Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE NEWBERRY SUN. NEWBERRY. S. C. BANNING THE WEEK'S NEWS of Main Street and the World Japanese Peace Treaty Is Signed; Farm Exports Totaled $3.4 Billion AND NOW PEACE —Guided by the United States, 48 nations last week signed the Japanese peace treaty in San Francisco, possibly the most lenient pact after a bloody and bitter war in the history of the world. And one of the most remarkable aspects of the long negotiations *nd the signing was the attitude of the American people who suffered much at the hands of the Japanese. As the representatives of the 48 nations marched to the platform to sign the treaty, the people in the home towns of th^ nation were conscious of those who were not present— those who had given their lives in the greatest war of all time. But they wanted the treaty because by it they were again offering a hand in friendship to those who desired to aid in the battle against aggression and communism. The American people re alized also that by comple tion of this treaty the United States had won its greatest diplomatic victory since World War II. Soviet Russia and its allies by refusing to '/s/M-'. /.■/■ .y-; Guiding Hand sign, by its attempts to block the conference and John Foster Dulles, head of the American write in amendments which delegation to the peace treaty conference, was th ey would not even discuss the guiding hand behind the treaty. He during the 11 months the labored 11 months to bring it about. treaty was in negotiation, made known to the world they did not want peace. Among others, there were five broad terms to the treaty: (I) It takes away Japan’s overseas empire, amounting to 45 per cent of all the territory she owned on Pearl Harbor day, and reduces her to the four main islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoko. This w r ould return her to the territorial status she held in 1854, when Commodore Perry introduced Japan to the modern world; (2) it forces Japan to pay limited reparations claims to the nations she damaged so badly in the war of 1941-45, particularly in south-east Asia, and thus gain the oppor tunity to re-establish commercial relations in her former “coprosperity ephere”; (3) it obligates Japan to abide by the purposes and principals of the United Nations charter in her intercourse with other nations; (4) it authorizes Japan to sign separate treaties with those countries that did not attend the conference, and gives her a choice of which China she wishes to recognize—Nationalist China or Communist China; (5) it gives her an opportunity to regain the Ryukyu and Bonin islands, which include the major U. S. military base at Okinawa, if she lives up to the terms of the treaty and proves to be a reliable partner in the defense of the Pacific. GERMAN TREATY— Within the next few weeks, possibly days, people in the home towns can expect the announcement of a new treaty with West Germany much along the lines of the treaty given Japan. The treaty, taking the place of the present occupation statute imposed by the Allies, may offer: (1) Full sovereignty, with some security safe guard for the three powers—the United States, Britain and France; (2) abolition of the three-power Allied high commission. It would be succeed- *d probably by a council of ambassadors; (3) a change in the status of the occupation troops to defense forces, responsible for helping safeguard Germany as well as Western Europe generally from Soviet aggression. Many observers believe West Germany is now ready to enter the Western defense line-up against communism. The treaty will clear the way for West Germany’s contribution to an European army. FARM EXPORTS-The department of agriculture reported last week that farm exports in the fiscal year ended June 30 were valued at $3,409,245,000, up 14 per cent over the $2,987,257,000 for the preceding year. These exports from the home towns of the nation made up 27 per cent of the total 1950-51 exports which were valued at $12,579,172,000. The 1950-51 total was up 25 per cent over the 1949-50 total. Cotton topped the export list with a total of $935,332,000. It was the second highest in 26 years. Wheat and flour ranked second, up 9 per cent over the year before, having a total value of $747,570,000. Leaf tobacco was in third place, the export value at $273,262,000, up 12 per cent from the 1949-50 total. STEEL SHORTAGE —The home towns of the nation will feel the steel •hortage in the next few weeks and months. Defense production officials predicted a “pinch” some six months ago and last week the government cut back allocations of steel, copper and aluminum for civilian use. As a result there will be fewer automobiles, radios, refrigerators and other consumer products in the next few months. But the shortage will hit harder at the home towns that had planned new school build ings or had them under construction. The federal office of education reports the shortage means about 1,600 new schools planned for the booming school-age population across the country can not be built until next year—maybe not even in time for the fall of 1952. The nation’s school enrollment is expected to continue on an upward swing until 1964. Another crop of “war babies” will start to school in the next few years. For this reascn many communities are in desperate need of new facilities. The federal office of education has on hand applications for metal for 1,000 new buildings and for another 1,259 projects already under construction. The office has enough steel tonnage to allow construction to go ahead on 1,538, but that will leave 721—for which money has been put up and work started—stranded for perhaps six to nine months. SIGNS OF WAR—There are increasing signs in Korea that all-out War may start at any moment. The Reds continue with probing attacks against Allied troops and there are reports of considerable movement immediately behind Red lines. In turn, the Allies continued their limited attacks to improve their defense positions. In one assault the Reds lost 2,000 men and Allied air power continues to take a heavy toll of Red vehicles moving toward the front. The Reds launched their last attack in May but were beaten back with terrific losses. Observers who have seen previous Red preparations believe a new attack may be launched at any moment. General Ridgway reports he is ready for it. CAR PRICES—The office of price stabilization has allowed auto mobile manufacturers an average of 5 to 6 per cent increase in new model passenger cars. Tha increase will be passed on by the dealer to the purchaser. A 5 per cent increase in the price of Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth ears means the home towner will have to pay as much as $70 additional for any of these models. Similar advances on Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Pontiacs and Chryslers could add from $100 to $150. HOME CONSTRUCTION Told You So Charles Wilson, defense mobilizer, announced cutback in civilian steel, copper and aluminum aVr cations. He predicted the "pinch" six months ego. Private Home Building Drops in August The commerce and labor depart ments reported last week that pri vate home building in August drop- ped one-third below August of last year and commercial building fell JB per cent under its 1950 pace. The August private home construction also fell 2 per cent below July. The reduction in building activi ties was believed directly due to restrictions on mortgage lending and on use of essential materials in construction work. While home building fell, con struction of military facilities, in dustrial plants, electric power pro- • jects and other defense supporting lacilities continued at an increas ing pace. This type of construction continued as rapidly as structural steel, copper and other materials were made available. ARMY STAR NOW PRO . . . Full back A1 Pollard, the first ousted athlete in the West Point cribbing scandal to sign up for pro foot ball, has joined the New York Yankees in Chicago. He was in time to play in exhibition match against Cards. KING AND QUEEN . . . John Clunies Ross, “king” of the Co cos islands, tropical paradise in Indian ocean, leaves London church with his bride, former Miss Daphne Parkinson, after their wedding. His family has ruled Cocos since 1827. AILING PREMIER ... Dr. Mo hammed Mossadegh, . premier of Iran, ill in bed, tells Iran’s senate that his government will cancel the residence permits of the British oil technicians if the British do not agree to reopen negotiations within two weeks. FASHION FLASH . . . “Wake up and dream” is what this sky-top calot in the newest fall shade, fluorescent white, is called. It’s just the thing to add a lilting note to milady’s town coats and furs. Star-line veil adds to i<$ mood of flirtation. NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS . . . No, this frightening spectacle Is not a creature from Mars. And it is not a monstrous beetle having its teeth massaged. Nor is it one of those strange creations met by Alice in Wonderland. It happens to be, in fact, the rear end of a convair engine. The engine is undergoing its periodic cleanup by an airline mechanic, A1 Stern, to whom the only thing grisly about the whole deal is the oil and grime that must be removed. Scene is a Chicago airport. OBJECTION OVERRULED . . . Andy Seminick, Philadelphia Phils’ catcher, goes into a huddle with Umpire Pinelli over Seminick’s catch of a pop ball in a recent Giants-Phils match in New York. Pinelli ruled that the ball hit the foul sogeen and was not an “out” although it was caught. Seminick disagreed, causing this minor rhubarb, which looks like a slice of a peace conference or an armistice talk. FAMOUS DAUGHTERS AT FILM PREMIERE . . . Miss Sarah Churchill (left), daughter of the former British prime minister, Win ston Churchill, and Miss Margaret Truman, daughter of the President of the United States, pose for the camera bi the lobby of a New York theater where they went to see the first showing of the moving picture, “The Medium.” HONORED BY ELGIN ... In augurating one of the first Red Feather drives of 1951, Stanley Al- lyh, Dayton, Ohio, national presi dent Community Chests, receives 50 millionth watch manufactured at Elgin, 111., from Joyce Brockner. THREE ALARM FIRE SW2EPS PIER . . . This Ss the general scene of confusion and din as fire fighters from Edgewater, N.J., go about trying to extinguish a three-alarm blaze on a pier extending into the Hudson river. The pier Is next to the giant Ford Motor Company’s as sembly plant in Edgewater. Scene of the fire is pier A. The pier is owned by the Susquehanna railroad. At the time this picture was made, officials had reported no casualties from the conflagration. (Ed. Note—WTxile Drew Pearson is on a brief vacation, the Wash ington Merry-Go-Round is being written by several distinguished guest columnists; today’s being by Corporal Charles Francisco, with the U.S. Army’s Seventh Division in Korea. Corporal Francisco, a native of Urbana, Illinois, was in ducted in September 1950, and sent to Korea as a machine gunner shortly thereafter.) Loneliness and Death TIT HAT is it like in Korea? What ” is it like to the men who are here? I think of three things around me—mountains, loneliness and death. I think of rotation and home and the future. And I know that those things are in the minds and bones of most infantrymen in Korea. As a soldier lies in his foxhole and tries to peer through the mist that covers the top of a mountain he thinks of many things. This is the war in Korea as I see it. It seems to me that civilian writ ers covering the war have not made enough mention of the hills. At any rate, the hills have a major bear ing on the job of the individual soldier and the entire tactical sit* uation. A Strange Enemy Mountains and weather . . . ene mies which have proved as effec tive against the U.N. forces as the Reds themselves. Last winter it was cold and snow. You’ve heard about that.' So far this^summer the temperature has averaged in the humid eighties. When it isn’t hot, it’s raining . . . steady downpours for two and three days straight. It’s a strange war here In Korea. It’s a strange soldier we fight. Reports from intelli gence speak of such things as “the Chinese may be waiting for a full moon” or “expect an attack if we get three straight days of rain.” The Chinese are superstitious. They frighten easily and they fight fanatical ly- Every soldier dreads nightfall. The Reds love to infiltrate at night and launch wild whistle-blowing banzai attacks. The enemy uses his artillery most at night. Unlike most wars there are no clear cut front lines in Korea. The enemy can be any place at any time. Casualties Are Friends I remember the first man I saw killed. We had been joking about how easy we had it. Then the artil lery came in. He was dead. The same shell was close enough to have gotten me but it didn’t. Inci dents like these encourage the fox hole faith you read about in civil ian life. When you’re a part of a war the casualty list isn’t just a row of numbers. Every figure is a man who wanted to live and do some thing with his life just as you do. The next digit could be you. Then there’s the matter of heroes. Before I entered com bat 1 thought heroism was a rare and individual thing. Long ago that was true. But today any man who performs his du ties well under fire Is a hero for my money. A knight of old may have singlehandedly slain drag ons but a modern soldier can not do hand-to-hand battle with shrapnel. At least one good thing comes of War . . . teamwork. I don’t mean the military teamwork of infantry, artillery, air, etc. Even more sig nificant is the comradeship of men in battle. In my own regiment (17th Infantry) racial or religious prejudice is unheard of. A man soon learns to appraise the guy beside him by his courage under fire. That’s where men are made. A Personal Fight I sometimes wonder if war isn’t more of a personal fight than it seems. A man seldom has time to consider world ideals. It usually narrows down to kill or be killed. Korea today is not only a deadly place but also a lonely one. There are no cities, as we know them, In the battle zone. Only hills and wilderness. The Infantry would thrill to see such simple things as telephone poles, paved streets, brick buildings and stores. Many men now in the front lines were only recently removed from civilian life by the draft. They dream about getting back to the work they love. The Men Wonder Soldiers, as always, have their gripes. Rotation is wonderful, but sometimes it seems awfully slow in coming around. When they see stateside papers with Korean news mentioned briefly they wonder ii the people back home care. The men here know why they’re fighting. You hear “Why not give them the place.” But when you talk seriously with these same men, inost of them will admit they were only letting off steam. Crime in America By ESTES KEFAUVER United States Senator Three of a Series Chicago: The Heritage of Al Capone If the Senate Crime Committee had gone no further than Chi cago in its quest, it could have written a complete report-in-minia- ture on the picture of nationwide criminal and political corruption. For practically every example of rottenness found anywhere in the United States was duplicated in the capital of the Capone mob. Chicago remains the jungle of criminals who walk in the foot steps of Al Capone. Virgil Peterson, operating director of the Chi cago crime commission and former FBI agent, traced the history of the Chicago mob from the days of Big Jim Colosimo, who “had risen to power and influence through the operation of a string of broth els.” On May 11, 1920, Big Jim was bumped off. Peterson noted that there always had been sus picion that the bodyguard imported by Colosimo from New York, John ny Torrio, had engineered the kill ing. Torrio succeeded Colosimo as Chicago’s underworld lord. He, in turn, imported as his body guard a cold-blooded little killer from New York’s Five Point Gang, a then obscure, scarfaced hood lum of 23 named Al Capone. For four years, Torrio enjoyed a bloody reign in Chicago, waxing high on the profits of prostitution, gambling, beer and booze. But after Torrio was the victim of an ambush which almost cost his life, he lost his nerve and abdicated in favor of Ca pone. With Greasy Thumb Guzik as his paymaster and business adviser, and such stalwarts as Frank Nitti, Paul (The Waiter) Ricca, Louis (Little New York) Campagna and the Fischetti brothers as his lieu tenants, Capone was able to rule ef fectively. The Infamous St. Valen tine’s day massacre of Feb. 14, 1929, was an example of how Capone dealt with opposition. In 1931, how ever, Capone was cut down by Uncle Sam on an income-tax eva sion charge and was sent to prison. Frank Nitti succeeded him, but in 1943, facing prosecution on an extor tion charge, Nitti w^t found dead under circumstances that; indicated he had committed suicide. Since then, the mob—known to this day as the Capone syndicate—has been run pretty much by a 1 “corpora tion,” in which Guzik, Ricca and Ac- cardo wield great influence. A wave ot suspensions and res ignations by higher-ups in the po lice department followed our in vestigation of great wealth accu mulated by a number of Chicago police captains. The most highly publicized case was that *of Capt. Daniel A. Gilbert, referred to by Chicago newspapers as “the richest cop in the world.” Gilbert was serving as chief investi gator for the state attorney’s office of Cook county, and also was the Democratic candidate for sheriff. ' • • • 1 remarked to him, “People don’t understand how you get hold of all that money.” Whereupon, the cap tain began explaining to us all the details of his badge-to-riches story. There was a little “honest gam bling” on the side, but mostly it was done through investments in stocks and bonds. “I bet on the football games and I bet on prize fights,” Captain Gilbert said, “but mostly it would all be elections.” I asked him: Q. “You just like to bet?” A. “I have been a gambler at heart.” t It was about two weeks after this that the voters of Cook county reg istered their disapproval of Captain Gilbert by defeating him at the polls. In Chicago, too, we gathered evi dence of a disturbing phenomenon that we found repeated in other large cities: the active participation in gang affairs by a. certain ele ment of lawyers, accountants and tax consultants. One fascinating story Into which the committee delved was the net of strange circumstances surround ing the parole from the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth of three Capone syndicate gangsters, Paul Ricca, Louis Campagna, and Charles (Cherry Nose) Gioe, alias Joye. The three, along with a pack of other Chicago, New York and West coast mobsters, were sent to the penitentiary in 1943 to serve 10-year sentence on conviction of conspiracy to extort huge sums from the movie industry by threatening to call a strike of a gangster-controlled un ion. After Ricca, Campagna and Gioe had served only about one- third of their sentences, efforts to secure their paroles were success- fuL However, Ricca and Campagna also were in trouble with the fed eral government on charges of in come tax evasion. The claims had to be settled before the gangsters could be paroled. At this point, the mob stepped in, and there ensued events as strange as a dime novel. • • • The attorney called in to sattle JUST ONE BIG CHANCE the tax case was Eugene Bernstein. Many years ago, Bernstein had been with the Internal Revenue Bureau. When he obtained his law license and left the bureau, he specialized in tax cases. He accumulated a list of clients that read like the blue book of the Capone syndicate. With information obtained with Tony Accardo’s help, he was able to effect a settlement with the gov ernment. Campagna’s case • was settled for $90,371.49; RiCca’s, for $36,146.50, and accumulated interest brought the total settlement for the two cases to approximately $190,000. This was approximately $322,000 less than the original deficiency claims. Anyway, the next question was how to raise the money. Bern stein went back to the penitentiary to talk with his clients about it. “They both took the position they didn’t owe the money and wouldn't pay It.” Bernstein returned to Chicago. Ale most immediately, he said, strangers started walking into hit office and leaving packages of bills, usually wrapped in paper, in amounts varying between $10,000 and $20,000. When the first batch of bills came in, Bernstein told us (in v;hat seemed to be a master piece of understatement) he was “taken aback.” The procession of strange men bearing currency con tinued until the needed total of $190,000 had been brought in. Q. “Did you ask their names?” A. “I wouldn’t think of asking their names, because it made no dif ference to me . . .” When all was settled, Bernstein went to Leavenworth again to see the boys out of the penitentiary. At the Kansas City airport, Tony Gizzo, the mobster and alleged Mafia chieftain, met them and drove them to the penitentiary. Gizzo also ar ranged for airplane tickets and hotel suites, as needed, for the Chicago contingent. • • • We ran up against a stone wall when we sought to learn from Ricca and Campagna—and later from Tony Accardo—who might have put up the $190,000. “Why I would be glad to find out who did that for me,” the white-haired, 52-year-old Ricca innocently told us. Today Ricca is a man of consider able substance. He told us he owns a home at River Forest, 111,, an elaborate summer house at Long Beach, Ind., and an 1100 acre farm in Kendall County, m. which he said cost him approximately $230,- 000. These assets—plus certain stock holdings and A he $300,000 cash Ricca said he had on hand when he went to the penitentiary—made the committee look with askance on the story wt dug up about how Ricca, after his parole, borrowed $80,000 from one Hugo Bennett, formerly Benvenuti, a $22,500-a-year auditor for the Miami Beach Kennel club and the National Jockey club at Sportsman’s park at Cicero, a Chi cago suburb. • • • The situation regarding the Chi cago and Miami horse and dog tracks is involved. The president of both the National Jockey club and the Miami Beach Kennel club is William H. Johnston who, in 1948, arranged for a $100,(M) contribution to Fuller Warren’s Florida guber natorial campaign. Johnston sparred at great length with Counsel Rudolph Halley as to whether any of his tracks had links with the Capone gang, but Peterson stated in his testimony: “During the heyday of Al Capone, the Ca pone syndicate was in control of dog tracks in virtually every part of the country including Florida.” Anyway, when Ricca, the Capone syndicate gangster, came out of the penitentiary and wanted $80,000 for the purpose, he said, of making im provements on his farm, he turned to his old friend Bennett, the auditor at the track where Ricca, with other Caponeites, had gambled. Bennett obligingly let him have the $80,000 in two installments of $40,000 each. Next, week: Greasy Thumb and some Chicago politicians. Condensed from the book, “Crime In America,” by Estes Kefauver. Cpr* 1051, Pub. by Doubleday, Inc. Dist. Genera Features Corp.—WNU. 'Gamblers' Friend' Candidate for Mayor COVINGTON, Ky.—One of the latest candidates to announce for Mayor of this Northern Kentucky city is Howard “Honest” Marshall, a painter who is described as the “gambler’s friend” on one of his campaign posters. - On the subject of gambling, Mar shall said in his platform that everything is a gamble, including “picking the right church where you will be forever blessed or eter nally damned.” He added: “There. is a small clique . . . that is trying to use the ironbound fist of legality to force reform and make citizens live their doctrine.” The city of Covington and coun ty of Kenton have figured national ly in investigations of organized gambling.