St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

ON TODAY'S EDITORIAL PAGE Formers vs. the Editorial NASA's Concern for the Press: Editorial Consumers' Stake in the Family Farm: Mirror of Public Opinion FINAL Vol. No. 198 (85th Year) ST. LOUIS, SATURDAY, JULY 20, 196 18 PAGES PRICE 7c IX ST.

I.f'L IT'- AGREEMENT IS IN SIGHT ON LIMITED NUCLEAR TEST BAN, KHRUSHCHEV SAYS SPECTACULAR BLAZE DESTROYS THE HIGHLANDS; 9 FIREMEN HURT NO OBSTACLES Khrushchev Host to Chinese; Talks Apparently End In Failure Peking Delegates to Dine With Premier, Are Expected to Head Home Quickly Talks apparently ended with firm rejection by Moscow of Peking's position that war and revolution are necessary for the advance of world Commu- nism. Authorita'tive sources said the talks were carried out in a frigid atmosphere, to the acenm-, paniment of almost naked in-i suits by both sides outside the conference room. "We are giving a dinner to the Chinese delegates tonight," Khrushchev told. W. AveieH Harriman, United Stales Under i Secretary of State, at the reception.

Only yesterday, ai a Kremlin Aerial View of Blaze; Amusement Windswept smoke billowing from the Forest Park High- lands amusement park yesterday as firefighting units Park Ruins (visible at lower left) pour water into the restaurant area where the blaze began. Aerial photo by Rainey Bell. Many of 260 Fight-ing Amusement Park Flames Are Affected by Heat Forest Park Highlands lay in ruins today after a spectacular wind-whipped fire destroyed the amusement park, a St. Louis landmark for 68 years. Two pumpers and a hook and ladder truck remained at the scene as firemen continued to wet down the charred rubble.

The Highlands is in the 5600 block of Oakland avenue. Forty-six pieces of equipment and 260 firemen fought the general-alarm blaze, which began as a wisp of smoke under the restaurant area at 2:30 p.m. yesterday. Nine firemen suffered minor injures, and many others were staggered by intense heat, as the fire leaped from roof to roof and ride to ride until the whole area was enveloped by flames. The temperature was 97 degrees as firemen fought the blaze.

Never Had A Chance "My men fought this one step by step, but we never had a chance." Assistant Fire Chief Robert' Olsen said. "The wind was too high and the water from our hoses only added to the humidity." The fire was still of three-alarm size when Olsen deployed his equipment around the park, filling Oakland avenuft in front of the area and open fields to its rear with a vast tangle of hoses and trucks. Traffic on the Express Highway was halted from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. when winds estimated at 15 to "20 miles an hour blew thick clouds of smoke across the highway and reduced visibility to zero. Hundreds of persons gathered to watch the Highlands die.

Negotiations were under way by the Junior College District to acquire the property for part of proposed 43-acre campus. No Estimate of Loss Emory D. Jones, park manager and vice president of St. Louis Arena park owner, said he could not estimate the loss because company records were in Chicago. The corporation and junior college officials were reported to be unable to agree on a price for the property and veteran employes of the park mentioned a rumor that negotiations had been suspended.

Joseph P. Cosand, junior college president, declined to speculate on the negotiations after the fiery turn of events. If the rumor were wishful thinking by old timers, it faded in a four-hour fire that spared only the ferris wheel, merry-go-round and roller coaster. Chief Olsen said the fire was out of control when George Adams, assistant park manager, turned in the first alarm. Olsen said park employes played fireman too long with the tinder-dry buildings.

Jones denied the charge, but several employes told a reporter that tire extinguishers and one hose were used at the scene until heavy smoke swirled around the old dance pavilion and then an alarm was sounded at a box at the entrance. Conformed to Old Code Director of Public Safety Robert W. Duffe said that the old concession buildings conformed to the "grandfather clause" of the current building code. The clause permits operation of structures that conformed at the time of construction. Fire Marshal William Tran-TURN TO PAGE 7, COLUMN 7 Cooler Tonight Official forecast for St.

Louis and vicinity: Cooler tonight; mostly sunny and warm tomorrow; low tonight in the upper 60s; high tomor- i ERED HE REPORTS Observers Believe Pact May Be Ready for Initialing Next Week By HENRY SHAPIRO MOSCOW. 20 (UPI) -Premier Nikita S. Khru-hchev declared tonight that agreement is in sight on the sianinf of a limited nuclear lest bun accord by the Soviet Union, the United Stall's and Britain. Speaking at a Kremlin reception after a new meeting of the three-power Moscow nuclear talks, Khrushchev said: i "The talks are going- v.ei!. N'r obstacles have been encountered so far.

If I hey continue as they have so far, agreement is in sight." Authontame di I a ti sources said earlier (hat I'nited Slates, British and Soviet negotiators had made continued progress in the sixth session of the nuclear negotiations. Other Items Discussed A communique iss.ied after the meeting said the negotiators discussed both a limited test ban and "other matters of mutual interest." The negotiators W. Harriman. under secretary of state, lr the United Stales; Lord Hailsham. British science minister, and Soviet I-oreign Minister Andrei Gromyko spent an hour and 40 minutes together in the Spiridonovka palace.

The next meeting is set for Monday. Authoritalh sources said that the conferees were put ling finishing touches cm a draft treaty that would ban nuclear tests in outer space, under water and in the atmosphere. There were expectations in Moscow that the treaty might be ready for initialing next week. Secrecy Ended Khrushchev took the secrecy wraps off tiie talks yesterday, saying that tests, except those held under ground, would bo banned "unless the Americans and British change their positions." He said that he favored a ban on underground tests also, but that such a ban was not in the offing for the moment bec'ause of western insistence on oa-site inspections to check suspected violations. Other Proposals Studied Khrushchev's other peace sug.

gesiions were getting a'-tention from diplomats here. They included: Revival of a lfISS Soviet proposal for L.tst-West agreement on international inspection at strategic points to guard against secret troop-movements and buildups. Freezing the present level of armaments, and reduction of armaments. Resumption of negotiation? for an agreement to prevent surprise attacks. Withdrawal of all foreign troops from countries outside their own borders.

Some Plans Rejected Before Some of these proposals have been rejected by the West in the past, particularly those that would create a strong military advantage for the Russians in Europe while sending American, troops home. But one diplomat said today of the inspection proposal: "It looks like an agreement on preventing surprise attack may really come out of it." Washington's immediate reaction was to ask to see the nuclear test ban agreement formally spelled out before proceeding with Khrushchev's other proposals. Moscow observers said that conclusion of the test ban treaty logically would call for a higher-level meeting to s'gn it, and some spoke of a summit meeting. President John F. Kennedy has avoided making any commitments on the question ui a summit.

The other issues under discussion at the nuclear talks are believed to include a nonaggression pact between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Warsaw Treaty nations. Hailsham and Harriman have au thority to discim but not con- TURN TO PAGE 2, COLUMN 6 MM MEETINGS I-'nim lrf Service MOSCOW, July 20 Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev is giving a dinner tonight for Red China's emissaries to the Moscow ideological peace talks. The conference called to settle differences between the Soviet and Chinese Communist parties, was reported to have ended in failure. The dinner was expected to be a formal farewell for the Chinese, who arrived in Moscow two weeks ago.

It is thought that they will leave as soon as possible afterward. Khrushchev disclosed his date for the dinner to Western diplomats at a Kremlin reception for visiting Hungarian Premier Janos Kadar. So far as is known, it will be Khrushchev's first meeting with the Chinese. Soviet party functionaries have conducted the Russian end of the negotiations. Clear Skies Hoped For in Eclipse Today Planetarium Holding Special Public Show From Pl-Plspalrh Wlr Service NEW YORK.

July 20 Scientists and laymen hoped today for clear skies at the time of an eclipse of the sun this afternoon. When the moon covers part of the sun the eclipse will be visible throughout continental United States. (In St. Louis the passage of the moon across the sun will last more than two hours and will reach its maximum at 4:47 p.m., when 67.1 per cent of the sun's surface will be obscured. The partial eclipse will begin at 3:29.

(The- Planetarium in Forest Park was to set up a special six-inch reflecting telescope, on a patio northwest of the building, to project an image of the phenomenon op a screen. The public has been invited. 1951 Eclipses Obscured (Two partial eclipses in 195T were obscured here by clouds. The last eclipse to be visible here occurred in 1947.) Only in a 60-mile-wide swath through Alaska and Maine will the eclipse be total, with day turning to night and stars and possibly comets becoming visible. Along that swath hundreds of astronomers and other scientists waited with an array of instruments for the rare opportunity to analyze the sun's halo or corona, its temperature and changing structure, the bending of starlight passing close to the sun, airglow and other phenomena.

Racing eastward in airplanes with the moon's swiff shadow, American and Canadian scientists will extend their time in the total eclipse by as much as 44 seconds. Aground, the eclipse will be total for about 100 seconds in Alaska to 59 seconds in Maine. Pursuing Shadow In a jetliner more than seven miles above the earth, astronaut M. Scott Carpenter, Jocelyn Gill of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and other scientists will pursue the shadow of the moon as it flits across the face of the earth at about 1660 miles an hour. They will not stay up with but the flight will lengthen their viewing period.

Rocket scientists will be firing instrumented rockets from Canadian and United States sites to measure changes in the iono- TURN TO PAGE 7, COLUMN 6 Soda Break for And Dunk in Hot and thirsty firemen battling yesterday's spectacular blaze at the Forest Park Highlands refreshed themselves at a "soda break" made possible by a soft drink firm. The 260 firemen on duty, and undoubtedly others sweltering in the heat, consumed 1500 bottles of soda donated by the company. Reginald H. Coe, president of Pepsi-Cola Bottlers of St. Louis, sent a flatbed truck witrj six coolers of the soft drink after viewing the fire from the roof rally, Khrushchev denounced Chinese "warmongering" and said that anyone who opposed the policy of peaceful coexistence and wanted nuclear war is a coward.

Peking immediately TURN TO PAGE 7, COLUMN 5 WIRTZ TO MEET WITH EACH SIDE IN RAIL DISPUTE Seeks Agreement Before Kennedy Asks for Legislation WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz called union and management representatives to separate meetings today in a renewed effort to settle the lour-year-old railroad rules dispute. He said that he arranged the sessions to see whether there were "any remaining possibilities of voluntary settlement" before President John F. Kennedy seeks legislation Monday to avert a nationwide rail walkout threatened July 29. Wirtz was asked whether he had received any indication that either side has changed its position.

"We've had enough justification to hold another negotiating round," he replied. Wirtz told reporters that he and his aids might continue the talks into the ea'rly hours Sunday and meet Sunday afternoon if there were any signs of progress. "We're going to try our hardest all the way through to get a settlement by the one right course which is collective bargaining," Wirtz said. He made the statement after a session with legal experts in consider possible legislative proposals for submission to Congress. Deadlocked on Jobs Both sides were reported deadlocked on the major issue the railroads' demand to eliminate jobs of about 40.000 firemen on diesel locomotives in freight or yard service.

Wirtz called leaders of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Kn-gineers and Brorhcrhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engine-men to a meeting later today ai the Department of Labor. Spokesmen for three other unions in the dispute Trainmen, Conductors and Brakemen, and Switchmen were summoned to a session to follow that. Negotiators for nearly all of the railroads were called to an evening meeting that Wirtz said might last past midnight. Assistant Secretary of Labor James J. Reynolds and Chairman Francis A.

O'Neill Jr. of the National Mediation Board were to join Wirtz in the last-ditch efforts to avoid a request for legislation in thp controversy. Wirtz said that mediation ef- i TURN TO PAGE 7, COLUMN 8 Hot Firemen Pool Helps, Too of the firm's plant at 647 Tower Grove avenue, about a mile from the Highlands. Eight company employes dispensed the soda on the parking lot west of the amusement park after the fire was judged under control. The temperature reached 97 degrees at 4 p.m., high for the year to date.

One firefighter reportedly took his refreshment in the amusement park's swimming pool after removing only his boots. reduced to the roller coaster, go round behind the scorched By sler Linck, a PfiHt-IMspati'h plipr trees in the background. Otherwise, all was charred wreckage. (Page of pictures in Everyday Magazine.) Highlands Blaze 3rd in 18Months To Tax Fire-Fighting Facilities The amusement park skyline ferris wheel and the merry STORMS CAUSE 6-FOOT RISE ON LAKE MICHIGAN CHICAGO, -July 20 (UPI)-Thunderstorms from Dhio to Illinois last night dropped up to five inches of rain in spots and caused a seiche on Lake Michigan. The level of Lake Michigan rose more than six feet at Wau-kegan, and two to six feet along the Chicago lake front.

Police ordered everyone off 'he lakefront and closed the outer drive to traffic. A seiche is a sudden rise of water that takes place when a long flat wave moves against the shoreline and piles up water because of its momentum. The rare wave is formed by the pressure surge associated with a line of thunderstorms. The thunderstorm hit the Chicago area in late afternoon. The north blanch of the Chicago river rose about eight feet end it was reported that the Fire Department had to raise the bridges to get its boats through.

A man was killed when he fell or was blown off an elevated platform onto an electrified rail. Four funnel clouds were seen from the junction' of the Illinois tollway and th Congress expressway on Chicago's west side. SECRET POLICE SERGEANT FLEES EAST GERMANY BERLIN, July 20 (UPl)-An East German secret police sergeant major fled to West Berlin and has been turned over to the Americans, West Berlin police said today. The state security service sergeant, identifified as Herbert Rockstroh, fled June 28 but news of it was withheld until today. Rockstroh fled to the French sector and was brought to police headquarters in the American sector.

Police are required to turn over to the Western Allies all members of intelligence organizations who flee. The West Berlin newspaper Nacht Depesche said the sergeant carried hidden in the soles of his shoes a list of East German agents in West Berlin. SCOTCH WHISKY FOR RUSSIA LONDON, July 20 (UPI) The first shipment of scotch whisky for general sale in the Soviet Union is scheduled to leave London for Leningrad next week. The shipment will consist of 3000 bottles. An equivalent supply of vodka from Russia will be sold in Britain.

MAN PAYS TWICE HIS FINE WITH 100 POUNDS OF FISH SANTA MONICA, July 20 (AP) A Santa Monica philanthropist paid twice 'his fine today for his first traffic violation in 41 years he gave 100 pounds of fish to charity. Municipal Judge W. Blair Gib-ben, noted for handing out unusual penalties, ordered Morris Jepson, 64 years old, yesterday to catch and deliver 50 pounds of fish and give it to the Salvation Army men's center. ROCKET VEERS, IS DESTROYED WASHINGTON, July 20 (AP)-A Scout rocket launched in a test of heat shield material was destroyed seconds after liftoff from Wallops Island, today, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency announced. A spokesman said there were no injuries and no major damage as flaming debris showered on the launching area after the rocket veered and was destroyed for safety reasons.

The cause of the malfunction is being Yesterday's fiery destruction of Forest Park Highlands, scene of generations of school picnics and summer entertainment, was the third major fire to tax facilities of the St. Louis Fire Department in 18 months. All occurred in extreme weather. The first was the fire in bitter cold Jan. II.

1962, that burned out of control more than 20 hours in the vast Ralston Purina mills complex at Eighth street and Chouteau avenue. Three persons, including a fire captain, died as a result of the fire and explosion and more than 40 were injured. The final damage estimate, fixed months later, was $3,500,000. Last Aug. 20 flames, roaring like a blast turnace, destroyed the old eight-story Carson-Union-May-Stern Co.

building at Twelfth boulevard and Olive street. Flames swept across Olive street, damaging the former Post Dispatch building. Wind-carried embers started small fires on other downtown roofs. Fire Chief James J. Mullen and two of his men were overcome by intense heat and eight firemen suffered injuries or TURN TO PAGE 7, COLUMN 6 row near 90.

Temperatures 1 a.m. 83 2 a.m. 83 3 a.m. 82 A a.m. 80 5 a.m.

1i 6 a.m. 80 7 a.m. 77 8 a.m. 78 9 a.m. 80 10 a.m.

82 11 a.m. 84 12 Noon, 86 1 p.m. 86 LAID LOW POST-OISPATCH WEATHERBIRD wm. u. pat.

opr. fMherfwnthrr information on Paie 2A.