The Key West Citizen Newspaper, March 16, 1954, Page 1

Warmest City In Nation Today Was KEY WEST 59° For Quick Communication Use CLASSIFIED Ads! You'll reach buyers and sellers— tenants or workers - Just Se ek 25661 or 2-5662, VOL. LXXV No. 64 THE Screaming Vietminh Troops Near French-Held Fort In Indochina F,; Towing Communist-Led Rebels Stage Savage Attack By LARRY ALLEN HANOI, INDOCHINA (#—Scream- ing Vietminh shock troops surged today to within half a mile of the heart of the Dien BiensPhu for- tress, then faltered and fell back, taking their dead and wounded with them, Masses of the Communist-led rebels staged the attack from the ercireling hills in a driving rain, firing rifles, pistols and machne guns and throwing grenades and spears, French-manned American guns tore wide gaps in their ranks. A French army spokesman said thousands of the rebels were cut down. Unofficial estimates of the Viet- minh dead and wounded in the four days of battle for the wire- ringed plain, in a strategic sector of northwest Indochina, rose to be- tween 6,000 and 8,000, Broken, builet-riddled bodies of rebel dead dangled like scare- crows on the barbed wire as the outnumbered French Union forces fought desperately to keep the plain out of rebel hands. It was the most savage battle of the seven-year Indochina war. Early today the outcome—certain tc have a major effect on the Geneva conference next month— was still in doubt. Furious Fighting The fighting which began Sat- urday afternoon raged furiously through last night as thousands wildly screaming Communist-led tebels, backed by artillery from Communist China, charged repeat- edly into the bristling, American- armed defenses of the fortress plain, 3 Hie” athe “ae, charges oe they “aie of their own dead conanrtind the Communist onslaughts on United Nations troops in the Korean‘ War. For the first time in the long Indo- china war, the Vietminh aband- oned their guerrilla tactics for an all-out frontal assault, In the first 48 hours of fightirg, the Vietminh wrested two northern and northeastern _strongpsints from the French Union defenders. But the French high mand said the center of the Vietminh- encircled plain was till intact and the balance of the/ outer per- imeter also was still holding, French Admit Losses They predicted thé defenders would hold until the rebels had worn themselves out, The French said they had killed 2,500 attack- ing Vietminh and/ wounded as many more, They /admitted ‘“ap- preciable” losses ont of their own garrison of Fren¢h, Moroccans, Vietnamese, Algerians, German (Continued on Page Two) Action Deferred On Bight Lease The city commission deferred action last night on a request for a lease of waterfront property at the foot of Eaton Street by the Key West Charterbogtmen’s Asso- ciation. The boatmen propoge to estab- lish a marine railway; there. Reason for the delay was the ill- ness of City Attorney J. Y, Por- ter and that no lease has been drawn up as yet. The boatmen agreed to wait two weeks before negotiating the lease, Mayor C, 8B. Harvey said: “There are some objftctions to their plan but I think they can be worked out — the city attorney is sick and there isn’t nluch we can do until the papers are drawn up.” NOTICE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION This $ffice is calling to the Mtention of any- one wip is entitled to Homestead Exemption that April Ist is abso- lutely the deadline for CLAUDE A. GANDOLFO, Tax Assessor. |Group Goes To Tallahassee To Seek Approval Of Air Service Plans Set For Mother’s Day Letter Contest Annual Contest Will Be Conducted From April 2 To 22 Here The second Key West USO - YMCA Club Mother’s Day Letter Contest for enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the United States stationed in the Key West area will be conducted between April 2 and 22 this year. The mother of the writer of the letter judged to be the best en- tered in the contest will be flown to Key West for the Mother’s Day weekend, May 7 to 10, at the ex- pense of a group of Rotarians headed by Edwin F. Trevor, Ro- ary District 243 Governor and chairman of the USO Club Oper- ating Committee. Mrs. Dale James of South Bend, Indiana, came to the Southern- most City in the United States last year and was designated “Mother of the Naval Base, Key West, 1953,” after her son, B. A. Oehler, USCG, of the Fleet Sonar School, wrote the winning Mother’s Day letter. Mrs. James’ appraisal of the experience was “This should happen to every mother,” The Contest Committee, appoin- ‘ted by Trevor, includes Harold R, s | Laubstudr, cliirman,Mrs. Wah- neta Kovash, Mrs, Mary Lee Gra- ham, Hank Day, Allan Hampton, Lt. J, B, Hayes, USCG, Miss Jane Hudson, USO Club program di- rector, Clem Price, Ledr. C. B. Robinson, Che, USNR, the Rev, Ralph W. Rogers, Bob Smith, J03, USN, Tom Vinciguerra and Rich: ard E. Evans, USO Club director. This committee met Friday to draft contest rules, to consider prizes by local organizations and to revise the general plans of the contest in order to improve on the one of last year. It was indicated that a number of community or- ganizations, including the Lions Club and the Woman’s Club, would like to participate again this Three Commissioners And Rep. Papy Set Conference Today State permission for new Key West air service today was being sought by county officials. Three county commission- ers and Bernie C. Papy, state representative, were meeting in Tallahassee this afternoon: with the Internal Improvement Commission. The group wants an okay for Peninsular Airlines to begin sche- duled service between here and Miami. Commission Action Last week county commissioners and Papy called on Acting Gov. Charley Johns for the same pur- pose. Johns was reported as fav- orable to the request but told them would have to act on the matter. Johns is a member of that com- In Tallahassee today, besides Papy, were County Commissioners SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER KEY WEST, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 1954 Man Protests High Charge $10 Charged For 2-Block Run By Local Gas Station A local resident complained to the city commission last night of what he termed “an exorbitant fee” for towing his truck two blocks to police headquarters and ques- tioned the propriety of a police sergeant operating the towing ser- vice that charged the fee. The man, who identified him- self as A. P. Stickel, 417 Duval Street, a local photographer, said that he parked his truck at Eaton and Duval Streets at 8 p. m. one night last week and went home. Towed To Station _ When he awoke the next morn- ing, he said that he found the truck missing. He went to the police station to report its theft and was told that the truck had been towed to the station because “it was ob- structing traffic.” They said that it had been brought in at 3 a. m. They handed him a bill for a $10 towing charge. The tow truck was owned by Sgt. Frank Caraballo of the Key West Police Department who op- erates a service station in his off hours at 801 Eaton Street, he said. “The car was parked. legally when I left it—someone must have pushed it out into the street if it was parked illegally,” said Stickel. Stiff Fee “TI could understand a two or three dollar charge,” he said, “but ten dollars is a little stiff—they didn’t tow it more than 200 yards.” When the matter was discussed by the city commission last night, they learned that $10 is the stan- dard fee for towing service in the city after 6 p. m. A $ rate is be- charged during business. hours, NAL cut its schedules when a The county formally complained to the CAB, saying NAL unlaw- fully changed its schedules, NAL denied the charge. The CAB suggested that NAL and the county get together to work out a solution. NAL asked the county commis- sioners to come to Miami for a meeting. The commissioners de- clined and offered to meet in Key year, Bell System’s Annual Report Shows Growth Telephone expansion in the South during 1953 continued to reach higher levels of achievement, but the impact of the high costs of providing service remains a major problem, according to the annual report of the Southern Bell Tele- phone Company released in Key West today. More than a quarter-million Southern Bell telephones were ad- ded during the year, bringing the total in service past the 4,250,000 mark, Southern Bell serves Key West, along with 1,033 other ex- changes in nine Southern states. The report was released here by John J, Partin, District Manager of the Company. telephone plant and service im- Provements at the rate of more than 3,600,000 per week, Southern Bell spent a record $189,530,704 to meet the continuing demand for telephone service during 1953. This (Continued on Page Two) City Police Cars To Have New Look City Police carr will have a new look soon. The city commission instructed city Manager Victor Lang to have them painted a flashy two-tone in contrast to their present solid black color. City Commissioner Louis Car- bonell proposed the change. He | said that the move was recommen- ded by the FBI. Choice of the color was left up to the city manager, Investing in new construction of} 1] West with NAL representatives an time NAL selects. NAL replied that this is the line’s peak season. and key. /er- sonnel cannot be pulled away from their jobs to make the trip here. House Trailer Of Deceased Airman Is Up For Sale A 30-foot American house trail- er, which belonged to Keith J. Harlan, the 23-year-old airman killed in the recent helicopter crash, is up for sale, It is being sold by a buddy of Harlan’s, William J. Horton, AT2, of the Seaplane Base. Horton says the 1946 American is in excellent condition and financing can be arranged widow, Patsy Ann, who is now living with her parents in Paxton, During the evening, Horton can be reached at the Overseas Trail- er Park on Stock Island, phone 2-9490, During the day, he can be con- tacted at the Seaplane Base, ex. was the largest amount ever spent} 399, City May Get Diving Tourney The National Underwater Spear Fishing Tournament may be held A representative of the national organization appeared before the city commission last night to ask that they play host to the tourney. He said that it would probably cost the city nothing and pointed out that the area would receive na- tional publicity. _. Steckel also said. that-he ed-why he wasn’t adie a ticket if he was illegally parked, The incident prompted City Man- ager Victor Lang to comment that “maybe it would be a good idea (Continued on Page Two) Eseapee From Big Pine Camp Gets 5 Years Edgar Glass, 23, an escapee from Big Pine prison camp, to- day was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary by Criminal Court Judge Thomas S, Caro. A six-man jury found Glass S ty of breaking and entering and grand larceny, Glass attempted to escape from the county jail here Nov. 17. At today’s trial he was charged with burglarizing Ernest Poucher’s grocery store at Islamorada Sept. 24. He was doing 11 years at Big Pine when he escaped Sept. 22. He was arrested in Homestead Sept. 28. Glass testified today that ‘the confessed the Islamorada burg- lary under threats by Homestead police. Jack Walden, State Highway Patrolman, testified that a suit of clothes bearing Poucher’s name was found in the room Glass was occupying in Homestead. Glass stole a cash register from the store, broke it open nearby and took about $100 from it. He could have opened the elec- trie cash register in the store by a one of the keys, police ar the Glass jury were A. L. Sawyer, John Rivas, Neil C. Shea, Hector D. Pita, Charles J. Papy, Jr., and Mario Hernandez. Police Captains Job Is: Post Of Assistant Chie IN THE U.S. A. Chamber Mails Out Its New Tourist Folders | Coast Guard Goes To Aid Of Seaman An 85-foot Coast Guard vessel vras enroute this aft- ernoon to take an ill or in- jured seaman off a tanker. The tanker, SS Lucille Bloomfield, reported to the Coast Guard here that a man needing medical attention was aboard. The 83-footer is meeting the tanker off the sea buoy. Meanwhile, another “Coast Guard vessel, the Ariadne, was towing a disabled shrimper into port. The Ariadne took the Viking in tow about 200 miles south- west of Fi, Myers. City Okays Three Sisters Bldg. Plans Fire Lane Problem Had Caused Holdup In Work Completion lission gave to the Three ters, national clothing chain store, to. construct an addition on their building at 507-509 Duval Street. The proposed building was the subject of a public hearing before the Planning Commission last night but nobody appeared before the group to protest. Permit Asked The Three Sisters applied earl- ier for a permit te build out fo the property line which extends 113- feet from Duval toward Bahama Street. Ordinarily, a five foot fire lane must be included, but archi- tects pointed out that this would leave a big “hole” surrounded by Two other property owners have already built on the property line and there is no chance of fire equipment reaching the area from Bahama Street. Only recourse would have been for the city to condemn portions of two buildings already there for a fire lane. Construction OK‘d But the Planning Commission last night, when there was no op- position, OK’d the construction and the city commission followed suit. A variance ordinance will be considered shortly and the build- ing inspector was instructed to is- sue a permit, Preliminary work on the project has already been completed, CITY FUNDS TO BE INVESTED City Finance Director Craig Bow- en received permission from the city commission last night to pur- chase ten thousand dollars worth of U. S. Treasury Bonds. The commission moved unani- mously to allow him to make the purchase out of pension fund re- serve. NOTICE AL Master Electricians Only are requested to attend a meeting tonight at 8:00 o’clock at City Hall. The new electrical and placed in effect. eode will be explained Howard Oikle City Electrical Inspector. The commission agreed to spon- sor the tourney. On Key West Purpose Is To Lengthen Current Tourist Season The new Key West folder has been received, by the Chamber of Commerce, according to the mon- thly bulletin, Trends, and a big supply has already been mailed out in packages to hotels, motels, service stations and tourist infor- mation centers in the Miami area and northward, in an effort to lengthen the current tourist season. The new folder features unusual- ly attractive photographs of the Is- land, the colors suggesting the beautiful aquas and greens that predominate in the water surround- ing the Keys. A picture of a sailboat anchored in Garrison Bight, is on the front cover and an excelient study of old Key West Light is on the back cover, The inside pictures feature re- creation facilities and points of in- terest. The folder also contains a good size map of the Island with a key to the various places and historic landmarks of interest to visitors. Copies are available at the Chamber Office. Easter Parade Retail Division’s Children’s Eas- ter Parade has been scheduled for Easter Sunday afternoon. A num- ber of prizes have already been made available, but more will be accepted. Firms making prizes available will automatically be” distribution points for entry blanks. Chairman of the Easter Parade is Rae Carmitchell, and anyone in- terested in participating in this project should contact her at Three Sisters. Membership Drive The. Chamber’s membership drive on February 25, resulted in adding nearly 100 new members to the Chamber roster. The team of workers headed by Bob Dopp won the competition with a score of 1283 points while Joe Pinder’s team brought in a to- tal of 967. Scoring was based on 5 points for each new member and 1 point for each dollar cash in member- ship dues collected. February Analysis The monthly business analysis for February shows an increase in building permits, post office re- ceipts, KWH electricity used and an increase of more than four thou- sand southbound passenger cars on the Overseas highway. Visitors to the Chamber of Commerce office nearly doubled last year’s total. The Chamber sent out better than (Continued on Page Two) Two Chamber Groups Slated To Meet Thursday Two Chamber of Commerce meetings are scheduled for tomor- Tow, it was today. — The merchants division meet at the La Concha Hotel at 10 a. m. to discuss problems con- fronting retailers. At 12:15 p. m., the chamber’s board will meet for lunch at the YMCA, Mrs. Mary Lee Graham, prexy, will preside. These subjects are scheduled for discussion: Possible protest of the Ever- giades National Park’s desire to acquire 400,000 acres of Dade and Monroe County land. Garrison Bight development. Entertainment of 125 members of the Carolina Aero Club next DELINQUENT SEWER LIST IS CONFIRMED A resolution confirming the de- linquent sewer account list was approved last night by the city commission. According to law, the unpaid sewer accounts amount to an auto- Matic lien against the property in question. Only liens to have priori- ty over them are state and county taxes, The action was taken under the terms of the sewer bond ordinance. Che Ken West Citisen. | PRICE FIVE CENTS lished: f Established City Commission Asks Police Chief For Report On Duval St. Parking The city commission last night passed ordinances abolishing the job of Captain of Police and establishing the post of Assistant Chief. And then the city fathers directed some sharp criti- | cism at the department for failing to enforce a Duval Street parking ordinance and disregarding instructions from City Manager Victor Lang to make certain changes City Electric Budget Is OK'd By Commission 2-Million Dollar 1954-55 Program Given Approval The city commission voted un- animously last night to approve a two-million dollar City Electric System budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, General Manager Merville Ro- sam appeared before the commis- sion and presented figures which show that the municipally owned utility company wili reduce its bonded indebtedness by $113,080 and end up with a surplus of $53,336 which will be plowed back into the cash resources of the col é Total Receipts Total receipts for the coming year are estimated at $2,081,626 including $402,926 in cash reserves, Largest single source of income, according to the budget, will be for furnishing electric service to customers—$1,678,700, Reimburse- ment for installation of new ser- vice to customers will amount to $167,300. Miscellaneous receipts are expected to total $78,700, Expenditures Expenditures are estimated at $1,625,334. This includes normal operating costs of $885,110. Broken down this amounts to $307,200 in salaries and wages, $45,200 in in- surance payments, $11,590 for rents and utility services and $15,- 100 in advertising. The balance will be spent for such items as materials and supplies for the po- wer plant ($40,000), distribution, ($47,000) and customer's collection and accounting ($2,000). Other expenditures include fuel for the power plant, $327,500; in- terest on bonds, $131,128; taxes and licenses, $24,000; pensions, $17,000 and $23,000 for normal op- erating contingencies. The company will pay $18,000 to the city in Tax Equivalent pay- ments and to the county, $8,50, KEY WEST'S TRAFFIC BOX SCORE To Merch Date 25 124 0 0 by 19 Accidents Traffic Deaths __. Traffic Injuries Will | property Damage _$6,715 $35,131 One more injury was added to Key West’s traffic accident toll yesterday when a laundry truck operator was struck down at South and Simonton Streets. According to the police report, the truck driver, identified as William Adams, leaped from his truck into the path of a car driven by Mrs. Phyllis Obermeyer of Orlando. before it came to a halt, he was dashed to the pavement, Taken toa Physician, his in- $115.00 M Strunk Lumber 120 SIMONTON, near Bank in department organization. The commissioners first acted on a motion by Dr. Delio Cobo that the ordin- ance establishing the post of Assistant Chief be adopted on first reading. Only discussion of the measure came when the question arose as to the rate of pay to be given to the appointee. City Manager Victor Lang suggested that the pay be set the same as the assistant chief in the fire department who receiv- es $310 per month. The commissioners agreed to in- sert the amount of salary in the ordinance before it comes up for second reading. Carbonell Dissents Commissioner Louis Carbonell cast the only dissenting vote on the ordinance. Commissioner Jack De- laney was absent from the meet- ing. Commission Cobo then moved adoption of the bill which abolish- ed the post of police captain. The ordinance was passed without dis- cussion. The post is vacant at the present time. The Civil Service Board twice refused to recommend promotions to the post. But then, Commissioner Car- bonell asked for the floor to casti- gate the lack of enforcement by police of a recently passed ordin- ance prohibiting parking on the northeast side of Duval Street be- tween the hours of 4 to 6 p. m. Carbonell fought bitterly against the ordinance after it was recome mended by the traffic safety com- mittee. Lack of Enforcement ““When the ordinance was pass- ed I made the statement that I would insist on it being enforced. I’m saying now that it never has been enforced — there have been some flagrant violations,” Car- bonell declared. Mayor C. B. Harvey agreed with Carbonell. “I agree with you,” he told Carbonell, “the police chief should be told to enforce the or- dinance.” Commissioner Cobo commented that “I think the situation is get- ting worse. The police department needs another man who will stay on the Duval Street beat longer hours, The man there now also takes care of the parking meters. He quits too early.” Vigilance Needed City Manager Victor Lang ad- mitted that it is a “bad time of day for the police department but there is no reason for not making a drive every few days.” Lang was then instructed to see why the ordinance is not being en- forced. Then the discussion turned to a set of recommendations for reor- ganizing the police department is- (Continued on Page Two) ROBERTS CONTRIBUTES TO ODHAM CAMPAIGN Paul W. Roberts, city commis- sioners, contributed $105 to Brai- ley Odham’s campaign fund, the Associated Press reported from Tallahassee. Odham reported that he received a total of $4,771 in contributions last week. LeRoy Collins reported $8,082 and Charley Johns, $4,170. Boca Chica Bar —STOCK ISLAND— Now Open Under New Management per WELCOME -“@&