The Key West Citizen Newspaper, December 21, 1954, Page 1

Warmest City In Nation Today Was KEY WEST = a6 VOL. LXXV No. 302 THE ‘'SOUTHERNMOST NEWSPAPER in ¢ KEY WEST, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1954 CLEVELAND (?) — The jury in the Sheppard case still had not reached a de- cision at 1 p.m. today. When Judge Edward Blyth- in excused the jurors at 10:30 last night, they had been in actual conference 33 hours and 31 minutes. Dr. Sam Sheppard is ac- cused of the July 4 bludgeon slaying of his wife, Marilyn. Che Kev West Citi HE U.S.A. For Quick Communication, Use CLASSIFIED Ads! You'll reach tenan DIAL buyers and sellers— ts or workers .. . Just 2-5661 or 25662 Today PRICE FIVE CENTS Commissioners Advocate Upping Of $1 $,000 Payment The city commission will meet shortly with the Utility | Board in an effort to work out a plan for a higher tax equivalency payment by the City Electric System. That course of action was decided on last night by the city commi ion when they considered a recommenda- tion from the utility board that they approve floating a $4,200,000 bond issue to expand and improve the city- owned utility to take care o needs. The utility board had passed a resolution October f Key West’s growing power |and Associates, consulting engi- |neers for the firm. Their report | Said that if the Keys and Key West 4 Three Minor 7 asking that the city fath-| continue to progress at the present DISASTER AVERTED—"“Nobody can say I'm not prepared.” said Citizen reporter Jim Cobb (above) this morning as he waited on the waterfront for the arrival of a tiday wave which a Chicago ‘woman said would inundate the world some time today. Cobb, who maintained his lonely vigil until shortly after 11 a.m. when The Citizen's outer space correspondent notified City Editor Mar- League Teams ers put their stamp of ap-| proval on the expansion pro- gram. But whén it came up last night, the commissioners moved to meet rate, electric facilities will be in- adequate as early as 1958. A breakdown in the generating plant, they say, could result in a serious power shortage. The expansion program, accord- To Train Here Senators Slate Exhibition Tilt garet Foresman that the tidal wave had been postponed because of cold weather, was equipped with spy-glass, life preserver and life ring donated by the Thompson Hardware Co.—Citizen Staff Photo, Don Pinder. first with the five man utility | ing to the utility board resolution, board charged with administration | “Ould finance the addition of a of the electric company to discuss | 16,500 kilowatt generating unit at the incorporation in the indenture | the steam plant, at a cost of $3,200,- agreement of a higher tax pay-|900; the extension of distribution Tidal Wave Postponed, Outer Space Correspondent Reveals 3y JIM GOBB and DENIS SNEIGR Relax, kiddies, :Phe world-wide catastrophe scheduled for today has been postponed until next year because of the cold weath- er, A Key Wester, who declined to be named, said he has been in constant communication with little men from outer space, Tidal ‘waves, continents rising and falling, and a generally messy situation had been predicted by Mrs, Dorothy Martin, of Chicago, who said that tidal waves would sweep over much of the land be- tween the Arctic Circle and the Gulf. of Mexico, Disciples Waited Mrs. Martin and a group of 12 “disciples” sat through the night in her home waiting for the catas- trophe, Dr. Charles\A. Laughhead, who lost his job of the student health staff of the Michigan State College | by accepting her prophecy was a- mong those who waited at her home last night. They wasted their time. “The whole deal has been call- | ed off,” said the Conch with the direct line to outer space. ‘‘It’s too cold.” | However, the Key West spokes- man for the Catastrophe Com-) mittee added that the program | | EGG NOG | would go on as advertised some time in 1955. “The exact date will be announ- ced later,’ he said. Special to The Citizen. Bagels Beach, Fla., Dec. 21 — A sign of relief went up from this plush South Beach tourist spot today when word was re- ceived that the scheduled ca- tastrophe had been called off. Restaurant and motel opera- tors here recently spent th sands of dollars building sea- walls, new motels, and new restaurants. Members of the city commission greeted news of the postponement with enthusiasm. . “We had hoped that the tidal wave would hold off long enough for us to float a 172 million bond issue on it,” said a spokesman. Meanwhile, The Citizen's Miami Beach correspondent reported that many tourists there were taking evasive action. Mink coats were being stored in | bank vaults and the more expen- sive Cadillacs were being parked on the top floors of garages. Most of the swimming pools at the swank beach - front hotels! | were being drained in advance of Available |the forecast tidal wave. | “We should get free water in As Of Today and During Ghristnay Holi days | the pools,” said one hotel own- er. Washington reaction was mixed, |Citizen correspondents from the |nation’s capital reported. Telephone 2-7542 The House Un-American Acti- ADAMS DAIRY (Continued on Page Two) YOUR DAIRY QUEEN Will Deliver FREE of Charge For Holiday or Birthday Parties! Orders Must Be In One Day In Advance DAIRY QUEEN Corner of White and United Streets PHONE 2-7510 PHONE 2-2743 Voluptuous Spy Faces Prison By TOM REEDY BERLIN (#—A beautiful German brunette was sentenced to five years in prison today after she pleaded guilty to seducing secrets out of two U.S. intelligence officers for Russian pay. The names of the two Americans were not introduced in court. U.S. officials said previously the black- eyed charmer — Irmgard Mar- garethe Schmidt — was the mis- tress of an Air Force intelligence colonel and had occasio.al dates | with a civilian inteiligence chief. Prosecution described her as one of the most dangerous spies encountered here since World War The 24-year-old former East zone student burst into tears as U.S. High Commission Judge Ambrose Fuller pronounced sentence. Al- though she had said nothing in her own defense during the trial, she sobbed bitterly: “T can’t take it. It’s too much.” The girl pleaded guilty to trans- mitting to the Rssians for money details of the order of battle for Allied defense of West Berlin. She aiso admitted a second charge of approaching a German national in 11S. intelligence to get more in- | formation. SSS SS They Keep Warm ” The warmest spot in the na- tion’ today was the Key West Chamber of Commerce. Elec- tric heaters were going full blast in that office. nn 0 DANE SUN. BUY AT YOUR STORE OR DELIVER TO YOUR DOOR At Wickers Field Three minor league base- ball teams will train in Key West in 1955 and the Wash- ington Senators will make at least one exhibition ap- pearance here in the spring, it was announced today by Louis Carbonell. Carbonell reported that Joe Cam- bria, an official of the Washington Senators told him by telephone this morning that the Hobb, Texas’ team, a Class C organization would arrive here March 15 to start drills. Earlier Announcement Earlier, Carbonell had announc- ed that the Charlotte, N. C., club of the Sally league would traih here starting in March. A Cuban team will also train here. Carbonell has held several con- ferences with Ossie Bluege, ma- nager of the Washington farm club program. Meanwhile, the city commission | took the first step last night to im- | prove the accomodations at the! Wickers Field Stadium for the pro- | fessional teams when they voted | to improve a building abandoned by | the City Electric Co. at the sta- dium by adding shower, locker and toilet facilities. City Balks At Sewer Bond Refunding Pact | The city commission ten‘atively | turned thumbs down on proposed | agreement with tne Atwill and Co., Miami Beach bond dealers, to re-| finance the $900,000 sewer revenue | bond issue. The firm had promised to save the city at least one per cent on| the interest on the bonds. But they asked that the city give | BLAST DAMAGE—Two men were cut about the legs by flying debris yesterday when a sewer nance Unit, The building, 2s shown above, line exploded at the Naval Ord- was damaged slightly.—Official U.S. Navy Photo. Religious To Convene Here A. Catanzaro, Southeast- ‘ern servant and coordinator for the United States for Je- hovah’s Witnesses, arrived today from national head- quarters in Brooklyn, N. Y., to assist with the final ar- rangements for the South- east Florida Circuit Assem- bly here on December 24, 25 and 26. Catanzaro, a well-known Jehov- ah’s Witness lecturer, will deliver the feature lecture at Wickers Stadium on Sunday afternoon, De- cember 26. Commission O. K. All sessions of the assembly will be held at the stadium through the cooperation of the city commission, The cafeteria at Poinciana School has been made available for the use of the Witnesses during the assembly by the Monroe County School Board. Over 1,500 Witnesses are expect- a Sect cuit, who will speak during the! session. The assembly opens officially at 7 p. m. Friday, December 24 and | ‘continues all day Saturday, De- cember 25. It will close at 6 p. m. Sunday, December 26. Eugene Rosam, local congrega- jtion servant and chairman of ar- rangements for the assembly, said this morning that the local congre- gation is expecting the biggest at- tendance on December 25 and 26. On December 25, the Witnesses will be “in the field’? and hope to call at every residence in the city leither during the morning, begin- ning at 9:30, or in the afternoon beginning at 2:30. Afternoon Plans The afternoon field work will fol- |low mass immersion at the Mar- ine Motel pool on Simonton and United Streets at 2:00 p. m. On Saturday night the movie “The New World Society in Ac- tion’? will be shown on a special out-door screen to be erected at Wickers Stadium. This movie was shown to a ecap- | diesel generating plant into service | |as Key Westers made use of elec- ment. $18,000 Annually The city presently receives only | $18,000 a year from the clectric| company — an amount that has| been held to be too low by com-! missioners in the past. When the new bond issue is floated. the com-} missioners want to make sure that | the city gets a higher payment in lieu of taxes. Merville Rosam, general manag- er of the electric company said to- day that the meeting will proba- bly take place within a week. He pointed up the need for ex- Pansion of the power producing fa- cilities when he said that the pre-| sent plants have been running 10 per cent over their rated capacity. Last Night’s Load Last night’s cool weather, Ro- sam added, resulted in a power | load of 13,100 kilowatts. The steam generating plant built in 1952, he added, supplies only 12,500, which | made it necessary to put the old| ric heaters. | Expansion of the company has | heen recommended by R. S. Beck CITY PAYS ANNUAL ELECTRIC BILL MON. The city commission _ approved payment last night of its annual | electric bill amounting to $21,902.- | 73. The bill includes service for all municipal buildings and for the| the USO building on Whitehead Street. facilities at a cost of $310,000 and the construction of a storage and distribution building for $200,000. The electric company, purchased by the city in 1943, has shown a totally unanticipated growth, Its financial condition, according to analyists, would support the floating of another bond issue. Ferry Co. Has New Plan For Cuba Passengers The Caribbean Ferry System in- augurated a new plan today to aid them in handling an ever - increas- ing business. The company, operators of the Key West - Cardenas ferry, “The City of Key West,” said that they have started the plan to accommo- date persons wishing to make the trip immediately and have their automobiles sent over on the next trip. Company officials said that the plan is necessary because the ship is booked to capacity through the end of the year. Today, for example, they said that 11 persons left for Cardenas without their cars. When the ship leaves Key West again on Thurs- day, the automobiles will be a- board There were a total of 199 pas- snegers and 39 automobiles aboard when the ship left this morning for Cardgnas, the largest load she has carried to date. Now Appearing Nightly At THE CASA MARINA acity crowd at the Yankee Stadi-; JOE CANDULLO them a three year contract to han-|/@d to attend the assembly repre- dle all of its financial dealings for|Senting 20 eongregations in the TEL. 2-3152 the next three years. | The city balked at that provi-| sion and decided last night to en- ter into an agreement only if the company will guarantee the saving without the three-year clause. We would like to wish all our friends and neighbors ja Merry Xmas and a Pros- perous New Year. MR., MRS, M. D. CREEL | and DAUGHTER | Alaskan Yellow Cedar for Boats — at Strunk Lumber | | 120 SIMONTON near Marine Ways | South Florida area. The circuit assemblies are held every six months primarily as training sessions for the Witness- a * Coordinator Due Also arriving today is W. G. Shawver, coordinator of this cir- TONY'S RESTAURANT 808 SIMONTON STREET Will Be Open Thursday, December 23 Closed Christmas Day SERVING SPECIAL Christmas Eve Dinner Spanish and American Style mplete Dinners $1.85 um during a recent national as- sembly. CAR OVERTURNS { Walter J. Pietruszka, Jr., 20 - year-old sailor, escaped injury yes- terday when his car overturned | nine miles north of Marathon, the | sheriff's department reported. He | was charged with reckless driving. | and His Famous Orchestra LOUIS and LEE VALENTO Dance Stylists MR. CANDULLO and His Orchestra Will Play Every Day In Our Patio for Luncheon, Dinner, and Late Dancing Never A Cover or Minimum Charge! KEY WESTERS and VISITORS ARE CORDIALLY WELCOMED FOR LUNCHEON, DINNER, OR DANCING IN THE PATIOG! BETTY MADIGAN FAMOUS M.G.M. RECORDING STAR WILL OPEN A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT IN OUR PATIO, MONDAY, DEC. 27 ACROSS FROM e U.S. POST OFFICE (GIFT HOUSE OPEN TIL 9 P.M