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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
May 24, 1946
Page
1
Partly cloudy with scattered thundershowers possible this afternoon, tonight, and Saturday. Temperature ranged from 62 to 80 with .66 inch rainfall. Sermons by Rev J A Gomes and Rev L C Radford, plus reports on church visits, memorial services, and community notices fill a weekend ahead.
One hundred three students at Decatur junior high school will receive diplomas at graduation exercises this afternoon at 2. O S Hageman, acting superintendent of schools, will present the diplomas. The program opens with a processional band and the Star Spangled Banner, followed by a prayer. Talks include The Four Freedoms by Jimmy Tatum and other themes. Outstanding awards go to Needham Long, Betty Fay Julian, Mary Caudill, and Lewis Dement. The class lists the graduates and mentions DAR and Birmingham News honors.
In Montgomery Alabama two inmates Lester Wingard and Fred Hicks were executed in Kilby prison by electric chair for murder. Wingard killed an elderly white man in Ramer and Hicks killed an elderly Black woman. Governor Sparks refused to intervene though a psychiatric report found them sane. Hicks said nothing as he died after eight minutes.
In a White House call Senator Byrd urged President Truman to seek a joint session of Congress for added authority to curb nationwide strikes. Byrd pressed for action if the railroad deadlock persists, as Senate fights over labor legislation and welfare fund controls intensify amid the coal strike crisis.
Lt. Gov. Handy Ellis says he expects undercover backers of James E. Folsom to smear him with forged charges. He defends a $12,000 fee for Graves era work and a parole case where he advised a possible outcome, denying political pressure.
In Tokyo on May 24 the Emperor appealed for national solidarity to tackle the food shortage urging prompt action by Premier Yoshida. Yoshida backed a self help policy and named Hiro Wada as agriculture minister to present a plan to the cabinet. Wada said ration controls were currently inadequate and more steps were needed.
Northern L. Finch a 30 year old Decatur Transit taxi driver is jailed in Morgan County charged with assault with intent to murder. The warrant was sworn by Justice George W Norwood and the arrest occurred near Decatur on the Moulton highway. Finch is held on a $750 bond for the assault charge after being released on a $100 bond for driving while intoxicated.
Mary Akiya a Viennese dancer and singer once near General MacArthur is jailed in Sugamo prison Tokyo Rose. Her six month sentence stems from using United States mails a privilege denied to foreigners in military zones.
The May 9 Soviet evacuation notice from Moscow left unclear its impact on the United Nations Security Council. Iran alleges Russia still interferes. Gromyko has boycotted Iranian matters, and the council may call up the case anytime. Meanwhile Jose Giral testified Franco’s regime arms Spain to resist a Russian attack, estimating armed strength at 40,000.
A 20 year old former elite guard private testified at the Malmedy trials that two American soldiers and their wounded comrade on a stretcher were shot in the rear during the Battle of the Bulge. The witness Gustav A. Sprenger said he shot and killed the wounded American.
A contract to repaint the state capitol interior went to Boyd Contracting Co of Birmingham at a low bid of 9476 dollars. The May 24 notice lists the award and amount.
Washington reports that a new secret germ weapon, said to wipe out large cities and crops, was disclosed during House appropriations hearings. The weapon, sprayed from airplanes, could cause rapid, certain death and is described as more deadly than the atomic bomb.
Decatur faced the nationwide rail strike's first day with post office and Greyhound impact. Postmaster R T Sheppard limited second to fourth class mail while first and air mail remained under restrictions. Bus lines increased passenger loads and some express shipments, as rail service grew scarce.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that major budget items food clothing and house furnishings now cost over 50 percent more than at the war start in Europe. The consumer price index is about 130.9 percent of the 1935-39 average, and up three percent from the prior period.
In Savannah on May 24 General Dwight D. Eisenhower was ordered to cut short a vacation and return to Washington for an emergency rail strike conference. He canceled a Georgia Bar Association address but planned a parade in his honor and a plane trip afterward.
John L. Lewis postponed a 250 member policy committee meeting set to end the soft coal strike until further clarification of miners status under the Smith Connally act. The notice, posted at United Mine Workers headquarters, said government seizure of mines triggers the act and imperils members liberty, delaying any contract or truce extension.
The Associated Press reports the coal mining industry faces closure due to the railroad strike atop a two week strike truce ending midnight tomorrow. With about two fifths of 400000 miners absent, officials warn railcar shortages could shutter mines within 24 hours if the walkout continues. Idle output tops 168000 miners nationwide and production may halt as brownouts loom in eastern and midwestern coal regions.
Washington May 24 A dark outlook for a quick settlement of the railroad strike was reported by Dr John R Steelman top government mediator He said the situation looks dark as talks resumed between carriers and unions at a downtown hotel White House discussions with cabinet members and possible congressional action followed The Marine Corps ordered active duty for reserve officers and the Army kept a standby posture as mediation continued with leaders of the striking trainmen and engineers and non striking brotherhoods present
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