The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 19

Sports Entertainment News Obituaries Classified Ads fe fulabclpfua Inquirer METROPOLITAN PAGE 19, Saturday November 28, 1970 Phila. Will Seek to Appeal Bid; For Nickel Boost by SEPTA New Bolts To Brace Billy Penn Apartments Request Slated To Restrain Fare Increase SCSI By DONALD A. McDONOUGH bf The Inquirer Staff -The huge metal eyebolts that anchor William Penn atop City Hall tower are deteriorating from age and must be replaced, building manager Louis Catherino revealed Friday. Catherino emphasized, however, there was no danger. He' said that replacement of the 14-inch-long bo'ts was necessary, as indicated by laboratory tests.

A two-week test on one of the 16 bolts holding the 27-ton statue in place since 1894 resulted in recommendations by the Franklin Institute Research Labora'ories, urging immediate replacement. The testing agency said eight of the 16 bolts each weighing 25 pounds were lacking in "metallurgical integrity." It added that corrosion had eaten away about 30 percent of the bolt. As a result, Catherino said, the city has engaged the research firm to design eight Aew bolts at a cost of $1929, insuring Penn's continued safety. Inquirer photo by EDWARD J. FREEMAN Mr.

Penn Needs New Bolts Louis Catherino holds rusted pin I I HPTOTal 111 ft Er r-NPfv? If I MY PHILADELPHIA Inquirer photo by JAMES L. McGARRITY Neighbors View Scene of Fatal Fire Two children playing with lighter fluid died at 2851 Cantrell st. on Friday 2 Children Burn to Death In South Phila. Home Fire of the new bolts and I hope we can get started before the snows come," he said. Earlier this week, Catherino made his annual inspection tour of the inside of Penn's 37-foot frame and found it sound, with no leaks, cracks or other damage.

Shafer Vetoes to Transfer Eastern State Gov. Raymond P. Shafer on Friday vetoed a bill which would have transfered Eastern State Penitentiary to the city of Philadelphia. The veto came two days after Shafer had been urged to reject the bill by his attorney General. Fred Speaker.

"This is a type of legislation which would serve the purpose of a municipality in need of facilities to better house its awaiting trial and anxious to better its penal security oblems," Shafer said GOV. SHAFER in his veto message to the General Assembly. "However, an accurate assessment of the true correc-tional needs of the city and a comprehensive program for meeting those needs has not yet been accomplished," the chief executive went on. "An unconditional conveyance of the institution at this time might prove detrimental and in conflict with developing comprehensive plans for reform. "Under these circumstances, I have no alternative than to express my disapproval of the bill." Speaker last Wednesday called continued use of the 140-year-old prison "a disgrace and a condemnation of the society that permits, even perpetuates, its use." The city, however, will be permitted to continue utilizing Eastern on a temporary basis, particularly for medical and psychiatric care.

Bill Black Friday: Stores' Best Day By AL HAAS Of The Inquirer Staff "BLACK FRIDAY" was gray when the large department stores 2nd small shops in Center City opened their doors. Lumpy, dumpling-shaped clouds pressed against each otijer in the morning sky. Their grayness and proximity -reminded you of the mothball fleet moored at Philadelphia Navy Yard. Here and there the failure of the clouds' ragged edges to make full contact would allow an ironic patch of blue to show through. Black Fiiday is the day after Thanksgiving and the first day of the Christmas shopping season.

For department stores and most shops, it is the biggest sales day of the season and the year. At 12th and Market, Traffic Patrolman Stanley Ma- karewicz took enough time out from conducting his or-" chestra- of exhaust pipes to explain why policemen and cab drivers cal it Black Friday. "It is supposed to be worst day for traffic out of the whole year," the patrolman observed. It wasn't even noon yet, but Makarewicz already was feeling the increased traffic pressure and noting a rapid growth in the number of pedestrians. By afternoon, he Oaid, the shoppers plying the sidewalks near him would be double the normal number.

Stores Think Term Is a Misnomer LATER, IN HIS OFFICE behind the toy department, the public relations director at John Wanamaker was ex- By STEPHEN SEPLOW Inquirer Transit Writer City officials said Friday that they will attempt to ap- peal a Commonwealth Court order permitting the South eastern Pennsjlvania Transportation Authority to raise fares to 35 cents. City Solicitor Levy Anderson said the decision was made late Friday afternoon by Mayor James H. J. Tate," and the necessary papers will be filed Monday. Anderson said the city will1 petition the state Supreme Court to hear its appeal and also to restrain SEPTA from increasing fares until the ourt acts.

MAY KILL APPEAL The city does not have an automatic right of appeal. The Supreme Court, if it wishes, may decline to hear the appeal and simply permit the Commonwealth order to stand. That order, handed down Wednesday by Judge Harry Kramer of Pittsburgh, said the "magnitude of the financial problems" facing SEPTA threatens to limit the authority's ability to carry out its "duties and responsibilities." SEPTA Board Chairman James C.McConnon, on learning of the city's decision to seek an appeal, said the timing of any fare increase now "depends upon how quickly the court determines if it will hear the appeal." AT LEAST A WEEK Supreme Court Chief Justice John C. Bell Jr. said Thursday that it would normally take at least a week for the court to decide whether to allow the city to appeal.

If the appeal is allowed, he said, there is no chance the case could be argued prior to January. SEPTA'S 1971 budget is based to a large degree on the assumption that the fare hike will be in effect before Jan 1., and that the extra nickel produce about $750,000 a month in additional revenue. SEPTA is counting on the added funds to keep its budget from falling into the red, a spokesman said. McConnon, who has been given the power by the SEPTA board to raise the fares when he chooses, was asked if he would impose the nickel boost if the court does not reach a decision next week on whether to hear the appeal. 'WON'T SPECULATE' "We could get an answer from the court very soon maybe even Monday," he said.

"I see no gain in my speculating now and maybe causing confusion." He noted that if the court does decide to hear the case it may also accede to the city's request to freeze a fare hike until a final decision is rendered. But he said it's important to realize that "our revenue is dropping every day there is a delay and the system and its assests are being eaten away." Judge Kramer, in handing down his order, ovveruled a decision of Sept. 25, by Common Court Pleas Judge Theodore B. Smith. Pennsy to Sever Perlman Contract Penn Central Transportation Co.

moved Friday to terminate all remaining contract obligations to former president Alfred Perlman, relieved of his duties in an executive shakeup last June. A document filed in U. S. District Court in Philadelphia disaffirms a contract between the railroad and Perlman, including any rights to compensation for "consultative services" and for pension benefits for service after Nov. 30, 19G7.

A copy of the document was delivered to Perlman in his New York office. Comic Dictionary is Declared Unfit; Cold Is Cited By ROBERT A. REILLY Of The Inquirer Staff The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections on Friday branded the Kevon Park Apartments on Montgomery ave. as unfit for habitation, an action that is expected to be repeated over and over again throughout the city as winter sets in, according to officials. "As we come across apartments not giving tenants heat, we have to resort to some thing," Clarence Dockens, commissioner, said.

"This is always a big problem, but we beef up our inspection staff as the winter gets more severe," Dockens said. The heating system in the Kevon Park Apartments had been acting up for the past year. FIRES REPORTED Last December, a small fire broke out in the boiler room, shutting off the oil and electricity for one day. On Nov. 5 another fire erupted, shutting off the heat for three days.

Eleven days later a minor explosion occurred in the boiler room, causing excessive smoke and curtailing heat for two more days. Tenants claim the heating system is not only unsafe, but erratic. "I get up in the morning and have to step into an icy shower," said one tenant on the first floor. "You never know when you're going to get hot water. This morning (Friday) ve didn't have it.

This afternoon we did. Who knows what it will be like tomorrow?" i LIST TO MAYOR On Nov. 18, the Kevon Park Tenants Council sent a list of complaints to Dockens and Mayor James H. J. Tate, among others, requesting that the city bring the apartments into compliance with the Philadelphia Housing Code.

The apartments, 44 units, of which 37 are occupied, rent for between $140 and $180 per month. Among the other complaints the council listed were: faulty plumbing, poor electrical wiring, stoppde-up drainage system and no lighting in the driveway. OWNER SILENT "We are regularly told this is not a luxury apartment and we're not paying luxury rents," Herbert Rogers council chairman, said. "But we feel that heat, hot water, electricity, plumbing, screens and garbage pails are not luxuries." The Penn Del Real Estate Co. manages the complex.

Neither the landlord nor the managing agent could be reached for comment. The tenants council has planned a meeting for Sunday to decide whether they should place their rent in escrow until the repairs are made. Edward Remsen, an official of the Neighborhood Renewal Program, said anywhere from 35 to 50 dwellings are declared unfit every week in the city while a smaller number are declared fit. Schweitzer and his wife, Lily, 56, of 1711 Surrey said the only messages they had received from their son came through the Women's Strike for Peace and other peace groups in this country. The couple said letters they received were in their only son's handwriting but the messages didn't make sense.

"In the first few parasanhs of the letters, he would ask about various members of the family," Schweitzer said. "But then he would tell his wife preposterous things like, go ahead and get a new "They were crying 'Mommie, Mommie' and it upset me so much I could not even look. They were lovely kids." MARGARET MILACCIO The price includes research and testing, overhead and labor and material costs. Catherino said he was hopeful that work on replacing the bolts could begin before the end of the year. "Our steeplejacks are standing by waiting for delivery NamesHeadmaster A graduate of the Choate School, Dr.

Wood received his A. B. degree from Haverford College and his Ph. Elizabethan literature from the University of Birmingham, England. He taught English and coached sports at the Hill School from 1956 to 1958.

By JOE SIURKEY and GEORGE MURRAY Of The Inquirer Staff Two children apparently playing with lighter fluid burned to death Friday despite anguished efforts of their mother and neighbors to rescue them in a South Philadelphia home. "They were crying 'Mommie, Mommie' and it upset me so much I could not even look. They were lovely little kids," said one neighbor, Mrs. Margaret Milaccio, of 2813 Cantrell who witnessed the efforts to save Stephen Shuda, 2, and his sister, Gwendolyn, 3. The mother, Barbara Shuda, 26, was upstairs in the two-story brick row home at 2851 Cantrell st, with an infant son, Kenneth, when the fire started shortly after 10 A.

M. She ran outside with the baby then tried to get into the kitchen to reach the fire-trapped children. Foiled by flames and smoke, she ran outside and back to the rear. But, she told investigators, the rear windows blew out and the room went up in flames. "The screams were terrible.

I'll never forget that sound," said Michael Zuzuloch, 60, of marshal, said the cause of the fire was "children playing with flammables which were ignited by open flames on a gas range." The children, he said, apparently had been playing with an 8-ounce can of lighter fluid. The can was found in the kitchen with its plastic top burnt off. The children were pronounced dead at Philadelphia General Hospital. Mrs. Shuda was treated for shock at Methodist Hospital.

One fireman, William Joyce, 22, was treated for burns of the neck neck and discharged at PGH. Another nelg'hbor, Robert Corba, said: "We don't even have a firebox around here. "I think if an alarm box had been near, they might have been saved. They had a box at the corner, 28th and Cantrell but someone took it away last year." Father of the victims, Alexander Shuda, was at work at the Atlantic Richfield refinery several blocks from the scene. For the past two years they had lived four doors away from the 2851 address.

They moved recently to the new place and were buying it. The bereft father and mother and their remaining child were taken in by friends at 2633 Snyder ave. plaining why department stores like his regard Black rn-- day as something of a misnomer. "It's called Black Friday, but no one knows why," said Reeves Wetherill, smiling. About the only thing black about it, he suggested, is the color of the ink used to record it in the store ledgers.

Sales on Black Friday, Wetherill noted, can rise to nearly twice an average day's receipts. This day of cash register-gorging then sets the stage for a brief, exceedingly crucial holiday Belling season. As Wethsrill noted, "You make or break the whole year during this period." "The people in the toy department do CO percent of their business for the whole year during this period," he reported. A salesman in men's furnishings added that his department "does a third of its annual business in these five weeks." As delightful as B'ack Friday is for the retailer, it is not without liabilities, Wetherill contended. Buying Becomes Aggravating Chore HE ESTIMATED that about 200,000 people visit the store on Black Friday.

The number is about double the average I daily head A clientele of this size, even in a store of Wanamaker's proportions, means the crowd at the counters Voice From Hanoi, Just 2850 Cantrell who joined Mrs. Julia Gavula and her son, Robert, 20, in the rescue effort. Mrs. Gavula said she was met by the mother coming out with the baby in her arms and shouting: "The kids are in the kitchen." The would-be rescuers used wet towels and a sheet to try to penetrate to the kitchen to save the youngsters. "The smoke was so bad we could not get through," said Mrs.

Gavula. The deepest penetration of the rescue attempts was to a playpen outside the door of the kitchen. Firemen who extinguished the flames in 15 minutes found the two victims crouched against a kitchen cabinet. Chief Frank Bowen, the fire Talk to namese use to broadcast messages periodically. "And these peace groups in this country keep circulating taped messages, letters and photographs of prisoners they receive from Hanoi," he said.

"We'll receive letters from friends of friends in various parts of the country reporting new messages or pictures or our son, but then we find that it is only a repeat of the same one we had heard a couple of months earlier. We just got a letter from Florida enclosing a newspaper picture of our i' "We don't think they (the messages) sounded like him and our doesn't think the voice was his.f' Frederick Schweitzer often fets s- deep that purchasing something becomes an aggravating chore. "It (the size of the shopping corps) gets to a point where it becomes a matter of diminishing returns," Wetherill noted. "Mrs. Jones says 'Oh, the hell with it' and decides to come back another day." While it didn't exactly put me in the Christmas mood, Black Friday did bring with it some evidence of imminent Yuletide.

There was Santa in the stores and abnormally large throngs on the sidewalks. There was the tuba and trumpet triumvirate attracting attention to the Salvation Army kettle in front of the PSFS Building. But the most compelling evidence for me were the faces of the kids clustered around the table-iull of battery-powered toys in the Wanamaker toy department. Parents son which a peace group had released down there. It was the same one we had received more than a month earlier." Schweitzer said none of the broadcasts purportedly made by their son sounded like his voice.

"We don't think they sounded like him and our daughter-in-law doesn't think the voice was his," he said. The father said the pictures he has received through peace groups showed his son had lost weight but did not appear to be in bad health. "We thought another prisoner in the picture looked heavier than our son, but we learned later that he had weighed about 230 pounds before he was captured," he said. Schweitzer said information he receives from the Navy and other sources indicates that "in the past year, the prisoners have been treated a heck of a lot better than they had been treated before. But it still is a terrible ordeal for them." By JOHN F.

CLANCY Of The Inquirer Staff If Radio Hanoi broadcast a Christmas message from Cmdr. Robert James Schweitzer, a captured Navy pilot, his parents haven't heard it and are skeptical about it. The officer's father, Frederick Schweitzer, 5o-year-old purchasing agent for Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, said at his Oreland home Friday that he had received several telephone calls from friends who heard news accounts of the Hanoi broadcast but he had not heard it. Communist broadcasts from Hanoi, heard in Hong Kong, carried Christmas messages purportedly made by two Pennsylvania men in North Vietnam prisons, Schweitzer and Cmdr. Walter E.

Wilbur of Millerton. Schweitzer's father said neither he nor his son's wife, Gwendolyn, who lives with her two children at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, had heard the broadcast or taped recordings of it. house; buy a new car, send the children to expensive schools, and that sort of thing. Then the rest of the letter was all garbage nothing but the same old Communist line, about how we should work for peace and join peace groups. "Down in Washington, my daughter-in-law met other wives of prisoners and compared letters with them.

She found that some of them were virtually word for word with the letters she received." Schweitzer said his, son Is one of about a dozen U. S. prisoners who the North Viet Friends Central Dr. Thomas Atherholt Wood, an Elizabethan litera-' ture scholar, has been named headmaster of the Friends Central School in Overbrook. The boar I of trustees of the "Institution said Dr.

Wood will, assume his post on Jan. 1. He Is a former assistant to the president of Athens College, Athens, Greece. CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST A man who never punishes his children, probably because being a child of his is punishment enough. Copyright W70 by Ivan Eur.