Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1963)
'Political Assassination1 Of Chicago Alderman Recalls Gangland Killings EDITOR'S NOTE: The slay ing of itn alderman bat put a spotlight os (ha machinery of political and perhaps under- world power In a great city. A ITI special reporting team Including veteran Chicago .-"crime reporter Robert T. Loughran, Fred Mohn and Da ; vid Smothers, arrived at the ;44th Ward headquarters of : "Benjamin (Duke) Lewis shortly after the Negro politician's bul let riddled body was discov ered. The story of the slaying, it political overtones and the past violence of Chicago's po litical wars are detailed In the following dispatch. A ITI Team Report CHICAGO (UP1) - Police seek ing the "Chinese execution" kill' ers of Alderman Benjamin F. .. . Lewis today followed a trail of ; politics, power and "policy. The politics were biglime. Lewis, 53, whose slim, manacled body was found stretched on the : floor of his headquarters Thurs day, had won reelection to the City Council by an overwhelming majority only two days earlier. His power was growing and there was talk that he aspired to Congress and to the throne of Rep. William Dawson as leader of Chicago's Negro Democrats i There was talk, too, that Lewis ', had made dangerous enemies in I his battle to control the tough I West Side 24th Ward. ! "Policy," the nickel and dime Lakeview Man Wrifes Of Afghanistan Life LAKEVIEW - Another interest ing letter, dated Dec. 15 and re ceived Jan. 7, has been re ceived here from Tom Crawford who, with his wife, Beulah, Is in Afghanistan as an irrigation . adviser for the U.S. Bureau of ;- Reclamation. He says: "We are now settled in a mud brick home with concrete floors, ; plastered walls, and GI furniture. ' The electricity is not too depend " able and the water is dependant on the electricity. "Native beef and lamb are plen tiful, but the bulk of our food travels by railroad and truck from Karachi. Pakistan, and takes several weeks from order to delivery. Beulah has become a real good bread maker using na tive flour, and we haven't re ceived our first shipment of gro ceries as yeti j "The weather Is dry and it has been down to 17 degrees for a few nights, but we take our jack ets off in the afternoon. The win ,ter wheat has been planted as well as the root crops In our 'garden, so things are continuing normally for Afghanistan. "The nomadic groups and tribes have made their winter camps below the largo canals on land that Is not farmed. Their thou sands of camels, sheep, gnats and donkeys seem to be every place as we drive along the ditches THE GIANT STORY OF MODERN '. '-kjfii Mac Mahou Elizabeth Alien- i,i,iii8ittRotiis .V,.HntlWIMnlli j(ieFsit - SS3 ENDS SATURDAY! "THE MONGOLS" ond "THE TROJAN HORSE" Rock Hudson Doris Day Tony Randall S (3 II, CBtlKMI COLO Hilt ilWK. Inr flint vnitrKiru IT- .iM gambling racket which preys on Chicago's Negroes, was an un known factor. But it could be the big one and it could mean that Lewis fell before the expert gun of an assassin from the ranks of the Chicago Crime Syndicate. It has happened in Chicago before. A Lewis lieutenant, ward Dem ocratic Vice President Curtis Foster, said "The hoodlum ele ment was trying to come in with policy. He (Lewis) said "Over my dead body.' They killed him for revenge. Like Old Times The Lewis killing was like the old times much too much like the old times and it raised fears that Chicago has not shed the ghost of Al Capone and his gangster shock troops. The three automatic pistol bul lets fired into the base of Lewis' skull were echoes of a bloody tra dition of political vendetta, a tra dition harking back to the days of Capone and the letnal 20s when the game of politics could be deadly in the 24th Ward and the neighboring "Bloody 20th." Through the decades, Chicago politicians have been shot, knifed bombed and kidnaped. Sometimes their slayings have touched oil shock waves of reforms. But none of these victims had the power, and political potential of Ben (Duke) Lewis. A state representative called the slaying "political murder' and there was no keeping the murder out of politics. Chicago and canals. There are no fences but I haven't seen an animal on planted land nor anywhere he is not supposed to be. It seems as though the herders tell their stock; where not to go and the animals comply. That is the result, any way. "The Afghan dogs are large, up to 90 pounds, if they are in good shape. They have massive headsl and foroquarters, with ears clipped off tight. Their purpose) is protection of livestock (not herding) from wolves, jackals, and men. "Today is Friday or "Jouma," tlie Moslem sabbath which we use as a day of rest, and also to catch up on our correspond ence. "I mentioned that I was going to have 6nails in Paris. They wcren t on the menu in the par ticular restaurant wo visited, but; I did have squid in Rome, which is a very good sea food. When served it appears to be onion rings. It is somewhat tougher, however. "Our only first class travel was from Rome to Bierut. The carrier was Air France and the plane was a two-engine jet, the Caravel, The cocktails, filet mlgnon, bran dies, cheeses, liquors, mints, etc., accompanied the view of the northeastern Mediterranean and southern Greece. It was memorable flight." OPINS TONITI :4S CONTINUOUS .SAT. t SUN. FROM :4S HAWAII! Ptmvisioir uniui Color s&jiGtt! OPINS TONITI :4S CONTINUOUS SAT. t SUN. FROM U:4S Rock Hudson Gina LOILOBRIGJDA Sandra Dee Bobby Darin 1 LaaJTrlllBl Mayor Richard J. Daley, one of the most powerful individual Democrats in the nation, is up for reelection April 2 and his op ponent, former State's Atty. Ben jamin Adamowskl is no man to pass up a vote-swinging issue. Within hurs after the discov ery of Lewis' body, Adamowski issued a statement charging that the slaying was "another chapter in the sordid history of the Chi cago Democratic machine. . .We are apparently at the beginning of an era of violence and blood shed." Orders Go Out The mavor ordered his police superintendent Orlando W. Wilson to "apprehend and bring before the bar of justice the culprit who committed this dastardly crime, Orders went out to: Make an hour-by-hour check of every move Lewis made since Tuesday night, when he strode into Daley's Morrison Hotel head quarters in the Loop and jubilant ly announced he had won reelec tion by a whopping, vote of 12,179 to 888. Find whether the Crime Syn dicate, hard pressed by federal and city police raids on policy wheels elsewhere In the city, was trying to force the racket into the 24th Ward. Discover whether the man who placed a mysterious tele phone call to police shortly alter the body was discovered was crank or killer. At an hour when Lewis' slay ing was not generally known in the city, the caller said "I got Lewis I'll get Biggs next." a police guard was placed at the home of Robert Biggs, a Demo crat who made an unsuccessful bid for alderman of the 29th Ward in the Tuesday election. Charles Chew, a Negro candidate for alderman involved in a run off, said he got a threatening rail and police established a guard around his house. Make sure Lewis didn't fear for his life. On his last night, he asked police Sgt. James Gilbert of the nearby Filmore Street Station to telephone him. It was eporled Lewis told Gilbert in the 7:30 call "I'm all right." Then he Vaterfront Boss Dies NEW YORK (UPD - Anlhony Touch Tony) Anastasio, 57, over lord of the Brooklyn waterfront, died early today of complications following a heart attack suffered two months ago. Anastasio was an international! vice president of the Internation al Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and business manager of I LA Local 1814. , Often arrested but never con victed, the swarthy dock boss was1 the brother of Umberlo (Albert) Annstasia, reputed Czar of Mur der, Inc. who was shot to death in a barber shop in Manhattan's Park Sheraton Hotel In 1957. The brothers spelled the family name differently. Of late Tough Tony s power on the Brooklyn docks, once unques tioned, had been under siege. Fel low dock bosses ousted him from1 the wage scale committee of tlie ILA. and his vice presidential po sition had been challenged. Anastasio suffered a heart at tack on Jan. 2, and after a stay of several weeks In Brooklyn s Long Island College Hospital, was discharged. But complications from the attack caused his death there early today. Anastasio a rise through Uic tangled power web of the Brook lyn docks was steady. Though never convicted of tlie various crimes he was charged with ranging from assault to murder he Inspired fear and respect In his associates. Acquaintance said his temper could be fierce. But his home life was quiet. A widower, he lived with his daughter and son-in-law Anthony Scotto, organizational di rector of Local 1RI4, in a middle class neighborhood of Brooklyn. Tony was one of six brothers in his family to come to this country from their native Italy. Three others remained In Europe. One of his brothers, the Rev. SHlvatoro Anastasio, now is pas tor of a Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx. derail anil $ eto Klamath Pura, Ortfwi Putlllha ailv (! ! l am luMai Serving Sawtham OrttM an Nartnarn California v Klamath Pufcllininf Campany Main at lialanatft Fnana TUiMa llll W. s. 3attlanC. VualKHar ntaiad at tace:itf-claia maltar at TM toil afflca al Kiamatn Fall. Orttan, A Awfusl . I4. Mfftfar act arf Can- frati. March J, tin. lacafia-claaa pair t MM at Klamath alalia. Ortffvn, nd at aMilianal malllaj ffKaa. Carrlar I Mmtk t . I MaMM ItiM I Vaar ttl.M Mall in Atfvanca I Mamii i .n Mantna Itaaa I Yaar tll.M Camar ana1 Daalart Wtthtfay a SvMay. lY lac UNITSD Mill INTINTIOSL AUDIT tUPKU O" CIRCULATION tubtcrlbara nat rxalvlnf llvtry at Ittair Htraht an Nawt. alaata phaaa Tuiwa Hill aatara I P.M. said suddenly "I'm sorry, I have to hang up now." Facts Clear, Baffling The facts in the case were clear rad baffling snd the scene was a white columned stone building! which previously had been a bank and a mortuary. Lewis, still glowing over his Tuesday victory, left his wife El la and their red brick home on Fillmore St. at 3:30 p.m. Wednes day. He checked into his office, paid a brief visit to the Morrison Hotel Democratic headquarters, and then returned to his head quarters at S. The headquarters on drab West Roosevelt Road were new and imposing, covering most of the two floors of a Grecian-style building which had housed the Community State Bank and, later, a funeral home. Invitations were going to city hall that very day for the gala opening Saturday. Lewis went to his freshly pan eled, modernistic office on t h e second floor and closed the door with his name on it behind him. Building Manager James H. Smith heard the alderman's telephone ringing constantly, right up to the time Smith went home at 10 p.m. At home, Mrs. Lewis wondered why her husband hadn't returned. He had never, she said, stayed out all night. She awakened at 4 a.m. and again at 8 a.m., but did not call police. At 8:47 a.m., janitor Joseph Brown wondered why all the lights were on in Lewis' office, investigated, and found the boss of the 24th Ward spread on the floor beside his desk. Lewis' hands. locked In handcuffs of a type used by Navy MP's during World War II, were cradled over his head. A filter cigarette, burned down to the fingers, was between his fingers. The radio on a table be side him still was playing. Murder Method Clear The method of murder was clear. The killer had forced Lew is to don the handcuffs, then stepped up behind him as he sat and sent the bullets crashing into his skull. A green leather cushion from Lewis' chair had been used to muffle the shots. The modus operandi bullets fired into the base of the skull Is known as "Chinese execution." There were other professional touches. The killer had apparent ly entered through a back door by popping the lock and tum blers. A corridor and spiral staircase led to Lewis' door. Robbery was out as a motive. There was no sign of struggle, Lewis' $200 suit was undisturbed, the expensive watch was left on his wrist, the heavy ring on his finger, the $36.25 in his wallet. Coroner Andrew Toman estimat ed at first that Lewis had died at around 8 a.m. Police discount ed the theory. They pointed out that the alderman's car was still parked where Lewis had left it at S o'clock the day before. There was a half inch of fresh snow on the hood. Other Political Slayings v Who killed Ben Lewis was a question which may go down in Chicago history with tlie old po litical cry "Who killed McSwig gin?" McSwiggin, known as the "hang ing prosecutor" started the cur rent era of Chicago political kill ings when he was machine gunned in front of a Cicero saloon in 1921). Dangerous Cat Hunted THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (UPI An "extremely dangerous' black panther was believed loose in the foothills northwest of San Fernando Valley today only 10, milos from heavily populated Los; Angeles suburbs. A day-long search for tlie pan ther failed Thursday, and a spokesman for the Ventura Coun ty sheriff's office said its search was being halted and probably would not be resumed unless lead was found. But Hcinze mine, owner of a private zoo from which the pan ther escaped, said he and his em ployes would begin a search of their own. Ruhe said the panther was nor mally afraid of people but could turn into a killer if cornered. He urged hunters to shoot tlie ani mal on sight, but ottered a $1,000 reward to anyone bringing it back alive. He said the animal, alued ati $2.0(10, could forage lor food andl live indefinitely in the sloping loothills. Csut-to-GHui SfllTKEMO;j! i n ay. j ..... IT, I: cm? V 7 START OF LONG DRIFT Beach, Calif., and his wife raft Lehi V in a dinghy as photographi them. Pulling btach is Donald McFarland member. Lehi V sailed on voyage. I I Death Reprieve Sought For Two Irish Setters PITTSBURGH (UPD - "That's the end. Every dog has his day and so has every man; and the end is tlie same for both. We die like old Caesar and are put into the ground and have the earth shoveled over us." It was Mr. Trigg speaking in Green Stamp War Opens SALEM (UPD - The perennial Green Stamp war formally be gan Thursday. A leading stomp firm warned a proposed bill would "effectively stop the use of trading stamps in Oregon." The bill, sponsored by Bep. Eu gene Hulett, D-Eugcne, would re quire stamp firms to issue stamps to any merchant who wants them It also would require a stamp company to pay a $5,000 annual license fee to any county in which the company docs business. John Howarth, distric; manager of the Sperry and Hutchinson Stamp Company, said tlie bill would not regulate, but in fact would end the use of stamps in We state. Evangelist Gets Tests HONOLULU (UPD - Evance list Billy Graham was undergoing tests at a local hospital today and it was feared he might have to postpone his forthcoming Asian mission. Graham entered the hospital inursoay lor examinations of an acute undetermined infection." Doctors said it will take 48 hours to run a complete scries of tests, and three additional davs of evaluation to determine if Graham can depart as scheduled to open his crusade in Manila March 11. The evangelist had come to Ha waii to relax prior to starting his Asian crusade. He told UP! he felt he had overcome the effects of a lung ailment that has both ered him off and on for the past five years. But he admitted he had been running a fever for sev eral days and was feeling weak. Despite Ins weakened condition. Graham talked enthusiastically of the Asia tour which lie said could be "one of the biggest crusades we have ever held anywhere." A Lenten Delicht! New Zealand Lobster Tails Prepared and served as only the Round Table can do it! It'll be on evening to remember ... a lobster dinner at the Round Table Room. Delicioujly prepared, tempt ingly served in Klamath's most luxurious dining room. Try it tonight! WINEMA MOTOR HOTEL 1111 Main Street 1 -a. U a i JAiaMaj 5 itt- a.'. Jff- - 1 7 ini5 -' hmi to c DeVere Baker, 47, Redondo Nola, 44, start toward the an unidentified cameraman the dinghy away from tha of Torrance, Calif., a crew the second leg of a global U PI Telephoto W. H. Hudson's "Death of a Dog." But if Pennsylvania Gov. Wil liam W. Scranton and the assist ant superintendent of Pittsburgh police have their way there will be many more days for two prize Irish setters condemned to death. Brickland and Sunny Birch prized show dogs were owned by Miss Ida M. Capers who died in January at the age of 72. Her 1 decreed that the dogs be de stroyed after she died. She feared that new owners would be unkind to the dogs. Death was better than cruelty, she reasoned. Attorneys William McC. Hous ton and Fred C. Houston Jr., ex ecutors of tlie estate were reluc tant to carry out the death sen tence. They appealed to Allegheny County Orphans Court Judge Wil liam S. Rahauser who ordered a reprieve for the dogs until an audit of the estate is completed The audit may - take several months. The plight of the Irish setters struck a sympathetic chord in the heart of Assistant Police Super intendent Lawrence J. Maloney who is preparing for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. He vowed "We'll save those dogs, you can be sure of that. They'll be in line of march come March 17." Vandenberg Quits Plane LA GRANGE, N.C. (UPD-Maj Hoyt S. Vandenberg Jr., son of the former Air Force chief of staff, parachuted to safety near here Thursday shortly before his crippled jet fighter exploded in night. Vandenberg, 34, married and the father of two, was on a rou tine flight out of Seymour John son Air Force Base at Goldsboro when the aircraft developed trouble. BUICK TURBINE TRANSMISSION SPECIAL We will replace the front and rear seals, adjust low and re verse bands, adjust turbine clearance, and adjust linkage. All for Including Parts and Labor WILSON WILEY BUICK CO. 1330 MAIN PH. TU 4-3141 PAGE i A iiii i HERALD AND Weather Roundup Temperatures during the 24 hours ending at 4 a.m. PST today. High Low Astoria 52 44 Baker . 50 31 iirookiags 58 44 Medford 54 37 Newport 50 44 North Bend 54 43 Pendleton 59 41 Portland 54 42 Redmond 60 35 Salem 49 40 The Dalles 60 44 Chicago . 27 17 Los Angeles 79 57 New York 36 27 San Francisco 66 54 Washington 48 34 Five-day weather outlook: Western Oregon: Recurring rains. Temperatures below normal in Northwest Oregon and near normal in Southwest Oregon. Highs in 40's, lows in 30's. Eastern Oregon: Near normal precipitation and temperatures. highs in 40 s and lows in 20' s and low 30's. Northern California: Mostly fair with clouds north part. Western Oregon: Partly cloudy; high Saturday 43-50, low tonight 28-38. Eastern Oregon: Mostly fair; high Saturday 35-45, low tonight 22-32. The Dalles and Hood River: Partly cloudy, few scattered show ers; highs 46-52, lows 26-33; gorge wind west 15 to 25. Bend, Baker and La Grande: Fair; highs 45-31, lows 24-30. Reds Forced To Fly Long Supply Line WASHINGTON (UPD - Soviet TU114 airliners have been con ducting a weekly drama in tlie skies over the North Atlantic to keep Communist supply lines open to Cuba. Denied refuelling rights or otherwise restricted by a half dozen counties, the Russians for two months have been forced to operate a difficult and expensive airline service 5,000 miles non-stop trom Murmansk to Havana. The TUlHs, civilian counter parts of the Bear bomber and of the reconnaissance planes which have flown over U.S. fleets, take off once a week from Moscow and fly north to Murmansk to fuel up. From Murmansk they fly only over international waters. They head out into the Barents Sea, skirt the northern bulge of Scan dinavia, pass between Iceland and Greenland, pass Newfoundland and the New England coast and finally slip between Florida and the Bahamas into Cuba. The TU114, a prop-jet, is said to have a range of up to 6.000 miles with maximum payload of 15 to 16 tons of cargo or 120 to 150 passengers. Tlie payloads ap parently are being reduced for extra fuel. The planes are operated by Aeroflot, Russia's state airline. No one knows what the cargoes are, but if any strategic goods or mili tary personnel are included, it could be highly embarrassing for the Russians and the Cubans to have to land in the United States or Canada. 39 95 - 1 SEWS, Klamath Falls, Ore. Partisan Election Bill Proposed In California SACRAMENTO (UPI)-A two hil' series designed to make coun ty and municipal elections par tisan was complete today. Assemblyman Phillip Burton, D-San Francisco, introduced hisl well-advertised bill to allow pai tl san elections in cities of more than 100.000 population yesterday. "I want to emphasize that this is permissive and not mandatory," said Burton. "It would develop young leadership for both par ties." But Burton was virtually all alone with his bill. Most members of the Democratic leadership of both chambers said publicly and privately that they could not sup port such a measure. Earlier in the session Burton introduced a bill to allow county supervisors to be elected on parti san tickets and announced at the time that he had a similar meas ure for local elections. Republicans charged that such a measure smacked of political "bossism." Assemblyman John Veneman, R-Modesto, said Gov. Edmund G. Brown, as attorney general in 1956, had ruled that the legislature could not constitu tionally provide for such elec tions. Assemblyman Jerome R. Wal- die, D-Antioch, tlie Democratic floor leader, joined in to say that he would "strenuously" oppose ef forts to make local and county of fices partisan. "This bill is designed to get Democrats elected in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego," Waldie said at the time. "But when we have the strength we have, why make the Democratic party stronger? It could lead to irresponsibility." Richard Carpenter, executive of ficer and chief counsel of the; League of California cities, also! opposed the bill. He called it 'the surest way to return Califor-: ma to the political bossism that prevailed in the state 60 years ago." Burton leaped to the defense of his twin proposals. The same hue and, cry was raised when the legislature first seriously attempted to abolish crossfiling," said Burton. "I ex pect healthy debates on the mer its of this proposal." Although he apparently was not willing to predict tlie 1963 legisla ture would pass his bill, Burton went this far: "I believe we will see the day when local elections in the metropolitan areas of the state will be partisan." For the first lime since the ses sion began two months ago, one house scheduled a Friday session. Friday, March 1, 1S6 The Assembly was in recess but the Senate met. Other action in tlie legislature: Labor State Sen. John Holm dahl, D-Oakland, introduced legis lation establishing a State Labor Relations Act. Voting Burton introduced a bill setting the voting age at 111 and said that most 18-ycar-olds are well versed on current affairs and should be allowed to express themselves at the polls. Sessions Freshman Assembly man John Moreno, D-Santa Fe Springs, introduced a constitution al amendment to allow regular ses sions of the legislature every to years. At present, there is a gen eral session in odd-numbered years and a budget session in even-numbered years. March Limps In Like Lion By United Press International March limped in like a frost bitten lion today, dumping fresh snow across the center of the country and drenching the South with rain. With spring only three weeks away, the mercury at Lone Rock, Wis., dipped to 16 degrees below zero and Spencer, Ind., reported 7 inches of new snow. Shclbyvillc, Ind., had 6 inches and Dayton, Ohio, had 4. Heavy snow warnings were is sued for parts of Kentucky, In diana, Ohio and the West Vir ginia Panhandle. Snow was ex pected to move into Southern New England and New York by nightfall. Thunder and lightning accom panied rain squalls from Louisi ana and Arkansas to Alabama, Tennesee and Kentucky. Lufkin, Tex., and Pine Bluff, Ark., re ported more than an inch of rain fall in six hours. U LOAD THE WASHER WE DRI And Fold ' 40clL Open to 10:00 Daily J. W. KERNS LAUNDRY AND CLEANING S I l l A Ok EE 734 So. th TU 4-4197