The Kansas City Times from Kansas City, Missouri • 1

(THE Morning KANSAS CITY STAR) £1)C San a ci (Titti VOL 100 NO 181 KANSAS CITY FRIDAY APRIL 5 PAGES PRICE 10 CENTS KILLS MARTIN Negro Leader of Nonviolence Holder of '64 Nobel Peace Prize Is Struck in Face and Neck by a Bullet While Standing on Motel Balcony in Memphis and Dies at Hospital SPARK FOR NEW RIOTS i Violence Also in Boston Washington Harlem Raleigh Nashville and Jackson Miss Pill sggl: mm al mm DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR was standing on the balcony on the second floor of the Lorraine motel in Memphis last night when he was struck by an bullet This overhead view was made a few minutes later as the area swarmed with (Wirephoto) Other pictures on page 32 DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR is shown while visiting Kansas City earlier this year while on the way to speak at Kansas State university at Manhattan Memphis Martin Luther King jr father of non-violence in the American Civil rights movement was shot to death last night King 39 was hit in the neck by a bullet as he stood on the balcony of a motel here He died less than an hour later in St Joseph hospital Gov Buford Ellington immediately ordered 4000 National Guard troops back into the city A curfew which was clamped on Memphis after a King-led march turned into a riot a week ago was reimposed Police said incidents of violence including several fire bombings were reported following death The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner was standing on the balcony of his motel here where he had come to lead protests in behalf of the 1300 striking garbage workers most of them Negroes when he was shot Two unidentified men were arrested several blocks from the motel Police also said they found a 30-06 rifle on Main street about one block from the motel but it was not confirmed whether this was the weapon that killed King King Struck in Neck An aide who was standing nearby said the shot hit King in the neck and lower right part of his face Luther King is said Henry Lux assistant police chief the first word of the death Paul Hess assistant hospital administrator confirmed later that King died at 7 of a bullet wound in the neck King had been in his second-floor number 306 throughout the day About 6 he emerged wearing a silkish-looking black suit and a white shirt Solomon Jones jr his driver had been waiting to take him by car to the home of the Rev Samuel Kyles of Memphis for dinner Jones said later he had observed cold outside put your topcoat and King had replied I King leaned over a green iron railing of the tnotel to chat with an associate Jesse Jackson standing just below him in a courtyard parking lot you know Jackson asked introducing Ben Branch of Chicago a musician who was to play at the rally my King glowed The two men recalled asking for the playing of the spiritual really want you to play that King said enthusiastically The Rev Ralph Abernathy perhaps closest friend was about to come out of the motel room when the sudden loud noise burst out King toppled to the concrete second-floor walkway Blood gushed from the right jaw and neck area His necktie had been ripped off by the blast had just bent Jackson recalled later he had been standing up he have been hit in the I turned Jackson went on saw JOHNSON TRIP IS DELAYED After Murder of Martin Luther King the President's Departure for Honolulu Is Postponed Until American Officials Issue Warning About Overoptimism Concerning Peace Prospects Clamp on MemphisMf CHARGES A RAID HEARNES FAVORITE SON Endorsement in That Role by the Democratic State Committee if It Is Upheld by Convention Will Give Governor a Whip Hand Any Knowledge of United States Bombing Northwest of North Vietnam Capital Is Disavowed in Washington President Sees Thant The Weather Sunny and Warm Sunny and warmer today with light variable winds is the weather forecast for Kansas City and vicinity Partly cloudy and warmer tonight and tomorrow with increasing southerly winds Probability of precipitation near zero per cent today increasing to 10 per cent tonight High today about 50 Low tonight in mid 30s High tomorrow near 60 By Dick Mackey (A Member of The Star's Staff) MEMPHIS Stunned at the news of Dr Martin Luther death here by an bullet this city shut down early last night Police ordered it by clamping on a curfew but Handy the late Memphis Negro blues musician and composer had in a way predicted it in his famous Street will find that business never closes until somebody gets one line of the song goes For the hour or so between the news that Dr King had been shot and the news that he was dead business did not close on historic Beale or any of the other downtown streets (Continued on Page 2) Temperatures 36 8 37 9 39 10 4011 41 12 midnight 41 1 a 40 2 a 'Unofficial Dr King Obituary on Page 33 AT A LUNCHEON Consideration of Action Is Asked of Guests in Mansion By Henry Clay Gold (The Jefferson City Correspondent) Jefferson City Gov Warren Hearnes was endorsed as a candidate for President of the United States yesterday by the Democratic state committee while the political leaders were his luncheon guests at the executive mansion The 60-member state commit- tee said it urges the Missouri Democratic state convention to make a similar endorsement! when it meets here in June to i complete the job of selecting delegates to the national presiden-j tial convention The luncheon endorsement was proposed by Lewis Green Kirkwood and was strongly supported by John Lawler leader of the politically active steamfitters union in St Louis A member of the state committee suggested that discussion of the resolution should be delayed until the state committee later went into official session at the state Capitol Hearnes according to one of his luncheon guests said that anyone who wanted to speak up a-gainst the endorsement of him could do so at the mansion Delton Houtchens chairman of the state committee then asked if there was any objection to the endorsement and none (Continued on Page 7) Moved by Tragedy SHOCK anger and disgust marked the reaction of Negro and white leaders here to the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King jr Alvin Brooks former chairman of the Kansas City (chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality said: first thing my son said when he heard it 17 was going to happen I told him I just know You want to hope and pray that America is waking up to problems of black-white relations and you look for evidence of this and then something like this happens (Continued on Page 12) DELEGATES 0 A REVELATION New Word of God Is Accepted at Convention The construction of a temple in Independence was ordered through a revelation which covered three other main points Wallace Smith president of the Reorganized Latter Day Saint church announced yesterday The revelation was read by Duane Couey one of the three members of the first presidency during the fifth day of a biennial conference in the world auditorium in Independence The revelation was (Continued on Page 2) Save parking rid with i safety Yellow Cab OR 1-5000 Adv Dismiss Party Fete By John Cauley (Chief of The Star's Washington Bureau) In the huge international ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel here a few persons remained to finish off their drinks but most of the big crowd filed out silently and grimly after it was announced that the Democratic Congressional dinner for the President and the vice-president would be concluded on account of the fatal shooting of Dr Martin Luther King The vice-president and Mrs Humphrey stayed for a few moments to talk with friends near the head table and when several persons came up to ask Mr Humphrey for his autograph he obliged but one could see that he was doing it reluctantly A tall and elegant woman in a formal gown grasped her arm as they left and she said is a sick (Continued on Page 7) Washington (AP) President Johnson last night delayed his departure for a strategy conference in Honolulu until today He had been scheduled to leave at midnight last night The decision to delay the trip was announced after the murder of Dr Martin Luther King Hanoi meanwhile charged that American planes bombed a North Vietnamese town northwest of the capital deep inside the territory the President had declared off limits to air raiders The Pentagon quickly disavowed any knowledge of any such attack since the speech Sunday in which he proclaimed the curtailment of bombing of North Vietnam Pentagon Orders Investigation an immediate investigation has been Phil Goulding assistant secretary said in issuing the Defense department statement In Vietnam relief forces pulled up within a half mile of the Marine combat base at Khe Sanh amid reports the enemy is lifting the 3-month siege as a good will gesture Only light artillery and mortar fire from the North Vietnamese opposed marines in the vanguard of a 20 000-man relief force Flown by helicopter these rines occupied hills just outside Khe Sanh Soviet sources in London said the light resistance since the allied drive began Monday was because the North Vietnamese were lifting their seige of the battered base in the northwest corner of Vietnam and had begun to withdraw They said Hanoi had decided on a withdrawal as a sign of good intentions if the United States agrees at preliminary talks to halt all bombing of North Vietnam preparatory to peace talks There was no confirmation of this from Hanoi Soviet informants in London reported they expect direct negotiations between American and North Vietnamese representatives to start next week in Moscow The Russian sources who cannot be identified said the North Vietnamese have given the United States private assurances that no major offensives will be launched by them if all American bombing is halted-The report was not confirmed by Western officials Says Three Sites Are Possible Paris Pnompenh and Warsaw were mentioned by a North Vietnam newsman as places where preliminary talks between the United States and North Vietnam could be held In an interview with the British Broadcasting corporation Nguyen-Van Sao representing Cuu Quoc a Hanoi weekly told the BBC commentator he mentioned the three cities after telephone consultation with the Vietnamese diplomatic mission in Paris In a hastily arranged conference President Johnson talked for more than an hour yesterday in New York with Thant secretary general on peace prospects in Vietnam The meeting was suggested by Arthur Goldberg ambassador while he was with the President attending ceremonies at St cathedral in midtown New York marking the installation of the most Rev Terence Cooke as Roman Catholic archbishop of New York Despite a crowded schedule in New York and Washington and preparations to go to Honolulu the President agreed He arrived at headquarters at 3:50 to be greeted by Thant Goldberg and Under- (Continued on Pace 2) Dally rental and or leasing Broadway Mtrs Adv Phone Sunday Want Ads in before noon Saturday BA 1-5500 Adv police coming from everywhere Kyles said King had stood in the open three Jones the driver said a police squad car with four officers in it had driven down the street moments before the gunshot The police had been circulating in the area on precautionary patrols After the shot Jones said he saw a man something white on his creep away from a thicket across the street Someone rushed up with a towel to staunch the flow of blood Kyles said he put a blanket over King but knew he was He ran down the stairs and tried to telephone from the motel office for an ambulance Police were pouring into the motel area carrying rifles and shotguns wearing riot helmets But King aides said it seemed to be 10 or 15 minutes before a fire department ambulance arrived King apparently was still living when he reached St hospital for emergency surgery borne in on a stretcher the bloody towel over his head It was the same emergency room to which James Meredith first Negro enrolled at the University of Mississippi had been taken after he was ambushed and shot in June 1965 at Hernando Miss a few miles south of Memphis Meredith had not been hurt seriously- There were perhaps 15 persons in the motel courtyard area when King was shot All were believed to be Negroes and his associates President Speaks to Nation President Johnson spoke last night of an shocked an by the slaying In a brief television message to the nation Johnson disclosed that because of the slaying at Memphis he had canceled plans for a political appearance last night and postponed until today his scheduled departure for Hawaii and a Vietnam strategy conference The text of President statement: is shocked and saddened by the brutal slaying tonight of Dr Martin Luther King ask every citizen to reject the blind violence that has struck Dr King who lived by nonviolence 5 pray that his family can find comfort in the memory of all he tried to do for the land he loved so well I have just conveyed the sympathy of Mrs Johnson and myself to his wife Mrs King know that every American of good will joins me in mouring the death of this outstanding leader and in praying for peace and understanding throughout this land can achieve nothing by lawlessness and divisiveness among the American people It is only by joining together and only by working together that we can (Continued on Page 7) -u Highlights on Inside Pages Kansas City's Central Professional Hockey league playoff game with the Memphis South Stars is postponed because of curfew It is probable that the Blues now in a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series will wind up the series with Memphis back in Kansas City starting tomorrow night 22 A public prayer service for passage of Kansas City's fair housing ordinance will be held at 8 o'clock April 25 at the Music Hall in the Municipal Auditorium 3 A study by a joint committee of the House and Senate of possible tax reform in Kansas gets under way in Topeka 15 Farm price supports and federal controls have depressed not strengthened farm prices and should be scaled down or ended the head of the American Farm Bureau federation tell Congress 17 The Postoffice department announces plans for a 97-million-dollar-a-year increase in rates for parcel post and catalogs- 18 In what the world hopes is President Johnson's journey in the Pacific toward peace the United States and the world need to remember that this country does not stand alone in Southeast Asia Leading editorial 32 Grief by Leaders NEW YORK The civil rights and political leaders reacted with anguish shock and grief last night to the slaying of the Rev Martin Luther King jr jn Memphis There also was fear that the slaying could lead to more violence Vice-President Hubert Humphrey said the slaying shame to our country An apostle of nonviolence has been the victim of The vice-president said however that his death will bring new strength to the cause he fought for A spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said: am shocked and grieved by this wanton murder of a peace-loving man a dedicated courageous man This murder certainly does not solve anything and it will be deeply resented by Negroes through the country and by other people who believe in nonviolent Richard Nixon former vice-president sent a telegram to Mrs King which said: death is a great personal tragedy for everyone who knew him and a great tragedy for the nation Mrs Nixon joins me in sympathy and prayers for you apd your faiijly in this terrible Deaths Comics Features Sports News Financial News 32 16 17 Editorials.