Scotland Yard Defective Cooks
When Not Investigating Crime
By ROBERT MUSEL
Uniltd Press Correspondent
London U.R Ever since
Sherlock Holmes sa-ed away at
his violin in the meditative
throes of deduction, a good de
tective always seems to have
some sort ol hobby.
So it is fitting that the detec
tive hero of this true-life story
should be found in the kitchen
in a clean white apron, patting
down the last spoonful of icing
on a cake.
Detective Superintendent Her
bert Hannam of Scotland Yard
"The Count" to his colleagues
and " 'Erb the Gent" to the un
derworld bakes pastry for a
hobby. He is no flatfoot at the
stove. He holds a diploma as a
pastry cook, earned 40 years ago
before he decided to make law
enforcement his career.
Hannam stands now at the
crossroads of that career. On
Dec. 19, he arrested Dr. John
Bodkin Adams, a prominent
physician in the seaside resort of
Eastbourne, on a charge of mur
der. He specifically accused the
57-year-old bachelor of killing
Mrs. Edith Alice Morell, a
widow who left $215,000 when
(he died in 1950 at the age of
81. She was cremated and her
ashes scattered.
One such murder would have
been furor enough. But Hannam
has investigated the deaths of
more than 20 other patients of
Tr. Adams, most of them
widows, most of them old and
wealthy.
Full Publicity
Hannam went to Eastbourne
last August to look into the
"case of the wealthy widows."
From the start, he worked in a
blaze of rare publicity. Scotland
Yard prefers to work quietly but
It deferred to Hannam's theory
that publicity would bring in
formation from all sides and
might crack the murderer.
The 59,000 residents in the
richest town in Britain found
they had ringside seats at a
drama that made the cinema
seem pale. For everyone knew
the man Hannam was stalking.
It was a risk, for publicity in
Britain can be a boomerang. Al
ready there is talk that "trial by
newspaper" may figure in the
defense headed by Sir Hartley
Shawcross, former attorney gen
eral and one of the most bril
liant and expensive legal minds
at the British bar.
Adams will have a prelimi
nary hearing Jan. 14. Under
British law, the prosecution
must produce enough evidence
then to satisfy a judge that it
has made out a case for trial on
murder charges. '
Hannam does not appear con
cerned. In this, type of investiga
tion he has few superiors. An in
structor in criminal law at the
training school for detectives, he
has a talent for the most com
plicated kind of research.
In 1947 and -1948. he toured
the Riviera and the United
States to help break up a cur
rency racket involving S280 mil
lion. Later he was assigned to
general security cases for the
government.
Minute Evidence
During the coronation year of
1953, two girls Barbara Song
hust and her friend, Christine
Reed were hacked to death,
raped and their bodies thrown
with their bicycles into the
Thames river. It became known
as the "towpath murders."
Hannam took 1,650 written
statements from everyone he
could find who had been near
that stretch of river on May 31,
1953. One of the last was given
a schoolmaster who recalled see
ing a man practicing throwing
an axe at a tree trunk.
His description led to the ar
rest of Alfred Charles White
way, a 22-year-old laborer. A
three-mile stretch of the Thames
was drained. Whiteway's shoes
were found. One tiny spot was
found to be bloodstained. White
way was hanged.
Two years later Hannam sent
another man to the gallows on
the basis of the tread of his bi
cycle tire.
Hannam has spent four months
completing his dossier on Dr.
Adams. WHen the case is fin
ished, Hannam's associates know
what he will do. He will curl, up
with a good historical novel.
Next to making pastry, it is
his favorite recreation.
Police Check Scores
Of Reports for Mad
Bomber of New York
New York (U.R) Police
checked scores of letters report
ing "suspicious persons" today on
the chance that one might lead
to the "mad bomber" whose
homemade explosives have set
off a barrage of false bomb
alarms across the nation.
While crank calls diminished
here with only 12 Tuesday com
pared with a high point of 40
last Friday, they continued to
spread nationally.
Fake threats Tuesday forced
the evacuation of hundreds of
movie patrons from theaters in
Kansas City and Park Forest,
111., a Chicago suburb. Both
threats proved unfounded.
Philadelphia Bomb
At Philadelphia, a homemade
pipe bomb, containing a mix
ture of dough, calk and baking
soda, was found in a restaurant
in the city's Mayfair section. Em
ployees of the restaurant, who
found the device, placed it in
pail of water until police arrived.
In tracking down Tuesday's
hoaxes here, police found no
bombs, either real or simulated.
However detonation of a "cherry
bomb" firecracker and an Army
practice grenade touched off
more than a score of telephone
calls from persons who feared
the "mad bomber" had struck
again.
In all, more than 150 fake
threats have been made since
Christmas Eve when the mad
bomber left a lethal calling card
at the New York Public Library.
That weapon and a subsequent
one last Thursday were found
before they exploded.
Police have ascribed 32 home
made bombs to the deranged
"bomber" since 1940. All but 10
have exploded, but there have
been no fatalities. Several per
sons have been injured.
NORFIELD'S
WATCH FOR
JANUARY SHOE
CLEARANCE SALE!
BEGINNING FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
10,600 Die in Fires
During Past Year
Boston, Mass. U.R) An esti
mated 10,600 persons were
killed by fire in the United
States during 1956 875 fewer
than in 1955.
The decrease in deaths was
the largest for any year since
World War II, the National Fire
Protection association reported
today. General Manager Percy
Bubgee attributed the reduction
to a "substantial growth in the
general public's awareness and
of adherence to the simple rules
of personal fire safety."
Total dollar value of property
destroyed by fire in 1956 was a
record $1,250,000,000. The 1955
total and previous high was $1,
140,768,000. Of the total loss in 1956, Sl.
505.000,000 represented loss to
building and contents. The other
$200 million was loss in aircraft,
motor vehicles, forest and other
non-building fires.
Biggest fire of the year was
the Malibu, Calif., conflagration.
The NFPA said the Malibu loss
is expected to exceed the S15
million Brooklyn, N.Y., pier fire
and explosion of Dec. 3.
Wednesday, January 2. 19S7
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE THREE
, if 4 -V
CT 4 TIT '
CATHEDRAL DESTROYED Lone fireman directs
stream of water on stained glass windows of St. Joseph's
Cathedral in Hartford, Conn., as flames leap from roof of
the structure. The 58-year-old cathedral was the second
Catholic church destroyed in the city in two days.
Land Management
Bureau Cites Major
Projects During. '56
Baker Baby Turns Out
To Be Two Yesterday
Baker Ill.R) Baker's first
baby of 1957 turned out to be
two.
A 6 pound, 7 ounce boy was
born yesterday to Mr. and Mrs.
Joe DeRoest of Baker at 12:45
a.m. at St. Elizabeth hospital.
Fifteen minutes later a 5 pound,
9 ounce twin girl arrived.
GIVE YOURSELF
The
YOU-DIDNT GET!
(Bift
at ACME'S-,
w j
BUY NOW!
PAY LATER!
Use Our
Convenient
BUDGET PLAN!
WHY BE DISAPPOINTED because you didn't get EVERYTHING YOU WANTED this
Christmas? Just visit ACME-and GIVE YOURSELF the GIFT YOU DIDN'T GET!
We've EVERYTHING you were hoping for . . . and for the BIGGEST PRESENT OF
ALL . . . just wait 'til you see HOW MUCH YOU SAVE when you take advantage
of ACME'S INVENTORY SALEI
LOWEST PRICES FOR HIGHEST QUALITY
SPECIALISTS IN HOME WARES J
Free Parking Free Delivery
SPECIAL!
Clearance Prices
ON
ELECTRIC
WOOD & GAS
HEATERS!
Portland Progress toward
complete inventories and ap
praisals of O&C timberlands,
open marketing of salvageable
timber, increased reforestation
and access road construction and
implementation of new mining
legislation were cited in an in
formal year-end report by State
Supervisor Virgil T. Heath as
1956 accomplishments of the Bu
reau of Land Management in
Oregon.
Increase Noted
Heath pointed out that the al
lowable timber cut on Oregon
and California revested lands
had been increased 12.3 per cent
in the course of the year. The
increases, made possible by com
pletion of new inventories, were
from 588.200,000 board feet to
514.100.000 board feet in Feb
ruary and to 660.700.000 board
feet in October. The BLM studies
disclosed greater volumes of
merchantable timber and great
er growth than had earlier, more
conservative surveys. Inventories
of O&C timber are con'inuing.
The state supervisor also cited
the lifting of marketing restric
tions on salvage timber as a sig
nificant step in BLM's manage
ment of the O&C lands. The ord
er lifting the restriction was is
sued in July by BLM Director
Edward Woozley after the Bu
reau had held a public hearing
in Portland.
Market Areas
Market areas were (established
by the Department of the Inter
ior in 1947 when it divided the
O&C lands consisting of more
than 2,000,000 acres of heavily
forested terrain in western Ore
gon into 12 sustained-yield
marketing units each with ap
purtenant marketing areas. Bet
ter conservation and forest man
agement are expected to result
from the speedier utilization of
salvage timber which the greater
marketing flexibility will facili
tate, Heath said.
He pointed out that 169,331,
000 board feet of salvage timber
valued at $6,439,352 was sold
during the first 11 months of
1956. This will bring total rev
enues from salvage timber to
well over $30,000,000 since the
program was started five years
ago after the major forest fires
and wind storms of 1951.
Although total sales of timber
on O&C lands increased each
year to a high of 603,229,000
board feet valued at 521,379,769
in calendar 1955 both volume
and value fell off slightly in
1956. During the last year 566,
754.000 board feet valued at S20,
280.475 was sold. The average
bid price per thousand board feet
for 1956 was S36.80 compared to
S37.ll in 1955.
Exchange of Land
Another highlight in 1956
O&C activities was the exchange
with the U. S. Forest Service of
242,734 acres of O&C lands for
241,137 acres of USFS lands to
overcome administrative prob
lems caused by the intermingled
checkerboard pattern of the two
forests. The exchange carried out
the provision of Public Law 426
passed by congress in 1954.
An expanded access roads pro
gram for O&C timber lands got
under way during the fall of
1956. Since Oct 1, contracts have
been let for 36.7 miles of road
and one bridge to be built at a
total cost of Sl,628,43;2. These
roads will give access to a total
of 5.600.000,000 board feet of
timber including some private
and some administered by USFS.
I Heath praised the O&C coun
ties for their efforts in support
ing the O&C program of the
Bureau. By law these 18 coun
ties receive 75 per cent of the
revenue from timber sales on
O&C lands and in many in
stances they have urged further
use of their revenues- to speed
access roads and reforestation
projects. A payment of S11.900.
000 was made in August. 1956.
as the O&C counties' share of
1955 forest receipts.
During the year, also, the Bur
eau of Land Management paid
over to the state of Oregon $59.
099.13 as the state's 371.4 per
cent share of bonuses, royalties
and rentals from mineral leas
ing on Federal lands within the
state and $59,135.38 as Oregon's
share in receipts from grazing
leases, lands and public domain
timber sales.
Heath said the Bureau plans
to construct a new system of uub
lic land recoVds for the 2700
townships in Oregon. Bids were
called during 1956 for this work
in conjunction with the same
job for the state of Utah but bid
der stipulations and funds avail
able precluded award of a con
tract for both Utah and Oregon.
The Oregon work will be read
vertised in the near future.
Portland Girl Says
She Was Assaulted
Portland (U.R) A 13-year-old
girl told police a trio of teen
age boys forced her into a car
at knife point last night and that
she was taken to a desolate area
and criminally assaulted.
The girl said she was returning
home from the St. Johns theater
when she was stopped. She said
one youth held a knife against
her and forced her -into a car.
She was driven to a desolate area
where one of the youths assault
ed her, police said.
It was the fourth incident of
juvenile violence here since Saturday.
TRIGGER RESOLUTION
Detroit U.R) James Mes
sisco, 20, has resolved never
again to pull both triggers of a
double-barreled shotgun at the
same time either on New
Year's Eve or any other time.
Messisco did it and ripped both
barrels to shreds. He escaped
injury.
Batista Calls (or
End lo Violence
Havana U.R) President
Fulgencia Batista has called for
an end to the "menacing quar
rels and violence" among va
rious political elements that
plagued Cuba in the closing
months of 19,56.
At least 66 persons died in the
eruption of political tempers
during December alone, 27 of
them between Christmas and
New Years.
Batista made his appeal for a
"ballots not bullets" solution in
a New Years message to the na
tion. He said: "We proclaim once
more than the best arms for the
exercise of right and peace are
ballots."
The holiday wave of terrorism
was climaxed by a bombing New
Years Eve in the famed Tropi
cana Cabaret. Two 18-year-old
women were seriously injured in
the explosion, one losing an arm.
Police reported finding the
bodies of two men shot to death
under still unknown circum
stances in the town of Manicara
gua in the province of Las Villas.
Three Fugitives
Caught in Gervais
Salem U.R Three fugitives
who broke out of the Harney
county jail at Burns yesterday
morning after overpowering a
jailer, were apprehended at Ger
vais yesterday afternoon.
State police said the three
still were in the jailer's car in
which they had fled the eastern
Oregon city when they were
spotted on Highway 99E about
10 miles north of Salem.
Patrolman Henry Hepler said
he was cruising the highway
when he spotted the stolen car
and set out in pursuit of the trio.
State police identified the es
capees as Richard Perkins, 22,
held for Oregon state prison as
a parole violator; Leonard
Queener, 20, held on a contributr
ing to the delinquency of a mi
nor charge, and Lester Elledge,
24, held on a burglary charge.
Hepler said the fugitives
turned off the highway onto a
gravel road and then junctioned
onto the Mount Angel - Gervais
highway.
After reaching Gervais, they
attempted to shake the pursuing
officer, but were unsuccessful.
Hepler said that they suddenly
stopped at a corner and offered
no resistance to arrest.
The Harney county jailer, 60-year-old
Ernest Musick, said he
had entered the prisoners' cell
to removed their breakfast
plates when they jumped him
and took his keys. They locked
him in the cell and drove off in
his car.
Washington Climbers
Reach Ml. Hood Peak
Timberline Lodge U.R) A
quartet of Washington mountain
climbers today held the honor of
being the first persons to stand
on the peak of Mount Hood in
1957.
The annual race up the snow
covered slopes of the lofty peak
to be the first of the year at
tracted four climbing parties this
year.
The first group to conquer the
mountain consisted of Bill Un
soeld and Stan Bishoprick of
Vancouver, Wash., and John
Utzinger and Ed O'Neal, of Ta
coma. The group left Timberline
Sunday afternoon and camped
overnight, reaching the summit
yesterday morning.
vDePOSITED tf jffVTH
EARH FROM THE U K...
I tWIMOS I LOAN ASSOCIATION
SINCE 1909
17ft tot Mg dfonl
Need A Loan?
For Medical Expenses?
To Help Meet A Crisis?
LET US HELP YOU!
Loans To SI ,500
SALARY AUTO
FURNITURE
Crater Finance
CORPORATION
135 Pine Street Phone NO-4-1273
CENTRAL POINT, OREGON
Frank Wilkinson, Mgr. No Parking Problems
WATCH WARDS FOR & Extras!
117 S. CENTRAL
PHONE 2-6241
TONIGHT
5 to 9 Specials !
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL!
Reg. 79c
"BRENT MAID"
NYLONS
SPECIAL
PRICE
3 PR. FOR $
TONIGHT
ONLX
FULL FASHIONED 15-DENIER, 51 GAUGE.
DARK OR REGULAR SEAMS. WOMEN'S SIZES 9-1 1
LINGERIE DEPT. - MAIN FLOOR
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL!
Reg. 1.98
WOMEN'S
NIGHT GOWNS
SPECIAL
PRICE
1.47
TONIGHT
ONLY
WARM COTTON FLANNELETTE, YOKE STYLES
CHOICE OF SOLID COLORS. SIZES 34 TO 40
LINGERIE DEPT. MAIN FLOOR
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL!
REMNANTS
SPECIAL
PRICE
y2 Pri
rice
TONIGHT
ONLY
LARGE ASSORTMENT TO CHOOSE FROM. DRAPERY
AND CURTAIN MATERIALS. BUY NOW AND SAVE!
YARDAGE DEPT. - MAIN FLOOR
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIAL!
GIRLS' DRESSES
c
Reg 3.98. . . . . . W 1.97
Reg 5.98 'Sf2.44
WIDE SELECTION OF COTTONS FOR SCHOOL OR DRESS-UP
SIZES 1 TO 3, 3 TO 6X AND 7 TO 14 YEARS
CHILDREN'S DEPT. - MAIN FLOOR
WEDNESDAY NIGHT SPECIAU
Reg. 24c
HEAVY DUTY
MOTOR OIL
SPECIAL
PRICE
19c QT.
TONIGHT
ONLY
VITALIZED OIL FOR SEVEREST SERVICE
BULK - PLEASE BRING CONTAINER. SAVEI
AUTO ACCESSORIES - BASEMENT