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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1955)
I v.v.v.v.y.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v:v: WSXWffl EDITORIALS k-lORE ON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ,V1 "RON Furse of the Plattsmouth Journal says the town's Chamber of Com merce is "sadly ailing." Just what causes it, is not readily known, but perhaps it is a question of more membership. A Chamber of Commerce in a town as lively as the Cass countiy Capital ought to be looked on as; a "must" by the business and profes sional folks up there. Without some cen tral clearing house it is pretty difficult to get things done. When there is diversity of effort, as so often happened here in the old days, nothing much was accomplished. As of today, our own Chamber has been working diligently, enthusiastically and successfully toward the common end of making Nebraska City a better and a more prosperous town to live in. - " W e discovered that a full-time man ager was a necessity. For a long time we ' hired secretaries who had outside inter ests. It just didn't jell. Nor did it pay, as . we tried once, to give a man a job because he. needed it. The cold truth is, he needed the secretary's job because he had failed in his own enterprises. There was no fairy's wand handy to change his habits and thinking apparatus overnight. It was a most expensive experience and at year's end the harvest was practically nil. "ANOTHER thing, we oldsters came to the conclusion it would be better to let younger men, who have a bit of daring in their make-ups as well as enthusiasm, have a bigger voice in the Chamber's op erations. So far it has worked very well. Always there are things which might be donebetter, but that's true of every eco nomic venture known to man. There is no perfection. We can only shoot in its gen eral direction. J.H.S." The above was lifted from the edi- torial Columns of the Nebraska City News Press. It is J. Hyde Sweet's comment on an editorial that appeared in this news paper a week ago in regard to our inabili ty to get some businessmen and women enthusiastic over a wide-awake Chamber of Commerce. - Editor Sweet is near three-quarters of 100 years young. He has been, and still is, on the top rung in leadership at Ne braska City since the turn of the century. We hope his true and eloquent words will assist in completing a job The Journal has been boosting for several years. ic nETER AND MARGARET The tizzy recently noted in official British circles concerning the romance of Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend, 40-year-old divorced British pilot, is ano ther chapter in a continuing series of of ficial spasms being caused the British by Cupid. The Empire was rocked shortly be fore World War II when King Edward ran into a hot romance with a divorcee, and now the Princess' attention to anoth er divorcee has some of the same tradi tions up-ended. With all due respects to tradition, we believe that Princess Margaret will do the '; Empire no harm, one way or the other, whether she marries Townsend or does not marry him. It should be remembered, and this seems to have been forgotten by a few million Britishers, that Captain Peter Townsend was one of Britain's saviors in the Battle of Britain in 1940, being , a , much-decorated pilot and hero of that mortal conflict. The fact that he has had a divorce is no earth-shattering fact, since things like that do happen. That fact should be faced squarely. If Margaret was to be queen, the THOUGHT FOR TODAY Nobody can lire longer in peace than his neighbor pleases. Thomas Fuller The Plaifsmoulh Journal Official County and City Paper ESTABLISHED IN 1881 Published Semi-Weekly, Mondays and Thursdays, at 410 Main Street, 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" First 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 Societv Editor MARGARET DINGMAN Bookkeeper VERN WATERMAN Advertising V pa PHONE Futse's Ftesh Flashes Entered at the Post Office at Plattsmouth, Nebraska as second class mail matter in accordance with the Act o! Congress of March 3, 1879. 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. A sense of humor is something that will make you laugh at something that would make you mad if it happened to you. Whether you wind up with a nest egg or goose egg depends upon the kind of a chick you marry. Flipper Fanny, our dainty little con tour twister, says her new boy friend al ways sees darlr spots in front of his eyes and invariably tries to park in one of them. Successful men will tell you to keep your eye on the ball, your shoulder to the wheel, and your ear to the ground, but did you ever try to work in that position? A Senator reports that men never recognize a dictator in advance. Yea, they all seem like such sweet girls before the wedding. Fire departments in this area are now entering the business season. A Plattsmouth' coed informs us that she has all the right clothes. When she goes out in the evening, she wears an eve ning dress. When she goes riding, she wears a riding habit, and on and on. Won der what she wears at birthday parties?. matter would be different, but Margaret is not to be queen, and therefore, the World War II hero should not be given such over-perfunctory scrutiny. We hope that Margaret finds a like able, loveable and fun-enjoying man for a husband and inspires her toward making a good wife for him. We do not believe the Empire will go on the rocks as the re sult of any developments along this line. ,v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v.v...'.--v7 Ticklers By George 'l have a feeling we're being spied upon." Down Memory Lane Oy YEARS AGO V. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Todd who had been visiting at the homeof his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Russ Todd, left for their home in California ... Ed Morley reported that somebody broke into his garage at Avoca and made off with several tires and tubes . . Mss Amelia Friedrich returned from a trip to the German village where her father was bo::n. . . Leona Price and Rosemarie Burcham held a Halloween party as Artha Warga made the affair a success by coming dressed as an old witch. . . . State champion 4-H club member in home economcs was Frances Rehmeier of Weepng Water . . . Miss Mia U. Gerng of Plattsmouth was named as a member of the official board of Bishop R. S. Clark son Memorial Hospital in Omaha f YEARS AGO 3U Albert A. Allen of Omaha and Miss Bertha E. Bonge were married at the , home of her sister, Mrs. Charles L. Pease, in Plattsmouth . . . Leslie Neils was suf fering with an ingrown toenail. . . Camp fire Girls gave a farewell party for their ' retiring guardian, Mrs. Evi Spier, and Miss Lucy Goll, a Plattsmouth teacher, took oovere . . . Plattsmuth Postmaster James W. Holmes changed route one so that ; Wintersteen Hill could get better delivery . . . George E. DeWolg, Plattsmouth super intendent of schools, and J. W. Poynter, high school principal, headed a list of teachers who gave a program for the Ad Club ... J. P. Lahr formerly of Valparai so, took over as manager of the Lincoln Telephone company at Plattsmouth. Washington Merry-Go -Round y DREW PEARSON (Copyright, 1955, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) DREW PEARSON SAYS : TAX COMMISSIONER AN DREWS TOOK ACTIVE TAX IN TEREST IN COMPANY HE NOW HEADS; He FAVORED PROSECU TION OF AMERICAN FIDELITY & SECURITY; COMPANY FACES SEC TROUBLE FOR KEEPING TWO SETS OF BOOKS. Washington There may be more than meets the eye behind the resignation of T. Coleman Andrews, as Commissioner of Internal Revenue to become chairman of the American Fidelity and Casualty Co., in his home town, Richmond, Va. Certainly it's not likely to get by without a congress ional investigation from Democrats who suffered from unmerciful tax probes them selves. ' Not only does it involve another pos sible conflict of interest, but Mr. Andrews seems a long way from telling the truth when on Oct. 10 he wrote his boss, Secre tary of the Treasury Humphrey, that other than checking with the chief counsel of the internal revenue serviee. I have not gotten into the case at all." It also illustrates the" haphazard man ner in which public officials throw denials around the capital and expect a confused public to believe them merely because of their official position. For the truth is that Commis er Andrews actually summon ed Kenneth McElroy, special agent of the case, from Rich mond to confer with him on the case. He also conferred yith Geo. Bowles, insurance commi sioner for the state of Virginia, about the case. He also held conferences in the Internal Re venue Bureau regarding the case. Finally he demanded a re port from the enforcement di vision of Internal Revenue' as to why the case had not been prosecuted. Richard Schwartz, chief coun sel of the enforcement division, spent the best part of a week writing a memo explaining the reasons for no prosecution. Andrews' Activity v ItV interesting that Com missioner Andrews' interest in the case was very much in fav or of prosecuting the company which he is now about to head, that he almost put the company out of business. As a result of this tax case, the markel family which con trolled American Fidelity and Casuality, has been partialjy shunted to the : side and n ew blue-chip directors now have a majority vote on the board even though the control little or no stock. All this was done while Andrews was still active as Commissioner of Internal Reve nue, though he had not part in reorganizing the company. Someone . meanwhile tinned of f the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington re garding the firm's financial affairs, with the result that it yas almost barred from writing insurance for trucking and bus lines. American Fidelity and Casualit is the largest insurer of bus and truck lines in the na tion. . Commssioner Andrevs' nega tive activity regarding: the firm which he will now head was vigorous that some observers wondered whether he was not carving out a future niche for himself. My own news-checks convince me this was not the case. The new directors of the firm approached him to take the job; He did' not approach them. : However, the commissioner certainly was not telling the the truth tohis boss, Secretary Humphrey, when he wrote that other than checking with the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service: "I have not gotten into the case at all." Finally, the retiring tax com missioner, may have trouble with the law which provides a criminal penalty if a former government employee repre sents persons with "Claims against the government" with in two years after leavng the government, if he handled th matter while m government. How Fraud Discovered The American Fidelity and Casualty case is one of the more important ones now before the tax court involving fraud. A jeopardy assessment which is imposed only in case of fraud has been placed against the company and associated Markel interests and, this plus interest and back taxes, totals $5,782, 698.38. The tax years involved are from 1944 through 1948. The case began when tax agents found that a hospital ex pense of around $10,000 for the son of Lewis Markel, stricken with polio, had been charged off as a business expense h against Markel service, agent lor American Fidelity. At that time the late Sam Markel grandfather of the boy, was head of the company and also head of its agent, Markel Ser vices. The case.-then considered rel atively minor, was listed for tax court adjudication. However, tne more tax-bird-dog McElroy Degan looKing into the case, the more interesting it became. For he found that the company had not given him its full records. This discovery occurred when the Markels handed him the wrong book by mistake and he was -unable to leconcile them with his previous figures taken from the other set of books. It further developed that the Markels had overpaid their tax es. The files withheld from Mc Elroy were not for cheating on taxes, but because the company had suffered , heavy insurance losses, and it was feared these losses, if known, would -affect its future status in insuring truck and bus lines. These - losses have now been recouped and the company is in sound financial condition. However, it was this tax sit uation and the losses which put the company in a haz ardous position with the Vir ginia insurance commission er, with the Illinois insurance commission, and with the Inter state Commerce Commission in Washington. Since the company had prob ably overpaid its taxes, however, the enforcement division of In ternal Revenue felt justified in not recommending penal action. Hhis was the negative position of Richard Schwartz, counsel of the enforcement division and one of the toughest prosecutors in Internal Revenue, when An drews asked why there had been no prosecution. However, the company may face trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failure to show all its records. For, in floating stocks or bonds under the truth-in-securities act, a company must tell the truth, which the Markels did not do when they registered an issue with the Sec. two years ago. Just how the versatile Com missioner Andrew is going to serve as head of a company which has all these problems with the government and yet not violate the conflict-of-interest statutes is a problem whicch a committee of Con gress may well want to scruti nize; Some Democrats already opine that it looks just as in teresting as hams or mink coats. DRIVERLESS CAR KILLS NEW YORK Mrs. Mary Mae, 73, was killed and two elderly women, Mrs. Mary Novotny, 77, and Mrs. Catherine ORourke, 80, were injured, when an auto mobile, owned by E. R. Ward well, rolled down an incline in front of the Wardell home and onto a sidewalk where the wo men were walking. The car struck another car and a truck. CONSIDERATE THIEVES JACKSONVILLE, Fla The robbers who took a safe from a feed store recently were really considerate. They carefully wrapped the checks, inventory books and other papers in the safe so that they were undam aged by weather when the bat tered safe wras found. The $400 in cash in the safe wasn't there, however. P. W. LETTERS LEAD TO ALTAR ORANGE, Va. When Air man A'C John Wi Thompson became a prisoner of the Red Chinese, Carol Reynolds, whom he knew but had never dated, wrote him a letter. This started an exchange of letters between them. A month after Thompson, released by the Reds, came home there were wedding bells for Carol and John. Journal Want Ads Pay Capitol News Bj Melvin Paul Statehouse Correspondent The Nebraska Press Association LINCOLN A move by the attorney general apparently put a damper on much of the ex pected fireworks over the dis missal of Men's Reformatory Superintendent George Morris. Frederick Wagener, Lincoln at torney representing Morris, ac tually caused the Board of Con trol to hire a referee to take testimony in the case. Wagener late on the day be fore the scheduled hearing for Morris before the three-member board, asked permission to call 41 witnesses including Gov. Victor . Anderson, and several state prison inmates. ' Upon checking the lawbooks, Asst. Atty. Gen. Robert Nelson, who is counsel for the board, discovered inmates cannot testi fy at a hearing unless it is be fore a court. Then came the idea for a re feree. Nelson told the board this would make for economy, speed and "orderly procedure." Wag ener' objected strenuously, but to no avail. A referee, Lincoln Attorney Jack Devoe was named by the board. The theory was that an im partial attorney would force Wagener to stick to the issue in the case whether or not Mor ris made statements that con stituted misconduct. Wagener said he may go to court after the board makes .its final decision. Although law per mits no appeal from the board decision, there may be other statutes applying to the situa tion. The mechanics of a referee taking testimony involves sub mission of transcripts to the board. Then the board will per mit final arguments by the at torneys. Its decision will be whether it was right in firing Morris in the first place. After the board's decision was announced, Wagener said he feels the board should have had "the intestinal fortitude to face the music." Public Power Obligation Public power deelopment in Nebraska is not an obligation of the state, according to Atty. Gen. C. S. Beck. Beck made the ruling in ans wer to a query from Sen. Mor rison, Mitchelb Beck said there is nothing in the Constitution, however, that wrould prevent such development from being an obligation, Beck said, "is purely a question of policy to be decided by the people or their legislature." An swering Morrison further, Beck said it is a function of individu al power district to furnish1 electricity. And, said the attorney general, public power districts are gov ernmental agencies, and their affairs are in the hands of the directors who are elected by the people. Morris has been pushing for a special session of the legislature to iron out powr problems. But he called a halt to his plans temporarily to give districts more time to work out their problems. Mental Health Interest Interest in Nebraska's mental health program has mushroom ed. And the State Mental Health Directory, Dr. Cecil Wittson, says this is a "very healthy thing." Wittson said he is "very pleas ed" with the concern shown re cently, "especially by the gov ern o r." Governor Anderson urged the board of control to bring about a complete mental health program "without de lay." "One of the biggest things we in the mental health program have had to overcome is a pub lic apathy about the problem." Wittson said. The mental health director al so has come up with some start ling facts. He said there are 14, O0Q hospital beds in Nebraska and about half are filled with persons who are mentally ill. And, he adds, one in 12 Ne braskans will need mental treat- . ment during a lifetime. Wittson says state institutions need to be drastically supple mented by psychiatrists work- f HE PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL PAGE FOUR Monday, October 31, 1955 Ml fW&uL mom Check the correct word: 1 Iran is the most recent country to initial the (Baghdad) (Mediterranean) pact. 2 Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and (Egypt) (Brit ain) are also signatories. 3 The countries are banded in a defense pact to guard against (Moslemism) (Communism). 4 Recent testimony from returning prisoners of the Reds indicates that Adolf Hitler is truly (alive) (dead). 5 Thanksgiving this year falls on Nov. (17) (24). 6 Its observance (is) is not) nationwide 7 There (are) (are not) days which are offi v daily classified as national holidays in the United States. 8 The President and Congress can designate holidays for (federal employes and the. Dis trict of Columbia) (all of us). 9 Thanksgiving (is) (isr not) observed in Ha waii. 10 Thanksgiving (always) (nearly always) is observed on the fourth Thursday in Novem ber Count 10 for each correct choice A score of 0-20 is poor; 30-60, average; 70-80, superior, and 90-100, very superior. .ft SEBS Decoded Intelligram sBMrv 01 si 6 D "a Pus saitoidaxa s'Vu 9v I "$I 9 'IZ S 'PBSQ f Uisiunuiuico -2 'uieipa-rZ pepu3ejj I ing in private offices and gener al hospital clinics. He wants to see 140 in pri vate practice and 65 in the men tal hospitals. Now the totals are 25 and 19 respectively. Under the timetable, Witt son said, the state in three years, with the same backing as now, "will be as far along as any" in its mental health program. In io years, he said, Nebraska, like the nation, will "no longer be in retreat but will be hold ing its own." Wittson said in the overall plan, "large mental hospitals are no answer to the problem. If we fully staff the three mental hospitals (at. Hastings, Lincoln and Norfolk), we would have answered the problem." Meanwhile, the board of con trol, replying to the governor's letter, said it is pushing im provements at the mental hos pitals. And, said the board, it is going to do all it can to "help with the further develop ment of private facilities in this state." The' board told the governor! "If is the belief of the Board of Control that with the improve ment of psychiatric treatments techniques mdre and more people can be treated privately." Highway Commission The advisory state highway commission has slated a hear-i ing at Lincoln Nov. 28 for per sons interested in the proposed relocation of U. S. 281 south of Grand Island. The highway department wants to relocate the 10-mile stretch of road two miles west of its present location. State Engineer L. N. Ress said this would eliminate the necessity of widening the road and five bridges. Only three briges would be re-' quired on the new route. "STRANGE OBJECT" EXPLODES COLUMBUS, Ohio, Finding a strange-looking object in a building at a golf course where he works. Carl Whalen, 14, used a hammer and nail to pry it open. The resulting explosion sent him to a hospital, rather seriously injured. The object a dynamite cap. PATCIIED-UP EGGS HATCH LANSING, Mich. Someone brought a clutch of wild turkey eggs to Roy Hunt of the Con servation Department. The eggs had been run over by a mow ing machine and several were broken. Hunt fashioned the shells back in place with gumm ed tape and five of the eight eggs, including two of those tap ed, hatched into healthy poults. Realty Transfers Johanna E. Meyers Nelson and G. H. to Charles Joseph Samland and Edith 9-22-55 L. 1 to 6. 4 Chases Add Weeping Water. $1, 500.00i Fed. Ld. Bk. to Ralph J. Lind sey 9-19-55 y2 Int. oil, gas and mineral rights in SEU 3-10-11. $560.00. Maria Meisinger to Lorine Urish WD 9-22-55 L. 6 and 7 Exc. N 25' B. 1 Donelan's Add. Plattsmouth. $1.00. James Willis Rhodes and Juanita Leone H Eugene Bark hurst WD 9-24-55 L. 3 to 6 B. 76 Weeping Water. $4,350.00. Minnie Stege to DeLor Swarts and Eula $-31-55 L. 5 and N' L. 6 B. 21 Elmwood. $1.00. Geo L. Kruse and Violet to Martin J. Nickel and Myrtle 6-14-55 L. 6 and 7 B. 12 Murdock. $1.00. Sarah Spohn to Hector A. Balthazor and Elva WD 8-9-55 L. 7 B. 98 Weeping Water. $4,500. Clarence Keil to Sylvia Keil 9- 26-55 L. 3 B. 9 Plattsmouth. $1. Thomas S. Solomon Sh. to Warren Fink SHD 9-27-55 L. 30 Louisville. $300. Orval J. Hathaway and Alma to Eva Fitzpatrick WD 2-10-54 L. 10 and 11 B. 3 Union $1.00. Roy M. Chriswisser and Edna to Roy G. Snyder and Edna WD 10-1-55 L. 11 and 12 B. 8 Nehaw ka $3,000.CO. Geo. and Shirley Mayabb to Doris and Billy L. Oliver WD 9-24-55 L. 1 and E 4' L. 2 B. 7 Plattsmouth. $1.00. Thomas S. Solomon Sh. to Ro bert A. Gall SHD 9-27-55 L. 10 B. 53 Plattsmuoth. $175.00. Wm. G. Van Every and Mary Otte to Leonard G. Doty and Verna WD 9-3-55 Pt. L. 5. B. 71 Weeping Water. $4,500.00. Chas. W. Sluyter and Martha to Wm. F. Diekmann and Alida WD 10-1-55 L. 24 B. 3 Manley $6,500. Harold Radtke and Laura to Bronson H. Timm and Gertrude WD 10-3-55 L. 10 B. 16 Latta's 1st Add. Murray. $1.00. W. O. Harrell and Linda V. to Harry A. Maughan and Rose E. WD 3-1-55 L. 388,342,343, Greenwood. $1.00. D. M. Babbitt and Frances and John J. Cloidt Jr. and Winfred to Manncie W. Shell and Bever ly Marie WD 9-29-55 L. 3 High land Add. Plattsmouth. $1.00. EASY MONEY ST. JOSEPH. Mo. The four persons recently hired by Coun ty Clerk Floyd Inman to count the absentee votes at a recent election were paid $5 each. They had a total of four votes to count. SCO HEABP A THE LATEST r JACK IS TAKISOS AVJW IO TUE DAUCE AUC7 Kl KEPT TEL1JJ0S HER TWl HE BUT SHE r7 BELIEVE ME KFRAJOKLV ALLY, I CAOT I Y KJ3TKER CM I! I Tf r Pri rii m jT J pSrfeS I MY, HE'S HANDSOME, Y YES. ) Y f I'M VERY SA I M YOU SHOULD BE! I I PAW. VJILL VOU STEP ASIDE 60 j MRS. TtLLER.'A ISNT PROUD OF HIM. Y HE'S SO STRONG J MISS BROWN CAN 5ET A Vf fms-r VHEv n?vM'55 brown;; and sleek J better look at the new bull? 0 m iT Vtfr ja -t. -r-rr, rT xA'Va LOOKING.' , . , , ffc 'Si