Mexico Ledger from Mexico, Missouri • Page 1

14 PAGES ilfoxtrn LOWftUfe; SUNNY SATURDAY Mexico, Friday, September 29, 1972 Phone Year No. Cents Subpoena Threat On Grain Dealer Records SOPHOMORES celebrate their victory in winning Mexico High School's "Spirit at the Homecoming pep assembly held last night in the gymnasium, with the traditional campus bonfire being held before the rains came. Tonight, the Bulldogs meet the Hannibal Pirates in the Homecoming football game. (Ledger Photo by Richard Van ce) WASHINGTON (AP) A House Agriculture Committee member says he will Insist that major grain dealers open their records to federal auditors for examination. Rep.

John Melcher says he will propose that the committee subpoena the records if necessary. The Montana Democrat suggested the possibility of a subpoena in a letter Thursday to the General Accounting Office, enlisting GAO help in his subcommittee's probe of the U.S.- Soviet grain deal. Auditors must have access to company records, he wrote, in order to determine whether grain export firms profited from information leaked to them "as a result of cronyism or conflict of interest situations. "If it is necessary to use power of subpoena to obtain such access, I am prepared to propose that the Agriculture Committee subpoena the necessary records for your examination, or to introduce a joint resolution or bill in Congress providing you with the necessary powers," Melcher told the investigative arm of Congress. Melcher, a member of an Agriculture subcommittee investigating the Nixon administration's handling of the massive grain deals, asked GAO to decide whether grain dealers can be forced to rebate profits they may have made because of inside information.

The GAO is conducting its own probe of the Agriculture Department's role in the sales by U.S. firms. Melcher asked the agency also to examine: dealers were able "to buy wheat cheap from producers, local elevators, and cooperatives from whom information was withheld." they purchased wheat for future delivery at advantageous contract prices on commodity exchanges. commitments to pay export subsidies on the wheat sold." Melcher said GAO should "obtain and make available all communications" between the Agriculture Department or its officials and the six major grain firms involved in the Melcher said there is evidence that firms had inside information on Soviet requirements and intentions to purchase U.S. wheat.

Such information, he said, "was withheld from American wheat producers and from the public." Further, he added, it is clear from the congressional hearing "that reports indicating the extent of the Russian drought and demand for wheat were held from producers and the public as late as Aug. 18,1972." Ruling Would Block Tax Benefit For Grain Men WASHINGTON (AP) The Treasury Department today proposed subsidized agriculture products be excluded from the tax deferment benefits granted under a (Continuedon Page5) Pilots Home; Still Beset By Political Controversy Senators Probe Reports Of risk Demand TO cut Carryover On Corn Unauthorized Raids By Navy WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate committee today delves more deeply into whether the Navy, as well as the Air Force, carried out unauthorized bombing raids against North Vietnam. Confronted with what was described as a fresh conflict in testimony, the Senate Armed Services Committee summoned Navy Cmdr. John A. Miller for his account of the instructions given pilots based on the USS Constellation during the time in question, last November into March.

Miller was the commanding officer of two Navy pilots who testified in the closed-door session Thursday. Committee Dale Bealmear Dies; Rites Tomorrow Douglas Dale Bealmear, 17, who earlier underwent surgery in a New York hospital for removal of malignant lung tumors, died at 10:55 a.m. Thursday at the Audrain Medical Center. He had been a patient there for more than three weeks. Contributions by Mexico area residents enabled his brother and sister-in-law, Mr.

and Mrs. Wallace Bealmear Jr. of 816 West to be present with Dale during his surgery' July 3 at Roswell Memorial Hospital in Buffalo and to remain there until July 8 when it was determined he was recovering satisfactorily. Dale, who was a junior at Mexico High School, had lost a leg to cancer two years ago. He was born in Mexico, May 21,1955, the son of Wallace and Lucy Williams Bealmear Sr.

His parents, who now live in Laddonia, are both ill and disabled. Besides his parents and his brother, Wallace, Dale is survived by five other brothers, Robert and James Bealmear of Laddonia, Albert Bealmear of Centralia, Lester Bealmear of Columbia, and Ronnie Bealmear of Vandalia; and two sisters, Mrs. Ida Finley of Mexico and Mrs. Jerry Woodson of Vandalia. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m.

Saturday at the Arnold Funeral Home. The Rev. Don Wortmann, pastor of the Kentucky Road Christian Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Elm wood Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m.

today. The family would appreciate contributions to the Cancer Society in Dale's memory. Chairman John Stennis, D- told newsmen afterward: "There is a difference in their testimony." According to Stennis, one of the men related that Navy fliers were told to bomb targets whether or not they encountered enemy fire or the evidence of impending attacks, while the other pilot maintained the instructions were not to bomb without being attacked. The question goes to the heart of the committee's probe of whether military officials flouted civilian-imposed war rules, specifically the rule in effect at that time which allowed only "protective-reaction" Jury Hears More Fight Witnesses Coroner Connie Pickering had several new statements from witnesses to present to the coroner's jury when he reconvened the inquest into the death of Roger Thomas, 16- year-old Montgomery City boy who was knocked to the pavement of Lafayette Street Saturday night trying to break up a fight. TRe boy died Tuesday in University Medical Center.

The inquest was to reconvene at 2 p.m. At the same time funeral services for the boy were to start at St. John's Baptist Church in Montgomery City. Burial was to be in the city cemetery. The boy is survived by his parents Mr.

and Mrs. John Junior Thomas, and 11 brothers and sisters, Warren of Des Moines and John, Richard, Frankie, Pauline Francis, Lea Tricia, Pansy, Brenda, Floyd and Jerry. Although the boy's legal name is Roger Clark, he used and was known by the family name of Thomas. Coroner Pickering said he has interviewed several witnesses since the inquest recessed yesterday morning. Four witnesses at the inquest gave conflicting stories.

Mr. Pickering said Roger's brother was unable to tell much about what happened, but another witness appears to have given a straightforward account of the fight in the 1200 block of E. lafayette St. The boy died of a brain concussion received in fall during the breaking up of the fight. The coroner's jury will determine if the fall was accidental or the fault or misdoing of another person.

bombing of North Vietnam. The rule, in effect, said that U.S. pilots could not strike North Vietnam targets unless they were fired upon first or had radar evidence that they were about to be attacked. The latest apparent conflict arose in separate testimony from William Groepper, a former Navy lieutenant, and Lt. William Moore now stationed at Jacksonville, Fla.

The two were roommates and A7 Corsair pilots on board the Constellation late last fall. According to Stennis, Groepper testified that, for two missions against Quang Lang airfield last fall, Navy fliers "generally understood they were to unload bombs whether they met with hostile reaction or not." But Moore said, according to Stennis, "They expected hostile reaction, but the intelligence officers said if they did not meet hostile reaction 'you would not release your The Navy was drawn into the inquiry after Stennis reported receiving new information of unauthorized raids flown by Navy pilots while in the midst of hearings on Air Force raids ordered by Gen. John D. Lavelle, who was fired as 7th Air Force commander, demoted and retired after his role became known. Relating the two Navy fliers' testimony about three Quang Lang missions, Stennis quoted Moore as saying he flew on two of them and in both cases, there was enemy ground fire.

Groepper watched the briefings of the first two missions on closed-circuit television and was briefed to fly a third, but it was canceled because of bad weather, Stennis said. Sen. William Saxbe, R-Ohlo, said Moore had been briefed at the Pentagon "by a whole array of brass" prior to his committee appearance. Questioned about that, Stennis replied, "The matter was discussed with him, he said, but they left him on his own Maria Renee Hatfield Mr. and Mrs.

Donald Ray Hatfield of Mexico Route 4 are the parents of their second child, a daughter, born at 12:15 p. m. Thursday. The baby, who weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, has been named Maria Renee. She is a sister of Marsha, 4.

Mr. Hutfieki is employed by Kaiser Refractories. Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Everett Fuhrer and Mrs.

Glen Hatfield, both of Mexico. WASHINGTON (AP) Brisk export demand for corn and other feed, particularly to the Soviet Union, will help reduce carryover supplies of those grains in the coming years and raise farm prices, says the Agriculture Department. A revised outlook on the feed grain situation says the carryover for corn, grain sorghum, oats and barley may be whittled down to 41 million tons by the fall of 1973. The carryover going into the new crop year, which begins Oct. 1 for corn, is about 48 million tons.

Although down two million from indications a few weeks ago, the surplus is at a two-year high and about 14 million tons more than a year ago. Demand has been so heavy, the USDA said, that farm prices for feed grain have been 'unusually strong' for this time of year, on the eve of the fall harvest. Number two yellow corn at Chicago rose from $1.29 per bushel in late August to $1.44 on Sept. 26. Production of feed from 1972 crops is expected to total about 189 million tons, down 16 million from last year's record crop.

Added to the carryover this fall, that will provide about 237 million tons for feeding and export during the 1972-73 season. Although slightly less than last year's record, the supply is still considered large. Feed use by U.S. farmers is expected to be up in the 1972-73 season, mainly because of more cattle and less use of wheat as feed. In all, the report said, domestic use may be up 2 to 3 per cent from the 164 million tons consumed last year.

Corn, the mainstay for feed, is estimated at a crop of 5.1 billion bushels this year. Added to a carryover of 1.1 billion the supply for 1972-73 will be about 6.2 billion bushels, close to the record last season. By LEE GOULD Associated Press Writer The three American pilots freed by North Vietnam spent their first day home in military hospitals in three parts of the country today, still beset by political controversy over their return. Air Force Maj. Edward Elias and Navy Lts.

(j.g.) Mark Gartley and Norris Charles, dressed in freshly tailored service uniforms and wearing their combat decorations, arrived at Kennedy International Airport in New York Thursday night. They were greeted by family, friends and a delegation of ranking military men. The trio separated from their escort of antiwar activists and, after a highly charged exchange between Gartley's mother and a Defense Department officer, headed for military hospitals in New York, Alabama and California. Mrs. Gartley, whose son was a prisoner for four years, objected to the immediate assignment, saying she wanted him to spend a few days with his family.

The three POWS had rejected offers to turn themselves over to U.S. government officials at various points along their journey, which included stops in Peking, Moscow and Copenhagen. One of the three, Maj. Edward Elias, said aboard the plane that he felt they had fulfilled the conditions of release set by Hanoi by remaining with their accompanying peace group. Elias, 34, an Air Force officer held prisoner for five months, joined his family and flew to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, aboard a military C9 medical-evacuation plane, the Defense Department said.

The other two men are Navy Lt. (j.g.) Mark Gartley, 24, a prisoner for four years, and Navy Lt. (j.g.) Norris Charles, 27, captive nine months. Gartley went to a family reunion at the U.S. Naval Hospital at St.

Albans in New York City, the department said. Charles met with his family in New York and then flew to a naval hospital in San Diego aboard another C9, officials said. ceived by Elias. She said the major had indicated antiwar sentiments in Hanoi only to change his attitude once they departed. "We have just witnessed a recapture scene, one Incarceration replacing another," Mrs.

Weiss said after the three men and their families drove away from the airport in government cars. Gartley's mother, Mrs. Minnie Lee Gartley, broke down aboard the airplane when she failed to convince a Defense Department officer to let her take her son on a prearranged vacation. Cora Weiss said she and the "I didn't cry when you told other three chaperones, David me tour years ago that my son T. Dellinger, 56, Richard A.

had been captured in Vietnam, Falk, 41, and the Rev. William and I haven't cried since until Sloane Coffin had been de- tonight," she told the officer, Roger Shields. 'Your son is also an officer in the U.S.. Navy," Shields interjected. He also told her that Gartley was being promoted to full lieutenant.

"I just wanted a few days of freedom for him," she said. "Freedom from the freedom from the press, freedom from the North VietnaV a few days to be alone with Jerry (his father) and me." At St. Alban's Naval Hospital, Cmdr, Hank Bowman told newsmen that Gartley had "a full night's sleep," ate four eggs for breakfast, and had a chest X-ray which showed no lung disorders. Bowman said Gartley was free to leave the hospital, "but (Continued on Page 5) Audit Shows Treasurer Lost $768,742 In Interest On State Money JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) The state treasurer's office lost $768,742 on interest income in a 15-month period by having "excessive" amounts of the state's money in non- interest bearing accounts, an audit by the state auditor's office showed today.

State Auditor Christopher Bond recommended abolishment of a "revolving fund" which, he said, lost $149,575 in interest up to June 30, and abolishment of other active demand accounts which are maintained to pay state bills outside of Jefferson City. The audit said they lost $376,642 in interest. The losses were computed on the basis of 4 per cent interest. Another $241,525 in interest could have been earned by money left in various collection banks for 15 to 30 days, the audit said, if the funds had been transferred to the revolving fund on a weekly basis. The revolving fund, principally in the Central Trust Bank of Jefferson City, holds fees and taxes collected from around the state and then is put into the treasury.

It stood at $2.5 million on June 30 and hit a peak of $11 million during the 15-month period. State Treasurer William E. Robinson was not immediately available for comment. Today's Smile Air travelers have become aware that airlines are really getting strict on checking passengers prior to departure time. Why, at Los Angeles airport, they recently spent an hour going over Raquel Welch and she was only there to see someone Herald).

Mexican Fiesta Day Begins With Parade Tomorrow An art show, special booths and games, and an old fiddlers' contest are some of the features planned for the Mexican Fiesta to be held in downtown Mexico Saturday. Fringed decorations were up to enliven the fiesta atmosphere. Streets on the north and south sides of the courthouse square will be blocked off for the Fiesta activities which will be climaxed with a street dance from 8 to 11:30 Saturday night. The day's activities will begin with a parade downtown at 11 a. the old fiddlers contest and art show are to begin at 1 p.

m. Mexican food will be served from a stand and local merchants will offer special Fiesta bargains. Fiesta Day is sponsored by the Mexico Optimist Club. The parade will feature floats, antique cars, horses, decorated bicycles, queens, band, and other entries. City Firemen Affiliate With IFA Mexico firemen have been presented a "certificate of affiliation" with the International Firefighters Association.

The firemen voted recently to join the organization, according to Richard Womack, secretary- treasurer. He said the vote was 12 for, one abstaining and one absent. President of the local group is Donald Dishman, and vice president is Kenneth Sargent. City Manager Neil Nielsen said, "I have been asked a number of questions and have had some discussion about organization of Mexico's firemen for labor representation. The city administration would, of course, as provided by Missouri law, consider any valid and properly substantive action by the members of the fire department.

"I would like to emphasize for both firemen and members of the public, that the City of Mexico has over the years, What Joel Wrote Still Very True That's today's editorial topic, contributed by James I. Spaln- hower, Democratic nominee for state attorney-general. Guest editorials continue tomorrow with "The Role of Missouri's Lieutenant-Governor" by William (Bill) Phelps, Republican nominee for that office. worked steadily for the improvement of the department, as regards personnel, pay provisions, work conditions, welfare provisions, as well as the sort of emergency consideration for the individual which I consider the duty and responsibility of management with members of the city forces. It has always been my aim that this relationship would continue," Mr.

Nielsen added. The certificate was presented yesterday by Joe McMahon, a vice-president of the International Fire Fighters Association, and president of the Missouri Fire Fighters Assn. of St. Louis, and Gall Chatfleld, also of St. Louis, secretary of the Missouri Fire Fighters Assn.

Mr. Womack said the association would represent the local firemen in collective bargaining and would shortly notify the city of wanting to negotiate. City Counselor Ed Hodge said it is the responsibility of the State Board of Mediation to determine whether a particular fire department is an appropriate bargaining unit and whether it has a majority representative status. He said that Daniel Rogers, chairman of the state board, told the city no request by any union for a supervised election had been made. FIREMEN Members of the Mexico fire department were presented a "certificate ot affiliation" in the International Fire Associafion, a union, in ceremonies yesterday.

From left are Joe McMahon, international vice-president and Missouri president; Gail Chaff ield, Missouri secretary, and Kenneth Sargent, vice president of Local 2184. (Ledger Photo by Richard Vance.).