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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 26, 1945
Page
1
Cool today with a warm trend next afternoon and frost risk inland. Army discharge and medals noted for Cecil D Bartlett and several others including Maples Malone Cavnar Thompson McKay. Christmas visits and church prayer meeting at Central Methodist. Local price board to stay open Saturday. Buoyed by homecomings and travels, residents prepare for New Jersey and Montgomery connections.
A butane gas truck explosion leveled a warehouse apartment building in Santa Barbara killing three people identified as John Johnson, Frances Watson, and Caroline Sue Stovall. A fourth person was missing and five others injured, with evacuations and police patrols extending through the area.
Chief J B Whitmire reports six Christmas night thefts in the city. Prize A Beauty Shop on Second Avenue lost 27 dollars and 80 cents. Wrights Radio Center reported a broken front window with a radio missing. Wallace barber shop saw entry through a back door and soft drinks stolen. Alabama Gas Co skylight entry yielded a green scarf. Pe Bons made an exit through the back door. an attempted break at Singer-Machine offices failed. M and M Sandwich Shop rockola machine smashed with 300 pennies taken. All cases under investigation.
Tokyo report says The Daily Ise Shim bun received a 24 hour suspension for violating Allied press code. Col. C. W. Wadsworth announced the action, citing no specifics beyond prohibiting publication that disturbs public tranquility or criticizes occupation policies.
Senator Johnson proposes the government act as agent for a 3.75 billion dollar loan to Great Britain. A special bond issue would be sold to the public not backed by the U S Treasury, with buyers receiving Britain’s payments. Johnson says this would be a popular referendum on the loan.
Morgan County nears the end of the eighth and final World War II era bond drive with 92 percent of the series E quota reached. $48,000 remains to hit the $641,000 goal as the December 29 deadline approaches, urging beat leaders to report investments and push every beat over the top.
Paris dec 26 France's constituent assembly weighs the Bretton Woods accord after a government decree slashed the franc causing it to stand at 119.10669 to the dollar and 480 to the pound sterling. The move ends a postwar peg of 50 to the dollar and 20 to the pound as experts call the two cent cut artificial. The decree took effect with official publication and aims to align the franc with world markets before debate proceeds.
President Truman enjoys a quiet Christmas at Independence Missouri mixing family time with friendly greetings. He traveled from Washington through sleet to Grandview and Kansas City, then planned more visits with friends before a return to the capital.
In Pineville Kentucky an explosion deep in a drift coal mine left about 30 to 35 miners unaccounted after smoke erupted from the entrance. Rescue squads entered the tunnel as officials awaited word on air conditions and casualties. The mine runs 1.5 to 2 miles into the mountain and the cause of the blast was not yet known.
Captain Oscar P. Fuller of the Salvation Army thanked groups and agencies that helped make Christmas successful in Decatur. He noted no one was left out this Christmas. Cooperating were the Community Chest, Salesmen's club, Goodyear Decatur Mills, Hamilton Auto Supply, Moody Service station, Westminster Presbyterian church, and the intermediate department of Central Methodist church.
Alabama's Rose Bowl bound football team, due for workouts in Pasadena, was delayed by a homeward bound GI traffic jam. The squad switched trains after a congestion at El Paso, causing arrival to slip to this afternoon.
President Truman announced from Kansas City that upon his return to Washington he will speak to the nation by radio. He will outline the overall legislative program and the state of the nation in his forthcoming address.
Tokyo’s Mimpo accuses privileged classes of hoarding food as Allied directives order 20 million kilograms of food and 3.13 million pieces of clothing distributed to the public. The action follows wartime confiscations and a move to return Allied properties.
Staff Sgt. Morris Black, 18 months Europe veteran, landed in the United States around 12:30 Christmas Day. His new baby Morris Howell Black, 10 pounds, was born at Decatur General Hospital about that hour. The arrival comes as a Christmas full of family news for the Blacks of 1505 Twelfth Avenue and 705 Seventh Street, with relatives gathering in Decatur and New Orleans to share in the reunion. Sgt. Black, who enlisted in 1941, served through European campaigns and expects to return home soon.
Rep. Joe W. Ervin of North Carolina was found dead in his Washington home on Christmas Day. A death by self asphyxiation note was left, with other messages for his widow and brother. Ervin, 44, had recent health issues and had just left Walter Reed Hospital. He was a first-term congressman from the 10th district, living in Charlotte since 1925, and his death alters the House party balance with 240 Democrats and 196 Republicans, amid several resignations planned for year end.
C W Bailey of Clarksville Tennessee banker and president of First National Bank of Clarksville will headline the 15th annual Decatur Chamber of Commerce meeting. Farm leaders from Alabama are invited, with five new directors to be elected that evening. Bailey is praised for promoting sound farming practices and processing and marketing farm products through Decatur's cooperative efforts.
The Chinese press reported Chiang Tieton, eldest son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, left for Moscow on Tuesday. He previously served as foreign affairs commissioner in Manchuria and would be consulted on Sino-Soviet issues being discussed by the Big Three foreign ministers in Moscow. Official quarters did not confirm or deny the report.
The United States Russia and Britain ministers met at Speridoniska palace to finalize details of European peace treaties. Agreements reportedly reached on major questions with faster progress than expected and a tentative final communique time discussed. Byrnes Molotov and Bevin reportedly pleased with results though French assent and timing remained unsettled.
The two major labor conflicts, the GM strike and CIO UAW walkout threat, lead post Christmas activity. In Detroit GM and CIO UAW plan talks but wage demands for a 30 percent rise stay off the agenda. Washington CIO Electric Workers, with 250000 members, meet conciliators over a $2 daily wage demand.
A holiday survey reports about 414 violent deaths nationwide with over half from auto accidents. Fire deaths totaled 68, with Hartford CT suffering 17 fatalities. Texas and California led in violence with 47 and 46 deaths. Heavy snow and wintry weather reduced highway travel.
Hartford, Conn. Dec 26 A Christmas Eve fire at the Niles Street hospital killed 13 patients and two kitchen workers, with 18 injured and ten firefighters hospitalized. State Police Commissioner Hickey said a delayed alarm caused by a fire in a dry Christmas tree trunk fed the blaze. A trained attendant Mrs Edith Miller and another worker Miss Aldina G Aluesi failed to extinguish the flames before they spread. The investigation continues.
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