The El Reno Daily Tribune (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 61, No. 133, Ed. 1 Monday, August 4, 1952 Page: 1 of 8
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Oklahoma City, nkt^
The El Reno Daily Tribune
Single Copy Five Cents
(U.R> MEANS UNITED PRESS
El Reno, Oklahoma, Monday, August 4,1952
(0) MEANS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vol. 61, No. 133
LOAD FOR ANNUAL TRIP—Directed by Miss Margaret Edsel, center, county home demonstration
a^ent, members of Canadian County 4-H clubs ars shown as they loaded their camp gear and supplies
this morning for their annual three-day encampment, which opened today in Roman Nose park near
Watonga. Between 200 and 250 county youths were expected to attend the camp this year.
UN Heavy Bombers Wreck
Capital City of Red Korea
SEOUL, Korea, Aug. 4—(AP)—The U. S. fifth airforce
said UN fighter-bombers struck in two massive waves today
at a key North Korean military headquarters near the Red
capital of Pyongyang and left it a flaming wreckage.
Airforce and marine warplanes hit the headquarters
northeast of Pyongyang with more than 275 sorties. The
first wave struck at noon and the second in the afternoon.
The airforce said U. S. Sabrejet pilots intercepted ele-
ments of 63 Russian-made MIG-15-jet fighters and destroyed
one Red fighter and damaged another.
This raised to 1,002 the number of MIGs destroyed,
probably destroyed or damaged since the start of the war,
the airforce reported.
The airforce said the first wave of fighter - bombers
dropped 3,500 gallons of flaming gasoline and 185 tons of
high explosives on the headquarters area. Pilots then
sprayed the area with 15,000 rounds of 50-caliber and 20-
millimeter ammunition.
This first strike of 190 sorties reported destruction of 39
buildings, one anti-aircraft gun and four machine guns. The
airforce said 12 buildings
were damaged and many fires
started.
There was no report on the re-
sults of the second raid.
Yanks Halt Charge
U. S. second division soldiers to-
day broke up a Chinese charge
against united nations fortress po-
sitions atop embattled Old Qnldy
hill and killed half the attacking
Reds.
A reinforced Chinese platoon of
about 50 men was caught under
murderous allied artillery fire and
a U. S. eighth army spokesman re-
ported 20 lo 25 Reds were killed on
the slopes of the west front hill.
Except for this scrap, the second
division sector around Old Baidy
was reported quiet.
There was only small-scale fight-
ing elsewhere across the front.
Agree On Wording
UN and Communist staff officers
toduy agreed on most of the word-
ing in a proposed Korean armistice
draft. Including a paragraph deal-
ing with exchange of war prisoners.
The number of prisoners to be
exchanged still Is blocking a truce.
The main armistice negotiations,
discussing that, recessed Sunday
until Aug. 11 by mutual consent.
A UN command spokesman said
staff officers still must work out
an acceptable translation of the
words "Korea” and "united nations”
for the armistice draft. Allied staff
officers also have under study pro-
posed Communist changes in a sec-
tion providing for recommendations
to governments involved.
City Councilmen To
Hold Regular Meeting
Regular meeting of the city
council will be held at 7:30 p.m. to-
day in the council chambers at the
city hall.
City Manager C. A. Bentley said
only routine business is expected to
come up at the meeting.
Weather
State Forecast
Partly cloudy through Tuesday
with widely scattered thundershow-
ers this afternoon and In the west
and south portions tonight and
Tuesday. Cooler this afternoon and
In the rust portion tonight. Warm-
er In the west and north portions
Tuesday. Lows tonight from the 60s
In the north to near 70 In the south.
Highs Tuesday in the 90s.
Lincoln Yanks
Meet Elk City
In AAU Finals
The rampaging Lincoln Yankees
of El Reno play tonight for the
state AAU baseball crown In the
11 year-old tournament at Ponca
City.
The Yanks won their way to the
finals Sunday evening' by blasting
out a 12-2 win over Sand Springs,
with young Bruce Cottey starring
In a double-role. He pitched an
air-tight game, in addition to
hammering out one homerun. a
triple and a singleton In four
times at bat. Thomas "Red"
Mowery trailed Cottey in batting
honors by tapping out a three-
bagger and u double In four times
up.
The Yankees scored one in the
first, one in the second, three in
the fifth, then went wild in the
final stanza with a seven-run
rally.
Battery for the El Reno nine
was Cottey and Fisher. Cottey's
hurling performance was aided by
flawless fielding.
They meet the strong Elk City
Elks at 6:30 p.m. today for the
state AAU championship on Con-
oco field in Ponca City.
Woman Is Injured
In City Accident
Mrs. Carl Frlsby. 319 North Rock
Island, was treated at the Laughton
clinic for minor Injuries late Satur-
day after her car was Involved In
an accident at the intersection of
Hayes street and Macomb avenue.
Mrs. Frisby's car received about
$200 damage in the accident, and
the other car, driven by Benny Oene
Hinds, 16, of 900 South Donald, re-
ceived about $100 damage.
Hinds posted $10 bond In police
court on a reckless driving charge.
In another traffic case, William
Eugene Glenn, Haxton. Colo., posted
$5 bond on a charge of speeding.
BOTH IN HOSPITAL
PORT WORTH. Tex.—<U.B—Da-
vid Brown, 2, went to visit his
grandmother In the hospital and
wound up spending the night with
her as a patient. He fell out of his
grandmother's second-story room,
lundlng in a hedge.
Parade Begins
Legion Meeting
Group Addressed By
National Commander
OKLAHOMA CITY. Aug. 4—.UR)
—American Legionnaires, some
5.000 strong, parade through Okla-
homa City today to mark their
annual state convention after hear-
ing an address by Donald Wilson
national legion commander.
Major General James Styron,
Hobart, who commanded Okla-
homa's 45th division in Korea, is
also scheduled to aadress the con-
vention thLs afternoon after the
group passes on resolutions adopted
Sunday by committees.
No End in Sight
Representative Tom Steed (Dem-
ocrat. Oklahoma) told delegates
last night that no end is In sight
for the nation's heavy defense
spending no matter which political
party gains power in the November
election.
Steed said the nation will have
to continue defense spending "by
the billions of dollars” to remain
strong whether Dwight D. Eisen-
hower or Governor Adlai Stevenson
is elected president.
Resolutions to be acted upon by
the convention include ones calling
for the legislature to establish a
.late veterans cemetery and urging
the state election board to speed
mailing of absentee ballots to assure
all state servicemen a chance tc
vote.
To Be Near Sulphur •
R. L. Parker, Tahlequah, chair-
man of the resolutions committee,
■>aid the proposed cemetery would
probably be established near tfc«
state veterans home at Sulphur.
Tlie committee also urged con-
gress to make veterans hospital
treatment available for Ralpston
E. Hurry, 29, of Oklahoma City,
who has been partially paralyzed
since injured in an auto accident
In 1E49. Harry is a veteran of the
Canadian airforce, having enlisted
before the United States entered
World war II.
State Laborers'
Strike is Settled
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Strikes of the AFL Laborers
union at six state cities were set-
tled yesterday by new wage con-
tracts and work was being resumed
today.
The Association of Oeneral Con-
tractors granted Increases ranging
from 144 cents to 25 cents per
hour, Earl Tankersley, Oklahoma
City, president of the Oklahoma
AOC chapter, announced.
New contracts provide for In-
creases of 16 cents hourly In the
Vlnlta and Ponca City areas, 144
cents in the Stillwater area and 25
cents In Washington county. Pro-
jects at Newkirk and Blackwell
were covered by the Ponca City
project. Workers at Miami. Clare-
more and Nowata are in the Vlnlta
area.
The strike was called two weeks
ago and affected approximately
1,000 workers who were members
of the union and other unions
which which refused to cross the
laborers’ picket lines, Tankersley
said.
Projects were shut down at Mi-
ami, Bartlesville, Ponca City. Still-
water, Cushing and Newkirk.
28 Passengers Killed, Many
More Critically Hurt When
Two puses Crash Head-On
Anxious Calls
End as Body
Is Identified
A STEADY flow of letters and
-cV telephone calls to the county
sheriff’s office ceased today as
anxious parents and friends of
missing girls all over the nation
learned that the dismembered
body found last week was that of
a Dallas, Tex., woman.
Authorities here believe that no
less than 1,000 inquiries were
made during the four-day inter-
val between discovery and posi-
tive identity of the corpse.
The majority who telephoned
descriptions received immediate
assurances that their descriptions
did not lit that of the tall bru-
nette's body, identified Sunday as
Betty Stevens of Dallas.
Others who mailed pictures and
written descriptions of their miss-
ing loved ones were reassured
Sunday when news of the Identi-
fication spread across the nation.
Telephone calls started pouring
into police and sheriff offices
within a few hours following dis-
covery of the grisly remains last
Wednesday afternoon. Some de-
scriptions were near-identical, but
the majority were immediately
ruled out.
EARLY as many reports have
^ ’ been received on "positive”
information concerning the per-
son or persons sought for the
murder.
Of these reports, none bad
borne fruit today. The majority
of the tips were judged to be
from well-meaning citizens who
were anxious to see the guilty
party pay for his crime. Still
others were thinly veiled “crank"
reports from characters seeking
a ray of the spotlight, however
brief.
Law enforcement officers here
were not discouraged today by the
dead-end leads and galling rever-
sals met in most cases. They
know that no matter how insig-
nificant it may seem at the time,
the smallest clue may lead to the
answer of the mystery, and they
welcome any information on sus-
picious actions, blood-spattered
automobiles, or any happening
out of the ordinary which may
assist them in apprehending the
maniac who committed what may
prove to be the most hideous
crime in the history of Canadian
county.
BETTY JACK STEVENS, 21
Identified by Relatives Today
Bloody Coat
Only Clue In
Burglary Try
City police are holding a blood-
spattered raincoat today as the only
clue in an attempted break-ln at
the Heuser grocery and market, 901
North Choctaw, sometime Sunday
night.
Police Chief Lee Harvey said the
woman's green plastic raincoat was
found back of the store about 8 a.m.
today, while police were Investigat-
ing a determined attempt to enter
the building.
The man or woman attempting to
break Into the store apparently first
smashed glass in the front door,
only to find the way blocked by
Iron bars. Chief Harvey said the
person is believed to have suffered
cuts while smashing the door.
Undaunted by this experience,
however, the person went on to tear
off two screens In the back, and to
try prying open a window on the
north side of the store.
A routine check by police at city
hospitals failed to disclose any per-
son reporting for treatment of cuts,
Harvey said.
Rangers Seek
Fish Poisoner
Thousands of Big Fish
Found Dead in River
CLAREMORE, Aug. 4— (U.P.)—
Game and fish department rangers
today were seeking clues to the
Identity of the person who dumped
poison in the Verdigris river about
10 miles north of here and killed
"literally thousands of fish."
Game Ranger A. D. Aldrich said
the poisoner used from 10 lo 50
pounds of rotenone in a large pool
*nd that the chemical "killed every
fish at least a mile down the river.”
Kept Game Fish
He said the culprit had apparent-
ly taken the bass and other game
fish killed but that the banks were
lined with catfish weighing up to
50 pounds and by thousands of
smaller fish of various species.
"There were places along the
bank where large numbers of spoon-
bill catfish weighing 12 to 18 pounds
were piled up. There were catfish
weighing up to 50 pounds and all
kinds of smaller fish floating In the
water.”
“There were catfish, drum, carp,
buffalo, gar, perch and other species
but few game fish. We assumed that
whoever poisoned the fish had tak-
en the more desirable game fish,”
Aldrich said.
$500 Fine Possible
Aldrich said it “would be very
difficult" to obtain the large amount
of rotenone used by the poisoner
“without leaving some trace.” He
said some clues have been uncovered
In the case.
Rotenone is used for controlling
ticks on cuttle as well as for clear-
ing ponds and lakes of undesirable
fish. It is illegal to poison fish with
the substance without permission
and supervision of the game and
fish department.
Under state law, the fish poisoner
could be fined up to $500 for the
crime.
Stolen Car Batteries
Found; Youths Held
Five automobile batteries were re-
ported stolen Sunday night, but all
were recovered today and two youths
were being held at Watonga for
county authorities.
The thefts reported to the office
of Sheriff Tiny Royse Included
three batteries from the county mo-
tor patrol in commissioner district
No. 1, and two from n Calumet mo-
tor company.
MIGs Damage
Navy Plane
WASHINGTON. Aug. 4 —</P)—
The navy reported today that one
of Its patrol planes fought off two
Russian-built MIG Jet fighters over
the Yellow sea Sunday, and re-
turned to its base in Korea. Two
of its crew were killed and two
were wounded in the fight.
A spokesman for the navy said
the plane, a Martin Mariner, was
on routine patrol over the sea area
west of Korea when it was attacked
by two "Chinese Communist MIG-
16” fighters.
In a running fight, the Ameri-
can plane, a 200-ir.ile-an-hour fly-
ing boat, was damaged bift was able
to limp to the west coast of Korea
where It received spot repairs
before proceeding to Iwakunl, in
Japan.
Earlier, united nations sources in
Tokyo said a U.& navy observation
plane with five crewmen aboard
was shot down off the Siberian
coast Saturday by a Soviet fighter
plane.
BICYCLE IS FOUND
A bicycle, found late Saturday.
Is being held at the county Jail
awaiting Its owner, and Sheriff
Tiny Royse said that the machine
will be turned over to the claimant
who Is able to describe It and offer
satisfactory proof of ownership.
Girl's Identity
Speeds Manhunt
For Knife Killer
Brother, Sister View
Body Today, Agree
It Is Betty Stevens
Bulletin
DALLAS, Tex. — (Spe-
cial)—Dallas police learned
today that Miss Stevens
told three friends in Fort
Worth Tuesday night that
she was going to Oklahoma
City, and attempted to per-
suade another woman to go
with her. The trio was be-
ing held in Dallas for fur-
ther questioning.
Following positive identification
early today of the mutiliated body
found in southeast Canadian coun-
ty last week, a manhunt for the
torso butcherer gained momen-
tum here today with the assistance
of Dallas. Tex., police, home of the
slain woman.
A brother and sister of the young
brunette arrived at an Oklahoma
City hospital at about 2 a.m. today
and Identified the body as Betty
Stevens, 21, of Dallas.
First official identification was
made Sunday by a fingerprint code
sent to Dallas, whiph were cross-
checked With files of the Dallas po-
lice department where the murder
victim had been booked on minor
charges.
The sister. Miss Helen Stevens. 26,
of Texarkana, Tex., was the first
relative to view the remains today.
She collapsed upon viewing the scar-
red leg of the body, but not before
she sobbed “Yes, that Is my sister.”
Her brother, Eddie. 24. completed
the grim examination and confirmed
his sister’s brief statement. He was
doubtful of identifying facial fea-
tures, but Oklahoma City patholo-
gists had already ascertained that
the severed head and hands had
been attached to the body.
Eddie, whose wife and small son
were waiting for him at his Dallas
home, went so far with his identifi-
cation as to point out a small scar
on the dead woman’s thumb and
comparing it with a similar scar on
his hand.
Eddie told Canadian County Sher-
iff Tiny Royse he and his younger
sister, Betty, had suffered similar
minor wounds os children when they
were fondling a pet rabbit which bit
them.
Quit Family Ties
He told Canadian county and
Oklahoma City officers Betty had
withdrawn from the family several
years ago, more so after the death
of her mother three years ago. She
had attended elementary school in
Dallas, then married when she was
16. The marriage, however, was an-
nulled within a few weeks.
Following that time, the murdered
woman's history revealed she had
lived part-time with relatives In
Dallas, working as a waitress in
cafes and taverns. Dallas police said
she had been associated with a
“rough” crowd, although she had
never been arrested for other than
minor vagrancy charges.
Meanwhile, theories on the slayer
and his motives were plentful to-
day. The word "RAT” cut in deep
lines across the murdered woman’s
abdomen added fuel to the popular
belief that she was victim of a gang
slaying.
Compare Two Slayings
Officers were also attempting to
make some connection between the
butcher death and that of an Okla-
homa City woman which was dis-
covered last March, and which was
parallel to the recent murder in
some facts.
First arrest in the Stevens case
was made today by Oklahoma City
police, who took a Gibson, Neb., man
Into custody following reports that
he was carrying newspaper clippings
of the griHly slaying and a map
showing where parts of the body
were found.
Police said he would be question-
ed, but expressed doubt he knew
anything about the slaying, other
than what appeared In the press.
Dallas police have promised all
cooperation and have furnished lo-
cal officers Invaluable information
on the woman's background
Big Transports Meet on Crest
Of Hill; Many Bodies Charred
Beyond Recognition by Flames
WACO, Tex., Auk. 4—(UP)—Two Greyhound buses, one
loaded to capacity, collided headon at the crest of a hill near
here early today and hurst into flames, killing at least 28
persons.
There were 23 survivors, all of whom received some type
of emergency treatment. Seventeen remained hospitalized.
James LeBlond, civil defense director for McLennan
county and also an employe of Compton funeral Kome where
an emergency morgue was set up, said there were 28 bodies
in the morgue.
The dead count had varied from early estimates of 34
by Police Dispatcher Sam Johnson to possibly as high as
50 by a highway patrolman.
But LeBlond said he didn’t
think any additional bodies
would be found, though some
pieces may still be in the
wreckage.
Both drivers were killed.
They were identified by Grey-
hound Vice President O. Mas-
sey as M. B. Herring, Dallas,
and Billy Earl Malone, Waco.
Herring was driving the south
bound bus headed for San Antonio
and Malone the northbound bus
with a destination of Dallas. Both
drivers had been with the company
about a year. It was the first ac-
cident for either driver, Massey
said.
Troopers Near Crash
The southbound bus was filled lo
capacity—37 persons—when it left
Waco, but Massey said the north-
bound bus was not tilled.
Some were standing in the aisle.
Sheriff’s deputies said about 25
were aboard the northbound bus.
Two Waco policemen, H. C. Gar-
land and J. K. Smith, saw the
southbound bus pull out and had
gone to the edge of Waco to check
the bus again regarding two sus-
pects they sought to arrest.
They were about five miles away
when the buses collided and burst
into flames.
Garland said “It was a picture
out of hades. When we got there
it looked as If only one bus was
Involved, they were so jammed to-
gether.”
Many Bodies Charred
Police Dispatcher Johnson said
28 bodies, many of them burned
beyond recognition, had been re-
moved from the flaming wreckage.
Every ambulance In town was
summoned to the accident scene,
seven miles south of Waco on U.S.
highway 81. and all available fire
fighting equipment. Pumpers were
used because the accident was out-
side the city limits.
Connally airforce base also sent
ambulances and fire fighting equip-
ment.
"It was a horrible accident," said
Johnson. “We have not determined
yet whether a third car was in-
volved."
One of the buses was headed
north and the second was going
south. As they smashed headon,
passengers were trap|)ed inside by
jammed doors and those who es-
caped got through emergency exits.
Only the steel frames of' the buses
were left standing after the gasoline
tanks enflamed both of them.
Phil Ferguson
Supports GOP
OKLAHOMA CITY, Aug. 4—(0)—
Phil Ferguson, former Democratic
congressman, and candidate for
governor two years ago, announced
today he has re-registered as a
Republican and will stump the state
for General Dwight D. Elsenhower,
GOP presidential nominee.
Ferguson, Woodward county
farmer, confirmed his re-registra-
tion from Raton, N. M„ where he
is vacationing. He also issued a
critical statement concerning Sen-
ator Robert S. Kerr (Democrat,
Oklahoma), an unsuccessful candi-
date for the Democratic presiden-
tial nomination.
"I'm ready and anxious to do any-
thing the Republican national com-
mittee asks me to do to elect
Dwight Eisenhower and Richard
Nixon,” he said.
Of Kerr, he commented: "As long
as the Oklahoma Democrats follow
Bob Kerr, and turn the party over
to him as they did the delegation
to the national convention, the
Democratic party cannot be sound
In Oklahoma.”
Increased Food
Costs Foreseen
Drouth, Livestock
Disease Cause Hike
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4—(U.R)—
Food prices, ulready at an all-time
high, may soon be driven to even
dizzier peaks by the drouth and
livestock disease epidemics now
stalking the nation's farms, officials
said today.
A worried sjiokesman for the of-
fice of price stabilization summed
up the outlook in one sentence:
"The rood price situation certainly
looks bad ror housewives."
He pointed out that under the
new controls law, all fruit and
vegetable prices are entirely exempt
from price ceilings, and the OPS
has only limited power to check
Increases on other food items.
Supply In Jeopardy
Agriculture department officials
said the future supply of beef, milk,
corn, potatoes, peanuts, peaches,
vegetables, cucumbers, berry crops
and many other foods is Jeopardized
by the drouth which has scorched
crops from Maine to Mississippi.
They said it is still too early
for an accurate estimate of how
much food will be last because of
the prolonged dry spell. But it
doesn't take an expert to see that
the situation adds up to shorter
supplies and higher prices in gen-
eral.
Equally alarming to official
Washington Is the epidemic of
vesicular exanthema which has
broken out In hog farms of 16
states. Chairman Harold D. Cooley
(Democrat, North Carolina) of the
house agriculture committee said
that "millions of consumers” will
suffer unless the disease is stamped
out quickly.
Price Hike Seen
“The epidemic now endangers the
nation's supply of pork and could
very easily result In substantial
Increases in the price of pork and
pork products to consumers." he
said.
An OPS official said fruit and
vegetable prices would normally be
dropping fast at this time of the
year, as the bountiful summer har-
vest poured Into the grocery stores.
Instead, prices are going up, mainly
as a result of short crops.
He said the drouth may have
the reverse-Engllsh effect of caus-
ing a temporary drop in beef prices,
if farmers are compelled to send
their cattle to market prematurely
for lack of feed.
Polio Takes Three
Lives in Oklahoma
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Three deaths from polio and fli
new cases In Oklahoma were ri
ported today by the Nation
Foundation for Infantile Paralysl
Charles Rex Rice. 4, of Enid, sc
of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rex Ric
became 111 Friday and died todi
In an Enid hospital.
The other deaths were Dona
Achemlre, 29, of Avard In Wooi
county, and Jerry Matthews, 1
son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Ma
thews of Enid.
Today’s new cases brought tl
year's total to 339 compared wl
192 at the same time last yei
There have been 14 deaths, ft
more than at the same time hi
summer. There are 186 patler
hospitalized, 80 In the acute sta|
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Dyer, Ray J. The El Reno Daily Tribune (El Reno, Okla.), Vol. 61, No. 133, Ed. 1 Monday, August 4, 1952, newspaper, August 4, 1952; El Reno, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc923555/m1/1/: accessed June 4, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.