The Conshohocken Recorder, April 5, 1962

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... 92 Years Young
And Peppier Than Ever! ®l)c Coiiiljoljockcn Uccorfccc Serving: All
Conshohocken,
W. Conshohocken,
Plymouth & Whitemarsh
TA 8-4600 VoL 9247 92 Years of Conllnuous Publication
Elmo Is Executed;
Society Reproached
Coguhohockan, Pa.. April S. 1962 7c A COPY BH 9-0950
Dies 825 Days
After Slaying
Elmo Smith died maintaining
tllence that was more eloquent than
words.
When the convicted aex alayer
was executed for the murder of 16-
year-old Maryann Mitchell, he car-ried
with him the possible answer
lo another horrible killing.
Smith was a prime suspect In the
rape-slaying of four-year-old Carol
/mi Thompson in 1947 near West
Point. Montgomery County.
A law enforcement official, i.'io
s.-ked that his name be withheld,
revealed that Smith had started to
talk about the case In his cell at
C niicrford when a police officer
entered.
.smith clammed up when the of-ficer
started talking "rough" to him,
the official said.
The case remains unsolved.
When Smith was executed Mon
day night, he walked to his death
without a statement of any kind.
He died In the electric chair at
Rockvlew Prison. Bellefonte.
But It took exactly 825 days from
the Dec. 21, 1959 Christmas Week
night that he abducted Maryann
Theresa Mitchell from Roxborough
until the time he paid for her
murder.
In between, from the time Smith
slopped his car near the Walnut
Lane Golf Course at Henry Ave.
'Conrrnaed on Pao* Eight)
Art League
Is Sponsoring
Contest Here
< on. | M i it ion Open
To All ArtiHte,
Mrs. l'ulucio Says
Con hcaccken, one of the most
colorful communities in Montgom-ery
Cunty, offers the artist many
DpecucuV. views to provide in-cpir.
il 0.1 mid 'l\e CorLshohocJtcii
An Lewue is spTOsbrfnB a sorrte*4
lo bring Alia lact home to the bud-dln
DMUtct and the professional,
too.
"Scene in Oonehohocken" Li the
theme lor the contest. The artlsta
filtering the contest are asked to
I bit canvases showing the many
fascinating and unusual scenes that
are possible In the rambling, rolling
b .r- of the town.
The artist can surely find inspir-ation
when he t~' ■* up a position
on thp steep slopes overlooking the
r-Sir-vtl Valley; he can paint the
silhouettes and superstructures of
the many Industrial1 plants; he n
fird pleasure painting the hand-some
mansions that still stand In
the boroutrh and oiler an architec-ture
pe-riiMar to today's "modem-
' •'. ind he can find odd and col-orful
sr-r-vi in the parks, the sports
iV'ds and the beautiful tree-lined
nvenuev th** lei"iie bclieres.
Sr*ne* Air Varied
Bocnea of Conshohocken are
fin-- and varied for the artist with
th° ducernlng eye.
Mr; Prancls Palaclo. of 205 E
Pf'h Ave.. chairman for the Art
T"i"ue. s»H th»» contest is designed
t . h-v- l»i* "Old Conshohocken."
v-h'ch b»*n1 ehnn«d much down
IVo'iih the vea"*. preserved on the
' i n^- of local Hnd ares srtbts
*-—K«>rs a«d professionals arc
lnv te1 to par*<cloi(e In this plan
tft brinT the residents the sentimen-
' ■' -"d historical heritage that ie
"T,,*« erflas will include UU> for a
- ■,"«1 w'nn»»r and 85" for an
*.™»-.t«ur. B".bolar»hips to art clave?
pni materials for continuing studv
""d painting are Included in the
r,Mt-nM-»wn artl*ts are invited to
tik" •"-• h"t *he*r ftirv mint be
/Continued on Page Five)
WE WON'T
AGREE
When you call our Classified
Ad department for consulta-tion—
we might as well tell you
this now—you won't always
Mud us agreeing with your
ideas.
We are here to help you—
not to kid you—to give you the
heneflt of o*ir experience, not
lust to get your ad.
Then we assure results.
We promise also a low cost
ad; 12 words for only $3. Your
»d will reach an audience of
1W.000.
Or. ask for our special rate
lor this newspaper. It's only SI
for IR words.
fQsl phone:
TA 8-4600
BR 9-0950
WE ALSO PRINT
Banquet Prog *ma
School Papers
Church Bulletin*
Wadding Invitation*
Lawyers Blast
Previous Parole
Prosecullon and delcnsc lawyers
In the Elmo Smith murder case to-day
blamed society for the plight
of the Bridgeport handyman and,
Indirectly, for the murder ol pretty
Maryann Mitchell.
"The only way to protect society
from the likes of Smith Is to lake
his life." declared Assistant Dis-trict
Attorney Vincent A. Clrillo.
"But." he added. "If society would
face reality and start building more
hospitals Instead of prisons, crimes
of this nature might become
rarity."
Joseph Phelps. Jr.. one of
Smiths two Court-appointed at-torneys,
put most of the blame on
the Commonwealth penal system.
•They should never have let him
out in the first place." he said.
Phelps charged that "somebod
in the penal system" slipped up
when Smith was freed after serv-ing
10 years for molesting women
in Norristown and Upper Merlon
Twp.
He said that a mental examina-tion
given Smith during that case
showed that he was a "dangerous
psychopath."
"Yet," said Phelps, "this analysis
and classification were Ignored
when they let him loose to prey
once again on the public.
"The least they could have done
was to examine him again to deter-mine
if he were stlU dangerous."
Clrillo said "It Is a harsh thing
to take a human life, but with the
parole system being what it Is.
along with the lack of cures. It's the
only remedy.
"Someday." he observed, "society
may be able to nurse people like
Smith back to health so they can
go on to lead a normal life."
Neither Clrillo nor Phelps wit-nessed
the execution.
Rep.Scranton
To Be in Area
On April 26
Onwrewma* WUIMTA W. _
ton. Republican endorsed candidate
for Governor of Pennsylvania, will
visit Upper Merlon Twp.. Thurs-day,
April 36.
Republican County Chairman
James E. Staudlnger announced
that Scranton and his party will
tour the giant new General Electric
Co. plant at King of Prussia.
In addition, Scranton also will
visit the Court House and hold a
press conference at Republican
County headquarters In Norris-town.
The GOP standard bearer will be
principal speaker In the evening
at a banquet to be held at the
Spring-Ford Country Club. Royers-ford.
The affair Is being sponsored
by the Towne and Country Coun-cil
of Republican Women. Lime-rick.
Plans for an "Intensive primary
campaign." especially In the third
legislative district, were announced
by Staudlnger
He'll Speak Bridge Lights Councilman
To Go on Again _ 1 .
Boroughs Hope imposed 111
Signs of Small Businesses
Protests $3 Fee
West Side on
Petition lo PUC
Is Reailiril by
ASHI. Countv Solicitor
A petition seeking to clear up
the question of maintenance of Il-lumination
on the Matsonford
Bridge will be sent to the Pennsyl-vania
Public Utilities Commission
this weekend.
Announcement of the action was
mnde by Atty. Alonzo R. Horsey,
an assistant County solicitor.
He said the petition will ask for
review of the previous PUC or-der,
which left Conshohocken, Went
Conshohocke.i and the County foot
the bridge lighting bill as has been
the case since 1937. and addition-ally
will ask a review of the ade-quacy
of the lighting.
The boroughs of Conshohocken
and West Conshohocken will Join
the County In the petition to the
PUC. Joinders from both boroughs
were received this week by Horsey,
who said it perhaps would be a
month or more before the PUC
called a hearing.
Kitted Oyer Action
Joseph Burns, president of Con-shohocken
Borough Council, was
elated over the action. He has been
demanding the poor lighting con-dition
of the bridge be corrected
and sought to have the two bor-oughs
and county relieved of main-taining
the lighting system.
Under the 1937 edict, the two bor-oughs
paid 40 percent each and the
County 20 percent fnr maintenance)
of the lights. This amounted to
about si.200 a year.
But. Burn* pointed out he is not
Volunteers Rescue Woman at Blaze
JOHN W. BOMNK
Bodine to Talk
On Planning
At Whitemarsh
Polls lo Introduce
Head of Penjerdel
And Civic Leader
John W. tiodlnc. president of
Penjerdel. uill speak at 8 P. M. next;so much Interested In the cost ol
Wednesday, on "Regional and Com-' maintenance 01 what he called "an
munity Planning" at the McNeil antiquated system"
Laboratories. Campbell Rd.. white-marsh
Twp.
A leader In the planning field.
He .said he seeks to have the state
take over tie complete malnten
ance of the bridge, wltn the hope
Bodine heads an organizatTon de-' "* ™~*""* ^
voted to the subject on a regional
and community basis.
The meeting will be sponsored
by the League of Women Voters of
Whitemarsh Twp.
Frederic A. Potts, president of
the Philadelphia National Bank,
will Introduce Bodine. Potts, a resi-dent
of Whitemarsh, recently was
named "Man of the Year" by the
Philadelphia Industrial Association
ie, a recotniuwd c'lvic lead-er
in Philadelphia and Montgomery
County, was born In Philadelphia
and is an alumnus of Oermantown
Friends School and Wesleyan Uni-versity,
Conn., where he received
an A.B. degree in 1933. As a Rhodes
Scholar he studied law at Balllol
College. Oxford University, Eng-land.
Bodine practiced law with the
Philadelphia firm of Drinker, Bid-die
and Heath from 1937 to 1969,
when he became president of Pen-jerdel.
His activities in civic affairs
have been extensive. He was presi-dent
of the Philadelphia City Policy
Committee from 1941 to 1943. He
was one of the group that spon-sored
the ordinance creating the
Philadelphia City Planning Com-mission
In 1941.
Bodine participated Ir the or-ganization
of the Citizens' Council
City Planning hi 1942 and
served as its president from 1953
| tn 1957. He was appointed by for-
County Parks Director Russell S.'mer Mn. »r Clark to Philadelphia's
Knipe. was named campaign di- first Urban Traffic and Trans-rector.
His co-chairmen will be Dr
O. Sleber Pancoast. Mayor of Col-legevllle.
and Mrs. Mayme B. Roth-enberger.
County Register of Wills.
CD tlWtill"
On West Side
Terrance Campbell, Civil Delcnt*
Director for West Conshohocken,
announced a meeting on the bor-ough
program will be held at 7:30
P. M. Wednesday In the Borough I
Hall.
Campbell, appointed by Borouuh:
Council last month, received con-firmation
of the appointment from
Gove nor Lawrence last week.
All residents are invited to at-tend
the initial meeting.
Continued on Page Six*
Deadline April 13
For Police Applicants
Applicants .or p.trolman on
Die Conshohocken police force
have until Friday, April 13. to
return applications to the Bor-ough
Hall, it was announced
t"'day by Joseph Walsh, bor-ough
secretary.
Anyone desiring to test for
the position can obtain the nec-essary
application forms from
the secretarv at Borough Hall,
W. Hector St.
Salary after probation period
Is $4,790 a year, plus other bene-fits,
including life Insurance.
mercury-vapor lights.
Fayette St.. Conshohocken's main
thoroughfare, which is a main ar-tery
for the Ingress and egress of
the Schuylklll Expressway, Is bril-liantly
lighted with mercury-vapor
lamps.
Wants State To Act
Burns said he hoped the state
(Continued on Page Eight)
DRAMATIC MOMENT—Mrs. Elizabeth Miller is carried from apartment by
volunteer firemen when fire damaged ext erior of her home at 12 E. Hector St. L. to
r., Lester Shantz, James Ingram, Samuel Januzelli, Thomas Monacella and Enoch
Zapien. Women in background, who assisted, are Mrs. Mary Kay. 1., and Miss Cathe-rine
Hayes. Photo by Anthony)
Sen: Shafer
Will Speak
At GOP Fete
'Slate Sen. Raymond P. Shafer,
Republican candidate for lieuten-ant
governor, will speak at the
Greater Norristown Young Repub-licans'
"Candidates Ball" this Sat-urday
night.
The event will start at 9 P. M. at
the Bungalow Inn, Jeffersonville.
where all four OOP hopefuls for
the nomination as Second District
Assemblyman have been Invited.
Shafer will be making his first
appearance in the county since he
was tapped as the organisation
choice for lieutenant governor.
An attorney, the 45-year-old can-didate
Is a resident of Meadvllle,
Crawford County. He commanded
a Navy PT beat in the Pacific dur-1
ing World War II and is former dls
Met attorney of Crawford County
A graduate of Yale University Lawi
School, he Is serving his first terra [
as state senator.
The four aspirant*, for the Sec-|
ond District nomination are Dr.i
Henry J. Olszta, Conshohocken;
Horace A. Davenport, Norristown:
Mervin A. Sneath, West Norriton.
and Robert J. Butera. also Weet1^. r>. ■ . nji n
Norriton i^Iay rights Held rire
Music wiU be provided for danc- At Wood I in*' River
Ing by Jimmy Ray's orchestra. Tick- Al I-MUIC, II
ett may be obtained from Jean
Roehner. 507 Swede St.. Norristown.
The Young Republicans have
scheduled their monthly meeting at
8:30 P. M. next Thursday at County
Headquarters. Swede and Chestnut
Sts., Norristown.
Ubn4he£pot Photon
Show Firemen in
Rescue of Woman
A full page of photographs
of firemen in action at an ac-tual
blaze is carried on page
12 of today's Conshohocken Re-corder.
The Recorder's staff photog-rapher
was at the scene shortly
after arrival of firemen when
the volunteers from Washing-ton
and Conshohocken No. 2
companies rescued a woman
who had collapsed in a sec-ond
floor bedroom.
The photos show th< men
in action from the time they
pulled up to the building
through inspection of the dam-age
after the blaze was extin-guished.
When the photographer ar-rived,
it was then the firemen
discovered the woman at a win-dow
frantically trying to save
draperies and other furnish-ings,
but she collapsed during
The excitement and was photo-
Graphed as the lremen car-ried
her down a stairway to
safety.
George Clay Fire Co., West Con-shohocken,
battled a field fire at
9 this morning along the river at
Wood Lane. Terrance Campbell,
chief engineer of the Clay, said
the Are was brought under control
before It reached homes i the area.
BUSY MONTH—HarmonviMe and Plymouth fire
companies fight 41st field fire laM week at Plymouth and
Johnson Rds. J. Donald Tarbutton, township fire marshal,
said March was the company's busiest and three field
fires are on the records so far this month. Yesterday,
they battled a blaze in a field on Alan Wood Rd.
(Phoio by Stephen H. WeiheiUU
Woman Saved 2d Time
At Fire Believed Set
In Same Circumstances
Quick action by Conshohocken
firemen saved the life of a widow
who Deoame bewildered when fire
threatened the Interior of her
apartment and caused thick smoke
and extensive exterior damage.
The same woman was saved last
June 28 when fire broke out in the
same spot under the same circum-stances.
Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, of 12 ^
Hector St., was taken to Montgom-ery
Hospital in the Washington I re
Co. rescue truck. She was treated
for shock and detained at the hos-pital
for observation.
The blaze started in a pile ol
trash at the rear of the M. Harris
Furniture Store. 67 Fayette St.. last
Friday, The flames quickly shot tip
the wall to consume the rear door
of the furniture store and the win-dow
frame and roof of the Miller
apartment.
Ignited by Younr*tcr*
Heavy cardboard cartons discard-ed
by the furniture More and placed
In a pit-like concrete block struc-ture
at the rear of the store were
ignited by youngsters throwing
matches from the roof of another
apartment house two doors away,
according to Joseph P. Thomas.
borough fire chief.
Children were blamed for throw-ng
matches Into the trash 0 le in
last year's blaze.
The store at that time htd a
wopden fence at the rear of the
building. The fire consumed the
fence and damaged the buildings
The lateat fire caused thick smoke
to blanket the neighborhood.
Frank Ingram, of the Washing-ton
Fire Co.. was first at the scene
He aatd he was ascending a ladde*
to reach the second floor apartment
when he saw the woman at th
window.
Brake Window Glass
Irwram said she wns removlne
drapes on the window as he struck
the glass with . a nozzle.
The woman raced across the bed-room
and col* paed In a comer.
Firemen dashed up the Hector St.
staircase to r *h the woman and
carry her to safety.
Russell Heffentreyer. member of
the Oonshohocken No. 2 Fire Co.,
received a nail puncture U he
fought the Maze. He was treated
at the office of Dr. Paul Miratfla
Fire Chief Thomas said he plans
to call in the parents of the child-ren
to warn them about the repeat-ed
danger their mischievous actions
have presented.
Debate Erupts
Over Burning
Of Rubbish
(See Photo Page 10)
West Conshohocken Borough
Council last night got into a
"round robin" debate ove- Its lack
of trash burning controls, what to
do about out-of-town vendors and
why small businesses and certain
Individuals should pay fees for hav-ing
signs erected in front of their
premises. The latter hassle involved
a councilman and a woman Insur-ance
broker.
The council also voted to adver-tise
for bids on a new police car.
Councilman Stanley Oleba set oft
the debate over the sign ordinance,
which levies various amounts In
fees for signs on business places
erected "for advertising purposes."
Gleba said he received a bUl for
S3 from the borough .secretary, Mrs.
Isabel Tyson, ft ho mails out the bills
according to a list supplied by a
council committee. A list of the
places so billed was read by Francis
McHugo, borough treasurer, who
was reporUng on those who paid
the S3 fees.
Assessment Protested
Gleba protested the assessment.
cliUming the sign on his business
place, an excavating and used
building supply yard, was merely
informing the public where his
place of business was located.
He said the sign reads, in part.
-No person authorized In this yard
after 5:30 P. M." This, he said, wag
merely a warning and not an ad-vertisement—
It was attached to a
gate to keep Intruders away and to
prevent children from entering an
area where they might be hurt.
While the debate was progres-sing,
Miss Ida Mai Cooper, who
conducts an insurance bushie>«
from her home'at 10 Cedar A\
was given the floor. She said she
has been paying the S3 since the or-dlnance
went Into effect two years
ago.
The sign Is en her home and Is
only a small one bearing her name
and the word "insurance." Oleba
sympathized with her. saying the
.'Mould not be billed.
Atty. Frederick B. SmilUe. boc-
(Contlnued on Page Eight)
Youths Injured
In Highway Crash
Three Conshohocken area youths
were injured when their car went
out of control and crashed into a
bridge abutment on the Schuylklll
Expressway near Manayunk.
They are James J. Fleming Jr.,
20. of Apple St.. West Conshohock-en.
the driver; Oeorge R. Watkins.
18, of 55 Fayette St.. and Eugene
Thompson. 18. of 336 W. 11th Ave.,
both Conshohocken.
The youths were taken to Lank-enau
Hospital by state polire.
Fleming was reported suffering
head injuries and the other two
multiple lacerations.
Police said the car was a total
wreck.
Plymouth Boy
In 'Bomb Scare'
Will Be Released
A 18-year-old Plymouth Twp.
boy arrested In the recent "bomb
•care" at St. Matthews High School.
will be released from Montgomery
Hall tomorrow, being called "a bas-ically
good boy, who Just got Into
one bad situation."
Judge E. Arnold Forrest, who
heard the boy's caae In Juvenile
Court last week. In ordering the
boy's release pointed out the boy's
fine record prior to the "prank."
Peter J. Prasclno. county Juven-ile
probation officer In whose cus-tody
Judge Forrest placed the boy
last week, asreed with the Judge.
He said he believed the boy learned
a lesson from his experience am
evidenced by his behavior since
his arrest.
The boy averted an attempted
escape at the Institution white
there when he discovered another
Inmate had concealed a knife In
the building and had planned to
flee. He told the officers about it
and they discovered the weapon
hidden In som.- pipes.
The "bomb scare" caused evacu-ation
of 700 students from the high
school when Plymouth Twp. police
received an anonymous telephone
call that a bomb was about to to
off In the school.
Explosion Blown
Door Off II. MI. i
A back drnlt In an oil burner set
off an explosion at the Consho-hocken
Manufacturers Association
bulkllng, Eighth Ave. and Fayette
St.
Washington and Conshohocken
No. a fire companies responded,
using smoke ejectors to rle.ir HIP
main building. The oil burner is
located in a separate building on
the grounds and heat Is piped into
In buUdtni through a 30-
I<KII tunnel.
No one wns injured. No tire was
reported but n door was blown off
the healer at 9.30 A M M.MI.I.IV
Km II II Kill)- Salt"
Today. Tomorrow
A nrailWliY sale. spMisnivd by Ulf
St-terhood ol ItM Ivv Rldae Jewish
Community Center, which opened
this morning will continue to 9 to-night
and will be held « A II to
T M tomorrow at 48 Fayette 6l
Conshohocken.
Early Decision Seen
In High-Rise Dispute
A ruling from County Court is
expected in the near future on the
legality of the action creating a
new high-rise apartment classifi-cation
in Plymouth Twp.
The ordinance paved the way for
the approval of a $3 million, 18-
story apartment dwelling planned
for the area near Oermantown
Pike and Walton Rd,
Indications of a decision soon
came as President Judge E. Arnold
Forrest Instructed attorneys for
both sides In the dispute to .submit
brtefi
His Instructions followed a brief
hearing last week when Alfonso
Santangclo. a lawyer and l>
resident, called Robert Townsend.
township secretary, to testify.
Santangelo represents himself
and other property-owners who
contend the ordinance creating the
new high-rise classification is il-legal
Jasper DlSanto, new Democratic
commissioner, wants to construct
the high-rise structure.
Townsend testified that the ordi-nance
changing the zoning from
Double A to the new classification
was approved last Nov. 13. He slid
that hearings had been held the
previous Aug. 3 and Sept. 38.
Judge Forrest called for the
briefs so he can study them and
hand down his decision.
The township is represented by
1U solicitor. A. Benjamin Scirlra.
DlSanto Is represented bv Cassin
Cralg.
The action of the township com-missioners
In amending (he ordi-nance
to provide the new high-rise
classification came tinder bitter at-tack
by residents.
Prior to the approval of the
change, Santangelo warned the
commissioners that legal action
would be taken In an i-ffort lo In-validate
the move.
The commissioners went ahead
and rezoned the 14-acre tract which
is owned by DlSanto and his wife.
In addition to the attack on the
legality of the commissioner's ac-tion,
opponents indicated they
would institute other moves to
block the building of the planned
apartment.