The Key West Citizen Newspaper, June 2, 1954, Page 1

For Quick Communication, Use CLASSIFIED Ads! You'll reach buyers and sellers— tenants or workers . . . Just DIAL 2-5661 or 25662, West Ci THE SOUTHERNWOST NEWSPAPER IN THE cee VOL. LXXV No. 131 ‘7 FLORIDA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 1954 PRICe FIVE CENTS For Quick Consideration Security Board Calls Physicist Too Risky To Clear For Secret ‘Hope Presents |Allen Asks Jail Probe After - His Story Of Youth Smashes Padded Cell Police Arrest Marines ire Mental Patient Causes Damage Was Con’ By By WARREN ROGERS, JR. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Atomic Energy Com- mission had before it today Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s plea for quick action on a special board’s split recommen- dation to bar him from the atomic secrets he helped un- To “Fool-proof” SAFE DRIVERS—Mayor C. B. Harvey yesterday awarded $15 gift certificates to drivers of city ‘vehicles, The awards represent three months of accident-free driving in behalf of the drivers. “By stressing safety of its drivers, the city is actually saving money.” Myrtland Cates, Jr., city safety director, said. Standing, left to right, are: Mayor Harvey, Seely Knowles, H. B. Russell. Juan Martinez, Row- and “Roig, F. Roberson, C. H. Graves, Willard Hopkins, John Thrift, Luis Aguiar, City Manager Victor Lang. Kneeling, left to right: Charles Delgado, Hector Ramirez, Leno Crus, A. M. Peres and Public Service Director Ivan Roberts —Citizen Staff Photo by Sybil. Consolidation May Be! Issue Here At Polls 1936 Amendment To Constitution Set Up Machinery Presented To _ Fer Such A Move f8consolidation of thé gov- -ernments of Monroe County and the City of! Key West desirable? ; Area voters may have the opportunity of settling that question in the near future, ~ according to reports, reach- ing The Citizen, —- That possibility was brought to light recently when an informed source pointed out that an amend- ment to the state constitution was passed in 1936, setting up the ma- chinery for the abolishment of the City of Key West and setting up a county-wide “municipality” to. be _ Soverned by one agency. Referendum Needed | However, the amendment pro- vides that the question must be submitted to the people for ref- erendum before the action can be taken. Although legal opinion is divided, it is apparent that the referendum would have to be authorized by the legislature — although others say that the county commission could place the proposal on the ballot in the November general election. Apparently, county residents are split right down the middle on the proposal, a “sidewalk survey” has indicated. A Reasons Cited Proponents of consolidation cite these reasons for their stand: 1, Economy by elimination of duplication of city and county functions such as taxation, police tion and executive adminis- tion. 2. Efficiency through more ef- fective control over governmental Se ee opposing consolidation 1: 1, That a single government would not effect the expected economy. 2. That the present set-up gives the voters better representation. The idea of consolidation .is nothing new to Monroe County— or to Florida — both Dade and Duval county es 3 have vetoed roposal. s omete Different Situation — But Monroe County, with a single urban area (Key West), is a different situation, some quarters nthe amendment authérizes the (Continued On Page Eight) Rent Floor Sanders Strunk Lumber 120 Simonton St., near Aquarium Welfare District Report Is iS Resins. pf z Withdrawal * Allow Volunteers To Stay In Indochina By JOHN $CALI WASHINGTON ( — The United States has started to withdraw some 200 Air Force technicians County Board The comet was given to the ty commission at their meeting last night. It was prepared by Miss Eli- za Fike, supervisor of the lo¢al of- fice. id, are receiving long-term care using Monroe County funds. In February, four more: children, re- Tushed to Indochina to help main-|ferred to the juvenile court for tain French warplanes nearly three months ago. The Defense Department, how- ever, is reported considering allow- ing some American servicemen to :temegeed to assist French ground crews in servicing planes blasting away at. Commiunist-led rebel forces near Hanoi. Diplomatic officials who report- ed this today said the evacuation of American Air Force: personne! no way should be regarded as lessening of American interest in the future of Red-threatened age withdrawal, they empha- sized, is being carried out in ac- cordance with to Congress that the 200 technicians sent to Indochina last March would be Pulled out by June 12. A substan- (Continued On Page Eight) Sheriff's Dept. Reports On May Investigations The Monroe County Sheriff's De- partment had a busy time of it during May, according to a report of their operations during that per- iod released today. The report shows that they han- died 68 cases of various types, in- cluding: 2 homicides, 1 aggravated assault, 2 breaking and entering, 11 larceny, 2 auto thefts, 2 “other assault,” 1 embezzlement and fraud, 1 weapons charge, 7 cases involving families and children, 6 disorderly conduct cases, 1 case of driving while intoxicated, 8 acci- dents, 1 other ayto violation and 23 miscellaneous complaints. As of May 1, there were 27 pri- soners in the county jail. During May there were 75 incoming pri- soners. A total of 71 of these were released during the month leaving eg Si igs ne As on June 1. total of 8,669 miles during child neglect, were added and were Placed in local foster homes, Parents Claim One By the end of March,, one these children was returned Parents who are now able to sup- port him and eventually they plan to take their other three children. During the quarter under review, the report said that $926.29 from 1 | local funds was used for foster care “At present we have four white and three colored foster homes, and while they are not all being roe County now has a full-time child welfare worker, James John- son. In commenting on the Teport, county commissioner Joe Allen, chairman of the welfare committee said that “‘a lot of people think we are not caring for these chil- dren — but we do have a foster home program administered by the state and it is fitting our needs admirably.” He also told of the registration of Miss Fike as supervisor of the Monroe County office and com- plimented her on her work here. Miss Fike resigned effective June 1 to accept another position. Expenditure Okayed Meanwhile, the District 9 Wel- fare Board of the State Depart- ment of Public Welfare, which in- cludes both Dade and Monroe Counties: has announced that they have approved assistance to a to- tal of 7,791 persons with a total expenditure of $370,764.50. This in- cludes three categories of Old Age Assistance, Aid to Dependent Chil- dren and Aid to the Blind. Of this number 601 persons re- ceive assistance in Monroe Coun- tance pgyments -adoption studies (Continued on Page Eight) Judge He Did Not Ap In Court To Answer ‘ges Robert M. Hi Whitehead Street, today deniel- the accuracy of. a ice report @f April 21 and cri The Citizen for printing same. Hope was = victed Hope’s statement follows: “Saturday’s story of my arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct on April 21 contained’ twisted and newspaper, and is giving me. this opportunity to present the true facts. “According to the article, the owner of a local bar lodged a com- Plaint against me. It is/further al- leged that I was ‘warned to return jese statements is one er of the bar in which arose. By her testi- call was placed by the bar maid. I have the barmaid’s state- ment that ‘it was not (her) inten- tion that (I) should be charged with any misconduct.’ “The grave charge was not brought by a witness, but but a woman co-defendant who, to quote from the police report, was wie | ana for drunkentess and seeing her hang around bars day in and day out.’ i “The police report does not state that I returned to cause trouble. That statement was an unsupport- ed editorial assumption. What the report does say was that I was Proceeding in the direction of the bar, which happened also to be the direction of my hotel. Because I was upset, I walked around the “A less serious charge in the newspaper story, presenting me in an unfortunate, light, says that some discrepancy ‘exists between the that. I wrote to Mr. ste. and copy that I sent «I have a letter (Continued on Page Eight) Field parking lot agreed to them to be erected on his tie Fined $10 In Trespass Case City Court Has Busy Session Tuesday Afternoon city court. Judge Enrique Esquin- aldo had a busy session with 28 cases on the docket. The court session was highlight- ed when two Marines pleaded in- nocent to charges of destroying private property, trespassing on private property and resisting ar- rest. Police officer Akins testifed that while standing in front of a bar where a party was being given early Sunday he heard timber be- ing broken in a parking lot across the street. He said he looked i i and saw It was brought out in court that the fence was broken previoulsy -and was full of termites. The owner of the fence was reported to be unconcerned over the breakage and did not want to press charges. Judge Questions Esquinaldo in his query of Ak- ins, asked him if the men could have just been sitting on the fence when it broke or if they could have been breaking it up. Akins answered that the Judge could assume that they were just casually sitting on the fence when it broke if he wanted to. It was the Judge’s prerogative to assume that if he wanted to, Akins said. John MeKeen, one of the defen- dants, testified that they had just come out of the USO across the street and had observed a party being given in a nearby bar. It (Continued on Page Eight) Bar Owner Is Arrested For Sale To Minor Gordon Wolfson, owner of the Preview Lounge on Duval Street, was arrested at 1:15 this morning on charges of selling intoxicating beverages to a minor. Police Lt. J. (Buster) Cerezo made the ar- rest. The arrest is the first to be made in a city-wide drive by the police department to apprehend violators who are selling intoxicating bev- erages to minors. Morris E. Foleomer, a navy man, was also arrested on charges of a minor purchasing and consuming intoxicating beverages. Wolfson’s bond was set at $250 and Foleomer’s was set at $100. Equalization Bd. The board, which consists of the county commission, agreed to that date at their meeting last night after they received word from County Tax Assessor Claude Gan- the new roll would County Lock-Up County Commission Joe Allen re- quested last night that the state authorities‘ who recommended and approved the installation of two padded cells in the county’s new jail be contacted for an explana- tion as to why a 19-year-old men- tal patient managed to rip one up during three days of continuous pounding against the walls of the cell. The commission also moved to start commitment proceedings to place the youth in the State Men- tal Insitution at Chattahoochee. Newcomer To Key West The youth, who came here from New York recently, was found un- conscious by police on Roosevelt Blvd. May 25 and taken to Monroe General Hospital where he was held for observation. Later, the youth became violent and hospital officials said that they. were unable to care for him pro- fold. The three-man security board set up by the com- mission found, after six weeks of secret hearings and de- liberation, that the 50-year-old “Oppy” is a “loyal citi- zen” — but too much of a security risk to get back the cleared-for-secrets status he Neblett Will Seek Unity In Legislature Nominee Stresses His Duty Is To Entire District By BILL SPILLMAN William Neblett, Democratic nominee for State Senator; when queried by a Citizen reporter to- day said that he would go @long with Bernie C. Papy as long as perly because they did not. have the facilities. He was taken to the county jail and placed in a padded cell on Friday. For three days, the youth con.) tinwally butted his head up a; Damage Probe Asked Commissioner Allen last night asked for the investigation to de- termine why the supposedly “fool- proof” cell had been damaged so easily. Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Depart- ment contacted the youth’s par- ents in New York and learned that they are unable. to care for him because of lack of funds. They also learned that the youth suffered a head injury in his boyhood which is believed to be responsible for his present condition. . This morning, proceedings were started by County Judge Raymond Lord for the youth’s commitment to the state institution for treat- men. He will be examined by a board made up of two physicians and a layman. Sheriff John Spottswood com- mented that it was “inhuman” the way that the youth has been locked up and expressed a desire that early treatment can be obtained for him. : Couture Company Gains Contract The county commission unani- mously approved last night a con- tract to operate a car rental a- gency at Meacham Field with the Couture Company, Miami. -The contract calls for payment to the county of a $4,000 minimum annual fee and a percentage of their revenue. Earlier, the city had refused to grant a license to the company on the basis that they had not satis- fied the residence requirements as set up in a local ordinance. But the Couture Company succeeded in fighting that provision and gained the contract. They were low bid- ders. Commissioner Clarence Higgs moved to approve the contract and Man Nominated For Commission Art Baker, a resident of Mara- thon, was recommended by the County Commission for appoint- ment by the Governor as a mem- Possible. Since Neblett defeated for the district senatorial seat in the .state senate, Monroe County now, has. two residents ‘in the state Iegislature. ‘Neblett pointed? out that Papy is just representing Monroe Coun- ty whereas he (Neblett) is repre- senting a group of counties in the district: and that any legislation that he goes along would naturally have to be of interest to all his district as well as Monroe. TV Question Neblett was asked if there was anything to the rumor that he would take legislative steps to enable the City of Key West to own its own television station. Neblett replied that was one tumor he had never heard of. He added, that just quickly thinking about it, he didn’t like the idea of a city owning things that should be owned by private interests. Neblett said that if the city commissioners passed a resolu- tion to ask him to take legisla- his consideration. He added that there would have to be public hearings on all legislative pro- grams that he would introduce. Subsidy Taxation Neblett said that in a case like the city owning a television sta- tion, he wasn’t too sure that the people should be taxed to sub- sidize a TV outfit. He pointed out that some people would not even look at it, giving as an ex- ample, blind people. Neblett added that this is all very new to him and for any positive answer, he would want to think it over. He pointed out that there was a plan now to give Key West television by closed circuit meth- ods for a monthly fee, plus an installation charge. ‘ It was pointed out that the city of Jacksonville owns its own ra- (Continued on Page Eight) Cuban Flag Given To Monroe County vana. The flag was handed to Gerald Saunders, chairman of the board by commissioner Joe Allen, who Tepresented the commission on a goodwill trek there to mark Cuba’s Independence Day, May 20. Allen said that the flag was or- ginally given to Mayor C. B. Har- vey who in turn gave it to the county because the already tive action that he would give it) lost last December 23. As disclosed yesterday by Oppenheimer’s _ attorneys, the special board ruled 2-1 that the noted physicist and atomic pioneer had contrib- uted to delaying a “concer- ted” start on hydrogen bomb development and had asso- ciated with Communists for years. In a minority opinion, Dr. Ward V. Evans, chemistry professor at Loyola University of Chicago, said of Oppenheimer: “He did not hinder development of the H-bomb and there is abso- lutely nothing in the testimony to show that he did...” “Old Hat Charges The Oppenheimer attorneys, headed by, Lloyd K. Garrison, said in a letter to AEC General Man- ager K. D. Nichols that allegations by the majority were old hat — charges which the commission had thrown out seven years ago, They asked,..on Oppenheimer’s behalf, that. the customary review by the commission’s personnel se- cutity review board be waived, Instead, they asked the commis- | sion itself to take the case “under immediate consideration.” They asked permission to file a written brief by Monday and to argue at some later date before the commission, which must make the final decision. Oppenheimer, now director of. the Institute for Advanced. Study at Princeton, N.J., could not be reached for comment. His office said he was out of town. Many Backers, When Oppenheimer was suspend- ed last December, mary persons rallied to the side of the thin, chain smoking scientist. Vice President Nixon called him “a loyal American” who should be kept in government work if not a ssecurity risk. Former AEC mem- ber Sumner T. Pike said he never doubted Oppenheimer’s patriot- ism. Chairman David Hill of the Fefleration of American Scientists expressed “full confidence” in Op- jpenheimer’s integrity. | Until suspended, Oppenheimer was a member of the President’s Science Advisory Committee, a consultant to the AEC and adviser to the Departments of State and Defense and the National Security Council—although the board’s ma- jority report said he devoted only 2% days to these tasks during all of 1953. The two members of the security board who voted -for suspension (Continued on Page Eight) Neblett Visits In Tallahassee William R. Neblett, who was giv- en the Democratic nomination for election to the State Senate in the recent primary elections, has re- turned from a visit to Tallahassee where he made courtesy callé on Acting Governor Charley Johns and members of his cabinet. Enroute, he stopped in the three mainland counties he will repre- sent in the Senate to express his "| gratitude to his supporters there, Fe His visit also inclyde an appear- ance over television station WINK in Fort Myers. STEAMED SHRIMP All You Can Eat $1.95 Served with Cocktail Sauce, French Fries and Cole Slaw Caribe Restaurant Opp. Aquarium Parking Lot