The Key West Citizen Newspaper, August 5, 1952, Page 8

Page 8 Lt. M. G. Larson, USN Hs ¥ wt. Melvin G. Larson, USN, re- Heroic Rescuer Accused Of Hoax WASHINGTON (# — A young mother who was reported bent on making a suicide leap from a sixth floor ledge last Thursday now says the whole thing was a hoax to get publicity for the Medal of Hon- or winner credited with saving her. Mrs. Ernestine Lucille Whomble, 21, mother of two children, said Monday she was §ffered $500 to take the jump pt because Maynard H. “Snuffy” Smith, hero of World War Il, wanted publicity in his campaign for governor of Virginia. } Assistant Corporation Counsel Clark King promptly charged Smith with making a false report to police and firemen, A similar charge was filed agajst Roland Bennett, described as interested in * furthering Smithy” political for- tunes. Smith, 41, and Bennett, 27, are fellow employes in a radio. shop. Smith told reporters the incident last Thursday was no hoax. He suggested Mrs, Whomble may be suffering “from hallucinations of grandeur.” “If this girl was making an act, she should be in Hollywood,” Smith said. He said he had never seen or met her before the encounter on the ledge. be He added it was “ridiculous” for anyone to say he was running for governor of Virginia. He moved only recently into nearby Virginia, he said, and doesn’t know anyone there. “I require no publicity, I’ve had a lot in my lifetime.” Bennett said “There is not a grain of truth in what this young lady has said.” Smith's wife said it was “ridicu- fous to say Snuffy is planning to run for governor’ and said she doubted there had been a hoax. But | she added: “Snuffy is a daring type of fellow who might be talked into some- thing like that.” Smith, who won the nation’s highest military award for single- handedly bringing a burning Flying Fortress and its wounded crew members safely across the English Channel, has been involved with the law before. In 1948 he pleaded guilty to a charge of violating food and drug laws by misbranding a “rejuvera- tion” cream which he sold to an | elderly Virginia man, King said Smith and Bennett con- sidered Mrs, Whomble a ‘natural’ for the faked suicide attempt be- cause her five-months old daugh- THE KEY WEST CITIZEN Tuesday, August 5, 1952 Coal Strike Possibility Worries Owners WASHINGTON (® — The specter of another industry-throttling strike before the steel mills have had.a chance to get back to full blast production arose today as John L. Lewis served notice that his United Mine Workers’ contracts are end- ing next month. Lewis, president of the mine workers union, wrote Joseph E. Moody, president of the Southern Coal Producers, Association, that his present work contract will ex- pire Sept. 30. That’s 60 days from the date on Lewis’ letter. Terms of the existing contract provide termination upon 60 days’ notice by either side. by 10 days similar word to the Bituminous Coal Operators Associ- ation, is certain to mean a shut- down of all but a small portion of soft coal mining the end of next month unless Lewis, Moody and | Harry M. Moses agree on new contract terms. Moses heads the bituminous operators association, representing an estimated 240 mil- lion tons of annual production, much of it owned by the steel industry. The Moody group pro- duces around 100 million tons a The notice to Moody, following ctl - Official U.S. Navy Photo cently reported to the U. S. Fleet Sonar School, Key West, Florida, for duty as an instructor in anti- submarine warfare. He entered the Navy in 1943 as a seaman apprentice in the V-12 Program at the University of Colo- rado. In 1944, he was transferred to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and received his commission as Ensign in the Unit- ed States Naval Reserve in 1945, After graduating from the Steam Engineering School at Newport, Rhode Island, Lt. Larson reported to the USS D. H. Fox (DD-779). While serving on board the Fox, he was appointed as Ensign in the United States Navy on January 1, 1947, In April of 1946, he reported to the USS Krishna (ARL-38) and re- mained on board until May of 1951 when he was transferred to the USS Gatling (DD-671). He served on the Gatling until May of 1952 when he received his orders to re- port to the U. S. Sonar School. Lt. Larson is entitled to wear the American Defense and Euro- pean Occupation theater ribbons, and the World War II Victory Medal. Lt. and Mrs. Larson, the former Elaine Claw of Rochester, N. Y., reside at 42D Sigsbee Road, Key West, Florida. Husband Dies After Wife Shoots Doctor LIVE OAK ® — Sam McCollum, wealthy Negro farmer and alleged | bolita operator whose wife is | charged with first degree murder jin the shooting of a State Senate | | nominee, died in Ocala Monday of ; a heart attack. Sheriff Sim Howell said McCol- | lum was generally known in the | county as “Bolita Sam” and that he was reputedly one of the major | numbers operators in Polk County, | Howell said the woman had ad- mitted the shooting. She was taken to the state prison at Raiford. The sheriff sald McCollum ap- | | parently went to Ocala with their | | three children for safety after the shooting. He said a deputy and J. J. Elliott, Gov. Warren’s special ii stigator, went to Ocala to verify McCollum’s death. as well as one of the wealthiest men in the county. The sheriff said McCollum was about 45 years old. McCollum’s wife, Ruby, 37, was charged Monday with the fatal shooting of Dr. C. Leroy Adams, | Harrison, Sheriff Simeon H. Moore year. Lewis, it was also learned, has served contract termination notice on the anthracite, or hard coal industry, which employs 100,000 miners. The bituminous diggers number 450,000, Still not a party to the series of recent Lewis letters are operators in Indiana and the Far West, with an estimated 40 to 50 million tons a year and a scattering of soft coal producers in a dozen other states. In the last 10 years or more, Lewis and the soft coal operators have reached a contract agree- ment without a strike or slowdown only twice—in 1948 and 1951. The 1951 agreement, which was signed Jan. 18 and boosted miners’ daily wages $1.60, was influenced by knowledge that the government was about ready to slap a wage freeze on the nation. That freeze came a week later but because the 1951 agreement had already been signed Lewis is now entitled to a minimum of 10 or 11 cents an hour wage boost for all his bituminous miners to compensate for cost of living increases since Jan. 26, 1951. A soft coal industry official said there is little likelihood of any full-scale bargaining talks for sev- eral weeks. The board of directors of the Southern producers meets in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Aug. 11. That conference may play a signi- ficant role in establishing the pat- tern of negotiations and in shaping Lewis’ expected demands. The coal industry as a whole is said to be in a depressed economic position. Exports have not lived up to hopes; the steel strike has weakened demand; and the present soft coal stockpile has reached an 84-day supply, one of the highest ever. But Lewis is considered likely to demand a wage increase at least the size of that won by Philip Murray’s CIO Steelworkers Union last month—21 cents an hour. In addition to his cost-of-living allow- ance, he is expected to cite greatly increased productivity, or output per man hour, in the soft coal industry. Newly Elected Comdr. Dies MADISON w — Francis E. Brigham, 60, died of a heart attack | here Monday just one day after | he was elected state American Legion commander, Brigham, Winter Haven citrus grower and for 12 years superin- tendent of Polk County schools, | died in the office of Dr. A. F.| said, where he had stopped and complained of not feeling well: Brigham was on his way home | from the Legion convention in Tal- | lahassee which ended Sunday after naming him commander, He was also an official of the Florence Citrus Growers Associa- tion for many years and held a number of civic positions in Winter Haven. Before becoming legion commander, he had been state ter had died a few days before. | Democratic nominee for the State According to Mrs. Whomble’s | Senate. A grand jury investigation signed report, Bennett made the | has been called for Saturday. first suggestion that she fake aj Funeral services for Adams, who suicide. She said she told her hus-} Was shot in his downtown office band, a taxt driver, about it and | Sun apparently in a dispute be tried to dissuade her. | over a medical bill, were scheduled But she said she v for this afternoon anyw because she feared Ben- | Sereeeerseeneae nett. She said she wanted to back | ate 7 out at the last minute but Bennet |Postal Rocket had told her he would be on the/| etreet below the YWCA building “to see that I did it” while Smith| ™odel of a postal rocket whose would be on the sixth fi s inventors claim it will shoot mail that I went through wih it between Europe and America in She climbed out on the narrow ites will be shown at the ledge, and Smith followed. A photo- n inventors exhibition Aug. graph of the incident shows her | 22 apparently being pinned by Smit! on the ledge. “What's really happening is that | ———______. I’m trying to get back inside the | papers a long account of his ap- building by walking past him and ‘peals to the woman to give up he’s trying to block me. I was jthought of suicide. He said he gcared to death,” she said. urged her to think of her two , At the time, Smith gave newe-|children stili living. ) ahead COLOGNE, Germany # — A he model has been prepared the Society for Rocket Re- judge advocate, district command- er and had held almost every of-| fice of the Winter Haven post. Frank J. Falsome, whom Brig- ham succeeded as state command- er, said he believed by-laws pro- | vided for him to call an executive committee meeting to pick a new | commander but said he would have | to study the by-laws, adopted at) the recent convention, before being | sure of the exact procedure. | Besides his widow, Brigham fe survived by two married daughters | Mrs. George Hardy Jr., Winter Haven, and Mrs, Frank E. Bryant, Sebring, and a sister, Miss Dorcas Brigham, Northampton, Mass. Funeral plans have not yet been announced, search. Members of the society include experts who helped de- veslop the wartime V-1 and V.2 flying bombs, with which the Ger- mans battered London from across [the English Channel, The Island And The Hibisens| “i By BILL MEYERS | Magical:— Fascinating:— Beau- tiful:— Superlatives are necessary in describing this frost-free:— queen city of Key West;— parti: cularly when writing of the magni- ficent flora. This subtropical city where winter never comes is but one mile wide, On the south shore the shimmering seagreen waters of the great Atlantic Ocean rise and fall; while on the north shore the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico ebb and flow. Both bodies | of waters are an unforgettable sight displaying every color of the rainbow, vying with the many tro- pical flowers that bloom profusely every day of the year. One may raise shrubs, vines and trees to hearts content from far distant lands,—Africa, The Malayan Is- lands, Hawaii and from sun baked climes in the Tropic of Cancer. They will flourish here, rest as- sured, and grow in such profusion; with little care; you will be delight- ed and enjoy the slight labor. Key West is always a riot of color with over 40 flowers blooming, especial- ly during the winter months, Gen- tle, soft southeast trade winds blow almost steadily, and make the winters ideal with temperatures beween 70 and 80 degrees, The sea waters rarely go below 70 degrees and more folks swim in January and February than they do during the summer, because of the great influx of visitors. Seldom does the temperature rise above 90 degrees in the depth of summer. It is al- ways cool in the shade or while basking under a coconut tree on the sandy beach. The summer sun is brilliant and hot. It is more direct over head in Key West than elsewhere in the United States. Its actinic violet rays have helped hundreds of folks ! burdened with rheumatism and kindred inflammations. Its Pollen- free air relieves those with hay fever. Truly a Garden of Eden; the South Seas under the American | Flag. Outstanding among tropical shrubs is The Rose of China where it originated. Hibiscus in now its | name and it ranks above all other | shrubs, vines and trees in subtro- | pical Key West and is deservedly | most popular. There are hundreds | of varieties here:— over 500:— In Hawaii over 1,000. When the bright red sun seemingly rises from the | ocean depths at break of dawn, the lovely Hibiscus blooms unfold. Throughout the day they sway back and forth as their smiling faces greet passers-by. When the mantle of night falls and darkness covers the earth the Hibiscus folds its col- orful leaves content to rest. The shrub blossoms forth every day of the year; and many of the blooms live but a single day. Hi- biscus flowers range in color from white, through the reds, yellow, orange and purples. The mixtures of these are as endless as the col- ors on an artist’s palette. Some of these flowers have exceptionally good texture. It is not recorded who first introduced the Hibiscus to Florida; but here it thrives to per- fection;— bringing intense joy to the seeker of beauty. These flowers are single and double and such va- Tieties as the Common Red, Versi- color, Peachblow, Double Pink and grown from cuttings. My good friend George Adams grafted 18 different colored doubles on a “sin- gle” shrub and is constantly add- ing more. Hibiscus should be plant- ed where it can grow freely, and must be trimmed back often. I have seen many of these blooms 10 inch beauties, while others are no larger than a half dollar. Among the relatives of the Hibis- cus is cotton;— The rose of Sharon and common mallow. Botanists call it rosa-sinensis (Rose of China). It is a handsome shrub and lends it- self well as a hedge. I have often seen The Common Red grow 20 to 25 feet in height. It is interesting to notice that the leaves vary so on different plants;—some are round, some narrow and some ser- rated. Spraying is very beneficial to the plants, and watering twice weekly is better than a little every day. The Hibiscus blooms lend them- selves admirably for indoor decor- ation. Pick them early in the morn before they are fully open; keep them in the refrigerator part of the | day, (they will not open until re- moved from the cold.) Many varie- ties remain open for a couple of days after they are picked and they néed not be placed in water. In Hawaii the flowers are arranged in large vases, with their stems inserted into the hollow ends of slender bamboo. Hibiscus have no fragrance, but they possess a transcendent beauty that will en- rich your life, make noble your thoughts, and help smooth the pathway on which you trod, “Bean” Stile FORT LAUDERDALE (®—“Bean | schools” opened in Broward Coun- ty Monday but only six students showed up at Deerfield Beach in | protest against the early opening. “Bean” schools open a month early for Negro children so the youngsters can take a month off in mid-winter to help harvest beans. Parents in the Deerfield Area hired Attorney William L. Flacks Hollywood, to help fight unfair labor practices in the bean fields, Meatigan, 5 Flacks reported. Deerfield had 341 students at the end of the first month last year. About normal opening day regis- trations were reported at Oakland Park and Pompano Beach, other “bean schools” in the county. ROUND TRIPS DAILY! MIAMI 47 MIN. NON-STOP NATIONAL Airlines Miami Crash Kills F our MIAMI ® — Four x cluding the brother of Band Leader Benny Goodman, died in twisted metal and flames Monday night when a C-46 plane crashed at Mi- ami’s International Airport. All aboard were killed—the pilot Capt. George E. Smith, about 30, Miami; co-pilot John N. Goodman, Vincennes, Ind., 26-year-old broth- er of Benny Goodman; and two teen aged boys, Thomas, 15, and Glenn Slaighter, 13, brothers from Orlando. The plane was the personal property of R. Paul Weesner, pres- apent 3 < whey agate ines, Inc., a non- operating out of Miami. It was being flown here after overhauling at Burbank, Cal., with a-stop at San Antonio, Tex. Upon approaching Miami at 11:- 21 p. m. EST, Smith radioed the field’s control tower that he had no aileron control, which governs the ascent and descent of planes. Witnesses said the plane came over the field 20 minutes later, swooped in for a landing, then zoomed up several hundred feet before it plunged to earth, nose first. e Fire-fighting equipment was at the scene and the flames were quickly extinguished. Airport Au- thorities said all four occupants died on impact. The plane oyer- turned on striking the ground: A spokesman for Resort. Air- lines said the two boys were picked up in San Antonio and were step- sons of Capt. Dixie Walker, a Re- sort Airlines pilot. Mental Marvel LOS ANGELES # — Leonard Ross, 7-year-old mental marvel who dropped into FCC offices here July 23 and won his novice radio op- erator’s license, visited the FCC again Monday. This time he passed the more igid operator’s test. Bernard Lmden, local FCC chief, personally congratulated the lad. |Five Killed At RR Crossing PEMBROKE, Ont. — Five members of a family were killed when a freight train crashed into their automobile at a level crossing 10 miles north of here Monday. One child survivéd but was seri- The dead were Percy Touseant, 30-year-old laborer, Pembroke; his wife, Evelyn, 25, and their three sons, aged five,.three and two years. Their daughter, seven, was hurt. : Witnesses said Touseant swung out to pass another car that had Jax Gamblers JACKSONVILLE (7 — Florida gamblers did their best business during the 1951-52 fiscal year in the. month of June. Ten per cent excise taxes paid into the office of Collector of In- ternal Revenue John L. Fahs for June totaled $49,601.35. The previous high month was May, for which $48,474.75 in taxes was paid on numbers, parlays, bookmaking and. raffles. Since the tax on wagers went into effect in November; Florida gamblers have paid a total of $287.- 202.88 in excise taxes, indicating a gross of $2,872,028. stopped for the train, which was approaching the crossing. WHERE CRAFTSMANSHIP COUNTS ...COUNT.ON US! modern methods cut printing costs Latest equipment and modern printing tech- niques assure you of lowest cost on any printing job! Consult us for an estimate on your next printing job, No obligation! PHONE 51 THE ARTMAN PRESS ACROSS FROM CITY HALL — GREENE ST. A good example of the growing industrialization and economic progiess of the South is this new DuPont synthetic fiber plant at Camden, South Carolina. MUSIC to Southern ears! The hum of busy factories, crowded stores and Streets. The ring of saw and hammer. And more than 26 million telephone calls a day! There’s another cheerful sound — 58,000 Southern Bell men and women busy providing you and your neighbors with the most and the best telephone service in Dixie's history. Service that’s vital to the Nation’s defense. Service that keeps you in touch with others 24 hours a day .... speeding your business «+. enriching your home life. TELEPHONE growth is a striking example of progress in today’s amazing South. During the 10 years from 1940 to 1950, the South’s growth in tele Phones was more than twelve times its growth in population. In the first 6 months of 1952 alone, we added 149,250 new telephones. GRESS AND TELEPHONE Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company,