The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 143, Ed. 1 Monday, December 29, 1952 Page: 1 of 8
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CLOUDY,
DRIZZLE
The Abilene A
P
rmg MORNING
VOL. LXXII, NO. 143
Associated Press (AP)
“WITHOUT OR WITH OFFENSE TO FRIENDS OR FOES WE SKETCH YOUR WORLD EXACTLY AS IT GOES"—Byron
ABILENE, TEXAS, MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 29, 1952—EIGHT PAGES
PRICE DAILY 5c, SUNDAY 10c
) u
ent on Death, Shuns Pleas, Crashes Plane
By ED N. WISHCAMPER
■ Usm ' I Reporter-News Staff Writer
$51 W(rmoa the SWEETWATER, Dec. 28 - A
■ any ALY12-0312-111A w young Sweetwater rancher — pi-
a i 271 0 lot dived to his death in an air-
n i 2421291111-11 plane near here Sund ay morning
r 1 $,-‘, after friends had argued with him
ZN d 1151.1), Ac.“ "IS by radio more than three hours in
bined Facility at the Abilene con-
trol tower.
"He kept saying something
about 1 just can't face it’,” said
Dow Patterson, acting chief of the
Abilene control tower.
"He had some sort of a difficulty
and was evidently tired of it all.
Beinhauer said Cox told him he
was going to fly to Fort Stockton
TILL BE AT THE GRAVEL PIT —This is the crumpled out to the gravel pit." The insignia of the Cox family’s Double
wreckage of a bright-yellow plane in which a young Sweet- Heart Ranch can still be seen on the side of the plane. /Re-
water rancher went 10 his death Sunday morning. By radio, porter-News Photo by Don Hutcheson)
Billy Cox, 23, told friends, “If you want to see me, come on
Vomen
a vain attempt to avert the trage-
dy.
Dead is William Ollie (Billy)
Cox, 23. son of Ollie Cox, promi-
nent Sweetwater rancher who owns
the Double Heart Ranch about
eight miles south of here.
The fatal crash on the Jack Byrd
ranch four miles southwest of town
ended an eerie drama that outdid
anything ever dreamed up in Hol-
lywood.
It began at 5:20 a.m. Sunday
when Cox phoned Otto Beinhauer,
assistant manager of the Sweet-
water airport, at his home and
asked him to gas up his plane.
It ended at 9:49 a.m. when his
plane dived from an estimated
5,000 feet and crashed into the
bank of a ravine.
For three hours and 20 minutes
of the time, Cox carried on a con-
versation by radio with L. M. Hub-
bard, Sweetwater barber, and Earl
Critz, service station operator; and
CAA communications specialists.
They were talking with him via
two-way radio from the CAA Com-
“But I wouldn't want to say on
the basis of what I overheard what
the trouble was.”
Patterson said that Cox "ran the
gamut of emotions from humor to
depression" during his radio con-
versation.
"They tried to remind him of
his family and asked him to think
It over. They tried to reach him
through any means, but he kept
saying something about he 'just
couldn’t face it’.”
Hubbard, said. “We pleaded with
him . , tried to get him to come
down ... we talked to him about
his family ... he broke down —
crying I think." Hubbard said Cox
had been despondent and moody.
LIGHTS TURNED ON
Cox took off from Sweetwater
airport about 5:20 a.m. He made
first contact with the Abilene CAA
tower at 6:28 a.m. and asked the
tower to notify the Sweetwater air-
port to turn on its landing lights.
He was coming in, he said. The
lights were turned on but he did
not land.
to see his dad, who also owns a
ranch at nearby Marathon in far
West Texas.
Beinhauer said Cox was perfect-
ly rational and normal, and there
was nothing about his conduct to
hint at the fantastic drama that
soon was to unfold.
“He checked the engine oil him-
self, as he always did, while I
gassed up,” Beinhauer said.
Cox flew a four-seated Cessna
170, a bright-yellow plane belong-
ing to the Double Heart Ranch
and bearing its emblem.
Soon after he contacted the AbL
lene CAA tower, he said over the
radio that he was going to crash
his plane and end his life.
Beinhauer said Hubbard and
Critz took off from Sweetwater
about I o'clock to fly to Abilene.
At Abilene they joined the CAA
communications specialists in talk-
ing to Cox and trying to persuade
him to come down.
Beinhauer overheard much of
the radio conversation between
Cox and those in the control tower.
"Quite a few men were trying
to talk him Into coming on down."
Beinhauer said, "He said the rea-
son he was going to end it was
because things were all messed
up."
One of Ms Sweetwater friends
reminded Cox of his daughter.
Karren Kay, 3, and urged him to
come on down for her sake.
Cox began crying then and said
he'd fly around until his gss got
low, then decide whether to land
or crash, Beinhauer related.
He kept talking about “going
into the gravel pit,” which was the
Hillsdale Gravel Co. about two and
a half miles south of the Gulf Oil
Refinery, located at the west edge
of town. It was near the gravel
works that be did crash.
CAA men made a transcription
of the long conversation, but Sun-
day afternoon would release none
of it nor divulge any information
contained in it. All queries were
turned aside with a positive re-
fusal to talk.
M. H. Osburn, airways opera-
tion specialist for CAA, was on
duty when the first contact was
made with Cox. He called the act-
ing CAA chief. Dow Patterson, at
home, and Patterson came down
to the tower to help. Two other
specialists, George Duncan and J.
W. Young, participated in the job.
At one time in the conversa-
tion. one of the persons talking to
him begged Cox to "come on
down, we want to see you."
"If you want to see me, come
on out to the gravel pit. I'll be
See RANCHER, Pg. SA, Col. 3
I n
rasl
Of6 Vehicles on B
4
Texas Death
Total Climbs
To Near 100
By The Associated Press
The Christmas-New Year violent
death toll neared 100 in Texas late
Sunday and was leading the nation.
At least 90 persons had been kill-
ed as the big 10-day bollday period
clicked through its sixth death-
dealing day. That count la from
one minute after midnight, Dec.
23, the starting point used by the
State Department of Public Safety.'
In the national tabulation, which
la lower because the count is from
f p. m. Dec. 24, Texas was leading
the other 17 states with a deaths
from all causes.
That was despite the fact that
Ohio and New York were ahead
slightly to traffic fatalities. Texas
had enough fire and miscellaneous
deaths for a larger over-all total.
The national tabulation late Sun-
day gave Texas 25 traffic deaths.
11 Bro deaths and 11 miscellane-
ous. New York had, In that order,
37-8-8 for a total of 52 and Ohio had
37-2-2 for a total of 41.
The national traffic toll for the
102-hour period stood at 481 at 5
p m. Fires had killed 72 and 96
had died to miscellaneous acci-
dents.
The national safety council pro-
dieted before the count began that
500 persona would be killed in traf-
fic accidents.
More than half of the » killed
to the state count—at least 51-
died in traffic.
Murders, suicides, fires and other
violence claimed the rest
Would the overall toll be as high
as the State Department of Ruble --------------------------
Set spredicteth" minute sfter THE DEATH SCENE—A spectacular collision on the Clear
midnight Dec. 23 through midnight Fork bridge Sunday left these vehicles sprawled on the
Anson highway north of Abilene and blocked traffic for
Jan L .,.._.. auguwey uuasan wn auucuv auu uauncu u dr IW1
Nobody could say Sunday. There several hours. Four vehicles in the crash are shown here. Two
are four more days and four more ___________________________________
Bights to go. One of those is Now
====== Ike Names 14-Man Advisory
other accidents.
THE WEATHER Panel to Map Farm Program
others also involved are at the photographer’s back Three
women in the automobile in the foreground were killed in-
stantly. (Reporter-News Staff Photo)
IN GERMANY
Reds Order
Prominent
Abilenian
Among Dead
BY TRACY PLILER
Mrs. Mack Merchant, member
of a pioneer West Texas ranching
family, and two other women were
killed Sunday to a wreck north of
Abilene that Involved five auto-
mobiles and an oil truck.
The vehicles collided on the
Clear Fork bridge on U. S High-
way 277 do Anson) at 5 p.m. Sun-
day, 11 miles north of Alilene.
Killed instantly were Mrs. Mer-
chant, 73, of 1750 North 12th St.,
Abilene her niece, Mrs. Single
Weiaman, about 60, of Oklahoma
City; and a Negro maid. Mary
Muse, of Abilene
No one else was injured. 2
RETURNING FROM OKLAHOMA
Mrs. Weisman was believed to
have been driving the 1948 Chrys-
ler in which the three women were
returning from Oklahoma City
where Mrs. Merchant visited her
sister. Mrs. W. T. Russell, dur-
ing the Christmas holidays. Mrs.
Merchant left Abilene Tuesday
Four of the automobiles involved
hi the wreck including Mrs.
Merchant's car, were headed south
to Abilene and the truck and the
fifth car were traveling north
toward Hawley, officers said.
Investigating the accident were
Sgt. Homer Bailey, Patrolmen O.
O. Fitzhugh and R. E. McNeil of
the Texas Highway Patrol and
Doyle Woody, chief deputy of the
Jones County sheriff's department.
Anson.
TRUCK HAULING OIL
Balley said that a IMS Ford driv-
en by Stanley Blender, 58, a gov-
ernment inspector from New Jer-
sey, was the first car to hit the
truck which was haullag crude oil
to the Hawley pump station. The
truck, a heavy trailer - type
oil transport operated by the a, P.
Alexander Trucking Co. of Abilene,
was driven by Looter A Phillips,
39, of 633 South 11th St., Abilene.
The left side of the Ford struck
(Photo by its studio, Sweetwater)
WILLIAM OLLIE (BILLY) COX
. . . things were all messed up’
TRUMAN "MISLEADING’
MacArthur Denies
All-Out War Plan
•. % PRATTOLX*****
ABIL ENE AND VICINITY — Cloudy to-
a EH
E-CEN I -
""NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS - Parfiy
cloudy and s little warmer with scattered
lent rain Monday, fuerden, pH eloud;
" RHP TEXAS - Party cloudy Monday
and . little warmer ■ Panhandle. Tues,
4%APY-*Cnrbectoudl
ness and mild, with scattered light rain
ON LIT RALYEXAs condy and
• little warmer with scattered light rain
Monde* iM-MArunks
Sat. a. m. 8at. p. m.
se2.39...... it
res for 24 hours
and 21.
ares same date
NEW YORK, Dec. 28 W—Pres-
ident - elect Eisenhower today
named s 14-man agricultural ad-
visory committee to help draft the
new administration's farm pro-
gram.
The chairman of the committee
to W. I. Myers, dean of the Agri-
culture College at Cornell Univer-
sity.
Besides Myers, who lists him-
self ss a "somewhat Independent"
Republican, members of the In-
terim committee—named by EL
senhower after conferences with
Benson—are -
John H. Davis, a Republican,
who was executive secretary of
the National Council of Farmer
Co-operatives, Inc. before being
named general manager of the Na-
tional Wool Marketing Corp., Bos-
| ton, last September
Jesse W. Tapp of San Francisco,
a registered Democrat, who is
:•. somrise today vice president of the Bank of
America. He is a former president
PEss. I# the Federal Surplus Common
dities Corp. and former director
of the Agriculture Department's
Commodities Credit Corp. and
Crop Insurance Corp.
Cari Farringtos, of Minneapolis,
vice president and grain deport-
ment manager of the Archer -
Daniels-Midland Company, which
processes grains, oil seed and
other products. A Republican, be
began serving in the Commodity
Credit Corp. under former Presi-
dent Herbert Hoover and was a
CCC vice president under the
Roosevelt end Truman administra-
tions.
Romeo Short of Brinkley, Ark.,
vice president of the American
Farm Bureau Federation, Short
has been identified with the Dem-
ocratte party in Me home state.
Homer Davidson of Chicago, vice
president of the American Meat
Institute, a Republican.
D W. Brooke of Atlanta, presi-
dent of the National Council of
Fanners Cooperatives and gen-
eral manager of the Cotton Pro.
ducers Association. He to a mite-
long Democrat
Milo Swanton of Madison, Wis.
G. Burton Wood of Corvallis,
Ore., head of the Agricultural Eco-
nomies Department, Oregon State
College, a Republican.
Albert Mitehen of Albert, N. M.,
A OOP national committeeman
and general manager of the T. E.
Mitebell and Sons cattle reach at
Albert.
Robert R Coker of Hartsville.
S. C. president of Coker Pedigreed
Feed Company and until recently
a member of the Agriculture De-
partment’s planning committee on
agricultural research and market
‘ar Minus af Omaha, proto-
dent of the Nebraska Farmers’
Union I
the left side of the truck just sfter
the truck had corns onto the south
end of the bridge, police said
A 1952 Pontiac drives by H. R.
Bolton, 27, a Lubbock barber, was
I following behind the truck and was
sideswiped by the swerving Ford,
which had been thrown against the
bridge railing and bounced back,
finally coming to rest just off the
nist masters of East Germany to end of the bridge. . .
dav ordered their youth * / Skidmarks showed that the drtv-
day ordered their youth brigades er of the truck attempted to stop
purged of "enemy elements,” but the large vehicle continued
The order from the party Cen-past the middle of the bridge where
tral Committee was published in it crashed into the left front end
'of the Merchant ear, which was
squashed into the bridge railing.
The cab of the track then jack-
Youth Purge
BERLIN, Dec. 2 n - Commy
the newspaper of the blue-shirted
Free German Youth (FDJ), which
said the purging process will start
in February. There are presently
3% million members. including the
“young pioneers,” who range to
age from 6 to 14,
The purge order contained ■ sur-
prisingly frank admission that the
Communist regime cannot even
trust the one element on which it
has been leaning most heavily—the
indoctrinated youth.
In the past three years, the East
German regime has shoved many
other groups aside to butter up the
youth. They have been given spe-
cial vacations, priority on sports
equipment, free entertainment and
knifed around to its left and con-
tinned on tor about 20 feet where
it straddled the bond of a halted
1952 Oldsmobile driven by Jim
Alexander, 18, of 1158 Elmwood
Dr., Abilene. His tether. Miner AL
Harry J Reed of West Lafayette,
Ind., dean of Purdue University's
Agriculture College and a Repub-
lican,
Harry B. Caldwell of Greens-
born, N. C., master of the. North
Carolina State Grange, end a Dem- ________.
eorat ego exciting trips to Berlin,
exander. was riding ta the car.
The Alexander ear was then
pushed tato the front end of a
1950 Oldsmobile driven by Winston
Heidenheimer, 35, Anson dry
goods man.
Two Kiker-Warren ambulances
carried the bodies to Abilene.
A booster truck from the Abi-
lene Fire Department went to the
scene and washed the oil from the
See WRECK, Pg. SA, Cat. 6
NEW YORK. Dec. 28 (— Gen.
Douglas MacArthur today de-
scribed as "inaccurate and mis-
leading" • reported statement by
President Truman yesterday that
he had relieved MacArthur as Far
East commander because the gen-
eral "wanted to involve us in an
all-out war in the Far East.”
The United Prose quoted the
President as making the statement
to an interview the President gave
to its White House correspondent.
It was one of a series of year-end
interviews with White House cor-
respondents.
ISSUED BY WHITNEY
MacArthur’s comment, issued by
his aide, Maj. Gen. Courtney
Whitney, follows:
"President Truman's statement
yesterday, aa reported to the press,
that 1 'wanted to involve us in an
all-out war in the Far East' is in-
accurate and misleading.
"My purpose sag desire was not
to extend the war but only to end
1L At that time, this could have
been accomplished with only a
fraction of the approximately 70,-
000 American battle casualties
which have since resulted. Actually
the longer It lasts the greater the
chance of Ite spreading. How any-
one could use such a bloody drama
aa a means of self-glorification is
quite beyond my comprehension.”
In Washington, Roger Tubby,
White House press secretary, said
Truman would have no comment,
adding "The President made his
statement and is sticking by it.”
FIRED IN 1951
Truman fired MacArthur on
April 11, 1951, on the announced
grounds he did not support—and
publicly sought to change — the
grand strategy of the United Na-
tions war against Rod aggression
in Korea.
The President said la a formal
statement at the time
"With deep regret I have con-
eluded that General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur la enable to
give Me wholehearted support to
the policies of the United States
government and of the United Na-
tions in matters pertaining to his
official duties.”
MacArthur was relieved of his
four-fold duties as supreme Allied
occupation commander in Japan:
United Nations commander in chief
for Korea; United States com-
mander in chief for the Far East;
and commanding general of the
United States Army to the Far
East.
The order relieving MacArthur
of command was Truman’s answer
to a series of publie statements by
MacArthur urging the United
States to follow s different policy
In the Far East and especially with
Its U. N. Allies, in the Korean War.
Essentially the general advocat-
rd the bombing of Rod bases above
the Yalu River border of North
Korea.
ASIA OVER EUROPE
He also presented Asia rather
than Europe as the critical theater
of conflict with aggressive com-
munism.
MacArthur's dismissal amount-
ed to reaffirmation by Truman of
United States policies for a strict-
ly limited war to Korea, if pos-
sible
MacArthur lost little time in
striking back at Truman after his
dismissal.
In a speech at Austin. Tex. an
June 11 1951, MacArthur bitterly
accused U. S. policy makersisf.
appeasement In Korea and W
"moral smemeent. by talking
FOR A
LIMITED TIME
Seaciul reduena ehseri-den ran*
are to effect on The Reporter-
News.
Now i the time to mb-ndhe end
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The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 143, Ed. 1 Monday, December 29, 1952, newspaper, December 29, 1952; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1652243/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Public Library.