe World War Il Has Begun,

CRITICIZED—Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee U. S. army com: mander in the Mediterranean, was under fire today for "chick"en" practices in his command.

trouble. / Lavish Waste of Tax Money Specifically, in Gen. Lee's theater you can find some of the most outrageous violations of personal integrity I've ever seen. There has been and continues to be a lavish waste of tax money. There is a really frightful misuse of the privileges of rank. There is brutality and consistent degradation and humiliation of the men. Many of the army's regulations for the government of troops have been suspended, with the, supreme commander allowed to write his own rules. In at least one instance there has been a mass intimidation of the troops to force

x z them to become members of ‘Hughes Probers a purely brass-hat organizaRecess Hearings

tion, of which, the dues are $4 annually, and which can shed +, Take "3-Month Rest; Can't Find Meyer

no possible benefit on its slave WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (U. P).

members. : 1 dom’t know whether Gen. Lee or his gabbling flock of tame colo~Senators investigating Howard Hughes’ $40 million worth of war plane contracts ‘suddenly recessed

nels write *the rules. But as emperor of the area he has to hold their hearings for three months today.

still for the rap. And certainly he The millionaire plane - maker

is personally implicated in some of the more outrageous offenses against promptly claimed “vindication.” Mr. Hughes also charged that the

his men and the government's investigation was “called off” be-

money. go cause Senator Owen Brewster (R.

Made Many Promises After _that silly caste-system Me) was “too cowardly to stay here and face the music.”

hearing in Washington last year, Senator Brewster, chairman of

the army made a lot of promises in an effort to spur enlistment and buy cheap forgiveness, for political reasons, of past sins. the senate war investigating committee, flew to Maine last week-end. The ‘unexpected recess was called in an atmosphere of political wran-

It was generally announced that army life was going to be a combination world-cruise and Sunday school picnic, with the coloriels and the G. 1's happily hobnobbing together. The enlisted man was to be regarded as a man, not a thing, and there would be justice and general equality for all. That's what they said. Well, I am here to say that I doubt if the German army was rougher on its personnel than Gen. Lee's laddybucks. Many of the men are ill-housed and badly fed. Many are employed as flunkeys, servants and helpless targets for officer conceit. The most flagrant indulgence in what the G. I. calls “chicken” is 8. O. P. (Standard Operating Procedure). You can get court-martialed for blinking an eye in Gen. Lee's kingdom. And there js still one of those D. T. C's at Pisa. A D. T. C. is a disciplinary training camp.

Held Secret Meeting

Mr. Hughes said he didn’t think the investigation ever would be resumed. But Chairman Homer Ferguson (R. Mich.) of the subcommittee asserted the hearings would gét under way again Nov. 17. He ordered Mr. Hughes to appear on that date “at 10 a. m.” ; Mr. Ferguson sald the recess, announced 'after- a secret meeting of his senate war investigating subcommittee, was ordered because officers cannot find a “missing” witness—Mr. Hughes’ chubby publicity man, John W. Meyer. Mr. Meyer was also subpenaed to appear Nov, 17. Mr. Hughes, asserting he had been denied opportunity to tell the senators all he wanted to tell them about his airplane projects, called the announced reason for the pecess “ridiculous.” . Was Ferguson's Idea’ Meanwhile, Senator Claude Pepper (D, Fla.) stated for the record that the recess was Senator Fer- . guson’s idea. In a cast yesterday, Senator Pepper accused the Republican majority of conducting the investigation with an eye cocked toward next year's presidential campaign. The way things were going, Mr. Pepper said, subcommittee members ‘would never be able to reach ao unanimous agreement on their

Sweatbox Is There We have always pretended we didn't have them. It is the sort of place ere a guy gets the sweatbox for making a wrong turn, and is full of delightful routine like cleaning a messkit with a needle, or walking for hours squatting on the hams and making duck noises. The géneral calls it “the hospital.” The conditions in the Leghorn area are sharply pointed up by the tight, prideful operation of Maj. Gen. Bryant Moore in Trieste, where the 88th division and the TRUST (Trieste U. 8. Troops) are

‘red Harman |

across the Morgan line. You'd expect some chicken there, but you don’t find it. " morale and sharp soldiering are much in evidence. I am wondering

Top of 95 Degrees Forecast Today

its work again today after a cooling breeze from the Great Yegion broke up a ‘developing heat

Pedestrian Overcome | By Week-End Wave

TODAY'S TEMPERATURES

Sa m..... 3 0am... 82 Tam.... 4 1lam...8 $a m,.... 77 12 (noon). 87 Sa m.... ko 1pm .., 88

nnn

Summer began to “warm up” to Lakes

wave over the week-end. Despite the breeze which held yesterday's high to 90 degrees at 3 p. m. the heat claimed at least one victim in Indianapolis. Ben F. Minor, 60, of Bonham's stables, was overcome in the 800 block on W. 30th st. and had to be taken to| Long hospital for treatment. Breeze Brings Relief, The weather bureau forecast a! “gradual warming up” for today and tomorrow with a high of 95 anticipated this afternoon. A low of 67 degrees for Saturday night and early Sunday morning brought the best sleeping in a week. | Central Indiana found itself on| the extreme southern edge of a cool

Though the city missed the full]

moving slowly eastward, the lake breeze brought welcome relief from both the heat and the sticky humidity. . Except for the possibility of light scattered showers Tuesday night, no rain was in sight for parched crops, beginning to show the effects of prolonged exposure to the burning sun. Cold Front Due Here

There was no connection weather experts said, between the recent heat and the slight earthquake which shook Midwest states Saturday. The temblor was attributed to a shifting of bedrock in the earth’s crust and was felt most sharply upstate. A cold front was headed for Indiana from Canada and was expected to move into the state by

“| William Philip Simms, Scripps-

months will be as critical for Europe and the world—and perhaps as decisive—as any faced in modern

est years of world war IL i

surveying the danger spots on this side of the Atlantic—from France and England to Scandinavia and from Helsinki, Prague and Berlin to Vienna.

job it is to know what's going on and why. And that is their grim but unanimous conclusion.

during the touch-and-go period im- | mediately ahead.

less western leadership can. agree

| (Continued om Page 1—Column 3) |

Wednesday.

Simms Reports

Just as Serious as If Guns Were Roaring

Howard foreign editor, has just finished a first-hand survey of the fast-mounting European crisis. He has gone as close as he could to Russia's Iron Curtain, visiting the

those whose job it is to know what's going on and why. Here is first of a series of articles on _ startling conclusions.

By WILLIAM PHILIP SIMMS Seripps-Howard Foreign Editor VIENNA, Aug. 11.—The next 12

times, not even excepting the dark-|

For the past 10 weeks I have been |

I have listened to dozens whose |

| | |

And that, too, in the opinion of

our most experienced, observers over | here whether military or civilian, official or unofficial, is the biggest | single fact ‘which the American people will be called upon to face)

“World War III Has Begun” In Burope, just as in the United

States, as one of these observers| in Indianapolis.

remarked, about world war IIL.” “The truth 1s” he went on, And the fact that it is being conducted presently on an economic political level instead of a military level doesn't keep it from being an; the less decisive. “Indeed, it may well be fatal un-

on a method of mutual defense.” There are reasons to believe that, but ‘for the fact that we possess atomic weapons, the present struggle between East and West would have passed into the shooting phase before now. Fight for Economic Survival | The West is now so completely disarmed otherwise, that Russia can reach the Atlantic any time | she likes within 96 hours. i Western Europe has

mass of air. over the week-end. another Dunkerque. Their backs to| cated, he said.

the wall, Britain, France and 14)

for economic if not political sur-| vival. Ranged against them 'nstead of Nazi Germany is the Soviet! Union. | Just as after Dunkerque in 1940,

Chief Chris H. Keislirig of Carnegie, “world war III already has begun [Pa : | 1 is belvig- waged.

or the “Green Ghost,” tly said. Chief Keisling said he was acting could f6r the nation’s mothers.’ They, he | said, are helpless to. protect their

HER DEATH PROBED —American agents in Germany today asked an autopsy on- the body of Princess Hermine, widow of

Acme Telephoto

Kaiser Wilhelm II. They suspected she had been poisoned by persons who stole $2 million of her jewels. This photo shows’ the prin. cess at the time American troops found her in 1945 at Schloss

Stolberg, Germany,

Ferdinand.

Thursday.

inquiry to Princess Carmo.

Police Fraternal Order Asks

U. S. to Ban Comic Books

Pennsylvania Delegate Leads Fight Against

Literature Dignifying By DONNA

The nation’s police representatives took up their nightsticks today against comic books “which belittle law enforcement and glorify crime” {as the national convention of the Fraternal Order of Police opened A resolution demanding federal suppression of the “everyone is talking bizarrc and sometimes bloodcurdling “comic” literature as’ a national primer for juvenile crime was proposed to the convention by Police

Gangster Bands MIKELS

pieces were found, Mr. Carlucci

from the Russian zone.

Agents were questioning a ne - Princess Carmo, sister of Prince Ferdinand, the son of Hermine, who died suddenly in Frankfurt on the Oder last

Herbst’s help were some of those allegedly smuggled by

Hermine Reported Poisoned

Girl Friend of Son Arrested;

Bulk of Stolen Jewels Recovered BERLIN, Aug. 11 (U., P.).—A whirlwind U. 8. army investigation of the death of Princess Hermine and disappearance of $2 million in crown jewels resulted today in: ONE: Arrest of the: self-styled mistress of Prince

TWO: Recovery of the bulk of the missing treasure. American criminal investigation division agents in swift succession announced the arrest of raven-haired Vera Herbst on suspicion of murder and theft, and the finding pif 81 of the crown jewelsc— :

w figure in the case—

Miss Herbst, mystery woman in the household of the late Kaiser Wilhelm, after hours of questioning led agents. to an apartment where they found six pieces of the jewelry. Princess Reveals 25 Gems After questioning Miss Herbst, who said she with Ferdinand for the last year,

had lived CID agenty turned their

0. R. Carlucci, CID chief, said the princess at first denied knowing anything about the jewels.” Finally, he said, “she took agents to an apartment house where the 25

said ‘the gems recovered with Miss:

her

Miss Herbst was being held on what the police blotter

listed as “suspicion of murder and theft” Mr. Carlu | said that referred to Hermine's death.

Princess

| attended the party.

Hermine was the widow of Kaiser Wilhelm IL Her death followed a tea party last Tuesday. Miss Herbst

Mr. Carlucci disclosed he has sent an agent to Russian

headquarters to request an autopsy on ‘Hermine's body.

“Thé Indianapolis ahd Cleveland

‘heroes’ as “The Purple Avenger”

children from the “lurid” bopklets'

Action Booklefs Draw Chief's Criticism

The chief said he .did not object, tional convention to lower the stick | to newspaper comic strips, how-| On comic books.

ever, where not so many, victims

It's the multi-colored “action” | booklets the youngsters collect in|

A resolution asking for federal or

benefit of the cool mass, which was! smaller nations now are fighting State suppression of the books was| ‘Books were bootlegged, he He said he had a case in his chiefs of police at their meeting own bailiwick here a group o children used one of their number! to see if a comic book murder MAaDY

passed last month by Pennsylvania |

at Wilkes Barre. Police Lt. Jack Dudek of Cleve- | land, grand president of the order, |

through whose pages, he added, “cavort half-nude women.” “Comic books are as dangerous delegations were with him 10 81, he youth of this nation as fire man. Too long have such books crackers used to be,” Chief Keisling used police as targets for such [said The chief, a father of five children himself, charged no. good|day's party. literature “where: knives and guns flash and | children are subjected to kidnaping |S and torture.”-

come of this

form the autopsy - Tonsilitis

~They dignify gangsters and be-| cog told the CID she ap-

| little the police as servants of the| are murdered, tortured or maimed. | public,” he said. The Indianapolis |

delegation echoed these sentiments, Keisling sald . it was a Mr. Carlucci told reporters that | case full of emeralds, broaches, {the death certificate for Hermine earrings and other heirlooms.

Chief

suffered! virtual libraries he wants eradi-| possible for parents to keep the | “corrupting” books from the kids. | the | asserted. 10ns,

Where parents intervened,

peared to hours before she died.

stated she had acute tonsilitis and heart trouble.

¢| the “tonsilitis.”

things—including poison or

method would work. It did, he| drugs” the CID spokesman said.

the United States again today is| joined the chief in urging the na-| said. the chief if not the only ho; | : ot the only hope of| Cites Most Dangerous Types of Comic Books

Belgian Congo Maps Big Gorilla Hunt LEOPOLDVILLE, Belgian Congo, Aug. 11 (U, P.).—Plans for the first big postwar gorilla hunt in the Belgian Congo were disclosed today. The government was organizing the hunt, and hoped to capture 12 Gargantua-type animals. The Antwerp zoo was slated to get the ‘first specimen, with the next three going to Sydney, Australia; San Diego and New York.

Indianapolis will be a

National Aireraft “show at Cleveland last year hy The Indianapolis Times and other Scripps-Howard newspapers in co-operation with the army air forces. Indianapolis will be one “pylon”

Times Index if it is because Gen. Lee leaves|or turning point for the jet race 5 ic it pretty much alone. and a decision will/bg* made later Amusements S| Music cereesne 8 r umnt to cover the Leghorn story | as to inclusion one or. more Bridge ....... 15| Obituaries ... § in subsequent columns. I think it other cities. T original ScrippsCarnival .....11| Dr. O'Brien ..13 rates detailed handling, because if Howard race was flown six miles Classified .17-18| Patterns «++se15 0 operation like the Leghorn thing high around Cleveland, IndianComics .......19| Radio vecesens 19 pacomes widespread it can | apolis, Evansville, Cincinnati and Crossword 7 12 : Mus. jt JTC. all we'fe Uying 10 40 to . Roosevelt Ad Fashions \.....18| Sherrer .....13| Aig EO anower | TOF Bridge Players— Forum. .......12 Side Glances .i2| ygioning . @How to be a better Funny | bguctety ...... 4 "TN bridge player—told in text oo 13 Sports... 32 New “Air Mark Set and. illustrations-—is anothj u . Py . er new Times feature which 3 Constellation]: =< Starts today... = @® William E. McKenney, Amerign’'s card authority, will present his column

Pick Indianapolis As Pylon In 500-Mile Jet Race

* Event Aug. 31 to Start, End at Cleveland; Offer $125,000 Prizes in Other Contests

By ART WRIGHT “pylon” in a new 500-mile cross-country fet race that has been added to the 1947 National Air Race program. The race will start-and end at Cleveland. It will be staged by army air forces pilots flying P-80 Shooting Stars on Aug. 31, the second of the three days of racing. Sponsored by the Allison division of General Motors, a similar race was staged at the

Columbus, an 820-mile course. It was a race against time with one airplane flying the course each day, The Allison racers will take off simultaneously, fly lower and turn the Indianapolis airport “pylon” in

~The hooks that are most dangerous, he said, are those which pod

done murder and assault because | resolution charged the books are the hero is the “Purple Avenger” dangerous because they show per-

or the “Green Ghost.”

“Because these characters are,

sald. “It's hard for the child to know right from wrong under this influ- | ence. He wouldn't know whether | he’s committing a crime or follow-

{ing the footsteps of the ‘Purplelin crime.”

Night Club Raid

Kills 4 Hurts 10

JERUSALEM, Aug. I1 (U. P.) ~~ A wild west type raid on a Tel Aviv|

and 10 wounded today. Twenty men wearing uniforms of | the. .Arab youth organization | stepped into the Hawaii nitery Just | peak. A burst of tommygun fire shot out the lights. ! Patrons rushed for the doors. A hand grenade lobbed into the milling ¢ , tearing off an Arab's legs. Bullets ricocheted around the ballroom. The raiders then backed! away firing, and disappeared in| the darkness. ¢ Some sources said the attack was intended as a robbery, but mo |

effort was made to take valuables. The shooting seemed to begin all at once. |

left a shambles.

men and one woman. Of the 10] wounded, six were in a critical con- |

seriously. ; Ch e———— ap soo "‘RAMADIER WINS TEST

- PARIS, Aug. 11 (U. P.) ~The naassembly today

dition. Four others were wounded gmail lump “| surfounded

Avenger.”

Mr. Carlucei emphasized that -| Miss Herbst was very close to Prince Ferdinand, and was questioned about Princess Hermine's

The Pennsylvania Police chiefs’ death as well as the jewels.

novel means.”

lution said.

Complains of Hunger

Prince Ferdinand's wife, Rosa,

| sons put to death by “fiendish and refused yesterday to pose for news They fall into the supposed to be secret agents of law | hands of impressionable and imagand order, they can murder right | inative youngsters who emulate and | and left—in comic books,” the chief | even surpass the bizarre exploits | |of their colorful heroes, the reso- slumped in her chair after hearing

pictures with him. A photographer | who tried to get them together was told that they were being divorced. The tall, slender Miss Herbst

{the charges against her, and ap-

“The Nazis used such literature peared to be on the verge of tears.

to train their youth for war,’ Keisling said.

$2.50 Cash Corn Sets All-Time Record

CHICAGO, Aug.11 (U.P. Corn futures reached new record highs | on the board of trade today, but | prices later sank the 8-cent limit

in a general market reversal,

September corn spurted to $2.41 night club left four persons dead a bushel, its fifth new all-time high

the cash market, No. 2 yellow was

liveries rose to seasonal peaks. I was quoted more than $250 al

for profit.

“These are primers)

* Chief |8he complained of being hungry,

and added: “My stomach hurts, eaten anything today.” Mr. Carluccl said she admitted

I havent

| | | |

flight—over both poles.

He beat the solo round-the-world { flying record set by Wiley Post in

Most buying in corn still was| 933 py 113 hours, 44 minutes, and spurred by the scorching heat wave | 19 coconds.

going ‘into its third week,

Report New Way

To Make A" Bomb

LONDON, Aug. 11 (U. P.).—The The night club is new, and one! pais Ee ot today theo) of the: most streamlined in Tel, American scientists had discovered Aviv, an all-Jewish city.” It Was|, new way of making atomic ex- | plosives reputed to increase atom Among, the dead were three| pomp production from six a month through the loop. The time of

t6 10 a week. The newspaper

said that if

Atomic explosive is first real sleep since he blocks of uranium or thorium, it doubles its weight Thursday.

crew-manned plane by five hours, 11 minutes and 19 seconds ’ Mr. Odom and others set that record last April in the Reynolds Bombshell, the same plane which carried him alone around the world. It was the first flight around the world from Chicago. The city | promised to give the 27-year-old

He also broke the record for a

| pilot a noisy ovation. ,

Mayor Martin Kennelly planned a reception, and, later, a parade

the ' celebration depended upon a when Mr. Odom’ awoke from his

the record-breaking flight "was still

Reynolds, the million

and Heart The CID was working on the possibility that drugs | might have been dropped into Hermine's tea cup at Tues-

be in good health Py |

{

took off | Fes

Poison was suspected. He requested the Russians to per-

Gi hese RSET an

Trouble

First reports after the 50-year-old princess’ death said he had died from heart trouble. however, that-Hermine's family doctor had reported she had 4 very strongsheart. The doctor, whose name was not given, had attended Princess Hermine for 20 years. wt | A close friend of the prin-|

Mr. Calucci said today,

smuggling the jewels, or part of them, from the Russian zone into Berlin during “several trips,” and that she gave the prince a small

Miss Herbst was questioned for

In response to ques-' hours this morning. he added only that certain| Mr. Carlucci said he planned fo kinds of drugs could have caused question Prince Ferdinand later

today. He said Miss Herbst ad-

vHeart failure can be caused by mitted selling a diamond and pearl

studded necklace for 1,200,000 marks (nominally $120,000) to & Russian of undisclosed identity. She said Hermine asked her to make the sale, was happy about it, and the money was to go to Ferdinand. The princess had been . living under the protective custody of the Russian military government. She died while CID men were investi~ gating the theft of the gems from her jewel collection. The whole collection had been smuggled from the Soviet zone into the American zone for safekeeping. The theft of some of the jewels was reported by Prince Ferdinand. He said he had been taking care of the jewels, but had to move fre quently, Some of the stones dise appeared along the way, Prince Fer dinand said.

‘Odom Backers Map Plans For Flight Over Both Poles

Photo, Pages CHICAGO, Aug. 11 (U. P.).—Chicago prepared a hero's welcome

|since last Monday. The other de-| i545 for round-the-world fier Bill Odom. His backers meanwhile made their plans for his next globe-circling

| Mr. Odom raced into Municipal airport yesterday 73 hours, five minas t he floor show was hitting its|pushel, also a new all-time high. | utes ‘and 11 seconds after he had taken off from Chicago The high prices attracted selling|

dash over the north and south poles. Mr. Reynolds and his associate, Franklin Lamb, disclosed that they had bought a new plane for Mr, Odom’s polar flight scheduled tentatively for October, The plane is a B-32, bigger than the Bombshell, Ten accompany Mr. Odo including mete: : survey experts, sclenth resentatives of the’ dio, Mr. Lamb sai

Hiroshima fo Erect Statue to Peace Aug.

FI ea

whi # on the flight,

1 P)—

ROR Ha

Apis