The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 3, 1953, Page 1

Key West, Florida, has the most equable climate in the country, with an average range of only 14° Fahrenheit VOL. LXXIV No. 287 THE Committee Is Named To Probe City Vice Problem Citizens Are Appointed To Aid Commission Fight Corruption An eight man vice commit-| tee, armed with more power than a lot of Congressional} investigative groups, is poised to launch a drive on) the city’s prostitution racket and reported corruption in city hall. The City Commission vet- ed unanimously yesterday to set themselves up as a spec- ial committee and solicited| the aid of three private citi- zens in their probe into the situation which has assumed the proportions of a political hot potato. In addition to the commission, Father John Armfield, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, at- torney Bob Youmans and Alan Hampton, local gas company em- ployee, were named by Mayor C. B. Harvey to air the problem which has been scored by local Navy officials. All have accepted the appointments, the Mayor said. No date was set for the start of their probe, however. To make sure that the group will have good response, at tea: among city employees, an ordin- ance creating the com in- cludes @ stiff penalty these who refuse to appear before the inquisitors or to answer any questions they may propound, Penalties range up to a $200 fine or 40 day jail term. But the committee may be hamp- ered by an inability to subpoena key witnesses, who might be able. to cast some light on the mechanics ot the city’s prostitution operations. Unlike the Grand Jury, they will; only be able to demand that city employees put in an appearance although it was brought out at yes- terday’s special meeting that they ithe head of the line aboard the Lions Ciub float. She'll reign over ‘parade. Conch Bow] Parade Will Kick Off Football Festivities At 7:00 P.M. Everybody loves a parade. And what promises to be one of the most colorful of the year will wend its way down Duval Street tonight at 7:00 p. m. to mark the official start of the four day Conch Bowl Football Festival. There'll be bands, floats and military marching units in the line march, And girls, too! Conch Bowl Queen, Miss Erme Valder will be right there at the festival including tomorrow night's football game and a lot of other activities which the Lions Club has planned for the occasion. Vance C. Stirrup has been appointed Grand Marshall for the The Key West Police Department escort will lead off with the Key West Guard of Honor right behind, The Lions Club Float will follow and the fast stepping Key West High School Band will appear next. Beta Sigma Phi’s float wil! be followed by the United States Marine Corps Color Guard — ever popular with Key Westers. The Outboard Motorboat Ciub has enfred a float and then the Fleet Sonar School Band and marching unit will pass. The Halfback Club, feminine counterpart of the Key West Quar- terback will follow with their float with the Douglass High School band right behind. The Elks Club and BPO Does will then appear as well as the Jaycees and BPW floats. Police Chief oe Kemp has announced that there will be no \parking along Duval Street from 5 p. m. until after the parade pass- es, Full-Blast Continuation Of Congressional Spy Hunt Seen By JACK BELL St Toten WASHINGTON —President Ei- Clinic Will Be Held. Tomorrow senhower appeared today to have left the door open for full-blast con- The biennial crippled child the frum dren's clinic will be held te- itinuation of congressional morrow at the Monroe and subversives during County Health Unit, 202 Fleming St. an administration. As to his own adumaistration, Ei- Dr. Robert T, Keiser, of Mia- mi, district orthopedic surgeon senhower said in a statement yes- terday that, by next fall’s congres- sional elections, he is convinced ot the Floride Crippled Chile its new security measures will Ui r ve id dren‘s Commission, will effi- re ee ciate. He will be assisted by Dr. William = Pollen, Other Members of the commission communism in government. ‘staff and members of the Mor He said he expects thz public by then “will wish to commend roe County Health Department will attend. ithe efficiency of this administra. Appointments are scheduled tion in eliminating ths menace.” But he did not rule out any searches for subversion which may SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, THU RSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1953 IN THE U.S. The Key West Citisen Neblett Hints He May Seek Election To State Senate Seat Churchill Inspects Honor Gaaed sha is BRITAIN’S PRIME MINISTER Sir Winston Churchill inspects the Honor Guard of the Royal Welch Fusiliers at Kindley Field, Bermuda, after his arrival by plane from London yesterday for the Big Three conference, Capt. John Neil, regiment commander, walks alongside Sir Winston, Partially hidden’ behind Sir Winston is Anthony Eden—(#) Wirephotd Via radio ‘from City Trails Navy In Community Chest Donations, Report Says | Directors Meet may threater the city’s cab drivers with loss of their licenses if they are reluctant to testify before the committee, Other private citizens are apperently immune, When the ordinance creating the committee came up for discussion, the first question came from com- missioner Louis Carbonell. “Is it legal?” he asked. City Attorney J, Y. Porter as-/ sured him that it was—under Sec- tion one of the City Charter. He pointed out that the only charge that can be placed as a result of the ordinance is for failure to ap- to start at 8:30 a. m. Three Burglaries Reported Today Thieves broke into three business ‘police report issued today. | They said that the first to be |Charles Papy, on Fleming Street. Papy told police that a thief who! entered by smashing a window made off with $50 in cash, cig- ‘arettes and razor blades. Patrol- man Herman Conley said that the theft was discovered when the place was opened for business this morning. Next breaking and entering to be reported to police occurred at KWHS Chorus To plese Eee oe The High School chorus of 125 forced a window and made off voices under the direction of Tom with $35 from the pocketbook of ar. Carbonell said that he would go along with the bill although he thought that “three or four men (Continued On Page Twelve) jplaces last night according to a| reported was in a bar operated by! have existed during the Truman administration. Endroses Dulles The President’s statement in- cluded a full endorsement of Sec- retary of State Duiles’ defense of administration foreign policy. That was widely interpreted as a reply to a Nov. 24 speech by Sen. Mc- Carthy (R-Wis) critical of some administration foreign policy. McCarthy had no immediate comment, but said be planned to lease a statement, possibly for! jtelevision delivery, today. Dulles had said Tuesday that |McCarthy’s Nov. 24 speech struck jat the very heart of <dministration jforeign policy, Eisenhower, in a jformal statement at his news con- |ference yesterday, said he was in }full accord with Dulles. While McCarthy apparently had! no such intention, it appeared that! he had indirectly brought on a re-| jaction which may strengthen the| |administration in dealings with its allies. | Pleases Friendly Nations | In the embassies of friendly na- {tions here the unofficial but per- EES Two Re-Appointed To Planning Group Only twe persons were re- appointed to the City Planning Commission at yesterday's City Commission meeting. ‘They are Bernard Frank, who has been acting-chairman of the group and Cecil Carbonell. New appointees to the com- mission include James Murphy, Rodman Bethel, John Archer and Harvey D. Bush. First meeting of the group is expected to be held next Mon- day evening. Ca a Woman Jailed For Vagraney A woman identified by police as Josephine Smith, was jailed yes- terday on charges of being drunk jand disorderly and vagrancy—the tween $16.900 and $17.000. Com- To Hear Reports On Drive Progress Miami Newsman Corrected For Misinformation People in Miami are becom- ing tike the Russians—they’re inventing things. In today’s Miami Herald, Four-County Battle Shaping U P For Single Seat In Legislature By JIM COBB Attorney William R. Neblett said today that he is giving “favorable consideration” to urging that he run for the State Senate in next May’s primary election. His statement came as the latest indication that | a four-county political battle for control of the 24th | Senatorial District’s single seat in the senate is shaping | up. Senator James H. Franklin, Lee County attorney has | held the post for more than a decade and Monroe Coun- | tians have been smarting under what they term “lack of representation” during that time. So) Neblett told The Citizen today that “he hopes he'll have some- jthing definite to say about his can- didacy shortly after Christmas.” “It's a little early now — got to do a little travelling and look the situ: over,” he com- mented. “This is not a local situation — there are three other counties concerned. The 24th District is made up of Collier, Lee, Henrdry and Monroe ‘No Licenses Till Jan 4 Auto license tags for 1954 will Not go on sale until Jan. 4, 1954, | _ County Tax Collector Charles | E. Wilson today made that state- ment in answer to hundreds of requests fer new tags. A photo in yesterday’s Citi- | zen triggered the string of tag | requests. The photo's caption said that $506,006 worth of new tags had been received by the tax office. Counties, Neblett said that if he ran, “it would be an independent type of campaign — that he wovld align himself with no single faction.” The key to regaining the Sena- torial post for a Monroe. County candidate would apparently hinge on political control of Collier and Hendry Counties which have a population of 12,539. For the first time in years, Monroe population jumbers that of County. Late figures e”ed’t "M: with 29.857 while Lee County” has 23,404, dominated by the rich Fort Meyers fishing and tourists center. Thre ~ Last Key Wester to hold the TNO DEINE MO NANO AT os tiate SenseeaT ae 9:45 p. m. yesterday when the wad Gomer, who took office In 1932 in which they were riding over-' ang served until shortly before turned on East Rockiand Key, 5.2) his term was to have ended in Three Are Hurt s miles north of the Key West city limits. Trooper George R. Bennett, of} |the State Highway Patrol, who in-| 1936, when he resigned to take an appointment as Circuit Court Judge here. Since then the elec- tion has always gone to Lee Cc At a meeting of the Executive |Committee of the Community Chest of Key West, held yesterday after-| noon, in the office of Judge Aqui- lino Lopez, Jr., Campaign Advisor} Benn Knepper analyzed the results | of the United Campaign to date.} According to reports made! thraygh December 1, 1953, 593 con-| tributors, including firms, have | given $10,300.53, or an average of $17.37 per contributor, said Knep-; per, and many more contributions are in the hands of various volun- teer workers who have not yet turned in their reports. All work-) jers should immediately turn in these reports and the funds or |pledges collected to the United ‘Campaign Headquariers or to Win- dow No. 1 of the Florida National Bank. George Bourke, amusement ed- itor, wrote that the movie, “Twelve Mile Reef,” was made in Miami. That's strictly for the birds, The picturé was filmed in Key West with some of the scenes made in Tarpon Springs and Nassau. More than 100 Key Westers appear in the film. In an effort to correct Bourke’s misconception, Harold R. Laub. scher, manager of the Key West Chamber of Commerce, sent him the following wire: “Your column this morning credits Miami as the locale for the movie Twelve Mi This picture filmed in Key West with some scenes ir Tar- pon Springs and Nassau. Over a hundred Key Westers appear | in the picture.” Navy Total Given | Admiral George C. Towner re-s |ported that total Navy contr’bu-) tions, which include civilian em-|—_ Ployees of the Navy, now amount [TN Expected Whitley will sing such popular numbers as “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Ave Maria” at the annual memorial exercises of Key West Lodge of Elks to be held in the Elks Annex at 3 p. m, Sunday. Stage decoration, always out- standing in simplicity and beauty, fs under the direction of Navy Chief Leo Warren, a local man. | Police are investigating the ™ent- Whitely eaid today that the chor. ws Sunday will be the largest he has directed during his successful tenure at Key West High School.| A brass quartet from the Key West High School band will also| Play a prominent part in the pro-! gram. | Again this year the public is in- wited to attend the services. lamount collected in the current a guest there. The guest was|vading reaction to the Dulles- sleeping in the room while the theft/Eisenhower counterpunching was took place. jone of great satisfaction. | Joe Soldano, owner of the Uni-| The feeling was general that Ei-| versal Cleaners, Eaton Street told senhower had improved the cli- police that seven windows were|mate for his Bermuda talks, be- smashed in his place of business |inning Friday, with British Prime’ {but that nothing was found to have | Minister Churchill and French Pre- ‘been stolen. jmier Laniel by yesterday's state- Many influential Western Euro- jpeans have voiced fear the admin- istration was letting itself be) pushed or goaded into a ‘““get/ tough” policy which proud peoples, | however dependent on American! Eisenhower, without mentioning, |McCarthy, gave the impression; crimes. Teachers Give $458 To Chest Monroe County Schools have ac- counted for $458.60 of the total ‘latest move in a police department menting upon Knepper’s report, lcleanup drive, Admiral Towner remarked that it A ; i . appeared as if 90 per cent of the mime Sealth was: filed: on ssa employed persons in Key ‘Vest Plaint of the manager of the Tropi- have not yet contributed to the: cal Hotel, Duval Street. She is United Campaign, and in many) being held in the city jail in lieu cases the individual contributions! of $250 bond for appearance in could be increased if the donors city court today. i reconsider the magnitude of jthe United Campaign effort and ° |the many worthwhile welfare and Papy Will Address social agencies depending on this Motel Croup Most of the Navy personnel here in Kev West are transient, said State Representative Bernie C. Admiral Towner, and yet they \United Campaign for operating funds. Papy will address the next regular have responded well to the call imeeting of the Key West Motor for support ofthese local activities. | (Continued On Page Twelve) United Community Chest Paign. jCourt Association Monday, Decem-/The citizens of the community ber 7, it was announced today by/Should make sure, by their gener- Melvin Levitt, president of that or- US and widespread contributions, to $15,068.23, and he stated that the Navy total will probably be be- To Condemn Atrocities By TOM HOGE UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. @— T sembly was expected to vote over- whelming support today of an) American-called condemnation of: mass Red atrocity killinges in Korea, The Assembly was slated to bal- lot on a five-power resolution based on American charges that North Koreans and Chinese Reds killed up to 38,909 ; prisoners and South Korean civilians in a systematic series of massacres tied in with Kremlin policy. The United States and the co- he 60-nation U. N. General As-} ‘ounty. |vestigated, said the car, a 1953 Previously, William Malone, a \Chevrolet sedan, was being driven Key Westers, had held the post, south on U. S. 1 by Stanton R. porn she agoonirn. bins we L ; | ‘olitical observers sa ay Cooper, Sr., 46, of $31 Poinciana)., Monroe County car be vot- |Pl. jed as a solid block, it stands a The car, traveding abvut 35 chance of having the “representa- miles per hour, ran off the west|tion” that has been missing. shoulder of the road, turned over| Neblett, a retired Navy Com- one and a half times and aiso mander has been practicing law turned so it came to rest headed/here for some time. Born In Cuba, jnorth. jhe is married to the former Doris Mrs. Genevieve Thompson, 46, Lones of this city. of 1113 Grinnell St., suffered Only other candidate to appear ‘ractured left elbow. Her li-ye mn the scene to date, is Milton lold son, Amilio Rhett Thompson, “Mickey” Parrott. lwas treated by Dr. Leonard H.| Under the law, it Is. necessary |Conly at his office. Cooper received for candidates to qualify for a spot {minor bruises. He and Mrs. Thomp-,on the ballot prior to January 31, |son were treated at Monroe County 1954. The primary election will be General Hospital. lelection will be held in May with = - jthe general election set for Nov- uilty Plea On jember, 1954, Crawfish Theft | ——— Forced Fntry Robert E. Turner, charged with Renorted Tor igrand larceny in the theft of craw-| fish from the Key West Fish Co.,) The Dairy Freeze 1ce cream today pleaded guilty in Criminal stand on U. S. 1 at Tavernier iis Court before Judge Thomas S.'broken into at 7:15 a. m, today, Caro and was given an alternative the sheriff's department reported, sentence of $150 fine or six months Employees there said they saw in jail. a man running from the store but | A chare of grand larceny against they were unable to catch him, George Robinson, 36, of 806 Eliza- The sheriff's department is investl- beth St., was dismissed. Robinson gating. No estimate of the loss, if jJames R. raga Masai “ vee Elizabeth St., ha mn charg! < Bar Burglarized shrimp. Smith and Oatman pleaded gufl-| larceny and were fined $50 and costs. along with Dwellie Oatman, 34. and any, was made. lin connection with the theft of ty to the reduced charge of petty = Masonic Head On | Four cartons of cigarettes and $50 in cash were stolen from § beer bar at 910 Fleming St. last night, the Steriff’s Denartme-t re ported. Entry was gained by break- ing a rear window, MASONIC NOTICE A report issued today showed jat 138 teachers approached gave |, |thi \that amount. Largest amount, $217, t \was given at the Key West High | Sehool. Other amounts include: jDouglass School, $22; Poinciana iSchool, $75; Harris School $31.60; fTroman School, $30; Reynolds |Sehool, $18 and administrative per- jsonnel, $85. | Athert H. Carey was im charge jof the fund drive in the seicol system. Grand Master's Official Visit, 8 P.M., tonight, Dec. 3, Scottish Rite Temple. All Invited. | B. J. L. Mi 6:30 P. } CHAS. S. TAYLOR, Masons Cordially for Grand Master at La Concha Hotel, dustry.” The meeting will be held at noon at Benny's Cafeteria. Best Paint Sold M ficial Visit sponsors of its resolution—Britain, ganization. (Continued On Page Tweive) Mr. Papy’s topie: “State Legis. ~ lation as itt Affects the Motel In. (France, Australia and Turkey— thad hoj to win sohc support for WANTED! WANTED: see Ss way a James L. Mixson, Grand Mas- ria WAITRESSES Shorty’s Diner 16 DUVAL STREET their resolution trom the 55 U.N. ter, Masonic Lodge, for the State members outside the Soviet bloc, of Florida, will make his official But a late check indicated several niorng the local Masonle groups of the Arab-Asian retions would 2 abstain to deplore the dumping of| A banquet in his honor has been the atrocity issue irtcto the As- arranged to be held at La Concha sembly at this ticklish stage in ne: Hotel at 6:30 p. m. It will be fol- goiations for a Korean peace con- lowed by. a meeting .at 8 p. m. ference. ‘at the Scottish Rite Temple to india already had announced she'which all Master Masons are cor-| All members of the Key West Lions Club having Footbal! Tickets, report to the Box Office at Wickers Stadium at 6 P.M. Friday, Dec. 4. PAUL G. ALBURY, President. (Continued on Page Twelve) r dially invited.