Kingsport Times (Newspaper) - March 23, 1939, Kingsport, Tennessee VOL 72 MEMBER A B C KINGSPORT TENNESSEE THURSDAY MARCH 23 f TWELVE PAGES TODAY THREE DEATH STARTS PROBE OF POISON PLOT Salesman Must Die as Ring's Leader Fear 70 Victims Slain For Insurance No Divorce for Aged Couple Official Dies PHILADELPHIA March 23 death sentence verdict for a spaghetti salesman convicted of murder for insurance sent gators on a cemetery search today for 70 known victims of a poison plot which authorities say was con- at least 10 years ago Immediately after Herman rillo was found guilty last night of killing a WPA laborer with poison detectives delved anew into trial evidence and promised wholesale exhumations and arrests Detectives and Prosecuting At- torney Vincent P McDevitt ed at a conference later to check at once the deaths of a dozen of the persons Detective Samuel S Riccardi said were victims of the plotters Court permission will be needed however before any graves can be opened The investigation said ney McDevitt will proceed in an orderly manner Petrillo Described by as a was convicted only of the murder of Ferdinand fonsi 38 He was the first to go on trial of five persons accused of in a conspiracy to poison persons in Pennsylvania New IC York and New Jersey The finding Special to The Times of the jury of five men and seven I ROGERSVILLE March ain't to live with women carried a mandatory -i tence of death in the electric chair hlm and trY Jt no longer said Aunt Ellen Jones day after being refused a divorce from her 85 vear old Terming ridiculous a suit filed in Hawkins chancery court by Aunt Ellen and Uncle Billy Jones aged couple seeking a di- vorce Chancellor J H Wallace yesterday denied thex divorce and admonished the couple for their folly Hundreds who filled the courtroom were kept in an uproar by the side remarks of the ple to each other and to opposing counsel despite the of the court and their attorneys Joneses Are Unreconciled Despite Divorce Refusal on the McDevitt said the evidence produced here was only the scratching of the surface Scores Dead There will be scores and scores of other unfortunates who were put to death by this group of he told the jury And it is only by such verdicts as you have reached that we can over hope to break the back of this mad quest for money The judge then snapped at court officers guarding Take him away Cursed Furors As the bald stolid defendant was led past the jury box he cursed the jurors and struck at the fore- man Mrs Margaret Skeen At- tendants seized his arms and tled him out His face expressionless Petrillo had stood calmly when the verdict was announced He down as the jury was polled the jurors one by one Guilty in the first degree death Widows Held Just as the case went to the jury for five hours deliberation the judge dramatically summoned an- other man and a woman to the bench and held them without bail for grand jury action on charges of murder voluntary and tary manslaughter conspiracy to cheat and defraud and conspiracy to commit murder The two were Paul Petrillo man's cousin and Mrs Susie Di Martino widow of a laborer the state contends was a poison tim Paul Petrillo a tailor had been indicted only for ter In addition to Mrs Di Martino two other widows of poison tims are held on murder charges They are Mrs Stella Alfonsi and Mrs Corina Favata The investigation was promoted by insurance companies which re- ported payment of claims totaling between and Judge See INSURANCE PLOT P 12 WEATHER CLAIMS MANY TVA PHASES OBSCURED Morgan Says Battle Over Electricity Clouds Work in Other Departments WASHINGTON March 23 Chairman Harcourt A Morgan of the Tennessee Valley Authority contended today that controversy over the sale of electricity had largely obscured from public at- tention the navigation flood control and conservation program The isolation of this narrow Morgan told the National Rivers and Harbors Congress has distorted the perspective in which this project should be viewed the Tennessee Valley Authority was established to aid in controlling conserving and izing the water resources of an entire region Started Early Construction of a canal around Muscle Shoals first mended by John C Calhoun then secretary of war in 1825 Morgan said and while early efforts to do See MORGAN ON TVA page 12 PLANS TO REVISE TAXES CONTINUED Morgenthau Allays Fears of Hitch in Negotiations For Business Levy Change FAIR AND WARMER TENNESSEE and Fair and warmer tonight Friday in- creasing ness with mild temperature showers V I R GI N I A Fair and warmer tonight and day Fair tonight and Friday slightly extreme north portion WASHINGTON March Secretary Morgenthau said today fax revision negotiations between the treasury and congressional carters were proceeding in an derly way and according to warmer in tonight Gentle variable winds on the coast The secretary's statement at a press conference appeared ed to allay doubts about the ad- attitude toward tax revision Some such doubts had arisen from President Roosevelt's criticism of certain tax revision proposals Ready and Anxious Morgenthau As between Senator Harrison Representative Doughton Cooper and the treasury things stand just where we stood when we exchanged letters which a few weeks ago promised an ex- Uncle Billy Jones in kins chancery court yesterday Chancellor J H Wallace dis- missed the suit yesterday the ond filed by the aged woman terming it ridiculous and ad- vised the aged couple to patch up their differences The appeared no closer to a reconciliation today however Mrs Jones and her daughter Alpha bone of contention in the suit re- turned to the family farm five miles north of Church Hill Mr Jones went back to the home of a son The decision of Chancellor lace ended an uproarious session yesterday afternoon during which even the court was unable to re- strain an occasional laugh while the proceedings kept the tors in constant laughter Outbursts in tne court room compelled him on numerous sions to rap for order when either Mrs Jones or her husband sought to discuss the case with witnesses on the stand Mrs Jones frequent promptings not be halted either by the court or her counsel In addition to dismissal of the divorce suit the court dismissed an injunction filed by Mrs Jones against her husband seeking to re- strain him from removing or ing timber from the farm ty He attached the court costs in each case to the defendant Corn Divided A third injunction filed by the aged woman In which she sought to enjoin her husband from removing or selling a corn crop raised last year on the Jones property was ordered equally divided between the two with stipulations that pay half the total court costs Farm Owned by Husband Both Mr and Mrs Jones testified that difficulties have existed be- tween the father and daughter during the last two years which has caused the main rift in their marital life Regarding the injunction to hibit the removal of timber the court pointed out that the farm belonged to the husband by virtue of an inheritance 40 years ago and that he was entitled to See DIVORCE REFUSED P 2 FDR NEW VICTORY TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON CELL Tammany Leader Sentenced To Years For Part In Lottery Plot NEW YORK March 23 James J Minis 62 a power in Tammany politics for 26 years was sentenced today to four to eight years imprisonment on his con- viction on lottery conspiracy ges in connection with the late Dutch Schultz numbers racket Judge Charles C Nott Jr pended sentence of one to two years on the first count in the count indictment a misdemeanor charging conspiracy On each nf the fust four counts Judge Nott sentenced the Tammany district leader to not less than one year nor more than two years tha sentences to run con- ARC Considered On the last eight counts Hines received one to two years to run concurrently with the pre- vious count sentences If it were not for your said Judge Nott in passing tence I would not be so lenient with ycu The evidence showed you were paid at least annually to protect this vicious racket and in all previous cases of this type that have come before me I have been much more stringent Hines was pale and nervous as sentence was passed He adjusted and readjusted his glasses His lawyer Lloyd Paul Stryker ed too as Judge Nott announced the sentence Routine Motions Stryker made two routine tions to dismiss Both were denied tie told the court Hines had operated with probation officers to the fullest Stryker said Mr Hines has nothing to say J Richard Davis lawyer for the Dutch Schultz mob and Xfc SENTENCED P 2 L FINAL W TERRITORY U S internal revenue col- lector for Tennessee since 1933 Mr McCabe was well known throughout the state He formerly was state com- missioner of finance and ation It was under his the state highway patrol was instituted C M DIES OF HEART DISEASE JOHN B NAIL HOME Attractive Hillcrest Home Destroyed by Blaze Early Today Damage Fire believed by officials of the local fire department to have from a defective flue today destroyed the home of John B Nail located in the Hillcrest tion Fire department officials mated the loss Ht They quoted Mr Nail well known port business man as saying the home was partially covered by in- The blaze was discovered on the outside of the building about a m The Kingsport fire ment answered the alarm nut was unable to check the fire because it had gained too great a way Removed Furniture The members of the department however were successful in ing practically all the furniture i from the first floor and a part of j that on the second floor Mr Nail said the house I ently caught fire in the attic and quickly spread to the roof The chimney extended from the grate in the living room of the house in which no fire recently had been made The home located on a spacious tract overlooking Reedy Creek was considered one of the most tive in this vicinity The Nail family had been living in the home for several years It is located about two miles cast of the city limits Firemen were handicapped by the lack of water pressure Only a small wa- ter line extends into the section See pictures on 10 Internal Revenue Collector and Former State Official Succumbs to Illness RUSSIA READY TO SIGN PACT New Gas Mask For Infants Britain Unable to Make Up Its Mind on Consultation NASHVILLE tenn March 23 Charles Martin McCabe 69 U of Internal Revenue for Tennessee died today In health for several months McCabe continued his office tine until a few days ago when a ailment caused him to retire to his home Besides his federal post McCabe also held presidency of the Nashville Park Board and was head of a manufacturing company here A native of Nashville he was a former State Commissioner of ance and was under him that the state highway patrol was was a former postmaster here He was named Collector of In- ternal Revenue by President velt on June 21 1933 McCabe's death brings to three major federal office vacancies ex- isting in Tennessee U S Senators McKellar and Stewart are ed to make recommendations for I two federal judgeships ily Now they must recommend a CHARLES 12 AIR DEFENSE READY FOR SIGNING FDR Expected to Affix nature Without Delay to Army Expansion Measure President Wins Approval of Reorganization After Two- Year Battle NORTH Fair not change of suggestions after March so cold interior north portion 15 tax collection data was Friday fair warmer except able in extreme southwest portion See TAX REVISION page 12 Rush Trench Mortar TNT Bombs To Scene Of Hide-Out CODY A j suers to have my head mounted heavy trench mortar dynamite and j and hang it up in the courthouse gas bombs wore rushed by airplane for the sake of law and order into northwestern Wyoming today Fearful of further casualties if in an attempt to blast Earl attempted to rush Durand's rand Tarzan stronghold last night the his rocky fortress where he awaited arrival of modern more than 100 men at bay all night I ons of warfare before renewing after shooting down two the attack who attempted to rush his hideout Monday Cody pilot flew Durand who shot two Wyoming j from Casper Wyoming with a officers after he n mortar bombs and tear sheriff and broke from uie Cody Wyo jail a week ago notified cers he would not be taken alive The sharpshooting rancher left a letter at a as he Hed pistols obtained from national guard headquarters Garlow grand- son of William F Buffalo Cody famed frontiersman WHS on yesterday It challenged his See WYOMING P 12 WASHINGTON March 23 After a seesaw two-year battle the Roosevelt administration added a broad government reorganization program today to its list of con- gressional victories Only adjustment of minor ir the house measures will be required before the legislation can go to the White i House The President nevertheless did not get as complete authority for reshuffling federal as he originally asked In order to pre- vent a repetition of last year's house defeat the was stripped of nearly every controversial ture As approved by the senate 63 to 23 the legislation 1 The President can reorganize consolidate or abolish most agencies by executive der The orders would become after 60 days unless both house and senate voted disapproval j 2 Debate on to approve Presidential orders would be limited to 20 hours in each chamber 3 If he ordered abolition of See Page i GETTING DOWN TO CASES SAN DIEGO March 23 group of 3.000 San Diego state college students interested in Mrs Franklin D Roosevelt's uled address on youth problems at a public auditorium have asked her to help them solve one of their current difficulties In a petition requesting her to repeat her talk at the college the students pointed out that one of the problems of youth is to gel fifty-five admission fee to the auditorium WASHINGTON March 23 Only President Roosevelt's val WKS needed today to let the army building up its air force toward a top military planes The President was expected to sign without delay the army expansion con- gressional action was completed yesterday The measure containing the bulk of the administration's defense gram will the army to more than double its plane strength in the next two years to bolster Pan- ama Canal defenses to aid in a program of student pilot training and to educate selected in production of military supplies Take Tour Four members of the army high command will fly south in a few days on a tour of the Caribbean preparatory to ing Panama fortifications and an air base at Puerto Rico Final action on the army came after a joint committee had composed differences between ate and house versions of the It struck out a provision by Sena- tor Barldey that no con- tracts could be let to who failed to comply with federal labor standards Protesting this omission Senator Sec AIR DEFENSE P 2 LONDON March 23 Russia notified Great Britain day she would sign a sored declaration for immediate consultation among interested ers in event of possible German aggression A Soviet embassy spokesman said foreign Commissar Maxim off had announced his nation's de- in Moscow to Sir William Seeds British ambassador The spokesman declared Russia still stood by her insistence on an eventual conference Britain j The British cabinet however was represented by reliable sources i as having failed so far to make up its mind on this issue Would Oppose Move Prime Minister Chamberlain questioning whether Germany was not seeking to dominate Europe or even go further meanwhile warned or Britain's resolve to op- pose by all means in our power any such Nazi procedure Speaking in the House of Com- mons in reply to a question by op- position leader Clement R whether he had any further ment to make on the European Chamberlain His Majesty's government have already made clear that the recent actions of the German ment have raised the question whether that government is not seeking by successive efforts to dominate Europe and perhaps even to go further The prime minister Were this interpretation of the tions of the German government to prove correct His Majesty's feel bound to say that as similar attempts have done in the past this would rouse the ful resistance of this and other countries who prize their freedom Chamberlain rejected a tion by Sir Alfred Beit government supporter that he propose to France Belgium Australia and the Union of South Africa that they incorporate the former German i possessions which they now hold under mandate from the gue of Nations Answer to Hitler The prime minister's reply No sir I do not think the gestion would have the effect that my friend has in mind Sir Albert argued that his posal would be an answer to man aggression in Europe Chamberlain made his brief statement in commons after for- mer Foreign Secretary Eden addressing the American Correspondents Association had urged conscription both of Brit- ain's manpower and industry in order to halt Adolf Hitler's Seek Poland Aid Britain and France continued efforts to Poland to join them and Soviet Russia in an anti- aggression declaration directed at the German march Poland ever demanded both military and commitments the British government as the price of her signature MEMEL SPEECH CALLED EFFORT TO QUIET FEARS Nazi Leader Is Received With Lusty Cheers by New Reich Citizens No Oswald that youngster isn't a deep sea diver He's just an English infant clad in his new baby a by the British ment for babies It ties tight around his body to keep out gas has a window and a bellows ar- rangement for air which his mother works SLOVAKS PROTEST Hitler protectorate Told Vague Boundary Lines Re- sponsible for Invasion Last Minute News Flashes U S NOTIFIED OF CESSION OF MEMEL WASHINGTON March Lithuania notified the United States today of the cession of Memel to German through means FARM ASKED WASHINGTON March The house appropriations com- rejecting President Roosevelt's request to cut farm benefit payments 30 per rent asked congress today to to promote agricultural recovery essential to the complete restoration of our national economy POLISH TROOP MOVEMENT SEEN DANZIG FREE CITY March All available rolling stock of the railway administration in Danzig nnd Gdynia was being hurriedly withdraw today both cities leading some observers to that Polish troop movements were impending ITALY IS AWAITING FRENCH DECISION King Emanuel Says Nation Wants Peace as Long as Possible but Will Rearm March 23 Slovakian government today tested to Hungary against the en- try of Hungarian troops into vakia and drew a reply that the vague status of the boundary was responsible The Slovakian protest said that Hungarian troops had crossed the frontier from Ukraine occupied by Hungary last week in the of and had engaged in military action on Slovakian soil RUMANIANS SCATTER BUDAPEST March 23 AP shocks in the region near the Rumanian frontier threw thousands of civilians and some of the soldiers ed on the borders into a lived panic today The shocks continued inter- for 40 minutes The center was at zeni where many troops are concentrated Several chimneys toppled plaster fell from ings and pictures dropped from walls Excited villagers thinking had begun with a nearby bombardment leaped from their beds and ran into the streets seeking safe places Some rushed into cellars ROME March 23 torio told the new streamlined legislature today that Italy had notified France of tions dividing them giving some i of his listeners the impression hisi government was awaiting French moves toward settlement i His Majesty in a speech from the throne also said Italy peace to last as long as possible so she develop her African empire but he declared it was to continue rearming in j the sky on the land and on the I sea Because the speech had the ob- vious approval of Premier lini diplomats considered it- of hopeful significance Regarding the King said my government has made known the questions which divide the two countries in this moment in an official note last Dec 17 Pope Speaks While the King was speaking Pope Pius XII again expressed his desire for peace based on and mutual a can news service announced This en me in an for TOO garian pilgrims See ITALY'S STAND Page 12 County Stephen Csaky rian minister in reply told Slovakia is under ler's protection as an autonomous sovereign her eastern frontier had never been fixed and it was possible that a local dis- cussion had arisin between garian and Slovak troops Reports Denied The Budapest foreign office de- nied reports that Germany was en- or silently approving such military action in eastern Slovakia Such reports had in Budapest diplomatic circles which expressed belief that Hitler See HUNGARIANS Page 12 MEMEL March 23 Hitler concluded an eight-hour visit to this Baltic port latest ad- dition to his expanding realm when he departed at 4 p.m 10 aboard the Leopard for an un- disclosed destination The Reichsfuehrer had arrived aboard his battleship Deutschland this morning accompanied by a large part of his navy formally to welcome Memel back into the great German Reich ania yielded the port and its square mile territory yesterday Shortly after his triumphal ing Hitler indicated that swift absorption of one stretch after another of European territory may have come to a halt Even if our course does not please another world for this new Germany some eighty millions stand sponsor You are a frontier land and will best appreciate having a great tion behind you A new community has sprung from need and adversity That no other power shall ever subjugate this we shall look out Youngest Citizen So I greet you today as old members of the German as the youngest citizens And just as in this minute throughout the whole German Reich so too we here want to give I expression to our faith and our confidence in the Sieg Heir The Fuehrer finished speaking at p.m En- singing of the Reich's national anthems followed While warning the world that no nation on earth could tear the unified German nation asunder Hitler We Germans have no of doing harm to the rest of the world The damage which that other world did to Germany however had to be repaired again I believe that now in the main we have arrived at an end to this unique process of reparation This was interpreted as an effort to appease a nervous world and especially Poland Aboard Battleship Hitler came to Memel aboard the pocket battleship schland but transferred to the pedo boat Leopard for the trip through the inner harbor The vessel docked at p.m and Hitler step- ped on soil two minutes ter to be greeted by blaring les Hitler's reception by Memel the northernmost German city he ever has visited was on a par with en- greetings he received in other centers when they were brought home into the Reich It was a day of holiday and for a population j given only to hard work Hitler gave his latest subjects an impressive demonstration of what Germany's might is by arriving with a large part of the German fleet by having units of the first army corps march into the city and by letting warplanes roar over- head He also had his trusted head of the German police Heinrich ler on hand early Dr Ernst mann Nazi leader for Memel ready had set up formations of the Nazi party and SA and SS units Deafening Hoils Deafening heils rent the air on the Fuehrer's landing Hitler shook hands with als and admirals commanding his forces German airforce units cruised overhead As the crowds cried ecstatically We thank our Fuehrer Hitler took a salute of honor from a com- See HITLER SPEECH Page 12 Orphan Lad Chooses Farm Home And Kindly Woman NASHVILLE March 23 orphan lad began life anew today taken into the hands of a kindly woman whp rejoiced that she was chosen among a hundred applicants who offered to give the boy a home Robert Hixon bright eyed and blond who left homeless from Danville Ky because he had no place to go and city life was ting me today lived the life he farmer boy Mrs Robert L who gave the youngster a home yesterday guessed she had retired 20 ent youngsters in time Be- sides three own and eral of her Mrs Burris cared for many children from an industrial school I just knew that Robert was ing to be my next one when I about him in the she said The boy came to Nashville day night and asked police to find him lodging and a job on a farm Patrolman Tom H O'Neal im- pressed by the lad took him to his home A newspaper carried a story of Robert's plight Yesterday approximately of- fers came to O'Neal and his wife from persons who to care for him He chose as See ORPHAN LAD 12
