The Courier News from Blytheville, Arkansas • Page 1

BLYTHEVILLE COURIER NEWS THE DOMINANT NEWSPAPER OP NORTHEAST ARKANSAS AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI VOL. 146 Blytheville Courier Blytheville Daily News Mississippi Valley Leader Blytheville Herald BLYTHEVILLE, ARKANSAS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1954 TEN PAGES Published Daily Except Sunday SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS Beating Continues County and state officers were continuing an investigation today in an effort to piece together conflicting pieces of evidence connected with the Saturday night bludgeon slaying of a Walnut Ridge high school teacher by a former Blytheville sailor. Rudy Thomas Hickman, 20, is being held in Craighead County jail in Jonesboro for the murder of J. Kenneth Taylor, 31, of Walnut Ridge. Forces Defeated Pro-American Foreign Policy Endangered KIEL, Germany (AP) political riptide menaced Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and his pro-American foreign policy today as his Socialist foes merged as the strongest party in a key state election.

Although the coalition headed by Adenauer's Christian Demmcratic Union appeared sure of holding control of the government in the Soviet Zone frontier state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Socialists' 12,000 vote lead in yesterday's balloting was seen as a clearcut exposure of the old leader's suddenly dwinfni ping popularity. The rural the "poor house of the Bonn the 78-year-old Chancellor's plea for a vtes of confidence in electing its new Lantag (State Parliament). 21 Margin Campaigning for overtures to Russia to- unify East and West Germany, the Socialists butscored the Christian Democrats in the same state that accorded the CDU a margin over its arch, rival last year when Adenauer was reelected Chancellor. In today's final count, the CDU trailed the Socialists 384,870 to 396,798. The CDU's vote was cut almost in half from its 1953 peak of 637,570 in Schleswig-Holstein.

The Socialists picked up 38,269 vmhss over last year's total of 357,798. Adenauer fought to save his international prestige with a speech in this state Friday in which he desccibed NATO membership an unconitional German sovereignty as his new goals. But as he talked with British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden in Bonn yesterday on finiing some way of rearming West Germany despite the French scuttling of the European Defense Community, the voters of this state showed their mounting discontent. Socialists Elect 20 The Socialists elected 20 Lanfni canfidates to the CDU's 19 innifir- ect contests. But a complicated un system alloting 40 per cent of the Parliament's 69 seats on a proportional basis gave the rival parties a final total of 25 seats each.

The Refugee party won 10 seats the Free Democrats 5, and the remaining 4 went to the SHE bloc formed by the German party and the Schleswig-Holstein community. CDU Minister President Fried- See GERMANS on Page 5 Sheriff D. S. Foley of Walnut Ridge said the probable motive was robbery and auto theft, although Mr. Taylor only had $9 in his possession.

A gun butt was used to kill Taylor. Officers were unable to locate Taylor's body until Hickman led them to the spot yesterday afternoon where he had left it on the J. C. Baker farm 17 miles south of Hoxie on Highway 67. Mr.

Taylor's red and black hard top Ford convertible was abandoned on Highway 18 about a mile west of Blytheviiie after it ran out of gas, Hickman told officers. Udell Newsom, a farmer of noticed the car while driving into Blytheville about 5 a.rr. Sunday morning and when il was still there on his return, he called the state police. Because of blood stains on the front interior of the car and the front seat blood soaked, an investigation was begun to determine the owner. A chain of events led to the capture of Hickman before officers were positive Mr.

Taylor was killed or the body located. The story as given by officers and witnesses is as follows: Learning that the car belonged to Mr. Taylor, Gene Mabry, state policeman, and county officers contacted Walnut Ridge and found that Mr. Taylor was missing since the night before. Volunteers and officers in the Walnut Ridge-Hoxie area began a search of the area along the road leading from Hoxie toward Blytheville.

Services Conducted For Godfrey White Services for Godfrey Llewellyn White, 58, were sche duled for 3:30 p. m. today in Osceola's First Baptist Church with the pastor, the Rev. Percy F. Herring, assisted by the Rev.

Chalmers' Henderson, pastor of Osceola's Presbyterian Church, officiating. Mr. White was found dead on his The car was brought into Blytheville and word-of-mouth news soon brought throngs of people to view the vehicle. Around noon, a call came in to the sheriff's office that a man, Hickman, who had passed a bad check at a boarding house, about ago, in town." Deputies Holland Aiken and Herman Lane accompanied by two volunteer firemen, Carl Blackard and Horace Walpole, went to the rooming, house operated by N. J.

Humphries at 114 West Ash to investigate. They learned that one of the girl roomers had gone into a room rented by Charles Wise to deliver an article of clothing and was astonished to find Hickman there. Snowing that Wise was out of the house, she called Mr. Humphreys, who recognized him as the person who had given him a bad check when he roomed there several weeks ago. Searching the room they found in a closet a pair of pants and a shirt rolled up around automobile pa- and a driver's license belonging to Taylor.

On one of the shirt sleeves was a blood stain and among the pa- Ders was Taylors' empty pocket 300k. A search was begun for Hickman and he was soon spotted standing on the sidewalk in front of a cafe on Main Street talking to someone. Offers No Resistance Hickman offered no resistance when the officer's car swooped up the curb and he was told that he was under arrest. He appeared aim when brought into county jail See KILLING on Page 5 farm north of Osceola Saturday. He had seen riding about his farm alone and was found by his son, M.

Boyd White, near a fence which he apparently had tried to cross. A shotgun wound in the head was fatal and Coroner E. M. Holt called the death accidential. Mr.

White' had been shooting doves, it was reported a .410 shotgun. Mr. White was an agricultural pioneer in Mississippi County. He introduced new crops and many new innovations to Midsouth farmers. Early he enjoyed success as a large-scale vegetable grower and the leader in bringing commercial vegetable farming into the cotton land of Arkansas.

At one time, he served as vice president of the American Vegetable Growers Association and was instrumental in helping set up canning plants in both Blytheville and Osceola. He was one of the founders of the Osceola plant which burned three years ago. Developed Weed-Killer During the World War labor shortage, he developed a chemical weed-killer known as No-Ho. It achieved wide popularity during those wartime and post-war years and was the forerunner of a whole Godfrey L. White new field of farm chemicals.

Not long ago, in collaboration with Osceola's Wilson Welding he developed a soil conditioning which has had wide acceptance by Midsouth farmers. In experimental work, Mr. White See WHITE on Page 5 30 Injured Cotton Pickers' Truck Has Accident; 4 Killed LITTLE ROCK (AP) Four Negroes two men and two women were killed and at least 29 other people were injured early this morning when a truckload of cotton pickers plunged down a 10-foot embankment 17 miles south of Little Rock. 18 Men Leave For Induction 30 to Take Physical Exams Sept. 23 Eighteen men were sent to Little Rock by Mississippi County Draft Board No.

47 for induction into the armed forces today. Of the 19 called today, 13 men volunteered for immediate induction, two transferred from boards and three transferred to other boards. The next call will be for 30 men to take physical examinations Sept. 23. Leaving today were Gene Fisher, Gary Burton Mason, Robert Daniel Blodgett, George Oakes Ropp and Loy Arzo Crews, all of Blytheville.

Bobby Ray Scott, Leemon K. Holt, and Scott Eubands, all of Manila; Joe Franklin Cashion and James Wallace Wortham, both of Leachville. Andrew Welby Young, Robert Mitchell Rose and Jerry Don Burns, all of Osceola: and George. Glen Sherer of Sidon, Paul Francis Sell of Bassett, Irving T. Smith Black Oak, Eugene Archie of Dell and William R.

Haithcock of Keiser. Failing to report today and classified as delinquents were Carl Sidney Posey of Sheffield. and William Harry Saige of Denver, A state trooper was injured later while en route to a Little Rock hospital with six of the injured. Listed as dead on arrival at University Hospital were four Ne- all of Little Rock: Nathaniel Young, Viola Robio- son, Henry Frazier and Vera Louise Johnson. Twenty-two injured are in University Hospital, and eight others are at Baptist Hospital.

The condition of the injured could not be learned immediately. At one time this morning, officials at University Hospital said that Ti emergency room was so busy that attendants there could not answer the phone to give out information about the dead and injured. The condition of the injured could not be learned immediately. State trooper Les Caldwell had six injured Negroes in his car when his vehicle was involved in an accident with another car and truck on the Main Street bridge in Little Rock. Narrow Bridge One report said that others were taken to hospitals in private automobiles and the count of injured may not be complete.

State Trooper William Rider, who took five victims to University Hospital, gave this account of the wreck: The cotton pickers' truck, driven by M. C. Buchanan, a Negro, met a bay truck on a narrow bridge. The truckload of cotton pickers was headed south toward Keo. Buchanan said he pulled his truck far to the right side of the bridge to avoid the hay truck.

He US. Will Defend Interests' Everywhere, President Declares Military Confident Of Quemoy Defense WASHINGTON (AP) President Eisenohwer presumably has been advised by the military that they are confident Quemoy Island could be defended from any Red invasion Council Reaffirms Policy, Ike Says DENVER (AP) President Eisenhower said today the National Security Council has reaffirmed American policy of defending "the vital interests of the U. S. wherever they "may arise." The President made the state- can military misht will thwart any fh a nt to newsmen in discussing an Chinese ommunlst assault against mci- -o a. extraordinary session of the Se- Nationalist Formosa.

curity Council at the summer But the seccsauy kept the Com- Wnnco TTocf oTi-ToTT Military officials attending the Red planes out of the sky while unusual Sunday session of the Na- at saine bombing and tional Security Council are re-' attempt with U. S. sea and air power alone political decision for such intervention. ported to believe that any move strafing invasion craft. Presumably the confidence the cl Quemoy, hard by the Asiatic mainland, could be repelled with out any help from American ground forces.

Relation Cited Secretary of State Dulles, just back from the Far East, told newsmen at Denver yesterday that the defense of Quemoy is related to the defense of Formosa and is being "studied in that light." Stopping at Denver to report to President Eisenhower and the National Security Council, Dulles said it is primarily up to the nation's military chiefs to decide and recommend whether effective protection of Formosa requires U.S. White House yesterday. munists guessing as towhether the The meeting was called by the United States win go to the de- chief executive to discuss global i fense of the' Chinese Nationalist strategy for dealing with the Red islanf of Quemzcy, which has been threat abroad. After the session. Secretary of See DEFENSE on Page 5 State Dulles declared that Ameri- Wilson Man Kille In Air Force Crash From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A Wilson, airman was among the eight crew members and two passengers who were killed yesterday when a four-engined C124 Globemaster en route to Westover Air Force Base, from Thule Air Base, Green- defend Quemoy, be made to' anc crashed half a mile from its take-off point.

Pentagon strategists would rely on the gunfire and planes of the big 7th Fleet and the fighters and fighter-bombers of the Air Force. The objective would be to crush the transportation and air and sea power of a Red invasion fleet before it could reach the shores of the Nationalist-held islands, not to attempt to match the Communist troop manpower in invasion beach battle. The United States learned in Korea of the vast and costly commitment of ground force needed to fight Red China's hordes of infantry. However, some of the other disadvantages of the Korean 'campaign might attend any action for ihe defense of Quemoy if the decision were made to confine it solely defensive fighting. A Similar Problem Under the ground rules for the Korean War, no bombing of Red Air bases in China was permitted.

Thus, the dangerously powerful Red air fleet of jet fighters had be dealt with only in the air hove the battle zone. Application of the same rules in A list of crew members released by West-over AFB identified the Wilson man as Staff Sgt. David" J. Hanks, 27, of Rt. 1, Box 32.

His next of kin was listed as his wife, Mrs. Joan Helen Hanks. An Air Force plane was headed from Westover Field for Thule today loaded with medical supplies for five survivors of the crash. All were civilians whose names were not immediately released. Air Force officials at Westover said the C124 crashed while attempting an emergency landing.

aboard were killed. Their names were withheld pending notification of next of kin. Bray said the plane had left Westover a few days ago and was on a regularly scheduled flight out Thule when its commander declared a state of emergency" 12 min- unfs shell fire from the Red And FBI Chif J. Edgar Hoover and Atty. Gen.

BrowneH say that so far as the Red threat on the hcme front is concerned, the administration's goal is to "utterly destroy the Communist party" in the United States. They reported drive toward that objective is "well underway and that some Communists- spurred by a new law graciisg immunity frim prosecution have been going to the FBI to tell about the a i i i of fellow conspirators. Dulles, Hoover Brownefl made those statements at. news conferences at the summer White House yesterday after conferring with the President, Then Eisenhower, Dulles, Vice President Nixon and other members of the National Security Council met for three hours in extraordinary session for top secret of the Communist East. Decision Hinted Dulles hinted in advance, of that utes after becoming airborne.

Bray said he does not know what caused the plane's commander to meeting that the council might declare a state of emergency. Bray said it was the first fatal accident in more than 4,000 flights made by the Atlantic division Mats to Thule since the north airlift Maj. Huly Bray of the Atlantic started in 1951. More than 35,000 division Military Transport Service reported 10 of the 15 persons passengers and 55 million pounds of supplies have been transported. Australian Bishop to Speak At Episcopal Church Here The Rt.

Rev. James Alan George Housden, bishop of Rockhampton diocese in Australia, will speak at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church here during an evening prayer campaign to defeat a Red inva-1 service to begin at 7:30 tonight. ion attempt would impose the ame problem for American Navy The service will be conducted by the Rev. William F.

Hays, rector of Explorers Club To Meet Sept. 17 and Air Force fliers. They would i St. Mark's Episcopal Church in to rely on the ability to drive Jonesboro. Bishop Housden is visiting Arkansas this' month, after having attended the Anglican Congress, a world-wide meeting of the Anglican Communion, in Minneapolis.

in August. He has been bishop of Rockhamp- A program on Ethiopia will be resented at the first meeting of I ton a aiocese of the Church of he Explorers Club of the coming England located on the east coast of eason at 7 pjn. Sept. 17 at Hotel i Queensland Australia, since 1947. soble i Altnou tms diocese is one of the Fredric Christian, lecturer, pho- largest square ographer and world traveler, will I nules-it is one of that country resent the all-color travelogue on smallest in population.

Bishop Housden Ethiopia following a dinner. Born in Birmingham, England, Mrs. C. G. Redman, head of the i Bishop Housden emigrated to Aus- trahan military forces.

Explorers Club, said today that the tralia at an early age. He was grad- He is a member of the Austra- club is accepting additional uated from the University of Queens- lian Board of Missions, which gov- bers. I land and St. John's Theological Col- erns the missionary policy of the- Remaining programs in the com- lege at Brisbane. He was ordained Church of England in Australia ing season will be held on Thurs- priest in 1929.

From 1940 to 1944, Following the service, coffee will reach a decision as to precise U.S. policy on the question of whether American defense of the Nationalist island of Quemoy is essential to effective defense of Formosa. Dulles told newsmen that "in the first instance" that is a question for America's military to decide. He added that and the other nmn-military members of the Security Council would stqdy the advice of the armed forces leaders, but would not necessarily follow it. Adm.

Arthur W. Radford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, See IKE on Page 5 Weather this afternoon, tonight and Tuesday except widely scattered thundershowers northwest late Tuesday slightly warmer this afternoon and tonight. fair this afternoon; fair south, partly cloudy tonight and Tuesday with scattered, showers or thundershowers extreme north; a little warmer this afternoon. Minimum Maximum Mljiimum zhis Maximum Sunrise Sunse: Mean ternperarare (midway between gU and Precipitation last 43 hours to 7 a.m. Precipitation Jan.

1 to tills date 24.25. This Date Last Year Maximum i Minimum this Precipitation January to date i 34.79. he served as a chaplain in the Aus- See WRECK on Page day nights, Mrs. Redman said. be served at the parish house.

Youth Held in Fatal Beating- State and county officers began checking Sunday morning on blood-stained -oar (left), found on Highway If west of Blytheville and arrested an AWOL sailor who admitted beating a Walnut Ridge school teacher death Saturday night. Rudy Thomas Hickman, 20, (center) formerly of Blytheville was arrested on Main Street yester- aa? "aTfcrnoon his blood-stained clothes along with papers be- longing to Kenneth Taylor, 31, owner of the car, were found In a Blytheville boarding house where he spent the night. Officers were unable to locate Taylor's body until Hickman led officers to the spot (right) on Highway 67 about 17 miles south of Hoxie. The body was located about miles off the highway under an oak tree on tton edge of a soybean field. Lawrence County officers Were continuing the investigation today to unscramble conflicting of Hickman is being h'ffld in Craightad County jail in.