The El Reno Daily Tribune (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 62, No. 225, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 19, 1953 Page: 1 of 12
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We El Reno Daily Tribune
/a ------— -—___
__E1 Reno, Oklahoma, Thursday, November 19, 1953
100 Families Are Evacuated
As Flash Flood Sweeps City;
Tornado Reported in Area
|r°^ her family for thJSftou^d'iIri^ weIcome after being separated
fearful that the child was dead waa !,?? * udden flood Her mother, Mrs. Ray Perez riohr
by < neighbor. J. L. Rogers, was returned to her ^e waters’
Mitchell Appeal
I Rejected by CIO
Union Pledges Fight
To Wipe Out T-H Law
CLEVELAND, Ohio, Nov. IB—(U.R)
—Top CIO officiate today rejected
a plea by Secretary of Labor James
P. Mitchell to stop urging repeal of
the Taft-Hartley act and promised
to use all “energies and resources"
to wipe out the controversial law
President Walter P. Reuther and
other officials called on the na-
tional CIO convention to approve a
resolution pledging continued ef-
forts “for repeal of the unfair and
unjust Taft-Hartley act.” Delegates
were prepared to give overwhelm-
ing support to the proposal.
. Gets Cool Response
Action on the resolution was due
less than 24 hours after Mitchell
had appeared at the convention to
urge the CIO to "preclude further
talk of repeal of the act." He said
it would be the "point of realism"
to accept the principle that "many
of Its features are sound, fair and
Just," and promised to try and
eliminate the "really unfair" aec-
| tlons.
The delegates gave Mitchell's re-
I marks polite, but cool response.
I They failed to applaud when the
I labor secretary said the act con-
I tamed some features “really danger-
| pus to labor" and only about one-
I third of the delegates rose to ap-
I plaud at the conclusion of his
I speech.
I Mitchell, who was making his
I :irst public statement on the labor-
I nanagement act, said he was "hap-
pily pleased and gratified" at the
I Taction of the delegates. The most
I avorable response came when he
I promised to try and raise the
federal minimum wage.
Needs ‘Shoring Up*
The new labor secretary said that
IJie minimum wage statute was
I badly In need of shoring up," both
In respect to a higher wage and
■ rider coverage. He said he had not
l,et decided how much the 75-cents-
I n-hour minimum should be boost-
*»r Just how many more workers
'hould be covered.
I Reuther said the CIO was "very
ncouraged" by Mitchell's plan to
Mae the minimum wage. He also
fced “friendly cooperation" on
he program for amending Taft-
Hartley, and described the cabinet
lfficer as a "man of good will.'*
Kidnap Slayers Sentenced
To Die Dec. 18 for Crime
s
sentence on Carl AustinanHVM P#*£ed the death
Heady, 41, withta 1?LX after*?Brown
ommended that thev nav thn r a Jury °* ^ men rec-
confessed crime. * W the SUpreme Penal*y for their
or S SgJ «*ood at the right
sentence. y nen the Jud?e pronounced the
shoolc her'head in the negative
Then Judge Reeves said solemnly:
1 accept the recommendations of the jury.
duty "
Murray Asks
Cut in State
Road Building
OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 19_(yp)
—Governor Johnston Murray pro-
posed today to the highway com-
mission its road building program
funds**1***1 *° k8e* fr°m extu>ustlng
State Budget Officer James K.
Smith told the governor and the
commission the legislature's 94 mil-
lion dollar program for the current
two years will come to no more than
78 miUlon dollars.
The commissioners took issue
with State 8enator Raymond Gary,
Madill, who said yesterday he sees
no money pinch to Justify halting
highway construction.
Murray said new construction
contracts should not be stopped, as
the commission had predicted would
be necessary early next year for
a period of several months. Instead,
he said. It would be better to pare
the program down and let part of
it each month.
The commission is expected to
approve the suggestion.
- - It is my
. to accept and adopt
jury ”eC°mmendation‘S 0f the
Since neither had anything to
fay. Judge Reeves said it would be
the judgment and sentence of the
court that they be executed in the
gas chamber at Jefferson City on
Dec. 18.
Apparently Resigned
The kidnapers' faces did not
change expression. Both apparently
were resigned to their fate.
Robert C. Greenlease, multi
millionaire father of little Bobby
who paid the kidnapers $600,000
ransom days after his child had
been slain watched the climax of
the trial with set Jaw.
He said he did not know whether
^,uW Wltne“ the execution of
the kUlers.
Hoy K. Dietrach, Halls court-
appointed attorney, sought to delay
the sentencing so he could study
Navy Sports
G! Mask For
British Smog
LONDON, Nov. 16—(U.R)—The
United States navy offered smog
masks today to personnel In
Britain but refused to get in-
volved In local political argu-
ments over their effectiveness.
We have not done any re-
search on the matter,” an offi-
cial communique issued by Cap-
tain O. o. Frazier, nnvy medi-
cal officer said. “We do not rec-
ommend them (masks), nor do
we condemn them. We simply
have pieces of gauze available
Tor U. S. navy and marine corps
personnel who want them. It Is
not an official issue.”
The U.B. navy was asked for
its opinion on the masks in the
midst of a bitter debate over
ways of guarding against any
recurrence of the more than
4.000 deaths in last December’s
fog. The same type of fog oc-
curred this week but has lifted
temporarily.
A medical council recommend-
ed gauze masks to protect delicate
lungs. The ministry of health
disagreed on the usefulness of
the masks but authorized doc-
tors to Issue certain types under
Britain’s socialized medicine pro-
gram.
A political argument along the
same lines broke out in the
house of lords yesterday and it
was taken up in the press.
Amid the hue and cry came
word that American gobs and
WAVES were receiving smog
masks. Under pressure from the
press to give its opinion on the
masks the navy issued its state-
ment.
The navy said none of its per-
sonnel seemed to want the masks.
Court Rules Out
'Extra' in Fines
OKLAHOMA CITY, Nov. 19—<A>)
—The state criminal court of ap-
peals today knocked out a legisla-
tive act designed to make convicted
law violators pay $2 to the police-
men's pension fund.
In an opinion interpreting the
four-year-old law passed in an at-
tempt to swell municipal police
pension funds, the appellate court
wrote it regretted being unable to
uphold the law.
The test case was brought by-
Gene Roland Miller, who protested
the additional $2 fee to his court
costs in a Cleveland county speed-
ing suit.
Miller alleged the $2 for the pen-
sion fund was not a charge for a
necessary item of expense incident
to presenting the case to the court.
Many Still Homeless Today
As Houses Are Left Soaked;
200 Buildings Are Damaged
were'foreelwfwn*^!, f?mj*iea H Reno', lowland ,ection«
todavbv a nh°-me‘S ,n t,le Pre*dawn darkness
“/■,asl’flr°d f(allowuijran unprecedented cloudburst.
inir and hoHrUn their,h“uses muddied, furniture ruined, cloth-
soaked, many of the flood victims still were
£ PhwT qUa£ers of the cit-v without homes
homes ue&!uy reported an estimated 200
Mr? J TriSA the Stealthily risintr waters, and
virs. L. A. Gamer, Red Cross executive secretary said that
aftemXc!oTte y 5° PerS°ns Were Sti“ W'thout homes late thi»
The waters began to rise after midnight, in the course
s,torni in which at least one small tornado
fe“ onThe cIty^ r<Un amountlng to more thaa six inches
The twister struck about two miles east of El Reno
smaKJ aa,c^e highway and reportedly
a garage
area.
Families throughout the
low-lying section awoke in
the darkness to find waters
swirling through their homes,
and mattresses and bedding
already soaked.
Among the first to notice the ris-
ing waters was a fireman, Joe
Thomason, 308 North Evans, who
(Pictures
Governor Johnston Murray
I m Out To Get Your Sheriff"
Phelps Contests Murray's
Slap at Canadian County
STttep"»'»Mk for f“‘» bef°-
Daily^ Oklahoman^jtory CThun*day to^whS fh"rray >" “
— Pays $25 Fine
..For Reckless Driving
I Pendleton Charles Outnoee, Geary
lmt« 2, was fined $28 and costa
r County Judge Roy M. Faubion,
Iter he had entered a plea of
Itilty to charges of reckless driving,
I connection with an accident
|rly Monday south of Calumet.
■In the accident, Cutnose suffered
■‘nor injuries when the car ran
t the road on U. B. 270, and over
Councilmen To Air
City's Flash Flood
S3 Reno's fltsh flood disaster is
expected to be taken up for study
st the special meeting of the city
council, scheduled for 7:30 p. m.
today in the City hail.
C. A. Bentley, city manager, said
this afternoon that the flood situa-
tion had been added to the agenda,
which also Includes opening of bids
for painting of the citjr water tower
and bids on equipment for the city
cemetery.
Councilmen also will discuss pos-
sible rescheduling of the sale of
bonds on the projected new field-
house and armory building, Bent-
ley said.
the record of the trial, but with
drew, his objection after Judge
Reeves assured him he would be
given a chance to file any motions
necessary to protect Hall's con
stitutional rights.
Quick Sentence Asked
District Attorney Edward L.
Scheufler asked the Judge for an
immediate sentence, and Reeves
complied without delay.
Judge Reeves then' adjourned
court.
As he left the courtroom, Green-
lease commented of the sentence:
Its too good for them but it’s
the best the law provides.
It took the jury of 12 men one
hour and seven minutes to give
U. S. District Judge Albert L.
Reeves authority to send the pair
to the gas chamber. Judge Reeves
had told the jury the two were cold
blooded murderers and there were
no mitigating circumstances for
their crime.
16 Cases Assigned In
County Court Term
Sixteen criminal cases have been
assigned for trial in a Jury term of
county court, scheduled to begin
Wednesday. Dec. 2, at 9 a. m. before
County Judge Roy M. Faubion.
The cases include those of Jim
Holman, charged with drunken
driving; William H. Sharp, accused
of unlawful possession of liquor;
Robert Lee Patterson, omitting to
provide for minor children; Leroy
Santin, reckless driving; Lewis War-
ner, drunken driving; Pearl Lonie
Eichor, drunken driving; Joseph
Thomas Parise, reckless driving, and
Charles Frances Vian, reckless driv-
‘ng.
Other cases assigned for trial are
those of Jess Williams, malicious
destruction of property; Melvin
Tsatlgh, omitting to provide for
minor children; Frank Luther
Spann, drunken driving; A1 Yeaton,
unlawful possession of liquor; C. E
Robinson, unlawful possession of
liquor; Leroy Nibbs, breaking Jail;
Geneva Harrison, accused of oper-
ating a public nuisance in violation
of prohibition laws, and Clarence
Mlskel, reckless driving.
Cancer Is Fatal To
FFA Honor Winner
REDBIRDS meet alumni
The Sacred Heart Redblrds bas-
ketball team will meet an alumni
team on the El Reno highschool
gymnasium court at S p. m. Fri-
day, Coach Jesse Urton said today.
SNYDER. Nov. IB -WV- Edwin
Miller, 18, who won Future Farmer
of America honors at the Okfehoma
State fair in Oklahoma City while
on a stretcher, died last night of
bone cancer.
He was stricken with the disease
nine months ago and later suffered
the loss of a leg.
without first learnine
facts.”
He revealed that Murray admit-
ted he had accepted at face value
statements made In the Daily Okla-
homan concerning Sheriff Tiny
Royse's failure to padlock an alleged
bootlegger's house near Wheatland.
The Oklahoma City newspaper
printed several stories last week-
end describing “unhappiness" of
Wheatland's Justice of the peace
Nathan Newcomb and other resi-
dents over trouble caused by a
nearby bootlegger.
Ahead of Governor
On the county attorney's request
Wednesday morning, District Judge
William L. Fogg issued a temporary
restraining order to padlock the
house, and in the same action sub-
penas were issued for the Wheat-
land justice of peace and a Dally
Oklahoman reporter to appear in
El Reno district court on Nov. 28
as witnesses against the defendant.
Other subpenas were issued for
Theodore Qreymountaln, who lives
in the house, and Irene Handley
and Fletcher D. Handley, owners of
the property.
Commend* Sheriff
Phelps was quick to defend Sher-
iff Tiny Royse and his work in
Canadian county, saying that "I
believe Tiny has done as good a job
as any sheriff in Oklahoma and I
am behind him one-hundred per-
cent."
The county attorney said he and
Sheriff Royse had on numerous
occasions discussed the “Wheatland
bootlegger problem” with O K
Bevins, chief of the state crime
bureau, and had always received
fine cooperation from that agency
when It was requested.
When Sheriff Royse learned of
the governor's statement, he said,
AU I can say Is that I’ve tried to
do the best I can in enforcing law
in Canadian county, and the gov-
ernor's personal dislike for me will
n°i,Cause me * great Owl of worry
111 Just keep doing my job as long
as I’m in office."
Farmers Night Is
Set by Rotarians
Members of the El Reno Rotary
club will observe farmers’ night at
7 p. m. today In Central school with
Dr. R. w. MacVicar, dean of the
graduate school and head of the
chemistry department at Oklahoma
A. and M. college, Stillwater, as
principal speaker.
Each member of the club Is to
bring a farmer guest to the special
club meeting, arranged by the Rotary
rural-urban committee, headed by
Bill Jordan.
Arrangements for Dr. MacVicar
to appear on the program were
made by Dwight Stephens.
Other members of the rural-ur-
ban committee, in addition to Jor-
dan, are Jim Smith, M. Thompson
of Calumet and Floyd Croxton.
Weather
State Forecast
Cloudy with showers and thunder
storms in the east and north por-
tions this afternoon, changing to
sleet or snow in the panhandle
Cloudy tonight with showers or
thunderstorms in the northeast and
extreme east and occasional sleet or
snow in the northwest portion.
Colder tonight. Friday partly cloudy
and colder. Strong shifting winds
tonight, diminishing Friday. Lows
tonight from 25 to 32 in the north-
west to the 40s in the extreme east
portion. Highs Friday from 35 to 48.
With "Prestone" Anti-Freeze
You're set, you’re safe, you're sure.
NATURALLY!
MILFORD, Conn. —<U.PJ— Per-
haps it was only a coincidence but
the vote by which the Milford
board of education allowed a school
teacher time off to get married
was six to four. The board is com-
posed of six women and four men.
hastened from door to door in his
neighborhood awakening residents
who had water pouring into their
houses.
Child Lost Three Honrs
No one was injured in the sudden
storm, although a 8-year old girl,
Dora Perez, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Ray Perez, was missing for
about three hours.
The child had been carried by
her father to high ground at a rail-
road crossing on Foreman, but was
missing when the father returned
later with other children.
The girl was pulled from muddy,
rushing water by J. L. Rogers, 134
North M, after he heard her
screaming. Rogers kept the child at
his home until a national guard
truck was able to get through to
carry her to her parents.
The child was picked up between
Foreman and Rogers streets.
Firemen, police, national guards-
men along with citizens manned
boats and trucks during the night
to evacuate endangered families
from low area throughout the city.
Highways Blocked
Police Chief Lee Harvey said
water flooded the northwest and
northeast sections of town to a
depth of nearly five feet. Highways
west and east were closed tempor-
arily during the height of the storm.
U. S. 81, north and south of El
Reno, was passable although closed
for a short time north of town.
Scores of cars were stalled in the
high water, some almost inundated,
but the national guard furnished
water-proofed vehicles which could
make their way through most of the
high waters for the rescue opera-
tions.
Captain Arne Johnson of the lo-
cal guard unit, Colonel Wayne En-
gland and Warrant Officer Jim
Fouts, Jack Wells and others helped
to direct operations, while all fire-
men and policemen were called on
duty, along with Sheriff Tiny Royse
and his officers.
Red Cross Helps
Rescue operations were coordinat
ed through the Red Cross office,
and evacuees were lodged in the
Red Cross office, private homes and
In the Veterans of Foreign Wars
hut on South Rock Island, where
hot coffee and food was furnished.
Individuals throughout the 150-
block area affected by the flood
had their own stories to tell of the
wild night.
Mrs. Wesley Garrett, 6521 East
Rogers, said she was asleep during
the storm, and that "the first thing
we knew the water was up on our
beds."
Gene Dozier, 100 West Watts, re-
ported a station wagon in his yard
was washed onto the street in the
400 block on South Keith.
Lightning Hits Home
Jim Knox, 535 South Ellison, said
his house was struck by lightning
sometime before midnight. The
lightning apparently hit the flue,
damaging the roof and tearing loose
a pipe on top of the hot water tank
Knox said that he had gone to
the bathroom to shut a window
(PLEASE TORN TO PAGE 6)
Black Defense
Cites Blackouts
Family Background
Brought Into Case _
PURCELL, Nov. IB —WP)— Testi-
mony that Darliene Black had sev-
eral "blackouts" while in two mental
hospitals and that two relatives had
been in Central State hospital was
given today in defense testimony
at Mrs. Black's murder trial.
Mrs. Black is charged with having
shot her husband, Robert H. Black,
to death Jan. 24, 1952.
Mrs. Black's grandmother is now
in Central State at Norman, and an
uncle of her grandfather died there
it was testified. Dr. Harold Witten’
superintendent, qualified his state-
ments by referring to hospital rec-
ords.
Believed Mentally III
Dr. Coyne Campbell. Oklahoma
City psychiatrist, and Witten testi-
fied to her epileptic attacks while
in the hospitals. Both doctors said
they believed if she killed her hus-
band she did not know it. They
both said they believe she was
mentally ill on the date of her hus-
band’s death.
Defense attorneys traced the in-
sanity history of Mrs. Black’s family
through four generations as they
sought to prove she was mentally
ill when her husband was slain.
Defense Counsel Gomer Smith,
Jr., Oklahoma City, said he also had
affidavits from the dead man's par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Black
Oklahoma City, that she was men-
tally ill for a two-year period pre-
ceding their son's death in early
1952.
Early Sickness Cited
Dewey Norvell, Oklahoma City
builder and father of the 24-year-
old defendant, said she suffered her
first mental blackout at the age
of 14. following the death of her
mother.
Norvell said Mrs. Black's maternal
grandmother and a great-uncle died
of insanity.
Norvell described the marriage of
his daughter and Robert H. Black
as a "very happy" one, although she
had suffered several mental lapses
prior to their September, 1948, wed-
ding.
Norvell said his daughter would
become "moody and silent" then
black out for days.
Recital Planned
By Music Pupils
Music students at Sacred Heart
school will be presented in a recital
at 8 p. m. today in the basement
of Sacred Heart Catholic church.
A mixed chorus, highschool girls
choir, and various instrumental
selections will be presented on the
program.
Students taking part will Include
Roy Ramerls, Barbara Ann Roberts,
Margaret Miller, Kathy Barber.
Melinda Clancey, Sharon MoCabe!
Mary K. O'Neill, Elizabeth Sim-
mons, Kay Cavanaugh, Grace Ef-
fenbeck, Dickie Jones, Marlyn Mon-
troy, Karen Dorman, Mary K.
Walsh, Carolyn Shepherd and
ITances Gaines.
Others will be Karen Stout, Dor-
othy Holing, Louise Kappus. Betty
Piatt, Janie Rose, and Adele Kast-
ner.
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Dyer, Ray J. The El Reno Daily Tribune (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 62, No. 225, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 19, 1953, newspaper, November 19, 1953; El Reno, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc920637/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.