Alabama Journal from Montgomery, Alabama • 1

WEATHER Fair and cold tonight, sua-ay and cool tomorrow. Low tonight, 25. High tomorrow, 48. (More weather Page 3) 17th Year-No. 47 ALABAMA JOURNAL FINAL EDITION roi news luuniHS Price is Montgomery, Monday Afternoon, February 24, 1975 24 PAGES $3 iMffon; im Motel He I TUSCALOOSA, Ala (AP)-A tornado slammed into parts of Tuscaloosa Sunday, killing one person, injuring dozens of others and causing property damage estimated at $3 million The damage estimate came from Civil Defense authorities And what's beginning to look like a monthly chore of cleaning up after severe storms got under way today, not only here but in other parts of the state At Tuscaloosa and Holt, 30 homes and 15 house trailers were destroyed, and more than 300 homes were damaged A motel maid, Thelma Hill, 23, was killed when the twister hit the motel It extensively damaged the motel, opening second-floor rooms to the sky Three people were hospitalized Mrs Jean Kuhl.

40. Erie. Pa, and Ethndge. Tuscaloosa were listed in The motel manager, Sidney Neville, said "It was after checkout time and most of the guests had left. I'd hate to think what would have happened if more people had been here.

Only 15 were registered at the time." The tornado cut a path 100 yards wide for more than 10 miles at nearby Holt, damaging almost 200 houses there. Twisters also hit the Jones Chapel community in Cullman County, and the Arley community in Winston County. Minor injuries were reported at both places The weather service said funnel clouds were sighted near Jacksonville, Anniston, Evergreen and Centreville but that none of those touched down, apparently The Red Cross said more than 200 homes and 20 mobile homes were damaged here. See TORNADO Page 2) Journal Hnoto by Jerry smith Smashed Aufomobe Leff Parlcng Lof k4 Photographer serious condition today, and Georgia McAniach, 17, Erie, was listed in fair condition Mrs Kuhl and Miss McAniach were thrown out of a car near the motel "I knew something was wrong so I pulled off to the side of the road, put the car in drive and told everybody to get down." said the driver, David Kuhl, Mrs. Kuhl's son and Miss McAniach's boyfriend "I felt a tumbling sensation but I don't know how far the tornado took us down the highway Kuhl said "It was all over in a matter of 30 or 40 seconds He was slightly injured Forty-nine people were treated at Druid City Hospital Most of them had been dining at restaurants along McFarland Bvld where the tornado did the most damage here member those' They have the big window that slants down the back It took the whole thing out When I saw him he was still picking glass out of his front seat A friend of Smith's family narrowly escaped death or serious injury, Smith said The man, Tony Lynn of Tuscaloosa, and two of his sons were driving in the bypass-McFarland area when the twister hit "They jumped out of their car and flattened out in a ditch," Smith said 'Their car was completely demolished I don't know how they thought that fast because you know all that had to be decided in a matter of seconds In the twister's aftermath.

Smith said, the biggest problem was sightseers Smith estimated the crowd gathered along McFarland at 2,000 after the twister passed through, "all of them just wanting to see how bad someone else was hit Twister's Devastation Storm Lawyer Tries To Sidestep Death Penalty Issue In Bay Minette Syria Offers To Sign peoce pact Give Up Territory By WAYNE GREENHAW BAY MINETTE A defense attorney tried to sidestep the principle issue today in a trial which tests the death penalty law Morris Dees of Montgomery asked that a lesser charge be allowed in the first degree murder trial of Johnny Harris Harris, a 26-year-old inmate already serving a life term in prison, is charged with stabbing a prison guard to death in January of 1974 Alabama Atty Gen Bill Baxley, who is personally prosecuting the case, argued, "If a lesser charge is included in the offense, we're wasting our time An Alabama jury charged Harris under an old Alabama statute which makes the death penalty mandatory if a prisoner serving a life term is convicted of murder Baxley said that he would file a brief on Dees' motion later today In a round of pretrial motions, the millionaire civil rights attorney and the youthful state prosecutor bantered legal problems Dees asked the judge not to allow questions concerning prospective jurors' opinions on capital punishment. of Scottish Inn Scottish Inn Dees pointed out that there were only four blacks in the 68 jurors present in the courtroom today He said that there is 18 per cent black population in Baldwin County The judge overruled his motion Clark, however, ruled that the attorney general must provide Dees with statements from four inmate witnesses who will possibly be heard later in the trial The case against Harris came out of a prison uprising at Fountain Correctional Center near Atmore in which Luell Barrow, a guard, was stabbed to death One inmate was killed and about 60 were injured when officers stormed a barricaded prison wing during the rebellion Other inmates also charged in Barrow's death were not indicted under the mandatory death penalty law because they weren't serving life terms at the time One who was charged has already been convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. autopsy is completed Landers was the first person to be convicted under the new federal air piracy law, which carries the same penalty for attempted air piracy as for a hijacking fully executed, the attorney said. During his arraignment on the charge, Landers said a drug problem led to a divorce from his first wife in California and separation from his second wife of three months in Tampa. "I know what I did," he said.

"All I want is to be placed in a hospital for treatment A jury of nine men and three wome.i convicted Landers Thursday after deliberating 45 minutes. U.S. District Judge Winston Arnow deferred sentencing until March 6 and ordered a presentence investigation. The conviction carries maximum penalty of life in prison and a minimum sentence of 20 years. A person convicted under the air piracy law must serve at least one-third of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Cohen had said earlier he would appeal the verdict. Wirepholo Reports Photographer Smith if Sfae and the Golan Heights front with Syria. The report said Kissinger and Gromyko agreed to call the Geneva peace conference back into session in April if the withdrawal agreement was reached. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it had not been informed of any such Soviet-American agreement, and newsmen accompanying Kissinger on his recent visit to the Middle East reported no indications of Israeli willingness to give up any more Golan Heights territory Falastin As-Thawra, a Beirut magazine that reflects the views of the Palestine Liberation Organization, claimed a S.Egyptian deal in the offing would provide for the internationalization of East Jerusalem, where the holy places are located, in exchange for the nexHsraeli withdrawal in the Sinai. The Arab Boycott of Israel organization opened a 10-day meeting in Cairo to review requests from 60 firms to be removed from the blacklist.

The boycott includes Ford Motor Co. and Coca Cola as well as a number of personalities sympathetic to Israeli causes. The Israeli military command reported that an army patrol clashed with a band of guerrillas on the Lebanese border Saturday night and killed one of the Arabs. It was the first border incident reported since Feb 1 A hijacker diverted a North Yemeni plane with one passenger aboard to Saudi Arabia on Sunday and was immediately arrested. Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported.

Ford Sits In Historic Pew WASHINGTON (AP) President Ford. like many past presidents, has spent the Sunday ctat to Geone Washincton's il. i. SX. kITShJLIT1 Chuwh In Alexandria.

Va. With First Bey Ford- ass regular worshipper there, purchased the pew. mm HOftOlCOPf wovim i Hetp-A-Crisi By NANCY WILSTACH What was supposed to be a quiet weekend showing off a brand new daughter to her grandparents turned into a whirlwind work session for Advertiser-Journal Photographer Jerry Smith Smith, his wife and daughter were visiting his parents in Cottondale, about five miles from Tuscaloosa, when Sunday's tornado ripped through the McFarland Boulevard area of Tuscaloosa, destroying or damaging a number of businesses and residences Smith's camera captured the major damage, but his eyes and ears caught the side effects of terror, shock and sorrow One of the first spots the twister struck was the Kamada Inn South on the bypass at McFarland where it shattered glass and ripped out doors Most of the cars in the parking lot suffered shattered windows "There was this one poor dude," Smith said "I'd guess he was about 17 He had just got a 1966 Barracuda Re Ford Expected To Follow GM Price Cut DETROIT (AP) Car rebate offers expire this week and Ford Motor Co is expected to match General Motors' decision to lower the price tag on some compact models by eliminating some standard equipment The $100 to $600 rebates, which went into effect in early January, boosted car sales and whittled away at new car inventories, but not nearly enough to force the car companies to increase production and call back workers With 13 assembly lines closed this week, 255.000 of the industry's 683,000 blue-collar workforce are laid off Ford President Lee Iacocca says Ford will step up production 50 per cent next month and begin calling back some of the 35.000 workers who are indefinitely laid off Eight of Ford's assembly lines are closed this week Three are closed at GM and two at Chrysler GM was able to reduce the sticker price on nine of its small cars by $104 to $313 by knocking off some standard equipment However, the cost of its lowest-price model the Chevrolet Vega remained unchanged Reports indicate Ford will match GM's pricing move, but the No. 2 auto maker has not yet announced its post-rebate plans Someone Owes Her A Favor Reb's friend Mabel Amos, the former secretary of state, dashed into the downtown post office to mail a letter the other day. But when she came out it looked like the meter cop had been quicker.

Miss Mabel put a nice, crisp dollar bill in the yellow envelope and deposited it in a nearby "Curb Cop" before getting into what she thought was her car. It turned out not to be hers at all, just a look-a-like registered to a fellow named Edward A. Edmundson. He owes Miss Mabel a favor. Stripped Top From Tuscaloosa's Baxley retorted that Dees' suggestion was "the most asinine I've ever heard Dees stepped forward and said, "I had hoped we could try this case without personalities being involved." Circuit Judge Leigh Clark of Birmingham, a supernumerary judge who was named to the case after a local judge was accused of voicing a racial slur against Harris, who is black, occupied the bench Clark said that he would rule on questions when they came up during jury selection this afternoon After the judge overruled Dees' motion for a continuance, the defense attorney said, "Judge, I'm not ready for trial I am not adequately prepared to defend my client But I am ready to do the best I can with what I've got Assisting Dees is local court-appointed attorney Kenneth Cooper.

Sitting at Baxley's side are local Dist Atty. James Hendrix, Special Assistant Atty Gen. Don Valeska, and Assistant Atty Gen. Larry Newman Dees also made a motion to quash the jury venire, stating that blacks were excluded from the list. "The general idea was that he did what he did out of desperation, to attract attention to the fact that he was desperately in need of help, and all he wanted to do that night (Jan.

3) was get arrested so he could call attention to his plight," Cohen said. In one note, Cohen said Landers "mentioned that he didn't want to become a burden on society because of what happened." Cohen, who said Landers died by his own hand, believes Landers "felt this was the best way out." "My feeling about him all along was that of an individual who was reaching out for help," Cohen said. But he added, "he was unable to get help." Investigator Willis said a coroner's jury was convened Sunday to officially determine whether Landers committed suicide and would meet again after an Thought For Today Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought Sir Arthur. Helps, English historian. Man Convicted In Hijack Try Hangs Self In Pensacola Jail By The Associated Press The president of Syria says his government will sign a peace treaty if the Jewish state gives up all the territory it captured the 1967 war and agrees to a Palestinian state made up of the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip It was his strongest statement yet on the possibility of an agreement with Israel "This is not propaganda We mean it seriously and explicitly," President Hafez Assad told Newsweek magazine Israel, however, has repeatedly rejected those two demands The Egyptian magazine Rose al Youssef reported that Secretary of State Henry A Kissinger told Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei A Gromyko he expected to get an agreement next month for another Israeli troop withdrawal in both the Sinai Desert India, Kashmir Settle Dispute Over Accession NEW DELHI.

India (AP) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced today that the Indian government and Sheik Mohammed Abdullah, the Kashmiri leader have settled their 22-year dispute over the future of the Himalayan state The prime minister, whose father jailed Abdullah in 1953 on charges of plotting Kashmir's secession, told Parliament that the 69-year-old sheik now accepts his state's accession to India as "final and irrevocable 5 T. The government agreed that Sheik rtUUUIIdll will uvei uic kuvci mucin Tuesday in the three-fifths of Kashmir that is controlled by India Pakistan controls the rest of the 86.000- SSS SfwJen rtZaiSXJ the negotiations. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali BhStto has threatened to call a general strike throughout Kashmir on Friday to protest the agreement. The sheik, known as the Lion of Kashmir, got a hero's welcome when he arrived in Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir, after an ovenight train trip from New Delhi. "Long life Abdullah!" a crowd of 5,000 shouted.

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) A Tampa, man convicted on attempted air piracy charges Thursday was found hanged in his jail cell here, fulfilling the prophecy he made the night of his arrest last month. Paul Thomas Landers, 27, Tampa, was found Sunday hanging from a rope of torn and twisted sheets tied to the bars of his cell, said Escambia County sheriff's investigator Duerwood Willis. "I'm going crazy I'm going to kill Landers said at the county lockup moments after National Airlines attendants took a rifle away from him and foiled his hijack attempt Jan. 3 at Pensacola Municipal Airport.

In court later, Landers pleaded for help with a drug problem that he said had started at least 12 years ago. Landers left two notes, said his court-appointed attorney, Joe M. Cohen. One was addressed to Cohen and the other to Landers' wife, Suzanne, who did not attend Landers' trial in U.S. District Court jst week The note to his wife in Tampa included a message to his mother, Doris Landers of Norco, Cohen said..