The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, April 27, 1931, Page 1

North Dakota’s Oldest Newspaper “ESTABLISHED 1878 Shoot Gotham Gangster Fred Burke GUNMAN GETS LIFE TERM FOR KILLING » PATROLMAN IN 1929 Gangster Makes His Plea When Brought Into St. Joseph, Mich., Court JUDGE LOSES LITTLE TIME Notorious Underworld Charac- ter Admits Fatally Shooting Charles Skelly St. Joseph, Mich., April 27—(P)— Fred Burke Monday was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor in the Michigan branch prison at Marquette for the slaying of Patrolman Charles Skelly. He is expected to be taken to prison Tuesday. Sentence was passed by Circuit Judge Charles E. White. The offense on which Burke was sentenced was second-degree murder. Judge White said there was evidence that Burke had been intoxicated the night he shot the patrolman and was not in full possession of his faculties. Burke was taken back to the county jail immediately after sentence was Burke's plea ertied a career of crime which made him notorious in a dozen cities in the midwest. The crime to which he pleaded guilty was spectacular of a long series of bank robberies and as- sassinations with which he had been linked. Patrolman Skelly was slain by Burke when he stepped onto the running board of the gangster’s auto- mobile to question him about a traf- fic accident in which he had figured. At that time Burke had been living incognito for some time in an elab- orately: fitted house on the outskirts of St. Joseph. In this house the po- lice found pistols and machine guns as well as bonds stolen from = Jeft- ferson, Wis., bank. Among the witnesses summoned fr the hearing which followed Burke's plea was Forrest Kool, a Berrien county farmer. It was Kool’s automobile which figured in the ac- cident about fealty Skelly sought to question Burke. Burke stood silent in court. The plea was made in his behalf by his attorney, Charles W. Gore, Benton Harbor. There was & large crowd present and a heavy guard was in the courtroom. ‘The only other witness summoned for the hearing besides Kool was Dr. Clayton Emery of the St. Joseph sanitarlum who attended Patrolman Skelly just before he died. Burke was returned here from Mis- souri where he was captured in a farm house several weeks ago. ‘There is rio death penalty in Michi- MUTILATED BODY OF YOUNG WOMAN FOUND) sss Brutal Slayers af 21-Year-Old Daughter of Farmer Sought in Connecticut THE BISMA {Financier Quits j BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 1931 SHAPER CONFIDENT N.D, ACREAGE CUT TOBE SUBSTANTIAL "| Increases in Feed Crops, Hay, CYRUS 8. EATON CYRUSEATON QUITS | HIS POSITION WITH FINANCIAL CONCERN) == Cleveland Man Makes No State- ment and Appears Sanguine and Cheerful Cleveland, April 27.—(?)—Cyrus 8. Eaton, Cleveland financier who founded Cintinental Shares, s $156,- 000,000 investment concern, has re- as chairman of the board and signed heads of four Cleveland banks have | ing directors. public utilities and railroad executive, came from virtual retirement to be- substantial enhancement of their in- vestments, providing, of course, the financial storm ever stops.” Eaton issued no statement, but ap- peared to his associates as sanguine and cheerful. Eaton does not relinquish any of his by the six stockholders’ suits recently filed, it was stated by Theodore L. Bailey, spokesman for Continental shares and Otis and Company, Cleve- ‘Anouncement also was made that the New York Stock Exchange trans- actions of Otis and Company, in ‘which Eaton is @ large stockholder, in the future will be handled by E. A. Pierce. and Company. The latter move, Otis and Company annouced, was to segregate investments from commission business, This is in line with the policy recently advocated by the New York Stock Exchange. 's. was made Sat- until and Summer-Fallow Seen by Governor VISITS ST. PAUL BANKERS State Executive Is on Way Back to Bismarck After Trip to West Baden St. Paul, April 27—(?)—Confidence was expressed here Monday by Gov. George F. Shafer of North Dakota hat curtailment of wheat acreage in that state this year will be “substan- “There will be an incrase in feed crops and hay and more land will be summer-fallowed,” he said. “The to- tal acreage of all crops probably will not show much change from a year ‘The governor is en route to Bis- marck from a trip to West Baden, Ind., and visited officials of the fed- eral land bank of St. Paul. In an interview he said legislation Permitting the making of loans on grains stored on farms apparently can be successful only when piices of grains are satisfactory to growers. Expense Too Heavy “The expense involved in inspec- tions and other charges is too heavy when farm prices of wheat are around 50 cents a bushel,” he said. “In the handling of farm storage dur- the first year of our experience. that is in the handling of the 1929 crop, markets of which continued well into the first half of 1930, we felt that things worked out very well.” “More than 1,500,000 bushels of , | grain were stored on farms and loans made against the grain. The losses were negligible. I know of no local benk or.credit company which ‘suf- fered any ‘loss. The loans on farm storage work out particularly well where the local bank and credit com- pany officials know the farmers with whom they are dealing and we con- sidered the operations very successful for the first crop handled. “We had anticipated a sharp in- crease in the farm storage business | for the 1930 crop. However, there was a sharp reduction in the demand for farm storage: this year. With wheat below 50 cents a bushel on the farms, growers were able to get only 2 small amount, not usually more than 30 cents @ bushel, so that they did not make applications for loans. The amount of grain on which farm stor- age loans from the last crop were made is fewer than a million bushels. If wheat prices. advance to 75 or 80 cents a bushel, this method of tinanc- ing grain undoubtedly will be popular, but there is too much expense in- volved when prices are as low as at (Continued on page seven) 6 THOUGHT DROWNED AS BOAT OVERTURNS the | Officials Searching for Bodies Hamden, Conn., April 27—()—The | tonal slaying of Emily Kirk, 21-year-old daughter of s Hamden farmer, re- mained unsolved Monday as police sought a motive for the brutal kill- ing. Fier body was found in a thicket Sunday. There were four bullet wounds in the head and arms, The nead was badly mutilated and s bloodstained rock lay nearby. Medical examiners, after an autopsy, said they believed the girl had been crim- inally assaulted. Miss Kirk was last seen alive Sat- Cleveland, and Philip Wick, Youngs- town Steel man and investment bank- er, resigned ast directors. W. R. Bur- well resigned. as president and di- rector and will continue as vice pres- ident. Seattle Millionaire Dies in Plane Crash urday night stepping from a. fire|! station an isolated section. The station been used that night for @ banquet and dance. She had been serving as a waitress at the banquet and left the hall to get her party dress from her automobile. ‘Three strange men, reported acting suspiciously Saturday night, were sought for questioning. Police said that Miss Kirk had refused their of- fers to dance on previous Saturdays at other dances. Three Auto Victims Die in Minneapolis of Prominent and Wealthy Californians Oakland, Calif., April 27.—(P)—A search was pressed Monday tor five prominent and wealthy Piedmont residents believed to have drowned with the capsizing of their motorboat ‘off Goat Island. Airplanes augment~ “Chickie” was found floating bottom up in San Francisco Bay Sunday. It was discovered by John A. Jchnson, tugman, who towed the craft to Oak- land Yacht club. ‘The missing, for whom hope was abandoned, are Gilvert Lok- en, Jr., San Francisco stock broker; Mrs. Mary Loken, his wife; Varl E. Jefferson, Oakland insurance man; Mrs, Lydia Jefferson, his wile; and Sheridan Hubbard, 34, manager of an Oakland building and loan ocmpeny. They had attended a dance at the night and Hub- Snowden Leaves Sickbed To Open His Third Budget Little African Monkey, Jr., Was frightened when the cameraman “shot” him in Overton Park zoo, Memphis, Tenn. He clutched his mother and cried “Eeek, eeek!” which translated into the English language means “Save me from that bad man and his machine!” But Mrs. Mamma Monkey knew there wasn’t any danger. She reassured her startled offspring and nibbled un- concernedly on a lettuce leaf. Steele Farm Neighbor’s Home and Dies COMMISSIONS URGE CHANGES IN CODES OF TWO CHURCHE Divorce, Birth Control Brought to Front by Episcopalians) Presbyterians New York, April 27—(4)—Changes in church codes are proposed in re- ports published Monday by official groups within the Protestant Epis- copal church and the Presbyterian church in the United States of Amer-) ica. An Episcopalian commission ap-{ Pointed six years ago recommended | adoption of virtually a new canon} covering the church’s attitude toward divorce and remarriage. A commis- sion of the Presbyterian church, de- ploring the increasing divorce rate, gave approval to birth control and suggested establishment of courses for instruction in marriage. ‘The revised canon of the Episcopal- fan church advocated creation of es- clesiastical courts to pass on prob- lems of marriage. It would permit ministers to remarry communicants and divorced persons under certain circumstances, eliminate all mention of ground for divorce and remarriage, and define nine causes for annulment. Even though a minister should of- ficiate at the marriage of a com- municant and one divorced, the cere- mony could not be conducted in a church edifice nor could the book of common prayer be used. ‘At present an Episcopalian minister cannot in any circumstances officiate at the remarriage of a guilty party in a divorce granted for infidelity, al- though he can remarry the innocent party with the consent of the bishop. Explaining the reasons for the change relating to infidelity Bishop the commission, said: “There is one outstanding reason for removing the exception for adult- |; ery, namely, that in a divorce given by the civil court for adultery it is often the innocent party that is penal- ized. Many times when a wife is guilty of adultery the husband makes himself the apparent offender in the eyes of the law.” §, D, MAN SHOOTS WIFE AND HIMSELF Argument Over Newspaper Is Believed Cause of Double Homicide at Watertown er Crawls to Charles Marley, 55, Unable to Waik When Blood Vessel in Heart Breaks Suddenly seized with severe ab- dominal pains Saturday as he was working in the field, and consequent- ly unable to walk, Charles Marley, 55, a ‘Mariner living 21 miles south. of} Steele, crawled on his hands and knees to the home of a neighbor some distance away, where he died a few minutes later. Marley was in such acute pain that he was unable to unhitch his team to carry him home. Death came a few minutes after the arrival of a physician from Steele, who was immediately summoned by neighbors. Because of the peculiar symptoms suffered by the victim, Coroner J. J. Hochholter of Kidder county ordered that an inquest be held to determine the cause of death. Drs. L. W. Lar- son and J. O. Arnson, Bismarck, were summoned to collaborate with Dr. Baer in performing an autopsy. After the autopsy had been performed, physicians anounced that death had resulted from a ruptured blood ves- sel in the heart. Because of the nature of the find- ings in the autopsy, Hochhalter de- cided that an inquest would not be necessary. A coroner's jury, which had been drawn previously, was called in to view the body. Marley leaves a widow and several FOUR ARE KILED IN TRAIN-AUTO CRASH Farmington, lowa, Party Riding in Machine Struck by C. B. and Q. Train Fort Madison, Ia., April 27—(>)— Four persons, all of Farmington, were killed late Sunday when a fast pas- senger train struck their automobile near here. The dead are: E. L; Shreves, 52; his wife, 50: Their daughter, Fern, 13, and Janet Fellows, 12, a guest. It is believed that Shreves was driving when the C. B. & Q. train en route from St. Louis to Fort Madison struck the car. ‘The party was returning home from Fort Madison when the accident oc- curred, Shreves had been a rural mail car- rier for 25 years. Shafer on Return . Trip to Bismarck Governor George F. Shafer, who has Bend, Ind., for Mott Man Succumbs At Home Saturday BISMARCK-MANDAN BANKS HAVE NEW COLLECTION PLAN Adopt ‘Float’ Charge on All Items Deposited for Collec- tion at Outside Points THREE CITIES EXEMPTED Minneapolis, St. Paul and Du- luth Are Listed as ‘Par Ex- change’ Towns Announcement of a new system of collecting, checks and other items whereby a “float” charge will be made for this service, was made Monday by banks in the Bismarck-Mandan Clearing House association. ‘The reason for the change from the old system, which cleared nearly all such items at par, is the desire of the banks to tighten up on the collection of interest, according to officials. ‘Their position is that when a bank cashes a check for a given amount, the money whereas the bank has to wait a considerable time before it, in turn, receives the money from the bank on which the check is drawn. In effect, according to the bankers, the bank has been loaning the payee the amount of the check during the interim. The float charge is based on a six- per-cent interest rate for these pe- the city in which the payee bank is located. If Sundays or holidays’ in- tervene between the time the bank pays a check and the time it collects the item, an additional charge of 17 cents per $1,000 per day over the regu- lar scale is made. The minimum charge on North Da- cents and applies to Dickinson, Fargo, Glen Ullin, Grand Forks, Hebron, Jamestown, New Salem, Steele, Valley City and Wilton. Chicago, Illinois, also is listed as a three-day point but all others, with the exception of Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul are four-day points. The three Minnesota cities are placed in the no-charge list for regular cus- tomers although the banks may, at their discretion, make such a charge. The reason for the exception, it was stated, is that the major volume of (Continued on page seven) HERE EARLY SUNDAY Rev. Walter E. Vater Will Offi- ciate at Services at Daw- son Tuesday Mrs. Cora M. Abbott, 62, a resident of Dawson for 22.years, died here at 5 a, m. Sunday from complications arising from diabetes. Funeral services will be held at the Methodist church at Dawson at 11 a. m. Tuesday, Rev. Walter E. Vater, Bis- marck, officiating. The body will be taken to Macks- burg, Ia., for burial at the Moon cemetery at that city. Mrs, Abbott was born at Center Val- ley, Ind., May 18, 1869. In 1901 she married C. P. Abbott at Macksburg, Ta., and a few years later moved to North Dakota where she and her hus- band settled at Dawson. She leaves two sons, a brother, and three sisters. Her sons, Paul and John, both live at Dawson. Her broth- ers and sisters are E. F. Barker, Balti- more, Md.; Mrs. C. W. Leitzman, Wal- lula, Wash.; Mrs. Alice Johnson, Clay- ton, Ind.; and Mrs. Martha Pfaff, Plainfield, Ind. Pallbearers will be F. 8. Makin, Harry Devore, L. J. Meyers, J. A. Coulter, Ed. Johnston and H. E. Rob- inson. CONVENTION CLOSES Fargo, N. D., April 27. \- sions of the 36th annual North Da- kota Christian Endeavor society closed Sunday with special religious services, @ religious drama, a social gathering and installation of officers. Philadelphia, April 27.—(7)—Major Monday that, so far as he is concern- eq, the interruption of his radio talk Saturday night is a closed incident. ‘The general was cut off the air when he used the world “hell” while making an address over the privately- owned station, WELK, the owner of the station, Howard Miller, considered the word profane, and officials of the ra- Gio commission in Washington said he was within his rights in putting an end to the speech. ‘The incident occurred while Gen- eral Butler was telling the 312th Ar- | wort association of the capture of the payee is given immediate use ot| kota. checks of from $1 to $25 is five RCK TRIBUNE Pleads Guilty to Murder Charge oo Gangster Shot | e-- - _________—— ¢ JACK ‘LEGS’ DIAMOND DEFENDANT TAKES STAND IN NPCURDY DAMAGE LITIGATION Hughes Says He Still Believes Plaintiff Had ‘Understand- ing’ With Patterson Called by the plaintiff for prelim- inary cross-examination, E. A. Hughes, defendant in a damage suit by F. E. McCurdy, reiterated his belief in fed- eral court Monday that McCurdy had entered into an “understanding” with E. G. Patterson whereby the latter was to support MeCurdy for state's at- torney in 1988-in return for the lat- ter’s assistance in settling the Pat- terson tax case. McCurdy’s suit, which alleges mali- cious prosecution, grew out of an ap- riods and varies with the distance of, plication by Hughes to the supreme court in which he charged that Mc- Curdy had failed to properly represent & committee of taxpayers in the Pat- terson case. He asked that McCurdy be disbarred from further practice of law in the state. After the supreme court had dis- missed Hughes’ petition, McCurdy filed his damage action. ‘The aim of the plaintiff in calling Hughes to the stand was to show that he had filed the charge against Mc- Curdy with the intention of malicious- ly injuring him, Scott Cameron, coun- sel for the plaintiff, told the court. He also said he hoped to prove by Hughes testimony that there was'a “lack of probable cause” for Hughes’ complaint to the supreme court. Hughes said he believed it to be ap- parent, in view of the manner in which the Patterson tax case was handled, that McCurdy had agreed not to prosecute the matter vigorously and that Patterson, in return, had DAWSON WOMAN DIES General Smedley D. Butler said] the Riviere, Haiti, by the marines to support McCurdy, then state's attorney, for reelection. Hughes quoted “Mr. Peterson of the Grand Pacific hotel” as saying that Patterson had supported McCurdy in the campaign. Hughes said he was not in the city at the time. He also quoted George F. Will, chairman of the board of county commissioners, as saying Hughes was right in filing charges against McCurdy in connec- tion with the case. This conversa- tion, he said, took place the day before the charges were filed. Hughes said he had several con- versations with McCurdy relative to (Continued on page seven) KIRKLAND 10 FACE TRIAL WEDNESDAY Indiana Youth Again Will Go in Court Charged With Mur- dering Sweetheart Valparaiso, Ind., April 27.—(}— Virgil Kirkland will go on trial Wed- nesday for the second time on a charge of murdering his 18-year-old high school sweetheart, Arlene Draves. ‘The first ended with the jury sen- fencing him to life imprisonment. Judge Grant Crumpacker, who heard oe first trial, will preside at the sec- ond. Prosecutor John Underwood prom- ised that the state would nolle pross the first two counts of the indict- ment, leaving only the charges of murder by attack and murder in an attempt to attack. Either count with a conviction carries a mandatory death sentence. Butler Cut Off Air When He Says ‘Hell’ in Speec in 1915. He had reached a point in story where he and two marines were flattened against the fort, fir- ing through a hole. Snipers were from the inside. should lead the way itler said, aRBe Behe 5 » aE Has E The Weather fanalgwty pea mary ond PRICE FIVE CENTS Again ‘LEGS’ DIAMOND IS | SERIOUSLY INJURED BY GANGLAND GUNS Reputed Former Bodyguard of | Arnold Rothstein Is Shot | Near Roadhouse | IS AWAITING ASSAULT, TRIAL Gang Chief Was Shot Almost Fatally in New York Hotel Six Months Ago Catskill, N. ¥., April 27.—“)}—Jack (Legs) Diamond, gangster, for the second known time, was cut down and seriously injured by the gunfire of unknown assailants in the early hours of Monday. The gang chief, who six months ago was shot and almost fatally in- jured in a New York City hotel room, went down Monday under the patter- ing fire of buckshot, sent into his back as he stepped from a Catskill mountain roadhouse west of this vil- lage. The shooting occurred three days after Diamond had been re- leased in $25,000 bail, pending trial for a charge of assault. Mystery clothed the shooting. The gangster himself could give no in- formation and the companion who snatched his fallen chief back into the shetler of the roadhouse could only say the gunfire came from a dis- tance about 20 paces from the build- ing. Find Shells on Porch A hatful of empty shells, still reek- ing of the smell of freshly discharged powder and apparently fired from an automatic shotgun, were picked up between the glassed-in porch of the Arratoga Inn and the highway. The gunman obviously fired in haste and fled. Of the nine shots fired, each carrying a dozen pellets, only one Shell load struck Diamond. | ‘Witnesses who said they entered the building a few minutes before the shooting told police they saw no strange car near the inn nor any sign of the man or men who did the shoot- ing. ‘The fallen gangster, bleeding freely ; from wounds in the shoulder, back and arm, was hurried to an Albany hospital by two men, not immediately identified. While seriously injured, his condition was not believed critical. Two state troopers were assigned to watch Diamond. Police questioned two witnesses, Herbert Chicheser and John Sutter, both of the village of Cairo, located near the scene of the shooting. They said they had been to a movie and had stopped for a few minutes at the Arratoga Inn. Two other men were present, according to police, James ‘Wynne, identified as the proprietor of the Arratoga, and Jerry Sacchio. It was Sacchio who grasped Diamond (Continued on page seven) ESCAPED SING SING PRISONER IS CAUGHT James Nannery Once Was Mem- ber of Notorious Cuniffe- Rodgers Gang James Nannery, fugitive from Sing Sing and once a member of the notor- jous Cuniffe-Rodgers gang in New York City, was back in prison Monday after three years of liberty. He was captured by a “small-time” patrolman with a memory for faces and gave up without a struggle. With a woman companion Nannery drove into Dover, N. J., Sunday and made the mistake of parking in a space reserved for automobile busses. Patyolman Charles E. Ripley, who had intended merely to tell him to move out of the place, recognized him from Photographs as he appeared. Nannery has been sought since his escape from Sing Sing in July, 1928, where he was serving a sentence for participation in a holdup in which a man was slain. It had been known for some time that he was hiding out in New Jersey and police, as @ result, were on the lookout for him. Escaped Convict Will Be Taken Into Custody Harty Sebastian, who escaped from the North Dakota state penitentiary May 27, 1920, after having served one year of a five-year sentence for man- slaughter, will be returned to the lo- cal institution this week to serve the remainder of his sentence. Sebastian has just completed a 10- year sentence at the Idaho peniten- | Morristown, N. J., April 27—(>)— ‘Warden C. C. Turner left Monday eal Boise, arene to take the prisoner N. D. Man Struck 3rd Time by Train