17 Feb 1930
Page 1
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Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Feb 17, 1930
Page
1
In Wooster on February 17 officers halted a digging of the Hanna residence yard after five feet without locating Melvin Horst the four year old missing youth. Authorities say Hanna’s tale that Earl Donald buried the child is false and the yard search is called off.
In Washington the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, 16 drys and one wet, weighs a resolution by Senator Burton Wheeler to probe liquor enforcement. In the House, debate lingers on the petty liquor offense bill as amendments target constitutional concerns. The tariff bill speed and a $48,161,854 deficiy appropriation are also noted.
Charles Hanna, 58, confessed Earl Donald, 42, killed four year old Melvin Horst and buried the body at Hanna’s Orrville home rear. They drove to Orrville to dig as authorities searched, with Donald accused of killing in his garage.
Ned McLean muses on a brief shooting scene as trains travel from bright sunlit lines to empty rails. The piece blends travel imagery with reflective notes on progress and pace.
A Toledo notice praises two competing trains the Pennsylvania Broadway Limited and the New York Central Twentieth Century as offering the same fast time and the peak in modern railroading. The publisher highlights eastbound and westbound travel options from major cities.
A brisk morning in Chicago brings vigorous cold with subzero temperatures and heavy snow along the line from Kansas and Missouri through Illinois. The west coast and Florida are contrasted as travelers recall warmer climates and cautions from mothers about sun safety.
Chicago today reports a routine shooting incident described as minor and not worth extended coverage and continued on a later page.
George Tiny Hulbert the 350-pound taxi driver and half brother of Bart Conald held in Wooster over Melvin Horst disappearance said he would travel to Wooster to seek an interview with Donald. He added his mother, Earl’s mother, has been urged to remain in Columbus rather than visit Orrville with relatives.
Key witness Hanna, after 42 hours of questioning, says Melvin was killed by Donald and buried in a yard. He claims his earlier testimony protected his father. Diggers uncovered tin cans in Orrville as the search intensified, watched by Melvin’s uncles Roy and Roscoe Horst.
The first deficiency appropriation bill of the session totals 48,151,854 to cover current government expenses. It funds emergency repairs at the Capitol and White House, an air conditioning plant, removal of buildings for a new Supreme Court site, and Coast Guard needs including boats to curb liquor smuggling and a claim arbitration related to a schooner sinking.
Amesville February 17 Howard Watson 60 farmer near Federal Creek five miles west of town shot himself after driving cattle to a field. Found by his wife with motive undetermined. He leaves a widow formerly Mrs Carpenter. funeral plans not set.
Feb 17 Akron report states the United States Tire and Rubber merger of BK Goodrich with Miller Rubber Co is ratified by Miller stockholders. Falls Rubber and Cooper Tire also announce a combined entity. The Goodrich Miller deal had been anticipated since January 21 after board approvals. Goodrich to assume liabilities and acquire all assets.
Athens County delinquent land taxpayers and property descriptions were certified to State Auditor Joseph T. Tracy by County Auditor J. Clyde Edmunson and County Treasurer W. E. Moler. About 600 names appeared. 95 paid before certification. Delinquent lands face foreclosure after three more years of advertising with a 10 percent penalty and eight percent interest from ad date.
In Wooster Ohio the Horst enigma timeline runs from Melvin Horst's 1928 disappearance to Charles Hanna's February confession that Donald killed Melvin and buried the body. The sequence covers indictments, trials for kidnapping, acquittal, and shifting boy missing person theories with key witnesses.
Attorney General Bettman announced the appointment of Earl Reese Hoover of Dayton to his legal staff. Hoover, a Day ton native and Otterbein and Harvard Law School graduate, will handle special work in taxation matters.
United Press reports immigration officers joining Chicago’s crime crackdown. About 1,000 arrests since Saturday lift total over 4,000, with 30 gunmen indicted and 18 arraigned. Irene Berent and Barbara Mayer among suspects, several others nabbed. police say crime cleared up and prisoners added as officer Frank Reynolds kills his eleventh suspect.
Charlies Hanna of Wooster confessed that Fort Conald a former railroad brakeman killed 4 year old Melvin Horst in Orrville a year ago. Hanna’s 10 year old son Junior named Donald as kidnapper and slayer, while Donald accused Hanna. Officers described the confession as occurring after hours of questioning.
Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas denounced a propaganda barrage aimed at discrediting the Federal Farm Board. He blamed grain gamblers for attacks while defending the board and its Canadian wheat pool, urging support until the board can demonstrate its ability to foster cooperative marketing and link existing co operatives into larger units.
President Hoover resumed official duties after eight days away chasing sailfish off Long Key Florida. He arrived at 6 45 am with Mrs Hoover and guests and was driven to the White House. Mrs Stone wife of Associate Justice caught sealife with a gold medal awarded by a Long Key fishing club.
Washington February 17. Red Cross official says Miss Elizabeth Fox’s speech on legalized birth control information does not reflect the organization’s official position. John Kapa Payne, chairman, states the Red Cross abstains from controversial issues and this topic does not fall within its province. Payne writes to John D. Ryan after receiving a clipping and inquiry about Fox’s remarks. Ryan sits on the Red Cross Central Committee.
Miller Ernie of Columbus is denied by Ohio authorities a second time as Michigan seeks to return him for the Detroit River murder claim against Arzenne Janaisse on April 21, 1921. Governor Myers Y. Cooper follows past governor Donahey in holding the evidence insufficient for Miller's extradition to Detroit.
A.R. Fred Glover, 38, a railroad policeman, died after being struck by a passenger train on the New York Central tracks in Cleveland. Officials cited fog and low hanging smoke as factors that hid the oncoming train.
The Messenger Classifieds list several offers including an Oak land 1936 coach for 320 dollars down. A three room house with five acres is available two miles from Athens on a hard road. A slightly used electric washer is priced at 19 dollars and 76 cents. Mutton sells in Nelsonville at 3.06 dollars per pound. A public sale is set for next Thursday near Pratt's Fork.
In St Etienne France 15 exhausted miners were rescued from a shaft after 67 hours in darkness. Food champagne and rum fed morale as rescuers drilled a passage and air tubes kept them alive. The men imagined they had been seven days below ground before contact was made.
On the 126th anniversary of Ohio University the Alumni Memorial Auditorium program starts at 10 am with Gov. Myers Y. Cooper as the principal speaker. The Ohio University Band trumpeters salute him as he walks from President Bryan's office to the auditorium. The band forms on the west side and is reviewed by the Governor under Prof Curtiss W Janssen. The Men's Glee Club will sing and Prof Victor Lekberg will present piano selections.
London February 17. In private talks at St James Palace American Secretary Stimson British Prime Minister MacDonald and Japanese Reijiro Wakatsuki led discussions aimed at reconciling Japan’s demand for a 70 percent naval power ratio with U S and British views. American senators Robinson and Reed and Japanese members Matsudaira and Admiral Takarabe joined the session.
Washington observers discuss former President Calvin Coolidge potentially seeking a second term in 1936.His silence and countrywide swing trip fuel talk of a comeback as Republicans weigh tariff and farm relief battles and Democratic gains cast shadow on Hoover era politics.
The Athens Messenger promotes a Washington Information Bureau booklet featuring thirty one U S presidents and the women who presided at the White House with pictures, terms of office, and sketches. It invites readers to refresh memory of presidential history and national progress through portraits and key facts.
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