The Key West Citizen Newspaper, May 24, 1939, Page 1

Associated Press Day Wire Service For 59 Years Devoted to the Best Interests of Key West VOLUME LX. No. 123. 27 MEN DEAD | ‘ The Key West Citizen THE SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER IN THE U.S. A. see AT KEY WEST, FLORIDA, }WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1939 House Passes Measure Amending Key West’s Old City Charter Two Important Changes 1 Embodied In Bill Prior! To Its Passage Yester-| day Afternoon | (Ry Axnociated Prensa) TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 24., —House Bill 1599, amending the charter of Key West was yester- day afternoon passed by the House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by B C. Papy. Legal notice of this bill was published in the issue of The Citizen of March 25, by the Key | West Charter Revision Commit- tee. The bill was to abolish the! present municipal government! and to create, establish, organize and incorporate a city govern- ment, for its government, juris- diction, powers and privileges, | and for the exercise of the same.} temporary chairman at the meet- has been more conscious of its} which has meant Jess legal action EXPANSION OF STATE PARKS HOME SOCIETY OFFICERS ARE COMING HERE WILL ATTEND MEETING OF ACQUISITION OF OTHER SUIT- SPONSORING ‘COMMITTEE ABLE AREAS FOR PUR- TO BE CONDUCTED TOMOR-| POSES ALSO FAVORED IN ROW EVENING | PROGRAM TALLAHASSEE, May 24.— (FNS) The expansion of Florida’s ten State Parks consisting of 15,- 774 and the acquisition of other suitable areas for park and park- way purposes, is recommended Marcus C. Fagg, stat tendent of the Children’s Home Society “of and Miss Minna Robertson, district super- intendent of the Home, are to bé in Key West tomorrow, for the meeting of the Sponsoring Com- ; mittee of Monroe county to be Parkway and Recreational Study held in the evening 8 o'clock at and Forest Resources Survey the La Concha Hotel. ; made public this week by George The meeting is being called for |G. Gross, executive secretary of the purpose of organizing and,the Florida State —-Planning electing officers who will serve | Board. in the interests of the society.| “Within the last’ decade”, the Rev. John C. Gekeler will act as report states, “probably no state superin- Florida, RECOMMENDED in the summaries of the Park,, DIVISION COMPENSATION MAKES REPORT THIS YEAR AMOUNTED TO! RUSSELL VILLAR $1,555,362.44 ! LEAVES ON BUS The Florida Unemployment ee Compensation Division announcest GOES TO PENSACOLA OWING | {that collections for the first cal- TO SERIOUS ILLNES OF | { quarter this year? | 4 HIS DAUGHTER H Week jencar of Jamounted to $1,555,362.44. The! major part of these collections were for payroll contributions {due during this quarter of 1939, Ja very small percentage 39," chanic U. S. Army, stationed at | being’ Key West left on the morning ipa t due contributions. j bus for Pensacola, called ‘there ; : “Contributions for the firsty by the serious illness of his 12 quarter of 1938 were $44,000 more} year old daughter who is a suf- jthan for the same period of tis} ferer from bronchitis. year”, Harold C. Wall, director} Mr. Villar told The Citizen jof the division, stated. “This is{that he plans to return in about accounted for by the fact that our {two weeks and bring his mother |delinquent list has been reduced 894 daughter with him as he had \considerably and we expect our'been informed, and truthfully, | jiuture quarterly collections to! that few people in Key West javerage about one million and Suffered from bronchitis and |nalf dollars. jthat in a milder form. } “In comparison with other | * He said that so many reports | States our delinquent list has al-| had been made to him regarding the curative powers of Key West | ways been bel the ste a es nee atmosphere and the sun, he be- average, Repair And Construction Permits Issued In Past Totalled $5,150 lice Applications Made Are For QGne Thousand Each; Others Dollars For Much Lesser Sums Repair and construction _ per- mits issued from the office of Baker totalled $5,150 during the week ending May 23. The fol- lowing list was taken from the record files in the office of the inspector: General repairs to two story building at 503 Duval street. Owner, Paul Bates; cost, $1,000. General repairs to building at 809 Francis street. Owner, May Parks; cost, $1,000. General repairs to building at 218 Duval street. Owner, A. Lopez; cost, $1,000. Construct two room building at the corner of Leon and Thomp- son streets. Owner, Porfirio Gomez; cost, $500. Key West, Florida, has the most equable climate in the country; with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit | TEARING DOWN i} | NEXT TO THE CORNER | | OF SOUTHARD { |. One of the oldest houses in ‘Key West, is being torn down and demolished today by a force Russell J. Villar, ordnance me- | Building Inspector Harpy M. j of county prisoners. It is the old ‘building on Whitehead _ street, {next to the corner of Southard street, known as the Lancaster ‘ house. | For years the building had ‘been covered by a ; flowers. During the “early yesterday morning there was heard by the neighbors a {cracking sound, followed by a ‘crash, and when dalight: came it ; was seen that a part of the build- | jing had collapsed, and had fallen , to the ground! | Later in the day other rending and tearing sounds were heard from the building any norning there was only & OLD BUILDING | LOCATED ON WHITEHEAD ST. | luxuriantly | growing vine bearing bell shaped ' rain of} PRICE FIVE CENTS IN SUBMARINE ‘seven Brought To Safety; 25 Othe rs Still Alive |i Cain Was Rais- | ed In 240 Feet Of Wa- i° ter; One Saved Was An Officer (Me Associated Press) PORTSMOUTH, N. H., ‘May 24.—Seven men tombed more than 29 hours in the crippled submarine Squalus were pulled to safe- ty today in the rescue cham- ber raised through 240 feet of water, and the diving bell plunged below on the second mercy trip. First survivors reported 25 of their colleagues, in- | cluding three officers, still jive in submersible, and ‘others might have held ts i life. without their know- ledge. This figure placed en- | this the likely death toll at 27. eer since 59 had been aboard. . In the amended bill which was} jing and it is. expect that: Fred ;,recreational, possibilities‘than hasion the part of the ‘division’ t ‘heved it possible’ that “a cure; General repairs at 316 William! yesterday thei were sev~} oride, president of ‘the South-|Florida—nor more dependent up-! make Agee but? this ‘docs | Would be effected and his little street. Owner, L. Pinder; cost, ' { i | daughter restored to health. gw eral changes made, two of which} eastern Branch will be present. | on its acceptance as a playground not mean tiat we will fail to} | $500. part of the structure left stand- | ng. The work of clearing away | | the debris is being carried on by ; W! One of the seven saved an officer, Lieut. J. C. were very material, One of the} changes fixed the salaries of! councilmen at $250 annually, in-} stead of $1 as. provided -in the | original charter, The other amended _ section provides that the chief of Key West Fire Department shall be’ elected by the volunteers and appointed by the mayor, instead of his being appointed by the mayor and a civil service board, as provided in the new charter. | LIGHT TENDER AT SOUTHPORT ZINNIA REACHED NORTH CAROLINA PRT LAST NIGHT Radio advices received from the Tender Zinnia at 10 o'clock last night by the Lighthouse De- partment at Key West was that the vessel was at Southport, North Carolina. ' The message mentioned that the vessel, met at the port, the Sutton Line vessel Talofa, which had been in service at Key West plying between this city and Fort Jefferson during the season, and was now on the way north. Poinciana, tender of the de- partment, is in the Intracoastal Waterway near Tavernier, chang- ing beacons to mark new cuts laid out by the U S. Engineers. The vessel will proceed, after this work is completed, to Miami and: continue the routine of work. . Ivy is on the west coast and is engaged in activities in Tampa Bay, and from there will go to Charlotte Harbor where some work is scheduled, and then re- | turn to Key West. and sports center, for unques- tionably one of its greatest ‘ sourees of income is derived from those who have found Florida an ideal locale for vacation and re- laxation.” The report presents a_ picture of Florida’s recreational re- sources and developments through Members of the Committee who have agreed to serve in Key West are: B. D. Trevor, Dr. William R. Warren, William V.; Little, William W. Demeritt, . Mrs. Stephen § W. Douglass, Rev. John C. Gekeler, Ernest A. Ramsey, Miss Minnie Porter Harris, Charles E. Smith, Allan H. Armstrong, Willard M. Albury, Mrs. Howard Wilson, Mrs. Grace B. Phillips, Mrs. Everett B. Winter, Mrs. R. F. Spottswood, Miss Florence E. jawyer, Mrs. W. P. Archer, Mrs. Juliette Russell, Joe Pearlman and H. E. Day. COCONUTS ARE BEING SOUGHT Mrs. Pauline Phelan, supervi sor of the Botanical Garden Proj ct at Stock Island, is anxious to secure matured coconuts .for planting an is ing _all per- sons who have therm sty advise her if they are willing ‘td give them. Some time ago the members of the Civilian Conservation | Corps camp at West Summerland Key started on a_ beautification program of the Overseas High- way, and it was decided to, if possible, secure 10,000 coconuts to be used. It is understood that there are now on hand 670 nuts, which are ready for planting, leaving 9,330 to be provided to complete that part of the beautification pro- gram. Sponsoring terest in the state’s scenic, his- torical and natural possibilities and stresses the importance and necessity of a well balanced long- range planning of state parks and recreational areas to meet the needs of the people of the state and its visitors, the tourists. The Forest Resources Study shows that Florida has the largest productive forest area of any state in the South, comprising approximately 22 million acres and employing more than 300 thousand people in its 80 million dollar industry. Few people in Florida realize how critical the conditions of the forest industry ‘have become, the report says. However, one has but to pause to ‘consider that of the original vir- gin forests of 50 years ago, less than one-tenth remain today. The report was prepared by the Florida State Planning Board in cooperation with the Florida Forest and Park Service, the terior, National Park Service, National Resources Committee, and United States Forest Serv- Works Progress Administration, advisory councils composed of in- dustrial and civic leaders, and various state departments and agencies. It covers 95 pages, is well illustrated and contains numerous maps and charts. A further and more detailed report is in process of prepara- tion, which when completed, will serve as an encyclopedia of all factors relating to these sub- LOCAL SEAMAN MEET TONIGHT Meeting of the local seamen’s which it is hoped to arouse in-| United States Department of In-| ice, with the assistance of the) jtake action to force the small! sre woe tty ses DIVORCE DECREE | FILED IN COURT | “During 1938, contributions | were.reeeived from every county ; jin ‘the state and the promptness with which most employers have made their contributions and. r Final decree in the divorce ports are appreciated”. it of Mildred McNeal versus In this county the report. shows; her husband, Clifford L. McNeal, |that 34 firms have contributed | was yesterday filed in the office | | $14,134.60 to the unemployment of Clerk Ross C. Sawyer of the ‘fund. ‘circuit court. | Sitting In With The Lawmakers | By GILBERT D. LEACH | Florida News Service | Peercccccccccceccccccscenceucccseoccessoucoecoces | “What to do!” “What to do!” outstanding candidate for gover- iver been. in‘.that fix? ‘nor of Florida. 1 am beginning Well, that’s just where we are t0 be discouraged. Nobody has now up here in. Tallahassee in COM? forward with any unusual H Le or outstanding solution of our big these air-conditioned chambers.‘ problems. And time is short. We've spent millions and mil-. there be such a man and such a jlions. Nary a nickel but some- solution and should that man | body wanted a dime! But we've stand forth next week and pro-| |spent the millions just the same. claim his panacea to the Legisla- | Now we have to dig. . :Youiture, he can have Florida’s gov- |folks got to PUT!. . ernorship on a silver platter. But | | iave it? I have looked along Monroe, Want to play the slots and Street here in Tallahassee and in| |have the State grab the jackpot? the corridors of txe Capitol and| | Want to buy liquor until yeu’re I have not seer him nor have Ij |staggering so there will be heard his silver voice. I am enough to pay off? Want the afraid he is not here. | bookies to set up shop in your’ And now Governor Cone has little town and take bets on the started something. He has been jhorses or the dogs? Want the told that these bills “801” and State to run “bolita”? Want an “802” were conceived in iniquity jextra penny or two on each and he wants to know about packet of fags? Want your in- what led up to them. |Surance penalized? Want more Well, there goes your lobby! gas tax? Want more taxes on Told you all about it last week, |your little plot of ground? | Make up your mind. Some- | thing has to yield revenue! | Time is getting short. Appro-, |priations have flourished al- -How’ll you fine points in my inferences. | You know, I’m a lobbyist my- self. But I don’t draw down a General repairs at 528 William street. Owner, Sam B. Pinder; cost, $500. Repairs to the roof of building at Division and Varela streets. Owner, John Gardner; cost, $300. Repairs to roof at 1016 Duval street. Owner, A. Aguero; cost, $100. Repairs to roof at 749 Windsor Lane. Owner, T. Sands; cost, $100. Build shed at the corner of Division and Frances _ streets. Owner, Esta Park; cost, $50. Repairs to floors at 718 Ashe street. Owner, Mrs. M. Taylor; cost $50. Repairs to roof at 624 White street. Owner, Mrs. Elizabeth Bishop; cost, $50. ANOTHER BOOST FOR ISLAND CITY If; APPEARS IN SUNSHINE SPE-| CIAL PUBLISHED IN WEST PALM BEACH Elmer Burgess, who edits the Sunshine Special, in the ests of all good sportsmen, in West Palm Beach, casts a boost for Key West in the May issue, said Secretary Singleton at the!at Lake Mont where the family @tTangements by Chamber of Commerce this morning. The article follows: “We saw Billy Dietsche, Sr., on the street today. He said that he and Mrs. Dietsche and her sister Almyra Leaycraft had just returned from Key West where | they had: been guests of friends | at the Hotel La Concha. He was ;but maybe you didn’t look up the particular vociferous in his praise Atlanta references and missed some of the; for La Concha, which is now un- Boston der the management of the du- Pont Interests. ‘It’s every bit as good as the Waldorf Astoria | organization will. be held ~ this levening at 7:30 o’clock in the {San Carlos building and it is ex- ipected that a large attendance will. be present to take part the proceedings. At the meeting held Sunday MURPHY ACT ENDS TODAY All arrangements for handling eral was discussed and a tax matters under the provisions gram of reorganization of work- of the Murphy Act will beers in the maritime industry was brought to conclusion in Key brought up for discussion and it West at 4 o’clock this afternoon, was decided to call for the meet- said Ross C. Sawyer, clerk of the ing tonigit and elect officers. circuit court, this morning. the welfare of mariners in gen-; pro- | in} pret | though ‘we do say there has been ~ tendency to keep everything under control. But where the money is coming from is the acute problem of today and every WEST AT FAIR other today from here on out. Here’s my guess—transaction . | tax! Key West is represented in the} Hope I'm wrong. Hope I'm ig- great Contemporary Art Exhibi-|norant.. Hope I’m misinformed. tion at the World’s Fair in New|Hope against hope nothing like York. The scene of the Cedar /|that will be visited upon Florida ‘Box Mill in Key West as pictured this year. . But that’s my guess. (by F. Townsend Morgan in his| Sticking my neck out, maybe. familiar line etching was selected | Not nerve enough yet to put it big salary and bulky expense ac- count, so I don’t associate with the bunch that the governor has in mind. But, naturally, I see ‘em. Every day I see em. And, {being imbued or endowed with some native intelligence, sharp- ened by half a century of contact with my fellow man, I can’t help but wonder at the guilibity of the folks who pay ’em. Thy’re so }d----d obvious! | Wish I could paint a picture of the personalities of the bunch ‘of men who make up the Senate Arrangements had been prac- tically concluded Saturday, but arrangements were made by Mr. CONSIDERATE BANDITS COLUMBIA, S. C.—Three Ban- ‘by the New York jury and is now |showing in the exhibition. Art in America today is repre- over. maybe. Leave a lot of ap-!and the House. They’re just the | propriations floating im thin air, same kind of folks you meet maybe. But all I can see in the downtown on Main Street Satur- in New York City’ Billy said. | “He also mentioned that they had fished all the way down the Keys into Key West and had ex- cellent luck. The Dietsches are now at Craig in the Florida Keys and wrote back for some mos- | quito lotion Probably some one told him this was good to put on fish bait to make em bite, and he wanted some for that pur- pose. We know of no other use ‘he could have for it down on the Florida Keys at this time of the year.” The secretary said that if he wants some dependable mosquito dope it is always a good idea to Sawyer with the publisher of The dits who kidnaped L. R. Jones of Citizen whereby the latter agreed this cit¥ and robbed him of $4,- to take the last applications this 300 were considerate. They re- tomorrow. ja half pint fo whisky. sented by some 1,214 works of frantic moments when the clock painting sculpture, drawings and |stops and everybody tears his,up here. They’ve just as scared ing the insects has been a science | Seattle a you come up| and not merely a moonlight pas-! prints selected from over 25,000)hair is that transaction tax. ipraised new jury system. this turmoil would arise some ‘@ay night. They're not high-hat jas you are. when afternoon and they~ would be/ turned $75 to him and gave him | works’ submitted by a widely! Weeks ago I said that out cl Cone 4 (Continued on Page Five) send to some place where fight- | time as it is practiced on the Florida Keys. * the county prison forces. ‘CRUISER CAME ___ IN YESTERDAY | ! Cruiser P. A, T., of Miami | Beach, arrived in port yesterday afternoon, Captain E. N. Lour- cey in command, and is at the 4Porter Dock Company’s _ slip awaiting the arrival of a_ party which is due here this afternoon. told The Citizen, will be the owner, John L, Patton; Mrs. Pat- ton and their son, James, and daughter, Jane. It is planned to ‘leave for Havana tomorrow |morning to spend a vacation of ‘two weeks. COSGROVES LEFT ON TRIP TODAY Captain P. L. Cosgrove, | Lighthouse Service, retired, Mrs. : Cosgrove and her mother, Mrs. 'Emma Lovering, left over the {enroute to Atlanta. ; From the latter city they will |proceed to their summer home goes each year. | Ceececevecveves eecee TEMPERATURES /e@e ee { Lowest Highest Station— last night last 24 hours 70 96 64 84 48 52 50 68 74 84 46 4 .- 52 80 82 82 70 90 94 87 86 4 88 84 72 88 | Abilene | Buffalo . | Charleston | Chicago t ver ; Detroit Galveston } Huron | Jacksonville |Kamsas City | Little Rock | Los Angeles | Louisville | Miami |Mpls.-St. P. |New Orleans |New York , Pensacola Pittsburgh St. Louis 72 | Salt Lake City 42 San Francisco 50 50 Tampa . 68 | Washington _. 68 | Williston _. 50 SISRssVss 64 80 86 88 62 68 68 90 90 56 In the party, Captain Lourcey | Ui -S.| | Nichols of Chicago. All ap- | peared to be in fair condi- jition. A great cheer arose | from the crew of the rescue i ship Falcon as the dripping |rescue bell arose from the |sea and landed gently on the deck. | All seven of the rescued | were able to step from the | bell without help and walk- ed about. Other six persons first were Roland Blanch- ‘ard, fireman, Hersey, Mich.; Harold C. Prebble, navy- jemployed civilian of Wash- ington; William Isaac, cook, | Washington; Theodore Ja- cobs, signalman, Staten Is- land, N. Y.; Gerald McLees, jelectrician’s mate, Rich- | mond, Kans., d Charles |Yuhas, machinist’s mate, | New Salem, Pa. saved THIRTY HOURS ELAPSE PORTSMOUTH, N H., May —Approximately 30-hours h. elapsed since the Navy inter-! highway this morning for Miami|™arine Squalus sank to the bot- 'tom of the Atlantic in two hun- dred and forty feet of water about 15 miles off this city, and the Navy to |rescue the crew of fifty six and three inspectors aboard have pro- | gressed in orderly manner. The U. S. S. Falcon, thorough- ly equipped for submarine rescue work, has arrived on the scene and divers from this and other | ships have descended to the hull of the Squalus for preliminary | investigation of the possibility of closing the open induction valve |and pumping out the water in | the hull in order to float. the sub- | Marine to the surface. Mothers, wives and sweet- | hearts of officers and men on board the sunken «craft are ex- {pressing no great concern for j the safety of their men and there is a general belief existing throughout the rescue crews on hand that all men now alive on the Squalus will be brought | safely to the surface. 1 |. (The U. S. S. Falcon, conduct- ing tests with the hull of the old | Submarine S-4, in Key West | waters over a three-week period jin February and March of 1929, successfully reached a depth of over two hundred feet from | which men escaped from the sub- | marine using the Momsen lung apparatus, invented by Lieut. | Commander Charles B. Mom- i sen.) j )