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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Jan 10, 1950
Page
1
A mother dying at her home gave birth by Caesarean section. The article also notes local weather, academic honors for Robert T. L. Long of Auburn, and various community notices including church events, veterans affairs, and local residents' activities in Decatur, Hartselle, and surrounding areas.
Decatur will decide for the fourth time in 12 years whether to adopt the commission form of government on February 14. Mayor H. R. Summer announced the balloting date after reviewing a petition certified to him on January 7 by Probate Judge T. C. Almon, which was presented January 4 by Charles Rountree.
Voters may register during a ten day period starting January 16. Morgan Board of Registrars chair T H Gunn said the Morgan county registration office at the county house will be open 8 30 AM to 4 30 PM. Tax Collector Alvis Briscoe noted poll tax books close February 1 and receipts are available at State National Bank Falkville Hart sel le City Hall and Morgan County Courthouse Decatur. Briscoe estimated about 1 800 of 6 000 poll tax payers have paid their current taxes.
Judge Almon certified 167 qualified Decatur voters from a 417 named petition. The number equals one percent of the population per the last federal census and meets state law. Voters will decide if the city adopts a three-man commission or retains the present mayoral system.
Gov. J. Strom Thurmond said he has not received an invitation to a Southern Democratic rally in Raleigh North Carolina on January 28. The conference aims to build support for President Truman's legislative program. Thurmond notes his opposition to Truman policies, especially civil rights proposals. Daniels previously said Southern governors were invited and Thurmond would be welcome if he joined as a Democrat.
Wayne Richardson 51 year old Associated Press correspondent signed on as crew for the Flying Arrow sailing from Hong Kong to run the nationalist blockade of Shanghai. He witnessed heavy shelling by a nationalist gunboat off the Yangtze river mouth and remained aboard to file the developing story.
Two American destroyers Stickell and Bausell anchored beside the shell battered freighter Flying Arrow after an attack by Chinese nationalist forces. The master Capt. David Jones says the ship is unseaworthy and requests escort to any port except Shanghai. A Chinese gunboat was observed offshore at dusk.
Mayor O'Dwyer proposes state supervised sports betting to curb crime and underground wagering. Opponents in the Republican majority voice skepticism while some Democrats support giving municipalities the option to legalize gambling. Governor Dewey silent as legislative clash looms.
Howard Orr 41, a Black farm worker, is jailed in Morgan County on a serious case warrant after a New Year gambling incident near Trinity. He allegedly fired a 12 gauge public safety item at Carl Cohn, who later died in Decatur hospital. Witnesses said Orr earlier lost a fistfight to Cohn.
Washington reports a growing congressional clamor for reducing President Truman's 42 billion dollar budget. Senators and representatives weigh cuts, while some fear the deficit may be larger than projected and lawmakers consider tax relief rather than a tax hike.
In Washington, January 10 congressional action sought new legal tools against John L. Lewis. A Ferguson resolution would urge President Truman to use Taft Hartley emergency powers to end the current three day coal mining week.
About 57,000 miners idle across seven states as walkouts spread to three more steel company pits. In Western Pennsylvania 30,000 idle with 7,200 at captive mines. Alabama 5,000 plus idle. Virginia 2,300 returned to work leaving 250 idle at one mine. Some pits reopened in Kentucky. Jones and Laughlin Wheeling and Bethlehem pits still idle. General return unlikely before Monday. miners work Mondays to Wednesdays per UMW president John L. Lewis.
Senator Robertson proposes using anti trust laws against labor unions to force a new pact. Lewis sticks to United Mine Workers terms including an 85 cent daily wage boost for miners and a 15 cent rise in a 20 cent tonnage royalty for a welfare fund. Operators balk at costs as contract talks with Lewis heat up after the July 1 expiration. No sign of acting authority from Truman or Denham.
In KOSCIUSKO Mississippi three white men allegedly massacred the Harris family after attempting to rape the 14 year old stepdaughter Pearline Thurman. Omas Harris spoke from a hospital bed naming Malcolm Whitt Leon Turner and Wendell Whitt as the suspects. Authorities pursued Turner and the Whitts while Harris described a deadly home invasion that left three children dead.
Ninety carloads of tanks and armored cars bound for the Chinese government at Formosa were loaded today on the Turkish freighter S. Mardin at a Philadelphia pier. The Reading company said the equipment came by Reading lines from Ohio to a port along the Delaware River in Port Richmond Philadelphia.
The Alabama court of appeals upheld Senator Glen Taylor's disorderly conduct conviction for attempting to enter a door reserved for Negroes at a Birmingham meeting on May 1 1948. He was fined $50 and sentenced to 180 days in jail. Taylor challenged Birmingham segregation as unconstitutional during a 1948 campaign.
The United States transferred all women employees of the American embassy and consulate on Formosa to stations outside the island amid communist threats. Wives and children of American diplomats were advised to depart as well. State Department spokesman Michael McDermott announced four women were affected by the order.
Agents for the ship, B. H. Sobel & Co., said the vessel will depart next week. They declined to provide details on the consignment, noting a Turkish company agreement bans news releases to the press.
The Associated Press reports the Soviet Union presses to unseat nationalist China at the United Nations as the security council opens its 1950 session. China’s T. F. Tsiang chairs while Moscow challenges recognition and a Formosa clash stirs U S politics. World reaction spreads through allied nations.
Earth tremors shook the Dover straits last night rattling doors and moving furniture. Reports from France indicated tremors in Calais and Dunkirk while London seismographs logged a series of small shocks within 150 miles.
Ruth Weyand a white government lawyer and assistant general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board faces a $50,000 suit for alienation of affections filed by Olive J. Perry the wife of Leslie S. Perry. The complaint alleges an affair from 1947 to 1949 and notes gifts an automobile and Weyand’s role in Supreme Court labor cases.
Mrs. Carol Key Hargett 26 died from an accidental gunshot wound in her Russellville home during a visit by her parents. A Caesarean baby boy, born to Mrs. Hargett, survived on the kitchen floor after the pistol discharged while the husband assisted the physician. The incident occurred between 8:30 and 9 P.M. as the group was handling a new 22 caliber pistol. The baby, a month premature, rests well. the mother’s last breath came as the child was born. The husband Pelham Hargett 28 is a telephone company lineman. the physician was Dr W H Spruell who used a pocket knife for the delivery.
Handy Ellis, once runner up for governor, announces another bid in the May Democratic primary. He urges states rights as Alabama may withhold electoral votes from the national party if civil rights policies persist. He criticizes the pardon and parole board, opposes liquor law repeal but wants reform, and calls for decency honesty economy and higher old age pensions.
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