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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1955)
EDITOR I A L S Furse's Fresh Flashes pLATTS MOUTH SWIMMING POOL The other niht a number of interested citizens met for the purpose of discussing a swimming pool'for Plattsmcuth. A good representation of business and social clubs of the city were represented, but about all that was accomplished was the unanimous agreement that such a project was desir able.' just as it was 10 or even 30 yean; ago. Wc have little doubt that Plattsmouth coujd have a fine pool, even without the necessity of a bond issue, if parents and other residents here ' really want it. No singTa group or club could put the propo sition over. It would take the combined and enthusiastic efforts of at least 80 per cent of our people to get the job done. But, it can be done, for the reason that we can cite several cities not too far from Plattsmouth whose residents have the satisfaction of claiming "mission ac complished." We honestly believe enough cash could be raised through sale of family season tickets at $20 to $25 each for the first, year and through popular subscrip tion to buy all materials needed for con struction. A united effort in work donation by those unable, or unwilling to subscribe cash, could easily be obtained to build the pool. It has been done elsewhere and it could be accomplished here anyone want to head the drive? Sj, THE EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS The Eighty-Fourth Congress is up to several antics which may cost a number of members of that body their "jobs. In the first place. Congress is flirting with the idea of reducing taxes. In the second place, they recently granted themselves a juicy pay raise, which is out of all proportion to pay raises grafted to workers in private professions. In addition, there are several other hot issues arising which might, or might not, end up in headaches for Congressmen and Senators. The tax reduction, yhich would be $20 for each taxpayer and each depen dent, would be welcomed by many taxpay ers but those who look too at the budget and many pay raises which will necessar ily be voted this year, will not be able to reconcile the two satisfactorily. The Government is still spending more money than it is collecting, even, though economies have been effected andM4efense expenditures have been somewhat. reduced. The President has warned Congress that this is not the time for tax reductions and has promised to favor such reductions next year, if collections hold up and if expenses can be further trimmed. The Democrats, who control the Eighty-Fourth Congress, are sure to re ceive most of the blame if Congress votes heavier spending-and tax cuts and thereby cause another large deficit. The deficit spending problem has reached such pro portions that it is no longer a secondary issue. Taxpayers are now footing a bill of some $7,000,000,000 each year in interest on the national debt alone. To us this does not seem like a very practical approach to the country's ec onomic problems, and even though the tax cuts are designed to sugar-coat and soothe the fact that, another unbalanced budget is coming up, and that defense economies are being by-passed, it may not work out that way in the end. CHAMBER MEMBERSHIPS We've always believed that member ship in a Chamber of Commerce was as automatic as paying taxo or opening the door at your place of business every morning. Many others are of the same opinion and pay their fees on time. Much more could be accomplished by your. TUOUGH'l FOR TODAY Xatnre nezrr makes excellent thiius for mean, or no uses. lohn Locke The PlailsmoutS? Journa Official County and, City Paper ESTABLISHED IN 1SS1 Published Seini-Weokly, Mondays and Thursdays, at 410 Main Streci, Plattsmouth, Cass County, Nebr. Three Times Winner Ak-Sar-Ben Plaques for "OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE" 1949 1951 1952 "Honorable Mention" 1953 Presented Nebraska Press Association ' "GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD" Fir,t in 1952 Second in 1951 and 1953 (In Cities Over 2,000 Population) RONALD R. FURSE.. Editor and Publisher WM. L. MURDOCK... News Editor SOPHIA M. WOLEVER '. Society Editor VERN WATERMAN r. Advertising ftTi-u tUICiiA fuxljrT Entered at the Tost Office at PlaUsmouth, Nebraska as second class mail matter in, accordance with the Act of Congress ef March 3, 1S79. SUBSCRIPTION RATE: $3.50 per year in Cass and adjoining counties, $4.00 per year elsewhere, In advance, by mail outside the city of Platts mouth. By carrier in Plattsmouth, 20 cents for two weeks. Looking over the annual statement of General Motors it seems to us that what is wrong with this country is tl'at we're aw ing to run it with only one vice-president. There is nothing -that makes lis more jubilant than to park on what is left of the other fellow's nickle. .. A Plattsmouth man has. sued for di vorce, saying his wife hasn't spoken to him for the past six months. He should think that over you just can't hardly get that kind no more. Modern marriage wouldn't be such a gamble if so many couples didn't believe that a pair would beat a full house. k & The alarm clock will get you up, but. the rest is up to you. -At it The wife has changed quite a bit since we married her my habits, my friends and my hours. ir -k Flipper Fanny, our dainty little con tour twister, says if we think bathing beaches are crowded, we should look, at some of these new swim suits. Chamber if everyone would do the job promptly and not require hall; the time of a manager and board of directors collect ing, soliciting and selling memberships ev ery year. Down Memory Lane YEARS AGO The board of health lifted all quar antines for meningitis in Plattsmouth af ter a 10 day incubation period passed with out any new cases ... A committee con sisting of W. U. Banning, Union, chairman; Elmer Hallstrom, Avoca ; William J. O' Brien, South Bend; Frank Melvin, of Mur doc ; Judge A. H. Duxbury of Plattsmouth ; and D. D. Wainscott of Weeping Water, which was appointed to take up public work projects in Cass county, met with the county board of commissioners in Platts mouth to try. to form plans for road work to relieve unemployment . . . Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Hiid moved from their farm west of Mynard to Plattsmouth where he was to take charge of an oil' service station . . . Omaha Technical defeated Plattsmouth high school 70 to 9 in the regional basket ball tournament at Omaha. Only Platts mouth scorers from the field were Wooster and Case who had one each; Hendrix hit three free shots, Seitz one and Wall one . . . Mrs. Ed Ulrich the mother, arid Mrs. Francis Toman, a sister of the bride were hostesses for a miscellaneous shower giv en for Mrs. Richard Livingston, the former Anna Ulrich . . . Murdock high defeated Brainerd 25 to 20 to gain entry in the state basketball tournament. Murdock players : Norman Krosp, Harold Tool, Vernon RickL Gerald Kuehn, Richard Eppings, Miltoi. Weber, Henry Kelmme, Wayne Bornemeier and Robert Miller. & ic Jr Qy YEARS AGO w After two weeks closed for repairs, the Platte river auto and wagon bridge, owned by T. H. Pollock, was opened for traffic . . . Tennis players geared to open the season with a bang and awaited an nouncement by Raymond Larson, presi dent of the Plattsmouth Tennis Club, to call a meeting ... A bid of $150,000 was successful on the King of Trails bridge . . . Miss Freda Gauer was married to Wil " Ham Wendt .in a cermeony performed by Rev. Theodore Hartmann at" the Lutheran Evangelical church in Louisville on March 4 ... F. I. Rea transferred to Plattsmouth as local representative of the Continental Gas and Electric company . . . Miss Fran cis Clcidt celebrated her fifth birthday with a party for Plattsmouth school mates . . . John Walter Burbee, little son of Sup erintendent L. W. Bui')ee at Nehawka, took a notion to entertain his father and kept him up most of the night, reported the Nehawka correspondent. One Cheer f ukNote i e7 This did not, however, satisfy some of the senators, most of them Republican, who investig ated the .shocking Galveston grain scandal two years- ago and who gathered enough evidence to indict several of the grain dealers plus E. H. Thornton, Sr., the father of Gov. Allan Shiv ers' commissioner of highwavs who was Shivers' roommate in college and manager of his re election campaign last summer. "I would have thought it was a matter for the jury to decide," commented Sen. Ed Thye, Min nesota Republican. "The dismis sal just doesn't look good." Sen. Milton Young, North Da kota Republican, also expressed dissatisfaction. "How can American wheat farmers expect to sell abroad in competition with Canada," he said, "when Canada maintains strict inspection of its wheat ex ports while American wheat is sent to ports like Galveston where it's mixed with hog feed and milo maze, then sent abroad as supposedly top grade Ameri can wheat? "The American farmer doesn't knew his wheat is being mixed with hog feed and he's the one in the long run who suffers." Swiss Refuse Delivery Senator Young referred to the i impure Galveston wheat had been sold to the Swiss who re fused .to take delivery. Several shiploads were . also sent to the west German Republic, a coun try we are trying to keep friend ly to the west. They, however, accepted the wheat and used it even though later found to be "unfit for human consumption." "That's the kind of reputation our wheat is getting abroad," Senator Young commented. He also referred to the fact that the Bunge corporation, an Argentine firm, made it a reg ular practice to ship wheat to Galveston where it had a friend ly arrangement with the Galves ton chy grain elevators of which E. H. Thornton was manager, to mix its poor wheat with good grade U. S. government wheat right under the eyes of the U.S. inspector. Thornton brazenly admitted to investigating senators that he gave orders to "slus the ships as much as possible," that is, mix off-grade wheat with the good. He told how ships selected to be slugged were loaded at night when it was difficult for the in spector and the sampler to see what was happening. "It's a hundred feet from one hatch to another," Thornton testified. "He has to walk that hundred feet, and these ships we might have selected to slug would start at night;- and he can't walk from one hatch to another in ten minutes," He went on to explain- that the sampler had to climb up and down hatches. The Amazing Brownell The most amazing thing about Attorney General Brcwnell's al ibi for dismissing these indict ments was that the Senate ag- The Washington Merry -Go-Round (Copyright, 1954, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) JUSTICE DEPARTMENT GIVES FLIMSY. ALIBI FOR TEXAS GRAIN SCANDAL ; JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CONVICTS IN . HOUSTON BUT DROPS TRIAL LIKE HOT POTATO IN GALVESTON; IN HOUSTON NO FRIEND OF GOVERNOR SHIVERS WAS INVOLVED. Washington Attorney General Brownell went out of his way at a press conference last week-to try to alibi the dismisal of five Galveston grain scandal indictments just before they were to go to trial and shortly after Governor Shivers of Texas had lunched with President Eisen hower. - Brownell even brought his chief of the criminal division, Warren Olney, a comp etent public servant who did a good job as counsel of the California Crime Commis sion, to the Conference. Together they claimed they were short of evidence and that one government witness had reversed himself. ricultural subcommittee had al ready developed all the evidence a prosecuting attorney would appear to need to take the case to court. In page after page of the Sen ate hearings are frank state ments of graft and wrongdoing how the damaged Canadian wheat was imported through Du luth at less than regular duty because it was supposed to be hog feed, how it was carefully shipped to the friendly and co operative Galveston docks, how it was mixed with good govern ment wheat and how the Bunge corporation then collected sub sidy payments from Uncle Sam. It's all spelled out in the Senate hearings. Furthermore, though the Jus tice Department alibied that there wras no evidence any Gal veston dock officials profited from the transaction, this is dir ectly contrary to the facts. At Galveston, bribes were paid to D. .Jr Sweeney, assistant sup erintendent of Elevator B, total ing $5,500 during the same three years that the Canadian hog feed was secretly mixed and loaded. The bribes were paid .'by S. P. Perich, vice-president of the Stone Forwarding Co., which handled all shipments for the Bunge corp. Bribery is Common Senator Young unearthed the fact that , bribery . called "Christmas presents" wras a common custom in loading grain. "You wouldn't call $5,500 a bribe?" asked the incredulous Senator Young of Mr. Perich. "No, sir," replied Perich, "Not compared to what we paid our other employees." "But he was an employee in a public warehouse," remonstrated Young. "He wTas harbor-master, em ployed by Galveston wharves," Perich admitted. "But the yare a public institu tion, aren't they?" "1 guess so." "When you pay a public offic ial a thousand dollars or $2,000, you think it's not bribery?'' pursued Senator Young. "I don't think to give a man a Christmas present is bribery." i- "I would say it's bribery, pure and simple," concluded the Sen ator. However, the Justice Depart ment apparently agreed wTith Perich, not with the senator from North Dakota. They dis missed the indictments. In Houston, however, they did not dismiss. There, the same ag ents for the Bunge Corp. bribed William Fellrath, superintendent of the Houston public elevator, a total of $15,299. In this case, the Justice Department went to trial and secured convictions. , Senators can't help wondering what the difference was between Galveston" and Hoston. Could the difference be, they wonder, that in Houston the father of Gover nor Shivers' campaign manager was not involved and the gover nor did not lunch at the Whits House just before the trial? I See By The Papers By Bill Murdock A. J. (Tony) Cuhel, who works at the city water pumphouse at Bruno, had home grown toma toes the other day though the ice froze and the cold wind blew. He planted them in pots and let them set in thte sun of the warm pumphouse, says The Wahoo Newspaper. : Also,: two yam salesmen were caught after stealing a ham, say the Wahco N-Bwspapsr. Two men made the rounds of the Wahoo grocery stores a while back sell ing the biggest yams anyone ever saw around there. Sunddenly, a grocer reported to the sheriff's office that a large ham was stol en from his smoke house. Mak ing like Sherlock Holmes, the sheriff . traced the culprits through two lage yams found on the floor in the smokehouse. Ike was ahead in a straw vote conducted at a clothing store in Lexington as the Republican party leader. Robert S. Kerr led the Demorats. A total of 230 Re publicans voted and 215 Dem ocrats. The path is rocky at Primrose. This was indicated by a story , : i iin the Albion News relating how the Eugene Kraus family mov jed there and their three young :est girls burned themselves; the oldest had a severe sinus infec ition and another fell on the ice 'and received a brain concussion. ; j Also, reports the News, a coon ;dog owned by Wess McCoy of ! Albion dived into' a hole after a ! beaver and couldn't find his way back to open air. It took an 18- foot long trench and a 14-foot-! deep hole to rescue him. : ! t I This marriage wasn't meant to ! last, it is supposed, j Says the York Republican, ; Lyle E. Hall brought suit for di ivorce against Shirley Lou Hall ! in district court at York on Feb. 25. The . couple were married ;Feb. 14 and separated Feb. 17, lacording to the petition. i I "One Blair man," reports Ru ifus Olson in his column in the i Pilot-Tribune, ". . .turned off his TV set for a "change and plaj'ed with his children. He is reported to be having a grand ' time." . Capitol News By Melvin Paul Statehouse Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN The Legislature this week was taking its first hard look at proposals to reform the property tax system admin istration. - The first bill to sail across the boards rah into heavy weather right off the bat. It was LB 150, a proposal to exempt from taxation all but, seven items of household goods. It would replace the present sys tem where all household goods are taxed but the householder gets a $200 exemption first. In two days of debate the Leg islature refused to sink the bill. But they loaded on some ex tra items such as fur coats, dia monds, jewelry, musical instru ments, and electric dishwashers not included by the writers of the measure. LB 150 was one of seven tax reform bills written by a special Legislative Council Tax Study Committee, headed by Sen. Ot to Liebers of Lincoln. This same committee recommended the constitutional amendment pro posals placed on the November ballot by the Legislature in spec ial session last spring and upon which the voters acted in the general election. Another of these bills, LB 148, received approval by the Legis lature Revenue Committee. But some heavy going was expected. LB 148 would change the def inition of value. The Nebraska Supreme Court has said that un7 der the present law value for assessment purposes means "market value." This sounds reasonable at first glance. But the trouble is that some types of property sell so seldom that using figures from the few sales in a year may be unfair in determining all assess ments of that type of property. For example, in some counties very little farm land is sold. Yet according to present definition all assessments must be pegged to the few sales. The same is true of downtown real estate in towns and cities. Some of these business and com mercial buildings have never been sold. How, then, is an as sessor going to figure out the sale value? ' New Formula to base their valuations on such factors as relative location, earn ing capacity, desirability, repro duction cost and amount of de preciation, and comparison with other property of known value. , Purpose is to give assessors "more tools" than-just the in flexible "market value" factor. " Ernest Woodard, of Hebron, field man for the tax commis sioner's office, said that homes probably wouldn't have been as sessed as high the past two years if such a law had been in exis tence. But opposition is reportedly in the offing for the measure. Railroad Opposition It will largely come from the railroads. Here is said to be the reasoning behind this opposition. Since railroads are not bought and sold every day or even ev ery year, the present definition of "market value" doesn't fit them. Therefore there is a spec ial formula for the railroads. -But if LB 148 with its broader definition of "basic value" were adopted it might be used to as sess railroads as well as other types of property. Therefore the railroads 'don't want it. So attempts are expected in the Legislature to either water down the bill so it wron't mean anything or to try to get it back to where it really means "mar ket value" all over again. The fight ovsr the measure thus might be one of the mostf crucial of the session. A third tax measure, LB 151, was killed by the Revenue Com mittee and then revived. It would change the tax assessment date from March 10 to either March 1 or Jan. 1. The point of this bill is that everyone keeps books on the basis of tne first of the month and the present 10th of the month doesn't fit anybody's system. K Business Inventories The other tax measure to be heard thus far, LB 149, would provide for assessing merchants on the basis of their annual av erage inventory. At present they are taxed on the basis of what tney have on hand on March 10. Witnesses at the Revenue Com mittee hearing on this bill said that the present system disrupts business because many merlv ants intentionally let then stocks get low for March 10. Many farmers sell their cattle before this date depressing the market. Using the average inventory over the year's period would mean there would be no point in juggling inventories. Testi mony was that it would probably greatly increase the tax revenue Irom this source. Other Measures Still to be heard are three oth er bills: LB 152, to allow the state tax commissioner to set up rules and regulations for tax assessing LB 153, to place on the ballot a constitutional amendment to set up a state tax commission. (This same proposal was nar rowly defeated last November). LB 154, to place jn the ballot a constitutional amendment -to allow grain to be taxed on a per bushel basis, instead of the pres ent ad valorem method. Gas Tax Extended The Legislature by a resound 'Continued on Page Seven) THE PLATTSMOUTH. NEBRASKA, SEMi-WEEKLY JOURNAL PAGS TWO ' Section's Thursday, March 10, 1055 By Stanley James. Journal Washington Reporter WASHINGTON, March 10 f The goal of full prosperity for America is the pie-in-the-sky dream of every economist, but there are many different views on attaining that goal. Right now it looks like the viewpoint of the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and that of President Eisen hower's advisers are to be the two theories most debated. The National Conference of Economic Progress headed by Leon Keyserling, who also head ed President' Truman's economic advisers has just issued . its blueprint for full U. S. prosperi ty, and this group believes the nation can attain this full pros perity by the end of 1955, while increasing national production six percent a year. The essential gcals of this group are: 1. Raise personal in come tax exemption by $200. That would increase purchasing power by $4,500,000,000. 2. Raise the wage minimum from 75 cents to $1.25 to add another $2,500, 000,000 in purchasing power. 3. Increase federal outlays anoth er $3,500,000,000 add to pur chasing power. 4. Increase old age insurance payments by $1, 000,000,CC0 as another boost in I purchasing power. 5. Subsidize jslum clearance and low-rent housing. This program would hike na tional production by $30,000, 000,000, the National Conference of Economic Progress report says. By increasing national production this rapidly, at least six percent a year, unemploy ment will be rapidly reduced, and the budget would become a smaller percentage of national output. This economic program would result in the budget being only 17.7 percent of national produc- i Whether the Administration's economic policies satisfy lh& ma jority of U. S. voters seems to ba dependent upon business and working conditions in the coun try in the next year and a half. While one group holds out the promise of full prosperity, the President's policies seek to at tain a stable, prosperous econo my, without federal regimenta tion. The Democratic party will probably tend to support many of the Keyserling group's rec ommendations, except for some Dixie Democrats, who tradition ally follow a more conservative line, and a minority of Demo crats who favor the President's present economic policies. If the Administration's eco nomic policies should result in a bogging down of the national economy before 1956, the oppo sition would stand to make much hay in the November, 153, elec tions. But at present there arc few indications this will happen. In fact, the economic outlook right now is brighter than it has been in a long time, and pros perous business conditions are expected to last at least well in to 1956, according to most ex perts, on the basis of the latest business indicators. Nehawka Hog Sale May Set Record NEHAWKA (Special) What is believed to be a national res ord for consecutive hog salos will be established by Harry Knabe when he completes his 7Cth sale on March 14 at his sale pavilion at Nehawka. Mr. Knabo started in the ho; breeding business in 1913 when . ticn in 1355, whereas it was 20.2 he purchased a 63 pound 411. percent m 1953. Mer.nwhi! taxes paid the government would increase as total production in creased and some costs, such as unemployment benefit costs, would be reduced as jobs multi plied. The basic conflict between this program and the President' program is the degree of activity which, it is proposed, the gov ernment exerts in controlling the national economy. The Pres ident's advisers are following a plan for a three percent rise in production annually in this country. They feel that some sore spots in the economy are normal de velopments and that some un employment is unavoidable. The The Keyserling group feels that the present Administration is allowing too much unemploy ment to continue and that it is not planning, for a rapid enough rise in national production. Eisenhower's advisers feel that the Keyserling group would ex ert too much control over the economy, that such a program would lead to a regimented economy. The Keyserling group says huge additions to the labor force now occurring in this country every year cannot be. easily absorbed unless total out put is increased more than three percent a year. These two conflicting econom ic theories are likely to figure in next year's political campaign, in many areas, since the CIO's Walter Reuther is a member of the National Conference com mittee. This will no doubt line much of the country's laboring force up behind the Keyserling proup's program. gilt from Raymond Pollard of Nehawka for $25. He took this; gilt to Weeping Water by team: and wagon to compete in a show with other animals of the coun ty. The exhibit was held in pens on the muddy streets. His first sale in 1923 were the descend- ' ants of the original gilt. Mr. Knabe said there were many ups and downs but; he" stayed with it and came out on top. in 1934 he sold bred gilts for $8.15 and the top price that year was $41. The highest top he received was $1,625 in 19 J8. His son, John has been in partnership with him for a year. Mr. Knabe i? a member of the National Purebred Hampshire Breeder's Association and was a member of the board of direc- . tors for 17 years, resigning in 1953. Cass County's Greatest Newspaper The Plattsmouth Journal - ft K' x - ! v , - .51 ' , X - "J I WEEKLY CROSSWORD PUZZLE Oriental Animal Here's the Answer HORIZONTAL 1 Depicted animal 5 It is a ' deer 13 Dry 14 Raised 15 Seed vessel 16 Rear 17 Exist 18 Atop 19 Advisers :i It dark f'rown 22 Cereal grain 24 Vases 26 Cicatrix 27 Italian city 28 Transpose (ab.) 23 Italian river 30 Palm lily 31 On time (ab.) 32 Heap 34 Places 37 Units 28 Redact 39 Four (Roman) 40 Tells secrets 46 Artificial language 47 Seine. 49 Stupid person 50 Distant 51 Vibrant effects 53 Burden 54 Chemical salt 55 Toems VERTICAL 1 Flavors 2 Satiric S Young goat 4 To (prefix) 5 Cotton fabric 6 Landed 7 Mexican coin 8 State 9 Symbol for sodium 10 Greek letter 11 Finches 12 Urfa 16Anent 19 Gayest 20 Presumes 23 Cows 25 Grew wildly 32 Its horns usually have four QlM ZI pTnlTtrt vTX TAfT ALS3 s 3n o SPP1 ur Jfe VMIS iE 5. . L - JS. tl O I XrN . a KM nto 33 Reverse 35 Harangue 36 Shops 41 Love god 42 Weight of India 43 Horse's gait 44 Misplace 45 Half an cm 48 Device used by golfers 50 Passing fancy 52rarent. 53 EehpJd far "Tili" (T ix ... 11 5 T' Btan 57 " " 5 ,-.'110 -44 1i Hi SI Hi" I 7, m x. jp - Jr 1 ' 1 1 1 1 M 1 1111 - . s. .